Realistic or Modern THE MUNDANE - IC

[Expel]

_{Location: Grimaldi's
Interacting with: Zoya}​

^{"My favorite foods are things that aren't great to eat, like pizza."
― Stephen Pagliuca}​

SOMETIMES CAMERON WISHED THAT SHE DIDN'T WORK AT GRIMALDI'S, that instead of securing the part-time position at the sultry little pizzeria, she'd have gotten a job at the bodega around the corner or maybe even one of those swanky clothing stores up by Prospect Heights. But eventually she would change her mind, realizing just how good she had it. Because when it really came down to it, Cameron would rather leave work every night smelling like Italian sausage and pizza sauce than work in a bodega that got robbed every other week or work in retail. Yeah, she had it good alright.

Cameron's brief encounter with Zoya's ghost had freaked her out, to say the very least. It had all seemed so real: the younger girl leaning against the counter, her chin resting in the palm of her hand and her usual, cheeky grin plastered on her face. In fact, it had freaked Cameron out so much that she had to step out back for a few moments to regain her composure. Mr. Moretti didn't question it; in fact, he'd taken over for her while she was gone, throwing another couple of pizzas into the brick oven and taking more orders. The moment she stepped back inside, however, he tossed her the apron once more and left her to her work. "I have some business to take care of, solo un po," the man said as he disappeared into the back, "You can handle things up here until Lorenzo arrives, whenever he decides to make an appearance..."

So with that, the apron was back on and Cameron got back into her usual groove: taking orders, making pizzas, receiving money. It wasn't until an unfamiliar young woman with fiery red hair made an appearance at the counter that she said something other than, "may I take your order?" or "that will be ten bucks, cash or charge?" Cameron raised an eyebrow when the young woman began to speak, slightly taken aback by her thick Scottish accent. "Ah, a newbie," Cameron said with a smirk, handing who she assumed to be the girl's mother the slice that she'd ordered. She looked the girl over once more before cutting another slice of pizza. "This is one of our best sellers, and also my personal favorite," Cameron said as she slid the pizza into the box and held it out to the girl, "Brooklyn Bridge. Topped with oven roasted red peppers, ricotta cheese, and Italian sausage. I'll even give it to you for half off, as a welcome gift. Welcome to Brooklyn." The girl simply handed over the money and smiled as she was given her pizza. Before Cameron could open her mouth to say anything further, however, she was interrupted by none other than Lorenzo Moretti making his "grand entrance."

Cameron couldn't help but roll her eyes as Lorenzo came bursting through the front doors before tripping and falling face first into one of the tables. What an idiot. "Lorenzo, you're late. Stop fuckin' around and get to work before Mr. Moretti has your ass." Lorenzo was one of the newer employees, and certainly not one of Cameron's favorites. In fact, he was none other than Mr. Moretti's grandson who'd just moved back into town with his single mother. He was pleasant to be around at first, for sure, but Cameron soon came to realize just how careless and fast he truly was. In her opinion, Mr. Moretti should have given his job to someone else. As soon as one of the customers helped the boy up, she threw a Grimaldi's cap in his direction, purposely aiming for his face. "We had a few calls already; the boxes are in the back awaiting delivery." Lorenzo muttered something under his breath before pulling the cap on over his thick bush of hair and heading to the kitchen.

Soon, Lorenzo came back to the front of the restaurant, a large insulated delivery bag in hand. "I'll be back," he mumbled, before exiting the restaurant and beginning his journey. Cameron simply rolled her eyes once more and continued working, only stopping when her cell phone began to vibrate in her back pocket. It wasn't the fact that her phone was originally supposed to be on silent that threw Cameron off; maybe she just forgot to turn the ringer down after she entered the shop. No, it was the fact that the cell phones of every other teenager that had been sitting in the small restaurant had also begun to ring or vibrate at the exact same time as hers. Cameron watched curiously as the young men and women picked up their phones and looked at their screens in confusion. It wasn't until she saw one girl roll her eyes and slam her phone back on the table that Cameron decided to risk the wrath of Mr. Moretti and sneak a glance at her own.

'Come celebrate life?' What kind of sick joke was that? They should have known better. Cameron began to type a vulgar message in response, but froze once more at the sound of a familiar sweet voice. "Aw come on, Cammy," Zoya said, "When did you become such a lame?" Cameron slowly lifted her head to see her dead best friend once more, only this time she was sitting at one of the empty tables. Her hands were stuffed into the pockets of her favorite Adidas jacket, and her legs were crossed at the ankle. Zo quickly looked around at the other customers, but none of them seemed to notice the young woman who had just appeared out of thin air. Yeah, she was definitely going crazy. Without even acknowledging the other girl, Cameron put her phone away and got back to work. She headed to the kitchen to take another pizza out of the oven, hoping that Zo wouldn't be there when she returned, but she was wrong.

"You're going to that party, Cammy," Zo said from her seat. "You have to. When was the last time you had some fun, huh?" Cameron continued to ignore her, something that she knew Zoya never liked, which only resulted in her dead friend rising from her seat and skipping over to the counter. "Cammy..." Zo said in a sing-song voice. "Cammy, Cammy Cammy..."

"What do you want from me?" Cameron yelled suddenly, slamming her fist on the counter. Her outburst was met with silence as the startled customers turned to peek at the frustrated woman. After about a minute or so, things returned back to normal, and when Cameron looked back up, Zoya had vanished. Standing in her place was an older man; he hesitated a bit before shakily raising a hand and pointing at the pizza box that was clutched in Cameron's left hand. The young woman let out a deep breath that she didn't even realize she'd been holding before she handed the box over, pressing in a few buttons on the cash register as she did so.

"That will be ten dollars and sixty-two cents. Cash or charge?"

 

[Jakovski]

Azazel Jackson

​

His home was dim, the lights were flickering and all Azazel could think about is what happens after this. He relied too much on his mother to do everything for him and now that she was gone, his mind wasn't set straight. All he could do was stare into the dark corner of his room and repeat the same event over and over in his head.

Azazel finally got up from sulking on his bed, opening up his nearby window and jumping through it to the outside. He took a walk around the block trying to clear his mind. Even looking at his old family pictures to reminisce about his childhood memories, but nothing was working. Deep down he knew that there was no other family he could turn to and didn't have any friends to help him through this dark time.

After hours of pacing back and forth around the house, he sat in the living room and began to watch old TV shows he grew to love such as reruns of Spongebob. The smile on his face wouldn't last long since what made him even happier was when his mother sat beside him to watch TV as well. On the shelf next to the TV, he noticed there happened to be a book poking out. It was one of his father's books that he wrote when his father used to be a writer. The book was titled In our Honor with the cover of his family. Azazel got up and instead of putting the book back in place, examined it from its title to its chapters. Oddly, Azazel noticed his face was scratched out on the cover with his family and himself as a child and threw the book at the TV out of anger. He stormed back into his room, slamming the door shut, sitting in a fetal position in the dark corner of the room again.

 

[Shrikopath]

----------------------------------
Richard
----------------------------------
Location: Richard's house
Interacting with: (???)
​

Richard's phone vibrated, for the first time in months.

Suffice it to say, Richard wasn't the most outgoing fellow. The last time he went to any kind of social event was some time around June. That is, if interacting with people he did not know or care about was to be considered a social event. He wouldn't be able to remember otherwise. Being the recluse that he was, a random text was certainly a surprise, especially considering it came from a number he didn't know.

"Come celebrate life!"

He waited, ready for a link to some virus or something. When nothing came, he was ready to dismiss the message as some sort of threat, or just very poor schmuck bait. Until, of course, a voice came to convince him otherwise.

"You should go."

The second time around, he was somewhat more...acclimated? He was at least aware that whatever was happening wasn't real, and that it would go away soon enough. It would probably come back, but that would be an issue for later. "And why, exactly, is that? Shady-ass invite shows up on my phone, telling me to go somewhere with my guard down?"

"Call it a hunch. I have a feeling there's some stuff you'll want to see there."

Checking his phone, he noted the time; around 7 pm. His parents would probably be back soon, so if he wanted to continue avoiding them, now was probably a good time for some fresh air. He may as well have used the opportunity.

"Fine. But I'm not going to blindly jump into this."

Richard stepped into his garage, looking around. Eventually, his eyes settled on a shovel, lying in a corner. It was incredibly dirty, wet soil lining the surface. Which meant that it had been used recently, and therefore was in working order. As an added bonus, he would probably look a lot less shifty with a shovel than he would carrying a sledgehammer, or something. Not much less shifty, but it was better than nothing. He grabbed it, hesitation completely absent.

"Do you plan on assaulting somebody?"

"I believe it's called the golden rule: threaten others as you would have threaten you."

And for the first time in months, he felt ready to send a message of his own.

 

[IzzyFizzy]

CHARACTER: DERRICK
LOCATION: THE PARK
INTERACTING WITH: Flame Demon

Derrick tilted his head a bit trying to make his voice sound cheerful but normal. "Derrick Churchill at your service!" he said smiling before continuing "I am fine! I just came here to.... think." He was silent for a moment.

Suddenly he realized his phone was still blasting his music. By that time it had already passed the song he was on and went on to another. "Is there anybody out there?" you could hear from his headphones before a calming guitar could be heard playing. Derrick with a slight blush said "Oh crap, sorry about that!" He opened up his phone to the song Is There Anybody Out There? by Pink Floyd playing and he quickly shut it off. It was then he noticed a text from an unknown number "What the fuck?" he mumbled to himself before remembering the girl practically over his shoulder next to him.​

 

[IzzyFizzy]

Character: Emily
Location: Home
Interacting with: Nobody

Emily lied on the couch in the living room watching Say Yes to the Dress, a show her mother and herself used to love watching together. She sighed at the memories of her mother making up funny jokes about the show while her brother kept peeking his head in and out of the doorway to the bedrooms to see if it was finally over. Emily now scrutinized the show now, even if it was all the same. Randy's perfect smile as he helped all the women pick out their dresses bothered her. How could anyone smile with what happened with the virus? She knew it was a ridiculous thought but she clung to it and turned off the TV.

Done with watching TV, the female once again tried to stand and gained quite a success, her knees barely wobbling as she walked to the kitchen and made herself a bagel. After she made her bagel she came back to the couch, sitting down and in her other hand picking up her phone.

It was then that she heard the soft jingle of her getting a message. Must be dad checking in, as usual, she thought quietly. Nobody really contacted her much else these days. She was however surprised to see instead of her father with a worried text, the glaring name of UNKNOWN on her screen. She opened the text and read it softly, eating her bagel while doing so. Confused the girl put down her phone. "Come celebrate life? What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she said quietly to herself looking at the off phone on the coffee table.

She lied back thinking this through. before realizing she might as well. Her father would be staying over at her uncle's tonight to help him through something, she didn't know what exactly but had a hunch it had to do with the virus. This left her home alone and free to roam. Looking at the time the girl sighed once again and went to her bedroom and looking for something to wear besides her stained hoodie and sweatpants.

She pulled out a striped shirt and then a flannel to go on top and then some jeans. It wasn't anything fancy but at least she would seem kind of put together. When she was done preparing herself she decided that since it was afternoon, it was as good a time as ever to go on a small walk. So her keys dangling around her neck the female walked out of her house, locking the door behind her.​

 

[A Common Man]

Adam Holder
Location: Grimaldi's
Interacting With: Cameron
Tag: Expel

Adam continued walking, noticing the pizza place come into his view. As soon as he did, he heard his phone and checked it. When he saw the message, he tilted his head. "Oh come on Adam, have some fun." A voice said. Adam looked around and saw...Freddie. Adam backed up. "You know, you were always such a...buzzkill. Lighten up." Freddie said with a chuckle. Adam started sweating and closed his eyes. When he opened them, Freddie was gone. "What the hell..." Adam muttered to himself. Adam was healthy. He never had hallucinations before. Adam thought about it. Maybe it was the virus still having a lasting effect on him. He would have to tell his mom later. Maybe he should check it out and go to the party.

Adam slowly continued walking to the pizza place, and opened the door. He walked in, and noticed a few people were taling there orders. He walked up to the counter and made his order after the older man was done doing his order.

"Could I have some...pepperoni pizza please?" Adam eventually asked the woman when the older man in front of him left.

 

[Flame Demon]

Angelique
Park
IzzyFizzy

Angel hears her phone and she checks "Okay..." she mumbles, she was honestly not in the mood for a party at all, especially not one that didn't make sense "Right, well I should get going, my mom's gonna be home tonight and she wanted to have dinner as a family again, so..." she trails off and she groans seeing that annoying shadow gone again "Calm down and it'll return, like always" she thinks, she just hoped Derrick wouldn't notice it, how was she doing to explain it to someone she just met, probably not.

Now that she thought about it, her parents would want her to go out more, but she didn't know if that was smart, why was life so confusing in the first place, maybe if that virus hadn't killed so many people then everyone would still have a normal life, but she couldn't turn back time, sadly enough "I should go and get some groceries" she says finishing her sentence from earlier.

 

[WhipDing]

Chris Derby

"That's, um, a nice name."

He really couldn't think of anything better to say. He literally didn't know anything about this person - even if they did have something in common to talk about, there didn't seem a good way of doing it without it coming off as strange. To be honest, he wasn't too sure what he was planning to do after inviting her in. It just felt the right thing to do.

Thankfully, after another brief pause, he felt his phone start vibrate in his pocket. A welcome distraction in this time of great need. Curiously, Thalia's phone went off at practically the same moment - he thought about bringing that up, but thought better of it. As odd as it was, it was probably just a coincidence. What if he asked and it turned to be something really private? That really would be awkward.

He stared at the screen as he poured water out of the now-boiled kettle into a pair of mugs, pulling them out of one of the overhead cupboards. A party, eh? Tonight? It had been a long time since he'd been to one... but it didn't seem like the best of ideas. His body was still recovering from the illness he'd suffered from not too long ago, and he wasn't really one to accept invitations from people he didn't really know. A whole night spent with a bunch of strangers? No thanks.

A freshly -brewed mug of tea was soon placed down on the small table in the room. "That's one's yours," he said, giving Thalia a brief smile. "Feel free to sit down."

Yet another moment passed before he spoke again.

"So, uh... which school do you go to?" It was the only thing he could think to ask, other than other questions which would likely be more sensitive. He only hoped he'd guessed her age right - it could be pretty bad if she was actually older than him or something.

itsmaura

 

[Ladyvix]

Miu Torika

Interacting: Appa/Asashi Torika, Layla

Mentions: A Common Man , Expel

Location: Grimaldi's

Miu and her father headed down a couple of blocks to Grimaldi's. It was like a tradition of theirs to have pizza there, especially if Miu's father hadn't seen her in a while. People in the little pizzeria knew her father because of that, and this was his favorite spot to come for lunch in general. Miu grabbed a table by the window, not like they had a usual spot or anything, she just wanted a window seat today. Her father in the meantime went to go order the pizza, after their conversation in the Hospital, he should know exactly what to order, whether he actually enjoys the choice or not.



Whilst waiting for her father to return with the pizza pie, Miu just idly looked out the window. She was thinking about the virus again, how fast it hit the school, the people she knew in the school, and her friend Layla. Miu had known Layla for only the past year in school, but they became pretty close quickly. Layla was one of the only people who didn't leave her be and would sometimes even interrupt her studying in the library to come out and enjoy a walk, or whatever else she hadn't already seen in Brooklyn. Miu hadn't received a text from Layla since she had been on permanent bed rest, so it worried her. On the other hand Miu had never seen Layla's name along with the other victims of the Barracuda Virus. Miu just automatically thought that Layla had to have survived, or was lucky enough to not even get the virus. She usually would text Miu for any small thing, and there were no missed messages asking if she was okay, or even about the Barracuda Virus.



Miu took out her phone from her jacket pocket and unlocked it. She scrolled through many of Layla's message rereading them, some of them were really stupid and funny things. She missed Layla. Just then Miu felt something brush against her back and she turned to see who might have accidentally bumped into her. It was Layla, but she seemed different somehow. "Hey Mimi, how come you didn't text me? I was so lonely." Miu looked at her confused and stood up, she instinctively looked towards her father, who was on a call, probably with his campaigner right now. "Layla, is that you? Where have you been? I-I thought that maybe you were.....gone....I've been too afraid to text you." Layla just stood there and laughed at her, that seemed really weird to Miu. While Layla would joke around, she never laughed at Miu before.



"Oh Mimi, you're so funny. Don't worry about anything though. I'm going to hook you up, you know finally meet some other people, get you to be more social." Miu opened her mouth to protest, but Layla just kept talking, this was normal for Layla. "There's going to be a party for the survivors! You just have to go! Meet and greet. And don't forget toe greet some cute guys!" She was usually her playful tone now, always trying to set Miu up with someone so she could learn some social skills, maybe not make studying her top priority. Layla always hated how her mother felt about being top dog in grades, complaining to her about expectations and how harsh her mother is. Afterwards she would ban Miu from studying the rest of time they were hanging out.



Miu was about to finally getting a word in edge wise, but then there was a slam on the counter. Miu turned her head to see Cameron at the center of the noise. Maybe a customer was really bugging her, though Miu never thought her to be temperamental. She knew about Cameron and even had seen her around in school, but beyond that she never really interacted with Cameron. Though considering how much time she spends in Grimaldi's, ordering pizzas sort of counts? It seemed to be a split second thing for her though as she went back to normal right afterwards.



Miu directed her attention right back to Layla to see she was just gone. She had vanished in thin air, as if she was never there. Miu's confusion grew even more, Layla would never leave without telling her. Now she was gone in the blink of an eye, unless......Miu was seeing things? Miu looked around the little pizzeria just to make sure she might not have been seeing things. She saw Adam, another face from school, but no Layla. This was freaking Miu out a bit as she forced herself to sit back down and think about it rationally. She even moved her hand to grab at her inhaler, because it felt like she might have a breathing fit. Just then her phone buzzed, showing her she received a text message. The number was unknown, she didn't need that now. Still she opened the message to see what ad she was being texted now. It was a party invite....the one Layla was talking about before? She then received another text.

Layla

them

You're going

me

Layla! What happened to you? Where''d you go?

them

Nope, u have to agree to going to this party.

them

And I mean like pinky phone swear me that u will go

them

I see u typing I mean it promise me or else nothing

them

well?

me

okay okay I'll go

After that nothing, no texts. She disappeared again and Miu sighed. What was going on? Was she just going to show up to this party by herself now? She couldn't back out, she pinky phone swore and if Layla wasn't already a ghost haunting her, she would haunt her for the rest of her life if she broke the promise. Miu should have gone to order the pizza instead of her father.

 

[itsmaura]

Thalia Harris

Thalia quietly laughed to herself, nodding at his awkward compliment. She could tell he didn’t know what to say, and it was of no surprise that she wasn’t the only one that felt slightly uncomfortable. They really hadn’t been talking much; Thalia did nothing but admire his home. She realized there were no parents around, but she decided not to question it, just in case if it was a sensitive topic for him. It definitely was for her. But she pushed that to the back of her mind and watched as he prepared the tea for the both of them.

Time had passed before both of their phones vibrated from an unusual notification. She furrowed her eyebrows; notifications were not a common thing for her to get. She took out her phone and carefully read the message from the lock screen.

“Party tonight @ 385 Franklin Ave, 9pm-Until, Come celebrate life!”

Thalia couldn’t help but laugh at the slogan that the ‘mysterious’ person had made up. They must be insane, she thought to herself. There was no way she was attending a party; it didn’t seem at all intriguing in her mind. She shook her head and shut her phone all the way off, making sure she got no more notifications about any social events for the rest of the day.

She glanced back up at Chris, only to find out that it wasn’t Chris. It was Izayah. Again. Thalia bit the inside of her cheek, staring at the same obnoxiously sweet smile that he had before.

“Go to the party, T. I’m tired of seeing my big sis moping around like she has nothing to live for.”

Those last four words hurt her. Nothing to live for. The irony in his words and the smile that never seemed to fade made her grit her teeth. She blinked back tears of anger as she watched Izayah fade back into Chris. And that’s when she realized he had asked her a question.

“Um, uh, I go to Midwood High..” She said, stuttering over her words.


WhipDing

 

[General_warNpeace]

Dani Blake
Dani was quieter than normal at dinner that night, obviously lost in thought as she idly moved the food around her bowl. Her aunt cast her worried glances wondering if she was truly alright. She had found Dani on the porch steps earlier looking shaken and pale but had assumed it was from over exerting herself. So Dani had spent the rest of the day in bed, alone up until her aunt and brother joined her with plates of her favorite. Spaghetti.

Dani herself was unaware of her aunts worry mind still trying to grasp everything that had happened earlier. She had accepted that it was in fact Juniper earlier but was now wondering if maybe she was crazy. Perhaps, something left over from the virus? Maybe, I'm still sick. Perhaps hallucinating is the next step and the doctors just haven't figured it out yet. Or maybe I just lost it under the pain of the virus and didn't notice my mind was gone till now.

Dani remained in this state until her aunt and brother were finished. Her brother was quick to leave but her aunt lingered, asking once more if she was alright and taking her bowl when Dani said she wasn't hungry. When she left Dani found her room was much to silent and reaching over to her bedside table was quick to search for her mp3 player. Putting on a random song to try and quell the silence Dani wasn't shocked to find it was her and Juniper's favorite song. It was at the top of her list, one of the first songs downloaded and the last one listened to. Still it made her eyes sting listening to the words.

"I always did love this song." Junipers voice sighed right beside her.

Barely stifling a scream of surprising Dani threw herself away from where the voice came from. Just barely stopping herself from tumbling off the side of her bed and repeating her earlier performance. Looking in the voices direction she somehow just knew that Juniper would be sitting on the end of the bed with her legs crossed. Just like normal. Gathering herself after a moment passed with only the song breaking the silence she began to get angry. "Why are you here?! Your not alive or real, just some hallucination left over from that virus. So go away!"

Giggling met her ears. "Oh D, I'm not going to deny or confirm any of those assumptions. But I also won't go away. Not yet."

"Why? What do you want?" Dani whispered suddenly feeling drained. Some part of her wanted Juniper to stay, even if she was a hallucination, so she can listen to their favorite music together and compete in archery, and so she can confine in her. So she could act like her best friend wasn't dead. But she knew that Juniper was dead. She would no longer be able to listen to their favorite music with her or compete against her in archery. And acting like she wasn't dead, like this was real, would only tarnish her memory and make it harder when Dani is faced with the truth.

"Simple, I want to make sure you make some new friends. Maybe even meet a cute guy. Your always so distant, but now that's all going to change." Juniper sang the last part and curious despite herself Dani couldn't help but press upon what she meant. "And how are you going to do that?"

"Simple, your going to a party."​

 

[WhipDing]

Chris Derby

This was... odd. Upon asking the question, Thalia had just stared at him blankly for a moment or two, as if she hadn't even heard him talk. Her face was emoting, but it didn't seem to be particularly connected to anything that was happening. He opened his mouth to ask if she was okay, but before he could, she seemed to snap out of whatever trance she'd briefly fallen into.

Chris almost breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing her answer. Finally, something he could actually about.

"Oh, really? That's funny, I do too!" It wasn't really that funny. In hindsight, it made a lot of sense - there weren't that many schools in the area, so it wasn't much a stretch to think they'd ended up going to the same place.

"Oh, she's nice, isn't she?"

The voice he'd earlier spoke yet again, this time from apparently within the room. He had to be going crazy now. There wasn't any other way to explain this.

"A party, eh? You should go. Might finally meet someone who actually cares about you, you unlovable piece of shit."

He tried his best to ignore it, keeping his mind on the relative stranger in his kitchen. It wasn't real, right?

"Which grade are you in, if you don't mind me asking? I'm in 12th." Seemed like a reasonable topic to start with, he might be able to--

"Poor little Chris, can't get a girlfriend, can't get a wife... gonna be alone for the rest of his liiiiife!"

"SHUT UP!"

It took a second for him to realize what he'd just done. He must have looked as crazy as he felt - he'd just turned towards the open door of the kitchen, and shouted at nothing, more than likely. Great. He turned back to Thalia, hoping he hadn't just scared her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't talking to... I was just... um, I should go check on that. I'll, uh, be back."

Embarrassed, he hastily walked out the room, ignoring the slight pain in the shins it was causing him.

itsmaura

 

[IzzyFizzy]

CHARACTER: DERRICK
LOCATION: PARK/ EMPTY STREETS
INTERACTING WITH: NICKY?

Derrick smiled at the girl and gave a small wave, not bothering to respond. It was obvious that the girl was bored with the conversation, so why should he bother. The ginger nonetheless stared at her until she had walked away, out of sight before looking at his phone. The text was still up on his phone when he looked. Sighing Derrick went to delete the text when he heard a voice calling, seeming close yet so far away. "Don't delete that Derrick!" Derrick looked up to see nobody when he heard this and thoroughly freaked out, didn't delete the text and hastily put his earbuds in, pressing play on the song that had accidentally been playing in the background of his conversation. The song blasted in his ears at a volume way too loud, yet his hand didn't move to change the volume and he simply got up from the swing and started to walk up the empty street. Somehow, over the sound, a voice seemed to come through.

"Derrick, why are you ignoring me?"

Derrick kept walking, going at a faster gate when suddenly he came face to face with the person speaking. He wore a dark blue space invaders t-shirt and dark blue jeans with frays and rips in the knees. The male smiled at him, his brown eyes crinkling in the corners before he said, "Yo man, long time no see!" Derrick pushed past the boy whispering under his breath, "He isn't real, keep walking, he is dead."

"Far from it friend" Ignore him Derrick thought picking up the pace to a run, hoping to keep away the hallucination. It was at that moment however that he tripped over a lingering tree branch from a recent storm. Swearing under his breath he looked up and saw him again. The dirty blonde seemed to shake his head in a joking manner before saying, "Is that any way to treat an old friend? C'mon Derrick, get up!" The ginger as if in a trance stood on command before staring the hallucination right in the eye and saying, "What do you want with me Nicky" putting emphasis on the name. Nicky smiled and said, "For you to go to that dumb party you got a text invite for." Derrick turned his head away saying, "Why would I do that? You know I suck at parties, I always end up making dumb jokes and making everyone feel awkward."

"That's untrue and you know it Derrick" Derrick sighed quietly still looking away. Nicky sighed and crossed his arms saying, "Look just promise me you will go okay? Pinky swear?" Derrick turned his head once again to see Nicky smiling, his pinky out. Turning a light shade of pink, Derrick took the [pinky hastily in his and said, "Pinky promise"

Nicky smiled before bringing back his hand to his sides and disappearing right in front of Derrick. The ginger, now 'alone' sighed turning around and walking down the empty street.

I guess I am going to the party then he thought before rounding a corner and reaching his house, closing the door softly behind him.​

 

[Flame Demon]

Angelique
Park/home
Alone

"Okay..." Angel mumbles as she walks off, after doing her errand she heads back home, where she finds her aunt and uncle "Angel you're alright" her aunt says hugging the girl "Yep, guess I got lucky" she says, this earns her four very concerning looks "Where's Al?" she asks finally after a few minutes, she hadn't seen her family since the virus spread "Angel, she... didn't make it". Angel remains quiet for a moment and excuses herself after putting the bag down, she sits in her bed, she hadn't thought for a second that she could have lost family members "I'm so stupid" she says as she pulls her knees to her chest, now she really didn't want to go to that party 'No, Al would've wanted me to go to that stupid nonsense party' she thinks, she barely registers her parents coming in to put some food for her 'What to wear to a party that celebrates life?' she thinks slowly getting up and walking to her closet, not that she had any clothes to wear that would fit any party at all.

 

[itsmaura]

Thalia saw his expression toward her moment of complete silence and uncomfortable staring. She cleared her throat and began to say sorry, but kept her mouth shut. He soon replied to the answer she had given him, and that too, was another awkward moment. Thalia smiled politely and nodded her head to his remark.

She figured it was her turn to come up with a conversation starter but before she could, she realized he was hardly paying attention to her. His attention seemed to be drawn to the entrance of the kitchen and that’s what made her curious of what he was ‘seeing’. There seemed to be nothing there. At least, she didn’t notice anything. Thalia shrugged her shoulders and focused back on Chris, realizing that he was no longer distracted. He seemed to be oddly focused on her more than before while asking her what grade she was currently in. When he had said he was in 12th, Thalia sighed and replied with, “I’m in 11th.”

She hoped oh so badly that she was at least the same age as him, but that didn’t happen in her favor. Being younger than someone always made her feel less than what she really is. Especially with most people being taller than her. But all of that was suddenly wiped from her mind when Chris burst out in obvious anger towards...no one?

Thalia watched him carefully when he excused himself and made his way out of the kitchen. And that’s when she started thinking again.

Either Chris was mentally unstable, or he was seeing people just like how she was seeing her brother. Thalia froze at the thought. Maybe she wasn’t the only one going crazy after all. It was relieving but also unusual. What could these hallucinations possibly mean?

 

[The Great Goon Goblin]

Atticus Loren Anderson

Dusting his clothes off of any dirt or dust, Atticus was about to pick his bike up from off the ground but felt his phone going off. Looking downward, he reached into his pocket and seen a text from an unknown number. Regularly, he would just ignore these things as it was usually for the wrong the person; but Atty chose to see who could be contacting him. "A party to celebrate life? The hell?" Atticus muttered confusedly, assuming that it was probably a mistake that he received the message or a prank. "There's no way this could be for me. Delete." Just as he was about to swipe on the message, Atticus noticed a figure looming in front of him. "Devon?!" He shouted, jumping back feeling startled. "Dude, don't sneak up on me like that! I could've had a heart attack."

Devon eerily smiled towards Atticus as he just stood there. "Hey! Are you going to that party? Should be a lot of fun! Everyones going to be there! You have to go!" Devon exclaimed, coming off a tad pushy over this supposed party. Looking terribly cheery, his gaze never moved away from Atticus. "385 Franklin Avenue, make sure you're there."

Atticus was confused, surprised, and a little concerned for his friend. With his brows furrowed, he gazed at his Devon with a nervous smile. "Devon, are you feeling okay? How did you know I got a text about this party? Dude, I haven't seen you in like ages. Don't you wanna catch up or something?" Atticus asked question after question, but it looked like it was getting him nowhere. Maybe this party was legitimate seeing how passionate Devon was on him going. "Uh, yeah I'll be there I guess." He replied, but not as confidently as he wasn't sure what to think of this.

"Don't worry, we can catch up at the party! Just make sure you're there!" Devon told him, putting heavy emphasis on Atticus showing up. Atty looking down to put his phone back into his pocket. When he returned his sights back to Devon, he was already gone. Everything was getting stranger and stranger by the minute, but Atticus figured it's probably best not to ask any more questions. The people sitting on their porch nearby just stared at Atty, as it looked like he was talking to himself the whole time. Picking up his bike, he headed back home to get ready for this party to celebrate life. Whatever that meant. The only problem now was getting past his dad around that time. Atticus was going to have to play Batman, and climb out his window onto the stairwell.

When the night approached closer, Atticus stood in front of his mirror wearing a red pullover hoodie and skinny black jeans. That looked to be right for a party, red and black. Atticus wasn't often invited to parties, so he wasn't sure what was best to wear. Walking over to his bed, he made sure the cover was placed perfectly that it looked like he was fast asleep. He's watched enough movies and television to foolproof this plan. Opening his bedroom window, he climbed out going down the side stairwell tiptoeing to reduce so much noise. Atty didn't have his bike this time, so he was traveling the old fashion way...walking

 

[Expel]

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[Expel]

One in the hand One in the bag
Bubblin'

_{Location: 385 Franklin Ave Brooklyn, NY 11238
Interacting with: Zoya}​

^{"You gotta have life your way. If you ain't losing your mind, you ain't partying right."
― Young Jeezy}​

THE LARGE STUDIO APARTMENT WAS MORE CROWDED than Cameron would have expected, the temperature gradually rising as she ventured deeper inside. “Too many damn people in one space,” Zoya muttered from beside her, and all Cameron could do was giggle and shake her head. As soon as Cameron had clocked out of work at six o'clock, her deceased best friend had appeared once more; the younger girl stayed glued to Cameron's side as she took the subway back home, only disappearing momentarily when Cameron had to have a brief talk with her mother about where she was going to be for the rest of the night. Soon, Cameron had successfully showered away the strong stench of Italian sausage and pizza sauce, pulled on a new set of clothes, and was on her way back to the subway station. She knew that Franklin Avenue would be a solid twenty minute ride from Brownsville, so she ended up putting in one of her earbuds and ignoring the world until it was time to get off at her stop. Zoya, on the other hand, hadn't stopped talking since they'd left the house.

Cameron practically jogged down the street and found 385 Franklin Avenue in record time, trying her hardest to get away from Zoya as quickly as she could. The young girl kept up with ease, however, which made Cam even more irritated. "Can't shake me that easily, Cammy." Cameron had eventually slowed her pace, mostly because she realized just how suspect she looked running around the neighborhood at night; she didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention to herself.

The young woman was surprised when she realized that the address had lead her to an apartment building; part of her expected the party to be held in some type of abandoned warehouse in the middle of a bad area. The six story building looked as though it had just been renovated that year; it was more chic and modern in comparison to the buildings in the surrounding area. Peering up, Cameron could count fourteen balconies on the front side of the building; all of the window curtains had been drawn except for the one belonging to the apartment on the very top floor. Bingo. After approaching the front doors, Cameron found that she didn't have to wait for someone to buzz her into the building; the door had been propped open with a wedge.

It took less than a minute for the elevator to reach the top floor of the building, and as soon as the doors pulled open, Cameron and Zoya were immediately greeted by the strong scent of weed and booze, and loud music blasting from down the hall. The two girls exited the elevator to see that the door at the end of the hall was wide open; from where Cameron was standing, she could see a large group of people already moving around in the apartment. It was only a few minutes past nine but for some reason, a bunch of people had decided to show up before the party was even supposed to begin. "The text did say nine o'clock, right?" Cameron said to herself, but rolled her eyes when Zoya nodded her head in response. "Whatever."

The first area Cameron headed to once she pushed through the crowd of people was the kitchen; she hadn't eaten before she left home, so she was eager to see what kind of snacks and drinks they had set out. Her heart sank when she finally made it to the "snack table" and only saw a couple of bowls full of potato chips and some sort of fruit punch. "Aw, come on," Cam moaned, "No chicken wings or bean dip? What kind of party is this?" Nevertheless, the young woman ate a couple of chips and filled a cup with some of the odd-colored punch. Cameron soon found herself an empty corner and stood in it, her legs crossed and her resting bitch face in full effect as she sipped from her cup. Zo stood right next to her, silent for the very first time since she'd appeared.

 

[Flame Demon]

Angel walks to the building and she takes a deep breath before going in, she hadn't spoken to whoever was following her around, she also didn't want to freak out people so she had to stay as calm as possible, she arrives, instantly noticing the smell. After a few seconds she decides to test something and she closes her eyes "Kitchen it is" she mumbles going through the crowd, she arrives and frowns seeing the choice of snacks "This has to be the worst party I've ever been to" she says, making the figure that oddly resembled her cousin say "First party you've ever been too". Angel manages to make her way to a wall leans against it, taking a bag of cookies from her jacket pocket and she starts munching on a cookie, she knew it was pretty rude to eat your own food, but her aunt had bakes them for her and they were her favorite cookies, she wasn't going to leave them in her room so her father could eat them all.

She looks around the room some more, inspecting the people there are, she didn't recognize anyone, which was saying something since she remembers some people from school, she should've stayed home, but the second she even thought about that option the ghost of her cousin appeared saying she had to go without question, so here she was "I wanna sleep" she mumbles eating another cookie.

 

[IzzyFizzy]

CHARACTER: DERRICK
LOCATION: THE PARTY//385 FRANKLIN AVE BROOKLYN, NY 11238
INTERACTING WITH: NICKY

Derrick walked down the dark street, the yellow of the streetlights lighting his path. If spotted under one of these lights he looked pretty inconspicuous with his plain black t-shirt and a blue fleecy hoodie that help cut against the cold bite of winter frost. Earbuds were plugged into his ears, blasting music that if close by you could hear.

As Derrick walked down the street he tried to weigh the pros and cons of going to this party or ditching after all. It was when Derrick was nearly convinced he should just ditch when Nicky appeared and erased all thoughts from his mind. "Nice hoodie Der~," The hallucination said, quirking up an eyebrow. Derrick sighed, accepting his fate as a crazy man and saying under his breath "Shut up Nicky" Nicky's laugh like tinkling bells rang behind him making Derrick blush. Arguing with Nicky under his breath to pass time as the walk dragged on he finally reached the house. He walked in seeing through the frostbitten windows that people were already there and not bothering to knock.

When he walked in he saw a group of many people already there, none of the people he knew. None but Angel, standing over by the cookies. Not bothering to talk to her he went and got some soda and grabbed a chair, sipping it casually. Nicky talked up a storm next to him but he decided to ignore it, not wanting to seem crazy. It was only when Nicky's gaze seemed to search for his own when he actually acknowledged him, saying under his breath, "What?"

"I miss you, Derrick." Derrick was expecting many things but definitely not this. Blushing and nearly tearing up he looked away.

"I do too"​

 

[itsmaura]

Thalia Harris

Thalia woke from a well needed nap after babysitting her little cousins for a while. It had been a bit since her encounter with Chris and she eventually found her Aunt Sheila, not realizing that all this time she could've been with her instead of out on the streets. She could never thank her enough for taking her in as her own, but there's a downside to everything. Imani and Andre. Imani acted like she was grown all the damn time and Andre was a nagger, constantly asking for stuff. But Thalia tried her best to look past it and keep her mind set on the most important thing; she finally had a place that felt like home. And she was going to make sure nobody was to take it from her.

The young girl immediately picked up her phone and saw a reminder on her lock screen that read:

"Dumbass party @ 9".

She groaned and swung her legs off of her bed, planting her feet on the ground. She stood and shuffled over to her closet, her feet dragging across the polished hardwood floor. Thalia scanned through her clothing options, realizing she really only had hoodies, t-shirts, and jeans. She shrugged her shoulders and picked out a black crop top t-shirt and a pair of high waist denim jeans. There wasn't anyone she needed to impress at that party, and she didn't even want to go. But her deceased brother had other plans and wouldn't stop begging--or nagging--her to attend.

Thalia threw her casual clothing down on her bed and made her way to her bathroom. She wasn't in a rush and she didn't really care if she was late to the party. She wasn't in any way excited which caused her pace to slow down; like it wasn't already slow before.

After about 15 minutes of being locked in her bathroom, she finally came out, wrapped in her towel and her curls glistening from the water droplets that still remained. She sighed and got dressed in the outfit she lazily threw out, grabbing a pair of socks out of her dresser drawer and slipping them onto her feet. She picked out her black Vans from the floor of her closet and stuck her feet in them, the laces being loosely tied. Lastly, she grabbed her scrunchie off of the top of her dresser and pulled her damp hair up into a short, messy ponytail. Thalia grabbed her phone and checked the time, the clock reading 8:50. She put her phone in her back pocket and swiftly walked out of her room, closing the door behind her. She ran down the stairs and immediately approached the front door, not bothering to tell anybody where she was going.

After riding the subway for what seemed like forever, Thalia found herself at the building where the party was being hosted. She entered and immediately walked toward the elevator, seeing other people waiting for it as well. She kept her distance and stood behind the small crowd of teenagers that she assumed was going to the same place she was going. The elevator finally arrived and they all piled in there together, one of the unrecognizable teens pressing the button to the top floor of the building. It was an uncomfortable ride up, but lucky for Thalia it didn't last too long. She was the first to get off, but she fell behind to follow the other teens to the designated room. They eventually approached a door, and to her surprise it was already unlocked. Everyone ran inside and started yelling and screaming, except for her. Instead, Thalia stood in the doorway and examined her surroundings. The smells and the sights were enough to make her say,

"Jesus Christ..".

 

[WhipDing]

Chris Derby

Chris propped himself against a wall, drink in hand, staring somewhat blankly at the room around him. This was every bit as bad as he'd expected it to be. He'd regretted coming from the moment he'd walked into the building - the smell and the people and the atmosphere all combined made him feel light-headed. This wasn't exactly his scene, to say the least.

But, whether he liked it or not, he had to be here. He had to make her go away.

It'd been easy enough to convince his parents to let him go out. They were just happy that he was willing to leave the house again. Of course, he could never tell them why - he doubted they'd be understanding of their youngest child literally losing his mind.

"Aww, don't worry little Chrissie! You're not going crazy! Not yet anywaaaay!"

He almost jumped out of his skin when he heard the voice again. It'd visited him several times since the first incident, but this was different. He could... see her.

Arms crossed, standing in front of him, was his sister. His dead, dead sister. He looked exactly like he remembered her - messy blonde hair, cruel piercing eyes, pot-marked skin. The same condescending grin on her face as she looked down on him. She looked so real - he would've thought she was if he hadn't--

"Glad you made it, bro! Time for you to, y'know, be social for once in your life. Can't be pathetic forever, y'know?"

He simply continued to lean against the wall, desperately avoiding eye contact with what hoped was just some kind of hallucination. Responding to this seemed like worst thing to do. Maybe if he ignored it, it would all just go away?

 

[General_warNpeace]

"It's a party. You should be all dressed up." Juniper whined as Dani made zero attempt to change from her comfortable ripped skinny jeans, black and white levi's and a plain black shirt. The only thing standing standing out was her black and white checkered jacket with cat ears. Or at least that's what her aunt told her they looked like. She really only knew for sure that she was wearing levis, a plain shirt, and a jacket with cat ears. But she trusted her aunt's abilities to tag her clothes with descriptions in braille.

"You should just be glad you somehow talked me into going." Dani grumbled still annoyed at Juniper for constantly bugging her to go to this stupid party. Juniper just hummed happily before going silent. Likely disappearing to wherever she goes when she's not bugging her. Dani has sort of accepted that the hallucination or ghost of Juniper won't be going away anytime soon. So just concentrated on ignoring her and trying to keep her aunt and brother from thinking she's insane.

"We're here!" Dani's aunt chirped as they pulled up to the supposed location of the party. She was happy to see her niece trying to socialize. Glancing back at Dani she suddenly got worried. "Will you be ok? Your friend's will be meeting you at the entrance right?"

"Yea, Auntie. I'll be alright." Dani reassured her feeling slightly guilty for lying to her aunt. Who thought her antisocial niece was meeting some friends that didn't exist to go to a party. Before her aunt could ask anymore questions she grabbed her walking stick and hopped out of the car. "Bye."

Shutting the car door she waited until the sound of tires moving signified her aunt's leaving to move toward the building behind her. Juniper had told her the address and she faintly remembered the neighborhood. Her little brother's friend lived around here and she remembered walking with him down here to drop him off after school. That accompanied with Juniper suddenly telling her directions directed her to where she needed to go. Soon she found herself within what she assumed was an apartment with other people surrounding her. Immediately overwhelmed with all the noise she hurried as fast as she could to find a corner away from it all. Juniper, probably taking pity on her, helped her navigate so she wouldn't run into people. "There, now just rest for a second then go be social!"

Dani snorted as Juniper went silent again. Yea no, I'm good right here.

 

[Shrikopath]

----------------------------------
Richard
----------------------------------
Location: Richard's house
Interacting with: Nobody
​

The scenery that greeted Richard gave off an unshakeable air of amusement and enjoyment, and Richard hated every bit of it.

He would have loved to just continue loitering outside, resting on the rough, red brick wall opposing the apartment, with a vaguely threatening shovel to keep him company. And of course the occasional appearance from a woman who seemed to be stalking him. But alas, she wouldn't let up, and for some strange reason he couldn't bring himself to disappoint her. Once he had made his way in, he took note of the many shifty looks he was getting, probably owing to the big-ass shovel he had brought in. They didn't bother him much, but it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience. That he had even showed up was a miracle, and now he was supposed to put up with this shit.

He had eventually found a nice corner for him to rest his shovel. Hopefully, he wouldn't be approached, and while he was at it, some god damn answers would be nice as well.

 

[IzzyFizzy]

CHARACTER: DERRICK
LOCATION: THE PARTY // 385 FRANKLIN AVE. BROOKLYN, NY 11238
INTERACTING WITH: RICHARD Shrikopath

Nicky had dissapeared, fading to a light mist after saying the previous statement to him. Derrick sighed, resting his hand on his cheek. It was then when he saw a guy leaning against the wall opposite him, holding... a shovel? Confused but intrigued, Derrick decided to try and socialize. And so pushing himself off of his comfy patched up chair he walked up to the guy with the shovel.

Derrick being the awkward senior he was upon first seeing the guy made finger guns saying, "Hey, nice shovel!" Smiling fakely. Hearing Nicky's laugh in the distance like a phantom wind he realized how awkward he was being and put down the finger guns and outstretched a hand. "My name is Derrick. Whats your name, or should I just call you Mr.Shovel Man?" He said laughing a bit under his breath.​