[color=silver][b]Present day... late Friday night... 13 Carlisle Avenue...[/b]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/4HAidcw.png[/img]
[sub]A [@BrutalBx], [@LovelyComplex], [@Aces Away], & [@metanoia] Collaboration
Featuring: [color=fe6f5e][b]Penelope James[/b][/color], [color=DC143C][b]Mordechai Boaz[/b][/color], [b][color=gold]ReyRey Gonzales[/color][/b], [b][color=e62020]Jade Taylor[/color][/b],  [color=C652D5][b]Mei Ramsey[/b][/color], [b][color=f5d42e]Sonny Cernis[/color][/b], & [color=b3e7f4][b]Xavier "Prof." Booker[/b][/color] 
[sup](small bit of Jillian/Roddy at the end)[/sup][/sub]
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[indent]Penelope felt an overwhelming inferno, fuelled by frustration, hatred, and sorrow. She was frustrated, looking back at the past and realizing how quick people used Charlie as a scapegoat. She [i]hated[/i] the man that was looking at her, and everyone else, acting like he didn’t play a part in Allison's death and Charlie’s demise. She felt incredible despair realizing how little she could do to help Charlie at the time and even Decky, since shortly after the party, a week later, she found out he got stabbed. 

Her father, her friends, the boy she loved, chose to shield her from this side of her home, yet it trickled into everything that was Edenridge. No one could avoid those that didn’t want to be saved. Those that just wanted to see the world burn. Those that brought the good down with them. This town was [i]cursed[/i] and it was all because no one wanted to [i]change[/i]. They conformed to the role given to them, denying their pursuit of happiness due to fear and isolation.  

Her muscles tightened, her jaw clenched, and her fists balled to the point that her nails were deeply piercing her skin. This sensation that usually broke her down and made her anxiety so encompassing that she could barely breathe was pushing her to her boiling point. No longer creeping inside her — ready to escape. 

Part of her knew most of these people wouldn’t take her seriously. Part of her knew there would be serpents protecting their kingsnake, even though he really didn’t need protection. Poppy knew. You’d have to live under a rock to know nothing about ReyRey Gonzalez. Part of her knew this could all be for naught. Even so, she couldn’t stand here idle and pretend this was okay. 

It wasn’t.

[color=9f372b][i]Show your anger and they’ll drug you into compliance.[/i][/color] Her mother had told her once. Although she didn’t know the memory her mother had learned that lesson from, Poppy did understand the truth behind the reality. Still, why should she conform? Why should she let society control the way she thought and acted? Why should she give anyone that satisfaction when she knew by simply fighting the system she had a better chance at [i]surviving[/i]? If she didn’t survive? Well, that’ll just be her next adventure.

Closing her eyes, Penelope saw all the ghosts in her heart. She glided her bandage hand, now with small blood marks from the cuts she just made by her sharp, ungroomed nails, up her chest to grab her teardrop necklace of Maxine’s ashes. Simultaneously, she pulled her hoodie down, followed by her face mask (yes, believe it or not). She wasn’t going to repeat herself, so it was necessary for her to project her voice. Tunneling her vision to focus on Reyrey, she broke the silence, [color=fe6f5e]“What the fuck is wrong with you? You are a grown ass man. Charlie… We were all children.”[/color] 

[color=e62020]“Poppy, I—”[/color] Jade went to say something but then she saw a rare ire in Poppy’s expressive eyes, something that reminded her of [i]that[/i] night.

Glaring at everyone who stepped up to interrupt her, Penelope growled, unintentionally and inadvertantly coming across harsh to her best friend,  [color=fe6f5e]“I’m not fucking finished. So let me get this straight, you were screwing two best friends - I'm sure even before they were of age. One of those girls was depressed, but your head was so far up your ass to see that. Instead you enabled her addiction. Then, when shit hit the fan, you put all the blame on Charlie. What? Because he was the one you picked to deal that night? Because that’s the easiest answer to this?”[/color] For a crime “king”, ReyRey’s deduction skills sucked.  [color=fe6f5e]“His face had a big gash, going from here to here.”[/color] She ran her finger down her own face, showing how large the cut was. 

[color=gold]“Watch your fucking mouth. You may be a baby snake but I got no problem cutting that pretty little head off.”[/color]

[color=fe6f5e]“Please. Do it. You’d be doing me a favor!”[/color] Penelope yelled back. Her blood rage made her feel invincible and if she had things her way, she’d join Charlie in his grave. For a moment, she drifted into her memories, seeing Charlie’s face from that night, as she cleaned him, before continuing, [color=fe6f5e]“His lip was busted and his body… Nevermind that. You didn’t see the Charlie I did. You didn’t clean the blood off of him, I did. I know he didn’t mess with those drugs. I know he would’ve tried to stop Allison because I know Charlie. How many of you can say that about Allison?”[/color] 

Decky- and at the moment he was Decky, not Mordechai. He was that angry and confused little kid again, feeling betrayed by someone he’d trusted and getting lost without a light to look towards- stayed silent through ReyRey’s story, knowing he couldn’t speak out without breaking whatever spell had come over the Edenridge Class of Tragedy and the King of the Serpents. His loyalty was already feeling split the closer they had walked to Serpent House, his mind running through all the reasons he shouldn’t be part of this little detective crew and how it was stupid for him to have spoke up and led them straight into Serpent territory, answers be damned.

But when ReyRey threw that polaroid down on the table and began his tale, all he could focus on was that it had all been personal for ReyRey. The man had been a big brother to him. A provider and an older presence that understood his rage and his feelings of uselessness and molded him into something better. He took Decky under his wing and back then the battered and abused boy had assumed he took Charlie in with similar grace. All the issues ReyRey had with Charlie had been assumed to be because Charlie kept fucking up, not because the man had a personal grudge against the younger boy. Flashes of his parent's adult fists on his adolescent body shot through his mind, but his parents faded into ReyRey and he himself into Charlie; cowering against a wall with his hands up defensively as he was bloodied by someone he could never hope to beat at his size. 

It made him sick.

[color=dc143c][i]All this fuckin’ time it’s been about that cheerleader. Every time he fucked up even a little, that’s all ReyRey thought about. He must have wanted him gone from the moment that shit happened but he kept him in.[/i][/color] Another thought struck him as he stood a little ways away from the group, and it made him even sicker. [color=dc143c][i]Fuck, he kept him in because of me, didn’t he? I already knew so much shit was my fault but...did I make everything worse by beggin’ ReyRey to keep Hard Times? I just wanted him ta be able ta help his mom…[/i][/color]

A light tap on his shoulder had him whirling around, fist ready before he caught sight of Sonny and Prof’s disturbed faces. He didn’t know how long they had been there in the shadows but they had obviously been hearing this version for the first time as well. Sonny silently pointed down and Decky followed his gaze to Sonny’s bat still gripped tightly in his hands, his knuckles white and whole body shaking visibly. Sonny slowly reached for the bat and removed it from the distressed man’s vice-like grip, dropping it to the grass to his side.

[color=f5d42e]“I didn’t expect your adventure to lead back here,”[/color] Sonny whispered to him, the three snakes in their own bubble away from the group. [color=f5d42e]“Y’know I would’a warned ya.”[/color]

Prof went to add in his own two cents when the tense silence was broken for the second time that night by one Penelope James. All three Serpents went white as sheets when they heard the way the girl spoke up, and Sonny and Prof went to step forward before her glare froze them in place and she continued her, well...scolding. When she got to describing how Charlie had looked after ReyRey beat him, he finally seemed to break out of whatever spell kept him quiet until now.

[color=dc143c]“I didn’t know that,”[/color] he spoke up, his voice strained.  [color=dc143c]“No one ever told me you beat him ReyRey!”[/color] his fists were clenched and, despite feeling genuine fear about ReyRey’s reaction towards him for the first time in his life, he moved to stand next to Poppy, violently shaking off Prof and Sonny’s hands on his shoulders as they tried to hold him back.  [color=dc143c]“I listened to you over him. I let all my anger about him tarnishing my Vouch out on him because I thought he was stupid enough to forget to check the drugs for one night. But now, after it’s all too late I’m finding out that all the shit he went through ‘til we jumped him out was some personal vendetta from you?”[/color] tears sprung to his eyes, uncaring of the onlookers to such a rare sight, as Decky stared down the one man he’d always thought he could put his trust and faith in. The first person to show him comfort aside from Sonny and Danny. Voice thick with emotion, Decky choked out one final thought that had immediately clawed its way into his skull with the same force of Hatchet’s shiv to his side on that fateful day.

[color=dc143c]“Were you using me to fuck with him more? All those times you made me discipline him as Captain? Making me the deciding vote on jumping him out? You told me I wasn't allowed to pull my punches either, you watched to make sure! Was I really just a trained bitch to you like everyone thought I was?”[/color]

[color=gold]“You’re goddamn right you were!”[/color] ReyRey hissed, making Decky flinch back and visibly shrink in on himself. The split lip ReyRey had given him earlier that day broke open as the younger man bit his lip harshly and dropped his gaze to ReyRey's feet submissively. [color=gold]“What did you think this was Decky? We take care of our own, of course we do but you work for me. You’re good at what you do, Boaz but at the end of the day you’re a tool just like the rest of them.”[/color] He towered over most of the angry mob that had surrounded him. He was not afraid, he was irate. [color=gold]“Decker fucked up and Allison died. That’s literally all there is to it. No big conspiracy, no big cover up.”[/color]

The mere thought of Charlie was making R2‘s blood run hotter than Vesuvius as he slammed a hard fist down upon the picnic table. [color=gold]“What your boy did? He killed an innocent person. I would put a bullet in any fuckers head but Allison was pure, delicate and he poisoned her and took her away. Did I beat the shit outta him? Fuck yeah I did. I should’ve fucking killed him and buried him in the Blue Hills. Half the town wouldn’t be dead right now.”[/color] Grabbing a chair, Rey swung it round and launched it at a nearby fence where it would break into multiple pieces.

[color=gold]“I’m not the villain in this fucking story.”[/color]

Jade felt as hollow as she did five years ago. Nearly half a decade ago when she tried to help Charlie, tried to help him out of a situation that was out of his control, she failed him. When ReyRey had found them and acted out of the same anger that was now being directed back unto him as the perfect example of karma, that same feeling of helplessness crawled up her skin like the very serpent whose house saw the birth of two tragedies. She could still hear the wails of agony through the shed door. Those walls were thin and the beating was...brutal. It was cruel and unforgiving, but it didn’t surpass the despair Jade felt not being able to do anything.

All because of ReyRey’s stare. All because she didn’t have the courage to help Charlie. All because she wasn’t strong enough to help him.

She wasn’t confident she was strong enough [i]now[/i]. But something she knew was that she couldn’t remain silent. [color=e62020]“He’s not the only one to blame…”[/color] As much as Jade wanted to just throw the blame on ReyRey and as much as he was at fault, he wasn’t the only one who messed up that night. [color=e62020]“I was there. I mean..”[/color] A ping of fear crawled up her back like ReyRey’s gaze that night had paralyzed her and she looked at him. It was almost as if Jade was afraid to mention anything, but if Poppy could show the same absence of fear towards him, then she could too, right?

As she kept her eyes locked on ReyRey, she continued, [color=e62020]“Before the beating, before everything went to shit, Charlie told me about the drugs. He told me that someone had messed with them and I wanted to help him. You know, I wanted to protect Charlie from you, ReyRey. I wanted to protect him from what you were going to do — what you [i]did[/i] — to him, but I couldn’t. And I just…”[/color] Jade’s heart was beating so hard and so fast in her chest that she felt it was going to burst and she felt a wave of emotion crawl up every inch of her body, tears forming at the edge of her eyes and her voice cracking each time she took in a breath. Shaking her head, she tried to regain some control of her composure.  Jade looked around at the others and frowned. [color=e62020]“But as much as I [i]wish[/i] we could just blame you for it, the truth is I’m as guilty as ReyRey is.”[/color] Remnants of her despair lingered and the sounds of it could be heard between every cracked breath Jade took.

Having remained silent throughout the wicked tale that Kingsnake had spouted, enough was enough. Mei clambered over the picnic table, fist clenched and punched ReyRey in the mouth. The Priestess’s dark make up was smudged with tears as she followed her strike with a swift push to the Latino man’s chest. [color=C652D5]“You call yourself a man? You’re a coward and murderer and I’m gonna watch you burn in hell for what you did”[/color] 

With his saviour complex suddenly kicking into gear, Roddy hurried behind Mei and wrapped his arms around her from behind, dragging the kicking and screaming girl away from the incredibly dangerous Serpent who she had just pissed off. He glanced towards Jade and his heart felt pain and grief. How could she have kept this secret? It truly seemed like this night, four years ago, was the night that everything changed. Innocent blood soaked the Earth and Edenridge was cursed from then on. Maybe Mei’s legends were true after all?

Jill wanted to leap in after her best friend and get some physical justice of her own, but watching the big man barely stagger after that shot, and with Roddy Callahan pulling her away, she let herself just seethe instead. She’d tell Mei how proud she was after.

[color=gold]“I’ll give you that one, you’re upset and this is hard to hear but…”[/color] Rey reached into his jacket and pulled out a gun, aiming at the Scooby crew, including his own guys: Decky, Prof and Sonny. [color=gold]“….that’s all you get.”[/color] He spat blood onto the floor, a small dribble dropping onto his white vest. [color=gold]“I said my peace, you know what happened. Now get out of here before I bury you all next to Decker.”[/color]
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