#twdg therissa

[ericsonclan]

Therissa: Hey guys, I’m going to dunkin, does anyone want anything?

Prisha: Yes, actually, I’d love a coff-

Therissa: Dunkin deez nuts

*Therissa and Sophie high five*

[starryviolentine]

Camp Paya (A Pre-Apocalypse Story): Chapter 1/?

Part three of the “Pre-Apocalypse Adventures” Series

( Part one: Brody’s Diary  |  Part two: Color Me Blue )

After lying dormant through another multi-seasonal slumber, safely tucked underneath blankets of red autumn leaves, cold snowy down, and dew from weeks of springtime showers, the grounds of Camp Paya have woken with the summer sunshine, well-rested and ready for this year’s hustle and bustle. Stretching three-quarters of a mile due northeast from Ericson Academy, the path to camp lies right in the middle of a beautiful valley, nestled cozily between a backdrop of mountains and a rocky riverbank. With the trickling of the nearby river, the chittering of wildlife, and the crunching of fallen foliage underfoot—all amidst a forest of trees as far as the eye can see—the short hike to the campgrounds makes for the most perfect, peaceful trek.

Unless, of course, it’s mid-June and your name is Therissa Nicole Lannister. 

Therissa realized a little too late that it probably wasn’t the best idea to wear her favorite pair of black jeans and clunky combat boots this morning. And maybe she shouldn’t have brought such an enormous bag with her, nor packed it with so much stuff that it’s nearly bursting at the seams. The teenager’s face is flushed, side-swept bangs matted to her forehead with sweat, and the feeling of hot, damp fabric jammed under her armpits is seriously grossing her out. God, she hates summer. And she hates nature. Dealing with both at the same time is a double whammy of the absolute worst sort.   

Having spent the summer stuck at Camp Paya once already, after which she swore to herself she would never go back again, this isn’t even the first time Therissa’s been up this path. But she doesn’t remember it being so… uphill, and the sheer weight of her luggage pulling down on her arms like an anchor is making the journey feel ten times longer than it did when she was fourteen. At this point, Therissa has given up on carrying her duffel bag, which feels like it could possibly weigh more than her roommate Violet, and is dragging it through the dirt behind her.

“I still can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Therissa grumps through gritted teeth. “It’s too freaking hot.”

From a few steps ahead, a long-haired blonde turns to her right, making eye contact with the twin-tailed girl walking beside her, and the two of them break into giggles.  

“Oh, yeah, haha. We’ll see who’s laughing when they wake up to a big, ugly spider on their pillow tomorrow morning.”

“Therissa, look,” says Brody, excitement in her voice as she points overhead at the wooden welcome sign just a short distance away. “We’re here!” The girl takes off running, but comes to a stop right before she passes under it. Bringing her feet together, she leaps to the other side as though crossing a threshold to another world. 

As instructed, the incoming campers drop their bags off in a pile near a wooden playground, then follow the arrow of the nearby signpost pointing them to the main outdoor gathering space known as “The Pit.” The Pit is a large, square fire pit with rows of log benches around three of its sides and a raised platform covered by an overhead structure—also made out of logs—on the remaining side. At night, when the campfire is lit, this is where the campers have singalongs, roast marshmallows, and tell ghost stories. Right now, though, it’s where they’ve been told to sit and wait until it’s time for the orientation meeting to start.  

Unlike Violet, who came here last year, and Therissa, who came a few summers ago, this is Brody’s very first time at Camp Paya. It’s the first summer that she won’t be spending at home with her family. Even though she won’t get to go to the neighborhood pool with her brothers this year, or visit Nana and Papa in Rhode Island like they do every July for her birthday, Brody’s really looking forward to spending the next couple of months having fun summer adventures with her friends… and maybe she’ll even make new friends! Brody has a good feeling that this is going to be the best summer ever. 

Once all the campers have gathered and all the benches are full, a middle-aged woman in a ranger hat blows her whistle and gets up on the platform, cheerfully announcing that the opening ceremony is about to start. Violet, who has been particularly quiet since their arrival, sits close to Brody, chewing on her bottom lip. She’s glad—really glad—that her best friend decided to stay and go to camp with her this year, but there’s already one thing that she’s dreading. 

“Oh, I hope we’re in the same cabin!” Hands clasped together under her chin, Brody unintentionally voices what Violet has been worrying about. “And Therissa, too. Wouldn’t it be perfect if we were all together?”   

Mouth feeling dry, Violet can only nod. 

The opening ceremony kicks off with an introductory speech by the woman with the whistle and hat, who turns out to be Camp Paya’s director, Pamela Wheeler. For the next several minutes, Ms. Pam outlines the camp rules and weekly schedule, but then gestures to the row of people standing at one end of the platform. They come onto the stage, all wearing the same beige button-up shirt and red neckerchief tie as Ms. Pam, and introduce themselves as this year’s camp counselors. Together, they give a brief overview of the different sports, crafts and activities available to the campers, as well as what sort of special events are on the program this year, like the night hike and the Camp Paya Talent Showcase. 

When one of the counselors mentions the “Night Under the Stars” outdoor campout that happens every other week, Brody gasps and turns to her left, expecting Violet to be just as over the moon as she is, but her friend doesn’t look like she’s paying attention to the presentation at all. Instead, her face is hard as stone and her eyes are dark, and the way that she’s crossing her arms tightly around her gives off the impression that she’s angry. But Brody knows her best friend, and she knows that this is just what Violet looks like when something’s bugging her.

Before Brody can ask about it, a bit of microphone feedback startles her into looking back towards the stage. Thanking the counselors, Ms. Pam takes the mic and addresses the campers once again. “Now for the moment I’m sure you’ve all been waiting for,” she says with a warm smile. “Cabin announcements! Could all of our teen leaders please come up to the stage?”

“Well, that’s my cue.” Therissa heaves a sigh and gets to her feet. Before leaving, she glances at Brody and Violet and smirks at the sheer amount of anxiety written on both of their faces. “Look, even if you end up in different cabins, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll live.”

A dozen or so teenagers make their way to the stage, and the counselors hand them each a clipboard containing the list of names of the campers they will be looking after. Ms. Pam waits until all of the lists have all been distributed before continuing. “These lovely young men and women are going to be your cabin leaders this summer. They’re here to help, so if you ever have any questions or need assistance, you can go to any of them at any time. Anyway, without further ado, let’s begin with Cabin One!”

One by one, the leaders go down the line, introducing themselves and reading off the names of their cabin groups. By the time the first couple of cabins have been sorted out, the dynamics are pretty clear. Two teen leaders to a cabin, and each leader is in charge of six campers. That makes for seven people in a group and a total of fourteen people per cabin. Cabin assignments never take more than a few minutes from start to finish, but for Violet and Brody, whose names have yet to be called even after reaching Cabin Four, it’s an endless, nerve-racking wait. With three cabins to go, there’s still a high chance that they could end up getting separated. 

The second leader in Cabin Four turns out to be Therissa, who shuffles to center stage staring down at her clipboard, an unreadable expression on her face. When Samantha, her co-leader, hands her the microphone, Therissa pulls the cord toward her a bit too quickly, causing the speakers to let out a dreadful, high-pitched screech. The sudden noise makes a bunch of the campers jump and cover their ears. 

“Oh, sh—” Somehow, Therissa is able to stop herself from swearing in time. Ms. Pam is looking at her sternly, eyes practically bugging out of her sockets. “—sh... orry. Sorry. I’m Therissa, the, uh, other leader of Cabin Four. Looks like the following six people are going to be stuck with me all summer, so if I call your name, good luck to you!” Looking down at her clipboard again, Therissa begins to read off her list. “Becca Gray. Ruby Hillis. Violet Gideon.” The teen’s voice changes, becoming more playful as the familiar name leaves her lips. 

Letting out an immense sigh of relief, Violet drops her head into her hands. “Thank god.”

Brody’s back stiffens and she sits up straight as a pin at the very edge of her seat. Now she has to be in Cabin Four, too! The auburn-haired presses her hands together and squeezes her eyes shut. Please, oh, please! Pretty please with whipped cream and hot fudge and rainbow sprinkles and a cherry on top...

“Erin Ro… Rosen… bach... Rosenbacher. Wow, okay, I totally just butchered that. My bad, Erin. Amy McCoy… and…” Pausing right before the sixth name, Therissa looks up from her clipboard and out at the audience. The mischievous glint in her eyes is the only hint that she might be dragging things out on purpose.

Nearly slipping off the bench from anticipation, Brody’s heart begins to pound. She focuses all of her energy into a prayer that she mumbles under her breath. “Please, please, please…”

“Aaand that’s it!” Therissa exclaims loudly, holding the clipboard in the air and shrugging. She searches through the sea of faces until she spots her roommates in the crowd. Violet is patting Brody, who has frozen in shock and looks absolutely devastated, on the shoulder to comfort her. Sucking in a sharp breath, the teenager shakes her head and starts to laugh. “Just kidding! And Brody Burress. Come find me!” Flashing a backwards, sideways peace sign, Therissa passes the mic to the next leader and makes her way off the stage. 

Violet halts mid-pat and furrows her eyebrows as she tries to wrap her head around what happened. She’s not quite sure if that was supposed to be Therissa’s attempt at a joke or what, but at least this means that she and Brody get to be cabin mates after all. The blonde looks across the firepit at her oldest roommate again, watching in stunned silence as the teenager steps down from the platform, spinning smoothly on her heels, and goes to stand near the entrance to The Pit. As Therissa walks away with a smug smile and a spring in her step, she almost looks like she’s dancing.

[agirlinhell]

    Is your child muse in need of a loving mother figure? Is your muse missing one or both of their parents? Was             your muse’s parents not all that great to begin with? Is your muse younger than Clementine? If any of these               unfortunately hold true for your muse, well LISTEN UP BECAUSE CLEMENTINE’S YOUR NEW MOTHER.

By liking this post, you hereby give Clementine permission to be a total mom over your muse, meaning she’ll scold you gently ( or sternly ), fight tooth and nail to keep you safe, threaten to claw out peoples’ eyes out who wish to harm your wellbeing, destroy entire cities for you, obsess over you and boast about you to her friends, tuck you in at night, make you sweets and love you unconditionally regardless. Said child muse could be in any fandom, be it The Walking Dead, an alternate universe or crossover verse or even fandomless child muses, Clementine accepts them all in her little sweet summer family and she’ll love them all no matter what!

AJ: @we-are-strcng && @youngshct // TWDG

Tennessee // TWDG

Willy: @zombeam // TWDG

Jasper: @zombeam // TWDG

Therissa: @zombeam // TWDG

Maddie: @zombeam // TWDG

Six: @spellfear // TWDG / Little Nightmares

[ericsonclan]

Therissa: I want to go on a shopping trip where I’m the only one in the shopping mall and everything is free

Aasim: That’s called a night robbery

Therissa: So be it

[ericsonclan]

Therissa: I want to tell a joke, but I only remember the punchline

Bethany: Go ahead

Therissa: Tooth hurty

Bethany: When is the best time to go to the dentist?

Therissa: You complete me

[ericsonclan]

Mitch: Here’s a fun Christmas idea. We hang mistletoe but instead of kissing, you have to FIGHT whoever else is under it

Brody: Mitch, no.

Therissa, gasps: Mistlefoe

Brody: Please stop encouraging him 

[ericsonclan]

Happiest Season

Summary: Therissa wants to take Bethany with her to visit her family during Christmas but there's just one issue, they don't know that Therissa has a girlfriend.

Word Count: 3000+

Read on AO3:

“And this is the new coat I got,” Bethany worked to get her light pink winter coat and smiled when she heard her friend give a small gasp.

“That looks amazing!” Brody chimed from over FaceTime.

“Better than the darker pink one?”

“Hmmm, I think light pink suits you better,”

Bethany nodded and worked to shuffle off her coat. “I also got some more things to show but first how are things going on your trip?”

“Good. Willy and Mitch got super competitive over everything. I got some funny slow-mo videos of them when we went sledding if you want me to send them to you.”

“Yeah, send them on over,” Bethany smiled as she worked to change her earrings.

“So what are your plans for the holiday season?” Brody asked and waited for Bethany’s answer when suddenly Bethany was wrapped in a hug from behind. Bethany let out a small yelp of surprise before giggling.

“Cut it out, Therissa, that tickles.”

“Aww, but your laugh is really cute,” Therissa grinned as she kept tickling her girlfriend then spotted Brody. “Oh hey there, Brody. Is Butt Sniffer there with you?”

“Nah, he’s out on a hot cocoa and candy cane run with Willy.”

“Oh, gotcha,” Therissa rested her head on top of Bethany's. “Well when you see him again, tell him I said he sucks.”

Brody sighed and shook her head goodnaturedly. “Okay. I have to get going but before I forget Renata kept bringing up some sort of big get-together with the girls after Christmas.”

“Oh yeah, the gift exchange. Me and Bethany will be there,” Therissa looked at her girlfriend who gave a short nod as she held onto Therissa’s arms.

“Great, okay, with that I really need to go. Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas!” Therissa and Bethany spoke at the same time and waved goodbye before the call ended. As soon as the call was done, Therissa let out a long sigh and fell backwards onto the bed.

“Damn, looks like this is gonna be a busy holiday season.” She stared up at the ceiling before she felt her heart do a little flip when Bethany sat on top of her.

“Yeah, but it's gonna be a lot of fun,” Bethany leaned over and stole a quick kiss. “By the way, my moms said we could come to Christmas if we wanted to.” Her smile stayed on her lips until she saw her girlfriend’s face. “What’s spinning in there?”

“It’s just I promised my family I’d come up for a few days before Christmas and well…” Therissa didn’t continue her sentence as her hands brushed up and down her girlfriend’s arms.

“That’s okay. You can go for a bit and then I can go home for a bit and then we can celebrate Christmas together.”

“Yeah,” Therissa mumbled, her focus stayed up on the ceiling.

“Okay, Therissa, what’s up?”

Therissa thought for a minute as she messed with one of the multiple rings on her fingers. “Nothing. Do you want to grab some Thai for lunch?”

Bethany gave her girlfriend a look then got up from the bed. “Come on, we promised no bullshit between us.”

“It’s not-” Therissa took a deep breath before grabbing the back of her neck and tightening her grip on it for a second. “I want you to come with me.”

“That’s it? Sure, I’ll come with you. I’d love to meet your family,” Bethany could sense that that wasn’t everything. “What else are you hiding?”

“Well, I haven’t told them about you yet,” Therrisa sat up and started to fiddle with her fingers. “I’m not out to them yet.”

A soft “oh” left Bethany’s lips and a moment of silence passed between them. “That’s okay. You don’t have to come out to them.”

“Well, I want to if I bring you with me. I thought that it might help me get up the courage to say it but… I don’t know. I don’t want to seem like some dick of a girlfriend who’s only bringing you for that reason. It’s not that I want you to feel like some kind of accessory to me coming out and being like ‘look, proof I’m gay’ or some shit like that. I really want you to meet my family so maybe it’s better if I just call them right now and get it over with,” Therrisa stared down at her hands; she could feel the ball of nerves reappearing in her gut. It felt really fucking stupid for her to be nervous. Her family had always been supportive of her so why would this one thing change it? Still, she also didn’t want to risk putting Bethany in a tense or uncomfortable situation.

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay.”

The pressure of Bethany’s hand on her arm made Therissa glance up, noticing that her body had betrayed the nerves that she had wanted to hide. “Yeah, sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize. If you want me to come with you, I will.”

Therissa looked into her girlfriend’s eyes and saw the sincerity in them. “Okay, thanks.”

Therissa worked to make sure the car was all set to go and had enough gas for the trip. Once she was sure of that she jogged back inside her apartment to help her girlfriend with her bags.

“Here, I’ve got it,” Therissa worked to carry the rest of the bags but it was going haphazardly.

“Babe, it’s fine. I’ll help out, I don't want you hurting yourself,” Bethany took a bag or two then pressed a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek. She smiled at the dorky grin that the kiss had caused and soon the two of them were finishing packing up the car.

“Okay, let’s go over everything. Clothes.”

“Check,” Therissa got into the driver’s seat and worked on her seatbelt.

“Toiletries.”

“Yep.”

“Someone to look after Bandit?”

“Yep, she’s having fun with Esperanza at Minnie and Renata’s place.”

“Gifts.”

“Yep, if it goes well and list of hotels if it doesn’t.” Therissa took a shaky breath.

Bethany gently placed her hand on top of her girlfriend’s.

“You’re gonna be my top priority. If it doesn’t go well then we’ll leave and find a good hotel to stay the night.”

“Okay, if worst comes to worst we can head to my parents’ place for the holidays.” Bethany squeezed Therissa’s hand. Therrisa lifted up her girlfriend’s hand and pressed a kiss to it then took a deep breath.

“Alright, rest of the checklist,”

“Right,”

The drive over to the Moore’s residence was filled with laughs and small little adventures. More than once they had ended up off track either due to Therissa missing an exit or Bethany messing up the directions. Neither of them seemed to mind though; being together was always great and being able to listen to Christmas music as they drove through the snow felt special.

“Did I ever tell you how sexy you look when you refill the car’s gas tank, because damn girl,”

Bethany looked over at Therissa and shook her head with a smile at the flirting. “Oh yeah and what gives you the right to look that good?”

“Mmm, I don’t know,” Therissa rested her hands on her girlfriend’s hips while Bethany wrapped her hands around the back of her neck and the two shared a long kiss.

Bethany hummed softly then worked to put the gas pump back. “Okay, we should hit the road again,”

“Yeah, we’re not far from there, about twenty minutes I think,” Therissa worked to shake off her nerves and got back in the car.

“I’m gonna be with you the whole time, babe.”

Therissa nodded. “Yeah, thanks.” With one more deep breath, she turned the key in the ignition and pulled out of the gas station. Both of them stayed quieter than they had for the entire trip as the last few minutes of the drive came to an end. Each second that passed in the driveway made Therissa’s gut tighten more and more. Shit, this was really happening. Therissa couldn’t believe it.

“We can stay in the car for as long as you need.” Bethany rubbed her hand against her girlfriend’s arm in hopes it would calm her nerves.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” Therissa looked over at the front door and saw Delfia who strolled out towards the car calmly while Dewey ran forward in his large winter coat as the cold fogged up his glasses.

“Ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Therissa unclipped her seatbelt and got out of the car. “Hey, long time no see.”

“You can say that again. What, is it really that hard to call sometimes?” Delfia quipped then gave Therissa a side hug.

“Yeah, you don't respond in the family chat.” Dewey chimed in before sharing a big hug with Therissa.

“Uh yeah, because there’s way too much there all the time. I react sometimes.”

“Sometimes but not- Who’s that?”

Dewey’s sudden redirection turned Delfia’s attention over to Bethany.

“Hey there,”

“Hi,” Bethany tried to give a casual wave but it had turned more awkward than she had planned. Before her girlfriend’s siblings could pry and find out who she was, the front door opened again.

“What are you all doing out there, you’re gonna freeze your asses off.” A mountain of a man appeared by the door. His platinum blond hair contrasted slightly with the white winter wonderland outside. His sheer height made Bethany share a silent conversation with Therissa. Therissa had definitely underplayed how tall he was.

“How about we all say hi when we’re inside and not- shit my nuts!” Tripp nearly slipped as he took a step outside. “Son of a goddamn,” He huffed and awkwardly held out his arms.

“Are you okay, baby?” Sarita carefully stepped outside and closed the front door.

“I’m fine. Nearly split my pants but I didn’t.”

“Damn, well it’s hardly Christmas without you ripping your pants, Dad,” Therissa gave a teasing smirk over to her dad who frowned at her before giving a hearty laugh.

“That’s true.” It took him a few seconds and the help of his wife but soon he was back on safe ground. With that worry out of the way everyone seemed to pick up on Bethany’s presence.

“Oh, hello there, are you a friend of Therissa’s?”

Bethany was quiet for a second; she didn’t want to say something that would either shut down or force Therissa to come out right now. After an awkward second though Bethany felt Therissa hold onto her hand.

“No, she’s my girlfriend.” Therissa could feel her entire gut on fire as her anxiety shot through her body. Time seemed to stand still and seconds felt like they lasted for minutes until the silence was finally broken by Delfia.

“Oh, now it all makes sense. Gay.”

Dewey did an overexaggerated gasp. “Be gay, do crimes! It all makes sense now!”

Therissa stood there for a moment, blinking slowly. “That’s it?”

“Well it was really obvious you were gay,” Delfia shrugged.

“No??? What, no it wasn’t!” Therissa was still reeling from how casually her siblings had taken the information she hardly even registered her mom’s hug.

“You two, enough teasing. It was very brave for you to share that with us, Therissa,” Sarita’s hug tightened around her daughter and she swayed her back and forth gently.

Therissa was in a perpetual state of shock while Bethany was smiling, relieved that everything had gone well.

“Well, what was your name?” Tripp stood before Bethany who immediately became intimidated.

“Bethany, sir.”

“Uh huh and have you been treating my daughter well?”

“Yes, Mr. Moore.” Bethany swallowed roughly. She didn’t think she had ever seen someone so tall.

“Dad, cut that out, stop giving her a hard time,” Therissa spoke up and came to Bethany’s defense.

Tripp raised his hands up. “Hey I was just looking out for my kid.”

“Don’t mind our dad, he looks really intimidating but he’s a big softie. Come one, I wanna hear about everything.” Delfia grabbed Bethany’s hand and started to guide her inside.

“She mainly wants to hear about all the embarrassing stories you have of Therissa.” Dewey called out with a grin then went to help unload the car.

“What? Hey, Delfia, you better not!” Therissa yelled but Delfia completely ignored her younger sister and continued to talk with Bethany.

“Therissa, I need a hand here!” Dewey struggled with the bags, trying to push his glasses up at the same time. Luckily it wasn’t that hard to bring in the bags and get back into the warmth of the house with the help of their dad.

“I set up the guest room for you but I’ll be sure to grab an extra pillow and some blankets so Bethany is comfortable too. Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” Sarita wrapped her daughter in a tight hug then wandered off to get that task done.

“So, wanna help me with setting up the after-dinner DnD game?” Dewey walked forward and Therissa followed close behind him.

“So, that’s it, everyone just accepts me as being bi?”

“Yep. I mean me and Delphia had a hunch but we didn’t want to just go declaring it.” Dewey got out a tablecloth and worked to drape it. “Why? Were you worried or something?”

Therissa stayed quiet for a few seconds as she helped her younger brother.

“Well you don’t have to worry anymore. Mom and Dad might grill Bethany a bit during dinner but besides that I think she’ll fit right in. She seems nice.”

“Yeah, she’s great. I really wanted her to meet everyone,” Therissa reached for a D20 dice when a small hiss left her brother’s lips. “What?”

“That’s my lucky die.”

“Really? But there’s two here,”

“One is Erin’s.” Dewey spoke before realizing what he had said.

“What?”

“Nothing. Forget I said my girlfriend’s name!” Dewey’s eyes widened when he slipped up again. “Shit!”

“Damn, is this holiday gonna just be a reveal of different girlfriends?" Therissa teased her sibling as she sat down. The two of them talked for a long time while their mom had wandered back into the kitchen.

“So then Therissa tried to steal another dollar but when she got back to our room she realized that it was just one of those fake dollars that we used to play with,” Delfia explained and smiled when it got a laugh out of Bethany.

“So she’s always been a mischievous thief, huh?”

“Yep, that’s always been the case,” Delfia explained then looked over into the kitchen. “Need help, Mom?”

“Hmmm yes that would be great.” Sarita smiled softly.

“I can help too. I’m not the best cook though so maybe just leave me to chopping duty,” Bethany walked into the kitchen and worked to roll up her sleeves.

“Oh, you don’t have to do anything. You’re a guest.”

“Well as a guest I figured helping out was the least to do since you’re letting me spend some of the holiday here.” Bethany noticed how much those words had meant to Sarita.

“You are a very thoughtful young lady.”

Bethany scratched the back of her head for a moment. “I try to be.” She wandered over to wash her hands and listened to the different instructions that Sarita was giving.

“So how did you and Therissa meet?” Sarita asked while Bethany worked to cut up an onion.

“Oh, we met during our last year of college. I spotted her in the gym and kept seeing her around so I asked her out for coffee. One thing led to another and now we’ve almost been dating for two years.”

“Two years,” Delfia gave a small whistle. “Damn, and my sister still hasn’t proposed to you.” She tsked teasingly.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with dating for a while!” Therissa called out from the living room as she helped her dad fix the dancing holiday jazz Santa.

“Uh huh,”

“Well I think there isn’t anything wrong with it.” Sarita added then got out a pot to put on the stove. “Can you tell me how much butter and flour I’ll need for this, Bethany?”

“Sure,” Bethany walked over and studied the recipe card. It would take her a little longer with how fancy Sarita’s cursive was.

“Is it not that much? I can always eyeball it.”

“Sorry, my dyslexic brain isn’t registering your writing yet.”

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to put pressure on you like that.” Sarita apologized but Bethany waved her hand dismissively.

“No, no, it's totally fine.”

“Oh shit that reminds me!” Therissa yelled and her loud footsteps were heard through the house before her face poked out from by the wall. “Bethany can’t handle dairy well so could we have some dishes that don’t have it? I could help make them.”

“Yes, any help would be great. And don’t worry, Bethany, I’ll make sure there is plenty of food you can eat.” Sarita reassured Bethany who gave a soft smile.

Soon everyone was focused on their tasks at hand. The conversation kept going at their usual speed.

“So, I know Therissa only said that she’d be here a couple of days but if you want you can stay longer.” Sarita offered and worked to get some of the dishes in the oven. It was obvious that she had already bonded with Bethany and enjoyed her company.

“That’s really sweet, Mrs. Moore,”

“Please, call me Sarita,”

“Okay,” Bethany gave a short nod. “That’s a really kind offer but me and Therissa were planning to spend some time at my parents’ place after this so I get to see them during the holidays.”

“Are your parents cool with you dating Therissa?” Tripp asked before swearing as he'd knocked over a cup on the table during the set up.

“Yeah, they’ve been really supportive.”

“That’s wonderful, maybe one day our two families can get together and meet.” Sarita looked over and spotted Therissa’s smile as she shook her head. “What?”

“Nothing,” Therissa wandered over towards the table and got back to work setting it. She should’ve figured that if things had gone well then her mom would want that.

After about twenty minutes everything was ready and they all sat at the table. Tripp worked to carve up slices of ham while everyone else passed around the sides. Warm, buttery rolls, collard greens, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked mac and cheese. There was more than plenty for all of them. Dewey struck up a conversation about Bethany regarding DnD. Oof course as soon as she had shared that she hadn’t played a game yet Dewey told her that that would change tonight.

“Yeah, my brother always puts together a crazy Christmas DnD campaign so get ready for that,” Therissa whispered over to Bethany.

“‘Crazy’ as in fun. Believe me, you’re gonna fall in love with DnD,” Dewey exclaimed enthusiastically, causing a smile to appear on Bethany’s lips.

“Sounds good to me.”

Her attention was quickly pulled away into another conversation. For most of the meal both Bethany and Therissa would be put on the spot answering all kinds of questions. Once dinner was done Tripp went to work making some decaf coffee while Sarita along with Delfia’s help served the tembleque. Bethany stared down at the cinnamon-dusted coconut pudding in awe.

“This looks great.”

“Thank you, it also has coconut milk so it should be okay for you to eat.” Sarita sat back down before giving a small thank you as her husband brought over a cup of coffee. Everyone happily dug into the dessert, eating it quickly.

“Mmm, this is a damn good cup of coffee, Mr. M,” Bethany smiled when she saw how happy that had made Tripp.

“Thanks, I’ve had years of practice to perfect my coffee,” He went on and on about brewing techniques and while his kids weren’t really paying attention to Bethany was and kept nodding along as she listened.

“Anyway, I’ve been talking your ear off. Are we still gonna be doing the Christmas picture tonight, cupcake?” Tripp looked over at his wife who hummed quietly in thought.

“I would like to. Bethany, do you want to join in for pictures?"

The question surprised Bethany who was taken aback for a few solid seconds. “Umm, sure if that’s okay with everyone.”

“Yeah, it’s fine with us,” Delfia responded and Dewey nodded in agreement.

“Okay then yeah, let’s do pictures!”

Sarita seemed happy at that and quickly worked to clear the table along with the help of the family before getting ready for the picture. Everyone tried to find the best spot for all of them to fit in as Tripp got the timer ready for the camera. It took some time and maneuvering but soon everything was set and everyone had found a good place. Therissa stood behind Bethany and immediately wrapped her arms around her shoulders. Bethany’s hands came up to hold onto her girlfriend’s arms and the two shared a smile.

Therissa couldn’t believe everything had gone okay. No, it went better than okay. It was perfect. Her family had accepted her and loved Bethany as much as Therissa had hoped. The happiness that it had brought her was indescribable. Without thinking twice, Therissa leaned over and pressed a kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek.

“Te amo.”

The words made Bethany’s heart melt and she swore she hadn’t ever smiled as brightly as she did in that moment. Those words were etched into her memory and the timer on the camera went off, capturing a perfect holiday memory in the making.

[ericsonclan]

Therissa: We’re about to do the taser challenge. You want in?

Violet: What’s the taser challenge?

Mitch: We tase each other, then drink.

Violet: How do you win?

Therissa: What are you, a lawyer? You want in or not?

[ericsonclan]

I Like You The Bestest

Summary: Louis waits impatiently for Clementine to arrive at school

Word Count: 1941

Read on AO3:

The sun was warm today as it peeked through the clouds, its rays pushing through the leaves and highlighting the veins on them. The cool breeze helped with the temperature, making sure it wasn’t too hot or too cold but a happy medium. Not that it mattered much to the kindergartners as they jogged towards the front door, their backpacks bouncing as they got ready for another day of school. One kindergartner seemed keen on waiting outside though. Louis bounced excitedly on the balls of his feet, his hands firm on the straps of his backpack as he waited.

“Hey Louis, wanna head inside?” Marlon asked with a smile but Louis shook his head.

“No, I wanna wait for Clem.” Louis spotted the frown on his best friend’s lips. “Buuut we can play superheroes during recess today.”

Marlon’s eyes were big as they shimmered with happiness. “Deal!” He grinned and dashed off inside, ready to get the boring stuff out of the way and get to recess already. Louis watched his friend bump into Minnie who gave a small frown before brushing off the collision. A moment later though Louis’ gaze returned to the parking lot and he waited. Patience wasn’t his strong suit. Time seemed to drag on like molasses and each second felt like a year to him until finally, he spotted the girl he was looking for. Clementine strolled up with a purple backpack on, the little pink and yellow flower sticker standing out proudly on it. She seemed to be in a tired mood as she kept walking.

“Clem!” Louis grinned and waved excitedly when Clementine spotted him. Immediately her entire expression brightened and she picked up her pace.

“Hi, Louis!” Clementine smiled as he ran towards her, his hug making her smile grow as he swayed them back and forth.

“There! Now that I gave you your morning hug we can go inside!” Louis grabbed onto Clementine’s hand and walked towards the entrance of school. He swayed their hands back and forth as he hummed a happy tune. His day always seemed brighter with Clementine by his side.

As soon as Louis held onto Clementine’s hand he was determined not to let go but his first obstacle appeared fairly quickly. The little kindergartener stared at the nameplate on the desk next to his: Therissa. He didn’t want to sit next to her though, he wanted to be next to Clementine. After brainstorming and letting the gears spin around in his young mind he stomped on over to Therissa who looked to be about to eat a glue stick.

“Therissa, I want you to switch spots!” Louis demanded, trying to be intimidating as possible. It wasn’t very effective though and Therissa just looked at him casually.

“Okay, I want the candy in your bag though,”

“What?”

“I saw candy in there yesterday. So we’re gonna trade: candy for a seat with your girlfriend.”

“Wife! She’s my wife!’ Louis corrected with a huff. Therissa didn’t seem fazed again nor did she respond to that outburst right away.

“So, candy?”

Louis frowned deeply. “Fine.” He rummaged around in his backpack and got out a single partially melted packet of Skittles which Therissa pocketed gratefully. She immediately disappeared though when Ms. Martin went over to ask Louis why he was being so loud and gently reminded him what happens when you misbehave in the classroom. Louis kept nodding along and said he knew that when out of the corner of his eye he spotted Therissa sneakily switching nameplates.

“Louis? What’s with that big smile?” Ms. Martin asked and watched the kindergartener look up at her with a wide grin.

“Because it's a good day!”

Ms. Martin blinked at his response then smiled warmly. She was glad to hear at least one student was excited for the school day. After a minute she went over to talk with Mitch who seemed to have gotten into a stupid fight with Aasim over something, giving Louis the chance to walk over with Clementine to the table. Both of them couldn’t stop smiling as their plan had worked and due to Ms. Martin’s busy schedule and more than energetic class she didn’t notice that the table placement had changed.

The day went by quickly. Louis worked hard to get his assignments done, wanting to impress Clementine who seemed just as eager to show off to him as well. She was going to show counting who was boss and look like the coolest kindergarten in the whole class.

That didn’t turn out to be the case when Clementine declared loudly that she had five beans and Ms. Martin said she was wrong. Instantly the wind left her sails which only made what happened next sting worse.

Mitch gave a small laugh which made Clementine shoot a look over his way.

“What?”

“Nothing,” He smirked. “I can count more beans than you can.” Mitch stuck out his tongue and Clementine stood up abruptly, her chair clattering to the ground as she stomped over to Mitch and threw an eraser at his face. Ruby gasped softly at the violent scene before her but it only escalated. Mitch quickly picked up the eraser and threw it back then proceeded to toss his beans at Clementine. Her eyes flared up at that and she reached out for him.

“You have a stupid face!” Clementine wrestled with Mitch who fell to the floor and started fighting back.

“Oh yeah? Well look in the mirror,” He spun around on the ground with Clementine. Some kids like Violet and Minnie seemed chill with the fight. Others like Brody and Ruby, on the other hand, were worried about it. The fight was long, vicious, and cutthroat in the kindergartners’ minds. In reality, though they rolled around three times for two minutes before getting picked up and separated by Ms. Martin.

“That's enough, you two. How many times have I told you not to fight?” She looked back and forth between the pair.

“I wouldn’t fight her if she wasn’t stupid,” Mitch grumbled and frowned deeper when Clementine stuck her tongue out at him. Those last actions the kindergarteners displayed had been the final straw. Within seconds they were in their timeout corners and watched as the rest of the class got to go outside for recess.

Louis stood there in shock. He hadn’t moved at all since he’d almost got in trouble while switching the nameplates earlier and was worried he wouldn’t get a second chance. But now Clementine was in the timeout corner. They were separated.

While Louis was stuck in his guilt about not helping Clementine, Brody was happily walking away, pretending not to hear Mitch calling out for her. She was obviously not a fan of what he pulled just now. “Let’s go, Louis,” Brody grabbed her friend’s hand and pulled him outside.

“Brody! It was Clem’s fault!” Mitch called out but it was too little too late and those words weren’t what the auburn wanted to hear.

Once she was outside Brody was ready to ask Louis if he wanted to play in the sandbox with her and Ruby but Marlon quickly scampered forward. His jacket was wrapped around him and fluttered like a cape. “Ready to be heroes, Lou?” He beamed as he placed his hands on his hips.

Immediately Louis mirrored his best friend’s expression and mannerism. “Yeah!”

“Awesome! See ya, Brody!” Marlon gave a wave as he ran off, Louis right behind him and working to get his jacket on like a cape.

Both boys owned the playground, making large leaps and cool sound effects as they saved imaginary citizens. Louis sent out cheesy quip after cheesy quip while Marlon settled on the generic superhero phrases. The two of them were having the time of their lives, inseparable when together as they stood back to back.

“Evil better watch out!” Louis looked over at his best friend with a grin.

“Yeah, we’re gonna kick its butt!” Marlon jumped down and landed with a heavy thud. Louis scrambled over to the monkey bars and swung wildly as he gave a never-ending commentary.

Recess was over before they knew it and soon Ms. Martin was calling them back inside. It took Louis no time at all to spot Clementine, frowning and slumped in her chair.

“You doing okay, Clem?”

“No. Mitch is a stupidhead,” She sent a look over at Mitch who stuck his tongue out but as soon as there was the possibility of Ms. Martin spotting them, they both stopped. Clementine was still bitter though long after the break and she held onto her grouchiness until she felt Louis tap her shoulder.

“I got some stickers from the treasure box last week. You want one?” He held out his hand secretly and looked over to see where Ms. Martin was. She was currently busy explaining to Omar why he had to partner up and the importance of teamwork. Louis quickly glanced back and held up a cat sticker, turtle, and a rainbow. Clementine studied them for a few minutes then tapped the cat one.

“That one for me and this one for you. We can put them on during lunch,” Clementine whispered conspiratorially.

“Ooo! Okay,” Louis whispered back and giggled with excitement. He couldn’t wait for lunch break.

As the seconds ticked by, his legs kicked enthusiastically under the table until Ms. Martin finally announced that it was lunch. Without waiting a second longer, Louis grabbed Clementine’s hand and ran outside but suddenly stopped. His eyes were wide as he redirected and went back inside. He didn’t bother asking for permission as he grabbed the little toy piano then ran outside with Clementine. Both of them made their way towards the tree and sat down by the patch of wildflowers. Silently, Louis worked to get the backs off the stickers while Clementine picked some tiny flowers.

“Come on, don’t be a meanie!” Louis scolded the stickers as he worked on them, completely unaware that Clementine was putting little flowers in his dreadlocks. A minute or two later Louis let out a little victory cheer at getting one sticker free. With a dramatic flair, he placed the cat sticker on Clementine’s shirt then worked to get his turtle one on. “These stickers are so cool!” Louis beamed and bounced excitedly on the ground until a small flower fell down onto his lap. His brows furrowed, his hand silently reaching up and feeling the different flowers in his hair.

“I wanted you to look extra pretty today,” Clementine explained as she swayed back and forth. Louis was silent for a second, his eyes wide before he reached over and wrapped Clementine in a hug.

“Now I am extra pretty, Thanks, Clem!”

Clementine returned the hug and held on tight. “You’re welcome.”

Louis kept going on and on about whatever he thought of until he redirected the conversation back to Clementine. “Wanna know a secret?” Louis whispered and watched Clementine’s curiosity grow. She gave a short nod and Louis leaned towards her ear.

“I like you the bestest,”

Clementine’s mouth went slightly ajar at that and she saw Louis grin big.

“I like you the bestest too.”

She was sure Louis’ smile couldn’t get any bigger but it did and he excitedly reached for the toy piano.

“We gotta celebrate this with a song!”

“Okay, I’ll get our lunches set up like a picnic,” Clementine grabbed the lunch boxes and began to work while overly enthusiastic music notes filled the air. Both of them were far too excited from their mutual confessions and neither wanted lunch to ever end.

[ericsonclan]

Decided to share how our OCs celebrate the holidays

[ericsonclan]

Not Fair

Summary: Ms. Martin has an announcement that causes an uproar in the kindergarten classroom. Some of the kids are transferring to another class.

Word Count: 1353

Read on AO3:

Renata lay on her stomach as she hummed a tune to herself. Her hand haphazardly moved across the paper as she held onto the purple crayon tightly. Her tongue stuck out fully a moment later and she made raspberry sounds all for the sake of doing so.

“Renata,” Ms. Martin made her way over. “Let’s keep the volume down, okay?”

“Okay!” Renata spoke extremely loud then spoke again in a whisper. “Okay.”

Ms. Martin gave a thumbs up for the volume level then went over to check on some of the other kids.

“What are you drawing?” Minnie sat down next to Renata and stared at the paper with big eyes.

“It's us as dragons!” Renata exclaimed excitedly then caught Ms. Martin’s look and quieted down. Her energy stayed the same though as she beamed over at Minnie.

Minnie looked at it, her mouth ajar in awe as she looked at the misshapen dragons on the paper. The colors slipped way outside the creatures and it was sloppy. Renata had neither the skill nor the patience to color within the lines.

“I’m the purple one and you’re the red one.” Renata grinned as she held up the paper. “We’re gonna kick butt.”

“Whoa, yeah!” Minnie chimed enthusiastically then cupped her mouth when she realized she was being really loud.

“We’ll fly through the sky and it will be like Bam! Pow!” Renata spun around then tried to do a cool move to impress Minnie when in actuality it was just her placing her hands on the ground where her feet were already firmly set. She looked at Minnie with a big smile from the gap between her legs then made loud fire-breathing sounds. Minnie thought it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen but Ms. Martin wasn’t as impressed as she sighed and put Renata in a spot she was rather familiar with: the timeout corner. Renata didn’t seem to mind at all though. She made Minnie smile and that’s all she wanted. In fact, she was confident that she would make Minnie smile every day for forever.

“So, as of today some of you will be joining the other kindergarten class.” Ms. Martin spoke up from her place at her desk. “If I call your name, stand over by the door.”

Everyone started to talk loudly at that; none of them seemed all that excited by the news. Prisha held onto Violet’s hand tighter, not wanting it to be one of their names. It wasn’t that long since they had decided to be wives and she didn’t want to lose Violet forever. That other class seemed miles away in their minds.

“Don’t worry, the classroom is just down the hall so you’ll still see each other during break and lunch,” Ms. Martin reassured the kids but none of the kindergarteners seemed to believe her. Clementine hugged onto Louis tightly, ready to fight anyone if they were separated.

“Alright, first up is Omar,”

Everyone looked over at Omar who seemed fine with the transfer. He silently made his way over while Louis dramatically called out.

“No!”

“Louis, what did we say about your inside voice?” Ms. Martin looked over at Louis who pouted.

“That it’s my inside friend and my outside voice is my outside friend.”

Ms. Martin nodded along in approval then looked at the list again.

“Oakley,”

Duck let out a sharp gasp then reached out and clung onto Oakley’s shirt. Oakley stood there, their expression minimal but Ms. Martin could tell that their little heart had been crushed. Neither of them moved for a second before Duck tugged on Oakley’s sleeve.

“It’s okay, I’ll see you at break and lunch like Ms. Martin said.”

Oakley nodded along then went over to where Omar was standing.

“Okay, next up are Marlon and Brody.”

That got an intense reaction. Louis’ eyes were wide as he yelled again.

“No! That’s two of my bestest friends!” His pout deepened as his eyes grew big and glassy.

“Louis, you’ll see them at break and lunch. They’ll still be your bestest friends,” Ms. Martin’s voice was calm until she heard a clatter. Her eyes darted over to the right to see that Sophie was trying to lift up Marlon to get on top of the bookshelf and reach the window. She wasn’t quite strong enough to be holding someone for that long though and so Marlon’s body had knocked over some books.

“Sophie.”

Sophie looked over at Ms. Martin and gave her the saddest pleading expression. “I don’t want to just see him at break and lunch.”

“I know, but you’ll get used to it. Now you two pick up those books and then Marlon will go over with Brody and-” Ms. Martin paused when she saw that Mitch was over there too. The deepest frown was on his lips as he held onto Brody’s hand. Somehow he had snuck over there and so had Ruby who was hugging onto Brody.

With a long sigh, Ms. Martin made her way over. She figured she could deal with the two little firecrackers of the class but Mitch and Ruby weren’t having any of it. Within seconds both of them were in the timeout corner. Sophie was already stuck in there too, Louis dangerously close with how near he was to throwing a tantrum but Clementine stopped him from crossing that line.

“Okay, one more name and then we’re done.”

Everyone seemed to tense up at that. Everyone but Therissa who was really hoping it would be her. She wanted to be in class with Bethany. She bet she could impress her with all the prizes she had stolen from the treasure box. Coloring with her, sharing goldfish crackers and counting together, that was the dream.

A dream that Therissa wouldn't get.

“Renata.”

Some of the kindergarteners were relieved that it wasn't their name that was called and focused on that. Minnie, on the other hand, began to silently cry. Renata had a strong reaction too but it wasn't as quiet.

“No. No. No. No. No!” Renata flopped onto the floor and started to roll around before she realized something. Frantically she ran over and clung onto Minnie. She couldn’t leave if she just held on tight enough. A happy, smug smile appeared on Renata’s lips until Ms. Martin pulled her away from Minnie with ease.

Renata’s tiny mind was blown by that. She couldn’t believe it.

“Wait! Don’t take her away!” Minnie sniffled and stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Here! Have my stickers back!” Minnie held up crumpled stickers that she had earned from the treasure box. “Stickers for Ren!” It made sense in her mind. Renata was worth way more than stickers to her but Ms. Martin always guarded that treasure box so she must be obsessed with the stickers.

The plan didn’t work though. Ms. Martin calmly explained that everything would be okay and that they’d see each other at lunch then left to drop off the kindergarteners at their new classroom.

“Well hello there,” A woman with a kind smile came over and knelt down to the kids’ level. “I’m going to be your new teacher. You can call me Ms. Sarita,” Sarita held a gentle expression and the other kids seemed genuinely happy to have new kids in their class. Omar and Oakley sat down with some new kids who introduced themselves as James, Jesse, Trey, and Mary while Brody and Marlon headed over to a table where some kindergarteners named Gabe, Bethany, and Nurgul sat.

Renata stayed put though. She was too devastated to move. It wasn’t fair. She had lost everything today. Ms. Martin might as well have taken her lunch and thrown it into a pile of poo - it wouldn’t have made her day any worse. This whole day sucked.

“Come on,”

Renata felt a hand grab hers and she looked up to see a girl with short black hair give a smile.

“My name’s Nurgul and our table is really nice!” She beamed but Renata couldn’t help but still feel down.

Not fair. Today wasn’t fair at all.

[ericsonclan]

Therissa Headcanons

Figured it would be nice to give some headcanons of ours on some of the Ericson kids that didn’t survive to TFS and that Tenn mentions by name in Episode 3. First up is Therissa:

Puerto Rican

Bi 

5′9

Was eleven when the outbreak started

Was sent to Ericson for stealing

Parents died when she was fairly young and her older sister Delfia was the only family she had left

Is usually fairly level-headed but has a propensity for pranks 

Doesn’t like to be vulnerable with others and let them see her cry

Usually doesn’t like gossip because she believes people’s business should be their own

Had a crush on Mitch but nothing ever came of it

Was bitten on the upper left thigh during a scavenging mission and asked to be put down by Mitch

[ericsonclan]

Running into An Ex

Summary: Brody is surprised when Mitch notices his ex walk into Ericson's Diner.

Word Count: 1414

Read on AO3:

Brody stared at the table with a frown on her face; the last customer here made a huge mess. Coffee had been spilled and bits of hash browns and ketchup were splotched around the counter. That didn’t even include the syrup that coated sections of the table making it extremely sticky.

“Honestly, did someone eat here blindfolded?” Brody grumbled as she wiped away the mess. The first few rounds of cleaning got the coffee, hash browns, and ketchup off but the syrup was as stubborn as a mule. No matter how many times Brody worked to clean it it wouldn’t come off. That didn’t dishearten her though, instead it lit a flame in her belly made purely out of being fed up with dealing with this messy table. “Alright, you little shit,” Brody scrubbed at the table with a glare. “I’m winning today,”

She huffed and fought valiantly against the sticky syrup. It took several more minutes but eventually, she had overcome her foe. That fact made her smile proudly and give a long sigh of relief. Brody was about to move on to another table, hoping to get plenty of them cleaned before the dinner rush, when suddenly she felt arms wrap around her waist. She was surprised for a second before she realized it was Mitch.

“Hey there, Brodes, showing the tables who’s boss?” he whispered, tickling her ear for a second as he held her close.

“Yeah, it was no match against me,” Brody tilted her head back and kissed her boyfriend’s jaw. The act made Mitch’s heart flutter and he felt himself grow flustered.

“So, what were you doing here?” Brody questioned. “I thought you had a day off,”

“I came here to surprise you with a visit but one of the toilets wasn’t working so I fixed it first. Don’t worry, I washed my hands afterwards,” Mitch added with a  smile.

“Good because-”

“Oh shit,” Mitch cut off his girlfriend's sentence, making Brody’s nose scrunch up.

“What?”

“My ex just walked in,” Mitch whispered, his arms still around Brody’s waist.

Brody’s eyes were wide. “Really?” Glancing over, she saw a tall Puerto Rican girl with curly brown hair and sharp brown eyes. A confident, chill smile was on her lips as she strolled forward, turning on her way in to reach the bar.  

“We used to date for a bit, broke up since she was fucking mean. She was the one to end things too,” Mitch frowned deeply as he watched the girl.

Brody looked up at her boyfriend’s face then over at the girl. She wasn’t really the jealous type and from what Mitch said it seemed like she didn’t have to be. But Brody knew she was the protective kind and she figured she’d better have a word with this girl. “I’ll be right back,” Brody untangled herself from Mitch’s arms.

“Wait, Brodes, I just said she was mean,” Mitch called out but his girlfriend was already on her way over.

Therissa wandered over to the bar where a blonde was sitting on one of the seats, clearly absolutely smitten with the bartender. The bartender seemed just as in love as she flirted with the blonde before kissing her softly. After a second she noticed Therissa.

“Oh, my apologies, is there a drink you’d like?” The bartender made her way over to where Therissa was sitting.

“Sure, I’d like a cosmopolitan if you make those,”

“Coming right up,” The bartender smiled then went to grab the ingredients. Therissa watched her place the cranberry juice and vodka into the cocktail shaker along with a few other ingredients. The bartender began to shake the container, doing a few tricks that made Therissa smile.

“Shit, you’ve got some skills,” Therissa noticed the bartender smile at that. “What’s your name?”

“Thank you. My name is Prisha,”

“Nice name,” Therissa accepted the drink. “Therissa,” She took a sip and saw that the blonde was watching her with a small frown, a hint of jealousy seemed to dance in her eyes. “Didn’t mean to interrupt time with your girlfriend…” Therissa waited for the blonde to give her name. The girl studied her for a second. “Violet,”

“Violet, right. I can buy you a drink if you want, for interrupting,” Therissa offered, feeling the bartender’s eyes on her for a few moments. Seemed she had drawn another wave of jealousy. She didn’t think she’d be this popular today.

“No thanks, don’t drink,” Violet turned back to face Prisha.

“Gotcha, alright,” Therissa took another sip of her drink. “Holy shit, this is good. Always nice to find a bartender who can make kickass drinks,”

Prisha smiled at that, proud of her skills and happy to get praise for it. “Thank you, I-”

“Hey, you!”

Therissa looked over to see an auburn storming over to her.

Brody could feel her heart pounding in her ears due to nerves. She didn’t like confrontations but that didn’t mean she couldn’t hold her own.

“Hey. Oh, did I steal your seat?” Therissa asked calmly and got up.

“No, I’m here because of my boyfriend,”

“Oh?” Therissa raised an eyebrow and took another sip of her drink.

“Yeah, you two used to date and I’ve got some words to say to you about Mitch!” Brody tried to look intimidating even though Therissa was easily five inches taller than her.

“Wait, Mitch Baker? He’s here?” Therissa cracked a smile. She searched the room before she noticed Mitch trying to look cool by a wall. “Hey, Mitch, get your ass over here!” Mitch grumbled but wandered over towards the bar. “Hey, Therissa,”

“Hey, so what was it you wanted to tell me about Mitch?” Therissa looked back at Brody.

“He said you were really fucking mean to him when you dated,”

Therissa laughed at that. “Oh, that’s rich! We dated for two weeks when I was in seventh grade and he was in sixth grade. We broke up over the fact that he wouldn’t share a blanket,”

Brody blinked in confusion at that. It definitely wasn’t the answer she was expecting.

“Yeah, well you called me names after we broke up!” Mitch huffed angrily.

“Yeah, I’m sure “buttsniffer” really tore out your heart,” Therissa leaned against the bar and finished her drink.

“Really, Mitch? You’re getting butthurt because some middleschool girl called you a buttsniffer?” Violet smirked over at her friend.

“Shut up! It was fucking mean!” Mitch glared at Therissa.

“Eh,” Therissa shrugged. “So, was that all you wanted to talk to me about, Mitch? If you’re worried I’m here to steal away Mr. Blankie, I’m not. I don’t feel like dating your brand of dumbassery,”

“Says the biggest dumbass ever, dumbass!” Mitch snapped at Therissa who had a smug smile on her lips.

“Ouch, how can I ever recover from that?” Therissa’s voice was thick with sarcasm as she finished her drink then looked at the time. “Shit, I gotta go. Thanks again for the great drink,” She placed down some cash for the drink and a generous tip.

Prisha took the tip, pride shimmering in her eyes.

“Nice meeting you all,” Therissa gave a smile then caught Mitch’s eyes. “See ya, buttsniffer,”

Mitch frowned deeply at that and flipped her off, gaining a smack on the arm from Brody. With a chuckle Therissa turned around and headed towards the door. Reaching her hand in her pocket, she examined the little drink umbrella she’d stolen while the others weren’t looking. She had no idea what she’d use it for but stealing always gave her a little burst of adrenaline. Besides, she was sure that Prisha wouldn’t miss this one little umbrella. Tucking it back in her pocket she left the restaurant.

“Really, Mitch? That was your ‘mean ex’? I went over to confront her!” Brody frowned at her boyfriend.

“It was really badass,” Mitch gave a smile to try and make the situation more lighthearted but all he got in return was a long sigh as Brody walked away. “Brodes, wait, I’ve got stories from after those two weeks,” Mitch jogged up to his girlfriend and took her hand.

“What? Did she write something stupid on your desk?”

“Holy fuck, how did you know?!?!”

Brody sighed deeply but listened as Mitch tried to defend his stance on Therissa. Brody wasn’t really buying it seeing as Therissa seemed like a cool person. Still, it was entertaining to hear what her boyfriend considered mean when it was just harmless middle school shit.

[ericsonclan]

How To Outsmart a Fox

Summary: The other monsters try their best to throw a surprise party for Renata.

Word Count: 2816

Read on AO3:

“Alright, I wanna first say thanks for coming to this secret meeting,” Louis smiled over at his group of friends.

“Why are we here again?” Omar asked as he stood by the door, having been pulled into this room when he had spotted some of his friends.

“It's about Renata’s birthday surprise party. It's tomorrow,” Clementine answered then noticed that the door was slightly open. “Hey, Omar, could you close the door?”

“Yeah, sure thi-”

“I’ve got it, my darling!” Louis dramatically took off his hand and sent it on its merry way. The hand walked on its fingers with a bit off a sway over to the door and tapped it shut. “Ta-da!” Louis beamed and only got some claps from Marlon and Clementine. “Thank you, thank you. Now, back to business,”

“Wait, hold up. Where’s Sophie and Minnie? Shouldn’t they be a part of this?” Brody asked as she wrapped her sealskin over her shoulders tighter; she always got nervous about secrets.

“Soph can’t keep a secret for shit,” Violet answered before Louis could.

“And Renata can get any secret out of Minnie,” Ruby added, noticing that a lot of the monsters were gravitating towards Violet due to it being wintertime. With her being a werewolf she had a warmth that stayed constant throughout the snowy months. It seemed like only Prisha was getting to experience that warmth though as she sat beside her girlfriend, holding her hand.

“Yeah, that sneaky little fox would flush weeks of prep down the toilet if she figured it out,” Clementine sighed as she traced something on Louis’ hand. The gesture distracted the frankenstein for a moment before he snapped back onto the task at hand.

“Clem is right! That’s why we’re going to give Minnie a false lead and throw Renata off the trail!” Louis beamed, proud of his plan.

“Who’s going to do that?” Mitch twirled around a pencil on his finger with boredom.

“Yours truly! Me and Clem are gonna tell Minnie it's going to be at her place so if Renata is the sneaky fox we all know her to be, then she’ll end up in the wrong place!”

“Okay, but then how do we get Renata to the right destination?”

Prisha’s question made Louis pause, his smile fading.

“I am not sure! But we will figure that out when we get there! Everyone knows your duties for tomorrow when we meet at the forest by school. Oh! And no spilling the beans to Sophie! Dismissed, besties!” Louis chimed then strolled out, hand in hand with Clementine. One by one the other monsters left, going about their usual Friday schedule, excited to finally get to the weekend.

Renata strolled forward, her fangs poking out happily as she walked down the hallway with her best friend. Her tail seemed to be constantly curled into the shape of a question mark and her eyes kept trying to spot any sort of sign of birthday party planning. She was sure that something was in the works but she couldn’t figure out what.

“I wish I could just hide away in my nest and sleep through math,” Sophie let out a sharp yawn, making her feathers bristle up.

“I wish I could be in Min’s nest and sleep the rest of the day away - I can’t wait till tomorrow!” Renata’s tail curled further into a question mark as she held her books close. Sophie smiled over at her friend and was about to say something when a friendly voice appeared in front of them.

“Well, well, if it isn’t my favorite mischievous fox,” Therissa moseyed on forward, the bandages on her arms swaying a bit with her movement.

“Hey there, Therissa,” Renata smiled up at her friend. “Oh, some of your bandages are loose,”

“Oh shit, really?” The mummy worked to get her bandages back on. “Thanks, would’ve been a bit embarrassing if Bethany saw me like that,”

“Even though she’s invisible? What if she’s here right now?” Sophie held a teasing smile on her lips.

“Nah, she’s got a cute outfit on today, I’d spot her anywhere. Just wanted to catch you and give a quick happy birthday to the birthday fox,” Therissa patted Renata’s head who seemed very proud of that title. “Got any fun plans tomorrow?”

“Yep! Sophie and I are having an all-you-can-eat ice cream sundae breakfast then I’m going on a date with Minipie!” The huldra’s fangs stuck out even more as she grinned. “Then who knows… maybe a secret party,” Renata winked at Therissa who didn’t react in a way that gave the huldra any answers.

“Damn, if there’s a secret party let me know, I’ll drop off my present then,” Therissa strolled by and gave a small salute. “Best of luck getting through the rest of Friday!” With that she disappeared down the hallway. Sophie and Renata watched her for a moment then kept on walking.

“You’re not hiding a surprise party secret from me are you, Soph?” Renata glanced over at the harpy.

“If I am, I'm doing a pretty good job because even I don't know the secret,” the harpy laughed, which soon turned into a series of happy twitters when she spotted Marlon. Flying forward she landed on her boyfriend, wrapping him up in a hug. The gesture nearly made his head pop off but luckily the harpy and the dullahan worked together to make sure that didn’t happen. Renata stared at them for a second then looked around; she could swear something was happening around here.

Minnie woke up, glad it was Saturday but not glad that she had nearly blown the secret Clementine and Louis had shared with her yesterday. Renata was always persuasive and usually tried to get her way; it seemed like she had begun to sniff out the surprise party. At least that's how she acted when she tried to get Minnie to spill the secret. It had nearly worked too.

With a sigh Minnie sleepily flew up and out of her nest bed. She had to get dressed and leave soon. According to Clementine and Louis they were going to throw the surprise party here. Sophie was already out with Renata eating way too much ice cream this early in the morning. The last thing those two needed was a sugar high but it was Renata’s birthday so she got to do whatever she wanted. Strolling towards her wardrobe Minnie tried on a  few outfits, trying to find something nice to wear for the birthday date with Renata. After a few different flops she finally found a cool jacket that was warm for the winter and showed off her muscles and feathers and jeans that made her look pretty badass if she said so herself. Working on her hair, she grabbed her sunglasses and clipped them on her shirt before flying down the stairs. She still had half an hour to get to the ice cream parlor but she figured it was better to get there earlier than later.

Renata scarfed down the chocolate, caramel and peanut butter icecream at an alarming rate. Chowing down on the toppings, she looked over to see that Sophie was moving even faster through the sugary treat than she was. The huldra tried her best to keep up but soon got a brain freeze, clutching the sides of her head as her tail curled round her waist.

“Gah! Brain freeze!” Renata stomped her feet on the ground.

“Shit! I’ll get you some water!” Sophie flew off frantically, leaving behind a small trail of feathers in her place. After a minute she returned and Renata quickly chugged the water.

Ah! Thanks! Well, I’m full. How about you?”

“I’m pretty full too,” Sophie looked down at her phone, noticing the time. “Minnie should be here by now so we should head outside. I’ll cover the bill, you can just call me Lady Moneypants,” Sophie smiled then paused for a second. “Don’t call me that,”

“Too late, it's my birthday. Now let's go, Lady Moneypants!” Renata hopped up and strolled outside; she was immediately hit with the cold of the winter.

Sophie instantly felt her teeth chatter. “Maybe it wasn’t smart to have something cold during the winter,”

“Probably, but it sure was tasty!” Renata felt her tail puff out, shook by the cold. Soon her mind was elsewhere though when she spotted her girlfriend leaning against the wall and trying to look cool even though she was cold. The huldra’s teeth poked out as she scampered over to the harpy.

“Minnie!” Renata surprised the tall harpy with a passionate kiss. Minnie was shocked for a second but soon deepened the kiss then shared another one.

“Happy birthday, Ren. Ready for our date?” Minnie smiled lovingly at her girlfriend.

“Yep!” Renata’s hands slipped along Minnie’s hips then rested in her back pockets.

Minnie felt her face turn as red as her hair and a series of flustered tweets and chirps left her lips.

“It's to warm my hands,” Renata had a flirtatious smile on her lips.

“Just hold her hand!” Sophie called out, walking backwards.

“Hmm maybe. I don’t know, it's my birthday!” Renata replied with a smile.

“Okay, I’ll see you at home, Minnie,” Sophie gave a short wave.

“Wait! Don’t go home!”

Minnie’s reaction made both Sophie and Renata look at her.

“Why not?”

“I, ummm...” Minnie’s mind was blanking. Shit, she was going to let the secret out. “I used one of Dad’s books for my nest,”

Sophie’s eyes were wide as a shocked chirp left her lips. “One of his adventure books?”

“Yeah,” Minnie hoped her twin would buy it.

It seemed like she did. “I gotta buy another book! Don’t worry, I’ll cover your ass!” Sophie flew off, leaving a trail of feathers in her wake. Minnie felt a seedling of guilt sink in her heart.

“Minipie,” Renata slipped her hands back, “What are you hiding?”

Minnie looked down at her girlfriend with big eyes - she knew!

Renata gave a grin, figuring that she was on the right track. Curling her tail, she tickled Minnie’s chin then grabbed her hand. “There is a party, isn’t there! At your house!” Renata started to run, her speed made Minnie’s talons stumble about as she gave chase.

“Shit, fuck, wait, it was a secret!” Minnie called out but the huldra was locked onto her destination. Weaving between different humans who gave a few stink eyes, the couple made their way back to the harpy’s house.

Throwing open the door, Renata was ready to get hit in the face with confetti. “Happy birthday, me!” The huldra shot her arms up, her tail stuck in its usual question mark shape. She waited a second then waved her arms. “Guys, I caught onto the secret! I’m ready for the surprise party!” Renata waited but nothing happened. After a minute her smile faded and her tail went limp. Walking over to the staircase she sat down, her tail draped over the step. Minnie felt her heart drop; she hadn’t seen Renata in a funk like this.

“Hey, maybe they just gave me the wrong time,” Minnie took Renata’s hand but she could tell Renata was too sad right now to care.

“Nah, I was being stupid. Guess I got my hopes up for nothing. It's okay though, all my huldra friends always thought I was annoying growing up too,” Renata cracked a smile, trying to brush aside how hurt she felt.

“No, the others aren’t like that! They aren’t bullshit friends! I must’ve fucked up somewhere along the way with the party info!” Minnie pulled Renata into a hug but she didn’t return it. It seemed like today had brought up some bad memories.

Renata didn’t really say much for a few seconds. “Let’s just go on our date,”

“You sure?” Renata gave a small nod.

“Okay, then-” Minnie stopped when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she saw that it was Sophie. “Soph, now isn’t a good time,”

“Hey, I need you to get Renata to the forest by the school,”

“What?” Minnie’s nose scrunched up. “I don’t have time for games,” The harpy’s voice went softer. “Listen, Ren is really sad,”

“Shit! Really? Bring her to the forest then. Trust me!” Without another word Sophie hung up. Minnie blinked at the phone for a second then stuffed it back in her pocket with a huff. Whatever, maybe one of her sister’s dumbass jokes would make Renata happier.

“Change of plans, we’re going to the forest by school first,” Minnie waited for Renata to get up but she didn’t move at first. After a second Minnie decided it was best to just carry her there. The huldra always did enjoy hugs so this could make her feel better. Holding Renata in her arms, the harpy felt the huldra wrap around her like a koala.

“Just give me a minute and I’ll be happy again,” Renata whispered into Minnie’s ear.

“You don’t have to be,”

“I wanna. I hate feeling like this, I didn't think I would again. I’m not gonna let shitty sadness win. Just need another minute for your hug to recharge my battery!” Renata’s voice wavered, battling between conflicting emotions.

“Heh, I thought that only your hugs gave back energy,” Minnie walked outside and made sure Renata was as warm as she could be as she held her.

“Nah, your hugs are magical too, Min,” Renata nuzzled her head against her girlfriend’s neck. Her tail was still limp though.

“Okay, take all the energy you need,” Minnie kissed Renata’s cheek then kept walking. As she made her way to the forest she saw the looks humans were giving. She glared back at them; who gave a fuck about them right now. It was none of their fucking business if she carried her griflriend around. The harpy felt her feathers ruffle as her emotions bubbled. She focused ahead, her talons clanking against the sidewalk as she moved as fast as she could to the forest. Whatever Sophie had in mind it better be something great.

After a while Minnie reached the forest. Wandering forward, she wasn’t sure what she expected but she definitely wasn’t expecting fox balloons. Confused twitters left her lips as she continued on, making Renata poke her head up. Her eyes caught sight of the balloons too then the colorful tent in a clearing in the forest. In an instant her tail curled back into its usual shape. Happiness shimmered in the huldra’s eyes when she spotted the huge sign in the snow for her that read “Happy Birthday, Renata!”

“Holy shit!” Renata’s mouth was ajar when suddenly tons of monsters jumped out from behind the trees.

“Surprise!!!”

“Happy birthday, Ren!” Sophie dumped a bunch of confetti from the sky, coating the huldra and her twin completely.

“This is for me?” Renata let go of her girlfriend and landed on the ground. She looked around, spotting the pile of presents and a lumpy looking snowman in the shape of what she assumed was supposed to be her. Her favorite snacks were on the table and all her friends were here.

“We wanted it to be a surprise!” Louis smiled over at the huldra.

“That’s why we didn’t give Minnie the right location, we knew she’d crack under the pressure,” Clementine nudged the harpy’s side with a playful smile.

“But we tricked you! Outsmarted the fox!” Louis grinned proudly.

“That’s why Sophie didn’t know until half an hour ago,” Violet explained, making her best friend nod with a frown.

“Yeah, apparently I couldn’t be trusted with a secret,”

“Oh yeah, that totally makes sense,” Renata’s fangs poked out when she saw the shocked expression on Sophie’s face.

“Well we have tons of games - it will be the ultimate birthday hootenanny!” Ruby exclaimed, her eyes dancing with joy and excitement.

“OOO! Then let’s get this party started right!” Renata took a few steps back then leapt up in the air. With a heavy thunk she landed smack dab in the letter ‘R’ of her name. Her tail flopped over and she soon shook off the snow on her face before pouncing again and again in the snow. The other monsters got to work on getting the party started. Soon enough Renata was laughing with a special fox birthday hat on her head while munching on some food and chatting with the others. The huldra found herself dancing with her friends, using Therissa’s mummy wrappings to twirl around before getting into a fierce dance competition with Louis. As the party continued on, Renata took a moment to look around at everyone. She had tons of friends after all, ones that wanted to spend her birthday with her. That thought made her heart grow all warm and fuzzy. This was definitely the best birthday ever.

[starryviolentine]

Brody’s Diary (Revised Edition): Chapter 2

Part one of the “Pre-Apocalypse Adventures” Series

Chapter 1 ( here )

Therissa is one of the Ericson kids mentioned by Willy in the game as one of the students who died sometime during apocalypse. I normally don’t write fanfics using characters who don’t have a canon appearance and personality already, but for this story I needed a third roommate/older sibling figure for Violet and Brody. Before I knew it, I had come up with this headcanon of Therissa…and I’ve kind of fallen in love with her character. (She was kind of inspired by Xanthippe from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt if you’ve seen that show!)

Violet must have dozed off because the next thing she knows is she’s being shaken awake. It takes a moment for the sleepy static in her brain to wear off, but once the fuzziness fades she notices that the bedroom is a little darker than she remembers. How long was she asleep?

“Rise and shine, loser. You’re gonna miss dinner.”

The voice belongs to Violet and Brody’s seventeen-year-old roommate, Therissa. Therissa is sarcastic, indifferent, and possesses a rather dark sense of humor. Over the past few months of living together, Violet has grown accustomed to the teenager’s tendency to be a little mean. She’s not sure why, exactly, Therissa was sent to Ericson’s, but she has a feeling that it might have something to do with her attitude.

Normally, Violet doesn’t care about the names Therissa calls her and Brody, but tonight it strikes her in a sore spot. She rolls over until she’s facing the wall and closes her eyes again, hoping that Therissa will leave her alone. She’s really in no mood to talk to anybody. 

“Hey, you haven’t caught that stomach thing that’s been going around, have you?” Therissa notices her roomie’s lack of response and wonders if there’s something wrong. “Justin told me that two kids were puking their guts out in the boys’ dorm this morning. Totally disgusting.”

The younger girl still hasn’t said a word or even acknowledged her presence, so Therissa comes a little closer to Violet’s bunk to check on her. As the oldest, she feels a teensy bit of responsibility to make sure her younger roommates are still breathing, at the very least. “If you’re gonna hurl, don’t do it in here.”

“I’m not sick.”

“Oh, good. You’re not dead,” Therissa says flatly. “Get up. Go eat.”

Violet scowls at the wall. “I’m not hungry.”

So there is something wrong. Therissa had a feeling that something was off, but now she’s pretty certain that her youngest roommate is upset. “What’s eating you?”

Tired of all the poking and prodding, Violet’s temper goes off again. “I’m just not hungry, okay? Leave me alone!”

“Seriously?” The teenager rolls her eyes and heaves an exasperated sigh. “Okay, if that’s how you’re gonna be...”

For a brief moment, Violet thinks that she’s won and that Therissa’s going to leave her alone. To her horror, she couldn’t have been more wrong. Instead, Therissa slips out of her boots and hoists herself up into the little blonde’s bunk.

“Move over.”

There’s a short pause while Violet considers her next move. It’s not too late to fight Therissa on this. But Violet’s tired, and she’s got no spark left in her to keep up her tough front. She sluggishly scoots closer to the wall to make room for the older girl.

Therissa makes herself comfortable in the space next to Violet. “So, what’s up with you?”

Violet doesn’t answer.

“Come on, Violet,” the teen tries again. There’s no way for Therissa to see the kind of expression Violet’s making with her facing the other way, so she has to make do with speaking to the back of the younger girl’s head. “This amount of sulking isn’t normal, even for you. I know something’s wrong.”

Violet’s ears perk up. She can’t tell if she’s imagining it, but her roommate’s voice suddenly sounds gentler than usual. It’s really strange.

“You wanna tell me about it?”

This is the first time Therissa has shown any concern for Violet’s feelings. The younger girl isn’t sure how to respond. Deep, deep down there’s a part of her that longs to turn to Therissa for comfort. There’s a voice inside her head giving her the okay to open up to the teen, but it’s currently being drowned out by a louder, overbearing warning alarm sounding No! No! No!. In her current emotional state, Violet knows that if she does try to talk about what happened, she would probably start crying like a baby and might not be able to stop. And that would be a complete nightmare.

“No? Okay.” Therissa stretches out so that she’s lying comfortably on her back with her arms behind her head. “You won’t mind if I just stay here for the rest of the night, then?”

“Don’t,” Violet mumbles quietly. “Just go.”

“How could I possibly have an appetite when my favorite little blonde brat is all sad and lonely and won’t even tell me what’s wrong?” Therissa’s teasing is familiar and oddly comforting. Her persistence cracks away at Violet’s protective shell and the younger girl can feel her guard slipping. “Let me guess. You got detention for sleeping during class again?”

As a matter of fact, Violet hasn’t fallen asleep in class for a good couple of weeks. She shakes her head.

“Boy trouble?”

Violet scrunches up her nose and makes a face even though Therissa can’t see it. “No, gross!”

The teenager laughs. “What else...?” After a pause, she suddenly gasps and feigns horror. “Don’t tell me… the dining hall stopped serving chicken nuggets?”

A tiny smile tugs on the corners of Violet’s mouth. “Stop.”

“I’ll leave you alone as soon as you tell me what’s wrong,” Therissa says, adjusting her position again so that she’s back to sitting upright. Her tone also changes to reflect her posture, becoming lower and more serious.

At this point, Violet knows that the teen isn’t going to give up. She pulls the covers over her head and groans. “Fine,” she mutters, voice muffled by her blanket, “I’ll tell you.”

“Sorry, I can’t really hear you with that blanket over your face,” Therissa exaggerates. “Maybe if you turned around so we could have a conversation like actual human beings—”

“Okay, okay! God!” Violet surrenders. She wiggles under the covers until her head pokes out, then pushes herself into a sitting position and finally faces her roommate. “Happy?”

Even though Violet’s looking in Therissa’s direction, she won’t look her in the eyes. Still, it’s a start. “Whenever you’re ready.”

It takes Violet a while before she musters enough courage to talk. Therissa is patient and allows the girl to take as much time as she needs. She can tell that whatever happened is really bugging her. Rather than risk the possibility of making Violet change her mind and close up again by saying anything else, Therissa waits until she’s ready to talk.

Violet, who hates talking about her feelings and avoids it whenever possible, can’t believe what she’s gotten herself into. Nevertheless, she prepares a single sentence. It’s short, sweet, and gets right to the point. Closing her eyes, she rehearses it in her head several times, in a nonchalant voice, until she’s confident that that’s exactly how it’s going to sound coming out of her mouth. Once satisfied, she gives herself a last-minute mental pep talk. That no matter what, she’s not going to start crying and make herself look stupid. 

I will not cry in front of Therissa. I will not cry in front of Therissa. I will not cry in front of Therissa. Violet inhales deeply and opens her eyes. It’s now or never.

“Brody—” The eleven-year-old doesn’t even get one word out before her voice betrays her and falters. The moment the name comes out of her mouth, her friend’s angry face comes into her mind and she feels it again. That same heavy, sinking feeling in her stomach and the tightening in her chest from earlier that day. Her eyes sting with tears and her throat feels like it’s constricting. Violet makes a fatal mistake. She glances up and catches Therissa’s unusually soft and understanding gaze.

It’s all over. The dam has broken and Violet’s no longer in control of her own body. Her shoulders tremble and shudder and she chokes out her words. “B-Brody’s mad at me…”

At first, the teenager is taken aback at how instantly her roommate breaks into tears. The longer she thinks about it, though, the more she realizes that it’s not so surprising after all. When Violet first arrived at Ericson’s, she didn’t utter a single word for weeks. As far as Therissa knows, the first person Violet ever willingly talked to was Brody. Even from the very beginning, not once was Brody put off by Violet’s antisocial front, nor did she ever get too discouraged by their one-sided conversations. She still talked to Violet every day and made sure she had someone to sit with during meals. 

And then, slowly but surely, Violet began to bloom. 

A slight change here, a tiny change there. Over the course of a few weeks, Violet went from not even acknowledging Brody at all to lifting her head and looking over when she heard Brody call her name. To gradually being able to make eye contact. To eventually answering her questions with a nod, shrug, or shake of her head. Before long, Violet became even more expressive, now reacting to Brody’s stories with a multitude of facial expressions or, if Brody said something particularly funny, even little bouts of laughter. 

From then on, the two girls only grew closer and closer, and Therissa was secretly glad that Brody now had a roommate her own age to pester. Occasionally, after lights-out, Brody would climb into Violet’s bunk with her portable DVD player and they would stay up late watching one of the auburn-haired girl’s cheesy tween movies, stifling giggles as they huddled close together under the covers.

Of course, Therissa would get mad and yell at them to “Shut up and go to sleep!”

Violet and Brody go to breakfast, lunch and dinner together. Therissa suspects that they spend every waking hour outside of class together, too. Skinny little Violet with her toothpick legs even joined Ericson’s Outdoor Adventure Club because Brody wanted her to come with her on their nature hikes and camping trips. Up until now, Therissa has never seen one half of the duo without the other somewhere nearby.

As much as Violet likes to act tough and hide her emotions, Therissa knows that she cares about Brody a lot and that she’s completely soft when it comes to her friend. Watching Violet crumble simply because she and Brody had a silly fight earlier is enough indication that tonight is going to suck, especially if their dorm room turns into a warzone. The teenager would much rather be as uninvolved with this tween drama as possible, but right now her roommate looks like she could really use somebody there with her. Contrary to popular belief, Therissa isn’t completely heartless, so she stays and waits for Violet to tell her the whole story.

[starryviolentine]

Brody’s Diary (Revised Edition): Chapter 3

Part one of the “Pre-Apocalypse Adventures” Series

Chapter 1 ( here )  Chapter 2 ( here )       

With three years of experience at Ericson Academy—or, as it’s more infamously known by local West Virginians as well as its own faculty and students, Ericson’s Boarding School for “Troubled Youth”—under her belt, it comes as no surprise that Therissa has witnessed her fair share of crappy situations. But nothing, nothing that the teenager has encountered in all that time even comes close to this. Her youngest roommate, Violet, is an absolute mess.

“In the lounge… after class… she just started yelling at me… for no reason…!”

Therissa has never seen anything more pitiful in her life.  

Speech riddled with shaky, whimpery breaths, Violet struggles to tell Therissa what happened between her and Brody. It probably would have been a lot easier on them both if she had waited until she was calmer before starting to talk, but after bottling up her hurt and frustration all afternoon, Violet can no longer hold back. The words keep tumbling from her lips.

“Sh-she said… that I took her diary… but I didn’t…! I’ve never even touched it… I wouldn’t! And I tried… I tried to tell her but she didn’t listen… She kept saying… I took it… She wouldn’t listen! But I didn’t…! I didn’t take it!”

Violet lets her head drop into her hands as one last sob forces its way out of her throat. The main part of her story is finished. She can only hope that it was intelligible enough for Therissa to understand. Violet hastily wipes at her eyes with her sleeves, pointlessly, because her tears haven’t quite stopped.

She didn’t want to cry.

So much for that. Violet’s upset with herself for being so weak, not to mention downright embarrassed that she let her roommate see her like this. There’s no way she’s making eye contact with Therissa again.

But Therissa is patient. She doesn’t say anything, nor does she make a fuss over Violet’s tears, which is exactly what the younger girl needs. Before long, Violet starts to feel a little better. Her shoulders feel lighter, like when she finally takes off her backpack on those unlucky days when she has homework in every subject and has to take all of her books home. Finally, finally, Violet’s tears subside and the girl drags her palms down her cheeks to rid them of the offending wet streaks trailing down to her chin.  

“And then—”

Voice thick and nasally, Violet attempts to continue but stops abruptly. Her congested nose has started to run and she pauses to sniffle hard. She doesn’t have anything to blow her nose with. Out of options, Violet decides to use one of her sleeves, not wanting to gross Therissa out with what seems like endless snot now dripping out of her nose. Unfortunately, one swipe of her sleeve isn’t enough to do the trick. In fact, it actually ends up making things worse by sort of smearing everything around. Violet panics and, mortified, slaps her hands over her face to cover the mess, shooting Therissa an S.O.S. with her eyes.

To her relief, Therissa gets the message and climbs down to steal Brody’s box of tissues from the nearby desk and brings it up to her. Violet takes a much needed moment to clean herself up. When she’s finished, she sighs softly, feeling a hell of a lot better. The embarrassment is still there, though. Violet thanks the heavens that at least Brody didn’t come walking in while she was crying.

The eleven-year-old gathers all of her used tissues and bunches them up in a fist. She keeps her eyes down as she resumes her story. “She said that she never wants to talk to me again…”

Therissa shakes her head and finally says something. “You two are, like, BFFs. There’s no freaking way.”

Violet absentmindedly fingers the edge of her blanket. She doesn’t look convinced.

Sighing, Therissa raises an arm and smooths out Violet’s hair, which got pretty ruffled and messy while she was burrowing into her blankets earlier. “Don’t let that get you down, okay?”

Violet nods slightly, still unable to believe how nice her roommate is being. It almost makes her wonder if she’s dreaming. She will never admit it out loud, but the way Therissa is fixing her hair and patting her on the head actually feels really nice. It makes Violet feel warm inside. “I’ve never seen her like that before. I mean, like, I’ve seen her mad, like that time Marlon put a caterpillar in her hair, but not like this.”

“Well, can you blame her?” Therissa asks. “Think about it. Diaries are always full of personal crap that nobody else is supposed to see. If something like that suddenly went missing, maybe even stolen on purpose, of course she’d react like that. She’s probably freaked out that it’s gonna end up in the wrong hands.”

“I hope Trey and Mitch don’t find it,” Violet says, frowning. “They would tease her for the next century. They’re still being jerks to Maddie about the whole swimming pool incident.”

“What I wanna know,” says Therissa, crossing her arms, “is why Brody thinks you took it. That part makes no sense.” The teen doesn’t notice Violet wilt slightly. “You know, considering you two are practically joined at the hip.”

The younger girl swallows, stomach starting to hurt as she comes to the realization that this is partly her fault after all. “Well... I kinda told her that diaries are dumb.”

Therissa snorts and shakes her head. “Oh, shit. I don’t mean to laugh, but… seriously, Violet? You can’t say that to Brody of all people. She treats that thing like one of her organs.”

At her roommate’s reaction, Violet shrinks even further. If Therissa of all people disapproves, what she did must be pretty bad. Violet didn’t think it was possible for her to feel any worse than she already did, but apparently she was wrong. Very, very wrong.

When Violet first arrived at Ericson’s, she and her mother were greeted by a sickeningly cheerful woman at the front gates who brought them into a big, red brick building to meet the headmaster. The meeting was long and boring, and, in Violet’s opinion, the headmaster asked way too many questions. For the last few minutes, she was asked to wait outside of his office while he and her mother talked alone. Violet couldn’t have left the room any faster. She knew they were going to be talking about her. About what was wrong with her. And she sure as hell didn’t want to be around to hear it.

Eventually her mother left without so much as a hug or a kiss goodbye, and Violet was shuffled off to the dormitory by another faculty member who dropped her off at her room, handed her a key, and instructed her to go inside and get settled in before dinner. Violet reluctantly did as she was told, not having much of a choice. But before she even reached for the knob, the door flew open. That was when she first met Brody.

Violet’s room key clatters to the floor as she is practically pounced on by a girl in pigtails wearing a greenish-blue striped shirt. She immediately becomes uncomfortable and takes a step back, making brief eye contact with the handsy stranger only so she can glare at her and hopefully ward off any further attempts at socialization. But the girl is unaffected and, instead, beams at Violet brightly.

“Hi, I’m Brody! We’re gonna be roommates!” The girl, Brody, is unable to control her excitement. She has been looking forward to Violet’s arrival the entire morning, ever since she and Therissa were suddenly called to the administrative office only to be told that they would be getting a new roommate that afternoon. “What’s your name?”

Violet doesn’t answer. If Brody thinks that she’s in any mood to talk right now, she’s sadly mistaken. She just wants to be left alone. Violet crosses the wooden floors, dragging her duffel bag behind her and tossing her backpack up into the top bunk of the unoccupied bed.

The name tag attached to her new roommate’s luggage catches Brody’s eye, and she tilts her head at an odd angle to try and read it. “Vi… Violet? Your name’s Violet? That’s a pretty name.”

During their first encounter, Brody rambled on and on about things that Violet didn’t want to hear at the time, like facts about the school and how she wanted to give her a tour of the campus. The chatty girl also asked a bunch of questions that Violet didn’t bother answering. When it came time to head to the dining hall for dinner, Brody tried her best to convince Violet to join her, but the stubborn girl refused. Instead, she climbed into her bunk and didn’t come down for the rest of the night.

“This is for you.”

On Violet’s fourth day at Ericson’s, Brody comes up to her new roomie holding a purple notebook and a matching pen. The pen, which hardly resembles a writing utensil at all, has fluffy purple feathers and a big, yellow smiley face attached to the top. It’s the most ridiculous thing Violet has ever seen. The blonde turns on her heels and starts to walk away, hoping Brody will take the hint and let her be. But Brody, determined, catches up to her quickly. She steps in front of Violet, blocking her path, and offers the gifts again.  

“It’s a journal. You can write whatever you want in it,” Brody explains. “I was thinking that it might help you. I have one, too.” She gestures with her thumb to her bed. Violet’s eyes follow Brody’s finger and she spots a blue diary laying right on top of the girl’s pillow. “I write in it whenever I’m mad or sad, or when I’m scared. It always makes me feel better.”

Violet just stares at her, brows furrowed, and it soon becomes obvious that she has no intention of taking the notebook or pen. Brody tries one more time, looking directly into Violet’s eyes as if searching for even the tiniest reaction. “Dr. Larson says that it’s a good way to express yourself.” Nothing. “Well, I’m just gonna leave these on your desk, okay?”

Thinking back on her first days at the school, Violet wishes that she had been a little nicer to Brody. The girl was only trying to make her feel welcome, after all. Now that they’re friends, Violet can’t even imagine treating Brody that way on purpose. Guilt weighs heavily on her heart as she remembers the exact day she said those unkind words about Brody’s diary.

It has been a few months since Violet was dumped at Ericson’s, and the eleven-year-old has finally grown pretty used to her new life. On one sunny Saturday afternoon, she and Brody are sitting under one of the shady trees in the courtyard. While waiting for her friend to finish writing yet another one of her diary entries, Violet chomps on an apple and uses her free hand to play around in the dirt with a stick that she found.

Violet waits for what seems like an eternity. She’s now down to the last of her apple, gnawing on the core to make sure she gets every last edible bit, every now and then glancing back at Brody to check if her friend is ready to go yet. They’re supposed to be at the gym right now. Brody promised that she would shoot a few hoops with her before free time ends.

Popping the rest of the apple, core and all, into her mouth, Violet chews impatiently and wipes her sticky fingers onto her jeans. She spits the seeds into the grass and turns to her friend again. “Are you done yet?”

“Hold on,” Brody replies without looking up. “I just have to finish this part.”

“You said that already,” Violet says, slightly annoyed, “like an hour ago.”

Brody looks at her watch. “We’ve only been out here for twenty minutes. I’ll play ‘Pony’ with you right after this.”

“Brody, it’s called ‘Horse.’”

But Brody has already resumed writing. Violet’s bored out of her mind. She leans back against the tree trunk and sighs loudly. She really wants to play some basketball before the bigger kids come and hog the courts like they always do around this time of day. Maybe it’s already too late.

“Why do you always have to write in that thing anyway?” Violet wonders aloud. “Diaries are so dumb.”

Brody’s pen freezes and hovers over the half-filled journal page. “That’s mean, Vi.”

“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t wanna waste all my time talking to a book, that’s all.”

Ignoring Violet’s comment, Brody nudges her bag of raisins towards her friend. “I’ll give you these if you’ll wait just five more minutes. Then we’ll go, okay?”

Violet huffs but then curiously peers over at Brody’s snack. Raisins aren’t her favorite, but she’s still a little hungry. She takes the bribe. “Fiiine. But if you’re still not done after that, I’m leaving without you.”

“I shouldn’t have said that…” Violet starts to get upset again. “I didn’t mean it, I was just—”

“Hey,” Therissa cuts in. She snaps her fingers in front of Violet’s face, startling her into looking up. “Stop. Give her the night to cool off and then just explain again that you didn’t take the diary. Hell, you could even offer to help her look for it if you wanna make sure you get back on her good side.”

Therissa brings her gaze up to the ceiling and holds it there. When Violet glances over at her, she’s surprised to see that her roommate almost looks… sad? No, not exactly. Violet can’t pinpoint the teen’s emotion, but the atmosphere in the room changes and it’s making her a little nervous.

“Violet?”

“Yeah…?”

“I get it. I know what it’s like to say things you don’t really mean. I do it too,” Therissa confesses. She doesn’t have to look to know that Violet is staring at her in shock. This is the first time she has expressed any sort of remorse for her actions, not to mention the first time she’s ever opened up to Violet about something personal. “But we have to remember that sometimes it comes back to bite us in the ass.”

“Yeah,” says Violet softly, “I know.”

Therissa thumps her youngest roommate on the back and gives her a tiny smile. “Don’t worry, when Brody finally finds that thing she’s gonna feel really stupid for blaming you.” And with that, the teenager climbs down from Violet’s bunk, leaving the blonde to her own thoughts.

Deciding to take Therissa’s advice, Violet resolves to wait until tomorrow before trying to talk to Brody again. Better yet, she hopes that her friend’s diary turns up before then so she can prove that she’s been innocent all along. More than anything, though, Violet just wants everything to go back to normal. Because fighting with Brody totally blows.