#thread: topher and carrie

[cyberneticatoms]

WHERE: Metroplex General Hospital WHO: Carrie Bachman (@chaosandcrimson)

Topher was humming to himself, scribbling on a notepad before he heard shuffling, eyes flickering up at Carrie. He hadn't come alone once since she'd been in here, always with Andros and mostly letting his friend handle conversation. "Morning...or evening actually," he said glancing out the window, "Um..your siblings are downstairs with your folks grabbing dinner. I uh...do you want some water or anything? Can snag a nurse if you're hungry," he offered awkwardly shifting in his chair.

[solar-halos]

december prompt #5: music

a mayfair and lucy gray moment under the cut!

“Frosty the Snowman…”

No way this is the place Mayfair’s dad banned her from going. The Hob was dirty—it had to be, with all those coal miners packed together—and there was a lot of booze, but there was a literal child on stage.

“…was a jolly happy soul…”

That makes one of them. Topher Remel was her date for tonight, but she mostly used him as an excuse to get out of the house. Now that she’s actually at the Hob, she can release his sweaty hand and nudge his soaking wet cuff-link in the direction of the bar.

“Go get us a drink,” she tells him, even though she doesn’t care what he does. She slips into the crowd, ignoring his questions about where to find her. He’s been hounding her for this date for weeks, so he obviously likes a good chase. He’ll figure something out, like the big boy he is.

Or maybe he won’t. Again, Mayfair doesn’t actually care.

No one seems to recognize her, which is good. Maybe they’re too drunk, or maybe ratting her out to Dad would be more trouble than it's worth. Either way, Mayfair has to shove and elbow her way through the crowd to get a good seat.

She situates herself on a sticky barstool just in time to watch these Covey freaks erupt into some sort of dance break. The tiny girl on stage, who looks no more than eight, spins around so much and so fast it looks like she’s being carried away by the fluffy expanse of her electric blue dress.

“Oh, Frosty the Snowman…”

Mayfair wants to hate all this shit so, so badly. She wants their costumes to be too bright. Wants their music to be too pitchy. Wants the atmosphere to be as intoxicating as all the watered down piss-beer that’s being passed around.

“Catch me if you can!”

Well, it’s not. Their costumes float around them in fluffy clouds of rainbow sherbet. Their music is clear and comforting and soothing, like a warm shower. And Mayfair can feel herself getting drunk already, if the easy smile tugging at her lips is any indication. She’s even tapping her feet to the rhythm that the guy with the funky looking guitar sets.

Okay, so the Covey is good. And Lucy Gray is even better.

Not that Mayfair expected anything less. Lucy Gray was fucking annoying—the humming she did in class as she got ready for math lessons was as distracting as it was bewitching. Mayfair also got a good view at the back of her head and how the ribbons in her hair catch the light, threaded so intricately through her dark curls that sometimes Mayfair can’t focus on anything but the urge to replace the ribbons with her fingers.

Mayfair is not doing very well in her math class right now. At least now she knows it’s not all for naught.

“Hmm, Frosty the Snowman…”

Mayfair catches herself staring, but it’s not her fault. Lucy Gray’s voice is even more melodic when she’s actually singing, and her dress is so much brighter and eye-catching than those tiny ribbons, but Mayfair still closes her mouth before she catches the unwanted attention of flies.

Too late for that. To avoid turning into a total mouth breather, she flits her gaze elsewhere and makes eye contact with Billy fucking Taupe. She knows his name because Lucy Gray’s always talking about him, yapping and yapping and yapping about him so much that Mayfair’s almost torn out her very own eardrums just so she doesn’t have to hear her talk about how she wanted to marry some guy she barely knows.

His fingers glide over his piano, never faltering. And then he winks at her.

Oh. That’s new.

Mayfair’s face floods with heat, but she waits for him to look away before she tugs at her collar. What the hell was that?

She waits to feel insulted—he looked like he smelled like dog drool—but it kinda felt good to be noticed by someone with dark curly hair and wide set gray eyes. Even if it was the wrong set of curly hair and gray eyes.

Whatever. They can’t all be winners.

“I’ll be back again someday!”

And then something so fucking strange happens that Mayfair takes a swift look around until she gets dizzy. The performers were leaving the stage mid-song, and they were bringing people in the audience to come dance with them.

It’s like a hivemind the way everyone reaches out for the Covey with grabby, desperate hands and even more desperate pleas. Mayfair huffs—if they wanted to sing and dance so bad, why not just ask to join the band?

Mayfair’s so focused on pinpointing Lucy Gray’s colorful skirts—how could she not be, when Lucy Gray’s costume is so in your face about being so pretty?—that she jolts when Billy Taupe approaches her.

“Fancy a dance, honey?”

And there goes that feeling again. The Covey have such a hypnotizing quality to their voice, which must be why Mayfair takes his outstretched, sweaty hand and lets him lead her on stage.

Forget about the bright lights and the expectant audience—the most disorienting part of this entire thing is being in Lucy Gray’s arms.

Well, that made sense. Billy Taupe spun her around a few times, but since he was responsible for playing an actual instrument, he had to hand her off to Lucy Gray. Mayfair studies the other participants to get a handle on what they’re supposed to be doing.

“Thumpety thump thump!”

It doesn’t look very hard. She stomps her feet in tune with the beat, holding on extra tight to Lucy Gray’s hand just in case the cheering audience knocks her off balance. Lucy Gray adds some more fancy footwork that Mayfair only keeps up with because they’re practically tethered together right now.

“Look at Frosty go!”

One more set of thumps, and then a tiny hand is prying Mayfair’s fingers from Lucy Gray’s so they can take a bow or something. Mayfair doesn’t know. She’s not a performer, but people clap for her like she’s one.

“Well, sweetheart?” It takes Mayfair a few seconds to realize that Lucy Gray’s talking to her. “Think you’ll be paying us another visit anytime soon?”

Sweetheart? Mayfair’s mouth goes dry, heart skipping a beat. Instead of answering, she takes the celebratory cup of meade some coal miner sends up on stage.

She downs all of it until her cheeks get warm and her thoughts get hazy. Now she’s the one winking at Lucy Gray.

“Fancy a dance, honey?” She echoes Billy Taupe’s words from earlier, because Lucy Gray seemed to really like that guy (for some reason). Also, the question worked wonders for Mayfair, or else she wouldn’t be up here smooth-talking annoying, dancing rainbow girls.

Lucy Gray laughs, starting up another song and pulling her in for a jig. Mayfair takes what she can get.

[erhiem]

After months of rumours, fake titles and one very unfortunate leak, the long-awaited Spider-Man: No Way Home The trailer is finally here. And as suspected, Spider-Man’s many different worlds are about to collide, as the MCU delves ever deeper into the multiverse.

by the end of 2019 Spider-Man: Far From Home, Peter Parker had much more than just the pressure to carry on the legacy of his late mentor, Tony Stark. Former Stark Industries disgruntled employee Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) uses his last moments to get a message across NS daily BugleThe famous J. Jonah Jameson reveals Spider-Man’s true identity to the world and frames Parker for the crimes that Beck has committed. NS no way home The trailer—which, of course, feels like a snapshot of the film’s opening moments—picks up that thread, showing Peter through the fallout of that fake news. He is arrested, and his friends and family are brought in for questioning by the police; He can’t go to school without being surrounded by a crowd of people who consider him a villain.

In an effort to put things back as they were, Peter turns to the only person he knows who might be able to help: Doctor Strange. And Stephen—sorry, Doctor Strange—is surprisingly more than willing to lend a hand, despite an ominous warning from Wong not to cast a spell that would reverse certain events in the space-time continuum. Everyone should have listened to the man, apparently: while the chaotic conclusion bottle gourd seemed to set up the events of no way home, as she did for the new animated series what if…?, for now it appears that the conflict in the upcoming Spidey film is simply a product of Parker and Strange’s foolish attempt to correct the universe. “We tinkered with the consistency of space-time,” Strange told Parker. “The multiverse is a concept we know very little about.” (Where’s a Loki version when you need one, eh?)

Doctor Strange’s prominence in the trailer clearly hints that the MCU is as intertwined as ever, but instead of taking the right place. bottle gourd Abandoned, it seems that the studio continues to lure its audience into this post-Infinity Saga phase of movies and TV shows that revolve around the idea of ​​existing alternate universes. The upcoming multi-faceted war will likely pick up in earnest Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, while Peter faces the villain, he is already defeated—albeit in alternate worlds (and in several film franchises).

While the trailer appears to be teasing the return of Jamie Foxx’s Electro—which went up against Andrew Garfield’s version of Spidey in 2014 The Amazing Spider-Man 2– Along with two major bolts of lightning, it also confirms the resurrection of Parker’s greatest nemesis: the Green Goblin, who tormented Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man in 2002.

And seconds after a voice that sounds like Willem Dafoe’s derision, “Be careful what you wish for, Parker,” yet another nemesis of Maguire emerges, mechanical traps and all:

With Doc Ock, Green Goblin, and Electro all either prominently placed in or referenced in the trailer, Tom Holland’s web slinger will now face three villains he’s never met before, but who are others. Despite being from dimensions, somehow recognize him as his mortal enemy. (Not to mention the fact that, you know, they all died at the end of their movies, too.) For years, Sony has been toying with the idea of ​​making a film centered on the Sinister Six, which features villains. A super team. Band together to take out Spider-Man because none of them can do it alone. Now it looks like it may finally happen, with the outlandish concept of the multiverse being used as a tool to bend some rules and bring back the dead.

While his presence isn’t as noticeable as the aforementioned trio of villains, it’s possible the trailer also shows glimpses of two more Spidey enemies: the Lizard (from Garfield). the amazing Spider Man) and Sandman (from Maguire’s .) spider man 3) A Dark Shot Dr. Kurt may signal the return of Connors, while a massive blast of sand followed by a lightning strike may spell the re-introduction of that, uh, really sandy man to whom emo Spidey once vented his anger. For the sixth and final member of this potential iteration of the Sinister Six, there are still plenty of past Spider-Man baddies. no way home Can choose from: Paul Giamatti’s Rhino The Amazing Spider-Man 2 A hilarious choice would be; Scorpion (Michael Mando) was already recruiting Vulture (Michael Keaton) to kill Spider-Man in a post-credits scene. Spider-Man: Homecoming; Eddie Brock and his symbiote are already a little busy in another dimension, but hey, maybe Topher Grace is ready for another round; Even Mysterio can return to finish what he started.

Although no way home The trailer is a major reimagining of Spider-Man’s villains in nearly three decades of movies, barring any hints at the return of Garfield and Maguire’s versions of Spider-Man. Garfield has strongly denied that he will reprise the role, and Holland has also denied all reports on the matter. But with the arrival of his villains, it seems that even Spider-Men won’t be left behind.

on high heels bottle gourdsuccess on Disney+, no way home It’s shaping up to be Marvel’s next big test of whether this burgeoning multiverse experiment will pay off when it hits theaters on December 17th. And although the three-minute trailer has already previewed a lot It also raises a lot of new questions and clues for fans in the coming months as to what’s to come in this chaotic film. But barring any more Sony slipups or Holland-spilled mysteries in the near future, the wait is on for Bully Maguire.

Source

The post The ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ Trailer Welcomes Back Some Old Friends appeared first on Spicy Celebrity News.

[doomonfilm]

Review : Under the Silver Lake (2018)

At long last, Vudu has come through for me.  Since the earliest days of this blog, I’ve had a (perhaps unhealthy) fascination with Under the Silver Lake, the trailer I saw early in 2018 that grabbed my attention and would not let go, only to never manifest itself in a theater even remotely near me.  The festival buzz was raving, the reviews were positive, and yet, some mysterious issue was keeping me from seeing the movie.  Finally, nearly a year and a half later, I have the film in my grasp.

Sam (Andrew Garfield) is a resident of the Silver Lake neighborhood in Los Angeles, where he spends most of his days aimlessly spying on his elderly exhibitionist neighbor (Wendy Vanden Heuvel), spending quality time with his actress friend (Riki Lindhome), wandering around the area with no real purpose, and studying the lore of Under the Silver Lake, a local zine he is fascinated with that talks about local urban legends.  One day, Sam meets Sarah (Riley Keough), a beautiful and mysterious young lady he’s seen around for a day or so, and they hit it off beautifully.  Just as they are about to get intimate, however, Sarah’s roommates return home, and Sam is asked to leave, but given permission to return the following day.  Upon his return, however, he is shocked to find the apartment almost completely emptied, with no trace of Sarah or her roommates remaining, except for a small shoe box full of personal effects (which is retrieved) and a mysterious marking on the wall behind her bedroom door.  Sam, being the conspiracy fanatic that he is, finds himself immediately immersed in a deep and winding mystery to discover what happened to Sarah, in hopes of locating her and reconnecting.

For people that love paranoia portrayed on-screen (such as myself), this film is a beautiful fever dream that manages to echo classics like Pi, The Big Lebowski, Magnolia, Vertigo and Sunset Boulevard.  The way that the film sets up and immediately doubles down on its narrative stems is wholly engaging, like some sort of quicksand or tractor beam that keeps pulling you deeper and deeper into the story.  Like some sort of twisted descent into madness, we follow our main character down a manic rabbit hole as the discoveries he makes hit him deeper and deeper at his core, as if to illuminate his disillusionment.

The web of intrigue spun by this film is truly admirable, as it finds ways to integrate cult-like killer messages, the missing, hobo graffiti, Vanna White, secret messages in the open, zines, pop culture references and so much more into its menagerie.  This is more than matched by the diversity of locations visited in the search for the common thread that ties the entire mystery together.  The way that Andrew Garfield’s character acquires knowledge and items only to turn around and use them in the manner that a video game character would was certainly not lost on me.  It’s almost as if the whole film is a grand, over the top allegory about us learning to ‘read the signs’.

The camera is kinetic, wavering between dynamic push-ins and the use of unique perspective rigs, actually substituting for the perspective of our protagonist, and sometimes going all out artistic with its movements.  The lighting gets ultra moody when in the indoor locales and in the nighttime, punctuating the tone of the narrative quite well.  The animation portions put us as close to reading a comic as a film can, further helping to establish a sense of lore and mystery in the film.  The soundtrack is money, ranging through a collection of songs that would make a college radio DJ proud.  If I were a costume or set designer, this would be the type of film that I’d like to put together.  The editing carries us along the course of the narrative the way that one would flip pages of the book, with each turn promising more and more revelations from scene to scene.  There are tons of references to old and new Hollywood, Los Angeles, and even a pretty funny Spider-Man joke at Andrew Garfield’s expense.

Andrew Garfield’s ‘leaf on the wind’ meets ‘Rainman’ mentality works perfectly for this film, as he seems fragile enough to be pulled along the narrative, but intuitive enough to decipher each riddle along the way.  Riley Keough turns the charm and flirtation up for her early brief appearances, providing just enough of a hook for us to dedicate ourselves to Sam’s journey to find her, and the answers surrounding her.  Patrick Fischler takes Garfield’s code-mind and amplifies it to the highest degree, coming off just a shade under crazy.  Callie Hernandez is another one who maximizes her brief screen time, with her character’s personal tragedy causing a dichotomy that plays against her party-based nature.  Jimmi Simpson (one of my favorite actors) hits the ball-busting best friend on the nose, also providing occasional sage advice in offhanded ways.  The cast of this film is sprawling, but many of the members make standout appearances, including Don McManus, Jeremy Bobb, Topher Grace, Grace Van Patten, Wendy Vanden Heuvel, Luke Baines, David Yow and a handful of other individuals.

Happily, I can say that Under the Silver Lake (in my opinion) was well-worth the wait.  Maybe one day I can find out why it was delayed so long (possibly it was due to the one bit of over the top violence), but regardless, I plan on spreading the word about this one.

[cyberneticatoms]

WHERE: Ice Rink at Grand Treasure Plaza WHO: Carrie Bachman (@chaosandcrimson)

Topher felt his jaw clench as he reread the article that had come out on his phone. He'd been trying not to obsess over it but it was hard when he could still picture Carrie hooked up to machines while in a hospital bed. Stuffing his phone into his pocket when he heart footsteps, he felt his shoulders relax spotting the girl in question. "Hey you," he greeted walking up and wrapping his scarf around her neck, "Sure you're up for ice skating? Weather just got good again could go to the park or something."

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher felt her grip tighten on his hand and brushed his thumb along the side of her wrist. The pup also seemed to have notice the tension, pressing his head against her free hand. He wanted to feel hopeful that she still wanted him, that she still wanted him even after acting how he had acted. Still her follow up questions had him chewing on his lip as he glanced at their hands again.

Bringing her hand up, he brushed his lips against her knuckles. "I'm sorry," he mumbled pressing a kiss to her hand and meeting her gaze again. "I want to promise it won't happen, but it's just words and I get if that's not enough," he said pressing her hand against the side of his face, "But I promise I'll spend every day making sure you know I want this and I'm not letting anyone take me away from you again."

Carrie wasn't entirely sure how to feel about his revelation. She was angry, and upset, and disappointed; mostly in him, but also a little in herself. Even if it was pointless now, even if it did nothing to change the past, it was difficult not to start wondering what if. What if she had pushed back on his reasons for breaking up with her even a little bit? What if she had actually let herself look as heartbroken in front of him as she had felt? Would he still have gone through with it if she hadn't pretended to be fine with it?

She didn't want Topher to feel guilty, but she would be lying if she said that it wasn't reassuring, and a little vindicating, that he seemed to regret what happened. When he said that he still wanted her, that he always wanted her, she believed him. "I still want you too," she said softly, holding his hand a little tighter. "But I'm also scared. How do I know that this won't happen again? How can I be sure that you won't break up with me again the next time someone makes a compelling argument for why you should?"

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher blinked, he'd used the nickname without thinking, "Um..," trailing off he'd turned to set the water back down on the bedside table. "Well you still do the little nose scrunch thing," he mumbled. Glancing back when she grabbed his hand, squeezing her hand lightly. Looping his foot onto the chair he'd been sitting on to drag it over to sit on next to the bed. "And I don't even use hand lotion," he quipped keeping his gaze on their hands, thumb brushing along her palm, "How do you work on a ranch and still have soft hands?"

Carrie didn't appear to notice that for a moment, they were simply staring at each other while smiling, having seemingly forgotten that she had asked for water only seconds earlier. She could feel her heart beating faster at how close they were to each other, holding his gaze and offering him a grateful smile once she finished drinking, her cheeks flushing red at the familiar nickname. "I missed hearing you call me that," she said softly, settling back against the bed and reaching to take his hand. A chuckle slipped out as she gently played with his fingers. "Your skin is warm. It feels nice."

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher cringed, "I mean...it was...god it sounds so much stupider out loud," he grumbled. His face was burning and he was having trouble keeping eye contact with her. Swallowing he dropped his gaze to their hands, slowly brushing his thumb along hers. "Skating was supposed to be my thing you know? Like everyone in my family has their thing and even the people who stay with us do too..."

Shaking his head slightly he sighed, "So I went with what he told me cause he seemed like he knew everything better than I did," he mumbled. Glancing up to meet her gaze, he squeezed her hand, "I always wanted you, I still want you...I'm sorry, I'm sorry I let someone convince me not to be honest with you."

There was a part of Carrie that didn't want to ask these questions. She wanted him, he wanted her, and that was all she really needed to know. But when he had broken up with her, it had caught her completely off guard, and she wasn't sure if she could go through something like that again. "Wait—what?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing as she replayed what Topher had said in her head. She could understand not wanting to pull her into a long distance relationship. She could even understand believing that she was fine, because she had, for all intents and purposes, acted that way.

What she couldn't understand was that breaking up with her hadn't even been his idea in the first place. "You... You broke up with me because your manager told you to?" She dropped her gaze to their hands, swallowing hard as she thought about what to say next, her free hand instinctively going to pet the puppy in her lap. When she looked back up at him, there was a mixture of hurt and disappointment in her eyes. "You made it seem like it was your idea. I wasn't even sure if I agreed with the points you were making, but I didn't say anything because I thought it was what you wanted, and I didn't want to seem like... Immature and naive. And there was also a part of me that assumed you just didn't want me anymore and you were trying to let me down easy."

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher had a small smirk as he saw the familiar blush on Carrie's cheeks. Though it faded as his brow furrowed before he winced at her line of questioning. He was half tempted to let go of her hand and lean back, but the other half was scared over her reaction. "Well I was still on tour you know...," he started shifting uncomfortably, "Breaking up just to pull you into an LDR didn't really seem fair and you seemed like you were doing fine...Then I was barely enjoying skating and you found something you were passionate about...didn't want to drag you down with me..."

Trailing off again he gave another shrug, debating what to say. "To be honest I didn't even want to break up in the first place. But my manager got it into my head you'd be better off and it was selfish to have you waiting around for me." It wasn't the only thing he'd listened to his manager about but it was the one he was still the most upset about.

"Hmm, I'm not sure," Carrie replied, reaching to pet the puppy at the same time as Topher did, her fingers inadvertently brushing up against his. She almost pulled back instinctively when she noticed, the heat from his skin matching the heat rising in her cheeks, her heart racing as if she hadn't touched him thousands of times before.

Clearing her throat, she looked up at him with a shy smile when he took her hand. "Both," she admitted, running her thumb over the back of his hand as she thought about what to say next. "I really missed you too. I want to be with you. I don't want to be with anyone else. But I'm also confused." She cocked her head to the side. "If you missed me that much, why did it take us this long to have any kind of conversation about it? Why didn't you just tell me that you regretted breaking up with me?"

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher had an amused smirk on his face that softness when she giggled. Chuckling he looked thoughtful for a moment, "You know lifts usually start off the ice on mats, but I can show you how to spin with someone." Considering she'd just fully recovered he wasn't looking to look for a potential new injury. "Also means we can keep holding hands," he said giving her a soft smile.

A soft giggle left Carrie's lips when she heard the familiar nickname, looking down to hide exactly how pink her cheeks had gotten, only to have her face tilted back up by Topher. She offered him a small, shy smile and nodded, keeping her eyes on him as she let him lead her around the ice. "I don't know if I wanna go fast," she replied cautiously, narrowing her eyes at him. "How am I being carried? Bridal style seems very unsafe."

[cyberneticatoms]

"Are you going for cutesy or giving him like a person name," Topher questioned as he reached forward and ran his fingers over the pup's back. He'd been more than a bit nervous to hang out one on one outside the hospital even if the kiss had left him more than a little hopeful. "He's really cute wouldn't blame ya if you did," he said flashing her a small smile.

A smirk tugged at his lips, "Which part? Not being over me or the still taking your breath away?" It was easier to do his usual flirting now that he knew it wasn't unwanted on her end, at least he was hoping it wasn't. Hesitating before moving his hand off the pup to take one of hers, "I meant what I said too, about not being over you either. I really missed you."

Carrie pressed her lips into a slight pout when he limited it to one, but it quickly vanished as soon as his lips connected with hers; every feeling that she had ever felt for Topher flooding her brain as she remembered, vividly, what it had been like to kiss him. When he pulled back, she let out a soft, shaky breath and offered him a shy smile. "Still takes my breath away," she mumbled, her cheeks flushing pink. "But worth it."

"I haven't decided what to name him yet," she said, holding her newly acquired therapy puppy to her chest and giving him scritches behind the ear. Her physical recovery had been going well, but she still had a way to go before she was back to the strength and stamina she'd had before the accident; so when her physical therapist had suggested a therapy animal of some kind, she had jumped on the opportunity.

Putting him down on her lap, she leaned back on the couch and watched as he settled in before looking back at Topher. "I promise I won't get distracted by him while we're having this conversation," she joked, partly to relive some of the nervous tension she was feeling, and partly to assure him that she was taking it seriously. "I know I was on a lot of pain medication when we talked about it last. But I meant what I said then."

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher was smiling, chuckling as he watched her before his eyebrows rose. This time the chuckle that slipped out was more nervous as he kept stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Um...," he licked his lips nervously, "Gonna be honest probably gotta put a one kiss limit on it." His eyes flickered down to her lips before catching her gaze again, "Supposed to be letting you rest," he mumbled before leaning down to close the gap between them.

Carrie couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips when he looked up and stared at her in utter disbelief. Maybe it was her imagination, maybe it was wishful thinking, but she thought she saw a little bit of hopefulness there as well; and as Topher stood up and put his hand on her cheek, she nodded slowly. "Okay," she said while staring up at him with her own wide, hopeful eyes, before turning to press a kiss to his wrist. As much as she wanted to have that talk now, deep down, she knew that he was right. "Hey, even if we don't have that conversation now... We can still kiss, right?"

[cyberneticatoms]

Topher blinked his grin fading as he listened to her, "I...," he trailed off as she continued unsure what to say. Swallowing he glanced down at their hands feeling his ears burning as he tried to process what she was saying. "You are important to me," he said softly before glancing up at her. "Wait... you're not over me?" He stared at her, stuck somewhere between wanting to pull her closer and hyper aware she was still injured. Standing up, he brought his free hand to cup her face, thumb brushing soft circles on her cheek. "I...I want to have this talk when you're not half out of it on whatever pain med cocktail they got you on," he said giving her a soft smile, "But I'm not over you either."

Carrie smiled softly and squeezed his hand back. For a moment, she allowed herself to forget that they had ever broken up, imagining what it would be like if they were still together now. But they weren't, and no matter how good she felt pretending that they were, that didn't make it real. "I don't actually know that," she replied with a small shrug, glancing down as she stroked the back of his hand with her thumb. "You broke up with me. That didn't exactly make me feel very important to you. And I know what you said, that it was for me and that you didn't want to hold me back, but it was still hard to hear, you know? And maybe I should be over you by now, but... I'm not."

[cyberneticatoms]

"Wouldn't dream of it conejita," Topher said, shooting her a playful wink, eyes flickering down to make sure she was balancing okay as he skated backwards. Letting go of one her hands to tilt her face back up with two of his fingers, "Hey eyes on me, gonna lose your balance if you keep looking down," he said. Giving her hand a small squeeze, he took her other one back in his, letting her keep her arms up to stay balanced. "You know if you wanna go fast, could just carry you," he teased, a smirk on his face.

"But skating is romantic," Carrie replied, following him to the bench and letting him help her with the skates. It always made her weak in the knees when Topher did sweet things for her, even more when he jokingly teased her, or threw out that playful wink. Her cheeks started heating up even more as he pulled her onto the ice. "Well, I promise to try my best. As long as you promise you won't stop calling me conejita if I fall."

[cyberneticatoms]

Despite his best efforts, Topher felt a grin form when she giggled, giving her hand another squeeze. It was still hard for him to figure out where they landed and how he was meant to act around her. Flirty banter that left her flustered when they were dating had been fun, but what he'd enjoyed even more was when she had felt comfortable enough to quip back at him. Even if sometimes he'd ended up being the one flustered. "Why wouldn't I be here?" He tried to ignore the way his heart was speeding up, unsure how much of this was her and how much was pain med induced. "You know you're important to me."

As if on cue, Carrie looked at him and scrunched up her nose before letting out a soft giggle. If she was a little less loopy, maybe she would've been more cautious and acted more reserved around him, but now she was simply too happy to see him to care. All she could think was that she was with a person whom she loved a lot and wanted to be close to. "Because I do use hand lotion," she replied with a smile, seemingly very proud of herself for that comeback. She adjusted their hands until she was able to interlace their fingers. "I think about you all the time. It's a little surreal that you're actually here."

[cyberneticatoms]

"I can hold your hand in plenty of places," Topher said though he was grinning as he squeezed her hand. It was almost crazy how just seeing her could switch his mood around. Walking her over to a bench and switching their skates out, making sure hers were on properly. Skating backwards onto the ice, he held both of her hands in his, giving them a quick squeeze. "Remember you're supposed to be Thumper not Bambi," he playfully teased.

Carrie felt a smile tug on her lips as soon as she spotted Topher in the distance. It only grew wider when she got closer and he approached her, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink as she let him wrap his scarf around her neck, the bunched up fabric slightly muffling her delighted giggle as she burrowed into it. "No, I want to go ice skating," she replied, reaching to take his hand. "I like when you hold my hand."