We Are The Stars • •

[Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe]

In the Monroe Christmas tradition, Caoimhe spent her winter break in Portumna, Ireland. It was the only time of the year that she saw her mother, step-father, and step-sister. The rest of the time she was stateside while they lived their lives on the opposite side of the globe. Strangers thought it sounded like such a terrible thing, but for Caoimhe it was just the norm. She couldn’t remember her parents ever being together, and they were divorced before she was even old enough to understand what it all meant. The budding biologist had grown up with two homes, and two families and didn’t see anything quite wrong with it. Of course, it wasn’t what she wanted for her own future, but at eighteen and as a total tomboy, Caoimhe wasn’t the kind who sat pining for Prince Charming to come and sweep her off her feet. She had better things to be doing, like playing video games and hanging out in the science labs at the university.

However, for two weeks, she was in Portumna playing nice with her mom’s side of the family. She loved them all dearly, but like family always did they drove her crazy. Her brothers she could handle easier than the rest, but her step-sister was the total opposite to her and sharing a room with someone who she had nothing in common with ought to be considered as criminal punishment. Caoimhe didn’t appreciate being woken up by choking on half a can of hairspray. She knew Phoebe didn’t do it intentionally, but it was so hard to explain it to the girl when she was stuck on the fact that Caoimhe didn’t own one single skirt. Needing a break, just for a few hours at least, Caoimhe sent a text to Finn that night. It was odd having a friend only an hour away now after spending years feeling slightly isolated from everyone she knew. Most of her life was in America and whilst she absolutely loved Ireland, felt a real connection to the country, it was easy for her to grow lonely there. She had laughed so much when she had first met Finn and found out how close he lived to Portumna. After years of knowing no one besides family and a few of her mom’s neighbours, one of the first people she met in New York was barely a stone’s throw from the village that played the role of her winter home. After arranging to meet up the next day, Caoimhe crawled into her bed and spent an hour playing Zelda on her Nintendo DS before she passed out.

The next morning was hectic, as family life always was. Caoimhe and her brothers never did things the easy way. They deliberately went about making life difficult for each other in some sort of life long challenge to outdo the others. If the day came when they ever tired of it, it would only be some kind of miracle. It was for that reason that Caoimhe was running late by the time she tugged on her boots, snatched up her jacket and ran out of the front door. She was going to grab a lift off her step-dad, but his plans had changed when Phoebe’s plans had changed, so Caoimhe grabbed the village bus into Galway, catching it just in time. It was a trip she had done countless times before and she loved the journey. This time of year it was beautiful to see the emerald isle hidden by a layer of crisp white snow. She sent Finn a quick text to let him know that she was on the bus, and to find out where he wanted to meet her. She knew Galway fairly well. Her accent may not suggest it, but Caoimhe was just as much an Irish girl as she was a Louisiana one.

• • •

TAGGED! Finnegan Oliver Healy
WORDS! 647!
OUTFIT! Celtic Cutie!
LYRICS! Light Up The Sky - - Christina Aguilera
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Finnegan Oliver Healy]

Finn missed Ireland as much as some missed their mothers. His called often enough that he felt like he still lived in the family home, so it was difficult to become homesick. But the Emerald Isle, his first home, the place he considered his only home, even if he was currently living in New York, now that was a place he missed more than he could miss anything else. It was the whole reason he’d begged his boss to let him have a couple weeks at Christmas. He hadn’t gone in the summer because the team still gathered for practice, he’d taken on a summer course to open up his next year a bit more and he’d asked for extra shifts to save for a good and proper gift for his ma. It wasn’t until he was talking to Penny did he realise Caoimhe had asked for the same two weeks. It made him chuckle and run out to her to talk about plans if she had the time.

He knew he would. Any excuse getting out of his house when he was home, he would take. He came from a large family and though a couple of them were off on their own, it seemed everyone descended on the Healy house for Christmas. Duncan was bringing his girlfriend along and Amelia was forcing her boyfriend to the house as well. Finn loved both like family, it was Miranda’s boyfriend the Healy brothers, both real and honourary had an issue with. He was a little punk and Randy refused to see how much of an idiot the boy was. But as their mother said she was young, only sixteen, she would see the truth soon enough. Finn just hoped and prayed that happened long before it was too late to erase him from their lives.

He hadn’t expected to hear from Caoimhe, not really. She didn’t get to Ireland as often so he honestly figured she would be spending as much time as she could with her family. And then he got her message and plans were made and he was happy. He had already seen all the friends that were still in Galway, and a couple that were only back in the city for the holiday. All that was left were the family members that would show up on Christmas day for the big meal that was put on every year and then he could relax and enjoy some time around his home. He had made him laugh when he’d met Caoimhe. She hadn’t sounded like any Irish girl he’d ever met, and as he’d lived there up until then, he’d met his fair share! But her roots were as deep as his and were firmly planted a short distance away from his! It was funny to know that one of the first people he’d met shared his home country. He stayed up for a bit after they’d made their plans to play a couple video games with Travis before calling it a night. He would have to be up at a decent time if he wanted to get some things around the house done before he met up with Caoimhe.

He was up and ready with the rest of his brothers to hit their auntie’s restaurant. She was the only one that demanded to be seen before the family meal and since he was going into the city already, it seemed like the best morning to see her. And he was halfway through a good fry up when Caoimhe’s text message came through. He sent another back, letting her know where he was, giving her the address just in case his brothers decided they’d weren’t giving him up just yet. It happened all the time when he lived at home. He would make plans with friends and end up with his brother’s longer than intended because they wanted to mess with his plans. As it was, Travis wanted to hit the city centre and was already tagging along though he’d promised to part ways when they got there. Finn had checked the bus schedule before he’d left so he knew how long it would take for Caoimhe to get to the stop. If he timed it right, he could be there waiting for her when she stepped out.

Thankfully his aunt helped him and Travis escape their brothers and they were at the bus stop when Caoimhe’s bus pulled in. “Don’t be stupid, T. I will hurt you.” Finn warned when the door opened and passengers started to emerge. It took a few minutes but he spotted the familiar redhead soon enough and pushed forward to greet her. “Hey Caoimhe! I see the zombie’s didn’t get you.” He said, by way of greeting. “I had to drag this brat along, at least until we reach the shops, then he’s leaving us.” Finn said, sounding as though he was terribly sad by the mere thought of his brother ditching them. In truth, Finn didn’t really care either way what his little brother did. He was eighteen, he could take care of himself and Finn trusted the boy not to get into any real trouble. “Travis, this is Caoimhe. Caoimhe, this is the oldest twin, Travis.”

Tag || Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe
Words || 876
Clothes || To Come!
Music || It's Finally Christmas ---Sabrina Carpenter
Notes || <3!

[Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe]

Caoimhe had long since given up explaining to people that she technically had two homes, two families, and sometimes two accents depending on where she was and how her voice decided to be. No one could understand it. They tried to say that she lived in one place and visited another, but Caoimhe never saw it that way. This had been her life for longer than she could remember it and it was for that reason that she didn’t see herself as a victim of divorce. It was just a slightly different upbringing, a quirkier way of living, but it was still a good life nevertheless. It didn’t matter to her that she technically spent more time in Louisiana than she did in Ireland; ask her to choose between the two and she wouldn’t be able to. She loved both places equally for a million different reasons. To Caoimhe, they were both home.

Louisiana was definitely wilder than Portumna, but that accounted for nothing. The madness came from herself and her brothers, and she knew that they would make this Christmas, like every other, just as memorable. They had a way of reminding their Irish relatives that they were untamed, country kids to the core. No one minded it since it made for great stories, but they knew that nothing would ever change who they were. Christmas was just another excuse to act crazy. The only thing that made this year any different was that this was the first time Caoimhe had been away from home at all. A freshman in New York, getting the flight from JFK to Ireland by herself had been a new experience. She had only reunited with her brothers at the airport in Dublin, and they had several months of catching up to do. It meant they gave their poor mother one hell of a migraine by the end of their first weekend there with their pranks and general nuisance behaviour. Anyone would think they might have outgrown their childish behaviour, but they never would as far as Caoimhe was concerned. It was all part of the Monroe charm.

She had missed them like crazy though, and had told them as much. Every family needed a break though, and the bus ride into Galway told her just as much. She listened to her music, leaning back and enjoying the journey. Caoimhe didn’t even mind when the bus hit a few potholes and led to a few little old ladies grumbling. Public transport was never her usual preference of travel, but longboarding it to Galway in the middle of a bitter Irish December would probably be something the redhead came to regret. Plus, longboards didn’t go great with fields. She got Finn’s message and made a note of the address, checking it with the sat-nav on her phone. It was the place she thought it was, but when you’re away from a town for a year a whole load of things could change. She didn’t want to get lost because some the council had remapped the side streets!

Luckily, it wasn’t a problem. Her eyes fell on Finn straight away and she bounced over to him and his brother, a smile on her face as she fixed her glasses. “Nope! The only things that nearly got me were little grannies who didn’t like their bus ride interrupted by potholes.” She grinned, glancing over her shoulder to make sure none of them were within earshot. “Great meeting you!” She said waving to Travis. “I’d introduce you to my twins, but they’re playing Call of Duty back in Portumna.” She added, referencing her brothers who she had left sitting in front of the television in the living room that moving.

• • •

TAGGED! Finnegan Oliver Healy
WORDS! 628!
OUTFIT! Celtic Cutie!
LYRICS! Light Up The Sky - - Christina Aguilera
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Finnegan Oliver Healy]

Finn had missed Galway more than he had wanted to let on to anyone but especially his mam. He didn’t honestly know what his mother would have done if she’d found out but he could have guessed it involved a plane ride and a knock on his apartment door. Whether or not it involved the rest of his family was still anybody’s guess. He’d managed to keep a tight lid on his homesickness and got his small fix of home in gaming sessions with Caoimhe or when they pulled the same shift at work. He made it work and when school was all said and done, he didn’t know if he would run back to Galway, hit up Dublin or somewhere else or if he would stick around the States somewhere. He knew if he was, he would be returning home for a couple months, just to see if he could in fact go home again. He loved these trips home and wished they weren’t nearly as short as they were.

As it was, shortly after the New Year rolled around, he would be catching another flight back to New York and his life there. This trip would hold him for a few more months before the homesickness kicked in once again and he wished he could hop on a flight back out again for a couple weeks. Finn didn’t think he’d ever be able to stay away from Galway forever but he could stay away for months on end, living off the phone calls home to keep the homesickness at bay. But he was home now so he wasn’t really thinking about his time back stateside. He was thinking about all the trouble he could get into with his siblings while they were all under the same roof. There had already been fights with punches and elbows thrown that only lead to laughter and slaps on the back. There had been gaming nights already and trips to the city center for shopping and clubbing. And he’d barely been home a week! He could just imagine what the rest of his trip was going to be like.

Thankfully, Caoimhe was visiting her family nearby and he could steal her away from them to bring a little New York to Galway. But it also meant that he could get away from his family for a bit and hang out with a friend who knew what it was like in both countries. There were inside jokes Finn wanted to say but the only ones that would know what he was talking about were the people that weren’t around; like Caoimhe. “They could be worse sometimes.” Finn said with a shudder. ”Yeah, you, too.” Travis said, waving back, looking like he’d rather get going than stand around the bus stop chatting. He had places to go and people to see. Finn just rolled his eyes at the look on his brother’s face. ”Maybe next time then.” He said with another polite smile before turning to Finn with that look in his eye. “Yes, yes, we’re going. Come on then, let’s get into some trouble!” Finn said, spinning on his heel to head into the city center further.

Tag || Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe
Words || 576
Clothes || Intriguing Irishman!
Music || It's Finally Christmas ---Sabrina Carpenter
Notes || <3!

[Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe]

Caoimhe spent so little time in Ireland that people found it strange when she called it home, and frequently questioned the logic behind it. She had tired of explaining it back in high school, but it was where her mother lived and where part of her extended family hailed from. She had spent many a winter break there and it wasn’t something that she planned on changing any time soon. Caoimhe liked the change of pace, and she liked her quirky idea of normal after all of these years, regardless of what other people thought about the chaotic life she lived with her brothers. So what if it was far from conventional? It was theirs and she loved it. She might not have been as close with her mother because of the distance, but they made up for that in their own unique way, and Caoimhe knew that Roisin tried as best as she could with her tomboy of a daughter, which was what matter most to the lanky redhead.

She didn’t think she could ever make Ireland her permanent home, just because she was a little too used to her teasing brothers being around to badger her on a semi-regular basis. Even in New York they made the effort with calls and trips out at least once a month since she had made the move for school. Caoimhe knew it had a little bit to do with her being the baby of the family, as well as them being so close over the years, but she never really complained when one of them showed up and turned her couch into a bed for a night or two. She grumbled about it and told them that they were being such an inconvenience, but she meant it as much as they meant it when they told her she was a smelly girl who was no good at video games. The latter was a point she could prove in under half an hour against them if someone just handed her a controller and let her go. Caoimhe adored her family, and at eighteen hadn’t really thought about her life without them being so nearby all the time.

Grinning, Caoimhe pushed her fingers into the pockets of her jeans. “I’d have taken my longboard if it wasn’t for the snow and the thought of being majorly exhausted by the time I got here.” Portumna wasn’t like crossing New York City. It was a good long bus ride through the countryside and even if it had been the summer Caoimhe wouldn’t have even entertained the idea of getting to Galway on foot or board; and that was the only way she ever travelled back in Louisiana. Letting her grin turn into something the Cheshire Cat himself might be proud off, Caoimhe stepped into place beside the two Irish boys and kept pace with them. “An’ just what kinda trouble is on the menu this mighty fine day?” She asked. Her accent might be adapting to the Emerald Isle, but Caoimhe still sounded like she was on the back roads of Columbia in the middle of July.

• • •

TAGGED! Finnegan Oliver Healy
WORDS! 526!
OUTFIT! Celtic Cutie!
LYRICS! Light Up The Sky - - Christina Aguilera
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Finnegan Oliver Healy]

While it was great to be home and see his family, Finn knew his days were once again numbered in Galway. And that number was counting down faster than he would like. Soon enough he would be back again in New York and back to the same things he did day-to-day in the big apple. He would talk to his mother at least a dozen times in a week, he would get random texts from his siblings asking about this and demanding to know that, acting as if they would hop on a plane and join him in America. As far as Finn knew, it was only ever talk but it was nice to pretend like he would have family in the city, even for a short time. But even when he knew it was just him, it really wasn’t. He had his friends who became his American family and if he ever needed a small taste of home, Caoimhe was a phone call or text message away and then plans were made.

It wasn’t home but it made Finn feel a little less homesick. He had hopes of getting over this homesick business because there wasn’t any way he’d be able to find a decent genetics gig in Galway unless he wanted to teach; and that was absolutely not on his list for another couple dozen years or so. By then he wanted to do some good for the world before he settled back and enjoyed molding the young minds of tomorrow. He wanted to do a lot but there wasn’t much he could do back home. Right now though, he wasn’t going to worry about it because he had his brother and Caoimhe with him and he had plans that didn’t include getting lost in his own head about his future. There would be plenty of time for that on the flight home again.

“And I would be bringing you straight back to mine for a nap.” Finn teased. “After I dropped this one off wherever he needed to be.” It had been rare for Finn and his family to even leave Galway unless it was on a proper vacation somewhere. Usually he and his siblings just ran wild in the city, chasing the best sort of chaos with cousins before they were ushered back to their homes to sleep off whatever trouble they’d gotten into. “Well, we can get into whatever trouble might tickle your fancy.” He suggested because he really didn’t know what they should get up to. He hadn’t exactly thought up a plan for them. Of course, he never really had a plan, not even back in New York did he have a plan. It usually started with meeting up somewhere and going where the crowd took them unless someone else thought up the plan and he just tagged along. “Have anything in mind?”

Tag || Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe
Words || 508
Clothes || Intriguing Irishman!
Music || It's Finally Christmas ---Sabrina Carpenter
Notes || <3!

[Caoimhe Siobhan Monroe]

Caoimhe was used to being thousands of miles away from her mam. It had been that way since the redhead was just four years of age. Roisin had wanted to be with her family after the divorce and though she had told her kids over and over about how it killed her to leave them with their father, it was something she had to do. None of them had ever blamed her for it. They had just split their year up the way they did and got on with their lives. For Caoimhe it was the norm and discovering other children didn’t do the same with their parents had her thinking that everyone else were the strange ones for a long while. Of course, being the tomboy she was it was obvious that there hadn’t really been another woman around to show her certain things in life, and her brothers had practically blanched and ran the day their father had tried to explain about Caoimhe’s monthly visitor, but she didn’t feel like she had missed out on anything compared to a regular nuclear family. They were all close; it was just a little different from the traditional mum, dad, brothers and sister combination.

She missed them all in New York, but not enough to tell them that. If she dared utter those words they would descend on the city and annoy the hell out of her until she literally threw them out of her apartment-for-one. It was how they showed they cared. Frustrate and annoy her enough to make her regret missing them in the first place, and do it all over again should she dare think to let them know as much in the future. It was an odd way, and an “I love you too” would suffice, but they just weren’t that kind of family. They were competitive and silly, and utterly ridiculous just because they could be. Besides, New York was supposed to be her adventure. It was a chance for the baby to fly the nest and see how far her wings could take her. Caoimhe had never lived a sheltered life by any means, but she was the baby girl in a male-centric household; she was protected by all means necessary and then some. She was a smart girl, and she wanted to see what she was capable of without brothers, daddy, and uncles around to swoop in before any harm could get within a mile radius. Although she suspected they would still sense anything back in Louisiana and make their way out to check on her.

“Don’t even suggest the possibility! It’s all my brothers seem to be doing this trip!” She laughed, grimacing at the thought. While she could enjoy nap time as much as the next college kid, she was tiring of stumbling over her sleeping brothers like bookends whenever she wandered into a room. She bounded along stride for stride with Finn, her gangly legs missing the feeling of her longboard with this snow. “Nope. I heard your call for company and I answered it.” She responded with a shake of her head. “Though I never say no to a hot chocolate!” She grinned, saying the first thing that sprung to mind.

• • •

TAGGED! Finnegan Oliver Healy
WORDS! 547!
OUTFIT! Celtic Cutie!
LYRICS! Light Up The Sky - - Christina Aguilera
NOTES! <3 <3 <3