┏━━━━⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆━━━━┓

IN MY SOLITUDE...OR NOT

FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE HER RETURN, NELLY SEQUOIA JUST WANTED TO BE ALONE.

When she woke up that morning, her blood pressure through the roof following the fiasco of the night prior, Nelly wanted to sit within the confines of her home and just exist.

She switched her phone off, ignoring the messages from a certain Connweller girl that she already knew would only anger her more. If she was a lesser woman, she would've left her at the theatre to really think about her actions; but as much as Nelly was petty to her core, she certainly wasn't cold hearted.

It was raining heavily outside anyways, and she could hear the distinct sound of thunder from miles away. It seemed as though the weather was mimicking her mood flawlessly, and thus she deemed it as the perfect day to spend at home.

Her mother was at work, Tate was off doing who the hell knows what, and her grandmother was ever so quietly crocheting in the living room. She knew Grandma Greene wouldn't ever disrupt her peace, especially when she made sure to keep her door closed all the way, but she still slid her desk chair in front of it just incase the old lady had any other ideas.

The best way Nelly knew how to calm the rage that was dormant beneath her skin was to start a project. With her job hunting coming to a temporary standstill, she needed something or even multiple somethings to occupy her time. In all of her jumbled energy, her eyes migrated to the wall that was adjacent to her bed— the wall that suddenly looked a little too plain for her liking.

Nelly all but kicked the chair out of the way and tumbled into the living room, standing before her grandmother who looked like she was in the midst of finishing a green scarf. "The Littleseas sell paint at their home goods store, right?"

Tabitha looked at her granddaughter, motions stilling for a moment. "Yes... why?"

"Is it alright if I do a little repainting?" she asked, though she was purposefully leaving out the part where it wasn't going to be a little repainting; it was going to be a summer project sort of painting.

Her grandmother merely hummed, eyes averting back to the scarf and resuming what she'd been doing. "It's your room, honey."

A smile of victory rose onto her face, and she clamoured towards the elderly woman to give her a little kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed before she found herself grabbing her wallet from the dish near the front door, speeding from the home in pursuit of her bike.

˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚

With this new project of hers in mind, nothing could tamper with Nelly's already boosted mood; not even seeing one of the people she had no desire of seeing.

Paul's voice had been just as grating as it was when she last saw him. "Long time no see, Nell."

He all but cornered her in the small paint section of the Littleseas shop, and she pointedly refused to make eye contact with the boy in the cargo shorts. "I saw you last night, Paul," she said.

"Oh that's right; must've slipped my mind," he responded, almost absentmindedly. Her lip curled back on its own due to the annoyance that seeped into her. "How'd you like the movie?"

Nelly scoffed. "It was great, but the unwanted surprise guest that showed up made me lower my rating."

Paul hissed, hand on his chest. "Ouch. I'll be sure to tell the surprise guest that."

Was he taunting her? She finally looked at him with her joyful mood now being squashed out. "Yeah, please let him know so that he hopefully won't be a feature in the next one," she snapped, the paint swatches in her white knuckle grip bending ever so slightly.

The action caught Paul's eye, and his eyebrows furrowed for a reason she didn't know just yet.

"You been feeling okay, Nelly?"

The Sequoia girl exhaled through her nose. "You're just full of fucking questions today, Paul," she groaned, shaking her shoulders in an attempt to dispel the agitation she was feeling.

It didn't work. The shop was suddenly far warmer than it had been before, but maybe it was due to the fact that Paul was suddenly in front of her, and his body was like a damn furnace. He gave her the tiniest once over before gesturing his head toward the swatches. "You guys repainting or what?"

Despite it being yet another question from the boy, she sighed and held up two of the swatches. "I'm turning my wall into a mural," she told him, and the more she wasn't thinking about he who shall not be named the more she felt the anger slip away. "It's my summer project."

Paul nodded, shifting on his foot a little when she turned to face the swatches once more. "Mural of what?"

"No idea," she supplied with a shrug, picking up a navy blue swatch with a tilt of the head, "but I'll know when I start doing it."

"Dope," he said, and Nelly heard the slight uptick of his tone. He wanted to say something else, that much was clear, but when she looked at him once more, he was already weaseling his way out of the shop. "Nice seeing you, Nell. Take it easy, yeah?"

She gave him a small, begrudging wave of her hand before the Lahote boy disappeared elsewhere in the store. Judging by the chime of the door, she assumed he left as empty handed as he was when he'd approached her.

Though, she couldn't fathom what he was doing in the store if he left without actually buying anything? Or had he, and she just didn't notice?

Carrying her swatches to the counter, she greeted Mr Littlesea with a kind smile. She slid the money across the counter, watching as he picked it up and counted the bills. "Mr Littlesea, can I ask you a question?"

The man with the long beard nodded, clicking a few buttons on the register. "Sure, kid; ask away."

"Did Paul buy anything just now?" she questioned hesitantly, "like screws or literally anything else?"

Mr Littlesea paused what he was doing, sliding the change back in Nelly's direction.

"Paul? That boy came in about a few seconds after you did," he responded, leaning under the counter to grab the two ready-made containers of paint that he had on hand. "Guess he didn't find what he needed then if he left without saying goodbye. I'll have the other paints ready by tomorrow, alright?"

Nelly merely nodded, grabbing the change and shoving it into her pocket before reaching for the paint. "Oh, I see— thanks."

What the fuck was Paul really looking for, then?

⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 .𖥔˚⋆

[ wyn's note ]

paul "mr nosy" lahote, everyone. pookie loves being in other peoples business on the low LMAO

thanks for the support on this story yall !! all my love xx