Mountain Brook

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His feet pounded against the ground in a constant, steady rhythm, as his workout playlist blasted in his ears. It was something familiar, something calming. He'd had an interview with the police that morning, and it had gone... Well, it could have gone worse, but it also could have gone a hell of a lot better. The only person he'd been with at the time was Alby, and he hadn't been willing to tell the police about him. Even things said in confidence in this town had a habit of getting around- especially when everyone had money and nobody was above taking bribes. So he didn't have an alibi, and now the police were suspicious about him.

He slowed to a walk as he neared town again, pausing the music and pulling out his headphones as he tapped into his messages. He needed to get a bottle of water somewhere, he'd forgotten to bring one with him. As he headed into a shop, he texted Alby.

"managed to escape the prison guards for a few hours. where do you wanna meet?"

His brother had brought home yet another girl last night, and it was getting to the point where Sam was genuinely starting to believe that he was doing it just to rub it in Sam's face. His parents refused to budge on the boyfriend matter, and now the police had their suspicions about him. Sam shut the door of the fridge a little too harshly and received a glare from the old woman behind the counter. She'd never liked teenagers in her shop, but ever since the murder, apparently she'd started leaving a gun under the counter.

Sam paid for his drink and went back outside to wait for Alby's reply and to drink his water. He just really wanted this whole mess to be over. He just wanted to be able to hang out with Alby at home. He just wanted someone else's life right now.

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Caffee Luxxe was really ridiculously fancy for a Coffee shop. Dark wooden floors, warm red walls, plush armchairs and matching side tables. There was a brick fireplace and plush rugs, vintage hipster-style decorations and more coffees than Alby could even really pronounce. But for whatever reason, it was a hit with the teenagers, and basically his second home.

Technically, it was his day off, but he'd picked up Roxanne's shift since she'd covered for him the night before. His interview with the police had run over time, because he'd panicked. It didn't show outwardly, he didn't think. Probably just made him look like every other snot nosed teen who thought he knew his rights but really didn't. Not when they were just being 'talked to'. At first, he'd almost forgotten about the kid that had been killed, thought he was going to be dragged back to his mother. Once that had been cleared up, he'd settled in, an created a story.

He'd managed a decent lie, but with a faulty alibi. He couldn't say he was with Sam, even though he had been, because that was one of the things he'd agreed to. No one could know, and that included police officials. Unfortunately, he was sure his early reluctance to talk had marked him down as slightly suspicious, at the very least. Which was really fantastic, and just what he needed.

He sighed as his shift came to an end, shouldering his way into the break-room and ditching his apron, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows. His phone was flashing at him, and he felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth as he reached for it. Sam was worth it. Fucking annoying as he was, he was definitely worth it.

The second message, however, threw him off. He hadn't seen Scarlet in awhile, she'd been sick and he'd been busy, but he wondered what was so freaking important. He sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, dropping his head back against his shoulders. All he wanted to do was go see his boyfriend, but it was already almost two, there was no way he could cancel on her that wouldn't bite him in the ass. He sent Scarlet a quick k and then typed out a message to Sam:

Gotta meet Scar, promise I'll make it quick. My place in half an hour? you can let yourself in.

Sam had a key, Alby had made him one pretty soon after they'd gotten together. Made a secret relationship a whole lot easier when they had a place to go out of the public eye. Not to mention, that kid really needed somewhere to get away from his parents on occasion. He reread his boyfriends message again, more than a little upset he was wasting even a minute of Sam's freedom. There was something in the tone of the text that seemed like he'd been running, so Alby sent another message:

And take a goddamned shower. Don't stink up my place.

Smiling to himself he grabbed his stuff, pocketed his phone, and walked out to the seating area. He found Scarlet in her usual spot, and leaned in to kiss her cheek before he fell into the seat across from her. She looked worried, and like she was sitting too carefully, and it irked him just that much more that he couldn't blow her off for being overly dramatic. "Don't tell me you have ebola. I really don't have time for that shit, Scar."

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Sam had downed approximately half of the bottle of water before Alby texted back. He frowned at the first text, hating having to wait- but the second text did make him smile. He typed out a quick reply.

I thought you liked me hot and sweaty? ;) i'll be waiting.

He stood up and started for Alby's apartment. As he walked, he pulled up the hood of his jacket. He was always paranoid about being spotted whenever he went over, but it was a hell of a lot safer than risking being seen in public.

He couldn't help but resent Scarlet a little for cutting in on their time together. He knew that if Alby wasn't making up an excuse to get out of it, it must be important- but he did still resent her. He hated having to wait any longer than he usually did. He got to Alby's, thankfully without meeting anyone else that he knew. He let himself in and pulled off his jacket, throwing it onto the couch. It was nice to have somewhere where they could do whatever the hell they wanted, with little to no fear of being disturbed. And his keys weren't exactly going to be examined by his parents, either, so he didn't really have to worry about them spotting the extra key.

He headed straight for the shower, already listening out for Alby's return- even though he knew that it couldn't have possibly been the promised half-hour yet. Not that he'd ever admit his impatience- their relationship was built on sarcasm and insults, and it didn't look like that was going to change any time soon. And Sam felt like it was worth the secrecy and the lies.

"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 delicately framed brunette groaned from her uncomfortable position on a twin sized mattress, there was no bed just the mattress and the canopies she'd decorated the room with, canopies, tapestries, blankets and lights were draped from every wall and an aroma of marijuana was trapped in the materials. No body in her family was allowed in her bedroom, she had the loft conversion so it was lockable too which was probably why she'd gotten away with taking drugs for so long in her life. Upon opening her eyes she groaned with misery at the streak of light that crawled over her face. Was the day really already that old? She stretched her arms above her head and moaned whilst she tried to release the numbness weighing down her muscles. She leaned over yawning to grab the metal case on the wooden floor board by her mattress and pulled it towards herself, she opened it and rested the box down on the blankets whilst she began rolling herself a smoke. She had no motivation to get out of bed as she laid there with the freshly rolled cigarette between her cold finger tips, she positioned it between her lips and held it there whilst she fumbled around the duvets and her surroundings to find her lighter. She sparked it up and took a long relaxing drag before laying back down and looking up out of the glass frames in her ceiling.

She could see the clouds and in her drowsy state they made her giggle as they glided past overhead like they were animated. She smiled sarcastically and sighed before she got up and walking around the room in nothing but her underwear she began looking for clothes and eventually found a grey 'bodycon' dress that she slipped into and threw a cardigan over it. As she continued smoking her roll up she waltzed around her room and put a vinyl on, an old school David Bowie track she loved with a burning passion. She watched the record spin as she moved across her room like a ditzy dancer before sitting down to scroll through messages on her phone.

They were a couple of missed calls that were accompanied by texts asking if she'd be joining her parents for breakfast at all but they'd been sorts ago. She didn't fancy staying in anyway, she really wanted to go catch up with people especially with this whole police investigation business going on- she was supposed to be called in for an interview later in the afternoon but Beatrice didn't quite know what to say. She'd taken all kinds of drugs that night- she'd woken up in a bath tub with a serious nose bleed. She'd made her way home okay and gotten on but later afterwards she found out about the dead boy and it left her feeling troubled and anxious. She couldn't remember much from the night at all, she'd gotten up with some girl and was there a guy too?

She grit her teeth was anxiety. She needed to talk to Sam, Tyler- that Ellie bitch that always gave her a hard time with her snotty expressions of disgust. She really needed to have her story straight before she went in for her interview- telling them her memory was nothing more than a supermassive black hole wasn't going to do her any favours especially if they got her to do a drugs test or anything. She put on her Doc Martens shoes and then climbed downstairs putting out her cigarette and discarding it in a bin on her way out.

Downstairs, she brushed her teeth and her hair in the bathroom, styled it a little bit and ran some mascara over her lashes before she snuck out the door onto the streets without talking to her parents.

To: Sam, Ellie, Tyler
I need to talk to you guys- about the party, nothing big I just don't remember a few things

She downplayed the situation massively but she couldn't let anyone think she'd been as fucked up as she was. That would only cause her trouble in the future- big time.

The light from the window beamed blindingly into the cold lilac colored bathroom. It had been another long night. Ellie rubbed her eyes open, she had slept on the cold floor with her face pressed against the toilet seat...again. She felt faint and woozy, she had eaten so much the previous night that it took her hours to throw it all up. She examined her body which was basically fully exposed, she wore her baby blue bra and underwear from Victoria Secret. Her body was red with a slight tinge of purple, she hadn't realized how cold it was until now. She scrambled to her feet and glanced into the full length mirror that hung on the back of her white bathroom door and sucked in her stomach. She had abs, half from being athletic and half from being so skinny, she smiled, pleased with her appearance. She locked eyes with her reflection for a moment, a feeling of disgust overcame her. The vision grew blurry and she teetered forward having to catch herself on the door. She shook her head and took a deep breath “Come on Elle” she encouraged and pushed herself off the door regaining balance.

She wandered into her light blue luxurious bedroom that had windows taller than Ellie covered in silver drapes. The room had a large kingsize bed with a silver duvet and canopy, a sitting area with a couple chairs on top of a multi-patterned rug facing a tv and a fireplace, a workspace with her dual screen computer and finally a walk in closet the size of a regular childhood bedroom. She walked into the closet and ran her fingers between her clothes thinking about the investigation and the party from a couple weeks back. The night was blurry, she hadn’t drank but the drugs she took were something else, Tyler always dealt the best. All she remembered was waking up next to the toilet as per usual and hearing cop cars rolling in. A boy had been killed. About time something interesting happened in this town.

She slipped into her leather leggings with a burgundy sweatshirt. She put on her usual gold hoops and a chain with a camera pendant, just then her phone buzzed. She walked into her room and belly flopped onto her bed to answer it “Hello?”

“Elle, what the hell did you tell the cops?”

Ellie pulled the phone from her ear and glanced at the screen Tyler. She sighed and replied “Nothing Ty, I just said I remember seeing you before the party and that’s it. It’s the truth”

“Why?! Why use me as your alibi…for fucksakes Elle I’m already undergoing so many questions…you had to say my name didn’t you?”

“Don’t be so dramatic Ty, anywho I’m hungry. Kisses!”

Ellie hung up and made her way to the kitchen when her phone dinged for an income text message it was from Beatrice Fuck…what does this girl want?

It was in regards to the party, Ellie wanted a recap of that night too…did she spend the night with B?

To: Beatrice
Message: Okay, I’ll be at the café if you want to talk…

Ellie grabbed her car keys and jumped into her glossy red BMW convertible and zoomed off to the café. She walked in and saw Alby talking with Scarlet, seemed serious I’ll have to have Scar update me later. She ordered a vanilla latte and sat near a window admiring the gorgeous day.

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Tyler groaned as Ellie hung up the phone, she always avoided these situations. The cops had just stopped by his house for the fourth time this week, asking numerous questions in which most were irrelevant and redundant. Tyler walked into his kitchen that looked like it belonged in a hotel rather than a home. It was massive with two stoves, a large fridge two people could easily hide in, an island with a dozen stools and a pantry the size of a closet. He grabbed an apple off the fruit tray on the counter and took a bite. He was exhausted, the festivities of last night had taken a toll. He was hungover and feeling grungy. His parent’s had hosted a gala downtown which as per usual called for an after party. At least half the town had attended but the fun was cut short when the cops rolled in. Regardless, he managed to escape the chaos and hit up a strip joint downtown. He had gotten a private room with a few friends and drank the night away.
Tyler scrolled through his phone, he needed fresh air and a friend. He tapped on Isabella’s name.

To: Bells
Message: Hey can we meet up? Park date? If you’re not to hungover lol

As he hit send another message rolled in, it was from Beatrice. Another order I presume? He frowned when he read the message, he could use some money right now but the text was not for business purposes.

To: B
Message: Yea I guess, where you at?

Just recently had people started talking to Tyler again. Everyone avoided him and his family like the plague. The investigation that lasted two years had nearly come to close until a boy was found dead. Of course the cops blamed the Kingsley’s right away but evidence had not surfaced, regardless they remained under questioning and showed up “out of the blue” numerous times a week.

Tyler grabbed his wallet and keys and made his way out. Fresh air felt nice as he began wandering the town.

"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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B walked down the street with a certain amount of attitude and aggression in her step. Although B was a bit of a head case and walked like a punk out of an 'Emo' music video. She was an incredibly genuine person and her friends were held in high regard but when she tried to think about it, she didn't have many. Tyler only bothered with her for the drug money, she was pretty sure of that, the only trust and loyalty within their friendship was that he wouldn't cut her drugs with anything or rip her off- other than that there was nothing. Sure there were a couple of kids around the town she messed around with and hung out with, she was quite aware nobody really trusted her or liked her- they all thought she was nothing more than the substances she kept putting in her blood but still, it was so much worse than anyone of them knew. Scars on her arms from needles, organ damage from pills and all kinds of crazy things but the benzodiazepines mixed with all the alcohol she drank and her antidepressants, she figured it'd probably be the death of her one day if she didn't cut it out but she was an addict- it just wasn't that simple and it never would be.

To: Ellie
Thanks. I'll meet you there.

She turned around and headed down the high street towards the local coffee house, looking up at everything around her for a moment. The café wasn't far from her home and within a couple of moments she was opening the door and gritting her teeth about the annoying bell that went off upon her entry. She saw Ellie sat by the window and taking a deep breath so she'd be calm enough to avoid an argument with this girl because she really didn't ever know where she stood with her and walked over.

Her and Ellie had been at each other's throats since they'd met but there was something about Ellie that Beatrice kind of admired and was drawn to- probably the fact she had the guts to piss Beatrice off all the time. She sat down with her and leant back in her seat once she had.

"How are you doing then?" She asked a little casually but also quite awkwardly- she felt like she was testing the water before she dived into the ocean, she just never knew what she was going to get with this girl. She quickly text Tyler back.

To: Tyler
I'm at the café with E, feel free to join us or I can meet you after. Just let me know ASAP.

Alby's eyebrows rose slowly at Scarlet's reaction to his joke, and he gave her a mildly disbelieving look as he shifted to get more comfortable in his seat. "You do know what ebola is, right?" he grumbled. Because honestly, in what world was that the "easier" option. But she moved right passed him, either having not heard his comment or too determined to get out whatever it was she needed to say.

His jaw clenched the moment she did. It wasn't that Alby hadn't slept with girls before Scarlet - because he had, tons of them, why not? He liked guys better - a lot better, but sex was sex. Especially drunk sex, which unfortunately wasn't the case where she was concerned.

That night...their night...she'd been down, and seeking comfort, and Alby could only get so far with words. He hadn't meant to revert to psychical means, it'd just kind of happened, and she hadn't stopped him. It had been what she'd needed, but between his own preferences and her religion...and the sake of their friendship, they'd agreed to forget about it. "You mean that thing you're talking about now?" he grumbled, and reached for his phone when he felt it vibrate, hoping to convey he refused to have this conversation without having to be more of an asshole than he usual was.

He jerked the device out of his pocket while she said something about the flu, which was a weird change of subject, and was about to open a text from Sam when she finally hit the punchline. His phone dropped straight to the floor, enunciating the word pregnant that was ringing around in his head.

His heart was beating so fast he could hear it, and he figured he probably ought to have it looked at because that couldn't be a normal speed. His head kind of hurt, even, and he was wondering if he was getting the right amount of oxygen to his brain...He opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, blinked at her in shock, and was about to ask her who the father was when she dropped her second fucking bomb of the conversation.

Alby fell back into his chair like she'd punched him in the chest. He knew he wasn't getting enough oxygen now. He was about to tell her that he couldn't be...they'd only done it once, and they'd used protection...but he remembered sitting through a sex-ed lecture as a young teen, being reminded sex made babies regardless of if it was the first time or not, and condoms were only effective ninety-something percent of the time. Accidents happened.

His hand was shaking as he ran it through his hair, and he felt on the verge of a panic attack...he hadn't had one of those since he was thirteen. This was different than wondering where his next meal was coming from though. This was a baby, and his friend, and it felt both too real and like it wasn't happening all at the same time.

He needed out. Out of the cafe, away from everyone. There were eyes even here, and he couldn't handle it. Not after the cops, not knowing he was losing Sam, not talking about this thing he didn't want to talk about. He was half way out of his seat before he remembered he wasn't the only one dealing with this, and his eyes lifted to Scarlet. "Are you okay?"

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He heard his phone buzz while he was in the shower, but ignored it, expecting it to be a reply from Alby. As long as it wasn't him saying that he had chosen to elope with Scarlet or anything, it could wait until he was finished. He spent a little longer than usual in the shower as he had to check each bottle as he looked for the shower gel- but eventually, he found it.

Wrapped in a towel, he sat on the toilet to check his phone. The text, rather surprisingly, wasn't from Alby, but from Beatrice. She wanted to chat- but Sam had waited long enough to hang out with Alby. He wasn't cutting that time any shorter than was strictly necessary.

To: Beatrice
"sorry, b, little busy right now. i can talk over the phone if that's any good? if not i can always meet you later :)"

The next text went to Alby,

"hurry up, dickhead. also what's your wifi password again? my phone's being a dick and won't connect automatically."

He really wanted to get into clean clothes, but doing so would more or less proclaim his relationship to his family, so he got back into his old ones and flung himself onto Alby's couch, turning on the TV and flicking through the channels. It was better than being at home with his family, who had only stopped rolling their eyes at gay people on the TV once he'd come out- but he didn't miss their muttered comments when they thought he couldn't hear. But still, he wished that Alby was there.

A waiter came by and placed a large artsy mug filled with Ellie's favorite latte on the table in front of her. Ellie smiled politely, thanked him and handed a five dollar bill as tip. Her parent's had always taught her three things about "the help", she could hear it now in her mother’s voice Be polite, tip and never yell at them because they just might poison you, like what happened to your aunt May" . Ellie chuckled at the thought and took a sip of her coffee.

Her mind began to wander on tomorrows activities. She had a volleyball competition and the team was given a day of rest prior to the meet. Ellie had trained hard on her own for the last month on top of team practice. She was exhausted, she had taken several pills to boost her energy and followed a strict diet that was shot to hell after last night’s gala, good thing she threw it all up after though, who wants love handles anyways?

Her thoughts were suddenly intruded by a very awkward Beatrice. Ellie lifted her eyebrow as the outcast took a seat before her. She was about to reply to her question but was cut off when Beatrice began texting. Ellie cleared her throat and furrowing her brows, she said ”It’s rude to text when trying to converse.” Screens were Ellie’s biggest pet peeves when talking to people. When technology became the norm her parents taught her and her sister to acknowledge and converse rather than escape and hear half of what the other is saying. She always tucked her phone away and gave her absolute attention to the other party. She could hear her mom’s voice again Only exceptions to looking at your phone when on a coffee date are emergency and booty calls. That second one is a joke Elle…

Ellie cupped her hands around her mug and took a deep breath. She locked eyes with Beatrice for a moment but quickly shifted them. She always felt awkward and nervous around Beatrice which is why it was so easy to torment her. Something about the rebel outcast made Ellie admire the girl, such freedom and no expectations must be nice, Ellie’s life under pressure was rough. “So…” she said finally. “I am well. Now. If this is some kind of act to make me your friend you can forget, I do not associate myself with the tortured. We are here to converse in a business fashion and that’s all. Two weeks ago we encountered an unfortunate situation. You wanted to clarify a few details, the floor is yours.”

"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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Beatrice looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes when she gobbed off at her about her texting. "Well it doesn't matter what I'd been smoking I'd never have been intoxicated enough to spend a whole evening with you. So unless you've been stalking me, I need to talk to a lot of people to work out what happened that night. So fucking leave it Ellie," Beatrice groaned pinching the bridge of her nose before putting her phone away and turning her gaze back at Ellie who was staring slightly and trying to catch her eye, B held her look grudgingly but without wavering or backing down.

"Ellie, don't be a bitch. I don't want to be friends with you, so save yourself the embarrassment. Look you know me, the night of the party I was off my head- I don't know what I took, I think it was mostly marijuana and alcohol but I don't remember anything at all. All I think I know for sure is that I hooked up with a girl- don't judge me, I'm Bi. Deal with it. Did you see me at all the party? With anyone? Honestly anything would help, I just need to get my story straight before I head down to my interview this afternoon," B hands down told Ellie all the truth. She didn't lie to her or exaggerate, to her memory she couldn't remember taking any drugs harder than pot and she was almost certain she'd slept with a girl, she just had no idea who, when or where.

In a way, B was kind of attracted Ellie- she had attitude, intelligence and unique qualities but she was just such an annoying cow sometimes Beatrice genuinely struggled to be around her and behave civilly. She didn't hate her at all, Ellie just seemed to know exactly which buttons to press to get a reaction out of her. Her arrogance too, that got old pretty quickly as far as Beatrice was concerned. All she really needed was to find out who she'd been with and what time she'd gone home, then she'd have a solid alibi and her name could be cleared and she could go back to resuming her life as normal. She could go back up to her loft, get stoned and write an essay of a surprisingly high quality, go to bed, get up and repeat. She wouldn't have any more of this investigation bullshit to deal with, she felt bad for the poor kid who died and his family but when she knew nothing but was still being investigated and threatened, it was very hard to focus on her sympathies over clearing her own name. She really didn't want to be getting caught up in the investigation though, she had studies, her family and a life to get back to but no body could really rest or relax anymore with some murderer on the loose around their town and that was why she was talking to Ellie.

So she could get her old life back and have some closure about what happened that night.

There were a lot of reasons why Alby couldn't conceivably have relationships with women, and one of those reason were that they over-shared. Scarlet was no exception to the rule, and he felt his eyes get larger and larger the longer she spoke. Abortion or adoption hadn't even entered his mind yet, but he didn't really have anything to say about it anyway. He'd always thought a woman could do whatever she wanted, it was her body, but he hadn't thought that...keeping the baby or not...he just hadn't...

And she was probably going to get kicked out. And she just wanted him to be there for the baby. And she knew he was so, so gay.

And Alby couldn't breathe. He couldn't. He was just staring at her in shock, wondering if his face was going blue yet, because when was the last time he actually took a breath? He realized somewhere during his inner monologue that he needed to breathe, so he opened his mouth and sucked in air before he passed out. He was shaking again as he heard his phone vibrate once more - louder against the wooden floors - and glanced down to see the name on the screen. Sam was under "Fucking Asshole", because he was too paranoid to put his actual name there, and he shook his head as he picked it up. "I can't handle this right now, Scar. I need...to not be here."

He shook his head as he got up, couldn't even manage to look back at her again. A better man would have stayed. Would have taken her hand and promised he'd do whatever she needed, because she had to be more scared than he was. Hell, a better friend would have done those things. But fuck, Alby had never claimed to be a good person.

He pushed open the door to the cafe and took in more deep breaths of fresh air, trying to clear his head, before a bark of laughter shot out of him that sounded as unhinged as he felt. "Fuck," he muttered to himself. "I've been trying so hard not to be my mother, I accidentally became my father..."

And he couldn't even tell anyone, that was the kicker. Because as far as his "friends" knew, his father was a boringly normal man with no illegitimate children to muddle up their past. No young teenage girl he'd left alone and pregnant. Just like Alby was doing now.

He shook his head and opened the two texts from Sam he hadn't managed to read yet, his feet carrying him home out of habit alone. He snorted out a normal sounding laugh at the first one, because oh did he like Sam hot and sweaty. So much. The second just made him roll his eyes and he sent back: SH_Is_A_Gigantic_Ass. But don't bother, I'll be home soon.

And he was, the cafe wasn't far, just a few blocks and he took the last turn or so at a jog. He had his key out already, kicked the front door shut behind him, and was on the very attractive man on his couch before he even really had time to process what he was doing. His knees ended up on either side of his boyfriends thighs, fingers in his hair, dragging him up into a hard and possessive kiss that left him so breathless he really figured this would be the time he passed out. "Hi," he breathed, panted really. He wondered if the anxiety was written all over his face, wondered if his hands were still shaking even as the gripped at the strands of Sam's hair. "You know showers are counterproductive when you just put on the same fucking smelly clothes, right?"

[center]Isabella groaned loudly as she rubbed her head. What the hell happened last night she thought as she sat up in her bed while rubbing her eyes. Her long chocolate brown hair fell just above her belly button. She wiped the drool off of the corner of her mouth as she heard her phone go off for the third time. She looked down and noticed Tyler's name pop up in her phone. Park date sounds great to me.She crawled off her bed and walked towards her closet pulling out a black pair of jeans and an off white shirt. She ran into the bathroom as she texted Tyler.

To: Ty
Message: Hey Love, Just woke up of course I am hungover I don't even know how I got home last night?! I will meet you in the park at our bench in an hour I have to wash off all the alcohol and sweat. See you soon!

She turned the shower on hot and stripped out of her long white T-shirt and boxers. She jumped into the showering shivering as the water hit her body. As she washed her hair flashbacks of yesterday came crashing down her on. The police came to her house again. They asked to look around. Of course stubborn Isabella asked for a search warrant and they didn't have any. She could feel them following her, the detectives. She already talked to the police officers and gave her statement multiple times. A loud vibration caused Isabella to snap back into reality. She washed her hair out and finished rinsing off her body. She shut the shower off and got out wrapping a pink fluffy towel around her small frame.

By the time she was done getting ready she had twenty minutes left. She ran down the marble stairs that lead to the foyer. Her parents were never home anymore. Isabella practically owned the house she lived in. Living in such a big house by yourself can get very lonely. If it wasn't for her friends she would have gone mad already. The drinking and counseling helps a little. As she walked towards the door she grabbed her black peacoat. She wrapped it around herself, grab her bag phone and keys and left.

She pulled up to the park shortly after and walked to the last bench at the end of the lake. That is where her and tyler usually met. She pulled her phone out and pulled her headphones in waiting for tyler to show up.

In that moment a flashback of the rendezvous kicked in. Although she barely remembered that night she did remember Beatrice, in fact she remembered four exact moments. Arriving at the party, Tyler giving her ecstasy, a woman (was it Beatrice?) and waking up in the bathroom. The time in between was a blur but she could easily guess what happened. Ellie began to focus deeply on her mug as she listened to Beatrice ramble on and ask questions. Her vision began to fade as thoughts of what happened swam around.The foam in her latte began to dissipate, this frustrated her as the foam was the best part.

Silence lingered between the two, the sounds of the cafe seemed louder, she could hear her heart pounding. Finally Ellie glanced up, it had been a couple minutes since either of them had spoken. Her head swarmed with lies, she could see the honesty in Beatrice’s eyes but honesty was not her angle. “I didn’t see you. For one I don’t linger in the shadows among you weirdos and your face is not one I care to admire.”

She could hear the harshness in her voice and she immediately questioned it, she never understood her snappy attitude towards Beatrice. Her attraction towards the girl was highly resisted, she’d hooked up with girls in the past but at least she had class. Her vision began to narrow on Beatrice's specific features, her beautiful eyes, her lips, the smoothness of her skin. She wanted to give in but discomfort kicked in. She glanced over at Scarlet who had just gotten up to pay for her order. “Look, I know as much as you okay? I had one too many martinis and the rest is a blur. Sorry I couldn’t be more helpful...if I’m being honest the only people I saw you converse with is Ty and Sam”

Ellie chugged the rest of her coffee and got to her feet. As she tucked her chair under the table she said “Tyler is your best bet but avoid saying his name in the interview. The guy has enough problems already.” She smiled weakly and let out a small sigh.

She walked over to Scarlet and gave her a hug with a small hello. She glanced back at Beatrice, she felt bad for lying but it was for the best...well not really but it was for the good of her reputation. “How are you?” she asked Scarlet.

---

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As Tyler wandered the town he entered his usual alley and pulled out a joint. In the alley he had a clear view of the road but was well hidden in the shadows, this was his only safe zone in the town due to being constantly watched by the cops. He leaned against the cold stone wall of the bakery and took a puff of his blunt feeling the effects immediately. In that moment his phone buzzed announcing incoming messages from B and Bells.

To: B
Hey! I'll meet with you later, text me time and place

He finished his joint, tossed the butt onto the ground and made his way to his favourite spot, the park bench he and Bells always met at. The day radiated pure bliss, the sun shone brightly and the clouds were puffy and white. Tyler loved walking around and admiring the scenery, he loved how the trees danced in the cold breeze and how the infrastructure complimented the town. His eyes were slighted glazed, he felt good and at peace despite his morning.

From afar he could see Isabella sitting on their bench jamming out to some tunes. He snuck behind her and tugged her head phone out of her left ear "Hey tinker bells" he greeted and swung his leg over plopping down next to his bestie. "So rude awakening, cops showed up 'up of the blue' for a 'surprise' inspection. You'd think they'd give it up at this point...anyways how's you?

OOC: Sorry my post is so short , busy day"

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He read the text and rolled his eyes, but a grin crept over his face. He decided not to reply and went back to channel surfing. As Sam heard Alby outside the door, he sat up and checked his phone. He was back quicker than usual- but as Alby rushed in and straight over to him, Sam forgot all about it. The kiss took his mind off of everything except for Alby. His hands ended up on his hips, pulling him closer. When Alby pulled away, Sam was a little breathless, and he was grinning.

"Hi," he replied. He rolled his eyes at Alby's comment about the shower. "Yeah, because walking back into the house in different clothes would totally help me keep this whole thing on the down low," he replied. A sly grin crept over his face. "Unless you'd rather me in nothing at all?" He teased, leaning in to kiss his neck. It was as his lips brushed the skin there that he realised that Alby's pulse was racing.

"Is it me making your heart beat that fast, or were you just so eager to see me that you ran here?" He mumbled, pressing his lips to the other boy's neck. Still, that level of enthusiasm was unusual for Alby. A kiss that possessive before an insult was strange. "So, what did Scarlet want to talk to you about?" He asked, looking up at Alby. "It better have been important, you dick. I hardly get to see you, and then you ditch me for some girl. I'm hurt, really" He remarked- but his grin gave him away. He'd been waiting for this for far too long.

Alby rolled his eyes theatrically at the reply he got, but sat back enough to get his hands on Sam's shirt, tugging at it playfully. "Nothing sounds good. I like nothing. That should be a rule, actually. That you're not allowed to wear clothing when you're here." The suggestive eyebrow wiggle he was going to throw in for good measure went completely unnoticed as Sam's lips touched his neck, and Alby sighed, tilting his head back to allow better access, his hands splaying against the wonderful abs his boyfriend had.

He scoffed a little at the mention of his heart beat, digging his fingers into Sam's ribs out of annoyance. He closed his eyes for a moment though, willed himself to calm down. "Have you known me to ever run anywhere?" he murmured. "I'm not even sure finding you here in nothing would be worth the physical exertion."

And then of course Sam had to go and mention Scarlet, and Alby was very thankful that he wasn't looking at his face when he did. It gave him a moment to shift through his collection of lies before he sighed, fell sideways onto the couch, hands still up under Sam's shirt so he could clumsily pull him down as well.

"One of the teens hasn't been at the shelter in a few days," he answered, rolling his eyes again. "And with that kid they found dead the other day, she's all worried. So I bought her some coffee and told her to chill." It was actually kind of true. There was a kid that hadn't shown in awhile, but he was a frequent flyer, and they all knew not to worry about him too much. He'd be back, eventually. And it was a small enough lie that...should Alby decide he needed to fix it...he could.

Right now, he just couldn't deal with it. Not Scarlet. Not the baby. Not the dead kid or the cops or anything. Not the decisions he was going to have to make...that would undoubtedly change his life one way or another. He looked up at Sam for a little while, memorizing how fucking perfect he was. All soft brown eyes, sharp cheekbones, amazing jawline...wondered if he'd lose it all...

He plastered a smirk onto his face and finally pulled at the stupid shirt Sam was wearing, jerking it over his head and throwing it somewhere unimportant. "Now, are you going to waste all our time talking about her, or actually have some fun?" This time, he did manage to wiggle his eyebrows.

---

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Declan woke up to the sound of his alarm blaring through his phone on the floor forcing Declan to get up and find it to be able to turn it off. He sighed in relief once it was over. He then proceeded through his morning routine of making his bed and making sure everything in his room was in it's place before stepping into the shower and getting himself ready for the day. Once Declan was out of his steaming hot shower, he towel dried his hair and simply rand his hands through it a few times with some product so it wouldn't be too much of a mess before brushing his teeth and getting his clothes on for the day.

Declan stepped out and was greeted by the innards of a house the exact opposite of his room. Empty beer bottles and cans laid spread across the floor. Cigarette buds laid n the floor near the overflowing ash tray next to the spit jug for dipping. Dirty dishes filled the sink and counter top while lat night's take out was all over the coffee table. Next to the coffee table was a large man passed out with a half downed beer bottle still in his hand. Declan shook his head and went to the kitchen like he did every morning to make breakfast. He cleaned some of the dishes for room and then began making biscuits and gravy for his father and several boiled eggs with bacon for himself. He then made Irish coffee for his father and a protein shake for himself.

Once he was done fixing up breakfast, Declan cleared the coffee table and put all the food that went bad over night in the trash before taking it outside. He came back in and went over to the couch with his father's tray of food before waking him up. His father woke up slowly and hungover before running to the bathroom to puke and coming back to scarf down all the food while Declan sat quietly eating his breakfast in another chair. Declan was first to finish his food and just as quickly cleaned his plate trying to get out as fast as possible but his father stopped him.

"Boy, get your ass over here." Declan's eyes fell to the floor as he spun around on his heels to face his father who had just gotten up and was making his way over to him. His father stood before him and and Declan looked up to make eye contact. "Now you listen to me, boy. I don't want you bringing none of your faggy lil friends here anymore. You understand?" Declan sighed and responded. "I know-" A large hand was quick to grab Declan around the throat and push him up against the wall. "Don't you fucking talk me in that tone of voice, boy." He glared at him and used his free hand to strike Declan hard across the face. "Now if you decide to ruin that lil scholarship of yours by deciding to be some homo, you'll get a lot worse than that. Do you understand?" Declan nodded. "Good." His father shoved him to the ground and he scrambled to get back up. "Now get out of my sight."

Declan practically bolted out the door and to his truck fearful of staying to long and getting that beating his father would surely give him. He left the house and began driving towards the cafe. He wasn't really hungry but he was in the mood for a cup of coffee. Plus he knew the other football players would show up there so Declan was expected to make an appearance. He pulled into the parking lot and inspected the damage on his face before going in. His left cheek was beginning to form a bruise which wasn't too bad. The last time Declan's father struck him with a beer bottle and he had to get stitches.

Declan hoped out of his pickup before walking towards the cafe with his hands tucked away in his Letterman jacket pockets. He took one out to open the door before tucking it back in and walking through the little coffee shop. He gave warm enough smiles to those that made eye contact with him before waiting in line to order his cup of coffee.

---

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Sam let Alby pull him down, grinning at his boyfriend. Of course it was something like that. Scarlet wasn't a bad person- just naive. Sam was pretty sure that she'd told him at some point that if he just confessed his sins and tried to be a better person, he'd get into heaven or that God wouldn't care about him being gay or something like that. He'd stopped listening once she'd mentioned sins. He wasn't religious, and if that God cared about who he loved in the first place, then it wasn't one he wanted to believe in anyway.

Sam let Alby pull his shirt over his head, grinning at him. In response to Alby's question, he lened in and kissed him, adjusting his position so he was fully on top of Alby instead of awkwardly lying on him. His hands found the hem of Alby's shirt, and he pulled it over the other boy's head, throwing it away from him. The time he spent with Alby always, always made up for the time they were apart.

As he returned to kissing Alby's neck, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He groaned, pulling it out and glancing at the screen. He was fully intending on ignoring the text- then he saw his mom's name on the screen. "For fuck's sake," he muttered. "It's my mom, I got to read this," he said apologetically, pecking another kiss on his boyfriend's lips before opening the text.

"uncle Mark and aunt Julie are coming to visit- how soon can you get home?"

Sam sighed again. "Great. Mom needs me home ASAP, and it's because the fucking homophobic uncle is coming to visit. Kill me," he groaned, leaning his head against Alby's shoulder. He was going to be asked if he was still "in that phase" and then have to endure a rant about how terrible gay men are. First Scarlet had kept Alby from him, now he had to leave early to spend an evening with a drunk homophobe.

Ellie examined Scarlet, her friend seemed nervous. “Due to your sickness? I mean you said it was the flu right? Never mind. If you want me to know I’m sure you’ll just tell me...you know how much I hate secrets. Her voice was slightly threatening, secrets annoyed her which was ironic since she had so many herself. Ellie twirled her hair and narrowed her eyes looking for a tell but Scarlet didn’t even flinch. She was ready to pry some more but she knew the truth wouldn’t arise that easily. Over the last couple weeks the duo had been distant and a stream of lies is all Scarlet spoke lately. Ellie decided to drop the topic she knew prying was useless and where was the fun in finding out the truth up front? Plans filtered through her head as to how she could get the information and smile devilish smile appeared on her face.

Ellie shrugged finally and said “Anyways I’m good, ish, I’m hungover, Ty’s gala was rowdy as per usual, the cops interfered halfway. I got together with a few peeps afterwards and partied, didn’t get to bed until like 5am.” Her tale came out flawlessly considering half her story was true, she did attend the gala but she had a different reasoning behind her late night.

She felt slight tension and an awkward atmosphere so she pulled out her phone and gasped at the time. In truth Ellie had an event to attend in less than an hour and she was nowhere ready. “Urg I gotta run, I have a family dinner to attend” another lie, Ellie never had dinner with her family unless it was in town hall for a gala with the rest of the town. She smiled, gave Scarlet another hug and made her way out, glancing over at Beatrice before she did so.

Ellie hopped into her car and blasted Neutron Star Collision by Muse. She began to daydream about the night ahead as she drove home, such as what she was going to wear, who she would be seen talking to and the types of conversations she would initiate. She was so consumed by her thoughts she hadn't realized she missed her turn and kept cruising mindlessly.

"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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Beatrice didn't believe her. She was trying to hard to sound convinced but then making excuses- she wasn't being straight with B and she could see straight through it and honestly, it pissed her off but Beatrice grit her teeth and sighed. She looked at Ellie with a slightly tense jaw and tried not to notice how unique and attractive she considered the girl to be and she could have sworn she remembered seeing her dressed up at the party. She could have sworn they at least spoke.

"Please don't insult my friends again Ellie- there's nothing weird about them, a lot of them are your friends too. She reminded with a slight sigh or irritancy.

"Okay. I'll talk to him and of course I won't mention him. I'm not mentioning anybody that isn't myself. I'm not dragging my friends into this shit, no one needs this kind of crap in their life and Ellie- if anybody says anything about me, could you do me one favour and say I hadn't taken any drugs? I was just really pissed right," She told her with a sigh. She then let go of the stress and resorted into her slightly ironically arrogant self. "Alright deary, always a pleasure," She chimed as a farewell as Ellie wandered off to great Scarlet who Beatrice glared at with distrust, bitterness
and ancient resentment before exiting the café and checking her phone as it sprung to life with a text from Tyler.

To: Ty
Thanks Ty. I'll text you when I know.

That done, she realised she needed to talk to someone who would understand so much better than a school rival and favourite 'frenemy'. She needed to talk to the one person, she could really call a one hundred percent reliable friend- Alby.

To: Alby
Hey A, I can't remember shit about this party the other week. Could we meet up later to talk about it? I think I'm actually losing my shit over this.

B would be the first person to admit Alby was a weird one but so was she and she figured that's why they'd always got on so well. If she had a friend she trusted, it was Alby. Forgetting one very important thing, she told him basically everything about her life- her bisexuality, her cock-ups, her prides, her secrets- he was the one friend she trusted with those kind of things and right now, she was glad to know she had somebody on her side. If he'd seen her at the party, which he must have- there's no way they'd have been at the same party and not had at least one drink together, he'd tell her anything he'd heard or knew. Maybe he'd be able to help her calm down a bit too because right now, the stress was starting to make her skin itch or was that just the withdrawal symptoms?

[center]Isabella hummed to the beat of the music. Her eyes scanned the landscape in front of her. She tensed as she felt someone behind her, before she could turn around her headphone were tugged out of her ear. "Hey tinker bells" Tyler said as sat down next to her. She rolled her eyes playfully and shook her head. "Hey Mr. King." she smirked as she pulled her legs under her on the bench. She turned towards him and looked him up and down as he talked. Once she heard the word 'cops' she zero'd in on what he was saying. "Call me paranoid but I think one of the detectives is following me again. They came to my house last week and since then they haven't bothered me. It's starting to freak me out."She let out a shaky breath and looked down at her hands that laid in her lap. They were shaking again. I need a drink she thought as she used her right hand to grab her left to stop the shaking. "Anyway, I honestly don't know how I got home last night. I remember going out and then to a party but the rest is like a blur. She felt a vibration coming from her pocket. She looked at the name on her phone and it was her counselor. She panicked and pressed decline on the call. She didn't want Tyler finding out about her counseling. The police always questioned her where she was that night and yet she couldn't tell them the truth. She was with her counselor. Isabella placed her phone back into her pocket and smiled up at Tyler. "whats been up with you Ty?"She didn't want to ask tyler what he was doing that night. One he probably wouldn't tell her and two if he did tell her it would probably be a lie. So she just kept the question to herself.