We Don't Let Go • •

[Ashton Gideon Hawthorne]

Ash rarely took a day off from Three Kings. However, there did come a time every now and then when his personal life started to look like the laundry pile in the corner of his bedroom; jumbled and messy. So he took a day every so often just to run errands and get things done that he had been putting off, thinking he’d have time for them later. Ash was organised when it came to work, but not when it came to much else. He didn’t mind all that much when his work was essentially his life anyway. He spent most days at Three Kings, considering the studio more than just a place of work but also a pretty cool place to be full of friends. He met some awesome people as a tattoo artist, and the conventions he went on a few times a year kept him full of stories to tell, too. He definitely loved his job, though he still considered it more of a hobby that he happened to be paid for.

His to do list was all in his head, and as he left the post office he ticked off the mental reminder to send his mom’s birthday present home. Her birthday wasn’t until July, but Ash knew his parents would be in the middle of the ocean by then, on another of their expeditions to document the habits of sea creatures. He rather his mom got her gifts and card early than coming home to them when she was tired and missing her comfy bed. As much as he had loved being at sea with them, even Ash knew there were some home comforts that just couldn’t be replicated on a boat, and eventually they were the best thing about coming home to the Hawaiian Island Ash had the pleasure of hailing from. He probably spent more time at sea having his lessons while the water rocked the boat gently, but he still considered Pupukea his home as much as the open waters. The only difference was that the ocean didn’t have people who yelled at him quite so much. Teachers had often found Ash to be disruptive or unable to focus since all he ever wanted to do was draw. Not that Ash cared about their opinions now that he was happy.

New York was a home he never really imagined having. He loved walking down the street or being cramped on the subway as a commuter wrinkled their nose up at the heavy metal he blasted into his ears, or the tattoos that covered most of his body. He never hid them because they were a part of him. Ash was considering taking a pause out of his busy ‘get shit done’ day to grab some lunch. Hal’s was just around the corner and they always served up the best things. He headed off that way, checking his phone to see if anything exciting had happened in the forty-five minutes since he’d last used it to check the time. He had a few messages from customers who were running ideas by him, or checking to see when his next free slots were. He’d get back to them once he was sitting down and after he had ordered. Ash was putting his phone away when he bumped into someone who appeared to also be heading into the door of Hal’s. At least he assumed that because he collided with her just as he was turning that way, arm outstretched for the handle to the diner’s door. “Ah, shit, I’m sorry.” He apologised, stepping back and looking her over. “You okay, man?” Ash called everyone man, regardless of their gender. It confused a lot of people, but he had never understood why; it was just slang!

• • •

TAGGED! Anneke Charlotte Perrault
WORDS! 635!
OUTFIT! Inked Up Fool!
LYRICS! Pretending To Be Stars - - - Mindy Smith
NOTES!

[Anneke Charlotte Perrault]

Anneke was a surprisingly busy girl for someone fresh out of college. She probably should have taken some time to be reckless or to be lazy or something but it had never been in the blonde's DNA. If she wasn't on the move, she must be sleeping. But that was what happened when you were the assistant to the head of the wardrobe department for a major fashion magazine. She had to dig through everything they had in storage, put together a bunch of outfits with all the accessories and leave them for her boss to go out and pick through. It was a damn good thing she had thick skin and good sense or she would have found herself hiding in the accessory room crying. Her collection of makeup would dwindle far faster than it did; and that stuff was not cheap. Thankfully, her bosses were really great and she knew what she was doing so there were no tears on a daily basis. There were however, still errands to run and it was Anneke's job to get them all done in a day plus extra. She ran the fashion portion of the blog all by herself, getting a little input here and there from her boss just to link up with whatever articles were going to be in the next issue.

And between doing all of that, she needed to eat and shop for the little things. Clothes from designers came for free, so did samples to test and try so the articles were as true as they could be. That was mostly how Anneke got her makeup. She was at all the photoshoots for the magazine which had all the models and the hands on employees of the magazine basically getting goody bags of clothes, makeup, accessories. It was basically anything designers or cosmetic companies wanted put into the magazine, wanted the models to be seen out wearing. It was mostly free publicity and that definitely couldn't hurt. Anneke didn't like the politics of working at the magazine but she did love the behind the scenes work she did. It was exciting and she met so many people. She was hardly at the office and when she was, she was surrounded by the most luxurious clothing, shoes, handbags and accessories in the world. It was enough for her to die happy any day.

Her social life was full thanks to passed along invites to red carpet events, fashion shows come New York Fashion Week but it still left something to be desired. She only ever went to those things with colleagues so it was an oddly sad life she led. But Anneke wouldn't change a single part of it. She loved her life in New York and for the time being, she wasn't over-analysing anything. That could wait until she was looking down the long road to forty, not through her twenties. For the time being, she was going to grab a greasy double cheeseburger with the steak fries and think about a slice of the infamous apple pie through her quick meal before heading back out again to finish up the errands she needed to get through and head back to the office to drop everything off. Her phone buzzed and she was pulling it free when she bumped into someone. Her phone slipped out of her hands though she managed to catch it before it fell to far and she smiled at the man apologising to her. She was almost certain it was her fault anyway. "No, no, I'm good. No harm, no foul. Maybe a bruise but I can make up an epic story for it." Anneke teased, slipping her phone back into her purse without even checking the message.

Tag || Ashton Gideon Hawthorne
Words || 626
Clothes || Mighty Mouse
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[Ashton Gideon Hawthorne]

Ash might have neglected things like chores until he couldn’t any longer, but he wasn’t a man who lazed around doing nothing. He was constantly on the move doing something, even if it was going out with friends. Most of the time it was going out with friends. If he wasn’t hunched over his pad or lightbox working on the next design for a customer, he was coercing the Three Kings gang, or some of his other buddies into hitting up a bar or club because there was something on he really wanted to go to, or just because it had been a few days since they had been out and done something fun and crazy. He didn’t want to get blackout drunk; Ash didn’t need to. He did silly things when he was sober, but he just liked a good party and most of his friends were the same kind of people.

Plus, after spending a day working so focused until his eyes felt like they were burning, he just needed those few hours to kick back with a beer and a comedy show, some bad karaoke, or a DJ who spun the right tunes. Not that Ash could say what was played in most nightclubs. He was at home in Six Feet Under, but he had a few friends who couldn’t stand the loud rock music he loved, so he was required to go elsewhere and tolerate the thump thumping of the trance remixes he had never even heard of. Still, he was young and his life was good. Not many people could boast that their lives were full of the things they loved so much, but Ash could. He was happy about that. His whole life his parents had supported him and encouraged him to do whatever he found that made him excited to get up every morning. They didn’t want him growing old and hating the life he had walked into. Thankfully, Ash didn’t, though it had taken a few years for him to figure out what he wanted, but he was there now and Three Kings was everything and more to him.

Still, there were times when he was in a world entirely of his own. Sometimes he wondered if it was because of his childhood growing up at sea. He had spent hours in his own company, happy and content to be in his own little bubble. He was the same now when he was drawing; headphones in, music blasting and people could spend five minutes or more trying to get his attention before he’d realise they were even there. It was why he wasn’t all that surprised he had bumped into someone, but that still didn’t make it right. He was still a royal ass for it. “Nah, man, I should have been paying more attention to where the hell I was going.” He said, pulling a face at his own mistake. “’Mon, let me buy you a shake or something to make up for it, at least.” He insisted, sporting a boyish smirk, and pulling the door open for the stranger he had almost floored.

• • •

TAGGED! Anneke Charlotte Perrault
WORDS! 527!
OUTFIT! Inked Up Fool!
LYRICS! Pretending To Be Stars - - - Mindy Smith
NOTES!

[Anneke Charlotte Perrault]

Anneke’s life was been full of everything she could think to do that even remotely interested her. If something caught her eye and held it for more than a week, her parents had agreed to let her do it. That was how she and her brother had found themselves in circus lessons as they’d called them back then. And being welcome to express herself found her falling head over heels for all things fashion. She’d been a lucky one, being able to do all that she had. And she was well aware of it. Ana might have gotten what she wanted from her parents but she understood that it wasn’t always the case and there were plenty of kids out there that didn’t have the same opportunities. That more than anything had prompted the Perrault siblings to do tons of volunteer work as well. Ana more than Monroe habitually put her art skills to good tests painting the faces of small children at charity events as well as teaching a crafts class that showed young girls how to make those stylish friendship bracelets they were all obsessed with. 

Anneke almost wished she still did things like that; giving herself some breathing room with all the work she put in. But then, she spent her free time doing other things now that she was older and able to hit up the nightclubs without the need of a fake ID. She’d never been all that great a liar and so figured it was pointless to even try. So she hadn't. Like a good girl, Anneke had waited until she was old enough to hit up the nightclubs to find out what it as all about, and as it turned out, she liked it quite a bit. Life as an adult was interesting, far more things to do but it also made Anneke wish for the days when things were so much simpler. Maybe if her job ever settled down again she would think about taking up some of her old hobbies but Ana doubted that would ever happen. The fashion industry didn't slow down for anything at all. Even if you desperately wanted it to. And really, Anneke wouldn't have had it any other way, despite the things she was constantly saying and thinking. She thrived in the business, loved it more than she could put into words.

Which was why she was caught walking around with her head in her phone, colliding with complete strangers when she was supposed to be grabbing a quick bite and finishing up the errands she'd been doing. She had the time of course, she was good at her job and knew the shortcuts she thought would take her ages to figure out well enough to zip through the city like she'd lived there her entire life. “Mm, a nice chocolate shake. I haven’t had one of those in a while.” she said, tilting her head to the side as if thinking it through. “Alright, you’re on.” She added as she slipped by him and into the diner. She spun around once she was inside the door a little off to the side so she wouldn't be in the way to look at the man who bumped into her. "I'm Anneke, by the way. I figure if you're going to hit me and then ask me out, you should know my name." She teased.

Tag || Ashton Gideon Hawthorne
Words || 568
Clothes || Mighty Mouse
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[Ashton Gideon Hawthorne]

Ash’s childhood had been far from conventional. He spent several months of each year on a boat in the ocean. There were stormy nights, and calm days. He was without anyone but his parents and their research colleagues for the whole time, but Ash was never bored. He learnt all about the ocean, the wildlife, and he taught himself to draw it all. His mother still had the sketchbooks in boxes back in the island home. He would cringe at some of the crude sketches now, but there were others he felt prouder of. They were what he had drawn when he was older. Kids at school – when he had his stints on land – asked him question after question about his life at sea. Was he ever bored? Lonely? Did he swim with dolphins, whales, sharks? Ash did sometimes fudge the truth or make up whopping great lies. When you’re a little kid trying to impress your peers it was sometimes all a small boy wanted to do.

When Ash got older he stopped caring. He no longer worried about what the teenagers in his class thought when he arrived on that first day of his three, four, six month leg in a conventional classroom. He knew he was different. He knew he liked his music too loud, his jokes a little crass. He understood that some people were jealous of the time he avoided the corridors of the high school for. Other people just liked being jerks when people weren’t like them. Plus, with how the teenage years worked, Ash came back looking like an entirely different person each time he came back. He’d be taller, broader, his features were more defined, one time he tried out a beard…yeah, the teenage years were messy until he finally stopped growing, changing, morphing into the man he was supposed to be. Then he just added the ink, and lots of it.

He grinned, slicking his hand through his typically messy hair. “Alright! You should never say no to a chocolate shake.” He stated as though it was law. In Ash’s world it probably was law. He liked to make up things like that and call them rules in front of people. It made life fun, and often led to interesting conversations with his customers when they were in his chair. Some of them relaxed if they were apprehensive about the needle, and for others it was just fun talk while they spent the time having their art inked permanently on their skin. Ash led them to a booth in the back, smiling at her when she gave her name. “I’m Ash.” He slid into the booth, settling into the seat as he reached for the menu. “Before we crashed paths, I was going to grab the stack-a-burger. Fancy anything?” He asked, flicking his eyes over to Anneke briefly before glancing back at the menu. The burger still sounded like a fantastic idea. So did some onion rings, curly fries, the shake he had mentioned, and if there was still room afterwards Ash might even stretch for a banana split.

• • •

TAGGED! Anneke Charlotte Perrault
WORDS! 524!
OUTFIT! Inked Up Fool!
LYRICS! Pretending To Be Stars - - - Mindy Smith
NOTES!

[Anneke Charlotte Perrault]

Anneke had a lot of responsibility for someone who was just supposed to be an intern. Of course, that title, and pay, flew out the window within a month of being under her boss's critical eye. She went from barely paid intern having to make up the rest of her rent teaching aerobatics to having enough money to upgrade her apartment if she'd wanted to; She hadn't. The pay raise cane with some odd hours but they weren't insane and she was given the behind-the-scenes blog to overhaul. It should have all been very daunting and overwhelming but Anneke had thrived on it all. She was a miracle worker with deadlines, thriving when she was down to the wire. She was hoping to become a junior stylist before long but as the assistant to the head of the department, she had a ton more perks than any junior stylist did. More than that, she wanted to be able to run her own team and not spend her days running errands but she figured she had to climb that ladder one rung at a time just like everyone else. Except, in her case she went from the bottom straight up a dozen or so rungs.

Not that they mattered, she still picked up coffees from Starbucks every morning for Celia, she still took notes and ran errands. She just had the added perk of being able to pick out some of the outfits and she was on hand to get some of those wonderful goodie bags company reps dropped off for the models and execs. Celia had told her that first day that she had better be prepared to be photographed now that she worked for the magazine, that her name would eventually become a household one in fashionable circles and that meant looking the part. The willowy older woman had also told her the representatives always left extras and those were tossed into a walk in closet to be grabbed up by whoever wanted it so why not snag a bag or two full of expensive designer treats? The downside to all the glitz and glam was that her phone hardly stopped beeping with text messages or phone calls or email's, double checking this, that and the other. She scheduled all of Celia's appointments, made sure an intern picked up her dry cleaning and had the dog walked in her address book to keep updated on Zara's routine.

Her lunch breaks were her own time in the middle if the day and even then she spent her time between bites responding to missed messages. It would be really nice to just unplug; even for thirty minutes. The world wouldn't end without her, she planned it better than that. "I was going to get something easy to eat on the run, chicken fingers and fries as I have the appetite of a six year old but that sounds really good. We'll just have to make it two." Anneke told him with a grin, having settled just seconds before on a quick takeout instead of eating in, only switching back again hearing what Ashton was going to order. She was by no means shy when it came to her meals. She liked them big and she never apologised for eating those six sliders instead of the daintier snacks available. Thanks to her hobbies, she had an insanely high metabolism and needed all those calories so she could function like a normal human being. She was not willing to become a cranky woman to match the rest in her chosen field. They were all like that because they ate the girly treats and almost never indulged in a good cheeseburger and fries. Anneke would never say it to any of them but she honestly felt bad for them all, starving themselves to fit into that sample size dress. What was the point? None of them were actually happy with their lives, they were just smiling because they got free clothes and makeup products.

Tag || Ashton Gideon Hawthorne
Words || 670
Clothes || Mighty Mouse
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[Ashton Gideon Hawthorne]

Despite the playful, goofball attitude he gave off, Ash had grown up pretty quickly in life. It was par for the course when most of his life had been spent on board a boat in the middle of the ocean. He couldn’t be running wild on there when his parents were busy working. So there was a sensible side to Ash, but he kept it for the times when it was really necessary. He didn’t see the point in taking life so seriously all the time. It was no way to make memories. There was already too much in the world to worry about, to take seriously, and Ash didn’t want to add to it by walking around scowling at every little thing. It was why he was so grateful for his job and the weirdos he worked with. No one was really serious there without just cause, and those moments were few and far between. More often than not they were cheeky jokes and laughs with the clients they had in and those who popped in to make their bookings and consultations.

He didn’t have a fancy college education, and Ash had no desire to pursue one. He had made his way through school with sighs from his teachers and wishes that he would focus more on his subjects. Ash, however, was more interested in drawing, sketching the world around him and counting down the days until he would be back on the water with his family. He was happier waking to the sounds of the waves, and falling asleep to the gentle rocking of the boat. Being back on land, even if that land was Hawaii, made Ash restless easily. It was hard to keep up with friendships when he would be gone for six months of the year. He had more stability in his life now, but while people had childhood friends they called weekly, or whenever they needed advice, Ash didn’t have that. He had his parents, and he wouldn’t hesitate to call them if he could when he needed help, but he knew that wasn’t the same as having a friend who had been there through everything.

That was why he believed he was so friendly. He always had been, but since settling down in New York he wanted people who he could rely on. Whether it was for a good night out, or to help him if he ever felt a little lost. Ash wanted to know people like that were there should he ever need them. Grinning, Ash combed his fingers through his slicked, yet still messy hair. “I think even when I was six I had the appetite of most grown men. My mom had to take food away from me before I went through a week’s shopping in a weekend.” He admitted proudly. Ash was only slightly exaggerating. He had always had a hearty appetite, but thankfully keeping active had just helped him bulk up and not fill out. Ash enjoyed his food, but he wouldn’t be criticised for it.

• • •

TAGGED! Anneke Charlotte Perrault
WORDS! 511!
OUTFIT! Inked Up Fool!
LYRICS! Pretending To Be Stars - - - Mindy Smith
NOTES!

[Anneke Charlotte Perrault]

Anneke had been raised in a good neighbourhood. One of those that the kids could run into just about any house on the block for help or for a snack and no one said a word about it. Mr Garrison was the exception, and there was always one, who would sit out on his porch and yell at the kids running amok on the quiet street. It was a dead end so it never seemed like such an issue to anyone else. As Anneke and the rest of the kids got older, they learned more about him and how his own son had done the same things but ran too far into the main street and was struck. He cared so much about the kids that he would yell at them to keep them close to the dead end. When he'd passed away, all the children of the street had tossed flowers onto coffin and Anneke had said a few words about the broken-hearted man that had gruffly taken care of them all in his own way. He hadn't been able to stop all the stupid stunts they pulled, or stop them from growing up but at least he'd managed to help them become adults and for all of that, none of them could fault him for his gruff approach. He'd been their guardian angel when they had all needed one. The small cross on her shoulder was for him, always watching out for her and smiling down on them all with his son by his side.

The North Carolina native would have probably given the man a heart attack long before he'd passed if he'd known what she and her brother were up to in their spare time. Acrobatics meant a lot of time flying through the air reaching for a bar or swinging around thick aerial silks that weren't always where you thought they were. She'd fallen hundreds of times into the netting and soft mats below her. It was a thrill to her to wrap herself up in those thick fabrics before free falling down them all again seconds later, spinning wildly out of control until she was left breathless, a little dizzy and laughing happily. She preferred those but was quite handy with all parts of the acrobatics world. The height of her ceilings was the selling point for Anneke taking the apartment, and the reason she refuses to move. It was, at one point or another, a factory of some sort. So it made everything about the place very sturdy and the maintenance man didn't seem to give a single damn if she had a contractor in to put the equipment in securely. She couldn't go a day without even just curling up and swinging in the ropes, turning them into a real hammock.

Anneke laughed picturing a mini version of the man across from her scarfing down food like a grown man. "When I was six I was flying through the air without a net." She shared with a grin. Of course, there were mats and trainers everywhere but it just sounded so much better, and way more insane when she said it like that. It was by far, the craziest thing she'd ever done. Her parents thought of moving to New York was on the top of that list, and picking the neighbourhood that she had but she'd not had any trouble since unpacking her boxes in her surprisingly spacious apartment. The city wasn't nearly as bad as movies and television shows made it seem. Sure, there were problems, but that was everywhere and she couldn't be afraid to experience the world.

Tag || Ashton Gideon Hawthorne
Words || 609
Clothes || Mighty Mouse
Music || Burning Up --Marianas Trench
Notes || <3

[Ashton Gideon Hawthorne]

When they were on the island Ash was the loud kid who meant no harm but who often popped up out of nowhere. Of course, part of that was thanks to the fact that no one ever really knew when the family would be back on the island. They had people looking after their house, keeping it tidy and safe, but they were the only people who ever got told when the family had a concrete return date. Everything else was updated once they were home again. So, most of the time the announcement came with Ash racing up the street on the skateboard he had missed terribly and hollering for his friends to come and play. He had a lot more freedom than some of the island kids, just because his parents knew he could be responsible; surprising news to everyone else who knew Ash. You don’t grow up on a boat in the middle of the ocean without learning how rules worked and how to behave in every situation. Yeah, it was fun most of the time, but they were hit by storms, had moments when the creatures swimming around them could kill them if one of them slipped into the water. Ash learnt about the dangers of the world in a very unconventional way, but he never forgot them. Because of that he had the later curfew, was allowed to travel further unsupervised. If he ever took advantage of that freedom he knew his parents would take it away from him, maybe even stop letting him help on their expeditions. Ash didn’t want that, so he kept to the rules and discussed the matter with his parents if he wanted more.

Still, people looked at him like he was some sort of rebel. His parents explained countless times that they knew he was away from the home, from the street they lived on. Their consent didn’t help certain families understand that they simply trusted their boy to be good. They were convinced Ash must be up to trouble, sneaking further than the other kids to cause mayhem when all he wanted was a milkshake from his favourite café. Thankfully, he paid those people no mind. He was polite to them, but he wasn’t going to waste his breath explaining himself when he had done so before. Some people had a strict belief in how children should be, where they should be, and his parents didn’t cater to that. They raised their child as they saw fit; on the ocean, on the island, and somewhere in between the two. He knew responsibility, to be dependable and trustworthy. That was what they wanted from Ash and that was what Ash gave them. If he was a little fidgety or loud then it was okay; it wasn’t like he was setting out to hurt anyone. Even if Ash did knock into someone in his haste he always double-backed to make sure the person was okay and to offer them an apology.

“Awesome.” He said with an impressed nod. He moved the chunk of hair from his eye before he spoke again. “I spent my sixth birthday in the middle of the North Atlantic. I went swimming with my dad and drank hot chocolate on the boat when my mom hauled me out.” He grinned recalling the memory. “It was too cold to be swimming out there, but I’d begged and begged.” He had spent the evening wrapped in blankets in the cabin while they played board games. Thankfully, he never got sick from the adventure, but he did notice that if they were ever away for his birthday again they always seemed to be in warmer waters.

• • •

TAGGED! Anneke Charlotte Perrault
WORDS! 623!
LYRICS! Pretending To Be Stars - - - Mindy Smith
NOTES!