their shared apartment — @sezin-aldemir

"We're a team, right? You and me?" His heart was thrumming wildly against his chest and pure adrenaline coursed through his veins. Between the start of the school year and Sey's busy schedule, they hadn't caught up in what felt like half of a lifetime. "Like when shit gets crazy, we have each other's back. I help you and you help me." He didn't bother keeping his voice down considering Remmy had opted to stay with a friend for the evening. Which, one look down at his watch was a reminder that he'd have to go get her in a couple of hours. "Melina is still with him. You know, the dude that was supposed to be my best friend? And I think the universe is feeling feisty, 'cause Lia's here too. Like full time here. Am I being punk'd right now?"

luther's rare and well done — @melinaxnacar

Sully had stared at the Facebook message for nearly half an hour before he'd responded with an angry bubble in his chest. His own best friend, well, the man he'd once considered a best friend, couldn't even face him? He wondered if it was the guilt of being a snake, or if the man had no interest in seeing Sully again after the way things had ended. In all fairness, the only person in the wrong had been the man who'd played both sides and had come out the winner. In the end, Sully supposed he owed the man a congratulations. The booth he'd been guided to was in the corner. Thankfully, the buzzing around him meant that no one would overhear anything the two of them said. Not that he had plans of saying much. A few minutes before their meet time, he saw her coming nearer, a small box in her hands of the stuff he assumed was what the other wanted to return. "Let me guess... he was busy, right? Or did he decide he didn't want a friendly reunion after all?" She easily could have dropped it and ran, but selfishly, he wanted her to stay. It wasn't her fault, but the fact that she'd chose to stay with that asshole... it didn't matter. "Look, if you have time and it's not too awkward... do you wanna get some food? If I remember correctly, you always liked this place."

His worst enemy could have invited him to the arcade and he would have said yes in an instant. So, when Emil brought up the idea, Sully swiped his fanny pack and left no room for hesitation along the way. "Man, you cheated," he called out as he collection the puck from the mouth of the table. The mention of a wager left the teacher's grin growing crooked. "Appealing to my competitive nature and my sweet tooth? That's dirty, E. Fine. Loser buys milkshakes and fries. Unless that's too much of a bet for you?"

Who | @sullivanreed Where | Pinewood Social House

If having Isabel had taught him anything in life, it was that it was okay to be silly. That there was nothing wrong with letting loose and tapping into his inner child every now and then. Which was in part how he'd roped Sully into an afternoon at the arcade, testing if he was still a skee-ball god. After earning more then enough tickets to get a stuffed animal for his daughter next time he had visitation, Emil had challenged his partner-in-crime for the day to an air hockey match. "Yes!" He'd cheer, scoring the first goal of the game off his opponent. "We should wager something," Emil suggested a few tense moments of them bent over the table later. "Loser buys milkshakes?" He'd waggle his brows, unable to help the old competitive itch.

Competitive energy ran through his veins, but he assumed it was safe to believe that she already knew that, seeing as they'd taken on so many trivia nights in one New York bar or another to last them a lifetime. Usually, they stumbled out with a happy grin on their mouths after a win, but too many times had they left with the male jokingly calling the other teams a bunch of cheaters. "I don't know, you tell me? Do I lose often?" He tossed one more look back at the men who were now running the ball towards the makeshift endzone. At least they were no longer gawking at the woman before him. He tilted his chin upwards in acknowledgement, but he wasn't all that surprised to hear that she'd kept her career rolling and was even less surprised to hear that they'd allowed her such a luxury. "Look at you, making big things happen." He wanted to mention the fact that he'd visited her mother more often than not, but he bit his tongue. If her mother hadn't mentioned it, then why would he? "Lucky for you, I'm a pretty good teacher. If you want, I can give you a few lessons as a reminder." Driving in New York wasn't the only nightmare one faced with a car, but parking? That was a different monster entirely. Even if one could navigate every borough, when it came to park, that was where the real challenge seemed to come into play. "At least you don't have to fight for parking or touch bumpers with someone just to fit in a space, right? That's a plus." By comparison, driving in Briar Ridge and even Charleston would be a breeze. Sully loved his career and not solely because of the reason he'd given. He loved being able to help those in need, loved giving guidance and being a support to those needing a shoulder to lean on. Helping was a natural part of his being, but he couldn't forget that the very fact had cost him the woman before him. Or his inability to balance said need to help had been a determining factor to say the least. "Wow, you're really out here trying to ruin me," he countered with a quiet sound of laughter of his own. Her smile was enough to make his own double in size. "Yeah... hate to break it to you, but you're not great it."

Her eyes stayed on his face for a second as he looked over to the group he'd been playing with and it was like she could feel her heart skip a beat. From the first time she had met him, not far from where they were standing, Sullivan had always had the same effect on her. She had seen him on the beach that first time and he had been so handsome, it had almost taken her breath away. She had never imagined that her beach crush would develop into what they had become, but before she dragged her eyes over to Kyle, she could feel those butterflies in her stomach, just as she had all those years ago. Smirking a little, Lia tried not to laugh again. "Yeah, it seems that way, were you winning at least?"

Her mother had asked about Sully every so often, even after knowing they had broken up. To her mum, Sully had been everything she had ever wanted in a son in law and despite all the hurt that had transpired between the two, she had never stopped asking if Lia had heard from him, even years later. "I'll have to go back for big work meetings and things like that, so I'm sure she'll tag along when she can. I'll have to tell her that I ran into you." She probably wouldn't, so she didn't get the Spanish inquisition, but the sentiment was there.

Crossing her arms loosely over her chest, Lia smiled, her face showing her surprise at the offer. "I might need some, honestly. I've only gone into the office a few times and most of those I didn't even drive, I just need to refresh my memory I think. There was never much need to drive in New York." Memories flashed through her mind of the two of them walking along the river, catching cabs to her apartment after nights out, even riding bikes through the park. God, how different could they have been if he had just moved when he said he would?

"Well that must help when they're being unruly." Laughing quietly, Lia worked to keep the smile on her face. She may have brought them up, but she couldn't help the niggle in her mind at the thought of Sully's best friend. She had been in awe of his commitment to help Sey after the tragedy in her life, but the flip side of that was Lia had felt like third best ever since. "Good. I'm sure you're not that embarrassing, just make sure you play old music really loud, dress like MC Hammer whenever you go out with her, you know, that's the trend these days." Smirking again, Lia shrugged her shoulder before finally giving in and giggling. "I'm still a bad liar apparently."

His usual partner in crime was working another shift, leaving him to his own devices while Remmy slept over at a friend's house. Turns out, Sully knew nothing about spending time on his own and after fifteen minutes of staring at the ceiling and wondering what there was to do, he'd grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys and made a beeline for the brewery. "What kind of savage do you take me for? I wasn't gonna come tonight. My other half is working and uh, didn't wanna face it alone. You got a team or are you trying to join the winning one?" He and Sey were untouchable when it came to answering questions about random shit, but he'd trade out his partner for one night if it still meant getting a satisfactory win. "I'll even buy the next round if you say yes."

— SETTING: firefly brewery ; thursday evening — AVAILABILITY: closed starter for SULLIVAN REED | ( @sullivanreed )

Leave it to Kiraz to join people in Trivia Thursdays whenever she felt like acting smarter than the regular Joe. Sure, she knew she was smarter than most in this place, but it was nice to confirm her suspicious. A nice stroke to her already inflated ego. With a pint of IPA in hands, she looked around the room and almost felt like forfeiting this time, because the crowd of a bunch of twenty-year olds was making her resting bitch face even more evident than it always had been, especially since they were so.damn.loud. It almost reminded her of some classes she'd given to college freshmen. Yikes.

Her gaze landed on Sully, which prompted the brunette to walk his way and pull the empty chair beside him so she could sit down. "Are you here for Trivia Thursdays or should I start hating you, too?"

Playing it cool had never been one of his strong suits. He supposed it was why Remmy often called him embarrassing or why she couldn't stand for him to be around whenever her friends were. Skin burned where the leather had collided and he wondered (only briefly) if the seams had been imprinted into his cheek. If they had, at least she wouldn't be the only one people were looking at. Slowly, he turned to catch a glimpse of the green shorts in question, the man's half open mouth and look of surprise confirming her suspicion. "Fuckin' Kyle. The guy has the aim of a three year old." His gaze lingered, but inevitably circled back to the woman he hadn't expected to see again so soon and definitely not in a bikini that left little to the imagination. For a moment, he wondered if her mother had mentioned all the help he'd given over the years of being back in Briar Ridge and the family dinners he'd crashed (per her invite) and all the times she'd asked him about the woman before him. "I think you two will figure out some solid excuse to go back sometime. It's New York, right?" He'd quite liked the city himself, so much, in fact, that he'd even made a plan to move there to decrease the distance between them. Life had a way of changing one's plans, but the intention had always been to end up under the same roof as the woman before him. Just... time wasn't in their favor and the distance hadn't been either. He offered a quiet hum of laughter in response to the mention of driving again."If you need someone to give you lessons, I volunteer, I'll need practice for when she who shall not be named is old enough," he teased, though immediately regretted the joke. Was it too soon? Did she blame him for how things had ended and how off balance he'd been? In a moment of panic, Sully cleared his throat and a wave of relief washed over him as she asked the big question that shouldn't have been all that surprising. "It's pretty cool, yeah. I get to throw dodgeballs at kids and get paid for it." A joke to break up the nervous jitters that had settled in his stomach at the mention of Sey and Remmy. "They're good. Sey is kicking ass at work and Remmy is growing up fast. She's too cool for us now. Apparently I can be embarrassing? Didn't realize I was that old, but I guess so."

Her lips twitched a little as she fought to suppress her smile, deciding not to notice and keep quiet about what looked like a pink mark on his face from the impact of the ball. It was the equivalent of her falling flat on her face in front of him and there was a part of her that felt sorry that this was how they were reunited. "Good, I'm glad." Nodding, she held her hands together behind her back as she felt the sudden urge to go over and stroke her fingers over the mark, something she would've done only a couple of years earlier. "Just in case, I'm pretty sure it was the guy with green shorts on."

Her eyebrows rose slightly at the turn in the conversation and she couldn't deny that little throb in her chest. Long gone were the days that they would talk about anything and everything, now they were talking about Amazon shipping options. She had missed so much about Sully after they had broken up and this only highlighted just how different things were since the last time they had been in each other's presence. "Sure did, can't be a millennial without it, right?" Squeezing her hands together before she dropped them from behind her back, Lia gently shrugged one shoulder. "Yeah, they're happy. I think Mom misses the excuse for Manhattan trips but it's good to be back together."

For the first time, Lia felt her confidence begin to falter in front of him and although the smile stayed on her face, she could feel the emotions rising inside of her. Seeing Sullivan again brought back all kind of memories, the good, the great and of crying in the toilet stall of the venue she'd chosen for her birthday that he didn't show up for. "Driving to work is a new experience, but New York, well, it lost it's magic for me really. It didn't feel right anymore." Maybe that had coincided with their break up, but that she'd remain quiet about. "My lease was up and it just felt right to come back." She had refrained from asking about him whenever she spoke to her family or friends but hearing that he was doing well settled something inside her that she didn't realise she'd been carrying. "That's amazing, Sully, congratulations. Do you enjoy it? How're Sey and Remmy?"

What could have been worse than awkwardly stumbling over his words? Getting hit with a football and wondering if the weavings of the lacing had imprinted into his cheek. He ignored the sting for the sake of seeing a smile (though poorly hidden behind her hands) pull on her mouth. "No, I'm good. Just great. Didn't even feel it," he lied as he slowly lifted a hand to tap against his jawline as if it were nothing more than a light touch. He'd have to remember which asshole had tossed it so carelessly at him, but truth be told, he was almost certain that the only thing he'd recall from this moment was the bikini that everyone else had noticed too. "Hope you got that Prime shipping. Can't really beat it." Why the hell had he said that? It was lame, though, according to his students, that was pretty much on brand for the man who'd once been the coolest guy in any room. He'd been ready to offer a line of recovery when her words took him by surprise once more. What he'd assumed was nothing more than a visit... wasn't? He wondered if this was how Melina had felt when he'd said the same thing. "Moved back? I mean, I bet your family is happy to have you back, huh?" He hadn't remembered her mother mentioning anything about it, but in all fairness, it'd been awhile since she'd called him over to help with anything. Seeing as their relationship had been taken from state to state, he'd nearly forgotten the fact that she'd called Briar Ridge home too. If only she'd gotten that notion a couple of years earlier. "Well, welcome home and good luck with that afternoon traffic, but hey. I bet it's nothing like New York." If anything, it was probably a relief to be away from the city and back into a place that wasn't even a quarter of it's size. "Me? I'm good. You know, doing great. I still teach physical education and health at the high school. Even scored a job as the assistant football coach too. Living the dream and all that fun stuff."

Lia knew that she would eventually run into him again now they both lived in the same small town. It was surprising really that they had gone over six months without running into each other and by the look on his face, it was really was a surprise to see her again. Gossip spread like wildfire in Briar Ridge and it was almost impossible to believe that news hadn't gotten around and back to him that she was back in town, but as he stood statue still, she was sure the impossible had happened. She gasped as the football smacked into his face, her jaw dropping as she looked from him to the person who had thrown the ball. As she spotted his amused face, Lia pressed her lips together, placing a hand over her mouth as she tried not to laugh. "You okay?"

Glancing down at herself, she nodded, a blush taking hold of her cheeks. He had seen her in bikinis before, of course and even though it wasn't a bad thing to be wearing to run into your ex, she wouldn't have minded an extra layer. "Thanks, amazing what you can find on Amazon, right?" She felt the awkwardness, an air that could only be created between two people who were basically strangers, but had once been so intrinsic in each other's lives. "Oh, right, uh.. yeah, a pretty long one. I actually moved back, I've been back a few months now." There had been a point, when she was unpacking her moving boxes, that she had thought about texting him to let him know she was back, but after years of complete silence, she couldn't quite muster up the strength.

Looking at him now, she realised just how much she had missed him and in the back of her mind, there was that little twinge of regret. How different could their lives have been in this moment if she had just answered one of those phone calls. "It just wasn't giving me anything anymore, so I transferred to the Charleston office so I could move back home." Her fingers tangled together as she played with them, anything to try and dispel some of her nerves at seeing him again. Had he always been just that handsome?

"How is everything? How have you been?"

After embarrassing Remmy for what felt like the hundredth time in a matter of a few hours, Sully had taken his leave in favor of a beachfront football game. It was far from the field he practiced on with the high school, but his natural athleticism had carried him far. He'd scored two touchdowns (of the team's three in total) and had only turned to see what one of the guy's couldn't take their eyes off of. "Come on, man. The game's over here," he called out, but as he turned, a breath hitched in his throat and suddenly, he couldn't have cared less about who won. Surprise. He wasn't sure which part had caught him off guard the most; the fact that she was standing there before him, or the fact that she was standing there before him in a bikini that highlighted every inch of her frame and in the spirit of the holidays in the bitter August heat. He'd started to say something, but was silenced by the feeling of leather colliding with his jaw, following by a loud sound of gasps and laughter. "Son of a bitch," he exhaled as he rubbed at his jawline and turned towards the group with a scowl. Knowing better, a teammate came to collection and tapped him faithfully on the shoulder before returning back to the game that would continue on without him. "Nice bikini." What else was he supposed to say? Good to see you again? Do you still hate me for how things ended? Can we talk? Nothing seemed good enough to say aloud, but anything seemed better than the half assed (but very genuine) compliment he'd tossed her way. "Need a break from The Big Apple?"

Location: Paradise Point Beach Starter for: @sullivanreed

"It might not be ridiculous, but do you know how hard it is to find a Christmas bikini at all in August? Let alone a funny one." It had been a long time since Lia had been in town for the Santa on the Sands event and up until she had seen a poster for it a couple of weeks ago, she had completely forgotten about the swimsuit competition. She had managed to find a Santa bikini in time, but compared to the mankinis and strategically placed snowman carrot noses, she was woefully underdressed.

"I'm going to get a drink, I'm dangerously not used to this southern heat." Squeezing her friend's hand before walking off to the closest bar station, Lia allowed herself a little bit of people watching as she walked along the beach. The event captured everything she loved about Briar Ridge, it was all for the community and everyone was out to have fun. If she was working, she'd have made a note that it was a great advert for the town.

Strolling along the sand, she smiled as she spotted the mini football game going on. If she had been more appropriately dressed, she might have even joined in. One of the men, one with her back to her had caught her interest and she couldn't shake the feeling that she knew who it was, even without him turning around. As he did turn, her breath caught in her throat, her mouth suddenly going completely dry. As their eyes locked, Lia tried to compose her face. She hadn't seen Sully for years, years she had spent trying to forget about what they had shared and she hadn't told him she was moving home, but there he was. And she was in a damn Santa bikini. "Surprise.."

Wasn't it obvious? He was enjoying (or trying to) the karaoke night like everyone else in the bar. He watched as she stumbled over he words, causing his heart to flutter with every second that passed between them. Where the hell was Sey or Callum when he needed an easy out? "Just uh, enjoying the music." It was the lamest answer he could have offered, but his heart thundered too loudly for him to think straight. "Where's Justin?" Even mentioning the man by name he'd once considered his best friend made his stomach twist in knots.

"S-Sully," she stared at him, standing in front of her. The last time she saw him? Melina almost couldn't remember because of her efforts to block out all the pain that came with it. "I -no, I'm," she shook her head, lifting hand to wipe the tears at the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. "I'm okay," she was lying as her own voice cracked as she spoke the words. "uhm, wh-what are you doing here?" There was a time that she had wanted nothing more for than him to make his reappearance and now, here he was standing right in front of her.

He knew where it had been going from the moment he stepped in Cal's reach and under the mistletoe. Winning was winning and seeing as Sully was comfortable with every part of himself, he didn't mind the gentle peck from the other. "You call that a kiss? Damn, Cal. That was weak," he teased, grin wide as he shot a look of playful doubt towards the other. Shaking his head, Sully rolled his eyes and nudged the other's shoulder. "What? You gotta be a little tipsy to smooch on me? Am I not smoochable, Flynn?" He could tease all night, but he silenced himself with a long pull from his drink. At least they one box closer to calling bingo and beating everyone else looking to do the same.

Most would say there wasn't much bad about Callum, as he was a pretty solid guy, but they clearly didn't know him well. He was competitive to a fault, and no matter how crap the prize was, his Irish pride was on the line. That meant drastic measures. "I knew you would support me on this, man!" Callum slapped Sully's shoulder, then pulled him in as if to whisper tactics, then with both hands on Sully's shoulder he pulled him in for the quickest of pecks. "There, task two is complete, handsome," he teased with a chuckle. It was totally playful and to wind Sully up, plus it ticked the box they needed, so it was a win win. Besides, they were both close enough for Sully to know it wasn't meant in a weird way, just drunk Callum way. "I might have had some drinks before this... so... blame the whiskey," he then added before Sully could beat the shite out of him.

He wasn't much of a drinker anymore, but he enjoyed the occasional beer and on the nights he wanted to let loose, a shot or three. He regretfully downed his drink in one go, mimicking Callum's dedication as he shook off the warmth that had settled in the pit of his stomach. It was more more check on his bingo card, but it wasn't nearly enough to get him a win. "If this is about getting ahead of everyone else, I'm all ears," he teased, eyes flashing up towards the mistletoe a few inches away as he shuffled closer to Callum. "What's up, man?"

You weren't a true Irishman if you didn't partake in silly drinking games with your mates, so here Callum was, helping the troops to win this holiday bingo game. "Right, get them in, lad!" Callum reached for his drink as soon as it was poured and chugged it in one. "Done!" He smacked the glass down on the table and rubbed his hands together with excitement. "I'll tick off the next task whilst you all catch up," Callum teased, grabbing the bingo card. Shit. A kiss under the mistletoe. "Sully, come over here -- need to tell you something in private..."

Sey and Remmy were his comfort space, but he'd given them reprieve from his overbearing existence for the day. It was without them that he realized he'd lost his touch on being alone. Clearly codependency was a problem he'd have to touch on with his therapist. When he heard his name called out, Sully's grin dipped into a mocking look of confusion. If Thea could give him hell over a headset, he could return the favor in person. "I'm sorry, do I know you? You look familiar, hang on, it'll probably come back to me in a second..." he trailed off playfully before he broke. If only he weren't needing an excuse to someone, he would have played longer. "Today just might be your lucky day. How much fun are you trying to have?"

— SETTING: the boardwalk ; aug 19th — AVAILABILITY: closed starter for SULLIVAN REED | ( @sullivanreed )

Thea had been minding their own business all morning, but their hands hand been twitching to get some action or to simply pester someone. People had been too busy with the swimsuit constest to pay much attention to the pop-up store Marcus had set up. Not that store itself wasn't worth noticing, but you know... priorities, priorities.

Then... they saw him. All tall and handsome walking by, so of course Thea had to step in and bug him. "Sully, my man!" They smirked, throwing an arm over his shoulders. "Please tell me you're not about to go meet someone. I'm dying here, man. Drag me somewhere entertaining."

holiday bingo at the penalty box — open starter.

Competitive was one of the many words that Sully would have used to describe himself, but it was all in good fun. Well, mostly. "So, how many people do you think actually want to win this thing? I'm just trying to gauge how many rounds I can toss back before I need to get my head in the game." He lifted his hand to readjust the santa hat atop it, his focus clearly on winning a game that didn't come with a grand prize outside of bragging rights. "You know what, first round is on me. Gotta boost our team's morale, you know?"

Michael Evans Behling

He wasn't much of a singer, but he'd already promised Sey that he'd take the stage and give his best rendition of his favorite nineties throwback, followed by his mediocre attempt at a holiday favorite. What he needed was a bit more liquid courage though, which led him towards the bar for just that. However, he stopped in his tracks the moment he laid eyes on her. Shit. "Melina," he exhaled, voice a bit shaky before he cleared his throat and opted to try again. He'd had a feeling she'd stuck around, but truth be told, he hadn't dared checking in after he'd found out about her and his best friend. Clearly he'd gotten it all wrong. "You good?" He could see the glossy glare to her gaze, but it wasn't his place to ask and he figured soon enough, the man he'd once considered family would pop up and ask the same thing.

starter for @sullivanreed

location: outside of christmas carols karaoke

Melina absolutely did not participate in karaoke in the singing sense. No, she would rather sit in the audience and listen to those that had the guts to sing. Next to her, was her boyfriend that had returned from out of time. She was wringing her hands together, several conversations running through her mind that she had with people while she was gone. When her boyfriend suggested leaving, Melina hesitated, not quite ready but alas, she got up from her seat anyway and followed him out of the door. It didn't take more than a moment of walking out for her boyfriend to run into friends, taking his immediate leave from Melina. "Okay, then, bye." She didn't say it loud enough for him to hear, merely watching him walk away from her without a second's glance. Turning on her heel, she figured she would head back into the karaoke bar, despite the tears threatening at the corners of her eyes when she ran into someone point blank.