starter for Maya ( @musesenmasse )

Obsessive. Stubborn. Driven. They were all traits that could be used to describe Callie- especially when she was hunting down new places for her to play. She was positive that exposure was all she needed to maybe hit it big, but most importantly it was the only way to share her music with the world (and that was the real goal here). That was exactly how she found herself in her ninth bar today alone talking to yet another owner about letting her do just one set- two if the crowd likes her. She had had a whole, professional speech prepared to deliver in her mind, but the longer she spoke the more she saw a hesitance in the owner and the more she deviated from her plan.

“Ya own a bar in Georgia, baby cakes. People seek out this kind’a thing. Live music, ya know? I mean, jus’ look around- yes it’s 2 pm on a Wednesday- but look. I don’t mean t’ insult ya or anythin’ but the air in here is stale. It’s borin’. Jus’ imagine how much more life would be fillin’ the room if ya had someone strummin’ away on a guitar instead of listenin’ to- what is this- a radio commercial for cheetos.”

Verbal vomit. It was one of her not so grand qualities, but the words were out there and she couldn’t take them back. Damage control it would have to be. Quickly assessing the room, Callie’s eyes landed redhead not too far away. Perfect she thought. Redheads usually speak their minds right? She looks bored and like she’d like some live music. It didn’t matter. She had to do something to save her terrible business pitch, and her gut told her this just might be her Hail Mary play.

Holding up a finger as if to say just watch, Callie took a few steps toward the young woman. “S’cuse me? Don’t cha think is place is a little dull with jus’ a radio goin’? A live musician would fix all’a that in one go, wouldn’ ya agree?”  

A smirk was tugging at the corners of her lip as Callie realized she had won. Axel was getting up and she had once again annoyed him to the point of getting her way. Did she feel bad about waking him up? Not in the least. He practically signed up for this when they decided to live together. It was like a game to her now- how far can she push Axel today- and when she felt his arms briefly wrap their way around her legs before she was up in the air she realized that she had actually lost this round.

“Hey,” she bellowed over her roommate’s plan to put her outside. “M’not the fuckin’ cat, Axel. An’ you’re not givin’ away my peanut butter. Put. Me. Down.”

If she hadn’t been so concerned with dropping her peanut butter and spoon she might have delivered a punch or two to Axel’s back as his shoulder dug into her stomach with every step he took. But he wasn’t actually going to put her outside. Outside his room maybe but- The sound of their front door interrupted her thought process and it all came crashing around her in a wave just how serious Axel was being.  

“Hey, hey, hey,” she began to plead. “M’sorry, okay?”

axelvalero replied to your post: "No. Oh, no. No no no. This can't happen. No. You...

hi my name is megan and I am an angst-aholic 

    The storm roared as if trying to mimic the same turmoil that was in each of them and in between. The rain seemed to have its own agenda with the earth tonight, as well. Perhaps it was exacting its revenge from all the years of abuse man kind had inflicted upon Mother Gaia. Despite the aggressive intensity of the weather, going against it actually, Seth felt nothing. Not the cold, not being drenched nor the wind, he simply stood there. Unwilling to let her leave

    So, Seth released her as she tugged away from him. “It doesnt matter!” He retorted in a shout so she could hear him over the torrential rain. “You know as well as I do that it would also be a mistake to split up.” Potentially a mortal one. He breathed through his mouth, his warm exhales making streams of vapor in the night. “Thats the reason why you put it off until tonight. Until you had an excuse,” he continued to explain, hoping that she would see reason. Or at least be able to read through his actions. He had finally confronted her, yes but he was guarding his secrets well. Such had been his custom around her. With her.

    A few moments passed and he felt a surge of panic from the look on her. She didn’t seemed convinced. “Callie,” he said, a thousand words behind her name as he did so. His hands sought her own and he was not surprised to see she pulled her own away. Seth swallowed bitterly and continue to hold his ground.

“Please.”

       Nature is such a peculiar thing. It has the power to rid the world the past and leave a fresh start in its wake. Wild fires destruct landscapes down to their soils. Hurricanes and tornadoes rip apart cities until they lay in ruin waiting to start again. Floods sweep away everything. Rain and thunder wash away the memories of the day before and leave freshness hanging in the air.  Maybe that was the true meaning behind this storm. A way to wash away their time together and leave a blank canvas for a fresh start, and Callie had two options laid in front of her.

       Just like after a natural disaster, she had two choices before her: rebuild something new here or move on to a new place and start there. She could finally let her emotions control her world or she could hide them further and go build a new world. It was an internal war that was tearing her soul to shreds in the matter of seconds it took her to realize all of this. Could Seth tell? He obviously knew her well enough by now to read even her most basic emotions as they danced across her face, but did he know her well enough to recognize this incredibly delicate string of emotions twirling around her features.

       The longer she looked up at him as the rain washed over his face, the stronger the anxiety grew in her gut. Fight or flight. Fight for what she wanted with the only man she had felt these emotions for and find out if he shared them with her or flee down their hill and never know if what she felt was between them was something real and tangible. Even just two or three years ago she wouldn’t have obsessed so much about such a simple decision. She would have gone with her gut, the probability of being embarrassed be damned- at least that way she would know. But now? Now she had the chance to ruin something good in two completely different ways. Fight or flight.

      Fight or flight.

      It felt as if she’d been standing in the torrential downpour for a week straight as she stared up at Seth. There was just so much at stake out here in the open. She felt as vulnerable to him as she did to the whim of Mother Nature. He was right when he accused her of waiting until she had an excuse. That’s all her actions amounted to- finding an excuse. Only, the first excuse she was searching for was the one that allowed her to flee, to run. Now? Now the excuse to fight was clenching at her bones and her half-baked plan was being tossed out to the garbage.

       She drew in a heavy breath as she searched Seth’s eyes for any distinguishable emotion other than anger directed towards her. The air that had been momentarily captured in her lungs came gusting out accompanied with tears nesting near her eyelids as she adverted her gaze to the branches whipping back and forth in the wind just behind Seth’s head. There was a tight pain in her chest that quickly traveled to clench at her throat and cause her brow to crunch into near distress. She was terrified of what would happen once she decided either way. Fight or flight. Rebuild or relocate. But when she finally allowed herself to look into Seth’s eyes it was immensely clear to her what she wanted to do.

       Fight.

       One last painfully deep breath and Callie was closing the gap between the two of them. Just as fast as she had popped up onto her toes she had reached out to quickly pull his face down more level with hers so she could kiss him before he had the chance to pull away. There was no going back now. She had chosen to fight and just before their lips met she feared that she had made a grave mistake. But once she felt his lips on hers? She didn’t care. No matter what happened she would at least be able to tell herself that she had stayed true to who she was and had made the decision to fight for what she wanted instead of running as far from the possibility of rejection as she could.