#*・ﾟ★ ( until dawn. ) — ❝ ᶤᵐ ˢᵗᶤˡˡ ᵇʳᵉᵃᵗʰᶤᶰᵍ ❞

[ncvabcrn]

@soughtserenity : Send "👐" to see how my muse reacts to your muse cupping their face with both their hands! - Emily

their mind wanders elsewhere.

what was originally just another day of a casual hangout with friends, became another instance for them to sit back & daydream. everything that was being spoken around them wasn't being processed. it usually didn't involve them anyway; they're a 'floater friend', only here because emily, as much as they love her, dragged them along for the ride.

a hand would lightly caress their cheek, their mind pauses.

blue haired head slightly turns away from the window only to be met with another hand placing itself on their other cheek, instantly recognizing that it was emily- when did the others go? how long did she wait for them to snap out of it? all questions that disappear as quickly as they thought them, as they leaned into her gentle touch.

"sorry, i didn't mean to zone out like that."

[ncvabcrn]

@houseofwisteria : Emily lifts the back of Ally's shirt and softly scratches their back.

there's a small, surprised noise that escapes them mid-stretch, tensing up for a second before their mind processes that it's only emily. their back, covered in old scars, had an almost leathery feel to it. upper body curls a little so she can get more range, finding the feeling of her nails against their skin.. soothing.

she's lucky, because they wouldn't let anyone else touch their back like this.

"a little higher.." ally mumbles. might as well scratch the itch they couldn't reach while she's at it, no?

[ncvabcrn]

"i don't think i've met a man who's as obsessed with my teeth as mike is."

[ncvabcrn]

@houseofwisteria : " say my name " from mike 👀

at first there's only a whimper that escapes them, being so lost in what seemed like endless waves of pleasure that they almost forgot that they could even speak, let alone register that he was talking to them. he knew what made them squirm, writhe underneath him as he pounds them against the wall. ally gulps as an attempt to moisturize their throat, dry from all the sweet noises they were creating because of him, before they're able to fulfill his request.

"m- mike-" sounding breathless, mike probably wouldn't be able to hear it as their face had been buried in his shoulder. (how they wanted to nip at him so badly, but they worried about hurting him..)

"mike," they say again, moving their head just enough to be louder. "michael, oh fuck, michael..!" they would keep repeating his name as many times as he wanted them to.

after all, they didn't want all of these feelings he's giving them to end.

[ncvabcrn]

perhaps a little naïve, but they didn't want to assume things about him in this regard. you know what they say about assuming! their emotional baggage & insecurities usually tends to scare people off- but they've both been through some pretty heavy things. perhaps there was more to it than just the usual trauma-bonding, ally didn't know, nor were they thinking about it right then & there.

instead, they're thinking about how he guides their hand, a finger or two curling against the brass button. a deep breath in, gaze moving from their hand to his face.

"tell me how i can make it up to you, michael."

they really wanted to kiss him again, but they knew better than to be so needy now. whatever he wanted them to do; they'd do it. anything to make him feel good, to be praised for it.

out of all people. perhaps they're naive enough to assume that mike hasn't experimented with more than one person. or gender, for that matter. he's not as picky as one might think, although . . . not many thought that. quite the opposite. adopting sort of a man-whore label that he tries to wear with pride. or at least with a sense of humor.

all in all, he got to know them first. anything else was relatively unimportant, to him. come on. he's shallow, but not that shallow. especially after that night.

he smirks, still holding the couch in service of edging hips. elbow jutting outward. "yeah? . . . i bet it does . . " he tilts his head. "but hey, that's alright. i'm perfectly willing to find my forgiving side."

" . . . to a point." he kisses them again, while lowering his hips. wrapping fingers around one of their wrists &. guiding it to the brass button on his jeans.

[ncvabcrn]

"I'm not the bad guy here!" (josh!)

"i know you're not-!" when it came to what mike was claiming he did to jessica, he was not. there was no way he could've done something like that, not only did ally not think josh was capable of murder, but realistically, josh had been at the lodge this whole time.. right?

sitting with him in the shed, alone with him, in the cold they could hardly feel- it wasn't like they were forced to be here. they willingly let themselves stay with josh since the other two were too tired & traumatized to deal with the current state of josh.

yet the isolation & what felt like punishment was already getting on their nerves. slowly, but surely.

"i just.. i can't believe you could pull something like that off, & without telling me?" because months ago; ally was invited to help him fix some lights & whatnot since the whole place had been abandoned since...

"why.. w- why didn't you tell me what you were planning? i- i don't know if i still would've been on board, but.. jesus, josh." they don't know if they should feel betrayed like all his other friends.

there were too many emotions all at once going on, & it was only going to get worse from here.

[ncvabcrn]

"hey, emily! WHAT TEAM?"

[ncvabcrn]

@houseofwisteria : Sam: " why are you worked up over this ? "

"if- if i can't wear something to cover most of my face, then people will look at me. people only glance if they can't see what i actually look like. i don't.. i don't like being stared at, okay?"

[ncvabcrn]

"and.. being bitten in the skull & thrown around in the lodge should've killed me." sometimes they wonder if they really did survive, or this was all just some trick in their decaying mind. existential crisis aside, they lean their head back against the wall, staring up at the ceiling.

"but it didn't. we're still here, & probably the only ones who know of the shit that's up there." it didn't matter if anyone believed them or not, the injuries- the scars were enough proof.

" I know I know you're right Its just hard not to think about you know? " She doesn't want to say too much but sometimes she falls asleep and wakes up in a cold swear imagining things from their eyes like the shadows and hissing and twigs snapping the slow torture of it all. She sighs. " I'm gonna blame dumb luck cause somehow we all ended up where we needed to be on accident. Me and matt should've been dead on that tower. Jess should've died in that elevator and yet we didn't. "

[ncvabcrn]

"i can only imagine if she ever acted like this with mike..."

[ncvabcrn]

"god, she wants me so bad it makes her look stupid."

[ncvabcrn]

@lifesliced : "i think we made a wrong turn back there." (from josh!)

"n- not all who wander are lost, josh." they had been just following him this whole time, assuming that he knew where to go, which may not have been the case if this was the conclusion he had came to. ally doesn't hold it against him- if anything they'll try to make the best out of the situation.

their head turns first, then their entire body, facing backwards from where they just came from & placing their hand to their forehead to scout the area. the woods were thick, & it was getting dark fast. josh probably couldn't see very well in the dark like they could, (one of their many hidden talents.) but they trust him enough to make any calls.

"they should've put some light posts out here.. sh- should we head back, or.. maybe see where this path takes us?"

[ncvabcrn]

he wasn't listening, of course not. ally was a fool to think that any of their own ramblings would get through to him. like talking to a brick wall! they couldn't get frustrated at him, not when he clearly wasn't himself.

they know all too well what that's like.. the out of body experience as you watch your own body tackle someone to the ground & beat them near mercilessly until you're pulled away by teachers. it wasn't like he didn't have it coming, he kept calling you awful things, things that the bastard of a foster father would scream at you.

they couldn't imagine what it was like for josh, having no control of yourself. it hurts that they couldn't help him.

the semi-self pity stops at the sound of some kind of scream, not exactly a person, but no animal either. whatever it was, it was close & josh seemed to notice it before they did.

"shh--!" it's instincts kicking in, it's hairs standing straight up as they quickly move to grab the bat that chris had dropped a while ago, fingers curling tightly around it. whatever is out there was not him nor michael. it wasn't a someone. what the fuck was it?

"k- keep your voice down.. please."

he's in the thick of it now, half-catering to his own reality, half-deciphering what could be called the real world. josh laughs at his own private joke (the real world! like the old tv show, remember?), wiggling against the constraints his asshole friends placed on his now chaffing wrists. the rope burns are temporarily ignored for now, something that'll scar to heal later.

he's only making it harder on himself. that's how it seems, right? he's just squirrelly, totally out of his tree, a nut. is this what the consumption of grief does when consumed on full tap? is this the product of nature or nurture?

because even chris had said honestly that he's never seen josh like this. in reality, few have. it's a private thing, hidden purposefully from the public — with no expense spared, ladies and germs! — contained in his proverbial tower, and he laughs loudly (stop! it'll hear you!) as this person (who are you? i know you, don't i?) tries to reason with him.

it is difficult to reason with what is predetermined; to argue against what is two things at once — a genetic bestowal and an otherworldly curse.

and now, they're bemoaning to him, seemingly regretful for his actions. why didn't you tell me? he has no answer, none that would make sense, anyway. instead, josh looks unable to properly care, dismissing this for his own feasible excuse. it makes sense to him! this all makes sense. nothing makes sense. what is going on?

did i hurt jessica? i would've have remembered touching her ... hurting her ... fuck! no, no, no. that's not right. it's not right. she wasn't even here! but ashley. i punched ashley. why did i punch ashley?

and then it pulses to pain him as a physical reminder (ash was here! x marks the spot!). sure, he had tended to the wound quickly after she stabbed him, most of it going to prick padding between layers, but the tip had pierced enough skin and flesh to get him reactive. LIVE & LEARN. words to live by!

i got ... i got so mad. she made me mad.

this isn't josh. arguably, it's the illness masquerading around in his human suit. begs the question, though, doesn't it? the one you want to ask. where does josh begin and his illness end?

the wind is starting to howl outside. that is the wind, isn't it?

❝ @ncvabcrn? ❞ is the fog clearing? or has it simply settled at their ankles? outside, something is watching them. ❝ i just ... i just got turned around, that's all. ❞

[ncvabcrn]

"one down, many more to go." the gang isn't safe from their love.

[ncvabcrn]

@houseofwisteria : " psst. Hey! Want a cheese burger? " Chris pulls it out of his pocket still wrapped . " Don't worry I got more in there. "

"i knew i smelled something..!" their nose lightly twitches, before their hands would grab at the wrapped burger. they pull down their facemask, revealing a smile. "th- thank you, dude, seriously." it does make them wonder though why he had so many..? eh, foods food, they're not gonna complain as they waste no time unwrapping it & taking a bite.

if there's anything anyone knew about ally, is that they are very food oriented.

"what's the occasion, chris?"

[ncvabcrn]

"the one time i try to be cute, & he grabs my non-existent ass."