03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Jade's heart leapt with joy as they stepped into the dance, it was lively and beautiful, right up her ally. Her grin only brightened when Marius pulled her closer and she looked up at his face, being pulled tighter against him made her really realize exactly how tall he was, well over a foot taller than herself. She didn't mind one bit. It was honestly pretty adorable to see a guy as large as Marius acting so nervously and her heart went out to him.
She returned his nervous smile and nodded, squeezing his arm with her hand to comfort him. "That sounds perfect," she replied and tugged him over towards the drinks. She picked a cup up for each of them and then pointed to the bleachers that had been pulled out a little so people could sit on them. "How about over there?" she suggested.
Post by Alexis Vanderson on Apr 3, 2021 14:30:36 GMT
Finally something was going right tonight. As the guy turned towards her and looked her up and down she felt a flutter of excitement. Not a blush, Alexis had too much confidence to blush most of the time, but she was certainly flattered. She loved to be admired, and why wouldn't he admire her? She knew she was beautiful, especially tonight when she was all dolled up.
What made her feel even more fluttery and stoked her ego was that he knew her name. Well, didn't she look like the jerk now for not knowing his. She took a sip of her drink, her eyes locked on his face and a smile on her lips, her body turning to fully face him now, almost without her realizing it. "It's better now," she said coyly and bit softly on her bottom lip.
"I'm sorry, what was your name?" she asked, glancing down at his feet for a moment, playing the role of embarrassment though it wasn't exactly true, it just made her look less like a jerk.
Milo shook his head lightly at her question. "They've been friends for years, we all have. It's weird to see them on a date," he tried to explain better. He didn't really know if they were here as 'friends' or as 'dates' but did it really matter? Either way, they had been closer lately and Milo has a suspicion they actually liked liked each other, at least in some sense.
"But enough about them," he said. Not that it was her who had brought them up, he knew that was on him. "Tonight is about you," he gave her a wink as he stood in front of her on the dance floor. He chuckled at her pre-apology. "I'm not worried," he said flirtatiously. He stepped in towards her and moved to take her hands. If he let her he'd move to place her hands on his shoulders and then placed both of his hands on her waist. It wasn't a slow dance but he didn't care.
A small nod of understanding came from her. She could imagine how awkward it could be to suddenly find yourself the third wheel in a trio friendship. She had actually been there a few times, always a third wheel herself. The worst part was watching their sudden PDA when there had been none before then. “Well at least you are no longer the third wheel tonight. Not with me.” A brief bright smile was given to him with the faintest blush. Friends.
As he placed her hands, she awkwardly waited a moment before he took hold of her and she tilted her head towards him, laughing just a bit. “A slow dance for a nonslow dance. You do a lot of things outside the normal huh?” it wasn’t an insult, and her face showed just how amused she was by him. And maybe... just maybe... there was a tone of flirting.
Post by Alexis Vanderson on Apr 3, 2021 19:51:02 GMT
Yep, the evening had definitely improved. Alexis thrived on flirtations as if they were the water she needed to survive. Having a guy flirt with her was among her most favorite things in life. And, of course, she automatically thought of Ellis D. and part of her, a large part, hoped that he would see her dancing with this guy who had already graduated and would be jealous.
She took another swallow of her drink and set tossed it in the trash can beside the table before offering her hand to him. "Take me away, Zane," she said with a flirty smile and a slow little shimmy of her shoulders.
Not with me. Milo did love to be the center of attention, even if it was just for one person. Yes, he would have been fine to come to prom alone, but this was much better, and having her attention for even right now, was exactly what he felt he needed. Even the loud kids who seemingly had a lot of friends could feel lonely sometimes.
He laughed at her question and gave a shrug of his shoulders. "Ya, I guess I do," he said with another chuckle. He did pick up the pace of their dancing, rocking his shoulders more back and forth with the beat of the music. "I guess I just like to stir things up," he said with a wink. "Or maybe I'm just easily bored." He laughed again.
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Apr 3, 2021 23:21:49 GMT
Ellis D. helped guide @ida’s hands to his shoulders, placing his own at her waist once her hold was firmly established. She felt small between his hands, weak even, like he could crush her...though he knew that was far from true. She was strong. Scrappy. Soft, with a woman’s body beneath that pretty maroon dress.
For the first time tonight he looked at her. Not with Alexis in his mind. Just Ida. Her words let him do that. Ellis D. recognized the vulnerability of her statement and accepted it. They weren’t strangers to one another, after all. They were best friends. Best friends who had slipped, for a moment, last summer and explored a world where they were more than friends. Only for an hour, if that long, and yet it had opened it a door. Ellis D. had promptly backed back out of the door, but it had never been closed.
Looking at her now, we wasn’t sure that door ever could be. He didn’t see a world in which he could unsee Ida as he had. Suppress what he knew, sure, but never forget.
“Then I won’t bring it up later.” He said softly, and maybe it was about more than just her gladness to be here. Maybe he was letting her in on part of why they had never talked about what happened between them last summer.
“That’s perfect.” The bleachers were set back a little ways from the action, but still close enough that you felt part of the festivities. Marius appreciated Jade’s comforting hand on his arm. Even though she was slightly built, he didn’t for a second mistake it for delicateness. She had a presence of calm confidence about her that was incredibly reassuring. He moved towards the bleachers and waited for her to sit down before following her lead. Taking a sip of punch, he was feeling much more at ease.
“I have a confession to make.” Marius said, smiling with his eyes cast downwards bashfully. “I, uh, I’ve noticed you around for awhile now. I don’t know if you remember but you went on a bit of a tangent about how, well, "white" our reading list was in English last semester.” He wasn’t sure if this was going to come off as creepy, but he was in it now. “You know, I, uh, I’ve lived in a lot of small towns, moving around with my folks. People can be pretty close minded. Most people don’t notice that kind of stuff, let alone think it’s important.” Marius looked up at her, making eye contact for the first time all night. “I guess, I’m glad you saw me just now. It’s nice to be, uh, seen.” Marius looked down again, searching for something else to say. He then blurted out of the blue: “So how about you? Do you like it here in Sweetwater?”
Post by Price Vanderson on Apr 6, 2021 23:41:24 GMT
Price's crystal blue eyes considered his sister for a long, quiet moment. He could stay, but she wouldn't dance. Would it have killed her to do a quick jig with him? What was one spin in the grand scheme of a night of frolicking? But alas, it seemed she would not.
He didn't say anything else to Alexis. Instead he turned to her friend, @wei, and shrugged.
"Well, can't say I didn't try. How about you? Entertain this alumni for a twirl?"
“Then I won’t bring it up later.” His soft words sent shivers down her spine. Ida felt electric. All the fears and insecurities that had grabbed at her heels for so long were left far behind. After all the deep buried denial, tears, and jealousy, here she was - Ellis D.’s hands on her waist, his presence filling her senses. Ida drew closer, closing the physical distance between them. She wanted to hold onto this moment as long as it lasted. Ida valued their friendship more than almost anything, but she didn’t want to go back, to close the door on what had happened between them. She wanted him closer. It was now or never. “Good. Because for later, I have other ideas.” Ida looked at him and smiled playfully, her eyes shining. Still swaying to the music, with a finger she traced the length of collarbone exposed by the unbuttoned top of his shirt. “If you’re game, that is.” Ida didn’t have any expectations. This night, as far as she was concerned, was a world of its own. She would about tomorrow when the time came. Tonight as a night for risks, and for not letting what you want slip through your fingers.
They walked over to the bleachers and Jade sat down with a little hop, the skirt of her dress flaring out a bit as she did so. She smiled up at him as he moved to sit beside her and she pulled her dress towards her, allowing him to sit as close as he liked without sitting on her dress.
She took a sip of her drink and looked out at the dancing teenagers before Marius spoke and she turned her full attention to him. She cocked her head and smiled curiously. A confession? Well this was bound to be interesting.
As he went on to explain how he'd noticed her she couldn't help but be incredibly flattered. She was far from being quiet and liked to make a statement but she still didn't expect that most people really gave her the time of the day. She was too odd, too loud, too quirky.
She chuckled and nodded as he spoke about that day in English class, yes, she remembered that.
She didn't look away from him, her gaze searched his face even when he wasn't looking at her. In spite of being insanely tall, he had mostly managed to stay under the radar of people at school. It was a shame too because he was super sweet and really quite a good looking guy.
She scooted closer to him, closing any distance there had been between their legs, and playfully, softly bumped his knee with hers. "Hmm, that's a tougher question then you might think," she replied with a little laugh and a shrug.
"Mostly I do. Overall it's pretty nice here. Though I do miss how lively and vibrant everything was in California. And the people are more open-minded there. I don't always love how everyone knows everyone else's business in small towns, you know?" She gave another shrug.
"But," she added, smiling up at him, "I'm definitely happy to be here tonight. And I'm happy I ran into you." She bumped her shoulder against his arm, not being tall enough to actually bump against his shoulder. "I think you deserve to be seen, Marius," she finished with a grin.
Marius blushed a little as Jade scooted closer to him. He wasn’t used to attention, let alone from someone so brilliant and charming. It made him uncomfortable, but in a good way - he smiled and relaxed, as if a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. For so long he hadn’t felt like he belonged, and to have someone that was actually present - listening, engaging, made the ground feel more solid than it did before.
California. Thinking of sunshine, sand and surf, he was actually quite jealous. The truth was Marius had never seen the ocean. His family lived comfortably, but any money that wasn’t spent on “useful” things was poured back into the church. Vacations were one of those luxuries. Honestly, from a certain standpoint, Sweetwater was probably the most beautiful place he’d ever seen. He chuckled at her comment about small towns.
“Yeah, I know what you mean. We could be living in the biggest city or the smallest town, no matter what, church people love to be up in your business.” To avoid confusion added, “My pop’s a minister. Well, was.” A somber moment hung in the air, before he laughed to break it. “But once a preacher, always a preacher I guess.”
Marius felt her shoulder brush against his. He smiled - a big, genuine, ear-to-ear smile. “Well hopefully we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other.” Blood rushed to Marius's face when he heard the obviously sexual overtones to the statement. “That’s not what I - not that I wouldn’t want - it’s just I - what I mean is, I think that we’re going to be good friends. I hope so, anyway.” Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, he stood up and held out his hand. “May I have this dance, Miss Park?”
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Apr 8, 2021 18:35:04 GMT
Ellis D. wasn’t quite sure what to make of Ida. She wasn’t acting out of character, that was for certain, but for some reason he felt as if things were a little different between them tonight. A vibe, you might call it. One of the subtle kind that couldn’t be addressed without the very real possibility of being ridiculously wrong.
He’d expected them to do something after this. Hank still had fireworks and swimming in the lake would still be fun. He was on board with her, but the finger to his collarbone gave him inward pause. It was a slight touch, something Madame Marmalade would do without batting an eye, but Ida was Ida right now. That touch threatened to awaken something that Ellis D. wasn’t sure either of them wanted woken. After all, she’d never talked about last summer either...
“I’m yours tonight.” He promised, and though he had the inclination to seal the words with a kiss he refrained. This was high school. Rumors started in the wind and turned into hurricanes. That was the last thing they needed as they sought to quietly finish out their senior years.
Ellis D.’s eyes strayed from @ida to where Milo Laurent was with his date.
“Think he’s gonna wanna come with us?” His voice carried a grand helping of doubt. Milo looked like he was having fun with Journey.
Ida could see the thoughts swirling around behind Ellis D.’s eyes. She could feel herself starting to become untethered. Like she was opening the gate, setting an animal loose that had too long yearned for freedom. What had happened between them was a secret they shared, yet had been trying to keep from each other. Ida had tucked it away, precious, frequently turned over in her mind in the late hours of the night, in the hot stillness of her trailer when sleep eluded her. But it was batting around like a moth trapped inside her fingers. She just had to let go.
I’m yours. The words slipped down her spine, making her tremble. Ida tried to ground herself, but suddenly all that mattered to her was being anywhere else but here. Somewhere where they could be alone together. She took a deep breath, focusing on the question at hand. She glanced at Milo. He and Journey certainly seemed to be enjoying each others’ company. Ida smiled a little, and said jokingly, "Well I wouldn't want to impose on their romantic evening." She was glad to see her friend so happy. But she was also conflicted. Normally, having Milo Laurent tag along would be a no brainer. But things, well...things had gotten a little bit more complicated now. Thoughts of her and Ellis D. were still at the forefront of her mind, and seemed to be taking precedence over everything. She brokered a compromise.
“I may or may not have pre-packed the truck with some late night essentials.” She bit her bottom lip, grinning. “So as long as the fireworks in the back don’t combust before we get there, how about you and I get the party started at the lake? Maybe take a little bit of a swim?” Ida was tempted to wink, but didn’t, trying to cool down a little. “We can text the happy couple they can join us for fireworks later if they'd like. After they've had their date and we’ve had a little time to...get settled.” Ida breathed deeply. “Si quieres.” Noticing her mistake, she blushed. She had a habit of slipping in and out when she was, well, distracted.
Jade grinned as Marius chuckled, glad to see him loosening up a little, slowly but surely. She found she really was glad she had come tonight and had run into him. Neither of them were seniors so there wasn't that much pressure on them tonight as to their older classmates, but that just made it even better.
"Oh ya?" she asked curiously when he explained that his father was a preacher. "For which church?" she asked, "If you don't mind me asking." She wasn't particularly religious herself but she believed in God. The only time she didn't like religion was if she felt like what they believed was against her own beliefs about the rights and equality of all on the earth.
She giggled softly as he fumbled over her words and she placed her hand on his forearm with a smile. "I hope so too," she replied. It would be nice to have a friend in him. Her smile widened as he stood and offered his hand. She slipped her hand into his and stood as well. "I'd be delighted. Though I prefer 'Lady' Park if you don't mind," she joked.