Westbrook Season 2

Elf_Ruler

TYPE · Jan 26, 2020

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

Braddington

Hypnos

ailurophile

Winona
He had made it a few feet when he felt a hand on his shoulder, the sudden talking making it even harder for him to think. Seeing the face of the guy from before in front of him, there was a fun little moment where he saw two of them. "Yoh twehnz?" The words made it out of his mouth, his teeth a slight pink color as the blood coated them, a thin stream of saliva diluted blood dribbling out the side of his mouth. When the guys merged into one a moment later his eyes widened. Not twins then. When did he change his clothing? When another of the two popped into view, running past them to a car, bumping into Alex, he frowned even more. God... he dd not wanna think right now. He wanted to get into the car and drive... wait.

That was a bad idea right? Even in his delirium he could see it. Himself wrapped around some roadside lamp final destination style. Not even really sure how it happened, he started making his way with the group towards the house. A moment later he noticed that it was not Drake steering him but a very nice sounding girl. She seemed worried. It was strange. It made him think back to days where people were worried about things. Worried. Or was it panic? Still unsure, he made his way to the door. When Drake spoke, his eyes widened. He reached up behind his head, the hand coming away with red-pink stains. As if seeing the blood made it worse, he felt even more woozy, his hands and arms shaking. Grabbing onto her arm to stabilize himself, smearing the arm with blood he reeled back, raising his hands, the cane falling to the side, forgotten. "Suhrreeh, I shudn hub dunn thah" The words were slurred, every syllable letting a bit more blood drip past his lips. His eyes looking everywhere, not focusing, he shook his head, waving his hands around erratically.

"Noh neehd tuh wuhreeh. Im feyen. Tis nuht uh konkushhin. Noh neehd for hospil. Konkush makesh you vom-" A moment later he turned away from her, as a torrent of nausea overtook him. Luckily for him.... he had not eaten anything today. He had put the pizza in the box to take it home. He could not stand eating another slice of pizza at work. As only a few globs of blood came up, he struggled to keep himself up. "Shee? nuhthing toh worree bowt" As the girl directed him into the house with her brother, he just went with them. Trying to remain as upright as he could. "Drayyyk can dreyb me hom, eh?" As he turned to look at his pal. He had gotten kinda pretty over the years. She was kinda pretty as well.

God he could do with a nap. A nice long... quiet... dark...

The sensations, muddled as they were suddenly became too real. To familiar. The pain, sure. His head hurting. The blood. And the quiet draw of what was sleep. Sleep that should have taken the pain away. The darkness that should have hid him from the world. Falling deeper into that darkness had seemed like a blessing back then. Now... he knew it was a prison. He was not going back.

Adrenaline pushing through his body, his eyes opening, seemingly sitting in a room filled with boxes, he blinked at the bright light, looking at them all. As his fear of going back pulsed through his body, he smiled at them, his mouth bloody and utterly unconvincing. That would keep him sensible for a minute. Maybe. Unless he passed out. "Shee" He swallowed the blood in his mouth, rubbing the wound on his tongue against the roof of his mouth. Speaking more carefully. "See. All good. No problems." Damn if this couch was not super comfortable. It was better than his bed. Better than his parents bed. Much better than those at the hospital.

The Hospital? Again his eyes widened in panic. He could not go back. He could not afford that. Touching the back of his head, he winced. Fuck that hurt. Still bleeding. Head wounds tend to bleed though. Could be nothing. God he wanted to sleep- NO. That was the concussion. He needed to stay awake. "No need for doctors, eh?" Trying to get up, but failing miserably, he smiled at the guy and his sister. "Westbrook Pizza is a good store. You should not stop using them. Also, I will be happy to re-compensate you for the pizzas. On the house. No sweat." Maybe that keeps them from getting him fired. God, even if they were just cautious or mentioned this he would be in shit. Looking to Drake, he apologetically smiled at him. "Can't say I am not distracting now, eh?" Trying his best to stay upright, he could feel himself slipping further into the comfort of the couch.

Maybe... maybe just a short rest. What is the chances of it happening again anyway... a million... to... one? Before he closed his eyes.

KingofAesir · Jan 26, 2020

Sawyer

Weird basketball thing. Right. Sawyer had totally forgotten JJ was doing that little fundraiser thing. It was cool. After all, it benefitted Sawyer and she kinda felt like that's maybe part of why JJ was even doing it. Not that she would ever admit that, JJ was too stubborn for that. But Sawyer appreciated it as a favor none the less. She really needed to tell her thanks. Back to Ava for the time being. Sawyer knew for a fact that Ava wasn't here for fresh air just like Sawyer wasn't here for fresh air. She was here to prove to every little pitiful glance that she'd received over the past few months that she was fine. Sawyer was still Sawyer. She was still strong. She didn't need their pity and goddamnit if she wasn't going to fucking prove that. Starting right here, right now.

"You know what, fuck fresh air." Sawyer grinned over at Ava and pulled a zippo out of her pocket, something from Ryan that she'd been carrying around since he left. A lucky charm if you will. Maybe now they could put it to good use. There was just a light drizzle in the air, this would totally work. Sawyer flipped the zippo once, twice, and smiled past the flame.

"You like bonfires? I'm getting a little cold." Sawyer was fine and she was about to light this damn place up to prove it. Boom goes the dynamite.

Winona · Jan 26, 2020

Ava

Her eyes widened. That was not what she had expected.

And normally, Ava would be totally against the idea of setting... well... anything on fire. Especially at a school event, but also like... fuck the school and all that, you know? And her stupid mom for tricking her to come out here. Is this what the popular kids did these days? Set things on fire for the heck of it? Maybe... and... well...

"You want to set the whole festival on fire?" Ava glanced around before she spoke, making sure that no one was paying attention before she leaned in closer to Sawyer. "Let's do it."

Maybe now her mom would let her stay home.

KingofAesir

KingofAesir · Jan 26, 2020

Sawyer

Awesome. Sawyer slipped the zippo back into her pocket and motioned for Ava to follow her. She shoved her way through the crowd until they were on the very edge, away from most of the kids milling about. Sawyer was tired of being sad. Tired of just going through the motions like some kind of broken shell. She needed to do something to get rid of all this pent up anger. Something that wasn't screaming at Ash or puking her guts up on cheap liquor. Something that was dangerous. Fire was dangerous. Fire would get her adrenaline pumping and drown out all the other thoughts that would leave her alone. Incessant, domineering, deadly thoughts that just made her want to curl up in a ball and cry. But she was sick of crying. Sawyer was going to burn. Figuratively and literally. She was ready to be done. Sawyer was all cried out and tired of not sleeping.

Fuck what anyone else thought.

"Okay, so maybe not the whole place." Sawyer chuckled, "I don't want to hurt anyone. We just need something that'll piss Principal Satan off." She glanced around the place and found exactly what she was looking for nestled behind the stage. Extra pallets from the stage set up. Perfect. They were already stacked together and everything.

"Those pallets over there. Come on." Sawyer marched with Ava to the back of the stage. This would be good cover while they tried to get something started. "Here help me push some of these off, we need them in a kind of little pile you know?"

This was going to be so fucking funny. Sawyer could practically see Elise's face now, all scruntched and demon like. Totally worth it.

Hypnos · Jan 26, 2020

Gus Windrift

Restlessly watching as Zia started to take charge, Gus couldn’t keep himself still as his elder sister guided the delivery guy back into the house, following so closely behind, that he was practically still holding onto the bleeding man. This was wild. Fucking wild. Only a few days in Westbrook, and already someone had started bleeding out on their driveway. At least they’d have a good story to tell the people back in Black Mill, though right now he just had to worry about making sure that story had a happy ending. The whole thing really got the adrenaline pumping.

‘A fresh new shirt?’ Gus echoed Zia’s words, eyes searching wildly for his brother, though Fitz was nowhere to be seen. In the panic, Gus had lost sight of him, and he certainly hadn’t been listening when his elder brother had mumbled something about having to leave. ‘I’ll get it! I’ll get it.’

He rushed back into the house, bolting into his room to rummage through one of the unpacked boxes where all of his shirts were still stacked on top of each other.

This would have been much easier if he had been organised, and sorted things out earlier, but once again his lack of foresight proved to be his own worst enemy.

Moving back towards the fray, Zia had made sure the guy was already laid out onto the small couch she had been sitting on herself, only moments earlier, blood leaking into the upholstery, though that was the least of their concerns right now.

‘I got a shirt!’ As he tossed the bundle onto the couch, he could already see fresh blood leaking into it. ‘Fuck.’ He cursed loudly, about to go and get another one, but then he heard the guy’s friend mention something about needing ice, so he instead rushed off down to the freezer.

Nothing if not helpful.

‘Ice. Ice. Ice. Ice.’ Gus mumbled frantically as his hands ran through the freezer. They didn’t have any proper ice yet, but they did have a big tub of cold ice-cream, so he reached for that instead, before moving back to the scene.

‘Will this help?’ He held it aloft before shoving it down onto the guy’s neck, hoping that it would at least partially help to stop the swelling. You were supposed to keep it cool, right? Black Mill Academy had had an EMT come in to visit them late last year, and carry out a presentation on emergency care, but at the time, Gus had skipped out with Lisa MacTavish to try and convince her to make-out with him behind the bike shed. He had cursed Lisa for spurning his advances back then, and he cursed her again now for how clueless he was in this situation.

‘You need to go to the hospital, dude, seriously.’ Even with the protests of the man himself, Gus would personally feel a lot safer if they left him in the hands of a medical professional.

No offence to Zia, but she wasn’t exactly Dr. House.

‘Like, it’s no big deal. I can drive you down there. It’s not far.’ He ignored the consistent refusal, not taking no for an answer.

Turning his face back to Zia, he silently mouthed the words: ‘what the fuck?’ before looking at the guy’s friend.

‘Hey. Do you know if there’s someone we can call, like, parents or anything?’

His attention shifted again, back to the bleeding guy. ‘Dude, it’s like forty bucks. I don’t wanna refund, I just don’t want you to fucking bleed to death on our couch. Like, fuck me man! I don’t think I can even think about pizza at the moment. Let me take you to the hospital.’

BELIAL. · Jan 26, 2020

Norah Walsh
location: Basketball Booth mention:

dendygar

ailurophile

Norah smoothed her hair, letting the far and few droplets wet the frizzy strands. She was going to make an issue of finding a new stylist, ASAP. Her one back in Black Mill had been so good, and so reliable, but there was no way she'd go for a 4 hour car ride just to get a blowout. That is, unless there was nothing good in Westbrook. Times were tough.

She laughed a little at Shay's joke, rolling her eyes at the rain. "Yeahh, not sure what I was expecting in comparison. But yeah, we actually moved in a few days ago. Some semi-impressive home like twenty from here. Had to be big enough to foster all three of us, and god forbid we don't have our own privacy or space. Now that, that would be an issue." Her eyes flickered around as they walked, holding her judgement to spill with her sister later. Half of her felt bad for having abandoned Ri somewhere around here, but the other half was sure she'd be fine. If she didn't show up for dinner, maybe she'd start calling around. Or just check social media.

Looking ahead she saw the twinkling lights of a funhouse. How droll. It got even more exciting when she could swear with her two eyes, and their perfect vision, that her brother was strolling out. With some girl. Definitely wasn't anyone from Black Mill. She snorted out loud, sneering as she spotted them. River worked quickly, as it happened.

A lightbulb went off in her head, drawing the sneer into a venomous little smile.

She gave Shay a knowing look and soon began texting as she spoke. "Jesus H. Christ, I just saw my brother with some girl. By the way, just so you know, he's a whore. River's a big 'ole sausage giveaway. If he talks to you, best to just smile and walk away. He's such a dolt," she pulled up Zia Windrift's phone number and raised her phone, aiming to zoom and snap a picture. They were moving, but not too fast. Perfect. "Can't wait to see what someone thinks about this... he's going to get his ass flamed and I'm so here for it." She sent the accompanying text with the image, and relished in delivering justice. Norah was all about living young, having fun, etc. However, she wasn't about lying. Sneaking around. He'd avoided Zia long enough, the ass.

Norah sighed, crossing her arms. "Ugh, that just made me sick. Let's do something fun? We can talk about what kind of shit is in store for school," she shook her phone. "If the way these kids talk on twitter is any indication."

She inquired about Shay's interests as they walked, surface level stuff for now. They came upon a basketball booth, a cute little scoring thing. Norah wasn't exactly the sporty type, but she was a sucker for golf. And well, for handsome guys too. But better for them to find that out on their own.

"Hi," she said with a smile to the girl and to the guy. "How much for a game?" Sweet as a sucker. She had nothing ulterior planned. Just a sweet face.

BELIAL. · Jan 26, 2020

Malachi Verreau
location: leaving festival mention:

Dede

Braddington

Mal stared quizzically at the wolf-boy, unsure of how the kid was going to go about eating that burger with a couple of giant paws. Could he not just smash his face into it, like a wolf? Was he raised as boy, despite these defects? Mal wondered if he'd taken a bit too much shroom tea earlier, hence causing these elaborate hallucinations. He watched with a baseline content face, only breaking the facade to raise an eyebrow once or twice. Then the wolf-boy asked if he'd wanted the burger, and Mal couldn't deny that he did. He'd been hungry, hence the walking over, and now he was being offered a burger. But what if it wasn't real?

"I would take that burger, but you would be more sad that it was gone, no? If you just," he demonstrated with his hands a hand and a false burger, layering the two over each other. "Smash," he smashed the top hand onto the little one, smearing it a bit into it. "You smash your face into the burger, like a wolf, you will eat it. Ravenous, but a young wolf must eat." He shoved the burger back to the boy, nodding intently. His phone buzzed and Mal excused himself, dipping down to grab it from his pocket.

Mal. I need something right now. I am in the car. I wanna meet up. Please dude. Anywhere. Text from Fitz. It seemed urgent, Mal could gather that much. He bit his lip, worried. The last thing he needed was to be worrying about someone now. His trip would go sour in an instant. Breathing deeply, with one hand he fingered a cigarette from his pants pocket and responded back. Not lighting it, he stuck the filter between his lips and then used the free hand to text back.

kwa? ok ok, if u hav no plans lets go to mine. k? safer and far away. meet me there, i'll catch a cab. He finished with a flurry of button pressing, then looked up at the wolf-boy. Cigarette in mouth, he saluted to the man.

"Wolf-boy, I must go. Duty calls. Keep your chin up, ouais? My name is Malachi, you will know where to find me on Monday." He stood up quickly and rounded over, delivering a sweet smooch to the top of the boy's head. He ruffled the hair and made a hand gesture as he walked away, half-run and half-walking back to the entrance. He quickly texted the address to Fitz, shaking his head as he stopped to light up as soon as he was off the green. Taking a long drag, Mal looked up at the grey sky. It looked beautiful in this midday light, with the bits of sun trying to peek through.

Ringing up a cab, he continued his hustle to a street-side.

Winona · Jan 26, 2020

Ava

Were they really going to do this? Her heart pounded, palms sweaty as she followed after Sawyer behind the stage. It was crazy -- Ava had never done anything bad or remotely illegal in her life, and now she was doing this. And followed that ridiculous shoving incident with Tatum just a couple weeks before. It was scary. Exhilarating.

Was Ava a bad girl now?

"Okay. Yeah. And stuff that isn't like, wet." Ava said breathlessly. She started pulling at the pallets, helping Sawyer to push them into a rough little teepee. Was this really even going to work? Or were they just being totally stupid?

Maybe both.

The pallets were pulled into place. Ava was having trouble catching her breath, thanks to a lifetime of as little physical exercise as possible. "Do we need like anything else? Or do you just... do the thing now?"

KingofAesir

KingofAesir · Jan 26, 2020

Sawyer

Once the pallets were all in place Sawyer could feel excitement slowly building. She just hoped the wood wasn't to wet to light without gasoline or some other kind of fuel. Sawyer pulled the Zippo out again and flicked it back and forth while she thought. She needed to throw the thing into the pile for the best result but she'd rather not loose her lucky charm. Sawyer could tell that Ava had never done anything like this before, so she probably wouldn't be any help. Her mind worked as she looked around the place for anything that might help. She spotted a broken piece of pallet lying next to their little pile and she grinned. Sawyer plucked the splintered piece of wood up from the ground and turned to face Ava.

"I'd rather not lose my lighter let's see if this works." Sawyer flicked the lighter open and held it to the end of the piece, hoping that it would catch. A faint glimmer sparked at the end and Sawyer let out a relieved sigh. She shook the thing around in the air a little and it burst into a bigger flame.

"Fuck yeah." Sawyer turned and winked at Ava, "Here we go." With that Sawyer chucked the flaming piece into the pallets. It took a few moments before one of the pallets caught and the rest followed suit, slowly building the fire and she and Ava looked on.

"WOO!" Sawyer tilted her head up into the rain and grinned. Nothing better than a little arsony to get your mind off if things, right.

dendygar · Jan 26, 2020

Sha'nay

She rose her brows when Norah snorted and looked at the fun house, and then her brows shot up even higher and she smirked. "Oh no.. no, no, no.." Shay cooed softly, ready to gossip about her ex. "She couldn't be any more of an idiot, could she?" Shay looked down at Norah, the corners of her mouth upturning a bit more into a sneer. "I know who that girl is, I know her really well."

"Aren't all boys dolts?" Shay asked and continued to watch, eating her cotton candy. "He may just be more of one than most.. but I wouldn't worry about her. She's still reeling from me dumping her." Shay sighed and pretended to pout, before rolling her eyes and turning away towards the little basketball stand. It had an awning that could shield them both from the rain. Almost as if they were on the same wavelength, she muttered, "I'm gonna have to call my hair girl if I don't get out of this rain soon. That girl he's hanging with is a drug dealer, scrappy.. I've got so much dirt on her." Shay sighed and smiled at the carnie and put down her money for her own balls to throw.

Shay kissed her teeth. "Have you heard about the lock-in coming up? It's not mandatory, but everyone is going." Shay grabbed a ball and began to shoot some hoops. "How much you wanna bet some of the brainless boys are gonna duke it out for whatever b.s. territory they think they have over Westbrook?" She asked playfully.

BELIAL.

Twin Fantasy · Jan 26, 2020

This was the first gig he'd ever played.

Over all his years of guitar practice and songwriting and musical idolatry, never once had he played a gig. He'd worked so hard over the years, this was his chance. Now he decided to go a little more simple for the night and do some sweet 80's-90's grunge and punk covers. He had a whole setlist that he'd deftly selected from his long library of 20th century jammy fuckin' insanity. He was ready to blow these people's minds. He heard his own name called.

"Give a big round of applause for Westbrook's own
Charlie McAllister!"

And he could hear the way their hands hit one another. His chest swelled and he seemed to move without even knowing it. He felt like he was one with the air, and speaking in a voice that wasn't quite his own, when he said,

"How you guys doing tonight, my name is Charlie and I'm gonna play some stuff... that- that you might know. Let's do this."

Like on autopilot, his hands played the opening riff to Lithium, and oh, how beautiful he sounded. If there was a single thing about Charlie people could agree upon, it was that he was incredibly musically talented. And why wouldn't he be? This was the only thing he'd ever been passionate about. While other children his age were playing and making friends and falling in love, he was strumming one-two-three on his cheap electric guitar. This was the only thing that brought him happiness and to share it with all these people was magical, was a sight to behold. He sang. Oh how he sang.

He was incredible. He felt incredible.

Winona · Jan 26, 2020

Ava

It had worked.

Holy shit, it had actually worked. She watched in silence as the fire spread and expanded, moving from one pallet to another until the whole little pile was up in flames. A sense of dread and regret started bubbling up deep inside her. This was a mistake, wasn't it? And then something caught her attention -- some guy going up onto the stage, and that was when Ava remembered. This stupid fall festival was letting students go up onto the stage to perform.

Fuck.

Ava was about to say that they needed to put it out, but then the licking, hungry flames started hopping, and then she saw the fire starting to spread as it hit the back of the stage. Slowly, at first, and then growing by the second. Even the light drizzle and dampness of the day couldn't stop the fire from spreading rapidly.

Oh no.

"Oh god." They needed to run, right? Probably, but she was almost too scared to move.

KingofAesir

Luna_Marie · Jan 26, 2020

Morgan Ara The rest of Morgans time escaped her, drifted away in a haze since her first day of school. When you're avoiding your own home and higher than the Heavens, its easy for things to fade like that, not that she minded. Eventually while stumbling about the town, she found a flyer for some kind of carnival thing, hell yes. This had her name written all over it, and just for kicks she took a pen and wrote her name on the paper literally. After a chuckle at her own dumb joke, she began skipping over to the location listed, ready for trouble. Once she arrived her smile grew into one of a small child. The lights shined in her eyes and highlighted the color in her hair, she felt like she was glowing, a fairy amongst mortals. Her laugh echoed out and she spun, shutting her eyes tightly with a deep sigh. This was familiar, a place of fun and joy, excitement that she used to have with her friends back home. Before she could catch herself, she felt her foot catch someone elses as she bumped into a large form. A gasp escaped her and she immediately thought not again as she prepared to meet the ground.

Soap · Jan 26, 2020

Kate

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Kate wouldn't want to say she was surprised, but she was by Elise's answer. Although it made sense. No mother no matter who they were would truly want to give up on their children unless she was an actual monster. Grace's case was difficult though. It was hard to see her struggling to survive. But who it was harder for was the question. Kate couldn't bare to see it anymore. It's been months, how long could she wait for a miracle?

The longer she waited the more she gave up hope. There was hardly any left at this point and the doctors and Jonathan have been getting in her head more than she would like. But Elise was right. Jonathan wasn't there for her. The doctors were just giving their professional opinion. And... Kate? She just wanted her daughter back. "... Thank you Elise. I-" Before she could continue her sentence Jonathan caught sight of Elise, putting on a charming smile and heading their way.

"Elise! Hi! It's nice to see you here." Kate still held him responsible for all the hurt he caused, and the fact how someone can just put on a smile and act like they weren't standing in front of their dying daughter's hospital room. "She was just leaving. It was sweet of you to come check on Grace... I appreciate it. Send my thanks to the students of the school for nominating her for queen." Kate offered a weak smile her way while Jonathan stared at the two confused, before muttering his goodbyes.

--

It was a little while after Elise had left. The slow beeping from the machine wasn't getting on her nerves as much now. Kate felt calmer, hurt, but... calm. Her hands fiddled with the hospital mask and lowered it slightly. Reaching her hand out and brushing Grace's hair away from her face. "I don't know if you remember that time I picked you up early from school. You were really small so I don't think you do, but it was a little while after Jonathan left." Kate took a deep breath and shook her head at the distant memory.

"We went to that amusement park you kept pestering me about. Atlantic playland? I think it was called, that might've been the last time we ever spent actual time together. It was us getting used to being alone. Even though you kept asking where your dad was, that day you could've cared less about him. It was a really good day. I was so afraid you wouldn't want to do anything without Jonathan, that we wouldn't be very close anymore, that someday when you grew up, you'd blame me for losing him. but that wasn't that case. After that day we were basically inseparable. That was the day I realized we'd be okay alone." Kate rolled her eyes at herself, hating herself for tearing up, hating that she actually had to have this conversation with her daughter-- when she couldn't even reply back to her. "... We were for a really long time. And then I messed up, I messed up a lot and I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry." She wiped away the few tears that fell. "I'm so sorry." A big part of Kate was happy that Jonathan wasn't here to see her breaking down. To see how much of a failure she turned out to be as a mother.

Kate stood strong throughout these four months. Only breaking down when she allowed herself to, when she was alone-- because that's when she was at her worst. When she would go home to change, to shower, and she would walk into an empty house. Her gaze fell upon the signed document and the blonde took a shaky breath, taking a hold of Grace's hand before she got the courage to say her next words. "It's okay." Grace gripped her hand and it only made Kate hurt harder. She knew it was only a reflex. It didn't mean anything and when that happened for the first time, Kate remembers when she alerted everyone because there might've been a sign her daughter was still in there.

But she wasn't.

"It's okay if you want to go. I won't be upset baby girl. I'll be okay alone. It's okay."

It wasn't okay, and Kate was lying if there was still the smallest hope in her that Grace would wake up and everything would go back to normal. But she was a realist. She wasn't a dreamer. Not like her. Grace balanced her out whenever she needed it, she was her rock. But she made her stronger in many ways. Kate just wasn't sure if she was ready to be strong for this situation alone.

Winona · Jan 26, 2020

Elise

She considered reaching out, patting Kate's shoulder, letting the woman that she wasn't truly alone. But that would've been far too much, so Elise just remained standing, chin held high, until Jonathan exited Grace's room and started chatting. She really did have to get going, and Elise wasn't a fan of the man in front of her. Even if she had pulled the same disappearing act on her own kids, well... at least she hadn't come back years later when one of them was dying.

"Let me know if you need anything." She told Kate, and then Elise turned and walked down the hallway, her heels clicking along the ground in the otherwise quiet hallway.

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

She had returned back to the festival following her quick visit to the hospital. As far as she could tell, everything was going according to plan. All of the student-run booths seemed to be fairing well, and Charlie McAllister had just taken the stage for his performance. It annoyed her that he was up there, performing his heart out, while her own two children were off doing god knows what. All Elise had ever wanted was for her children to sign, in music or theater.

Instead, they both were failures.

After a quick walk around the festival, Elise had come to a stop near the edge of the booths to take a break. It wouldn't be long before the festival would start wrapping up. Her gaze moved across the booths, stopping for a moment on that ridiculous kissing booth. Strange. Neither Ash or Raven was there.

KingofAesir · Jan 26, 2020

Sawyer

Shit. Shit. Shit. Not good. This was really not good. Sawyer cursed rather loudly as the flames licked at the stage. The very wooden stage that was very much not flame resistant. This really hadn't been a very good idea. Saw her was smarter than this. She'd let her damn emotions get the better of her brain and now look what had happened. They needed to get the hell away from the scene before someone caught them. The last thing Sawyer needed was to get herself and Ava arrested for her idiocy. Sawyer turned to find Ava frozen solid and suddenly realized she probably hadn't picked the best partner in crime, but their was no gong back now. She rushed forward and grasped Ava by the arm, yanking her to movement and pulling her back around to the front of the stage.

"Come on." Sawyer pulled them both back into the crowd, "Listen, that didn't happen alright? If anybody asks we were just fucking around. It was an accident." She told Ava as she slowed to a more inconspicuous pace and let go of Ava's arm. At this point there was smoke rising up from behind the stage and you could most definitely smell it. Someone was bound to notice it sooner rather than later. But there was a kid on the stage and...awe hell.

"FIRE!" Sawyer shouted at the too of her lungs, hoping that at least someone would hear above the sound of the music. Cause that guy really needed to get off the stage and fast.

Soap · Jan 26, 2020

Raven

Raven nodded at her introduction and continued along the path. What she hadn't expected from the girl was flirting. She didn't seem like the bold type but yet here she was. The aspiring journalist was flirted with usually, but only when she engages first. It was a bit shocking to see someone else get the courage to come up to her. We;;, besides Mason but he was in his own category of things. It was different between them than what Raven had with a stranger or well... anyone else. "Ash? Yeah, the girl goes through a lot on the daily." She shrugged. There wasn't much Raven could do for her other than distracting her from whatever problems she had.

How else would she be able to help?

She rolled her eyes but it wasn't difficult to put a grin on the brunette's face from her words. "Let's just walk for now, there isn't many festivities I'd like to take part in at the moment." There was many questions Raven wanted to ask the stranger, but she decided to just settle on one.

"You're new then? I haven't seen you around before."

Pysren

geminiy · Jan 26, 2020

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Jacqueline Dupont

Jackie kicked a rock with her shoe, shaking her head. "Living in France wasn't as exciting as one may think. I don't know, you just kind of get used to living there and the charm wore off pretty quickly. Though I have to admit, it is quite beautiful." Jackie reminisced, remembering the endless rolling fields of the countryside and the old architecture of the cities, the sweet smells floating in from bakeries, rude commuters shoving their way onto the buses and trains. Part of her missed home. Home. Jackie never called France home before. Perhaps France itself wasn't home, perhaps it was their family home on various bases. Maybe it was her father.

With a deep breath, Jackie pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. There simply was no point in feeling sad, in thinking about her father. Its not as if her sadness would bring him back. She used Greyson's next words to attempt to bring her mind away from such a dreadful topic. She just hoped that the blond hadn't noticed the falling of her face that had just happened moments before.

"Well, if the guys aren't great, maybe I'll just have to show them how its done." Jackie teased. "That is if I've still got the skill. We'll just have to wait and see."

Jackie was confused that Greyson wasn't the captain of the team. Sure, she'd never actually seen him wrestle, but the way he spoke about the team made him seem like the one in charge. That could also come from the fact that the only other member apparently trying to recruit was busy eyeing up the cheerleaders. "That's so sweet that you learned it from your dad. It's always nice to bond over stuff. My dad got me into it too, in a round about sort of way." Jackie said, taking another bite of the cotton candy. "Who knows, maybe you'll follow in his footsteps and take that captain title. Its never too late to try. If you want a training partner, I'm always around to help, even if I don't end up joining the team."

Jackie paused for a moment, nibbling her bottom lip. "Are you sure the others won't mind? I don't want to cause any trouble. The last thing I need is more of it. I just know that some places aren't as..." Jackie hesitated, looking for her next words. "Receptive as others to girls joining this kind of stuff. But I will be damned if I end up being one of the cheerleaders. Not that there's anything wrong with being a cheerleader, there's just so much drama surrounding them typically and it seems that it is no different here."

| Greyson

Soap |

Isabelle Dupont

The buzzing of her phone on the table caught Bella's attention. Picking it up, she glanced down at a smile immediately sprung to her face. It was Brayden and he wanted to meet up. Bella was honestly surprised, often assuming that people didn't really want to spend time with her, taking preference over the more exciting individuals of the world. Bella shivered as she locked her phone, regretting having not checked the weather earlier. Not that it would have made much of an impact given that no one was expecting the drizzle that was dampening the fair.

'I'll see you soon'

Bella pulled off her damp jacket, deciding that going to find Brayden in a dry shirt was better than walking around with wet denim clinging to her. She was about to stand up to go find him when a voice she didn't recognize spoke in her direction. At first, Bella wasn't certain that he was even talking to her at all. But there wasn't really anyone else around. There he was, some guy she didn't know, offering her his jacket. Bella wanted to take it. The jacket looked comfortable and more importantly, warm.

"Thank you, I appreciate the offer, but then you're going to get all wet and cold." Bella giggled, standing up to face him. Zander. "You're quite the gentleman, Zander. I'm Isabelle but please, call me Bella." She introduced with a smile, her accent popping through heavily on the pronunciation of her full name. Another shiver danced down her spine. Bella never reacted well to the cold and dreaded the winter that would soon be approaching.

The desire took over and Bella slowly reached out and took the jacket from Zander, pulling it over her slender shoulders. She smiled at the comforting warmth that wrapped around her, even if the jacket was a little bit big on her small frame. "Thank you." Bella said quietly, hugging the edges of the jacket closed over her chest. "I was actually just going to try to hunt down a sweater or something, I got caught in the rain when it first started and I wasn't exactly dressed for the occasion."

She slid her phone that she had lodged on the table into her back pocket. She had to go meet Brayden, but she needed something to wear that was her's and not some very generous boy's. Once again, Bella found herself indebted to another kind man of Westbrook. When she had first arrived, Bella heard all kinds of whisperings that Westbrook was a tough place to be, lots of drama and difficult people. Sure, her fellow cheerleaders seemed a little high strung and dramatic, but most of the others she'd encountered were very kind people. "I think I saw someone selling some very high fashion Westbrook sweaters at a booth, if you want to come with me. If not, that's totally cool, I can give you your jacket back, though I definitely wouldn't mind the company."

Bella looked at Zander, trying to place where she had seen him. "You were at the face painting booth, weren't you? I must say, you've got skill. It was so cute to see those kids so happy." Bella complimented, bouncing on her toes slightly to keep the blood circulating to her feet.

| mentions Brayden

Elf_Ruler | Zander

Winona |

PenguinFox · Jan 27, 2020

Hell hath no fury. That was the saying, and it rang true, especially for the blonde business woman marching across the festival grounds. This was ridiculous, this whole was absolutely ridiculous. Not just the festival, but the woman's presence in it, hell this whole backwater town, this whole backwater state. She hated Maine. Why her husband insisted on staying here was beyond her. If it was up to her she never would of come here, but her hand was forced. Hell needed to be raised, and blood debts needed to be paid.

Perhaps that may have been a little dramatic but this blonde woman was pissed in ways most people would cower away from her for. It showed on her face. The woman's posture and gait was one of a powerful, confident woman who knew what she was doing. People practically leapt out of her way, especially once they saw the expression on her face. She was a tall and slender woman with a commanding presence.

The light drizzle certainly didn't help the woman's mood. Her suit was definitely dry clean only. This hick town really ruined everything didn't it? Unfortunately she had no time to worry about that. She was here on an important mission. A certain someone was going to answer some questions. A lot of questions. This stupid fair was the mostly likely place to find the target of her wrath. Her icy blue eyes scanned the crowd, narrowed and unforgiving. She very much looked like a predator standing there in the crowd of kids, and god help the woman deemed her prey.

A flash of red caught in her vision and a small sneer rose. The smallest twitch flicked across her face as she calmed her rage. She moved her way through the crowd, people parting as she walked. Every step was practiced grace, with an air of danger. Like a shark circling it's victim. Even in the mud that was beginning to form around her heels her poise remained. She came to a stop and placed her hands on her hips. "Excuse me? Elise Summers? May I have some words with you?" Her tone was cold but professional. It didn't leave any room for mistake however; she was not asking for a moment of the principal's time. She was telling her. The tension in the air was palpable, easily cut by the daggers shooting from her eyes. Elise was the cause of a lot of her problems recently, and the reason the blonde was even in Maine. She was going to answer to her, now. No one fucked with Amalia Woods Winona

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Things had been tense between Toby and JJ for the past few weeks, and he knew exactly why. He felt absolutely terrible about, but he simply couldn't bring himself to tell JJ he loved her. It tore away at him and he felt like the world's worst boyfriend. He just hoped she would eventually forget about it, or forgive him until he was ready.

The day of the festival arrived and the couple were running a basketball booth. Sure the power couple could have just made a large donation together, but then what would there booth be? Pay a dollar and watch some rich kids donate money? Yeah right. When the homecoming court was announced it came as no surprise that Toby's beautiful girlfriend was nominated. The prettiest, most talented cheerleader was obviously going to be nominated. That's just how that went. He was a little disappointed that he wasn't nominated as well but not too shocked. People didn't know him as well. He was mostly just JJ's boyfriend, which hey coo; girl power. But he wasn't just a trophy boyfriend. Hell back at his old school he would've practically been assured to be homecoming king. Everyone loved him.

While the whole homecoming ordeal was going on Toby noticed a guy staring at the hoops, almost longingly. "Hey man. Five bucks, three shots. Got good prizes if you're good enough." he gave him his signature grin. "Can't win if you don't play though. Pardon me a moment though." Movement in his peripheral caught Toby's attention and he took a step towards a pair of girls walking over. Being a carny wasn't exactly a glamorous life, but if he had to do it than dammit he was going to be the best carny there ever was. The kind that wore those straw hats, and the red and white striped suits. "Well hello you two beautiful ladies. Care to give it a shot?" he threw a wink their way at his pun.

Toby recognized the blonde as the girl he talked with over twitter. "If it isn't one of Westbrook's new esteemed guests. I am both honored and humbled that you have come to my quaint little booth. Welcome to our town. I hope you are finding it well?" Toby was nothing, if not a gentleman. His mother raised him to always be polite, even in the face of indignity. Sure he may have been laying it on a little thick, but that's what carnies did right? "As I just told the gentleman over there, five bucks, three shots. Each basket is labeled with a point value, as well as each prize. Get the points, get the corresponding prize. I won't explain the math to you, I'm sure you're intelligent enough to figure it out yourself."

Once the girls were set up Toby made his way back over to the boy. "So, come to a decision yet? Want to play?" The look on his face suggested he did, he just needed some coaxing. He leaned forward over the little barrier of the stall and whispered to him. "I'll give you one free practice shot. What do you say?" What? As long as the dude bought in and played that's what mattered right?

0k_mang0

BELIAL.

dendygar

Soap

Work. Sucked. This whole being responsible bullshit was really starting to bum Parker out. Some asshole calls in sick, probably to play hooky and go to the festival, so he got stuck covering his shift. It was totally last minute and it infuriated Parker. Plus with that announcement of those rich bitches invading and sucking the place dry like leeches, Parker was not in the best of moods. The only thing that kept him from losing his shit was that he was earning more money so he could blow some at the festival when he finally got off work.

When his shift did end he raced over to the festival. He had missed a lot but he didn't really care about the homecoming court. It was a stupid popularity contest that usually ended up rigged anyway. Just like in politics your vote didn't actually matter. Parker pushed his way through the crowd, eyes on the look out for his cousin, or a certain head of blue hair. He had a plan forming in his mind to help work him towards his end goal. Most chicks loved that shit when you won them gifts at carnivals. Gia seemed like that type of girl. Maybe pull some romantic goo goo eye bullshit, pretend to maybe have feelings and he'd be in.

It wasn't long before he spotted Cam and Gia and....fuck a whole damn herd of people. When the fuck did Gia get so many friends? Parker tilted his head back and groaned. All these people were going to make things harder. It would give him and Gia far less chances to talk. And who the fuck was already giving her stuffed animals prizes?! Parker knew that the blue haired girl didn't have a boyfriend, that shit would have definitely come up. It likely wasn't Cam, unless he was purposely trying to screw Parker over, but his cousin wouldn't do that to him.

Parker made his way over to the large group, plastering a smile on his face. "Hey everyone. Sorry I'm late, duty called." He was really only addressing Gia and Cam, but his eyes did linger on May a bit longer than the others. "Great to see you again May." Surprisingly, Parker had gone out and learned some sign language. It was only the alphabet, but hey he was trying. Cut him some slack, he's a busy man. He spelled his name out to her, a stupid grin on his face. "That's about all I know, but, hey it's a start."

After giving Cam the obligatory bro hug, and the warmest of smiles to Gia, Parker turned to those of this surprisingly large group he didn't know. "I'm Parker. Nice to meet you all." Truthfully he couldn't give two flying fucks who these assholes were. It'd be much better if they just...shooed away. But it looked like he was going to be stuck with them so he'd have to put on a happy, smiley, stupid fucking face for a while. "So what are we doing?"

Elf_Ruler

Twin Fantasy

Winona @ uhhh whoever else, it's late and I can't think straight anymore

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Alexander Philip Dwyer couldn't have been more happy to see Ian up on that stage. That kid was like a little brother to him, and he was always happiest when the Evans boy was happy. Sure he looked like a deer in headlights up there, but it was going to be a good experience for him in the long run. Clearly it showed he was popular. Dwyer was also just thrilled in general to see his old friend. It had been years and miles separating them. Ian was close with everyone from that cul-de-sac, but Dwyer was always his first pick, and Ian was always Dwyer's.

Dwyer wasn't just in Westbrook, Maine to visit old friends however. He had just gotten a job and an apprenticeship here. The job was as a teaching assistant to one Dave Stalter. Bit of an odd fellow, but Dwyer thought he was a good teacher. Most of his students passed anyway. Currently Dwyer was at the festival to get a feel for the atmosphere of the school's student body. He honestly hadn't expected to see Ian, let alone up on stage for the homecoming court.

As Dwyer turned away from the stage to go wander about the festival more a small figure bumped into him, practically bouncing off of his own larger form. The girl stumbled and looked as though she was about to fall, and Dwyer instinctively shot into action. His arm shot out and wrapped around the girl's shoulders. He pulled her into a fully upright position and steadied her as he noted the color of her hair. Odd, that almost seemed like...."Morgan?" a small smirk tugged at the corners of his lips. "Well I'll be damned, I wasn't expecting two reunions in Westbrook."

Luna_Marie

BELIAL. · Jan 27, 2020

Norah Walsh
location: Basketball Booth mention:

dendygar

The last thing that Norah had expected was a proper, red-carpet welcoming to Westbrook. For one thing, she wasn't deluded. In fact, one of the first official in-person welcomings she'd gotten was that funny little Mason, and his funny absolute uncouth manner of speaking. A cute face, but a sour tongue. Those thing often didn't line up well together, as past had dictated. More than once a couple of sweet boys proved to be anything but. She hadn't ever been yelled at, thank god, but she had been called flourishing names by exes. It's almost like they didn't understand that 'we're done' means 'we are absolutely done'. Either way, Norah hadn't expected anything remotely close to the recognition she got from arriving with Shay at the basketball booth.

Were she anyone else she would have probably flustered at the spot. A cute boy and an inviting wink? But Norah was quick, and her mind even faster. "If it isn't one of Westbrook's new esteemed guests. I am both honored and humbled that you have come to my quaint little booth. Welcome to our town. I hope you are finding it well?" He said, and she caught on immediately. Her original smile, flirtatious and subtle, spread into pure joy, when her gaze slid over to the brunette at the booth. She recognized Toby, probably by such a username as 'The Toby', and assumed the pretty girl behind him was the girlfriend. Miss Protective, as it happened. Norah couldn't blame her, he was definitely on the higher end of the handsome scale. And polite too, someone that Norah could respect.

Would respect. She wasn't one to foolishly rip boys from the grasps of their girls, encouraging the typical female response of vicious words and more than vicious rumors. Norah was much smarter than that. Like a venomous snake, Norah preferred to sink her teeth in and let the venom make its way in. This went for friends as well; any sort of impression that Norah could make of positivity, across the board, meant that she could have an army to back her up. This went especially well in situations like this.

"Well, it sure is something else!" She said breathlessly, gesturing around with her hands in her coat pockets. "Toby right? This is Shay, she is also a new transfer. We figured we'd shoot some hoops, but I never expected such a grand welcoming! Thaaank you good sir," she added with a small curtsy, laughing a bit. Shay gave some money in, and Norah shuffled for a five in her pocket, and the two found their way to a couple of the hoops. Shay began immediately. Norah posed with one of the balls, looking over at the girl.

"Have you heard about the lock-in coming up? It's not mandatory, but everyone is going." Norah pursed her lips, aiming for one of the higher points. She flicked her wrist, just like they said in PE class, and just made it in to the 15 point. She gave a little cheer. "How much you wanna bet some of the brainless boys are gonna duke it out for whatever b.s. territory they think they have over Westbrook?"

"No need to bet, because I'm one hundred percent sure they will. Ideally nothing, but... you never know." She rolled her eyes, aiming for another hoop. She didn't mention that she'd be scoping out the territory on her own anyway. Norah was a dooer, not a watcher. She made a place for herself; she didn't let it naturally shape in the land. She was a iceberg, not a lazy river, carving out a valley. Westbrook was just another obstacle.

She gave a half look over at Toby, watching him interact with the kid.

Shooting the ball, she was delighted to sink it. Only five points, but a sink nonetheless. She posed for the next one, but just as she was about to shoot it she thought she could hear a scream. "FIRE!" It sounded faint, and she wasn't sure where it was really coming from. There was a singer onstage, some kid with pipes, so she assumed it was in response to that. She shrugged.

"Exactly how much do you know about this school?" Never one to bat around the bushes. Norah tracked Shay with a steely gaze, albeit a friendly one.

Luna_Marie · Jan 27, 2020

Morgan Ara Her eyes squeezed shut as she waited to feel concrete scrape against her pale skin, but the moment never came. Instead, she felt strong hands grab her and instinctively her own hands placed themselves on the chest of the stranger. Her grey eyes flashed open suddenly as a comforting voice made her entire body flush with warmth. Morgan’s jaw dropped open and her cheeks flushed as she studied every inch of Dwyers face. She felt like she was gazing into the eyes of a ghost. “Dwyer? Wha-what are you doing here?” Her brows showed confusion, her eyes hope, but she could feel her heart sink to her feet. “Oh yea, uh I didn’t even know Ian was here until a while ago, we haven’t really been.... in touch.” Her hand reached up to tuck her hair and she smiled sheepishly. “I’ve missed you.”