iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

okay i’m on a break now bye lol

3150

“Hey!” the little girl cried, drawing all attention back to herself—the way she seemed to like it. “I’m hungry!” “Okay, okay,” Lysander would have crooned if he were capable of such a noise. “Spoiled already.”

2231

“He can hear you,” Max reassured her as Lysander scowled. “You know sign?” he demanded. Hallie snorted. “Why are you 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘺𝘦𝘥 by that?”

0211

“Want a taco?” Hallie asked him, having followed his gaze to a cart. “He doesn’t really, uh…” Max cleared his throat. “Do that. Talk. Yet, I mean—” “Oh.” Hallie raised her hands instead and asked again, in ASL this time—although she did have to fingerspell taco.

0201

Max tossed Hallie a helpless glance. “What do you want, baby? What are you hungry for?” he asked the girl. The boy shifted from foot to foot behind her, looking at something behind Hallie’s head.

2201

“Hungry!” the girl chirped at Max, poking her bottom lip out. Her rich brown eyes bounced between Hallie and Max with a mix of expectancy and confusion. “Is she talking to you?” Hallie asked Max out of the corner of her mouth.

1201

In all honesty, Hallie expected a bullet. But instead of a bullet, a gorgeous child came tumbling towards them, followed by a boy who looked just like her in the face, Lysander bringing up the rear behind them.

1171

“Maxi!” Lysander’s gravelly voice interrupted just as Hallie was explaining why she’d cancelled the second date. “Incoming!”

0221

Difficult as it was to do, Hallie put aside Lysander’s bizarre choice of activity to tell Max everything. He was the one person she could speak freely to about anything and everything—mafia ties included. It wasn’t as if he could judge her for it.

1191

“Are you okay?” Hallie asked, craning her neck to see what Lysander was doing. “Is he just like…watching kids play?” “Ignore him,” Max nearly pleaded. “What’s new with you? Did you go out with that guy again?”

0181

“What’d you bring that guy for?” Hallie teased as she climbed over the back of the bench Max was seated on. “Got nervous he might start tearing up the apartment if I stayed gone too long,” he teased back immediately, though it seemed…different. Half-hearted.

0201

Hallie and Max hung out anytime they got the chance—sometimes for hours, sometimes as briefly as five minutes standing in line somewhere. And it was typically just the two of them, but every so often, a head of snowy white locks intruded on their friendship.

0191

Fortunately, Hallie was distracted from her ruminations on men and their psyche by one of the only two men who had never been anything but good to her. [park date?] [are we doing the slides?]

0181

Men knew how to tell the prettiest lies. Knew all the parts of themselves that needed to be hidden away. But they could only maintain that for so long before the curtains were forced back. Before the real man emerged.

1191

She barely knew him. Sure, he could be funny, sure he was a gentleman, sure he’d told her that she could be in charge of anything and everything they did. But this was the cupcake phase—those were all the things he was 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 to be.

0201

It annoyed her how much Hallie found herself wondering if she might be Hawthorne’s “just her.”

0202

oof, that’s quite an undertaking—I think it took something like…seven or eight months for them to meet? longer to actually have a conversation 💀 keep me updated if you wanna! i love living it again through yall!

110

on today’s episode of texts with my boss who I am now the direct assistant to:

0120

Elian bobbed her head happily. “It’s not about status, money—none of that matters.” “Just him,” Hallie said thoughtfully, her mind wandering back to gray eyes and pale blonde hair.

2231

“Why did I assume your boyfriend would just be some normal guy?” Hallie wondered aloud as she handed her assignment over to Elian. “I dunno,” Elian shrugged. “But…I mean, he was just a normal guy when I met him.” “Really?”

“Can you help me with my math or are you going on a date?” Hallie asked. “I don’t think so,” Elian mused, tugging on Glen’s sleeve. “Are we going out?” “You said you wanted me to go look at paint swatches with you.” “Oh. We can do that later.”

Hallie gave Glen a wave and he returned it before reaching to snatch a piece of the pizza Harlow was standing over, narrowly avoiding a plate to the head. “Next time I won’t miss,” Harlow growled.

“Elian,” she whispered, “He’s like, so famous.” “I can hear you,” he whispered back. Elian pulled back and waved between Hallie’s chest and the rockstar’s. “Hallie, Glen. Glen, Hallie. Harlow’s baby sister.”

“Hallie!” Elian greeted as she always did, holding her arms out and making grabby hands. “Hi, baby!” “Hi,” Hallie squeaked, scurrying into Elian’s arms, peeking over her shoulder at the stranger who was not a stranger.

Hallie jumped up, ready to give Elian her customary bear hug of greeting, stopping in her tracks when she saw the person following her into the room.

2221

“Where’s Elian?” Hallie asked, clicking her screen off and tossing her phone to the side. “I wanted her to explain my math homework to me.” “She’s napping.” “Who’s napping?”

1241

[i’ll find time to meet you on the other side of a net] [Are we still going dancing this weekend?] [as long as you abide by my rules] [Yes ma’am. Send me the address when you can. Or can I pick you up?]

Harlow narrowed her eyes. “You keep it up and I’m gonna send you to the convent. Papi would support me.” “Bridgette would break me out,” Hallie shot back, sticking her tongue out. “She hates organized religion.”

Hallie giggled, looking up from her phone immediately after, finding Harlow staring daggers at her from the kitchen. “What?” “The fuck are you giggling at?” “Memes.”

1231

[That’s too bad. I’ve been practicing so I could impress you.] [shut up you have not] [I have?] [are you just repeatedly squatting and serving alone in your room] [That sounds like some kind of primitive mating ritual.]

In truth, she would much rather have gone to the beach and played volleyball. She wanted to so badly that to ensure she didn’t end up canceling her own cancellation, she went to hang out at Elian and Harlow’s house. At least that way she would be supervised.