esmaxdemirci

[esmaxdemirci]

She thought she'd had too many glasses of merlot. All night her eyes had been on the familiar brunette, that hadn't noticed her until the very end of the singers set. Esma wondered if she was seeing a ghost or if it was actually her but when she finally looked at her. She knew. Esma knew those eyes, those lips. Even if it had been over ten years. She knew. Knots twisted in her stomach, but with liquid courage fresh in her veins, her feet had made the decision before her head (or heart) had had the chance to catch up. "It's you, isn't it?" her tone was soft, confused, but soft. @adrianahqs

closed starter for @esmaxdemirci

it's been a few months since adriana has been back in town and the golden hour lounge has been one of her favorite spots whenever she doesn't have a shift at the oasis. if only they had an opening here--but in hindsight, she liked it better as a patron than she probably would've as a waitstaff.

as the singer's final note faded and polite applause rippled through the room, adriana’s attention drifted from the stage to the crowd. and that’s when she saw her. or thought she did.

the woman stood near the back, half-shadowed by the low lighting, and for a moment, her breath caught. but surely, she must be imagining things. not that this was the first time she caught the silhouette of the woman she once knew, but there was absolutely no way it was her.

when they almost caught her looking, she quickly looked away, raising her champagne glass to her lips. just a trick of the light, she told herself. it wasn't her. definitely not her.

[esmaxdemirci]

“Stop laughing at me,” Esma whined, quick to call him out playfully and pout in his direction. She can see the smile breaking out on her friends face. She’s well aware of how wasted she is, she usually was at these sorts of things.

She let out a heavy sigh as he spoke about his son, she loved Oliver and had met him many times at Four Leaf, she just missed Fletch. “I know, you gotta be a good dad and all that shit. What about being a good friend, huh?!” Her voice teasing as she shoved a sour gummy into her mouth.

“He’d have you back in a heartbeat,” she laughed. “You know he’d actually probably fire me to have you back.” @fletcher-bailey

Fletcher’s smile is slightly held back only for the fact he’s biting his bottom lip to keep from laughing at Esma’s obvious level of inebriation. He tilts his head to the side, the longer he watches the harder it is to subdue the snickering that’s given away in the way his eyes squint.

“Ten, for sure. I bartended for all my working life, except for the year I was a barback and dishwasher, and I miss working with you guys. But I need mornings to take care of Oliver.”

It’d never been a problem. Santiago and the rest of the staff definitely helped when Oliver had to hang out in Four Leaf’s management office on nights Fletch couldn’t find a sitter, but he couldn’t keep putting that on them. “I fill in for Santiago when he needs it, but you guys are full staffed. I wouldn’t get your hopes up.”

@esmaxdemirci

[esmaxdemirci]

She tried her best not to laugh at his reaction but was unable to help herself. It really wasn’t the worst thing she’d ever had in her mouth, but she felt keeping a straight face whilst trying to swallow whatever that was, was quite the talent.

“Here, you put your number in.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket and leaves it on the bar for him. Without another word she slips behind the bar, shoving one of her cheese fries in her mouth. She hands him a sprite first, as a chaser.

Esma wasn’t quite sure if she’d get herself fired or promoted by doing this without permission, considering she was no bartender. “What kind of drinks do you like? Lemme put my skills to use.” @julianxpark

"Yeah?" Julian looks at her, almost hopeful. While Esma is definitely the type that would eat him alive, suddenly that seems like a not-so-bad idea. "You should give me your number so we can make it happen."

Laughing at the description of the drink, it doesn't necessarily make Julian wants to taste it. And yet, when challenged with that conniving grin of hers, he takes a sip. As soon as the taste touches his tongue, he recoils, nearly spitting it back into the glass.

"What the fuck? That's just pure gasoline. I feel like I just licked the inside of a fuel tank."

( @esmaxdemirci )

[esmaxdemirci]

Esma stopped in her tracks and she swallowed hard. Maybe it was the alcohol, maybe it was that Esma saw so much of her younger self in Isla it was nearly like looking in a mirror. The only difference was, Isla was doing this for different reasons. Esma? She just wanted to feel something other than numb, that why she was in a different person’s bed every night. “Hey, Isla?” Her voice had softened, instead of going into one of the stalls her feet had taken her straight to the blonde. “You…you really like that guy don’t you?” @itsisla-dubois

the blonde rolled her eyes at the figure that suddenly appeared behind her reflection. "you can do whatever you'd like. no one's stopping you." her words as pointed and deliberate as an arrow. isla didn't want to see her just as much as she did her. though always ready to give a verbal lashing, it wasn't something she actively sought out (often). "so are you. but if you kindly fuck off, then we can pretend like this little meeting never happened, okay?"

[esmaxdemirci]

"Aeris, I'm the prettier one here I will always be the passenger princess," she quips as they walk out the door. She realized he was joking, but she would naturally always get the last word. "Sounds good." As usual, the brunette was up for anything and her favorite thing was spending money, so it sounded like the perfect night out. "He says I deserve the best, so only top shelf."

She smirked. "Go hard. He would not care if we did that, then decided to book tickets to Hawaii or something. He's rich rich." Crossing her leg over the other, she pulls her seatbelt on just in case he decided to go boy racer on her. "We can find a fancy hotel to stay in whilst we're at it." @aeris-flores

“We better.”

Aeris stares down at the keys she hands him,  joking, “I thought I was going to be your passenger princess?” And tucks them into his pocket. “Kidding. I don’t mind. This will be fun.” He gathers all of his belongings and begins flipping the lights so he can lead Esma out the front door.

“There’s the one club called NOVA I’ve been meaning to check out for forever. I just never made my way over there.” He explains as they get settled in the car, and he hopes Esma wants to go with it.

“It’s way bigger than Oasis, which probably means the drinks are more expensive, but hey, we’re not buying, right?”

@esmaxdemirci

[esmaxdemirci]

"Honestly, here? Depends on who you come across. I know a lot of people in Aurora Bay, not sure they'd replace my coffee but they might replace yours." He seemed nice enough not to have burned any bridges, though he could have been a townie in the exact same position as she was. "Sounds good," she mused, picking her iced coffee up from the counter and turning on her feet to head out the door. "You from round here or new to town?" @shynenotshane

"of course. you're welcome," shyne grinned as he handed off the drink. letting out a sigh thinking over not just today but how the month's really been going for him. "yeah, it's definitely one of those days. lucky? not many are nice, i assume? i try to be as nice as i can be, plus it was at least partially if not completely my fault in the accident." maybe shyne saw it different from others or he was just too nice for his own good. despite everything he's been through he kept true to his good nature, just also learned not to let that be used against him - so he moved more carefully these days. "oh, yes. i'd love that actually. lead the way?" the english man was in no way saying no to some great fries.

[esmaxdemirci]

"I think most of us cope by drinking away our sorrows." Esma admitted, laughing. That was the other thing about this town, most of the community were undercover alcoholics. "Maybe you gotta start believing in the fairy dust." And maybe, Esma should take her own advice considering. The brunette clinked her drink to his, "Welcome to Aurora Bay, buddy." @stephanxevans

"The dwarves would be helpful with my work, but I thought fairy dust only worked if you believe in it." What did he believe at that moment? Life had been much easier to navigate when he kept others at a distance. He never revealed too much and never asked for too much. He had failed in three significant relationships and didn't want to risk hurting anyone else in his life. "I guess I have to get used to it, huh? There's no secret way around all of this?"

[esmaxdemirci]

"You know, you haven't changed," Esma smiled towards the male, a small smile appearing on her peachy lips. She'd stopped in her tracks when she realized who it was reminiscing over the old trophy case. He hadn't, he looked the same just older and maybe he was a little bit wiser than his teenage self. "Funny, I've stared at this thing so many times, I always thought you were cute, Never thought I'd actually meet you." Esma never made it to awards, or prom queen. The only title she gained in high school was Trouble or Lazy. None of the staff members had anything nice to say about her. "Weird being back, huh? You think they would've held it at the town hall or something so we're not all stuck in this strange nostalgic state. I actually didn't realise how much it was gonna effect me then I got here." @castillo-aargon

who: closed starter for @esmaxdemirci where: ab prom ;; hallway

the man had found himself lingering around the trophy case a little longer than he intended to. there was something so surreal about seeing his face from all those years ago, blissfully unaware of what road life would bring him down. there had been a feeling of invincibility; every teenager, to some extent, believed they were indestructible. bad things happened to others, not him.

not the valedictorian.

another set of footsteps brought him swiftly out of his own thoughts, a soft smile resting on his face as he met with semi familiar features. "sorry, just having a slight midlife crisis seeing my younger self." he explained with a low chuckle. "kind of on theme for the night, right?"

[esmaxdemirci]

who: @fletcher-bailey where: under the sea prom

"On a scale from one to ten," Esma drunkenly started. One too many seafoam shots in and she'd been sitting at one of the tables next to Fletcher eating shell shaped macarons. "How much do you miss Four Leaf? And me of course." She's quick to add, green hues meeting his. "And what do I have to do to convince you to come back?"

[esmaxdemirci]

who: @itsisla-dubois where: the girls bathroom at the under the sea prom

“Can’t I just piss in fucking peace?” Esma sighed heavily as she laid eyes upon Isla. She was drunk, but her tone wasn’t angry. She was just tired of putting up a fight at this point. Seeing the younger blonde around town had really stirred up some emotions for her. “My god you’re everywhere.”

[esmaxdemirci]

"I think someone snuck in a fog machine in junior year, something about wanting to turn the gym into horror film," She vaguely remembers it. "Teachers couldn't see shit so made it great for people who wanted to disappear." She shrugged her shoulders, it was weird being back at her high school. "I don't know, I pretended to attend skipped a lot of classes...days... Really I was sneaking off to my girlfriend's. It's weird being back here."" @alfiearmstrongs

open for: @aurorabaystarter

where: under the sea (where de newt play de flute, de carp play de harp etc) prom

"I'm getting hit with the most vivid flashbacks at random every time I look around, not all of them ones I want to revisit," Alfie jokes with a mild grimace, looking to the person closest to him with a somewhat hopeful expression, "You got any good stories about this place? Shenanigans and such."

[esmaxdemirci]

"Unfortunately," Esma couldn't help but let out a low chuckle at the male's words which were quite literally dead on correct. The people were always cheerful, the scenery was always beautiful even when it was raining. It was quite literally out of a picture or a movie. "Careful, you might have the seven dwarfs singing on your doorstep or tinkerbell following you around if you say it out loud." @stephanxevans

WHO: Anyone! @aurorabaystarter WHERE: A food/drink establishment in town. WHEN: Can be pre or post prom.

Aurora Bay was interesting, to say the least. The hospitality was uncanny, and Stéphan didn't know whether to attribute it to people simply being more pleasant thanks to the proximity to the beach or its unique way of gathering the community together. No wonder his siblings were seemingly thriving here. "Is this place always brimming with unmatched optimism?" He had heard chatter about the prom and made the better choice not to attend. "I feel like I'm in some fairytale land."

[esmaxdemirci]

esma demirci - under the sea prom

@aurorabayaesthetic

[esmaxdemirci]

There was something about the way he said it, like everything these days were average. She hadn't learned his name yet but there was a softness about him, something that piqued her curiosity even more so. "Well, that's....sad," she admitted. In all honesty she wasn't expecting his bluntness either, yet she out of all people appreciated the honesty. "Try mine," Esma insisted, passing him her glass. Perhaps it would be a better match for him, it tasted good to her but it wasn't like she was a wine connoisseur. She stuck to red, usually unless it was champagne. The brunette hadn't expected to stay long, but now she was on a mission to make his day a little brighter. "And if it's still average, the camembert bites are actually really good and I'm happy to share those too." She then tilted her head to the side. "You waiting on someone?" @castillo-aargon

the evening sun lay low in the sky as cas had found himself at sunrise for the night. a few of his colleagues had suggested a wine tasting, and he happened to decide to hang back afterward (planning on calling an uber when he was ready). to say he was surprised when a younger woman sat near him was an understatement, though he hadn't thought too deeply about it. his mind was always on other things. grief had a way of making your thoughts an endless slideshow of happier moments, and only able to wish to go back.

a soft smile appeared from below his greying whiskers as the question was posed. "aggressively average." he admitted with a gentle chuckle, swirling the drink around the stemless glass. "but it is just a vin de table after all." his gaze moved back over to her, a melancholic hue resting behind them. "happy to hear you're having a better experience."

[esmaxdemirci]

"Maybe we should bump into each other there on purpose, then." Esma suggested as she eyed the green concoction, the more she looked at it the more she regretted her choices and wondered if perhaps she should've just gone with the Guinness. "We might need to wash these down with something that doesn't taste like mouth wash." At the male's request she gingerly takes a sip, her nose instantly wrinkling. "It sorta tastes like a gummy bear and regret had a baby." Her face hadn't flinched or grimaced. "It's not the worst thing I've had in my mouth." A sly grin appears on her face as she looked over to him, waiting for him to follow suit. "Your turn." @julianxpark

"I think that might be the last place we haven't bumped into each other." Somehow, it was always an event and there was always drinking. It was a miracle that they hadn't stumbled upon each other at a bar on a random Tuesday.

The mischievous glint in Esma's eye told Julian all he needed to know. "So, you misbehave for the benefit of others? You're such a saint." A small nudge to her shoulder before his attention goes to the mysterious brew brought before them.

"I'm guessing that Midori is the key factor here, judging by color." That was all he could determine without tasting. "To misbehaving," he toasts, eyeing the green concoction with suspicion, giving Esma a look. "Ladies first," Julian beckons with a swift motion.

( @esmaxdemirci )

[esmaxdemirci]

"Projection?" Esma scoffed, laughing. "Isla, I am the first person to admit I will use men and woman, but mostly men 'cause they're fucking stupid, and bleed them dry. Use them, spit them out. Esma didn't care that Isla was doing it, it was more that she acted too high and mighty to even acknowledge that's what it was - even if it wasn't for money. It was still the same thing. It was kind of laughable that Isla really hadn't realized just how alike they were in that sense. And there it was. The reaction she'd been waiting for. The blonde's face dropped at the mention of Basillo. "You heard," she said, her eyes pierced through hers. If the tables were turned, the only thing that would actually bother Esma was the fact that she'd been clocked. And when she was Isla's age, she wasn't exactly ready to admit that this was what she was doing and that's how she ended up married in the first place. "What? Cat got your tongue?" @itsisla-dubois

"don't flatter yourself. you're not worth the paperwork." she quipped back, still not giving her the decency of looking her way. dealing with esma before had tipped the blonde off to just how little she cared about any repercussions, so she figured it was worthless. though, she was prepared to retaliate if she got too extreme, however. even isla dubois had her limits. "though, this is playing right into a very strong case against you."

the smoke poured from between her lips as she listened to the other's words as they were thrown at her with a malicious glee. her 'industry hack' was her little secret, and the last thing she wanted or needed was a bunch of trashy magazines reporting on it. her google alerts were filled with nothing but positive coverage and she planned on keeping it that way. plus, if there was one rule that was drilled into her since birth, it was to not embarrass the dubois legacy. and while not a unique situation as far as the larger family history went, any media storm would tarnish their name. even if a litany of thoughts swirled around in her head at the moment, isla continued to project an air of calm. good thing I'm a damn good actress."again, I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. this seems like projection if anything."

then his name hit her ears. "w-what did you just say?" it wasn't as if she cared if esma told him anything, but the thought of her knowing anything about their ambiguous relationship caused her stomach to seemingly drop into the ground below. esma played dirty and she refused to have her meddling in whatever their relationship was.

@esmaxdemirci

[esmaxdemirci]

"Probably," Esma let out a heavy sigh in response, but she was quick to laugh afterwards. "Or maybe we're being punk'd? Aurora Bay Style? There's enough hidden celebs here now for it to work," she suggested jokingly. "Well, I did consider leaving," the brunette admitted, but truth be told she was rather entertained and she really had nothing else to do. "I'm gonna be blunt though I've got nothing better to do, and listening to other people's shitty stories kinda makes me feel a little bit better about my own shitty life, so I stayed."

No point sugarcoating it, she thought. "What about you? What craziness have you come across? And why are you still here?" @tjmontgomerys

"Do you think we look that tragically single to them?" Tj asked with a chuckle. "Is this some sort of Black Mirror episode? Is there a list above my head of all my failed situationships?" He glanced upwards as if trying to catch a glimpse of the imaginary list.

Wow. Tj had thought his experience had been rough.

"Oh that's rough." He winced, biting back a smile. Not wanting to find too much amusement in her suffering. "I promise I will try and be better than your last three contenders." It wasn't hard to beat when the bar was as low as it was but with his recent break-up and his even more recent new year's eve hook-up with the firefighter and the influencer, he could easily be her fourth strike.

"I know how you wound up mixed up in this speed dating nightmare but I'm curious. What's stopping you from getting up and leaving? Are you hoping to gain something from this torture experiment?" @esmaxdemirci