[color=darkgray][center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/210825/ec2cdab61cc8b44e967f57938968a70e.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/I0x5IZW.png[/img]
[b][i][sub]A [@Venus] & [@Aces Away] Collaboration
Featuring [color=104e09]Creed[/color], [color=7B68EE]Puff[/color] & [color=d3baff]Jokes[/color][/sub][/i][/b]
[b][color=#104E09]▃[/color][color=#144F11]▃[/color][color=#18501A]▃[/color][color=#1C5123]▃[/color][color=#20522C]▃[/color][color=#245335]▃[/color][color=#28543D]▃[/color][color=#2C5546]▃[/color][color=#30564F]▃[/color][color=#355758]▃[/color][color=#395861]▃[/color][color=#3D5969]▃[/color][color=#415A72]▃[/color][color=#455B7B]▃[/color][color=#495C84]▃[/color][color=#4D5D8D]▃[/color][color=#515E95]▃[/color][color=#555F9E]▃[/color][color=#5A60A7]▃[/color][color=#5E61B0]▃[/color][color=#6262B9]▃[/color][color=#6663C1]▃[/color][color=#6A64CA]▃[/color][color=#6E65D3]▃[/color][color=#7266DC]▃[/color][color=#7667E5]▃[/color][color=#7A68EE]▃[/color][color=#7E6BEE]▃[/color][color=#816EEF]▃[/color][color=#8571EF]▃[/color][color=#8874F0]▃[/color][color=#8B77F1]▃[/color][color=#8F7AF1]▃[/color][color=#927EF2]▃[/color][color=#9681F3]▃[/color][color=#9984F3]▃[/color][color=#9C87F4]▃[/color][color=#A08AF5]▃[/color][color=#A38DF5]▃[/color][color=#A691F6]▃[/color][color=#AA94F7]▃[/color][color=#AD97F7]▃[/color][color=#B19AF8]▃[/color][color=#B49DF9]▃[/color][color=#B7A0F9]▃[/color][color=#BBA3FA]▃[/color][color=#BEA7FB]▃[/color][color=#C2AAFB]▃[/color][color=#C5ADFC]▃[/color][color=#C8B0FD]▃[/color][color=#CCB3FD]▃[/color][color=#CFB6FE]▃[/color][/b][/center]
[indent][indent]Although she had portrayed the attitude of someone without any involvement with either Allison Davies or Charlie Decker, Natalia Belmonte was far from being free of guilt. The young woman had arrived at 13 Carlisle with a plan: to discover the identity of whoever had been sending the letters to everyone, and seize the opportunity to persuade the person to not release [i]everything[/i] inside Charlie’s journals. She hadn’t read the contents of the books, but she was certain that somewhere within the pages there were details of her involvement with the infamous Serpent. She had hoped that, by doing this, she could protect herself from reliving the memories of that fateful day at Edenridge High.

What Natalia [i]hadn’t[/i] expected was to find herself listening to the haunting truth of Allison’s death, and how Charlie hadn’t been the one at fault. Frozen and silent with shock, she had listened to the unfortunate tale with wide-eyes, growing sicker to her stomach with every detail shared. Yet it wasn’t the star cheerleader’s story what had sent the Belmonte girl spiraling out of control. It had been listening to the strong emotions the other Southies were going through when it came to Charlie through their voices:  the hurt in Decky’s at being misled to cause Hard Times harm by those he trusted the most, the remorse in Jade’s for being helpless when trying to aid her friend, and the agony in Poppy’s over knowing all along that her love was blamed and hated for something he had never done.

A stabbing, gut-wrenching pain settled in Talia’s chest when she listened to the James girl’s recollection of the night in question. Her love for Charlie was everlasting and clear as day, ringing loud and clear through her every word. How would Poppy feel if it ever came out that Charlie and her had spent a night together? The poor girl had been through so much hell already, what with her sister dying and her beloved being murdered in front of her eyes, that it made Tal sick to know she could soon be the cause of more pain and heartbreak for Penelope. 

But it’s not like she could turn back time and un-sleep with Charlie. She couldn’t wave a magic wand and erase what had happened between the class pariah and the queen bee. It had been a mere moment of weakness, occurring one night where they found comfort in each other at seeing their loved ones moving on without them. And yet Tal knew the explanation would mean nothing. What was done was done, and the harm this secret could cause Poppy when exposed would be entirely on her.

It was ReyRey pointing the gun at the group what pulled Natalia out of her head long enough to fear for her life and do what she was told by Beau. She exited the property and boarded her car in stunned silence, looking and speaking to no one along the way. As if on autopilot, the dark-haired girl drove to Lyon Park, taking desperate pull after desperate pull from her vape and filling her car up with smoke. She parked her Navigator in the most secluded parking space and proceeded to take action to numb the guilt and remorse threatening to suffocate her. From the SUV’s glove compartment, the green-eyed girl pulled out a navy blue makeup bag containing her assortment of “medications”: a half-empty prescription bottle of Valium (prescribed to her by her doctor, of course), a gram of weed inside a small Ziplock bag, a galaxy purple glass pipe and a Zippo lighter.

Without hesitation, Tal opened the medication bottle, popped a handful of her Valium pills onto her palm and swallowed them with the help of some water from her hydro flask. Once the pill bottle was closed and safely placed back in the bag, she prepared her THC station and took a few long, deep drags of weed from the pipe. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes after each pull, hoping that the combination of the pills and the marihuana would make the numbness kick in faster. 

When she finally felt like her chest wasn’t about to cave in with guilt, Natalia grabbed her cellphone and scrolled through her text message threads to find the name of the one person she knew she could trust to see her right now: at her most vulnerable. Although her eyes were now blurred by tears, the Northie girl somehow managed to type out the SOS messages to her ex-boyfriend.

[color=7B68EE][i]I'm really fucked up Liq
Meet me at our spot?
I really need you right now
Please 😔[/i][/color]

Once the texts were sent, the young woman carelessly threw her phone on the passenger seat, grabbed her pipe and lighter again, and allowed herself to take another long drag of cannabis. Maybe if she smoked enough weed her memories with Charlie Decker would blow away like the clouds of smoke she was exhaling.

Creed showed up at their spot about twenty minutes after it was sent, tank top soaked in sweat and breath labored from jogging here from his last drop. He saw her car and slowed as he approached, giving the girl as much warning of his presence as possible. She looked a wreck through the smokey driver's side window. He tapped lightly on the glass, leaning into the opening when she rolled the window down for him.

[color=104e09]"Hey there, Puff. You're lookin' like someone stole your magic,"[/color] he greeted quietly, a soft, crooked smile on his lips. [color=104e09]"what say we get ya somewhere with a bed, yeah?"[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"Hey, baby,"[/color] the Belmonte girl greeted her ex with a hazy smile. Even in her current morose state, there was no denying that the sight of Creed and his perfect crooked smile lifted Natalia's spirits a little. Her bloodshot eyes scanned his figure, and she soon found herself frowning when she noticed his damp clothing. [color=7B68EE]"Did you walk all the way down here?"[/color] she asked him, a hint of guilt peeking through her voice at the idea of Creed having gone through the trouble of interrupting whatever plans he had going on in order to jog to meet her.

Creed gave her a look that said he knew exactly what she was thinking and she better stop that line of thought right now. [color=104e09]"When I said you call an' I'll come runnin' after we split I wasn't jokin', y'should know that by now. Now move over, you ain't 'boutta drive and we ain't leavin' this here."[/color]

While Natalia quickly nodded and clumsily moved over to the passenger seat without exiting the vehicle, the young man opened the driver side door. He couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as even more smoke spilled it's way out of the car like demons escaping hell. Creed quickly hopped behind the wheel of her and started them out towards the Lost Souls Homes. They drove in silence, with Natalia now holding his hand and comfortable knowing that it was a rather short ride. Soon enough, they pulled into a parking spot, and Creed pulled out his phone from his pocket with that small crooked grin of his. 

[color=104e09]"Jokes has the blanket nest all ready and Kill Bill set up. You won't be alone tonight, Puff."[/color]

An overwhelming rush of love and gratitude for both Creed and Jokes suddenly came over Natalia, and she couldn’t help the way her eyes filled with tears and her bottom lip trembled. Because she was too choked up to speak, the Belmonte girl could only nod once more, while squeezing Creed’s hand a few times to let him know how she felt without words. Frankly, all she wanted to do was wrap her arms around him in a tight hug, but with the way he was smelling it would be a bad idea for all of the parties involved.

When they got through the apartment door, Jokes was standing there with a blanket held open in his arms, and he wrapped her in both the blanket and a hug before he led her to the couch where the movie was already up. Creed disappeared into their room as Jokes pressed play, coming out around five minutes later in a fresh pair of clothes, steam from the shower rolling out behind him. He sat on Nat's other side and the two boys kept her snuggled between them, safe.

Whether it was the handful of pills, the weed or just exhaustion from keeping the emotions bottled up inside her for so long, Natalia didn’t know. But the moment she felt the safety of the arms of both Jokes and Creed around her, the dark-haired girl’s tough persona dropped and she began to sob.

[color=7B68EE]“I feel so fucking guilty right now…”[/color] Natalia in between sniffles, unable to get the image of her and Charlie tangled up in bed together out her head and how horrible Poppy would feel. [color=7B68EE]"Decky, Poppy and Jade keep blaming themselves for what happened to him, but I keep thinking some of it is my fault too. After Maliq and I broke up, Hard Times and I ran into each other at a party. We were both really fucking sad and going through it… And we hooked up that night…"[/color] the girl admitted, pausing for a minute to sob and little more before calming down enough to continue. [color=7B68EE]"I slept with him knowing he was in love with someone else. That shit makes me wonder whether the guilt he had about it was one of the things that sent him over the edge that day… If it's also my fault that he killed Danny and everyone else…"[/color]

Creed and Jokes exchanged slightly alarmed looks over her hunched form. Her having slept with Decker was definitely news to them, but it explained the visible weight Natalia walked around with since the shooting. Guilt can be a dangerous thing. It was almost a given the Southies would have huge and unresolved guilt over Charlie Decker. Natalia and Charlie had seemed like two ships passing in the night; they got a glimpse of each other due to their circles, but no one really knew if they'd ever said a word to each other. That could all be addressed later, however.

[color=d3baff]"...It was gonna happen eventually,"[/color] Jokes spoke up, finally breaking eye contact with Creed and ending the silent conversation to lift Natalia's chin and make her meet his eyes. [color=d3baff]"None of us here Southside, especially Serpent-wise, were there enough for him. His own side'a the tracks rejected him harder than the Northies did, in some ways."[/color]

Creed was nodding along, running sure fingers through her tangled hair and slowly clearing it of knots. [color=104e09]"'S a series of unfortunate events, but taking out one or two wouldn't have changed the outcome, there was still too much stress on 'im."[/color] Finished with the knots, he plastered himself against her back and side, leaning her into Jokes' chest. [color=104e09]"No more your fault than ours, or anyone else that crossed his cursed path."[/color]

[color=d3baff]"Puff, what brought this up?"[/color] Jokes asked, confused at the girl's sudden breakdown. [color=d3baff]"Was it the letters?"[/color]

Natalia nodded, shifting around in the bed so she could stare at both young men before she spoke. [color=7B68EE]"They had asked us to meet at the old school building. I was hoping to confront whoever was sending those letters and convince them to cut it out, because something tells me Hard Times wrote about us in his journals, and I don't want that to come out. What we found instead was some fucking disgusting scavenger hunt that ended up with us at 13 Carlisle staring at a photo of Allison Davis fucking OD’d and [i]dead[/i] on the floor the night that she died, listening to the story of how it happened and how Hard Times was actually innocent before ReyRey pulled out a fucking gun and pointed it at us."[/color]

[color=104e09]"You went south without a Serpent?"[/color]

[color=d3baff]"ReyRey did [i]what?![/I]"[/color]

The two exclamations overlapped as both men stared at her incredulously. Neither of them had known nor cared for Allison Davies, but her ghost's presence has haunted this town longer than Charlie's has; for many people, her death was the beginning of the end for Edenridge.

[color=d3baff]"Why the hell would ReyRey point a gun at you over the cheerleader? I mean yeah she died at a Serpent house but she certainly wasn't the first or last. Hell, Decky's parents almost OD'd at one last week and aren't allowed back,"[/color] Jokes rambled out. [color=d3baff]"He doesn't just swing that thing around unless he means it. Who'd you go with that would piss 'im off like that?"[/color]

[color=7B68EE]"Because Poppy James was screaming in his face, Decky went off on him after he called him a tool,  and Mei Ramsey punched him in the face,"[/color] the girl explained. [color=7B68EE]"So, technically, he wasn't pointing it at me only, but it doesn't change the fact that I was almost fucking [i]shot dead[/i] by my best friend's cousin over something I didn't even do."[/color]

The two men could hardly believe what they were hearing. Poppy? Decky and Charlie's Poppy was active in this? [i]Decky[/i] had not only yelled at ReyRey but had the gun pointed at him as well? Why the hell was this town going crazy all over again? But the fact that he waved it not only at the Southies and Serpents, but also [i]Natalia[/i], Honey Badger's best friend and someone with and overall high favor with most of the snakes she'd met? They might just have to call Mika about tonight. Later.

[color=104e09]"He's waved guns around us before-"[/color]

[color=d3baff]"Plenty'a times."[/color]

[color=104e09]"But he never had the…intent behind it."[/color] Creed shared another look with Jokes, a whole silent conversation between the both of them as the previous one tapered off. [color=104e09]"What else can we do for you?"[/color]

Because that's all that matters right now. All the other crazy could be put to the side. All the anger and confusion at ReyRey pointing a [i]fucking gun at the people they cared about[/i] could be dealth with at a later date. But Natalia Belmonte, sandwiched in a blanket nest between Jonie and Maliq- and the fact that she could call them that at all showed their dedication and love for the girl- could be dealt with now, taken care of now, and protected now. They could make her safe for the night, at least, and any other nights where she needed someone there to chase away the demons and nightmares.

A small smile crept up on Natalia’s lips for the first time since she’d left the old high school building what seemed like a lifetime ago. [color=7B68EE]“You’ve done more than I could’ve ever asked or hoped for,”[/color] she told them softly, wrapping one arm around each of her ex-lovers and pulling them into a tight embrace. She let the hug last for a while, hoping she’d be able to express her affection and immense amount of gratitude without words. Allowing herself to be vulnerable was not something the young woman did often. Tal had always prided herself in being the Belmonte child with unwilting strength when faced with adversity. Yet even the strongest of people couldn’t carry their burdens alone for too long. And when times like these came, she felt blessed to be able to count on Jokes and Creed to share the weight with.

[color=7B68EE]“If anything ever happens to me, I just want you to know that I love you,”[/color] she told Creed with nothing but conviction in her voice, locking eyes with him for a moment before briefly pressing her lips to his, turning the other way and doing the same with Jokes. [color=7B68EE]“And I love you too. And there’s not enough ways for me to ever say or show you both just how damn thankful I feel for having you in my life.”[/color]

Creed stared intently at Natalia as she kissed them both; worry seating heavily on his mind at her words. She wasn't going to be alright for a while yet, and whether others would have noticed or not it was definitely going to be an uphill battle. Jokes looked at him again and nodded. The wind was out of her sails and she was adrift in the waters. Maybe they couldn't get her to dry land, but the could offer to help paddle.

[color=d3baff]"We can't promise you'll never get hurt, Puff,"[/color] the long haired man declared, continuing the Southside tradition of not making promises they can't keep. [color=d3baff]"But that don't mean you gotta try an' go at anything alone. We'll be there every step we can, if you want us there."[/color]

Creed smiled, placing a reassuring kiss to the back of her head.

[color=104e09]"Can't have anyone stealin' your magic, right?"[/color]

And, once again overwhelmed by emotion, Natalia Belmonte tightly embraced Jonie and Maliq before bursting into grateful tears. She didn’t know what she would ever do without them.[/indent][/indent][/color]