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Nathan Miller

"Is today the day...?"

0 · 684 views · located in Upper Brookfield

a character in “The Day We Die”, originally authored by Savader, as played by RolePlayGateway

Description

Name
Nathan Miller (friends call him Nate)

Age
18

Gender
Male

Height
5'11"

Build
Lean, simple, average; weighs about 170lbs. (79kg)

Looks
Nathan has an average, healthy teenage male's build. He has black hair and blue eyes, and usually wears non-logo clothing, ranging from short-sleeve T-shirts, to long-sleeve, and sweater jackets/hoodies, which he normally has up, so as to further hide from unwanted, prying eyes. He wears regular jeans, sometimes changing it up with cargo pants. And finally, he's got a pair of regular shoes for everyday use. He's not one to really care much for his outward appearance.

Image

Past Life Awareness
Fully remembered everything by the time he was 15.

Role
Boy 1

Personality
Nathan is a rather complex fellow. No one in his current life knows what makes him tick -- not even his closest friends, which is something that regularly bothers most of them. Especially Amber. That being said, there is an explanation for it... Due to the countless efforts he has made at breaking the curse he placed on his friends' souls 100 years ago, each attempt ending with failure, he has become closed off and isolated from those who are close to him. Seeming to want little to do with any of his friends or family's desire for activity, he comes off as rather cold, uncaring, and antisocial to them, which is a cause for concern, as Nathan Miller wasn't always like that before he reached a certain age... Every new life, it takes roughly 13 years after his birth for him to start remembering who he used to be. Because of that, he develops a natural life, as any normal child would do as they grew older. However, after his past lives' memories return to him once more, he shifts into a higher sense of purpose, with only one very specific goal set in mind: to save his friends from this eternal pain. Once this change takes place, Nathan is more distant with his friends and family, as he is simply too focused on trying to find a solution to their problem. However... After another 5 years, when the youngest member of their seemingly eternal group finally comes of age, the clock of their happy new lives comes to a dead stop, and the deaths begin anew... At that point, Nathan's personality seems to take yet another dramatic change. He will suddenly be more close and affectionate with his friends; wanting to spend more and more time with them with each passing day -- wanting to keep each of them within his line of sight as much as possible. This -- unbeknownst to them -- being because he has no way of knowing which of his friends is destined to die next, as well as a possible sense of wanting to be with them before their final moments in this life... In the past, he has managed to save one or two of them from their demise, only to fail in protecting his own life shortly after. Despite the inevitable failure he keeps running into each cycle, that one aspect is the only thing that keeps him going: he SAVED them. If he could save two of his friends once, then he was certain it was possible to save them all... That being said, he has no clue as to what happened to them after he was gone, and judging by the fact that they were still under the effects of this curse, it didn't look good...

While none of Nathan's friends seem to truly understand what he is about, the ones who are more past self aware do understand that it has something to do with their predicament. The only one who appears to have a deeper understanding of his feelings is Amber, as she has a very strong connection with him due to their history. Not wanting to show just how horrible he's feeling over it all, Nathan partially chooses to keep away from most of his friends on a semi-regular basis, although he also tends not to realize just how blunt he is about it, which makes it look like he wants nothing to do with them, which is untrue. Intentionally as well as partly unconscious about it, he does this so as not to have any strong distractions from his hidden agenda, even if that means sacrificing his affection towards the ones he is fighting for. The part of him that realizes he is doing this is filled with even more guilt whenever he thinks about avoiding those he loves; especially when it comes to Oscar, who has always been like a brother to him, and Amber, the only woman he believes he has ever had true romantic feelings for. He also feels fairly guilty over avoiding Violet, who, due to being unaware of her past lives at the moment, is somewhat attached to him over the fact that they both grew up together in this life. If only she knew... Because of his mistake 100 years ago, he very severely punishes himself with the full responsibility of righting this wrong, which has developed this want into that of a severe obsession. His mind is growing heavily exhausted by this point, and he is unsure if he will be capable of solving the problem alone this time around before he breaks.

In conclusion, Nathan Miller, depressed as he is over this obsession and the reasons behind its existence, is a kind soul, who only ever had the best intentions for his friends, no matter how truly selfish his choice was. He cares for those around him more than anything in the world, just as he had 100 years ago when he chose to bring them back... But his agenda has made him lose sight of why he did what he did. Instead of living a good life with his friends at the same time as lifting the curse he placed on them, he is merely focused on just the latter; redeeming his selfish choice with an equally selfish method: alone, which must make his friends feel as though he wants nothing to do with them anymore. Something that is very far from true. Nathan is intelligent, independent, stubborn, naturally paranoid, worrisome, caring, cautious, kind, quiet, oftentimes cold and fairly antisocial, but above all else, loyal. He blames himself for what is happening, and is attempting to solve it without the aid of his friends, believing it to be no one's responsibility but his own. Any aspects of his old personality; affection, joy, humor, sarcasm, bravery, fun as well as highly social, were all replaced by most of what is listed above... There was once a time where he was the most outgoing, wild, carefree member of their circle, but now he has no time left to be that kind of selfish person. But that isn't to say that those feelings aren't still somewhere within his heart, locked away by the pain and misery over what he'd done so long ago...

My Details
Nathan lives with his current life's mother and father. He is an only child, and is in his final year of high school. He has a job at the local sporting goods store in town, and uses his wages to further his investigation into black magic, as well as the whereabouts of the original book he used 100 years ago. Sometime after the first few cycles, he built a bomb shelter-like room somewhere deep within the woods, where he keeps a large collection of information he has gathered throughout his past lives; journals, notes, photographs, items of magical origin -- all the things he needs to better understand how to lift the curse. He is rather talented with the piano; something he picked up in his first life, which he carried on with him through memory alone, feeling that it helps him process thought more easily, as it makes him feel more at home with his original self. Aside from that, he isn't a bad artist with the pencil either. Although he doesn't do it often, he can be caught sketching someone or something from time-to-time out of boredom. His school life is that of an average teenage male's would be. He never makes it a purpose in his life to stand out or make new friends, and will almost always be stand-offish to anyone outside his family and group of close friends. This being because, in his experience, he cannot trust just anyone with his back...

Likes
+ Reading
+ Solitude
+ Art
+ Sketching
+ Classical music
+ Piano/playing the piano
+ The sound of a ticking clock/watch
+ Spaghetti
+ Jerky

Dislikes
- Himself
- Nosy people
- Black magic
- Lying to his friends
- Hot weather
- Guns
- Danger
- Time
- Seafood

Secrets
The only secret worth knowing is the one he is hiding from his friends: he is the one responsible for the curse that was placed over all their souls, and has been lying about his knowledge over the entire fiasco since the moment they all began dying one by one.

Fears
His friends finding out the truth, never finding a solution to the curse, watching his friends die over and and over again, the local graveyard where it all started, black magic, his watch stopping.

Sexual Orientation
Heterosexual

Crush
Nathan currently doesn't have a crush on anyone, however, he does still harbor deep feelings for Amber, due to their history, and never having been able to fully let her go. Their relationship throughout each life cycle always seems to be rather awkward, with a lot of tension between the two of them. He still speaks with an intimate tone when alone with her, out of reflex, which is likely due to their first relationship being cut short so suddenly. He has lingering feelings for her that he has yet to fully acknowledge, outside of knowing that he still cares for her more than most others, and that he almost always takes her into priority over his other friends when danger is afoot. Being too focused on his current agenda, he has made no attempts thus far at rekindling what they once had. Even if he were to want to, he likely would be too afraid until he finally saves her and the others from this fate...

Girlfriend
N/A

Other
Nathan's artifact -- the personal possession he used when performing the ritual -- is a silver pocket-watch inherited from his grandfather over 100 years ago. When each cycle gets closer to its end, he hides this watch within the shelter for his new body to acquire after it regains his soul's memories. It is by far his most prized material possession, as it seems to be directly tied with how the curse operates. Every cycle, after the youngest of the group turns 18, his watch begins to show signs of the exact time someone will die. This event happens once for each member of the group, until they have died, or death chooses to pass them up and go after another. He believes it is the key to saving his friends, and so he carries it with him always, often checking it obsessively, in case the "rules" up and change on him one day... He can often be found simply staring at it, listening to the ticking which would, by that time, likely drive any normal person insane due to the repetitive rhythm. That sound is the sound that keeps his friends alive, and so he treasures it, which is why he hates absolutely no noise. The stopping of that ticking has even been known to wake him from a deep sleep.

So begins...

Nathan Miller's Story

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Nathan Miller
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#, as written by Savader
Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock... The sound of my silver pocket-watch ticking my final moments away was resounding in my ears as though the mechanism had been built into my very skull. By now I was used to hearing it so clearly. It didn't matter how much noise was going on around me, I would always hear it. Like it was a part of my very soul; my perception of time was forever linked with that of my watch's, as if to remind me of just how little time we humans have in this world... From the moment we take our first breath of new life...to the day we draw our last and enter death's cold, yet loving embrace... Most people tend to live a decent life of average fulfillment. About 40-70 years. Personally, I've only ever been allowed 18... I've always been curious about the other 22-52, but I've never been allowed to reach beyond the veil. Seemingly frozen at this specific spot, while at the same time being allowed the 'blessing' of being "beyond my years"... The phrase "you have an old soul" comes to mind, but it's a rather low blow to someone like me... That being said, I'm pretty much used to the feeling by now.

I was walking along the sidewalk of a road somewhere in Brookfield, the town I've lived in for as long as I can remember... And that's a long time indeed. Anyway, as I was walking, alone, I caught sight of the sun setting far behind the canvas of trees to my right. Looking at the beautiful sight that would likely be the last memorable scene of my life, I let out an audible scoff, which flew away with the light breeze that was gently rolling by, the sound heard by no one other than myself. Calmly looking back ahead to the path before me, I noticed I was getting close to a crosswalk. That would be my last stop. I could feel it. There were no cars or any other automobiles around for miles. Or so it seemed. The sound of my footsteps and the fabric of my pants sliding together as my legs carried the rest of my body to my final destination could barely be heard over the sound of my watch, which was growing louder and louder with each tick, just as it always had around this time of my life. It was nothing new, and yet it always made my heart beat a little faster, sensing that it wouldn't be doing so for very much longer. Just a reflex. An understandable one too.

Finally reaching the end of the sidewalk, I reached for my pocket-watch, only to remember that I didn't have it with me. I still made the mistake of confusing the ticking in my mind with that of my watch, as I generally always had it with me. But not today... I couldn't today. Either way, the scheduled time was coming around the corner fast, so it seemed as though this would be as good a place as any. I was curious to see what would happen in a seemingly barren street, but I knew fate wouldn't let me down. It never has before... I caught sight of a distant object slowly gliding forward at the top of the hill about a half a mile to my left. It was a city bus. 'Ha, perfect method. This is where I get off, after all...' I thought to myself as a wry smile stretched across my bruised and dirty face, my lips curled painfully as the freshly sealed cut on the bottom slit open once more. Now that I think about it, my clothes and body in general were fairly torn up and bloody due to recent events. The battle scars of yet another failure... However, it would all soon be masked by something far more horrible in another minute, so it didn't really matter to me all that much.

The bus was now about halfway down the hill it first appeared at. I looked down a few feet ahead of me to spot a large nail that had conveniently melded with the black asphalt of the road, its pointy end sticking up at an angle. This made me smile inquisitively, wondering how fate managed to pull that off... I blinked, slowly as all sound but that of my watch filled my head. I knew it was time. This was the day. My day, just as my watch had shown me after my last friend's date had been fulfilled. Just as it always had before now, it came down to me. Alone. Just as I started out. It was quite poetic, if nothing else... I quickly looked around me a little more to find even more strange anomalies surrounding a fairly wide area around me. Yep, it was certain; I was locked into the moment. There was no escaping once that happened... Usually, anyway... With that, I chose to stay put, as I knew I no longer needed to move to meet my destiny, for it was on its way in the form of a bus that was now no more than 50 feet away from me, a mere 30 feet from the nail it was so clearly going to strike. If not for my well-trained perception, I wouldn't have known what was going to happen in the next 30 seconds. But I did, and even if I wanted to, I no longer had any time to prevent it.

Tick, tock... Tick, tock... Tick, tock... The watch continued its symphony as I felt the air of the front-right tire of the bus collapse upon itself, which caused it to swerve haphazardly in my direction. Tick, tock... Tick...tock... Tick... ...tock... The ticking of my watch that was no longer even in my possession began slowing down, as did everything else happening around me. This was a supposed effect due to adrenaline, which proved to be true time and time again... For the fraction of a second that I had left, I swear I could feel the heat that was coming off of the bus's engine brush my face as the now destroyed tire forced the entire vehicle up and onto the curb, sending it flying straight towards my body. Tick... ...tock... ...tick. I was glad that it happened when it did, to be honest... My achingly tired legs were just about to give out right when it collided with my body, ending my life for the 5th time...

Gasping, I woke up with a start, falling out of the tree I was sitting in. I felt my back meet with the hard surface of the ground below me, which was a decent reminder of how it must have felt to be run over by a 12 ton bus. The impact was nothing in comparison, sure, but it wasn't a bad taste of what it might be like to live through it... Groaning, I sit myself up on one of my elbows, brushing the hair sticking to my forehead to the side. I was sweating. Hell, I was sleeping. Hadn't even felt myself go under... Sounding a chuckle to myself, I looked around. I was still at school. Taking out my silver pocket-watch which, thankfully, was still with me and in one piece, I noted that school was still in session, so it was clear that I missed my 4th class. To be honest, I was more thankful that no one was around to see me fall out of the tree than I was worried about missing yet another class... My teachers must hate me.

Pocketing my watch once more, I keeled back, laying partially spread-eagle in the grass with the back of my hand resting on my forehead. The sun was shining beautifully today, but I was glad I had the cover of the tree's leafs to give me shade from its glare. This way I didn't have to get up and find somewhere else to waste my time. My friends were all likely in school like the good, unaware kiddies that they were. Save for one in particular that comes to mind... I heaved a small sigh and closed my eyes again as a nice warm breeze rolled by, making the grass and tree leafs around me dance to its pull. It was a nice sound. Almost pleasant enough to make me drift on back to sleep... Hoping I didn't have anymore vivid recollections, I let it take me back under once again.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Rann
-I'm bored, little bro, entertain me!-

Dexterously, Violet shoved her phone into a inner strap, hidden by her skirt. The strap itself wraps around her left thigh, nice and snug, so that no one can really see she has it at all. It's pretty easy to slip the stupid phone in and out, too, so if a teacher gets too close, or notices she's not paying attention, she can slide it in and no one'd be the wiser. And heck, it'll vibrate at the lowest setting, and Violet'll definitely feel it when her little brother texts her back. She almost wriggles in anticipation while completely ignoring her teacher going over notes for the next test.

Like, come on. There had to be someone out there, right now, in need of aid, and where is Super Hero Violet? She's stuck in class, staring at her good singer buddy across the room. Lacey's her name, and Violet sometimes just wants to grab her by the arm, make some loud and obnoxious yell about saving the world, and running off with her to go practice in the park. Recently, they've been out of sync, Violet always a little too fast and loose on her chords, and off-beat, messing up Lacey's own vocals. Just shit they gotta work past somehow, through practice.

Violet's eyes drifted lazily to the clock.

Still about quarter to two...

Vibration. With ninja-like speed and precision, Violet whipped her phone from under her skirt, and looked at her brother's text.

-You're in class. Please pay attention, you're already behind enough, sis.-

Violet stared at the text dejectedly for a few seconds, then shook her head, slipping her phone back to it's hiding spot, not even bothering to answer the text. What a useless brother, not even bothering to help out a sister in need! And Violet really was in need, she could feel boredom creeping up behind her, about to run her through with a sword with the words BOREDOM painted on it with blood. She let her mind wander back to the teacher.

"...-rything in the text, from this page on will be on the test, so make sure you study well, class. As usual, I'll tell you the class average when I'm done marking, so you know where you are, in general, and-"

Yeah. Boring, useless crap that no one really needs to know. Who cares about frigging quadratic equations, anyways? Who actually uses that crap? Well, other than scientists and their ilk, or mathematicians, no one! So, it should be scrapped for more interesting things, like how to freaking get in sync with your duet partner! Actual usable life stuff! Course, it doesn't work like that. Does it ever work like that?

I wonder, how Nate's doing. It's been a while since I last tried to humiliate him at something, hasn't it? Perhaps, perhaps! Then, why don't I do somethin' 'bout that, huh?

They grew up close as children, her and Nathan. Two outgoing, generally friendly kids, until one day Nathan went all cold and mysterious. Something bad must have happened, and who better to tell than the childhood friend, ally of justice, Violet? No one's more trustworthy than her! Or, at least, that's what she'd like to think, but she's mostly looking for another way to get his attention. Maybe make him reciprocate, or even acknowledge her feelings in the slightest way. She let out a small sigh, startling the boy who sat behind her. What's his name, Violet hasn't a clue. But he's shy enough that the slightest sound from her terrifies him, a fact that she takes great pride in. Violet let out a mental evil laugh. Then, her eyes naturally slid languidly back to the clock of doom and hatred and pain.

So, 1:46.... it's... it's just been a minute since I last checked? Seriously? Screw this! I'm outta here!

So the girl stood up, and simply walked out of the classroom, muttering something about how she was going to go play her guitar, and that Lacey was free to join if she felt like in. She lifted her guitar, her beautiful Fender Mustang, and the amp, and exited once and for all. There was an awkward moment of silence as the short girl left, but the teacher just pushed his glasses up his nose, scratched his head in irritation, and continued his monotonous lecture. She then grabbed her phone.

-Not in class anymore, little bro! You suck at entertaining me.-

Sliding it back in with a satisfied chuckle, Violet skipped class for the sixth day this month.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Amber Breth
❝Still not too old to die young.❞



The heat came in distant shifts, filtering through the window shade. Light barely filled the room, and Amber laid still in twisted sheets, staring at nothing in particular. She thought of the next few months, her birthday seemed to come more quickly than she'd hoped. Her expression was emotionless, and her eyes a bit dull and lifeless. Ever since she'd turned seventeen she'd remember something she wished she hadn't. And some of it felt impossible. In her head on morning, she just knew something she hadn't the day before. And even if she'd try to put logic into it, it still remained as fact. There was a curse, forcing her to relive her life until she died at 18. She didn't know why, and tried to brush it off as a silly dream. But, the constant daydreams that felt more like memories than thoughts haunted her. She vaguely remembered being in these places, but long ago. It wasn't something that felt like had happened in the last 17 years. She had to believe it, there was no other choice. Even if she were to deny it, she'd either end up dying when she was 18 just to come back, or she'd live on and always have it sitting in the back of her mind. There wasn't any way to escape it, though it's not like she was trying to. With this knowledge rotting her brain, decaying most other thoughts, she felt very separate from everything. Her friends had been her friends since forever. Literally. Each one of them brought back a memory she'd had long before ever since her last birthday. She wondered if they knew as well, but how could you bring something up like that? She'd sound insane. Or to warn them, to tell them of their death. Cruel almost. Amber decided she'd rather not know they were all going to die, considering the burden that weighed on her now. Her whole body felt heavy, and she wished to lay in bed all day. Sleeping always seemed better than to go to school. But she could never take a day off, after an hour with social interaction she'd feel lonely.
Lori entered her room then, staying in the doorway. She gently knocked on the white painted frame, shifting Amber's attention over. "Wake up, darling!" she chimed, but her sweet smile fell slowly as her eyes glanced over the room. "Please do something about the clothes laying on the chair, Amber. Breakfast will be ready in a few." her tone changed, only slightly irritated. Her mother was always calm though, and didn't like to yell unless necessary.
Amber wondered what Lori would do if she died. She knew Lori would be sad, but she also knew Lori tried to see the benefit of everything. And well, without Amber there would be less of a mess around. Though it was slightly horrible to try and convince yourself no one would care if you died, the girl didn't know how else to forgive herself. She almost felt bad for being born, now knowing she was born to die. Born to break a family. To be a neighborhood tragedy. A newspaper headline. And she couldn't change that. So, it was a constant battle between wanting to get close to others or more as far away as possible to try to protect their feelings. It was hard trying to summon inner integrity you didn't think you'd ever need.
Slowly, she dragged herself out of bed. Her room was kept cold, the way she liked it, though in the morning it always made waking up harder to do. She slunk over to her dresser, rifling through trying to find something to wear. She found a colorful tank top with a beachy print on it, some black skinny jeans, and slipped out of her pajamas to put them on. Grabbing black pumps to top it off, since she was short she liked feeling taller, her outfit came together nicely. She made sure to throw the random close into the hamper in her closet, as to not upset her mother. She ran a brush through her long red hair, letting the silky locks just hang in subtle waves over her shoulders on both sides. She put on little make up, knowing she was running a bit late. She thanked her mom for breakfast but left without eating any after glancing at the time.
~
School dragged on, and was mostly boring besides the couple classes she had with friends. Ever since she'd learned, again, of the curse she'd be a little distant to random people. She stayed her normal self around her friends and few acquaintances and really whoever talked to her, but she didn't try to make conversation or to meet new people anymore. She focused on the lessons, but even then she felt them boring and pointless. Each class dragged slowly by, and lunch wasn't more exciting. She looked forward to the day being over, so she could hang out with her friends, but more importantly, Lacey. Lacy was someone she loved being around, and though they were somewhat different they were also similar. Times together usually involved laughing, and the two knew close to everything about each other. Except, Amber had been keeping these ideas from Lacy. She decided that it was probably better not to tell her, but even then she would have no idea how to tell her. She lightly bit the end of a pen, and stared out the window. Her elbow propped against the desk, and help a grip of her hair while supporting her head. She sat up more straight, and looked to the clock. She sighed, wishing it'd be over already.
It was then she received a text from the blond girl she'd just been thinking about. But, it wasn't an average text. There was a panic behind it, and Amber could tell whatever it was Lacy was upset about it. Instead of just leaving the class, knowing she still had to go to her friend, she made up some sickness excuse to the teacher and asked to go to the nurse. He handed her a pass, and as soon as she entered the hallway she ran towards the bathrooms, which she assumed Lacy would be in. The hallways were standard and familiar, considering Amber had been at the school since freshman year. It took her a few tries before she found where her friend was, but she should've guessed it was the closest bathroom to the class Lacy had just been in. She barely thought about her feet's slight pain from trying to run in heels. Instead of that she had walked as fast as she could.
She pushed the girl's bathroom door open, and instantly heard her friend choking out a sob. She turned to find her curled against the wall on the floor. Her hands held her face as she struggled to breath calmly. Amber's face fell, she felt the sadness Lacy did even though she wasn't aware of the issue yet.
"Oh, honey.." she said softly, and slowly moved to sit down next to her to comfort her. She placed a delicate hand on the girl's back, and sat quietly waiting for her to catch her breath. She could feel the small girl shake with every few sobs. Eventually after a few moments Lacy mumbled something about not being good enough for Stanford and Amber's heart dropped. She always wished Lacy would love herself as much as Amber did. She was too hard on herself and Amber felt terrible for that. She thought of the ideas she'd been having lately, and knowing they wouldn't even live to go to college and she felt a slight guilt for not telling her. What could she say? That it didn't matter about college because they were all going to die anyway? And even then Amber had no proof, and it was possibly something that would shoot Lacy's anxiety through the roof. She held herself back from mentioning it, and didn't make any promises of the future.
She then had an idea, "Hey, why don't we go get milkshakes?" she suggested, trying to cheer her up, "we can take my car, invite anyone you want. I know you love them." she coaxed, knowing no wasn't really an option.
Even if there was a hint of not wanting to go, Amber ignored it and helped her friend up. She seemed slightly reluctant at first, and was just trying to keep herself calm. She breathed heavily, and her big blue eyes were surrounded by running make up. They both went to the mirrors to clean her up, but it was obvious she was still upset. A small pout remained on her face, and her eyes were a bit red.
Amber led the girl out of the bathroom, linking her arm with Lacy's. They slipped out of the school, and towards her car. School wasn't exactly over yet, but there was no point in going back to class. She glanced over under a large tree where she saw Nathan laying in the grass. "Do you want to invite him to come too or have it be just us?" she asked Lacy.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Paige Parker Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Samuel Westhouse
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Lacey Harvelle

Lacey moved robotically, letting Amber do what she will with her. It didn't matter to her that her skin was all blotchy and red and that she probably looked beyond a hot mess. Was there even a thing like that? She let those thoughts puzzle her as Amber helped her clean her face and walked her out of the bathroom.

Why couldn't she have family like Amber? She had perfectionists who didn't give a damn about her. Hell, Lacey didn't even give a damn about Lacey. A not-even-amused smirk crossed her face for a split second. Amber loved her - like, loved her loved her. It was that love Gracie should have for her instead of the slight jealousy mixed with false affection she shows. Amber's love for her reached a level that may even surpass Lacey's mother's.

Nobody likes Lacey.

She then glanced at Amber, who still had concern on her face. She faintly heard Amber say something about inviting someone and followed the beautiful - why was everyone else beautiful and Lacey was so fucking average? - girl's gaze to Nathan Miller. Lacey's own eyes narrowed for a second. She did not understand her relationship with Nate yet. Were they really friends? Did she simply bide his time? Plus, with the dreams, there was always something about him that stirred Lacey wrong...

"Sure," Lacey replied. She then extended her voice to the male lying down, not caring if he was sleeping or not. "Nathan! Nate! Come with us! We're getting milkshakes." Sighing, Lacey pulled out her phone. She muttered to Amber, "Might as well make a shindig out of it. I'm texting everyone." She sent a mass text to everyone, inviting their group to get milkshakes if they wanted to come. Who cared about school anyway? Mom does, her mind taunted and she told it to go fuck itself. Lacey managed a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes at Amber. "Thanks...for coming."

Not wanting to further be emotional, Lacey plastered an even bigger smile on her face and slid into the passenger seat while Amber moved to the driver's. Glancing at Nathan quickly, she banged on the horn. "Come on, Nate! Get up already!!"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Rann
Fingers sore from strumming her guitar, Violet sat down tiredly on the bench. It's only been about four days, and she ran through another set of batteries for her amp, and she had too much pride to go ask her conformist parents for more batteries. Too much pride to owe them anything. But, man, the sound of an acoustic is just so boring. It's got no power, or anything, so there's no way she can get tips from just doing that. Assuming she even has any guitar ability at all. Violet doesn't, by the way, not at all.

Gotta get better, though. So I can back up Lacey's awesome voice.

She knew, however, that if she played anymore tonight, she'd probably injure her fingers. And plus, the Mustang needed to be restrung at the local music shop, not that she has the money to afford that sort of thing. She vaguely wondered exactly what's up with Lacey, anyways, and why she's been all weird this whole day. And that was when she saw it. A boy from her school, taking an aggressive stance with a girl; arm to the wall, and a slick grin. Fire burst in Violet's eyes like acid washing over her body.

Time to be a hero!

"-over to my place for a drink, eh? Show you a good time."

The worst type of guy. There's no way an ally of justice could stand for this sort of thing. Before the boy or girl could answer, Violet took a swing at the boy's face, grazing his chin as he took a step back in alarm. Violet's face was hard, with a dark frown, as she took an offensive position, and swung her fist hard again, smashing it into his gut. He fell onto his back, and Violet mocked him, laughing as she drove a foot into his side.

"Don't try that on a girl again! You... you swine! You filthy pig! Go die in a hole-"

"Mark! What are you doing, you psycho bitch?!"

uh... huh?

The girl knelt down to the boy, and helped him get back up, before delivering a sharp and dirt look towards Violet's direction.

"Read the mood a little! God!" The girl cried. "I was waiting for him to invite me for ages, ages! And you... you just..."

Wiping his mouth, the boy got up, and dusted his clothes off with his hands. His fist was clenched before turning, and wrapping an arm around his apparent girlfriend? Possibly? Violet just stood there impassively, unwilling to accept that she made a mistake; least of all to ingrates like them. She was only trying to help after all! Still, she'd just walk away, pretend like it hadn't happened. Every ally of justice makes mistakes sometimes, right? No one's perfect at this sorta thing, after all.

"She's as bad as they say." The boy, Mark muttered. "A thug. She'll always be like dirt to us, she's not even worth the time. Damned outsider."

I was born here... so I'm not an outsider. I'm not, right?

Then she remembered the man, that one she met that one time while trying to get her mind off of Nathan. The rope guy, who tricked her into putting herself at his mercy. All the pictures he's taken... and saying that no one would believe her if she told anyone, because she's just an outsider, while he's lived here for generations. That her word was taken at a lesser level than his. Scum like that has more worth to this stupid town than a high school girl? Maybe it's just another reason to skip on out of here, and find a new place to try and belong. And then her phone vibrated. Violet whipped it out from her thigh strap.

Milk shakes with the gang? Sounds fun, gotta get this shit outta my head anyways.

It was about five minutes later when Violet, together with her Mustang and dead amp, arrived on scene, seeing Lacey, Amber, and Nate. Violet waved cheekily at her friends, before realizing that she still had blood from her little fight on her knuckles. Hoping that no one's noticed, Violet pulled her sleeve over her knuckle, before cockily squeezing in as close as possible to Nathan, almost challenging him to try and push her away.

"What's up, bitches?" She sneered brightly. "You ready to party, or what? And don't say what!"

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Savader
Just when I'm finally beginning to have a decent dream about nothing in particular, I'm suddenly jolted awake by the sound of someone calling my name. Still in a bit of a daze from entering a deep sleep, an alarm went off in my head, making me think that something was wrong; the calling sounded almost like screaming at first, until I heard my name a second time after my upper half sprung up into a sitting position, inhaling sharply as my eyes widened out of shock. My first instinct was to look around, which I did, noticing two girls standing not too far away from me, beckoning me over to them. I knew them very well as Lacey Harvelle and...Amber Breth. I, of course, knew them by many other names as well; ones that I doubt they're even aware were once theirs, but this was who they were in this day and age. I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes and stretched my arms out. Heaving a small sigh, I took out my pocket-watch -- a familiar sight to the others by now -- and looked at the time. Each tick of the hands made a tiny noise that was in synch with the clock in my head. It was about 5 minutes to 2pm. School would be out in about 40 minutes, so why was Lacey and Amber asking me to join them? Was everyone skipping school early today...?

Closing my watch with a click, I placed it back in my pocket and stood up, brushing the grass and dirt from my pants. Giving a yawn and yet another stretch, I hunched forward and gave my friends a lazy wave as I began slowly walking over to them. To be honest, I really don't want to go out right now. Much less for milkshakes... But I like to make it a regular thing to at least hang out with my friends every once in awhile, so as not to make them worry any further about my usual antisocial behavior. I haven't actually talked to them much outside of school and the occasional text or Facebook notification recently, so I suppose I owe them at least this much.

Clearly not too pleased with how I was taking my sweet-ass time getting over to the car they were in, Lacey noisily slammed her hand down on the horn, startling me as a flash of a particular bus came hurtling toward me in my mind's eye. My body froze for a second, still practically half-asleep, until I shook it off and continued my walk, a little faster this time, to what I suppose would be my ride home for today. I didn't have a car, despite how convenient it would be to have one, for most people. Nope, I have a bike. No, not a motorcycle; a regular old, metal-frame bicycle. And, not to brag or anything, I'm fairly talented with it. I may not be able to outrun a car, but it gets the job done when I need to cut through tight obstacles in order to reach my destination without much trouble. It was only a matter of time before I would need it for such a thing once again... If I didn't use my bike, I'd just walk everywhere. This normally gave my friends something to pick about out of fun, but I honestly didn't care. I got tired of taking driving tests after my 3rd run of high school... Believe it or not, it gets rather repetitive and annoying. Living in a small town did have its perks for a bike-rider like myself, though.

Finally reaching the car, I gave the two of them a wave through the window of the passenger side door before opening the back and sliding in. I closed the door and rested my hands on my lap, smiling wryly as I gave them a "Hi". I looked around at nothing in particular. It was a fairly nice car. Still smelled rather new. "Sooo..." I said, locking eyes with Lacey. "What's the plan? Are we really escaping with only 1 class left...? Doesn't seem very logical to me..." I gave them a playful smirk and looked out the window. This sucked. Not because I was with my friends, but because I was wasting my time when I could be searching for my solution to the biggest problem of our existence... What was I doing, skipping class and falling asleep in a tree, and then again on the ground just after...? And now going for milkshakes? The hell is wrong with me...? Maybe I'm just finally tired of trying? I sure hope not. There's more than just me who is affected by the outcome of this curse... By now, I figured my expression must have changed into one of hard focus, which made me slacken my face a bit and turn it into another smile.

"Think you said something about milkshakes? Who else is coming? Or is it just us three?" I asked her, wondering just how 'festive' this was going to become. I glanced at Amber for a moment and gave her a nod, not knowing what else to do or say. This girl was always tricky to deal with (especially for me, due to personal history), no matter what her name was this time around. While she can be more than sweet at times, she can also be a bit nosy, which was a good reason not to let your guard down around her and show her your true feelings, unless you actually WANTED her to know... I didn't. I didn't want anyone to know. It'll come out again once everyone remembers, though. It always does. Either way, it's much easier to just stay silent about how I feel. Just like everything else I choose to hide...

And that was when yet another familiar face decided to pop its way in. Violet Haring. The person I grew up with in this life. For a long time in this life, she was my best friend. But then...like always, I started to remember... Sidling up rather close to my side than I'm used to, she sneers at me, knowing that I tend to dislike having my personal space invaded. I think the current her likes me or something. Guess it's understandable in that we're supposed to be childhood friends in this life, but I find it strange that she could feel any closeness with me at all these days... What a pain... "Hey, Vi." I say to her, giving her a friendly nudge with my elbow. Despite her not being my real oldest friend, I still couldn't help but feel the connection that grew between us while growing up together. This is how it was with every new cycle; whilst living it, my old personality, thoughts and feelings, before I regained my memories, would always seep into my daily life by reflex. Violet and I were close for years. And even now after I've clearly alienated myself from everyone, I still feel that bond. And worse yet, so does she...

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Amber Breth
❝The hardest part of a business, is minding your own.❞



Amber waited more politely for Nathan than Lacy had, but she laughed as her friend honked the horn in order to hurry him up. He moved a little fast then, and gave them a wave before he slid into the back of the car. To her dismay he mostly talked to Lacy, only giving Amber a slight nod of his head. She could never really figure Nathan out in general, and he didn't seem like he'd want to answer any questions Amber had nor give her a chance to ask them. He always sounded sincere though, and she didn't think he'd lie to her. If anything he might be the one she'd confide in about what she'd been dreaming and thinking about since she turned 17. Maybe, just maybe, there was something to talk about. He was probably the main reason she even held onto the idea, just because she felt a weird pull to him. There was a familiarness about him, but everything she thought of him changed when they were together. She felt as if she'd once been close to him. But the way he acted around her now was so distant, regardless of how Amber felt. She occasionally caught him looking at her, with a caring but also sad or worried look. Like there was something bad happening and he knew it. She couldn't tell what this meant, maybe it'd be better if she stayed away. But how could she when he randomly emerged in her mind throughout the day? There had to be a reason he was in her head right? She then saw Violet coming over, so she waited as the girl hopped into the car too. She watched as the girl pulled her sleve over part of her hand, but she decided not to say anything.. yet. Maybe later if she remembered to ask. Which she probably would.
For now she shook it off and drove, to probably the best place to get milkshakes in town. It was a cute little diner, with somewhat comfortable booths and decent service. It was near the mall, and a few other big places that attracted people. Then again, it was kind of a small town. The drive only took about five or ten minutes, and she parked her car in a spot next to the building. She'd been going to this place ever since she was little, because her father loved it. He used to take her and her sister out on Saturday mornings for breakfast, until Amber turned about 14. Since then her and Lacy had always gone to cheer up with milkshakes, or just get them for fun. Going with all their friends would be different, but more fun nonetheless. She could only hope it'd cheer Lacy up though. She glanced at her before they got out of the car, to see that she wasn't still crying or close to it. She looked a bit half hearted, but Lacy put on a brave face when other people were around. She could only hope she was doing the right thing, or at least what Lacy would've wanted. She felt terrible about her not getting into stanford, but the truth was Amber had barely even applied to colleges. She still didn't believe she'd even live to see college. She only applied to ten colleges, and only opened the letters for a few. She was pleased to find that she made it into Dartmouth, but she didn't care when she hadn't made it to Stanford either. She didn't tell Lacy this though, because Amber would feel obligated to act very depressed or upset as anyone would if their dreams were crushed. When she still thought going to any college was a possibility, she would've been upset, but now it all seemed silly to care about it.
The four walked in the diner, and got one of the rounded booths that'd be able to fit ten in case their other six friends decided to join them. Amber sat on the end, to the left of Lacy, and Nathan and Violet sat on the right of her. Their waiter brought over a few menus, and asked Amber if they were ready to order or if they wanted to wait. He looked only a couple years older than them, and he was tall. Maybe 6'1" or 6'2". Amber couldn't really tell. He had dirty blond hair and a charming smile. His clear blue eyes looked icy colored, but he seemed friendly and warm. Amber answred him kindly, that they needed a moment and they were waiting for a few more people. He gave her a somewhat flirty wink, and told her to take her time while giving her a quick look over. She blushed as he walked away, and felt Lacy elbow her and giggle.
Amber wasn't extremely used to guys flirting with her, at least not so obviously. She was very beautiful, but she was usually focused on other things than boys. Usually when Lacy and her were together, Amber was more of a wing girl, because Lacy was a classic beauty. She had lovely blond hair, and gorgeous blue eyes. Amber was unique, vibrant red hair and dull green eyes. There was something fun and exciting about being around Lacy, that Amber sometimes lacked. She loved her best friend, and felt that together they made a wonderful pair. It kept things interesting, and Amber never really felt jealous of her, knowing Lacy constantly had a lot of pressure on her to be perfect. She didn't find this fair, and always supported Lacy to go on with a music career rather than whatever plan her parents were shoving down her throat. She avoided eye contact from the others a bit, staring down at her menu as if she were looking for what to order. She studied the flavors of milkshakes you could get, though she already knew what she was getting. She loved the smell and taste of vanilla, so that was easily her choice. Ever time she smelled it or tasted it really, a new memory came back. That's how it seemed to work with her, scents and other senses brought up memories from long ago. Not ones she'd experience in this life. There was no explantion for them other than her idea, so what else did she have to believe?
She glanced over at Nathan and Violet, slightly to see Nathan's reaction to the waiter flirting with her. She told herself Nathan wouldn't care, and wondered why she even cared what he was thinking. It's not like they were anything more than friends, and even then it seemed like Nathan didn't want much to do with her. He confused her, because he talked to her like she meant something more to him, but then avoided her often. He walked around her questions, and dodged her observations. He had a way to getting around whatever she wanted to know about him. She'd realized she was only slightly jealous by Violet and his closeness, but even then she noticed he'd become more distant to Violet too. She knew they'd grown up together and always been best friends, and she wasn't bothered by that at all. She liked both of them very much, and cared for them like any of her friends. She wondered what was going through Nathan's head, and why it was so easy around Violet when it wasn't around Amber. She looked back down at her menu, looking over the flavors once again.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Charles Hill


"Hey Charlie I've been looking all over for you!" A small girl's chipper voice called from across the library making Charles, along with everyone else turn to look at her. Seeming to be unaware of the irratated stares and the stern look from the librarian the girl skipped over to Charlie her brown curls bouncing on her shoulders with everystep she took. The girl plopped down next to him a huge grin on her face as she flipped some hair over her shoulder and stared at him waitingly.

Charles only smiled at her, unsure of her name as she snuggled in closer to him.

"What are you reading that has your attenton so much, I've been standing over there for an hour waiting for you to notice me." The girl said trying to look at the object Charlie was holding.

Charlie quickly slammed the book closed and tucked it away in his backpack hoping she hadn't seen it.

"I didn't know you were one for literature." The girl giggled as she hugged his arm. "You know you shouldn't be ashamed, Moby Dick is actually a good book." She continued looking up at him.

Charlie let out a relived sigh glad she hadn't seen what he was really reading.

"You know you have really pretty eyes." Charlie cooed softly trying to change the subject. The girl blushed and looked away momentarily before returning her gaze to his.

"T-thank you." She finally got out, a sheepish smile on her face.

"Of course, love." Charlie responded decidng on using a pet name in place of her real name.

"Are you ready for our date tonight?" Charlie looked down at the brunette as she regained her composure, an eyebrow raised before hiding his confusion with a fake smile.

"We're going to have so much fun, I have the perfect ou-." The girl was cut off by the soft dinging of Charlie's phone, signaling he had a text.

Taking out his cheap battered phone Charlie opened the text. The girl peered over his shoulder curiously making Charlie throw irritated glare over his shoulder at her.

"Who's Lacey?!" The girl yelled letting go of his arm and standing up.

Guess she saw the text. Charlie thought bitterly looking up at the brunette now towering over him, her hands on her hips and her cheeks no longer red from embarrassment, but in anger.

"Look I can explain...Hannah." Charlie said quickly trying to come up with an excuse so she wouldn't explode.

The girl let out a hurt hiccup. "My name's Emily!" She then yelled stomping off without even letting Charlie get another word out of his mouth.

All eyes landed on him as 'Emily' exited the school library. Charlie quickly ran a hand through his hair feeling self-conscious at the number of stares. Shoving his phone back into his pocket and readjusting the comic book that was starting to fall out of the huge Moby Dick book, Charlie zipped up his backpack and heaved it over his shoulder, heading for the parking lot deciding that the last 40 minutes of school didn't matter that much.

"These milkshakes better be worth it." Charlie mumbled grumpily as he exited the school.

Stopping in the parking lot, and at Amber's car window, Charlie knocked on the window. Making a motion for her to roll it down he began talking.

"Aren't you girls looking lovely today....and I guess you too Nate." He commented a playful smirk on his face. Turning his attention to Amber he winked.

"Enough room in the back for me?" He asked.

Strutting into the diner behind everyone an arrogant smile laced his lips. Following everyone to a table he sat down next to Violet.

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Lacey Harvelle

Lacey was grinning when a few of her friends piled in to the car. They almost pulled away when she saw Charles and gave Amber a look to not leave yet. Once they were stuffed in the back, Amber pulled off and Lacey leaned back in the passenger seat. She grinned at Violet and Nathan as they both spoke.

"Well, I want milkshakes 'cause milkshakes are awesome, my treat. Isn't that festive enough?" She winked at them, flashing them one of her most brilliant smiles. It was better this way - her keeping her own issues in instead of letting them know now. She was Lacey. She was the fun one. What did she look like not being happy and smiley and ready for action? She continued talking even as Charles got in the car, smirking at his compliment. "I invited everyone. Not sure if they all are coming. Less money I'm spending anyway."

As Amber drove off, Lacey decided to brighten the mood by chatting about the upcoming party. It was tonight and Lacey was, of course, going to be the DJ. Everyone was required to come; no excuses. She didn't give a damn about homework or practices or anything of that nature. Hell, Lacey herself was blowing off education. If she, the girl who currently was in the top percent of the class, was blowing off homework, her friends could as well. Anyway, some senior named Max was throwing the party and while Lacey conversed lightly with the popular people, she did keep in the loop and that meant she always knew what party was going to happen. Besides, this was a welcome distraction, she decided.

And she needed all the distraction she could get.

"We're here," she exclaimed excitedly and was the first to hop out of the vehicle. She linked arms with both Violet and Amber, dragging the two girls inside with her to find a booth. A male waiter, this guy that Lacey had seen a few times with her older brother but never spoke to, came over to them and while Amber dismissed him by politely telling him that they were waiting for more people, Lacey sat with a smirk, whispering to Violet, "The siren Amber strikes again. Another lovestruck fool is seduced." She giggled at her own little joke before leaning into Amber and elbowing her gently, "Hmmm...he's cute. Sure it's only a milkshake he's willing to give you?" Lacey could only laugh at the blush on Amber's face. Lacey decided without even having to look at a menu what she wanted. She always ordered a chocolate peanut-butter shake. Yes, it was weird and probably obnoxious with all the chocolate sauce and whipped cream, but it was Lacey's favorite. She turned her attention to the others.

"So, how is everyone?"

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Rann
Something terrible happened. The playboy of the group, Charles, has arrived, trademark charming smile and roving eyes as he squished his way into Amber's backseat. He gave his customary compliment to the girls, and Violet rolled her eyes, trying to get rid of her irritation with the fight earlier. Shed also have to be careful from now on, and just use her left hand for everything. No need for anyone to see the blood; Violet's own business, and no one else's. Though, knowing Amber, the my business shlick won't work, and she'll force her way into the problem.

"If you say that to every living thing with boobs, playboy, doesn't that just make us all average?" She jeered, a mix of cruelty and friendliness in her words. "Be honest for once, and focus on Amber. She's the hot one, after all!"

Ah, that Amber. Sure, they're close friends, but Violet's not a complete idiot. She's seen the looks Amber gives Nate every now and then... so, while they are friends, Violet also thinks of Amber as competition. And since when does this manic girl ever back down from a competition?

Lace began talking about the party she was invited to, Violet grinned and pounced excitedly. A party! One of the perfect ways on making a guy realize that you are, in fact, a female organism, and you can blame your slutty actions on the alcohol later on! She could find an excuse to kiss him, or maybe even touch him. Violet made a mental note to google the more intricate matters of seduction, since Violet only really knows about kissing. Everything beyond that is unknown territory. She almost jumped at the electric shock as Nate elbowed her in the side, the sensation sending heat and anticipation all at once in a semi-epic flinch.

"Nate!" Violet shouted loudly, masking the pink on her cheeks, and her own nervousness, "If I can drink more milkshakes than you, you'll have to dance with me at the party! It's a challenge!"

How oblivious can you get? He better realize it by now, at least! Sheesh! Idiot! Stupid Nate!

Once seated at the diner, squeezed comfortably between Lacey and the playboy, Charles, she shared a joke with her awesome and suddenly back-to-normal singing buddy over Amber and the waiter, commenting on that, if Violet were a guy, she'd totally do... indecent things to the red-headed girl. If Amber was blushing, her face after that must have been priceless to look at. Violet then ordered a coconut milkshake, something surprisingly tame for her, and while everyone else was distracted, she grabbed at a napkin on the table, and tried to rub off the dried blood from her hand. It worked to some extent, and she shoved the napkin into her sweater's pocket for safekeeping. She then took out her phone and sent a text to Lacey, with her somewhat effective stealth to keep the boy in question from seeing it.

-Lace! You're gonna be my wingman for the party, right? Try to find a way to get us alone! I'll do whatever you want, okay?-

No need for Amber to know. Sorry, buddy, but I'll have the advantage as long as you don't know i'm here!

Lacey then asked the table how they were, and then it occurred to her that, while everyone else here is mostly liked and welcome, would they really let Violet at the party at all? She downed one shake, and then ordered another hastily, making sure to win her bet with Nate. Then she was pensive again. It'd take a total idiot not to notice the stares she gets at times, and she often hears Taylor defending her to her parents whenever Violet acts out in front of them, or gets notices from her teachers at school for bad behavior. What if they didn't let her in? What if her being there ruins the mood? After all, she's an outsider.

"Kinda stressed, actually." Violet said with a bit of a scowl. "Folks at home are putting on the pressure for me to at least apply for a college or some crap, but what's the point? Not like I'd study there anyways, right? How stupid can you be? You gotta be smart to get into shit like that, right, Lace?"

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Amber Breth
❝I am very interested and fascinated how everyone loves each other, but no one really likes each other.❞



Amber's embarrassment continued as the two girls joked about the waiter, and more about her attractiveness, she couldn't help but crack a smile and shake her head at the two. She giggled with them but was still blushing pretty hard. She whined with a light tone asking them to stop, and they did as Violet brought the idea of the party back up. She yelled, basically loud enough for everyone to hear challenging Nate to whoever could drink more milkshakes, the prize being a dance. Amber herself thought it was obvious Violet liked him, but she knew her place. Her and Violet were close, but not the type to talk about boys with. Considering their conflict of interest. It was easy that both of them were aware of the other's attraction, though Violet seemed sure of hers and Amber's was more of an idea to her. Amber couldn't tell if she actually like Nate or not because he sometimes didn't give her the time of day. That was only an expression though, because he seemed to carry a watch everywhere and wouldn't mind pulling it out any chance he got. She didn't let Violet's flirting bother her, because if her friends were going to be happy together, who was she to stop them? Sure there was a little jealousy but Nathan wasn't hers to begin with. Or so she thought. Going to a party would be fun though.
She wasn't a bad dancer, considering she'd been a dancer for a while. Though she switched to gymnastics, she could still move her hips pretty well, and was very graceful overall. Since Lacy would be more focused on djing, Amber would probably be dancing the whole night nearby where her best friend was. She liked parties, because she felt in her element. There were people, and much conversation to be made. She hadn't been to a good one in a good amount of time, so this did excite her a bit.
Charles had also come with them, but so far he hadn't said much other than his casual compliment greeting. She liked Charles, and thought he was very funny and charming. He could be somewhat conceited at times, but Amber felt he had a good heart and she enjoyed his company. She could easily see why many girls fawned over him. It was then that Violet caught her attention, who'd grabbed a napkin and began rubbing at what looked like to be dried blood. She stared for a moment, maybe trying to make an assumption as to not accuse the girl, as Violet pulled out her phone.
"So, how is everyone?" Lacy asked, making conversation.
Amber herself was doing fine, if anything she was worried about how Lacy was. Well now she was actually wondering why Violet had blood on her hands, and if she should be concerned about that. She was still a bit embarrassed, and slightly wondered if the waiter was going to come back and continue to pursue her. She debated how she felt about this. Maybe if Nathan was going to be flirting and dancing with Violet all night she would invite the waiter on a date or something. People did that right? Got people's numbers and invited them to parties? Sure. It was an open party after all.
Violet answered Lacy's question first though, "Kinda stressed, actually. Folks at home are putting on the pressure for me to at least apply for a college or some crap, but what's the point? Not like I'd study there anyways, right? How stupid can you be? You gotta be smart to get into shit like that, right, Lace?"
Amber's stomach dropped. Considering Violet had no idea why they'd even gone to get milkshakes in the first place, it wasn't really her fault. But, it was probably the wrong thing to say. The redheaded girl quickly jumped in, sticking her nose into other's business as always. She decided to figure out what had happened, and changed the conversation in hopes of Lacy ignoring the comment or letting it slip. It was unlikely, but she could only hope.
"Omigosh, Violet!" she said, slightly abruptly, "What happened to your hand? Was that blood?" she reached over Lacy and took her Violet's hand in hers. "Are you okay?" she said, sounding concerned.
Though it was started for a distraction, Amber did actually care to know. She'd planned on asking her later, maybe more privately considering Violet probably didn't want to talk to everyone about it, but Amber acted on an impulse.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Rann
"Omigosh, Violet!" Amber cried, completely out of the blue. "What happened to your hand? Was that blood?"

Okay. Okay, maybe she should have washed her hand before meeting up with them. That'd have been smart. But, come on, Amber didn't have to just scream it out, especially in front of Nathan. Violet inched her hand farther down the table, starting to sweat. What if this was on purpose? It might've been a ploy to give Amber the edge in their mutual crush on Nathan, but that's just a huge what if. Considering the fact that Amber's the sweetest person in the universe, and that she might not even know about Violet's feelings, this is probably unlikely. Chances are, Amber couldn't help being the sweet, caring, and somewhat tactless girl that she is.

"Eh? Uh, theres... nothing at all, what are you talk-"

Almost as if trying to prove it, Amber reached across Lace and grasped Violet's hand. She looked deep into her eyes as she asked if she was okay, and Vi couldn't bear to look back into the eyes of her friend, shame and guilt burning her chest. Violet's mind and face both went blank in a split second, and then she wrenched her hand away from the redhead, almost violently covering it up form anyone's view. It's not as if her friends weren't aware of the fighting, she's sure that they heard the rumors. But that's all it was, just rumors. Super Hero Violet is a part of her life that none of her close friends were meant to know. Especially Nate, and Violet purposely looked away from him, not willing to see his reaction; to see what kind of face he's making.

"I'm... fine. Okay?" She let out a tense, unconvincing chuckle. "Not even my blood... just got in a little fight, that's all! Nothing to worry about...!"

"Even if I wasn't fine, it doesn't matter, just an outsider after all..." She muttered, not knowing that everyone could hear her. She hastily changed the subject, obviously.

"So.. the party! Yeah, the party, will there be drinks?" She asked through her teeth. "A shot of champagne'd be great just about now..."

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Lacey Harvelle


"Folks at home are putting on the pressure for me to at least apply for a college or some crap, but what's the point? Not like I'd study there anyways, right? How stupid can you be? You gotta be smart to get into shit like that, right, Lace?" Lacey tensed when Violet began talking about pressure and home. If only she knew, Lacey thought before nodding in agreement, the same smile from earlier plastered upon her face. Thinking about it, Lacey was pretty sure she could make for a decent actress. Few people knew when she was acting and when she was not. At this particular point, Violet was definitely the latter.

Don't get Lacey wrong; she loved Violet. Violet was this ball of hyperactive fire that kept Lacey on her toes. It was exhilarating, to say the least. Amber was her best friend, sure. Amber kept Lacey's mind out of the more depressing situations because Lacey was too busy trying to get Amber to just have fun. They could talk for hours and when Lacey didn't want to be brave and just wanted to be a girl, she would cry with Amber. Not saying that she couldn't do that with Violet, but there was a level of closeness that Amber and Lacey had and Violet hadn't reached that yet.

Which was why she chose to say, "Yeah, I understand. But tonight, it's about us and fun. And damnit, I'm gonna enjoy myself!" Now that she thought about it, she did not want to burden her friends with feeling bad for herself. No, there were greater, more fulfilling things than getting into Stanford.

"Omigosh, Violet! What happened to your hand? Was that blood? Are you okay?" All at once Amber spoke, leaving Lacey to observe in shock at the blood on Violet's hand. It was smeared and nearly dry. Amber reached over and Vi snatched away just as quickly, her mumbling caught by Lacey's ears. Lacey's eyes narrowed at the girl, a silent demand of an explanation.

But it could wait. Lacey wasn't like Amber. Amber cared deeply for everyone; loved everyone. She would demand an explanation if anything ever happened to anyone and would want the full story. Lacey, on the other hand, had a different approach. Certain situations were meant for privacy. This was one of them.

"She said she was fine, Amber. Just leave it," Lacey exclaimed, waving her hand carelessly. "Besides, I want my milkshake now. Who cares if the others aren't here yet?" Lacey signaled the waiter over and while waiting, she added to Violet with a crooked grin, "And champagne is for babies, hon. Max said that one of his friends is a bartender and you're gonna want something a little stronger before the night's over." She winked and giggled before cutting her eyes at the waitress flirtatiously, "Hi, love. I'd love a peanut-butter and chocolate milkshake and Red over here wants vanilla. And, if you're interested, her number is..."

Lacey didn't even get to finish telling him because Amber let out something akin to a shriek and elbowed her, causing Lacey to erupt into a fit of giggles. The waiter only chuckled in amusement before walking away to put in their orders, claiming that he would be right back. Before he could get away, though, she called, "Oooh, and some sweet potato fries. And don't forget about these guys!" Smirking at a flustered Amber who decided to pout, Lacey turned her attention to the boys. "So, you guys coming or what?"

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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#, as written by Savader
Oh, yet another friendly face. What do you know; young Charlie, the playboy of the group, decided to join us for some milkshakes. I gave him a nod and smiled as I responded to his usual charm.

"How many times have I told you, Charlie... I'm just not that into you." I said, giving him a smirk before shaking my head. Charlie was always like this. With generally everyone in the group, whether they were male or female. Although it seemed like his flirting with the guys was nothing more than a running gag. Shows how close we all are, if nothing else. His soul has always been this type, so I've been used to it for quite some time, as I'm sure you can imagine. After greeting everyone, he piled on into the backseat of Amber's car, sliding in on Violet's side.

Upon feeling my nudge, Violet exclaimed out of startle, which was far away from my intentions of elbowing her. And...of course...because of this, she chose to force a challenge on me. How was this even a challenge in the first place? "You have to dance with me if I can drink more milkshakes than you"...? How would that be a penalty for the guy? I mean, Violet was certainly pretty, and any rational guy would be more than fine with dancing with her, but Violet wasn't the type to say something like that, unless the punishment of the loser also happened to please HER, so it was rather obvious what her motives were. I wasn't even going to this party, and yet now I was locked in either putting up with it or letting her down. Reason why I see it this way is because I know damn well that there's no way I could beat this girl in a contest of drinking milkshakes. I don't even really care for them that much. Hell, last time I actually enjoyed one was when I was on a date with Amber's original self, and that was over a hundred years ago... Wonder if she remembers that yet... Either way, it was pretty much a done deal. That being said, I'm already thinking of ways to get out of it. I hate parties...

It didn't take long before we all reached the local diner. Everyone piling into the establishment at their own pace. I took my seat beside Charlie's other side, and we were soon greeted by a rather tall young waiter who was roughly around our age. He passed us the menus and almost immediately began flirting with Amber, who became rather submissive in a slightly embarrassed way before watching the man leave. Annoying. Why was this annoying. I had my head lowered over our table slightly as I watched the guy leave with my eyes for a second before shifting in my seat and looking down at my menu. Shrugging off my inner thoughts, I realized that I didn't need this thing. The only kind of milkshake I ever got was vanilla. I was rather simple in that light.

I pushed my menu away from me and leaned back lazily in my seat, seeming rather low on energy. I chose not to answer Lacey's question as the others did the opposite. It wasn't long before both Lacey and Violet went on to teasing Amber about the flirty waiter, much to her embarrassment. I began feeling a very annoying itch in the back of my mind as they babbled on, and had to focus on the ticking inside my head in order for it to go away. Finally when I succeeded in doing so, they too, seemed to stop talking about that waiter. Perfect timing, I think.

Violet then decided to scrub something off of her knuckles. Blood. I eyed her hand for just a moment before looking away again. She never learns, does she... Looking up at Amber, I caught sight of her noticing the very same thing I just did. Only a matter of time before she addresses it. I've known about Violet's little "vigilante" adventures for some time now, but chose not to address it with anyone here. That being said, I would have to eventually. Soon... Very soon... it might just get her killed... The girl in question hid her hand under her sleeve once more after pocketing the now slightly reddened napkin. No one else other than me and Amber seemed to have noticed, which was good. For now...

Violet then quickly downed one shake and instantly ordered another. It was clear she was hellbent on winning that dance... I never even had the chance to either accept or refuse the challenge in the first place. A younger Nate, before regaining these memories, likely would have accepted blindly... That was just the kind of relationship he and Violet had growing up. But that Nate was fake, and now gone. Sad as it was, it was the truth. And while none here seemed to know this truth fully just yet, the truth does often hurt... Violet then seemed to be deep in thought as she was working on her second milkshake. She had a rather worried expression on her face, until she lifted her head up from the shake and finally answered Lacey's question, with one of her own at the last moment.

Just then, I felt the tension around the table suddenly grow very thick. Most of this was coming from Amber and Lacey. I had no idea why this was, but it was clear that it had something to do with what Violet just said. Sensing the coming drama, I sat up as Amber eyed around almost panicking before announcing to the entire diner Violet's bloody hand. Great tact, Amber. Choose to focus on someone's issues in order to save someone else from confronting theirs. It was rather underhanded, but it was clear she felt she had no other choice. Amber would have talked about it with Violet in private later on anyway, but purposely chose to address it now instead. There are much better ways to avoid a topic, if that's what this is... Before Violet could dismiss this, Amber snatched up her hand, not letting her escape. Violet then quickly snatched her hand back and explained what I, and likely most of the others, already knew, and did so in a rather shrinking tone. It was clear she was very uncomfortable, and this was beginning to get me a little annoyed with Amber's deliberate timing. Violet then muttered a rather sad line, which instantly upset me deep down. Whether she did it out of protection for Lacey or not, Violet obviously had no way of knowing that there was a landmine in the room, much less what it took to set it off.

"That's enough." I said, looking at Amber after glancing at Violet for a second to see her turn her head away from me. The look in my eyes should have been clear to her that I knew she saw the blood well before she chose to address it. "We're not here to talk about stressful stuff like that. Like Lace said, we're here to drink milkshakes and have a good time, yeah?" After saying that, I gave Violet's leg a small, gently nudge with my foot from under the table as I finally got to work on my shake, drinking way more than I wanted to; almost half, which immediately started to annoy my stomach. Guzzling down something so rich was usually a bad idea for anyone, and I just did it merely to avoid any further drama.

And that's when something rather regrettable happened as I was drinking my shake; Lacey took it upon herself to donate Amber's number to their flirtatious waiter, which, for reasons unknown to me, made me choke on my drink, causing the contents within the glass to bubble loudly for a moment before I started coughing loudly. Banging a hand on my chest, I cleared my throat. By then, I was receiving a glance from everyone around the table. It seemed rather suggestive as to why I would have choked on my milkshake at that specific moment in time, but I didn't want it to seem like that, because it just wasn't true. Really. So I laughed it off with an small excuse. "Haha, guess I got too carried away with Vi's challenge..." I said, smiling innocently as I cleared my throat a few more times. "And, uh... As for the party, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. I might have work tonight, you see..." I answered Lacey. A good lie, as it offered more of a reasonable excuse. That being said, I doubted that it would make Lacey and the others back off... At least not right away. Giving another friendly smile, I turned away from the group slightly and took out my pocket-watch as a force of habit and looked at the time. It served as a calming distraction for me.

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Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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Amber Breth
❝From error to error one discovers the entire truth.❞



Amber wasn't surprised about Violet's reaction, pulling her hand away almost instantly. Actually, she hadn't planned on everyone else's reaction being negative as well, so her guilt thickened a bit. She knew it wasn't fair to throw Violet under the bus for the sake of distraction, but sometimes Amber got her priorities mixed up. It seemed like everyone already knew what had happened to Violet but Amber, and they told her to let it go. She wasn't very used to feeling rejected, even though that's not exactly what happened. Amber is a bit sensitive, and though she is smart in a way where she constantly wants to learn more, she lacks being able to understand everything without explanation. She got very quiet after Nathan and Lacy told her two, other than whispering the start of an apology. "I'm sorry I didn't mean to..." she trailed off though, getting cut off by Lacy's announcement of wanting a milkshake.
She listened to the conversation of alcohol, knowing she had no idea what they were talking about. She'd never really drank before, so she didn't really know what to think of it. She'd been to tons of parties and seen people getting drunk, and how they acted, but she herself had never done it. She was able to have a good time without anything helping her, her socialness made it easy to communicate. She didn't need a confidence boost, and she danced fine without it. Maybe at the party she'd try it.. But then again she'd still have to drive home. She debated for a few moments but Lacy had already called the waiter back over.
She couldn't help but fix her hair a bit as he came, and sat quietly with a friendly smile as Lacy ordered for the two of them.
"Hi, love. I'd love a peanut-butter and chocolate milkshake and Red over here wants vanilla. And, if you're interested, her number is..."
Amber blushed again, and said in an amused exclamation, "Lacy!.." and gently nudged her in the side. The waiter laughed a little, and walked away to get their order.
"Oooh, and some sweet potato fries. And don't forget about these guys!" The bubbly blond called to him. She then looked to Amber, who was still pink in her cheeks. For Amber, being as pale and modest as she was anything seemed to give her a little flustered color. She turned her attention to Nathan, who'd been choking a bit on his milkshake since the waiter had left. Her heart fluttered a bit, wondering if it was because of what Lacy had said to him. She watched him in slight hope, but to her dismay he blamed it on the contest with Violet.
"Haha, guess I got too carried away with Vi's challenge..." he confessed.
She felt a bit silly, even stupid for thinking it would've been because of her. Slightly disappointed she fiddled with her hands, chipping light pink nail polish from her left thumb nail. He and Violet seemed like a better match anyway, he talked to her more than he had to Amber. She sighed quietly, deciding the connection she felt with him might actually be all in her head, and not something that would ever occur. She brushed past it for now, not ready to let the idea fade. She kept it safe in her mind, maybe for later at the party. He might even save a dance for her too, right?
"So, you guys coming or what?" Lacy asked, excitedly. Amber knew Lacy always tried to get everyone together, and a party would be a great place for everyone to hang out together.
"And, uh... As for the party, I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it. I might have work tonight, you see... Nathan answered.
Not. He wouldn't even be going, so he wouldn't be able to dance with her. A bit more disappointed, she only brightened when she watched the waiter bring over their milkshakes and Lacy's fries. He looked as if he was about to say something as he caught Amber's eyes, but he only stared for a moment and gave her a sly smile as he was called by a different table. She hid her giddy smile this time in her milkshake, taking a sip through the straw. She could smell the milky drink, and it did bring back a memory. A strange one.
It was her, but not. Not her now at least. And she was sitting beside Nathan. But not Nathen.. They sat in a vintage looking booth, and wore strange clothes. The two giggled together, splitting a vanilla milkshake. They laughed, and things were easy. She felt a sense of closeness, but the image quickly faded.
She didn't know what it had meant, but her eyes glanced to Nate longingly, wondering what could possibly going on with everything now. Was it true that they'd lived before? And had been something? Or was it Amber's imagination, and she just had a silly crush on him. She pushed the thoughts away, if Nate had been interested in her she would've known if he was like the boy in her thought. It would've been more obvious..
Nathan wasn't even going to the party. She felt a bit odd now, debating whether she even wanted to go now. But, djing was important to Lacy, like the rest of her music career. And Amber wanted to support her. Maybe she would invite the waiter to go with her, considering she shouldn't waste her time feeling sad about Nathan who barely noticed her. She turned to Lacy, and said with a bright smile, "Well, I'll be going." she assured, then added with a suggestive tone, "maybe I'll invite our waiter as my date?" she mused. She tried not to look at Nathan's reaction, telling herself she didn't care. She stay focused on Lacy. "Will you help me pick out something to wear?" she asked, knowing Lacy was better at that kind of than Amber was. They often shopped together, and Amber rarely bought anything without Lacy's opinion.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Nathan Miller Character Portrait: Lacey Harvelle
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☩ вяιтση ℓєνι нα∂ιηgѕ ☩
Image


"Whoops! My bad!" one of the other boys called as they jogged past, snickering as Briton's knees collided with the asphalt below him. Knees bare in the first place, their flesh exposed by black gym shorts that ended a mere four inches above them, scraped into the rocky path which wound around the school solely for the inhumane purpose of forcing students to run around it until they collapsed. Briton of course, with such a lack of musculature, stamina, and on top of that, being an asthmatic, was, of course, typically the first to collapse anyway. This instance, however, wasn't a collapse of fatigue, but instead was cause by a moronic neanderthal crashing into him for no other reason than 'he thought it would be funny.'

Standing slowly - not for the reason of pain, but simply because he wanted to take his damn time getting the fuck up - he glanced down at the steady blood-flow trickling down his shins. It hurt - god it hurt - and it stung - it stung like a bitch - but his face was blank, and the expression upon it seemed only to say 'Welp, that stinks, I guess.' His stride was casual, as casual as it could be, as he made his way over to the gym teacher, who stood moronically unaware beside the doors to the gymnasium. He took merely a glance at Briton's skinned, raw knees, covered in small amounts of gravel and trickling blood steadily, and his eyes widened and his brows raised.

"Can I go to the nurse?" He asked plainly. His voice almost seemed to be bored, though perhaps it was merely tired. Tired of this bullshit class. Yeah, that was probably it.

"Shouldn't you be, like... crying on the ground right now?" The gym teacher asked, mainly baffled by the weakest boy in class holding a straight face through any injury, let alone having his blood being spilled. "Are you gonna yell out in pain any time soon or are you saving it for later?"

"Saving it for later," Briton answered, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Disrespecting a teacher that could put someone in physical punishment hardly seemed the wise idea. "Can I go or what?"

"Can you tell me what happened first?" He continued to prompt. God, it was really just beginning to piss Briton off.

"You're the teacher. Shouldn't you know whats going on with your students?"

Briton simply walked past him. Blood was seeping into his shoe already, and the more he waited, the more blood he'd be dripping onto the floors. He didn't want to make a big scene, he just wanted to get this shit over with. Again, it crossed his mind whether or not the school board would notice if Briton hacked into the system and took himself out of gym class. Well, sure, they'd notice, but would they do anything about it is the question? He had a D in the class. A fucking D. Not an F, because how in honest hell can you get an F in gym, but not even a C, which is enough to slide by without questioning from anyone who took the time to look at his grades. Not his parents, of course, seeing as they rarely took interest in either of their two sons, but more so his brother, who seemed to feel the need to assume position as an irritating parental figure ever since a young age.

He stopped in the locker room first, grabbing his change of clothes - the outfit which consisted of skinny jeans and an OBEY brand t-shirt that he'd picked out this morning - and his back pack, seeing as he in no way intended to be returning to that god-forsaken class after visiting the nurse's office. He would have shuddered in the locker room, had shuddering been more his thing, at the memories of what had occurred earlier. Briton always made it a habbit to get to Gym early, so as to be changed by the time everyone else arrived, and risk less time being alone with any of them. Still, this left a little bit of time for them to harass him, and this time was hardly any different from any of the other times. Though, while it wasn't different, it was kind of... worse, today. Though the pain in his knees was enough to overshadow the soreness he still felt in his wrists from where the other boy had grabbed him, it was still there, and the darkened skin around the area - result of that behemoth grip - was proof enough. Grabbing wasn't the problem of course. Briton had been grabbed before, and even grabbed worse, but the problem... Oh god... was when that asshole thought it would be absolutely hilarious to try sticking his tongue down Briton's throat just for a couple of laughs. Briton had almost broken down at that, but still, he managed to hold it in somehow, squirming until the guy had let go and was off to joke about how Briton liked it with his buddies.

Morons. Assholes. Dicks. And yet, how was it fair that they would get to grow up and have normal lives with normal families? That they'd get to go to college and get jobs and leave this stupid little town? And what did Briton get? Sexual harassment and an imminent, early demise. How many times had he died now? He'd been remembering for quite some time, blame that perfect memory of his for even drawing in those memories from other lives, yet he'd never really bothered thinking about the number. There was the first time, of course... The second time, then, he fell... The fourth was was a rabid, stray mutt... And the other times were suicide. Not exactly a fun ride, and hell, not once did he even tell his friends a thing as far as coming out of the closet. No, he'd simply die again, a miserable, hiding little nerd, and possibly be the least important death out of the whole group. How he even maintained his relationship as their friend was difficult to fathom, but he supposed they'd just gotten used to him being around on a subconscious level. There were all pretty good people, after all, even if it was a trait that was very, very deep down in some of them. Sure, Briton trusted them, but not really enough to actually... tell them about anything.

Stuffing his clothes into his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, Briton quickly made way out of the locker room, down the hall, and immediately into the nurse's office. He paid little mind as she asked him to take a seat and quickly fussed about, cleaning up the blood with some cloths and spraying bitter, stinging anti-bacterial onto the scrapes. He couldn't take people fussing and making a big scene. What was getting injured like this as compared to anything else? It wasn't like his bones were sticking out, so why should he cry? Despite the nurse's prompting to stay and rest, however, as soon as she'd finished laying down the thick pads of gauze on his knees and wrapped them on securely, he was up, slipping into the bathroom to change into his regular clothes before walking briskly from her office without her even noticing enough to look away from the new patient who'd stumbled into the small room.

What do I do now, He mused, checking the time on his cell phone before stuffing it back into his pocket. Class was still far from over, but he sure as hell wasn't going back. The computer lab, perhaps? No, it wasn't really worth it. Who could say whether another class was in there or not, and after today's events, all he really wanted to do was go home. He skirted the halls for no more than a few moments before slipping out one of the side doors that exited into the parking lot, where his junk heap of a 1996 Camry sat idly. Might as well use it and get the hell out of here while no one was loo-

Briton pulled his cell phone from his pocket, opening up the new messages and biting his lip at the image on the screen. Milkshakes? Were they twelve? The more and more he thought about it, the stupider it sounded, too! He wanted to go home, to get away from people, but then again... He found himself hesitating with his hand on the car door for a while, shoving his phone back into his pocket and pondering the idea. Maybe it could get his mind off of things to at least hang out with his friends a little bit. Maybe they had something amusing to say that would make today's events pass into the back of his memory like all the other days. He couldn't forget, but maybe he could think about something else for a little while.

Sliding into the driver's seat of the car and tossing his bag into the passenger seat, he fished his keys out with no particular stress on the amount of time he was using up to do so. He was still on the fence. After all, he was just going to be sitting in the background with his friends, wasn't he? A little extra on the side lines that wasn't quite as important as everything else. Sure, he hardly minded being a background person, but was he really in the mood for it? And was he really in the mood to be all by himself, either... Sighing and leaning back in the seat, he stared at his phone again. There weren't any new messages, and he wasn't so sure he was interested in sending one back, but he wondered who else had decided to go, and who was already there. Maybe it was stupid to go. Maybe going home would be the smarter choice. After all, the last thing one needs for a good time is to bring the buzz-kill who can't keep up. They didn't really need him, did they?

Okay. So maybe he could just do a drive-by. Stop in and check it out, and if it seemed like he wasn't needed, he could just duck out of there, no harm done. Briton started up the car quickly, pulling out of his parking spot if not a little too cautiously. God he hated driving, but he supposed having it was more convenient than not. After all, where would he be if he had to walk everywhere? Well, perhaps he'd have built up a little more muscle or something, but that was certainly besides the point.

The drive down took barely a few minutes, what with how small this damn town was in the first place, and before long Briton was pulling into the parking lot. His friends' car was easy to spot, what with having seen it plenty of times before, and he promptly pulled into the empty parking spot next to them. Maybe it wasn't so much a good idea, after all. The knees of his jeans were starting to dampen and darken from the blood, having taken its time already to seep through the gauze, and it wasn't like he was going to be the life of the party or anything anyway. He turned the key, shutting off the engine while he looked down at the knees of his pants. They weren't too bad - the darkness of the denim hid the fact that it was blood - and it simply looked like he'd knelt down in a puddle or something. Maybe that had been why the nurse wanted him to stick around, but he didn't feel like it mattered. He'd just wanted to get out of there, go home. Why didn't I just go home? He wondered, slipping out of the car while he pocketed his keys. No need to lock it; no one was going to steal that junk heap, and he didn't care so much if they did. Today's been long enough as it is.

He wasn't really too surprised that when he entered the building, one of his friends, Amber, was already standing, saying something about going and asking Lacy if she'd help her pick out an outfit. What did she need an outfit for? But then again, Briton never really was well versed in anyone's reasoning for going out to parties, and that was probably what they were doing. Even if he wasn't, a good deal of his friends mingled with the popular people. Again, he wondered how he even maintained a friendship with any of them, but he supposed it didn't matter. At the very least, he could still call the people he'd spent all his lives with his friends.

"What? I miss the fun of milkshakes already?" He asked, eyes trailing the already standing Amber as he made his way over, grabbing one of the chairs from a neighboring table and dragging it to the end of the booth before plopping down and taking a look at the others around the table. Nathan, Violet, Charlie, and Lacy, though Briton was sure that Lacy would probably be leaving after Amber's prompting. No Cora, no Sam, no Paige, and no Oz. Briton felt his interest drop only slightly after the last one. "Can't say it's that big of a disappointment, but hey, hate to be late." He offered up a light smile, trying to make sure they understood the statement to be entirely lighthearted, as well as having come to the realization he hadn't even given them a smile yet. Yes, at the very least, it was nice to be able to say he had friends.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Oscar Glass Character Portrait: Nathan Miller
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Oz was having a decent day. Not a bad day, not really, given that there had been no tests or quizzes to bother himself with, but it wasn't a good day either for one distinct reason. Or, rather, one distinct person.

Leaning back in his desk chair, Oscar "Call me Oz" Glass watched his teacher flip through powerpoint slides, her voice enthusiastic if a little quiet. However, despite the low volume of her words, he was sure that no one missed a single syllable of her lecture. Dr. Birchfield had that effect on people, the dictator of the English department commanding attention with each grammatically correct word, her dread reputation as the sternest and most difficult grader in the entire school keeping the students in a perpetual mode of silence. Only the occasional squeak of a mechanical pencil sliding across notebook paper and the soft hum of the air conditioner served as background noise to her lecture. Not that Oz disliked the most infamous teacher in school, mind you. Oh, no, she wasn't the distinct person putting a damper on his otherwise lovely day.

"...Mr. Glass?" He blinked tiredly, staring up at Dr. Birchfield. She stood in front of his desk, arms crossed and eyebrow raised, sharp eyes staring at him expectantly. The gaze leveled on him would cause most students to quiver in their seat, to stammer out an answer even if they didn't know the question. Luckily for him, Oz wasn't most students.

"Sorry, Dr. Birchfield. What?" He replied in a mild tone of voice, ever-present bemused smile stretched across his face.

"I said, Mr. Glass, will Mr. Miller be joining us today?" Mr. Miller. Nathan Miller. Nate.

Ah. So that was it. Green eyes glanced at the empty desk to his right. That. That was the one thing that was keeping today from being a good day; the complete absence of his best friend. No phone call this morning, no text containing some manner of excuse, no nothing. It had been like this increasingly, the lack of Nate in his life, and no matter how understanding Oz might seem about it, it was beginning to wear on him.

"Sorry, ma'am, but your guess is as good as mine." The teacher nodded and continued on with her lecture, but now Oz was finding it harder to pay attention because now he could actively feel the lack of a presence next to him. Nate was his best friend, had been for quite some time, but... But sometimes it seemed like he was holding back, hiding something when they actually spoke to one another which was, depressingly enough, becoming an increasingly rare occurrence. Not that Oz was going to complain. As long as Nate was fine, he was fine. Or, at least, that's what Oz kept telling himself.

He forced himself to fall back into the tedium of taking notes on MacBeth, messy scrawl jotting down the bullet-points from the powerpoint slides. This, this he could do. As much as most people despised lecturing, Oz thrived in it if only because all he had to do was mindlessly take notes and nothing else. Which, really, sounded more than a bit lazy, but Oz was most certainly okay with that.

It was only after the bell had rung and he was in the halls being buffered on all sides by harried students attempting to make it to their next class that he allowed himself to check his cellphone. The screen glowed as he switched it on, the message icon blinking, begging for his attention.

Milkshakes? Really? A genuine laugh escaped his lips as he shook his head, weaving his way through the crowds with the practiced ease all Seniors eventually gained that set them apart from the underclassmen. He wasn't particularly surprised that a good majority of his friends were cutting class. It's just what they did, sometimes; it's just the way they were, especially since Senior year had started and given everyone a nasty case of Senioritis(with the exception, of course, of Oz if only because he'd contracted Senioritis basically since he'd started Kindergarten and had long since come to terms with it).

So, should he go? He considered the matter calmly, tossing it around in his mind. He could just wait, honestly, given that there was only around forty minutes of school left. On the other hand, it would be nice to see everyone together since they'd all apparently been trying their damnedest to pull apart, and his last class was just a T.A. position in the office. They wouldn't miss him; in fact, they might just let him leave if he asked. Well, it looked like he was going to go get a milkshake.

After popping into the office and waving at the secretary(who, luckily enough, didn't mind at all that he was leaving a bit early) he wandered out into the parking lot, down the familiar path to his parking spot, and was greeted by the sight of an empty space. Oh. Right. Mary had demanded to use his car to go shopping for college things since hers was in the shop, and he'd agreed, much to his parents' relief. No surprise there, really; there wasn't an argumentative bone in his body. Oh, well, it looked like he was walking to the diner. Fun.

Said walk wouldn't ordinarily be that bad. Oz was relatively fit, and Brookfield was a tiny town. He'd been wandering the sidewalks with his friends since they were kids. However, ordinarily he didn't have a heavy backpack bogging him down stuffed to the brim with binders and textbooks. By the time he arrived, beads of sweat were trickling down his neck and his back felt like he was carrying a boulder or something as opposed to school supplies.

The air-conditioned diner was a welcome reprieve as he dropped his backpack the moment the glass door had swung shut behind him, the filled bag smacking loudly against the tile as he dragged it the last leg of his walk over to his friends, an obvious group in the otherwise quiet diner. Well, it seemed like he was late to the party and, going by the food and milkshakes already spread out on the table, no one had bothered to wait. Not that anyone had to worry about him being upset by this; this was Oz Glass, after all, the boy who'd waited in the park half the night until someone remembered that they'd forgotten to tell him that the group meeting was off, and he'd only laughed it off with a goodnatured shrug.

There was Amber and Lacey, giggling and chatting like the teenager girls they were, Violet, Charlie, and even Nate(which was more than a little surprising given that he'd politely declined any invitation to hang out with Oz for the past week or so. He promptly convinced himself that that was absolutely fine) gathered around the booth. Even Briton had arrived before him, seated in a chair pulled up to the booth.

He ran a hand through his wild blonde hair leaving it somehow just as messy as it had been before. He loved his friends, he really did, but at time like these when he arrived late to the party, it was hard not to feel a bit insecure. Sure, they were his best friends in the entire world, and, in the case of Nate, his very best friend, but.... But was the opposite true? Did they feel the same way? He pushed that nagging thought back, tucking it away in the back of his mind where he filed away anything that tried to undermine his serenity. Now was time for fun and relaxation, not stupid worries that didn't even make much sense.

"Heeeeey, guys," He drawled out, only now getting his breath back from the laborious walk from school. Honestly, having this many textbooks and needing them all on the same night should be illegal. He finally grabbed a chair, and, pulling it up to the end of the table next to Briton, collapsed in it in a fit of comically exaggerated exhaustion.

"Well, I guess that I'm a delinquent now too. That means I get a milkshake, right?" It didn't quite matter why they were here or even why everyone had decided that today was skip day. The only thing that mattered was that most of their group of friends were actually in one place, an increasingly rare trend much to his disconcertion , and, of course, that he was getting a milkshake.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Oscar Glass Character Portrait: Nathan Miller
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#, as written by Rann
Of course, Nate and Lace came to the rescue when Amber asked the damned question. And Lace even completely took away the tension from the whole thing, so Violet didn't even need to worry about the accusing eyes that she thought she would. There'd be explanations for the sickeningly sweet Amber, of course, but, well, that can come later. Vi will just do her best to put it off until then, for as long as possible, until maybe she loses the scent and goes after someone else's issue. Who knows, maybe it'd work, maybe not, but it's worth a shot. She really, really did not want to deal with people criticizing her way of life; the only thing Vi can really say she's good at. She gets enough criticism at home, and friends are meant for winding down and ignoring all the bad stressful shit with, and just in general having fun and pretending everything's perfect. That's how it goes for everyone, right?

She jumped a little when Nate touched (or was it a rub? Does he acknowledge me yet?) her leg, and couldn't help but glance back at him for a split second before turning back to her little comfortable void, absently nodding when Lace gave her the info on the drinks. And hard drinks it shall be, maybe this fiery girl can drink away all the crap and be back to her insane self by morning. After the goddamn hangover, of course, but that's not an issue until it comes. Vi can deal with it then. It wasn't long until Lace and Amber returned to their crazy giggles, but Vi wasn't in the mood for playing around anymore. She felt the familiar itch to go and beat the crap out of anyone she figured was remotely worthy of a beating, no matter how much she needed to stretch the justification. Talking to someone threateningly? Being mean to a girl? Forgetting to pay someone back money you loaned? Heck, even calling Vi an outsider right now would set her off. Too bad she left poor ol' Mustang in Amber's trunk- she'd have to suck up her pride and get it back before the party. The amp too, can't forget that.

Maybe I'm goin' the wrong way about this. Maybe...

Two things sort of happened at once. The waiter, that faintly cute but not Nate waiter, Lace practically yelled Amber's number to him across the diner, making her let out a little shriek. Violet felt tempted to join in, to make some sort of jeer at Amber, but on the other hand, she felt like making Amber feel a little worse before going back to normal. The other thing that happened was Nate's inopportune cough.

""Haha, guess I got too carried away with Vi's challenge..." Nate said easily.

Was Violet really that disgusting a girl that the boy she was friends with her whole life would suffer the rich sinking feeling of drinking too much of a milkshake, just to try and avoid dancing with her? That just wouldn't work at all, Violet really needed this dance with him to try and stave off her vigilante games for a while. Hell, she was looking forward to it like a little kid for her birthday party.

Hang on a sec. I'm not his childhood friend for nothing! He's trying to cover something up. But what could it be?

And Violet's suspicions were even more stoked when she heard that he had a job, or something, to do tonight, so he couldn't make the party regardless. Wouldn't he, as anti-social as he is, at least say so when she made the challenge? Sure, it was kind of spur of the moment, and out of the blue, but still. Nate had more than enough time to say he couldn't make it, before getting her hopes up for at least some semblance of a romance.

Fine then, I'll take you on.

"Yo." Violet said, face propped on her elbow as she looked sideways at Nathan. "Maybe I'll skip the party, huh? Where do you even work, I'll wait for you and we can just, I dunno. Hang out. Or do you not like my company that much?"

Then Briton Hadings walked in, the doll-like boy that both annoyed and endeared Violet at the same time, with somewhat of a limp, and everything else that's annoying and adorable about this pathetic, yet helpless little boy.

"You can have the rest of mine, Briton." Violet said with a little smirk, and pushing over her half-finished coconut shake when he was done dragging a chair over to their table. "Enjoy the indirect kiss, got it?" She waggled an eyebrow at that, playfully, trying to get a rise out of the boy and not sure if she succeeded or not.

Oz entered next, the second person to be late for all this, and also missed out on Amber's little show of tossing her under the bus. Vi absently waved at him and leaned over to whisper in his ear, mischievously grinning.

"Once you're done, Oz, what say we go stalk Nate? Figure out why he's so secretive and shit, whaddya say?"

She then sat back down, still looking at Oz.

"Our little secret, huh?"

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Samuel Westhouse Character Portrait: Oscar Glass
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Samuel Westhouse

Back out into the sweet fresh air, a sudden rumbling startled the youth. Not his stomach, but his phone, that ancient thing. It's vibrate setting was like an old console controller, with the ability to jerk and commit suicide off the table with merely one text. He had a limited plan, but it was no big deal. He rarely texted anyone anyway. Sometimes he did receive texts though. Like now. It was Lacy. He glanced through the short message. Milkshakes? Why not? Well, he wasn't going to drink one, but he needed a bit of a break from himself. Such breaks were becoming increasingly necessary, especially of late. His mind had once been such a quiet, calm place, but bleak blackness was quickly overtaking everything else within the wrinkles of his mind.

The phone was flipped shut and dropped back into his pocket just as Sam fell into an easy jog. He hadn't brought his bike today, and there was no way in hell he could drive anywhere. he'd never actually learned how to drive a car, which was just as well, because he couldn't afford to pay for gas anyway. Especially after he quit his job at that stupid fast food place down the road. Very quickly the faint exertion of his run took over, leaving him only able to think in simple thoughts.

Maybe I'm depressed? He contemplated. It was a possibility. But he didn't feel particularly down. Everything felt pointless, but he was okay with it, in away. He wasn't doing anything to remedy it. He wasn't complaining. He was fine. So maybe he wasn't depressed. Okay then, so what was wrong with him? The other members of the group probably hadn't noticed the change, he really didn't say much anyway, and when he did he rarely showed how he was really feeling. He couldn't go to them for help. They had their own problems anyway. he could see it in the corners of their eyes and the way they tried to smile and failed. Sometimes it was Lacy, sometimes it was Briton, sometimes it was Nate. Oftentimes he saw stress in Nate. He kept his thoughts to himself though. If someone needed to talk to him about what was bothering them he was more than happy to listen, and they knew that. He wasn't going to stick his nose in anyone else's business, and he expected them to do the same for him.

At the same time, he couldn't help but feel protective of the little group. They meant a lot to him, even if they didn't do much for him. There was a certain air of rightness about being with the group, one that ceaselessly pulled him in and helped him sort through the details. he didn't want anything to happen to any of his friends, and that feeling grew as they days passed, in conjunction with a horrible sensation in the pit of his stomach that told him that something very, very bad was going to happen soon.

As he made it to the little joint where an unknown amount of his friends were, Sam came to a halt. He registered The back of Oz's head disappearing into the place. There were two familiar cars in the small lot, so the group most likely wasn't complete, but close to being so. With his ball still hanging loosely, held only with one hand, he trotted into the place, letting his heart rate settle down. It hadn't been a strenuous jog, just enough to get his well oiled joints moving again. The constant itch to stay in motion lingered in the back of his mind as he paused in the door. Oz and Briton had chairs pulled around the booth where pretty much everyone else was sitting. He let another beat go by before moving over, his body as tiredly liquid as ever. despite his thirst for activity, he had an incredibly lazy appearance, sleepy eyes and tousled hair.

Sam snatched a chair, spinning it around and sliding backwards into it, following the lead of the other two boys. His soccer ball sat trapped between his chest and the back of his chair. "Hey guys." He murmured, folding his arms on the lip of the chair-back and staring interestedly at the group from his vantage point. No witty comment, nothing cute or smart, just him. Plain and simple.

Characters Present

Character Portrait: Violet Haring Character Portrait: Amber Breth Character Portrait: Charles Hill Character Portrait: Briton Hadings Character Portrait: Samuel Westhouse Character Portrait: Oscar Glass
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#, as written by Savader
Click! That was the sound of my pocket-watch snapping shut rather loudly, timed in to follow Amber's clear announcement of possibly asking that waiter out to the party that I didn't want to go to. I looked over at Amber out of the corner of my eyes for a sec before sliding back to face the table once more, a troubled expression on my face. This was starting to get annoying, because I didn't know why I was annoyed in the first place. Amber isn't...her... At least not right now... So why would I be jealous? That was when I figured it must be something else. Maybe that waiter simply didn't sit right with me or something... Either way, I chose to shrug it off once again. I had more important things to worry about than some troublesome waiter moving in on Amber. He wasn't even that good-looking if you ask me, so what was the big deal...? Whatever the case, it was a big enough deal to look nice for him... Amber was now talking with Lacey about what she should wear. Little did she know, it didn't matter what she wore; she'd look good either way.

I rested my arms on the table, with my fingers interlocked together, creating a ring made of my arms and chest, with my milkshake at the center as I took a few more sips from the straw of the rich treat. That's when Violet's expression suddenly changed into a very dangerous one. Well, dangerous for HER, anyway. This usually happened when I was in the room, and something devious popped into her head. And it almost always involved... you guessed it: messing with me. Not long after she thought it through, she derailed my plan to escape from the party invitation by offering to skip the party as well so that we could meet up after I'm done with work. Crap. She saw through it. Now it was obvious to me just how obvious I was being earlier at school. I should have never got up off the ground when Lacey called out to me... Oh well, only thing left to do is to try and persuade her otherwise.

"I love spending time with you, Vi, it's just that I've been real busy lately..." I said, giving her a smile before adding "Like I said; I might have to work tonight. I never know with my boss... So who knows? Maybe I'll have the chance to go to the party. I'll text you guys if I can." I said, glancing at a few others. Giving myself this rather weak get-out clause, I hoped that saying this would put in her head that she should leave it alone. I pat the back of her hand and get back to my milkshake, which was beginning to weigh on my stomach. Hoping this would be enough to make her back off... Right. This is Violet I'm talking about... I don't see her giving up on this so easily... As if on que, following in after Briton, who I greeted in response with a simple smile and a "hello", was none other than Oscar "Oz" Glass: Nathan Miller's best friend. I grinned at him and gave a greeting as well, while noticing how exhausted he appeared to be. Did he walk all the way here from school? Before I could ask, however, Violet leaned over to him and whispered something into his ear after giving Briton a playful comment. Just as I was thinking I might be able to persuade Violet to leave me alone for the night, a possible partner in crime decides to show up. No offense, Oz. Violet was unbelievably transparent during times like these... It was obvious that whatever she just whispered to him had something to do with me, and if she were to get Oz involved, it'd be that much harder to avoid this party, because it'll be that much harder to avoid getting caught in my lie... I hurried with a counter-measure by speaking sincerely to Violet.

"Look, Vi... Unless I catch a break later tonight, how about we just make plans to hang out some other time? Just the two of us?" I say, giving her a nice smile. The way I said it really didn't suggest much from the sound of my voice, but if Violet really did have feelings for me, she might have taken that as an invitation to spend some time with me alone on a more personal level; something she wouldn't be able to do at a party full of people. Truth was, we haven't spent any quality time together for a long while now... Same goes for Oscar, who I'm sure is starting to feel it annoy him in the back of his mind. Soon I would have to make up for all this, but for now, I'll start with Violet, who was currently acting as my most formidable enemy with this sudden tactic of trying to catch me with my foot in my mouth. Unfortunately for her, that wouldn't happen.

These people, as much as I love them, are always one of my greatest obstacles in trying to find a proper solution to our situation. Heh, the people I'm trying to save are the ones who get in the way of that more than anything else. Ironic, don't you think? Then again, it's my fault it's such a problem in the first place... Maybe if I had told them the truth a long time ago, they wouldn't be so hindering. Rather, they might be more helpful... But I can't do that. I can't bring them in on this... It's my fault. It's my responsibility to fix it. Even if it means I have to keep alienating my friends...

If my little ploy didn't work, and even worse yet -- if Oz decided to go along and help Violet trap me further, then I would find it relatively difficult to avoid either getting caught in my lie, or going to the party... If this happens, then I would be going to the party for sure, because Oscar can be very convincing, even if you know he's trying to convince you, and Violet was never one to give up if she finds a challenge in something. Or someone... Working together against someone like me, it was pretty much a given that I would be going to that Godforsaken party... Not that I couldn't just refuse flat-out, but then it would look even more suspicious after I tried to persuade her otherwise. It would just be too hard to avoid the party any other way... But I still held hope in that I was able to persuade Violet otherwise with my rather underhanded method of distraction, and that Oz would refuse to play Violet's game...

After my attempts at giving Violet something else to focus on, I couldn't help notice that the knee area of Briton's pants were soaked through with something rather dark. I recognized it instantly to be that of blood. Looking up at him, a little worried, I chose to keep quiet, just as I had with Violet's bloody hand. It wasn't my place to get involved in private matters like these if I wasn't asked... If it had happened right in front of me, however, then I would have no choice but to step in. Either way, Briton's bullying was beginning to aggravate me with each passing incident. This guy could never catch a break. Each life, he seemed to draw the short end of the stick, and it was all because of me that he was still going through it... I'm afraid that one day, I might just snap and make it stop. Once and for all. I know of at least three people who harass Briton for sure, and I'm certain they're the most common bullies in his life. This will become a serious problem after the last birthday, I'm sure... But until then, I'll let him choose how to go about revealing his troubles, should he ever.

Shortly after Briton and Oscar showed up, Samuel Westhouse popped into the diner and sat himself off to the side of the table. He looked the same as always. Calm, simple, rather indifferent towards most things, yet always there to greet his friends. Most would probably say that he was just keeping up with appearances, but if you actually knew him, that just wouldn't make any sense. There wasn't anything to gain from that in the least. Not for someone like Sam, anyway. He was one who, like me, chose not to get involved with someone else's problems unless they wanted him to. Sam was Sam, and that was something I admired about him. Him, along with every one of my friends, always gave me many good reasons to respect them. And they've never let me down once. Wish I could say the same about myself...