Text to Oliver

[nola_eleanor]

You never told me Sam has actual friends!

Cora -- Phoenix Effect

[nola_riley]

Charlie had moved. Onto a cloud. Please forward all her mail to Princess Charlotte Pierce, 1 Fluffy Cloud, Cloud Land. Ever since she and Harlow had kissed -- ever since Harlow had come home to her -- Charlie felt closer to understanding who she really was inside. You know, closer to answering the big questions like, who am I? What is the secret of life? Why wasn't she in love? (Spoiler: she was in love. With Harlow).

But it also meant that, from her cloud, from her new official position as a princess, she saw the people around her differently too. Cora, Charlie's closest friend after Harlow, felt like someone Charlie understood better now. Maybe this is what happened when you found your missing pieces: you saw the whole of other people more clearly.

Over hot chocolate with extra chocolate, and so many marshmallows, and a stack of cookies, Charlie was presiding. She and Cora had found the puffiest, snuggliest sofa, and were lounging there together, having woven through the crowd with their chocolatey spoils -- they hadn't lost a single crumb. It was perfect. "So," Charlie said, like they had been in the middle of a sentence even though they had just sat down together, "Love is amazing."

Oliver

[nola_cyclops]

Okay, typing out his feelings was one thing. Dealing with the reality of them -- the reality of Oliver -- was something else entirely. But the hard part was over, right? The words had been said. Now all that was left to do was live with them.

Yes, a million things could go wrong. A million things had already gone wrong. They frequently misunderstood each other. They were often not generous with each other; they seemed to never give each other the benefit of the doubt.

But Oliver had shown his hand, as it were, so what choice did Sam have but to lay all his cards (as it were) on the table? It was right and fair to meet in the middle. It was right and fair to be honest. It was a sign of integrity, and Sam believed himself to have integrity.

And now that Oliver had called Sam his big adventure, what else could Sam do? No one had ever seen him as anything close to an adventure. But deep, deep in the places where Sam could barely stand to look, he wanted that more than anything in the world. And he understood the feeling. Oliver thrilled him.

Sam opened his bedroom door and stood right inside it; when Oliver appeared, he reached out a hand to draw him close. "You big adventure?" he asked, because his brain was only thinking You're my big adventure, okay? over and over and over.

Elspeth -- at home

[nola_athena]

Elspeth's energy had been weird lately, and not Elspeth weird -- that weird was glorious. No, this was 'depressing playlist' weird. It was 'alarming amounts of fried food' weird. It was 'life is hopeless' weird. And Lucy was worried about her friend.

Their roommate situation was an agreeable, enjoyable -- even optimal -- one. Somehow, they had found a vibe where workaholic Lucy and party-first Elspeth could meet in the middle, share meals, and talk shit about whatever was on their minds. Sometimes, it was the only way Lucy could wind down and laugh again after tough days at work. She owed it Elspeth to give her back some happiness, if she could.

So Lucy ordered shrimp and salads and fries, and a lot of wine, and put a Vin Diesel movie on. "Okay bro," she said, comfortable in her silk pajama set and robe, her hair fluffy like a mane around her face, "Time to fix your weird aura."

Mina

[nola_rorygilmore]

Spending a day with his sister getting to know kittens? What a good idea. The Wagners were a close brood, but Mina and Ansel -- the quieter Wagners -- had a particular bond, and sometimes, with Mina, Ansel felt like he was fully himself and finally understood. It was hard to explain, but Ansel's more competitive edges softened around Mina; and Mina sharpened around Ansel. They met each other on a specific level. It was why Ansel wasn't really in a rush to explore the world. He had his family, and his music, and his Mina time.

Okay, so there was tug inside of him calling for more, but for now, what could be more or better than kittens? The bonded pair had seemed to choose the two Wagners, talking to the insistently and persistently, coming back for more scritches, looking over at them and tracking their movements.

And so now for the task of settling them in at home, introducing them to one room before unveiling the entirety of their new kingdom. Ansel had brought supplies --celery sticks and hummus -- and was dangling a string for a kittens to bat. "I'm so in love with them already," he told Mina, even though it was obvious.

Text to Elspeth

[nola_quicksilver]

Okay, so I talked to Sam and the update is that he's my boyfriend now and I take back everything bad I ever said about him. Thanks for telling me about his friend, you're the best!

Elena -- early morning run

[nola_buffy]

It wasn't even light yet when Carrie stretched her arms above her head. But it was kind of beautiful here, out front at the Phoenix Effect, this part of the world stumbling its way into morning. She knew how it felt. The air on her face was a little bracing, but good. Life-affirming. Something in Carrie came alive when she was moving, when she was running or dancing. Her mom used to joke that Carrie had been a ballerina in a past life, always jumping and leaping, but Carrie thought maybe she had been a sprinter, a hurdler, maybe even a martial artist. She felt the earth in a very particular way. Not that she would ever say that to anyone out loud. And anyway, she was a skater.

But she was happy to have made a new friend, especially a morning run friend. Coffee shop internet had its perks, apparently. When Elena approached, Carrie smiled warmly at her. "Hi lady. Ready to force ourselves to exercise?"