[x]

have you been arrested before, prior to new years?

“Nope. That was my first time in,” And hopefully his last.  “The booking process is so tedious. I’m just glad I’m outta there.”

arlovasquez‌:

chessieabernathy‌:

She hardly hears what the say, focus taken by the small bag they’re passing around. Part of her immediately regrets letting Arlo take the first hit, purely from her own impatience. It’s a bad idea, intentionally taking something laced, especially given her current state – But thanks to the high she’s already riding, Chessie doesn’t care. With a smile, she takes the bag from Ben, staring at it for a moment with bottom lip caught between her teeth. 

She cuts a line, and takes it with ease. Eyes falling shut soon after, she wipes at her nose to get rid of any excess, sniffling in the process. Breathing deeply, she nods, “S’fuckin’ lovely.” Chessie settles with, words slightly slurred, as she turns to Arlo with a grin, confirming his words from a moment ago. “I wish I would have got more,” she continues, a certain dizziness finding her after. Had the room always been spinning? Trying to disregard it, Chessie dips her finger into the small bag, picking up the last of the contents to rub against her gums. Trying to enjoy the moment, she takes a deep breath in, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her ears – Instead of commenting on how hot the room had begun to feel, or the way her heart was slamming against her chest. 

“Honestly? I think I’m okay without any more. I feel absolutely wonderful and like I could do anything,” Arlo said, leaning himself back to lay on the floor. 

When he got high with marijuana, the room would become less focused and almost whimsical in a way. Things would shift ever so lightly but everything would feel light to him in the process. With cocaine, however, he was finding himself sharp and focused, a welcome difference. 

“I can hear the music really well,” he said pushing himself up to stand. “Chessie, you should dance with me!” He extended a hand towards her. 

Could she really handle more? Damn, he was impressed. Here he was assuming Chessie would be the lightweight out of all of them when it was really him. That’s what he gets for not doing this shit for two years. He was pretty content for now. He felt like he could be anything he wanted to be at this point. King Kong, Jeff Goldblum. Whoever he wanted to be thanks to Chessie and Arlo for sharing their stash. 

With a nod, he agreed with Arlo, “I’m good right now.” He said as he leaned back more. “Ben watched Arlo invite Chessie up, perfectly content to stay on the floor. “Yeah, you two do that.” He said with a laugh, “In the meantime, I’ll be looking for my beer.” 

monty-santos‌:

“Yeah, I should. The problem is that any job that would actually pay me is one that I can’t really see myself doing,” Monty admitted, even though he knew exactly how strange that sounded.  He didn’t mind that he didn’t have money, at least most of the time, and he’d figured out ways to really survive without it.  And while there were times that he really missed the luxury of being able to do whatever he wanted, for the most part, Monty was content with the fact that his life was never going to really be that way.  Which was just another reason he didn’t fit in the upper east side.  “I want to go back someday.  Coming back to the city was always a temporary thing, I just haven’t gotten back to the point where I can yet.  But I’m sure that it’ll happen someday,” Monty replied, though the longer that he stayed in the city the farther away someday felt.  “And to be honest, there’s not,” he sighed as he looked out the window, “the winter is actually the most dangerous time to be homeless because the shelters are always at capacity and if you don’t get there in time there might not be room. And if you get turned away from multiple you don’t have a choice but to sleep outside.  It’s a good part of the reason that I’ve been working on the clothes drive with the shelter that I volunteer for because at least it gives them clothes that might be able to help them survive the night.”

To him, this made no sense. Why would Monty not want to get paid while doing a job? That was volunteering and he was not here for it. “I don’t know if it can be considered a job then,” He pointed out to the other male. “How long have you been back for?” Ben didn’t know much about the people he left behind, their whereabouts, or who kept up with whom. “If you go back to France, at least let me show you the best places to get a drink around there.” He added, looking for an excuse to see the male again. As long as it was in a different country. “That’s pretty fucked up,” He said honestly. He never thought much of homeless people, except for those late nights he’d come back high as fuck and see them sleeping on the street. “You should make everyone in here give away at least half of the closets. You’d end up with a bunch of clothes.” He was chuckling but it was probably true. 

oatanas‌:

“Oh my God,” O groaned through a laugh, shaking her head at Ben. “Are you gonna be that guy who reminds us all how well traveled and cultured he is all the time?” This time she really was joking, and both the grin on her face and the light tone she carried made that evident. The hand not currently clutching her drink lifted to wave away Ben’s thanks. “It’s nothing. Seriously.” As far as she was concerned they didn’t owe her anything. While things may have been weird between her and King for a brief moment, that didn’t change the fact that she was practically family. Which now made Ben practically family, even if she didn’t really know him. “I’m glad to have you guys. Although when you and King do decide to run away for a break again, make sure she says bye this time.”

“Am I that guy? I had no idea people think of me as cultured now.” He said proudly. This was something to him. The fact that she took them in with a minimal amount of questions was pretty impressive. “If you say so,” He guessed it didn’t make sense to argue about something that seemed like no big deal to her. Ben would make it up to O somehow. Maybe he could send O and King somewhere nice. However, that would require money and not reaching out to his parents meant he was on a tight budget. He’d figure out something. It was the least he could do to show his thanks while he was here to get his shit together. He tried to be as low maintenance as possible, never intruding anywhere in the house. Except when it came to coffee. He wasn’t sure how long they’d be staying, especially since they were here for Ben to make amends. However, he nodded, “I’ll make sure she does,” Maybe they would visit more often now that they ripped the band-aid off. “Can I get you another drink or something?”

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.

oatanas‌:

After having been out of town on a business trip the last two weeks, O was in desperate need of a night off. The crowd of people in her house was less than ideal (she always preferred to be a party goer, rather than a party host) but she tried not to dwell on that. “Just so you’re aware, if you spill that on my white rug I will kill you,” she remarked, topping up the glass of the guest in question, only half joking.

He thought he was a pretty great house guest so far. Ben always took his shoes off when he entered. So when he requested a drink and basically got reprimanded, he wanted to at least give a sassy remark back. That’s what people did around here. However, he knew better. He was just lucky he had a place to stay. “I can hold my liquor, don’t worry,” Alcohol tasted different overseas and felt a lot more strong, “I’ll be willing to act as security for this party if you’d like. Even one glance at this rug, and they’re out of here.” He was only half joking as well. He’d do it to show his gratitude. “How was your trip?” Ben asked, trying to make conversation.

finnsmythe‌:

“Dude, seriously? ‘Probably hard for Americans to grasp?’ Don’t be so fucking pretentious,” Finn rolled his eyes. “And you are American if you forgot that fact,” he said and took a sip of his own drink. “I’m not surprised you brought beer by the way. Not after your rant at O’s Christmas party.”

Of course, Finn had to something to say about this. The Golden Boy that Ben’s mother wishes she biologically had rather than a runaway fuck up. However, he bit his tongue. “It’s been about two years since I’ve celebrated New Year’s here. It’s a bit different in other places.” He wasn’t even buzzed enough to be completely honest towards the other man. “Why didn’t you bring beer too?” He asked, “We could’ve had a competition,” Ben offered, remembering their conversation at O’s, “How’s that drink of yours treating you?” 

You ever get in a Mood where you just wanna poof off to another country, erase your history, re-write your identity, and become a mysterious figure who’s never been photographed but occasionally appears in paintings done by unknown artists