Realistic or Modern Westbrook

[Soap]

Kate

Kate waited for an answer from the costumed wolf and watched in confusion as he ran out. She didn't have time to deal with this, strangers who pretended to know her daughter or-- an ex 'girlfriend' who pretended to love her daughter.

Maybe that was a poor choice of words she thought, noticing the tears in the blonde girl's eyes while she asked for information, Kate wasn't evil. She felt for her. Maybe it was because knew what she was feeling, she didn't want to lose Grace and that was something that they had in common. "They took her to surgery, she's bleeding internally but... I..." Kate didn't know what to say. The truth is she didn't know if Grace was going to be okay or not.

"She'll be fine." Just because she didn't approve or like Sawyer, doesn't mean she's going to send a child into a state of panic. If it was up to her she would've been in that operating room if they didn't push her away, but Kate knew how this worked. She lost her own mother a few years back. She just wished the similarities between the accident hadn't brought her horrid flashbacks and thoughts.

"Now, go home. I'll... call you if something happens."



KingofAesir



Maisie

She hadn't even noticed they were alone, or that Drake had pulled her up from the floor and gotten her somewhere that felt safer. Even though her breath was still stuttering and her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest because she could practically hear it. And for the first time since she's had a panic attack-- it didn't get worse. Her gaze focused on Drake's light eyes and she pulled him closer to her enveloping him into an embrace, holding him tightly.

She pulled away after a few moments and wiped the blood gently off his face. Maisie couldn't say anything, she didn't know what to say.

She just knew she felt safe, she felt at home.

Winona


Raven

It's what he did, yeah, but it's not who he was and Raven knew that more than anyone by now. Her gaze followed his and her heart started to beat erratically, she couldn't be feeling like this. That wasn't fair. Especially now. His words had shocked her to stay the least, if Mason was ever planning on doing it... just... he couldn't of picked a better time to say it? Right here? In front of a kid who was on the floor bleeding?

Raven didn't even get to respond before she heard footsteps coming their way, and she knew they had to get out of there.

Once they were outside, silence stood between them for a few seconds.

"Was this before or after we slept together?"

Winona



Juliette

Ava? Okay, well, this wasn't how JJ was planning her slow dance. But then again this school year wasn't how she'd planned it at all, so right now, a slow dance didn't seem to be on the top of her list of worries. The music had started and she awkwardly shuffled down the stage and towards Ava, hesitantly putting her arms on top of her shoulders. "I... honestly don't believe how you won." It wasn't meant to be an insult even if it sounded like one.

"I'm sorry, for... the everything. The arguments and things, I've been through a lot this past year." A lot. And it was a secret to everyone but Jules. No one but Ava and Sawyer knew about the pregnancy, and she was planning to keep it that way. But it shouldn't be an excuse to how she treated Ava.

Wow, she was really becoming... soft huh?

Gross.

"And I decided that I need you."



Winona​

 

[Winona]

Mason


Well, fuck.

That wasn't what Mason was expecting.

His hand was starting to hurt so he used that as an excuse to not answer or acknowledge the question at first. "Wow, I think I may have... sprained my wrist or bruised my fucking knuckles on that little fucker." He said, flexing his sore hand. It was hard to even see the skin past the dark, drying blood. Huh.

Mason realized that there was no way to avoid the question, and just shrugged. "I don't ah... I don't introduce Ari to girls I don't like." And it was true. The issue with Sam. The trouble with dating before. No girls had been right to help him raise his pride and joy, until he met Raven. And yeah, that was a little hard to admit in this moment.

"Look, forget I said anything. We fucked and that's... that's the end of it, right?" There was no way Raven could feel the same way, and Mason really hated fucking feelings talk.

Soap​

 

[Winona]

Drake


Yeah, he was pretty positive that what he felt when Maisie looked into his eyes were crush feelings. A smile stumbled onto his lips. God, she was really beautiful. And so sweet, and amazing and like... What the hell kind of angels had to come together to produce this perfect girl in front of him?

She embraced him, and Drake thought his heart might stop beating. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tight, and not wanting this moment to end. Who would've thought that Aaron being a dick would score him this moment?

Finally, the embrace ended and Drake was back in front of her, hesitant and worried. Did she hate him? Probably, but at least she was safe.

And then she reached forward, wiping the blood from his face. And he winced because yeah, it hurt, but... It felt like her letting him know that it was okay.

So he leaned forward and did something he wanted to do since that first day that he'd seen her dressed as a cat. At that Halloween party so long ago, where it felt like he found someone that he bonded with like no one else.

He kissed her.

Soap​

 

[Winona]

Ava


Of course Ava wanted nothing more than to give some cruel retort at JJ's gentle words. It was just her character, as JJ laid her hands on Ava's shoulders, and Ava's heart started pounding. She carefully laid her hands on JJ's waist, and she was sure everyone could see her blushing cheeks in this moment.

But... well... Fuck them. This was her moment.

"I know you have. Please just... don't apologize. I should've been there for you. That's what best friends do." Ouch, did she just friendzone herself?

"Uh.... Congrats on the crown." Ava was sure someone had given her the king crown as some cruel joke, but fuck it. She could beat them in any video game, any day. And wipe the floor with them at that.

"I think I need you, too." Ava admitted, but she wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing. JJ was... well, she was straight.

Right?

Soap​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Kate managed to at least relieve some of the tension in Sawyer's shoulders with her words. Even if her shoulders seemed more relaxed, Sawyer's head was still going a mile a minute and her breath was still slightly fast. Sawyer was going to worry herself to death at this point. She sucked in a few long, ragged breaths as Kate spoke, trying to calm herself down a little more. It was okay. She was gonna be okay, Kate had said so herself. Though Sawyer wasn't sure if that was the truth or Kate trying to comfort herself as well. Sawyer could tell she was worried and she wouldn't blame her if the latter was the case. But if Grace wasn't olay....Sawyer didn't know what she'd do without her. She could barely handle being broken up, she couldn't imagine what would happen if Grace was just gone for good. Sawyer almost started crying again but Kate's words made perk up. Her eyebrows knit together and she stared up at Kate in confusion. Leave? There was no way on Earth Sawyer was leaving right now. She didn't know what Kate was thinking trying to tell her to go home, but it wasn't going to work. Sawyer wasn't going anywhere until she saw Grace awake and okay.

"What?" Sawyer questioned rather abruptly before collecting herself and shaking her head, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Jackson. I know you don't like me but..." She paused and took a deep breath. She really did not need to fight with Grace's mother right now, especially not with what was going on. Sawyer shook her head again, her breaths shaky, "But I care about Grace. A lot. So I'm not going anywhere until I know she's alright. I can't go anywhere." Sawyer shoved her hands in her jacket pockets and looked around the room awkwardly.

"I-I'll sit outside if you want, but please don't make me leave. I need to see her." Sawyer was pleading now, something completely uncharacteristic of her, but she really needed to be here. She just hoped that Kate had a heart to appeal to.

Soap

 

[PenguinFox]

Lulu's heart raced. She could tell she was panicking, but of course she was, her brother was collapsed on the floor and not breathing and she had no idea why. She tried to focus as Jackson took her hands in his own. What was he saying? Focus. Need to stop and think calmly. His voice calmed her down a little but her whole body was still trembling. Her eyes were wide and her face was wet with tears but she needed to not be hysterical in order to help Sean. Tallulah shakily nodded to her boyfriend and took his phone. It was a struggle with how shaky her hands were but she was soon able to dial 91, doing her best to explain what was happening. When Jackson started CPR she had to look away to prevent herself from throwing up. How could this go from the best night to the worst so fast?

After the call was made Lulu crouched down on the opposite side of her brother, eyes shut tight. "They'll be here soon." she said just loud enough for Jackson to hear. She helplessly buried her hands into her face just wanting for this all to be over and everything to go back to normal. Daniel Reaving

~

Ian was entirely conflicted. He had been entirely alone for the past few months, he had needed someone more than ever but there was no one to turn to. On the other hand however, he knew deep down that if she could've she would've been there. Nova wasn't the type to purposely, and maliciously leave him in the darkness that was his own psyche. Which was he didn't deserve her at all.

The realization was like a knife twisting in Ian's gut and it made him feel sick to his stomach. Everything that had once brought him happiness, or at least staved off the dark, no longer did for one reason or another. Music felt gray and flat to him now, and Nova? Well she didn't deserve to have to come back to this, to have to deal with him more. She definitely deserved better. For god's sake she even thought she was the one that was the burden and not Ian. She was perfect and she didn't need someone like Ian.

The all too familiar taste of guilt rose up and mixed with the blood in Ian's mouth. He would only ever hold Nova back. He would only ever hold his band back. He would only ever hold his family back. He worthless to everyone around him, just like he was to Mikey almost a year ago. His jaw clenched unknowingly, or perhaps uncaring, onto his tongue. His face flashed with resolution for a moment before his focus was brought back to Nova in front of him. His expression softened. There wasn't anyone in the world that he cared about more. He wanted what was best for her, and he was planning on doing just that.

"There's no one else Nova. There never will be. I'd have waited forever if I had to. I could never forget about you." Ian slowly reached out and took one of Nova's hands. "Some days you were all I could think about." he admitted, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. He lowered his gaze and continued to gnaw at the growing wound on the inside of his lip. He needed to get out of this somehow. He couldn't second guess himself anymore. No more hesitations. An idea began to form in his head. "I won't lie though, I'm a little hurt. I know you couldn't have told me you were leaving, but you could've- you should've told me you were coming back. It's been..." his mind trailed to the past few months. "...difficult." He sighed and averted his gaze from Nova once more, green eyes locking on the doors. "This is a lot to process. I need a few minutes to think..." his voice broke just a little at the end. "I'll be right back, I promise. I just need some air for a few minutes." he gently let go of Nova's hand and made his way out of the school. It hurt to lie right to her face like that but he was doing what he had to do.

Ian reached into his pocket and fished out his sister's spare keys. Very fortunate for him that she gave him these. He unlocked the car and got in the drivers seat. His eyes began to water as he sat there. He let his head drop down onto the steering wheel and slammed his fist on the dashboard, letting out a guttural scream. It had been almost three years since the incident. Fuck it, he was tired of trying to not think about it. He let his brain drift back to that day.

EXTREME TRIGGER WARNING
Ian's mother got a call from Mrs. Newman, another mother in the neighborhood. Her son Mikey was the singer in Ian's band, and at the time Ian played the drums. Out of the group of kids that lived in the neighborhood Mikey was the youngest at only 14 and everyone absolutely adored him. The call was to tell Mrs. Evans that Mikey had died. A month before the young boys death Mikey had admitted to Ian that he was struggling with depression. Two weeks before his death he told Ian that he had gotten into heroin as a way to try and cope. Ian had hoped at the time that this was all just a passing phase and it would all go away on it's own. Could he really be blamed? He was just a kid too and he was scared for his friend that was practically a brother sure, but he didn't know what to do. Then, the day before his death Mikey was incredibly happy, and Ian was relieved. He had believed things were finally blowing over. He was wrong. Mikey stole the keys to his parent's car and crashed it into a tree. The autopsy revealed him to have high levels of opium in his system. They weren't sure if he died from overdose or the crash, but Ian knew exactly what the cause of death was. It was a suicide. Ian also knew exactly where Mikey had been getting drugs from. He knew enough that he should have seen the signs, yet he had ignored him. The kid who was like a little brother to Ian killed himself and it could have been prevented. His blood was on the Evans boy's hands. At least that's how Ian saw it. He was silent for weeks and his parents worried about him so much they eventually moved to Westbrook to be close to where Sierra went to college. Sierra was the only one Ian would even talk to so the hope was he would get him to return to his normal self.

This utterly consuming guilt, combined with his own depression had pushed Ian to the edge, and now he was going to jump. He slowly lifted his head up from the steering wheel, hot tears slowly running down his face. His hand ached from how hard he had hit the dashboard. He had caused the death of a young kid with so much potential. He caused his band to lose out on getting big. It was time to do something right for a change. He wasn't meant to grow up. Some stories end short, and his was one of them. He looked in the backseat and saw a backpack, likely containing Sierra's college stuff. Rummaging through it he found a note book and a pencil. He opened it and with incredibly shaky hands began to write;

I let Mikey die. It should be me. Everything is meaningless. I'm sorry to those who will actually miss me, but this is how it's meant to be. I'm not meant to go on. I deserve this. I've thought this through over and over again and it will be better for everyone like this. Give my song notes to Liam, he'll do them right. Mom, Dad, Sierra, Nova, all the guys back home I'm so sorry. There was nothing you could have done to save me, feel no guilt. Move on with your lives, forget that I ever even existed. In time I know that you will. Life always moves on. This is no ones fault. I laughed the loudest who'd have known...

The last line became a little smudged as a teardrop fell onto the page. Ian carefully tore out the page and neatly folded it, putting it into his suit jacket's pocket. He then took out his phone and sent one last message to Nova. Finally he pulled up his music and played Bullet by Hollywood Undead. Every single lyric hit home for Ian. He looked down at his suit ad dryly scoffed. "When you go to meet God you know you want to look nice..." he echoed hollowly. With everything set Ian pulled out of Westbrook High's parking lot and drove off.

Ian's brain went on autopilot and he drove and drove and drove. He didn't know where exactly he was going or how long he would drive, only that he wanted distance between himself and everyone. He was running away from everything in both a metaphorical and literal sense. He still wasn't sure what exactly he was going to do but he knew he was going to do it. His heart pounded and his grip tightened on the steering wheel. Tonight all problems would be solved. Alright, maybe not solved, but they wouldn't be a problem anymore. He was starting to leave the outskirts of the city at this point, more and more trees and less and less buildings. Trees. Fitting that it should end like this. The same way that Mikey did it. A death for a death. This was fair and right. He would follow his friend into the dark. Ian reassured himself of his decision one last time before pressing the gas pedal as far down as it would go. He watched the speedometer as it rose up to 60, 65, 70, 75. He closed his eyes and let an image of Nova fill his mind. He let her beauty be the last lightness. One shining thought before darkness. In one quick motion Ian Evans jerked the steering wheel to the right sending the car blazing off the road and headfirst into a huge pine tree. txlos

~

Sierra took Jasmine's hand and headed into prom with her. Once inside she tried to look around to see if she could see Ian but couldn't. Oh well it was a big crowd and he was there somewhere. She refocused her attention to her girlfriend. This was about them after all. She wasn't here to babysit, she was here to have a great night with a beautiful girl.

For the most part there wasn't anything too exciting happening so far that night. At least not to outsiders. Sierra was having a great time dancing, talking and laughing with Jasmine throughout the night. She only really stopped when people started talking on stage making it difficult to hear or be heard. This stuff didn't really interest her as it didn't really concern her. She didn't attend Westbrook after all. She absentmindedly looked around the gym and finally spotted her brother and...was that Nova? She heard from Ian that she had left, it was good to see her back. Sierra smiled, she had always thought they were perfect for each other. She gently nudged Jasmine with her elbow and nodded in the direction of Ian and Nova. "Aren't they cute together?" Looking closer however Sierra became a little concerned and it showed on her face. Something seemed off about Ian. Shouldn't he be overjoyed that Nova was back? Daniel Reaving

 

[Soap]

Kate

Kate sighed and surprisingly decided to be patient with Sawyer, letting her finish before she had the means to interrupt. Of course she wanted to stay and right now, what was Kate supposed to say? 'No you can't stay because you're worried that my daughter might die.' That wouldn't make any sense and despite everyone thinking so, Kate wasn't the devil in disguise. The older woman took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay." She put her hands up in defense.

Kate wouldn't admit it, but she didn't want to wait alone.

And... well, if Sawyer decided to be stubborn enough to stay. She wasn't going to kick her out.

--

The two sat in the waiting room for hours. Kate didn't attempt to make small talk, they were just here because they both cared about Grace. She wasn't planning on making any arguments or anything beyond that. Her mind was full with bigger worries other than fighting with her daughter's ex girlfriend. Finally, a man had approached them. "Jackson?" His words made Kate stand up abruptly. All the stress in her body seemed to calm as he assured them that Grace was okay.

"We... didn't have a lot of options, and the longer we waited the worse it would've gotten... In an effort to help her, she's been been placed in a medically induced coma to avoid swelling." She didn't understand his words at first and it was a while until they processed. What did that mean exactly? "Is she going to wake up?"

"It's... hard to say, we'll know more after we've taken her off the drugs." His tone was hesitant, and that was doctor speak for-- he had no clue when, or if she'd wake up. "She's stable, you're allowed to go in to see her if you'd like." The intern gave her a sympathetic smile and held the door open for Kate. She glanced at Sawyer and took a deep breath before giving in, nodding for her to come along.

She spent a few minutes alone with her daughter, and Kate now that she was alone, broke down. It wasn't fair how everything seemed to be taken away from her. She stood there for a while, wiping her tears and gaining her composure before she left the room. "... You can go see her." Kate decided to let her have whatever time she needed with Grace, sure, she didn't like her but her daughter loved her.

She took a seat outside of the room as she waited under the florescent lights she could hear slightly beaming, Kate would've thought she was dreaming as that voice protruded from down the hall.

"Kate?"

She'd recognize that voice anywhere, considering the last time she'd heard it, he left them for good.

He had an older boy with him, he couldn't be more than seventeen, eighteen, maybe? And it became clear to Kate that's only a quarter of the family he left them for. Once he found out he had a child with his high school sweetheart. Well, that's all he needed to chose them over her.

A little odd how they were technically still married, wasn't it?

"Jonathan."

KingofAesir
Juliette

JJ smiled at her words. Of course they were best friends. No matter what happened between them they were still always going to be Jules and Lonnie, and that was great! But... why did she feel sad about that? Maybe, maybe she didn't want to be best friends with Ava. Maybe she wanted something more? But that wouldn't make sense, now would it? She's pregnant and straight, it wouldn't... Okay, maybe Sawyer was right, maybe she wasn't all straight like she thought she was. "Congrats on your crown, as well." She had to admit, it could've been fate that Ava had gotten the crown instead of a sweaty jock.

"And your queen, too. She's pretty amazing, I must say."

Jules gaze fell to Ava's lips for a split second and suddenly remembered their kiss at the ski cabin, of course that hadn't meant anything either. Just that... she was a little confused.

Is it bad that she wants to do it again?



Raven

Raven eyed him intently as if she was a detective trying to find out what he was hiding. And... she didn't think he was lying.

Fuck.

Why couldn't he be lying? "Wait no, I don't want that to be the end of it." It's true, she didn't want it to be.

But didn't it have to?

"I..." How was she even supposed to say it?

Raven stepped closer and closed the distance between them, placing her lips on his. The kiss was passionate and full of feelings she couldn't find the words for. And right now, she felt a lot.

After a few moments she pulled away and gazed into his eyes, she never thought she'd be here, especially with Mason of all people. But... he's the one who stuck around whenever she needed it most, he's the one who actually cared about her when no one else did.

Mason meant more to her than anyone did at this point. He's all she had left and yet, she couldn't really have him.

"I'm... leaving."

Winona​

 

[Winona]

Ava


Why did she want to kiss JJ again?

"Yeah my queen is... amazing. I wouldn't want anyone else."

Her voice was an almost hushed whisper, a quiet tone of voice that stuck in her throat for a moment. Was she being obvious? Maybe too obvious? God, it was so hard to fucking say anymore. Ava was balancing on a fine line between the eternal friendzone, and maybe a girlfriend. Something that she had never done before. Fuck, JJ had been her first kiss.

And maybe right now, she wanted JJ to be her last kiss.

Fuck it. Ava was going to go for it.

So she started to lean down, closing the distance between the two of them.

Soap​

 

[KingofAesir]

Sawyer​

Every second that passed made Sawyer feel like her world was shrinking in around her. The walls felt like traps as they seemed to be getting closer and closer, trying to suffocate her. Sawyer couldn’t stay still. The clock ticked along like it was mocking her frantic pacing back and forth. Like it was trying to tell her that time still went on, even when the love her life was on the precipice of death. Even when it felt like the world was frozen. Somewhere, someone was smiling, laughing, enjoying their goddamn prom because the world wasn’t frozen. The world didn’t care that an angel was dying. The world didn’t care that her angel was dying. The world went on and the damn clock was pounding that into her head. Sawyer wanted to smash it. The walls kept coming, closing in on her. Sawyer could barely breathe. Her vision was blurry with tears and they clouded over the sight of an equally distressed Kate sitting patiently in waiting. The room was too silent. The clock kept ticking and it seemed like it was getting louder with each second until it was so loud that Sawyer had to cover her ears. But the sound didn’t stop because it was in her head, in the pounding of her heart. Her heart that was still beating strong while Grace’s could just stop. Stop. Stop. She really needed that incessant beating to stop. Sawyer tried to focus on something else, the wind beating against the window, a fly buzzing around her head, but there was nothing. Nothing but the clock, her heart, and the squeaking of her converse against the linoleum tile. Squeaking. Sawyer narrowed in on that sound. A sound that reminded her of basketball, of running down school halls in escape from a wicked science teacher, and of laughter. Laughter. Sawyer didn’t think she’d ever heard anything more beautiful than Grace Jackson’s laugh. Laughter like summer rain, like the song of bird, a waterfall. Grace’s laughter could brighten Sawyer’s sun no matter her weather. Sawyer’s laugh was sudden, sharp, like the sound of shattering glass that crashed to a halt suddenly. But Grace’s was soft, slow, and warm like honey. Infectious. Sawyer fell in love with that laugh.

Sawyer turned to pace in a different direction and was met with the sight of the doctor making his way toward them. His brow was creased as he scanned over the clipboard in his hands. He came forward like a sudden thunderstorm, his steps echoing in Sawyer’s head like thunderclaps. The words that left his lips were like lightning striking her heart. For the first time that night everything seemed to slow down to a snail-like pace as Sawyer dragged her feet after Kate. Coma. Sawyer could remember a time in her young life when her grandmother had fallen ill. She could remember the same look that she had now on her father’s face as they were told she’d fallen into a coma. She could remember the clouds forming in his eyes each day she didn’t wake up. Sawyer had just gained her first cloud on the way to a hurricane. The time continued to move painfully slow as Kate spent time with her daughter and Sawyer could feel the storm moving closer. When Kate walked out and nodded for Sawyer to go in she rushed forward through the door and time stopped. There was Grace, lying motionless, her chest rising slowly with her breaths. Sawyer’s felt hers stop. Sawyer remembered Grace’s eyes now as they were closed. A pupil surrounded by jagged silver fire bathed in sapphire. Her closed eyes were mascara smudged and Sawyer found herself moving suddenly forward to wipe it away. She stopped just short of Grace’s face, her thumb hovering over silken skin. The thunder of her storm sounded and Sawyer fell into the chair next to Grace’s bed. She took hold of Grace’s hand, warm, familiar but foreign as it didn’t grip her back. Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.

“Hi. I-I don’t know if you can hear me but….I’m gonna talk anyway.” Sawyer choked on her words, “Listen, you’ve gotta wake up, okay? Please. You...don’t leave me. Not like this. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not being good enough for you. I’m sorry I wasn’t the one driving you to prom.” Ash. Sawyer felt a sudden surge of anger but pushed it back down into her chest, “You can’t leave me. I love you. I still need you. Don’t leave me.” The last word broke, shattered like glass but this sound wasn’t her laugh it was a desperate whine before a flood of tears returned to her face. Sawyer lowered her forehead to touch the back of Grace’s hand and time froze again as she cried next to a dying angel.

Soap

 

[Soap]

Juliette

Juliette's heart stopped at her words, not in a bad way-- gosh, definitely not in a bad way. She couldn't tell if she was leaning in because Jules was too at this moment, it didn't matter if she didn't even know if she liked girls, or whatever the hell was going on with her, the only thing she was sure of in this moment is that she liked Ava.

And wow, did she want to want to kiss her.

They leaned in closer, and closer, and right before their lips were about to touch suddenly JJ reeled back.

Whether it was pain, or a gut feeling she couldn't place. Whatever it was, nothing about it felt okay. Juliette's hands dropped from Ava's shoulders in an instant and fell to her stomach.

"Something... something's wrong."

Winona​

 

[mikaluvkitties]

Aaron & Casper​

There was only so long one boy could hide in a bathroom. Casper had passed that limit a while ago, and now he was wandering the school.

Well. Make that he had been wandering the school.

That had all come to quite the abrupt end when Casper had seen Mason, known hothead, hand drying red, kneeling near someone who looked very familiar, as he damned well should considering he was Casper's brother. A gasp left him before he could stop himself, and he ran closer as a girl Casper didn't recognize dragged Mason away.

For a second, he stared after the two, contemplating chasing after them and yelling and crying, but then he came to his senses, and dropped his gaze down, and his heart dropped. His brother's face was a mess, with blood everywhere. His eyes weren't open, and it took a terrified second to notice his breathing, shallow but there.

He knelt down, hands hovering over his brother's face. He didn't know what to do.

Aaron brushed hastily at the hands near his face, knowing that the touch would only add to the pain, and that if this person actually did anything, then this would have to become an incident.

Casper shushed him, and in that moment, he crumbled. Still, he didn't cry, even if he kind of wanted to. Casper had seen him like this. His brother, who needed him to be strong, had seen him this weak.

His heart hammered, and he tried to mutter something out as Casper finally gently prodded at his face. He hissed, and Casper frowned, realizing something had gived that shouldn't have.

"It's okay," Casper whispered, even as his vision began to blur, thoughts growing fuzzy as his heart began to pound, not quite grasping that his hands were now covered in blood. "I'm gonna... I'm gonna get you help, okay? You're... You're gonna be okay. I promise."

Casper stood with a sway. He paused for a long second, trying desperately to think, then floated in a way unfit to the speed he was lurching down the hall towards the gym.

Everything was fuzzy, and when he finally slammed his way into the gym, it was worse. His eyes were taking too long to adjust to the darkness and the bodies, but he saw a woman on the stage, and she looked like she was his mom's age, and that meant she could help.

He shoved his way through the crowd, heedless of the blood he spread, eventually clambering up the steps and approaching the woman on the stage, eyes wide and full of fear and worry.

"Can you help me? Something really bad happened..."

 

[Winona]

It was the day following prom.

Stupidly enough, given how badly Mason had beaten Aaron into a pulp, the school decided it needed to deal with the threat of him immediately. It was utterly fucking stupid, and he was sure that the annoyance and hatred was written on his face as he sat in the principal's office with none other than Elise Summers across from him.

The new principal had decided to take this new matter into her own hands. In front of her, strewn across the desk, was all of Mason's school history. Elise, of course, already had an idea of Mason from when her and Steve had briefly fostered the two brothers. But that didn't mean that she felt an ounce of remorse for him now.

She looked up from the file, eyeing the little girl beside him.

"This is my daughter, Ari." He said.

"I see," Elise moved her gaze back down to the papers in front of her. She glanced over the file once more, and then laid it down, crossed her arms on the desk, and looked at Mason. "I don't understand, Mason. You scored a 36 on your ACT. Even when they asked you to retake it, you scored perfect again. Do you know how unheard of that is?"

Mason just rolled his eyes.

"You're incredibly smart, and yet you score so low in every one of your classes. You fail to do any homework or show up for half of the classes, and yet you regularly get 100s on tests and exams. Yet you continue to... throw your life away by drinking, smoking, skipping classes, getting into fights. Mason tell me, why is that?"

"I don't have time to worry about school." Mason snapped. "I have to take care of Ariana and Drake. And now Raven just moved, so I'm living on the fucking streets again because Adriane just up and disappeared. So now I have to find somewhere for me, my three-year-old daughter, and my fucking brother to live. Why the hell do you think I'd be more worried about passing calculus than where the fuck we're going to sleep tonight?" His tone was aggressive and annoyed.

"Look, just suspend me for the rest of the year, and then give me my diploma and we can be fucking done."

"Oh, Mason." Elise said with a light chuckle. "You won't be graduating! I'm suspending you for the rest of the year, yes, but you will be attending next year, too. And I expect to see you have better grades next year, Mason." She hesitated, looking at Ari. "What was that you said about being homeless?" She asked.

Mason's dark gaze suddenly lightened, worry flooding his eyes. Protectively, he put a hand over Ari. "Don't you--"

"I will be calling social services about both Ariana and Drake immediately. Maybe without the distraction of them, you can reach your full potential. Which, of course, is the mission of Westbrook."​

 

[High5ives]

Officer Brenner
Smoke drifted up in a thin wisp from Officer Brenner's cigarette as he sat in the passenger seat of the patrol car, his partner, Officer Alvin in the driver's seat. The two old cops were quiet for a long time sipping coffee and smoking. Alvin anxiously tapped his foot on the of the squad car before finally speaking up. "We gonna do this or not?!" He snapped. Officer Brenner took another long drag and blew the smoke out of his nostrils. "You're too hotheaded. You think we can just waltz right up there and grab the Fiaco kid like it's nothing? Hell, we shouldn't even be doing this. No Warrants. No real proof of anything. You realize we could lose our jobs for this?"

Officer Alvin snapped back just as quick. "So we do nothing!? He's right there, Brenner!" Alvin shouted, pointing through the window at the black Escalade parked less than a hundred feet away. "Everyone knows he's dealing! The punk doesn't even try to hide it! Now he almost get's that West girl killed, and you want to just let him walk?!"

Officer Brenner sighed. Alvin was right. Chief of Police West was fired giving this punk a second chance, and how does the Fiaco kid pay him back? By putting his daughter in the hospital. "Fine. Let's go." The older cop grumbled, getting out of the car.


Kanen
He'd abandoned the idea of prom and retreated to the relative safety of some parking lot near an old strip mall. In the darkness of his SUV, Kanen was getting high as a kite. Fuck some stupid dance. Kanen could have more fun on his own shooting up. What good was going through life being miserable? It was easier to just get high ever night, every chance he got. As soon as he was coming down from one high, Kanen was going on to the next. If he was ever sober, it wasn't by choice. Booze or drugs, it was always on or the other.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Kanen's head slowly turned to look at the cop tapping on his window with his baton. Kanen, being the disrespectful asshole that he was, gave the cop the finger and went back to relaxing. The cop hit harder this time, which apparently was all it took to piss Kanen off.

The door to the SUV swung open and Kanen stepped out. "What the fuck, asshole!" Kanen spat, glaring down out the older cop.

Not even two seconds after getting out of the car, two tazer prongs had embedded themselves in Kanen's chest, and Kanen ended up on the ground shaking and thrashing. "F-Fuckin' pi-" Kanen couldn't finish his sentence before another wave of volts was sent through his body. When it ended, Kanen was lying face down on the pavement breathing sharp through his nose in short breaths.

"This is for West." Officer Alvin grumbled before everything went black.

-----
When Kanen woke up, he was sitting in a plain room with nothing but a metal table and a few chairs. His head was throbbing, and his whole body ached. Slowly he raised his hand to rub the back of his head, only to find cuffs on his wrists. His hands were held close to the table. It felt like ages before the door to the room opened and some asshole in a suit walked in. Kanen didn't have to look long to realize that the guy must've been a detective. In the detective's hands were a file and a large paper bag.

The detective didn't pay any mind to Kanen as he set the file down and started taking items out of the bag. First and foremost, a handgun. It was unloaded of course. Next a few bags of heroin, a bag full of random pill bottles, and finally a wad of cash. Kanen's cash. Hell, it was all Kanen's shit.

"You recognize all this?" The detective asked?

Kanen didn't answer. He wasn't dumb enough to walk himself into a trap. He'd dealt with enough cops to know not to say anything. He looked at the items though, laughing lightly to himself. "You can go ahead and get me a lawyer, alright pal?" Kanen said with a smile. "While you're at it, why don't you give your officers a little lesson on acceptable use of force? Two tazes and baton to the head seem a little extreme, don't you think?" Kanen pointed on the recorder on the table. "Yeah, lets go ahead and tell the court about Officer Bitch-face."

The Detective promptly turned the recorder off and gathered up the items again. Opening the file up, he began to read;

"Kanen James Fiaco. You have been arrested by Westbrook City Police for drug distribution and suspicion of a rather impressive list of other crimes." The Cop paused to look at Kanen. "The judge has already denied your bail. You'll be staying in county until the time of your trial, when that is, I really couldn't give a fuck."

The Detective closed the file. "I hope the judge lets your ass rot." He grumbled as he went to the door. "Couple Officers will be by to pick your sorry ass up and transfer you to county. Expect your trial to be put on the fucking back-burner." With that said, the Detective left, and Kanen was alone, left to think about everything that had happened. Where the fuck had any of this even come from?! Why now?! What changed to get his ass locked up now!? Whatever it was, Kanen was livid. Whoever was responsible, there'd be hell to pay.

The Lord said to Kane, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

Genesis; 4: 6,7​