trade baby blues for wide-eyed browns. OPEN!

[neve]

everybody wants, everybody wants
to drive all through the night, if it's a drive back home
things aren't the same anymore
some nights it gets so bad, i almost pick up the phone.

Neve Clowes was not a multi-tasker.

However, she was attempting to maneuver her silver Lexus, and check mapquest on her sidekick at the same time. Neve had been running late to meet her sister at P.F. Chang's in West Lake Center, and had no idea how to get there. You can't imagine how it irked her to be lost in a small city like Seattle, when she could find her way around New York City with her eyes closed.

Neve could see why her mother had wanted to leave Washington. The Cloweses had moved from here to Manhattan when Neve was five years old, and she couldn't honestly say she had missed the place at all whatsoever. The mountains were pretty, sure; if you liked that sort of thing. which Neve didn't. The sight of Mt. Ranier caused some to stare in awe; fools, in Neve's opinion. The Statue of Liberty, now that was a sight to behold. The Space Needle was lame, weak. Neve wanted away from this whole place, this joke they called a city.

However, doing two things at once had been pushing Neve's limit. Add mulling over how pathetic her new place of residence was, well, that was just over the top. And Neve didn't know anything was wrong until she heard the sound of metal crunching on metal in front of her, and lurched forward.

"Damn it!" She cursed under her breath as she unbuckled her seat belt and swung her door open to assess the damage. An angry man climbed out of the Ford truck in front of her, and angrily slammed the door behind him. Neve took little notice of him and his rantings as she groaned at the sight of her baby's front end destroyed. The truck's bumper was a bit dented, but other than that it had won the battle with her little Lexus.

"...and you're going to pay for this little missy..." the man went on, catching Neve's aggravated attention.

She slowly turned to face him and made a show of rolling her eyes. "Darling, I drive a brand new Lexus convertible," she informed him unnecessarily. "Do you really think i'll have trouble paying to fix your hunk of garbage?" she asked, and without waiting for a response, added, "didn't think so."

The man huffed angrily and grumbled things that sounded vaguely to neve like "no respect" and "spoiled teenagers". They exchanged information, and Neve moved to sit on the curb as the truck man phoned the police. Neve, however, dialed her sister's number. Three rings, and an answering machine. Neve clicked her phone off, and hung her head in her hands. She so didn't look forward to calling her father.

[cecelia emerson reese .]

she's a r i c h girl
don't try to h i d e it
she got diamonds on the s o u l s of her shoes

Cecelia had been stepping out of the printers, collecting the invitations (that were really flyers), when she heard the sound of crunching metal. Now, Cecelia Reese was a self absorbed person, but no-one was that absorbed. Of course she had looked up. Just in time to see the Lexus collide with the ugly utility vehicle. The poor Lexus. The ford was build bigger and meant to be thrashed about. The little sports car hadn’t stood a chance. Cecelia winced slightly shaking her head. She’d hate to be the driver right now. The car looked new too.

Curiosity at how the situation would play out over-took the girl, and she stood where she was. She pulled out her phone, sliding it open so she could pretend to be sending a text or checking her messages, when really, she was watching as a blonde girl got out of the car and proceeded to be berated then swap details by the ford’s owner. A blonde girl that Cecelia recognised as one of the Clowes girls. Now she wasn’t sure which, as she hadn’t seen either of them in years. Not to mention the fact they were twins. However it didn’t take Cecelia long to realise that this situation might work in her favour.

The young woman had learnt from her parents that social networking was important, and the more socialites you knew, the better off you were. Besides, if it was Neve, well then, Cecelia had been rather fond of her. This was her chance to cement a friendship that had been trust upon her as a child. A smirk crossed the young woman’s face as she put her phone away, and took a few steps closer to the curb. Any other person might have sat with the girl and comforted her, but Cecelia Reese was not any other person.

“Excuse me..” she pulled the smirk from her features and replaced it with a polite expression. “Did you want a witness, for when the police arrive?” The man opened his mouth to speak, but Cecelia rounded on him. Her expression still polite, but her eyes flashed slightly. “Actually I was talking to the poor girl you just berated. Honestly, does it make you feel good? Yelling at a young woman? It shouldn’t. I was talking to her, because I saw the whole thing. She was merely trying to park” here, she waved to the empty space beside the curb “when you pulled out right on top of her. Perhaps you shouldn’t drive such a powerful car if you can’t handle it. You could have killed her.”

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[neve]

Neve did not immediately look up when a familiar voice reached her ears, for it almost seemed too good to be true. She almost wanted to laugh aloud, for this proved that her distant life in Manhattan had existed, and she hadn't just woken up from an amazing fourteen year sleep. Honestly, there were only a few people Neve had met who could speak with such blunt frankness when consorting with commoners, and they had all come from the east. Her sister was waiting somewhere in West Lake Center, so it couldn't be her. Which meant that when Neve looked up...

"Celia," she said, with an attempt at a smile. She stood up slowly and dusted herself off as she watched the angry truck man stutter at Cecelia Reese's view on what happened with a twisted smirk. If there was one thing that Neve appreciated, it was the fact that socialites stuck together, no matter what. They would always support each other over lesser individuals, because they were raised to behave as such. You never knew when the aid of a fellow socialite would be your only, yet very useful, lifeline. Even though Cecelia had no way of knowing which sister she was, she jumped to assist the girl, aware that it could be Sophie instead of Neve, with whom she had gotten along less than perfectly.

With a new outlook on the situation, and a return of confidence, Neve walked over to the girl, and gently laid a hand on her upper arm before placing a kiss on each of Cecelia's cheeks. By it, she meant to show a sign of familiarity. Of recognition at their past friendship of sorts. 'Of sorts' being the key word. However, when members of the elite are on even the slightest of good terms, its easy to exaggerate, and quite frequently was.

The Clowes family vacationed, once upon a time, in the Hamptons, just as they did every summer. Neve and Sophie had met Cecelia and her apparent best friend, the St. Clair girl whose name currently escaped her, when they were ten-years-old. Their mother and father had decided they were old enough to accompany them to the Reese's summer gala. It was here that Manhattan's royalty and the Hampton's queen bees met for the first time. Neve was still young, and eager to make new friends, slash forge new connections. It was a trait that had stuck with her all these years. Sophie, however, kept her hands clasped behind her back and smiled blankly, clearly unimpressed with the pair of them. Needless to say, Neve fared far better with the two, Celia in particular. While they kept little contact outside the summer months, they were always able to slip easily back into the routine of exaggerated allies in July.

"It's been an age, Reese," Neve said with the most sincere smile she had ever bestowed upon the girl. It really was nice to see her.

[cecelia emerson reese .]

she's a r i c h girl
don't try to h i d e it
she got diamonds on the s o u l s of her shoes

Considering the warm reception she was being shown, Cecelia was willing to bet that it was indeed Neve and not Sophie. Or it was indeed Sophie and the young socialite had changed since the last summer they had met. If that was the case though, Cecelia would find her respect for the Clowes girl. At least if you are a bitch, people respect you. However sucking up to someone you don’t like (unless you had good reason and you’d benefit). No, it was definitely Neve. Sophia would have pretended not to know her, and just accepted her help with a frosty smile.

“Neve, my darling it has been far too long.” She smiled at the blonde. Reciprocating the cheek kissing routine that had become so much apart of Cecelia’s life. “I’m so very glad to have run into you like this, and to have witnessed your horrid ordeal.” She smirked at the girl, trying not to laugh. It was actually enjoyable, screwing over the man. “To think, you were just going to let him treat you like that. I probably would have been too frightened to do anything differently myself..” She pulled the other girl into a hug, as if she was in dire need of comfort.

Cecelia hugged Neve for a few short moments before rounding on the man, smile fading quickly. “Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage for one day? You may go. There is no need for the police. I mean, by all means call them, but I’d hate to see them arrest you. She has your details and I daresay you will be hearing from her insurance company.” Cecelia let out a laugh. “Though I daresay you’d have to file bankruptcy to cover the damages you’ve caused. So good luck with that.” She turned her back on the man, ending the conversation before he could even get a word in. Giving him nothing to do but grudgingly get back into his car.

Once he was gone, and Cecelia could hear his car pulling away, Cecelia let out an amused laugh. “Oh, it even surprises me how easy that is. But then, No one wins an argument against a Reese.” She let out another laugh, shaking her head slightly. “What are you doing here? I didn’t know this had become the new hot-spot for the Manhattan Elite? I mean, it’s the last place I’d expect. It may have it’s positives but it’s no New York..”

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[neve]

Neve accepted the hug. It was a bit much, yes, but it was Cecelia; and therefore was completely in-character. Neve fell into the game her long-lost playmate was playing, and allowed a pout to fill out her rosebud lips. "I wasn't aware that anyone witnessed what really happened," she excused herself. "But then, you know the common folk these days; they're convinced that if they yell loud enough, their words might reach our level," Neve shrugged, her tone all innocence as she threw a disdainful glance back at the truck driver, who was eyeing them with apprehensive fury.

Neve turned to face him, and wrapped her arms around her middle as though she was still shaken from the accident, and let Cecelia go about extinguishing the man. She had come to believe that confidently exercising her power as one of the leisure class was something that Miss Reese lived for. She was quite like her sister in that sense, though Sophie was more straightforward about it. "My name is Sophia Clowes, and I'm better than you are. Would you like to hear why?" The words echoed in Sophie's voice in her mind, though her sister had never actually uttered them. Neve supposed that this was the reason S and Cee frequently butted heads; though N had to admit, the face-offs were always worth the watch. Neither usually came out victorious, because neither would give up. They often resulted in a stalemate, followed by another calm before an equally frivolous storm.

Neve sighed inwardly, and silently thanked the Lord that she was not given to such pettiness. Usually.

Neve couldn't prevent the yelp of laughter that escaped her at Cecelia's observation of Seattle. "Positives? I've yet to notice them. You'll have to point them out to me sometime, love," she spat rather bitterly. Neve was usually so even toned and pleasant, but the topic of her current prison was touchy for her. As was the reason she was stuck here.

"Le sigh," she began, placing a hand to her chest for dramatic effect. "Father's latest decree. He's of the opinion I've forgotten my roots," Lie. "Yes, it's true, Seattle is my hometown, for lack of better term," Neve wrinkled her nose in distaste at this. "As if when he yanked us out of here, he didn't sever all roots as well! I haven't even visited since leaving, what, fourteen years ago? I've had no reason to."

Neve was silent for a moment, before looking up at Cecelia. "Why is it you're here? You're not here by choice," she assumed. "Are you?"

[cecelia emerson reese .]

she's a r i c h girl
don't try to h i d e it
she got diamonds on the s o u l s of her shoes

Cecelia couldn’t help but smile. “Well, alright I will admit, that one of the hugest positives this city has for it right now is the men, one in particular.” She giggled slightly. “That though, is a completely off-topic story perhaps left for a better time. There are some decent shops in Seattle though. Which, of course, is a plus. I haven’t been here long though, So I have yet to discover all this city’s secrets.” She let her eyes glance around, as if some fantastic hidden gem she hadn’t seen before would jump out at her. Of course, nothing did.

Frowning, Cecelia shook her head. “You poor thing. Back to your routes? That’s horrid. Sometimes routes need to be cut. I honestly don’t understand why parents think we are unable to make important life decisions for ourselves. Like we aren’t fully brain functioning humans.” If her father even tried to send Cecelia to a place she didn’t want to go.. Well he’d have to deal with one monster of a tantrum. Cecelia never did anything she didn’t want to do, and forcing her was probably not a smart idea. Her father knew that too. After all he had taught his daughter to be just as strong willed as himself.

“Well actually yes. I’m here by choice.” She bit her lip. “I’m a student at Washington University of Arts. The location may not be ideal, but it has an amazing fashion programme, and the only place that comes close is Rhode Island School of Design, and well that place is so tripe. Full of pretentious bohemian trailer trash. So this seemed like the ideal chose. Besides, it is rather pretty here. It’s no New York City, but I’m content for the moment really.” Cecelia glanced down at the invitations in her hand.

“Oh!” She grinned, sliding one out. “I’m throwing a little… party. Trying to bring a touch of class to this place.” She held out the sheet to the other girl. “It’s on over at the university, and well, you know me.. It’s going to be a truly wonderful afternoon. You should come. And Sophia too. There are actually some very engaging people on the guest list… It may give you a reason to like Seattle a little better.”

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