[color=silver][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1R513Ol.png[/img]
[sub]A [@LovelyComplex], [@Venus], & [@metanoia] collaboration
Featuring [color=a95963]Kylee Grimm[/color], [color=7B68EE]Natalia Belmonte[/color], [color=005d9e]Danny Belmonte[/color], [color=b8860b]Marco Brady[/color], [color=ab42a9]Lanie Lancaster[/color][/sub]
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[indent]With Roddy leading the charge, Kylee Grimm tailed the group, walking in a slower pace so she could watch the scene unfold from behind. She wasn’t focused on the ominous presence the old hallways she used to walk gave nor was she paying attention to the words being thrown here and there by her peers to break the ice. She kept her eyes on Danilo Belmonte, who had caught her eye when he mentioned such a detailed fact about the charming ex-boyfriend of Allison Davies. 

Crossing her arms and leaning on a locker not too far from the main investigative group, she listened to her best friend try to justify the contents, all the while smirking at the Italian boy. Honestly, it would make sense. Such a strong, grounded boy like Danny… Why wouldn’t he have a secret? Even strong boys like Danny have deep wounds. 

It would make sense if there was [i]more[/i] behind the veil, seeing how he had a twin, who was audaciously open about her sexuality. Hilariously, Mr. and Mrs. Belmonte still didn’t get the hint. What was it that Father Joe said during one of the many services Kylee attended with her dear daddy to keep up their image? Ah, yes. [i]It’s not that belief is blind, it’s just that belief blinds people.[/i]  

Danny was good at hiding behind a handsome smile, but oh how Kylee wanted to know his deepest, darkest fears. How fun would it be to break his hard exterior and find his soft center. How fun would it be to peel the layers of this once-upon-a-time-star and discover what makes him tick. What drives him mad. How fun would it be to see Danny cry. Perhaps, she was getting ahead of herself but oh how she wondered. 

When Roddy mentioned the polaroid and how Francis wasn’t yet out the closet Kylee reactively sighed at how naive her best friend was. See, Roddy, that’s the thing about being in the closet. Sometimes you choose to hide in plain sight, sometimes you bottle it all up until you explode, and sometimes you get tired of playing pretend and decide to get lost in the moment. 

In the picture, Francis looked free, which made her believe the latter for him. He wanted to get lost in the moment. Kylee’s story was a little different than his, seeing how she had no idea what she liked until Mei kissed her. Even so, it was nice to see Francis not burdened by chains. Being in the closet… meant many things, depending on who you ask. 

Her own journey aside, her gaze glinted at Danny. Was he sweating? Did he notice her staring? Was he hoping everyone forgot about him knowing the combination of some hot jock? So many questions and so little time.  When the Southsiders walked past her and Decky chimed in, Kylee broke the distance between her and Danny. Like the curious minx that she was, the mayor’s daughter tapped on his shoulder, ready to pester him about a certain topic. 

[i][color=DC143C]"The fuck was your brother doing in a Serpent house, Callahan? Not for nothin’, but 13 Carlisle ain’t exactly a Northie-friendly residence."[/color][/i]

[color=7B68EE]“It is if you know the right Southie.”[/color]

The familiar voice of a female voice echoed across the halls of the building, followed by the sound of heels clicking against the concrete floors of the old high school. With every step they took towards the light, their features became more distinguishable. The fair-skinned newcomer was of above-average height, slim figure dressed in [url=https://celebmafia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/matilda-de-angelis-grazia-italy-10-29-2020-issue-4.jpg]a white terrycloth, spaghetti-strapped romper paired with a Chanel belt and knee-high, black leather boots[/url]. Her slightly wavy, dark brown hair cascaded down her shoulders, resting a few inches above from the middle of her back. A pair of intense blue eyes rested underneath thick, groomed eyebrows, and below a dainty button nose were a pair of full, terracotta-colored lips. When grouped together, the features in question correspond to one prolific, young Edenridge woman: Natalia Belmonte.

Smirking, the former queen bee of the Edenridge class of 2020 took position across from Kylee Grimm and the rest of the cheerleader, crossing her arms in front of her chest. [color=7B68EE]“What’s going on at 13 Carlisle? Hopefully nothing, because I just left the place,”[/color] she told the group, putting up her blue ombre vaporizer up to her terracotta-tinted lips, taking a long, lazy drag from it and exhaling a cloud of cotton candy scented smoke away from the faces of the group around her.

Rolling her eyes at the new arrival, Kylee’s mood was immediately soured and she didn’t waste any time to make a slight, [color=a95963]“Of course you did.”[/color] Kylee and Natalia’s relationship was complicated and at this point in time, Kylee wanted nothing to do with the good-for-nothing bitch. [color=a95963]“If you came on time, like the rest of us, maybe you would know some context.”[/color] 

Natalia could only grin at the dark-haired girl's response. She should’ve expected this type of reaction from Kylee Grimm of all people. [color=7B68EE]"Baby girl, I had other things I needed to do before I came here. I'm sorry if that bothers you so much.”[/color] she immediately responded in the most unbothered, nonchalant way she could.

It wasn’t a secret that Nat and Ky had been involved in a rather [i]torrid and passionate[/i] affair-turned-relationship during the last leg of their senior year. And it also wasn’t a secret that things between the two of them hadn’t exactly ended on the best of terms. While Tal had gotten her exit ticket out of town when she earned her highly coveted athletic college scholarship, Kylee had been forced to stay in Edenridge when she didn’t get accepted into hers. Instead of being honest about her feelings, the mayor’s daughter had opted to be a child. Immediately after going on vacation with her family, she’d ghosted Natalia with no warning or explanation. And being the temperamental, impulsive bitch she was whenever hurt by someone she loved and trusted, Nat had sent the other girl a long, heated break-up text before blocking her from all methods of contact and social media accounts. By the time Kylee returned home, she was dead and buried in Natalia Belmonte’s eyes: nothing more than a petty, bitter ghost from the past.


After the girls’ quick exchange, Jillian muttered something under her breath. When she spoke louder, Kylee looked away from her ex to her friend. Pouting at the sight of how pathetic Jillian had become, Kylee attentively listened to her broken words, hoping this would be a good distraction from Natalia. 

Honestly, if Danny was on good terms with his twin, he would defend her from Kylee. If he was on good terms with Jillian, he would go to her side and help her stand. But in this instant, he couldn’t find himself caring for either. Knowing Natalia, she deserved it and as much as he still did care for Jillian, he had enough of her for one night and wasn’t going to throw her a pity party. Mei was beside her, she could be the support Jillian needed. Clearly, his old friend wanted nothing to do with him, so there really wasn’t much he could do.  

As for his sister, Natalia had a way of making problems when there were none, and getting on the bad side of the mayor’s daughter was just asking for trouble. Then again his sister liked getting a rise in others so she probably liked it. Instead of acknowledging Natalia, since she didn’t give a damn about him and ignored him while they lived in the same household, he added,  [color=005d9e]“Viv carried her polaroid a lot back then… she was probably there.”[/color] Well, it would be silly if his older sister wasn’t there. She was one of Allison’s best friends, after all. 

If this truly had to do with Allison and how she died, this meant it had to be an event that caused a ripple effect. What happened on that day? [color=005d9e]“I can’t say I knew Allison well, but wherever she went, everyone else followed. December 4th. I think I vaguely remember it. At least everything before the party… because I kinda’ got—[/color]

[color=a95963]“Wasted. And yes, that’s the day Allison died. The game. The cheer competition. The after party. I’m guessing our answers might be at this address. But what do the sunflowers mean?”[/color] Kylee scanned the crowd to see if [i]anyone[/i] had any clue for that one. It was clear both Kylee and Danny were not in the mood for Natalia, and both in their own way chose to act like she wasn’t even there, giving her a taste of her own medicine. 

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[img]https://i.imgur.com/9EZ1VjC.png[/img]
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Lanie, who had purposely been standing a few steps away from the crowd doing her best to fly under the radar, raised a timid hand and suddenly piped up, [color=ab42a9]“I know what it means.”[/color] And when every eye in the hall turned towards her, she elaborated. [color=ab42a9]“The Davises used to call Ally their sunflower because it was her favorite flower since she was little.”[/color]

As much as he empathised with their grief over what might’ve been triggered since the sound of Allison’s voice filled the silence of the gym, he wasn’t affected in the way they were. And that was because Marco didn’t know Allison like they did. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t feel the shock they all felt. And what was probably the most important thing, Marco was here for them: Lanie, Roddy, and probably most of all, Danny. And maybe it was for that reason why he didn’t have anything to add. He just stood there, next to Lanie, looking around, though mainly looking at the others’ reaction to what Lanie had just said.

[color=7B68EE]“Sooooooooo… Does this mean we have to go to 13 Carlisle and find a sunflower or something to figure out what’s actually happening here with all this nonsense?”[/color] Natalia pointedly asked the group, taking another long, deep drag from her vaporizer.

[color=a95963]“I don’t know, weren’t you [i]just there[/i]? Can’t remember something as simple as sunflowers or were you too busy fucking a snake?”[/color] Kylee spat when Natalia decided to chime in. If there was one thing she didn’t understand, it was why she was even here. It wasn’t like she liked Allison or anything. She was too caught up with that twink kid to hang with the popular kids. 

No matter how hard she tried, Natalia couldn’t help but snort and shrug her shoulders. She knew the smug expression on her face was bound to infuriate Kylee further, but she wasn’t about to just let her keep mouthing off without doing something about it. [color=7B68EE]“You are absolutely correct, Kylee. The snake that was screwing me kept me way too busy to look for something I didn’t even know I was supposed to be looking for. But, please, carry on.”[/color]

With Kylee’s sudden outburst, Danny’s expression became a little shooketh. More out of astonishment than anything. It seemed she didn’t take well to the break up with his twin. He didn’t know the exact details of their fall out, but damn, it was clear that Kylee was hurt and couldn’t stand being near his sister. And then, Natalia instigated instead of calming the already furious brunette.  [color=005d9e]“Natalia, no one needs to know your business.”[/color]

Natalia raised an amused eyebrow towards her twin brother and shrugged. Dumping her for Jillian and Caitlin was one thing, but siding with her ex-girlfriend? [i]Really?[/i] [color=7B68EE]“I was just answering KyKy’s question, Danilo. Chill.”[/color]

Unfortunately, Kylee was already in full reactive mode. [color=a95963]“Not surprised, since you’re such a fucking slut.”[/color]

Okay. 

No. 

[color=005d9e]“Woah, woah, woah! You two. Stop.”[/color] Danny made sure to block the snickering Natalia from getting anywhere near Kylee, before adding,  [color=005d9e]“This isn’t about your guys’ baggage. Okay? This is about Allison. If you don’t care, then just go home. You’ll be doing us a favor because honestly, making this about yourselves is just kind of stupid.”[/color]
 
Thoroughly entertained at this point, Natalia turned her attention to her twin again, but not before obnoxiously blowing a cloud of vape smoke right at Kylee’s face. [color=7B68EE]“First of all, I wasn’t the one who came in taking jabs at people because I’m still butthurt they got into college when I didn’t. And second of all, who are you to say I don’t care? For all you know, Allison and I had something-”[/color]

[color=ab42a9]“Let me stop you right there!”[/color]

Elaine had watched the scene between the two girls with a growing sense of frustration and a deep-rooted anger. The only reason she had set foot in this decrepit building in the first place was to help Roddy find closure from the traumatic event that had marked him for life. Unfortunately, as it often seemed to happen in her life whenever she attempted to do a good deed, it all went to hell. Not only had she had to deal with her ex-friends shooting daggers at her across the room and the ex-boyfriend who had abandoned her without so much as a warning. But now she had to deal with Natalia dragging Allison into whatever feud she had with Kylee Grimm?

Not under her watch.

Fuming, Lanie stepped away from Marco to stand her ground in front of Kylee and Natalia. The height difference between her and the two other girls was noticeable, but it was the last thing on the blonde’s back. When your actions were fuelled by anger, things like that were the least of your worries. [color=ab42a9]“I don’t know what ‘issues’ the two of you have going on, but they need to stop [i]right now[/i]. I didn’t leave my baby with her grandparents and come all the way here to hear you guys bickering about some bullshit that happened years ago, [i]or[/i] to have Allison roped up into it. All I want to know is what actually happened to my best friend, and who’s the asshole who thought it was a good idea to pull this little stunt. Can we at least find out that much before the two of you start fighting again?”[/color]

As much as Natalia wanted to tell Lanie that nobody forced her to leave her kid to come here and play mediator, she figured it was best to finally hold her tongue. Elaine Lancaster and her weren’t exactly friends, but she respected the other girl enough to refrain from doing or saying anything else that could potentially hurt her.

As such, the dark-haired woman raised her arms in defeat. [color=7B68EE]“Hey: that’s fine by me, Lanie. I’m sorry if I upset you, sweetheart.”[/color]


[color=a95963]“Yeah, you don’t have to worry about a thing because I’m going home.”[/color] Kylee had drowned out most of Lanie’s words because after Natalia clapped back and mentioned she might’ve had something with Allison, she was no longer mentally into the case. Looking at Roddy, she frowned, [color=a95963]“Sorry, Shaggy, but I can’t stand being here anymore.”[/color] Mei and Jillian would find their way home or call her when they needed a ride, so instead of saying goodbye to anyone else, Kylee started walking back where they came from. She was absolutely done with this, she’ll just find out everything another day. 

Deeply sighing, Danny made his way to the closest locker and leaned his back on it. Today was [i]exhausting[/i]. He had no more words left in him after hearing Lanie spill her heart out. She made it clear why he had to be here. For him, it didn’t matter if this hit home or not. He wasn’t close to Charlie like the southies were. He wasn’t even that close to Allison like all the cheerleaders were. Still, this was his home and he had to be here. If not for closure than to support those where he could. 

He did care though because Francis cared about Allison. At one point in time, Danny would’ve done anything for Francis. In addition to that, although he didn’t know Charlie himself, he felt like that kid didn’t deserve this. He [i]did[/i] a terrible thing. Don’t get him wrong. Danny should be mad about the first day of senior year,  but he couldn’t. Tonight wasn’t just about Allison. This was about all of them and why their town suffered so much. 

A few long moments of forced, awkward silence later, Marco let his eyes go clockwise around the group. Between his ex and his twin, Lanie and the now departed Kylee (not to mention the others who joined him on [i]#teamspectator[/i]), he felt an incredible amount of tension rising along his spine, causing parts of his forehead to sweat just from the nervousness he felt. But at the same time, Marco was relieved in a weird way. Considering the way things could have gone, perhaps what actually did happen was the lesser of two evils.

[color=b8860b]“So...”[/color] Marco’s voice trailed off into silence as he scratched the back of his neck. There was the subtle trace of a grimace on his face as the air wasn’t the only thing that felt tense. With everything happening, Marco had forgotten that his legs were really starting to ache past the point of being a minor annoyance. [color=b8860b]“What happens now?”[/color] Marco would ask as he limped over to the nearest wall, doing his best to first forward and crush what remained of the cannoli’s. He really needed to take the pressure off his leg. Unbeknownst to him, he had chosen a spot just a few feet away from Danny.[/indent][/color]