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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 20, 2016 2:30:45 GMT
Ellie Tyler had been coming to the park to clear her head for as long as she could remember. She wasn't sure what the catalyst for it had been, and she wasn't sure what it was that allowed her to feel so relaxed either. She had thrown her notebook into her bag, a notebook that Everett had actually given her as an eighteenth birthday present, and had every intention of falling back into a familiar habit of finding some place to jot down her thoughts, sketch out fashion designs, and simply just doodle in the blank space. She knew that it maybe hadn't been the wisest choice, considering the fact that it was January in New York, but she had figured that it was maybe the most reliable way that she knew to relax. It wasn't even like she had a lot stressing her out, she knew.
She had been accepted to FIT in the fall and was excited to get started on her degree in fashion marketing, hoping that she would eventually be able to take on a roll like Cassidy Thomas' or Amber Finn's. But she supposed that part of her was still worried about what it was going to be like to actually start college. The only experience she had with college had been what she had seen the few weekends she had spent at Cornell with her sister and Brody, and any information that Morgan passed along about Columbia. She figured that an art school was going to be different - and she supposed that part of it had to do with the fact that she was nervous about living in a dorm. She had never lived with anyone before, at least not anyone that she wasn't related to, and the thought that she might hate her new roommate made her a little worried.
Part of it, she wasn't willing to admit, probably had to do with the fact that she had finally started dating Everett. After pretending that she could be patient for so long, she was quickly realizing that she didn't know how to be in a relationship. She had never had a real boyfriend before, and unless Will counted for anything, she wasn't sure that she even knew how to have any sort of relationship with a boy. It was uncharted territory for her, and as much as she wanted things to continue progressing, she wasn't sure that she was going to know what to do next.
But more than anything else, she realized that for the first time in her life she didn't have a reliable best friend. Not that she wasn't thrilled to have Morgan back in her life, and not that she didn't know that her sister would have been there for her in a heartbeat, but after so much time trying to figure out what her relationship with Brody had been, Ellie thought that Morgan deserved this time alone with him. It had been the sudden loss of Kensi as her best friend that she supposed had hurt the most. She knew that it had been the fact that she had sided with Jamie that had caused the greatest rift, but she stood by the fact that she thought that Kensi had crossed a line with what she had said about his sister. She had been nearing her favorite bench in the park when she spotted the aforementioned former best friend not far away. Taking a deep breath, Ellie decided that she at least owed her a polite hello.
"Hey," she said softly. "Small park."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 20, 2016 2:48:14 GMT
Kensi hadn't been able to take it anymore, the incessant droning of her mother and her mother's new boyfriend had driven her out of her apartment. When she'd first started high school, she'd still been a bit strange but she'd been somewhat popular, finding herself a boyfriend three years older than her who she'd immediately fallen head over heels for the way that young girls do - only for him to move on to someone else while they were still together. After that, she found that the crowd that had been her friends when they were dating no longer wanted much to do with her. And so for the past couple of years, Kensi had resisted being what one might consider typical - she preferred to lean on the quirky side even if she knew that sometimes it was over the top. She never wanted to be one of the carbon copied rich girls on the Upper East Side that she went to school with. Along the way, she'd made some friends - Ellie Tyler, who was as stunning as she was a bit weird and who didn't seem to care that Kensi didn't give a damn about who did or did not like her, Everett Quinn - who had graduated with Kensi's ex-boyfriend and had been the friendliest person Kensi had ever known, and James Benson - who'd become her first boyfriend after two years of deciding not to let anyone in that close for that long.
But now everything had fallen apart. She supposed, to a degree, that it was her own fault. She'd pushed some limits when talking about Jamie's sister - despite genuinely disliking the older woman, and she'd put her friends in the middle. And, at the same time, her own attitude in general pushed people away. But for Ellie to have picked Jamie's side in everything hurt her considerably, given the way that Kensi believed friends should treat each other.
So she found herself in the park, her large headphones around her neck blaring music from her phone. She jabbed pause when Ellie approached, looking up at her and ticking her eyebrow up. "What's up?" she said flatly, turning her attention back to the magazine she'd been looking at and pressing play again, with very little intention of listening to what Ellie had to say.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 20, 2016 3:12:00 GMT
Ellie hadn't been expecting a warm welcome or any sort of hug and apology, but she had been expecting that maybe her former best friend would have been a little bit happier to see her. Maybe it wasn't necessarily the right time for them to start repairing their friendship, and maybe they still had a lot of things that they needed to say to each other, but the way that Kensi seemed to blatantly ignore her had pushed the wrong button. She hadn't been expecting that they were even going to start shouting at each other, but she assumed that that's what they were probably well on their way to.
Sighing, she pulled the headphones away from Kensi for a moment, placing them in the other girl's lap. "What the hell is your problem? I was just trying to be friendly. I figured that I owed that to you as your former best friend." She was getting angrier the more she dwelled and the more she allowed herself to get upset by everything that had happened. "Look, I don't agree with what you said or what happened at the New Year's party, but I think that it's stupid that you're acting like this. And trying to get Jamie back like that was just ... wrong. I don't know what's gotten into you."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 21, 2016 1:35:42 GMT
"What the hell is my problem?" Kensi asked, her eyebrows raising. "I don't have a problem," she told her with a simple shrug, trying to remain casual even though she could feel her blood boiling. "And the key word there is former. What makes you think that I want to talk to you after everything? Do you know how many things you've done that I've thought maybe weren't the best choices but I figured - she's my best friend and if she wants to do it, I'll support her and have her back even if it goes wrong?"
She scowled at Ellie. "I had your back and was there when Will was a dick and supported you even when you decided to still give him a chance afterwards. I was there for you when Everett bailed but invited him to your birthday party - even though he bailed on me too, because I knew you cared about him. I was there for you every day that your own sister left for five months and then still included her in your birthday party even though - I'm pretty sure that she doesn't like me any more than Jamie's did. I was always there, Ellie, and if I wasn't then all you would have had to do was call and I would have dropped everything to be there. But now that your sister's back and Everett's in your life and you don't agree with every choice I'm making, I guess it's just real easy to take a step back and pick someone else's side. Less hassle, huh?" she shook her head. "Screw you. I don't give a damn about many people, but I gave one about you. You were my best friend - period. I guess I was your best friend when your twin and your boyfriend and your childhood buddy weren't around."
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 21, 2016 1:54:34 GMT
Ellie would have physically recoiled had she not felt her blood immediately begin to boil as she fought to defend herself against Kensi's merciless attacks. Yes, she perhaps made a point. Kensi had been there during a time in which Ellie had thought that everyone else had abandoned her. Her defense of Jamie in this all had really come down to the fact that they had known each other since they were small children, and more than anything, she just couldn't tolerate someone speaking out against someone else's family. Maybe it was the fact that she had finally gotten her sister back in her life, or maybe it was because she knew how unpleasant it could be to be placed in a position where you weren't speaking to your sibling. Either way, Kensi had been there for her then and she had appreciated that more than she could have possibly expressed.
And while that might have been enough to soften her anger toward the other girl, the list of everything that had gone wrong had caused her pulse to beat more rapidly. "Maybe you shouldn't have," she snapped. "Maybe what I needed was for my best friend to tell me that I was being an idiot. Maybe you should have kept me from continuing to hook up with Will and trying to think that I could change his mind about being in a relationship with me."
Sighing, she shook her head, feeling the cold winter air biting at her cheeks. "I was so happy to have you when Morgan was gone - I loved spending time with you, Kensi. I appreciate everything that you did for me - the birthday party, being my best friend, everything - but just because you did those things or just because we were best friends doesn't mean that I have to side with you when things get rough."
Even less than she liked being reminded of all of the stupid things that she had done, she hated being made to feel like the things that were going well for her were things that she should have felt guilty over. "It's not fair to make me feel like just because things are better with my sister and because I'm dating Everett that suddenly I don't want you in my life anymore. It's not easy to pick sides - and I wouldn't have picked sides had you not let your mouth run about something that wasn't any of your business to say in the first place. Jamie's a good guy, Kensi, and he didn't deserve to get pulled into whatever petty dislike you have toward his sister - it's easy for me to understand why he was so upset about what you said. You were my best friend, too. You were like a sister to me, honestly... But you can't be mad at me for disagreeing with you. You have to understand that."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 22, 2016 1:33:43 GMT
"I can't be mad at you?" she asked. "I sure as hell can. And if I thought for a second that if I'd told you 'what you needed to hear,' that you wouldn't have felt like shit and taken it out on the messenger - in fact, you can't blame me for being mad," she spat out. "You picked your side, Ellie, and you could have just stayed out of it if you didn't like it, but you didn't. So whatever, you made your choice. You came over here because you knew you upset me and you probably wanted me to tell you it was okay so you could feel better about yourself - but guess what? Not happening. You hurt me, Ellie. And when that happens, I'm done."
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 22, 2016 1:57:07 GMT
She clenched her jaw in anger, trying to choose her words very carefully so that she didn't say something that she would later regret. Though, Ellie amended, she wasn't sure that there was anything to really regret at the moment. Kensi seemed to have made up her mind about the status of their friendship and considering the fact that she still believed that Jamie had been right to be upset with Kensi over what she had said, and so she wasn't sure that she could say anything that could possibly further damage things between them.
"Are you really mad at me?" she questioned. "Or are you mad at Jamie? Sure, I might have agreed with him and hell - I might even think that maybe you two weren't right for each other in the first place - but are you really mad at me for siding with him on this one? You made a mistake and said some things that you shouldn't have. And I know that you know that you fucked up here, Kensi. I'm allowed to think that someone was in the right and someone was in the wrong on this, and you were in the wrong."
Sighing, she brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face. "Yes, I've made some pretty stupid decisions, too. And no, I don't always want to hear about them either, but you still should have told me. Even if I would have taken it out on you, don't you think that after a couple of days, a couple of hours even, that I might have realized that you were right? That as my friend you were doing me a favor by telling me that I was being an idiot? Maybe if you had told me I wouldn't have kept hooking up with Will or being upset about Morgan being gone. And maybe now that you know that the things you say can really piss people off, you can stop doing that, too."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 22, 2016 3:19:14 GMT
"Okay, here's something you probably don't want to hear then - you're being a shitty fair weather friend. You didn't have my back and I've had enough people like that in my life already, so I don't need anymore. Get off your fucking high horse and leave me the hell alone," she snapped at her. "And yeah, I'm really mad at you - not at Jamie - at you."
Standing up, she brushed herself off and attempted to walk away. Of course, it was just her luck that someone else familiar was approaching.
"Woah, Pixie, where's the fire?" Everett questioned, he'd been taking photos in the park again when he spotted his girlfriend, Ellie, and his once-close friend, Kensi. He looked between the two of them, "What's wrong?"
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 22, 2016 3:29:03 GMT
If Ellie had thought that she had been angry before, she didn't have the right word to explain how she was feeling at that moment. She completely understood now why Morgan had lashed out and hit Will if only because she had no other way of properly displaying how much Kensi had hurt her, upset her, made her feel guilty about everything that had happened. She hadn't been sure if she was happy to see Kensi try and storm off or if she wanted to yell at her and force her to stay if only so that she could have the last word in their argument.
When Everett appeared seemingly out of nowhere, she paused. She hadn't even noticed him approach, maybe because she had been so focused on her own argument with Kensi that she had become completely oblivious to everything around her in that moment. Sighing heavily, she shook her head. "Nothing. Kensi came to the realization that I'm a shitty friend apparently so she was just leaving."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 23, 2016 3:10:52 GMT
Everett frowned when Ellie explained what was going on. He looked down at Kensi. "Kens, c'mon."
"You guys picked your sides already, I don't have anything to say to either of you," she spat out.
Everett frowned. "Hey, I haven't picked sides at all," he pointed out. "I just wanted you to calm down that night because you'd been drinking. I definitely did not pick Benson's side over yours. We just wanted you to relax and sober up. Neither of us think the way any of this has gone down is okay. You've just gotta think, kid, that's all. You know I can't just standby and watch you get yourself into hot water - you want to hash it out with Jamie, hash it out. But do it sober and do it a bit calmer."
"Yeah," Kensi muttered. "That's kind of not what your girlfriend thinks. She just thinks I was wrong and that Jamie and I weren't even a good match."
"I thought Ellie introduced you two," Everett said dumbly, now officially confused.
Kensi shrugged. "Whatever, I don't need this shit," Kensi muttered, taking a step to leave.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 23, 2016 3:38:42 GMT
Ellie didn't say anything for a minute, trying to figure out how Kensi made it sound like being Everett's girlfriend was such a bad thing. She knew that she hadn't exactly been the most rational or patient person in the world, but she had never thought that it would have been a bad thing. When it came down to it, nothing had colored her own thoughts or opinions of the situation, and so she just found the entire thing to be a bit ridiculous.
"I did introduce them," she admitted. "I just never expected it to last more than that one night." She knew that it was harsh to say, and she knew that it had every possibility of upsetting Kensi even more so, but she figured that there was no point in keeping anything in anymore. "But it obviously doesn't matter anymore. Kensi clearly thinks that I'm a horrible friend, so that is what it is."
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Post by Kensi Cavanaugh on Jan 24, 2016 20:54:52 GMT
Everett blinked, finding Ellie's words a bit harsh. He knew that Kensi had been going off the rails lately. But hearing the two of them tear into each other put him in an awkward place, having been friends with Kensi for years but also currently dating Ellie.
Kensi couldn't help the way her blood boiled at Ellie's words. They'd hurt. The time that Everett had pulled away and Morgan was otherwise involved, both she, Ellie, and Jamie had spent a considerable amount of time together. Jamie had been the first boy that Kensi had liked in some time and to hear that Ellie thought they were only suited for a one night stand stung. "Fuck you, Ellie."
"Kensi," Everett warned. "Both of you, I think that's enough," he said, attempting to be diplomatic.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 24, 2016 21:23:56 GMT
This time, Ellie did physically recoil from the impact of Kensi's words, blinking in surprise at not only how much it had actually hurt to hear but at how surprised she was to head Kensi say it. She knew what she had said had crossed a line, and though she hadn't intended for it to get to that point, she didn't think that there was any way to backtrack away from it now.
When Kensi and Jamie had started dating, she had been surprised, though not unhappy, about the development. In all honesty, she supposed that she had never expected them to work out well, but for a little while they had. And she had been really happy about that - but it didn't mean that she hadn't been expecting them to disagree on something at some point. Jamie and Kensi were just different people, but she hadn't necessarily been expecting that they would end as unhappily as they had. And she certainly hadn't been expecting that Kensi would have been so upset about it.
Sighing and shaking her head, Ellie dismissed the whole argument. "I'm done," she announced. "I'm not doing this anymore." She turned and tried to make her way away from them.
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Post by Everett Quinn on Jan 24, 2016 21:53:29 GMT
Kensi nodded, gathering up her things and shaking her head at Ellie. "I've been done. I don't need this," she spat out, she turned her attention to Everett, wanting to say something for how quickly her old friend had turned his back on her, but instead she snapped her mouth shut and walked away.
Everett huffed a sigh as both girls tried to make their get away, frowning, he shut his camera down and moved to follow Ellie, letting Kensi go to blow off some steam. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked his girlfriend, concern in his voice evident.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Jan 24, 2016 22:20:09 GMT
Ellie huffed, replaying the argument and everything that had led up to it in her head. She didn't want to admit to Kensi how much it truly hurt to not only be in such a fight with her but to hear the things that she said and to face the reality that there was a chance that their friendship couldn't be fixed. She knew that she had crossed a line with some of the things that she had said, and she had probably crossed a line even just by siding with Jamie in the first place. She supposed that it was her own relationship with her family that made her want to side with him so quickly, but Kensi brought up a valid point - she had been there in a time in which Ellie had felt truly alone. And she supposed that she had completely taken that for granted.
She had gotten so caught up in her own thoughts that she had actually been surprised to hear Everett's voice. "Fine," she said quickly. "I'm perfect."
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