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Post by Morgan Tyler on Jan 5, 2016 5:15:52 GMT
Toby glanced around and then at the time on his phone before shrugging her shoulder. "I'm sure she'll be here soon. I think finals coming up has sort of been hell on us all, so she's either studying or celebrating not studying anymore - you never know with her." He smiled at Ellie. He liked spending time with Ellie, she was a nice girl. A little different than the girls that he was used to hanging out with, but he didn't think that that was a bad thing. He still had a hard time believing the Tyler girls were twins sometimes though. Glancing past her at Everett, he shrugged, "If he's not your boyfriend, if you don't mind my asking, what is he? Because he sure doesn't like that I'm talking to you."
Morgan giggled as her boyfriend pulled her closer. "A little sad, but cute. I think that's how someone described me when they signed my yearbook!" she told him and then nodded up at him. "You know, I really do appreciate this - and you letting Ellie and Everett come up too," she told him sincerely. While Thanksgiving hadn't gone exactly according to plan, she was glad for this experience - with friends and her sister close by and the two of them being able to be comfortable around each other. "Plus, this holiday I won't get dropped on the floor," she teased him.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 5, 2016 14:31:28 GMT
From the way that Toby spoke about Alex, Ellie wasn't quite sure what was going on there as well. And quiet honestly, she wasn't sure that she was supposed to care. Having her sister in college and coming up to Ithaca to spend time with her and Brody had made her realize that her own little high school world was a lot different than the one that everyone was involved in here. And part of that, she supposed, directly led to her inability to judge a person's relationship with someone else. In the case of Toby and Alex, she wasn't sure if they were just close friends who happened to be able to spend a lot of time together due to the flexibility of a college schedule, or if there was something more that they hadn't realized yet. Maybe, she thought, she could push them in the right direction.
The contrast between the life she knew in high school and in the life that Brody and Morgan had fallen into here seemed to be a constant reminder that things were changing dramatically for all of them. Between the freedom in schedules, the intense course load, and the sudden realization that she didn't have to get permission from her parents to do much of anything, Ellie felt excited about the prospect of college for the first time since she had sent out her applications. The waiting period before hearing back was the worst - though waiting was something that she was becoming all too used to.
A little startled by Toby's question, she laughed dryly. "That, my friend, is the million dollar question." Though she couldn't help but feel a little pleased at Everett's discomfort with her speaking to the other boy. "And besides, regardless of what we are or aren't, I think I'm perfectly capable of choosing who I want to talk to," she added with a smile at him. "Plus, you happen to be very easy to talk to. It might be because you also understand my pains with those two," she nodded in the direction of her sister and Brody.
Brody smiled down at her, "You're welcome. But I can't say that I didn't do it for entirely selfless reasons," he confessed. "I really wanted to see you, and you made it pretty clear that you wanted to do something for the holidays so I figured that if this was the least I could do for you before another family holiday, then that's easy."
In the aftermath of his unfortunate tendency to overturn her onto the floor at Thanksgiving, he had been giving some thought to what he thought things would be like with both of their families in the same room at Christmas. He supposed that having his extended family, in the form of the Thomas kids and their parents, would help act as a buffer but he wasn't sure how exactly he was meant to act around her. Not wanting to cross any lines or push any boundaries with her family, he had tried to keep some physical distance between them, not trusting himself not to become overly affectionate with her.
In direct contrast, he had never had that worry around his own parents. Maybe because of the awkward moment where they had caught Morgan in his apartment in Ithaca, or maybe because they were overly affectionate people themselves, but the thought of having both sets of parents in the same room made him feel like he was going to have to choose between two different sides of his personality, and in their relationship. And part of him, no matter how much he knew Mr. Tyler wouldn't like it, felt like he was going to have a hard time keeping his hands off of Morgan.
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Jan 5, 2016 22:28:23 GMT
Morgan wondered, not for the first time, if things would just be easier if one of them transferred schools. Spending half the week together in their own little world was wonderful, but on the days in between she found herself missing him more and more as their relationship progressed. The problem was that each of them had both found programs that suited them well at their respective schools and she didn't want either of them to possibly sacrifice their educations or professional futures just for the sake of being able to be within minutes of each other instead of hours, so she didn't bring it up. As much as she liked the idea of Brody coming back to the city and being with her, she also knew that would involve leaving behind the friends they made and sacrificing a bit of the privacy Ithaca afforded them.
Pushing the thoughts away, she was excited for Alex arrive - because the great thing about Ithaca was that she had a new set of friends through Brody. For most of her life, her social circle had been small - even in comparison to her closest friends. Ellie and Brody, for instance, were different kinds of people socially. It seemed that others gravitated towards them while Morgan felt more like she just circled in their orbit. But she greatly enjoyed spending time with Alex and Toby, and that was one of the reasons she'd been so eager to have a little celebration - the addition of Ellie only made it better.
Morgan looked at the sprig of mistletoe in her hand and then back at Brody. "Help me hang this?" she asked him with a bright smile.
Toby looked at Ellie, chuckling at her. He glanced at the couple in question and shook his head, "Yeah, those two are a nightmare to share a wall with. But they're the real deal, so I let it slide." He turned back to her, gesturing to Everett discreetly. "If you want to know, though - why don't you just ask him?"
Of course, the same could have been said for Toby who - over the months - had become closer with Alex than he'd expected. She'd become a great friend to him but there was no denying that she was also a pretty girl who could play video games to boot. But given the fact that he'd first been introduced to her when she was an item with Brody and given how much he valued their friendship, he wasn't sure if he could broach that line without upsetting the dynamic that he and his friends currently had.
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Post by Brody Finn on Jan 5, 2016 23:41:27 GMT
Her smile seemed to be contagious and Brody found himself unable to stop grinning at her. Leaning down to press another kiss to her lips he wished for what felt like the hundredth time that day that they had been alone already. It was almost sad to admit that he had become so reliant on having her with him for half of the week, and not even just in a sexual aspect. Her companionship had become a constant in his life, not just recently, but for as long as he could remember her being around. That comfort made it all too easy for him to fall into familiar habits around her, and while his studies seemed to benefit from having Morgan around, there were the obvious carnal desires that drove him to feel the need to keep touching her, even if it was something as simple as pressing an innocent kiss to her lips.
Taking the mistletoe from her, he shook his head softly. "You didn't need this to get a kiss from me," he teased.
Ellie made a face and shook her head, she couldn't imagine what it would be like to have to share a wall with Brogan. She hoped that they had never done it at home, or she at least thanked her lucky stars that the walls were thick enough at home that she could continue to believe that she had never heard them going at it. Judging from the way that they seemed to be going after each other in the middle of the room, she figured it was only a matter of time before she could share Toby's horror. When he drew her attention back to Everett, she shrugged. "I have - I think. I don't know. Boys are very confusing - did you know that?" She smiled at him, "Your kind is very confusing."
Not even bothering to knock, having heard her friends' voices coming from inside of Brody's apartment, Alex burst in with an over exaggerated sigh. "Finally done. Last final checked off, Christmas is ready to start, this place looks like a ridiculous winter wonderland, and I'm ready to party." Grinning brightly at her friends, she rushed over to Morgan and embraced her in a quick hug. "Hi! I'm so glad you're here," she let go of Morgan and waved at the other Tyler sister. "Hi, Ellie!"
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Jan 6, 2016 0:29:12 GMT
Toby smiled at Ellie. "Girls can be confusing too, you know," he told her. "But if you only think you have - you should just ask him. Sometimes guys take longer to talk about stuff than girls, I guess. Or at least that's what all the women in my family say." He grinned at her as he finished hanging the last of the decorations. Turning when Alex walked in to wave at her and then turn back to Ellie. "Anyway, my best advice is to shoot straight with him, worst that could happen is that the answer isn't the one that you want, but isn't it better to know than wonder?"
Morgan bounced happily as Alex walked in, hugging her friend. "You're here! I'm so glad, how did the final go?" she asked happily even as she started to step towards the kitchen. "Dinner's ready, I was basically just keeping it warm in the oven before you got here. So everyone can sit at the table!" she called out excitedly, turning over her shoulder to smile at Brody.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 6, 2016 0:50:23 GMT
Ellie had tried to see if she could spot her sister or Brody in the crowd, noting that while Brody's height generally made it a little easier to find him, when the party was coated in decorations that hung from the walls, ceilings, and every available surface, it became difficult to differentiate a tall teenager from an inflatable snowman. Sighing in defeat, she had decided that it was probably for the best that their small group just make their way back to Brody's apartment for the rest of whatever her sister had planned for their little "friendsmas". Besides, she had to admit, she wasn't sure how much longer she could have lasted at the party while dealing with her own selfish internal conflict. She had come into this weekend thinking that this was going to be her opportunity to break out from whatever stalemate that she and Everett had found themselves in, and when he hadn't immediately tried to jump her, she had heard her mother's voice pushing her toward Toby.
The addition of alcohol into her system had done nothing to either stifle her mother's voice or keep her from thinking about how she thought things should have been going with Everett at that point. And so while she had decided to remain friendly and slightly flirtacious with both boys, she had to admit that she was looking forward to just getting back to the apartment and finding herself distracted with the other things she was sure her sister had prepared.
Instead, they had arrived at Brody's apartment to find the door locked. "Weird," Ellie commented softly. "Maybe they're not back yet, we must have beaten them."
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 6, 2016 1:17:43 GMT
Toby wasn't sure how they'd all gotten split up, but he was currently heading up the most awkward trio he'd ever been a part of. While he liked talking to Ellie and spending time with her, it was obvious that her not-quite-boyfriend, Everett wasn't his biggest fan. Whether or not Ellie was aware that her talking and flirting with him was making it worse seemed irrelevant, though he had a feeling that she already knew what she was doing. So when they got separated and they all stood in the hallway and Brody and the girls hadn't yet returned, he sighed. "Listen, it's pretty late - how about you guys come to my place, I'll put a movie or something on and if they don't get back soon you can crash with me for the night," he offered. He turned to Everett, trying to ease the awkwardness. "Do you play XBox?"
"Not really," Everett told Toby, shoving his hands into his pocket and nodding. All in all, the weekend hadn't gone how he'd expected thus far and while part of him maybe knew it wasn't Toby's fault, it didn't stop him from wanting to take it out on him. Maybe one of the things he'd inherited from his father was his temper, and so he did his best to put a damper on it. "But yeah, that sounds like a good idea, thanks," he agreed stiffly.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 6, 2016 1:23:36 GMT
The tension was palpable, she was well aware of that, but instead of making her step back - as she knew it probably should have - Ellie opted to continue pressing buttons. She blamed the drinks she had consumed on it entirely, but somewhere throughout the night she had decided that maybe it was a good idea to push Everett's buttons in particular and see if he actually did anything to actually allow them to move past whatever hold had been placed on the current state of their relationship. From everything she had been able to gather from him, it seemed like things with his father had finished for the moment, or permanently, she wasn't sure, and she had grown tired of waiting.
She grinned brightly at Toby, "Really? You'd do that? That's so sweet of you," she gushed, perhaps a little more tipsy than she would have cared to admit to either of them. "That sounds great."
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 6, 2016 1:43:50 GMT
Toby looked at Everett and Ellie, nodding at them. "Yes, well, I can't really leave you two in the hallway, neighbors might complain," he joked, gesturing them one door down and letting them into his apartment. He flicked the light on and glanced around, glad that he had tidied up just in case Alex needed a place to crash that night. "Make yourselves comfortable," he told them. "Are you hungry? Because there's really not much food here," he admitted. "There's a pizza place nearby that might be open late and Chinese food that's kind of decent but it takes them a long time to deliver," he offered.
Everett shifted awkwardly before taking a seat on Toby's couch, looking around Toby's place. It wasn't very much, but it was certainly comfortable. Everett found himself with similarly sparse living conditions at home now that he had his own apartment but that was more because it was new and he had yet to decide on furniture. In Toby's case, Everett realized that it might have been a matter of financial means rather than time. He tried to relax a bit, "I'm fine with whatever, but you don't have to go out of your way or anything," he told him. He looked at Ellie, smiling at her. "You having a good time?"
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 6, 2016 1:52:34 GMT
To Ellie, any apartment without parents present was still such a novel idea that she didn't even register the sparse living conditions, instead she took in the surroundings, a little jealous that everyone seemed to have their own place now and she was still stuck being babysat by her parents. "I'm not hungry," she told Toby, "But thank you for offering."
She chose to continue standing, hovering near Toby considering the fact that she was noting that she felt much more comfortable in knowing what her boundaries were with him than she did with Everett. Still, the man that she had hoped would have made a move had posed a question at her and she turned to him with a coy smile. "Of course. I always have fun up here. Toby, Brody, and Alex certainly know how to keep a girl entertained," she nudged Toby a little at her statement, still grinning at him. "Are you having fun?" she asked, turning the question back on Everett.
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 6, 2016 23:35:59 GMT
At her comment and nudge, Everett felt his posture stiffen just a little bit an he did his very best to relax. He knew exactly what was happening and he wasn't sure what had really spurred this on. He knew that Ellie was impatiently waiting to bring their relationship to the next level physically, but he was more the type to take things slow. He wanted to do things correctly. He also would have liked the opportunity to talk to Adam Tyler about dating his daughter - not that he thought it would go well or that the permission of it all completely mattered, but he still wanted to treat Ellie the way he felt she deserved. Apparently this was a foreign concept. What maybe baffled him more about the entire experience was that it seemed she was reaching some sort of a breaking point with her patience now and he wasn't sure what she would prefer him to do. Take her during dinner surrounded by her sister and friends, kick down Brody's door now for a moment of privacy, or perhaps take her into the spare room of the other man she'd been flirting with all night? None were going to happen.
As his own question was turned on him, it felt more like a challenge than it did an actual question. He did his best to remain calm, not wanting to dredge up this conversation in front of Toby. "Fun doesn't even describe it," he replied, plastering a smile onto his face. "It means a lot that you invited me up here, actually," that last part was honest, though. He was currently looking at his first Christmas alone and when he'd been invited as her guest to this Friends' Christmas that Morgan had wanted to throw together, he thought that perhaps it would be a nice distraction from the dust settling around the chaos of what had been his life in the recent months. It was only for the past month or so that he'd been able to put more separation between he and his father and actually settle down and try to figure out the next steps. Needless to say, the weekend was off to a rough start for him.
Toby did his very best to smile back at Ellie. He was 90% sure that he was being flirted with and 100% sure that it was only to rile up the other man in his apartment. Wanting to steer clear of it, he walked into his kitchen to grab a few bottles of water and hopefully get away from the awkward situation encroaching upon his man cave.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 7, 2016 0:27:28 GMT
It wasn't just the physical, she had to admit, though the absence of any sort of physicality between herself and Everett had certainly been getting to her. It was the fact that whatever had happened with him over the last however long had driven to question what she ha even thought relationships were supposed to be like. When she considered it, she supposed that she didn't have the most realistic examples to look up to, from Morgan and Brody's childhood romance, her own parents' courtship in law school and later in life, and whatever it was that she had been doing with Will. She didn't know what a real relationship was supposed to look like in the beginning, but she did know what it was supposed to look like years later. She couldn't remember the moment that she realized that her sister was in love with Brody - it just seemed like something that had been in place long before any of them knew what to do with it - and she certainly hadn't been around in the beginning of her parents' relationship, but she had seen what had been the catalyst for Jamie and Kensi's relationship. And while she admitted that there were aspects of that particular relationship she didn't care to imitate, she had come into the assumption that relationships were meant to be spontanous, passionate, and all in.
Her relationship with Everett didn't seem to be any of those things at the moment. It seemed careful, calculated, and very hesitant.
"Great," she told him with a smile in return. "Thank you for coming." And while her words were sincere, she couldn't help but feel as though sarcasm had escaped into her delivery. At the end of the day, no matter what his plans had been, she had thought that this would have been the weekend to finally get a clear answer from him - either from a physical step her took with her, or perhaps something more. She wasn't sure. He had already admitted he liked her, she knew that, he had taken her on dates, they had even kissed, but the question still remained - what were they to each other. With a startling realization she knew that all she had really wanted was for him to call her his girlfriend. Deciding that it was a stupid thought, she tried to shake it off.
"Toby, do you need help with anything? I feel like I should be doing something other than just standing here like a crazy person."
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