secndbest

[secndbest]

# 𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝟎𝟎𝟐 : 𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓 & 𝐃𝐔𝐅𝐅𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐀𝐆𝐒.

items lost: nothing... yet

[secndbest]

IT ONLY MADE SENSE, her being there. any time something went wrong for one of them, the other always managed to be at the scene of the crime ready to rub it in and capitalize with an all too pleased smile on their face. he steeled himself in the face of her mockery, remaining silent against it save for the sharp, pained breaths through the nose as she slithered closer. how she still managed to reek of vanilla out in the middle of the woods was beyond him, but the stench made his stomach roll.

even her featherlight touch was enough to send his nerves on end again. razor sharp pain raced from his deltoid to his clavicle, forcing an unwanted show of vulnerability through his teeth. in a flash, his left hand gripped the wrist of her right, hard enough for the tips of his fingernails to press into her skin. ❝ need i remind you that you would have died in that cabin if not for me, ❞ he hissed, not even a little bit surprised she had yet to say thank you. were the roles reversed, he wouldn't say it either.

— ELIZA WAS A PARTICLE of dust , floating through the atmosphere aimlessly . without purpose . she'd slowly conceded to the rattling marbles that had replaced her brain — hopeless at holding on to a thought longer than three purposeful steps & two blinks of her long lashes before it was lost to the wind . even now , as she ambled through the winding trees , eliza was without a clue as to why she continued to follow invisible bread crumbs . then , a soft sound ( a hushed whimper , the cry of a pup ) fluttered through her ears , leading the woman further into the dense foliage with fresh intent .

a simper , dark & wicked against her pale , porcelain face , painted kittenish lips as she moved out from the shadows . her arms crossed over her chest , watching the scene silently — a sick sort of delight swimming in the depths of her large pupils .

" sounds like it hurts , " she hummed , a finger lazily pointing to his shoulder before folding back against her arms . " what ? did you try to fistfight our little ghost friend or something ? "

sauntering closer , the anguish on reeve's face becoming ever more apparent — like fine details in a somber portrait — his hulking shadow engulfed her , encasing all but the twinkle of her eyes in muted darkness . " if you need a helping hand , just -- " one arm fell to her hip while the other hovered in the air , inches from his face , as though she intended to wipe one of the budding tears from his red-rimmed eyes . " say . . . " instead , it diverted its course . two fingers lightly pressed into reeve's shoulder , teasing the taut muscles & tingling nerves . " 'please'. "

[secndbest]

w̸̓̑h̶̾͝ï̸̀ċ̵̏h̸͊͋ ̵̏͑o̷̓ne of you has been̓ ̶͛snooping t͐͒h̸̆͛r̶̐͑o̸͠ug̔h̴̒͝ my shit

ï̶̪f̸̈́͂ ̴̞̔y̴͋̒o̵̓̌ú̷̩ ̶̓want to know what's on ̷̘͌m̸̦͘y̶̆ phone ͚s̴̛o bad̈̄,̸ you̴̡̇ ̵̺́cou̸͝ld've jus̨̒t̵̢̍ ̴͘asked

it could have been anyone. maybe one of the others found out and was fucking with him, or maybe somebody outside the group was onto them. there was any number of reasons more plausible for those messages than the one that had first come to mind : that the vengeful spirit of luke sinclair was here, really here, and he knew what reeve had done.

he didn't know how he got to the river. one second he was looking at the group chat with shaking hands and a deathlike pallor, the next he was at the water's edge tossing the slick black casing of luke's phone between sweaty palms. there was intent somewhere, lingering in the back of his mind behind words spelled out on a ouiji board and spoken in isla's tongue, that he should throw it. be done with it. that it was more trouble than holding onto it was worth. occasionally, he would pause, clench his jaw, reel back his only good arm, phone in hand... and inevitably let it drop back to his side. again and again he tried and failed, growing increasingly more agitated with every attempt— every reason why not. if he threw that phone in the river, another part of luke would disappear. if he threw that phone in the river, his secrets would be lost. if he threw that phone in the river, reeve would no longer have a way of seeing what it was like to be so sorely missed.

pathetic, that's what he was. pathetic and sentimental and, as ever, a sore loser. no matter how hard he tried to reinvent himself and be someone worth noticing, these were things inescapable. stains on his very soul.

once more, reeve raised his arm, but instead of stopping the throw of his own volition, it was something else that kept him : a familiar voice. he spun quick on his heel, the force of the motion knocking him off-kilter and causing him to stumble slightly back on the rocky bank, closer to the water. ❝ what— ❞ he tried to speak, but the sound was little more than a choked wheeze in the face of a corporeal luke sinclair. he tried to shake his head, but the image didn't go away. without fail, luke's too-sharp, too-bright smile still beamed back at him every time he closed and opened his eyes, leaving him with the childish urge to hide the phone behind his back, like a kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

but then another instinct rose in response, stronger and born from ego. later, maybe, he could think on the insanity of the moment and how readily he had accepted the impossible. now, however, he found himself raising a chin to luke, meeting him with a combativeness that felt like embracing an old friend. ❝ oh, i didn't find much, really. enough to ruin your golden boy reputation with some people maybe, but, ❞ he sucked his tongue between his teeth and gave a loose, one-shouldered shrug. ❝ i thought the folder was interesting. i mean... you've got kody's nudes out in the open in your photos, but feel the need to hide something else behind a technological lockbox ? explain that one. ❞

CLOSED , @secndbest .

the river gurgled , bubbling on the bank harmoniously , its waters an almost glimmering onyx under the endless blanket of nightfall . it had not taken him long to sense reeve , finding him too quickly amidst the dense forests that covered monte cristo's mountain . after all , luke had been keeping an eye on him . reeve . his dear friend , one of his favorite's . . . at least , that's what he had thought the man to be . until reeve struck him , left him , stole his life — piece by piece . stole--

" my phone . " the polished toe of his shoe tapped against the pebbled floor , a manic tune that clashed with the coolness of his words . still , despite the composure he fought to maintain , the man's right eye began to twitch ever so slightly , emphasizing the sharp point's of smiling teeth . " how much have you seen ? how much do you wanna see ?? "

[secndbest]

FINDING A MOMENT TO APPROACH kody when milo wasn't orbiting around her quickly proved a difficult task. for once though, reeve didn't really mind. words, like the remnant particles of the nearby cabin now turned to blackened charcoal, felt stuck in his throat— too many to say and not a one of them good. around the outskirts he paced, spine aching with every unbidden flash of memory : cracking against the cabin's support beam, eyes opening blearily to kody's body on the floor / kody's body covered in blood / kody's body eaten by flames. just the week prior they'd lain beside each other in his luke's his bed as she talked about dreams and art while he marveled almost enviously at the passion pouring out of her, precious and sacred. what would he do if he came in and saw that that was gone ? that, like the others, one of the only people who had supported his idea now resented him for it too ? what could he even say ? there were no good words for something like that.

still, the moment eventually came. milo left, wandering off to fuck-knows-where and leaving reeve free to enter the cabin after only a moment's hesitation. even with the dried blood still stuck to her skin, the sight of kody upright and moving was a relief. ❝ i hope step two isn't 'develop telekinesis and destroy the entire town'. ❞ from the cabin doorway, he greet her with a hint of playfulness. levity— it seemed like an impossible thing after the night they all had, but he suspected she had more than enough fussing and fluttering hands from the others ; it'd be out of character if he started treating her like she was made of glass too.

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: kody, milo & tom's tent

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎Whether it was a good or a bad thing, the blisters on her arms were a searing bright red only after a few hours against her skin and painful when she ran her fingertips over it, but she could see it. Not just feel it. She could see. Her vision wasn't fully back and Kody wasn't entirely sure if this was as much as she would get back but it was better than seeing nothing. When she hadn't been able to see, it had terrified her. Like the consequences of her past had finally caught up to her but were they even her consequences? The sin of the parent, the sin of the child.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ Running a cloth over her skin as gently as she could, Kody was shocked to still see the dull red that came away from her throat, wondering if there had been any part of her skin that hadn't been tinged crimson. She had to be close to being done. Glancing at her, well not hers since everything she'd brought had gone up in flames, but Milo's phone, she checked her reflection and finally, finally, she didn't see any blood in the reflection. "Okay, okay that's step one."

[secndbest]

𝐒𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆: in the woods a bit outside of camp; somewhere no one can hear you scream... hopefully 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐓𝐔𝐒: open

THE FIRST TIME HE'D DISLOCATED A SHOULDER, he'd been nine years old sitting in the backyard treehouse of his grandparents' home when antonio, six, had climbed up in spite of reeve's protests. the ensuing argument inevitably turned into a scuffle, which then resulted in reeve shouldering the 10 foot drop off the edge after a particularly powerful kick on antonio's part. from there, it became hard to remember the details through tears and screaming and searing pain, though from his parents retellings ( who, despite not being present, still told the story any chance they could ), samuel had apparently raced over and, despite only being thirteen at the time, expertly popped the bone back into place. while reeve didn't remember that part as clearly, the moments that came after were as clear as daylight. sam got his pick from the treat cabinet—celebrated for his quick-thinking and ingenuity, toni got to play in the treehouse all afternoon, and reeve... reeve was made to sit inside all day while his gran lectured him on roughhousing. it was a full week before he was allowed in the treehouse again.

there were more injuries after that. sprains, breaks, more dislocated shoulders. the benefit of having a future doctor for an older brother meant a lot of it could be taken care of at home. quickly, he learned how to set a broken nose, stitch up a cut, disinfect bloody knuckles, and, importantly, pop a shoulder back into place. when he could no longer get samuel's help with it, he eventually learned how to do it all himself.

or, well. mostly by himself. the thing about a dislocated shoulder is that you should not pop it back on your own. not that reeve cared, particularly in that moment as he lined himself up with a tree, thinking only of 2 things: how little he wanted to be lectured again, and how cool mel gibson looked doing this in lethal weapon 2.

unfortunately, reeve was not mel gibson, and this was not lethal weapon 2. on impact, his senses blurred—just as they had when he was nine years old, searing pain ripping through his body and sending pinpricks of tears to the corners of his tightly shut eyes. his jaw clenched to swallow a scream that still leaked out in a pathetic whimper, quickly followed by an impassioned swear. at his side, his shoulder remained just as dislocated as before. if anything, it was a miracle he didn't make it worse.

[secndbest]

# 𝐓𝐀𝐒𝐊 𝟎𝟎𝟏 : 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓.

everyone loves a good story, and luke tells the best. but, when he took to spilling reeve's most private moments as they all sat around the campfire, he couldn’t just sit back and listen. a fight broke out — quickly escalating from yelling to fists-flying. it was the last time the group saw luke before he stormed into the woods, nose bleeding. too focused on their dear friend, nobody saw reeve swipe luke’s phone from off the ground.

𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐇𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐃 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐘 𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍 𝐈𝐓 . . .

okay so some info...

reeve has gone through the phone ! namely luke's text messages, media, and social networks. he found a password locked folder in his files named "blackmail material." after 5 failed attempts, the folder is set to delete itself. reeve has used up 3 attempts so far and has absolutely no idea what the password is as of yet. he has brought the phone with him to monte cristo.

connection idea : i think it would be really fun if someone knew that luke's phone had been active at some point following the trip. maybe reeve accidentally liked an insta post on luke's account, or forgot to turn off read receipts at first and someone noticed. if anyone would be interested in filling this connection, please please please hit me up because i think it could be really fun for things later down the road.

i have created a google form for people to submit any information they think would be on luke's phone. this includes having things in the locked blackmail folder. it should be noted that if you submit something that isn't in the locked folder, there is a very good chance that reeve has seen it. it should also be noted that things in the locked folder could eventually become unlocked, but i leave that in the hands of the admins and the group at large.

i pinky promise that no matter what gets submitted, i have absolutely no want or intent to metagame. if you ever decide to rescind something that's been submitted, just let me know and i will happily delete it from the responses and my memory ! also ! no one is expected to submit anything if they do not want to !! this is just a fun collaborative aspect for anyone that's interested :>

[secndbest]

Spider-Man 3 (2007) dir. Sam Raimi

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[secndbest]

that afternoon, reeve was on a warpath with only two things on his mind : eliza, and the project she seemed hellbent on ruining. maybe, if he allowed himself a smidge of self awareness, he could see the karmic retribution of it all. compared to years of blocked roles and gatekept opportunities, her worming her way into his thesis was nothing. self awareness had never been reeve's forte though, so instead he stormed through the halls, feeling every buzz in his pocket as a personal affront. a group chat ? assistant director ? what was she thinking ?

thankfully it didn't take much to find her. there were only so many places she'd be at that point in the day, and he barely had to raise a finger to get one of her little stalker sophomores to give up which one. the rest of the trip he spent taking breaths and trying to quell his rage, building himself up until he was able to step rather than stomp into the theater. it wasn't possible to starve his anger out completely, but it was enough to dull it to a flicker, to not immediately reveal just how much she was getting under his skin. for people like eliza ( people like him ), that kind of knowledge was power. it was better she didn't have it.

unfortunately, she was really good at pissing him off.

❝ don't— ew— do not— whatever the hell that is, stop it, ❞ he sneered, gesturing with a pointed finger at eliza's doe eyes and false sincerities. ❝ we are not friends. and i am not manic. i just— ❞ contrary to his words, he couldn't seem to keep still, hands moving from pockets to hips to the back of his head to crossed over his chest, over and over again. ❝ —don't want to make this a bigger thing than it should be. so whatever it is you told the sinclairs, you need to call them and tell them you're not feeling it anymore. okay ? ❞ if he knew eliza marquis even a little bit, it would be a fight. what he didn't know was that it was one he'd lost long before he stepped into the theater. not that it mattered ; if she was so intent on getting on his nerves, he would do what he did best and make her perfectly perfect life as much of a drag as he could.

closed starter , reeve aziz . located within the campus's theater .

— " FINISHED WITH YOUR little tantrum ? " eliza hardly acknowledged reeve as she leafed through the hefty contents of a manila folder , her eyes tracing over photocopies of old pictures & newspaper clippings . isla was to thank for the archive of information on monte cristo ( like an all-knowing god , she had an answer to any question ) but she didn't need to tell him that . " take it up with mr. & mrs. sinclair . or would you rather i tell them that you'd happily abandon me on the side of the road before letting me come ? "

stormy eyes of sea finally dragged upward , leveling reeve with a bored stare . she didn't hate him — not entirely . she simply hated his existence . it interphered with the dreamy sphere of perfection she had carved around herself , her future . he challenged her ambitions & squandered her abilities . but , in the end , eliza always got what she wanted . it was the way of things . besides , the young woman would rather die than lose .

her icy eyes softened , rounding like an innocent doe's . with the earnestness of an angel , she batted her lashes & cooed : " everyone's just worried about you , reeve . you're starting to sound a little manic . i only want to help . . . what else are friends for ? "

@secndbest

[secndbest]

the day, for lack of a better phrase, had kicked reeve's ass. tired, ego-bruised, and feeling incredibly petty, all he wanted to do at the end of it all was decompress with a glass of scotch and a solo game of pool in the common room. while every other pledge and member of the frat seemed happy to clear out the moment he walked in, it seemed kingston had other plans.

❝ kinda why i wasn't going to tell them, ❞ reeve huffed, moving around the billiard table to pot the striped 5 into a corner pocket. he had yet to look at kingston a single time since he came in. ❝ and, just saying, but they might have have come around quicker if i'd had backup, ❞ shifting to the left, he aimed to pot the striped 6, misjudging both the angle and force needed as the ball bounced off the rails with a sharp bang. it was only then that reeve finally looked up at kingston. ❝ saying something isn't an awful idea isn't really the compliment you think it is. ❞

𝙇𝙊𝘾𝘼𝙏𝙄𝙊𝙉: 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙁𝙊𝙍: 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙫𝙚 ( @secndbest )

❝ How many extra socks you think I should pack? ❞ Kinston asked, no proper greeting as he walked into the room. Reeve had said pack for a week, but he liked to be prepared. If it was up to him, he'd pack a full extra week's worth of clothes ; maybe two, just in case. Akeem, however, would wing it . . . and he didn't want to look like a fool when he showed up with more bags than anyone else. Hesitating just inside the doorway, he thought about how it must feel to be on the other end of the idea, to be so proud of something that was being picked apart at the seams before you were able to put it in motion. ❝ Hey, all that stuff in the chat, they'll come around. ❞ He couldn't say for certain, he doubted anything could change Thomas' mind . . . but he felt bad for Reeve. Empathy was not lost on Kingston. ❝ It's just a sensitive subject, y'know. ❞

[secndbest]

the hero ? reeve couldn't help it : he laughed— a humorless sound. he'd never been a hero. didn't really desire to be one either. a lifetime of fighting to be seen as more than a sidekick or part of the supporting cast had quite literally beat that dream out of him. no, heroism wasn't built for those with his kind of anger ( the kind that beat golden boys black and blue and would not have hesitated to crush every bone in thomas's grasping hand were it not for their audience ). at the end of the day, all reeve really wanted was respect, and he could get that just as well playing the villain as he could the hero. at least villain was a role people were willing to give him.

as the heavy auditorium doors clicked shut behind them, reeve reached his limit in being jerked around. rooting his feet to the ground, he yanked his sleeve out of the other's grip, fixing him with a blackened glare. ❝ how would they find out, thomas ? hm ? how would they fucking find out ? would you tell them ? ❞ he took a small step forward, pressing thomas's outstretched finger back towards his own chest. ❝ because i wasn't planning on telling anyone. hell, before today, i wasn't planning on giving you the chance. ❞ another step, each one like an inch burned off a fuse. he barely blinked. barely took a breath. no one was going to make him feel small, least of all a parasite like thomas ortesky. ❝ his last known location is public fucking record, tommy. is it really such a stretch to think he would have ended up somewhere nearby ? plus, it's only a matter of time before someone finds something. would you rather it be some random hikers that kick up his shit ? go through it all and go straight to the police with it ? at least this way we get to control the narrative. we get to decide what gets found. ❞

dark eyes danced between hickory brown, their faces only a short distance apart. ❝ i get that you're worried. i hear you. but maybe stop your neurotic bullshit for one second and think about how, as you pointed out, i'm the one that has the most at risk here. ❞ his thesis, his fight, his story. all thomas did on that trip was sit there and dig a hole. how he— or anyone else for that matter— thought they could dictate what reeve did with his feelings about any of it was beyond him.

❝ now, ❞ a step back, big enough to leave thomas's finger hanging in the air. in but a moment he'd gone from looking like he was about to blow, to his fuse being completely snuffed out, albeit perhaps only temporarily. ❝ if you have any other 'concerns,' i'd get them out now ; wasn't kidding about being in back to back meetings today. ❞

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎THOMAS CUT HIS eyes sharply to the company reeve had apparently been keeping , the lingering members of the theatre board resuming pleasant chatter and mindless conversation as they dotted the hall behind the man tom's focus was meant to be on. thomas's fury was pushing against the back of his eyes, clouding his vision with black spots he tried to blink away, reeve's voice ringing in his ears like the toll of church bells. " they weren't braindead. they were actual fuckin' concerns , reeve, " thomas bit , brooklyn clinging to his tongue as his anger bordered on seething. " — you know what fuckin' doors you just opened ?? ones i thought we had all agreed to lock and leave behind ?? where the fuck is this sudden change of heart comin' from , huh ?? this desperate need to be the hero or some shit ?? "

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ the anger made sense in his head, but it felt foreign in his limbs ; like it wasn't supposed to be there. he was being made to feel like something was wrong with him because he thought , and believed , this to be a stupid idea. he thought reeve of all people had felt the same until all of this bullshit about a docuseries came about. glaring at the lingering fingers behind them, thomas reached forward, grasping the fabric of reeve's sleeve whilst the other hand found the handle to the auditorium door — practically dragging the other through them with him before he could get away. once the door latched, clicking behind them, thomas got closer — a metaphorical steam pluming from flaring nostrils as his jaw tightened.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎" like i'm stayin' home while all of you go out there to do who knows what. yeah fuckin' right, " he grit through his teeth. then, pointing an accusatory finger to the man's chest. his voice was kept to a harsh whisper, words grated like he had swallowed a fistful of glass. " you're talkin' about MY friendship with luke ?? ‏‏‎you want the whole world findin' out you beat the golden boy til he was bleedin' right before he vanished into the woods ?? if this is some fuckin' way of clearing your name , draggin' a film crew out to the mountains is NOT the way to do it , man." thomas wanted to reason with him; getting on the reeve's bad side was not what he was looking to do, but when every skeleton he had tucked away in the closet was at risk of being exposed ??

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎tom couldn't see through the anxiety, not clear enough to stop.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎‎‏" you're putting everyone at risk and being an arrogant prick about it. have you even thought about what could happen if people put together that WE were the ones on that camping trip last summer ?? we'd be fucked, reeve. i'm allowed to have some concerns about that. " ‏‏‎

[secndbest]

there were very few people reeve felt could meet him on his level, and even fewer within that already limited pool he could stand to be around for more than five minutes. that made kody a rare type of person. arguably his favorite of the unexplainable curiosities he had salvaged from the remains of luke's life, it was easy to forget that his motivations for approaching her had been anything less than genuine. in truth, ever-curious and ever-envious, he'd only wanted to understand what the hype was about ; to see for himself what it was that made luke sinclair's eyes light up like christmas lights as he shared sordid detail after sordid detail to anyone degenerate enough to ask.

what reeve had expected to be a singular night of disappointment had been anything but, though not for any sordid reasons ( or, at least, those hadn't been the highlight ). the way she talked about art— hers, his, in general— there was a genuine passion there, an energy as infectious as it was precious. basking in the glow of it, how could he not feel swept up ? like he could— no, should— accomplish everything she was expecting and more ? he often wondered if things had been the same for luke when he was with kody, though he never mentioned it. he often wondered if kody compared them, too.

❝ well i can't exactly put that part in the series, ❞ he snorted, turning his head to look at the ceiling— previously luke's and now his, as many things were these days. his expression seemed almost wistful. ❝ it is wild though, all of us going out there again... ❞ his gaze dropped back to kody and he allowed a beat to pass. then, in one swift motion, he hooked an arm beneath her and pulled her flush atop him. ❝ you sure we can't just go without them ? grab kingston and isla and some gear and just go ? everyone being there can't add that much if we can't even put it in, right ? ❞

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎"Hey!" Kody giggled as he poked her side, curling up onto her side to face him with a warm smile. "I do, it was just unexpected, that's all." Especially with the anniversary looming and the fact that they hadn't done much at the time to really try and find him. Going back felt daunting and she couldn't help but feel a small inkling that it might not be the best idea to go dig up the past. "Don't act like you didn't know that people would freak out about it, you're making a documentary about one of the worst times of our lives but, but, I think everyone will do it and it's going to be so incredible. Can you imagine if you find out what happened?" Kody asked, the glint in her eye growing at the very thought of it, inching closer to him as her excitement flourished. "Solving a missing persons case with the people who were there that night? That is poetry, that's art - doesn't it feel amazing just thinking about it?"

[secndbest]

EMILIO SAKRAYA

via instagram stories

[secndbest]

reeve will never admit this, not even to himself, but there was a split second— a blink and you miss it moment— where the look in thomas' eyes and the tone in his voice made him want to wilt. it reminded him of every time he got a little too rowdy and luke would tell him to settle down, a look in his eyes that cut reeve to the quick. without fail, reeve would comply, mumbling out some lame, meek apology. like he was no better than a dog with its tail between its legs.

in that split second, thomas marching toward him as he piled out of the auditorium with the other theatre board members, reeve felt a flash of that same trained instinct : the one that told him to heel. to defer. to submit.

❝ what was i thinking ? ❞ it took everything in him not to explode on the other man, fingers flexing and unflexing at his side as he mentally counted backwards from 10, desperate to keep his head on in front of the other people still lingering in the hall — people reeve really wanted to keep a good impression with. ❝ i'm not the one who immediately started posting braindead things in a group thread. ❞ over thomas' shoulder, he caught a concerned glance from one of the other board members, and schooled his expression into one of cool, polite neutrality. ❝ if you don't like it, stay home. no one's asking you to come. ❞ staring thomas down, he refused to so much as blink, words only just louder than a whisper as he added, ❝ it's not like you really gave a shit about luke anyway. ❞

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 — 𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘻𝘪𝘻 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘶𝘮

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎TOM KNEW THE theater's schedule as well as the students actually involved in it , given that between camille and eliza he was always in the know of what was happening. against his will , albeit , but he still knew. after catching wind of what he was doing , and the whole group chat fiasco , thomas knew exactly where to find him. his footsteps were weighted with determination , his jaw ticking as an unbridled adrenaline from the messages blowing up his phone coupled with a swelling anxiety that had him clenching his fists.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ when he finally spotted him , rounding the corner , thomas barked his name ; " reeve. " there was no escaping him, eyes cut sharply to the other as his phone continued to buzz in his back pocket. moving towards him, lowering his voice to a harsh whisper, thomas tried to control his pointed tongue and save face ; still beating himself up for incriminating them all with a singular text.

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ " — what were you thinking , dude ?? "

@secndbest

[secndbest]

❝ i was going to, ❞ reeve's tone bordered on the defensive, words half resigned sigh and half frustrated groan. his ire wasn't aimed at kody, not really. just... the situation. he clearly didn't like the way the news broke anymore than anyone else did, and yet he was the one catching all the flack for it. the group chat, thomas tracking him down like a blood hound; it didn't escape him that kody was the first and only one to tell him that his idea was a good one. even kingston had merely said it wasn't awful. ❝ you really think it's a good idea ? ❞ the words immediately felt too vulnerable, so he swallowed, quickly corrected. ❝ i think it's a good idea, but it'd be pretty fucking embarrassing if you didn't think so after all that shit about me doing something i'm actually passionate about. ❞ rolling onto his side from his back, he reached over and poked at kody's side, targeted and playful. if there really was fault to be had here, there was no way reeve was going to let her get off thinking she didn't share at least a little bit of it.

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 — @secndbest 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: reeve's place

‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎"No, no, I think it's a great idea I just wish you would have maybe mentioned it to me before I had to overhear someone else talking about it..." Kody admitted, falling onto the mattress next to him. It would have been more than easy for him to run that idea by her at any point. She didn't think she was the reason he came up with the docuseries, she'd never think she was that influential, but the connection could be made between the conversations about him pursuing more artistic endeavors and getting back into his passion for the right reasons. "So, this should be interesting..." For a plethora of reasons, a few of which Kody did not want to dwell on.