billieconway

[billieconway]

What food reminds them of home?

"My mother's biscuits with sausage gravy. I will never again in my life attempt to replicate it because the one time I did, I almost sent the whole firehouse to the hospital with food poisoning. I'd read the salt measurements wrong."

[billieconway]

"That's okay, that's just me being a Debby-Downer and taking the game too seriously," Billie laughs softly with a shake of her head, adjusting her position in her seat.

"Now you gotta hold up your end of the deal, though -- where did your mind go?"

@noah-atwood

“Yeah, men seem to be really clumsy around things when they don’t have their pants on. I think I hear more about them falling than the elderly in their retirement homes.”

Most calls headed out to those suburbs tend to me more of a check in than anything, and half the time Noah thinks they’re bored and lonely. That or they’re looking for a free taxi to the hospital.

“Oh. Yeah, that’s fair. That’s kinda a given there, and a dumb question on my part. That’s not where my mind went, but now I have to agree with that one,” Noah rambles on, trying to back out of this thought he prompted. “Sorry for flipping the mood.”

@billieconway

[billieconway]

"I think that's solid advice. See, you're better at this than you think," Billie tells him with an assured nod of her head.

"It would be better for me to take it entirely at my own pace -- and I know that, logically. I think I just get too hung up on what other people would think of me. Like, will people who know me think it's too soon for me to be dating again or will guys not wanna deal with the emotional baggage of dating something who is always gonna be carrying the grief of the person that they lost."

@sebitorres

"It's not for everybody." He nods, "Some find it empowering, some not so much." For Sebi, his opinion laid somewhere in the middle. It always depended on the who, when, and why. "Fair." He agrees, taking a sip of his coffee and glancing back up towards the girl, "That's something all live with, regrets or things we did or didn't do. I'm normally a bit of a head-first into things kind of person, but I understand my lack of thinking twice isn't for everyone. I think the example of kids is a little different here, thought, consequences of bringing a kid into the world."

"If the fear of missing out gets a bit too much, I'd start only casually dating without sleeping with people. Get comfortable with meeting new people, doing fun things. Then broach the whole intimacy part when you start feeling a little more comfortable."

— @billieconway

[billieconway]

"It's okay, don't worry. I don't walk around in a giant neon t-shirt that has 'WIDOW' on it in bold letters, so I don't expect everyone to know," Billie graciously assures Freyja, a faint smile crossing her feature anytime she glanced at Nils.

"God, that's awful," she frowns in sympathy, unable to imagine someone so callous that they wouldn't want anything to do with a innocent piece of them just living out in the world.

"Did you know that before he was born? That his dad was gonna feel that way?"

@freyjadahl

⸻ She chuckled at her words, as her son looked at the other with his bright blue hues, and he put his tiny hand on his mouth, sucking it. Freyja picked up his pacifier and gave it to him, removing his hand from his mouth. What she heard next was unexpected. Her smile vanished for a moment. ❛ Oh, I -- I didn't know. I'm sorry for your loss. ❜ She felt kind of bad for asking the question, but it wasn't like Freyja would know about it. ❛ Nils's father abandoned him when he was inside of me. I let him know when he was born, but he didn't want to be in our lives. ❜ Perhaps sharing this part that the Swedish blonde almost never tells to anyone, not that it would make the other feel better. Since the brunette shared such personal facts about her, she also decided to share a personal 'fact' about herself.

@billieconway

[billieconway]

"I can't tell if that face is a bad face or a good face," Billie says with amusement at Monique's expression, sliding the beer pitcher across the table.

"Bad news or good gossip?"

@moniquexsilva

who: open for @aurorabaystarter where: anywhere - left this short so yall can make up whatever ya want & assume connects!!

"Am I reading this right? I can't be reading this right." Monique stared at the phone with her mouth open ajar and her eyebrows pulled together. "I need a drink after that."

[billieconway]

W. What's their favourite sport?

"Oh baseball -- without a doubt. Best game, best players, best food, best fans. Nothing beats a baseball game."

[billieconway]

Love 🌸:Would you automatically start a conversation with someone new or wait until they start a conversation with you?

"If you're always waiting on someone else to start the conversation, you're gonna miss out on a whole lot of people you'd have fun talking to."

[billieconway]

"I would be bold enough to say that the ability to be alone is a lost art in this day and age," Billie encourages with a shrug of her shoulder.

"When I see someone sitting alone on the beach or eating dinner or at the movies I don't spend a moment thinking about whether or not they're pathetic or feeling sorry for them. I think about the confidence and decisiveness that person must have. I know probably better than anyone how quickly you can end up alone, and I think it's probably easier if you have some practice doing it by choice."

@thelucexcaldwell

"I appreciate the vote of confidence." Luce laughed as she said it, but it came out a bit groaned as well as she ran her fingers through her hair and just shook her head. "It was going great the first ten minutes or so, but then I just...became acutely aware of the fact that I'm sitting here. Alone. Not even a text message coming through in the last hour." She wrinkled her nose up as she said it. "So I went from feeling fab to feeling alone like that." She snapped her fingers as she said it.

[billieconway]

"Am I allowed to make attempts to pick things out or do you want total Anna Wintour control of this situation?" Billie questions as she cautiously moves hangers down the rack to evaluate her choices.

Not that she had the best fashion sense -- maybe it was better to leave things to the local expert.

"What kind of dress? Like, casual sundress? Cocktail? Sexy?"

@beautyxnthefire

"I know you can." Mia said. She was never the one to sugarcoat things and sometimes telling people the truth was all the motivation they needed. Unlike some, Billie had the spine to admit to things too —it was one of the things Mia liked about her.

"I will." She laughed. Looking at the clothes they had already approved, Mia chuckled. "Let's find you a couple more first." If there was one thing Mia hated about shopping was trying on stuff, but it was necessary evil. The least she could do was save Billie a few back and forth trips. "We need to leave with at least one dress too." || @billieconway

[billieconway]

"Oh, no, you don't have to apologize," Billie easily waves off, adjusting the skirt of her dress to make sure it wasn't an obstruction to anyone else.

"It's my fault -- this dress is a behemoth and I had no idea what I was getting into. My actual wedding dress wasn't even this much of an effort to navigate in."

@jamesonxcassidy

Closed for @billieconway

“ sorry” jameson replied as he tried to move out of the way and accidentally bumped into the woman next to him. He had been trying to stay out of the path of a few of the more elaborate dresses and he hadn’t realized he was just walking into a different accident. “ I was trying to be mindful and I went and bumped right into you “ he noted before letting out a sigh. “ i djdnt mess up your dress or anything trying to avoid others did i? “

[billieconway]

Billie's face lights up with clear amusement at Santiago's reaction, her eyebrows raised expectantly as she waited for him to stumble through his answer.

"Uh huh," she replies with an impish smile as if she doesn't quite believe him but she'll let him have his excuse if that was what made him feel better.

"I'll give you that, it is a fun distraction," she conceeds, lifting his glass from his hand without invitation to get a drink from his whiskey.

"Nope. Just a little ol' widow at prom. First prom solo, actually. Would you believe I was prom queen at mine?"

@santiagodeleons

Santiago nearly chokes on his whiskey at the question Billie hurls his way, swallowing the swig he had taken before he answers her.

"Kissed who? Mei?" He's shaking his head before he opens his mouth again, "No. It's not like that. She's like a little sister to me and she's been having a rough go of it lately so I thought this whole thing might be a fun distraction from her from that."

He had also thought it might be good for him too to clock out of his own wallowing for an evening.

"What about you? You here with anybody?"

@billieconway

[billieconway]

"Ten? Jesus fucking Christ -- beg your pardon," Billie adds after the curse, taking a deep swallow from her wine glass to contend with the passage of time.

"But seriously -- good for you. I used to think the Gen-Z kids were too obsessed with skincare but it seems to be working out."

At the compliment, Billie waves her hand with an 'aww shucks' shake of her head.

"Thank you -- I wish I had tips to share but it's really just good moisturizer, sunscreen, and a butt-ton of water on a daily basis. And an occasional good cry doesn't hurt."

@celia-baker

"ten years ago." celia corrected with a laugh. she had always had a baby face, so she was used to the comments (the ones her mother kept reminding her she'd kill for at her age). "no, I get it. the 'round cheek, doe eyed' look doesn't exactly speak 'wise village elder'" she teased on behalf of herself "though, you shouldn't forget yourself! your skin is also freaking amazing. and you're makeup is fabulous."

@billieconway

[billieconway]

How do you like to take care of yourself?

"I think it's good when I take time to slow down. I find that I keep myself busy a lot of the time just for the sake of not overthinking -- but sometimes it's good to let yourself think. It helps you process, which is one of the biggest parts of grief and it takes a long time. So I would say taking time to journal. Also getting enough sleep."

[billieconway]

starter for: @santiagodeleons location: under the sea prom

"Sooo, how's it goin' with the date? You kissed her yet?"

[billieconway]

starter for: @celia-baker location: under the sea prom

"Jeez, so when was your last prom -- two years ago?" Billie teases with a smile.

"You look like such a baby, no offense. You've got great skin."

[billieconway]

"No, I was going to compliment the shoes actually and ask where you got them," Billie laughs as she approaches the table, glancing down at his feet with playful envy.

(And definitely some real envy -- she'd never been much for pink, but that footwear could change her mind.)

"I'm debating snacks," she informs him, looking over the spread.

"I'm trying to decide how much I trust myself to eat in a dress this nice."

@deacon-chun

who: open to all @aurorabaystarter! where: aurora bay high school ;; near the buffet (because obviously)

"if you're coming to tell me that my shoes and tie don't match my outfit," deacon began, his mouth still slightly full of food. "then I have to preface it with telling you my four year old daughter picked the shoes out and made the tie, so you like legally can't make fun of them." his usual boisturious laugh filled up the space. "but if you're coming for a snack recommendation, I'd say go with the buffalo chicken wing dip. it's fucking fire."

"actually, maybe don't because I could easily finish that whole bowl, and maybe I want to. a little. would you judge me?"

[billieconway]

@santiagodeleons