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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 1:02:46 GMT
Morgan Tyler was conflicted about a lot of things lately. While things with college still weren't exactly going as planned, she was ecstatic to have been able to work things out with Brody. After he'd broken things off with Alex, the two of them had talked about their relationship and she'd spent a weekend in Ithaca - returning well rested and feeling much more capable of taking on everything else. She'd spent the day with her family to celebrate her and Ellie's eighteenth birthday and while things were still a bit strained with her twin sister, it had felt good to spend some time with her family. Besides, she had a plan to talk to Ellie more when they had a moment alone. At Jamie Benson's surprising insistence, Morgan had agreed to join Ellie, Jamie, and Kensi on a night out. She rationalized that she was finally turning eighteen and that she wouldn't be able to see Brody - so she should at least go celebrate. So, after spending the early part of the evening with their parents and assuring her mother that the first thing she'd done that morning was register to vote, she and Ellie climbed into the car that Kensi had sent over and prepared for an evening out. Morgan sat there for a moment before reaching into her jacket pocket and pulling out a small, neatly wrapped box and held it out to Ellie. "Happy birthday," she said gently. She pursed her lips for a moment. "I wanted to say that I was sorry, for not being a good sister, and to let you know I'd try harder and that I miss you." |
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 1:39:03 GMT
At first, the idea of spending the entire day with her sister had seemed almost like a chore. Not because Ellie didn't want to fix what they had broken, or because she was still brooding over having had her feelings hurt, but because she didn't know how to spend an entire day not talking to her. They had never gotten in a fight like this before and while she knew that her attitude had helped to drive them further apart in the beginning, she was exhausted now - and quite honestly, she missed her sister. If it hadn't been for Kensi and Jamie's insistence, she never would have agreed to go out with everyone, at least not without an opportunity to talk to Morgan first. Looking at the box in Morgan's hand, she had to say that maybe she was a little surprised, but more than that she was relieved that they weren't just going to continue to be violently angry with each other on their birthday. Smiling softly at her, she took the box and fumbled in her oversized clutch to pull out a box for her sister. "Happy birthday," she echoed. Opening the gift Morgan had gotten her, she laughed. "Twin brains, apparently," she teased. "I'm sorry too. I miss you and I shouldn't get angry at you for growing up and having a life. I just wanted to be there when you were growing up and instead of actually talking to you and forcing my way into all of your new and exciting things, I got sad and angry." She knew it sounded stupid and childish so she shrugged as though she could rid herself of those thoughts. "I'm just sorry." Jamie smiled at them and shook his head. "It took you two long enough, now stop fighting and enjoy your birthday." |
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 1:48:43 GMT
Morgan smiled broadly at Ellie, she opened the box and looked at the necklace inside with a laugh. She wrapped her arms around Ellie in an awkward sideways hug in the car. "I missed you!" she exclaimed, grinning and pressing a kiss to her sister's cheek. "And trust me, not all of it is that exciting," she told her honestly. And she knew that she wanted to tell Ellie about Brody, but later and in private, knowing she could trust her sister with her secret. "Some of it is though, we'll have to talk about it later," she nodded. "Maybe when we get back home, we can eat the rest of the birthday cake mom made and catch up," she said.
Kensi smiled brightly, nudging Jamie as his comment. "Jamie is right, and you two can totally finish working everything out after we celebrate appropriately." Kensi had gone through great lengths to throw her best friend and her twin sister a birthday surprise party to remember. Kensi loved surprises herself and had called around to all of the places that she sometimes would go to spin records on all ages night. She'd managed to convince one, a small venue, to shut down for the night and allow their friends and classmates to pile in for an extravaganza that she knew would never be topped. Kensi was a big fan of going over the top, too, and Ellie had always been such a good friend to her, she couldn't resist.
Morgan, not being the biggest partier, had proven more difficult to convince to come out and to plan for. But she was pretty sure that the surprise of a very tall and very handsome Brody Finn might take care of that too. As far as Kensi knew, Brody and Morgan hadn't spoken since prom but now that Morgan had ended things with the French Frog and Brody had broken things off with Jamie's mean sister, it seemed maybe the stars would align. She made a mental note to add party planner and matchmaker to her resume.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 2:17:51 GMT
Ellie looked at her sister curiously, wondering what sort of interesting things were going on. Though, as quickly as she wondered it, she realized that there was an entire world that Morgan was part of now that she had no idea about. She was sure that there were roommate stories to hear, advice to be given about classes and college life, maybe a party story or two, and possibly even something to be said about any boys in her life. It was exciting to think that they had so much that they needed to catch up on and so much still left to say. Grinning at her and nodding, she turned to her best friend and gave her a nod. "You are right, Kenny. Celebrating first, twincebration later."
Jamie slid his hand into Kensi's, squeezing it lightly and giving her a bright smile. She had been the mastermind behind it all and right now he was convinced that even if the entire night turned out to be a bust that at least they could say that Kensi's plotting had resulted in getting the Tyler girls on speaking terms again. And that, considering everything that he had heard Ellie vent about in the last few weeks, both soberly and not, was no small feat.
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 2:35:02 GMT
Kensi clapped her hands together happily even as the limo pulled in front of the small club where all of their friends were waiting. "Time to have some fun," she nodded. "And as promised, Morgan - it is all-ages so you are not breaking any laws. As boring as that is," she teased playfully. She squeezed Jamie's hand and pulled him out of the car, gesturing for the twins to get out, too. She led them inside, talking a bit loudly making sure that everyone on the other side of the door knew that they were about to walk in.
Morgan seemed thoroughly confused as she followed Kensi inside. If they were going out to a club, shouldn't there have been a bouncer - or more noise coming from the other side of the door. She looked at Ellie for a moment and then skeptically at Jamie, trying to figure out exactly what was going on as they stepped inside just before an eruption of voices shouted the word "SURPRISE" at them. Morgan, never having one to be used to surprises, was legitimately startled and reacted to this by smacking Jamie in the arm but then laughed. Most of the people in attendance, she was sure, were really there for Ellie. But she turned to Kensi and Jamie and thanked them just the same. She figured she'd have a few diet sodas, make some polite conversation, and maybe sneak away to call Brody up at Ithaca to tell him that she'd just experienced her first surprise party.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 3:02:24 GMT
Ellie exchanged her sister's look of confusion but followed her friends inside the club without a question, grinning excitedly when she heard a room full of people shout at them. She laughed happily and turned to them, hugging both Jamie and Kensi in turn. "I can't believe you did this," she told Kensi excitedly. In her excitement over the party, she almost forgot to survey the room for a particular familiar face, but she grinned brightly all the same seeing various friends of theirs from school, and friends that she had made in Morgan's absence. Waving at her classmates, she laughed again, realizing that she was kind of enjoying them being the center of attention.
Brody had hoped to sneak into the party unnoticed, wanting to use the surprise to his advantage for when he saw Morgan. As much as he kept thinking that things had been strange when Morgan and suddenly disappeared from his life, it was even stranger to have her back. It almost felt like no time at all had passed and he had loved having her up in Ithaca so that they could not only work though the problems that they had, but they could also rekindle the relationship that he had destroyed before. And while they had agreed to keep it quiet for now, when he had been invited to her eighteenth birthday party, he knew that there couldn't have been a way that he could have said no.
Walking up behind her, he subtly tried to place his hands on her waist, leaning toward her ear. "Hi," he said softly.
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 3:19:17 GMT
Kensi smiled happily at Ellie. "Of course I did!" she laughed, glancing around the party. She was curious about whether or not Everett had accepted her invitation. Things had still been a little rocky between their group of friends, but since Labor Day, he responded - however monosyllabic to her text messages and she hoped they could fix things. Even more, she hoped he could fix things with Ellie. Giving up on scanning the crowd, she turned to Jamie, grinning at him. "You, sir, are a great co-surprise party planner."
Everett was, in fact, there in the crowd. Having received a message from Kensi, he knew he couldn't miss it. He had promised Ellie that the two of them would talk and while he didn't want to drag down her birthday with serious talk, he wanted to see her to let her know he still intended on following through on his promise. His gift for her on the bartop beside him, he watched her as she wove through the crowd. He smiled at the bright smile on her face and waited to catch her eye, lifting his hand and waving.
Morgan watched as Ellie did one of the things she did best, socialized. It was only when she felt hands on her waist that she jumped again. But the familiar timbre of Brody's voice made her eyes go wide. She spun around and blinked up at him. "Hi." Her instinct had her wanting to lean up and kiss him, but she remembered they'd agreed to keep their new relationship quiet for a bit, especially given how dramatic the first go around had been. Still, she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him down for a hug. "I can't believe you came all the way down from Ithaca for this," she whispered in his ear. She pulled back slightly, smiling up at him. "I can't believe you didn't even hint to me - I thought I wasn't going to see you until next week for a belated birthday party."
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 3:38:51 GMT
Ellie wrapped Kensi in another tight hug before releasing her with a laugh and starting to make her way through the crowd, greeting friends of hers that she admittedly probably hadn't been kind enough to or kept in touch enough while she was going through her minor brooding phase. She had been laughing and catching up with a girl that she used to eat lunch with the year before, joking about all of the same old cafeteria drama that they used to mock before when she spotted him. Feeling her smile falter just slightly, she returned his wave before excusing herself and slowly making her way over to him. After everything that had happened at Labor Day, she didn't know what to say to him. She honestly didn't even really know where to begin with all of the things that she should have wanted to say to him. A small voice in the back of her head told her that she should apologize for everything that had happend and make up with him the way she had with her sister. But another voice argued that he was the one that pushed her away and so she should have waited for him to try and repair their friendship first. Another argument came that he had come to her birthday party so that must have meant something, while even more voices argued that she should just tell him that she cared about him. Dismissing them all and refusing to admit how much she suddenly felt schizophrenic, she stood in front of him and smiled all the same. "Hi," she greeted him. "How's your hand?"
Jamie grinned at Kensi, wondering vaguely if they had reached the point now where they should have started to refer to her as his girlfriend. While they had never had a conversation to discuss it, and quite honestly he wasn't even sure how people normally did that, he was aware of how proud he was of her for pulling this all off. And he had only been too happy to help her. "You did all of the work, I just provided moral support," he told her, kissing her quickly.
Grinning brightly at her, Brody easily welcomed her hug, wishing for a moment that they hadn't already agreed to keep things between them a secret. He supposed with her being the birthday girl, it was probably not socially accpetable for him to make an excuse to pull her away from her own party to properly great her in a darkened hallway or an empty room either. "Your friends called and invited me to a surprise party so I thought that this was a good excuse to see you." Fighting back the urge to kiss her, he instead brought himself back down to her ear, "But I fully intend on you and I celebrating next week, too."
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 3:59:52 GMT
Everett looked down, rubbing the back of his neck. "My hand's doing...fine. Happy birthday," he said to her. He smiled at her. "You look great," he nodded, turning to pick up the wrapped package beside him and handing it to her. "This is for you. You don't have to open it now, I just wanted to make sure you got it," he nodded. Glancing around, he stepped a bit closer to her. "And I also wanted to let you know that I didn't forget that I promised to talk to you. And I don't want to ruin your party or anything, but I didn't want you to think..." he trailed off and winced. "I was hoping maybe, if you wanted, in a couple of weeks when I have things more settled, if you would come to dinner with me and let me explain," he offered, half expecting her to still be angry enough to tell him to go away and leave her alone.
Kensi grinned at Jamie, reaching for his hand as he led him through the party so that they could socialize with people. While he and Kensi had never established what their relationship was, she was more than content to keep her hand in his as she greeted classmates and thanked them for coming and she wasn't shy about pulling him aside for a kiss now and then too when the rest of the crowd made their own conversations.
Morgan blushed up at Brody and shook her head. "I'm glad you're here." She hadn't said anything to him over the phone, but she'd been a bit sad that she thought she wasn't going to be there for her birthday. She'd spent her birthdays with Brody for as long as she could remember and didn't really like the idea of potentially not seeing him, especially now that they were together. She beamed up at him and nodded at him, "Next week," she repeated as her face flushed. "Sounds perfect."
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 4:16:01 GMT
Ellie smiled at his compliment and accepted the gift he offered her. "You really didn't have to get me anything," she protested. Having not known that this party had ever been in the works, she had just assumed that she wasn't going to see him until he decided that he was good and ready, and she had tried to be okay with that. But having him here now, and having him be so kind to her, she was having a hard time not just putting everything out on the table for him. "Everett, I - You aren't ruining anything. Aren't ruining anything." Tapping her fingers softly against the wrapped package, she nodded at him before looking up and biting her lower lip. She was trying to keep herself from saying anything stupid, anything that would cause her to inadvertently ruin her own birthday party, but it was starting to be a struggle. She wished that she had confided in someone before now - she wished that she had made up with Morgan weeks before so that she could have told her what had been going on in her life too. "But, dinner sounds great." She paused briefly, "Thank you, by the way - for the gift. And for coming to the party."
The longer that Brody spent with her, the more that she smiled at him, and the more that he thought about celebrating her birthday with her, the harder it became to stand in front of her and pretend that there was nothing going on. He couldn't stop smiling at her and he was convinced that it only made it worse. "I think I left my gift over there," he said, motioning toward what he hoped was an empty hallway near the bathrooms. "Want to help me look for it?"
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 4:26:41 GMT
Everett dipped his chin and smiled at her, "You're welcome," he said gently. "I didn't want to miss it," he said gently. There was so much that Everett wanted to say to her, to explain to her. He regretted pushing her away, if only for selfish reasons. He still believed that keeping her out of his father's line of sight was for the best, but he wished he'd explained it to her and had just convinced her to listen to him and lay low. He looked at her for a moment and smiled at her. "So, any big plans now that you're eighteen?" he asked with an easy going smile, hoping maybe for now they could act like things between them were okay and leave the hard conversation for a better time.
Morgan looked up at Brody, shaking her head. "You didn't have to get me anything. You making the trip down is eno-" she broke off and then grinned sheepishly. "Oh," she nodded, craning her neck to look down the hallway and nodded. "Sure. I'll help," she told him with a bright smile, reaching down for his hand and pulling him in that direction. Once they were away from everyone else, she beamed up at him. "I can't believe you're here," she smiled at him. She knew that, in actuality, anyone could turn the corner and see them together, but she really didn't care that much at the moment.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 16, 2015 4:42:58 GMT
Ellie smiled softly, happy to hear him say that he had wanted to be here. Ever since she had made her way over to him, she had kept wondering how things were going to go. Even beyond the thousand of scenarios she considered when she thought about what she could say to him, she had been curious about what he would have said to her. She would have been lying if she said that she hadn't daydreamed for a moment about how things would have been if he had told her that he had feelings for her, or if he had kissed her, told her that he had made a mistake in pushing her away and that he was never going to do it again. Not knowing when exactly she had become so boycrazed, she tried to ignore her thoughts and looked at him for a moment. It was, unfortunately, the wrong move to make. As a smile crossed his lips and he tried to break the ice with a simple question, she realized that she hadn't stopped thinking about potential scenarios for this at all. "Just one," she told him softly, taking a quick step toward him. Hesitantly, she lightly brushed her lips against his, knowing that there was a serious possibility that he could push her away again.
Placing a quick kiss on her lips, Brody asked her teasingly: "Where else would I be?" Pressing her against the wall, he advanced on her again, this time catching her lips in a much more passionate, forceful kiss. Though it hadn't truly been that long since the last time they had been together, the fact that they had spent so long not speaking to each other made it seem like every moment counted, that every moment was truly important in their relationship. "I've missed you."
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 17, 2015 1:22:54 GMT
Everett froze for a moment when Ellie kissed him. He looked at her for a moment before he smiled and chuckled dryly under his breath. "Goddammit, Ellie," he said gently before leaning in and kissing her back. "You know, I had a very good plan on how that was going to go once everything was sorted and talked about," he nodded at her, shaking his head. "You're going to need to learn to be more patient," he teased, taking a step back from her and nodding. "Next Friday - dinner, wherever you want," he told her. "Part of your birthday gift."
Morgan grinned at Brody and was about to respond when she felt her back pressed against the wall. Her arms wound around him and she kissed him back eagerly. She beamed up at him. "You just saw me a few days ago," she teased. "I've missed you, too though," she confessed. "And I thought you'd have to study or have plans with Toby and Alex or something this weekend," she told him, peering up at him. "But I'm glad you're here. Best birthday gift ever," she informed him, tugging him down again for another kiss. "Ellie and I made up, too!" she told him excitedly. "I told her that tonight we could eat cake and catch up when we got home, but are you going to stay until tomorrow - maybe we can go get breakfast or something?"
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Post by Brody Finn on Dec 17, 2015 2:12:52 GMT
Ellie laughed, shaking her head at him. She couldn't say that she was particularly sorry about ruining his plans considering that he had played right into hers. Though she wasn't going to admit that to him right away. He did still owe her for pushing her away and though she didn't seem to be able to stop smiling at him right at this moment, she still had every intention of making him work for her forgiveness. "Well, I'll let you get back to your plan then," she nodded. "And I will work on my patience in the meantime."
Brody grinned at her, glad that everything had gone so well for her on her birthday already. With everything that she had confessed to having made her life difficult over the last several weeks, he was glad that she was able to cross problems between her and her sister, and well as problems between them, off of her list. "I couldn't miss your birthday," he told her softly. "I'm so glad that you made up with her. I'm probably going to see my parents after this so don't worry about it, I can see you tomorrow," he promised, kissing her again.
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 17, 2015 3:40:39 GMT
Everett grinned at Ellie, nodding at her. "Good," he said, pretending to be much more serious than he is. "A man and his plan is a very important thing," he explained, even as he put his hand on the small of her back and walked her in the direction of Kensi and Jamie, hoping to test the waters in how much he'd screwed up the group dynamic with his recent behavior as well. "And you know, they say good things come to those who wait," he quipped. Then he turned to Kensi and Jamie, offering Kensi a weak smile before glancing at the younger boy. "How are you guys doing?"
Kensi looked up at Everett, her eyes narrowing for a moment before she shrugged, holding Jamie's hand a bit tighter. "Fine...I guess, it depends..." she looked at Ellie. "How are you?"
Morgan knew that with every kiss, they ran the risk of being caught. And while she wasn't at all ashamed of being with him - in fact she wanted to shout it from the top of the Empire State Building - she knew that with the drama they'd experienced in the past, she felt it was best for them to take their time and focus on the two of them as a couple before everyone else inserted their opinion or advice or interference. Still, she beamed up at him, taking his hand and tugging him further down the hallway. "We're supposed to be looking for my gift," she stated with a laugh. "Maybe it's in here," she suggested, opening a door and peeking inside, realizing it was an otherwise unoccupied storage closet - one with a lock on the door. "It's definitely in here," she told him, giggling as she pulled him inside and pressed the lock. Once the door was securely closed behind them, she tugged him down for a kiss. "Found it."
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