Realistic or Modern 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐭?

[amberskies]

Ellie gave Skylar a smidge of a smile in response, before holding the slushie with her hands once more, trying to focus on the game but inevitably zoning out and thinking about Gage. She didn't have feelings for him anymore, not since a while, and she didn't think they were back. She wasn't sure, she was just really confused at the moment. It was really good while it lasted, and she never felt as happy with someone else in a relationship, but as she began to remember how he began to act during the last two months of their relationship, she began to feel conflicted. Dating popular boys was never a good idea, at least to Ellie.

She remained lost in her thoughts for at least a solid minute before realising she had been staring into absolute nothingness the entire time, snapping back into reality and subtly shifting in her seat a little. No way was she focusing on the game now.

 

[esor]

Sky was easily able to spot Ellie’s zoning out and fidgeting in her seat. The loud teenagers and the fact Josh was focusing on the game meant she thought it’d be alright to speak to Ellie.

“You sure you’re okay?” She asked her friend quietly, leaning over to her a little to keep it more discreet than not. Whether Ellie still had feelings for Gage or not, Sky knew it was a strange situation to be in. She wouldn’t be able to focus on the game either if her friend was in peril, she figured maybe they could move but it would probably cause more attention than necessary, especially if they were on their way to establishing being on good terms, comfortable with the presence of one another. She supposed they’d actually been quite lucky to not run into each other that often considering they went to the same school.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie turned over to look at Skylar as she seemed to check up on her, offering her a slight shrug before leaning in closer so they could whisper quietly to one another.

"Yeah. Just weird. Part of me can't stop thinking about how sweet he was to me, but then I remember how it ended and.." She shrugged, overall feeling incredibly conflicted over the whole situation.

"I think he got cuter," She then added quietly, holding in her small laugh. It had literally been 3 months or something like that, so she doubted that was actually the case. It was probably just because she didn't bump into him all that often. Sure, they had class together pretty often, but they typically ended up sitting on opposite sides of the classroom, or at lunch they'd sit at tables far from one another. Not on purpose, at least to some extent, but particularly because their cliques were very different.

 

[esor]

Sky nodded, relived she was alright.

"Your mind is playing tricks." She giggled. "He's not any cuter." She furrowed her brows, maybe it was since Gage wasn't her type, or she never looked at him in that way because he was involved with Ellie, but he was an objectively attractive guy and that probably didn't increase over the past three months.

"Forget about him, think about number 12!" She suggested in an attempt to help Ellie move her mind off of Gage. She then quietened her voice, whispering in her ear, "Or maybe the guy that gave you that slushie." She joked, only wanting to tease her. But she did notice that Alex gave her his slushie, and that surprised her because he really didn't seem like the generous type.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie let out a quiet laugh, shaking her head a little. Maybe he didn't get cuter and she just hadn't seen him in a while. She hummed in thought upon hearing her suggest number 12, immediately facing forward in an attempt to locate him on the field. There he was; with the ball, too. He looked good while playing football, dribbling the ball across the field with expertise and avoiding any Sunnydale High players. As good as he looked, Ellie was still team Sunnydale High.

Ellie snapped her head in Sky's direction with lowered eyebrows upon hearing her mention Alexander like that. It had sort of caught her off-guard, since there was absolutely nothing going on between the two of them.

"You're one to talk. Josh gave you a whole ass sweater." She retorted, casually sipping on her slushie as she looked at Skylar expectantly. No way was she letting Sky get away with teasing her without getting a few shots in herself.

 

[esor]

Sky showed a huge grin and grabbed her hand in excitement. "I know!" She replied, not thinking twice about the fact Ellie was teasing her back. She was completely elated about the fact Josh had given her his sweater, tapping her feet excitedly on the floor. It still hadn't crossed her mind that it was just a platonic favour from a friend, she'd probably need someone to tell her that for it to sink in.

The girl let go of Ellie's hand and wrapped her arms around herself, like she was hugging the sweater, the grin not fading.

"A slushie is cool, too, I guess." She told Ellie to poke fun at her. She knew there was nothing going on between Alex and Ellie but it was still fun to tease her.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie playfully rolled her eyes at the girl, before returning her attention to the football game. A few more looks were exchanged between Gage and Ellie throughout the course of the night, but nothing beyond that. Even when the game came to a close and the group of friends proceeded to get up to leave, Ellie walked past him without uttering a word, too caught up in a conversation with Lindsey over her crush on Player 7.

It was a Tuesday night, and everyone had school the following day, so both Josh and Ellie decided to call it a night and head off home. The parking lot was filled with parents picking up their children to take them home. The night had ended well; Sunnydale High beat Shadyside School by one goal, much to player 12 and 7's dismay. Ellie knew her parents were probably still caught up at work, so she ended up walking home whereas Josh hopped into his car and got home relatively quickly. He spent the rest of the evening most definitely not doing homework but rather toying around with his guitar, plucking the right strings until it sounded right.

The following morning, Ellie woke up slightly earlier than normal because she had gone to bed at a more reasonable time. Her father was about to leave the house when she got to the kitchen, and as she fixed herself a quick sandwich, she stole a glance of the television channel her father had left on. The news channel. How boring and typical. Her eyes returned to the sandwich she was making, until the reporter saying 'breaking news' caught her attention.

"Another body has been discovered last night." The reporter began. Ellie stared at the television, frozen, as the woman on the screen proceeded to discuss that the body belonged to another high schooler, a girl in Ellie's math class. Sadie Burns. The M.O. was the same as Heather's murderer, meaning the two murders were apparently connected. Though to become a serial killer one technically had to have three bodies, Ellie had a feeling this would turn serial soon enough. She sucked in a deep breath, staring at the picture of Sadie on the screen as she tried focusing on her sandwich.

Josh, too, was staring at the television screen with raised up eyebrows. He didn't care that much for Sadie, he barely knew her, but he was nonetheless surprised that there was yet another murder in Sunnydale. Even if the police didn't connect it so early, he was sure everyone else would've assumed they were connected. Murders just don't happen here. He felt a little more unsettled compared to when he heard about Heather's murder. He saw Sadie at the game last night, cheering on her boyfriend playing on the field. It just felt weird that that was the last time he'd see her. His mind was on the murder as he left the house with his car, making his way to school.

 

[esor]

That Wednesday morning news was very unexpected to Skylar, being completely convinced that the situation of Heather's murder was a one time thing meant that when she heard a second body had been discovered she was beyond shocked. It was mainly unexpected to her since it was unheard of in Sunnydale, and honestly she didn't want to believe someone was capable of this kind of horror.

She found out whilst eating breakfast, shovelling cereal into her mouth so she wouldn't be late walking there. By this time her parents had already gone to work so neither could take her, but she wasn't too worried. There would be a lot of people walking around at this time and many people driving to work, no chance would a serial killer strike now, she thought. But she was put off her food, placing her bowl and spoon in the sink as the news settled in. She felt sad, not that she was particularly close to Sadie Burns, but she was a friendly face she'd see around school. Skylar felt devastated for her boyfriend, she couldn't imagine how it felt.

She began to walk to school as if on autopilot, her mind in thought she wasn't necessarily paying much attention to where she was going. The sun was shining, not too warm but it was there, it felt wrong. It felt as though the sky should be grey and gloomy, the sun had no place in such a sombre time.

Alex couldn't say that he was overly shocked to hear the news, in his mind it was only going to be sooner or later before there was another victim. The boy was unfamiliar with the girl who had been murdered, but it was a shame either way. His mom had informed him of what had happened, even worse considering he was fast asleep when she woke him up with it. Not the best thing to wake up to. He wasn't a warm hearted person but the news of someone his age being murdered still hit hard. In all honesty he was just relieved it wasn't someone he was closer to.

He got into his car and drove to school, parking a little bit away to avoid nosey students investigating his car on their way to or back from school. Whilst he was thankful none of his friends were harmed, he wasn't going to show that to them. He thought that'd just have been uncomfortable for them all- none of them needed any more anguish, he mused.

 

[amberskies]

Despite not being acquainted with Sadie, Ellie still felt somewhat numb. So Heather's death wasn't a one time thing. At this point she was already walking toward the school, headphones on and the song 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson blasting through her headphones. The song was very fitting to the situation, and only when Ellie snapped back into reality did she realise how poor her song choice was. She immediately hit skip, and proceeded with approaching the familiar picnic bench and sitting atop it.

Ellie had work tonight. She didn't want to bring it up out of fear of only causing concern among her friends. So, she sat there quietly and chewed on her bubblegum as she awaited the arrival of the rest of her friends, blowing bubbles on occasion out of boredom.

Josh's reaction to Sadie's death was a little different than the one had toward Heather's. It wasn't a matter of who he was close to, but the fact that the police had managed to confirm so early on that the deaths were connected. It made him feel at slight unease as he drove, eyeing people as he drove past them. Any one of them could've been the killer. He shifted in his leather seat for a moment, gripping the steering wheel tighter as he drove.

At some point he reached the parking lot and after leaving his car appropriately parked, he exited the vehicle and joined the quiet Ellie on the familiar picnic table.

 

[esor]

Alex soon arrived at the picnic table, standing in his usual spot at the end of it. He was extremely unsure of what attitude to present to his friends, he wondered if they were hurt or upset by the news- it wasn't like he was happy, far from it, he just didn't think he'd be as sombre as anyone else may be.

"Morning." He spoke, tone calm and neutral, like all emotion was absent from his demeanour. Being there, he was honestly just glad to see Ellie. He was glad nothing had happened to her, and whilst he was thinking about that he got to wondering if she had work, and if so would she be walking home? By herself? That seemed dangerous, especially now he knew it was a one time thing. He did care about her, he cared about all his friends. Kind of. But he was just weary of what could happen to her, especially late at night.

Sky turned up no less than a minute later, pulling her headphones off of her head that she had put on halfway through her trek. She didn't listen to anything, though, it was more so that people would be less likely to talk to her if they thought she was listening to music. She felt too weird, too sad and disturbed by the new death to listen to something that made her so happy.

She pushed her headphones into her bag and sat down on the table, not really saying anything. She didn't know what to say.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie zoned out at some point as she sat alone on the picnic table, staring off into space with tired eyes. She had the tendency to zone out often, particularly when she had something on her mind. She wasn't close to Sadie at all, but it was the idea of another soul being taken at such a young age that didn't sit right with her. That could have very easily been her, or one of her friends.

It was only when someone joined the picnic table that she snapped out of it, raising her eyebrows up for a moment as she turned over to glance at him. She proceeded to pull her headphones off of her head, completely forgetting she was lost in her own world of music the entire time. She responded to Alexander with a hum, unsure of what to say. What could be said, really?

By the time Josh had joined the table, everyone including Lindsey had already arrived. Lindsey, unlike the rest of them, was somewhat friends with Sadie. They weren't the best of friends, but this death still hit Lindsey harder than the first one because of the friendship they had. Josh had sat down on the picnic table, offering everyone on the table a pursed smile before turning his attention to Lindsey. He wasn't about to go discussing Sadie's death, and he wasn't sure how to comfort Lindsey at all, so he simply sat there with his arms crossed atop the table, his eyes shifting between Ellie and Sky in hopes of one of them saying something to Lindsey.

 

[esor]

There was no way Alex was going to make an attempt to talk to Lindsey, never even mind him trying to comfort her. Though she hadn't yet said anything about the situation, Alex was sure that she was upset, he could tell by the look on her face. Whilst he never spoke much or did anything to allude to it, he thought he was quite good at reading people. Certain people at least...Or maybe just Lindsey since it was quite obvious she was saddened by the situation. He was probably just trying to convince himself that he wasn't a cold hearted, emotionless guy.

Sky was not so good with words when it came to grievances or any sort of melancholic situation, so she leant over and hugged Lindsey. It was the best way she knew how to comfort her so thought she may as well give it a go. It was nice to feel Lindsey's stiff, shocked frame soften a little in her warm embrace. At the same time, Sky stroked her hair, small fingers running through to the top of the blonde hair.

But she felt a hug wouldn't suffice. "I'm so sorry Lindsey." She consoled, voice gentle and calm.

Lindsey hugged the girl back lightly, simply raising her hands up to place them on her body as an attempt at a hug. She must've been appreciative of the gesture, an attempt at comforting her wouldn't go to waste.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie hadn't caught Josh's look of trying to get them to comfort Lindsey. She had stared off into the abyss once more, the noise around her muffled by the sound of her heart beating in her chest as she thought of the idea of a murderer running loose about Sunnydale, and walking home late at night. Sadie's body hadn't been found in her house, the location wasn't disclosed to the public, which meant the killer wasn't picky about setting. Then she got to thinking; was the killer only targeting girls? The fact that both victims so far had been girls could either be a pure coincidence, or the killers preference.

Josh felt a little relieved he didn't have to do the comfort talking. He wasn't bad with giving advice, but sometimes he tended to say the wrong things and he knew that was the last thing Lindsey needed right now. Besides, he felt like he was standing in solidarity with her regardless of being silent. His eyes followed Sky moving closer to Lindsey to wrap her into a comforting hug, almost in awe at the sweetness from the brunette. Sky was a kind person, Josh knew that. He eventually averted his gaze, staring down at his slender fingers as they toyed with the one ring he wore.

 

[esor]

Slowly Sky pulled away from the hug, figuring Lindsey wouldn't want her space invaded for too long anyway. Sky gave her all the comfort she could in that moment and hoped it would suffice, perhaps tide the girl over emotional-support wise for a while. At least she knew she was cared for. Skylar was very frightened about the fact both victims were female, a serial killer was scary enough but whilst she was seemingly prime victim material is was even more terrifying. At least, though, she didn't have to worry about Josh becoming one of the unlucky people who died at the hands of this killer, yet at least. She still worried regardless but not as much as she worried about Ellie or Lindsey.

She had no idea what she would do if one of her friends fell victim to this, her life would be turned upside down. The girl valued her friends far beyond belief and would feel completely lost without them; at the same time she was reluctant for them to all be living their teenage lives in fear. It wasn't fair, none of it was fair.

Alex felt uncomfortable whilst watching the girls hug, not because it was an objectively uncomfortable thing to watch, he just wasn't much of a hugger. The opposite in fact, he would outwardly reject physical contact with pretty much anyone other than his mother. Maybe it was because he wasn't close to anyone that he'd hold to the standard of hugging but he wasn't complaining about this. He liked his own space.

 

[amberskies]

Lindsey, too, pulled away from the hug before looking up at Ellie, who offered her a small but sweet smile, which Lindsey returned. Ellie nudged the girls foot underneath the table, almost as a sign of solidarity.

"There's a candlelight vigil tonight at 7." Lindsey eventually spoke, breaking the unbearable silence. It was clear the blonde wanted to move onto a slightly different subject, less on her own pain and more on Sadie in general. "Are you guys going?" She asked, looking at each one of them, hoping they would all come.

"I can't i'm really sorry." Ellie told Lindsey sincerely, assuming Lindsey knew she had work that evening. Her shift started at 5 and would end at 10 or 11 or so, so there was physically no way she'd make it to the event. She couldn't cancel her shift either because she was taking over someone else's shift.

"I'll come." Josh spoke up. He wasn't planning on going for Sadie, but moreso for Lindsey and to sort of be there for her without all the hugging part. He, too, wasn't much of a hugger, only with the right people. That list of people was rather short.

 

[esor]

"I'll come too, Lindsey." Sky spoke quietly. If not only going there to be with and comfort Lindsey, she wanted to pay her respects to Sadie. She wished at 17 she wouldn't be going to the second candlelight vigil for someone she knew, someone her age. It was such a painful thing to go through, the pain of which was only heightened by the fear of it happening to her or one of her friends.

Alex didn't pay much notice to answering the question, he was mainly focused on the fact that Ellie wasn't going to go. He wasn't one to pry or ask questions, he was just curious. He could've guessed she had work, but he wanted to know for sure so he tapped her shoulder to get her attention. He cocked his head to the side, with a wondering expression on his face, assuming that Ellie would just know what question he wanted to ask. He couldn't ask outwardly, that would bring too much attention considering he hadn't even said he was going himself.

 

[amberskies]

Josh wasn't initially planning on going to the candlelight vigil. It was a spur of the moment decision, which he knew he wouldn't regret upon hearing Skylar stating that she'd join them. Not that he'd regret going even if she couldn't, but Sky's presence was a bonus. He glanced over at her for a moment, before returning his hands down to his fingers, pulling a cigarette out of the pack and sticking it between his lips before lighting it, exhaling a puff of smoke away from his friends since he wasn't the type to blow smoke in his friends' faces, literally.

"Work. Can't cancel." Ellie told him, a hint of a pout sitting on her face in reaction. "You going?" She asked, keeping her voice slightly quiet in an attempt to not have everyone pay attention to them. Considering what had happened at Lindsey's a few days ago, Ellie thought it would be more awkward between the two of them, but it was surprisingly normal. Did he even remember anything from the bathroom? Who knew.

 

[esor]

Alex shook his head. "Not my thing." He told her, not really feeling the need to explain himself any more than that. It was true, it wasn't his type of thing considering he hadn't really even spoken to Sadie, if it was one of his friends then it would be a different story. He also just didn't see the point, he felt like he didn't have to go to something like that to pay respects to her, plus so many people would be going and it would be crowded. Plus Ellie wasn't going, so he wouldn't even gain anything from it. Rather selfish, yes, but he did not care.

He did think about Ellie being at work so late, it didn't surprise him that she was but he was quite concerned. Taking a mental note of her reply, he tapped his fingers gently on the table. Despite him being stood, his arms were long enough and hands big enough for him to tap on the table below with ease. He thought about heading to the video store that night, but didn't admit to himself that it was so he could see Ellie there.

Skylar was quite glad that Josh was going, it warmed her heart that he was going to be there, like he cared about comforting Lindsey and being there for people who were grieving Sadie, showing his respect. It almost brought a smile to her face, but she was still rather shaken up and sad about the death, too much so to crack even a small grin.

 

[amberskies]

Ellie nodded a little in response, deciding to not press on the matter. She knew he was a rather private person anyway, so pushing him for an answer wasn't going to end well. Besides, she wasn't particularly nosy. The bell rang shortly after that interaction, and Ellie grabbed the headphones sitting in front of her on the table along with her cassette player and backpack. She got to her feet, giving her friends a quick wave before heading off to class. It was clear there wasn't going to be any conversation between them, so Ellie decided she'd much rather walk in solitude than endure the depressing mood among the group.

Josh, too, began to get up, taking a few last puffs of his cigarette before tossing it to the ground and crushing it with his left sneaker. He went on to put away the pack of cigs before sliding one backpack sling across his shoulder, heading in the direction of class, unsure of whether the group was going to follow him or not. He wasn't interested in being early to class, but he figured he had nothing else to do anyway.

The day went on to be simultaneously very boring and depressing. There was a lack of chatter among most of the students, and tears from others. Josh couldn't help but wonder who the killer could be. His eyes scanned the classroom on multiple occasions throughout the day, building psychological profiles of each peer purely out of boredom.

 

[esor]

Alex was the last to walk back into school, he was still lost in his own unlikely world of thought and didn't care much to snap out of it just to say goodbye to people that he'd probably come across in the next few hours anyway. He never removed his backpack, it hung low on his right shoulder whilst he stood there, staring into oblivion whilst his friends stood up. In the end he most likely wouldn't even turn up to his first class, he'd probably stay outside and enjoy the cool breeze and near silence.

Sky stood up and headed to where she needed to be too. It was weird to see everyone so sombre, especially since the football game put the students in such high spirits- at that time it seemed as though nothing would bring them down. Except, of course, another victim. When she got into class she paid every little attention, understandably her mind was elsewhere. It was for the majority of the day, actually, and whilst she was glad to get home she couldn't shift her mind from Sadie as she got ready to attend the vigil.

Alex didn't go to his class, he remained outside and smoked a cigarette or two and munched on on what was supposed to be his lunch. To him, it was a second breakfast. He did attend the rest of his classes that day, and honestly could just not wait for the day to be over. More so, for the night to come. When he got home he said a hello to his mother and fixed himself a quick sandwich before hibernating in his room.

 

[amberskies]

At some point the school day was over, and everyone was dismissed. There wasn't the usual excitement surrounding the students at the prospect of going home; most knew Sadie. There was grief piling up, and all everyone could do was hope that this was a double homicide with no continuation. Ellie immediately set off to walk home, and for the two hours until work, she ate and did a bit of homework before setting off toward the video store.

Josh wasn't particularly sad about Sadie's death, and luckily he wasn't the type to have his mood strongly influenced by whoever was around him, so he felt okay by the end of the day. The vigil wasn't until 7, which meant Josh had quite a bit of time to kill until then. He spent it playing guitar in his room, drowning out everything around me with the melody he composed with his fingers across the strings.

He left for the vigil at around 6:45. Most of his family was coming along with him, and whoever didn't fit in the car or simply didn't want to go (particularly the little ones) stayed behind. He recalled Heather's vigil happening at a much later time, but he assumed that because the case was becoming serial, they had made it earlier.

The tall boy's eyes scanned the crowd as he stood there with a candle, searching for any familiar face. There was one in particular he found himself searching for but would never admit to. His slender fingers gently held the candle, the wick yet to be lit. His eyebrows were slightly lowered in concentration, scanning every face in search of Skylar as well as Lindsey, whom they both came for in the first place.

It seemed like Sadie's death only brought more customers to the video store despite it being a Tuesday. She recalled reading somewhere that during anxious situations like the one they were experiencing, people were more prone to watching anxiety-inducing movies. She couldn't remember the science behind it, but either way she thought that was interesting. Ellie spent most of her time by the register, checking out the videos people wanted to rent and occasionally helping the other worker with restocking the shelves with returned videos. It was a little hectic, but at least time was passing quickly.

 

[esor]

Alex wasn't one to have many hobbies, or do much homework, so often he found himself at a loss of what to do. There was a declining rate of people who needed building work done or something his family business could attend to, so even work wasn't an option most of the time anymore. Not being a very sociable person meant that Alex preferred spending more time in his bedroom- it was pretty plain, messy sometimes but his mother was awfully kind and cleaned it for him most days when he was at school.

When seven emerged he walked downstairs to see his mother putting on her shoes. He wondered where she was going until it hit him, she was going to the vigil. Now he felt bad about not going, she didn't even know Sadie and was still going. But that quickly brushed off when he asked if she wanted a lift, but she was going with one of the neighbours and would be accompanied by them all night, so he had no need to worry. Nodding, he waved to her then went to the kitchen to fix himself something to eat. He snacked on a piece of bread whilst he moved around the appliances, creating more mess than necessary as he attempted to cook for him and his father, who he assumed wasn't going to the vigil.

Xander was rushing to make dinner because he was excited for something. That was rare, he definitely wasn't one to look forward to things and even though he hadn't even done it yet, he was feeling heroic and boastful.

Sky had set off with her parents at around 6:30, she was itching to get there early so she could find Lindsey so that she wouldn't be mourning alone. Her parents weren't too far away when she saw Lindsey, and gave her a careful but tender hug so that she wouldn't accidentally set something alight with her candle. That would be the last thing anyone needed, surely. She gave a sad smile in hopes of comforting her, then stood with her candle quietly. Wondering where Josh was, she poked her head up out of the crowd a little and let her eyes dart from head to head hoping she would see him. But soon enough she stopped, not wanting it to seem like she was restless. He'd be here soon, she thought.

 

[amberskies]

The store was emptying out at this point. It was nearing 10 o'clock, and everyone knew that was around the time the video store would close its doors. Ellie sat at the register with her elbow on the counter and her chin resting atop the palm of her hand, staring off into space as she waited for her eyes to pick up on someone approaching the counter. There were three or so people left in the entire store, and after they paid one by one, the other two workers signed off and went home, leaving Ellie to close the store by herself as per usual. She didn't mind it, but she couldn't deny the slight fear she felt upon being far from home so late at night.

Her eyes were glued to the front door as she made her way toward it, her fingers gripping the long sleeves of her black oversized sweater, which she had paired with a simple pair of jeans. She had chosen to wear something not-as-cute in hopes that it would draw less attention to herself. For the last few meters as she walked to the door, she ran toward it before crashing onto the glass door, staring out into the dim parking lot. Her heart was beating hard in her chest. She wasn't sure why she was so scared in the first place, but she couldn't help it. She doubted a killer would specifically target a video store, unless the victims weren't random and specially picked.

After her little moment of panic, she went on to vacuum and afterwards mop the floors, trying to focus as less as possible on the front doors and more on getting through her tasks so she could get her ass home.

-

As Josh was staring out into the crowd, taller than most of the people in his vicinity, he found himself more focused on finding that familiar face than on the sibling nagging and tugging at his sleeve. It wasn't until he received a jab in the stomach that Josh snapped his head down to peer at his 12 year old brother who had an annoyed frown on his face.

"What?" Josh curtly asked his sibling, not returning the frown that was given to him.

"Was she your friend?" His little brother asked, the frown dissipating. At first, Josh had a slight look of confusion on his face, upon remembering he was at Sadie's vigil.

"No." He told him, giving his brother a smile before returning his attention to the crowd.

There they were, the familiar head of brown locks and the blonde alongside her. He excused himself and left his family behind, approaching the two girls with a slight smile. Not too wide given his regular personality or the current situation.

 

[esor]

Alex was in a very cheerful mood as he slid into the drivers seat of his car. Anyone else would've felt bad for feeling so chirpy in a time of such distress but he didn't care all that much. He did, however, notice it was dark now and that spurred him to hurry a little. He started his car and began to drive to the video store, eyes focussed on the road. His venture would've proved fruitless if he had crashed.

As soon as the video store came into view, a smirk grew on his face. He parked, humming loudly to himself when he released his seatbelt from it's buckle, letting it slide up across his body in a swift motion. He pulled a cigarette out of his pocket, it was a little crumpled but he'd take what he could get, and placed it on top of his ear. He'd smoke it now but considering the circumstances it would've been risky if he set off the smoke alarm in the video store, and caused a lot of hassle for Ellie he imagined. He walked towards the doors and pushed one open, walking inside with a smile.

"Evening, El." He charmed, the smirk still on his face.

-

Sky again had to hold back a smile when she saw Josh, well, she still greeted him by upturning her lips slightly but anything more than that and she would've looked psychotic. Grinning at a classmates vigil probably wouldn't paint her in the best light.

"Hey." She said to him. "I'm happy to see you." She told him.

"Thanks for coming." The girl added after a second of silence, candle lighting up her face with a gentle amber hue. It was also what was keeping her warm, the night time brought a chill, or maybe it was the sorrow. Either way, the candle was nice to hold.

Lindsey wasn't paying much attention to her surroundings, which was beyond understandable and she was in doubt that Josh or Sky would take it personally in any way. She was too busy looking at the pictures of Sadie and choking back tears.

 

[amberskies]

The store had gotten rather busy earlier, and a lot of videos had been dropped off after people finishing renting them. One of the tasks she had was to put them back in their place for a new customer to rent them the following day, so that was exactly what she was doing at the moment. Music played softly in the background as she placed the movies Candyman and Child's Play 3 back in their appropriate spot, fixing them so they sat perfectly on the shelf.

There was a little bell attached to the top of the front door, which meant Ellie was notified anytime someone was entering or exiting the store. But seeing as it was past 10pm, the only part of her brain that was expecting it to ring was the paranoid side that was expecting to run into a serial killer, as unreasonable as it may have sounded.

She whipped around on her feet to face the front door, almost dropping the copy of The Shining between her fingers as she spun around. Her brain registered that it was none other than Xander, and she felt herself let out a quiet sigh of relief. She had simultaneously been frightened out of her mind but also comforted, knowing she was no longer alone in the store.

"Xander, hey." Ellie gave him a little smile, before tilting her head slightly as she realised she wasn't sure why he was here. "What's up?" She asked, assuming it had to be important if he was taking time out of his night to talk to her.

-

Josh was about to say the same thing back to her, before realising he had to hold back his enthusiasm. He simply gave her a small nod paired with that small smile and a 'yup', before turning to look at Lindsey. Anyone could read the expression of sorrow on her face. The smile was wiped right off of his, and he proceeded to wrap an arm around Lindsey's shoulders, sort of a halfway between wanting to support her but nonetheless avoiding hugs.

As he did that, he realised his candle was still unlit. Unable to reach into his pocket for a lighter, and fearing his parents would be suspicious as to why he had one in the first place, he simply held up his candle and let the wick at the tip of it touch the flame on Sky's candle, eventually lighting into a soft flame. The gentle breeze caused the shadows on Joshua's face to dance, exposing the different hollows of his face as he looked over at the photos of Sadie.