Priceless

[cellar.]

IN THE PROCESS OF A CLEAN UP: WIP WIP WIP

​

Overview

1x1 Between @CrackerPower


Two people meet from opposite sides of the class divide.


While he's overschooled and uninspired, with a fear of falling,


She's cheerful despite being a ticking time bomb towards death.


As far as messes go, it's arguable that they're some of the biggest ones around.


So in spite of their differences, at least they have that middle ground to share.


While it's not much, it's something for the basis of a friendship...


A rocky, windy, stormy-sailing kind of friendship that is.


*Notice: I'm setting the date to June 21st because reference reasons.*
​

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

It was another morning just like all of the other mornings. Annie woke up with a rating pain in her chest, frowning she hacked into her hand and drew it back to see blood. Sighing slightly, Annabelle pulled herself out of bed and to the bathroom. The room was closet sized, dingy, and something had stained the walls a gross color of brown. Looking in the mirror, Anna bent down to the slow running water and splashed her face. It was going to be another long day, playing music, and trying to earn enough money to eat...


--three hours later--


All Annie could remember was making it to the square where she usually played. But when she got there, she'd noticed that she was feeling especially unwell then. When she'd looked at herself in the water of the fountain, she'd looked extra pale and her normally bright eyes and hair had lost some of their color. Even though she was sick, and she knew things weren't going to change, Anna was usually very cheerful. If you weren't cheerful there wasn't much to look forward to in a life like hers. Most people would let stuff like dying tear you down, but Annie wasn't that way. Oh no. She smiled and worked hard, at least to the best of her ability.


When she had started to play, everything slipped into darkness. She'd fallen back into the water, almost drowning herself from passing out. And though no one helped her much except to pull her head out of the water, someone did call 9-1-1. They showed up quickly, bur Anna was still out cold. When they rushed her to the hospital they quickly stuck her with IV's and fluids. Giving her stitches would have been more of a hassle had she not been unconscious. Fourtunately for herself, she hadn't felt a thing.


Now she was looking at herself in the hospital mirror, having removed the IV's and slipping back on her own clothes. She didn't feel great, but she had to get out of here before someone realized what had caused her to faint. She'd seen doctors when she was younger, when she'd been living happily with her family. But not since then, had she had anyone look at her or her illness for any real length of time. Right now, Anna felt she'd been in the hospital long enough. There was no way that she'd be able to pay for even the slight stitching she'd discovered on the back of her head when she first woke up.


Quietly, Annabelle slipped out into the hallway. There were people bustling about, running here and there. People cried in the waiting room chairs, and some slept. Everyone here looked like hell, worry lines permanently creased into their foreheads and grey purplish bags under their eyes. Even some of the nurses and doctors could hardly hold their eyes open. Frowning at a couple who was receiving devastating new from a man in a white lab coat, Anna snuck on. The doors weren't far off, but if someone noticed she was gone out of her bed before she--"HEY! STOP! YOU SHOULDN'T BE MOVING!!" A woman was calling after her, and that's when she broke into a run. When she glanced over her shoulder to see if the nurse was following her Anna smacked into another person, causing herself to fall to the ground with a thud. "I'm--I'm sorry!"

 

[cellar.]

If apprehension was a physical manifestation, it would be a rock. If it were a rock, Levi would be under fifty thousand of them at the moment. His palms were cold, and yet they were slick with sweat at the same time. A heavy sense of nervousness was sprouting into his chest, making it hard to breathe deeply. It was so cold in the hospital too; the fluorescent lights barely gave off the same warmth than the sun did. This trip was putting him into an even snappier mood than usual, and it was evident as he waited for the elevator – arms crossed, stony-faced.


Reality tended to have that kind of numbing effect.


Seeing his expression, Priscilla reached for his hand, but he yanked it away from her grasp.


She sighed wearily, and let the offer of comfort drop. “Oh, don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine now.”


He couldn’t trust her reassurance, and instead adamantly turned away from her. The elevator opened before them, and they stepped in, riding in silence. Levi knew that he should’ve taken Priscilla’s hand. He should’ve also been more grateful and happy about the whole situation. He could also make an encyclopedia of all the things he

should've

done by now.


The elevator stopped smoothly, and they headed down the hall towards the ICU. As they rounded a corner, a loud screech could be heard. A nurse was shouting for someone to stop running, and less than a minute later, that someone had come crashing into Levi.


The fall left him disorientated for a brief second. However, when he realized that he was semi-sprawled across the floor, instinct kicked in, and he let out a string of curses. Still swearing like a sailor, he picked himself off the floor.



Priscilla quickly walked over, and lent a hand to the girl.


“Are you okay?” She asked gently. Levi turned around to stare at her in disbelief.


“She ran into

me

, and I don’t get any kind of

‘are you okay?’

”


His sister paid no attention to his whining. “Go get the nurse Levi.”


Levi's mouth fell opened, and he continued to stare at her. “No. Not my problem,” he answered hotly.


If he was being paid to be difficult, somebody surely would've given him a raise by now.


“Levi.” Her voice was reasoning with him, and yet all he heard was a patronizing tone and bossiness. Anxiety easily distorted everything, and it didn't take a lot to set him off. He was almost looking for an excuse to blow off some steam, and here was his perfect opportunity.


“What? I’m not thirteen anymore. You can go

suck a fuck

, Cil.”


Levi felt a little more than slightly guilty when the words – all sharp and angry – came out of his mouth. He could tell that Priscilla was biting back an insult by the murderous expression on her face. With her jaw clenched tightly, she pushed passed him.


“For not being thirteen, you sure are acting like it,” she hissed, before running off to get the nurse herself.


For an inexplicable reason, her statement hurt more than it should have. He knew he had brought it upon himself, and yet hadn't wanted her to get angry anyways. In fact, it made

him

even more madder that she had stormed away. Fuming, Levi marched down to the end of the hallway and smacked the button for the elevator. He whirled around to face the girl.


“Well, what are you waiting for? Get the hell out before she comes back.”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Old: oh crap I completely forgot about this RP, I got so busy! I'm super sorry! Expect a reply tomorrow!


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 
All of it was rather confusing for Anna, more than one person was talking to her and one chasing her. Quickly Anna looked after the man who was speaking to her, he was rude, but he was also helping her...? Frowning Anna turned to run, but just as she did several nurses ran past her, picking up the other nurse with them. Someone had gone into cardiac arrest, Anna was safe for the time being, and there was no longer a reason to run.


Slowing her pace Anna looked back over her shoulder to look for the person she'd smacked into before. He wasn't nice, but he was nice to look at, and Anna couldn't help but want to steal another glance. Of course, she didn't fill her head with the thought that he might give her the time of day. She looked homeless in her ratty clothes, there was no one in this town that would give someone like her any of their time. Frowning at the idea, Annabelle went looking for her guitar. She'd had it with her when she'd passed out, and she hoped to god that someone had brought it to the hospital with her.


That guitar was her lively hood, it was the thing that pulled her out of bed every morning and fed her a meal at night. Anna remembered when she was first on the street, looking for work. No one wanted to hire a sickly woman who could hardly stand on her feet. So, she figured she must employ herself. When she'd found the guitar it was torn up and battered, and it took almost a month to fix. Fortunately she traded stuff for strings and a strap on the street and was able to finally start earning money. People told her she was good, but would never extend the conversation much after that. People avoiding her time and company was normal, and she'd gotten over the shock a long time ago.


Sighing, Anna turned the corner, it would have to be around here somewhere wouldn't it? Her eyes scanned the hall, if no one saw her wrist band they wouldn't have known anymore than that she was visiting. She needed her guitar and then she could go, but without it she was going to be very hungry for a while.

 

[cellar.]

Priscilla had so far not returned, and Levi had the sinking suspicion that he had blown one more fuse than he had intended to. So he was an abrasive and terrible person – what else was new? He figured that he should be used to being a sub-standard human being by now. Shooting off his big mouth seemed to be his only contribution to society…Along with helping to deny life insurance applications of the ill and elderly.




‘I am truly a stellar person,’

he thought bitterly. Maybe he did deserve whatever he was going to get from Priscilla when she came back.


Sighing, he watched as the girl began making her way down the hall. To his surprise, she didn’t go down the elevator and towards the exit like he had expected her to, but instead started roaming around. She had been quite eagerly darting out a few seconds ago, but now the patient had slowed her pace down considerably.

‘Could’ve maybe walked like that and not have mowed me over just then,’

Levi thought irritably.


Then again, it seemed like she could afford to slow down now. The nurse who had been chasing her had left to attend to more serious matters. There were more important things to worry about in a hospital than an escaping girl. In the grand scheme of things, one person was nothing.


In the grand scheme of things, they both didn't matter much, did they? It was a horrible way to think, but it was the way that Levi thought best.


With everyone else gone, it left him alone with himself. Levi realized he was pretty much standing listlessly in the middle of the hallway. There were a few options he could take, but none that were very appealing. His was itching to go towards the ICU. However, at the same time, he wanted to evade that inevitable moment for as long as he could – or at least until Priscilla returned.


As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he needed his big sister.


Pulled by a sense of curiosity, he cautiously followed the girl. She was walking in a very leisurely pace, as if unaware of the danger of being caught. Whatever she was lurking around for, Levi had to admire her for her audacity for breaking rules. As he caught up to a few feet behind her, he raised his hands to cup his mouth. Very quietly, he said, “Yo, idiot, whatcha still here for?”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Most people ignored Anna, she went from desk to desk asking about her beat up old guitar. Some shrugged, but most glanced at her and they pretended that she wasn't there. It wasn't a shock to her, but that didn't mean it wasn't just as hurtful as it would have been if it were. Frowning, Anna turned on her heels to see the same person whom she'd ran into before. He had asked her something, called her a name, but she shrugged it off. "A guitar," Anna answered honestly, "Not that it matters, no one here seems to have seen it." It was clear that this fact upset her very much.


"I better go start looking for another," Anna said and started back from the direction she'd come. If no one here had her guitar there was no more point in staying to look for it. Right now she was risking being caught by the same nurse that had almost chased her all the way out of the hospital. It wouldn't be good if they basically forced her into treatment, and to be honest, it wasn't exactly the first time they'd tried. Thinking about it made Anna feel worse. She wondered if she'd feel this bad about it if she weren't already feeling so ill. But...then again she wouldn't even be here had she not collapsed in the square.


Brushing past the rather...abrasive man, Anna shook her head. Why did this guy even care about what she was doing here? It was probably mild curiosity Anna decided. She did slam into him on her way out at full speed, which either one or both of them would have a bruise on their asses for later. She felt sort of bad for it at the time, but this man didn't strike her as the forgiving type, so she got over it rather quickly. "What are you doing here?" She shot the question back at him, her bright eyes locking onto him. She'd stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him before turning back to face him.


The question didn't seem to sit with the man well, his face made a sort of contorted toutured expression. Again, Anna felt bad, but got over it quickly when his expression turned stony again, "You shouldn't ask questions when you're not prepared to give answers yourself." It was matter of fact in her tone. Without another word she turned back on her heels, and went for the exit. She had to get out and make some sort of money and she'd wasted too much time as it was.

 

[cellar.]

“A guitar,” Levi repeated, slightly amused. She seemed to be upset about the fact that she had lost it. “Why’d you bring a guitar with you to here?” She didn’t answer his question, and instead started walking back from the direction she had come in. He was kind of curious as to why she was fleeing St. Luke’s in the first place. Most people wanted to stay until they were feeling better, didn’t they? However, before he had the chance to ask, the girl had shot him back with his own question. Immediately, he could a feel a glare cross onto his face.


What kind of game was she playing at?


Of course, he could tell her the truth. Yet, nothing was that simple to give away in his head. She was a stranger, and strangers had to pry the truth from his cold, dead hands. In fact, most people he’d call

friends

, would have to do the same. Friends deserved lies and careful quick-stepping – They received something cautiously crafted especially to cater towards them. The best a stranger got was silence. The worst was a string of nonsensical words, or a heavy dose of mockery, and that was exactly what was going to come out of his mouth.


“Oh gosh,” Levi answered, full-speed sarcasm coursing through his words, “Gee, I wonder what I could

possibly

be doing at a hospital? Maybe just doing some casual Saturday afternoon grocery shopping? Picking up some IV bags and anesthetics for dinner? Yeah, that’s got to be it.”


Personally, he found his answer to be sufficient enough, but evidently the girl did not. Her subsequent words caused him to scowl. However, before he could say anything else, she had already turned on her heels towards the exit.


Levi had the most childish urge to stamp his foot on the ground, cross his arms, and answer,

‘shut the fuck up.’


He ended up not doing any of those things. Instead, he stood aimlessly in the hallway once again. This time, he took a spot at an empty chair in the hall, burying his head in his hands. Barely a second later, Levi felt a slap across the back of his head.


“Ow!” he exclaimed, pulling his hands away from his face to meet Priscilla’s blue eyes.


She started walking away from him, wordless save for a quick “let’s go.”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

---Time Skip (five hours later)---


Anna ended up finding her guitar, but it wasn't until it had already started falling dark. "Great," She'd thought to herself, picking it up and frowning. It was crappy enough that instead of someone stealing it, she found it in the garbage. Three of the strings were busted, and the strap ripped. It had taken her forever to make it, but now there wasn't much she could do for it. Anna could afford the materials to fix it or make a new one, but if she were lucky she'd find more. Sighing, Anna decided it would be best for her to look for something to eat.


So, she strapped her shitty guitar to her back and started toward the nicer part of town. She wasn't feeling too great, considering she hadn't the funds or the time to eat that day. Anna rubbed her eyes, the streets were blurring in the creeping darkness, and most people were already tucked away in restaurants, or bars. Most people around here seemed to have some money, even if it didn't seem like much to them. But to her all of these people were rich. It made her sick, seeing this people throw money around so carelessly.


Sighing, Annabelle started down the sidewalk, looking around for maybe one kind face. All she needed was a few bucks and she could get something. Anything would have been great, but right now even with her being so hungry Anna was having a hard time focusing on food. The night air was chilling her badly enough that all Anna wanted to do was curl in on herself. As she was walking, her arms hugged around herself, Anna spotted something and got an idea.


In an alley way beneath a dim street lamp was a dumpster. Being behind a restaurant the garbage couldn't be that gross, right? The thought did gross her out, but she didn't think she had much of a choice. If no one saw her, then she wouldn't get in trouble, so she waited at the edge of the alley looking for anyone who might have their eye on her. Cause, you know, Anna stuck out like a sore thumb when she was on this side of town. People staring at her wouldn't have been all that uncommon.

 

[cellar.]

“What the hell? Are you trying to kill yourself? I said one drink!” Priscilla said, half furious, half alarmed.


She had a right to be; after all she had left Levi on his own for about a grand total of five minutes. In the first sixty seconds of those five minutes, he had slammed down five shots on an empty stomach. So he wasn’t trying to kill himself, but he was trying to get extraordinarily drunk in a short amount of time. It wasn’t an eased-into-a-buzz kind of situation; it was a hit-with-a-brick

wasted

kind of wanting.


“Well you’re not the boss of me,” he answered, sounding incredibly juvenile. He realized this fact, but didn’t bother to fix his words. As if trying to placate her a little, he added, “Oh relax Cil, I’m fine.” But he had never been good at drinking his feelings.


Twenty minutes later, Levi was puking his guts out on the side of the road.


The colours of the streetlights swam before his eyes, as his throat burned furiously from the stomach acid. He felt so very light-headed, and was only vaguely aware of what was going on around him. The ground was spinning very gently, but the motion was enough to disorientate him. Levi could feel himself being hauled away and hoisted up. He looked to his left, and got an eye-full of Priscilla’s hair.


“I’m calling dad,” she announced, trying to retrieve her cell phone from her purse while balancing Levi at her side.


“No, you’re not,” he answered as firmly as he could – undermined by the fact that he was slurring his words slightly.


“Don’t be ridiculous,” Priscilla said, “Unless you want your car towed by the city, then I think I am. C’mon now, I’m driving you home.”


He was half-dragged across the street and towards the spot where her car was parked. They passed a few shops and restaurants on the way, and Levi turned his head to look at all the bright lights. It was all very pretty, he realized, all very pretty...Then, he spotted a figure standing alone in an alleyway. Surprisingly enough, he recognized her face from earlier in the day, and his mouth remembered her faster than his memory did.


“Oh heeey. It’s the hospital idiot,” he called out without thinking – not that he

could

think very clearly in his current drunken state.


Priscilla did something of a double take, glancing in the direction that he had indicated. She turned to Levi, glaring at him.


“You told me a nurse picked her up,” she said. She changed direction and started walking towards the girl, pulling him along.


“Yeah, well, since when was I a reliable source on anything?”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna couldn't help but jump when someone clearly drunk, was addressing her directly. How he'd noticed her in the dark she didn't know, but they knew her, and she knew them. That is, the drunk man and the woman who was some how being drug along by him. Stepping hesitantly into the light, Anna frowned. He didn't look so good, though that wasn't much to be said from when she'd seen him earlier in the day. "Oh heeeeey, it's the pompous asshole!" Anna mocked back, matching his tone all but without the slurring.


It was a joke, and that was clear being that she made eye contact with the woman and smiled at her. This guy was an ass she'd gathered that much, but she didn't know him well enough to know much of anything about it. Therefore, Anna felt that being offended by anything this guy would say, would be pointless. If she didn't care about someone, why care about what they said? It was something Annabelle had learned along time ago, something that helped her not be so easily shocked or hurt by the people around her. No one seemed to give her the time of day normally, so even if it were in the dark and the guy was plastered, he remembered her and spoke to her.


Anna now had her arms crossed over her chest and was looking at the two who were now somewhat stopped in front of her. They swayed back and forth as the woman tried to keep her less than sober companion on his feet. "Looks like you've got your hands full," Anna said, pointing out the obvious. If the conversation stayed off her, Anna didn't mind having one, but she was out of there if it switched. "Rough day?" She asked, looked back to the man who was eyeing her. "You know...I've got a killer recipe for a drink that'll cure a hang over." It was something she'd learned from some others who lived on the streets or in crappy apartments like hers.


"I think he might need it, cause he's gonna be feeling that one tomorrow," Anna chuckled slightly. Laughing wasn't something she did too often and so she shocked herself slightly when she did so. Though, she wouldn't have put it past herself to be subconsciously forcing out laughter to keep the mood light. Anna turned and snatched up her guitar, and walked toward the two of them, but when she got closer she couldn't help but notice that one of the party decided to move back. "I-I know a good place to get some food in him." Anna said rather forwardly. This wasn't like her, and this guy was an asshat, but there was something about him that made her want to know him. Something that told herself to help him, and understand him. She'd felt the same when she had ran into him at the hospital, but was too focused on leaving to think about it further.

 

[cellar.]

“Uh, yeah,” Priscilla answered, sounding slightly unsure. She seemed like she wanted to say something else, but quickly swallowed back her words and listened instead. It was obvious as to why she was hesitant, seeing as the girl hardly looked like she belonged on this side of town in her ratty clothes, never mind the fact that she had very apparently escaped from a hospital. Still, she stayed put anyways, and couldn’t help but smile at her comment.“Oh, whatever he feels tomorrow is going to be well deserved. This moron hardly ever thinks straight.”


Levi protested at that comment. “I’m going t’be fiiiine,” he insisted, trying to pull himself upright. He shrugged Priscilla off in an attempt to walk by himself. However, his balance wasn’t exactly on point at the moment. Luckily enough, he was pulled back into safety by his sister before any catastrophically embarrassing falls had taken place. Deep down, he was ninety-nine percent sure that tomorrow morning was going to be one of the worst days of his life. There was no way he was going to admit that though. He felt great

now

, and that was all that he had wanted.


“Um, okay sure,” Priscilla finally answered after a moment of consideration, glancing at the swaying Levi.


“We haven’t had dinner yet anyways. I guess you can give the directions while I drive us there.”


With that said, she began to tug Levi towards the silver SUV; glancing back to make sure the girl was following. It was a little weird to give a stranger a ride after just meeting her, but she seemed harmless enough. Besides, it would probably do both of them some good. That didn’t stop Levi from complaining very loudly at the turn of events. He was promptly shushed and ignored.


Priscilla loaded Levi up into the backseat, strapped him in, and as an afterthought, rolled down the window.


“If you feel like tossing your cookies, please try to stick you head out and not do it in the car,” she suggested to him.


Then, she shut the car door, making her way over to the driver’s seat. Before she got in, she turned to the girl.


“Right, almost forgot. Um, I’m Priscilla,” she said, introducing herself. “And the backseat blockhead’s called Levi.”

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

It was weird for Anna to be so willingly brought over to someone's car. What she'd expected was for the woman to scoff at her, roll her eyes, and then leave. But, to her surprise the woman who identified herself as Priscilla was waiting for her to get in, without much hesitation it seemed. "Oh, Annabelle, but I prefer Annie or Anna," She introduced herself and gave a shy smile.


Stepping toward the the car Anna hesitated, "A-are you sure you want me in your car?" She asked rather bluntly. Anna looked herself over with a frown. It wasn't like she was all that clean, though she couldn't help not being able to afford the things she needed to keep her clean. Anna didn't think she smelled, but of course that was relative considering she lived with it most days.


"I-i could just tell you where it is, and you two can go," Anna glanced back at the whining man child in the back seat. He looked like he was ready to throw up, but even so he still mumbled complaints about their plans. Besides, the place she was telling them to go to, wasn't exactly friendly with her. They told her once that she drove away business, though when she asked how they ignored her. None the less they'd kicked her out and she was told not to come back.


"It's down on 34th and Elm," Anna continued, not really giving Priscilla a chance to answer, "Not far from here, and I don't know that you would need to drive anyway..." Her voice trailed off and she looked back to Levi who wiggled uncomfortably in his seat, "It might be better for him to walk it off, he doesn't look so good," She said, though she knew it were obvious. If anything, Anna didn't want to get into the car, or step inside the restaurant. It would only serve for awkward unpleasantness, something that she wasn't ready to sit through. Besides that, she had no money and therefore had no business walking into a restaurant and sitting down, ban or not.

 

[cellar.]

It kind of hit her that Annabelle was

poor

. Not the kind of "deprived", where some of her friends complained about not being able to afford the new upgraded phone or laptop, but really and actually poor. She should've noticed sooner, as it was quite obvious in Anna's disheveled appearance. However, she had been rather preoccupied with the ever-problematic Levi. Priscilla hadn't been realized until the moment Anna hesitated getting into her car. The moment suddenly turned awkward. She wasn't sure what to say in response, and her cheeks tinged pink in slight embarrassment. Trying to remain polite, Priscilla nodded in agreement.


"Well...Thank you," she stated, "I'm just going to take the car option because I don't really feel like carrying Levi down another few blocks. He's just going to have to suck it up and hold it in." As if on cue, Levi knocked on the window glass. "Are we goin' somewhere now or not?" He asked, his voice growing quieter towards the end of the sentence. He was feeling sleepier by the second. He wasn't sure if that was an effect of the alcohol, or that it was the fact that he just wanted to escape his head already.


With a sigh, Priscilla quickly climbed into the driver's seat, starting up the engine. Before she pulled away from the parking spot, she looked back up at Anna again. She was feeling kind of bad that she was leaving this girl all on her own. She had no reason to be, after all, it wasn't

her

responsibility. Still, she couldn't help but feel the slightest bit sorry for Anna. She could afford to extend out some sort of helping hand, couldn't she? As an added thought, she rolled down her window.


"Um. Are you sure you want us to go ahead? Y-you're welcomed to join us, if you like," Priscilla said tentatively. She smiled a little sheepishly, but didn't want to appear to be rude. It was one dinner, it wouldn't hurt, even if it was going to be extremely weird. Besides, she was going to need someone to help to keep Levi on his feet for a little while longer.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Ann felt a weird sort of tinge, the way that Priscilla was looking at her hand changed. There was something of a realization in her eyes and tone, and it was definitely something that she'd heard before. How Priscilla hand't seen her before, like really seen her was beyond Anna's comprehension. To her it seemed rather obvious, and most people seemed to think it was too. They avoided her on the street, scowled and wrinkled their noses. But, it wasn't until a moment ago that Priscilla was doing the same thing that most others did.


"No, that's okay," She said and waved a hand like it didn't matter to her one way or the other. Really, Anna would have loved to have a hot meal, but she wasn't a charity case. Often times, if people weren't giving her dirty looks and avoiding her; others would treat her as though she were something to be fixed. But, then something always happened, and they dumped her right back out on the street again. "I'm not feeling all that great anyways," Anna admitted. "Goodnight," She said and turned from the car to head down the sidewalk toward home.


But, as she walked, Anna felt the other woman's eyes on her. It was weird to her, but she almost felt the relief radiating off of her when she'd declined. While Annabelle was lost in thought, she didn't notice that when she cough blood spurted into her hand. It was a sign of another episode but she was too busy thinking about something else to see it. Unfortunately, it only took a few more steps to set in.


The rough coughing that echoed in the empty street, and the blood. Collapsing to her knees, Anna hacked and held her sides with her own arms. Tears were streaming down her face, but not because Anna was sad but the strong pain she felt with every cough got worse. A small string of spitty blood trickled down her chin and she squeezed her eyes shut. "Ow, ow ow!" She muttered to herself in between coughs. The only thing she could do now was hope that her fit would pass without her fainting.

 

[cellar.]

“Okay,” Priscilla answered with a nod. Secretly, she was a little relieved, while another part was feeling slightly guilty as well. It was strange, but she just wasn't sure how to interact with people who lived on a completely different plane - a fourth dimension essentially. Watching Anna walk away, she wondered if she shouldn't have pressed the offer at all. It didn't matter now, as it was too late to change what had happened.


Pushing those thoughts away, Priscilla glanced over her shoulder to make sure Levi was still holding up.


He had his eyes closed now, his head leaning on the window. She couldn’t tell if he had passed out or not, and she wasn’t quite in the mood to find out. Briefly, she wondered if he was still taking his medication. If he wasn’t – well, that would explain something. It was just one more thing to report back to the parents, seeing as her brother didn’t care to visit very often. With a heavy sigh, She started pulling out of the parking spot.



It wasn’t much use to take him to eat now. She might as well just drop him off before driving back to Providence.




'Oh well, some takeout will do-'

But before she managed to finish that thought, a voice piped up from behind. “Cil?”


Startled, Priscilla turned her head towards Levi. So he was still awake after all.


“Yeah?” She answered. For awhile, it was only silence. Had she imagined it? But then -


“I’m so tired,” Levi whispered with his eyes still closed. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears. She had not expected this. This was not something she could deal with. For the longest time, she remained silent, unable to find a proper response to his words.


“…Just get some sleep,” she finally replied rather lamely.

'Shit, say something else!'




However, she never got the chance; her train of thought was quickly cut off once again by the sound of coughing echoing across the lot.


Curiously, she looked back out the window.


Priscilla could see Anna a little distance away, but she was no longer standing. By the looks of things, she was very much hacking her lungs out. It became apparent very fast why she had been in the hospital in the first place.


“Oh shit,” Priscilla said to herself. She automatically got out of her car, making her way quickly over to Anna.


“Are you okay?” She asked urgently. Evidently not, she realized, as she watched as the blood spewing out with each cough. Taking in a huge breath, she tried to calm herself down. “Oh god, I’m calling an ambulance,” she said, trying to extract her phone from her bag.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Annabelle had to use everything in her to throw herself back up onto her feet. Going back to the hospital was something that she definitely couldn't do. "N-no!" Anna started, her voice in a wheeze, "I'm fine really, this happens sometimes." Her tone despite the pain was matter of fact as though this had happened a million times over. Which, let's be honest, it has happened to her more times than she could count. "I-It's freaky, I know...but I-I'm fine." She lied trying to convince Priscilla that she could handle this herself.


"Thanks for stopping though," Anna thanked her and started to walk down the side walk, a handover her mouth. She was using the side of a building as a crutch, and it was also clear that she was doing her best to hold in each cough as it came. Of course it didn't exactly work and every now and then managed to make her coughing sound worse. But she stumbled on hoping that Priscilla would be like any other rich person, and move on. Hopefully she'd forget about it, move on with her life, and she wouldn't have to see her again.


((I can edit this if you like, but I'm not sure what more I can write about this...plus it's late. Let me know if you need an edit and I can do that for ya!))

 

[cellar.]

It was pretty obvious to Priscilla that the “freaky” episode was not a sign of somebody who was “fine.” However, she paused the for search for her cell phone, and looked up at conflicted between doing what had been asked of her, and doing what she thought was right. Rather helplessly, she watched Annabelle soldier on slowly across the parking lot. In a fraction of a second before it happened, Priscilla was certain that Anna was going to fall. Maybe because she looked like she was three steps away from death, or maybe her coughing had intensified in the last few seconds. In an instant, Anna was collapsing like a heap of bricks. She landed on the pavement with a dull thud.


“Oh god,” Priscilla breathed, her eyes widening in realization. She scrambled over, kneeling down in front of Anna. As calmly as possible, she flipped the body over and checked for all the vital signs – and just for good measure, she lightly slapped Anna’s face a few times. The girl was still very much pumping blood and breathing, but she was out cold, cold, cold.


Although she was on the verge of freaking out, Priscilla took in a deep breath and stood back a bit. She would have to take this situation in objectively. She tried to consider her options – not that she had a lot to choose from. First thing first, and that was she couldn’t just leave Anna lying in a parking lot. If her coughing didn’t kill her, a car sure would. With some dragging and carrying and pulling, Priscilla managed to get Anna strapped into the backseat with Levi. Now she was responsible for two majorly unconscious people, and

wow Christmas must’ve come early.

Oh god, she was also beginning to sound way too much like Levi.


She had no idea what to do, but nevertheless started the car. Annabelle didn’t seem like she was waking up anytime soon, she had refused an ambulance, Levi was still completely wasted, and she had a long drive back to Providence. Perhaps that was a tremendous amount to think about, and perhaps her judgment wasn’t running as smoothly as usual, because she had the wild idea that

maybe she could drop Anna off with Levi.

In hindsight, the idea was probably terrible, but it made a lot of sense in that moment. After all, they were barely five minutes away from where he lived. It would just be the night, until Anna woke up, and Priscilla could drive her home or something. It made her wary that she was putting a stranger in his house, but she was passed out and seemed harmless enough. Besides, it wasn’t like Levi was likely to wake up before noon. He was never going to know…


By some miraculous, inhuman strength, Priscilla managed to get her unconscious passengers onto the fifteenth floor of the apartment building. With a weary sigh, she fished out the keys from Levi’s pocket and pushed open the door to his unit. She didn’t bother to flip on the lights, but instead unceremoniously dumped her brother on his bed. He stirred only slightly before curling up into his blankets. Barely pausing, Priscilla half-dragged Anna onto the couch, probably nearly decapitating the girl in the process of maneuvering around the furniture.


Just to top it all off, she even fed the cat.




‘I deserve a prize,’

she thought with a bitter taste in her mouth.


But this wasn’t anything new, was it?

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

((I'm going to do a time skip! ))


It wasn't until about noon that Anna even stirred, she'd laid in one position basically all night only her head moved once or twice. Had anyone been awake to hear it, Annabelle talked in her sleep. Often she was plagued with nightmares and whimpered, or spoke softly as she dreamed them. Her eyebrows would crease and she look sad, though when she woke up her expression was never too much different. Blinking, Anna sat up and looked around. She felt stiff and sore, having smacked into the pavement of a parking lot the night before.


It took her a long moment to realize that she hadn't made it home last night, and that she wasn't in a hospital. In fact she was in someone's home, and it was quiet. No one was in the room with her, and Anna wasn't sure what it was she was supposed to do now. Had someone picked her up and taken her home? Anna vaguely remembered being in someone's car, but she'd been so out of that she'd fallen unconscious again.


For a split moment Anna became horrified and checked her clothes. Fortunately they were all still in place, and she didn't feel any different than any other time she did when she passed out in public. Now Anna stood, and started walking around, wondering whose home she was in. It was very nice, and reminded her of something out of a catalog. It didn't seem like who ever lived here spent much time living here. Everything was neatly in place, and had a fine layer of dust. Stuff on the shelves like books and vases didn't move often and even the TV remote to often either.


Walking around Anna noticed there weren't many pictures around of people, and the ones that were Anna had no idea who the people were. She decided that it might be best to look out the window, maybe then she'd get an idea of how far from home she actually was. When she drew back the curtains and let her eyes adjust the to view, her stomach sank. She wasn't very far from her old house, her fathers home. She was grateful to be inside now, knowing that she wouldn't accidentally bump into him on the street.


Whipping around after shutting the curtains Anna walked back to the middle of the room, "Hello?" She finally called out, wondering if anyone was even here with her at all.

 

[cellar.]

Sunlight streamed through the windows, swirls of dust dancing in the glow. The light washed over Levi, painting him gold, and warming his skin. Gradually, he stirred awake, and his eyes slowly opened. There was a desk full of pencils and papers, a laptop blinking at him, an easel in the corner of the room, clothes strewn over the laundry basket by the bathroom door, and a poster of a banana tacked on the wall above it. He was very obviously in his own bedroom, yet he could not – for the life of him – remember how he got here.


The reason became evident enough when he tried to sit up.


His head was pounding on a massive scale, and felt as if it was clogged with water. At the same time, his stomach was having fun doing a few acrobatic stunts. Everything was spinning madly, and he raised a hand to his head as if he could steady the motion. With a groan, he rolled away from the windows, and to his bed stand. The digital letters on the clock indicated that it was now nine a.m. Very gingerly, he picked himself out of bed into a standing position. When he didn't collapse in a puddle of pain, Levi shuffled towards the bathroom.


One long,

long

shower later, he felt a little better, but not by too much. He got dressed into his pajamas, slung a towel over his shoulders, and headed straight to the medicine cabinet over the sink. Levi pulled out a white bottle, pouring out a blue pill into his hand. He drew some water from the tap, and gulped down the tablet, before hastily stuffing the bottle back into place. He was looking forward to a nice cup of tea and a day of doing absolutely

nothing.

With that goal in mind, he exited his bedroom to look for something to drink.


There were certain things that Levi could not remember from the previous night. One of those things was

how the hell did this random girl get into his house.

In front of him, was his couch. In front of him, was the girl he had met in the hospital. In front of him, was the girl he had met in the hospital

on his couch.

Levi desperately tried to rack his brains for something, but he came up blank and confused. All he remember was going out to the bar, feeling particularly insolent, and Priscilla...Priscilla! He scrambled for the phone.


She picked up after only two rings.


"What. The. Actual. Fuck." Levi said furiously before she even had the chance to say

hello.


"Holy shit Levi, I didn't think you'd wake this early-"


"What the fuck happened? Why the fuck is there a person in my living room?" He was yelling rather loudly now, but with a backwards glance to the girl, he saw that she was still asleep.


"Shh, shh...That's Annabelle-"


"Oh yes, because knowing it's name makes it so much better!"


"Don't be so rude-"


"What the fuck!?"


"Can you just shut up, and let me explain? She fainted last night after you passed out in the car. I wasn't sure what to do, so I brought her back to your place. I was just going to come and get her before you woke up, but of course that didn't work according to plan."


"Uh, you could've just left her there, simple solution where everybody wins!"


"Well, it's too late now, isn't it? Just make sure she stays put until I get there."


"Nuh-uh, I'm not babysitting some-"


"Oh shush Levi. I could've just left

you

there."


That shut him up.


For the next two hours, he spent his time locked up in his bedroom. This was way too weird for him, and he was begging for the time to move faster. Finally, his growling stomach got the best of him, and he had to venture out for some lunch. Levi passed the living room, staring at Annabelle as he contemplated whether waking her up would be a good idea. In the end, he walked on, and into the kitchen to fix himself up something. He was not in the mood to cook, and so he settled on eating some Cocoa Puffs with milk.


Just as he grabbed a spoon for his cereal, he heard a voice ring out from the living room. So

she

was awake now.


With a sigh, Levi called out in response, "Go back to sleep!"

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

((Is he ever going to like her? hahaha.))


Anna jumped when someone's voice responded, it was a man, and a rather crabby one at that. How she'd gotten here wasn't something she was certain of, but it didn't seem like whoever was talking to her now wanted her there. "I-I'm sorry!" Anna called back, frowning. This mystery person almost frightened her, she wasn't sure what else to do but leave.


"I'll just be going, Thank you for everything!" She called and went for the door. The sooner she got out of this place the happier both the mystery man and Anna would be. It made her uncomfortable to be here, feeling more than unwelcome. She hadn't asked to come here, in fact she wouldn't have blamed anyone for just leaving her out in the street. Somehow she would have stumbled her way home, and collapse in a pool of blood for it.


With the thought of blood Anna made a face, her mouth tasted sour. Last night had been one of her worse attacks yet, and her stomach growled loudly from it's lack of food. When she moved to quickly for the door the room spun, last night had been one of the worst in a while. Maybe she'd be lucky enough today to make some money so that she could have something to eat. It hadn't occurred to her to ask for food while she was in a strangers home. Then again, she'd would have never asked had she even thought about it. Anna wasn't the kind of person to ask things of others when she had nothing to give in return.


In her haste to run out of the apartment, Anna bumped into an end table rather loudly. It skidded on the hard wood and sent what ever it was on top of it to the floor. It seemed to be a candle that had never been lit and some books that had probably only been read once. "Oh no..." Anna mumbled and knelt down trying to pick everything up.


Right now Anna was letting herself get far too worked up about the whole situation. Her head had begun pounding and spinning, doing it's on little version of a carousel ride. If she didn't calm down another episode was sure to follow, so she sat there a moment and took a few deep breaths. Everything would be fine when she got out into the afternoon sun, it would be fine. Anna now focused her mind on the task of putting everything back the way that she'd found it. Whoever this place belonged to, she probably figured they wouldn't like her touching their things.

 

[cellar.]

(sorry, it's shorter than usual.)




"I'll just be going, Thank you for everything!"


Her voice reached Levi, and he wondered vaguely if he should stop her. After all, he had promised that he would keep this person here until Priscilla managed to arrive. Then again, he was in no mood to move. If she left on her own, wouldn’t it be as easy as just denying responsibility? When did he care so much about keeping his word? Before he could wrap his mind over his thoughts, a loud bang came from the living room. He was so startled by the sudden sound, that he had almost dropped his spoon on the kitchen floor.


Half-annoyed, half-concerned, Levi went to check what had just happened.


"I said go back to sleep, not run over a table and send everything flying," Levi said, strolling back into the living room in time to see a few items knocked over to the ground. He was ready explode into a tirade of annoyance, but was undermined by the fact that Annabelle was already beginning to put everything back into place. He stared at her for a few seconds, before taking a seat in the armchair. Levi balanced his bowl of cereal on the armrest, and began spooning the chocolate puffs into his mouth. In between bites, he spoke.


"Sit down. Don't move. Don't speak. Don't do anything but breathe a bit or whatever. She's coming to get you."


And with that curt response out of the way, Levi turned back to his food once again. For awhile he ate in silence, drank his milk, and then put the porcelain bowl on the glass coffee table. He was still feeling awful, and didn’t have as nearly as much energy as he would’ve liked to deal with a situation like this. At the moment, all he wanted to do was take some aspirin and go back to his cocoon of blankets.


However, he did owe Priscilla a helping hand. There was no point in pissing her off some more.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Annabelle frowned, and only stood staring at the familiar face. She had no idea who'd she'd ended up with, having figured that Levi and Priscilla were long gone by the time she'd passed out. But, it seemed to her that she was wrong, very very wrong. Shit she thought with an internal sigh, of course this would happen to her. "You know, just because you tell someone something doesn't mean that they have to obey," Anna said with a little more venom than she intended.


She wasn't feeling well which caused for more of a crabby mood, plus the fact that she hadn't eaten. The smell of process chocolate and wheat wafted over to her as she stood. When he was done eating, all Anna could do was look away hoping he didn't notice her staring. "Look, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here," Anna stepped back toward the door. Having stepped into a patch of light, Anna's hair shone brightly and ti served to give her skin a sort of porcelain glow.


Her bright green eyes scanned the room before she turned on her heels and went for the door. It was getting late, and if Anna wanted to get out of this part of town she'd have to do it now. "I need to leave, lucky you," She said sarcastically, and pulled on the knob of the door before stepping out into the hallway. The place was much bigger than she'd expected it to be, and though there were two options it seemed that neither led her to an actual exit. But, it didn't stop her from walking, so she took off to the right and hoped maybe she would find an elevator or some stairs. Something to get her out of here and away from Levi who clearly hated the site of her. The last thing she wanted to do was spend her afternoon with someone who was hung over and felt sick at the sight of her.


Of course, Anna didn't know if that was completely true, but the look on his face when he looked at her told her otherwise.

 

[cellar.]

“Nuh-uh. You’re in my house. So my house rules. And right now, you’re grounded,” he replied sardonically, as he sank deeper into the armchair. Levi stared rather distractedly out the large windows of the apartment unit, a portion of his mind roaming elsewhere outside. However, when he heard Anna’s subsequent words, he looked back up at her again. Before he could say another word, he caught a glimpse of her red hair as she closed the door behind her. “Oh fuck,” Levi mumbled for what seemed like the hundredth time that morning. Despite his annoyance, he was also partially amused. He always appreciated people who did and said what they wanted.


In no mood to go on a high-speed chase, Levi picked up the phone instead.


“Hey Cil,” he said after his sister had picked up.


“Oh God. What happened?” Priscilla sounded so weary from the other end.


“Hey now. Don’t assume the worst. But uh…Where are you at?” He was struggling to sound nonchalant.


“Almost here. I’m, coming up the elevator…”


“Perfect. Because she’s probably coming down the elevator.”


Before he got a massive lecture, Levi hung up as quickly as possible.


“What-?” But she was cut off by the dead silence on the other end. Exasperated, she stuffed her cell phone back into her pocket. She had asked him to do

one thing

, and yet he

still

managed to do a shoddy job of watching over Annabelle. Oh well, if she was feeling healthy enough to escape, then she surely was healthy enough to walk home? Maybe she was worrying too much about a responsibility that wasn’t even her own. Priscilla got off the lift on the fifteenth floor, and started walking down the hall.


Out of extraordinarily great timing and a little bit of luck, she rounded a corner and came face to face with Annabelle. For a second, she stood still, blinking in surprise. Finally, she found her voice and began speaking, slightly flustered.


“Uh hi,” Priscilla said sheepishly, running her fingers through her hair. She was looking for something to say about the whole situation. “Um…Sorry I kind of just dumped you here, I wasn’t sure where you lived and all that…I hope it wasn’t too much of an inconvenience.” She paused for a little bit longer. “So…Um. I brought lunch?” She suggested lamely, raising the plastic bag in her hands, as if a sort of an apology for the current circumstances.

 

[Jelly x Filled x Donut]

Anna was slightly shocked when she ran into Priscilla, but on the outside she only smiled. This person was the one who picked her up of the street, though she didn't have to, and took her back here. "It's nothing to be sorry for. I appreciate the help, really." Anna told her, her smile growing even warmer. "To be honest, I wouldn't have been surprised had you just left me there, like most people..." She said off handed and waved a hand loosely in the air.


"Having help twice in one day isn't something I'm used to." Annabelle laughed at that, but stopped when Priscilla didn't seem to think it was funny as she did. It wasn't funny really, more of a sad sort of ironic situation that Anna liked to laugh about because if she didn't...she worried she might cry. Crying wasn't an option anymore, she'd done to much of it in her past and now it was time to live her life the best she could and stop wasting it on tears.


"Lunch," She repeated, the shock clear on her face. "I don't know that I should go back into your brothers apartment," Anna admitted and frowned, "Every time he looks at me I think he's going to be sick....though I'm not sure I blame him all that much." She looked herself up and down before shaking her head. "But, it's really sweet of you to offer...you're one of the nicest people I've met in a long time." She said and gave her shockingly beautiful smile once more.


Of course, there was more than the lack of friendliness from Levi that made her want to leave. The longer she waited the more people were up and about walking the streets. She hadn't been in this part of town in years, but she refused to risk someone possibly recognizing her. It would have been humiliating to run into family members and old classmates. But, even worse than that would be to run into her Father, the man whom abandoned her for his money. Just the thought of seeing that cruel man made her stomach turn. "I really should get going," Anna urged, and side stepped to get past Prsicilla.

 

[cellar.]

“Oh. Um…” For the second time, she was at a loss for words. Or rather, she had plenty of words brimming on her lips, but she couldn’t figure out which ones to say. In truth, she felt rather sorry for Anna, but didn’t want to offend her by coming off that way. Priscilla didn’t really think she had done

too

much out of the ordinary. Maybe she had pushed it by bringing Anna to Levi’s place – that was a panicked decision upon her behalf – but surely somebody else would’ve helped too? Apparently not, according to Annabelle’s statements.


To constitute as near nothing in society...It was a sort of invisibility she could not imagine.


However, when she mentioned Levi, Priscilla had to scoff at her genuine concern over what her brother thought. She hardly believed that his two cents of input mattered with the mentality he had now. Everything he he said had to be taken with a grain of salt, or else she would've

definitely

punched him by now. The only great thing about Levi in recent days was that he didn’t discriminate. After all, he treated

everyone

like they were

shit

– no matter blood, privilege, or power. Priscilla could only shake her head in response.


“Oh yeah, about him…I hope he didn’t flip out on you too much; I honestly wasn’t counting on him to wake up that early after the whole deal with last night. I mean, I would’ve brought you back to my place, but I don’t live in the city. Sorry about that,” she apologized. There was also the fact that she hadn’t exactly spent the night in her own bed, but she kept that part to herself for obvious reasons.


“Honestly though, don’t mind Levi. He kind of hates everyone…Well, he’s been in a crappy mood for years…You’re not doing too badly actually,” she finished with a shrug. Perhaps it was the fact that he was

super

hung-over, but he hadn’t thrown as major of a tantrum she thought he would’ve. At that point, he had already blown her expectations, albeit they

were

extremely low

..

. “You can definitely stay for lunch.”


Trying to reassure Anna, Priscilla smiled again, for real this time. “Don’t worry about it. Besides, I don’t think he’s up for eating all of this by himself,” she said, indicating towards the bag of takeout once again. “And I'm not really either.”