❝ pretender — visitor , open . ❞

[MOLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]A visit was long overdue but, in her defense, she wasn’t quite well equipped for the journey up to the peaks of a snowy mountain. Maybe Jimmy was lucky in the way she could at least trudge along with that thick layer of muscle and meat to keep her body warm - but, on the downside, Mollie supposed the mule also had to carry her and all of her belongings. This time, the snow had mostly melted - the last trip encompassed blustering gales and thick flurries of snow. Honestly, Mollie began to understand why somebody may wish to live here. It was nice when the entire landscape wasn’t static with white.

To her, this trip was important. She had a couple of things to tell Emery before she left on her journey - somewhere, out there, Eileen was thriving. Mollie had heard it herself. Perhaps she’d stay for a couple of days, she’d contemplate to herself. Whilst Mollie was dead set on reasoning with the thought that she wanted to spend more time with her sister before she set off on her journey, a part of her wasn’t ready to accept the other reason her heart was tugged in this direction. God damn that Freddie Stirling for the way her chest tightened at the thought of him, how she’d go to bed wondering if he was thinking of her.

A terrifying thought began to unravel inside her head, making itself content in the corners of her mind; what if she liked him? Like, really liked him?

Gross.

She detested the idea of love and happy endings because they were nothing more than lies. Freddie was a bad idea, all concepts of romance and commitment were terrible ideas - it was why it felt easier to remain unattached. Become the woman who forgot the names of past lovers because they meant nothing to her. Leave her life behind without a trace time after time again like a ghost because getting too close to another person felt too dangerous to her. Mollie refused to allow herself to trust another person again. It was better that way. God, why did she think about him so much?

Sometimes, she wondered if he thought about her too.

Probably not.

Leaning forward to pat the side of Jimmy’s neck, Mollie’s gaze was curious as she noted the way the village seemed to have brightened up since the last time she’d seen it. Once desolate, it was now brimming with life, people in their thick coats and woolly hats wandering down the streets with their rosy cheeks and beaming smiles. Mollie pulled Jimmy to a stop, the mule lowering her head to release a snort, a fleeting plume of mist rising from flared nostrils. Her canine companion, Dexter, wobbled with uncertainty as he determinedly balanced on Jimmy’s rump, tail wagging and ears perked up with curiosity at the new sight.

Mollie quirked a brow with intrigue before venturing further into the village. She ought to find a recognizable face somewhere - she'd been here enough times to figure out a Flintlocker from the rest. All she had to do was remind herself that she was here for her sister, not for a stupid boy with an inflated ego, and yet an eager glimmer in her eyes looked out for that familiar face regardless.

[freddie]

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— fred wasn’t easy to love. it was easy to feel adored by such a charming smile and fake, doting charisma. fred knew how to make others feel like they were the only one in the room. an uncanny ability to weasel his way into someone’s heart, having them wrapped right around his pretty little finger. have someone want him so much -- only to be a notch in fred’s bedpost, nothing more. it came with a practiced ease, each person as easy as the next. it often felt easy to fall for someone like freddie, at least in the shallow, lustful sense of the phrase. actually knowing him, actually coming to like him; it was genuinely impossible. fred was well aware of that.

he was trying at times. ingenuine and rough around unusually sharp and dangerous edges. he was hard, if not impossible to love. perhaps that was why he never entertained the thought that mollie hawthorne just might see him in a different light than his past flings. they were simply friends, fred even going as far as to say she was one of his best friends. sure, their friendship came with a certain benefit he didn’t quite get from the other ties he had - but fred had to admit there was something about their friendship that was unlike anything else he could find.

he didn’t even try and look further into it than he already had before. there wasn’t anything to try and look into, even. he enjoyed what they had together. couldn’t that simply be all there was to it? though he hated to admit the way his heart felt so uplifted whenever lips crashed together. he hated that every inch and every curve felt so familiar.

he hated when her name crept into his head from time to time, painfully unprepared for the strength in her name. filling his lungs with the flooding ache of thoughts and feelings he would most likely never be prepared for. still, just one look at that familiar face from across the way left him feeling winded. aching lungs never felt so blissful.

when he turned his head to see a familiar face wandering into the village, lips twitched into a fond smile before he even realized. he didn’t think twice before he started to saunter over towards the newcomer. “hey. if it isn’t the ass herself.” he stepped close enough to dotingly pat the mule as he added in a mockingly gross baby voice, lips pursed as he dramatically gushed, “and jimmy, my sweet baby.” these “ass” jokes were just never going to end, were they? eventually he lifted his gaze from the mule up towards mollie, a certain gleam in his eyes. god, he was so painfully happy to see her; it was terribly pathetic.

trying to keep his own excitement and happiness at bay, he settled for patting jimmy again, hand remaining on her side as he asked mollie, “what are you doing here? finally decide to come check out my bar?” he figured she wasn't here to see him at all; she was always here to see her sister. though as much as fred swore he was impossible to love or care about, there was still that small ounce that wished she would put some time aside to waste on him.

[MOLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Maybe things were only superficial between Mollie and Freddie; she was well aware of his type, that sweet and charming look on his face as if butter wouldn’t melt when in reality he was nothing but trouble. But Mollie could keep up with him - she was just as devious and untouchable in her own ways. She wanted to keep him at arm’s length - it was always easier to leave a man when her heart was not with him - but then their wild romance turned into something far more valuable to her. They were friends. Hell, she’d consider him one of her best friends. Maybe it wasn't so superficial after all - if he didn't care about her, then why were they so close?

It was inevitable that one of them would eventually catch feelings, and Mollie was afraid that it had been her who was stuck with that great misfortune. He wasn’t somebody that anybody should grow to love. He was an asshole at the worst of times, and perfect for Mollie at his best. There were times where Mollie simply contemplated walking away before things could go too far between the two of them - the fear of love making her begin to feel uneasy every time he crossed her mind - and yet she still found herself drawn towards Flintlock Lodge not only to see her sister but to also see him.

Mollie couldn’t help but tip her head to the side, humming with disbelief as Freddie greeted her with his - at this point - trademark welcome for her. Eyes watched fondly as he patted Jimmy’s neck, the laid back mule leaning ever-so-slightly into his touch. ❝ You’re a funny guy, Freddie Stirling- ❞ Mollie so clearly stated with sarcasm as she kicked her feet out of the stirrups. ❝ How long did it take for you to come up with that[i] one? ❞ Eyes narrowed slightly, observing that gleam in his eyes before she matched his smile with a pleased huff of laughter. A theatrical whimper broke her attention away from Fred, Mollie looking over her shoulder to see the way Dexter seemed so overjoyed to see Fred again. ❝ All right, go say hi then. ❞ She urged with a coo, nudging the mutt off of Jimmy’s back as Dexter then proceeded to excitedly look for something to pick up to give to Fred.

He settled on a stick which had snapped off of a nearby tree, returning with a wagging tail as he pressed his face against Freddie’s shin with an eager whine. ❝ The bastard loves you more than he loves me. ❞ Mollie uttered jokingly, hopping off Jimmy and dusting herself off as she listened to Fred’s question. His bar was open now? It made sense considering all of the hustle and bustle of the village around them. ❝ Are the drinks any good? ❞ She interrogated teasingly, raising a brow before continuing, ❝ Because, if so, then sure. I’m here to check it out. ❞

She went quiet as she observed him for a moment, narrowing her eyes knowingly at him, before stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him in a sudden hug. They were [i]friends - they could hug each other if they so wanted to, right? Mollie tried to ignore the way her heart leapt at his warmth, instead crinkling her nose up as she then answered, ❝ I’m staying for a couple of days - if you guys will have me - before I head off. ❞ Her words were vague, but Mollie wasn’t sure when she’d next be in the area after she left on her trip.

[freddie]

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— fred usually didn’t stick around long enough at someone’s side before leaving them high and dry. he was used to stringing women along, saying anything it took to get what he wanted before leaving them once he had it. when he met mollie at that valentine’s day party, he had gone into the event thinking that she would be no different than the others before her. he had been full of promises he knew he couldn’t possibly keep to try and get to her. he promised to even get the moon for her if she so much as said the word - which she had, almost immediately, a smug look across tipsy features that were almost perfectly illuminated in the moonlight. at the time he wondered how easy it could be to get her in his bed.

but it was months after the fact and he was falling, and he was falling hard, and freddie wished so desperately that he could find a way to get the moon for her because she deserved that much from him.

the smile on his lips felt genuine as he patted the mule absently, giving the mule some much needed attention. it had been a while after all. eyes peered over at mollie from the corner of his eyes, observing the fond look in her eyes and the gentle huff of laughter that passed her lips. “oh. believe it or not, i came up with that one right on the spot,” he remarked - oh what a sweet, sweet lie - pursing lips slightly in a smug manner before adding, “i’m sort of a comedic genius, in case you didn’t know.” the fondness in his gaze was hard to deny as his gaze lingered on mollie, searching her gaze before -- dexter’s dramatic whimper stole his attention.

“c’mere, dexter,” he further urged as the dog hopped off of jimmy’s back, searching around for a stick. as he pressed his face against his shin, fred fondly rubbed the side of his face furthest from his shin. “i think you’re right,” he mused, not even trying to assure mollie that the opposite was true. tugging the stick from dexter’s mouth, he held it up, waving it around before throwing the stick as far as he could. he watched dexter chase after it, shaking his head before looking back towards mollie.

were the drinks any good? he huffed a short breath. “yeah. only the best you could find.” a bit of an exaggeration, but at this point he seemed desperate to wow mollie. stepping off of jimmy, he raised his head a bit confidently -- he didn’t have long to react to that knowing looking in narrowed eyes before she stepped forward, arms wrapped around him in a sudden hug. he waited only a moment before putting his arms around her too, lingering for just a second longer. patting her back gently a few times - because that was what friends did when they hugged, right? - before uttering, as if for only them to hear, “you need to stop by here more often.” it was probably one of the kindest, more honest things he had said in a while - just a brief insight into that heart he tried to swear he didn’t have.

his hug lingered a bit longer than it should’ve before he moved away, arms falling back to his sides. “we’d be glad to have you.” there was no room for him to say no; she was practically an honorary member of flintlock at this point - at least in fred’s eyes. “did you want to head inside? you’ve had a long trip.”

[MOLLIE.]

[align=center][div style="width: 430px; text-align: justify; font-family: verdana; font-size: 6pt; letter-spacing: 1.5px; word-spacing: 0px; line-height: 12px; color: #000"]Mollie could never be a ❛ keeper ❜ as she gave no person the opportunity to get to that point. She wasn’t made to be contained or kept, like a bird in a cage, but instead she was one who was meant to be free from commitment. She’d once known a life where she felt shackled down by responsibilities that simply were not hers; as much as she loved her sister, it wasn’t easy having to raise her when Mollie hadn’t yet known what it was like to just be a child. Nowadays, she couldn’t allow herself love, terrified at the thought of it not being all that it was made out to be. She’d loved her parents, so why did they hurt her?

She so desperately wished to believe that Freddie would be different, that love was not all the same. Maybe this would be different.

Curiosity got the better of her then, as she raised her brows at Freddie. There was definite intrigue. ❝ Uh huh? ❞ Mollie inquired, her voice clearly indicating that she most definitely did not believe a word that he was saying. Freddie was the kind of man where you would have to take every word of his with a pinch of salt and an open mind - he had a lot to say, but it took a skillful mind to sieve through all of the exaggerations and half truths to really see him for what he was. He likely didn’t realize that she adored him all the same. ❝ I believe you... Comedic genius. ❞

She continued to incite him playfully, as she usually did, cocking her head promptly to the side as green eyes shifted over his features. If they were the best drinks that she could find, then Mollie would gladly take on the opportunity to have a couple. Just to find truth in his words. ❝ I guess you’re gonna have to get me a drink or three in that case. ❞ She pointed out before humming a breath of laughter.

It wasn’t long before she could no longer resist the desire to pull him into a hug. Mollie held onto him for a moment, simply relishing in the moment for a couple of seconds before she finally took a step back. ❝ Uh, yeah; my back is aching right now. I hope that bar of yours provides a free back massage with every drink. ❞ She teased lightly, nudging him before grabbing onto Jimmy’s reins to begin leading her to the barn.