siljaspence

[siljaspence]

"mm," silja hummed, considering how to respond to nat's question. her eyes then flit to the ceiling as she decidedly answered with, "often enough that i expect it, but not so often that i've grown to resent it." then, after a pause, she added, "sorry if the explanation was totally obnoxious." her brows rose with humor, not entirely serious and not really suspecting that nat had taken it that way. still, the apology seemed like something the other might appreciate.

natalia. the name stuck with her through nat's explanation and anecdote. it was beautiful and unsuspecting, hidden behind a snappier nickname. "dammit," silja groaned lightly, "i'm sure you get that all the time." she paused, chin coming to a tilt. "the natalie thing, not the gnat thing. tell your brothers they're wrong, i couldn't see someone trying to swat you away—even if we were threatening violence all of three minutes ago."

"Silja."

The name was repeated in an almost reverent sort of whisper. Honestly, she hadn't even meant to speak it aloud, she was just taken aback by how pretty the name was. Like an FMC name, not a run of the mill book shop run-in.

Wait, that sounded like a meet cute.

Nat blinked and refocused, smiling prettily. "That's a really pretty name. I think I've changed my stance on nicknames, we're back to government names, no take backs. Do people ask you where it came from a lot?" She figured as much with the explanation she hadn't asked for (but appreciated all the same).

An amused breath left her and she shook her head. "No, it's Natalia, actually. But honestly, so many people growing up called me Natalie that it might as well be my name. Anytime someone asked what Nat was short for, my brothers used to say it was short gnat with a g. Like those tiny annoying bugs that buzz around your face but you can never get rid of. Pretty valid of them, actually."

[siljaspence]

baby what? silja didn't pick up on the reference, but chuckled as though she knew what he was talking about. then, she repeated the name in her head so she could look it up later.

freddie observed her and a familiar jolt of nerves shot through her chest. only, there was nothing to be nervous about, right? clearly, greer hadn't smeared her before disappearing. if she had, silja was sure he would've just walked in the opposite direction. yet, there they both stood, each studying each-other with questions unsaid—until freddie ended up pressing. he'd always been one for fun and jokes, but not one for bullshit. she could only stall for so long.

it was probably better to just tell him off the bat, anyway. no cat and mouse play. "i transferred—to ogden." her smile and eyes widened. "yeah, starting next semester, right after winter break. but they invited me to thanksgiving, so i decided to come out early. gain my footing." she shrugged. "so, unless it's as bad as they say, i guess i'll be here a while."

lips pull together to make a face as he nods sarcastically. “you’re baby reindeer-ing me? makes sense.” a beat. “always knew how to stay on top of a trend.” then, his head tilts to the side as his grin slowly widens, looking at her as if he's trying to figure out or wondering if there even is anything to figure out. maybe it's just the initial surprise of seeing someone you never thought you'd see again, especially not here. like he's watching a rogue planet fall into their orbit, crossing into their paths as they circle an empty space where the light once shone, even if it's just for a night. maybe it doesn't have to be a bad thing. in fact, he's grateful for the familiar face that's not tethered to ogden. “nah, seriously. what're you doing here? how long you are you here for?”

[siljaspence]

sid and the—seriously? silja stifled a chuckle, surprised that real people in real life named their very real bands in the same manner that movie characters did. then again, maybe that was the entire point. to come off so egregious it was actually iconic. or maybe sid just wanted an excuse to make fun of his bandmates on the regular.

silja nodded as though committing the name to memory, looking back at the band for a few seconds. a couple of them were good-looking, it wasn't surprising they'd amassed at least one pretty fan. "are you familiar with most of the bands playing tonight?" she asked, looking back at the other briefly. very i'm-totally-splitting-my-time-respectfully-and-still-paying-attention-to-the-performance.

Inspiration came in all different forms, so Rhia paid respect to her intuition when it came to exploring her creative freedom. These artists were strangers, but through their music Rhia felt she knew them intimately. That was the thrill of it all - the relationship between performer and their crowd. A single audience member and their idol. It was sacred, akin to a god and their worshipers. Rhia was by no means competitive, but scoping out the competition made it a significantly less daunting task to outshine their asses. She was particularly excited for this set, because she'd had a sort of fling with their grungy bassist. "Are you kidding me?!" she answered her neighbor in hushed exasperation. "That's Sid and the Dirty Sock Monkeys! Not too bad? They're amazing," mostly the cute bassist. Maybe she was a little biased.

[siljaspence]

the urge for her eyes to widen, taken aback some by ollie's immediate warmth and enthusiasm, was suppressed. with the on-campus thanksgiving and some wonderings about town, silja had met a solid handful of her future fellow-students; none of which had carried this sort of energy upon meeting a total stranger. none until now.

slija nodded at the drink offer, but didn't so much as glance behind the bar as ollie continued to speak. even if she was desperate for one, she wouldn't make it look like it.

"different how?" she prompted, sidestepping his question. intrigue lifted her brows, an already fascinated grin turning up the corners of her lips. ollie seemed like an easy talker and she'd indulge the hook he'd lowered in front of her.

"It's nice to meet you!" He said, "and thanks for the drink. Do you want something? Oh, let me get you my favorite! It'll be like a return for the favor." As if he hadn't just outwardly had a horrible reaction to what he'd just drunk.

"Soooo, new to town, or school?" Ollie asked. "Not that it really matters to me." He hung out off campus more often than the average student did in fact. "Just that I think someone who just arrived at school, and someone who just moved into town are in for two completely different experiences at his point." But he was sure that someone who had just transferred to Ogden was probably aware of that. Hopefully, anyway.

[siljaspence]

silja nodded at the new information, eyes casting a glance outside as if she knew where rumi cafe was. she was good at tucking feathers of information into her proverbial hat, though, so tucked the tidbit went.

when she looked back, the line moved up a couple steps. silja followed suit, mostly expecting that to be the end of their conversation. however, the stranger looked around her own age—and when you saw an obviously well-off, good-looking young adult around town, it was more likely than not they attended ogden. maybe she could turn this around.

"good to know. thanks," silja offered, even though the comment came off less like a benevolent gesture and more like a means to direct her elsewhere. "you must know all the ins and outs. are you an ogden student?"

Gen tilted her head, maybe she was new? She thought that most people had worked out most of the Ogden hotspots or at least the place to get decent food in like the first week of semester. Yes, Gen would turn up her nose at the dining hall on the regular but it was dining hall food of course she would. "Depends what you want," Gen conceded "Rumi Cafe does god awful coffee but the pastries are okay, most of the time,"

[siljaspence]

"silja." the introduction left her as both arms came to wrap around her newly acquired book. one, if she were being completely honest, she hadn't originally intended on purchasing, let alone locating. now, however, it was tucked firmly within her grasp and would soon find a place with her things. she might even read it again—she did love abigail, after all.

"it's like the finnish version of cecilia." the explanation followed with speed, as though silja had given it countless times. "and we can keep the nickname going," she added with a chuckle, "even if nat is cool enough as is. short for... natalie?"

Nat shifted the books in her arms to adjust for the loss of the one she'd handed over. It was only once the hand off was complete that she wondered why she'd folded so easily. That book had been one she wanted, more or less. Was it a gross character flaw that she saw a pretty girl and immediately wanted to be liked by her? Probably. But it was done now and she'd likely forget all about the book once she had her nose pressed into another. She was nothing if not a book slut.

She smiled, bright and open. "I'm Nat. Though I feel like generous benefactor has a nice ring to it. Kind of rolls off the tongue, doesn't it? And who is my benefactee?"

[siljaspence]

oh, this girl was good. the polite and respectable response slipped from her with so much apparent ease that silja almost believed it. she was almost afraid of having said the wrong thing, stepped over the line. almost—the other had been pounding champagne not a minute prior, after all. that didn't quite fit with the whole we're-all-just-really-happy-to-be-here messaging.

still, silja offered a standard-enough nod, looking back at her. "right," she said, tone riding on a hint of theatrical playing-along. "so you wouldn't want to slip away from the dean with the excuse of giving me a mini tour of the building, then."

“What gave it away?” Mari asked with a raise of her eyebrows, the slightest lift of the corners of her lips accompanying the otherwise innocent appearing question she posed. Perhaps if those roles were reserved…but no, instead she was stuck talking to people that even if they were flirting, even if she was interested in flirting back, she couldn’t. A lovely reminder that had her glass lifted to her lips again, Mari holding back the sour look that threatened to cross her face by sipping from it again - a more publicly respectable amount this time, at least. 

Her eyes followed the other girl’s around the room, taking in the family members and classmates who had attended, her shoulders shrugging up. “Of course not,” she said, though it was an unfortunate hitting the nail on the head of why she was there. “We have a close knit community here,” she said, parroting the lines that the dean had been saying all night. “Besides who wants to miss an event with an open bar?” At least that one was her own thought. Hadn’t been entirely brainwashed yet.

[siljaspence]

the young woman—whose name she noted she still didn't know—was funny. comical, in a biting sort of way. silja chuckled at her podcast jab, an obvious enough yes, then turned back towards the bar to retrieve her drink. finally. she should've been more consistent, falling off after starting with a shot, but the internal advisement of good behavior had deterred her.

her first sip was a relief.

"hm," silja hummed and the glass away from her lips, "sounds kinky." at that, she nodded away from the bar, suggesting they take a few steps out of the way before doing so. "and if there's any deadly sin a university actually is, it's lust." holding her drink out some, she added. "cheers to that."

"One question, right off the bat -" she says, taking another swig from her drink. If she's quick to swallow, she can hardly taste the rancid tones of nail varnish and poor filtration. "You're not a podcaster, right?" That was, currently, the only reason Heni could think of why someone might feasibly pick Ogden. Glory hunting.

"Maybe we're all just gluttons for punishment," she retorts with a shrug. She'd asked herself the same question, over and over again. Before Greer had left, it had been this: why follow Greer here? And once she had gone, it had morphed into this: why remain here? It was like Ogden had a gravitational pull all on its own.

[siljaspence]

despite being in apparent conversation, freddie held her gaze without a hint of shame. it was undoubtedly funny and silja couldn't quite subdue the chuckle that rose in her throat. then, just as she was about to check out of the unreal moment—leave it to be something she'd convince herself she imagined later that night—he stepped around the other and head in her direction. she brought her drink to her lips, gaze fixed with a confidence that contradicted a series of heart palpitations. the last time she'd seen him was with greer—right?

"oh, i'm stalking you," she replied in a sort of signature silky tone. "yeah, i've been keeping major tabs. following the life of the party." a grin broke out across her lips.

they've been here before. catching each other from across the room. music bouncing off the walls, surrounded by bodies to fill the space, with the new york city skyline as the back drop, the world feeling just light enough to fit inside the palm of their hand. they have, probably, only known each other here.

so, he stared. head canted to the side, peering behind the person who'd been boring the life out of him. lips twist with incredulity, as his view comes into focus. then, once he's sure it's her, he smiles back. he couldn't remember how they first met, nor could he remember when they last spoke. but that wasn't important.

are you listening? they ask. uh... no, i'll catch you later. he steps around them and makes his way to silja spence. this feels strangely nostalgic.

"do i even wanna know?" what you're doing here, he says, by way of a greeting, with a boyish smirk. "it's been a while, spenny."

[siljaspence]

silja placed a sliver of an elbow atop the bar and looked back at the second boy. he was brusque, even if composed enough to fit in, and opinionated, even if a bit quiet. interesting. "is your opinion more trustworthy?" she questioned with a small smile and tilt of her head. "that'd make you a student here, right?" while some students were recognizable whether or not you attended ogden, others came down to context and guesswork. notably, on days like today.

noticing the bartender over her shoulder, silja turned to face them. "shot of tequila and a whiskey sour." one part fun, one part sophisticated. a smidge risky without being full-on party girl. for a moment she glanced back at the two young men. "actually, three shots."

once they got to it, she turned back towards the brother—brother? they looked like brothers—who'd last spoken. "i'd imagine you have a breezy time at these things. does getting hit on my all the moms just get too obnoxious, or...?" her tone was light, but not entirely unserious.

Nate snorted as he signaled to the bartender for a drink, wanting hard liquor and not feeling particularly picky towards what sort in the slightest. He didn’t particularly want to third wheel Liam trying to pick up someone’s sister - that was none of his business - but he didn’t dare leave him unattended, not trusting his brother for a single second. He was sure Liam would have some sort of smooth answer, Nate shaking his head as he glanced at him - glared, really - before shifting the weight of his gaze towards the girl. "Don't listen to whatever he's saying," he said, cutting Liam off. "It's the latter."

[siljaspence]

if silja had walked in a pace or two slower, she would've been well aware that she was lining up behind malibu barbie. the blonde stood out among the humdrum of the bustling juice shop—and it wasn't just because silja had bumped into her. there were distinct differences between people who spent most of their time on the west coast, east coast, or in-between and she was willing to bet already that the blonde fell into the former.

"fair point," silja shrugged, "but i also couldn't tell you where the next food spot was, so the choice was more or less made for me."

Gen was a normal girl who did normal things, like going for a juice after a spin workout.

She found a lot of safety in the routine of it even if she could never express why and it was a great way to avoid people, sprinkling the Valley girl into her accent as she said "Oh no I can't, I have a spin class."

She'd spent far too much time picking out a juice that would go well on her carefully curated instagram feed and was planning on spending her entire time in line thinking of caption ideas. At least until someone ran into the back of her, "Watch it, please," Gen said, a touch of ice hitting the last word as she turned around. "I mean is it surprising?" Gen asked with an eyebrow raise "You're in here too,"

[siljaspence]

silja's mind sounded off with a ding. a sort of score for having made a comment that was right on the money as opposed to a total disaster. though, to be fair, she couldn't imagine someone—even on first glance—having likened the redhead to the little mermaid or scooby doo's daphne. in any case, she nodded in agreement, as though blending in to an extent hadn't aided her in countless scenarios.

"do you know everyone else that comes to this salon?" she asked, an amused grin pulling at her lips. what? the girl opposite her had a sort of edge. it was fun.

charlie did not like to wait. but she also did not like to think ahead, and those two traits frequently fed into each other. like on days like today, where even though dikomio normally booked appointments months in advance, they'd grudgingly agreed to get her in for an appointment if she'd just wait about an hour. as always, when charlie groaned, the receptionist politely reminded her she was more than welcome to make an appointment in advance.

she declined.

but she perked up with the compliment. "jessica rabbit was literally on my inspo board. she's my hero." she was being completely sincere; professional sexy lady with a goofy rich husband who was completely obsessed with her? charlie was seeing her future. "i used to be blonde, but don't you just feel like everyone is going blonde these days? and god help me if i ever look just like everyone else." she looked silja up and down, hardly subtle about it. "i don't know you." at least she didn't remember meeting her - charlie had said the same to several people she'd met multiple times.

[siljaspence]

a plucky laugh followed the other's apparent disgust. silja had figured that, at this point, most students who'd been at ogden for the last three years, one year, six months would grow to harbor a distaste towards it. the thought hadn't deterred her. "please, i wish," she answered, amused, "at least that way i could come in with a little entertainment." silja got the impression the girl in front of her wouldn't be put off by such a comment.

"no, many would argue it's just the best school in the states. despite its new shifty record." that much was true. despite the drama, it was heralded as a top-tier university. and, well, it was good enough for the likes of the morrison kids, so... "i imagine that's why so many of you have stayed." well, that and shared trauma. who else in the world could understand what they've been through?

Heni enjoys this - enjoys the sensation of not being known. The feeling of being a stranger to someone. People tended to have her down to rights well before ever speaking to her. It was the association with Greer, who her mother was, that created this sense of lore. Heni was never just Heni. She was always someone's friend, someone's daughter, an extension of someone else. Whether she was worthwhile in isolation seemed to be up in the air on most days.

When the other mentions being a transfer, Heni can't help but grimace. Sure, a transfer out would make sense. It had been a possibility that had crossed her mind - the thought of getting out from under G was a prospect that held a certain sense of allure. "You're transferring? Here?" She lets out a short bark of a laugh, shorthand for: good fucking luck. "Is the Dean blackmailing you? Is that why?"

[siljaspence]

the stranger's instant disgust made her laugh; one of those chuckles that came so quickly it couldn't be suppressed. it might've come off rude to some—and silja momentarily braced herself for retaliation at her minor slip-up—but his more than equally matched humor eased her worry immediately.

then, he kept going. talkative, she noted after his couple of tips. talkative was good, it meant more listening and less coming up with on her end. it gave her more to go off of. the quiet, stoic types—or worse, the faux polite types—were so much harder to gauge. silja nodded as though considering the advice and gave the bartender another fleeting glance. maybe she'd test it out later. "ollie," she spoke aloud with a nod, committing to memory. "i did, just the other week. which explains why i haven't bagged the bartender yet." she then motioned to herself. "silja."

Ollie wasn't a drinker. Not a big one anyway. Take him to a party and give him a cup with something overly sweet in it and he'd hold onto that all night. It didn't mean he didn't go to bars. But he was there to indulge in a different bad habit he'd sworn off of on New Years Eve last year, indicated by the re-downloaded apps on his phone. Monty was out of the picture. Milo was out of the picture. Link was out of the picture now too. So, if he wanted a distraction in the form of something … phallic, he was going to have to go back to the tried and true method.

Tried and true method of being fucking ghosted, because this guy was supposed to show up about an hour ago, and yet here Ollie was alone. Drinking someone else's drink, apparently. He gave a nod at the girl and downed the entire glass in one go with a grimace and a very emphatic, "ugh! Fuck." Then after a brief pause he gave a dry smile when he spoke again, "yep, good taste."

He waved his hand in the direction of the bar tender, "you know I heard the best way to get the bartender's attention is sit at the end of the bar looking super mysterious all night. Not stand-offish. Mysterious." There was a big difference, and if he wasn't going to get laid tonight someone had better. Might as well be this random girl next to him. "Or give her a really big tip. That helps too." Then he turned to the girl, looking her up and down. "I've never seen you before. I'm Ollie. Did you just move to town or something?" Not that he knew everybody, but… He did know a lot of people.

[siljaspence]

KELSEY MERRITT  @kelseymerritt  via instagram !

[siljaspence]

ah, brothers. which, not always, but in most cases meant a built-in knack for wit and physical self-defense. silja believed the other girl without qualm, raising both palms in admitted defeat. she hardly ever gave up a fight, but it was important to know when to let something go.

but, just then, she watched as the other reached into her stack and picked out the crucible. oh, she really did have it—and maybe the last one, after all. silja was momentarily impressed by her own judgement. "truce," she echoed as she closed the space between them. silja took hold of the book, gently sliding it from its previous grip while eyeing the girl for any hints of deception. "so, who's my generous benefactor?"

Nat's grin was wide and genuine, pleased to find someone to immediately match her energy. At the mention of her weapons, she glanced down at the books in her arms. "Oh, these?" She blew a raspberry, a full pffffft, and shrugged. "I grew up with four older brothers, I would say I probably don't need the weapons." Something feral glinted in her eye for only a moment, just a beat, and then it fell away, Nat reaching up with her free hand to pluck the book in question from the pile. "Buuuut, I spent a really long time brushing all the bumps out of my ponytail this morning so if it's all the same to you, maybe we could forgo the hair pulling?" She held out the book. "Truce?"

[siljaspence]

who: @genuptoncrane where: the juicery when: between thanksgiving and winter break

if someone took the famed hailey bieber smoothie and expanded it into an entire shop, it would be the juicery. not that silja had had it before. she hadn't even initially planned on stopping in, but a day of getting acquainted with the goings-on near campus had her dying for sustenance. she'd only intended to be out an hour or so—and that was three hours ago.

silja pulled her sunglasses up to rest on her head as she stepped inside, severely underestimating the length of the line and immediately bumping into someone. "shit," she muttered under her breath, glancing down for any damage out of habit before looking up at the other. "sorry. didn't expect a juice bar to be this packed. in winter." never mind the fact that she'd come inside under the same conditions.