Westbrook Season 2

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer

​

Forward. Sawyer needed so desperately to move forward. After the practically soul ripping experience at the hospital, Sawyer had been uncontrollably spiraling. Down and down and down. Grace had died that was a big fucking deal. Sawyer had been hit with all the comes with sudden loss. That wasn't a feeling that you could just make go away. It was hard to keep reminding herself that Grace was fine when she'd seen that heart monitor flatline. When she'd broken down in Stu's arms. Something that she didn't think she'd forget soon. Stu experienced the same thing. Stu eas the only other person that Sawyer could really ever lean on. No one else would understand. Maybe Ash, but she hadn't been there. There was a difference between seeing her die and being told that she had died and was fine. She doubted Ash wanted anything to do with her anyway. Sawyer couldn't blame her, she would've done the same.

Again, Sawyer was forcing herself to participate. Forcing herself to go to school things. Trying to socialize. To be normal. Sawyer just really wanted everything to be okay, at least for a little while. So she would go t the damn lock in and she would try to forget. Grace was okay. She didn't need Sawyer with her 24/7. She had nurses, doctors, people who had saved her life. Grace didn't need her. So why wasn't she moving? Why was she just sitting in her damn driveway, staring at her steering wheel with a blank look on her face. It was only just beginning to set in the gravity of Grace's situation. This whole time, Sawyer had been pretending that it was going to be okay. That Grace would be fine. She had to be fine. But seeing that monitor...it made her finally acknowledge that it wasn't fine. Grace could die. She did die. Sawyer shivered and shook her head. She couldn't go to this damn lock in. She put her car in drive and let her heart drive.

The second she stepped foot past the threshold of the hospital she was hit with a sudden sense of deja vu as a nurse ran past her down another hall. Sawyer froze in place and her breaths became labored. It's okay. She told herself. That nurse was headed to a different room. Grave was okay. She forced herself to move again and a male nurse caught her by the arm.

"Sawyer, right?" She asked and Sawyer simply nodded, suddenly unable to speak, "You got here just in time." The nurse jerked her head at the elevator, "She's awake." Sawyer let put a small gasp and rushed forward to the stairs, too antsy to wait for the elevator.

She was hardly prepared for what awaited her. Beyond that window sat Grace, very much awake, and Dr. Kirk was making her way out of the room. Sawyer hoped she'd let Sawyer see her. Dr. Kirk looked up as Sawyer came to a stop in front of the door and she offered a small smile.

"Can I.." Sawyer trailed off.

"Just for a little. She needs rest." Dr.Kirk answered and Sawyer didn't wait for her to change her mind. She pushed through the door and stopped just beyond it. Too afraid to get any closer. What she was afraid of, she didn't know.

"Grace?"

Soap​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Colby was just a huge nerd in hiding, of all the information she had expected of him, him being a nerd hadn’t been one of them. However, she couldn’t imagine life without her dad no matter how much she fought with him and she felt bad for Colby. She placed her hand on his arm and gave a small squeeze before letting her hand retreat, “It must be hard.” She didn’t want to push too much or assume anything because she didn’t really know him as well as she wanted to. She knew as they grew as friends, she would hopefully learn more about him because as much as he tried to make people believe he was ordinary was anything but that especially with his stories.

She raised her eyebrow to question Colby about his mysteries, “So you’re expecting me to figure them out? Kitten, I love a good challenge.” She gave a small smirk towards his comment but what bothered her most was why he kept wanting to know so much about her. She wasn’t anything special, just a blonde girl who was also a cheerleader. A stereotype to say the least so it wasn’t like Colby couldn’t just figure it out for himself, but he kept prying into her life and though she liked spending time with Colby she didn’t like talking about herself. She took a deep breath and let out a sigh, “Why do you care so much about my life? My past? My hobbies? What importance does any of that hold? What makes you so interested in a screw up like me?” Her words were harsh against herself but that wasn’t anything new. Tatum didn’t particularly like herself at least not right now if ever, but her memory couldn’t really remember a moment where she wasn’t just a little unhappy with herself, but no one had taken this kind of interest in her hobbies besides Brayden but he had been forced to over the years. Colby was different and for the most part it left her confused.

 

[0k_mang0]

colby

Tatum Elf_Ruler , mention Ash Winona​

He thought everything was going well so far. Tatum had squeezed his hand for a short moment, which Colby surprisingly enjoyed because her hand was warm; and she managed to smile a little, which also made him smile the same way. He hoped if he shared some personal info with her, then she would feel comfortable to do the same.

But then it backfired, and his smile turned into a frown.

“Why are you being so cynical?” he asked defensively. “Did you not hear me say I don’t think you’re a screw-up, or do you need it in writing? My handwriting sucks, by the way.” Colby scoffed with annoyance and got up from the bench. He ran his hands through his brushed-back hair, sighing frustratingly as he readied himself to give a good scolding.

“I know I joke around and act like a weird, sarcastic douche most of the time,” he said, pacing behind Tatum before standing a few feet away from her side, “but I am not an apathetic asshole that would just forget you. I actually do care what’s happening to you. Seriously, I called you my friend, like, five minutes ago when I made that dumb neuroscience joke. And it’s not because you’re Brayden’s best friend.

“No matter how many times you tell me to leave you alone or not to care, I’m not gonna simply stand back, watching my own friend mope on a dirty stage floor alone and kick herself down. If it means annoying you with questions about your hobbies and personal life so I can get to know you better, then I will annoy you with my annoying personality. And another thing...”

Hard to believe he used to be a quiet kid. He could keep going, not give her a chance to speak. Tell her that he was sorry for bringing up Ash and her plan to get drunk at the lock-in on Twitter, adding whatever pressure Tatum felt to try stopping her and be some kind of keeper. Sorry for worrying about his childhood friend, too, but it didn’t mean he thought Tatum’s issues are less priority.

He also wanted to mention, for the record, that just because he drove muscle cars and motorcycles and wore leather jackets (he was currently wearing a pullover hoodie, and his leather jacket was in his duffle bag), it didn’t mean he was another cliche teen bad boy who makes petty excuses to act like a disrespectful dickhead towards everyone. He really wished people would stop assuming that about him at first glance.

 

[mogy]

Noah Stewart

​

Having some human contact, even if it was just holding a friendly hand while taking out your crutches, felt good, especially seeing that most of the human contact Noah had in the last few days were the hugs he got from his mom to try and make him feel better. These hugs didn't make him feel better, seeing that his mom was a bit shorter than him, and that it isn't easy to bend down while having a whole ass cast on your leg, but she was his mom, and she did truly want best for her younger son.

Of course Dante left Noah to fend for himself after he snapped at her for trying to help him get inside of the house coming back from the hospital. Sure, Noah apologized and everything, but that was enough for Dante to learn that Noah was kind of emotional and angry at the moment, and that making him feel even weaker than he wanted to feel wasn't a good thing. With Chase, however, it was different. Where Dante had tiny little hands and could be blown away by a breeze, Chase was actually kind of muscly. It was weird that Noah hadn't noticed this before, but once he held onto Chase's hand, he could feel that the weight he put on Chase's arm didn't cause Chase much discomfort.

This could've been considered a bit sexist, but Noah felt weaker when a skinny girl helped him than when a tall guy did.

"Yeah, you're my knight in shining armor." Noah joked, still trying to set up his crutches, but not being very good at it. He was still getting used to keeping his balance which was why he was still holding Chase's hand. He didn't really need to hold onto his hand for that long, but it kind of felt nice.

"Oh, yeah, you know, some of us actually love to torture ourselves. Why are you here if you make it sound so bad?" Noah asked, finally getting his crutches settled under his armpits and letting go of Chase's hand.

Interactions: a z u l a (Chase)
Mentions: mogy (Dante)​

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum could sense Colby’s frustration with her as he spoke, the fact that he was upset with how cynical she was about herself and it wasn’t like she didn’t know that. She knew how she saw herself and that maybe that would upset people, it had upset Brayden on more than one occasion, but she knew he had realized it wasn’t quite worth the fight. Tatum had turned herself to watch him as he lectured her and paced back and forth, she wasn’t sure how to react, hell she had never really had anyone get as worked up for her as he was. She quickly stood up to face him, but he kept moving around and she was getting more worked up because of his lecture. He didn’t understand but his words hit her in a deep spot in her heart. She knew she should’ve seen herself differently, but it was hard for her. She had built up herself by doing what was expected of her and now others began to have expectations.

She couldn’t believe how much he was talking without giving her a chance to interject and that was what she wanted. She wanted her chance to say something to explain but those moments just didn’t exist as he continued rambling on and on. So, she did the only thing she could think of. Tatum took his face in her hands and placed her lips on his. She thought she would pull away quickly, but she didn’t she let in linger for maybe a moment too long, but Colby had made her feel wanted. Colby had made her feel like she mattered when no one else had so yeah, she kissed him.

She pulled away and wasn’t sure what to say, she had made plans to defend herself but now she felt confused, because she hadn’t expected to feel anything from the kiss, but she had. She didn’t know how to ask him if he felt anything back because now, she was confused. Did she like him? Her brain was telling her she did and now she couldn’t even look him in the eye. All the flirting she had done, and one kiss had unraveled her brought her brain to mush and her whole brain to a complete stop. What had she done?

0k_mang0

 

[Soap]

Raven

The lock in was much more boring than Raven had expected-- people were playing games, laughing, joking. They weren't very in the mood to be 'interviewed.' She shouldn't of came to this thing anyway and gave it to like... Erin or something. She roamed the gymnasium before spotting a certain person that seemed way more interesting than the rest of em. It was the colored hair? Wasn't it? Eh. She wasn't the type to judge based on looks, but anyone had to be better instead of just talking to one of the theater nerds.

"You have a minute? Or well, I know you have the rest of the night." She gestured to everyone else. While it wasn't mean to be a flirt, it was Raven and she was referring to the lock in. Obviously. She lifted her phone closer to him to pick up his voice on the recorder. "What's your take on tonight? Is it fun? Exciting? Something you'll remember?" The brunette raised an eyebrow, her tone was lighter, almost teasing the stranger with a grin. Someone around here had to entertain her because only god knows what Raven will end up doing if she didn't get any attention soon.

lion.


​

 

[Soap]

Grace

Everyone else began making their way out of the room except for the blonde boy. She didn't even notice him staring for the first few seconds until she turned her gaze towards him. Almost waiting for him to speak-- to do something. "It's nice to meet you." He said, Grace stared at him blankly and it's clear he got uncomfortable the way he shifted on his feet. "Uh, I'm Greyson. I don't know if you heard your mom earlier..." He clarified. Grace heard her, she just wasn't very interested in the conversation at all.

But maybe ignorance wasn't the reason she couldn't remember?

"I always wanted a sister."

Was that meant to bother her? She didn't want a brother. Especially one that came out of no-where. Grace suddenly woke up and it's like she gained her father back with a new addition overnight. She couldn't even bother mustering a nod, deciding to return her gaze to the mirror across from her. She looked... tired, weak. Eventually, Greyson left without a word. It was clear he was upset about something, but Grace couldn't tell what.

What else was happening? Was it stupid to think about what everyone else was up to? Her thoughts fell back onto the accident, yeah it was a car accident, but how did it happen? They didn't tell her how. She raised a hand to her chest instinctively, grasping at... nothing. Something told her something was missing. But what? A voice startled her slightly, she glanced up to see... someone she knew. The way her heart jumped when she heard her voice or very few memories that were trying to make their way through gave it away almost instantly.

Grace remembered her. Of course she did. She just couldn't remember her name.

Finally, it hit her. She raised her hand slowly to her chest once more and caught the girl's gaze. "My necklace." She breathed. Yes, that's what was missing,

Her necklace.

KingofAesir​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer
Sawyer could feel her heart trying to ram it's way out of her chest. Those blue eyes that Sawyer had been so afraid she'd never see again were looking at her like a stranger. It was only for a moment though, it took a few seconds for Grace to register who she was. But those few seconds we're enough to make Sawyer's stomach drop. It passed. But Sawyer never wanted to feel like that again. She stayed stuck in the doorway. She'd seen Grayson walk out and she wondered for a moment how Grace had felt about that. About him. Her father. That was a lot to deal with for anyone, let alone someone who just woke up from a coma. Sawyer wanted nothing more than to just wrap Grace up in the tightest hug she could muster, like she would never let go. But she stayed completely still.

Grace didn't say anything for a few moments and Sawyer felt like bolting. But then her hand reached up to her chest and she patted the empty area. Sawyer cocked her head, confused until Grace rasped out something about a necklace. She glanced around the room and found a bag full of Grace's things on a corner table.

"It's probably in here." Sawyer said as she finally moved from the door to rummage around in the bag. What she found made her freeze again. It was a simple chain, not what Sawyer was expecting, but it was the thing on the chain that really floored her. The promise ring that Sawyer had given her what felt like years ago now. She started at the thing, feeling wetness pool in her eyes before she blinked them back and shook her head. Grace definitely didn't need crying right now. But...she still wore it. Sawyer couldn't help but smile a little. That had to mean something. Right?

"Here." Sawyer shuffled back over to the bed and handed Grace the necklace. "You...uh...you still wear it?"

Soap​

 

[Winona]

Ash

Was he serious, or was this some kind of sick joke?

Her breath caught in her throat as he spoke. Ash didn't know what she had expected -- yelling? Screaming? It had been forever since Ash had been in the same vicinity as Ryder without them fighting, or more lately, her punching him. Or kissing him for apparently the entire world to see.

It was like every time she was around Ryder, something went wrong. Like the world was openly against them.

So why did her heart beat faster when he started talking? Why did her stomach twist into knots, why did she feel relieved and overjoyed that he still felt the same way about her that she felt about him? Why was she happy, knowing that this would just end in flames one way or another?

It would be best for them both if Ash said okay and walked away, right? If they called it quits, and gave up on even being friends, because they have proven that just being friends was no longer possible.

"I missed you."

Fuck.

Ash turned her gaze down -- she couldn't keep looking at him. It hurt. It confused her. And her eyes were burning, and she didn't know why, and she didn't know what to do or what to say.

"I don't hate you. I couldn't if I want to." Because Ash had tried. She had tried to hate him, to push him away so she could finally move on. And yet it seemed like no matter what he did, Ash would forgive him. Because he was still Ryder. He was still her best friend, the guy that had been there for her through everything, the guy that had grown up with her and Ash and Kanen and everyone else.

He was still Ryder.

"Is that it? Don't you have to get back to Nova or whatever?"

a z u l a​

 

[0k_mang0]

colby

Tatum Elf_Ruler​

Suddenly, the frustration from his berating vanished. In the first few seconds, all he could think was Wait, what?, stood still like a statue. The flirting on Twitter was just harmless, just for fun. Nothing more. Colby never actually expected or gave much thought if he’d want to kiss Tatum or not. Sure, he did find her pretty attractive like anyone else, but didn’t consider dating her or something. She was single now, though, since the guy she was with moved away – but she and Colby were friends – but then Ash tried to set them up for the homecoming dance the other day... oh god, why were the gears in his brain buffering?

The kiss didn’t seem to end right away. At first, Colby was hesitant, but then he started feeling his own lips moving in sync against Tatum’s. He wasn’t thinking anymore. Just go with it, that was all he could do. He placed his hands on her waist, held her close. Enjoy it while it lasted.

When Tatum pulled away, Colby tried to breathe again. He felt out of breath, dumbfounded. How long did that kiss last? Maybe not long, but it wasn’t short either, at least it felt that way to him. His mouth moved inaudibly, trying to find the words that were struggling to form in his head. He felt like a shy 13 year-old kid again. Dammit, he was supposed to be smooth and cool, but he was neither at the moment.

“I, uh… I-I don’t think I remember what I was gonna say,” Colby mumbled, uncharacteristically stammering his words. What was the other thing he wanted to say again? Oh, well. He reached for her hand and squeezed it gently as he tilted his head slightly low to look at her eyes. “Tatum?”

 

[Twin Fantasy]

Vered Demsky

Vered, having finally crammed the book back onto the shelf, took a moment to note Layne's pun. But as soon as he did, he let off a small, but very honest laugh. After all, who can't enjoy a good, solid space pun? Even such a simple space pun. Layne was probably new, too. Didn't seem to have all the extra baggage that Westbrook natives carried. Which was nice, because Vered wanted nothing to do with all the sex and drugs that seemed to plague this town. For a straight-laced fellow like himself, it was a bit scary seeing people barely older than him snorting cocaine and boozing.

"Yeah, I came here for the same reason." He began flicking through the books to find a more recent edition of what he was reading. "I don't really know anybody, I guess I get a little nervous around strangers, we're all locked in here... Y'know, if something goes wrong, like, then what?" His mouth hung open a bit longer than it needed to. "Sorry, I have no clue what I'm talking about." He got up onto one of the stools. Obviously, he was just too darn short to find what he was looking for.

"Uh, I'm Vered. Demsky. Vered Demsky, I probably stick out a little... I think there's maybe like, two other Jewish families in this town." He paused. "Not that I'd really know, I, uh, I haven't been here that long." Then he paused again, looking down and only slightly meeting Layne's gaze. "You like to read?"

// KingofAesir //​

 

[a z u l a]

Alaska

It had been a week since the fall festival, and despite how chaotic it had been it had actually ended up pretty well for Alaska. Much to her surprised, she'd been voted onto homecoming court (which she had interrogated Drake about because she was certain he'd rigged the votes), and not only that but she had been paired up with Ian. The pair had spent the rest of the fair playing stupid games and Ian had even won her a stuffed cat that she now kept on her bed next to the Kermit that Stu had gotten for her last year during their roadtrip.

A few night after the fair, Ian had randomly dm'd her over Twitter to talk to her late one night. He'd been much more open about his personal struggles than Alaska had expected, and it had made her see a whole new side of the happy-go-lucky guy she thought she knew. The two had stayed up til late into the early morning talking about things and she'd felt closer to him than she had to anyone in a while by the time she finally fell asleep on the phone. Ian was sweet and she felt like she could trust him, after all she had almost attacked his best friend and he still wanted to hangout with her for some reason. Despite how honest Ian had been with her, she still felt like she couldn't be her full self with him just yet. He was one of the nicest people she knew and she was just waiting for him to realize that she wasn't the perfect popular girls he was used to hanging out with.

Now, it was finally time for the lock-in and the Vaughn twin was both excited and dreading it. She was stuck inside the school all night with people she couldn't stand, but that also meant she got to spend time with Ian and the rest of her friends. Speaking of, she spotted the blond boy standing by the snack table, so the little brunette walked up behind him, standing on the very edge of her tippy toes to reach up and wrap her hands around Ian's face to cover his eyes. She had to almost lean on him to keep from falling, why was he so damn tall?

"Guess who?" She said, removing her hands from his eyes and stepping back so that she wasn't standing on her tip toes and holding the gift bag in her hands nervously. Even if they hadn't known each other long she still considered Ian a close friend, so of course she had gotten him a birthday present. She was very nervous he wouldn't like it, she'd gotten him band-aids as a joke for the next time he had to help fix her, and an album from a vinyl store she thought he might like.

"Happy birthday, Ian!" She smiled, handing him the bag and waiting rather impatiently for his reaction.

PenguinFox

Chase

"Well, if you really want I could just carry you around everywhere." Chase joked, throwing Noah a bright grin as he finally seemed to get himself situated. "I do owe you for the whole eye thing." Even now, the older boy felt bad about their first encounter, thought he was grateful that he'd quite literally bumped into Noah because otherwise they would have never met.

For a moment, Chase was disappointed when Noah took the warmth of his hand away, but he quickly shook it off and followed after the boy as they walked (or crutched) towards the front entrance. As someone studying to be a doctor, Chase felt it in his natural instinct to want to help Noah navigate through the day, but he'd also been injured once from playing hockey and he knew how much it aggravated him to constantly babied so he left Noah to his own devices, so he merely hovered beside him as they walked.

"You know, on my graduation day I vowed to never set foot on this property again. And yet, here I am." He sighed, looking at the building with disdain as he held the door open so that his crippled friend could make it through.the main entrance was full of people and suddenly the former Westbrook Wolf was having flashbacks to his high school career.

"I had to drop my sister off and then I saw you being a damsel in distress, now I think I might stay just to watch the chaos unfold. Better than anything on Netflix." It was true, as long as no one tried to drag him into the drama he was perfectly fine to watch Westbrook High burn itself to the ground, but naturally his siblings would be involved in the yeeting and he would have to get involved.

mogy​

 

[Soap]

Grace & Evie

The blonde let out a breath of relief as she handed her the bracelet. For a long moment she didn't understand what she meant by her words. It was a necklace, why wouldn't she want to wear it? That was until she brushed her thumb over the ring that was on the chain. Oh. Now that made a little more sense. "Can you?" She asked, handing it out to her and mustering as much strength as she could to lean forward. Grace never stopped wearing the ring since that night-- she didn't want her to give it back, and it didn't feel right just letting it sit there on her nightstand.

So she still wore it, just... in secret.

This still all felt too weird. Grace didn't like it. She didn't like any of this but who would? Who wouldn't be bothered? A part of her felt worse for Sawyer than she did herself-- Ah, there it was, it just took time. That's okay. She could get used to giving herself a little time to remember things. It shouldn't be too hard. Just a little time. "Yeah." She spoke suddenly, after supposedly four months the least she could give her was an answer to her question. "I never took it off." Before Sawyer had time to respond, Grace grew a little more serious.

"What um... " What was she trying to ask? What did she miss? What happened in the time she was sleep? Who was okay? Was she okay? Who wasn't? Who visited? There was a lot of questions she could ask. Grace just wasn't sure which one seemed more important. She shook her head, deciding not to ask any or many of the questions and concerns that were swimming through her head. "If it isn't sleeping beauty. Was it true love's kiss? Did that awake the princess?" Grace heard her voice before she saw her face, as suddenly a younger girl strolled into the room with a grin on her face. Grace doesn't remember her. She glanced at Sawyer confused before the brunette answered the question Grace didn't have the energy to ask.

"Blahblahblah, I'm your guardian angel, fairy godmother and all that yadayadayada. I had this conversation like, 100 times." Evie took her usual spot on the chair, limbs hanging off the rails while she examined her. "Can you walk? Talk even? Someone said you might not be able to. But I don't know, you look dead but yet you look pretty alive to me." The smaller girl sucked in a breath before she looked over at Sawyer with a mock frown.

"Was it too early for the word dead?"

KingofAesir​

 

[Dede]

Tom

​

Tom scratched his head as the praying mantis person continued to blabber away a foreign language. ‘Pray if I have to listen to you a minute longer, lady,’ he said, ‘you’ll owe me a great sum of money – for my ear transplant!’

His friend had the good sense to intervene before Tom got punched in the nose.

‘…I’m Stu,’ he said. ‘And he’s Tom. But don’t worry about him. I reckon his mother—she dropped him when he was a-little.’

Tom giggled, snorted like a piglet even. ‘On purpose,’ he said.

‘You’re new here, aren’t you?’ Stu added.

‘—new to Planet Earth.’

‘Shhh!’

The younger boy snorted again. While he stood there giggling he didn't forget to notice how silly Dante looked now with her sunglasses on, too. Now there were two of them silly things.

Turning back to the original praying mantis lady he grinned widely, and in true gentlemanly elegance Tom offered his hand for a handshake. ‘But I’m dying to know, please— the true reason for those glasses of yours. My friend reckons you’re blind. But not me. I reckon you’ve got the fashion sense of a billy goat, that’s why.’

Twin Fantasy mogy

 

[KingofAesir]

Layne​

Layne just chuckled at Vered, swinging her legs back and forth. He was kind of funny, in a I'm-overly-shuy-and-it's-endearing way. Layne found him entertaining, to say the least. He definitely reminded her of her brother. It made her heart hurt, but she didn't mind. It would do good to have a friend anyway. She'd been right about the assumption that he'd come in the library for space. Maybe she was interrupting that alone time at the moment, but she didn't intend to leave. Besides, he didn't seem too opposed to her company anyway. He was shy, but he wasn't too shy to talk. They had something in common in books. Layne didn't have any friends and she could use having someone with a brain to talk to. The mindless zombies that typically graced Westbrook's halls made her want to shoot herself in the foot. She couldn't stand kids her own age. Sometimes it felt like she wanted to just shoot them in the foot instead. Maybe then they'd stop whining about every little thing. The more she thought about them, the angrier she got so Layne tried to replace her sudden frown with a charming grin as she looked back Vered.

"I'm new too." She grinned, "Though, I've been here for a while. Just kind of there I guess. No one's really paid much attention to me." That was alright with her anyway. The less attention she got, the more she could get away with. If people didn't notice heshe could do a lot of things that others couldn't. Being invisible came with its advantages and Layne intended on taking full advantage of those. It was easy to watch. To figure people out when they didn't give you a second glance. Easy to stay quietly in the background. But, back to the conversation at hand. Layne was making a friend after all.

"I love to," Layne informed Vered with an enthused grin, "Though, I think I'm more fictionally inclined then you." She chuckled, "Tolstoy, King, Hemingway, Orwell, a little Agatha Christie, and you can't go wrong with Dickinson." Layne hopped off the table and strode over to the shelf that Vered had been at, reaching up to remove the latest edition of what he'd been reading. She handed it to him with a soft smile and returned to her ranting about books without so much as a pause.

"I think Emily Dickinson interests me the most." Layne let out a kind of sigh, "Reminds me of myself. All shut out from the world." She turned back to Vered, "I write a little too. Poetry mostly. Though I wouldn't call myself a poet." She leaned back against the stacks, "What about you, do like stuff other than science books?"

Twin Fantasy

 

[Elf_Ruler]

Tatum was still in shock, what the fuck had she done? What had even gone through her mind to think it was okay to kiss Colby? Her brain was churning and trying to process what had happened and how to handle the situation. He had kissed back and now she was more confused; she kissed her friend and friends don’t kiss at least not like they did. How could she even talk with him? She felt more confused than before and he was…stammering? His words had stuttered even if only for a moment and she realized he must’ve been confused too. The harmless flirting was never meant to become something real; she hadn’t thought of Colby in any romantic way until about ten seconds ago when she kissed him and now, she wondered what he was thinking. Was he going to let her down easily? Was he going to be a dick about it? Questions were racing through her mind. As she felt his hand squeeze hers, she squeezed back lightly. Her brain was trying not to spiral into madness. They were friends, he wouldn’t be mad at her.

She shook her head at Colby, “I-I’m uh.” She couldn’t find words to respond with and his eyes looking at her made her feel vulnerable and she wished she could squash every feeling in her brain, every butterfly in her stomach. The way he looked at her made her feel like she had butterflies, like she was back in middle school with a boy she liked. Now here she was in her senior year and she had no idea how to talk with him. She couldn’t flirt with him, not anymore. She squeezed his hand just a little harder, “I’m sorry.” She was trying to keep her emotions in check, “I shouldn’t have done that. I know we’re just friends and I don’t know, I’m just sorry.” All she felt was apologetic because one kiss and she had probably just destroyed any chance of being friends with Colby.

0k_mang0

 

[mogy]

Noah Stewart

​

"'Twas but my tongue, 'twas not my soul that swore." Noah quoted. He wasn't a quote type of guy, like at all, but seeing that he read this quote on Instagram while being bored out of his mind laying in that dumb hospital bed in the dull hospital room, and that it fit really well into the context of the conversation, he said it. He actually despised people who said quotes aloud, not because he hated quotes, he didn't, but because people only quoted out loud to make themselves seem smart and not to actually contribute anything of importance to the conversation they were having.

Noah wasn't being that type of person, was he?

No, he wasn't. He didn't have a need to impress Chase. Chase was a good guy, and hopefully Noah's good friend somewhere in the future. It seemed that the two were already doing pretty well, and Noah liked seeing that he didn't have many male friends.

"I kind of have to disagree with you. Netflix is much better than a high school lock-in." Noah said, walking through the crowded hallway. Thankfully, when people noticed him and his injury, they steered clear of his path. It was kind of anticlimactic because it meant that they were either being nice or that they didn't want to talk to him, like at all, and the second option didn't feel good.

"Like, for example, Teen Wolf is amazing. I'd take werewolves over high school drama anytime." Noah said. He wasn't kidding. Oh to be a werewolf and have the ability of healing quickly. His leg would be fine in the matter of hours, and he wouldn't have to wear this stupid cast or use these stupid crutches.

Interactions: a z u l a (Chase)​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer
She never took it off. Sawyer could've fallen over right then and there. She never took it off. That definitely meant something. Sawyer wasn't going to jump the gun but it looked like she had more of a chance than she thought. It meant that Grace still cared about her. Why else would she wear the promise ring that Sawyer had gotten her? Why wasn't she wearing something stupid Keisha had gotten her or something? Because Keisha sucked, but that was irrelevant. The point was that her shining glimmer of hope had just expanded a little. Grace still cared. She still ha a chance. Sawyer wouldn't go so far as to say that Grace still loved her, but Sawyer knew that she still did. Sawyer knew that the reason she came to that hospital every single day was because she loved Grace. Otherwise, she would've never have been here. Sawyer didn't think she would ever stop loving Grace, and maybe that was a little too do or die for an eighteen-year-old, but it was true. This feeling was intense. It was hard to imagine that feeling ever going away when all it had ever done was grow stronger.

Sawyer cocked her head at Grace, concerned. What had she been about to ask? She was here to answer questions. Sawyer would answer anything just to be able to talk to Grace. She'd missed her voice, her eyes, everything. It hadn't really hit her until then how much she'd missed Grace. Even before the crash, that heavy sense of loss had begun to set in. She'd felt like she'd lost her then, but that feeling when she thought she'd really lost her was enough to turn Sawyer's world upside down. She never wanted to feel like that ever again. Sawyer felt a strong urge to protect Grace so that she never did feel like that again. Maybe it was selfish, but Sawyer didn't think she could do that again and come out okay. She'd hardly come out ok this time around.

"What were you.." Sawyer was cut off by Evie entering the room rather suddenly. She could've strangled the kid. Grace had just woken up. Couldn't Sawyer have two seconds with her without someone interrupting? Oh, who was she kidding, no one would ever get any kind of alone time with that heathen anywhere near them. Sawyer just sighed and rolled her eyes as Evie did her whole spiel and once she was done, Sawyer turned to Grace with an apologetic glance.

"This is Evie. She'd your loudmouth neighbor." Sawyer then rounded on Evie, "It's always too soon. What do you want, heathen?"

Soap​

 

[0k_mang0]

colby

Tatum Elf_Ruler​

He was having a déjà vu moment. Three years ago, Colby had impulsively kissed someone he probably shouldn't have. Or maybe it was the other way around like now... well, he wasn't sure. At least the experience helped him understand what to do – or rather, he understood how Tatum was feeling right now.

He slowly exhaled to calm most of his nerves, clearing his thoughts quicker than the last time. This was a situation where he couldn’t just humor his way out and laugh it off. He needed to handle this gently somehow.

“Hey, it’s okay, Tate.” Colby put both of his hands on her shoulders after Tatum responded and gave her another reassuring squeeze. He took a small step back about 4 or 5 inches, biting his lips. If he didn’t he might’ve tried kissing her again – part of him really wanted to. “You don’t have to say sorry. It’s kinda my fault. I don’t know when to shut up sometimes. Do you want to sit down? Maybe I can try teaching you how to play Pure Imagination. It’s a very calming song.”

 

[lion.]

Ronnie "Blue Nile" Kane​

It was all versed fiction, even when Ronnie was short in time of glancing up. Her walk was runway fashion carrying forward with a devilish lead, bosky bronze ironed in her eyes. The gym may have been massive, but it didn’t stop her direction. Dark hair banked after her, rebounding a few strands back to the breezing front as she gridlocked in front of him.

“You have a minute? Or well, I know you have the rest of the night.”

She had reigned over his decision, leaving him nothing but to stare at her unblinkingly through the stunted plum-wine hair that he loosely let his fingers comb through.

Like handling switchblades, her wrist flicked. A glimpse of her phone screen of recording brightened for a moment. It all clicked.

She was one of them...journalists. The professional liars.

"What's your take on tonight? Is it fun? Exciting? Something you'll remember?" She was waiting for him to say something memorable, as all of them did.

That’s right. Keep rolling the tape.

“Yes,” he said curtly, purposely amplifying his voice into her phone, loonishly grinning and blaming half of its dimwit luminosity on the drugs, “I am having the time of my life here. What’s better than watching drunk teenagers bouncing off the walls, sleepover chicks fighting over where they are painting their nails, and well..”

He paused, his geysered-blues shifting straightforwardly at her. “Paparazzi parading the halls.”

Soap

 

[Twin Fantasy]

Vered Demsky

It was unfortunate that Layne had lived here a long time without anybody taking note of her. It must be a lonely, lonely existence. Then again, Vered had never really been popular, never really had a friend besides his own mother. He never felt lonely, or at least he didn't know if he did. Perhaps he just hadn't noticed? But he had a dog, and a friendly mother, and an incredible intellect. What else could he want out of life? It all seemed so simple. And it was. High school was simple. People just make it complicated for themselves, they fuck around and do drugs and stupid bullshit and then wonder why everything is so difficult.

Vered opted to simply not do anything, to read and keep to himself.

"I didn't know that many people at my old school." He left out the parts where he got bullied. For all sorts of reasons. Pansy, Jew, Jew-pansy, you're gay, you're a loser, you look like you'll be a serial killer one day. But it was different now. Being uninteresting was better. "I like some regular literature... Uh, I really enjoy Shakespeare's works which, you can probably tell." He declines to mention his love of Plath, because that seems to frighten people. Realizing Layne was handing him the book, Vered gave her a tiny smile. "Thanks." He took it. It seemed massive compared to the rest of his body. Why did everything seem so large compared to him? He wasn't that little. But shirts always ran too big, the nice, clean polos he enjoyed wearing, each and every one hung loose like a paper bag. He tucked them into his pants most of the time to hide it.

"I spend most of my time reading, but..." He scratched his chin a bit. "I guess I don't know. I like jazz?" He was struggling to come up with things besides reading he enjoyed. "I like catching bugs... I think Weird Al is pretty cool... I mostly read." His face flushed a bit. Now she's gonna think I'm a dork.

// KingofAesir //​

 

[Twin Fantasy]

Pixie West

Pixie cocked her head. "I don't know no writer named Dante." Clearly she wasn't the brightest. She didn't need to be. She had other talents, like a powerful bite strength, and fast reflexes, and a very high tolerance for alcohol considering her age. "I know the feller from Devil May Cry though, with the white hair an' the long jacket. My boyfriend's got a poster of 'im stowed away somewhere, he ain't into that kid's stuff." She waved her hand a bit, despite clearly being a kid. Her lips curled into a grin, with a bit of teeth reaching out. (Crooked, like those tea-chugging losers are used to.)

"I am from earth, a li'l place called Texas, which as far as I know is closer to Maine than England is." She sniffed a bit, wiping her nose. "And I ain't blind. Stuff about moonshine makin' you go blind is a myth, I got twenty-twenty vision." She popped her sunglasses onto her forehead, this time leaving them there, as if it'd somehow prove that she had perfect eyesight. "I think I look swell." With her loose t-shirt hanging over her shorts, which she'd neglected to change despite the weather, and a pair of mis-matched socks under sneakers.

"I apologize, I didn't realize Donateller Versace was talkin' to me."

// mogy Dede //​

 

[PenguinFox]

Ian was definitely disappointed he couldn't spot Alaska's form in the crowd. He'd grown quite comfortable around the Vaughn girl. He had accidentally let slip about his struggles with depression to her but she was very sweet and understanding. He didn't at all feel judged when talking to her. He wasn't yet at the point of telling her all his secrets, but he didn't feel like she was going to go around talking about what he'd already shared with her. For the most part Ian was a pretty open person but he never really liked to share his personal struggles. He never wanted to be a burden on others, so he just bottled his darkness up and held it in.

Suddenly Ian felt a pair of hands wrap around his face, covering his eyes. "Hmm, could it be my favorite state?" A wide grin spread on his face as he turned to face the culprit who was much shorter than him. "Hey Alaska. It's funny, I was actually just wondering where you were. I'm glad to see you...I have something I needed to talk to you about." His eyes trailed down to the bag she was giving to him. He felt his heart skip a beat. It was very nice of her to give him something and it definitely didn't deter any feelings he may have been starting to develop for the girl. Feelings that both excited and terrified Ian. He had become quite skeptical of becoming attached to people in a romantic way. It never seemed to end well for him, and while Alaska didn't seem like one to do to him what the previous did, none of the other girls he'd dated did either. But it always seemed to end the same way for the Evans boy, and he really didn't want to go through the heartbreak again. But he couldn't help it. Alaska was kind, passionate about things, and knew how to make him laugh. Not to mention how pretty she was, god why did she have to be pretty too?

Ash may have already given Alaska the best friend seal of approval, but these feelings still caused Ian concern. When you've only ever experienced heartbreak, it's hard to expect anything else. On the other hand, what if Alaska was different? He'd never know unless he gave it a shot right? And that was what life was about right? Taking risks for happiness? Ian gratefully took the gift from the small brunette. "Thank you...you didn't really have to. This is..it means a lot." He stumbled over his words, anxious butterflies getting the better of him.

Looking inside the bag brought both a wide smile and a confused eyebrow arch. "I've actually been wanting to start collecting, I just haven't really known where to start. This is a perfect start. Thank you..." he trailed off, trying to think of a way to politely ask about the band-aids. He was very grateful for the vinyl, it was a thoughtful gift, but he was definitely confused by the other half of the gift. He pulled the pack of bandages out, giving Alaska a questioning look. "Band-aids?" He hoped that wouldn't offend her in any way. There was something he needed to ask her and he needed her to actually like him for it. a z u l a

Toby's posture visibly changed as Sebastian spoke, almost to that of a dejected puppy. Sure he hadn't directly rejected him but Toby wasn't really used to rejection at all. "I mean...yeah you could get a stuffed animal from the store...it was just something to make it more interesting..." he looked around the hallways awkwardly. Where was Zander and JJ? He tried to shrug off this foreign feeling of awkwardness. "I just want to see you play I guess." he shrugged as though he wasn't effected by Seb's refusal.

"Look...I can't make you join the team, clearly, but...could we at least play a game? No gimmicks or bets or anything. Just a friendly game. I don't...." He wanted to say he didn't have many friends. Sure he was good looking, and an all star athlete, and dating the prettiest girl in the school, and most kids knew of him, but he didn't really have many friends. He was kind of a new kid and all his real, genuine friends had been left behind at private school. He sort of considered Ava and Sawyer friends, but truly they were JJ's friends, not his. When it came down to it, Toby Knight didn't really have friends. Not that he'd ever admit it. Most of his life was centered around being the best in everything. Perfection. That's what Mr. and Mrs. Knight expected from Toby, so that's all he knew. He had little enough time for JJ, let alone friends. "...I don't have a lot of good competition from the other guys on the team." That wasn't a total lie at least. "So what do you say? Free any time this weekend to play? I won't be competitive I promise."

As they were talking Zander finally arrived with JJ in tow. Toby's posture quickly reverted from it's present casual state back to it's typical, confident state. "Well if it isn't my little brother and my most beautiful girlfriend. What a surprise to see you." It wasn't, this had all been planned out, but Toby was trying to surprise JJ. He gave a wink to Zander before turning to Seb again. "Pardon my manners. I hate to leave in such a rush. You know how to reach me if you want to actually play right?" He sincerely hoped Seb would agree to play with him. It would actually be really nice to not play competitively for once.

Toby faced JJ and Zander again. "JJ would never kill you. Unless you deserved it. And she was sure she could get away with it." His lopsided grin rose to his face as he looked between the two. His eyes flicked to the door to the room with the surprise in it. His mind raced to think of a casual way to get JJ in there. "Y'know...I think I left some stuff in there..." that was lame. He thought of every detail to this plan except how to get JJ in the room. "That's...a really terrible lie. How about this? I have something you should see..." So he wouldn't make this even worse Toby shut his mouth and gently took JJ's hand, leading her to the room.

When Toby opened the door, his vision became a reality. Floating in the center of the room were balloon letters that spelled out 'HOCO?' Toby walked over and carefully pulled the dot of the question mark off of the fishing line keeping it in place. He grabbed a pin from a table and handed both the balloon and pin to JJ. "If you need help finding an answer, pop this balloon." Toby stared at his girlfriend in anticipation, a hopeful grin on his face. He had put a lot of effort into this, even roping in Zander to help, and he wanted her to love it. It was already likely a given that she would say yes, but he was still nervous about it. That's why he handed her the balloon and pin. Inside there was a slip of paper that said yes with a little heart drawn next to it. He wasn't going to give her the option of saying no. Soap Winona 0k_mang0

 

[Winona]

Milos

This was awkward.

Right? This was awkward?

Maybe good awkward, but still awkward. They were at a weird moment -- they liked each other, they had gone on a date, but nothing past that had happened. No kiss, no talk about what they even were -- if they were anything. What if it had just been a stupid date, and Cam took a lot of guys on date? It didn't take a genius to know what kind of player Parker was, and Cam was his cousin and best friend, so... What if that was it? What if Milos was just a number?

He needed to swallow this stupid fear


"Oh, sure." Milos said with a casual, but still nervous, grin. "I don't actually do a lot of gaming, and I kinda suck." He admitted with a light-hearted laugh as they started over towards the gaming competition, which seemed to be mostly barren. Where were the cheerleaders that had made bets? The guys they'd roped in to help? Instead, there was just a pretty dark-haired girl that Milos didn't recognize and another guy that he also didn't recognize.

"Hey. I am Milos. Competition still happening?" He asked.

Elf_Ruler geminiy (Jackie)​

 

[mogy]

Dante Novello

​

As far as distance and miles went, Italy was by far the farthest one out of all those places, those places being the UK, Texas, and well, Italy. Farthest comparing to Maine, of course. It was no secret that little boy and tall little boy were British and that the country girl with the glasses was from a place like Texas, and Dante liked to think that her Italian accent wasn't noticeable, which it wasn't, unless she wanted it to be. She actually had a really good american accent, some words slipping here and there, of course. She wasn't perfect, okay!

Just listening to the conversation, Dante couldn't help but chuckle a bit in the background. She just didn't think her life would go from Italy, to, well to this—being in the school hallway, talking to a country girl and two British boys about things like vision and bugs.

"Oh, uh, actually his name is Gianni. He is from Italy. Just like me. Obviously." Dante said. She sounded like the main blonde bimbo on campus, even to herself. She, of course, hated those kinds of bimbos, but it wasn't like she could turn back time to stop herself from saying that sentence. What she could do, however, was say something else.

"But, girl, don't let these boys tell you about fashion. They are British, after all. Your outfit is amazing." Sure, Dante might have not thought country girl's outfit looked good, but she wasn't gonna be mean to her like the two little boys were being.

Interactions: Dede (little boy, tall little boy), Twin Fantasy (country girl)​