Pictures and Some Memories

Warmth.

That was the first thing I felt once I exited the Uber, despite it only being 55 degrees. It already was nearly 30 degrees warmer than it was in New York as I boarded my flight earlier this morning, but I was extremely happy I wouldn't be making a roundtrip this time-- I was stuck in California whether I liked it or not (although so far, all I felt was relief the second the plane touched down).

"Oh my God, this house is so much more beautiful in person," Carly commented as we unloaded our luggage from the back of the SUV. She had insisted on helping me fix the place up, and considering she would temporarily be staying here when ATL began recording soon (and the fact that neither of us wanted to say goodbye to our days as roommates quite yet) it only made sense that she tagged along.

Just as I opened my mouth to reply in agreement, our driver, a man who claimed to be 27 but looked no older than 16 and flirted with the both of us despite our repeated expressions of disinterest, asked, "Can I help you carry your things inside?" and smiled with too much teeth to be comforting.

She and I glanced at each other and then at the four suitcases and three duffels on the sidewalk beside us. "No, we've got it, thanks."

"Are you sure? Such beautiful women should not have to carry--"

"Get lost, creep, before I report you and your frequent unwanted flirtations to the company," Carly snapped, hazel eyes cold and fixed upon him.

"Have a lovely afternoon," our driver finally lamented, then climbed back into the driver's seat and drove off.

"God, I hate creepy guys," she shuddered briefly before bending down to hoist a duffel onto her shoulder.

"Then you should avoid Venice Beach once the evening hours begin, because all sorts of desperate, fedora and bucket hat wearing guys come out and try to woo you over with derogatory comments," I said as I pulled two large suitcases behind me and up the slightly steep driveway.

"Ugh, I can never have any fun," she pouts as I dig around for the key my father hid in one of the potted plants on the small porch.

The house was simple compared to some of the other more intricate homes in this neighborhood. I was 10 minutes away from my father and friends, and only a couple miles away from the beach. Gray and carbon black brick made up the outside of the home, and the small concrete floored porch had enough space for a couple of chairs if I removed some of the ivy's and flowers that my stepmother most likely insisted on placing out here. Just at a first glance, I could tell that the windows were brand new, just by how dingy the white trim looked next to the gleam of the glass.

Once we were inside, I sighed as I pushed the suitcases into the box filled living room and came into contact with the wall of windows that led to my backyard, a decent sized yard that I planned to place plenty of seating, a fire pit and nice grill, and lights to drape on the fence, amongst many other small things. "I love my house," I sighed after we got all of the luggage inside.

"Me, too," Carly replied, marvelling over the dark granite countertops in my kitchen. "I can't wait to decorate yours, and then go back and redecorate the loft with Alex."

"You better not paint over my graffiti in my former office."

"You moved out and signed over your part of the lease, I'll do what I damn well please! However, since Alex loves it so much, you've nothing to worry about."

"Good," I sighed in relief. I then began to slowly scan the living room, dining room, and kitchen, and the only positive outcome found in the few boxes and pieces of furniture was that my father made sure the walls were painted before I moved in. Otherwise, my home was a mess waiting to be put together, and I felt anxiety start to well within me, urging me to begin the process.

"Hey! ... No, sorry, I'm calling on behalf of Andi, we just arrived at her place and we need reinforcements... Well, so far, she's got her bedroom, a few shelves, her studio equipment, and various knick-knacks from touring and living in Brooklyn for so long, but she needs a couch, guest room furniture, a table, and who knows what else she'll want... Oh, yeah, she's staring at me now but she's overwhelmed so for once, she's quiet. HA! Okay, see you in a bit!"

Serena grinned as she perched herself on the black leather-cushioned barstools my brother made for me years ago but never got around to shipping them up North to me. "Go ahead, say it: What on Earth would you do without me?"

"Probably continue to stare at this mess anxiously for another ten minutes before trying to tackle it all myself," I replied honestly, reaching for the box labelled "Kitchenware" and opening it up to begin placing the bright robin's egg blue plates into my white-painted cabinets.

"Well, since I'm so amazing and also quite lazy, Violet says she and Cara on their way here with Matt's truck and he'll be coming along later with Jimmy once they finish up their meeting with their label," Carly said, her tone smug although I knew she was just being playful.

"You are quite amazing," I sighed, feeling relief not only to have help but to find that none of my glass dishes had been broken during the shipping process. "Look, it's the mug I made in that Ceramics nightmare class freshman year!!"

Carly took one glance at the pink and yellow striped coffee mug and snorted. "How you ever got rid of that wanna-be Sam Wheat from Ghost guy that followed you around like a lost dog is beyond me. Bravo, Andria, bravo."

"When he tried to come up behind me on the pottery wheel and wrap himself around me, I'd never been so happy to sneeze in my life and probably will never have another opportunity like it again," I giggled, remembering how I turned and sneezed directly into his open mouth in reaction to his rank smelling cologne.

The distinct sound of a car's lock system being initiated sounded outside, followed by the sound of running feet and finally, "Hey girrrrrrrrrrrl!!" was bellowed from both women's lungs as they entered the house, our favorite greeting for each other the moment our brain's reached peak buzz and early stages of drunk. I smiled as they gathered both Carly and I up into hugs, immediately taking Carly by surprise since she'd met the pair the handful of times we saw each other on Warped Tour in the past. Plus, Carly wasn't one that invited hugs unless they were from Alex and occasionally myself, and her bewildered face conveyed that and more before she was finally released.

"So, it's nice to see your place with you in it," Violet commented as she let her fingers lazily graze the smooth surface of the countertop in front of her. "Your brother has been chattering nonstop about it since the moment your dad found it."

"How could he not? The place is gorgeous," Carly gushed.

"Agreed," Cara, Violet, and I said in unison.

"However, you need a couch and few other things, and I know the perfect place to get them all," Cara added. "You know that old warehouse off the highway? Someone bought it and cleaned it up and turned it into a discount 'Home Goods'-esque store with amazing furniture. I don't know if you remember what my french doors look like, but Jimmy and I found those, our huge sectional and a few other things and spent no more than $3000."

Carly's eyes lit up. "Fellow thrifter... I knew I'd like you."

"Well, considering that I'm not currently touring and just spent a bit more than planned trying to get everything down here, I am all for it. Let's go."

After a 20 minute ride to the warehouse, we had all wandered over to the living room furniture area first, the four of us on two different sofas, bouncing and lounging on them to test them out. "So, Andi, how is Larkin dealing with everything so far? I mean it's only been two weeks since you decided to move down and everything."

I looked over at Cara and sighed. "He's gone from being completely on board with the idea, to 100% against it and then back and forth again and again. This morning, he insisted on riding with us to the airport but then refused to speak almost the entire time. He just sulked as we sipped on our coffees."

Carly began to mutter under her breath, and the three of us eyed her curiously. "What was that?" I asked her, knowing that she wouldn't actually withhold her opinion from me, but considering the fact that she only knew snippets of information about Violet and Cara, she was hesitant to come across as blunt, despite it being her overflowing dominant personality trait.

However, she overcame this very quickly and said, "Honestly, Andi, I get that he's your manager and helps you with running your galleries, selling your pieces, and making sure everything is legit, but for the last year of your relationship, you've pretty much been business partners who occasionally fuck and pretend to be happy. But you're not happy, and you haven't been for months."

An awkward silence crept in as we all stilled and absorbed what she said. "You're wrong," I said quietly, although my heart didn't fully agree, and my brain was questioning everything at that moment. "This is just what we do. He sulks, he comes around, we make up, and then we'll be fine."

Violet glanced over at Carly and they shared a look, while Cara's eyes remained fixed upon the text message she was typing out on her phone, obviously trying her hardest to stay out of the entire situation as best as she could. "I'm just saying, you could be with someone so much better," Carly shrugged, uncrossing her legs and standing. "I just want you to be happy, and I'm sure they do, too."

"I know," I replied, "But my relationship is fine! We are good, despite our flaws. Every couple has them."

Carly just shook her head before she turned. "I'm not liking this sofa personally, what do you guys think about it?"

I inwardly groaned, for I knew that as soon as she got another opportunity, this conversation would pick up again. What sucked the most was that I knew that if Violet had just known Carly better, she would've piped up, too, and when two of your friends can tag team on something to try to tell you something, you know you're fucked. And frankly, I just wasn't really ready to try and stir the pot when it came to Larkin. He'll come around eventually. Right now, I just needed to focus on moving in and beginning my work as far as my new gallery and such went. Larkin and I would just have to (hopefully) fall back into place again along the way, for I knew that nothing would be fixed with a phone call.

Still, Cara, being the natural peacemaker she was, immediately jumped up and said, "Oooh! Look at this black sectional over here! Perfect size for your living room and the leather? It's to die for!" before darting across the aisle to the couch she was talking about in an attempt to clear the air between the four of us.

Carly followed after, while Violet and I remained seated so that I wouldn't end up unnecessarily snapping at Carly later on in the day. Violet, however, leaned foward and smiled. "So, you're finally going to show in California! Remember when you, Charlotte and I would lay around in the bed of Charlotte's dad's truck and talk about our dreams for the future? Looks like you're finally getting what you want!"

I grinned. "Yeah, I'm finally going to show in LA. I mean, I've got to actually create the showcase first. But the guy that owns it, Eric, he's already really stoked to have me show. He just said to keep him posted and let him know whenever I feel like I'm ready to show and he'll have the place ready for me."

"We like the couch, but you can find us hitting up the food truck outside if you need us," Cara tossed over her shoulder quickly before being led away by an eager Carly.

Violet turned back to me. "Well, I like the sound of that. Very lax, let's you do what you want without crazy restrictions..."

"Violet," I said, warning in my tone. "I've already gotten this lecture from one friend. I don't need it from another one. I just want to enjoy myself right now."

She stood and motioned for me to do the same. "If you say so. All I'm going to say is that Carly's right. She's the best source, too, after seeing almost all of your interactions with him anyway."

"Noted. Can we drop it now?" I asked, following her to the sofa Carly and Cara escaped to before.

"Mmhmm," she hummed as she sank into the cushions. "Oh, yeah. This is the one."

For the first time since I awoke at 5 a.m., I felt my eyes droop past the buzz of caffeine that rushed through me. "God, she knows me inside and out and picks out a damn good couch," I sighed, kicking my feet up onto the matching ottoman.

"Hey, come on, you can sleep when you're dead. We've got to get the ticket for this and then find more stuff for your house," Violet urged, snapping her fingers once above my face, startling me as she took my arm and began to tug me around.

I chuckled. I wasn't sure of exactly what I'd expected when I got home, but to have it feel like old times was a relief. It's good to be home.