Forget Regrets

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Naia was still getting used to life in New York even though she had lived in the city for longer than a year. It was nothing like Wolfville at all, but she was quickly growing to love the life it offered her and everyone else. Still, she was indoors before nightfall and if she was out with friends she refused to go home alone, making one of them stay with her or vice versa. She was smart, she knew the dangers and she didn’t want to grow scared of the place she ran to when the promise of a small town life became too much for her to live with. Still, the city had promise and one day she would return home to Nova Scotia when she was ready and had had enough of an adventure. Her whole life she had been responsible and careful and it felt like it was the first time she had a chance to live for herself, just like Nicolai had said when he had encouraged her to get out of the small town and spend a few years doing things that she had only dreamt of doing.

She had made some great friends since moving to the city and not all of them were native to New York or to her criminology course. Naia was a little older than most of the sophomore students, but it wasn’t something anyone seemed to care about as much as she had expected them to and she had quickly made friends with Lottie when she had met the girl who was playing the college game the same way she had done by not enrolling straight out of high school. When she wasn’t busy, Naia liked to meet up with the tomboy she usually found herself worrying about more than she ever worried about her younger brothers. It was one way to make sure that she was still alive and not in plaster or something, but it was also fun to catch up and just hang out for the day. Lottie knew what she was doing, but that was never enough to stop Naia from worrying; she had spent her life being careful and trying not to get hurt. The only time she had been in hospital was after the accident that had happened the one time she was being careless and since then she had been extra alert and cautious when it came to her life. That day could have been a lot worse than what it was and every time Naia thought about what might have happened she grew sick.

Sending a quick text after her breakfast, Naia made plans to meet up with Lottie at the Rockefeller Centre for an afternoon of…well, she didn’t know what. She had told herself a while ago that it was a lot easier just to arrange to meet up with the tomboy rather than schedule a day of possible activities; Naia’s well planned lifestyle didn’t always suit everyone else around her, but luckily she had the patience for compromise and so long as she didn’t end up running across the city trying to calm someone down, she could find fun to be had in most things her friend could think up.

Quickly making her way into the city from her apartment, she quickly worked the sidewalks until she reached the Rockefeller Centre, smiling softly to herself as she scanned the crowds for Lottie, but it didn’t look as though her friend was there yet. She perched on one of the low walls and leaned back, enjoying the warmth of the late spring morning as she waited. A day without assignments, research or a shift at the Hard Rock Café was a day worth enjoying every second of!

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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 662!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Having a completely free morning for Lottie meant one thing; catch up. She did everything she pushed to the side until later and when that was all done, she hit the gym or archery range. Luckily for her, she’d had the night before off work, so she’d done all the catch up then. Kael was away on some sort of business trip, so she had the apartment to herself for a week or so. She blasted the music, went through a full routine of yoga, karate and kendo, grabbed a quick shower and dressed for the day. She wanted to hit the range before all the know-it-alls got there and tried to show her how it was done. She’d been into archery for years now; she knew what she was doing. Lottie shoved her hair up into a messy bun, grabbed her equipment, checked her bag for everything, checked Rocky’s bowls and left, locking the door behind her.

She tossed her things in the backseat, got behind the wheel. After she’d started it up, switched the station to something less Kael like, she hit the road heading straight over the bridge to Brooklyn and the range. There wasn’t a range in Manhattan, but Brooklyn had a great facility and Lottie enjoyed spending as much time as possible out there. She found a spot, glad they were open so early. She’d had some things to think about with school, and letting a couple arrows fly helped her work everything out. Lottie grabbed her things from the car, hitting the alarm as she walked through the front door. The lobby was nice, and Lottie smiled to the man behind the counter, taking a few extra minutes signing in to chat. Since she’d found the place a little after she’d moved, she spent a lot of time there; even helping out a couple of the beginners that wanted to try the sport that Robin Hood and that girl from those books loved so much. It wasn’t some passing trend for Lottie, but for those it was, she was glad to help out; if only so she knew she was safe from one of them letting off a stray arrow and hitting her. She grabbed the practice arrows from the counter, thanking Rick again for them and headed further into the building.

She set up and let a shot fly, watching as it soared through the air with near perfect aim to hit just left of a perfect center. She smiled, pleased as she lowered her bow and took a look around. It was almost a ritual for her; get on the range, set up at a free target and let one fly before she took a minute to check out her surroundings. There were a few people around, none of them paying any attention to the shorter than average blonde girl next to dead center on the range. Smirking, Lottie let loose a couple more arrows before her phone vibrated in her pocket. Thinking it was Kael; she did the math and figured it would still be before dawn where he was. He wouldn’t be up, so it couldn’t be him texting her, she thought setting her bow down and digging out her phone. She smirked, seeing her friend’s name and reading over the message. There was no way Lottie was turning down a day out with a friend, especially since it could always include shopping. Lottie wasn’t a girly girl, she’d rather be on a skateboard or snowboard, but she did love to shop. She sent a quick one back and figured with the time it would take to get back, she’d better start packing up again. She put her bow away, flipped the switch to bring the target back to her and pulled out the few arrows. She left the quiver on the counter, and waved as she walked out the door again.

She drove through the surprisingly light traffic of Brooklyn and over the bridge into the mess that was Manhattan. She loved how full the city was. It reminded her of Boulder sometimes. With all the mountains around, Boulder got pretty busy; it was good for the family business. Lottie pulled into a free parking space, surprised there was one within a block of the center. She’d tossed her gear in the trunk before she’d left the range so she just grabbed her purse and slipped it onto her shoulder before shutting the door, hitting the alarm and started looking around for Naia. She’d met the other girl on Campus and immediately hit it off. She wasn’t an Art History major like Lottie, but she had started College late, like Charlie. She didn’t have to look long to find her safety net on adventures waiting. Lottie was the type to go out and do something, get hurt and laugh about it later, Naia was like a mama bear almost, always watching out for Lottie and making sure she really didn’t do anything stupid. The handful of broken bones she had was quite enough. Lottie skipped up to Naia with a laugh. “Nai! Daydreaming about someone fantastic, I hope?” She asked, smirking, leaning against the wall beside her.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 868
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Naia liked to keep herself active, though her hobbies were vastly different from Lottie’s. Whenever Naia had time to kill, she was more likely to go down to voluntary practice and offer a hand or if she didn’t have too much time she was easily found with a book in her hand or her fingers wrapped around Marlowe’s leash as she tried to control him through Central Park and stop him from chasing everyone and everything in his sight. Plus, Naia wasn’t able to be entirely active as her tomboy friend. Sports had been limited since her accident and too long on her feet put her in a foul mood and left her reaching for the painkillers and the foot spa. Ever since she had survived being hit by a car Naia became doubly aware of the dangers out there and her worrisome traits were more understandable once that tale had leaked out; usually after a bottle of wine had played the role of truth serum on the young Canadian.

Hopefully, there would be a chance to shop this afternoon. She had been paid the week before and with the money to spare she hoped to pick up a few new things. Her eye had been fixed on a gorgeous blazer for the last few weeks and Naia had her fingers crossed that it would still be there. If the stars were in her favour, she might even find it in the sale or discounted and in her size. Bargain finds like that put a smile on her already happy face for the rest of the day and with good reason, especially if it meant she could buy a new purse or pair of shoes with the money she would’ve saved. It was a nice thought, but Naia wasn’t going to pin her hopes on the fickle nature of the fashion world in which a wardrobe needed to be changed once a month in order for it to be up to date with the latest trends. There was far too much hassle in all of that for Naia’s liking. She’d rather pick clothes she was comfortable in, rather than something Cosmo said was ‘in’.

She almost didn’t see Lottie approaching until she was right in front of her, laughing at Naia’s slightly glazed over expression. Throwing her friend one of her usual smiles, the pixie haired criminologist rolled her eyes and shook his head. “Like who? I don’t think there is anyone, which is so very sad now that I’ve said it out loud.”

[/color] She pulled a face and let out a soft chuckle. She might have been a dreamer, but she had no immediate plans to fall in love with some city guy. She wasn’t about to roam the city to find her Prince Charming or even look twice at every guy who spoke to her. Naia had left Wolfville to escape that; she wasn’t about to fall into that again. Pushing herself away from the wall, Naia smoothed down the skirt of her dress and then hopped to face Lottie. “So, what and where first?”[/color] She asked in her usual chirpy tone with a smile to match as usual.
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 565!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie wasn’t a shop on trend kind of girl. She’d grown up with jeans, tanks and sweaters. And with her brother’s always picking fights, wearing anything frilly and girly was completely out of the question. The only reason she started wearing heels was because it got her better tips and they made it easier to reach the higher bottles at the bar back home. Before she’d started wearing heels, she had to use the cupboards behind the bar as a little stool. Now, she wore heels nearly as much as she wore flat shoes. Though life was very different in New York from Boulder, in Colorado wearing heels just around town unless you were some sort of professional, was just stupid; especially when life where she was practically revolved around the mountains. Not that the differences mattered all that much. She still had big bro Kael around to make sure she didn’t do anything stupid and of course, she had her friends like Naia who were almost always around playing mother hen when she needed it the most.

Still, though, the prospect of spending an afternoon with a friend even browsing the countless shops of New York was an offer Lottie couldn’t pass up. She laughed good naturedly at Naia’s comment. Neither of them were in the city trying to find their prince. Lottie had had one back home and he’d turned out to be the biggest frog of them all. She wasn’t entirely ready to go through the song and dance yet again. She was young, they both were; plenty of time to figure out what the two girls wanted from life. Lottie wanted her art gallery and Naia wanted to be something the short blonde girl had only seen on TV and in movies; a CSI or something. Lottie wasn’t entirely sure of all the applications, but she knew it was a whole lot of work; a lot more than she had patience for. Lottie sighed, shaking her head. “That really does sound bad. You may need some retail therapy to deal with that level of sad,” she said, with a grin on her face.

She clapped her hands together, excited to be hanging out with Naia and shopping. “Well, Kael isn’t in town for a week, so this is the only time I’ll be able to sneak in club clothes without him needing to check them against his skank scale,” she said laughing at the ridiculous thought. She had clothes for the club, but she rarely wore them for the clubs. She was a bartender and they’d been told that as long as it was black or white, she could basically wear what she wanted. As much as she disliked it, appearance sold just as much as flirting with the guys and talking fashion with the girls. Honestly though, her brother wasn’t that bad, he knew the deal since they grew up working in the family restaurant. “Seriously, though, it doesn’t matter wherever you want to start,” she said, adjusting her bag.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 505
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Naia’s dress sense was certainly feminine, but it wasn’t pink or frilly or covered in flowers. She liked to keep most of her wardrobe plain and simple. There wasn’t the need to dress in skimpy clothing or tiny skirts. In fact, even on nights out, Naia’s choice in clothing was usually nice but modest. She had grown up technically playing mother to her siblings and the last thing she wanted was to become just another skank like her supposed mother, who had ran away so that she could keep sleeping around with younger men. Naia was disgusted by anyone who did that sort of thing and it was one of the many reasons why she didn’t go to nightclubs all that often either. Whenever she was there, she found herself wondering how many people in there were cheating on others and how many hearts might be broken come morning. The whole thing made it harder for Naia to enjoy a night out.

Most twenty three year olds would be bouncing at the chance of romance and love. Most of the girls on her course were always talking about their dates or their boyfriends and Naia didn’t understand the rush of it. Her own love life had dragged her down, killing her spark for a long time until her brother talked sense back into her. Now, she lived for herself, chasing her own dreams and doing her own thing, without the need or want of a man to greet her when she came home from college. “Sounds like a good excuse to me! And, it’s easier on the hips than junk food.”

[/color] Not that Naia was worried about her weight. She kept a healthy lifestyle most of the time and kept busy enough to keep her girly mind from demanding copious amounts of chocolate or ice cream.

Glancing around at the closest shops, Naia’s lips twitched upwards into an innocent smile. She didn’t really have a favourite store, despite living in the city for a year. She was far too accustomed to living on thrift store purchases and altering old clothes to fit her and look like they were remains of the seventies. A lot of the low cut tops or skin tight shirts were just far too much for the young criminologist. Turning to Lottie, she pursed her lips and thought for a moment longer. “Over there!”[/color] She spun around and pointed in whatever direction she landed. Spontaneity was a new aspect of life for Naia and even something small like this was quite a big thing to her. “I don’t know what ‘there’ is, but forget about that!”[/color] She laughed, taking a quick hop in that direction before waiting for her friend.
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 487!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

It amused Kael to no end that Lottie had a friend like Naia. She was so girly and adorable and the only girly thing Lottie did was wear heels and flirt. Normally, she would rather climb trees and shoot some arrows over doing anything girly. But she also couldn’t deny a love of shopping; about the only girly activity she enjoyed. And Naia was about the only person from school and work that Lottie liked hanging out with and shopping with. The others were cool to hang out with but Lottie wasn’t about to give up anything about herself they didn’t already know. Lottie glanced around the space, checking out where the good stores were located. She didn’t have Naia’s style, nor did she think she could pull it off. She’d been jeans and tees her whole life. She’d barely worn dresses growing up because of the fight club she lived in, but she owned a couple now. She felt awkward in them but she had them all the same and barely wore them unless it there was a fancy situation. “It’s the perfect excuse!” she said, laughing.

“Hips yes, pocketbook, not so much, but I can live with that on my salary and tips,” she added, rolling her eyes. Truthfully, since Kael moved in with her, he’d taken over a lot of the bills since he felt it was somehow his responsibility. She wasn’t really going to complain when she knew their father put money in their accounts each week to pay for any extra expenses. They pretend it doesn’t happen and their father doesn’t mention it whenever they speak. As it was, she paid for groceries, her cell phone and half the cable bill, the rest was all hers to spend on whatever she needed. The membership to the gym she paid for gave her permission to indulge in a few calories without feeling too badly about it and keep her slim build. Lottie didn’t let herself think about the romance aspect of what they were talking about. She’d been there, done that and came away from it with a shattered heart. She wasn’t looking for anything more than a degree and some friends to hang out with. She wasn’t sad about it anymore; she’d gotten over it all. But it was still an untouchable scar she’d always have.

Lottie spun around to check out the direction Naia was pointing, her thoughts passing like the sparse clouds in the sky. Laughing, Lottie shook her head. “Well, we’re about to find out what there is!” she said, falling into step beside her friend. She had no clue where they were going but she hoped there was something beyond the large glass doors for her. She grabbed the door first, holding it open for Naia and following her inside. Lottie stepped to the side to allow her eyes to adjust to the difference in light. It was bright and sunny outside and being in the store felt like a cave or tunnel. It wasn’t dark, but it took Lottie a minute to be able to actually see what the store held. The blonde looked around, staring. She turned to her friend, chuckling. “I think you planned this!” she teased, looking around again at the style that screamed Naia.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 548
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Naia had spent most of her life taking care of others, especially the rough and tumble kind. She believed that was one of the main reasons why her friendship with Lottie was so strong. Practically helping to raise three boys who had their rumbustious moments had certainly helped the young woman deal with caring for the other people in her life who enjoyed a bit of a dare devil challenge from time to time and Lottie was right at the top of that list since Naia had moved to New York and befriended the other girl. Despite how she dressed and her feminine ways though, the Canadian girl was not a girl who was scared to get a bit dirty and pull her own weight. She had done most of the housework and helped Nicolai with the repairs from time to time. Still, she didn’t want to be one of those girls who were judged on how she looked or the way she dressed. There was a lot more to a person than their fashion sense.

Naia wasn’t used to having cash to burn. Obviously she still had to make sure there was enough to see her through the month, but there was always a bit left over to treat herself to something she wanted. It was uncommon for her to have money to spare on something new and her own, but she had been scolded by her father the time she had transferred money to his account after she had started her job as a waitress. He told her to keep it and spend it on whatever she wanted and not on the family who could cope without her being around it seemed. Flashing her friend a smile, Naia chuckled softly. “I know the feeling, but that is what sales were invented for!”

[/color] She said merrily. Naia, despite everything, was almost an eternal optimist and a lot of the times she spoke with a smile and a cheery intonation in her voice. It could grate on some people, but she hardly noticed. It had been her hopeful personality and light heartedness that had made the folk of Wolfville help her family after the uncaring woman she once called mother had walked out on them.

Her dark eyes widened as she scanned the interior of the store they walked into. It really was the kind of place where Naia could blow all of her money if she was that way inclined. She didn’t have anything specific to shop for, like a party or a date though, so she should be pretty safe. Giggling she turned back to her friend and tilted her head. “If I had planned this then I probably didn’t think it through. My bank account would cry if I did what I wanted to.”[/color] She joked, lifting a dress from a rail and looking at it before putting it back. Naia enjoyed shopping, but she wasn’t a shopaholic or anywhere near that. If she knew she couldn’t afford something without struggling for the rest of the month then she would be able to leave it behind easily enough and she didn’t have any real weaknesses like shoes or bags. “Come on, I’m sure there’s something in here you’ll love.”[/color]
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 588!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie had it pretty easy growing up considering there was no other girl in the house. As a little girl, before school started for her, she spent her time at the restaurant with her dad and the pretty waitresses that played with her on their breaks. They were the ones that eventually taught Lottie all she knew about being a girl. Bless her father, but he had been clueless about what to do. She’d been a spoiled little daddy’s girl. She had been treated like a princess and a fight team member. Hell, if it hadn’t been for the girls at the restaurant, Lottie would probably be going fully by Charlie, her hair would be short to stay out of her way and she’d probably never know how powerful a pair of heels could truly be. Lottie had never had to take care of anyone but herself. She helped her brothers when they were sick, but they all had their chores to do around the house and eventually, when they were old enough, at the restaurant, too. She didn’t see the worry when she said she was going to do something stupid; she saw the fun and knew her brother’s would be on the bandwagon after they found out she did it. Even Kael who was supposed to have a proper grown up job! The competitive streak in the McAllister siblings was a mile wide and didn’t look to be letting up at all in the near future.

Lottie loved having a friend that worried about her so much though. It brought a lot of the stunts she pulled into perspective. Normally, if it was just the siblings, they were always razzing each other to go further and their father said little more than make sure you come home; rather than the police knocking on the door again. Her father was a tough man, but she knew without a doubt that answering the door to that again really would break his heart. Lottie wished that would never happen to her with Kael living under the same roof as her again. She was weak compared to the rest of the brood and wouldn’t even be able to get her act together enough to dial her father’s number. The blonde ran her fingers over her hair, coming back to her friend after that accidental trip. “My favourite word!” she said laughing happily. She had money to spare usually, but Lottie was saving up for a trip and though it probably wouldn’t take that much time at all, she still enjoyed a great sale over paying full price for something that would be out of style within a couple months. That was one of the reasons she stuck to the basics so much. There were just some things that never went out of style even if they were. “Remind me I have to look out for something for Gavin. His birthday’s coming up and I haven’t a clue what to buy him,” she said, wrinkling her nose at not having started shopping.

Laughing, Lottie nodded. “There is! That is a fantastically cute dress, Nai,” she said, pointing across the floor to the far wall. It wasn’t overly floral or girly so it held some interest for Lottie. She wasn’t into dresses normally, but there had been a couple that caught her eye and she just had to have them despite almost never wearing them. Work had a pseudo uniform, so she wasn’t able to wear all her street clothes. And that dress on the wall, definitely wouldn’t work. But she still latched onto Naia’s wrist and practically dragged the other girl across the room to have a closer look. She let go of her friends’ wrist to pick up the first dress to hold up for an inspection. “I think I need this dress, Nai. What do you think?” she asked, turning the garment in her hand to check out the back before holding it up against her. Clearly, it wasn’t her size, but searching that out would happen in a minute; after she’d decided if the design looked any good. Grinning, she put the dress back and started a quick search for the next size up, her size.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 706
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Life was a lot easier now for Naia than it had been back in Wolfville. She didn’t have to chase her brothers around to make sure that homework and chores were getting done, or sit at her sewing machine to fix another torn hockey jersey or take up a pair of hand me down trousers. She still worried about her family and how they were coping without her now that she had moved so far away from them all. Every phone call she asked Nicolai how things were going and he would sigh, reassure her that things were fine and encourage her to do what she had left for; to live her life. He constantly told her that she had given up more than enough to make sure they had a normal, happy life and now it was time for them to learn to fend for themselves and give her back the freedom she had surrendered so that her brothers could have theirs.

She had been forced to grow up before her time and Naia strongly believed that was why she was so maternal and often worrying about Lottie’s activities. Maybe, if her mother hadn’t been such a heartless bitch, Naia would be more carefree and party more or do something some adventurous with her days off, but that wasn’t the case and she had stopped dreaming of those ‘what ifs’ a long time ago. She was happy with the person she was, but she did feel as though she was missing out just a little when she had no audacious tales to share with her friends. “I think it’s every girl’s favourite word.”

[/color] Naia said with her usual happy go lucky smile. There was always an amazing feeling to be had when something was less expensive than the retail price, even if you could afford it without the price slash. Clapping her hands together, Naia’s green eyes travelled across to Lottie. “If there’s one thing I can do, it’s shop for boys.”[/color] Throughout her life she had probably spent more money on male gifts than females, given her family situation and the fact that she usually found herself judged less by guys than the girls who would look down on her thrift store dresses and dated style.

Turning her head to see what her friend was pointing to, it took Naia a few seconds to spy the dress that was more Lottie’s style than anything else in that area. Her lips twitched upwards into a smile and she slowly followed her friend over to it, pausing only once to pick up a fedora hat and place it on her head, twisting to get a glance in the mirror at it. “I think if you don’t buy it, then you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”[/color] She grinned, taking another look at how the hat on her head suited her. It didn’t match her outfit, but Naia was certainly swayed into purchasing it with the excuse that she would now need an outfit to go with it. “I think if I was left alone in this store, I might make my bank account cry.”[/color] Naia sighed, looking at the hat now in her hands before fixing her hair with a quick shake of her head.
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 583!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie was the baby of the family; she got away with too much outside the restaurant. She’d never had to worry about making sure her brother’s did what they were supposed to, her father did that, and she knew better than to not do as she was told. Though she would admit to using “girl problems” more than once to get out of doing something she just had no interest in. Her father and brothers were such guys and would do whatever she wanted to make sure they didn’t hear her complain or cry. The fridge was almost always stocked with ice cream for those “special occasions” though if she were being honest, she was lucky in that department. Still, she wasn’t about to give up the only excuse she had to get out of things. Lottie didn’t know what it was like to have to care for anyone other than herself.

“And some guys,” she said, giggling, remembering a trip to the mall back home. A group of them had gone to the mall and one of the guys she swore squealed at the sale sign. Admittedly, he was fantastically gay and openly shouted it at every chance available to him. Still, he’d been more excited about the sales than the girls in the group. Lottie had wanted to get a new snowboard and was there to check out what the mall was like before she went to the locally owned place to get her new gear. In Boulder it was a hell of a lot better to go local and being from a family who owned a business, it was a nice gesture to give back to the other small shops. Thinking about Colorado brought back a lot of memories. She missed too many people from home. But, she was planning a trip back during the summer after finals and naturally every winter break available to her she was back in Boulder and her slopes.

Lottie felt like a weight was lifted from her shoulder’s hearing Naia say she’d help her. The blonde snowboarder was completely hopeless shopping for guys; especially her brothers and father. Usually she got a text or an email a couple months in advance of any birthdays or holidays were gifts were required. Then she spoke to the other two men in her life to figure out what everyone was buying so she knew. But this year, Gavin hadn’t sent her anything. He hadn’t sent anything to Kael or told their father anything either, so they were all in the dark. “Thank you! Normally, I have a list to choose from, but Gavin apparently didn’t like that idea this year,” Lottie said, pouting about it for a second.

Lottie laughed, holding the right sized dress up to her body. She hardly ever wore dresses, or anything fancy. They day she had to, it would make front page news in Boulder! At least, it would make headline news for anyone who knew the sports fanatic. Lottie turned to glance in the mirror one last time before folding the garment over her forearm. “Nai! That hat is adorable! If you don’t buy I will and claim it’s for helping me find something for Gavin!” Lottie said, grinning. There wasn’t much in the store for Lottie, a couple pieces here and there she would wear but not very many. But nearly everything just screamed Naia’s name.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 569
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

When Naia first moved to the city and ought to have been relaxing and catching up on stolen years, she had actually found herself unable to do that; it was almost as though she had to have someone in her life to worry about and fret over. It had been all she had known since before her teenage years and something like that was hard to let go of. Luckily, once she had her job and school had started up for her, she made friends and they quickly became the people she got to look out for, whether it was simply phoning them after they had missed a day of classes or by playing sober sister and driving them all home after a night of partying in the city. It was who she was and no matter how far the distance was between herself and Nova Scotia, it would always be like that for her.

Naia laughed softly, nodding her head in agreement with her friend. Casual shopping was fast becoming one of Naia’s favourite hobbies since back home she had only really hit the stores for gifts or when something was needed. She had never really found herself with the time to browse and try things on back then and more often than not a new purchase would get introduced to her sewing machine before she wore it out of the front door, normally because she had grabbed a size just ever so slightly too big. She never had a mother figure, so all the things a girl ought to know by the time she was sixteen, Naia didn’t. Instead, she had learnt how to cook and sew and seemed like a housewife from the fifties to people who didn’t know the family and what they had been through. “They either love it or they grab the first thing they see and say ‘that’ll do’.”

[/color] She joked, imitating the deeper voice of her brother, who very much had that attitude to shopping, regardless of how important it might have been.

Waving the thanks away Naia shook her head. “They’re useless and they never make it easier for any of us.”[/color] Luckily by now she had gotten pretty good at reading her own family for gifts, picking up on little things in conversation that they might have forgotten about by the time their birthdays came around, which usually led to a nice surprise from their big sister. “When Morgan was younger, all he ever said when we asked him was ‘I dunno’. Seriously, for three years straight, that’s as much information as he would share with us.”[/color] She had managed to find a way around that too, asking one of his friends from school to tell her what he had been talking about so that she could find at least one thing he might like.

Laughing again, Naia looked across at her friend as she took the hat from her head and checked the price tag again. She could easily afford this, thanks to the extra hours she had been putting in at work and the way she carefully monitored her money each month. “I’m already sold on it, don’t worry. But if you are set on getting me a thank you gift, a caramel macchiato would go down a treat right now.”[/color] She joked, already planning on grabbing her favourite drink once they left here and continued on their little shopping adventure.
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 577!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie’s move to New York came with nothing but what little she owned in the back of her Jeep. She knew at least one person in the city at the time and thankfully, after texting and making plans, he was letting her crash on his couch until she could get on her feet. Her acceptance to NYU arrived and everything sort of flew into overdrive at that point. She had nothing prepared, not a thing packed and no place to live at first. Thankfully, Seb was happy to help and she did know how to cook so there was always food made when she was home. And they went to school together, so when their classes lined up well, Lottie snuck in a ride with him. Her first couple months in the city were far from relaxing and enjoyable. She had to find a job within that first week since she didn’t want to live off her daddy’s money. And then her time was filled with putting in as much hours as she could to save her money for her own place. And then Kael showed up and she was brought back down to little sister told to save her money for “more useful things”. She didn’t know about Kael but she thought paying her half of the rent, her cellphone bill and her car insurance was useful.

Of course, even though she was trying to be independent, her father still put money in her account to cover her insurance and Kael still managed to pay the rent before she could hand over her half. It was a wonder she hadn’t snapped more than she had. Another bout was coming though, because she wanted to take care of herself. It felt like she only really took care of the groceries and the housecleaning because Kael wasn’t about to do those things. He always joked he was allergic to the grocery store and the only thing he cleaned was his room and the dishes if Lottie cooked. All the save your money stuff, did give Lottie the opportunity to shop more, which she has to admit she liked. It was quite possibly the only girly thing she did aside from wearing heels at work, but that was more so she could reach the higher bottles of spirits and liquors than actually wanting to. “That would be Gavin. I don’t know how many times I’ve gotten gifts from him he thought were ”alright”. Kael’s more fun to drag around though,” she said remembering when he first got his driver’s license and he took her shopping with friends. He had been bored at first, but figured since they were going to be a while, three girls with money to spare in a mall and him the only guy there. But then he joined in and they had dressed him up and made him try on stupid hats and sunglasses. She did the same with her guy friends who ventured out when them, too. All the guys knew to be warned. Lottie wasn’t the super girly girl but she had fun shopping and anyone with her would be subjected to fun torture!

Lottie didn’t talk to Gavin that much. He was too busy doing his own thing in Boulder and with the hours she worked and had school it was a wonder she even spoke to Kael! There were text messages and emails but it wasn’t good enough. She was happy though, that she was going home soon. A few more weeks of classes and finals and then she would have just enough time to pack up what she was taking with her and hit the road. Kael wasn’t going with her this trip but she was taking Dex with her which was nice. She didn’t like the long trip alone, even if she did have Rocky with her. Sometimes a girl just needed someone to talk to on a long journey like that. She was excited though, to be bringing a friend home. It was easier to show people the secret places to shop, eat or play than it was to describe it all. “Kael tells me what to buy him, he prints out flyers and pictures and things and plasters the apartment with them,” Lottie said laughing. She’d always gotten along better with Kael than Gavin. She loved them both dearly, but she could talk to Kael about things and she knew if she said anything to Gavin, the guy she was talking about would end up with a black eye. Gavin was far more protective, probably because they were closer in age, while Kael let Lottie make and fix her own mistakes. Lottie nodded, understanding that. “That’s the phase Gav’s in now. I’ll probably beat him up when I see him next because of it. Or force him to go shopping with me and dress him up in stupid hats and things,” she said, thinking up plans of revenge. “Our next stop then! I could definitely use a sugary sweet drink!” she exclaimed picking up a slouchy hat and examining it. She loved the slouchy beanie like hats, always had and even had a serious collection of them back at the apartment. Kael was always complaining she wouldn’t have any room left if she bought any more, but she kept them in a storage container and dug through them whenever the mood struck to wear one.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 905
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3

[Naia Reeve Pelletier]

Naia was still a hard worker; it was one of the things that hadn’t changed since she left Nova Scotia. She needed the extra shifts more than most people suspected and while she did have enough money to cover her rent, utility bills and grocery shopping, it was still a careful arrangement of her wages every time that time of the month came around when the Hard Rock Café replenished her bank account. She probably spent too many days trying to catch up on college work and sleep, but the hours she spent serving customers and flashing them a polite smile for the tips were necessary and she didn’t ever find herself slacking off, not even when exhaustion was hitting her hard and espresso shots were the only way she could keep the friendly smile in place and stay on her feet. Money hadn’t been something she could squander and anything she did have leftover either went towards birthday gifts or she transferred to her savings, ready for the day when her car packed in, or something happened with her brothers and she needed that emergency flight home for whatever reason.

If push came to shove, then she knew her father and brothers would find a way to send her some cash, but Naia really didn’t want it to ever come to that. It had only happened once when something had gone wrong with the heating system in her car, but she had felt guilty until finally her dad had accepted the money back off her. Even if she didn’t have the cash to burn, Naia loved shopping. Sometimes she went with her friends and just tried random outfits on; some she actually liked and others just to laugh at and snap a photograph of in the dressing room mirror. It was therapeutic and helped relieve any of the stress she might have been feeling at the time. Plus, she got to keep her eyes peeled for the birthday gifts for her friends and family, which was always a bonus since she didn’t usually like having to sit up and think of something at the last minute. “I can usually coax Nic out if I go shopping back home, but so much as hint about it to the others and they’re out of the house with nothing but a cloud of smoke hanging in their places. Even when it’s Christmas shopping and I have to force them out they spend most of the time dragging their feet and trying to drive me crazy.”

[/color] The house of men was coping fine, but her father still called her up for gift ideas and inspiration for parties or the holidays.

Naia let out a warm laugh, nodding in complete understanding. “Sky still does that! We usually have a long list for his birthday come the first day of spring, never mind that his birthday isn’t until November!”[/color] He was the baby of the family and still wanted everything his eyes fell on. Sure, a lot of the things his older siblings already had so it was just a case of handing them down, but the rest certainly made the birthday and Christmas shop a hell of a lot easier for all of them. “The trick that snapped Morgan out of it? We started hinting that we had bought him ridiculous things that he would never want in a million years. His “I dunno” quickly turned into a point at a magazine advertisement or a commercial and a “that’s cool”.”[/color] It had been a sneaky idea suggested by their neighbour, but it had worked wonders! Naia gave Lottie a thumbs up in total agreement and then glanced around for the register desk, turning towards it and smiling at her friend. “Let’s pay for all of this and get our sugar rush then.”[/color] She joked, joining the short queue and waiting for her turn, handing over the crisp notes and taking the bag from the cashier.
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• • •

TAGGED! Lottie!
WORDS! 697!
OUTFIT! Spring Chicken!
LYRICS! Another Day - - - RENT
NOTES! <3

[Lottie Aaliyah McAllister]

Lottie was pretty lucky that her family were over protective. Even though she wanted to be independent, she still had them to help out when she needed them and she always had money left over from her paychecks to put away for rainy days and shop. There weren’t a lot of people in the world, who weren’t famous who could say that. But it didn’t matter if she had cash to spare or not, Lottie still would have been on the streets window shopping, going in to try something on if it ever caught her eye. There wasn’t a ton of cash stored in her savings account, but there was enough if she even felt the need to splurge though usually even then it wasn’t on herself. She’d pick up a pair of shoes or a pretty piece of jewelry if it caught her eye, but for the most part, she splurged on things for the apartment, surprise treats for Kael and gifts for her friends.

Lottie had given up trying to get Gavin to go shopping with her. He just wasn’t the type to spend hours on end in the mall or the local shops lining the streets. Unless he was looking for new gear, he wasn’t in a store. Ask him to hit a trail, the lake or the mountain and he was the first one out the door, yelling at you to hurry up. Her brothers were total opposites in some ways. Kael loved to go with Lottie and spend time with his sister doing whatever, while Gavin wouldn’t leave his room or the rec room unless they were doing something active or going to the restaurant. Kael enjoyed his time outdoors, but could and had more than once, chosen balancing the books over hitting the trail for a bike ride. If she ever needed either of them, they were there for her, no questions asked. Lottie laughed, shaking her head. “Gavin would get along swimmingly with your lot,” she said once the giggles subsided. “I have to threaten him to go shopping for any holidays,” she sighed. It was like pulling teeth to get the man to step into a mall for more than five minutes.

“Kael sends my dad emails. I’ve seen his inbox after he asked for our wish lists. At one point, he actually put all of Kael’s email in his junk folder,” Lottie admitted, laughing at seeing the hundred plus emails from the eldest McAllister child. “We’ve tried something like that, but it doesn’t matter, he knows where we all hide the receipts. Kael is just about ready to give up and just give him money but where’s the fun in that?” Lottie asked, putting the hat in her other hand and picking up a scarf that went well with the colour of the hat. Today was a splurge on herself day, which would be followed with a splurge on the apartment and Kael day. “Fantastic idea,” she said, already mentally calculating the taxes on her new things. She knew she was safe, but she wanted to make absolute certain that she was. And with the years she’d worked in the restaurant, doing quick math like that came pretty easy now. Lottie set her things on counter, pulling her wallet out as the cashier rung up her purchases. She happily handed over the right bills, accepting the change and the bag. The blonde bartender was actually excited out picking up the cute little dress. “Alright, where’s the closest café?” she asked, as she walked out the doors of their first stop.

Tag|| Naia!
Words|| 599
Clothes|| Standing in the Ring
Music|| Living Out Loud By Aaron Lines
Notes|| <3 <3 <3