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Realistic or Modern ᴄᴀʙɪɴ ᴀᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴇᴅɢᴇ ᴏꜰ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛᴏʀᴍ [ arch & elytra ]

elytra

elytra

a beetle may or may not be inferior to a man
Roleplay Availability
Roleplay Type(s)



baby van every.





































  • mood



    anxious as hell
















Sitting in the court, Baby's heart felt like it was in her throat.

Somehow, it was more terrifying than when the Seaside Strangler had been loose. At that point, there'd been some sort of adrenaline. It felt wrong to label it as excitement, but the same sort of fervor had vibrated in her bones the entire time. A feeling of importance had risen up, knowing that she was helping- that she was part of the solution now. The terror had been overtaken by an overstimulation that had been, at the time, helpful.

Now, though? That energy was gone. In it's place was left a void, a gaping wound that only grew with the solemn proceedings of the trial. She stewed in guilt (could she have done more? She'd known things, she'd known something was wrong), a sense of unease (if he got out, if they didn't have enough, what would he do?), a jittery anxiety that seeped into her more and more the longer she sat in the stands. The prosecution had already called her up to testify at that point, but that didn't help. She worried she'd said the wrong thing. Worried she'd given the defense some sort of ammunition. Worried that somehow, she'd be the reason that the town stayed unsafe.

"The jury has come back with a verdict."

She twisted her hands in her lap, trying to reassure herself that things would be alright. There was no possibility that Hank Edwards would be let loose, not with what they had on him. She'd watched crime dramas, she knew how things like this went. The bad guy always got put away.

"The defendant has been found not guilty."

What? No. That wasn't possible. They'd done everything right, she'd done everything right. There was no way he was being released. No, no, no, no--

The bus went over a speedbump, jolting him away, his heart thumping against his chest. It felt hard to breath, like a hole had been punctured in his lungs, and he struggled to calm the shaking of his hands before the man in the seat next to him noticed his plight.

5 things he could see. The awful blue coloring of the fabric headrest in front of him. The overhead light, which he'd left on under the impression that he'd be staying awake. The passing buildings, blurring together. The man next to him, who was awake and in the same position he remembered him being in before. The book in his hands, which seemed to be a dime store paperback ala A Cowboy for Christmas.

4 things he could feel. The back of his seat, stiff and horribly uncomfortable. The metal of his watch, which was on slightly too tight, digging into the skin of his wrist. His sweater, which had been soft in texture earlier in the day but now felt unbearably itchy. His class ring from all the way back in high school, sitting on his finger as if he truly had ever cared about the place.

3 things he could hear. The wheels of the bus against the pavement, the snoring of the woman in front of him, and...fuck.

He'd lost track. Taking a deep breath in, then letting it out, he ran a hand through his hair; it was fine. He was on the bus, not in a court room, and Edwards hadn't been let go. The man was rotting in a cell somewhere, not coming out anytime soon. Things were fine.

The nightmare was probably a product of nights of lost sleep, not to mention why he was on the bus in the first place. Going home just to leave again with a group of people he hadn't spent time with in such a long time. God, how long had it been? Nothing but a few phone calls and texts on the appropriate occasions, he was sure. Certainly not recent enough to have seen him like he was, the thought making the feeling of the binder against his chest more prominent. What would they even think? Did it matter? Why did he care?

Next to him, his seat mate seemed to have picked up on his distress, looking over at Baby with a look on his face that suggested he wasn't looking to be bothered. Baby tried to give him a reassuring smile, but was positive it was a little wobbly. It seemed to do the trick, though; soon he was back to being ignore.

He leaned down to his bag, taking out a mirror and holding it up, one hand reached up to gently press against the skin under his eyes. Bags. He really hasn't wanted to look so exhausted for this meet up. There was no way he could let that slide. It wasn't a first impression technically, but it felt like one. The shortness of his hair, the clothes, the everything about him- it wasn't normal. Not normal to them. Not normal to the small town they'd all grown up in, either.

The next 20 minutes of the trip was spent putting on makeup, minimal concealer to cover up his bags. By the time the stop came around, he felt a little less restless and a little more put together. It was one road trip- if they hated him by the end of it, then they hated him. That was it. It was fine.

Stepping off the bus, the salty hair almost instantly noticeable. It was subtle, the sort of thing a lot of people may never notice, but one that hit him like a freight train, tied to a barrage of memories that threatened to send him right back to the state he'd been in during the trip. Now wasn't the time for that, though. He needed to stay composed, at least until the trip was over. Taking his bags, he made his way to the main station, trying to spot his next ride within the light crowd of people that had gathered around the stop.

He spotted a mop of brown hair. There we go.

"Teddy! Oh my god, it's been forever."


He wasn't going to mention his appearance. He wasn't going to bring it up. Baby would act as if it were just any other meeting, as if they'd been still in contact, as if he'd not run away with his tail between his legs first chance he could. He quickened his pace and, when close enough, dropped his bag to the ground and drew Teddy into a hug. Almost as soon as he did, his anxiety welled up again, telling him it was far too familiar a motion to be doing, but he pushed it back down.

When he drew back, he flashed a bright smile, gently grabbing Teddy's face to get a good look at him.
"Oh, honey, you look like you haven't changed a bit."
His hands fell to the others shoulders, squeezing them lightly, before his gaze looked to behind him, finding DJ and...well. He wasn't sure who that was, frankly.

"Deej! Good to see you."
DJ seemed less than happy to be pointed out, mouth pressing into a thin line as he practically shifted away, causing Baby's heart rate to stutter. It shouldn't have been as much of a hit as it felt like.
"And someone new, too, that's nice. Hi there, darling, I'm Baby."


He brushed by Teddy, though one hand remained on his shoulder, as if tethering himself there as he offered up a hand to the newcomer, hoping the bright demeanor he was displaying would be good enough to warrant a friendly reaction.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 
Last edited:



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    nervous excitement
















Teddy hadn’t been a fan of going home for Christmas for years now. Holiday break, signalled by the traumatic stress of bullshit finals and even more bullshit, would usually then fellow the few weeks of peace on earth. Usually. Weather barring, Teddy was expected to return home in some form or another; be it with the people he used to call friends (what felt like centuries ago), or by his parents who readily put the money in his account to afford the gas money to go home. They clung to their son, despite his greater burgers to throw them all the finger and fuck off somewhere warm for the winter. Tradition brought about the return to Seaside, for many factors. Riley was at least always one good thing to look forward to; that, and Baby. He’d lost his taste for DJ in recent years, though going off of goodwill and childhood closeness, it wasn’t like he was going to start any beef anytime soon.

Besides, it was all for the greater sentiments anyway. Even if seeing his father made Teddy’s blood boil, and seeing his mother made it chill over, he did it for a small pact of friends that had come together in unlikely times.

Part of him clung to those memories. There was comfort in the trauma, the pain. The guilt. It was a sick, masochist-bullshit way of making up for everything. Even if he hated it, even if his entire body screamed the weeks leading up, going through all the text message planning and cancelling on his school friends, he did it. That was the Teddy way-- sucking it up like a man, being: the man.

He always heard his dad’s voice in his head when those words repeated. They were pinpricks of hot pain, needling into his skin. They were stubborn, steady reminders that he was who he was not for his brains or his feelings, but for his ability on the football field. A stupid fucking jock was all he’d ever be.

The cold of the car’s metal bit into the back of his coat, which by all means should have been keeping him warm-er. Teddy ran hot already, constantly peeling back layers even in the dead of winter, but something about the particular cold wind that heralded the drive back to Seaside really bit into his bones. Rubbing at the fleece lining his sleeves, he gave a few looks over to DJ and DJ’s friend… Billie, he remembered. Only vaguely. They hadn’t spoken too much on the drive, Teddy preferring to plug himself into his phone and listen to whatever podcast he could find that didn’t grate on his nerves. It was probably rude, and he had some belief that DJ and his friend were probably talking shit while he had his headphones on, but Teddy didn’t really care.

As long as he didn’t hear it.

The bus arrived not after long, and he felt a jitter excite his step. Stomping his heel lightly into the bit of snow packed ice that was lodged next to the curb and the car, Teddy couldn’t help but feel his neck crane a bit, peering through the darkened bus windows for a familiar blonde.

He hated being excited about seeing Baby again. Well, he hated it-- and he really, really looked forward to it. Nervous anticipation that rode like a high, he knew that he would probably look stupid for showing how much he cared.

But as soon as he heard Baby’s familiar voice, the grimace on his lips nervously parted into a smile.

“Shiyeettt,”
Teddy said with a laugh after Baby’s remark, his eyes lightening and his smile grew. Instantly his eyes took in her-- his? Appearance. It was a stark change from what he remembered, yet didn’t feel entirely odd at all. The Baby that he saw was distinctly masculine, head to toe, and all the long blonde hair he used to guiltily dream about running his hands through was gone. For better or for worse, it was a jolt that he hadn’t the time to really react to it. The arms that wrapped around his neck, pulling the lanky man down, gave Teddy a stark sense of familiarity that nearly gave a familiar pinprick of heat to his skin. Emotions that he didn’t like to feel, or that he didn’t like confronting. Only a second would pass by, his reaction time delayed by the surprise of everything, before he let himself wrap his arms around Baby, as well, and tighten around the familiar, yet not so familiar, friend.

He wanted to hold on for much longer than the brief moment they shared, already missing the warmth as Baby pulled back. At his words Teddy snorted, his eyes rolling as he re-braced himself on the car. For better or for worse, I haven’t changed. Maybe I’m still a kid to him. That would… fucking suck. Selfish thoughts that dared not surface, masked by Teddy’s inhibited excitement.

It was a bit odd to confront, though he was overwhelmingly accepting of the new Baby that was in front of him. Things that he should have known, maybe, or that he should have included himself into. Maybe if he’d tried to communicate better, or maybe if he’d reached out more, it wouldn’t have been a shock. It wouldn’t be weird, would it?

Maybe he was going to die and just make it weird-- that would be better, perhaps. Though the notion of dying still felt like a bitter, angry taste on his tongue when he remembered the other reason that they were heading home. Riley.

DJ and DJ’s friend were proving themselves to be the least welcoming committee, and despite his own urge to simply turn and leave at any given moment, he threw a hand to wave at the two.

“Don’t mind DJ. He’s just pissed that my knees have been up his ass the whole drive here. Don’t stick the football guy in the backseat-- that should be on every driver’s manual. You'd think, anyway.”


Teddy flashed a grin at DJ, and couldn’t help but feel a bit of malice lace his words.
“And that's DJ's friend Billie. Our newest addition.”


His introduction of Billie did warrant the side eye he got from the other, taking the words that had almost spilled from their mouth.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



billie tamblin.





































  • mood



    dying of death
















If there was one thing that Billie knew about DJ, it’s that there was always something new to be learned from him. Whether it be little quirks or ticks, the side effects of being roommates, or actual quantifiable anecdotes, every new discovery was like planting a flag on some unclaimed land. Whether the situation was due to them being at odds, or one founded out of sympathy and compassion, there was always a strange sense to it that Billie wouldn’t ever find the bottom of the iceberg. They could go leagues beneath, swimming until their lungs gave out, and DJ’s core would never be found. For better or for worse, maybe, though Billie did so desperately want to be there for DJ. It was that inescapable coldness of hypothermia, the desire to cling so tightly. For Billie it was all the time. Everyday. Every waking fucking moment.

So of course they’d said yes to the offer to visit his home for the holidays. Something that had warranted several phone calls home, to yapping parents and grandparents who were offended by the very notion of missing a single Christmas from their dear Wilhelmina. Despite the fact that they were on the other side of the country and it was a hefty plane trip usually, and the Tamblin’s definitely didn’t have the money to afford that more than once a year… It was tradition. It knotted Billie’s stomach to bring it up, and to hear the yelling and the guilt-tripping… But what was new?

With enough yelling back they’d manage to get their mother and father to agree to it, by extension making sure that their grandparents weren’t going to yell about it either, and to then guarantee that their cousins and aunts and uncles weren’t going to yell either. All that Billie wanted was a, hopefully, quiet holiday. Being surrounded by friends felt a lot better than being stuck at home, and they could be themselves, full of gender euphoria to not be reminded every single second of the day that they were the sweet daughter that had been left at the airport those years ago to start off a new life at university. Billie wanted to be Billie, and no one in their family could seem to get that straight yet.

So, for now, it was sucking up the tears that came with feeling like a piece of shit for making their mother cry, and it was hopefully enjoying the break to come.

Though the drive had been less than satisfactory. Billie and DJ had started out the trip, Billie already claiming the passenger's seat due to habit more than anything. When they’d seen the next crew member they were collecting, there’d been that awkward turn in their stomach to see someone so tall fold themselves into the back. Ted, Teddy, he’d said. Billie already knew a little bit about him beforehand, as DJ had seen fit to give a little bit (though a little was underwhelming) of a background to everyone that they’d be meeting today.

Truly there was no malice in Billie, just quite apprehension. Someone who wanted to be liked, but failed to ever find the words that mattered. DJ understood them though, and that’s all that mattered. They got along like Mom an’ Pop, and Billie’d never regret it for a second. There was comfort in the exchanges, bordering on mean but being laced in well loved intent. Billie always made it clear that they were joking, though their anxiety did flare at times that it bordered on ‘I-swear-t’fucking-Gee-Oh-Dee-Deej.’ Never would they whip out the ultimate weapon: the birth name. Even in the most inflamed of conversations, Billie only went for the near equivalents: Daniel Jones Hubble, David Jason Hubble. Whatever they could think of that made them laugh before they could ever keep the frown on their face.

Arriving at the final destination before the final destination, Billie kept themselves somewhat close to DJ, once again out of habit, but not without muttering conversation. Teddy seemed less inclined to interact with either of them, though Billie did try to meet his eye every so often and throw some semblance of a smile. At least to not feel like a total bitch.

The arrival of the final, Baby, a name that felt weird to Billie but not enough to vocalise active contempt at, made it quite clear that DJ’s friends were… well, just as they were explained to be. Not friends. And yet?

Baby and Teddy seemed more acquainted, but Billie ended up defaulting to DJ’s lead on the whole thing. There was clear animosity, another sensation that made Billie’s stomach turn knots, made worse by Teddy speaking over Billie who’d almost finally gotten the nerve to break the silence.

Billie’s own smile wobbled, more of a grimace than anything.

“Uh. Yeah, Hiya. Billie as… already said. It’s uh… It’s nice to meet you, Baby.”
Baby’s warmth in tone did try to defrost some of Billie’s apprehension, but they weren’t entirely sure how to gauge it just yet. From what DJ had said… Baby seemed the opposite.

“DJ and I go to school together. Been roommates for a minute and a bit. Well, I mean… Longer than that. Since first year… right?”


Billie turned to look at DJ, their smile still bordering on needing staples to keep it on their face. Billie turned their hands, massaging out the knuckles to avoid lingering too hard on what could very well become a very awkward car ride out to Seaside.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    feeling pretty annoyed
















DJ was, in a word, miserable.

Road trips were supposed to be fun. That's why people did them. You stopped at shitty road-side attractions, had diner food, and made conversation with insane topics. That's what he'd gotten from the movies, anyway. Yet, his trip was already miserable. He was meeting up with people he didn't talk to still in a town that was the source of his trauma because their friend had died. There was nothing fun about that.

Yet, apparently that message hadn't gotten through to anyone else. Baby greeted him in a way that was way too cheerful for the situation and far too familiar than he was comfortable with. As far as he was concerned, the only person he considered a friend there was Billie, who was probably the only reason he wasn't closer to losing it. He'd had to remind himself that he couldn't, in fact, crash the car just because Teddy was in the back.

At the commentary about his attitude, he rolled his eyes, looking away. Right. Because he was the pissy one. Wasn't like Teddy had been much better, sitting in the back with his headphones on. DJ had tried, you know, at first; he'd done his due diligence trying to be friendly. Clearly that hadn't worked out well, so why bother?

He stood there, gritting his teeth a moment, before deciding ultimately to head back to the car. He'd apologize to Billie later or something, when less was going on. Handling the circus just wasn't in the cards for him at the moment, not if he wanted to continue not fighting with people. He opened the driver side door, getting in and closing it a little more forcefully than needed.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



baby van every.





































  • mood



    anxious as hell
















Baby's heart sunk even further as DJ left back to the car without so much as a word. Oh. Right. Maybe he was coming on too strong? He was never sure when enough was enough, never had been good enough at reading people to know their boundaries. Especially when he'd used to be able to act like that when they were younger. Sure, things had changed, but had they regressed that much?

He wasn't about to cry. Or, more accurately, he was trying not to. It was hard to do in the current state of things and he felt the tears begin to sting at his eyes. Best to ignore it. Move on, focus on the people who weren't mad at him. Not that he was sure why DJ was mad, which caused his anxiety to jitter under his skin even more. Maybe he was mad at everyone. DJ had ignored his friend, after all.

It was fine. It was fine.
"Oh, that's nice! I wish I'd gotten to know my roommates more. It's good you two got on with each other."


He tried to keep an up beat attitude, but it was quickly waning. God, could he really not make it to actually being in the car without being a mess? This was exactly why his father had called him 'cry baby' so many times. His hand had moved from Teddy to go to his own pocket, doubt that anyone was happy to see him soon setting in. Maybe he shouldn't have come. Maybe things would've been better.

"Well! We should get going. Sooner we're gone, sooner we're back in town, right?"
And the sooner he could hide away, splash some water on his face and get a hold of himself.

Grabbing his stuff, he quickly ducked his head and made his way to the car, opening the trunk to put his stuff in. Then, he got into the back seat, taking a moment to rub at his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater as DJ resolutely ignored him. Fuck. This was only going to get worse as time went on, he could tell. He sniffled, sinking in his seat, one hand wrapped around himself while the other held his phone, trying to get a distraction in.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    aggravated anger
















It was more than enough that DJ and Teddy had already begun their weird tension on the car ride there, but it began to itch at the back of his neck that DJ was bleeding this weird energy onto Baby too. He didn’t know whether he’d missed something between them, or if DJ was just feeling like a fuckin’ prick today, but it was quickly souring the other man’s mood. Glowering over in DJ’s direction as he returned to the car, he didn’t even give a second look to Billie, who’s floundered expression would have been laughable otherwise, before moving to slide back into his backseat.

All things considered, he’d normally not care. Letting shit be shit, bygones be bygones, and hopefully assuming that the car ride would simmer or defrost whatever tension had grown between them. Teddy, who consciously perpetuated such ill-feelings, even felt that he was pushing it too far. Yet, as it was, the overwhelming urge to simply keep being his own little bitch about it in the backseat. If DJ and his friend would be shittalking just him, he was fine with it-- but Baby…

It was stupid to still be hung up on a crush. Something that had bled in since childhood, but hadn’t ever really dissipated. Despite it all, and despite the weird bad vibes that the group had about Baby and the whole fallout from the Seaside Strangler, he still felt a softness for his friend. Softness wasn’t really the word for it-- fondness, maybe? It was a sensitive spot to think of Baby, but an even more sensitive position to be put into one where he felt he could do something about it. If anyone could bark back at DJ’s snark, it would be Teddy. He faced worse back home, coupled by an even stronger reaction to standing up to such things. Teddy wasn’t a kid anymore, someone who was easily pushed around and paraded into place; into the model child that his father had so wanted.

But the anger never went away. Try as he may, things agitated him. Even if he didn’t still have a stupid little crush on Baby that never went away, or if they weren’t friends, whatever was brewing in DJ’s mind was driving him up a wall.

Things came to a head when he, very clearly from being crammed next to Baby in the backseat, heard him sniffle. A tiny sound, barely heard as he was preparing to slide his headphones back on, but heard nonetheless.

Though, while the idea that Baby would be crying over DJ’s behaviour did make Teddy irrationally annoyed, he wasn’t sure that jumping out of the backseat to yell at the driver was a good idea. So, while sparing a look over at Baby-- who he knew would probably avoid eye contact until the tears dried, he let the thoughts fester.

And fester, they did. For whatever length of the drive that he wasn’t counting, until the bus station had faded from few, and the road was replaced by the familiar blue hue of a mid-afternoon, cloud-covered day. The road was covered in snow, the main way cleared by scuttling plows that were far in the distance by now, and despite the rush for the holidays, was otherwise absent of other drivers.

By the time some snow had started to stick onto the windshield, heralding an oncoming bout of snow falling, Teddy had had enough.

Yanking his headphones off he gripped the back of the driver’s seat, fingers clenching into the fabric.

“Hey, Deej-- Got something that’s been on my mind the whole drive since the bus stop. I’m just curious, really; hope you can enlighten me… What the fuck is your problem?”


Teddy’s voice went hard, and he saw Billie whip their head around to stare with wide eyes at him. Ignoring them, he continued to look at DJ through the rearview mirror.

“I mean, I got my shit with you. That’s fine. We can play chicken to see who’s gonna lose their shit first-- and I’ll concede to being the big loser, but what the fuck did Baby ever do to you? You’ve been in a shit mood with them since the bus stop, and really, I gotta know-- is it gonna be the whole fucking drive?”


He gripped the seat harder, giving it a smack before flying back into his own seat, back bouncing a bit.

“I’m all ears now. No more headphones. If that was your problem in the first place.”
Teddy’s face burned, his arms crossing across his chest.


































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 






dj hubble.










































































  • mood






    feeling pretty annoyed

































Okay, look. DJ didn't start fights. He knew better than that, being as he was; highschool had cast him as the nerd and he'd played that role well. That said, he was different now. A college student, a tired one, someone who didn't take shit. Someone who was currently not in the mood to take shit in the situation he was in. If Teddy wanted to play a stupid game, he'd win a stupid prize. That's how it went.

He could see Baby's face in the mirror, looking absolutely mortified, and that only pissed him off more. If anyone could stand to drop the act, it was them. Really. It wasn't his fault that he was well aware that Baby could be a piece of shit. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, his focus on the road now waning the more he settled into being annoyed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I've been in a shit mood? Fucking excuse me for remembering why we're doing this in the first place. Meanwhile you're, what? Just pissy because you never stopped being an angsty teen? Grow the fuck up, Teddy."

He could see Baby try to speak up, their hand gently going to Teddy's shoulder as if trying to calm him down, and DJ seethed even more. "And don't you get started. A make over doesn't change the fact you've been a piece of shit, Baby." He could see their jaw click shut, stunned and shrinking inward on themself, but he continued. The anger was bubbling enough that he couldn't stop himself. "Maybe if you weren't so fucking superficial, Riley would still be here."

DJ then shut his mouth. Maybe that was too far. He could see tears finally streaming down Baby's face, their hands going up to cover their mouth as they seemed to try and not sob. Fuck. He grit his teeth, taking a deep breath in, looking to the road. Okay. So this was going to be even more miserable.


































































cry for love






백현




















♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    HULK SMASH
















DJ’s reasoning was bullshit. It was enough to make Teddy’s jaw knit together, chewing on the potential words that wished to spew like vitriol to his friend. He wasn’t sure when it was that he’d been this upset before, or whether it had or hadn’t been due to DJ in the past as well. Regardless, his agitation continued to skyrocket; if he had a monitor hooked up to his heart, the thing’d be rapidly beeping louder than the blood in his ears.

Worst was that he wanted to open his mouth to fight back, at the insinuation that he needed to grow up, but DJ kept going. It was made worse every minute, Teddy hanging on the edge of his words just waiting for the shoe to drop. While he’d already gone ahead and chucked the damn shoe at DJ’s head, or so he’d hoped, what followed was worse than he’d thought.

The anger that kept his flesh warm, his face flushed, seemed to drain at the confrontation of Riley’s death. The reason they were going. The reminder that they’d had, the thing that Teddy hadn’t wanted to think about right now. A storm brewed behind his dark eyes, screwing his face up into a tight expression of acidic anger.

“Guys, please-- Can we fucking cool it? I-I mean, come on--,” Billie said, trying to interrupt, but Teddy spared them one look with a scoff, his anger pressing his eyebrows tight together.

“Oh fuck off, would you? I still genuinely don’t know who the fuck you are, so shut the fuck up when it’s not about you. DJ doesn’t need a mommy to step up for him, or to talk him down. He’s a fuckin’ man, since he’s so fucking grown up and I’m not?”
Teddy’s face dropped, a hand pressing to his chest for emphasis as he continued to glare at DJ through the reflection. Billie deflated, their mouth stuck open, eyes pressed straight into DJ now. Seeing DJ’s glance sliding to Baby next to him seemed to bring Teddy briefly back to reality, and he spared his friend a look.

Fuck, he’d regret this. But it’d been pushed far enough by DJ calling Baby what he’d said. Teddy didn’t know what brought on Baby’s appearance, or if it was something he’d missed out on or just didn’t want to see, but he wasn’t about to shame the poor bastard for doing something a little bit different.

“You just wanna fuckin’ mope and whine about it, don’t you DJ? Taking out your shit, about OUR friend who died, instead of FUCKING being there for anyone else but yourself. Telling me to grow the fuck up? Be a little human you fuckin’ coward!”


He hated the way his voice raised, reminding him instantly of his father. But it was beyond thought, beyond reason, and he had already begun to shake from the anger of it.

“PLEASE!” Billie shouted, their face turning bright red as they whipped around, looking around to everyone in the car. Teddy didn’t notice the way their own hands were shaking, or the way their words came out so rushed and hesitant. But Teddy kept going.

“And if you had any FUCKIN’ CONSIDERATION FOR ANYONE THAT ISN’T YOURSELF, MAYBE YOU WOULDN’T HAVE BROUGHT YOUR FUCKIN’ ROOMMATE ALONG TO SEE OUR DEAD FUCKIN’ FRIEND, SINCE YOU WANNA BRING IT UP, DJ.”



































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 






baby van every.










































































  • mood






    anxious as hell

































Everyone was yelling.

Baby wanted to fix it, but he was hyperventilating, making it hard to talk. It felt like his throat had closed up as the water works started to go. His hands shook, and he tried to press them together enough to stop it to no avail.

You're always fucking crying, aren't you?

DJ was right. He was. It was Baby's fault that Riley wasn't around anymore, they'd already had that conversation over the phone. The big fight. The one where Baby had fucked up too much to go back.

You're an ungrateful little  brat, can't even shut up for two seconds

He'd been trying to help with the whole story thing. To get their side of the story out there, because everyone always focused on the strangler. The man who'd killed people. The man who'd killed DJs  brother. The victims just became names on a page, people forgotten in favor of focusing on the monster.

We set you up to succeed, and of course you throw that all away

Baby gripped his wrist, the pressure turning the skin red. DJ continued yelling, saying something about how how it wasn't his fault Teddy didn't have people to rely on, but it was all drowned out by the overwhelming sound of his own heart beat. He'd been trying to help. He'd been trying to  help--

And for what? Some low lives? They don't care about you. They'll toss you away when it's all over.

He felt like he was drowning. Like he couldn't get his head above the surface enough to breathe, an emotional current dragging him down as he desperately tried to stay afloat. His ears rang and there felt like there was a hole in his lungs. It was fine. It was fine. It was fine--

His snapped upwards, finding a figure on the road in front of them, heart stuttering to a stop.

Not like us. We're  family

"Deej, watch out!"

DJs eyes went to the road, going wide as he swerved the car, wheels catching on the ice and screeching. The momentum they were going at worked to their disadvantage, and suddenly things turned upside down. Glass shattered, and Baby felt his head being thrown back, hitting harshly against his seat as the car flipped, skidding across the ice. His vision went blurry, fading in and out, vaguely seeing feet from outside the car start to walk towards them.

No, no, no,  nonononono--

Everything went black.


































































cry for love






백현




















♡coded by uxie♡
 



billie tamblin.





































  • mood



    PLEASEBEFUCKINGALIVEPLEASE
















When Billie was 13, their older brother was charged with seven counts of first degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, and four counts of aggravated assault.

There were a plethora of supplemental charges, done by the prosecution to really dig the grave for Dimitri Tamblin-- no pun intended-- that Billie preferred not to think about. The years-long investigation had drained much of the family’s savings, the majority of which was spent on their brother’s initial bail: before, of course, it was made quite clear that he would not be released on bail after being hauled back to the county courthouse a few days after being home. It wasn’t enough time for the family to get the full story, and the whole house had been a mess of emotions and yelling and crying, so nobody had really been able to talk to Dimitri before he was dressed in his prison greys and handcuffed to a chair.

All that Billie could remember in those forty eight hours that Dimitri was home was how he looked at them, with the coldest eyes that Billie had seen. They’d been close in childhood, a lot of Billie being shaped by their brother, and had promised to keep each other’s secrets to the grave. Thick as thieves, even when their mother remarried after the death of their father, they’d come together in spite of grief and growing pains, not apart.

But it had, in fact, been Billie who had been the crucial bit of evidence to finally put Dimitri behind bars. Their testimony, their witness account, had been exactly what the local police had needed to finally pursue their arrest charge.

No one had said anything. No one had admitted that Billie had been the confession needed, but Dimitri seemed to have known. Cold, dead eyes that stared at them without an ounce of remorse, or guilt, or anything. Just dead. Billie had wondered at that time if that was what their brother would look like if they did put him to the chair. The town had clammered for it, an outrage that their young daughters had been taken away by a vagrant like Dimitri Tamblin. Someone everyone hated, but nobody would have expected to have committed so many murders, and so many attempted murders.

Billie’s confession had been the final rock, the straw to break the camel's back, and once Dimitri had been locked away the rest of the witnesses came forward. Girls who admitted they had almost been his victim, girls that had known him at the local college, and had been at the blunt end of his pistol. How’d he even gotten a gun?

How did a 25-year-old man, for five years, manage to kill seven girls and nobody knew?

The papers had kept Billie’s name out, being that they were a minor at the time. The family lawyer had insisted, threatening every type of legal action to any of the local papers if they even blabbed. People still knew, anyway. Small town news got around.

Billie hated going home for the holidays. They hated most of all that, despite the aggressive charge found on their brother’s head, and the nightmare of the legal system that had chased him into the far corners of prison, he was on parole this month.

--

There were no memories to be had of the car flipping, or much of the argument prior. Something in Billie remembered struggling to yell, struggling to be heard. DJ and Teddy, their words sharper than knives could ever be in each other. Then Baby’s scream-- and the flash of a person on the road. Billie was lucky that they’d whipped around from their frozen stare back at Baby and Teddy, or they’d probably have snapped their neck in the resulting crash.

The swerve of the car had caught Billie, seat belt tightening across their ribs where it had slipped down their shoulder in their awkward half-seat. The crunch of that snapping into their body was barely heard of their own scream, and the assault of tires skidding on ice and metal frame crunching against the ground as the car had flipped.

Their arm had flown up, banging against the roof of the car as it turned. While their seatbelt had tightened around their torso, rather than over their shoulder, Billie still felt their whole body rise off of the seat as gravity shifted.

The knock to the head against the window had been enough to send them into darkness, spinning not into memories, or reflections-- but of pure darkness.

It felt like a minute had only passed by the time their eyes fluttered open, but judging by the uncomfortable pressure against most of their body and the way that their face seemed to be pulling upwards, Billie finally recognized that they were, in fact, upside down. Everything hurt like hell, and one eye seemed obscured. Billie was sure that they’d maybe gone blind, or punctured the thing, or stuck it out of the socket-- but after a hasty hand reaching up and swatting at the darkness, the warm trickle of blood coated their skin, and their vision cleared so slightly.

Blood.

Looking around, ponytail skidding against the roof of the car, Billie tried to orient themselves. A headache was already forming, blood rushing to their tingling scalp as much as blood sought to exit it. DJ was out cold in the driver’s seat, hanging limply like a marionette.

A dry sob wracked through Billie’s core, but their neck hurt too much to spin around and see if the two in the back were okay.

“Deeeeeeej,”
Billie sobbed out, limply throwing a hand toward their friend. They would have cried, had the overwhelming pain in their body not cut off the flow of tears in favour of blood and tingling sensations instead.

They had to get out. They had to get everyone out.

Staring out through the upside windshield that had just about caved in from the giant crack, splattered with blood on DJ’s side-- though Billie wasn’t sure if DJ had smacked his head or if it was collateral from the glass that had separated from both the front window and the driver’s side window. Blood just about covered their friend’s face, inciting another sob to wrack out of Billie.

“Fuckkk,”
they moaned quietly, another sob heaving through them. Limp hands sought to upset gravity, reaching down (that felt like up) to fiddle with the seatbelt. Instant, white-hot shoots of pain lanced through Billie’s side, causing them to shout once more.

If those in the car who were alive weren’t awake yet, they soon would be from Billie’s shouting and crying.

Finally, numb fingers dusted the buckle, and pressing with another grunt of exertion, the belt released-- and Billie crashed head first downward. Their neck had already hurt, but this was another thing entirely. Seeking to stop the fall, at least a little bit, Billie had thrown their arms up to try and catch themselves. This simply sagged them sideways, body attempting to do an uncomfortable roll as its weight resettled.

Billie was by no means large, nor were they very tall. Lean, spindly and capable of fitting in inappropriately small spaces meant that contorting into a small ball, struggling to find right-side-up wasn’t nearly as hard as it could have been; though the pain did prove a ready obstacle.

Heaving, finally noticing how cold the air really was and how darkness had already begun to settle over the blinking lights of the overturned car, Billie was able to see into the back now. Nobody had stirred yet.

“Deej, please. Please be alive, Deej. Please, god, please wake up. Don’t fucking leave me, please,”
Billie sobbed out in half a whisper, now finally feeling the tears and snot stain their face.

Without much thought to escape yet, and far more concerned with the welfare of their friend, Billie began scrambling to try and unbuckle and free DJ, or at least to wake him up.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    woozy
















DJ could admit things had gotten heated. Despite that, though, his intrusive thoughts of crashing the car hadn't been the reason the car had flipped.

No, in this case, it wasn't his fault. One minute, he was about to go in on how Teddy had no room to talk, and the next, Baby was screaming at him to watch out for...well, something. He wasn't sure. When he'd looked, there'd been enough there- a glimmer of something -for him to jerk the wheel. Moments after, though, he hadn't been sure there was anything there in the first place, but it was already too late by then. The car was flipping, jostling all of them around, and he didn't remain conscious for long.

The next time he found himself awake, it was to crying and talking and someone touching him. Blearily, he opened his eyes, and immediately was aware that he was upside down. Not only that, but his arm hurt a-fucking-lot. Made sense for a car crash, but making sense didn't make it any more pleasant.

"Fuck."


First word to come out of his mouth, and appropriately so, all things considered. He took a deep breath in, which was a mistake, seeing as his chest was probably bruised. Everything ached, so it at least wasn't overly noticeable. His head swiveled, feeling dizzy as his gaze landed on Billie. Good. Okay. They were awake. Maybe not okay, but awake. It was a start.

"Billie. Bill, calm down, 's fine."
His words slurred a bit. Not fine, but someone needed to be not freaking out.
"Shit. Okay. Fuck, are you fine?"


He tried to move one of his arms, but felt a sharp pain. Right. That wasn't going to work. He moved his other hand, instead using that to try and fumble with his buckle. Eventually, it sent him crashing into the ceiling of the car, hissing in pain.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



billie tamblin.





































  • mood



    distressed
















Billie watched with wide, bleary eyes as DJ crashed head first onto the car’s roof, not unlike their own action several moments ago. A panicked outstretch was too late, resulting in Billie simply clutching at whatever limb of DJ’s they could get their hands on. Wincing out loud in reciprocation to DJ, Billie stuck out a lip.

“You’re not fine, DJ-- you’re--”
they said, fighting back another wave of tears.
“The car crashed, there was something in the road, and I don’t know how long it’s been, maybe hours and it’s getting dark and I don’t know if we have any service out here-- and, and--”


One might have been in shock longer than letting the scarred emotions come through, but Billie was simply pent up with a lot of adrenaline in the worst way. Their hands shook, making them think the temperature really was dropping. They weren’t wrong, not entirely, but the chatter to their teeth was as they tried to process words, not from sitting in the car and bleeding. They fought to regain their breath and a steady pace of thoughts, all of which seemed impossible with the current circumstances.

“The others, they-- We have to get out first.”
Billie hadn’t any intention of leaving the other two, but realistically what support could be provided if they were still fumbling with their own safety? Turning around somewhat, feeling every muscle and bone whine in displeasure, Billie spied the window behind them and a slight crack that had spidered out from one of the corners closest to the windshield.

Quickly they began beating at it with their boot, the reverberations kicking more pain into their leg. A dull ache more than anything, though the ankle did threaten to give out once or twice from some immediate strain. Gritting through clenched teeth, Billie gave one look to DJ before the window managed to fully shatter from the crack, showering their boot and calf in a rain of glass. Instantly a whirlpool of cool air soaked into the car, going right up the back of Billie’s coat and making them shudder.

“DJ, here-- come on. I… I’ll go backwards out, just watch the glass.”


They fought to help their friend spin somewhat around to exit out the car, wrapping hands around forearms and edging slightly out. The cold snow began to seep wetness onto their jeans, and the bits of glass bit into their knees and shins, though Billie’s larger coat managed to sweep some of the glass out with them.

From within the car they heard stirring once more, a low grunt and groan from the backseat.

“T-Teddy’s awake!”



































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    tiny sad pathetic noises
















Things went to shit fast. Maybe Teddy should have kept his mouth shut, or maybe DJ shouldn’t have egged him on, but if the car hadn’t swerved to the banks and crashed on its own, Teddy was sure that he and DJ alone would have caused a wreck. By the time he came around, hanging upside down with a burning pain in his knee and several stoking strokes of pain in his body that felt more like waves of heat than an actual bodily reaction, part of him thought that the crash had been his fault. Somewhere in the minced memory of the seconds before the crash he was sure that he’d lunged out, or that he’d shouted too loudly-- but something had caused the crash. His view from the backseat hadn’t warranted him much view of the road, his gaze having been too transfixed on the rear window, but he hadn’t heard Baby’s call anyway; nor did he remember it.

Billie’s noises should have woken him, but the fading consciousness that he was in, resulting in the odd flicker of his eyes open and closed for some time now, meant that he was barely cognisant of what was happening in the first place. Low, wheezing breaths came from Teddy’s chest, and he didn’t register he was upside down until he felt the hot blood pooling near his hairline, making his skin itch.

He reached up, or rather down, to poke and prod at the pain in his face. Teddy never did well with blood, but he fared better than most. Too many sports practices had warranted some bastardised first aid when none of the guys wanted to bother the school nurse for a minor sprain, though the odd time did herald the soliciting of the school nurse. Broken femurs with protruding, bleeding bone. Noses that twisted almost within from the severity of the fracture. Teddy had seen them all, felt them all, and had catered to most.

While he was not training to be a doctor or a paramedic in any way, sports medicine did have its benefits in learning how muscles and bones tweaked and pulled in specific positions.

For example, though upside down and barely conscious, he knew that he’d definitely sprained his knee at a minimum, or fractured the bone in the worst case scenario. His nose was broken, definitely having slammed into the seat in front of him from the spray of blood that decorated the seat’s leather. His shoulders felt stiff and tight all at once, as if he’d been tightly wrapped into a ball and left there. All in all, while the damage was mitigated by the seat belt he wore, it was apparent that although minimal bleeding, it was still probably somewhat serious.

Oh, and the blistering headache that tore through his eyes and rear cranium; that, he was sure, had to have been a concussion.

Through blurry, dizzy vision Teddy focused on what looked like Billie being dragged out of the car’s side window with DJ in tow-- though once he thought about it and continued to watch, he made a better assumption that they were dragging themselves out.

“Wh-Wha… Where…,”
Teddy grumbled from the back, groaning through a new wave of pain as he tried to fumble with his seat belt. His gaze found Baby’s still unconscious form as Billie’s voice rang from the front.

“T-Teddy’s awake!!”

Instantly, as though he’d flipped a switch, his limited consciousness and dizzy eyes were transfixed on Baby bleeding and still knocked out cold. Crying out as he released his seat belt and fell to the ground, knocking his already aching head, he manoeuvred as fast as his long limbs would allow him to free Baby.

Letting the others get out, hopefully so they could pull one of the backseat doors open, Teddy moved some of the bags that were thrown askew by the car wreck to somewhere beneath Baby, then using his own crumpled body he reached to undo their seatbelt, letting his friend’s body crash uncomfortably onto him.

The next wave of pain from that was white hot, blinding almost, and Teddy’s head fell back once more as he groaned loudly. Breathing heavily, while cradling Baby’s body somewhat in his arms and somewhat also astride like a forgotten doll, he slapped his large palms against the window’s glass on Baby’s side, where the other two had exited.

He didn’t want to think if they weren’t going to come back, or if they were just gone in the first place.

“The door… please,”
Teddy shouted in a hoarse, broken voice as he continued to slap the window with one hand, giving a fevered gaze down to Baby to try and see if her chest was rising and falling or if any visible air was coming from their nose. He scooped one hand under Baby’s neck, using his hand to brush away the loose hair from Baby’s cheek, his heart-rate deafening in his ears.

“The… the door… guys.”


Another thick slap of his palm on the glass.


































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    woozy
















DJ's mind was still hazy as Billie continued to talk, though at least a little less frantically.

No, that wasn't right. They were still frantic. More coherent, maybe? He wasn't sure. Everything was swimming, especially now that he'd crashed to the bottom of the car. The blood that had been rushing to his head now was free to circulate to the rest of his body, which hit him with a dizzying feeling before the relief came. Glass from the shattered front windshield dug into his arms, some of the shards piercing through skin in a way that should've been more painful than it was. Instead, nothing was as consuming as the ache in his arm.

He only noticed Billie kicking at the window moments after they started doing it, mind just catching up with what was happening. Right. Something in the road. That's why he'd swerved in the first place. Maybe there was something, then, if Billie was mentioning it; maybe it wasn't some weird trick of the eye. They were right, though. First step was get out of the car. Then figure out how to get the others, and then...he wasn't sure. If there was service, a phone call to an ambulance. They clearly all needed it.

As glass shattered, cold air seeped into both the car and his lungs. It stung to breath in, making inhaling even more painful than it had been before. It caused prickly, made him feel like somehow, he was breathing wrong, like he wasn't getting enough air even though he knew that wasn't the case. Or maybe it was; maybe there was something terribly wrong and he just didn't know it yet. His reaction was to bring a hand to his face, try and warm the air before it hit his lungs, but a sharp pain in his shoulder served as a reminder of why he had been trying not to move much.

The help from Billie to guide him out was appreciated. A time went on, he felt a little more himself and a little less detached, but it wasn't perfect. The pain also began to set in more, like becoming more aware needed to have a price to it. Every shift, every movement forwards came with a jolt of pain that went from the middle of his spine and shot all the way down his right leg, causing him to breath in sharply in an attempt to mitigate.

Even Billie's declaration of Teddy being awake didn't serve to bring much excitement, as shitty as that was. One thing at a time. They needed to get out of the car, then they needed to figure out how to get the others out of the car. Trying to focus on more than one thing at a time made his brain feel like someone had driven an icepick into it. Actually, that might've even been a more pleasant experience, really.

When he got out, he staggered to his feet, wobbling back and forth as he tried to maintain balance. Fuck. Okay. Phase one complete, they were out of the front seat. Time for phase two. He could hear Teddy hitting a hand against the glass, and the sound paired in a horrible way with the pounding in his head.

"Okay."
He took a shaky breath in, then let it out. It still felt like there was a hole in his lungs.
"Fuck. Alright. How do we- How's the door open?"
People usually used doors of life for shit like this, right? That's what he'd seen before, at least.
"Shit."


































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



billie tamblin.





































  • mood



    distressed
















By the time they’d managed to drag themselves out of the car, DJ in tow with whatever strength Billie could summon, they were sure beyond belief that they’d done a number on their body. It was one thing navigating in the space of the car’s overturned front seats, and crawling through the broken space of a window, but with the wide expanse of the world in the snowed in bank that the car had flipped over into, suddenly all the pain in Billie’s body felt much larger. The ache in their chest, their head, all their limbs just screamed. The cold bit more than they would have liked, as well, as their coat and hat had become quite haphazard in the car accident. Bitter breezes slipped under fabric and onto skill, chilling deep to the bone. They were shivering, but weren't sure if it was from the cold or from the shock of it all.

Looking over to DJ as he spoke, Billie nodded. The bank they’d gone into was somewhat deep with snow, and where the car had slid and skidded there proved a thinly removed path of snow. Around it, however, perhaps due to snow that had fallen, the sides seemed swept up with both frost and the powdery white snow’s vice grip.

“M-Maybe we scoop some of the snow, I mean-- door should open if it’s unlocked and we pull right. Fuck, we can’t get them to go through the front seat can we?”


Billie staggered to a kneel, wincing as the snow seeped into their bleeding and already frozen jeans. Wheezing through the ache in their ribs, that stung and ebbed with a never-ending cascade of pain, Billie wiped some of the snow away from the door and the small gap of window that was available. Every movement was a blistering hot measure of pain, that proved equally sobering as much as disorienting. The cold on their hands was numbing, but probably not in the good way.

“Can you get through to the front? Is Baby okay?”
Billie was surprised they’d even remembered the late arriving friend’s name.

There was a grunt and a groan, wheezing from what seemed to be Teddy inside. “Can’t. Baby’s out cold. Can’t. Can’t fit.”

Of course. Teddy was like, six foot whatever-- though Billie hadn’t gotten a very good look at him and his height before everyone had piled into the car. Wracking their brain, they knocked again at the window.

“The lock. We can try to pull the door open if it’s unlocked, right?”
They turned as they spoke, looking back to DJ.

There was an exhausted, overwhelmed desire to simply wait until help arrived to get them out of the car. Billie didn’t want to move, at all, and the notion of exerting anymore force on their already ailing body seemed like a call toward death.

“D-Do you have your phone?”
Billie asked DJ, suddenly gripping around their back pocket and coat pocket for their phone-- and coming up with nothing at all.


































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    woozy
















Trying to think about how to get the other two out of the car proved to be something of a headache. They needed to open the door, but the door was probably locked. You unlock it, then you have the snow. Can't get them through the front, one of them was fucking huge and the other was out like a light. And then, when you get them out, then what? What happens then? Where would they even go? The snow was still going, if only a bit lighter, and they were surrounded by woods and white, freezing. Would people actually drive by, meaning they should wait, or was it worth it to start walking in their state to try and find people?

He couldn't think about the steps and what to do next without feeling the oncoming feeling of something akin to dread. Not weighing heavily on him yet, but in the periphery, as if it would settle in if he dared to try and get everything in order any longer. He needed to take a step back, but taking a step back required time, and that was a resource they were sorely lacking. Baby was knocked out. Maybe dead.

Really best not to think about it. Take it one step at a time.

"No. It's probably back in the car somewhere."
Or perhaps it had fallen out a crashed window. Maybe in the snow. He wasn't sure. Would they even have signal out here?
"We'll have to figure it out ourselves."
Unfortunately.

Okay. Gameplan. How to get them out of the car? DJ was older, sure, and had changed plenty, but those changes hadn't really included building up muscle mass. Not nearly enough to pull open the door of a crashed car.
"Okay. Shit. Um, maybe if Teddy kicks while someone tries at the handle, we'll be able to pry it open?"


That seemed like a halfway decent plan. At least to get them started. During that time, if it didn't work, he could try coming up with something else. He had another idea in mind, but no one would like it. If he didn't keep it to himself, he was sure Teddy would bust out just to wring his fucking neck. He'd already been close to doing that in the first place, so aggravating him more? Not ideal.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    tiny sad pathetic noises
















Muffled voices from outside gave Teddy some stability, as his sense of consciousness was still fading in and out with the panging of his brain inside his skull. Crumpled on the roof of the backseat, Baby contorted into his form and still knocked out, Teddy was left with few realities to consider. It would be an arduous, painful process to try and wrangle himself and Baby through the front seat and out. He could already imagine the tearing of skin, potential further cracking of ribs or his knee fully giving out and being immobile by the time he got out of the car. Baby being out cold, as well, meant that it would be a potential three-person situation to get them out of the car. The idea of that seemed doable, but the waves of pain were enough of an inhibitor.

For now he sat, feeling the aching blossom through his body and in his bent knee, looking between the snowed up window and Baby’s unconscious face.

At some point he heard Billie again.

“Teddy, unlock the door. The little thingy. Push it down. Or, I guess… Pull it?”

Their shadow was visible outside the obscured window. Frantic movement signalled what he assumed to be Billie scooping snow outside, pushing it away from the car’s window and door. All the while he fumbled with a painful reach, feeling like something was gonna pop or break, as the side of the palm of his hand grazed the locking mechanism.

“O-Okay. We’re gonna pull. Kick the door out with as much force okay?”

It wasn't okay, as he had Baby’s limp body and was contorted at such an awkward angle, but he figured he’d give it a try for safety’s sake. With immense pain he clutched onto Baby and dragged himself backwards, struggling with a wobbled grip to distance himself enough that he could fully lift his leg to deliver a kick. His good leg, anyway.

“Okay... On three!”
Teddy said, grunting through another wave of pain.

“One… Two… Three!”

He kicked out at the door, stinging pain bleeding into his foot and knee, but saw that it had nudged a bit. Some cold air instantly snaked in, skirting into the cuff of his jeans.

“It’s going… Again! Fuck.”
Teddy said again, a new wave of adrenaline fueling him. He clutched onto Baby just a little tighter, doing his best to ignore the now blistering pain. Seething, close to drawing blood as he bit onto his cheek, the countdown sounded and he kicked out again. Another shout of fuck from Teddy, but the door moved.

A few times more and it seemed prudent enough, the last kick doing enough to lodge most of the snow pile that had developed. With the wide open now visible, Teddy could relax. Shaking, he pulled himself downwards now, uncomfortably rubbing his jacket and shirt upward and the cold roof of the car pressing into his low back.

With enough manoeuvring, and some help once he was about half out, freedom was gained. Teddy didn’t move, finding that he wasn’t quite sure how able to stand he was anyway. The pain was sedated by the numbing cold of the snow. But he couldn’t stay forever.

“The fuck happened,”
Teddy finally said now presented with the fucked up faces of Billie and DJ. Everyone looked a fucking mess, and while Teddy didn’t want to start another fight just yet, the pain was egging him on.
“What happened on the road DJ? We could have died. For all I know we could be fuckin’ dead anyway.”


He felt rather pathetic anyway, laying on his back in the wet snow and staring up at everyone, feeling more of the cold trying to numb the pain away. He’d have given anything to slip further into its embrace.


































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    woozy
















There was a moment where DJ found himself relieved that Teddy had been able to drag himself and baby out. Shit hurt- hurt for all of them -but more or less, they were all in one piece. All alive after a car crash in the snow. It remained to be seen if things would stay that way, but for the moment, he was focusing on the positives. They were safe.

Or, he had been focusing on the positives until Teddy opened his stupid fucking mouth.

DJ's head pounded, and he shut his eyes to push back at the oncoming headache that once again threatened to cause him issues. Right, because it was all his fault, wasn't it? Not the fault of the person who'd screamed at him in the first place. It was a basic rule not to distract the guy driving the goddamn car, but clearly he was the only one that knew that. Guess he should go right to hell. Jesus Christ.

He took a deep breath in, instantly regretting it as the cold air burned in his lungs again. He wasn't going to yell. Yelling would hurt, in the physical sense. Besides, they needed to figure out where to go from here, and arguing with Teddy wasn't going to help that goal. Of course, that logic didn't help with his emotions, annoyance bubbling under the surface of his skin, in danger of becoming something worse. He did his best to swallow it down.

"Well," He made the effort to keep his voice as level as his state would allow in the moment, one hand drifting to the base of his own back and pressing in a feeble attempt to dim the pain "If you were dead, you wouldn't be able to bitch about it, so I think we can safely say we're all still alive."

Ah, shit. That was a bit more argumentative than he wanted, but he couldn't help it. It was a lucky thing he wasn't telling Teddy to climb back in the car so he could just shut the door again. The temptation was still there to do so, yet he managed to keep it to simply simmering rather than becoming a full-blown outburst.

"But it's not my fault, to be clear. Baby said there was something there." Placing blame also probably not a good idea, but he wanted to set the record straight that it wasn't his fault. "I just steered the car to try to avoid whatever the fuck it was. Now can we get going? Unless you have a phone to call emergency services."

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    tiny sad pathetic noises
















He didn't bother moving, finding that his energy was better spent laying there and feeling sorry for himself-- and for everyone else as well. DJ's words rang through his ears, and Teddy only offered a gentle but firm shake of his head. It made his brain feel like rocks, banging around in his skull.

“I don't need to look to know. I don't have it. Musta slipped out when the car flipped. Could be somewhere in there but I'm... I'm not getting up anytime soon. You gotta make your way down here, Deej. It's great from here.”
His own words felt foreign, and with it he wished to slip further into the snow. The pain still came in waves, less apparent with the ebb and flow of cold that sought to stem it, but he found some relief in the numbness.

He heard the silent curse from Billie, who at this point had managed to settle themselves onto the snow as well, Baby somewhat held up on them. Teddy looked over, and threw his wet, snow-covered lashes he could see Billie's own look of pain.

He stared back at DJ, huffing.

"What now,"
he said; it was less of a question or demand and more of a general wonder.
"Like... Do we try to flag someone down. Is.. Is anyone out here, anyway? My body hurts like hell... I don't wanna move."


He had no interest in trying to solve their problem right now, trying to focus on the pain in his body once more and try to remember where it was centred. Until they had some idea, he wasn't gonna move.

Billie piped up, and he heard them sniffle. "We can go looking for a phone in the car, right. No one's got a shitty iPhone that could have burst into pieces, right?"

Teddy winced a few seconds delayed, letting his gaze continue to spiral into the cloudy sky above; darkness lingering behind the grey clouds.
"Me. iPhone 12. It's probably mince meat, if we're unlucky."


Billie sighed, but he ignored them again.

That was when, staring up at the sky, Teddy thought he saw something. Movement in the clouds-- and if he were any sort of a religious nut he'd probably think that God was swooping down to save them-- but something that seemed to swirl up and into it. His gaze trickled down, neck straining with an audible groan of pain, and he saw it.

Smoke. Nothing big, not a forest fire-- who had forest fires in the winter anyway?-- but something... that had to be a smokestack, or some fireplace, right?

"Check over there. That look like smoke to you guys?"



































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    energized (negative)
















Part of DJ wanted to run his hands down his face until it left red prints behind. Another part of him wanted to do what Teddy had done and lay down in the snow for some form of respite, even if he knew it was a bad idea. Hypothermia, the small anxious voice at the back of his brain reminded him, is a very real threat. A threat that would be made even more likely if he were to get his clothing soaked. The car had a cold-weather emergency bag, just in case he ever broke down in a snow storm, but he couldn't imagine how he'd even try to get it out.

Did they wait? Did they start walking? Did some of them start walking while others stayed behind? Frankly, he could use a break from the ever-pounding headache that was Teddy, and he was in better shape to walk than some people. Yet, he wasn't sure if that was a smart move; there was no way to tell what would happen to one group once they split. They had no line of communication between each other. The phones, he had a feeling, were a lost cause not worth looking into. The glass covering the interior of the car had been difficult to traverse already. He had no desire to go about it again.

Shit. Maybe he should start walking on his own. Billy was sitting now too, and he was barely holding himself back from trying to pull them up again, reminding himself that they were tired. Everyone was tired. Hell, Baby was knocked out. Things would be simpler if there was some sort of sign--

Drawing him from the near-suffocating spiral of his own thoughts was Teddy's voice. Smoke. There was smoke? His back ached in protest as he twisted himself to look where Teddy was, eyes wide with anticipation and...something. Excitement seemed too positive a word. Hope, maybe? Somehow that felt wrong as well. He ended up settling on relief that there was some clue of where to go.

"Yea. That's smoke."


Suddenly, he felt energized. He didn't feel good, no, but having direction gave him motivation. Smoke meant a fire. A fire meant people, or at the very least some place to hunker down. They needed to keep warm on the off chance someone didn't come by to help them. He turned back to the group, a sort of electricity starting to thrum under his skin. It was a panicked sort, but still a welcome change from the tired anxiety that had been making its way to clamping on his heart.

"We need to get moving. Everybody up."
He had to be demanding. No one wanted to move. He didn't blame them, but they couldn't stay like that.
"Shit, I'll- I'll carry Baby, I guess."
He wasn't happy about that, but he had a feeling he was the only one in good enough shape to attempt it.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



teddy newman.





































  • mood



    tiny sad pathetic noises
















“
Like hell--
” Teddy spat out between clenched teeth, fighting against all the suffocating weight in his head and limbs to sit up again. Reminding himself that Baby was out cold, and everyone else was fumbling to decide what to do, gave him a bit of a renewal for energy. Even DJ’s commanding tone managed to convince him, though he’d not admit that. His abs whined, a seethe coming from Teddy’s mouth, as he managed to find his footing again; albeit on a tapping foot to avoid putting any sort of force on it. “
--you will. Car accident or not, I doubt you’ve been spendin’ the last three years knockin’ over guys twice your size or larger on the football field. Draggin’ someone by their foot in the snow, while they’re out cold, is not exactly a savin’ grace.
”

He staggered a moment, looking between the two for a breath before sighing as a chatter spread across his teeth. “
T-Together. I can’t feel my fuckin’... anything.
”

Teddy didn’t know how he still had the breath, or the sanity, to keep nagging DJ. It felt like an unconscious act, critiquing everything the other man was saying, despite their closely aligned goals.

It was the fact that DJ ran him up a wall in annoyance, or just the fact that he didn’t want him to be struggling with Baby all alone.

“
You uh… Grab shit. I dunno.
” Very obviously Teddy was losing direction, and while stumbling to where Billie and Baby were he continued to grit through shaking limbs, though he wasn’t sure if it was the cold or exhaustion and pain, and hoist Baby up enough to press himself against their side, one arm secure at the waist. Any other time and he’d probably be furiously blushing, trying to avoid eye contact in fear of making the moment more real for such a close touch.

He had no sense for that, a mind not straying beyond survival and moving forward. The thought didn’t even pass his mind, but he did manage to hold his tongue and wait for DJ to assist. He’d not hear any complaints, either. They’d do it, together.

Unfortunately, as Teddy would think so quietly.



































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 



dj hubble.





































  • mood



    energized (negative)
















Somehow, Teddy managed to get on his nerves even in a life-threatening situation.

It was a fucking talent, really, how well the guy was able to do that. DJ would've liked to think he'd be level-headed in scenarios like this. Focusing on the real issues. Instead, Teddy spoke and it was like it stoked a ember in his mind. A little bit of annoyance flared into a raging fire, making him feel physically hot as he gritted his teeth and told himself not to bitch about things.

He knew he should help with Baby anyway. Grab their legs or something, hoist them up. Teddy might've been stronger- spending his time with football or whatever -but what did that even matter, post-car crash? They were all hurting, bruised up and thrown for a loop. Working together should've been a priority. DJ could be the bigger person and suck it up, helping out anyway even if it was complained about.

DJ had to beat down the urge to be petty with a mental bat. Part of him wanted to just leave Teddy to it. Maybe even let him trip over himself carrying Baby. It would serve them both right. But that was just his annoyance speaking, wasn't it? Because otherwise, if he really wanted that, it would make him a shit person. His ma had always said that the second thought you had about something was always the most honest, that those thoughts were who you actually were.

It didn't help that both his first and second thought were dropping Teddy and Baby like hot rocks.

DJ took a deep breath in, cold air stinging at his lungs, before letting it out. Bigger person. Higher road. They all needed to get to that smoke, and they needed to do it together. Their arguments could be saved for when everyone was warm and not one fall away from a hospital trip. He trudged his way over to Teddy, then lifted Baby's legs, hoisting them up as carefully as he could.

"There. Off the snow."
DJ bit his tongue, keeping back any unneeded commentary. His gaze shifted to look at Billie, softening a bit. If there was anyone who didn't deserve this- crashing, being stuck in the snow, forced to witness two people argue incessantly -it was them.
"Can you walk on your own?"


DJ hoped so. But, if not, there was no doubt in his mind that he would instantly drop Baby back into the snow to help out Billie instead, regardless of how awful a thought it was.

































cry for love



백현










♡coded by uxie♡
 
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