benvanderbilt

Latest Posts by benvanderbilt

bishopkirbcy‌:

There was not edge to Bishop’s voice when he glanced to his brother in law in question, “Do you ever not do that? The professor and holier-than-thou routine?” Ben wouldn’t be wrong if he voiced his opinions that Bishop wanted little and less to do with him. But here he was, for whatever reason. Maybe he felt bad, who knew. Not even Bishop really knew at this moment, there seemed to be no ulterior motives. “Entertaining, yes, but then everyone would have a picture proof of your dick size, the shape and everything and some things are better left up to the public’s imagination.”

"It’s how I talk,” He said with a shrug. “If you don’t like it, no one’s stopping you from walking away.” He was done trying to impress King’s family. That shit was so far out the door. He had better things to worry about. “Do you always have this ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude?” He asked back, “I wouldn’t mind proving I have a big dick, though. I know I’m small but I know how to carry around a package.”

nathaliexkirbey‌:

With a halfhearted smile at the barista in front of her, Nathalie handed over her money with one hand while the other clenched her phone a bit too tightly. Hanging up from a phone call with her mother where she endured the same questions about her wedding that she’d been answering for months already, all she could look forward to was getting a bit of caffeine in her system so she could keep her eyes open for longer than ten minutes. While she was waiting for her coffee to be handed over to her, she felt like someone was standing close behind her and when she turned her head to ask them to take a step back, recognized them. “Could you move back a bit?” Nat asked. “You’re hovering.”

Ben was a coffee guy now. He hadn’t been before Europe, but during that excursion he realized that most Europeans drink coffee religiously and smoke socially. Both habits he had picked up there. Wanting to get his fix, mixed with a lack of understanding personal space, he was fidgeting behind someone as he waited for his coffee. “Shit, sorry,” Of course he made a bad impression on a Kirbey. He was trying so hard for King, but this was hard for him. Immediately, he smiled at her, trying to keep the mood light. “Next time you can just push me back, I wouldn’t mind,” He said with a shrug. “What kind of coffee are you waiting for?”

bishopkirbcy‌:

News and rumors traveled fast around here. Bishop was no stranger to that. Despite how much he didn’t like the other man, he was at last attempting some level of friendliness. His sister was a stranger, but she still had the Kirbey name, so there was something to that. And he still had the Vanderbilt name. Whatever that meant, because neither Ben nor King seemed to care for the title. “She does.” Bishop’s voice was blunt, his eye ticking to look at Ben without moving his head. “I really haven’t the inclination to do the cliche winter in New York that people make Instagram famous.” Bishop’s instagram had been lacking in posts for months now. Same with his twitter. The last tweet was in reference to Blur burning down and his condolences. “I guess both that and skinny dipping would be rock bottom, truthfully.” 

He stared at the other man. A part of him was weary as to why Bishop was even continuing the conversation. He made it clear that he didn’t want anything to do with Ben. And that was enough for Ben to give up. “There’s a reason why I haven’t posted on social media in years,” He mentioned, “Trust me. Instagram fame isn’t it at all. Social media’s fake. It’s unhealthy,” He lectured even though Bishop didn’t ask for one. “But I do think it’d be very entertaining to be in trouble for skinny dipping out of everything. I’d do it if the police weren’t up my ass.”

monty-santos‌:

“You sound like my sister,” Monty chuckled, because even with the familiar twinge of pain that came whenever he talked about Celia, it still seemed to be true, “I guess, but I don’t really notice much.  I pretty much just walk places, so maybe I’m just as bad as the tourists sometimes,” he shrugged, “it sounds like a bar, and the fact that I’m trying not to drink and I’ve been in a continual state of broke up until recently, it’s pretty much a safe bet that I Have no idea where you’re even talking about.”

Well shit, he didn’t want to remind Monty of his deceased sister. Shit just got dark fast too. Instead, he chuckled along with Monty. That seemed way better than getting all serious about it. “I mean, you’re way better than a tourist. You’re Monty Santos. I think you’re the best person that has come outta here in a very long time.” It was true, everyone seemed to have tons of problems. But not Monty. He seemed different. “That’s alright. Do you wanna go there and drink away my sorrows?”

chessieabernathy‌:

Chessie knows he’s trying to keep this casual, trying his best to push past the tension between them and have a semi-normal conversation. You could see it from a mile away. “The truth will set you free,” she comments easily, taking another puff of her cigarette. She’s unsure how to reply to him – Ben makes it sound like something mundane happened, as if he forgot King’s birthday or was late to dinner. There was no way for her to respond to his comment properly, she decided. There was no way to string together a sentence that was anything short of her telling him King was justified. “It’s not any different for how you are normally,” she finds herself tease, hoping to keep up the light and airy conversation, rather than get into the gritty details he surely wants to ask about. At the mention of O, Chessie purses her lips into a thin line for a moment, biting the inside of her cheek. “We’ve spoken,” she opens with, “It’s been… complicated. With work.” 

"That’s why I’ve never been a fan of the truth,” He joked. Was it bad or good that they could be joking together? Especially after what had happened. The big elephant in the room, or rather the air, in this case, was still there. He wanted to ask her more but knew it wasn’t his place to do so. He didn’t know her like that. “And that’s why I don’t work.” He acknowledged, “It seems too stressful.” The truth was, Ben didn’t have any skills anyways. “Do you think I’d make a good model? I know Paris pretty well.” He had no idea what being a model consisted of but he was trying to keep their conversation as light as she was. “You know if you ever need to get out of the house or whatever, you’re always welcome to give me a call. I’m usually not busy. And it’ll be a nice break for me too. O’s also pissed at me.” 

quinnxarchibald‌:

Quinn startled for a second as Ben changed the subject. He looked up at the brunet, eyes widening slightly. “Yeah, yeah I heard about that.” He replied. He’d wanted to reach out to his former friend, wanted to make sure that Ben was okay but he hadn’t. Not out of malice but because he had no idea what to say. He wanted to talk about it but even now it seemed that the other male didn’t want to. “Yeah, the 80s definitely seemed a lot simpler. They had their problems though. I guess there have to be trade offs.” Quinn said before adding softly “How are you doing? After everything?”

It was hard with Quinn. He wanted to tell Quinn every single problem that he was having. It felt natural to do that, and yet he knew he couldn’t. He didn’t have that part in Quinn’s life anymore thanks to his own mistakes. It was hard to not have anyone to talk to. “I’m glad we’re just not still having a big hair trend. That seemed horrible,” He said with a sigh of relief. With Quinn’s question, he immediately opened his mouth up but stopped himself from saying anything. They weren’t best friends, they were estranged best friends. He couldn’t tell her anything, could he? Not when he hadn’t even apologized yet. “I’m fine. Things are a bit tense with King but I guess that happens when you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He shrugged, trying not to make a big deal of it.

wrenabernathy‌:

Wren Abernathy had not been raised to discuss problems in public. Actually, he had not been raised to discuss problems, period. Many families tried to keep up appearances for the outside, but in the Abernathy family it went well beyond that, to the point where it had been nearly impossible for Wren to even talk to Chessie since she’d moved in with him. Of course, he checked up on her, made sure she ate and spent his evenings sitting in front of her bedroom door. But if he was being honest with himself, he’d been avoiding talking about what had happened as much as she had been avoiding him.

So, when Ben asked about her, all he did was dip his head and then look back up with what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “She’s okay,” he said, his intonation falling flat indicating Wren’s response was anything but an invitation to discuss Chessie. “How are you?” he asked, hoping that would be enough to change the subject. He liked Ben well enough, but he hadn’t exactly sought out the most clandestine table in the entire place to still have to talk about what had happened.

Despite his mother’s efforts to always tell Ben it wasn’t polite to be nosy, it never worked. He was always looking at drama from afar and never really trying to get into it himself. The latter was inevitable with a last name like Vanderbilt as well as having a knack for vices. It wasn’t his fault, it was in his blood. At least that’s what he told himself. 

“Good, glad to hear that,” He caught on that this was something Wren wasn’t particularly open about talking about, which was fine. He just liked hearing that she was okay. “I’m fine. I couldn’t be better.” He lied, not wanting to delve into any more details. Ben was a private person, he was taught to swallow his problems and put on a happy face when he was growing up. That was one of the few things that carried over into adulthood for him. “How are you?” He asked, returning the gesture. “Did you have a better New Year’s than the rest of us?”

oatanas‌:

Finally, O looked up from her phone and at Ben. “Look, I appreciate that you’re trying but at this point it’s a waste of breath,” she leveled with him. She wasn’t trying to be harsh and brush him off, she was just trying to be honest. “You’ve gotta know that being in King’s dog house automatically puts you in mine too, right?” King was the only thing that really held them together, after all. A few weeks ago O had been willing to get to know Ben as a person rather than just an extension of King but right now? It was back burnered. “Not that I think you need reminding, but you really hurt her.” 

He didn’t need another lecture. He didn’t need to be reminded about how much he hurt his wife. He knew that, and it hurt him thinking about how badly he hurt King. “I know what I did.” He stated, “But I’m trying to make things right. It can’t be like this for forever.” He knew her cooperation wasn’t going to happen. However, he appreciated how there she was for King. He wished he had a friend like that. He did actually until he fucked it up. “Do you know how hard it is to get the silent treatment from the one person you love? It sucks. I thought food would be a common thing to bring us all together.” 

monty-santos‌:

“I guess that we’ve got some very different philosophies there because I don’t think that I do anything just to see if I actually can,” Monty chuckled, though that was really a concept that he’d never really been a fan of.  He’d always been the kind of person who never really thought to take more than he needed.  “Just because he did that doesn’t mean that the history isn’t here. And I think everyone would rather not have the tourists here, but it’s just a part of living in New York. You just have to find the best places to hide from them.”

Monty was way too good. A part of him wanted to see if he could corrupt him but another part of him wanted Monty to always remain the same. It was a mystery to him how Monty was raised here and yet he was so freaking good and innocent. Ben could not relate. “I always like to do things that people tell me I can’t do. Reverse psychology works too well on me.” He admitted with a chuckle. “It’s just annoying when they stop in the middle of the street,” Ben said with frustration.“Have you ever been to Dive 75? I bet tourists don’t go there.” 

iamrenanpacheco

quinnxarchibald‌:

Quinn looked over at Ben for a moment before shaking his head. “Yeah, you make a very good point. Most people here kind of suck don’t they?” He sighed, thinking of how much time he’d spent hating how fake people were. Despite hating the facade, he couldn’t imagine leaving the way Ben or Monty had. “I dunno about screens though, it’s not the same as face to face.”

He could go on and pretend as if everything was normal. Nothing was normal between them. Nothing was normal for Ben right now anyways. Maybe this would be a good segway into what had happened and the apology that he owed Quinn. But that meant actually talking about things and Ben was not a fan of that action. “I’m assuming you heard what happened.” He blurted. Shit. “I mean what happened at the party. Not with me, particularly,” It wasn’t a big deal what had happened to him or anything. Possession was a big deal but he wanted to minimize that as much as possible around Quinn. Because Quinn seemed to have been through so much because of him already. He should’ve just apologized to Quinn. Instead, he continued to talk about phones. “I honestly think screens are taking over everyone’s lives. Have you ever seen those videos of New York back in the 80′s? No one was on their phone.”

arlovasquez‌:

One of the last people Arlo expected to see while he was out was Ben. But here he was, standing in the same coffee shop he was. 

“I’m not well. And it’s trashed. Well, it was trashed. I’ve been cleaning the last few days but I can only the find the energy to do a few things at a time, ya know?”

He went silent, sitting in the chair. He turned his head back to the window and watched the people outside for a few moments before he turned back to Ben. “How’re you?”

He looked down at his feet as Arlo spoke as if he was ashamed of what had happened that night. “Why not just hire a professional cleaning crew or whatever? I’m sure they have enough manpower to clean it an hour.” He suggested, 

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine, actually. But he thought saying it out loud would convince himself that he was fine. “Have you ever had a pissed off wife before?” He asked, rhetorically, “Because it’s not my idea of a good time.” Things seemed tense for everyone. New Year’s Eve fucked up everyone. “Have you spoken to Chessie?”

wrenabernathy‌:

Getting out of the house for non-work-related events for the first time in almost three weeks was a thing in itself, but Wren also felt like he was being watched with every step he took. That’s Wren Abernathy, his sister is the one who overdosed on New Year’s Eve, he could hear all around him. And even though he knew it was just all in his mind, it made him uber-conscious of every move he made.

So, instead of looking for the crowds, Wren was happy to find his favorite café and make his way all the way to the back to sit at the tiny round table. He’d been reading the newspaper for a few minutes when he heard glass falling and looked up to the barista who’d dropped things, and then couldn’t help but recognize the person standing just a few feet away from him. “Oh,” he said as the other also seemed to notice Wren. “Hi.”

Cafe’s reminded him of Europe. Well, sort of. Anything was better than Starbucks. Ben was longing for a pastry which is why he ended up inside in the first place. And then he saw Chessie’s brother. Shit. 

“Hey Wren,”  He said. He wasn’t sure if Wren got the full rundown of events that had occurred o New Year’s Eve. Did he know that Ben was with Chessie when she OD’ed? “How’s your sister?” He couldn’t help but ask. All of this felt too familiar and he was going to ask if she was alright any chance that he got.

arlovasquez‌:

The days crawled by with little to no brightness to them; not in a physical sense but within his mind. Everything to Arlo was bleak and dark. He hadn’t smoked, painted, or done anything productive in days. This was the first day he’d actually gotten the motivation to put on regular clothes and head out for a walk.

And he walked for hours because he knew if he stopped, he wouldn’t want to keep going. But he needed to get something to drink, so he stepped inside a small coffee shop of 34th and ordered a black coffee, setting his stuff on a table near the window and gazing out.

“Fuck.”

It was just by coincidence that he had spotted Arlo. In fact, Ben wouldn’t dare set his feet in a “hipster” coffee shop. He was too good for New York Hipsters. However, he stopped in his tracks when he saw Arlo. Before he could stop himself, he was inside. And approaching the other man. 

“Arlo.” He stated, “You look worse than I do.” He wanted to ask how he was since everything went down. He hadn’t spoken much to anyone since the arrest. Maybe that was because he was also keeping himself in isolation. “How are you?” He finally blurted after the internal struggle his brain was creating inside. “How’s your place since everything went down?” He didn’t remember much about the cops coming in but he figured it would’ve been left a mess from them at least.

chessieabernathy‌:

His words pulled a something between a scoff and a laugh from her, something she wasn’t sure would happen in his presence. “Believe me,” she begins, giving him a pointed look, “I’ve caught on.” The moment passed quickly, smile fading moments after it came to life, her attention turning to the lake in front of them once more. There was a new sort of tension between them, a conversation they’re attempting to tiptoe around but can’t avoid. Casually bringing up the fact that they’d gotten high together (Along side Arlo), all three of them snorting laced blow, only to have her be the one to fall overboard wasn’t a welcomed topic. Both knew better than to say something along those lines, settling with a conversation about their living arrangements. She could handle that, easy. “It’s strange not being there,” she found herself admit, taking another puff of her cigarette. She’d become accustomed to their little foursome, their shared home – The circumstance to have all of that change wasn’t ideal. I’m glad you’re okay. The sentiment was there, but the words were beginning to feel meaningless, purely due to the amount of times they’d been repeated to her. “I’m just happy to be out of the hospital.” She settled with after a moment of silence, trying to keep things light, avoiding the topic at hand. 

“You weren’t supposed to agree so quickly,” He chuckled, “But I’ll forgive you.” It was very hard for Ben to be occupied, which caused his brain to want to do things that he shouldn’t be doing. “I’m in the doghouse over there. I’ve never seen King so pissed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hot but it’s not ideal either.” He acknowledged. It wasn’t like that was out of the ordinary, Ben found everything about King attractive. “Let me tell you, I’m out there smoking alone now. I look like a total weirdo.” He gave her a nod, understanding why she would be happy. He was glad to see that she was okay. Having a repeat of a certain event would have definitely triggered something within him. But she was here. She was okay. “Have you spoken to O since everything went down?” He was wondering if O was as mad at her as King as at him. 

monty-santos‌:

“I don’t see the point in checking out more than I’m going to read, especially since I go there once a week,” Monty admitted as he started walking, “Well for people who didn’t grow up here, it’s the dream. There’s Broadway, there’s a million and a half movies that are set here.  Not to mention all of the history that happened here and is still here.  It was the first capital of the United States after all,” he continued, fully aware of how nerdy he sounded, “Plus I think that it’s that prices are that high because of the tourists.”

“It’s not about actually wanting to do it. It’s just to see if you actually can.” There was a huge difference in his mind. Sometimes he liked to do shit just to prove that he could do it. If someone said he couldn’t do it, it made him want to do it even more. New York was no big deal to him. It was his hometown, a town that made him revert to his old ways and nothing more to it. He didn’t have many ties here, or if he did he pretty much severed them. “Until Hamilton sold it down the river.” He pointed out. “I would just rather not have tourists around here.”

 bishopkirbcy‌:

Bishop still didn’t like Ben, but after being basically missing for a few days, he was on the other side of bender, trying to piece together what the hell happened. Looking to Ben, he shook his head, “Best not. You’re in enough trouble, I doubt my sister wants to read about your dick on Page Six.” Bishop didn’t look disheveled, there was no sign of his trademark smirk showing that he was trying to instigate something. Instead, his face was the picture of a younger version of his uncle. Atlas, carrying too much on his shoulders. Hands in his pockets, he shook his head. Everything was spiraling out of control, there was nothing to ground him to this world. Everything he wanted, the deep wants, were far from his reach and instead he had this life instead. “Rockefeller Rink is still iced.”

Had everyone heard that he got arrested? Dammit, that sucked. “I’m not sure she really cares at this point,” He and King seemed awkward, as awkward as they had ever been. And while he knew she actually cared about him still, he was just being a dramatic little shit. “I am not waiting a whole day just to ice skate,” He refused to give into the whole touristy thing of skating at Rockefeller center. “But please tell me you go ice skating there all the time. That must be very entertaining.” While he was joking, he didn’t even bother to laugh or crack a smile. He was done trying with Bishop for now. Now he had better things to worry about. 

quinnxarchibald‌:

“Oh my god, I feel like I haven’t had real social interaction in, like, two weeks. How am I even supposed to talk to people anymore?” Quinn asked, shaking his head as he watched the person sit down across from him. 

Ben looked at Quinn, before turning away. “Why would you want any socialization with anyone around here?” He asked, “I feel like it never ends well.” Ben could say that from personal experience with the last two parties he had attended. “Not to mention that most socialization happens through screens nowadays.”

oatanas‌:

When everything really came down to brass tacks, O was mad at Ben because King was. She wasn’t upset that he had been doing drugs with Chessie when she overdosed (O knew that Chessie would have ended up there sooner or later regardless of who was with her) and she wasn’t even really mad the he had been arrested. Instead, she was mad because of the affect the whole ordeal had had on King. “M’hm, sit down meals aren’t exactly a thing around here,” she glanced up from her phone, one brow raised. “Besides, you should be thanking your wife for letting you stay, not me.” 

There wasn’t much else to say to O. It seemed like the only thing they had in common was King. "Yeah,” He acknowledged, “But they could be a thing around here,” There was no reason why they couldn’t have a sitdown meal every now and then right? Maybe that’d be a way for King to have to talk to him. “I would thank her but...” He looked down shamefully as his voice drifted away, “I did stuff that I shouldn’t have done. So I figured I could at least thank you.” He hated feeling like he was isolated around here. “What’s your favorite meal? I bet I could recreate it.”

what's it like being back in the city?

“It’s starting to feel like I never left. Shit goes down around here that wouldn’t happen anywhere else.” Sometimes he felt like New York was suffocating. “And it wasn’t this cold in some areas of Europe.”

chessieabernathy‌:

There was no way for them to go about this conversation without any tension, or the obligatory awkwardness. How could they? At least he wasn’t trying to bring up New Years, wasn’t tryin to make her talk to him about the hospital, rehab, or anything in between. A shoulder shrugged as he questioned her, not bothering to give him an actual, complete answer. She’s quite for another moment as he speaks, taking another inhale. Chessie remains quiet for a moment too long, but doesn’t dawn on it – Instead, she wordlessly pulls a cigarette from the pack, handing it to him without turning to him. “I think s’the first good idea you’ve had in a while.” She finds herself say, glancing over to him as she exhales. 

Are you coming back soon? Chessie looks away as he questions her, a sad look finding her face. “No,” She isn’t happy about the answer – Living with O, King, and Ben had been fun, and she’d come to enjoy the mornings where she and Ben shared a pack of cigarettes and sipped on coffee. Moving in with Wren, however, felt like a decent enough idea – Surely one that would make it a bit easier to stay sober, given that he barely even touches wine. “The movers took everything to my brother’s, I’m going to be staying there for a while.”

Good ideas. Yeah, he wasn’t full of very many good ideas. Now bad ideas, that’s where he flourished. Ben took the lighter out and quickly lit the cigarette. Smoking was a habit he had especially when he felt nervous or uncomfortable. It occupied his mouth, giving it something to do. “Something you should know about me is that I never really have good ideas. If I suggest something in the future, it’s always best to say no to me.” He said with a shrug. It was something he just accepted at this point. Or maybe he just had bad luck. That could be a possibility too. 

His lips formed a frown as he listened to her explain. Was she ever going to be coming back? Who even knew if he’d still be here by the time she got back. “It’s different without you there,” He admitted,  “And I’m not sure if it’s just because King is really mad at me or because you were the reason we all got along without any hiccups.” He exhaled some smoke, before looking at her. “I’m sure you’ve heard this from just about everyone but I’m glad you’re okay. It’s good to see you.” 

monty-santos‌:

“I don’t know, I’ve never tried to check out more than two at once,” Monty chuckled, as he started looking around and picking and picking a direction, “Going to Times Square is pretty much the opposite of the point of wandering around.  It’s way too crowded,” he said as he shoved his hands in his pockets, “And think about it. Most of them have vacation time that they can have whenever they want, so they’ll try to go in what they think is the off-season, which is why they’re here.  Or it’s the only time that they can get off.  Either way it’s not the same ones every day, and I’m sure that there were people who thought the same thing about you when you were traveling.  I just try to let them do their thing, because they’re happy and not really hurting anyone. Plus they boost the city’s economy and that’s always a good thing.”

“You should try that next time and see how many they let you take,” He suggested. “Let's go to the library first and do it.” Ben always likes to test the limits and see how much he can actually get away with. Although that shot him in the foot on New Year’s Eve. “But New York City? Out of everywhere? Why not the Keys or the Bahamas? Who would want to vacation here?” Maybe it was because he grew up and he wasn’t very fond of the city. The city has always been the place where he has fucked up the most. “I never looked like a tourist,” He argued, “I fit in all around Europe.” He insisted. “I mean the economy would be fine without a billion tourists. It costs five bucks to get water at some places here. And people around here will pay for that. I think it’s more of the desire to live here.”  

@oatanas

It wasn’t fun living with two people who seemed pretty mad at him. He knew why King was mad at him. But O too? He wasn’t used to living with two pissed off women. If she was here, Chessie would’ve spoken to him. Or at least he assumed she would. He was tired of all of the awkwardness. He just wanted to break the silence with O. There was only so much quietness that he could take before he felt like he was going to explode. He was desperate for interaction. “You know, one of these days, I could make gyros for all of us. Have you ever had one?” It was a Greek dish that had made it’s way to the states, but he didn’t know her eating habits. “As a thank you for letting me stay here.” He added. He was staying here on free room and board. Who knew how long that was going to last?

monty-santos‌:

“Well…” Monty said as he tried to think, trying to think of suggestions other than his usual of volunteering.  “Typically what I do is go to the library and get a couple of books, which tends to work for me. Or we could wander around and see what sort of things we can find, I used to do that all the time when I had days off in France.”

Of course, Monty would suggest books. Unfortunately, Ben hadn’t leisurely read in years. He never really was a book fanatic, to begin with. Mainly because he associated books with school. And doing schoolwork was not fun, in his opinion. “How many books do they let you take out at a time?” He inquired, mainly because he pictured Monty with a dozen books at a time. Ben’s ears perked up when he mentioned France. “As long as we avoid Times Square, I would be up for an adventure,” It would be good to get his mind off of everything. “When do you think we’ll be rid of all these tourists? Don’t they have jobs?”

chessieabernathy‌:

Central Park was simply an excuse for her to get ‘fresh air’ and sneak a couple cigarettes. Wren’s home was cozy, and he’d done all he could to make her feel welcome – But the security FREYA had close by, and permanent knots in her stomach didn’t help her relax. She’d managed to get out, a body guard turned ‘sober coach’ following close behind, making sure she was doing what she said she would. An all too familiar voice pulled her from the trance she’d fallen into – Staring into the lake, chain smoking. Trying not to get caught up in her own guilt. Turning her head, she frowned at the sight of him, before moving to face the lake once more. “Sounds like a shitty idea.” 

Ben Vanderbilt was one of the last people Chessie wanted to see. She hadn’t spoken to him since the party – Using the word ‘overdose’ was something she reserved for her doctor, rather than her own vocabulary – and was hoping she’d have some time recoup before running into him again. He had been part of it all, happily joined in when she brought the idea up. Chessie still felt responsible for it, as if she’d peer pressured him into joining her and Arlo, rather than him asking to join. She didn’t know anything that happened after – Heard snippets about who had been arrested, mostly details skewed by gossip magazines and tabloids. Ben had been arrested. She felt guilty for that, too.

Nothing horrible was supposed to happen that night. They were just supposed to get high and enjoy New Year’s Eve. “Are you just going to turn down any ideas I have? Because that’ll save us a lot of time.” He pointed out. He wanted to ask how she was. After what happened, he was very concerned about her wellbeing. At least she wasn’t a ghost or anything. Her OD sparked a trigger in his brain, to the night that guy did the same thing but his fate wasn’t as lucky as hers. He was no good around here, his thought process was always fucked up around here. 

“How about you give me a cigarette and that way we’ll have to stand here for a few minutes at least,” He suggested. Being around O’s place without Chessie was weird. He was used to their morning talks over coffee and smoking. Now that place felt a lot quieter without her, but that was probably also because the other two women living with him were pissed. “I’m not used to having my morning coffee without you. “Are you going to come back soon?” He asked for his own selfish reasons. 

monty-santos‌:

“I wouldn’t recommend skinny dipping in a public place, especially since there’s a beat cop over there and I don’t think getting arrested for public nudity is the best idea at the moment,” Monty pointed out with a shrug, “And as for ice skating, probably not on the pond, but the Rockefeller Center is close and there’s still the ice rink there.”

“They already got me once. And I know people become repeat offenders,” He replied dramatically. “Is it nudity if no one can see that you’re naked?” He asked philosophically as if he had just solved the whole dilemma. “I don’t want to ice skate with a bunch of tourists. Hell, I don’t actually want to ice skate,” He let out a sigh, “I just wanna do something that will distract me. Do you have any ideas?”