Oatanas‌:

arlovasquez‌:

chessieabernathy‌:

She wasn’t sure if it was the coke itself, or the mixture of it with the alcohol – But it didn’t take long for Chessie to feel the effects, smile at her lips. At the sight of Arlo dong his first line, she clapped for him, genuinely proud of him while in this state. “Don’t listen to Ben,” she gives the other man a pointed look, before using the last of the bag to cut three more lines once the mirror made its way back to her. “S’easier than you’d think.” Chessie confirms with a nod, before taking the bill from Ben, inhaling the line with ease. The burn is gone, now. Her face is numb, but Chessie hardly notices, letting her head fall onto Arlo’s shoulder, hand absentmindedly fiddling with the leather harness he was wearing. “Have you guys ever tried like – Speedballing?” She questions after a beat, words slurring. “I tried to get more blow from Ro, but he was being a fuckhead, so I ended up talking to this random guy at the snack table — And he sold me this shit for like,” she pauses for a moment, train of thought briefly lost as she tries to recount the price. “I’unno, but it’s supposed to be good shit.” 

In the few brief moments that passed, Arlo could feel the effects of the cocaine on his body. He could feel the seconds his pupil’s dilated and his body temperature rising; his heart beat also picked up. But he didn’t feel any different than before, just more secure in himself. 

“The masters, eh? It’s nice to learn from someone who knows what they’re doing. When I first started smoking pot, I had no fucking clue what to do,” he said with a chuckle. “But here we are!” 

Arlo cocked his head, turning to Chessie again. “Speedballing? Isn’t that when it’s an upper and a downer mixed or some shit?” 

“Always listen to me, okay? I’m always right.” Ben insisted. “This is a lot better than pot.” Ben pointed out. Doing coke was like no other sensation in the world. He couldn’t believe he was away from it for so long. He then watched Chessie inhale as the cocaine settled into his system. 

“I don’t know what you call it down south but I’ve always heard it’s called a Powerball,” He teased with a shrug. Speedballing was definitely the more popular name. He had never particularly speedballed, mainly because he was not that experimentative with his drugs. Once he found cocaine, he knew that was pretty much his calling. Nevertheless, he knew what she meant. “Rowan didn’t give you more? That’s fucked up.” He exclaimed, clearly a bit out of it. “This other guy must be a superhero.” 

@rowan-tandel

 As he did most of the time since he had gotten here, he just sat all by his lonesome self. Being back in the city meant that he would have to reach out to those he ceased communication with so suddenly. Maybe that’s why he reached out to Rowan. He felt like things would be easy between them, and not complicated like Quinn.

“Fuck, you scared the shit out of me.” He said, as his thoughts disappeared and he looked at Rowan as he grabbed his jacket. He had been so used to travelling and having to keep his belongings close to him with the assumption that there were thieves taking advantage of tourists. He pretty much hoped the two of them could pick up where they left off. It wasn’t like he was gone for ten years or anything. However he felt like they had a lot to catch up. “How’s the business doing?” He asked, genuinely curious. Drugs to him were the norm. Whether he was doing them or around them, they were always there growing up. Drugs were like an old friend that he visited every once in a while now.

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?”

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?”

monty-santos‌:

“Yeah, just talk to my father, or Buffy Seymour and you’ll find that I’m really not that popular of a person,” Monty shrugged, shaking his head a little ad the idea, “Yeah, I guess that I was? I mean I was mostly doing volunteer work, so it’s hard to be mad at someone doing that.”

“I’ll pass on both of those people, thanks though,” He couldn’t imagine ever disliking Monty. Monty showed that there was actually a chance that good people could be raised around here. He wasn’t one of those good people, but it was nice to know that there was at least one. “I don’t wanna be too presumptuous but I also feel like you had to have been a responsible nice guy out there. I think the French like that in a person. It shows you have a strong character.” Maybe it was the buzz that was making Ben turn into Dr. Phil.

monty-santos‌:

Monty had been spending more time than usual at the shelter. Partially because he knew that winter was the time that they needed the most help, and partially because the closer that it got to New Year’s the more anxious that Monty felt himself getting.  And his go-to strategy for that was to find something else to focus on in hopes that it would just go away.  It wasn’t a very good strategy, but he felt like it was at least keeping him somewhat sane.  It was better than spending all of his time thinking back to his arrest. 

But with all of that on his mind, he didn’t even really notice Ben was there until the other man spoke to him, snapping Monty out of his thoughts.  “Yeah, I’m ready for it to get less cold. I’ve never been a huge fan of winter,” he nodded at his friend as he kept his hands burrowed in his pockets.  “Well, that’s the shelter that I volunteer at,” Monty explained, pointing at it with his head, “so I was just on my way there. What about you?”

There was no reason to lie to Monty and yet, he felt the urge to. Telling the truth meant vulnerability and he refused to feel that way most of the time. Ben cleared his throat as he shifted his weight. What the fuck was he doing here? Why was he even around here? 

“I’m going for a run,” He lied as he looked at the other man. Lying was so effortless to him. “Well, I was, and then realized I definitely wasn’t dressed appropriately. it’s funny that we ran into each other,” He chuckled, trying to keep the attention off of himself. “Can you skip and join me? I was just about to check this new place out down the block.” It wasn’t really that new. It just hadn’t been here the last time that he was here and he definitely wasn’t here to check it out.

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.”

arlovasquez‌:

chessieabernathy‌:

Chessie hummed as he spoke, half listening as she followed alongside Arlo. At his warning, she shared the same laugh (mostly out of drunkness, rather than actual humor). “I kind of fucked up your guest room, too.” She found herself admit, without giving him the chance to react before her attention was on Ben. Her eyes rolled at the sight of him, a smile present on her face. “A’course you’re hiding out,” she comments easily, ignoring his question as she crosses the room, moving to sit next to him on the bed. Tucking her knees under her, she lets out a laugh. “Stop trying to make me drink fucking beer,” she complains, giving him wide eyed look, as if in complete shock that he’d bring the subject up.

“S’about to be a very white Christmas,” Chessie begins again, pulling the two small bags of coke from her clutch. She holds them up with a smile, as if to show them off before turning her attention back to Arlo. “Do you have a mirror we can use?”

Arlo hadn’t expected to seen Ben when he opened his bedroom door, but there he was, drinking a beer away from the other party guests. He couldn’t help but chuckle, not even the least bit bothered by the fact someone was in his room without his knowledge. 

“Hooking up?” He asked with a chuckle. “No, we’re just…” he trailed off, unsure of whether he should actually say it in front of Ben. Though he realized Chessie had no issue with it since she was the one who pulled it out of her handbag.

“Yeah! I’ve got one over here,” Arlo said as he walked towards his dresser. “I keep it here so I can put ties on.” Retrieving the mirror, he crossed back and handed it to Chessie. He stepped back and watched the other two sitting on his bed.

“I would be a bad host if I didn’t tell you that I highly suggest the floor at the present state of my sheets…”

He fixed his posture as they came in. Why did no one else like beer? What the hell was that about? However, he decided to let it go. Chessie sparked his interest immediately when she mentioned white and Christmas, now that Christmas was actually over. Shit. He was past the point where his judgment was just cloudly. It was really almost gone. He watched Arlo get the mirror and hand it to Chessie, and then his eyes were fixated on those two bags. Was he allowed to get in on this too? 

“The floor? Alright.” He said with a shrug, he wasn’t about to argue. “Would you two mind sharing? I usually don’t mooch but this shit is looking very fine.” He admitted as he positioned himself on the floor. “What’s the point of New Year’s Eve if I don’t have fun? I mean if we all don’t have fun.” He slurred as he glanced at Chessie and then Arlo. 

kingkirbey‌:

The second she saw Ben, King gravitated toward him, taking in his bloodied face and stained shirt. She hadn’t seen the fight but she’d heard about it immediately, the news traveling fast through the penthouse. “Jesus.” It was all she could manage to get out as she pushed him back into the kitchen and onto a bar stool. Wordlessly, she went to grab a rag and wet it in the sink, coming back to press it to Ben’s nose. She worked in silence for a few moments, tending to the crusted blood on his face before she took a deep breath and looked him in the eye. “This was still a good idea. You know it was.” It was hard to look at him and believe her own words, but she knew the guilt he carried with him would end up hurting him much more than any punch Quinn could throw. “This obviously isn’t a great start to the conversation. But.. it’ll get better with him. At least you’re trying.”

These parties never ended well. Shit always went down. Here he was thinking he was past all that drama, thinking he was way too mature for this shit. “I don’t know if I’m even trying. I couldn’t say anything to him. It was hard to even look at him. I just froze like an idiot and asked him how things were,” Ben just wanted to disappear. No, fuck that, he wanted to run. His face hurt, his hands hurt, everything fucking hurt. “What if it doesn’t? I fucked up. Quinn still seems pretty damn mad,” He just wanted to go back with King to Italy or Greece, hell even Lithuania. But part of him was doing this for her. He didn’t want her having to deal with his guilt all their lives. “I’d rather just back to our room and drink with you for the rest of the night.” That would really make him forget about the whole fight. 

chessieabernathy‌:

“S’a bit like the pot calling the kettle black, don’t you think?” She was quick to fire back, a chuckle passing her lips as she spoke. This was nothing short of normal for them, sharing a smoke, poking fun at one another. “Sounds like it made you more of what you are.” Another laugh passes, as she gives him a matter-of-fact look. The mention of beer pulls an eye roll from her, “Christ, B. You and your fucking beer. You’re practically cheating on King with it.” Chessie teased, “I’ve traveled a bit for Fashion Week, but not as much as I’d like. Never picked up a love for beer, though. Gin is still number one in my heart.”

“That’s exactly how I like my coffee.” He retorted. “Shut up,” He chuckled, “I can’t help it, I’m a Vanderbilt.” That was his excuse for everything. Maybe that’s part of the reason why he ran away, he needed to see who he was outside of being a fucked up Vanderbilt. “I’m going to keep talking about it until you have a bottle or two with me. That’s just how it’s going to go,” He said with a shrug. “For the record, though, I’d choose King over beer if I had to choose.” Ben loved his wife more than any drink. “You do know what they say about people who prefer gin, right?”