lilyfeicosta

[lilyfeicosta]

evancitron​:

evan typically took up residence in the far-back corner of the english building—one of the more dilapidated buildings on ogden’s campus, a sixties-era brick structure where he knew that he’d be left alone most days—but even there had started to feel suffocating. to try and avoid the fog of discomfort and fear that lingered over the campus, evan sought refuge in a nearby cafe that was far enough that he figured he could sit in the dimmest corner and remain unbothered by anyone.

frankly, he didn’t know there was any sort of rush hour at a coffee shop in a college town, so he stood dumbfounded outside for a few moments as he tried to glance in through the glass to see if there was anywhere for him to go. the glare of the sun made it difficult, so he took a deep breath and went inside, shuffling through the people waiting for their iced lattes to the way-back of the cafe. he stood awkwardly, turning one way and then another to try and figure out if there was anywhere for him to sit, when he heard a voice. “go for it.” he heard a voice say, and he turned to watch her push the chair out with her foot. he wasn’t planning on socializing, but she didn’t seem interested in that, so he sat down wordlessly. after a moment, he realized he should probably say something. “uh, thanks.” he nodded over at her, speaking louder than usual over the hum of activity around them. “nice of you.”

—

the exchange took place with relative ease—the stranger taking her up on her offer with thanks, lily glancing up from her work and giving a small nod and fleeting smile in return. if you could call it a smile. it would be safe, if not outright obvious, to say that she wasn’t the warmest presence in the room. in most rooms, really. she always placed a rather stubborn bit of purposeful distance between herself and whoever seemed to near that came with years of learning not to immediately trust or open up to others. even if they had enviable dark, curly locks and a sort of... effortless, cool european school boy thing going on. she was, however, civil.

“oh, i’m nothing short of a saint,” lily quipped, a bit of mirth tugging at the corners of her mouth, eyes already back to scanning her laptop screen. “should’ve seen me bark at the man who was getting pissy at the barista for, i don’t know, doing their job. very valiant.” a pause allowed for a crease to form between her brows, lily looking back at the other. “—not actually bark, to be clear.”

#evan

[lilyfeicosta]

n8-shaw​:

Nate’s mouth stayed open for a moment, shaking his head as if to clear the sound of the nickname out of his ears, the undeniable confirmation that it was the bratty girl he and Finnegan had gotten so close with before their mother dragged them back halfway around the world. The realization that it was her hit him in equal parts happiness, shock, regret…and perhaps bigger than all of those, discomfort. The reminder of his childhood and family before he had drawn the lines and walls that so firmly stood now. 

He pulled his sunglasses off, tucking them into the collar of his shirt before reaching his hand up to adjust his ball cap lower on his head, a slight cough of laughter leaving his lips as he shrugged up a shoulder. “Must’ve been the milk,” he said dryly, finally sitting down in the seat opposite, eyes wary as the watched her face, one leg stretched out, taking up more space than any one person needed to - a reminder, as she had immediately brought up - of the sprawling height that he had grown to since having left Australia. “What are you doing here?” he said, his voice not exactly unfriendly - though certainly not the welcome a long lost friend may expect.

—

with sunglasses withdrawn, lily studied the now-grown-up nate’s eyes—at least, as best she could from where she sat. though many would practically leap from their seats, throwing their arms around him in a wide embrace, that just wasn’t the way the young woman expressed affection. and if not affection, then warmth. nostalgia, maybe. not that their history was a particularly good period in his life, she was well aware, but they’d had their fair share of good memories together, didn’t they? good enough that, knowing he attended ogden, she still pursued it herself, anyway. so, a slightly wider smile than usual was bestowed upon him, lily taking off her own glasses and carefully setting them atop the table.

she spotted what resembled steve-fucking-rodgers trying to pathetically go incognito in public, but let it go with a fleeting glance towards his cap, eyes following nate to the chair across from her. “oh, i’m a caffeine addict now,” lily answered his question, tone equally flat, if not grave. “five espress shots a day or things get real ugly.” her head shook, mouth twisting some. though, where she knew her mock indifference to be merely silly, she wasn’t familiar with nate’s... stoicism. especially not under these circumstances. it informed her own reactions as she went. “i go to ogden, as of this semester. academic scholarship. believe it or not, i’m quite the genius.”

[lilyfeicosta]

who: @keysandthankyou​ where: the arts building when: october 1st, blackout mini event

this was the last time lily ever did anyone a favor. especially one that’d been partway based in vanity. she supposed it was karma, in that way—the world throwing it back in her face that she hadn’t done something out of utter altruism. then again, she was never one to believe in things like karma and fate. the world was twisted in its own incomprehensible way, even getting in the way of her offering to be a figure model for an art student. an art student that had been running late, mind you. but the universe scarcely cared for details.

at least she knew her way around the building, playing both sides in the war between STEM and the arts. lily held her old model iphone—flashlight on—out in front of her as she traced the hallway towards the exit. sure, the schoolwide safety text had urged students to stay in place, but what harm could going back to her dorm room do? her mind was made up. that is, until she turned a corner, bright light suddenly coming upon another figure. “jesus christ—” lily hissed, jerking herself backwards. she’d never considered herself easy to scare, but apparently, a mop of curly brown hair and a few inches on her height-wise did the trick. to be fair, anyone cornering a young woman such as herself alone in a dark building was terrifying. “if this is the end,” she added in a deflated tone, throwing her hands up in defeat, “at least make it quick.”

#keys

[lilyfeicosta]

ironlvngs​:

     does he do that often ? pretending like he was in a bad movie that had an ending was definitely one ways that he got through most of his time at home with his mother. maybe pretending that he was in a movie wasn’t far off to the reality he really wanted, which was having more control over the events of his life than was possible. “ as long as i can actually manifest the cast that i want, then that doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea. though, i don’t remember spawning this many extras in my head… ” he teases as he looks around, before letting his eyes meet lily’s again with a small grin. “ so what’re you working on ? i hardly ever see you taking advantage of the quiet hours at work to do other work. ” it was practically his strategy to get assignments done in time. 

—

“but you did manage to manifest a fascinating, mysterious, good-looking coworker, so you’re not doing too badly,” lily cracked, tone rather flat for such a loaded statement. a statement one might expect someone to deliver in a more joking, lighthearted tone. then again, those who knew the young woman even moderately well would know that that was just her own way of delivering humor. and, well, if someone didn’t catch on, the worst they could think of her was that she was exceptionally confident. which, on most days, she admittedly was.

“someone has to actually watch the store.” now, that one was delivered with a touch more obvious, good-natured humor. lily leaned back in her chair, gaze momentarily falling back on her screen before once again settling on their eyes. “one of us has to be the robin in this steve-robin scenario and i’m willing to fill that role,” she quipped, never mind actually answering the question.

[lilyfeicosta]

callowayfox​:

          They didn’t miss the whole being a child actor thing and the meltdown that had happened because of it. He didn’t like people who knew about his time on Broadway asking about it, so he always felt a bit better when he brought it up. They weren’t here to bond with people though, not really. Things were already complicated as was. Having to deal with people just seemed like a lot these days. Cal was very ready to get out of New York for a bit and maybe do some acting or make a career in Los Angeles. He really didn’t know yet. That was what he was doing here for now. Trying to find something or somewhere to go. 

          There was always a bit of anxiety dealing with people. The problem was that Calloway wanted to please people. He wanted more than anything to be able to go into every conversation and have a person like them, though it wasn’t always easy or possible. It was a bit obvious what had given it away, so he just shrugged. Anxiety bubbling up that he wasn’t liked. “No, it’s not often I come across someone with any sort of similar accent.”  Not that his was similar at all. Cal had only lived in Australia long enough to pick up the accent. Then they were on to the next place. 

—

for a couple of seconds, lily stalled. expression blank, eyelids only blinking back at him. fairly enough, that was practically her neutral expression, anyway. though, this time, it came as a reaction to a sudden processing of thought. the line of thought being something along the lines of, not often hearing any sort of similar accent, not many—if any—other people from australia, perhaps nate’s own accent had lessened over the years, i wonder if and-or when i’ll come across him, i’d perhaps reach out if it hadn’t been years or no-contact and i was averse to cuddly reunions on a fundamental level. all in two, perhaps three, blinks of the eye.

her mind was akin to a computer processor in that way.

on the outside, however, the moment passed and she offered a slight grin and shrug. “their loss.” lily’s weight then shifted from one leg to the other, eyes pouring over the other and their books. “you all good to go? no shoe laces to trip over or obstacles in your path that’d cause a repeat? the books don’t deserve that.”

[lilyfeicosta]

kingwilder​:

          He was one of those people that preferred to spend his time off campus away from everyone. It was easier to study in a busy coffee shop than it was studying in the library. When it was quiet his thoughts tended to spiral and he didn’t like it that much when there was a missing person on campus. Wilder gathered all his books and found himself driving away from campus and all the bullshit going on there. He wanted everything to go back to normal. The fun chaos of campus and not everyone freaking out over the weirdness that was dealing with. What he didn’t expect getting to the coffee shop was for there to be as many people as there were there. Wilder couldn’t find a single seat that was open for him to sit. However, he spotted a table towards the corner with a few people that looked like they were about to get up from. The second he got there though, they stopped cleaning up and one went to order more coffee.

          “Bullshit,” he muttered under his breath, awkwardly standing there for a second. He barely noticed someone in the corner until he heard the words. Wilder, annoyed at the other group, sat down at the chair. “Thanks. Do you mind if I take out about fifty books?” It wasn’t that many, but it was more than he really wanted to read. 

—

the other’s comment instantly caused lily’s gaze to flicker upward through her lashes, though her chin remained in its tilted position. “only if you stack them all, one on top of the other,” she quipped with a speed that suggested that premonitions might be real and she’d had one of that very question several minutes ago. “i want to see what number you can get to before they all come crashing down around us like ungodly chunks of hail.” only then did her eyes seek out a book bag, backpack, or horse-drawn carriage that’d suggest a realistic number of books to expect.

#wilder

[lilyfeicosta]

aletheapierce​:

caffeine, that was what alethea needed. her mother would call her dependent, her father would call her human. but it was this compulsion that lead alethea off campus and toward a local cafe. at least in the hopes of avoiding some college congestion and faces, they were sorely disappointed to see the exact opposite. it seemed everyone’s addiction kicked in around the same time - this would be the third or fourth cup of the day for alethea but it was a necessity. 

they had originally planned to spend a bit of time at the cafe, in hopes of maybe enjoying the cup instead of just sucking it down, but it seemed like that hope was out of reach with how crowded it was. until a foot poked out, indicating to a free chair. alethea gave a smile and settled into it, clutching her drink close to her as she took in the scenery. “seems like you had the right idea.” they spoke nonchalantly, taking a cautious sip. finally they got a good look at the other. “hey, you’re on the dance team right?” they were familiar enough that alethea figured casual conversation wasn’t that out of turn. 

—

lily responded to the other’s comment with an amused hum, line of sight still trained on her laptop screen. though, her lips had curled up slightly in an expression that indicated polite amusement. or, at least, that was her intention. it wasn’t that she was ignoring the person that now occupied the seat across from her, nor was she annoyed at their decision to talk once they’d settled into the chair. sure, lily wasn’t exactly warm—she had edges that people didn’t particularly love to cuddle up to—but she wasn’t rude. not without reason. in truth, she was merely focused. the part of her awareness that’d briefly spread to her greater surroundings was already diminishing—zeroing back in on her work.

at least, until they spoke up again. at least the question explained the lengthy staring. for the first time, lily cast a fixed look at her, scanning for recognition. “i am,” she confirmed once minor remembrance had flickered within her like a small flame. at that, her hand rose to take off her sunglasses, placing them atop the table. “and you’re... a dance major? or minor?” while lily wasn’t majoring in it herself, she was currently taking a class in the department. surprisingly, with her scholarship, it was less expensive than outside dance classes. if she was remembering correctly, that’s where they’d shared space previously.

#alethea

[lilyfeicosta]

dragged-to-hell​:

Dorian tried to go to the library and study, but suddenly he started sneezing like crazy. He lasted a total of fifteen minutes before deciding something was wrong, and head out to a nearby cafe. Maybe he’d gotten a cold, or even allergies. The timing was so bad, that his mom called him right when he’d gotten into the crowded cafe, trying to get good wi-fi and a hot beverage. 

— Thanks. — He replied the person in English, proceeding to continue his conversation with his mom in Portuguese. 

He tried to speak lower, so he wouldn’t bother people around him, but it was hard to hear what she was saying on the other side of the line. His mother’s patience lasted even less than his time in the library, and decided to call him some other time. 

— You’re a life saver, thank you so much. — Dorian turned to the person, trying to retrieve his laptop from his backpack and settle it on the table. And then, he sneezed again. Three times in a row. That was the breaking point to retrieve the mask he bought on the drugstore, disgruntled. — Fuck. 

—

though her gaze remained down on her work, lily’s ears practically perked up at the sound of another language. she didn’t always offer up the information first thing, but she was actually had quite the knack for polyglotism. languages. they came to her like music tended to—the cadence, the notes, the rhythm. all dialed into her head with relative ease, her standard way of processing things leaning on analytical. portuguese, however, she wasn’t too familiar with. while the pads of her fingers continued to type at her keyboard, some stray part of her mind lingered on the words, seeing if she could make out one or two. no dice.

it almost didn’t register to lily when the stranger turned their attention—their voice—back to her. “hm?” she hummed, looking back at them. then, just as quickly, “right. sure thing.” it was no bother to her, so long as he didn’t turn out to be an overeager frat boy, religious solicitor, or... obviously sick. or, maybe not sick, but having some sort of reaction to something. perhaps herself. it wouldn’t exactly shock her. however, to her relief, the other was quick to pull out a mask, lily relaxing back into her seat. “let me guess, you just breached the containment facility?”

#dorian

[lilyfeicosta]

anxhoredheart​:

    when it was her && greer - a phrase that minnie liked to believe was meant to follow her for life, there was rarely a struggle to find a spot to sit. chairs would open up, and waves from various friends && associates would beckon them over. usually, minnie && greer could float between three tables at the cafe as she made her rounds, best friend in stride. today, however… minnie had been late. late with everything, it seemed - late to rise, late to shower && change, even late to skip the worst of the line for an overpriced coffee that made her cringe as she shelled out the dollars. 

   to her luck, rescue came in an unfamiliar package, and the chair offered to her lightly bumped into her bare knees, the skirt she’d hurriedly thrown on just kissing the edge of her thighs. “oh… oh, thanks,” minnie blinked, eyeing the girl as she waited for a name to come to mind – but faltering when it didn’t, she sat down with a tight smile and quickly closed her lips around the straw of her vanilla dirty chai. a beat of silence weighed heavy on her; minnie used to rely on greer, but in the days spawning on && she remained absent, it had forced her to push her charismatic traits a little harder. “i should’ve gotten a muffin, but there is no way i’m getting back in that line. you were smart to get here when you did, you know - hard luck for a refill, though, huh?”

—

“mhm,” lily hummed in response, eyes flickering upward just long enough to gage whether or not the person she’d offered the seat to was familiar. the odds weren’t great, what with her perhaps knowing somewhere between six and ten students by name at this point, but what the hell, she was in the market for a couple friends. remembering someone’s name got you pretty far in the early stages of acquaintanceship, after all. only, as her eyes brushed over the other, not a hint of recognition registered within her. luckily, it seemed as though the though was mutual, lily catching their own brief scan.

“yeah.” the agreeance was met with a quiet breath of a laugh, her gaze briefly meeting her laptop screen before floating upwards. “we’re better off door dashing something from a few miles away. muffin. pizza. rum.” lily’s mouth twitched into a grin,

#minnie

[lilyfeicosta]

montyrichler​:

As soon as an open hand was extended in his direction, Monty rushed to pull the power cord from his pocket. It took a little yanking and some detangling, but he handed over one end to Lily, plugging the other neatly into the charging port of his laptop. He waited with bated breath to see if the battery light would turn on, head cocked to the side at an awkward angle until it finally did just that, flashing white a few times before flipping to a steady orange. Success! His laptop would live to see another day.

Monty grinned as he relaxed back into the chair, officially settling in for the long haul that’d most likely include pretending to study and probably wasting another seven bucks on an overpriced coffee drink. “Well,” he started to answer Lily, meeting her gaze over the rim of her sunglasses with a one-shouldered shrug, “it was the middle of the night when ol’ Bessie croaked and I was alone in my room, so I was only wearing boxers and a t-shirt. Not exactly formal attire.” He forced a regretful frown onto his lips that only lasted for a few seconds. Monty reached for his latte and gave a thoughtful hum. “You know, I was imagining something more along the lines of Snow Patrol. Chasing Cars maybe? If I lay here, If I just lay here…” Quietly and entirely off-key, he made a joking attempt at singing one of the world’s most clichéd songs. He didn’t try for long, though, trailing off just as quickly as he lost track of the lyrics, grin sliding back into place. “Obviously, I’ll have to get your number and give you a ring when I finally nail down the dates for the celebration of life. It’s gonna be a very classy affair,” Monty said, the furthest thing from serious as he quoted none other than Frank Reynolds.

—

a chortle met her throat, ol’ bessie the kind of thing someone named a strikingly intelligent killer whale with a revenge plan or an aging rescue horse who spent day in and day out roaming the pasture. then again, if lily had learned anything about monty in the very short time she’d known him, it was that he possessed a flair for the dramatics. not by way of the gossip queens and drama kings, though—perhaps that of the lovable court jester. he was proving to be quite the entertaining storyteller, she’d have to admit, should she be asked. at the mention of formal attire, her eyes flickered over his current outfit, or what she could see of it. a joking jab of some sort—something about how she’d be shocked to find out he owned anything you could label ‘formal’—slid against her teeth, only for lily to silently recognize that her own ensemble wasn’t exactly impressive. especially not compared to some of the more dressy students she’d seen back on campus. black sports bra, black biker shorts, white button-up. a lazy-but-just-put-together-enough outfit that’d been co-opted by off-duty models and athleisure brands alike. rather, she met his exaggerated frown with a subtle grin, brows raising as she spoke an apathetic, “tragic.”

monty’s song choice encouraged a groan, lily reaching up to place her sunglasses on the table. her disapproval needed to come through in the eyes. it wasn’t that it was a bad song. no song played on one tree hill was a bad song. it was just... uninspired. or, it would’ve been, had the suggestion been serious. “monty, are you being smooth?” a couple more notches of amusement registered in her expression, lily now moving to lean back in her seat. “was that a line? and during funeral talk?” tsk tsk. “though, i can’t blame you. i look great in black. not much of a crier, though.”

[lilyfeicosta]

ironlvngs​:

     the reference brings a small grin to his lips, settling in the chair in front of her. “ well i’m terribly sorry that i missed that. ” he teases back, taking another look around the coffee shop — a place that’s been dubbed as a study hub for the students of ogden was now the opposite of that, with the loud chatter and voices, and the bodies all over the place. “ safe to say this is the last time i’ll be pretending i’m in a coming of age movie by trying to get work done in a coffee shop. it’s not as nice as the internet romanticizes it to be, is it ? ”

—

“you do that often? pretend you’re in a movie as a motivator?” lily reached up to bring her sunglasses to sit atop her head, chin then going to rest in her palm. the not-all-that-serious smile playing out on her lips perhaps indicating that she wasn’t actually looking for an answer. it’d been more of a taunt. taking the piss out of him, is all. should he say yes, however, she wouldn’t fault him. she’d, without a doubt, done much stranger. “not really,” she then answered, head shaking some. “i don’t know if the internet quite realizes that a lot of people like coffee. and have to get it somewhere.”

[lilyfeicosta]

callowayfox​:

          Cal tended to see the worst in situations, especially himself. Because he had driven so many people away and continued to do that. However, he knew that the things he did were… well, they took talent. Being able to walk in stilettos was a talent, especially for someone who somehow was as clumsy as he was. Cal was never quiet about what they were talented at. Being an actor was honestly not something that everyone could do. Although he wasn’t really acting anymore. Broadway felt like another lifetime ago because somehow it was. They weren’t acting anymore, they weren’t even thinking about going back to New York for it just yet.

          “Yeah. Well, I mean professionally I sing. Or did.” Cal shrugged. “Singing, dancing, acting. I used to be on Broadway until I decided to go to school.” Not the entire truth, but she didn’t need to know that. “Ah, so a woman of many talents,” they nodded. “That’s pretty cool though. And you’re Australian.” 

—

lily’s brows fleetingly knit together, the professional detail throwing her off a touch. had they simply meant that they, too, didn’t study singing or music at school? was that... particular detail entirely necessary? though, as the fellow classmate continued on to provide more context, namedropping broadway—placedropping?—she got the sense that they were the type to bring it up when given the chance. fair on them, it was something to be proud of, though lily wasn’t all that eager to go into shock over it. not that she reacted that way to much of, well, anything.

many talents. “yeah,” lily agreed, tone having deflated some over the last ten or so seconds. though, she couldn’t suppress the chuckle that left her at cal’s additional comment. she’d anticipated this—the whole accent thing being everyone’s initial go-to comment—but seeing as cal seemed to carry one of his own, it hadn’t come off nearly as groan-inducing. random, sure, but no harm in that. transplants tended to bond over this sort of thing, that she knew. “what gave it away?” sarcasm, clearly, though it lacked bite. more playful than anything. “don’t get many of us non-americans around campus, do they?”

[lilyfeicosta]

mee-noi-boi​:

Since Oran awoke, he’d been scrambling to make up for the schedule he’d fallen behind by two and a half hours. He knew he should have turned down Kian’s impulsive invitation last night, and just as he suspected he ended up being up to no good. Oran didn’t want to be responsible for the havoc the brunette man would have wrecked unattended, and thus he ended up going out anyway. For the greater good, of course. He hadn’t expected to get home so late, and he cursed himself for not having watched the time better.

As if a lack of sleep wasn’t bad enough, Oran slept through his 6:30 am alarm, which he hadn’t done since his preteen’s. His outfit was completely wrong today, and even his hair wasn’t parting the way he wanted it to. Coffee was essential though, and thus he bit the bullet and went in the cafe knowing it was bound to be a shitshow. It was simple to say, he was cranky this morning. He would have retreated to the library or his dorm, but that was at least a ten minute walk and he couldn’t afford that time right now.

An unfamiliar voice caught his attention, one that belonged to a slender girl with dark hair. He observed her kindness with reservation, as if hesitant to believe a stranger would be so willing to sacrifice their personal comfort. He tipped his head to hair, and placed his coffee across from hers. “Thank you,” only a quiet utterance while he stripped off so book-bag and hung it neatly across the back of his chair. “I promise not to disturb your work,” he said amiably. He stole a glance at her setup, wondering what held her focus so intensely. Then, his lips curled in a congenial smile, before he dipped his head toward his bag, fingers ruffling through a file accordion to pull out the previous week’s lecture notes.

—

“mhm,” lily hummed in response. a low-effort you’re welcome or sure thing, line of sight still trained on her laptop screen. by then her leg had already returned to its original resting place—crossed over its opposite—as though the entire interaction was hardly a distraction. because, well, it was. or, rather, wasn’t. it took little to no effort for the young woman’s thoughts to split off in two directions; the first remaining on what she’d been doing, while the other took note of the crowded café and patron in distress.

and, for a moment, she thought that was it. because, why wouldn’t it be? the stranger—brunette, at least half a foot taller than her, judging by what little she could collect in one short glance—began setting their things down and the two would go on with whatever they had each came here to do. only, another quick comment then slipped from the other’s lips and, in truth, lily just couldn’t resist. “isn’t it ironic? to say you won't disturb my work while disturbing my work.” even as she said it, tone a touch teasing in nature, her gaze stayed put. an odd combination of cues. however, a small, playful smile had taken hold of her lips, potentially teetering the entire comment more towards lightheartedness. it grew in the following beat, lily looking up at them. “kidding.”

#oran

[lilyfeicosta]

“I can see your nipples through your shirt” first of all stop being ungrateful.

#muse

[lilyfeicosta]

ironlvngs​:

     he would have preferred to finish his work back in the solitude of his own room, but kian was being a lot more… kian than usual, and he couldn’t really focus. it was either that, or they knew they’d end up fooling around with him instead of doing work, just knowing that he was there. so, they grabbed their shit and landed on the nearest coffee shop, which to his luck, was filled to the brim with people. was this a sign that he should just take the day off and get high instead ? 

     just as he was about to lose hope and do exactly that, lily had gotten his attention, offering them a seat at her table. sure, lily and link had gotten quite used to each other during their shifts at the record store, but he never really hung out with her outside of work. can’t be so different, can it ? he takes the offered seat, dropping his laptop down in front of him. “ who did you have to strangle to find a cozy spot like this, then ? ” they begin to tease, raising his brows at her. 

—

though she could place who they were instantly, there was no sign of it in her tone. or, perhaps, the way with which she didn’t falter or hesitate or, really, react, was a sign of the exact opposite—of smooth recognition, of familiarity. no sense of being startled or surprised. though, there’d been no instant jump in enthusiasm, either. which, given, was only typical for lily. the fact that her reaction hadn’t been the opposite was, come to think of it, quite the compliment.

“oh, just seven evil patrons,” she quipped with a slight and momentary raise of her brows, making some sort of half-assed scott pilgrim reference. she then looked over her laptop and back at them, gauging their reaction with a straight face. “got the second chair for doing a spontaneous performance of black sheep. it was a whole thing, should’ve been here.”

#link

[lilyfeicosta]

n8-shaw​:

Nate was weaving through the tables in the cafe, a cup of coffee perched into his hand as he tried to find a spot to sit. It was insanely crowded, each full table he passed causing the scowl on his face to deepen, glad that with a ball cap and sunglasses on most of his expression was hidden. Not that he actually cared at all. It was just easier to pretend that he didn’t see anyone when they couldn’t tell where he was looking. Easiest way to hide in plain sight. 

As he slipped between another table, his eyes settled on a dark haired girl sitting by herself, nearly doing a double take. He froze, standing right in front of his table with his lips slightly parted, shock written all over his face. She didn’t even look up as she offered the seat across from her, Nate unable to confirm what was clearly sitting right in front of him, clearing his throat before he dared to speak. “Lil?” 

—

despite her offer, the shadow remained cast over a portion of her table. for a few seconds, lily simply elected to ignore it. consider it her one do-good act of the day denied. no sweat off her back. only, it was quite the odd reaction. she hadn’t even been given the grace of them walking away out of sheer awkwardness, let alone voicing a no, thank you. to continue standing there, right in front of her, was weird, but she’d witnessed far weirder. like the one bar patron back home that thought it was smart to get in her face, or the fellow dancer that kept shoving in front of her in an attempt to get more tips.

or, a six-foot-one-hundred nate shaw, back from the abyss that was the states. well, technically, it was her that was back. or, not back, but here. arrived. a transplant like him, though much more fresh. okay, so she’d finally looked up, but who else at ogden had gained enough comfort with her to call her lil? that’s right, nobody.

“little fish?” she asked back, immediately drawing on the silly nickname she’d branded him with as a mouthy child. she squinted behind her sunglasses, as if she could see through his own. it was a funny thing—the two of them, wearing sunglasses in doors, trying to discern if they really were who they thought each-other to be. realizing this, lily reached up to take hers off, setting them on the table without her eye-contact so much as flickering. a few thick, silent seconds passed between them before she scanned him over. “jesus christ, what’s in the water in long island? did they feed you growth hormones by the spoon-full or is this just a result of the american milk obsession?” her mouth twitched into a smile as the words tumbled from them.

#nate

[lilyfeicosta]

court-mills​:

“Foul beast?” Coco echoed as his eyes widened up at Lily from where she was standing on the shore, throwing his hands up dramatically. “As flattered as I am to be compared to a siren - foul? Really? You could’ve gone with mythical, divine, alluring. And you chose foul?” Court’s mock outrage didn’t last long, his cheeks twitching with the laughter he was trying to hold back as he shook his head at her. “Take that back or I’ll come up there and get you. And then we’ll see about never coming back out.” 

—

“foul,” she repeated, louder this time, the word slicing through the air like a chef’s knife. that is, if you thought the blade of a chef’s knife to possess just a hint of friendly amusement. “as in offensive to the senses,” lily continued, a single foot dragging along the shore in a grand, if not slightly lazy, rond de jambe. the motion dug a half-circle into the sand, arms still crossed over her chest in a mismatched stance. as if her legs had started moving of their own accord, without her acknowledgement. “offensive to my senses. as in, my sense of judgement. because i believe you when you say that.” an entertained smile began to tug at her lips, lily already taking a step backwards. preparing for flight, because she knew to fight meant she didn’t stand a chance. she’d be fish food by the time one could finish singing the chorus of my jolly sailor bold.