lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

Months have felt like years in this relationship; how easily she was able to let down her guard and allow herself to sink as deep into this as she could. Not even dipping her toes but jumping off the cliff and expecting him to be there at the bottom to catch him. So, far... He hasn't let her down. But she has a feeling it's not in his dynamic. He's not the type to let someone down... Only she is. And after that night with Xavier, the brief walk home and the emotions that settled within her that made her realize how much she let him down.

Her thumbs graze along the side of his neck, her attention solely focuses on him and not on anything around them. The last week and a half brought them closer together than anything probably ever could and it's made her a little more bold in public, but it also made him more willing to receive it. It's no longer kisses in the office when she drops by the shop and it's hard to believe they were ever at that point instead of this one. "You don't believe that I was happy to help?" She muses in a playful tone as she smiles at the turn of his head, the kiss on the palm of her hand. "It was nice learning more about you, J."

"I think so too." She whispers. Her eyes resting on him as she chews on her lower lip. "You know this means you're going to have to meet Nana, right? It's already driving her crazy that I have brought you around and now she's already planning on setting that extra plate at Thanksgiving. She wants you to come see the let's hope Luciana doesn't burn down the house this year show... I catch the oven on fire once and she's never let it go."

@pcrdita

Jude's proud of little idea. Simply enjoying a movie together in the back of his truck, stuffed with blankets to give the metal bed some sort of comfort to it. But he knows Luciana's made of tougher stuff, she'd sat on the back of his bike for longer periods than this and didn't seem to mind.

Usually in moments of great vulnerability Jude would take that as a sign to resign to being absent from a dynamic. But baring it all only had an astonishingly positive effect, the pair bonding further and further day by day. To the point where he couldn't imagine ever going back to a time where Luciana wasn't around.

Watching her sit up again, Jude follows the shadows of the night framing her face. Beautiful both inside and out, he'd be a downright fool to ever forget that — take it for granted. As she settles on his lap, Jude almost mindlessly lets his hands rest on the back of her head, lightly touching her hair, then slide down to rest on the side of her thighs. A great moment of tenderness, he didn't really seem to care if it was in eye shot of the cars next to them. They weren't doing anything untoward anyway. "I don't believe that." Ironic, Jude would say the same thing about himself, but he couldn't imagine her being that cataclysmic. But regardless, it seemed clear they were of the same mind about things.

"I think we're gunna be alright." A soft smile dangles in the corner of his mouth, before softly kissing into the palm held next to his face, as Morticia Addams voice plays in the background from the big screen.

— @lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

"I can't believe you aren't going to dish with me." Luciana pouts playfully. "You know I'm one of the best people to hear all about the stuff going on." She teases as she reaches out to grab the box of pizza when they call their name. She looks at her from over her shoulder. "And all I have to show for my work is my clients and myself eating pizza on a Friday night."

@gracecromwell

"Well I don't want to jinx it, actually I'm still on the fence on allowing myself to actually enjoy it instead of fighting against my emotions." Gracie admitted with a shrug of her shoulders as she toyed with her phone in her hands before slipping it back into her back pocket. "Thank you, it's been a long work in progress but I'm getting somewhere finally."

[lucianaxalvarez]

"I usually wait until after Christmas. My nana's favorite part of the holidays is the decorations, so every single holiday we are decorating for it." Luciana laughs, raising her eyes up toward her. "What about you? Are you the type to skip Thanksgiving and set up for Christmas right after Halloween?"

@gwen-moreno

open starter for @aurorabaystarter location: choose your own adventure

"Okay, so are you a person that waits until after Thanksgiving to put up Christmas decorations? Or is it exactly right after Halloween that Christmas will get put up?" Gwen thought waiting until after Thanksgiving was the way to go, since that's when Christmas music would play on the radio. But recently, she felt as if this weekend was the perfect weekend to start.

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana walks into the Oasis, her gaze shifting around the room to try and find Nelson. She holds a little birthday bag in her hand; it's nothing much a gift card, a couple gag t-shirts and a bottle of whiskey which was ironic since she was coming down to a bar. She places the bag on the bar next to him, a little laugh leaving her. "Or maybe it was to wish you happy birthday... although the shitty dancing will be amusing to record and hold against you in the future."

@the-nelson-quinn

Location: Oasis Status: Open @aurorabaystarter

Nelson never wanted to celebrate his birthday on his own because he just felt like that would have been a boring way to spend the day. It was why he’d messaged a few people and told them if they had the time he was going drinking and dancing for his birthday and they were more than welcome to drink on his dime. So when he saw the familiar face he smiled softly. “ what was it? the free drinks or the chance to see my shitty dancing ?”

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana turns her head when she hears a voice, it's a brief moment of confusion that covers her features until she notices the figure behind the other. "Yeah, yeah." She muses, making sure to keep her gaze on Eleanor only. "I am sorry I took so long to get here, I got caught up at the gym. Someone decided to fall off the treadmill on my way out so... I didn't want to leave them on the ground even though I wasn't on the clock." She muses. "It would have been funny, like one of those videos you see on Instagram but I'm pretty sure she broke her ankle so it stopped being amusing instantly."

@gcldrushed

location: choose your own adventure

" thank goodness you're finally here!" eleanor exclaimed, relief flooding her voice as she spotted someone approaching. she quickly linked her arm through theirs, eager to escape the creeping presence of the person she had been chatting with. their questions had taken a strange turn, and elle couldn't shake the unsettling vibe—she really tries to give people the benefit of the doubt, but their energy was really off and she had been listening to way too many true crime podcast these last few days. " please play along, " she whispered urgently, glancing back as she waved a hasty goodbye at the stranger before hastening their steps. // @aurorabaystarter

[lucianaxalvarez]

Relationships weren't quite easy for her. Not since her childhood. Her father MIA, her mother constantly treating her as an enemy or the competition when she was anything but... The only person she ever let in was someone she didn't even know anymore, only read about from afar. It was how she knew little pieces of his life that she didn't get to be apart of. This is why she promised once the two of them started growing closer together that she would be different. She would be willing to let down her guard and be there.

She didn't know if it was necessarily important for her to know where the two of them stood but maybe there was a part of her that just wanted to know how he felt, what he was thinking when it came to their relationship. Especially with how emotionally vulnerable he became the last few weeks. She thinks about all those moments in the court room where he gave her hand one little squeeze, the way his features would pinch together and even the emotions of the aftermath. She knew he held back what he probably usually did, sinking into her instead of whatever he used to sink into.

"I'm glad I could help," the words were whispered. Mainly out of respect for those around them since it dawned on her they were in the bed of his truck, having this conversation about what they are, what they wanted to be. She brushes her tongue along her lower lip as she lifts her head up from his side to look at him. Once he speaks about how he didn't talk about it. With everything that had been on his mind, she hadn't expected him to talk about defining their relationship.

"I like doing that too," she says after he finishes. She adjusts on the truck of the bed, moving one leg over to settle herself onto his lap. Mainly to be closer to him, not anything more than that. She places her hands on each side of his neck. "I can't say I have some traumatic experiences when it comes to relationships, at least, this kind of relationship but I pretty much have always ruined everything I touch and I don't want to do that here. I'm fine living in the moment, I usually do better that way because the worrying about what could happen is just... too much." She brushes her thumbs along the lining of his jaw. "And I wasn't expecting ya to talk about this before, you had more to focus on than a conversation that can happen at any point in time."

@pcrdita

This felt good, like it always did. It was astonishing how just being around someone who cared for you so deeply was soothing to the soul, he'd forgotten what that had felt like. As Luciana settles in against his frame, Jude can't help but smile. A secret smile that was only for her, the one person to be so invited into his soul, and hold it with her caring hands. No pretence, much less fear than ever before, he wanted to mentally capture this moment in time to look back on like a picture. Not just preserve the visual of them together, but the feeling of true happiness.

"Yeah." He chuckles back, despite their development in dynamic you couldn't quite take tease out of the man just yet. He let's her words sit and resonate in the space for a moment, glancing up towards the screen however not focusing on the movie. That time she vocalised them being in a relationship he wasn't in the frame of mind for such a conversation. However, today he was more ready to pick up where they left off. He didn't particularly need to talk about these things, but if having an understanding of where they stood was important to her — then it would be important to him.

"I think... I don't hold any expectations over what 'ya need to be for me, but I appreciate what y'have done." He nods, as if mindlessly confirming to himself the words came out the right way for once. "A lot." If that wasn't already obvious, he wanted to reinforce it. "I didn't not talk about us being couple because I was ashamed, or nothin'." Jude wasn't sure exactly of what was going on in Luciana's mind after that initial conversation about his dad, but he had an inkling of sort. He didn't want to further encourage lingering feelings of uncertainty of his interest in her. "My last serious relationship ended really fuckin' badly, was pretty toxic lookin' back on it now. And I played a part in lettin' things get to the point of no return. I think, because of it, sometimes I'd rather live in the moment than live in fear of the future. 'Cause i don't wanna fuck this up. You and me."

— @lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana came over to the bar to grab something for her and Jude to drink. But it's almost impossible to get to the bar with how crowded it was. She didn't mean to touch the guy in front of her but when she hears the tone of his voice. Her eyebrow arches up ever so slightly as she turns her head to look around her because she's not exactly sure who Hinata is. This town keeps getting bigger and bigger she swears. "I'll assume whoever that is... is walking around dressed like Barnacle Boy and you're not very thrilled about what you are." She asks.

@clint-bennet

Open: Open to anyone, feel free to reach out to plot or just jump in~ @aurorabaystarter Location: Sharky's Monster Mash

Being out in such a crowded public place was bad enough, doing so while wearing a purple scallop bikini top was worse, it didn't matter that there was a shirt underneath, he looked ridiculous and though he had no proof, he felt exposed, like everyone was looking at him, judging, laughing, it left him feeling on edge. He couldn't believe Hinata got them into this mess, losing a bet, they now both had to dress as Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy, he didn't even know who those characters were, just that they looked stupid as fuck. As soon as he entered the space, he practically bee-lined it to the bar, not bothering to grab a barstool, he instead leaned on the surface and waved down the bartender. "Git me a house whiskey...." He started before he considered again. "Actually... make it a double." The adjustment of the order came with him straightening up a bit when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. "I swear on m'life Hinata, if that's you..." His voice trails off as the glass of whiskey lands in front of him.

[lucianaxalvarez]

"We never think about doing that." Luciana has done it before with past Halloween costumes where she leaves it in the bag until the party and then wonders why she did it that because she could have seen all the imperfections. "It's okay, I'm just Freddy Krueger." She laughs. "I went more DIY this time around because I never put on the costumes before the party and it was starting to get harder to justify having multiple Halloween costumes I only wore once a year."

@roxdelrosario

open starter: @aurorabaystarter

where: sharky's monster mash

Roxy sat at the bar in her Mothman costume and thanked the bartender when he brought her a bendy straw as she requested. It made it easier for her to pull up some of the material of her costume and use the straw to take a sip of her drink.

"You know," she began, speaking to the person beside her, "I feel like maybe I should've worn this costume for a few hours before the party so I could've made adjustments because I really can't see in this thing. I would say your costume looks awesome but I can't really tell."

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana settles against him once he slips into the truck bed. She lays her head against his shoulder. It feels good to be like this with him, maybe it was the trip but somehow it felt like the two of them were closer than ever. She lifts her eyes up to look at the screen, placing her hand on his abdomen. She plays with the fabric of his shirt as her attention focuses on the screen of the movie. It felt good to be back in Aurora, not having to worry about something bad happening. It was like the cloud wasn't over the both of them anymore but it was a cloud that was necessary.

"A good day, huh?" She teases. She tilts her head up to look at him when he says she deserved it after everything. "I'm doing what I'm supposed to do, you know? It's what grown adults do in an actual relationship," she pokes at his abs gently. It was brought up once, the idea of being in an actual relationship, considering the label and throwing it out there but with everything that was happening with him in that moment, it wasn't something they actually discussed. "What do you think about that?"

@pcrdita

Jude liked being being back home with her. Falling back into their usual routine, the comforting rhythm of their daily lives they'd seem to fall into. Seeing her happy at the proposed date idea, in turn made him feel good. After all, the deserved to a moment to themselves to enjoy the others company without any external stresses. He intentionally picked the non violence packed movie for the day, considering it would difficult to maintain the romantic vibe he was going for.

"You caught me on a good day." The blonde quips over the truck bed, before placing his boot on top of the wheel to prop himself high enough to climb into the make-shift bed with her. Settling himself down next to her, Jude wraps his arm around her shoulders before pressing a kiss lazily against her head. "Y'deserve it, after everythin' you've done." He mumbles into her hair, holding there for a moment before settling himself down against the outdoor pillow he had propped behind their backs.

— @lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

In the few weeks they spent in Baton Rouge. It felt like the two of them had grown closer together. For the first time in her life, she had this stable relationship and she wasn't fucking it up like usual. In fact, she was doing the opposite. She was doing her best not to ruin it by acting like she usually did. Instead, she made decisions she should have a long time ago when it came to people in her life and went with him to one of the hardest things he'd ever have to face. She spent every day, holding his hand and listening to the arguments, to what he had actually done and spent every night remaining as close to him as she could, brushing her fingers through his hair and providing the physical comfort she knew how.

It was a relief when it ended in their favor. Well, his favor. She sat in the passenger seat of the truck as he drove, her eyes glancing over at him every so often to take him in. To see him back to being Jude in Aurora Bay and not the Jude in Baton Rouge. He seems more at ease here which is nice to see. She gets out of the car and shuts the door behind her. She walks over to the other side of the bed across from him, smirking at his words.

"Too bad I already posted it all over Facebook," she teases as she walks over to the back and pulls herself up into the cargo bed. She gets comfortable in the blankets, turning to face him as the movie starts. "You keep doing romantic things like this, Jude and a girl could get used to it."

@pcrdita

Starter: @lucianaxalvarez Where: Sunset Drive In

They'd been back from Baton Rogue for a few weeks now. Not only was he thrilled for this years ordeal to be over, but he felt that their week away had been a pinnacle part in the development of their relationship. While normally affectionate with Luciana, Jude felt himself let go a little more. Lately he wasn't so afraid of letting a bit more of his feelings show in public, something that didn't really come natural to him. Why? Well, if there was anything that would prove to Jude how committed she was to being in his life, it was the working she'd put into supporting him during his dad's appeal process.

Despite his initial fears of opening this specific can of worms, Luciana had watched him go through one of the toughest moments he'd face in life and not be afraid. In fact, in a way Jude felt a lot closer to her than ever before. So in return for her kindness Jude was putting into more effort than usual, actively suggesting they take his truck and take it to the movie drive in with some blankets.

"Don't go tellin' no one this was my idea." He winks, from the other side of the car, hoisting himself into the cargo bed with the last of the blankets to settle down with her before The Addams Family started playing.

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana doesn't feel like she should talk about the events that occurred in his life after she left it. She could have done so much more but leaving Texas was... something she had to do even though she really didn't need to make the choices she did after.

She could have kept some sort of contact with the man next to her but the idea of going back to her mother's house after what happened that night. It was... almost unbearable and she never knew how to talk about it.

Her head turns to look over at him when he breaks the silence, something she had been trying to figure out how to do it. She brushes her tongue along her lower lip, thinking about those days in Texas. How easy, yet brutal they felt.

She also doesn't know how she would function with the death of her own mother. She has to debate what she should say out loud, what to ask, how to keep the conversation going without making it worse or touching the elephant that currently stands between them.

"It's..." She breathes out. "Always hard to think about this part of life. It's like no one really prepares you or warns you on how it's going to feel or what it's going to do." She can only imagine that he feels like he has no right to grieve because she assumes he found out about his father's death the same way she did.

"Are you going back?" She asks, turning her head to look over at him. "To Texas?"

@xaviermattthews

In some recess of his mind, X knows he should have been more guarded around Luciana. She was a walking manifestation of one of the worst eras of his life and there she appeared in another moment that felt like it was doing everything it could to rival that.

Exiting the diner, the dim of the lights within it left behind to the night sky illuminated by street lamps felt jarring to him, just like the whole day had.

( Just like right then did. )

Though home is the destination in the forefront of his mind, he wanders like he's seeking out the long way back to it. He knows what awaits him there, a phone that was still blowing up and his girl with sad eyes because she didn't know how to fix something that no person could fix for him.

The silence reminds him that he still knows the way to Four Leaf from any street in Aurora Bay and could find his way there with his eyes closed.

"Just doesn't feel real, you know?" He says eventually, his hands finding their way into the pockets of his jacket, "But I know it is because I can fucking feel it."

He's never missed the large portion of his life he spent deliberately numbing everything more than in that second.

@lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana laughs. "You have a fair point but you know that's not what I was asking," she gives the woman a look before she steps up to the counter. She orders a regular pepperoni and cheese pizza before glancing over at her. She arches a brow when Grace admits to having a person. "Oh, come on," she muses in a playful tone. "You should give me some more details than that." She chuckles. After Grace orders the pizza she wants, Luciana pays the cashier and moves to the pick up window. She shifts closer to the other as she starts to go through her phone. She smiles as she leans in to look at the screen. "Wow, Grace. Those look amazing."

@gracecromwell

Has there anyone that caught her eyes? Sure there were a few who were attractive but enough to have her thinking about them? Her mind wandered to a certain someone before clearing her throat and laughing. "I mean have you seen some of the people around here? It's filled with attractive people." She derailed the conversation away from the subject as best as she could, looking at Luciana before sighing. "There's this one person but I'm not trying to get involved. I'm strictly focusing on designs." Gracie admitted that it would be nice to go on dates but after her last failed relationship, she feels like there wasn't any point when fashion design was always going to come first. "I have some instagram posts, let me show you." She said as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through her posts before holding it out for Luciana to see.

[lucianaxalvarez]

LUCIANA ALVAREZ AS FREDDY KRUEGER.

@aurorabayaesthetic

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana turns her head to look over at her. "Is there anyone who has caught your eye lately?" She asks, arching a brow at her. She steps up in line, her gaze flickering toward the front of the line to make sure the two of them were paying attention to where the line is going. "And how are your designs? Got any you can share with me?"

@gracecromwell

"Me?" Gracie placed a hand over her chest in fake horror before laughing. "I wish I had more to say about my silly little life but really...I just been focusing on my designs. I mean I should try get back into dating since things are doing great for my career wise." She wasn't too certain if she was ready to jump right in, maybe for a little fun, it wouldn't hurt but she figured she was far too awkward to go more than the talking stages.

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana remains silent as he seems to be debating the answer. It's a big step, she can be more than patient for him to decide whether or not it was one he was willing to take. She wouldn't hold it against him if he said no right now. She would help him pack his bag, give him a kiss goodbye and just send a text to let him know she was there if he wanted her.

She presses her lips together once he opens his eyes, her eyes resting on his features. "It seems like we are going on our first trip together," she says in a soft voice. Of course, it's not the best first trip but she wants to ease the tension slightly.

She leans up and presses a kiss against his cheek. "I'll be back in ten minutes," she promises as she stands up. She places her hand on the suit and brushes her fingers against it for a second before she turns to look at him. "I'll meet you back here," she says. She walks out quickly and heads to her place, packing her bag pretty quickly and knowing she has the perfect outfit for the court date.

It takes ten minutes. Just like she promised. She stands out front and lifts her eyes up when he opens the front door. "You ready?" She asks him softly.

@pcrdita

Jude wasn't sure what he was expecting in Luciana's reaction. Regret from asking? Confusion? Disbelief? Luckily, she doesn't pull away, or look at him pitifully. Just with the usual kindness he found when he looked into her eye's, a gaze that over the last nine months he'd grown to know came with tenderness he'd never experienced before. He'd long stopped pretending to be tough enough, and would let the tears fall. Defending his mother was the single hardest thing he ever had to do in his life, even greater than getting over his addictions — which was excruciating enough on it's own.

Shutting his eye's tightly, Jude feels the sensation of her hands running up to cradle his head. Which he, almost instinctively, finds himself leaning into gently. Her words brought a warmth to his heart that hadn't felt before in regards to talking about his mum. He starts to reason, that just maybe he should say yes. Having her around for comfort would be a lot better than his usual tendency to drink himself to the bottom of several bottles. He'd gotten into fights, kicked out bars a few times, cursed god out loud in the middle of baton rogue in his frustrated stupors. He knew Luciana would take the alcohol out of his hand before he had the chance to do anything stupid.

Opening his eye's once more, he let's his gaze rest over Luciana once more. He let's the silence wash over them for a moment before he nods, gently.

"Yeah. I'd like y'to be there."

— @lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

Luciana: What do you think it means? Luciana: Got it! I should be headed for you in five minutes. @tillycai

Tilly: Oh Tilly: Does that mean what I think it means? 👀 Tilly: Good point Tilly: Can't have greasy food without ice cream @lucianaxalvarez

[lucianaxalvarez]

Rolling her eyes playfully, Luciana laughs. "God, what a horrid thing to happen." She says sarcastically. In reality, who wouldn't like a pizza shoved into their mouth. Well, the more she thinks about it, it would depend on the context of it. She turns her head to look over at her, a smirk on her features. "You seem to know everything going on with me... I think the only person who will be gossiping about their life tonight is you."

@gracecromwell

"Good because I will shove pizza into your mouth to shut up." Gracie laughs threateningly. She was more than excited for a little girls night, something she desperately needed. A break from her world was all that she needed in that moment and especially if she got to watch some silly romcoms with greasy food? Even better. "We can even gossip about whatever."