charfletchh

[charfletchh]

no, charlie did not know a mr. pink, but pink was like lavender, and that made her think about lavender marriages, so it was with full sincerity that she said "oh, congrats king. thanks for sharing." wait, didn't he use to date someone she knew? it was flirting at the edges of her memory, but neither ollie or mari's names made it through the narcissistic haze of her long-term memory. she generally tuned out when people started talking about their personal lives, assuming the gossip wasn't hot. "i know," she took it as a compliment. "it was hard to get this corset laced so tight but beauty is pain, you know?" she pursed her lips a little before amending "or, you've heard."

He shrugged. "Candy corn's not so bad." But that didn't mean he wanted any. Letting his hands drop without a treat, Monty's eyes widened dramatically, a scoffing gasp of mock offense answering Charlie's question. He glanced down at himself, tugging at his shirt. "What, you don't recognize Mr. Pink?" Yeah, he already knew that the name didn't really provide any context clues, either. All the same, a smile pulled at his lips as his gaze lifted to Charlie again, eyes roving up and down before chirping, "I like your costume. Very tight." In a literal sense. He leaned in to stage whisper, "You sure you're getting enough oxygen to your brain?"

#charlie: kudos for saying that. for spilling. #ft: monty #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

it was a remembered reflex to be simultaneously pleased and offended to be compared to greer. but she hadn't felt that jealousy in a while. mostly just a sort of loneliness. "no one wonders what i'm thinking," she scoffed, before she even heard the sadder double meaning in her words. "i mean, i'm an open book. i always say whatever i'm thinking." she flashed that patently distracting charlie fletcher smirk. "want me to tell you what i'm thinking right now?" there wasn't a lot of room for misinterpretation.

Nate didn't often find himself agreeing with Charlie on, well, anything, even the idea of it causing a quiet scoff to leave his lips. Because even though he had been correct as well, Greer had turned her back on finishing out her years at Ogden, in this case...Charlie had a point. Who had ever known really what Greer was thinking, what her agenda was? "Fair enough," he said under his breath, shrugging as he dropped the subject. It's not like he had any insight - just a handful of recollections that led to more questions than answers. "Think people probably think the same about you, though," Nate added after a beat, glancing at Charlie from the corner of his eyes.

#ft: nate #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

"uhhhh huh." she had completely spaced out from freddie at this point, much more concerned with morticia, who was looking at charlie like she might be insane but also like she might be into it. exactly where she wanted her. "oh, with ease. it's not like you're that tall." however, as much as she wanted to snipe at him, he wasn't exactly short, and she tried not to show the strain on her face but she had a sneaking suspicion she was starting to turn purple. she barely tapped his shoulder before her negligee loudly tore up the bottom. "now look what you did," she sighed, without an ounce of irony.

from the corner of his eye, he could see her foot inching closer and closer, but keeps a questioning gaze on hers for long enough to catch that wink, which he thinks was meant for him. he makes a face at that, because he thinks one of their many achievements is not having slept together. there was probably a good reason for it. her leg now took up so much of his vision, which he was sure she was doing just to make him forget where her eyes were. it doesn't work, though. "you just look so uncomfortable," he laughs. "keep this up and you won't be able to walk, and not because you had a good time." but, because he can't let her get off so easily, he adds: "at least reach my shoulders, though, c'mon."

#♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞ #ft: freddie

[charfletchh]

"what is trick supposed to mean anyways?" she rolled her eyes. "who came up with that? are you supposed to prank a little kid if you don't have candy to give them?" now that she was thinking about it, she had serious questions. maybe the trick was the sugar rush the parents had to deal with the next day. "fucking stupid. i like your costume." she'd been distracted by her historical dilemmas (and still was, frankly), but she always appreciated a little megan fox.

Anya takes a half-step back, giving Charlie a cursory glance. They're not normally the biggest fan of someone getting in their personal space, but for a pretty girl? She'd forego her usual curt response. "My bad," she says, fiddling with the lighter in her hand.

"I thought you knew me well enough to see that I'd always choose trick."

#ft: anya #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

she removed the crown from her own head (rather painfully - they'd really stuck that in her hair) and placed it on jesse's, patting his head the same way you'd greet a toddler. "i would do absolutely nothing." charlie was ever trusting in the universe, confident there was a status quo and if she just ignored her problems, they would eventually solve themselves. "everything will go back to normal soon." normal. what was normal? it had been so long since anything was normal that she hardly remembered. but she was confident it was just around the corner.

"I'm not doing anything," Jesse shot back, a touch defensively. He wasn't sure why it bothered him so much. Maybe because the shock felt like confirmation that he'd belonged at that rehab facility this summer. The quiet camaraderie burned up in the frustration that Charlie didn't deserve but had earned anyway. And his eyes rolled in her direction as his face deadened. "I'm sure you're gonna tell me."

#ft: jesse #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞ #maybe end here or on ur reply?

[charfletchh]

"well, it's a fixer upper," charlie cooed, well aware the stunning marble mansion was anything but. "i suggested we throw some everclear in gatorade coolers and trash cans, play 2015 calvin harris, make the floors all sticky, and take all the toilet paper out of the bathrooms, but my sisters thought a frat party theme would just be too scary." not to mention the sweaty freshmen pledges asking where you went to high school - disgusting! "maybe the guys volunteering in the maze will make you drop and give 'em twenty for some good hazing memories."

He hadn't been paying much attention to what was going on. very similarly to the previous year, he wasn't too impressed at the haunted house, but his frat brothers all wanted to go through together. Great. Except he nearly tripped over Charlie as she stuck her leg out in front of his shins. He glanced down, eyes moving towards her as the rest of his house entered the attraction without him. Ah well. "Oh, is this yours?" He asked, looking up towards the Haunted House's dilapidated visage that had been put in front of the sorority, "you girls have really let this place go. And you give us shit for needing to clean up."

#ft: milo #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

he was mixing up a few vowels, but satan was pretty damn near satine. "close enough." not the first time she'd been called the devil anyways. she examined her own (potentially nutmeg-scented) brownie before taking a huge bite. "i guess we'll never know." in honesty, she'd basically forgotten about the haunted house - some of her more becky-home-ecky sisters had taken care of that and she'd shown up just in time for the party. "i don't really do haunted houses. my life is kind of giving horror movie right now anyways, i don't need the reminder." you know what would be really scary? a zombie dad threatening to no longer pay your rent. gasp! "wait, really? should we go through and shop for you? do they have to be in costume or is it just like, knowing they were in costume earlier?"

He took the brownie with a grateful sort of pout. "Thank you, Satan," he said, going to lean on the wall next to where Charlie was sitting tearing a corner off of his brownie and eating it. "Did you know that nutmeg is a hallucinogen? So, I used a lot of it in these, but I don't know if it's a large enough dose to actually do anything. It'll probably be the shrooms that do it." Or maybe a mixture of both would make it the most potent. "Have you been in there yet?" He asked, jerking his head towards the haunted house. "There was a guy in there last year that threatened to choke me, so I'm hoping for a missed connection thing." He might be currently single, but not exactly ready to mingle -- but he could consider it. "I've always wanted to hook up with a haunted house volunteer. It's once of my dumbest hook up bucket list items."

#ft: ollie #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞ #drug reference tw

[charfletchh]

she took that as a challenge, and leaned into the wall to extend her stretch, her heel rising higher and higher. "i'm extremely flexible." she aimed a wink over freddie's head at a tall girl dressed as morticia addams. "wait, who's questioning why i'm still here?" this distracted her enough that she put too much weight on her leg, pushing herself into the splits and nearly tearing a ligament. fuck. "i'll have you know it's very normal to take a victory lap. that's why they call us super seniors, because we're super normal." she tried to brush her hair back to regain her composure, but it was a little difficult to focus on being sexy with the throbbing pain in her thigh.

a playful groan leaves him, as if she'd pierced his side with a spear like he was jesus or something. in retaliation, he lightly bumps his hip against her leg. "ohh, it's your birthday? you should've said." he knew it was. it was one of those birthdays that was hard to forget. her comment makes him laugh, and admittedly it was strange to do so without a greer-based motive behind it. "and people dare question why you're still here," he muses. "but i'd rather stand here and wait it out until your leg gives in, because i know that's gotta hurt."

#ft: freddie #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

"it's more exciting that way. we can go stay in a hostel and really get the early-twenties gap year experience." people in charlie's circle were always cosplaying a different economic class, like poverty was a costume you could try on when it was fashionable. "germany is sounding better and better. except beer. beer is disgusting." why would you waste time with single-digit alcohol percentages? she hummed in contentment - it was so easy to lose herself in visions of a future where everything works out like a tv show from the 90s, where ogden was a distant memory and everything could be wrapped up as neatly as a 30-minute sitcom episode.

END

"Sleep on your couch?" He repeated with a snort. "You're not even going to set me up in some hotel? After all I've done for you." What had he ever done for her? The same she'd done for him, absolutely nothing. That was what a balanced relationship looked like. "No, you know, funny enough they've actually outlawed tennis in Germany. Not enough opportunity for beer to be served. Which I think is untrue, but I'm not part of the government." He laughed, and nudged Charlie with his elbow. He hoped everything would be that simple. "World watch out, they hardly know what's coming."

#ty for the threadd #ft: milo #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

ew, charlie hated the poor! and also feet! monty was zero for two. "all that's going to get you is the candy corn left at the bottom of the bag. they taste like earwax but beggars can't be choosers." her eyes flicked up and down his outfit with the practiced disdain of a bouncer at berghain. "is this a halloween costume or are you just heading to key west later?" or maybe he was dressed as jimmy buffet - in which case, rest in peace, king.

Monty's zombie-like shuffling up the front steps of KKG was put to an abrupt halt by Charlie, blinking a few times in quick succession as he glanced over. Immediately, he snorted, a crooked smile settling across his lips. "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat," he rattled off, a little too fast to achieve a truly sing-song tone. Stepping out of the way of someone barreling onward through the door, Monty expectantly cupped his hands together and gave Charlie a simpering look. "Alms for the poor?" he cooed, attempting (and failing) at a British accent.

#ft: monty #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

her eyebrows flew up in something of disbelief and something of pure confusion. "huh. didn't know you could just do that." she didn't mean jesse in particular, she'd just assumed everyone who said they were "sober" was just using creative definitions. she was suspicious of anyone trying to improve themselves - she saw it as a threat. "that's unfortunate." but not insurmountable.

"i picked up on that," she rolled her eyes. she'd gotten all the gossip. "but are you like, going to apologize? or request a dorm change?" although charlie had to say she wouldn't. getting to parade an army of rebounds past an ex's door was something of a fantasy of hers (well, it would be if she had any real exes). "wanna know what i'd do?" it was evident she was going to tell him regardless of how he answers.

Jesse went still, prepared to raise his hackles with Charlie's question. He was getting really tired of that narrative, and this year had barely even begun. It wasn't the first time he'd wondered if this was what his father had intended. A message that it could always get worse, that Donovan would always win. But it was her tone as she asked it that kept him from bristling. Instead, he scoffed, his eyes fixed ahead. "Right now at this current moment? Yes." It felt like, no matter the answer, he felt some degree of shame to admit it. And that earlier frustration was back again, that new voice in his head that questioned whether or not that shame was his or if it was a byproduct of his father's big chess move.

He decided to focus, instead, on the question about Parker. There was no less shame in it, but at least he was dealing in feelings he knew were his. "What do you mean?" he asked, purposely dense. "We're not together. There's nothing to do."

#ft: jesse #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

"in fairness," charlie pointed out, "you do make very scary faces." she would know, as she had been on the receiving end of many of heni's very scariest. "but i think you'll have a great view from right over here." she stood up and bent over to catch her reflection in the mirror, very intentionally giving heni a picturesque view of some of her best assets. "you could always pick up the leftovers, if you don't want to go home alone tonight." she traced the outline of her lips with gloss like a roman centurion going into battle would polish his armor. "or if you ask nicely, maybe i'll even let you join me and my new friend."

She rolls her eyes, then, effectively proving Charlie's point. "I can't help what my face looks like. If they're scared of me they need to grow a spine." A beat. Then: "Deal. I'll do my best not to interfere from over here." She can still see them swapping spit in the periphery of her vision, and it's hard to not pull a face. "I wouldn't dream of going any closer."

#ft: heni #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

that extended leg deftly kicked freddie in his side. "it's my birthday. you have to be nice to me or i can have you put to death." not that he could get to her tonight - she knew she looked good. "well, no tricks and no treats? sounds like you're pretty useless then," she smiled beatifically. "maybe you should turn around and head home. unless we can put you to work in the haunted house? boo! sobriety!" she feigned a gasp. "i'd be terrified."

freddie leans against the opposite wall, dragging his gaze from her foot by his hip, along her leg and all the way up until he meets her gaze. "well, i see there are no treats," he says. "and i'm just an innocent boy with no tricks up my sleeve." though, from past experiences involving a shared hobby, he knew she had just as many as he did. "so, where does that leave us?"

#ft: freddie #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

she clapped her hands together, looking for all the world like a seven-year-old who'd been given a new toy. "a gift? for me? you shouldn't have." the purr in her voice implied that yes, he absolutely should have, and so should everyone else. she reached into the box and broke a brownie in two, taking a generous bite out of her own half before offering the other to ollie. "to replace your joint." she made the sign of the cross, because some light sacrilege was sexy. "fly high angel."

Ollie wasn't expecting the haunted house to be too eventful this year, it was hard to follow up last year, but he was hoping the guy who threatened to choke him was back this year. He was told, once again, to put out his joint by one of the volunteers as he moved through the crowd and rolled his eyes stopping at the door and stubbing it out on his boot as Charlie stopped him. "Oh shit--" he said, pulling his backpack off and unzipping it, "treat of course," he said pulling out a plastic tupperware box full of brownies and holding it out for her. "Happy belated birthday! I baked these for you. There's drugs in them." Like he had to explain that.

#ft: ollie #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

she shot him a satirical raised eyebrow. "i don't appreciate your sarcasm, mr. morrison." the name soured in her mouth - it was so much easier to not think about greer when she could forget cara and eddie shared her dna. but the compliment, however forced, diverted her attention. "of course it does," she agreed. "i wouldn't have done it if i didn't think it would look good." that wasn't entirely true - dumping the box dye on her head in the gas station sink, she'd been thinking less about the undertones of her skin and more about not recognizing her reflection, as if a different hue on her head could make her a different person. but she'd chosen to block that out, and she was an expert at that. "you know, i have a duty to the people of ogden to constantly serve. and i would love to continue to do so as your elected representative,” she winked.

“Yeah, wonder why…” He agreed with her in a tone of mock disbelief. Charlie Fletcher? Up to shady business? As if! Though, when it came to Ogden, that was what most people were usually up to; she just happened to excel at it… Ogden College: a world where being shady is the norm and honest people are a minority.

“I think it looks great on you.” He shrugged nonchalantly as though he wasn't saying anything she didn't already know.  “But then again, what doesn’t?” Because, really, he wasn’t. Charlie was the kind of person who would still turn heads if she showed up with a baseball cap and the plainest sweatshirt ever made – not that she would ever dress like that, but still.

He considered asking her how she had been after they’d last seen each other but ended up deciding against it. Even if he sincerely hoped she was doing better, dealing with the loss of her friend and whatnot, he didn’t feel like bringing up their awkward encounter and reliving the memories of how he really had no clue on how to console a person upon the loss of a loved one.

#greer are u haunting the narrative again? #ft: eddie #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞ #maybe a good place to close if it feels good to u?

[charfletchh]

"i know, right? berlin is brooklyn before it became boring." europe seemed like the perfect final frontier, an ocean away from her current problems. a new city to soil, a new social circle to infiltrate, new debauchery to lose herself in. "i'll move to berlin, and do a ton of drugs and go to a ton of parties, and you can come visit me and sleep on my couch. they have tennis in germany, right?" she said it like it was all so simple, because she'd never known a world where it wasn't. "we can go wherever we want, because we're beautiful fabulous people. the only people who get stuck places like this are ugly and boring."

Charlie didn't seem like she knew at all what she was going to do after she left, but if he was being honest he didn't really know either and he would only be here about five months longer than her. Just keep doing what he was doing. Maybe buy an apartment somewhere, though he doubted he'd be home all that much. "Wait,' he said, looking at her like something suddenly clicked, "I can really see you in Berlin. It feels like it would fit you so well." Charlie screamed crazy euro parties. "All that really matters is getting out of here at all." He didn't mean that to sound so grim. Just… Ogden was boring. The school, the town… And it was cold. Miserable place.

#maybe we can wrap up here or on urs? #ft: milo #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞

[charfletchh]

where: the KKG halloween haunted house

who: open!

charlie had not been asked to man the door, but she had happily appointed herself. it was the perfect positioning to ensure everyone had to compliment her as they walked into the party, and it gave her the best vantage point as to who was looking sexy. she blocked the corridor with a fishnet-clad leg as another entrant walked in. "you're supposed to say trick or treat."

#ogdenstart #♦‘ﾟ‣ {.chats } — ❝ i’m spiraling all over the place ❞