📷 For Birdie!

as salem stepped out on the balcony she was taken back by the view. the breeze from the ocean and smell of the beach had her in awe. "i can't believe you get to have this view everyday." she said in disbelief as she sat down and placed her plate on the table. the sound of leon humming to the jazz music was comforting in a way, she'd missed so many little things about him. "i've missed you so much, truly." salem blushed a bit while looking over at him. "i'm just really happy we could do this. i really miss being able to do everything with you." there was a lot she wanted to say but her nerves were starting to get the best of her again. she decided to turn her attention back to the dish and proceeded to eat a forkful. "okay, this is actually pretty good.." nodding a bit before continuing to eat, "but i think i could do without the raisins. the texture is just weird and i've never really liked them anyways."

leon chuckles at her words. he's always liked that she can drink as much as him, and party as much as him. "i'm not gonna quiz you right now, but beware because i might later," he teases back. after she's plated the food, the blond nods and they make their way to the balcony. "if you hate it, there's more for me, so it's a win-win situation," he chuckles and sits down on one of the chairs. the night is beautiful and the ocean waves crash no far from them. there's a jazz song playing in the beach restaurant across the street and leon immediately recognizes it as a duke ellington one. he softly hums as he sets his plate on the table. "i've missed you, sal," the man finally says, looking over at her. she's the person he wants to see every day. the one person he trusts with all his joy and all his darkness. it makes him sad that she could just decide one day to end things and leave him a mess. he hopes this time she won't leave. not again. not a third time.

the thought of everclear made salem shudder a bit in disgust. "everclear? is that even legal to serve inside a bar to actual living people?" she said with confusion before shrugging. truthfully she'd take anything at this point. "i trust whatever concoction you come up with. i just need to not feel how i'm feeling right now which is a lot of guilt and a just a little bit of shame." she wasn't proud at leaving the way she did that morning but she was a little embarrassed that she had to get absolutely wasted to talk to him. salem listened to esme and nodded. she was right at it being different considering leon was her ex-whater. "i have no idea what i'm going to do about it.." pausing for a moment before taking the drink from esme. "but i do think it'll be smart to stay far far away from him until i figure it out right?"

             oh,  okay,  they're  starting  off  strong  today. esme  blinks  for  a  moment  before  nodding,  turning  to  look  at  the  various  bottles  of  alcohol  behind  her  and  cringing  a  bit,  "  i  could  give  you  just  straight  everclear,  but  i  would  think  you'd  want  to  ...  enjoy  it,  no ? "  an  everclear  cocktail  sounds  disgusting,  so  esme  decides  she'll  put  some  flavored  moonshine  in  something  pretty  and  get  salem  fucked  up  the respectable way.  her  eyebrows  raise  a  bit  at  the  start,  though  by  the  end  of  salem's  sentence  she's  shrugging,  "  i  mean  –  no ? i  don't  stay  longer  than,  like,  seven  am  with  any  hookup  i  have.  that's  weird.  "  a  pause.  she  shouldn't  be  the  pinnacle  of  advice  for  this,  "  it  ... might be  different  when  it's  your  ex-boyfriend-it's-complicated-weird-thing,  though.  what're  you  gonna  do  about  it ? "

"listen, i can respect the culture but not necessarily want to partake in it okay?" salem responded with a chuckle. "plus i don't care what science says, no amount of alcohol can kill the fact that literal feet were in there." despite the gross display in front of her salem gave birdie a nod in agreement to more wine. maybe it was her buzz or just the fact that she was in birdies company but salem didn't think she'd be enjoying herself this much at a winery. "as long as it's not any of that dry and bitter stuff we tried earlier. merlot was it? way too mature for me, i want something a little more on the sweet side."

" it's grape-treading, salem. it's culture. " birdie says it in a very over-dramatic, matter-of-fact tone, clicking their tongue, " and i don't think any icky foot bacteria can survive during the wine-making process. with all the alcohol and stuff. and they use wine presses now, duh. " a pause, eyes watching the people in front of them stomp away at the grapes in a large barrel. is that a barrel ? trough, maybe ? " that being said, that looks like a textural nightmare, so we're not doing it. more wine, maybe ? " of the not-food variety.

she playfully rolled her eyes at her friends response. salem couldn't comprehend anyone getting used to being in such unique place, even when she would go visit new orleans she always found something new to be in awe over. "if this is boring you we can do something else? seriously i'll sacrifice the rest of the day hear more of your dungeons and dragons lore." she teased with a playful nudge. "or i could find us a matching bracelet or necklace to solidify our friendship. with all this cool handmade jewelry there's bound to be something. unfortunately for you im cheesy like that."

             the  happy  amusement  on  birdie's  face  is  evident.  her  face  breaks  into  a  bright  smile  when  salem  speaks  to  her,  eyes  scanning  the  bags  she's  presented  with.  birdie  loves  to  see  people  excited  about  chile,  their  heart  bursting  at  the  thought  of  people  loving  their  home  as  much  as  they  do.  she  shakes  her  head,  accompanying  it  with  a  wave  of  the  hand,  "  nah,  be  as  tourist-y  as  you  want,  i  love  it  – i  am  excited  ! "  they  laugh,  "  i've  lived  here  forever ! i  don't  get  as  excited  as  i  did  when  it  was  all  new,  it  happens.  "

it had been a full week since salem arrived into town. she'd been keeping busy exploring around the various shops and bars, the possibility of running into her ex leon looming over her head in the process. tonight she found herself at los fantasmas, a bar she'd become fond of in her short time here. after spending a good chunk of the night drinking with a few locals she finally mustered up the courage to see leon. she thought about calling him or texting him that she was in town but wasn't hopeful she'd get a response. in his defense though the breakup was pretty bad, she probably wouldn't wanna talk to herself either. in the cab ride over her nerves started to get the best of her and the possibility of leon rejecting her at the door crept into her mind. after stumbling out of the cab and arriving at his door she knocked twice and looked around while she waited for a response. what if he wasn't home? was this a mistake? she thought to herself and not a moment sooner she was surprised as leon opened the door. "um well..." she said stuttering a bit at his response. "i was just casually in the country and thought i'd pop by and say hey." slurring her words a bit as she nervously looked down at the ground.

ten pm. leon sits on the balcony of his godmother's apartment. he faces the ocean and looks at some notes he's written on his phone. mostly lyric ideas. he puts out a half-smoked cigarette when he hears the doorbell. who could it be? he's not expecting anyone. unless it's drew, he probably got accidentally too high again. when leon opens the door, he's surprised to see salem. the woman who broke his heart stands in front of him and it takes him a moment to react. "what are you doing here?" he finally asks.

@cybermuses

the last couple of hours between the two had been spent sharing laughter and chaotically figuring out hair and makeup options. salem hadn't been out partying since becoming newly single. going to club divine with leia was the perfect remedy for getting back into the swing of normalcy. after going through what seemed like every outfit in her closet she finally settled on a dress she'd come across at secondhand style. it was just short enough to make her feel good about herself without feeling like she was doing too much. she looked over at leia and have her a reassuring nod. "you look amazing! i don't think it's too much. plus blush tends to disappear after like an hour anyways." she said with an enthusiastic grin. "but you should do a little extra highlight." salem added a final touch of lipgloss and turned to the other. "we're definitely going to be the cutest duo. we need to take lots of pictures tonight too. we look to way too good to not be seen online."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀໑ ⠀ closed stater for @cybermuses ! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀໑ ⠀ location ⌲ salem's apartment.

⠀⠀⠀⠀it was finally the weekend , and leia and salem had agreed to head over to club divine to enjoy a much - needed night to let loose . she had made her way over to salem's about two hours ago and they were still getting ready , as leia was not one to be satisfied with her outfit until it was perfect . the girls were yapping about anything and everything that came to mind , salem's spotify playing on shuffle in the background for the perfect getting ready vibe . ❝ does this look okay ? not too much ? ❞ she asked , as if she wasn't still blending more blush on her face . ❝ maybe it'll look okay in the low - light indoors . . . ❞ she muttered , finally putting the brush down . her eyes moved over to the other , her gaze admiring how pretty salem looked . ❝ i think we're gonna be the cutest duo there tonight . ❞

status: closed for @acosmicdisappointment // mallory

"you know, in retrospect this probably wasn't the best idea." salem let out a small giggle before finishing off her fourth cocktail from one of the food trucks. when mallory suggested a pre-show pregame salem agreed without hesitation. now the two were drunk, or at least salem was, an hour before mallory's set. "we can either keep going or we can stop and try to sober up before you go on. either way im happy, i just need to be a little coherent for leon's set at least." she teased before pulling her phone out to check a text. "by the way, i am kinda pissed you aren't performing tummy hurts."

Carrie Fisher, from The Princess Diarist.

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

closed / @cybermuses location / plantas altas

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