[color=silver][center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210826/e6ab32d8133b3a88e370fa6134c2f7fa.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/c9RAiI5.png[/img]
[sub][b][i]A [@BrutalBx], [@Venus] & [@LovelyComplex] Collaboration
Featuring [color=D2D518]Roddy Callahan[/color], [color=A442AB]Lanie Lancaster[/color] & [color=005d9e]Danny Belmonte[/color][/i][/b][/sub]
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[indent][indent]There was a suffocating heaviness permeating the air surrounding the now infamous 13 Carlisle address. Ever since she’d stepped foot inside the property, a sense of dread had begun to settle in the pit of Elaine’s stomach. Although she hadn’t been present when Allison’s body was discovered, her subconscious seemed to sense that this was the awful place where it all had gone so terribly wrong four years previously. It was a wretched, cursed place-- haunted by the memories of what could’ve been.

Yet not everything regarding this location was surrounded by darkness. 13 Carlisle had been where she’d first met the father of her child. It had also been the last place Lanie and Ally had shared their last exchange together: a long bathroom conversation in which the older girl told the blonde how proud she was of her, and that she wholeheartedly believed that she would go far in life. Using this bittersweet memory as her fuel, Lanie pushed her issues with Mei, Jillian and Decky aside to gather the strength to face the truth about what happened to her best friend.

Of course, this was not a sugar coated fantasy. 

Danny listened to the story in the back of the crowd and all he could focus on was the fact that Vivia was heavily [i]involved[/i] in this, yet kept it all buried. She [i]hid[/i] the fact that she was with Allison until her dying breath. She [i]hid[/i] the fact that she spent more time in the southside than not. She [i]hid[/i] the fact that she was screwing the current leader of the SSS. 

Was she still with ReyRey? 

With the questions coursing through his mind, he opened his mouth to ask about it, to get some clarity on the affair, but was quick to stop himself while he was ahead. His heart sank at the mere thought that Natalia may have known this whole time but chose not to tell him anything. He shouldn’t make assumptions. He shouldn’t take this personally. He shouldn’t jump to conclusions, as if everyone else wasn’t already dealing with enough grief tonight.

And yet, he did. 

It was believable. 

Natalia was the type of girl to ghost someone heartlessly and pretend she never had any care in the world for them. She was the type to push her own twin brother away, without explaining what he did wrong. She was the type to not let go and choose her pride over anything else, including family. She was the type to keep secrets, even from the one person she shared a womb with. 

As the saying goes, hurt people hurt people. All he wanted was her to see him like she did before Allison died, before he joined the basketball team and she the volleyball team; before they grew up and had their roles to play in Edenridge. All he wanted was his twin sister back but that was a distant wish that may never come true. Not tonight, at least. 

The thoughts in his head were stabbing his heart, making him realize how terrible of a brother he was, on top of being a poor friend to Jillian, and a terrible lover to Marco. Still, he would selfishly look away from Reyrey to check on his companion that he dragged here. This whole time he knew Marco was forcing himself. Danny wasn’t dumb and had been around injured athletes more often than not to know when someone wasn’t fully healed. Especially someone he was extremely intimate with. Still, his ex stubbornly walked through this nightmare, keeping that weak, stupid smile on his face. 

Just when Danny started slowly making his way to the boy he emotionally broke, like a magnet forcibly pulling him closer and closer, begging him to comfort and carry, his green eyes darted past Marco to the blonde sprinting away. Crying and in pain.  Devastated and in need. Hopeless and overwhelmed.

[i][color=005d9e]Lanie![/color][/i] was his final thought before all thoughts escaped him. Danny chased the girl who soothed him during a time when she and he needed someone the most. He chased her, like he was chasing a basketball, when he was eager to play and keep up with Francis. His feet had a mind of their own, as he bolted past his ex, Lanie’s baby’s daddy, and everyone else. [color=005d9e]“Lanie, wait! Don’t go alone!”[/color]

Although Elaine could hear Danny’s voice calling out to her, it sounded eons away. If the harrowing tale of Allison’s death had been enough to shock her, the sight of the crude polaroid with Allison’s lifeless body had effectively traumatized her. For the last four years, Lanie had been led to believe that Charlie Decker had been at fault for the cheerleader’s death: that he had given Ally a bad batch of drugs with no care or regard to her well-being. Four long years of harboring a burning hatred towards Decker, glaring at him across the halls and cursing his name at any arising opportunity, because he’d somehow managed to take away anything that was important to her. To have this inconceivable truth come out-- that Allison had [i]knowingly[/i] taken a batch of drugs that could kill her-- shattered every image the blonde had of her friend… And it made her realize that, by contributing to Charlie’s descent into madness, she had unknowingly ruined not only her own life, but the lives of so many others around her… Including Mordechai’s.

It was truly a sickening feeling. 

By the time Danny had reached her, Lanie was doubling down behind some bushes vomiting the entirety of her stomach’s contents: just like she used to do back when she couldn’t cope with Danny dying and Decky leaving her. Her chest felt tight and heavy, being suffocated with the overwhelming wave of emotions. No matter how tightly she squeezed her eyes shut, the details of that gruesome photo and the revelations that came along with it were now branded into her memory forever-- holding her hostage in a nightmare she didn’t think she could ever forget about. The sound of her desperate gasps interrupted the stillness of the night as Lanie struggled to find a balance between trying to sob and trying to breathe. Before she knew it, the blonde was feeling lightheaded, and she wrapped her hand around the chain-linked fence next to her to keep herself steady.

[color=005d9e]“Hey, hey… breathe, Lanie.”[/color] With quick reflexes, Danny tenderly grabbed onto her, leaning her small frame onto him for support. He stood there with one arm wrapped around her, as she latched onto the fence. Monitoring her, he looked for any signs of her going for a second round, making sure if she were to pass out he was there to catch her. 

[color=005d9e]“Do you have enough energy to walk?”[/color] He softly spoke, making sure his voice didn’t overwhelm her or give her a headache. The blonde girl faintly shook her head. [color=005d9e]“I can carry you, El. At least to my car.”[/color] He sincerely offered, thankful that at this moment he remembered his gym bag was in the trunk of his vehicle, which had a large bottle of water. If there was anything Lanie needed right now, it was fluids. [color=005d9e]“We got to get you hydrated.”[/color]

Although she was trying hard to follow Danny’s advice to stabilize herself, Lanie couldn’t seem to find the way to do so. Her Italian friend’s voice still sounded distant, drowned out by a faint buzzing in her ears. Still lightheaded and gasping for breath, Lanie nodded feebly at his offer to be carried to his car, and released her grip on the chain link fence to completely surrender herself to Danny’s voluntary support instead. Maybe stepping away from this cursed property would help her calm down somewhat.

Placing his arms around Lanie’s knees and back, Danny held her close and protectively. He could only gauge she was still struggling to breathe. Other than that? He didn’t want to assume anything. It didn’t feel right to assume how she was feeling and act like he knew what she was going through. He didn’t know Allison like she did and he certainly didn’t cry when the head cheerleader died. Instead of saying anything, yet staying attentive to his friend, Danny gingerly made his way to his car, silently.

To Lanie’s surprise (although it shouldn’t have been), Danny’s presence was like an oasis when she felt stranded in the middle of the desert. There was an aura of protectiveness around him that served to finally ground her in this storm of feelings she was facing. Without realizing it, the young woman’s hyperventilating slowly began to subside. A deep breath followed every step he took away from the building-- and by the time they had reached his vehicle, Lanie was no longer lightheaded or dizzy. 

With a night like this, so full of surprises, twists and turns; Roddy wasn’t sure how to feel. He wasn’t close to Allison; even when Francis was dating her, he rarely ever brought her to the house. Now that the truth had been revealed he understood a little more of the reason why. He had only decided to venture out on that evening to be with Lanie and maybe, just maybe, understand the mind of Charlie Decker a little better so that he could get closure. Yet that’s not how it went. He did not understand the school shooter any better and Lanie, poor Lanie, she was struggling and it was all his fault.

Once Mr Beau had begun to intervene, Roddy slipped out the back to catch up with the mother of his child and the boy who he now understood had a much deeper connection to his older brother than just being on the same team. He made his way down Carlisle Avenue, a place he had spent a lot of time avoiding until he reached where the Scoobies had parked their respective cars, arriving just in time to see Elaine and Danny.

[color=D2D518]“Lanie, babe I’m sorry,”[/color] The shaggy haired man took a step forward, closer to the pair. [color=D2D528]“Thanks Danny, for looking out for her. I gotta take it from here. You understand right?”[/color]

Respectively, Danilo handed his vulnerable friend to her ex-lover, the father of her child. He didn’t know where those two stood romantically but he knew at least one side of their story. Lanie still cared about him. Truth be told, he wasn’t sure if this was the right thing to do nor did he know if Lanie was comfortable being in the arms of Roddy on this day but he also did not want to get in the middle of them. [color=005d9e]“Yeah,”[/color] he responded firmly before gesturing with his finger for Roddy to not walk away. Swiftly he opened his trunk, went into his gym bag, and pulled out a water bottle. Making his way to his friend and Roddy he handed it to the more stable of the two, [color=005d9e]“She’s calming down a bit, but definitely take it easy. I don’t think she should be alone tonight.”[/color]

[color=D2D518]“Thanks man”[/color] Roddy took hold of the water and nodded his head towards his once and former classmate. He unscrewed the cap and handed it over to Elaine. His baby blues turned to glance once again at Danny and he smiled. [color=D2D518]“Belmonte? Marco shouldn’t be alone either”[/color] He turned away and returned his attention to the blonde girl in his arms.

[color=D2D518]“I shouldn’t have brought us out here tonight, Lanie. I’m so sorry.”[/color]

But Lanie wasn’t listening to any apologies at the moment. All she wanted was a plausible explanation for her friend's demise, because Ally [i]couldn't[/i] have done this on purpose… Right? Even if the story she'd just heard proved the opposite?

[color=A442AB]"Why would she do that?”[/color]  Elaine asked Roddy, tears running down her cheeks like an overflowing river once again. She placed a shaky hand over the left side of her chest in an attempt to ease the pain she was feeling-- when her heart hadn’t ached this badly in years. [color=A442AB]“She had a family that loved her, friends that adored her… I mean, [i]everybody[/i] loved Allison. Why would she have wanted to do this to herself?"[/color] 

[color=D2D518]“You never know what’s going on in someone’s head, Lanie.”[/color] Roddy replied, placing a hand onto her shoulder. [color=D2D518]“If there’s anything I’ve learned whilst living in this town, it’s that nothing is ever as it seems”[/color]  In some way, he felt a kinship to Allison Davies; the most popular girl in town. She was battered and broken on the inside and if they were to believe the serpent's tale then she was much more damaged than anyone realised. Did she kill herself? The story made sense. After the shooting, Roddy too had considered that option as a viable way out of his nightmare life. Then Lanie made him whole again. It seemed as if Allison never got that opportunity. [color=D2D518]”We should go home. I really wanna see Rylie right now and tell her that I love her.”[/color]

Lanie vigorously shook her head. [color=A442AB]"I can't let her see me like this…"[/color]  she tearfully murmured, looking up at Roddy with heartbroken eyes. [color=A442AB]"I can't see our baby right now and pretend like everything is fine when I'm falling apart. I can't do it. [i]I can’t.[/i] I just want to be alone tonight."[/color] 

[color=D2D518]“I don’t really want you to be alone, Lanie.”[/color] At this point, Rod had no sway over her decision making. He had given up that right when he decided that he wasn’t good enough for her. Everybody knew it was a foolish decision, even he knew it was a foolish decision but at the time, Roddy’s mind was made up and now here they were. [color=D2D518]“You shouldn’t be alone but if it’s what you really want, at least let me be in the other room just in case?”[/color]

The young woman nodded silently. As much as Lanie wanted to be left completely alone, she had enough awareness to understand why this couldn’t be. Being left to her own devices on a night like this could lead her to a relapse. With her past history of self-harm by purging during emotionally distressing times, she had been going to therapy to find better ways to handle her emotions. Part of his advice had been to lean on those who offered comfort-- like Danny had done moments before, and how Roddy was doing now.

Funny how she had come to this place hoping to help Roddy fight his demons, and had been left to face new ones of her own instead.[/indent][/indent][/color]