{irl, social media}
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Day 2/14

"Don't hesitate to come back anytime, okay?" Ron says, a small smile plastered on his face as he drops them off at the airport another time. It was always bittersweet to watch them leave, even when three out of four aren't biologically his, he loves them as if they were

"Dad" Iris laughs "I'm not dying"

"I know, I know. I'll have to come up to L.A one day and see what the fuss is about" He says as he parks the car on the side, getting out to help everyone unload their baggage. Matt grabs Iris's bags along with his, making her load lighter and allowing her an easier trip

"Thank you for the ride" Nick grins, pulling Ron into a hug and grabbing his luggage again "You have nothing to worry about, we've got her" He gently knocks into Iris with his arm

"Guys please" Iris playfully rolls her eyes "I can hold my own"

"Oh yeah? Just yesterday I had to order for you because you were too nervous. Love you bug" Ron laughs earning a gasp from Iris "Doesn't hurt to have extra protection"

"Extra protection" Chris laughs, whispering to Matt "Sounds naughty" ,Matt responds by rolling his eyes and stepping away from his brother, choosing to ignore the last ten seconds of his life

Ron hugs Chris goodbye before stepping towards Matt. He pulls him into a tight hug, whispering something in Matt's ear, unable to be heard by anyone else. Matt responds with a nod and patting Ron's back before taking one step back. Iris was curious as to what her father had said to him, but figured it could wait until later

She wraps her arms around her Dads waist, embracing the moment not knowing when she'd return.

"I love you kid" He smiles "Be good"

"I love you Dad" She smiles back, separating the hug "I'll text you when we land" He sits back in the driver seat, waving at them as he pulls off. The group walks inside and checks in their tickets. Iris and Nick would be sitting in the row in front of Matt and Chris.

Matt (who was lacking behind) jogs up to be next to Iris, who was walking next to Chris and Nick, "Ready to be home?"

"I'm excited to see Blake. I think Nai and Ken are coming over tomorrow night for a girls night, so I would say i'm pretty excited" Iris laughs

"Sleepover without me?" Matt teases jokingly

"Bro..." Chris laughs, having overheard the conversation "It's giving where my hug at?" He laughs harder, putting air quotes around his last four words

"Shut the fuck up" Matt rolls his eyes, smacking his brother with his hand

"Chris is just mad because he is chronically alone" Nick says, earning an arm slap from Chris. One thing about the Sturniolo brothers is they never keep their hands to themselves

"Oh and you're not?" Chris replies "As far as I know, Matt is the only one of us with a girlfriend"

Iris feels her cheeks burn up with smitten, a small smile creeping on her face. Matt happens to have the same reaction as he opens his mouth to speak, "We aren't technically dating"

"Yeah yeah" Nick rolls his eyes

After arriving at their terminal and waiting around twenty minutes to board, they settle into their seats on the plane. Iris's least favorite part of flying was the take off turbulence, and Matt knew this. He leaned forward to sneak his hand onto her arm through the gap of the seat, rubbing her gently for comfort. Her heavy breaths became easy. Once he knew Iris was okay, he relaxed back in his seat next to Chris. She could hear small bits of their conversation, but not much through the noise of the plane.

The flight continued and everyone slowly fell asleep except for Nick and Iris, who just finished the last five minutes of Elvis together.

"How is the decision making going?" He asks, turning his body to be facing her

"Hm?"

"UPenn or Matt?"

"It's not necessarily Matt, there's plenty of things for me in Los Angeles! You know, like Blake and you and Chris" Iris defends herself

"Let's be real with each other. You know we love you, and we know you love us. It's okay to say Matt is the tie breaker" Nick says

Iris sighs and nods her head, "I just don't know what to do"

"Do you want my honest opinion?" Nick asks, biting the skin of his bottom lip with a sigh

"Always" Iris replies

"I want to see Matt happy. He is my brother, my best friend, you know? And I know that you make him happy, I mean fuck he had a crush on you for years before you finally reciprocated it months ago. I would love to watch your love story together. But you can't put someone before your dreams. There will always be a part of you that wished you went if you don't go" Nick says "There will always be a maybe"

"When did you get so wise?" Iris laughs

"I guess i've always had it in me" He smugs jokingly "I'm serious though. You've been one of my closest friends forever besides Matt and Chris. I want you to be happy...Do you think there's a future for you and Matt? Where do you see it going?"

"I'm going to sound like an idiot no matter what I say" Iris laughs

"I don't think you will" Nick shakes his head with a small smile

"It's just...I really do see a future with Matt. It's like nothing ever made sense when we were just friends, and all of a sudden everything is in place. I can't imagine a life without him, and maybe that's just because i've known him forever, but I don't want a life where he isn't in it. I can see us in everything" Iris responds, fiddling with her fingers and taking a moment to think "I know we aren't even dating, but God i'm so afraid to hurt him. He's a good fucking person."

"So then let me ask, what about school? Where do you see that going?" Nick asks

Iris sighs and brushes the fallen hair out of her face and behind her ear, "UPenn might be the best chance I ever get at being able to put myself out there as an artist. Be discovered, watch people fall in love with what I do. And to be that close to my mom again...She'd be proud" She says "I know she's looking down and helping lead me to the right choice. Mom loved the three of you."

Nick smiled and pulled her into the best side hug they could do in a tight space.

"Let's say you did go, could you see yourself ever coming back? Like permanently?" Nick asks

"Woah" Iris laughs, looking to her left and seeing Nick staring at her with an unamused expression on his face "We don't even know if i'm actually going yet or not"

"Iris" Nick sighs and shakes his head "Would you come back?" He repeats

"Eh, I don't know. I can't see Los Angeles ever being home for me. Of course there's Matt here ,but if I do go to school..." The words fade out of Iris's mouth "If I do go to school I don't think there's much for me here anymore" She finishes with an unfortunate small smile "Are you planning on living in Los Angeles forever?"

"Fuck no." Nick laughs "No fucking way" He laughs harder "Hopefully one day me and my husband will settle down back home"

"Maybe I'll come buy a house next to you and be an annoying neighbor" Iris teases

"Don't tempt me with a good time" Nick smiles

The flight continues with joyful conversation between the two friends, getting serious every now and then. When they finally landed, the four friends find their way back to the car that they originally came in. Matt in the driver seat, Iris in the passenger, Nick and Chris in the back.

"I love Boston but it feels so good to be back in Los Angeles" Chris says with a sigh of relief as he sinks into his seat

"I know what you mean" Nick replies

The rest of the ride was silence with Nick sleeping and Chris using his airpods, it allowed Matt and Iris to enjoy each other's presence. His right hand snaked to her inner upper thigh, rubbing her gently as his other hand maintained the wheel. She wrapped her left arm around his that was touching her, closing the gap between them.

The internet would hate her if they saw the intimacy between Iris and Matt, but to be fair it already held a grudge against her.

With her sister being a big influencer, Iris felt as if people always misunderstood her. She had no desire to be a social media presence, despite the people closest to her all claiming that title. She had not an ounce of desire to edit videos, take photos, or lead a large group of people. She had no desire to hide her personal life from people. However, even though she wasn't necessarily on the internet too much, it still hated her. They didn't like the way she was close to the triplets, and they didn't like how she wasn't similar to Blake.

The internet decides who you are, and she just wanted to be herself. She wanted to be Iris.

@NICOLASSTURNIOLO made a new post!

tagged ;; @christophersturniolo

@NICOLASSTURNIOLO:  airport views
liked by @christophersturniolo, @irislilly, and 438,620 others
view all 7,912 comments

@user1: brb catching the next flight
↳user2: buy me one

@user3: Back home?
↳ user4: probably

@christophersturniolo: mems
↳ nicolassturniolo: memmmmssss

@irislilly: aesthetic okay
↳nicolassturniolo: that was my goal

@user5: HIIIII

@user6: My favorite youtuber!
↳ user7: same

@matthewsturniolo: how does it feel to be the coolest people on earth?
↳ christophersturniolo: pretty good

@blakely: jump!
↳nicolassturniolo: wtf

@larray: sit and stay
↳irislilly: i agree
↳nicolassturniolo: why am i getting hate crimed on my own post

@IRISLILLY made a new post!

@IRISLILLY: slay?
liked by @matthew.sturniolo, @christophersturniolo, and 5500 others
view all 350 comments

@kennedyclairewalsh: SEE U SOON!
↳ irislilly: 😘😘

@naileadevora: airport mami pt 2
↳ irislilly: hehe

@blakely: those are literally my shoes AGAIN. stop taking my stuff
↳irislilly: you're crazy

@user: Welcome home!!

@matthew.sturniolo: yes!
↳irislilly:  let's go!

@christophersturniolo: no
↳christophersturniolo: (yes)
↳irislilly: fuck off (thank you)

@user2: She got me in a chokehold

@nicolassturniolo: slay!
   ↳irislilly: yayyyy

@user3: is she trying to make it obvious that she was with the triplets lmaoooooo

@larray: this is so gf of you
   ↳irislilly: this is so bf comment of you <3

@UNDERCOVERTRIP made a new post

@UNDERCOVERTRIP: does it seem exciting to travel with me and chris?
liked by @ilovepepsi, @livlaughluv, and 870 others
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@irizz: gonna pretend that you didn't flick me off and proceed to not give me photo creds
↳undercovertrip: 📸: you <3
↳ irizz: that's better

@livlaughluv: no!
↳ilovepepsi: ):

@user: i'd travel with you

@nicktootired: im here to agree that it indeed is unfortunate to travel with you
↳undercovertrip: rude

@ilovepepsi: i think so!!!!

@user2: the vibes are vibing

@nainai: no
   ↳ilovepepsi: ur making me sad
↳nainai: i meant yes! ofc! obviously!! .....

@user3: Favorite couple
↳user4: HUH