briellepercz

[briellepercz]

"Yeah, no. Don't give me that shit." Brielle spoke rather bluntly as she tossed a balled-up napkin back to the table between them. "You've gotta eat. Not only because you have to but also because you're really gonna offend Mel if she comes out here and sees you picking at it like you are." Given, the woman who mothered anyone that came through the doors would never feel offense before concern, it wasn't entirely truthful. "What's going on? Talk to me, Em."

closed: @briellepercz location: mel's

“What?” Emery questioned as she looked up from the burger and fries that she’d barely made a dent in. Her chocolate shake was melting, though half way gone but so was her mind. “Sorry…I was thinking…again.” The blonde shrugged before letting out a sigh. “Nothing new with me, feel free to interrupt.” She continued as she looked up at her friend and motioned for her to sit down. “Please.”

[briellepercz]

"If you've watched enough of those shows, you know that people disappear for sinister reasons far more often than not. The worlds fucked." She muttered, almost to herself, but openly enough that she didn't think Orla would begrudge her for thinking as much. "I don't know if they will, kind of feels like it's been too long for that, doesn't it?"

venue: cadillac lounge @hidehillstart

coming in late to check up on her team, orla wasn't having the best of days. someone was missing, someone's child and there seemed to be little leads into what was going on - the unknown was terrifying. the woman kept thinking about if it was one of those children that used to call her 'mum', a title that was taken away from her in a blink of an eye. sitting at a table towards the front of the bar, the irish woman sighed. "do you think they'll find him?" she knew the odds were low but there was a hope the young man would turn up safe. "perhaps he didn't want to be found. people run away from stuff all the time. you hear about it on those crime shows about people having past lives and no one knows about it until... you know."

[briellepercz]

"I've got it, Gael." She called out as she shuffled her way back into the studio from the back, hauling through one of her physical pieces of work. It wasn't often that she put more effort into her side projects than her clients, but something about the overwhelming feeling, The man at the counter offers a sheepish yet, polite smile as he stepped aside enough to allow Brielle to carry it around before he takes it off his hands and leaves. "Sorry, it was just easier for him to collect from here. Something about raising money for a reward on information on Lucas."

@hidehillstart

LOCATION: sorry mom

𝐆𝐀𝐄𝐋 𝐂𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐅𝐅 his game, following everything that had occurred. lucas may have been one dumb son of a bitch in his eyes, a narcissist, it didn't make his disappearance any less jarring. he cared about people who actually gave a shit about the guy and suddenly -- he had vanished out of thin air. gael knew the feeling of loss all too well, the anticipation as you waited for the other shoe to drop, the knowledge that someone was just out there, and no one in town could help him. that all in itself was terrifying, no matter how you felt about the victim.

arms crossed over his chest, his eyes scanned over his shop like an overlord scanning over his country -- making sure that everything was in working order. he had let his employees know that if they needed time, he would give it to them. that they were all in this together. it's after a moments pause that he notices someone standing at the front desk -- the receptionist nowhere to be found.

❝ hey there. ❞ he says with a gruff voice, but a professional smile. he needs to shake this shit off, no matter what it took. ❝ how can i help ya ? ❞

[briellepercz]

It wasn't guilt she felt, but neither could she really pick what it was she felt now, looking at Sophie as she tried to hold it together. Something it felt like everyone was trying to do. "Uh, yeah. Look, I've got one more client for the day, but they're already ten minutes late, so give me a second to call and reschedule and we'll go do something, yeah?"

"i can't keep crying and obsessively checking my phone. you wanna do something? i desperately need to get my mind off of everything. if even just for a few hours."

@hidehillstart

[briellepercz]

"I see you're still living on the edge," a countenance to his greeting, a lopsided grin adorning her features as she moved to lean against the foundations of the bridge, considering they were both, clearly out on their own when most wouldn't even dream of it. It wasn't that Brielle wasn't scared - in fact, she was and had been terrified for a long time now. But her stubborneity was something she very rarely went without, and she'd already almost lost herself in the grief. It wasn't something she wanted to cling to so - she tried her best. "Whatcha got there?" Curiosity piqued her interest easily enough; most of the time, she'd agree it was the artist in her, just looking to see what might otherwise encourage those around her, but the other half of her.... "Oh god, don't tell me that's a book of your little trolly riddles, one for each passer-by wanting to cross the sad excuse of a creek we have?"

Location: Reign Park who: @briellepercz

And just like that they were back at it. Fear struck through the town as the Shadow tore its way through Hidehill. Realm felt sick to his stomach just thinking about it. Carmen's tongue, Remy's ears, Luka's eyes. He'd almost completely convinced himself that it was meant to be some sort of riddle… The frustration and anger he felt as he tried to piece it all together also made great fuel for his writing. So Realm made a point of spending as much of his time as he could in places that helped him feel clear. Sat himself down against the railings of the bridge and got to work. He'd often switch between pieces of his not-so-fiction novel and the actual notes he'd been taking on the Shadows both past and present. Notes similar to the one’s he’d taken over the course of the past few years. Feeling that familiar sense of dread as each page left him feeling more and more like things were unfinished. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed but if the number of pages he’d gone through was any indicator it’d been at least a few hours before a shadow was cast over his book. His eyes squinted as he glanced up to see who’d approached. “Long time no see.” He started as he flipped his book shut. “I'm the troll that's here to stop you from crossing the bridge.”

[briellepercz]

"Don't think I could ever expand them enough to look forward to sand all over that glorious, glorious cheese." But, admittedly, had there been pizza with a fresh topping of sand sitting in front of them now, she likely wouldn't complain, purely for the sake of holding on a little longer to the company she had. It felt so much more complicated than she knew how to explain to him but even if she somehow managed to dig her own hole a little deeper, Brielle wasn't going to turn away from a chance to help him understand. What she'd done was shitty and certainly not one of her finest moments. In fact, the ways in which she'd behaved made it impossible to believe that she was any better than the likes of Charlie himself.

"I mean, now I know I could have. It just.... I don't know," her shoulders lifted in a shrug, enough for her to pull her knees up to her chest a little tighter. "It didn't feel like it was back then. I think I convinced myself that you were leaving because you didn't want to be here," a pause, "because you didn't want me." It'd been enough for her to simply run with it. To curl in on herself and block out any and every attempt he could have made that might have changed how she felt. "My uh, my first real relationship was with Charlie." As if that in and of itself might have explained a few things, "He was my first love, I think.. and up until last week, I was under the impression that he broke up with me because he'd been cheating on me." Still, the truth of it curled tightly in her throat. Still, she didn't know how to process all of her fears and insecurities coming from what was essentially one big lie. "And it's not his fault, what I did to you.. That's.. that's completely on me," she noted rather bluntly - she felt nothing but guilt for it now. "When you left, it just felt like I could save myself from getting hurt, somehow, if I just.. cut you out."

It felt like a lot - sounded like nothing at all, now that it wasn't sitting so heavy on her chest and when she inhaled deeply, she offered something of a sheepish smile, because what else could she say? "If I'd known everything that would happen, or that I was just.. too far in my own head, I would have." An admission that came a lot too late. Brunette locks pushed back and tucked behind her ear as she lent her cheek onto her forearm as it rested on her knee, again, she smile with deft uncertainty, unsure of how any of her explanation had landed, "I should have gone with you."

"Wait, was I?" Gabe questioned, halting in his tracks as he tried to cast his mind back to the text conversation from earlier. Maybe it had been him who had suggested it, but he wasn't in any rush to admit that. Time and a slowly maturing wisdom had soothed his anger issues somewhat, but not his stubbornness. That was an edge that could never be buffed. His mother had joked that it was the one quality he'd inherited from his father. Gabe had always hated the comparison, but he loved Amalia too much to ever bring it up and chose instead to just silently curse his father for existing. Nothing new there. "What, you don't like the extra crunch of sand on your pizza?" He chuckled as he sat down next to the brunette. "You obviously need to expand your horizons."

Gabe almost felt bad for just blurting out the question that had played through his mind more often than he cared to admit, but it was high time they laid everything out once and for all. Maybe then, there might have been some kind of chance at moving forward, whatever that looked like. He looked over at Brielle as she swallowed hard and started to speak and for a moment he took himself back to before he'd left; an image of the pair of them sitting in what he could have sworn was this exact spot, tresses of Brielle's hair picked up by the wind obscuring her laughing face. When he knew it, but didn't have the guts to say it. Brielle, I love you. Words that would have been spoken too soon; words he always figured he'd have all the time in the world to say. But hindsight was a son of a bitch. "You could have come with me you know," he murmured quietly, dropping his gaze to the sand that camouflaged his feet before looking over at the brunette again. "Why didn't you come with me?"

[briellepercz]

The ice in her glass is long gone, the liquor no doubt warmed with it the way she'd done nothing but run her fingers over the glass since it was poured and given over to her. Months ago, she'd felt nothing but panic. So tightly that it constantly crushed her from the inside out - leaving her own apartment was something of a feat in and of itself. But now? Now, she just felt hollow. Hollow and unsurprised. The brutality was enough to unsettle her, undoubtedly, yet the level of shock that such a thing should have drawn out in anyone just didn't seem to exist. "I know...What if this is just, how it's always going to be?" Brielle asked, lips pursed as she toyed with the idea of it. "What if this is just... never going to end?" It seemed like a bit of a throw-away comment. This couldn't be what their lives would infinitely be. That wasn't possible, was it? Unless they were all caught up in some endless nightmare, but she wasn't even close to high enough to be thinking this way. "How can one, middle of nowhere place like this, have so many... monsters?"

@briellepercz

LOCATION: dead dawg

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐋 he had felt since all this began was sitting at dead dawg's bar, brielle at his side. yet another three lives lost, another three souls that had left this earth too young. he feared for his children, for ana -- who's words he could still hear in his ears. he knew she was right, if they were ever going to be an us again they needed to get out to the other side of this. maybe, just maybe, they'd actually have a chance. a dead body had been gifted to them at their baby shower, max had been put into a coma... and that had just been the very beginning.

he's tried to pull himself out of his own head, for the sake of both himself and the young woman at his right as he takes a sip from the bottle of cheap bear he has been nursing for the past ten minutes.

❝ i'm tired of this, bri. ❞ he murmurs, releasing a broken sigh from between his lips as he tries to make sense of the world around him. luka was gone, danny was doing just about as he expected, falling to pieces. even of max knew not to carry hope with him anymore, he had clung to a sliver that luka would make it out of the shadows grasp. ❝ i'm so fucking tired of losing people. ❞ sasha. luka.

[briellepercz]

Brielle had to laugh, if the struggle of Scout looking for the referene photo she'd found didn't remind her that she had to go through and clear out the myriad of screenshots of various things people sent her daily. If she had to go digging for anything in there, she'd likely toss her phone before she ever found it. Teeth tugged at her lip as she lent over to get a better look at what her friend was thinking, "Say no more," She grinned, "Definitely the hip. It's such a cute little statement piece. Are we thinking black or red ink? I don't really think I'd wanna add anything to it for you, i'm all for the simplistic look - i can probably free hand this though."

location: sorry mom closed: @briellepercz

Scout leaned over the shop counter, her phone sat flat with brightness on high as her finger swiped and swiped. "Oh my god, where is it," she breathed, moving through photos on her camera roll. She parsed through mirror selfies, memes, accidental screenshots, purpousful screenshots, spicy photos, and more until— "Wait. Lemme check Google." Two seconds and then, "Duh, sorry. This," she spun her phone around and showed a simple, likely-not-worth-the-effort-of-digging-for tattoo of two butterflies, "I was thinking this. Either hip or shoulder. What do you think?" she asked, face scrunched as she jut her hip out that extra bit.

[briellepercz]

It'd been a long time since she'd intruded on Nate's life. A long time since they were close enough to do as much and in truth, the fact that it didn't feel like overstepping was a relief in and of itself. For the first time in what felt like years, something felt like it was falling into place and their friendship, even after a few years estranged, was something she cherished dearly. Which, explained why he was now witness to the frustration that bubbled with the latest text from Charlie. "Yeah right, well.. you should have the door locked." As if that excused the way she'd slammed the door out of irritation. "What the fuck am I doing, Nate? How, after everything, am I still letting Charlie get to me?" She spoke as she moved to the couch, leaning over the back of it until she flipped over and dropped into the cushions, face first. "I feel like such an idiot."

@briellepercz nathans house

Nathan had fully planned on spending his entire day alone. He had a stocked fridge and items that he labeled as self care such a face mask, fuzzy socks on his feet, and his house thermostat set to freezing. Things were just as he liked them as he settled down on the living room couch, pressing play on the latest show he was planning to binge. He let out a happy and content sigh as he laid his head down on the pillow, only to bounce right back up after being startled by the sound of his front door slamming shut. "Brie, what the hell? You scared the shit out of me." He looked over the couch at her, face mask still covering the top half of his face.

[briellepercz]

Brielle: don't even try and put all the blame on my dad, charlie Brielle: you weren't five years old Brielle: and you've been capable of making your own choices for a long time Brielle: What? Of course I liked Carmen Brielle: I just didn't like that she let you mess with her

Brielle 📲Charlie

Brielle: wow welcome to the way I've felt for years Brielle: this literally has nothing to do with whatever has happened with us Brielle: fuck me for being concerned, right? Brielle: won't make the mistake again Charlie: I didn't fuck with your head, I lied because of YOUR dad. I was a fucking kid. Charlie: You're right it's not about us and we're not friends so you don't need to be concerned. Charlie: Did you even like Carmen?

[briellepercz]

Brielle: wow welcome to the way I've felt for years

Brielle: this literally has nothing to do with whatever has happened with us

Brielle: fuck me for being concerned, right?

Brielle: won't make the mistake again

Brielle 📲Charlie

Brielle: it's not pity Brielle: i'm just sorry about carmen Brielle: i know how close you two were Brielle: accept it or not, whatever Charlie: You just fuck with my head Charlie: I can't deal with you right now Charlie: You want space and then you don't?

[briellepercz]

SOFIA CARSON. for Revlon (2021).

[briellepercz]

Brielle: it's not pity Brielle: i'm just sorry about carmen Brielle: i know how close you two were Brielle: accept it or not, whatever

Brielle 📲Charlie

Brielle: I'm sorry, Charlie. Charlie: I don't need your pity

[briellepercz]

~ end

"I don't know" he shrugged, a small sigh leaving him as he looked over at her. "I guess we are just living through different times now, our friends are dying around us so maybe that's why." He pondered at the thought for a moment, "maybe I am just tired of holding onto this secret, of you thinking I cheating, maybe I just wanted to feel better about something before I fucking die, fuck knows the reason. It doesn't matter does it because either way you're just always angry with me." He couldn't stop the roll that his eyes did, the whole topic frustrating him now as he wanted it to be done with. Of course he felt bad, he didn't want to upset her but there just seemed to be this annoyance that he brought into her life and he didn't know how to stop irritating her. He thought her knowing the truth might stop that but clearly he was wrong.

He sighed slightly as he stepped back once more, her words warning him enough to not do anything stupid. Stopping him from wrapping his arms around her, from doing anything that felt natural in this moment, things he had wanted to do for so long now. "If that's what you want." He spoke quietly now, his eyes firmly on her as he watched her speak, listened to her tell him she needed time. "I won't bother you from now on, I'll just steer clear of you until.. well.. until you want to talk again." He was aware that could literally be never again but he was tired of needing her attention, that's what it had felt like for all these years as he held onto this secret. If she wanted nothing to do with him now he was okay with that.

[briellepercz]

"So then we do something." Rationally.. well, she wasn't thinking rationally. Instead, Brielle was only thinking about how tiring all of this was - where Danny and Dakota where. The last update she'd asked for hadn't yet come through from the blonde and she was starting to panic about where she was too. "They can't keep track of all of us, can they?" There were far too many people milling about, at least she thought so. "I know that one of the waiters keeps one of the back doors propped open each time he has a smoke break." She mused, wildly as she began to pace - casting doe hues between Brandon and the hotel. "We go on in.. see what we can find in any of those rooms."

status: open | time: immedately after the news breaks | @hidehillstart

"Sh-shouldn't we, like, s-shouldn't we s-shut down this whole place?" Brandon said to nobody in particular. "Why are t-they just letting people walk out of here?" He added, breathing getting a little shakier as the room started slowly spinning around him. How did this keep happening to them? In every god damn space where they should be safe, they weren't. But then who was he kidding thinking they were safe because this was the Conrad Estate? If they could get to Sasha's private studio and kill her without a fucking trace, they could get anywhere. "S-Someone needs to do something, I-I should-- we-- the killer was here, t-they're probably still here, right?"

[briellepercz]

It wasn't as if the mask she wore - or rather held onto skewed her features all that much, noted by the amicable roll of her eyes as she damn near curled into his side, "Hey there, handsome," her hand falling to rest on his arm far too easily. "Don't even, I have no idea what possessed me to come out tonight. I guess I just wanted to be here for Emery.. that and try to keep Marlee and Ben apart somehow." Which, admittedly, wasn't going all that well. "I'll never say no to a free drink with you."

closed: @briellepercz location: masquerade ball

"Now that's a face I'd recognize anywhere." Percy said as the corners of his lips curled into a smirk and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "I didn't even have to convince you to come out tonight, what's up with that?" He teased before pressing a kiss against her cheek. "You look beautiful. Should we take advantage of that open bar and get you one?"

[briellepercz]

Features crinkle in clear mocking distaste as she eyes him over, knowing all too well that feeding into Nate's ego was ruinous behavior, especially for her. "I mean, that's probably not the outfit I'd have told you to go with," a grimace further implies her disinterest. Never in her life has she thought of Nate as anything but the boy that was so easy to pick on and bolster all those years ago. "I'd probably rather shit in my own hands and clap than think about having a piece of... all this," animatedly she waves a hand to gesture in his direction, "but I'm shocked... shocked that you actually managed to find a date. How much did you pay her?"

@briellepercz conrad masquerade ball

"I know, I know." Nate walked towards his friend with his hands slightly in the air, giving himself a little spin as he appeared directly in front of her. "I look good and you want to know if you can have a little piece of all this." He grinned like an idiot, finding himself completely hilarious right now. "But you missed your shot, Bri, I already have a date tonight." Adjusting the belt on his dress pants as the grin on his face continued. Knowing full well that wasn't even close to anything the other was thinking right now.