sassa-fiske

[sassa-fiske]

SASSA FISKE at the 2024 SPRING FLING

[sassa-fiske]

who: @walshparker when/where: spring carnival one evening

Parker Walsh was someone Sassa kept a distance from. Something about her - she was unapproachable in a different way fro Greer, and though she had typically just heard of the other girl being nothing but kind, that was more worrisome for Sassa. It was harder to read, harder to know what to expect. It had to be an act, right? But there wasn't much murmuring about the act breaking down. So...she kept her distance, watching her in auditions and rehearsals and trying to see through her.

But for this, she had feeling it was the only option. And she had put it off for long enough.

Sassa fell into step beside Parker at the carnival, flashing her a smile. "Hey," she said, a friendly smile on her face, like this wasn't out of the ordinary. "How are rehearsals going?"

[sassa-fiske]

Sassa paused, her head angling towards one shoulder, eyes widening in a combination of shock and innocence as she completely disregarded the lollipop Ollie was holding out in front of her. His question had come out of the blue - although Sassa knew that there were perhaps some reasons he could come to that conclusion, it's not like she had done anything lately to be particularly deserving of that. It was a stretch, to say the least. "Why would you ask that?" she replied, letting hurt creep into her tone, a wrinkle appearing in her brow. "I thought we were friends. Of course I like you."

Spring Carnival sometime at night [ @sassa-fiske ]

He had bought one of those long rainbow tall twisty swirly candy on a stick things, whatever they were called, walking through the stalls absently looking around. He was tempted to buy one of the foam lizards that looked like it was walking when you dragged it around with you but he wasn't sure. Really difficult decisions cropping up at the Spring Carnival, honestly. The sun had gone down a little while ago, the neon lights on full display calling you in every direction. But Ollie saw someone that called him in their direction. "Hey," he greeted as he wandered over to Sassa, pulling the long lollipop from his mouth and holding it in her direction, "do you want a lick?" He asked, knowing what her answer was probably going to be. Still he swayed it in front of her face a little, before tilting his head, a shade of a grin on his face as he asked another question, "why don't you like me?"

[sassa-fiske]

A small curl came to Sassa's lips at Beck's vaguely directed question towards her. Had she purposefully slid into the bar stool when she had seen it open next to her? Absolutely. She had been playing it cool for like...fifteen minutes now, and finally, it had paid off. She turned towards Beck slightly, letting an air of surprise come over her as she let out a laugh before answering. "Is that a hypothetical or is one of your friends dating a particularly ugly guy? I feel like I should know that before I answer."

who: @sassa-fiske

where: circa 1972

beck felt like she was treading water. her unanswered text from g was burning a hole in her phone, her overdrafted credit card was burning a hole in her pocket, and the bottom-shelf vodka was burning a hole in the back of her throat. "and you know what else i'm tired of? having to pretend to support your friend who's dating an ugly guy. i'm not telling my friends their boyfriends are cute anymore when they look like creatures from the black lagoon. it's not feminist." and she'd forgotten that vodka made her a chatty drunk. "am i wrong?" she turned to the girl next to her.

[sassa-fiske]

Sassa gave Lola a sharp glance over her shoulder, a wrinkle appearing in her brow. She was always worried about that - what people thought of her was the most pressing issue constantly on the forefront of her mind, she was always trying to make sure she was perceived in the light she wanted to be. Not that she'd ever admit that. Instead, she just took a sip of her wine, pretending to think over the question, considering her own answer. "I suppose," she said as she set her glass back down. "Maybe not specifically, but - situationally, yeah. Why do you ask?"

with: @sassa-fiske where: lola's dorm

Lola is sprawled out on the unused bed in her dorm that had, at some point between midterms, been fashioned into a makeshift sofa. There's a half-drunk bottle of orange wine on the floor, her own glass placed precariously on a bedpost, threatening to take a dive were she to turn too quickly. She hadn't meant to get drunk for this, had thought she could brave it sober, but as ever, she found herself opting for the easier route. Turning onto her side so that she is facing the other, she draws in a breath. "Do you ever, like, worry about what people you've never met would think of you?"

[sassa-fiske]

“I think I’d win all games for eternity even if you didn’t surrender,” Sassa said lightly, the head of her racquet sitting on the ground as she spun it with her hand, the curl of her lips oozing smugness. What could she say, she loved to win. Even if there wasn't much competition to do so. "And I definitely did not promise to go easy on you," she said, picking up her racquet and walking towards the side of the court their things had been dropped on, considering he had calld it. Well, she might have, when originally agreeing to play. But this had been an idea, so she was pretty sure...she didn't. "Why did you even think you could play?" she asked, tossing a water bottle in Monty's direction, her eyebrows furrowing together a bit - did she have to worry about him dying on her? That would be so unfortunate.

with: @sassa-fiske location: ogden's sports complex when: sometime after v-day, but before g's deadline

"I thought you were gonna go easy on me!" She'd said nothing of the sort. In fact, tennis had been Monty's suggestion, saying something cheeky about her needing to keep her game up or whatever. It didn't matter much how he'd goaded her into it now that it was just the two of them on the court, Sassa whooping his ass and Monty sweaty in a way that he was certain was unattractive. Another tennis ball whizzed by and he didn't even make an attempt for it, elbow throbbing and already trotting towards the center of the court. Lifting his borrowed racquet, he slapped it down on the net separating them, making it bow slightly while giving Sassa a very meaningful look, conveying just how done he was. "I surrender, you win all games for eternity." Had they even finished one game? Monty didn't think so, and he hoped Sassa didn't care, either.

[sassa-fiske]

“And yet you’re still anything but honest,” Sassa said with a roll of her eyes - like the exact same couldn’t be said about her - as she crossed one leg over the other, lounging in the spot she had chosen to claim in his dorm. Her gaze on him was sharp, appraising, cunning as she considered him in silence. "Did you get a valentine?" she asked finally, her tone cool - clearly, she didn't mean any regular valentine. It went without saying who she was talking about.

at this point, it was unsurprising when sassa barged into his room and made herself comfortable in it without invitation. link would remind himself to lock his door more often, but did he really want to keep sassa out of his room? though, this time around, it was annoying, as he was really trying his best to ignore the mess that was unfolding with g at the moment and get back to reading his book. he sighs and rolls his eyes, putting the bookmark in and tossing it at the end of his bed, before looking at sassa with a cold look.

at her question, he couldn't help but laugh. "i wish i kept a record of how many times we've said that to each other, in one way or another." lately, link's been the one slowly seeping out little droplets of truth to sassa, about certain things. he was beginning to feel like he was going to implode otherwise, with all the other noise around him. "and what would you like to me to be honest about, sassa?"

[sassa-fiske]

“I’m just using your definition, darling,” Sassa said, reaching out to tap a finger under his chin, a smirk still curled on her lips as her eyes stayed on his. "Or did you forget you've done the same?" she crooned, leaning in again, pressing her lips to his cheek once more before murmuring into his ear. "Enjoy your birthday party, Link," Sassa said, before stepping back, vanishing into the crowd before he could even stop her.

END.

"you have a funny definition of the word decent." he replies, keeping his eyes locked with hers. eye contact — one of the key terms with sassa. it was always impossible to look away, the moment they both locked their eyes with each other. "but you didn't answer my question, sassa. or did you forget you had one since new year's eve?"

[sassa-fiske]

END.

“Oh, you know,” Rhia said lackadaisically, as if discussing her plans later for the day and not potentially the other’s infidelity. “Must be pretty close if your boyfriend’s okay with you going on a date with another person,” she said with characteristic animation. Albeit, she knew how hypocritical the words sounded as soon as she said them, considering in essence that was her chosen career…

“Well, you have fun with that, love. Hope you don’t mind if I swing by later to say hi to your date,” Rhia cooed sweetly, all smiles as she showed a flouncy wave as Sassa departed.

[sassa-fiske]

He hummed, giving Sassa a slow, keen look, as if in deep deliberation, but truthfully? He couldn't really say that he was upset to be stuck owing her anything. Monty was fairly certain they'd both caught onto that by now. It was just low stakes college fun, after all, with a frisson of sexual tension lingering between their every exchange. "I should've know," he started, sidling a little closer to Sassa, slim smile beginning to grow, "I bet you keep all the boys on a leash." Monty unwisely downed the last of his champagne, swiftly stealing Sassa's glass as well, and excusing himself to top them both off.

end.

[sassa-fiske]

Sassa was already standing and moving away from the mirror when Henrietta turned her down, pausing in her movement as she glanced towards the girl who had so often been someone she considered her arch nemesis. Besides Greer for a moment. She had figured when the moment broke, the tenuous olive branch would be broken along with it, but she hadn't expected it to happen...quite that sharply. Once the surprise past, Sassa offered a tight smile, the expression not reaching her eyes as she nodded her head once. "Sure. See you down there," she said, brushing past Heni out of the room, not glancing back.

END.

That ever-so-familiar veneer of distance washes over her anew, an almost imperceptible shift in demeanour, seemingly having traced its trigger back to the word 'we'. Two years, two whole fucking years, and she still left chained to Greer's ghost. Dipping her toes into friendship with women in private was one thing, but to link arms at the elbows and stride back into the spotlight, as she and Greer had once done? Her and Greer had never been romantically involved, but it felt like cheating. As much as one could ever cheat on a best friend. A best friend who was missing.

But that was the imperative word. Greer was missing, but by no means gone. And any number of things intended to wield her status, the missing girl's best friend, as a weapon. G, the general student populace, that small voice at the back of her conscious mind that she fought with in the small hours. "You go," she says, taking a step towards her own bed. "I'm not feeling this outfit. I think I need to change."

[sassa-fiske]

"I'll keep my mouth shut," they offer, in a way that seems to signify a promise, although the actual promise is left unspoken. In essence, it was more like this: I'll try to keep my mouth shut. But the thing about information was knowing when to leverage it. If you could utilise something for a greater rate of return, why wouldn't you? Part of them believes Sassa would get that.

They snap the book shut, getting to their feet. "Do you have my number?" She tilts her head. "Or my email? I'll send you something if I ever get a sense of things."

end.

[sassa-fiske]

Monty groaned, and not in pleasure as he would've liked. "Boooo," he jeered, expression scrunched as he reluctantly moved back from Sassa, a hand held out to help her dismount from the sink. Whoever was knocking, Monty was sending them every evil psychic ray of pain he could. He hoped they got cockblocked tonight, too.

"Oh, hang on -" Already partway out the door, he turned back to the bathroom, rushing to snag his forgotten jacket from the counter. He was still tugging it on when the huffy partygoer shoved past him and he was ejected into the hall, gaze already searching for Sassa only to realize that he'd lost her to the throbbing party. Yeah, that seemed about right.

end.

[sassa-fiske]

Whitney Peak

[sassa-fiske]

Perhaps it was a bad idea to give into Link, to let him lead their way to the balcony, but Sassa couldn't keep pretending she didn't want to. The push and pull of their relationship was intoxicating in it's own way, but sometimes, she wanted the reward of letting go entirely. And that night was one such case - though she did still keep her distance from the edge of the balcony. She hadn't entirely been joking with that one. And he seemed to understand that feeling, what with the likening her to poison. "What a compliment," Sassa said with a roll of her eyes, her chin lifting up and angling to expose more of his neck, an automatic response to the feeling of Link's fingers brushing over her skin.

She didn't speak again, letting them get closer, letting his hands settled on her waist as he pulled her in, lips finally finding her skin. "I know," she crooned in response, her own hands reaching up to just barely graze over their upper arms. It was easy to angle her head slightly as his lips were on her jawline, her lips just barely brushing his ear as she spoke again - "You know how I look even better?"

getting a hard time from sassa was expected, but he also did know that she wouldn't be able to resist this offer, either. it always felt like there was a magnetic pull between the two of them, unable to steer away from finding each other in crowded places — even if it was just a glance, or a glare in their case, sassa was always in his eyesight if they ended up in the same room.

when they reached the balcony, link didn't turn any of the lights on. she looked ready to be devoured under the moonlight alone, and for a brief moment, link's eyes softened as he turned around to face her after shutting the balcony door. he takes a few steps forward, his eyes trailing over every part of her. when the distance was closed between them, he reaches out, toying with the fabric of her clothes on her shoulder, letting his fingers brush against her collarbone. "you know," his eyes meet hers, his fingers moving in smooth, small circles on her exposed skin, "it feels like i drank poison since i met you. you do something to me that definitely does not feel like it's good for me at all." though the words sound negative, he says it as if it was a welcome effect. he leans down, planting a soft kiss on the nape of her neck as his hands come to rest on her waist. "you look devastatingly stunning tonight." link whispers against her skin, reaching around the other side to place his lips softly along her jawline.

[sassa-fiske]

Sassa's head angled towards one shoulder, her smile not budging even as she stared at Rhia a beat too long, the increased friendliness only being met with an increased chill in the opposite direction from her. "What do you mean?" she asked, voice purposefully rising, a girlish cluelessness infused into the words. If Rhia wanted to play that game, Sassa could absolutely play along - she'd play dumb until the other girl outright said whatever she was trying to ask with all the subtlety of a bulldozer. "Thanks," she cooed at the other girl before lifting her drink to her lips, the sip from it hiding the scowl that briefly crossed her face. "Anyways," Sassa said once she had lowered her glass, ignoring the rest of what Rhia said as she exaggeratedly scanned over the party. "I suppose I shouldn't leave him on his own for too long." Not that she really cared too much about actually finding Monty again. She just wasn't in the mood to be interrogated over her date decisions. Surely they had all had enough of that with the murder investigation.

“No, that’s so sweet! Have you been friends long?” Rhia asked overly friendly. Her eyes twinkled with the question she dare not ask; is that all? “Must be pretty close to wanna come matching and all,“ Rhia said with a sly smile. The words lingered stalely in the air before she realized how judgmental they might have seemed. “So cute,” she tacked on, bringing her shoulders up to her ears. She also had no idea Sassa had a boyfriend which made this whole situation with Monty more distasteful. “Oh wow. That’s a bummer,” she responded amiably. “He’s not the jealous type, is he?” she asked with a raise of her eyebrows and a watchful gaze.

[sassa-fiske]

"Shame," Sassa said, drawling the word out in a similar manner to how he had before flashing Monty a pout in return, hers with just a tinge of amusement. Worked out better that way - that he was asking her what she wanted, wondering what sort of favor he'd have to deliver. That was exactly how Sassa wanted it with most people - dangling strings she could leave behind and pull on later. "I'll have to think on it then. I suppose you'll have to leave me with an I-owe-you," she said, her expression turning into a smirk as she playfully winked at him.

As Sassa's brows lifted, Monty's head tilted, giving a slow and thoughtful hum that eventually evolved into a drawn-out, "Weeeeeeell, that would depend." Pause for dramatic effect. "What do you want from me?" That really was the million dollar question, wasn't it? Because the more times that his and Sassa's paths crossed, accidental meetings turned intentional, he had to wonder what she really got out of it. Cocaine, yeah, sure, but not always. Tonight was the perfect example of his internal disconnect; did she enjoy his company enough to want to be his date, or had she just not wanted to be seen alone? Monty's idea of Sassa was far too confident to even fathom the latter. "Unfortunately, I think I've retired from breaking into professors' offices, so…" he trailed off with a sad jut of his lower lip.