WHITE MUSTANG / chapter fourteen
——— ₊ ⊹ small world 🪩

( 🏙️ )    manhattan,    new york city

———— SALEM PUSHED THROUGH the crowd of people, feeling small among the giant men and beautiful women around her. a series of "excuse me's" and "pardon's" leaving her lips instinctively every time she bumped against someone by mistake.

she looked behind her, she had lost trace of both nicholas and winston, meaning logan — whom she had seen in the crowd, just behind winston — was also far, far away from her, making her sigh in relief.

she pushed her way through a couple of old ladies, excusing herself when she tripped over the woman's long skirt. she threw her head back, relieved by the fact she had escaped that situation, which was both embarrassing and extremely tense. she just prayed nicholas wouldn't do anything stupid when he'd see logan, or the other way around.

at social gatherings, salem was usually very social and outgoing, but someone that night felt differently. she didn't feel like striking conversations with anyone. after seeing logan she just wanted to go back to the comfort of her home, despite having waited to be there for so long.

she ran her hands on her dress, she couldn't stop looking at how beautiful it was. and to think it was made just for this, just for her, made something in her stir up. she walked towards the bar, a mask of confidence portrayed on her face as she raised her chin and straightened her back.

she smiled at the bartender clad in an elegant uniform, ordering a martini. she plopped down on a chair, waiting for her order and looking around.

she observed the people, their joyful expressions and relaxed demeanors. she was at a high-class party, but it still felt welcoming and convivial. if only it wasn't for logan... seeing him truly ruined her evening.

she never thought she'd think all that about someone who she once considered a friend. after hearing all that he did to nicholas made her rethink their whole relationship, if she really knew him. and to think they were friends, they worked together, and that something more might have grown between them...

"look who we got here." a cheerful voice exclaimed from behind her. she spun her head, those awful thoughts vanishing in a moment as she met the man's soft eyes, "chandler!"

she gave him a quick side hug before he sat down next to her, ordering a scotch for himself, "so, who's the lucky one to have you here?" he asked, the hint of a smile on his lips, as if he already knew the answer.

she laughed softly, a hint of awkwardness in her voice as she muttered nicholas's name. chandler nodded, a victorious expression on his face, "not to brag, but i pushed him to ask you out."

somehow, salem could already feel that chandler had something to do with it. from the few times she had met him, he seemed a very straightforward man, and the only one whose words had an effect on nicholas. she nodded at his words, taking a sip of her martini, "what about you, though? who's the lucky girl?"

chandler tried to hide a small smile by lowering his head, playing with the golden rings around his fingers, "oh, a girl i've been seeing for a while."

salem's curiosity grew, "and where is she?" she asked, her hope that it was really wanda was still there, from the way he had answered, so awkwardly but endearingly at the same time, "she went to the restroom, she might come back any second now."

she nodded, waiting eagerly to see her, she couldn't wait to tell nicholas all the details. in her head, wanda and chandler would have been such a cute couple, with his jokester personality and her soft one.

chandler's eyes sparkled when he caught a glimpse from behind salem, his eyebrows raising as he nodded, "oh, there she is. cleo!" he called out.

salem's hope was crushed the second she turned, meeting the bubbly expression of none other than her best friend. her smile dropped as she gasped, "cleo?!"

cleo jumped up and down when she saw her best friend, "sal! oh, what—" "what are you doing here?" salem interrupted her, still stunned at the sight in front of her.

cleo held her friend's shoulders, "sal, i promise i was going to tell you, i just haven't found the time to tell you i started, uhm... seeing someone."

chandler interrupted cleo's rambling, sending both of them a confused expression, "wait, you know each other?" "we're friends since college." "best friends!" cleo corrected salem, siding her, "now, sal how do you know him?"

her eyes darted from cleo to chandler, still speechless by the revelation of her best friend dating nicholas's best friend. the world is so small, she thought. chandler anticipated her, "i work for nicholas, you know..." "nicholas?!" it seemed like the shock was slowly taking over all of them at that funny coincidence, "that nicholas, sal?"

salem nodded, a tight-lipped smile forming on her, "oh."

"well, cheers?" chandler raised his glass, trying to ease the tension between the three of them. he felt like he was caught red-handed, even though he was just seeing cleo.

salem let out a small laugh, "sorry, i'm still in shock." "you're not mad, sal, are you?" cleo asked, growing worried by the second.

salem placed her hands on her friend's arms, squeezing her softly to reassure her, "no, cleo, of course i'm not! i'm just... a little taken aback by this." she gestured towards both of them, but then she relaxed, sending a soft grin to her friend, "if you're happy, i'm happy, cleo."

the gartens girl pulled salem into a tight hug, "oh, i love you, sal. and this dress is gorgeous!" she broke the hug, complimenting her, before sitting down next to her friend, in front of chandler, pointing a finger at him menacingly, "and you. how in the world did you not tell me you worked for utopia?"

chandler was taken aback by her stern, yet joking, tone, as he raised his hands defensively with a small chuckle, "i just never thought it mattered! how could i know you were salem's friend." "chan, it doesn't matter! you know i love fashion, i would have just fallen for you even more!"

salem gazed at the two of them, a wave of fondness at the sight of their playful banter. this explained the 'weird' behavior cleo was having lately. she just couldn't wait for indiana to find out too.

chandler rolled his eyes, "oh, but you're already head over heels for me, clee." he flirted before taking a sip of his scotch.

the confirmation of their infatuation for each other came from hearing chandler call cleo by a nickname without her getting mad, as she knew how much her friend despised nicknames. he had really won her heart over. seeing cleo mad was a once in a lifetime thing, but whenever someone addressed her by anything other than just cleo, she'd turn into an angry little woman.

salem stopped their flirting with a small laugh, raising her glass to cheer them, "guys, guys. now, you know you have to tell me everything about this. from the very first moment."

———— AN HOUR LATER

after the confrontation with logan, nicholas's night was officially ruined. he was almost sure that when salem had left him so suddenly, it was because she had seen him in the crowd, and he couldn't even blame her for vanishing.

he went around, looking for salem, but was interrupted an infinite amount of times by people who recognized him and complimented him and his job.

he liked the attention, and he liked hearing feedback for his hard work, but at the same time not finding salem in the crowd was starting to freak him out, and so he couldn't fully concentrate on what people told him.

he talked with winston a bit more, making sure to avoid logan like the plague, before his friend left him alone again. he had sent chandler a message, but his friend wasn't replying, so he asked himself where the hell everyone had gone.

he was sure he had checked the whole floor at least three times, with no signs of chandler nor salem. neither of them was answering his calls, and at this point he believed he was left alone.

he rolled his eyes, heading to the only place where he didn't check, the bar in the right wing. that floor had at least four bars, unless nicholas had miscounted them.

he waded through the crowd, excusing himself whenever he'd bump into someone, just to be met with a horrifying show in front of him. "oh, fuck my life." he gasped, rushing his way towards the counter.

"salem, what the fuck are you—" he said, watching the girl bend in two on the countertop in laughter, her face flushed with a red tint and her laugh way louder than her usual delicate one. "god, just how much did you drink?" he asked, holding her shoulders as he moved his gaze to chandler and the girl with him.

he looked at her for a second, realizing she was his date. he had never seen her before, but judging from the drunk look on chandler's face, nicholas stated it was inappropriate to ask now. "chan, what the hell are you doing?"

"nothinggg, nick! have fun...!!" nicholas sighed exasperatedly at his friend's slurred words. he had definitely drunk too much. by then he had lost track of time, he had no idea how long they had been there for, getting wasted like that.

he turned to salem, making sure everything was okay, "hey, hey, are you okay?" "nicholasss!" she cheered, throwing her arms around his neck, much to the chavez man's surprise. he held her carefully, "sal, how much did you drink?" he knitted his eyebrows, breaking the embrace to look at her.

her eyes were barely half open, as she stood unsteady on her feet, "not much..." she said, her voice an octave higher than usual, "just a bit...!" she laughed squeakily, throwing her head back.

"fuck..." nicholas whispered, holding her to his body to make sure she wouldn't fall before he turned to chandler, who was still laughing uncontrollably with his partner, "chan, i'm gonna kick your ass once you're sober." he sent him a deadly glare, "can you go home without getting yourself killed in the meantime or do i have to take care of you like a goddamn child?" he asked worriedly.

chandler just laughed even harder at his friend's words, waving his hand to shut him up "don't worry, niiick, i'll manage..."

"sometimes i can't stand you, chan." "i love you too, baby." the graham man said, sending nicholas a playful kiss as he just turned away, holding salem firmly in his hands. he wrapped a hand around her shoulders and placed the other on her waist, giving her a steady support, "okay, let's get you home, cariña."

LOLA SPEAKS .ᐟ 𐙚
giggling and kicking my feet because
i know what's gonna happen in the
next chapters hihi .......

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