rylee mears (itsjustafeeling) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-08-30 20:49:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, rylee, rylee x zania, zania |
Who: Zania and Rylee
When: Night, Thursday, November 9th
Where: The Back Porch Pub
Status: Complete
After leaving Juniper and Nick, Rylee was feeling antsy and restless. A part of her wanted to drive straight home and talk to Carson, but at the same time… she needed some space. So much had been going on with her cousin and while she was trying to be there for him as much as she could be, and as much as he’d let her, Rylee realized she needed a break. She just needed to be for a few hours. Given everything that had happened, and how long it take him to even include her, Rylee doubted he would miss her if she stayed out for awhile. It was a selfish thought that made her feel guilty, so she sent him a quick text to let him know she would be home later. After she hit send, she dialed Zania’s number and walked back towards her car.
If anyone knew how to cheer her up, it would be Zan. She was just hoping her friend was home and not working. Although, if she was working, Rylee figured she could just drive to the spice shop and hang out for awhile. As soon as Zania picked up, Rylee felt a surge of relief. “Hey,” she greeted, a forced twinge of enthusiasm in her tone. “I’m bored and I need something to do. Want to grab a drink, or… hell, I don’t know, do something fun?”
It had been such a weird week for Zania. Not only had she agreed to work with the person in Point Pleasant who most despised her, but her neighbors had a body dissolving in their basement. She needed a break and was considering texting Gabriel, thinking it wasn’t too soon, when Rylee’s name popped up on her phone. It had been a while since they hung out and they hadn’t had a chance to talk since Nic had let her in on their secret. As one of her few long time friends that didn’t know she was a witch, Zania had been the slightest bit worried that Rylee might be pissed at her. But it didn’t sound that way from her greeting and Zania smiled in response. “I could be down for a drink or two. Maybe some table dancing,” she teased. “You free now? Want me to pick you up?”
"I'm totally free," Rylee said, relieved that Zania seemed available and willing. She still felt a little weird, knowing Zan and Nic were witches, but with the news of Carson being bitten by a goddamn werewolf, her focus was elsewhere now. "I'm already out so I can just swing by and pick you up if you want." She supposed the smart thing to do would have been to go home and change into something a bit cuter if they were going out, even to drink, but Rylee didn't really want to go back home yet. If she did she would just feel guilty about leaving again, especially if Carson was home. "Do you want to hit up the Porch or go somewhere else?"
“That works,” Zania said, always willing to let someone else drive if they were going to be drinking. “The Porch is fine. If we go anywhere nicer, I should probably change and I don’t really feel like it,” she laughed softly. Ripped jeans, a fitted t-shirt, and her jacket would be just fine for The Back Porch Pub. She would always stand out, but she sometimes felt like she fit in best there. “See you in ten?” she asked. Point Pleasant wasn’t all that big, so if Rylee was already out, then she couldn’t be much farther than that, at least in Zania’s estimation. Then again, she thought everything was only ten minutes away when Nic insisted that wasn’t always the case.
"I'm not dressed for nice," Rylee admitted, smiling a bit into the phone. "I'll be there in ten." She hung up so she could focus on the road, especially with the rain. When she arrived at Zan's, she honked the horn twice so her friend would hear her. Ludlow always creeped her out a bit. The houses weren't the nicest, which wasn't a big deal, but some of the abandoned ones looked like they were built specifically for a horror movie. Rylee remembered coming out here when she was a teenager with her friends or boyfriends to get that adrenaline high that came from being scared, but now she hated it, especially know what really existed in the world.
Zania loved living on Ludlow for the exact reason that Rylee hated it. It pulsed with supernatural energy, promising a ghost or a witch or a psychic next door. She’d always felt more in tune with her magic there than she ever did in her parent’s house in Overlook. No, it wasn’t the nicest house, but it had some old world charm and it fit her perfectly. When Rylee arrived, she ran out into the rain, forgoing an umbrella and cursing at the skies, as if that would help her dodge the raindrops. Nic could do if it he wanted to. She couldn’t. At least her hair didn’t look any worse when she climbed in Rylee’s car, brushing water off her and flashing Rylee a smile. “I’m so glad you called. It’s been forever.”
"It feels like it, doesn't it?" Rylee smiled when Zania slipped into the car. For a second everything felt normal and right again, but Zania had always had the ability to take Rylee's mind off of her troubles, so she was glad she had called her friend tonight. Rylee pulled away from the curb to head back toward the Porch. "So what's going on with you? How're things?" She wondered if Zania felt like she could tell Rylee more now that Rylee knew about the magic aspect of she and Nic's lives. It was still so strange to think about but she was glad Nic had told her. Rylee was getting tired of people she loved keeping things from her.
“Things are a little crazy. Not bad, but— out of my control, which drives me nuts,” Zania said casually. Some of it she could probably tell Rylee now, but some of it she shouldn’t tell anyone, which just reminded her that she’d told Gabriel probably more than she should have. But he was a fellow witch. Rylee was just getting her feet wet. “Nic’s got some weird stuff going on. So do my neighbors. But I did meet a guy the other day. New to town. Got his number, but I haven’t called him yet.” She’d been planning on it, but the week had been weird and time had gotten away from her.
Out of her control. Oh boy could Rylee relate to that. Everything in her life felt out of her control at the moment, mostly revolving around Carson. She already knew about the weird stuff with Nic, mostly because of Carson, and for the fact that she had asked Nic about it. In the midst of all that, there was Zan talking about meeting a guy and getting his number and Rylee barked out a laugh, finding herself clinging to that one nugget of information because it was just so normal and god, she needed normal. "You met a guy," Rylee said, smiling easier now. "That does not surprise me. Tell me about him."
“He’s tall, dark, and handsome,” Zania grinned, loving the chance to spill. “He’s from New Orleans, so he has that southern accent that’s kind of hot. Not like, backwoods, but just enough. He just got here, but he’s thinking about opening a hair salon, which we so need, oh my god. Like, I think he could actually do something with my hair. Or he thinks he could, which is more than any place around here could do. And he’s kind of quirky, in a good way.” Different, like her. She’d been comfortable enough around him that she’d let her mouth run, but he’d given off good vibes and she didn’t think it would be an issue. Besides, she wanted someone she didn’t have to hide things from.
"Oh boy. A quirky, tall, dark and handsome guy with a mild accent that wants to do things with your hair. He sounds like a keeper." Rylee chuckled and started searching for a place to park in the rain. There was a spot near the end of the street where the Porch was located, so she pulled into it carefully. "Well, you should call him. Just, you know, don't jump in blind, especially if he's an out of towner. There's a lot of creeps who come through here." And she would hate it if anything happened to Zania. "I'm glad you may have met someone, though."
“I know, I’ll be careful, but I can take care of myself,” Zania boasted. She could do more than spray a little pepper spray at someone. Though if Gabriel turned out to be a creeper, she’d be disappointed. He’d seemed genuinely cool. “I hope I have, but we’ll see. It’s better than— well, Caius dropped by.” Even if she didn’t know what was going on with Caius now, Rylee had known her long enough to know their history. Zania was sure she’d done the right thing, but it was still hard to turn down someone like Caius. She just had to keep reminding herself that he wouldn’t want her if he could remember Reagan.
Rylee knew Zania could take care of herself. She was one of the strongest women Rylee knew. But that didn't mean guys couldn't be dicks, and hearts couldn't be broken. Rylee turned off her car and reached into the back for her purse. She pulled it to her lap and arched a blonde brow at Zania before motioning to the car doors so they could get out and hurry into the bar before the rain started up again. "Caius dropped by as in Caius dropped by for a hook-up? Or Caius dropped by for... some other reason?" Because for as long as Rylee had known Zania, Caius D'Onofrio usually only dropped by when he and Reagan Kelly were fighting. And from everything Reagan had heard, Reagan and Caius were married now, so... that was an interesting revelation. Zania didn't appear overly thrilled in any case.
Zania hopped out of the car when Rylee did, hurrying across the parking lot and into the bar. She gave her head a little shake once she was under cover, as if it might dislodge some of the water. Rain wasn’t so bad, but cold rain was the worst. Even more than snow. “Yeaaaaah,” Zania said, “A little of both. He’s kind of in a really fucked up situation, but I was pretty damn sure hooking up with me wasn’t going to help.” It would have made things so much worse. Epically worse. Even if Reagan never found out, Zania didn’t want to carry that guilt. Unfortunately, she couldn’t stop Caius from seeking out someone else. “I actually went to talk to Reagan about it.” Which was about as weird as it sounded. They’d never been friends. Zania had never gone out of her way to talk to Reagan about anything.
Rylee's first instinct was to call Caius a jerk, but she knew that would be hypocritical of her since she had slept with married men before. It wasn't something she was proud of, but it had happened. She just felt like Zania deserved better. Caius D'Onofrio had always been about Reagan Kelly. Until now, apparently. "He's married and in a fucked up situation so he came around to hook up with you and you told Reagan?" Rylee followed Zania into the bar and motioned toward an empty table near the wall. "Did you two try to kill each other?"
“No,” Zania said with a little laugh, but waited until they were settled in at the table before continuing. “If we’d actually hooked up, we might have, but… he doesn’t remember her. Like, at all.” If he’d remembered Reagan, it would have been different. He’d have gotten a piece of her mind in a completely different way, and she wouldn’t have brought Reagan into it. But Caius was suffering in a way she couldn’t quite get her head around. She didn’t want to see him lose himself, not if there was a chance they could get him back. “I know Reagan doesn’t really want my help, and probably doesn’t need it, but... it felt right to offer.”
"What?" Rylee was thoroughly confused and it sounded like there was a lot of detail she was missing. Not that it was any of her business. Rylee brushed her damp hair back from her face and rubbed her hands together under the table to warm them. "I... have a hard time imagining you and Reagan Kelly working together to help Caius. But who knows. I mean, we're not in high school anymore, right?" Not that resentment and bad feelings ever stayed in the past, and Rylee could hold grudges against people for the most irrational reasons. But memory issues or not, Reagan and Caius were married, and Zania apparently met some new guy, so maybe some common ground could be found.
“Yeah, it’s kind of complicated,” Zania said, rather than go into the details of the curse when she really wasn’t all that sure of them herself. Plus, she still wasn’t sure how Rylee would feel about the magical stuff and she didn’t want to freak her out. She knew her cousin was dealing with the same shit as Nic, but this was different. And probably none of her business. Except that Caius had come to her. “We’re not, but she still hates me,” she said with a shrug of her shoulder. “Like it’s my fault she and Caius took years to work things out. Honestly, I don’t know if I could do that, be with a man who ran off to other women every time we had a fight. I’d probably… I dunno. Set his house on fire,” she laughed. She might not go that far, but Zania had a hard time not seeking out vengeance when she was hurt.
Rylee glanced around for one of the waitresses. She needed a drink. Or two, or three. Maybe a shot to start. Her gaze ticked back to Zania. "I hope this doesn't make me sound like a bitch, but you were with a guy who ran back to another woman after he hooked up with you. I'd say Caius was as much of a jerk to you as he was to Reagan back in the day. I know you and Caius are friends now, but..." She shrugged softly. "I guess the important thing is that you offered to help Reagan and now it's up to her to accept it, right?"
“I know, but I stopped letting it happen,” Zania said, scrunching up her face in annoyance, mostly with herself. At some point the fun had started to wear off and the realization that he was using her started to sink in. But she’d definitely let it go on longer than she should have, a fact that would be easier to face with a drink in her hand and her patience was suddenly gone. She raised an arm, flagging down whomever would serve them fastest. She didn’t care if it was the busboy, she needed a drink. “We just never talked about it, so he seemed to think that was still an option.” While she hadn’t dreamed he would even consider it now that he was married. Zania sighed. “Yeah, she accepted, but I don’t really know if there’s going to be any follow through. I guess I’ll see.”
She couldn't even begin to really understand whole dynamic between Zania and Caius, but Rylee supposed she was in no position to judge, given she was in love with her cousin. "Well, let me know, because that's a story I want to hear," Rylee said with a grin. A waitress finally stopped by and Rylee ordered some tequila, not even caring that she was diving headfirst into the hard stuff. "I'm going to just live vicariously through you for awhile. I can't remember the last time a guy even asked me out." Rylee hadn't been overly concerned with her love life in the past couple of weeks and she wasn't concerned with it now, but Rylee wanted to talk about mundane things right now, and her love life was certainly mundane.
If Rylee was starting with tequila, then Zania was too, because why the fuck not? She didn’t intend to get trashed, but it sounded a hell of a lot better than a beer right now. “It’s not like I’m out on the town every night,” she said with a little laugh. “Technically, I asked for his number, not the other way around.” Zania hadn’t been on a date-date in so long she didn’t want to think about it. But some of it was her being picky and she knew that. And that she didn’t consider being picked up in a bar a date. “So, what’s been going on with you? Anything new?” Rylee might not have a guy now, but Zania knew she could have one if she wanted one. That had never been a problem for her in the past.
Doing shots of tequila was always more fun when someone joined in, so Rylee was pleased when Zania ordered the same. Shrugging out of her jacket, Rylee shifted to hang it on the back of her chair. "Not a whole lot going on," Rylee said, even though that was a damn lie. There was far too much going on, and none of it very good. "Carson's been having a tough time lately. He's been experiencing the same weird shit going on with Nic. So I've just been trying to help him through that, even though there's not a whole lot I can actually do.
“Those fucking dreams,” Zania said with a shake of her head. “Did you know Nic almost got hit by a car? He sleep walked himself out into the middle of the road and our neighbor barely pulled him out of the way in time. We have tried everything, but it’s impossible to come up with a plan when you don’t know what you’re dealing with.” The whole thing frustrated her, especially how long it had gone on without Nic telling her about it. It probably wouldn’t have changed anything, but it always annoyed her when her brother hid things from her. Zania liked to be in the know. “I know they were going to meet with someone that could help soon. We’ll see how that goes.”
Rylee nodded, distracted by the memory of Carson telling her had been sleepwalking too. She hated being in the dark about what was going on, but at least he was telling her everything now. As far as she knew, anyway. "It's been stressful," Rylee agreed, trying to refocus herself and pay attention to her friend. "Carson's already been through so much... I hate not knowing how to help." She paused as their drinks were set down in front of them. Oh, glorious distraction in the shape of amber liquid. "But I need to not think about that tonight. I just want to feel normal for a couple of hours."
“Me too,” Zania said with a tight smile. Nic had been through his own share of shit, though it was very different from Carson’s. Neither of them deserved this kind of weirdness. “To a few hours of normalcy then,” she said, smirking as she picked up the shot glass. “We should find you a guy. They’re usually a good distraction.” There were a few there that looked like they might be Rylee’s type, if she was feeling flirty. After a few shots, they probably both would be.
Rylee barked out a laugh and glanced around the bar. She didn't mind flirting. Flirting was fun and came to her naturally. But she wasn't sure about anything else. Then again... she had no love life to speak of, and Carson had fucked Brad, so why shouldn't Rylee be allowed to hook up with someone? Was she supposed to stay single and celibate for the rest of her life because the one person she was in love with couldn't be with her? She could justify it, sure, but there was just something in the pit of her stomach that was turned off by the idea of anonymous sex at the moment. Still, flirting wasn't a crime. She could do a lot of that. Picking up her drink, Rylee saluted Zan with it. "To normalcy and good distractions."
Zania raised her glass as well, then tipped back the shot, shuddering a little as the liquor burned its way down her throat. The first was always the hardest, but she loved it anyways. It was such a funny thing to drink to, especially since Zania rarely shot for normalcy, but good distractions were always needed. Lately she’d needed them more than usual. Zania set the empty shot glass down on the table. “Okay, so, see anyone you like?” she asked, giving a little gaze around the room. “What would you say is your type?” In the time that she’d known Rylee, she never been able to pin that down. It seemed all over the place, whatever fit Rylee’s fancy at the moment.
Rylee knocked back the shot, hissing a little until it settled warmly in her belly. She set the shot glass down on the table and stared blankly at Zania before glancing around the bar. Her instinctive answer was 'someone society would shun me for', but she wasn't near that drunk yet so she grinned and shrugged. "I don't really have a type," Rylee admitted. "If I find someone attractive and interesting... I don't know. It's just sex, you know? I'm not looking for a deep connection in order to get off." She hadn't had many serious boyfriends in the past. It just wasn't something she had ever been interested in. Sex, she did like, and most guys seemed totally on board with a fling.
“Well, not for a random hookup, no,” Zania agreed. “But you never know what might happen, right? I mean, I’d like that someday.” It had been absolutely forever since Zania had had a serious relationship, but she liked to think that was in the cards for her someday. She just didn’t know what that might look like. She knew her lifestyle wasn’t exactly typical. And that she wasn’t really normal. She could get by with friends not knowing she was a witch, but she just couldn’t imagine a serious relationship with someone who wasn’t magical. Which maybe wasn’t fair, but she was also trying to be realistic on what she would be happy with.
Rylee shrugged softly, her finger swirling around the top of the empty shot glass. "I'm not really looking for anything more than a hookup," she admitted. Not that it would come as a surprise to Zania. Rylee's last real relationship had been in high school, if one could even call high school relationships real. "That's the point of finding someone good enough for 'right now'... it's almost a guarantee it won't turn into anything more. There's just something unappealing to me about tying myself down to one person, if that makes sense. I know it probably means there's something fundamentally wrong about me, but..." She picked up the second shot of tequila and saluted Zania with it. "Content to always be a bridesmaid and never a bride," Rylee said with a grin.
“I don’t think it means there’s anything wrong with you,” Zania said with a laugh. “Like, half the male population is happy with that setup. And it’s not like I want to play happy homemaker and pop out kids.” She just wanted… someone. Someone to share her life with. Other than her brother. The sad part was that no one had even come close. The best she’d ever done was Caius, which truly spoke to how fucked up and non-existent her love life was. “I wish I was like that. That I just didn’t give a fuck,” she said, scrunching up her nose, making a face at herself. She picked up the second shot and downed it before waving down the bartender. They needed more than two, in her opinion.
It wasn't really that Rylee didn't give a fuck. She did. It was just difficult to explain that the one person she wanted to be with, she couldn't be with. She could probably try with someone else, but it felt too much like pretending, and Rylee didn't have the energy for it. The shitty thing was she couldn't talk to Zan about it, because being in love with one's cousin was not normal, acceptable conversation with anyone. She knocked the second shot back and set the small glass on the table. It burned her throat in the best kind of way and Rylee sat back against her chair and grinned when Zania motioned for the bartender. "I'm trying to imagine you with a kid. Not that you wouldn't be a good mom... it's just hard to see a tiny Zan following you around."
“Oh my god, I would be horrible,” Zania laughed. “I don’t have a clue how to care for a child. And I don’t really want the responsibility. I like having the ability to drop everything and go out for drinks,” she grinned. “I need to see if I can manage, like, a pet first. If I can’t handle a pet, I don’t need a baby.” It just wasn’t an itch that she had yet, and she didn’t know if she ever would. The only thing that seemed fun to her was passing on her magic to another generation. Teaching someone might’ve been fun, watching them learn what they could do and showing them all the little tricks she’d learned. But that wasn’t a good enough reason to have a child, not by a long shot.
Rylee grinned. "I don't think anyone knows how to care for a child before they actually have one. You learn as you go, right? But yeah, I hear you. I don't really want that kind of responsibility either. I'll just be... Aunt Rylee to my friends' kids." She wasn't entirely sure she wanted a pet either, although she had considered getting Carson a service dog a few months back. But with his... situation now, she wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. "I need to see if I can handle a plant. Then a pet. Then..." She trailed off as new shots were set in front of them. Rylee laughed. "I think this town will be much better off if neither of us breed, am I right?"
“I would be an awesome aunt,” Zania grinned back at Rylee. They both would be. They’d be the cool aunts that let their nieces and nephews get away with everything, more like friends than the adult figures they should be. “I can do plants,” she pointed out. “I’ve got a greenhouse full of ‘em. But I also got a degree in that kind of stuff.” She’d wanted to take that on, which she thought was probably the big difference. Maybe if she ever wanted kids, she’d put the same kind of effort into learning about them. Zania snickered. “You’re probably right. There’s already one of us. I doubt they want little copies running around. We’re already more than they can handle.”
"Maybe Nic will have a kid someday," Rylee said, her smile widening. That was hard to see too, but stranger things have happened. Honestly, it was kind of refreshing to have a friend who had no desire to reproduce. Rylee didn't have to be afraid of losing Zania to marriage and kids and that whole nine yards. She knew she and Carson talked all the time about growing old together and being those 'weird cousins' down the street, but deep down she knew he would find someone to settle down with. But maybe at least she would have Zania around.
“Oh my god, maybe,” Zania laughed. “He’d freak out, but he’d be good at it. He has way more patience than I do.” Her brother had his moods for sure, but she actually thought he’d be great with kids. Super protective, but then she would be too. She just couldn’t see him in a conventional relationship, probably because those had never worked out so well for Nic, but that didn’t mean kids weren’t in the cards at all. “Things would have to change though, for that to happen. Or he’d just have to find the right girl.” One that understood he was never going to be rich, that he worked with his sister, and that he was a witch. She didn’t like to think of him moving out. Living by herself sounded too quiet and lonely, even if Nic wasn’t exactly loud.
"It could happen." Rylee shrugged. "Eventually Nic'll find a girl, and Carson'll find a girl, or guy, and they'll move out and live their lives... and you and I can move in together and be single women who'll forever think they're twenty one and keep the Point Pleasant gossip mill churning." Rylee knocked back the other shot and hissed a little. She was going to need a couple more, probably. And an Uber for later.
“Nic has a girl. At least right now he does,” Zania said with a little laugh. “But they’re not serious and she’s not the settle down and have babies type. At least I don’t think so. I could be wrong.” It just wasn’t the vibe she’d gotten from Lem. She wasn’t even sure that what Nic and Lem had could be considered a relationship, but she had the feeling that Nic wasn’t likely to fuck anyone else so long as he was fucking Lem. He was loyal like that. “But I like that idea,” she grinned as she picked up the next shot. “Move in together, party till dawn, and never grow old.”
Rylee's brows raised in surprise. She'd had idea that Nic had a girl. Then again, the two of them didn't talk as much as they used to. "Nic's got a girl, and you've got... a number." Rylee smiled. Her head was starting to feel a bit fuzzy from the liquor. Thank god. "But yeah, I'll totally be here if you decide the single life is the only life for you." She nudged Zan's foot under the table and motioned to the shot glasses. "Want to get another round? I bet if we push our boobs together in just the right way we'll get someone else in this bar to pay for them."
“A number’s nothing,” Zania rolled her eyes. She was hopeful, because Gabriel was hot, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. “We’ve got lots of time to figure it out,” she grinned. The future was fluid. Nothing was set in stone and they were both young. Zania laughed and reached for Rylee, pulling her to her feet so they could head up to the bar together. “Let’s do it. Even if we strike out, it sounds like a fun game to play.”
Rylee laughed. "A number is something. Stay positive. And you'll have to sneak a pic of him when you two do go out so I can live vicariously through you." She let Zan lift her to her feet, thankfully when she didn't immediately tip over. "Okay, so... rules of the game... let's see who gets the most free drinks. Whoever loses has to pay for the Uber home." Yes, she would have to leave her car here but oh well. She could come and get it in the morning.
“Oh, you’re on,” Zania laughed. She loved a bet where there was a cost to both winning and losing. Lose, you paid the way home. Win, you had a worse hangover than the loser. It was a good thing Nic opened the shop tomorrow because there was no way she was rolling out of bed before noon, not with the start they already had. It would be fun though, the distraction they both needed.