#Para: Van

[corpse-a-diem]

Do You Believe In Magic? | Van & Erin

TIMING: Sometime in March PARTIES: Van ( @vanoincidence ) & Erin (@corpse-a-diem) LOCATION: Nichols' Funeral Home SUMMARY: Van stops by the funeral home, catching Erin arguing with a persistent ghost. CONTENT WARNINGS: parental death tw

“Miss–Miss!”

The timid but determined voice of the frail woman in Erin’s backyard continued to follow her, despite her very clear attempts to ignore it. There were few moments it felt like she had alone anymore, and as a woman who treasured her solitude, it was making her skin itch and her mind frizz with agitation. But still, the woman persisted. “Miss Nichols! I know you can hear me!”

A heavy sigh fell from Erin’s lips and she paused, realizing that the weeding in the back garden was going to be prolonged even further now. Glancing over her shoulder, Erin saw the feeble looking woman, hands clutching one another in front of her tightly. There was a slight hunch to her stance, making her seem even shorter than she already was and naturally watery eyes were hard locked onto the younger woman. “I can hear you, Helen,” she answered finally, exasperation in her voice, and she wondered if Helen was as stubborn in life as she was now. It would have been commendable if she hadn’t been so behind on even the little chores she needed to take care of around the house. “I told you, I will look for that book for you tomorrow. I have things I need to do today.” And if she stopped and took care of every little thing a new ghost that came to her with, her own life would cease to exist. The volume of them lately was almost overwhelming and she had to wonder if it had anything to do with her slow acceptance. 

Helen wasn’t pleased with this answer, even less so when Erin turned back to freeing the weeds from the cold earth. She was cold and tired and this was already weeks out from when she wanted to begin. “You don’t understand! I need this book. It has–”

“It has to wait, Helen–” she started again, dropping her gloves and standing up properly to face her. As much as she could. Erin had over half a foot on the woman. “I am going to help you. You just have to give me–”

The rage that flashed across Helen’s face was fast and brutal and before Erin was able to react, the small towel in her grip flew out of her hand, hovering just in front of her threateningly. “Really?” she pleaded, and as frightening as this would have been a few months ago, she knew Helen had no real violent intentions. She was pretty sure. She reached for the towel and the woman made it move again, just out of reach. “Helen! Enough!”

–

After what had happened with Emilio, Van felt like she had a new lease on life. Maybe that was the wrong way of looking at it. She was more aware. Maybe that wasn’t right either, because she was still turning a blind eye to certain things– the kinds of things that she knew would keep her up at night, such as were my parents’ deaths supernatural in nature? She couldn’t be sure, but she figured beating around the question and picking Erin’s brain about what she remembered couldn’t hurt. 

Except, when she arrived at Erin’s, she saw her talking to… nothing? Erin looked angry, and suddenly, a towel was being suspended in the air. Van stared ahead, jaw slackening slightly as she tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Hadn’t she agreed that nothing had to make sense? That some things were just… the way they were, especially here? 

But Erin? Erin, with abilities? Erin, a magic user? Was that what this was? Would she have kept it from her for so long? Had her grandmother known? Was it why she pushed Erin to keep an eye on her, as if it were some kind of thing? Like a magician’s teacher or some shit? Van became irrationally angry as she charged forward. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say, but how could Erin keep this from her? It was so unfair! 

“Erin!” Though she tried to be loud, her voice came out strained and uncertain, so she cleared her throat. “What–” The towel dropped to the ground almost comically and she looked over at the woman ahead of her. “How did you do that?” 

–

Van’s voice wasn’t the loudest presence in her yard but it jolted through Erin like hot iron all the same. Shit. Shit. She saw the younger girl charging forward and panicked, leaning down and grabbing the towel, holding it behind her. Like that’d help. Like if Van no longer saw the towel, she’d have nothing to yell about. But she didn’t know what else to do. Maybe Van hadn’t seen it at all and was about to yell at her for something completely unrelated. That hope only held out for a few seconds. She glanced over to see Helen still standing there, still annoyed but clearly interested in the debacle Erin suddenly found herself in. “Angry little thing, isn’t she?” Erin glared when she heard a small chuckle. Why Van was angry was a little peculiar though, she suddenly realized. 

“Do what?” Erin echoed immediately, squeezing the towel anxiously. She held it in front of her, narrowing her eyes. She was going to have to tell Van something, right? She could lie–gaslight her. Tell her she was seeing things. That thought lasted about a second. No. Absolutely not. But she wasn’t sure if she was ready to talk about this to the younger woman. “The–uh, the towel? That’s uh–” God, she was stammering and she took a breath before finally meeting Van’s eyes. “That wasn’t me.” Not a complete lie but not the whole truth either. 

–

“Do that!” Van was completely ignorant to the ghostly figure that stood between them, and her finger pushed through the air, directed at the very towel she’d first referenced. Erin looked panicked which didn’t really seem like her. Sometimes Erin got anxious, Van could tell that much, but panicked? She was an adult, usually cool, calm, and collected. Van wasn’t exactly the observant type, but she could see that Erin was working through what to tell her. Like that mattered, because Van had already seen for herself. 

That wasn’t me. 

“Bull! I saw the towel. You did that!” She grabbed the towel off of the ground and shoved it towards Erin. “Do it again. I want to see it.” She stared at Erin, hopeful that the woman standing across from her wouldn’t continue lying to her. The last thing that Van needed was to be lied to, especially about something like this. It seemed so silly, all things considered, but deep down, Van felt that if Erin were something like her, then maybe Erin would hate her a little less once she inevitably found out about the magic that she had. She thought very briefly about Emilio and her stomach twisted. It was only a matter of time before he decided to blab his mouth to everyone– he seemed like a gossip, anyway. 

– 

Fear bubbled in Erin’s stomach, rising to her chest, making it hard to ignore the pounding of her own heart. She had to tell Van the truth. Right? But what would she think? Would she even believe her? Especially if she thought that this was Erin doing the metaphysical work and not Helen. Helen, who Van couldn’t see or speak to, who she would have to convince was real. Years and years of being told that she was hallucinating, of no one believing her, of being told she was crazy or that there was something wrong with her hurled their way back into her mind, stunting most thoughts temporarily. But this was Van. This would be different. Surely, it would. Erin took the towel back wordlessly, knowing she was probably going to disappoint Van either way. “It wasn’t me, Van,” she repeated, glancing back to the elderly ghost eavesdropping on their conversation with more amusement than she appreciated. 

“Oh, don’t mind me, dear. I can wait for that book for a few more minutes.”

Erin glared wordlessly at the mischievous smirk following Helen’s words before turning back to Van. She was gripping the towel for dear life at this point. “It really wasn’t. I’m not lying to you. It was–” her throat dried suddenly so she pointed to the space next to Van. “It was Helen. She’s mad I haven’t stopped my entire life to fetch some book for her and she threw this around in a little hissy fit even though I told her I’d get it later.”

“Well, I never–”

Erin continued, ignoring the older woman, though she found it impossible to meet Van’s eyes. “Helen is also dead.”

–

Erin looked to be going through some sort of internal struggle– one that matched the one Van was going through. It was a funny thing, to know somebody for so long, but not actually know them at all. They were allowed to keep their secrets and Van knew that– knew it was important to create boundaries, but what if Erin was like her? 

But Erin continued to protest that it wasn’t her, and continued to lie. She wasn’t even sure levitation magic was a thing. Obviously it would be, it was in Charmed, wasn’t it? Van opened her mouth to tell Erin not to lie to her, and she felt heat rise to her cheeks. 

But before she could say anything, Erin was explaining that somebody named Helen was doing it. Helen, who was not in front of either of them. About a book, and Van looked around, tried to see the book in question, but came up empty handed. She looked back over to Erin, then to the space surrounding them, as if searching for something. 

Helen is also dead. 

“You see dead people?” Van said it before she could stop it and she blinked at the woman across from her. Nora was a bugbear, there was a ghoul that had hunted her and Emilio, and she had magic– surely Erin seeing dead people made sense, right? “I–” She paused for a moment, brows knitting together, “is… is that like some kind of magic?” Because it had to be, for Van’s own sanity. There had to be some kind of common link between them. “I totally– I um, I do believe you, but–” Her anger faded and was replaced by a new kind of anxiety. What if Erin could see Debbie? What if Debbie told her everything? “Is Helen the only one you see?” 

–

Erin watched Van look around for something she knew she wouldn’t be able to see. Could feel the nerves prickling more than ever before. This was it. This was where Erin went from ‘trusted authority figure’ in Van’s eyes to ‘lying madwoman’. But that’s not what happened. And Erin stood gaping embarrassingly for a moment as Van seemed to just… accept it. She saw dead people. She believed her. “You believe me?” She asked without even thinking. No doctor or therapist she’d ever seen in her life had believed her but this mind boggling 20 year old just accepted it as truth. To say she was suspicious but relieved was an understatement. 

“I don’t know,” Erin answered earnestly. Magic. That felt… wrong. This wasn’t some sideshow trick or Criss Angel special. This was real life. Real people were affected by this. “It’s just something I’ve always been able to do. I can’t explain it. I wish I could, though, trust me.” Van’s next question was unexpected but she answered it anyway. She was already this far in. Couldn’t go back now. “I can see lots of people. Not everyone turns into a–you know. Ghost. But the ones that do, I can see and talk to.” Her brow raised slowly as she glanced at the younger woman again, unsure. “Why?” Was there someone Van wanted to talk to? The idea of disappointing her, of having to tell her that her parents had never come to Erin, sat heavy in her gut.

–

“I think so,” Van admitted. There was a sincerity in her expression– the kind she wished she’d been met with when her grandmother had pointed her down, asking what she was going through. Had her grandmother known what was happening the entire time? Had she known about Erin being able to see dead people? Van wanted to ask, but she kept the question held back, deciding that later would be a better time. Erin seeing dead people wasn’t as weird as watching her best friend turn into a bear and she knew it, and even if this was something new and scary she had learned about somebody she knew for more than half of her life, it was something she needed to accept, because it wasn’t like she was normal either. At least, not in the grand scheme of things. 

Erin went on to explain that she didn’t think it was magic and Van couldn’t help but feel disappointed. Maybe she had hoped that like Milo, there’d be a world opening up at her feet– that she’d learn from somebody she knew and trusted, but it seemed like Erin was doubtful. That made Van wonder if she should even divulge her own abilities. “Not… everyone…” She nodded, grateful that it seemed like maybe Debbie hadn’t come to actually haunt them. Wouldn’t she feel it? Wouldn’t cabinet doors get closed on her fingers or something, like in the movies? “Okay, so you only see… some dead people.” Maybe Erin would think she was asking about her parents. That wasn’t that great either, but maybe it would make for a sob story rather than making Erin the person to solve a crime. Though, was it a crime? Nobody had come looking for Debbie, which, she had to admit– that was a little strange on its own.

“So you’re like that Bruce Willis guy, right?” 

–

Van thinking she believed her was better than outright rejection, Erin supposed. She felt like she was still unsure, though, which was… understandable, at the very least. It’d taken Erin this long to believe it herself. She wasn’t sure what was going on in Van’s head, if she was being truthful. She seemed to be trying to absorb the information the best that she could but the uncertainty wasn’t helping Erin feel much better about it either. Maybe she needed to give her more? Opening up to people was hard. It was impossible when it came to this. But for Van, she could try. “I am sorry. That I never told you. I, uh–I winded up spending the better half of my childhood in psychiatrist offices so I’ve made it a point not to tell anyone. Ever. ” Her eyes fell back onto Helen's still figure beside them, who she really wished would leave right about now. Especially after the pitiful look she gave her following that confession. She glared, again, and wrung the dry towel in her hands. 

She nodded. “I guess not everyone sticks around after they die. I definitely don’t know how that part works. Only that it depends on the person.” Bruce Willis? The question threw her for just a second before her whole body sagged and she rolled her eyes. “Bruce Willis was the ghost in that movie. I’m like… the kid. The little snotty one that’s always crying.”

Her brows narrowed and she looked up at Van again when a thought struck her suddenly. “You were mad when you came running up here. Why were you mad? Confused, I’d understand. Scared, even. But… mad?”

–

It wasn’t lost on Van that Erin seemed surprised to be believed. If she could reveal half of the things she’d seen in the past few months— or really, the past several years, then she was almost sure Erin wouldn’t believe her. How did she explain that her best friend was a bear, or that the woman whose apartment she was living in had wings? She had promised on both accounts, regardless of it being internally, that she’d never tell anyone about what she’d seen. Erin didn’t seem like an exception here, no matter how much Van trusted her. They weren’t her secrets to tell, and how would she tell if somebody had told Erin about her magic before she had? Though, she still wondered if her grandma had hinted at knowing something, or if her grandma knew anything at all. 

Erin apologized and Van felt guilty. She knew what it was like to want to keep things to herself, especially the kinds of things that could make people look at you differently… but then again, people had been looking at her differently her whole life. What would be one more person? 

“I get why you didn’t tell me.” Logistically, it made sense. Emotionally, Van felt a little betrayed. 

Only that it depends on the person. 

Maybe they’d given Debbie some kind of relief from her life. Maybe her anger had been what caused her to try and kill all of them. Van liked the thought of that, even if she didn’t think it was true. 

“I’ve never seen the movie, I just know it’s a meme.” That was how she knew most media, to be fair. If she felt the urge to figure out the depths of said meme, she would, but she didn’t figure a movie about dead people was really in her wheelhouse, no matter the amount of dead people she had haunting her— visible or not. 

At Erin’s question, Van felt her stomach sink. She wrung her hands together, looking anywhere but at Erin. “I— I thought you’d been lying to me about something, like you knew something and you weren’t telling me, and then I thought…” She took a deep breath and shook her head, “I just got mad because I thought that…” She couldn’t finish her sentence, the words were stuck in her throat. “I can shoot … well, not lasers, I dunhavelasersbuticanmeltthingsiwthmymind….” The words came out in a jumble, and she wasn’t even sure if Erin would be able to figure out what she said. The truth split between them– Erin’s truth already hanging in the balance. How would she react to magic? Van wasn’t sure if the older woman would even believe her, but she hoped she would. It’d do some good at confirming if her grandmother knew anything at all, either. 

–

The air felt stilted and rigid on Erin’s skin, despite the relief of finally unloading this truth onto someone who wasn’t dead, or spoke to the dead, or her mother. Navigating her relationship with Van had never been smooth. The kid had been dealt some rough cards and there were tragedies behind her eyes Erin knew she’d never be able to understand. And for whatever reason, she’d seemed to like Erin. She’d grown fond of the quirky, sad girl who followed her around graveyards sometimes and would talk about the most nonsensical things Erin had ever heard. She deserved better than her only family left abandoning her and she questioned now, even if it was her secret to keep, that keeping it from Van felt like another betrayal.

Her eyes worried over Van as she seemed just as nervous as Erin had been just a few minutes ago. A muddle of words spewed out almost too fast for her to understand. Lasers–melt–mind was about all she caught. “You have lasers–I mean, not lasers–but you can… melt… stuff?”

Erin heard how ridiculous it sounded as she repeated what she could but she tried to give Van the benefit of the doubt, even if this felt like another one of Van’s off the wall comments. And for a moment, the confusion tipped towards anger until something suddenly clicked. She paused for a long moment before blurting out a question Van had never actually answered. “The table.”

–

“The table,” Van whispered, gathering her hands against herself, pads of her fingers pushing into her stomach as if to dispel the anxiety she was feeling. She looked up at Erin, eyebrows furrowed. She tried to remember if Erin’s expression matched her grandmother’s on the day she’d left. If her grandmother had looked at her this way– though, at the time, Van didn’t know if the older woman had suspected a thing… Now, looking back at it, Van had to believe that the knowledge of what she was capable of had been there all along, and it had been fear that drove her grandma out of Wicked’s Rest. 

But Erin wasn’t running, and she was standing in front of her still. “It’s– um, it’s magic.” She almost choked on the word, could feel it lacerating her throat. It still felt foreign to say, felt wrong in a way, because how could somebody as simple as her be given something like magic. 

Van chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked up at Erin expectantly, waiting for the other true to drop.

–

“...Magic.” Erin repeated the word, slowly, like it was a foreign concept. Which, in all fairness, it was. 

“Magic. Ha! Don’t tell me you actually believe that, dearie.” Helen chortled, looking at the two of them like they were crazy. Helen, the ghost. 

“Oh for pete’s sake, Helen, I told youErin glared at her before reaching into her pocket. She didn’t like doing this and only did it when it was really necessary–and Erin considered this to be one of those times. This moment was fragile as it was without a nosy ghost commenting on the side. Van deserved her full attention. 

“Oh, not again, I’m sorry! I’ll–” Helen instantly knew what was happening as soon as the salt packet came out. The ghost dispersed into silence as the salt flew threw her, leaving the air around them finally still. She’d be back–she always came back–and Lil had told her it didn’t hurt them, which helped with the guilt she always had when it came to this. 

Erin turned back to Van, relieved and fully attentive once more. “Magic. Alright.” She nodded vigorously, like she was trying to rationalize it in her head, but inching steadfast towards acceptance, even if it felt a little overwhelming. “Yeah. Okay. You can do magic. I can see ghosts. That’s… that’s a thing.” A small smile crept up her cheeks despite herself. She didn’t know what else to do. “ You’re weird too. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

–

Van waited for the other shoe to drop– for Erin to turn in disbelief, to laugh in her face. To do something other than approach her with any kind of kindness. This felt wrong, to tell Erin– to tell somebody within close proximity of her grandmother, but Van wanted to believe that the older woman wouldn’t run off and tell her grandma of what had been happening here. She hoped not, anyway. 

Erin was speaking again, only it didn’t seem like it was to her. Van watched as she dug into her pocket, surprised to see salt. It littered the ground, and confusion wrote itself across her features as she looked back up to meet Erin’s gaze. What was that about? Was it about the ghost stuff? Probably. Yeah. Erin wouldn’t throw salt at her. 

Van could tell that Erin was trying to rationalize what was being said to her– she saw this expression on most of the people she spoke to, whether it was actually about magic or not. She bit the inside of her cheek as she watched Erin’s expression change. 

You’re weird too. I knew there was a reason I liked you. 

She felt frozen, suspended in the air by the mere idea she might be punished for coming clean. Part of her had expected disbelief to take form on Erin’s features, but instead, she was met with something kinder. “I– um…” Van fiddled with a loose string on her sleeve, embarrassment cascading over the bridge of her nose in a blush. “Yeah, I’m like– we’re um, super weird. Definitely.” It felt odd to not be laughed at or yelled at by an adult, or to be looked at with an expression that begged what the fuck are you talking about. 

This was new, and it was different, and for the first time in awhile, Van felt hope. 

“Um… but… yeah, you uh, see ghosts– oh– do you… see my parents?” Maybe not the right thing to ask. Van rose her hands in defense, “you don’t need to like, answer that!” 

–

Erin knew her face would answer Van’s question before she could disappoint her with her answer. Her smile slipped away and she shook her head. “No. I haven’t seen them,” she answered quietly, wishing she could give her something. Their funeral had been uneventful, she remembered, as far as most funerals went. Closed casket. The physical damage they’d endured from the fire had been too much for Erin to fix and she didn’t dare ask her father, not that he could have done much either–her parents had lost good friends that day too. So Erin stepped in and took the lead on that one. She couldn’t remember any ghosts, or hallucinations as she knew them then, but she did remember Van. Only fifteen, lost and grieving more than anyone should at that age. 

“...But that’s a good thing,” she added, a tinge of hopefulness in her voice. If they had come back, Erin would have seen them. She was sure of it.“I-I know it might not seem like it but it is good because it means they probably moved on. That’s what’s supposed to happen. Being a ghost is just…–it’s just pain. It’s a painful, lonely existence. It’s good that they weren’t stuck here, lost, trying to settle unfinished business or watch their lives move on without them.” Like her father. Like Helen. Guilt clawed at her insides. She’d also save Van the details of how her parents would have had to co-exist, together but alone, staring at the charred remains of their partner until they moved on too. “You don’t want them to be ghosts. Even if you might think you do.”

-

Maybe it was because she’d done some growing up that Van felt glad Erin couldn’t see her parents. The little girl who had lost them at fifteen might have begged for Erin to reconsider– might have even pulled her to where they were buried to see if they might have been hanging around. But the twenty year old Van simply nodded, taking Erin’s answer for what it actually was. 

“No, I–” Van took a deep breath and attempted a smile, though it fell a little short. “I think it’s um, a good thing, yeah.” The idea that being dead could be painful, even after the fact– how miserable of an existence was that? Van was afraid of death for good reason, and talking to Erin now about how remaining a ghostly apparition of oneself would only prolong that hurt did nothing to quell that fear. But that wasn’t the point here. The point was that her parents weren’t experiencing it. Would they look the same to her if they had? Would they exist as they had done so beneath the flames? Van tried her best to push them from her mind as Erin continued and she gave a firmer nod this time, “no, you’re right… I don’t want them to be here. I was just curious, and I wasn’t sure how your um, ghost senses worked, you know?” There were so many different ways that people interpreted those who could see ghosts across the board, but nothing was ever as it seemed, it appeared. “Thanks for being honest, Erin, about um, all of this.” 

-

Van seemed… okay. More okay than what Erin’s fears were conjuring up after answering her question and miles better than the angry, betrayed storm that had trampled through her yard earlier. It made sense now. “Hey, no–thank you. For believing me. And for trusting me too.” The picture of the melted table flashed in Erin’s mind again, this time with Van at the helm. Van had magic. Magic existed. She supposed even if she couldn’t comprehend what that meant right now, it shouldn’t have felt as surreal as it did. It connected more things in her mind than it broke. It made sense. And that’s what terrified her. There was absolutely no pretending she had any idea what she was doing anymore.

“Are you hungry?” She asked suddenly, pulling herself out of the spiral she felt herself slipping down. This had been a lot for the both of them and she was sure Van needed a break as much as she did. “I’ve got some of those dinosaur nuggets you like.” She nodded approvingly of her own idea, ready to focus on something small and silly. “I think I’ll have some too.”

[luci-in-the-stars]

Bad Vibrations||| Van & Luci

TIMING: A few months ago, before winter LOCATION: The Commons PARTIES: @luci-in-the-stars & @vanoincidence SUMMARY: Luci's experiment on boosting a good vibe only necklace doesn't go very well, and Van gets to deal with it. CONTENT WARNING: None!

Luci was usually fairly careful with her magic, especially now that it was acting strangely. However, almost in spite of herself she seemed to need to experiment. It wasn’t malicious - she didn’t want to hurt anyone - but it was a curiosity she couldn’t stop even if the prices were increasing. 

Which, she thought as she looked at the state of herself as she tried to amplify a spell that was already attached to a necklace, was becoming stupidly high. It should have been relatively easy - the ruby-ish jewel already had a protection spell on it - but now it was clattering across the ground  in a way that made Luci think that it was about to push everything away in a five mile radius. She was just lucky that she had picked a relatively sparse part of the park to work on the spells. Until she saw someone round the corner. 

“Uh - Sorry excuse me Don’t come any closer!” Luci shouted her hands up to wave the other down as she saw the necklace shake again in the grass. “I think I did something wrong again,” Luci said, pulling her notebook again to look at the circle that seemed to have fallen out of step since the last time she’d looked like it. Like an invisible hand was erasing bits of it. “Please hold. I’ll try again.” 

___

Not being able to go home was becoming boring. Van was bitter and she missed her desktop setup, even if Cass had told her that she would get her a new one. The 300$ that Xóchitl had transferred was burning a hole in her pocket and she had already poured a significant amount into rolling for a lightcone she didn’t really need. She’d never been any good at saving her money, and that remained true when she had literally lost her home. 

Okay, so maybe it hadn’t quite settled in that her house full of memories would probably become a gooey scrap pit at some point if something didn’t change and change soon, but it wasn’t like Van needed to worry about that. Not right now, at least. 

She’d been walking aimlessly, longboard tucked under her arm, before she noticed a person sitting in the grass. She didn’t care about people sitting, but what she did care about is when people told her to not do something. “Um, I can definitely get that. Doing things wrong, I mean.” Van’s voice carried across to the girl and the blanket and the necklace. Was it moving? Van’s brows furrowed. “What are you trying?” 

___

Luci was very much trying not to look panicked as the necklace seemed to be shaking in a way it shouldn’t be. Afterall, science was partially mistakes happening, and - well she didn’t know what the worst thing could happen but she imagined it wouldn’t be life threatening. So, she was trying to have an air of confidence about herself as the other stopped and looked at her and at the necklace. She was trying very hard to find the line that should have been there to contain the shield - if only so she knew why it was shaking.

At the question Luci looked up to the person who wasn’t leaving and gave her a sheepish grin as she replied, “Oh um - my boss asked me to fix something on it - make it stronger, and I think perhaps I changed the wrong thing. It’s supposed to protect people from ‘bad vibes’ - no I don’t know what that means in this context either - and so I was trying to expand it’s range.  It’s not supposed to be shaking like that. I’m trying to figure out if it’s stable or if it’s going to explode and push everyone away from it- I believe 500 feet.. If it does - that’s probably not good. Not extremely bad, but I’m probably going to have to run in a minute if I can’t get it to stop. ” Especially because she wasn’t sure if she could move out of the range herself. 

“I don’t know why my equations keep unbalancing themselves, they shouldn’t be doing that,” Luz muttered under her breath, not trying to get away from the necklace while there was still a chance she could fix it.  

___

The stranger was speaking and Van wasn’t entirely sure what any of it meant. Something about bad vibes and the necklace together didn’t really make all that much sense. Was it like one of those funny gaydar keychains? Except it detected bad vibes? Or what it thought were bad vibes? Was this person some kind of tech genius? Van had no clue, but she stayed put and squinted, looking towards the necklace as it vibrated lightly on the blanket that the girl was sitting on. 

“You think it’s going to explode?” Van’s eyes grew slightly wide as she took a tentative step back. At least she’d never done that. But she couldn’t even be sure this wasn’t just science. It definitely couldn’t be magic. How many other people were there out like her? Like Milo? That was the only other spellcaster she knew of, aside from the person who had insisted she had magic when she melted her car’s wheels. She bit the inside of her cheek, wrapping her arms around herself as she watched the necklace shake. 

“I don’t know how far 500 feet is, but there are like, other people at this park.” She paused, eyebrows pulling together in near permanent concern. “Should we like, call the bomb squad? Is this one of those robots for class or something? Are you on a robotics team?” 

___

Luci’s attention was split now looking at the necklace that seemed to be picking up on wobbling and her notebook quickly rebalancing the equations to deamplify the necklace. It was harder now - her magic insisting on erasing and adding things she didn’t. If she wasn’t sure that it was doing it, she might have thought it was her own carelessness. It wasn’t though as she chased a two around the circle to put it back properly. 

“Yes - well. Possibly at least. I don’t think it has enough power to go boom - ah I got it,” Luci said with a nod. With the question inherent in what 500 feet was she said, “Oh about 200 steps from me I believe. No the bomb squad couldn’t do anything about it and I’m not a fan of robots. Do you like them?  Here we go - necklace please don’t explode, wouldn’t be a good vibe.” The last bit was mostly under her breath as she put the paper onto the necklace with very little fan fair. 

For a moment nothing happened, then the paper glowed the necklace stilling as Luci let out a breath and gave the other a small smile. “See! - oh no that’s fire huh?” She said as soon as she smelled a familiar burning as she started moving back off of the blanket moving her things with her. “Yeah that’s a fire - um - oh shoot. Not exploding though.” 

______________

Van wasn’t really sure what she was watching. The fear that she felt was impossible to place, because deep down, she knew what this was, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Magic hung in the air, she could feel it beneath her skin. It was a new feeling, being able to place that, and she hated it. She wasn’t sure why, though. 

“I don’t know anything about robots, no.” Van watched with bated breath as the stranger began to speak to the necklace as if it’d actually listen to her. She wasn’t sure why she thought it would, but maybe there was something that Van didn’t know about what the other was doing. She was ignorant to all things magic, so it seemed. 

There was a beat of silence, and something hopeful pulled over the girl’s face, but it quickly disappeared. Van was left to stand in horror as the necklace caught on fire. “No exploding, but there’s fire! Put it out!” She wasn’t sure what to do, but she knew that they couldn’t catch the whole common on fire. Anxiety swelled in her chest, and the blanket’s edges began to melt away into goo— no heat to be found, but just liquid. Shit, Van thought to herself, hopeful that the girl would think it was the weird necklaces doing and not hers. 

______________

“Ah - well that’s okay I think. Really they aren’t as fun as they seem like they’d be,” Luci said with a nod. The other seemed to be panicking, which to be fair - most people would be. She was just used to the failure of an experiment. Most of her mind now though was on the burning as she quickly pulled her bag and other belongings away from the necklace which was now being fascinatingly weird in a different way. Scrambling just away to keep the fire and strange goo away from her Luci sighed. 

“Oh I didn’t consider goo coming out of it - No worries I got it.  “ Luci said as the other told her to put it out, she saw it seeping and for a moment wondered if her magic had caused it. Pulling out her water bottle she Dumped it onto the fire and goo - hoping that it was just melted blanket. “ I always keep a full bottle of water incase - I used to carry a fire extinguisher but - did you know they don’t let you bring that onto planes?” Getting closer to where the necklace was absolutely not protecting either of them from bad vibes she sighed and said, “well at least it’s not on fire? Don’t know about the goo.”

________

The stranger seemed more concerned with her belongings than the actual object on fire, and really, Van could relate. She’d definitely save her phone over pretty much anything else. She stared wide-eyed at the scene unfolding before her. If she were on the other side of this, she’d be panicking way more, but the girl who seemed to be about a few years younger than her seemed totally cool about what was happening. That didn’t make much sense. 

Lucky enough for her, the girl seemed to think that the melting was from the necklace. That was good, at least. Van’s stupid secret was safe for another day, even though something told her that it wouldn’t be much of a secret within the vicinity of the girl ahead of her. As soon as the fire had started, it was gone– a splash of water, and it was like nothing had ever happened. The blanket was still a little melted, both from the power and from Van’s anxiety. She felt uneasy, noticing the way it was seemingly different from the actual parts of the blanket that had gotten burned. But the stranger mentioned the goo, and Van decided to follow it up, “yeah, I mean– there’s goo everywhere, maybe it um, came from underground.” Her mouth tasted like iron again. Fuck. “But um– can… I ask, what were you doing? It wasn’t robotics, right? That’s not what that was?” Because it had been magic, Van could feel it, even if she wanted so desperately to ignore the way it buzzed under her skin. 

________

Luci sighed at her failure wanting to kick the grass and deciding that she had, in fact, already did enough to the park. She really thought this one was going to work out, but like the slowly increasing amount of her magical experiments it seemed to fail. Usually she wouldn’t be too upset by it, but now someone else had seen her do it too. Moving her glasses back properly on her knees and letting the little stars on her glasses chain hit her face she wondered if the other had figured it out. 

At the idea of the goo coming out from under ground she tilted her head thinking about it. “Huh - maybe. I don’t see why it couldn’t. Once it’s not so - everything I’ll move the blanket to check.” After all, it might be more likely that the necklace had somehow done it. At the question Luci looked back up at her realizing she did not have her normal excuse of chemistry experimentation. After all, she was not anywhere near a sterile lab and the other did seem very smart. 

“Oh - no, not robotics. I’m not really good with technology to be honest - just the normal stuff like social media and spotify - well I guess not everyone does that but you know,” Luci started talking a mile a minute as she tried to figure out what she should reveal, a bit uncomfortable as she rolled up her sleeves. “Oh that’s not really the question is it. I was trying to uh - enhance the good vibes of the necklace through amplifying known elements through a series of calculations and introducing new potentially helpful materials,” Luci said after a moment knowing that none of that was technically a lie but was absurd as she went to her bag to pull out her notebook, hoping the other would at least be bored enough not to ask for more information. “Apparently, I only gave it bad vibes instead.” 

Thinking that maybe the other might call the fire department on her, she thought on her feet a little and decided that maybe showing the calculations would help her argument “Um - I can show you? It’s not anything scary or something you should tell the fire department about,” Luz said, showing one of her pages that she had tried before this one. “See?” 

________

Maybe not a great excuse to use. If the girl moved the blanket and  didn’t see the goo coming from underground, she’d be suspicious wouldn’t she? Van clasped her hands together, fingers nervously twitching against each other as she watched the girl move around the object of her experimentation. Van watched carefully, only lifting her gaze when the other confirmed that it hadn’t been robotics. 

Obviously it hadn’t been, but a part of Van had hoped it was. Because if it was, then she could put her head back into the sand. “Social media and Spotify aren’t really technology…” She bit the inside of her cheek before shaking her head, “it doesn’t matter though.” Because it didn’t, not in the context that this conversation was taking place over a melted blanket and a necklace that had caught fire. Van’s expression twisted, presenting the confusion that came with the girl’s explanation. “I don’t know what any of that means, but I mean, like, I trust you, but I’m not really sure what good vibes came from the necklace catching on fire.” 

Maybe she was being a little too judgmental. After all, all she could do with her magic was open up black portals and melt things. That wasn’t really impressive, either. 

Van had to keep herself from snorting in response to the bad vibes comment, because really, that’s what it had exuded. 

She found herself continuing to stare at the necklace. It was no longer vibrating on the ground, but it was eerily still— and a part of her thought it might erupt in flames again. Her gaze shifted once the question of whether or not she wanted to see bloomed. Van could think of nothing else she’d rather do than not see anymore of whatever was going on here. 

“No, I’m— no it’s okay, I believe you. Um, you know what you’re doing, and like, I never passed science class really not without a ton of extra credit assignments, and I like space a lot more than like, this, whatever this is, so it’s okay.” She was rambling, and she unclasped her hands, tucking her thumbs into the pockets of her cargo pants. But the page was already directed towards her and she looked over it. It wasn’t as scary as she thought it might be, but it still made no sense. “I like the way you write your I’s.” A dumb comment, all things considered. Another brief pause, before Van was clearing her throat again. She needed to go before her anxiety reared its ugly head. “I should— what was your name?” 

________

“Yeah you're right, they really aren’t,” Luci said with a nod. At the idea of what good vibes were supposed to appear she shook her head a little, sad about the failure in front of her for the first time. Experiments didn’t always work, and she knew that but she wasn’t sure what Vera was going to say. “I think ‘vibes’ just aren’t something a necklace can really do anything for - I’ll be honest I’m not quite sure how to quantify them anyway. So you know. Bad vibes. ” 

After all, she was an alchemist and whatever magic this was had been done by someone else. She had just hoped to amplify it. She probably should have clarified it though.

Holding the notebook, she saw the other was a bit hesitant but really Luz just wanted to show that she wasn’t doing anything particularly dangerous. After all, for most people this would look like nonsense - maybe something chemical but not something that caused fires. She seemed nervous, and that made Luci want to show that she was - normal? It would be a stretch for that - more so that she wasn’t dangerous. 

Well - Luci didn’t think she was dangerous at least. 

“Oh I like space too! - Thank you,” She said rapidly the comments making only tangential sense. Although it didn’t seem like the other was about to call the fire department on her. “Oh - My name is Luci. What’s yours?” She asked, not quite confident on how the conversation turned but eager to be on a new subject. 

_____

“Bad vibes,” Van agreed with a small nod, eyebrows pulling together. The sooner she left, the easier it would be to breathe and ignore everything she saw and made happen. The last thing she wanted to have to do was explain to somebody else who was clearly using magic that she also had magic. 

If it was that, and Van was sure of it– she could feel it beneath her skin in the same way she did when she became anxious, but this time it felt different, more muted. 

“Luci, okay, like Lucille or something– uh, I’m Van, but not like the car, so I guess you wouldn’t be like Lucille and just Luci.” Maybe Lucinda. She cleared her throat, clearly embarrassed. “I think– it was good to meet you Luci, but I should probably head home, or to work. I can’t remember what I was doing.” Before Luci could say much else, Van took her opportunity to leave, head ducked against the wind. She felt silly and stupid, and she sincerely hoped she would never run into Luci again for the sake of absolving herself of her embarrassment. 

[asirenscream]

TIMING: late february 2024 LOCATION: wren's home. PARTIES: @asirenscream & @vanoincidence SUMMARY: movie night! van and wren think they're going to enjoy a simple movie night, but it all goes awry when a mirror reveals wren's secret she had been hiding. CONTENT: none.

The night required plenty of research. Wren was already lost on how to host a night for a ‘friendly get together’. She had used the Google website plenty to figure out just what exactly that could mean. Snacks were made, making sure they weren’t raw meat for Van’s sake, and she got various fruity drinks. Wren was optimistic that this could go well! She didn’t have many friends yet so she wanted to make sure that it did go well. She really liked being around Van. Van didn’t make fun of her for crying and even went out of her way to help her meet new friends. 

Poppy had informed Wren that it was normal for homes to have mirrors in them. Of course, when they looked into mirrors then they’d see their true forms staring right back at them. The mirror resting in the hallway showed Wren just as she was. Her head tilted to the side then to the other, her mouth opening to show the razor sharp teeth lined in it. She snapped it shut and sighed. Poppy had warned her that there were dangers to showing her true form to just anyone. Maybe within time she could show Van and hope that it wouldn’t send her friend running. 

Covering up the mirror with a sheet, Wren silently hoped that Van wouldn’t question it too much. Or should she take it down? That was weird, wasn’t it? The other mirrors were covered or out of the way at least. She took down the sheet and stuffed it in the hall closet just in time for the knock on the front door.

“Coming!” Wren called out and hurried over to unlock the front door, swinging it open. She smiled brightly at Van. “Hi, Van! Thank you for agreeing to my fun get together! I got snacks and drinks! I hope you like fruit flavors! I also made sure it was not raw meat! For the snacks, that is. I heard chocolate is a fun thing to share with friends, too! So there is that, also!” She was talking fast, beaming so brightly that it was starting to ache in her cheeks. 

—

Van was running late, as she almost always was. There were moments where being on time mattered– at work, and when somebody new invited you to hang out. Van knew that part of making a good impression meant being prompt, but she couldn’t help but stare in the mirror for a few moments too long as she adjusted the daisy hair clip to keep her hair out of her eyes, but instead threw it to the ground in a fit of frustration as it wasn’t sitting right. 

The idea to reach out to Wren and cancel came to mind– to instead curl up in bed and watch tik toks about Acheron’s recommended build so that she could be ready for the character’s release, but what would that say to the girl who had cried over raw sausage? Obviously she’d probably cry about being canceled on, and Van would probably cry about doing the canceling. 

So finally, Van picked herself up and rode her board all the way to Harborside. The weather was finally peeling back from the bitter cold that’d taken them over, which meant that the wind hitting Van’s face didn’t hurt nearly as bad as before. 

It was lucky that Wren didn’t live all too far from Regan’s apartment, either. Not having her car anymore inhibited her in a lot of ways, but luckily she had Jade usually to both pick her up and drop her off after work. The cans of red bull that rolled in her bag as she kicked her board up made her make a mental note to tell Wren not to open them until a lot later. 

The door opened and Van smiled at her new friend, peering past her into the apartment. It was nice, and surprisingly clean. For some reason, she thought there might be raw meat bags everywhere. That was dumb of her. “Hey! Oh– I– yeah, I love fruity things.” She tugged her bag off of her shoulder and knelt her board outside by the door. Hopefully it wouldn’t get stolen. “Chocolate is good! Unless it’s Hersheys, then that stuff sucks, but if you got hershey’s, it’s okay– I’ll still eat it. I’ll eat anything.” She gave Wren an apologetic smile before kicking her shoes off. She swung her bag around, digging inside. “Here, I brought this for you– it’s red bull. Peach nectarine.” Her signature flavor, or so she liked to push. “It’s really good, but don’t open it yet– I think it got all like, shaken up and stuff.” 

—

Wren practically beamed at Van. “Yay! I’m really glad! I should have messaged you, but I dunno. I guess I just didn’t think about it?” More so the fact that she was still adjusting to the whole concept in itself. It took plenty of trial and error on her end before she was able to even post and reply to people. She was glad that she did. There were surprisingly plenty of nice people in town. It felt less daunting talking to people on the internet than it did in person. In person it was so much more overwhelming. She could always feel the tremors in her fingers starting and the sweat beading on her skin. At least now with Van she found herself enjoying the other’s company immensely. Things felt a little less scary with her, which was rather surprising to the siren.

“I got lots! I don’t think I got any Hersheys…” Wren tapped a finger against her bottom lip in thought. She used the Google site for the best chocolate and printed it out on paper to bring to the store. Her hands had shook as she gripped the paper in them, but she was proud she was able to buy these ‘groceries’ for her get together with her friend. “Maybe when the strawberries are in season we can do chocolate covered ones! I read that they’re very good!” She had enjoyed that drink that she had that was strawberry flavored so she was optimistic about the actual fruit itself. 

A gasp escaped Wren. A gift. A gift from a friend! This was so exciting! “Oh! Thank you so much!” She grinned excitedly and clapped her hands together. “I will put them in the fridge so we can enjoy later! Thank you so much, Van. I haven’t gotten a gift from a friend before. That is so sweet.” Wren gushed and took the drink to put in the fridge. She hurried to go put it in the fridge and shut the door. “I like your hair, by the way!” She commented from the kitchen nearby. “It looks nice!” 

—

“No, it’s okay!” Van smiled, waving away Wren’s apology– if it was even that. “It’s like, totally okay. I forget to answer text messages and stuff all the time.” She couldn’t blame people for not reaching out– half the time, she forgot to do so, even with the people that really mattered to her.

“It’s okay if you did get Hershey’s! Like I said, I’ll eat anything.” Van wasn’t typically the kind of person to notice things– her mind running too rampant with all of her misgivings and wrongdoings, but she took note of Wren’s shaking hands as she reached for the paper. Van wasn’t sure what was on the other side of it, she couldn’t see. “Chocolate covered strawberries are like, super good. Have you ever done fondue? The cheese one like, kills me, but there is one with just chocolate and fruits and it’s really good!” It was expensive, too, but maybe she could put some money together, or encourage a couple of other people to join them so that it’d cut the bill down. 

The way that Wren spoke reminded Van of Ren. She wondered how her friend was doing, and if she’d ever be back. Van understood why she had to leave– something about family. It didn’t hurt as much as she thought it would have, but she made a mental note to try and reach out on the number she’d last heard from her on. “They’re like, really good. Kind of tart, but in a good way.” Van pushed further into the kitchen as Wren retreated to the fridge. She tried to get a look inside, but it shut before she could surmise whether or not there was more raw sausage. “My hair?” She reached up to touch the phantom hairs that she’d snipped away last night in an attempt to save herself a trip to the hairdresser. “I just cut it– or like, not cut it, but I fixed the length and stuff.” After a brief pause, she pointed towards Wren’s hair, “yours is nice, too!” It was weird, being around people with hair. Thea’d been bald for so long that her roommate was what Van expected in most others these days. 

—

“Okay, I’m glad,” Wren breathed out in relief. Was it always this hard for humans to juggle the online thing and in person thing? She was having a hard time with it. She wanted to put herself out there so she could meet new people: like Wynne and Ariadne. Yet, putting herself out there was scary in itself. It could just blow up in her face—or she could blow up… What if someone blew her up? Oh, that wasn’t a good train of thoughts to go down. She had to stop it instantly. Wren shook her head as if to get rid of the thoughts and smiled at Van. Hopefully she didn’t look like an utter weirdo right now.

Wren beamed and smoothed down the list of groceries she had kept as a sort of accomplishment for even managing to do it. “I went to the grocery store! And it wasn’t as scary as it could be!” Only mildly terrifying rather than meltdown inducing. Smoothing the paper against the countertop hid her tremble somewhat. “So I hope these were okay!” She moved to lay out the different brands of chocolate treats on the counter and blinked owlishly at Van. “Do you like any of these? If not, totally okay! I just wanted lots of options and the Google site said these were the best, so…” Why was it so nerve inducing just trying to impress a friend? Wren never really had friends before so this was a whole learning curve for her.

Fondue. Wren had no idea what that was, but it sounded fascinating. “I haven’t! That sounds like so much fun!” Dipping various things in cheese or chocolate, wow… Maybe fish? No. That was definitely weird. Wren would have to file that away for later to maybe try herself. There was one thing about human culture and the fact that there were so many food options! So much of the world out there and Wren had barely even skimmed the surface. That was likely the point her parents were trying to make, but it made her want to squirm. Another wave anxiety and Wren just had to swallow past the lump in her throat. 

“I can’t wait to try it. Thank you, again, really!” Wren insisted. A smile pulled at her pink lips and she nodded. “I like it. You did a great job.” She didn’t have to cut her hair. One of the perks of being a shapeshifter was she could adjust the length as she saw fit. She preferred to keep it at the length she had it now: mid back with the various bright orange and red strands along with the tips of her dark brown hair being half red and half orange. “Thanks!” A faint blush dusted Wren’s cheeks as she held up the ends of a portion of her hair. “I’m debating changing the orange and yellow, but I’ve had it like this for ages, so I’m not sure yet.” Plus change was scary. “Um, did you want to grab stuff and head toward the couch? We can pick a movie!”

—

“My grandma used to call me her little trash can ‘cause I’d eat like, pretty much anything you put in front of me.” There were some things she wouldn’t eat, but she didn’t figure Wren would pull out canned corn or anything like that. She looked over the items on the counter and nodded in approval, “I get it though. Sometimes when I go to the store and stuff I get anxious too because what if the line is too long and I forgot something? Then I have to go and get it and come back and wait even longer.” Van didn’t mention the whole killing someone in a grocery store thing, mostly because she figured that’d not earn her any laughter, and would instead make things super awkward. Besides, Wren didn’t need to know she was a murderer (out of self defense, and also not). 

“I really like anything with coconut or peanut butter, so this is like,” she picked up one of the options, waving around the blue and white wrapped, “really great!” Van beamed at Wren before tearing open the package. Maybe she should’ve waited for later, but her stomach grumbled with hunger. After everything going on the past couple of days, it was nice to distract herself with something normal. 

Maybe one day she’d do something with her hair the way Wren had. She didn’t know about what kind of color, though. Maybe purple. She liked purple, and she thought purple liked her because it was the majority of what was in her wardrobe. “It’s super easy when you want to save money, especially because then you don’t like, really care about what it’s going to look like, you know? Plus it always grows back.” It was weird, her hair being the only thing she wasn’t really anxious about. “I think the orange is really cool, and I like the yellow, too! It looks nice on you, but it’s also cool to change things up.” Van bit into the chocolate, finishing off her bite before continuing, “but like, if Cass ever asks to do your hair, please don’t let her. She made my friend bald.” With a frown, she wrapped the rest of the bar up with its own wrapper and tucked it into her sweatshirt pocket. “Yeah! What did you want to watch?” She gathered the items on the counter into her arms, “do you like scary movies? I think I do, but only like, sometimes. I think cheesy romcoms are good, too!” 

—

Wren huffed out a small laugh at Van’s comment. “That sounds kind of mean, but I get it. I always liked eating particular things when I was growing out, but grew out of it. My mom said I was too picky for my own good, but also was too strong willed to go with just eating whatever if it wasn’t something I wanted.” Her face beamed at the clear approval that Van had for the choices she had made on snacks. “No, exactly! It’s just… so daunting. It always feels so daunting going out and being around a bunch of people I don’t know.” Not that she really knew many people. She practically could count on one hand how many people she did indeed know. Most of them thought she was a human. 

Bouncing slightly on her tiptoes, Wren smiled brightly. She was so glad she chose well. “Feel free to have whatever you want!” She grabbed the rest of the chocolates to carry with her as Van took a bunch in her arms as well. “If you don’t like it you can always change it later, for sure.” She agreed. It was different for humans, Wren knew that much. They couldn’t adjust their hair at will like she could, but the sentiment was the same. If you didn’t like it then you could always change it later or let it grow out. “Thank you! Change isn’t really my thing, but you never know. There’s sooo many different hair options.” Bald. Geez. “Oh! Oh geez, okay. Noted. I don’t wanna be bald.”

“I love cheesy romcoms! Those are so fun. Scary ones just… scare me. I’m willing to watch with other people though. It doesn’t feel as scary that way.” Wren nodded, coming to a stop near the hallway. She was going to head back toward the spare room with the big TV Poppy had left in there. The one in the living room confused her too much. “The coming of age ones are fun, too. I didn’t ever really experience anything like that, so it’s—” Glancing to the side, Wren startled when she saw her true form and dropped the chocolate in her arms when she did. “Oh! I’m—sorry! Sorry, don’t—” Don’t what? Don’t look? Wren was floundering. “Hah—so clumsy of me, sorry!” 

—

“Maybe it was, but I thought it was kind of funny.” Was her grandma being mean spirited? Was it something she hadn’t noticed about the older woman? Maybe Wren had a point, maybe her grandma had been cruel in different ways. Then again, Wren didn’t know her grandma. Van willed her mind to keep from wandering too far. “There’s a lot of people here, even if it’s like… a smaller city.” She would have remembered Wren, she thought– from school, at least. “Where did you move from? Was it a really small town or something?” 

“Life is too short to like, be boring or look boring, anyway.” She smiled at Wren, even though the girl was facing away from her as they relocated to the– okay, not the couch. A separate room? Van leaned back slightly as they ventured further down the hall, craning her neck to get a look at the t.v. Maybe it was broken? That was a possibility. The t.v in her living room had been broken, too. She wondered if everything else was, too. The goo had taken over for a while after all. “I’m sure you’d look really good bald, but like… well, I mean, winter is over, so maybe it won’t be so bad anymore.” She offered a small, yet hesitant smile as they moved further down the hall to the room with the television. 

“Being around people sometimes makes it scarier, because then it can turn into a horror movie, you know? I like being scared when there’s no actual like.. danger. I hate being actually scared.” She wasn’t sure if that made sense or not. Van nodded in agreement. “You didn’t? Why no–” Van dropped her own items as she caught a glimpse of a bird-like creature in the mirror. Where Wren should have been standing was something else, something entirely different.  Someone different, Van rationalized. She dropped to her knees in an attempt to grab the items she’d dropped. She kept her gaze low. Looking at Wren out of the corner of her eye, she was still Wren, but in the mirror… 

Finally, Van forced herself to look up, to meet Wren’s gaze. She then looked past her new friend to the mirror, and sure enough– feathers replaced skin, and Wren became more birdlike than human. A while ago, maybe Van would have surmised that Wren had a fake horror mirror just to move past the initial shock, but she was friends with a bear, and Regan was fae and vampires were real. She swallowed thickly and willed the anxiety to subside. “Um…” She pointed towards the mirror, “that’s…” She looked at Wren– yeah, human, and then not human. God, this was confusing. “You’re a bird?” She couldn’t believe she was saying the words out loud. 

—

“As long as it didn’t bother you then that’s all that matters, you know? Some people probably thought my cousin was mean to me, but that was just Poppy. I loved her all the same.” Wren shrugged. She paused, feeling a momentary wave of panic. That was a really hard question to answer. It’s not like she could just say: ‘oh, you know. The beach.’ That didn’t make sense. She scratched absently at her cheek and let out a soft, yet weak laugh. “Um, this tiny place off the coast. It was mostly my extended family and family friends there so not a lot of room to meet new people there. This is a whole new thing for me. This is giant for me even if it’s tiny to some people, if that makes sense.”

Wren grimaced at herself. Okay, she definitely said couch originally. It was fine! Rerouting. She was a bit scrambled right now. She didn’t know how to operate like a normal person most days. Even if she wasn’t pretending to be human most days it felt like she was wading through uncharted waters all by herself. Friends and family were supposed to be how she got through this, but she was starting anew. At least she was starting to make friends, even if it felt like she was one wrong move from messing it all up.

A little laugh escaped Wren as she glanced back at Van. “Thanks, Van. I think you’d also look lovely bald. In anything, really! Um—” Okay, reel it back a bit. “Yes! No, exactly. I’m glad you get it. It’s more fun being able to feel scared, but not actually feel like there’s something to be scared of.” Especially since Wren was practically terrified of everything around her, whether it was alive or not. 

It felt like this was something that was part of a movie. Wren’s heart practically dropped to her feet. She wrung her hands together and knew that she had been caught. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see her true form in the mirror and knew that’s exactly what Van had been staring at. She could feel the well of tears starting to rise up. How was she going to even explain this? Wren was floundering already and she hadn’t even said a single thing. Would Van hate her? Be scared of her? Not want anything to do with her, period? It made her stomach churn with uncertainty.

“Um, technically?” Wren practically whimpered. “I’m a… I’m a siren. I’m not going to do anything! I promise! I don’t eat hearts! They always scared me! Well, humans, period, scare me!” She was hyperventilating the tiniest bit. “Not you though! You’re so nice and my friend! You’ve been so nice to me and I don’t—can we still be friends? I promise I haven’t done anything! No enthralling or heart eating or, or—” Wren threw her hands up as tears dripped down her cheeks, “I’m sorry! Please stay my friend!”“Oh, yeah.” Van nodded, trying to imagine what Wren’s cousin might be like past the tiny fragments she’d heard from Wren about her. Obviously they had to be close if this was Poppy’s apartment, right? Was Wren in a similar situation to herself in regards to Regan’s apartment? Maybe. She couldn’t really be sure. “That sounds really nice! I always wanted to live on the beach, or like, closer to it, but it’s pretty expensive… but at least I’m not landlocked?” Underneath of her bed at her house, there was a jar of shells she and her mom had collected, tiny holes drilled through the tips by her dad to create necklaces. They’d never really gotten the chance to actually make them. 

—

Van shook her head, “I don’t think so… I mean, I’ve had like, super short hair before. Maybe a buzz cut, but not like, totally bald or anything. Maybe I’d dye it cool colors or something.” She tried to imagine herself bald but couldn’t quite get there. Thea took up a lot of space in that regard— being bald, and thinking. “No, yeah, totally… being actually scared is like, obviously scary. But not being… actually scared, but being scared… that’s so much better.” At least Wren seemed to think she was making sense! 

And maybe it was because of what she was that made her understand the way Van spoke about being scared. But Van didn’t want to think that Wren was purposely scaring her, not when she’d invited her over at least! 

“Siren…” Van’s mind was running wild with sirens right now. The urge to run, or to cry from the anxiety that was pooling in her chest— that this was just another secret she would have to hide— another thing that thrusted her into this existence where she wasn’t just a normal girl, but a girl with magic and all of her friends happened to be a part of that world, too. Wren was rambling and Van stared at her, mouth agape as the words her new friend said went through one ear, and out the other. “I don’t— Wren, I don’t know what you’re even saying.” Enthralling? Heart eating? God, she was going to have to read wasn’t she? 

“Um— no, please don’t cry!” Was this how people felt around her? Oh god, it was awkward, but at least she cried too, so she knew how to help a little bit! Van extended a shaky hand, touching her friend’s shoulder. It felt like a human shoulder— no feathers beneath her palm. Weird. Then again, she didn’t ever feel Nora’s fur when she held Nora’s hand or anything, and there were no claws. “Um— it’s okay, I’m not… I don’t hate you or anything, I don’t— I’m not going to leave!” She attempted a smile, though it faltered slightly. She’d been in Wren’s shoes more times than she could count. 

“I’m not— I mean, I am human, but like— well, I think I’m human, but I’m not just human, either! It’s okay!” She patted Wren’s shoulder comfortingly. Way to make this about yourself, asshole. Van cleared her throat. “Um, what I mean is that like, I won’t— I’m still your friend, because you would still be my friend if you knew about me, too!” Would she be? Could she be sure of that? So far, nobody else had an issue with her magic. She didn’t think Wren would, either. “It’s okay, really— I’m still your friend.” 

—

This had spiraled way beyond Wren’s control. She was having a hard time breathing through the mounting panic that pressed down violently on her chest. She was supposed to blend in. Pretend to be human. Pretend that she could handle being out and about in the ‘real world’. Wren hadn’t wanted to be out in the real world. If it were up to her then she would have lived out the rest of her days in her colony off the coast. Maybe she’d have her own nest away from her parents. Maybe she’d stay with her parents. Though, considering they were the ones that forced her out then that was entirely unlikely. This was all so unfair. Of course the moment she made a friend meant she’d inevitably screw it up. Wren didn’t know the first thing about being normal.

“Sorry,” Wren managed to squeak out at Van’s stuttered admission of having no idea what she was talking about. She reached up to wipe at the never ending stream of tears painting her pale cheeks. Van’s attempt at comfort only made Wren cry all that much harder. Her breath hiccuped and hitched, coming out in ragged gasps as she tried to regain some control of herself—and failing spectacularly. “I’m sorry! I’m really, really sorry, Van!” Van’s heartbeat was an overwhelming thrumming in Wren’s ears at that moment. It was hard to tune it out, but it somewhat grounded her in the moment.

Van didn’t hate Wren, she wouldn’t leave. The siren swallowed thickly around the lump in her throat that had persisted. Not just human? Wren wasn’t sure what that could mean, but it did bring a small comfort. “Not just human? What do you mean?” Wren repeated softly, her head tilting slightly as she wiped at her face again. At least her tears weren’t falling as rapidly now. “I am sorry… I didn’t—my parents told me to not tell anyone I wasn’t human.” She admitted quietly. “I didn’t mean to lie, but I had to. I love being your friend. You’re the first friend I’ve made that’s not my cousin! You’re so nice and kind and—and funny! You’re a really good friend, Van. I’m sorry if I hurt you. I really am.”

Wren would likely keep apologizing if it would make things better, but she wasn’t sure if there was anything else she could say. Van didn’t look like she was ready to run away at least. Plus… she said she wouldn’t leave. That she was staying. Hopefully she didn’t change her mind.

—

Van wanted so desperately to be better at this. To know the right things to say, aside from repeating the same things over and over again, but it took learning to do that, and Van hadn’t had much practice being on the other side of things, but she wanted to try, because as much as Wren liked being her friend, Van liked being her’s, too. 

Wren was crying harder than before, and Van panicked slightly, reaching out to rub her shoulder comfortingly. “It’s okay! I mean like, maybe it’s not, but it is, you know?” Maybe in that moment, Wren didn’t feel like things were okay and that was okay, but Van wanted her to know that overall, things would be fine. That they wouldn’t go up in flames, that even though it was clear the other girl felt panic in that moment, it would subside over time, that this wasn’t all there was. It was something Van had to remind herself of constantly, or else she’d never stop spiraling. 

“It’s like, so okay.” Van’s best friend was a bear, and she had magic, and there were hundreds of other things she’d learned about the people around her, not limited to, but including fae and werewolves, and so she could totally deal with Wren being a siren. It was better that it happened now and not sometime in the past, because there was no telling how she would have reacted then. She bit the inside of her cheek, watching Wren carefully as she popped the question of what she was. 

“Oh, I mean, um– I do magic? So like, human, but I’ve got spicy veins or something.” That was what she was telling herself, at least. The word magic still fell off her tongue like iron, like there was something wrong in admitting she had it, but it was getting easier, and after all, Wren was a bird person and there was no hiding it. Van felt like she owed it to her friend to be honest at least about something that was fairly easy to hide. “I’m still learning about it, and stuff like– like you, and it’s okay that you lied, I get it. I do.” Because protecting yourself came first, and Van’s thinly veiled ignorance about the world around her had been an act of protection, even if in the end all it did was make things worse. “And I still um… I still think you’re cool, too, and I’m glad that we’re friends!” Even if you’re a bird. The last part stayed tucked beneath her tongue, because even though she would have meant it as a joke, she didn’t want Wren to take it the wrong way. “I won’t tell anyone though, I promise. Your secret is like, totally safe with me.” The anxiety had begun to subside and the ache in her chest dulled itself out, as the distraction of making sure Wren was okay came into focus. 

—

Wren’s bottom lip trembled as she tried to stop herself from crying so much. Van’s touch to her shoulder made her want to cry even more. Not in a bad way, but just the mere fact that she felt so guilty. Her first real friend outside of her cousin and she had it all blow up in her face in a mere moment. Poppy would likely tell her that she was being dramatic, but she couldn’t help it. “Okay,” she all but croaked out weakly. Was it really okay? Wren wasn’t so sure about that, but the least she could do was stop insistently sobbing while Van was still here and not leaving. She didn’t hate Wren at least and she would take that over anything. 

Magic.

Blinking owlishly, Wren’s lips parted as she sucked in a sharp breath. “Spicy veins, that makes sense for sure.” She finally said, nodding her head. She hadn’t met anyone who knew how to do magic… that she knew of, at least. Van thought she was a normal human, so who’s to say that she hadn’t met someone else who knew how to do stuff that Van did? They were all protecting themselves at the end of the day. Wren barely wanted to interact with any humans to begin with. It still made her tremble with fear and feel like she’d be sick with fear at the extended conversation. (Or with anyone who worshiped the shrimp… She’s pretty sure she was still on a list somewhere.) 

Wren touched Van’s arm and offered her a weak smile. “I’m glad that we’re friends. I really am. I won’t tell anyone about your magic either! I’m really good at keeping secrets… even if I don’t really talk to anyone to tell secrets to begin with, but still!” She nodded, looking determined. “I will have your back, promise! We can learn together about it, if you want? We got this! We’ll be like those movies I keep watching… the teen ones! Coming of age, I think! Anyways, I promise I will be here for you! And—and I won’t lie anymore!” She was babbling at this point, but Wren shook her head and managed a bit stronger of a smile. “Um, we can go watch the movie for real now, if you want! I won’t cry anymore… probably.”

It felt a bit easier to breathe now despite the shake lingering in her fingers, but Wren knew that she at least still had Van as a friend. They could keep watching movies and talk about random human stuff Wren still didn’t understand! Wren was starting to feel a tiny bit more optimistic about it all. She was still utterly afraid of humans, but Van was the nicest and coolest human she had ever met. Maybe there was hope for her getting over her fear yet. 

[realmackross]

PARTIES: @vanoincidence, @realmackross TIMING: June 19th, midday SUMMARY: Van runs into Mack out in the wild! WARNINGS: None!

Van bit the inside of her cheek, phone half sticking out of her back pocket as she leaned down to grab the weeds that’d somehow gotten stuck between her wheel and axle out. “How does this,” she breathed, yanking away, “always happen!” The past few days had been a blur, and if she were being honest with herself, she preferred it that way. It was easier to not focus on the feeling of helplessness that’d overcome her time and time again. With her car… inoperable for the time being (or at least until she’d gotten enough money for new tires and a new door), she was using her bike and board a lot more often than not. But even those were malfunctioning. 

She looked up from the bench she sat on, gaze darting around the common for any familiar faces. Van had run into plenty of people here already. Some good, some bad. But she hadn’t expected to see Mackenzie Ross in the flesh! She stared, jaw slackening. While television shows with real people weren’t exactly her favorite, she did recognize Mackenzie. Keep it cool, Van. What the hell was someone like Mackenzie was doing in Wicked’s Rest, she had no idea, but did that matter? The anxiety she wore like a second skin was replaced by another type– but this was excitement, she realized. 

The blonde was heading her way and Van tried desperately to think of what she should do. Throw her board at her? No, that was too much, and what if it actually hurt her? Maybe let it roll down the small hill towards her? Go after it? That was a good idea! 

Van dropped her board onto the ground and it started to roll away, down towards Mackenzie, only veering into the grass. Oh god, what if Mackenzie was a jerk who didn’t care about runaway rides? She hopped up from the bench and started to walk quickly towards the board. And then, when she was close– “Sorry, sorry– Oh my god, Mackenzie Ross?” So much for being subtle.

---

Mackenzie had been lost in her own world. Since the 4th of July incident with Mateo, she only had so many more questions. Questions that any sane person would have thought she was making up, but there had to be someone locally who could help her. After all, this town was as strange as they came. At least the people had been nice for the most part, well aside from Mateo, but they were working on it, and him offering her brains and alcohol after shooting her with a Roman candle had been a solid start. It had also taken her mind off of some of the other crap that constantly floated around in her brain when she was lucid enough and not talking like a cavewoman.

Pulling out her phone and switching to a different song on her Spotify playlist, Mackenzie almost didn’t see the skateboard coming her way, but luckily it had rolled into the grass beside her.

Hitting pause on the song she had currently switched to, Mack shoved her phone in the back pocket of her jeans. As she moved towards the board, she heard an apologetic voice, until it switched to one of surprise. Shit. She had been recognized again. Wicked’s Rest wasn’t turning out to be that private after all, but it was okay. This girl had been the first of the day, and she could handle it as long as it didn’t become a thing like it was at A Quiet Place.

“I could lie and say no…or just ignore you, but that would make me an asshole, and I’m not an asshole.” She looked at the brunette with a defeated smile, before glancing back down at the longboard, “Is this yours?” Stepping on the back of it and forcing the opposite end to pop up in her hands, she held it out to return it, “Looks that this thing has some wear and tear on it. Have you been riding for a while?” Mackenzie would say one thing for the small town. She was able to have more meaningful conversations with people, unlike in Los Angeles and the surrounding areas where paparazzi like to hide around every corner. At least here, her picture hadn’t been taken yet. Well as far as she knew.

---

Van’s brows furrowed as Mackenzie laid out the options for their meeting. The anxiety of never meet your idols rose in her, but she pushed it away. What Mackenzie Ross would want with her, anyway, she wasn’t sure. It was stupid to even try. She shouldn’t have pushed the board. She should have walked past her. Of course famous people didn’t want to be bothered. But the most famous person she had met prior to this was Nora and Van wasn’t even sure she was famous anymore. Famously missing, maybe, but Van wasn’t sure how to bring that up without offending her friend. 

“I–” she looked down at the board that Mackenzie was now kicking up into her hand. Van took it from her gratefully, hooking her fingers at the axle. “It’s um.. yeah, awhile. I got it when I was fourteen.” Before everything went to shit, but it was consistent and while she had a skateboard at home that was a little newer, the longboard was her tried and true. 

“You ride, too?” Of course Mackenzie Ross rode skateboards. Of course. Van felt the weight of this meeting heavy on her shoulders and she willed the world to let her have at least this and not to have anything weird happen. “What are you doing in Wicked’s Rest? This town is, like, totally boring and not cool.” She held her board across her stomach now, looking at Mackenzie expectantly as if Van deserved her whole life story. But the anxiety still bubbled, and it was hard to ignore, so she cleared her throat. “Sorry, I just never expected to run into anyone as famous as you here!” Yeah, that was better.

---

It wasn’t that Mackenzie hated interacting with people. She had always loved meeting fans and just having conversations in general. She had even started going to conventions, until that one kid bit her, and she had to have stitches. But overall most people had been kind or just generally excited to meet her. Even she got like that. Everytime she talked to Taylor, she got a little starstruck. However, after everything that had happened with Dropped and Brody, she had pulled away from the public. Multiple reasons had left her afraid to be around people for long periods of time, and because of that, it made her heart hurt.

“So you’re, like, close to pro level then, huh?” She smiled, but her tired eyes said otherwise. It was hard to lie through your eyes, and it had been a skill that Mackenzie always had to work at for as long as she had been acting. Sure, she had picked up a few tricks along the way, but this was real life, and she didn’t feel like lying to the person standing in front of her anymore than she had to. She just wanted to be seen as a real person and not someone on a screen.

---

“Uh, yeah. I’ve been riding for a little while. Stopped for a while, but I think now might be the time to get back into it. I just ride a cruiser. Nothing special.” What was she doing in Wicked’s Rest? Trying to avoid fans and paparazzi on every corner. “Just needed a break after some things happened.” It was in the media and all over the news. Considering the girl standing in front of her was a fan, Mackenzie figured she probably already knew the latest rumors going around. “You’re fine. I take it you guys don’t get a lot of people around here in my line of work then?”

Van was only observant when she wanted to be. She should have noticed the way that Mackenzie was visibly exhausted. But instead, she only saw the woman that she had fawned over on television. She’d always been impressed by her ability to bring her characters to life on the screen, and with her stunts, too! It was all so cool, and Van still couldn’t believe that she’d ended up in Wicked’s Rest of all places. A little confusing, maybe, but still really cool. Maybe Mackenzie was here researching for a role? Despite all of the information about Mackenzie that’d been put on blast after her fiance’s passing, Van had zero to no clue that she was no longer acting. “Oh, I wish I were! That would be really cool.” Maybe one day she’d be good enough at something to tell the person asking that yes, she was. 

As Mackenzie explained her choice of board, Van nodded as if it made the most sense in the world. “We could totally shred together if you wanted.” Who said that? Who said shred? It was like she’d gotten transplanted in Lords of Dogtown. “Yeah, that makes sense. I mean, this town kind of sucks, but I guess it’s small enough.” People would recognize her still, didn’t she know that? This town had people. “In your line of work? No, only mimes!” She wasn’t sure about that. There were performers of different kinds, but they were a little too weird for Van’s liking, so she avoided them. It was rich, coming from her. “But you’re much cooler than a mime.” She nodded as if to solidify her statement. She held onto her board loosely, letting it scrape the sidewalk slightly as she leaned it against her leg. “It’s so cool that you’re here though. I’m sorry if I’m being super weird, I’ve just never met someone famous.” She paused, eyebrows furrowing, “unless you count the Pikachu mascot that I saw in New York that I’m almost sure was a scam, but you know..!” She shrugged with a laugh before realizing she was going off track. “Sorry. I’m just. You’re right, we don’t get a lot of people in your… line of work out here.”

---

“Keep at it, and someday you will be.” It was ingrained in her DNA. Giving compliments to people she talked to meant it left a good impression on them. She would be seen as kind and it would boost popularity points. It was all a part of the calculated way Mackenzie had to handle things as someone in the public eye. And it wasn’t because she didn’t want to be nice. There were just some days when she wanted to be open and honest and not be all smiles. Not the media darling most saw her as. Some days she wanted to cuss like a sailor. Give the inconsiderate Karen a glare for judging her generation and what they thought was right for the world. Eat without cameras and eyes constantly staring her down. It was exhausting, but it was the life she had been given and the one she was most used to.

Hearing the word ‘shred’ made the actress snort, but Mackenzie had seen it before with so many people. They were nervous, and as much as she wanted them not to be, she could understand the feeling. She still got nervous around certain people and said funny things, “Sure. We can shred.” Her smile had brightened at that point, until the girl standing in front of her had mentioned that the town had sucked, “Really? I don’t think it’s that bad. But I’ve only been here a couple of months.” The town did have character. That was for sure. And she had seen an array of people at Dance Macabre. Surprisingly enough, she occasionally got recognized, but most people there wanted to have a good time and dance the night away. Not paying attention to the bartender serving their drinks. Plus, she always had the ‘I get that a lot’ line in her back pocket if need be. “Well I appreciate it. I thought pantomime could be a way to branch out, but I’ve been getting some pretty interesting reactions from people, so I’m thinking a different hobby might be the way to go.” Dance it was. And maybe songwriting, if she could get back into it and find somebody to write with.

“Honestly, you’re not any weirder than what I’ve seen in the past. I had a fan bite me once. That was fun.” She rolled up her sleeve on her right arm to show off the scar from the bite marks, before pulling it back down. “Needless to say, conventions are now off the table permanently.” She shuddered to think about that day and the consequences that followed - still not realizing the biggest one. That whoever bit her had been infected with the zombie virus. “I mean as long as they didn’t charge you a ridiculous amount and you had fun, I think it still counts…” Mack knew exactly what she was talking about, and often veered away from the mascots and furries that roamed the streets of Hollywood and New York. “I don’t think I caught your name…” Mack stuck out her hand to formally introduce herself, “Mackenzie Ross, but you can call me Mack.”

---

A compliment like that coming from somebody like Mackenzie Ross could have ended Van completely. The urge to go home and take to the forums, to explain that everyone speculating why Mackenzie had disappeared from the public was wrong, overshadowed pretty much anything else at that moment. Van wanted to defend this woman she didn’t really know with her life. Or, maybe with a few words on the internet. She was practically glowing at the idea that Mackenzie thought she could have been something, despite never really having any kind of dream for herself. 

“Only a couple of months..” She trailed off slightly, brows furrowing. That meant that Mackenzie hadn’t been introduced to the most terrible things the town had to offer. But how had she hidden in plain sight, right under her nose? Then again, she’d been so busy with so many things that it made it hard to pay attention to the exciting things. Okay, maybe busy was an exaggeration. Though, she had been fighting for her life a couple of different times. “I hope that you decide it doesn’t suck for a while longer.” It was the best wish she could give Mackenzie, she realized. There was no way that Mack Ross had disappeared from the city of angels just to learn pantomiming, right? No way. “You should try something else!” Van wanted to ask if the blonde was researching for another role, but even Van knew that the internet had its evidence of Mackenzie’s reason for stepping away, even if she didn’t want to listen to any of it. “If you ever need any tips, I can help you.” With what, Van wasn’t sure, but was she ever going to get a chance like this again?

“A fan bit you? That’s so gross, I’m so sorry.” The idea of being bitten by somebody she didn’t know made her feel sick to her stomach, for more than one reason. Van looked at the bite mark nervously before looking back up to meet the blonde’s eyes. “Uh, yeah, and I don’t blame you.” Did you press charges? Van wondered how many other things Mack had gone through that weren’t revealed to the public, and though she knew she didn’t deserve any of that knowledge, a part of her did want to know. “I know who you are! You don’t need to introduce yourself to me.” A nervous laugh bubbled in Van’s chest as she stuck out her own trembling hand. She took a deep breath, trying her best at a convincing, though nervous smile. “Van! Not like the car.” 

---

Mackenzie noticed Van’s hand shaking. She always found it fascinating the way people would act around her. But she had learned a long time ago never to put people on a pedestal. The lesson came after she had met someone she had looked up to and admired for most of her life, only to work with them and find they weren’t the most pleasant person to walk the Earth. And she knew they had their reasons, but even on days when she felt like she just couldn’t, she still managed to find kindness. You could still be nice, and not be all smiles and super friendly.

Giving her a firm handshake, she pulled back her hand and shoved it back down in her pockets, “It’s nice to meet you Van, not like the car.” A warm, welcoming smile spread across her face. “And yeah, I’m at least gonna try and stick it out for a while. It’s not what I’m used to, but I like the house I’m living in and the view is pretty nice. Plus, the few people I have interacted with haven’t seemed too terrible.” Mackenzie was hoping it would lead to some friendships with people. It was nice having a few close friends in your corner, especially when you just wanted to get your mind off of things. Living life alone had been so hard, when she had grown up in the spotlight with all eyes on her most days, “Oh? What would you recommend? Miming isn’t set in stone. I’m just looking for fun things to do.” Anything that didn’t involve hordes of people, she was down for these days.

“Just a part of life in the spotlight I guess. Funny thing was they never tried to reach out or anything afterwards. And I never pressed charges. I probably should have…” The last part had been more to herself than anything, but sometimes she still wondered why the person did it. What was the desire in biting somebody? If it was to leave a permanent mark on Mackenzie, they certainly did along with several stitches and a tetanus shot.

---

Van kept her smile up as she withdrew her hand, pulling it to her chest. Mauricio would freak out knowing she had met Mackenzie Ross. Something finally happened in Wicked’s Rest that wasn’t absolutely terrible! Go figure! She would definitely rub it in Leila’s face, that was for sure. “Oh, I’m sure it’s awesome!” When you had money, you could make just about anywhere nice. But Van didn’t think that Mackenzie was that type of person– the one who’d shove their wealth in everybody’s faces. Maybe she needed a break from everything. Wicked’s Rest was usually in the news, but for nefarious reasons. Maybe she’d be safe here with all the weird sleepwalking people got into here. “I’m glad you like it though, it can be a little weird sometimes.” She scrunched her nose. 

“No, miming sounds super cool! If you want to do it, you should totally try it out! But there are, like, a ton of other things.” She tried to think about the plethora of options that Wicked’s Rest had to offer, but wasn’t sure if Mackenzie would be exactly down for any of them. “There’s hiking, if you like to do that. I don’t really like it, because I hate sweating, but there are some really nice trails! I’ve seen them in pictures.” She grinned at Mackenzie, thinking of what she might see on instagram down the road. Then again, she’d been too caught up in her own drama to notice that the actress hadn’t updated it in awhile. 

Van nodded seriously, considering what pain she went through after being bitten. Even if she hadn’t gotten sick, it must have been traumatizing. “I’m really sorry that happened to you, that like… really blows.” Van probably would have quit acting after that, honestly. “But hey, we gotta live in the moment, right?” She tilted her head to the side, considering what she had said and it holding no actual weight since she did not live life in the moment. 

---

“I’m blessed to be able to escape and still have a place to go.” Even if it is very empty and lonely. The last thing Mackenzie had wanted was to have run. To have left everyone and everything she ever cared about behind. And now her life consisted of standing here talking to a stranger about pantomiming. It was definitely not on her bingo card for the year or ever really, “Thank you. And thanks for your kindness. I feel like most people just want a picture or autograph and that’s it. I’ve really enjoyed our conversation. Knowing that people like yourself reside here makes me think I may have made the right choice.” Was running really ever the right choice? Especially when murder was on the table?

“Have you done it? Would you try it?” Mack had gotten so many different answers about miming and whether or not to do it. At this point she had somewhat second guessed herself, and it didn’t help that she still didn’t have a clue where most things were around Wicked’s Rest. If you included the many parks, the beach, and neighborhoods it wasn’t the smallest place, but it did have that small town vibe with privacy, for the most part, and that’s why the decision to stay here was getting a little easier. “Okay, I think you just spoke the magic words, because I absolutely love hiking and really doing anything outdoors. Case and point.” She motioned to Van’s skateboard.

Looking back up, Mackenzie shrugged her shoulders, “You really don’t have to apologize. It’s very sweet, but unless you were the person who bit me, which I don’t think you are, it is what it is.” If only she had known that the actions of one person had had so many consequences in her life. “But you’re right. Carpe diem.” The last time Mackenzie had really lived in the moment, she ate Brody. Maybe living in the moment when she was hungry wasn’t the best idea, “Uh, so I was actually headed to grab a bite to eat.” Lies. “Do you want to come?”

---

Van couldn’t fully understand Mackenzie’s contentment with simply existing, but she could understand being grateful for having somewhere to go. After everything that had happened between herself and her grandma, at least she was left with the house. Then again, it was her parents’ to begin with, and it had been her name on the will. Her lips pressed into a line and she nodded. “I like that. I’ll start using that.” Maybe she would, maybe she wouldn’t. She could use positivity in her life, even if she didn’t necessarily believe in it. When Mackenzie commented on the fact that she hadn’t asked for an autograph, she kicked herself. She was definitely hoping for one, but now that she had impressed her by not asking for one, she couldn’t just ask! 

“Oh, yeah, totally. I’m like, super chill. The coolest of the cool, ice cold and all that.” Van felt the nerves bubble in the pit of her stomach and she did her best to shoo them away. The last thing she wanted was to give Mackenzie the impression that she couldn’t be chill. Because she totally could. “I hope that nobody else bites you while you’re here.” She’d heard about it being something that happened, and even if it was weird, it wouldn’t happen twice to one person, would it? “Miming? No, I don’t think so. Not really my thing.” She could be quiet, but she really liked to talk, and she thought she made too many noises of discontent to really get the whole mime thing down. “But I think that you could totally do it if you really wanted to.” 

Van looked down at her board and she nodded. “This is the limit. I’ll scrape my knees, but I really don’t want poison ivy on my shins.” If Maine even had poison ivy. She wasn’t really sure. At Mack’s joke, Van shook her head. “No! No way. I’ve never been to Los Angeles either, so like, there’s no way I would have done that.” She had bitten somebody once, but they deserved it. And it didn’t leave a scar like that. Slightly shocked by Mack’s invitation, she pointed towards herself with her index finger. “You want to have lunch with me?” Oh god. She wasn’t prepared for this. Where would she take Mackenzie Ross? All she had was a hundred bucks in her checking account, and Mack Ross was, like, famous, so that probably meant somewhere fancy would be the choice. “Um…” She bit her lip, deciding that going into further debt might be worth it, “hell yes I do!” She practically pumped her arm into the air, board above her head. She winced slightly at the amount of excitement she was exuding, tucking her board to her chest again. “I mean, yeah, that’d be really cool. Um.. do you have any favorites yet?” Please don’t be expensive, please don’t be expensive. “I could get you a sick discount on some pizza, if you wanted?” Van added as an afterthought.

---

It wasn’t exactly how she had seen her day going running into a fan and having a full blown conversation, but it had been nice. Van was actually really sweet and it was nice getting some input of fun things to do in the area, “Hey, you don’t have to be anyway but yourself around me. I’m not that special. Trust me.” Mackenzie wanted Van to feel comfortable. Sometimes when people got super nervous or super excited around her, it became awkward, and she was just grateful that today hadn’t been one of those days, “I hope nobody bites me too.” Or that I don’t bite anybody. Mackenzie knew she wasn’t alive anymore, but she hadn’t thought about the consequences of biting or scratching somebody else. It was still too much for her to process that she had to survive off of brains, if she wanted to stay Mackenzie Ross.

“I don’t think it’s a lot of people’s thing, except maybe those people who work at that restaurant.” Mackenzie shrugged, “Maybe I’ll stick with youtube videos.” It would be better than potentially getting scammed from someone who claimed to know about miming, but didn’t.

Mack followed Van’s eyes back down to the board. She had a point. Scraped knees were one thing, but constantly scratching because of some devil plant was another. She had experienced this torture first hand on one of the movies she was working on, and it was horrible. But what was even worse had been the nest of yellow jackets she accidentally walked over while filming the same movie. She was down for several days after that incident. The young actress shuddered at the thought, before snapping out of a flashback, “You know, you have a point. Poison ivy is not fun and neither are yellow jackets. But I am glad to know these aren’t your teeth marks on my arm.” She laughed. “And yeah, I do want to have lunch with you.” I can’t taste anything, but it’s something that keeps me busy and not alone, so here we are. “I love pizza. Especially pineapple and jalapeno. And, like, the spicier the better.” Mackenzie was glad she had opted to stay and talk, and because of it, she had made another new friend in a town that was starting to feel a little less lonely each day. “Lead the way.”

[chrissymunsonsblog]

Título: Como Van Gogh (SatoSugu)

Personagens: Gojo Satoru [×] Geto Suguru

Credits: arts by @to00fu

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Abra aí pra pegar uma melhor resolução

[unajovenma]

Tus manos suaves como las nubes, tus labios rojos como el bombardeo de los latidos de mi corazón, tu cabello castaño oscuro como las grietas de los árboles que me gusta observar, tu sonrisa hermosa como la que siempre quise mirar o bien dicho admirar. Tus lunares tan perfectos que me creo un camino en tu cuerpo para poder besarte, tu silueta tan perfecta como las estrellas de Van Gogh. No puedo no mencionar tus ojos tan hermosos que no quiero dejar de mirar y tus abrazos tan cálidos que me hacen dejar el caos atrás. Esa eres tu, la mujer que no quiero dejar de amar.

-constanza.

[sambuchito]

amigos se los digo de todo corazon pero para que mierda le piden a los yankis que difundan o hablen lo que pasa en argentina? ya intervino suficiente los cogidos unidos en arg me parece no quiero leer las opiniones de gringos tipo prefiero mil veces otros compañeros latinos que estan pasando o pasaron por lo mismo ademas es como siempre nosotros le tenemos que decir por favor! mira lo que pasa en mi pais naah hacete culiar gringo

[ryan-waddell11]

if Paramore disbands, I will have the biggest mental breakdown anyone has ever seen.

[nevzatboyraz44]

Siz ne düşünüyorsunuz 🤔

[sweetbouquetartisane]

Feliz 7mo aniversario a uno de los partidos más caóticos de la historia: un récord mundial de 19 tarjetas amarillas

not pictured:

walter samuel 31' 🇦🇷 coaching staff

lionel scaloni 90' 🇦🇷 manager

nicolas otamendi 90+12'

denzel dumfries 128'PK shootout

denzel dumfries 129' red card

noa lang 129'PK shooutout

[spidersinmysoup]

I wish vegans were as vocal about animal rights with human rights

[vanskyfox]

🎸 Rock Star Zack Evans

Zack&Roll con su fiel compañero Luke!

Build made by @lea-heartscxiv (it's a great all-around place, although I've only used the stage, thank you so much 🙏💘)

CAS photos below ⬇️

[elbiotipo]

love Dr. Henry Wu "HOW DARE YOU SELL THE KILLING DINOSAUR TRAINED FOR WARFARE THAT I PERSONALLY DESIGNED TO PEOPLE WHO WILL USE IT FOR WARFARE"

he's been like this for 5 movies now AMIGO DATE CUENTA

[juantinarchive]

❤️‍🩹🥺

[amalia-red-22]

Magne

Sigo amando dibujarla

El personaje le pertenece a: @ptg-alia

[sambuchito]

bueno gano españa asi que sea lo que sea hoy es tiempo de venganza sudaca contra colonizadores asi que se ponen las pilas porque para no ir y reventarles el arco despues ni se calienten en ganar