Westbrook Season 2

[TYPE]

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

dendygar - JAY || geminiy - RYAN

Alex just smiled at Jay, not all that worried. Sure the boy might have a bit of a jump, but no one can be half as clumsy as Alex.

He stood corrected.

As the guy fell over, Alex reached forward to try and stop him from falling. Failed on account his pathetic response times.

As the guy tried to get up, Alex tried to move towards him to help him up. Failed on account his really slow movement.

By the time the guy was up and leaving, Alex had made it, and placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him there. "Hey, fuck. Sorry man. I did not mean to scare you that much." Speaking tot he back of the guy's head, Alex looked over at Jay, feeling no small amount of embarrassment. As the guy did not seem to respond, Alex secured his grip a bit more, and turned the other around to look at him. He was kinda- NO. Stop it. Dammit. Focus on him. He is scared.

Eyes contracted. Quickened breathing. A need to flee. Instinctively. All understandable. Letting his cane fall to the ground, he grabbed the guy's other shoulder, squaring them parallel to his own. Shit... he did not even flinch when the cane smacked harshly against the floor. He must be really spooked. "Hey man. DEEP BREATHS, yeah?" Looking the other's face over, trying to see is he was getting through, he saw his eyes flick down to his lips. Good. He was paying attention. "Sorry. You play really well. Really beautiful. I wanted.. We-" He looked over to Jay. "We wanted to hear. I did not want you to stop. You were really into it. Super cool man." He nodded along, trying to convey to the other that he was not a threat. "Sorry, right?" With both hands squeezing the guy's shoulders, he stepped back, letting his hands fall to his sides. Bending over, groaning loudly, pulling a face, he picked up his cane. While bent over, he asked - his face away from the other. "So, what is your name. My name is Alex. He is..." As he rose up smiling at him. "Jay... What is your name?"

Turning to Jay, he gestured for him to come over. "Sorry. You were right. I should have warned." He gestured back to Ryan. "I was dumb." A chuckle as he turned to face the musician. "He does not speak English very fluently. From Colombia. Spanish. He is good at understanding, but keep it nice and slow, yeah? Don't want to leave him in the dark." He reached up, patting Jay's shoulder as the other neared. "He is new here. I am kinda new again." He scratched his chin. "Kinda a long story." Giving the other a moment to take things in. "Sorry again. My curiosity has gotten me into trouble many times over-" Looking back to Gus. "- uh, I do things and don't think and bad things happen, yeah?"​

 

[ailurophile]

ZIA​

At some point, she'd lost interest and broken away from the gaggle of Black Mill kids waiting to be picked off one by one when their assigned guide claimed them. Zia hoped that, if hers showed up, she wouldn't take it too personally-- it wasn't that Zia didn't care enough to accept her tour, she just had a habit of getting distracted and having to pursue a new line of interest immediately before her curiosity ate away at her. That was how she found herself wandering the halls alone, without a guide, without her brothers, without a faceless entourage. For a while, she was just Zia: singular.

Nervous was the wrong word for the way Zia was feeling. Her heart fluttered in her chest with every step, but from excitement rather than fear. Westbrook was not Black Mill, but it was a highschool, and they were all the same. Zia knew highschool, and because she was in her element, she couldn't be too anxious. She'd missed almost the entirety of her first senior year, but this time, she was determined to make the most of it. Like a phoenix, she'd burst into flame and been reborn from the ashes.

Literally.

Where had that morbid sense of humour come from? The joke surprised her, and even though she hadn't said it out loud, she felt guilty. Perhaps she wouldn't tell people what had happened to her. No, she wouldn't, it wasn't relevant, and bombshells like that tended to make people uncomfortable. She wanted them to feel at ease around her, she wanted to connect with people rather than have them worship a romanticized version of herself. If she had to be raw, strip herself down to her most vulnerable parts -- in an emotional sense -- she was willing to do that.

Nobody approached her, but they did cast interested glances her way. That was to be expected: not only was she new, but her skirt was impossibly tall, the neckline of her shirt impossibly low, the heels of her shoes impossibly high. The mixture of intrigue, judgement, admiration, and revulsion was no shock to her. She was used to it.

You had to be noticed. Fading into the background was unforgivable.

Her misguided confidence was shaken when she heard a familiar voice, two in fact, coming from a nearby room. Without bothering to consider that she might be interrupting something important, she trotted over to peek her head round the door first just to confirm her suspicions, and then entered the room.

"River? Oh, wow, hi. I was going to call--"

She ignored the two girls, ignored her own brother. Because suddenly, after she thought she'd have so much to say, especially since she hadn't ended up going out to find him at the weekend, her mind went blank. Did it matter that she hadn't called him that morning?

He never picked up anymore.

TheFool

 

[TheFool]

River

Do you know that feeling?
The one when you’re a kid - just a kid - and you’ve done something that you know you’re definitely not supposed to do. And while it’s not the end of the world whatsoever, you feel like… once your parents find out about it… you’ll be literally murdered. Slapped. Squashed. Grounded forever. Your chest tightens and your heart beats a few beats faster and your brain feels as if it’s being throttled by rope and wire. That feeling. That’s what River felt when he laid his eyes upon the blonde girl who peered her head into the classroom they were all in. Zia. Zia Windrift. He felt his tongue dry and shrivel up. His stomach knotting itself over and over and over.

Fuck.

“Zia.” He managed to say. He had heard that she was back on the scene. But, he hadn’t really believed it. Seeing her was like seeing the ghost of a ghost. It shocked him a little. He looked at the girls, Blondie and Raven. He looked at Gus.
Zia’s own brother.
Gus had never really brought up everything that happened between River and her. It was part of the bro code not to. I mean,
Another part of the bro code was to not sleep with your bro’s sister but…

Fuck.

He looked back to her. To Zia Windrift. Zia fuckin’ Windrift.

Fuck.

“Hey.” He continued. Biting his lip. “Do you wanna… uh… go for a walk and shit talk, or whatever?” He didn’t want her to go off here. In front of Gus. In front of the Westbrookians, especially Raven. If he had been coming across as an asshole in any sort of way -
Zia would make it even worse.
He moved towards her. Trying to act casual. Then he walked past her. Leaving the classroom. Trying to lure her out. When he was back out in the hallway he turned around to face her.
“You look… amazing.”
He said.
He meant that.

“I, uh, feel bad.” He looked at her and then looked away. A part of him was afraid to look her in the eye. “I should’ve... “

He bit his lip again.

“I should’ve called. My bad.”



ailurophile



​

 

[ailurophile]

ZIA​

She wanted to be angry at him, but she couldn’t. The moment he said her name, any resentment that was bubbling inside Zia’s frame melted away, and she smiled. He wanted to talk to her, finally, he was going to give her the only thing she’d been pining for for months.

“Sure.”

Dutifully, she trotted after him. Like a little puppy. Zia may have had a lot of power back when she’d ruled Black Mill’s halls with a manicured fist, but he’d always had power over her, because she’d handed it over willingly. As always, his compliments made her swoon, made her heart fill with pride and happiness, made her—

I should’ve called.
My bad.

She stopped dead in her bright-eyed tracks, and her smile faltered. River wasn’t looking at her but she stared straight back at her, the corner of her still-smiling mouth twitching just a little. Because that was the kind of thing he’d said when he’d forgotten a date, or been late picking her up from practise, or left her alone at a party to move onto a new one.

It was not a sufficient response to what he’d done this time. Finally, finally, the gravity of the situation hit her. She’d been hurt, she could’ve died, and she’d gone through all of that and her surgeries and her days cooped up in her room, all of that without the one person she was supposed to be able to count on. One finger twisted in a lock of her blonde hair and tugged lightly on it.

To some, that would be a flirtatious gesture.
When Zia did it, however, it was a warning sign. Either she was nervous, or irritated, or both.

“Your bad?” Zia echoed in disbelief, her words laced with a harsh laugh. “Your bad?”

She took a step towards him, then, unafraid. The control she’d granted him was, at least momentarily, ripped back.

“I waited for you for months. I stayed inside, by the phone, on my own. It would’ve taken you a minute to call me or send me a text. I wanted to know if you were okay, I worried about you, why weren’t you worried about me?”

Her cheeks were hot with a flush of indignation.

“I needed you.”
TheFool

 

[TheFool]

River

River gulped.

He had gone done it again. Saying stupid shit. “My bad”. He felt like smacking himself across the face. He was a fucking idiot. A fucking stupid ass fucking idiot. River bit his tongue. Defending himself from saying anything else before thinking. He watched a group of kids run down the hallway past him and Zia. They looked like freshmen. He’d kill to be one again. There were no responsibilities back then. He just played his sports and that was that.
“Look,”
He started. Setting his gaze, finally, on her. He looked down and took her hand in his. “I’m sorry. I’m so… fuckin’ sorry. Mean it. Head was just… I was just all over the place. I really feel like such a fuckin’ cockbag. I am a fuckin’ cockbag.”
He tightened his grip on her hand.
Not so tight that it hurt her.
Just tight enough to make her know that there was a part of him that meant what he was saying. There was. He didn’t just ignore her though. It was much worse than that. Him and Zia had been a thing. Dating for a while. But, well, not officially dating. But also officially dating. In River’s mind it was complicated as fuck.
Though it wasn’t really. He just made it complicated.
When Zia…
When the stuff happened and she had to take some time out of school, River got with Elesha. A cheerleader who’d been giving him the eye for a while. He didn’t mean for it to happen at first but -

Well,

He did mean for it to happen.
He regretted it though.

Especially now.

He looked down into Zia’s eyes. She was one of the most beautiful girls back at Black Mill. She probably still was when you put her up against some of the girls here at Westbrook. As they stared at each other, he wondered if she knew. Like, knew knew. About him and Elesha. It wasn’t as much of a thing as him and Zia but…
Word always spread fast at Black Mill.
“I’m so sorry. So, so, so sorry. Zia. Swear that ah mean it.”
He did.
He was sorry about not being there for her.
And sorry about Elisha.
But hopefully she wasn’t aware of the latter. That’d be… good. He couldn’t face her wrath if she did. “Gonna try an’ get on the football team later after school.” He told her. Changing the subject. A smile crept on his face. “I missed you cheering me on, Zia.”

He squeezed her hand.



ailurophile



​

 

[ailurophile]

ZIA​

Her outburst of emotion burned out as quickly as it’d flared up, and her shoulders sagged in defeat when he took her hand. There it was again, that shift in power— it was his, now. River was beautiful, so beautiful, and charming, and lovely, and talented, and perfect, and as he gazed into her eyes it was like she was falling in love with him all over again.

This was good, this was one worry she could cross off her list. Zia knew there were things she had to do to make her transition into Westbrook smooth, and rekindling things with River? That was possibly the most crucial thing of all. He was part of her identity. Whatever he’d done, or was doing, or would do, it didn’t matter. She had to forgive him.

He hadn’t meant to let her down, she could see that now.
And she felt terrible for snapping at him.

“I’m sorry,” Zia’s voice was soft, sheepish. “I didn’t mean to get like that.”

Either she didn’t know about the other girls, or she didn’t care: it didn’t matter, the end result was the same. Of course, Zia herself had been operating as though she was still very much in a relationship, she hadn’t so much as hugged anyone aside from her brothers all this time. But that was because she was an idiot.

“Try? You’ll get on the team for sure, you’re a star, everybody knows it.” She smiled, brighter than before, her thumb caressing the back of his hand. “I miss it too. Maybe I’ll try out as well. D’you think they’d let me?”

Zia was calm, now. It was amazing how quickly she could forgive and forget and move on— she’d done it a hundred times before. Getting up on the tips of her toes so she could reach, she pressed a kiss to River’s cheek, and pulled back.

“Are you going to introduce me to your new friends, by the way? I sort of interrupted.”

TheFool

 

[Dede]

Stu

​

Like every other room Stu ever walked into, things got awkward real quick. They were standing in a quiet half-circle – himself, the nameless girl, the boy who had a crush on him – and then there was Noah, just sitting out his sad existence on his bed... Stu was now glancing over at the small chess set lying dangerously on the edge of Noah’s bed, reminiscing about the time Noah and he were playing chess together, and how he won.

‘320,’ Stu murmured.

‘Huh?’

‘320. What’s the room number?’ He tried to open his bottle of orange juice, but the cap refused to give at first.

‘Not that,’ Tom replied.

‘…It looks just like the one I had. That one was further down the corridor, though, I think,’ he said. ‘Oh yeah. I almost forgot—’

Stu swung his backpack to his front and reached inside forcefully, pulling out a large ziplock bag of homemade cookies. Jace’s recipe. He promised it looked somewhat better out of the oven. Less burnt. Also slightly less crumbly. The heavy textbooks in his backpack had not been kind to them.

‘When you fell into the sink?’ Tom asked.

‘Nah. That was a different room. It had a bigger window.’ Or maybe he was smaller then, and the window just looked bigger. Whatever. All hospital rooms felt the same anyway. Stu held out his bag of cookies. ‘Do you want them? I know they don’t look— but they’re actually really nice.’

They came in various shapes and sizes all, some oblong, some semicircular, some large, some small. Not two cookies looked the same, not one looked edible for that matter. Stu would beg to disagree. 'Go on, take them,' he said.

‘No thanks,’ Tom said, ‘I’ve already got my sandwich.’

Tom was wondering what his sister would write on his gravestone, if he died eating Stu’s cookies. 'Here lies Thomas Bisley. Cookie muncher in life, as in death.' Nodding at the girl beside them, he quickly said, ‘I reckon you should take them!’

What a great idea! Stu offered them to her instead. Now Noah had his Ferrero Rochers, the girl his cookies, and Tom his sandwich. And not one of them went hungry. Mission accomplished.

* * *​

Then Stu decided he would go and visit Grace. He made his parting well-wishes to Tom and Noah, leaving the two of them to pursue their elusive checkmate, although he knew a chess game with Tom had only one outcome. As for the girl, she maybe had decided to stalk him, or maybe not. While strolling down the corridor, Stu took the last gulp of his orange juice and tossed the empty bottle in the bin. He missed the target by quite some distance, and he deservedly got an earful from a passing bearded man-nurse.

The turn in the corridor brought him into the vicinity of Grace’s room. But here his natural smile dropped, to the sound of Sawyer’s scream even before he caught sight of her crouched on the floor.

In a moment, almost immediately, Stu understood that Grace was dead.

He moved with frail legs to the nearest bench, like a toddler forgetful of its walking lessons, and he managed to connect with the cold, hard plastic of the seat. His eyes drew shut when Sawyer slammed her hand into the wall, sending echoes down the lifeless hallway.

The doctor had come out to meet her. Stu watched the two of them through tear-clogged eyes, and saw the bleary vision of death, moving hither and thither, neither spirit nor ghost. Bright lights dancing to the soft rhythm of his heartbeat – and then, suddenly, he heard no more. The world around him went perfectly still. And perfectly white.

What just happened?

When the realisation finally hit him, the boy found himself curling up slightly, then blushing, then swaying shyly sideways.

He glanced briefly at Grace, who sat beside him, blushed some more, and then smiled – just enough for his dimples to show. His face turned reddish pink, and he felt a warm feeling, like his whole body was melting into the snow.

Then Neck Tie looked up, and he saw that on the peaceful branches of the tree there were leafy clusters of what he’d thought were bird nests. But they weren’t. They were mistletoes, and he’d just been kissed under their blessed shade. . . by a girl.

* * *​

To that lily-white place Grace had gone, deep into the heart of that snow country, where there was no more pain or fear or sorrow. And when the boy got up to follow her, he found himself slipping off the thawing ice, so that, after a futile hike, his feet once again met the hard edge of the hospital floor. Stu knew now where he was, but also where he had been. The boy decided to carry his steps onward. When he arrived at the door to the room that had been Grace's, he wiped his eyes. And there he gently lowered himself onto the floor beside Sawyer, where he tried to hold her in a quiet embrace.

Soap KingofAesir mogy

 

[dendygar]

Jay

His eyes widened and everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. A crutch had clanged to the floor, people were stumbling and grabbing onto one another, and Jay was starting to move forward against his own will. He felt anxious all of the sudden when the other kid seemed to be frantically looking around and watching Alex's face. He wasn't talking, either. He felt terrible for scaring him.

Who Alex began to explain himself, Jay nodded and smiled as best he could, now close to the other two boys and trying to seem more calm than he actually was. He was scared that Alex was going to fall over and break his ass, and this new kid was going to take off blindly running down the hall as if he'd just witnessed a murder. Fuck it- if Alex fell hard enough, he just might. "It was very nice." Jay reached out to shake Ryan's hand. "I am Jay Sanchez. It's nice to meet you." He flashed a dazzling white smile, and he looked over at Alex before bending down to pick up his crutch. He decided to just hold onto it for the moment.

When Alex explained him not knowing english very well, he smiled and nodded. "He is right. I am not good at English yet. But I will do my best to understand." Jay had to think over his words a few times, but was satisfied with the outcome. "He is harmless, my friend Alex."

geminiy TYPE​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer

​

If they were fortunate they would've been given a warning. Someone would have come and told them that she was dying. But they were not fortunate. Sawyer had never been fortunate and maybe none of them had. She didn't get the warning and now she was left with only the sudden horror, the wrench of being torn apart. Sawyer felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. This was a terrible reminder that nothing is permanent. Not even love. A reminder that, in truth, nothing can beat death. Now, Sawyer was left a hollow shell, tipping precariously on the edge of a crag too high to see what lay below. That dark ravine a terrible sight to behold, ready to swallow up the ones you love into oblivion. It had surely done so to Grace, pulled her down with it's grasping talons of shadow. There was a hole in Sawyer's heart as black as that ravine and Sawyer was prepared to jump down into it in hopes of finding Grace there. She could feel it coming on, turning in her gut like she'd been poisoned. Shock, denial, horror, bargaining. A barren, empty aching. Unanswered prayers. More and more sleepless nights. Her whole being crushed under the enormous weight of silence. Empty whispers. Missing laughs. Grief, in all it's hard-edged malice.

She wanted to cry. Her tears had stopped the moment she slammed her first into the wall behind her. She wanted to cry but she couldn't. Sawyer couldn't move. Hazed, honey brown eyes stared blankly at the window of Grace's room. Everything blurred and moved along liken it was stuck in molasses. She could hear her own heartbeat rising up to her head and beating at an agonizingly slow pace. Her breaths, she could hear those too, careful and slow. Stuck like a deer in headlights, unable to think. Shock. Sawyer was hit with it suddenly like the unexpected pass of a basketball. It crushed her chest and left her paralyzed if only for a moment. This couldn't be real. This wasn't real. It was too sudden, too unexpected. Grace couldn't be dead. Denial. An emotional army, trying to protect her from the invading influx of pain. Sawyer's grief acted suddenly, no time left for processing. Her army of denial failed.

Pain. Unforgiving and excruciating. Sawyer felt her breath leave her body and she felt like just fading away. It hurt so bad. So terribly bad that she could hardly stand it. She couldn't stand it. The tears came again, flooding down porcelain skin and Sawyer looked so uncharacteristically fragile at that moment. A touch might shatter her. But a touch came none-the-less as Stu pulled her toward his chest and Sawyer didn't have the strength to push him off. She broke, her tears coming faster now as she leaned into him. She could feel him crying too with the out of rhythm movement of his chest. Sawyer felt a kind of understanding. They were both feeling pain.

"I don't…" Sawyer's voice cracked and pitched, "I don't understand. Stu, I can't-" Her words were cut off sharply with a choked sob, "It hurts so bad."

Dede​

 

[dendygar]

Tadita

I can’t stay here. I can’t do this. I can’t do this. Tadita ran her hands over her face for a solid five minutes while she decided what to do in the bathroom. School was a bad idea, she should have just stayed home. She could tell her mom when she got back that she wasn’t feeling well.. and she could get her errand done earlier in the day and not have to worry about it after school. If she felt better later, she could even go to track. With that, Tadita fled the school grounds as fast as she could. She would pick up Jay later from practice.

She was sitting in her little red, beat up car in a liquor store parking lot. The Outpost. Was what it was called, men of different colors standing outside on the corner and smoking.. whatever it was that they smoked. Many of them were older, all wearing worn and patched clothing.. obviously not if much socioeconomic difference than herself. Tadita faked the wealth with her fancy clothes. These men couldn’t. An overweight woman with her gut hanging out walked out of the store, towing a screaming child by the wrist. The streets and parking lot around her were cracked from age, weeds and grasses sprouting out from the crevices.

You can still go home. Just go home. All day she’d been having a sickly feeling in her stomach, ever since that episode she had in the bathroom at 4 AM. She just knew deep down in her soul that something was going to happen. Whether it be here, at practice.. You’re paranoid. Just get out and do it. It’ll be quick. They were going to meet a short distance from the liquor store, exchange the goods, part ways. Grabbing her keys, her loot and her wallet, she hopped out and closed the door. Tadita began to walk quickly passed the men at the corner, one of whom called out to her, “How are you doin’ today, beautiful?” Taditas heart was already pounding, totally sober at this point.

“I’m good,” she squeaked back, her voice cracking. She didn’t dare look at them. Tadita had a weapon- she wasn’t stupid. But it was a taser- if she had to use it, it would be assault with a deadly weapon.. she’d for sure catch a charge, but it was better than bringing a gun. She had those, too. She walked up the cracked sidewalk and turned down a side street, walking passed some barred up businesses. A lingerie shop, a CBD joint, some old hobby shop that had graffiti on it. Her phone began to ring, and she recognized her clients number. “Hello? Yeah. Yeah I’m.. I see it. I’ll be right there. Thanks.” Tadita smiled and hung up, picking up her pace as she walked, cars driving by.

The location in question was a mini-mart. Kind of. They were like a 7/11 but just a little bit bigger, and they had another store a few blocks away. They were meeting behind the store, because her client worked there. Rounding the corner, she was met with a strange sight. It was a person.. one that looked a little familiar, but she couldn’t place them. It was a girl, a very tall and muscular girl. She had some acne on her chin, but other than that she seemed pretty. Definitely not her type.. and not the person she was supposed to meet.

“I’m uh, looking for Javi?” Tadita asked and looked around a bit. The girl nodded.

“Yeah, lemme go get him.” She smiled and rounded the opposite corner. Tadita screamed start herself to run in her mind. She’d seen this before.

Bernie. Bernardo Fernandez. His pudgy face flashed in her mind, the one of him in his pristine white casket and suit. A drug deal gone wrong, he got jumped, shot to death and left there in the summer heat for two hours. That was two years ago - and she still had a hard time with it. He should have ran. I need to run. By the time she was turning around, the girl had come back outside. “Where are you going? You still got my shit, right?” It was a man now, and Tadita turned around and was met with her worst nightmare.

She now knew why the first girl looked familiar. She was joined by some of her old cronies from East Park. DJ Carver, Jocelyn Linsky, Asia Jackson.. and two men- grown men- she didn’t know. “What the fuck is this?” Tadita asked loudly, trying to seem bigger and badder than her 5’4 self. She had her taser in her backpack. Why didn’t you put it in your pocket? You fucking idiot.

“You’re getting fucking robbed. That’s what this is.” DJ said, and she saw something flash. A baseball bat? Tadita had seen enough. She turned and began to run, but as she turned the corner, she got hit across the face with something hard, and she went sprawling across the ground. Her cheek was throbbing, blood streaming down her skin. It was another man, a Hispanic man wearing all sorts of rings- probably for this purpose of doing as much damage as he could. Before Tadita could even get on her feet, Jocelyn had ran over and began to drag her former classmate by her backpack. Tadita screamed, but as soon as she did, she heard a clang. Then, she felt it. The baseball bat cracked across her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. Her lungs and trachea spasmed, tears flooding her eyes as she was kicked full force onto her side by the bigger girl who she didn’t know.

They were able to get the backpack off of her then. Tadita curled up on her side, still trying to breathe, listening to her backpack unzip. The ground was hot from the sun. That was all she could think about. They shook it out and the contents spilled onto the ground, and Asia picked up the taser. “How the fuck does this thing work? I’m gonna keep this shit.” She said and held it up. Tadita began to try to get up, placing her palms flat on the pavement, when the bat cracked across the back of her shoulders. Tadita yowled in agony, a voice saying, “Shut that stupid bitch up.” A foot connected with her face, her head whipping back so hard her neck audibly cracked.

The edges of her vision were starting to darken, and she felt another hit, this time she was dragged up by her long, black hair and she saw the flash of the metal bat- and then nothing. Tadita didn’t know how long the world was dark, but she could vaguely hear voices and words, feel jolting and jostling, and then the warmth of the sun on her cheek and arm.

High5ives​

 

[Hypnos]

Gus Windrift
​

For a moment, things were going well. It seemed as if everyone was starting to get along, and neither his own, nor River’s buddy appeared to have built up any strong hatred for either of them, which was always a plus, especially considering the polarising aura they tended to give off. The two girls were even smiling and joking around, the subject of which went right over Gus’ head, but they seemed to be having a good time, so the Windrift grinned along with them.

Everything was good.

Until it wasn’t.

Gus loved his sister. He could say that with certainty. Zia was one of the strongest people that he’d ever known, and after what she had been through, he had a great respect for her perseverance.

But…

When she entered the room. His heart sank just a tad.

He wasn’t totally oblivious to what had gone on between Zia and River, even if he’d made an effort to avoid the ghastly details. River was kind of a dick. He knew that. He had always known that. But River was also his friend, one of his best friends, and even after what he had done, Gus had never pulled the trigger, and cut ties with the Walshes all together.

River was his friend.

Zia was his sister.

It was a complicated problem, one far more advanced than Gus was equipped to deal with, and in all honesty, he’d prayed that it wasn’t a situation he was going to have to deal with in the immediate future.

Life was a bitch.

He’d talked to both of them since the incident. Zia lived with him, and he hung out with Walshy near enough every day, but he never spoke to them about each other. It always just seemed like such a touchy subject. So awkward. Too complex.

Gus didn’t do complex, Gus did simple, and even that he did poorly.

An exceptional coward.

He’d often wondered if it made him a bad person to keep hanging out with River after how things had gone down, after Elesha, but at the end of the day, he’d never had the resolve to do anything about it. One way, or the other. It was just so much easier to kick the can down the road and let things resolve in their own time.

Like they were now.

‘Fuck’ Gus muttered under his breath as Zia and River left the room, simultaneously glad that they hadn’t thought to air their dirty laundry in front of these people who they hardly knew, yet also cursing them for leaving him alone to explain it.

‘I think they just need to sort some things out.’ He ran a hand through his hair, eyes darting between Ash and the other girl. ‘That was Zia, but the way; the girl. She’s my older sister, but I’m sure you can meet her later.’ He was panicking slightly, but he tried not to show it, his smile strained, but ever present. ‘She’s been going through some tough shit, recently, so she’s been out of the loop for a while. She’s great though. I’m sure you’d get along.’ He tried to raise his voice a little, attempting to cover up any sound of the conversation that was happening in the hallway outside.

‘Oh, and I’m Gus.’ He turned to the dark haired girl for a second. ‘I don’t think we’ve properly met yet.’

TheFool ailurophile Winona Soap

 

[Soap]

Evie

Evie decided it was time to leave Noah and the no-name weirdos. At least she got a souvenir. Cookies! Well, ugly cookies. But cookies nonetheless. The brunette rode across the hallways of the hospital wing. Keeping an eye out for any areas of interest-- by that she means hiding places and many of them. It wasn't ever hard for her to find a place, but staking the place out always helped wonders. Especially whenever a new nurse was hot on her trail.

Raising a cookie to her mouth, the girl attempted to bite it. Evie was just happy she didn't crack a tooth and threw the hard-as-ever treat into the trashcan where it belonged. Sorry dude, but being a baker wasn't something he should pursue...

--

"Hey!"

Oh no.

Hagrid.

Evie sped up, rolling into a conveniently open elevator as she passed by a woman who was no doubt waiting for it. "Sorry." She wasn't very sorry and by the glare that old woman gave her, Evie was glad she wasn't sorry. Sheesh. Pressing the elevator's close button over and over as if it'd work faster. Thankfully, by the time the burly approached the doors closed shut and the small girl took a deep breath of relief.

It wasn't very long when she realized she had to keep going. And Evie was a champion at ignoring the fatigue that she was feeling. Her breaths were becoming more and more heavy as time went on but she was too stubborn to take a break. As soon as the doors opened she continued down the all familiar hallway as Hagrid's voice had caught up to this floor. She glanced towards her neighbor's room on instinct and took a double take at the sight. Putting a foot down onto the floor and halting the skateboard's movements.

She could hear the loud machine from here. The flatline. And that was before she noticed Sawyer and the nameless boy on the floor. Evie opened her mouth to say something but no words came out.

"Genevieve. I've had it up to here with you and your--" Hagrid's words stopped as he noticed the pale look on the girl's face and where she was staring. Sure, she didn't know Grace that well. While it was comforting to have someone to talk to. This was more than that. Grace died. Like, really died. If it was so easy for her to just... go. What did that mean for Evie? No, she wasn't afraid of death. She wasn't afraid of a lot of things. But the sight of it just made it seem more real than she thought it'd be.

More possible and... maybe that scared her.

"Come on, kid, you should sit down." The nurse said. It was difficult to tear her gaze away from Grace's room. Really hard. Once she did it only landed on Sawyer and the boy, and it stuck there. Evie rubbed at her chest as if it'd help that tightening that was forming, or the rapid heartbeat she tried to calm with her own breaths. Hagrid grabbed at her arm and attempted to drag her away from the scene before she ripped her arm out of his grasp. "Get off of me." It was clear the nurse was about to protest until he noticed her watery eyes, disappearing for the next few seconds while the brunette's gaze was locked onto Grace's actual friends.

"I..." What was she even supposed to say? That she was sorry? Evie swallowed hard and returned her attention back towards the hospital room. If she was dead, what they hell were they doing in there?

Dede KingofAesir​

 

[geminiy]

Ryan Davies

He just wanted to get out of there, hide away from himself and the dumper fire that is his very existence. Ryan couldn't explain why everything in him was telling him to run away, from the music room, from the two guys in front of him, from the damn school, from everything and just not look back. He'd really fucked up this time, absolutely monumentally screwed up.

Ryan's mind didn't stop reeling with anxiety until he felt a hand on his shoulder, followed by another, turning him around to face the guy. He took a second to take in the scene, trying to figure out his surroundings. The guy in front of him was trying to calm him down, his hands grasping Ryan's shoulders almost to hold him steady. Ryan focused on his hands that had just gone from playing a beautiful song to rattling with worry at his sides. He clenched them into tight fists, trying desperately to stop them from shaking.

He dropped his gaze from the eyes of the calming boy to his lips, suddenly realizing that he hadn't been paying attention to what they were saying, if they had even said anything at all. Of course they had said something, especially after Ryan had made himself look like a complete idiot after falling off of that stupid bench. Deep breaths? Had he stopped breathing? Ryan's chest felt like it was being squeezed shut in a vise-grip, the air struggling to flow down his throat and into his lungs that simply refused to work. It had been so long since Ryan had had an anxiety attack, though he could hardly forget the feeling. So much for seeming chill on his first day at a school in a long time.

He needed to calm down, needed to focus. It was hard to understand what people were saying when his head was buzzing with worry and fear and with his uncooperative eyes wanting to look anywhere but the lips of the two boys in front of them, but he had to try. Focus on his lips. Focus. His lips were moving but what were they saying? No matter how hard he tried to focus, he just couldn't understand those first few words. Sorry. Why were they sorry? Ryan was the one acting like a fool, he should be the one apologizing. He looked down as the one that had been holding his shoulders reached for something that had fallen. A cane? Now he really felt bad.

As his breath returned to his chest and clarity began seeping back into his mind, Ryan began to understand their words. They were trying to introduce themselves to him. Alex and Jay. Ryan took in their faces for a moment as Alex continued to speak, discretely glancing down at Alex's lips every few moments to make sure he was still understanding what he was saying. He probably looked weird with his eyes flickering around so much but Ryan simply didn't care. He'd rather be known as the weird kid over the deaf kid; the latter never ends well.

After taking a few more deep breaths to make sure that the anxiety wouldn't bubble up as soon as he opened his mouth, made the decision to answer. "Please, don't apologize. I just, um, didn't see you come in, that's all. And I get really, um, really involved in my music so I kind of get nervous when people show up out of nowhere. But really, it isn't your fault. I'm just, um, just jumpy sometimes. I'm new here and..." Ryan's voice trailed off, getting stuck in his throat. He had a really bad habit of rambling when he gets nervous.

"Ryan," he said, his voice much more meek and relax. Ryan shook his head, realizing that he had only said his name and literally nothing else. He continued to speak, holding his hand out to Alex and Jay. "I-I'm Ryan. Ryan Davies." Internally, Ryan cringed at his own word choice. At least they hopefully wouldn't forget his name, not after he said the damn thing three times in a row. "Nice to meet you, Alex. Jay."

| alex TYPE | jay dendygar |​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Ah.

So they were those kind of boys.

Hm. Interesting.

Before she could respond to anything, Ash was in front of her. Raven glanced at her lips for the slightest second and suddenly it was a little too hot in this small art room. "You're right. You're worth much more than some rich prep kids." She shrugged towards the boy and muttered a sorry. She wasn't all that sorry though let's be honest. Whenever it came to Ash it was kinda hard for Raven to be herself.

Kinda.

Ash had a way of... flustering the girl. And apart of Raven felt like she actually enjoyed that. "Whenever you want it Barbie. Free of charge." The brunette had somewhat of a smirk on her face before she redirected her attention to the new boy. "Raven." She held a hand out towards him. Not that his name was a particularly bad name. But what was it with these rich people and their weird names? Last names, first names. Because... Gus? Jeez. Poor guy. At least his face wasn't bad to look at. "I'm guessing my tour is cut short. While I would love to stick around, maybe I should go." She glanced behind her where the two strangers exited. "I'm a busy girl. I've got people to talk to and what not." Raven grinned and mocked a bow. "Your majesty, and Gus. No funny business." She rose a brow and narrowed her eyes playfully towards the blonde boy, walking backwards out of the art room.

She still had a lot of time until Mason was done with whatever he was doing with his buddy, so Raven decided to make her time worth it.

Winona Hypnos​

 

[Soap]

Juliette

They paired her with an awkward little nerd.

Great.

Juliette forced a smile, taking a sip of her coffee before she started walking towards the school without warning. "JJ." She didn't even want to do all this in the first place, but the sooner she gets it done, the sooner she could be left alone. So, onto the tour. "We start with the entrance of course." Entering the building and forgetting to hold the door open for Rhys. Look, JJ has manners, she does... she just forgets them sometimes.

"So, we have the principal's office over there. You're likely to get called in, if you like, just breathe so... Try not doing that. Our principal is... eh." Believe it or not, Juliette didn't hate Elise very much. Maybe it was because she got temporary captain all those weeks ago, or maybe because she had her priorities in order. Wait a minute-- why was she giving this dude advice in the first place? Not to be overly mean, but she probably won't remember him by next week anyway.

What? It's likely they won't ever talk after this. She stood quiet while she walked through the halls, only speaking to point out whatever seemed necessary. "There's the gymnasium. Go there for sports or cheer practice." She gave the boy a once-over and cocked her head to one side. "I don't think you do either of those so, you'll be okay." Hmm... what else did he need to see?

"Anyway, are we done here, Ricky?"

ailurophile​

 

[Winona]

Drake

He was on Homecoming Court. And for Drake, that was a huge accomplishment. He'd been a little hurt at first that they hadn't let him announce the Court, but when he heard that he was actually on it, Drake's heart had practically burst right out of his chest. It had been a lifelong dream, one that he had often resented his older brother for. Drake didn't know what the change was -- why he was now voted on. Was it because he was clean? Because he'd grown over the summer? The questions behind the reasoning were endless, but Drake was happy. It was nice to know that at least one of his Westbrook dreams could be checked off.

But there was another dream that Drake had.

It was early October now, which meant that it had been almost exactly once year since he had first bumped into Maisie Melrose at the Vaughns' birthday party, and had fallen head over heels with her almost right away. Drake remembered it all like it was yesterday -- the talk about cats, being able to look into her mismatched eyes, and then trick-or-treating with her. It had been childish, but it had been fun, and Drake had held those memories close and the warm butterflies that he had felt in his stomach even closer throughout the rest of last school year and during the summer, when he was away from her.

Drake saw Maisie at her locker and even now, after all this time, the butterflies were still erupting in his stomach as he walked closer. He'd gotten his cat back -- the one from JJ's party -- and now had it in his hand. However, the little heart didn't just say "I Meow You" anymore. Now, there was a little note taped to it, that simply said "Hoco?"

"Hey, Maisie." His voice cracked as he spoke, and all he could do was hold the little cat out. This was a horrible idea, right? "I uh... I got this for you. See? It's a cat because when we first met, we talked about cats. And you were dressed like a cat for Halloween, and I just thought... you know..." God, this was nerve-wracking.

How did his brother do this so flawlessly?

Soap​

 

[Winona]

Ash

The light, easy-going mood in the room shifted drastically when the blonde that Ash most certainly didn't recognize appeared at the door, and started talking to River. She watched as he headed out with her, and the two headed down the hall. Gus stepped over by the girls and tried to keep the mood light, but it was already soured by whatever was going on between who Gus was now calling his sister and River. Ash had no idea what was going on, of course, but it seemed like something big.

And Gus was obviously trying to keep calm about it, brush it off like it was nothing, but he was doing quite a terrible job. It was easy to tell that he was upset about what was happening, even if he tried to put a smile on his face and play it off like no big deal. Ash wanted to say something, but wouldn't that be crossing boundaries?

Raven started speaking again, and Ash's attention turned back to the brunette. "I'll meet you down there in a bit. I've got a gift for you." And no, Ash wasn't talking about kissing her or something like that. She had an actual gift for her, to thank Raven for being there near the beginning of the year when she'd felt utterly alone.

Her blue-eyed gaze moved back to the taller boy that she was supposed to be showing around, and giving a lovely tour of the school, but now that whole thing seemed to just have crumbled.

"So, umm... I know this tour was kind of short, but do you want to like... end it now?" Ash asked. "And are you, like, alright? You don't look alright with... whatever is going on between them." She asked, waving a hand dismissively towards the door where River and Zia had disappeared through. "You don't have to pretend that everything's alright. Like, I'm not going to judge you."

Hypnos Soap​

 

[TheFool]

River

“Sure, l-”

He stopped, and he looked. Raven came out of the classroom they had been in. Walking in the opposite direction of him and his happily reunited. He watched her, with an aching. River guessed his tour guide was done. That was it for the day. A part of him wanted to shout after her and say something funny. Something full of wit. That’d lead to her trying her hardest not to smile again. But, he didn’t. He stood there.
Clinging to Zia.

“That’s Raven. She was my buddy or whatever.”

He soon reeled in his gaze, back to her. His… What was she? Was she still his girlfriend? Was she ever? She was. River just had a hard time admitting that. Commitment was only a strong suit for him when it involved being on the field at the same time everyday. Or something along those lines anyway. “Let’s… uh, get Gus.”
He said,
His voice as smooth as ever.

He escorted her back inside the classroom. Where Ash and Gus stood next to one another, talking. Go Gus. A smile found itself on River’s face. Though his chest still felt tightened. His stomach deepening its darkest pit. “Ash, right?”
He reconfirmed Blondie’s name. “This is Zia.” He said, presenting her.
She’s uh…
He stopped.
Wondering how to proceed. “She’s Gus and Fitzy’s sister.” He smiled thinly, “And one fuckin’ cheerleader.”
River looked back at her.
At Zia.
Fuck.



He excused himself after a few minutes of polite enough conversation. Jogging to one of the boy’s bathrooms. It was dank and empty. He took a breath. His phone buzzing. Probably fucking Elesha or some fucking fuck. He looked at himself in the grimey mirror that hung over the counters with sinks in them.
Staring at his reflection.
He was knee deep in dogshit. He knew that. He closed in on one of the sinks and turned it on. He bent down and splashed some water in his face. Once. Twice. Three times. Four times. Five times, even. He could feel his chest grip even tighter. His throat was dry - but there was no way he was drinking from that dirty fucking tap.
“Shit, shit, shit.” He muttered to himself. Droplets of water crawling down his brow and his cheeks and chin.
He eyed the mirror.
Staring into his dark eyes.
His phone buzzed.
He slid his hand into his pocket and took it out, reading through the notifications that popped up. One from Tadita. A DM that…
Seemed pretty odd.

He texted her back.

And looked back at the mirror. Eyeing himself up and down. “King.” He said, quietly. Pointing at himself. You’re gonna be fine, he thought. Over and over again. You’re gonna be fine. Another buzz went off. He looked at his phone.
Dita seemed like she was in proper shit. He thought she was supposed to be at school? Though, to be fair. He was probably supposed to be in class by now or some shit. He hadn’t even picked up his schedule from the secretary’s office or anything.
But fuck it.
They’d let it slide. Transfer’s first day and all.
He texted Dita back. A part of him hoping she was okay… wherever she was. She didn’t seem it. Then there was the mention of her bleeding. “Shit.” He said aloud. Clutching his phone with both hands. Looking down at the ghostly glow the screen provided. He asked for her location so he could… help… in some way.
Some sort of fucking way.

He didn’t know the girl but he wasn’t going to just… ignore this shit. Even if it weirded him out a bit. He wasn’t a fucking dickhead. He looked back up at the mirror. His lips frowning. His eyes looking oddly sunken.
I’m not a fucking dickhead.

He gulped.

A boy came into the bathroom and headed into a stall. That was his que to leave. He took one last breath. Hoping it would unwind his worries. It didn’t. So he had to do what he always did. And pretend it did.



​

 

[TYPE]

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

geminiy || Ryan - dendygar || Jay

Leaning against his cane, seeing the guy relaxing somewhat, he nodded, his smile still large on his face. "Ryan?" He nodded. "Cool name." He shook his hand, patting his shoulder, generally motioning for him to come back to the piano. Turning from the guy, he walked over to the grand, sitting down on the newly up-righted seat, laying his cane across the top. While looking back at the guy, he ran his hands across the keys, warming them up quickly, speaking over the elegant scales. "So many new people. Glad we have some variety though? Eh?-" He glanced at Jay. "Many new chances to make new friends." A soft chuckle barely heard over the sounds of the piano. "Not just a bunch of Golden One's..." He smirked, leaning back, the music cutting off as he started rubbing his thigh, pressing against the muscle enough to turn his fingers bone white. It had been a few months since he had needed the wheelchair.

Biting down on his lip, he frowned just for a second. It would stay that way.

Why was there a knot in his stomach? Just too much excitement? Hungry? Was he just ignoring the fact that he would need to go home eventually and all of this good work would be undone? No... it was not that... maybe he was just... nervous.

Just relax. Just continue on like you are. Jay is cool. Ryan too... don't stop. Just be friendly. Be charismatic. Smile.

"At least we have some interesting people..." Hmm... How did he do that... again... Thinking back just a bit, he thought back to the guy's hands. Moving along the keys. Taking a breath, he sat up, despite his back. Squaring his shoulders, in his mind doing a rough transcription, before starting to play.

His fingers stumbled as he played, transcribing as he went along. Jazz was not his thing, and he did not have the natural rhythm. To Ryan this probably sounded horrible... to Jay it would sound almost the same, despite the mistakes here and there. Barely a few bars in he slammed his hands down in discordant drone, before smiling back at Ryan. "It's nice. You should give me the sheet music. So I can check it out." Closing his eyes, leaning back again, he began fiddling around, messing about with some Chopin. "You play anything Jay? You seem like a..." Continuing to play he stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth as he thought. "..uh... I wanna say drums? Maybe?" He looked at the other's arms. Surely developed enough, but so was the rest of his body. He was clearly active. Much more than Alex was. Or Ryan.

His eyes glanced over the other, before returning to Jay. His hands looked worked. A few callouses, but quite soft. So... if he plays guitar, he must take very good care of them. A small frown, as he tried to put it together. Skincare was expensive to most. The luxury of ensuring healthy skin was not something many people would waste money on. Which meant that perhaps he played with a pick? Another quick look. Despite himself, he smirked. Jay did not look like the type to be overly fastidious. Which meant, on the balance of probability, he would be losing picks if he used them. Like most do. Which meant he would most likely have at least by now given up and just used his fingers. Which meant they would look far worse. Especially considering the nature of Colombian guitar music. They do have their gentle plucks, but there is also quite a bit of passion.

"It's not guitar right?" He smiled, his eyes hopeful as he looked the other over. "What about you Ryan-" Turning his head. "You play anything else?"

The guy seemed like he might. He was playing at a rather prodigious level. He seemed rather meek though. More so than Alex. Alex was just sad. Not... flighty and... skittish. Perhaps... they could all do with a bit more friendship. Or at least... be less lonely together.

See. Just normal conversation. Nothing out of the norm. We are perfectly calm.

His stomach twisted again. What was that? What was he forgetting?

God... tonight was gonna suck.​

 

[Hypnos]

Gus Windrift
​

Fuck River.

First he’d taken off with Gus’ sister, digging up old drama on a day that was meant for new beginnings, and now he’d made Gus look like a total emotional goon in front of a couple of girl’s he’d have quite liked to impress. It wasn’t a good first day. It wasn’t a good first impression.

He maintained a smile as Raven made her exit, greatly understanding her desire to put herself as far away from this situation as possible. Probably for the best too. Gus had never been the best at reading people, especially girls, but he could have sworn he’d seen sparks flying between Walshy and his buddy, when him and Ash had first entered the room, and that was exactly the sort of thing that was gonna make Zia upset. ‘I guess I’ll see you around, Raven. Promise I’ll take good care of your friend.’

His laugh was a little hollower than it had been before, but it certainly still had a cheery aura to it. What else could he do other than just stand here and laugh?

It wasn’t even his problem. Sure Walshy was his buddy, and Zia was his sister, but that didn’t mean he had to involve himself in this whole mess, did it? Wasn’t he just an innocent third party? Or was he just making excuses for himself? Giving the can another kick.

‘Nah, seriously dude. Everything’s totally fine.’ Everything is fine. Was it even a lie? Everything was fine. For him. Zia might not be fine. Walshy might not be fine. But he? He was fine. That should be the end of it.

That was the end of it.

‘I mean, if you got other places to be, I don’t mind ending things early, don’t wanna keep you stuck here all day showing me around. It’s not a big school, I’m sure even I can manage to figure out where everything is after a few tries. If I get lost, I'll just start yelling until someone comes to help.'

She wanted to leave. Just like her friend had. Honestly, he didn’t entirely blame her for it, though in his mind he could already see the burning bridges of future lost connections. Gus liked to be liked. This wasn’t the way to achieve that goal.

‘You’ve been a really great buddy, though. Seriously. I hope we can hang out some other time. Wasn’t kidding about the laser tag either, if you and the drummer boy are okay with losing to some of Black Mill’s finest.’

She said that she wouldn’t judge him. Honestly? He would be judging himself right now. Judging real hard.

It was at that moment that River and Zia returned.

Things seemed fine.

Things were fine.

Zia wasn’t yelling, which was a plus, and River shot him another sly smile which was at least enough to tell him that his sister hadn’t clawed Walshy’s balls off with her finger nails. At least not yet.

Gus didn’t ask about what they had talked about. Gus didn’t really want to know. Not knowing meant that he could continue to act as if everything was okay, and he wasn’t going to have to have a long heartfelt conversation with either party. It was Schrodinger’s friendship, as long as they never opened the box, who was to say whether anything was dead inside.

‘Hey, Zee. Did your buddy not show up or something? Happy to share mine, but just remember that I was here first.’

Cracking another joke, Gus was back. Back in the right mindset.

‘Though I’ll be honest, I think she’s pretty tired of babysitting rich preps at the mo.’

River shuffled out of the room without saying too much, and Zia didn’t didn’t make any effort to follow him. Was that good or bad? Was he overthinking this? Why was he thinking about it at all? It wasn’t his problem.

ailurophile Winona

 

[Winona]

Ash

"Everything's totally fine."

Everything was most undoubtedly not totally fine, but Ash couldn't really push the matter any further. After all, she'd known Gus for, what, an hour? She was still just a stranger, but even so, she could tell when someone was lying about being fine. No one said everything was fine if it actually was fine -- how many times had Ash lied about being fine, just to get people off her back?

And now it seemed like she wanted to leave because of the palatable tension in the room, but it was just because she did have other things to do. She needed to find Raven, and thank her for being there. And sadly that involved leaving her buddy and his sister, the cheerleader. Well, Raven could wait a little longer...

"Nice to meet you, Zia." She said with a sweet smile. "If you want to join our cheer team, come to practice tonight. I'll put in a good word for you." Ash glanced over at Gus as he complimented her buddy skills which, to be perfectly honest, were far less than superb. However if the other teams were doing similar to Zia's or River and Raven, then maybe she was doing alright.

"Please, babysitting rich preps is my specialty." Ash joked back, and then held out her hand to Gus. "Give me your phone." She waited until he handed it over, then put her number in and handed it back to him. "Text me if you need anything, okay? Or like, when you're ready to get destroyed at laser tag. Or to talk, or like... literally anything." It was a challenge -- a challenge that Ash knew her and Ian would lose, but a challenge nonetheless.

"I'll see you later, Gus." She said, giving a little wave as she started towards the door, and then her gaze fell back on the ex-cheerleader. "And nice to meet you, Zia. Hope to see you at practice."

----------

A quick trip to her locker to grab the box that held Raven's gift, and then Ash was on her way to the newspaper room. As much as she hated to admit it to herself, it was kind of nice to not have to walk around with a buddy. Not that Gus had like, been a bad buddy. He'd actually been pretty fun to talk with, until everything had crashed around them like glass.

It was nice to be away from that, and to focus on the task at hand.

Ash hadn't forgotten that first day, when Raven had shown up at her locker and demanded to know what was wrong. She'd tried to play it all off just like Gus had done -- everything is fine. Raven had pushed her until she had cracked, but having the brunette there had helped Ash. Helped Ash with the bullying about Grace, the slut comments, the breakup with Sean.

Despite it all, Raven had been there.

She stepped into the newspaper room, closing the door behind her, and her expression broke into a warm smile. "Okay, okay, so like... remember how your laptop broke last year from Stu?"

Ash held the box out to Raven.

"I didn't really know what kind of laptop you'd want, so I got this one. It's supposed to be like, super good and you can flip it around like a tablet. Perfect for newspaper, right? And I checked and it's also great for gaming." The laptop had cost a decent amount of money, but it had been barely anything to the Wests.

"Do you... like it?"

Soap ailurophile Hypnos​

 

[dendygar]

Jay

Jay didn't really play any instruments, and he felt awfully out of place right then. Nobody in his family fiddled with music, that was all on Tadita's side. "My, erm, cousin plays the drums and my uncle sings and plays guitar. But I do not." He shook his head back and forth with a soft smile, walking over closer and watching the two of them sitting on the bench together. They both looked so at home there... he wished that he knew how to play instruments suddenly. He wanted to be able to relate to his new friends more- and even his cousin who he was living with. "I could learn to play?" He asked and stood next to the piano, watching them.

He felt knots in his stomach still. He checked his phone a few times, wondering where his cousin was. He snap chatted her and waited to see her response, knowing that she was almost always on the phone... but nothing. Nothing at all. He kept checking his phone as time went on and the new trio of friends stood there, the hair on the back of his neck stood up and he kept looking to the door. He texted her again, and he looked at Alex and Ryan and interrupted them. "I think," he began to say, "I think something is wrong."

How could he explain it to them without sounding like an absolute nut job? He didn't even know if he had the english vocabulary to try to tell them what he was talking about. "My cousin was supposed to text me back by now, and she hasn't. I think something is bad." He frowned. "She's here at school. I know this." He was wrong. "I don't want to leave you guys." He looked at them worriedly too.

geminiy TYPE​

 

[KingofAesir]

Dr. Brianna Kirk

Let them fire her. Brianna could care less at this point. There was no way in hell she was letting this kid die when she knew she could do something. She could not make herself do that. Brianna became a doctor to save people and to hell if she wasn’t going to do her damn job. Having seen Sawyer practically collapse into herself in that hallway, Brianna couldn’t make herself just stand by. Sawyer was right. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair for this kid to just lose her life because of some DNR. Brianna knew that her mother had to have her reasons, but she’d probably much rather have her daughter alive than not. They might fire Brianna, they might jail her, but she couldn’t let this happen. This girl was going to live even if it cost Brianna her career. But she needed to act fast, and she needed to prevent Dr. Greenvale from stopping her. Her face was hard set with determination as she entered back into the room, the door shutting softly behind her and blocking off Sawyer’s cries from the hallway. It was going to be fine. It was all going to be fine. Dr. Greenvale turned to her with a confused brow. That confused look didn’t last long as Brianna shoved by him and picked up the defibrillator case. He blanched at her and grabbed at her hands, trying to keep her from taking it out. Brianna slapped at his hands, pushing him off of her. Dr. Greenvale was strong but he wasn’t as strong as Brianna’s dead set determination. Nothing was going to stop her. Dr. Greenvale seemed to take the hint and backed off, letting Brianna take the de-fib out and start getting ready to use it. He only spoke, trying to discourage her.

“Brianna, please.” He pleaded as Brianna hooked the de-fib up and removed Grace’s blankets, “You’re one of the best young doctors I’ve ever had under me. We can’t lose you. I don’t want to lose you.” Brianna turned on Dr. Greenvale with a fury that he had never seen from her before. Her voice was hard as she spoke.

“You can’t afford to lose me?” Brianna scoffed and shook her head, “Let me tell you something, Brett. Those people out there,” She pointed out the window at Stu and Sawyer, “They can’t afford to lose her. They’ve been here almost every damn day since the accident. This girl, she’s not just some teenager. She’s their rock. How many other teenagers do you know would spend their Saturdays in a damn hospital?” Brianna shook her head and turned back to what she was doing.

“They depend on her. Saving the life of someone that is as important as her.” She sighed, “That’s more than worth it.” Dr. Greenvale said nothing. Completely silent as Brianna continued on.

“Clear!” Nothing. Brianna grunted and did it again. “Clear!” And again, and again, and again, and she was about to give up when.

Beep.

“I’ve got a pulse. Oh, thank god.” The heart monitor slowly started beeping again, building back up to a normal rate. Brianna collapsed into a chair and let out a sigh of relief. Then another miracle happened, something that Brianna had far from expected. Dr. Greenvale placed a hand on her shoulder and patted it like a proud father.

“You’re a good kid, Kirk. You’re not going to lose your job either. I was planning on retiring anyway.”

Dede Soap​

 

[Winona]

Zander

"Oh, thanks." He flashed her a smile, and traded the coffee for the jacket. Zander was glad to have it back -- it was easily his favorite jacket. The one he usually wore when he was off doing illegal things because the dark leather of it managed to conceal him quite well. In this jacket, he was like... a shadow in the night. Batman, if Batman wore leather and denim jackets instead of a... Whatever it was that he wore.

"Well, sorry to disappoint if you thought I was just here for the jacket. I actually wanted to see you again, too." In a non-romantic way, mind you. Zander just hadn't met a lot of people in this damn school yet, and Bella had been sweet. Plus she was new like him, which was desperately needed. It made him feel... So much less alone.

"Oh, Charlie? He's fine. Well, kind of fine? Like he's pissed about the whole terrible end to his show and he broke a string on his guitar or something I think. I don't know. I don't know music." Zander said with a shrug. "His ego is bruised more than anything. And his arm. He totally broke his arm.'"

geminiy​

 

[Soap]

Raven

Dusting.

A lot of it.

Raven wasn't much of a cleaner, but she wasn't exactly a slop-can either, and it was clear this placed needed much more than dusting. Hell, if the janitor wasn't going to do it, Raven was. Besides, this is the one place she can count on-- that is until she graduates. One more year here and then it was time to find a new playground. The brunette is just holding out hope for whatever comes her way at this point. She was wiping down her desk with one of those cheap microfiber cloths she had just so happened to 'borrow' from the supplies closet when Ash walked in, acting all smilely and almost immediately catching Raven's interest.

"Wow, smiles are rare from you. A true sight for sore eyes." She heard her mention earlier something about a gift. Raven wasn't too keen on receiving them, maybe it was because she hadn't really... gotten any? She believed it was best everyone saved their own money and kept their own charity to themselves. There was even quite a few times she argued with her grandmother to skip Christmas when she was younger. But you can't exactly just say no to the gift-giver, her grandmother taught her a few things before she forgot her.

Raven stared down at the gift in front of her, hesitating before grabbing it with a heavy sigh. She was a hard girl to read when she was conflicted, so in Ash's case, it was likely it seemed like she hated it. Did she ask for it? No. Did she feel kinda bad about it? Most definitely. Raven in zero way wanted Ash to buy her anything. Rich or not, she didn't need any of this stuff and it would've been better off spent somewhere else.

But did she like it?

Yeah.

She loved it.

"You didn't have to. I've been working on pen and paper just fine, I feel like I'm in the 1940s." She placed the box down onto a nearby table and shook her head, a genuine mile coming to her face without warning. She really wasn't supposed to be smiling. Like... at all. But it's a really good feeling when someone cares about you enough to actually think of getting you something. Whether it was expensive or not, Ash still thought about her. She was a good friend and Raven could appreciate that. She didn't have many.

"Thanks Barbie. I love it."

Winona​