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108garys · 2 months ago

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Resilience

for my first fic of the year here's my first ever fic related to the quarry, but of course I am a lover of the supermassiverse as always so it definitely references dark pictures stuff, namely the hoa vampires as this is a post canon vampire Abi fic but there is one other anthology character in this

Warnings are: biting, choking, impalement, disembowelment, blood, drinking blood, unethical experimentation, captivity, just generally gets violent around the middle, mental intrusion, surreal nightmare/dreams, cannibalistic elements(4800+ words)

(end of summer/2021)

"...the subject was infected?"

Abi tries to lift her head, her arm burning from where she was bit hours ago. "She didn't turn..." A man's voice reaches her ears through a haze, a weight lay heavily on her chest, cold metal stings her skin, the bright lights above blinding. "...it was in her system for hours, she should have..." She shuts her eyes, a faint throbbing in her head, surely she will be released soon... "...the subject's resilience is unprecedented..." she curls on the bench in the small cell as the voices murmur about resistances, about curses and tests... So many tests...

She drifted away in the darkness, back in that place... A kiss in a clearing, moonlit cool breeze, hands in hands on fabric and flesh and teeth, tasting something new... Unease. Blood and fear, desperation and betrayal... Tainted by gloss she does not wear...

In the void of white hot light she is held by unseen hands. Strange voices echo in the nothing, speaking of a darker darkness far below the earth, her mind is ever moving through a thick sludge as the essence of terror moves through her. Abigail is tormented by what was, what could have been and the things she'll never know... The sight of her head torn from her, bloodied tiles, her body picked apart piece by piece... an easy meal and other more human horrors as she coughs and chokes, filling until overflow until her heart beat drowns out all else, pushed past her limitations, breaking apart, as she was expected to do. It must end, she could not bare it and yet... She had survived.

...Another test passed, another trial overcome...

All fades into normalcy, the faceless ones ask and ask and record in repeation, twisting around account of memories and nightmares until the boundaries blur and bleed together.

She is starving but not starved, she eats and eats as they provide, unable to be truly satisfied... Her grasp on the concept of time slips, split between the white of waking horror and the black of night terrors, greying further they take blood and replace it with something else... mark her all over in preparation for the next test, it must be something big as the lines run across her skin in all the places a surgeon's cruel blade would cut, but she does not fear for it will be over soon...

...in endless night she finds herself, sitting alone in that clearing under the full moon, believing her life was already over... Abi looks into her eyes as she sits by her side, processing the truth of the things she swallowed for the sake of peace... And to be wanted. Taking the hands of her other self she knows how this goes... A kiss, soft and tentatively reassuring, but without that other feeling, no lies to accept as she sees herself without shame, no monster lurks in the shadows but herself and she's there once again on wet tiles, in that moment of truth she had done what she had to do but remained tormented by the what ifs and deep down she knows as she views this lesser self with hungry eyes, an unbearable need drove her, her body a raw nerve as she acts, sharp teeth and nails ripping through fabric and flesh, sinking into her own throat. The brutality experienced in full as predator and prey, devoured and becoming full, accepting herself in full, vibrant and passionate flowing through her veins, warmth washing over her, consuming and clarifying this true version of herself. Abigail stands alone, a remade in the image of herself...

Her mind surfaces through the haze of fading dreams, laying flat on her back she doesn't know how long she's been staring up at the ceiling lights, how long she has been immobile... She scrunches up her face, skin pulling oddly over changed features, she brings her hands to run over her face, feeling the small horns protruding from her skull and razor sharp fangs in her mouth, stretching and testing her strength before rising to her feet, her surroundings unfamiliar yet deceptively mundane, the facade of a normal room but the scent too sterile and devoid of life. A mirror covers one wall, created for observation, undoubtedly much more secure than her old cell. This new self gazes out from the reflective surface, the devil in her shape, thin pale scars running across her skin, wide red eyes, fangs and claws, horns poking through her dark hair... Her mouth reddened from a recent meal, feeling content if not for her captivity... But not forever.

Abi behaves herself, letting them believe she is a successful vampire, as they freely call her now, passing their tests and exceeding their expectations watching all the while for a crack she can slip through...

For months Abigail is akin to a rat running through obstacles to be studied and graded, her enhanced senses open her eyes, faceless they remain behind their gasmasks and hazard suits but a heartbeat doesn't lie, she observes them back... Something is coming and they aren't entirely certain of her survival.

Her final test begins in a large room, clumsily furnished to appear as a living room with cheap mismatched furniture, the scientists must know she can tell what they intend to unleash for no matter how much they scrub away the evidence the corruption remains, the scent of something much older and hungrier, Abi runs her hand over the wall, claw marks... Another vampire.

Her back is to him as he enters, his footsteps heavy on the hard floor, she steps away from the wall she takes in the sight of him, tall, lean, skin grey and eyes sunken, he looks rough... how long has he been here?

"Manny Sherman," he introduces with a devilish grin, showing his fangs, he bares the same markings as hers, a subject of the same experiments, "But you may know me as the Beast of Arkansas."

"Who?" She asks to his immediate annoyance, the smug look falling from his face. As he takes a step towards her she attempts to smooth over any insult. "I've never met another... Like me," she'd never called herself a vampire out loud although she knew it was the scientific classification, "You don't sound like you're from Arkansas."

She breathes a sigh of relief as that gets a chuckle from him, which is short lived as he grabs her wrist and tugs her towards the couch in the centre of the room, making her sit with him. "Don't they teach kids manners anymore? Usually the other person introduces themselves too." he berates her, releasing her to stretch his arms over the back of the couch, Abi looks at him, he looks half dead and rat like, she attempts to compose herself knowing that this is a test, there's no leaving this room until it's over. "Abigail, I've been here since the end of summer, how long have you...?"

"Long before you were even a thought, in 97 I slipped up with a nice girl," he puts his feet up on the table as he looks thoughtful before adding with a sly look, "Looked a little like you, you're a nice girl aren't you, Abigail?" she almost reflexively shifted away from him, which clearly amused him. He leans towards her. "in 2003 they gave me death for the murder of 13 women, 'officially'." She looks away, unable to escape her reflection in that damn mirror they use throughout the facility, hating how obvious her discomfort is, why couldn't they be 'no reflection' vampires? She wraps her arms around herself trying to appear more casual then afraid.

"Were you a vampire back then? I mean if you needed the blood..." She tries to rationalise but he laughs like that's the biggest joke he'd ever heard, he puts his feet back on the ground and leans closer with his hands on his knees. "That would make it so much better wouldn't it? After all, wild beasts can't be blamed for the things they do," he shifts closer, his tone more serious, "Save the moral posturing, you're a killer too, I can see that-"

"I'm not- I didn't! It was self defence." Manny put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. "You live like this as long as I have you pick up a thing or two, you still got the scent of the last punk to stomp on your heart, before you put him down like a dog that is-"

"I didn't kill him, he survived..." she looks down at her hands in her lap, replay that moment over, seeing clear as day. "I shot him right as he transformed into this... Grotesque monster, it was enough to drive him off and I never saw him again." She looks up at him, surprised at how close his face is as he squeezes her shoulder. "Deep down you're glad that guy was a monster, so you can ignore the guilt of taking a life, but you did mean to take a life and if you could justify it once you can justify it again."

"What does it matter in here?" Abi attempts to evade the topic, expressing frustration over their situation, his hands shifted to run through her hair as she desperately looks for a way to salvage something positive from the experience. "Have you ever tried to escape?" she whispers in the hope that the scientists, damn them, wouldn't be able to pick up her words. "The world has changed a lot since the late 90s... Maybe we could help each other out?" Manny's hand moves to the back of her neck, through his intense grin she can see the judgement in his eyes. "You think you're smart, Huh?" his grasp preventing her from moving away. "Just bat your lashes and act like you won't run for the hills the second you're out of here... I'm sure you expect me to do ALL the killing too? Then you can continue pretending you're not a monster." She put her hands on his chest firmly. "Please, I'm not-"

She gasps as he yanks her forward sinking his fangs into her shoulder, pushing her down in the process, her arms trapped between them. It doesn't hurt like being bitten before had but the terror is suffocating. He releases her shoulder as she drove her clawed fingers hard into his stomach, quickly pushing her off the couch. She scrambles to her feet, putting the couch between them, he looks down at the damage, shock quickly replaced with a devilish grin, her blood dripping from his mouth. "We're both vampires, you gain nothing from this." she tries desperately to appeal to him as she backs up further as he swiftly steps around the couch.

"But I need the blood, don't I, Abigail... That's what you think?" He pushes her hard against the wall, mocking her earlier attempt to rationalise his behaviour. "Just wild animals acting on instinct," Manny wraps a hand around her throat, lifting her just above his eye level as she's pinned to the wall, her feet dangling off the ground. Kicking. Clawing at his wrist. "There's something different about you, what is this?" He licks her blood from his lip, the gears turning in his mind that the lab may have progressed in their experimentation-

She attempts to yells out as his claws impale her stomach, burying his talon like fingers deep into her flesh, grip on her throat tightening. Hot blood flows freely from her, the scent overpowering in the small room as he tears through her. Soaking through cloth and flesh. Running all the way down to drip, drop by drop, to the floor at his feet.

He grins, blurry in her vision as she slumps forward, horns brushing over horns as something stirs in the back of her mind. Flashes, sparks of raw nerves... He presses his horns back into hers, solidifying that connection and she was back in that place... A man chases a woman through the woods, flesh and hair bloody and again and again, she sees him and her, parts of them intersperse. For so long had he been here, the very first experiment, undefeated he lives for this. She sees herself as he sees her, as she is. The perfect victim. An unexpected threat. Her mind lain bare to him and his to her.

She struggles for purchase, for something to cling to pushing through their psyche. Claws catching and tearing at his gnarled face before he throws her across the room, tumbling over the couch. The table breaks beneath her, mirror shattered behind. He stalks towards her, shoving the couch out of the way. "That's the boy you were crying over?" He laughs despite the anger in his eyes, "Your worthless friends didn't give a damn about you, they threw you away the second you stopped amusing them." He taunts. "Not. Even. Human."

Abi grasps for a broken table leg, feeling like she had back then but this time she has blood on her hands, under her nails, she can't resist the urge to taste, her fingers in her mouth, Feeling stronger than she knew. "That's right, show me who you are, Abigail." Staggering to her feet she swings the hefty wood at his head. Splintering sharply as it catches his horns, ducking as he lunges she plunges the wood deep into his thigh. Pulling it out with great effort, the floor a mess of debris and slick with blood. Striking again at his clawed stomach, tearing deeper. There is nothing but survival. The wood breaks off in the wound, he rips out a fist full of her hair before a terrible sound screams out-

An ear splittingly loud screech of painful noise assaulted her senses like the one that kept them safe during that summer night. Manny felt it too, falling to his knees in agony. They're of no value if they both die, Abi pushes through, taking up more of the debris, pushing herself to her feet, putting a hand out to steady herself, feeling the exposed wall behind the shattered glass. Opportunity. She desperately shatters the glass. Tearing at anything she can get her hands on. Her rage matching her pain as she rips fixtures off the wall, rips up previously hidden wires, until... Silence.

The noise subsided the power cut and the room is in total darkness. Her red eyes scan as Manny twitches and recovers but she can't waste this chance. She pulls at the door, the electronic locks disengaged she pulls it open and throws herself through, running in the darkness she navigates the places she knows, taking advantage of the resulting chaos. Screams echo behind her, she's not the only one making a run for it, maybe it's Manny, maybe it's some other experiment but she's grateful for the distraction, the smell of human blood fills the narrow halls, gunfire sounds in the distance. She pushed into a vent, crawling through a maze of tight metal tunnels, seeking the scent of fresh air. Hours pass unaware of the extent of the chaos, happening in the lab...

The smell of fresh cool air and distant smoke greets her as she kicks out an external vent, waiting before she steps out into the night. She presses herself to the building as a large bat like creature flies overhead, not daring to breathe until it disappears into the night. Abi carefully slides down into a shallow riverbed, flowing away from the facility. The harsh glow of the now burning lab casting strange shadows through the dense greenery surrounding the building, she keeps moving until she falls to her knees in a quiet clearing, her stomach grotesquely wounded, on the verge of spilling her guts she tries to catch her breath, licking the blood from her hands. Dulling the pain a little-

Movement catches her attention. He's here. "What was that you were saying? You and me helping each other out?" Manny smugly steps out in front of her, kneeling down, he looks far rougher than he had, she lifts her head unable to hide what she was doing, unable to respond from the damage he'd inflicted on her throat. "This is what we are." He takes her wrist, biting into it. He teaches her this lesson as he feeds, the cannibalistic act healing, he pulls her close again, unwilling to lose his easy meal. It fills her with rage, that he thinks he can use her like that, that he thinks he can look into her mind, that he can act like she didn't see into his. How dare he.

She throws her head back, striking his chin, horns tearing through his throat in the process. His blood flows over her as she pushes forward, sinking her fangs into the open wound, blind to everything else she drinks and drinks until she is whole and he is still... She hadn't factored her horns in her attempt, hadn't intended to tear into him like that and maybe she should be horrified by taking his life but she wasn't. Even if he had intended some twisted little vampire team up and things were different away from the lab she still couldn't regret it. She takes one last look, the things she could have learnt weren't worth the price, even now his empty eyes taunt her with the mark he'd left upon her, the tangled mess of memories clear in her mind. She is herself... only herself, but her eyes are wide open to so much more...

(current day)

She is free, she is alive... She is alone. Abi adjusts to the world around her, filled with noise and colour she could not conceptualise. She sifts through the memories, writing them down and sorting through what is hers, his and creations of her long captivity, they bleed and blur at the edges, 70 years extra knowledge fills her mind to over flowing, but it's not all bad, she learns many things from her stolen experiences, where vampires came from, the things she could do, how to blend in and to survive in the wild...

The first time she killed a human she was already desensitised, decades of violence lingers in her psyche but never had she taken from those undeserving. Often her prey stalks her, offering themselves unaware of her nature and seeing only the past self. Just a girl, naive enough to hitchhike all on her own...

Abi sits, wearing a warm coat although she does not feel the cold, her horns poke through her hat, easily taken as an intentional design choice, red lenses distract from the colour of her eyes, her fangs, although front and centre, weren't too big if she didn't call attention to them. She sits outside a roadside diner shortly after dark, taking in the sounds and scent of humanity as she draws a memory from a sunlit morning before her time, she could almost feel the warmth on her skin as she sketches an old labrador resting in the morning sunshine as an older man fails at imparting wisdom despite his best efforts. A slither of humanity restored through the creative process... He was an artist too and it was hard to disagree when she could feel what he felt in recollection.

"Abi?" A nostalgic scent, a familiar voice, the elevated pulse, she dares not to hope but as she looks... "It's actually- god you look... I can't believe-" Jacob stops as she stands, packing away her things in her bag, he doesn't miss what's right in front of him, not after what they'd been through all those years ago. He glances around at the quiet surroundings, his heart speaks of nervous hope, she supposes it would be less frightening if she spoke... "Jacob, what are you doing out in the middle of nowhere?" She smiles, trying not to expose her fangs too much, "I thought you'd be halfway across the country playing..." she struggles to recall which sport but he nervously chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, no... Things haven't exactly panned out that way, no I-" he points to a car across the lot, "You need a ride anywhere or?"

She nods, following him, hardly believing it. Is he human? He smells human. He puts her stuff in the back and the second they're shut in he just stares, understandably. "Everyone said you were dead, god I- what happened to you?" she slowly removes her sunglasses and places them atop her horns, giving him a moment to process her red eyes, a heavy feeling settles inside her. "There are worse secrets than finding out your boss is a werewolf."

"How much worse?" He asks cautiously, she looks at herself in the rear view mirror, "It's a long story," she warns as he offers. "I live around a half hour away from here, maybe you could... stay- if you don't have other plans."

Her eyes well up with tears, she hadn't realised she was still capable of producing, he immediately puts a hand on her shoulder as she just nods along with the suggestion, she wipes her hands over her face as he pulls onto the road. For what feels like forever they don't speak as they process this strange reunion, she wants to ask about him, about the others but, she knows that she owes her own expectations, even if it goes against every survival instinct she's acquired...

"I was never released after... After I was made like this, I fought for my freedom," she starts cautiously, "This is who I am now, as if werewolves weren't enough, someone made me this way... The justification was that my previous infection would positively impact the end results of their experiment." He nods along, looking concerned with his eyes on the road. "So... the government turned you into a vampire?"

"I know it sounds like some nutty conspiracy theory, I would have thought so if I hadn't lived it." She looks at him trying to gauge his reaction to her presence. He smiles bitter sweetly. "I'm in no position to judge, not after what we saw... God I just can't believe you're alive... Or as alive as a vampire can be?"

"I'm not that type of vampire, I'm not undead in the literal sense," she explains, sensing his relief but still unsure of how much she should spill, "So... If not college, what have been doing, exactly?" He turns down a narrow dirt road. "Farm work, really, after everything I wasn't- I needed time and just like that I blew my one shot at going to school debt free on athletic scholarships," She looks down the long path ahead as he continues, shame evident in his voice. "The plan was to work on my great aunt's property until I sort myself out and then maybe community college, maybe trade school."

"Jacob, when your relatives see me..." She starts to broach the obvious. "It's not like we're teens, I'm allowed to have guests-" He stops short realising what she meant. "Right, my place is at the far end of the property... We'll figure it out, just, try not to scare the sheep." He says with genuine concern for the animals, it's endearing how he cares for them... And how he so easily accepts that she's still herself. She has to fight back tears again as he gets out to open the gate, she's considered going back to her family but she can't let them see her like this... It wouldn't be fair to them.

As they finish the drive up to the house something becomes clearer to her in this small space, although entirely human, Jacob's scent carries the slightest undertone of wolf's blood, it's barely perceptible even to her but the curse left it's mark and while it's not what he planned he's still doing something... Something more than living like an animal in the woods. "There's some large crates in the shed if you need 'coffin time' during the day?" Abi shakes her head, nearly laughing at the suggestion as the get inside. "No that's fine, I only really hide through the day so people don't look too close at my horns."

"Chrissake!? ...those are real?" He sits her bag on the couch, taking a minute to process this information, "I'm sorry, I just- god I thought they were part of the hat... I guess that's on purpose, huh?" He laughs at himself sitting down with his head in his hands, she sits next to him taking off her hat for him to see, he reflexively reaches out but stops himself... Why does he seem l so guilty? "It's okay." Abi allows him to continue, her eyes flutter shut as the back of his hand brushes her cheek, his touch human and warm... She looks at him as he runs his finger tips over her smooth horns, his heart rate picking up as he processes it all, she has to stop herself from leaning in as he pulls his hand away. "God... I'm so sorry," He say in a quiet pained voice, "It's all my fault."

"Everything is my fault." Abi tentatively touches his shoulder getting him to look at her. "Jacob? ...tell me." Silence. His heart races, he's nervous, more so than when he realised what she is, he takes a deep breath, looking at her seriously. "Everything that happened that night, after the van... died, it's my fault, I just wanted one more day so I- I sabotaged the van and then everything went so wrong," Abi stares at him, her heart breaks that he thinks he's responsible for everything that happened after that, they may as well blame the decision to take the job at all, lord knows she did so countless times, "...the next morning I told Emma what I'd done and we thought you were dead- we were told you were dead, she was furious, she blamed me and when she told the others what I did..."

Abi is speechless, is it any wonder he hid out here for all these years? She took his hand gently and spoke carefully. "I'm still here, I'm alive even if I'm... Different." He takes his hand back, rolling up his sleeve, holding his arm out. "It's the least I can offer, you can stay in the other room if you have no where else to go and you don't have to starve, I'm willing."

Abi is torn, his guilt kills her, that he believes he needs to suffer for it... But the offer itself? The desire for it... The temptation is palpable, she knows it's possible to feed off a human without killing them, she knows she's not infectious but... Every single one got what they deserved, the inherited memory helped her understand the mind of the predators she preys upon... If she gives in. "I don't want to hurt you."

He looks dumbfounded by her answer, he laughs in disbelief, shaking his head before looking away. "Nick punched me right in the mouth when he found out," he smiles through the painful memories, "he just wasn't the same after that, I think he went back to Australia... Kaitlyn is the only one who still talks to me," He's quite for a moment before standing up and picking up her bag awkwardly, he'd expected her to hate him. "Let's get you settled."

For the first time in years she rests easy, feeling safe... and human... And maybe?

She opens her eyes as he knocks on the door, when she answers the look on his face tells her everything his heart had already exposed... He wants to go through with it, not just out of guilt but... "Abi, I... I want to take care of you." She doesn't speak, taking him by the hands and leading him to sit on the edge of the bed, when he offers his wrist to her she takes it this time, leaning in with a delicate hold before her fangs sink into his flesh, hearing him stifle the pained groan as he's bit, he pulls her close as she feeds, his fingers in her hair grounding as she focuses on staying in control... 'this is what we are' her mind replays what she'd been taught of her inherent brutality, but that's not who she is, even with all his memories, the sum total of Manny Sherman's experience... She can almost understand him but she won't be like that, he won't make her, the things she's been through won't make her...

She stops before any real damage can be done to Jacob, looking up at him he runs a finger over the edge of her mouth to wipe a small drop of blood, eyes soft and full of gratitude for the simple fact that she's alive... They aren't alone anymore.

@kassiekole22 @delurkr @ctrvpani @tinynightmarewoman

@eframschweigersskincells @kindheartedgummybears @aydeenchan

#The quarry #the devil in me #House of ashes #The dark pictures anthology #the dark pictures the devil in me #the dark pictures house of ashes #abigail blyg #jacob custos #Jabigail #<is that their ship name #abi blyg #Jacob/Abi #Manny Sherman #hoa vampires #all of the vampires #oneshot #ramblings #supermassive games

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valeanthenaeum · 3 months ago

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sad tale of many a heart

Jacob Custos x Gender Neutral Reader - One Shot

cw: light angst, break up mentioned.

summary: seeing your past lover while crossing paths lead you to remember a time when things were better. but, that was the past.

word count: 4k+

Droplets of rain fell from the sky, pattering against the concrete as you stood, waiting for the traffic light to turn green. Your earbuds playing music that encircled your ears. As you notice, the droplets soon turned to a constant pour, which prompted you to pull out your umbrella, thanking yourself for bringing one this time. You press the button against the handle, pushing up the mechanism that allows for the umbrella to spring out, lifting it over your head. A little wet, but nothing that was soaking, thankfully. You began walking, taking your time due to the wet streets covered in rainwater.

‘Don’t slip, don’t slip, don’t slip,’ you told yourself internally as you crossed the street. Man, it would have been embarrassing to slip; nevertheless, in front of many cars with drivers who probably were watching as you crossed.

Making it successfully without slipping, you continued your journey to the train station. You were pretty good on time, usually, a routine when it came to transit. Even if… sometimes you were running dangerously late to the train. Hell, public transportation, period. You pulled your cellphone out, checking the time as the screen lit semi-brightly. Bold numbering to the time, you nodded slightly.

8:29 PM.

Your thumb pressed the skip button a few times, attempting to find the right song. Even with a playlist, you had moments of skipping certain songs on it you just didn’t feel like listening to. Not a crime, but probably something that gets judged. You didn’t care anyway. As you found said song, you pressed the side button of your phone, placing it away in your pocket. It wasn’t exactly the best weather, raining while also being in the heart of January; it was cold. Your hands felt cramped, and oftentimes you’d have to move them just to get the blood flowing.

You exhaled sharply, the cold condensation air breezed from your mouth. Your gaze stared ahead as you walked, the different shop signs that caught your attention. Some, buzzing with fluorescent neon signs lit up the sidewalk along with some overhead streetlights. Despite the weather and the temperature, you found it calming, almost therapeutic. It wasn’t busy on the sidewalk with everyday people, all in a hurry to get someplace. Still, some here and there, but it wasn’t congested, and you appreciated that.

As you meander down the vibrant street, your eyes danced over the kaleidoscope of sights that filled the scene. Bright storefronts and the muted sound of rain tapping against the pavement created an atmospheric backdrop. Upon reaching another intersection, you halted for a moment. The street was calm—no cars were zooming by, and the traffic light blazed a bright red, assuring you that it was your turn to cross. You glanced back at the empty road, ensuring it was safe, before turning your attention to the inviting crosswalk ahead.

Across the street, your gaze caught on a figure wrapped in a thin, waterlogged jacket, clearly unprepared for the sudden downpour. They lacked the shelter of an umbrella, and to be honest you kind of felt bad for them. As you began walking, the shivering person quickened their pace too, both of you unwittingly converging at the intersection.

In that moment, your initial feelings of compassion quickly spun into something more potent as recognition struck you. It was Jacob, your ex-boyfriend. You hadn’t seen him in such a long time, especially after the breakup, you hadn’t returned to Hackett’s Quarry to be a counselor, knowing it’d be too awkward.. Maybe too painful? A rush of memories flooded your mind—laughter shared under sunlit days, conversations that lingered into the night, and, of course, the bittersweet end to it all. A lump formed in your throat, and the hesitation of the encounter jammed together with anxiety, leaving you momentarily at a loss for words.

Then, like a scene out of a movie, his eyes met yours, and the realization swept over him with the force of a summer storm—an unexpected collision of past and present. The air around you crackled with unspoken tension as you both shared an awkward gaze, laden with nostalgia and unaddressed feelings. Time seemed to suspend itself, merging memories with the present moment, as droplets of rain cascaded around you like the echoes of laughter that once filled your afternoons together. Would you speak? Would he? The world around you faded, leaving just the two of you standing at the crossroads of what was and what could have been. His eyes flickered over to you, the realization dawning on him. The both of you shared an awkward gaze that slowly turned into reminiscence.

“I promise, we’ll be right back! The others won’t even notice that we’re gone,’ Jacob whispered to you, pleading as he gazed at you with puppy dog eyes. He was leaning over to you, a firepit crackling in the middle as you and the other counselors surrounded it. Soft music from a speaker played, the clinking between beer bottles, while joyous laughter filled the air. They were taking turns sharing stories from their past. You turned to Jacob, giving a playful eye roll with a small smile.

“Fine,” You responded, before turning your head to the other counselors, clearing your throat. “I’ll be right back, guys. This stuff just goes right through me, going to use the bathroom.” You spoke, smiling and placing your beer bottle down that was half full rather than half empty. You stepped away, definitely not heading in the direction of the bathrooms.

Jacob sat awkwardly, probably since you had taken his exact lie. He tapped his index finger against the red Solo cup, taking a long, slow sip from it. He swallowed down his gulp, before looking around. “Shit, I just remembered we promised Mr. H I’d clean the uh, toilets! Yeah, they don’t like doing it alone, they get nervous that they’ll.. fall in or something. Think they have some kind of toilet phobia, you guys understand,” Jacob started, standing up and finishing whatever liquid courage was in his cup. “So, I’m gonna go and.. do that.” Everyone exchanged glances at each other, before bursting into laughter.

“Seriously? Cleaning toilets? Don’t think I’ve heard of a toilet phobia before..” Dylan tilted his head as he couldn’t contain much of his laughter throughout his sentence.

“Hey, toilet phobias are a serious thing, and yes, I promised. You can ask him tomorrow,” Jacob grinned confidently, nodding. He turned on his heel and jogged off… also in the same direction as you as if no one saw.

Everyone saw.

You stood silently at the dock of Lake Septimus, staring out at the sight of the water, the moonlight danced within the reflection. You couldn’t help but wonder why Jacob was leading you out all the way here of all places, though a small part within you knew the chemistry between you and him sparked some rumors here and there amongst the counselors. Your thoughts were interrupted by Jacob sneaking up on you, causing you to jump and turn towards him. You hit the side of his arm, causing him to laugh while rubbing at the area.

“I could just walk right back to the campfire, Jacob. It’s too dark out here for you to be doing that,” You huffed, causing his laughing fit to die down as he tried to apologize. “You’re right, you’re right. Sorry, I couldn't help it.” He smiled, that dumb stupid.. Cute smile that always charmed you. You sighed, smiling right back at him. It was hard not to, y’know? “It’s fine.. But, why’d you ask to come here? You said you had something important to ask me?" You questioned.

Jacob nodded, walking around you with a hum as he clasped his hands together. “Let’s go swimming together,” He made jazz hands towards the lake, causing a look of confusion to appear on your face. “I’m sorry- what?” You asked. “You can’t be serious, right now?” You added. Jacob walked up to you, slugging his shoulders a bit as his hands gently grabbed at yours. “Yess, I’m very serious. C’mon, it’ll be fun! No screaming kids around, no one else to watch, just me and you.” He danced a bit closer to the edge of the dock, bringing you along.

You groaned, tilting your head back in exasperation, though the irritation held no real weight. When you turned to look at Jacob, his excitement was infectious, making it hard for you to counter his words. He radiated enthusiasm, and you could already feel the pull—if you didn’t join him in the water, you’d end up watching him swim while longing to dive in yourself. With a resigned smile, you decided, “Alright, you know what? Sure! It’d be fun to enjoy the lake without hours of babysitting.” Your laughter mingled with his as both your faces lit up with delight.

Your fingers intertwined, a warm connection between the two of you until the realization hit you. Clearing your throat, warmth creeping up your cheeks as you met Jacob’s gaze. “We don’t have any swimsuits on, and I’m not about to get caught skinny dipping,” you shook your head, a hint of playful defiance in your tone.

“That’s what clothes are for!”

Jacob chuckled, his eyes sparkling with mischief. He slipped off his signature cap, running his hands through his tousled dark brown hair before placing it down beside him. With a quick motion, he kicked off his shoes, then retrieved his phone, setting it carefully next to his cap. With a burst of energy, he took a small running leap and plunged into the shimmering lake, sending a spray of water into the air.

You opened your mouth to call out for him, but the sight of him enjoying the cool water stirred a thrill within you. You hastily pulled your valuables from your pockets, urgency propelling you toward the water's edge.

Jacob emerged, droplets glistening on his skin as he pushed his hair back, panting slightly and grinning up at you like a child who had just discovered a treasure. “The water’s perfect!” he exclaimed, his voice filled with joy. You couldn’t resist any longer despite the fact you were certain your hair would end up damaged from the lake water; you placed your belongings beside his and took a deep breath before leaping into the lake.

The water enveloped you, a refreshing embrace that took your breath away. As you burst to the surface, gasping slightly, you shook your head, letting the water cascade off you in sparkling rivulets. Jacob laughed, his jubilant cheer urging you on as he swam closer, both of your clothes now drenched and clinging to your skin.

You found yourselves floating together, laughter echoing softly around you, only to subside as a comfortable silence settled in. It was a peaceful stillness, not awkward in the slightest; instead, it felt like a shared moment of connection. You could sense that Jacob had something on his mind, and your curiosity grew more at why Jacob had asked for the two of you to be here.

“What?” you asked, noticing the way Jacob’s eyes were locked on you. He shook his head slightly, but his gaze remained fixed. “Nothing… just—you’ve got me feeling like I’m floating on water.” He flashed a smile, but his pickup line left you a bit bewildered. You couldn’t help but chuckle as you tilted your head, intrigued. “What do you mean…?” you prompted, curiosity bubbling up inside you.

Jacob blinked, his lips pursing in thought. He fumbled over his words, trying to elaborate. “Well, get it? We’re swimming… or not? Never mind, uh… you’ve got me swimming in circles, and honestly, I don’t want to find my way out.”

“Jacob… I’m confused. Are you really trying to use pick-up lines?” you asked, your smile widening.

“Yes? I mean, no… sort of. Is it working?” he questioned, a hint of pink creeping across his cheeks, his embarrassment evident.

“Are you trying to flirt with me?” you laughed, your heart fluttering at his awkward charm. It was cheesy, sure, but it was also endearing, and you felt a warmth spreading in your chest at his brave attempt.

As your laughter filled the air, Jacob’s face turned even redder as he facepalmed, hiding his face in his hands. You swam closer, resting a comforting hand on his back, rubbing it gently through the damp fabric of his shirt. “Jacob… Jake, seriously, I think it’s cute. And honestly? You’re kind of winning me over with those lines, even if I don’t really get pick-up lines at all,” you said with a teasing hum, trying to ease his nerves.

Jacob lifted his head slightly, a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he looked at you. He hesitated, a mix of anticipation and uncertainty in his expression. “Really?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper. “Really.” You answered, smiling a bit more and leaned the side of your head against his. You closed your eyes, the side of his head leaning against yours as the two of you floated in silence, once more.

“Well.. good. I was trying to ask you.. out with these pickup lines I found online but, that clearly didn’t work out the way I thought it was going to,” Jacob muttered, causing you to open your eyes. “You were trying to ask me out? I’m sorry that went over my head, but it was cute. Why.. didn’t you straightforwardly ask me out, though?” You lifted your head away from his, swimming a little around him so you floated directly in front of him.

“I was trying to build up the confidence to do so, but I didn’t think you’d say yes if I had come out right with it, y’know?” He shrugged his shoulders slightly.

“Jacob, you wouldn’t have known my answer regardless, I mean.. I’ve liked you for a while since we started working together, I should have said something sooner but, I dunno.” As you spoke, you shifted your gaze away, feeling a mix of vulnerability and apprehension. Jacob's heart raced as he processed your words. It was crystal clear to him that he had feelings for you; the little things he did were telling. He treated you differently than the other counselors—always making a point to include you in his plans and trying to find moments to share together, whether it was during downtime or while engaged in camp activities.

The tension in the air felt heavy as Jacob let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. Suddenly, a bright smile broke across his face, lighting up his features and showcasing his joy. This was the moment he had been waiting for, and it filled him with a sense of hope and excitement. As his gaze met yours, the closeness between you deepened. His arms wrapped snugly around your waist, and you placed yours around his neck. He leaned down slightly, closing the small gap between you, and pressed his lips against yours. You returned the gesture, your lips melding with his as you kissed. Although things hadn’t gone the way either of you had expected, one thing was certain—you were both happy.

—

It was Halloween night—a frightful and thrilling experience. While it was supposed to be fun, you and your boyfriend were on high alert.

Jacob hadn’t exactly expected to go through with this. His egoistic words of courage and the brave front he put on about wanting to come to the theme park on Halloween during Fright Night led the two of you to this moment. He had repeatedly assured you that he was willing to do this; in fact, he insisted it was his idea. However, upon arriving, you soon realized it wasn’t his idea. Like, at all.

“The truck’s only just in the parking lot… we could leave and pretend we spent the entire night here,” you suggested as you nudged him lightly, laughing softly. “I know you don’t like horror, and I don’t like being chased around a theme park all night. It’s like the scare actors…”

“Smell fear, right?” you both agreed, and heart-filled laughter erupted between you. It was easing both of your nerves, thankfully.

“I think I’ll be okay. Besides, me? Scared?” Jacob gave a cocky grin and shook his head, humming with triumph. “You have me here to protect you since obviously you’re the scared one.” He playfully pinched your nose, laughing at the teasing he directed at you. “You’re so funny, I forgot to laugh,” you said, rolling your eyes playfully, though a small smile appeared. “It’s okay to be scared, Jacob,” you encouraged, walking beside him as the two of you got your wristbands and entered the park.

The air buzzed with excitement and a tinge of eerie anticipation as the theme park transformed under the glow of jack-o’-lanterns and the flickering lights of haunted houses. The sky was a velvet blanket of stars, but the shadows seemed deeper here, stretching long across cobblestone streets. Music played, but it wasn’t the usual cheerful tunes; instead, it was a haunting melody, creeping and unsettling, like a ghost’s whisper carried on the breeze. Laughter echoed from nearby rides, but there was a twinge of nervousness in it as if even the roller coasters knew something was amiss tonight.

Everywhere, children in costumes darted past, their faces half-lit by the glow of glowing pumpkins, while adults, too, let go of their usual composure, wandering wide-eyed between towering skeletons and fog machines that hissed like breath from some unseen creature. Every turn held a new surprise—a fog-covered haunted mansion, a sudden screeching ghost, or a mischievous clown lurking in the corners. It was as if the park itself had come alive, not with the usual magic, but with something darker, wilder. The thrill was palpable, and for the first time, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Different people dressed as ghouls and other spooky entities roamed the park, their eerie laughter blending with scattered screams to create an atmosphere that was both thrilling and amusing. Jacob was absolutely reveling in it. “You keep laughing, but sooner or later, it’ll be your turn to scream, Jake,” you teased, leaning in closer to him as you continued your adventure, his arm resting comfortably around your shoulders.

“How can I not laugh? It’s hilarious!” Jacob chuckled, his eyes glinting with mischief as he glanced at you.

“Uh-huh, keep on laughing.” You shook your head, a smile playing on your lips as you took in the scene around you. It was amusing to see children darting about with unfiltered joy, oblivious to the shivers of fright that lurked in the night. Maybe that was the secret to their happiness—embracing the thrill of fear. Despite the tension in the air, being there with Jacob was what truly made the night magical.

Then something caught your eye—a corn maze stretched before you, beckoning with an air of mystery. You’d never been in one before, and the challenge excited you. “You up for it?” you asked, your gaze locked on the entrance before darting back to Jacob, who was already scratching the back of his neck, clearly trying to think of a way out.

You didn’t give him a chance. With a playful tug, you took his hand, leaving no room for hesitation. “C’mon, it’ll be fun! Remember, you said I needed you to protect me, right?” You laughed as you led him toward the entrance. Jacob groaned, but it was all in good fun. He couldn’t resist that endearing smile of yours for long.

As you both waited in line, a mix of nerves and excitement buzzed in your chest. Jacob’s unease was palpable, but you couldn’t help but grin at how cute he looked when he was overwhelmed. When it was finally your turn, the staff checked your wristbands, and the curtain of corn parted to reveal the twisting paths within. “Not that I’m scared at all.. I’m not, but if you get scared, think you can get me my favorite snack?” Jacob almost asked in a challenging tone, you agreeing with a laugh.

The atmosphere inside was thick with tension; howls echoed through the air from hidden speakers, heightening your senses. You and Jacob walked close, occasionally shooting wary glances over your shoulders whenever a noise startled you. With every fork in the path, you were the one calling the shots, deciding which way to go.

Then, out of nowhere, you noticed Jacob was gone. Panic shot through you as you called out his name, but your voice was swallowed by the maze. You turned around, wrapping your arms around yourself against the chill that crept down your spine. That’s when you heard it—a rustling behind you.

Spinning around, you spotted a figure clad in a ghoulish costume, most likely just another staff member trying to spook attendees. You wasted no time and bolted in the opposite direction, adrenaline coursing through your veins. The figure laughed menacingly and chased after you, sending you sprinting around corners and into even darker paths.

As you turned another corner, you collided with something solid. Or rather, someone. A startled scream escaped your lips, which only triggered an even higher scream from Jacob, sending both of you into a fit of panting. You looked around, heart racing, before locking eyes with him. “Jacob! Are you serious? Where the hell were you?”

“I was looking for you!” he exclaimed, catching his breath. “I thought we agreed to go left, but then you vanished. What were you running from?”

Catching your breath, you glanced around, realizing the ghoulish figure had disappeared. “I was being chased! But now it seems that ghost decided to take a break.” You huffed.

Jacob shrugged, his eyes sparkling with mischief, and flashed a grin. “Well, thankfully for us, I found the exit! You can thank me later, babe.”

“Oh wow, thank you ever so much! What would I ever do without you?” You sarcastically praised and playfully pushed at his shoulder as you both began to walk toward the exit he was leading you to. The whole time, he’d teased you about being scared, even though he’d screamed like a child just moments ago.

As you approached the exit, you spotted an animatronic spider hanging ominously above. With a grin, you decided to join in on Jacob’s playful banter. “You’re so right, Jake. I was terrified without my strong hero to save me,” you said dramatically, placing a hand on your chest.

Jacob snorted, pulling you close as you both walked. “See? What’d I tell you? Now, about those Peanut Butter Butter Pops I mentioned earlier..” He lingered.

You laughed while nodding; even if you knew he didn’t deserve them, you craved some, too. “Yeah, sure! Can you strike a pose at the exit for a photo? I want to catch you in all your glory,” you said with a playful grin. Jacob, full of enthusiasm, didn’t hesitate for a moment. He jogged over to the exit, turned around dramatically, and started flexing with a few macho poses.

You whipped out your phone, cheering him on while snapping pictures, telling him how fantastic he looked. After hitting record, you instructed Jacob to step back a little more for better lighting. He did exactly that, but just as he was about to say something, he felt something hairy and almost spiny brush against his shoulder. Curiosity turned to terror in an instant as he slowly turned around and came face-to-face with the spider prop. He let out a blood-curdling scream, stumbling backward and sprinting toward you.

In that moment, you stopped the video, laughter bubbling up uncontrollably as you clutched your stomach. “Oh! You knew that was going to happen, didn’t you?” Jacob gasped, still trying to catch his breath.

“Of course! No point in lying about it; I totally set you up! That was epic payback for all the teasing! And I got it all on video!” you said, laughter spilling out of you again.

Just then, you squealed as Jacob scooped you up, expertly timing his escape just before the animatronic could spring back to life. The night carried on, filled with shouts and bursts of laughter as you both took turns trying to scare each other. Even amidst the terror, the thrill of sharing these silly, scary moments brought you both closer together.

Each step felt heavier, a reminder of the weight of your unfulfilled dreams and lost love. The laughter you once shared with Jacob echoed faintly in your mind, now distorted by the sadness of separation.

You glanced back once, a fleeting moment where hope surged—a desperate wish that he would call out your name, or that you'd so the same; that the bond you shared could somehow bridge the chasm of time that had grown between you. But all that met your gaze was the back of a man lost in his own ocean of regret. His figure diminished in the distance, swallowed by the shadows of the rain and the reality of what you both had become: two strangers who once promised forever.

Your heart ached at the thought of what could have been. The Peanut Butter Butter Pops you grew to love because he loved them, the lazy afternoons spent with stolen glances and laughter, all felt like distant memories, haunted by the silence that now defined your relationship. It was more than heartbreak; it was the hollow sadness of unspoken words and unresolved feelings.

Jacob stood still, rain soaking through his clothes, forming a puddle around his feet. Each drop felt like a reminder of the moments that slipped through his fingers, moments he should have cherished more, moments he could never reclaim. He longed to reach out, to pull you back but the fear of rejection and the weight of his own mistakes made him hesitate.

With every heartbeat, he felt time ticking away—a relentless reminder that while the world continued to spin, their story had sputtered to a halt. With a heavy heart, he turned and walked away, each step further erasing the boy who once thought love could conquer all.

As the rain poured down, washing away the remnants of the past, you defeatedly pressed onward, embracing the melancholy that cradled you. You understood that sometimes, love was not enough, that some endings were not meant to be rewritten. And as the streetlights flickered in the growing night, the distance between you became more than just physical; it stranded you both in a place of lost possibilities, forever shadows of what once was.

#the quarry #jacob custos #gender neutral reader #light angst #oneshot #x reader #breakup #fanfic #fanfiction #the quarry fanfic #the quarry fandom #flashback #reqs open

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colemorrison · 4 months ago

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Heyyy! Could you write Jacob x reader. (Male or female, trans or not, its cool either way)

Could you make it like some comfort after a panic attack? 😏

Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

ꜱᴀɪᴅ ʏᴏᴜ ᴋɴᴏᴡ ɪ ᴡᴀɴɴᴀ ᴋᴇᴇᴘ ʏᴏᴜ ᴀʀᴏᴜɴᴅ

Pairing :Jacob Custos/GN!Reader

Genre :Oneshot/Drabble

Warning's : None, just some comfort. Cause my friend is OBSESSED with Jacob.

Summary :

Jacob settled down next to you, kicking the wet dirt with his shoes, it was heavy on the tip of his shoes. It reminded him of the feeling he felt when he broke the car, a rash decision that almost costed them all, their lives.

"What did you do?"

You asked, watching the dirt fall into a pile, that's how you would be if you kept on like this, more and more piling up, higher and higher until you flattened under the weight.

Word Count : 270

A/n : Honestly, I need some comfort like this too. I love you bb, please enjoy.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

Your shoulders felt heavy, life weighing them down more and more each day. You tried so hard to keep up, to remember what was going on, who needed what. Too many things for one person to do, but you were alone, keeping your problems to yourself and not allowing anyone close enough to help you.

"What're you doing up?"

His voice was nice on your ears, it felt warm, a ray of sun through the dark clouds and rain that covered you now.

"Just.. Thinking."

"Did you do something dumb too?"

"Not yet, but I'm well on my way."

"What did you do?"

You asked, watching the dirt fall into a pile, that's how you would be if you kept on like this, more and more piling up, higher and higher until you flattened under the weight.

"You know what I did, I almost got us all killed, just for an extra night of fun."

"You did what you thought was right, you love her."

"I think.. It was different than that."

Jacob scooted closer, head falling onto your shoulder, you both managed to find comfort in one another despite the whole night you just barely made it through.

"You know, you came at the perfect time."

"I did?"

"Just finished a panic attack and now you're here."

His arm slid around your waist, pulling you closer until he squished you into a hug.

"We'll figure it out. Everyone's gotta make mistakes to learn."

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

#the quarry #jacob custos #jacob custos x reader #jacob x reader #the quarry imagines #the quarry x reader #cole writes the quarry ♥#cole writes ♥

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ruedavis · 2 years ago

Text

𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑢𝑠.

pairing: jacob custos x fem!reader

warnings: strong language

song inspiriation: im not the only one by sam smith

word count: 602

back to hackett’s quarry for another summer of fun.

i had my headphones in the whole car journey there but could still all of the loud voices beside me. kaitlyn and dylan argued about something stupid had knocked into my side.

my eyes skimmed over the trees we drove past - feeling a bit motion sick i looked back into the packed car to lock eyes with the last person i wanted to see.

jacob. surprisingly we used to be the best of friends but that soon flipped around when i realised he fucked me over so he could screw emma.

as i had thought back to all the times we had hung out together it really didn’t surprise me now, the subtle but obvious touches, him always being by her side, him making excuse after an excuse as we had made plans together.

yes, yes i know what you’re gonna say. y/n why didn’t you see that? that’s so obvious! blah. blah. blah.

it’s kind of hard to see someone’s a walking red flag when i’m wearing rose tinted glasses isn’t it?

i was deeply falling for that boy and i thought he had felt the same about me since we had spent every waking minute together, i obviously found that out a little too late.

we had finally arrived back at the camp really early in the day so we had more than enough time to set up. i went off to one of the cabins near the radio shack, setting my stuff and a few of the necessities as i heard the door slam shut.

turning around to be face to face with jacob.

“we need to talk.”

i scoffed at his empty words and carried on with my tasks at hand. he stood in the same spot as when he had walked in, just watching me do things before trying to speak again.

“we really need to put this behind us dude, like i miss you, don’t you miss me? miss us?”

my back was facing away from him. stopping fluffing the campers’ pillows. “you have some fucking nerve walking in here talking about some what? comfort? empathy? something to make you sleep better at night since emma didn’t want your sorry ass?”, jacob looked at his feet in response.

“no c’mon jacob. wanna fuck around with me a bit more, huh?”

“y-you know it wasn’t like that y/n!” i went to walk around him to the exit of the cabin, done with his obvious bullshit. that’s when he grabbed my arm, him with the upper hand with his clear strength advantage. it was no use.

tears filled my eyes as i struggled, “i can’t believe you! i can’t believe you’d come back and do this to me again.” i stopped flailing my arm and started to push at his chest.

“i hate you.” my strong jabs soon turned weak as my sobbing became stronger - i fell and bawled into his chest and he just stood and took it, soon catching my fragile figure.

after a couple of minutes of standing in that position the brunette spoke, “im so sorry. i really am, i never meant to hurt you.” with that said realisation kicked in and i pushed myself away from him, taking a small glance in his direction.

“i loved you.”

he was looking back at me with a pained expression, i honestly couldn’t careless on how he felt in that moment of time.

i gathered myself before walking out the door to the others, he did not think to stop me again, but when he did turn around to do so the door had slammed in his face.

i know i’m not the only one...

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kitkatscabinet · 3 years ago

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Hi I saw your Jacob x reader from the quarry. I loved your writing btw!!! Can I request more Jacob?? Like maybe something where reader has a thing for Jacob but at the beginning of summer, saw that Emma did too so reader backs off cause they’re friends but also cause she thinks Emma’s prettier and that Jacob would choose her anyways. Then when they’re playing truth or dare stuff comes out and Jacob and reader end up together?? If that made ANYYYY sense at all lmao

This was so fun to write and I ended up getting a little carried away. Thank you to everyone that has said they love my writing and yes you can absolutely request more Jacob! Hope you enjoy :D

Word count: 1173

Genre: Fluff, I know you probably wanted angst but this kind of ended up with a comedic twist.

Jacob had caught your eye from the moment you had arrived at Hackett’s Quarry, you couldn’t say you would usually go for the jock types but he had been unbelievably sweet from the get-go. You had been sat next to each other during the initial orientation Mr Hackett had given and your sides had started to hurt from holding in the laughter his quiet commentary had inspired. Leading him to grin in success every time he noticed you smile, the two of you had spent the rest of the day together before the kids arrived.

Jacob ended up being one of the people you spent the most time with apart from Emma. That was how you had noticed the influencers interest in him. Deciding to be a good friend you had slightly backed off, you liked Jacob sure, but it wasn’t like you’d fallen madly in love with him. Emma was also one of your better friends and the two deserved to be happy. It wasn’t like anyone had noticed your slight crush anyway, you were a very laidback person and your interactions with Jacob weren’t very different from how you acted around anyone else, so you couldn’t even blame your friend for not noticing your feelings.

You stalwartly ignored the small part of you that yelled you wouldn’t stand a chance against Emma anyway. The part that decided Jacob couldn’t possibly be interested in someone like you anyway, besides everybody loved Emma. Hell you loved Emma, there was a reason you were friends after all.

At first it had actually been pretty fine, your crush hadn’t been that big you reasoned and pulling away from Jacob had allowed your friendships with Emma and Dylan flourish even more. The problem arose however, when Jacob himself had hunted you down one afternoon and asked to speak with you in private. He had lead you over to the boat house and his silence along the way had made you a little tense, worse case scenarios running through your head at a mile a minute. Seeing that Jacob wasn’t going to speak up first you did.

“What’s up?” you had asked with a smile genuinely happy to see him and trying to defuse the tenion. That smile had faded as you noticed the serious hurt on his face

“Did I do something wrong?” the crack in his voice left you feeling nauseous as you truly took in his body language. He was hunched in on himself slightly, all normal confidence gone and his eyes, oh his eyes were wet with tears and you rushed to rectify it. Desperately wanting to fix whatever had made Jacob feel so small, so unsure of himself.

“What? No you’ve done nothing wrong that I know of. Where’s this coming from?” your tone incredulous as you watched his face carefully

“It just, it feels like you’ve been avoiding me lately and I thought I might have done something” he said trying to shrug nonchalantly but you could tell he was upset by the slight wobble in his smile and fiddling hands. Stepping over to him you quickly assured him that that was not the case and even ended up promising the two of you could spend your free time tomorrow together, just the two of you. He had beamed widely at that and you had ended up linking arms with him on the way back to the lodge for dinner.

That was where the issues seriously arose, as you spent more time with him you couldn’t stop your crush from growing into something more. It was only when you saw Emma laughing with Jacob one afternoon that you were fully reminded of why you had stepped away to begin with. Forcing a smile on your face you went about your day and continued to be friends with both Emma and Jacob unaware of Kaitlyn’s constant disapproving gaze.

As you sat on the log watching the ongoing game of truth and dare that had resulted from the minivans refusal to start you found yourself hoping to every god that existed you would be ignored. What you weren’t privy to was the fact that Emma had well and truly grown out of her initial like for Jacob, and she had noticed how the pair of you behaved around each other. Any other day she’d wonder what she had done to deserve a friend like you but by this point she was tired of her friends dancing around each other, so she decided to be the push that was needed.

“Jacob, truth or dare” she asked, a wicked grin growing on her face as the man enthusiastically chose dare. “I dare you, to kiss the person that you like the most” she egged on, noticing you slumping slightly from your spot.

You couldn’t quite stop the slump in your shoulders at Emma’s words and Jacob’s overexcited expression. However, your brain stalled a little as he jumped up and made a beeline straight over to you, leaning down to kiss you like it was the best thing anyone had ever asked him to do. You couldn’t think much in the next few seconds the feeling of his lips on yours the only thing you could register. When he pulled away he had the biggest smile you’d ever seen covering his face and you finally registered Emma’s cheers as everyone waited for your reaction.

“Jacob what?” was all you managed to blurt out quite dumbly still in shock. It was his turn to be confused now

“I thought you knew. I told you I liked you last week and then you said you liked me too, remember?” he said a little nervously now. That was news to you.

“Fucking when!” you shouted, hands coming to rest on top of your head in distress

“Uh, last Tuesday… I was walking you back to your cabin cause you were tired and I confessed and then you confessed…” he trailed off the two of you staring at each other in blatant confusion, until vague memories of the event came back.

“I was so tired I thought that was a dream” you admitted as your fellow counsellors were staring at the absolute circus in front of them in awe.

“Wait I thought you two were already dating” Dylan chimed in “you’ve literally been holding hands and hugging for all of this last week” his dumbfounded tone setting off a chorus of incredulous laughs from Emma and Abi.

“Oh, my God. We’ve been dating for a week” you said absolutely shell shocked before you suddenly rounded on Jacob once again. “We’ve been dating for a week, why didn’t you tell me!” you demanded, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“I thought you knew!” he defended, like you were the only idiot present. Deciding not to waste anymore time you stood up with a laugh and threw yourself into his chest, the cheers of your fellow counsellor making the smile on your face grow even further as Jacob hugged you to him.

Taglist: @laurakearnxy @wolfsquad @rainbows-dreams @dylanlenievy @kestisvrse @aaetherr69 @sheriff-hackett

#jacob custos #jacob custos x reader #the quarry jacob #the quarry requests #the quarry x reader #the quarry oneshot

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multi-fandom-imagine · 3 years ago

Note

Jacob deserves so much better, how about something where Jacob x reader are childhood friends and neither really realise that they’re perfect for each other (she defends him from the other counsellors and he’s just always there for her) and maybe she gets infected protecting him or something then reunion at the end ???

A/n: OH MY GOD! Yes! I can’t help but love him. I don’t know if it’s because Mike was my favorite in until Dawn. Idk I just feel bad for him. I also love this request, my boy Jacob.

Implied Abby/Emma Romance. Everyone lives Au.

You and Jacob have been best friends since you were babies. You two did everything together, though you may not have been as popular as the jock was it didn’t stop Jacob from defending you when ever you got bullied.

Though you did notice every so often while at camp the man giving dirty looks to Nick or Dylan. While you took it up yourself to defend Jacob when the people would call him an idiot or anything else demining and all the counselors knew it. And one particular counselor was going to take it upon herself to fix the matter.

Emma was honestly tired of you two dancing around each other's feelings. Wrinkling her nose she tossed the bag of chips in the air watching you talk to Jacob, you were pointing something and of course the big himbo had his eyes glued to you looking like a love sick puppy. Oh tonight was going to be fun, she liked you and you like Jacob and this game will help you to be together.

But of course she'd never get to night because everything was going to go to shit.

You and Jacob were running, running from something. You did not know what it was and you weren't about to find out well you hoped you weren't about to find out. But it was getting harder and harder to run. It was getting harder and harder to breath, your chest hurt and your legs were starting to feel numb, though that is when you saw it.

From the corner of your eyes you saw it, the creature that chasing you and Jacob. It was moving faster and you knew it was going for him. Squeezing your eyes shut you pushed yourself for any ounce of strength you might have to shove Jacob out of the way before the creature hit into you. You and whatever it was tumbling in the sicks and mud.

You barley registered the pain of it's teeth digging into your arm, the claws digging into your skin. But someone was screaming that was that you knew and then as if it never happened thanks to the thing flying off your body and then everything went black.

Watching your still form, Jacob could feel the panic set in, the bile rising up from his throat as he watched your still form. You were still breathing, that he could tell but the blood. Their was so much blood, squeezing his eyes shut he felt the tears slide down his cheeks."What do I do? what do I do? You need to tell me what to do!" Trying to calm himself down he quickly tore off his sweater gently wrapping you in it, Kaitlyn....she would know what to do.

"Don't worry Y/n....you'll be safe....I'll keep you safe."

Jacob had left for a moment, just a moment to find Emma but when he came back with the woman you were gone. Ryan tried to explain that you changed, changed into one of those creatures and tried to kill Dylan so he had to shoot you.

He couldn't believe this, he couldn't believe that you got shot. He had stormed off, he did not care what the others did because he had to find you. He had to make sure you were alive, he had to make sure you were okay because if he did not then how would he tell you his feelings for you. He had mentally cursed himself, he should have realized it sooner because now he may never get the chance to do so though his legs felt numb and throat felt raw.

Stopping at a tree, he felt more tears slide down his cheek. "This is all my fault, god I'm such a screw up....everyone's right, I'm such a fucking idiot." he whispered then suddenly he tensed hearing twigs snapping.

"Jacob"

That couldn't have been you, could it? Standing up he quickly wiped his eyes. "Y/n."

"Jacob?" Your voice was getting closer and soon you were a few feet away. You were wearing a large green dress along with a pair of boots that did not fit you, not to mention you were covered head to toe in blood.

"Y/n...shit what the hell happened to you? what are you wearing?"

Blinking, you glanced down then rubbed the back of your neck."I woke up in a cell with Nick, um some old guy got us out. He gave Nick some clothes and this old woman gave me a dress and these boots. Oh Chris....I mean Mr. H was their too! he tried to explain everything...did you know his family was cursed. Like they tried to save this kid but then everything went to shit and...okay I'm getting off track and well. Chris and Nick went back to the camp while this big guy sent me on my way where he last saw you...so where I am I came to find you be-."

While your rambling was cute, Jacob could not help but be grateful that you where here and now he was going to kiss you now. He was going to make sure that you knew how he felt. Stepping close he pulled you in for a kiss, he may have had to bend down for the kiss but at least you were kissing him back. Your body pressed into his as he held you close.

Once the kiss was broken, Jacob let out a small chuckle as he pressed his head into yours. His thumb gliding across your cheek wiping some of the dried blood away. "I take it back, the dress looks good on you....and if you haven't figured it out. I like you Y/n."

A small laugh escaped your lips as you hid your face in his bare chest." I kinda figured and I like you too Jacob...oh and Jacob."

"Hmm?" Jacob smiled as he rested his head on top of yours just holding you close.

"We should probably get back to camp, get you a sure so you won't get sick."

"Ah yea, that's probably the best course of action."

Getting back to the camp was easier with Jacob carrying you on his back though it was odd to see the place filled with people. Police, paramedics, journalist, well this was going to be fun.

You first spotted Ryan, Chris Hackett and that Laura girl talking to a police officer as a boy you never met was standing off in the background. You were happy knowing that the two did not turn on the man, you didn't think he deserved it after everything you had found out. Your gaze then traveled to Emma holding Abby's hand, a small smile forming on your lips. You had a feeling that those two would get together.

Biting your lip you then spotted Nick and Dylan talking to a reporter, Dylan becoming energetic as Nick did his best to explain the night he went through but it was Kaitlyn that spotted you both. The young woman rushing to your side. Passing by an ambulance that held a shivering Caleb, the boy had a blanket wrapped around him.

"Oh thank god you're alright....oh you look like shit Y/n."

"I think she look's hot." Jacob let you slide off his back as he tugged you close to his side.

"Of course you have to think that, you love her."

Rolling your eyes you rested your head on Jacob's shoulder as the two started to bicker back and forth. You couldn't wait to get back home, you couldn't wait to tell your parents.

You were quite positive that they'd be thrilled knowing you and Jacob were finally together.

#one shots #oneshots #one shot #oneshot #jacob the quarry #Jacob Custos #Jacob Custos x reader #the quarry #the quarry x you #the quarry x reader #supermassive the quarry #supermassive #supermassive games x reader #supermassive games

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mythicalheartbeat · 3 years ago

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Thinking about the counselors having a night to themselves and they're drinking and having a good time, just hanging out, and there's music playing and Dylan pulls Jacob up to dance with him and they're swinging around and Jacob has the thought of 'oh! he's really pretty' and he ends up with a lil crush that he doesn't know how to process

#yes this is a runon sentence and no I don't care #the quarry #dylan lenivy #jacob custos #I may or may not be working on a oneshot about this

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chipper9906 · 3 years ago

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Truth Or Dare 2.0

Pairings: Dylan Lenivy/Ryan Erzahler

Word Count: 14,422

Status: One Shot - Complete

Summary:

“Don’t underestimate me, Ryan. I beat off a werewolf. With one hand. Using a flamethrower. And I dropped a car and squished one. And, most importantly, I am taller than you.”

Ryan just stared at Dylan, waiting for the moment the penny dropped and Dylan would have realized what he had just said. “You… beat off a werewolf… with one hand?”

Dylan opened his mouth for a retort, then quickly shut it again. “Okay, poor choice of wording, but my point still stands.”

* * *

An extra scene before the cops show up at the end where these two idiots actually get to talk about things.

Link To Fic

Click Below To Keep Reading

* * *

Well… This night sucked balls. Even one’s as patchy as Jacob’s. Allegedly, anyway.

Gotta say, when he had made the suggestion of one last big bonfire send-off before they all go their separate ways, this had been the last thing he’d expected. Then again, how in the hell was he expected to guess that the reason their camp leader was so on edge about them staying one extra night wasn’t because of the typical ‘leaving a bunch of dumb, hormonal teenagers to their own devices’ worry and instead more of the ‘bunch of goddamn monsters prowling about the place eager to sink their teeth into young and supple flesh’ kind of worry. And that very same camp leader turned out to be one of the monsters himself. As well as his kids. Who have turned Nick. Oh, yeah, and, one of which bit his fucking arm, and is now the reason he’s walking around here with a goddamn stump for a hand. Well, them and Ryan. Who cut off his hand. With a chainsaw. After he all but begged him to.

Oh, God… Ryan… He hasn’t seen him since Nick friggen exploded (or the werewolf thing exploded out of Nick, he supposed) and he and badass eyepatch girl — who only just happened to be one of the counselors that didn’t show up — headed off together out into the woods to find and kill their, presumably, soon to be ex camp leader.

Yep… Ryan… Out in the woods… At night… With a bunch of werewolves out and about… With only Laura for company… Who happens to be bit and could turn herself any moment…

Fuck… Did he mention this night sucked balls?

“You okay?” Kaitlyn asks as she takes a seat next to him on one of the benches they had pulled upright, concern etched into her features. Dylan takes one look at her, at the dried flecks of blood that caked her face — that he knows is mirrored upon his own face — and he cracks. He begins to chuckle, one of those almost silent kinds that wreck your upper body with tremors, leaning back with his face pointed towards the ceiling, hiding the grin stretching across his face with his last remaining good hand.

Kaitlyn stares wide-eyed at him. “...Should I… Take that as a no?”

“Sorry, I just—” Dylan shakes his head, laughter still in his voice. “—You know, we just spent a whole night running away from and fighting literal monsters, and y’know, I kinda lost a hand and a little bit of blood with that, and now after tonight — which has been one big adrenaline dump, by the way — it’s just me, you, Abi and Emma — Oh, and the body of a dead kid over there. Who was once a werewolf. Who also happens to be the son of Chris Hackett. Who is also a werewolf. And we have no idea where everyone else is, or if they’re even alive, especially the guy I really happen to like who I kinda thought something might happen with after what happened at the party, and is now deep in the crack of what was already butt-fuck nowhere hunting down a werewolf with someone who will soon also be a werewolf, so in conclusion—” Dylan took in a deep breath, ready to cap the end of his monologue to a rather startled but attentive Kaitlyn. “—Yeah, I’m doing good. How ‘bout you?”

“Okay… That was… a lot,” Kaitlyn says not unkindly, Dylan’s unwavering smile not at all matching the rest of his speech. “But, uh, yeah, I guess asking if you’re okay was kinda stupid… I don’t think any of us will be after this… Not for a while, anyway. But… we will be. Eventually. All of us, okay? Ryan’s one tough cookie, you know that. He and Laura will find Mr. H and they’ll… y’know… and this will all be over. Curse’ll be lifted, Nick will be human again, and once Jacob realizes Emma’s not out there he’ll circle back to the lodge and find us.”

“Yeah, well, when you say it like that, it sounds easy as pie.”

Kaitlyn rolls her eyes. “Yeah yeah, it all sounds like insane bullshit. But after tonight… I dunno. Maybe it’s the fact that this horrible night is nearly over and the approaching sunrise is making me feel optimistic, or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m somehow still alive after all this, but… I think they’re all gonna be okay. I really do.”

Dylan smiles gently at Kaitlyn’s encouraging words, sighing softly. “Yeah… I hope you’re right…”

Kaitlyn smiles back, placing a hand on Dylan’s back and giving it a few pats. “So… the guy you really like, huh?”

Dylan shoots Kaitlyn a playful glare. “Really? Are we really doing this? Are we gonna pretend like I didn’t bring this up back at the scrapyard? Or the fact that you literally saw my lips on Ryan’s during Truth or Dare?”

“Well… You know…” Kaitlyn shrugged her shoulders. “I knew you liked him, but I didn’t know you really liked him,” Kaitlyn teased him mercilessly, bumping her shoulder into his. “There’s a difference, you know.”

“Wow, we really are doing this,” Dylan deadpans. “You want me to go ask Emma if I can borrow some of her makeup and have a little girls' night, huh? Talk about my feelings? Maybe curl my hair?”

“Okay, first of all—” Kaitlyn holds up a finger. “—I would totally be up for that; you could definitely rock some nail polish.”

“Uh, did I say I couldn’t—?”

“And second of all—” Kaitlyn continued before Dylan could get another word in. “After all the shit that’s gone down tonight, I’d really like to talk about normal ‘who has a crush on who’ kind of stuff, you know?”

“Uh… Sort of?” Dylan replied. “It’s just, y’know… I didn’t think you’d wanna talk about me liking Ryan…”

“Why not?”

“Because… uh…” Dylan awkwardly scratched at the back of his head. “I kinda got the feeling that… you might’ve had a thing for him too?”

“Ryan?” Kaitlyn asked, eyebrows raised. “I mean… I always thought he was pretty hot. I have eyes, you know. And he’s got that whole…”

“Sexy brooding loner thing?”

“Yes!” Kaitlyn yelled, the triumph and tone of ‘holy shit, someone who understands’ shining through her voice forcing a few more pearls of laughter from Dylan. “And yeah, I guess that kinda drew me towards him, but…” Kaitlyn paused, the corners of her lips curling up as she shrugged her shoulders. “It kinda felt like… there wasn’t so much of the ‘loner’ part whenever he was with you.”

Dylan couldn’t help but smile at that, which he did his best to hide by ducking his head. “…But still the sexy brooding thing, right?”

“Oh, for sure,” Kaitlyn easily agreed. “And I’ve seen that smile before.”

“What smile?”

“That bashful, practically drunk with giddiness one on your face right now. It’s the exact same one that was on your face after you and Ryan kissed. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that Ryan kissed you.”

“It was a game of Truth or Dare…” Dylan mumbled, trying and failing to hide his reddening face. “Kissing people is like, ninety—nine—point—nine percent of the game. And besides, he said he wanted to kiss both of us.”

“Yeah, well, he still had to choose one of us in the end, didn’t he? And he chose you, bud. Now, I’m not completely sure, but I think you typically kiss people who you like. Like, really like.”

“Yeah, I guess…”

“Come on!” Kaitlyn lightly shoved his arm. “What happened to the cool, suave ‘DJ Dylan’ I’ve got to know these past two months?”

“Oh, him? Yeah, turns out all of my cool power was stored in my left hand,” Dylan says, giving his stub a weak wave. “Now all I’ve got left is my distractedly good looks…”

“Uh-huh, sure,” Kaitlyn ever so slightly mocked. “I’m sure that’s all you offer. Not your kind heart, and your determination to cheer up everyone around you, your overall warm personality…”

“Are… Are you flirting with me now? Coz gotta say, I uh… appreciate that and all, but I don’t quite swing that way.”

“Did I ever tell you that you’re insufferable? Like, just in passing?”

“Hmm… You know, you might have mentioned it. Or… or was it everyone else I’ve ever interacted with in my entire life? These things tend to get a little muddled up in my mind…”

Kaitlyn snorted with laughter, throwing her hands up. “You try and cheer a guy up, and this is what you get…”

“Well… to be fair, mission partly accomplished,” said Dylan with a thankful smile.

“I… partly cheered you up?”

“Well yeah. Don’t take that as a slight against your ‘cheering up’ abilities, it’s just—” Dylan waved his hand through the air in an attempt of a gesture of ‘this whole bullshit’ towards the past evening. “—You know, I think there’s only so much we can all be cheered up right about now, and uh…”

“And most of the rest is made up of knowing everyone’s back here alive and well?” Kaitlyn guessed, though her tone gave away just how little of a ‘guess’ it really was and more ‘right on the money.'

“Yeah… I’m always one for ‘positive thinking’ and ‘optimism over everything’ but… With what we’ve seen? Like, Nick just… just fucking exploding into that thing and—” Dylan’s hand unconsciously moved towards the remains of the other. “Seeing what happened to my hand when one of those things saw it as a friggen chew toy, it’s… It’s hard not to worry, I guess.”

“Well… we’re one werewolf down, right?” Kaitlyn flinches after she says this, an unmistakable look of guilt flashing across her face as she glances over at the space the body once was. They had since moved him, placing an old sheet they had found upstairs across his body for… respect, he supposed.

God… Caleb… Another one of the Hacketts just… gone. Kaylee, now Caleb, and if Ryan and Laura do what they set out to do… Chris, too. Whilst he knows that yeah, it was a werewolf they were shooting and, if Kaitlyn hadn’t shot it that they would most likely either be bit and turned or a mess of meat on the floor… that didn’t make it any easier when he shifted back and… and to see him like that… Just… Just a kid, just like them, turned into a creature he had no control over, and now… just like that, he was dead.

Maybe the sheet was for respect… Or maybe it was because they just couldn’t face the guilt of seeing him like that.

“Right…” Dylan mumbles down at his feet. Whilst it sucked to look at it in that way, it was all they could do. Just because it sucked doesn’t make it true. The fact of the matter is, that they’re one threat down. One less reason, one (hopefully) major percentage jump that everyone will make it back safe and sound. “One less werewolf…”

One more chance that he might see Ryan again.

“Guys…? Guys!” Emma’s whispered shout from upstairs startles Dylan, both him and Kaitlyn nearly falling off their seats at the unexpected yell. They both jump up, craning their necks up at the railing to where Emma and Abi are standing, peering out the lodge's windows.

“What?” Kaitlyn calls back.

“Someone’s coming,” Abi answers, up on her tiptoes as she leans closer to the window, trying to get a better view. “There’s a car pulling in!”

“A car? Who’s? Who’s driving?”

“Dunno, it’s hard to see. I can kinda see them…” Abi mumbles, cupping her hands around her face against the window, squinting harshly as she peers down at the mystery visitors. “They’re getting out of the car, and… There’s a few people, I think? Friggen suns in my eyes, they’re just… blurry black blobs and they’re-- shit, they’re coming this way!”

“What? Wait, t-th-that’s not--” Dylan stuttered as Kaitlyn hurried past him, snatching up the shotgun as she turns to face the door. “That’s not necessarily a bad thing, right? Someone could be coming to help? It’s people, not werewolves. It… it is people, right?”

“Uh, last I checked, werewolves aren’t capable of operating a car,” Emma says with as much sass stuffed into her tone as possible, somehow still able to keep it up even as both her and Abi descend the stairs in a panic towards the safety of the shotgun.

Dylan’s eyes flicker anxiously between the shotgun he’s not even entirely sure has any shells left, and the door. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“I’m sorry, have you seen one driving a car?”

“No, but, it’s not like they have access--”

“Would you both shut it!?” Kaitlyn hisses, barely taking a second to glance at them out of the corner of her eye, keeping her focus on the doors. The brief moment of silence after her command is interrupted as the door squeaks open, only to be stopped as it hits the table they had pushed up against it earlier in the night.

Everyone in the room seems to collectively agree to hold their breath. The door softly closes, and then once more is pushed open, only to again be halted by the table. Another pause. The door shuts. Another pause. And then the door is opened again. Harder. It collides with the table harshly, the bang of wood against wood reverberating around the quiet lodge. The table inches forward ever so slightly at the impact, and Kaitlyn raises the butt of the shotgun to her shoulder, taking aim. A part of Dylan is screaming at him to just yell out, ask who it is that’s trying to get in. But at the same time… he’s seen horror movies. He knows how that shit usually plays out…

Whoever’s on the other side repeatedly slams the door against the table, making a clear effort to enter the safety of the lodge. Dylan feels his heart in his throat as the table is moved further and further, the door slowly but surely opening with every swing. Kaitlyn’s finger smoothly moves over to the trigger, finger hovering ready to fire. With one last big hit, the table slides across the floor, and the door swings open, revealing in the doorway—

“Oh my God--” Kaitlyn exclaims, immediately lowering her weapon. The bloodied police offer in front of them surprisingly only looks marginally startled to have seen the shotgun aimed at him, a deep sigh of what Dylan hopes is relief punching out of him at the sight of the teenagers.

There’s much more to the appearance of the police officer that would and should be raising many more questions in Dylan’s mind, but that all goes right out the window once he sees the people that had been hidden behind him.

“Nick!” Abi’s shriek rings out before Dylan even has a chance to process what he’s seeing. In a flash she’s shot past them, racing towards him before coming to a sudden stop in front of a very bloodied Nick (Jesus, why was everyone covered in blood?), seeming understandably cautious. It’s not exactly easy to forget being thrown across a room. Literally. Like, end to end in one throw. “Oh my God, you… you’re alive?”

“Yeah…” A rather shell-shocked (again, understandably, Dylan figured) Nick replied, nervous eyes darting around the room.

“Found some stragglers,” comes the voice of Laura, very much not a werewolf and… somehow now back to two eyes…?

“Oh my God, Jacob--”

“Emma, fuck, I was so afraid you were--” An… oddly undressed Jacob limps further into the lodge, dried blood crusted to his leg; not that the injury seems to slow him down as he makes a beeline towards Emma, all but crushing her as he envelops her in the mother of all bear hugs — that of which Emma seems happy to both accept and return.

Dylan should probably be focusing on their reunion too, except for the fact that he was kinda distracted by something else. That being, he was staring in disbelief and, let's face it, heart skipping, sweet sweet relief at the sight of Ryan, shotgun in hand, alive.

He was alive.

He barely registers the feeling of Kaitlyn’s subtle yet encouraging nudge to his ribs, moving forward before his brain has a chance to catch up with the rest of his body. Ryan’s eyes — which had been scanning around the room — land on him, and even just the small, subtle smile that flicks at the corner of his mouth along with, if he’s not mistaken, that same relief Dylan knew he was displaying like a neon sign at the sight of him was enough for his heart to go into overdrive.

Ryan stumbles back slightly as Dylan smacks into him a bit harder than he anticipated, really only kept in place and upright by Dylan’s arms wrapping tightly around his back, squeezing him close with the little energy he had left.

“Hey--” The deep rumble of Ryan’s voice vibrates across Dylan’s chest, and, to Dylan’s surprise, he feels Ryan’s spare arm return his embrace, that small squeeze he gives in return giving Dylan all the reassurance he needs.

A little voice in the back of his mind tells him that he’s likely holding on to Ryan longer than most would consider socially acceptable, but quite frankly, at this point… Fuck it, right?

“Hey, man,” Dylan replies in greeting, able to hear the smile in his own voice clear as day “So, uh… Is that a shotgun I feel pressed against my side, or are you just happy to see me?”

Ryan’s chuckle next to his ear is about the sweetest sound he’s ever heard, and he can’t help but laugh lightly in response to it. The two pull away, Ryan’s hand lingering on Dylan’s shoulder along with the curl of a smile on his face. “I know I already said this tonight, but uh…” Ryan pauses, the smallest hint of a grin Dylan so rarely gets to see gracing them with its presence. “I guess 'both' is off the table?”

* * *

The lodge had returned to a… relative level of quietness. Most of the others were huddled together at one of the dining tables towards the back of the room, deep in hushed conversation. Filling in the blanks, from what it seemed like. Especially for Nick — poor Nick, who was sat with his head in his hands, after… after being told of what had happened. What he had done. Things said whilst… not exactly himself. Not that he had much to worry about, given Abi’s hand reassuringly rubbing up and down his back.

Jacob had finally been relinquished of his half-nakedness, having retrieved some of his warm, dry clothes from the minivan. Though, his face was still covered in blood. Then again, he can’t say much — he still had yet to clean up all the blood he could still feel stuck to him, dry and crusty and gross. God, a shower sounded great about now… Actually, some real medical attention for his rustic, homemade attempt at an amputation sounded a little bit more great. Actually, not his attempt. Was actually done by the guy he has the hots for. That’s a… weird story to tell the grandkids if he’s ever heard one.

Speaking of said hottie, Dylan once again found his eyes drawn over to him. He was stood by the door, speaking in too quiet of a voice to Laura, their conversation ineligible from this distance. Whatever the topic is, it’s wrapped up quickly. Ryan offers the shotgun to Laura, the weapon passing hands as it had done many times tonight, and then Laura’s pulling Ryan into a one-armed hug. She pats his back as the two separate. There’s a brief pause, some words passed, and then both sets of eyes turn to Dylan.

As cool and nonchalant as ever, Dylan nearly snaps his neck with how fast he averts his gaze to the ground, pretending like he wasn’t at all staring at them and instead was passing the time by himself by observing this very interesting panel of wood flooring that definitely wasn’t the same as all the other panels of flooring. Nope. Not at all. This was a hundred percent something worthy of his attention, and not something he was pretending to look at so it wouldn’t seem like he was a creep trying to eavesdrop on a private conversation.

“Sup.” Dylan glanced up at the sound of Ryan’s voice. He all but collapsed onto the bench next to Dylan, running a hand across very tired eyes. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, joined hands hanging between them. “Hell of a night, huh?”

Dylan huffed out a breath of laughter in agreement. “Yeah, that’s… the more mild-mannered way I’d put it, but sure.”

Ryan exhaled from his nose, craning his head to the side to look at Dylan. “Okay, how’d you put it?”

“Oh, you know.” Dylan shrugged his shoulders. “Something along the lines of ‘Fuck this shitty ass night, and all the stupid dumb fucking trauma that’ll come with it’. I feel it really encapsulates the emotions this night has cruelly clawed out of us, y’know?”

“Hmm… yeah, your way of saying it is better.”

“Of course it is, I’m a master craftsman when it comes to waxing poetry.” Dylan playfully digs an elbow into Ryan’s side. “C’mon, let me hear you say it. I mean, since you think it was the better way of saying it and all.”

Ryan chuckled once more, looking up to the ceiling as he takes a deep breath in. “…Fuck this shitty ass night, and all the stupid dumb fucking trauma that’ll come with it.”

Dylan’s face cracked open into a pleased smile, nudging his shoulder into Ryan’s. “There you go! And word for word, too! Wow… you really do listen to me…”

“I mean… There wasn’t that much to memorize--”

“Shh, you’re ruining the moment--”

“And of course I listen to you,” Ryan continued, stopping Dylan mid-sentence… joke? “It’s hard not to listen to people who catch my attention.”

“Oh,” Dylan all but squeaks, thankful for once for the dark and gloomy atmosphere of the cabin for hiding what he had no doubt was his slowly reddening face. “That’s, uh…cool. Shit, wait, that came out douchey and like I don’t care. I just, uh… appreciate it, I guess. T- That is to say I do care that… that you care… I… This isn’t making any sense, is it?”

“I’m… figuring out the meaning in the mess of words you just spewed out,” Ryan teased. “You know, as the ‘master craftsman when it comes to waxing poetry’.”

“Ugh, I know I said I appreciate you listening to what I say and all that, but I was hoping you would have just… glossed over that part.”

“Nope. Sorry. Seems I’m listening to every word you say,” said Ryan. “Even the stumbly, tongue-tripping ones.”

“Yeah… Pretty sure the universe is like, mocking me and making me do that only when I’m speaking to you,” Dylan mopes.

“Huh…” Ryan says, glancing away and down at his joined hands. “Only around me then?”

“Yep…” Dylan trails off, leaving a long wait between sentences. “Only you…”

“You, uh…” Ryan pauses, tapping his thumbs together absentmindedly. “Figured out why that is?”

Dylan smiles to himself, a small shy one that Ryan misses. “…I have a theory.”

“A theory, huh?” Ryan speaks around his smile. “Well… you are the science guy.”

“Like… Bill Nye?”

Ryan snorts. “Nah… someone much cooler.” He tilts his head to the side, meeting Dylan’s eyes. “You’re Dylan Dylan, The Science Guy. And I, for one, am looking forward to getting to know him a little better.”

“So long as I get to know that Ryan Ryan guy a little more.” Dylan’s smile slips slightly as something in the room catches his eye — or more specifically, something not in the room. “Hey, uh… Where did Laura go?”

Ryan raised an eyebrow at the question. “You’re only just noticing she’s gone now?”

“...Yeah? It’s not my fault you’re so distracting.”

Ryan shook his head, though it didn’t do too much to hide his fond smile. “She’s heading back to the island to find Max. Hopefully, alive and… human.”

“Right…” Dylan mumbled, the implication behind Ryan’s words suddenly striking him. “I take it that means… Mr. H?”

The crestfallen look on Ryan’s face made Dylan’s chest hurt, the poor guy practically deflating at the sound of his name. “…Yeah. We found him. He’s, uh… He’s gone.”

“Shit…” Dylan whispered softly. “Jesus, Ryan, I… I’m so sorry, man. I know you guys were close, and… Fuck, I don’t even know what to say…”

“Don’t think there’s much you can say. I mean yeah, it fucking sucks, but… not like we had much of a choice. If I hadn’t… If I hadn’t shot him, then… Max would’ve been stuck with this curse, and so would Laura who… Well, let’s just say wasn’t quite Laura at the time all this shit went down…”

“Wait, so… she did turn?” Dylan asked.

“Mm-Hhm,” Ryan hummed. “Without shooting Chris, without ending that line of infection, of the curse, then…” Ryan shook his head. “Laura could have done a lot more damage. Both she and Max would be out there, along with Chris, Caleb, and... It would have put you all in danger, so…” Ryan sighed heavily, resting his forehead on the palm of his hand. “What other choice did I have?”

In one of those exceedingly rare times, Dylan found himself without words. Though, this seemed like the kind of situation where perhaps he didn’t necessarily need them. Of course, he wouldn’t know, but for Ryan, just the simple nature of his presence next to him, a warm and comforting beacon in this cold and unforgiving night, simply listening and understanding was more than enough.

“Oh, right.” Ryan startled, turning his arm and running his hand gently up and down the blood-crusted skin. “And I would have turned, too.”

“You…” Dylan blinked rapidly in his shock, certain he must have misheard that part. “You were bit?”

“W- Well, yeah, but I’m fine now,” Ryan assured him, taken aback by his alarm. “I kinda agreed to it, actually.”

Again, Dylan could only blink at Ryan, his mind trying to process that which didn’t make much sense to him. “You… gave consent to a werewolf?"

“She wasn’t a werewolf at the time--”

“Wha--” Dylan spluttered, things just getting weirder with every word.

“It was the only thing Laura could do to keep me alive!” Ryan tried to explain. “I was bleeding pretty bad after that big hunter dude stabbed me--”

“You were stabbed!?” Dylan’s exclamation echoed around the room. It was then that the excessive amount of blood soaked into the side of Ryan’s shirt clicked in Dylan’s mind. Before Ryan could even attempt to explain further, Dylan was already yanking at the end of his shirt, pulling it up in a frantic attempt to examine what he was sure to be a horrific wound in need of first aid. “Fuck dude, you should have said something so Kaitlyn could…”

But there was no wound. Not even a scratch. There was blood, sure, but blood that was now old and long since spilled from his body. The only thing that greeted Dylan was smooth skin and a particularly flustered-looking Ryan.

Ryan’s awkward cough was the reminder Dylan needed that he should probably drop his shirt and stop ogling now. “Uh, as I was saying…”

“Right, sorry…” Dylan quickly released Ryan’s shirt, knowing full well that that was an image that would now be forever seared into his memories.

“So, uh, yeah — as you can see, knife wounds gone,” Ryan continued. “Laura offered to bite me so I’d heal and, y’know… end the werewolf lineage.”

“Wow…” Dylan exclaimed. “Y’know, uh… never pegged you to be the kinky one, Ryan. A bit of biting and bloodplay, woof, I mean--”

“Hardy har har,” Ryan drawled. “I can assure you I was in no way enjoying teeth biting into my flesh and being infected with… whatever the hell werewolves infect you with.” Ryan rubbed absentmindedly at his arm, wincing at the memory. “Shit hurts like hell…”

“Oh, does it?” Dylan asks sarcastically, making a point to wave his amputated arm through the air. “I never could have known.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Ryan said with a roll of his eyes. “Actually… how did you know to chop your arm off? Like, we hadn’t figured out any of this stuff at that point. We hadn’t even met Laura yet. Why’d you tell me to do it?”

“Oh, well…” Dylan glanced down at his arm. “I, uh… I’d like to say that I’m super awesome smart and put together that the black stuff spreading up my arm looked a lot like the stuff in Nick’s leg and made the connection that we were both infected by something, but uh…” Dylan inhales sharply through his teeth. “Honestly? All I could really think at the time was ‘ow ow ow, fuck this hurts’ and… I wanted the pain to stop.”

“So you just…” Ryan made a chopping motion through the air with his hand. “Thought that was the best way to stop the pain?”

“...Intuition?” Dylan offered meekly. “I mean, I was right, wasn’t I? Like yeah, having a chainsaw slice through my arm hurt like hell, but nowhere near as much as that shit spreading through my blood did. It burned, dude. Well, I guess you know that too, now. Ah… crap…”

“What?”

“Here I am moping about losing a hand while you’ve been stabbed, nearly died, then infected, then forced to kill Mr. H… And I thought I had had it bad this evening…”

“Let's… not set up a competition to try and figure out who had it worse,” Ryan insists. “This night sucked for all parties involved.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

“You know… I just had a thought.”

“You say that like it’s a rare occurrence.”

“Wha--” Ryan looks over to Dylan’s sly smile, narrowing his eyes mockingly. “Okay, ow.”

“C’mon, you know I was joking.” At least, Dylan hoped so. Ryan was kinda hard to read sometimes. Was one of the damn things that caught his attention. “What was the thought?”

“Just that… You… Probably didn’t have to lose the hand…?”

“Come again?”

“Well, if we’d left you infected and not chopped your hand off, you would have just been cured by now.”

“Uh… yeah, sure,” Dylan said with an exaggerated nod of his head. “You’re also cutting out the part where I would have turned into a goddamn werewolf, Ryan.”

“Only temporarily--”

“Yeah, and in that temporary time I was a werewolf, who knows what I could have done? I could have hurt someone, could of…” Dylan closed his eyes, squeezing them shut. That was… something he didn’t want to think about. He couldn’t even imagine the guilt, turning back to himself with the sunrise, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth, not knowing whose it was… “Losing my hand sucks, sure, but… risking the chance of me turning to have kept it? Nah, man. I’ll take this over living with the guilt of having fucking mauled you to death or something…”

“...Fair point” Ryan agrees quietly after a long pause. “How are you holding up? With your arm, I mean.”

“Uh, you know…” Truthfully, it hurt like a bitch. But, at the very least it wasn’t still bleeding, so… look at the bright side and all that, right? “Not as bad as it could be. You made a pretty clean-cut, must of… I don’t know, pinched off most of the blood vessels and shit when you sawed off my hand.”

“Yeah, I… don’t think I’ll be getting into the tree-felling business any time soon without getting some horrific flashbacks.”

“I… think we’ll be getting them anyway after tonight.”

“True…” Ryan conceded. He took another glance at Dylan’s injured arm, brow furrowed in worry. “We really should get you some proper medical attention for that hand, man… Werewolf infections might be off the table now, but regular infections will still mess you up.”

“Yeah, I’d rather not think about what kinda shit was on that chainsaw.” Dylan’s face scrunched up in disgust at the thought. “Do we… actually know what we’re gonna do now? Like… what’s next…?”

Ryan sighed heavily, leaning back on the bench. His gaze flickered over to Travis, who sat alone next to the body of his nephew, still hidden under the cover. His hand lay over his nephew, head bowed and eyes closed. So many of his family… gone. Taken by the effects of a curse brought upon themselves.

“I think Travis — the cop over there--” Ryan nodded his head in Travis’ direction. “—Is gonna try and reach out and get into contact with some more cops. I mean, there’s every chance your, uh—your signal…booster….thingey… did its job and reached out further than just the camp.”

“Doubt it, but…” Dylan trailed off. “Shit… What are we gonna say when the cops show up?”

“I think that’s what Travis is trying to figure out?” Ryan offers. “He’s been covering up a few disappearances for Chris for the past six years, but… I don’t think you can cover up tonight. There’s just… too much death. Too many questions.”

“Can we not just… tell the cops the truth?” Dylan asks. “I’m sure we have more than just our word to back everything up.”

“We can try, but they still might not believe us. Even when all the evidence was put in front of me, I still didn’t believe it. I—I couldn’t believe it. I was so certain there was another explanation, and… the cops might see it that way, too.”

“Fuck,” Dylan spat, last remaining hand scratching anxiously at his chin. “So what, they show up and just arrest us on the spot?”

“Honestly dude, I really don’t know. Chances are they’ll get you to a hospital first to treat your hand. Actually, they’d probably have to take all of us given that we’re covered in blood and will need to be checked over, but… if they suspect foul play? Then yeah, they’d probably have to bring us in for questioning and stuff like that.”

“Even with another cop that’s backing up our story?”

Ryan shrugged his shoulders in response. “We won’t know till they get here.”

Sunlight was already beginning to filter through the small gaps of the blinds, illuminating a few spots on the wooden floor. Dylan could see some of the claw marks Caleb left behind around the lodge, dug into a few posts and panels. It was strange, how much of a difference the sunlight made. Made them feel… safe. As if, simply the absence of the dark was what made the difference between life and death.

“Least the nights over…” Dylan muttered.

Ryan grunted in agreement. He rocked in his seat for a moment before standing from the bench, Dylan’s eyes following his movement. “I think I need some fresh air.”

“Oh, okay.” Dylan tried his best to hide his disappointment, but he could hear from the sound of his own voice that he did not hide it well in the slightest. It took him a bit longer than it probably should have to realize Ryan had yet to move to go outside, glancing up to see him still by his side, staring expectantly. “Oh, you want me to…?”

Dylan scrambled up to his feet, following a lightly chuckling Ryan towards the door. He glanced over to the others as he passed, trying and failing to hide a smile at Kaitlyn’s overly excited smile of encouragement and thumbs up. Hmm, how torn he was between giving a thumbs up in return, or a middle finger…

It wasn’t until they were sat down at the base of the stairs outside that Dylan allowed himself to truly appreciate the gentle warmth of the early morning sun on his face, tilting his head back with a sigh. The sounds of the birds happily tweeting away as they fluttered between the trees brought that sense of peace that staying at Hacketts Quarry Camp usually provided, relaxing some of the tension that had locked up his body for almost the entire night.

“You know what really sucks?” Ryan breaks the peaceful silence they were sitting in. Not that he was complaining, of course. Any moment that Ryan opened up to him was one of celebration.

“What’s that?”

“That this is what I’ll think of from now on. All the good years I had here, both as a camper and this one as a counselor… This summer was so great, and without all this, it would be something I would look back fondly on for the rest of my life, but now…” Ryan sighed, looking glumly out at the road. “Now all I’ll be able to remember when I think about this place is all this nightmare-inducing garbage…”

“What? No, no, no—you can’t think like that--”

Ryan scoffed. “Kinda hard not to, man.”

“Well, I’m telling you not to.” Dylan’s oddly commanding tone caught Ryan by surprise, looking over to the other boy with an eyebrow raised in surprise. “Don’t think about tonight. Tell me one of your good memories instead.”

“...I don’t think that’s--”

“Tell me. A good memory,” Dylan repeated firmly, returning Ryan’s raised eyebrow. “C’mon, something from this summer even. Anything good, anything that made you smile or laugh or something.”

“Um… alright…” Ryan gave in to the order, mind scrambling to come up with a good memory. It mustn’t have taken too long given the beginnings of a smile that pulled at his lips, an almost silent huff forcing its way out.

“You got one?”

“Yeah, uh… You remember when we first ran into each other at camp?”

Despite the way Dylan’s heart practically leaped into his throat at the thought of Ryan’s good memory involving him, he still let out an annoyed groan, already knowing and dreading this story. “Oh, God…”

“It was like, first day of camp I think. Kids had already arrived, and I was making my way down to the lake to finish setting some stuff up. I walked past the pool house and then heard this massive splash, and you were just… in the pool. Drowning.”

“I was not drowning,” Dylan complained. “I am an excellent swimmer, thank you very much.”

“I sure as hell didn’t know that at the time,” Ryan said through his laughter, the memory flooding back to him. “Didn’t realize you were faking it to teach the kids a lesson about not swimming unattended until after I’d ran over to get you out.”

“Lesson worked, didn’t it? Kids didn’t try and pull that stunt again.”

“Man… I was both scared shitless that you were actually gonna drown, but also thinking to myself ‘Why the hell did Chris hire a counselor to perform lifeguard duties who can’t swim?’”

“I mean, that probably should have clued you in that I was faking it.”

“Hard to think straight when it looks like someone's dying on the other side of a fence from you.”

“Touché.”

Ryan shook his head, no longer laughing but his smile still plastered to his face. “Then when I got there to help you out of the pool, and I realized there wasn’t any danger, and the kids…” Ryan huffed. “Those kids really took a shine to you, dude. They were laughing so hard, I thought they were gonna start drowning.”

“Can I, uh… Can I confess something?”

That statement certainly caught Ryan’s attention, finding himself straightening up unconsciously. “Confess what?”

“So, I… I hadn’t planned to… end up in the pool,” Dylan mumbled his confession.

“But… then why were you…?”

“Ugh, okay…” Dylan went to clap his hands together for dramatic effect but wisely stopped just in time. “So, anyway, uh… First day of camp, like you said right? Do you remember how fucking hot that first day was? Like, stupidly hot. I’m talking smack you in the face, ‘Hey, summers here!’ kind of hot?”

Ryan nodded, wondering where he was going with this. “…Sure, I remember.”

“Right, so… Kids had already arrived, and they were supposed to be unpacking in the cabins. Which, to be fair, most of them were. Except this group of kids who decided the best way to beat the heat was to sneak into the pool and go for a swim. Now, you know me,” Dylan paused, placing a hand over his heart. “I’m always one for a little bit of tween rebellion, but at the same time, I probably wouldn’t be the best of counselors if I left a bunch of kids swimming unattended and they end up… drowned.”

“Yeah, that’d probably put a damper on things.”

“Not a good look,” Dylan agreed. “So, I head into the pool house, trying to think of the best way to teach these kids that ‘fun begins with safety’ in a way that doesn’t make them think I’m lame, and then…”

Ryan leaned in closer at Dylan’s pause, taking notice of Dylan’s slowly reddening face. “That’s… when you walked past.” Dylan found himself unable to meet Ryan’s eyes, returning to his previous solid method of staring at the floor. “You were passing by, carrying a bunch of life jackets and stuff, and I just…” Dylan finally found the courage to look up at Ryan, taken aback by how intensely he was listening. “I.. couldn’t stop looking at you. Guess my brain kinda shut down after that, coz it turns out I’m not so great at staring at someone and watching where I’m going at the same time. Next thing I know…”

“You fell in the water…” Ryan finished for him, the realization hitting him. “Because of…me?”

“...Yep…” Dylan popped the ‘p’. “Not my finest move.”

“I feel like I should apologize for distracting you,” said Ryan. “It was an unforgettable first impression, though.”

“I’m just surprised you didn’t question why I jumped into the water fully clothed.”

“In my defense, I was focusing on the relief that I wasn’t pulling a dead body out of the water on my first day of camp. And I just sorta… assumed you were body shy or something.”

“I was in jeans.”

“...And committed to the role?”

Dylan snorted, lowering and shaking his head. Ryan’s intense gaze settled on him, the subtle smile Dylan often pulled out of him yet to leave his face. “Appreciate you coming to my rescue, by the way,” Dylan said. “You even had to break the rule of ‘No Running’ to come save me. I’m sure that must have been a difficult decision for you.”

“Oh, definitely,” Ryan agreed, voice thick with sarcasm. “Follow the unbreakable rule set by a faded sign, or make sure my co-counselor doesn’t die.”

“An almost impossible choice!” Dylan played along with much glee. “And yet, you sprinted through that pool house to get to me like my own personal knight in shining armor.”

“Mmm, just needed a horse and the image would be complete," said Ryan.

“Don’t make me jealous, dude," Dylan said, lowering his voice and wriggling his eyebrows at Ryan.

“Of… what?”

“Of… y’know, the horse?” Dylan said like that explained anything. “Coz you’re… riding…it.”

With the silence that stretched on after that little gem of a statement, Dylan was sure he had just managed to put his foot in his mouth in the worse way he ever has. “Wow, that was… smooth as ever, Dylan.”

“Can we… pretend like I never said that?”

“Not a chance. It goes straight into one of those ‘good memories’ you told me to think about.”

“Good memory, huh?” Dylan inquired. “Not… ‘scarring’ or ‘traumatizing?’”

“Nope. It goes right next to that night we were on cooking duty.”

Dylan threw his head back, scrunching his eyes closed with an exaggerated groan of despair before opening one to peek at Ryan out of the corner of it. “I warned you the second we were paired together that cooking isn’t my finest skill.”

“Dude, you managed to burn water. I didn’t even think that was possible!”

“Technically, it wasn’t the water that got burnt,” Dylan corrected, index finger raised as he made his point. “It was the sugar.”

“You realize that doesn’t make it any better?” Ryan asked through his laughter. “Why were you adding sugar to the water?”

“I misread the recipe! It said salt, I saw it as sugar.”

“We were making pasta, dude.”

“And I took the kids through a taste trip they’ll never forget!”

“I know I won’t,” Ryan joked. “How are you gonna survive heading off to college?”

“Probably by eating from the canteen like most others in the dorm,” Dylan shot back.

“Alright, and after college?”

“Uh… takeout and ramen?”

“I am genuinely scared for your health,” Ryan admitted, eyes wide. “You know what, let’s make a deal.”

“Sure. Actually, wait, no -- what kinda deal?”

“How about… I teach you how to cook. Pay you back for the tech lessons you offered to give me.” Ryan made the offer like it was nothing more than a second thought, but for Dylan, there were practically fireworks of victory going off in his mind.

“You’re offering to… teach me how to cook?” Dylan asked, hoping the excitement shrieking through his head wasn’t slipping too much into his voice.

“If it stops you from making pasta that I’m sure is what the spaghetti from Elf would taste like, then yes, absolutely.”

“I’m sorry, can we just go back to the fact that you, Ryan, have watched Elf?” There was no way Dylan could hide the excitement from his voice now.

“I… might have.” Ryan looked away, playing awkwardly with his hands. “My sister loves watching it like, every Christmas. It’s kinda tradition at this point.”

Dylan’s teasing smile softened at that, not quite used to seeing Ryan so… vulnerable? Open? It was something new, that’s for sure, and he wasn’t too oblivious to realize he should be careful in the way he pushes and prods here. “Well, it, uh… It’d make for a good background movie while you give me cooking lessons. Maybe… over winter break or something?”

Ryan paused, his hands coming to a standstill. A beat passed, and then he forced his eyes up to Dylan’s expectant face. Dylan almost missed Ryan’s response with how hard his heart was pumping in his chest, the sound of his blood roaring through his ears.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

"Cool, cool, that's–uh, I'm... looking forward to it." Ladies and Gentleman, once again, Dylan Lenviv: Master craftsman of words. “Hey, so… since we’ve now technically agreed to like, meet up and do something after all this—providing we’re not thrown in jail of course—wouldn’t it make sense if you, I dunno, maybe… gave me your number?”

Ryan hummed in thought, regarding Dylan with a tilt of his head. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had someone so persistent to get my number.”

“Third time's the charm?” Dylan offered meekly. “Should I… Should I take that as a no, or…?”

Dylan glanced down at the movement he saw out of the corner of his eye. Ryan had his hand held out, palm facing upwards. Dylan stared blankly at the hand for a few seconds before realizing (what he thought) Ryan wanted, pulling his good arm across his body to give Ryan a ‘low-five’.

“I was actually… asking for your phone…” Ryan said awkwardly, hand still held out. “So I can put my number in it. If you want it, that is.”

“Oh--” Dylan scrambled through his pockets for his phone with more urgency than he approached most of the life-threatening events of the past night. “Yeah, sure, here--” Ryan took the phone from his hand, the light brush of his fingers across Dylan’s palm as he plucked it from his hand sending shivers up Dylan’s arm.

The phone’s battery was nearing low enough to get Dylan’s anxiety rising again (not that Ryan couldn’t just write down his number on a piece of paper or something, but whatever), watching—but pretending not to—as Ryan diligently entered his details into Dylan’s contacts. “There you go—” Ryan held the phone back out for Dylan to take. “I’m already nervous about the amount of memes you’re gonna send me at like two in the morning or something.”

Dylan clicked his tongue, pocketing his phone back in his jeans. “Only the freshest for you.”

“So long as you spruce it up with whatever quantum physics problems you have for your college assignments,” said Ryan, digging through his own pockets.

“Sure. Maybe if you help me enough, I can convince administration to put both our names on the degree.”

Ryan huffed quietly, finally yanking his phone out of his pocket. Dylan watched as he carefully pulled his earphones out of the sockets, before holding the phone out for him to take. “C’mon, fair’s fair. Number for a number.”

“Hmm, let me think about that…” Dylan drawled with as much sarcasm as he could muster, snatching the phone out of Ryan’s hand with such speed that it nearly brought out a full-on laugh from Ryan. “God, why would I want to give my phone number to the guy I’ve been flirting with all night and tried desperately to get his number from… Honestly Ryan, the audacity for you to assume I’d want to give you my number,” said Dylan as he entered his number into the phone, scanning over the details a few dozen times to make sure he had entered them correctly.

“My bad. Sometimes I just miss those kinds of signals.” Ryan replied, plucking the phone from Dylan when he saw he was finished.

“Not gonna lie, I was actually kinda tempted to call the number to make sure you hadn’t given me a fake,” Dylan admitted. “But uh… no signal.”

Ryan ‘tsked’ his tongue, leaning back against the stair behind him.“Guess that means you won’t find out about my betrayal till after you’re home.”

“Okay, I know that’s probably a joke, but if I try and call your number and a pizza place picks up instead, I will find a way to track you down and beat your ass.”

“Uh, okay one—you’re gonna beat me up?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Ryan. I beat off a werewolf. With one hand. Using a flamethrower. And I dropped a car and squished one. And, most importantly, I am taller than you.”

Ryan just stared at Dylan, waiting for the moment the penny dropped and Dylan would have realized what he had just said. “You… beat off a werewolf… with one hand?”

Dylan opened his mouth for a retort, then quickly shut it again. “Okay, poor choice of wording, but my point still stands.”

“Alright, so you’re gonna ‘beat my ass’. How exactly do you plan on tracking me down?”

“I have my resources,” Dylan said slyly, straightening with pride. “Tech guy, remember? And besides, I got your email address in that information thingey we got. You can’t escape me, Ryan. Either you’ll be getting a flood of annoying texts from me, or you’ll have given me a fake number and be receiving a strongly worded email.”

Ryan tipped his head, admitting defeat. Then, unexpectedly, he reached out, placing a hand on Dylan’s shoulder. His grip was loose, and yet the warmth of his skin bled quickly through Dylan’s shirt. “Well, if there was anyone who was gonna attach to my side like a puppy and refuse to leave, I’m glad it ended up being you.”

Dylan tried to think of a joke, or a retort, or anything really to say in response to that, but his brain simply wasn’t cooperating with him. It had gone blank, instead focusing all their effort into focusing on the bubble of warmth that had formed in his chest, nearly as warm as Ryan’s hand still lingering on his shoulder. And—speaking of lingering—Ryan’s gaze has yet to break from Dylan’s, perhaps the longest Ryan had maintained eye contact with him since… forever.

“Can I ask you a question?” Ryan asked, and oh wait, maybe he still could--

“You just did.”

And… there goes Ryan’s hand from his shoulder. “Dude.”

“Sorry, sorry, that’s--” Dylan waved off his own attempt at a joke. “Ask away.”

“So, tonight—or, last night technically, I guess—before all this shit went down; back at the campfire, and in Chris’s office… you were…”

“...Still in possession of both hands?”

“Flirting,” Ryan corrected firmly.

“Uh… yeah?” Wait a minute, did he…? “Did… Did you only just realize that?”

As it turns out, Ryan can pull off quite the impressive bitch face. “I’m not that oblivious, dude. I guess I was just a little… confused.”

“Sexuality wise, or…?”

Bitch face number two, right there. “No, I figured out that a while back. It was just… Why then? We went the whole summer with really only the bare minimum of interactions — mostly co-counselor-slash-co-worker stuff and maybe the occasional friendly conversation every now and then, but… that was pretty much it. Honestly, when you did start flirting with me up in Chris’s office, there was a part of me that thought… maybe you were messing with me? I just… I couldn’t figure out why after two months of us all being together, why you were only then starting to make a move right before we were all about to go our separate ways?”

“Oh, right…” And if that wasn’t the question right there. The very same question he had asked himself just two nights ago, staring at the bottom of the bunk above him, wondering why he had never made that move. Except… he knew why. “It was… a lot of things.”

“...Like what?”

“Okay, uh… Obviously from the first day I kind of… had a thing for you. And, y’know, I saw Emma and Jacob hook up like, almost immediately, and I thought to myself ‘Welp, I’m sure that won’t end in disaster.’ Summer fling, promising not to get attached, then just saying goodbye at the end of the summer and, y’know, ‘bye bye, see you again never?’ And that’s… that’s just not my kind of style, I guess. I figured out fairly quickly that… that if anything were to happen, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t want the end of summer to be the end.”

“Ah…” Ryan said, a look of understanding crossing his features. “So you assumed I wouldn’t want that and thought it better not to do anything?”

“Not…exactly,” Dylan continued. “To tell you the truth, I… well, I was a coward.”

“What? Dude, being too nervous to ask someone out doesn’t make you a coward--”

Dylan felt that damn ‘bashful smile’ Kaitlyn was talking about pulling at his cheeks at Ryan’s defense of him, saving his dignity by turning his head and covering his mouth with a pretend cough. “Alright, maybe not a coward, but… sometimes I just overthink things. I mean, let’s be honest with ourselves here Ryan, beginning of the summer you couldn’t even class us as ‘friends’. More like ‘awkward co-workers who have yet to properly address the weird way they met’. And… well, even after getting to know you more tonight, there’s still times when I can’t read you right. So, when I thought about actually making a move, it was like… like my brain thought of all the things that could go wrong.”

“Go wrong how?”

“Like… what if you weren’t interested in guys? Or even dating full stop? Camp had only just started, and we had two months ahead of us where we needed to work together. I didn’t want it to become awkward, you know? Especially if something did happen, and then realized we didn’t work together. Having to work together with a guy who rejected you is one thing, but a newly made ex—slash—fling gone wrong?”

“Yeah, that would be… an uncomfortable situation.” Ryan had to admit.

“Precisely.”

“But… why were you so sure it would go wrong?”

“I wasn’t,” Dylan insisted. “But my nerves got the better of me. It wasn’t until the minivan broke down and I realized we would be spending another night here that I thought ‘Well… what have I got to lose?’ I could shoot my shot, and if you turn me down, then… well yeah, it would still suck, but it would only be the one night and then we’d be going home. If you didn’t turn me down, then well,” Dylan shrugged his shoulders with a small smile. “We’d be… where we are, I guess. Just… without all the werewolves and blood and general all-around violence. And, preferably, I’d still have both hands.”

“Kinda hard to forget about the whole werewolves part though, which… still seems crazy to me. Like… werewolves are real?”

“Seems like it. Man, Twilight lied to me… Those werewolves were not big and fluffy and, most importantly, looked like an actual wolf. They got the big part down but other than that they were… mean.”

“Hold on—” Ryan held out both hands, rearing his head back in disbelief. “—You were poking fun at me for having watched Elf, and are now admitting you’ve watched Twilight?”

“Oh, you’re telling me you haven’t?” Dylan challenged, giving Ryan a knowing look. “We were all tweens at some point, Ryan. Watching Twilight is like, a rite of passage into teenage…dom…”

“I don’t think that’s a word.”

“Don’t avoid the question, Ryan.”

“I… might have watched the first one—”

“Oh, you lie!” Dylan didn’t hesitate to call him out, noticing full well the way the muscle under his eye twitched — a dead giveaway. He knew that look of self-cringe, of remembering that phase of your childhood. “You watched every single one of those suckers, and little Ryan loved them.”

“Alright, I watched Twilight!” Ryan confessed, Dylan finally managed to yank the truth out of him. “And yeah, I’ll admit, I enjoyed them as a kid.”

“Hell yeah you did!” Dylan grinned with success, holding out his good hand. Ryan could only deny him for all of four seconds before caving into Dylan’s pleading eyes, giving him the high five he desired. “Nothing to be ashamed of, dude. You gotta experiment to find out what you like, after all.”

Ryan exhaled sharply from his nose, wondering if Dylan was hinting at what he thought he was thinking. “Why do I get the feeling you started questioning your sexuality after watching Twilight?”

“One of many things that helped me realize,” Dylan said. “I mean, when you’ve got a hot dude without his shirt on for like, ninety percent of the film, it tends to smack you in the face.”

“Yeah, I imagine that’d have an effect,” Ryan agreed. “So, uh… I’m genuinely curious here… What exactly would you have done if everything had been normal last night?”

“Uh… what do you mean?”

“After Truth or Dare,” Ryan answered. “You’d kinda jokingly asked me for my number a few times before that and then, y’know…”

“We kissed?”

“Right.” Ryan pretended the heat warming his face was actually the sun. “Were you expecting… more?”

“I… guess?” said Dylan, sounding unsure. “I mean, look -- more had happened than I thought would happen at that point. After that kiss at the fire, I… started to hope that maybe…” Dylan sighed harshly, struggling to find the right words to explain himself. “Maybe you liked me too. I guess from there I would have tested the waters a bit further, but…”

“But then the werewolf thing happened.”

“Yeah…” Dylan’s eyes slid away, the way his response trails off telling Ryan there was more to this before Dylan had even continued. “And the… Laura thing happened.”

“I’m sorry, the ‘Laura thing?'”

Dylan shrugged his shoulders, tall frame hunched over, picking at the bandages on his wounded arm. “You seemed pretty frustrated with each other at first, but I wasn’t sure if that was tension or that tension. I don’t know, maybe I look into things too much, but…”

“Dylan, are you… jealous of Laura?”

“Yeah, and I kinda hate it,” Dylan also hated how easily he admitted that to Ryan. “I mean, she can definitely pull off the badass act, whereas I—”

“Dude, you better not call yourself a coward again,” Ryan asserted strongly, turning on his seat to fully face Dylan. “The shit you’ve gone through tonight? Soldiering through losing your hand, and still doing everything you could to help people; fighting off werewolves with… wait, did you say a flamethrower?”

“Not a flamethrower per se, but it… threw flame, so… close enough?”

“Okay, and you hear that, right?” Ryan said firmly. “Shit, I had a gun with me most of the time. The fact that you did that, you saved Kaitlyn unarmed--”

“C’mon man, little early on the arm jokes, don’t you think?”

“--And right there. Even after tonight, you’re still able to come out of it smiling and joking. And you saved us with the feedback loop idea, remember? You did that. You figured out you needed to remove your hand after being bitten. You saved Kaitlyn using only what you had on hand. You, Dylan, are a genius and a badass.”

To say that Dylan was feeling taken aback by all this was an understatement. For a while, he could only stare blankly at Ryan, that bubble of warmth in his chest about ready to burst. Ryan’s eyes were practically boring into his, pleading with him to hear the words he was saying, to know he meant them.

“And are you forgetting about Max?” Ryan added on, gesturing with his thumb behind his back in the direction of the quarry, to the island where said person was supposed to be waiting. “To say she’s ‘taken’ would be putting it lightly. You heard the story same as I did, right? She went out hunting werewolves by herself to try and save him. Dude clawed her eye out, and bit her, and she still fought tooth and nail to get him back. If that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.”

And that made sense to Dylan. It really, really did. But it wasn’t like his brain was ever going to make it that easy for him. Because all that didn’t necessarily mean Ryan doesn’t like Laura, does it? It was just… a reason why nothing would happen. Yeah okay, he hears how stupid that sounds now he really thinks about it, but still—

“You know what, just… forget I brought it up.” Dylan gave Ryan a strained smile, that of which immediately had Ryan frowning. Ryan looked about ready to say something, but Dylan beat him to the punch before he could. “I’ve got no filter on right now, what with all the blood loss and no sleep—" Dylan somewhat stumbled to his feet, leaving a perplexed-looking Ryan still sitting on the steps. “Maybe we should… head back inside. Check up on everyone and, uh… well, I’d like to sleep for a few hundred years before the cops show up and slap handcuffs on us.”

Dylan all but mumbled his words, barely giving Ryan a second glance as he made his way towards the entrance to the lodge. He had missed the way Ryan watched as he left, deeply frustrated, but not at Dylan. He was fighting with himself, with his own mind, trying to decide how he felt, on what he knows he should say. He just needed to find the right way.

And then… He found it.

“We never finished that game of Truth or Dare.”

Dylan paused, hand frozen on the door to the lodge. He slowly turned around to see Ryan now standing at the base of the stairs, leaning past the railing to keep Dylan in his line of sight. He wasn’t exactly sure what Ryan was trying to say by that. He had only said it just as fact, stating what had happened. And… yeah, that was what happened. They didn’t finish it. “Uh… yeah, no, we didn’t.”

“So let’s finish it.”

Dylan couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief. Ryan somewhat swayed where he stood, one hand still on the stairs railings, eyes pointed down at his own feet as he kicked senselessly at the dirt. Call him crazy, but Dylan thought he almost looked… nervous. What for, he had no clue. “You want to play Truth or Dare? Just the two of us?”

“Yeah, I… I wanna finish the game.”

Dylan didn’t try in the slightest to hide his confusion, waiting for Ryan to walk over to him by the door before he continued. “Not gonna lie to you Ryan, I’m a little too sober and a little too tired to be dared to run naked through the woods.”

That brought another smile out of Ryan — even through his nerves — breaking some of the weird tension they had found themselves in. “Trust me, I don’t want to do that either. Won’t be anything like that, I promise.”

Dylan closed his eyes, blowing a long puff of air from his mouth as he contemplated the weirdness of all this. Sure, not the weirdest thing to happen tonight, but… weird nonetheless. Especially from Ryan. And yet, he would be lying to himself if he said there wasn’t part of him that yearned to return to that moment in time. The possibilities of what could have happened, had it not been for the interruption that would send them fighting for their lives.

Dylan’s fingers slipped away from the door handle, turning the rest of his body to face Ryan head-on. “Alright, bring it, Ryan. Hit me.”

“Right where we left off,” Ryan pointed out, the corner of his mouth twitching up. “Truth or Dare, Dylan.”

Dylan blurted out his answer before he had even really made his choice. “Truth. I’ve got no secrets, but… you’re free to look for them.”

“Does Laura actually bother you?”

Son of a bitch, that’s the very topic he was trying to get away from. Guess Ryan just wasn’t going to let this go… “No man, Laura doesn’t bother me. I’m pretty sure if it weren’t for her coming in and explaining everything, we’d all be puppy chow right about now. She even saved your life—not exactly gonna forget about that anytime soon.”

“So why are you so uncomfortable talking about her?”

“Because I… couldn’t blame you if you went after her,” Dylan muttered, voice soft and sounding almost defeated. Ryan’s inquisitive frown all but vanished, smoothing into something that was… not quite pity, but… more like hurt. And that was something new Ryan learned about himself—just how much it pained him to see Dylan hurt, too. “It’d suck big time, but… I get it. Plus she’s got that cool eyepatch thing going on. Always thought pirates were cool…”

Ryan shook his head, amazed that Dylan was still able to throw in a light-hearted tidbit even when that was probably the complete opposite of how he was feeling right now. “Well… we’d only need to get you a hook for that hand, then you’d be on the same level,” Ryan joked, much to Dylan’s astonishment. “Actually, Laura’s eye is healed now, so you’d be more pirate than her.”

Dylan brought up his amputated arm to eye level, cracking a smile at the image. “Can’t wait to see the look on my parents' faces when I deny the super cool futuristic hand prosthetic for a hook.”

“Look cool as hell though.”

“Hell yeah,” Dylan agreed with an enthusiastic nod of his head. “So… you dig the pirate look?”

Ryan bit back a grin, swaying about where he stood. “Depends what kind of pirate we’re talking about. Like… Captain Jack Sparrow?”

“Ah, a bit of Depp, huh?” Dylan teased. “I think I could probably rock some facial hair… Would make for a good Halloween costume.”

Ryan hummed a laugh, eyes scanning across Dylan’s face. “That’d be something to see. Kinda--” Ryan paused, gesturing with a wave of his hand at Dylan’s face. “--Having a hard time picturing you with any facial hair though.”

“Pfft, uh, yeah — there’s a reason I keep it shaved off,” Dylan said, like the reason for that would be obvious. “The raw sexual power it invokes is simply too overwhelming for anyone to handle.”

“Oh yeah?”

“I’m telling you, man, you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off me.”

Ryan tilted his head up, regarding Dylan with an analytical eye. “If you say so, man. Guess we’ll… have to test that theory come Halloween time, huh? That’s, uh… part of being a scientist, right? Theory and experiment and all that.”

“Spoken like a true scientist yourself there, Ryan,” Dylan jabbed. He stood there smiling at Ryan for a good few seconds too long before remembering that they were in the middle of something, forcing himself back into reality. “Right, next round. Truth or Dare, Ryan?”

“Truth.”

“I, uh get the feeling this is gonna be more a game of ‘Truths’ than just ‘Dares’,” Dylan tried to joke, but something in his voice seemed flat, unsure of something. Ryan picked it up on it, but didn’t say anything — mostly because the slight pinch to his brow gave that away. Dylan’s head was dropped, eyes scrunched up as he bounced on the balls of his feet, trying to force out the question he wanted the truth to, but was having trouble gathering the confidence to ask. Ryan opened his mouth, about to ask Dylan if he was okay when Dylan blurts out his question.

“Are you actually gonna keep in contact?”

Ryan clearly wasn’t expecting that question given by the way his partly opened mouth snapped shut, the small questioning frown that had already been on his face only deepening. “What?”

“You know, it’s just… Like, I know we swapped phone numbers and everything and you’d think that would answer my question for me, but…” Dylan groaned, annoyed with himself. “I know I’m overthinking it way too much, but I can’t help but wonder if you just… gave it to me so I’d stop asking? Like, you know, how you said I was persistent and all that, maybe I was annoying you or something--”

“Dylan—” Ryan stopped Dylan mid-ramble, looking truly baffled by what he was saying. “You can’t really think that, can you?”

Dylan’s small little shrug in response was genuinely hard to see for Ryan. “—’S not just that either. Like with the whole ‘bad memories’ thing; what you said earlier about this place—this night—replacing all your good memories with bad ones. Maybe that’d… happen with me, or something. And then even if you wanted to call or text me or whatever, anytime you thought of me, you thought of… werewolves and death and a whole bunch of other nasty shit. So it’d just be easier to not reach out. To just… forget.”

“Dylan, that’s not gonna happen,” Ryan said with such certainty that Dylan almost believed it without any other reassurance. “I mean, wh--what’s with all the ‘if you wanted to?’ Of course I want to keep in contact with you after all this, trauma aside. In fact, I’d even make the argument that the trauma will make us closer.”

Ryan reached out, placing a hand on Dylan’s shoulder, hoping it would help him get his point across. Dylan knew that from where his palm lay just by his chest that Ryan must have felt how fast his heart was racing, making a valiant effort to jump free from his chest.

“Sure, this night was mostly hell, but you’re one of the reasons I was able to get through it. There’s a ton of bad memories, but there were good ones too that kept me sane, and practically all of them involve you. And I know for a fact that the same could be said for everyone else. You… you make me smile, man, when a lot of others can’t. I’d be stupid to cut that out of my life. To not want… you.”

Never mind Ryan being able to feel his heart beating, he could probably hear it at this point. Any issues with keeping eye contact seemed to be long gone, Ryan’s gaze locked into his — at least until they flickered down for the briefest moment to Dylan’s mouth before coming back up again. Dylan swallowed so harshly that he could hear the click of his own throat, although just barely past the sound of his pulse thudding by his ears.

“Truth or Dare,” Ryan asked, and Dylan was too busy remembering how to breathe that he didn’t even think about it, answering more on reflex.

“Dare.”

But it seemed to be the answer Ryan was looking for. Ryan’s grip changed, flat palm now curved as his fingers gently grasped into the material of Dylan’s shirt. “Kiss me.”

Dylan’s brain malfunctions at the dare — command, really — and he can only just blink in surprise before blurting out “…What?”

“I dare you to kiss me.” Ryan sounded confident, but Dylan liked to think he had gotten to know him a little bit better the past twenty-four hours. There was something hidden away behind his eyes, something almost like… like he was worried Dylan might turn him down.

“Okay…” But Dylan was still in shock, and his brain had yet to fully restart. “Just so I know, will all other kisses only be initiated for Truth or Dare, or just these two? And hey -- why am I always the one to kiss you? Is it always gonna be like that too, or—”

Dylan stopped talking, but not of his own choice, as any other words he had to say were swallowed by Ryan’s lips. The kiss was soft and gentle, akin to the one by the fire, like they were dancing around each other, still trying to figure one another out. It lasted far too short for Dylan’s liking, Ryan pulling away before he even has a chance to savor it. But Ryan hadn’t pulled away completely, mouth still tantalizingly close as he says, strangely, “Sorry.”

“For what? Kissing me?”

“No, for not,” Ryan’s breath whispers over his lips. “I wasn’t sure if you wanted to, and didn’t want to just… do it without asking or something.”

“Oh,” Dylan breathes. “Oh, no, I wanted to.”

And apparently that’s all the reassurance Ryan needed, because all of a sudden his lips are on his once more — although this time… not quite as gentle. It’s rushed, hard, desperate. Ryan’s leaning into him, body almost flush against his. Dylan lets himself be pushed, his back colliding with the door behind him, the impact against the wood sending out a loud ‘thud’ that shudders the door. He didn’t even know if hitting the door hurt, because he was too focused on the warmth of Ryan’s mouth — the feather softness of his lips, pressure demanding and oh so alluring. There’s a taste of salt from sweat and iron from blood, could be from either of them, or even a werewolf, but then Ryan’s deepening the kiss and all he can taste is him.

Ryan’s hand on his shoulder moves, sliding down across his chest and leaving a trail of goosebumps in its wake. Dylan’s own hand had reached out for Ryan, grabbing a fistful of his shirt and trying to pull him closer than what was probably physically possible. Of course, there’s not much he can do with his other hand given that it’s currently laying in a puddle of his blood back in the radio shack, but that’s not to say he couldn’t almost feel what it’d be doing if still attached to his own body; trailing up Ryan’s body, exploring every inch of skin available to him; reaching up to caress his face, to pull him in deeper, fingers running through his hair—

“Hey, was that you guys-- OH, shit—!” It’s only thanks to Ryan’s impeccable reflexes that Dylan doesn’t fall back through the door Kaitlyn had just opened, grabbing hold of his shirt and pulling Dylan upright. Dylan stumbles into him, nearly knocking them both over in the process, Ryan’s other hand grabbing onto his arm to keep him steady.

Kaitlyn had covered her eyes with her hands, already partly turned back towards the lodge. “Sorry, I thought I heard you guys banging on the door to get back in, but turns out you were banging up against the door.”

“Much as I’d like to put on a show, I’m not much of an exhibitionist,” Dylan managed to sound cocky despite the tint of redness spreading across his face. “And if I was, it sure wouldn’t be for free. Probably… ten bucks for the show.”

“Come on, man, Jesus…” Ryan said, the disappointment and disgust in his voice so strong that Dylan panicked, thinking he had just royally messed this up. “We’d be worth more than that to watch. Hundred bucks, minimum.”

Dylan’s responding grin had the potential to outshine the morning sun, holding up a hand for Ryan to high-five. “I’m so proud of you.”

Kaitlyn pulled her hand away from her face in time to watch the two high-five, torn between wanting to laugh or nail her ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed’ face. “I’ll just… leave you guys to it. But with the reminder that the cops are on the way, and I don’t want to add ‘public indecency’ to the list of things we have to explain to them.”

“...Noted,” Ryan says, awkward as ever, made even more awkward by the little hand wave he does in acknowledgment.

Kaitlyn slips back through the door, then reaches out a hand through the door, giving the two a little thumbs-up as she calls “Congrats on acting on all that sexual tension!” before her hand too disappears from view.

“Do you think she’s jealous?” Dylan leans down to mumble quietly to Ryan.

“I heard that!” Kaitlyn’s muffled voice comes from behind the door.

“I mean—” Dylan raises his voice. “—Don’t you think that Kaitlyn is a super awesome friend for encouraging her friends to be happy?”

“Better!” Kaitlyn calls back. “And damn right I’m a super awesome friend!”

Ryan chuckles softly at the back and forth between them, the sound only brightening Dylan’s smile. Ryan steps up to the wall next to Dylan, finger’s brushing down his arm as he slides down the wall to take a seat, encouraging Dylan to sit down with him. Dylan slides down slightly less gracefully than Ryan manages, the after-effects of adrenaline and blood loss along with, uh, well, let's face it, his remaining blood having headed in a different direction than his brain during that kiss leaving his legs a tad bit shaky.

“...You good?” Ryan asks at the sight of Dylan crashing to the floor, one hand up against the wall to steady himself.

“Yeah, just…” Dylan winces, already able to feel the blossoming ache on his tailbone. “Hurt my ass…”

“I’m… not gonna kiss it better.”

Dylan snorts, stretching out his legs and adjusting himself to be more comfortable. “You wish, Erzhaler.”

The two sit in comfortable silence for some time, serenaded by the sounds of bird songs. It was the most peace they’d had in quite some time. No screaming kids, no temper tantrums, and — this was vital here — no werewolves tracking down their scent. Just the early morning sun, the whistle of the day's cool breeze, and the songbirds fluttering between the trees.

“I’m bored,” Dylan declared after roughly five minutes of said peace.

Ryan had some kind of comment along the lines of how they should be thankful to be bored and no longer fearing for their lives, but also...

He was kinda bored too.

And tired.

Very, very tired.

Ryan pulled out his phone, untangling the mess of wires his earphones had become tucked away inside his shirt. He wordlessly held one out to Dylan, who happily plucked it out of his hands and into his ear, whilst Ryan put in his own. The pull of the cable between them meant they had to huddle even closer together, but… neither of them were complaining.

“You gonna show me the boner podcast?” Dylan asks.

“Bizzare Yet Bonafide.”

“You still knew what I meant, though. Hey, maybe we could get a guest appearance on there?” Dylan suggests brightly as Ryan scrolls through the episodes he had downloaded onto his phone.

“Doubt they’d believe us,” Ryan pointed out.

“If we just told our story, sure,” Dylan agreed — at first. “But we’ve got evidence to back it up. Evidence that werewolves are real! Shit… Kinda makes you wonder how much of that podcast is the actual truth. If werewolves are real, then what else is? Vampires? Zombies? Wendigos? Bigfoot? Nessie?”

“Nessie?”

“Y’know, the Loch Ness Monster,” Dylan answered.

“Oh. Well, if you’d asked me only a day ago, I would have said there was no way. Now, it seems like nothing is off the cards… We even know that ghosts are real too, so… that’s cool. And… horrifying.”

“That’ll have to be the topic on our guest appearance. I can see it now--” Dylan held out his arms in front of him, picturing the episode's title. “--The Hag of Hacketts Quarry: Two Survivors Tail of terror. Get it? Like tail. Like, a wolf’s tail instead of story tale?”

Ryan’s thumb paused scrolling, slowly turning his head to face Dylan. “I… don’t think the werewolves even had tails.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly checking out their asses,” said Dylan. “Actually, play the Hag of Hacketts Quarry one--” Dylan points to the episode title he could see on the screen. “--See how accurate the story was. Then when we appear on the show, you can rip into them with all the inaccuracies while I provide the comic relief.”

“As in--”

“Oh, shit, dude,” Dylan hissed, the sudden urgency in his voice catching Ryan off guard. He had reached over with his good hand to grab hold of Ryan’s arm, eyes wide as they stare out into the forest.

“What?” Ryan asks, head snapping back and forth between the forest and Dylan’s panicked face. “What is it?”

“Look, over there,” Dylan continues in a hushed voice, gesturing with a nod of his head towards the woods. “Is that a wolf?”

Ryan’s blood all but runs cold, peering intensely between the trees, waiting to see the beast's thin, lanky frame flash by. “Where?”

“No, a normal one.”

It takes a while for the joke to click in his mind. When it does, Ryan has full intention of letting his thoughts on such a joke be heard, but the proud, sheepish smile on Dylan’s face makes it hard to do that. Instead, all he can get out is a defeated-sounding “Dude…”

“Sorry,” Dylan says, not sounding sorry at all. “Was kinda funny though, right?”

Ryan chose to press play on the Hag of Hacketts Quarry episode instead of answering that, assuming Dylan would take that as a cue to stop talking.

“Wouldn’t it be funny after all this that an actual bear came out of the woods and mauled us or something?”

“Oh My God…”

* * *

Barely any time had passed at all before Kaitlyn came out to check on them, perturbed by the uncharacteristic silence. She peeks her head around the door, hoping that she wouldn’t see those two dumbasses deciding to take the risk and bone in the woods, but she’s greeted by a much more pleasant sight and… to be completely honest, an adorable one.

She grins, getting out her phone, grateful there was still some battery left for her to snag this photo. They sat center frame of the snap, Dylan’s ridiculously long legs sprawled out next to Ryan’s, sat as close to each other as they could get without being in each other's laps. The earphones were still just about placed in their ears, Ryan’s head resting against the wall whilst Dylan had slumped into Ryan’s side, head resting on his shoulder, both of them sound asleep despite the murmured tones of the podcast they were listening to still playing through the buds. But perhaps the most heart-warming thing about the sight was of Dylan's amputated hand held ever so gently in Ryan's, in a way that suggested his grip didn't simply loosen as he fell asleep, but that he was being extra careful not to hurt him.

She had figured the photo would serve as good blackmail material. Or at least, she had until she sent the photo to Ryan (after convincing him over damn email to give her his number after Dylan refused to give it out without asking Ryan despite her pleading), only getting a thumbs-up emoji from the guy in response, of all things.

It was kind of funny, she thought. There were many times when Ryan could seem… indifferent. Too withdrawn. Like he didn’t care. And yeah, a thumbs-up emoji certainly didn’t give too much away as to how he was feeling. But that was just how Ryan was. And those that know him — and know him well — know he gives away much more about how he feels than just by what he communicates to others. Sometimes, you just have to look for it.

And when enough time had passed — of months upon months of discord calls and police investigations — when they were together again in person for the first time since the end of summer, she looked. She looked, and she saw as Ryan pulled out his phone to check the time — just a flash of his screen. But in that brief glimpse, she saw the photo.

Saved as his phone's wallpaper.

Dylan might have been the one to catch feelings first, but that right there? Well… let’s just say there’s a bet going on with the rest of the group as to when those idiots manage to fall head over heels for each other. She was the only one to place down twenty on Ryan figuring it out first. And judging by that wallpaper…?

She’s won.

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