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6 mos ago
Current in less than a week, kenny committed a double homicide on the same person. thoughts and prayers
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6 yrs ago
"I don't attract what I want, I attract what I am. Dead as the bees buzzing inside my head." MM
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6 yrs ago
Boo!
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6 yrs ago
"If you have ghosts, you have everything."
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6 yrs ago
Do you wanna start a cult with me?
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Bio

Grim / Grimoire
(they/them)
It's been over a year since I've written creatively but here I am again.
'sup.

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A fresh start.

Could you even call it that when it was your second time doing so? Today’s start felt about as fresh as day old bread. Tough, sharp, hard to swallow. Liberty was meant to be a fresh start, and look how that turned out. Niki’s thoughts ran a mile a minute as they blow-dried out their caramel blond locks. The ghastly person staring back at them in the mirror looked about as confident as they felt — not at all. Nik had barely slept a wink last night, their head spinning about what their first day at Rosefell would be like.

Would their fellow Liberty classmates remember them? Would they stare? Would they ask prying questions? Were there rumors about why they disappeared half way through last spring semester? How could this be a fresh start when Niki had no idea what stories had been flooding the halls of Liberty at the end of sophomore year, stories that might bleed into the locker rooms of Rosefell as well. But maybe they were overthinking this, it was more likely that nobody but his sister and two best friends even noticed that they were ever gone.

A dash of concealer under the eyes was an attempt to cover up both the dark circles and the anxiety that put them there. Best not to show up to their first day of school looking like a drug addict. Hell, that might be one of the rumors. Niki wore the lightest of make-up, just enough to cover their many flaws, but not enough to look too flashy… or too feminine. That could be saved for instagram, after school. Despite Emily’s best efforts to embolden her bestie, Nik was still cautious about being their true self in the public eye. That felt like being naked… embarrassing, and dangerous.

That said, Niki decided to get a little daring, adding a coat of mascara to their eyelashes. It was hard to wallow in self-doubt and criticism when Lizzo was singing at them to get ready to walk their fine ass out the door. Maybe after getting dressed in the outfit they bought on a recent shopping trip with Emi, Niki could try “feelin' good as hell”. Speaking of that feeling, there was someone recently that was helping them get close to that.

Wade Quinn.

Just the thought of their secret, shaggy brown-haired lover was enough to send a rush of dopamine through their system. A warm pulse tinged their cheeks pink in a blush as they bit their lip. Looking up at their reflection, for the first time this morning, Niki Zabrecky smiled. For the first time this morning, they felt pretty. Pretty enough to snap an outfit of the day selfie and open up their DMs with Wade, sending the picture along with a caption.

To: @FreeWadey
I hope you have a good first day! ❤

With that message sent and the dopamine-infused confidence boost that followed, Niki made their way downstairs where the aromas of first-day-of-school breakfast greeted them. Their mother, Anna, had made chocolate chip pancakes — a particular favorite of Niki’s, especially with some sliced bananas on top. Niki ate mostly in silence until Alina arrived in the kitchen. They would be relying on their sister for rides to school, since hospitalization had gotten in the way of their driving lessons last year. “Mornin’, Ali. I’m ready whenever you are.”






Nikolai Ian Zabrecky || AMAB Non-Binary (they/them) || Liberty High Student || FC: Stav Strashko || CC: E9967A




A @GhostMami & @smarty0114 Collaboration
Featuring Wesley Slater & Bradley Barron


Bradley’s head swiveled from Griffin’s receding form to Wes, back and forth, the extra basketball band still clutched in his hand. The pounding of the music was disorienting, and the liquor in his stomach wasn’t helping. He shouldn’t have come tonight. This was all about to go horribly wrong. He looked down at his empty cup, nerves swarming in his gut. Seize the day, seize the day, seizethedayseizethedayseizethday. The mantra blended together in his head until it was just a jumble of words, and Wes was standing in front of him, cute and slightly disheveled, but still, just right.

He did his best to grin and cover up the turmoil inside, reaching out to hand the band to Wes. “Griff wanted me to give you this,” Bradley said, holding up his own wrist to show off his matching one. “Don’t ask why, something about good luck,” He said, omitting the fact that the luck had been more for Brad’s sake than Wesley’s. “I’m guessing the booze run went well, considering this is a success,” Bradley said, nodding his head to the beat of the music and looking everywhere except Wes’ eyes.

Wesley took the bracelet and looked at it quizzically, turning it over in his hand. Something about it made him smile… probably the fact that this was exactly the kind of trinket he would pilfer from someone’s room if he saw it just laying around. A little happy memory to stow away in his growing stash of them. “Well, we could actually use this bit of luck soon, so it’s good timing.” Wesley was referring, of course, to the genius plan he had come up with in his pre-party nap dreams. Before Wes could reveal his fantastic plan to Bradley, he was distracted by the mention of the booze cruise. “Yeah, it was totally awesome! Sav and Erica are way more meddlesome than they look, cheeky little criminals, they are. Although… I think I made Erica mad at me by pretending to be her boyfriend in front of the cashier…” Wes mused with a bummed out shrug.

Confusion flashed across Brad’s face at the last bit. Did that have something to do with Erica and Griff’s dance earlier? Maybe that had been happening under his nose for longer than he’d realized. “Erica’s usually mad about something.” He didn’t want to dwell on how the thought of Wes and Erica dating hollowed him out and filled him back up with longing, a longing that seemed to steal all the words he wanted to say. He needed another drink.

“What’s the luck for?” Bradley asked, trying to steer his way back into safe, calm waters. Pranks, if that’s what Wes was referring to, had become their own language, the bonding that had brought them so close. Even if he couldn’t find the words right now, he could always talk about a way to stick it to the powers the be.

“Oh right!” Wesley exclaimed, gesturing with his drink excitably, sloshing it a bit in doing so. “If the narcolepsy is good for anything, it’s for the flashes of genius I get while I’m sleeping. SERIOUSLY, I almost slept through the party for this shit.” Wes stopped to lick the drips off the side of his cup and take a hefty gulp of his drink before he spilled more of the precious nectar in his excitement. Anyywayyy, you know how we’ve been trying to figure out how to smuggle in spray paint?” Wes waited for confirmation before continuing.

The smile that spread across his face was pure instinct, brought on by Wes’ own excitement. It was infectious. He’d always felt like he was always meant to be looking at the canvas, capturing the colorful people of the world while he moved on in black and white. With Wes… every laugh showered him in the rarest pigments, and for a moment the monotone shades of gray faded. “Of course, it’s gonna be the best vandalism this place has ever seen,” Bradley said, spirits lifting as he spoke.

“Damn straight it will be.” Wes said and went to tap red solo cups in cheers with B-rad, only to find that his cup runneth empty. “Whoa, you ain’t got nothing in your cup, we gotta fix that first, c’mon.” He ushered his friend through the crowd of fellow students and over to the makeshift bar. “So here’s the thing…” Wes began, a crooked smirk complimenting the single eyebrow that raised as he revealed his plan. “What if we didn’t have to smuggle anything in at all?” Wes waited again, letting the dramatic suspense build.

Clear liquid, indistinguishable from water except for the tell tale thickness of liquor, filled Bradley’s cup, followed by a generous amount of sugary red juice. He nodded as Wes’ words fought through the haze of his mind and burst into the light of understanding, signalled by a drawn out, “Ohhhhhhhhhhh!” Bradley took a gulp of his drink, thankful for the new influx of alcohol, before continuing. “Wes, you’re a fucking genius! I could kiss you right now!” Oh. He hadn’t meant to say that last part. He hastily covered his mouth with his cup, taking another gulp as embarrassment and drunkenness turned his face redder and redder.

“Exactly!” Wesley exclaimed with a giggle and polished off the rest of the mixed drink in his own cup. He thought of Brad’s statement as nothing more than the shared excitement of the moment and began to mix himself another drink. The effects of the rum were already buzzing within him, making his blood feel warm and heavy. “There’s already spray paint here, in the school. No smuggling of contraband needed. There’s loads of it in the technology department, dude, we just gotta go get it.” The mischievous glint in Wesley’s eyes was nothing short of devilish as he smirked above the rim of his solo cup.

“We can go tonight, while everyone's here. If security should be concerned with anything, it’s this,” Bradley said, laughing softly. His eyes ran over Wesley’s frame then quickly glanced away. “Has Griff seemed off to you?” Bradley added, nerves pushing him further and further away from the conversation he needed to be having right now. The band around his wrist seemed to burn, as if trying to remind him of the promise he’d made.

“Griff’s always been a bit of an odd duck… but, yeah, he’s been pretty weird since getting out of the hospital.” Wesley shrugged, taking a sip of his freshly mixed rum and coke. “Maybe he’s still feeling a little off, musta been one helluva flu. And I guess it’s going around too, a couple of other kids got it, even Theo, and he’s tough as a bear.” Bringing the topic back to the mission at hand, Wesley pointed at Bradley with the index finger of the hand holding his cup. “But rewinding it back, you, my friend, are the real genius here! Tonight is the perfect night to go through with the heist! Both our friends AND the security should be distracted, it’s fucking perfect. It’s the most opportune moment, we have to seize it!” Wesley grabbed a small, almost flask-sized handle of vodka that he could easily stash away in his pocket from the counter. “What'd ya say? We head out now, with drinks for the road?” Wes smirked and shook the bottle for emphasis, causing the vodka to slosh back and forth inside.

Bradley grinned, and finished off his drink, certain he’d need the courage. It would just be him and Wes, doing what they did best; wreaking havoc. He could do this. “Hard to argue with that.” He looked around, cautious of any watchful eyes, pilfered his own miniature bottle, and slipped into the crowd. Just before they were cut off, Brad’s hand clutched Wesley’s tugging him along and out into the considerably cooler air of the dorm hallway. He let out a sigh of relief, and gestured towards the exit, glad to be free of the oppressive heat of the party. “Lead the way, partner in crime.”

Wesley snickered as Bradley tugged the pair of them out into the hallway. He had the small bottle of vodka in his pocket, but his plastic cup was still in his hand. A portion of the brown cocktail sloshed out of it, leaving a nice solid stain in the hallway to remember this night by later. “Shit!” He remarked, more so upset about the lost alcohol than the stained carpet, and ran along with Brad towards the exit. Time to break into the school and steal some property in order to vandalize some property. With the booze run already under his belt, how many more crimes could Wesley fit into one single friday? Only time would tell…




Location | Wesley’s Room → The Party

Wesley could not believe that they’d actually done it! The Booze Cruise had gone off without a hitch and Wes was still riding off the high of getting away with something so criminal. This was rule breaking to the extreme, more so than any of the pranks and mischief that he, Bradley, and Griff could cook up. Today, Wesley Slater broke the law… which was kind of concerning, considering that he was planning to study law and become a lawyer. But, maybe that made him an even better candidate for the job. A ton of people in law and law enforcement are actually criminals themselves, right?

With the alcohol properly secured, the van parked, the keys placed back where they were found, and the trio able to sneak into the dorms with their ill-gotten gains, the party plan was successfully in motion. Wesley brought his filled-to-the-brim backpack to the lounge and unloaded the alcohol, leaving Savannah and Erica to finish up with the party prep. It was their party, after all. He just pitched in his money, backpack, phenomenal acting skills, and, of course, invited damned near their entire class. The last job he had was to get himself ready.

Back in his room, Wes started with a shower to wash away the dried anxiety sweats from his silent mental spiral in the van on the way to the liquor store. He might have played the situation like the charming trickster that he was, but that didn’t mean that he never got nervous! Wesley had his music playing as he showered, dancing to the beats and scrubbing his hair in time, looking forward to all of the shenanigans that a night of drunken revelry might hold.

Once squeaky clean, Wesley made the first critical mistake of his evening. Clad in naught but a fuzzy white bath towel wrapped around his waist, he plopped down on his bed to relax and scroll through his phone. The scrolling slowed as his eyelids grew heavy from the combination of his post-excitement crash, the warmth of his shower, and good-old fashioned narcolepsy. He passed out within minutes and slept for a couple of hours. It wasn’t until the volume of the music from the party increased enough that the thumping bass vibrated his walls that Wesley awoke and realized his error.

“SHIT!” Wesley exclaimed, jumping out of bed and causing his towel to drop in the process. “Shit shit shit!” He continued as he stood naked in the center of his room, his hair having dried into the most ridiculous nest of curls from laying down and falling asleep with it wet. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he zipped over to his closet to find an appropriate party outfit to throw on and hopefully distract from his otherwise disheveled appearance. The next step was to make a second trip to the bathroom to try to salvage his hairstyle. Wetting his hair down and running his fingers through the curls succeeded in keeping them from defying gravity by sticking straight up, but it left him looking a bit like a drowned rat because of how much water was needed to tame them.

“Whatever…” he mumbled in a disgruntled tone before grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys to head down the hall. The party, as he expected, was already in full swing. A couple of his classmates looked like they had even already had their fair share of alcohol, which caused a momentary flash of panic. His Captain! Good lord, please don’t let the rum be gone! Before even looking for his besties, Wes beelined for the beverage station to prepare himself a drink. Thankfully, there was still about three quarters of the Captain Morgan left, and Wesley sighed in relief as he mixed a rum and coke, heavy on the rum, as it seemed he had some catching up to do. Looking around the crowded common area, he sought out his friends and found both Griffin and Bradley chatting. Perfect! He made his way over to them to start off his night on a better foot, hopefully.








To be totally honest, a bar like Nectar’s wasn’t Shiloh’s ideal party spot, but there weren’t many better options locally. While Vermont as a whole is a pretty liberal state, Meadow View in particular tended to be more… traditional (most likely due to the Ivy League presence) and it therefore was not very rich in LGBTQ+ spaces. Seriously, not a single gay club to be found. Regardless, Shiloh was a proud, powerful lesbian with the blood of rockstars in her veins and she could bring the party to almost any venue — including a karaoke bar with it’s highlighting feature being buy one get one appetizers. Shiloh Clay could make Nectar’s work for her purposes, she’d beaten way harder levels than this before, and maybe, just maybe, this time the princess wouldn’t be in another damned castle.

“That’s thoughtful, Theo,” She responded to her bestie as he returned to Connor, Maddie, and herself with a pitcher of beer and four glasses. “But you know beer makes me feel bloated. I’m on a strict diet of clear liquids and powders tonight.” Vodka, tequila, gin… so many options! “Speaking of…” The pink-haired temptress fished around in her clutch and discreetly pulled out a baggie of colorful pills stamped with alien heads, hearts, stars, and various other emoji-like shapes. “Party favors, anyone?”

Shiloh offered a cheshire cat grin when Maddie showed interest. She might be a college girl now, but she was still every bit as much of a bad influence on her friends now as she was in high school. “Ooh, you’re gonna love it, Mads. It makes you free and bold and ready to be touched. Touching feels like magic.” Shiloh had already taken a dose for herself before offering up some to the others. Once her benevolent deed was done, she bowed to bid them farewell. “Theo, since you aren’t partaking, I trust you will keep me from doing something too stupid, like getting on that stage and doing my best impression of Hayley Williams.” She stared off in thought for a moment, “Actually, that might work for me. Whatever. Watch my back, I’m gonna go try to find a girlfriend.” Hopefully one that lasts for more than one bi-curious night this time, but who knows, old habits die hard.

The ecstasy in her system began to work it’s magic relatively quickly. Her tolerance was high, but her frame was small so it didn’t take too much or too long to get lifted. Shiloh watched as the warm lighting of the bar blurred and began to dance like stars in her eyes. Letting the music take her, she spun around the dancefloor chasing those stars. Everything was moving to the beat and the lovely notes of a songbird. Shiloh’s gaze broke from her amphetamine-induced astronomical studies long enough to take in the pretty bird, a girl whose name she didn’t catch but whose face she recognized from school. The songbird wore a crop top and jeans, which bared a smooth flat tummy that practically begged for body shots… and licking.

Shi giggled at her own dirty thoughts before making her way to the bar for some liquid courage. She didn’t need any extra boldness, but it was still fun to partake, and maybe it would help her learn the songbird’s name later. “A shot of Patrón, please. Actually, make it a double. Saves us both a trip.” Shi requested of the bartender with a smile. Glancing back out to the intimately crowded bar, she tried to blink away the stars as she waited for her drink. A few blinks confirmed that it wasn’t the drugs, something shiny had actually caught the lights. Tiny bits of metal reflecting like a disco ball. Squinting, Shi took in a cute asian girl wearing… a spiked red leather jacket?

Was she hallucinating?! Nah, this was X, not acid.

Shiloh glanced down at her own jacket and then back at the mystery girl. She was talking to Cassian Lee, but it didn’t look entirely friendly. Definitely not flirty, well, probably not. You could never tell with that one. The bartender returned with the tall shot glass of tequila as Shiloh pondered. “Oh, thanks.” Back to staring. Okay… so was she just punk… or gay… or both? Both was pretty common, she was both herself, after all. “Well, only one way to find out.” Shi said aloud before downing the shot, placing the glass upside down on the bar, and strutting towards the girl with the jacket.





Collab with @NeoAJ & @smarty0114

The roads of New Mexico were bumpier than Savannah remembered. She wouldn’t have thought there was so much traffic that it would have resulted in such a sorry state of affairs on their roads. But the constant bumps of the “borrowed” van into potholes proved otherwise.

Maybe she would feel a little better if she was driving, but she hadn’t driven anything in a while. Not since she left Stillwater, however long that was ago. It seemed like it was forever, when in reality it was what? Four months? Still, the van was a manual transmission, and she definitely had no skill for that. She wasn’t one of the farm kids who knew how to drive tractors by the time she was 12. She drove a beat-up Civic, and that sucker was automatic. This van was a far cry from that little coupe.

It was serving its purpose though. It was ferrying this three-person expedition off to the promised land that Erica had foretold of. The gas station on the main highway was no heaven, but it held the promise of manna from the gods themselves. More importantly, it offered the promise of Savannah’s salvation from her hubris earlier in the week. If Erica’s intel was correct, there would be enough booze to cover Sav’s blushes in the cafeteria and then some. Plus, now that the Texan was rocking a full array of ammunition for the mission, thanks to her scavenger hunt victory and the agreement of both Wesley and Talya that all their proceeds would go towards the party. The party that apparently EVERYONE AT SCHOOL knew about now. So no pressure or anything.

Besides, it wasn’t Savannah that had to go in there and be all cool under the circumstances. That was Kelsey Marston’s job.

She leaned to her left and addressed the driver. “Hey, so… where are we? I definitely don’t recognize that cactus… or anything really…”

“It’s cause we were coming the other way,” Erica said, gently pressing her foot into the clutch and shifting up a gear, then picking up speed. Her dad had taught her to drive stick last summer, and amidst Erica’s screams of frustrations, they actually managed to have a father-daughter bonding moment. It was a good thing he had too, because neither Wes or Sav could drive stick. “If I’m right about where we are, it should be coming up on our right in a few minutes.”

Erica’s eyes looked out on the barren desert, wishing the AC in this van worked just a bit better. She had yet to hear just how many people were coming to the party tonight, having been more concerned with getting alcohol and passing her chemistry test.

Finding the key to the school van just laying on a table in the library had been a stroke of good luck. After the catastrophe that was the scavenger hunt, Erica felt like she deserved some good karma, and the key only made her more sure that tonight would go off without a hitch. The universe wanted this party to happen.

The backseat of the van was probably the worst place to be. Every bump and pothole jolted Wes towards the roof and he’d gotten a couple of whacks on his head already to show for it. Being tall could be such a curse. Or perhaps it was just Erica’s driving. Or the road condition. Or the fact that he opted out of wearing his seatbelt. If you're riding in a stolen vehicle, what’s the point of following any other laws? Seatbelts were restrictive and Wesley Slater absolutely hated sitting still. Plus, thanks to repeated memory wipes, he couldn’t really remember those videos he was forced to watch in school where the kid not wearing his seatbelt becomes a projectile and kills all of his other friends in the car. Brutal.

“So…” Wesley leaned forward between the two girls, propping his lanky arms around the backs of their seats as he spoke. “You’ve both already proven that you guys got that femme fatale Charlie’s Angels thing going on with the whole van theft, but, what’s the plan now?”

“Because, let’s be honest,” Wes looked over to Savannah, eyeing up her pink hair in particular. “You’ll totally get clocked for your age with that punk dye, and I look like I belong in Twinks Gone Wild, so I’m assuming Erica is going to be doing the buying?” Wes’ brows furrowed at how casually he referred to himself as a twink. He meant to point out his babyface, but somehow this other brand of self-degradation came more naturally. It probably didn’t mean anything. Probably.

Savannah was going to ask Wes what the heck he meant by a twink, but there would be time for those sorts of questions later. “Hey, you don’t think I asked you for your grand prize without an idea of how this was going to work, did you?” she responded with an eyebrow raise of her own. “And for your info, this plan involves me doing the buying and you coming to help carry all our booze with that big ole backpack of yours. You know, like a proper gentleman and all.” She punctuated that last remark with a wink. “All you have to remember is that until that booze is back in the van, my name is Kelsey. Got that? Kelsey. And we are three grads travelling from Oklahoma to visit some friends at Arizona State for the weekend.”

It should have been shocking to Savannah how easy it was to fall into this mindset of blatant lying in order to facilitate more law-breaking. Truth be told, she could only remember being in a place that sold alcohol once, when she was 12. Her momma went in to buy some back up wine for a party and had Sav follow around before standing at the checkout waiting for the purchase to be made. There were no enticements to break the law back then. Now she was going to go full out and lead an entire class down a road of debauchery.

It was kinda fun really. Why hadn’t she done this before? Right, the moral quandaries and risk/reward factors and the Jesus. Right. Ah well. It’ll be over soon.

“We should probably save a little bit of credit card money to buy some mix and snacks and junk too, right?”

“Definitely. I don’t know about you two, but I’ll die if I spend the whole night drinking nothing but straight liquor,” Erica replied, impressed by how readily Sav was taking charge. It soothed the pit in her stomach that had been expanding rapidly as they sped down the road. She’d done this sort of thing before, back in New York and she recognized the anxiety from memories, that unique sort of panic over the possibility of getting arrested. Whatever she felt inside, she kept her face calm.

“Alright ‘Kelsey’, get ready,” Erica said. Taking a deep breath, she slowed down, downshifting and turning the van into the parking lot somewhat faster than she intended to. She heard Wes thud against the side of the van and called out her apologies. “My bad!” Oof. Maybe her driving could use a bit more practice.

The thump was followed by a grunt. “Eh, s’okay. I’m just getting a headstart on tomorrow’s inevitable hangover headache.” Wesley replied with a laugh as the vehicle finally reached their destination. Ah, the smooth relaxation of a parked vehicle, not a pothole or sharp turn in sight.

“Okay… so you’re Kelsey and we’re… nobody. Just a bunch of college friends. We got this.” Wes gave himself a pep talk as he hopped out of the back seat and onto the asphalt, shutting the car door behind him. He waited for ‘Kelsey’ to take the lead and followed after her. He did his best to be nonchalant, arms loose and relaxed, his hands in the pockets of his unzipped hoodie. The backpack was left in the van, he could pack that up full on the drive back.

A bell jingled above the door as the trio entered the trio entered the liquor store. Wesley briefly scanned the signs marking the aisles before choosing one to walk towards. “Rum?” He asked the others before committing to that direction.

Sa… “Kelsey” grabbed one of the little carts that were stacked by the doorway. No sense pretending they weren’t bringing a haul through the checkout. Go big or go home, right? Her scavenger hunt teammate was proving just as adept at finding the prime spirits as well as puzzle pieces.

She gave an approving nod. “Rum is a good idea. The sorority sisters will be pleased,” she added, getting right into character now. The key was immersing herself, shoving Savannah far from her mind at the moment. Kelsey had to get everything she needed for this party here because they were banned from all the shops in Tempe for various drunken infractions, and this was better than loading up in Oklahoma because this way they only had to stop once. Erica was her fellow sister and Wesley was the new boyfriend Kelsey was bringing to show off at the party and… OK, things were getting a little much. Wesley as her boyfriend? Couldn’t happen.

“Keep an eye out for some Hpnotiq. That’s Lyndsey’s favorite. She’ll flip if we don’t show up with some,” she informed the others. While searching through the choices, she lifted a cheap bottle of vodka which would serve their purpose well enough.

Erica trailed behind the other two, pocketing the keys to the van. She flashed the guy behind the counter a grin that he returned. Something about him rang a bell in her head… strange. She wasn’t used to reaching for a memory only to come up empty. She remembered everything! Turning away, she narrowed her eyes but kept quiet. It was probably nothing.

While “Kelsey” grabbed some cheap vodka and Wesley went for the rum, Erica craned her neck over the shelves, in search of the pastel bottles that she knew ment Hpnotiq. For a second, she wrote it off as an impossibility, figuring this place wouldn’t have anything your local hick couldn’t buy, but just as she was gonna give up, her eyes landed on a row of blue bottles. Perfect.

She sidled past Sav and Wes, and grabbed the bottle out of the fridge, holding it up as a trophy for her friends. “This should keep Lyndsey happy,” she said, taking more pleasure in playing along with Savannah's story than she’d expected.

These two girls kept surprising Wesley, Erica especially. Looking at someone like Savannah, you kind of expect her to have a few secrets and tricks up her sleeve. But Erica? She was the kind of girl you would expect to be valedictorian. Turns out he was instead surrounded by car thieves and filthy rotten liars. It was kind of sexy. Well... intriguing, at least. It just goes to show that you can’t always believe what's on the label.

Speaking of labels, Wesley scanned the variety of rum options on the shelves. He figured quantity was more important than quality for their situation, but at the same time, he was flipping some of this bill, so he should treat himself. Clearly Lyndsey was. Wes grabbed a small bottle of Captain Morgan spiced rum for his enjoyment and a couple of lower shelf bottles for the masses. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drank, but he was pretty sure that rum and cokes were his go to favorite.

“Hey, do you think Mikey is still obsessed with Jägerbombs, or has he finally outgrown them?” Wes asked the girls once he regrouped. He was trying to think of what kind of drinks Leo and the other hooligans might be into. Wes couldn’t stand the taste of Jäger himself, but there were usually a handful of people who wanted that at parties.

“Ugh!” “Kelsey” moaned in anguish at the mention of Wes’ alter-ego friend. “Let’s hope Ariana has outgrown him! Better get some just in case though.” This was fun. It was nice that her companions were playing along with everything. Plus, it had to help sell the story to the clerk. Other kids coming in would probably be stiff as anything, and petrified of getting caught. The way they were playing off each other, it had to be at least mostly believable.

Savannah could barely hide her excitement seeing Erica come up with the fabled blue bottle she had heard so much about. This was going to be hers for the evening, even if it did end up tasting bad. She would drink her mistake in that case. “Should we get some beers or ciders or anything? In case someone wants to play flip cup?” Flip cup was a game she had heard of before. That had to be a thing played at universities.

“Oh, good call,” Erica said, placing the Hpnotiq in Sav’s cart before turning around and grabbing two racks of Corona’s. She handed one off to Wes, and then replaced it with a large bag of solo cups that ended up snuggled next to the Hpnotiq. “And, last but not least, mixers!”

Erica led them over to the non-alcoholic drinks, where a variety of two liter bottles filled with juices and sodas were lined up. With her free hand, she passed down two bottles of Coke, for the rum, a lemonade for the vodka, and some fruit punch for a bowl of jungle juice. “We all set?”

Wesley added a case of Red Bulls to the pile of mixers and assessed their collection. Hopefully this was enough, because he was pretty sure that they were tipping pretty close to the edge of their budget. “Yeah, I think so. Besides like snacks, which I guess we’ll have to get somewhere else. Unless you guys already got that covered.” At the very least, food wasn’t really contraband, so they could easily buy them at the school store later.

Savannah offered a shrug. “We can run around to the gas station section to see what they got. If not, we can grab food once we get to campus. This is the important stuff.” A few packs of coolers hit the cart to balance things out but that would likely be all they would need. It was a bunch of high schoolers after all. One cooler would probably be enough for Hana. But no one would be getting anything if they were stopped at the checkout.

As “Kelsey” brought their wares to the counter, she motioned for the other two to back off for the moment. The less people present to ask questions the better. “Howdy,” she offered in her best Oklahoman accent, which sounded like her regular one but rougher. “Sorry ta make you work for this sale. Gotta lot here.”

“Ain’t got nothin’ better to do,” the clerk replied, shooting Savannah a white toothed grin. His eyes lingered on her, before flashing to Erica and Wes, sizing them up almost. The hair on Erica’s arm bristled, but she kept her cool. Just, keep smiling.

“Y’all go to school around here?” the clerk asked, in between computerized beeps from behind the counter.

“Nah, just passing through,” “Kelsey” confirmed. “Gonna surprise some friends with a right proper engagement shower. Just hope it don’t give some other people ideas, amirite? Can’t afford too many blenders this summer!” That seemed like a good enough reason to make the trip from dang near Arkansas through New Mexico to Arizona. She nodded back at Erica and Wes during that last bit. If nothing else, the clerk could draw his own opinions on who that was referring to.

“Well, your friends are lucky. From the looks of it, they’re in for a damn good time,” he said, smirking as he scanned the Hypnotiq. “You got an ID lil miss pink hair? Needa birthday to put into this bad boy,” he said, gesturing to the monitor that rested behind the counter.

While Savannah searched for her fake ID, Wes continued on with their charade. He put his arm around Erica's shoulders with a dumb grin and said, “I don't know, whadya think, babe? Should we get hitched and make Kels buy another blender? I mean, we'd probably be worth a full on KitchenAid mixer, two best friends in one and all that.”

Erica’s eyes widened as she felt Wes’ arm swing around her shoulder, but her grin remained steady as ever. She swung her own arm around him, squeezing them together harder than was probably necessary. “You know I’m just waiting on you to buy the ring, babe,” Erica said, doing her very best to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Her very best, wasn’t quite good enough.

“Calm down back there!” “Kelsey” shouted as she rummaged through her person for the wallet that contained the credit cards and Kelsey’s ID. “I ain’t made of mixers either! And I ain’t drivin’ anymore after whatcha pulled outside’a Weatherford!” She produced the Oklahoma license that she still had no idea how she acquired. But the pink hair matched the tone of the scowling picture and the date of Dec. 7, 2013 should be good enough for the clerk’s needs. “Sorry ‘bout the lovebirds. They do not know how to keep the PDAs to a minimum, ya know?”

The man behind the counter smiled, Erica wasn’t actually sure he’d ever stopped in the first place, and took a quick look at “Kelsey’s” ID. He punched her birthday in, and then directed her to the credit card kiosk on the counter. “Looks like two hundred in damages for ya,” he said.

Savannah breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t have to dig into her personal account just yet. Maybe for snacks, but who knew if they needed to go heavy on those. “I can take the hit. Let me swipe these through,” “Kelsey” swiped the three gift cards the school had offered one-by-one, the first two being rendered useless afterwards but the third one showing $25 remaining. “Think the fine folks at VISA gotcha covered there, sir!” As the cash register dinged open, “Kelsey” motioned for Erica and Wesley to come grab their illicit gains.

Wesley did his best to carry the majority of the items, as a gentleman should. But by the arm strength of Erica’s unnecessarily tight squeeze, he was beginning to think she might be an even heavier lifter than him. “Thanks man, have a good’un.” He said to the smiley clerk before making his way towards the door.

Erica grabbed a rack, and a bag of clinking bottles, and followed Wes and Sav out to the car. “So, on a scale of 1-10, how necessary was it that Wes and I pretend to be a couple?” she asked, shooting Wes her classic side eye as the door swung shut behind her.

“Hey, I didn’t say nothin’,” “Kelsey” confirmed as she carried what the other two didn’t along with her repatriated fake ID and other belongings. “What y’all do on your time is on you.”

As the trio got their newly-acquired arsenal of booze to the van, “Kelsey” dropped her cargo into the back seat and Savannah breathed a huge sigh of relief. Her eyes were closed and her arms were shaking a little bit as the adrenaline from her dabbling in fraud and illegal activity was starting to wear off, pushing her back into her regular state. “But I’m glad we got through that. Good work, team. Mission accomplished.”

“Aw, c’mon, I was just getting into character!” Wes said in defense. Why was she so mad about it? “Was it because I touched your shoulder? Man, I’m sorry, I realized like half way through that was probably a bad idea because some people don’t like being touched but at point I had already committed and it’d look weird if I stopped.” The rambling intensified.

Erica rolled her eyes. He really hadn’t figured it out yet. “No… well yes, but, you know, I just think there are… other people who would prefer to be your fake boyfriend.” She heard the fuck up as soon as it rolled off her tongue. “Or girlfriend.” Shittiest save ever.

Savannah was looking back and forth between the two but was just getting confused at this point. Granted, she didn’t know Wesley that well prior to the hunt, but Erica was still acting a little weird about the whole thing. Plus the whole boyfriend remark… Was Wesley…? No. Couldn’t be. He seemed too macho for that. “Hey, you two did great, that was what mattered. I don’t know if the clerk knew or cared or whatever, but you sold it, and we got the goods. That was the important thing.”

Wes’ eyebrows stitched together from the backseat in response to Erica’s comment. It was enough to give him pause as he was shoving bottles of liquor into his large hiking backpack. Someone wanted to be his boyfriend? Was that just a slip of the tongue? Oh man, was it Theo?? Maybe that’s what the whole shirt thing was about… Thankfully, Savannah spoke up and stopped his head from spinning. “Yeah, we did it! And tonight’s gonna be a banger.” He said happily, squeezing his thoughts down into the backpack between the bottles of vodka and rum.




Location | Guidance Office
Feat. NPC | Dr. Grace Ann Morris

Dr. Morris took the few moments that she had between appointments to organize her notes. Being the sole student-facing psychologist of the San Agustin experiment could be exhausting at times, especially given the size of her heart. Grace had chosen psychological counseling as a profession purely because of this trait, and her too-big heart was the very reason that she was selected to act as the ‘school guidance counselor’ for the subjects of Project Untamed. Dr. Morris acts as a safety net for the teenage subjects, caring deeply for their wellbeing and monitoring them to ensure that they are never pushed too far for the scientific advances that the other doctors hoped to achieve in this experiment. Simply put, this study relied on Grace’s educational background and sound morality as an insurance policy to keep the students safe. If there was a big red button that could put a stop to this whole thing, it was Dr. Morris’ hand that hovered over it.

Filing away the previous student’s records, Dr. Morris took a seat in the chair sitting across from the sofa in her office. She was awaiting the arrival of Subject #2, Wesley Slater. He was assigned this number as he was one of the first subjects selected for the study — volunteered by his own father, a close work associate of Drs. Wayman and Hagerty. For this reason, Grace felt deeply for Wesley, even if he no longer had any idea of the real reason why he was here. As a mother of two, Grace could never imagine sending away one of her babies simply because they were different from what she expected them to be. Thankfully, she could be here for Wesley and root for him when no one else might.

Wesley was one of the students that Dr. Morris had weekly therapy sessions with. Their appointments were disguised as guidance office visits to discuss his plans for the future, as he expressed interest in going to college to study law, but also to check in on his diagnosed ‘narcolepsy’. In reality, these sessions were mandatory because of Wesley’s psychological condition and tendencies towards self-harm prior to the experiment. It was Dr. Morris’ job to ensure that he remained healthy and on course for the study and did not have any harmful relapses. In the event that he does have such a relapse, he would be brought in for the proper care and treatment, but so far, so good.

Subject #2 arrived in his usual manner, looking like he had just outrun the highway patrol. Huffing and disheveled, he took a seat on the sofa across from her. The left side. It was always interesting to note when students would choose right, left, or center. They almost always picked a preference and stuck with it. “Sorry I’m late, Grace.” He apologized, using her first name as Dr. Morris had offered for him to do once she realized that referring to anyone as “Doctor” made Wesley visibly uncomfortable — a trauma from his past that the scientists were unfortunately unable to overwrite.

“Actually,” Dr. Morris raised her hand up to glance at her rose gold wristwatch. “According to my watch, you’re one minute early. That’s a record, Wesley.” Grace offered him a warm smile as she reached for her notebook and pen off of the end table beside her. “How are things going? I heard your team won first place in the scavenger hunt, congratulations.”

“Hell yeah, we did!” Subject #2 replied excitedly, but his expression quickly changed to one of concern. “Err— sorry about cursing, Ms. Morris.” Wesley apologized, ever the polite and charming kid. Although Grace disagreed with his parenting on many levels, Dr. Slater did raise a wonderful son that would hopefully grow to be a much better man than his father.

“That’s quite alright, you sound excited, I get it.” Grace assured him. It wasn’t her job or place to police the language of the students, her office was a safe space for them to speak freely. “How were your teammates? Anyone in particular that lead the way to your victory?” Dr. Morris asked, her pen poised to begin taking notes.

“Uh…” Wesley looked towards the ceiling as he appeared to be in deep thought. “I guess if there was a leader, it was me. But like, we all helped. Couldn’t have done it without them. Talya and Sav seem pretty cool, it was good to get to know them. I might not’ve otherwise.”

“That’s good to hear, most students wished they could have picked their teams—” Dr. Morris began to state but was soon cut off.

“Well yeah, I thought that too at first. But I guess I can see why it was random, that way it wasn’t a popularity contest or whatever that could make people feel bad.” Wesley said and began to fidget in his seat. He never was good at sitting still for very long, unless of course he fell asleep, which had happened during one of their previous sessions.

“Exactly, you’re sharp, Wesley.” Grace complimented his astute observation. She made a note of his continued awareness and empathy in her notebook. “Just for the fun of it, who would you have picked for your team?” She asked, pen poised to take notes once again.

“Bradley and Griff, no doubt.”

“Bradley Barron and Griffin Pierce? Are they your friends?”

“Yup!” Wesley confirmed without much thought.

In a sudden surge of curiosity to test how deep the psychological overwrite of the study ran, Dr. Morris pressed dangerously further. Just friends?” She asked, letting the not-so-subtle implication linger for a few tense moments.

Wesley’s fidgeting increased and his discomfort became readily apparent. He stopped toying with a loose string on the arm of the sofa and looked at her as if she had grown a second head. She realized that his change in demeanor wasn’t denial, he looked genuinely confused at her question. “... yeah?” Wes once again hyper focused on the loose string and shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “I mean I guess we’re like best friends. Well, as best as you can get only having known each other for a few weeks.”

“That’s great, I’m glad to hear that you have found some close friends already.” Her once warm and genuine smile seemed a little forced as she responded, despite the honesty of her words. She was happy that Wesley found people that he could call best friends. It was the fact that she was jotting notes for his file that the experiment seemed to have completely overwritten his sexuality that had her feeling… corrupt. Sometimes this job just broke her heart, but she had to stick through it, for the students’ sake. She was their only true advocate here.

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