#weektwo..thelost

[comicsan5]

who: leon + poppy (@pxppymcguinness) where: the kitchen when: january 11, 9:00am

If anyone walked into the mess that Leon left in the kitchen, they would have thought a 20-person street scuffle broke out among the cabinets and pantries. Despite the dilemma their group faced, Leon couldn't function without breakfast and while the guilt from leaving his friends to strategize by themselves might twist knots in his chest after he empties his bowl, at least he would have satiated his rumbling stomach. What might have taken only five minutes in his studio apartment in Chicago took nearly thirty in the oddly fully stocked cabin. Someone must have known he liked pulpy orange juice with his Froot Loops and that alone brought about a wave of nauseous guilt. He stopped speaking to half of the present party and up until a few hours ago, he was intent on completely ignoring the invite to Stillwater- yet someone still cared enough for him to remember his eating habits? He took the full bowl and walked to the empty dining room, except for the lone chair occupied by one of the few people he occasionally spoke to, rather sporadically, in the past ten years. He was glad to see her in person now but he couldn't help notice how she was less radiant than he remembered her to be. " Funnily enough, I thought you were dead for the past two months. It's a shame you're not." Leon knew that the bickering would follow them wherever they went so he might as well start with what the two of them were used to. The two felt unfamiliar with comforting words and faux concern. " Seriously, Poppy, answer my damn texts once in a while." With a roll of his eyes, Leon set down the bowl and took a seat across from the blonde, immediately shoveling in a spoonful of the cereal.

[comicsan5]

who: leon + arlo (@arlxclark) where: front porch when: january 11, 10:45am

Under normal circumstances, Leon might have sat in one of the tattered swing chairs atop the wooden deck- to cloud watch, to zone out, to breathe in lungfuls of plentiful fresh air that never seemed to reach Chicago- but the circumstance he found himself in was beyond even his definition of normal. The news only recently reached his ears and while his initial reaction might have brushed off all strands of concern, he naturally gravitated toward the outdoors in a privately conducted search. Even earlier inside the cabin's walls, Leon's attention constantly turned to the nearest window, hoping by some miracle that he would reunite with the missing members of their party. Despite being naturally aloof with these sort of trivial matters, he couldn't help the nagging voice in his head, a voice that experienced tragedy in the same place many years ago. That voice filled Leon's head with paranoia, what if it was happening all over again? Soon enough, fleeting glances through windows became useless to ease his mind and Leon opted to walk outside into the biting cold. He was rarely ever alone, but Leon truly missed the solemnity of the woods. Stepping out into the porch was a two-fold act for him, both to keep an eye on the horizon and also to remind himself of the bare trees that outlived him for decades and will bear witness to the weekend ahead. Familiar figures emerged then retreated back into the bark but one figure was actively returning to the cabin. The name hung heavy on his tongue from years of disuse. Still, Leon was Leon and Arlo was Arlo. They've seen each other at their worst so there was no reason why they couldn't at least play at being normal. Leon lifted a palm and waved, awkward and boyish. " Yo. Where're you coming from? See anything out there?"

[comicsan5]

Who: Leon + Connor (@foolhcrdvs) Where: the living room When: january 11, 7:30 am

Sleeping through the city's parades and sirens was an accomplishment that Leon proudly wore as a permanent Boy Scouts badge. He gloated about it, as if an uninterruptedly long sleep spared him from the same nightmares that the people around him suffered from. That wasn't the case and his deep sleep felt more like Aurora's curse rather than a life skill to survive the night in Chicago. Sometimes, he wished that the wail of a siren or the stomp of an upstairs neighbor pulled Leon from his dream before he could witness Jamie's body dragged out from the still water for the nth time since his last Stillwater trip. He fell under that curse again that night and since he had been driving until the sky lightened its hues in preparation of welcoming the low winter sun, Leon fell deeper due to the lack of sleep. The couch looked as if its foam stiffened from no apparent use but as soon as Leon laid down that early dawn, his somnolence possessed him and did not release his tired mind until a violent jolt woke him only two hours later. It took two slow blinks to remember where he was and another blink to recognize the blurry face that hovered over his head. His eyes came to focus, no thanks to the sunlight flooding the living room and the inherent urgency of being jostled awake by one of his closest friends with an expression that was foreign to Leon. He slept through the scream and the first waking thought that crossed his mind was that Connor must have gotten excited from seeing Leon there that morning, hours later than the group's arrivals. " If you missed me that much, you could have visited me in Chicago, you ass." He rubbed at his eyes as he sat up and turned to get a better view of Connor. " I was getting to a steamy part in my dream too, what the fuck- It felt like I suddenly got a heart attack while doing it." He had slept in the same clothes he left his studio with and drove six hours in- which meant that he dressed lightly with the intention of blasting the heat inside his car- and he desperately needed a warm shower to defrost his bones from the few hours of sleep in a drafty living room with insufficient heating vents. ㅤ

[comicsan5]

It seemed that Leon had reeled in an empty fishing line and he didn't know if he should revel in the quick victory or worry for Poppy's waned patience. They usually competed with each other in a dead heat filled with long hours on call of teasing and prodding, about the most ridiculous, silly, and meaningless things, but it was the only way they managed to stay in touch. Otherwise, Leon had no clue how to communicate with her. But the playful fire that usually occupied Poppy's eyes had dulled completely and Leon bit his tongue once he realized the extent of Poppy's distress. " You're seriously freaked out? Over three supposedly missing people? Awh come on, Poppy." Leon let out an exasperated sigh and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table. His features morphed with his growing concern, self-conscious of the peculiar way this emotion presented itself on his face. Leon had always been told that he looked best when he smiled and he did just that. Always, without fail, even when his world crumbled beneath his feet so many times in the past. " I won't do this for just anyone but if you're seriously not feeling great, let's take my car and go to town for a bit. I'm sure the others wont mind. At least we won't be missing." He couldn't help it and let out a rough snort at his own poorly executed joke. ㅤ

Despite how it might seem, there was a certain fondness that Poppy had for Leon. She'd known him for most of her life and even if they didn't speak all too often, he still felt like home to her. She would have preferred if he wasn't there. Because that way, he would've been safe. Now, he was just another person to worry about.

"Give it a rest, Leon." Poppy sighed. Usually, she wouldn't mind too much. The back and forth between her and Leon was pretty fun. But she didn't have it in her today. She had too much going around her brain. "Today is - It's too much." She sighed.

She couldn't stop thinking about those girls. What had happened to them? Where did they go? How could they just not be here anymore? Were they going to find them in a similar fashion to how they'd found Jamie all those years ago? And that was something else which she couldn't get out of her head. Jamie. The sight of him by the lake. It was like flashes in her mind ever so often. She wished that she could just make it all stop.

"Well maybe that was because you were quiet for once in your life." Poppy rolled her eyes. She sighed as the question was turned to her and she quickly shook her head. "I wish I never even came here."

[comicsan5]

" Sounds like you've been hearing the same thing a lot, huh? Ever stop to think maybe there's a reason we all jump to that conclusion? It's the most rational." Leon had been in a perpetual state of reflection for the past few years. Especially in between projects; when deadlines, appointments, and late night editing sessions could no longer distract him from the ghosts that had been chasing him since Stillwater. One of them took the form of a younger Arlo, seated in the passenger seat as Leon spun the car out across several empty highway lanes. He remembered the smoke, Arlo's fear-stricken face, his sweaty palms unable to grip the wheels as his passenger showered him with curses. For that, Leon could never blame Arlo for acting cold or off-putting toward him. This wasn't the time to make amends but Leon still fixed the other's side profile with a steady regretful gaze. He'll find the time soon, when all was well and normal for them again, to properly apologize and rekindle their friendship. Easier said than done, seeing as how Arlo's streak of stubbornness proved him to be as difficult to deal with now just as before. " Fine, I don't believe it. But what are we supposed to do? It hasn't even been six hours so we shouldn't overreact, right? But sure- you go ahead and worry yourself sick out in the cold. You'll only be hurting yourself but who am I to stop you." ㅤ

"That's probably fair."

His job was probably proof that he hadn't actually changed that much. He was still chasing that kind of high - it was just that he was actually able to channel it in a socially acceptable way. Though he didn't think that he needed to say that to Leon. He figured that Leon probably didn't know too much about what happened in his life. He certainly didn't know much about the other.

Arlo shook his head, "I'm getting a little tired of people trying to tell me that this was just some big joke." He huffed. He probably wouldn't have said that to anyone else. But being around Leon again put him on edge a little bit. If anyone was going to cause an issue, he would've assumed that it was going to be him. "In this weather? Leon, I don't think even you believe that lie." He shrugged. It was a theory but Arlo just wasn't buying it.

[comicsan5]

"When did things ever make sense for people like us?" The words already passed his lips when the regret at his careless verbatim struck and Leon could only follow up with an awkward cough. Leon had no right to affiliate himself and Arlo with such sentiments. People like us? Adrenaline junkies? Found brothers? People with an irrational fear of missing out and spending the rest of their lives alone? Truth was, Leon doubted he knew Arlo right then more than he knew him a decade ago. It's been years since their fall-out and no doubt a person changes significantly in that time. "I'm just saying this place still gives me the creeps. Not that something sinister happened or whatnot, maybe they really did just up and leave... I mean, isn't Juno gone? What if she didn't bring a book and decided to go to a bookstore? You remember how she was back then, always carrying around at least two books with her. Or uhh... What if Bere desperately needed a good latte? Right? The blood could be an animal's, too- " He felt that he strapped himself to a rollercoaster with endless loops that refused to let him off until Leon pulled the emergency brakes with his own hands. If it wasn't for the thought of the blood, Leon's monologue would loop through every possible scenario. However, there was only one possibility for the blood and Leon hoped, prayed, that it sourced from a poor animal.

Arlo had been out and searching for the girls for a few hours now. He was struggling. It was so cold out there but he just hadn't been able to bring himself to stop. If he stopped and then something bad happened, he knew that he would never be able to forgive himself. He had only decided on going back to the cabin to take a quick shower, maybe a cup of tea. To warm himself up so that he could head out again. If he was actively doing something, then it would mean that he might be able to help. If he was in the cabin, then he knew that he couldn't. This whole situation felt like it was out of his hands so he was doing whatever he could to make it so that he could felt like he had some semblance of control.

Heading back up to the cabin now, though, felt like he was admitting defeat. He didn't like that feeling. His job was about helping people - admittedly in the exact opposite conditions to this but he felt a certain sense of responsibility. Especially since they were his friends. He squinted up to the porch as he saw someone waving and gave a wave back. It was only as he spoke that Arlo realised it was Leon, his tired brain being a little slow on the uptake. He didn't have it in him to hold onto any old grudges. Not right now, anyway. "The boathouse." Arlo sighed. "Think someone already checked it but I just wanted to give it another look over." He shook his head, then, "Nothing there." He huffed as he reached the porch and lent against the railing. "I don't get it. If it wasn't for the blood, it's like they just upped and disappeared. It just - it doesn't make sense." He shook his head.

[comicsan5]

It felt unnatural not to smile in Poppy's presence, no matter how she unnerved him, and Leon surely wasn't someone who denied himself; which is why he found it difficult to eat another bite while his lips stretched into an unapologetic grin. To him, Poppy felt like home. She opened her mouth to speak and within a single syllable, Leon transported back to the empty diner after their junior Homecoming dance and the stack of pancakes drenched in syrup in front of him. It felt comforting to know that any interval version of Poppy would have nagged at his excessive pour of sugar and his raucous recalls of their shared evening. " You should really go to the doctor soon. I think something crawled up your ass and died there." Of course he missed her witty banter but Leon didn't come to the realization until then and there. Oftentimes, their communication suddenly halted for long periods only for them to resume talking as if their radio silence was only a figment of Leon's imagination. He only managed an eye-roll at the implied notion of missing her. Figuring that a quick catch-up was overdue, Leon placed his spoon back in his cereal and reclined into the chair, full attention focused on Poppy. His food could wait, he liked his cereal soggy anyways. " I got here around five in the morning... Surprised you didn't wake up thinking I was a burglar and scream bloody murder. How are you holding up, by the way? Is there a horror movie script writing itself inside that head of yours yet?"

It was difficult for Poppy to be around the others that morning. Other than a few, she wasn't sure if she could trust the rest of them. She knew that she needed to stop thinking like that. She needed to stop assuming the worst but it was difficult. This was the second time something like this was happening to them. Surely it couldn't be some sort of big coincidence? But it was that reason why Poppy was still sat in the dining room, even a while after Jacob had left her. She was trying to build herself up, to go out to face the others.

As Leon walked into the dining room, Poppys eyebrows shot up. She hadn't seen him the night before and in the commotion of the morning so far, she hadn't realised that he had arrived. Was that a coincidence? She knew that she couldn't automatically think the worst of him but it was difficult. Her head was spinning.

"Oh yeah, because joking about death right now is really a good idea, right?" Poppy rolled her eyes, though there was a little bit of fondness there. Her friendship with Leon had always been a little ... complicated. He was one of her oldest friends and yet friend was probably not the right word. Companion? Person she knew? One of those was probably better. "Sorry. Didn't realise that you needed my attention so much." She huffed. "I didn't know you were here?"