[color=lightgray][right][sub][b]TIMESTAMP: After Interview with a Vampire[/b][/sub][/right]
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[indent][indent]Sitting on a park bench, unbeknownst to her it was the same park bench where Roddy and Marco said their goodbyes, Kylee left the large brown bag filled with everyone’s preferred Chinese food to the side, untouched, as she waited for her friend, Marco Brady. They scheduled a friend date. A late lunch to catch up. He should be getting off work soon. 

Unbeknownst to her, Cat had closed the token Edenridge sandwich shop early due to personal obligations and the storm, letting her staff take it easy for the rest of the day. Marco being the good guy that he is chose to wait until it was time to meet his friend at 3:30 PM, instead of asking if she was free earlier. Kylee was a busy girl. Knowing Marco, he didn’t want to throw this spontaneous request on her. 

All Kylee’s friends knew that she did not like last minute changes. She was not one for unpredictability. If Kylee Grimm put you on her schedule, you made sure to meet her at that time or she’d get in a weird depressive episode, thinking you were mad at her or something. Kylee didn’t handle change well.

Leaned back, she stared off in the distance in thought, barely paying attention to the boy skating around, both waiting. On top of her replaying her interview with Mei and Jill, from how considerate Jill was of Danny and his teammates, marking them as off limits, to the surface pressure of being a foundling, Kylee was in one of her pensive states. Truly stuck in her head -- thinking and overthinking. 

She had gathered so much information and the thought of the letter and keywords in it, it was like the answer was on the tip of her tongue but also, she couldn’t help but think about how tragic David was. To let the surface pressure push him over the edge. He leaned in, gave himself completely into his vice, the one thing that saw him, truly saw him, and unfortunately it was likely a little girl. If only he had waited, waited to take that leap of faith, when she was of age. It was a hard pill for the town to swallow but could Kylee blame him? 

The shooting ruined her affair with Natalia. They had something raw. Something great. Something in the moment. But the blood. The gore. Pierce’s face. The fucking screams. The fact that Nia pissed her pants and Jakob was her body shield before Charlie took both of them down, from behind the auditorium piano. The shooting. The shooting ruined her. Or was she already fucked up prior? Was the shooting also an excuse? 

When she didn’t get into the college she wanted to go to, or she thought at the time was the college meant for her, that was the perfect emergency exit. How could she treat Natalia like she deserved when she could barely see clearly? The surface pressure. She understood it well. She was no foundling but the weight of being a Grimm… there was a constant dark shadow hovering over her. There was more to her father than he’d ever let her in on, and she knew, she just knew he was haunted, far worse than this whole town ever would be. He had demons. Skeletons in his closet. [i]Secrets[/i]. And he hid it behind a professional smile.  

Whenever she tried to get close all he had to do was look at her, with those cold, distant eyes, and just like that, she was put back in her place. She didn’t want to disappoint him. She didn’t want to doubt him. She didn’t like this urge to look deep into his history… she hated that she wanted to know who her mother was. It certainly would never be Celine. And it sure as hell wasn’t Prudence. Even if Kylee loved her dearly, she knew Prue was not her mom. 

There were too many secrets in the Grimm family and she was caught in the inbetween, scared she’d turn dark, like the rest of her siblings. People don’t see her family like she does. People don’t like her father, sure, but that’s because he’s a politician and if you trusted everything a politician said, you’d be considered dumb. Everyone adores Hayley and how outspoken she is, how radical, but if only they knew… if only they knew what was behind that shit-eating grin, they wouldn’t like the bitch that her sister was. Hayley was more heartless than she made people believe and that’s because everyone was a fool to her, including those she considered her ‘friends’. 

Don’t even get her started with her brothers. Lincoln and Kennedy. Named after presidents -- whoop-dee-fucking-doo. They knew more of the past than they’d ever share. Lincoln could destroy your life, and has for some sad fucks, using the internet to his advantage, scary hacker kind of guy, and Kennedy was a douchebag, the type to make girls believe they had it coming when he is the one that roofied and raped them. And you know who protected him? Prudence. That is until Prue died. Now he’s manipulated Celine to do the same. Celine has convinced Daddy Grimm to shield him with their family money and the cycle continues. Disgusting. 

Where does that leave her? 

Snapping out of her trance, Kylee reached for her phone to check if she got a text or a call from her boyfriend. Still nothing. Biting her thumb, Kylee caved and called Wes’ phone. Nervously, she listened to the ring and when he didn’t pick up, and she went to voicemail, she hung up and put her phone to her side. Glancing toward Adam, she tried to distract herself with idle conversation, [color=a95963]“Are you excited to see Marco?!”[/color]   

[color=82A989]“Yeah! Can’t wait to see him!”[/color]

It had been a weird ass day.

Adam had started out the morning with no real plan or destination. He had just taken his camera and his board and hit the streets. It had been too many years since he had been freely allowed to roam the cobbled roads of Eden. Five years to be precise. When Thomas Callahan made the decision to leave Edenridge and drag his youngest boy with him, Adam had been in the midst of so many things. Before his forced departure, AC had his fingers in several pies. He had submitted a short film to be judged by professionals, he had just got his first sponsor with a Boston skate shop and he was due to enter his first martial arts contest under the Five Tool banner. Then his father made the call that they were not longed for Edenridge anymore and that Pinehurst awaited them.

AC hated Pinehurst. For all the flak that the rich kids on Scott Street got, they were nothing compared to the Monarchs down the road. Pinehurst was all gated communities, trust fund babies and “influencers”; Adam’s father loved it. Tommy Callahan, unlike his younger brother John, relished his Foundling status and built himself a small empire of businesses using his name and his smile. He wanted nothing to do with the butcher shop that his ancestors had built by hand. No, Tom had machinations on bigger things than just Black Pudding stuffed Cumberland Sausage. Andy was too old to be forced to do anything and he had married his high school sweetheart but Adam? He was just young enough to be controlled. 

To say Adam was tortured by those kids would be an understatement. Whereas most Monarchs got Beemers for their sweet sixteens, AC rode to school every day on his Powell Peralta classic Bones deck. They wore Gucci, he wore Element. They bled Maroon, Adam still bled Celtic green. He was suspended multiple times for fighting. He was never a violent kid, it was always in self defence but because of his very apparent training, Adam was always the assumed aggressor. It didn’t help that Tom would send him to school with a face full of bruises. AC was a lump of coal in a case of diamonds.

Then Grandpa Callahan died and the war for his estate raged. Tom had been completely taken out of the will, not that he needed the money and John and their younger sister Ellie became the beneficiaries. John and Ellie decided to give the money to all of the kids. Meaning Fran, Roddy, Andy and Adam all received large chunks of dollar for their troubles. This was it. This was the escape route. Adam took his new found wealth, which admittedly wasn’t that much but was enough, and got the hell out of dodge. After one more confrontation with his father, AC jumped on his board and made his way back to Edenridge, only five years too late for a date with a beautiful brunette.

It was that very same brunette he bumped into early that morning and reopened Pandora's box with. Kylee was on a mission, then again she always was back in the day and Adam felt the need to join her. Thus his aforementioned weird ass day. The pair had spent the afternoon interviewing old school friends and classmates about a mysterious love letter making the rounds all over town. Kylee had been off from the moment they reconnected but Adam knew it wasn’t down to him. Something else was bothering her, then again something always was and usually that something was dressed in a suit and speaking at city hall.

They were supposed to be meeting another old friend, Marco Brady. He and Adam were close back in the day before his unwanted exit. It would be so nice to see him again. Carving the concrete wave until he stopped next to her, AC kicked his deck into his hand and paused the camera that had been sitting next to Ky filming him. [color=82A989]“Are we gonna go somewhere? That storm is looking nasty. Makes for a great backdrop though.”[/color]

 [color=a95963]“Your place? After this?”[/color] Kylee offered, seeing it smarter to head to his apartment because it was closer instead of doing the long trek to Scott Street to a house far too big for her and full of reminders of all her problems. They still had a good hour before the storm would really start picking up. The forecast said around six it should be at its peak. The Mayor’s daughter smiled at her friend before bringing her deep brown eyes, her eyes that were the color of acorns, just bright enough to shine in the dark, to her hands on her lap. She fiddled with her fingers anxiously. 

If Wes would just call her or text her, she could spend the rest of the day with him but he seemed far too busy to even let her know he was doing okay. She was so stupid to think he’d be different. That she had found someone who would put her first. That she found her special someone.  [color=a95963]“If that’s alright with you that is, Adam. I don’t really want to go home right now.”[/color]

[color=82A989]“Yeah, no that’s absolutely fine.”[/color] Adam looked down with soft eyes at the poor girl. Something was not right, so the best he could do was to be there for her. There had always been an inherent darkness in Kylee. It should’ve been more obvious considering who her father and brothers were but to most, she was just a bored little rich girl. A brat. She’d always been and always would be more than that to AC. [color=82A989]“I managed to hook up my tv to the neighbor's Wi-Fi until I get mine sorted. Hope you’re good with just Netflix. Alternately I’ve got DVD’s. Remember those? Hipster AF.”[/color]

He sat down next to the young woman and picked up his camera, aiming just over her far shoulder at the skyline. Off in the distance, above the cursed elder tree, the sky was a twirling mixture of blues and greys and black, far off lightning creeping closer towards them like the villain of a John Carpenter movie. Yet in this instant Adam felt more like he was simply gazing inside of Kylee’s soul. Dark, stormy and beautiful. [color=82A989]“Are there any cliff notes I need on Marco? It has been a few years.”[/color]

 [color=a95963]“Mm, he kind of has a limp, I guess. When Charlie shot him,”[/color] Kylee crossed her arms joining Adam in staring at the sky. She was never one to hold back, no matter how dark her words were. And talking about that day, that day that made her own issues escalate, was one of those dark things that not a lot of people liked talking about but here she was, bringing it up like it was table conversation.  [color=a95963]“He seems to be doing better though. I haven’t seen him since like a month ago, the night at the gym where we went on a scavenger hunt to find out the story behind Allison’s death. Even then, I didn’t stay for the whole thing… I had a bad moment with my ex and kind of tapped out. From then to what I’ve been seeing from getting sandwiches at the Godmothers, he works there now by the way, he seems happier. Like his old self is coming back. He’s smiling more.”[/color]

The massacre. Adam had a feeling that was going to be a huge subject to be weary of when reconnecting with old friends. He missed it. He wasn’t there. He had no way of knowing or understanding how they felt in those moments of cold fear and reflection. They had all been through so much together, fractured and brought together by their experiences and he was coming in as an outsider. AC did not share those dark times with them and they were bonded in ways he couldn’t fathom. Boy had his work cut out for him if he wanted to be a part of their lives again. [color=82A989]“I still think that Scavenger hunt sounds badass. Even if, you know it was sad? It’s all so interesting. You can’t write this shit but I’m glad Marco’s doing good.”[/color]

Leaning back on the bench, Adam placed his camera down on his lap. [color=82A989]“You know what’s funny? Since I’ve been back, I’ve been massively surprised where people have ended up. Like when I decided to come back, I had it all planned out in my head as to what people were doing, where they were and who they were with. I’ve since remembered that you were always the smart one. Rod the brave and I just held the camera,”[/color] He laughed. [color=82A989]“Like Jill Queen Clover O’Brien and Mei I hate everything Ramsey? How could I call that?!”[/color]

 [color=a95963]“Yeah, a lot of things changed since you’ve been gone,”[/color] Kylee kept her eyes on the sky as her voice trailed off at his comment of her being the smart one. She didn’t get into college. It was her fault for only applying to one and thinking she’d get in. Oddly enough though she was relieved. She didn’t want to leave Edenridge. As tragic as things constantly were, this town was her security blanket and at the time, she still had Roddy. 

He was gone now — Texas would be his new home where he’d raise his family there and she’d root for him and be happy at how much he’s succeeding. Roddy was moving now and Kylee, well, Kylee was still stuck.  [color=a95963]“I’m glad they’re together. Jill hasn’t had the best time, like even before the shooting, but you can catch up with her with all that.”[/color] Kylee didn’t want to assume Adam knew much about Jill’s ex, Michael, and how she lost her baby. She didn’t want to assume he knew it led to a severe drinking problem. That wasn’t her story to tell. 

Glancing over and meeting Adam’s gaze, raising an eyebrow when she noticed he was looking at her and not the sky, Kylee added,  [color=a95963]“I’m glad she has found someone to heal with and Mei, she acts very strong, but I know Charlie really fucked her up. She was alone that day and she couldn’t do anything about it until she was found.”[/color] How strange, how a single moment could change the fates of all she knew. She was very good at talking about all her friends and their battles, dancing around her own trauma from that day, but when it came to herself, she hesitated. She filtered. She kept quiet. 

The tone had transformed slightly. Adam wanted it to be light but Ky’s mood was not here yet. As she spoke of her friend's pain, it seemed obvious to AC that she herself held a lot of agony inside. Kylee was good at creating a wall. Depending on how one felt about it, it was either lucky or unlucky that Adam was very good at scaling them. [color=82A989]“I can’t even imagine. I’m sorry that you all had to go through that.”[/color] Kylee carried a lot of weight from that day, he could almost see the blood splatter memories in her acorn eyes. [color=82A989]“Tell me something weird. What’s a really random thing that’s happened in my time away?”[/color]

[i]Weird[/i]. He wanted something weird. It really depends on his definition of weird because weird shit happens all the time in Edenridge.  [color=a95963]“Your cousin, Clay, sucks at hiding the fact that he’s got his dream girl. I don’t know if you consider that weird though! Like are we talking ghost weird? Because we got ghosts visiting us everyday. Or like people weird, because I do think it’s weird that Clay ain’t gonna’ be a hoe no more.”[/color]

[color=82A989]“I mean, Clay being in a relationship is weird but not unheard of,”[/color] Adam mused. [color=82A989]“He was always looking for something meaningful. I just think he had a standard that was difficult to meet.”[/color] He moved his arm and rested it on the bench behind Ky. [color=82A989]“When was the last time you went on a good ol fashioned ghost hunt? Like do I have to go to Texas and slap Roddy for not taking you on adventures or what? I’ll crane kick some emotion into that android.”[/color]

Now that she was thinking about it, when was the last time she went on a ghost hunt? Would the Allison Davies incident be considered one? It certainly brought out a lot in people.  [color=a95963]“I guess when he and Marco were in physical therapy together, we fell off… so it’s been awhile,”[/color] Kylee pushed her hair behind her ear and glanced at the floor. This honestly was a huge testimony to her own mental health, seeing how she barely noticed a piece of her was missing. As silly as it sounds, Scooby Doo adventures were part of who she was, as it was for both Roddy and Adam. 

Due to a series of unfortunate events, the child in her and in Roddy got left behind in the old school building, on that awful day. They grew up. They had to.  [color=a95963]“It’s really not a big deal,”[/color] Kylee retracted.  [color=a95963]“We got enough ghosts in this town! There’s no need to disturb more. And like, it was all a silly children’s game.”[/color] Kylee was back to fiddling with her hands, stuck in a place that made her uncomfortable where she knew she might cave and tell Adam too much about herself. He had only just gotten back. There was no need to burden him with her troubles.

Adam dramatically opened his mouth. [color=82A989]“Le shock,”[/color] He slapped both cheeks comically and shook his head. [color=82A989]“A silly children’s game? Kylee Rose Grimm. I am soooo disappointed in you.”[/color] Jumping to his feet, AC grabbed his camera and turned it to face himself, a rarity because the Callahan man hated being on camera himself. [color=82A989]“Coming soon, oh my god, it’s the return of the Scoobies. Adam Callahan. Kylee Grimm and special guests are yet to be confirmed. And what mystery will they solve? I submit to you, dear viewer, the Tale of the Woman in the Wall.”[/color] He dropped the camera down to his side and offered the young woman a bright toothy smile. [color=82A989]“It is done. You and I are going ghost hunting. Next time we meet after today, you and I are going to Liberty and the Sunken House.” [/color]

The Tale of the Woman in the Wall? Kylee would be lying if she said Adam didn’t pique her interest. Quite honestly, he had her complete and undivided attention. She didn’t understand it but somehow he knew how to bring her back and he smiled while doing it. He made her feel like he cared, like he still cared. That no time in the world would change how much she meant to him. He really didn’t need to do all this for her. Or was he doing this for himself? Was he hoping by going on a ghost hunt that they’d return to the way things were? That they’d gain some sense of normalcy? Regardless of his motives, Kylee couldn’t help but beam back and look up at him with those big brown eyes,  [color=a95963]“Promise?”[/color]

[color=82A989]“Cross my heart and hope to not bail the next time I grind a rail,”[/color] Adam picked up his deck and made the Christian cross over it as he held it aloft against his heart. It was nice to see her smile, he had missed that smile. It seemed obvious at this point that not just Kylee but many of his former classmates and friends were haunted and not in the fun way. They had been locked in this town like a prison, reliving dark days gone by, shackled to memories of monsters. Adam’s original intention was to not stay in Eden long. Just enough time to catch up with friends, earn some money and then head off to travel. Now it seemed like he had a new purpose. To bust some ghosts and again, not the fun kind. There certainly wasn’t a Marshmellow man in sight. [color=82A989]“I know you said Marco had a limp but he needs to get here fast or I’m eating all of his food.”[/color]
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