~time skip - island event~

Though Lil didn't consider herself a calculated person, everything about the day had been just that. From what she'd worn, to the date Angelica had hand-picked for her to bring, all decisions that had been made were with the sole purpose of pissing off one particular person. Lil hadn't meant to stoop to such a level that she would have previously only reserved for the blond guy she'd had in mind when crafting her day, but she'd decided she was allowed one day of pettiness, and the incredibly public day of the Island's festival had been her day of choice. All that she needed now was to be sure that the one person whom this was all for would notice her attempt at rubbing just how well she was doing in his face.

Just like the rest of the day, this interaction had been carefully curated. She'd left Dodger to go order lunch from the counter while Lil searched for a table, when she'd so happened to pass by one occupied by none other than the man of the hour. It was with a silent, deep breath that she accidentally passed by his standing table, innocently knocking his shoulder as she passed through the crowd. "Oh, shit--hey," she blurted, feigning shock to see him. She didn't have to fake much--he looked different than she'd left him, his beard grown out and his hair the longest she'd ever seen it. "I thought you didn't come to things like these."

It surprised Dash a bit with how honest he was being, but seeing the receptiveness from others when he was only proved that it was easier this way. He just wished he was this honest months ago. He didn’t think learning that lying was bad was something that would finally catch on at the age of 26, yet here he was. And having this realization only made him feel worse about himself but it probably didn’t come close to how bad he let others feel because of his lies. He nodded along, taking in the fact that it really was that simple of a solution that could’ve helped avoided all this. “I should’ve said a lot of things earlier but it’s kinda too late for that now,” he shrugged his shoulders, coming to terms with knowing he had ruined the potential for what they could’ve had. 

It was slightly frustrating for Dash to have to answer about the very plan he nearly forgot about. But it was the reason it left Lil with hesitancy and questions regarding the motives behind actions that were genuine. He shook his head, holding his gaze on her and hoping she could see that he was being sincere. “There hasn’t been a plan for months. I can’t even remember the last time I intentionally followed through with it.” A sigh came out as he stood in place with hands in his jacket pockets. “Look, I came up with that plan when I was drunk and annoyed with you and it seemed like a fun idea at the time. It doesn’t excuse the fact that I went along with it but I can see how stupid I was. And I would never think to do this to you now.”

There had to have been some sort of mental piece missing from the puzzle, as Lil had no idea who the hell Pacifica was or why she wouldn't acknowledge her brother, but she chalked it up to the probable answer of Philm drama and let it go. The more important topic at hand was the one regarding his new girlfriend, whom LIl hadn't even gotten the chance to meet yet given the girl's indecision that had miraculously absolved itself. And, proving that she hadn't been entirely wrong about his marriage to the singer. "Okay, but, I've never seen her act before. I've certainly never seen her act with you, and I don't plan to." Upon the previous web search she'd performed on the blonde, though, apparently she'd been in some horror film last fall that she'd made a mental note to watch. "So, your slate is all clean? She's good with all of it?" That much had come as a shock, and, what more, meant that Lil had at least been wrong about something. Apparently it had just taken some long, hard thinking for his girlfriend to get over his past relations and come to terms with who she was dating. "Well, regardless, I'm happy for you. And no, they're not usually this easy, but you somehow found the one girl on this whole island who doesn't care about your former career, so, congratulations. Some of us take regrettable bets on sociopaths instead."

Though he knew she’d never actually take up his suggestion, he still nods his head as seriously as he can as if he’d just had the best idea ever. “It’s always an option,” he reminds her, even though it’ll likely never happen.It was what the blond boy deserved, honestly, and if it were up to Phil he’d have a whole legion of middle schoolers beat the shit out of the guy. But he gets the feeling that Lil doesn’t really want to keep lingering on the topic, ready to focus on something else instead, and he’s more than happy to gush about his own successful night now that it’s clear she’s not going to get pissed at him for having a good time while she was so miserable.

“I know. I thought we were just going to the party as friends, since Pacifica wouldn’t actually ever invite me herself - she’s still pretending like she never even met me, you know,” he begins his explanation, forgetting that his sister had no clue of his connection with the Northwest girl. “And yeah, I told you Sharpay was great. You just don’t have vision like I do. You should see her acting too - and I mean in like her real movie and on stage, not just our tape - she’s phenomenal.” Normally Phil would take the time to further brag about how he’d been right, to rub it in Lil’s face that he’d bagged a true superstar as an ex-wife, but continuing the story of how he ended up with a girlfriend tonight was more important. A rare occurrence. “Yeah, so before we went inside she told me she wanted to give us a try, that she was okay with the sex tapes and Nibs and everything. So I asked if she would be my girlfriend and she said yes. It was way easier than I thought it’d be, like I really thought starting a relationship would be way more complicated.” In truth, the beginning between himself and Wendy was indeed far more complicated than he realized, but Phil wasn’t aware of the majority of the internal conflict his now girlfriend had been dealing with the past few weeks.

It was admittedly kind of strange to see her brother succeed after years of being the more parentally disappointing twin. It seemed that Phil had finally slept with someone who could actually help him progress his career in a more lucrative direction than sex tapes, who had miraculously seen something in him that was worthy of giving a real, Hollywood shot. It was Lil's first time on an actual set (unless you considered Phil's bedroom one as well), and as she watched her twin act the most professionally she'd ever witnessed, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride in him.

Of course, that pride was singularly felt by Lil, who had borne witness to her brother's journey here. At least, that's what she'd thought, until a girl in blue plaid approached her to tell her otherwise. Lil had nearly caused a disturbance with the half snorted laugh she let out at the brunette's commentary, positive she had the wrong person in mind. "I'm sorry, you've got to have the wrong guy in mind. My brother's Phil, the football player." But, as who Lil recognized as the lead continued, maybe she'd blown off the possibility that this was no mistake prematurely. "But, yeah, it is. And Phil's, too. Are they always this quiet?"

closed starter for @lillillian location: on set of heathers

It was a bit surprising that Gwen was relaxed about having guests on set. As long as they didn't cause too much traffic, it was fine. Even Liv had invited her own family members every once in a while. She relished when her fellow coworkers took the same opportunity to bring friends. In this case she noticed someone on the sidelines that looked quite similar to the Phil Deville that was busy being filmed at the moment. Liv's recollection to his mentioning that he had a twin made it quite obvious who the guest was.

"Your brother," She initiated as she stepped closer to the other, trying not to make too much noise while the cameras were rolling. "He's doing a really good job out there. And he's been a fun person to have on set, so I feel like I can speak for everyone when I say that we're glad he's here." Her reassurance was the truth, she loved working with someone new to the scene. They often had an eagerness to them and a willingness to try out creative choices, which she really enjoying seeing from Phil. "He mentioned that this was his first time on an official movie set, does that mean it's your first time too?"

KAITLYN DEVER Makeup by Kara Yoshimoto Bua ahead of the No One Will Save You FYC Event on May 18th 2024

This was a level to which Lil didn't really want to stoop, to be honest, but desperate times called for desperate measures. The only surefire to way to give Dash a real taste of his own medicine was to be seen with another guy. It was low, but what he'd done to her was worse, so, she would take whatever leverage she could get. It helped Lil's case that her date was also a blond guy, around the same height as Dash, to really nail the coffin of her former relationship. There was no sure way to tell if he'd see them out, but she did know that he was known for a run on the boardwalk on the weekends, so she took her best shot at a run-in. Lil gave the stranger a wave and a smile as she approached him, a guy who seemed remarkably matched to her energy, as Angelica had promised. "That's me. Well, I'd hope not. I've known her forever." She gave him a shrug, looking around to see if she could spot the only other person she was here to see. "Uh, I can't say I've ever surfed before, and I'm kind of trying to make someone jealous, not make them think I'm even more pathetic, so, maybe not," she pointed out. "Food sounds good. It's on me, though, 'cause you're doing me a favor. Don't deny the free food, or else I'll have to tell Angelica on you."

who: @lillillian where: the boardwalk

When he agreed to do this Dodger hadn't really known what it all entailed. Angelica had given her the spiel but usually, when she talked he just nodded and pretended he was listening. That had backfired today while he stood on the boardwalk waiting for the friend she'd sent for him to hang out with. Apparently, there was some drama he hadn't bothered paying more attention to than he needed, it was her business and not his. "Hey," the blonde boy waved when he saw her approaching, recognizing her from the photo Angelica sent. "You must be Lil, I'm Dodger. I've heard a lot about you and not shitty things which is fuckin' nuts coming from Angelica," he laughed hoping that their conversation would come naturally. "She didn't uh, tell me what we're supposed to do so I figured I'd let you pick. We got food, games, we could even surf if you're feeling up to it." The boardwalk was their oyster and his only goal for their evening was to have fun.

Though Lil would rather die than let any of her players in on what was going on in her romantic life, she still let out a snort of a laugh at her brother's suggestion. It would be entertaining to see pre-teens kick the shit out of him, unfortunately for Dash, who could find himself on the other end of a cleat. "That would be entertaining," she agreed, "I'll keep it in mind in case he winds up saying something stupid when I see him back at school."

Despite needing her own period to wallow to be ready to hear her brother's good news, now that it was his turn to share, she couldn't hide her excitement for him. It had been a while coming, but it sounded like he'd finally settled into exactly what he'd wanted out of the night. "Phil! Oh, my god, what? She just got over all the tape shit, and now she's your girlfriend?" It was impressive, honestly, and the absolute last thing she'd expected to come out of his night. But, it was sweet to see him so excited about a girl who sounded like she might be sticking around for a while. "Also, yeah, I've listened to the album. It's, like, fucking incredible. I know I wasn't the biggest fan of marrying her, but I take it back now. She's a genius." It was all that had gotten Lil through the past few days, to be honest. "Okay, but back to Wendy. I need more details than that."

“That’s always an option, yeah,” he agrees easily, thinking that maybe Lil was right and just ignoring the boy and refusing to give him the time of day might be the best course to take. It would piss him off, for sure, and also give her the upperground. Taking the high road was always technically the right thing to do… Even if it was kind of the boring route. “My vote’s still fighting him. Maybe get one of your girls to kick him in the nuts.” The suggestion wasn’t serious but it brought a chuckle out of Phil at the thought.

While a stupid dopey grin grew on his face instantly at the question of how his night went, there was still a brief hesitation before he actually answers. It felt a bit wrong to start going on about how great of a time he’d had and how his love life was turning out amazing when he knows full well how shitty Lil’s night and romantic relationships were looking at this moment. But also… she was the one to ask and Phil knew she wouldn’t have unless she actually wanted to listen to his tales of the night. “It was awesome,” he finally admits, the grin somehow growing even bigger as he started to think about everything that had happened. “Sharpay performed and it was amazing. The album is really good, you should give it a listen sometime. But before that even happened, Wendy told me she wanted to give us a real try. So she’s kind of my girlfriend now.” It was a very simple and borderline dumb retelling of the night, but his excitement was clear through his tone and that was what really mattered.

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Allowing Dodger in meant that Dash was fully out, done with, forgotten. While it wasn't what Lil had grown to want for them, it was what she had to accept now, but at least she could work her way to getting some semblance of revenge in the meantime. It sounded like Angelica had already set the plan in motion, making sure that it wasn't going to hurt anyone besides the intended target. She nodded to herself, rationalizing the plan to herself while Angelica made more arguments in its favor. It would be kind of perfect--Dodger was her boyfriend's roommate, which meant that the four of them could go out, and it wouldn't even be considered strange. Having her friend there as a buffer, too, to make things less strange between herself and the practical stranger with whom she was trying to set her up, made Lil actually consider this seriously. "Okay," she said, accepting the idea with a more sure nod of her head, "let's do it." This wasn't going to hurt anyone in the end--not really, anyway, when Lil could admittedly use someone to talk sports with now that the only boy she had to discuss with was gone. "Yeah, you're--that's true. You're right. We can be friends, and then, we'll go out, the four of us. We can even do that when everyone's moved on and all this is over," she rationalized aloud, convincing herself that there ever would be a time when she was over Dash at last.

⋆⋆ ✶ ⋆⋆

Acceptance. For a second Angelica was worried they'd get there but knew Lil would come to the realization that he sucked. That was what she'd wanted to hear, even though it was hard to see her friend hurting. Empathy wasn't something she felt often yet heartbreak was a universal feeling. Everyone had felt betrayed by someone before, especially someone they should was different. "I'm sorry he turned out to be a douche," the blonde said offering a small smile and a sigh. Far too many men turned out to not be what they seemed but Dash had messed with the wrong girl. Angelica wouldn't let him get away with playing Lil like that, not without a little taste of what he was dishing out. In fact, the blonde thought she had been quite nice regarding how she was serving up their revenge. "Like duh, of course. He totally won't mind helping us out. Besides, it's not like Dash will know what you're doing hanging out with Dodger, and we use that to our advantage," she explained as if it were the most simple thing in the world. Sometimes she followed her plans better than anyone else. "Honestly, you two might actually get along pretty well and be good friends. He watches sports and... stuff. And who says you can't just have friends, right?" Angelica's eyebrows waggled in hopes her friend was picking up on what she wasn't explicitly saying.

Had she stuck with her own intuition and followed her previously held belief that Dash was a dishonest person, she wouldn't have found herself in the situation which she was currently in, one where she actually cared. Lil had the opportunity to walk away when she'd asked him, point blank, if he'd been playing her all along, and he'd sworn up and down that he hadn't. Instead of feeling guilt then, she was getting it in pain now. "I should've stuck to hating him," she stated, feeling confident in at least that assertion. Life would be so much easier now had she and Dash remained enemies. Lil's stomach twisted at the image of him sleeping with another girl now, especially after she'd made a point not to do that with him because they hadn't been dating. Even if it was speculation, Angelica was right about most things, especially when it came to feeling out a vibe between people. It was almost enough for Lil to not hear a single word of what else she had to say, until the name of one of the other blonde's friends was mentioned. "You want me to do exactly what Dash did to me to another guy, to get back at him? I can't do that, that's ... then I'm no better than him. I mean, if he's okay with being used, and paid in alcohol, maybe. But, I'm not going behind anyone's backs and having to admit that I was taking advantage of them, too," she insisted.

⋆⋆ ✶ ⋆⋆

Angelica could see it in her friend's face, the weight of what she said was hitting her harder than expected. Even she who was believed to be heartless knew that this wasn't an easy pill to swallow. No matter how she sliced it, the picture wouldn't be pretty but it was one she needed to see nonetheless. "Basically he was trying to seduce a soccer coach, you know like you, to distract her and get her team to lose. He thought it was the big-titted blonde bimbo which is like obviously not, she can't run with those things, I would know," she said nodding down to her own chest. It wasn't as sizeable but Angelica couldn't have been convinced of that. "He probably realized his plan wasn't going to work and had to double down on it. He's stupid enough to realize it isn't that easy to get my girl to lose a game." When the conversation turned back to the other woman she realized where her friend stood. Lil had actually liked him, probably still trying to find some sort of explanation for it all when there wasn't a good one. At least, not for him. "They were comfortable enough around each other. Their hands were just all over each other so even if they aren't dating, they're like for sure fucking," she said before trying to not come off as matter-of-factly. The delivery wasn't exactly her strong suit. "But I think you dish it right back to him. To start we use Dodger, right? He's harmless, easy to manipulate. Send you two out where he'd see you, get him all jealous, and we make him eat his words."

Lil was ready to come out with her guns blazing, just as she had in her questions before, but now, it sounded like he was actually trying to take accountability for his actions, for once. This was the most honesty she'd ever gotten from him, she thought, as she'd never once heard him admit that maybe he wasn't ready for something serious again. That simple admission would've kept Lil from walking out after meeting his mother, had he just owned up to it then, and maybe, they could've gone on like they had been without any other truths being revealed. But, it was too late for that now, and all she could do was take what he was willing to give now. "You could've just said that," she pointed out, "I would've understood." They both knew why he hadn't, though, and it was the ego that he was now swallowing to blame for why Dash hadn't owned up to his reluctance of a relationship sooner.

The offer to let Lil contact the blonde herself was about as much confirmation as she needed to know that he was serious. She hadn't thought Dash would cheat on her, especially not after he'd been on the receiving end before. "You called after you were with her," Lil said, more of a statement than a question to get her own timeline in place. There was something strangely satisfying about the thought of Dash out with another girl, and yet, at the end of the night, he still wanted to call her. Though there were no winners in the game he'd decided to play, it still felt to Lil like she'd gotten to earn back a piece of her dignity. "Did you leave the messages because you wanted to, or because you wanted to keep up the ... your plan?"

Telling the truth wasn’t always Dash’s strongest suit, but he was working on it, not only with Lil but with his family as well. As it turns out, keeping secrets from people he cared for wasn’t always the right move, and though he was always aware of this, it was still a matter of self-preservation that kept him from being truly honest with anyone. But had he known that the hard consequences were examples of what he could’ve avoided then he would’ve told the truth much sooner. He filled his mind with some semblance of hope that she could forgive him, even if she couldn’t do that right now, he figured giving his truth now could lead to the start of it, “At some point, I didn’t want to act like I wanted to get to know you, I actually did. You turned out to be this really great person who I wasn’t expecting to like but I did. And it wasn't that I didn't want to like you, it was that I didn't think I was ready for any type of real relationship after Tink.”

Shelly was the furthest thing from his mind when she was brought up as the next topic of their conversation, as evidenced by his slight pause at the mention of her name. The reason he knew her was a bit trickier to explain despite the simple answer, mainly because it didn’t look good for him to have seen someone so quickly after their break up. Had he done this after breaking things off with someone he didn’t have feelings for, he wouldn’t have had as much guilt but seeing as how Lil was someone he could only hope would take him back, it didn’t look great. “No, no, no, I met Shelly after we had that fight. I was upset when that happened and thought things were done for so I went out and ended up meeting her at some bar. It’s not serious at all between me and her, you can ask her yourself.”

Emotions weren’t exactly Phil’s strong suit, as Lil very well knew, but he was trying his best. At least he was in agreement that what Dash had done was completely fucked up, which meant that, unfortunately and probably, their friendship would be taking a drastic shift, too. “Okay,” she agreed, giving him a reluctant but firm nod at his suggestion. For how infrequently they discussed such emotionally charged situations like these, she had to admit, his advice was pretty sound. “I think I should go cold shoulder route. He hates not getting any attention.” Though handing it straight to him was tempting, playing the long game with Dash was the more strategic move.

Lil reclined back into the couch, still clutching her pillow as she leaned sideways into her brother’s bicep. Even sitting, he was still annoyingly too tall for comfort. “How was your night at the party, anyway?” she asked finally, knowing it was long overdue. With Phil returning that night with a giddy grin on his face, she could’ve only guessed what had happened. It wasn’t until now that she was ready to hear any of it, needing to get over her own heartbreak as much as she could before she could share in his joy.

For all he simply wanted to go into a confrontation with the blond boy guns blazing, Phil knew that likely wouldn’t get either of them anywhere. And it would only embarrass and piss off his sister, so it was best to just listen to what she said now. “No speaking on your behalf and no making shit up. I can do that,” he agreed easily. There was no reason for him to branch out past what was factual - Dash had given him more than enough to be upset about as it was. Both for what he’d done to Lilian, but also the lies and deception that had been made towards him as well.

As Lil grabbed a pillow to shove her face into, it was starting to feel like maybe he’d gotten in a bit too deep. Like maybe it should be Angelica or one of her other more emotional intune friends handling the situation right now. But Phil wasn’t about to just back out or leave his sister to deal with this alone. So it was only with a bit of awkwardness that he reached out and patted his hand on her back, a movement that hopefully gave her some reassurance or at least reminded her that he was there for her. “Well, I wouldn’t bring it up in front of the kids,” he starts to advise, a small snort of a laugh escaping him at the thought of that conversation going down right in front of all their players. “But yeah, basically. Or just give him the cold shoulder, wait for him to come to you. Then when he does, just tell him you know everything and you hate his guts. If he tries any shit after that, you can just walk away.” It seemed quite simple in Phil’s mind - but then again, he’s never been burned like this before so he didn’t fully understand just what was going through his sister’s mind or heart right now.

It was new, to hear Dash so easily take accountability for what he'd done. From the way their last conversation had ended, she wasn't sure what to expect out of this one. For a second, she considered seeing the black eye and tail between his legs enough of an apology to move on and get back to the way things had been. The moment was fleeting, though, the reminder that he hadn't actually wanted to be with her coming back now. For all he'd said on the voicemails, Lil still wasn't sure just how much truth there was to any of it. She'd struggled since finding out about his scheme, piecing together what she could distinguish as fact and fiction, but there was only one person who truly knew how much of any of it had been pretend.

"What do you mean, when you stopped?" she asked cautiously, having a feeling she already knew what it had meant, but wanting him to answer it himself. At some point, as she'd suspected, there had to be a switch from his plan to reality, though whether the line had been drawn on her own account, over the last point they'd argued, had been another question Lil had considered. The more she discovered about him, the less Lil felt like she knew Dash at all: the person she'd begun to care about had turned out to be more heartless than she ever thought he could be.

In this whole ordeal, Lil had decided she didn't want to hand him anything to have against her: she was going to remain clean, handling this as maturely as she could. Jumping to conclusions about her previous question would be directly against that agenda, so, she decided to move to a different point entirely, one that had resulted other points of confusion. "Who's the blonde girl? Does she know about all of this? Because, if you overlapped, I will find out, and I will tell her. She'd deserve to know."

Already, Lil was coming out the gate swinging with the mention of his voicemails. It was a sentiment that shared a similar kind of ferocity the two had held for each other before, but now feelings were actually involved so it stung more now than it ever would have a year ago. Dash wasn’t going to discredit her anger, she had every right to feel that way. He supposed if she was going to start somewhere it would be with a comment on his voicemails. At least it was some indication she knew about them, still, the stark reminder of his vulnerability left on the recording wasn’t the greatest feeling in the world considering he made it quite clear about how he felt and she hadn’t said anything about its existence until now. “I didn’t want to leave a voicemail for this, you deserve an apology in person. I think we can both agree on that.”

It was weirdly comforting knowing the punch wasn’t what she necessarily wanted, but it didn’t take away from the fact that he deserved it. Phil only did what Dash would’ve done in any case had he heard of anyone doing this to Violet. He probably would’ve done a lot more damage but instead, the Devilles were taking it easy on him. “Good to know, wish he would’ve saved it for after the parent-teacher conferences though.”

Having to admit his faults never exactly came easy to Dash, but since there were many issues to point out, he had a lot to work with and apologize for. “What I did was really stupid, even for me. I should’ve told you a lot sooner about what I was doing, especially when I stopped, you deserved the right to know.” He paused, knowing it was best that she knew exactly why he didn’t, even if it came out as selfish as it was. “And because I didn’t want to hurt you and I didn’t want you upset with me, I just kept it to myself even though I knew it wasn’t right.”

KAITLYN DEVER Michael Kors Spring 2024 RTW Show on September 11th 2023 in New York

It was as though her entire relationship with Dash replayed in slow motion, every detail coming back to her now in a cruel montage of red flags she could've avoided. Lil had pointedly asked him whether he had been messing with her, that much she could remember clearly now, and he'd told her that it had been real. Where the line had gotten blurred, she couldn't tell, but she had to wonder whether the voicemails he'd sent had meant anything to him at all now. A wave of nausea came over her at the thought of speaking to him ever again, suddenly losing any appetite she'd had for the smoothie her friend had brought her.

She nodded her head slowly, trying to wrap her head around the revelation Angelica had come to. How she'd figured this all out, Lil hadn't exactly paid attention, but the most important part was that someone had. "Okay, so, what exactly did your boyfriend say? He said that he was only doing it to get my team to lose? That's ... absurd, because we didn't, and then, we kept going out, anyway," she mused aloud, in a bit of a haze of confusion as she tried to make sense of it. Lil was all business for now: she would worry about feelings later. "Do you think he and the other girl are dating? Like, did it seem like they were, or they have been, or like it was in the first few dates?"

⋆⋆ ✶ ⋆⋆

It couldn't have possibly been the news that Lil was wanting or even expecting to hear but Angelica had to share. Once she'd been given the information it would've been worse keeping it to herself. Lil had been an actual friend, the blonde refused to let her get hurt any more than she already had. She knew it wouldn't land well no matter what way it was worded which was why she decided to keep it straightforward. A sigh came before her explanation, taking a sip of her own smoothie to prepare for the story. "Okay, so, I was at the party, right? And I was getting all the information that I could on them to find out that Scamp, you know, my boyfriend knows the guy. He heard it from Trash himself and told me it was a soccer coach, I connected the dots back to you. Total fucking pathetic, if you ask me,"the blonde said matter-of-factly. Whether or not Lil wanted to hear that, Angelica didn't feel bad for saying the truth. "I'm sorry he turned out to be an asshole, Lil." It was never easy to find out you didn't know someone the way you thought, Angelica's heart went out to her friend's she imaged just got broken.

Theoretically, Lil didn't want to hear a singular word of what Dash had to say. There was no excuse for what he'd tried to pull on her, with his intention to make her team fail and make a clean break before anything became too serious. To sit here, angry with him, was to admit that she actually cared about what he'd done and what she'd lost, which, to Lil, meant that he would come out the winner. But, as her brother had reminded her, they'd both apparently lost enough--Dash with the remnants of Phils damage still around his eye and Lil with a stubbornly broken heart. Perhaps it was the thought of having nothing more to lose, or the simple wonder of what he could possibly have to say that made her even consider giving him a chance. In short, curiosity was about to kill Lil, and place above her personal pride in giving up all she'd convinced herself not to do tonight in letting him speak.

She shifted in her seat to straighten her posture, though she kept her arms glued across her chest as Lil attempted to level herself as best she could against the much taller, standing Dash. "You couldn't just leave me a voicemail?" she retorted, knowing it was cruel, but feeling justified in returning just a bit of how much he'd hurt her. It was after she'd spoken that her eyes finally met his, a second after any immediate reaction that might make her regret it. "For the record, I didn't tell Phil to do anything--I actually asked him not to, because I didn't want to feel like I owed you anything." She still felt like she didn't, not even the chance to speak, but the more he stood there, about to burst with whatever bullshit he'd conjured, Lil felt like he was dangling his regret right over her head until he could finally drop it. "Fine, what?"

Fiddling with the tiny desk was the only thing Dash thought to do on the fly while the silence filled the room. He thought it could help break the tension, maybe even bring a small laugh out of Lil but instead, he became very aware of her diminishing patience for him. Which, at this point, he couldn’t blame her for. Being around Lil served as a brutal reminder of his lies and how badly they’d caught up with him. His plans, while abandoned, were still something he’d conceived and attempted to do. Not only that, but they were plans he’d hoped he would never have the choice to tell her about and that she would never discover said plans.

There had been attempts at finding the right time to try and talk with her before, or at least intended tries in his head were made, always swearing that that would be the day he would apologize but either she was hard to find, even if they did work in the same building, or she had simply made herself unavailable to talk. Regardless of how late it was that she was owed an apology, Dash figured now was as good a time as any to finally try in her presence. He took note of her threat and stood up immediately, hesitating on whether getting closer to her was the right move and wondering if she could stomach looking at him from a proximity. He’d taken a couple of light steps towards her, making sure to keep a distance, not only for her sake but also for his in case he was about to feel the physical wrath of the other Deville twin. “I want to say a couple of things while we’re here, if you can stand it.”

For all that Lil, Phil, and the rest of their friends had thought Angelica to be a bitch in their youth, she certainly had redeemed herself now. She'd never showed her cards when they were teenagers, but, now that they were adults, it was clear just how good. of a friend Angelica really was, and how much she actually cared about Lil. It was becoming more characteristic of her to look out for her like this, but coming over as soon as she'd woken up (albeit, still looking perfect) to check on Lil and update her in person meant more than the blonde would probably ever know.

Lil sipped on her gifted smoothie as she heard the faint playback of Dash's voice in the blonde's ear. She'd only gotten through the messages once herself, unable to bring herself to repeating them. But, if receiving them last night had been a shock, what Angelica revealed was even more jarring. "What? You--who told you this? Last night?" Lil sputtered, only able to manage the essentials before she found herself rendered speechless. Not only had what he'd said the night before been a lie, but so too had everything else before. Even when she'd been reluctant to follow her heart and trust his words that he swore he meant, they were all as untrue as she'd originally suspected. All the time they'd spent together, ending in one final blow, when all he'd actually ever wanted was to remain coworkers from the beginning. It all made sense now: the defense when he'd seen her with his mom, the reluctance to commit to anything, all because he hadn't meant for things to go this far.

⋆⋆ ✶ ⋆⋆

It wasn't a surprise that she'd been distraught after the news about Dash's date. That's why Angelica took it upon herself to make sure he never did it again. If she didn't show a man when he was being stupid then who would. As far as she was concerned she was a vigilante. The fact it was against someone she knew and cared about only made her more determined. After getting the other half of the story from Scamp, the blonde knew this Dash fellow needed to be taught a lesson, and who better to do it than her.

Even though she wasn't usually the nurturing type, something took over when she saw the state of her friend. Angelica was already moving the stray hairs from Lil's face when she handed over the phone. "Ew, he did what?" The girl snapped back, taking the device in her hand so that she could hear what stupid excuse he'd made. Angelica made sure a smoothie replaced its place in Lil's hand so that she'd at least try to eat something. Once they sat on the couch she turned on the messages so that they could listen to them together, her face scrunching more as he went on. "Wow, this man is really pathetic," she said rolling her eyes and holding the phone back out. "Because do you know what I found out? He's been playing you, the whole time, apparently trying to make your team lose. So he's an even bigger douchecanoe than I thought."

It had not been a good night for Lil, whatsoever. Had she not gotten three voicemails from Dash claiming he really did care, and a whole bunch of other bullshit she didn't entirely believe yet, after receiving the text from her friend that he was there with another girl, Lil was fairly certain the boy might've been dead by now. It was only the desperate calls just after midnight that left her feeling some semblance of forgiveness, despite still wanting to at least go and angrily kick his ass. But, she would first have to wait until she had all the information presented to her, and, thankfully, she had a spy on the inside of the party looking out for her.

This was probably the worst Angelica had ever seen her, still in her sweatpants from the night before that she hadn't bothered to change out of to sleep in. The smoothies in the blonde's hands would be the first thing she'd consumed since lunch yesterday, not having the appetite for dinner after receiving her text. "Thanks," she mumbled into Angelica's shoulder, giving her a sad smile as her friend seemed ready to get to business. "Did you talk to him last night, at all? He called me ... a few times. Three, actually," Lil admitted, handing over her phone as they sat down for evidence.

who: @lillillian where: lil's apartment

It was bright and early when Angelica showed up, two Mango Madness smoothies in hand. Last night brought her back onto the prowl and revenge was her favorite thing to have for breakfast after all. None of that made it easier watching how her friend showed up at the door. Angelica frowned the second she saw her, hustling inside to set down her things and provide a hug after seeing the state of Lil. She'd expected her to be upset but she hadn't even gotten out of her pajamas which meant something was actually wrong. There was still more information to give, Angelica wanting to soften the blow. "I got your favorite," she smiled once letting go of the girl and holding out the smoothie she'd brought. "Don't worry, I've got a plan and so much to tell you."