●Singing Along●

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

For Seb, nursing had really been his only serious career dream. Obviously, like most little boys under the age of eight he wanted to grow up to be a superhero, but once that phase had passed, nursing was the profession that replaced it. He even used to run around with the first-aid kit if his mam left it within reach after cleaning up a grazed knee or something similar. Seb had been an only child for many years before Matt had come along, so he had been the one to do most of the influencing, rather than the other way around. The twelve year old had no intention of doing anything involving medicine and his dreams were often answered with a careless shrug of the shoulders and an ‘I dunno’ response. There was still plenty of time for Matt to figure out what his role would be in life and no matter what he picked he would always have a supportive, yet teasing, friend in Seb. It was only fair as the older brother to bring that symbolic balance into the young boy’s life, even if right now he was just being more annoying that helpful. “Oh, trust me I’ll say plenty o’ colourful things! And you’ll be on the floor beggin’ fer mercy.”

[/color] Seb added, implying his threat with a smirk and a daring look in his dark eyes.

Luckily, his terrible high school days had been pretty safe from embarrassment. There had been a few moments here and there when his mother had tried to give him “the talk” or when she had deliberately been curtain twitching on his first date, but for the most part she didn’t pry too much. He was pretty well behaved with his silver tongue, but for some reason very few people refused to believe him. During those teenage years he had been a little more awkward than he was now and spent more time invested in playing rugby than anything else. Ah, how the years could change a person and now Seb was watching his little brother approach those years in an almost identical shadow to him. Matt’s mind was occupied with other things than dating and romance and he was still growing up, shedding those little boy looks slowly and gradually. It would be a little while before Matt would really come out of his shell, but Seb was more relieved that the boy hadn’t become a recluse or entirely shut off after the death of their parents. “Life is not a Katherine Heigl movie.”[/color] He said, shooting Lilia a bland look before shaking his head at the idealised world. It probably did happen somewhere and to someone, but not to anyone Seb personally knew. “You should, I’m positive you’d love it.”[/color] He said the words casually enough, but his tone was masked with slight flirtation.

“An’ I’m the Queen of England.”[/color] Seb countered, rolling his eyes and refusing to believe her again. Just because she didn’t squirm away at one grab didn’t prove her words to be the gospel truth. “He’s an’ old soul.”[/color] He said with a soft shrug, acting as though nothing that was happening was all that important right now. Which, really, it wasn’t. Pizza, soda and some good playful chatter made for a relaxed evening and not for serious conversations and mature behaviour. “Oh this isn’t sap, believe me.”[/color] Seb could do much worse if he really wanted to, but he was getting his point across well enough as things were, so he didn’t see any need to push or twist things further. Laughing as he finally caught Lilia out with his grabbing hands, Seb closed his fingers around her slim waist and then leaned back just enough to give her the breathing space for her giggles to subside. “But I’m a fine ass.”[/color]

Once Matt had eaten his fill of pizza and drank enough soda, he decided he had seen enough for one evening. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” He grabbed his PSP on the way and then left the two apparent grown-ups to their own devices. “Alone at last!”[/color] Seb cheered dramatically, standing up and taking Lilia with him, spinning her around once before letting her feet touch the ground. “I know it’s still early, but let’s work on the idea that you’re crashin’ here tonight.”[/color] Pulling open the overhead cupboard of the entertainment centre, he tossed pillows and a large duvet in her direction before grinning back at her and moving to change the couch into the sofa-bed he was only too familiar with. It was fairly simple to do, but Seb hated it when he was tired and so just thought it much better to get done and out of the way now. Throwing the pillows and then the blue duvet into place he fell back on it and then tapped the spot for Lilia to join him. “So, what do you fancy? Movies, games, me?”[/color] He wiggled his eyebrows dramatically and grinned as he grabbed the remote controls for all the devices in front of them. One was bound to get lost before sunrise, but at least he knew where they were for now.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 917!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

Lilia would have felt bad for dropping in on Seb and Matt unannounced if she’d thought for a minute Seb had other plans. But for as long as she’d known him, she’d only ever saw him with a girl if he was studying or at the hospital. Not that Lilia could say anything; since moving to New York, the only dates she had were with Issy and the park and the TV from time to time. She wasn’t a big fan of TV, usually being too busy with her head in a medical text to really get into the storyline of anything on the screen. But she just hoped that all the work she was putting in would rub off a little bit on Issy. She wanted her niece to follow her dreams and be anything she wanted to. If she didn’t want to be a doctor or an actor that was alright with Lilia; it might sting poor Theo a little bit but she knew he would be proud of his little girl. Lilia looked over at Seb, a wicked glimmer brightening her dark brown eyes as a matching smirk curled her lips. “Promises, promises,” she said, catching herself before she went any further with that remark because of Matt’s presence.

Lilia’s teenage years went by pretty uneventful, all things considered; which was good for her. She had two older brothers, she learned from their mistakes. And being the only girl helped quite a bit. She had her brothers wanting to lock her away in a tower and her parents worrying about her getting into a kind of trouble the boys couldn’t but Lilia had a good head on her shoulders. She wasn’t about to go and make a life altering mistake as a teenager. “It could be,” she pouted, crossing her arms against her chest like Seb broke apart one of her life’s dreams. Lilia’s dark eyes were alight with humour. “I might just take you up on that,” she said, looking up at Seb through her lashes.

“Your highness,” Lilia said bowing with her shoulders. “I’ll keep your royal secret so long as you don’t expect me to curtsey or bow at every turn. I’m not that kind of girl,” she added, wrinkling her nose at the mere thought. “And you’re obviously not,” she said, rolling her eyes. She wasn’t looking for a night filled with serious conversation. If she was, she wouldn’t have come to Seb’s. Though, she could admit, when it was needed, Seb could be serious. But it wasn’t needed now and that was the point of her stopping by his place with the pizza and soda. Lilia did not like that fact that she’d been caught off guard with the second attack to her sides. Trying to calm her laboured breathing, Lilia could only shake her head. “No, you have a fine ass, there is a difference,” she said, grinning wickedly once she got enough air in her lungs to do so.

Instinctively Lilia wrapped her arms around Seb when he stood up, not wanting to fall on the floor. Not that his grip would have allowed for that to happen but still. She laughed as he spun her and her bare feet touched the floor. “It’s not so much an idea as a for sure thing now. A couple grey hairs worrying about where I ended up tonight will only make him more distinguished, right?” Lilia asked, shaking her head. Her brother wasn’t about to worry about her and if he did, it was his own fault he didn’t know where his baby sister ended up to. Lilia caught the pillows tossed her way but fell short grabbing the duvet as if fell to the floor. And she tossed them back to Seb once the bed was out and ready.

“I wasn’t aware you were on the menu,” Lilia said, climbing onto the bed next to Seb. “But I think I would rather a shower first and then a round of kicking your ass. Have any popcorn?” she asked, sliding off the couch turned bed just as quickly as she’d sat down on it. She stretched her arms up into the air before bending at the waist and touching her toes. She straightened herself out before skipping down the hall to the washroom. “Ten minutes,” she said, before shutting the door. She only needed to get in long enough to scrub away the sand and sunscreen. Which is exactly what she did, shutting the water off ten minutes after she’d turned it on in the first place. She dried off, wrapping herself up in the towel and gathering up her clothes to shake out the sand. She put her bikini back on so she had something on if Matt came back out of his room for water or something and then with the towel wrapped around her, Lilia sauntered back out to the living room. “I smell like you now so, please tell me you’ve dug out the gentleman card from a box and dusted it off to find me something to sleep in so I can dress like you, too,” she said, curling up on the bed again.

Tag || Seb!
Words || 866
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Seb’s life had changed dramatically in the aftermath of the death of his parents. Obviously, taking on Matt hadn’t come easy and he had made a lot of personal sacrifices for the little boy to be able to call the small New York apartment home. His life had gone from spontaneous parties and dates to something a lot more planned out and predictable. These days, anyone could turn up unannounced on his doorstep and the most they’d probably find the Irish nursing student doing was having a video game tournament with his brother, or hunched over textbooks trying to cram for whatever assignment or exam was coming up next. Dating was a lot less common for him these days, despite his flirtatious nature. There were more factors to consider, more plans to work around and it was a lot harder to bring a girl back when his bed was the couch and a twelve year old could need a glass of water at any time! “An’ I keep mine.”

[/color] Seb whispered in subtle response, his words tinged with the usual mischievous tone that Lilia managed to bring out in him.

“Only if you’re a Hollywood actress who gets paid way too much.”[/color] Seb said, adding a shake of his head as though the topic was something that really bothered him. Really, he was much more of a games man than a blockbuster movie goer. He only had his knowledge on the latest films because of his job and he only worked those hours because it was a guaranteed way of making ends meet without having to dip into the inheritance money he was keeping to one side for Matt’s future. “You know where to find me.”[/color] He replied, his dark eyes saying more than those little words did.

Rolling his eyes, Seb shook his head with false disappointment flooding his face. “I hope you never have to meet the Queen.”[/color] A loud tutting noise accompanied his words and he shook his head again. The chances of either of them receiving such an invite were microscopic, but that just made it easier to joke about when the topic managed to turn to it. “Oh, so I have a fine ass. I guess someone has been sneaking glances when she thought I wouldn’t notice.”[/color] He grabbed at her sides again, this time going in for more of an attack than he had done in the moments before, unrelenting this time.

Laughing, Seb nodded his head in agreement. With Matt he wouldn’t have the problem of becoming so overprotective. He could remember what those trying teenage years were like and even as Matt breezed through them and into adulthood, Seb only planned on interfering when it was absolutely needed or when he could get a kick out of embarrassing his little brother. “I’m sure it’ll be a phone call in the morning.”[/color] He grinned, glancing across at Lilia while he quickly tidied away the remains of their dinner. He put the leftovers on the side in the kitchen and bagged up the rest so it was ready to toss down the chute in the hallway.

With a boyish grin, Seb wiggled his eyebrows as he spoke. “Oh, I’m always on the menu.”[/color] He was terrible, he knew it, but he couldn’t help it when the opportunities just presented themselves to him like that. While Lilia was in the shower, Seb threw the popcorn in the microwave, took the trash out to the chute and then checked on Matt. The little boy was content to play on his PSP for the evening, but Seb took him some soda and snacks to see him through, but reminded him twice that he could come out and join them if he got bored. Seb’s biggest fear was that in living his own life, Matt would feel pushed to the side and alienated, so the older Whelan tried his best to include him as much as he could. Once he was shooed from the pre-teen’s room, Seb thoughtfully grabbed some shorts and t-shirt for Lilia. He figured if her turning up at his door was as unplanned as she made it out to be that she wouldn’t have anything with her for the impromptu “sleepover”.

As if it were rehearsed, she came out of the bathroom just as Seb closed up the drawers and stood up with the clothes in his hand. He tossed them at her and then pushed her gently from the bed. “No getting my bed wet.”[/color] He reprimanded playfully. He had changed into a pair of his old sixth-form college sports pants while Lilia had showered, settling himself down for the night. His name, the Belfast school and the word rugby were stitched onto the side of the right thigh as though he needed a label to remind himself. “Grabbing the popcorn. Want the chocolate spread, too?”[/color] He might have wiggled his eyebrows, but he was serious. Seb had a habit of mixing his foods up and dipping popcorn into the chocolate spread jar was something he thought more people ought to do.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 897!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

The most that changed for Lilia was the setting of her new life and the new responsibilities she had. She wasn’t just taking care of herself now; there was Theo and Issy she needed to worry about a little bit. Theo was a grown man, sure but the loss was so much closer for him than Lilia and she was able to compartmentalise. And in reality, she didn’t do much around the house except make the place seem less empty with her attitude and annoying little sister duties. She hadn’t needed to give up her personal life to take care of her brother and niece. At least she hadn’t needed to give up much of it. A lost boyfriend was the biggest blow to her personal life that the Scottish girl took and she was okay with that. She hadn’t been ready to any sort of long term commitment at the time and it felt to her like things were slowly starting to stall between them. So the move had sort of been a twisted blessing in disguise. “I hope so,” Lilia said, eyes bright with mischief. The teasing tone was never quite far away whenever Seb was around. He brought that out in her and she couldn’t say she minded all that much.

“Well, it is New York. I could be discovered buying coffee in the morning and eighteen short months from now, I could be the next Katherine Heigl with hopefully better acting chops and a much better complexion,” Lilia said seriously, nodding her head as though she liked this weird hypothetical plan. Even if that ever happened, Lilia would smile and nod and respectfully decline the offer because becoming famous had never been for Lilia. She really didn’t care if no one knew her name or if her face was plastered all over sides of buildings or the glossy pages of magazines. Lilia wanted to help people, take care of people and absolutely not in an Angelina Jolie kind of way. She wanted to get her hands dirty and have the satisfaction of walking into a family waiting room with good news. Seeing those relieved faces was all she wanted out of her career choice. “That I do,” she said quietly behind her glass of soda.

Lilia rolled her eyes, snorting at the thought. “Hell will freeze over again before I meet the Queen,” Lilia said blandly. Lilia was nowhere on anyone’s radar so it was easy to joke about the royal family and how they would act and react to a formal invitation. Lilia let out a squeal at the latest attack, wishing she wasn’t so ticklish because Seb was going to be the death of her if he didn’t give it up. She punched and elbowed but with hardly any room at all, she couldn’t get enough force behind her own attacks to do any real damage. “You better stop this or one of us is going to regret it,” she warned though she was hardly convincing. With all the laughter coming from her, it was a wonder she could pull in enough air to speak between the fits of giggles! But if he kept at it, she would do something drastic to throw him off kilter.

Lilia had known her brothers didn’t have anything to worry about when she was growing up but she also knew that wouldn’t stop them from freaking out about Lilia and her plans. What she saw as something innocent and sweet, they saw as some sort of threat against their baby sister’s innocence. If it were up to either of them, Lilia was sure the first part of the Sound of Music would be her real life. Living in a convent in the mountains did not sound all that appealing to the young Scottish doctor to be. “It might be but then the question remains, would I answer his call or give him another hour of worry?” She really wasn’t that cruel. But Theo could still act like Lilia was a little girl still sometimes so Lil decided if he was going to treat her as though she were a child; she was going to make him see she wasn’t. If that meant staying at a friend’s for the night and not telling him, or not answering a couple of his calls even though she wasn’t driving or busy, that was her prerogative. He had to know that playing the role of Maria for the rest of her life was not in her cards.

Lilia made a face, biting her lip. “Should you really be advertising that? I mean what if Matty overheard you saying that and now he’s scarred for life. Do you really want to do that to your poor kid brother?” Lilia didn’t like long showers on a good day and using someone else’s made her feel like she was invading. She rolled from the bed with a heavy sigh, unwrapping herself from the towel and tossing at her Irish friend. “Do you see the towel? Aside from my hair, I’m dry!” She pulled on the clothes Seb provided and fell back onto the bed. “Are you Irish? Is the sky blue? Yes, I want the chocolate spread,” she said, looking up at him like he had three heads or like she should probably call the nice men with the butterfly nets.

Tag || Seb!
Words || 896
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Seb had originally come to New York for the travel opportunities. He could see so much with just a tank of gas. Obviously school had been the main thing for him, but there was a lot of time to kill back in those days and weekends free of assignments just screamed for adventures that could only be had by the youthful. Plus, being stateside gave him more chances to find some slopes and get his snowboarding fix. Back in Ireland it had been more of a once in a blue moon chance unless his local club was organising a trip to the Alps or somewhere else in Europe for them all to get the adrenaline rush they craved. None of that had really changed for Seb. He could still do those things when Matthew wasn’t in school and his own scheduled allowed for it. He already had a few trips planned for the summer, just little adventures so the pre-teen wouldn’t complain too often of being bored in the city.

Seb shot Lilia a bland look, complete with raised eyebrow. “And that’s all the proof I need to know you’ve seen one too many movies.”

[/color] He teased, shaking his head and chuckling at the idea that Lilia had put forward. Seb heard all the stories of teenagers longing for scripted lives after a new romantic blockbuster hit the screens. It came with working in a cinema, he supposed, but it was still enough to make him wonder if the spontaneity of their lives could really be that bad that they longed to play someone else for a camera. He knew some old school friends who had been brilliant in drama class and some of them were pursuing acting careers now, but Seb would always choose to live a quieter, grounded life in which he could help people. It had been that way for him for many years and he didn’t even care about climbing up the ranks of his chosen profession like some people might. For him it went beyond pay and recognition and was purely about making sure that the people who needed the care and attention had it. If he could bring a smile to their face, too, then he would do that.

“For the Queen’s sake that’s probably a good thing.”[/color] He retorted, far too amused with the very idea to dismiss the thought from his mind entirely. Seb let out a burst of laughter at Lilia’s desperate giggles and it was tempting to keep tickling her, bugging the hell out of her just for the rise. It was funny when he could catch her off guard like that. “Is that an empty threat or a sweet promise?”[/color] He asked playfully, his fingers coming to rest but holding her sides in just the right spots so if he applied a fraction of pressure he could start the ticklish assault all over again.

Seb didn’t have a baby sister to worry about, but if he did he knew he’d be just as overprotective as Lilia claimed her brothers were. With Matthew he still worried about the friends he had or the places that were apparently the best hang outs. Seb had experienced New York as a troublesome eighteen year old; he was expected to make mistakes and do the crazy things he might regret. Matthew was still a kid and Seb didn’t want him getting into any kind of trouble just because of peer pressure or because of Seb’s own influence. That was one of the biggest reasons why he had toned his own behaviour down since Matt moved in; there could be none of the “but you do it” cards played in any brotherly arguments that might crop up. “I can do without your brother breaking down my door to find you, thank you very much, so you should answer it.”[/color] He said with a slight shake of his head. While it could be comical for Lilia, Seb didn’t think it would go over too well.

Rolling his eyes, Seb shot Lilia a look and then sighed. “Matt is not scarred for life, even if he claims to be. Besides, he’s heard worse and he’s not as innocent as that smile suggests he is.”[/color] If their mother could hear some of the lines Matt came out with sometimes she’d probably have both of them hanging by their ears. Seb usually found the humour in it and so long as it wasn’t anything too rude or explicit, he could laugh it off with his kid brother who probably heard worse in the school yard than he did from Seb. “Exactly! Your hair is wet!”[/color] He repeated, shooting her a glare when she flopped back onto the bed, pretending to grumble under his breath for added effect. He rolled his eyes at her answer to his question and then retreated to the kitchen to get the snacks. Soon returning, he stretched out on the bed and rested the food in the middle. “Happy now?”[/color] Just to annoy her a little, after he screwed the lid off the chocolate spread he gathered a tiny bit on his finger and smeared it across her cheek, grinning childishly at his actions.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 915!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

Lilia shrugged, smiling innocently. “What can I say, Issy loves her movies and I’m happy to oblige her.” Though by the time Lilia got a chance to settle in front of a television screen, there wasn’t much on but the late night movies that should only ever be watched when someone was just too drunk or too tired to change the channel and the unfortunate Romantic Comedies that shed an unbelievable light on what constituted a fairy tale ending in this day and age. Lilia honestly hated those movies and would rather dig out a horror flick and put that on over any of the romantic comedies most girls melted over. More often than not, Lilia only had the television for background noise while her nose was in a textbook. There were just so many texts to read and highlight for a class, text or essay that it really was a miracle she got anything done otherwise. But she had Issy and chores about the house and work on top of school. Thankfully with the summer, she got a break from the classes. She would have been taking extra classes over the summer break but she had needed to bring up her volunteer hours. Plus, if she took the one class she had wanted to, it would have only freed up some time during the week when school did start up again.

“I could clean up nice if I really had to,” Lilia said sounding annoyed. “I don’t know about you, though,” she added as though she was unconvinced he could pull it off. Not that it would really matter at the end of it all, but it was amusing to speculate. “Keep it up and you’ll see for yourself,” Lilia said, grinning. Even now, she didn’t know what she was going to do to get Seb to stop tickling her sides. But she knew it had to be something shocking and her mind was racing to come up with ideas to do exactly that. Really Lilia hoped she wouldn’t have to do something drastic and he would just give up. But that wasn’t Seb and she was well aware of that.

Lilia often teased Theo about his overprotective attitude when it came to her. She was grown and she’d had two older brothers that tormented her so much she grew a thick skin and could take care of herself well enough. Without them, she knew she wouldn’t have ever been ready to move to the other side of the planet like she had. She could deal with the streets of New York but only because she had her brother’s teaching her how to defend herself. Lilia leveled Seb with a bland look. “This is Theo we’re talking about, Seb. I would expect something more dramatic from him, really. Get Meg to watch Issy in the car while he comes up here as a cop or something,” Lilia said, pulling ideas from nowhere but thinking if Theo thought about it, he would probably do it.

“None of them ever are, Seb. None of them,” Lilia said, clicking her tongue at him as if he really should have known that by now. She was lucky with Issy; she wasn’t old enough yet to be a smart mouth. But she was a smart ass enough for both herself and Issy. So being such a smart ass, Lilia crawled over and laid her head on Seb’s pillow and rubbed her hair all over it. “It’s dry now,” she teased, sticking her tongue out at Seb before gathering up all her hair and tying it back up again. Biting back a laugh at the grumbles from Seb still once he was back with the treats, she hadn’t seen him dip his finger in the chocolate spread and it was just too late when she finally figured out what was about to happen. “Hey! I just showered,” she said, brushing her finger over the smeared chocolate on her face. “You’re such an ass,” she added before popping her finger in her mouth. “Mm, yum.”

Tag || Seb!
Words || 679
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Shaking his head, Seb raised an eyebrow and then looked back at Lilia with a mischievous twinkle in his dark eyes. “An’ does Theo know you’re putting the blame on his wee girl?”

[/color] He asked teasingly. Most of the time when Seb had the chance to sit down for a movie it was something Matt had already picked out or spent his allowance on, which usually meant they were watching a superhero movie or something to do with zombies, as the little boy was slowly creeping towards the horror genre thanks to Seb’s additions to the shared video game collection. Most of the time the screen was occupied with video games rather than movies or television programmes. Seb only put random shows on whenever he was working through the night to meet a deadline or if he couldn’t sleep. Even if there was a show he really wanted to watch, he rarely had the time to sit and enjoy it and by the time he had the chance to have an afternoon of a TV marathon, he already knew what was going to happen because of the reactions the rest of his friends had already shared in his presence. It kind of took the fun out of it, but Seb knew there would probably be a few days over the summer where he still blitzed through a season of something that was supposed to be interesting.

Feigning offence, Seb folded his arms and shook his head, acting as though he was disgusted with Lilia’s comment. “I’ll have you know that I scrub up pretty damn well, thank you very much.”[/color] A bit of time might have passed since he really felt the need to put in the extra effort, but Seb did actually enjoy donning the suit jacket and the good quality shirt every once in a while. “We’ve got all night to find out.”[/color] He grinned, knowing that he could return to his assault at any point throughout the evening and possibly catch her off guard with it. Come the morning, Lilia would probably regret coming to Seb’s apartment! Without the stress of the school year he was feeling much more energetic and playful than he usually would and it was clearly showing.

Seb already had a list of ideas for embarrassing Matt as he got older. He had the first date jokes ready, was going to make his usual comments when he had friends around and make sure that Matt really appreciated those teenage years and the role Seb now played in his life. It was his duty as the big brother to do those things and he was just waiting for the day when he could start with them all! “Now that would be priceless! I’ll have to hire him to scare Matt sometime.”[/color] Seb laughed, clapping his hands together at the very thought of opening his door tomorrow morning to find a Scottish born actor putting on the performance of his life and all to annoy Lilia.

“That’s because they learn from the best.”[/color] Seb grinned, throwing in a wink for good measure. He was probably going to hear far too much of himself in Matt over the next several years and like when most kids opened their mouths with some clever response there was always an amused yet guilty looking adult not far away. Shooting Lilia a bland look, he grabbed the damp pillow and hit her with it. “You’re sleeping on it now.”[/color] He stated, quickly stealing the other one for himself and keeping a hold of it so she couldn’t damage it. He laughed at her reaction to his attack with the chocolate spread and then just smirked at her complaints. “Ah, but I have a fine ass, remember?”[/color] He grinned, refusing to let that go when she had been the one to say it. “You missed a bit.”[/color] He swiped at it with his finger and then dabbed it on her nose, grinning like a little boy again. He was definitely feeling troublesome tonight.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 718!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

“What do you take me for, an idiot? Of course he doesn’t know!” Lilia said looking over at Seb as if he were a few sandwiches shy a full picnic. Not that she had the time to watch movies or even sit down long enough to relax. With keeping up around the house, Issy when it was her turn to watch the adorable little girl and all the texts she still had to read for the start of the year, Lilia was lucky she’d gotten the day at the beach! And usually, whenever she did have the TV on with Issy around, the station catered to small children, full of bright colours and high, squeaky voices to keep them entertained. There wasn’t much time when Lilia had her niece that she was even indoors unless the weather denied them the opportunity.

Lilia set her hands on Seb’s crossed arms, leaning closer. “Aw, did the little Scottish girl hurt your feelings?” she asked, teasing him with a little baby talk. She was sure it would probably annoy him more but it always amused Lilia to get under Seb’s skin. It was so difficult to do that even when he was pretending like now; Lilia couldn’t help but be pleased. “Oh, I really hope you drop this,” she said, more of a warning than the wishful thinking it sounded like. She was going to get him back for the tickle attacks, but she needed the time to think up something devious and deliciously evil. There was a very big chance Lilia would wish she would have turned around and went back to the beach after this night was through, but she couldn’t regret her decision. If she’d turned around and went back, she would be stick in some dull hotel room with a bag of some sort of fast food and a bad cable television movie. At least here she was laughing and having a good time.

Lilia had plenty of memories growing up with her brother’s trying to embarrass her. A few of their pranks worked and left their baby sister with a face as red as a tomato but other’s only had her shaking her head at their attempts. She had to admit though, when she needed them, they were there and good for a laugh. “I’ll mention it to him,” she promised without actually saying the words. She had never had a promise broken after it had been issued. But that didn’t stop her from believing that once the words “I promise” were said, they were written in stone; it was the whole reason she never said those words together unless she absolutely meant it and knew without a doubt that she could follow through. So it wasn’t often she uttered them. Though in this case, it wasn’t a big deal because the idea of being around when Theo pulled some prank on Matt was amusing and it would be a part of whatever deal might have been made. She just had to get her brother to see that Seb wasn’t some foolhardy frat boy like some of the guys his baby sister knew from school.

“I think you mean they learn from the worst,” Lilia teased, unable to help herself. Seb didn’t set her up for clever, sarcastic responses often. So she took her chances when they were there, even if it was an easy set up. Lilia knew she was going to have to start censoring her words a lot more when Issy really started talking and not just making noises, blowing bubbles and laughing at herself. “I’ll get that pillow back,” she warned, narrowing her eyes at Seb. “I take that back. Find your compliments at the hospital,” Lilia grumbled, thinking she really shouldn’t have opened her mouth in the first place. Glaring, Lilia brushed her hands over her face, hopefully getting any leftover chocolate that Seb put there. “Have I mentioned how much I really hate you?” Lilia asked, casually, reaching for the popcorn. She picked a couple pieces with her other hand and tossed them at Seb before popping the rest in her mouth.

Tag || Seb!
Words || 691
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Smirking, Seb brushed his fingers over the overgrown scruff and put on his best impression of a comical villain. “Ah, blackmail on the Scottish lass.”

[/color] He teased, as though he might actually find himself in a situation where he could use such information to his advantage. It wasn’t as though it was some wonderfully dark secret she had just revealed to be keeping from her brother and even if it was, Seb wasn’t the kind of guy to open his mouth and blab at the first opportunity. At least not unless it was something that worried him, which this really wasn’t; if anything, it just amused him slightly more than he already was.

“The little Scottish girl wishes.”[/color] He scoffed, rolling his eyes somewhat dramatically at the mere thought of such a thing. Most of the time, Seb was only ever joking with the people in his life. He had played the joker since he was a little boy and pretty much worked to bring a smile to the faces of the people around him. That had eventually grown into a desire to help and care for others and led him straight to the nursing path he was currently on. “You just keep hoping.”[/color] He grinned, keeping his tone as a slightly playful sort of a threat. He knew when to stop a silly game like the tickling one, but he rarely made it obvious that he was done and that he was moving onto something else just as silly and ridiculous. Where was the fun if he was going to sit about and give out warnings?

Being the oldest, Seb didn’t have the taunts from older siblings. A cousin or two had tried it over the years back in Ireland, but it didn’t exactly have a lasting impression and it only happened whenever they were in the same place, which was often reserved for family events and the risk of trying to show another up was high when there were too many people all able to toss more stories into the mix to outdo the other. The rest of the time it had been banter with friends and they all gave just as good as they got and often grew out of it once the moment had passed. “Do it. I’m sure Matt will benefit from it sooner rather than later.”[/color] He joked, adding a small cackle to the end of his words, just for added effect to this rather bizarre conversation. Bizarre seemed to be the best word to describe Seb’s mood this evening.

“Nu-uh. I’m the best. I even have a mug that says so.”[/color] It lived a peaceful life in one of the kitchen cupboards until Seb pulled an all-nighter and then the slightly larger than average mug with the bright colours and the cartoon like message declaring him to be “the best big brother in the world” was put to use. “Aye, once it smells like me and then you’ll snuggle into it and have dreams about the handsome Irish nurse-to-be whose bed you’ll wake up in.”[/color] He grinned boyishly. Gasping teasingly almost immediately after, he looked at Lilia with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes and a smirk twitching at his lips. “At the hospital?! Lilia, that’s so unprofessional of you! What would the others think if you complimented me on my fine ass in our place of work?!”[/color] They might only be volunteers, but both of them would one day be walking those corridors and getting paid for the hours they put in there, exhaustive though they may be. “Nah, you don’t hate me.”[/color] He stated, glancing at the tossed popcorn and then playfully glaring at Lilia. His fingers swiped through the chocolate spread again and this time he lunged, smearing two lines along her jaw and neck and then grinning and cheering for himself. Childish didn’t even come close, but then he never did promise to be serious tonight.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 665!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

“If that is the best piece of blackmail you have on me, I’m both sad and delighted,” Lilia remarked with an eye roll. She would be the first to admit she’d done some interesting and often questionable things in her young life. Some her family knew about, too many they didn’t have the faintest clue of. And Lilia would prefer to keep it that way. Her family worried enough about her and about Theo and Issy to add to it. Plus, she was pretty sure it would be Theo to throw the biggest fit. Her parents bless them, knew more than they let on about their daughter’s teenage years but they let her enjoy her ‘rebellious’ stage. But her brother didn’t have the first clue and would probably have her bags packed and her shipped off somewhere to live out the rest of her life with nuns!

Lilia snorted, shaking her head. “Hardly,” she said with just enough bland in her tone to be believable. It was all said in fun and games and that was why Lilia didn’t try to filter what she said. Not that it would have worked anyway. She said what popped into her head and worried about it afterwards. They could say what they wanted and knew the other wouldn’t actually get upset because it was said to tease not to harm. Lilia didn’t actually have a good enough comeback ready for Seb so she just rolled her eyes and nodded as if she believed it was still a threat. She had hung around Seb long enough to know when some things were dropped. Silly things hardly lasted long. “How do we end up with these questionable conversations?” Lilia asked, reaching for her soda. Of course, of their usual conversations, this one about scaring the life from his little brother wasn’t all that odd.

“Your mug lies,” Lilia said, brushing her hand over her hair. She didn’t have any mugs that declared her to be the best anything but she did a soup mug that kept her awake during study sessions. Lilia made a face, looking at Seb. “On second thought, I already stink of you, I’ll stick to the safe pillow,” she said with her nose still wrinkled in distaste. “Twist my words all you’d like, you can still find praise among the other nurses,” she said on a sigh as if she were talking to a particularly uncooperative patient. She only had one more year in the halls of the school before she was transferred to the hospital for her residency and the final few years before she became a full-fledged doctor. These next few years were the big ones, the ones that gave her the added experience and she was excited for them. The eighteen hour days were going to kill her, but in the end they would be so completely worth it. “Sometimes I wonder,” she muttered, sounding more annoyed that she actually was; despite just having showered and now needing to wash up again. The petite Scottish girl managed a surprise squeal as she tried to move away from Seb’s advance but failed miserably. Deciding it was time to get tough; Lilia made quick moves to swipe her fingers through the chocolate spread and dove at Seb, running her fingers across his face before a fit of laughter took her over and she fell to the side. They were acting like children!

Tag || Seb!
Words || 572
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Seb smirked, rubbing his fingers over the rough overgrowing stubble on his face. “It’s the only piece I’m letting you know about. I’m keeping the rest until the right opportunity presents itself.”

[/color] He teased, trailing off as though he knew plenty to blackmail the pretty brunette with. He wasn’t a man to threaten and bully like that in reality, but little jokes were a hell of a lot different to being serious about it. He wasn’t going to find something out and then spill the beans to Lilia’s brother just to land her in trouble, but if he admitted to that then there would be no fun in the little game they were playing.

Seb enjoyed having friends he could joke around with like this. There had been people in his life who hadn’t been able to take a joke, or who honestly thought he was as arrogant as he sometimes joked about. He usually found that to be funnier than the joke that led to the mistaken belief in the first place. It was the sense of humour he had been raised with, shared with many of his friends in Northern Ireland, but with the countless number of transplants in New York City he had been stunned by how many didn’t seem to be able to tell the difference between his jokes and his sincere moments; even the smirk didn’t seem to be good enough of a giveaway for them. At least with Lilia he go beyond his usual and she still didn’t get offended or think him really a terrible person. He didn’t have to tame it down, filter himself or worry about how she might take something. “Because you’re still denying your attraction to my fine ass.”[/color] He joked, though he kept his expression serious as though it really was the reason they kept talking with innuendos and flirty remarks almost every time they met up.

“You insinuate that Matt would lie; that angelic and doting little boy in there.”[/color] He joked, knowing full well that his brother was anything but. “I smell mighty fine and you know it.”[/color] He reached out and tugged Lilia into his side as though she needed proof. Seb did take an odd pride in not leaving his apartment reeking of cheap cologne or smelling as though he had bathed in the stuff like some guys did. Watching people choke on the scent was not an attractive thing and it didn’t do the trick of luring people in like the adverts so dramatically suggested. “But none of those nurses are you.”[/color] He whined teasingly, bumping his shoulder against hers and feigning an adorable pout as best as he could. He did joke and play with the other members of staff at the hospital, but some were more serious than others and some only liked cheesy jokes that were obviously jokes rather than some of the more subtle remarks Seb liked to make. Around Lilia he didn’t have to worry about things like that and he could just run with whatever came into his head. With the childish game they were playing on the bed Seb called his own, he was running more on crazy impulse than any real logical thought. It was fun, messy and definitely had the pair of them laughing as chocolate spread proved to be an interesting weapon of choice. As Lilia fell to her side, Seb moved his arm, slinging it over her and effectively trapping her for a moment as he considered his revenge. “Now we’re wasting perfectly good chocolate spread.”[/color] He mumbled, grinning devilishly before leaning closer and brushing his lips through the gooey smudge along Lilia’s jawline. He didn’t know where it had come from, but he sat up, letting Lilia move again, and grinned boyishly down at her. “Yum.”[/color] He offered as he leaned back on his elbows near the foot of the bed.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 696!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

Lilia grinned, running her hand over her hair. “And I’m the Queen’s cousin, bully,” she said blandly with just as much derision. She wasn’t about to win an Oscar but at the same time she wasn’t trying too hard to hide her amusement. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed spending time with Seb, she could give him attitude and he didn’t take it personally, which was something she desperately needed on bad days. He was fun to be around most days with the way they got on, always teasing and hardly ever serious. Lilia only hoped that when she was a proper doctor, Seb would be around somewhere to help her out because she knew there would be days when she would want to just throw the towel in and say she was done. She already knew those days were ahead of her and though no one wanted to lose a patient, it was wise to go into the medical field knowing it was always a possibility.

“I can’t deny something that isn’t there. Can’t admit to it either,” she added as an afterthought just in case Seb somehow got it into his head. She liked Seb and could admit to that though she wouldn’t. But his life was about finishing school and taking care of his little brother and she spent too much time with her niece and a textbook to think about anything more; especially on those days when even sleep was a forgotten memory. She needed her friends and her days out but she didn’t know, or was afraid to find out how it would all work bringing something more into the mix. She’d be called a liar if she hadn’t thought about Seb that way; he was attractive, intelligent and funny. He took care of his own and he was there for his friends. Lilia could be described as many things, but a liar would never be one of them. Lilia let out an unladylike snort at the idea of any twelve year old being some sort of saint. “If this is how the night’s going to go, I’ll have my hands on that crown before the sun rises!” she said, rolling her eyes at the Irishman.

“At least you don’t smell like that Warrick kid. I swear the guy drowns in Axe,” she said shuddering at the mere mention of her fellow doctor in training. Unlike the Scottish girl, he already knew where he wanted to specialise and Lilia couldn’t find fault in choosing the morgue; at least the dead couldn’t smell his horrid cologne and no one who went down to the colder space could smell death. “Awe, have to have the doctor’s touch, do you? Don’t worry, walk around with that pout and you’ll have them all eating out of the palm of your hand. I have better things to do,” she said, sounding a hell of a lot more sincere than she really was and proud of herself for it. Though she would one day wear a white coat and carry the title of doctor, she wasn’t one yet and wouldn’t pretend to be. “Oof, Seb, get!” Lilia managed, trying without success to push his arm off her chest though she was hardly putting any effort in with the giggles that had taken over her. “You started,” she began though her words trailed off as Seb’s lips moved across her skin sending shivers down her spine. She didn’t know whether to hit him, yell at him or what, but her eyes were wide with the shock of the action. “You’ve missed a spot,” she said, shocking herself.

Tag || Seb!
Words || 607
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

“Yeah, the one she likes to forget she has.”

[/color] He teased with a loud scoff and a raise of his eyebrow. He preferred it when he could joke and tease without people taking things to heart. He rarely let anything get to him, even when someone was serious about trying to insult him. Seb was more likely to get riled up if someone insulted or criticised someone he cared about. Most people knew him as a laidback, joking kind of guy, but he did have a side that really shouldn’t be messed with. His high school years had come with as many fights and scuffles as it could, considering he had played hooker on the school’s rugby team and the same position on a local youth team. He would probably have an easier job counting the matches where there wasn’t a skirmish. The guys often shook hands afterwards, but during the game they were completely different people for the most part. It wasn’t a part of his life anymore, replaced these days by the snowboarding escapes he took when he could, but Seb still had that streak in him, should he ever need it.

Grinning, Seb shook his head before leaning in to nudge his shoulder against Lilia’s. “You think I’m gorgeous…”[/color] He sang teasingly. If he were to be honest, this was quite an inconvenient time for Seb to date and to try to make room in his life for another, but he couldn’t exactly remember a time when romance had ever been convenient for anyone. Lilia had crept into his thoughts from time to time, but he had chased them away and occupied himself with one the many hundreds of things he always felt like he had to do. If it wasn’t Matt then it was school and then he still had work, his hours at the hospital and the general upkeep of the apartment to deal with. Matt did take care of what he could, but Seb didn’t enjoy burdening a twelve year old with a page of chores, so he kept it to the minimum of dishes, vacuuming and keeping his room tidy enough. “Only if you pass out and end up in the fairy kingdom.”[/color] He retorted with a snort of his own.

Laughing, Seb needed a moment to let it subside. “The poor kid probably thinks it better to choke on the scent of that than the autopsy fluids.”[/color] He had only ever met the guy twice through Lilia, but they had chatted briefly in that time and yet the smell of him had lingered long after he had gone. “I already have them eating out of the palm of my hand. I can’t help that, but you…you’re the one in my bed right now.”[/color] He joked, twisting the situation to make it sound like something he knew the nurses he had already worked with would just love to whisper about when they thought no one else was around. Seb didn’t know how Lilia was going to react to his silly actions, but his heart was sort of pounding in the few drawn out seconds that ticked by. At her response, he blinked once and then leaned in close, brushing his lips along the spot he had missed. He nudged his nose against hers as he pulled away ever so slightly, raising his eyes to meet her gaze. “I probably shouldn’t have done that.”[/color] He whispered, but made no more to sit up again this time.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 627!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Lilia Jayne Sterling]

“So rude, you are. The Queen could find me adorable and lovable, which I am, thank you,” Lilia said, shaking her head. She acted as though this was a definite possibility and not some made up thing just to continue a ridiculous conversation. Of course, ridiculous conversations came up quite a bit with close friends. Back in Scotland, Lilia hardly found herself in any serious trouble but there were a few scuffles. Usually, she spent her time acting foolish and making strangers look at her as though she’d escaped the Psychiatric ward of hospital. Being in Barcelona was a little different. She had more freedom to do as she pleased with only the supervisors checking on them occasionally and just expecting the foreign exchange students to know better.

Lilia rolled her eyes at Seb as though he was the escapee. She’d seen the look sent her way so many times as she was growing up to be able to have an excellent mirror of it. “I don’t remember walking into Miss Congeniality,” she said, looking around for Sandra Bullock and the camera crews. There wasn’t much time now and there wouldn’t be for the next few years for anything more than what was on her plate now. Her life basically consisted around school, work, Issy and doing her part around the house. She was lucky her friends dragged her out even when she didn’t want to be out on the town. “No, there’s no fun in it all being a dream. And even if it were the case, I bet you’d be the sheriff and wouldn’t let me have a bit of fun playing Cinderella,” she said, sadly shaking her head.

“True enough but I would much rather he wore less of it when we study. My nose could do without it.” She swore he thought it actually smelled good and it was a far cry from good. There was just too much and as much as she could understand bathing in it when they were around the cadavers, it didn’t mix well. Lilia’s gasp almost sounded genuine and authentic when she let the sound escape her lips. “What will the nurses think?” she asked, putting a hand to her chest. Lilia knew the nurses quite well all over the hospital wards, and she would get to know them better when she started the program and the limited rounds for the extra experience. She was a year, if not more, behind and things changed surprisingly quickly in the medical field. At least she still had a year to decide on what she wanted to specialise in.

If she’d wanted to and did she ever want to, it would have been only easy to turn her head an inch and further things along but she was aware that Seb’s brother was just down the hall and that neither of them really had the time to start up a different kind of relationship. And she was not some one time kind of girl, nor did she think she could cope with a “friends with benefits” kind of arrangement. Any woman in a five mile radius would have thought her insane. But just because Seb was gorgeous and she had to stop herself from drooling whenever she caught a glimpse of him without a shirt didn’t mean she didn’t have the self-control to pretend she didn’t want him. “Probably not but it’s too late now,” she whispered, looking up at the Irishman. Screwing with Fate and that self-control she thought she had, the Scottish girl lifted up a fraction, just enough to have her lips brush against Sebs. Lilia hardly ever played by the rules and she wasn’t about to go changing her ways now, they were practically set in stone.

Tag || Seb!
Words || 628
Clothes || Beach Bum
Music || Untangle Me - - -The Maine
Notes || <3!

[Sebastian Finley Whelan]

Laughing, Seb scrubbed his fingers through his hair and took a moment to shake his head and look Lilia up and down as though he was intently studying her. “Nope, sorry. That’s just another fantasy concocted in that little head of yours.”

[/color] He decided with a smirk. “Even the Queen would see through that mask of yours.”[/color] He added, knowing Lilia far too well to believe that anyone who really knew her would describe her as lovable and adorable. She was far too mischievous and stubborn for anything like that and Seb knew it only too well. She could rise to his comments and challenges most of the time, so he was one of the least likely to buy any kind of sweet and innocent act Lilia tried to sell.

Shrugging, Seb popped an M&M into his mouth from the bowl on the side table and then glanced back at Lilia like it was no big deal. “Is that where it’s from? I just remember it from high school.”[/color] It had been a running joke; the kind no one could remember the source of. It had lasted right up until the friends had parted ways for the Sixth Form College and university, but it still popped into Seb’s head from time to time, along with the other memories of the years that only seemed like yesterday, but were in fact almost a decade old. The memories that skipped back to him usually got him through long nights of studies and the nights when he was exhausted but struggled to find sleep. They were fun moments of nostalgia for him, even if he didn’t have the time or the right person to share the stories with. Pretending to be offended, Seb tutted loudly. “I am as fun-loving as they come, I’ll have you know!”[/color]

“At least the strength of it stops you from falling asleep.”[/color] He offered with a one shoulder shrug. Most of the time Seb could avoid problems like that since most of the people he studied with were not the type to cover themselves from head to toe in cologne or perfume. If anything they all smelt like hand sanitizer from the amount of the stuff they went through in class and on their volunteer placements at the hospital. It was something he suspected would get worse since their actual class placements began next semester, but at least smelling clean was a mile above smelling like the perfume department of Macy’s had exploded all over him. “I’m sure they’ll be sending the death glares your way come Monday morning. They have a way of knowing about these things.”[/color] He teased, though in reality his ego was nowhere near the size it would have to be to honestly believe he would be breaking the hearts of every nurse in the hospital. Most of the time, Seb’s flirtation was only playful, and it was really only with Lilia that he took it a step further and made it more over the top and hilarious like this. He knew she would take it in good humour and not give him some feminist tirade and slap him. It hadn’t actually happened to him in the past, but he knew some of the jokes he made with Lilia could very well land him in trouble with someone else.

Seb rarely thought his actions through before he did them. This was definitely one of those moments that only had the voice of his conscience popping up after his lips had already brushed Lilia’s skin. By then it was already too late, because his conscience was muffled by the rest of his thoughts and desires. With the crazy in his life, there was never going to be a perfect time for a relationship or to tell a girl how he felt. Once college was done, he’d be a full time nurse so one chaotic aspect would only be swapped for another. Seb wasn’t about to let that become his life though, and while none of this was planned, thought through, or even contemplated when Lilia showed up at his door, it was much too late to take any of it back. At the touch of her lips to his, Seb’s thoughts fell silent and his hand moved to cradle her head in this somewhat awkward position they had wound up in through their games. He kissed her back sweetly, momentarily forgetting about the twelve year old in the next room and just giving into the undeniable sparks that came with the kiss.. “Definitely too late now.”[/color] He murmured, his lips still against hers.
[/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]

• • •

TAGGED! Lilia <3
WORDS! 776!
OUTFIT! New York Guy!
LYRICS! Boomboxes and Dictionaries - - The Gaslight Anthem
NOTES! <3 <3 <3