,. taste devil's tears

[cole latimer]

---NEW york was full of tall buildings. merely looking up from the sidewalk was enough to give you vertigo, especially to a boy from a city so flat you could see storms occurring in the distance, localized, like cartoon rainclouds on a tiny patch of earth. cole longed for his hometown right now. faces flashed in front of his vision – his parents, his sisters, charlie and kingsley and freya – and his mouth had run dry. he swallowed thickly. cole leaned forward ever so slightly, the sight of eight-stories-worth of windows blurring into focus, the director's voice bleating in his earpiece and the beaming face of his encouraging supervisor slowly edging closer. jumping off a building wasn't as straightforward as he had expected. the director was asking him if he could possibly twist midair, but not fully twist, just kinda twist... cole was by now well used to garbled instruction, but the thought that he could do anything midair beyond, well, falling, was farcical now that he was actually faced with that prospect. he blocked everyone out and tried to clear his head as the director began the countdown. the inflated mattress he was supposed to be falling onto had seemed huge when he was on the ground next to it, but eight hundred feet up he saw that there was considerable room for error. he was momentarily reminded of that old arcade game pong, how easy it looked to catch that little dot with the much larger block but how difficult it became when you factored in the speed of that dastardly cluster of pixels. what speed does an average adult gather when they've thrown themselves off a building anyhow? cole then figured he'd have to factor in the fact he was heavier than the average adult, and a couple inches taller... but didn't his science teacher say that things fell at the same speed, regardless of their weight? humming this problem over, it took him a few seconds to realize that he was being screamed at by the director. internally shrugging, if one can do such a thing, cole took the plunge. face forward, he took a step forward that could be his last, his heart skipping a beat when his foot wasn't met by reassuring hard ground even with all the bracing. before he knew it he'd managed to twist himself around and was making impact with what felt like a huge bouncy castle, feeling slightly winded but massively exhilarated.

---BECAUSE cole was, as was everyone in his profession, an adrenaline junkie. “fuck yeah!” he said, his face lit up in a bright smile. his hand met the hand his supervisor was holding up in an enthusiastic high five, and the two men half-embraced. his heartbeat had yet to slow and the adrenaline was well and truly pumping through his veins, making him skittish, eager to get off set and to... he didn't even know what, but he knew he wanted a drink and he wanted to walk, wanted to use his legs, wanted to feel the air on his face and the ground under his feet. he felt alive. cole was treated to this feeling more often than most, he supposed, but then he did search it out with an enthusiasm that couldn't be matched. if he felt stagnant for even a moment, he wouldn't be satisfied just trying out a new bar or choosing a different dish off the menu, he had to get himself onto a different continent, had to be met by a different culture that he could dive into and absorb, absorb, absorb. everything was go go go for the boy. unlike cole, the director was carefully reviewing the footage just shot, obviously trying to make the difficult call of whether or not to try it again. stunts like this were the real big earners, so it was a potentially costly decision for him – for cole, it was a case of whether he could fund another round the world trip or two. but he didn't do it for the money. any stuntman would tell you that the greater the figure on your payslip, the greater risk you put yourself in on the job, and it was the risk that really paid off for cole latimer. he lived for his job, because it made him feel alive.

---MUCH to cole's indifference, the director decided to wrap it up for the day and let everyone go early. it was only about ten o'clock at night, and despite having been on set since five in the morning, cole was feeling galvanized. he was more glad than ever that he was in new york, since it was the place some of his closest friends called home, not to mention a place that never stopped. he realized that he was hungry. saying goodbye to the members of the cast and crew that he'd befriended over the few days they'd spent together, he made a quick change back into his t-shirt and jeans and left the set, a smile on his face as he registered how very awake the city still was. perth tended to go to sleep at around seven this time of year, the whole city just killing time until summer rolled round again. new york on the other hand was alive, alive and eager to prove it, the drone of traffic noise constant, streetlamps lighting up the faces of a whole host of characters. the set was nestled in one of the areas cole loved so much, an area with million dollar apartments and crack dens, prostitutes and socialites. if there was a difference, it didn't matter to him. he loved places that mixed like this, the way two completely opposing elements came together in harmony where there should be discord. or maybe there was discord, and that's what he loved. whatever it was, cole was happy and brimming with enthusiasm, a joie de vivre that was utterly his own but could be recognized by anyone who knew what it was like to truly be at peace with themselves and the world. it was borderline nauseating. deciding that all he wanted to do was get out to a few bars but that he'd also want predrinks, cole held off on texting kingsley and charlie to stop and buy supplies.

---IN fact, so happy was cole, he thought his joy must have bordered into delirium. for in amongst the cluttered shelves of microwave popcorn and gatorade that made up the rather ramshackle grocery store he'd wandered into, a beautiful girl was buying supplies of her own. well, he didn't actually know if she was beautiful or not, given she wasn't facing him, but with a body like that... his head automatically tilting as he checked her out, the store attendant caught his eye and the two of offered each other an inane grin, a small gesture that bonded them in their mutual appreciation of the girl. but the smile dropped off his face as quickly as he'd dropped off that building, as the object of their lust turned round and revealed a familiar, if beautiful, face. freya. his heart skipped a beat as it had done the very first time he saw her, though this time it was less in appreciation and more out of surprise. slowly the smile returned. “fefe!” he beamed, closing the gap between them with a few easy steps. he began rudely inspecting the items she was carrying. “looks like you're set for a good night in. in fact,

” he made a pretense of looking more intently at her items, as if checking something, “it looks as though all you're missing is a burly australian type to share the evening with, you know, one of those west australians, the kind that totally weren't checking you out a few minutes ago.” the lame joke brought the last few minutes back to him, and he turned to the store attendant. “and you, young man, really need to learn some manners. freya here happens to be a smart girl with a lot to offer the world, and she's very kindly choosing to give your store custom – she's not some piece of meat here for your viewing satisfaction. speaking of custom,[/font]” before she could say anything cole was abruptly taking the items out of her arms and putting them on the counter, pulling an amex card from his pocket, “let's pay for these and bounce.” the now shellshocked store attendant seemed too stunned to react, but after a hesitant glance at freya he began to ring up the items. cole was restless, bouncing from foot to foot, wanting to get out and on with the evening but also delighted by this turn of events. he couldn't contain himself. tipping the attendant a fifty, he gathered up the bags and bundled out the store, turning to wait for freya. “come on,[/font]” he said, a whining note creeping into his voice.

---

TAG freya soloman.
STATUS finished.
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC angus & julia stone, i need to stop begging australian!
NOTES sorry i haven't read over this, it bored me too much to. so that said, i'm sorry it's so boring! idk why it's so stilted but i promise i'll get betterrrrr. <3

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[freya soloman]

---AS freya poured two cups of sugar into the large yellow bowl in front of her she realized she had truly hit a point of desperation. wednesday night and there was absolutely no hint of a social life to be found, she may have texted 'S.O.S. so bored' to just about every contact in her phone and the whole lot of them seemed to be either ignorant or busy. the entire day had been stuck on the same beat, boredom ate away at her, causing her to feel raw and anxious. her mind was about to implode from the frusteration she was feeling. it was days like this that made her regret weighing freedom against a schedule in her decision to hunt for a summer job. she had spent the early morning stuck in the gym, doing thousands of crunches in a sea of elderly folk, while a portion of the afternoon she had her nose stuck in an emma mclaughlin novel.. managing to whiz through it in a matter of four hours... four hours, like her time was worth air. and now she was leaning against her counter, absent mindedly beating together a mixture of sugar and butter until 'light and fluffy'. she felt like a character on desperate housewives, though disappointingly missing refined skill of bree van de kamp and the never ending drama of susan.

---HER jaden eyes followed down the list of ingredients, mentally taking note of what she was going to fetch from the pantry. 1. white flour 2. peanut butter 3. eggs 4. vanilla extract 5. baking soda. her lean body sashayed to the cupboard, piling them in the crook of her elbow. peanut butter... her mind halted, teeth grazing against her bottom lip as she dug around the shelf. strawberry jam, marmelade, nutella, there was possibly everything but peanut butter. her tan fingers filtered around the top shelf, tripling checking for it, begging that it was going to appear in the palm of her hand. when it seemed it wasn't going to the blonde huffed, crossly shoving the contents in her arm with the rest of her limited inventory. jesus, she really didn't want to go to the store. going to the store would mean she'd have to change her entire outfit, because there was no way in hell she was going to risk the chance of running into someone whilst wearing lulu lemon sweats. not only that but she'd have apply a coat of makeup, find her wallet, spend money. her eyes rolled, determining over all that she had nothing else to do, and might as well make herself look half presentable, go out to the shop.

---THE packages of perfectly allined food stood out like a collage, and as she slowly strutted down the aisle she couldn't help be attracted to bits and pieces. the girl had hoarder tendencies; she'd buy food she never ate, circle yard sales in the news paper, buy gifts and never pass them off. so by the time she had reached the end of the shelves she had picked up much more than peanut butter. her basket was filled with an array of goodies, from a six pack of pink grapefruit coolers to red licorice. she raked her fingers root to tip through her hair, her eyes catching the gaze of the cashier. freya furrowed her brow at his slick head, turning to add a package of hand soap to her growing pile. the voice behind her caused her to jolt, rocking the basket like a boat against a storm. “ohhh fuck,

” she exclaimed a little too loudly, “cole![/font]” her free hand rolled into a fist and she gave him a rough jab in the stomach. the girl watched as her shuffled through her shopping basket, her cheeks reddening slightly, “uhm, i'm baking,[/font]” she glared at the store keeper, at a loss of words, and to be frank, a bit embarrassed. before she could say no the boy aside her began to shovel her items onto the black tape, "shit bud, what? no.[/font]" her body crashed against his, attempting to unbalance him and get to the interact machine. ultimately, failing. her graze once more met that of the teenage boy's, she shook her head no at him, but was once more discourraged when he looked at cole and announced the total. her mouth drooped open in remark to his hefty tip, she lifted her hand to pound her temple, and trotted forward to grab at his loose shirt. “hey, hey, are you high?[/font]” she questioned, raising a brow and forcing a chuckle. she felt the hype pulsating through his body. “where do you think we're going? i'm baking, the ovens on..[/font]” she waved her arms in grand gesture, “okay, the oven's not on.. but where do you think you're going?[/font]” she felt her words repeating, uncertainty painted all over her face.

---

STATUS finitttt!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC the chili peppers.
NOTES this sucked so bad.. deepest apologies! it`s also tiny, and i left you with nothing... guh, so sorry :c

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[cole latimer]

---AS far as cole was concerned, this store, with its shelves of cereal boxes and cartons of milk and garish signs depicting measly offers, was the stage for an almost perfect drama. what were the chances of bumping into his leading lady in conditions such as these? he ignored both the fact that she was no longer supposed to be his leading lady and the fact that the chances were, given that this was her city of residence and he was not far from her apartment, really rather high. having said that, it wasn't that low level of coincidence that came about from dating people you share a postal code with – it wasn't like the millions of times he'd bumped into an ex girlfriend in a liquor store halfway between his house and her's on a friday night. it was the sheer unexpected nature of their encounter that was unusual to him. at home, he could guarantee that he'd see at least two people he knew on every outing (a scenario that must have been unbelievably heightened for freya in her hometown), but since he'd become such an obsessive traveler he'd come to feel forever like a wandering stranger, too familiar to be a tourist but by no means a local. he felt almost allegorical, and here, here was another allegorical figure, one that had somehow stumbled into his parable. as much as cole loved life and everything about it, it was only in the company of freya or charlie that he realized how lonely he usually was, much as you often don't realize how cold you are until you step into a warm room, or how hungry you are until you start eating.

---BEAMING all over as she punched him playfully, he held his hands up in mock surrender. it felt good to be back in the same city as his ex wife, and to so easily have struck up a friendship akin to the one they had before they even thought about any sort of commitment. again it only occurred to him in retrospect that things could have turned out differently. his sunny outlook on life was so optimistic it was almost brutal, and as anyone who spoke to him for ten minutes could tell you, it required a certain level of naivety. cole saw the good in people where there simply wasn't much good to be seen, and he saw positive outcomes to dire situations. for most people, he now realized, being divorced was one of those dire, black-listed situations. though he was impetuous and unreliable and, yes, undoubtedly childish, freya had meant the world to him, and it had never occurred to him that she didn't need him as much as he needed her. though cole had a couple scars from bar fights, he liked to think he only got involved in confrontation of any sort as a peacekeeper. arguments were his weakness. he'd never listed anyone as an enemy, and if anyone in school had disliked him they hadn't told him so. filing for a divorce from him was the most actively distressing thing anyone had ever done to cole, and yet he couldn't hold it against her. his impatience keeping him unaware of any embarrassment he was causing her, cole rocked back and forth on his feet as each item beeped, the beeps not coming anywhere near thick and fast enough for his liking. “i didn't buy anything,” he said, announcing the state of events he had only just picked up on. for the sake of consistency he grabbed a six pack of beck's. he was pleased when the clerk didn't ask for id.

---IGNORING her resistance, he jabbed his pin into the machine, sneaking a glance at her. “hey,” the grin he'd been wearing since seeing her widened slightly, “my pin is still your birthday. figures.” being out in the fresh air calmed him only slightly, and he laughed at her reaction. he raised an eyebrow as she mentioned the oven, he himself remembering how hungry he was and actually quite fancying the idea of sitting around watching her bake, but changing his mind as soon as she admitted it wasn't. her question was a difficult one. cole mulled over the options for a moment, automatically starting to wander down the street. he was distracted by a 'caesar's palace, las vegas' bumper sticker on someone's car, “hey, did you know that we're all breathing in julius caesar's last dying breath? right here, right now. genghis khan too. maybe ghandi. that's science too, so don't tell me i'm wrong.” scientific knowledge successfully expressed, he returned his attention to the matter at hand, now happy to make a snap decision. “we're gonna break my most holy promise to myself and pick up some macka's, and i'm going to eat it guilt-free because i jumped off a building today,

[/i]” this honestly seemed like a logical statement in his head, “and then we're going to lie on a train track somewhere. that's all i feel like doing.” he paused now, looking back at her. “do you generally aim to look that hot while you're inside baking, or was that a lame excuse to try and get rid of me so you can return to more exciting prospects? because i promise you, you can go back to 'em without upsetting me. you'll only be missing out on the most amazing night of your life, no big deal.”

---

STATUS finished.
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC mozart's requiem, it's pretty intense.
NOTES i've managed to move them about two feet down the road, i suck! but il'd your post, and il them. sorry this is still sucky!

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[freya soloman]

---SETTING her green eyes on the masculine face of cole's reminded her of how much she missed his company. it was funny, the way it quickly ticked into her blood like morphine through a needle, she'd feel dizzy, her throat would begin to restrict, nausea, butterflies. if she didn't know better she'd claim it as love sickness, but due to the drama that she pushed them through, it was probably quite inappropriate to do so. she suddenly felt like she was in high school again, that first boyfriend that you're convinced you're absolutely in love with, but really you are just young and foolish. she'd look at cole, talk to him, and everything just seemed to flow so naturally, the pure glee that took over was like a shock to her system. she grinned at his realization, flicking her head up and ruffling her golden mane. freya fought back the urge to mention how elementry beck's was, and to ask if he was dragging her to a college frat party, his body language intrigued her, his hype was obvious through his jerky twists and bounces. adrenaline, it pushed her to a memory of the first time he forced her to go bungee jumping, and the intensity of emotion she had felt afterwards. she'd launched her whole body into his arms, beaming down at his face and contemplated doing a thousand cartwheels. he must have just finished a job, or had done something crazy, like rob a bank.

---THE girl felt a quick pang of guilt when he spoke next, and being sure it was visible through her facial experession she quickly looked at him sternly, "you're a bigger freak than i remember,

" she rolled her eyes slightly, "change it. get on that.[/font]" it wasn't till after their divorce that she realized how truly invested in the relationship cole was, little things like pin numbers and passwords proved that their relationship wasn't just some silly happening in their lives. days she was feeling pathetic and unsure of her direction in life she would spread the contents of her memory box out on the ground (a box that was literally a trunk.. likely another hoarding tendancy) and sift through it. some bits were words strewn on paper, their handwriting absolutely illegible. 'climb everest, parachuting liscense, tattoo ring fingers' were the only hints that it was a bucket list. written probably on a saturday night while sitting on the bedroom floor, joints in their mouths, and a bottle of jameson whiskey shared in the middle. some paper was shopping lists, funny love letters they left in each other's lunch bags, her's tended to be cheesy pick-up lines, signed with a heart and a sloppy 'F'. one of her favorite artifacts was a wedding picture which they had both vandalized with mustaches, and top hats. most of her memory box was a shrine to their marriage, sadly.

---FREYA raced to keep up with him, her nude heels clicking on the sidewalk in a rhythmical pattern. "oh my god![/font]" she mocked, her eyes widening, "elvis too? your mind seriously shocks me![/font]" she raised her hands in surprised, waving them for a moment. "i'm thinking no to the first idea.. i mean, look how much food i, no, you bought,[/font]" her hands ruffled through the bags he held, drawing his attention to the bags of junkfood she had managed to pick up. "also, this isn't the boonies of australia, the closest thing to a track is the subway.. where we'll die, so let's find a field and use our imagination,[/font]" freya added, throwing in a horrendous australian accent at the mention of it, she was sure she sounded like the crocodile hunter on a gallon of hellium. she smiled at his mention of her outfit, running her hands down the pink silk and feeling the creases, dragging it down a touch, exposing an inch more cleavage to get him going. "yea, i lied.[/font]"

---IT was halfway down an alley, in the poorest part of new york city that freya decided to hurl a can of beck's at the boy. "i swear, there was a school yard somewhere here,[/font]" her voice pleaded, her thumb fiddling open the top of her palm bay and taking a sip of the vodka infused grapefruit juice. "you poor thing, you look really fucking malnorished![/font]" her pink lips puffed into a pout, and she downed half her drink, the fizz spinning down her throat. her fingers grasped the back of her shoe and she managed to pull both off. "i'm done walking,[/font]" her body slipped to the pavement, and her back leaned against a wall. "hail a cab or sit.[/font]"

---

STATUS finitttt!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC bedouin soundclash, so canuck ~
NOTES oh i love them, otp. sorry this drifted from suck to suckier! .. spellcheck hates me also.

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[cole latimer]

---PULLING the card out of the reader with unnecessary focus, cole determinedly avoided her eye contact as he spoke. “i'm too dumb to remember another number!” his jokey tone was forced, his eyes still not meeting her's. he knew he should change it. the daily reminders of his ex-wife were grating and, if they caught him at a bad time, emotionally draining. buying a date dinner, for example, he'd be forced to type in that number, and he still hadn't gotten the knack of doing it thoughtlessly. taking his nephew to the movies, he'd stick that number in and end up thinking about freya the whole time, attracting the displeasure of the little boy when he couldn't recall the movie afterwards. his nephew was oddly significant in their relationship, though freya didn't know it. cole's eagerness to introduce her to the then four-year-old, embarrassingly named amadeus, was so remarkable that his dad had sat him down and asked him if he was thinking about marrying freya – which, as it turned out, he was. his early determination to introduce her to his family and have them love each other was a dead giveaway for his feelings. both his sisters and his mother were what you'd call powerful women, women who have managed to carve impressive careers in their chosen fields and want you to know about it. both his sisters were also, unfortunately, cole's best friends. as a result they were overly protective of their brother, and extended their personally high expectations to cover him. whilst cole was determined for freya to love his family and his family to love freya, the women in his family were determined to tear the poor girl apart.

---BUT that fact alone was reflective of how serious their relationship was. here was freya, an american girl out from the middle of nowhere, and at first they'd suspected that she was just another souvenir cole had amassed on his travels. but when he'd introduced them and the girls had given her a thorough third degree, that's when his feelings for her came into sharp focus. though he laughed it off in front of freya, he'd shunned his sisters for days. for cole, who'd never been mad at anyone for more than two minutes and was notoriously incapable of coping with bad blood, it was testament to the vehemence of the crime. so his family relented and gave her the warm welcome he had been banking on, and even now, they were almost more upset about his divorce than he was. even her sarcasm made him laugh. “i was so astounded by that fact in school, i drove people crazy. i talked about it literally five, six, seventy times a day.

” the clacking of her heels was slowly grating on the boy, and he had half a mind to sweep her up and carry her. giving that some thought, he decided it was one of those few things that belonged in coupleland. thanks to his lack of tact, there weren't many things that cole was uncomfortable continuing to do, but he was hesitant about breaking the touch barrier too frequently. his nose scrunched up in distaste at her junk food habit. “i know this sounds ridiculous, since you've got a killer figure and all, but that shit will ruin it eventually,” he found himself saying, taking the opportunity to glance down at the figure in question. he could hardly believe he'd been married to her, the girl looked like a swimsuit model. he punched her lightly on her arm, a snort of laughter escaping him at her australian accent. “that's the worst imitation i've ever heard, and i hear them daily,” he grinned, though it wasn't by any stretch the worst. he was a little put out that there wasn't a track to while the time away on, but he got over the thought as quickly as he had selected it. “hey wait, new york has fields?” he asked, the thought so challenging he'd come to a standstill to consider it and now had to pick up his pace to catch up with her.

---CASTING his attention around the alleyway, with its dim lighting and strewn litter, he raised an eyebrow at freya again. she was laughably juxtaposed against her surroundings, all glamor in the dinginess. he appreciatively caught the beer, tapping it uselessly before cracking it open with a satisfying tug. “then i guess we're sitting.[/font]” sidling up next to her, close but not too close. cole was pleased to note the warmth the pavement was emitting, remembering something in high school geography about how cities absorb all the heat during the day and emit it come nightfall, contributing to global warming. he was grateful for it right then, though a shudder still passed through him. “this city is always so fucking cold,[/font]” he complained, rubbing his arms melodramatically to highlight the point. he turned his attention back to her, a small smirk stretching across his face as he noted what she was drinking, “you are such a girl.” he took a sip from his own can and scrunched his nose up. “nothing on victoria bitter. and victoria bitter sucks.” the conversation idled for a few seconds now that he'd run out of things to complain about, but then he remembered something. “amadeus is coming to stay with me next week,[/font]” he started, his enthusiasm building up again at the thought of his nephew, “you should come with us to the zoo or something. he's always asking after you.[/font]” he looked down at the beer in his hands and made an observation he couldn't quite decide how he felt about. thanks to his lucky genetic, the sun only had to glimpse cole to cast his skin a tone or two darker, and he realized he'd gained a tan in croatia. around his ring finger, however, there was a thin band of paler skin... he couldn't remember taking his wedding band off when arriving in new york, but he must have not wanted freya to know he was still in the habit of wearing it. he was torn between showing her and not, but he went with not, awkwardly readjusting his grip on the can to keep it out of sight.

---

STATUS finishedd.
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC real housewives of ny. embarrassingggg.
NOTES serious love!

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[freya soloman]

---ANOTHER pang of guilt rapidly leaked into her blood stream as she recognized the hurt play across cole's features, it was the crease in his brow and the avoidence of eye-contact that made her focas. his sticky sarcasm was enough to make her throat clench with the threat of nervous tears. she was constantly feeling remorse for what she had put him through. from within the first week he'd packed his belongings and moved out of their apartment she continued aching to reach out to him and admit her sulken regret, apologize for acting like a melodramatic psychopath. but the fear of sounding senseless and like a complete idiot kept her from dialing the number or sending the text. not only that but she was afraid he'd snap, or question her decision, and she was terrible at explaining herself, absolutely horrific. her words would become loose, and freya would begin searching for the loophole to a happy ending. she'd absent-mindedly seek approval from her family and friends, and she'd deny that she was people-pleaser from the get go. but the decision to continue her education, and divorce her husband were motivated through expectations. she had never wanted to go to school, her thoughts (before others gave their opinion) strided on getting out of her small town in alaska and traveling. freya wanted to stretch her legs out, and take a round trip, witness different people, different cultures. perhaps that's why she and cole got along so well, her gave her will and opportunity, whislt the peers in her life made her believe she was being totally unnatural by not going to school right away. thus she landed at columbia, not an awful place to be from someone else's point of view, but from her own she saw herself rotting, losing her pulse. no one but cole allowed her to breathe her own air, to live for herself.

---SHE glanced at the gravel dotted ground, bearing a grin at his mention of her diet. having the worst sweet tooth, and almost making excuses as to why she should bake or allow herself that one last handful of chips ("oh but i had oatmeal for breakfast this morning, might as well indulge friday, saturday, sunday"), she knew he was probably right. her metabolism would give up and she'd gain a couple double digits. "but for now...

" her hand reached into the bag and pulled out a string of red licorice. her teeth closed and tugged at the sweet, a dainty smile exposing characteristic dimples on both sides of her cheeks. his repugnance for her diet was a reflection on their living conditions, he'd hate when she'd go shopping because most of it was the least bit healthy, and she'd bicker constantly about his food choices. she'd pin him on paint colours, not because he wanted green over blue but because he was too easy and would always allow her her choice. "crikey![/font]" she exclaimed, coating the catchphrase in a thick australian accent. she ripped another piece of licorice off, large smirk still at play.

---CROSSING the length of her tan legs, she heaved her body up with the palms of her hands. the fabric of her top pulling roughly against the stale red brick of the building. his mention of cold drove chills up her skirt, making her become aware of the fact that there was quite a chill in the air. "aw, baby,[/font]" freya shrugged the jacket off her shoulders, laying it on his lap, "wear my jacket! [/font]" she took a moment to smirk at him slyly, before shaking her head at his next comment. she lifted the blue can up, twisting it in her fingers and watching the rainbow of colours that played upon it in the light of the streetlamp. "you wouldn't be saying that if you tried it![/font]" she took another swing, the fizz drawing befween the gaps of her teeth, it could be colder, her body became tense at the mention of her former nephew; her fingers fidgety as they dwindled the tin of her drink. "i thought you were going to berlin?[/font]" she backtracked, considering. she was in love with the young boy, a fact which didn't occur often as she was usually ignorant and stuck-up towards children. freya became goofy and completely easy going around him, her voice would get high and her body loose, the change of heart was probably detectable. "i'd love to,[/font]" her eyes closed in thought, trying to think of an appropriate way to spill her words. "i think that might confuse him, though,[/font]" she paused, piecing her words together, taking the last sip. "i miss him,[/font]" freya admitted, glancing awkwardly at the man beside her, "i really just think that'd mess him up.[/font]" her hand scraped through her blonde hair, her fingertips fuzzy from her first drink.

---

STATUS finitttt!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC nada, i'm boring
NOTES loveloveluvvv. sorry this took a while!

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[cole latimer]

---IT was strange that cole felt so much loss at losing freya – to the naked eye, the only aspect of their relationship that had changed much was in the bedroom department. on the surface of it their lingering friendship was alarmingly tranquil, a glossy veneer of the perfect functioning divorce. but under that serene surface was the fact that she had divorced him and that it had hurt, it had fucking hurt like nothing else he'd ever experienced, and though it wasn't in his nature to be spiteful, he was damn near close to resenting her for it. that hurt threatened to bubble up to the surface there and then, in that tiny grocery store, but cole suppressed it. instead, he smiled jovially. it had been easy enough to carry on at first, given that he was so often surrounded by strangers. the quiet french barman didn't know that the bulky australian buying random acquaintances drinks and talking too loudly was compensating for the sudden loss of a companion, the sweet irish girl he took to bed after stumbling through a chat up attempt didn't know that he would be thinking of freya the whole time they were together. but his family did know, knew that he was being louder and even more sociable than normal because all he wanted to do was sit in his room and sulk. it was uncharacteristic of him in the extreme, but then he'd had a pretty privileged life. for better or worse, losing freya was the only tragedy he'd ever known.

---EVEN in the face of his hurt, cole was always genuinely delighted to see her. it made sense really, that the sight of her still made his heart race. if he wasn't happy to see her, then he couldn't be missing her that much. he figured it'd probably be a good sign when seeing her wasn't such a pure joy, but he couldn't foresee that ever being the case. the only thing he couldn't cope with was the lust he still felt for her, an immense lust that was only heightened by the fact that she was once his but was now off limits. he kept stealing glimpses of the way her dress rode up her tanned thighs, or the way it clinged just ever so slightly to her ample curves... he lost track of his thoughts. watching her eat was similarly seductive. any body language expert would advise you to draw attention to your mouth when around a member of the opposite sex, and cole understood why now, the ruby licorice and her pink lips making him unable to think of anything but grabbing and kissing her full on the mouth. he realized he was gawping and shook his head disapprovingly, pretending he hadn't missed a few beats, “you make me sick, soloman.

[/i]” their pantry had looked like the pantry of a family of health-conscious parents who were too indulgent towards their kids, half superfoods and half processed sugar. he missed it. he rolled his eyes at her stupid accent, an equally stupid grin on his face. more to try and deflect his own attention from her eating than anything, he seized opportunity by grabbing the remainder of the licorice lace right from between her teeth. “i'm saving you from yourself,[/font]” he assured her, shoving the whole thing in his mouth at once and chewing boorishly. as expected it was sickly sweet, but with a familiar element... he kept chewing, trying to identify it, before it eventually clicked. it must have brushed against her lipgloss, and it must have been a brand she was particularly fond of, because cole would recognize that taste anywhere. he grinned to himself.

---NARROWING his eyes at her but grinning all the same, he immediately kicked off her jacket. “you're ruining my street cred. here, have this back, you're practically naked,[/font]” he said, throwing the green fabric over her bronzed legs. now her shoulders were bare, and she did look particularly exposed. he wondered why she'd made such a wardrobe choice, but then women and clothes was a topic he did his best to avoid, convinced there was no real logic in it whatsoever. still, she looked like she must be cold, even if she was from much cooler climates. “and now,” he said, putting an arm around her slender shoulders and pulling her in closer to him, “you should be alright.” suddenly he could smell her perfume, her shampoo, and it sent a pang of longing through him. he'd walked past girls in the street who wore the same perfume or used the same hair products, but it was the blend of the two plus her smell, the smell she left on pillows and clothes, that was just so freya. “i was, but my brother in law called and asked if i could take him while he and cass went to boston. as hot as diane kruger is, germany couldn't compete.” he watched her closely, trying to gauge her reaction. as casually as he'd phrased the offer, he knew there was an element of overstepping boundaries. it was obvious that she was choosing her words carefully, and that alone made his throat dry up. he laughed her response off, as true as it was. “we're not his parents, i don't think he has that much invested in our relationship!” it was a lie, and freya would know it within two minutes of seeing amadeus. the little boy asked constantly why she wasn't around, and questioned the explanations both his mother and uncle tried to give as to why they were divorced. the problem was that cole didn't really understand why they were divorced, so when asked he didn't have a convincing answer. he didn't blame amadeus for his skepticism, and part of him was hoping he would ask freya all the awkward questions he didn't have the guts to. jesus, was he really hoping a five year old could solve his life problems for him? “he's a kid, he takes things at face value.” he grabbed another beer as nonchalantly as possible, though the lie was written all over his face.

---

STATUS finisheddd.
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC pj harvey.
NOTES not at all, i'm just being weirdly eager! i apologizeeeee.

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[freya soloman]

---UNHAPPINESS wasn't the core reason behind their divorce, if anything, happiness was. freya was in a continuous state of denial, and though every day came to a close with mumblings of love, she couldn't help pinch herself every so often. their perfection, their inrefutable chemistry, had made her doubt them, something so real couldn't last for long, and when she filed for divorce, she believed that. but now, sitting in his company, and being at ease as well as happy in the moment, she began to once again regret. he made her feel younger than she was, like a kid. cole made her want to quit school and travel, she just wanted to burn her textbooks and go backpacking around the world with himhe influenced her in such a way she couldn't describe. there was something so wrong about that, people had been telling her what to do her entire life, where to go and what profession to go into. and then there was cole who was so lux and freeing, who let her have a mind of her own. it didn't help that her parents, who were generally easy-going about her social life, began to question her decision to marry cole. she would speak to them about school, expressing her desire to take time off and travel for a couple years. this managed to tick them off completely, and they been to accuse cole, asking her if he had caused the change in thought. and that was when she began to doubt the relationship, her parents voice came into her head and she asked herself if he was putting her future in jeopardy.

---SHE honestly did miss him. last year she couldn't imagine living her life without him, and even in the present, she didn't know how she was doing it. he was everything to her; her lover, her friend, her family. they were still on friendly terms, obviously. she was glad for that, it would be hard if they were constantly riping and cross at each other. but on days like today, when the hours seem to drag, and you're in the company of your thoughts, she couldn't help pine for him, she didn't deserve to miss him as much as she did, and she loathed herself for doing it. freya had given him up, this right was no longer hers. but watching him in the faint warm light of the streetlamp, and the speckle of stars, it only made her want to fold him in a cozy embrace. she narrowed her bright green eyes at him as she felt the rope slip right from between her fingers into his mouth. a face was made, her forehead crinkling harshly and her lips becoming taught in a frown. "you're so rude,

" her hand lifted to cruelly jab him in the stomach. her toned arm reached over him to thieve another licorice from the bang, her eyebrows lifted in a daring way as she began to nibble at it.

---GOOSEBUMPS began to break out over her arms and shoulders, her exposed skin becoming a few shades paler than they were beneath the jacket. she laughed at his comment, glancing down at herself. she was almost sure the pink cloak was a night dress, though she had bought it as everyday clothing with quite the hefty price tag. she laid the olive threaded jacket over her thighs, his sudden touch made her jump slightly, a long line of shivers running up the bridge of her back. the girl lifted her honey toned legs over his, her head resting against him in a homely manner. this probably wasn't appropriate, and she was likely stepping outside the line, but in this moment. "oh,[/font]" she cooed lightly, not being able to come up with a response. she chewed her lips thoughtfully, her thumb cracking open another can and taking a long sip. freya considered his next few words, shaking her head in disagreement. "i can't,[/font]" she sighed, feeling pressure settling on her shoulders. "it's just a bad idea, he'd get upset, i don't want that.[/font]" the girl took another long sip, getting fuzzy with the race of drinks. "you should explain to him though.. if you haven't,[/font]" she paused realizing she was being quite vague, though not wanting to be intricate. "us, i mean. explain us,,[/font]" she contemplated her words, nodding to herself.

---

STATUS finitttt!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC nick and norah's intinite playlist. judge me.
NOTES sux ~ hangover, you know how it is. still love em..

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[cole latimer]

---"BUT why?” had been cole's favorite question as a child, and now that his nephew had inherited that quizzically-toned habit of denying reality, he understood why his parents had been so irritated by it for so long. cole had initially explained the deterioration of his marriage in a brief and uninformative manner, hoping that amadeus would let the matter drop. he didn't. upon further probing, cole admitted to his nephew that things weren't perfect between himself and auntie freya, that, despite how happy they seemed around each other, things were complicated. this too was not a satisfactory explanation. eventually cole found himself launching into the matter in as much detail as he could muster. he told him that he and freya had gotten married young, much too young in most people's opinions, and though he – and amadeus, the boy himself was quick to point out – disagreed with them, it still took a toll on their relationship. there were over eight thousand miles between alaska and perth, he explained, and though new york was admittedly closer, cole had no place of residence and was incredibly reluctant to settle in any one place. this conflicted with freya's studies, which obviously took place in a fixed location, for the majority of the year. that meant he'd either leave her alone for weeks on end to stretch his legs out and continue seeing the world, or the two would have something that almost resembled a fight about why she couldn't just drop her studies temporarily and come with him. every time he came back with memories and souvenirs and anecdotes relating to the exotic and wide-ranging places he'd been to, he was probably grating on his wife immensely. to everyone else it would surely look like abandonment, but traveling was pretty much the essence of his existence, and cole wouldn't be cole if he stayed where he was for too long, which freya understood. realizing he was being pushed into existential territory (as you inevitably will be if asked 'why' single-mindedly enough) and was probably getting a little too high concept for a five year old, cole had been forced to relent and admit that he simply didn't know why he and freya weren't together, but knew that they definitely weren't.

---THE sound of traffic seemed distant now, though the sound of a couple having a violent shouting match drifted out from an open window somewhere a few feet up from where they sat. the likelihood was that they were married, given that the two seemed to live together and by the sounds of it were around middle age. cole thought it ironic that they should be up there screaming at each other, while he and his ex-wife were almost cuddling in the dingy alleyway below. the whole situation would have seemed more surreal if it weren't for their track record. the sort of places he and freya had hooked up in during their whirlwind romance was painfully wide-ranging, from the cliché back of his car to the slightly more unusual time they had gotten carried away in a box at the sydney opera house. even for someone who traveled the world there weren't many places that didn't remind him of her in some way, either because he'd dragged her there or because he still wanted to show her them, knew she'd never have seen anything quite like it and wanting to see her reaction. this was a case in point, that even somewhere as uninspiring as an alleyway became somewhere he wanted to be when she was around. if he weren't smiling already her laugh would certainly have seen to it that he was. a thousand other romantic cliches were applicable to his feelings towards her, to the point that thinking about her made him feel a little bit sick.

---IN fact, thinking about her and thinking about their divorce pushed him as close to anger as he'd ever been. he got frustrated when the dockers lost for the umpteenth time, and he got violently defensive when other guys used drunkenly hit on freya, but he'd never been angry, not properly. but this was a different kind of frustration and a more intense defense mechanism, one that unquestionably verged on genuine anger. he had half a mind to push her away from him instinctively, but he found her smell too comforting, had missed the closeness, and perhaps more importantly, really didn't like confrontation. in attempt at displacement, he avoided snapping at her by downing the can and opening another, also wanting to stay a few cans ahead of her given the stark difference in their alcohol tolerance. he chucked the empty can at the opposing wall, fighting the urge to ask her “but why?” to practically every word she said. it took him some time to formulate any kind of response, his heartbeat ringing in his ears and his throat drier than ever now that they were actually skirting around the topic he so wasn't ready to talk about with her. having said that, he burned with a million questions, most of which could be boiled down to a simple question of why. but he didn't want to ask, couldn't bring himself to ask, couldn't bring himself to say anything. eventually he realized that he had to say something. “explain what, freya? i've told him that-

[/color]” he cut himself off, finding the next two words impossibly hard to say. somehow it was much easier talking about this with other people, to say 'i'm divorced' rather than sharing the subject. “i told him that we're divorced,[/font][/color]” he said firmly, not wanting this conversation to so apparently get the better of him. he tried to feign indifference, but wasn't very convincing. “i told him that we had conflicting schedules, that we were too young...[/font][/color]” the sound of defeat was breaking through his forced nonchalance, and hearing it himself, he went back to that old habit of hiding behind jokes, “...let's face it, we both knew that one day you were going to get fat and i wasn't going to be able to stay with you. that and charlie was always my one true love.[/font][/color]”

---

STATUS doneee.
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC ocean's giants on bbc 1. i'm kind of a nerd.
NOTES sorry for how rambly this was! also how little it gave you, and also how i'm giving you no room to breathe. srsly, no rush to reply!

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[freya soloman]

---FOREHEAD in the palm of her hand, her blonde hair screening her freckled face, she was stressed by just his body language. she could feel her head swell and tense, her throat running tight and dry, her brain short circuit under pressure. god, how did they get like this? splitting, obviously. but she found it surprising that it had gotten to the point of dancing away from certain subjects, trying to keep the conversation very light and bouncy so that they could stay within the line of assumed happiness. they used to live for working each other up, she'd say things, take sarcastic digs at him just to get a reaction from him. he would be leaving the toilet seat up just to have her hollaring at the top of her lungs. freya would be taking the piss out of australia with contant crocodile dundee and steve irwin jokes, there was even a time where she dumped a pot of water on him while he slept only to have him scream in frusteration then chace her out of the room. those nights where they'd sit sipping on a bottle of hard liquor he'd be complaining about wanting food, and she'd be telling him to fuck off. it was never intentionally mean or hurtful, neither of the two cried over what was done or said. playful bickers and love taps, never bone breaking or angry. they never stayed mad for longer than an hour, he'd break a glass, and she'd freak, then be curling up next to him on the sofa fifteen minutes later. things were so easily dealt with, poke fun and then kiss it out a little while later.

---BUTnow things had gotten much more difficult. she was dodging touchy subjects like their divorce,. or anything to do with them being married. in speaking they barely ever entered conversation. it was all factual, what she had done that day, how his job was going. she'd never mention that she still wore his old t-shirts to bed sometimes, or that she truly did miss their togetherness. little emotion was expressed in recent times, each time their marriage was mentioned a part of her panged, and her chest throbbed. she often felt frustrated that she couldn't come out with words.. that things didn't slip out so simply. rather than have to think before she said, freya had to consult the sensible side of her brain rather than the impulsive. she hated being careful about it, she felt like she was carrying a piece of highly fragile, highly expensive china, weaving between this complicated military exersise. anxiety tickling through her veins as she was worried she would drop it.

---THOUGH as their conversation carried on, and her fingers literally tingled with anticipation and absolute irritation, she began to want to lay her guts out on the sidewalk. freya scrubbed at her temple, she chugged the remains of the palm bay, a hot rush over taking her. her cheeks flushed crimson, her legs lifted from his jeans and she pushed herself to sit with her back to the street. leaning crookedly with a fresh drink in her hand, she looked at him wildly, "please shut the fuck up.

" her words were suddenly weighed down with harshness, her brow folded into a frown. "your face is so punchable, you really haven't a clue.[/font]" she took a sip, wishing for something harder. her fingers unzipping then digging through the area of her clutch, searching for... finding... a lighter, rolling papers.. green, ah. "that's not what happened,[/font]" she explained, focusing on twisting the paper, avoiding his eyes. "we were too happy,[/font]" fiddled a little more, lighting it swiftly. "like, mental happy,[/font]" the girl took a long drag, not the slightest bit relaxed. "i don't know. you made me want to quit everything, and i felt crazy for wanting that,[/font]" her hands moved with her words. "i still feel crazy, if that makes you feel any better,[/font]" she inhaled slowly, exhaled slower. "god babe, i'm so sorry.[/font]"

---

STATUS finitttt!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC breaking bad
NOTES this is horrible, apologies.

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[cole latimer]

--- THE beer can in his palm couldn't be getting colder, cole knew, which meant that its increasing chill could only mean that he was heating up. whether it was the close proximity to the most beautiful girl he'd ever met that was raising his temperature or whether it was his steadily rising impatience with her that was doing the trick was anyone's guess, but in any case the combined effect was an exasperating one. finishing the lukewarm liquid off in a quick swig, cole crushed the can between his palms with satisfying ease. he already felt a little better. blocking her out as best as he could, he leaned across her and wordlessly opened another can, chiding himself for not buying anything stronger. a good clean swig of bourbon sounded spot on right now. his thoughts fixated on the idea of hard liquor with an intensity that was farcical, as if he could somehow will his beer into turning into something with more substance. for the first time since arriving in new york cole wanted to run away, and to run away to a different timezone rather than just round the corner and back to his hotel. he was too close to their old apartment, too close to her – this whole scenario was too close to the nights they'd spent together before, it was like being treated a glimpse of something, or someone, long dead. it was as if he were sitting talking to ghosts.

---FRUSTRATION was truly overtaking elation now, and he was even getting frustrated over being so frustrated. finishing that can off too and realizing he hadn't responded to her, her words continued to ring in his ears until he had to rub a coarse hand over his eyes. he suddenly felt very tired. her apology was a final blow, and cole pulled his arm away from her. he realized that he'd lapsed into silence for quite some time now, and that his silence was hanging around them, dragging him into a reality he didn't much appreciate being in. but still, even with this pressure he couldn't think of a single thing to say. he was torn between avoiding an argument and continuing what had been a genuinely pleasant evening and just packing it in, calling it a day once and for all. he wanted her, but he didn't want her in halves... he didn't even know what he wanted. too happy? what did that even mean? definitely frustrated now, cole got to his feet and gave a trash can across the way a hefty kick. the clattering as it fell over and the scuttling away of some poor rodent that had previously been calling the can its home provided little comfort to him, but at least it was a reminder that somethings were rational. good old predictable gravity!

---CHEST visibly lifting and sinking with his heavy breathing, cole tried to calm himself down. eventually he turned back to face her. “you know, it's been nice seeing you fre,

” he said, his forced cheeriness cracking with an uncharacteristic – and unintentional – sarcastic tone, "but i think i'd better get home. i've got work tomorrow, can't be tired, you know how it is... but really, it's been good. you look good. enjoy your baking![/font][/color]" turning to leave, he remembered another small detail. "and don't worry about me staying with you, y'know? i think i'm gonna head off anyway,[/font][/color]" he tried to smile, not wanting it to seem like he was prompting her to ask him to stay. "maybe go to... puerto rico, yeah, that'd be good! so yeah, cheers, it's been fun. hopefully see you sometime, maybe next year? i'll send you a postcard.[/font][/color]" turning to walk away yet again, cole forced himself to think about puerto rico. usually his itches to leave crept up on him and became all-encompassing almost immediately, and all he had to do was follow them through. it was a very strange thing, trying to convince himself he wanted to leave when really he wanted to stay. unable to think about globetrotting for once in his life, cole kept going over what she said again and again until he couldn't take it anymore and had to confront her. "look, i'm sorry, i can't pretend that's not total bullshit. trust me, freya, i fucking want to,[/font]" he said, his words coming out rushed and garbled with frustration, "but don't pretend we were too good to be true. because yeah, we were awesome... more awesome than anything i've ever experienced, and i fucking bleed awesome![/font][/color]" he'd intended to laugh at this point, but he was too worked up even to acknowledge his own lame jokes. "you don't get to say sorry, you don't get any sort of release because telling me we were too happy doesn't fucking give me one, alright? i'm sorry, i'm sorry i'm being a dick about this, but it's the only thing i've ever felt the need to be a dick about in my whole life and i can't just roll over on this one.[/font][/color]"

---

STATUS finished, at last!
OUTFIT click.
MUSIC angus & juliaaaa.
NOTES soso sorry this took so long, and sucks. work experience totally trolled me! but my love for them survives all. c;

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