Westbrook Season 2

[TYPE]

A L E X - S H A R P
@sharpattack

Hypnos (maybe Winona ailurophile )
Laying back in the car, Alex's eyes widened, glassy, wide, a soft - droopy smile lingering across his blood stained lips. He was floating on a cloud, speeding through the skies. Looking back and up he saw clouds. Silvery. But when he looked directly above him, he saw something else entirely. He was seeing stars. Pretty ones. White along the dark interior. All along the roof of the Rolls. Where was it? Hmmm.... Where was it... Ah. Was that the north star? Yeah. That's nice. Is that the Dipper? Hmmm... dip. dip. dip. dip. He felt his head fall to the side a few times, the leather cold against his cheek. The car smelled nice. His eyes had closed again. When? It was dark again. He could not see the stars.

He had dreamt of stars when under. Will he see them now when he goes under again? He would need to open his eyes. Why did that feel like such a task? At least he was not alone this time. And it was nice and warm. And soft.

Carefully reaching up, over the front seat, he placed his hand on... Gus? Yeah, let's go for that. Gus's' shoulder. Gently patting at him as the guy swerved through traffic. The music was loud. Intense. Somehow it was kinda comforting. Trying to sit upright made no sense anymore. So now - he was just going to lay back... and watch the stars. Hold onto Gus.

Eyes open. Stars.
Eyes closed. Darkness.
Eyes open, stars.
Eyes closed. Darkness.
Eyes open... slightly panicked face of Gus.
Eyes closed, noise...?
Eyes open. WHITE! Noise. Movement.

While he was being taken away on a white bed, a doctor neared Gus, alarmingly starting to ask the young man questions. Without needing to even ask for a name, he had Alex moved to the proper rooms, for the proper tests, asking what happened. When seeing that Gus was clearly not capable of speaking fast enough, he told the boy to stay, and that a nurse would be with him soon enough. And sure enough, a Nurse was with him, asking all sorts of questions. When she started talking about the police, and getting them involved, seemingly not buying the accident, one of the managers rushed over, calling Gus over. From there the tone changed drastically. He was taken to a quiet room, where someone helped him fill in the proper forms. He was told that things would only proceed in any official capacity when Alex woke up, or failed to wake up. Making sure that he is comfortable, apologizing for having to keep him, Gus was kept for no more than an hour. When the doctor returned, a grim look on his face, he stated Alex wished to speak with him. Which led to him being in clean white room with the boy, Alex's head bandaged, looking... better. But not by much.

Looking banged up, but with a small, embarrassed smile on his face, Alex looked at him. "Hey. Sorry about this. I am... just a mess. Thanks. For real. Just... thank you for bringing me. Despite... myself. God... I spoke with the doctor. I- He gets where I am coming from. I am 18 now. I told him not to inform my parents." Placing his hands over each-other in his lap, looking down at them. "Can... Is it possible we can keep this quiet? My family are dealing with enough as it is. I-" A low buzzing sound came from the side of the bed, where a steam of texts seems to be coming through. Most in caps. "-ah... my boss is not happy. He... is going to give me another chance. He is not happy. And he is gonna dock the pay for the day. But, eh." Looking up, shame flushing across his face. "I realize this is not something you probably wanna deal with. I get that. I understand that. But, if my boss finds out that I..." He cleared his throat. "He thinks I sorta slacked off. Got drunk, can't come back to work." Another clearing of his throat. "This way I make myself look bad. If he finds out I shat over the company image, I am out on my ass. Definitely." Biting his lip, rubbing his wrists, still looking at the other. "Give me some time. I will make it up to you. Anything. God. I am worth $11 dollars an hour. By my calculations..." He looked up, biting his tongue, hissing as the wound almost opened again. "Ah, shit. Um... considering the car seat replacement, and the seating and the shirts... a million years of service should just about cover it." Chuckles softly at himself, not really finding it that funny. "But I will make it up to you. I promise. Just... please?"

Sitting perfectly still, he looked at the other, feeling vulnerable, brave, hopeful, hopeless and... tied, waiting for the other. "Oh... and can you tell your... brother? Yeah... Can you tell him I am sorry. I did not mean to scare him."

​

 

[geminiy]

Isabelle Dupont

The two began walking through the drizzle to hunt down the merchandise booth. Bella still felt bad that Zander was in the cold without his jacket, but she had to admit that it was really lovely to be snuggled up in the warm jacket. She made a mental note to buy herself a good jacket at some point before the weather picked up, it was a lot colder in Westbrook than she had previously expected.

Bella went to answer Zander's question but giggled as he continued speaking, telling her that he is new from a private school. At the mention of JJ, Bella thought for a moment, trying to remember the girl's face. "Oh yeah, I met JJ during tryouts for cheer, though there wasn't much of a tryout at all, not after wolf boy got punched in the face." She explained, looking over to Zander with a smile. She followed his gaze to the stage, furrowing her brow at the plumes of smoke curling into the sky.

She was about to ask Zander if he knew who was playing when a panicked voice screamed that there was a fire. The flames began eating their way up the stage from backstage, the boy upstairs diving off the front. Bella cringed at the lack of grace the landing was performed with. Zander began pushing through the crowd that had gathered, and refused to move, in front of the stage.

"Zander, I-" Bella started to call out, realizing she still had his jacket on. That's when he simply told her to keep it. Keep it? He's giving his jacket to some random girl he just met? She tried to push her way after him but failed miserably as the crowd got more dense and Bella got pushed backwards until she could barely see the stage through the mob of taller people in front of the short girl.

Bella sighed, deciding to move out of the way. Fire engines could be heard approaching the school and the last thing Bella wanted would be to get wrapped up in the midst of a firefight. She'd just have to give Zander his jacket back later. She was going to walk to someplace quiet so that she could call her mom to come pick her up when she remembered she was supposed to meet Brayden.

Bella made her way to the cotton candy booth, hoping he was still there like he said he was going to be. She felt horrible for making him wait. When she spotted him, Bella gave a friendly wave and walked up to him. She readjusted the jacket so that her arms were actually through the sleeves, though the ends of the sleeves fell down over her hands. "Hey Brayden. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to get here, the stage is on fire and of course everyone and their mother had to stand and watch instead of help."

| Zander Winona | Brayden Elf_Ruler |​

 

[dendygar]

Tadita

Tadita hadn't known how long she had been standing there. It must have been four in the morning, the bathroom's night light was on- she didn't dare turn on the overhead light. Something about the dinginess of the mirror's edges and the sepia flickering hues around the mirror before the bulbs got fully operational bothered her. Everything bothered her. Her hands were gripping the edge of the white countertop, her long black hair totally loose around her shoulders. She was leaning so far in that she was straining herself with the positions of her arms, her forehead almost touching the mirror as she stared herself in the eyes. This is real. This is all real, this is happening. What was happening? Her existing. For a long time, she'd been living with imposter's syndrome and extreme depersonalization, for a year and a half. A year and a half had gone by of her struggling to be sober- because when she was, this happened. The dim blue light of the little canary in the outlet glared at her. Her breath was making a small fogged circle right at her full lips.

Get a grip, Dita! Come on. You don't need it, you don't need that shit. You can do this.

Tadita suddenly leaned back away from the mirror, standing and continuing to stare at herself, convinced she'd see her reflection do something sinister. Look away. It's real. You're real. The blue light didn't cast any hard shadows over her, and she forced her hands through her hair roughly and closed her eyes, feeling sick to her stomach.

I can't do this-

"Tadita?" A groggy voice came. It was soft and husky, the hall light flickering on. Tadita frantically wiped at her cheeks, not having realized she was crying until her skin started to itch. "Tadita, are you okay?" Her mom called softly. She almost ripped her hair out, grabbing the ends and bunching them up in her closed fists, breathing faster and harder and watching her face twist into an agonized expression in the mirror, before her hand flew to her mouth and she bit down on it. After a moment, she took her hand away and coughed, "Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be out in a sec." She forced her voice to be even, trying to hold her breath and count to ten. She opened the door and smiled at her mom, fake yawning that way the tears would seem less unordinary. "I'm going back to bed for a few hours." She quickly walked passed her mom. The small brunette watched her daughter walk calmly back into the bedroom and close the door.

Tadita opened up the package of gummy bears that she kept in the tiny bedside table, popping three in her mouth. At around five, Tadita was in a deep sleep again. When her alarm went off at six thirty, she almost slept through it. Her mother opened up the door and a sliver of light flooded her room, shining directly into her eyes, which forced her awake. Tadita pulled herself together, feeling as if she was sort of floating.. but she wasn't panicking. The smell of fresh food wafted from the kitchen, and Tadita frowned. What the fuck was this? Her mom didn't cook.. then, she remembered. Alejandro was here, her cousin whom she'd only met twice. It must have been him. Tadita yawned and shuffled into the dining room area- which was also part of the living room. There he was.. cooking. He made an omelet with some ham and peppers. The flavors popped in her mouth, overwhelming her senses with nostalgia. Suddenly she was back on the rez, dancing with her father in the living room whilst her mom cooked breakfast Saturday mornings. She almost wept.

That's why Tadita made sure to gobble it down extra fast, because she didn't want Alejandro to see her cry. Locking herself in her room, Tadita struggled to find something to wear like she did every morning. But at the end of it, she tossed something on and made it fashionable, before hauling herself and Alejandro out to her beat up little red car, taking off to school. She said nothing the whole ride, and Alejandro didn't either. Neither were super talkative in the mornings. Pulling into her spot, Tadita gestured with a jerk of her head for him to follow, and the two entered their new school.

[OPEN]

-



Alejandro

The first night living somewhere new was always rough.. always weird. Even though he new his Aunt Rosa, he didn't know her well.. and his cousin? He hadn't seen her in over half a decade. He'd come the morning before with only a small suitcase and the clothes on his back. Rosa promised him that he would be taken out shopping by Tadita for new clothes, because apparently she knew all about what the cool style was. Jay had a hard time believing that, the fashion in Mexico was pretty different than here in Maine. It was so, so much colder too. Tadita had barely spoken to him when he'd arrived, mostly keeping to herself in her room and banging on the drums or playing the guitar through her amp. He felt totally out of place.. and once again, he had to start over. It was sort of just a go-to survival instinct at this point. As soon as he'd arrived, Jay called his parents and told them that he'd arrived safe, and that he missed them. It broke his heart knowing the conditions that his family were suffering in, and the fear they had every day.. It was no way to live, and he was going to work hard and do things the right way, because that's how he was raised. And he was going to get his family to Maine.

He had to. There was no other option.

The apartment only had two bedrooms, and he wasn't going to make Dita give up her room. So, he set up a place to sleep in the living room. The couch was a futon, so he made his bed there. Clean, running water, a working shower.. luxuries that he'd never had before. Jay's first shower was a long one, and he hoped that he hadn't ran the water bill up by taking it. The apartment didn't have much food either, just the basics.. but even the basics were things that he hadn't had before. How lucky was he?! Dinner that night was some mac and cheese, and tadita finally got to talking with him. "You excited?" She asked him quietly from across the table. She kept her eyes constantly down, seeming nervous. He nodded at her with a fat grin, "Yes, I am very happy." Jay couldn't really speak english. He had been trying to from watching TV and movies, listening to music and trying some language apps on his phone. "I want to play.. foot ball. Yes?" He asked. Tadita paused and rose her brows, looking at him in the eye before snorting. "Good luck, kid." She said back in Spanish.

Jay didn't sleep well the night before his first day. It was nerves, he knew they were. he wished his family was there to send him off- his immediate family. I'm doing this for you. I'm going to do my best for you. He told himself before he fell asleep. He awoke to the hall light flickering on at around 4, and he tossed an arm over his eyes and listened to the short conversation between mother and daughter. He didn't fully understand it, but either way, it was warming to him to know that Aunt Rosa really seemed to care. Unable to sleep for the rest of the night, he watched the 24/7 news and tried to learn the words, muttering them to himself. At around 5:45, he got off of the futon and changed in the bathroom, shaving and getting ready for his big day. Gotta start it off right. He thought to himself as he cooked some eggs on the very unused stove. Tadita seemed to be appreciative of the fresh food, scarfing it down as if she'd never eaten before. Putting on a regular pair of jeans and a dark, faded t-shirt, he was armed with his new backpack and supplies and ready.

The car ride was quiet, both he and his cousin humming and harmonizing with the latin tunes that she'd decided to play for his comfort. He really appreciated it. He saw the behemoth of a school and stared, his heart starting to freeze up in his chest.. yet he felt his feet moving, closing the door, and following Tadita into the flood of people. God, help me.

[OPEN]
-



Sha'nay

Sha'nay Watson was up at 5 AM getting ready for school. Yes, it was the first day, but she would make sure that every day at school was like the first day.. at least in terms of appearance. Every day she made sure her hair was perfectly prim, wore a full face of makeup, flawless outfits.. Tiffany jewelry, Loui backpack, crystal covered phone case.. adding the last pop of lipgloss, she screwed on the cap and went strutting down the spiral staircase. "Good morning!" She sang out. Her mother and step-father were already awake. The tall, dark gentleman at the table was reading the newspaper, and her mother typing away on her laptop. They both looked up, and her mother stood and bustled over in her pencil skirt, giving her daughter a light hug and kissing each cheek. "You look.. stunning." her mother smiled and smoothed her hair, gently brushing a fuzz out of the dark locks.

Shay beamed, loving the attention. "Thank you, mama. Morning, dad." She smiled and walked over and gave him a kiss on the cheek, going over to the refrigerator and getting out her kambucha and a fresh vegan breakfast burrito. She made small talk with her parents before finishing up her food and ensuring that her makeup was still intact, walked out to her mustang and hopped in, roaring off to school. For a few minutes she sat in the parking lot and just scrolled instagram, before heaving a heavy sigh and grabbing her backpack and walking into the sea of new faces. She got this. She had this in the bag.

[OPEN]​

 

[geminiy]

Ryan Davies

Ryan was not interested in going to Westbrook High. Quite frankly, he didn't understand why his parents were pushing him back into the school system. He would have done just fine homeschooling instead of being thrown back into the public education system. At least if he was home-schooled, he would have more time for working on his music career. He also didn't understand as to why they uprooted from his hometown to some tiny nowhere place just so that he could go back to school.

When his parents told him that he didn't have a choice in the matter, Ryan decided that he wouldn't be him. Of course, he would still be Ryan, just not the deaf Ryan. After he got sick, everyone he had grown up with made Ryan's life living hell for simply not being able to hear. Perhaps that comes from the fact that no one else in that stupid small town had anything more fun to do than make fun of him or fuck their way to power. Regardless, he didn't want anyone to know anything to do with his hearing loss out of fear of being some stranger's target for anger release.

So, to look the role of a completely normal seventeen year old, Ryan put on an old pair of headphones and blasted the most obnoxiously teenage music he could find on his friend's Spotify account as he headed out the door. What? It's not like he could hear the trash anyhow. Plus, no one would try to talk to him if he clearly had clunky black headphones on, making Operation Blend In a lot easier.

Ryan had timed the bike ride from his house to the school so that he could get there early, before the hordes of students arrived to complicate things. He needed to get his bearings without having to weave through anxiety-inducing crowds or looking like an idiot as he attempted to find where the hell he was going. To his surprise, the plan had actually worked. He got there just late enough that the doors were unlocked and teachers were drifting in but early enough that very few students had yet to arrive. Absolutely perfect. Bonus for him, he had come the Friday before to get his schedule and find his locker, making his job all the more easy.

After stowing his things away, Ryan pulled his hood down to reveal the headphones and began wandering the halls, trying to map out the school in his mind and find his classes. He paused outside the music room, staring in awe at the instruments inside. He wondered if the school had a band, or a half decent music program, and decided he would come back later to see for himself.

| open|​

 

[PenguinFox]

Amalia's eyes narrowed further, if that was possible, when Elise turned to face her. Clearly neither woman much cared for the other. In her peripherals Mrs. Woods could see students staring at this confrontation, from a safe distance of course. She folded her arms over her chest. "Likewise." she said flatly. She may not have exactly meant it, but she was holding back for now. She would at least give Elise a chance to explain herself before going on the attack. But boy was she ready to go on the attack.

Truthfully Amalia Woods didn't know much about Elise Summers. She never bothered to learn about people beneath her. They were of little concern. "Sean is as well as he could be." her tone was almost impatient, as if she didn't have time to answer the principal's ridiculous questions. "I hear you received a..." she paused and looked up at the school. "...promotion." if you could call it that. She purposely left out a congratulations. Seriously? Going from a college to a high school? Voluntarily? Clearly the West matriarch had no self respect. Either that or she was fired from her old job. The thought brought a small smirk to her lips.

When Sean had been dating Ash that was about all he talked about. At least that was what Marty Woods had said. Sean refused to speak with Amalia, so Marty would often send her reports on how he was doing. When she had brought her kids on her last business trip it seemed all Amalia heard was about one Ashton West. She really only got the important information though. Like how she was a cheerleader with good grades and generally well liked by the school. Of course that information was over a year old, and things change fast in high school. Despite her demeanor, Amalia did actually like her son's relationship with Ash. Only the best of the best, and if Mrs. Woods played her cards right she could've gotten a new client in the West's son. Aspiring musicians were always the easiest to hook. So hungry and desperate. Of course all that was out the window now, because someone had to go and almost kill her son!

"I assume you are aware that Sean suffered a heart attack, yes?" Amalia knew Elise knew. For the first few months after the incident, Marty had told his wife nothing. She was starting to enjoy the peace, but in early September he finally came clean and told Amalia about what happened. How Sean was hospitalized and how Ash was in a car accident. How they spent a lot of time together. How Sean's heart attack occurred because of stress, likely due to Ash's crash. Amalia had also heard about the court case against the West's for the crash. Apparently some poor girl had been put into a coma, and Ash, who had been driving, was under the influence. That's right, she did her research. Mrs. Woods never comes to a fight unprepared.

"Tell me, do you know why?" Amalia's eyebrow arched, her expression coldly analytical; ready to pounce on any wrong move. She was hoping to pull some kind of admission from Elise. Just one little mistake was all it took. There was no doubt Amalia Woods was a lioness, the question was, what was Elise? Winona

 

[Twin Fantasy]

Nyoko Sugawara

Autism wasn't really very accepted anywhere, especially outside of America. It had been Nyoko's little secret.

When she was diagnosed at an age no older than five, the neurologist had suggested that her parents keep it to themselves. But it was obvious that something about Nyoko Sugawara was just a little off. Her classmates were all relatively straight-laced, hardworking kids with a couple of goof-offs thrown in the mix for flavor. Nyoko had a window seat where she'd stare outside, just to see if anything scampered by. During the winter, not a soul, but as spring rolled around, butterflies would zoom through the air in colors of all sorts, landing on the flower boxes attached to the windows. Nyoko was so focused on watching them that she must have missed a lot, because when she was finally called on, her mind went blank.

Her mother wanted a house pet, but Nyoko was terrified of dogs. (A large and very poorly-trained German Shepherd jumped on her when she was maybe five years old, which hurt like the dickens.) After a bit of consideration, Nyoko suddenly received a birthday present with a ball python inside. She named it Kiki.

That started a fascination with anything scaly or slimy that she could get her hands on. Reptiles, amphibians, even a few fish, she was hooked. This became her trademark. After school she could be found looking for frogs in nearby ponds. Within a few years she was begging for another pet, and proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was capable of taking on the challenge. Though her father was apprehensive, her mother had grown a fondness for Nyoko's creature addiction, and decided to let her have it.

Over the years, Nyoko had acquired a collection. The most expensive part of keeping a reptile is the electricity. They don't eat too often, and don't poop too often as a result. They gave Nyoko all the enrichment she could have wanted, but it came at a price.

Lizards aren't a common interest, but Nyoko talked about them nonstop. Most girls her age wanted nothing to do with that. During middle school, Nyoko never talked about grades, or boys, or magazines. It was all lizards, snakes, turtles, frogs, salamanders. She came into school one day and found 'LIZARD GIRL' etched into the top of her desk, among other things. She didn't want to do anything about it.

Several years later, after moving to America, she'd found herself in an all-new community. One that was judgmental, but for different reasons. Nyoko loved Westbrook. It was a shitshow. It was a fucking disaster. This allowed her to lay low. Nobody threw around her name, not when they had Mason, Ash, Tatum, JJ, and all those other people to talk about. In the midst of underage sex and drugs, Nyoko's herping habits were like dust in the wind. 'Who cares if she's into snakes,' they were probably thinking, 'Little Susie slept with Big Johnny's ex-girlfriend twice removed!'

Arriving at school was like a breath of fresh air. For once, a place where everyone except her would be judged.

// OPEN //​

 

[BELIAL.]

Malachi Verreau
location: WHS, front mention: Braddington TheFool ​

There hadn’t been much traffic on the way back to his place, although it was a fair distance away. He had been quite happy to see Fitz actually, everyone having been busy with moving and shifting an entire state from home. He was also glad, maybe more than, to give the guy something to walk off the edge with. Just a bit of his own batch, homemade, grown with a bit of extra love and care. Indica was great for times like this, and it was the usual joint he would stick in the kid’s mouth.

What happened in the Verreau house stayed in the Verreau house. He had the place to himself, his parents couldn’t care less if he was by himself, and it was a safe haven. Anyone that smoked, snorted or drank away was always welcome to crash on a couch or a spare room. He insisted, actually.

He wouldn’t say, but it was because he remembered how alone he was when he had OD’d. He wouldn’t wish it upon his worst enemy.

So Mal was more than willing, and indifferent to, helping the kid make his way back up from a spiraling hell. After a few puffs things were a little more malleable. Fitz babbled a lot, especially in cases of nervousness. He hadn’t fully come down yet from the high place he was shaking like a leaf from. He recognized this symptom and knew the perfect remedy.

Mal ran his hands through his dark hair, sucking in from the joint at the edge of his lips. He was higher than before, and reminiscing in the swirl of the room. Just a bit of a glow to the edges, a state prettier than just being on shrooms from before. A soft transition to the end of the day.

Fitz was handsome in the grey light. Mal’s place had a 70’s style tv room, with a lowered floor and wide, tall windows. A picturesque view almost, with perfect privacy. The light that came in was always pure, straight from the sun and accented by the glow of the sky. Maroon walls, and a freshly stained mahogany floor.

“Place is ermm...wack. Right?” Fitz said, Mal only really focusing on the tail end of the recent bit of rambling. He took a puff and plucked the joint from his lips, pressing it to the other man’s gently.

“Tu parles trop, m’ami.” The frenchman said, rolling his eyes and sliding off the couch. “We’ve been through this road before. You’re still shaking, Fitz, I take it you really need the good, good stuff, non?” He stuck a hip out, pressing his fist against it. Indeed they had. It had been a few years now that they’d been friends, and a few less years of that spent with these little cool-downs.

Mal sunk to his knees, staring straight at the blond’s eyes. He rested an elbow on Fitz’s knee and his head upon that hand. “You know I’m more than willing, m’ami. Any time. You’re a good guy, and a good friend.”

Dancing fingers and a familiar smile.

----

Monday. It would be the first day, proper day, at Westbrook. Mal was a mixture of emotions; perhaps excited being one of them. Worried? No, the man was hardly worried. He floated through life, often dancing to Paul Anka with a cigarette in his mouth, and maintained that disposition. Would he tone it down for the public school kids?

No, not at all. They’d be fine.

He got ready in a flourish, putting on his best shirt and a pair of creased slacks. Mal loved to dance.

His morning moved in a haze, he hadn’t gotten too high before heading out, and he was just prepared to face the day. This way he could handle whatever bullshit would end up rearing its head at some point.

Strolling along, a swagger tossing his hips, he caught sight of a familiar girl. He smiled a bit, skipping over. “Hey pretty lady, you lost?” He asked, snickering as he took a seat next to her. “Or are you waiting for your boyfriend? I can’t promise he wasn’t just at my place, buuuutttt…” Mal trailed off with a knowing smile. He pulled Theo into a warm side hug, rubbing some warmth into her shoulder.

“How was the move for you?”

 

[High5ives]

It felt weird coming back to Westbrook now. Daniel definitely wasn't the same person as when he'd left. He'd never admit to it, but he'd changed here and there, trying to fit in with his peers at Black Mill. Being rich didn't make him impervious to human emotion. Daniel was still just a seventeen year old boy, and like any other, he wanted to feel accepted. So he'd gradually developed himself into who he though the Black Mill students would like. Got cockier. Partied more. Partied Harder. More than once, Daniel had woken up the next morning vowing to never touch tequila again, only to go right back to it the next weekend.

Coming back to Westbrook was like a return to who he was before though. Daniel hadn't changed too much, but he was certainly a little kinder before going off to Black Mill. Less arrogant. a part of him wondered if anyone in Westbrook remembered him. He wouldn't blame them if they hadn't. Its not like Daniel was around long enough to make many friends. Acquaintances sure, but to say any of them had become good friends was definitely a stretch.

For his first day back at Westbrook, Daniel was definitely flaunting his economic status. A big shiny watch adorned his wrist, and slick silver chain hung around his neck. His shoes alone probably cost more than most other student's entire outfits. Not to mention his jeans, made to look worn, but of course brand new. Any time Daniel was stressed or anxious about anything, there was always money to fall back on. Who could be scared when they were rocking an outfit that would've cost anyone else three month's rent? Daniel. Thats who. Everything was fine, but even the slight possibility of running into Kanen made him want to vomit.

And who could blame him? After Kanen's whole twitter fiasco, Daniel didn't want all of his Black Mill friends to know they were related! Hoe would that make him look?! He might as well kiss his whole social life goodbye! Westbrook would hate him for being rich, and Black Mill would ostracize him for his brother. Wouldn't that be great!

"Mom, I'm pulling up to the school right now..."

"No, I'm not going to cut class. Jesus, give me some cre-"

"Mom no! Why would I want you to-"

"Don't do that, ok!? I need to go."

Daniel hung up his phone as he pulled up to the school is his custom G Wagon. His mother only wanted to the best for him, but she was always so controlling. For the first time, Daniel was living by himself, and she felt the need to check up on him every twenty minutes. It was just too much! He wasn't just a child anymore! Daniel was practically an adult! Why couldn't he just be left alone once in a while! Was that too much to ask!?

From the driver's seat of his car, Daniel scanned the entrance to the school, searching for anyone he recognized. Theo perched up on a bench was a relief. Daniel didn't want to go waltzing into the school alone. Hell, this was Westbrook, there was a good chance he'd end up getting stabbed and robbed right in front of the main entrance.

Ok. Maybe that was an exageration, but not by much!

Swinging open his car door, Danny's feet hit the pavement. He just kinda stood there for a moment trying to collect himself. All at once he began to regret dressing like he had. Why'd he think being all flashy was a good idea!? As if the modded out G Wagon didn't attract enough attention as it was! he took a deep breath before closing the door and making a bee-line for Theo.

Despite feeling like his stomach was going to fall out his asshole, Danny was pleasantly surprised to find himself smiling at pretty girls as they walked past and staring down the cocky boys who glared at him. Just because he didn't feel confident, didn't mean he couldn't act like he still was. Fake it 'till ya make it. Danny boy didn't even make it halfway before he got himself distracted by a couple girls. Theo would be fine.

Pretty girls demanded his attention.

[OPEN]
​

 

[Winona]

Elise

She listened in silence as Amalia spoke, but Elise didn't offer any kind of expression towards it. Her face was stone-cold, unreadable. This was the only way to handle women like the one in front of her. If she let up at all, even for the briefest of seconds, then Amalia would tackle her. Destroy her. Use that to break her down.

Elise had played this game before.

"I heard he had a heart attack. I'm assuming the reasoning behind it is because his mother slept around a lot and ended up having a son whose family history she didn't know. If she even knew his father, that is." Oh, Elise was far too smug about this.

"That's just my opinion, anyway." Elise forced a sweet smile onto her face. Well, sweet was one way to describe it. It was more along the lines of calculating, and cold. A cold, horrible smirk.

PenguinFox​

 

[dendygar]

Tadita & Alejandro

Tadita recognized the girl from twitter.

Her face lit up and she smiled, her mood starting to brighten a little bit already. The more that she woke up, the more social she became. And plus, those gummy bears were going to be in her system at least until lunch. "Hey!" Tadita said and moved a bit faster to catch up to the girl. "You're Nyoko, right?" She asked with a small smile, not wanting to weird her out. She hoped she wasn't. Tadita thought that she was hilarious and really wanted to get to know her more. "I'm Tadita. Smotherednative on twitter?"

Jay panicked and quickly caught up with his much smaller cousin, raising a hand and smiling. Time to put his new english skills to the test! "Hi, my name is Alejandro Sanchez. I am also called Jay. I am from Colombia." It sounded rehearsed, but he was beaming with a smile that could light up the entire town. Tadita looked over and gave him a wink.

His heart was soaring, and he smiled at the rather.. strangely dressed girl. But he found it fascinating, not silly in any way. Maine was so new and so different from where he'd grown up.

"I really like your Twitter page." tadita added, walking along with the girl. "I think you're super funny. I wish I could have some reptiles." She gushed happily, geeking out a little bit because she knew that nobody was really watching right then. Tadita had always wanted to own some frogs, or even a blue-tongued skink.. but her mom hated animals. All animals. Dogs, cats, birds.. her dad loved dogs a lot, she wished that she would have had one growing up.

But lizards were cool as fuck, too. Jay smiled and nodded as he listened, not fully understand what was being said or what was even happening, but he liked whatever he was hearing. tadita seemed to be smiling a lot- which in turn made him smile a lot. Over the last two days of him living with her, he hadn't seen that very often.

Twin Fantasy​

 

[Pysren]

Raelynn Bennett​

Seem's like this Ash person had alot of issues if she went through stuff like this on daily. She made a mental note to not be rude but steer clear of that girl, atleat until she was stable. Raelynn continued to walk along the path, but when she passed the second cotton candy stand she seen she could help but grab her one, a purple swirled into a blue. She used her free hand and took piece and immediately put it into her mouth. She loved how sweet it was, how it dissolved the moment it hit her tongue. It was a childhood pleasure, one she wasn't ready to give up.

After some time Raven asked her a question. It was progress if Rae didn't have to be the one to ask questions. Rae moved the cotton candy cone toward Raven. "Would you like some?" As she waited to see if Raven would see yes or no, she thought about her question. "I suppose you can say I'm new, in every sense of the word. I used to be homeschooled... until last year. Then I transferred here to Westbrook this year." She paused before speaking some more. "Westbrook so far... is.. I'm not going to lie. It's not great but it's better than being homeschooled."

Rae was about to ask Raven a question when she heard Fire! Or atleast she thought she heard it. Then she heard it again and looked around until her eyes landed on the stage in the distance. There was awful lot of smoke and the lighting seemed off. She kept staring until she saw the tips of flames as they grew. "Oh my god, Raven. Look! The Stage is on fire." She hoped no one was hurt or trapped. "What a night..." She said in disbelief.
Soap

 

[Hypnos]

Gus Windrift
​

Driving through the streets of Westbrook, as darkness started it’s shadowy descent, was not the way that Gus had envisioned spending his evening, nor was it an activity of which he was particularly fond. The earlier drive back from the Chinese place had proved to be painful enough, yet now that time was of the essence, it seemed that the people of Maine were determined to drive as slowly as physically possible. Did they have nowhere to be? Were Westbrookers just so brain dead that they couldn’t drive faster than a snail’s pace? Whatever the case was, Gus wasn’t particularly happy about it, as was evidenced by chorus of blaring honks that echoed from his horn every time he was forced to stop behind traffic, or even slightly slow down his pace, leaving a sea of angry driver jeering in his wake. At least ambulances had a siren to ward off the crowds. All Gus had in his arsenal was a few choice curses for those in front of him, and a single finger for those behind.

But the time the Rolls pulled up in the hospital parking lot, the seat in which he had placed the bleeding man was almost completely ruined, though at the moment, the blood already outside of the passenger was far less concerning than the blood that continued to pour out of him, so Gus had to act fast to pull him out of the car, attempting to fireman carry him all the way inside the building, his shoulders buckling slightly under the weight. Now wasn’t the time to contemplate all the times he’d skipped the gym.

Luckily, a couple of hospital staff, were on hand to witness his struggle, and soon rushed over to relieve him, laying Gus’ new friend carefully on a stretcher as they brought him inside the building, Gus following swiftly behind.

Assuming that this kid survived this whole ordeal without any lasting injury, this was gonna make an amazing story to tell the boys back at Back Mill, and as he walked, Gus sent off a couple of texts to Zia to tell her that they’d arrived safely, and that their new friend was now safely in professional care.

Mission complete. Now he could just sit back and enjoy the smugness that he had earned from performing a good deed.

Unfortunately, his self-appointed sainthood hadn’t exactly been properly conveyed to the staff.

It turned out that running up to a hospital, covered in fresh blood, with a dying man over your shoulders was not a good look for someone who wasn’t a doctor, and it was an even worse look when you couldn’t exactly explain to anyone how you ended up in this situation, and to whom that body belonged.

‘He had a fall.’ Was all that Gus was able to say, though he could clearly tell from the stern expression of the nurse who first interviewed him that she didn’t believe him. ‘He just, kinda hit his head and started bleeding.’

An argument so compelling that Gus hadn’t even entirely convinced himself.

He hadn’t even known the guy’s name, which had turned out to Alex, according to the name tag which Gus had never bothered to read, and by the time that he had finished explaining his jumbled and detail-lacking half of the story, there were already rumbles of the police being called.

Which was exactly what Gus needed on a Saturday evening.

It wasn’t long before they dropped that notion however, since it soon became apparent that Gus was as clueless as he claimed to be, lacking a lot of the intelligence and malice that was to be expected in any would be murderer, so instead of being arrested, he was simply ushered into a side room, where they asked him to fill out a few forms and wait for Alex to come to.

The forms were basic enough, though Gus struggled to answer even the most simple questions about Alex and his condition, so most of the boxes ended up being left blank, with the exception of payment details, where Gus jotted down his own information. He didn’t have a clue if Alex had any kind of insurance, nor if he was on a family plan, though considering that he was out delivering pizzas he highly doubted it. What he did know however, was how harshly Alex had protested at being taken to hospital, and even someone as bullheaded as Gus was able to put together that there had to be a bigger reason for that.

It wasn’t like the Windrifts would miss the money anyway, they could always just remortgage the fifth house.

‘Alex said you can come in now.’

By the time that Alex had been ready to see him, Gus was already thoroughly board of the hospital. He had spent a few minutes scouring through his phone to update his insta, and then a few more playing a dumb game where he was building his own virtual farm, but by the time the nurse called him in, Gus was thrilled to finally be able to stretch his legs.

‘Seriously dude, it’s no problem, I wasn’t about to let someone bleed to death all over my driveway. I mean, think of all the mess that would cause.’ He laughed, but the hospital staff didn’t seem to share his joviality, offering a harsh stare. ‘I don’t think I could reach out to your parents if I wanted to, and I don’t know if this is the kinda stuff you can include in a review for a pizza place.’ He just hoped that neither the pizza place, nor the parents followed his instagram. ‘If you need someone to go with you to your boss to smooth things over, and back you up about not being a lazy-lay-about, I’d be happy to go with. I’m new in town, so I ain’t got much else to spend my time doing. I wouldn’t want you to lose your job over this, I mean, it was my stairs that landed the first blow afterall.’

Gus smiled as Alex talked about the possibility of paying him back, simply shrugging it off. ‘I mean, yeah, you’re basically gonna have to be my bitch forever now. So I hope you’re prepared to spend the rest of your life listening to my shitty music, and carrying my bags around.’ Another laugh. ‘But seriously, don’t worry about paying me back. I don’t know if you could tell from my dashing good looks, and impeccable fashion sense, but we’re a pretty well to do family, and this is really no skin off our back. If anything, I would be more upset if you tried.’

‘Don’t worry about Fitz, either.’ Even if he had run off without warning, leaving Gus and Zia to deal with a bleeding man. ‘He’s not the one who was bleeding out. He’s gonna be fine.’ Fine was a strong word for Fitz, but elaboration was going to take a whole lot more time than Gus wanted to spend in a hospital. ‘You just need to stop worrying about all this stuff, and get some rest.’

TYPE ailurophile

 

[TheFool]

Theo

Theo thought she could almost cry at the sight of him. Malachi. She was hoping to catch up with him at the fair, but their paths didn’t cross. Instead, she spent the entire day chilling with a disgruntled Riona Walsh. Until the fire anyway. That kind of put an end to things - abruptly. “Pretty lady yourself.” She giggled, leaning into him.
He always gave the best of hugs. In Theo’s eyes, Malachi was what she was back at Black Mill. A social butterfly floating between groups of people. There was nowhere where they actually did belong. Well, maybe behind the school. Smoking a rollie.
They were two peas in a pod.
Only he was one with a French accent, of course.

She rolled her eyes at the mention of a boyfriend.

Theo didn’t have time for that.
She was too busy for relationship drama. Too busy just vibing.

She let go of him.
He was radiating with warmness. She exhaled, seeing her breath in the air.

“Move was okay, yeah. Kind of sad leaving it all behind but… I mean… Black Mill’s still Black Mill. It’s going to be there forever.”
She sat back down on the bench and looked at her phone briefly.
“What about you, Mal?”
She asked.
“You moved in on Friday, yeah? Get up to any mischief?” She eyed him. A grin slithering onto her lips. He always DID get up to it.
Mischief.

And so did the boy that was approaching them.

Daniel.

He was another rich kid. Like most of everyone who had come from Black Mill, herself included. However, there was always something different about Daniel. He wasn’t born and raised in Black Mill. He fit in well in the time he’d been there,
But,
He was just…

“Danny!” She called at him, waving. Flashing him a sweet smile. I guess she was similar. She wasn’t born and raised there either. But in Theo’s mind, she seemed to fit in more with the kids of Black Mill Academy than Daniel did.
Her smile dropped.
He had stopped to talk to a bunch of people. Theo crossed her legs and sat back, lowering her once waving hand.
“I can never… figure that guy out.” She said quietly to Mal.

She turned to him,
“And you know me. I’m a beacon of the people.” She said, laughing lightly. Her nerves having simmered down.



BELIAL.
High5ives



​

 

[KingofAesir]

Doctor Kirk

​

Brianna Kirk had been taking care of the patient in room 307 for about a month now. She'd replaced the older and much more experienced Gina Herron after Mr. Herron died suddenly and Gina had to take leave for a while. It was understandable, Mr. And Mrs. Herron had been married for almost 48 years and the poor woman had to be devastated. They still hadn't figured out what killed him, what was originally believed to be a heart attack turned out not to be. It had to be hard not knowing. Brianna knew that she would be pretty angry about it. Mrs. Herron could have her break, she deserved it. Besides, Brianna was glad to have been moved off of Mr. Peterson. As much as she loved the old man, he was a pain in the ass. No patient was as exciting as Grace Jackson. Not that that was a good thing, but the whole reason Brianna even wanted to be a doctor was because it gave her a sense of purpose and there was nothing that made you feel more important than saving lives. No offense meant to Mr. Peterson, but he wasn't in any life-threatening trouble at the moment.

Brianna opened the door to room 307 and was greeted by a nurse, Peter Brenton, leaning over Grace's bed. His red brow was creased low and he was looking at something. He looked up when Brianna walked in and his red hair flopped into his eyes. As he pushed the hair back he pointed to a few splotches of skin that had appeared on Grace's arms that we're lighter than the rest of her skin. Grace had been having problems over the last few weeks, she'd caught pneumonia and the antibiotics they'd put her on weren't working. Her temperature had spiked last night and Brianna was beginning to worry that she'd built and immunity to the antibiotics. When Peter pointed out the splotches, Brianna rushed forward to check Grace's respiration rate. It was high, almost 25 breaths a minute. Damn it. She'd gone into sepsis and judging from the discoloration it was severe. They needed to draw blood to be sure, but if she might already go into shock by the time they got the blood work back. Grace had been on a respirator the past few days but after deliberation, they'd taken her off because her symptoms seemed to be getting better. That had obviously been a mistake.

"Brenton, she's gone into sepsis we need that respirator back." Brianna told Peter quickly and the nurse simply nodded his head and he helped Brianna hook Grace back up to the respirator. Her heart rate seemed to be normal for now and Brianna didn't want to risk taking her back for CT scan, there was too much a possibility she might go into shock. Brianna cursed, there wasn't much they could do at the moment. She was already on medication. All Brianna could do was sit back and hope for the best. She turned to Peter and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"Peter, please call Miss Jackson's mother. Tell her what's happened." Brianna didn't want to have to call later and tell her that her daughter had gone into shock, better to tell her now in case of that happening.

"Everything?" Peter questioned.

"Yes. Go." She waved him away and sat down in the chair next to Grace's bed. She hated not being able to do anything. This was the first real patient she'd had. She couldn't best it if they lost her. As if on cue, Grace's heart monitor spiked and then lowered dramatically. Brianna shot up from her chair.

"Shit. Doctor Greenvale!" Brianna rushed out of the room and called out for her senior. The man appeared around the corner looking rather concerned as he entered the room. "She's gone into shock."

"Her heart's failing." Doctor Greenvale spoke, finishing Brianna's sentence for her.

"I should have-." Brianna lamented as Doctor Greenvale began doing CPR.

"No, this isn't your fault, Kirk." Doctor Greenvale spoke, breathless, "Come on, kid." The heart monitor didn't change. "Damn it. Come on. Kirk, take over." Brianna took over doing CPR. Compressions, one, two, three.

"Stay with me." Four, five, six-a shrill ring filled the room as Grace's heart monitor flatlined, her heart had stopped. "God damnit, no." Brianna didn't stop. The monitor didn't change. Officially as of this moment, Grace Jackson was dead. Doctor Greenvale put a hand on Brianna's shoulder. She knew what he was doing but she couldn't stop. She couldn't just let this kid die.

"Brianna." Her supervisor spoke softly, when she didn't stop he spoke louder, "Brianna. Stop. Her mother signed a DNR. Stop." Doctor Greendale tried to pull Brianna off of her.

"I know. I can't, Doctor." Brianna spoke breathlessly, "I can't let her die. I can help her I...I can....damn it come on!"

"You'll lose your license." He warned, "There's nothing you can do, honey. Stop." And Brianna did stop, reluctantly. She stepped back and found herself unable to breath. Her first patient. Her first death. She choked. Doctor Greenvale wrapped her up in a hug and she broke.

Grace Jackson was dead.​

 

[Soap]

Grace

She strolled down the seemingly endless path of white. But something kept nagging at her as if there was an ending.

She just had to continue walking down it.

And so she did.

It’s hard to say if this heaven, a type of it maybe? Maybe she wasn’t there yet. Or maybe this was all there’d be. Some people didn’t like the idea of seeing white at the end of their life. Grace wasn’t one of those people though. It made sense that after everything someone went through in their life, they’d see white. It was light at the end of a dark tunnel, it was pure, it symbolized wholeness, innocence, safety to most people— to Grace. Whether or not people believed in heaven or hell, the afterlife, or just plain darkness, everyone thought they would see what they thought they’d see.

It wasn’t anything she expected it would be. But what if that’s what it’s supposed to be? Everything you wouldn’t it to expect it be? If that was the case; it made sense. It made sense that she didn’t picture it like this. Maybe she believed there would be more? That it would be prettier.

Would it be nicer when she reaches the end?

She hoped so.

Was it selfish to want more?

That after everything there would be more. There should be. Shouldn’t there?

The only thing she felt sure about, was that it would feel less… lonely.

But maybe she got that wrong too?

In a place like this, it was hard not to let your mind wander to what your life used to be like. What you used to prioritize. Grades, friends, family, her future. Grace was always stressed. Her mind was always running on a problem, it was like her life was dedicated to finding a solution for everything. For everyone.

That’s the way it seemed though, didn’t it? The way everyone saw her? She was the girl who cared about everyone else more than herself.

Grace was always seen as the girl whose goal was to make everyone else happy. Because if she can’t make herself happy, why not be that person to help everyone else? It’s not a win-win situation, but at least someone won in the end right? On the outside, she was kind, always smiling, waiting to help whoever needed it. Consoling anyone and everyone, trying to make them see that their problems wasn’t that hard to get through.

But she was a hypocrite.

Not a lot of people really saw through Grace. They didn’t know that she worried about herself most. That she was the selfish one. While she was talking through someone else’s problems, her mind was running on her own. Easy to solve problems, problems she would never have a solution to, problems that didn’t even exist yet, although; it’s hard to say if they ever will now. Grace Jackson was seen as fearless to some people. Being forced out of the closet? No big deal. Homophobic family? Totally okay.

Scary, yeah. But falling in love with a girl wasn’t her biggest fear. Perhaps validation was? Her need to feel accepted by everyone. That was one of her fears. Yeah. It was probably even a public one.

The optimist pessimist had many fears.

Many that wasn’t voiced to anyone but herself.

What if she didn’t end up happy? What if whoever she ended up with didn’t love her? Left her even. But didn’t everyone have those fears? Maybe that was okay then. She would brush them off and ignore the thoughts, force herself to sleep with them still running. Forgetting about them when morning comes just for them to reappear at night.

A lot of people didn’t know she had insecurities too. They didn’t believe she couldn’t have any. They saw her as ‘pretty’ and ‘kind.’ Grace was the girl that had everything under control. She was always okay. The idea that she couldn’t be was impossible to them. Because to them; there was no way someone that happy could feel so hopeless most of the time.

Because she shouldn’t be. She didn’t deserve it.

What reason did she have? What childhood trauma led her to feel like that? Was she bullied? Abused? Did she ever feel like she never fit in no matter how hard she tried?

No. There was no trauma. No abuse. Grace was never bullied. She always fit in. She was always perfect.

But she wasn’t. Not to her.

How was it so possible to hate yourself when you know you’ve done nothing wrong? Grace did nothing but live and she wanted to erase herself from existence.

Despite her trying to convince herself for years that there wasn’t, she just felt like there was something wrong with her even if no one had seen it. Everyone’s kind words didn’t matter, well, she would think it did. The thoughts would disappear for a few hours and come running back because it’s main goal was to haunt her. Sometimes it didn’t matter what those people thought.

Grace wanted her own validation.

Everything she did felt wrong. Everything. Every choice. Every look. Every stare. Every word. Every smile. Nothing was ever right. She was never right. No matter how people seen her, heard her, reassured her.

No one saw it, no, but Grace did. Every time she looked in the mirror.

That was a good thing about this place, there was no mirrors. It was a great thing even. She would stare too long in the mirror. Eying every one of her imperfections. If you’d ask her what she hated most about herself, she wouldn’t have an answer.

Maybe she’d say she didn’t like her nose, or the way one tooth was slightly crooked. But that wasn’t the whole truth. She didn’t enjoy those parts about herself but there was just… something she hated. Something that was hard to voice. It would be easier for her to say that she hated herself. Hated the way she worried, the way she spoke, the way she smiled, laughed even. She could list of everything about herself and it still wouldn’t be enough because the truth was; Grace didn’t know what she hated.

Maybe mirrors were her way of trying to find it herself.

But if she didn’t? If she never found it? That’s okay too. Something told her it didn’t matter anymore.

This place didn’t feel like it was one for negativity.

It didn’t feel bad here at all if she’s being honest.

She heard them sometimes y’know. It wasn’t always, but someway somehow she heard her mother ranting about something at work, Ash being quiet except for the small ‘I miss you.’ She threw in there once or twice. Stu’s awkward and adorable greetings, and Sawyer’s heartbreaking pleas. The only part that hurt of all of this, is that she didn’t get to say goodbye. There were times here where she thought of her mom, almost afraid that she wouldn’t be able to be okay. But the only thing about Kate that everyone knew, is that she was strong. Stronger than Grace and it’s something she wish she inherited from her mother instead of her eyes.

Maybe then it wouldn’t hurt so much.

What about Ash? Would she have someone to vent to when she wasn’t okay? Would that someone pester her to open up even when she keeps saying she’s fine when she’s obviously not? It would bother her if she didn’t. Grace didn’t really want anyone to steal her best friend, but if someone was willing to look after her while she was gone… well, That was okay.

… she’ll allow that.

Or Ryder. Who else would try to fix whatever problems him and Ash had? Would anyone else try to show them that they needed each other?

Would small prayers work here?

How about Kanen? Did he get the redemption he wanted? Was he still trying to make amends in the small ways? Would anyone else force hugs onto him when he looked like he needed them most?

He’ll find someone. There’s millions of people in the world.

Keisha? How would you feel if someone you started to care for suddenly died without warning? Would it scare her for new relationships later on?

Grace hoped not. She didn’t want to ruin love for her.

Stu? Would he find himself a girl who’d give him that first kiss he admitted he wanted under that tree all those months ago?

She hopes he does. He deserved happiness more than anyone.

Whenever happiness came to mind, it was hard to not think of Sawyer.

That hurt the most.

It was scary to think of— to feel, because this was actually happening.

Grace never imagined she’d say goodbye to her. But it’s different when you realize you have to go and you can’t say it. She’s willing to relive all the worse parts in her life if it meant she could say ‘I love you.’ A last time.

Sawyer will be okay. She has to be.

Because if she wasn’t, Grace isn’t sure she could continue down this small pathway. She’ll meet someone. Someone will make her happy, even if it wasn’t her… Grace still wanted that for her. Sawyer needed that type of love that she couldn’t give her anymore.

Someone to make her smile whenever she avoided eye-contact because she was hurt. Someone to make her laugh when it was obvious she just wanted to cry. Someone to remind Sawyer that it was okay to not be okay once in a while. Sawyer was never the tough girl everyone saw on the outside— and Grace knew that. She saw that. It’s hard to say why at first. Maybe because she knew how it felt to be overlooked, or maybe it was because they spent so much time together in the matter of a year that they were connected in a way.

Whatever the reason was, Grace didn’t want Sawyer to have another her.

She didn’t want to be replaced.

Forgotten.

And no matter how much that hurt, it would hurt a thousand times more if she didn’t love anyone else after her.

Maybe it was better off she didn’t say goodbye.

Maybe whoever put her on this path knew she couldn’t go through with it?

Yeah, it made more sense that way.

She’ll ask when she gets to the end.

It was nice to believe that she’ll get her answers then, it was almost as if she could breathe. There wasn’t any choices, no heartbreak, no hardships. It was just bittersweet. So… Grace didn’t get to choose her ending. It wasn’t the cheesy romantic movie she dreamed of, or one of the many the fairytales that she would still secretly read.

But it wasn’t bad.

It was lonely, but if you looked on the brighter side of things.

There was no one to help anymore.

No one to worry about.

It was quiet here too. So quiet she couldn’t even hear her own fears or insecurities.

She stopped walking. It was almost as if something told her to.

Was this it then? She felt her heartbeat quicken faster than she’d ever felt before, the emotional pain intensified and it was almost as if she was ready to break down right then and there.

And then suddenly it just stopped.

For the first time in her life; the blue eyed girl wasn’t scared. She wasn’t stressing. She wasn’t worrying. No fears. No tears. No hurt.

It felt peaceful here.

Grace felt calm, she felt okay.

 

[TYPE]

ALEX - SHARP
Monday Morning, before school || OPEN

His hand was shaking. Terribly. His eyes burned, but he refused to clear them. Sitting in the center of their tiny apartment, a wooden stool perched facing the couch on their scuffed floors. A private standup show. He could almost feel the spotlight burning the back of his neck. It was not very funny. Risking raising his eyes, his father's voice rose a few decibels as well. Small. Be small. He is just angry. He is just...

"Your father is not angry Alex. He... we are just... We are just so disappointed." Yeah. That.

As she tried to calm him down some more, trying to wean him off his anger with shame, citing the neighbors, citing his blood pressure, citing the fact that his throat seems to be giving out. She had finally stopped weeping at least. It was giving him... and his father a headache.

"We thought you were finally getting direction. AND NOW THIS?!" Biting down on his lip, staying quiet, the tears coming faster. They behaved strangely. Like he did. Quiet little rivers from a quiet boy. He had been told not to cry a few times now. It was not working. It seems they were both ignoring it now.

His boss had called his parents. He had heard the phone ring as he had been getting ready. He had heard the steps. He felt his door swing open.

"Papa?" He would like to imagine that the man flinched. Hesitated for a moment. He did not.

It seemed that he had actually come to hate him. The resentment. The anger. The rage. His mother had never slapped him before. Today she did. His father had never shoved him before. Today he did. Gripping him by the back of the neck, marching him right out to the living room.

"DRINKING? YOU WERE DRINKING?"

No. I was at the hospital.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT. I HAD HOPED YOU WOULD GROW UP. YOU HAD SO MUCH FUCKING POTENTIAL. I THOUGHT THAT GOD PUT YOU IN THAT TO TEACH YOU TO FUCKING FOCUS. BUT YOU ARE JUST LIKE BEFORE. WASTING. MONEY. TIME. YOUR MOTHER's AND MY LIFE."

I am sorry. It was more complicated than that. I am trying my best. I promise.

"AT THE START, YOU WERE SO CLOSE TO DYING. WE GAVE UP EVERYTHING! THEY TOLD US THERE WAS ALMOST NO CHANCE. WE COULD HAVE LET YOU DIE. NOW LOOK AT US. OUR LOVE FOR YOU, IS KILLING ALL THREE OF US. I AM WORKING TWO JOBS. YOUR MOTHER WHO SHOULD BE IN OUR BEAUTIFUL OLD HOUSE MUST WORK A DINER AND COME BACK TO THIS SHITHOLE!"

I am sorry.

"YOU CAN BE GLAD YOU KEPT THAT JOB. WITHOUT IT, WE WOULD GO UNDER. YOU ARE GOING TO STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE. NO MORE INTERNET. NO MORE COMPUTER. NO MORE VIDEO EDITING. NO MORE YOUTUBE. YOU GO TO SCHOOL. YOU COME HOME. YOU GO TO WORK. YOU FINISH SCHOOL. YOU GET OUT OF THIS HOUSE."

I know. I needed to keep it. I did. Of course. Father.

The man got up, walked into his room, shutting the door so hard the wood cracked. For a few minutes Alex and his mother pretended not to hear him screaming into a pillow. The paper thin walls made it very hard.

Stay quiet. Stay quiet. Don't speak. Let him work through it. Just... don't. Eventually his mother got up, walking to the door, picking up her bag Going to her shit job. About ten minutes later his father did the same. The silence in the room was a relief. It made him feel even more guilty. He got up, struggling over to his room. Fetching the cane. Fetching his bag. Locking the door. Only on the bus did he realize that he was still crying. With trembling fingers he took out his phone, cracked from where his father had thrown it against the wall. He had to call his boss. Thank him for the second chance in front of his parents. Then there was a twitter notification. His father demanded to see it. Chatting with people about almost anything and everything. News. Politics. Technology.

Alex was wasting time. An hour of talking? You could have done another shift. He could have. He really could have. Biting down on his lip, sniffling, every tap of his fingers making the lump in his throat grow.


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

When the buss stopped at the school he felt nauseous. Pulling his backpack over his shoulder, securing his grip on the cane, he made his way into the building. Having forgotten the fact that his fucking head was wrapped up from yesterday - having told his mother and father he fell over while drunk and that it was not that bad, and that he had done it himself - he should have foreseen the jeering. Before getting to the bathrooms, still where he remembered them, he had been called mummy-boy at least three times. When it did not get much out of him they returned to whatever shit they were busy with.

The halls were as he recalled. The building was as he recalled it. Nothing changed. The people did. But like this shithole... he was stuck. He had not changed at all. Still that stupid kid. Pushing his nose into things he should not. Being surprised when the mousetrap breaks his neck.

Staring at himself in the dirty mirrors, seeing his head bandaged, he felt even more nauseous. His eyes red. His cheeks pink. A bruise forming on his cheek. Rushing over to a stall, he fell to his knees, heaving a few times. Nothing. The knot in his stomach became even worse as he bit down on his lip, trying to keep the noise down. When his breathing settled as much as it could, his throat burning from bile being forced up from his stomach, Alex just slid down, sitting on the dirty floors.

Resting the back of his head gingerly against the cool stall wall, he closed his eyes. He could almost imagine it. The quiet. Not having to move. Nothing expected. Nothing... just quiet...nothing. Unaware of what he was doing, Alex lay down, placing his hands at his sides. Like he had lain before. The posture felt comforting. Before it had been a prison, the fact that he had no choice in it seemed a curse. Now... perhaps he was wrong. Perhaps the curse was having the choice to move. The choice to live.

Time moved on. Unsure of how long he just lay there, Alex just... did nothing. The knot in his stomach did not leave him. He was sliding. He could feel it. A cliff lay ahead. He could not see it, but in the darkness he could feel it. Something was going to happen. Something... bad?​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum closed her eyes for a split second, her heart was breaking for Caleb. He had stayed silent while he had been suffering and that broke her. She reached her hand over and turned his face towards her. She placed both hands on his face, letting her thumb rub a circle on his cheek, “I can’t imagine how hard that must be. I don’t care what issues you and I had or have. You are struggling and I’m sorry I wasn’t there.” She could feel her eyes begin to water a little. She knew this meant he was leaving Westbrook, her biggest support and one of the few reasons she hadn’t dived off the deep end yet.

Tatum had never felt hurt like this for someone else or knew anyone who was losing a parent so young. She knew it was best for him and his family, and if the times realigned she would see him again but right now was about him. She blinked away her tears, “Caleb, I really like you, I feel like I didn’t show you that enough but I do really like you.” She moved in closer to him and rested her forehead to his. She breathed in the air around him and let it calm her, “If you ever come back to Westbrook, I hope you come to see me. You have been one of the best things at Westbrook for me, and I really am sorry for everything.” Her hands were still holding his face. She didn’t love Caleb but if she had stayed she knew she probably could have and that could have is what hurt the most for Tatum.
Soap

 

[Dede]

Tom

It had taken Tom all of 16 minutes and 37 seconds to find a working vending machine. He had wandered all the way past emergency, past the McDonald’s (ew), and over to the other wing, where he found the machine in the hallways of geriatrics of all places. Why was it so hard to find proper food in this stupid hospital?

The prices were even worse than the stuff you get at the airport, but he was paying with Noah’s money, so whatever. While he was waiting to use the machine, an off-duty nurse in front of him was getting herself a pepsi, so he asked her if she had a death wish. You would think someone who worked in healthcare would know a thing or two about HEALTH!

He brought back with him a healthy sandwich, certified fresh, made with whole wheat bread and organic chicken -- the most expensive sandwich of the lot -- and two freshly-squeezed orange juices (not concentrate!) for himself and Noah. On the way back he was busy reading the nutritional information on the back of the sandwich wrapper, so it didn't feel like such a long walk.

Well he was back, grumpy from the walk, eager to resume the chess game that he and Noah were having, and oh – visitors. Who would have thought that Noah would have so many visitors? Why would anyone want to come visit a loser like him?

As he was coming in an older boy was just stepping out of the room. Hey, it was that guy whom Noah was amorously “playing” with earlier. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Mason! 'Hey Mason!' Tom said. It was good of Mason to come visit his boyfriend.

Inside he was greeted with a more familiar face: Tom's own boyfriend (if only), Stu French.

‘Oh. . . hey, Stu,’ Tom said nervously. ‘I didn’t know you were coming.’

‘Hey Tom,’ Stu said. He was peeking out the door to see where Mason had gone. They stood awkwardly beside each other for a moment.

‘Um… do you want an orange juice?’ Tom asked.

‘Oh.’

He generously held the orange juice in front of Stu’s terribly handsome face.

‘OK. Thanks.’

As for the other bottle, Tom was keeping for himself. Sorry Noah, but he had to get his five a day. Vitamins are very, very important.

Soap mogy Winona

 

[dendygar]

Alejandro

He stood there and listened to his sister talk and ramble about something or other, and he stared at Nyoko with fascinated eyes.. before he somewhat lost interest and began to look around at the student body. Everyone was so.. white. He spotted a black girl snuggling with a boy, she was pretty.. He saw a scrawny kid running around looking for something- he had to be with how frantic he was.. and a swarm of people all talking together. They were tall and one of them was tossing around a football. That's where I gotta be. He thought to himself. But then something happened.

He saw someone else with bandages on his head. He was limping, using crutches. His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked like a dead man walking. Even though Jay himself hadn't grown up in an abusive home, his ex girlfriend had an abusive father and mother back in Mexico. He knew that expression well, the utter hopelessness. His heart broke in his chest for the boy, and he gently grasped Tadita's arm and said in Spanish, "I'm going to the bathroom. I'll be right back." Tadita frowned at him and paused, watching his face. Something was up and she could tell, but she looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Oh. Okay, come back soon. I don't want you getting lost." Tadita smiled, but now she was paranoid. She was high- she had obviously missed something important. Something potentially dangerous.

Jay nodded and gave her a thumbs up before saying to Nyoko, "It is nice to meet you. Goodbye!" He waved, before taking off into a light jog towards the kid who was hobbling along. He watched him go into the mens room, and Jay followed and frowned. Then, he saw him.. lying down on the bathroom floor? What the hell? "Hello?" Jay asked and crouched down, looking at him with ease under the stall. "Are you okay? My name is Jay. I am new." This was certainly the strangest introduction he'd ever had. But.. but he didn't feel weird about it. "Can I help?" He asked next. "Let's be friends." He smiled a bit weakly, his anxiety soaring.

TYPE​

 

[Winona]

Beau

The fall festival had been, like, a total bust. It was so stupid but no one had wanted to buy her very fashionable bows. Which was like, totally ridiculous! She'd tried to stop nearly everyone that walked past, offering them bows at the low, low price of only 9.99 but no. All of these people thought they were too good for her bows, which just made Beau stomp around and huff angrily and pout. That just drove more business away, but whatever. And then the stage caught on fire, and Beau had to quickly pack her bows up and save their lives.

What a disaster. Beau had planned to not only sell a bunch of her bows, but also get more people to buy into this business setup! Bling Bling had a great thing where if Beau got more people to sell their bows, then she would get more money, and so on and so forth. It was such a brilliant idea! She just needed five people to sign up to start getting the full benefits.

Maybe today she could sell some of her bows.

Plus, Beau knew that today was the day that the new hot Black Mill kids were going to be showing up. She was so excited, so ready to meet them. They'd been so nice to her on Twitter, even setting her up with a boyfriend and everything! Of course, there had been so many of them that she couldn't really remember which one was her boyfriend, but that didn't matter! Beau had pulled up the Twitter account of her favorite so that she would recognize him when she saw him.

And boy oh boy did she recognize that hot blonde stud muffin when she saw him. If this was an animated show of some sort, or you know... if TLC made a reality show about her life like she kept asking them to, then there would be definite hearts over her head, in her eyes, and definitely over her new bae. It was totally most definitely love at first sight.

Beau threw herself at her new bae, wrapping her arms tightly around the tall and very muscular blonde. "OMG, bae, it's so good to meet you I love you." Well.

This was going a-MAZING.

Braddington @ whoever else is around him​

 

[BELIAL.]

Norah Walsh
location: WHS, front mention: TheFool High5ives ailurophile everyone else in the area ​

Norah Walsh was a winner. Statistically this was proven true; she had the luck of someone personally fiddling with the scales of chance, and looked good while doing it. Norah got what she wanted, but by her own volition. She had wealth behind her, and an infamous family image, but she weaved her own web. Sitting back and letting the world move around her was not how Norah Walsh operated, and she believed that time was too short to let things carry on around her, like an unstoppable ocean wave crashing into her beaches.

Her mother died when she was twelve, and in the thralls of puberty and confusing changes in her life she lost the person closest to her. Katherine Walsh was a beacon of light in the otherwise negative home atmosphere. She always had a smile on her face, and always a story to tell. She was warmth in the face of cold Massachusetts winters, and a voice of reason. She understood restraint. Katherine Walsh only indulged when it was her family, or the daughters she loved so dearly.

Drug addiction was a bitch. Had anyone really understood how much Katherine was suffering, maybe there could have been an intervention. Norah blamed her father, who was too busy with his mouth around his student’s lopsided tit. He could have done something, she reasoned. Katherine had loved him, despite how shitty of a person he was. She was persistent that the marriage would work out, despite Robert’s obvious faults. He was conceited, arrogant and entitled. Katherine wore her heart on her sleeve.

The observatory birthday had been one of her last moments with her mother. The fact that it had been just the two of them had made Norah even more painfully aware of how her mother had been crumbling. Her makeup was creased, her skin pallid and her hands constantly shaking. Little Norah hadn’t been entirely sure what to make of it, but she hadn’t been that naive. That oblivious.

They found her unresponsive in the upstairs bathroom a week later, lying in a pool of her own vomit and spit.

Norah held her cards close to her chest after that, playing the role of her own vindicator. She was not a toy to fate, or whatever fucking intentions that people around her had. She was in control.

She wouldn’t lose.

Her Monday morning started off as uneventful as they could be. She got ready. She hyped herself up, building the walls she so cleverly put into place every morning. Two bricks here, and a slab of concrete. Two more bricks, and more concrete.

She wore a loose striped sweater, the fabric clinging to her tits and hips with an otherwise off-the-shoulder lazy chic, and a tight-fitting pair of blue jeans. Carefully applying makeup to her face, curling her hair and dabbing perfume at her pulse points, she rounded out her morning routine with a sharp rap at her idiotic brother’s door. She shouted at him and made her way down the rounded staircase, beginning to assemble some form of breakfast. The others could handle themselves, but Norah knew better than to force them to starve.

Eventually everyone made their way down, but Norah couldn’t help but bore holes into the back of River’s head. She had been pissed he was already beginning his conquest through the women of Westbrook, more so because it had the chance of making her look bad. He did his own thing. But God help her if she’d let him get away with it without consequence.

He asked if she would drive, and she said yes. He asked if she was talking to the football captain, and her mouth hardened into a straight line. Gaze hardening she stuck a manicured finger at his face, giving a haughty laugh. “Oh no, you don’t get to critique me. You’re going to fuck up that bitch’s heart if you start off the way you are. You’ve got no tact,” Norah said, flipping her hair and stalking her way over to him. She plucked the phone from his hands, looking at the screen. “It’s as if you don’t realize this is a new school. New standards. You get left behind, you’re in the dust. You’re asking me if I’m talking to the captain? Of course I am, idiot. You want to get on the team, right?” She slid the phone back to him, smiling gregariously and blowing a kiss.

“Don’t say I don’t do shit for you, mmkay?” She wasn’t sure of what her feelings were for Mason, this guy she hardly knew, but she understood his advantages. She was gathering his weaknesses, and she was using it all for her defense. She wouldn’t whip out any offense unless the time asked for it. She liked having her guns loaded, but her hands off the trigger. Mason was sweet, but she reasoned that Shay had had some sense in her initial blowout at him at the carnival. If he actually proved worth a battle, maybe she’d lean a little in his direction. Give him a little more than her usual hard-to-get.

She was still sore from the last time she let herself care.

----

They arrived at the school, Norah noticing the few cars drastically out of place from the other beat-up, ABC cars. Exiting the vehicle, she smoothed her hair behind her ear. Fluffing out her hair and adjusting the creases on her shirt and jacket, she figured herself ready for this whole ‘school-tour’ thing. She had Mason to meet as well, wherever he may be.

Then her gut dropped like a rock hitting the bottom of a pond.

She saw him.

Daniel.

A bitter taste ran through her mouth, like swishing the pain of the last two months down the drain. She wished she could spit it out, spit it at his feet, but she stomached this rage. Raw, internal and festering like an open wound. She wouldn’t let him see how she had hurt, and how she remained hurt. She would only stay strong and stand tall. A beacon; a lifeline in the unwavering turmoil of seeing him...

Norah bit her cheek, wishing she could taste blood. Wishing she didn’t still remember how he tasted. She was an angry angel, capable of boring a hole right through him if he looked at her.

She wouldn’t look at him.

Her perfectly curled hair fluttered over her shoulder as she flicked her head around, giving River and Riona a knowing look. Her gaze caught longer on her brother, a glaze slipping over her iris. She blinked it away and her well-known smirk, clenching her jaw and gesturing with a tight nod to the entrance. A hefty breath regained her composure, and she strutted ahead, heels clicking against the cement.

If he touched her she’d burn, burn him straight into the ground. Norah Walsh held grudges, and she held them long. Especially when her heart had been broken so effortlessly by that boy.

That bastard. She should have considered that he’d be here, closer to his old home. Of course he’d be going back to Westbrook.

She still did not look at him. Her gaze instead slipped over, like a careless glance. “Westbrook sure as attracted some of the shittiest things I’ve seen,” she said just barely loud enough, with a spare second to look at Daniel.

To really look at him. It was within a breath, and then she glossed back over, smiling at her brother and the other Black Mill kids. In her periphery she saw the girls who hovered nearby, gawking at him. The bile bit her throat again, and she felt ill at the sight.

“Garbage human being at three o’clock,” she whispered to her brother, a sneer-smile slipping easily onto her smooth face.

Oh, this year would be fun. She saw a cringey looking blonde, maybe a few years younger, latch herself onto Fitz. Norah laughed out loud at this.

 

[TYPE]

A L E X - S H A R P
@sharpattack

The Boys Bathrooms
dendygar - Alejandro
Winona - DRAKE (MENTIONED in internal monologue)

He was floating. The cool floor pressed against his back, straightening out his spine. His shoulders relaxed as he let the pool of shadow engulf his perception. It was like he could feel himself being slowly lowered into a pool of ink. He lost sense of his toes and his fingers. His ankles and his palms. If he could, he may have smiled, but with the cool darkness came absolute immobility. The noise in the distance, the students, the teachers, the world... it began to melt away. He felt his hips lose feeling, and almost breathed out loudly in relief. Living was heavy. Living was pain. Everyday since he woke.

When the doctors told him that he would not grow much more. That his muscles had become effectively useless and that he would need to train daily, for hours, in pain, to ever walk normally again. When those words came to him for the first time, he realized that life would never be... gentle for him. All of his ambitions. All of his drives. Every moment of clarity. Every moment of confusion would be mired in at least the faintest shade of pain. The barest simmer of regret. The quietest whisper of guilt.

But... there was an out. Before. When he had lost any sense of time and space. When he had occasionally lost any identity that he may have had before, and drifted as a barely lucid fragment of reality within reality. Those days when it seemed so easy to just not be a person. To exist as thinking. No pain beyond memory. And on a scale of forever, everything must be forgotten. Was there even then such a thing? Was HE then? If he could not know that he knew. Was he like moss. Or fungi. Or even less, grass. Or stone. Clay... Was his father right? Would he be forced to live again then? Given a new body. Given a new purpose?

No.

He had not honored them. He had failed them. He had failed his father. God, whatever that may have been... would probably take his side. Rightly so... Seeing as he... they? Them? Had the right to decide rightly.

And here he was. He could taste it again. The depths. The quiet. He could feel it reaching to him. The cold hand. The kiss. Dancing on the edge of awareness. Where he may have been the only unmoving thing in all of reality, or moving as fast as anything may go. No reference. No measurement. Nothing factual. Nothing sacred. Nothing concrete. All things that existed... existed only because they were the passing musings of a mind slipping further into nothing.

Drifting.

Lower.

Always.

Deeper.

.

.
What... was that? He... did not think that. Would He? Could He? If He did, why? Why would He disrupt this peace... there was nothing outside of it for him. No one. And even if there were such things... were they enough to justify the trip back? Would it take so long again? Or would it be only a moment? Could he know? Would he wake in a body ancient, devoid of all vitality? Would he wake and all those who were before him no longer knew his name? Why did that seem like relief? Why would he wish for that?

Because...

because...

he did not want to go. He did not want to leave here. He did not want to be... alone.

Here he was nothing. Nothing could not be alone. If he was someone... he would need... need... want... desire... fail.

.
.
....hell....

....HELLO....

....OKAY?....

....HELP?....

Friends?

It sounded so loud. So... fucking... nice.

His movements were sluggish. As Jay shook his shoulder, bringing him back to the world, he finally managed to open his blood shot eyes. He felt exhausted. He felt as if he had run a marathon. Climbed Everest. Swam along the depths Mariana trench. Everything hurt. As it always did. Who did this? Why did he do this? A boy? Of course. The school. The bathroom.

"Hey." Sitting up, leaning back against the stall again, he looked at the other, his eyes squinting against the fluorescent lighting. "Sorry. I did not mean to... startle you. I was just..." Putting on his best smile, fake as his mother's favorite Dolche and whatever handbag. "...taking a nap." Leaning back, closing his eyes again, he breathed out quietly.

"Friends?" He could not help himself. "That's... nice." Peering at Alejandro through one eye, he felt that thing he was not supposed to feel. That need. For people. "You don't know me. I could be a serial killer? I could lure people in and steal their kidneys. I could be a Scientologist." A soft grin. The fake one fading away in a flash as he forgot himself. "What do you mean by friends? I have enough homework, I can't do yours as well." Biting down on the inside of his cheek, another sigh escaped through his nose, thinking back on Drake. "I can't be... a distraction."

A few moments of quiet. Scratching at his palm, he thought for a bit more. "I can't help you move. I don't get most references. I don't like most modern movies. I listen to weird experimental classical music. I work most days so I can't even hang out and do nothing most of time." He shrugged, hissing as his back complained. "I just don't see it. You know? I can't imagine you picking a worse candidate." His soft smile had not left him the whole time he spoke, as his head still rested against the cool wall.

"It is... nice though. Thank you. But really... only a momentary glance outside this door and you will spot a set from which to sample with a far greater and more compelling set of factors to facilitate the foundation phase friendly relationship." God he was a prick. He was sounding like a prick. He was intentionally sounding like a prick. Behind his closed eyes he glared at an the back of his own skull. Good work brain. Sabotage yourself some more.

Looking back at him, both eyes focused on the other guy, he set his lips in a stern line. "You can do better. Trust me."​

 

[Winona]

Ash

Mistakes.

People made mistakes all the time, and she had always been taught that mistakes were okay. They were okay, as long as you learned from them and grew. Mistakes were normal. Mistakes were part of being human. The only issue was that mistakes could either make you grow better, or in some cases, just send you spiraling down a dark hallway with no end in sight. Sometimes, she wondered how far someone could be pushed before they was no chance to return.

For Ash, she was pretty sure that she had hit that breaking point a long time ago.

The fall festival had ended and gone on even worse than Ash had expected. She had been excited for the kissing booth, for a day of fun with Raven where she could relax. All they had to do was hang out together, gathering money from people that she had thought would be lining up to kiss them. Or, at least, to kiss Raven.

Instead, it had been a disaster. She kept telling herself that it would've been alright, that nothing bad would've happened if Ash had just stopped and talked to Tatum. But in that moment, Ash hadn't been able to do it. She'd been too nervous -- it had felt like the world was closing in around her, like she was drowning and gasping for air. Tatum's grasp around her wrist had pulled her back down, where she couldn't breathe, and Raven had somehow saved her but also made everything worse.

And in proper fashion, Ash hadn't talk to anyone about what had happened on Saturday. She'd wanted to tell Ian, or anyone that would listen, but how was she even supposed to approach that? Everyone else had more important things to deal with than whatever mistakes that Ash had found herself in again, so she'd kept it bottled up. She didn't talk about any of it -- not about Kanen, or Tatum, or Raven, or Ryder, or Grace. Eventually, she'd get over it all and be fine.

Ash had arrived at school early so that she could be ready to help with the stupid buddy system that the stupid teachers had decided to set up. Her mother had shown the Westbrook kids the list first, and Mason had pestered Ash into trading. For some stupid reason he'd wanted Norah... okay, it wasn't stupid. It was obvious. She was pretty, and Mason obviously didn't exactly think things through. Whatever. It was fine. Ash just had to deal with this for a few days, and then she'd be fine.

She opened her locker, placing her backpack inside and taking out the water bottle that she kept here for emergencies. Ash had promised so many people that she would get better, but it seemed impossible to do so. A hill to climb that she simply wasn't capable of. So she reached in and took the bottle out, thinking about it.

"Ash, come on. We gotta go." A hand slammed into the locker next to hers, and she jumped, looking up from the bottle to see Mason. Ash glared at him and rolled her eyes, but he was already walking away towards the front of the school to meet the new kids and the rest of the... team or whatever you wanted to call it that was supposed to buddy up with them.

Ash placed the bottle back in her locker and then shut the door, and ran off down the hallway to catch up with him.

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

Mason

For the record, he'd done his best to try and get out of this fucking... whatever the fuck it even was. This fucking buddy system shit. But apparently, they decided that since he was the football captain and had been voted onto Homecoming Court, Mason would be a perfect addition to this fucking thing. It would seem that Elise had forgotten the whole part about Mason not exactly playing well with others, especially when it came to new rich fucking assholes.

So when he'd seen the stupid list and saw Norah's name, well... Mason figured that if he had to have a fucking baby following him around for a week, he might as well enjoy himself. Convincing Ash to switch with him had been easy. She was fucking distracted by some shit, which worked out fucking perfectly for him.

Ash managed to catch up with him as they arrived at the front of the school. Mason pushed open the door, holding it for the small blonde to follow after him, and then his dark gaze moved around the outside of the school until they snagged on the sight of the new kids. They were easy to pick apart from the rest of the crowd -- and not just because he recognized Norah. You could tell that despite all the bravado, they were still somewhat nervous about their first day.

"Hey, Black Mill." He said as he started walking over, Ash trailing after him. But before he could continue any kind of introductions, he caught sight of Raven walking up. And, well, fuck. Mason needed to talk to her.

"Fuck. I'll be right back. Ash can help you."

Mason stepped past the crowd and started walking towards Raven, his steps picking up until he was jogging. He had to get to her and get this fucking out there before he got too scared.

Mason came to a stop in front of her, his breath catching in his throat for a moment, before he just started talking and rambling and he couldn't get himself to stop.

"You're moving in with me. I don't want to hear any stupid fucking reasons about why you shouldn't -- you're moving in with me." Mason started. "Drake and I moved all of my shit out of the bedroom so you can have that room all to your fucking self or whatever. Put all your girly shit in there. I'll just crash on the couch with Drake." And yeah, Drake had whined and complained, but Mason had ignored him. What the fuck was he supposed to do? Make Raven sleep on the floor?

"So after school today, I'll help you move in."

Soap

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

Ash

You had to be kidding.

Mason started the introductions, and then he was gone in an instant to go and talk to Raven. Which left one Ashton West standing in front of the Black Mill kids that to her, were extremely intimidating. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words caught in her throat. Fuck. Where was literally anyone else that was supposed to help?

"Umm... nice to meet you. I'm Ash."

This was off to a great start.

@ all you Black Mill kids.​

 

[TheFool]

River

He swallowed, throwing the slice of toast’s crust into the sink. River never ate the crust. His mother ( and his nannies ) would always cut them off for him when he was younger. He eyed up Norah, shooting her with dagger eyes. “You know I’m not gonna, like, fuck with him if ya do like him.” He said. Taking another sip from his glass of water. Finishing it.
“But if he starts playin’ games.”
He put the empty glass down on the counter which he was sitting on. He threw a few play punches at the air, signalling to Norah.
And she knew.
She knew River would. He had before. He hopped down and ran his hand through Riona’s hair, messing it up. Being the annoying bastard older brother he had to be. He made his way towards the doorway, smiling as Norah mentioned the football team. He didn’t need her help to get on it. He was fucking good. But -
He appreciated her words.
“Love you, let’s bounce.”
He said,
Lifting up his arm and tapping the top of the doorway that led out of the kitchen.


They got out of the car.

His hood up and one hand gripping the strap of the schoolbag on his back. He perked up at Norah’s comment. 3 o’clock. He looked to his side,
Spotting Daniel.
They were on cool enough terms. Bro’s. He wasn’t a garbage human being, though River’s sister still thought so. He didn’t know why exactly. Daniel had crossed some line and hurt her - Norah - and so River had to make sure he knew the consequences of that.
They both got four weeks detention for it.
River only attending one and a half of those weeks, of course.
“Calm the tits, yeah?”
He said to Norah.
He didn’t want any animosity between any of the Black Mill kids. It was them versus the world at this point.

They stopped outside the front of the school’s doors. River catching the eye of a few girls strutting past. Here we go. Suddenly, he spotted Theo and Frenchy. He gave them both a nod. Then, he saw the twins. A smile broke out onto River’s face,
“Thing 1 and Thing fuckin’ 2.”
He slapped his hand against Gus’s, and then gave a more enthusiastic nod to Fitzy. “How’s tricks? Move in go smoothly?”
They chatted for a bit before a blonde girl appeared in-front of them.

He recognised her from twitter.
River looked at Gus and let out a snicker, but tried to hide it as best he could hide it.

“Hey Ash.” He said.
Looking from Gus, to her, to Norah, to Ash again.

-

Theo

Theo stood up from the bench and smiled at Ash. She had been one of the nicest Westbrook kids on twitter, so she was glad it was her starting this shit off. “Nice to finally meet you, Ash.” Theo said, fixing her scarf.
She glanced at Mal and the others, before widening her smile.

“We’re all super stoked.”



@All Yall Here Thx



​

 

[Twin Fantasy]

Nyoko Sugawara

Nyoko was a bit confused for a moment until Tadita verified her identity. They'd spoken on Twitter before, quite amicably. The big things Tadita seemed to have a distaste for were white people and Mason Rivera. Nyoko was not white, and not friends with Mason, so she was safe from Tadita's ire, thank God. She'd much rather be on the girl's good side. There were benefits, mostly having someone to show her reptiles too, but also maybe finally getting to smoke a joint for once in her life. (Her parents were awfully straight-laced like that.)

"Oh, hi! Is this a friend?" She motioned towards Jay, who gave his name and origin with utmost politeness. "I'm Su- Nyoko Sugawara." (She seemed to almost always drop her last name first by accident.) "I'm not from Colombia." She added. "Japan. But I haven't been there in awhile. You know." She waved her hand a bit, as Jay quickly excused himself to the bathroom, leaving Nyoko alone with her... adoring fan? She never even expected to have one of those.

"Thanks! Herpetology has been my passion since... god, maybe elementary school." She looked up for a second, as if counting back the years. "Definitely something like that. It's pretty much the only thing I think I take seriously." She stuck her hands in her pockets -- yes, her dresses have pockets, it's a requirement.

"Good to meet someone else who doesn't think they're gross. Back home, reptiles and stuff aren't really a commonly accepted interest." She sighed a bit, almost over-dramatically. "Instead it's just about who has the coolest phone strap." Perhaps that was the case in America, too, but at the very least, the herping scene seemed a bit more lively here, as opposed to in Japan.

// dendygar //​