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The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know

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A few years ago, a group of friends left town to escape their secrets. Now, those very secrets are bringing them home- and putting them all in danger.

7,006 readers have visited The Devil You Know since partially-stars created it.

Introduction

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There are some aspects of your past that you want to forget. Sometimes moving away is enough to allow that to happen. An old group of friends tried that- they ended up scattered across the country, and ultimately fell out of touch with their old friends. They thought they'd done it- that they'd finally escaped everything they weren't proud of. But one day, they get a phone call. The death of an old friend brings them back to their hometown. They originally think that it's going to be a short trip- but when they're each brought in for questioning, they realise that things aren't quite so simple. It's believed to be murder.

It doesn't take long for the group's names to be cleared- after all, most of them were the other side of the country, and all of them had rock-solid alibis. But the question still remains- what was the motive? And are the rest of them being targeted? And do those secrets that they thought they had finally buried have anything to do with it?

They think that their secrets are unrelated, that they can't possibly have anything to do with what happened. But they all lead back to one person. And that person wants rid of all of them. While the group thought that moving away would bury their secrets, this person believes that the only way to get rid of these secrets is to ensure that those who hold them are themselves dead and buried. And in order to find out who they have to stop, they must all confront their secrets- both old and new. But it's never as simple as writing an apology or accepting what happened and moving on- facing their secrets will bring up old feelings, stir new trouble, and wreak much more havoc than anyone could ever imagine.




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No godmodding. All characters are human.
Keep the drama to the IC. If you have a problem with another member, try and sort it out over PM, and if that isn't working, I will act as a mediator.
Make your secrets realistic. It doesn't have to be massive, like "I killed my brother"- but it has to be big enough to have an impact on their life when it's revealed.
If anybody just magically finds out another character's secret or figures it out without too much work, it spoils all the fun. Don't do that.
If you have to leave, please just message me, and I'll work out a way for your character to leave
If you don't post for two weeks and don't give me some kind of reason, I'll assume you have left and will proceed as such.
Commitment would be nice.
Reservations to be posted in the OOC.
Relationships of all kinds are not only welcome, but they could nearly be described as necessary in character. Intercharacter relationships will be important, so please bear that in mind! If things get a little steamy, fade to black.
Violence is expected, but just don't get too graphic.
Enjoy! At the end of the day, it's all about fun.
To show you've read these rules, include a 250x250 picture of your character's face claim and state their secret when reserving. You don't have to state it in huge amounts of detail if you haven't got it figured out

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Secrets refer to the secrets they ran from. They can have more secrets, related or not, when the RP begins.




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Name: Lee Romero
Age: 21
Secret: Was blackmailed into selling sex as a teenager
Face Claim: Vini Uehara
Played By: iCat



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Name: Rebecca Cruze
Age: 22
Secret: Was involved in a car accident that killed two people and left two children seriously injured
Face Claim: Emily Rudd
Played By: Maci-Care



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Name:
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Secret: Is attracted to guys
Face Claim: Cody Christian
Played By: Cliffspiracy



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Name: Lateefah Hart
Age: 21
Secret: Forced to have an abortion to cover up the fact that she had an affair with one of her teachers
Face Claim: Kiana Lede
Played By: Girl2Fine2



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Name: Lincoln Cole
Age: 20
Secret: Was abused by his father
Face Claim: Colton Haynes
Played By: blueiridescence



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Name:
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Secret: Killed her abusive ex-boyfriend in self-defence
Face Claim: Kiko Mizuhara
Played By: iCat



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This sheet is optional- feel free to use a different or more simpler one if you’d prefer! (I can supply either if you’d like, just PM me!)
Code: Select all
[font=font][left][img]https://placehold.it/250[/img][/left][right][img]fontmeme name goes here[/img][/right]
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age: 18+
sexuality: here
birthday: here
occupation: here
hexcode: [color=hexcode]hexcode[/color][color=transparent]xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx[/color][url=song link]song[/url][color=transparent]xx[/color]||[color=transparent]xx[/color] [url=link]song [/url][color=transparent]xx[/color] ||[color=transparent]xx[/color] [url=song link]song[/url]
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[color=transparent]x[/color][/left][right][color=#hexcode][b]dislikes[/b][/color]
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four or five quirks
in list form[/left][right][color=#hexcode][b]fears[/b][/color]
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[i][color=#hexcode]quote/lyrics here[/color][/i]
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history goes here[/font]

Toggle Rules

The GM of this roleplay hasn't created any rules! You can do whatever you like!

The Story So Far... Write a Post » as written by 7 authors

Setting

7 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore Character Portrait: Heather Swan
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xXxLEExROMERO
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xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

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xxx"now it's four in the morning
xxxi'm just trying to find myself.
xxxwhat the hell did i do?
xxxi'm the life of the party."

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A few days after the funeral, a day or two after they’d all been interviewed. It had been an intense few days, and they all needed to let off steam. So somebody had thrown a party. A mutual friend, a friend of Sarah, the girl who had been murdered. She’d been such a wonderful person, one of those people who’s always looking out for everyone else, who had been involved in pretty much every club going. Turns out she’d been hooked on prescription drugs. That hadn’t been what had killed her- it had been revealed that it had been a murder, that she’d actually been in a rehab programme to get off the drugs.

At first, it had been quiet. Chill. Mostly just a chance for everyone to talk. But now it was starting to liven up, to become an actual party. The alcohol was flowing, but it was still at that nice point where things were still fun, and nobody was messy drunk or out of control. Everyone seemed to be having a good time.

Everyone, that was, except for Lee Romero. The anxiety was starting to creep in as it started to feel more and more like... those parties. And his anxiety had already been at a higher level than usual what with the brutal interrogation from the police. Well. It hadn’t been that brutal. But it had been intense and unpleasant and it had been with the same police officers he’d gone to about Neil, the man who had manipulated him and forced him to have sex with strangers. At first, he thought they were going to tell him that he had been released. Instead, he’d been questioned. He hated it.

And now, for some ungodly reason, he was at a party. He hadn’t even ran into anyone he knew yet. He was just standing there, clutching a drink, and wishing he was somewhere else entirely. What if a... client showed up? What if nobody he knew showed up? What if Neil had gotten out and he showed up?

But he couldn’t bring himself to leave. He took another sip of his coke and waited. Half an hour. If nobody showed up, he could leave after half an hour.

Setting

7 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore Character Portrait: Heather Swan
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xRebeccaxCruze
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xLocation: Party |xOutfit: Here |xMakeup: Here

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xxx"So come and taste the reason
xxxI’m nothing like the rest.
xxxI'll kiss you in a way
xxxyou’ll never forget about me."

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EARLIER THAT WEEK:

“So honey, when we going to break out those handcuffs you have there and have some real fun?” Rebecca said to the police officer guarding the door, with a smile and wink to the officer guarding the door out of the interrogation room, not getting much of a reaction besides a chuckle. She changed her smile to a frown/pouty face. “You’re no fun. And if this is about a parking ticket from years ago, isn’t there a statue of limitations for that?” Rebecca asked, getting up from her chair and fixing her hair in the mirror which she knew was a window on the other side. She had asked numerous times about why she was brought here, but they refused to tell her. She had only been back in the states for a couple days, and hadn’t yet bought her ticket home. She wasn’t entirely sure how long she would stay in town, she had gotten a couple weeks off from work so she wasn't too worried.

The door opened, and two detectives walked in. “Miss Cruze, yo-“ Rebecca quickly interrupted the man talking. “Please darling, call me Rebecca, or later.” She said obviously flirting with him, and going back to sitting in the chair, putting her legs on the table as she took off her heels. If this was about parking tickets, she was going to try to sweet talk her way out of it. “As I was saying Miss Cruze, when was the last time you visited Roseville?” He asked as he sat down putting a folder onto the table. “Well, honestly, not since I left a while ago and moved to London. Lived there ever since.” She answered the one of the detective’s questions “How would you describe your relationship with the victim.” Abigail had a puzzled look on her face. “The victim? You mean Sarah? I guess you could say we use to be close. We slept together once but her at time girlfriend didn’t appreciate it, and Sarah blamed me for it, saying whatever she could to keep her girlfriend from breaking up with her, including some harsh and NOT true words. She keyed my car when I went to leave the apartment, that bitch." Rebecca paused a second. "But we patched things up before I left, we were good friends. Wait what is going on here?” As she finished the detectives slid the folder and opened it up. Rebecca gasped, and some tears came down her face. “Ma’am, you are being investigated as a possible suspect for the murder of Sarah Green.” And the interrogation began.

PRESENT TIME:

All around was upbeat music playing, people reconnecting, having a good time. The whole atmosphere of the whole house was very high and happy. Rebecca leaned back, reaching for her drink with one hand, and the other holding herself onto the lap of a male “So you’re from England? I love brits” The man, which Rebeeca was sitting in the lap of, said. ”Oy yes. I live in London, right by the royal palace.” She replied with a giggle and a very, very bad English accent. Somehow this guy heard that Rebecca flew in from London and wanted to know more, so Rebecca took this chance to make out with a moderately attractive guy. Plus it would be fun to do a bad English accent.

Rebecca gave him a light kiss on the cheek after finishing the rest of her drink. “I’m going to go get more of this American beer you yanks drink.” She said as she got off his lap and walked away from, debating with herself if she would go back to him, or find another person to “talk” to, a lot of people were here and Rebecca was having a great time, she really did miss this place. Especially her group of friends she had back then.

Rebecca had not seen any of them since she left all that time ago, even at the funeral she stayed at the back. Lee, Heather, Lateesha, Willow, Link, Tallulah. All the adventures they’ve had. That time Rebecca jumped off the roof of the school into a ball pit because of a dare from Lincoln, competitions with Lee to see who kiss the most people in a row without being stood up, to drunk make out sessions with some of the others, and much more adventures. Rebecca felt guilty and terrible for leaving, but she had to, she could barely stand this town after what happened. She couldn’t even drive down the road it happened, always taking a 15-minute detour around it.

As Rebecca looked up from the cooler, someone immediately caught her eye across the room, standing there awkwardly. "Lee!?" She said outloud, she hadn't seen Lee since she left for London. She walked over and wrapped her arms around him in a hug, kicking one of her legs back as she hugged him. "I'm glad to see you again. How have you been?" Rebecca asked as she stepped back after hugging him, with a smile on her face.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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xLINCOLNXxCOLE
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xlocation: party xxoutfit: here

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xxx"for all the light that i've shut out,
xxxfor all the innocent things i doubt.
xxxfor all the bruises i've caused and tears.
xxxfor all the things that i've done,
xxxall these years."


"So, Mr. Cole, you were one of her last contacts in Sara's phone before her death," the investigating officer asked a pretty pissed off looking Lincoln. His brows furrowed as he looked up towards the man. He had been in rooms like this before. Getting caught stealing from stores for his brother and himself to live. Speaking of which, he needed to see Henry. The man felt guilty about not seeing his brother in such a long time. Aside from that point, Lincoln would look angrily towards the officer. "She had called me to check up on me, aside from her addiction issues in the past, her and I were a close as children. She helped me with my younger brother sometimes. I had to check up on her, she was doing fine. Give me a lie detector test if you want, but before I answer anything more I know my rights. I want a goddamn lawyer." Lincoln spoke in a calm manner, despite his angered appearance, he would then give a smirk to the officer and lean back in his chair.

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After being irritated by the pigs of Roseville for around an hour, who harassed him as a teen. He would be making it towards the house where the party in Sara's honor. Hopping on his baby, he'd rev up the engine and make his way down to the party. Trying to ignore the small hope that a person he fucked up with so bad was there, so he could possibly make amends. His eyes focused on the road he'd reach the party hearing music play softly from the house, so he was late. Link was never on time. He hoped Tee had made it safely to the party, even though they lived together in Cali, they simply made their own ways of getting to Roseville.

Stopping his bike on the street, he'd get off the bike and begin to walk in. Immediately, Lincoln was greeted with a wave of hellos from previous teammates from the football team, and girls would wink at him. Some had given him condolences on his father, he accepted with fake smiles, but he was truly happy the bastard was dead. As he walked deeper into the crowd his eyes landed on a dark-haired boy, that Lincoln hoped for his safety that he'd never see again. Quickly looking away he'd focus his attention on some girl who was dancing in front of him, and he would just move along with the rhythm. Just down a few drinks Cole! Don't be a pussy, high school is done and over with he's probably forgiven you!! he thought before he would move away from the woman and move to the drinks. After downing a few cups of whatever alcohol they had, he would make his way towards the duo in the corner. As he did, he'd hang onto Rebecca and begin to giggle. "Heyyyyyyyyy!" he slurred as he stumbled and giggled again.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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L A T E E F A HXH A R T
_____T H EXT O R T U R E DXA R T I S T_____

Outfit: Link Here || Hair
Location: The Party
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800


Never let it be said that Lateefah didn't try to make people happy.

If you had left it up to her, she would have been on the next flight back to California, regardless of the sinking feeling in her gut, alerting her that it might not be the best decision. It was kind of ironic. The same town she had clamored to get out of years ago seemed more like relief to her than the sunny state she was leaving behind. And in the midst of a funeral at that! Yet and still, she had stayed, mostly because - for the first time in her life - she and grandmother agreed on something: it would be too suspicious for Lateefah to go back to California after the interrogation earlier today.

"It seems like you and Sarah had left on bad terms," the police offer had said, trying so hard to sound cryptic and threatening. Lateefah had just stared at him, face blank. "You make a habit of leaving things like that, Miss Hart?" Lateefah had fought the urge to laugh in his face, but soldiered on - straight-faced - to tell him that unless she was being charged, she was leaving and would not return without a lawyer. To be fair, she and Sarah had left on bad terms, bad enough that it left the deterioration of Tee's friendship with Lee look like a lovers' spat. Sarah, Lincoln, and Lateefah had known one another since they were children, and while Link was able to look back with fondness on their relationship, the one Lateefah had with the girl had been tumultuous at best. There was a kind of love there that enabled Tee to feel the ache of Sarah's permanent loss, but while others remembered her for being sweet or the allusion of being sweet, Tee remembered the head cheerleader. The one who bitched about any and everyone behind their backs, but retained her snake-like debonair charm the second a classmate was in their midst. The same one who loved the idea of having friends, but having them in the ways she wanted them. Sarah had never been truly bad, but Tee had never considered her as good as everyone else either. Especially after she revealed that it was her who had told Lateefah's grandmother of her affair - and all because Sarah had wanted him first.

Needless to say, though, Lateefah hadn't killed her. Hadn't even been close enough to Roseville to consider doing it and she damn sure couldn't stomach it. She and Sarah had gone back and forth with ignoring one another until a month before her death. At that point, Lateefah had blocked her number. It still meant she couldn't make any sudden moves, so Tee had been prepared to throw her clothes off and lounge about in her old bedroom with her Netflix and some Chinese...until her grandmother had pouted about her morose mood and the sullen attitude of the entire town. How her grandmother knew that there was a party for young adults happening was beyond Tee, but after five minutes of pouting, she grabbed her keys, her leather jacket, and rolled out without so much as a goodbye.

She was loathe to admit it, but the party wasn't that bad. Lateefah was sober, clutching a cup of crushed ice she had gotten from the ice maker instead of the buckets of ice that had much larger chunks inside that she was casually chewing on, the flavor of the sprite beneath it adding a sweetness to her tongue that she could appreciate a lot more than any alcohol at the moment. She would have turned to the dining room of the home where old friends and classmates were hanging out, but then she spotted three very familiar faces. Faces she wasn't ready to see nor deal with, which was why she turned right instead, going down the hallway and making a quick left to the living room. She lived with Lincoln, so it wasn't a problem, and Tigger was always going to be Tigger. A refreshing glass of vivacity and cheeriness that made Tee want to smile. But Lee...Lateefah just didn't have it in her to pretend at the moment, especially not when she'd already warded off any attempts at getting to know her life away from Roseville. So, she whipped out her friend to see about a friend she actually wanted to see.

To: Willow
pls tell me i didnt come 2 dis party 4 u not 2 come

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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0.00 INK

WILLOWxHENDERSON
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xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

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xxx"why should I play this game of pretend?
xxxremembering through a secondhand sorrow
xxxsuch a great son and wonderful friend
xxxoh, don't the tears just pour"

x


She had probably gotten away the lightest when it came to her interrogation. One of the police officers interviewing her had been following her on social media for a while, and so went easy on her. Willow had an airtight alibi and had ended up spending half an hour talking to them about her work and how her classes were going. Calling it a pleasant experience was stretching it a bit, but it hadn't been that bad. She'd been good friends with Sarah and had even used her as a model for a while. They'd stayed in contact, so it had hit hard when Willow found out she was dead. And about her secret. But she was in no place to judge. Sarah hadn't known about Jake. She'd barely even heard that he was dead. And Willow had been so wrapped up in her own problems she hadn't noticed anything was off with her. She hadn't guessed. How many of her friends were in similar situations?

But it was party time. She was a little late, even more than fashionably so, but her parents had wanted to skype and find out the full story of what had been going on. She'd finally gotten away, gotten changed, and wass heading into the party. Her phone buzzed just as she reached the party. Tee, trying to find out where she was. Willow grinned as she entered, scanning the room. Lee, Lincoln, and Rebecca were in a group. That was one group she was staying as far away as possible from. Lincoln wasn't her biggest fan, and things were still awkward between her and Rebecca. She found Tee and grinned, walking over and swinging an arm around her shoulders. "Didn't really think I'd abandon you, did you?"

Willow didn't tend to regret things. But she did regret starting to fall out of touch with her. Tee was the one person who knew... pretty much everything about her. Who had known what Jake was doing to her. And she had confided in Willow. They knew each other better than anyone else, and just seeing her made Willow smile like nobody else could.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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0.00 INK

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L A T E E F A HXH A R T
_____T H EXT O R T U R E DXA R T I S T_____

Outfit: Link Here || Hair
Location: The Party
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800


Not many people got away with just randomly touching Lateefah. Back in high school, she would just glare and unless you were a part of her inner circle (read: Rebecca or Lee), you'd probably be welcome to a shove or worse depending on who you actually are. Tee didn't have anger issues, but she definitely hadn't ever been a fan of being touched without her genuinely liking you. Which was why, if Willow hadn't followed up with voicing her arrival, Lateefah had been two seconds from hurling the contents of her cup into the offender's face. However, the offender was Willow and Lateefah's face softened immediately, casting her friend an answering grin.

"Hey, you," she greeted, voice warm with the softest rasp even with the music playing all around them. Reaching up with her free hand, she squeezed the hand of the arm currently around her shoulders. "Surprised you didn't wanna join the big reunion back there..." Lateefah winked as she added, teasing, "Especially with your bestie, Link, back there and all. Surprised you two haven't run into each other's arms already." Tee was probably the best person to attest to truth that was Willow and Lincoln's dislike of one another. She had easily been able to get out of taking sides in that she was close to the both of them, even if she had known Lincoln longer. Still, though it had always amused her whenever the two would vent to her about the other, always aware that she'd be going back to the other person, chuckling to herself over hearing the same repeated by two people who would swear up and down that they had nothing at all in common.

Setting

1 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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#, as written by catmint
xTallulahxAshmore
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xxxlocation: party xxxoutfit: here

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xxxdialogue: #F17418 xxxthoughts: #D44700

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xxx"all the people i know aren't who they used to be
xxxand if i try to change my life one more day
xxxthere would be nobody else to save
xxxand I can't change into a person I don't wanna be."



The interrogation hadn't been easy. Tallulah's mind was a mess, her anxiety levels spiking to new heights and then, as if that hadn't been enough for one day, she had to go to some party?
Tallulah leaned back against a wall. Usually she would be having an absolutely marvelous time at any party but in her mind, today was not a day for celebration. Some obviously drunk boy next to her was drawling about his new car in her ear but she wasn't listening. She took a gulp from the red plastic cup in her hand and scanned the room, searching for literally anyone that she could use as an escape route from this moron. She bit nervously on the edge of the plastic, hoping that whatever she just drank was not alcoholic, although her chances seemed slim.

"And it has these leather seats like--"
"Okay, yeah look buddy, I'm gonna stop you right there."
The guy looked stunned for a moment before a grin slid onto his face. "You know I'm just trying to impress you, pretty girl" He slurred, putting an arm around Tallulah's shoulders.
Tallulah rolled her eyes and took a step away. "I didn't want to have to do this," she sighed. The guy grinned again and took a step towards her and Tallulah threw whatever was in the cup at him before turning and walking in the opposite direction.
Could I get anymore cliché? Honestly, Lula.

Tallulah could hear the guy from behind her, shouting something vulgar about how "this was a new shirt!" but she quickly disappeared into the crowd, fiddling with the gold chain around her neck as her anxiety bubbled in her stomach, and barely watching
where she was going.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
Tag Characters » Add to Arc »

0.00 INK

xXxLEExROMERO
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xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

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xxx"now it's four in the morning
xxxi'm just trying to find myself.
xxxwhat the hell did i do?
xxxi'm the life of the party."


Even if Lee hadn't particularly wanted to be social tonight, all that changed when Rebecca appeared in front of him. He grinned and returned her hug, so glad to finally see her. They'd kinda fallen out of touch after she'd moved away. Lee had had too much on his plate. Things with Neil had reached breaking point, and it just wasn't something he wanted to deal with. So he'd let her go. Not exactly the best decision he'd made. "It's good to see you too! I'm great! How's England? I wasn't sure if you'd make it over," he gushed. It felt a little like he was just trying to cover up for not getting in touch. He wondered if she picked up on that. But before she got a chance to dwell on it, a distraction arrived in the form of Lincoln Cole.

Lee's stomach tightened, but for all the wrong reasons. This was the guy who had tried his best to make Lee's life living hell for years. And yet Lee still had the biggest fucking crush on him. It was so messed up. It was beyond messed up. Because when Lee looked at Lincoln, he didn't see the bully. He saw the guy he'd drunkenly messed around with when they were both freshmen. He saw all of Lincoln's denials. And Lee found himself wondering. Wondering.

"Hi, Lincoln. Oh, look at that, my cup is empty. I'll be back in a minute," he said, brushing past the two of them. He took a deep breath as he moved towards the drinks table. Somebody handed him a beer, and he was too distracted to even think twice about it. The man standing beside him did a double take. "Hey, dude, this might sound weird. But were you friends with a guy called Neil Crowley?"

Lee felt like somebody had poured a drink down his back. This is why it had been a mistake coming here tonight. "Nope, no clue who you're talking about. Excuse me." He turned around and headed back towards Rebecca. He was too close to turn back around when he remembered Lincoln's presence, so he just forced a smile as he went back to them. "So. How have you guys been?" He asked. Even if he usually hated being drunk, it was starting to seem like an increasingly better idea the more he considered it.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xRebeccaxCruze
════════════════════════════════
xLocation: Party |xOutfit: Here |xMakeup: Here

Image

xxx"Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
xxxSo while you're here in my arms
xxxLet's make the most of the night
xxxLike we’re gonna die young


════════════════════════════════

Rebeccan was glad to Lee smile, and listened to him talk “Yeah, London has been great, just the break I needed from this small town. And barely made it, flight got delayed because of the weather, almost cancelled actually.” Rebecca replied to Lee. She wondered for a second why he never reached out to her, but to be fair she didn’t reach out either. Life was busy trying to adapt to a different country and climbing the corporate ladder.

Rebecca was caught off guard when hands came around her with a giggle. She quickly turned around expecting it to be the guy she was talking to before, but saw it was Link. “Link!” She threw her arms around him and leaned back in his arms. “Careful with your hands buddy, you still owe me a dinner.” Rebecca said giggling with Link, but then heard Lee comment about needing a drink, Rebecca knew it was just to walk away. She knew about bullying history between the two.

“No problem, nothing fun ever happens with an empty cup” Rebecca commented as Lee walked away, then giving her attention back to Link. “So… You and Cinnamon, living together now huh? When you going to pop the question?” Rebecca said jokingly, pointing at her left ring finger teasing Link. She didn’t think of them two getting married would actually happen, then again, they were an unexpected friendship.

During the conversation with Link, Rebecca noticed a little red head she recognize throw her drink into the face of a guyit made Rebecca giggle, but right after that Lee walked up asking how they’ve been. Rebecca saw that he had a drink in his hand, “May I?” She asked, as she took his drink and just about chugged it, giving him a wink afterwards. She never got her second drink from the cooler before she saw Lee and walked over to him, so it was kind of his fault she didn’t get a drink, right?

“Oh! I’ve been dying to tell someone this, but guess what.” Rebecca said getting all giggly and such, pausing for a second. “The cops down at the station brought me in after Sarah’s funeral. And I totally thought it was about parking tickets or something from the before I left for London. But no! They interrogated me! Something about since me and Sarah had a slight falling out, they thought I could be a suspect in her murder! Can you believe that!? I’ve been in London.” Rebecca said crossing her arms and rolling her eyes.

Setting

3 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
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xLINCOLNXxCOLE
═══════════════════════════
xlocation: party xxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"for all the light that i've shut out,
xxxfor all the innocent things i doubt.
xxxfor all the bruises i've caused and tears.
xxxfor all the things that i've done,
xxxall these years."


Link spent most of the time that Lee was right there staring at him. His dark blue eyes would focus on the beautiful structure of Lee's face. His eyes were so beautiful, and his hair looked so soft. He wished he could touch it, hold him and just let him know he didn't mean what it was in high school. But the memory of the threats his father held over him as a teen still lingered in the back of his mind, but the absence of his sobriety seemed to numb it. As Lee stated he was going to get drinks, but Link just kept staring at him. Beauty. His mind seemed to be brought back to the present by Rebecca's voice. "Well I never thought you'd go streaking through the park," he paused before he looked at his drink. Maybe he should put it down, he still had to drive his bike home, he would place his drink on a nearby nightstand and become back into the conversation, still slurring slightly as he talked once more. "But, no Cinnamon and I aren't going to tie the knot. We aren't involved like that....she's not my type." he spoke this sentence carefully trying to make it sound like he just meant his type of girl.

When Lee came back Link went right back to staring towards the other male, his eyes focusing on the male's jawline. His lips. Ya know, just the normal things "heterosexuals" do when they stare at another person of the same-sex.

His gaze strained from Lee as he heard Rebecca tell the two that she was questioned. "I was questioned as well, but they know me down there.....pretty well. So they won't believe anything I say anyway. I was in Cali with Lateefah when she was murdered." he spoke before he would smile nervously. It wasn't he thought they didn't believe him. He was simply nervous about being around Lee, he had been so cruel to the other male in the past. All because he harbored a love for him, he was his first time with a male. And his last time, he refused to sleep with another man, because in his heart was Lee. So he forced himself to sleep with women and keep up his facade from high school. He believed Lateefah saw through him a few times but didn't speak about it. He would return to look towards the man he had caused so much harm, and just stare.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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#, as written by catmint
xTallulahxAshmore
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxoutfit: here

Image

xxxdialogue: #F17418 xxxthoughts: #D44700

═══════════════════════════
xxx"all the people i know aren't who they used to be
xxxand if i try to change my life one more day
xxxthere would be nobody else to save
xxxand I can't change into a person I don't wanna be."



Meaningless chatter swirled through the air and Tallulah tried to shove her way towards the edges of the room. Maybe there she could just crawl into a ball and hide from the world for a while. She heard a few people mumbling about "death" and such things as she squeezed her way through the people. She shoved one hand in her pocket and gripped her necklace with the other. Tallulah kept her head down, trying desperately not to draw attention to herself, although that was becoming difficult with the guy she'd poured her drink on still screeching behind her. She did her best to ignore him.

Surely there was someone here that she knew.

She looked up from under her lashes and caught sight of a small group of people on the other side of the room. Familiar people. A small smile spread across Tallulah's face. How long had it been since she's seen them? She moved towards the group, cautiously passing through the small gaps between party-goers.

"Excuse me. Sorry. If I could just get through..."

Everyone moved out of her way but some scowled as she squeezed through. Wow, okay, sorry. Frickin' rude.

Tallulah wanted to call out to them but felt like it might not be the best idea with so many people around. She looked up again and saw that she was almost there. Not even bothering to say "excuse me" anymore, she pushed her way though, hoping that she didn't knock drinks out of anyone's hands, and finally arrived at her destination.

"Rebecca!"

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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WILLOWxHENDERSON
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"why should I play this game of pretend?
xxxremembering through a secondhand sorrow
xxxsuch a great son and wonderful friend
xxxoh, don't the tears just pour"

x


Willow rolled her eyes at the mention of Lincoln. “Oh my god, don’t even joke about that. That would just be a clusterfuck of awkwardness,” she replied. “I know you guys are best friends but... yeah. Nope, not happening.” She laughed a little. God knows, she’d ranted to Tee about Lincoln far too much. But Tee never seemed to mind, even if her and Link were best friends.

“Did I hear you guys are living together? Should I start working on my dress for the wedding now?” She asked, winking at Tee. She was pretty sure there wasn’t anything there. If anything, the two seemed more like siblings than anything. “Can’t lie, babe, I might be that one guest who gets super drunk and jealous and breaks something. Couldn’t handle losing you to him.” She could joke about that now, when she knew that it was more than likely not going to happen.

“How is Cali?” She asked, the first genuine question. Willow was at a prestigious school of design just outside New York, and it felt like being in a different country to California. They’d still stayed in touch- it was hard to fall out of contact when you’d been through that much shit together. But it wasn’t the same as being there, as being with Tee, being able to have a hand thrown around her shoulders and being able to physically tease her. God, she’d missed her. She had friends back in college but... none of them knew. Nobody knew her like Tee, and sometimes she felt like nobody would. You didn’t just tell somebody about your abusive ex. They’d have to be someone close to you, someone special.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xXxLEExROMERO
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"now it's four in the morning
xxxi'm just trying to find myself.
xxxwhat the hell did i do?
xxxi'm the life of the party."


Lee just rolled his eyes as Rebecca stole his drink, grinning despite himself. "Get your own, bitch," he teased lightly. He could feel Link's eyes on him. He didn't know why, but he also knew he didn't stand a chance of holding any eye contact. He was glad when Rebecca suddenly changed the subject, revealing that she'd been interrogated as well. Lincoln said the same. "Huh, same here. Guess they're just interviewing everyone with any connection to her." He said, shrugging a little. And then a distraction arrived in the form of someone calling Rebecca's name. A familiar redhead, Tallulah Ashmore. She and Lee had been friends for a while, but when the whole Neil thing had come up, things had changed. And she seemed pretty focused on Rebecca right now which left... him and Lincoln. Fuck.

He drained the bottle of beer. Turns out Rebecca had left more than he'd expected. And had beer always tasted that weird? He shrugged it off and ran a hand through his hair. "So, uh, what are you up to these days, Lincoln?" He asked. God, small talk felt so weird in this situation. Given their history, just talking about college and stuff felt wrong. But what else could he say? "Hey Link, I've more or less forgiven you for bullying me, mostly because I actually really like you?" Lee would have to consume considerably more alcohol before that would have any chance of happening.

Over Lincoln's shoulder, he could see the guy who had asked him about Neil staring at him. He hadn't believed him. He knew. Lee turned his attention back to Lincoln, trying for force himself to make eye contact, but his eyes stopping to stare at that jaw, those lips, that face. The fingers of one hand started toying with the bottom of his jacket, as the other ran through his hair. God, did Lincoln pick up on how much he was fidgeting?

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xRebeccaxCruze
════════════════════════════════
xLocation: Party |xOutfit: Here |xMakeup: Here

Image

xxx"Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
xxxSo while you're here in my arms
xxxLet's make the most of the night
xxxLike we’re gonna die young


════════════════════════════════

“Fine, be that way.” Rebecca said handing the drink back to Lee and sticking her tongue out, leaving some left in there for him. “Really? They interrogated both of you, weird.” Rebecca said after hearing Lee and Link also talk about how the cops picked them up. Oh that makes sense. Rebecca thought to herself after Lee gave the suggestion of the cops talking to anyone connected her.

Rebecca was quickly taken out of the conversation when she heard someone call her name. “Lula!” Rebecca said as she turned around and hugged Tallulah, lifting her off the ground a little. “How has my Little Lula been?” Rebecca asked after setting her back down “But seriously, gotta be so cliché with throwing a drink in a guys face? Did you get that from a movie or from me?.” Rebecca said to Tallulah, giggling, starting up conversation with her.

Throughout the conversation Rebecca started feeling slightly dizzy, stumbling once into Link, but just smiling up at him and apologizing. Damn, feeling tipsy already Becca, such a light weight gosh. Rebecca looked back at Lee and Link, seeing that they were having a conversation, and not just Link bullying him, she smiled at them, lightly listening to their conversation.

“So, you gonna get with any cute boys tonight? I’ve seen a couple.” Rebecca said to Tallulah. Yeah there were a couple guys, and girls, here she would get with, but she really just wanted to tell Lee how she felt and have him return feelings. But right now, the only feelings Rebecca could feel was as if she was tipsy and leaning towards being drunk, also zoning in and out of the conversations and reality around her.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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────────────────────────────
Image
────────────────────────────
L A T E E F A HXH A R T
_____T H EXT O R T U R E DXA R T I S T_____

Outfit: Link Here || Hair
Location: The Party
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800

"i'm the ghost of a girl
that i want to be most
i'm the shell of a girl
that i used to know well"



"Ha!" Lateefah exclaimed dryly, following it by a quick sip of the watered down sprite. She was pleased to note that not a lot of the ice had melted just yet; Tee didn't make a habit of being a perpetual ice chewer, but she did like sucking on ice chips. She was getting in some kind of water, right? "There's definitely not gonna be a wedding - not ever."

It wasn't that Lateefah didn't find Lincoln attractive. He was her first on so many levels; obviously, there had to be some level of attraction because adolescent attachment did not count. But she had known back in high school - back when they were even younger - that he was never going to be the one for her. He was always going to be one of the ones that she loved, maybe even deeper than others, but never that mysterious one her grandmother swore was out there for everyone. Lateefah wasn't so sure about that, though. Perhaps for everyone else, but not for her. Just can't go a night without being an emo bitch, huh, she thought bitterly, before adding aloud, trying to offset her somber thoughts, "Besides, I'd probably try to kill him before I could say 'I do.'" It would be her, so lost in the depressive thoughts that haunted her, to miss Willow's tease about being jealous entirely.

"California's...California," Lateefah answered cryptically, taking a large swallow of crushed ice so as not to be able to expand upon the topic. It shouldn't have been that difficult of a feat, in hindsight. Instead of still being in college, working to keep up her grades for scholarships and figuring out what she wanted to do with her life, Lateefah's internship had turned into a full-time job. Whether she was fully happy with her current position was neither here nor there, but she wasn't bad off. Not really, not when one considered the fact that she lived in one of the most expensive cities in the world in a pretty decent apartment with only one roommate.

But of course, she would rather turn the conversation to Willow. Not just because she hated talking, but also because she genuinely was curious. Lateefah at least sent occasional check-in texts to her friend, but they weren't as frequent as they should have been, especially to someone she had been so comfortable with. Willow had been through so much with her. Willow had been through so much, period. Lateefah should have been better; she was always finding some way to fuck up, even when California supposedly made her mature a bit more. Figures, she thought. "What about you, though? I saw a few of your stuff on Instagram. They're amazing!"

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
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xLINCOLNXxCOLE
═══════════════════════════
xlocation: party xxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"for all the light that i've shut out,
xxxfor all the innocent things i doubt.
xxxfor all the bruises i've caused and tears.
xxxfor all the things that i've done,
xxxall these years."


"You're so beautiful," the male thought to himself. His dark blue eyes staring at Lee's brown ones. He didn't know what was about them, but they always pulled him in like the monster Charybdis. Yes, Link read in high school. He wasn't just a dick. He would smile a bit towards Lee, it was an awkward smile. He would pick up his drink again and take a sip of it. Beer was the oddest thing he had tasted, it tasted like sweaty socks. He would nervously run a hand through his hair before his mouth opened up and words began to fall out. "You can call me Link," he paused. "I'm sorry. For high school, for how I treated you. I was just an immature asshole, who knew you were going to have a better life after we graduated, and was so insecure about it I made your life a living hell. After that night......I just got insecure in myself. Back then I recognized you as the cause, so I targeted you. So, I'm sorry."

He spoke out, before he looked away from his eyes. He probably avoided the part where he liked Lee. He also avoided the part, he often got in fights with the other football players for saying shit that went to far about him. He was his "target" in high school, nobody else's. He knew that the other male probably hated him, he tried to leave the conversation when he showed up. He would place his hand on the back of his neck and smile a bit, awkwardly.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xXxLEExROMERO
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"now it's four in the morning
xxxi'm just trying to find myself.
xxxwhat the hell did i do?
xxxi'm the life of the party."

x
x
x
x


Lee smiled despite himself when Lincoln told him to call him Link. And then Link did something that Lee hadn't been expecting. He apologised. And it seemed genuine. Lee didn't really know that much about him- but a star football player, whose father was the coach... It was probably understandable.

"Thanks, Link. I know it can't have been easy." He said. "And yeah, you were a dick," he added jokingly, grinning at Link, "But we all did shit we're not proud of in high school. Stuff we left behind. Let's leave it there and move on."[/color] It gave him hope, more hope than his hopeless romantic heart could take. If this Link, the one standing in front of him, was new and improved, then maybe... maybe something could happen. It had happened once, even if that had been powered mostly by alcohol.

It was only when Lee felt Rebecca leaning against him slightly that he realised how clouded, how sluggish his thinking was. He felt drunk. And all he'd had to drink was one beer. No, half a beer. A familiar feeling of anxiety started to bubble in his stomach and chest.

"Hey, uh, guys, I just need to get a bit of air, okay? I'll be back in a minute," He said, both to Link and to Rebecca. His heart was pounding, too hard, too fast. There was no way he should be feeling like this. He stumbled a little as he walked away, which just made him worse. And again, he saw the guy that had been asking him about Neil, and Lee was sure he was going to throw up. He forced his way outside, taking a few deep breaths. Something was wrong. And now all that was whirling around in his thoughts was those parties, all the way back then, where he got so drunk that what he was doing, what was happening to him, it didn't even register. All the way back, to how he had ended up in that mess. Was Neil out of prison? Could he be? How long had he been put away for? This was wrong, this was wrong, this was all wrong.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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#, as written by catmint
xTallulahxAshmore
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxoutfit: here

Image

xxxdialogue: #F17418 xxxthoughts: #D44700

═══════════════════════════
xxx"all the people i know aren't who they used to be
xxxand if i try to change my life one more day
xxxthere would be nobody else to save
xxxand I can't change into a person I don't wanna be."


Tallulah hasn't realised how much she's missed seeing Rebecca's face. Or everyone's faces for that matter. She wanted to talk to everyone; see what had been going on in their lives but she decided against talking to anyone except Rebecca, at least for now. Tallulah hadn't really kept in contact with anyone else and she had no clue if they even wanted to speak with her.

Maybe they don't even remember who I am.

So, despite her curiosity, Tallulah chatted with Rebecca and for a while, it was like she'd never left. They slipped back into old conversation so easily.

"I seriously regret throwing that drink at him. I've never been one for clichés."

"Rebecca, I literally just drenched a guy in my drink. I doubt I'm going to get with any 'cute boys' tonight.
Tallulah chuckled.

Not that I'd really want to anyway.

It wasn't until Rebecca started to act strangely that Tallulah noticed something was wrong. She was leaning all over Lee and seemed to be really zoned out. Had she really had that much to drink?

"Rebecca, are you okay? You seem... weird."

Suddenly Lee excused himself from the group and stumbled away, looking panicked and intoxicated. Something was definitely wrong.



Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xRebeccaxCruze
════════════════════════════════
xLocation: Party |xOutfit: Here |xMakeup: Here

Image

xxx"Oh, what a shame that you came here with someone
xxxSo while you're here in my arms
xxxLet's make the most of the night
xxx Like we’re gonna die young


════════════════════════════════

Rebecca kept a smile on her face throughout her conversation with Tallulah, missing her “little sister.” “Yeah, it was cliché, but you totally pulled it off. Plus some boys like it when we play hard to get.” She started feeling more drunk and out of it as their conversation continued, even though she had just barely two drinks. Rebecca hadn’t even heard Tallulah’s last question before she heard Lee say something to her.

Rebecca looked over at Lee when he changed his tone, she could tell he wasn’t just talking to Link anymore, hearing him saying he needed air. But after Rebecca watch him hurrily walk away, she felt like something was up. “Lee?” She said as she turned completely around, then looking over to Link. “Did you say something to him? I’m going to make sure he’s okay.” Rebecca turned back to Tallulah. “You two should chat a little, might make a cute couple.” Rebecca said with a giggle and tried to follow Lee, not entirely keeping much of a better balance than he was.

As Rebecca pushed open the door and walked outside, she leaned against it as she closed it behind her, no one could really see what was going on outside with the door closed and the blinds not being open. Seeing Lee and her were the only two outside, she walked over to him and put her hand on top of his on the railing, but entirely on purpose. “Hey, hey. You okay cutie?” Rebecca said putting her other hand around him, staring into his beautiful brown eyes. She quickly looked away towards the sky. You gotta tell him now, just do it. She thought to herself, zoning out a little, then being brought back at the end of Lee talking, not really catching all of it.

“Lee, you know how we would always compete about who could get the most numbers, or see how many people we could flirt with before being ignored? Well” She paused for a second, rubbing her hand through his soft hair. Just do it Becca, now or never Her internal voice told her. “I always wish you would pick me, I… I really like you” Rebecca finished as she pulled Lee’s face toward her and began kissing him.

The kiss didn’t last as long as Rebecca would have liked it, she was pushed back by Lee and he stormed stormed off. She wanted to call after him, but she couldn’t for some reason. Rebecca slowly sat down on the ground, feeling very light headed. She leaned against the wall, a little bit out of view, slowly closing her eyes and passing out.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xLINCOLNXxCOLE
═══════════════════════════
xlocation: party xxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"for all the light that i've shut out,
xxxfor all the innocent things i doubt.
xxxfor all the bruises i've caused and tears.
xxxfor all the things that i've done,
xxxall these years."


Link raised an eyebrow towards Rebecca, he didn't say anything bad to Lee. Did he? He practically just apologized. "I....uh didn't do any-," he spoke interrupted by Rebecca's sudden giggle and saying he and Tallulah should get to know each other. He looked awkwardly at the girl and did the rather odd wave nod combination before getting this feeling in his gut something was wrong. Did he do something wrong and not realize it? Did he stare at Lee wrong? He wasn't aware if he did something wrong, but he knew he had a different feeling. A sense of something wrong and the impulsive part of Lincoln told him to follow his gut feeling. Something that often started fights between him and others in high school.

The male looked at Tallulah and would speak briefly before he'd leave "Um sorry, Tiana, wasn't it? Sorry, I gotta go check on my friends. Sorry to leave ya stranded." he spoke quickly before walking through the crowd the crowd to the get outside. He'd reach the outside to see Rebecca slump herself over next to a wall. He couldn't just leave her here, but he didn't know where Lee went. Taking out his phone he sent a quick text.

To: Queen Tee
ey, can u come get bec? gotta go find someone he ran off and idk where he is plssssss ily and ill buy u olive garden or somethin

Sending the text he'd whisper a someone will get her soon, and kissed Becca's forehead before he took off to get on his bike. He saw a vague silhouette walking down the street, and guessed with a hope it was Lee. He would start his bike, and drive down to see Lee walking, he looked a little pissed. What did Link do? Did he manage to fuck this up within the little time they had been around each other? "Hey, do you need a ride or something? You're not exactly sober my friend, don't wanna get arrested for intoxication. Especially in Roseville, not the place to do that. Definitely not fun," he spoke from personal experience before stopping his bike and looking at Lee.

Setting

5 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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xXxLEExROMERO
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"now it's four in the morning
xxxi'm just trying to find myself.
xxxwhat the hell did i do?
xxxi'm the life of the party."

x


Lee was a little glad to see Rebecca following him out. He always appreciated a familiar face. And as thoughts and memories of those days, back in the parties, back when he used to get so drunk he couldn't think about what was happening to him, swirled around his dazed and fuzzy head, Rebecca was a distraction, something his brain couldn't distort into something scary. At first, it seemed innocent. A hand on his, something innocent and grounding. And then she started talking about the good old days, back when Lee was unafraid to flirt and to tease, before he second guessed all of his actions. That was fine, but it put a twist of anxiety into his stomach as he remembered what he used to be.

And then she kissed him. For a moment, his brain went black. And then it went into overdrive. Without even thinking, he pushed her away. He stumbled away, his thoughts whirling and dragging him down into a pit. He couldn't do this, he couldn't. It felt just like he was back there, like every hand touching his arm, every voice asking him if he was okay was just another client, another person who didn't really care, who just wanted to know if he was up to the job. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think. He had to get out of there. He couldn't go back to that. Somebody had known that he was tied up with Neil, they had to know what he used to do.

And even as he left, he swore he could hear a voice calling his name in anger, yelling at him for running away. And then there was a bike, they were chasing him. When Link's voice called out to him, it was like a lighthouse through fog. And Lee had to bite his lip to stop himself from just breaking down into tears. He had to pretend he was okay, he couldn't let Link know he was as bad as he was.

"I- I- Link, somebody spiked my drink." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. "And Becca drank half of it and she- she- oh god I left her there, I left her behind, what did I do?" So much for staying calm. Lee felt so goddamn pathetic, he was nearly shaking and was on the verge of tears.



WILLOWxHENDERSON
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xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

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xxx"why should I play this game of pretend?
xxxremembering through a secondhand sorrow
xxxsuch a great son and wonderful friend
xxxoh, don't the tears just pour"

x


Willow laughed at Tee's comments about Link. She'd never really gotten why the two of them were friends, but they seemed to be close at least. Which, even if Willow didn't like Link, was nice at least. It made her feel a little better about not staying in contact. At least she had somebody from home. Willow had moved away from everyone for good reasons.

She shrugged at the mention of her Instagram, but grinned a little bashfully. "Thanks. It's... actually kinda awesome. Getting to work with and learn from all of the other people in my class, I've learned some awesome things and met some awesome people. We've got an end of term show coming up, so things are a... little hectic at times. But they're always a lot of fun. I know you're probably pretty busy with..." God, she wasn't even entirely sure what Tee was up to these days. "You're doing an internship, right? If you can bear a weekend from Link and your job, I'd love it if you could make it down. I'd love to show you around. New York is an awesome place to paint."

She was about to suggest they go get drinks, but then something kicked off involving a bunch of the jocks and some guy that Willow didn't recognise, but that looked a little too old to be one of her peers. From what she could gather from the yelling, he'd been caught spiking someone's drinks. Willow raised an eyebrow and suddenly became glad she hadn't get gotten a chance to grab a drink. She also spotted someone lurking by themselves. She waved a little, trying to catch Tallulah's eye. She felt bad for her- only moments earlier, she'd been talking to Link, Becca and Lee... all of whom had vanished.

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
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#, as written by catmint
xTallulahxAshmore
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxoutfit: here

Image

xxxdialogue: #F17418 xxxthoughts: #D44700

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xxx"all the people i know aren't who they used to be
xxxand if i try to change my life one more day
xxxthere would be nobody else to save
xxxand I can't change into a person I don't wanna be."


One second Tallulah had been standing in a group of people, chatting with Rebecca and the next thing she knew, they were all gone. Did Lincoln actually call her Tiana? She threw her arms up in frustration. Honestly, she was not having a good day.
Wow, they really don't remember who I am. Tallulah thought to herself as she watched Lincoln walk away. She sighed and started to fiddle with her necklace absentmindedly. Why did she think that everything would be like it used to be? So much had happened since then. Everything was different now.
Tallulah looked around, debating if she should just leave. Go home and watch some weird old movie that would be playing on TV. Maybe drink some tea and just forget about tonight. She should probably make sure her mum was okay too; she hadn't heard from her all night. She quickly pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at the lock screen.

xxxxMum:
xxxxHey Lu, probably best if you find somewhere else to stay tonight.
xxxxI don't think it's safe for you to come back here. I'll be fine. Sorry.


Tallulah's brow creased in worry. Of course this wasn't the first time she'd had to find somewhere else to stay because home wasn't safe, but she worried about her mum. Tallulah knew better than to reply. If her mum's phone went off with a message from her, it would end up worse for her mum. Tallulah shoved the phone back into her pocket and looked up, noticing a familiar face.
Willow?
Standing around anyone was better than standing alone, she decided, and slunk through the crowd towards Willow.
"Hey, it's been a while."

Setting

4 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole Character Portrait: Willow Henderson Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
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────────────────────────────
Image
────────────────────────────
L A T E E F A HXH A R T
_____T H EXT O R T U R E DXA R T I S T_____

Outfit: Link Here || Hair
Location: The Party
Dialogue Color ✦ #C35817
Thought Color ✧ #730800

"i'm the ghost of a girl
that i want to be most
i'm the shell of a girl
that i used to know well"



"It's not a - you know what? Never mind. I'd love to," Lateefah said with a strained smile, belatedly cutting herself off from acknowledging that her job was no longer an internship. It felt like an internship; she fetched coffee, gave ideas that were taken in as someone else's, kept out of the picture unless it looked good for the assistant she was being an assistant to, and a host of other very depressing things that Willow didn't deserve to be bombarded with. They had been doing well too. If Willow had kept talking, Lateefah could have kept up the genuine smile that had softly curved the corners of her mouth, gazing at the young woman as her countenance revealed how much good New York had been for her. Lateefah had liked that. All of her old friends deserved to have found some semblance to a happy ending away from this shitty town, but Willow especially and Lateefah was so pleased to see the clear tranquility Willow had managed to find, even if a small part of her felt the bitter sting of envy.

The sudden eruption of energy and shouts made Lateefah blink in surprise, but she didn't focus on it for too long for her phone went off and she pulled it back out to see a message from Lincoln. Snorting because Tee was pretty sure the guy Link was chasing after was probably a conquest or something, Tee sent him a quick response.

To: Legend of Zelda
make it tgi friday. use protection ;D

"I'm just gonna...go take care of something real quick," Lateefah finally said to Willow, who seemed distracted with Tallulah. Tee had never been exceptionally close to the girl, but she at least remembered her. Her friends had hung out with the other girl enough times for her not to just be a nameless face in a sea of former classmates they just so happened to graduate with. "See you later?" She left the question hanging in the air, not even sure if her friend had heard her. Lateefah had already been walking away. Disgusted with the mess that had become of the kitchen, Lateefah wrinkled her nose in displeasure before heading back in the direction she had originally seen Rebecca in.

This wasn't the first time Lateefah would have had to deal with a drunk Rebecca. There had been plenty of nights in the past where Lateefah had to remain the less drunk one for the girl's sake and she never did it grudgingly as she probably would have been ready to let loose on anyone who even thought about harming her Tigger in a vulnerable state. Eventually, she found the girl slumped in the corner, eyes closed, and Lateefah rushed over to crouch by the girl's side. "Don't do this to me," she groaned after a sigh, feeling at the girl's somewhat clammy forehead. Her friend barely even reacted to the touch, which made Tee's smooth brow furrow only slightly in consternation. Obviously, Rebecca was out, but Lateefah used her forefiner and thumb to peel open the girl's eye to see how out of it she was. "Come on, Tigger, really? I am so not in the mood to carry your cute ass outta here tonight." She would, though, if needed. That, however, that she would do grudgingly and she'd make damn sure the other girl knew it the second she was conscious and of her right mind.

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xXxHeatherxSwan
═══════════════════════════
xxxlocation: party xxxxxxxxxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"Welcome to a fabulous
xxxsense of lost self,
xxxacute paranoia,
xxxand emotional trauma."

x
x
x
x
Heather kept her head down. It was something she always did because she didn’t like looking up. Heather also didn’t like taking her meds and because she didn’t like taking them she would, occasionally, see things. Or, at least, think she saw them. In the dark corners of the room, passing by an open door, sometimes even lurking behind her. Heather could see the kids that didn’t make it in that madhouse she was held in. The psychologist dismissed her feelings as “survivor’s guilt.” It was common for people in her position to experience the things she was experiencing. But that didn’t make it any easier to go through. It didn’t stop the visions. But having the visions meant Heather didn’t experience the night terrors. That was the sacrifice she was willing to make. The girl would rather go through the day seeing shadows and ghost out of the corner of her eye than relive every moment of her captivity every time she fell asleep.

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought Heather back out of her mind and to the present. She was in a room she’d seen plenty of times in the movies and television shows. But this was the first time she’d been in an interrogation room. She knew people were watching from the other side of the mirror. Anyone or anything. Heather could almost see the malnourished figures in the mirror watching her. Judging her. Why them? Why not her instead?

“Miss Swan!” The man in the room with her called out and she jolted in her chair as if she had been asleep. “Can you please keep up with me, here?” The man asked. Heather guessed he was a detective. Sarah was discovered, dead, and foul play was suspected.

“S-sorry.” Heather stammered in a quiet voice. “What was the question, again?” The man sighed and gave the girl a look she was all too used to seeing. She hated that look. While it was hard to see on this man, it was still there. The look of sympathy. Of pity. It was very likely he knew of what happened to her and probably even knew of her mental health. Which was why he was straining himself to be as patient as possible.

“I just need your alibi. I need where you were at the time of the victim’s death.” A look of confusion came across Heather’s face.

“You think I’m a suspect.” It wasn’t a question.

“We know you two seemed close during your time here after the incident. By all accounts, Sarah was the only person you conversed with after your rescue. We just need to do the routine questions and do a quick check so we can clear you. Then we’ll be out of your hair.” Heather thought quickly to recollect where and what she was doing at the time in question.

“I believe I was at work...a few states over. So, there’s several ways to get that checked, right?” The man nodded as he jotted down something in a notepad and slid it, over the table, towards Heather.

“If you can write the name of your job and any co-workers that can vouch for you then that’ll be all we’ll need from you for now.” Heather did as she was told and handed the notepad back to the detective. He gave her a brief smile. “You seem to be awfully calm about everything going on. I thought Sarah was a close friend of yours.” As Heather collected her few belongings to leave she looked the detective in the eye.

“I’ve been through hell and back. Those kind of things tend to numb you to the death of someone you haven’t spoken to in years. We were close in school but when I moved I left everything linked to this town. Including her.” The detective nodded as Heather opened the door to leave.

“Just make sure you don’t leave town. We may call you back in.” He called after just before the door to the interrogation room closed.

========================================

Heather stepped out of her vehicle and peered, nervously, at the place which was abuzz with activity. She didn’t like sharing a room with several people, let alone a party. So many people and any of them could be a number of things.

The girl took out her knife from it’s sheathe in her boot. Heather would have rather had a gun but her mental state wouldn’t allow her to legally carry. But there weren’t any laws against carrying a small blade. At least none that she could think of. The knife, itself, wasn’t very large. Just an average pocket knife. But it was definitely sharp and would do damage. She wasn’t risking stepping foot in this town without any form of protection. Not after what she had gone through before.

The sound of some laughter made Heather quickly put the knife away. A few stumbling people, clumsily, made their way in Heather’s direction. She pretended to be flipping through her phone so she wouldn’t draw their attention. She wasn’t quite ready for socializing just yet. Heather hadn’t even formed the courage to walk to the front door yet.

Unfortunately, fate wasn’t on her side as one of the two men suddenly stopped and gave Heather a once over.

“Hey, I think I know you.” The man said as he approached, Heather. He wasn’t stupid-drunk but he was definitely tipsy. The other two he was with hung back and waited, talking amongst themselves. The man then gave off a silly grin and waved a finger, pointed at her.

“Yeah. You’re that Asian girl that would always have ghost stories.” Heather gave up with pretending her phone act and finally looked at the man. He wasn’t half bad looking and didn’t seem to be as drunk as Heather thought. There was still some focus in his eyes.

“Yup, that was probably me.” Heather finally answered. The man’s grin only grew wider like he was really proud of himself.

“I never figured you for the party type. Did someone ask you over to share some more stories again?” The more he spoke the more he sounded drunk because his words started to slur.

“No-no. I’m just here to relax.” Heather plastered a fake grin on her face.

“Well, you came to the right place.” The man spread his arms. “We are all relaxed as can be around here!” He rose his voice and got a couple cries of agreement from his two friends in the background. He then started making his way back towards his friends while giving a departing wave. “If you need anything, just come fetch me.” And with that he was back with his two companions, continuing their journey to wherever they were going.

That left Heather back to square one. Well, not exactly. The brief exchange did manage to calm her nerves. She had already taken her medication. Heather had already decided she was going to step outside of her comfort zone and come to the party. If everything worked out, Heather would be able to unwind and maybe even catch up with some old acquaintances. That was, if those bridges weren't completely beyond repair. So, Heather took a deep breath and headed for the front entrance of the loud house and was going to let herself in and try to have something resembling a good time.

Setting

2 Characters Present

Character Portrait: Lee Romero Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
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xLINCOLNXxCOLE
═══════════════════════════
xlocation: party xxoutfit: here

Image

═══════════════════════════
xxx"for all the light that i've shut out,
xxxfor all the innocent things i doubt.
xxxfor all the bruises i've caused and tears.
xxxfor all the things that i've done,
xxxall these years."


Without a second of hesitation, the man got off his bike. He moved over and pulled Lee close to him. Hugging him but in a more intimate way. He wrapped his hands around the other male's abdomen pulling Lee's head into his shoulder. He didn't know what else to do, he knew when he was upset about his father Tee hugged him and he felt better. So he did it upon instinct. His dark blue eyes closing as he took in the scent of the other male. His head running in a circle, but that didn't matter. It just mattered that Lee felt safe. He also had to hug him to suppress the rage that someone had spiked Lee's drink. What kind of dick does that? "It's fine, I have Tee taking care of her. I came after you because something went off in my head. She's in safe hands.." he would pause before he'd begin to speak again. "If you need to cry, I don't mind, it's healthier for you to let it out."

How hypocritical was that statement?

He was telling Lee he could cry, and let everything out. But here he was, hugging the boy who he had bullied and picked on because he liked him. Repressing every urge and whim inside him to let everything run loose. His father's abuse, something he never even let Tee know. She probably did know, but it wasn't verbally acknowledged between the two so Link could assume she was clueless. He wanted to let Lee know, he couldn't stop thinking of him. He was gorgeous, a beautiful man. Who deserved every single star in the sky. But he couldn't, his father's voice still echoed in his head. The threats, the memories of abuse, he swallowed down like a pill. He had one focus, and that was to comfort Lee.

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View All » Add Character » 10 Characters to follow in this universe

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze
Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
Character Portrait: Heather Swan
Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
Character Portrait: Benjamin Thomas

Newest

Character Portrait: Benjamin Thomas
Benjamin Thomas

"There's only so far we can bend before we break"

Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
Tallulah Ashmore

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

Character Portrait: Heather Swan
Heather Swan

Real? What is real? I don't think I know the difference anymore.

Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
Lincoln Cole

these words are knives, and often leave scars.

Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
Lateefah Hart

"First of all, you don't know me."

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze
Rebecca Cruze

"Let's just have some fun and forget the world."

Trending

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze
Rebecca Cruze

"Let's just have some fun and forget the world."

Character Portrait: Heather Swan
Heather Swan

Real? What is real? I don't think I know the difference anymore.

Character Portrait: Benjamin Thomas
Benjamin Thomas

"There's only so far we can bend before we break"

Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
Tallulah Ashmore

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
Lateefah Hart

"First of all, you don't know me."

Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
Lincoln Cole

these words are knives, and often leave scars.

Most Followed

Character Portrait: Lateefah Hart
Lateefah Hart

"First of all, you don't know me."

Character Portrait: Lincoln Cole
Lincoln Cole

these words are knives, and often leave scars.

Character Portrait: Rebecca Cruze
Rebecca Cruze

"Let's just have some fun and forget the world."

Character Portrait: Tallulah Ashmore
Tallulah Ashmore

"Don't threaten me with a good time."

Character Portrait: Benjamin Thomas
Benjamin Thomas

"There's only so far we can bend before we break"

Character Portrait: Heather Swan
Heather Swan

Real? What is real? I don't think I know the difference anymore.


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