Asher Costello's Story

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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Bea glared at Scarlet with narrowed eyes, it was so hard not to bring personal issues into things, how could Scarlet tell her to 'shut the fuck up', Bea wasn't the one who'd gone around blurting over people's secrets. Bea was still far from getting over Scarlet blurting out Bea's bisexuality when Bea first moved to town. After everybody found out, Bea endured years and years of bullying; it'd haunted her self-esteem every since, the girl she'd loved had been her bully and it was all because of the stupid little God squad deluded bitch everybody else called Scarlet. Bea couldn't stand her, she still couldn't- she felt she was patronising and arrogant and a backstabbing- she stopped her trial of thought there because she far too close to exploding in Scarlet's face, her skeletal hands formed quivering weak fists at her side.

It didn't help when Scarlet was talking to her brother and she said; 'Bea never liked me.' in fact, it only added to the fire because in her head Bea was screaming, 'I did like you, you just outed me to out to the whole fucking town.' Her blood was almost boiling, the more she looked at the girl the more she wanted to throw a punch at her but Bea was past that. She'd fought enough kids at school, she couldn't bring that into her life again.

She also remembered that Asher had brought the girl- was her name Charlotte? Charlie? Carly? She couldn't remember now but she didn't want her first impression of her to be something awful like violent or psychopathic. So for those reasons, she bottled it. She could always want to Alby later. Even though he and Scarlet were on good terms, he always heard Bea out and could often agree with her even if he didn't intervene and get involved in the conflict.

When she saw how upset Sam was she was crushed and she looked at Scarlet and mumbled sourly; "I always knew you were a backstabber, didn't realise you were a sadist too- really? You set your brother on him like this after everything?" She stormed off from Scarlet to reconcile with Sam and Alby because she knew she'd lose the will to keep quiet if she stayed in Scarlet's presence any longer.

"Sam, you okay honey? It's okay. He's not gonna do anything, he's a dick Sam. But it's okay, They've gone outside, it's fine now," She sighed, she'd thought about touching his arm or hugging him- just offering some kind of reassurance but didn't want to startle to him anymore than Joshua had. So she relented from that and merely offered her support by presence and words.

She was relieved when Asher walked in with a naturally pretty brunette besides him and Bea offered up a kind but exhausted smile. "Ash, it's been ages. How you doing?" She asked gently looking over at the two. She smiled at the girl welcomingly and offered her name; "I'm Bea,"

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"I might be a boxer but by now means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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"I'm really sorry but it's okay. They're not inside with the others, so I'll introduce you and trust me; they're all genuinely nice people but they're protective? I guess, that's Bea you heard shouting but she's only like that when it comes to her friends I promise," He laughed nervously trying to assure himself it was okay and this kind of drama wasn't too abnormal. "Well, shall we?" He chuckled. "We can come back for our stuff let's just get introductions sorted first," He suggested leading the way up to the house.

Bea noticed their presence instantly and he briefly hugged the girl upon greeting though it felt like only half of her was there; Christ she'd lost so much weight since he last saw her and her summer tan was long gone replaced with pastiness and hollow eyes. "I'm good, been training hard across the country. Glad to be back around though; how you doin'? Bea, this is Charlie, Charlie Bea," He introduced calmly with a charming smile.

"You still doing you're arty farty crap?" He asked her jokingly and Bea smirked.

"Yeah still crap at it," She laughed softly. "I'd ask if you're still beating people up but you're not going to be training for regional gymnastics are y'. Well anyway, it's nice to meet you Charlie," She chimed gently. "Sorry about well, all of that. That's not normal for us really, to be honest,"

"So you're the one who knocked up my sister eh?"

Alby froze.

It wasn't one of his finer moments, he had to admit, but to be fair...he'd never been one for physical confrontation. He was snarky, he'd never had to actually use his fists for anything. He wouldn't know where to even start, getting between Sam and whoever-the-hell-that-guy-was. They were both bigger than him, anyway.

Didn't stop him from feeling like he should have done something. Because it would be all too easy to end up kneeling over Sam's still body again, moving fingers over his bruised throat, wondering if he was going to make it.

"So you're the one who knocked up my sister eh?"

Bea. Bea was the one who moved. So small, so fragile, and yet so much braver than he would ever be. She was snapping out something that he'd probably be proud of her for, under normal circumstances. Ash was there. Weird, he hadn't seen Ash in forever. Why was the whole word a little fuzzy, suddenly?

Did Scarlet just swear?

He was going to puke.

The blonde was out of the house in seconds, and Alby barely recognized her about-to-cry-face, as usual becoming torn about rather he should go to her, or Sam...

Sam won. Sam always won. Which was probably part of the reason why he'd ended up here.

"So you're the one who knocked up my sister eh?"

Finally, Alby moved. Bea had gotten to his boyfriend first, but in an attempt to put things back to normal, she was now talking to Asher and whoever that girl was. Alby didn't recognize her. He didn't really care, either. All he cared about was Sam. His Sam, who looked more than a little shaken.

Had he even realized what Scarlet's dumb ass brother had said? Had he put the pieces together? Did he know yet that Alby was even more of a dick than he'd accepted months ago?

Alby moved slowly across the room, and his hands shook a little as he reached for his boyfriend. "Sam?" he asked, trying to sound normal, calm, okay. "You alright?"

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The pressure on his chest wasn't easing at all, and everything suddenly seemed so loud. The only thing that stood out to him about Scarlet not only screaming at Bea, but also swearing, was only that it was too loud. But he didn't want to move, didn't want to be alone in case something was wrong, more wrong than he thought.

He just nodded as Bea spoke to him, not even taking in what she was saying, but instantly regretted it as soon as she moved away from him. Even though he was fully aware of how well he was breathing, of the absence of any human contact, let alone any threatening contact, he was still terrified. He couldn't get it out of his head, no matter how hard he tried. And then he suddenly realised what had been said, what he'd missed in his panic.

"So you're the one who knocked up my sister, eh?"
"Joshua, leave, that isn't Alby, that's Sam-"

In his mindset, it didn't seem to make sense- Scarlet and knocked up in the one sentence? With Alby thrown in there for good measure? It had to be some kind of mistake, it couldn't be true.

And then somebody put their hands on his arms, and he started a little- but then, when he realised it was Alby, leaned into his boyfriend. "Yeah, he didn't hurt me," he said, unable to say that he was fine. Because with what he'd just heard and the panic that still gripped his chest and mind, he wasn't fine. He just wanted a hug and a reassurance that everything was fine, that it was all some giant mix-up.

"Things I do for you, you fucking prick- he thought I was you," he muttered, wrapping his arms around Alby. He just wanted to stay like that and just relax.



Bea was... not what she was expecting. From the description, she'd been expecting somebody... bigger. But instead, Bea was waif-like- smaller even than Charlie herself, who struggled to keep some of her meals down thanks to some of her medication, and whose illness was determined to strip her body of anything that made her look healthy. But she had a friendly smile, and she accepted Charlie immediately.

"Likewise," she replied, then laughed at her comment. "It's fine, seriously- at least now we have something to talk about, right?" She said, shrugging a little and grinning. She thought of the bottles of pills hidden under her clothes in her bag and resisted the temptation to grimace. Taking them without anyone noticing wouldn't be easy- and skipping them wasn't an option. Not when she was barely recovered from that string of bad days, and especially not when it looked like she was going to have a few tiring days.

"So, Ash, you going to do the gentlemanly thing and introduce me to everyone else?" She asked, nudging him in the side with her elbow and grinning at him.

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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"I might be a boxer but by no means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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Her immediate impression of Charlie was positive, she struck her as being a girl with a bit of character and spunk; chill, likable but maybe kind of weird too. Bea would be happy to hang out with her so she was very open and welcoming towards her, she knew she was pretty a cool person and Asher was an incredibly harsh judge of character so she figured Charlie must be quite something for Ash to be hanging out with her, especially if he was going to bring her to meet all of his friends. That was what set it all in stone to her, trust of Ash's judgement.

Beatrice smiled softly, she was relieved to hear Sam talking to Alby and kept checking on the two over her shoulders but she didn't interrupt them- they needed each other and there was nothing she respected more than that, except maybe Vincent Van Goth or Sylvia Plath. She tilted her head slightly in agreement with Charlie's comment and chuckled softly; "Aha- yeah, could look at it that way. I'd offer you a drink but nothing is cold yet unless you want tap water?" She offered gently shrugging her shoulders a little. It only took her a couple of moments and she returned with one bag of food and drink, then another with all her personal bits in.

"Fuck, we better all talk sleeping arrangements and rooms now before someone gets pissy and tries to call shot gun, dibs or anything of that nature. I'm banning all of those things before they even start," She laughed gently as she set the food down in the kitchen and began to unpack drinks and food into the fridge and freezer, placing a set of Mexican beers- 'Coronas' specifically in the freezer just so they'd chill quickly and be something they could drink soon.

"Of course I am, I was just going to let everyone settle again but I-" He was cut off by Scarlet's brother who Asher would openly admit to not being best impressed by (as would Bea) but he remained politely and nodded, keeping his thoughts to himself and letting everything go. He personally thought the guy was a bit of a cock if he was going to throw himself at any old guy and then continue to call a bunch of legal adults 'younguns'. Though he figured his opinion on the other guy was irrelevant and to both of their relief, he left anyway and Bea whistled lowly and as ever refusing to keep her opinions to herself, she scorned quietly without waiting to check if he was out of ear shot; "Dickhead,".

Ash sighed and rolled his eyes. "For god's sake Bea," He sighed with a small laugh. "So, introductions. This lovely lady," He announced swaying over to Scarlet with a polite smile. "-is Scarlet Richardson the responsible. She and Bea have age old beef- no one knows why," He shrugged. He was about to introduce her to Alby and Sam but stopped himself when he noticed the intimacy of their private moment. It looked slightly...romantic but he'd never known Sam to be gay or the two in a relationship. He was surprised but didn't assume it to be true because he was only guessing off one moment but Alby, Alby was openly gay; Christ, he'd probably been out longer than Bea- so there was that. He shrugged it off because it was none of his business but he looked at Charlie and bit his tongue a little. "I'll introduce you to the guys in a little bit, I think they're having a moment, but Scarlet, Charlie, Charlie, Scarlet," He explained, praying Scarlet wouldn't interrogate him about his 2 month disappearance. He'd obviously tell them he'd been training but he didn't like lying about it, it made his stomach churn with anxiety and sickness.

Asher was an incredibly honourable, focused, moral, ethical and respectable person in terms of courting, socialising and politics; all of that he took very seriously and valued highly so to be reduced to lying to his closest friends to cover up the fact a stupid disease was eating away at his life expectancy came to him as being incredibly troubling and challenging.

"Guys, I'm going to grab my bag out the car. I've got some drinks too, so I'll make sure to put some beers in the freezer so we've got something drinkably cold in the next ten minutes," She explained before walking out the front to retrieve her things from her car.

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Feeling Alby's arms around him was the first thing to relieve any of the pressure on his chest. Alby's tone of voice gave away his concern, but Sam didn't react or care. He was already feeling better- and even if he wasn't going to admit it to Alby, it was mostly just because of his boyfriend's presence.

He looked up as Joshua reappeared, with an apology that was clearly written by Scarlet. Sam managed to grin a little, but ended up just rolling his eyes at the half-assed apology that came from Joshua himself. But when Joshua spoke to Alby, Sam's whole body turned cold. The only reason he would be telling Alby to look after Scarlet was if.. If... If what hadn't made sense before was true.

And that feeling only got worse as Alby said they needed to talk. Sam sighed, nodding a little. "Not here," was all he said by way of reply. He grabbed his boyfriend's hand and led him upstairs, to the room where he'd dumped his bags. Everything felt numb- the pressure on his chest was gone, replaced with a strange hollowness like somebody had ripped out his lungs. He sat down heavily on the bed, running his hands through his hair.

"Tell me I've got it wrong, that... that I've somehow misunderstood, that this isn't actually happening," he forced out. The thought of Scarlet being pregnant was strange enough, but the thought of Alby... he couldn't even think it. It felt so wrong. And all he could think about was the questions- how long? When did it happen? Had... had he and Alby been together when it happened? It felt like a bad dream, like a monster was about to leap out of the closet and murder them both. But at least then, he'd be able to wake up at some point. If this was happening, then... this wasn't something he could wake up from.



She laughed at Ash's response, swatting his arm gently. "I'm winding you up, you idiot," she said. But then they were interrupted by the guy from before, who gave a thoroughly unbelievable apology. Charlie watched the whole thing with an arched eyebrow. Her expression didn't change as Scarlet started rambling about food- but then Charlie quickly realised that she was either trying to avoid interrogation or just get it all behind them. So when Asher led her over to meet her, Charlie grinned.

"I've heard most go for pizza at these kinds of things, but if you want to cook, I'll pitch in," she said once Ash had introduced them. "Tell me, how much shit have you heard about me from Ash?" She asked, looking over at Ash and grinning teasingly at him. "I'll confirm what's true and what's not," she continued, looking more at Ash than Scarlet.

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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"I might be a boxer but by no means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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Ash looked away embarrassedly, though there was nothing Scarlet could bring up because he hadn't spoken to anyone since the party, he was embarrassed because he knew if he had, he'd have said far too much to get away with. He kind of bit his lip, whilst the two girls spoke a bad habit of his that always occurred under pressure or nerve, this kind of social interaction brought him amounts of anxiety because he could feel the weight of Charlie's eyes on him, she was digging (not in a malicious way, a curious one) but it did worry him. He didn't understand why but these things always did, he always felt like he'd disappoint or do the wrong thing.

Bea kind of stalked off when Scarlet was brought into the conversation. Her hatred for the other girl was out of the question so she abandoned the situation to get her things and choose a room to set up her things the way she wanted to.

Asher sighed as he watched Bea go but turned his attention back to Scarlet and Charlie. He thought about the offer but shook his head lightly. "I can't I'm afraid, thanks for the offer though Scarlet," He replied calmly, as always if he wasn't thinking about family, friends or TB; he was thinking about his boxing career. "Charlie do you need anything from the car? I was just gonna lock it quickly before I forget,"

Outside, Bea lingered alone. She'd been crippled by cramps lately and not even menstrual related cramps and when she put a hand against her front, she could feel her ribs even through her t-shirt. She hated it and her weight had gotten to a point now where she was scared but she didn't know what to do. She leaned against the wall and lit a cigarette, popping it between her teeth for a moment to put her lighter away and then inhaling deeply. She held the toxic smoke in her lungs for a long moment, testing herself but she didn't last long; she was so weak anyway in seconds her lips were forced to part to allow the poison out and the oxygen in. She sighed shaking her head, she shouldn't have come. The idea of wearing a swim suit made her choke and her stomach churn with nausea but it was practically inevitable at a beach holiday.

She gaze down at her body setting her free hand on her stomach and grimacing with shame. She almost felt the urge to cry as she thought about it but she was Beatrice Candor, of course she didn't but she thought about it. She refused to though and did the typical Bea thing, she kept smoking, then stubbed it out and collected her bags like nothing was wrong and like nothing was falling apart.

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Scarlet was pregnant. And Alby was the father. Sam couldn't even look at Alby. He just stared at the floor a foot or so in front of his feet, feeling like he was about to hurl. "Were you going to tell me about you two sleeping together? Or did that just come into it when you found out she was pregnant?" He asked. He was angry, he was confused, he was afraid... Because what did the future hold for them? No matter what way he looked at it, it wasn't going to end well.

"Of all people, it had to be Scarlet. Scarlet motherfucking Richardson, second only to Mother Theresa herself," he said. "Why?" He demanded, finally managing to look up at Alby. "How the hell did you get yourself into this mess?" He asked, running his hands down his face. Of all people, Scarlet. Scarlet, the perfect church-girl. His life just seemed to be going from one train-wreck to another. A sudden, sharp, cold shock, ran down his back as he realised that, before long, he mightn't have anywhere to stay. What if Alby kicked him out? What if they broke up? All he could think about was "What if...?"

Everything had been going so well, and now it was all crashing around his shoulders.



She smiled at Scarlet's comment and nodded. The baking actually looked really good, so she snagged a brownie and took a bite of it. "Oh my god, Scarlet, these are so good," she remarked once she'd swallowed. It was then that she spotted Bea leaving, and it took her a second to reply to Ash. "What? Oh, uh, don't worry, I'll go get it myself. You stay here and catch up with your friends," she said, swiping another brownie and heading outside. Once her bags were retrieved, she approached Bea, the brownie held out as an offering.

"They'll kill you someday, you know," she remarked lightly, nodding her head at the cigarette. She shouldered the heavier of her bag and sighed. "Bea, are you okay? It's just... even after that argument, you look way worse than anyone else. I know we've only just met, but even so, I like you. And, I spoke to Scarlet for thirty seconds and felt like I was talking to a priest. And now I need to talk to someone who's not so... saintly," she said, grinning a little.

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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Bea, jolted slightly when she heard Charlie's voice and quickly let go of her stomach. The comment about cigarettes made her laugh a little. Bea didn't mind though, she was hardly going to be defensive or snotty about it; she knew exactly what she was doing and the only reason she didn't bother quitting because what was the point when you considered all her other bad habits? "To be honest with you Charlie, it's not my worst habit," She sighed gently and she looked over at the girl with a perfectly welcoming expression but she did appear mildly confused by the other girl's kindness and how she approached her.

You okay?

She thought about the question for a long time, far too long for someone who was okay and she shrugged her shoulders gently. "I would be, if I could control a few things in my life- if you know what I mean," She explained vaguely but softly. "Kind of self conscious, don't want to put a swimming suit on but that's juvenile- I can handle that. Kind of pissed off and I think you've already picked up on how that's aimed at. It goes way back though our issues, please don't judge me for my reaction earlier and I'm kind of upset but don't really know why- probably due my period," She tried to joke afterwards but it wasn't funny and the forced scoff of laughter she made tasted like ash in her mouth.

She liked Charlie and she also liked the expression behind Ash's eyes that she'd noticed as he'd introduced her. Ash was clearly happy with he company and as his friend, it made Bea kind of happy too and put Charlie well in her good books.

"Yeah, I get what you mean about Scarlet but fuck those things anyway, girl to girl- tell me about Ash," She encouraged with a gentle expression. Bea was the definition of rough diamond appearance wise; she had the face of an angel and great skin but she was skeletal and her hair was kind too short, she sometimes wandered if she grew her hair would people like her more? Would it make her prettier? Then there was her personality, always with good intentions, artistic, talented but tragically flawed with her worst habits, weakness, dependency, loneliness. A rough diamond. She thought about herself biologically all her genetic factors were great but the environmental factors; the ones that changed her the most- they'd left her pitiful and something people gaze at in dismay or despair. She knew the look too well.

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"I might be a boxer but by now means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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"You okay Scarlet?" Ash asked gently looking over at her, she didn't seem her self. Of course, he hadn't seen her for at least two months but she something was very off and different about her- he couldn't understand it though. Although Ash was far from a Christian and an infamous low key bad boy, he did respect that Scarlet may believe whatever it was she wanted to- he wouldn't prejudge her for that or mock her. He found Bible text quite interesting and beautiful to listen to anyway, he just didn't believe it. "Come on, catch me up. I haven't seen anybody for like two months, I'm gagging for the gossip," He told her, trying to lighten the mood. He sat down at the kitchen table and looked at her with a friendly expression.

And Bea, Bea looked terrible but he wouldn't even try and talk to her about things, she was far too defensive and 'shouty' so he'd leave her be. Alby would look out for her anyway, he trusted that couldn't have changed even in two long months.

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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A normal person in this situation might have the done the whole; 'Don't be silly babe, you're gorgeous! I'm so jealous!' but going through what she had gone through, Bea was quite away there was nothing worse than dishonesty, sympathy and fake compliments. Charlie, she credited as being an intelligent person, one who wouldn't appreciate a false comment anyway even if it was meant to be a pleasant one. She smiled at the other girl and simply nodded understandingly, a silent' 'I get you'. She let the subject pass and laughed gently as she began to talk about Asher.

She took a long drag from her cigarette, inhaling deeply but politely blowing the fumes in the opposite direction to Charlie figuring she wasn't a smoker after her previous comment. She knew Ash well enough to know he was a raging feminist and huge on respecting women but she hadn't figured it was to the extent Charlie described and she laughed briefly, it wasn't unbelievable.

"Aha yeah, he's high maintenance too- with his hair I mean. I used to wind him up that he only boxed to try and keep his masculinity," She joked gently but the laughter turned into ash in her mouth the moment Charlie suddenly doubled over, Bea quickly moved to help hold her up, her cigarette falling from her finger tips onto the pavement as she moved setting her arm gently around her shoulder to support her. She was kind of shock and lost her voice for a long, frightening moment. Charlie's expression of pain shook Bea to the core.

"Fuck Charlie, you okay? Is there anything I can do? What's wrong?" She asked anxiously, not quite sure what to do. She'd never been in a situation like this and had no idea of why she might be in pain. It panicked her but she didn't want to alarm the others in case Charlie wouldn't want that and she overcomplicated it all so much in her head, she ended up doing nothing but holding Charlie's shoulders and talking to her.

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"I might be a boxer but by now means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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Ash was slightly caught off guard and alarmed by Scarlet's sudden off load and he had to consciously stop himself from physically wincing as her pitch wavered throughout the rant but he obviously was prepared to listen to her and hear out. He'd do it for any one of his friends or even a stranger really.

"Shit Scarlet, chill out, take a seat just talk me through it. No one's world is ending. You know me, so just talk to me. What's happened? I know Bea's a bit fucked, I could tell when I saw her but she's got Alby and Sam. So let's ignore that for now. Alby and Sam dating is hardly a problem if they're happy. So what's happened to you Scarlet? Why is everyone going to judge you?" He exhaled gently looking over at her, surprisingly calm considering, he shrugged at her question about Charlie.

"She's not technically my girlfriend, we're just...I don't know, hanging out but I like her, y'know," He avoided answering where he'd met her because it put the thought of hospitals and tuberculosis in his head. The 60% chance he had of death before he was 22. He shuddered at the thought and closed his eyes trying to collect his thoughts. "Just in town, but tell me what's going on. You're upset about something aren't you?" He replied to her eventually, answering the question the way he did because it was the closest to the truth he could get without revealing that something was wrong.

"I party all night, I laugh till I cry,"

Laugh Till I Cry | The Front Bottoms || Kids Just Wanna Dance | Emily's Army || Drown | Elizabeth Grace

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Bea relaxed a little when the girl started talking again, she let go of the other girl and sat down besides her when Charlie sank to the floor. "I wouldn't. Trust me, if there's anyone in this house who understands hiding a weakness or flaw or problem, it's me. It's okay, I won't tell anybody," She assured gently, offering a reassuring smile, hoping that she'd start to feel better soon because Bea wouldn't admit it out loud but Charlie had kind of freaked her out a little back then, but she seemed to be a lot better now. Slightly short of breath but she didn't look agonised like she had done.

She thought about the girl's question and her lip curled inwards between her teeth anxiously. She closed her eyes and took a breath before slowly nodding her head. "Okay...okay, secret for a secret. What's your explanation then?" She asked lightly. She really hoped this wasn't going to be a massive thing, ghoul stones or something and Charlie was just a bit embarrassed about it and hadn't had treatment yet but she was booked in for the weekend and it'd be fine because then Bea wouldn't have to tell her anything huge. Maybe she could tell her about being an obsessive drinker but she wouldn't have to confess the darkest of her sins.

The one sin she couldn't resist and help, the one sin that in itself could be the end of her. She knew even from the beginning, the true darkness and danger of her habit and she didn't even understand how she'd fallen this far for it to be this big of a problem but it had and now one way or another she had to deal with it or it was only going to end one way and that would be her name added to a list before it was turned into a statistic for a study with a title like; 'Number of teenage deaths involving drugs' or '2016 Number of fatal drug overdose cases'.

Her stomach churned.

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"I might be a boxer but by now means am I a fighter,"

Gum | Moose Blood || We Had A Pact | Creeper || Figuring It Out | SWMRS

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Ash listened to her patiently, not reacting at all until she'd had a chance to get everything on her chest and get her point across. He didn't interrupt her, he didn't pull any faces- he didn't even move, he just watched her speak and nodded along at times. He couldn't believe what she was saying though but he hid his surprise incredibly well, it wasn't even hinted at across his angular, strong face. Not even a sign of what he was thinking or feeling appeared; like he always had done, he portrayed the perfect mask. He'd fallen into the habit of wearing such a mask a lot more as of late, considering his current predicament.

He heard her out and sighed softly when she finished; "Shit Scarlet, how'd you manage that one huh?" He asked sympathetically. "Well, I can't make the kid disappear, Alby less gay or anything but I can promise you one thing and that's maybe with the exception of Bea, everyone's gonna have your back Scarlet. You won't have to do anything alone, y'know that right? I can't say your parents will be chill because their catholic right? And I don't want to lie to you, maybe they'll fine, maybe not- I couldn't possible no, but I'm not going to fill you on false hope but even if they take it really badly and throw you out, we'd all help you out. You could probably stay with Alby if you needed till you could get on your feet, we could all help with doing things for you to keep things afloat- Scar, you'll be fine. This isn't going to ruin your life y'know, just be calm okay. Be you, every thing that's ever happened between everyone here you've been the one to keep your cool about it. Just approach it with a clear mind and you'll be fine," He told her all of this without thinking into it too much because he wanted to straight up tell her the truth without sugar coating or over thinking anything, so he just went for it, rambled his words a bit and told her what he genuinely thought and he could only hope his honesty would be appreciated it because in truth, he didn't really have anything else to offer.

"Oh, you asshole," Alby muttered, a reluctant smile lighting up his still hidden face. Finally, he pulled back a little, shot Sam a look. "Although, if you think my coffee is terrible, then that means it really was me you were coming back for, all that time." He wanted to pop off something sarcastic about daring someone to come looking for them, but...it didn't really seem the time. How did one go about making jokes concerning their sex life...when one had slept with someone else?

Guilt was an odd, gross feeling.

Still, Alby sighed and took the hand that was offered to him, puling himself to his feet. Facing the music meant facing the fact that their problems were real...but he figured he was going to have to deal with that eventually. So he nodded, kept Sam's hand in his, and started downstairs.

He found Scarlet an Ash first, which...he just really didn't want to deal with. Because for one thing: awkward. For another, Scarlet just had a lot of feelings...and Alby not knowing how to deal with those feelings was part of the reason why they were in this mess to begin with. "Hope you enjoyed the show, Ash," he joked, reluctant to let go of Sam's hand just yet. "We only get that dramatic on Saturdays and every other Thursday so, count yourself lucky."

He caught Scarlet's gaze and felt his smile drop a little, but not disappear. "We're okay," he offered. "We should probably talk later but...not right now, alright?" He felt like he said that to her a lot, but he also felt like there was only so much he could drag Sam through at one time...and it wasn't like any of them are going anywhere for awhile.

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"Well, that and the fact that everybody else made great coffee," he teased. He found himself a little glad when Alby didn't drop his hand. It made it a little easier to forget that everything else that had happened. Well, that and it was a reminder that he had one less secret to keep. He didn't have to keep Alby a secret any more.

He just laughed at Alby's comment about drama, but found himself completely unable to look at Scarlet. "Screw this, I'm getting a beer," he said, squeezing Alby's hand briefly before letting go and going over to the fridge. "Who's for a drink?" He asked, holding up a chilled bottle of beer.



She shrugged at Bea's comments. "I'm honestly not that selfless- I left my mom at home to worry about me because I wanted to go travelling. And... yeah. I don't want pity, you know? If I can't beat this, then I'm still going to fight and stay myself for as long as possible." She laughed a little at Bea's offer. "I might take you up on that sometime, you know."

She fell silent at Bea's revelation, and stayed silent for a few seconds after Bea finished talking, still processing what she'd just heard. Part of her was angry at Bea- after all, it was her own fault that she'd ended up this sick. But then Bea's words about mental health issues came back to her, and Charlie found herself completely unable to be angry.

"Bea, you're sick too. Addiction is an illness, and if it's because of your mental health, then that just makes you even sicker, you know? Okay, I think I win this one, but that doesn't mean your problems are any less. Even if you did get yourself into this mess. And as long as you don't mention a godforsaken thing to Ash, I'll keep my mouth shut to Alby," she said, smiling at Bea.

"But Bea, seriously, this isn't something you should go through by yourself. You could end up dead. Things aren't going to get any better if you just keep your mouth shut, you know? Especially not with something like addiction. I know I only just met you, but I really like you, and it's not hard to tell that pretty much everyone else likes you too. And don't you dare ever feel bad about calling me at any time, okay? I'll call you when I feel like shit, and you call me whenever you need a chat. Deal?"

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She nodded understandingly, but after she confessed she couldn't look at her. Saying it out loud made everything sound so much more criminal and villainous. In her own mind, it wasn't her fault. She was bullied, she wanted to fit in, it went too far.

"If it makes anything less stupid and me less easy to loathe, anxiety became before addiction- but you are right it's my own fault. Even if I didn't mean for it, want it or welcome it- maybe the way I felt at the start and my situation wasn't entirely fault but what I did after that was. I'm sorry- you'd be within your own rights to hate me for it but I'm fighting it as much as I can. I didn't bring any with me, if I go all weekend it'd be the first I've done since I was 17," She admitted.

She smiled sadly at her. "Thank you Charlie," She uttered quietly.

"I know, I just can't put it on them y'know? I could, I nearly have before but I don't know. I can't tell them now," She murmured. "Thank you Charlie, deal." She answered simply, relaxing again just slightly. "I'm sorry Charlie, for my dickheadness and for what you're going through, I just wanted to say to be honest with you," She replied running a hand through her heavy dark hair.

"Shall we go back? I don't know about you but I could really do with a drink and probably a hug from my best friend too," She laughed softly at her immaturity, soft nature and childishness. She smiled at the other girl as the conversation turned to silence and suddenly her energy and spirit seemed to rush back. "Come on, fuck the bags. It'll be far more entertaining to try and bring them in after a few drinks," She joked before leading the way back inside and shouting at her best friend; "Alby Bloody Johnson, get your ass over here," She shouted looking for him as she walked back inside, looking for him without an ounce of patience.