glass-ladybug

[glass-ladybug]

this isnt even coherent anymore im sorry

Even the faint humming of the various southern bugs slammed to a halt, the whole world seeming completely still as Mae’s scream pierced the air. Her fingers grazed past Gregg’s, and she could only watch in mute horror as his body arched, roughly cut strawberry blonde hair whipping past his face as he plummeted down, down, down, to the dry, cracked, and hardened earth below.

Until something stopped his fall.

Arms toned from years of hard work wrapped around him with frightening intensity, Bea’s figure sagging slightly under the weight that had just been forced upon her, barely daring to breathe.

Everyone remained frozen, and Mae’s mind shot back to a memory from a few days earlier, where she and Gregg had been in an equal amount of peril, only to have Angus rush forwards and whisk the two of them away. His face had a similar look now- terror, shock, and a wild intensity that had Mae almost afraid to be in his vicinity. His dark eyes flashed with something so raw, and primal, Mae could’ve been fooled that it wasn’t Angus she was seeing, but a shadow of him- fierce, and cold.

But now, someone new had stepped in. And Angus’s expression was tinged with a different emotion.

/Jealousy./

"Here," Angus said, his voice clogged with relief. "I'll take him."

Bea hesitated for a split second, and Gregg, his eyes wide with fear, pushed out of her grasp, stumbling towards his boyfriend. The two met in a frantic embrace, each clinging onto to the other like they'd never see each other again, their chests rising and falling in unison.

Maybe she was mistaken? After all- Angus had every right to be concerned. She might've been mistaking jealousy for agitation, or worry.

But Mae couldn't push away the lingering feeling that there was something very, very wrong.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

A piece of thick paper flew into the backseat, narrowly missing Mae's head.

"It's a map- snatched it from the diner."

Mae flipped the sheet in her hands, turning it at an angle until she found where she assumed they were. Probably. Maybe.

"Left!"

The frayed seatbelt dug sharply into her side as the car careened to the left, banging Mae up against the window.

"Well /damn/," Bea said, her voice light, "Give me a warning, first."

"Asshole."

"You know it!" Bea chuckled. "Also, take care of the map. It's the only one we have."

A beat of quiet.

“…Oops?” Mae whispered sheepishly.

The three turned to see the pamphlet-sized map dangling off Mae’s lap, utterly soaked by whatever drink Mae held in her hand, its colors bleeding together in a mass of swirled beiges and blues.

"God /damn it/, Mae-" Bea snapped, all of the joking tone from earlier dropping from her voice.

"It's fine! You guys have phones." Mae defended herself, picking the sopping mess off of her legs with ease.

"They. Don't. Work." Deep breaths, Bea. Deep breaths.

"And?"

"If they're not working, we don't have a GPS, which means-"

"I /know/ what it means, Bea!"

"Then we're stuck out here, in the middle of goddamn nowhere." Bea ground out in a futile attempt to level out her temper.

Mae pursed her lips, annoyance obvious on her face.  "That's not /my/ fault-"

"That doesn't fix the problem!" Bea's voice rose, nearing a shout. Yeah, screw that. There was an issue, and if screaming was the only way to get that through to Mae, so be it.

"Uh, guys?" Gregg said, "I think you might wanna see this."

Up ahead, the road which had previously been pavement, then gravel, then dirt, now dwindled away into nothing more than a stretch of weeds and dead grass.

"So..." Mae trailed off, the fire in her eyes dying a little.

"So." Angus agreed.

"We turn around?"

"I guess," Angus muttered, swiveling the car back around. A spray of mud and rocks clanged against the already patchy at best surface of the battered red truck.

Bea sat in silence, watching the gas meter creep lower and lower, in time with the rapidly setting sun.

Heavy droplets of water drummed against the windshield of the old truck, the windshield wipers working furiously to whisk them away. Not that it mattered much anyway. The sun was dropping, turning the sky an ominous red, and obscuring Bea’s vision further. She was becoming increasingly nervous by the second, twisting the car through muddied dirt roads that were almost certainly streaking its sides with grime. Where the /hell/ were they? Bea squinted at a rusted road sign, but to no avail. The paint was so badly chipped that it was completely incomprehensible.

Under normal circumstances, driving through Nebraska wouldn’t /so/ bad. Just corn fields for miles and miles. Wasn’t great, but, hell, it was a few hours she didn’t have to spend at the Pickaxe. Driving through without a map was completely different. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d even seen a house.

She briefly wondered how the store was being managed. Was Germ there? Had he made sure to keep the store stocked? Did anything terrible happen? She thumbed over the keypad of her old phone, tracing her fingers across its digits.

After everything was over and they returned home (assuming they ever got out of this hell hole of a state) Angus and Gregg would be gone in a matter of weeks- days, maybe. Over a series of late night chats on the phone, Angus had informed her that they’d already called a realtor. Some of their stuff was probably already packed away, maybe in the same types of cardboard boxes that still lay unpacked in /her/ room. They’d be gone, and she’d still be there. Working at the store she’d sworn all her life to avoid.

It was a little disheartening.

Like she was saying- normally, this wouldn’t be so awful.

But with no signal, no certainty they’d have enough gas, and no way of telling where exactly they were, it was as close to hell as Bea imagined she could get.

No, she amended. With all these endless fields of corn, and the lack of conversation, it was a lot closer to /purgatory./

Gregg flopped back into his seat. "Y'know, Mae, it's not a big deal. I don't think I can read a map anyway."

“The internet is ruining the youth!” Mae remarked sagely, bobbing her head up and down as if she’d just imparted some great wisdom.

“You’re on your computer /way/ more than the rest of us.”

"That's what dropping out of college does to you- endless free time, and a thirst for spaghetti."

A hollow laugh escaped from Gregg, and he kicked his muddy shoes up onto the dashboard. "Well, guess I'll get another chance at death out here, then!"

“Shut /up/,” Angus said, his low rumble permeating the car.

Gregg stilled, tensing up. "Geez, big guy, it's not a big deal. Just a joke."

"Yeah, well, you almost fucking /died/, so I don't really want to hear what you consider a 'big deal' right now."

They sat in silence, after that.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

The sky was a deep blue, a remnant of the rain, the winding roads more 'boy-scout trail' than 'well-tended asphalt'. Mae would've opened a window if not for the fear of being stabbed by a wayward branch.

"/Shit!/" Gregg exclaimed.

Bea flung around. "What happened? Are you okay?" She craned her neck, her brown eyes glossy in the darkness as she examined Mae. "Is Mae alright? Did something break?"

"Uh, no, none of those. Can we park the car? Please?"

"I'm not parking the car so you can get your damn sweatshirt, Gregg." Angus said.

A nervous tinge entered the smaller boy's tone. "Uh, that's the problem, Cap'n. I don't /have/ my sweatshirt. Or any of my clothes."

"...What are you talking about?" Mae could almost feel the frown in Angus's voice.

"My luggage. It's gone. I left it in the hotel." The words were said with almost convincing false confidence, but Mae could see Gregg's hands twitching beside him.

"It's okay," Mae offered, "we can just call the hotel and ask them to mail it back to us, right?"

No one spoke, waiting for Mae to realize the obvious.

"Oh. Yeah." She mumbled, sinking back into the car cushions.

Finally, Angus growled out a few words. "Sometimes you are such a goddamn child, Gregg."

"And you've had a stick up your ass since we left!" Gregg shook his head. "I don't know what's up with you. Is it because I fell? I wasn't trying to. I'm sorry."

Angus didn't respond, and the car didn't slow.

"/Fine,/" Gregg spat. "Be that way."

Soon enough, lights tore through the foggy glass windows, searing Mae's eyelids.

"Civilization. Finally." Bea snarked, although there was relief evident in her voice.

Angus's door clicked open with a pop. "Good news, too. We're about out of gas."

And, sure enough, a small, dirty shop sat awkwardly on the land, sagging and bending from years of apparent use, accompanied by two muddied, but useable motorcycles sat chained up against a pole. Flickering with all its might, a broken neon sign hung forlornly over the dilapidated porch. 'Bikes For Rent'.

"Doesn't look there's anyone home," Bea said.

"This is the first building we've seen in forever- I'm not leaving yet." Gregg walked up to the door, pounding a few times upon it. Nothing in response but the old shop creaking with the wind.

Mae watched as her best friend's eyes met hers, and then flicked over to where the bikes were loosely chained.

"No," Angus said,

"What other option do we have? Wait for who-knows-how-long for someone to come back to this dump? I'll just leave some cash, and we can get out of here."

"And how are we going to get back?"

Gregg gestured towards the road, already filing bills out of his wallet. “See that sign? That’s an exit onto I-76.”

Bea frowned. “That’s in Colorado.”

A huff. “Well, congrats- we’re in Colorado.”

Snorting, Mae traced a finger over the rusty bike chain. “So what are we gonna do? Drive to Denver on a stolen bike?”

Gregg brought out a pen from his pocket, snatching up a scrapped newspaper advertisement from the ground. “Not a bad idea. Except, I’d call this more… extended borrowing.”

“Found the keys.” Bea said.

Angus turned with a whirl to Bea. “Don’t tell me you’re okay with this?”

Bea continued walking by, tossing a set of keys to Mae. “Under the doormat.”

“Gregg, this is /theft/-“

"Just /listen/, okay? I left the damn money, I'm leaving a pick-up address, the car is parked- what the hell more can I do? Nothing is /ever/ good enough for you, is it?" Gregg seethed, his knuckles white against his dark leather jacket. For the first time in her life, Mae understood why kids had labeled Gregg as a threat in the early years of high school- right now, he looked every inch the unstable punk the town's stereotype's made him out to be.

"Come on, Mae. You're with me." He brushed past, shoving the hastily scribbled address under the faded and cracked door. Mae didn't move, and instead watched as Bea's expression morphed into solemn resignation as she stalked past.

"Mae, let's /go/." Gregg's voice contained more harshness than Mae could ever remember hearing. She found herself tripping forward without even meaning to, sliding cautiously onto the seat of the gritty bike.

Across of the little store, the pitiful exit turned into a highway, stretching for miles and miles, its lights glittering brightly, the smell of cars and oil almost welcoming in their uniqueness.

"Crimes?" She whispered, less of a question than a statement.

Gregg snapped his helmet over his eyes.

"/Crimes/."

[glass-ladybug]

Mae took a moment to laugh, scratching at her arm as Gregg showcased his new acquisitions. "Y'know, it’s stupid, but I’m kinda jealous. I always hoped we’d get piercings, like, together. As a friendship thing?” Bea rolled her eyes. “Are you getting worked up over a friendship charm? Is that what you need to solidify your relationships?” Mae began to fire a response, but Gregg interjected. “Hey, we can go back? If you want?” “Nah, earrings aren’t my style.” “Then why would you-” “But, still! You could’ve invited me.” Mae huffed petulantly. Sensing an oncoming debate, Bea spoke up. “If it matters that much to you, I’ll buy you a snowglobe or something. Alright?”

[glass-ladybug]

proofreading & productivity whom??? i dont know her

Sunlight filtered through the window, and Mae woke up to screaming. The bathroom door was rattling loudly, footsteps pounding across the plastic linoleum, accompanied every few seconds by an ear-splitting shriek. In her drowsy state, Mae could only vaguely distinguish the jumble of words from the noise of the pouring shower. "Ah, shi... Damn it! I... Who... Why would you even..." Gregg burst from the bathroom, damp shirt thrown over his head, and a towel wrapped hastily around his waist. Water dripped steadily off him, and his blond hair stood up in wildly different directions, still drenched in shampoo. "Who the /hell/ screwed with the shower?!" He blurted, the water in the room still running. Mae didn't miss the tiny smirk playing at the corner of Bea's mouth. "Something happen?" Bea asked, bemusement overlaying any hint of concern in her voice. Holding up his hand, the soaked blond began rapidly ticking off the reasons he was standing in a puddle as the shower continued to run behind him. "Firstly, the water is ice cold. Seriously?!" He looked pointedly at Bea, whose calm expression didn't waver. "I mean, how much hot water do you need to brush your damn teeth?!" Gregg ground his teeth. "Secondly, it's /not shutting off/!" Sliding a few items back into his suitcase, Angus looked at his anxious boyfriend with an expression somewhere between pity and the dull exhaustion of someone who has been subjected to similar outbursts on multiple prior occasions. Gregg held up a final finger. "Thirdly, the shower door sticks! It /sticks/! You know what that means?" Mae shook her head in mute intrigue, silently wishing she could drift back into the world of dreams. "No," Bea said, with an air of mild interest, "But I'm sure you'll tell us." Entire body trembling, Gregg frowned, a crease forming on his normally unlined brow. "I was stuck in there, with freezing water, for like, five minutes!" Pursing her lips to prevent herself from outwardly showing just how much this entertained her, Bea's shoulders shook from the effort of penning up her laughter. "The absolute /horror/." Gregg turned on his heel with an indignant yell and re-entered the bathroom, making sure the door slammed with a bang behind him. Angus unplugged his laptop from the wall. "He's mad that he had to get up at 6:30." Mae flopped over to the nightstand, groaning as she saw '7:10' blinking on the screen of the cheap plastic clock. Great. She'd made them wait for her. Dragging a brush through the tangles of her curls, Bea looked over at Mae, who was sprawled completely across the bed, covers and sheets crumpled around her as if in a cocoon. "Morning." She muttered, face smothered in her too-soft hotel pillow. Blearily, Mae sat up, removing the dust from her eye with her fingernail. She stretched out, leaning forwards just enough to meet Bea's brown eyes with an apologetic smile. "Oh, geez. Did I kick you out of bed?" "Eh. Sort of. I got up early anyways. Breakfast is on the table." A glint entered her eyes, and she stopped mid-stroke to smirk at her friend. "You know you drool in your sleep, right?" "Do not!" Mae yelled, resisting the urge to bury her head beneath the comforter. Oh, hey, that was something ostriches did! Nice. Mae always wanted to be a bird of prey. Wait, were ostriches birds of prey? What about emus? Emus were cool. In the Great Emu War, Australia- Bea tossed her hairbrush at Mae, interrupting her day dreaming. "Run a brush through your hair. You need it." Gee, thanks, Bea. Real champ when it came to encouragement. Thankfully for her fragile self-confidence, Mae was well aware her apathetic friend was just expressing concern. Even if it was a little harsh. She deftly caught the plastic object, raking it through her hair. Her dark hair, although short, could still get remarkably knotted. Yanking it through the matted snarls, Mae gradually pulled herself off the welcoming mattress, not bothering to make the bed behind her. Of course, Angus's bed was immaculate, covers neatly folded over, and the pillows arranged nicely. He'd probably even thrown away their complementary styrofoam cups, too. Neat freak. Gregg chose that moment to re-enter the room, albeit much quieter this time. He'd made an effort to look nice, putting on a clean t-shirt and jeans, adorned with his ever-present leather jacket. Sure, the shirt had several dark spots where it'd been splashed with water, but hey, he wasn't screaming any more, so so Mae counted that as a definite plus. Gregg shoved his hands into his pockets, waiting for Mae to finish her slightly chilled fast-food pancakes. She wondered who was thoughtful enough to get something for her. "If we wanna get on the road by 10, we should probably head out soon." He offered. Grabbing her keys from the scuffed end table, Bea slid on a light jacket while Angus hefted his suitcase at his side. "Ready?" Angus asked. "One second." Mae grabbed the thin, serrated plastic knife from the paper bag, twisting it over in her hands. She was overcome with the sudden thought that after they were gone there would be no sign they'd ever been there. Like they didn't even exist. "Uhh, Mae?" She flipped the knife over, end pointing down, and hid it beneath the table so her friends wouldn't see. It slid against the table, the tiny serrations grating over the wood with a faint 'shhhck'. Mae shoveled bits of pancakes into her mouth to avoid suspicion, her fingers gripping the plastic surface. /Shhhck./ She cleaned her mouth off with the paper napkins as her friends began sliding on their shoes. /Shhhck./ "Mae, we gotta go." Gregg said, picking at a loose thread on his shirt. "Yeah, one sec!" She insisted. /Shhhck./ The cuts on the table leg went left-right, left-right, a series of notches formed by her, only! An 'x' to mark a spot she'd been, leaving some indication she'd existed, no matter how small. She stood up, brushing crumbs to the floor. "Okay, yeah. Let's go." Mae exited the room, plastic knife still tucked away in her hand. ---------- Chicago was /gorgeous/. Mae had been stunned by Bright Harbor, but Chicago? No, Bright Harbor couldn't even dream of competing with a city of this stature. Silver skyscrapers loomed into the cloudless blue sky, towering above the bustling roads. Their metallic architecture, and the city's surreal movement gave Mae the feeling of an elaborate dream. For someone who'd never left her state before, (although Mae would wager people who had felt the same) the twists and turns of the city stole the breath from her throat, and her eyes were wide as she surveyed the throngs of people walking the streets. The car thudded over a pothole, and Bea gripped the leather steering wheel with an unsure hesitation, slowly navigating between the multitude of cars on their way to various tasks. A car rolled to their side, windows down, and Mae caught the bored expression on the passenger's face, his tie flapping in the wind. He looked utterly disinterested, and Mae wondered how you could get used to something that was always changing. Surely there was something new every day? A different experience, an interesting person to meet, a nee job to be done. Maybe that was why Possum Springs was becoming more desolate every day- How could someone possibly stay content in her stagnant little town when they were surrounded by a constantly altered world? Eventually, everyone would move forwards, and Possum Springs would be left in the dust. Gregg had already slung off his seatbelt, the upper half of his torso out of the window as he leaned forward, marveling at the vivacity and lively pace at which the city moved. Angus had rolled his window down as well, his face filled with more excitement then Mae had ever witnessed before, although he restrained himself from doing anything more than staring out at the throngs of people. They were good for each other. Mae had never seen someone who could hold Gregg steady for so long, and Bea had never met anyone that could make Angus open up. It made a tiny, jealous sliver of Mae's heart hurt just a little to see her best friend paying so much attention to someone else. But, they were happy. So Mae was happy too. Gregg began typing on his phone, his fingers gliding across the glossy screen. "So, where to first? We've got Millenium Park, Navy Pier, Shedd Aquarium... Hold on, lemme see what else." "The Museum of Science and Industry." Angus suggested, adjusting his glasses so that they sat on the bridge of his nose. Gregg perked up, thrilled his boyfriend was getting involved. "Yeah, okay dude! Let's go. That good with everyone else?" Bea and Mae hummed their affirmation. While science wasn't really her thing, science meant space, and space meant /rockets/. Plus, it'd make Angus happy. That was pretty good too. Bea pulled the red truck into a parking garage, squeezing them into a narrow gap. It smelled like gasoline and burnt rubber, but Mae was still practically bouncing with excitement. Gregg actually /was/ bouncing, his foot tapping so rapidly it seemed as if he were blurring. ((THERE'S STUFF MISSING HERE TOO IM NOT IN THE MOOD TO WRITE IT I JUST RLLY WANNA SEND THIS OUT I'LL DO THE REST LATER)) Bea lingered for a few seconds longer, hesitantly yanking her eyes away from the sheet. She pulled a pen from the crinkled pleather purse hanging at her side and jotted something in dark ink on her hand, walking to where Mae was beckoning. "Whatcha doing?" Mae inquired. Her friend shook her head. "Nothing important. Where's Angus?" Mae bounced to her next train of thought. "Oh, yeah! I bet he's looking at something... sciencey. Y'know, it's really sad that Pluto's not a planet anymore! Poor little guy. All alone in deep space." Mae waved her hands, pointing vaguely upwards. "Right. The lifeless rock. Very sad." Mae huffed, twisting dramatically away from her sarcastic companion. "It /is/ sad!" Bea's mouth tilted up at the corner. "Sure." A high-pitched voice called out to them, footsteps thudding along the carpet flooring. "I got space food!" Gregg shouted, dangling his packaged prize in front of them. He threw a distracted smile in their direction. "Angus wants to go see the IMAX movie playing, so I got snacks." Bea raised a single manicured eyebrow. "It's like a half hour long, do you really need-" "/Snacks/." Gregg insisted. They sped to the viewing theater, attracting several odd looks from patrons leisurely strolling the museum. A mother pulled her child to her waist, glaring at Mae as she raced through the exhibits, blowing past the ticketmaster seconds before the doors shut. ((i feel like there should be more here 2 connect it. thoughts?)) Mae craned her neck, leaning directly in the line of sight of the people behind her. Whoops. "I can't see /anything/." A voice behind her snapped a few choice words, clearly displeased that she was obstructing both his view, and the noise of the movie. The dome encircling the theater filled the dark room with pale light as various logos and messages were projected upon it. Sitting in the top row was apparently /not/ the best way to view the extensive screen, as Mae was squashed in her chair, attempting to get as flat as possible to be able to see the screen. Angus removed his thick rimmed glasses, slipping them into his pocket with care. It struck Mae that she'd never seen Angus without glasses before. "Why'd you take them off?" "I think it's big enough for me to see." He remarked dryly, staring up at the previews. Mae twisted around half in her seat, half laying across Bea's chest. Comfortable? No. Could she see? ...Also no. "Nice of you to stop by." Mae winked, adjusting her head so that it was laying on Bea's leg. Much better! Stars and planets moved across the screen in a quiet daze, the emptiness of space somehow soothing. The roar of a rocket burst through the speakers, and Mae would've catapulted out of her chair, if not for Bea's sweater-clad arm wrapping tightly around her waist. She looked up, giving an awkward smile to her friend. "Uh, thanks." ((POV SWITCH TO BEA HERE BUT HOW CAN I DO THAT WITHOUT A CHAPTER BREAK???? IDK. EDIT LATER)) ((yeah there's stuff missing its not a lot ill take care of it)) "I wanted to see the Cultural Center. It's got art and theater for free, and I'd rather not spend any more money than necessary. Was there anywhere you wanted to go?" "Shedd Aquarium?" Angus said hopefully, although he was well aware it wasn't Bea's ideal destination. Bea frowned, and checked her battered watch. "We don't have time for both. We can't-" Gregg entered the conversation, genially swinging his arm around Bea's shoulders. "We can go to the Cultural Center. You two," He pointed at Mae and Angus, "can go to Shedd Aquarium. Problem solved!" "No offense, but what interest could you possibly have in the Chicago Cultural Center?" Bea asked, apprehension creeping into her voice. Gregg removed his arm from its position around her, and groaned in false distress. "I'm hurt, Bea!" He paused. "But, you're right. Millennium Park is right next door." "Go figure." Of course he wasn't interested. Skateboards and graffiti had always entertained him far more than art. And, if Bea was remembering correctly, he didn't even show up to their elementary art class four out of five days. The fifth was when they got to create rather than paint. Mae and Gregg were joined at the hip at that age. Figuratively, through their platonic bond, and literally, through a mixture of glitter glue and spit. Angus exchanged a few words with Mae, and she nodded with acceptance. "/I/ don't have an ulterior motive. I just wanna see a shark." Well, at least she hadn't changed. ------- "Are you /sure/ I can just leave you?" Bea asked, hesitating on the marble steps of the institute. Gregg rolled his eyes, already walking away. "Yeah, yeah. I'm not a child!" /You certainly act like one./ Bea snidely remarked to herself. "Okay, go. Call me if you-" But Gregg was already gone, sprinting down the choppy sidewalks at breakneck pace. ------- The Cultural Center was /wonderful/. There were pieces of history from all around the globe, as well as theater and art! Journalism, writing, political commentary. It was all there- history, embalmed in time. She waited on the cold stone, absently checking her phone for a message, or some indication of his location, from Gregg. A flash of blond hair and black leather appeared next to her, scuttling up the steps. Bea sat up, beginning to descend the staircase. "Oh, good. You're back. So, Mae and Angus are-" She stopped abruptly as a gilnt caught her eye. She sucked in a gasp, her eyes widening. "You didn't." Gregg smiled devilishly, turning his head to offer her a better view. "I don't know what you're talking about." "Angus is going to /kill/ you." Bea murmured, voice dull from shock. "He's gonna have to deal with it!" Gregg preened. Not only had Gregg returned from the pier with a slice of half-eaten pizza, he'd come back with not one, but /two/ glittering rhinestone studs in his ears. "You don't like them?" Gregg frowned. "No, they're fine," Bea assured him. She noticed Gregg flipping his wallet in his hands, fiddling with the straps and buttons. "How much did it cost?" Gregg smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. "Uh, the piercing itself? Fifteen bucks. So that, plus the earrings, the kit, and the, uh, other earrings I bought..." He pondered for a moment. "Roughly $75?" Well. At least he had the sense to look ashamed. "Oh /God/." Bea muttered. Gregg flopped down onto the concrete curb, devouring the rest of his pizza. He didn't seem to care about the cars whizzing by, instead opting to stretch his feet out along the pavement. "He's not gonna be /that/ mad. Besides, I'm an adult! I can make decisions too." He pouted in a very un-adult way. "So, what? You're just gonna hide it from him forever?" "No! Well, yes- Maybe? I dunno!" Gregg huffed, struggling to make a decision. Bea sighed, and pulled her woolen hat off, tossing it to her friend. "This is a... gift." Gregg looked at her inquisitively. "For your ears, dumbass. So Angus doesn't see them." Gregg's blue eyes lit up, and a wild grin spread over his face. "Awww, thanks, Bea-Bea." "....Don't call me that." "Oh, so what?" Gregg snickered playfully. "Only Mae can call you that? Maybe I'll just tell-" "/Greggory Lee/, if you don't drop this subject /right now/-" "Alright, geez! Touchy, touchy." The blond tsked, yanking the black hat over his ears. "I don't know what you're insinuating." Bea protested. "Trust me, I know you're straight. I saw the way you looked at that boy at the counter." Bea felt heat rise on her face, and she opened her mouth to defend herself before Gregg cut her off. "Not that I really blame you, because /damn/! But, of course, I have eyes only for Angus." Gregg mock swooned, tossing his arm across his forehead. Bea held out a hand, helping Gregg to his feet. "Ready?" "Hell yeah! Let's go pull off a deception." Bea couldn't say she agreed, but she was willing to help him try. At any rate, it'd be interesting. The four met up again a tiny coffee shop nestled away into the elaborate architecture of the city, the panes of glass foggy in the early summer wind. The smell of cinnamon and bitter coffee beans wafted through the air, and Bea reveled in the atmosphere it gave off. "Is that Bea's hat?" Angus asked in greeting. "I got cold." Gregg shrugged, his head uncomfortably warm from the scratchy material. "...We're inside." "Low cold-tolerance?" Gregg suggested, palms up. Shaking his head in disbelief, Angus ran his fingers through his dark hair. "Okay. Sure. Fine." Bea raised an eyebrow at the boy next to her. "That's it?" She whispered. Gregg leaned into her shoulder, whispering in return. "No way. He's totally gonna make me take it off later." "Just take out the studs!" Bea hissed, the volume of her words picking up as she continued to talk. Gregg looked affronted. "I /can't/. The holes will close up!" A hand gripped both of their shoulders from behind, and Bea tensed up under the touch. "Man, you guys would make /awful/ spies." Mae grinned cheekily, slinking into a chair beside them. "So, whatcha talking about?" Making sure Angus was preoccupied with their food, Gregg pulled off the hat, revealing his disheveled hair, and the lustrous square rhinestones embedded in his ears. "/Damn/." Mae said, not bothering to lower her voice. She pointed at the plastic bag Gregg held, motioning for him to open it. Mae took a moment to laugh, scratching at her arm as Gregg showcased his new acquisitions. "Y'know, it's stupid, but I'm kinda jealous. I always hoped we'd get piercings, like, together. As a friendship thing?" Bea rolled her eyes. "Are you getting worked up over a friendship charm? Is that what you need to solidify your relationships?" Mae began to fire a response, but Gregg interjected. "Hey, we can go back? If you want?" "Nah, earrings aren't my style." "Then why would you-" "But, still! You could've invited me." Mae snapped petulantly. Sensing an oncoming debate, Bea spoke up. "If it matters that much to you, I'll buy you a snowglobe or something. Alright?" ((RAINBOW THIS IS FOR YOU: holy shit i could reword this so that it says " "If it matters that much to you, I'll buy you some jewelry before this is over. Alright?" and i could make it so that the jewelry is a ring and they get engaged at the end????? is that too rushed considering they're not even dating yet????? i dont know what r ur thoughts)) "Yeah, sure. Whatever." Mae said, ruffled. The immediate challenge may have been dodged, but it was apparent to Bea that Mae was upset over more than the earrings. Gregg sped up his leisurely walk, coming to rest next to Angus as they exited the shop with their drinks. Mae watched him walk away, her warm eyes tinged with bitterness. Not knowing how to handle the situation, Bea reached out with caution, her palm resting on her friend's shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture. The shorter girl shrugged off her hand, and continued her brisk steps with a nasty look. Chicago seemed considerably more gray, despite the clear blue sky. The wind whipped Bea's dark hair around her face, and she pulled her jacket a little tighter across her shoulders. Although Gregg was animatedly demonstrating something to Angus, Bea couldn't help but feel that something was off. Mae was in a poor mood, and she had no reason to be. They were in /Chicago/! Maybe the science exhibits hadn't caught Mae's attention, but she'd had fun seeing marine life, and dashing around street corners, right? Mae scuffled with a loose chunk of concrete, the toe of her boot sending it careening under the wheel of a nearby car. Gregg turned around, his lips pursed as he examined his closest friend. "Dude, what the hell is going on?" The dark haired girl pointedly turned away, watching the steady stream of vehicles zipping down the streets. Well, if she was going to be childish, then /fine/. Not Bea's problem. She held a cigarette between her fingers, taking comfort in the thin wisp of smoke that curled into the cool air. The four descended into the oily parking garage, and set out for the road again. ((abrupt ending fix later))

[glass-ladybug]

ok when i say rough draft, i mean.... rough draft. the roughest of drafts. this makes no sense and itll stay that way until i finish whoops

Sunlight filtered through the window, and Mae woke up to screaming.

The bathroom door was rattling loudly, footsteps pounding across the plastic linoleum, accompanied every few seconds by an ear-splitting shriek. In her drowsy state, Mae could only vaguely distinguish the jumble of words from the noise of the pouring shower.

“Ah, shi… Damn it! I… Who… Why would you even…”

Gregg burst from the bathroom, damp shirt thrown over his head, and a towel wrapped hastily around his waist. Water dripped steadily off him, and his shockingly blond hair stood up in wildly different directions, still smothered in shampoo.

“Who the /hell/ screwed with the shower?!” He blurted, the water in the room still running.

Mae didn’t miss the tiny smirk playing at the corner of Bea’s mouth.

“Something happen?” Bea asked, bemusement overlaying any hint of concern in her voice.

Holding up his hand, the soaked blond began rapidly ticking off the reasons he was standing in a puddle as the shower continued to run behind him. “Firstly, the water is ice cold. Seriously?!” He looked pointedly at Bea, whose calm expression didn’t waver. “I mean, how much hot water do you need to brush your damn teeth?!”

Gregg ground his teeth. “Secondly, it’s /not shutting off/!”

Sliding a few items back into his suitcase, Angus looked at his anxious boyfriend with an expression somewhere between pity and the dull exhaustion of someone who has been subjected to similar outbursts on multiple prior occasions.

Gregg held up a final finger. “Thirdly, the shower door sticks! It /sticks/! You know what that means?”

Mae shook her head in mute intrigue, silently wishing she could drift back into the world of dreams.

“No,” Bea said, with an air of mild interest, “But I’m sure you’ll tell us.”

Entire body trembling, Gregg frowned, a crease forming on his normally unlined brow. “I was stuck in there, with freezing water, for like, five minutes!”

Pursing her lips to prevent herself from outwardly showing just how much this entertained her, Bea’s shoulders shook from the effort of penning up her laughter. “The horror.”

Gregg turned on his heel with an indignant yelp and re-entered the bathroom, making sure the door slammed with a bang behind him.

Angus unplugged his laptop from the wall. “He’s mad that he had to get up at 6:30.”

Mae flopped over to the nightstand, groaning as she saw ‘6:45’ blinking on the screen of the cheap plastic clock.

Dragging a brush through the tangles of her curls, Bea looked over at Mae, who was sprawled completely across the bed, covers and sheets crumpled around her, as if in a cocoon. “Morning.”

Blearily, Mae sat up, removing the dust. from her eye with her fingernail. She stretched out, sitting up just enough to meet Bea’s brown eyes with an apologetic smile. “Oh, geez. Did I kick you out of bed?”

“Eh. Sort of.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

Bea lingered for a few seconds longer, hesitantly yanking her eyes away from the sheet. She pulled a pen from the crinkly pleather purse hanging at her side and jotted something in dark ink on her hand, walking to where Mae was beckoning.

"Whatcha doing?” Mae inquired.

Her friend shook her head. “Nothing important. Do you wanna go find Angus?”

Satisfied with that answer, Mae bounced to her next train of thought. “Oh, yeah! I bet he’s looking at something about space. Y'know, it’s really sad that Pluto’s not a planet anymore. Poor little guy. All alone in deep space.” Mae waved her hands, pointing vaguely upwards.

“Right. The lifeless rock. Very sad.”

Mae huffed, twisting dramatically away from her friend. “It /is/ sad!”

Bea’s mouth tilted up at the corner, hinting at amusement. “Sure.”

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

“Oh, good. You’re back. So, Mae and Angus are-” Bea stopped abruptly as a glimmer caught her eye.

Bea sucked in a gasp, her eyes widening. “You didn’t.”

Gregg smiled devilishly, turning his head to offer her a better view. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Angus is going to /kill/ you.” Bea murmured, voice dull from shock.

“He’s gonna have to deal with it!” Gregg preened.

Not only had Gregg returned from the street-corner with a slice of pizza, he’d come back with not one, but /two/ glittering rhinestone studs in his ears.

“You don’t like them?” Gregg frowned.

“No, they’re fine,” Bea assured him. She noticed Gregg flipping his wallet in his hands, fiddling with the straps and button. “But, how much did it cost?”

Gregg smiled nervously, scratching the back of his head. “Uh, the piercing itself? Fifteen bucks. So that, plus the earrings, the kit, and the, uh, other earrings I bought…”

“Roughly $75?”

Well. At least he had the sense to look ashamed.

“Oh /God/.” Bea muttered.

Gregg flopped down onto the concrete curb, not caring about the cars whizzing by. “He’s not gonna be /that/ mad. Besides, I’m an adult! I can make decisions too.” He pouted in a very un-adult way.

“So, what? You’re just gonna hide it from him forever?”

“No! Well, yes- Maybe? I dunno!” Gregg huffed, struggling to make a decision.

Bea sighed, and pulled her woolen hat off, tossing it to her friend. “This is a… gift.”

Gregg looked at her inquisitively.

“For your ears, dumbass. So Angus doesn’t see them.”

Gregg’s blue eyes lit up, and a wild grin spread over his face. “Awww, thanks, Bea-Bea.”

“….Don’t call me that.”

“Oh, so what?” Gregg snickered playfully. “Only Mae can call you that? Maybe I’ll just tell-”

“/Greggory Lee/, if you don’t drop this subject /right now/-”

“Alright, geez! Touchy, touchy.” The blond tsked, yanking the black hat over his ears.

“I’m not sure what exactly you’re insinuating, but I’m heterosexual.” Bea protested.

“Trust me, I know. I saw the way you looked at that boy at the counter.”

Bea felt heat rise on her face, and she opened her mouth to defend herself before Gregg cut her off.

“Not that I really blame you, because /damn/! But, of course, I have eyes only for Angus.” Gregg mock swooned, tossing his hands wildly.

BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK

“….Is that Bea’s hat?” Angus asked.

“I got cold.”

“We’re inside.”

[glass-ladybug]

home enough chapter 3

Gregg drummed his fingers on the wheel, humming to himself as he waited for the light to change. Since the Gas Station Fiasco, they’d been driving for roughly three hours. The highways were full of traffic, which meant they were full of stopping and starting. Bea had already gotten out to smoke more than once, cursing traffic blocks loudly as she came back inside. The light was fading, and the Indiana sky was a burst of vivid colors, the setting sun turning the blue to a rainbow of orange, red, and pink, casting gold on everything it touched.

Possum Springs didn’t even come close.

Since they were out of good ol’ rural America, Angus could actually get signal on his phone, which meant he was all cuddly in the backseat with Netflix.

Well, /good for him/, Gregg snarked to himself, peeved that he was still driving. The three of them had been rotating positions- Mae was left out, as she didn’t have a license, and in Bea’s words, there was ‘no way in Hell Mae is ever permitted to have that much responsibility’.

The shorter girl had seemed rather hurt, but Gregg was pretty sure Bea was just concerned for her truck. Not that he himself was much of a step up in the responsibility ladder.

He never really interacted with Bea all that much. After all, he’d only really known her through Mae, and, even then, until she replaced Casey in the band-

/No./ Gregg tightened his grip on the wheel, jerking it sharply to the right. She didn’t replace Casey. She only took his position as drummer.

Gregg shoved those thoughts to the side, and cranked up 'Under The Sea’ for the thousandth time.

Even though the two never hung out, looking at the girl staring wistfully out the window, he could safely call her a friend. He’d gained an entirely new respect for her after what happened down in the mines. She’d put her life on the line for Mae, fighting off the cult like that, and anyone who cared that much about his best friend was good in his book.

Besides, if Bea wasn’t straight, Gregg would /definitely/ wager that-

Mae tapped Angus on the shoulder. “Hey, Angus. Aaaangusss.”

Gregg’s boyfriend took off his ear buds, placing them neatly in his lap. “…Yes?”

“What are you watching?”

Angus paused the video. “How It’s Made.”

Mae unclipped her seat belt, and slid over to Angus’s side of the car. “Can I watch?”

A smile tugged slightly at the edge of Angus’s lips. “Only if you put your seatbelt back on.”

Grumbling, Mae slid the seatbelt closest to Angus over her head, accepting the proffered ear bud.

From the passenger seat, Bea called back to them. “Why don’t you put on something we /all/ can hear?” Gregg silently agreed. Disney music, no matter how undeniably good it was, was starting to grate on his nerves after four hours.

Angus scrunched up his eyebrows. “Like what?”

Exasperated, Bea rested her head against the cool glass window, rolling it down slightly. A calm breeze gently blew through the truck, although it was accompanied by the noises of honking cars and squealing tires. “I don’t know. Something other than this.”

Gregg grinned, a smug smile spreading over his face. “All Angus listens to is emo music.”

His boyfriend’s only reaction was a small flush of color springing up on his brown cheeks.

“Well,” Angus said, tapping a finger to his chin, “Gregg listens to dubstep.”

Gregg immediately froze in place, much to the amusement of Mae, who was cackling in the background.

“Yeah, whatever! Watch your damn Netflix show!” Gregg spluttered.

A small, slightly triumphant smile settled on Angus’s face as he angled the phone for Mae to see.

——–

The night sky was a deep blue expanse above them, stars glittering faintly as if embroidered with silver thread into the canvas of the night. The brightly glowing windows against the blue reminded Bea distinctly of-

“Fireflies.” Mae murmured, half-asleep on Angus’s shoulder. ((remember to link in the end))

Bea smiled gently at her friend. “Yeah. That’s what I thought, too.”

The four rode in silence, Gregg tapping away at his phone in the passenger’s seat, Angus listening to music, Mae curled up into a ball, her eyes only barely open, and Bea, driving. Moonlight cascaded through the car windows, illuminating Mae’s face and head in a silver light.

Suddenly, in the quiet space, Bea felt incredibly lonely.

She turned to Angus, who saw her gaze and quickly removed his headphones. “I think Chicago will have to wait until morning.” She remarked dryly.

A flicker of disappointed crossed Angus’s brown eyes. “So we stop at a hotel?”

“I guess so.”

Angus looked longingly out the window. “We’re only a half-hour away…”

“Unless you want to hit up a nightclub, there’s not much we can do.”

He sighed, returning to his music. Bea pushed the car a bit further against the traffic. They continued in silence, and Bea was thrilled when they pulled into the driveway of a rundown little motel at the edge of Merrillville, just outside of Chicago. The neon 'Open’ sign blinked fuzzily, and Bea felt as if the whole ordeal wasn’t quite real.

Bea slowed the car, the purring motor coming to a stop. She turned to look at Mae, whose black hair was ruffled messily across her face, still awash in the pocket of moonlight as she slept against Angus’s side. “Is she…?” ((is all mae’s touchy-feeliness with angus too out there??? i dont want it to have any romantic implications))

Angus nodded. “Completely out.”

Bea began to move over, the door popping open with a shove from her hip.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ve got her.” Angus gently slid an arm under Mae’s back, lifting her up like a doll. Mae didn’t seem to notice.

“Angus, she can walk-”

He laughed. “It’s fine. She’d throw a fit if we woke her up now.”

Bea yanked her keys out with a huff, chin held high as she led the four into the dingy motel.

———

Angus guiltily ignored the employee’s 'you’ve got to be kidding me’ look as they entered.

Calm down, Angus. You’re not doing anything wrong. Just… cradling a passed out girl, and asking for a hotel key at 10:23 p.m.

On that subject, Angus felt he was slightly indebted to Mae. She’d made mistakes in the past, and caused fights between himself and Gregg, but she was really making an effort this trip. All she wanted was for her friends to be happy, and Angus couldn’t think of a better goal. She’d tried very hard to include him, and if Angus could pay her back, even in this childish, tiny way, he’d do it. Sure, he still had his doubts about the wiseness of his the plan, but he was willing to give it a shot. ((this is kinda a mess, clean it up later.))

He didn’t know why Bea was getting so huffy over it, though.

The employee looked pointedly between him, and the girl in his arms, her eyes looking uncertainly for an answer.

“She’s only asleep.” Great, Angus. Way to sound like a serial killer.

The woman, obviously too tired and underpaid to deal with this, rubbed her eyes. “Hi, welcome to Econo Lodge, what can I get for you?”

“A double room please. Four people.”

“That’s thirty-five dollars.”

Bea turned to Gregg, nodding in approval. “So /that’s/ why you insisted we stay here.”

Gregg grinned. “What can I say? I’m an economist.”

Bea opened her wallet, and Angus shifted Mae slightly so he could grab his. Bea counted out the bills, and pushed them to the concierge. “I’ve got it. My treat.”

Gregg shook his head adamantly, and the woman paused, wavering over the money. “No, seriously-”

“Yeah. Save up for your wedding, or whatever.” Bea took the key, thanking the employee.

“D'awww.” Gregg simpered.

“Stairs or elevator?”

Angus gave Bea a deadpan stare.

“Right. Elevator.”

They loaded in, Gregg eagerly pressing the button for the second floor.

Unfortunately, Mae chose that moment to wake up. She stretched, stiffening as the elevator jolted beneath her. Bea saw the warning signs a split second before they occurred, but was powerless to stop them. Her eyes widened, pure terror filling them as she clutched onto Angus’s shirt so tensely that her knuckles turned white.

Gregg immediately dashed to his best friend’s side, prying her hands off his boyfriend’s shirt, and encasing them in his. “Hey, yo, it’s okay! We’re fine! We’re at a hotel right now.” He reassured her. His voice wavered when she didn’t respond at all.

Mae still looked deathly afraid, and something clicked for Bea.

Waking up disoriented, being carried by Angus, and stuck in a creaky elevator all would undoubtedly add up to one thing in Mae’s head: The Mines.

Bea quickly moved over to Mae, her dark eyes meeting Mae’s light ones. “We’re here. Indiana. We’re not back there, Mae. It’s just us. Only us.”

The elevator came to a halt, its doors snapping open with an ill-placed ding. Angus moved out of the elevator as quickly as possible.

Mae looked at him, her eyes losing some of their terrifying, animalistic quality. “I… You can put me down, now.” Angus obliged.

She stood, teetering, but more stable. “I’m okay.” She gave them a weak smile. “Haha, that was kinda stupid, wasn’t-”

“No,” Gregg interrupted, an uncharacteristic solemnity in his voice, “It’s not at all.” ((too dramatic???)) ———

The four entered their room, Mae launching herself at one of the beds, its springs squeaking beneath her. For $35, Mae had to say it was pretty decent. The fading and chipped yellow walls didn’t detract too much, nor did the garish, scratchy orange sheets, and lack of amenities. Gregg already had begun his plans to steal the mini toiletries, but Angus looked troubled.

Mae frowned. “You okay?”

“There’s only two.”

“Huh?” Mae looked in the direction Angus was pointing, bewildered.

Two beds. Each a decent size, but there were still only two. One for Gregg and Angus, and that left…

One for herself and Bea.

Mae heaved a sigh, the bed creaking as she stood up. “I’ll sleep in the bathtub.”

Bea rolled her eyes. “No, you’re not.”

Bea paced around the room, throwing down her duffle bag in agitation. “I /specifically said/, four people! They didn’t even give us an extra cot!”

“At least there’s a TV?” Gregg offered, his pockets full of mini soaps.

Bea glared at him, and resumed her pacing.

“It’s not a big deal, Bea. I can make a bed. We’ve got blankets, a couple extra pillows-”

“No, Mae.”

“Okay, I’ll use the chair then, either one-”

“You can have the bed. I’ll call the front desk and ask for a rollaway bed.”

Gregg spoke up, dangling a shiny brochure between his fingers. “Uh, unless you wanna pay another twenty bucks, then we’re out of luck.”

Bea rubbed her face, and began unpacking. “Then I guess we’re sharing a bed, Mae.”

Mae felt her heart freeze. “Uh-”

“We did it when we were kids. Not much of a difference now, right?”

“Yeah. Right.” Mae hoped to any and all of the gods that no one was noticing the flush that was creeping up her neck.

Bea gathered up a bundle of clothes, holding them against her chest, departing into the slightly grimy hotel bathroom to shower.

“Well, I’m gonna go get changed!” Mae said hurriedly, snatching her clothes messily from her bag in a flurry. She sprinted to the only private place in their room- a small, musty little closet with a few stray hangers.

How ironic.

Mae shoved her head into her hands, her choppy dark hair falling over her eyes. She did /not/ have feelings for Bea. She didn’t! And, if she did, (which she absolutely positively did not!) Bea definitely didn’t reciprocate. Bea was exclusively attracted to males, and Mae was… not exactly fantastic date material. At all. Unless your ideal girlfriend was a clumsy college dropout with anger issues and a tendency to attack things.

But still. The way her eyes brightened when she laughed, and how her dark curls swept across her brow-

/No./

And yet, a tiny fragment of her brain still called out in protest. /But what if?/ it asked.

Mae slumped in the dark space.

A sharp rap echoed on the wood doors, and Gregg’s high voice dug a wedge into her silence. “Hey, you okay in there? If you don’t come out soon, you’re gonna miss the end of 'Cutthroat Kitchen’. And, seriously, this guy has to make cordon bleu with /blue cookies/! It’s some crazy shit, man.”

Mae lauhed, stopping Gregg’s rambling. “Nice, dude. I’ll be out in a minute.”

Mae waited to hear Gregg’s footsteps, but he didn’t leave.

“Did you, like, forget to bring pants or something? Cuz’, I can grab you a pair if you need-”

Mae cut Gregg off. “No! I’m fine. Just taking a while.”

“Yeah, okay, whatever, dude. Come out when you’re ready.”

Mae hastily slid on her pajamas, which consisted of a t-shirt and shorts, tossing her dirty clothes onto the closet floor.

“Welcome back to the world of the living!” Gregg called out sarcastically. He and Angus were laying together, Gregg cuddled up to his boyfriend’s side, his head laying comfortably on his chest, moving up and down slightly with every breath.

Mae threw herself at the bed, burrowing under the soft linen. Hotels were such surreal places. So many people had, and would come and go, and not a single one left any indication that they had once been here. Mae nudged further into the covers.

At that moment, the bathroom door creaked open, and Bea emerged, toweling off her damp hair. Her dark brown skin had a warm glow to it, and her usually scrunched up black hair hung loosely across her shoulders. She draped the towel over a hook, sitting down next to Mae on the bed.

“Gregg, can I have the remote?”

“Nah, dude! I gotta finish my episode!”

Bea snorted, and slid underneath the covers, folding them neatly at the edges. Mae was painfully aware of how close they were.

Yeah. Totally platonic. Absolutely-positively. ((yes ik that’s repetition it’s intended))

Applause echoed through the grainy speakers as the winner was given their earnings, and Gregg tossed the remote to Bea.

“What are you gonna watch?”

“House Of Cards.”

Mae’s jaw dropped. “/Seriously/?”

“I like this kind of stuff.”

“Isn’t it about, like, politics and shit?”

“Pretty much. It’s supposed to exhibit how corrupt the government is, and how big money and businesses own today’s media, and use unsavory tactics to reach their-”

Gregg groaned loudly from across the room, causing Bea to toss a pillow in his general direction.

Mae hummed to herself, noticing that Bea’s hair smelled vaguely of cinnamon. It was nice, being away from home. Nothing was quite real out here. Every unexpected change a new adventure rather than a setback, every fork in the path a new opportunity. With the four of them together under the brilliant night, Mae could almost pretend it would last forever.

The lamp clicked off beside her, and Mae felt Bea shift over, turning toward the wall. Mae could just barely hear Gregg and Angus murmuring to each other as she sank into her pillow.

“Night, Cap'n.” Gregg said, hugging Angus.

Angus nuzzled his boyfriend. “Goodnight, Bug.”

Mae spoke up drowsily, her voice barely above a whisper. “See ya tomorrow, Bea-Bea.”

There was a beat of prolonged silence, and the only noise Mae could hear was Bea’s steady breathing.

“Until then, May-Day.”

CHAPTER END

[glass-ladybug]

all the exposition of the vamp au

Sophomore year /sucked/. Everyone was on Mae to 'make plans', 'grow up', and 'turn in her assignments on time'. Whatever. That was utter bullcrap. School didn't hold any interest for her anymore, and she couldn't really remember a time when it had. Well, first-grade was pretty nice. Macaroni art pictures and all that. Everyone being friends, and that one kid who ate a leaf and got sick. Ahh, yeah. Good memories. Mae pondered on the thought for a moment. Maybe school would be better with more friends? Well she had Lori M., ((is ., right?))of course. And Selmers! Always Selmers. But, Lori was eleven-turning twelve in February, as she liked to remind Mae- and all Mae did with Selmers was write awful ((CHANGE MAYBE?)) poems. Yeah, they hung out, but they weren't really... BFF's or anything. Who /cared/ if she put in effort, anyway? She didn't. Yeah, her mom and dad wanted her to go to college, but for what? What was the point? There wasn't anything she wanted to do. No job that called out to her, no big dream to live up to. Just Possum Springs. Mae shoved her beat up text books into her locker, leaving it open behind her as she walked away. Thinking was a chore. School was a chore. Anything other than eating and sleeping was a /chore/. She hefted her bag onto her hip, dragging her feet behind her. Science class was up next. Well, Mr. Chazokov had taken to calling her his 'best worst student', so, even though she hated the class, she had /that/ accomplishment to dwell on. Absently clutching her bag, Mae flung open the door to come face to face with a girl. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a rather frightening expression. Mae looked at her, tilting her head slightly as she studied the girl's face. What was her name? Bella? Brooke? Breanna? Something to that extent. The girl scowled at her impatiently, as if expecting something. Ah! Wait! /Bea/. The girl spoke through gritted teeth. "Are you gonna get out of the way or not?" "Huh? I-, wait, uh-" Mae's muddled brain foggily rose to attention as it attempted to comprehend the words, only dimly processing the situation. Bea pushed past her roughly, her shoulder jabbing Mae in the arm as she disappeared down the hallway at a brisk pace. Mae, still unable to focus on the world around her, took a hesitant step into the classroom, nearly sinking into her chair as she tossed her backpack to the floor. Mr. Chazokov ran a hand through his rapidly graying hair, before giving an audible sigh. He spoke calmly, but the underlying tension was obvious to everyone but Mae. "Beatrice has just received some.... unfortunate news. She likely has no ill will towards you, Miss Borowski, so I hope you do not hold a grudge." Mae nodded vaguely, indifferent to the world around her. Everything was gray. Gray, gray, gray, like the color of the sky on a rainy day, the flash of steel on a knife, and the bitter look in Beatrice's eyes. She didn't like the gray. Mr. Chazokov rattled on, using a marker to illustrate the topic, and point at the important parts. Mae found herself focusing on his lips as she tried to decipher the slew of words he was spewing. All the sound in the room faded to a dull pulse, beating loudly in her head. It pounded on, and Mae's eyes began to slip out of focus as all the objects around her took the form of shattered glass, fragments of what were once people, or chairs, or desks becoming itty bitty particles. Everything around her was inhuman, and terrifying. A heap of broken parts. Mae was alone. Alone with the shapes. The smashing in her head increased in volume, and it took all of her draining willpower to not scream. How did the masses of shapes not react? Why weren't they in pain like she was? Wait. A /new/ noise had joined in. Mae lifted her head from her hands slowly, her knuckles turning white from the stress, bursts of agonizing pain exploding in her head. The noise was gibberish, but felt oddly familiar. Every sound was muffled, as if she'd been shoved underwater and held down. Mae's body crumpled under the assault of noise and shapes. /Mae/. The sound whispered. /Mae./ She didn't respond. She didn't have the energy to. /Mae./ The voice increased in volume, and bits and pieces of the shapes flung together, almost forming a tangible object. "Mae!" The voice yelled, and Mae blinked widely to see the concerned face of.... Selmers? The racket had dulled to a faint pulsing, like that of a heartbeat. Selmers put a hand on Mae's shoulder, clearly uncomfortable. "Alright, uhh, shit. Do you know what happened?" Mae gave a blank stare in response. Selmers shifted slightly, her heavy lidded eyes filled with concern as she stared at her friend. Mae felt limp, and drained. "Okay, apparently not. Think you can stand?" Mae cocked her head to the right, fumbling to find the words that sat dully on her tongue. "You... You're not in this class?" At least Mae didn't think she was. She couldn't really remember right now. Selmers sighed, breathing though her nose. "No, sweetie, I'm not. C'mon, stand up." Her voice was strained, and overly patient. Mae wondered if she'd done something wrong. Selmers lifted her by the arm, holding the dazed girl to her side. Mr. Chazokov held up a hand. "Girls, wai-" Selmers quirked an eyebrow slightly. "She needs help. We'll be back. Or we might not be. I'll let you know." Obviously not wanting to fight out the situation with the bulky, stubborn girl, Mr. Chazokov relented, waving them out the door. "Get well soon?" A kid in the back feebly offered, his voice wavering with confusion. --------- "So." Selmers said, her legs kicked up on the plush chair Mae was lying in. "Did I scream?" Mae asked, scooting forward. "Yeah, a little bit. I only came in at the end, so I dunno." "Oh. Cool. Why were you in there?" "Turning stuff in." "Oh." Mae leaned back, sinking into the plump cushions. "How's your head?" "Eh. Could be worse." Mae glanced around the nurse's office, the vibrating in her head a constant force. The room smelled distinctly of disinfectant and lemon pledge, the lights far too bright against the chipped white walls. It consisted of a refrigerator with a few ice packs, the torn and frayed leather chair Mae was sitting in, and garish 'Get-Well-Soon' posters lining the walls. Budget-cuts. Possum Springs didn't have a whole lot of money, but hey, at least the football team had /brand-new uniforms/! Mae wanted to kick the ass of every council member. "Then again," Mae said, "it could definitely be better." "Would a poem help?" "I dunno, man. Sure." Selmers cleared her throat, and began to recite from her notebook. ((IDK throw a poem here when u think of one. sunrise vs sunset or smth)) "Niiiice." Stretching, Selmers lifted herself up. "You should go home." The buzzing noise decreased in volume, and Mae closed her eyes. "Yeah. Probably." Selmers wavered, walking out the door hesitantly. "I'll see you tomorrow." Mae shut her eyes a little more forcefully. "See ya, Selma." And with that, Mae was left alone in the decrepit, sorry excuse for a room. ---------- "Mom, really. I'm /fine/." Mae groaned, tossing her bag to the side. Mae's mother looked harrowed, pursing her lips. "Sweetie, I know high school is difficult to get used to-" Mae shot her an irritated glance. "I was just feeling sick. It's, like, a 24-hour bug or something. I'm all better now, see?" She stood up a little straighter, plastering on a false smile in order to placate her mother's fears. Being back home had lessened the potency of the noise- after a few hours, it was nearly unnoticeable, yet she was still a bit shaken. The attacks had occurred before, but this was the most severe of them all. Whoever had chosen to call them 'attacks' should be given a medal. That's exactly what they were: attacks. A war inside her head, where her both parts were violently beating each other. Some days it was hard to tell who was winning. That still didn't mean she wanted to be stuck inside, though. "I'm gonna go hang at the library. Get some stuff done." She wasn't. Mae had the full intention of sitting up on some poor sap's roof, and flinging stones at passing cars and bikes. Fighting a losing battle, Mrs. Borowski set a plate down at the table. "Alright, hon. I'll drop you off. It's too cold to walk." "Mom, you don't-" Mae's mother leveled a stare at her daughter, before grabbing her car keys off the table. Sighing audibly, Mae obliged to follow. She could just walk somewhere, anyways. ---- Possum Springs' weather was cool, and crisp. Late November was filled with crisp leaves, the prickling of cold wind, and the foreboding knowledge that there would soon be frost on the ground. The Historical Society building loomed over the boxy little houses of the town, built with crumbling brick and mortar, weathered with age. Its roof had become a nesting place for crows, and its three floors held shelves upon shelves of dusty books. Mae trudged up the stairs, grunting as she yanked open the bulky wooden doors that led into the library. The inside of the library felt as if it was under a spell. The entire room was swathed in a deep blue light, columns and walls painted with constellations and stars, giving the area an ethereal feeling, like a dream. A plump man sat at the counter, fiddling with a stack of library cards. "Anything I can help you with?" "Just looking." Mae's eyes drifted over the selections of books, wondering why she'd come in anyway. Suddenly, the heavy oaken doors flew open forcefully, and a gust of wind fluttered the papers on the secretary's desk. A tiny figure, scrawny and small burst through the entranceway. The man gave out a rather forceful glare. Lori M. gasped, shocked, and guiltily sprinted to Mae's side, making her footfalls as light as possible to avoid further attention. "Hi -huff**huff*-Mae!" She whispered, exuding excitement. The eleven year old's mousy brown hair bounced in a fluffy flurry around her, and she tucked the dull strands behind her ear. The kid was bundled up, wrapped in a downy maroon sweatshirt and scarf. "Hey. Outta class already?" Lori looked at Mae quizzically, tilting her head. "It's 4 pm, Mae." "Ah. Right. So, what are you here for?" "Need a book for school. Also, your mom said you were here!" She beamed widely. "Cool, cool. What are you gonna get?" Lori's eyes illuminated happily, and she latched on to Mae's arm. "You already know." Lori was right. Mae probably did know. The kid was an aspiring horror movie director, and could pull off an excellent blood-curdling shriek, as she had demonstrated many times before. Odds were she was picking out a book on fake blood, or something. Lori pulled the older girl down a series of twists and turns, maneuvering her way between shelves as she came to a stop in front of a dilapidated array of books, each worn and musty to a varying degree. Lori knelt down, patting the spot next to her on the carpet. "These are my favorites. The Witch Trials of Salem, the History of Horror, Dracula..." "Are these, like, the Harfest reject books?" "Oh, /ha-ha ./ They're classic literature!" "Whatever, kid." Lori affectionately traced a finger over one's cover, musing through her selection. "Why don't you get something?" "I'm not that big of a reader." Lori looked aghast. "But it's /horror/! How can you /not/ want to read books abut gore and dead people?" "...Good point." Mae sat down next to her friend, scanning the variety of aging books, most of them in poor condition. It didn't look they'd be cleaned or taken care of in several years. They must not have gotten checked out very often. Lori seemed happy with her selection, entitled: 'Frankenstein: Man, not Monster'. Mae ran her hands across the books, before, suddenly, her fingers met empty space. Where another book should've been, there was a thin, tight gap between the last book and the woodwork. "There's something.... missing." Lori frowned, not looking up from her book. "Well, it's a library. People are allowed to check things out." Mae nodded uncertainly, pushing her fingers gently into the dark space. "Yeah, I guess." In the tiny, cramped gap between the books and the wall, Mae's fingers brushed against something. Between the slats of wood, there was a hollow only slightly bigger than her hand, as if someone had just scooped out the wood, leaving an indent several inches deep. Shoving the books beside her against the opposite wall, she wedged her hand in further, searching for whatever it was the space held. Her fingertips met a flat surface, cracked, and papery. Mae groped around in an attempt to pull it out. It didn't budge. "Lori," She said tenatively, "help me get this out of here." Hesitantly, the girl pulled her eyes away from the printed pages. "Get what-" Mae grabbed a few books, tossing them to Lori. "Here." She continued to yank away stacks without care, and Lori nervously fought to organize them. "Uhhh, Mae, *huff**huff, can we really-" "Got it!" Mae murmured happily, dislodging the object from the books and wood, pulling it onto her lap. "It's a book..." Lori sighed wearily. "A /hidden/ book!" Mae protested. Inside, she felt a little disappointed. The stout, withered old book was unassuming, its cover bound in old, hardened leather, and any type that may have once embellished it had long worn away. She flipped it over. "There's no barcode. Do you think I can check it out?" Lori shifted from side to side. "Uhh. Maybe?" Mae had a feeling that whoever had stuffed the book back there probably didn't want it found, though why they hadn't hidden it better was beyond her. She figured that if taken to the front desk, she'd never see the it again. So she tucked the book under her jacket, nestling it against her side. "Sorry for ruining your shelf." "Oh. Uh. It's okay?" Lori said, tenderly sliding the books back into position. "See ya tomorrow." Mae said guiltily. "See ya!" Lori smiled. Mae stood up, making sure to clamp the little book to her side as she surreptitiously walked out of the building, and into the cold afternoon. --------------

[glass-ladybug]

vampire story or whatever

Freshman year /sucked/. Everyone was on Mae to 'make plans', 'grow up', and 'turn in her assignments on time'. Whatever. That was utter bullcrap. School didn't hold any interest for her anymore, and she couldn't really remember a time when it had. Well, first-grade was pretty nice. Macaroni art pictures and all that. Everyone being friends, and that one kid who ate a leaf and got sick. Ahh, yeah. Good memories. Mae pondered on the thought for a moment. Maybe school would be better with more friends? Well she had Lori M., ((is ., right?))of course. And Selmers! Always Selmers. But, Lori was twelve-turning thirteen in February, as she liked to remind Mae- and all Mae did with Selmers was write shitty poems. Yeah, they hung out, but they weren't really... BFF's or anything. Who /cared/ if she put in effort, anyway? She didn't. Yeah, her mom and dad wanted her to go to college, but for what? What was the point? There wasn't anything she wanted to do. No job that called out to her, no big dream to live up to. Just Possum Springs. Mae shoved her beat up text books into her locker, leaving it open behind her as she walked away. Thinking was a chore. School was a chore. Anything other than eating and sleeping was a /chore/. She hefted her bag onto her hip, dragging her feet behind her. Science class was up next. Well, Mr. Chazokov had taken to calling her his 'best worst student', so, even though she hated the class, she had /that/ accomplishment to dwell on. Absently clutching her bag, Mae flung open the door to come face to face with a girl. Dark hair, dark eyes, and a rather frightening expression. Mae looked at her, tilting her head slightly as she studied the girl's face. What was her name? Bella? Brooke? Breanna? Something to that extent. The girl scowled at her impatiently, as if expecting something. Ah! Wait! /Bea/. The girl spoke through gritted teeth. "Are you gonna get out of the /goddamn way/ or not?" "Huh? I-, wait, uh-" Mae's muddled brain foggily rose to attention as it attempted to comprehend the words, only dimly processing the situation. Bea pushed past her roughly, her shoulder jabbing Mae in the arm as she disappeared down the hallway at a brisk pace. Mae, still unable to focus on the world around her, took a hesitant step into the classroom, nearly sinking into her chair as she tossed her backpack to the floor. Mr. Chazokov ran a hand through his rapidly graying hair, before giving an audible sigh. He spoke calmly, but the underlying tension was obvious to everyone but Mae. "Beatrice has just received some.... unfortunate news. She likely has no ill will towards you, Miss Borowski, so I hope you do not hold a grudge." Mae nodded vaguely, indifferent to the world around her. Everything was gray. Gray, gray, gray, like the color of the sky on a rainy day, the flash of steel on a knife, and the bitter look in Beatrice's eyes. She didn't like the gray. Mr. Chazokov rattled on, using a marker to illustrate the topic, and point at the important parts. Mae found herself focusing on his lips as she tried to decipher the slew of words he was spewing. All the sound in the room faded to a dull pulse, beating loudly in her head. It pounded on, and Mae's eyes began to slip out of focus as all the objects around her took the form of shattered glass, fragments of what were once people, or chairs, or desks becoming itty bitty particles. Everything around her was inhuman, and terrifying. A mass of was alone. Alone with the shapes. The smashing in her head increased in volume, and it took all of her draining willpower to not scream. How did the masses of shapes not react? Why weren't they in pain like she was? Wait. A /new/ noise had joined the hellish symphony. Mae lifted her head from her hands slowly, her knuckles turning white from the stress, bursts of agonizing pain exploding in her head. The noise was gibberish, but felt oddly familiar. Every sound was muffled, as if she'd been shoved underwater and held down. Mae's body crumpled, as if she'd been rammed through a drier and spun around. /Mae/. The sound whispered. /Mae./ She didn't respond. She didn't have the energy to. /Mae./ The voice increased in volume, and bits and pieces of the shapes flung together, almost forming a tangible object. "Mae!" The voice yelled, and Mae blinked widely to see the concerned face of.... Selmers? The racket had dulled to a faint pulsing, like that of a heartbeat. Selmers put a hand on Mae's shoulder, clearly uncomfortable. "Alright, uhh, shit. Do you know what happened?" Mae gave a blank stare in response. Selmers shifted slightly, her heavy lidded eyes filled with concern as she stared at her friend. Mae felt limp, and drained. "Okay, apparently not. Think you can stand?" Mae cocked her head to the right, fumbling to find the words that sat dully on her tongue. "You... You're not in this class?" At least Mae didn't think she was. She couldn't really remember right now. Selmers sighed, breathing though her nose. "No, sweetie, I'm not. C'mon, stand up." Her voice was strained, and overly patient. Mae wondered if she'd done something wrong. Selmers lifted her by the arm, holding the dazed girl to her side. Mr. Chazokov held up a hand. "Girls, wai-" Selmers quirked an eyebrow slightly. "She needs help. We'll be back. Or we might not be. I'll let you know." Obviously not wanting to fight out the situation with the bulky, stubborn girl, Mr. Chazokov relented, waving them out the door. "Get well soon?" A kid in the back feebly offered, his voice wavering with confusion. --------- "So." Selmers said, her legs kicked up on the plush chair Mae was lying in. "Did I scream?" Mae asked, scooting forward. "Yeah, a little bit. I only came in at the end, so I dunno." "Oh. Cool. Why were you in there?" "Turning stuff in." "Oh." Mae leaned back, sinking into the plump cushions. "How's your head?" "Eh. Could be worse." Mae glanced around the nurse's office, the vibrating in her head a constant force. The room smelled distinctly of disinfectant and lemon pledge, the lights far too bright against the chipped white walls. It consisted of a refrigerator with a few ice packs, the torn and frayed leather chair Mae was sitting in, and garish 'Get-Well-Soon' posters lining the walls. Budget-cuts. Possum Springs didn't have a whole lot of money, but hey, at least the football team had /brand-new uniforms/! Mae wanted to kick the ass of every council member. "Then again," Mae said, "it could definitely be better." "Would a poem help?" "Shit, man. Sure." Selmers cleared her throat, and began to recite from her notebook. ((IDK throw a poem here when u think of one. sunrise vs sunset or smth)) "Niiiice." Stretching, Selmers lifted herself up. "You should go home." The buzzing noise decreased in volume, and Mae closed her eyes. "Yeah. Probably." Selmers wavered, walking out the door hesitantly. "I'll see you tomorrow." Mae shut her eyes a little more forcefully. "See ya, Selma." And with that, Mae was left alone in the decrepit, sorry excuse for a room. ---------- "Mom, really. I'm /fine/." Mae groaned, tossing her bag to the side. Mae's mother looked harrowed, pursing her lips. "Sweetie, I know high school is difficult to get used to-" Mae shot her a warning glance. "I was just feeling sick. It's, like, a 24-hour bug or something. I'm all better now, see?" She stood up a little straighter in order to placate her mother's fears. Being back home had lessened the potency of the noise- it was nearly unnoticeable now, yet she was still a bit shaken. The attacks had occurred before, but this was the most severe of them all. Whoever had chosen to call them 'attacks' should be given a medal. That's exactly what they were: attacks. A war inside her head, where both sides were violently beating each other. Some days it was hard to tell who was winning. That still didn't mean she wanted to be stuck inside, though. "I'm gonna go hang at the library. Get some stuff done." She wasn't. Mae had the full intention of sitting up on some poor sap's roof, and flinging stones at passing cars and bikes.

[glass-ladybug]

next chapter of home enough

Gregg was speeding through their cluttered apartment, neatly sidestepping his various unfinished projects that laid ((is it lain or laid????))forgotten on the carpet. The tiny blond was bouncing with excitement, shoving items messily into a suitcase, and generally pestering the hell out of Angus. But that was okay. He loved him anyways. If anything, his boyfriend's eagerness was far more endearing than annoying. Angus didn't think packing the four of them in a car for multiple days was anywhere near a good idea, but it was obviously important to Gregg, so he tried to put on a happy face and bear it. "Hey, Angus? Do you think Bea has outlets in her car? Cuz', I was thinking about taking the Xbox, and-" Angus laughed softly. "I doubt it." Gregg snapped his fingers. "Damn." "Did you get all your clothes?" "Yeah! I grabbed your glasses case, too, it's in the right pocket." God, he was adorable. "I'll grab our toothbrushes." Angus slid his laptop into his bag, neatly tucking the charger alongside it. "So! We've got everything else?" "Yup." "I'll call Bea and give her a heads up that we're leaving!" "You do that, Bug." Gregg responded with a flirtatious wink as he dashed off to the kitchen- the only place in their whole damn house where they could get cell reception. As Angus began stacking their hygiene products into a bag, he was suddenly reminded of how glad he was to have a chance to leave this derelict town. He was even luckier to be doing it with the person he loved most in the world. He knew he was being slightly ridiculous, but as he thought about Gregg's unstable position at the Snack Falcon, he became increasingly worried that skipping work for a few days might be the final straw for Christine. If Gregg was fired, their whole plan would be down the drain, and they'd have no way of making it to Bright Harbor. Angus could only hope Mae's silly whim wouldn't ruin what little he had. ---------------- Mae was buzzing with excitement, swinging her duffle bag around her legs. Bea shot another glance at her watch before the doors to The Pickaxe burst open, revealing Gregg, disheveled and dragging two black suitcases behind him, one bulging oddly, and Angus, looking worn out and toting a laptop bag. Mae beamed. "Hey, guys! Ready?" Bea tossed her keys in the air, expertly catching them in her left hand. Outside, her truck beeped loudly. "Alright. Let's get on the road." The four loaded their luggage into the bed of the truck, Bea securing a tarp over top. "Alright, if you want something for the car, grab it now. I'm driving." Gregg and Mae piled into the backseat, Gregg kicking his feet up onto the leather armrest of the car. Bea shot him a nasty look, but he didn't flinch. Angus sighed. They had a /long/ road ahead. ---------------- "Draw two." Mae threw a card down onto the pile. "What the hell, Mae? You can't put a draw two down on a draw four!" Gregg yelled. Mae grinned devilishly. "Just did." Gregg threw his head back in exasperation, muttering to himself as he reshuffled the Uno cards for their 9th game. They had been driving for nearly an hour and a half now, Bea and Angus switching out positions every so often. It turns out Uno gets a little frustrating after your opponent wins through /cheating/ every round. They were barely out past Bright Harbor, and Gregg had elatedly stared out the window at the city for the entire duration of their passing. It was gorgeous, and even better now that he was on his way to living there. Mae nudged the back of Bea's chair with her foot. "This music /sucks/." Bea let out a disgruntled sigh, barely restraining herself from snapping back. "You don't like country music?" "Nope." "Then plug in your phone. There's probably an aux cord somewhere up here." "I have a flip-phone, Bea." "Angus?" "Wireless Android. Not like we'd get a signal out here anyways." Mae's kicking intensified. "Can't you iust change channels?" "To what, Sports Radio?" Bea deadpanned. Bea flicked a switch on the console, and the music abruptly came to a halt. Mae went quiet, and the only sound was the faint sweeping of cards brushing past each other. Tension hung like fog in the cramped space. Gravel popped and ground beneath her tires as Bea turned into the parking lot of a dimly lit gas-station. She slowed the car to a halt before clicking open her door. "We all need to stretch out for a minute." "Agreed!" Gregg said, hopping out of the car. Mae ruffled through her pockets for her wallet. "I'm getting snacks." Bea threw a few bucks at her. "Go ahead and get us dinner too. I'd rather not stop again for awhile." "Aye-aye!" Bea rolled her eyes fondly and began busying herself with refilling the gas in the car. Angus shut his car door none too softly. "I'm going to the bathroom." Gregg and Mae walked into the station, and Mae began browsing the aisles of sugary, preservative packed snacks that would probably induce a heart-attack in any nutritionist. Fortunately, she didn't care, and began stuffing her arms with Hostess Cupcakes and slices of pizza that looked closer to cardboard than the gooey heaven she was used to. Oh well. You couldn't really have bad pizza. You could have /mediocre/ pizza, but bad? Nah, that didn't happen. Out of the corner of her eye, a brightly colored CD caught her attention. 5.99? Hell yeah! Considering that the only channels Bea could get were country, sports, and pop music autotuned to all hell, blowing a few bucks on this was definitely worth it. "Mae!" Gregg called out from down the aisle. She walked over, her arms struggling to hold all of their food, and her newly acquired "Yeah?" "We should get chips!" "Yeah, okay. What do you want?" Gregg meandered through the aisle, pulling a bag off at random. "These?" "Ew, gross, man!" Mae laughed. "Doritos are /good/!" "Nah, Pringles are definitely the way to go, dude." Gregg swept his hand daintily across his forehead in mock horror. "How /dare/ you?!" Mae's eye went large, and she shakily pointed at something off to Gregg's left. Gregg dropped his playful expression, turning around with concern. "You okay, du-" Mae quickly snatched the chips from Gregg's arms. "Gotcha!" She sprinted down the aisle, her shoes squeaking irritatingly on the linoleum tile. Various processed treats tumbled from her arms as she ran, Gregg hot on her trail, cackling wildly, much to the displeasure of the employee on duty. Out of breath now, Mae leaned up against a row of various granola bars as Gregg attempted to steal back his prize. At the same time, Angus exited the bathroom, stopping short as he saw his boyfriend scuffling with Mae. The two were looping around each other in an attempt to grab away - or in Mae's case, defend- a now crumpled bag of chips. "Guys." Angus murmured. They paid him no heed, Mae ducking quickly under Gregg's arm and popping up behind him. "Guys." Angus said, his voice raising to his normal tone. He shot a quick glance at the girl at the counter, who wasn't paying attention at all. Suddenly, Gregg managed to get a good hold on the bag, yanking it away from his friend. Grinning triumphantly, he held as high up as he could, dangling it above Mae's head. She playfully lunged at him, and Gregg backed up, noticing only a fraction of a second too late that he'd hit into the wall of products behind him rather hard. The light metal shelf teetered precariously for a second, and Mae and Gregg, frozen into place, could only watch in horror as it began to lean backwards on a sure descent to the floor. Angus stood rooted to the spot, time seemingly going slower, completely unable to think, or formulate any thoughts as his heart rate sped into overdrive. The only clumsy, sluggish thought he could manage was, "Oh no." and that wasn't much help at all. A single jar of jellybeans fell to the floor, shattering with a crash, hundreds of tiny candies spilling out onto the floor. That broke the spell. "/Guys/!" He yelled, instants before the shelf came crashing to the floor with bang, all of its contents splattering, rolling, or dropping to the hard flooring. Angus ran to them as Gregg quickly scooped up a few cupcakes wrapped in plastic covering from the ground, latching onto Mae's hand and pulling the shocked girl forward. Mae fumbled with a wad of cash, shoving it towards the dumbfounded cashier haphazardly. "Oh my God, /Oh my God/ I'm sososososorrypleasetakethis/gottago, bye!" She rambled, spewing words apologetically as she raced out the smudged glass doors, their theft alarm blaring into the cold air outside. Bea was leaning against the side of the truck, her lit cigarette providing a tiny cloud of smoke. Her eyes widened dramatically as she saw her three friends looking at her with absolute terror, Gregg carrying an abundance of cakes, Mae's black hair mussed up and flying around her head, and Angus looking back at the store with fear. "What the /hell/-" "Drive, Bea!" Mae screamed, wildly pushing her way into the back. Bea would've questioned her, but Gregg had already scrambled into the driver's seat and was turning the key, the engine revving loudly. Angus quickly filed in, almost shoving Bea into the passenger's seat. She looked at them like they'd all grown a third head, but none of them seemed to care. Gregg sharply pulled out of the mostly empty parking lot, going far above the speed limit as he bolted from the scene, wheels screaming against the road. They were all breathing exceptionally heavy, Bea noticed, and Angus looked like he'd just witnessed a murder. Bea looked back at the store, where a stunned cashier was standing uneasily at its entrance. For all she knew, he damn well might have. Mae was cradling an arm full of cupcakes, looking sadly at their smushed icing. Bea took a deep breath, willing herself not to freak out. "Can someone /please/ explain what just happened?" "Well," Gregg said, surprisingly calm for someone who had just set off a decent amount of alarms, "we may /sort of/ be on the run from the law." "What?!" Angus rubbed his forehead. "They vandalized a gas station." "On accident!" Mae protested. "Yes, they /accidentally/ chased each other around the store, and knocked over an entire aisle worth of food. Not sure how much of it survived." "Oh God. Did the place have security cameras on?" Bea asked, aghast. "I doubt it. There was barely anyone in there." "Oh, thank God." Mae smiled guiltily. "I still got pizza?" Bea kept her eyes on the road, but accepted the plastic wrapped pizza slice Mae handed to her. Mae gently set an unwrapped cupcake on the armrest. Bea couldn't help but smile as she noticed that it was clearly the least damaged one of the bunch, and Mae had given it to /her/, specifically. No! Bea, she gave it to you because you're her friend. Nothing else. Obviously. Bea shook her head, focusing instead on Gregg's slightly erratic driving. "Are you sure you can do this?" She criticized. He frowned. "Just because I don't have a car doesn't mean I can't drive." Silence hung in the air. "So..." Mae said awkwardly. Mae fiddled with the CD on her lap. "I got music?" Bea hummed thoughtfully. "Hand it to me, I'll put it in." She reached back expectantly. Mae shrank back. "No! I gotta do it myself. It's a surprise." "Ah. Okay. Sure, go ahead." Mae secretively opened the CD case, leaning over the middle console and sliding it into the slot. A familiar strain of music began to reverberate throughout the car as Bea's old speakers hummed to life. /You've got a friend in me./ /Yeah, you've got a friend in me./ "Oh my /God/, Mae-" Bea laughed. Both Gregg and Mae quickly shushed her. /When the road looks rough ahead, and you're miles and miles from your nice warm bed/ Gregg started singing, his high voice completely off key. "You just remember what your old pal said~" Mae chimed in happily, the two harmonizing loudly. "Oh, you've got a friend in me!" Mae collapsed into hysterics, and Bea was chuckling softly, hiding her face in her hands. "It's the official Disney-Pixar song playlist!" Mae yelled, tossing her hands in the air exuberantly. The only one not laughing was Angus, who just looked.... confused. Mae latched on to his arm, still giggling. "C'mon, Angus! Sing with us!" He frowned. "I don't know the words." Mae gasped. "How?!" "I don't think I've ever seen the movie." Mae's jaw dropped. "You've never seen /Toy Story/?" Angus shook his head, wanting desperately to disappear into the floor. Mae nodded resolutely. "Well, we're watching it. When we stop at the hotel tonight, I'm gonna rent Toy Story, and we're gonna watch it." Angus nodded, whatever he could do to make Mae stop alienating him. He had to admit, though, it was nice to feel included. For al her eccentricities, Mae definitely wasn't a bad person. As the final notes of the song faded out, new ones blared through. Mae gasped, her eyes lighting up. /I can show you the world,/ "SHINING, SHIMMERING, SPLENNNNDID!" Mae held out her hand with an elegant swoop, smiling at Bea delightedly. "Tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heaaart deciiiide?" Gregg and Mae crowed loudly. "A WHOOOOLE NEW WORLD!" Bea's husky voice entered the mix, not noticing that they went silent when she sang. "A dazzling place I never knew~" Princess Jasmine's high voice echoed from the speakers. /But when I'm way up here,/ Mae beamed brightly. "It's crystal clear!" Gregg went silent, keeping his focus on the road, though he hummed along to the music. Bea's low voice, though scratchy and rusty, harmonized with Mae's energetic one. "That now I'm in a whole new world, with you..." Listening to Bea sing, Mae was absolutely positive she'd just heard the most amazing thing in the world. Bea smiled to herself, letting Mae and Gregg carry on the rest of the song. She murmured to herself, feeling the car jolt beneath her as Gregg passed over a bump. First stop, Chicago.

[glass-ladybug]

road trip fic

At first, it wasn't noticeable. Just a few people, gone for the day. It was swiftly pinned down as a 24 hour bug. After two days, people began to wonder about the flu. After three, people started getting scared. Missing posters went up, phone calls were made, police were sent to look around, suspecting a prank, or maybe even a slew of movers, left for another town. But nothing came of it- none of the fifteen newly missing people were found. Council members, officers, regular members of the community- gone. The second Bea came home to her eerily quiet apartment, she knew. It was a feeling in her stomach: a pit that sank down, down, down until she wanted to throw up, or scream, or cry to make it disappear. But she held on, calling his name and ransacking the house, opening every door until it was overwhelmingly obvious her father wasn't home. She didn't sleep that night. When Bea fled from her house to work that morning, trying so /so/ hard to cling to some semblance of normality, Creek wasn't there. On any other day, Bea would've grumbled a bit about having to pick up the slack, but would've been secretly relieved to have a day away from the old creep. Today, she sat in the backroom and buried her head in her hands, shoulders shaking as her entire world broke down around her. She killed her father. Or, if the cave-in hadn't, dehydration soon would. An eye for an eye, Mae for her father. She briefly wondered if it was worth it. Her dad wasn't a bad guy. Creek, maybe, but not her dad. He was a man who had been broken to the point of no return, but he didn't deserve to die, not like that. Or maybe he did. The cult killed people. Her /dad/ could've killed people for all she knew. And if he hadn't, he'd certainly stood by while others did. This was too much. Too much to handle now, in this cramped, cluttered backroom by herself. Maybe too much to handle ever. But she couldn't live in denial, like Mae. Or excuse it like Gregg. Or, worse yet, agree with it like Angus. So there, in the storage room of the little store, her store, -she owned it now, she supposed- Bea made the active decision to live with it. ----------------- Possum Springs was healing. Things were still pretty messed up, but after a month, they were getting better. Aunt Molly was gone. Mae's mom kept assuring her that no, no, her aunt was fine, she was probably on a vacation, or a work trip and had forgotten to tell them. Mae pretended it was the truth. Other people were missing too- the head council member, some lesser ones, and a whole bunch of people that Mae had known. People she'd talked to, shared meals with, waved to from across the street. She couldn't go to the woods anymore. Even Germ's house was too close to That Place for her. She didn't like to think about it- preferring to shove it to some deep dark corner of her mind and forget. ((Too fast of a tone change?)) So Mae went to work. She'd gotten a job at Taco Buck, which was good! True, she didn't have a car to deliver with, but she /could/ Naruto run down the street at an alarming pace, and that was good enough. Mae balanced a bag of Mega Tacos in her arms. Struggling to pick up her ringing flip-phone, she didn't bother to check the Caller ID. "Heyyyyy." Gregg's voice echoed through the tinny receiver. "Hey, Mae! What's up?" "Not a lot. I was thinking about going to the park. To, y'know... get away." Gregg's voice filled with understanding. "Oh. Yeah, I get it." There was a beat of silence. "Can me and Angus come? We're not doing anything tonight, so I thought maybe we could all hang out before..." The words 'before we leave for good' hung in the air. Mae waved the growing pain in her chest away. "Sounds good! I'll invite Bea, too." "Nice!" "Five okay?" Gregg leaned away from his phone for a second, and Mae could hear muffled shouting. "Yeah, that works!" "See you then." "Bye, dude!" Gregg hung up with a faint click. Two down, one to go. Mae dialed Bea's number, impatiently waiting for her to pick up. "Hello?" Bea answered. "Hey, Bea! You free tonight?" "Are you asking-" Bea's low voice held an element of shock. "Gregg, Angus and I are going to the park, you wanna come?" "Oh. Sure, okay." "Five work for you?" "Yep. Bye." "See y-" /click/. Well. That was hasty. Now, Mae had to deliver some tacos. --------------------------------------- Bea liked spending as little time as possible at her empty house, which was why she was thrilled at Mae's offer of the park. Even if she was expecting something else. No, no, she was just tired! Long day at work. As always. Possum Springs didn't really have a park, per say. It had a tiny little plot of land with a fountain that only worked half the time, and a run down swing set. But she'd go anyway. When she arrived, Mae was already swinging as high as she possibly could, seemingly on an endless quest to swing completely around the bar. Gregg was beside her, shifting from side to side in his swing in an attempt to shove her off. She sat down next to Angus. "Hey." "Hey." It was good. A conversation with Angus wasn't exactly talkative, but it was peaceful, and fufilling for both of them. Quiet, but nice. Just like Angus. They sat together, the sun oddly warm for November, watching Gregg and Mae grow increasingly rowdy in their efforts to dethrone the other. A slight breeze ruffled the remaining leaves on the trees. Mae let out a shout, and hopped to the ground, Gregg crowing wildly in the background. She dusted her shirt off indignantly, before eying her friends oddly. There was something different about her, Bea noticed. She looked less... free. Her usually bright eyes had a hint of something else behind them. Something tired, and broken. It scared Bea that this was usual, now. ((FIX LAST SENTENCE LATER)) Mae motioned for Gregg to join them, and looked critically at the scenery around them before smiling widely. "I've been thinking." Angus sighed. "Hey!" Mae chortled. "That's not fair!" "Go on." Bea drawled. "I have a plan." "For?" "Well..." Mae paused for dramatic effect, obviously relishing in their anticipation. Bea sort of wanted to kick her in the kneecap. "We should go on a road trip!" Mae looked around at them, gauging their reactions. Bea started coughing loudly, hacking shocked breaths escaping from her lungs. Gregg shot to his feet. "Yeah! We totally should!" Mae slung an arm around her best friend, grinning devilishly at Angus and Bea. Angus seemed to be contemplating the option. He took a deep breath. "No." Bea, still in shock, noticed the remarkable similarity between the downcast expressions on the two daredevil's faces. Gregg pouted, and Mae made her eyes as wide and innocent as possible. Angus wasn't fazed. "We can't just stop now, Bug. Not when we're this close." Gregg adjusted his leather jacket slightly. "These are our friends! And, hell, soon we're not gonna even see them anymore!" Gregg pleaded with his boyfriend, who looked away. "The Plan can be put on hold for what-" Gregg looked inquisitively at Mae. "-three days? Four?" "Dunno. I didn't actually think I'd get this far." Mae said sheepishly. Angus pinched the bridge of his nose. "Where would we even go?" "We can work out the details later!" "...This is ridiculous." "I'm ridiculous!" Gregg chimed in. Bea felt inclined to agree. Resolve cracking, Angus furrowed his brows. "We have work." "We'll leave Friday, and call in sick on Monday." "The four of us? On the same day? In a small town?" "Yeah, if anyone asks we'll say we all caught the travel bug!" Gregg's excitement was gaining momentum, and it was obvious Angus wasn't going to hold up under the blond's relentless assault of sweetness. Angus turned to Bea, sending a silent plea for backup. Bea threw her hands up in a "what can you do" gesture, smiling slightly. He groaned, resting his head in his hands. "Bea, please..." Thanks, Angus. The decision was in /her/ hands now. Greeaaat. Mae seemed to sense this too, as she quickly switched her attention to Bea, giving her her best angelic smile. Bea said nothing. Mae continued to flutter her eyelashes. Bea, again, said nothing. She wasn't going to lose. Apparently, neither was Mae, as she detached herself from Gregg to sidle up next to the older girl. Bea raised a single eyebrow, a talent she possessed that made Mae insanely incensed. Mae winked. Sighing heavily, Bea pursed her lips. "We'll use my car." Mae shot up with a cheer, pulling the four of them into a hug. "Oh my God Oh my God /Oh my God/, we're gonna do this!" Mae pulled back, looking critically at Angus. "We /are/ doing this, right?" "I guess." "Yay!" Mae cheered, burying her face in Angus's scarf. Bea didn't miss the glare Angus threw at her over Mae's shoulder. Serves him right. If he didn't want this outcome, he shouldn't have handed it over to Bea. "So," Mae spouted happily, seemingly vibrating with energy, "where are we gonna go? Cuz', I've actually got nothing, and-" "The Grand Canyon." Gregg interrupted. "Huh?" "The Grand Canyon! That's... That's a place people go, right? We could do that?" "Yeah..." Mae said, pausing to think for a second. "Yeah, you're right! Bea, Angus, what do you think?" Angus pursed his lips, clearly still unhappy that this was happening. "It's a long way." "More places to go in between!" Bea had to see the logic in that. And, well, it'd be nice to see such an iconic part of America. Even if the whole country was on an economic slide due to power-hungry officials and underhanded corrupt dealings. Wait, no! Focus, Bea. "How long would this take?" She asked skeptically. Gregg quickly whipped out his phone, fingers tapping across the screen at a lightening pace. "Well, if we..." He shook his head slightly, blonde strands of hair sweeping to the other side of his forehead. "No, no... If we hit Vegas, which we definitely are, then..." Gregg typed a few more things onto his screen, before dropping his phone into the pocket of his leather jacket. ((Too much description of Gregg?)) "Accounting for driving, snack breaks, stops, sleeping, and at least one random accident, I'd say four days? Roughly?" Bea nodded. "We could leave on Friday after work, do stops and stuff on Saturday and Sunday, arrive at the canyon on Monday, then get home early Tuesday morning before work." Bea looked at Angus, almost in disbelief that she was siding with Gregg. "We... could actually do this. It's not as ludicrous as it sounds." Looking as if he'd just been drafted into battle, Angus merely sighed heavily. "Okay, fine! Fine. We'll pack tonight." Mae's eyes were alight with joy. "I'll grab some snacks." They needed this, Bea thought. They all needed to escape from this town, even if just for a little bit. Mae most of all. Mae and Gregg spun each other around again. Bea watched thoughtfully. "Tomorrow, right after everyone's done working, you grab your stuff and meet me at the Pickaxe. I'll pick everyone up from there, and we can head out, I guess." Mae waved happily, looking more alive than Bea had seen her in weeks. "I'll see you then!" Gregg ferociously bobbed his head up and down in agreement, and Angus nodded in affirmation. "I'll see you then." Bea whispered. ((I gotta add an ending sentence that's a lil happier bc I want this to be a fluffier fic))

[glass-ladybug]

Mae woke up at the perfect time of 1:35 pm, only to be decked in the face by exhaustion and boredom. As a kid, getting a day off of school was like heaven. Unfortunately, after you become a disappointment to the family and a college drop out with literally nothing to do, and no responsibilities past showering occasionally, it starts being less fun and more... depressing. Mae didn't like thinking about that too much. As light filtered into her messy little room, Mae opened her eyes and immediately regretted it, sinking deeper into the bed covers. Waves of pain and nausea coursed through her head, and she clenched her teeth, clutching onto the bedspread. The dreams hadn't gotten... worse, necessarily, but it seemed that they were getting more vivid. Which sucked. Face still firmly planted in the covers, Mae blindly groped around for her laptop, shuffling things around on the nightstand as she dragged it onto her lap. Unfortunately, this was the step where she would need to be able to see. Slowly, she rubbed her eyes and reluctantly opened them, giving a sigh of relief when no second burst of pain affected her. She absently logged on, yawning as she waited for the morning's messages to load in. greggrulz: Heeeeey!!!! greggrulz: at work 2day.... u should stop by!!! greggrulz: my boss dropped off some new stuff greggrulz: lightbulbs for like..... 68 cents greggrulz: im sure she wouldnt notice if a few... went missing greggrulz: anyway!!! see u later greggrulz: Sincerely, Greggory. Well, it was too late now. Gregg had the morning and evening shifts which meant he'd probably be at home with Angus right now. And Mae really didn't want to stick her finger in their broken call button again. So, that was out. Wouldn't hurt to text him back, though! witchdagger1031: Hey gregg witchdagger1031: ur not online now, but we can def hang tomorrow witchdagger1031: im down with whatever witchdagger1031: tell the big guy i say hi witchdagger1031: over and out Yeah, that was good. Angus, per usual, had only left an away message, but that was okay. He was probably having fun fixing a giant robot, or programming a top-secret device for the FBI. Or... Whatever Angus did in his spare time. BeatriceSantello: Morning. BeatriceSantello: I'm at work, If you want to come by or whatever. BeatriceSantello: See you soon. Mae shuddered. So.... Formal. Aack. For as much of a badass Bea was, she kinda needed to loosen up a little. Mae let her mind wander. Maybe there'd be another furnace to beat the shit out of today. Hmm. No, she was actually more in the mood to destroy a refrigerator. Yeah, that sounded good. Dragging herself out of bed, Mae pulled on a worn orange sweatshirt and yanked a pair of shoes onto her feet. She trudged down the steps, feeling a little lonely when her mom wasn't in the kitchen. She knew it was unreasonable for her mom to still be there, considering, y'know, she had a ...job. She still couldn't help feeling a little sad, though. Mae thew together some cereal and an Eggo waffle - a delicious combination, despite what everyone else seemed to think. Losers. They didn't know how to appreciate good food. After dumping her bowl into the sink, Mae disappeared out the door and into the quiet atmosphere of Possum Springs. The door to The Ol' Pickaxe jingled softly, and Mae sauntered up to the counter, and plopped herself down on it. "Hey, Bea!" Amused, Bea continued to stock the register. "Hey, Mae." "So," Mae shifted around, "how's the Pickaxe?" "Trying to kill me." Bea muttered. "Unsuccessfully, thus far at least." "What's so stressful?" "Well, on top of everything else, we're hosting that Harfest play tomorrow." Bea grumbled, tapped out numbers on her keyboard and absently handing a customer their receipt. "Oh, wooooooooww. Lucky you." Mae snickered. "Yeah. I'm never offering to help with this again." Mae swung her legs, bouncing on the counter. "So, what are you up to tonight?" Bea raised an eyebrow. "Uh. Nothing?" She shook her head. "I'm, like, super tired." Frowning now, Bea began organizing a list of fluorescent labels in a pattern Mae didn't really want to decipher. "Because everything in my life is exhausting. And I'm doing the work of like /three/ employees, plus a store owner. Even though I'm one employee, and I /do not own this store/!" Bea's husky, low voice quickly rose in volume, and she ended the sentence with something near a shout as she slammed down her pen with a bang. "Oh," Mae said helpfully, "weird." Bea gave another worn out sigh, and for the first time Mae noticed how /tired/ she looked. She did a good job of hiding with her black, expertly applied eyeshadow, but creases and dark circles were still visible if you looked closer. "I thought for some reason you owned this place now." Mae said. Bea let out a derisive laugh. "You'd think. Actually, though, I'd rather die. Like, make me a coffin using tools from this store, and bury me literally anywhere else." "Wow. That got intense." A drawer clicked as Bea slid her finished work into a file. "Aaaaagh. Sorry I'm so high strung." Mae scuffed her shoes against the counter, attracting a dirty look from an employee across the store. "It's chill." "Anyway. I'm doing nothing tonight." Mae perked up, sitting a little taller. "I can do nothing too!" There was a beat of dead quiet. "Fine." Mae did a little victory dance to herself, pumping a fist into the air. "Nice!" "So, are we doing this now? My shift is over soon." "Yeah! Let's hang out!" Bea began packing up, wrangling a set of several scratched keys. "I don't having anything very interesting to do. I'm just knocking off work early to pick up some groceries." Mae shrugged, and hopped off the counter. "That's fine!" Bea shouted to the other on-duty employee that she was leaving early, giving them a glare that just dared them the contradict her. As Bea turned around, Mae stuck her tongue out and waved at the employee, reveling in her retribution. Take that, capitalism! ------------------------------------------ "-And that's why U.S. pennies aren't 100% copper." Mae rambled. "You sure know a lot of useless shit." "Yep! That's my specialty. Knowing useless shit and beating things up." "It's a good combination." Bea snorted. The two walked side by side in the Ham Panther, Bea adding various items to her red plastic basket, and Mae salivating over the snack section. Bea held up a can of corn, examining it before dropping it in with the myriad of other food items. "OK. I need to grab a few things quick." "Aww, I thought we were gonna hang out!" "Uh. We are hanging out. I'm just here to grab something for dinner for Dad and me. I don't feel like ordering again." Mae beamed widely. "Let me pick out what we have!" Bea choked, grinning slightly. "Oh, I'm sorry. You're coming to dinner?" "Can I?" The older girl let out a disbelieving laugh. "Um. I guess?" Mae fluttered her eyelashes, smiling saccharinely. "Are you asking?" "I wasn't." Mae snapped her fingers. "Damn." "I wasn't, but now it feels weird not to..." "Great! Then I'll pick out what we have to eat!" Mae yanked the basket from Bea's arm, and began speeding down an aisle, when she felt someone grab onto her arm. Bea looked at her carefully. "Wait, you're actually serious?" Mae nodded excitedly. "You know what? Go for it. I hate shopping. We need a main course and like, two sides?" Smiling brighter than ever, Mae pointed at her beloved snack aisle. "Dessert?" "We're not children." "Appetizer?" "We're on a /budget/, Mae." Still not letting go, Bea held Mae out at arms length. "And no shoplifting. I can afford a few groceries, and this place has cameras." "Good point." Mae complied. Bea let her arm fall away, and the self-proclaimed 'fierce warrior' sped down a random aisle with a clumsy salute. She quickly grabbed the brightest and most colorful looking can, which turned out to be chicken noodle soup (with stars!). Then, satisfied with that decision, Mae sprinted toward the boxed, 'make it yourself' aisle, yanking some 'Nice Rice' off the shelf. Niiiiice riiice. Mmm, great. Shoes screeching on the shiny tiled floor, Mae sharply turned into the refrigerator aisle, eyes flicking over the array of goods stacked neatly. She tossed a roll of off-brand biscuits into her basket, not really even looking at what she grabbed. Facing her own invisible time limit, Mae booked it back to where Bea was meandering under the Ham Panther's fluorescent lights. "That was quick." Panting, Mae rested her hands on her knees. "Haah.... Good..." Mae looked up, still out of breath. "My dad, uh, works at the deli! We could get meat from there." "Lead the way." As they walked, Mae noticed Shakey Bakey was on sale. Nice. That stuff was awesome. She added it to the basket. Over at the Deli Counter, Mae's father, a kind of robust (but lovable!) man, was working the cash register, fully decked out with apron, hair net, and thin rubber gloves. "Ladies!" He greeted. "Hey, Dad." "Bea, long time no see!" Bea smiled politely. "How are you, Mr. Borowski?" "Can't complain." Mr. Borowski's chest shook as laughed. "Just me and the meats." He smiled, patting a fish fillet. "Still weird seeing you here, Dad." Mae chimed in. "Beats the alternative!" Bea furrowed her eyebrows. "What's the alternative?" "Unemployment." "Oh." He smiled cheerfully, his eyes crinkling up around the edges. "So what are you lovely ladies doing here?" "Just grabbing something for dinner." "How's your dad?" Bea's expression darkened briefly. "Alright." Mae's father nodded absently. "What can I get for you?" Gesturing to Mae, Bea took a step back, allowing the smaller of the two to press her hands on the glass display counter, scrutinizing their options. "She's picking." "One of your best fishes, please!" Bea hummed vaguely. "Whatever's good. Dinner for three people, nothing pricey." Mr. Borowski slid out a tray of fish, wrapping one in paper. "Bea, you should come by for dinner sometime!" Mae's heart immediately froze, and she repressed the urge to bolt out the door, steal Bea's truck, and never return. While her body was unfortunately stuck here, her brain was already far gone. "A-at the Ham Panther?" She stumbled. "At home, Mae. I'll grill us up something nice!" Bea was calm as ever, and Mae almost hated her for it. "That'd be nice. Thank you." "Ok-ok, let's check out!" Mae said, hastily shoving her basket at her dad, who was trying not to smile. Pulling out a cigarette, Bea flicked her lighter, much to Mae's distaste. "I'm not even looking at what you got. That is how straight up tired I am." "It's gonna be great!" "If you say so. Let's keep moving." Mae's father began bagging their groceries. "Hmm. Hmm, yes, okay. Oh? Well that's... interesting." "Interesting?" Mae said hopefully. "Maybe I'm just behind the times. Have a nice day, girls." Bea grabbed her keys and their bags. "Alright. Thanks, Mr. Borowski." "See you later, Dad!" Her father gave a little wave, as the two departed from the Ham Panther, and into Bea's car. That was his girl. Awkward and odd, but with a good heart. ------------------------------------------ Bea's apartment was messy. It looked like someone had /attempted/ to keep it clean, but over time it had just fallen into despair. Mae didn't miss the nervous little glances Bea shot her when she thought she couldn't see, nor the way her body tensed up as they walked through the doorway. Seeing the disarray the house was in, Mae felt a little less... underdressed than before. She looked over at Bea, waiting for her to extinguish her cigarette. She didn't. "I'm home." She yelled out. The couch- wait, no, a /person/ on the couch- answered back. "You're early." Bea set the groceries on the table, leading Mae to a slightly scratched chair. "We're having someone over. Do you remember Mae?" Mae gave a little wave, and the figure on the couch grunted. Grabbing a pan from under a cupboard, Bea started preheating the stove. Motioning for Mae to help, she began spouting off instructions. "Butter. Top shelf in the refrigerator. Add it to the pan, and then stir in the rice. When you're done with that, grab the biscuits and open them." "Aye-aye!" In about a half hour of splattering, sarcasm, and Mae stealing a taste of food whenever Bea turned around, dinner was cooked. "No, don't touch the oven. I don't need a house fire." "I was ten!" Mae cried indignantly. "Pyromania is for life." As Bea pulled the fish from the oven, her father stood up, and seated himself at the table. "Nice to see you, Mae. Been awhile." Mae raised her eyebrows at the quick attitude change, but gave a nervous smile in return. "Uh... Hi?" "Um." Bea said. "Huh?" "You.... Put Shakey Bakey. On fish." "So?" "Just take a bite." Mae bit into the crispy fish, and almost gagged. It tasted spicy, sour, and a whole bunch of other things that fish should definitely not taste like. "Oh." Bea sighed. "Yeah. 'Oh' about sums it up. Dad, do you want me to order a pizza?" "Go ahead." Suddenly filled with guilt, embarrassment prickled over Mae's skin. "Did I ruin dinner?" Mr. Santello laughed- a far cry from his attitude when Mae arrived. It was a little unnerving. "Yep. But we'll live, I think. The fish just didn't work out." Mae fidgeted and looked away. "I thought: Hey, fish is good. Shakey Bakey is good..." Bea snorted. "Did you like it?" "No, I agree. It's pretty terrible." With that, Mr. Santello made his way back to the couch, and flicked on the T.V. Bea sat next to him, and started talking business, leaving Mae to only be vaguely tuned in, and staring at the putrid orange walls. "So, we're all paid up 'til the 15th next month." Bea's father grunted. "Alright. That rock salt sorted?" "Yeah, should be fine." She was looking away now, a crease forming on her high forehead, and her posture tense. "Okay, uh, I need you to sign some things. Left them on the table." "Think I might just get to 'em." "Please do. We have to pay the guys in a few days." "I don't need you to remind me." There was a prolonged beat of silence, and Mae could swear the temperature dropped a few degrees. Bea pursed her lips. "I know, but-" "I /don't/, Beatrice. Whose name is on the deed?" "...Yours, Dad." "Whose names on the checks?" Bea was almost perfectly still now, her fingers clutching the armrest so hard they were turning pale. "Yours." She ground out. Mae wanted so badly to pipe up, but before she could say a word, Bea shot her a Look. It wasn't harsh, nor a glare like she gave her co-worker. It was almost a ...plea. Like she was silently begging her to shut up. So, Mae did. But she wasn't happy about it. Bea stood up stiffly. "Mae and I are gonna hang out in my room." Mr. Santello smiled kindly. "You girls have a nice time! Thanks for dinner, Mae." "O...kay." "C'mon, Mae." Bea muttered. Mae lingered around for a few seconds, running a hand over the apartment's chipped and cracked walls. Bea. Badass, smart, always calm and cool Bea lived /here/. For as cynical and sarcastic as she was, there was no way Bea was okay with that. ((NO TRANSITION SENTENCE BC I CAN'T THINK OF ONE)) Bea's room was filled with an array of boxes, some semi-unpacked, and some completely untouched. There was a laundry hamper pushed to a corner, and a laptop laying on the carpet, plugged into an outlet. Bea herself was curled up on a tiny, rickety blue wooden bed, her heavy-lidded eyes only half open. "So... Did you guys move in recently?" Mae questioned. "10 months ago." "Why aren't you unpacked?" Bea just shifted over, fiddling with a loose string on the bed, wrapping it over her finger again and again. "So I've got a question." Mae said. "Mmhmm?" "Your dad is kinda up and down, huh?" "He has good days, and bad days. Often in the same day." "Haha, Gregg's always been like that too. Just more...uh... zany about it." "Well Gregg is most likely bi-polar, or on the autism spectrum. He's never actually told me the specifics." "Yeah, he doesn't talk about it much. But thanks, Doctor Bea." "My pleasure. Whereas, my dad is having a years long breakdown." "You run the whole store now, right?" "More or less." "Yeah," Mae huffed, "but it's still his name on everything." "Yep." "And meanwhile, you're running basically /everything/." "Yep. And! And! Working there /every day/ too. Yep." "I just think you shouldn't! I mean, I would probably just quit. Or, like, take over the store. Like, you not doing anything just reinforces-" The string Bea was pulling on snapped. "Is this really the road you want to go down with this?" Mae clenched her jaw. "I'm /saying/ it's not right that you roll over and take it." Bea's voice was dangerously calm, and Mae was sightly taken aback. "Take it?" "Take it?!" Her words were filled with a seething, dark anger, and it took all of Mae's willpower not to back up. "You're doing all the work, and he's getting all the credit!" Mae snapped. "Oh, go to Hell." Mae's jaw dropped, and she stared at her friend. "Why? What is your /problem/?" Bea's eyes were squeezed shut now, and her mouth was twisted into a grimace. "Here's some reality for you: You know Creek? Repair guy Creek, at the shop?" "...Yeah?" "When I was fifteen he asked my dad if he could teach my how to drive. And my dad said no, and then told me not to be alone with him." "Oh my God." Mae whispered. "Yeah. Exactly. And you know what? He still works for us." "Why haven't you fired him?!" "I can't fire people! And, even if I could, he's on the crew. Frankly, he's our best guy. Practically heads up the repair team, since my dad's not doing anything!" Bea's voice was losing it's anger, and melting into disdain and exhaustion. "Creek's got a family, and he needs to work." "I'm gonna be sick." "Yeah! Me too! I have /no power/, Mae, and I can't change that." Mae paused, not caring that she was being blunt. "I'm just saying, if you keep letting these dudes off the hook-" "Off the hook?!" "Like, you're stronger than this, Bea." Mae gestured wildly. "You're like... Badass, and shit!" Bea froze. "Y-you..." Bea slowly sat up, and rose to her full height. Fueled by anger, Mae stared Bea dead in the eye, stepping forward. Every inch of Bea seemed to be dripping with fury, outrage, and most surprisingly... hurt? Bea's temper was barely in check, and Mae could see her fists clenching and unclenching at her sides. All of her features that had before seemed pretty, were now imposing. Her dark eyeshadow made her eyes look fierce, and cold. Her long painted nails brought on thoughts of metal screeching on a chalkboard. Her half shaven head, and the little knobs of black hair bunched up at the back stopped being cool, and started being foreign, and odd. It's amazing how different things seem when you look through a different perspective. "Badass?" Her voice was trembling now. "My mom dying was not very 'badass'." "Me sitting in this tiny, mess of a room complaining is not very 'badass'." Her voice cracked, and she gritted her teeth. Tears were glinting in Bea's eyes, and Mae's fury and delusion began dissipating on the spot. "I... Okay, sorry, I-" "Your are such a shithead, you know that?" "What the hell?" Nope, never mind. It was back. "You don't get it, Mae. Most people can't just get up and 'choose' to do whatever it is you decree to be the right thing! Because they /can't/ do anything else!" "You can /always/ choose." "Choose what?" Bea's voice was scathing. "No, tell me. What is my choice here?" "Tell your dad you're not gonna take this!" Mae shouted. Really, it was surprising he hadn't heard them screaming already. "Tell him what? What is your magic solution, that /I/ need to do?" Mae opened her mouth to respond, but Bea held up a hand, silencing her. "I am seriously gonna punch your goddamn lights out." Bea didn't break eye contact, but her voice lost some of its wrath, exhaustion overlaying her tone. "You come in here and start telling me how /I'm/ screwing things up? You want to come in here and say, 'Oh yeah, just ditch your dad, who is both getting old, and can barely get off the couch half the time'? You want to come in here and say, 'Oh yeah, just start this big drama, and make your life way more stressful?'" "It's just not right is what I'm saying!" Mae said, ignoring the guilt prickling over her. "Yeah. It isn't. Nothing's right. The whole effing world isn't right. Like Gregg is probably off doing /God knows/ what wacky shit right now, and I'm here making an awful dinner and doing payroll. You know, like, /nothing/ about my life. You just know what I should do." Mae bit the inside of her cheek. "And you- you're the last person I'd ask for advice." Bea said. Mae finally looked away, staring down at the musty, worn carpet. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Bea's voice was raspy, and tired. "Yeah, you're sorry. Everyone's sorry. But you don't get it. You did what you wanted. You threw away the thing that I've always wanted- that I've dreamt about for years. And now you're here, waltzing in and telling me I should do the same with my life. But I can't, Mae. I have responsibilities. This is it for me. This is all I have, and I can't just walk away from it." Mae looked up, and Bea looked like a hollow shell of herself. Eyes tired, posture weary, face drawn, and sad. "I should go." Mae whispered. "You should go." And with that, Mae departed from the tiny, rundown house, and walked home. ------------------------------------------ ((I wanted to add another scene in here, one that wasn't included in the real bit, but idk what to do???? bc rn its basically a rewrite, with added dialogue and emotion and monologue??? if u have any thoughts let me kno!))

[glass-ladybug]

this is fan this spark into a flame, but im going on this acc so it doesnt show up on my main

Mae stepped out onto the creaky porch, throwing her arms into the air. "Well, that was fun!" Bea, crouched on the step, ever-present cigarette hanging from her mouth, gave a non-committal hum. They'd just made a daring escape from the basement of an odd old woman, aided by Bea's expertise in fixing machines, and Mae's experience in smashing the crap out of them. Even though Bea had apparently had to re-fix the furnace before they left, it was still Mae's powers of destruction that saved the day, /thank you very much/! Geez, and Bea said she was along for the ride. Mae half-tripped down the steps to plop beside Bea. "She gave us lemonade!" She beamed, raising a near empty plastic cup of over-sugary lemonade. Not that Mae cared, lemonade was lemonade. Unless it was that sugar-substitute stuff. /That/ was unacceptable. "Yeah." "You.... Not like lemonade?" Mae needled. Bea snorted, brushing a frizzy strand of hair behind her ear. "It's faaaaantastic." She drawled. Mae shot her a concerned look. Bea should be happy! They fixed a furnace, broke a furnace, then fixed it again! And now they had /lemonade/! "So what's up?" Bea turned away, angling her face to the moon. "Nothing. Just... Tired." She sighed, "Worked all day." "Hey!" Mae exclaimed indignantly. "I worked too!" "You tied a gnome to a plastic fan and spun it around. I don't typically consider that /work/." "Ex-cuuuse me, it was an elegant long-term solution and it would've worked!" Mae laughed, watching Bea's expression for any reaction. Bea's mouth turned up at the corner, a half-smile settling on her face. "Whatever you need to tell yourself at night." Mae scooted into a more comfortable position, setting down her now empty glass, and hugging her knees to her chest. From this point of view, everything seemed ethereal. She and Bea sat in silence on Mrs. Miranda's front porch, the moon illuminating her front yard, the only sound a few crickets chirping in the tall grass. She was almost afraid to talk, worried that it might break the peaceful spell hovering over them. Mae found herself studying Bea. Her dark skin, sharp eyeliner, and frizzy curls hastily pulled back into three knobs. The lilt of her mouth when she was happy, her piercing brown eyes, black lipstick, perfectly shaped eyebrows, and her now oil stained and calloused hands. /Oh my God./ Mae thought. Out of all her friends, Bea was the most mysterious. After seventh or eight grade- Mae couldn't really remember which anymore- they'd stopped hanging out anymore. It was gradual. No fight, nor argument. Every day, she just saw Bea less and less, until they were more like strangers than best friends. They stopped talking altogether when Bea's mom died. But now, Mae was back! And she finally had the chance to make things better. Maybe it'd be okay, coming home so suddenly like this, because they were here together. If they were stuck in Possum Springs, they were stuck with each other. And now, one of those perfect eyebrows was arched questioningly, and Mae could only think of how glad she was to be spending tonight smashing up old furnaces with this girl, and- "Do I have something on my face?" Bea monotoned, abruptly snatching Mae out of her daydreaming. "Huh? I-uh, uhhhh, wha?" Mae stammered. "My face. You were staring, so I could only assume you'd finally lost it, or something dripped on me. I guess it was the former." Mae's skin tingled with embarrassment, her veins still coursing with adrenaline and excitement from the furnace escapade. She stood up abruptly, the porch step creaking under her sudden shift. "I'm all hyper." She said, tapping her fingers erratically on her arm. "Good for you." Mae huffed, throwing her head back. "Ugh, you are /zero/ fun." Bea nodded certainly. "Yup." Mae waved her hands in front of her excitedly, "You need some, some magical shit, to like give you a new perspective." "Ah. Let me know when that happens. Wouldn't want to miss it." Bea took another puff of her cigarette, staring off at something in the distance. Mae looked at her. How could someone sit still and just /think/ for that long? Not Mae. She couldn't remain in the same place for more than 5 minutes at a time. Unless it was thinking about Bea. Mae thought she could probably stretch that out for a while longer. Mrs. Miranda really was weird. It didn't look like she ever cut the grass, and her lawn was covered in all sorts of weird shit, from garden gnomes to the giant-ass windmill near the driveway. Whatever- it was still a pretty cool house anyway. The whole yard was tinged with blue, and the cold moonlight made everything look silvery, like something from a dream. Mae decided she liked it. Mae stepped off the porch. "I'll be back in a minute, I'm gonna go climb the windmill!" Bea sighed. "Please try not to break that too." "No promises," Mae grinned, and then trotted down the yard. The long, dry grass brushed up against her jeans, and found its way to her ankles, tickling her. It was kinda uncomfortable, but she bet it looked awesome. The lone hero, standing majestically in her faded orange t-shirt and waving grass, facing the beast that was a great iron windmill that looked rusted to to one position. Out of the corner of her eye, Mae saw a teensy lightening bug glow softly, then flit to her shoulder. "Ohhhh, hey little guy! You coming with me? Yeah, don't worry, I'll take good care of you." When a second flocked to her she felt special. When a third landed on her forehead, she felt as if her heart was about to explode into tiny shiny pieces. With a solid jump, she landed on the first blade of the windmill, feeling accomplished when it did nothing more than emit a rusty groan beneath her. She hopped from one to another, then to the upper most blade, not noticing that a small gathering of fireflies were now trailing behind her until they all lit up. "Wow..." Mae breathed, surveying the street from her vantage point, watching as a few lone cars lit up the street as they drove on to more busier sections of town. She reluctantly hopped down, metal creaking beneath her as more and more fireflies began to join her crusade. She walked steadily through the gently blowing grass and navigating the various lawn ornaments, re-arrived at the porch steps with a throng of fireflies. Mae couldn't help but grin, putting on her best, "this was perfectly intentional" face. Bea's jaw dropped, her cigarette nearly dropping from her mouth. "Wow." And then, to Mae's delight, she began laughing. Bea shook her head a few times in disbelief, before dissolving into chuckles. It was beautiful. Her eyes lit up brighter than her entire firefly mob, and she just looked so /happy/ that it made Mae happy too. Bea lifted her head again, looking at Mae. "Haha.. Hah. Are you some kind of firefly whisperer or something?" Mae shrugged. "They just like me, I guess." Bea looked at her with something akin to wonder. "That's..." She shook her head. "You're an interesting person, Mae Borowski." Mae nodded sagely, a few fireflies drifted towards the porch light. "Granddad said being interesting is all you can ever hope to be." Mystified, Bea hummed in agreement. "Well, mission accomplished." "Woohoo!" Bea's mouth seemed to be upturned in a permanent smile now, and Mae's heart was speeding into overdrive. Bea smirked. "Y'know. I have to say, this would've been a much less exciting evening if you weren't along for the ride." "See?" Mae offered helpfully. "I'm good to have around." "I mean, you can certainly beat the shit out of a furnace." "I can beat the shit out of /anything/." Now, it was Bea's turn to study her. She took a long drag of her dying cigarette, and murmured, "You should, like, channel that aggression you always have into something useful." Mae shrugged again, but this time her shoulders felt like someone had dropped a rather large weight on them. "Eh, Dr. Hank said way back I needed to repress it." Bea's smile quickly vanished. "'Repress'? Not, like, 'learn to deal with it'?" "Nope. He specifically said, 'repress'." "Uh, okay. Hm." Bea seemed troubled by this, and sensing a shift in tone, Mae sped onto another topic. "My firefly powers aren't for me only, y'know." Bea raised an eyebrow, and the ghost of a smile reappeared on her face. "Oh?" More emboldened now, Mae kept talking. "Yeah, they can be, y'know, transferred." "Is that so?" Bea snorted. "I'm telling the truth! Close your eyes." "That sentence makes me far more inclined to get up and run now." Mae shook her head emphatically. "No, no! Close 'em." Bea huffed, but obediently closed her eyes. "And no peeking!" "Uh-huh. Got it." And with that, Mae leaned forward and planted a kiss directly on Bea's mouth. She pulled back quickly, and rubbed the charcoal colored lipstick off with the back of her hand, her heart beating frantically, and her nerves coursing with excitement. Bea stared at her with wide eyes, a silhouette in the porch light. "See? Now you have them too. We can be masters of the fireflies together." Finding her voice again, Bea shakily muttered, "You are really something else, Mae." Mae clapped her hands loudly. "So, do you think Mrs. Miranda, like, pulled her husbands guts out? Isn't that what you do with mummies?" "I dunno, Mae." Fueled by elation, Mae pushed forward. "Do you think you'd have the stomach for it?" Bea snorted. "Nope." "It probably took a lot of heart." She was laughing quietly. "Yup." "I wish she would /ex-pleen/ it to us." Mae giggled. "I get it, Mae." Every word was punctuated by giggles now. "She really /rectum/." Bea burst into a fit of laughter. "Okay, now that probably stayed in place." "Yeah," Mae agreed, "that should stay where it be-lungs." Bea stood up, and began walking into the calm blue night. "I'm leaving." "Hey!" Mae crowed out, smile stretched wide, "You gotta liver your life!" "Bye." Bea yelled back, words interrupted by involuntary spouts of laughter, "This is me, gone." "Hey, wait up!" Mae sprinted behind her. "You're walking back to town." "You've got a lot of... haha... Gall to say that!" Bea looked back, and Mae almost stopped dead at how beautiful she was. Her eyes crinkled up at the corners, her hair was wild and rumpled, her dark skin almost glowed silver. She laughed, wiping the corner of her eye. "I'm gonna call the cops." And as Mae sped after her, a lone firefly trailing behind, she thought about how for the first time since she left for college, she was happy where she was. And maybe- just maybe- this was where she belonged.

[glass-ladybug]

Prompt #31

Alexander was tired. Scratch that- Alexander was exhausted.

It wasn’t much of a surprise. As everyone knew, the only reason Alexander hadn’t passed out this week was through the power of coffee and pure spite.

Okay, so yeah, he didn’t get the home work done. Whatever. It was beneath his standards anyways, he’d do it later.

And, y'know, the day of the mandatory group activity he was really tired, and it couldn’t have been that much of a big deal, right?

He had bigger things to worry about, namely the essay due in- oh, approximately 4 hours, 36 minutes and 52 seconds.

Approximately.

He had all the tools he needed right in front of him. Computer, scribbling paper, coffee, and a slightly crumbly pumpkin muffin that Laf had insisted he eat before seeing him again the next morning.

Speaking of Lafayette, his roommate wouldn’t be awake for another three hours at the least, which gave him 3 hours 36 minutes and 28 seconds of uninterrupted work time.

Approximately.

Alexander ghosted his fingers over the glossy keyboard, absentmindedly staring at the completely blank document on his screen.

He sipped his rapidly cooling coffee, a few gritty bitter grounds at the bottom coating his tongue.

Inspiration.

All he needed was a spark.

Of course, he could turn in something using one of the dime a dozen prompts his classmates were using, but Alexander wouldn’t sink that low until he was 6 feet under.

Why turn something in if it’s not the best you could do?

Minutes passed, but they felt more like years slowly draining away as Alexander stared at the infuriatingly blank page.

What if he just…. didn’t? Didn’t write, didn’t go to class, didn’t leave the house.

His grades would drop. But was it worth it? To just have time to himself, comfortably inactive?

The answer was immediate.

No.

Because he would almost certainly have it done, and if there was one thing Alexander hated more than anything else, it was losing to him.

Thomas Jefferson, the literal bane of his existence, would most definitely not beat him at his own game.

Willowy fingers deftly sped across the keys, writing, rewriting, nitpicking, and twisting every word, sentence and phrase until it was a work of beauty.

3 hours 25 minutes and 52 seconds later, when Lafayette sleepily entered the kitchen, a pristine essay entitled “The Farmer: Refuted” was lying open on the messy kitchen table, along with the remnants of a pumpkin muffin scattered about.

Approximately.

A/N: dont look at me (also please give constructive criticism i desperately want to be able to improve my messy work)

[glass-ladybug]

Transparent Lipgloss Gif (lipgloss matches colour of your blog)

[glass-ladybug]

!!thank you all for 10 000 followers!! you make me happy, and i want to make happy you too c: so i’m starting art give away! you must like and\or reblog this post to be entered in a raffle it’s going to end on september 1st!

good luck ~

[glass-ladybug]

 Hello friends! 

As i promised I would be doing a give away to celebrate Steven Universe’s 100th episode!

First of all, here’s what you can win!

‣  One half pound quartz rock! It has beautiful cleavage and I’ve personally owned this rock quite a many years.

‣ One quarter pound amethyst pendant with swarovski crystal top!  This is a really beautiful piece! This is currently on a simple white elastic cord, but you can use it as a necklace or as a hanging decoration! 

‣ One large half-round aura quartz purple geode! This is a painted aura quartz geode in the color ~Magenta Sky~ This is one of my newer pieces and i have a lot of them to give away!

‣ AND FINALLY (The one I’m most excited to give away)  One quarter pound bismuth crystal!  I provided you guys both a top side and under side view of the crystal. It has clean cleavage (Non crumbling etc.) 

Next:

~~~~ Rules! ~~~~

‣  To enter this giveaway all you have to do is reblog!  

‣ Just like most of my give-away if the post does not reach at least 50 notes I will not do the give-away. BECAUSE I want a large amount of people to be able to participate! 

‣ You do not have to be following me, but if you do you can make sure you see the next  give-away 

‣ This giveaway ends on the 15th of August!

‣ I WILL ship international! 

‣ I will be selecting Two winners! The first winner will have their choice of 2 rocks!

‣ The second place winner will get whatever is left! 

I’m pretty sure that’s all guys! Happy 100th episode of Steven Universe and I hope there are MANY more to come!~