everything I went through you were standing there by my side

Nydia Lewisen | Beautiful Disaster



There were a lot of things that Nydia Amara Lewisen never thought she would be. No at twenty years old, Nydia had thought she would be still in New Orleans with her friends, partying when she felt like it and coming and going as she pleased. Instead she was in her living room, before dawn even with her laptop on the table, her online coursework up, textbook beside it and her son, still hiccuping with little cries as she tried to get him to eat under the cover. Elliot however, wasn't having it and Nydia was simply too tired to fight with her son. "Alright. You win." She grumbled carefully pulling her shirt back up and putting the cover aside. How did she get here? Short answer, bad choices. Long answer, bad choices. She supposed it had started when her parents divorced twelve years ago. Most of her siblings went with their father, Ben, while she had gone with her mother Aislin. Aislin had been the woman that motherhood never suited. Impatient, irresponsible and volatile- it had been Ben who had practically raised the girl. He and her mom used to run a bed and breakfast in Florida, though her mom acted more like a guest than anything. Shortly after the youngest was born, Noah, they had split. Noah and her older sister Grace went with dad to California.

Nydia however she had gone to New Orleans with Aislin. She thought it was great. Her mom throwing parties almost every weekend, and Nydia, petite pretty fell easily into the popular crowd. It took a few years but by sixteen she was already hooked into her bad habits. Drinking, sex, and weed became her norms. Her dad more than once had tried to get her to come home, but Nydia refused. She was untouchable and nothing bad could happen to her. She knew that her choices had destroyed her relationship with her siblings, and her father- but she didn't want to stop. Couldn't. Senior year, she had pretty much just cut back to drinking and sex. College she scraped by in, but the party was always the most important thing. And it was New Orleans, there was no shortage of it. Then the unthinkable happened. Her actions caught up with her; and sophomore year Nydia found herself pregnant. It was ugly, her mother had actually kicked her out for a little bit and her friends had turned their backs on her. The father? Well he was an asshole- Nydia did always have a type. Carter denied she was pregnant. Denied that he was the father and told her that he wasn't going to sign their son's birth certificate. With no other options; Nydia had turned to her father. Of course he wasn't happy with her- but he wasn't going to throw her out. No instead he wired her some money to stay in a hotel so she didn't have to continue to stay with Aislin, and then flew down.

It was a difficult time, though they got through it. When her dad had gotten to New Orleans the two had a long talk, about her life and where she wanted it to go. Ben had offered that if she wanted an abortion he'd understand. But it just wasn't something she was interested in. So they worked out a deal. She would come home with him, repair her relationships with his side of the family especially with her siblings, go to school, and make something of herself. She agreed. Fast-forward to now. Sitting on the couch, her body screaming with exhaustion while her son squirmed restlessly in her arms. He could sit up on his own now, crawl around, but wasn't walking yet. It was normal the doctor had said- so Nydia wasn't too worried. When Elliot began making soft whimpering noises, Nydia gave up with trying to get her work done. It could be done when he was in daycare. Sighing shutting the laptop she turned to her son with a small little grin. "Come on trouble, you wanna play a little bit?" Getting up and heading to the rubber play mat her father had gotten for Elliot, complete with toys he could chew, squeak, and jingle. Setting him down, sitting beside him and watching as he began cooing to his stuffed ducky Nydia felt a small smile on her face. Maybe it was bad choices that brought her here- but she was thankful. She had her son, and her life was finally beginning to settle down.

"Elliot still having trouble staying asleep?" Glancing up as her father spoke, flinching as she hadn't heard him the redhead offered a tired smile. "Too much energy. Maybe he's ready to not nap at daycare and home." Ben nodded, sitting down near his daughter as he fell silent for a minute. "How's school going?" Without looking away from Elliot she shrugged. "It sucks, but it's something I have to do. So I still have mostly A's. A solid B in math though." Ben nodded, and sticking an arm out gave his daughter a small shoulder-squeeze. "I'm really proud of you Nydia. I know it wasn't easy having Elliot, moving, and living with us. But everyone's glad you're here." She tried not to scoff at this. Noah hardly talked to her and she barely saw Grace. They had been really close before the divorce and Nydia felt like her choosing to go live with mom had really hurt Grace. "Well, it's all coming together." She remarked. Giving her head a kiss Ben got up rubbing his salt and pepper stubble. "Alright, has he eaten yet? I'm going to go make breakfast. Scrambled eggs?" Grinning Nydia nodded, and got to her feet. "With cheese? And he's not feeding now. I'm going to try one more time without the cover and then see if he'll take from the bottle I got ready earlier." Ben nodded, and turned towards the kitchen to begin breakfast while Nydia scooped her son up, cradling him close before heading up the stairs back to her room with Elli.

The rest of the morning had gone by quickly, Elliot ended up feeding. After that she gave him a quick bath, styling his blonde locks upwards into a fauxhawk. Elliot looked nothing like her, not really, and Nydia was relieved that if nothing else his father was good looking. Elli was a little harder to dress, he wasn't a big fan of the little khaki shorts and button up she'd put on him; though didn't fight her too much on it. Nydia herself barely had time to scarf down her breakfast, pack her bag, and get out the door on time to get Elli to daycare. His daycare wasn't too far from the house, about twenty minutes. Once Elliot was taken care of- Nydia got the next six hours off to go to her favorite cafe near the beach, settle down with a coffee and a sandwich to get her college work done. It was hard always being in the house; so she really enjoyed the time she had to herself. Sitting in the sunshine and just being out of the house. The only downside was Nydia really missed her son while he was in daycare. Today she had driven to the garage she normally parked in, and grabbed her bag, heading to the Thanks A Latte Cafe. She pretty much knew all the employees by name. The lines weren't too bad and within no time at all she had taken her normal seat, outdoors and near the rail of the boardwalk so she had an nice view of the ocean. The ocean was one of the best things about moving here. She was dressed neatly, if there was anything Nydia hated it was looking sloppy. It was still early enough that it was kind of busy, but people were quickly hurrying to work and pretty soon it was only a few older people, and Nydia in the shop.

Tucking a flyaway strand of strawberry blonde hair behind her ear the girl set to work on her math problems. It would be the hardest and the most time consuming. Slipping on her headphones, Nydia was halfway through her math work when she noted a few men enter the cafe. She'd seen them around the past few months, and they never stayed too terribly long. Tattooed covered and loud they were certainly easy to remember. She had ducked her head down, turning back to her work. As she looked over the math problem the petite redhead reached out for her coffee and going to take a sip found it was empty. Grumbling getting to her feet she tossed the empty cup and hurried back to the line. "Hi, can I get just a Caramel latte?" As the woman behind the register nodded, taking down her order. "Alright, six dollars please." The girl asked her voice bright and cheery. Before Nydia could dig around her purse for her cash, she heard a smooth masculine voice cut in. "On me. Here." From her right side a card was slid up and the woman behind the register rung up her order. Turning the redhead found a rather tall, heavily muscled tattoo guy. The one that usually came in with his friends. "Uh, thanks." Her words were a little tight as she watched the workers shuffling making her drink. Normally she would of flirted him up, sweetened him with honey words because after all he was attractive. But she wasn't sure what he wanted, and her father had made his stance on men very clearly. This stance probably doubled when talking about tall tattooed guys buying her coffee.

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Brian Haner | The Heartbreaker



He hadn't ever needed a guitar or a big name band to go over well with women. Brian always had a penchant for sweet talk and flirtations that had always gotten him pretty far with the opposite sex. Throughout the years his bandmates had always teased him for this, though Brian never really paid them much attention. He was free. Did what he wanted, when he wanted and with whom he wanted. And it had always worked for him. A few times he'd had serious relationships but something always went wrong. Just wasn't right. And at thirty-four, he was still living like a twenty year old. He and the band were based out in Huntington Beach, which gave them plenty of sun, beaches, and clubs to frequent- he was never bored at any rate. However for the past year the band had been taking it easy. No recordings, nor tours- just resting period. It was nice, sleeping in his own bed not having to worry about anything. Just the few interviews here and there. Today had spent well. He'd gone to the beach, near the boardwalk which Matt was headed to, finally having worked up the nerve to talk to some redhead that had been there the past few months. Brian wasn't really in the mood to watch Matt pick up girls so he had swam, laid out in the sun, and played some football with Johnny.

By the time the sun was setting, Matt still hadn't caught up to them, though Johnny said that he and Matt had gone back to his place. The two band mates stayed out a little longer before Johnny jogged over, pulling his shirt on. "I'm gonna head back to mine. Wanna come?" As Brian dried off, throwing his own shirt back on he shook his head. "Nah. Think I'll go out for a drink." The man, affectionately nicknamed Shortshit just shrugged. "Alright then, I'll catch you around. Take it easy." At this an almost feline-like grin spread on to Brian's face. "You know I always do." With that he began brushing his body off of sand, slipping his shoes back on and heading towards the street. It was Huntington, there was never a shortage of bars around. As the spiky haired guitarist reached the sidewalk, he walked towards one of his favorite places, Sully's. It was a kind of beat down bar, rough around the edges. But Sully could make a decent drink and he had never been swarmed there for photos or autographs. The sun was sinking lower, casting the world in it's bloody colored shadow, with hues of pink. He didn't stop to admire, just lowered his head and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets. His phone vibrated a couple times though he largely ignored it. He was a creature who liked solitude; and this was one of those times. The sidewalks were crowded, congested, and if he were claustrophobic he would of had a panic attack. But he had grown up here.

These sidewalks were a part of him. It was reaching near seven by the time he made it to Sully's and pushing the door open Brian instinctively scanned the room. In the far back there was a couple, making eyes at each other and the guitarist was quick to look away. Another table there were a few college kids; talking loudly and laughing at stupid inside jokes. Finally as he made his way to the normal spot at the bar he caught a cluster of women; all talking together about something he couldn't quite make out. He wouldn't of paid them much attention but as he slid into his normal seat it was then his gaze fell upon a slim blonde. She had her head away from him, turned to listen to the other women- and she was beautiful. At once he was interested, though not as he normally was. Normally he would of offered her some baited conversation, try to pick her up for a week or two until he got bored. But there was something about the honest about her gaze that startled him, a delicate sweetness in her lips that made Brian more interested in a woman than he had in a long time. "Brian! Long time no see. Thought you left me hanging. What can I do you for, regular?" Flinching, startled as Sully scurried up to him Brian glanced up with a warm expression. "Come on Sully, this is the best spot in all of Orange County. Regular would be nice." Brian agreed, and out of the corner of his gaze caught the young woman turning her gaze on him. Glancing over as Sully started to make his rum and coke he offered a slow, searing smile.

"Hey there. I'm Brian, can I get you something?" He was a straightforward kind of guy- and he had noticed that her glass was empty; so this was the easiest way to talk to her he figured. He held his breath waiting for her answer, his warm soulful oaken gaze surprisingly open. Normally he was cocky and smooth, though now he was just taking this slow. Trying to test out the waters. There was a good chance that she wouldn't be interested in him- after all this woman seemed to be a classic American beauty. Pink, pouty lips and large blue eyes, her angular face framed by long locks of golden blonde. Resting his hands on the glistening oak of the bartop Brian hardly glanced up as his drink was set down in front of him. A couple of her friends had noticed him, and wicked grins graced their lips. However he wasn't interested in any of them. The almost smoky, dated interior of the bar was a little comforting. Familiar if you would. A couple more customers had bustled into the bar and Brian was momentarily distracted. His gaze was drawn over this mystery woman's shoulder though flickered back to her with the same intensity that they held before. Normally he could read if women were inclined to accept his advances or not; however that was not the case with her. It only made the guitarist that much more curios about this woman. Hopefully she didn't have a boyfriend waiting for her already.

Matthew Sanders | Hopeless Romantic


Matt had decided to have a chilled out day with his mates, which started with heading down to a local café that they tend to visit. Mostly because Matt had seen a young girl sitting at a table outside on a daily basis, so he of course wanted to see her as often as he could even if he hadn’t actually spoken to her yet. Thankfully the guys always agreed to head over to the café whenever he suggested going there, they all knew about the gorgeous redhead that was always working on her laptop. Matt had tried several serious relationships over the years, but none of them worked out for many different reasons. So feelings died out or he found out that the girl was interested in him because she knew about the band and wanted the attention, he has had his heart broken many times but that hasn’t stopped him from wanting to be in serious relationship with the girl that he was meant to be with.

When he was younger, he did sleep around and dated many girls but he was thirty four now and was tired of that lifestyle. He wanted to find someone he could be best friends with and love at the same time, he wanted marriage and a family. Which most people didn’t know and wouldn’t expect from him, considering he was covered heavily in tattooed and came across as this tough guy who would be a player. He wasn’t sure if the redhead would be the one for him, but she was beautiful and he felt like something was drawing him to her so he was set on actually talking to her someday shortly. So when he arrived at the Thanks A Latte Café and saw that the girl was sitting outside again, he knew today was day. He was going to talk to her, he wouldn’t let this chance go. Hell he had no idea if she would even be interested in someone like him, or she could already be taken and he would leave embarrassed but he was going to give it a shot.

He didn’t care all that much when Brian and Johnny decided they were going down to hang out on the beach, so he just continued on into the café with Zacky and Jimmy. After ordering their drinks they found a table inside and sat down, thankfully it wasn’t busy as the morning rush had died down. He got himself a black coffee with one sugar like usual, he wasn’t sure how to approach her. He didn’t want to come across as a creepy older man, normally he would walk over and introduce himself but for some reason he wasn’t feeling like that would do much considering she was working and he didn’t want to interrupt her. So for a while he sat there drinking his coffee and chatting with his mates, and that’s when the redhead walked over to the counter and ordered herself a caramel latte. He felt Jimmy nudge him and he inhaled deeply as he stood up from his chair and walked over towards the girl, “On me. Here,” He reached his hand out and gave the worker his card so he could pay for the drink instead, once his card had been swiped he slid his wallet back into the pocket of his black denim jeans.

“Hi, I’m Matt. Can I ask what you’re studying?” He asked nicely but also tried to be as casual as he could, as he wanted her to want to talk with him. He wasn’t sure where else he should start the conversation off, so he thought it was a good start to ask about what she was studying. He at least figured that she studied and didn’t work on her laptop, she seemed to stop every now and again as if she was thinking about an answer.

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Grace Lewisen | The Sweetheart


Grace had to roll herself out of bed that morning when the alarm on her phone begun to ring, it was a battle every morning when she had work. She dragged her body into the bathroom so she could shower and feel better, she washed her face and body before stepping out and drying herself off. She took her blonde locks down from the messy bun and ran a brush through to tangle any knots that had formed through the night, she decided to leave her hair as is and started to apply a small amount of makeup to her face so she would look more put together at work. Not that the second grade students cared what she looked like, but she always did put in some effort into her appearance. Once she finished in the bathroom she went back into her room and pulled on some clothes, she headed down into the kitchen smiling when she saw her Dad had cooked her a plate of breakfast. “Thank you,” Smiling she kissed his cheek as he was sitting at the dining table, reading through the local newspaper. “You’re welcome, darling. Now make sure those women take care of you tonight,” Ben spoke as he looked at his oldest child, Grace was going out after work for a staff member’s birthday.

He didn’t worry about Grace as he knew she could take care of herself, but as a parent he still panicked every time one of his children left the house. “I’m sure we’ll all be fine, we have work tomorrow anyway.” She assured him as she sat at the table and ate her breakfast, “I was thinking we could all spend more time together soon. You and Noah really need to give Nydia a break. She’s trying very hard to turn her life around, you can’t avoid her forever.” Ben spoke as he looked at his daughter, he knew that Grace was still hurt that Nydia decided to move away and live with her Mother. He knew it wasn’t a good idea but he couldn’t stop Nydia from leaving, back then the girls used to do everything together and it broke his heart to see them now. They acted like strangers, not sisters. “Alright Dad,” Grace couldn’t look at her Dad, she knew that she should give Nydia a second go but she was having a tough time doing it. She could still remember how sad she was when she watched Nydia drive away with their Mother, she had begged her younger sister to stay there with the family but Nydia didn’t listen.

“I’ll organize something for us, she deserves a break especially from us.” Ben knew that his children that, Nydia didn’t have a great chance at staying her innocent self after leaving them with his ex-wife. But now she was back and needed her family’s help, he would make sure she received all the help that she needed. “I know, I’m sure in time we’ll be fine.” Grace spoke as she quickly finished off her breakfast and placed the dirty dish into the skin, “I’ll see you when I get back tonight but don’t you dare wait up for me.” She smiled at her Dad as she gathered her bag and keys before she walked outside, her car was sitting in the driveway and it wasn’t long before she was driving towards the elementary school that she worked at. Parking in the staff car lot, she made it into her classroom and prepared everything for when her students arrived. Her day went by smoothly although she did have amazing students, once she dismissed them for the day she stayed behind to get some extra work done. She had some marking to do on the children’s work and ideas for tasks throughout the year, it was only when she received a text message from Jackie reminding her about what bar she wanted to go to for her 30th birthday.

She got along with all the other teachers at the school, there were about five of them going out to celebrate Jackie’s birthday. She smiled as she packed up her belongings and got into her car, she followed the directions to Sully’s which she had never been to before. She parked her car along the street and walked into the bar, once inside her eyes scanned the bar until she found everyone was waiting for her. They already had drinks so Grace ordered herself a diet coke as she wasn’t really into drinking alcohol, she never has been which was partly due to how her Mother got when she would drink and Grace never wanted to be like that. She sat down next to Jules, who Grace really got along with. Jules was in her early forties and taught six grade students, her wavy black hair was always pinned back neatly. Jules was a lovely person and had a lot in common with Grace, Jules however was divorced but was leading a happy life. It wasn’t long before they were all talking and joking about numerous different things, that was until Jackie told Grace that the man at the bar was looking at her.

Glancing over, her eyes landed on a tattooed man that was looking her way.”He’s gorgeous, I’m sure he’ll agree to making my birthday that much better.” Jackie grinned as she also eyed the mysterious man sitting at the bar, “I don’t think he’s interested in you. His eyes are focused on Grace, go talk to him.” Jules smiled as she gave her friend a small nudge, “ Hey there. I'm Brian, can I get you something?" The man’s deep voice hit Grace’s ears, she wasn’t the best when it came to meeting men and she had never dated someone that looked like him before. She has always gone for the clean cut guy, not someone who had tattoos covering their skin. She only had one serious boyfriend and that was through high school, Max was her first love and first heartbreak. He wanted to move across the country for college and they did try long distance, until Grace found out he was cheating on her. Since then she’s dated guys but nothing became serious, she felt heat warm her cheeks as she stood up from her chair and walked over to where Brian was sitting. “A diet coke please, I’m Grace.” She looked at him and sat down on the bar stool beside him, “Do you come here often?” She asked as she hasn’t done this for a while, she just hadn’t met a guy that she had a connection with.

Nydia Lewisen | Beautiful Disaster



Nydia had bit her tongue when he paid for her drink, had made a small noise in the back of her throat when he introduced himself as Matt. And for a moment she dropped her guard. He was handsome after all, nothing like the other men she'd been with. Which as in all honesty was probably why she hadn't told him right off the bat to fuck off. So instead she pretended to busy herself; glancing back towards her laptop as if to make sure it was still there. “Hi, I’m Matt. Can I ask what you’re studying?” He spoke again, and Nydia let her gaze drag over his face as if assessing him. There was no malice, no ill-intention just a curiosity that seemed innocent enough. Of course, it wasn't as if she could actually seriously consider dating him. Her dad would have a cow and berate her about how this would be a negative thing for Elliot and she had to always put Elli first. But... Friends could hurt, right? Ever since Nydia got pregnant her friends, high school and college, had abandoned her. And it didn't help that she hardly saw Gracie, and Noah just ignored her unless Ben said something- or Elliot was around. As the drink was made, slid forward towards her Nydia just responded quietly; "Nydia. I'm working on a nurse practitioner degree."

Normally she would of just grabbed her drink and got the hell out of dodge. As unpleasant as it sounded to her- to have gone back home to finish her studying. However as her drink was passed to her, Nydia found herself begrudgingly intrigued by the man- Matt. As she curled her small hands around the cup the redhead figured he wouldn't of come over if he wasn't interested in something. And maybe it was just the isolation she had felt since her life had changed, since she moved up here and the only people she really talked to were her ten month old and her father. But ever so slightly she inclined her chin towards her seat, leafy green depths offering a lukewarm depth of caution. "Being friends wouldn't hurt." She tried to tell herself. After all, surely that's all he'd want to be. Being a single mother wasn't something she could hide for very long, Nydia mused to herself. "I'm pretty much done with the stuff I was working on. You can feel free to come and sit if you'd like." Her voice, hesitant, had warmed up while a smile accompanied her offer.

As he smiled, it was then that Nydia noticed his dimples; and she'd admit it was cute in an odd way. Odd she supposed, in the sense that cute wasn't exactly one of the first words that had jumped to her mind when he approached her. On her way back to her seat she noted two other men, the usual ones he came in with, sitting on the other side of the small cafe giving their friend wide grins. Brushing it off Nydia grabbed a straw before making her way back to her seat. Nydia was quick to send in the answers of the math lab she'd been working on, then pack up the laptop to the backpack on the floor beside her. When the table was clear she took a deep swig of her drink before setting it back on the table; her nose scrunching up against the cold. "So, Matt- are you from around here?" That initial unease had melted to her more natural and playful demeanor. When she'd been neck-deep in her own demons Nydia had learned how to fake confidence well. She wasn't sure what it was about him, perhaps it was the fact that she didn't normally associate with heavily tattooed handsome men, but Nydia too was curious of him.

A strawberry lock of hair fell into her moss tinted orbs, and she was quick to brush it out of her face. Listening to his response she nodded, her large, rounded eyes remaining on his gaze with an unwavering confidence. The smell of coffee grinds was heady and comforting. At least the coffee shops in New Orleans smelled the same as the coffee shops in California. Maybe that was why she had gravitated towards this spot. It was familiar. "What about you? You're not from around here are you?" A small amused chuckle burst past her lips and Nydia leaned back in her seat while raising an eyebrow. "Whatever gave it away?" She knew that she had a weird mix of a New York accent, where they had lived before the divorce, and a Louisiana one. "Nah, I'm from New Orleans." In just fifteen minutes of chatting, she felt oddly comfortable with this Matthew guy. And it was while they were talking did Nydia realize how much she missed normal human socialization that wasn't just with her father or son. However her smile quickly vanished when Matt asked why she had moved up her. For a minute she kept quiet.

This would be probably the time to tell him he was wasting his time with her. The coffee was nice and she'd liked the bit of chat they had- but once he realized that she had a son; well... She was pretty sure that would turn him away. Not that she should of even been thinking about the possibility of dating because Ben would of killed both of them. But, there was something that Nydia wasn't quite ready to extinguish. Maybe it was because there was a sort of spark she felt when his clear hazel gaze watched her with an openness that startled her. So instead she answered a little slowly, "Um, my parents divorced when I was younger. My siblings went with my dad and I went with my mom. It was kind of bad news all around and I had a falling out with my dad and siblings. I got into some trouble, needed to turn my life around and so I moved back up here with dad. Trying to fix everything up." It wasn't exactly a lie. Just an omission of truth about what trouble she'd gotten into. Before he could ask what trouble, she waved her hand. "Anyway, what about you? You just like hanging out in coffee shops? " It was a sort of playful way for Nydia to turn the subject around.
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Brian Haner | The Heartbreaker



“A diet coke please, I’m Grace.” His gaze never left her face as he murmured back, "Grace. Suits you very nicely." Brian was surprised at the relief he felt at this. To be honest for a moment he was worried that he had come across as that doucey older guy at the bar alone. Leaning forward, holding out two of his fingers to Sully the man nodded with grin. "Diet coke miss." He agreed in a soft voice. Since there wasn't any work of mixing anything into the blonde pretty quickly. "So, do you come here often?" He almost chuckled with amusement, though settled for one of his slow, scorching smiles. "This is one of the best places in Orange Country to grab a drink. I suppose I come here enough to have a regular." Of course Sully had a sharp memory. Come here two or three times with the same order- he'll remember. Time to time he was aware of the women she was sitting with giggle under their breaths and let their gazes slide towards him when they thought he wasn't looking. After taking a short sip of his drink he set the glass back down and looked down towards them. "Ladies." He greeted, as a few nodded back. With that out of the way he turned back to Grace.

"So, what brings you out tonight? Birthday? Payday?" It was probably the most obvious choice. And if it wasn't that he would of guessed some promotion. While she looked young enough to be in college, Brian figured this were Grace's co-workers. And most of them were middle-aged women. Listening as Grace nodded, gesturing to the birthday girl Brian nodded taking in the information. It wasn't too late, about seven-thirty, so he had time to get to know her a little better. Normally he would be in a rush to charm her, take her out and end the night with her tangled in him. But there was something... different about her. A soft charm and eloquence that made him desire to get to actually know her. Take her out somewhere nicer than Sully's. But he didn't want to come off too strong so Brian was willing to just see how this night went. He didn't miss the way that when she was talking her eyes would roam his visible tattoos and he normally got that from women who didn't have a lot of tattooed men around. It didn't bother him, if anything it made Brian preen a little. He always liked his ink, and most other people did as well. Grace was a curious one he had decided.

She went to a bar, yet hadn't touched any alcohol. Was she an addict recovering? Brian let his gaze wander over her once again, and decided that was highly unlikely. Perhaps there was just a bad experience or just she didn't like to drink. He had dated a girl who was allergic to glutton or something and really couldn't drink really any alcohol lest she have anaphylactic shock. Waving it off, after all it wasn't that important to him Brian turned the question back on her. "What about you? You don't seem like the type to frequent bars. So- are you from around here or..?" Letting his voice trail off he kept a genuine expression of curiosity. To be honest, Brian liked this relaxed setting. It was better than the nightclubs he would go to. Where one would have to shout over the music to be heard. But now? It wasn't private but... cozy maybe. Raising the glass to his lips he knocked back the last of it; though held off on ordering himself another glass of his jack and coke. Just in case she was one of those people who just didn't like to see people drinking. Period.

The college kids towards the back of the bar had gotten a little loud and Brian could overhear something about mid-terms. Probably wishing one another luck. It was about that time of year he figured. By this time the natural sunlight which streamed in from the two large windows in the front of the bar had gone. Swallowed up by the night. "So, what do you do? For work?" Usually he didn't care what the girl he was trying to woo did. Normally there was a mutual understanding for sex. Though as stated before that wasn't all he wanted from her. He didn't think Brian could feel a spark between them, one that he was very interested in pursuing. The svelte blonde smiled at this, and it warmed Brian's heart. You could always tell when someone loved their job; and Grace-he-hadn't-learned-her-last-name-yet loved her job. It was the same kind of passion that radiated off of Brian when he talked about what he did for a living. In interviews with fans, or even friends and family. It was a passion all the guys shared; one that threaded them together Brian supposed.

Matthew Sanders | Hopeless Romantic


Matt stood there looking down at the redhead as she was on the shorter side, the café was filled with the sounds of her drink being made as he tried to start a conversation with her. "Nydia. I'm working on a nurse practitioner degree." She spoke in a soft but lovely voice and he hadn’t really been expecting to hear that she was studying to become a nurse, honestly he hadn’t really thought about what she was studying because it could have been anything. But a nurse he could see her being, even if he didn’t know her and this was the first time he had spoken to her. “A nurse? That’s pretty impressive,” He commented as it was, he didn’t do well in school unless he was in music class. None of the guys really paid much attention while in school as they were too busy getting into trouble and playing music together, that’s all they wanted to do in life and they had the talent so they kept going until they finally received the break they had been dreaming about since they were all little kids.

"I'm pretty much done with the stuff I was working on. You can feel free to come and sit if you'd like." Nydia suggested to him which of course he was going to take, he had seen her enough times to know that he wouldn’t pass up a chance to chat with her. He wanted to tell her how nice her name was and that it suited her, however he thought that may be pushing it ever so slightly but he would mention it if they continued to see each other. Matt wouldn’t dare push or pressure anyone into spending time with him or dating him, he had never been that type of guy so if Nydia decided today was enough then he would respect that and move on. He hoped that wouldn’t happen, as he wouldn’t mind getting to know her better even if they only stayed as friends. She seemed like a nice girl and she was gorgeous. “I’d like that, thanks.” He followed her over to the table she was sitting, but he did take a quick glance over his shoulder to see Jimmy and Zacky were giving him encouraging smiles but he prayed that Nydia wouldn’t see them. He didn’t want her to think he was only talking to her for one reason, to charm her into his bed. He had done that in the past when he was younger, but he had changed and grown up.

"So, Matt- are you from around here?" She asked once they had sat at the table, he had leaned back against the chair and had also brought over his coffee so it wouldn’t get cold. He sipped his black coffee and nodded his head, “Born and raised actually. I’ve travelled around the world a lot over the years, but this will always be home for me. What about you? You're not from around here are you?" He looked at her as he took in all of the details on her face, her eyes were what stood out to him the most. Her eyes were huge and he could already tell that her emotions would fill her eyes, they were a dark green that you would find deep in a forest but there were layers of lighter shades speckled through the darker green. "Whatever gave it away? Nah, I'm from New Orleans." She answered and seemed to be slightly growing more comfortable with him being there with her, he understood that as he was this strange older man who had out of the blue brought her a drink. It wasn’t long before he asked why she moved there, he waited for her answer which she gave him a few seconds later. Like she was thinking of what she should tell him, which only meant that there was more to the reason she moved and she wasn’t ready to tell him.

So whatever she did tell him would have to be enough for the time being, "Um, my parents divorced when I was younger. My siblings went with my dad and I went with my mom. It was kind of bad news all around and I had a falling out with my dad and siblings. I got into some trouble, needed to turn my life around and so I moved back up here with dad. Trying to fix everything up." Nydia told him and he did feel bad for her, having parents divorcing would be tough on anyone and then having to decide which parent to live with would be the hardest choice any kid had to make. "Anyway, what about you? You just like hanging out in coffee shops? " She asked in a more playful way, she was changing the subject so he wouldn’t continue to ask her questions about the move or what kind of trouble she had gotten into. Not that he had thought about that, it wasn’t any of his business to know and he wasn’t typically a nosy person. “Is there something wrong with me hanging around coffee shops?” A cheesy grin formed on his face which again showed off the dimples in his cheeks, “I happen to really enjoy drinking coffee. Some days I can’t be bothered making a cup myself, so I come here.” He had finished his black coffee a while ago and didn’t feel like ordering another one, in that time he guessed Jimmy and Zacky got bored so they had left a long time ago. “Why do you come here to study? Don’t you get distracted?” He asked as he knew he would, he’d get distracted by eating and drink and people watching so no work would get done but that could also just be him.

---

Grace Lewisen | The Sweetheart


“A birthday, otherwise I’d be at home.” Grace told him honestly as she never really went out for a night, there always had to be a reason so she pointed out Jackie to Brian although it wouldn’t be hard to tell which one of the ladies were celebrating their birthday. She couldn’t help but glance at the skin he had exposed, she never paid much attention to tattoos before but Brian’s were so colourful and she couldn’t help but want to see more. Which she had never felt before, it was strange to Grace but she wasn’t forcing the feelings away. "What about you? You don't seem like the type to frequent bars. So- are you from around here or..?" Brian asked her while a glass filled with ice cubes and diet coke was placed on the wooden bar in front of her, her smoky blue eyes moved onto Brian’s face. “I’ve lived here for a while, I moved here with my Dad and younger brother when my parents divorced. And I don’t tend to frequent bars or clubs, I was just never really interested in going out. I’ve also seen what that life can do to people,” She told him as that is as far as she wanted to go, she didn’t want to bring up what happened with her mother and younger sister.

She hated that she wasn’t there for Nydia as they were growing up, as the older sister she knew it was her job to protect her siblings from the bad in the world. Grace didn’t do that for Nydia because she was hurt from her moving away, but they had both grown up now and they were adults so they needed to act like it. She knew she had let Nydia down by now being there for her, Grace normally would have done everything she could to take her sister away from the life she was leading. The life that their mother surrounded her with and many much caused Nydia to follow in her footsteps, at least they could hopefully get close again like they used to be. "So, what do you do? For work?" Brian asked as he slowly sipped his drink, she wanted to tell him that he could order another drink as she didn’t mind. Just because she didn’t drink much alcohol didn’t mean she was going to stop anyone else from having some, “I’m a second grade teacher. I work at Sacred Heart Elementary, we all work there.” She smiled as she told him, she loved her job more than anything and she wouldn’t dream about ever changing her career. She always wanted to be a teacher and she worked hard to become one, so now she was living her dream and she was teaching young children everything they needed to know at their age.

“What do you do for work?” Grace asked before she took a sip of her diet coke, her eyes never leaving his handsome face. He did look like he would be the typical bad boy type of guy, but having talked with him he didn’t appear like that. At least on the inside, because he still looked like a tough guy. Her Dad would most likely freak out if she ever brought him home to meet the family, but again Ben would still get to know any guy that Grace dated because Ben wanted all of his children to be happy. So if a guy like Brian made her happy, then Ben would deal with it. Not that Grace’s mind was jumping that far into the future, actually the thought of dating Brian had passed through her mind but she wouldn’t admit that. She was very curious about what Brian did for a job, she couldn’t picture him in very many as so many people didn’t tend to trust or respect people who decided to get tattoos on their skin. Even if it didn’t affect them in anyway, but everyone had the right to have their own opinions. She didn’t care if people had tattoos or not, she didn’t but that was only because she was scared off by the pain.

As she took another sip of her drink, a few strands of her curled blonde hair fell over her shoulder. She brushed it back with her fingers as she waited for Brian’s answer, she took the time to let her eyes scan over him even more. His short dark hair was styled but still looked a bit messy and it all stuck up in different directions, his dark eyes were his best feature as Grace had always been a sucker for eyes. His eyes were comparable to liquid dark chocolate that had been melted, his voice was deep but incredibly smooth and could be extremely charming if he chose to use it. She wasn’t sure why he hadn’t tried to charm her yet, honestly she didn’t know if she would allow him to. She had never been a one night stand type of girl, she never wanted to have one but a guy like Brian had also never taken interest in her before.

Nydia Lewisen | Beautiful Disaster



"It'd be stranger if you didn't like coffee. Unless the fantastic pun pulled you in." She quipped, taking a small sip of her latte before shrugging. "It's complicated. Short answer is, it's my free time. To get out of the house and stuff. Plus-" She turned giving a half wave towards the beach. "-I've always liked working near the beach. And the noise isn't that bad with headphones. It's definitely one of the pluses about moving out here." For strictly scenic reasons of course. Nydia couldn't actually swim. In New Orleans there weren't a lot of places to learn. At least, not with how she lived. But- Nydia would go and stand up to her knees out in the ocean if she finished her work early. Today however, she wouldn't do that. Not only was she completely smitten in talking with Matt, but she'd have to go and get Elliot soon. Traffic would be a bitch and she couldn't upset her son like that. However, her phone would buzz when it was time to go and she still had a little bit. He had finished his coffee awhile ago, and had still stuck around. Part of her was ecstatic, it had been a long time since someone really, truly caught her eye and she'd admit even now she felt drawn towards him.

But another part of her dreaded everything about this. She was in a better place now, it wasn't like she'd be doing the things she had in New Orleans. But- Ben didn't trust her around men. Why he had flat out told Nydia no dating. And she agreed with him- mostly. It would be hard on Elliot unless she could strike a balance and there was no question. Her son came first. Always. She wouldn't let him grow up making the mistakes that she had. But besides the fact- she knew that most guys wouldn't stick around when they figured out she had a son. It was deceitful to keep Matt in the dark about Elliot. But, then again, Nydia thought; it wasn't like she had to tell him right off the bat. He had just come over to chat. It wasn't like he was asking her out or things were getting serious. This was all just friendly and casual. And that's what kept Nydia's mouth shut on the matter. She had noted his friends leave awhile ago and the cafe was steadily getting busier and busier. "You travel a lot? For work?" She asked, her gaze curious and brows furrowed together with interest.

Nydia hadn't really ever met anyone like him, and that was probably a good thing. Most people in her life before had been toxic trash. And Matthew didn't seem the type. He had hardly finished his answer when her phone began to ring. Pulling it out quickly, she frowned seeing her father's number. "Um, sorry I need to take this." She muttered. Her father never called her during the day. He was normally too busy at the restaurant he owned, The Waterfront Grill. It was pretty fucking nice which is why he was normally off his feet all day. "Hello?" Nydia asked candidly, and over the other end she could grills going and people shouting. "Hey sweetie. Just got a report on my phone. The road you normally take to pick up-" Worried that he could hear over the other end she quickly scrambled up and paced a few feet away as her father continued. "Elliot on is closed. There's a detour. It's gonna take you about an extra fifteen with traffic and everything. Can you get him on time still or should I take a half-day off?" Her father adored Elliot. Sure he hadn't been planned and was a little hellion sometimes; but in that sense he took after his mother.

And Ben Lewisen loved all his family fiercely. "No, I can leave in like an hour and still get there on time." She assured, and she heard her father exhale with relief. "Good, you know your sister is gonna be gone tonight. After you get Elliot, can you grab Noah? He usually walks over to Sacred Heart to hitch a ride with her." Nydia perked up at this. "Yeah! Sure. You'll be home normal time right?" Ben hummed his agreement. "Yeah. I gotta go now. Lunch rush is picking up and Xavier is sick, Michael is on his honeymoon and half the replacement chefs don't know what they're doing." After that Nydia bade him goodbye, hanging up the phone before hurrying back to her seat where Matt had waited. "Sorry, my dad was just asking me if I could go pick up my brother. I guess my sister is going out with some coworkers after work." She took the final sips of her latte the coolness of the liquid cooling her off. "Anyway, I have an hour to kill. If you're not busy you wanna walk around the boardwalk?" It was probably one of her favorite things to do. There were so many walks of life that could be found, such a vibrant atmosphere that it was hard not to have a good time when wandering around.

The rest of her hour was pretty fun. Matt had been pretty pliable to what she wanted to do; from poking her head in the little quaint craft shops, to even walking along the beach for awhile. It was heavenly to feel the waves lapping against her ankles; as at this point she had shed her heels and tights. And talking to him? Well it was soothing in a way. She found out he was a little, alright kind of decently, older than she was. About thirteen years. Ben would have a cow- even though he had been older than her mother when they met. But what her father wouldn't know- wouldn't hurt him. Time to time she'd accidentally brush against him; though neither seemed to mind. And Matthew in turn told her about the places he'd seen and traveled. Nydia was all but enchanted by this. And when it had been time to go? He'd walked her back to her car and Nydia paused offering a bashful grin. Which was odd as she was normally pretty confident and forward with men she was interested in. "So, I really enjoyed hanging out today- really." She murmured, leaning against her car keys dangling out of her hands.

"I'll be here tomorrow if you wanted to come by again." There was a note of hopefulness in that voice, an edge of eagerness. Matt grinned back, those dimples appearing making her heart skip a beat. "I- I really have to go but here. This is my number." Nydia mumbled while fumbling around her bag; finding a pen. It took all of five seconds for her to scrawl her number on a piece of his arm that wasn't inked. "See ya." She bade as she ducked into her car starting the engine. Once Nydia was sure she wouldn't run him over she pulled out, heading towards Elliot's daycare. Her father had been right about the added time and she'd just gotten there before the class was dismissed. Elliot was in a good mood today, thankfully. When Nydia had gone into the daycare, scooping him up her baby made soft cooing noises, reaching up and curling a tiny fist around a lock of strawberry hair. His teacher, Ms. Braxton had stopped Nydia on her way out; praising the progress he was making. Apparently he was crawling, beginning to "play" with the other kids, and hadn't been so fussy after she dropped him off. It was all great news, making the young mother beam. After she had picked up Elliot it was time to pick up Noah.

That was a little harder. Her younger brother, with his dark leafy gaze and beach-blond locks had quietly slid into the backseat with Elliot, and muttered a greeting to Nydia though wasted no time in cooing over his nephew. It had been a spur of the moment idea and Ben would of been upset if he knew- but she was desperate to bond with Noah. This was one of the few times he actually had to bond with her, so Nydia made a detour on the way back home. Instead heading to the nearest shopping mall. "There's a game I wanted to pick up." Nydia remarked casually when Noah pressed her about it. "Fine, but we need to be back before dad. He doesn't like it when you leave without saying anything to him." Her brother grumbled. The mall itself wasn't too bad, and Noah had whined about carrying Elliot until Nydia let him. They walked around a little bit though Nydia was quick to stop by Gamestop, and when Noah was distracted by the consul they had on display had grabbed Mortal Kombat X. She had overheard Noah begging Ben to get it for him; though their father had maintained it was too violent. If Noah wasn't going to talk to her willingly then she'd bribe him.

When her brother figured out what she got- his attitude changed right quick. She even got a hug when Nydia said he could play it when dad wasn't around. Though if he got caught she had no idea he was playing her game. After that it was back home. The traffic was hell, and Nydia didn't pull into their driveway until nearly nine-thirty. Thankfully this was one of the night's Ben stayed until closing of his business which didn't close until eleven. He would of been upset if they gotten home that late, as Elliot was supposed to be sleeping- though he had fallen asleep in the car and was still soundly snoring when she carefully hoisted him out of the car, heading towards the door. "Open up, open up 'Dia! I wanna play!" Noah squealed under his breath as the young mother fished her keys out of her pocket; though froze with horror. Her house key. It was missing. Her father had chastised Nydia about playing with the key-chain; but she hadn't ever listened. And when she was walking around with Matt earlier playing with the keychain it must of dislodged the key. "F- snap." The redhead hissed correcting her language before it fully left her mouth. After a few moments of debating what to do, Nydia finally decided to call Grace.

She knew her sister was out with friends- but Elliot had woken up screaming and Noah was about two stones away from breaking a window. Why did everything backfire on her? Grumbling she pulled out her phone only to find it had died. After a little bit of squabbling Noah had given his phone to Nydia and she was quick to dial her sister. It rang for nearly a minute and for a second Nydia was scared they would have to break a window or something to get in. However, thankfully her sister picked up last ring. "Noah? What's wrong is someone hurt?" Her sister sounded a little panicked and the redhead made a soft scoffing noise beneath Elli's squalling. "Gracie, uh no one is hurt. But uh... We locked ourselves out. I lost my house key. Think you can come let us in?" There was a moment of silence on the other end as she exhaled softly into the phone. Elliot was pretty much full tantrum and Noah wasn't making anything easier; suggesting they call the police or fire station. As her sister answered, Nydia shifted her grip on Elliot and gently pushed Noah's head trying to tell him to shut up while Gracie answered whether or not she could or would come.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Brian Haner | The Heartbreaker



"Second graders. You must be a saint." He joked, a small smile on his face that spoke to he was just teasing. Brian actually did like kids. Wanted some of his own at some point- just hadn't found the right person. There was no need to rush something that frankly, he really didn't have to rush. He was a little amused that he had guessed right, and he listened intently to all she said. When the conversation turned over to what he did- Brian hesitated. He wasn't a stranger to women using him for their fifteen minutes. Or even just for his money. None of the guys were. But, truthful was best. He doubted she was that kind of women and so he took the last sip of his drink and setting it down replied, "I'm a guitarist. For a band, it's fun. We got off a tour a few months ago and so the downtime between recording is pretty much my vacation." His sharp eyes, such a dark brown they were almost broody blacks watched the expression on her face. There was a mild sort of gaze of impressed, though nothing that spoke about any nefarious motives for talking to him. She was surprised, which meant she didn't know who he was, and there was no greed.

The tightness of his mouth melted into an honest smile that made his eyes shine as if riddled with stars. After that conversation flowed easily between them. Once his drink had finished, he'd just ordered a water. She had tried to tell him that it was fine if he wanted to keep drinking but Brian just smiled with a shrug. "I'm driving back to my place after, gotta drink responsibly tonight." He would admit. There were time when he and the boys would get plastered. But they weren't stupid enough to drive home like that. And really over the years they had all pretty much cut back on the drinking. Besides, he wanted to talk to her and not sound like an asshole. There was no reason to drink anymore. More than once he noted her eyes drift over his exposed tattoos and Brian just let it be. It really didn't bother him. However, again he got the impression she didn't hang out with very many tattooed men. She was different from the women that he was usually attracted to- but that was likely a good thing. Every bad girl he'd been attracted to ended up screwing him over one way or another. They were as different as night and day respectively, at least on the outside; but Brian thought that just added to the appeal.

They talked about family, Brian's own parents being divorced; though it wasn't that much of a strain on him Thankfully they had been pretty amicable after the dust settled; though apparently Grace's parent's split hadn't been so clean. She and her younger brother had moved to California with their dad, while her younger sister had gone with her mom. Though apparently she was back with a child. If he was phased Brian didn't show it. "Sounds like she got the short-end of the stick. I don't know what I would of done if I'd been in your shoes." He commented respectfully. He wasn't a judgmental guy. He hadn't led a squeaky clean life and he had no place to judge some poor girl who'd probably done the best she could at a young age in what sounded to be a shitty situation with a shitty mother. It felt like time just slipped away from the duo as they talked, Brian talking about some of the struggles and triumphs he had, as Grace shared her's. From everything to nothing, favorite films, music and books. His thoughts transitioned from, "Can I see myself with her?"

To waiting to the right time to ask her out on a real date. She was funny, smart, strong, intelligent and everything he wanted in a significant other. Of course he wasn't rushing over himself to propose marriage or anything; he just found her to be someone he wanted to date. Not just a one night stand. For the first time in forever it felt like, he was honestly grinning like a dope at the things she said. The attraction wasn't just physical. It was mental too. Even if they were different, they could understand and appreciate each other. As the night wore on, a few of the women began to tap out, bidding Grace a goodnight and some even bade him goodnight. The college kids had trooped out a little after nine and finally it was pretty much Brian, Grace, a couple of her friends, and an older gentleman at the end of the bar. His head was down, lolled towards the tonic he nursed while he grumbled beneath his breath. Brian knew it was getting late, but he was enjoying spending time with Grace and had been hoping for a bit longer when her phone rang. After checking the phone after the fifth ring she paused her brows furrowing together. "It's my little brother. He normally only calls if something is wrong- hold on." She murmured.

He nodded, "Don't worry if my little sister calls it's usually important. I understand." And he did. Brian waited patiently and quietly while she picked up; though from the other end try as he might not to he could hear a baby screaming and a woman's panicked disgruntled voice. What she was saying was beyond Brian, but it must of been important as Grace froze her lips pressing together. It wasn't a long phone call, but from the way Grace's face dropped- he figured it was important. When she hung up he asked in a gentle voice, "Is everything okay?" She shook her head, getting to her feet and straightening her skirt. "My sister managed to lose her house key. So I have to go unlock the door for them." She spoke as she hurried about, rushing towards the door. It all happened so fast that before Brian realized what had happened, she was out the door. Shaking his head, he hurried to the door trying to catch up to Grace, though with the congested sidewalks? It was no good. He spent a good ten minutes trying to figure out where she had gone. In the end though she had melted into the night and he was rather upset for a minute before brightening back up.

She worked at Sacred Heart, he knew where that was. Crossing his arms standing in the middle of the sidewalk, Brian decided that she was too good to just let go. With the risk of appearing creepy god he hoped he wouldn't come off that way he would head over there around the time school got out. With a soft sigh, feeling a little better Brian strolled back to the bar paying his tab. After that, it was off to Matt's. He enjoyed his solitude sometimes; but now Brian just didn't feel like being alone. Besides he hadn't really seen his dimple-faced friend today. He was a little curious to see if he finally worked up the nerve to talk to that redhead. So, hailing a taxi Brian was off to Matt's. When he got there he noticed Jimmy's car there, and the lights on. Paying the fare, stepping out Brian didn't even bother to knock, just let himself in. Jimmy and Matt were sprawled out on the floor and couch respectively, one of Matt's shooter games playing on the TV. Matt's gaze briefly flickered to him while Jimmy didn't even look up. "How was the big date?" Brian asked, lowering himself into the vacant loveseat, a soft tease in his voice as he noticed Matthew flush. "That good huh?"

Matthew Sanders | Hopeless Romantic


Matt completely understood why Nydia would chose to do her study outside the café and so close to the beach, she had an amazing view of the ocean and the boardwalk. It was peaceful even when the morning or lunch rush of people came around, the coffee shop still held a relaxed vibe to it that was brought over from being so close to the beach. Matt had always loved this area of the city, he and the guys had spent so much time on the beach. From hanging out to learning how to surf to skipping school, he held so many memories of growing up on the beach so he hoped that now Nydia would make her own memories there because it was a special place. "You travel a lot? For work?" Nydia asked as curiosity filled her gorgeous eyes as she looked at him, his face suddenly brightened as he wanted to tell her all about his singing and the band. Usually he would hold that information back for a little longer, he had been burnt in the past by women either wanting to be with him because of who he was or for his money or even so they could get closer to one of the other guys.

But she clearly didn’t know who he was or she was a great actress, but she honestly looked curious about what his job was and he didn’t get the feeling that she was going to screw him over in any way. “I do, I… Oh sure, no problem.” He had to stop his sentence when her phone begun to ring and she told him that she needed to get it, which was fine with him because it seemed important. He watched her easily as she took the call and moved away slightly, it didn’t bother him as he would have done the same thing. He couldn’t stand people listening to him when he was on the phone, it was never their business so he wasn’t offend when Nydia did move away from him. "Sorry, my dad was just asking me if I could go pick up my brother. I guess my sister is going out with some co-workers after work. Anyway, I have an hour to kill. If you're not busy you wanna walk around the boardwalk?" Nydia explained to him which caused a smile to grow on his face, she wanted to continue this so Matt must be doing something right.

“I’m not busy, let’s go.” This was going better than Matt had expected it to, he really should have spoken to her much sooner. But he pushed those thoughts out of his mind because he was there with her right now, and he wouldn’t change anything that he had done up until this second. Standing up he pushed the chair under the table and waited for Nydia to place her bag over her shoulder before he walked beside her as they headed over to the boardwalk first, he followed her wherever she wanted to go. He even poked around a few small crafty shops which he had never paid much attention to before, but he was impressed with the items that were being sold. He could only be creative when it came to music, and that was as far as he could go.

The conversation flowed smoothly between them, they talked about everything that came to mind. He did find out that the redhead was only twenty, which would have normally put him off her as he hadn’t dated or been with someone that young before. But Nydia was different and he wanted to spend more time with her, but he did wonder why she hadn’t made an excuse to leave when he told her how old he was. He didn’t think she would want to be around a man that was his age, but they kept walking along the beach and had dipped their feet into the cool water as the sea brushed up over the sand. Although time soon ran out and before Matt knew it, he was walking her over to her car. “I enjoyed myself as well, if you’re going to be here than so will I. I’ll see you later, Nydia.” Matt spoke smiling as her name rolled off his tongue easily, it felt right to say her name which he hadn’t felt before but he liked it. He watched as she drove away before he walked along the street and climbed into his own car, it was about time that he went home as he didn’t have anything else planned for the day. Arriving at home he warmed up so left over food and made himself comfortable on his lounge, he flicked through the TV channels while he ate but he was interrupted by Jimmy knocking on the front door before he walked straight in.

“It’s only me, can I come in or is someone here?” Jimmy called out through the house with an amused smile plastered across his face, Matt rolled his eyes as he called out for Jimmy to fuck off. His tall friend came running into the living room and sat himself down on the floor, he asked about the redhead so Matt just told him that they talked and he was going to see her again tomorrow. All the guys knew how long Matt had been wanting to talk to the girl, so Jimmy was happy that something had finally happened. They drank some beers and ate pizza while playing video games for the rest of the day, the sun faded although neither of them really cared as they continued to play games until Brian arrived at the house and asked how the date went. “Apparently it wasn’t a date but he’s seeing Nydia again tomorrow,” Jimmy told Brian before Matt could even open his mouth, a flush settled on his cheeks but he pretended like he wasn’t as Nydia’s face appeared in his mind and he couldn’t wait to see her again. “I’m not rushing this, so you two can get relax alright. She’s different and is worth getting to know,” Matt spoke to his mates before glancing over at Brian, he seemed different as well however he couldn’t describe it. “What happened with you?” Matt asked turning his attention back onto the game that he and Jimmy were playing.

---

Grace Lewisen | The Sweetheart


"Second graders. You must be a saint." He joked with her and she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at him, “I wouldn’t say that I’m a saint. But I won’t stop you from saying that,” A playful tone set in her voice as she looked at him, when he had first asked her what she wanted to drink and she walked over to him. She didn’t think she would have stayed this long or that they would have things to talk about, but he was surprising her greatly. She had asked what his job was and her attention was captured when he told her that he was a guitarist in a band, suddenly she could picture him playing guitar in a band as he would suit that perfectly. “A band? That’s way more interesting than being a teacher,” She smiled as did ask him a few questions about being in a band and how he found touring, he had never known someone in a band before and she wanted to know a lot more about it but decided that she would let their conversation go wherever it wanted instead of focusing on him so much.

She did mention that he could get another drink but she didn’t say anything when he ordered a glass of water for himself, Grace talked to him about the divorce of their parents as Brian had gone through it as well. It was nice to find someone who understood how she had felt, when she was younger the divorce had affected her more than it does now. She now knows that her parents’ marriage was breaking and that they couldn’t fix it, no matter how hard Ben had tried. Of course Brian didn’t fully understand as his parents were still friends and the break was clean, she still felt like she could talk to him about it. "Sounds like she got the short-end of the stick. I don't know what I would of done if I'd been in your shoes." He commented about Nydia but it wasn’t in a judgemental way, he truthfully meant it. “She did, even though we were young I knew she would have been better off staying with our Dad. I could only tell her so many times, she never listened and I couldn’t have done anything else at that age. But I guess one good thing came from her moving away, I have the most perfect little nephew now.” She adored Elliot as did everyone in the family, he was a bright light that could always cheer Grace up after having a tough day. She spoiled him whenever she could as she loved him, she knew that Nydia would raise him right so he wouldn’t make any of the mistakes that she has. But Grace was older now and could watch over him, exactly like she did with Noah which he didn’t understand because he just thought she was being annoying.

Neither of them ever stopped talking, once a topic ended than another one was brought up. Even when her work friends begun to slowly leave, she simply told them goodnight before turning back to Brian. She did feel bad that she wasn’t spending time with Jackie on her birthday, but she didn’t seem to mind all that much and she could apologize tomorrow at work. But then her phone rang and she dug around in her bag before pulling the phone out, she frowned when she saw Noah’s name on the screen. “It's my little brother. He normally only calls if something is wrong- hold on." She told him although he didn’t seem to mind as she answered the call, however instead of hearing her brother’s voice it was her sister’s. She listened as Nydia explained that she had lost her house key and couldn’t get into the house, Grace could hear Elliot’s cries as it was past his bedtime. Why they had arrived at the house so late was beyond her, but their Dad would flip out if he knew. Signing she agreed to come home before ending the call, “ My sister managed to lose her house key. So I have to go unlock the door for them, I’m sorry.” She stood up from the bar stool as she didn’t want to leave him yet, but she couldn’t leave her siblings and nephew outside at this time of the night just because she was enjoying herself.

She rushed out of the bar and to her car so quickly that she had forgotten to get Brian’s number, she wanted to see him again but the thought only came to her mind once she was driving towards home. She mentally kicked herself for being so stupid, she had finally met a guy that she liked and got along with. He was the first guy she could see herself dating after the heartbreak she went through with her high school sweetheart, Max, after he moved away for college and cheated on her. But it was too late to turn around so she continued driving and it wasn’t that long before she was parking her car in the driveway, she grabbed her bag as she climbed out and walked over to where her siblings were waiting. Elliot was still fussing and Nydia looked exhausted, “Why don’t you have your keys?” She looked at Noah in a rather motherly way, she couldn’t help it as she did help raise him after the divorce and she was now also a teacher so that mode came out every now and again. “I didn’t bring them because I thought you or Dad would have picked me up,” Noah spoke quietly as he knew that he should always have his house keys with him, Ben always told him that just in case any plans changed at the last minute like it had tonight.

“Dad doesn’t need to know about this,” Grace told her younger siblings as she unlocked the front door and Noah rushed into the house, turning she looked at her sister before she took Elliot into her arms. “I’ll get his pajamas on and I’ll read him a book, go relax.” She told her little sister as they stepped into the house, Grace set her bag down and carried her still whining nephew into his room. She laid him down on the floor and took his clothes off, she started to blow raspberries on his bare tummy which turned his whines into adorable laugher. Her fingers tickled his feet as he wiggled around on the floor and tried to escape by crawling away, “Oh I’m not finished yet.” Grace smiled warmly as she pulled Elliot back into her arms, they played for a little longer before Grace changed his diaper and got his pajamas onto his small body. She sat on the rocking chair with Elliot sitting on her lap as she read two of his favourite books to him, she put on different voices to make it more interesting and let him turn the pages. She loved spending time with Elliot, not only because he was her nephew but it also gave Nydia time for herself. Whether she wanted to relax or finish any work for college, Nydia needed the time for herself and Grace could always see when her sister needed a break. She rocked Elliot on the chair until his head rested against her chest and his little eyes drifted shut, she held him instead of putting him into his crib as she wasn’t ready to let him go just yet.

Nydia Lewisen | Beautiful Disaster



"Dad is gonna kill us." Noah whined the second the middle Lewisen hung up the phone. And he was probably right- if Ben found out he wasn't going to be happy. Elliot had mostly slept in the car on the way back, and a little while after the phone call he calmed down, resting his chubby cheek on the crook of his mother's neck while hiccuping every few minutes. His blond locks had become sweaty from his tantrum and they stuck to his forehead, and his cheeks were flushed red. "Is Elliot okay?" Her brother turned his attention to her child who had curled his small fists in her hair. "It's just been a long day for him Buddy. He'll be fine once he gets in his pajamas and gets put to bed." She'd already nursed him at the mall on their way out so she could put him right to bed. Luckily it was California and even on this late November night it was still pretty warm so no one would get cold and her son wouldn't get sick. About ten minute had passed before Noah asked in a soft voice, "You think Grace is coming?" For a thirteen year old, he was quite melodramatic at times. "She's coming, don't worry about it. Dad won't be home for another hour and a half. So I want you to eat, then get to bed alright?" Noah had an unofficial bedtime of ten, so he wouldn't be exhausted for school.

And since Nydia was already spoiling him by letting him play her Mortal Kombat game, she wasn't budging on the bedtime. A car was turning down their road and both Lewisen siblings exchanged hopeful glances that it was Gracie. Luckily it was, however the noise of the car door shutting woke Elliot up and he began fussing again. Whines and soft cries he would press closer to Nydia, then pull away like he wasn't sure if he wanted to be held or put down. "On the bright-side I might have to wake you up tomorrow handsome boy." Nydia cooed to her son. There were a lot of things Nydia wasn't good at. Following rules, getting on with her family at times though she was really working on that one, cooking, and acting responsibly when it came to almost anything but Elliot. But with her son, it was obvious how much she adored him. That she did her best for the little babe and that was all anyone could ask of her. Grace stepping out of the car gave them a once over looking somewhat distracted. Shifting almost convinced that Grace was gonna say something to dad the redhead exhaled with relief as she promised not to say anything to their dad. "Thank you Gracie!" Nydia murmured, and as Grace came over loosened her grip on Elliot so she could pull him out of his arms.

Even if things hadn't gone the way Nydia wanted them to; she wouldn't change a damned thing. Even though her actions had landed her a single mother in California; Elliot was surrounded by his family that adored him. They never took out their frustrations that Nydia had gotten knocked up on her baby. Instead he never had a shortage of kisses, tickles, and love; something Nydia had not had after moving with Aislin. “I’ll get his pajamas on and I’ll read him a book, go relax.” Nodding she smiled ushering in Noah to the house. "Alright. If he gets to be a handful let me know okay?" Briefly she took Elliot from Gracie tickling his tummy and kissing his hands. "Goodnight sweetie. Mommy will see you in the morning okay?" Giving her child one last kiss on the forehead she handed him back over to Grace as her sister headed up the stairs with him. Elliot's room was right next to her's so Nydia would hear if he woke up. For now however she and Noah both made their way to the kitchen, making themselves some peanut butter and fluff sandwiches. When she was pregnant with Elliot, fluff had been one of the things she absolutely craved. That, nutella, ice, French fries, and mac and cheese. She still craved these things time to time. As the two siblings slathered their sandwiches with fluff she glanced down at Noah and spoke in a soft voice, "You know I really missed you guys when I was with mom."

Her brother paused though shrugged. "Yeah." As Noah clamped up, she wanted to press him but he was only a kid. He didn't understand the entirety of the situation. So she just let it be. She and Noah sat at the kitchen table finishing their food in silence. Nydia knew it was important not to push him into liking her again. Nydia had turned her siblings away over the course of years. And it would take awhile to fix everything that had been broken between them. Noah had finished his sandwich before Nydia did, and after washing his dish and putting it away muttered goodnight before heading up the stairs. "Be quiet Noah!" She hissed after him, so not to wake Elliot up. After finishing her own dinner and taking care of her dishes Nydia headed to the couch to flop down. It had been a long day and a small smile touched on her lips as she recalled her day. It had been one of the best she'd had in a long time. She had finished the homework she was supposed to for the week, and she was on date with her deadlines so, Nydia got to unwind a little. As she stretched out on the couch, she flicked the TV on, flipping through the channels until she found Blades Of Glory. Every so often she'd twist around, making sure that Elliot was being quiet and assumable sleeping for Gracie.

After awhile her sister quietly crept out of her son's room, leaving the door open a creak so if he woke up Nydia could hear him and tend to him. For a minute Nydia wondered if she was gonna go to her room but after a moment she came down the stairs and the younger sister offered a smile. "Sorry for cutting into your night out with your friends. I must of dropped my key when I was-" Almost blurting out she'd hung out with a guy, she finished smoothly, "When I was walking back to my car. Dad always tells me not to play with the keychain. Guess that will serve me." Patting the couch next to her Nydia scooted over and made some room. "So how about you? How was the party thing?" She knew they had drifted apart and there was still hurt between them; but Nydia wanted to put it aside. Move on and get back to being sisters and best friends. Upstairs it was quiet as both boys must of fallen asleep at this point. Which was excellent as now Ben wouldn't realize that Nydia had taken a detour to the mall on the way home. Noah could play the game with her and hopefully that would be the quickest way to fixing the relationship between them. It was worse with Noah. At least Grace and Nydia had spent years together before the divorce. Noah was only three when the parents had split and Aislin refused to take him, and Ben refused to give him up anyway.
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Brian Haner | The Heartbreaker



Brian glanced over at Jimmy, a smirk settling on his lips as he snatched Matt's beer to finish it off. “Apparently it wasn’t a date but he’s seeing Nydia again tomorrow.” Making a playful cooing noise the spiky-haired brunette echoed, "Aww, our Matt's growing up." Pretending to wipe a tear off his face Brian chuckled as Matt grumbled, explaining further that it was not a date. “I’m not rushing this, so you two can get relax alright. She’s different and is worth getting to know." He paused in his teasing something more thoughtful settling over his face. He had felt that way with Grace tonight, and as such decided to just let it go. Matt however managed to catch his expression thoughtful and demur. "What happened with you?" He paused about to grumble nothing had happened, he just had a couple drinks at Sully's though shrugged. "Dunno, might of met a girl." Jimmy snorted at this pausing the game and flipping onto his stomach so he could survey the two men. "You either met a girl or not. Do or do not, there is no might." He quipped like a smart ass and Brian quirked an eyebrow. Apparently they weren't above Star Wars references tonight. About to tell him to mind his own, Matt only added to the conversation with, "Who?"

It wasn't like they'd know her and so Brian huffed. "She was out at Sully's with some of her teacher friends. And I'm going by tomorrow to ask her out on a date. She's too pretty to dick around with." There was an air of confidence in his voice that was never far, regardless of the topic. Jimmy whistled, his eyes reminiscent of a summer sky sparkled with amusement. "Brian actually wanting to take a girl out on a real date. Color me impressed she must be something else." The muscular guitarist simply scoffed settling back in his chair. "I have the feeling she is." Brian shrugged earnestly. Jimmy let up on teasing him after that rolling back over to his back to play his games with Matt. At one point Brian had gotten up to grab his own beer and some leftover pizza. Staying over at Matt's was always a pretty relaxed atmosphere. Brain flicked through his phone, watching videos and answering a few texts he'd missed as the other two played the consul. Brian had to be in the mood to play. Matt was the gamer of the group. He could get so worked up over his games it was funny to watch his normal laid-back demeanor transition to under the breath cursing and the concentration narrow his hazel depths. The two ended up playing until about midnight when Jimmy announced he was leaving 'cos he had plans with Johnny in the morning. Brian, was in no mood to hail a taxi so he more announced than asked, "I'm gonna crash here."

Matt played his games awhile longer before he exited out and shut the game off. He laid a little longer on the couch looking lost in thought and Brian smiled. "Hey, man you alright? Tomorrow's gonna be fine." He assured, as Matt just shrugged. "But unless you wanna fall asleep standing up, you might wanna crash." He suggested, his own eyes fluttering shut. When he was younger and drank it wouldn't affect him so much. He'd be falling over himself laughing- now? It just made him tired. Eventually Matt did head up to his own room, and while Brian had a place to sleep here, he was too lazy to get up from the couch. It was funny even with all the time they all spent together, you would think they'd get sick of each other. And some bands did get sick of their band mates- and don't get him wrong they had their days. But the squabbling was like siblings and they all hung out together outside work and touring. Brian's body was heavy and tired. At one point he had to pee, though that was the only time he got up. As tired as his eyes felt, Brian found sleep difficult. He was admittedly worried about what would happen when he headed over to Sacred Heart tomorrow. Would she react well? Or would she think of him as a creep? What was he even going to say? "Hey, so I didn't get your number. Wanna hang out?" Turning to his side, drawing the blanket Matt had tossed at him before going up Brian frowned into his pillow.

When was the last time he felt like this about a girl? Pausing trying to rack his brain Brian realized it'd been awhile. And he realized- he didn't want to keep running around without commitment. He didn't want to keep living like he was twenty anymore. Maybe this is what Matt had been talking about the last time Brian had boasted about the woman he'd taken home for the night. And he wasn't saying that Grace was the one. Brian wasn't quite sure where this would lead him. But he wanted to find out. He didn't know how long he laid awake on the couching, tossing and turning while he tried to quiet his mind. Brian eventually drifted off, curled up and breathing softly; a little after three in the morning. He didn't dream, not really. Not that he could remember at any rate. However, he was awoken by some plates crashing in the kitchen and grumbling the surprisingly light sleeper sat up, running a hand through his hair. The clock on the wall said it was a little after nine and he figured there was no time like the present to get up. Sure enough Matt was banging around the kitchen, but Brian not awake enough to even remember his own name trudged to the guest bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

Sorry for such a short and boring reply, I just wanted to get something out for you.

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Matthew Sanders | Hopeless Romantic


It took Matt some time to fall asleep that night, all he could think about was Nydia and what tomorrow was going to bring them. Should he get there early and have a drink waiting for her? Or would that be pushing it too far? He wasn’t sure and he didn’t know if she would want the drink he brought her today, he knew he was overthinking this and would just take it as it came. With that thought in his mind, Matt drifted off to sleep and actually slept through the night. When he woke up the sun was shining in through his bedroom window, it was still early but Matt pulled himself from the comfort of his bed and dragged himself into the ensuite bathroom that was connected to his room. He showered and dressed for his day before he walked downstairs to the kitchen, Brian was still sleeping sounding on the couch and Matt could have made sure to keep quiet in the kitchen but he decided not to. His mate needed to wake up before he left to go see Nydia, he had left the guys in his house alone before and it never ended well.

Matt made a start on cooking them both breakfast, eggs and bacon with toast as he usually always cooked something nice to eat if he was in the mood. This morning he was in the mood because he knew it was going to be a great day, he was getting the chance to spend more time with a girl that he could see himself being serious with. But he would take things slow as to not rush anything, he wanted to get to know Nydia and become friends with her before anything else. He grinned when he heard shuffling from the other room meaning he had woken Brian up, but if he still wanted to go find the girl he met last night then he would need to awake up and get himself ready. He had been surprised when Brian told him and Jimmy about this girl that had been at Sully’s, Brian wasn’t the kind of guy for a serious relationship but if he was finally growing up than so would Brian be.

He cooked breakfast and set out a plate for Brian when he felt like eating, he sat at the kitchen bench and looked through some things on his phone as he wasted time. He was getting anxious the longer he was waiting, but he knew once he saw Nydia then he would feel a lot better. Checking the time he decided to just head over to the coffee shop because he was getting bored sitting at home, “Eat and then leave. I’m heading out, remember to lock up.” He told Brian who had just stepped into kitchen and grabbed his plate of food, Matt quickly washed after himself before grabbing his keys and wallet. Climbing into his car he drove away from his house and headed down to the coffee shop that he had been to for the past month or so, he found a car park close by and locked his car as he walked along the sidewalk.

Reaching the café he scanned the inside tables but didn’t find Nydia, so instead of standing in the morning rush line he sat down at the table where Nydia had been yesterday. He felt like it would be best if he just waited until she got there and then he could buy them both a drink, to keep himself occupied he pulled his phone from his pocket and replied to a few emails that he had forgotten about. It was also keeping him from getting nervous although he didn’t know why he would, he had a good time with Nydia yesterday and he was certain that today would be just as good, if not better.

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Grace Lewisen | The Sweetheart


Grace rocked Elliot until she knew he was fast asleep, then she carefully carried him over to his crib and laid him down. He stirred a little but didn’t wake up as Grace tucked his blanket around his little body, she gently stroked his blonde hair before creeping out of Elliot’s room. She left the door open slightly before she decided to head back downstairs, usually she would have gone to her room but she could hear the TV was on downstairs meaning that Nydia was still awake. ”Sorry for cutting into your night out with your friends. I must of dropped my key when I was… When I was walking back to my car. Dad always tells me not to play with the keychain. Guess that will serve me." Her sister told her but Grace could tell there was something that wasn’t being said, she still knew Nydia better than anyone but she didn’t press her about it. “It’s fine, but next time please don’t lose any keys.” She sat down on the couch beside her sister, they hadn’t been like this since Nydia moved back home but it did feel good.

"So how about you? How was the party thing?" Nydia asked causing Grace to think about Brian again, a smile settled on her features before she could stop herself. “Really good actually, surprisingly I met a guy. I spent my time talking to him, he’s so different but we got along really well.” She told her sister as she couldn’t tell anyone else, Noah didn’t care and her Dad was far too protective of all his children. “Really? That’s great, Gracie.” Nydia smiled and it reminded Grace of when they were younger and developed crushes on boys at school, they always went to each other before any of their friends. Grace hadn’t had anything like this since Aislin took Nydia away, it was nice to talk about things like this with her younger sister again. “Yeah, but I doubt anything more will happen. I forgot to get his number before rushing over here, besides I didn’t really seem like his type. He’s in a band and has all of these tattoos,” She brushed it off as she wasn’t expecting anything from Brian now, he had probably already forgotten about her.

Of course Nydia tried to tell her that she shouldn’t brush things off like that and that she deserved to be happy, afterwards they kept talking as they half watched the movie on the TV screen. Grace found herself relaxing into the couch as she begun to reconnect with her sister, they talked about Grace’s work and Nydia’s studying before they actually planned on having a girl’s day out sometime soon. Ben and Noah could take care of Elliot for a few hours, “So have you met anyone nice?” She looked over at the redhead as she could always tell when her sister was lying or keep something from her, Ben had told Nydia that she needed to get her life together which meant no dating. But that didn’t mean she still couldn’t meet nice men, Grace was being nosy and wanted to know what her sister had been up to.

Even when she was studying, she still had a life. She went out with friends from college, she even went to a few parties in her first year attending college. Before she realised that she didn’t actually like parties where everyone was drunk and high off drugs, so if Grace could enjoy herself than so could her sister. Just not as much fun as she was having before, Grace wouldn’t allow that to happen again although she knew Nydia wouldn’t go back to that now that she had Elliot.

@ TakingBackTheCrown
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