DELETED398633

CANCELLED.

_{Introducing Miles and Nero
Short interaction with Dahlia @Silent Observer
Location: Library before homeroom}

"Ms. Quinn? MS. QUINN?" an interviewer waved his notepad in front of the woman caught in a daze in a room blaring white. A woman who is most known for being the face of DREAD, a well known horror investigative documentary series. A show she started with her friends, after their G.R.I.M. adventures when they were meddling teens curious about subjects beyond them. Years and years after their G.R.I.M. adventures, when subjects like paranormal activity, supernatural, the cosmic world... everything and anything... were simply a game of make believe. G.R.I.M. was their squad when they were innocent, before they decided to start a new project that would change their lives forever. A project where they would find out all these stories rooted from actual truths. Their exploration didn't stop there. They opened their series to subject matters like unsolved mysteries, cold cases, following the murders of famous psychopaths, in hopes they'd find their own answers and see what truly went down.

"Huh?" Ms. Quinn, as the interviewer put it, was what the audience would consider 'off'. She wasn't even wearing her signature prescription glasses. She was dressed to impress, having returned from her recent escapade for her show, but something wasn't right. Something seemed to be bothering her. She couldn't focus on the present. On the interviewer. On anything he was saying.

"Your sister, Brie, did you guys find her?"

"Brie, she's..." Hearing a clatter to her side, she swiftly turned her head to look to the left of her.

"Gracie! Gracie!" She was no longer in the white room. Her mind was stuck on the top floor, above a night club. She stood in front of a large commercial-grade steel door, complete with rust marks and a door lever. There was a deteriorating sign that read: Warning: Authorized personnel only. Sólo el personal autorizado, no hay entrada.

Not too far behind her was her team, one man holding a camera and keeping it on her. Clearing his throat, he asked, "Are we going in?"

"Knowing my sister, she would go somewhere she shouldn't... we're positive this is the last place people saw her?" Before she reached for the door handle, she adjusted her glasses. Her expression read that she doubted her sister was still here, but she needed to have some faith their search would be short.

"Her friends said she disappeared from the dance floor. We're not positive if she exited or not, all we know is she got separated from her group."

There were stories about this floor. People called it The Beast's Maw. Of course, it was only logical to kill two birds with one stone, search for her sister and get b-roll footage for the show. Next week they were scheduled to explore this floor, but due to circumstances, they're exploring it earlier. The door was surprisingly unlocked, so after she swung it open, she and her friends entered with the usual caution they did with every unknown territory they explored. Not even seconds later, they stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell..." They had entered hell itself. The flickering lights revealed torture instruments everywhere. It was like they were on the set of Saw. Chains, vertical beds with straps, knife sets, and other torture, medieval-esque tools.

"Maybe someone has a kink? One of her friends joked. This wasn't the time or place for jokes.

Before Gracie could respond to her, only giving the girl an eye roll, the door...

SLAM! The entrance door abruptly closed and the sound of it being locked from the outside could be heard. Soon followed the other doors in the attic they had yet to discover. They weren’t alone, that’s for sure. The warmth was sucked out and left a slicing chill. Off in the distance, there was heavy wolf’s breathing. An actual wild beast was somewhere hidden in this godforsaken place.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

There was no sight of the beast and its drool dropping onto the cement floor of the chamber resonated in the creeping silence. Faint, very faint, steps could be heard around the squad, as if they were surrounded by at least five others, but still… there was no sign of human existence. Only eerie noises to keep their lovely guests company.

To their discovery, above the Judas Chair (a chair layered with 1,500 spikes on every surface with tight straps to restrain its victim. Made of iron and containing spaces for heating elements beneath the seat), there was a two-wire broadcast intercom that switched on and rewarded them with a music box melody. The song replaced the emptiness of the Maw and all other noises dissipated. Perhaps, they did enter a horror film… or someone not all mentally there was toying with them.

The flickering light seemed to be dying out. The only source of light in that room was fading. If their senses weren’t heightened before, they would surely be now. The stench of the room was grotesque. Rotton. Rancid. Like death.

Do you feel something in the pit of your stomach? If the light goes out… what would you do?

"B-brie? Are you here?" Gracie turned her head to the videographer and quickly demanded, "Don't stop recording."

Tap! Tap! Tap! A blonde boy sitting at a table in the school's library, having just finished gently sketching a frightened face on his heroine, Gracie Morgan Quinn, of his visual novel series, glanced up to see a drumstick clapping against the table. "What-what-whatttt? I literally got to the intense part. Do you know how long it took me to really test Gracie's sanity? A LONG TIME, MY DUDE!" _{(Artwork for panel pages are like this example. Artwork for cover pages, concept sheets, and 'special' shorts are like this example)}

"Miles." The librarian growled. "No yelling in the library."

"Sorry Miss, ah, whatever. Anyways. Now her sister's missing and it WILL interfere with her work." Did he sound insane? He probably sounded insane. "She's always been super driven and honestly at times I think she'd choose the show over her friends, but still, now her SISTER has gone missing. What's so important, Junior?" A little squeak came out of the boy's shirt pocket and the blonde smiled at his cute rat, "You want cheese, Gracie? I got you cheese." While he waited for his friend's response, putting his pencil down on his draft (of one of the later volumes in his series), which rolled to the panel of the Judas Chair, the artist took cheese out of a small dragon born dice pouch beside his pencil case and fed his adorable pet.

"Did you forget why we came to school early in the first place?" Nero knew how caught up his boy got when he was in the zone, but they had planned this date for a week. The copier machine had stopped FIVE MINUTES ago. "Miles, I get it. Mercy gets it too." While he twirled the other drumstick in his left hand, the one that wasn't tapping a drumstick on the table to annoy his friend, a black labrador gave Miles wide eyes. "But, people are going to start showing up and there is no advertisement yet. Man, this is important to me. You know that. I want to make my dad proud and you also know I can't cover school grounds as fast as you." Because, well, he was blind.

"Blahhhhhhh." Miles dramatically sighed, as he pushed his seat back. "Fine, fine. I got you." After throwing his book bag over his shoulder, he got up rather lazily, went to the copier machine, slowly, very slowly, grabbed ALL the printed papers for auditions tomorrow afternoon for Nero's future band, flyers HE made, and glided back, yes glided because he had heelys on, to the drummer boy, "You owe me."

"I know." The light made Miles' blonde hair glow, so Nero could vaguely distinguish where his friend was and reached to teasingly ruffle his friend's hair, "You're the best." Nero cheesed at the artist, knowing Miles was probably the most loyal and lovable friend he had.

"I know I am." With that, Miles rolled off, having forgotten his draft, dice pouch, and pencil case on the table, ready to staple and tape flyers EVERYWHERE in this biznatch. Do note that his initials were handwritten on all his belongings and artwork. MJM. Sure, not many people would be able to know right off the back that those letters stood for 'Miles Jericho Michaelson' but it was his way of claiming ownership over the things that belonged to him. Too bad he was rather forgetful...

And so was his friend.

Nero would've remembered that his friend was drawing moments ago, but a girl tapped on his shoulder, "Junior?" He turned his head towards the voice and recognized it as Veronica from math class, "Can I pet Mercy? I want to start my morning right... since, well, I wasn't allowed to go to the party last night and it makes me a little sad."

"Oh yeah, that's fine. Uh, if it makes you feel better, I didn't go either." Nero used one of the drumsticks to scratch his head, before adding, "Let's go to the lounge area, so we're not disturbing people." The drummer boy shrugged at his acquaintance and led the way, away from the librarian. Mercy was so popular at this school.

The school library in the early morning before classes started was home to very few individuals. The nerds, the geeks, the dorks, the misfits… whatever name you decided to give them, you could probably find them in the library at any given time. Taxpayer dollars went to good work when it came to the BHHS library, their collection of books was vast and expansive. On this Wednesday morning, curled up in a cushioned reading chair in the northeast corner of the library, was one of the aforementioned misfits. Dahlia Rothstein, or Gia, if you were one of the very few to actually know her.

Gia thumbed through a book on a botany that categorized all of the plants and herbs used medicinally around the world. She sat cross legged in this chair, reading about plants for the majority of the morning. Her phone buzzed in her lap with an alarm indicating that she had ten minutes left before she needed to make it to her homeroom, lest she be mistakenly marked absent again. Dahlia slid the botanical book into her patchwork cloth hobo bag and stood up to head to the fiction section of the library.

Aside from reading about witchcraft, astrology, and nature, Gia quite enjoyed reading works of fiction as well. Particularly mystery books, supernatural, fantasy, and horror genres. She briefly noticed that there were some belongings left unattended on a table, but paid them little mind. She figured that some student likely had run to the bathroom, or gone to check out a book, and would be back for them soon enough. Dahlia thumbed through some titles on the shelf — some of which she had already read, some with rather uninteresting blurbs, and even some brand new titles.

After about five minutes of deliberation, Gia decided on a book about a brewing bar between faerie kingdoms. With her novel of choice selected, she stood up and once again passed by the table with the unattended belongings. Odd… surely whoever they belonged to should be back by now? Being a girl with very little regard for “acceptable” social norms, Dahlia stepped over to the table and nosely took a peek at what was left behind. There was a leathery pouch that looked like something she might store spell components in, a roll of pencils — perhaps those of an artist — and a collection of papers. Gia picked up a few of the sheets of paper and skimmed the contents. This mystery artist had a unique style, it was surprisingly well done for a high schooler. The really exciting part for Gia, however, was the storyline. The fear and mystery in the pages was so palpable! She wanted to read more about this Gracie Quinn and her G.R.I.M. adventures!

All of the items left on the table bore a set of initials — MJM. Dahlia carefully gathered them and slid them into her hobo bag alongside her botany book and school supplies. She brought up her fiction novel to check the book out at the librarian’s desk. “Excuse me, Mrs. Reese, but could you describe what the person who sat at that table over there earlier today looked like?” Dahlia asked, pointing to the table she took the comic in progress from.

Scrunching her nose, Mrs. Reese tried to recall who was there. Kids came and went in her library all the time, it was hard to remember faces. What she could recall was a steady drumming and a plaid shirt boy with a fluffy dog, “Dark brown hair, plaid red shirt, blue jeans, has a black dog with him all the time.” Unfortunately her age was showing and she didn’t mention anything about the blonde hair boy she scolded only moments ago. “I don’t think he was alone though, but he’s the one I can remember the most.” Gia only asked for a description, not a name. Most people knew the kid with the dog was the blind boy of the school, though no one actually believed he was blind.

Dahlia was excited to get a description. With a physical description, a set of initials, and the belongings in her bag, Gia would have a bonafide mystery to solve. The brunette nodded along with Mrs. Reese as she spoke, repeating the descriptors aloud so that she could commit them to memory. “Brown hair… red plaid… blue jeans… black dog. Got it! Thanks, Mrs. Reese!” Gia grinned at the librarian and rushed off towards homeroom. “Brown hair… red plaid… blue jeans…” Dahlia recited the descriptors to herself as she navigated the halls. “... black dog. Wait… Black dog?!” Nero? The blind boy? There was no way that he was the mystery artist that she was looking for on account of, well, obvious reasons… “Oh NO!” Now her mystery was back to square one, all she had was the draft of a comic, and a set of initials.

Near the cafeteria, rolling down the halls, Miles went to the student board and slapped a flyer on it, over the Valentine's dance flyer, because it was in the most ideal spot to place a flyer.

Iron Tribe MC (Epic Crime Saga - Always Open)

-snipped-

No Business

hereherehere

Iron Tribe MC (Epic Crime Saga - Always Open)

@BrutalBx@Universorum

Madcap Toni

Name: Antonio Romano
Nicknames: Madcap, Slider, Toni

When he was initiated into the club, he was given the name Slider because he hit a patch of gravel with his back tire, and then took a sharp left turn. After his turn, he flew off road, into a ditch, missed a tree, and miraculously slid straight to a river, stopping right before the edge. No damage to him or his bike. Those that watched, only two others bare witnessed to it, were incredibly impressed at his driving skills for a newbie. His nickname changed within the next year to Madcap because people started to realize this young lad was just plain insane. A biker not afraid of death.

Age: 27
Gender: M
Sexuality: Pansexual
Religion: Roman Catholic
Relationship Status: Single (willing to change if someone is interested in him)
Relatives: *most important

• *Adelina 'Alina' Romano { sister, 17, goes to an all girls Catholic school }
• Giovanni Romano { grandfather }
• Adelina Romano { grandmother, deceased }
• Valerio Romano { father, deceased }
• Loretta Romano { mother }
• Manuel Romano { uncle, imprisoned }
• Luisella Romano { aunt }
• Nicoletta, Priscilla, Sabina, & Valentino Romano { cousins }

Rank: Tail Gunner
Main Racket: Robbery, Smuggling, & Arsen
Occupation: Waits at his family's authentic pizzeria, Fratelli di Teglia Pizzeria, or the more informal name, Romano's Pizza. Let's be honest, most people call it by its informal name.
Ink:

• Right leg, ripped skin tattoo revealing Italy flag.
• Left upper arm/shoulder, cross stabbed into his skin.
• Iron tribe patch on his left forearm.
• Right side rib, Phoenix tattoo
• Alina spelled in cursive on the back of his neck

Bike: Red Ducati Monster 900
Patches:

• Club patch on his back
• 1% patch on left side of club patch
• MC patch on right side of club patch
• Small title patch, TAIL GUNNER, on right breast
• Ace of Spaces patch, right breast, under title patch
• Ride forever, forever free embroidered patch, left shoulder
• Cross patch bottom rocker
• Madcap custom name patch side rocker, left side
• Custom black jacket modifications: red stripes on sleeves and red shoulder patches

History: How Toni got here doesn't really matter. Everyone knows that his family immigrated to America years ago to rebuild their lives in the 'land of the free'. He was four at the time. What also could be the reason they left was to 'forget' their lives in Italy — running away from one of his uncle's many committed crimes. Perhaps it was getting so bad that it started to endanger the family, ending with homicide. Even if that were the case, that's none of your business. They're simply a close knitted family that settled in Asada, Nevada, who have one of the more popular restaurants in the area, good ol' Romano's.

Manuel was cleaning his ways and becoming the family man that he was expected to be. Unfortunately he was sentenced to life in prison, eight years after the move, for a crime he didn't commit. Arson that killed a family of four. This crime could have been led to Valerio, which he too did not commit. That being said, Toni's father was not a man who could plead innocent. He did commit a crime, that only God could judge as forgivable or not. At the time, Toni's father was committing adultery with a married woman.

Honestly, this crime, the crime behind closed doors, could've put any of the Romano's endanger, including sweet, timid Loretta, Toni's beloved mother. Nothing could be found out if the other family disappeared. Evidence burned. Secrets turned into ashes. Manuel turned himself in to redeem himself from his past, as well as protect the actual culprit, which he only knew of. A twelve year old named Antonio Romano. A self-diagnosed pyromaniac.

A boy who engaged in a lot of wholesome behaviors growing up, like sitting in the dark of his room, flickering a lighter on and off, or playing with matches. A boy who suffered from anxiety and depression and used fire to distract him. This compulsive urge to play with fire, literally. Most fires up until the one that got his uncle put behind bars were minor and extinguished. It simply helped him with his mental health, but that fire, that fire that killed a man, a woman, and two children, was completely intentional.

There is a pull that fire has over this little boy, as he continues to grow and watch his aunt, with four children, prostitute herself because it makes her feel better about her existence. His mother, who never strays away too far from the pizzeria, who cries alone in a room and feels like a walking ghost. A woman that never takes risks to be truly happy and needs her children to take care of her all the time. His father, who OD'ed shortly after the fire, leaving his family behind because he couldn't deal with the guilt. His grandfather, who never stops being the foundation of the family but sadly is getting old and needs to rest. And his sister... his reminder that he wasn't sick and twisted. That he was not his mental illness and that his actual flame is her.

Was moving to America the beginning of the end for the Romano's? For Toni, it wasn't. Toni thrived off of thrills, a true daredevil and troublemaker that used the feeling of almost dying as a boost to continue on to the next day. The Romano's were a loved family in Asada, so it didn't take Toni long when he turned 15 to get involved with the club. He'd do menial tasks at first, to keep his grandpa's business and family afloat, but then when he could truly prove himself, he didn't hesitate to show his audacity. Toni was probably the youngest member to demand initiation and when he rode a bike, it became second nature to him. A natural biker that showed nothing but potential for the business.
Extra Information:

• His Iron Tribe family brought out the outgoing, eccentric side of him and over the years, he's gained enough respect to be the middleman for the Iron Tribe's greatest partnership, The Syndicate.
• His biggest strength and weakness is his sister.
• Tobacco chewer.
• Looks extremely approachable.
• Carries matches around and has a signature red zippo lighter.
• Family man.
• Sweet tooth and can be found always eating something. Carries jerky around for emergencies.
• 6e7f80; FC: Berk Atan

CANCELLED.

_{Collab with @Universorum & @Bee
Mentions of Wyatt @smarty0114
Time of day? Afternoon. History class with Henry, Ariana, Justin, and True.}

Goodness gracious, how did she make it this far? Ariana Song was a walking corpse at this point, but yet here she was barely functioning in history class. At least she’d managed to ditch the shades though, but the light was still hitting like Mike Tyson. History class was more miserable when you were hungover, especially with the most boring teacher on Earth.

The only thing making this scenario slightly more bearable was Ari’s BFFL, Henry. The two had slowly started to gravitate together in the class. Originally they were on opposite sides of the room, but via Ariana’s special form of manipulation, she’d slowly found her way across the classroom, leading her to where she is now. Currently, Ariana was rubbing her temples while the teacher was droning on about Amerigo Vespucci. She leaned over to Henry. "I’ll give you $5 to shoot me.”

“Man, you gotta watch that alcohol intake. You out there drinkin’ like you Robert Downey Jr back when he was really fucked up, and a lot of fun. You out there poundin’ back shots like you my moms on a bad Tuesday. You wildin’, you trippin’. You hungover as fuck. I ain’t need five bucks, so you’re forced to carry on livin’, babe.” Came Henry’s smooth to his friend, before he looked down at his notebook and scratched down another thing or two. Henry actually didn’t mind history class; he thought it was one of the more important parts of the curriculum. If he ever had to get a degree, he was going to go for some wild combination, like a Masters in some subset of Chemistry, and a Bachelors in World History. Why not? He loved both of those subjects, and if he was gonna be forced to go to school anyway, he might as well go for something he enjoyed.

“You gotta learn self control. ‘Course before you can learn self control, you gotta learn a bigger one: self respect. You’re killin’ yourself out there. It’s a bummer.” Henry tutted, shaking his head. Did he agree with Ari’s life choices? Absolutely not. That was part of the reason why him putting his dick inside of her was only a one time thing. Okay, it was closer to two or three. But it was just that one night! So it was ‘one time.’ “I think we’re startin’ our project today. Me and you partner up, yeah?”

Ariana rolled her eyes and laughed if them partnering up was even a question. Duh. Of course she was gonna partner up with the closest thing she had to a best friend here. "Do cows eat grass? Of course we’re gonna partner up. Not like we ain’t partnered up before anyway.” The great thing about having Henry in this class was that she had a guaranteed partner for projects and assignments. That meant she had someone she’d like to consider reliable having her back, and she sure as hell had his back just as long as she was sober.

"I hope nobody else tries to get in on this though.”

Speaking of ‘no one else’, the door swung open and a new face pranced into the classroom with reckless abandon. The teacher did not look up from his book. All he muttered was ‘you’re late’ and ‘take a seat’ before continuing on with his lecture like Wah Wah (the Peanuts’ teacher). A young, redheaded freshman entered a domain that had no freshmen. Territory that was off-limits to her! It was an elective offered to every year other than freshmen. She wasn’t here for the subject matter though. She was here for a person. Standing by the door, she quickly scanned the students all staring at her before she found her target and locked eyes with him.

HENRY. HENRY GREEN.

After finding the quickest way to his table, she went through every obstacle she could just to get to Mr. Consultant.

“Hey!” A girl growled as Truly Bliss climbed over her desk and onto the other side.

“Shuushhhh. I got business here.”

“Quiet down you two.” The teacher droned, still not acknowledging the freshman using his classroom like a playground. In time, she made her way to the back and dragged a metal chair loudly on the floor, forcing her way in between Henry and this asian.

“Henry? Henry Green? I need your wisdom! I’m told you’re the one to go to, when you don’t know what to do, because you’re good at this stuff. Consulting, you know? The name’s Truly. Truly Bliss. But you can call me True!” She looked from the boy then to the girl, “Sorry for being rude, it’s nice to meet you too!” She offered both of her hands to her new advisors to shake, since she didn’t know who to give it to first. Was it even proper to shake hands? Oh well, she’d just go with it.

What… just happened? One second Ariana was talking to Henry another second she was being cockblocked by some weird random girl who barged in outta nowhere. Needless to say, Ariana was confused. She shot the girl a weird look, leaving her hanging. Leaning to get a better view of Henry, she raised an eyebrow, "What's up with freshmen and getting up in my business today?”

Nah.

No way. “Nah, nigga. You fuckin’ with me. Ain’t nobody seriously name their kid ‘Truly Bliss,’ that some bullshit ass fake name.” Henry said, shaking his head and waving his hand off. “You ain’t gotta come up here with that bullshit to try and get some advice. ‘sides, I don’t even good that good of advice, I just helped out Dames and his lads that one time. To be honest, that shit went pretty badly. Owen was gonna kill that Marshall kid, and to be honest he shoulda executed him, because he was a real piece-a work, ya know?” Henry shook his head again, waving his hand once more. Nah, this bitch fuckin’ with him.

“Did Hails send your ass up in this bitch to fuck with me? Because that sounds like somethin’ that chick would do.”

“Hey, hey, HEY. I am NOT lying. My parents are weird. They got pictures where my mom is literally worshipping my dad, kissing his FEET. I’m pretty sure I’m named after the best orgasm she’s ever had—”

“You Connor and Mel’s kid, ain’t you?”

“Yepp! And my brother only says good things about you. As such, I need your help. I’m desperate and Damian is too busy in Joyland. If you saw my mom… I don’t like when she’s in the kitchen. And with a knife in her hand. She cuts veggies like she’s cutting off a man’s… beeeeep.” True emphasized her words by chopping the desk dramatically.

“The fuck you want? I’m out here tryna talk about history with one of my Koreans. Gotdamn woman, get on with it. Joyland? The fuck that mean? Oh, you mean Joy Darling. I did that, yo. He lucky I helped him out like that.”

“Oh, well if you did that, he might die eventually. Either by my mother or by my godfather. Only time can tell! Okay. So. This is my situation.” She paused to look from Henry then to Ariana, “I need you to listen too, because you’re a girl and you may be better at this stuff than Henry. I don’t know!”

Ariana paused for a moment as Truly made the notion that she actually knew what the fuck she was doing. Blinking twice, she then broke into rather rambunctious laughter. Did… this girl think she knew how these things worked? Ariana didn't know how even she worked, and she was the only Ariana! "Who… is this girl?"

Justin in the meantime was busy spinning his pen idly until he heard the word “Green”. Did someone just say Green? As in.. Cyndi Green? Dropping his pen, he saw that it was Henry that mentioned the cutest girl he’d ever laid his eyes on at this school.

"Wait… are you related to Cyndi?” Justin asked curiously. Hopefully this was the Green and not a discount version of them.

“I’m her older brother, yes.” Henry said to Justin, before he looked at True again. “If he dies, at least he dies knowing he had his hands all over Joy.” Henry said simply, before shrugging his shoulders. This was too much. Now he had two people talking to him at once.

"You are?!” Justin sat back. Suddenly the game changed massively. "I need to talk to you later.” The man smiled, before going back to whatever it was he was doing and being productive.

“Wait, no you don’t, SIR! If you need to ask something, ask away.” True tapped the desk to bring Justin’s attention back to them. “Burning thoughts cannot wait. I’m simply a freshman, I can! I’ll just ask Henry’s friend for advice. You talk to Mr. Consultant. It’s okay. It’ll change your life.” With that, True turned her body towards the girl who she knew nothing about, but based on the fact that she was sitting right next to Henry, it must mean that she too was good at advice. The most logical analysis. “Hi, hi, so I like to know the name of the person I’m talking to. What’s your name?”

Dropping his pen again, Justin was bewildered. What did they feed these freshmen? Why were they so fucking weird? ”I don’t think that’s any of your business… what are you even doing here anyway? Don’t you have freshman classes to be doing?” Justin asked curiously, chucking his pen at Truly. "I’m Justin, though.”

Though, there was definitely a freshman thing he’d like to be doing.

“Bro, lay off the freshmen dude. All of ya’all need to chill. We was freshmen once. Just cuz you the captain now don’t mean you gotta push the kids around. ‘Sides, you wanna nail Cyndi? She’s a freshman, dude. Keep that in mind. And Ari, just cuz I dicked you down don’t mean you above ‘em neither. Be nice the kids, they aight. Specially that Kit one. You guys see that video of her makin’ out with Sam? Good for her.” Henry had said his piece.

"Dude that Kit girl literally came up to me and started slamming the table and talking at a million miles an hour while I was dealing with my headache. You’d have to forgive me if I’m not very fond of freshmen right now.” Ariana was just waiting for another freshman to come and annoy her. Ariana was also a little hurt that Henry decided to defend the freshman over her.

"Oh yeah. You right.” Justin nodded, folding his arms and returning to his chair. He had a point. He couldn’t push the freshmen around anymore now that he was hopefully gonna get with one.

True started drawing circles on the desk, feeling terrible about her existence. First, she hurt the love of her life, now she was causing a stir between friends. A subtle pout appeared on her face. “I’m sorry to bother you guys… I just kind of broke the heart of the guy I like… and I don’t know how to make it better…” Tears started welling up in True’s eyes. Kit was better at telling people what she wanted.

“See, now she’s crying.” Henry tutted in Ariana’s direction, before he turned to True. “You’re probably fine. Just tell us what happened and we’ll tell ya what to do It’s probably pretty easy, you’re just like a new one so you made an ouch, but I get it’s easy to get outta it, I can help. Hit me with the problem.”

”Oooh. How sad.” Ariana rolled her eyes, ”It’s gonna blow over in a few days. Don’t get your panties in a twist.” This girl had the audacity to come into the middle of their class and completely ruin the mood and fun she was having with her best friend, Henry. It wasn’t beyond her to be a little bit annoyed at this freshman considering how her day had go ne so far.

"The girl has a point. You just gotta give it time and see where it goes.” He still had to figure out the situation though, "But hit us with the situation.”

There was a brief moment where a dark, extremely dark glare was directed to Ariana, but it disappeared in a heartbeat and the freshman took a 180 with her mood. Back to smiling, she was ready to take the floor and explain her plight. She took a deep breath in, before the story, her story unraveled, “I met this boy and he’s the most wonderful boy ever. We met by chance and since then, he’s all that’s ever on my mind! Unfortunately, I’ve never really had the courage to tell him all this and that one day, I will marry him. Because he’s totally my type and husband material and I will not allow him to be with anyone else but me. So to be the best love for him, I memorized his schedule, know everything he likes to eat, all his friends, where he hangouts, you know. The basics. Yesterday, at the party, I finally wrote him a love letter, but I didn’t expect him to like try to track me down! I freaked! I did the only logical thing. I stole people’s clothes, they were already taking it off anyways, for a disguise. But then I found this really weird room. It looked like a dungeon! And there were pretty outfits. So I tried a outfit. I looked like a very mature school girl. Then there was a throne! It was so cool. So, I sat on it. That’s when my life ended. He came in and saw me. I nearly died. And THEN he asked me things and I played along, but THEN when he was so close to me, I said nah man. That girl ain’t me. Peace. And he left really sad. And I don’t know what that means.” She gasped for air. Okay, she was done.

Ariana blinked twice again as Truly went on about whatever it was. She hadn’t witnessed this much naivete since the first time she met Henry. Ariana wanted to say something so badly, but she figured that this boy was going to do it for her. Ariana decided it was best for her to refrain from saying anything. The girl only rolled her eyes, and put her head on her hands.

Justin was just as dumbfounded, but he saw where she was coming from. He remembered the first time he found someone who had some romantic potential. Needless to say, he blew it. But, it was a valuable experience. He didn’t know what to say, though. He’d never been in this situation.

“You hella dumb for not doing it when he gave you the chance, dummy. Now you might not get it again. He was into it, you were into it, then you got spooked for some reason that I’m sure is some gay ass girly shit, and you backed down. Now ya gotta figure out a way to do it again. See, ya let yourself get scared and you backed tha fuck down.” Henry explained, shaking his head. “You had your shot and it was time for you to take it then you got scared, and now what you gonna do? Not get fucked, that’s what you gonna do.”

“You make it sound so easy! It isn’t. I’m not a star like my brother! I’m scared because I want him but he could not want me for too long. Damian has went through girls like they’re clothes. What makes people think he’ll stay with Joy forever? What makes people think he won’t toss her into a laundry basket and put a new shirt on, hm? I need to be perfect for him.” True hmpfed.

“Because you’re an O’Connor, and it’s in your blood to be worth staying with. Damian just enjoying his years as the king. He tied down now. Dude’s head over heels in love.” A simple response to a simple question.

"Wait… you’re Damian’s sister?!” Justin cried out. All these CONNECTIONS were fucking with Justin’s head. Everyone was related to everyone. Now he was paranoid about accidentally fucking his second cousin or something like that. The next thing you know, one of the local Asians were also a member of the Green or O’Connor families.

“Mhm, the one and only. Truly Bliss O’Connor. The kid sister no one really knows about. Named after an orgasm.” She paused for a second, realizing she didn’t even know what that meant. “What’s an orgasm?”

"YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT AN ORGASM IS?!” Ariana went up and hugged the child, "You poor child… you… you are such a child.” At that point, Ariana realized what she was dealing with. This Truly kid… did she grow up sheltered? There was no way she was, since she was Damian’s brother, but at the same time… how did she not know what an orgasm was? And where was her brother? "What are you doing in high school?”

“That’s easy. Thinking about Wyatt. That’s all I really do. I even became a cheerleader so he can look at me being cute. I sometimes stare at his face and forget what time of day it is. At home, I think about him. Even when I’m talking to my parents, all I do is think about him. So knowing things like orgasms has not been a priority!” True didn’t expect Ariana to pull her into an embrace. Why was it bad for her not to know what an orgasm was?

"Sweet summer child.” Once this poor kid experienced one, she’d definitely know why she was named “Truly”. Letting go of the most innocent girl at this school, Ariana sat down. "Just you wait.”

“Wyatt the stoner dude?” Henry asked, glancing over at True for verification with a raised eyebrow.

“He is more than just a stoner. He’s the BEST around. One of a kind! And when he touches me… sparks! Fireworks! Explosions! Ka-boom!” True couldn’t help but grin foolishly at the thought of him. Oh yeah, she needed to slip a bag of doritos in his bag… she’d have to remember to do that.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. A Double is the best stoner around. He’s also the only one I have the phone number of, so I just texted him to tell him to let Wyatt know that that redheaded schoolgirl chick wants to meet him Friday night at my dad’s pizza spot to watch Star Wars and make out. You welcome. Tell Mel I love her next time you see her.”

“YOU WHAT?!” Oh-my-god. Here came the panic. “‘Cuse me. I need to call my best friend.” She stood up and prepared herself to book it, “It’s Kit, by the way.” With that, she ran the fuck away. Her funeral was friday. RIP True.

“You’re welcome! Don’t forget to tell your mom I said hi.” Henry said, letting a sigh out, before he turned to face Ari and Justin. “Kid is craycray, dudes.”

Iron Tribe MC (Epic Crime Saga - Always Open)

Oh heck yes. Interested. But will need time to make character when I'm home

CANCELLED.

_{Collab with @Fabricant451, @Universorum, & @Lovely Complex}

As they pulled up toward the Wells house, Hailey looked over at Hana. By now, Hailey’s Korean was short of breath, due to what Hailey had been up to with her hand in Hana’s lap. Hailey had been on the phone for a while of the car ride, but her attention had been focused almost entirely on Hana. Once the phone call had ended, Hailey had taken her attention off of Hana, and wiped her hand clean on the seat so that she could send a text to Remy, letting him know that she and Hana would be stopping by to check in on Riley, after the somewhat ‘controversial’ video he’d posted on Instagram the evening before.

Really, Hailey had words for Riley. A lot of them. Some heavy, some light. Some teasing, some rude. She knew one thing for certain, “Butler, stay here. Hana, come.” Hailey ordered plainly as the car came to a complete stop. Butler looked over his shoulder, but chose not to question them and shrugged his shoulders. This was fine; he could watch something cheesy on Netflix in the meantime. Hailey opened the door, gesturing for Hana to follow after her. “Come on, darling. We have work to do.” Hailey ordered to Hana as she strolled up to the door and knocked, patiently awaiting Remy’s inevitable answering.

It wasn’t a negative thought but the lingering thought in Hana’s mind as the car pulled to a stop was if this was going to happen every time she rode with Hailey. With enough repetition and expectation, the back of a vehicle could damn well be a Pavlovian experience for the currently worked up and damn near breathless Korean. The point of this trip she didn’t even fully understand, but it was a perk of being in a relationship with Hailey Green. Hana was like the Personal Aide to the President, secretly the hardest job in politics, only the actual President probably didn’t leave their aide flushed and scrambling to make sure they didn’t look worked up.

Before stepping out of the car, Hana saw a little opening and wrestled with the notion of speaking up. It was a little crude, but maybe Hailey would have a chuckle before attending to her duties and wouldn’t that brighten the mood, especially given the events of brunch earlier? ”I almost did, Hailey.” Hana spoke when Hailey told her to come, offering her smile as she stepped out of the car. A bit crude, but she tried and couldn’t be faulted for that.

Inside, in the kitchen, where he usually resided, Remy sat at the counter with both his laptop and planner open. Gently tossing his phone on the counter, with a strained expression on, he furrowed his eyebrows. He didn’t think Riley needed to revisit his childhood years, where he saw a therapist weekly. A therapist to help him socialize with his peers that weren’t his brother. And yet... this past month displayed obvious signs that his youngest son needed help.

Ultimately, Remy blamed himself for missing the signs. The signs of concern that his boy was battling demons that no parent could handle to fix on their own. You’d think he would’ve caught a glimpse of something, seeing how Riley was so much like Jareth. So much like his beloved. At least in the way they dealt with their damage.

Moments ago, he had gotten off the phone with Dr. Thomas, seeing if his friend had availability within the next week. Of course, Oliver Thomas made exceptions for friends, so fitting Riley in the next morning was no problem. Remy doubted his son would want to go to school for the rest of the week. So, he’d grant him that peace of mind. He wasn’t going to force him to do anything. This was a sensitive time for his son and rather than push him more in the corner than he already felt he was in, Remy would simply wait out the storm and pray this didn’t lead to…

No father, or mother, would ever want to consider the prospect of their child being suicidal, but if Riley continued on this path of self destruction… what was a father to do? The video absolutely broke Remy’s heart. The Beverly Hills High he knew wasn’t as bad as the school his son went to. Truth be told, the school he knew wasn’t bad at all. Yes, there were the cliques, as all high schools had, but there was always this underlying sense of family, even between the opposing ‘factions’, the evil queen and her ice queen, Alyssa Green and Evelyn Harding, against Connor and his Elite. Honestly, Remy always took it as sibling banter (though not by blood) and a fun game of wits and wagers.

Remy was simply a small town boy from Colorado, but when he visited with his family of friends, after they all met David Powers, during the great Fable break up (fun fact, Rose’s mother did push her soulmate away for many years to deal with her baggage), he met the lot of them. They were simply young teens making the best of their lives. If anything, it gave them hilarious stories and great laughs. Now, for the most part, everyone was amicable with one another. This school, though? The new Beverly Hills High? This school sounded like hell.

Remy was too caught up in his thoughts to realize Hailey had sent him a text fifteen minutes ago, so when there was a knock on his door, his eyes peered toward the front entrance in mild confusion. Who could be visiting? The only logical answer was a package or a weekly special ingredients delivery. In time, he made his way to the front door and looked through the peephole.

Oh, it was Eve’s look-alike and a cute Asian girl. What a pleasant surprise. She must be concerned for Riley, since he hasn’t missed school since freshman year when he had the flu. Opening the door, Remy beamed at the two gorgeous, young ladies, “Hailey! Good morning, sweetheart. I don’t think Riley is up—”

“Dad, did you make food?” Speak of the devil. At the top of the stairs, Riley was bundled in his gray comforter. When he saw who was at the front door, he turned on his heel, “Actually, I’m not hungry. I’m going back to bed. Niiiight.”

Remy tsked, looking back at his son, stopping him in his tracks. “Don’t be rude, come down and say hi to Hailey and…” Remy glanced back seeking a proper introduction to his new guest.

More and more Hana felt like the lead character in a trashy novel read by bored housewives in-between their fourth glass of wine of the morning and their daily mental gymnastics on why not to have a torrid affair. In those novels the girl was always just some nobody blessed with either superstar looks or a humble personality that was just what the hunky love interest needed. And in every one of those novels, at least when class warfare or politics were involved, there was the scene where the regular girl was meeting some movers and shakers but the love interest was secretly embarrassed and didn’t let the girl speak.

This wasn’t one of those times.

Hana knew Hailey wasn’t embarrassed by Hana, it was just that Hana had a newfound tendency to need a few moments to gather herself and her thoughts when she was out and about with Hailey. When she was slow on introducing herself, she was glad that someone between the two of them could easily transition from pleasure to business.

“Her name is Hana. She’s my girlfriend, and she’s very shy. If i had to guess, she won’t be speaking much at this meeting — I’m not sure she and Riley have ever met.” Hailey spoke to Remy in order to introduce her girlfriend, but then turned her attention to Riley, giving him the tiniest of smiles. It was against the rules to seem too happy, after all.

“They came to see if you were okay! The least you could do is say hi and come down for breakfast. You could use more compassionate friends like them and I’d rather you eat with friends than alone in your bedroom.” Remy lectured, before smiling back at Hailey and Hana, “It’s very nice to meet you Hana. Please, please, make yourself at home.”

”Likewise, sir. Hailey has said so much about you and your family. All good things, honest.” Hana spoke up just in time to make them realize she wasn’t a mute, and in so doing was lying straight out of her ass. But with a smile. She was learning.

At those words, Riley wanted to choke in laughter. Compassionate? Hailey? Hilarious. His stomach growled, though. He might have to admit defeat in this battle. His dad would never shut up about it if he chose to storm off in a tantrum. There was a plus side to this, right? Food. Food was always a plus side.

“Apologies, Remy. Normally, I wouldn’t bring Hana to stuff like this, but she stayed over last night so truth be told? I didn’t have much of a choice.” Hailey and Hana had already eaten, but… Hailey would still eat again if Remy was cooking; it was for the best, based on what she’d had that was made by him before. “We can’t stay long, Remy. I just saw the video that Riley posted, and I simply had to check on him. He said some rather, ahem, aggressive words about the student body, and I wanted to make sure that he wasn’t still under the influence.” Hailey was well-spoken, and good at covering up true intentions, but even she was having trouble hiding the venom underlying her words.

“If possible, I’d like to speak to him without — and I mean no offense, I’m sure you’ve a lovely father — a helicopter parent. We could speak more privately in the living room, and then meet you back in the kitchen when we’re ready?” Hailey was still speaking more to Remy than to Riley, though after she finished, she turned her attention to Riley full force, “if you wouldn’t mind, after all. It’s your decision — you’re the one who’s having an off day, I wouldn’t want to intrude on that.”

By now, Riley left his blanket behind, his hands were shoved in his sweatpants’ pockets, as he stood beside his father, “Whatever.”

Like that’s true. We both know you won’t take no for an answer.

His father slapped his shoulder and lowly reprimanded, “I raised you better than that.” Riley shrugged in response, which caused Remy’s face to heat in annoyance. Go cook. Bringing his attention back to the girls, he nodded, “Alright, you know where to find me.” Walking away, Remy gritted his teeth. Keep that attitude up and I’ll get your dad involved.

Now, in the living room, Riley crossed his arms, on one side of the coffee table, apathetically staring at the two girls that felt inclined to show how much they really care. “Cut the crap, Hailey. Say your piece, then—” He paused and cooly gestured toward the door, “—Get out.” Riley didn’t care how he talked to the ‘queen’ or, at this rate, the fallen, which honestly was different than the majority of the student body. Everyone treaded lightly around her, aside from Owen Lyon. Even her closest confidants, Trixie and Ophelia, watched what they said around her. Owen defended those that were defenseless and never changed who he was, a true trait to admire. Riley simply was turning over a new leaf. Being as real as he could be. No more pretending.

The youngest Wells boy was tired of putting on a front for others, especially people like her that only associated with kids like him when she got offended. Trevor was better at blending in with the creme de la creme. Riley, though? He showed his roots. He had nothing until his fathers adopted him. When you’ve experienced losing everything, that puts a new perspective on how you go about things. His morning show was supposed to be a platform for everyone, not just the high and mighty. But at this point, everyone could go fuck themselves. He was tired of the petty bullshit. He was tired of people that thought they could get away with murder because they were fortunate since the day of birth. If she was here seeking an apology, she wouldn’t get any. He was already a dead man walking at school. Her threats would only come out empty.

“Oh, shush. Being dead inside doesn’t suit you much at all. You’re much better when you aren’t high and you’re in less of, a… mood, so to speak. I didn’t come here to threaten you, which I’m sure you don’t believe.” Now, Hailey spoke in a neutral tone, perhaps not as aggressive as expected. She shook her head, half-wondering what Riley had taken that had done this to him. “Honestly, what do you think the school is going to do if you show up back like this? Me, personally? I don’t much care about you — but, my father is quite fond of you. That being said, I won’t tolerate you blatantly calling James out like that. Do not do that. He is my best, and often only, friend. You had no right and certainly no reason to mention him in your little bitchfest. Aside from that, he certainly doesn’t ‘fight my battles for me.’” Hailey scoffed, her voice dripping with the more standard venom she was known for. Truth be told, the only offense Riley had made against her personally was calling out her Butler. James didn’t need to be caught in the crossfire of her behavior; after all, he spent most of his time trying to minimize it.

“I don’t need him. He supports me and offers insight and advice where applicable. He is one of the most important people in my life and I would appreciate it if you openly and publicly rescinded your comments relating to him. I don’t care about the rest, say what you will about me, but leave Butler alone.” She hooked some of the dark hair behind her ear and shook her head. Why bother? Riley seemed committed if nothing else. “Now, having said that, I would like to address the rest of this. I don’t know what your plan is, but if you hide here, you are only going to make things worse. You freaked out and had a moment, and what? You think staying home is going to make it better, honestly? If that’s the case, you’re more of a fool than I thought you were. This isn’t what you’re known for, why be a depressed baby? You have a platform at the school — ought to take advantage of it and face the backlash head-on. Hiding at home is just going to make people talk. If you want my advice, don’t give them a chance to talk. That’s how I handle things, and let’s be honest, I’m clearly better at this than you.” She reached out and took Hana’s hand in her own.

“I’ve had a bad day already, or I’d probably be more angry with you. Hana doesn’t really need to see me destroy you. I have one question for you, Riley Wells. Do you really believe in what you said?”

At mention of Hailey’s anger and her own name, Hana cracked the smallest of smiles. While she was merely along for the ride, she couldn’t help but to think of a certain cashier at a cafe where Hana first got a hint of Hailey’s controlled, smooth dominating aggression. It had done wonders for Hana’s thought processes and was what had her swept up in the whirlwind that was Hailey Green. Hana might not have needed to see Hailey destroy this boy, but if she did then Hana’s nervous little fidgeting over the whole meeting people thing would turn towards something more resembling grinding. But they were not in Hailey’s room or the backseat of a car, so Hana had to simply keep it together and be with her thoughts.

Riley was… taken aback. She was only here because of that one comment he said about her butler? He was expecting a downright verbal beating from her, because he knew Hailey did fight her own battles. She wouldn’t have made it to the top without having a distinct set of skills. Most people did have money, but now that he thought about it, she didn’t really flaunt her’s. All she did was scare people shitless by being… well, her. “Some things… yes.” He scratched his head recalling the words he said while on E. “It feels like a stage. We’re both in the audience, and acting. I’ve tried to make the best of it, by creating something we could all look forward to, but what’s the point? High school is just a game to everyone, and you’re the biggest player.”

His dark brown eyes met with Hailey’s before he spoke again, “Here’s a question for you, Hailey.” He stood his ground and was surprised how well this was going. He wasn’t shaking in fear and for once, he saw Hailey as a person and not a monster. “What do you gain from all this? You said it yourself, your butler is your best, and often, only friend, and now I’m assuming Hana can be added to that list too. What about everyone else? Does it make you feel good that everyone either fears or hates you? I just… don’t get it. Why would anyone want that?”

He didn’t mind the public apology, he did, however, mind going to school after he had just came out and after he showed people a glimpse of… his baggage. No one knew him on a personal level. No one that wasn’t Trevor, Damian, and JD. No one knew anything about him besides what he displayed on the Morning Show. He had… the biggest facade of them all.

“Oh, yes, certainly. I love it! Fear controls the weak, and I’m a bit of a control freak. Not that it matters anymore, I got bored with the game, and I’ve turned all my cards over to the next people. I have this —” She held up Hana’s hand, “— instead, and I vastly prefer it. Love, as it happens, is a more powerful emotion than hatred. I would have never guessed. Anyway… if you wanna do this whole new ‘crusade’ thing, where you reveal your real feelings and power up from it… then sitting here and wallowing in your self-pity is the exact opposite way to do it. People aren’t going to get better if you drop a bombshell and then hide in your own shelter.”

She scoffed again, though rather than aggressive venom, she was speaking more with disappointment than anything. “If you wanna do this right, then you face it head on. You don’t sit here, with a demeanor like that of a pouty child. You go to the school, and you fight for what you believe in. We’ll be leaving now, I’ve not much else to say to you. If you’d like, you’re welcome to hitch a ride to school with us.”

Hana had never been so happy to be referred to as ‘this’, as a thing, before and her blush was only testament to the mutual feeling of a certain l-word between them.

Uh… what? Riley was actually starting to like Hailey. She seemed to be made out of nothing but steel. Her attitude and way she went about things, it was like water off a duck’s back. He didn’t think he had much time to think, because she looked ready to leave, so quickly he blurted, “Let me change! Go talk to my dad.”

Was he actually going to school?

Before he knew it, he was in his bedroom looking through his clothes and thinking about the statement he wanted to make. Things he needed to address. He called the majority of the student body fake, stupid, and insignificant. He made hits at the Weekend Warrior and Hailey. He came out. And he showed them how miserable he was…. when in reality, he wasn't miserable at all. Sure, there were some battles he still needed to deal with, but nothing to make him presently miserable. His life was good.

Really, his monologue last night came from his hatred towards the way things were. How everyone treated each other. Last night, the drugs took him on a terrible trip and made it seem like he hated his life. He didn’t. He just hated how kids made highschool stupid…

Love was the medicine Hailey needed to take her out of the game? Was it really that powerful? Love. He thought for a second. Hell, even Damian and Trevor were preoccupied with this thing called love. Love. What a weird emotion.

His eyes set on the blue jacket his father always hoped he’d wear. Branch out from all the black from time to time. Not like Remy hated all the black, since that’s Jareth’s go to color, but his father knew his son hid behind the color. When people wore black on the daily, others didn’t approach you as often as those that dressed brightly. Unless, you were Trixie and Marshall. Those two used black to enhance their sexuality. That’s a different story.

Alright, he knew what he was going to wear.

From downstairs, the girls and Remy were by the front door, since they were going to make their exit soon. Remy had given them food to go and his annoyance from earlier was completely gone. His son was going to school! He couldn’t believe it, but it was happening. Who knows what got over him?

Footsteps could be heard from the stairs. Glancing over to the noise, Remy’s eyes widened. “Riley?”

His son’s outfit was surprisingly on point, matching excellently, and he was wearing… the blue jacket! He even did his hair, sleeking it up. W-what was all this? To say Remy was surprised was an understatement. His son was still sporting black with his pants and shoes, but it wasn’t just black. There was blue and red too. This was a whole new Riley Wells. Or maybe the same Riley, just more comfortable in his own skin?

“Hi dad. I’m off, I’ll catch you tonight.”

“Don’t forget your lunch!” Remy lifted the lunchbox up, still stunned from what he was seeing. He looked back at Hailey, seeking answers. What did she say?! And he was met with a shrug of Hailey’s delicate shoulders.

“I never do.” Graciously, Riley grabbed the lunch box from his father and gave a kind smile that warmed the chef’s heart, “Thanks, dad.” For everything. With faint blush gracing his face, obviously embarrassed to do this in front of Hailey and Hana, Riley kissed his father’s cheek and then led the way out the door. “Okay, I’m ready.”

“Great. You can sit in the passenger’s seat, next to the man you offended. I’ll sit in the backseat, because I’m not finished with Hana yet, and I don’t think you, of all people, want to be there for that.” Hailey said, leading them to her car.

Unlike her remark when leaving the car, Hana didn’t speak up on the way back to the car even though she was deeply considering telling Riley to ‘make sure the dividing window was up’, this was no time for innuendo and admission of what ‘finished with Hana’ meant as if it wasn’t readily apparent. Instead, Hana merely held Hailey’s hand with a bit of a tighter squeeze than before, as much of a silent appreciation for Hailey’s words about Hana back there as there ever could be - and a gesture that it was certainly mutual.

Strange though it was to be a fly on the wall in this conversation, Hana had to admit...she could get used to it.

AWE: American Wrestling Entertainment

-snipped-

CANCELLED.

_{@Lovely Complex & @Universorum
Location: The Darling Household, and briefly the Snyder Household
Featuring: Damian “I guess this is the End” O’Connor, Erick “I’m Gonna End You” Darling, Jude “No the Fuck you Aren’t” Darling, Joy “Oh my god he’s dead!” Darling}

Damian O’Connor was making a bad decision.

That’s what it felt like, now that he’d spoken to Jude about his relationship with her daughter.

Dating Joy?

That wasn’t the bad decision. The bad decision was slipping out of bed, kissing a half-awake Joy and telling her he had to go, he had something to do. The bad decision was heading to Joy’s house to speak to her parents. He wanted to tell her mother and father that they were together a thing, an item. He wanted to tell Jude and Ender both, Ender especially, in person.

When Damian had left the room, he’d found Jericho and the little guy hard at work playing Super Mario 3D Land; Damian had been asked to play by Tyty, but he had to say no. That had been hard to do! The little guy didn’t like not having his friends hang out with him, apparently. After he’d explained to Jericho what he was doing, though, Jericho had convinced Tyty that it was okay.

And now, here Damian was. Sitting in front of Jude and Ender’s house, in his car, at seven thirty in the morning. Both of them would be awake; why wouldn’t they be awake? Ender, Damian knew for a fact, got up at five at the absolute latest. Damian gave a big sigh, and pushed the door to his car open. Then, he covered the distance between himself and the front door, before he hit the door bell.

And now, Damian O’Connor awaited his judgment.

The knock was rewarded with uncontrollable barking on the other side. Rocket was bouncing around in the front lobby, on high alert, Stranger dangerrrrrr! He had to protect his masters. Go away you foul intruder!

In the living room, drinking her morning tea, Jude sat in a side saddle position, on the white sofa. She was watching Law & Order, which still played in 2043. Raising an eyebrow, she took a sip of her hibiscus tea, and whispered to herself, “I wonder who that can be…”

Placing her glass mug down, she voiced in a higher octave, but still rather soft, “Apollo, please pause my show.” She stood up and stretched her thin body, “Who’s at the door?” The only people she could think of that would come this early was her mother and aunts, but even then, they were at the age where it would be better for her to visit them. Not saying they were crippling old, either. They all were simply enjoying retirement and Jude didn’t want to take that away from them.

The Darlings were one of the few people that had the more advanced Assistants, since Jude was Jericho’s leading partner. Apollo essentially made her home wicked smaht, with control in every nook and cranny, that can recognize distinct voices and faces. He truly was an amazing Assistant and by now, all the bugs and defects were fixed to bring him to near perfection.

“Ah, it’s the O’Connor boy. He’s been around here a lot, hasn’t he?” Apollo mused, before continuing. “Shall I open the door? Oh, nevermind. Your husband is opening the door.” The Assistant said, as Ender did just that, pulling the door open to see his Godson standing there, with a hand on Rocket’s head to relax him.

Ender gave him a smile, and Damian found himself unable to smile back. He was nervous, he was scared. Would Ender kill him? Probably; Damian would kill if he was in Ender’s position. “Hey, Damian. What’s up? ...are you okay, buddy?” He asked, and Damian gave a stiff nod.

“Huh? Oh yeah, totally. Hey, can I talk to you and Jude? Like, together. At the same time.” Damian asked, and Ender nodded slowly. Damian gave a thumbs up and followed Ender into the house and toward Jude’s resting place, where Damian offered a small. “Hey, Jude. How are you this fine morning?” Was this what it was like being a good guy and making sure that you didn’t just do things that were probably bad and were honest? He did not like this.

“Hey, Jude. Damian was wondering if he could talk to us. I dunno what about.”

Jude’s attention went from her godson and then to her husband. “Oh?” Surprised at this, but not really worried. With a soft gleam, she gestured for the two men to come take a seat, “My first day off in awhile, so, of course, I’m having a good morning. Please, rest your feet.” She sat down on the left side of the three person sofa and patted the seat next to her.

“What brings you here? It’s been really nice seeing you lately.” Apollo was right, Damian has been over a lot recently, which honestly made Jude happy because it showed he didn’t forget about them.

Rocket rubbed his head against Ender’s leg, fully relaxed when he realized it was just Joy’s boy at the door.

Ender sat down beside his wife, but Damian chose to stay standing. Ender gestured for him to sit down and Damian shook his head, “nah, I’m good. Just gonna stand for this one.” He folded his fingers together, and put his thumbs against his lips. This was going to be harder than he thought. How did he start this? “Okay.” That was a good, safe starter word, right? He moved his hands away from his face, and looked down at Rocket.

Was Rocket going to eat him after Ender inevitably got mad? Damian hoped not. He was strong, sure, but Rocket was an absolute fucking unit. Damian was in pure awe of the size of that lad. Even so, he had to press on. Maybe it wouldn’t go that badly? “So about a week ago, now. Well, exactly a week ago now I guess.” Jesus, Damian. You can do better than this. Ender loves you, you’re his favorite. You can do this! Plus, Jude is a mom. Moms also love you.

“One week ago, I threw a party at the beach. It went like, okay I guess. Owen kinda lost his mind, but hey, I hear Troy used to do that all the time, you guys probably get it. Joy and I were both at that party, and Joy was debuting new, red hair. I don’t know if you guys know this about me, but i really like red hair. Might be an Oedipus complex, I don’t know. I sure as fuck hope not.” He paused for a second, judging reactions so far. Both seemed to be listening, and Ender didn’t seem too mad, at least not yet. As for Jude, she was carefully eyeing him, but there wasn’t much emotion written on her face. Yet. “Anyway, after she was let into the party, I kind of attached myself to her. And she got, you know drunk. So… we made out, some?” Oh, god. Did he just twitch? “Anyway, after that, she jumped on my back, and wanted to go upstairs with me, so we did… and we got on the bed, and made out, uh, some more. And she took her shirt off, and then…” Ender’s hands were flexing in and out of fists. Damian was going to get thrown out of window, wasn’t he? What a way to go. “She puked on me. Like, all over me. Then she cried, and puked in a bucket. So I took a shower and got her some clean clothes — that’s why she was missing her clothes. Anyway, I just laid in bed with her and rubbed her back. Your daughter’s a lightweight, who knew?”

Ender moved to speak, but Damian shook his head, holding up his hand to stop him. “So we didn’t really talk or anything until the next school day: Monday. Monday was the day my life changed, and I’m pretty sure it was for the better, though at first it really sucked. Basically, Monday I was kicked off of the team, indefinitely, because of the party. I’m also on detention for the rest of my life, I assume. But, that was just the beginning. So I went to the library for some reason — right? Me, at the library. — anyway, I went there and Joy was there and I knocked some books down, and she helped me pick them up. Then she kissed me.”

“Why do you keep making out with my daughter, dude!? Come on!”

Jude’s finger tapped on the sofa arm, methodically and quietly. Her expression was still emotionless. Ender was showing enough emotion for the both of them. She continued to watch Damian with hawk eyes. When her husband yelled, she put her other hand on his leg, but didn’t say a word.

Oh there it was. “I’m not done yet! I’m getting to it, I swear. I just want you guys to know, like, everything. Okay? Let me finish.” Though it seemed reluctant, Ender gave a nod. “Thank you. After that, she invited me here to… well, I think she wanted to hook up. But we didn’t, again. I got shirtless this time, though, and I think she’s kinda into that…. Anyway, we made out a bit, but wrestling came on and I got distracted. Then, the kid came down? Little dude, Jericho’s son, I think. Anyway, I played with him until she told me I had to leave, then I went home. The next day, at school, I kissed her in front of everyone at gym class, and that made her kind of embarrassed, so naturally, I kissed her again.”

“Naturally.” It was more of a growl than actually talking, but Damian got the point.

“So then she asked me to the dance, the Valentine’s dance that’s coming up. Obviously, I said yes, because we’re dating. Like, she’s my girlfriend. Which I guess she didn’t even know at the time...” Ender seemed to not like this revelation, but Damian had to press on anyway. “That brings us to last night. I don’t know if you guys were aware, but Brian Helmsley was throwing a party on his boat last night. We went to that, but Joy was having issues. We talked about it a bit, and she wanted to leave. So, we left. We went from there to the parking lot, where I sang a Tim McGraw song to her —”

“Are you serious? God, you are so your father’s son. Asshole.” Jude squeezed Ender’s leg.

“...yeah. Anyway, that went well. I think she liked it. So… we went to Jericho’s house, and I guess I woke up Amity and Tyty, which is apparently against the rules… so, I had to put him back to sleep, which I did excellently, by the way. So, I was in bed with Joy, the kid, and myself. I guess at some point, Amity came and got him — this woke Joy up… so she woke me up and we started… y’know. I won’t say it this time. So, then Jude called… and we talked, and uhm. Yeah. We didn’t do anything, I decided I wanted to talk to you guys about it, before… we proceeded.”

“Thanks.” Ender said in a tart voice, though he hadn’t yet been triggered into a blood rage, like Damian had expected.

“So… are we good… then?” Hey, that was painless!

Or, so he thought, as Ender hopped out of the seat and shoved his finger into Damian’s chest. “No we are fucking NOT good, you piece of garbage! Give me that!” Ender reached his hand out and snatched the necklace that Damian kept on at all times, the one that had Ender’s Super Bowl ring on it, and tore it off.

Damian stared at him with eyes that looked like Ender had just drop kicked a puppy.

“Erick.” With a leveled voice, Jude stood up and rested her hand on his back. “Sit, please.” Damian did throw a lot on them, in one sitting. Her husband did not take things like this well, but they were the adults in the situation and it was her job to make sure they acted like adults. She already knew Damian wasn’t the best with words, so she was at least prepared for this conversation to turn south. One thing she would respect, though, was he came to them before things got any further.

Scowling all the while, Ender slowly sat back down, still holding the ring in his closed fist. Damian was quiet still for a few seconds, before speaking in a small voice, while staring at his feet. “You took it. I just wanted you guys to know, because I thought you should know. Because you’re important to me, and I didn’t think it was fair to keep lying.” He swallowed, and looked up at Ender, “Give it back. I lived my whole life trying to earn that! You can’t just take it away.” Damian protested, and Ender shook his head.

“I’ll give it back if you promise to stop seeing Joy.” He said in a flat tone, and Damian shook his head.

“No! I can’t do that.”

“Why not!?”

“Because I love her!” Damian shouted in exasperation, throwing his hands into the air. This wasn’t fair! He just tried to do the right thing.

“SHUT UP, THE BOTH OF YOU.” This time, it was Jude’s turn to speak and she was talking louder than Damian has ever witnessed her speak. “Damian, sit.” With a death glare, she gestured for him to go right beside his godfather, “Erick, do not test me. If you lay a finger on him, I will get Nana involved, or worse, Troy, or worse than that, Sebastian. Now you two, look at me. Right now.” Jesus, when was the last time she had to deal with something like this? For a brief moment, Jude thought about all the messy situations she got into when she was younger, usually enabled by Belle, Kylie, .and Melody, before shaking her head in disappointment. “First off, thank you, Damian, for telling us something our daughter should’ve told us, days ago. Also, thank you for telling us everything in great detail, but honestly, it isn’t any of our business what you two choose to do behind closed doors. It is our business to make sure you two know what you’re getting into and to make sure any mistakes you make aren’t detrimental to your future. Now before I continue —”

Her stare darted from Damian to her husband. “I have a couple of questions, but you know what. I’ll answer the first few for you. When we met, did you ask for my mom’s blessing to date me?” She paused and shook her head, “No. You didn’t. You asked for her forgiveness instead. When I lost my virginity, you remember, at that party, where I got high for the very first time, did you ask for permission?” She shook her head once more and smiled, “No. You didn’t. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. Why? Because you loved me and I loved you. Look at us now.” Her eyes glanced down at his wedding band. “Happily married, with a family.”

She knelt down in front of Ender, grabbing his hands, “Answer this for me. Why do you blame him? Do you think he’s tricking Joy? Tricking her to explore her sexuality? If I can remember Damian’s words correctly, it sounds like outside of the first encounter, she was the enabler. Of course, I partly blame Kylie for that, but you and me both know Joy isn’t dumb. If he didn’t make her happy, she would’ve ended things before he could even latch onto her at the first party, before she even touched a drink. Joy isn’t someone who lets people take advantage of her. If she wants something, she’ll get what she wants. If she doesn’t, she’ll toss it away like yesterday’s trash. What do you plan to do, love? Stop her? Stop him? Do you think that’s going to work? Would that have worked for us?” Her thumb gently glided over his wedding ring.

Ender let out a long breath after Jude spoke, side-eyeing Damian. Damian was wisely keeping quiet; he appreciated Jude’s intervention, though he didn’t understand half of what she mentioned (including using Sebastian as a threat. From what Damian understood, Sebastian was just a lazy old guy. He could understand Troy though.), but he appreciated the thought. Besides, it seemed to be working, as Ender was softening at Jude’s words and touch. “I couldn’t trick her anyway. She’s smarter than I am.”

Even Ender had a hard time not smiling at that, “Yeah. She is. Look, just… just take care of her.” He said, as he held the ring out and dumped it into Damian’s hand. “...where is she, anyway?”

“Uh… Jericho’s?”

Joy walked downstairs with a sunken heart. She didn’t like this feeling. Waking up thinking she’d see someone, only to find out he left without telling her or kissing her goodbye. Quietly, she shuffled passed the room where her uncle and cousin were. Normally, she’d sit and play with them, but right now… she didn’t want to. Entering the kitchen, she opened the fridge, manually, yes manually, shocker, to retrieve one of Tyty’s juice boxes. Should she text him? No, it wasn’t her job to. He should’ve told her he had to leave early. They didn’t even share breakfast together. “Uncle, I want to go home.”

Joy, they were busy. Did kids these days have no respect? Was Jericho that bad when he was younger? “Joy, we are like ten seconds away from the Bowser fight. That takes priority. Besides, your boyfriend said he’d be back. Is he not back yet? What a fu— what an as— what a guy.” Not swearing because you were playing video games with your child was a lot, lot harder than people thought. “He should be back soon, he even said he let you know. Did he lie? Or were you just half-asleep and forgot? Because I could totally see either.”

“Nevermind, I’ll just walk.” With juice box in hand, Joy, still in her pajamas, marched down the hallway. Before she left, she peered into the room to see them focused on the game, “Good luck. Lil’ Boss, I’ll see you tomorrow. See ya, Uncle.” Not waiting for a response, she left the building.

“Why don’t you just wait for him!? Jesus, you are so like Kylie. Joy if I have to stand up from this game, I’m going to be so fucking upset with you it’s not even going to be funny.” So much for not swearing in front of the kid, huh? JJ grumbled, and paused the game, standing up and heading to the doorway, and staring at her. “Do you even know where he went? Because if I were you, I wouldn’t go to your house right now.”

Turning around, but continuing to walk down the driveway, she shrugged, “It doesn’t matter, now does it? He didn’t tell me, so why should I care where he’s at? I’m not Princess Peach, who waits for her Mario. Even if he told me while I was half asleep, he should’ve thought to leave a note. Everyone knows I’m a hard sleeper. It doesn’t take a genius to know how I sleep, especially since this past week he’s seen me sleep a couple of times.”

Okay, here we go. JJ had to be the one who had to tell her where her boyfriend went. He had to be the one who wound up with all the loud noises and the freakouts and all the garbage. “Darling, Joy. Joy, Darling. He didn’t leave a note for the reason. Joy, he went to your house to tell your parents that he’s fucking you.”

This got her to stop in her tracks. Naturally, she responded with laughter. She let it go on for a minute too long. “You’re kidding. Good one, Uncle. Always one to joke. Absolutely hilarious.” It would be hard for Joy to accept this reality because she knew how her parents would react. How her father would react. “If that’s the case, we both know he’s dead by now.”

“You know what? That makes a lot of sense. That’s probably why he ain’t back yet. Ender probably pounded him into a bloody pulp. Speaking of pulp! Do you want pulp, or pulp free O.J. to go with breakfast? Also, Joy I’m not kidding. Why would I kid about this? That’s where he told us he was going.” JJ shrugged his shoulders dismissively, shaking his head. “I dunno why he had to do it on his own. Pride, I guess? Plus, if you’re anything like Jude, you look real cute when you’re sleeping. Tough to wake up.”

Aw shit. Running back to the house, pulling out her phone, she quickly mumbled to her uncle, “OJ sounds great. Pride? or he’s a fucking idiot.” Running upstairs, back to the bedroom, she called him, pacing back and forth. He’s dead. He’s so dead. God, I just got a boyfriend and he went and got himself killed. She listened to the ringback tone, her palms sweating in anxiety.

It took a few times, with each ring seeming like it lasted longer as Joy slipped further into a panic attack, before Damian’s voice finally answered the phone. “Hey, baby. What’s up? Did you finally wake up?”

“Oh good, you’re alive.”

Power Rangers: The Next Generation {INVITE ONLY}

_{Directly addressing Peyton at the end @Melissa
Indirectly, Rowan. @Kitty}

Manners maketh man. And woman. None of these rebels displayed proper etiquette during the introductory part of their long day. Including the hopeful blondie, Miss Peyton, deliberately trying to brighten the moment for these melodramatic, poor, unfortunate souls. This ultimately made her, such a sweet looking girl, be the 'true' shining star in this little pack of unlikely delinquents, aside from the princess, of course, as the teen with the loud mouth — Rowan — put it. Everly was here by choice and without punishment. Or to translate, she was here because she didn't need to be forced by some authority figure to give to the world. The world that they all should care about. The true heroine of this not-so-fairytale story was her. Obviously, her partners-in-crime for the day had their morals ass backwards. She, however, was perfect.

At any other time or day, Everly would not be caught dead associating with these godforsaken kids. She could just see their futures right before them. One would end up behind bars, the other working at a gas station, and she had no doubt Blondie or Loud Mouth would have unprotected sex and be knocked up before they even graduated. Her faith in them was non-existent.

Most of these delinquents didn't shimmer. Didn't hold an ounce of likeness and potential for goodness. Not like the blonde did. The boys most definitely got in trouble for something stupid, like a brawl. Someone got angry and couldn't hold back. Then it was simply a matter of time before they got caught.

The handsome one on the surface, James, who looks like your stereotypical jock, was last to speak. He was silent up until the end, while the strange Asian, who she couldn't recognize for the life of her, already started doing the task at hand. Picking up trash. The trash that is told to help them build character. She'd have to ask for her name later.

These two were the silent types. The ones you tread lightly around because of all that festered in them. Dangerous. The dark haired, pale-skinned beaut was an enigma to Everly, while the brute, she felt, she could read like a book. Her thoughts about him would stay to herself, though. He wasn't worth the time or effort to unravel.

Then there was Loud Mouth. The girl that set herself up for disaster, who showed her anger without restraint. Was Everly afraid of her? Not really. Even if Loud Mouth could bruise her easily, Everly would be capable of doing more damage to her ego, pride, and self worth. Now, Everly knew she was easy to tease and undoubtedly react with so much bark and drooling saliva. The one without technique and acted out like a child. Perhaps, she should make this a game.

How many times could she make Loud Mouth red?

Games were fun when it involved people.

As for Christian, Evie could respect his desire to be called a certain way, he came across as another person easy to tease. But more in the sense of just him solely being in an environment that was predominantly estrogen filled than testosterone. He wasn't interesting enough for her to bother with on the first day. No, her eyes were set on one person only.

Blondie.

Without hesitation, since everyone was already going straight to business, she sauntered to Peyton with an adoring smile.

Everly knew she gave off the vibe that she was better than them. That is because she was better than them. The only way to succeed in this world was to think highly of yourself. Each and every single one of them had a choice on how to deal with a situation, they chose poorly, which brought them here. Even with her father's reputation, being a well respected scientist in robotics and cybernetics, truly the future of the world, Everly chose to earn her keep. Succeeding with flying colors in school, already researching internships within her father's company, being a better mother to Zeke than Charlotte was, giving him the time of day to make sure he doesn't feel invisible, and simply being the best her she could be, making sure she was someone to be proud about...

"Peyton. What a lovely name." She approached the blonde with poise and grace, already making her claim on her new 'friend'. "Working together sounds like a splendid idea, why don't we go over there?" Everly used her trash picker to point in the direction she wanted to go, away from the others, closer to the lake, "Spread out and grab some distance. I'm sure with Rowan's need to get this done and over with, she won't want help taking care of 'this bullshit'." When Everly mimicked Rowan's words, she poked a receipt and put it in her trash bag to put an emphasis on their general vicinity.

"Come, come. We have so much to do and so little time." Everly gestured for Blondie to follow her, not thinking she needed to drag her to get her to agree and follow. Peyton was marked as easy prey, so it was in Everly's nature to take her in her arms first.

Metaphorically speaking.