• Things Changed •

[Payton Elouisa Rhodes]

Payton had been changing a lot recently. It was strange, but, at the same time, she welcomed the sunshine back into her world. She wasn't so inside herself anymore, and she'd even been smiling, something that hadn't truly happened since before she left home. She didn't go straight from the apartment to work and back again like she'd been doing for a long time, and she was actually going out on the weekends instead of hiding away with a book or ducking off to work. It was different and new and terrifying all at the same time; but, for once, Payton wasn't running away from it.

Part of it was thanks to her boyfriend, and she knew that. Nix helped her in ways she'd never thought possible, especially when it came to laughing or looking on the bright side. He was always so happy and up-beat, which was beginning to rub off on Payton with the more time they spent together. The blonde-headed boy was the first person, other than Paige, to gain her trust, and Pay found herself enjoying the fact that she could talk to him. He never seemed to mind slowing down a little bit for her, though he often did speed her up when it came to moving. There never was a lack of energy when it came to him, which kept her on her toes and grinning whenever they were with each other.

With how much time she'd been spending with Nix or pulling extra hours to please her boss, there hadn't been too many run-ins with Paige. They lived together, sure, but that hardly meant anything when it came to the girls' lives. It was hard to find time where they both weren't off running around the city with their separate social circles, or working away at their jobs.

However, Pay had off today and, maybe, she'd get to share a bit of time with her twin before she ran off to prepare for the upcoming trip that she still hadn't told anyone about. She'd taken the day to go pick up her new kitty and bring it home, an experience shared with Nix who'd bought one, as well. But, after the morning antics, she returned to the apartment to settle the new fur-ball into its home. It was supposed to be a surprise for Paige... sort of. They needed a pet to liven up their apartment, so Pay had taken the liberty of securing one. Now, she had to reveal the cat and the vacation she was taking all in one conversation. It was going to be a long afternoon.

Pay came into the apartment with the kitten tucked safely under her arm along with a piece of paper listing what she'd need to pick up for the Vegas trip and what supplies needed for the cat. She kept the little bundle of fur close to herself, plopping down onto the couch and letting it snuggle into her lap. Clicking the button for the TV she laid back and began thinking of what clothes she'd be packing for her trip.

WORDS: 539!
TAG: Paige!
LOCATION: The Twin's Place!
OUTFIT: KITTY-TASTIC!!
KITTIES: CLICK!
MUSIC: Change by Taylor Swift
NOTES: The twins got the black and white cat, and Nix got the one with the ginger xD <3

[paige melissa rhodes]

Paige was happy that there had been so many changes to her twin’s cloudy personality. It had been so long since she had seen Payton smile a real smile and these days it was unusual for Paige to catch her without one. She had to find a way to thank Nix for bringing the light back into her sister’s life when she saw him next, but she had been so caught up with work and university assignments that she hadn’t had the chance just yet to make plans with anyone, not even her dark haired twin.

She had to admit, she was a little jealous of her sister’s happiness. The hopeless romantic that Paige was, she longed for the smile her sister wore. She wasn’t at all attracted to the white blonde senior, but she was attracted to idea of love, romance and that one special someone who would make her smile just by thinking of them. She was happy that Payton was finding happiness again and she trusted Nix not to hurt Payton, which won more bonus points in the blonde’s book. She just wished to share this with her twin, but lately it seemed as though neither of them were sharing anything anymore, almost like they were breaking some unspoken convention of the laws of twins.

Today, she had some time to herself. The classes that she usually had during the afternoon were cancelled so that the students could make use of the time to study and add the final touches to their end of year assignments. Paige had handed hers in the day before, so it freed her up for some quality time with Payton, if she wasn’t off tending to Nix and his injured arm. Paige stopped off to pick up some Chinese for lunch, grabbing an extra meal for her sister, if she was home. Maybe they’d get an afternoon to catch up or, if not, Paige would do some work for college or see if Borders needed an extra pair of hands. A lazy afternoon with a bubble bath might be nice, but Paige wasn’t quite in the mood to unwind so early in the day.

Arriving home, she moved to the kitchen to unload the food from the bag and get herself a drink. She heard the TV in the next room and assumed that her sister must be home after all. Tying her hair back and grabbing the food, Paige kicked her shoes off in the hall and then stepped through to find her sister curled up with a furry bundle in her lap. Her eyebrows furrowed as she came to the realisation that her sister was oblivious to anything other than the list in her hand and the animal on her knee. Stepping forward, she tapped Payton on the shoulder with the chopsticks in her hand and smiled, handing her the extra lunch before gesturing to the cat. What’s with the cat? She signed, taking a seat on the couch next to her sister.

Tagged- Payton Rhodes!
Words- 528
Lyrics- Down Goes Another One by McFly
Clothes- Over here
Notes- xD
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[Payton Elouisa Rhodes]

After years of feeling like there was no light at the end of the road, Payton could readily say she'd found her ray of sunshine. There were still demons floating through her head, as proven by the sleepless nights and the fears brought up by Nix's stint in the hospital, but, in general, she was happy. She had a job she loved, a guy who made her feel special, and a roof over her head; in her eyes, she was living the life. It was normal, something she never believed she'd be able to have, and it made her feel even better every time she stopped to think about it all. Sure, there were still problems to be dealt with and past ghosts to conquer, but, that would happen in time; for right now, there was nothing wrong in the world, and Payton was going to enjoy every damn second of it.

Despite being content with her life, Pay knew that this bliss wasn't going to last forever. Nix's injury had already shaken things up, though he was recovering from that, and she was usually by his side helping as much as she could. Sooner or later, something else would pop up and put a riff in the routine once again. She was beginning to brace herself for whatever the next challenge was, using her current happiness and storing it away for when she needed to good memories to help her survive the hard times. When it came, she planned on being ready to face it, and she wouldn't fall apart afterwards this time, either. She'd worked so hard to get back to a twisted version of the old her; she never wanted to go back to the depression again.

Payton had no indicator that Paige had come in, and remained on the couch, cuddling and smiling at the little kitten she'd decided to name Badger. She figured she had a bit of a right to name him seeing as it had been her savings used to pay for him, but she'd also fallen in love with the name long before even getting a cat. She'd promised herself that, once she got a dog or cat, it had to be named that; she loved it so much.

At the feeling of someone tapping her shoulder, her head snapped up in surprise, a smile touching her lips when she saw Paige. Payton took the food with a thankful nod, letting Badge go waddle over to Paige. "This is Badger. I bought him today,"

[/i][/color] she signed simply, as if no other explanation was needed to explain why a new cat was suddenly in the apartment. Pay opened up her container and began eating, keeping one eye on her twin in case she asked any more questions.[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

WORDS: 489!
TAG: Paige!
LOCATION: The Twin's Place!
OUTFIT: KITTY-TASTIC!!
KITTIES: CLICK!
MUSIC: Change by Taylor Swift
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[/size]

[paige melissa rhodes]

It had been too long since Paige had seen her sister smiling as much as she had been lately. She also felt that she had the right to a moment of sisterly “I told you so”, thanks to the times she had tried to tell Payton that everything would work out and be okay for her and the amount of times her dark haired sister had refused to believe any of it. Yet, here she was with a life a few years ago Payton never would’ve believed she would have. Yup, Paige felt that there was a well-earned “I told you so” to appear in one of their future conversations.

Paige knew that Payton wouldn’t be lost in the bliss for too long, like she would’ve been. Out of the twins, Paige was the one whose head remained in the clouds while Pay kept her feet firmly on the ground. Sometimes she wished they could have more of a balance each, rather than being one extreme and another, but she had a sneaky suspicion that Phoenix would keep Payton in these high spirits so long as they remained together. Everyone she knew found it impossible to be depressed or unhappy around the hyperactive string bean that was Nix McKenzie.

Pets had never been something the girls had spoken about before, but Paige wasn’t against them having one. In the past she had put it down to their busy schedules as a reason for it being an impractical choice, but now there was no room for logic or negotiation as the cat was already looking rather comfortable in their adequate apartment. She smiled down at the kitten, picking him up when he got close enough and balancing him in her arms as she put her lunch down on the table for a moment. She knew Nix was good for her sister, but she never imagined that his impulsive attitude might actually rub off on the quiet brunette. Thanks for the heads up. She teased with a smile and a wink as she scratched the tiny kitten behind his ears and cuddled him close before handing him back to Payton. As adorable as Badger was, the blonde Rhodes girl needed to eat before she passed out. Curling up in her usual seat, she happily began to tuck in to her food, only pausing to sign one more message to her sister. Plans for this afternoon?

Tagged- Payton Rhodes!
Words- 429
Lyrics- Down Goes Another One by McFly
Clothes- Over here
Notes- >.<
[/size]

[Payton Elouisa Rhodes]

Payton had never been one to open up and spill all of her feelings; she kept things bottled up and let them out through whatever vents she could, as long as no one was around to see. It'd been music years ago, and then it'd been crying herself to sleep or scribbling things into an old journal. Lately, all of those had sort of fizzled out. She didn't have anything to be angry over, or afraid of; she was just simply happy. Everyone called it the "honeymoon phase" of a relationship, but, her and Nix had been like this for a number of months now; the phase hadn't exactly passed at any point. Maybe it was Nix's personality, or maybe it was just Pay not being used to smiling so much. Either way, it left her with more sunny thoughts than cloudy ones; more light in her world than dark.

She'd never really seen herself as a cat lady, but Nix had conned her into buying a matching kitten, and she couldn't say no when he gave her the puppy dog face. Her and Paige needed a man around the apartment anyways, even if he did come in the form of a furry bundle of energy. Payton thought it'd be a nice addition to their quiet place, and she did need someone to snuggle when she wasn't over at Nix's.

Pay smiled as Paige scooped up Badger and gave him a quick cuddle. "Nix wanted me to get him. He bought one, too," she signed, hands moving in the fast way they always did when she talked with Paige. It was a luxury she wished she could share with someone else, but, for now, she'd be content with her twin; at least she could do this with someone. Pay grabbed a carton of food, digging in herself and watching as Paige signed another message. Biting her lip, she balanced the food in her lap and answered, "Actually, I've got something to spill." The silly smile tugging on her lips hinted that it had to do with Nix; he was the only person capable of bringing that lovesick look to her face. "Nix invited me out to Las Vegas for a week or so. We're going out to meet his family," she signed, studying her twin's face to see her reaction to the news. If one of them would be travelling the country with her boyfriend, Payton had always figured it'd be Paige, not her; but, here they were, everything the complete opposite.

WORDS: 458!
TAG: Paige!
LOCATION: The Twin's Place!
OUTFIT: KITTY-TASTIC!!
KITTIES: CLICK!
MUSIC: Change by Taylor Swift
NOTES: <3 <3 <3