#cherryethan

[goodgollymisshollywood]

text: ☆* ethan *☆

Holly: tell me you're not working next saturday?

Holly: there's a hitchcock marathon playing at the rialto in Breton, I saw the poster for it when I was there running errands.

Holly: Wanna come and ogle Anthony Perkins with me? Or y'know make fun of me for ogling anthony perkins...either/or?

[merrickwood]

text ✉️ ethan

Merrick: I’m sorry that I’ve been such a mess lately. And that I keep crying to you about him. You deserve better than that.

Merrick: I can’t imagine how you feel - or, worse, I can. Because I know the situations are eerily similar.

Merrick: But I love you. And as hurt as I am over losing Logan, I can’t lose you. It’s not just as simple as choosing one of you. There’s this, like, feeling inside of me that tells me I need you more than I need him. We never really talked about it - the difference between you two - but with you, I’m happier. Even if it doesn’t seem like it right now.

Merrick: Just give me some time and I promise I want to make you as happy as you make me.

[riversidechlo]

ca ⇄ ej

Chloe: Hey. Are you okay? Like after the whole waking up and not knowing what happened on Halloween thing?

[antagcnisms]

LOGAN ⇄ ETHAN

Logan: i got an offer from ohio state

Logan: i haven't told anyone yet

[amelialovehart]

text message 📲 mia and ethan

mia: hey! you still interested in the job i was telling you about?

mia: i got the details.

[merrickwood]

text ✉️ ethan.

Merrick: How're you holding up? Really?

[merrickwood]

text ✉ ethan.

Merrick: Did you give Lulu back her shirt?

[merrickwood]

text ✉ ethan

Merrick: You left your watch here when you left yesterday.

[antagcnisms]

shaking fists & trembling teeth.

WHO: Logan and Navy, Logan and Ethan WHAT: Logan makes some things clear to the man who hurt Ethan. WHEN: 4 February ( middle of the night )

He is many things—football star, high school heartthrob, all-around good guy—but peel back all of those layers and there is only one thing left: Logan Norris is angry. 

As fucked up as it may be, the recent tragedies that had befallen Riverside had made him feel normal in comparison. But then he’d seen Ethan—broken and bruised and begging him not to do anything stupid—and he knew he wouldn’t be able to outrun the beast any longer.

“How did you find me?” Navy hisses. Or, as much as he can with his face pressed against the coffee table and blood in his mouth. One of his arms dangles uselessly by his side, shoulder clean out of its joint, while the other hand remains crushed under Logan’s foot.

He shoves the man’s face harder into the broken glass, ignoring the choked out cry of pain as he leans in. “I’ve got friends in low places,” he answers. “You’re not as untouchable as you like to think you are.”

“Fuck you.” Navy responds. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you, kid. You and everyone you love.”

There are several sharp cracks as Logan grinds his foot down, fingers snapping like twigs under his boot. He imagines the compass on the back of Navy’s hands shattering under the force, and something—dark and twisted and unholy—within him sings with the thought. 

“Not if I kill you first,” Logan retorts, voice laced with venom, the edges of his syllables sharp and aiming to hurt. “The police wouldn’t even care. In fact, they might even give me a medal for helping clear the streets of scum like you.”

His grip on the back of Navy’s head falters for the briefest of seconds when the man starts to laugh, the laughter unceasing even as Logan yanks his head back only to slam it against the table again. “You think you have what it takes to kill someone?” Navy sneers.

Logan thinks of the time he almost cracked Lori’s skull open with his fist, of the way dark purple finger-shaped bruises covered Merrick’s hips more often than not when they were together, of Ethan having to pull him out of fights before he did any permanent damage, of the flicker of fear in Holly’s eyes whenever she was forced to patch him up—not of him, but for him, and for all the terrible things he is capable of.

He releases Navy, takes a step back and crouches so that they’re eye level as the man slumps back against the couch. “I can and I will kill you,” he promises, making sure to look Navy right in the eyes, unblinking, to convey the truth of the statement. This time, Navy doesn’t laugh. Clever man. “You stay the hell away from the people I care about, got it?”

The look that Navy shoots him is nothing short of pure hatred, but he nods anyway.

“Good,” Logan says, and then swings his arm back and pops the man right in the jaw hard enough to knock him out, stepping over his unconscious body. He’s about to leave when he spots a familiar duffel bag, half-hidden behind a display cabinet filled with various tchotchkes. A quick check reveals that it is indeed Ethan’s—the poorly stitched dick on the strap, courtesy of Logan during football camp the summer before junior year, is a dead giveaway—and that the bag is filled with cash.

He grabs the bag without thinking, slinging it over his shoulder before finally leaving.

The more distance he puts between himself and the man he almost beat the death, the more his anger fades, twisting into shame and self-loathing. Fear starts to creep in as well; he knows he should’ve listened to Ethan when he’d told him to leave it be, that there will be consequences for his actions tonight. But it’s too late to take back what’s already been done, and truth be told, it’s been a long time since Logan has felt as alive as he did when he was holding a man’s life in the palm of his hands.

It’s a dangerous path to go down, one that he’s tried his best to keep from slipping onto for as long as he can remember. The stain on his soul grows bigger, and Logan wonders what tonight has cost him—but he doesn’t regret it. Maybe he will, come light of day, once he’s washed the blood off and feels like himself again, but right now, watching the dark windows of the Jenkins house from where he’s parked, he thinks his humanity is a price he’s willing to pay to keep the people he loves safe.

He means to drop the bag of cash off and leave, but he doesn’t count on Ethan being awake, ducking at the last second and just narrowly avoiding taking a baseball bat to the face. “It’s just me!” he whisper-yells, flicking the bedroom light on before Ethan can take another swing at him.

“Fucking hell, Logan,” Ethan swears, rubbing a hand over his face as he props the bat next to his bedside table. “I thought you were—”

“Navy?”

He can pinpoint the exact moment Ethan registers what he’s said, unable to miss the flash of panic in his best friend’s eyes. Ethan’s gaze drops to the duffel bag at his side, and then to the blood on his knuckles. “Logan, what the fuck did you do?”

“Does it matter?” Logan replies with a shrug. 

“Yes, it fucking matters!” Ethan hisses, eyes growing impossibly wider. “Do you have a death wish? Guys like Navy don’t fuck around, he’s going to—”

“I almost killed him tonight,” Logan interjects. “I could have. I wanted to.”

Something in Ethan’s expression softens—it looks too much like pity, and Logan burns with the shame of his confession. “You’re not a killer.”

Logan laughs at that, but the sound is sharp and mirthless. “No, I’m not,” he concedes, “Not yet, anyway.” Ethan frowns, and he opens his mouth—probably to disagree—but Logan doesn’t want to have that conversation; not ever, preferably, but definitely not here and not now. 

“Thought you might want this back,” he says suddenly, holding the duffel bag out to Ethan.

Ethan remains quiet for a long moment, finally deciding to acquiesce to Logan’s unspoken plea, not protesting the abrupt change of subject. “I don’t want the money,” Ethan says simply.

“Then burn it,” Logan returns immediately. “Or donate it to charity, whatever. Doesn’t matter what you do with it as long as it’s not in Navy’s hands.”

Another long moment, and then Ethan reaches out, taking the duffel bag from him. The silence between them stretches, coils itself around Logan’s neck like a noose. He can’t stay, can’t look at Ethan in the eyes, afraid of what he might find there; he’s not sure which is worse—Ethan’s judgement or his sympathy, and he's not in a hurry to find out.

“I’m going to go,” he announces, pivoting on his heels and starting to head back the way he entered. “Sorry about scaring you.”

He’s almost out of Ethan’s room when the sound of his name stops him in his tracks, and he glances over his shoulder, still not quite able to meet his best friend’s eye. Ethan doesn’t say anything for a moment, and then sighs at the realisation that Logan’s withdrawn into himself, gone someplace that no one can follow, although he mutters a quiet thank you anyway.

There’s a lot Logan can say in response to that: you’re welcome, or anytime, or did you really think I’d let him get away with what he did to you? In the end, he says nothing, only nodding in acknowledgement of Ethan’s gratitude.

And then he’s gone.

[antagcnisms]

LOGAN ⇄ ETHAN

Logan: merrick says if either of us doesn't ask her to homecoming soon, she's going to ditch us both for another boyfriend

Logan: also she wants a custom-made bouquet made entirely of junior mints

[merrickwood]

face to face ↬ ethan.

when: saturday, october 12th // sunday, october 13th ( late night, post original f2f  ) where: riverside high, mid lock-in what: merrick keeps hearing that ethan has drugs and wants to know why ( and why he isn’t sharing them w her. )

It was after the third person had said ‘yeah, I got it from Ethan’ that Merrick’s shackles officially raised. It wasn’t that she was surprised he had drugs - most of them did, at some point or another - but if anyone was supplying, it was usually Frankie, not Ethan. And if Ethan was supplying, that meant he had gotten them from somewhere and that somewhere made her nervous - her mothers words rang through her ears; “he’s one step away from being a bad influence”. 

( god, if her mother caught him with drugs, she was going to be banned from seeing him. ) 

He wasn’t hard to find - climbing out of the fort that a bunch of seniors had made under the bleachers in the gymnasium, music playing way too loudly as people worked on the floats ( something Merrick had long since given up, somewhere around the first or third tiny bottle of liquor ), brushing his hands on his jeans as he smiled up at her. 

A stupid, dumb smile that was definitely not about to let him off the hook even if it made her knees weak and her heart beat a little faster just knowing he belonged to her. She was stronger than that. Even if she was a little tipsy. 

“You,” she forced the word out as strongly as possible, his eyebrow raising as she poked him in the chest, trying to keep her face as fierce as possible, channeling her mother with unfair ease, “where are you getting everything from, huh? And why do you have it? You’re keeping things from me and you’re not supposed to.”

[merrickwood]

text ✉ ethan

Merrick: You don't have to reply to this but I have to tell him.

Merrick: I'm gonna tell him tonight. I'm sorry.

Merrick: Not about kissing you - those two nights were incredible. I don't regret them. I'm sorry about the fact that I hurt Logan, and that I hurt Lulu who I still haven't figured out how to talk to about this and

Merrick: But I can't lose him. And right now I think that means I can't have you too. Which is bogus and unfair and I hate

Merrick: I'm sorry that now you have to get hurt. And if you hate me, like, I get it. Just know that I wish it was literally any other way but he needs to know and he loves me so much and I can't

Merrick: I owe him better than this.

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] I love you.

[goodgollymisshollywood]

Where: Riverside High Gymnasium When: Early hours of the morning Sunday, 13th October Who: Holly and @ethjenkins

She was running low, the thought reverberates inside her head, had been most of the night, every time she slipped out of the room to freshen up, hiding away in one of the bathrooms to pop the cap off her bottle and swallow down another helper – she was running low.

Usually it wasn’t that big of a predicament, nothing a trip to her father’s study couldn’t fix at any rate, but with Merrick watching her more closely lately and her mother hanging around the house instead of out more often than not, the risk for once didn’t quite seem to outweigh the reward.

Only Holly had been hitting the bottle a little too much lately and she only had enough for two maybe three days tops left so it was either time to man up or explore alternative options.

She’d been hearing whispers all night “Ethan can hook you up with whatever you need” nothing she put too much stock in to begin with, she’d known Ethan too long to honestly believe he’d suddenly become some kind of Scarface style drug pusher, but as the night wore on and she’d heard some variation of the same thread several times over she wondered...would it really hurt to ask?

He’s awake and relaxed in a corner by himself when she approaches him, weaving her way quietly around sleeping bodies strewn around the gymnasium floor, and they’re too far away from the handful of people still not passed out for their conversation to be heard so she’s not in the least bit worried  about burning ears and Ethan has never been the gossiping kind so she knows even if the rumours swirling around about him turn out to be completely wrong he’ll keep whatever she says to himself “Of all the gym joints in all the world...you’re a hard man to pin down Jenkins.”

[merrickwood]

not like the movies

who: merrick wood & @ethjenkins when: friday, september 20th, late night what: after the second winning game in a row, ethan kidnaps merrick for an early birthday surprise a/n: starting this before friday because we ( i ) have no calm

Merrick was easily the youngest in her class, and it was the bane of her existence. Technically, she should have been in the grade below - one of the oldest, instead of the youngest - but Whitney Wood wouldn’t have that, and had pushed Merrick into kindergarten before she even hit 5 years old because of her ‘surely superior intellect’, banking on her sisters giant brain to slide her in early. 

So she never really celebrated her birthday. Sure, there was cake, and presents, and undoubtedly her sister and her would watch The Sound of Music in Holly’s room with an entire gallon of ice cream, but other than that, she kept things quiet. She didn’t want parties, she didn’t want to make it a big deal. Which is why it was perfect that her 16th fell on a Sunday - most would forget, no one would even notice, and nothing would have to really be acknowledged. 

Besides, there was another home game, and another win under their belt meant a party. This time it was at Garland’s - she’d invited the girls to celebrate, which in turn had brought the guys with them, and before the clock even struck midnight her house was full of people from all over town, drinking and dancing and making out all over their cheer coach’s backyard. ( Clearly no one cared that she might have been a murderer when they could play beer pong on her back porch. ) 

She’d spent the day in Ethan’s spare jersey, having worn Logan’s the previous game, and donned it once again over her cheer skirt when the game was over, hugging both her boyfriends and jumping on Logan’s back as they wandered through the party. 

But Logan had disappeared - off with Bradley or Amelia or someone else, undoubtedly - and Merrick found Ethan sitting on Garland’s couch, nursing a cup of beer and looking surprisingly bored. 

“Hey you,” Merrick cooed, curling up in his lap and taking his cup from him to drink some before he could argue. “You were amazing out there tonight, did I tell you that yet? Because you were.” 

[goodgollymisshollywood]

ethjenkins‌:

i don’t understand… how you can be so… boring. and at a time like this. the end is here and you’re bringing it in faster.

The end is here...you sound like a vaguely ominous bible passage or one of those posters you see in the nurses office that warn you off teen pregnancy.

There’s no use prolonging the inevitable, as far as I’m concerned graduation can’t come soon enough.

[merrickwood]

skin & bones & brains & blood

who merrick wood & ethan jenkins what merrick & ethan take a trip to the shut down college, have some fun along the way when thursday, november 21st, evening  a/n the plan is for this to get smutty, so.

Living in a town full of mystery and intrigue was a lot more boring than it seemed in all the television shows. Even with the current hot bed of criminal activity - disappearances, arsons, murders and entire schools shutting down - Merrick had still been more focused on her own personal affairs than the world around her. 

Or maybe she was just narcissistic. Selfish. There were a handful of people that would certainly argue that that was the case, at any rate. 

But while Holly was still constantly battling her - a fight Merrick didn’t want anymore, had never wanted, was tired of trying to reconcile - and she and Lulu were attempting to find clues where they could about Garland’s location, things were finally feeling...settled, in a way. She could see now, the pain on Logan’s face when he saw her with Ethan that said he was hurting as much as she was. That he missed her, and she missed him, and as wrong as it was, it settled her. 

( She almost felt like if he made a move on Holly now, she’d be okay with it. But then her stomach would churn, and while she wouldn’t go deep into a state of depression like she had been, she also knew it was just one step away from getting there if it was the case. ) 

Which meant that she could, once again, focus on her actual boyfriend. And getting back to normal for them was her primary focus. Whether or not she got kicked off the cheer squad ( entirely likely, and, once the season was over, she wouldn’t even care, really ) was still up in the air, whether or not Holly was ever going to be her sister again ( emotionally, not biologically - she didn’t have a choice in that capacity ), whether or not they’d ever see Garland again - none of it mattered as much as being with Ethan as a real, true girlfriend did. 

Because she was. His girlfriend. And it was getting easier to remember that, easier to focus on the bubble of happiness in her chest that was Ethan and easier to ignore the weight of the depression that was Logan every passing day. 

( “You’ll move on, Bug,” her father had promised, stroking her hair one night while watching football highlights on the television. “You have Ethan. He’s a good guy. You’ll be okay.” 

It was the nicest thing either of her parents had ever said about the Jenkins siblings, and Merrick clung to it at night when she texted Ethan about the approval. )

Normal, for them, meant doing stupid things that most people would scoff or roll their eyes at. Sure, they could have dates - rollerskating at the Inner Skate by the edge of town, movies at the drive in or the local dollar cinema that had three screens and also never showed anything recent, picnics by the lake - but they also did things like adopt a dog, and howl in the woods during the full moon, and drive to Alabama just to dance around a Walmart at 2am. 

She didn’t know which of them had decided to look at the abandoned college, but she had her fathers old Nikon with her, one of Ethan’s old hoodies keeping her warm, and Ethan the Dog ready and waiting when Ethan the Human picked them up. They parked far away enough that no one would find it suspicious, but close enough to walk, and as they reached the front doors - unlocked, just like Gigi had promised, Merrick raised an eyebrow, her dog cowering slightly behind them on his leash while her boyfriend grinned at her. 

“Scared yet?”