digging deeper just to throw it away {open

[hannah]

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Was it any surprise that Tristan Silvers was sitting at a bar? Certainly not. Was it surprising that he was alone, save for the glass in his hands? No. What was surprising however, was the contents of the glass he was holding. The clear liquid filled just below the brim wasn't vodka.. it wasn't any type of Schnapps, or liqueur.. in fact it wasn't liquor at all. It was water. Tristan rarely drank anything without an alcoholic content anymore.. he hadn't given up his wine with meals and beer with everything else since before it was even legal for him to do so. What had him putting his habit back into the closet? He had convinced himself this was a chaser for his couple shots of Grey Goose before his departure from his townhouse, but the truth was a couple roads down. The feeling of being sober was something foreign to the young actor now. He felt more in character than he ever had. He blamed it on the beard. He was told not to shave for his role as a terrorist in a movie, so now he had to put up with this bush on his face. Sure it made him look rugged and manly, but it also proved to be a little grungy at times. Now was no different.. the young man who was notorious for being flawless at all times was looking a little rough around the edges. He was going to dump it all on the filming, and the toll it was taking on him. Sure he loved doing it, but it was a hell of a lot more work than he was used to doing on a daily basis.

He leaned both elbows on the table, swirling the water and the ice around in his cup, looking rather unamused. He reached up and ran one hand over his face, brushing over his skin and the hair that grew over it. He wouldn't call himself miserable.. but ecstatic wasn't exactly the word he would use either. Maybe it was more along the lines of accepting reality, which was something Tristan didn't do a whole lot of. He spent the majority of his life trying to ignore realities that sprang up all around him.. like his substance abuse problem, his family, his friends, his fame (or lack thereof), Paige... Okay, that last one hit home. Just thinking the name he wanted to drop his forehead against the sleek white counter top several times in quick succession. The girl drove him up the wall and she had no idea. Most of the time it was him doing the driving, and he knew he'd driven her to the ceiling a couple times. It seemed karma was haunting him though, coming back to bite him in the ass like it always did.

Maybe this was rock bottom for ole Silvers.

Or maybe it was a new mountaintop. Wait a second, Tristan didn't think like that. No, he was a pessimist through and through, abiding by every definition of the word. The good in any situation wasn't something he could see; the negatives were always so much more prominent from his point of view. He gritted his teeth lightly, frustrated at the amount of time he was spending just sitting here thinking like a pussy. That wasn't like him, not at all. He looked down at the water, finding his reflection, skewed by the crystalline etchings on the glass. For once in his life he didn't want to look at himself. He growled and just set the glass down, letting his hazel eyes wander the room with a bored glaze. Hopefully some adoring fan girl would appear out of the queue and entertain him or at least pull his attention from the worthy things. It if was worth thinking, Tristan obviously wanted to be distracted from it.

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tagged open •

[/b] words 643 •[/b] outfit CLICK •[/b] creds moi[/size][/font]
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[kat]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

Katalina Stevenson was not the type of person to worry about whether or not her fame and reputation was being tarnished by the people she associated with. There were dirtbags in the industry no matter where you went, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood were people Kat wouldn't be caught dead in the same room with. But as long as people still clamored over the mention of her name, it was of no consequence who she hung around with. Of course, it always paid to hang around big names, other people who would bump up your status. That was how it was in any business, though. Play with the big dogs and you'll get treated like a big dog. To Kat, it didn't matter who she surrounded herself with because everyone looked the same from the top. It was a selfish, unfeeling view of the world but it was the way she had to look at it in order to keep her status. She would associate with anyone she pleased. Even if it wasn't doing her any good, it would always be a good thing to keep people guessing about her. If she wasn't going to cause drama the typical getting drunk, having sex, and hooking up way (you know...the old fashioned way) then she could, at the very least, surprise people with her choices in company.

Despite the disregard for who she hung out with, Kat was usually very particular about the places she found herself. It was unwise for someone like her to be caught walking into or out of a bar like this one. However, it was also a restaurant and a friend of her family owned the place, making a valid excuse for Kat's presence. All these things, these social niceties all seemed so intricate. And they were. But after a while it was easy for Kat to pick out the places she should and shouldn't go--they were normally places she would choose and not choose anyway. It was just on a wider scale, more played up and more important for her to make the right choices. And that was fine by her. If her normal decision making helped her to keep her social status, then that was one less thing that Kat had to worry about.

As she walked it, Katalina shot a look at the bar, almost wanting to sit down and have a glass of wine. Her nerves were on edge that day, and she wasn't about to face the owners of the restaurant in the condition she was. She'd spent all of the day chasing her brother (who was three years older than her, mind you) around the town, trying to clean him up after a mishap at a party they'd attended the night before. It was taking a toll on Kat, but it was her duty to not let it show. The lines on her face were laugh lines from many years of joy and laughter, not from stress and certainly not from nursing her brother's cocaine addiction. Taking a deep breath and putting on a brave face, Kat strode over to the bar and ordered a glass of white wine. Looking around at the company the bar held, she almost regretted it. Maybe she should have just ordered at her table...Glancing over at a particularly scruffy man, Kat extended a gracious nod and grabbed the glass from the bartender. Wait. Looking again, Kat realized who the scruffy face was.

"Hey, Tristan," she said, smiling. What were the odds? For a fleeting moment, Katalina was worried that him spotting her here, and at the bar would do damage to her reputation. But Tristan was no Jack Bailey or Paige Nilles or Nina Clarke. As stated before, everyone looked the same from the top and from where Kat was, it would be hard for Tristan to tarnish her reputation from where he rested on the social ladder. "What brings you here?" she asked, taking a sip of the drink. Almost unintentionally, Katalina let out a deep breath that she seemed to be holding. Relax, she told herself. Relax.

TAGGED ! tristan james silvers
WORDS ! 689
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
BANNER ! moscow @ caution
NOTES ! snagged! (:

[hannah]

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Tristan stared down into the liquid again, unsure of whether or not he actually recognized the rough figure staring back at him. He swirled the glass gently, making ripples and ridding himself of his own reflection. He was a very prideful person and enjoyed his own image most of the time. He wasn't sure why he was so repulsed by it on this particular evening. It wasn't like his life was crumbling in on itself or anything.. oh wait, it kind of was. The girl he was just supposed to be fucking around with - oh wait, he wasn't even supposed to be fucking around with her... she was of a completely different world, one Tristan aspired to reach and would no matter the cost - was turning into something more. That something more was definitely not something she was supposed to be at all. Tristan did not fall for girls, girls fell for Tristan. That's just how it worked.. like how the world spins on an axis and how there are 365.25 days in a year, how salmon migrate upstream and bears hibernate for winter. It was just natural.

But this liquid he was drinking, it wasn't natural at all. He didn't crave alcohol, but he felt wrong sitting at a bar and not drinking it. Reluctantly, he ordered a shot of whiskey, just letting the aroma drift toward his nose to tickle it lightly. He stared down into the amber liquid as an adversary. He wasn't sure why he was being such a god damned pussy. With that thought, he immediately picked up the small glass and the whiskey hit the back of his throat within seconds, soon to join the less-poisonous substances in his stomach. He knew he was out of control with his drinking and excessive drug use, but this was Hollywood, he could do whatever the hell he pleased right? Wrong. He had a schedule now that he had to abide by if he wanted to remain on this project. They knew of his reputation: blowing off filming to screw girls or do drugs. He couldn't do that this time.. it was a huge production, the biggest he'd ever done and therefore demanded absolute attention and dedication which he was currently giving it.

Tristan had never dreamed that putting effort into something would cause this much of a drop in his initiative to do anything else. Well, the only thing that hadn't declined was the amount of time he was spending with Paige, and that was intentional. He probably would have flown halfway around the world just to spend time with her, but that was a huge secret that he knew would never make it out. He was the only one who knew, and he was an asshole to her when they were together so even her suspecting was unlikely. Of course there was that one time he let that one phrase slip... nothing big. She probably just attributed it to his after-sex delirium if she even noticed through hers. He sighed, running a hand through his dark hair and the spikes that had once inhabited it. He didn't ruin it, but it definitely added to his rough exterior. He actually couldn't wait to get rid of this beard.. it was quite annoying.

He noticed the brunette beside him, but didn't really recognize her until she did the same to him. A friendly smile instantly split across his face, his amiable grin just enough to make her spine melt. His entire persona did a one-eighty just because someone was there to see him wallowing in his own self-misery. That was unacceptable to show even at the worst of times. He was a man of immutable composure. Well, unless you got him drunk off his ass. But he was totally sober right now; a shot to Tristan was like a brick to a Victorian castle. "Hey there, gorgeous," he purred to her over the sounds of quiet conversations and background music. He gave a light chuckle at her question, dropping his eyes to the ground before looking up to meet her fiery brown ones. "I think what brings you here might be more interesting." He wasn't stupid, he knew big shots like her didn't really give two shits about their less-famous counterparts, and at this point he fit into that category. The fact that he was a nobody in a pool of somebodies was a huge blow to his ego, but somehow he managed. He leaned against the bar with one elbow as he offered the seat next to him to her. He wasn't sure whether or not she would take it, but regardless the invitation was there. She was a nice girl and he wouldn't mind sitting with her for a while, hell no! It was his own reputation he was building up. The more recognizable faces he found himself with the better his own image became. "Have a drink with me," he suggested charmingly, his greenish eyes sparkling in the fluorescent light.

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tagged kat •

[/b] words 835 •[/b] outfit CLICK •[/b] creds moi[/size][/font]
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[kat]

SOMETIMES I FIND IT HARD
• to believe there's someone else who could be •
JUST AS MESSED UP AS ME

Tristan's expression melted into a smile, instantly making Katalina feel more comfortable. There were many things Kat knew about Tristan (both good and bad) and his charm was one of which she'd known about. It was a dangerous attribute, to be sure, and Kat was very cautious about how she handled people like that. If it seemed like Kat always had her guard up around people, it was because she did. Kat never let anyone see her as weak, never let anyone see her as anything less than perfectly poised and composed. It wasn't fake, necessarily, it was just reserved. Or at least that's how she liked to look at it. He called her a sweet pet name and Kat smiled immediately, the dimples appearing on her cheeks. He mentioned that her presence would be more interesting than the reason for his and she nodded her head. "Well," she began, taking the seat Tristan offered her. "My family is good friends with the owners of this place and they offered to have dinner tonight." Glancing back at the table they'd proposed to sit at, Kat wondered if maybe she should leave Tristan and simply go to meet the family.

No, they could wait a while. They weren't intended to meet for another twenty minutes or so. Kat would have a drink with Tristan, loosen up a bit, practice her speech making and public speaking on him and make sure she was okay to meet these important people. Taking another sip of her wine, Katalina turned to Tristan. "So what have you been up to lately?" she asked. Of course, she wondered about his personal life but she was mostly speaking about his latest projects and filming endeavors. After all, she wasn't going to discuss her personal business with Tristan--that would be absurd. Why would she tell him about those things? She hardly told Kate or Jules those things, let alone someone she'd only met through the industry. It didn't make a lot of sense to her for Kat to indulge the intimate details of her personal life. Besides, she didn't think Tristan cared about those things anyway. He was dedicated to acting (a trait to be admired, certainly) and he probably wasn't interested in listening to someone babble on about their personal lives. Which was fine by her, because she had no interest in divulging that information.

For a fleeting moment, Kat felt a twinge of panic. Lately, everyone she knew was working on a big project of some sort. The Marriage Plan, Six Lives, Life Intertwined. Everyone had their own respective roles and their own shooting dates. Kat, however, had spent the past couple months taking care of her brother and catching up with her own life. When she wasn't a part of something big, like a movie, Kat felt lost. What was she to do with her time? It was upsetting, and what if Tristan asked why she wasn't working on a movie? She definitely was not going to tell him that she was going back and forth between New York City and L.A. to find her brother a stable job and a nearby rehab center. She wasn't going to tell him that their mother had vowed to not talk to them until they "got their shit together and got real jobs." Kat was an impenetrable wall, and nothing was going to break down her composure tonight. Nothing. Not even Tristan Silvers and his charming demeanor and sparkling green eyes.

Her eyes had floated downward, staring into the light colored liquid. She didn't swirl it as she normally would have, indicating she was deep in thought. Looking up to meet Tristan's eyes, the twinkle reentered her hazel eyes. She was back. "You know, I probably shouldn't be over here. I need to meet the owner and their son sometime tonight, or they won't cover my bill." She was joking, of course, but she couldn't think of anything else humorous to say. Her joke probably fell rather flat, but Kat didn't truly care. Being funny wasn't in the forefront of her mind at the moment.

TAGGED ! tristan james silvers
WORDS ! 687
OUTFIT ! CLICK
LYRICS ! sometimes by skillet
TEMPLATE ! PANIC! ITS LAUZ @ CAUTION
BANNER ! moscow @ caution
NOTES ! sorry this took so long! stupid job. >.<

[hannah]

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Tristan gazed over into her bright amber eyes. He was a sucker for baby blues, but her brown optics were a force to be reckoned with. For a moment, he so wished the girl sitting beside him was Paige. And at that point, he recognized the fact that he was losing it. He'd never been this head over heels for a girl, well, at least one so far out of his league. Though the more he came out about it, the more he learned that they were perfect for each other. Most people though they were stuck up assholes, and that's exactly what both of them were. All that mattered to Tristan was Tristan, that was it. Everyone told him that was no way to live life, but he figured it had worked pretty well thus far. He was making a name for himself in the impossible business of Hollywood.. He was getting himself in pretty deep with some pretty well-known people, even if it was just for his name's sake. He didn't care that it turned a lot of people off, the way he used everyone. But hey, why would he care?

An added threat to her honey-colored eyes was that smile. Those dimples that dotted her cheeks were cute, no doubt. They just weren't for him though. The cuteness was something he could appreciate in very measured doses, but everything about Kat screamed cute. He listened to her explain and simply nodded. It was logical.. a wealthy family meets another at a fancy restaurant for a sophisticated get-together. His family never had those.. they were wealthy alright, but they were so dysfunctional his mother and himself couldn't even hold it together long enough to eat dinner. Some sarcastic comment would fly and all hell would break loose between the two, who bitterly blamed each other for the disappearance of his father. But it was all very vain, considering they would never know the real reason. But he smiled in response, not really sure why or how, but he attributed it to his strange mood and the impulse to be somewhat decent to someone who was nothing but decent in return to him when she certainly didn't have to be.

She sat down and he shifted beside her so they could both enjoy a personal bubble. Tristan wasn't too big on it, but he knew she was. She definitely wouldn't appreciate him being up in her face. She fired her question as he finished the last of his liquor. He made a face at the bar tender as if to say he didn't want anymore. He didn't need to drink nearly as much these days since drunkenness really only clouded the good feelings he had already. "Workin' on Six Lives.. I've had a couple walk-ons I've been signed to do.. did a Calvin Klein thing.." he said, passing it all off as if it was nothing because to a big shot like Kat, it was nothing. "I'm sure it's all garden work compared to what you're doing." King of flattery, that was for sure. He knew how to handle himself when he was around people better than him, and somehow he still managed to command the scene like he was above them. Just a skill the cockiness brought along.

All of a sudden, he felt her mood shift. And then she said she needed to go over to the vacant table. His brows furrowed, but he still managed to laugh despite her dry sense of humor. Was he really that boring? "Well, business is business," he said, aiming to strike a guilty string inside her somewhere with his slightly hurt voice. He was an actor, after all. The longer he was seen with her the better, right? "It's been nice speaking with you," he spoke with slightly pouting lips. What a ham.

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tagged kat •

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