Salem Wasn't Sure What Exactly Was In A Terremoto But After Taking The First Sip It Already Tasted Significantly

KIANA LEDÉ via instagram

salem, what's your dream date?

“why? do you know someone who wants to take me on one?”

salem, what's your ideal first date? would you agree to a kiss by the end of it?

“i like to leave that up to whoever is asking me on a date but ideally it would be something super fun. i hate the pressure of first dates so the less stress the better. but if the person wanted to be extra that’s okay too i just hope both teams have fun. as far as a kiss i guess it depends on how well the date went but can’t i just kiss the person mid date if the vibe is right?”

salem smiled as leon wrapped his arm around her and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. it was refreshing the way they fell back into the groove of their relationship. "well...it's cute but not enough for me to want to buy it." she shrugged before placing the ring back down on the table. salem took his hand in hers as the two continued to walk by the various souvenir tables before stopping at a shaded off spot beneath a tree. "well usually i'd want to be backstage but i think i want to watch from the crowd this time." leaning back against the tree she draped her arms around his neck looking up at him. "that way i'll be able to get better pictures of you and i can vlog some of the performance for you if you want." salem had been taking pictures of leon on stage since the two became friends and it ended up becoming a reoccurring thing when they officially started dating. "who knows, maybe i'll run into jlo in the crowd and we can finally become best friends."

leon chuckles and turns the camera off. "okay so first, i'm not shoving the camera in your face, so relax," he teases as he puts the device back in his backpack. "vivi loves you. you know that." the man puts an arm around her waist as he too focuses on the souvenirs. magnets and notebooks and rings and macrame bracelets. "i like this one," he smiles pointing to a silver-colored ring that has a tribal pattern. "they're too small for my fingers tho. maybe you should get it." he squeezes her tighter against his body. being back together with salem feels natural. he'd missed her too much. having his girl back on his side is what makes him happy. "do you wanna see my show from the crowd or backstage? i can get you a pass."

"stop saying sorry! i was only kidding. plus the ceramic flamingo wasn't that important, i just thought it would be kinda camp in my bohemian setting you know?" she said before playfully nudging the other. "we can get everything if you want. the bracelet's would be cute with the matching crystals. i'll even wear your blood in a necklace if you really wanna get weird with it." salem was glad birdie shared her enthusiasm about something most people would probably find cheesy at their age. as the two approached the table salem was in awe of the different options for crystals. "okay, if you could choose any one which would it be? i know amethyst would be nice for friendship purposes."

            birdie's  eyes  quickly  widen.  "  no  !    sorry  –  no,  i  swear,  i'm  not  bored ! i  think  it's  sweet  to  see  you  get  all  googly  eyed  for  a  ceramic  flamingo,  you  know ? i'll  talk  your  ear  off  about  dungeons  &  dragons  and  why  you  should totally join  my  next  campaign  over  lunch.  "  their  grin  widens  at  the  prospect  of  friendship  jewelry  –  something  birdie  was  actually  quite  fond  of  (  embarrassingly  ),  "  can  we  get  one  of  the  bracelets ? oh ! –  we  should  get  matching  colors.  or  crystals.  some  cute  shit  like  that,  y'know  ? unfortunately  for you i'm  even  cheesier.  there's  a  place  a  little  farther  down  that  sells  pretty  ones,  c'mon.  " 

the party is crowded and salem is hoping leon doesn't make a huge scene in front of everyone else. she didn't blame him for being upset about the other guy but she wasn't doing it on purpose to piss him off. as she finished her drink she was caught off guard by leon suddenly taking her by the arm and into one of the empty bedrooms. "that wasn't aggressive at all..." she said sarcastically after leon pushed her up against the wall. salem was visibly irritable at how confrontational he was being and looked down at the ground as he spoke to her. "i'm not being mean! i'm just confused as to why you're being so aggressive right now? i wasn't flirting with that guy to piss you off. i didn't even know you were going to be here." she replied in frustration while looking up at him, the two of them being inches apart from one another. drama aside though she had to admit he was looking really good tonight.

her sarcastic words go into him like a dagger. what is she mad about now? "aight," he scoffs. looking around, leon recognizes a few faces here and there. the terrace is basically packed and there's no way he can talk to her right now. not now when his heart is beating faster and his mind takes him to inappropriate scenarios in front of other people. "c'mere," he simply demands as he grabs her by the elbow and leads her inside. the fact that she seems to be doing okay without him is killing him. and she'll regret it. once they reach the stairs, leon basically drags her up to one of the empty bedrooms and locks the door behind him. it takes him a split second to push her against the wall. "stop being so fucking mean to me and look at me. look at me," he insists.

salem let out a quiet chuckle wishing that were true but honestly she was very fucked up. she'd been dealing with her mental illness since she was was fifteen, among other things she never really talked about. life for her would always be a constant battle mentally and emotionally. she looked up at leon with tears in her eyes as he spoke. they both loved each other, that much was apparent but she hated knowing just how much she hurt him. "and i love you leon but it's just-" she let out a sigh before continuing. "sometimes i feel like you'd be better off with someone who's more stable. i try really hard to make sure whatever problems i have don't spill over into our relationship and i hate that i make you feel so pathetic when things get like this." she knew what she was about to say next would probably definitely be harsh words to hear but it was the truth. "i can't promise that we'll get back together right now and everything going forward will be easy. that i won't get in my head again and do this to you a third time..." she fidgeted with one of her rings trying to distract herself from the small wave of anxiety that was coming over her. this conversation was too uncomfortable and she wasn't the best with confrontation. she hated knowing that anyone had ill feelings towards her or that she was able to hurt anyone to that capacity, especially leon who'd been the absolute best to her even before they were dating.

leon sighs. there's so much sadness in his eyes. "you're not fucked up, sal." he empathizes with her because he knows the feeling so well. that feeling of being a mess and not knowing why or how to explain it. he feels bad. he doesn't want to be angry at her, but she really hurt him. is he supposed to act like everything's fine? "i... i fucking love you," he looks into her eyes. "i fucking love you so much that every time you leave i-" he chokes up a bit. "i feel pathetic, you know? i feel pathetic and i do fucked up shit, too. i don't know how to deal with it." leon feels so ashamed that he fucked kala right after salem dumped him over the phone. who is he to judge her? "i love you. but you can't keep doing this to me. you need to talk to me, too. before everything blows up." he wants to forgive her so badly. reset and repeat. erase and rewind.

salem shook her head and chuckled at the mention of avia. she told birdie should would get them something big and here the two were eyeing a large monstera plant. she wondered for a second how birdie's cousin would react to them bringing home such a large plant after essentially banning the other from owning one again. "i kinda feel like i'm setting myself up to get in trouble with aviva but i can take the heat if it's for you i suppose." she nervously glanced over to birdie for a moment. they were on their date that wasn't a date (truthfully neither of them could tell you what exactly it was) but she was trying her best to be normal about it. just two friends shopping for a plant. "it's nice but if we're going to potentially piss your cousin off we should at least go bigger."

closed / @cybermuses location / plantas altas

          ꒰ა  ♡  ໒꒱  --— "  okay,  so  –  aviva did say  no  more  live  plants,  but  it's  fine ! i  think  if  i  use  the  defense  that  you'll  be  over  to  check  up  on  them,  she'll  be  more  open  to  it.  "  birdie  says  it  with  a  grin,  eyes  scanning  the  monsteras  in  front  of  her.  they  very  pointedly  aren't  looking  at  salem  –  she  might  puke  from  nerves  if  she  does,  too  distracted  by  the  fact  that  salem  looks very  pretty  today.  does  she  always  look  that  pretty  ?  of  course  she  does,  birdie  just  never  really  let  herself  think  about  that  before  all  ...  this happened,  "  what  do  you  think  ?  it'll  be  your  kid,  too,  you  get  input.  " 

"so you basically have to pick a class for your character? it's not something that's already set in stone? interesting..." salem replied as she looked over the page a bit puzzled. when she randomly decided to learn how to play dungeons and dragons she didn't realize just how much had gone into it and had to give drew props for knowing so much. "the weird ten sided dice confuses me a bit. how often should you be rolling? would i potentially get sent to jail for speeding like in monopoly? that's really the only board game i've ever played so it's probably not the best comparison." she let out a small chuckle and nodded. "i love kettle corn but i'm not sure if i've ever told you that so don't feel too bad about it." salem smiled reassuringly. "i haven't had a chance to try the churros here but i've heard leon talk about them before. are they really that good?"

when drew first met salem, he never would have been able to guess that their futures would be entwined at all, so sitting with her at his favorite place in chile while she asks him about dungeons and dragons of all things feels like a level of surreal that he's never before experienced except for during a twin peaks marathon. "let's just focus on one character for now," he suggests, sliding a page across the table. "if you want to be an elf than we can go right to your character's class, which is sort of just their job. the basic ones are fighter, wizard, cleric, rogue, and ranger. we're gonna need to roll later, too," drew announces, showing salem the dice he's been fidgeting with for hours now. "and probably some snacks. have you tried the churros here in chile yet ? do you like kettle corn ? i can't remember if i know that you like kettle corn," he confesses to her, frowning apologetically.