The Stewarts (rebooted- accepting new characters)

[pistolmouth]

Riley's eyebrows crawled upward toward his hairline as Jeremy ranted before finally volunteering to take care of Zane's body. He highly doubted that his brother would have the stomach for it, at least not today, but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to avoid any serious exertion, especially since he and Regina had stuck their necks out enough to liberate said body, and he didn't want much else to do with it after that.


After Jeremy had finished his small tantrum and successfully slammed his way into the house, Riley rolled his eyes and spared a glance over at Regina, snorting at her comment of him not being appreciative. He wrapped his arm around her and led her inside.


He briefly toyed with the idea of further tormenting Jeremy, since they had already managed to get such a rise out of him. However, that thought didn't last very long. The noises resonating through the house, signs of Jeremy's own sort of tantrums were proof enough that he wouldn't have been able to handle any more stress. At least not for a little while.


It struck him them that he could go to Zane's room and antagonize him, but -


Zane's in the trunk.


Riley squeezed Regina's hand and silently wondered if things like that would keep happening, if he would, even momentarily, forget that his brother was dead. He wondered if it would be the same for his other siblings, but could not bring himself to care much about it just then.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

When Riley makes no comment about Jeremy's little outburst, only squeezing Regina's hand, Regina absently squeezes back, not at first connecting what must be going on with him to cause him to do so. She notices that he is quiet and follows his gaze, then, seeing that he is looking at the trunk of the car, feels a soberness she had not previously felt settle over her. Exhaling, she stares at the trunk too for a while, then gives a small shake of her head before walking the rest of the way forward towards their porch, still holding Riley's hand.


As they open the door, they can hear Jeremy calling for Maddy with no response from her that can be made out. Regina rolls her eyes, calling out to him, "You know she's going to be under her bed!" but doesn't go to retrieve her herself. She doesn't hold anger or resentment towards Maddy now, as she had yesterday, but neither does she feel like being much of a comfort to her. Instead she pulls Riley towards their bedroom. Doubtless they can find a way to distract or comfort each other in private, even if it's not as "close" a manner as their closed door would normally indicate.

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley allows Regina to lead her into their room and allows his arms to wrap around her once they are behind the safety of their bedroom door and kisses her before bringing his forehead to rest against hers. He manages a small smile and briefly digs his nails into the small of her back.


"Long day," he says finally, and steps back to strip off his coat. He's had a few minutes to collect himself and slip back into his usual demeanor. Sitting down at the computer chair in their room, Riley cards his fingers through his hair, messing it up slightly and lets out a sigh that, near the end, sounds much more like a groan.


Now that he's alone with Regina, he's able to relax himself more and the smile he had given her previously grows a little bit larger, a little more mischievous. "Jeremy needs to toughen up. Guy's gonna have a meltdown one of these days, and if he thinks us tearing up a morgue is bad, I can't wait to see what happens when he decimates whatever psych ward he gets admitted to."

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Kissing him back, Regina lightly brushes the tip of her nose against her twin's, then lets her cheek rub his lightly as well before she lets him pull back from her, releasing a soft sigh before removing her own mesh shirt so she is only in a black tank and her skirt. Removing her skirt, she pulls on a pair of black cotton shorts and sprawls out on their bed on her stomach, watching her brother settle as she herself absently twines a strand of her hair around her finger.


"I need to dye again, my roots are starting to show," she commented before looking up with a somewhat twisted smile at his remark on Jeremy. "I think that day for our dear big bro is coming a lot faster than he thinks it is."


She is quiet for a few more moments, thinking of Zane, trying not to, before she rolls over and flops onto her back, eyes rolling up to the ceiling. She kicks one leg up, lets it flop down onto the bed, and then rolls her eyes towards Riley as she says more seriously, "It doesn't seem right we can't have a funeral. Even Mom and Dad had that." She paused again. "You don't believe in all that religious bs, right? So...do you ever think about that? Where they are, then? Where all the people we off end up?"


Jeremy pauses outside Maddy and Juliette's room, lightly knocking on the door. He hadn't expected her to answer, as he had told her not to budge, and so with a deep sigh, trying to get some sort of calm about himself, as well as patience, he opened the door, easing inside.


"Maddy, I'm home now, the twins are too. They're okay and so are you...can you come out now?"

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley isn't able to come up with a response to her comment on dying her hair because Regina is then mentioning the idea of a funeral. Clearing his throat, he shrugs, "Maybe we can have one... just the family. We don't really need some preacher to tell us sh** we already know about him that he's just reading off of a piece of paper like we had with mom and dad. Who's to say we can't bury him and then have our own funeral?"


He considers her question for several moments, not quite sure how to respond to it. Honestly, he doesn't know, has never really put much thought into it. Riley stands from the computer chair and strips off his shirt and pants, lying down next to her in his boxers, placing his arm beneath her head, his fingers running along her arm.


"Probably wherever their families put them." He says finally. "I don't think I believe that we all go somewhere when we die. I think we just go wherever we're planted." Turning his head to look at his sister, still rubbing her arm, he asks, "What about you? What do you think?"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Funeral for the family...that sounded nice to Regina, nicer than their parents' funeral had been. This is the first time she has even mentioned their funeral; it was something they never talked about as a family, even between her and Riley. It had been a traumatic day for her, to the extent that she hated to even think about it, let alone put the memory to words. Even saying as little as they had now is causing her to tense up beneath Riley, and she shifts closer to him, seeking to soothe her own muscles before she speaks again.


"That might be okay. Better."


She slowly strokes her hand over his chest, resting her chin against his ribs and lightly crossing one leg over his before speaking again, considering his response. "I don't know. I mean, that thought kind of sucks, you know? People die, then that's it. Mom and Dad, just gone? Zane, gone, forever? Then what's the point?"


She shrugged, exhaling, her breath tickling his skin. "Then again...kind of weird to think of our snacks goggling down at us flipping us off. So maybe that's the best way. Whatever. You're probably right, just not sure I like it...guess we live it up while we're here, then, right?"

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley turns his head to kiss Regina's forehead as she speaks, comforted by the feel of her breath on his neck and the warmth of her body on his. He runs his hand up and down her back slowly, considering her words for a while. It is a strange thought, their victims being in heaven or wherever it is that people go when they die, as Regina had said, but unlike her, he wasn't sure if he wanted to believe in anything.


At her comment of living it up, he smiles and allows a small snort, his lips pressing to the top of her head affectionately. "Absolutely." He lets out a breath, looking up at the ceiling. "But I don't know. I mean, I'd like to think that mom, dad and Zane are somewhere... I just am not sure if I believe they are."


Soon, his fingers make their way into her hair, carding them through it slowly before he starts to twirl the strands around his finger. When they were little, that had been the only way he'd been able to calm down for nap or bed time. Now, it's just developed into a habit used to keep himself focused, to keep his mind from running into subjects he's not comfortable addressing.


"And if it is the case that they go somewhere, let's make sure we send the son of a b**** that killed Zane straight to hell."

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Regina's muscles loosen further, sinking back into the sheets and mattress, and she curls closer into Riley like a cat seeking his warmth. His fingers in her hair lightly brush against her scalp, sending small, warm tingling sensations down her spine, and she sighs, this time from pleasure. As far back as she can remember she has been accustomed to Riley playing with her hair, finds it both incredibly soothing and wickedly erotic, and she enjoys it now, arching her neck slightly against it and half closing her eyes to fully focus on the fingers.


"Yeah," she agreed, inclining her head just barely into a nod of acknowledgment. "And if not? We'll just make sure they have a taste of hell before the nothing from the death settles in."


She is silent for a few more minutes, wrestling with her own thoughts. Lying back with Riley, speaking with him in a considerably more serious and deeper manner than is at all typical for them, even in light of all that was going on within their family, she feels a very uncharacteristic desire then to verbalize her love towards him.


Saying 'I love you' was not something that the Stewarts did in general with each other; even the twins were not ones to say so aloud. They knew that they loved each other, of course, but Regina was considerably more comfortable and inclined to show love for Riley through physical gestures or even through looks they both understood rather than words. Words were meaningless and cheap, used for conveying information, to hurt, or manipulate more often than not. What was the point of speaking of love when she could easily show it?


But she still felt then a desire to do so, though she couldn't quite understand why; perhaps it was the talk of death, the knowledge lurking in the back of her mind that she could not remember ever having made it clear towards Zane that as much as she disliked him and was disgusted by him, she had loved him too. Whatever was the case, she opened her eyes, lifting them to Riley as she said with an edge to her voice that didn't match her tone, "I love you, you know."

 

[amdreams]

Maddy had actually fallen asleep under her bed by the time that her older siblings came home. She didn't hear her big brother calling her from downstairs but the knock on the door woke her up. She suddenly shot up, hitting her head against the bed frame with a solid thud. "Owie."


Eyes tearing up, she crawled out from her happy place and made her way over to the door, still rubbing her head. She opened the door an inch and peeked through at Jeremy. "You're not going to yell again, are you? Because if you are, I don't wanna come out." She puffed her cheeks out, trying to look defiant but was failing miserably.


(Sorry for the short post. Stewarts posts don't flow to me as well as others do.)

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Jeremy winced in sympathy for his youngest sister as he heard her head collide with the bed frame. Extending a hand towards her, he noticed when she failed to take it and got out from under the bed on her own. Maddy looked miserable, her hair standing in several directions, her cheeks reddened, her eyes puffy, and the clothes she had put on in an attempt to imitate Regina's look were rumbled and carrying dust bunnies from beneath the bed. She looked very much like the ten-year-old that she was, and he felt a stir of guilt settle in his stomach as he regarded her.


He had been ignoring her far too much over the past couple of days. They all had been. It was easy to forget Maddy when everyone else seemed to cause infinitely more trouble.


"No, I'm not going to yell," he told her, shaking his head. "I just...Maddy, I wanted to see that you were okay."


He sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly, before trying again to speak with her, to get across what he felt should be said. "Listen, Maddy...it's been pretty bad, the last few days, you know? I'm sorry if we've been sort of mean to you. We're...we're all just sad, and that makes us mad...but we shouldn't yell at you. How are you doing...have you been eating?"


He thought he should hug her; it seemed the right thing, but also incredibly awkward, and so he settled for reaching out to grip her shoulder hesitantly.


(where are Juliette, Tegan, Elena, Lucas, etc, guys?)

 

[pistolmouth]

The silence that had fallen between the two of them was a peaceful one. Riley kept running his fingers through Regina's hair, not even completely realizing that he was doing it, but it kept him anchored to their spot on the bed and his thoughts from straying too far into any sort of topic that would upset him or ruin what little peace they had managed to obtain.


In the hall, he heard Jeremy's voice calling to Maddy and he allowed his eyes to close, just wanting to block out the rest of the house. Even though Zane had really not had much to do with the family, there was still something so... empty about it now that he was gone. It was not something that he wanted to focus on. He'd rather just push it to the back of his mind and focus on his sister, curled up against his own body.


When she began to stir, and her eyes met his, Riley's eyebrows raised slightly. He wouldn't say it, but he was thankful for the interruption of his train of thought. It wasn't until after she'd said that she loved him that it really occurred to him how long it had been since they had said it. The corners of his lips turned upward and he planted a kiss on her lips, the hand previously in her hair now moving downward to cup the side of her face.


Breaking away from the kiss, he places another one on her forehead and meets her eyes, hand now cupping the back of her neck. "I love you too, Gina." His arms tightened around her now, securing her body more tightly against his and he took a deep breath. "Do you think there's any way this day could get longer?"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Still holding Maddy's shoulder in his hand, waiting for her reply, Jeremy sighed, not giving her much space to answer, and realizing that whether or not she told the truth, he was pretty sure he already knew the answer. Of course she hadn't eaten, of course she wasn't okay. What she needed...what they all needed...was to be together now, as a family. To take care of each other. It was all they could do, and he needed to pull himself together to make sure he would be able to.


"Come on," he told her softly, taking her hand instead and beginning to lead her towards the kitchen. "I'll warm up some blood for you and you drink it, all of it. Then...let's just go watch a movie, okay? Whatever you want. Just us."


But as he waited for the blood to warm in the microwave, he first called Juliette, asking that she return home and stay in for the rest of the evening. Screw the social worker coming tomorrow, screw cleaning and preparing. It wasn't something they could handle today, and if she failed them on their inspection...well, it wasn't like they wouldn't have to move soon enough anyway.


**


Regina's lips quirked without much humor at Riley's question, and she shook her head, letting out a short breath as she lay her head back against his chest, half closing her eyes as she soaked up the feel of his chest, solid and warm, against hers, her hand splayed across his lower torso, one leg looped over his as she let herself enjoy his hand in her hair. It was only early afternoon, but she felt as if she could remain here with Riley for the rest of the day and well into the next.


"We could shorten it a little," she murmured, turning her ear to press against his heart and feeling somewhat relaxed to listen to its beats. "Make you a deal. We don't move the rest of the day....sounds like a plan to me."


(And now I'm time skipping us to the next day, purely because Rikarah and Lucas are already ahead and today's already been rather eventful. So as of now it's morning, Rikarah and Lucas are on the phone about the events of the day before, I imagine the Stewarts and the others would be awaking and beginning their daily routines. Remember the social worker is due today and if anyone wants to play a cop I would imagine they would still have questions. So you can just start your posts as though it's the following morning. Also I would imagine that they buried Zane last night if you want to refer back to the funeral?)

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley woke to the sound of the alarm on his phone going off. Not yet ready to get out of bed, though, he rolled closer to Regina and tightened his arms around her after hitting the snooze button. Their pact to not leave the bed for the night followed through with little effort, since they spent a large majority of it sleeping.


When the alarm went off for a second time, he made a noise not unlike a growl in the back of his throat and pressed his lips to the base of Regina's neck, pulling the warmth of her more tightly against his chest.


"Any way I can talk you into calling in?"


--------


The list of things that Evan Bradley does not like would probably stretch on for miles. At the very top of that list, though, were the days that his classes were cancelled, thus completely throwing off his schedule.


Tegan wasn't a huge fan of that, either.


Not because of the fact that she had to take her brother around with her the entire day. That was not actually a major issue. The issue was what that change in schedule did to him. She had woken up at her usual time and went to the kitchen to make coffee, and when she'd stepped into her room to get her clothes out when she'd seen the notification on her phone that she had a voicemail. Raising her phone to her ear, she let out an aggravated groan the moment she heard the voice of Evan's teacher.


"Hi Tegan, I just wanted to let you know that I won't be picking Evan or anyone up today. A water pipe burst and we've had to call in for help. Classes should resume tomorrow, if not I will contact you. If you have any questions, feel free to call me back."


After she broke the news to Evan, the entire morning, the entire morning consisted of him snapping at her and pacing around the apartment. This had only happened once before, but for some reason, his agitation seemed to be far worse than it had the previous time. One look at the bandage on his neck proved evidence enough as to why.


"Okay," She said finally, drinking her cup of coffee fast enough that it burned her throat a little. "How about this, why don't you come to school with me today so you can at least get out of the apartment?"


"I don't want to go to your school, Tegan!" Evan barked, for once his hands had stilled around his head and only moved to scratch at the gauze where he'd been bitten.


This could not be up for debate. She wasn't going to leave him alone, and she sure as hell couldn't miss class. Rubbing her forehead, she waved his remark off and poured some coffee into her travel mug, "Get some of the stuff you want to take with you, and hurry. We're going to miss the bus!"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

Regina stirred as their alarm went off, but did not open her eyes or move. The day before had been occupied mostly with sleep, as she had found herself for the second day more exhausted then she had at first thought herself to be. The blood from the morgue workers had helped to clear away the last symptoms of the hepatitis, but she supposed that she must have still needed rest, because she had barely moved until this moment.





Shifting herself back even more closely against Riley’s back, she yawned, eyes still closed as she burrowed her head under his chin, pulling his arm more snugly around her. “Don’t tempt me.”





Still, she knows that she should go to work, that they will need money more than ever if they’re about to move, and besides, it’s possible she’ll find out something from someone at school if she is there to hear. Yawning again, she shrugs herself out from Riley reluctantly, getting to her feet and plodding into the bathroom to brush her teeth and hair. Emerging better groomed, she leans down to kiss him and then walks into the kitchen, where she sees Jeremy, already dressed and ready for the day with a mug of blood in his hand as he leans against the kitchen counters.





“Good morning,” he mutters, nodding towards her, and she shrugs him off before looking at him more closely, noticing the dark circles beneath his eyes. Her thoughts shift back to their conversation from the day before, and then she remembers his threat…was it possible he had buried Zane himself, without involving any of them in it?





“You didn’t,” she said, her eyes narrowing. “Tell me you f***ing didn’t. Did you bury Zane without the rest of us?”





Jeremy looked away, already giving her his answer before he actually spoke. “You…Regina, you guys were all sleeping.”





“So wake us f****ing up!” her voice rose, and she came towards him in a threatening manner, not yet hitting him, but her jaw was clinched, her hands in fists at her side as though to indicate how badly she wanted to. “I can’t believe you, you just go…DISPOSE of him without ANY of us having a say? Like he’s just a dead goldfish?!”





“Gina-“ he started, and this time she did sock him hard in the side.





“Don’t you f***ing call me Gina. You have no right.”





She stalked out the door without even bothering to indicate to Riley that she was leaving, even as Jeremy, guilty, exhaled, then called down the hallway to the others. “Maddy, Juliette, are you going to school today?”





**





“I will meet you at school,” Rikarah told Lucas to finish their phone call, her eyes shifting to her roommate, who was just beginning to stir. “It would be more appropriate to discuss this in privacy.”





As she began to prepare for her day, she found herself actually looking forward to her shift at work after her classes, to her conversation with Lucas. Her new life and identity had certainly been exciting thus far.

 

[amdreams]

When Jeremy called for them, Maddy peaked out to make sure Regina and Riley weren't in the hallway. It's not like she hated them or anything. It was just last time she saw them, they yelled at her and were being mean. It was scary. And well, Maddy didn't want to get yelled at first thing in the morning. Seeing that they weren't there, or at least that Regina wasn't there, she stepped out, still cautious in case the twins were right around the corner.


She then came bounding down the stairs and to Jeremy, backpack at the ready. "Yep," she piped up. She had already missed a day of school so she had to go today. Plus there was a spelling test to day and she couldn't miss that. It's super awkward when you have to take a makeup test. You have to go into another classroom full of people you didn't know while the rest of the class learned something you had to miss out on. Then you have to ask someone else what they learned but they weren't good at explaining stuff and . . . well, it's just a big hassle.


Juliette came down the stairs after her at a slower pace. "Yeah . . . I'm going . . . " She knew about the twins stealing Zane's body back from the morgue and how Jeremy went and buried it by himself last night. The last part she only just found out about, having heard Regina. And while she couldn't be mad at Jeremy, she felt a bit down. She kind of wished that she could've been there. Zane might not have been her favorite brother but he was family all the same. And now her family was rotting underground in some unmarked grave in the middle of a forest for all sorts of people to step on during their stupid hikes. God, even a cremation would've been better than that.


She had also seen the commotion that Riley and Regina had created on tv. It was only a matter of time before people figured out that it was Zane's body that was missing. And then come the questions. Questions from the authorities. Questions from teachers. Questions from friends and even complete strangers. God, they were never going to leave her alone. Couldn't those stupid twins have taken care of it better?!

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas shrugs his shoulders even tho she can't see him* I don't really watch tv, it's not what it used to be, to much damn reality tv. So you really think they would be bold enough to try such a thing? To steal their dead brother's body. *He pauses* I guess they believed that Zane and their secret could be exposed if a medical examination happens...DAMMIT! I'm a damn fool, I gave them the impression that I was a medical examiner that looked at Zane's body, they must have panicked and his hot headed sister must have made a move. This will make getting a DNA sample even harder cause they're guard will be up.


We need to proceed slowly now, don't show our hand because who knows they may try to skip town now. I'm heading home now, I decided to stop for some air to clear my head, we can meet tomorrow after your classes and talk more. *Again he pauses* Good night Rikarah, sweet dreams. *Sweet Dreams??? Did he really just say that to her? What's wrong with me?*

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

"You're going to school?" Jeremy asked his youngest two sisters, relieved to hear this, and to have an excuse to be able to be fully distracted from Regina and her wrath. "Okay, then...then get your blood, and get in the car. I'm coming in just a minute."


It would be best, he knew, if the girls were in school today; it would give him more space to be able to clean up the house and be absolutely certain it was ready for the social worker coming, not to mention if the police happened to double back to check them out again. It would also give out the appearance that he was trying to keep them on a steady routine, and on some level he was. He only hoped that the twins would be heading out too today, giving him space to do what he needed to, and wouldn't get themselves in trouble in the process.


"Regina," he starts out hesitantly, pausing in the doorway as he turns back to her. Her back is rigid, and she refuses to face him as he tries to finish, "You and Riley...don't do anything-"


"Really selfish and stupid, like bury our brother without you?" she snapped without turning around. "Oh don't worry, Jeremy, that's already been covered."


Jeremy flinched at her acidic tone, tightening his hand around the doorway. "Regina, I'll be back soon..."


"And we'll hang streamers and balloons to celebrate," she cut him off again, this time turning to face him. "Get out of here, Jeremy."


So with guilt stirring in his chest, he did as she said, getting into the car and starting it up, leaving her to stand glaring after him.


**


Rikarah, for the first time in her life, seriously considers skipping class in order to continue her investigation, but in the end she attends, restless and finding it difficult to smile and interact pleasantly even with Tegan. When the classroom is over she makes polite excuses to escape before her shift begins and heads to Lucas's office, hoping to find him there.


She remembers how he had wished her sweet dreams the night before, and she is certain now he is attracted to her. The question is, can she use this in some way? And if he did make a move on her, would she mind it?

 

[pistolmouth]

Riley had gone into the kitchen just in time to see Regina punch Jeremy in the side. His eyes widened for a moment, but when she started shouting at him, narrowed as he began to feel a very similar flush of anger swell in his chest.


"You buried him!? What the f***, Jeremy, why didn't you tell us something?!" Ready to pounce on his brother himself, the only thing that stopped him was that Regina had stormed off and Maddy and Juliette had joined them downstairs and filed into the car after drinking their blood. When Jeremy followed, Riley clenched and unclenched his fists briefly before digging a bag of blood out of the fridge and half-throwing it into the microwave.


"I can't f***ing believe him." He spat darkly, his voice low. Glancing over at Regina, he sucked in a deep breath, "Let's just be gone before he gets back. I can't be around him right now."


--------


The trip to the bus stop, while uneventful, by the standards of the last few days, was enough to make Tegan wish she had never quit smoking. Evan was miserable and likely would be for the rest of the day. She would have to figure out how to get to her classes, wondering quietly if she could maybe bring him to her classes and hope to god that he would behave himself.


When the bus pulled up, Tegan twitched at Evan's sleeve and herded him onto the bus, depositing the fare into the slot before they each took their seat. He glanced briefly out the window and then resumed twitching his hand just off to the side of his head. She caught a few people watching them and raised her eyebrows as though challenging them to say something. Her meeting their eyes seemed to be enough to shame them into looking away, thankfully, and she sat back, taking a long drink from her travel mug.


"Do you want to go to class with me?"


"No, Tegan, I told you. I want-"


"I know, Evan. You want to go to your school, I get it, okay? But since that's not an option, I have to know now if you'd rather go to class with me so I can get the okay from my professors." It came out more harshly than she'd wanted it to, but since Evan didn't seem to mind, she didn't bother apologizing. His doctors and teachers had told her that it was best to treat him as though he were normal anyway, and, having him like this his entire life, well... it was normal for Tegan.


Once at their bus stop, she led him off and onto the campus, toward Lucas's office. His office hours weren't posted on the syllabus, so she'd hoped that they at least would be on the door or something. Clearing her throat, she managed a small knock on the door.


"Professor Luna? It's Tegan Bradley... it okay for me to come in?"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

As Rikarah approaches the hallway where Lucas's office is located, she sees that two people are already standing outside the door. She pauses, thinking at first that she will simply walk away and come back to him at a later time; after all, what she has to say is considerably more private than what she would be able to share with others around. But when she realizes that it is Tegan and her brother standing there, she decides to kill two birds with one stone and approach after all. She had intended to spend more time with her as it was.


"Hello," she said with a small smile as she came up behind them. "You too, Evan. Is Professor Luna not in?"


**


Jeremy had known that the twins would hardly be pleased by his decision to bury Zane alone. He had known that with grim understanding, and yet he had still went forward with it, telling himself that it was for the best. He was still convinced that it was.


After all, without his siblings there, then it was over with much faster, with much less noise and emotion and drawing attention to themselves. If they had all been there, Juliette would have bawled, Maddy would have probably ran and hid somewhere in the woods, and the twins, well, who knew what they would do. It was easier to deal with himself...and it made Jeremy himself feel much more in control, both of the situation and his own emotion. He felt extremely uncomfortable expressing feelings in front of his siblings, and he didn't want to start now.


But with the twins' anger had also been disappointment, and this was worse for him to watch than he had anticipated. As he drove Juliette and Maddy to school almost in silence, he decided as he began to drive towards work that one more day absent was hardly going to get him fired- and what did it matter anyway right now? They would undoubtedly have to move soon enough, as soon as they could find and avenge Zane's murderer. Meanwhile, there was a social worker visit to deal with, and an entire house to prepare.


But as Jeremy drove home, his chest felt tight, and just a few miles away from the hospital, he had to pull over off the side of the road because his hands were shaking so badly he could barely steer. It wasn't until he had managed somewhat to control his breathing again that he realized that he was crying.


All he could think as he struggled to regain a semblance of control was that it was a damn good thing that no one could see him now. What would they think then?


**


Regina is too angry and upset by what Jeremy has told her to even think of eating. Without another word she gives a stiff nod in response to Riley, then throws open the front door and allows it to slam behind her as she stalks down the porch steps to his motorcycle, waiting for him to join her. She doesn't know where they're going or what it is they're planning on doing, but he's right, if she sees Jeremy any time soon, her reaction might literally be deadly.


How could he have done that? They all knew he could be a prick, but to leave them out of any involvement of their brother's burial when THEY were the ones who brought the body to him in the first place?! What right did he have to cut them out of what they had made possible?!


She is still seething when Riley joins her, not reaching out to touch him.


"Not like I feel like doing the responsible thing and going to work," she muttered tersely, "but maybe we'll hear something. I hope like hell we do because I'm really in the mood to kill someone."

 

[pistolmouth]

Someone approaching them from behind and addressing them had been far from what Tegan had expected. Jumping ever so slightly, she spun around and smiled, a little embarrassed at her former reaction. Evan glanced to the side at Rikarah before resuming his inspection of the building.


"Hey," She said, finding her voice. "Uhm, I'm not sure. We just got here ourselves. I don't remember his office hours being posted on the syllabus at all, do you have any idea when they might be?"


--------


Riley drank down his blood quickly and followed Regina outside, the door also falling closed behind him loudly. He didn't bother locking it, it didn't matter. If there was a break in, then it really had to be Jeremy's fault anyway. If he had just woken them up like they'd been expecting him to, instead of going out there and doing it by himself, without giving them any sort of chance to say goodbye or mourn, or whatever the f*** it was that they were going to do, then none of this would be happening in the first place.


But then Regina was speaking, saying how she should probably go to work and he carded his fingers through his hair quickly, mounting his bike. He waited for Regina to climb on after him before revving it up and taking off, not caring much for the speed limit just then. He raced through the streets, weaving around cars when it was possible and took a backstreet that offered more freedom to drive as he pleased without being pulled over.


The speed helped, at least a little. What didn't help, though, was how quickly he'd pulled up into the parking lot at the college, forcing them both to climb off. Riley glanced over at Regina, reached over and gave her hand a small squeeze as he stretched, allowing the feeling to re-enter his legs.


"Want me to skip today? Maybe hang around with you and keep my eyes open?"

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

"I thought that he would be in about now, but perhaps he has stepped out," Rikarah says, giving a light knock to the door before stepping back, waiting. She smiles again back at Evan and Tegan as she says casually to them, "If he is not in, maybe he will be later. It was not important, what I had to ask of him."


This is hardly true, but it's not like Tegan would know that. She pauses, then allows her face to slip into a more serious expression as she says, "I saw this morning that the local morgue was attacked yesterday. It is beginning to frighten me, what has been going on. It seems that several workers were murdered and one of the bodies was stolen...it makes me leery of walking anywhere alone, especially at night. I did not expect this out of my first year of college. They always tell you about date rape and stress, but they never mention the possibility of murder."


**


Regina squeezes Riley's hand back as he parks his bike and dismounts with her, facing towards the campus grounds. Normally when she was within sight of others, she would let go of his hand and keep some slight distance between them, but lately such caution seems ridiculous. What does it matter what people think of them, when anyone who might actually mean them harm would get killed for it anyway?


She keeps hold of his hand as she begins to walk with him, head held high, eyes fixed straight ahead as she answers.


"You just want to get out of a test or something, don't think I don't have you figured out."


But she was thankful for his suggestion and squeezed his hand again to show it. She really wasn't in the mood to be very far from him today, in light of everything that was going on. As she headed with him towards the cafeteria, knowing she wasn't properly in uniform but caring not at all, she agreed, "Yeah, thanks. You can hang with me...let me know if you hear anything I don't."

 

[pistolmouth]

From beside Tegan, Evan shifted back and forth on his feet briefly. She'd noticed when they'd entered the school just how agitated he'd really become, and she had to wonder if some of it might have had to do with his attack the other night. Maybe bringing him back so soon was a bad idea. She wanted to reach over and rub his back, but was sure that it would only further agitate him.


"Yeah," She said at Rikarah's comment of her question not being important. "Evan's school was cancelled, I just wanted to make the rounds to see if my professors would be okay with him sitting in class with me." She paused and allowed a small smile to slide into place, "I figured Luna would probably give me the hardest time with it, so I wanted to get him out of the way first."


But then Rikarah's face turned serious as she talked about the attack on the morgue, and Tegan's eyebrows furrowed also. It had certainly scared her as well. "I know, this kind of thing hasn't really happened around here... I mean, we'd get the usual shooting or something like that, but... this many deaths in, what, two days? That's unheard of." She took a deep breath and glanced at Evan's neck, jamming her hands into the pockets of her shorts. "Something weird is going on, that's for sure."


--------


It was difficult not to smile when Regina accused him of wanting to get out of a test. Granted, Riley had pulled that card a few times to get out of going to a class he hadn't done a homework assignment in, or just simply didn't feel like going to, and he certainly didn't feel like going to class just then. His mind was mostly focused on finding Zane's killer and keeping his family away from any suspicious eyes until they could take care of their business and leave, just like they always did.


But god, it'd be nice to stay settled for a while.


"I don't have any tests today, thanks." Riley said finally, "Besides, my classes are boring anyway."


He squeezed her hand again and walked with her to the cafeteria. Not quite sure where exactly to position himself, he opted to just rest against the counter to stay close to her. It would be easier for him to scope people out if he saw the kinds of people that were in there to begin with, he figured, and from here he had a decent view of the majority of the dining hall.


While he waited for Regina to punch in and do whatever it was that she needed to, he got and paid for a drink. It bothered him that they still hadn't managed to find who had killed their brother. It seemed like it would be so easy for them to just track them down and take care of it, but everything else apparently just needed to get in the way. The morgue, for example. Letting out a groan, he pulled his elbows back and rested them on the counter, hoping that he'd be able to find answers this time around.

 

[Faith Eliza Cord]

"Yes," Rikarah agreed, nodding, as she leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. "It is very strange...it almost makes me wonder..."


She hesitates, feigning uncertainty, and then glances past the siblings down the hallway, as though wary of the possibility of others hearing, before she says in a hushed tone, "If there is a serial killer. It almost seems as though I should knock on wood, just saying that." She laughed slightly, then shifted her focus to Evan, who was looking rather restless.


"Evan, you do not have school of your own today?"


**


Regina punched in, then went into one of the storage closets to take a spare apron and t-shirt, putting them on without bothering to take off her own shirt beneath. Reemerging, she made it clear with her posture and terse statements to the other student worker that she was not in the mood for a conversation, then also indicated to him that she would be manning the counter and the tables nearby rather than cooking or cleaning in the back. The closer she could be to other students and to Riley, the better.


It seems to her that Riley has had no luck so far of chatting anyone up as she returns to the counter, putting in her till. Leaning close to him, she whispers even as she scans the lightly populated area, "Ain't gonna get much luck just sitting here, are you?"


(Macal if you don't post for Lucas soon you may have to find Rikarah in the caf, because she'll move on)

 

[pistolmouth]

Serial killer? That thought alone was enough to send a brief shudder up Tegan's spine. How would that even be possible? How could the town she'd lived in since her emancipation at 17 have this many gruesome deaths in such a short period... maybe Rikarah was right. But didn't serial killers span out their murders more? Isn't that what she'd heard on all of the true crime shows she watched when there was nothing else on tv?


"I'd say mass murderer would be more like it," Tegan said, wondering why she was even entertaining the thought of it. When the girl's attention shifted to Evan and she'd asked about his school, Tegan had to fight back the urge to groan and plead with her not to push it or get him started, but it was already too late.


Evan's fingers stopped twitching beside his head, which pivoted to face the girl next to them, "I did. I don't now." His eyebrows went up, the only real expression on his face, "I don't want to be here. This isn't where I'm supposed to be."


"Well, I wasn't going to leave you home, so."


"Whatever, Tegan." While agitated, he wasn't annoyed. More recently, Evan had been picking up small phrases and mannerisms whether from television or from some of the higher functioning kids in his school.


"Yeah, exactly."


"Whatever, Tegan." His voice was a little louder and Tegan allowed her arms to cross, eyebrows raising as she focused her gaze on him. Evan pursed his lips and flung his hands out, somehow managing to still look completely innocent. "I have a bad attitude."


This elicited a small laugh from her, "You don't have a bad attitude, Ev. But how did your teachers tell you to solve conflicts that you're starting?"


She half-expected him to give her another 'whatever, Tegan', but instead, he shrugged his shoulders, hands flinging outward again. "I stop."


"Okay. So... stop."


--------


Riley's eyes rolled when Regina pointed out that he was doing a bad job at getting information. He took a drink and looked over at her, "I'm getting a feel for the room, Gina." He shot her a small smirk and cleared his throat, leaning back against the counter again. "Besides, there's hardly anyone in here just yet. I just need a few minutes."


His eyes returned to the room, scoping out all of the people who were there, eating their breakfast and chatting amongst themselves if they were sitting in groups at a table. It amazed him how easily they were just going on with their lives when one of their classmates - his brother - was murdered in a f***ing bathroom on campus. His rage returned all too easily, thinking back to what Jeremy had done the night before, the complete exclusion of their wants and desires to respect Zane's body...


Riley clenched his fist and swallowed, throat clicking noisily when he did. "How long do you think it will take for us to find him?"

 

[Macal Cord]

*Lucas walks up behind Tegan and Rika, he wasn't in his office but in one of the labs on campus, he's curious to why Tegan was there. He coughs to announce his presence behind the girls.* Can I help you ladies? Or does my door suddenly have the magical ability to hold both your interest more then my class does..Should I be insulted that my door is more interesting then I am. *He smirks moving around the girls to unlock the door and enter his office. He moves behind his desk and quickly shoves some folders into his desk and locks it.* So again how can I help you, keep in mind this is not my normal office hours and I'm a bit behind of my own research so I'm very busy. *This is more directed to Tegan and not Rika, since they both probably have information to share with each other on the Stewarts.


(Not very long sorry about this..Once the conversation starts my post will be longer.)