#𝐫𝐚𝐟𝐚𝐞𝐥 / ft. eliza marquis

[havntedhouses]

To be honest, Rafael hadn't noticed the missing posters, maybe a couple of times in passing but he hadn't given them much thought. Why would he? They weren't missing because of him and those were the only posters he would have cared to look at. But thankfully none of those had appeared in the years he'd been traveling around the country. And if they had, he was long gone by that point. "How long have they been gone?" His father must have mentioned something to him about it when it happened but it was hard for Rafael to hold onto any information that didn't directly affect him in some way. His eyes roamed over the abandoned building and it all fit together now that she had given him some insight. And he couldn't say that she was wrong. If they hadn't been seen yet, no leads and no active searching going on, the odds of them being found were slim to none. Maybe he should care a little more about this because it meant there was someone behind it. Or something. Sighing, he dragged his eyes fro the sight in front of them to focus on her, not believing for a second the whole dumb damsel personality. Eliza might not have been the smartest person he knew, no one was, but she knew plenty. "There's this incredible thing you can use if you don't know something, it's called Google. I think it would help you a lot."

— SEA-GREEN EYES ROLLED with the perfect level of overly-annoyed drama. " are we really that below you ? heartbreaking. " , eliza hummed, not sounding heartbroken in the least. withering sarcasm was burned into the words, blistering her tone as she continued : " i hate to be the one that breaks the news, but we're standing upon the landmark of an utter tragedy. some handful of employees disappeared from here without a trace. you've at least seen their missing posters around town, right ? i mean, i've only been back a month and can't seem to escape them. not that there's any reason for them to still be hanging up . . . like, they're so obviously dead. "

though she'd never considered rafael a friend, despite his presence throughout the near-entirety of her youth, she liked to think she knew him well. against her will, she knew : who he'd been friends with, what he took in his coffee, his favorite tie. then again, that was all over six years ago. now, he could surprise her . . . and that unpredictably made him interesting. and irritating. " what's a euphemism ? " eliza watched him through her lashes, expression black. she was good at playing dumb since she so often was.

[havntedhouses]

"Why would I know anything that goes on in this town?" There was a reason he left it and Raf wasn't particularly interested in all the mystery the way some people were. Genuinely the only person who had made any of it seem intriguing had been Kayla when she showed up at his place in Atlanta ranting and raving. For most of his life, Raf had done an excellent job forgetting the town he came from and never darkening it's door with his own skeletons ( or creating any there ) so it shouldn't have been that surprising that he had no idea what the hell she was talking about. In his mind, he was far above it all. "Sure, but that would mean I looked for things about Helltown and I had much better things to be worrying about." Like his own deeds showing up in the headlines. "I don't know, Eliza, you might be too far gone even for my help." He teased back, smirking at the dramatics but what else could be expected from her? She'd always been that way and he doubted that anything could make her change. "If I end up going, I don't see why not." As long as she told him well ahead of time, there'd be no issue. "Stroke my ego? Is that a euphemism? 'Cause, honestly, it wouldn't hurt your chances of convincing me."

— " YOU SERIOUSLY DON'T KNOW ? " , she scoffed, an eyebrow arching in surprise. " didn't they have newspapers or, like, internet access in whatever gutter you've been calling home these last . . . however many years. " despite her biting words and sarcastic tone, eliza didn't dislike rafael. they had a deep history rooted in their parents' affiliation. half a week hadn't gone by without her late mother mentioning the mayor, and at least twice a month they were at one another's homes for some showy dinner or party. in a way, he was like an estranged cousin to her. at one point, as a naive young girl, she'd even admired him. now, she viewed him with mere indifference.

eliza clasped her hands together in mock prayer, batting her lashes dramatically. " oh yes, we've all been so lost without you. pleeaase put me back on the straight-and-narrow, before my soul is irredeemable. " the girl dropped her arms, her pouty lips twisting in sour envy. aside from the last couple of years with her father, she'd never been outside of ohio. " i want to go to san fran ! can i come . . . even for just a week ? i promise to stroke your ego every day and only whine occasionally. "

[havntedhouses]

"As much as I love a backhanded compliment," if you could even call it that, "you still haven't told me what happened." It wasn't that Raf disagreed with her, while he lived in Helltown he really had been like the crown prince, something that certainly hadn't helped his ego and now that he was back, it felt easy enough to fall right back into that. "Considering the state of things around here, maybe you do need someone to get you back in line." He shrugged. "Fuck no, I'm just back here to see how the old man's doing before I get out of here again. Not sure where I'll end up next, but I've had my eyes on San Fransisco for a while." Great city, great place to bury a few secrets and follow in the footsteps of a few of his idols.

— " THAT IT WENT FROM neighborhood hot-spot to slasher central ? yeah, a little birdy passed it on. maybe the town just needed its crown prince to come back and keep everything in line. " eliza leaned back on her hands, crushing the forgotten cigarette under her palm, and took in the mayor's son. they'd known each other somewhat . . . their families ran in the same circles, after all. endless dinner parties and networking events made it impossible to avoid one another even if they'd tried. " so ? what have you been getting up to ? everyone always said you'd end up better than this place . . . unless you're just that desperate to fill daddy's shoes. "

[havntedhouses]

Rafael spent as much time as he could outside of his home, exploring the town that he had grown up in. It felt familiar but foreign at the same time; he wasn't worried about slipping back into his old habits here. With his father in the mayor's seat, it was starting to feel like he owned this place again and he'd barely been back in town. It was pretty obvious by Eliza's body language that something was going on, but he knew better than to press for information, the truth would be revealed in due time if it was worthwhile. Most of the time, it wasn't. "You know, I was wondering what was going on with this place. The last time I spent more than a day or so in town for a holiday, this place was up and running. I trust you have all the information about it, don't you, Eliza? At least, what the fuck happened while I was gone."

*OPEN starter, outside the bowling alley for @helltownhqstarters !

— PERCHED ON THE CURB, eliza scraped through the warzone that was the inside of her purse. an unlit cigarette sat comfortably between her lips ( removed momentarily to apply a layer of the cherry-cola chapstick she'd found by accident ), the search for that pretty pink, bedazzled lighter seemingly fruitless. her attention was pulled from out of her bag and back into reality as the long shadow of another crept forward. eliza plucked the vice from out of her mouth, a little too obviously hiding it behind her back ( smoking was an unbecoming habit she had no pleasure in publicizing ). " hiii-ya ! " , she sing-songed. wearing the most sparkling smile she could muster, eliza gestured to the lifeless bowling alley behind her and cooed " did all that yellow tape finally get this place shut down, or do they simply just . . . open at their leisure ? "