"you Can Never Have Too Many Crops! I Practically Live In Them When The Weather Is Warmer Plus You Can

KIANA LEDÉ via instagram

salem, what's your dream date?

“why? do you know someone who wants to take me on one?”

salem, do you believe in ghosts? do you think you've ever seen one?

“i fully believe in ghosts actually! my grandma is super into the paranormal and took me on one of those haunted tours at the lalaurie mansion in new orleans once. i didn’t actually see a ghost but i felt the presence of all these spirits and i had to sage myself afterwards it was really intense. i also have a theory that imaginary friends are just ghosts that are only visible to small children but that’s another conversation.”

"we've been separated for so long i forgot about how bad of an influence you could be on me, mal." salem smirked while grabbing her bag and rummaging through it before retrieving a flask. as teens the two were a public relations nightmare together but salem always felt like mallory accepted her for exactly who she was. despite salem being so reckless at times when they were younger their friendship ended up surviving the test of time. "i filled this up before i left in case there was only wine at this thing. i hope you still love tequila."

taking a sip from the flask salem passed it over to mallory soon after. "you have a point, i guess this isn't the setting for everyone to be in their feelings but i'll definitely take the private show." salem teased. at the mention of leon's name she smiled for a moment and shrugged slightly. "we've never been described as disgustingly cute, more like a tad dysfunctional but i'll take it." the two had been a lot better lately and salem was trying her best to make sure things stayed that way. "honestly? i really didn't think i could either. i even ended things twice but i guess when you know you know. he's also been super patient through my bullshit." her interest suddenly peaked on mallory's romantic life. "speaking of significant others who's your current victim?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking of tapping out this early. The Salem I know would keep going until we're shitfaced." Mallory answers with a pout. She needed the liquid courage seeing as it was her first performance in months. Truth is, Mal already had a bit to drink before she came to the festival. But a little more alcohol never hurt, right? Reconnecting with Salem after years apart brings a sense of nostalgia and comfort to Mallory. It takes her back to the good memories she had back in then. "Salem, baby," she says, taking a second to down her drink before continuing. "Do you know how difficult it is to choose which songs to perform? I wanted to sing 'Tummy Hurts' and 'Snow Angel' back to back, but then I thought, 'this is too sad for the festival'. I want people to shake their asses and have a good time, y'know?" "But I can give you a private show…but I don't think Leon would like that," Mal adds with a chuckle. "Speaking of, you two are disgustingly cute, you know that? I swear, I could never do that."

Don’t assign me yours.

status: closed location: @hecticlife place

as salem approached leon's apartment food in hand she wondered why she was feeling butterflies in her stomach. things had been rocky between the two of them for a while now and it seemed like every encounter they had since salem's arrival in valpo resulted in some sort of conflict. the least she could do was try to smooth things over and apologize. she knocked on the door three times before he answered and realized it probably would have been smart ahead of time to let him know she was coming over but out of habit she figured it would be fine. a smile came across her face as he opened the door. "i bought a peace offering, pastel de choclo to be exact." salem knew it was his favorite dish. "please tell me you haven't eaten already?"

salem playfully rolled her eyes at his comment. "it's not a matter of being weak they're just disgusting." she says while pushing the raisins off to the side of the plate. as the two sat there quietly while the jazz music played in the background salem thought about how the night was going perfectly. having dinner with leon and their playful banter was reminiscent of how things were back when they were just friends and sometimes she missed the simplicity of that. looking over at him as he spoke she gave him a small smile, knowing the inevitable talk about things was about to happen made her anxious but she knew it needed to happen. "what am i afraid of? well..." salem thought for a moment. knowing exactly what she was afraid of when it came to her relationship always felt silly when she said it out loud. it wasn't like leon had never really given her any reason to be fearful of committing to him fully. "truthfully? you're the only stable thing in my life. with how i grew up going back and forth between places and being on tv i've never really had anything that i've felt completely secure in." pausing for a moment, she ran her fingers through her hair. "it just scares me to have finally have the stability that i've always needed but in a person. that's really the only way i can put it." it felt nice to be open with leon about why the relationship was so scary to her, her only regret being not doing it sooner. "also, me leaving had nothing to do with you. this last time everything got so hectic with trying to plan this next album that i felt like i wasn't being the girlfriend you needed. it was just all so much and i had a hard time juggling everything. i got in my head and figured you'd be better off with someone a little more put together than i am. with you being here and me being back home my insecurities were raging. i'm sorry for doing that in general, especially over the phone like that."

"well, i guess i have the right connections," he teases. the look on her face makes his heart warm. that look used to be reserved for him alone. when they went on vacation together to cape may. the beautiful sights that made her eyes light up. and he treasures those moments still. when she says she misses him, he can't help but fall for her even more. what is wrong with him? "raisins aren't for the weak," he jokes as he takes a bite of his own dish, quickly taking the raisins off her plate and adding them to his own. he stays quiet for a moment, the jazz music playing in the distance. "you know..." he says as he puts the fork down. he stares at the waves crashing in front of them. "i really wanted this time to be special. for both of us. and i know you don't like to talk about this. because it's hard. i know that." leon sighs and takes a sip of the beer he'd brought along with the food. "but... we have to talk about it," he finally says, now looking at her, looking for her eyes. looking for the love in her eyes. the worst part of it all, is that he sees it there. he knows she loves him. why is she so scared then? "what are you so afraid of?" there's no anger or anguish in his voice. not this time. he's genuinely curious. and he wants to know what goes through her head. maybe he'll understand her better. maybe things aren't doomed for them.

as salem plucked a few grapes off the vine she chuckled at solana. the age difference between the two of them seemed to slip her mind until it was mentioned. solana always reminded salem of a big sister no more than a few years older than herself. "you talk as if you're like....prehistoric babe. you're still pretty young. there's no real reason why you can't go on a bar crawl with me or be backstage at a concert." giving the other a playful nudge. she didn't have many older friends but it was refreshing to be around new people with different hobbies than hers. "i'm just now getting into it really and the most i know is that i hate those dry bitter red wines." she scrunches her face up at the thought. "i just don't have the taste palette for it honestly. whats your favorite?"

the joy radiating off of salem was infectious, and the slight ache in solana's cheeks from smiling so much was proof of that. " oh, super believable. " the comment accompanied by a soft bout of laughter. " now don't get me wrong, that's not a dig about who you are as a person. " she told her, plucking a few more grapes from the vine before tossing them into her basket. " you're young, there are way more fun things to do at your age. " truthfully, she would have been more surprised if she was a wine connoisseur. " i know i didn't do my first wine tasting until i was at least your ago. i just didn't have the palate for it back then. " now having a glass at the end of a long day was one of sol's preferred ways to unwind. at the admission, she rested a hand on salem's forearm, giving her a faint shake of her head. " i would never. "

status: closed for @bvlladonnas // birdie

"okay so confession..." salem said while dramatically placing a hand on birdies shoulder. "i know i've been pretty open to trying a lot of random shit while being here, but i might have to draw the line at grape stomping." watching on as others participated she scrunched her face up. salem shuddered at the thought of mushy grapes on her bare feet. "i mean, i just don't think i could get behind drinking wine that other people's feet have been in. also is this really sanitary? i know it's tradition but isn't there a more efficient way to do this?"

status: closed for @skidemark // aviva

between the glue and the popsicle sticks salem had a giant mess of a pile sitting in front of her that was supposed to resemble a small house. building one out of miscellaneous items seemed like a fun idea at first but salem quickly realized she wasn't as crafty as she thought she was. "fuck it, i'm officially giving up on this. we can just say my home was demolished." she threw her hands up in defeat and let out a small chuckle. looking over at aviva curiously she noticed the other was hyper focused on her own project. "please tell me yours is going better than mine did?"