SEB: Yeah, meet you at the tap room?

MILES: i am rolling my eyes so hard, my optometrist just called to schedule an eye health exam. but yes, i do love you. sadly. ;P MILES: it's kind of a crazy story and i'd rather not tell you over text. are you free to meet for a drink? either at my place or a pub, idc.

"Yeah well, pretty sure our moms couldn't be more different," Sebastian didn't actually know very much about Thea's mother since she wasn't very forthcoming with the information but he imagined their relationship wasn't built on a solid foundation given what he did know about her. "Not in a good way for you. But for me? I think it's fun," And equally amusing to look at if he was being honest. Truth be told, Sebastian just approved of the obnoxious and it reminded him of the days he played concerts and the crowds dressed up in their most ridiculous looks. "I don't know, I kinda like Valentine's day. Just because I'm alone doesn't make me like it less," Sebastian said with the shrug of his shoulders. "Unfortunately no date, but the night's young so we'll see what happens."

"Yeah, obviously, it just wasn't the most enthusiastic response. I can't imagine going to an event like that with my mother. I imagine she'd make some kind of scene and I'd end up having to hold her hair by the end of the night," she said with a chuckle before taking a large enough gulp of her drink to forget all about her mother. "The ruffles were distracting and not in a good way. Honestly, imagine carrying that much fabric around for an entire night." She looked around the club, forced to admit that this was miles better than the stuffy gala. For once, she felt like she actually fit in here. "I think we should should cancel Valentine's Day. Why do we, as a society, continue to put ourselves through this? A third of us act like lovesick nerds and the rest just feel lonely." She glanced back at him. "No hot date?"

What’s something that they never seem to get tired of doing?

"Playing music for people. It's the best feeling in the world."

What’s their plan for surviving a zombie invasion?

"I plan on not surviving very long once the zombie invasion starts. I don't know about you but I don't wanna live in a world without running water or Netflix, sorry."

"Yeah, it would be," Sebastian repeated once more. It was common knowledge, but perhaps not to someone like Thea who lacked those parental figures in her life. Either way, Sebastian went to the gala because his mother asked him to and it was as simple as that. After all, he loved his mother and she was kind of all he had now. "Mostly all the ruffles, actually," Sebastian joked with a smirk. "But I think this, well, this is more my speed," He said, hands motioning to the general space around them to indicate the night club. After all, clubs like these had been his second home once upon a time. "Besides, much like everyone else here, I just didn't wanna be alone on Valentine's day."

Thea watched him as he reacted to her comment about his mother, not seeing the adoring smile she usually saw on other people's faces when they talked about their mother. Maybe he didn't have as good a relationship with her as she thought. "It'd be shitty of you to say no? That's not too convincing, just so you know," she pointed out, not wanting to pry anymore. He had gotten kind of touchy last time they talked about his mom. "What were you distracted by? The obnoxious display of wealth or all the fake smiling happening?"

Random Character Development Questions

If they had to pick a single word to describe this year so far, what would it be? Do they have something special that picks them up when they feel down? What is it? What’s the biggest wager they’ve ever made? What is the last thing that they totally overreacted to? What’s their opinion on naps? What do they find they spend a lot of time wondering about? What smell always brings back some type of memory? Do they have a bucket list? What are they currently juggling in their life? How difficult is it for them to try new things? What’s something that they believe that most other people don’t? Where was their secret hiding place as a child? What do they remember most about their first crush? Do they consider telling white lies to be okay? Is there anything that makes them far angrier than it should? What have they been thinking about lately that has kept them up at night? What is something that will instantly annoy them? What’s their plan for surviving a zombie invasion? What do they consider the best decision they’ve made thus far in their life? What’s most important to them about their work environment? What’s something that they never seem to get tired of doing? What’s their “famous person” story?

"Finally, someone who appreciates me," Sebastian said in a playful tone as a faint but genuine smile resurfaced. If he was being honest with himself, he knew he had far more flaws than Maggie probably even realized. After all, with a past riddled in addiction and bad behavior, Sebastian found that he spent a lot of his time coasting on charm and good looks alone. However, knowing those things would only last so long, Sebastian had been reflecting inward the last year and trying to fix some of his issues before they completely ruined him. At Maggie's feigned outrage, Sebastian reached out and let his hand slide around her waist to give her a gentle tug, if only to keep her there in front of him, lest she be tempted to run off due to their supposed incompatibility. "I don't know, I'm kinda hoping we don't find out now," It was mostly because he didn't want to ruin a good thing so soon. "Right? Teenagers are terrifying. They can really make or break you, and I don't scare easily but a sixteen year old girl listening to one of my songs and ripping it apart is the stuff of nightmares," he was over-exaggerating now but that was because it was semi-true. His band hadn't made music in almost a year and while Sebastian was trying to get back into the music industry, it was a bit intimidating doing it on his own without drugs as a crutch to lean on. "I think even if I was a cashier at Target my mom would be proud. She's just that kind of person," Perhaps it was the teacher in her, or maybe it was because Sebastian had been their miracle child after years or trying, either way, he knew it wouldn't have mattered to his mother. It was a nice quality to have and it sometimes made up for some of his mother's more overbearing qualities, but it was a gentle reminder that someone would always be in his corner no matter what. "Did you think it was a line I just used to pick up pretty girls?" Sebastian asked with the quirk of his brow and an amused expression, "Good to know it works, but still."

"Oh, trust me—I do," she insisted, and found that a significant portion of her actually meant it; Sebastian's company was a treat, especially right now, when she'd spent most of the night schmoozing strangers. Danny, as always, was a loyal companion, but she didn't expect him to actually enjoy himself, and she was happy when he found interest in a beautiful young woman and headed off to "chat." She was only so glad she had found Sebastian, then. "Oh! Well, excuse me!" She countered, smile wide as he made a show of turning away from her and then back to face her. "Don't worry, if we're not, we'll find out soon enough," she reassured him, half-jokingly. They were certainly compatible in the departments that counted to Maggie, which was all that mattered. She smiled as he spoke of his mother, then, bemused and slightly touched that he was letting her in on that aspect of his life. "Oh, no, you're totally right to be afraid of teenagers. They're the scariest people on the planet. They're so mean," she stressed, dismayed. The amount of fifteen-year-olds she'd seen bully their moms in her line of work was truly astounding. "But you can't blame your mom for being proud. It's no small feat, being an actually successful musician. I'm not going to lie — when you told me that, I didn't belive you."

matthew daddario: the ultimate troll

SEB: You love me 😗 there is everything wrong with liking whipped cream favored vodka, if that makes me a hater then so be it SEB: Alright then what else will we be celebrating?

MILES: just so you know, i hate you. lmao. there is nothing wrong with liking whipped cream flavoured vodka! you are giving hater behaviour right now and i don't like it. MILES: oh, best believe we will be celebrating, but not because of the chokehold eighteen year old girl vodka culture has on me.

SEB: yeah man I'm free, but if this life update is that you finally gave up flavored vodka then it's about fucking time and we need to celebrate

MILES: yeah, yeah, i'm good! sorry, i didn't mean for that to sound quite so ominous. i just have a big, exciting life update for ya that's kinda still got me in shock. but in a good way. are you free to meet for a drink?

"Well, I sure hope not," Sebastian said with a small laugh as he shook his head. Truth be told, he was just glad to be away from the happenings at the Franklin Institute and unwinding. Most of the time he felt like he had to be on his best behavior when his mother was around, but when she wasn't, then that's when the real fun could start. "Yeah well, she's kinda all I got now so it'd be shitty of me to say no," he shrugged his shoulders, not that he had been particularly close to his father but he could certainly tell that his mother leaned on him more ever since his father's passing. "I don't know, I kinda dig the ruffles. But I'm easily distracted so maybe that's why."

"Fair enough. I wasn't picking up much of a romantic vibe anyways, which makes sense now," she said before taking a sip of her drink. "I think I underestimated how much of a momma's boy you are. Again, no judgement. I think it's nice. She must be a good mom." If he was willing to put up with a stuffy gala on Valentine's Day for her, he must really love her. Maybe that was the norm, but she couldn't relate. "They aren't, but I do like seeing people all dressed-up. This guy asked me out and I had no other plans, so... Didn't see the harm in going. I did see some pretty interesting fashion choices. People really like ruffles."

"Oh really? No plans the rest of the night bit doting on me then, huh," Sebastian said with a grin, his words coming out playful. After all, his friendship with James had never been one with chasing and he didn't think it'd start now, however, he did enjoy her company so perhaps the smile that soon followed was more genuine then he intended. "No I'm pretty sure that's the one and only reason," He was just teasing now. Obviously there were probably a hundred reasons why things wouldn't work out between them if only because Sebastian had his own issues and he was sure James wasn't perfect either so perhaps it was better this way. "Yeah well, getting comfortable isn't always a bad thing you know," He added with the shrug of his shoulders. Though he could agree with James about the unrealistic expectations that romance books gave to people about dating and relationships, Sebastian also thought the books in book club were kind of hilarious as the only male perspective in the club. "You were almost in a thruple?" Sebastian repeated with some surprise as he tried not to look so amused since it probably wasn't as fun as it sounded. "Well, considering you're single, I'd say you came out of it mostly unscathed, right?"

"I'm not going anywhere." She told him with a smirk because the night was young and she didn't have nearly enough alcohol in her tonight to ignore the leaky faucet that was keeping her up at night for the past week. She laughs at his explanation as to why it would never work out between them while her hands move to her hips. "There might be more reasons than one." A lot of it having to do with her more than anything. He was attractive but she wasn't an easy person to be with by any means. The idea of a book club was always ludicrous to her but only because she knew herself better than that and she would be the first to flake the meeting. But he was right about Colleen Hoover from what she'd heard on tik tok. "The girlies are obsessed but they're probably just in need of some good romance and most people know that isn't what keeps you going. People are usually heavy on the dates and flowers until they get comfortable. But you'll never see that in a book." Fifty shades was at least something that had kept up throughout the books. "Ended up sleeping with a married man until his wife tried to sneak her way into a three person thing. I had to leave after that."

SEB: What's up? You good?

TEXT TO: @sebcox

MILES: BRUUUUHHH. imma need you to text me immediately because omfg.

"Care?" Sebastian repeated with a humorous scoff before shaking his head at the accusation, "I wouldn't go that far, after all, we just met. But I guess time will tell," Truth be told, Sebastian was just out having fun with his friends and if that included some harmless flirting with a pretty girl at the bar then he'd be all the happier for it. "I'd be happy to, nothin' better than some sweet revenge. How many exes do you have? Might need some advice and since they've got a handbook on what not to do..." He joked with a cheeky grin. Eden's brazen comment had caught Sebastian off guard just a bit, mostly because he hadn't been expecting such a forward remark, but just because he didn't see it coming didn't mean he didn't like it. "Alright, I guess we can cut the bullshit and get to the good part then." With that, Sebastian took a hefty sip from his glass as he pondered her question for a moment. He wasn't quite sure what to tell her. He had spent most of his years avoiding questions like that but that had usually been from people in the media, not random women at bars. "I'm in a band," He said casually with an easy shrug of his shoulders.

&

Eden angled her head down, chin slightly tucked as she humored the man. “And you’re, what, the type that cares?” she played along, figuring she had nothing to lose by indulging a handsome stranger who seemed somewhat eager to chat. Eden wouldn’t call herself a flirt – she was honestly a bit too cold and callous for that to be true – but she did enjoy playing the game when she could get a drink or two out of it (or even a good lay if she wasn’t totally turned off by the end of the night). “You think? Wow, why don’t you call up one of my exes and tell ‘em that for me? Might make them rethink their choices.” She joked pointedly with a wink, “Maybe you can buy that sad fucker a drink for supplying you with that luck. I didn’t bitch about him, you wouldn’t be over here at all.” The woman reached out, pulling the glass closer to her and bringing it to her lips for a quick sip. “Oh, fuck off with that already. I get it, you think I’m hot. I think you are, too – for now – so let’s not be total bores about this, yeah?” Eden arched a brow, twirling the glass with her wrist as she surveyed him. “Tell me something interesting about yourself.”

"You don't? Alright then in that case it means I'm a catch. Total package. You should consider yourself lucky," Sebastian joked with just enough confidence to be endearing as he laughed it off. Truth be told, he didn't actually believe in astrology despite some of its accuracy, but California had certainly lead him to individuals who thought that mattered when meeting new people and perhaps it rubbed off on him a little. "You're a gemini..." He repeated, eyes squinting for a moment before he shook his head, "Yeah, that's not gonna work for me," He added and pretended to turn around and leave but circled right back to her. "I'm just gonna go out on a limb and say we're pretty compatible," He didn't need the stars to tell him that known truth. Thankfully Sebastian had been lucky enough to skip a lot of galas and parties like this one but it seemed Maggie hadn't been as fortunate on that front. Tonight, however, it didn't seem all that bad to him, thought that was entirely due to her company. "Alright so this is the fun crew right here. Guess we gotta band together and get up to some trouble," To Sebastian, fun and trouble had always been synonymous and tonight was no different. "You know, it's kind of embarrassing how proud she is. She plays my music for her students, and I'm not the kinda guy who gets nervous about people listening to my music, but those teenagers really do scare me sometimes," Sebastian said with a chuckle as he gave a bashful shake of his head. After all, it was silly, but he did appreciate how supportive his mother always was despite anyone else's opinions on his career.

Maggie lifted her brows teasingly, as if inviting Sebastian to argue her point. When he confirmed her suspicion—and invited more by way of his dropping his astrological sign—Maggie couldn't help but chortle goodnaturedly. "I have no idea what that means," she admitted, slightly sheepish. "But I'm a Gemini, for whatever that's worth," she offered. Each new interaction with Sebastian revealed something interesting about him, and Maggie found she was eager to uncover more information, and unlock more history. She rolled her eyes at his remark about her attractiveness, though she'd be lying if she said it wasn't somewhat effective; a small blush tinged the apples of her cheeks. She was eager to change the subject. "I definitely...knew how to have fun," she teased, eyes narrowing slightly. "It gets boring when you're one of, like, five kids at one of these things. You've gotta band together. Like us, right now," she offered, taking a sip of her champagne. She swallowed, listening to Sebastian eagerly, and smiled. "That's really nice, actually. I'm sure your mom appreciates having you on her arm." She didn't feel the need to dig into details about why it was Sebastian on his mothers' arm and not, say, his dad—she was deft enough to assume there was certainly a reason, and if he hadn't told her yet, it wasn't her business to be concerned with. "She must be so proud of you—a handsome rock star son," Maggie teased, smirking.

"Yeah well, cougars are great but I tend to stick with people my own age," Sebastian said before confirming one of her suspicions, "That was my mom." As he spoke, he loosened the tie around his neck that his mother had picked out for him and called the bartender over to bring him a drink. "Love my mom but these galas are torture. What about you? Didn't really see that place as your vibe, unless you were there to make fun of the suits, because then I definitely get it."

Thea was at the bar with some friends, sipping on whatever sweet cocktail the bartender had made her, when she suddenly lost her friends' attention to someone that was standing behind her. She wasn't too surprised to find Seb standing there, looking all dapper and charming. She could see what had captivated her friends so much. "You could say that," she said with a shrug. She did, technically, have a date to the previous event. Danny was nice, but she wasn't sure it was going anywhere. "What about you? I thought I saw you earlier with a somewhat older woman. Either you're into cougars or you brought your mother. No judgment, I respect either scenario. Either way, you looked pretty busy."

"In my defense, I'm pretty sure everything on these walls aren't secure enough and I'd rather not break any bones tonight," Sebastian defended half-heartedly through a fit of laughter. It made him consider it for his encore but the thought soon got sifted to the back of his mind as he found solace in his drink. Picking it off the counter, Sebastian took a hefty sip and nodded along with his friend in agreement. "You know what, next time I'll go the full Miley, how about that?"

Taking a seat, Sebastian was eager to see what Lucky was going to bring to the stage. Once the Bon Jovi song began, Sebastian recognized it immediately and couldn't even hide the wide grin that spread across his features at the realization. Giving Lucky's performance a few whistles, Sebastian had to admit the guy could give a show. As the woman who seemed a little too eager to get to her song rushed Lucky, Sebastian gave her a side eye before his attention returned to his friend.

"If we do this again I'm gonna have to request a duet. I'm thinkin' Queen," Sebastian suggested, wrapping an arm around Lucky's shoulders. Finishing what was left in his glass, Sebastian set it on top of the bar and nodded, "I absolutely want another drink from Mr. Bon Jovi himself," He continued to joked with a chuckle, "Seriously, you're not bad. Maybe when I hit the road again you can come with."

"You made no effort at all to swing from any ceiling attachments." Lucky noted to him, which was about the harshest criticism he could offer. Sebastian had a good voice, there was no getting around that.

"I know that's usually more associated with the Chandelier by Sia kind of vibe, but I think everyone in here including me would have appreciated the commitment if you had of gone full tilt homage to the video."

He lets go of his one man quest seeking justice for Miley Cyrus and her video as he steps up to the stage, mic in hand, still a little indecisive on his song of choice. The obvious one felt too obvious, even if it was a crowd pleasure -- or at least, Lucky deemed it as such every time he crooned the familiar lyrics.

On a whim, he switches courses entirely, opting for a Bon Jovi classic.

He gives it his all by the second verse, as if he knew Tommy personally and had a vested interest in his six string, but really it was more down to the vodka in his system taking over the driving seat.

Lucky parts with the mic after, a middle aged brunette practically rushing him off the stage so she could desecrate Whitney Houston's memory with her version of How Will I Know.

"If we do this again I need to remember to go first. Following on from an actual rockstar is just setting myself up for disappointment." Despite how it could have been taken, his words were entirely lighthearted as he shared them next to Seb. "You want a drink?"