Snippet #2333643

When Jackson’s first reaction was to laugh in the most patronizing of ways, Drake merely looked at him, face showing not a single emotion. It sounded bitter and angry. Well fine, if he was going to be a dick about it, there wasn’t much more Drake could do, now was there? The guy would come around. Maybe. Likewise, Drake merely observed Jackson as he spoke, the Irish drawl much stronger due to his apparent irritation. “That’s what I’m saying,” he said calmly even as Jackson looked as though he wanted to rip his head off. Well, living with him was certainly going to be fun in the future, wasn’t it? Lovely.

And finally they then got to the bottom of why the guy was really so fucking pissed. It wasn’t that Drake didn’t get why Jackson would be upset, because he was fairly certain he wouldn’t be singing and dancing if the roles had been reversed, but he’d at least be able to grasp the fact that there was no reason to ruin a friendship over a girl. That much was up to Jackson, because Drake wasn’t going to be forced to choose. That simply wasn’t how things should work. Where the two of them went from here was more or less up to Jackson.

Drake didn’t speak a single word for a very long time as he listened, looking at Jackson with that unexpressive mien. He sat himself on the bed once he’d finished, a slight sigh escaping him as he wondered what he should do. Jackson and Drake hadn’t taken long to develop a friendship when the Noctrem students firs joined the Arcana ones. Honestly it had only been a matter of time. After all, Jackson hosted most of the parties here, and Drake was a rather active participant in any party. Plus, he had always been the resident booze-supplier at Noctrem whether he’d wanted to be or not.

It was actually a real friendship on Drake’s side of things as well, which was rare, and so Drake honestly wasn’t too fond of this situation. It was a fucking mess, was what it was. He would hurt either Jackson or Lulu no matter what he did, and he’d come to genuinely care for both of them. The difference was that if he chose to be with Lulu, only Jackson would have to deal with hurting, but if he dumped Lulu, they’d both be miserable. Lulu would want to be with Drake, and Jackson would want to be with Lulu. No one was happy. Not even Drake.

Apparently Jackson needed time to himself right now though, so Drake was going to give it to him, and hopefully things would clear up later. Hell, one could hope right? He stood then, picking up the key from the nightstand to unlock the guy whom he would’ve called his best friend only a day before. Now he didn’t know where they stood. Fucking feelings. Sometimes they were a real bloody bother. “Yeah well, you can’t blame me forever either,” he finally said as he leaned in over Jackson, about to unlock the first handcuff when the ground started rumbling. He straightened, frowning as he looked around. It only took a second for the trembling to move into full scale earthquake, and as it did, Drake flew into motion.

“We’ve gotta get out of here,” he rushed out as he hastily unlocked the first cuff, but before he was able to move to the next, an especially violent quake had him stumbling a step back and as he did, a piece of ceiling began twisting itself free. Drake looked up, mumbling “shit” as it hit Jackson’s still locked hand. He rushed over, carefully unlocking the now broken hand. “You okay?” He asked on a rush, but he didn’t get more out as he was about to straighten before another piece of ceiling fell, landing smack on his back. He yelled out a curse, resting his hands on the bed for a second as he drew in a deep breath, trying to force his body to move. Awesome. Just… perfect. They needed to get out of there. He needed to get out. He needed to make sure Cor was okay. And Lulu.

He closed his eyes briefly before forcefully straightening himself, clenching his teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain. “C’mon,” he forced out at Jackson before he ran, his back aching painfully with every step. It didn’t matter. First they needed to get outside.

Once Drake was out, expecting Jackson to be behind him since he had heard no cries of pain behind him, his head whipped around, searching for any of the people he actually gave a damn about. Spotting Lulu, he let out a sigh of relieve as he rushed over. She looked as stunned as he felt, btu he barely had time to register. He needed to find… Cor… and Erin… and fucking hell. Why were they not out here? Drake pressed his lips to Lulu’s briefly, cupping her cheek as he looked into her eyes only to rush out “You have no idea how happy I am to see that you’re okay.”

He didn’t even know what came over him. Adrenaline perhaps. In any case, he ran back towards the school then, towards the rooms. First one he came by was Erin’s, but where was Cor then? Hell, why was he even worrying? They were big girls and… his line of thought froze instantly as he took in the state of Erin’s room. This school was breaking apart and Erin was fucking unconscious. He rushed over to check her breathing. Okay, she was alive and he didn't have time to dwell. He drew in a deep breath as he called on every shadow in his relative proximity. Fortunately there were enough for what he intended.

The shadows shaped into a human-like shape, arms and legs functioning perfectly. It was soft, yet firm, so it’d work. He mentally ordered it to carry Erin out. The shadows couldn’t get hurt, yet it could protect. It was perfect. The man-like shadow moved quickly as Drake briefly nodded, rushing through the school then in search of his younger sister, yet she was nowhere in sight and… wait. She couldn’t still be with Max, could she? Cor never spent the night with guys who weren’t Jay. But then, there was a first time for everything, right? There was only one issue. The fucking door to the teachers’ wing was locked.

He drew in a deep breath as he reached it, looking around him for any shadows he could possibly use. It took barely a second for him to decide that they were no good, and so, narrowing his eyes at the wood, he stepped back and directed a firm kick right at its center. It cracked and he kicked again… and again… and again, until it was torn enough for him to get through. Then he looked around. He most likely lived in the room on whose door it said “Max Henderson”, and so Drake knocked on it furiously. “Max! Cor!” He shouted, hoping for some kind of reply. Some sign of life.