Westbrook Season 2

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

Aaron’s face twitched, but otherwise remained the same as he nodded, tilting his head up but falling short of the defiance he so sought. “So this is a pep talk.” He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse. Maybe it depended on if this guy got too close, or actually tried to make Aaron actually track what he was saying.

He just wanted to curl up right now. He just wanted to be home. A burning hot shower would make him feel better. He could just curl up in the stream, letting it streak down his back, leaving it red and scalding until it was the only thing he could feel, and he could climb out and take himself to bed.

Desperate for any straws able to pull him out of this pit and allow him to go home, he asked, “Are you even qualified to give me a pep talk? No offense, but… I don’t think you really have any idea what it’s like to be me.”

He peered past the guy, hoping that maybe he would catch a glimpse of Casper, able to approach and drag him away and home, somehow a refuge, but of course he couldn’t be so lucky.

It occurred to him vaguely he could actually think now… Maybe this conversation wasn’t completely useless. Now if only he could pull himself together enough to go home.

Winona​

 

[Winona]

Zander

Zander wasn't a fan of pity parties, and this guy was nothing but pity party.

"Yeah, and you've got no idea what it's like to be me." He snapped back in a fairly un-Zander like fashion. It wasn't easy to get under his skin, but one thing Zander didn't like? People acting like they had it worse than everyone else. Suck it up, and move on. There was nothing you could do to change the past, but there was something you could do to change the future.

"Look I might have a cushy life now because the Knight family is great -- not the Knight family, my family." Maybe sometimes it still felt like it wasn't his family, even if he'd been with them for years. "But I grew up in the foster system. My mom killed herself shortly after I was born. Postpartum depression or something stupid, and my dad gave me up. Foster care fucking sucks." The only good thing had been the older girl that he'd found near one of his foster homes.

"And the Knights are great, really, but private school is not fucking great. Especially when everyone is insisting you're a girl when you know you're not." Zander halted there, his dark gaze looking from Aaron to the wall, to the floor, to the ceiling, diverting his gaze everywhere but the other guy standing in the hallway with him.

"So maybe I don't know 'what it's like to be you,'" he said with very dramatic air quote fingers, "but suck it the fuck up. Cut the pity party and grow up because no one is going to care. And the longer you let bitches like that do this to you, the longer you're going to be unhappy. And we both know that's exactly what they want."

mikaluvkitties​

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron​

It took less than a second for the guy to snap at Aaron, and fuck, that meant it would be one of those styles of pep-talk, didn’t it? Aaron stiffened up, face falling blank enough it felt passable for disinterest.

In a way, this was his fault, wasn’t it? ...Well, actually, no, it wasn’t. Aaron didn’t ask for this- Aaron had asked for none of this. Not to be followed down a hall by someone who could have just let him have his panic attack and recover on his own in peace, not to be humiliated in some rich bitch’s kitchen by Hazel with the help of some bitchy girl he’d never met, not for that fight outside, and certainly not for the fight with Drake. Jesus, he’d started off his night trying to be helpful, and this was how it ended up? He should really just stop trying at this point.

He shouldn’t have even come here.

The point was only furthered by the bastard in front of him starting to talk about his own life- His dead mom, his time in foster care- and maybe it was that or the beer or the adrenaline or some fucked up need to be heard and seen and witnessed or something else entirely, but for a moment, those four words Aaron had spent his entire life learning to suppress threatened to bubble over into repercussions and a mess that would stain the rest of his life- His, his father’s, his mother’s... Casper’s.

The boiling turned to sickness. That was a line too far, a line Aaron dared not cross. Ever since he was young, he’d been told he should care for Casper, and maybe scaring his harassers and would-be ruiners hadn’t been what their parents had intended, but by God, someone needed to, and Aaron was more than willing to champion that cause.

His face flattened further, the shutter off visible in the way he looked at the other, his guard rising back up. He was better than this- This hallway, this party. He had to be. For Casper, if nothing else. He couldn’t afford a mistake.

And then the guy slipped- It was visible, from the way he freezed, the way his gaze wandered. At least he wasn’t the only one off balance here, right?

Of course, then the words hit him, and well… There was a surprise there. In a different state, his eyes might have widened. As it was, he just looked at him as his insides fought the urge to cannibalize themselves with his mind, drifting into darker and darker territory.

He passed- Well. In a way that Aaron couldn’t even imagine. He was obviously on T, and he just as clearly had been for a while. He bit his cheek, fighting the urge to look away. Instead, he kept looking… Assessing.

He hadn’t even realized, had he?

Of course he hadn’t. Aaron’s insides flared hot, and for a second, he wished. A cold start to set in, but now wasn’t the time or the place. He pushed it aside, reminding himself that it didn’t matter, not really. So what if he didn’t look like that now? One day, he would, and that was all that mattered… Well, that and Casper.

If he had just stopped there, Aaron would have been fine. He would have felt- Connected or whatever it was this guy was going for.

But then he kept talking, and all Aaron felt was sick.

After all, the guy was right. No one cared, and no one besides Casper- Casper, who barely counted as a person, who, if not for Aaron’s diligence would long ago have become an accessory or toy to anyone the idiot found in some way admirable- ever would. It made it hard to keep moving sometimes. It was a deep, heavy weight, a realization he was glad Casper had never felt.

And it was hard to function on spite alone. Fuck, it was hard to function on his goals and spite. Everything went wrong, and he’d tried last year- He’d let himself be reachable to two people and now his nose was crooked and strangers tried to start fights with him over nothing.

And he knew it was his fault. If he had just tried harder- If he had just been harder to hurt-

If he had just kept to himself-

Then again, that had never made him happy before, had it?

Pushing things down, or away, hiding it all beneath a mask of indifference… It hadn’t even made him happy in elementary school, had it? Sure, it had kept him alive, but really, was he?

He was a loser. He was losing in this game called life, and admitting it out loud would only make everyone else realize it to, but he could at least be honest with himself inside his head, couldn’t he? Wasn’t he?

Sometimes, Aaron really wished he could just kill himself. But that would just be the biggest way to show that everyone around him had been right, that there had been something wrong with him. Everyone would know he had lost- Hard.

He was feeling too much again.

He needed to get Casper and go home before everything became too much to hide from a bunch of strangers, before everyone saw just how lost he truly was. He could at least get out of here with his dignity intact, right?

And then, at home, he could curl up into a ball in the steaming hot shower and allow himself to vent where no one could see or hear or ever follow as long as he locked the door, and he could sit there until his back was red and scalded and numbness folded him back into its embrace.

Face still an impassable shield, he finally nodded with a long, slow blink. “Okay.”

And then, with little fuss now that a plan had been made- was being set in motion- his legs moved forward, angling around this stupid teenager who maybe in some lifetime could have been him, and he went to find his brother.

Winona​

 

[PenguinFox]

Toby headed out to the rest of the party, arm wrapped around Zander. The brothers were close and always had been. Since he was really young Toby always wanted a younger brother; someone to pass his brotherly knowledge on to, to guide and protect. He wasn't expecting all the trouble and difficulty that would come with it, but the little moments made up for it. "Go have fun, but be safe. Don't get into any mischief or you're never leaving my sight, and most definitely never going to a party again. Got it? Good." he patted his brother on the back and sent him off. Zander hadn't had as good a life as Toby, not that his was perfect. It was rare for him to catch a break, even from their parents. The Knights were good people but they put an immense amount of pressure on their kids. Some days it seemed that Toby was the only person that ever cut Zander some slack.

Toby meandered around the party, partially playing host. Yeah it wasn't his house, or his party, but it was his girlfriend's. So he moved about making sure people were both having fun and not wrecking things. Doing his best to make sure JJ had a great birthday. That is until an incident occurred in the kitchen. He didn't witness it but he did witness the aftermath. He also witnessed JJ running off, and heard the subsequent door slamming. He needed to do something to try and cheer her up and he thought he might have a good idea. He needed to find Zander.

It took a bit to find Zander in the crowd but once he did Toby took his birthday gift for JJ from him, thankfully not anymore damaged then it already was. He made his way to JJ's room and was about to enter when he heard voices coming from inside. He gently knocked on the door before softly calling out. "It's Toby." hopefully JJ wasn't too upset that she wouldn't see him. Soap Winona

Audra didn't quite believe Stu when he said that there was nothing wrong but she didn't want to push the matter, after all it was entirely possible it was too loud for him. The din of the party was bound to be too much for anyone eventually, especially for the sensitive types. Stu seemed like the sensitive type. "I can get that. Part of why I'm out here. Much quieter, almost peaceful." she gave him a small smile. "You don't have to go back inside if you don't want to."

Stu then proceeded to switch his story up and that only confirmed things for Audra. There was a reason he was out here in self inflicted exile, but he didn't want to talk about it. "I decided to show up to hopefully make some friends. It's sorta working I guess." she shrugged and looked at the small group she had come over from. They already looked to have forgotten her. With her demeanor it seemed people often forgot about her rather quickly. Apparently people found her kindness boring and forgettable. She hoped Stu didn't also think that.

"I don't think you have anything to worry about. There's so many people here I sincerely doubt JJ will notice. She's probably having the time of her life in there, not a care in the world. As she should be on her birthday." she paused and looked Stu up and down. He didn't deserve to have worries like that, he was a nice guy. She bit her lip as she thought of a way to better ease his mind. "Y'know...if it would make you feel better I have something you could give to JJ..." she trailed off as she reached into her hoodie and pulled out the two dolphins from earlier. She handed one over to him. "They used to be together but I uh...dropped them. JJ seems like the type to like dolphins. If she does happen to 'find you' and demand a gift you can give that to her. If not..." she grinned. "Keep it for yourself as a sign of our friendship. I'll keep the other half. Sound good?" Dede

 

[DrabberRogue]

Jace

Kurt Catbain. This time Jace actually got the reference, sorta. Once again he knew the name of the artist being referenced without having any clue as to what kind of music they made. Not that it mattered too much to him. What mattered was that he knew enough to get the reference and that it was... Well... Kinda funny. Enough to draw an amused snort from the grinning boy. Even if Charlie's mumbling afterwards was a little awkward.

Honestly the lack of confidence coming from this other guy was just a little bit of a red flag. It was rapidly becoming apparently that he wasn't really used to socializing, and people like that tended to be kind of a chore to talk to for longer than a few minutes. Such a thing wasn't about to deter Jace so easily though. This socially awkward hipster with a guitar was still pretty interesting, if only for the fact that he was different to the sorts of people the tall boy usually interacted with.

He was pretty impressive too. Like, playing guitar his whole life?
"Well, everyone's got their specialty." Jace said, shrugging at the self-deprecating joke. "I kinda wanna learn to play an instrument myself, but I haven't gotten around to getting any good at it..." It was true, he did indeed have a way to relate to the conversation topic. At least a little bit anyways. Over the summer he'd briefly tried to learn piano, an instrument he'd occasionally learned bits and pieces about throughout his life. Especially during elementary and middle school. As with everything else, however, Jace had never really been able to focus on it for long periods of time. So despite his interest he was still barely above novice level when it actually came to playing the thing.


The sound of shouting and commotion pulled his attention away while they were talking. He didn't have line of sight on what was happening, as whatever it was seemed to be coming from the kitchen, but it didn't sound good. Not too long after he saw The Princess herself storm by on her way upstairs. Great, already Westbrook's obligatory drama seemed to have ruined the birthday girl's night. That wasn't enough to dampen his mood though. Jace's eyes stayed bright and enthusiastic, his expression friendly and entertained.

At least until he briefly caught a glimpse of Ash a few minutes later. She was storming out with tears streaming down her face, seemingly unnoticed by the people around her. What was he going to see when he checked Twitter later? When he starting hearing rumors about what happened at JJ's party? Honestly it seemed like the things he'd said to the short blonde last year were like a self fulfilling prophecy. Like every party, every bottle, every one night stand was just progressively screwing her over more and more.

Maybe Jace had been lucky to never get a chance with her...

It still sucked to see her like that though. Just to think that, a mere year ago, she'd probably gone through the party with a bright smile on her face. When was the last time he'd even seen that expression on the cheerleader's face? The tall boy couldn't help furrowing his brow at the thought, his bright expression falling away into a muted smirk. Only a couple degrees removed from his well practiced poker face.

"Well shit." He muttered, turning his focus back to the boy he'd been talking to. "Birthday girl's gone off to hide in her room, drama sparking up all over the house..." As he recounted the things that seemed to be going on in the background around them, that smirk of his gradually widened again, taking on a rakish quality from the dark humor that drenched his tone.
"Hell of a standard to set for the rest of the year, don't ya think?"

Twin Fantasy

 

[Winona]

Ava


The laughter stopped when JJ wiped frosting on her face, and a shocked expression played across her face. "Wow, I can't-- wow, Jules. How dare you do that." She said, pretending her best to be offended, although her laugh made it clear she was just joking.

Ava wanted to do something -- kiss her, wipe the frosting away, something. But she waited too long, and heard Toby's annoying voice on the other side of the door. Ava cleared her throat awkwardly, and placed the cupcake in JJ's hands.

"I should... get going." She stood up from the bed, using her sleeve to wipe away the frosting before she headed for the door. Ava opened it, shot an angry glare at Toby, and then walked out.

Soap PenguinFox​

 

[Soap]

Evie

"Gross no." Flowers? As a birthday present? That's just like you're asking them to die on the day they were born. She shook her head and nudged Adriane, giving a slight grimince and muttering a sorry in case she caused her any pain. "A new skateboard though, that would be cool." Evie raised her eyebrows with a small smirk. It wasn't long before a nurse passed by the room and before Evie could hide under the blankets, she took a double take.

Damn it, that pregnant psychopath. "Genevieve." The dark haired woman said almost threateningly, Evie widened her eyes slightly and turned to towards Adriane, rolling her eyes. Not many people would be able to tell the brunette was majorly disappointed that she was found. "I'll... catch you later." She muttered, hopping off the bed, eying the brown teddy bear that was on the counter as she passed by it. "I'm throwing this away Adriane, ew. This is for big babies." The rest of her many words she had left to say was cut off by the strict glare from Isabella.

"Girl, If you keep disspearing like this, we're gonna have to cuff you to a chair. Come on." Evie's protests were heard as they walked away from Adriane's room.

--

"Mom isn't here today?" Isabella said, and it took longer than a minute for Evie to answer with a small shake of her head. "Vito has a soccer game. It's super important or something. He's getting like watched for a scholarship? I don't know." It's not that big of a deal though, her mom was like always here so she would've been fine. The nurse set the IV on one of those stand things, and started grabbing the essentials she needed, making Evie antsier by the minute. "Ready?"

"Mmhm."

Evie gripped tightly on the stolen teddy bear and looked away from the needle being inserted into her vein.

She hated needles.

Winona

Juliette

It... was a weird moment.

Really weird.

Juliette just couldn't figure out if it was a good or bad weird. But none of that seemed to matter anymore, flinching slightly at the sound of the door... and Toby's voice behind it. Whatever just happened was erased from her memory altogether. Ava's her best friend and Toby is her boyfriend, that's the way everything was, and it's the way it would stay. Because... there's no other way things could be different-- between Ava and Jules.

There probably couldn't ever be and Juliette was okay with it. Totally okay. With a sigh, she stood up and threw the cupcake into the trash bin. Catching sight of her reflection which would hopefully be for the last time tonight. "Oh god, don't look at me. I look so bad." Small streaks of pink frosting was on the side of her cheeks and minimal mascara streaks stained her face. A tissue was in her hand seconds later, wiping at the mess on her face.

"I'm... okay now. It's fine."

Kind of okay.

PenguinFox

Caleb

Caleb was taken aback by the sudden intimacy? Could he call it that? Touching someone else's hair seemed like a big deal when you weren't dating, or well at least haven't gone on a proper first date in the first place. "I-I wanted to see you too." He chuckled nervously and took a slight step back. It's not that Tatum was bothering him, or making him uncomfortable. He just... well, did she really have to be drunk?

He's the last person to ever say something like that.

But it didn't feel as genuine for some reason, and that set Caleb a little on edge. Tatum wasn't even interested in hearing about his summer or the family drama, not that he cared y'know, he doesn't have to talk about it. She probably didn't wanna hear about all that anyway.

"Uh, have you had a lot to drink?" He asked, rubbing the back of his neck. That probably sounded rude, but as he said earlier... he was kind of looking forward to spending time with Tatum, and... not drunk Tatum if that made sense?

Elf_Ruler

Greyson

Greyson wasn't completely assured with her answer, but he nodded. He was expecting Sawyer to continue about how much she drank or about a fight she got into, what he didn't expect was a hug, he didn't hesitate to return it though. She was hurt and being hurt emotionally oddly hurt more than physical pain. Of course he knew what it felt like, It was probably much less similar to when his dad came clean about it all. But nevertheless, it was hurt.

In Greyson's case he learned he had a sister, not that he lost someone he cared about.

"It's okay. It's okay to miss her." What wasn't okay was crying alone in a hallway, he settled down next to her, close enough so their shoulders were touching. Not that his father tried enough to comfort him when he was upset, but his mom did and Greyson found out that physical comfort was in a way, the best one. Hugs really helped for some reason, he didn't know Sawyer well enough to give her another hug out of the blue, so shoulder touching would work for now. "Maybe it'll help if you talk about it?" He said with a small shrug, hoping it wouldn't make it worse.

"What was she like?" Sure, apart of it was trying to help Sawyer, but since the blonde doesn't talk to Kate, or well, his father that much anymore. He didn't really know what she was like, and he was curious.

KingofAesir​

 

[High5ives]

"Peren! If you don't hurry up and get ready for school, I'm going to let your little sister shave off your eyebrows!" A woman's shrill voice called up the staircase.

Peren groaned and rolled onto his stomach, burying his face down into his pillow like an ostrich hiding from predators. Peren felt sick,like he always did whenever he had to start at a new school. His stomach felt like a heard of buffalo were line-dancing to dubstep music. Frankly, Peren wasn't sure whether he was going to shit himself or vomit. He hadn't even gotten out of bed yet and his anxiety was going on the fritz.

"Peren! I'm giving Hannah the clippers! You better be up!" The woman yelled again.

That was enough for Peren to leap up out of bed. His little sister had tried to shave his head once before, and he wasn't about to make that mistake twice. He could hear little footsteps pitter-pattering down the hallway. The little she-devil gremlin spawn was coming for his locks!

"I'm up! I'm naked! Don't come in!" Peren bellowed, diving forward to twist the lock on his bedroom door. He wasn't naked of course, but his sister didn't need t know that. Any lie was worth telling in order to keep his hair.

Hannah was wiggling the door handle to no avail. Peren's bed-head was safe...for now.

Up and out of bed now, Peren kinda stumbled through his morning routine. Nerves made him change his outfit four times before he'd finally decided on a sports jacket and button-up shirt. He almost changed a fifth time, but he was running out of clean clothes in his closet. He'd yet to fully unpack all of his stuff yet. Cardboard boxes lined the walls in his room, stacked waist high and all marked with labels like 'Clothes' or 'Tools'. Honestly, Peren didn't know he was going to manage fitting all of his stuff into his room. His new bedroom was definitely smaller than his last one.

As Peren dressed, his checked the time over and over again. His biggest fear today was showing up to class late. Being the new kid already brought too much attention for Peren's like, but being late to class too would mean everyone's eyes on him. The thought of it made Peren's cheeks rosy. quite the accomplishment considering his skin tone.

The only time Peren slowed down and relaxed a little bit was when he was brushing his hair. Caveman hair wouldn't do. Especially not today.

Now that Peren was finally dressed, with his hair wrangled and a heavy layer of deodorant under his arms, Peren ran through a mental checklist, marking off things one by one. Teeth? Brushed. Shirt? Wrinkle Free. Dashing smile? Needs some work...

His heavy footsteps thumped down the stairs into the kitchen where his mom and little sister were already eating breakfast. Hannah shot him a glare, she was probably disappointed that she didn't get t shave his eyebrows. But his mother was beaming.

"You look wonderful, Peren." She said, obviously trying to sooth Peren's nerves. Right off the bat, Peren fired into a barrage of panicked questions.

"Is the jacket ok? Is it too much? I feel like the jacket might be a little bit too dressy, yanno?" He blurted, anxiously tugging at the buttons on the sports jacket. "Or like, what about my hair? Should I do something with it or leave it down? I don't think i have time to even throw it in a bun or something, and I think that might not really work with the sport's jacket? What about my shoes? Are these ok? I-"

Peren's mom shut him up by stuffing a fork-full of pancakes into his face. Peren chewed, but only to keep from choking. He was still freaking out over whether or not he looked ok, but as soon as Peren swallowed, his mom had another mouthful of pancakes shoved in his face. After swallowing the second bite, Peren tried to go right back into his nervous rant, but his mom had dealt with this before.

"Eat your pancakes, drink your orange juice, and stop worrying so much. You're going to be fine." She said in a firm voice, taking hold of Peren's shoulders and guiding her much larger son to a seat at the table.

Peren stuffed his face. He was definitely a stress eater, which would be unfortunate if he wasn't already so large. His teenage hyper-metabolism was probably the only thing keeping him from blowing up like a balloon.

After breakfast was the inevitable stress-rollercoaster ride to school. Peren couldn't stop fidgeting with the buttons on his jacket. He had a fidget spinner around here somewhere, but in the morning's panic he couldn't find it. Playing with the plastic buttons was all he could really do to keep from jumping out of the car and running down the street like a mad man.

Peren had insisted that his mom dropped him off down the street from the school so he could walk there himself. He didn't want his mom bring him attention by showering him with hugs and kisses in front of the school. When he finally made it to the school's front entrance, he wished he'd gotten those hugs though. The building looming over him was intimidating, and Peren was hesitant to go inside.​

 

[PenguinFox]

The girl seemed receptive to his first attempt at a joke so Ian went for a second one. "Wait, you mean to tell me that being on the ground wasn't your goal? That's too bad because you would have nailed it if it was." a jovial smirk rested on his face for only a moment before the girl stumbled into him. Instinctively he caught her and he was glad he did so she didn't fall but that didn't stop a faint hint of red rising to his face. "Don't apologize it's fine. There's no way you're fine though."

Ian cocked his head at sideways looking her up and down again. She seemed adamant that she was fine so perhaps she didn't need hospitalization, which suited him just fine. He had spent enough time there to last a lifetime or two. On the other hand though she clearly was not that fine. Her balance was off so she was likely dizzy. She knew her name at least, so that was a step in the right direction. "Alaska." he echoed for confirmation. "Well Alaska, we should get you home, let me just see if..." he pulled out his phone and typed in the address she gave him. No such place existed, at least not in Westbrook. Ian sighed and looked up at the sky. This girl probably had a concussion based on all the evidence so far. This night had definitely taken an unexpected turn.

Biting his lip Ian weighed his options. He couldn't leave Alaska here, especially if she was concussed, but he didn't know where she lived. "Well, you clearly don't want to go to the hospital, which is fine, but that address isn't a place here. Going back in there doesn't exactly sound like a good idea because you're probably concussed, so..." he trailed off. He was really only left with one option, as weird as it may be. "I guess...I could take you to my house. You can lie down there until you get your bearings." the reluctance in his voice was clear. He didn't necessarily want a stranger in his home, and she likely didn't want to go to a stranger's house, but what other options did they have? "Is that alright with you? I know heading off with someone you just met is kinda weird but..." he shrugged. "I promise I won't do anything bad?" he gave her a weak smile followed by a chuckle. It was a lame reassurance but that was the best he had. "I'm Ian by the way. There. Now we're not total strangers." as if that made things a lot better.

The other reason Ian was reluctant to make his offer was because he would be leaving the party, and more specifically; Ash. It left a terrible guilt in his gut knowing he'd have to leave. Ash needed help for sure, but so did Alaska. What was he supposed to do, just leave the concussed girl to fend for herself so Ash could hold his hand on the car ride back? Either way the guilt of this choice would eat away at him the rest of the night, like a fruit rotting from the inside out. He ground his teeth some as he made the decision to stick with Alaska. Ash had others to watch out for her, the brunette in front of Ian, did not. a z u l a {Merry Christmas}

 

[Winona]

Ash


It had only been a few days since Ash had left JJ's party and hiked home before she'd started receiving the Tweets, announcing her mistakes to the world. The fight. The kiss. And Ash, right then and there, had felt like her life was done and there was no up. Because there really wasn't, was there? Every timw Ash tried to move on, something else would pull the rug out from underneath her and she would find herself falling further into a pit. A pit where she felt like her voice begging for help and relief was just echoing back at her.

She'd thought about it. Ending it. Her steps had taken her around town, out of the places that she normally hung out. Just in case people did try looking for her -- but they wouldn't, would they? No one had come after her, no one had even been there when Sawyer punches her. Alaska and JJ had stopped it, and they didn't even like. She was just someone to be pitied, and ignored. Sure, Ryder had been there, but he... he wasn't good for her. And that tweet had just proved it to her.

Finally, she looked down at her phone, thinking about where she could go. Her mother's place was a definite no -- the last round Ash needed was her mother complaining about the bruise forming on her face. And when she messaged her dad to ask if he was busy... he'd just replied yes and asked to talk tomorrow. She's looked through her other contacts, but everyone else was busy at the party.

And Grace was dead. But part of the reason they had even stopped talking was because Grace was annoyed with Ash coming to her with her problems. So... she'd started bottling them up. Painting a fake smile. Ash didn't want people to hate her.

But no matter what she did, they hated her. They always did.

So Ash had headed towards Westbrook University, and a familiar apartment complex just on the edge of campus. A quick text, and Brad had told her to come right on over. And the best part? Ash could disappear -- no one would come looking for her here.

That had been Saturday night, and now it was Wednesday. Ash had almost lost track of time -- when she'd first arrived, Brad had let her lay down in his bed and try to sleep. But she couldn't. So he'd gotten her an ice pack for the bruise on her face, cleaned up the cuts on her arms a bit better. He'd gotten her some alcohol and weed to try and relax, and then she'd given him her phone to handle anyone wanting to know where she was. To let them know she was right. And then, she'd decided to delete her Twitter. To be done with the school and everyone and their drama.

And then the calls had started, so Ash had started blocking numbers. One by one. She started letting herself grow distant from everyone else.

After that, Ash had spent her time in a perpetual high phase. Brad kept offering her alcohol and weed, and Ash kept accepting. Her days blurred into one long string of events, between wakefulness and small bouts of sleep. Half the time, she would wake up and not even remember where she was, but then Brad would offer her another shot and she would slip back into that state.

Brad had even skipped classes so far this week, to be there for Ash. It was more than she could say for others, she had thought bitterly. And even now, on a Wednesday at noon, Ash found herself slouched down on Brad's couch, barely able to even see the phone screen just in front of her face. She blinked slowly, trying to keep her vision from spinning.

She swiped right on everyone that came across the screen. Despite the euphoric state that she perpetually found herself in, Ash knew that she couldn't stay here forever.

But maybe she could just... jump. From guy to guy.​

 

[a z u l a]

Alaska

She couldn't even remember her own address, she'd never felt so helpless before. Just standing outside was almost too much for her, the fresh air was the only thing keeping her calm and she knew if she tried to push her way through the mess that was JJ's party she wouldn't even be able to see straight enough to find her friends or brothers. Maybe she could call them, but as she started searching through her pockets she realized that she didn't even have her phone. This night was really a disaster, but she was too exhausted to care anymore. This could all wait until tomorrow to be sorted out, right now she just wanted to get out of here before her head split open.

Being drunk and concussed and leaving with a complete stranger was everything her parents had always warned her about, but it wasn't like she had any options here. Besides when had Alaska ever cared about personal safety? He'd gone out of his way to help her and he seemed genuine in wanting to help her out, besides Alaska was sure she could take him if she needed too. Even if she was concussed and he was twice her size.

"I guess I'd rather die at your place than on this front lawn." She laughed softly, careful not to move her face too much and agitate the bruising. At least if she was murdered she wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath of this night tomorrow, and certainly for at least the rest of the week. Maybe it was a good thing she'd lost her phone. Though she knew she should check on Sawyer, she couldn't think clear enough to find her phone or Sawyer inside the mess of a house.

"Thank you again, Ian. I'm sure this isn't how you planned to spend your Saturday." Alaska offered a shy smile, reluctant to accept his offer but knowing she didn't really have much of a choice. Above all things, Alaska hated to be a burden and she felt incredibly guilty for getting her dumb self into this situation and forcing a kind stranger to interrupt his night and help her out of the hole she'd dug herself.

PenguinFox

Ryder

To say that JJ's party had been a disaster would've been an understatement. Between Ash kissing him, the mysterious video getting leaked, his sister going MIA for the night, and Ash completely disappearing for who knew how long the party had been the worst welcome back to Westbrook ever. At least his sister had returned home, black-eye and all, Ash was still nowhere to be found and he was worried about her. When he'd talked with her she'd been in no state of mind to be alone, and he'd been an absolute idiot and let her run off. Nova was pissed at him, rightfully so even if he didn't initiate the kiss, and the entire school thought he was a horrible person. Of course he wanted to talk to her about what happened that night, but more than anything he wanted to know she was alive and well.

Since Saturday he had barely slept, going through the week like a zombie and just trying to survive. Coming back to Westbrook had been a mistake, New York had been so different he hadn't had time for drama, but everyone here thrived on it. He wanted to find out who was running the jollywolves account and punch them in the face. Maybe a few times for good measure. It was a different level of messed up to be messing with people's private lives like they were.

He was stumbling in the front doors half awake when he almost ran into the giant standing hesitantly in the doorway, staring up at the school before him. After the week he'd had he really just wanted to get to class and lay low, but maybe if he could help one person he'd feel a little less shitty about himself. It seemed unlikely, but it was worth a try.

"Nervous?" The dark-haired boy asked, coming to stand beside the taller male and looking at the front of the school with him. It was a rather intimidating place, he remembered his very first day even though it seemed so long ago. He'd been best friends with Ash then, and now look where they'd ended up just a short time later.

High5ives​

 

[a z u l a]

Chase

"Oh, I'm taking a bunch of intro science courses right now. I want to go into medical school." He responded to Noah's friend, offering the shy boy a smile. By the time Noah made it back from the kitchen with a drink he'd explained his whole college plan to the boy and were talking about Westbrook. Chase was curious to learn more about Noah, and happy to learn that while the boys weren't necessarily into all of the same things, they at least shared similar ideas and interests. He was glad he'd run into the dark-haired boy with his elbow, even if he had almost concussed him.

"Do you need a ride home?" The older boy asked, looking at the empty cup the senior was holding in his hand. He didn't think Noah had a ton to drink, but it was safer to be careful and make sure he got home safe, especially with the hit to the head earlier. The party had wound down significantly after the fight and there were only a few people left at this point, he wanted to get out of there before JJ re-appeared and started screaming at everyone.

mogy ​

 

[Winona]

Ava


Following what had happened the Saturday before, Ava had just been... confused. Confused about her feelings for JJ, confuse about what she was even supposed to do now. Ava had been doing her best to avoid JJ while she tried to work through whatever this weird feeling was. Ava had never crushed on anybody before, but she had a feeling that that's what was happening.

Fuck.

Her footsteps took her into the cafeteria, and Ava found herself stopping short, her gaze moving around the room. There was no way she could sit with JJ anymore -- not that sitting with JJ at the stupid popular table had exactly been her favorite thing. The only reason she had ever sat there had been for her, and that was absolutely pitiful.

Ava's gaze then fell on the only empty table in the room, save for one snowboard wielding punk. She looked around once more, praying and hoping for somewhere that might be a little bit better, but there was nothing. So Ava sucked up her pride, and trudged her way across the cafeteria to come to a stop across the table from Caleb.

"Do you care if I sit here?"

Soap

-----------------------------

Zander

Life was awesome.

Maybe not literally, but he liked to keep an upbeat, positive spin on the world and life in general. He'd had his fair share of depression and shitty bouts in the world, so why not relax and allow himself to enjoy everything and the world once in a while? And the last weekend had been awesome, even if he had destroyed JJ's gift.

It was lunch time, but Zander was supposed to be on detention for a ridiculous misunderstanding. Their art teacher had said make something unique, so Zander had made something unique. That unique thing, of course, being a spray painted Westbrook Wolf on the wall of the gym. But apparently, that wasn't "alright" and he needed to "ask for permission."

So now he was fucking in detention.

But instead of attending detention, Zander was trying to skip it. He'd said he had to go to the bathroom, but instead he was just wandering the hallways, counting away the minutes of hell.

Twin Fantasy​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Sawyer leaned back into the wall as Greyson settled next to her. Normally Sawyer might've scooted away from him, but she couldn't find the strength to move. Sawyer couldn't find the strength for much if anything as of late. Like all of her strength had just been zapped out of her and she could barely find the energy to even get out of bed in the mornings. That might be because she was hardly getting any sleep but all the same. Sawyer was just so tired. Tired of getting sideways glances in the hall. Tired of getting told it was going to be okay. Tired of her dad hovering over her like some over concerned helicopter parent. Tired of going to the hospital every day and sitting there talking to a girl she wasn't even sure could hear her. Not that she was going to ever stop that. For as long Grace remained there, Sawyer would continue to go to that hospital and play music for and talk to the girl she still loved. No matter how much it hurt. Sawyer was nothing if not stubborn.

But that stubborn determinedness didn't change the fact that she was falling apart. Sawyer felt like a fish out of water, flopping around helplessly, suffocating slowly. Nothing of her toughness changed the bags under her eyes or the tears she'd been crying more and more of late. So, yeah, Sawyer let Greyson sit with her because as much as she might not want to admit it, she didn't want to be alone. Not again. It helped that Greyson reminded her of Grace. That easy care about him, that soft tone in his voice. It was all Grace. They were more alike than Greyson would probably ever know. The question about what Grace was like made a genuine smile shine it's way through her tears. The first streak of sun between dark clouds.

"She's...amazing." Sawyer chuckled at her words. How do you describe Grace Jackson? How do you describe an angel on earth? You faun. And faun Sawyer did.

"I know that's cliche but she really is. She was always nice to everybody. Always smiling. She has this super awesome heart." Sawyer smiles fondly, "I remember I got real agitated when we first met cause she picked my best friend over me in some stupid game." She shook her head at the memory, "But she followed me. She just makes me feel like….like I'm important. Like I'm somebody, you know? Like I matter." Sawyer leaned her head back against the wall and the storm clouds in her eyes returned.

"Then I went and fucked it all up. But, I finally felt like I was getting somewhere and then….this. She looked at me like I was everything." Sawyer sighed heavily, "I'm terrified I'm never gonna see her eyes look at me like that again."

Soap

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum had been shocked as Caleb had backed away from her, and she hadn’t been sure how to react. Her mind was fuzzy, and everything was spinning just a little for her. She had more to drink than she should have, and she knew that, but what else could she do? She took a slight step closer towards Caleb, “Does it matter how much I’ve had to drink?” his question had been on that Tatum hadn’t expected but did it matter? She was still standing and could still talk so she didn’t understand what his issue was. She had been trying wrap her brain around the question. She shook her head and ignored whatever lingering thought had been going through her mind. She kept her eyes on Caleb, “I thought you were excited to see me? I thought you wanted to spend some time with me?” she had moved a little closer towards him, losing her balance just a little.

She had used Caleb for stability, “We could go somewhere a little more quiet,” she suggested towards him. She wanted to be alone with him, away from the crowd, away from prying eyes. She wanted to just be with Caleb. He was the only person that had made her feel like she wasn’t a screw up. She didn’t rely on him for that she had just enjoyed how he made her feel compared to the others. JJ had made her feel stupid and like a bitch, Elise made her feel like she had an expectation to uphold, her family expected perfection, Brayden she couldn’t even tell anymore. Caleb had been the only person where she had felt like she wasn’t a screw up and she wanted that and wanted him.

Soap

 

[PenguinFox]

Ian smiled at the dark joke Alaska made. At least she agreed to his offer. He understood how unusual and frankly creepy this whole thing was but he'd rather not have abandoning a girl with a concussion on his conscience. He already had enough to deal with. "Your faith in me is truly inspiring." he shot back with a grin. "The hope is that you don't die though. After all, if I had wanted you dead I wouldn't have stepped in right? What was that guy's problem anyway?" With the matter of whether or not she would go with him settled Ian put her hand just behind Alaska's back. He wanted to guide her and make sure she didn't stumble but he was hesitant to actually touch her. Most people got a little weird with strangers touching them.

Slowly the pair started making their way to Ian's house. He kept the pace slow so Alaska could keep up and not fall over, but also secretly because his hip was killing him. That short sprint he had done to come to her aid hadn't been all that great of an idea and now he was paying for it. He hoped nothing had come loose, that would mean more time in the hospital and the Evans boy was so tired of hospitals. "It wasn't exactly how I pictured tonight going no...but it's surprisingly similar to my predictions..." Yeah he hadn't expected to be walking a stranger to his house but he had thought he was going to be watching over and caring for someone tonight. It was just the who that was different. "Seriously though it's alright, it's not a big deal. What kind of person would just ditch someone in the lawn like that?" Probably the same type of person who had assaulted Alaska, but that wasn't the point.

The walk to Ian's house was probably going to take double the time it should with their pace and so Ian tried to strike up a conversation so it wouldn't be too awkward. "So how was the party for you? Y'know before the whole..." he trailed off and cleared his throat. "Westbrook parties have a tendency to bring lots of drama. There was a ski trip last year that was insane to say the least." Even calling that week long party insane was an understatement. So much went down there. He got punched by Kanen, he made new friends....he met Nova. Those thoughts still tended to be difficult for Ian. Everything was so much brighter back then. Now it seemed every day was cloudy.

Shaking his head clear of those thoughts Ian had a realization. Everyone in Westbrook was at that ski trip. Alaska was not there, and given that she said earlier that she had a New York address it lead Ian to believe she just moved here. "So when did you move to Westbrook? You're not from here right?" At least they had something in common there. Two transplants from different states. Sure, New York was probably pretty similar to Maine whereas California was way different but hey, neither of them were natives, that was the point. His mind started to wander to his hometown and that was another dark road he didn't want to travel down. He nervously attempted to change the subject yet again. He hated how weird he probably sounded but it was better than thinking about those things. "Are you uh...an only child?" Oh yeah, great. Real smooth. Ian scratched the back of his head. This would be going so much better if it wasn't for his stupid brain. a z u l a

So these two didn't exactly work as Parker planned. One was a right bitch and the other apparently couldn't speak. Which one would be easier though? It took him all of about four seconds before he turned on his heel and went after the mute girl. Someone telling him to kill himself probably wasn't going to sleep with him. Though the thought of that hot hate sex would be in the back of his mind for a while.

Parker caught up to the platinum haired girl pretty easily, he was bigger than a lot of people here making it easy to push through crowds. "Hey, hey where you off to?" he said in a gentle tone. "You didn't cause me any trouble. I just wanted to see how people were doing. You didn't have to leave." he paused realizing the communication barrier between them. "I don't really know sign language, but I'm pretty good at charades. If you do things really slow I might be able to understand. I mean if writing is easier for you that works for me too. Whatever you want really." He wished he had taken sign language now instead of French, but c'est la vie right?

Parker took a look around and felt somewhat crowded, and figured the girl probably did too. She did have to use her hands to communicate after all. "Do you maybe want to go somewhere quieter? Less crowded?" Twin Fantasy

 

[High5ives]

Knees weak, palms are sweaty. Vomit on his sweater already, Mom's spaghetti.

Ok, so there wasn't actually vomit on Peren's sweater. He wasn't even wearing a sweater! But at this point, Peren was pretty sure he had a better understanding for Eminem's lyrics. Peren felt like he was about ready to blow chunks all over his jacket. What a start that would be right? Everyone wants to become friends with the kid covered in puke.

Peren about jumped out of his shoes when someone bumped into him from behind. You ever seen a moose jump? Peren probably looked pretty close to that. He whirled, not in a threatening way, he was mostly just shocked that someone had already approached him, and spoken to him. The face of the other boy seemed friendly enough, but Peren who would laugh and point fingers if Peren were to trip in the hallway. Peren normally didn't make such quick judgments on people, but he was stressed! Cut him some slack would you!?

He sighed, blowing out a long breath like the bellows on a forge. "Is is that obvious?" He mumbled. Peren's eyes flickered from the other boy to his feet. He wasn't really sure where to look, or what to do with his hands for that matter. His left hand was stuffed in his pocket, but his right hand had strong crackhead energy. One moment it was fiddling with his jacket, the next it was straightening out his shirt. Peren was a mess, thats for sure.

a z u l a​

 

[Soap]

Greyson

Greyson didn't say much, he kind of just listened. It was what Sawyer needed and, well, she wasn't crying anymore so that was a plus. It worked! For... now. Sawyer and Grace seemed really close, he wished he had a friend who would look at him like he's everything. He never really had many friends growing up. Wrestling was fun, but the guys that were in it weren't very cool with him being in STEM class at the same time.

Stereotypes seemed to click with his hometown, and god forbid you couldn't stick to the status quo. So... he was kinda alone. But at least his newly found sister wasn't and despite all the bad that happened to her, there was still a lot of good it seemed. For a moment he wondered if he should mention the whole Kate and his dad thing, but considering Kate seemed so against it, Greyson didn't think it was worth bringing up. It would just make the possibility of losing her friend more real, and he wasn't about to set reality in for her just yet. "Don't be scared, it'll work out. God has a plan for every one of us." He put a hand on Sawyer's shoulder with a small smile.

He grew up to be very religious because of his family. His mother believed in a higher power, his father most of all. It's hard to not believe in something when everyone else around you does. "But... she sounds really cool. I can't wait to meet her. " He wondered if she likes robots. Oh man, he could show her all the awesome things he made. Greyson was practically waiting for the day she wakes up.

Because he's sure that day will come, almost positive.

Even if that little tug in his heart said it wouldn't.

Enough of all that, it was time to get her mind off of the sad stuff.

"Do you like video games?"

KingofAesir

Caleb

He didn't like drunk Tatum.

Not at all.

Caleb furrowed his brows and lost his words, he wasn't sure what to say. No, he supposes it doesn't matter if she's drunk or not. But it's the kind of thing that heavily changes a person, everyone was always some kind of drunk. Sad, happy, Caleb was an angry drunk unfortunately, only one of the reasons why he stopped. He just never felt like him whenever he did, and he didn't blame Serena for leaving him.

But now he's really starting to understand why.

"No, I-" He listened carefully to her words and started feel worse, Caleb just couldn't tell who he felt more sorry for. Himself for believing tonight was about getting to know her better, or for Tatum for how drunk she really was. "Of course I wanted to see you tonight, it's just..." His back landed against the wall behind them as Tatum used him for stability. This didn't really feel right and that alone set him on edge. He came her to spend actual time together, not a one night stand or whatever. Caleb just wanted to enjoy himself and this wasn't what he wanted.

"Actually, I... I gotta go. Please, get home safe, and don't drive. I'll... see you around." He carefully moved around her and decided to leave the party that was already winding down.

--

His week wasn't the greatest, the rest of his weekend was spent at home watching old shows with his mom. And... ignoring Tatum entirely, which was probably wrong but he couldn't help it. And today... he just didn't feel like hanging out with Mason and the other jocks at the table, so, he sat down alone. Peace and quiet should help right? He brought his sandwich and began to unwrap it when Ava came up to him.

Company wasn't something that was highly wanted, but a quick glance at the rest of the tables that were very taken, he gave her a small nod. "Totally fine." A small grin played on his face and took a bite out of his food.

"Why aren't you with uh... JJ or..." Did Ava know anyone else? He's not judging of course, Caleb knew people, he just didn't have many friends. "That's not an insult so, don't rip my head off just yet." He chuckled.

Winona Elf_Ruler​

 

[a z u l a]

Ryder

"Ah, only a little." Ryder shrugged, trying to make the boy feel a little less nervous. For as big as he was, he looked more scared than little Stu on his first day. It was a feeling that was still fresh for Ryder, starting a new school in New York had been overwhelming for him. He had left so much behind in Westbrook and so much left unfixed, his new school meant new friends and learning where he belonged and who he was when he still wasn't even sure of where he belonged back in Westbrook. And then, just when he had gotten comfortable in New York, they moved back to Westbrook.

His first day back at Westbrook had been more nerve-wrecking than going to a new school, because Ryder knew what a mess he was coming back to. Or at least he thought he did. He hadn't expected Ash to punch him, but he had expected her to yell at least. Everything had changed since he left and he was still trying to figure out how to catch up and where he fit back into people's lives. It was clear he didn't fit into Ash's anymore.

"Westbrook isn't so bad. It's a little overwhelming, but you'll be fine." He reassured, though honestly he couldn't guarantee the kid would be fine. Westbrook was a little more hectic than your average high school, and the new kid seemed like he could throw a punch or two. As long as it wasn't aimed at him, he didn't care. "I'm Ryder, I can help you find your first class if you want?"

High5ives ​

 

[a z u l a]

Alaska

Despite how shitty the situation was, Alaska was glad that Ian was at least trying to find humor in the situation and make jokes. If she would've gone to either of her brothers they would've flipped out and made a whole big deal of it. Everyone took every thing so seriously, if everyone just took a Xanax they wouldn't have half the problems they did, herself included. She just wanted to sleep at this point, even if she had to walk it was better than going home. Her brothers were going to lecture her for disappearing without a word and leaving her phone behind, but that was a tomorrow problem.

At the mention of Aaron and their little encounter she frowned, it wasn't necessarily his problem, but hers. "He punched my friend, so I punched him back." She shrugged, i was a clear decision for her, if someone messed with her friend she was going to mess them up. But after tonight and the fiasco that was last school year maybe she needed to rethink her choices. She'd just gotten back, she didn't want to have to leave again. There was still so much she had to fix, with Drake, Sawyer, and most of all Raven.

"I'm usually much better at fights, typically the other guy looks worse than this." She joked, her short legs taking brisk strides to keep up with his much longer ones, though she noticed he was limping a bit. It wasn't a bad walk, the weather was nice and the stars were out, she might have enjoyed it if she wasn't in so much pain. At least now that they were away from the noise of the house her head wasn't pounding as much and she could focus on the sound of his voice as they strolled through the night.

"Oh, I'm not new, I've been to plenty of Westbrook parties in my day." Alaska laughed, she regretted most of those parties, especially the ones at her own house, but there was always a good story to tell after. Like the time Ryder had jumped from their roof into the pool heavily intoxicated and she had to bring him to the urgent care because he'd broken his foot. "I grew up here, I went to Westbrook until about halfway through last year and then..." Alaska stopped, she wasn't going to open up to this complete stranger about the real reason her parents had decided Maine wasn't the best place for her, no one outside of the family knew and hopefully never would. Her parents still didn't look at her the same, and she knew her brothers were just as disappointed, Ryder especially since he'd been dragged along with her.

"Last year just didn't go so well, so my brother and I moved to New York to be with our dad for the year." She clarified, playing with her fingers nervously as she spoke. "I have two brothers. My twin brother is a senior with me this year and our older brother Chase just started college so he got to stay behind with our mom. They're annoying, but being the only girl has its perks. What about you? Are you new? I never saw you before I left."

PenguinFox​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Sawyer glanced sidelong at Greyson as he spoke, a kind of curious look on her face. She'd hadn't met very many people in Westbrook so open about their faith. When she was younger, she and her father had gone to church almost every Sunday. They'd stopped as she got older but Sawyer was fairly certain that was only because her father didn't want her to be uncomfortable. She should tell him that some churches supported LGBT people and all they had to do was find one. It was a blessing really that her father was so accepting of her that he would forgo church to make sure she felt sure of herself. Sawyer believed in God but she wasn't any kind of Bible-head. Greyson definitely wasn't one either and she smiled at him a little and nodded her head at the sentiment. She only wondered briefly if he knew about her and Grace. Why would he? Kate might've told him but Sawyer had a sneaking suspicion that that was something Kate would rather hide. Sawyer thought she'd made it clear with her words anyway.

Grayson's next question threw her off a little a brought a laugh up through her. Okay, maybe Greyson was a little different than Grace. She remembered once when she'd tried to teach Grace how to play Madden. It was a complete disaster but Sawyer had fun watching Grace get frustrated in achingly adorable way. Maybe Greyson actually knew what he was doing. Sawyer swallowed her brief laughter and smiled over at Greyson.

"Yeah." She chuckled, "Yeah, I like video games. I'm not like obsessed but I play sometimes." It was mostly sports games anyway. Sawyer was a jock after all and sports were a huge part of her life.

Soap

 

[mogy]

Noah Stewart

​

Noah excused himself from the conversation for a little bit to get a cup of whatever alcoholic beverage he could find. While this might make Noah seem like he had an addiction problem, he didn't. He doesn't even remember the last time he had alcohol, which, now that I think about it, doesn't really go in Noah's case of not being an alcoholic.

He had managed to get something which tasted awfully alcoholic, and he was almost done with the cup by the time he had managed to walk back over to Chase, gently pushing people and apologizing for it while walking across the room. Luckily for Noah, none of the bulky athletes got offended when he gently pushed them aside.

Soon enough, the crowded room became less and less crowded, and Noah didn't really notice this until he was done with his cup of the disgusting alcoholic beverage.

Noah wasn't drunk, and he didn't need anybody to drive him home, but he hated driving, and was very bad at it, so who knew how much worse he would be with alcohol flowing through his veins.

"Um, sure, a ride home sounds nice." Noah smiled.

Interactions: a z u l a (Chase)​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Brayden had tried to keep an eye on his friend and eventually he had seen her with another male and by the looks of it, it hadn’t been going well and then the male was gone. He had known Tatum well enough that he needed to get her out and home before she had made an even worse choice. He had pushed his way through the crowd and had grabbed Tatum tossing her over his shoulder as best he could. He hadn’t carried a girl out of party in that manner in quite some time and he could feel he had lost some muscle, but he still carried her out of the house. She had put up a small fight, but she had quickly given up. He hoped the rest of the group would be able to make it home as he put Tatum in the backseat of the vehicle.

His weekend had basically been taking care of Tatum she had been drinking more than normal and had been puking up everything. He had held her hair back and sat with her at the toilet. He hated what she had become, and he had been quietly dumping out the liquor bottles he found in her room. He wondered what could have happened to have broken her to the point of basically no return.

When school had come Tatum had missed the first couple days recovering and it was finally Wednesday, she still looked rough, but she had been more sober than she had been in the past few days. He felt sorry for her, but she had done it to herself in some aspect. When lunch rolled around, he stayed around Tatum who for the most part had been silent. He had never seen her at such a low point. He watched as she looked at her phone and then she put it away. Whatever she had received had made her become darker and sadder.

--

Tatum had been upset the whole weekend, she had pushed away Caleb, Ash had disappeared, and she still was stuck with all her mistakes. Everything she did was a mistake and she didn’t know how to fix it; she didn’t know how to stop the mistakes and Brayden had been taking care of her, covering for her, lying to her parents for her. She wanted to curl up in a ball and never leave it, she was ready to just give up on everything, but Brayden kept making her do different things even though she was more than comfortable letting her grades slip and giving up cheer. Nothing brought her joy anymore. Drinking had just numbed her pain and Brayden had dumped everything she had. Yet, she had no energy to fight with him about it, so she had gone silent.

Her first two day of the week were dark, and she had skipped school twice and her mom had called in saying she was sick, but it was Wednesday and she had to go in, her mom told her she had to get out of her room. So, she was at school and had given up trying for the day. She hadn’t wanted to be in class, and now she had to socialize at lunch. The last thing she wanted. Of course, Brayden had been on her like a hawk and she was even more annoyed because she had to stay sober around him. She couldn’t drink all she could do was sit with her thoughts and emotions.

She had set her lunch in front of her and for the most part was playing with her food. She hadn’t wanted to sit with the rest of the cheerleaders, she didn’t have the energy to deal with JJ and Caleb was with Ava, and she had ruined her chances with Caleb anyways. So, she sat with Brayden who was making sure she ate food and drank water. He was taking care of her and she didn’t want to be taken care of. She had finally messaged Ash who had blown her off and she couldn’t blame Ash, she had messed up as a friend and she couldn’t fix how she was as a person. She was nothing but an alcoholic with no hope at this point.

Interaction(s): Open

 

[Winona]

Ava


"Oh, I don't take that as an insult." She said as she sat down across from him, placing her lunch box on the table in front of her. Although, it was disconcerting that Ava was probably just viewed as JJ's friend these days. "I try my best to not socialize with the peasants of this school. Everyone is either drunk, crying, or whoring themselves around." What? It was true.

"So tell me, why are you sitting over here? Don't you have like friends or something? What about that blonde that was throwing herself all over you?" Ava had noticed that when she was leaving JJ's room and heading for the door to leave.

"Or like... I don't know... jocks. Don't jocks have a bro code or something? Don't you like to sit with them and throw 'bro' in front of everything?"

Soap​

 

[PenguinFox]

Toby gave Ava an appreciative smile as she walked past him. It was great that JJ had a friend like Ava to rely on in addition to himself. He couldn't thank her enough for being able to calm his girlfriend down while he went to get his gift. Maybe buying her lunch or, mini golf, or something. He wasn't really sure what Ava liked but he felt the need to show his appreciation for her friendship with JJ somehow. Perhaps a double date! Was she dating anyone? Whatever, Toby would figure it out later.

Holding the gift behind his back Toby walked in. "You know I can't do anything but look at you when you're in the room." he shot back with a grin. "Being on your face was the best that cupcake has ever looked." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head, unsure of how to go about giving her the gift. "I know things didn't exactly go as planned..." he trailed off as he led JJ to her bed and sat her down. "But forget everyone else. This is your night, it's about you and..." he sat down next to her and revealed the gift. "Well happy birthday JJ."

Toby sat close to JJ and opened the scrapbook on their laps. Every page filled with pictures of them together and smiling, albeit tinted red. It was evident that it was made by someone not well versed in arts and crafts but it was also clear a lot of effort was put in. "I'm really sorry about the red and the wrinkling, there was a uh...mishap with some wine. Bright side is it was really good wine, none of that cheap stuff." he tried to bring some lightness to the situation, hoping his girlfriend would laugh off the obvious flaws in the gift. Of course he covered for his brother. It was no secret that JJ wasn't entirely a fan of him, nor was it a secret as to why. Toby didn't need another reason for the Jamesons to dislike Zander. Toby's eyes anxiously searched JJ's as she flipped through the scrapbook, trying to find a clue as to if she liked it or not. It wasn't the typical kind of thing she might receive on her birthday, but JJ was not a typical type of girl. Soap Mention: Winona

Ian nodded slowly, somewhat understanding Alaska's situation. Hey, if someone punched one of his friends he'd be royally pissed. He had to admit he admired Alaska's spirit. She was likely in quite a bit of pain right now, yet there she was smiling to the best of her ability and cracking jokes. That seemed to be something they had in common, which put Ian's mind at ease some. It felt less like they were strangers, so he could be less awkward about the whole taking her home thing. "Sounds like you bit off more than you could chew. At least there was another set of teeth for you." Ian stopped in his tracks suddenly. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. "I'm sorry, that was a really weird thing to say. I promise it made a lot more sense in my head." he gave her an awkward grin and continued on.

As they continued on Ian eventually let his hand drop from behind Alaska's back. Worry slowly left him the more and more they chatted. She explained to him how she had gone to Westbrook until partway through last year and that she moved to New York and then now she was back. She kept it understandably vague as to why, after all they had just met, but Ian had a hunch her move and 'bad year' last year had to at least partly to do with her fighting. If Alaska fought often enough to be able to say what people typically looked like after a fight with her, then Ian could see where that may cause some issues. She also mentioned that she had two brothers, one of which was her twin.

When asked if Ian was new he shrugged. Could he still be considered new? There were plenty of people who were newer, Westbrook constantly had new students it seemed. At the same time he was still newish compared to someone who had lived in Westbrook their entire life. "I moved here last year. Early October. I did my best to lay low and not be seen or heard until around Thanksgiving. That's when I came out of my shell more and started making friends." He purposely left out major details like how his year also did not go well, or that he shouldn't even be in high school anymore. "Despite my height, I'm surprisingly good at blending in to the background when I want to. I stayed out of drama, God only knows how, and I kept to myself." he shrugged. "It's not that surprising you didn't see me."

Ian looked to the sky and took a deep breath. The air was cool but not cold, and there wasn't a cloud to be seen. It couldn't have been a better night to walk home. It was the kind of night that cleared his head of darkness and let him just be in the moment. It even allowed some music to start flowing in his brain, but he still wasn't ready. It would still hurt too much. "I have an older sister, Sierra. She's been going to college here for a few years now. She's the reason my family decided to move to Westbrook. So we could be closer to her." Again Ian left out key details. Sierra was why the chose Westbrook, but not the reason they moved. "So other than picking fights you end up losing, what do you do for fun?" he shot her a joking smirk. If this turned out to become an actual friendship, he was going to be teasing her about that for a long time. Or until she punched him for it. Whichever came first. a z u l a