sunshine, I'm beginning to like this [greg!]

[lila renee williams]

With your breathing filling up my lungs
I can almost believe that I'm almost enough



Vertigo is defined as a sensation of whirling and loss of balance, associated particularly with looking down from a great height. For this particular word, Lila considered the definition only just unfit. Vertigo was far too pretty a word to be associated with whirling dizziness inspired by fear. It had an ethereal taste to it, not quite english sounding and almost colorful in timbre. Was it purple and turquoise? Or maybe lemonade yellow and pop-rock pink. A kaleidoscope word.
Yet to Lila, Vertigo also assigned the feeling of separation between the falling and what was going on below. The idea that a person could look down on an entire city ebbing and flowing beneath them, a microcosm of what makes the human race so distinct. It inspired the picture-within-a-picture-within-a-picture cycle; who was looking down on US? Watching US drive our toy cars, push our doll strollers and exist seemingly without assistance.
Vertigo was a chain reaction thought of everything we don't know. Higher power, God, this was the stuff of a religious man, a philosopher, and today...a sophomore.

Lila was nestled comfortably in her Vertigo- rather, a natural perch created in the thick upper branches of a tree overlooking the Lawrence Collegiate courtyard. She was allowing her mind to wander, as she had realized that balance was key to not stressing (over that history project, over the debate club, over boys), and so she liked to allow herself a daydream or two. And sometimes they were romantic and full of Taylor Swift lyrics and RomCom pick up lines, but today they were of a higher educated style, most likely caused by the lecture in Philosophy.
She sat with one leg straight along the branch, the other swinging in suspension- her sandal dangling from her toes. Her head was tilted skyward, watching the sunlight cast patterned spotlights along the leaves and boughs, the wind rippling their shadows as if it too were hiding a city in itself.

The last classes of the day had been let out, and Lila was becoming more and more slow to leave the schools' premise. She used to be out in a flash, briskly on her way home to Ben and Kyla and her mom. But now...there was resentment at home. A quiet hostility that Lila hated in herself, because the twins didn't deserve it, and her mother definitely didn't either.
But Lila was tired of being tired. She had to appreciate time like this, to herself, before throwing herself back into the ready set go never slow down that had once been easy for her.
It's not like she was that old, sixteen was hardly an appropriate time for even a quarter life crisis. Lila was quite sure such things existed for people nowadays. School was so much pressure, and she knew not to pity herself and pretend she was the only one with this problem.

Maybe her problem was overthinking everything. But how could she fix that without overthinking her overthinking? What a vicious cycle. One things' for sure, Lila has definitely learned how to relax. And at this particular moment, she inhaled, closed her eyes towards the sun, and leaned her head against the sturdy trunk of her Vertigo.

[gregory ryan dalton]

Gregory was feeling pretty good as he meandered away from Lawrence Collegiate, across the lush grounds. Hands in his pockets, he shuffled through the detritis there: a folded up note of some slight schedule change for the next week, a rivet that had come off of his pants sometime third period, his cell phone, his wallet. Maybe he would hang around town a little before getting home. He could hit the coffee-shop or the diner or something. But not alone. Going alone would be pathetic and, more importantly, boring. Sure, he would most likely come upon people once he arrived but... Well, Greg preferred to come armed with company.

Except who could he find at this time? It was nearly thirty minutes after the last bell; everyone else had left by now, he was sure. A teacher had held Greg back. Not for any sort of punishment, of course. No, Greg never got chastised. His English teacher simply wanted to chat, to know about his plans after high school. So Greg had indluged the teacher (he really didn't mind talking to adults and they loved him). But now he was without a companion to goof off with.

Greg was about to just abandon the entire plan when something out of the top of his line of sight caught his peripheral vision. Glancing up, he saw a familiar sandal dangling from a foot. Stopping, he pitched his head back further and saw Lila Williams lounging on a tree branch. Her face was pensive and Greg just knew she was thinking deep thoughts. It wasn't too wild of a guess though --Lila was often thinking deep thoughts.

And just like that, Greg had found his companion. He was just cupping his hands around his mouth to call up to her when something stopped him. Things had been rough with Claire lately. She was shorter with him and seemed less interested and Greg found himself having a harder time allowing himself to look the other way with her bad behavior. And if Claire caught wind of Greg hanging out with Lila (again) without her she might just go nuclear.

And then Greg realized that he didn't really care. Let Claire implode. He didn't wish harm any harm on his girlfriend, not at all, but he wasn't going to not spend time with one of his best friends because said girlfriend would disapprove. Claire would learn to deal.

Decision made, Greg leaned back and hollered up to her, "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your golden hair!" He grinned up at her then, chuckling to himself. "But seriously. Get down here and come have some coffee with me so I don't look like a loser."

---

word count 450
tag Lila!
muse pretty good; wrote this one during a boring class
notes uhm. greg and lila for the win? ^^

[lila renee williams]

I'll be the one to keep you
one disaster less




(ugh, I hate that I have to rush this but I'm leaving for the weekend in like 20 minutes, so please excuse the crappy quality of this. I'll be back Monday!)

For someone with such a driving force, Lila was certainly unfocused about her future. As only a sophomore, she had plenty of time to go college hunting and consider her options. But Lila knew what she wanted.
She wanted NYU.
But that was the easy part. She had the grades, the extracurriculars, the concise yet thoughtful and endearing college essays. The difficult choice Lila faced was which path to choose. She was good at math-- great at it, a pro at picking up differential equations and calculus. But was it something she wanted to do for the rest of her life?
Lila would admit, in a true geek fashion, that there was something comforting in knowing formulas would give her the result she wanted.

And yet she couldn't resist the thrill, the adrenaline rush, when she stood onstage. Performing was something Lila was passionate about. It wasn't just something to add to her resume, it was a world of audition, of competition and of talent. She wasn't star-studded, broadway-bound, Lea Michelle (oh trust, she was a gleek). But she had gotten parts and won a few minor competitions that she would never dare tell her parents about. The only people who knew were Josie and--

"Greg!" Her focus shot down to the voice below, blue gaze focusing immediately on the statuesque brunette boy looking up at her. Immediately she cringed inwardly at the excitement lacing her exclamation, but pushed past it to hop off of her perch. She didn't bother hiding the grin that came when he called to her like she was a fairytale girl. Oh he was definitely her Prince Charming. But that...well that was a secret she kept locked in her tower. Because if the wicked witch (alright, maybe that was a bit too much) found out about her amorous affection towards the knight in shining armor that stood before her, Lila would be the one in the tower.
She laughed at his loser comment, as if Greg could ever look like an awkward loner. He was magnetic...in more ways than just one. Lila seemed drawn to him even from the casual distance they were standing, and sometimes she was afraid of what would happen if the molecules separating them ever collided.
"Sure, lets go. I'll bet you a drink that the barista writes her number on your cup again."
And here she was, teasing him. It was a reminder to herself that Greg was so far out of her league, even that gorgeous model, college-drop out behind the coffee counter wanted him. But those girls didn't understand him like Lila did.
They didn't know about his fragile relationship with his father, or that he sang in the car but not the shower, or any of the things that made Greg the guy that Lila considered her best friend.
And best friends is how it would stay, as much as she hated it.
"What've you been up to, Gregarious?" Lila tugged on his t-shirt sleeve, quick to release it in case she accidentally held the fabric between her fingers for too long. She searched his eyes for signs of the past events, as it had been a few days since they had really hung out. Lila longed to ask him about Claire, but kept her mouth shut on the subject.
She seemed to be too good at that.

[gregory ryan dalton]

Greg's grin broadened as Lila called to him with enthusiasm. He loved the way she always seemed happy to see him. He wasn't an egoist by any stretch of the imagination but it was nice to feel wanted, liked, interested in. Especially since he didn't always get that from his girlfriend. Which was bad because she was his girlfriend and his girlfriend should always be happy to see him, shouldn't she?

But that was a thought for another time. Because Lila was hopping down and agreeing to go get a coffee with him. And then teasing him about that flirty barista who always just happened to mark her name and number on his cup. Greg tossed an arm over Lila's shoulders comfortably, shaking his head. "She sure is gorgeous," he mused with a soft smile. And she was. Sara, was her name. She was nice too, if a little over-the-top; a little to obvious with her flirtations. He felt bad for her honestly because she really was smart and she should be on billboards or something instead of serving up mocha frappes. So Greg flirted with her and gave her something to smile about. "Too bad I just don't go for older women," he added, frowning as if he were really sorry for that. It broke into a bout of soft chuckles soon enough though.

He steered her toward the exit of Lawrence Collegiate, taking up a slow, easy pace. He was content to linger on this day. He had no homework to complete (the joys of being a senior) and he hadn't spent any serious time with Lila for awhile. He missed his best friend. Sure, the guys were great and he loved Claire despite the short-coming of their relationships and he was close to some other girls, like Mikaela and the rest, but... Well, there was only one Lila Renee Williams. And even though he knew it was wrong and that he had no right to, he sort of thought of her as his. His Lila Renee Williams.

Not like he owned her or anything. Greg Dalton was not one to think of women as possessions, probably in spite of the sentiment that his father, uncles and most other male classmates held. It was an equal thing. He was her Gregory Ryan Dalton. They belonged to each other; not in any romantic sense --he didn't think. It was just two friends who knew each other better than they knew themselves. Greg truly valued his friendship with Lila and never wanted to lose it.

He shrugged at her question, sparing a laugh at the nickname. "Nothing really, Lils," he replied. "Cameron held me back; wanted to know all about my big plans for the future." He spread his hands out, as if to demonstrate the abstract future before dropping them with a scoff. His face went closed for a moment before that gentle smile returned. "Other than that, just the usual, you know. What about you? How's my favorite girl been doing?"

---

word count 504
tag lila!
muse bulletproof;; la roux [[because i saw it on lila's profile. XD]]
ps that's okay! don't beat yourself up; your post was really good! also; i'm a huge Gleek myself. XD have fun wherever you're going for the weekend!

[lila renee williams]

I believe in memories
They look so, so pretty when I sleep



Lila tried not to lean too much into the boy as he hung his arm around her shoulder. They fell into step and she was completely devoid of what she had been thinking about earlier. She missed feeling the sense of security Greg brought her. For once there were no pretenses she had to uphold. In Debate Team, she had to be professional, had to research everything put on record and dot her i's and cross her t's. Her teachers expected her to uphold the perfect record of attendance and impressive exam grades and thoughtful papers turned in a day early. Why had she created this life for herself? It was tiring and Lila didn't want the stress anymore. But her drama club outlet was nice, and she supposed it just needed more balance. That seemed to be the key to surviving these days.

She returned her attention to Greg's compliment on the barista. Truthfully Lila had always envied Sara for her model looks, perfect hair, perfect smile. She probably drank venti-loads of coffee and yet her "welcome to starbucks" smile was pristine. Suspicious.

Lila pretended not to mind Greg's compliment, in fact she agreed, but it still tugged something in her stomach that was slightly uncomfortable. She responded with a hum and a nod, and focused her attention on the second half of his statement.
"Your favorite girl is ridiculously busy." Lila tried not to enjoy the first part of her response too much. "AP tests are coming up and I have to get a 5 in World History so I don't have to take the final, so I can go to..well you know how it is. You're such a hardworking senior, and all."
She twisted a strand of blonde curl around her pointer finger and tilted her head towards him with a wry grin.
"But enough about me, what's going on with you? Did you fix that um...Claire issue?"
Lila knew the relationship was going through a rough patch, but she also knew that Greg wouldn't mind her inquiry. They often spoke about their relationships- Greg and Claire, and Lila and the random sophomore boys who would ask her out every so often(that ended up in the two of them scheming some plan and excuse to get out of the date). The topic was treated respectfully, but honestly. And yet, part of Lila didn't want to know.

[gregory ryan dalton]

Greg laughed at "hard-working senior." Yeah, that was him all right... Actually, he wasn't as bad as some of his fellow classmates had become. He still did most of his homework at least. But he certainly wouldn't consider himself hard-working. No, that was the juniors. Like Miss Lila here. She always had one thing or the other going on her life. In fact, Greg hoped she loosened up for her own senior year. He wouldn't always be around then to take her out for coffee or walks or whatever to help her calm down.

"Speaking of being busy," he added, "am I gonna get to see you on stage anytime soon?" He grinned down, pulling her a little closer to his side. Lila... Lila was a great actress. Like, better than Greg knew. He couldn't describe what happened when she got on stage, but she just...commanded the attention of the audience. If that was her part. She was so versatile and effortless. Not to mention if it were a musical. Because Lila singing was like the sun coming out after a storm. Maybe he was just biased because she was his best friend, but Greg just knew she was going to make it big one day.

Greg frowned a little at the mention of Claire, jaw tightening. It's not that he didn't want Lila to know what was going on there it was just... Well, he didn't really know what was going on there. "I didn't fix the Claire issue... Only because I don't even know what the issue is to fix." He ran the hand that wasn't around Lila through his hair, pushing the floppy bangs out of his eyes. "It's so weird. Half the time I feel like there isn't even a problem, as if I'm just making it up in my head, you know? And then other times..." Greg trailed off.

Other times, he knew there was a problem. Other times he was sure half the school knew there was a problem, it was so obvious. In the way Claire looked at him, talked to him, or didn't do either of the two. In the lack of her attention to him, Greg knew there was a problem with their relationship. One that really needed to be worked out. And soon.

"Maybe I'll just straight out ask her about it," Greg mused as they moved through the exit/ entrance to Lawrence Collegiate. He had been avoided that because he was afraid Claire would just end it all. But now... Now, he didn't think breaking up would be so bad.

---

word count 431
tag Lilaaaa!
muse The Breakfast Club playing in the background ^^
notes It feels...fragmented... XD sorry for that!

[lila renee williams]

You could travel the world
But nothing comes close
to the golden coast



Lila rested her head on Greg's shoulder as he tugged her body closer to his. She wondered for a moment why it felt so different with him compared to being around anyone else. He was just so easy to relax around, and Lila wanted nothing more than to bottle the peace of mind for later when he wasn't around. Even a text with a single smiley face from him (which he often sent at random intervals, because he can) sent a wash of cheer over her body.

She laughed at his curiosity of her presence on stage. It was comforting to her to see Greg in the audience whenever the drama club performed a show or a cabaret. She would never flat out invite him to a performance because of his sports schedule, but he would constantly surprise her with the time he took out to sit in the auditorium for an hour or two.
"Nothing really, we're just doing some scenework and improv."

As Greg tried to explain his Claire situation, Lila kicked herself inwardly for asking. All of Lawrence knew the two were out of balance, and Lila just didn't know how to react to the gossip and now her friend. She had never really spoken to Claire- the elite of the elite- and yet she harbored a few ill-flavored feelings towards the girl, only because of the trouble she caused Greg. She hated seeing the boy upset or confused, which seemed to be happening more often. But who was she to voice her opinion on the matter? She was incredibly bias, both secretly in affection and publicly in her friendship with Greg.
"I mean you could... But if you don't know the problem and she wont tell you the problem...well it's sort of problematic."
She poked him in the stomach and grinned, her lame sense of humor an attempt to lighten the situation.

ooc: geeze I wish someone would play Claire so these two could just get rid of all this tension hahah

[gregory ryan dalton]

Lila laid her head on his shoulder and Greg thought nothing of it. They had always been completely comfortable with each other and such a gesture meant nothing. It made Greg smile though, because he did love being around this girl.

"Scenework and improv, huh?" Greg said, grin propping up one side of his face. "Look at you, using all those professional terms like it's nothing." He smirked, mussing her hair up a little bit. "Well, be sure to let me know whenver you do have something. I miss seeing you front and center." The last performance she had had Greg wasn't able to make it. He had felt terrible, but with with the sports and, at that time, college applications and regular school work... To make up for it, Greg had ordered a dozen pink roses sent to Lila for after the play with a note, apologizing (for the fifth or sixth time) and declaring that he was sure she had been amazing.

Greg chuckled, swatting at her hand when she poked him. "Yeah, the whole thing is sort of problematic," he agreed. "But me and Josie were talking about it and she thinks I should talk to Claire and just get everything out in the open. And I think I will, 'cause things aren't going so well as they are. So something's gotta change, you know?"

He shuffled his hand through the back of his hair, sighing as he thought it all over. Greg wasn't really one to avoid confrontation. He didn't go looking for it, but if he had a problem with something he would stand up and speak his mind. But with Claire... Well, it was always harder with Claire. Maybe it was just because Greg really did love her. Or at least he loved her. No, he still did. And he was willing to make this work, as long as she was. Another sigh. This was going to be hard.

"Hey, maybe I should take you along with me when I talk to her," Greg joked. "That would sure calm me down." Having his wingman, er, wingwoman around would make that whole thing easier. But this was something he knew he had to do on his own, of course.

---

word count 383
tag lila! ^^
muse eh. greg's been a little anti-social lately. XD
notes i know! me too!!! also; sorry this one is on the shorter side.

[lila renee williams]

A drop in the ocean,
A change in the weather
I was praying that you and me might end up together.
It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert,
But I'm holding you closer than most..



(sorry this response is so delayed, I got a job, bleh! Do you maybe want to pretend Claire exists and they break up? Or something. I'm getting anxious haha.)

Lila had to constantly negate claims of Gregs' affection towards her being more than friendly. Those roses given to her rather publicly by a techie backstage had caused the entire cast to erupt in whispers and jealous glances. Had any of it gotten to Claire, Lila would be transferring to the Preston Heights Academy as soon as possible.

She didn't understand how people couldn't see that just because two people were of the opposite sex meant they couldn't be best friends. Was it such a crime? Apparently so, as it had been the topic for many underclassmen gossipers. A group of obnoxious freshmen who thought they were cooler than the Arctic called themsevles "The It Girls." No really, it was sickening. Lila would walk by their Gucci bags and Prada shoes and they would silence their conversation just to fasten their obnoxious, jaded eyes on her.
They thought she took one step too many and she was in a rush to meet Hot Senior Greg behind the school for a pre-lunch hook up. One step too few and she had been caught in his bed the night before, walk of shame.

It was ridiculous and petty and luckily it ended pretty quickly. Lila knew not to listen to them, not to let it bother her, but it did. It irked her that people considered the "other woman" type. As her mother said, she would be the ONLY woman when the right guy came along. But as the lithe blonde stepped in stride with her counterpart, she hesitated to go looking for that guy, just in case he was closer than she thought..

"Oh god that would be terrible. Do you enjoy setting me in the line of fire?" Lila laughed despite the drama lacing her words. She knew as well as Greg that Claire denied Lila's existence, and when she was aware of it, would lace her words with sweet venom and her gaze was too frigid to look straight on. A true Medusa.
"I think Jo is right, though. Communication is key."
Coming from the mouth of the girl who had been denying her attraction to her best friend for over a year? Lila cringed inwardly at her own hypocrisy.