#might be the first time dallon's name is mentioned as well

[tangible-fortitude]

idkhow spotify bio changed again. not an "indie act" anymore, i guess. not a duo either.

[robinrunsfiction]

158 with Gerard or Dallon, please and thank you 😍

Not Alone

Pairing: Gerard Way x Gender Neutral ReaderRating: GeneralRequested By: AnonWord Count: ~1,100Author��s Note: I wanna give a shout out to @mariawritesfanfic who convinced me not to throw out this story and to finish it. I still am not convinced it’s that good, but I hope you can enjoy it,

You sat down at your desk and looked around at the other students in the art history class. It was a prerequisite for all majors, so it was full of other first year students just back from winter break. As you looked around, you realized everyone seemed to know each other already and you cursed yourself mentally for not being more outgoing during the fall semester. 

You were snapped from your thoughts when someone sat down next to you. “Hi,” the guy with greasy hair greeted you.

“Hey,” you replied, and that is when you realized he had been in a couple of your classes last semester. You’d recognize his face anywhere because you thought he was very cute.

“Umm, my name’s Gerard,” he said pushing his hair back.

“(YN), I think we might have had class together last semester?“ You replied

"Yea, I know, that’s-”

Before he could finish his thought, the professor walked in and started the lecture.

You listened, but with the way the professor droned on about the topics you’d be covering this semester, your mind started wandering. Then you noticed the drawings Gerard was working on in his notebook.

He must have noticed you watching because he looked up at you and smiled. You couldn’t help but smile back. 

The next few classes went on like that, with a quick conversation before the lecture started and you paying more attention to Gerard’s doodles than the lecture, and then Gerard lingering after class to talk to you a bit more.

Finally one day you arrived to class and found he had gotten there before you did and he had two cups of coffee in front of him.

“Here,” he smiled as you took the cup he was offering.

“Thanks,” you smiled awkwardly. You weren’t used to people doing nice things like that for you.

“Hey (YN), I was umm, wondering if you wanted to go grab lunch or something some time? Like a date?”

Your eyes went wide and your mind spun, no one had ever asked you before! “Oh! Umm-”

“Shit, I didn’t even think to ask if you had a boyfriend or girlfriend or anything, I’m sorry!” He winced.

“No! It’s not that! I’m just surprised,” you laughed lightly. “But yea, I’d love to go.”

“Awesome,” he grinned. “After class? I know a sandwich place by the park?”

“Sounds like a plan,” you smiled as the professor arrived to begin the lecture.

~

You could hardly believe that when you started the semester you had no friends, then all of the sudden there was someone who was interested in talking to you, and not only that, wanted to date you as well.

But that didn’t change the fact that the loneliness still crept in. It didn’t change the fact that you didn’t have anyone to call up and talk to about the cute guy who wanted to make comics and gave you your first kiss (not that you’d admit that fact to anyone). And it didn’t change the fact that you totally bombed your first big assignment in your first class related to your major and you had no one to commiserate with. Gerard was at his weekly D&D game and you were just wallowing in everything that overwhelmed and overshadowed the good.

The tears started quietly, but as your mind went over everything, the tears came faster. Then there was a knock at your door. You wondered if someone had heard you crying and wanted you to keep it down, so you sniffled and wiped you eyes, but didn’t get up from your bed. They knocked again.

“(YN)? You there?” It was Gerard.

You wiped your eyes again and hurried to the door. “Hey, sorry, I was napping.”

Gerard’s face instantly grew concerned and he shook his head. “I don’t believe you. What’s wrong?”

You sighed, letting him in and shutting the door behind him. “I thought you had D&D tonight,” you said, going to sit back on your bed.

“The DM was sick, so it got cancelled. Now tell me what’s wrong,” he said sitting down next to you and wrapping his arm around you. Something about that simple caring action triggered the tears again.

“It’s just… I, I got a bad grade on my first photography assignment and if I do bad in this class, I won’t be able to get into my masters program and then I’ll never get taken seriously as a fashion photographer and I’ll have to go back to my shitty small hometown that I never wanna go back to and I’ll have to go work at McDonalds or something and I’ll have to face all those assholes that made my life hell for 18 years while I was in school and it’s all fucked!” You sobbed, not even stopping for breath until you were done with your rant.

Gerard pulled you in closer and gently rocked you as you cried on his shoulder.After a while your tears finally subsided and you looked up to find him giving you a sympathetic smile. “I’ve always wondered why you never mentioned your hometown or your friends,” he said.

“Because I don’t have any, like… at all. I’m not exaggerating when I say I never fit in. All people care about there is sports and gossip and there was no art scene there. And I kinda don’t really know how to make friends now,” you shrugged. 

“We’re friends, and then some,” Gerard said reassuringly.

“You’re my only friend,” you said looking down, suddenly feeling overwhelming self consciousness.

“You’re not alone anymore,” Gerard said, wiping away your tears. “And if you want, I have friends I can introduce you to, like my D&D group, even if you don’t wanna play. Maybe that will make it easier to meet more people.”

You nodded. “Thanks Gee. Sorry to just unload on you like that.”

“That’s what boyfriends are for,” he said tentatively.

You smiled and nodded. “I like the way that sounds.”

Gerard smiled back and grabbed your face between his hands and leaned in, planting a kiss on your lips.

“But for tonight, let’s just stay in alone together,” you said sliding back to climb into bed.

“Perfect idea,” he said kicking off his shoes and climbing in after you.

[virgilsinferno]

SPILLR  » CHAPTER TWO

important :: this is a horror fic and may contain triggering content

tw :: mentions of a toxic relationship, death mention, nightmares

word count :: 3761

notes :: i may or may not have accidentally deleted this the first time when i tried to open photoshop sdfhdf

intro || 1

Saturday morning. 2:10 am, to be precise. Virgil couldn’t sleep, so he sat on the windowsill and sketched out the view he could see from the window. He did that for a while until he got a craving for some Doritos. Logan’s parents never buy any chips, which meant there were no Doritos lying around in the house. Roman might keep a stash in his room, but they don’t talk as much so that would just be plain awkward. The only way he could get himself a bag of Doritos or two is by going to a convenience store. Alas, the nearest one was a 15 minute walk.

Not to worry, it’s for a good cause anyways—if one could call satiating the need for junk food a good cause. He put on his purple hoodie, moving quietly and carefully as to not wake up Logan. They’re friends. They can sleep in the same room and share a bed if they wanted to.

Endurance was one of his strengths, so he ran to 7-11 to get to the Doritos faster. Upon entering the store, he was greeted by the sound of door chimes. He had already memorized where the aisle with the chips were. Virgil’s movements could be compared to a robot programmed to take a particular path. On the way to the cashier, Virgil also grabbed two cans of Pepsi. One for him, and one for Logan. They had no coke in stock, which was highly disappointing. He paid for the items and opened one bag of chips on the way out.

As he ate his chips, he made sure to chew much more slowly than he’s used to, in case he needs his sense of hearing to get away from danger. That’s the downside of eating anything crunchy when you’re walking outside… alone… in the dark… ‘cause the street lights aren’t working.

While on the subject of needing the sense of hearing, there was the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching his direction. It could mean a lot of things, but the first thing that popped up in his mind was that someone started jogging way too early. Best case scenario: they’re just a jogger. Worst case scenario: they’re a jogger and they know him personally and they’re going to start a conversation with him. He puts his hood up, in hopes that whoever that was, they’d leave him be and keep on jogging.

“Virgil! Virgil, hey!” They called out. He started walking faster. They still managed to catch up.

“Oh thank the heavens,” they said, walking beside him and matching his pace. “For a second, you had me thinking you were someone else.”

“That’s what I was trying to do.” Virgil retorted. He focuses on walking forward. He does not look at who’s next to him.

“Geez kiddo, that’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“No.” Virgil says through a mouthful of Doritos. A sign that he’s lowering his guard. They walk in silence for a short period of time.

“By the way, I’m Patton! We have a few classes together.”

Virgil looks at him. He’s definitely seen him around at school. Didn’t he wear glasses? Maybe he’s got contacts on. The guy was just as sweet as he looked. Although he’s heard a few rumors about him… not being as nice as he looked, he couldn’t bring himself to believe it. The guy looked as harmless as a pink butterfly stuck on a marshmallow. He could be wrong, but what’s a better teacher than your past mistakes? If he were to die that night, he hoped that Logan would still get his Pepsi.

“I know.” said Virgil.

“So… where are you headed to?” Patton asks, trying to start a conversation between them going.

“Home.” Virgil responds. It’s not quite true, but not entirely false. A half-truth, if you will. The Castillo residence became his second home, just as the the Armati residence became Logan’s second home. To put it shortly, they hung out together a lot in each other’s homes.

“Oh okay, why are you up so early then?”

“None of your business.”

“Sorry.”

A part of him thinks that he was a bit too harsh, but another part of him wants to keep his guard up. He stayed quiet. Patton no longer asked any questions. Once again, they walked together in awkward and uncomfortable silence. That was, until, it was broken by Patton’s phone going off.

“You don’t keep your phone on silent?” Virgil scoffed.

Patton apologized once more in response, then did it again as he gestured to his phone, indicating that he’s going to answer the call. Virgil nodded and began to eat slowly.

“Dallon, please stop calling me, I’m going to delete your number. No, I’m not at home right now. Why should I tell you? I’m gonna hang up, and if you keep spreading rumors about me, so what? I know the truth. Goodbye, Dallon.”

In the short amount of time that Virgil has gotten to know Patton, he thinks Patton is the strongest person he’s ever met. Yet again, he doesn’t socialize too often.

“You okay?” He asks, eyes filled with genuine concern. He’s not sure if physical contact would help, so he decides on not placing a hand on Patton’s shoulder and instead tilts the open bag of Doritos towards him, allowing him to grab a handful of chips. Patton gladly takes some.

“Yeah, just getting rid of toxic people.” Patton says with a weak chuckle. He starts to feel uncomfortable and changes the topic entirely. “Have you heard that Clara went missing?”

“Who?” Remembering names obviously isn’t Virgil’s strongest point.

“The girl who sits at the front in Math class? Really light blonde hair? I think she bleached it.”

Wait… that girl? Virgil’s pretty sure that Patton just described the girl he saw in his dream when he took a nap. Well, Logan says he took a nap on his bed due to physical exhaustion. What did he even do yesterday?

“Uh yeah. Yeah, I’ve seen her around.” Virgil says, looking away. Patton gets a text notification. Virgil continues to walk, unaware that Patton has stopped walking.

When he turns to his left to ask about something, that’s when he realizes that Patton wasn’t walking beside him. He looks behind him and calls out Patton’s name, feeling a bit scared that Patton left him because he probably didn’t like talking to him. Apparently, he was just reading a text message on his phone with the brightness turned all the way up.

Why is his phone emitting such a strong white light? It can’t be the flashlight, since it’s coming from the screen itself, so perhaps the brightness level is at its maximum? Virgil walks towards Patton, thinking that he’s simply reading a text message. But as he gets closer, he starts getting uncomfortable.

Anyone would find this level of brightness in such a dark area a nuisance and lower it. Patton did not flinch nor squint. He just stared at his phone with his mouth slightly agape. A few more steps closer and Virgil sees that Patton’s eyes were glowing white. As bright as his phone screen. He panics and drops the paper bag containing the open bag of Doritos, the unopened bag of Doritos, and the two Pepsi cans. Thankfully, the paper bag stood upright and none of the contents spilled out. He immediately slaps the phone off of Patton’s hands, causing it to fall on the ground. He sighs in relief when he saw Patton’s eyes become normal again. That was the freakiest shit he’s ever experienced his entire gosh darn 17 years of living. For a moment he stood as still as a statue due to the shock of what just happened, but quickly recovered and brushed it off as his eyes playing tricks on him.

He picks up the phone and checks if there are any cracks from the fall. There were none. For a second it glitches and a single eye is on the middle of the screen. It disappears just as fast as it had appeared. Virgil blamed this one on the fall. He hands Patton his phone back then takes the paper bag that was on the ground.

“By the way, I was gonna ask you if you knew when Clara went missing.”

Patton looks at him with the most baffled expression on his face. “Who?”

“Blondie from Math class? Weren’t we just talking about her a few minutes ago?” Virgil supplies, slightly confused as to how the hell Patton forgot what they were talking about so quickly.

“There’s no one named Clara in Math class. Trust me, I know everyone at school.”

That was weird. Maybe he accidentally edited a memory? Yeah, he’ll go with that.

It wasn’t long before Virgil and Patton were standing right in front of the Castillo residence. He didn’t know if Logan would mind him bringing someone along, nor did he know if Patton would even want to hang out with the two of them. From what he had observed throughout their conversation, it seemed that Patton’s a genuinely good guy.

“Hey, do you wanna come over at my best friend’s place?”

“Oh! Yes please, I don’t think going home right now would be a good idea…”

“Alrighty then.”

Virgil knocked on the door and was greeted by Roman, Logan’s annoying younger brother. Seriously, how does Logan deal with him? He’s trying to be less rude to him, since Roman is obviously trying to be nicer to him. Back then, they only spoke to each other when they were throwing an insult at one another. They slightly talk more than before, but mostly to discuss their opinions on Disney films, musicals, and music they’re currently into.

“Ah, it’s you again, Gloom Boy!” Roman exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear. He started listening to Waterparks, and thought that Virgil would be proud of him for that reference. Logan would be glad that they’re getting along.

“Huh. One reference to Waterparks doesn’t make us instantly best friends.” Virgil said in a teasing manner. So maybe they could be friends after all.

“I think it can!” Roman huffed.

“Whatever you say, Awsten Knight-in-shining-armor.” Virgil said with a playful smile.

“You just gave me a nickname! We truly are friends now!” Roman was so overjoyed, that he hadn’t noticed Patton standing next to Virgil. “And who’s this puffball over here?”

“Hi, I’m Patton!”

“Roman Castillo, at your service.” He bowed like the dramatic little theatre geek he is. Patton giggled, and Virgil rolled his eyes. “Okay, now get in the house because I just tried baking and I need someone to try the cookies for me. I already woke Logan up to ask him, but he said he didn’t want to get poisoned.”

“Oooh! I love cookies!”

Then the perfect idea came to Virgil’s mind. “You two go do that, I’ll be in Logan’s room.”

Now that Patton went to eat cookies with Roman in the kitchen, he could discuss what happened earlier with Logan. That is, if he was still awake. If not, he’d just wake him up.

He went up the stairs two steps at a time, having a firm grip on the paper bag instead of the railings. Logan never locked his door, so he slammed it open in dramatic fashion. His best friend was used to this and paid him no mind, focusing on reading the newspaper before him. Virgil called out his name and tossed one of the two Pepsi cans at him. Logan caught it due to his fast reflexes. It wasn’t as cold as when Virgil bought it, but that was fine.

“I have an issue. I think my eyesight is getting worse.” said Virgil, sitting down on the bed next to Logan.

“Then you need to get your eyes checked.” Logan deadpanned.

“Random question, have you heard about any missing people?” Virgil asked, fiddling with his hoodie strings.

“In fact, I have. The newspaper from yesterday says that 7 people have gone missing recently. Two of which are students in the school you go to.”

“From… my school? What’re their names?”

Logan flips the pages of the newspaper. “Let’s see… Oh, perhaps I remembered it incorrectly. There is only one missing person from your school. Dallon Montgomery, 17 years old. Do you know him?”

And where did he hear that name, again? Could it be? “I don’t, but Patton knows everyone from school. He might. Is there anything about a girl named Clara?”

“None that I know of.”

Virgil nodded. This is fine, he thought. Just his mind playing tricks on him again. The sun hasn’t even risen yet and things were already fucking with him. He excused himself for a moment and went down to the kitchen. Virgil took the plate of cookies and dragged the other two by the arm, causing them to follow behind him. Soon enough, all four of them were in Logan’s room, sitting on the bed with their legs crossed.

“Patton, you mentioned a Dallon earlier. What’s his real name?”

“Dallon Montgomery, why?” Patton replied through a mouthful of cookies.

“Virgil who is this?” asked Logan through a whisper, tugging softly on his best friend’s hoodie.

“Ah, right, introductions. Patton this is Logan, Logan this is Patton. We’re friends now, I think.”

“Of course we are, you sweet shadowling! By the way, Logan, we have the same glasses! Except you can’t see them because I left them at home.”

“Why am I here?” Roman whined, taking the Doritos from Virgil. He got a glare, but they’re on good terms so it’s fine.

Chaos ensues. The other three keep talking, which is good since they’re getting along, but Virgil had to discuss something with them. So much was going on, so Virgil grabbed his phone that was under his pillow (or Logan’s pillow, for that matter) and played an air horn sound effect. It caused Logan and Patton to jump in surprise, and Roman let out a deafening high-pitched scream.

Virgil smirked. “Anyways, as I was saying, something weird is going on. First I get a Spillr account-”

“You didn’t follow back.” Roman interjected. Virgil rolled his eyes and continued speaking.

“So I get a Spillr account out of the blue. I never downloaded it, I never made an account. But guess what, I wake up from a 3 hour nap and had a dream that I did in fact make one and even used fake information. I think it’s much more fitting to call it a nightmare, so that’s what I’m calling it. So in this nightmare, I didn’t end up creating an account but I do remember it said something weird about how I used incorrect information and that I should try again.”

“Where are you going with this?” His best friend asked.

“Eventually, I got murdered by the dark void. But before that, there were other two people who made an appearance that I can distinctly remember. One’s a girl with bleach blonde hair. She sits at the front of the class and owns a tumbler containing dark-colored liquid. The other is a boy with freckles all over one side of his face and yellow eyes. Which, I think are probably contact lenses.”

The description of the boy Virgil had mentioned was too familiar. Logan felt like Virgil had just described his good friend, Dmitri. “I’m going to interrupt for a moment. I know someone with freckles on the left side of their face and uses contact lenses with unique eye colors. His name is Dmitri, perhaps you know him?”

“No? I’ve never met anyone with that name ever.” Virgil replied.

“What are we supposed to do with this information? Interpret your dream?” Roman joked.

“And whilst walking with Patton moments prior to this, he mentioned something about a girl in Math class going missing. He described her as how I described the girl in my dream. He said her name was Clara. Before that, he got a phone call and I know eavesdropping is wrong but he was next to me so I could hear what Patton was saying. He mentioned the name Dallon. Also, at one point, his phone was glowing and so were his eyes and I freaked out and slapped the phone out of his hands but that’s not important. Or is it? Okay so after that phone incident, I asked him about when Clara had gone missing but he said he didn’t know anyone at school named Clara.”

By now, the other three were confused as hell. Logan spoke up. “Could you talk a bit slower? There is so much information that I can’t comprehend.”

Virgil sighed. “Let me put it in a timeline for you.” He rummaged through the bedside drawer and fished out a piece of paper and a pen. He drew a line and a few points and began explaining.

“Yesterday I took a nap here on Logan’s bed. I cannot recall anything that happened before I fell asleep so don’t ask. I woke up before dinner and found out that I had a Spillr account. I deleted it because that shit is creepy as hell and overrated. My phone glitched momentarily and I think it’s just my eyesight going bad, but all the app icons turned into the Spillr one, so that’s fucking freaky. Early this morning I went to 7-11 and bought two bags of Doritos and two cans of Pepsi. When I was walking back here, that’s when Patton saw me and started talking to me. I didn’t want to talk to him at first, but look where we are now. Then these events go as follows: Patton gets a phone call. Patton tells me about missing girl from Math class. Patton’s phone does the glowy thing and so does his eyes. Again, my eyesight is really bad but I swear his phone glitched and I saw an eye for a second. Patton forgets mentioning Clara. Now we’re here and Logan’s telling me that he knows the boy I saw in my nightmare.”

“That is… a lot to take in.” Roman comments. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m just saying that I think something strange is going on, and that things aren’t what they seem. I feel like I’m in some sort of danger.”

“Nonsense. If your eyesight is that bad, then let’s see how well you can read letters from a 20 feet distance.” He takes Virgil to one side of his room, where the Snellen eye chart is hung on the wall. Needless to say, he had perfect 20/20 vision despite being on his phone all the time.

“But L, what I’m trying to say is that my eyes are making me see things. I know I don’t need glasses.”

“Ah, but you would look adorable in them.”

Roman, Patton, and Virgil stared at him in shock. His brother speaks up. “I’m sorry, what?”

“I am merely stating a fact. It’s true. Would you like to see the proof?”

“Yes please! Oooh, I wanna see Virge with glasses!”

Logan takes out his phone and goes through the album titled “Favorites” in his camera roll. He shows the other two a picture of Virgil wearing non-prescription glasses. The other two gush over the picture as Virgil retreats to hoodie town.

The sudden knocking at Logan’s window gave them a shock. Virgil runs back to the bed and takes out a baseball bat that was hidden underneath since it might be a robber and they could all die at that very moment. Patton squeaks and grabs Logan’s arm.

“Who dares enter this household?!” Roman threatens, drawing back the curtains. The room was on the second floor, but the first floor had a high ceiling. There was nothing nearby—like trees, for example—that could give easy access to the window, unless the person had a ladder.

No one was outside the window, except for a piece of torn paper attached to the window with tape. Roman opens the window and snatches the piece of paper.

Written on it were the words “I see you.” and below it was a drawing of an eye similar to the Spillr icon.

“I’m siding with Virgil, this is scary!” Patton says, still clinging onto Logan’s arm like his life depended on it. Logan didn’t seem to mind.

“You know what? Me too.” Roman adds.

They look at Logan who appeared to be deep in thought.

“This is but an elaborate prank.” He says.

Then Roman receives a notification. He takes out his phone to see what it was. There was nothing. His phone started to glow a bright white and his eyes felt so drawn to it, he couldn’t look away. Virgil screamed and threw it on the beanbag, which was quite far from the bed, but it landed on the beanbag anyways.

“That’s what happened to Patton earlier! This is not a prank, L!”

“That happened… to me?” Patton asked, clearly terrified.

“Roman, give me the piece of paper.” His older brother demanded.

“What paper, Lo?”

“The one that was on the window, dumbass!”

“What do you mean? Did you start putting your research papers on the window? You have a lot of space on the walls, you know.”

“Roman, stop playing dumb.”

“I really don’t know anything about papers on windows. Hold on, lemme post on Spillr that I baked cookies.”

Logan groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. It was too early for this bullshit. Virgil on the other hand, was freaking out along with Patton. Their new friend had released Logan’s arm from his death grip and moved closer to Virgil.

“Um, who changed my lockscreen to this ugly thing?” Roman asked, showing his phone which had a white eye icon in the middle with a solid black background. Similar to the drawing on the paper.

Patton spots the torn piece of paper on the floor, and hands it to Logan. “Look, I found it!”

“That’s great, Patton.” He mutters.

It was folded again. Logan unfolded it but this time, instead of one eye, the entire thing was covered in eyes with the text remaining the same. Roman could’ve switched it, right? He folds it again then unfolds it, and it was back to how they had originally seen it. One eye and the text in the middle.

“I’m calling Dmitri and inviting him over. He might know something.”

“This early?”

“Don’t worry Patton, I’m certain he sleeps at 4 in the morning.”

“Wait Lo, why don’t we call our parents?”

“Roman, while that is a good idea, I don’t think they’ll believe us.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist :: @anon-e-has-a-tmblr @baddeceit-ohsorrydeceit @but-jesuschrist-im-never-good @captainlilithrouge @cats-fandom-universe-room @cryptidcherrry @deceit-is-a-lil-bitch @easyidentification @effortiswhatmatters @human-being-kinda @ilovemygaydad @insanetentacles @keeshy-ekho @lemon-towns @lesbian-aesthics-are-my-aesthic @lokisuggests @lopaviro @lucifer-just-needs-a-hug @mychemicalpanicattheemo @prplzorua @roanoaks @rosepyxels @starrycari @strickenwithclairvoyance @suyun-doo @therealmoshar @theultimatemomfriend @unicornlogansanders @what-even-is-thiss @whizzie72 @why-should-i-tell-youu2

Previous 

[stardusthalos]

A Member of the Family

The bus station was extremely busy today, especially considering that it was all parents waiting for their kids to arrive back from a week long summer camp.

It was fun! A lot of arts, sports, and teamwork games to help kids strengthen their social skills and learn to express themselves. Not to mention to to all this away from parents and home for possibly the first time! Sure, the environment was controlled but it was still a shock to some kids, and some parents as well. The latter was why Rhemiel had been so nervous when Emma had expressed interest in wanting to go.

The camp would be the first time that Emma wasn’t around any of them. A prospect he surprisingly hadn’t even considered the past few years they’d been taking care of her. He just always knew she was either with him, Maroon, or one of the others.

Obviously he was afraid for her safety, for not being able to be there to save her. Repeats of that fateful day...that crash. Rhemiel didn’t want any of that happening again. But he had to trust. He had to start to let her grow into her own and explore the world and accept that as she grew up that would be more and more without him being able to be there all the time. So he let her go - though she had his phone number, and Athriel’s number in case of emergencies, so did the camp.

There was only one downside. The day she returned from the camp nobody was free. Maroon and Athriel were at hospitals and old folks homes to help patients and lift spirits; Raziel had heavenly business to attend to; He didn’t even know where Kariel was; and Uzzeth could just start to read and barely speak, meanin they could get lost and there was also a risk he might hurt her by accident if he got overwhelmed - he still had a hard time controlling his form.

That left one person. One person Rhemiel was loathe to call...but he couldn’t say they wouldn’t take care of Emma until he could pick her up.

“Uncle Dallon is going to be picking you up at the bus station sweetie.” Rhemiel told her over the phone, “You haven’t met him yet...but you’ll know him when you see him. He’ll have a sign with your name and a dog. Now, you behave around him, okay?” @waywardsignns

[iwriteficsnottragediesladies]

Search and Seizure pt 3

A/N: It’s here. I hope you like it! I put an extra character in there you might relate to if you find it weird/difficult to connect with an epileptic reader. This is part of the scavenger hunt, so see if you can spot the reference!

If you would like to be added or taken off the tag list, just let me know!

Pre-read Epilepsy Disclaimer

You were deep into the tour and it was time to restock the bus with food, so you found a small grocery store. Grocery stores always made Brendon anxious, so you would go later at night when it was nearly empty.

You were feeling kind of nauseous and being surrounded by food wasn’t really helping. You take a deep breath and it subsides. You continue to walk absentmindedly, the boys loading up on what they wanted while chatting back and forth. They were further down the aisle and you were walking alongside Brendon.

Your nausea comes back, and it’s no longer just a normal “sick to your stomach” feeling. You felt your arm getting heavy and you start to panic. Not here. Not here. Please god, not here.

For some reason, you’re always so hesitant to tell people that you aren’t okay. You feel bad--it interrupts what they’re doing and everything grinds to a halt, just to take care of you, all while simultaneously scaring the shit out of everyone.

Of course, it doesn’t really matter--a girl’s gotta seize when a girl’s gotta seize. You decide you should probably speak up before it’s too late.

A new wave of intensity passes through you and it’s tell him now or never. You stop walking and suddenly clutch Brendon’s wrist. He quickly swings around. He sees your eyes appearing unfocused as they stray from him, your breathing becoming uneven while a dazed expression paints your face.

“Oh--” The sound escapes his mouth as he realized the situation. Brendon’s demeanor flipped into little kid mode. “Y/n?” He called to you in a low tone, placing his hands on your upper arms. You look to him and he feels a little relieved that you were responsive. “Feel like you’re gonna have a seizure, baby?” He asks in a sweet voice.

You nod your head as you reach out to him weakly, feeling unsteady. Brendon quickly pulls you close and you whimper into his shoulder. No matter how many times you have had a seizure, it has never gotten any less scary.

“Okay, It’s alright Y/n,” Brendon comforted you. You become uncoordinated and he knows he needs to get you to the floor safely. He barely takes his eyes off of you as he looks over his shoulder and calls out, “Hey Zack?”

Brendon’s voice was calm, but his tone was still a dead give away. Zack looks back to confirm what he already guessed was unfolding. All of them start to run back over.

“Let’s lay down baby,” Brendon directs quickly.

Your body complies with his suggestion. Brendon supports you under your arms to help you lower down onto your knees.

Zack was immediately behind you to guide you to the ground.

There’s too many hands touching you and now you’re too confused to understand why. You scream and thrash in their hold.

“It’s alright, Y/n,” Zack calmed you as they manage to lay you gently onto your side. They give you some space.

Kenny had pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it down to Brendon. Brendon gently slides it under your head, hoping not to scare you. You didn’t even react and were becoming less responsive.

“Timer?” Brendon glanced at the boys.

“I got it,” Dallon displayed his phone.

“I’m right here, Y/n,” Brendon said softly to you.

You start to seize and Dallon starts the timer.

“C’mon guys, step back,” Zack says. Brendon looks up to see who he is talking to. A small crowd has gathered. Y/n is not going to be happy about this, he thought to himself. Obviously the supermarket wasn’t heavily populated this time of night, but it was a small crowd nonetheless.

Dallon, Kenny, and Dan stand to create a sort of barrier. Dallon passes his timer off to Brendon, who remains sitting with you. Blood starts to come out of your mouth. Brendon pulls the sleeve of his sweatshirt down over his hand and wipes it away.

“It’s okay, Y/n,” He said quietly, “You’re alright.” Bloody spit continued to drip down, and Brendon just continued to wipe it away every so often. He uses his other hand to brush your hair away.

The crowd watches, some concerned, some panicked, some morbidly curious. They whisper back and forth to each other.

Oh shit, I hope she’s okay! Oh my god! Poor thing.

A few people start to recognize the band.

Wait, isn’t that Brendon Urie? Holy shit, yeah! Do you think she overdosed or something?! This is some TMZ worthy shit right here.

Zack hears the last comment and turns to look for the voice. He sees a guy holding up his phone, recording a video of you.

Zack took a step forward and shoved his hand over the camera.

“No, fucking put that away,” Zack snapped.

The guy just moved his arms to continue to film, pretty much ignoring Zack. Zack was infuriated. You were a sister to him and he was now going full blown mama bear for you. He wound up and smacked the phone out of the guy’s hands and it flung through the air before crashing down onto the ground.

“What the fuck, man?!” The guy looked at Zack.

“I said to put that the FUCK. AWAY.” Zack shouted.

The guy backed down and shut up.

Someone dressed in the grocery store uniform quickly approached Zack.

“Should I call 911?” The young woman asked. Zack then read her name tag, ‘Emma’, noting it was the store manager.

“No,” Zack shook his head.

“What can I do to help?” She asked kindly and professionally, truly wanting to be of assistance.

“Um, do you have a place we can bring her after?” Zack asked, “Somewhere private?”

“Yes, of course,” She nodded, “the break room.”

At this point, Brendon was too focused on you to care about anything going on around him. He trusts that the boys would keep the situation under control.

“It’s okay baby,” He continued soothing you, “I’m right here, you’re okay.”  The end of his sleeve was covered in blood. The cut on your tongue was bleeding so heavily it had also dripped with dead skin on the linoleum floor. Brendon knew this was worse than usual and he kept a very close eye on you.

You were slowing down.

“There you go baby, you’re okay,” He said relieved. He looked down at the stopwatch and read 1:15.

“Zack?” Brendon called up to him. Zack turned around quickly and squatted down.

“How’s she doing?” He asked.

“I think she’s done,” Brendon replied before adding, “Bleeding a lot though.” Zack nodded in agreement.

“The manager said we can take her into the break room, get her outta here,” Zack told him.

“Alright that sounds good,” Brendon said quietly as he wiped away some more spit coming from your mouth.

Zack looked to Emma who gestured to follow her to the break room. You are completely out of it, unresponsive with your eyes open and body still a bit tense. Brendon scoops you up in his arms, keeping you just the way you are, on your side.

“Got’er?” Zack asked quickly.

“Yep,” Brendon replied with effort in his voice, ready to move forward. Zack stepped ahead to follow the manager.

“Alright guys, step back,” Zack asserted to the onlookers, “Move.”

The boys walked on all sides of you, shielding you from the crowd. The manager unlocked the door and led them in. Brendon places you down on a couch before sitting himself on the floor beside you. Zack knelt down next to you as well while the boys all seat themselves on the floor or nearby chairs

“That’s more than usual, huh?” Kenny murmured, referencing the bleeding.

“Yeah, looks like she got herself pretty good,” Zack nodded sadly.

A faucet runs briefly and Emma walked over to Brendon, handing him a damp paper towel. Brendon caught a glimpse of tattoos on her wrist: four different exclamation points. He smirked internally. He decided not to mention it.

“Thank you,” He said quietly instead, before taking the towel and cleaning away the blood on your mouth and cheek. She gave the whole roll to Zack, who ripped off another piece to place under your cheek to catch any extra spit. Blood had already dripped onto the couch, but it was better than nothing. Brendon ran his fingers through your hair.

“How long was this one?” Zack asked.

“1:15,” Brendon replied without looking away from you.

“Average,” Dallon concluded, relieved that it wasn’t any more severe than usual.

You began to stir a bit, your eyes moving more purposefully.

“Hey Y/n, you’re okay,” Brendon says softly, “We’re at the grocery store. Me and the boys are right here.”

Dallon leaned over to Emma who had taken a seat next to him. She seemed pretty freaked out and things were only about to get crazier, so Dallon took it upon himself to fill her in.

“She gets confused when she wakes up, so she’ll be pretty agitated,” Dallon explained. “That’s normal for her,” he said kindly with a soft smile. That’s Dad-Dallon, always wanting to make sure everyone is comfortable and prepared.

“Okay, thanks Dallon,” She replied with a respectful and understanding nod. She realized by the look on Dallon’s face that she had just called him by his first name--but he had never introduced himself. She pinked up and Dallon knew she obviously had recognized the band. He smiled again, trying to let her know it was fine.

You’re becoming more conscious so Brendon and Zack move back a bit to give you space. You shift nervously onto your back and gaze up, trying to make sense of the harsh fluorescent lights and textured ceiling tiles. You don’t recognize them. You start to sit up and you don’t recognize anything at all. You see a figure by your knees.

Zack notices that you are looking at him and he tries to speak to you, but you can’t hear him. You whimper and pull away from him. The more you look around, the more you realize how foreign your surroundings are. Nothing was making any sense.

You try to sit up fully but your coordination is off. Something is burning, stinging in your mouth. You cry out in confusion and feel tears threatening to flow. Your fear grew and you couldn’t find any reassurance.

“Br--” You try, barely even coherent, searching for the one person who always made you feel safe. “Bren?!” you panic.

“It’s okay,” Brendon tried to get your attention. You can hardly hear, especially over your hectic breathing. Brendon shifts into your line of sight and it takes you a moment to realize.

“Y/n,” he sang to you. You immediately look to him and silence yourself. “It’s me baby, I’m here,” he said gently with a reassuring nod. Your eyes searched his for a moment, waiting for everything to click.

“Bren,” You breathe, still kind of unsure.

“I’m right here, Y/n,” he cooed. You nod slowly glancing around and back to him. “We were shopping and you had a little seizure, so we’re hanging out in the store’s break room for a minute until you feel better,” he broke the situation down so it could be easily understood. He moved close enough for you to touch him for when you were ready. 

You look around again and recognize the boys. Your eyes fall upon a strange face and you withdraw a bit. Zack sees where you are looking and jumped in to reassure you.

“That’s Emma,” Zack explained, “She’s the store manager so she came to hang out with us too.”

You look at Zack and back to the girl. She smiles at you gently.

“Hi Y/n,” She said softly. You acknowledged her greeting wordlessly as your body relaxed. Her feminine voice was very comforting. You go back to thinking.

“Grocery store,” You said quietly to yourself, putting the pieces together.

“Mhm,” Brendon affirmed. Your face falls and you look to Brendon.

“Oh no, you’re anxious!” You whisper with great concern as you realize you were in Brendon’s least favorite place. Brendon smiled at you.

“Don’t worry about me baby, I’m fine,” He told you with a small chuckle. Brendon found it adorable that he was your first priority, even when seizure drunk. This was typical for you: caring so much about other people, always acutely aware of how everyone around you felt. It was one of the things Brendon loved about you.

All of the sudden, you’re about to vomit. The uneasy feeling comes over you and it immediately shows.

“Bren, I’m gonna throw up,” You panicked, sitting up more and moving frantically.

“Okay,” He quickly calmed you as he placed his hand on your arm and pivoted back to look for something you could puke in. Emma had already sprang up, grabbing the trash can in the corner. In one smooth motion she was there to place it under your chin just in time. You throw up a couple of times, with bloody swirls running through it.

“It’s alright, sweetheart,” Emma soothed quietly, purely out of reflex, while Brendon held your hair.

The cut on your tongue reopened and started to bleed again.

When you’re done, Emma removes the trash bin from your lap and Zack hands off some paper towels to Brendon. You start to cry, the feeling of acid on your cut burns so badly. You grip onto Brendon’s sweatshirt with one hand while the other flies up to cover your mouth. You are trying to prevent cries from escaping.

“Ow,” you still managed to squeak through your tears.

“Do you have water or anything?” Zack asked Emma.

“Yeah, of course,” Emma nodded, walking to the fridge.

“It’s okay baby, I know it hurts,” Brendon said gently. Emma quickly returned with a bottle of water and unscrewed the cap, giving it to Brendon.

“Here baby, this will help,” Brendon held the bottle to you. The palm of your hand was bloody as you pull it off of your mouth. Brendon raises the bottle to your lips and helped you take a sip and Zack held up the trash can again for you to spit into.

Emma had the roll of paper towels now and gave some to Brendon before retreating back to her chair. You took it from him and wiped your chin and mouth, your tears slowing. You took another and pressed it to the side of your tongue, finding the source of the bleeding.

“Let me see, baby,” Brendon inquired. You removed the paper towel and stuck out your tongue a bit. He gently held your chin as he inspected the damage. “My little piranha,” He sighed, “You got a good bite this time, huh?”

You put the paper towel back onto it and nod. You realized Brendon had blood all over him--your blood. The end of his sleeve was the worst of it, but then there was some down his front and his hands. You looked down and saw some had gotten on the couch too.

“Oh my god I’m so sorry!” You apologize, looking to Brendon, then Emma. You were so seizure drunk, you didn’t even notice how the paper towel in your mouth was jumbling your speech.

“It’s okay,” Brendon replied, suppressing a giggle.

“Yeah, now we can get a new couch!” Emma joked.

“Oh...” You pause to think. “Then you’re welcome!” You reply weakly with a smirk. This earns a laugh from everyone. You reach out for Brendon and he remembers what you like. He gets up, sitting behind you on the couch and pulling you close to his chest. You snuggle in like usual.

“Is the bleeding slowing down?” He asks. You pull the paper towel off the cut and see a minimal amount of blood on the white napkin. You nod and cover it again. You sigh, clearly exhausted.

“Just take your time, Y/n,” Brendon stroked your arm, “Rest, okay?” You nod against his light gray sweatshirt. You follow his advice.

Brendon thinks back to the tattoos he saw on Emma’s wrist. One exclamation point made of circus lights, one made of flowers, one of cogs and gears, and one out of colorful smoke. He decides to pick on her a little.

“So,” Brendon looked to Emma, “Are you going to add Death of a Bachelor?”

Emma looked at him, completely flustered.

“To your tattoos?” he clarified, pointing to her arm.

“Wha--I uh,” She glances down at her wrist, her face turning bright red. When did he notice? Emma thought to herself.

Everyone is looking to her curiously and she glanced around with question in her eyes.

“Go ahead, show them!” Brendon encourages, “It’s really cool!”

She pulls her sleeve up and Dallon tilts his head to examine it.

“Oh that’s awesome!” Dallon agrees, “One for each album.”

“Can I see?” Zack asks.

She leans forward, extending her arm. You, Zack and Brendon all look before she turns to show Kenny and Dan who have lined up beside her. Everyone oohed and aahed, nodding in appreciation.

“Yeah, are you going to added Death of a Bachelor?” Kenny asked again enthusiastically.

“Yeah, I um, I w-was thinking,” She stammered, still so incredibly shocked. She nervously laughed to herself, deciding to restart her thought all together. “I was thinking of maybe an, uh, octopus arm, or...” She seemed unsure, hoping they didn’t find the idea lame.

“That’s awesome!” Brendon replied. She smiled, relieved to have their approval.

“Not gonna lie, I’ve been listening to you guys since I was 14,” she bit at her lip with an embarrassed kind of expression.

“Hey, that’s so cool that you’ve been with us so long,” Brendon said sincerely.

You suddenly chime in.

“I like you.”

You sound like a toddler as you make your declaration, the seizure drunk clearly not worn off quite yet. They all laugh quietly.

“Well I like you too,” Emma chuckled. You smiled approvingly. “I knew you guys were going to be in Portland for your show tomorrow, but I wasn’t really expecting you guys to show up at my store,” She giggled nervously.

“Are you coming?” Brendon asked.

“No, it wasn’t really...” She pauses, embarrassed to admit, “it wasn’t really in the budget for me this year.”

“We can fix that,” Zack responded. Emma turned to look at him. “Pretty sure we have some tickets and a VIP pass with your name on it.” Emma looked shocked.

“Oh my god--” Emma said, shaking her head.

“It’s the least we can do,” Brendon added.

“I didn’t... Wow,” She stuttered, unsure of what to say, “Oh my god, thank you!”

“You’re so welcome!” Brendon flashed that big smile you love. It made you giggle a little. Brendon looked down at you. “How are you feeling, baby?”

“Tired,” You list off, “nauseous.”

“You feel like you’re going to throw up again?” Brendon asked calm but rushed.

“No,” You shake your head, “Just gross.”

“Okay,” he stroked your arm.

“I wanna go home,” you said drowsily. Brendon knew what you meant.

“Yeah? You ready to go home?” He asked gently.

“I think I’m ready to goooooo,” You sing quietly, painfully off key on purpose, “Oh ohohoh oh ohohoh.”

“You’re too much,” Brendon chuckles, your seizure drunkness never loses its charm. Everyone starts to mobilize.

“Here, I can take your number,” Zack said aside to Emma and they exchanged information.

“Come here baby,” Brendon bent down and you wrapped your arms around him as he lifts you up. You cling on and sigh contently.

You all made your way out of the break room. You turned a couple heads, seeing as it was kind of weird to be carried through the store, but people left you alone.

Emma escorted you to the exit.

“Thank you so much, Emma,” Brendon said in earnest.

“Of course!” She responded happily.

“Really, we can’t thank you enough,” he replied.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” She directed to you.

“Thank you,” You smiled drowsily and impulsively added, “You’re pretty.”

“Aw thank you!” She laughed.

“Oh my god you need a nap,” Brendon chuckles to you.

Everyone else said thank you to her.

“See you tomorrow!” Brendon called. Emma was beaming with excitement.

“See you tomorrow!” She waved and squealed a little.

Brendon climbed on the bus and took you to your bed. He places you down and you wince a little.

“Ow,” you strain.

“What hurts baby?” Brendon asked with quiet concern.

“Just sore,” you reply simply. He nods.

“How about your mouth?” He inquired.

“Hurts,” you respond.

“Think you can still sleep?” he asked.

“Mhm,” you nod, eyes fluttering shut. He slips into bed next to you and you place your arm across his chest.

“Okay, I’ll be right here baby,” He soothed you, running his fingers through your hair.

You fall fast asleep.

A/N: There you have it. Hope you liked Emma :) Let me know what you thought! Will the internet find out about the reader’s secret? How would she deal with it getting out? Stay tuned :) Like and reblog if you’re feelin’ it!

Scavenger hunt key: https://iwriteficsnottragediesladies.tumblr.com/hunt

[lyricanalysis]

dallon smiles like dallon doesn’ care

somebody might actually shoot me for this but, here i am with sarah smiles!

before we go on with this, i’m gonna let you guys in on a little secret. no song writer is going to give you the exact meaning of their writing. like i hiiiiighly doubt they’d be that open and not to mention, painfully open. they give you the gist of things. now, i know what you’re thinking. ‘sarah smiles is about his love for sarah’ but honestly, this isn’t really, lovey dovey. i was listening to this in the car and just.. he sounds kind of angry when he sings this. ESPECIALLY towards the end where the instrumental dies off and it’s just brendon going ‘sarah smiles’ solo and, really, it sounds like he’s pissed the fuck off (and i am turned on bye).

also, don’t kill me, dallon has the same amount of syllables and honestly, fits a little better in the song. i’ll explain why.

i’ve noticed a pattern in quite a few of the v&v songs. the first verse is very very brallon and then the second verse is very fuck you ryan. it happened in always as well. the first verse was ‘i love you dallon, if you struggle then let me take some of that’ and then the second was ‘fuck ryan and his spider like tendencies, ryden is dead’. just something that happens a lot in panic songs. this is a common sort of thing.

I was fine just a guy living on my own,

Waiting for the sky to fall

Then you called and changed it all,

Doll,

now i’m saying that this verse is about dallon, right? i’d even go as far as to say this song was written by brendon, too. so anyway, after ryan left, brendon was alone. he was single and sure i guess you could say somewhere in there he got with sarah but this song isn’t about her, remember? so anyway, he was saying he’s fine (a common lie when someone’s depressed, believe me). then he says waiting for the sky to fall and like, come on, this lyric comes up again in death of a bachelor. ALSO NOT A COINCIDENCE. so the only thing i can think of here is that he’s waiting for a big change. like come on, do you not remember chicken little? he’s waiting for something major to happen, for someone to come in and make his world crash and to make him feel more than ryan was capable of. he wants someone to come in and change shit for him. anyway, the call. so it’s no secret how dallon got into the band. like i know this can go any way, really, but what if the ‘you’ here is brendon’s manager? somebody had to have called brendon and say ‘hey, we’ve got a new bassist trying out’ right? what if that’s what changed it all.. hmmmm.

the way that he says doll seems a little condescending? is that the right word? it reminds me more of calling somebody a pet name during an argument rather than calling somebody a pet name when you’re curled up in front of the fire with hot cocoa. maybe not condescending, it could also feel really sexual. now i know a lot of people debate about top and bottom and all that stuff but this song feels very brendon-dominant. like imagine brendon trying to seduce you and saying ‘doll’ like that. i’d hop into bed.

Velvet lips and the eyes to pull me in,

We both know you'd already win,

Mm your original sin,

so honestly, the first line is vague enough that i can’t really break it down. i mean, sure, if you wanna argue that this is about sarah 100% then you can say that female lips are typically called ‘velvet’ because they’re soft from lip gloss or whatever else. BUT WHO SAID DALLON CANT HAVE SOFT LIPS (we already know he has an affinity for makeup which don’t you worry, child, i will talk very in depth on this one day). so even the velvet lips could be dallon. you wanna say that velvet lips is a reference specifically to women because lipstick? lemme counter you with this. dallon fucking weekes has tweeted that he would in fact wear lipstick if it was the right color for him. and then eyes, this doesn’t give any description about what type so it could go either way. i’m going with dallon’s eyes because honestly fuck it. now, the second lyric is kinda interesting. why did they both (i’m guessing brendon and dallon) know that you (dallon) would already win? this one is something i argued with linden about for a long fucking time.

why did brendon know that sarah would win, IF IT’S EVEN ABOUT HER? not saying anything bad but it’s really common that women throw themselves at rock stars. like who doesn’t want to date an ultra hot singer? (brendon, i want to date brendon. and dallon, at the same time). but back to my point, why would this one girl be so special? (please don’t take this wrong, i love sarah a lot, all the respect to her and her relationship, this is just for fun, really). unless, of course, this song actually isn’t about sarah or any girl at all. it’s about dallon. brendon was with ryan, another bandmate, a pattern. like honestly, some ultra hot guy that plays an instrument, brendon probably wet his pants. THEN THEN THEN, he says that this person is original sin. so say it was about sarah, why is she original sin? you wouldn’t look at a heterosexual relationship and be like ‘wow, that’s a sin’. that just doesn’t happen. and honestly, i can’t imagine sarah doing something so outstandingly bad that brendon would view her as a sin. the worst she could do is drugs but brendon’s already done that so… the sin is in fact HOMOsexuality. both brendon and dallon were raised mormon. now, some churches are supportive of homosexuals but honestly, more often than not it seems like people preach against gay rights. especially like, what, 20 years ago when they were younger? 25 years ago? gay rights were definitely not something talked about or accepted back then. shit, that was before i was fucking alive. so both of them would be raised thinking that gay thoughts are a sin. which is why right off the bat, dallon would be a sin to brendon.

second verse, kids

Waking up to a kiss then you’re on your way,

I really hoped that you would stay,

But you left and went your own way,

Babe,

so, like i said with the pattern of the way they write songs, this verse is about ryan. this is about their breakup essentially. things seemed fine and dandy and then all of a sudden ryan said he didn’t love brendon and then left. but of course, the whole time through ballad of mona lisa, brendon doesn’t want to believe it’s true. he wants ryan to stay and say that he really does love brendon. of course, as everyone knows, that doesn’t happen. ryan left. which the next line just fucking says flat out. do i have to analyze that??? also, this babe just feels hostile to the max.

I don’t mind, take your time, I got things to do,

Besides sit around and wait for you,

Oh and I hope you do too,

this is a little fucking pissy, if i’m honest. like it sounds, don’t hate me, like a girl in an argument. like when she’s just so mad and everything is just frustrating and she’s just like ‘fine, i don’t care, go out with your friends. it’s not like i was making dinner’ sort of thing, you know? like honestly, he’s saying ryan can come back but we all know he won’t, even brendon. but if you lump the end of the first line with the second, it’s just savage. “i got things to do besides sit around and wait for you” is him saying, yeah, he wanted ryan back but he knows that he was used, he knows it’s over. he’s kinda dissing ryan. saying he has better things to do then wait for something that might not even happen. but the last line, damn. he wants ryan to miss him. another thing from ballad. he wants ryan to feel the heartbreak and the pain that brendon feels. he wants ryan to sit around and wait, feel the impending doom of knowing that brendon isn’t coming back either.

And it’s killing me inside,

Consuming all my time,

You’ve left me blind,

And when I think I’m right,

You strip away my pride,

You cast i all aside but I say,

so this has such a huge double meaning. like this song starts with dalton and then moves to ryan and i honestly think that this bridge is about both of them. i’m going to analyze it in the order of the song. first verse was dallon so first bridge meaning will also be dalton.

dallon:

so this is after the breakup and this song is about brendon kinda seeing dalton for the first time. it’s the first person he’s really noticed since ryan. and like, look, who hasn’t had a crush on someone? haven’t we all? (maybe those people who are aromantic but whatever). i dunno about you but i feel like i’m dying when i get a crush on someone. these first three lines are about that. brendon has a new crush and it’s those constant butterflies when you see them and anxiety about what could or couldn’t happen and he’s so infatuated. it’s taking up all of his time. and then it’s left him blind. he’s so stuck on dallon in that moment that there’s no possible way he could think to look at someone else. he’s like a puppy dog chasing after this man. now, this other half, i love it.

so looking at old interviews and stuff, brendon wasn’t super cocky in fever/pretty odd eras. he really wasn’t. on stage, yeah, but you have to understand that everyone has a stage persona. what you see of dallon or brendon or tyler and josh, or ANYONE, on stage, is not their true personality. so looking at interviews, it was really honestly led a lot by ryan. brendon was a follower around ryan. so now that ryan is gone, he’s lost. the person who made a lot of the decisions for the band is gone and brendon has to step up and take over that. i don’t think it was easy for him and he probably struggled but brendon didn’t want others to worry so he over compensates. he puts out a really really huge ego to try and cover up the fact that he’s dealing with things (in the next analysis, i’ll talk more in depth on this because it was.. wow). anyway, dallon is a no shit type of guy. i’ll talk about it a lot later on that dallon wanted things a certain way and he won’t let brendon bullshit around that. brendon thinking he’s right is brendon’s ego. but dallon sees right through that. he strips away brendon’s pride, the only thing that’s covering up his true feelings and dallon casts that aside. it’s like he’s saying he doesn’t mind that brendon is broken, that he’s got things troubling him. it’s sweet.

now double meaning,

And it’s killing me inside,

Consuming all my time,

You’ve left me blind,

And when I think I’m right,

You strip away my pride,

You cast i all aside but I say,

ryan:

this can also go the other way. brendon is so torn up over the breakup that it’s killing him. he’s dead inside. he’s stuck thinking about what could have been, what he could have done differently, all of this stuff, and it’s taking up every waking moment (maybe even dreaming) in his life. ryan has so thoroughly fucked him up that brendon is blind. he can’t get past the breakup, which is true. in later songs, even in later albums, he’ll still talk about ryan. this is something that really messed him up and it doesn’t just go away just because he wants it too. it haunts him but he also deals with it (much, much later). but until then, he’s blind to possibilities, to ways to help himself.

now, this is where we go back to ballad of mona lisa. brendon is right about ryan never feeling the same. brendon had been asking because he had doubts but he really didn’t want it to be true. would anyone? he was hoping that he’d be wrong even if he asked the opposite. but of course, he was right all along. it took eery prideful feeling he had and threw it away. ryan took away the innocent and well deserved pride that brendon had and threw it away.

NOW, i have one more double meaning thing to analyze. right after this bridge is where when you listen to it, the lyrics “but i say sarah smiles like sarah doesn’t care” are alone, no instruments. brendon’s voice is really flat and kinda angry. what does that mean if the bridge is about dallon? it means he’s frustrated. he doesn’t understand. he’s left without his shield of a cocky man because dallon is throwing that away, he knows better. it leaves brendon feeling scared, less like himself because he only knows himself now as this asshole ego-trip and dallon isn’t letting him do that. but on the other end, ryan. ryan hurt him. ryan left him raw and full of emotion and this is what’s left of those emotions. he’s no longer asking for ryan back. he’s trying to get through it. it’s the time in the breakup where brendon is just pissed that it was him, that ryan did that to him. it’s sad, really.

So yet again, the pre chorus: this is another one that went both ways. i looked it up on multiple lyric sites and i saw people writing it differently. i saw one site say it was eyes twice and another that said it was eyes and then lies. i also looked at the actual thing on the v&v album. that only said eyes and lies but there were also lyrics missing.

so, since i say ‘fuck the rules’ I’m gonna do it my way. when i listened to this song, blasting it through good headphones, the first time this is heard, right after the verse about dallon, it sounds like he says eyes, eyes. so that’ll be what i analyze first.

You fooled me once with your eyes now honey,

You fooled me twice with your eyes and I say,

so this one is about dallon. well, partially. the first line is about brendon’s first relationship, aka ryan. these lyrics aren’t very happy and i think this is a manifestation of brendon’s doubts. he says first, that he was fooled by ryans eyes. I’m going with this as brendon saying he fell for ryans appearance. this song was written so obviously that didn’t turn out so well. the second line is brendon repeating his pattern but this time, its dallon. he fell in love with dallons look (who wouldn’t) and it was a fear that he would turn out the same as ryan. this song is all about infatuation and first meetings but its also about the fear of what comes next.

You fooled me once with your eyes now honey,

You fooled me twice with your lies and I say,

alternatively, this one is about ryan. i’ve already explained the first line in the paragraph above so i won’t repeat myself. the second line though, is what i find interesting. i’m sure you’ve heard it before that eyes are the windows to the soul. so taking how last one, it sounded like i heard eyes again, that puts a parallel between eyes and lies. now, say that brendon thought he saw ryans soul through his eyes. i explained in ballad that it was all just a front, that ryan had been lying to brendon about his true feelings. this is where its written, brendon admitting that he fell in love with a lie. he didn’t fall in love with ryans soul or personality because he never saw it. he saw the front that ryan wanted him to see.

Then chorus:

[Dallon] smiles like [Dallon] doesn’t care,

[He] lives in [his] world so unaware,

Does [he] know that my destiny lies with [him],

So this is just a really weird way to describe your wife, honestly. i wouldn’t describe my partner this way so why?? here we go. so the reason i’m posting this second in all of v&v is because this song honestly feels like it’s kind of brendon’s first impression of dallon. this is before their relationship started mostly. now, i get it, it says sarah so it must be about her, but this doesn’t seem loving, really. besides the last line but it’s one line, ya know? unless i’m right and it’s about dallon.

so anyway, just a few things i’ve noticed about dallon. he’s kind of, not even kind of, he’s a really quiet dude. if you watch any tour highlights or even his livestreams, he really doesn’t talk all that much. he likes his peace and quiet, he sits at his laptop. even in interviews or videos where he is there, he just, kinda, doesn’t talk much? back to the lyrics, though. dallon also really doesn’t ever smile and i’d imagine that if you’re blessed enough to see him actually genuinely smile, it’s probably over something stupid tbh. some dumb joke or whatever, ya know? he’s off in his own little world, not really paying attention to others which is such a dallon thing.

then this last line is just kinda, weird. like yes, you can say brendon was so in love with sarah but like, i don’t know. it seems more like it’s towards dallon. like honestly, i have no idea what would happen to panic if dallon hadn’t joined. if he hadn’t made it then sure, they’d find a different bassist but would they have been as good as dallon? who knows. that’s why i think this line is about the band, honestly. brendon probably sometimes has to take a moment and thank dallon because in a way, he kind of owes the continued success of panic to dallon. whether or not you want to admit it, dallon has done a lot for this band that others might not have been capable of doing. he did a lot of writing, musically and lyrically, as well as design the entire album cover for this very album. would a different bassist have done all that? who knows. that’s why brendon says his destiny lies with dallon. this band is his life, his sole way of making money. if it hadn’t continued then he might be doing a job he hates and wishing he could have continued his band.

[Dallon],

Oh [Dallon],

Are you saving me?

so this is really sweet and all but, honestly, i don’t get it. brendon hasn’t ever once (from what i’ve seen) talked about sarah saving him. and i know that’s not an end all to this argument but seriously. what has she done to save him. this is probably the main reason why i think the whole song is about dallon. change sarahs name to dallon and it honestly makes more sense. dallon is the one who came in and saved the band, who saved brendon. he’s the one that i talked about in always who came in and saved brendon in the castle from ryan. it comes up a few times in other songs but they saved each other. not sarah, sorry lovely.

[rythin--alleyway]

I (Arrival) [Yet to be third person]

MARCELLO LOCKHEART

I blow out a breath as Marcella led me towards the house. To my understanding, this house belongs to the cousins: Dallon and Mikey I think their names were. She opens the door for me and I walk inside.

"Cello!" A voice exclaimed and before I knew it, I was on the floor with Isaac sitting on top of me. "It's been so long, man. You have no idea how quickly I ran here as soon as school ended. I was so excited." He sighed.

"As much as I missed you, get off of me." I patted his back as he slid off of me.

He quickly stood up and moved my bags off to the side. After helping me up, he grabs my wrist and tugs me into what looks to be the living room. Inside the living room sat five other guys. Just by seeing their faces, their names do seem to come to mind. I'm not that good at knowing and remembering names, it isn't my strength, really. "I want you to meet our other friends. Do you know their names or is a little introduction in order?"

I move Isaac aside to access a vacant spot on the couches. "I got this." I assure him. My eyes quickly sweep through the room to assess the faces here. I'll start from the left and move to the right.

I nodded to the brunette guy sitting on the edge of the couch. He returns the nod, staring back at me with his blue/green eyes. That's an easy trait to follow. He's wearing a basic hoodie, jeans and sneakers; one of his feet is resting on a skateboard on the floor. I know who this is. "Aaron." Isaiah's always told me about how he's a little closer to a particular skater in the group.

Next to him sat a paler guy. Also a brunette, his hair was a little longer and lighter compared to Aaron's. Looking farther south however, is a good giveaway to who this kid is. His arms are covered in tattoos, one more so than the other. Isaac mentioned being very close to 'the tattooed guy'. "Cameron." He can apparently play the guitar and piano quite well. I should check that out some time.

We come across two blonde guys who share a similar build with each other: slim frames and defined jaw structures. The taller one had a smaller boy attached to his arm, that gives the both of them away too. "Mikey and Dallon." Dallon being the taller one partially cuddling the boy to his right.

Moving on to the smaller one, he looks back at me nervously. His features are softer compared to the others. Just by looking at him, I assume he only stands at around 5'9. "Zachary."

All of them collectively nod. "Yeah. You're right." Aaron seems impressed.

I'm right? What a first. "Isaiah's told me a lot about you, skater boy."

Aaron did nothing but shrug. "Sounds about right."

"So, as a celebration of your arrival, we were thinking of going out for pizza? You in?" Isaac asked.

My eyes shift to Marcella who was calmly standing in the doorway. Our non-junk food diet is due to end today. She nods. If she says yes, I do too. I look back at the boys and nod too. "Sounds good. I just need to change first.

"Thankfully you said that, we're all starving." Isaac lifts his wrist up to read his watch. He nods. "Go change. We'll wait."

~~~

ZACHARY HAYES 

"A pizza... Right." All I have to do is order these and wait for the boys to arrive with the Lockhearts. Done. Apparently, Isaiah was dragged to some sort of event and that's why he isn't suspecting anything. With my head down, I continue walking.

I must have not been paying attention because I suddenly bump into someone. "Oh. I'm so sor-" I look up and back away when I see Nathan staring back down at me. "-ry..."

Oh no. Not now. I don't have anyone around me.

I don't waste a second before I attempt to run away from him but he hooks his fingers in the hood of my jacket before I can get away. "Where do you think you're going, little one?"

Oh how I hate being 5'9 around a crowd of people over 6 foot.

His voice lowers to a deep and menacing taunt. "Did your boyfriend leave you alone?"

Dallon? Cameron? I'm in need of some help right now. Hell, even Aaron, that stupid board of his could be pretty useful as a weapon right about now. "Can you let me go?" My words come out in a virtual squeak.

He hooks an arm around my waist- my back flesh against him- and takes me into some sketchy alley way. "Let's pick up where we left off, huh?"

Why the fuck is this street so empty?

A quiet yelp escapes my mouth as he drops me onto the concrete floor. I suck in a breath and lurch backwards to the wall as he creeps forwards. "Can't you just... let it go? I-it wasn't my idea. It was yours." It really was.

He snorts. "You were always a funny kid, Zach."

"But-" I am cut off when his hand suddenly grips my hair and pulls me to my feet. "Fucking hell." I hiss- grunting when he pushes me against the wall. Does he have to be this strong?

He's in the football team, yes he does.

His breathing seems to momentarily hitch. "Don't make those noises in front of me, Hayes." He murmurs.

Is he serious? It's been a year. I've tried reasoning with him for ages and it never works. I'm not sure why I even try it anymore. I glare at him. "I'm sorry. You must have forgotten that my gay ass just has a tendency to love being slammed into walls by huge dickheads like you." I retort. As I got over the instantaneous pride, I could feel my heart drop the moment I realise what I just said.

His eyes widen in a brief surprise but soon return to a glare that is far colder than the one preceding it.

Closing my eyes tightly, I brace myself as he raises his fist but, after a couple of seconds, the hand in my hair was dropped and the overshadowing presence suddenly disappears. I exhale a breath of relief.

"Zach! Are you okay?" A quick and steady set of footsteps come running closer and closer to me.

I open my eyes to be suddenly pulled into Dallon's embrace. I let myself melt into the warmth and look down to see Marcello's rather large frame on the floor with Nathan in some sort of strange position. I think I've seen something like this in an MMA fight before.

Marcello smiles at me. "You're welcome."

He's kind of scary, kind of cool.

"Yeah. Thank you." It comes out as a bare whisper.

Dallon pulls me back as Marcello suddenly tugs Nathan to his feet by his shirt. He is checking me for bruises or abrasions. I can assure that my limbs are fine but there might be some bruise on my ass. That fall was heavy... but we are sure as hell not checking for that here. Not in a sketchy alleyway with Marcello handling Nathan right next to me.

Nathan is normally the one to pick on someone, it is quite strange to see him on the other end of the stick. He actually looks scared.

"Right. Nathan, I'm guessing." Marcello states.

"Yeah? What does it matter?"

MARCELLO LOCKHEART

This is the Nathan I've heard so much about? By Isaac's description, I was expecting a guy on par with my physical appearance.

'Oh, Nathan? Isaiah mentioned him to you? He's a, uh, strong guy. Not someone I could easily mess with.'

Would he run? Doubt it. I let go of him and am pleased when he stays in the same spot. "Nothing, really. I was just curious to meet the oh-so-amazing quarterback of the school, Mr. I pick on the small, gay kid."

His eyebrows furrow a little as he huffs. He crosses his arms in an almost defensive manner. "What do you want?"

"If you don't like the kid, it's easier to just ignore him." It is not my business at all. All I have to go off on is what the twins have told me and what had just happened but if anyone really knows me, I tend to get myself entangled in the conflicts of those around me, especially when it gets physical. "It doesn't involve me nor am I here to lecture you but now that I've moved here, I want to inform you that Zach and the rest of them are under my wing now. You aren't blind, you can see the difference in our sizes and surely don't want to fuck with me in the wrong way."

He remains quiet as we stand here. Call it awkward but we just stare at each other. It has only been a couple of seconds but it must have felt even longer for him. He begins to shift awkwardly on his feet, breaks away from the eye contact and focuses on something else, that something else seems to be a button on the shirt I have on.

I take the time to look him over. His hair is partially wet, as if he had just hopped out of the shower, the front strands of his hair drooping aimlessly over his forehead almost reaching his eyes. His blue eyes remaining on my button that he's desperately trying to focus on but I took note of the faint freckles that dotted the bridge of his nose and disperses across his cheekbones.

I think we're done here. "I'll see you around, Nathan."

[virgilsinferno]

SPILLR  » CHAPTER THREE

important :: this is a horror fic and might contain triggering content. proceed with caution.

tw :: nightmares, death, corpse

word count :: 3145

notes :: uh yeah,, there are loceit and logicality stuff in this chapter and analogical in the previous ones,, but there will be no endgame ships nor will there be romance between the 5 of them. 

intro || 1 || 2

Lately, Dmitri has been feeling ill. Like his immune system’s getting weaker every day. He thinks it’s nothing to worry about though, and green tea helps from time to time. Yet even when he’s not feeling to well, he still refuses to sleep. Logan tells him it’s because of circadian rhythms. He doesn’t know what it means, but if he wanted to know, he can always ask Logan.

School life was stressful for him due to his popularity. Everyone adored him and constantly bothered him, all because of the fact that he’s kind of popular on the internet. It wasn’t his fault, really. People simply loved the content he posted. From the latest gossip to the recent breakups, he knew it all. And he delivered the news so eloquently, people took his word for it. Not everything posted on the internet is real. He’s just trying to have some fun by rewriting the tales that have been passed down from person to person. He guesses having fun also had its consequences.

Almost the entire school had his number. He doesn’t know how they get it, but he keeps changing it just to be sure. So when he gets the 3rd call that morning, he had his doubts. Upon seeing the caller ID, he let out a sigh of relief. Thank the heavens it wasn’t one of those creeps that keep trying to ask him out on a date. It was only 3 in the morning, and yet 2 people have already started annoying him. At least it was Logan who called. He could never annoy him. If anything or anyone dares to hurt his friend, he would lead an army of followers right to their doorstep and ruin their life.

Hey, he cared about Logan immensely.

“Hey Lo.” He greets, taking a sip of his tea.

“Are you free right now?” Logan asks through the phone. Dmitri chokes on the tea and has a coughing fit. He sets down his tea on his bedside table. It takes a few seconds for him to stop coughing.

“Yes. Are you asking me on a date?”

On the other end, Logan’s eyes flew wide in shock. He somehow manages to keep his cool and a smirk appears on his face. “No. Why, do you want me to?”

“Hell no! Shut up.”

“If you say so. Can you come over right now?”

“Yeah sure, gimme a sec. Be there in 10-ish? Should I bring anything? Flamethrower… sword… you name it.”

“Just yourself.”

“Gotcha.”

He ends the call and rolls off of the bed, landing on the floor with a thump. To him it sounded urgent, so he threw on a leather jacket over his plain yellow shirt and put on the first pair of jeans he saw.

The window had a tree branch near it, so he could get out and get back in through the window with ease. Logan didn’t live too far, which meant he didn’t have to sneak into the garage and get his car. At that moment, he felt incredibly grateful for all of the working out he’s been doing. The faster he can run, the more trouble he can cause. And also, he’d feel less worn out whenever he sneaks out of the house to go see Logan.

7 minutes later, he arrives at the front door and rings the doorbell. Usually, he’d ring it 3 times. One long ring followed by two short ones. It was his own way of letting them know who’s at the door. But this time, Logan opened the door right after the first ring and dragged him in.

“Lo, you okay? You look spooked.”

“I’m good. We should get going, the others are waiting for us.”

“Others? Wait, what?”

“Yes, and we have important matters to discuss.”

“Okay. I trust you.”

They head to Logan’s room, thoughts of the worst possible things that could happen already forming in Dmitri’s mind. Why does he have a bad feeling about this?

“You’ll be fine.” He says, patting him on the shoulder. Dmitri nods. He’ll be fine.

As soon as he walks in the familiar room, he could feel eyes on him. It was a normal thing for him, but there’s always been a slight feeling of discomfort. He only loves the attention he gets when he wants attention.

“It’s you!” says one of them, the one in the purple hoodie. “You’re the guy with the yellow eyes in my nightmare!”

Okay, what? That, he wasn’t expecting. Better to be the guy in someone’s nightmare than to be the guy who’s internet famous, right? Logan gives purple hoodie guy a warning look.

“Sorry, that was rude. The name’s Virgil, man.”

“Virgil,” he repeats. “what an odd name. I like it.”

That sounds familiar.

The guy which Dmitri now knows as Virgil visibly becomes paler. He doesn’t know how to react to this, nor does he know if he should do anything. Was it something he said? He hoped not. The guy with the gray cardigan on his shoulders comforts him.

“Listen man, this might sound weird and all, but that’s what you said. In my nightmare thing. Kinda freaked out right now.”

Dmitri nods in understanding. “I get it. Sometimes I get nightmares that come true as well.”

He realizes what he just said and his right hand immediately covers his mouth. Too much information. That’s when he also realizes that he had forgotten to put in his contacts. Which meant that they could see his real eye color—a mix between light gray and blue.

“Uh, at least you don’t have yellow eyes?”

“Yeah about that… Virgil, right? I seem to have forgotten to put on my contacts before I left.”

“So you can have yellow eyes if you wanted to?”

“If I wanted to. Don’t worry, I won’t use yellow contacts if we are to meet again.”

Logan cleared his throat. “Now, let’s discuss the matter at hand.”

As he was about to continue, Patton’s phone rang. He excused himself and went outside of Logan’s room to answer the call. It was his mom calling. Logan proceeded to catch Dmitri up on things.

“Hey mom!”

“Pat, dear, where are you? We’re worried sick about you!”

“I’m fine mom, I’m at a friend’s place right now. I didn’t want to go home yet ‘cause Dallon might come looking for me there and we’re sort of not on good terms right now. I’ll be back for lunch, I promise!”

“Oh honey, has no one told you yet? Dallon went missing four days ago. His body was found by the river yesterday at 6:50 pm.”

Missing?

… Body?

There was a sudden feeling of suffocation, yet Patton was aware that he could breathe just fine. He knew he was alive, he had to be. Didn’t he call him recently? That means he’s not dead, right? He heard his voice through the phone, he’d know that voice from anywhere. There’s no way he’s dead. Right?

“Are you alright, dear?”

“Yeah mom. I… I have to go.”

Patton ended the call and ran back into the room. He plopped down next to Virgil and put his knees to his chest muttering a few incoherent words. They all stopped what they were doing to try and comfort Patton, even though they had no idea what was going on.

“I-I’m not imagining things, I can’t be. I heard him. I’m not imagining things.” He sounded so confused and the others weren’t sure if they should give him some space momentarily or let him talk it out. Everything was going too fast and they had no time to process the situation.

“Virgil! You were there, you heard it too, right? He was calling me, he’s not dead. You know that too. He was calling and you were next to me and you heard us talking. I wasn’t imagining it.”

“Patton, I uh… yeah, someone was calling you. Could you talk slower please?”

The room fell silent.

“Dallon’s dead,” Patton whispered. It was quiet, but loud enough for the rest of them to hear. “He’s been dead since yesterday. But he called me so that means he’s not dead, right? I don’t want him back, I really don’t, but he called me and now I just have to believe he’s dead?”

“Still confused!” Roman groaned. Of course he’d be the most clueless one out of all of them.

For a moment, Dmitri’s eyes switched from light gray to brown. It was fast enough to think of it as nothing, but what he said was quite worrying. “Not everyone you know is real.”

“W-what?” Patton asked, gripping the sleeve of Virgil’s hoodie.

Dmitri tilted his head. “What?”

“I’m all for the spooky stuff, I truly am, but I don’t understand anything! Please, don’t leave me out of this adventure of a lifetime!”

Brown eyes gazed into Roman’s— brown eyes that he knew were once a different color. Though he really never got a good look at Dmitri’s face, so he wasn’t sure if his eyes did change colors. Then again, he did mention something about contacts but he hasn’t been paying that much attention to anything, really. Something told him he’d better stay out of this entire thing.

“Trust me, you don’t want to be a part of this.” said Dmitri in a stern voice.

The lights began to flicker and Dmitri’s eyes began rapidly switching between light gray and brown. He grabs Virgil’s arm and pulls him closer to him in a harsh manner. He leans dangerously close to his ear, and in the softest voice he could manage, he whispers: “You know too much. All those theories in your head are absolutely right. I can’t keep this up, it’s bound to find out. Don’t worry, I’ll get all of you out. Eventually.”

Utterly terrified, perplexed, and stressed were only a few words that could describe how Virgil was feeling. He gives Dmitri a weak nod and wraps his hoodie around him even tighter. As soon as the lights stopped flickering, it changed from a warm white color to a disturbing red color, bathing the entire room with the color red. Roman, though full of fear, got off of the bed to get out of the room and make himself a salad despite his brother’s warnings.

The door wouldn’t budge so he was forced to sit back down on the king-sized bed and snack on the cookies til the lights were back to normal. Logan only cared for all of their safety and wouldn’t want any of them to be attacked by whoever was messing with them. Surely, they’ve got to be inside the house. Yet the look on Dmitri’s face said otherwise. He appeared to be calm, but he was shaking. Virgil on the other hand was breathing heavily, and Patton was trying not to cry.

The light flickered once more, making it dark for a fraction of a second then returning to its previous state. They all sighed in relief. Now that that was over, Logan got up to check if there were any people inside the house that may have messed with their lighting and if there were any possessions stolen. There was just one tiny problem.

“Hey uh, where’s Dmitri?” asked Virgil, who was doing his best to keep his breathing even. He was a hundred percent sure that he was there a moment ago. They would be able to feel it if someone were to get up, seeing as they were all sitting down very closely to each other. It was almost like Dmitri had disappeared in thin air.

“No one is going to leave this room until I am sure that it is safe to do so.” Logan announces to the remaining members of the group.

As if it couldn’t get any weirder, their phones all went off simultaneously, and the television was switching through channels at a blistering speed. A familiar face shows up on TV. It was Dmitri. His irises were now yellow and he looked scared. Anxious, even. There was nothing but darkness behind him. Everything was so difficult to understand and there were a thousand thoughts that were overlapping over each other. It didn’t make any sense.

“I’m dreaming, it’s okay it’s just a nightmare. It’s just a dream.” Roman repeated over and over to himself.

“I don’t have much time,” Dmitri starts, looking around nervously before continuing. “I’ll do my best to get you all out. Just please don’t look at it in the eyes for any longer than 10 seconds. I wish you all the best of luck.”

The television turns off and their phones stop making noise. Roman is the first to speak. “What was all that about?”

A loud crackling sound is heard, followed by the deafening sound of static. Then the power went out. Usually, one would still be able to make out the figures of whatever is in a completely dark room. Or at least be able to feel any objects that were littered around.

It was entirely pitch black. Like when one would close their eyes and be met with absolute darkness. It no longer felt like they were sitting cross-legged on the bed.

“Logan?” Roman called out, reaching his arms out and feeling around for any sign of life.

“Here!” His brother responded. Did he hear it on the left or on the right?

It was clear that the brothers were in close proximity to each other. Virgil on the other hand, found that he was slightly farther away due to the voices barely being heard. He took out his phone from his pocket and used it as a flashlight, though not much was accomplished. Everything was still pitch black. He walked around for a bit—a desperate attempt at finding a way out. No luck. Instead, he had tripped on something. Or rather, someone.

Virgil shone a light at what had caused him to trip. A body. He didn’t know if the person was dead or not, but they sure had a familiar face. Well, it did have a rotting smell so he supposed it was a dead body. It was a face he had seen around before, though he couldn’t pinpoint where he had seen it. The anxiety was starting to kick in. Its head shifted to the right, allowing him to observe its face more.

Its eyes flew open.

“Holy fuck.” Virgil kicked it in surprise and ran as far as he could away from the seemingly alive corpse. It was so dark that he had not seen that there was someone in front of him, causing him to bump into the person. He pointed his light at the person’s face which made them squint. It was Roman.

“Watch it, Captain Brood.” He sneered.

“You’re in my way, Roman Numerals.” Virgil retorted. “Where are we?”

“Definitely not in Bill Nye the stoic guy’s room, that’s for sure.”

Someone crashed into Virgil, making him bump into Roman once more. They could tell it was Patton right away, because of the high-pitched squeal he made when he saw it was the two of them. Logan was with him as well, holding Patton’s hand to make sure he doesn’t run off and get lost even more.

“The whole group is here! Let’s go, my entourage!” Roman exclaimed as he took the lead. Logan, Patton, and Virgil followed behind him, with Patton refusing to let go of Logan’s hand. Just in case.

“L, how do you suppose we get out?”

“That is for us to find out. Are you alright?”

“M’not on the verge of a panic attack. It’s strange, I feel like I’m being watched but it also feels like I’m safe.”

“I suppose that’s a good thing.”

The four of them continued walking, following wherever Roman decided to go. It’s not like they know where they’re going either, so they might as well take a chance. Eventually, they come across a door. Roman puts a hand on the doorknob and faces Logan, probably asking for permission first to open the door. His older brother nods. They all silently pray that it’s the way out.

It’s a…house?

More specifically, it was a freaking huge house reminiscent of the one in Layers of Fear. Oh for goodness sake, out of anything that the dark void could possibly bring them to, it puts them in a freaking video game. Virgil groans upon realization and picks up a cassette tape that was randomly laying around. He attempts to throw it at the wall out of frustration, but was stopped by Patton.

“Wait! I found a cassette tape player, maybe this is a clue!” He says, taking the tape from his friend.

He plays the tape.

“Hello? Hello, hello? I’m kidding. This is Dmitri. I see you’ve found the first clue. Don’t worry about me, I’m okay. Doing my best to get it away from you guys as possible. Focus on finding a way out, and don’t split up. It’s going to use your fears against you, and you’re all probably in the first stage right now.”

They all look at each other with accusing stares.

“So which one of you is afraid of this game in particular?” Roman asks, pointing to the other three.

Patton raises his hand slowly. “The painting is scary!”

“This is fine, I’ve played this before. Just don’t wander off.” Virgil said as he gave a knowing look at the other three.

The layout of the house wasn’t how Virgil remembered it, but it has been a while since he had played it so he wasn’t entirely sure. It seemed to have elements from different games he had played, though. He was wondering how a simple social networking site could put them in so much danger when he came across a piece of paper hanging from a strand of spider silk. Logan takes it before Virgil could.

Similar to the first note they had gotten, it had a drawing of an eye. In the center it had a message. Logan reads it aloud.  

“You should have read the privacy policy.”

“No it doesn’t!” Virgil scoffs, taking the piece of paper from Logan and reading what it said to the others. “You know too much.”

Roman peeks at the paper, frowning when it obviously didn’t say both those things. He snatches it from Virgil and clears his throat before speaking. “You were better off clueless.”

And of course, it wasn’t the same for Patton. Roman shows him the message, trying to prove that he had the “real” message. Patton reads it for the rest of them, a shiver running down his spine upon uttering the words that were written in such a familiar handwriting.

“I didn’t think you’d last without me. I see now that I was wrong. We’ll meet again.”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

taglist :: @ai-incarnate​ @anon-e-has-a-tmblr @baddeceit-ohsorrydeceit @but-jesuschrist-im-never-good @captainlilithrouge @cats-fandom-universe-room @cryptidcherrry @deceit-is-a-lil-bitch @comicsimpson @easyidentification @effortiswhatmatters @human-being-kinda @ilovemygaydad @insanetentacles @keeshy-ekho @lemon-towns @lesbian-aesthics-are-my-aesthic @lokisuggests @lopaviro @lucifer-just-needs-a-hug @mychemicalpanicattheemo @nottodaylogic @prplzorua @roanoaks @rosepyxels@starrycari @strickenwithclairvoyance @sanders-sides-rebloger​@suyun-doo @therealmoshar@theultimatemomfriend @unicornlogansanders @what-even-is-thiss@whizzie72 @why-should-i-tell-youu2