[Lance, Dani, Jake] Wizards Almost Reunion

[Kiersten Mollie Bannon]

Kiersten slipped into her bathrobe after stepping out of the shower, having been careful not to get her hair wet. It didn’t need to be washed, but even looking at herself in the mirror for a second she’d forgotten she’d had it colored and didn’t recognize herself. Or maybe it was the fact that she wasn’t even sure whose body she was in these days either. At least she’d managed to get it back under control in the sense that she didn’t look like a skeleton anymore, so that was a goal reached. A lot of monitoring her food intake, and that meant making sure she was eating enough, not less. A lot of little things her shrink suggested, which was annoying, because she’d fought going to a shrink for a long time, but the lady did have a lot of good things to say. And she put up with Kiersten’s sarcastic attitude. Kiersten realized she needed to make some changes if she was going to get any better, which meant she couldn’t abuse prescription drugs anymore, or self medicate with weed. Or binge drink. Though she still had days. They were just much fewer and far between. It was just all about the routine. Due to her problem with lack of sleep she was usually up at the crack ass of dawn, which was when she did her yoga and meditation to clear her head for the day. During which she reminded herself it was a new day, and made a daily goal such as, don’t yell at a stranger today. Or try not to be sarcastic to the Starbuck’s barista. Talk to mom on the phone without hanging up on her. Or do something nice for Lance today, etc. Then she went on her morning jog, which was nice that this week she’d actually done her jog outside in the fresh air. And when she came home she showered and made breakfast. And coffee for Lance if he was up, though Kiersten knew she should steer clear of the caffeine. But she usually drank it anyways. And so that was how she started every day. At the ass crack of dawn. She ran on like 6 hours of sleep. Every day. Kind of nuts, but she was so used to it now she didn’t know any different.

Kiersten let her hair down from where it had been on top of her head, walking into the bedroom, trying to decide what to wear. Pants, dress, potato sack…? Maybe lay down and relax? Kiersten flopped down on the bed, hugging her pillow tight to her body, her head resting on it. She felt like a sack of skin and bones and it felt gross. She knew Dani was probably making a meal of straight carbs and cheese so that was good. It was interesting because last time she’d lost it she had quit playing music but this time around playing her piano was the one constant thing in her life that solidified her sanity. It was calming, and mind clearing. Lance was going to take forever on his hair. Maybe if Kiersten picked out something to wear she could play a little before they left. Of all the things to be worried about, she sure was glad Lance’s apartment had had room for her grand piano. Kiersten got up and started sifting through things in the closet, her stuff mixed in with Lance’s. Moving in with him hadn’t been as weird as she had anticipated. Not that she thought he was weird. Well, she did think he was a weirdo, but she didn’t mind. It had been more of a relief to see they were both pretty… stable, to say the least. She and Lance dealt with each other’s quirks and patterns. They always did have a way of accepting the flaws about each other in a way that was really supportive. They both had skeletons in their closet that had come out to haunt them more than once. Kiersten yanked a dress off the hanger, realizing a lot of her jeans were still too big, dropping her bathrobe and tugged it on. No, it was too tight. She took it off, pulling a more flowy one down and slipped into it. That was better. Maybe just a sweater or a shirt to cover her arms. And tall boots. Getting dressed wasn’t her most favorite thing these days.

After she’d decided on something, she glanced over at Lance, putting his Rolex on and she laughed, “Because dinner with Jake and Dani is so fancy.” She smiled, standing behind him where he stood at the dresser, wrapping her arms around him and rested her cheek against his shoulder blade. “You’re funny.” She sighed, letting her arms down and glanced in the mirror, fixing her hair slightly before finding a pair of tall socks and pulling her boots on. Lastly she picked up two pairs of earring, holding htem up and indicated that he should pick a pair and then spritzed her perfume on lightly. “I’m gonna go play for a few minutes, you haven’t even touched your hair yet,” she teased, kissing him lightly on the cheek and left the room, finding her place at the piano bench. This was her sanctuary or sorts. Because even now, while she waited for Lance to finish up, her hands found their spot over the ivory keys, moving over them with ease and precision, and for just a few minutes she got lost in playing, feeling whatever tension she’d built up over the course of the day just slip away.


Outfit
Song

[Lance James Renner]

Lance shook his hand out over his wet hair as he stood in the closet, looking at all of his clothes. “ Love, when did I get this?” he asked with a tone of genuine shock as he looked at the flannel shirt hanging amongst his other clothes. Lance scrunched his nose, looking at it as though it was emitting a foul odor before he took it off of the hanger and brought it to the trash. One more quick glance through the closet and he was able to find a more clean, crisp looking shirt. Lance buttoned it up carefully before going to look at himself in the mirror, priming himself basically as he took his watch out and placed it on as well. Lance looked over his shoulder as she teased him about the watch he was placing on his wrist. “When you’re British, people expect a certain air of.. luxury about you” he said, jokingly. He made a slight face at himself, “ I’m not even British. You know I’m wondering when this accent is going to wear off…” he said seriously before he looked back in the mirror at his hair. Lance smiled to himself after she kissed his cheek and disappeared, bringing his own hand up to his hair. He stood motionless for a few moments, listening to her play. He brought his eyes up to his own reflection, looking at the small scar that you could see, if you were looking for it, from his surgery. He closed his eyes, as though watching himself jump between Kiersten and the gunman, remembering seeing the look of fear on her face, seeing the blast from the gun. And then nothing. Yet, when he lost his eyesight and all that he had to appreciate Kiersten’s beauty was to enhance his other senses, this.. this was what he found most beautiful about her. He stood there, the scene playing out in his mind along to the keys as she played them. Sometimes he found comfort in the darkness, as strange as that was. It was nice to have his eyes shut, listening to that piano. Lance looked up, taking in a deep breath as he brought himself back to reality and did his best to do his hair in a timely manner. Lance washed his hands, heading out to the kitchen where he grabbed his car keys and eventually made his way to the grand piano. He leaned down, kissing the side of her jaw before he stood to the side, letting her finish playing for however long she liked. He smiled slowly as she finished and held his hand out to her, holding it as he headed out of their apartment and towards the parking garage.

Outfit

[Dani Marie Cooper]

Dani held out some toast with bruschetta on it for Jake to take a bite, moving it away from him each time he tried to get closer to it, before laughing as he pretty much forced it away from her. “Animal,” she teased as she reached up, pushed her bangs behind her ear since the rest of it was tucked into a braid to the side. Dani leaned over picking up Jake’s margarita and took a long drink of it, hoping he wouldn’t notice. It had been so different this time around. It wasn’t that they didn’t appreciate each other before ; but it was like she genuinely knew that this is what her life was going to be, that she never wanted to let him go. Hell, she’d climbed into a shower and asked him to propose when he was ready. They’d been dating longer than anyone else anyway. “ Connor!” she called from the kitchen, picking up the pitcher and started to pour margaritas for everyone else. “Of course Lance and Kiersten are late,” she said, more out of amusement than anger. You could never count on those two to be on time for anything. “ Let’s do shots before they get here. Suckers.” she said, pouring shots into the little glasses. “ Oh, no thank you” Jessica said. Dani made a face, pushing the extra shot glass to Connor. “ Bottoms up,” she said, clinking her shotglass against Connor’s and Jake’s before tilting her head back and downing it. Dani set the shot glass down, wrapping her arm around Jake’s waist as she leaned into his body.

Outfit

[Jessica Sophia Clark]

Jessi was looking down on her phone at the pinterest site, trying to find a weekend activity for herself and Connor to do this weekend. Every now and then she would show him his phone to get his opinion. But when she heard Dani’s voice calling him from the kitchen, she stood up to follow him. She smiled as she walked in, seeing how Dani and Jake behaved around one another. They’d been dating longer than anyone she knew, and they still acted like it was the first week of their relationship, all lovey dovey, even when they’d had a rainstorm or two of their own. Jessi tightened her fingers around her hip as Dani suggested shots. She thought it was going to be easier than this to get around the not drinking thing. So instead she politely declined it, and avoided looking at Connor when he turned to look at her. “So who made the bruschetta? It looks amazing,” she said, going over to it. “ That would be the Italian chef,” Dani said. Jessi smiled as she looked over at Jake. “ If I had known you were a good cook, I would’ve never dumped you,” she said playfully before plating some of the bruschetta up and bringing it over to Connor. " Are you glad to be home from tour?" she asked Dani before lifting her eyebrows excitedly, " You guys have to come to Connor's show. He's doing one of those intimate ones again soon," she said enthusiastically before taking a bite of the toast and tomato topping. " Is that guacamole?" she asked, moving her way to the other side of the table.

Outfit

[Jacob Daniel Russo]

Jake laughed, looking at Dani pointedly, “Aw come on,” he laughed, snatching the bruschetta up. “My margherita too?!” He shook his head, taking a drink himself, smiling at her pouring drinks for the others. Things were really… nice lately. They still had their tiffs but Jake felt like he and Dani were really learning to pick their battles. It made for a lot more days of being able to enjoy each other’s company than they used to have. Don’t be fooled, they still argued, like this week, it was the dog argument. Jake leaned back against the counter, taking the shot glass from Dani, “I have never known them to be on time, and I might even go as far as to say it’s Lance’s fault,” he joked, kind of. Because Lance and his hair. Jake took the shot and then set his glass down on the counter, wrapping an arm around Dani and nodded modestly when Jessica mentioned the bruschetta. He could make Italian food at least, Nonna wouldn’t allow anyone in the family to go unskilled in that department. “Yeah, we really should come out to your show, that’d be cool. When the weathers nice again maybe Connor will be a sport and invite us to his backyard,” Jake laughed, knowing Connor was one of the few of them that had a real house with a yard and a grill.

[Connor Ethan Steele]

Connor nodded, he too setting his shot glass down, "Yeah, we'll for sure have to have everyone out. I was thinking when it got warmer we could barbeque and all that, I'm pretty pumped to get the pool open. I just got a new grill, it needs to be christened," he joked. "Jessi's dying to show off all the pinterest projects," he added, smiling at her. He knew most guys would gripe about it, but he liked doing projects with her. It was something they could do together, it kind of made the house more theirs in a way. In a much less scary way. He was easing into the idea of this serious relationship business. She hadn't quite moved in, which was kind of a big step. He'd never even considered living with a girl before now. But now he was warming to the idea. it was as much her place as it was his, she was comfortable there. His kitchen looked good with her in it. "Are you home from tour for a while now or is this a short break, Dani?" he asked, finding out if she was in town for a while, hearing the front door open and heard Kiersten's voice call out.

[Kiersten Mollie Bannon]

If there was a sure fire way to know exactly how Kiersten was feeling, at least her fingers were more honest than her words. Because she tended to play how she felt. There was something about this piece that was so relaxing and serene almost. It put her at ease. And right now, with how things were going, she felt... at peace. With herself, Lance, the events of her life. She still didn't quiet understand the why's and the how's, but she had come to terms that she couldn't spend her life dwelling on finding the answers. She was at peace with the unknown. At least for today she was. It could change, and probably would. Lately her feelings were changing as rapidly as the wind changed direction. But today, she felt at peace. That was a nice place to be for a change. She wondered how long it would last. As they walked into Jake and Dani's building, Kiersten held Lance's hand, stating plainly, "My dad's coming into town on Sunday night on business." Kiersten could never tell if he really had business to do or if was just checking in on her. It was more checking than had gone on when she lived with him. Especially more than when her parents were separated for like nine damn years and he was living in Malibu by himself. "He'll probably want to grab lunch..." she drifted off, stepping into the elevator behind him. Part of her liked her dad paying attention. The other part of her felt like it was too little too late. Kiersten opened the door to their apartment when they got there, "Hello..." she called, following the voices to the kitchen, "Hey guys," she smiled, hugging Dani tightly and moved to hug Jessica and the boys. "Sorry we're late," she said, glancing at Lance, "Lost track of time a bit. What on earth did you make? It smells amazing in here." She said, reaching over to dip a chip in the guacamole.

[Dani Marie Cooper]

Dani threw her hands to the side as she looked at Jake. “¿Qué demonios? Nuestro partido no es tan bueno, ya que no está fuera?” she asked with a lift her eyebrows before shaking her head. She turned and smiled at Connor, giving a sigh of relief. “ I am officially home. Actually having to work on my new álbum right now. Kind of. I’m supposed to be writing,” she said before making a guilty face and picking her margarita up as she heard Kiersten making her entrance into the apartment. “ Hair’s here” she said quietly, referring to Lance before she stepped out of the kitchen and smiled. “ Hey!” she said happily, wrapping an arma round Kiersten before they stepped into the kitchen. “ I think a little bit of everything,” she said as she looked around before offering her own margarita to Kiersten. “ Jake and I are getting a puppy,” she announced as she looked at Kiersten, “Like we talked about,” she said, tapping her nose before she pointed at Kiersten. “ Okay, everyone needs a drink.” she said, pushing margaritas around toward everyone, holding her arm out stiffly as she looked at Jessi.

[Lance James Renner]

Lance nodded as Kiersten said that her father was going to want to have lunch. He cared more about seeing his daughter obviously; but Lance did feel that he and Kiersten were at the level of their relationship where people understood where they were going with their relationship..eventually. “Well we can call and make reservations at that place uptown,” he said, kissing the back of her knuckles. When they stepped into the apartment, it was an interesting mixture of smells that bombarded him. First, was Dani’s cooking, which seemed more pungent probably because of the spices. But it was obvious that Jake had been cooking as well. Lance smiled as he entered the kitchen, looking at Jake. “ Put on a few pounds since Dani got home?” he questioned with a laugh. “ Hey Dani,” he said before leaning down to give her a quick hug. It seemed that Kiersten had already made her way over to the guacamole so he followed suit, though trying to make sure he didn’t get anything on his shirt. “We almost have the whole gang here,” he said, looking over at the rest of them.

[Jessica Sophia Clark]

Jessi smiled brightly as he mentioned showing off the pinterest projects. “ There’s actually a lot of really neat stuff that we’ve also gotten at the World Market. You won’t believe it when you see Connor’s place again. Total transformation,” she said before standing up on her toes to kiss his cheek. “ Hey,” Jessi said with a smile as Kiersten and Lance came into the kitchen, looking beautiful as usual. When Dani offered her a margarita again, Jessi took in a deep breath before smiling. “ You know, I think I’m gonna let Connor do the drinking tonight so I can drive us home, but thank you so much.” She said, taking the margarita and setting it down in front of Connor. “ Kiersten, Lance, I was just telling Dani and Jake that they should come to Connor’s next show. I hope you guys can make it, too” she said, making herself another small snack of the guacamole and bruschetta. “ Aw,” Jessi said, looking over at Jake and Dani. “ Does anyone know what Chace and Tori are up to tonight?”

[Jacob Daniel Russo]

Jake rolled his eyes when Dani mentioned the dog thing, like they talked about. This damn dog. Okay, Jake wanted a dog too, but he wanted a big dog. And he thought Dani did too. Until she started talking about Chihuahua’s and he was starting to wonder if she really even wanted one or she if she was just pressing his buttons. But he kept reminding himself not to get too worked up over it. Dogs were not something to just dive into, they could talk about it like civilized people. Jake grinned and gave Lance a big brotherly hug, laughing slightly, “She feeds me, it’s more than I can ask for,” he joked. Jake took his margarita from Dani, nodding seriously, “Yeah! Who forgot to call the youngest Russo?! Dani, you were supposed to make the plans!” he teased, grabbing his phone from the other end of the counter to text Chace. “Don’t worry you guys, I got it…” he said, sending out a text.

[Connor Ethan Steele]

Connor, kept an arm around Jessica, looking at her quizzically for a moment when she turned down the margarita for the second time. Maybe she just didn’t feel like drinking, he didn’t think she was sick or anything. She’d been fine all afternoon. “Yeah, wow I haven’t seen Chace in a while.” Connor took his drink, taking a sip and then added, “Jake what have you been up to while Dani’s on tour, how’s the filming going?” Jake talked about his short film’s progression thus far, inviting Connor to come check it out one day when they were shooting. If anyone was going to go actor turned director, it’d be Jake. It seemed Chace had texted back that they were going to come over, “Are waiting to eat for when they get here…?” Connor asked, knowing it was the polite thing to do. Jake suggested they move to the living room where they could all sit down, Connor finding the spot next to Jess.

[Kiersten Mollie Bannon]

Kiersten nodded when Jessica talked about Connor’s show, leaning into Lance’s side. She slid her hand into his back pocket, “Yeah, that sounds fun, text me when it is!” Kiersten took the margarita from Dani tentatively, holding it in her hand for a few minutes before she drank any. She carried it with her to the living room, sitting close to Lance’s side and took a small sip and then set it on the coffee table. She was okay in social settings, just as long as she didn’t go overboard. It was more when she was alone that was cause for her to worry. Lance was kind of in the same boat. They were quite the damaged pair in this group. “Okay I know I fell off the face of the earth for a minute there, but what the hell is up with Natalia, and why is Logan just letting it happen,” she asked looking at Dani, “Seriously, did I miss something?” “That girl is an abomination!” Jake said as if his word was the final determiner. Kiersten snorted, “You just don’t like her because you think she made your DC games team lose.”

[Dani Marie Cooper]

Dani absentmindedly gave Jake a kiss on the cheek as he teased about her feeding him. She watched as he text Chace and shook her head with a smile. “ I mean it’s funny that we can all hang out now… But there was a time when Chace had that crush on me, and I was dating Lance.. but macking on Jake….Good times….good times,” she said, clearing her throat before patting Lance on the back. Dani picked up Jake’s phone when she saw that Chace had text back and started texting him from Jake’s phone before setting it down and following them into the living room. “ Chace said that him and Tori already ate with her family so we can eat whenever and they’ll probably just have a couple of margaritas and some snacks or something.” she said." Jake isn't very fond of her," she said with her hands on her hips. "Everyone has their own...outlet. I don't know. Ask Logan.. I don't know how involved he is. I mean he played a really big part in my album. I'm like his little puppet," she said, moving her arms around like they had strings on them. "Love the guy though. He's a genius." But before she could sit down Jessi was standing up, ruffling a hand in Connor’s hair. “Dani you have to give me the recipe for that guacamole. I think Connor is falling in love with you,” she said, moving her way towards the kitchen. “ Yes, we had quite the love affair when I was rooming with him,” Dani said, standing back off of the arm of the couch and making her way towards the kitchen.

[Jessica Sophia Clark]

Jessi made her way towards the kitchen, tapping Kiersten on the shoulder to indicate that she should follow them. She pulled her hair over one shoulder and stood in the kitchen anxiously before looking at the two girls as they joined her. “ Hey..” she said, trying to think of how she was going to pose her question. “ So.. you guys have both been in a relationship with your guys longer than I have with Connor, and I’m not sure if this is a scare that everyone goes through…” she started. ‘ Oh honey.. is he having problems?” Dani asked with concern. “ Wait, what? Problems with what?” Dani made a quiet whistle before lifting her finger. “ Oh, my god. No. We’re fine there. That’s the problem. Have you guys ever been….late?” she asked before scrunching her nose. “ YOU THINK YOU’RE PREGNANT?!?!” Dani screamed out at the top of her lungs, and while it may have made things go quiet in the kitchen, it sounded like the guys had quit talking as well. “ I mean.. do you think you’re pregnant?” Dani said in more of a whisper before giving an apologetic face.