Realistic or Modern The Kids Aren't Alright | Main

[KingofAesir]

MOOD: Determined

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Hawking House

basics

MENTIONS: Idk The Gang


INT: Lulu PenguinFox

tags

TL;DR Almost killed her friends

tl;dr

Sawyer

I'm Georgia Peachy, believe me.

Sawyer was completely fazed out from the rest of the world around her. The mounting adrenaline in her system was focused purely on the futile task that lay in front of her. The mound of debris that had fallen over the door seemed to Sawyer like a mountain too large to climb and too wide to go around, and what did people do when they couldn’t get past mountains? They bored straight through them. Sawyer didn’t have any sticks of dynamite to shove in dug out crevices, nor did she have a pickaxe or shovel to dig with. Not that that would make much of a difference anyway, this wasn’t a mountain and she couldn’t blow it up no matter how much she might want too. This didn’t stop her from digging though. The muscles in her arms strained as she pulled out piece after piece of fallen roof and tossed them behind her, a few particularly heavy pieces leaving small holes in the wall behind them as Sawyer threw. Adrenaline was an amazing thing. Sawyer had read stories of people fueled by the stuff being able to lift cars off of loved ones. It could also be a detriment because the fear pumping through her was fogging her brain and clouding over her eyes and the only thing she could think about was what was on the other side of that mountain. The thought made her want to puke. Just the simple potential that her friends could be hurt all because this whole thing was her stupid idea...Sawyer didn’t want to think about that anymore. Right now, all she could do was try her damndest to get them out.

Sawyer was so absorbed in her futile task that she didn’t even notice when Lulu set to work on her own. Something sharp cut at Sawyer’s hand but the brief shock of pain faded quickly. When she pulled it away the site of a thin trail of blood trickling down pulled her out of her cloud for just enough time to hear a grunt come from Lulu. She finally glanced up from the rubble to see the other girl with her feet set squarely on the wall and her back pressed against the end of a wooden beam. Sawyer shot up to her feet, but before she could do anything to help, Lulu had already pushed the beam through. So, she kind of just stood there with her teeth grinding nervously and her breath caught in her throat as Lulu’s bent by the hole she had made. Sawyer had never had a body heaving sigh quite like the one that escaped her when Lulu said that she’d heard their voices on the other side of that mountain, which now appeared much more like the debri it was. She turned away from Lulu briefly as the other girl let herself fall to the floor. Sawyer’s hands placed themselves on top of her head and she breathed in deeply a few times. She could hear the voice of her coach in the back of her head.

“Breathe, Andrews. You’re this team's captain, now get out there and be one.”

Breathe, Andrews. They need you.

With a new fire lit behind her eyes, Sawyer turned back to Lulu resolute. As long as they knew Zach and Harper were alive, there was nothing that was going to deter her. There was nothing that was going to stop her from getting to them. But first she needed a plan. As she was trying to think of a plan, a sudden burst of pain bloomed at the base of her skull. With all her adrenaline dying down, all that pain she should have been feeling was now returning. Sawyer hissed and reached up to the back of her head, coming away with a bloody hand. She frowned as she started down at it and wiped the stuff away on her jeans. Her head was bleeding. Great. The feeling of Lulu’s hand grabbing her own pulled her away from her concerns. Lulu said something about finding a way out or something but Sawyer was too busy watching their fingers interlace to really hear any of that. It took a few beats before Sawyer was back to reality and shaking away her thoughts.
“Uh, yeah.” Sawyer shook her head again and glanced around the dark hallway they were entrapped in, “We have to make sure Zach and Harper can get out first….I think,” She lead Lulu forward, stooping to pick up her fallen axe as she led the other girl to another door, “This room connects with the other. They should be able to get back out through here.” Sawyer tried to open the door, but had no luck. Cursing under her breath, she unlaced her hand from Lulu’s and moved the girl back a few feet by her shoulders.

“Stand here a second.” She grinned the best she could through a dust covered face and turned back to the door. Another deep breath and Sawyer was slamming her shoulder into the door which slid open easily after the second try, the piece of beam that had been blocking it falling away. Sawyer nodded resolutely and went back to retrieve Lulu’s hand once more before stepping into the room. Her booted feet tested weak floorboards and she watched as one gave way and clattered to the dark floor below. They’d have to be careful here.

“Be careful. Follow my steps.” Sawyer’s head light illuminated the conjoining door across the room from them. She pulled Lulu closer to her and began stepping carefully across the floor once more, testing each step thoroughly before moving forward.

“We’re coming, guys. Slowly, but we’re coming.” Her words were more of a whisper than anything else but it reassured her all the same. She was coming.

code by valen t.

 

[Soap]

MOOD: Yawn. Huh?! No. I wasn’t drooling...

OUTFIT: Uniform

LOCATION: Diner

basics

MENTIONS:


INT: Clark, Isa.

KingofAesir [/USER]

tags

TL;DR Dreamin’ on the job.

tl;dr

Josephine

Do you believe in magic? In a young girl’s heart?

The two sat in the principal’s office.

Paint covered and guilt ridden.

Josephine didn’t know what her dad was going to do. Much less what the school would. There wasn’t any time to redo the float in time for the festival without the students missing out on important schoolwork. Not to mention the incredibly awkward situation… where they were practically inches from each other’s lips…

“I do hope you both know what kind of trouble you're in.”

His stern voice instantly brought Josie from the daydream she set herself in. The blond blinked in surprise and set her gaze down to the floor, swallowing hard.

She’s never been in trouble.

Well, there was that one time with Leroy Jackson in the fourth grade and he cut off Josie’s ponytail. She asked Liz to kick him where the sun didn’t shine. Look, Josie was never always sunshines and lollipops. She had a mean streak… sometimes. It’s entirely too possible. Some people just didn’t see it.

“The Apple Harvest is something this town prides itself on! The parade is something everyone looks forward to, and the two of you are the reason why they’ll be disappointed.”

She hadn’t meant to ruin the float. Neither of them did.

But Josie would be lying if she said she regretted it. The float was covered in colors. Red, white, light green, yellow. The paint splatters were everywhere to be found, practically every inch had looked like an art project in itself.

Believe it or not… Josie was proud of her mistake.

Happy Little Accidents.

“Detention for the next three weeks— and the both of you are lucky you aren’t suspended, but given your reputations…” He trailed off, letting his silence linger for an answer.

“Go. The both of you.” He ordered, gesturing towards the door, rubbing at the temples of his head before taking his seat back onto the office chair.

Clark and Josie stood up without a word, walking out of the principal’s office. The door closed behind them and their gazes caught.

“I—“

“I—“

“Sorry, you—“

“No, you—“

The pair simultaneously spoke and stuttered to a stop, only realizing that the other was trying to get a word out, and Josie gestured for Clark to continue.

He stood quiet for a moment, allowing her that time to speak if she suddenly decided to.

She didn’t.

“I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

“...” Josephine didn’t utter a word, instead glancing behind her towards the gym. “I think the float looks amazing.”

Her words took him by surprise, and instead of replying— a smile appeared onto his lips, and Josie couldn’t help but return it with a brighter one.

—

It’d been hours.

A glance at the clock told her she’d have to be here for another two, and the blonde leaned her elbows against the counter, two palms underneath her chin propping her up as Josephine dared to close her eyes for the third time today.

Flashes of light blue irises switched in and out for brown ones, shoulder length dark hair and the next second, and the next vision it fell to the middle of their back.

Hands were cupped against her cheek, pulling her in for their lips to touch and at first— she knew who this was entirely. It was Clark. Without a doubt. It’d felt so real despite their lips never touching in the first place, but apparently today was enough for her imagination.

It wasn’t the first time she’s dreamt of something like this. Josephine pulled away from Clark— except it wasn’t Clark anymore.

The sound of chimes awoke Josephine with a startle. She was an extremely light sleeper— and how she was running on barely a few hours and still able to wake up from the diner door swinging open… well, that was a question to ask later. Josie quickly rubbed at her eyes, and partly any drool that probably— no doubt had found it’s way to hang off her lips. Thankfully, Isa hadn’t caught her sleepin’ on the job, and Josie was extremely glad for it. Last thing she needed was to be caught drooling.

“Hey, Sunny.”

Isa spoke, letting the door close behind her as she trailed into The Diner with a plastic bag in hand and Josie’s curiously was quickly piqued.

“How are you on this fine day?”

Her words almost caused a snort to release out of Josie’s nose— remember, almost. She wasn’t all that keen on snorting and drooling in front of her co-worker just yet. Even if she wasn’t working tonight.

Josie had class, okay?

… Maybe she didn’t know the first thing about proper class etiquette. But hey, it was the thought that she thought she had that… counted?

“Well, aren’t you peppy today? I’m a little surprised. Where's the dark and mysterious Isa?”

If puppy dog eyes were a thing, Josephine was practically the master of it. It was her first language— really. Native speaker and whatnot. Yes, Josie would totally make a great puppy. A Golden Retriever maybe…

She could see it now… land o’pups, and boom— Golden Retriever Queen Josie sitting at her throne at the end of a red carpet, all the snacks she could ever have. … wow, she… really needed some sleep, huh?

“But to answer your question— I am perfectly perfect.” Josie rambled, absentmindedly wiping down the exact same spot onto the counter over and over.

Josephine glanced towards the bag, continuing with her ‘cleaning’ as it was the only thing keeping her remotely awake.

“What’s all that? Did you actually stop for apple juice? You didn’t have to! We have some here...” Maybe not the exact kind, but did it really matter? It was a nice gesture but it seemed like she’d went out of the way for it.

“But thank you.” Josie said with a roll of her eyes at the brunette’s ridiculous— but sweet antics.

code by valen t.

 

[tamarapasek]

MOOD: Sad/Jealous

OUTFIT: Same crop top as before
LOCATION: Living Room

basics

MENTIONS:
@MePersonally
INT:
@Qwertycakes
@Chimney Swift
@Elf Ruler

tags

TL;DR She's not Juliet ok?

tl;dr

Ashley Park

I've been thinking about you. Wondering if I'm caught up in your head at night.

.

Ashley pretended not to notice Dustin's glance in her direction. Instead, she focused on Lemon, who'd made it quite obvious that she knew what was going on. Ugh. She had already pictured Dustin as this Romeo, who was longing for the girl who he knew would be his Juliet.

But she wasn't Juliet. She, like many a girl before her was the Rosalind whom he mistook for a Juliet, until he fell for the next girl. Desperate to subtly keep the record straight, she threw a wistful glance in his direction, hopeful to indicate that there was more going on than her being a dense moron who broke the heart of her friend who'd only ever loved her. She could barely handle Dustin thinking that about her. But she knew he wouldn't understand if she tried to explain. He'd tell her crap like how she was his main bitch(paraphrasing) or how he truly loved her. But that was bullshit. It was all bullshit.

She watched with a smile on her face as the two of them began talking. Judging by the look on his face, he was already quite taken with her. His face was redder than a strawberry, and he'd had the goofiest smile on his face. Though it matched hers, she had a feeling that his was truly genuine. Hers, on the other hand veiled a thickly covered jealousy. In fact one of Ashley's biggest secrets was what a jealous creature the girl was.

Over the years she'd learned how to make a smile genuine. So as Dustin moved on to discuss turtles with Oliver, she kept up the appearance of an absence of jealousy. It wasn't fair. You told him he was just a friend. One voice told her, the more rational one. But he's youuuuuurs. The more childish one protested, and Ashley had to say they made quite the compelling argument. But as much as she wanted him to be, he was not in fact hers.

A knock came at the door, as Ashley burrowed herself underneath their ratty couch to rescue the remote from a spring from under the seat, which it had somehow lodged itself in. "Thanks Dusty!'' Ashley called out from under the couch, releasing a squeal of accomplishment, when she retrieved the remote. She quickly turned on the TV, to start the movie.

She peered over to see Dustin flirting with a girl she didn't recognise. Ashley had to roll her eyes. From her to Lemon to Mystery Girl in just one night. Damn that boy moved fast. She grabbed a cushion, with frayed edges to hug. Desperate to keep her mind off him, she waved Oliver over. ''Wanna sit here?'' she questioned, patting the seat next to her.

He was definitely a comforting presence, in the sense that he did the worrying for both of them. Despite her reputation, Ashley was more than capable of enjoying platonic company. In fact, despite a couple of adjustments that had to be made, she liked spending time with him. And she knew he did a little bit too. The fact that he came here on his own showed that.

code by valen t.

 

[Dede]

Stu

​

A bandage? A bandage?

Stu had a nail in his hand. A whole nail! Oliver said he might get tetanus. Plus, he was bleeding to death. God knows how much blood he’d lost already. What was the bandage going to do? What he needed was to get a shot. A proper shot and a blood transfusion, or he was going to die.

He looked at the objects that Max handed to him dubiously, thinking what was the catch. Was it a magical bandage? Did it have quantum healing properties?

“I think we need to get the nail out first,” he said perceptively. “Max. I think we need to get the nail out first. Max. If I don’t I might get tetanus. I might already have it! Then I might need to get my hand amputated. Ollie said—”

When he got no answer from Max, Stu tugged the older boy’s hand to get his attention.

“Hey Max, what’s your blood type? I don’t think I remember mine. But it was something rare. What if I can’t get a transplant?”

He meant transfusion.

In the dining room, now no longer bleeding to death, Stu was checking under the table and under the cabinets for a glimpse of his backpack. He shone the light into the dark corner and sprang on his feet, knocking his head on the underside of the table on the way out.

“OW ow!!”

He stood rubbing his head, skipping forward to catch up with Max.

“There’s a HUGE spider down there,” he hissed at the older boy. “This big!” One metre big, if Stu’s hand gestures were to be believed.

“I bet there are millions of spiders in this house. Especially in the attic.”

Max predictably said nothing. Stu thought he was still shocked and sad from earlier, when the ceiling came down. He had hoped to cheer him up with conversation, but Max was still pensive and looked like he preferred silence and not to be bothered.

Maybe Max didn’t talk to him not because he disliked him or anything, but just because he wanted to focus on getting out of here. That was not such a bad idea. Stu still needed to get a shot for tetanus, the house was kind of wobbly, and the longer they stayed the greater their odds of getting a Toothrot encounter. And that was no encounter to get excited about, not like catching a pokemon. With one sweep of his flippers Toothrot could crush their bones and draw out their guts to be fed to his fishy minions.

Stu shone his flashlight at the windows. He moved in on the boards and grabbed the rotten wood with two hands, trying to pry them apart with a grunt.

“Maybe we can make a gap— and I can— squeeze through— the window. Come on Max, help me with this.”

The wood crumpled along the edges but did not budge. Stu pulled as hard as he could. His hand slipped into a nail and he gave a yelp. And now he had tetanus on both hands.

He stood staring in horror. Blood gushed from his pale hand like a crimson spring. (Or just the two tiny drops, depending on which angle you looked at it from.)

“Oh no. . . oh no. Max, Max!!!"

Chimney Swift

 

[Chimney Swift]

MOOD: Harrowed

LOCATION: The Hawking House

basics

MENTIONS:
Harper Dazzle

INT:
Stu Dede

tags

TL;DR
Max and Stu fail to break the window open, but succeed at bandaging Stu's hands.

tl;dr

Max Berkowitz

How do you run from your own mind?

While Max despondently stared at the boarded window, about to turn back to Stu and get them moving into the next room, he saw his younger expedition partner still running around the room. Stu seemed to be looking for something, scurrying around under tables and cabinets. Like a little mouse, Max thought. Max had kind of forgotten at this point that Stu was here for his missing backpack. He had more pressing concerns, like getting Stu and the rest of the gang out of the house before more of the building crashed down on top of them. Even aside from the backpack, the whole cat killer mission had all but slipped his memory. Max's brain didn't hold onto things very well. He could only process one major anxiety crisis at a time. Everything else slid into the background, gone from his conscious awareness but still silently feeding his constant anxiety. Things just piled up and piled up without ever being fully resolved.
The beach party.
His stupid fucking protest.
Isa's constant spiraling cycle of despair.
Harper...
And this.
This whole stupid, awful, sickening, terrifying catastrophe. The possibility that he was standing on the precipice of losing his friends, losing Zach and Sawyer, and especially losing Harper, who bore the weight of his whole social life…
Max had always felt bad about that-- Harper having to take the lead and talk for him.
Terrible.
Did she ever even get to talk as herself when he was around? Max really had no way of knowing.
He had never meant to become such an awkward burden on her. Every stupid thing he said had to come out of her mouth. All those years she spent learning for him and being his voice? He couldn't ever pay that back.
And now he might have killed her.
Actually killed her.
Let her die, at the very least.

Max, realizing he'd been staring blankly into space for who knows how long, shook himself back to reality and saw Stu next to him already trying to pry the window open. Stu couldn't possibly break it open on his own, but if Max helped? Maybe they could break their way out.
Problem was, Max wasn't as strong as all that. Just a lanky, weedy kid with clumsy hands and not nearly enough upper body strength to snap a wooden beam.

Unsurprisingly, the planks nailed to the window refused to give, even with both boys prying in vain at them. Max braced himself with his foot on the wall to try and get more leverage, only to break a hole in the weak material and get his boot stuck in it. In the minute it took for him to awkwardly twist his ankle free from the hole, Stu had pulled back from the wall as well, now frantically pleading for Max's attention with both hands turned out. Not only did Stu neglect to sanitize and bandage the first cut, he now had a second bloody splotch on the other hand. This cut didn't look half as bad as the first (which wasn't too bad itself), but the small wood splinters still stuck in it probably hurt a lot.

Okay, maybe Max had overestimated Stu's ability to treat his own wounds. Stu was scrappy and evidently able to keep his head up in even the worst of crises, but he was still a kid. Like a middle schooler or something. Maybe he'd never had to do this for himself before. Well, at least he had someone there who could take care of it. Max rolled back the sleeves of Zach's jacket, pulling his first aid kit back out and motioning for Stu to stay where he was. Max quickly rubbed some sanitizer over his hands, grabbing a bottle of antiseptic and a sterile cotton sheet and cleaning off the scratches, sticking a bandage on each.
There. That would keep the cuts covered and uninfected. The Hawking House was dirty and full of splinters and exposed nails. Not a good place to have open wounds, even small ones.

Max eventually had to admit to himself that breaking through the window was a lost cause, as much as the thought pained him. They'd have to find another way out. He straightened back up and slowly turned to walk out of the room and further into the house, glancing back over his shoulder though he was sure Stu would follow. It was better to stay close, though… the floor could cave, a wall could come down, the ceiling could collapse again, all in a matter of seconds and at any time. If Max had to push Stu out of the way of death or injury, he needed to be there to do it.
Stu was the only one he could be there for now.

code by valen t.

 

[Dazzle]

MOOD: my head hurts too much to know

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: Hawking house

basics

MENTIONS:
PenguinFox (lulu)
Dede (stu)
KingofAesir (sawyer)
Chimney Swift (max)

INT:
lion. (zach)

tags

TL;DRpain, pain, and more pain

tl;dr

Harper Anderson

the only ghosts in here are me and you...

Harper hardly wanted to believe that Zach had nothing to do with this. It was easier to blame him, but she knew that this had just been some bad luck. The house was old, it was bound to happen eventually, they just happened to be the unfortunate souls that had gotten trapped. Why did all the misfortune just seem to follow her around hopelessly. Did she have some sort of grey cloud stuck above her, stuck on her path to life. There was only small moments, small moments of bliss, where Sawyer could distract her from this.

She like a small ‘hmm’ escape her lips as Zach tried to backpedal from the truth, he had thought she was dead.

How had she gotten into this situation? She promised Max that everything would be fine, even though the house was old… She never pictured it falling apart with them in it. If anything, this solidified that the next adventure that Sawyer would drag them on, no one else was coming. She wasn’t about to risk Max’s life. Harper only could hope that he had gotten trapped with Sawyer, at least she could communicate with him somewhat effectively. Harper pressed her lips together; a wave of relief came over her as Zach said they were alive.

“Don’t panic?!” Harper pressed into the ragged wooden floors beneath her hands. “How are you able to say that?! Our friends could be hurt, they could be worse off than I am.” Harper knew Zach was right, though she didn’t want to admit it. Panicking was not going to solve anything.

But, always having to be the one to watch out for everyone, that was exhausting. Between, Hayden, her dad, and even Max.

Tonight, despite them coming there to apprehend a Cat Killer, well, it was supposed to be a distraction, a distraction from everything. Harper took a deep breath, feeling her chest expand.

Somehow, Zach thought his comment would make Harper feel better. It didn’t. “The night is still young Lee.” She hoped that they would make it out of here, but very little faith sat in her chest.

“Never mind.” Harper rolled onto her right side. “I’m not giving you the satisfaction.” She grunted as she tried to push herself up from where she was sitting.

Stopping before she could even try to lift herself off the ground, she knew she wasn’t going to be able to do it herself, still not knowing how bad the cut was and just hoping once she was up, she would be fine. She released air through her front teeth as she looked up at Zach from beneath a scowling brow. She reluctantly grasped the palms of his hands within her own; she had felt cold but never realized how cold until her hands rested in Zach’s.

Her breath hitched forward as Zach pulled her to her feet, stumbling forward her head was spinning. She couldn’t make much sense of the room around her. Harper could feel the ground approaching fast, until it wasn’t. Zach caught her, despite it all, despite everything he hadn’t let her fall. Probably only because Sawyer would have killed him if he had tried to leave without her.

Harper rested a palm on Zach’s shoulder steadying her breath and the spinning room. “Shut up.” ‘Please just shut up.’ She thought to herself, her head hurt more now that she was off the ground. Harper held a hand to her head, moving to stand against the wall. Though she didn’t feel safe putting all her weight into it, in fear that another part of the ceiling would fall.

As Zach returned, his face bore a look of surrender. He looked like he had lost all hope that they would make it out of here alive.

Harper bit the side of her cheek, even though Zach was a pain in her backside. Seeing him not ready to make a joke out of the situation, made this seem all the more serious. “I’ve got to say… It’s going to be a while before I go on another one of Sawyer’s adventures.” She chuckled lightly, a small grin on her face that caused a pain on her right temple.

If this had been any other moment, if they hadn’t been stuck in some decomposing house. If Zach hadn’t decided to tell Mrs. Berkowitz that they were off to have a threesome, she might have disinclined. However, she really had no other option, and at this point she wasn’t sure that Zach and her could have been any closer. Maybe he wasn’t the worst person in the world, they had come in here after a Cat Killer after all. Harper pushed herself off the wall and gingerly walked over to Zach, she sighed reaching down to roll up her jeans resting her injured foot on Zach’s knee. “I think my head is worse off than this..” Harper bit down on her bottom lip, all she wanted was to not have to go to the hospital.

If they ever got out of here…

code by valen t.

 

[Soap]

MOOD: ... whatever.

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Vibe Comix

basics

MENTIONS: Tatum, Graham, Elf_Ruler Dazzle


INT: Ivy, Chimney Swift

tags

TL;DR Showing off at the comic store... and then Ivy ruins it.

tl;dr

Genevieve

Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame. Bona fide hustler making my name

Was it just Evie?

Or Ivy was a bigger bitch than she remembered?

“Who the fuck is Kendra?” She muttered under her breath, barely bothering to acknowledge her insults, creasing her sneaker against the floor and diverting her gaze towards it, before it snapped to Ivy’s.

Evie hardly even wanted to continue the conversation, especially since she could practically hear how nervous Wyatt was by the whole interaction how heavy he was breathing-- it was either he was nervous, or the kid was about to have an asthma attack. Either way, she didn’t really care all that much.

Genevieve shoved the fifty bucks into Ivy’s hands, shoving her hands into her pockets

“No, you were an asshole.”

“W-what’d she--”

“Shut the hell up, Wyatt.” Evie didn’t bother to turn around to face him as she said so, instead lingering her gaze onto Ivy, she was expecting her to just… leave to be honest. Or, maybe she just wanted her to.

But if she didn’t, that’s fine.

Evie will.

“Okay. Bye, bitch.”

Her eyes shifted towards the exit… and neither of them made a move for it. Don’t ask her for her reasoning as to why, okay? She wouldn’t really know how to answer that question.But whatever the answer was, maybe the demon in front of her did-- especially since she didn’t seem too keen on leaving either.

“... I said bye.”

Or… well, you know what! This was Evie’s spot.

Yeah, that’s right.

She shouldn’t have to leave. “You got your stupid money, so go hang out with stupid Stu and squealing Dorkfuss since they’re so fond of you now.” No, she wasn’t jealous because Ivy had friends. And truth be told, as annoying as Oliver was, she didn’t hate him entirely. And Stu? Stu was just a dick.

Almost as much as Ivy the dickless was. “B-but, what happened?” Wyatt was clearly too emotionally invested into this conversation as if it was one of those soaps he'd watch 24/7. Evie's attention snapped towards him, sending a death glare his way that almost made him shrink into his seat.

“She was a bitch, Wyatt. Shut the fuck up. That was it.”

Exactly.

That was it.

code by valen t.

 

[Chimney Swift]

MOOD: It's a mood alright

LOCATION: The comic book shop

basics

MENTIONS:


INT:
Evie Soap

tags

TL;DR Ivy and Evie meet up to pay off a debt.

tl;dr

Ivy Dawkins

I'm gonna make sure I get the last laugh

"PB tennis captain." Ivy answered in a quick, flat tone after Evie asked who Kendra was. "Disappeared April 5th, 2019 in the locker room. Toothrot's third victim. Some say you can still hear her screams from deep in the moldy shadows."
Ivy had actually made Kendra up.

"Anyway I'm calling you a whore." She explained this, though it went without saying. She kept on picking up Evie's commentary, allowing nothing to pass in silence. That would be like letting her win or something like that. "I was an asshole? An asshole's gotta place in the world, Evie. An asshole knows what it is. You're a fucking spork. You're a thrift find shag carpet. You're pocket lint. You're car crumbs."

Evie attempted to end the conversation. But though she said bye, she made no move to depart. Well, two could play that game.

Ivy kept her feet planted, lifted her chin, and spoke only the very dated "But yeah. Sure. Bye, Felicia." Ivy was too young to really remember why people started saying that. But if the two of them were going to part ways, Evie was going first.
Ivy would stand there all night if she had to. And as long as Evie was still talking, it was more than worth her while. Time well spent.

"Y'know, I don't think Neck Tie's as bad as all that." Ivy quipped. "He's smart, y'know? Listens to the right people. Doesn't let anyone lead him astray." She had no idea about the beach debacle. She'd been drinking like a fish with Tatum. No need to find out about Stu peeing on the beach, and even if Ivy knew about it, she'd have little to remark on. Insulting Stu was boring. Instilling a deep paranoia of the school's oddities was way more fulfilling. "And Turtle Boy is fine. Easily repelled. All you gotta do is ask if anyone else smells seafood." Listening to Wyatt's hyperventilating seemed like a perfect underscore to the exchange, actually. Evie kept answering his questions for some reason, maybe to make him feel included or something. So nice of her, really. What a good soul. A wholesome-hearted sweetie cakes.

"Don't you got somewhere to be, munchkin? You can look wistfully over your shoulder at me before you go if it makes you feel better."

code by valen t.

 

[MePersonally]

Lissy Cardea
Location: At Ashley’s movie night
Interactions: Qwertycakes

Lissy stood bamboozled for a moment, staring at the person who had introduced themselves as Ashley. Her brain rattled, as she tried to make out if it was just a weird nickname, or if that person in front of her actually was an Ashley, and which pronouns they used.
When the person started laughing, though, Lissy facepalmed internally. Of course, it had been a joke. A smile spread on her face and her tensed body loosened up. This wasn’t that bad, they were just normal people, like her friends back in DC.
Why she had worried so much was beyond her, but she had lost her doubts now, that this boy giggled like a little kid, his eyes lighting up as he did. She didn’t know why, but she immediately felt comfortable around him.

“Hi Dustin”, she smiled and threw her sister one more glance, before walking inside, “I’m Lissy. We just moved here, so... I thought it would be nice to meet some new people...”
Pause. She waited for him to say something, but he seemed to be focused on something else, something outside. Sissy.
Lissy’s smile grew wider, as Dustin waved at Sissy. Maybe he could convince her to come inside? Maybe if someone was nice to her, she wouldn’t be such a dick about it?
“That’s my twin. She doesn’t like people, but I forced her to come. Now she’s hanging in the driveway”, she shrugged, trying- and failing - to sound like it didn’t matter to her what she was doing, “Just be careful if you talk to her... She can be very...dismissive.”
Especially to boys, Lissy added in her head, but that better wasn’t said out loud. People could take it the wrong way and think badly of her sister.

Something inside Lissy felt empty and incomplete, when she strolled in and looked around. It was weird, being here all alone -without her twin- for the first time. They had always done everything together, faced every challenge side by side. So, standing here alone, surrounded by strangers, made her a little uneasy. It wasn’t that she was scared- she wasn’t going to panic or cry-, it was just the uneasy feeling of someone missing. Deep inside, she still hoped Sissy would come in and join them, even though it seemed unlikely. At least she had now found someone else she could latch onto. He seemed to be a nice guy and god knew she needed other people in her life than her sister. She loved Sissy, but she was getting harder to talk to and be around.
I just need some alternation, she told herself and then put a stop to the thoughts in her mind. She was going to focus on getting to know new people, now.

 

[Soap]

Katherine Navarro
“I want to be like water. I want to slip through fingers, but hold up a ship.”

@Princess.Navarro has set their status to:
Busy.

@Princess.Navarro has set their outfit to:
Skin Tight Jeans

@Princess.Navarro has interacted with:
Hayden, Madi, Ryker

@Princess.Navarro has mentioned:
N/A

@Princess.Navarro has tagged:
Dazzle @LittleWolfie @TexasKingPin​

Well, he wasn’t entirely wrong.

Despite the mosquitoes. Katherine did have a love for nature. She enjoyed the silence… at least, when she wasn’t alone she did. Which was a bit difficult in her shoes, considering Kat had a handful of people she could tolerate in a peaceful setting such as this. If Ryker was one of them… That was a question for another time.

You’d be lucky to even get an answer out of the girl.

His hand came up to her shoulder to poke her and received an eye roll in response.

She didn’t acknowledge anything he’d said regarding a date. Because in all honesty, it wasn’t— and she wasn’t the one who had begun treating it like one. Katherine was entirely adaptable to any situation. Although when it came to relationships it was a different situation altogether. She liked things to be a certain way— and stay, a certain way. Complications usually followed soon after.

Ryker had begun to get suddenly serious, and ultimately it killed Kat’s mood more than anything.

At least, the hookup mood. The brunette placed two hands against his chest and slid off of him, laying down onto the blanket underneath them, staring up at the sky with a sigh.

“How was your time away? Did you miss me even a little?”

Katherine stood quiet.

Weighing her options.

A yes, would lead him to think that she genuinely— truly cared in a way that regarded them in something more than a situationship.A no, however would either lead to an argument, a few insults that’d eventually lead to an argument, or… maybe she’d get lucky and he’d laugh it off.

Avoiding the question altogether seemed to be like the perfect choice.

“It was good.”

A blatant lie.

As beautiful as Barcelona had been. Most of the memories there were nothing of the sort.

Katherine hadn’t expected to come back. She didn’t even want to come back. But it became quite clear to her that what she wanted meant nothing to her family. To be incredibly honest, she wasn’t even sure why they returned in such a hurry in the first place. Perhaps if Katherine cared enough she’d spend her time into finding out, but she had more important things to deal with.

“Rough year? Missed me that badly then?” She glanced over at him before returning her gaze back towards the night sky, almost instantly connecting the dots to a constellation.

Hm.

Her childhood consisted of knowing ridiculous amounts of information, from poets to space— Katherine was a sponge. Soaking in anything of interest, which led her to ramble on and on to people who most likely didn’t care in the first place.

She’d end up feeling sorry for herself— for bothering them in the first place.

How pathetic was that?

“Can’t say I’m surprised, I’m sure the girls you attempted to replace me with didn’t even come close to me.”

No, she wasn’t about to ask him more than that. Katherine needed to set boundaries, boundaries as in… ‘I don’t care what seems to happen in your life, and you won’t about mine.’ While these are the lines she’s trying to set, it never quite stopped her from crossing them and lending an ear whenever he’d wouldn’t shut up about it. They were… a very odd pair. Of course— not that Katherine would consider them one in the first place.

A genuine laugh escaped the brunette, it was a rare thing from time to time, especially considering how serious Katherine was at all times. It was a slight sliver of who she actually was— at least, those who were unlucky enough to see it.

“Remember when Megan flirted with you in front of me?”

God, she hated that girl. That day was something she’d remember till the day she dies— dramatic, isn’t it?

It was just…

having the power for the very same girl who made your life hell as a child— to look at you with envy. It was entirely a new meaning of satisfaction. Megan probably believes Kat went after Ryker because Megan wanted him in the first place.

To be completely fair, it probably seemed like Katherine was being possessive when she cut their conversation off, making out with him in the hallway.

Sorry, not sorry.

She never told Ryker why she hated Megan. Katherine never really told anyone. It simply wasn’t something they needed to know. Her gaze flickered to him, but this time it lingered.

And Kat found herself asking him the same question he did moments ago.

“Did you?” She paused, searching his own gaze as they caught eyes.

“Miss me, I mean.”

º º code by ditto º º

 

[MePersonally]

Sissy Cardea
Location: In Ashley’s driveway
Interactions: Qwertycakes

Sissy wasn’t feeling too well, out there in the dark. Biting the inside of her cheek, she watched her sister walk up to the door. She was really going through with it- she was really and honestly leaving her out here. Why had Lissy dragged her along in the first place? She had known, hadn’t she? Sissy didn’t belong here. She wanted to go back to DC, curl up in a corner with her best friend and talk about shit, or just do nothing, lean up against each other in silence. A tear rolled down her cheek and she shook her head, gritting her teeth even harder. Her cheek started bleeding and she tasted blood. Good. At least she felt something, now. She stared at the house for a while, as her sister was standing at the door mat, waiting to be let in. It only took a second, though, until the door was opened and someone peeked out. A guy, of course. She couldn't hear what they were talking about from where she was standing, but she was too proud to step forward and listen.

When the guy suddenly turned his attention to her, she froze. The taste of blood, again. Sissy swalloed, raised her hand and showed him the middle finger. She didn't move an inch-neither towards the house or away from him. She just stood there, her hand raised and her middle finger extended. After a while, she dropped her hand and stood, her heart racing. So her sister was in here alone, without anyone to protect her. Why did that feel so wrong and frightening?
Turning around, she decided to walk home. Alone. Because Lissy was a traitor.

Slowly, she traced her steps through the dust. This town was hell. Stupid houses, stupid people, stupid roads. Damn, even the streetlamps were stupid, because the one she was standing underneath suddenly started flickering.
"FUCK!", she shouted into the night, kicking the lamp post so hard her toes hurt. She didn't even leave a scratch, not even a little change of colour in the oh so perfect fucking lamp post. This wasn't enough. She started walking home. Her eyes wettening again, she looked around in a tear blurred haze, finding a dustbin in the driveway of the closest house and- as if it had been put there for her to see- a huge stick, which had probably been cut off a tree. She looked around, not wanting anyone to see her, as she grabbed the stick.
"Stupid fucking town", she mumbled and swung it. The impact and the loud rattle the litter bin gave off when falling onto the concrete was absolutley satisfying. It screamed instead of her.

Tears streaming down her face, she continued mutilating the poor dustbin, until it was dented and the litter that had been inside was spread on the sidewalk. A strange feeling of satisfaction washed over her, as she dropped the stick and walked away.

 

[Dede]

Stu

Stu winced while Max took care of his wounds. He was no stranger to pain and to little childhood accidents, from falls off trees to tumbles on the pavement to getting KO’ed by a whale (you know, the usual). But his small form meant that even small injuries seemed big, and the boy lived in constant fear of being dead.

He looked at the older boy with wonder as he went about his surgical business. Max always knew what he was doing. Of course he’d brought a first aid kit with him. He was the most sensible member of their squad, and he came to Hockey House the most prepared. And even though they didn’t really know each other before this, Stu had already learnt to trust Max, and to follow his instructions unquestioningly.

“Do you think I’ll still get tetanus?” he pondered out loud. “Maybe we got to it in time. Maybe.”

Stu might be a bit of a catastrophist like his best friend, Oliver, but he’d still like to think that he wasn’t going to need to get his hands amputated. Losing one hand might be a blessing in disguise for his pirate-mascot character, who could finally wear a real hook. Losing two would be a real inconvenience. How was he going to give out kitkats without both his hands?

Stu followed Max to the door to the basement, which was open. They peered into the darkness and Stu gulped. “We can’t… we can’t go down there,” he said, panting a little. “Max, we’re not going down there, are we?”

But there were no other exits as far as they could tell. And more lives were at stake that compelled both boys to foolish delusions of heroism.

They could hear the water dripping. The basement was cold and damp, perfect habitation for the likes of Toothrot. This thought of them descending straight into Toothrot’s lair made Stu halt at the creaky stairs while Max ventured ahead. Surely their senses did not lie. This dark room smelt of the sea and everything. Then a mysterious power moved beneath their steps and it took out Max’s flashlight.

Stu, an equal hero or at least a Robin to Max's Batman, hurried to rescue the situation.

“I’ve got it—” he said, poking his own light ahead, stabbing the darkness in a desperate, Oliver-like motion.

But he overreached and took a misstep and sent his light tumbling down the rickety stairs, and both boys watched their only hope of illumination roll away on the basement floor, before they were plunged into pitch darkness.

“O..oops!“

Chimney Swift

 

[Chimney Swift]

MOOD: Helpless

LOCATION: The Hawking House

basics

MENTIONS:
Zach lion.
Harper Dazzle

INT:
Stu Dede

tags

TL;DR
The band of heroes descends into the perilous basement, where they lose their flashlights. Stu, the one with functional auditory nerves, is appointed commander to the detriment of absolutely everyone.

tl;dr

Max Berkowitz

How do you run from your own mind?

After what felt like days of stumbling through the crumbling house, there was a door at the end of the hall. Both boys ran to it, finding it already partially open, their way back outside to--
But it was only darkness behind the door. Darkness, and a staircase downwards.
Nowhere to go but deeper into the house.
With a deep breath in that broke into a dry cough, Max pushed at the veil of overwhelming dread to take a step down into the shadows.

The staircase was shrouded in the pitch blackness, nothing to be seen save for the dust particles hanging in the air in front of their flashlights. Max, through the gnawing fear that gripped at his chest, tried to reason with himself that maybe, just maybe, there was a way outside from the basement. Some houses had doors out from the cellars, right? His own house didn’t but… he’d definitely seen houses like that. It was hard to remember details like that under this much stress, but he was certain of it. At the very least, they had to pray that was the case, because this staircase was even more brittle and dilapidated than the one leading up. There was no handrail at all… it must have fallen away to the floor years ago. Their only option was to creep down with a constant hand on the wall, pressed as far away from the open edge as they could get.

Heights, especially indeterminable heights, especially heights from which he was liable to fall, were not Max’s friend. He hadn’t noticed he was hyperventilating until his head was spinning and his stomach lurched. Nope. Bad time to panic, or panic any more than he already was.
His thing about heights… It wasn’t like a real phobia though, anyway; heights just made him a little nervous, which was actually pretty rational so it couldn’t technically be a phobia at all. Right?
Yeah.
That’s all it was.

Besides, he could do this. They could get down safely. Calculating each step as it bent under his weight, one hand pressed on the wall, one holding his flashlight. No hand to catch Stu with if he fell, or to break his own fall if…

No one is going to fucking fall.
No.
You won’t let that happen.

For once, Max’s inner monologue had climbed out of its repetitive self-deprecation spiral and offered a small spark of optimism that he hoped would last until they got down to the bottom of the stairs. Which might be a while: either the staircase was maddeningly long, plunging deep into the pits of the earth, or maybe it was just taking the two boys an awful long time to inch their way down.
Probably both.
They’d hit what had to be the halfway point on the staircase by now, as the smell of stagnant water and mildew was strong enough to leave Max lightheaded. The sooner they got to the bottom, the sooner this could all be over. And if there was a way out from here… maybe, just maybe, there was a way to climb back up to where the others were.

Since they had been separated, he’d at least gotten word from each member of the group confirming they were alive and safe… well, as safe as they could be in a house that was crumbling down on top of them.
Except Harper.
No word from Harper.
Zach was with her; said she was bleeding. Wouldn’t say where. Wouldn’t say how badly. To keep himself from going absolutely insane, Max had to bite down and force himself not to think about it.
With only about 15% battery left on his own phone, he conserved energy by checking in only every 10 minutes. Hopefully there wouldn’t be any urgent news. He couldn’t get to them in 10 minutes anyway. Once again, their safety was out of his hands.
Max didn’t believe in Hell (as a definitive place of eternal punishment, anyway), but if he did, this would be it. Knowing they could die was one thing. Knowing there was nothing he could do but let them die… that was unbearable.

For the moment, though, there was some consolation: they could finally see the bottom of the staircase, or at least Max thought he could. Maybe it just took a turn and continued down even further, but if it did Max would actually lose his mind. It was already a tricky balance, trying to remain calm enough to search the house knowing the people he loved and trusted (and Zach) were still trapped upstairs under a roof that had already fallen in once and could very well give way again.

Now that he thought about it, though, the basement was probably the safest place to be in the house. Whenever there were hurricanes or tornadoes or bombs dropping or anything like that, people always hid in the basement, right? Because if the house fell down, at least they’d be safe under it all and could be excavated later. Hopefully. Even if they didn’t find a way out, they could at least bring everyone back down to the basement to wait until emergency services actually found them. If they ever did…
They had to. The Hawking House wasn't that far outside of town, and they’d left their cars in plain sight by the road. Someone had to find them. Eventually.

But of course, as soon as there was half of a hopeful glimmer, the universe decided Max was overdue for another stab in the back.

With only maybe a quarter of the staircase left to go, Max’s flashlight began to flicker, sputtering on and off until finally it went dark, leaving only Stu’s to light the way. Max turned to try and get Stu to hand over his flashlight so Max could stay ahead, but Stu reached out from behind him, brandishing his flashlight like Excalibur, and not one second later it slipped out of his clumsy hand and bounced down the last 15 steps and rolled away into the darkness.

Max felt his heart come to a full stop and fall to the bottom of his ribcage.
Any oxygen he had left in him was lost on the next weak exhale.
This was it. This was the absolute worst situation he could ever find himself in. Swallowed by darkness, left with only touch and smell to guide him. No other external awareness. Stranded like a worm on a sidewalk.
He couldn’t shut down, though, no matter how badly he felt that he was going to. It was think or die.
Knowing if he lost Stu down here he’d have no way of finding him again, Max swung his arm back and caught Stu above the elbow. He could apologize later. Right now this was the only thing keeping them both together and alive.

They reached the bottom of the staircase blindly. Stripped of the sense he was most reliant on, Max questioned whether letting Stu lead on ahead would a risk worth taking. Stu could hear, and Max wasn’t entirely sure how much he could discern of their surroundings based on that sense. He would ask, but he’d get no answer he could understand. Anyway, just having Stu close by would keep Stu safer as well as giving Stu a chance to use his extra sense to react faster if something came their way.

Max thought they should start along the walls and then work their way inwards, but he had no way of communicating that idea to Stu. It looked like Stu would be taking the lead down here whether Max liked it or not. Max trusted Stu, though... perhaps a little more than he should. He thought Stu had a mature and level head on his shoulders given the catastrophic circumstances. Stu would be a good mayor one day, he thought. Or governer. Maybe even president. Stu couldn't actually be president, as he wasn't a native U.S citizen, but Max didn't know that. He just liked the idea of someone with Stu's bravery, determination and intellect taking on the corrupt social system one day.
Maybe if Max knew Stu had been jabbering at him this whole time in a comically oblivious one-sided dialogue, he wouldn’t have rested so much confidence in Stu’s intelligence.

code by valen t.

 

[lion.]

MOOD: ...

OUTFIT: - max's fit obviously

LOCATION: Hawking House

basics

MENTIONS: Dazzle Chimney Swift Dede KingofAesir PenguinFox @mel0_mang0

INT:

tags

TL;DR

tl;dr

Zachary Lee

I'm so not Daphne, but if I am.. purrrr cat killer

“You’re not wrong there. Your head,” Zach gave a tuned whistle, “ Straight up a mess. Ever consider seeing the doctor for that one?” He cheesily grinned up at her feeling her foot perch atop his knee.

Zachary Lee had no intention of modeling himself as a doctor. White coats were for those who were predictable, for those who were fastidiously attached to the idea of saving. They hollered with an incantation of thoughts that shouted “Fight. Fight. Fight.” They didn’t lay a hand on a whale to think it would sink into the covenant of blues. That day, he had remembered to stare at the sand. After, the aggro sky of seagulls. There had been nothing at all. Nothing for Zachary Lee to stop him from thinking for the whale, “You’ll be more at peace.”

His hands could fit the gloves of a physician, but he would never know the softness behind a surgeon’s craftsmanship. Still, Lee played his familial name for a rough illusion, and that was enough for the bottle blond to get to examinations. His free, slender hand drafted up the spine of her ankle. Bringing her foot closer, he blinked. Her cut was dark as tar, and the laceration slid down one hand’s length from his light jabbing thumb to his pinkie.

“You should be more careful,” he flatly demurred, undertaking a mischievous inflation of tone,“How’d you let a ceiling single you out? I have no large cuts, but then again I am much more handsome too, so I probably charmed it.”

Rightfully, Zachary Lee would have been done there. He didn’t know why he was doing it. Taking the flank of Max’s shirt, he stretched the stitches. In a wasted motion, he tore a strip of fabric loose. The fabric warped around his hands in a roll.

“Ha,” he laughed to himself, as he began to string it around her foot, his other hand stabilizing the heel, “Max is going to get a nice crop top. But, also seriously, stand still-” With only one hand for the knotting, he managed it loosely. Bending up ahead, one end of the knot hung in his mouth. He pulled, teeth grazing back tightly simultaneously with his hand.

Blood pounded lightly in his head. He did it because he realized people like Harper Anderson were worth saving.

code by valen t.

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum Browne

As much as Tatum wished she could stop the tears they just kept flowing. She wasn’t as happy as she appeared to be. She could tell her relationship was crumbling and she didn’t know how to fix it. She had lost one friendship and somehow, she knew the inevitable with Zach would follow if she couldn’t fix it. Her heart longed for someone to understand and for her to not feel as though she was making the wrong choice. She felt bad for the pain she had added to Hayden over the course of a year. She missed him and she missed their friendship. She had no words of comfort for him, and it made her feel like she was just a bad friend to everyone. She tried hard to be a good friend, but she was a kid and she felt like her head was barely above the water. The ocean of her life was trying to drown her and sometimes she wanted to give in and let herself drown. Letting herself drown and go away would make her life easier, but the others…She loved them too much to ever leave them behind. Even when they seemed to always be busy or also falling apart. Friends stuck together ‘til the end, they didn’t abandon for anything.

She looked at Hayden’s face the tears still in her eyes, “He doesn’t love me.” And she hadn’t said those words to anyone, she didn’t know who else to tell. But Zach didn’t love her back and she felt more lost than ever. Should she be telling her ex everything? That was questionable but right now he seemed to be the only person she could talk to without fear of Zach being murdered and him being defended. She loved him but she wanted someone that was on her side without the possible threat of Zach being killed. Everyone seemed to hate Zach and one wrong move, and he would have a mob after him. She didn’t want that. All Tatum wanted was to love and be loved and she did love but that wasn’t reciprocated. She could feel the tears begin to spring back in her eyes, “He doesn’t love me, and I love him. I don’t know what to do. Am I a bad girlfriend Hayden?” he was the only other person she had dated, and she needed to know. Was she bad, was she not trying hard enough, “Am I unlovable?” Her heart was beginning to crack, and she knew she had to be careful.

She could have acted as if she was fine, but for the first time she needed someone who she could feel comfort in without fear of anything else.

Mention(s): Interaction(s): Dazzle

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Lemon Pierce

Lemon couldn’t help but giggle at Dustin, he was awkward and he kind of reminded her of Oli. Sweet but he definitely had that awkward air to him, and it made her giggle, it was endearing. Her thoughts were caught off guard when she heard the knock at the door and she peaked around to see another girl, someone she didn’t recognize at all. She let Dustin do the talking as her eyes lingered towards Oli making sure he was doing okay, she could see his nerves coming out and she felt her own worry creep up. She wanted him to enjoy the movie night, as much as she hoped the others would. She smiled at the new girl, she believed she heard the name Lissy, “Hi Lissy, I’m Lemon.” She made her way more towards Oliver then trying to hold up a conversation when she could see the way Dustin was looking at her. Not the same as Ashley but still he had this puppy dog look to his eyes that was undeniable, and Lissy well she couldn’t tell what was going through the girl’s mind.

As she approached Oli she smiled, “Hey, you excited for the movie night? I bet we can go sit in the living room. Do you want to do that?” Lemon was cautious in her questions to Oliver she didn’t want to make him more nervous than he already was, “Or we can go and meet the new girl, I think she’s looking for friends and it’s always nice to make new friends.” Lemon wanted to giver Oliver options, “Or we can stand here.” Her eyes stayed soft on the boy, after all she still had to look up at him, just like she did everyone. The curse of being short.

She let her eyes look towards Ashley who didn’t seem all too thrilled with the new addition, but she didn’t know this girl. Was she jealous? Did she not see the way Dustin looked at her, she shouldn’t have to worry about him, but maybe, maybe Lemon was wrong? What did she know about feelings and romance? She was single and she couldn’t change that. Even if she wanted to or had someone who wanted to, she was stuck being single and maybe she shouldn’t be trying to figure out the love life of two underclassmen she barely knew.

Mention(s): Interaction(s): Chimney Swift Qwertycakes tamarapasek MePersonally

 

[Chimney Swift]

MOOD: too many options


LOCATION: Ashley's House

basics

MENTIONS:
Lissy MePersonally
Dustin Qwertycakes
INT:
Lemon Elf_Ruler
Ashley tamarapasek

tags

TL;DR Oh boy there were a lot of questions at once

tl;dr

Oliver Dreyfuss

How lonely it is, to be drowning in a place where everyone can swim

One might think there wasn't much happening yet in the foyer of Ashley's house. Five kids, Oliver included, talking amongst themselves and drifting into small groups to exchange greetings and all that. Simple, everyday things.
But in actuality, there were hundreds of individual things happening, and Oliver was acutely aware of all of them.

Oliver was silent for the whole time Lemon was talking, wide eyes darting around the room to take inventory of what was going on, because there was a lot. Dustin was talking to the new girl, Ashley just asked if he wanted to sit with her and he was still processing a response when Lemon had come by to say hello and then she asked what he wanted to do. She gave 3 options. That was actually really nice of her, he thought, since it was easier to pick out an answer than if she'd left it open-ended.
He nodded, mostly to himself, gripping at his elbows and leaning into his right leg. This should be easy to answer. He wanted to go sit, while there was still enough space on the couch to sit with both Ashley and Lemon, who had both asked for his company, so that way he didn't have to make a decision between them. That was all he had to say. He should probably condense it into a smaller sentence, but it was an easy enough response, wasn't it?

But then there was the other stuff.

In addition to the questions he had been asked, he had piled up at least 11 other questions in his mind. Mostly to do with the house, the rules of the house, what to expect of watching a movie with other people, and additional extraneous things that he couldn't remember why he was thinking about. The questions themselves seemed to him to be of various importance, but it was impossible to mentally prioritize them, and each one had a series of sub-questions attached to it, and of those there were clarifying questions...

Shoes on or shoes off?
Could he put his jacket somewhere or was he just supposed to hold onto it?
If he was supposed to put his jacket somewhere else, would it get stolen?
Who here was most likely to steal a jacket?
Would people be talking during the movie, and if so, how loudly?
If they were too loud, was it okay to tell them to stop?
What if the movie itself was too loud and people were talking?
Was it okay to leave the room if the movie wasn't finished or did he have to sit until it was over?
What if he really had to leave? Like for a real reason? Was it okay then? Would he have to explain? In addition...
What if...
Also...

Was Lemon still talking? Or was that Ashley? No, both of them, and Dustin talking to the new girl, and he didn't have his knife and the empty pocket felt weird, and now that he thought about it the wallpaper was kind of a weird color that looked different from this angle, and it was all too much. Way too much. And he still had all those suggestions lined up and at least 3 different direct questions to answer, and people were still talking, and--

"I don't want to meet the new girl." He snapped in a quick reaction that was a little louder than appropriate, given that the girl in question was right there maybe 6 feet away. He didn't even think about it... there were still more questions and he already felt like he wasn't going to be able to answer all of them because they were getting mixed up. "A-and I don't want-- we should... standing here. No. We shouldn't just stand here. We should sit. Yes, Ashley. And Lemon. Who would steal a jacket?" Was that everything? He had no idea.

"We should go sit." He repeated with a little more clarity, one hand running up and down the side of his face and the other still holding his jacket in a death grip. He didn't wait for Lemon to respond, quickly walking back to the living room and sitting down next to Ashley, far forwards away from the back of the couch. He looked over to the other side, trying to decide if there was enough room for Lemon still. There was, but in the moment it was kind of hard to picture in his head how big Lemon was. In moments like these everyone kind of seemed taller. He couldn't really explain it if he tried. Everything just seemed to take up more space.

Everything was just bigger. More crowded. And most of the time, it seemed to push him into a tighter and tighter corner.

code by valen t.

 

[Qwertycakes]

MOOD: Romeo mode

OUTFIT: here

LOCATION: Movie Night @ Ashley's

basics

MENTIONS:
Ashley
tamarapasek

Lemon
Elf_Ruler

Oliver
Chimney Swift

INT:
Lissy and Sissy
MePersonally

tags

TL;DR: Dusty chats up the new girl

tl;dr

Dustin Thackery

You'd do better to turn your back on me...

Dustin blinked, lowering his hand. He stared in suprise, puzzled that the girl in the driveway was now glaring straight at him, replying to his greeting with a proud one finger salute. "Oh...uh..okay, bye," He mumbled in response as Sissy stalked off, turning to wander back inside.

"She flipped me off!" Still a bit in shock, Dustin dissolved into laughter, but quickly composed himself to deliver the news that Sissy had vanished into the night. "But, um..yeah. She, like...left...sorry," He added gently, hoping Lissy wasn't too distraught. He'd understand if she wanted to run after her sister to check on her, although he selfishly hoped she wouldn't.

Dustin smiled at the little rhyme scheme to their names. "My little sister's name is Chrissy. You can have her too if you want," Dustin replied, attempting to keep another straight face for a moment before chuckling. "Nah, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't do that to you," He joked, playfully rolling his eyes at the thought of his rambunctious younger sibling.

He kept the same goofy grin on his face as he watched Lissy wander further inside. She seemed sweet, with a chill, quiet vibe Dustin found quite attractive and easy to talk to. Not super shy, but a bit reserved in a cute, demure type of way. He eyed her discreetly as she glanced around, curiously trying to figure out her hair color. Lissy's hair was long and silky, a pretty sort of gold...ish. Whatever the shade, it looked very soft and nice to touch and...

He really needed to cut it out. It was this type of thinking that got him where he was with Ashley. Ashley only ever wanted to be friends, and that was fine. It wasn't her fault he'd built up a whole relationship in his head that didn't actually exist. Lissy's new in town, concentrate on being her friend...not how pretty and cute and nice she is.

Dustin made his way to the sitting area after Lemon and Oliver, ambling slowly beside Lissy as they chatted. "So, you said you guys just moved to Parish? Do you like it here? I mean..like...I've lived here forever." His cheeks began to redden once again as he prepared to shoot his shot. "So...ya know, I could totally show you around... sometime," The last word was tacked on, mumbled awkwardly. Dustin hopefully studied her face for a reaction, with intensely dark brown eyes that reflected such little light they seemed almost a uniform midnight black. The color made his eyes look large and pupiless, giving the boy an innocent, puppy-like appearance.

Dude, chill.

It was no big deal anyway. They were just friends, after all.

code by valen t.

 

[Dazzle]

MOOD: my head hurts too much to know

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: Hawking house

basics

MENTIONS:
PenguinFox (lulu)
Dede (stu)
KingofAesir (sawyer)
Chimney Swift (max)

INT:
lion. (zach)

tags

TL;DRpain, pain, and more pain

tl;dr

Harper Anderson

the only ghosts in here are me and you...

Harper wanted to laugh, she wanted this to be a better situation than what it was. But, her head was pounding and her leg was throbbing with a firey amount of pain. She felt like she wasn’t able to stand up straight, her breath was starting to feel heavy, she wasn’t sure if it was from the obvious concussion or the heavy amount of dust and debris that had fallen onto her. As she cracked a weak smile a rush of exhaustion ran through her body. Harper reached forward, resting a hand on Zach’s shoulder to stabilize herself once again as he drew her foot closer.

How had they gotten themselves stuck in such a situation? Why did they wander further into this room, how did the ceiling fall in. Did Sawyer axing down the door cause there to be instability in the rest of the building, Harper doubted that, but her brain racked itself for an answer. Bad luck just wasn’t a good enough answer for her. Despite the grey cloud that seemed to constantly follow her around.

Harper took a deep breath before she responded. “I’m sure you tripped me, to save yourself.” She felt her body starting to give way, gripping Zach’s shoulder tighter in some weak attempt to stable herself. Harper barely noticed that Zach had begun to address her wound with whatever material he had been able to get ahold of.

Her jaw clenched tightly as Zach tied the material tight around her lower leg. She breathed out heavily as the pain that had subsided came back with a furious rage. “It’s.. It’s not that bad, right?” Harper’s voice was squeaked, she almost didn’t want to know what was wrong. She wanted to pretend that everything was okay, no stitches needed, no hospital visit.

The cut was ultimately, the least of her worries. They needed to get moving, they couldn’t be sitting ducks. They couldn’t wait on the others, what if they were worse off than she was. However, she was exhausted, and despite Zach’s efforts to stay positive. She had a feeling that he was having similar effects to the dust and who know what else they were breathing in.

Zach gently placed her foot onto the ground, Harper, sore and tired, Harper took the spot next to Zach. Wincing as she tried to bend her knee to reach the ground. She pressed her hand into the weak wall to balance herself, it felt as if the wall was trying to get away from the pressure of her hand. Harper pulled her hand away from it quickly, hopping on her good leg to turn her back to the wall. She hesitantly rested a hand on Zach’s shoulder once more. “I’m sorry…” She wasn’t truly sure why she was apologizing. There was only so many options in their situation, and she knew she wasn’t going to be able to stand for much longer and would need her strength to get out of there.

Once Harper reached the floor, she rested her head against the back of the wall, turning her chin to face Zach. “We need…” Harper was finding it slowly harder to breath in the dusty air. “-to get out of here.”

code by valen t.

 

[Dede]

Stu

When the light flickered out Stu froze completely, and if Max had somehow received the notion that Stu would lead them in pitch darkness, he had better receive again because there was no way in hell he was going first.

Stu was no friend of the darkness, and nobody could be a hero all the time. He slowly drifted backwards, one blind step after another until he was behind Max, and then he gave Max a little push in the back.

Not only the dark but the silence terrified him. All Stu could hear, besides the faintly dripping water, was his own breathing. And he was breathing especially loudly that his nostrils flared to become two wide circles on his face. Stu did not have a very big nose, unlike his friend Oliver. This stingy mischance of biology meant he was easily short of breath and given to hyperventilating. As he put one foot ahead of the other he tried not to faint. There was a time and place for fainting and this wasn’t it.

The basement seemed to stretch on and on and a glimmer of light from his dropped flashlight poked back from the distance. A smarter boy might have remembered to use the light on his phone, but Stu wasn’t particularly smart, and the phone stayed in his pocket and they navigated the complete darkness.

He put one timid foot in front of the other, caught his heel on some debris and leapt up like a scalded cat into the air.

“Sorry!”

He went quiet again, blindly fumbling. The darkness got more intense with each step. Dead silence. Was Max still there? He didn’t know. He couldn’t see an inch in front of him. Did they get separated? Oh no, oh no. Come back, Max. Where are you?

That was when Stu walked HEAD ON into a mysterious figure.

Herman.

Toothrot.

“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!”

He screamed at the top of his lungs and went spinning, arms flailing, squinting to see.

Oh wait, oh no. It was only Max.

Chimney Swift

 

[Chimney Swift]

MOOD: Spooked

LOCATION: The Hawking House

basics

MENTIONS:


INT:
Stu Dede

tags

TL;DR
Max briefly loses Stu in the darkness, gets mistaken for Toothrot, and resolves to just try and force Stu to stay close.

tl;dr

Max Berkowitz

How do you run from your own mind?

Despite his best efforts to cue Stuart into taking the lead, Max felt a light but sudden push below his ribs that sent him stumbling a few steps forward. He turned around, reaching a hand back and slowly swiping it side to side to try and find Stu again, but his hand cut through the damp and empty air without touching anything. Before he could do anything to stop it, Stu had vanished into the shadows. The only person he had left to protect now just as lost as the others.

Feeling a scream die in his throat without enough air to accommodate it, Max clamped his hands over his mouth, breathing out slowly through his teeth in what he hoped was a valiant attempt not to freak out. Now he had no way of knowing where Stu was, or where anything was except the cracked and uneven floorboards under him.

"Stu! Hey!" He cried out at the black void behind him, praying that Stu would come back closer so he could keep a hand on him or something, but nothing came. Stu could be anywhere by now. He could have gone back up the stairs, wandered off in any direction. He could be hurt. He could have fallen through the floor.
Or he could still be close behind, or just ahead. Aware of Max in a way Max couldn't be aware of Stu
He had no choice but to force himself to assume this was the case, because running aimlessly through the dark was just asking to get hurt. Even Max wasn't that clueless.

Carefully, feeling along the floor with his foot to check for gaps or weak spots, he sidestepped to find the wall and leaned his elbow against it just to have some sense of where he was in the room. Ten steps ahead of the stairs, two steps to the side, arm on what he assumed was the left-most wall. Max wasn't that great at remembering things, or at making mental maps, but he had to try. If he could just follow the perimeter of the room, he'd know whether or not there was a door back out, or at the very least he'd circle back to the stairs and go back up to try and find another light source. Or hey, maybe Stu's flashlight was still down here somewhere, if it wasn't broken…

Without warning, his train of thought was violently tossed off the tracks by a small fist knocking him straight in the sternum, then another whipping just narrowly past his arm, a sharp kick to the knees. Max, startled into a freeze, couldn't react properly to the first few hits, but once his brain caught up to what was happening, he reflexively swung his own arm up to block the next, trying to even his footing on the rotting floor, but no more blows came.

He dropped the hand he was about to flash forward into his random assailant, suddenly realizing who it was.

He held his hand out again, tentatively, this time finding a shoulder. Stu's height. He'd found him. Their haphazard accidental little rescue team was still intact.

Max dragged out a sigh of relief, dropping his head for just a moment. "Stay. With. Me." He ordered, in place of his preferred response of 'what the fuck, Stu?' Getting angry at a kid wasn't going to do either of them any good.
And for the first time in his life, he was actually grateful for that decade of stupid fucking speech therapy. He couldn't get any response, but at least Stu would know not to stray off. Hopefully. He really thought better of Stu than to strand the deaf kid in the dark basement. The momentary shock having worn away, leaving only exasperation, Max rolled his eyes and gently pulled Stu a step forward.

Now, if they could just stick by the wall…

code by valen t.

 

[KingofAesir]

MOOD: Snakey 24/7 forever

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: That freshy's house

basics

MENTIONS: Ashley tamarapasek



INT: Whomever opens the door

tags

TL;DR Beware the bitch in leather, she's a basket case, sorry.

tl;dr

Cyrus

Down in the forest, with the Devil in me.

New places had always presented new challenges to Cyrus Payne. Before, back in Georgia, it had been the constant monotonous work that she’d been subject too on that farm. For the brief months she was in Michigan it had been the way everyone had looked at her like she had some kind of debilitating illness. In Texas, it was her father. But here, in this new place, Cyrus was faced with school uniforms and adoptive parents who were too soft to deserve to be called much more than roommates. These were things she could combat fairly easily, she couldn’t stop working the farm, she couldn’t make people stop looking at her with pity, she couldn’t make her father stop being an asshole, but she could deal with a uniform. She could make something of herself here. But, first she had to get to know people. Coming across that ad for some kind of movie night at some kid named Ashley’s house had been a stroke of pure luck. Cyrus had just been meandering her way around town when the thing had blown right down to her feet. If that wasn’t a sign, Cyrus didn’t know what was. Sure, this was most likely to be a gaggle of nerds and underclassmen, but Cyrus had never cared for popularity and the soft ones were the easiest to control. Cyrus always had to be in control, otherwise she might spiral to the point of no return. Everything always had to be just so or someone was going to get hurt and when you were in control of people that were too weak-willed to say anything about it, it was smooth sailing. But maybe wanting to go to this movie thing wasn’t about control at all, maybe she just needed some friends. Maybe she just wanted to stay away from her new family, or maybe she just felt like fucking with some losers. Maybe she was just bored. In truth, Cyrus herself couldn’t really tell you exactly what her motivations were, but at this point it didn’t really matter.

Cyrus’ new parents had still been at work by the time she had stepped off the bus in front of their house. They were still at work when she walked back out the front door dressed like she was on her way to seduce the mayor. Her style of clothing had alway been a little...revealing, and even working on the farm she had found little ways to keep that trend going. Cyrus liked the way people gawked at her when she passed and she wasn’t about to change it up anytime soon. Ashley’s address wasn’t too far from Cyrus but she didn’t feel like walking all the way there in three inch wedge boots. So, since she didn’t have a car, she’d have to find an alternative mode of transportation. Cyrus walked around to the side of the house to the garage, which was still open for some reason, and there she found the holy grail sitting in a dust covered corner. There, sitting alone and misused in that corner, was a blood red Triumph motorcycle. Cyrus’ eyes lit up as she practically ran over to the thing, running her hand across it’s dusty handlebars and smiling. The keys were sitting on the seat. This was a godsend. Cyrus quickly dusted off what she could from the thing and walked it out of the garage. The key turned in the ignition and the machine spluttered to life, roaring like an animal just awoken from a long hibernation. Cyrus fell into muscle memory from her mother teaching her how to ride and soon she was streaking down the street at speeds all too fast for a helmet-less rider. She laughed into the wind as she sped by house after house until she drifted around a corner and was just in front of the address that she had found on Google Maps. She hadn’t felt like announcing her coming, surprises were always more fun, so she’d found out this freshmans name and soon after, her address. Nothing a little social media sleuthing couldn’t do, after all.

Cyrus flicked down the kickstand and swung herself off of the motorcycle. The keys were shoved in the pocket of the leather jacket around her shoulders. Cyrus couldn’t help but glance around at the neighborhood she was in and roll her eyes at the quaintness of it. A suburban utopia was Parish Point. Cyrus had a feeling this town wasn’t going to like her at all but, to be fair, she probably wasn’t going to give it much of a reason to like her anyway. She bent down until she could see herself in the motorcycles review mirror and fussed with her wind tangled hair until it was presentable again. Adjusting her skirt as she stood, Cyrus made her way up to the door of the house with an easy grin gracing her features. Her knuckles rapped quickly against the door and she leaned back on her heels, arms across her chest, as she waited. The answerer of the door would be met with a smirk and a, “Hi, darlin’. The party has arrived.” before she would sweep past them into the house.

code by valen t.

 

[PenguinFox]

Money can't buy happiness. That was what people liked to say. The sentiment behind that statement was certainly nice, but the reality of it was a little off. When you live a life of luxury without knowing what it's like to want for anything; money is directly tied to your happiness. Take away the money, you take away the happiness. Much of Heather Mackenzie's life was spent with a protective cushion of wealth. Her father was a successful business man and her mother was a model from France. Anything she asked for she received, unless of course she asked for her parents time. There was rarely a free moment to be spent on their daughter. Mr. Mackenzie assumed the phrase 'time is money' could also be translated as 'money is time'. If he gave Heather money then it was basically the same as giving her time right?

Heather had grown up dependent on the life of luxury she lived. It distracted from the crushing loneliness she faced from being an only child of apathetic parents. She had also discovered at a young age that there were those who wanted to be around her solely because of her family's wealth. She used that to her advantage to try and make up for lost attention she should have received from her parents. Anyone willing to give the girl positive attention would be able to befriend her easily. This unfortunately often lead to becoming 'friends' with those who may not have her best interests at heart. Luckily not everyone was black hearted and Heather did have a few genuine friends.

After their divorce Heather's mother moved back to her home in France. Every summer since Mack has spent living with her mother in Paris. This past summer however her father informed her that if she wanted to continue to do that she would have to pay for it herself. Additionally she would be living a more humble lifestyle until she could get a job and 'earn her keep'. All the luxurious things she had grown accustomed to having at her fingertips vanished before her eyes and she now had no idea what to do with herself. It felt like her entire world was crumbling. She was even being forced to attend public school.

The only solace Heather could take in being sent to the wretched hole that was Parish Bay high was that her best friend in the world was also being forced into the same fate. Kat was one of Heather's oldest friends, and while their dynamic wasn't the same as it was back then she knew that they still had each other's backs no matter what. This was evidenced by the pair sticking up for each other the first day Heather was back in America. Some nuisance was going about on twitter bad mouthing her best friend so Heather defended her. Kat returned the favor when the target was switched to over the other half of the duo. The pair together was an extremely powerful force, even without the third of their trio.

While Heather hadn't known Faith for as long as Kat the two were still pretty close. Where as Heather never really felt like an equal to Kat, it felt like she was on the same level as Faith. Sadly Faith was still lucky enough to be attending Hartfield. While she was happy for her friend to basically be the queen over there her own experience at Parish Bay may have been almost enjoyable had all three girls been going.

Overall her first few days back had been a stressful nightmare. The cherry on top was seeing the sorry state of her new school's cheer team. Cheer was something that was quite important to Heather. In addition to basking in the attention she received from it she enjoyed the sport of it. Mack was a highly competitive girl, after all she had grown up competing with the jobs of her parents for their time. Anything Heather could possibly be competitive in she was. Perhaps subconsciously she thought that if she was the best at everything she did then her parents would finally give her the praise she desperately craved.

Kat had other plans already so spending time with her wasn't option, but Faith was available. Thank god for that because Heather already needed a day off and she hadn't been back for even a week yet. The two had agreed to meet and catch up at their typical spot. Mr. Mackenzie owned a hunting cabin in the woods outside of town and while he now rarely used it, his daughter loved using it as a getaway. If she was being entirely honest, Heather felt like her dad also used it more as a getaway. He never really seemed like the hunting type. The type to own a cabin for show, sure, but to actually kill things? It wasn't likely. The cabin itself even hinted to that being factual. It was more akin to one of those 'tiny homes' that was all the rage rather than a legitimate hunting cabin.

Heather stared in the mirror at what was her fourth outfit option that she had tried on. She was trying to find the perfect balance between comfortable, stylish, discreet, and warm. She settled on a multicolored sweater. It was more comfortable and warm than stylish, but it wasn't like she was trying to impress anyone, it was just Faith. She came downstairs to see her father sitting at the dinning room table with papers strewn everywhere. He glanced up to acknowledge she was there but said nothing. His head rested in his palm and he had a tired look. It seemed like he had been there since she had gotten back the other day. It was a little worrisome but the girl was more prideful than she was concerned. He never seemed to care what was going on with her so why should she care what was going on with him? Turning on her heel she went and sought out the keys to his car. He wouldn't be leaving the house so it's not like he would mind...or even notice his daughter's absence. He didn't even notice the bottle of wine Heather had been holding in her hand. She hadn't even been trying to conceal it! Her jaw clenched at the thought that just maybe he did notice but just didn't care. Whatever, it didn't matter. Soon she could relax and catch up with Faith.

The sun was only beginning to set by the time she made it to the cabin. Heather had gotten there before Faith so she went about starting a fire in the fireplace while letting the wine chill in the mini fridge. Despite what she may project she didn't really think of herself as being above work. She definitely preferred not to get dirty but she made exceptions. Cleaning for the sake of appearances was one such exception. She gave the cabin a quick dusting, finishing right as she heard a knocking at the door. A bright smile tugged at her lips when she opened it to her friend. "Faith, it's so good to see you! Come in, I brought the wine like I promised." she laughed lightly and ushered the other girl inside the cozy warmth brought about by the flame flickering in the cobblestone hearth. r e i Mentions: Soap

 

[Dazzle]

MOOD: Anxious? Sad? Self blame?

OUTFIT: outfit

LOCATION: beach picnic tables

basics

MENTIONS:
@LION (zach)

INT:
Elf_Ruler (tate)

tags

TL;DR Tayden apologizing

tl;dr

Hayden Anderson

you get what you give

Hayden wasn’t sure how to react, comforting crying people was never his strong suit. He didn’t ever know what to do to make them feel better. Hayden just sat there watching every one of Tatum’s walls fall down in front of him. Hayden had never seen her like this, the two of them, when they were together, they were just kids. They still were kids, how were they dealing with so much.

What was he supposed to do, could he draw Tatum into a hug, would that be too much? They hadn’t been on the same page, or even the same room, in over a year at this point. He didn’t want to push his luck; he didn’t want to overwhelm her even more than she already was. But as tears streamed down her face, he could see how empty and broken she was. He knew that feeling all too well, and even if he couldn’t fix it for her, he could at least try to be there for her.

As soon as Hayden had sat down, he was back on his feet taking long steps as towards the girl he once felt like he could tell anything to. To the blonde who he got his first kiss from, once his best friend, now a stranger. He closed the distance between them, wrapping one arm around her waist, drawing her head into his chest with the other.

Hayden rested his chin on top of her head, he was much taller than he was freshman year, but Tatum, she was her same little self. Her head barely came up to his chest, but yet her being in his arms just felt so natural, like they never fell apart, like he could stay like this forever. “I’m sorry Tate.” He breathed in the smell of lavender on her hair. “You deserve someone who loves you with everything they’ve got.”

He wished that he had been able to give Tatum that over a year ago, there was so much he wished he could have changed, so much that he could have fixed. A different life he could have lived. A life with Tatum, a life with his mom.

Luka would have been a different person; he would have been able to be a father. Maybe he wouldn’t have been home as much, but he would have been there. He would have been at all of Hayden’s games, at Harper’s surf competitions, at graduations for them. So much would have been different, they still would have had Friday night dinners. Maybe even Tatum would have been joining them regularly at this point. Hayden leaned back to see Tatum’s face, lifting her chin to see her face.

“You Tatum Browne, are anything but unlovable.”

Hayden released Tatum from his embraced, taking one of her hands he lead her over to the picnic table behind them. As he guided her to sit down beside him, he wiped a single tear away from her cheek with the pad of his thumb, his hand rested on her cheek as Tatum pressed her face into the palm of his hand.

“Tate, you don’t give yourself enough credit for what an amazing person you are…”

Hayden dropped his hand to the table beside them. “If Zach doesn’t see that, its his problem… But…” Hayden trailed off, he didn’t want to say what he needed to. But that was just him feeling selfish. He couldn’t do that to Tatum, especially if she truly loved that ramen head of a senior. “But- Maybe, he’s just not ready to say it back Tate…” He pushed himself backwards, away from Tate. It wasn’t right for him to wish things were the same once more, he ruined that so long ago. He wouldn’t make Tatum happy, he wouldn’t ever be the one for her.

code by valen t.

 

[tamarapasek]

MOOD: Irritated/Fake Happy

OUTFIT: Same crop top as before
LOCATION: Living Room

basics

MENTIONS:
@Iskolde
@Chimney Swift
@Elf Ruler
INT:
@Qwertycakes
@MePersonally

tags

TL;DR Ashley snarks, but acts so nice it's hard to tell if she means ill

tl;dr

Ashley Park

I've been thinking about you. Wondering if I'm caught up in your head at night.

.

It was kind of sad honestly. How entranced Ashley was in the flirtations of Dustin, and his unknowing victim. She knew she was being a ridiculously shitty hostess by staring wistfully at them instead of paying more attention to the other guests, but she just couldn't help it.

Her face began to pale a little bit more, and she forced herself to pry her eyes away. It wouldn't do anyone, any good to be so obsessed with him. She wasn't that gangly little geek, who stood outside the shop every weekend hoping to gather the courage to talk to him anymore. He was her friend now. And her act of self preservation ensured for the both of them, that it would always stay that way.

With the remote in her hands, she lightly juggled it between both hands to distract herself. As she paid more attention to the other partygoers, she was relieved to find that Oliver was right next to her on the couch. Despite her seemingly lax behavior with him, she was just a tad worried when he couldn't be found. Another consolation was that Lemon could be a calming influence purposefully. Ashley was capable of being a calming presence, though she found her method was mainly throwing bullshit and hoping it stuck.

As she waited for Romeo to come in with Maybe Juliet, she leaned forward to grab a book from atop the tiny table. One of the best books of all time, which she had been fortunate enough to buy a sticky hand me down of at a yard sale. The Princess Denial. She fingered through the pages, savoring it as if it were the first time she'd read it. It wasn't a fancy book but every single part was absolutely enjoyable. Even though it was her favorite bit, Ashley found that Chapter 4 wasn't as enjoyable if she didn't read it all in one go.

She breezed through Chapter 1 in a few minutes, and still nobody went back in. She rolled her eyes at how long it was taking him to answer the door. Seriously, who did Thackery think he was? Acting like her movie night was oh so important but then getting distracted by a pretty face? It was enough to make a totally not projecting girl scream her heart out.

But she didn't.''Take your flirting inside Thackery!'' she called out, with a forced smile on her face. Maybe Dustin would murder her a little bit for that, but she didn't care. Couldn't he see he was holding up the crowd?

And take the flirting inside he did. Not one moment after he entered, he was already back to blushing and mumbling. Once again, her face fell. She looked away from him, desperate to conceal that slip. That little hint that it wasn't exactly totally platonic between them. Instead, she plastered on another smile at the girl he brought in. No matter what, she was determined to not take anything out on her.''I don't think I've seen you here before. Are you new?'' She questioned her, with a quirked brow. She didn't even notice Cyrus who had brought the party over.

code by valen t.