MADISYN: I Mean I Am Thinking Of Some Like, Fall Type Activities And Could Do With Some More Helping

MADISYN: i mean i am thinking of some like, fall type activities and could do with some more helping hands MADISYN: i guess it depends where outdoors, can’t imagine it’d be very beneficial when ur like…lost in the woods.

RAFAEL: Whatever work you need around the farm would be great. RAFAEL: I think for a few months at a time. There's been great research about time spent outdoors and I think it would be very beneficial.

Maybe she was too soft-skinned or however the phrase went, or her contempt for dressing appropriately for the weather was biting her in the ass. But who gave a fuck about people who valued practicality over fashion? But still, she stared at Leo indecorously when they affirmed it wasn’t that cold. At least, she thought that was the name given to her in the bathroom, because of Di Caprio. And the star sign. 

She was about to give him shit for not really feeling the cold out here when the next sentence had her mouth fall open. “You stole it from the bar?” She repeated, like she didn’t hear him correctly, but then thought about that bitch of a bartender she had made quick enemies with and shrugged, thinking about how the stolen bottle might come out of her paycheck. “Fuck it.” And she took a rather celebratory swig, though her new found attitude did nothing to diminish the burning in the back of her throat. Madi shook her head at the cigarette offer. “No thank you, I don’t touch that shit.” Alcohol fine, the occasional line or pill — very LA. But nothing that could potentially damage her lungs like that. “Iunno, home? It’s just like, not hitting back in there.” And she felt old and they seemed a bit younger so it felt like, a bummer to make such an obvious point.

Leo hadn’t noticed the drop in temperature since he’d arrived at Aurora earlier, even when Madisyn begrudgingly pointed it out to him. All he’d wanted in that moment was some fresh air and a familiar face, even if her’s was a new one added to his arsenal of comrades. She’d been funny and blunt in a way that was so refreshing to Leo, he couldn’t help but compare her to a cold glass of water. Shocking if unexpected, but so to-your-core satisfying when needed. If he could steal more of her time, he’d take it. “It’s not.” Leo insisted, like he could change her mind with the power of an unwanted opinion. “Or - I mean, yeah, I guess it is a bit. I’m kinda too drunk to notice.” A grin appeared as he spoke, happy that she’d humoured him and taken a gulp of the tequila, even if she didn’t seem too pleased about it.

A chill ran down his spine, making him eat his previous words. Going from living in the swampy heat of the deep South to the brisk cold of New York Winters had constantly left Leo’s body confused on what would be considered homeostasis, but he lit a smoke quickly - he’d always been convinced they warmed you up when you needed it most. “I stole it from the bar.” He quipped, as if he were explaining something as simple as the sky being blue - or whether it was cold out or not. “It tastes better stolen. A real scavenger’s feast, y’know?” Despite hyping up his winnings, Leo still pulled a face when he finally helped himself to the tequila. He almost felt bad about offering it up to her - quickly, he held out his cigarette to her, a new offering to share as a silent apology. “Where’re you going? It’s early.” She was the kind of pretty that demanded to be noticed, and Leo had done just that. He didn’t want her to go yet if she didn’t have to.

People like Aurora Bartender (hey, if Madisyn didn't know her name now, she never was going to) were simply real life internet trolls. If this were online discourse, all Madi would have to do was block and report, and then click out of her comments. Anything but engage.

But this wasn't online, this was real life. And it might have been the smartest thing to do, but ignoring A.B (previously standing for Aurora Bartender but right now Annoying Bitch seemed to be more apt) and heading straight into the diner seemed like defeat.

"Oh I'm sorry, am I supposed to be some kind of creep who has your schedule taped to my wall? Was I supposed to have followed you around and take note of what time you clocked in?" She questioned. "Literally, I asked for a favor. I wasn't exactly asking for like...a lock of your fucking hair to sell on eBay." Which was, incidentally enough, a message Madisyn had once received on Instagram. "I have a business. It means I can be flexible with my time."

She flinched when A.B stepped over, flinging a shoulder around her, trying her best to shake her off. "Ew! This is harassment." She declared, rolling her eyes at her assumption. "No, I wasn't calling them I...what am I even doing? I don't need to explain anything to you."

The look on Madisyn's face when she saw her was almost too good and Jeanie barely repressed a laugh. “Hey man, technically you wasted your own time,” she pointed out. “You're the one that messaged me... and in my free time, by the way. Y'know most people prefer to leave work at home when they clock out right? Hm. I guess that's hard to do when your job is... what's your job again?”

It was impossible in her presence—or at least Jeanie had decided it was—to decide whether to be more outraged at the woman's audacity or in awe of it. Entitled customers and difficult people were the norm in customer service, usually she wouldn't even bat an eyelid about it, but Madisyn was just so bold about it. Jeanie had to admire that just a little bit. At the very least it was entertaining. “A very important call, huh?” Really, she knew she was doing too much but she was on a roll now. Jeanie flung one around Madisyn's shoulders with the air of somebody about to impart incredible wisdom. “I hope you're not harassing the good people of The Labyrinth about free cocktails because lemme tell you... they'll be way worse than me.”

tagging @themadisynhuang

It did help a bit that Rachel didn’t get anything extra for her article being referenced in other publications (but honestly, Madi could have been able to tell by the overall vibe of her) and truthfully, if she was now here in Blue Harbor, clearly nothing came out of her career in bullying the influencer for fucking points or whatever. “You got the clout though, surely that paid well in that regard if you’re doing some organic grocery shopping.” She gestured to the space around them, always thinking of the average equation of subscribers, ad money and profit. However, she was pulled out of that thought by the journalist’s reply, eyes narrowing at the tone Rachel used to follow up with. There was a spike of spiteful glee that Madi clearly did hit a nerve, but to cause further damage would mean she’d have to research Rachel and after the rundown she was given, she honestly just sounded so dull that perhaps some online biography about her would be better done as a bedtime story. “Quite the contrary,” Madisyn thought of her TikTok engagement since buying the farm, “I think this little town is about to be the next up-and-coming place.” 

Rachel gave a small defensive shrug at Madisyn pointing out the fact that some of the articles that had been written about her and her partner's scandal had picked apart her article for themes. "Well, I mean I have no authority over the public domain. I don't even get royalties for them using quotations from the article." Though she did have Google Alerts set up when someone referenced a publication of hers out of pure curiosity. And she definitely had gotten quite a few dings of notifications when everything started to unravel in Madisyn's life. At the end of the day, she didn't regret writing the exposé so she wasn't going to apologize for that. Rachel heard the tone of the other woman's voice, almost like she was reaching for something, a jab perhaps. Jokes on her, she had been running towards someone, though they then ran away from her again. "It doesn't feel like a good place if you're trying to lay low, recreate yourself." Two could play at the subtly goading game. She was wondering what exactly Madisyn's thoughts were as to why she should come here. Perhaps she'd read a celebrity memoir or seen the trend of celebrities living quainter lifestyles.

The idea of a 9-5 was severely depressing to Madisyn, so she tended to honor that she could do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted as much as possible. Unfortunately in a town like Blue Harbor, her options wre slim to none, thus finding herself at Aurora more often than not.

Tuesdays were some sort of student night or something, always having a buzz, the dancefloor and the bar area filling up quickly, and Madi enjoyed it mainly because a lot of these kids didn't quite know who she was. They sensed that there was an air of infamy about her and treated her with respect, but no one ever seemed to Google her. It was like, being at like a masquerade ball or a Halloween party or something.

After making friends with someone in the bathroom, adjusting each other's makeup, Madi could feel her age (ew!) catch up to her, and decided to call it a night. Despite the sweaty atmosphere in the club, she knew the crisp night air would feel like ice to her little native Californian bones, and opted to stay near the doorway as she waited for an Uber driver to accept her ride.

It was when her friend from the bathroom ran by, grabbing Madi by the arm and dragging her outside. "What the fuck?! It's freezing!" She complained, only stopping when he offered her the bottle, to which she took, helping herself to a sip, wincing as the liquid burned the back of her throat, though at least warmth bloomed from her chest, making standing outside more bearable.

"Where did you get this from?" Madisyn wondered, handing it back to him, wiping the excess from her mouth with the back of her hand.

for: anyone! @bluestarters location: aurora

For a Tuesday night, Aurora was jam packed - which was saying something. Leo was used to a crowd at the club, but he felt especially sardined as they made their way to the front of the line, as desperate for a drink as everyone surrounding them. A thin layer of sweat coated their forehead and smudged the coal that’d been smudged under his eyes by a girl in the washrooms an hour ago, the two of them bonding over a mutual hookup and a line of whatever she’d offered to him. Already impatient as they were, Leo just felt himself grow more annoyed - if anything, their next move was meant to be helpful. One less person for the bartenders to worry about as he helped himself, stretching forward and splaying himself across the bartop until he could clutch onto the first bottle in his range. “Oh, word.” Leo nodded appreciatively, Casamigos label flashing at him - bucket of ice water dumped over his head and ruining the moment when he heard one of the bartenders shout; Hey, what the fuck! A beat passed as Leo made eye contact with them before they were darting off, letting out an adrenaline-fueled shriek of delight as they pushed their way through the crowd, only skidding to a pause when they noticed someone they recognised. “Yo!” He hollered, grabbing his new-found companion and, to their detriment, accomplice, Leo huddling in close to them and concealing the tequila bottle between them just as a security guard huffed past. The man looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. “Ha! Asshole! Helen Keller can see better than you!” Pausing so that he could properly celebrate their victory, Leo uncorked the bottle with his teeth, spitting it onto the ground and holding the tequila towards the other, saccharine grin all but taking over his face, cheeks already aching. “You first. I’m feeling generous.”