[ Sometimes, you’re trying to text a friend. Sometimes that friend’s name is “Susie”, with an S. And sometimes you accidentally text a not-friend who is under your phone contacts by “Shape”. Which also stars with an S.
And you never get a text back, but sometimes you do get a response of a sort. Like this one.
He shows up a short while after the misfire, out in the middle of the snow on Mount Ormond, by the visitors’ information board. Anyone can tell he’s there because the mountain is eerily quiet. The usual low howling of the icy winds, the cracking and breaking and falling of icicles, the distant cawing of crows… it’s all missing. All signs of life and the passing of time just goes completely dead silent. Even here, the presence of the purest evil is acknowledged by everything.
And he watches. Stares. Does nothing and says nothing, but he’s there, as though waiting for an answer. ]
[ it takes julie a while to discover they have a guest, mostly because the lack of a response meant she assumed susie was busy and went about her own business. it's hours later when she's trudging through the snow with a bottle of gin and a pack of cigarettes she managed to liberate from a house in haddinfield, when she pauses. ]
[ something's wrong here. in a way that's familiar, but not enough so for her to place it. ]
[ weirdly, she doesn't even notice michael straight away. only when she turns on the spot a little way away from the notice board, a niggling feeling that she's missed something important, that's when she spots him. her very sensible response being to shriek out of surprise and throw the pack of cigarettes at him. ]
[ and then she bursts into laughter when that adrenaline hits. ]
[ a little relieved he doesn't ask why not ormond, even if she did give a good excuse for trekking to autohaven. julie appreciates that about talking to eddie, he doesn't really pry. some of the other survivors ask so many questions like they should get to look at her life story or whatever just because she's not some twisted up monstrosity on the outside. pisses her off. ]
[ anyway. ]
[ getting through the fog is easy enough at this point, at least it is when it comes to travelling between the realms (and to the campfire.) there's other stuff out there, she knows, but julie's never tried venturing out that far. the thought gets choked away every time it starts to form. but getting to autohaven is quick and easy, takes maybe ten minutes even at a normal pace, so she stops first to grab her walkman and a couple things before setting off. a bottle of water because sometimes she gets the worst cottonmouth and a couple bags of chips they raided from the rpd vending machines. mask on and knife in hand, that's when she feels comfortable enough to leave. ]
[ it's no surprise she gets there first. it's chilly, but it doesn't compare to the cold of ormond, and julie's careful and quiet about making her way through to the office. she brought a sleeping bag too, just for something soft to sit on, and plops it down by a wall and herself soon after. knees pulled up, one foot tapping along to her music while she waits. ]
[ maybe he would have asked why not ormond if his stash was more than just enough for two. maybe he would have asked why not ormond, if he'd actually said more than five words collectively to the threegion outside of being chased around and stabbed in realm after realm. it doesn't cross his mind to ask, though, because he just assumes they're on the same page - it's much easier to get away with not having to share if you remove yourself from the places you're most likely to be found. for julie, that's ormond. for eddie, it's camp. sneaking away to autohaven just makes the most sense.
it takes a couple minutes to get the timing right. to find a moment where no one's paying him any attention, where everyone's focused on something or someone else for long enough that he can slink away unnoticed, but he manages fairly easy. when it comes to navigating through the fog, though, he's still kind of green. getting the hang of it will come with time and experience, but until then, it's a mildly unsettling trip to say the least, but he finds his way with little trouble.
it's still creepy though. being here now, presumably alone (save for julie), is somehow more unsettling than it is when he gets dragged here with three other survivors knowing someone is hunting them. eddie tries not to think about it too much as he slinks through the yard, headed for the office. julie said the wraith probably wouldn't care about them being here, but he's still cautious.
eddie hears the very faint and distant, tinny sound of music, too quiet to be recognizable or familiar, but it pulls him in the right direction, and when he steps into the office doorway (more like swings into it, one hand gripping at the door frame), he hangs out there for a few seconds. with julie sitting on the floor, he has to look down at her, and he smiles a little lopsidedly. ]
Shit, am I late? [ he's pretty sure he's not, but she looks like she's been here for a couple minutes already at the very least, and even if his twenty minutes have been up, he doesn't really seem that genuinely concerned about it. eddie pushes away from the door frame, the thing chains holding his jacket cuff somewhat together swinging a bit loosely with the motion of his arm. he wanders in, casual but still alert, and eventually takes a seat next to julie, back against the wall. he stretches his legs out, turns his head to look at her, and doesn't seem to care if she can hear him or not. ] Wheeler's got - goddamn eagle eyes or something, I swear. Took me a minute to get out of there without anyone noticing.
[ the dulcet tones of kurt cobain's screaming and distorted guitar get a little louder when julie pushes the headphones off her head to hang around her neck when eddie speaks, only catches the tail end of what he says as she hurriedly pulls her walkman out of her pocket to stop the tape, but it's enough that it makes her huff a small laugh from behind her mask. ]
I thought twenty minutes was ambitious for a new guy, but I didn't want to rain on your parade.
[ instinctively, her hand comes to the edge of her mask as she talks, moving on autopilot because she only hangs out like this with friends, right? why would she cover her face. the hesitation is brief, but noticeable, she freezes for a second because she does her best to make sure survivors never see her without her mask on. hell, only a couple of killers outside of legion have seen her face either. ]
[ but it would be weird as hell if she just kept it on this whole time, and she sure as hell can't smoke with it on, so it's gotta go. ]
Don't scream, okay? [ the joke's for herself more than anything, and she takes a small breath before she actually pushes the mask up and off her head. brown eyes and bleach blonde hair, there's julie. ]
[ even a little louder, the song julie's listening to is unrecognizable even to eddie, but by the sound of it, as tinny and muted as it is, it would seem that she has good taste in music - loud and angry is right up his alley, right in his wheelhouse. not that there were very many doubts about julie's musical interests, considering the snippets of music eddie's caught here and there while being chased in a trial, but still. it's just one more thing that eddie... appreciates. about her, at least.
it doesn't even really cross his mind that julie'll have to unmask until she's curling a thumb under the edge of it, ready to slide it back and off - but it makes sense. eddie's halfway through rolling his eyes at her offhand comment about his ambitions when he catches the movement and pauses. he doesn't stare, but he watches, curious. about the brief moment of hesitation, about what she looks like, because he'd be lying if he said he'd never wondered. he doesn't stare, but he glances out of the corner of his eye as he tilts his weight a little to one side, away from her, so he can dig into his jacket pocket for the main reason they're even here.
when julie jokes, eddie feels a little more at ease, though he's not even sure why he felt tense at all in the first place. he casts her another glance, this one a little more intentional, and smiles a bit at her as he slides two rolled joints out of his pocket, kept 'safe' in a little plastic baggie clearly marked 'EVIDENCE', and a crushed book of matches.
with the mask gone, eddie allows himself a few seconds to just look at julie. he's not sure what he expected, if he expected anything at all. she's pretty, but she's just... a normal girl. eddie smiles at her again, faint and easy, and shakes his head slightly. ]
Oh, man. Truly terrifying. Horrifying, even. [ he puts his hand to his chest, crushing the bag a little under it, and then drags one of his knees up so he can rest his wrist on it. eddie turns his attention to the grass in his hands, fishing a single joint out. ] Thought you'd have different eyes, though. Blue.
[ eddie turns his head, offers her the joint, held carefully between his fingers. ]
[ there's a joke rattling around about her face actually being a mask too, but julie can't make it work, so she settles for snorting and rolling her eyes. pretends not to notice eddie looking at her. it's normal to want a proper look at someone you've only ever seen in a mask, she just hates the way it leaves her feeling vulnerable. exposed. ]
[ it feels weirder to be complimented though, even in such a small way. it used to be normal, way back when she went above and beyond to be acceptable, but even then it was basic shit. nothing that suggested a dude was thinking about her in any way except naked. ]
[ god if she ends up flustered because eddie's being nice to her she's gonna have to kill him. ]
Thanks. [ julie takes the joint and fishes in her pocket for a lighter, uses it as a way to hide the barest hint of a smile as she lights it and takes a drag. ] I picked it myself.
[ completely deadpan, as if she's being 100% serious. ]
[ with one of his hands freed up, eddie goes about fishing the second and final joint out of the stolen evidence bag and pinching it between his lips. he lets the bag fall somewhere in the space between his knees (and makes a mental note to take it with him later, if only so he doesn't end up pissing off the wraith), tugs a match out of the matchbook he brought, and strikes it across the little strip of powdered glass on the back. the match hisses to life, and eddie tilts his head a little to look at julie out of the corner of his eye as he touches the small flame to the end of the paper and lights his own joint.
shaking the match out, eddie pinches the spliff loosely between his fingers and inhales, the corners of his mouth quirked a little like he maybe wants to smile. the deadpan delivery is amusing to him. he makes a small sound of interest in the back of his throat, then tips his head back a bit so he can exhale toward the ceiling. look at that, he's courteous, too. ]
Yeah? [ he looks back at julie again, wetting his bottom lip and resting his hand on his peaked knee. eddie lifts his eyebrows a fraction. ] Drew out that little - square grid thing in the womb and picked the best one?
[ eddie drops the dead match down with the plastic bag, absently scratching at the small patch of skin on his knee with his thumb, exposed through the rip in his jeans. ]
I don't remember what that shit was called. From - biology or whatever. You know. [ he lifts his hand off his knee, draws a lazy 4-squared grid in the air in the space between them before dropping his hand again. explaining it beyond that is just gonna kill the joke, and the joke isn't even that funny.
eddie nods toward julie's headphones. ] What were you listening to? Sounded - angry.
A Punnett square. [ julie breathes out a soft chuckle through her nose with a small plume of smoke. ] Yeah.
[ it's funny enough, though julie wouldn't admit it lest eddie find out she finds more of his dumb jokes funny than he thinks, she'd never live it down. so it's more for that reason than any worry about drawing the joke out too long that julie's relieved when he brings up her music, her eyes light up a little at the question, but it's a blink and you'll miss it expression. immediately changing to something that could be a little self-conscious as her gaze falls to her walkman where she'd put it down. ]
Nirvana. They're, um... [ when she looks back at eddie it's with a raised eyebrow, both curious but also about to be just a little of a shit. ] Did they have grunge back in your day?
[ punnett square. that's it. eddie bobs his head once in a subtle little nod of acknowledgement, gestures at julie with a lazy wave of his hand just for good measure. it's amazing how much bullshit they make you learn in school that you're very likely to never use again outside of it, but - he supposes maybe that's not so true, if punnett squares are somehow coming up in the middle of some - alternate dimension who knows how far away from everything he knows. nevermind that he's the one who brought them up just for the sake of a stupid joke. just to make her laugh. which he catches, even if it's quick, small.
he catches that little flash of enthusiasm, too. the little jolt of excited energy to talk about something she likes, presumably. not so surprisingly, eddie finds it endearing - he gets the same way about music he's really into, too, so he gets it. he'd talk about megadeth and dio and wasp and metallica all day if only someone gave him the opportunity.
eddie takes another short drag, burns through a bit of grass. like the first time, he blows the smoke out away from the both of them, then turns his attention back to julie. at her little crack of a joke, eddie rolls his eyes, but one corner of his mouth pulls up a little with the hint of a fleeting smirk. he tilts his head back against the wall, turns his face to look at her. ]
I don't know, I'm too old to remember. [ back in his day. please. also, it's still kind of weird knowing that there are people here who come from a time after his. from the future, or whatever. and also from the past. that's also kinda weird too.
eddie shrugs one of his shoulders, loose and lazy, and absently thumbs at the chunky silver ring on his left index finger, turning it slightly back and forth just for something to do with his unoccupied hand. ] Can't say I've heard of it, though. Or, uh. Nirvana.
[ that manages to put an amused smile on her face, one julie doesn't even bother hiding this time, there's less time between them than most of the others, she's pretty sure. hell, less time between them than between her and jeff, but that's a whole thing julie tries not to give up too much mental real estate to. ]
[ she mirrors him, head tilted back against the wall, face turned to look at eddie. every now and then her knee bounces a couple times like it's trying to shake off some excess energy but otherwise julie's pretty relaxed even without the weed starting to hit yet. ]
[ ...admittedly less so when eddie looks at her and she remembers she's not wearing her mask, but at least she's not freaking out about it. ]
Well, gramps. It's sort of like... [ she turns her head to look up at the ceiling, chewing her bottom lip as she tries to think of the best way to describe it. ] Like if punk and metal had a really moody child.
[ shaking her head just a little as she says it, julie takes another slower drag on that joint. as a description it's not quite right, but it'll do. ]
[ gramps. gramps. eddie huffs a soft breath out through his nose - not quite a laugh, but the amusement is still evident, if lazy. he turns his head away slightly as he listens, eyes tilted up toward the ceiling and wandering slowly. it'll be a bit before the weed actually starts to hit, but he can already feel some of his nerves easing up a little. very slightly less anxious, which is kind of funny considering his company and the fact that not a single person knows where he is right now, but - julie seems cool. he's not too worried about it, yet.
he looks back at her again after her description, catches the slight bounce of her knee out of the corner of his eye and shifts his attention there for a beat. he wonders, briefly, if she's anxious too, though he can't imagine why she would be. between the two of them, she's the one more likely to have shown up with a weapon. eddie doesn't ask though, easily distracted by the idea of this bastard child of two genres of music he very much likes. ]
Shit. [ he exhales, shaking his head a little with a lazy smile. ] That sounds... awesome, actually.
Yeah? [ she smiles again, maybe a little too surprised and eager, and makes a weak attempt to hide it by blowing out her smoke toward the ceiling. ] Yeah.
[ saved it. ]
[ god she has no idea why she's so anxious and awkward, just hanging out isn't exactly something she used to have a problem with. granted, back in ormond she was playing a much nicer, more friendly version of herself and she wasn't years out of practice on socializing with anyone other than the rest of legion, but still. awkward is a strange feeling for her. ]
You wanna give some of it a listen?
[ she turns her head back to look at eddie when she asks, eyebrows raised with the question. her gaze flits down to the patches on his battle jacket, curious if he'd even like it or if it'd be too soft for him. ]
[ again, the quiet enthusiasm doesn't go unnoticed. neither does her subtle attempt to stifle it, and if eddie furrows his eyebrows a little bit for a moment as he looks at her, it's only because he's curious. it's only because he wonders why, presumably, she feels like she needs to water part of herself down. but then again, maybe he's reading her wrong. eddie's only just barely started getting to know her, but it's not as if he'll be going anywhere anytime soon. there's still time to figure it out.
just as quickly as it comes, the pinch in his brows smooths and disappears, and when julie offers him a chance to listen to her music, he perks up a little. sits up a bit, even, and uses the heel of his sneaker to push himself an inch or two back until his shoulders bump the wall behind him. ]
Yeah. [ if his eagerness matches julie's initial eagerness from earlier, it's purely coincidental. eddie twists slightly, turning more toward her. he takes a quick hit off his joint, tilts his chin down this time to exhale into the space between them, and then nods his head once, twice. ] Yeah, sure. 'Course I do.
[ there's really only one person she's ever felt like she could be fully herself with, even with susie and joey she still tones things down sometimes, and she's still feeling around the edges with eddie. the only survivor she trusts even a little is quentin (and if anyone tells him she'll kill them) and that's largely through continued exposure to his relentless need to be helpful. eddie's not the same, but he's disarming in similar ways. she doesn't know if she can trust that yet. ]
[ his eagerness to listen to her music helps though. julie sits up and reaches for her walkman. ] Okay-- hang on. [ the smile doesn't come back, but it's obvious in the way she quickly perches the joint between her lips so her hands are free to put on her headphones and hold the walkman that she's a little giddy still. ]
[ quick bursts of songs filter out of her headphones as she rewinds the tape, starting and stopping and looking for a song she thinks eddie will like, lips downturned in concentration around her joint and hair falling in her face as she leans forward. this is important, after all. ]
[ once she's found it, she turns fully toward eddie and holds out the headphones for him to take. all queued up with stone temple pilots' wicked garden for him once he's ready. ]
[ hang on he does. eddie only watches julie for a second or two as she starts to search through the tape before his gaze starts to wander. mostly around the office, though there's nothing really that interesting or unfamiliar to him, nothing that really catches or holds his attention as much as the tinny sound of music and the low whrrr in between as julie stops and rewinds, stops and rewinds.
eventually, his eyes drift back to her. to the way her hair's falling in her face a little bit, how... normal she looks. he didn't think it'd be weird, seeing her without the mask, and it isn't weird, not necessarily, but it's just - odd. how the person sitting next to him and the person who chases him around sometimes with a knife in hand and their face behind a mask feel like two different people. but maybe that's the point.
when julie turns toward him, eddie feels a little bit like he's been caught and instinctively and very quickly drops his gaze away from her face and down to her hands, where the headphones are waiting. eddie makes a quiet sound, just a quick hum of a low note, and tucks his spliff between the pinch of his lips to free up his hands. he takes the headphones and puts them on, his hair only getting in the way just slightly, but he deliberately leaves one side of the headphones halfway off an ear. this way, he can listen to the music and still listen to julie at the same time, and also not accidentally yell because he can't hear himself.
eddie gives her a brief nod to let her know he's good to go and she can play the tape. when the song starts, there's no immediate reaction aside form the subtle tilt of his head, like he's really trying to listen and pay attention. at around the fifteen second mark though, he lifts his head, looks over at julie and raises his eyebrows slightly. it's not bad once the guitar really comes in. he murmurs a quiet oh, shit, mildly impressed, but otherwise holds his commentary, because he can hardly pass fair judgement based on the first twenty seconds.
as he listens though, he keeps looking at julie. doesn't stare at her, because that's a little creepy, but it's clear the more the song goes on that he's pretty decently impressed. nods his head a bit with it once he picks up the general rhythm, taps his fingers against his knee with a rhythmic laziness, less like he's following the drums and more like he's working something else out.
when it seems like the song's coming to an end, he takes another puff from his joint and moves the headphone that's already halfway off just a bit more away from the shell of his ear. he turns his head away to empty his lungs, and when he turns back, he's got a lopsided smile on his face. ]
... Well. Shit. Not gonna lie - that was pretty good. [ not as hard as some of the shit he listens to, but not far off. ] This is - Nirvana?
[ eddie's so expressive, it makes him genuinely hard to look away from, like she can hear every thought he has about the song based on whatever his face is doing at any given moment. it's always exciting to see someone listen to a song you're showing them for the first time, and julie feels like she can tell exactly which bits really get him into it just from the tilt of his head or the way he raises his eyebrows. almost laughing when he lets out that little impressed murmur once the guitar really kicks in. ]
[ it's the only tape she has, well that and her trial mix, so julie knows every song back to font. could probably tell what part of the song eddie's on just from the tinny drum fill and guitar that filters out through his hair. a couple of times, when she's turning her head to blow out smoke and not paying attention, she mouths silently along to the words, closes her eyes and nods along to the beat. ]
[ when it ends she stops the tape so eddie's not immediately attacked by courtney love's off-key singing following it up, smile small but genuine when he says it's good. though when he asks if it's nirvana, well. it's a totally understandable mistake, but a slightly surprised laugh bubbles out of julie anyway and she shakes her head. ] Stone Temple Pilots. I thought they'd be more your speed.
[ julie's got a nice laugh, he's decided. or maybe he just likes it when people are in a good mood around him, when he's responsible for some of it even if it comes at the cost of embarrassing himself a little. but eddie's not really embarrassed for getting the band wrong anyway - he was just going off of context clues, the way the conversation had been going.
when julie tells him the actual name of the band, eddie nods slowly, thoughtfully dragging his teeth over his bottom lip for a moment. he takes another puff from his joint, then leans slightly toward julie for a second, but only so he can dig into his jacket pocket on his opposite side. he tilts his chin up a little, but keeps his eyes on julie as he exhales a thin line of smoke. ]
Stone Temple Pilots. Okay. [ he says it like he's committing it to memory, but there's a moment of... something in his tone. ] When do they come around?
[ when eddie leans away again, sitting straight once more, he's got... a candy bar in his hand. probably very slightly melted from being in his jacket pocket for however long, but he offers it wordlessly to julie and raises his eyebrows a little, the tiniest smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. ]
[ julie's still watching him, not even really aware of the way her eyes are tracking the way he moves and the expressions he makes, nor the way she leans a little toward him in response. her fingers flex idly on the hand resting on her leg, and she squints in thought at the question. ]
Ninety... two? I think?
[ that's when the album came out anyway, and she's pretty sure it was their first one. so technically maybe a couple of years before-- is that a candy bar? ]
[ that throws her out of her attempts to remember when stone temple pilots formed and she stares at the bar for a long moment as if she has no idea what it even is, and when she takes it it's with an amused exhale of smoke through her nose. ]
Squishy candy. [ she's grinning, don't let the deadpan voice fool you. ] Just what every girl wants.
[ ninety-two. eddie scrunches his nose a little, but doesn't comment at first. instead, he exhales through his nose and starts to sag against the wall a little, sliding and slouching down a bit into a position that looks - uncomfortable, more than anything else, honestly. but he seems content, finishing off the rest of his joint until there's just a little bit of ashy paper left pinched between his fingers.
he looks up at julie, slightly below her eye-level now that he's relaxed (see: melted) a little, and he doesn't so much exhale, but lets the smoke filter out of his mouth as he speaks instead. ]
Ninety-two, huh? [ he says this mostly to himself, even though he's looking at her. he raises one lazy hand, thumb and index fingers held close together. ] So close.
[ not that close at all, actually, and not a year he's likely to see if he ever makes it out of here, but that's kind of a downer and has the potential to kill the high that's only just starting to kick in, so he avoids that kind of talk.
instead, he smiles up at julie, nudging the back of her nearest wrist with his knuckles. squishy candy. right. ]
It's like - a s'more. [ he shrugs, cuts the same hand he nudged her with through the space between them. ] Without any of the other stuff.
[ she's no stranger to either Bisexual Sitting or a stoner's propensity for turning to sludge the second they relax, so she simply watches eddie slump down with a raised eyebrow and a small hint of an amused smile tugging at her lips. ]
Other stuff?
[ what does that even mean? there's only three parts to a s'more. julie squints down at the bar in her hands, maybe she could read the wrapper, but she won't. there's a couple puffs left in her joint and she offers that out to eddie before she unwraps the bar, pulling it open along the seam instead of just tearing it open. ]
[ now that eddie's started to sink, it doesn't seem like he has any plans of stopping. gradually, he slides lower and lower until it does become uncomfortable, at which point he twists his body slightly so he's... practically laying on his side, propped up on one elbow, one leg stretched out with the other bent at the knee. eventually, his elbow will get tired of holding him up, but for now, he's pretty comfy.
when julie offers what's left of her stubby little joint to him, eddie takes it from her gently, careful not to drop it or pinch it out. he doesn't take a drag from it though, just holds it for her while he watches her peel the wrapper open like a weird kid afraid to tear the wrapping paper on christmas morning. he laughs a little under his breath, flicking his eyes up from her hands to her face. ]
Yeah. Marshmallows, graham cracker. [ he nods his chin at the melty candy in her hands, making two stacking gestures with his hand, spliff still pinched between his fingers as he lists off the very long list of ingredients for s'mores. eddie smiles, almost teasing. ] Almost there. One out of three's not bad.
Edited (what is this a tag for ants) 2022-10-25 02:54 (UTC)
[ it takes a second for it to tick over in her mind, a few moments after he says "one out of three", and her eyes fall shut with a shake of her head and a laugh. because it's squishy like s'mores, jesus christ. she lets out a soft murmur of oh my god under her breath, still with that little hint of a smile on her face when she opens her eyes again and looks at eddie. even if she does stretch out one of her own legs to give him a light kick. ]
Well, it's my favourite third at least. [ maybe not when it's half-melted though, julie starts to try and break a piece off but when it just kind of squishes and wiggles instead of breaking she decides that can wait. ] But maybe I'll just...
[ of course there's no fridge in this office, but autohaven is a chilly place. julie looks around, thinking, and eventually gets to her feet with a grunt of complaint and effort — doing anything except sitting and/or laying down right now is actually offensive suddenly — to walk over to the window, where she places the bar on the ledge to get cold. ]
There.
[ she seems pretty proud of herself. and they definitely won't forget about it. ]
[ when julie nudges him with her foot and tells him the chocolate is her favorite part of a s'more, eddie tilts his head and shrugs a lazy shoulder, finally taking a short drag from the blunt he's holding onto for julie. he exhales, wets his lips and with what is very much some over-exaggerated suaveness, he murmurs of course it is, i knew that under his breath. no intention to hide it, just - being an idiot on purpose, because sometimes it's fun.
eddie watches julie stand, his eyebrows lifting slightly. the fog (ha) slowly creeping around the edges of his brain means it takes him a couple seconds longer than it should to realize that she's not just getting up and taking off on him without a word (though it wouldn't be the first time someone used him for drugs and then bounced). when she sets the candy bar on the window's ledge to harden up a little, eddie grins up at her, lopsided and relax. ]
My lady, you - are a genius. [ he offers what's left of the joint he's babysitting up to her, arm outstretched, weight leaning on his other elbow. ] And a coward. Sticky hands won't kill you.
[ maybe not the smartest thing to be calling someone who semi-regularly sacrifices him to a spider god in the sky a coward, but it's clear by the way he starts to laugh a little that he's just teasing. ]
[ julie bows when eddie calls her a genius, a smile on her face that becomes a huff and a roll of her eyes at him when he calls her a coward. ] No. [ she takes the stubby little joint and stands up straight to finish it, her other hand on her hip as she takes that last drag. ] But chocolate's better when it's cold.
[ it's very important that eddie understand that, and julie takes a moment to squint at him in apparent thought about this and decides she's satisfied. unless he decides to argue with her about it. she's fully willing to fight about which state of chocolate is the best. ]
[ anyway. she's sick of standing now. julie starts to sit, or rather, bends down and then just kind of collapses into a heap of limbs and snorts a laugh. this is fine, she's fine. ]
[ eddie weighs this claim very seriously, narrowing his eyes a little near the edges and tilting his head slowly one way and then the other, going far enough to rest his chin on his shoulder at one point. while julie's still standing, eddie looks up at her, watches her idly as she finishes off her joint, hand on her hip like she's queen of this shitty little office. she might as well be, as far as eddie is concerned. but also, it kind of reminds him of steve in a weird way.
the hand on the hip thing, not the - smoking weed in an abandoned office thing. eddie's not sure harrington's cool enough for that, but then again, that guy is full of surprises.
as julie folds like a deflating inflatable tube man, eddie turns and shifts so he's less on his side and more on his back, his weight distributed between both of his elbows instead of just the one. he drags his knees up a little, white sneakers scraping quietly against the floor, fingers tapping slowly against the floorboards near his sides. eddie leans his head again, cheek close to his shoulder but not quite touching this time as he looks back at julie. ]
Beer's also better when it's cold, but you seem to like it warm and in a shoe, so. Whose judgement should we really be trusting here? [ his eyebrows lift, the corner of his mouth quirk. ] Hm?
[ in some attempt to straighten herself out, julie rolls onto her back, props her feet up on the wall crossed at the ankles like someone turned a sitting person 90 degrees. she doesn't remember the last time she felt this relaxed, probably before the fog. that warm, loose feeling settling in, the one she's always chasing whenever she drinks or smokes these days. the first time the weight of guilt and responsibility doesn't feel like a boot pressing down on her chest, even through the insobriety. ]
[ she turns her head to look at eddie, watching him and letting another laugh slip out at the mention of the beer shoe. she can't believe she forgot that's what got them here of all the dumb things she's said lately. ]
I told you, that's how we do it in Canada. [ a small smirk tugs at her lips, even through the facial shrug. ] Clearly my taste is perfect, hoser.
[ julie's laugh makes eddie smile. it comes easy, mouth spreading to show all of his teeth, the weed finally starting to mellow him out and loosen him up. she looks - relaxed, and way more comfortable than he feels, even though he doesn't feel particularly motivated to move. ]
Or. [ his eyebrows climb higher, his eyes vaguely glassy but still bright. ] Or. Canadians are just full of shit.
[ eddie takes his weight off one elbow so he can point at her like a ha, sticking his thumb up as an afterthought so he can bend it, like he's firing a gun. he drops his hand after a beat, and then gives up trying to hold himself up and flops backwards, folding his hands behind his head. ]
Then again - maybe you do have good taste. [ he lolls his head to the side so he can look at julie. something about the shape of his mouth is very telling that he knows he's full of shit. ] Hanging out with me, burning a little grass... one might say your taste is impeccable.
[ julie gasps and puts a hand on her chest at the jab toward canadians, how dare he. not that she's exactly brimming with national pride. she is full of shit though-- they both are. ]
One might, huh.
[ she raises an eyebrow with a little smirk at eddie, arms folded over her chest. ]
[ slowly, eddie's mouth turns down, his eyebrows pinching together in thought. after a beat or two, he shakes his head once or twice. ]
Eddie... Munson. [ eddie says his own name like he's never heard it before, like he's testing out the sound of it, then cuts his eyes back to julie. his eyebrows relax, and then lift. ] Never heard of him.
[ shrugging a lazy shoulder, eddie untucks one of his hands from behind his head so he can gesture kind of aimlessly with it before letting it settle over the bright red demon head printed on his chest. ]
[ she says it very seriously, not smiling but it's there in her eyes, bright and amused as she looks away from the ceiling and turns her head to look at eddie. adjusts her legs and crosses them the other way. ]
I saw him blow a gen three times in a row the other day.
[ that makes a little smirk bloom on her face, but she's looking back at the ceiling now. ]
[ eddie blinks up at the ceiling, his eyebrows pinching again. he's not high enough that he can't think straight, but it takes him an extra second or two to walk backwards through the last handful of trials he was put through, searching for any shred of truth in her teasing.
after another moment or two, he lifts his head up off of his hand, neck craned so he can look at julie. his hand comes up off of his chest too, and he cuts his palm through the hair. ]
Okay, hey. Not true. [ he curls his fingers in, leaves one out so he's pointing at her. accusingly. ] That second one was Dwight. And it startled me.
[ which accounts for the third one. get off his case, miss murder. eddie drops his hand back down to his chest, starts to lay his head back down too when he pauses. ]
What were you doing, watching me for that long? [ ... ] You're a little creep, aren't you?
[ julie snorts a laugh when he protests the accusation, raising her eyebrows as if to say isn't it?, and it turns into a proper laugh when he brings up dwight. she's not sure if she believes him, but she doesn't care enough to argue. ]
[ and then he brings up her watching and she frowns, bristles a little at being called a creep but she's too mellow to lean into that like she usually would, so she just huffs in protest instead. ]
I was trying out something new, I wanted to know if you guys could tell I was there.
[ stealth legion is coming. she's making it happen. ]
[ eddie lets the back of his head sink back down against his hand, shifting his gaze back up toward the ceiling. it strikes him, for some reason, that he doesn't look up a lot when he's out in the realms being chased by whoever the fuck. or maybe he does, and he just hasn't here. no reason to, really, now that he's taken the time. not missing anything interesting, except for maybe a few cobwebs tucked up in the corners.
julie's little huff makes eddie laugh, quiet and lazy. he lifts his foot, uses the toe of his sneaker to scratch at an itch on the back of his opposite calf, then slaps his foot back down a little harder than he intended. ]
I could tell. [ he shifts his attention back to her, absently wondering if her legs are falling asleep yet. ] I thought you were Myers for a sec. [ hence the... first gen explosion, when he was initially startled. ] White mask in the distance, easy mistake.
[ eddie shrugs a shoulder, stretches his legs back out. ]
But that dude never wears plaid. And you're not as tall - no offense. And you were just kinda standing there, so I was like 'I guess she's just gonna let us do this generator'. And then Dwight saw you, blew it up again. Blah blah blah.
[ he doesn't need to explain a second time. and she was there, so. ]
[ she frowns when he says he could tell, but it's brief, more a twitch of her lips, and it's wiped away by an amused smile when he says he thought she was myers. the idea of mistaking her for him is, frankly, hilarious. she gets it, but it's fucking funny. ]
What do you mean I'm not as tall? [ she shimmies a little on the floor, pushes herself away from the wall a bit. ] I'm so tall.
[ julie looks serious about it, even if she's not. hell, eddie's taller than her, it's not like it's a convincing lie. ]
[ eddie laughs. doesn't even try to stifle it or hide it. ]
Maybe compared to Threegion. [ he's not entirely sure, but he thinks maybe julie's the tallest out of the four of them. maybe the five of them if that weird hunk guy counts, but including him makes threegion null and void and he likes it too much to let it go, so. sorry not sorry, hunk.
eddie smiles at her, and there's something mildly fond hidden in the shape of it. ] I can see clean over your head, sweetheart.
[ when they're standing. and maybe not clean over, because a 3 inch difference between their heights isn't really that much, but still. ]
[ joey's taller, but it's not like eddie's ever seen them together to compare. it's a small difference anyway. either way, julie is deeply offended. one of her feet falls to the floor with a thump and she looks at eddie with raised eyebrows. ]
Sweetheart?
[ funny that not even a week ago she definitely would've threatened to cut him open if he called her that, and now she just finds it kind of funny. doesn't entirely mind it, though that might change when she's sober. ]
[ eddie doesn't even realize he's said it until julie echoes it back to him, but even with a slightly foggy brain, he's still a quick thinker, and just as much of a little shithead as always. he turns his head, looks at her with this shit-eating grin, and says: ]
[ that does, at least, get a laugh out of her and julie reaches out to shove eddie's shoulder. rolling her eyes with a little shake of her head as is appropriate for such a terrible joke. ]
[ he's unfazed by the shove to his shoulder, to the name calling. he made her laugh, which is what's important. to him, at least. he likes entertaining people, even if it comes at his own expense. ]
Yeah. [ she agrees easily, he's not so bad. but it does make her think-- ] Why though?
[ it still confuses the hell out of her, every time they talk it's like he's forgotten she's stabbed him countless times at this point and she's not going to stop doing that, but he clearly hasn't. and she knows why she likes eddie — he's fun to talk to and the kind of person she would've flocked to back in ormond, the weirdo outcast delinquents were always her favourite people — she just doesn't understand the reverse. ]
Not that I'm complaining, just seems weird to share with me instead of one of your pals by the fire. I'm sure it's harder for you to raid that evidence room than one of us.
[ his immediate response is a joke, which isn't surprising, but eddie seems to consider her question for a few long moments afterwards, eyes shifting back and forth as he stares up at the ceiling. truthfully, he can't really explain why. reasonably, no one should be hanging out and shooting the shit with someone who routinely stabs them, but maybe it's that she hasn't stabbed him yet outside of trials that makes eddie view her differently than he probably should. julie's threatened it, sure, more than a few times, but eddie's just kind of breezed right through every one.
and now they're here, high and hanging out together in some shitty office in someone else's realm. life's just weird sometimes. that's about all he's got.
eddie rolls over onto his stomach, rests his cheek on his folded hands, rings squishing against the edge of his chin. ]
What, you're not my pal? [ teasing still. ] I don't know. You're cool, I guess. And I don't think Harrington's much of a toker. Buckley ripped a cigarette right out of my mouth and tossed it into a lake before I could even light it up once, so. She's out too, I think.
[ he shrugs. ]
And you've got decent music. We've got, uh. Kate? She's... fine. But not my style. [ folk music just ain't it. ] Anyway, it wasn't that hard. There's usually a totem nearby, so any time I end up in the station I just, you know - kill two birds, one... bone.
[ she smiles a little with a shake of her head at his jokes, but honestly "you're cool, i guess" is good enough for her. fairly certain he'd revise that opinion if he actually knew her, but she doesn't intend to let that happen. ]
You guess I'm cool?
[ julie says it with a smirk, teasing in return, eyes traveling the length of a crack in the wall, the paint that peels away from it. ]
High praise, Munson.
[ the foot still propped up on the wall finally comes down, and julie frowns briefly at the slight numbness of it as she stretches it out, rotates the ankle a little before she rests it down. god what she'd give to be on a couch or a bed right now, somewhere soft and warm to just swallow her up. that sounds amazing. ]
[ -- wait, what else did eddie say? julie turns her head to look at him and give him a confused squint, but it's gone now. it's not coming back. she was too busy thinking about wanting to be cosy. ]
[ she can hear the entity in the back of her head, it's... angry, but also disappointed. she hasn't been doing her best in trials lately. she and frank are usually the reliable ones, even if the survivors get out it's usually still a good showing. enough to keep it sated until the next trial. this is probably gonna be a bad meeting. they're all bad meetings. ]
[ julie, when quentin arrives, is sitting on the floor just outside the stall, just in a tank top and her mask. her hoodie and jacket are on the ground next to her, hood and shoulder of said hoodie soaked in blood, as is julie's hair turned red from blonde mostly on the top left part. she's tried to clean up, but there's not really much she can do until she's sent back to ormond. ]
You know, that's something I've never wanted to think about. Thanks.
[ Quentin's noticed but mostly because the universe has decided to put him in her path be on the receiving ends of texts. While also being in the trial when she does it. Could be a funny coincidence but he's more of a believer in higher powers kind of guy.
Like this is an utterly dangerous move and he's probably getting impaled in 2 minutes by a giant spider claw for it but whatever. ]
You're welcome. I personally think we should think about how monsters shit more often.
[ Flashing a toothy smile at her. He crouches next to her, crunching pieces beneath his soles and by dropping a kit on the floor. He's rolling his jacket sleeves up to his elbows while doing a quick damage assessment with the current visuals. Ouch. He reaches a hand towards her head then pulls it back in a hesitation, looking at her eyes- ...her mask's eyes with a raised eyebrow like he's unsure if she's going to slice his wrist for doing it. Blue eyes briefly then go darting around the floor for the knife. Is it in the jacket?
He shrugs then and goes in there with all the practice of someone that's taken care of a thousand head wounds by now. ]
Do you bring the drinks in with you or pre-game the trial? 'Cause this is an elementary school.
[ julie's hand twitches for the knife under her jacket when quentin gets down there with her, but she stops herself. susie would be pissed if she killed her little boyfriend for trying to help, even if it confuses the fuck out of her. he's so relentlessly nice it kind of drives her insane. ]
What? You never found a flask in the teacher's desk?
[ it's confusing, she would've assumed she'd sober up coming here, but she doesn't remember being drunk before a trial before. maybe the entity doesn't like to help out that way. or maybe she's just unlucky. ]
[ after a few moments contemplation of her miserable situation, julie looks up suddenly and smack's quentin's hand away. ]
[ Maybe it's because of Susie that he's insane enough to think he can pull this off. It certainly makes him bolder to try and little by little trying to worm his way in with his efforts. He used to try doing this for just about anyone when he first got there if they gave him enough of a calm reaction like she is but had let some years pass in without trusting he wouldn't get jabbed in the jugular.
He once tried to help Pig. It didn't go over well. ]
Here? No, only percocet. Back home? Same answer. Want some for your head? Got plenty.
[ Her moments of contemplation give him time to at least clean it some and make sure there weren't any shards of porcelain in there. At the slap, he holds his hands up by his face and backs up on his feet from where he's crouching. ]
Seemed like you needed it. And I have no idea if you guys stay hurt when you leave these. [ He makes a face in a bit of irritation. He looks around, assessing the time left. Minute to go. ] At least get off the bathroom floor.
[ this time she does grab her knife, grip firm on the handle, but she's not raising it to quentin. yet. holds it in a fist atop her thigh more like a barrier between them. ]
I don't know why the fuck the Entity decided to make you my designated driver or whatever, but we're not friends and I don't need your help.
[ a lot of attitude from someone who's still too dizzy to trust her legs enough to try getting up, but there's a scowl behind the mask as julie stares up at him, and then gestures in the vague direction of the exit. ]
[ Eyes on the knife. It's not swinging at him. It's not raised to him. It is, however, gripped for use and pointing in his direction a little. He gets the hint she's trying to get him to back off pretty clearly. ]
Maybe it was looking out for you. [ He frowns. ] Or luring me into being a nice easy kill to help get your groove back on.
[ Quentin can't really tell how poorly or not she might be seeing, since he has no visuals on her actual face and eyes. He has no idea if she's making faces at him under that mask or having her eyes roll back into her head due to a concussion. She gestures, he flinches like he's already going to bolt but hesitates and stays with his feet planted. ]
But- [ He's making a face at her. It's either die by her hand, die by Entity saying "time's up" or get out of dodge. The last option being the most useful to all of them both for his well being and for being able to check in with her after, most likely. He exhales a breath through his nose, throws his hands to the side. ] Okay. [ The medkit is pushed over to her. He then thinks about it and empties his pockets of painkillers and band-aids and puts them in her actual jacket's pocket since she isn't wearing it. He's never actually seen a killer pick up their items before so maybe the Entity doesn't let them but if it's in her pocket then that's hers. Good thing Frank shakes him upside down enough so he figured that out. ]
If you're all fucked up after this then, uh, I told you so? Drink with someone next time. Fuck, I'll even drink with you. I'm a fucking lightweight but just so you stop smashing your head into toilets. Okay? Bye. Talk to you later.
[ He's just tipping to the side with a little wave and rolling in the hole in the floor as a shortcut out of there. Maybe that'd look cool if he didn't hit the stall on the way down. Whatever. He got hatch again. ]
[ the medkit doesn't come with her, but the pills and band-aids do. though they get forgotten about after her, uh. meeting. the punishment is psychological more than physical anyway, so they wouldn't help. ]
[ it's when she's finally back at ormond, face down on the couch in a state of general ennui, that she shoves her hand in her pocket and laughs when her hand finds a bottle of acetaminophen. rattles it and sits up, shaking her head. quentin is probably going to drive her actually insane one of these days. ]
[ several hours later one might be forgiven for thinking julie's just pushed this all aside and plans to forget it ever happened, because that's her usual modus operandi, but she hasn't. instead she turns up in the woods by the campfire, quiet. waiting. (she's taken notes from the stalkery fucks.) when she finally spots quentin on his own, she speaks up, leaning against a tree all casual. ]
[ Several hours later after that and he’s already gone through about three more of those trials and the Julie incident is largely pushed to the background of his mind for now. He still wanted to check her but bothering Julie isn’t usually a wise move so he figured he’ll just ask Susie later.
He’s emptying his pockets into a medkit while yawning loudly and practically jumps out of his skin when Julie speaks up and breaks the silence. Full body flinch and he grips a syringe so tightly in his hand it shatters. The only person that sneaks up on him outside of trials is Krueger, which means he fell asleep and is fucked, …and that time Steve did it and got punched in the face for it. ]
What the FUCK?!
[ Quentin shoots a firey glare over in her direction. Though the look fades completely and switches to confusion when he sees who it is. ]
…Julie. [ ????
He shakes his hand and rubs it on his pant leg, looking around then back at her. Was she looking for Susie or something? Surely she’s not actually here to bug him. ]
[ that is absolutely not the reaction she expected him to have to being surprised, and it almost makes julie laugh. she shrugs a shoulder instead, watching him try to regain his composure, and waits a moment or two before she actually answers. ]
I mean you and your relentless fucking altruism. [ she points at him with her knife, gesturing up and down. ] Do you know how annoying it is?
[ Quentin takes a deep calming breath and points at her with a finger warningly when he thinks she'll laugh. He drops it at the shrug and settles for picking at the end of his jacket's sleeves. ]
My altruism. [ Flat. Questioning. Eyes on the knife again, following it up and down as she moves it. ] Pretty annoying if you're coming all the way over here to cut me over it. I'm not going to apologize for trying to help.
[ it's very annoying! julie doesn't even know what she came here for. just to have a go at him for being nice? it's not even just that he's nice, he's not the only survivor who is, but there's something about quentin that's so disarming sometimes she has to remind herself not to let her guard down. what a pain. ]
You're so goddamn nice. Kinda makes me wanna slit your throat like... All the time.
[ but she puts her knife away when she says that, so obviously it's not what julie's here to do. she folds her arms over her chest, scowling behind her mask. ]
[ Quentin fidgets where he stands, picking at a thread on one sleeve then stopping before he pulls a hole in it. He's just trying to figure out what the hell Julie is doing, watching her very carefully but isn't in a position to actually block a damn thing if she does come swinging at him. ]
Oh. Cool. That's a normal reaction to have to niceness. [ The knife goes away and his shoulders drop down some. He moves a hand towards his mouth like he's going to bite his nails but never actually does it. ] So, uh, why aren't you-- ? [ The hand near his face is used to point at his neck and run an invisible line through it. Slice. ] Not that I want that.
Oh. Susie would skin me alive if I hurt you outside a trial.
[ said like it's a joke, but it's not and they both know it. maybe susie wouldn't skin her, but she's possessive and that darkness in her was there well before the entity got its claws in. ]
[ He nods, a little smile crosses his face for a second and he visibly relaxes into a slouch. Any guard just melted away. Susie, Susie, he adores you. He doesn't think she'd actually skin Julie and thinks that's probably an exaggeration to "it would upset Susie" though. Julie's a good friend to Susie and wouldn't hurt her feelings. That's what that is.
Okay so maybe Susie might tackle her to the ground or something? ]
And in the trial?
[ Didn't get him there either. He made it super easy too. Should he be questioning this and potentially making her change her mind on actually following through with the knife? Probably not. ]
I was tipsy and concussed. The fact I stabbed anyone that trial is a miracle.
[ a normal thing to do would be to thank him for trying to help, and the thought does cross her mind, but that's dangerously close to showing appreciation or something and that's stupid. ]
Here. [ she reaches inside her jacket and pulls out a bottle that she abruptly tosses to quentin with no warning. the glass is thick though, fancy looking vodka bottle, if it falls it should be fine. ] You said you'd drink with me, right?
[ Asking kindly about her well-being after she just said him being nice made her want to slit his throat is fine now because she's not going to do it. Ha.
The bottle gets tossed and he's honestly definitely not expecting thick glass. It almost smacks him right in the face and he only caught it by the grace of god, albeit entirely awkwardly in his elbow. ] Shit. [ He shifts the weight in his arm to grab it properly, looking at the label with a bemused expression. Okay. Didn't think she'd actually follow up on that one. ]
Uh- Y-Yeah, yeah. I did say that. [ Well. Guess he's about to be drinking now. He tries to recall how many different drugs are in his system today and how well they mix with alcohol. Should be just his own pills and maybe some- Whatever. He doesn't actually care. He's not pleased about the drunken sleep this'll lead to. That's going to be fucking horrific. Terrifying even. Maybe he can black out and not even dream.
Or being next to Julie is deterrent? Hopefully she doesn't ditch him somewhere. ]
You want to hang here or--? Do you even get along with anyone here?
[ No, right? Quentin's already taking the cap off the bottle and taking a swing of it. He makes a disgusted face, hating it and the burn. He coughs. And then just takes a second gulp of it. ] Ugh. [ He closes the medkit he had been filling, puts it aside in a safe spot then moves over to her and holds the bottle out. ]
Never had any complaints. [ ha ha ha okay jules now isn't the time ] No, it's fine-- We all heal fast here.
[ she watches quentin fumble with the bottle with a raised eyebrow and a snort, a shake of her head at his question. she's probably threatened to gut at least half of the people there in the middle of otherwise seemingly normal conversations, so... yeah. doesn't really get along with them is a way to put it. ]
[ ahem. anyway. ]
You don't sleep 'cause of Fingers, right?
[ it's not a question so much as julie thinking things through as she speaks, because it doesn't occur to her until right then that she can't hang around here, and she's going to have to keep an eye on quentin. she sighs as she takes the bottle, lifts her mask just enough to take a drink, and then gestures for quentin to follow her. ]
Come to Ormond. That way if you pass out he can't get you.
[ His eyebrows shoot up into his hairline at her. Is Joey the only one that hasn't made a dirty joke now? ] Okay. Good. About the healing.
[ Quentin rubs under his nose, shrugging at her and looking anywhere but at her at the question. ]
Fingers- Right. Yeah, I don't sleep because of that plate of baked ziti.
[ He wonders what Julie thinks. Susie knows what Krueger did, at least to the extent that he hurt him very young. He starts tilting his head to try and peak under her mask at her when she drinks. He's not about to ask about her opinions but she seems to provide an answer for him that makes him crack a smile at her. ]
Cool. Okay. [ His hands find their way into his pockets and he waits for her to take point. He'll follow right next to her. The fog is the fog and killers know their way around better than he does. Especially when he's just started drinking... ]
You know Susie lets me sleep there sometimes. [ Not sure that was a secret? ] I hope that's not, um, massively invading your space or anything? Frank apparently knows. [ He leans his head back, making a face. ]
[ here's a fun fact about julie. she's actually not that confident or self-assured, the prickly killer bitch is an easy way to get around it. the joke's a weak attempt to shake off some of that anxiety, but it doesn't really work. just leaves her feeling stupid that she feels like she still needs frank to hold her hand when she's feeling off-kilter. ]
[ she holds the bottle tight as she leads the way — it's not a long walk for her, five or ten minutes at the very most — and decides she doesn't want to think too much about anything quentin says. she knows he's linked to freddy somehow, and her own... interactions with him have a million suggestions flit through her head, but it's none of her business and she sure as fuck doesn't want to end up feeling sympathetic toward quentin. ]
[ but that means at least she doesn't ask any questions, lets it lie and lets quentin move the conversation elsewhere. ]
Yeah, I know.
[ and her tone of voice suggests she's not happy about it, but she doesn't say any more on the topic. she hasn't said a word to julie about it, barely anything to frank even, because what is she going to do? susie knows she hates survivors being in ormond outside trials, in their space, but that said there's no reasonable way to say "hey don't bring your boyfriend here" so... quentin gets to sleep there. ]
[ Quentin isn't all that self-assured either and certainly not the most confident person in the world but he's friendly. He's outgoing just enough to approach people and try to talk to them, even if he stutters his way through it the first time. Julie seems way more guarded. She said one thing not much else. Like Nancy, though Nancy gives him a little more to work with nowadays.
Not that he wants to talk about Krueger but he half-expected to be questioned on it. Frank would've said something, for sure. He doesn't know Julie well enough to know she wouldn't. That's appreciated. He's more than happy to move on there.
The bottle has only been tapped by him so far and he's starting to feel a little stupid for that. Maybe he should've waited. And not brought up invading her home by making it a spot he's frequenting? She sounds displeased. But, you know, he's there. He's kissing her friend. He should be able to talk to them without it being weird as hell. ]
I put all the movies I found to watch with Susie by that TV you guys had that I guess, uh, Joey brought in to, um, to try and date a ghost but it's good for regular non-cursed entertainment now.
[ to be fair she didn't expect him to immediately take two pulls from the bottle. have some self-control, geez. ]
[ the mention of joey is something she can latch on to though, electing not to think too hard on the fact that quentin is apparently tight with joey too. of course he is. jesus christ. ]
God I wish he'd try and talk to her like a normal person.
[ and now they all have to be worried about this stupid tape because joey's a dumbass about girls. ]
He's moving while looking behind them every so often because there are things in the fog, even if they haven't gone for him. Maybe it's his company lately. ]
Not exactly a normal person to try to talk to. But, yeah, I think re-watching that thing is insane. Once was probably enough to give her an idea he was interested. Has he always done things like that?
[ Joey, there are safer ways to try and get a date. Not that Quentin can do much talking about it. ]
[ it's not a yes, but it's not a no either. still, julie says it with both the fondness and exhaustion appropriate for a friendship as long as theirs, but she's not going to tell quentin any fun details either. ]
[ There's amusement hearing the fondness she's got in her tone. He doesn't expect Julie to go into specifics but that's a simple enough question. Yes or No. ]
Girls liked him, but you know... [ shrug ] Small town.
[ a nice way to say "well he has hecka intimacy issues like all four of us do and we lived in a small town so y'know after a while there's no more girls." ]
That's scary. She can curse you through phones? I thought she was nice enough. She lets me go a lot, which I can't get a reason for, but also completely bypasses following any hooks during other trials and just-
[ He widens his eyes and snaps his fingers. ] Instant death. Is Adiris your friend? She asked me about religion once.
[ He picks up his pace a step, now that where they're going is in sight. Ormond is becoming a comforting place. It's a safe haven here. Susie is there. Certain demons are not. It's cold as hell but there are ways to stay warm. ]
[ she notes the way quentin suddenly seems to relax when ormond's in view, the way he gets more confident in step, and it makes julie clench her jaw in annoyance. how much time has he been spending there exactly? ]
[ and another killer who goes easy on him? everybody just loves quentin huh. ]
Not really, but I try not to piss her off.
[ she feels like plague doesn't really grasp exactly why she's here, or rather that isn't some god looking out for her or whatever. it's just some cosmic parasite hellbent on sucking as much out of them as it can before it throws them away and moves on. ]
I don't know if Sadako cursed it on purpose, she just kinda... [ hm ] I think her shit gets fucky with tech? I haven't asked though.
[ Enough to know where everything in the cabinets are.
He nods, trying to visualize Julie talking to Adiris all casual like. Adiris sort of explained her reasoning to him. She thinks the Entity is her god and will fix everything so she follows it without question. It's sad, in a way. But maybe he's been doing the same thing thinking somebody will spare him eventually. ]
Maybe we can get Joey to ask if he pulls it off. I haven't asked around too much about her since I didn't want to make Yoichi uncomfortable.
[ her shoulders relax a little once she feels the crunch of snow under her shoes. it doesn't feel like anyone else is around right now, which is kind of a relief. she'd rather not have to explain why she's bringing susie's boyfriend to ormond. ]
Are they... [ what's the word ] Linked?
[ she glances at quentin briefly when she asks, that's one she's never sure of when a new pair show up. the entity loves to bring in a survivor and killer together, but that doesn't mean they know eachother or are obviously connected somehow. though julie suspects sometimes they are more than they think. ]
[ he preemptively crosses his arms for warmth before stepping into the snow and looks around after her. less concerned if one of the others are around. well, maybe if it's frank. that'd be weird. ]
Um, they're... [ Linked is probably a good word for that. He wouldn't know how else to really describe survivors that come in with killers they actually know. Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and the Demogorgon. Jill and Nemesis, now Wesker along with the rest of the people from her city. Yoichi and Sadako. Him and Krueger. He doesn't know if there are others that are. Nobody brought it up or acts like it. ] Yeah. They are.
[ He looks back at her, curiosity peaked. ]
Are you linked to anyone? [ Maybe it just didn't come up. ]
[ julie's quiet for the minute or so it takes to walk from the edge of ormond into the lodge, stamping some of the snow off her sneakers on the way in. she looks up at the faded mural on the upstairs wall as she throws herself down into an armchair. ]
We went to school with Jeff. [ she puts her feet up on the edge of the little coffee table with a shrug. she knows jeff isn't a chatty guy but it still surprises her that nobody seems to know. ] We weren't friends or anything though, no idea why it picked him.
[ He copies her, in a way, stomping the snow off his shoes right before going any further in and then catching up to her. He stands right before the coffee table, hands in his pockets and looking up at the mural at her revelation.
He's quiet, thinking about Jeff and wondering if every killer has a counterpart now, however distant - but there's something that's more interesting in there two. ]
I wonder why it took you from different times. That's got to be, like, at least ten years, right?
[ Should he sit too? Quentin takes the seat closest to the fire after hovering for a minute and leans forward, propping his head up with his hand and looking around. ]
[ closer to fifteen if she had to guess, but she hasn't asked. they've only spoken a few times since he turned up and as far as she can tell he has no idea why the entity chose him either. maybe there'll be a future tome that shines some light on the matter, maybe not. ]
[ julie looks at quentin when he sits, and to the bottle in her hands. she's gonna have to take her mask off, isn't she? fuck it. first she pushes it up just enough to take a drink, and then she pushes it up over her head and drops it down on the coffee table. the nonchalance as she reclines back into that chair is forced, but she's good at that. most of the time frank's the only one who sees through her unless they're really paying attention. ]
I try not to spend too much time thinking about the Entity and why it does anything.
[ a shrug as she takes another drink and leans over to offer the bottle to quentin. ]
The mask comes off and there he goes, looking at her like he’s studying some kind of painting with a curious little smile on. Quentin at least as the foresight to look away after a second instead of outright staring like he had with Susie. Julie wouldn’t even take that off for a head injury that the strap might be rubbing against.
Quentin’s paying attention but he doesn’t know Julie. Not really. Any forcing she’s doing goes unnoticed for the most part. ]
Maybe I’m spending too much thinking about it…
[ He’s been thinking about it since he got here. Why it does things. Why him? Why then? Why why why why-
He smiles in thanks and takes the bottle, his drink deep. He makes another face at the alcohol but it’s better than the first two drinks he had now. ]
[ it's immediate, a little "duh" in tone, but julie looks at her mask on the coffee table and its X mouth with a thoughtful frown. Maybe there's something to it — a face with no mouth for a girl who spent almost her whole life feeling like she could never say what was on her mind except to the rest of legion, like they were the only people she could be herself around — but even if she was willing to do that kind of introspection, julie's certainly not willing to say that much to quentin. ]
[ she shrugs a shoulder ] Maybe I just really liked Miffy.
But that's your main one that isn't the same as Frank's.
[ an immediate retort, carrying an eye-roll because she knows what he meant. he waits for a response, taking a whole gulp out of the bottle again before putting it down on the table where she can easily reach it. drinking with julie: he sure meant it.
quentin leans back in the chair then raising an eyebrow. ]
[ "maybe frank's is the same as mine" is right there on the tip of her tongue, but julie doesn't say it. it's a stupid, pointless argument to make, but she does frown anyway, however briefly. ]
Yeah, she was a [ she lifts her hands to either side of her head, two fingers pointed up on each in a mime for ears ] bunny with a little cross for a mouth.
I don't think the Entity's gonna go for us making alterations to its designs.
[ julie reaches for the bottle and takes a drink, holding it in her lap while she thinks. there's only one thing to do with quentin she's particularly interested in though. ]
So. [ immediate topic change. ] You and Suze are official now, eh?
Oh, I thought you might have had better luck since it likes you guys more. I tried messing with my outfit a couple of times just to see. Rip the sleeves and shit. It said "no".
[ There's that topic. Quentin, in response, raises his shoulders up with a silly lovestruck smile on his face that reaches his eyes. Head dips and nods. There's no denial here. ]
[ oh jesus, that's adorable. part of her wishes they could've met in the real world, he would've been good for her, she thinks. julie thinks about the shy, meek girl susie was and kind of hates that a guy like quentin would've been perfect for her. awkward too, but friendly, outgoing. kind. ]
[ it makes it harder to be mad about their relationship, and julie thinks it's still stupid as hell for susie to fall in with a survivor — she's much too soft, lets it shift her priorities — but there's nothing julie can do about it. she can... try to help, though. because she doubts quentin's really got a good idea how dark it can get for them and if he wants to be with susie he needs to be prepared for that. ]
God, look at you. [ it's lightly teasing, and julie takes a deeper drink and puts the bottle on the table. ]. The best, huh? Even when she gets mad?
[ he always wishes he could've met people in the real world. nice kind susie with her fun style who clicks with him better than nancy did. so full of life. doesn't sugar coat anything she says to him (he thinks...). he would've loved to do things with her. everything and anything.
quentin has the inkling of how dark it is. he knows there's consequences but susie always keeps reassuring him it's nothing too serious, nothing she can't handle - but he knows she's lying, just not how hard. he knows susie has an edge to her he doesn't get to see but vastly underestimates it. thinks there's never any enjoyment to it.
maybe the buzz has him extra smiley about the topic of susie, his new favorite subject. ]
Yeah. I get mad too. [ He makes a bit of a face. ] Really mad. It's fine. [ He sighs, back to smiling. ] Mad or happy or sad or just completely rolling on those never sleep pills you have or giving me a jab so I stop getting in her way. She's the best still.
[ he hasn't seen it. it gets bad, really bad. susie has a lot of anger in her, and having the power to really take that out on someone, to really rip into someone and make them hurt... ]
[ does she say something? does she leave it be? julie presses her lips together in a frown. ]
That's, um. It gets worse. A lot worse.
Edited (lmfao dropped my phone and it posted) 2022-10-19 22:42 (UTC)
[ Quentin’s dreamy loving look fades slowly into something confused, for a split second, then incredulous. He’s tired.
Part of him knows, seen the signs, heard of them but it’s been put off. Like sleep. Something that can’t be denied forever. He shakes his head dismissively and rubs at his own face. ]
Look. I know you don’t approve but if you’re about to make something up to get me to back off, it’s not going to work.
No. [ she shakes her head and puts the bottle down. ] Opposite, actually.
[ with a sigh, julie turns to sit side-on in the armchair, knees pulled up and feet wedged in the corner. the temptation to keep drinking is there, but she's only just edging over into tipsy and she'd rather have her head on straight. ]
Would I rather you two didn't get together? Yeah, I haven't been fucking subtle about it. But ending it now would just hurt her even worse than it never happening to begin with, I'm not gonna try and make you do that. [ she shrugs a shoulder ] As if I could anyway.
[ julie looks at quentin, frowning. ]
But you can't hold on to this idealised version of her. The darkness goes deep in all of us, I know for a fact she's been doing her best to hide that from you.
[ 'opposite, actually'. it makes him look at her very carefully, squinting his eyes in deep thought. giving his full attention -- or as full as it can be through perpetual exhaustion and what's bordering on half a bottle on his end. it did wake him up a bit. ]
Okay... [ He nods, in understanding. In agreement. Yeah, she couldn't break them up. He's serious about this. And it would just hurt Susie for her friend to try to do that or if she actually got Quentin off. Susie doesn't need that.
But idealized? He's frowning back, something tense and cautious now. ]
...She's hiding that it- [ He spins two fingers by his temple. ] Gets to her a lot more than she's telling me. She says she's fine but I know it's not true. But that's not her darkness, right? It puts that in there.
[ julie raises her eyebrows, gives quentin a look as if to say 'what do you think?' because there's no way he's actually this naïve, right? ]
There's a reason we're killers, Smith. [ she's sure susie's told him how they got here, but with what she's seen and learned julie doesn't think any of them would be killers if it wasn't already in them. janitor or not. ] It can twist it, amplify it, but it can't change what's inside us.
[ No, not naïve. Hopelessly repressing negative thoughts and spiraling himself into denial of the horrific realities before him? Sure. But he doesn't believe they're good first bad second. Susie made it sound like she was forced. ]
The reason was one time and that could be any of us. People can switch sides. It's not a requirement to be stuck like a killer forever. [ Or a survivor but- ] You can't think you're inherently evil, Julie.
Because nobody on your side has ever killed someone? Come on, Quentin.
[ julie rolls her eyes, reaches for the bottle. she's starting to understand how this is her fault, how she encouraged and nurtured something in all of them that turned them into monsters, and she needs quentin to understand that that's a significant part of who susie is. ]
It's not about good or evil, it's about the fact that what we are runs deeper than one awful thing she was part of.
But that's not true. I know for a fact the freakin' war veteran has killed people. The cops probably have. Different circumstances, yeah, but that's still...
[ grasping at straws. he trails off himself and huffs. he wishes she didn't just grab the bottle or he'd be chugging it right now. quentin's fidgeting in his seat and ends up messing around with his necklace again. he leans back, bouncing a leg, looking up at the ceiling of the lodge -- or the big gaping hole in the roof. ]
What are you then? If you say 'killers' I'm telling you to shut up.
I mean. [ she raises her eyebrows to say yeah, but doesn't actually say it. tipping her head back with a deeper drink from the bottle as she thinks about what to say to that, and offers it over to quentin. ]
People with the right kind of anger and malice for the Entity to use? [ she looks down at her knees, thinking. frowning. pulls at a stray thread. this is almost certainly saying too much, but... it's for susie. ] I think... There has to be a part of you already willing to hurt people-- really hurt them. People who've never done a thing to you. Doesn't matter if you have or haven't, just have to have that bit of venom already in your heart for the Entity to get its hooks in.
[ she's never said any of this to the others, but she's thought about it a lot, because otherwise why them? why joey and susie when neither of them are close to as unhinged or vicious as she and frank? when some of those survivors must have significant body counts and were probably much quicker to kill than any of them ever were before this place. it's what makes sense. ]
[ his eyes roll back at her raised eyebrows. but it doesn't need to be said. the bottle is taken as soon as it's offered and he holds it, looking at her carefully while she answers him. ]
The right kind of anger. [ His isn't good enough, he thinks. But then she continues and he picks his head up to look at her, the worrying his bottom lip in thought. No. He was right. His anger really isn't good enough. He doesn't have that in him. Venom and anger and hate but it's not unbiased, it's not uncontrolled that it'll hit a bystander. His heart would break if he hurt someone that never deserved it. Theirs would not. That's the difference, he supposes. There's a harsh reality to this that. Julie has that willingness.
Susie has that, it turns out. ]
Fuck. Okay. [ He rubs his face with one hand and looks off, drinking deeply from it as if that'll damper the discomfort and unease and everything. He holds it against his chest after stopping, which he might've only had to do to breathe. And just stares at the floor for a moment blinking like he wants to fight tears. Maybe he's always doing that. ]
So... You put a lot of thought into that, didn't you? I've been trying to figure it out. Why it's you that gets the knife but not me? Jill would put a bullet in any of you instantly but she wouldn't hurt someone that didn't deserve it. I didn't have the other side's insli..- [ He grunts and clears his throat. Rubbing his face. ] Insight.
[ He picks at his necklace again, then he's got another drink going. He'll give it back after with a significant dent. ]
[ any further things to say on that topic are cut off by a laugh at quentin's slip, when he admits he's drunk, and julie reaches over to take the bottle back. maybe that's enough for him considering he doesn't usually drink. ]
[ He's patting his cheeks to wake himself up now that the alcohol has officially really got to him. He looks at her, face scrunched up and one eye closed. ]
Um. Once here, like when I first got here, with moonshine they found because I thought getting blackout drunk would maybe prevent- [ He gestures at his head and almost slaps himself in the face. He drops his hand quickly. You didn't see that. ] Didn't work. I was just drunk dreaming.
[ He sinks into the chair, snorting. ]
Five or four cakes since then. Cake years. You know how it does the whole cycle and comes back to the cakes? Whatever. And I've only drank like once before getting to this place.
Oh. [ she gets he doesn't drink now because of freddy, but julie really would've thought he drank more in high school. then again not everybody was throwing and/or going to every party they could just to distract from how fucking miserable they and most of the kids in their town were. ]
[ anyway. julie snorts a laugh, a bit surprised. ] Okay, yeah. I'm cutting you off.
[ Quentin was the designated driver. Because he had the car. Not the most responsible one in the group but he wasn't interested in being drunk what with the whole ADHD medication that said drinking with it worsened symptoms. Oops. There were parties but he's a nice kid that would much rather have a Sprite. ]
No. [ That came a little whined out. ] I'm fine. I can handle it. I've been way more fucked up than any sorta drunk. [ He's reaching for that bottle. Grabby hand. ]
[ Ow.. He pulls it back and glares at her for a second over it then shakes his head. ]
But you don't have to deal with it. I've got so many things for pain. [ He puts a hand in his pockets like he'll prove it to make a point and- ] Oh. I emptied these before I got here. [ He throws a hand up in frustration. Then drops it. And folds his arms. He gives up. ]
Okay. Fine. I wouldn't want you all hungover either.
If you think I'm bitchy now... [ she trails off with a small laugh and takes a drink from the bottle. ] But that's Frank's problem.
[ it's not really, julie tries not to dump her problems in anyone's lap — even his — especially not when they're problems of her own making, but it's a funny thought right. frank having to deal with julie while she's hungover and bitchy as hell. ]
I don't think you're bitchy right now. [ He tips in his seat and shifts position in it, going vertically across it now, legs over the arm of the chair and head resting on the other arm. He keeps his arms folded. ]
You're being kind of cool. Telling me, like, horrible things about Susie's inner darkness that I have to think about. But that's not changing how I feel. That's... I'll think about it later. [ He looks at her, upside down ] Do you need to bitch? I'll listen. Or I'll bitch. [ He holds a hand up, middle finger up. ] Fuck this hole in your ceiling.
[ maybe it's the fact that that's so unexpected, or how much vodka is currently in her system, but that gets a genuine laugh out of julie. sudden and short, but no less real, and she shakes her head. ]
What did you mean before, people can switch sides?
[ she just remembered he said that, like part of her mind completely blocked it out until just now. asking the question comes with a bit of discomfort behind the eye, like the start of a headache, but the words are out of her mouth now. suck it, entity. ]
[ she laughs and he smiles at her, pleased and amused. happy to hear it. then he's thinking. There's a pause where he yawns and covers his mouth before answering. he picks his head up after doing it and starts picking at his nails out of some habit to wake himself up. ]
I keep collecting these pages and stuff? You know. I'm up all night so I just read everything I get my hands on. One said one of you, one of the killers, used to be on our side. So I keeping thinking, why not the other way around?
[ He raises his brows at her, expression hopeful. ]
[ it takes longer than she'd like to parse what quentin's saying, partially because of the alcohol, partially because of the noise in the back of her head. it's obvious when she's got it, her eyes widening for a brief moment before her expression settles into a thoughtful frown. ]
[ there might be something to it if the entity wants her to stop listening this badly. ]
Maybe... [ she presses the heel of her palm to her eye as the noise dies off, trying to focus. ] Going that way's probably harder than the other though, right?
[ Quentin's watching her going from picking to biting one of his nails. ]
Maybe! Does your head hurt? [ She looks like she's having a harder time being awake than he is suddenly, he thinks. Maybe she was the lightweight the whole time. If he weren't drunk, he'd probably be thinking harder about it. ] Well, yeah. Going insane and snapping would be way easier than reeling in murderous impulses probably. But not impossible.
I guess you don't know since you-you...- [ He points at her. ] Haven't really tried.
I'm fine. [ she shakes her head. could a person with a headache do that!? ]
[ she pulls a bit of a face at his finger though, a frown of deep offence like one might at being told off by a parent, but relaxes and looks at his face with a bit of a shrug. ]
Yeah. I'm not really interested in switching sides.
Susie says that all the time. [ He's not thinking hard about it but he blurts it out. Because it's true. ] Liaaaar. [ He sighs, switches the nail he's biting before he chews it off. ]
Thas tuh- [ Nail out of the mouth. ] That's the problem though. That's why we don't have proof it works. Nobody would be interested in this. Why would any of you guys want to switch sides? You get power, a place to sleep that's not a cheap tent, and pizza. I get murdered sometimes up to twelve times on a daily basis, I have two shirts which often have buckets of blood dumped on them, and then there's every time I-
[ He shakes his head, rocking in his seat and yawning again. Then patting his pockets like he's looking for-- Oh right. He emptied those. Second time he's forgot. ] Who the fuck would wanna come to this side? It's awful. [ He covers his face with his hands. ] I'm not enough to convince anyone to do that.
[ oh, is she gonna have to reassure him? julie kind of stalls for a second — being nice isn't exactly natural for her, and right now it takes some active mental processing to remember how to do it. ]
I don't know if that's true. [ she leans her head against the back of her chair, frown back on her face as she thinks about her words. ] I wasn't joking when I said she'd skin me if I hurt you.
[ back to picking at her jeans, there's a lot of thoughts that won't fully form. won't connect. little fragments based on things she knows or believes, but they don't mean anything on their own. ]
[ julie sighs. ] Anyway. Not like any of us even know where to start with that kind of thing.
[ his hand moves down his face enough to look at her over the tips of his fingers, looking utterly confused she's reassuring him on this. He rubs his arm then, hanging his head but looking at her still. ][ He trails off, having difficulty formulating his thoughts. ] The um- Protecting someone else is good on our end so that- Maybe. It tallies up? [ Does that make any sense? Sounds like it does to him. He thinks for a moment, ends up mirroring her by picking at his own jeans. He shrugs. ] Thanks. [ For trying. ]
Can you guys go in the hatch? Maybe she can jump in with me. See where it goes. I know there's a block for the, uh... the... exit. It gets those spikes. But that never has any.
[ huh. julie pats down her pockets while she considers that and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her hoodie — sorry quentin she's reached the point of drunk where smoking sounds great — and lifts one to her lips, leaving it perched there at the corner of her mouth. ]
[ The guy that tends to run on bottles of pills and needles full of expired adrenaline isn't about to scoff or make a face at her vices. He just raises an eyebrow, because he wasn't aware she smoked at all, and then goes back to picking at his jeans. ]
Maybe? Why not? It just drops you back at camp so it's worth trying? ...Do you have a lighter for that? [ He pats his pockets for a third time and oh right. Man he's drunk. ]
Hm? [ oh. right. yeah that's why she was checking her pockets again. it's a little awkward getting in her jeans pocket but she manages to pull out a lighter and light the cigarette. a brief look of concentration and then she reaches over to the coffee table to grab an empty mug, that'll do for an ashtray. ]
[ ... what were they talking about again? the hatch? going through the hatch, that's right. ]
I dunno. It feels... Different to everything else in the trial.
Hm. [ He's watching the lighter click and then following the smoke up and blinking v e r y slowly while he does. The fear instinct is to be awake and he briefly contemplates trying a cigarette. He then thinks of a few other methods of waking up like burning his hand with her lighter or drinking ash from the mug once it has some in it. ]
Different how?
[ She doesn't know and he still asked. ] I think it feels not Entity, if that makes sense. It has this sound that's very... [ There's an attempt to mimic it. He hums a high note, surprisingly not off-key though he does squeak in the middle of doing it. ] Like hymns.
[ julie tilts her head back to exhale a plume of smoke toward the hole in the ceiling. there's an amused quirk of her lips at the crack in quentin's voice, but otherwise she's nodding in agreement. ]
Yeah-- yeah. Not Entity.
[ she knows the noise pretty well. granted, she's more one to slug for that sweet 4k but sometimes the hatch opening can't be helped. ]
[ He clears his throat, a little embarrassed but then hums again like it’ll help him figure it out. It doesn’t. ]
Maybe someone made it. [ He sings it out then waves a hand while he talks. ] Like… that isn’t here anymore because they got out. But now it’s route is cut off…
[ He lulls his head to one side, barely keeping an eye open. He outright punched himself then blinks a few times. ]
Do you remember when the- you could get out through it earlier? But now you can’t find it anymore until everyone else is gone. I think it hides it because there’s a way out in those tunnels. Or used to be anyway.
[ oh. here comes the noise again. julie frowns down at her lap, trying to focus in on quentin enough to drown out the entity's yelling. what she gets out of it is enough to make her scoff and shake her head. ]
Yeah, I remember having to patrol the fucking place just in case all two of you decided to take the trash chute out of the trial.
[ Quentin, slurring a little, keeps digging his nails from one hand into the palm of the other so he doesn't fall asleep mid-sentence. He shifts his sitting position again so his legs are folded up on the seat. He gives her a look for frowning. It wasn't that bad, was it? ]
Yeah, it was easier. Now the keys are a waste of space and don't really do anything. And I think it all changed because it really could've did something. So I thinng- I think that it was made by someone that got out and the Entity covered it up. Literally covers it until the last second in a trial.
[ she has no idea if quentin's close to the truth of it or not, but julie knows for a fact the entity wants her off this topic. it gets louder, more insistent, she looks up and sees a crow staring right at her from a perch on a splintered beam. ]
Do you need to sleep?
[ it's a sudden shift in topic, sure, but it's also a fair bet that at any given time quentin probably does need to sleep. even without the alcohol. ]
[ Quentin's thought process gets pulled away from the topic at the question and he just stares at her. His eyebrows very slowly go up, eyes locked on her face while the question sinks in. He opens his mouth to say something, closes it, narrows his eyes a little and then goes to say something again only to burst into hysterical laughter. ]
Do I need to- [ He snorts, giggling between words. His fingers turn to point at himself. ] Me? Yeah. Fucking probably!
[ Seemed funny to him. He lets the laughing die out pretty quickly. Oh, she’s serious. He rubs at his eyes, looking dejected like he just got asked to jump off a bridge instead. It’s basically the same association and the stupor he’s in has him wearing it all over his face. ]
Yeah… Don’t leave if I do. [ He leans back again, sinking. ] You said you wouldn’t. I need one of you here.
[ she leans over to put the vodka bottle on the table even, no more drinking! though she does think about texting susie to come take over when she can, just in case. ]
[ there's a kneejerk "no you wouldn't" that wants to come out, but julie's not going to argue with him right now. she's tipsy and he's going to sleep. julie just curls back up in the chair and pulls her phone out to harass frank into keeping her occupied so she doesn't fall asleep too. ]
[ He'd probably argue back if she argued. It'd be a whole thing. Luckily, they're drunk. So fuck that. He's completely zonked out in a deep sleep the second he stopped fighting it and going to remain there for hours, limp and completely still. Probably be mistaken for dead if he didn't snore a tiny bit in the middle there. Still breathing? Yup. 👌 Thanks. ]
[ when it happened to chrissy, late at night in the middle of his living room - it was awful. it was more than awful, but there aren't many words that properly explain or encompass the sheer horrific terror eddie felt when he watched a teenage girl get pinned to his ceiling by some unknown force, her bones twisting and snapping in unnatural directions, eyes pulled into her skull.
when it happened to patrick, out in the middle of lover's lake - when he watched some kid he barely knew rise up out of the water like some kind of god, eyes wide and frightened by something no one could see - eddie was more prepared. but it didn't feel any different, watching someone's limbs crack and their body contort. the familiarity, or lack thereof in his and patrick's case, changed nothing. it did not lessen the trauma, the terror. the guilt.
eventually, they were able to give it a name - vecna's curse. a childish label, stolen from a fantasy game, but not a name that was unfitting for the ailment or the person responsible for it. eventually, they came up with a plan to fight it, to end it. end him, and when eddie lay bleeding out in the middle of some phantom copy of his own street, he thought maybe they'd done it. maybe they'd beat him. maybe he was dying, but maybe no one else would have to, and that seemed worth it.
the fog seemed like an unfair trade for sacrificing his life. finding some of his friends here felt like a blessing and a curse at the same time, comforting and nauseating, depending on the hour, but if there's anything that helped him keep his shit at least somewhat together, it was the lack of anything vecna. no vine hivemind, no clocks, no fucking demon bats. crows and a whole bunch of twisted psychopaths, sure - but no vecna.
and then it happened to leon. in the middle of a trial, pursued by what appeared to be a tiny girl, the air crackling with static - it happened again, almost exactly the same way. no warning, none of the same signs, but the lifting, the snapping bones, the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground - it was all too close, too familiar.
eddie survived that trial, somehow. but that's how it goes, doesn't it - chrissy, patrick. they both died in front of him, like he was meant to witness them. like he was meant to be punished for - something. fred died in the middle of the street right behind eddie's house, for christ's sake. and max - eddie doesn't want to think about max. he doesn't want to know.
the anxiety is still festering when he makes it back to the campfire. it builds in his chest, starts to make him feel like he's suffocating. starts to make him feel a little crazy, honestly, to have to sit here and listen and watch while everyone else acts like nothing happened. like people getting folded up like paper cranes is just an every day occurrence - and maybe it is, maybe eddie shouldn't be as messed up about it as he is, but - it turns out trauma doesn't work that way. most of them weren't even there in the trial, so he can't fault them for being able to relax, but it feels isolating.
he goes for a walk. gets up and murmurs something about being right back to no one in particular, and wanders off into the woods to get some space, some air, some distance. eddie's gotten better at navigating through the fog, but this time, he doesn't really think about anything. no place in mind, but eventually the air starts to feel a little crisper, colder, and the ground underneath his sneakers starts to crunch a little differently.
when he comes back to himself, he's surrounded by white. snow, a disabled ski lift creaking quietly above his head as a biting breeze blows through. eddie blinks. he's been to ormond before, but never outside of a trial. never uninvited, and there's a reason for it - he might be cool with julie, but there's at least one of threegion that has made it clear they're not really a fan of him, and no telling how the others feel, but eddie could probably guess that they're not as nice ("nice") as julie.
but it seems quiet, and that's enough to tempt eddie forward. he shoves his hands into his jacket pockets and heads toward the lodge, jaw clenched loosely. inside, he's cautious. he takes his hands out of his pockets, takes quiet, wary steps and swivels his head as he looks around. he's never really taken the time before to take anything in inside, rushed by adrenaline and the need to survive, but he takes a second now. notes the mural on the wall that he's somehow never noticed before, the ski rack. the silence should be unsettling, but for eddie - something tight begins to unwind his chest very slowly.
satisfied that he's not about to be ambushed, eddie practically collapses onto the couch near the fireplace. he hunches forward a little, rests his elbows on his knees, and drops his face into his hands, fingers pushing up into his fringe just slightly. he exhales, long and heavy, breathing out the words more than speaking them clearly. ]
Oh, Jesus Christ...
gets out my pipe and reading glasses we're in for a long night kids
[ on the scale of 'having a bad time' to 'ptsd meltdown', julie's not really having a comparably bad time to eddie, but that's not to say she hasn't been having a bad time. there's a noticeable dip in the general mood since susie left — all three of them feeling abandoned in one way or another — and julie herself has gone from guilt, to hurt, and settled right into anger in the interim. ]
[ one could say it was noticeable in her trials, but there's maybe four survivors tops who could probably tell. rarely could julie ever be convinced to let someone escape, but she'd let someone have a second chance if the circumstances were right. (usually if they fucked up comically enough.) ]
[ funnily enough, julie's the one who's really fastidious about not having survivors in their space, and if they are here invited then not longer than necessary. anything to stop them feeling welcome, like they can just waltz in whenever they want. it's important to keep that line in the sand between them so they don't run the risk of going soft, so the survivors don't start feeling like they can take liberties. so when julie senses someone on their turf it pushes her from stewing on her anger to deciding this idiot is gonna get it. grabs her mask and a knife and comes out from her room ready to kill. ]
Whoever's here, you better have a real good reason for-- [ speaking of going soft, she stops dead when she comes out on the landing and sees a familiar mess of curls on the couch downstairs. ] ... Eddie?
[ that's... concerning. for starters it's really not like him to just turn up in a killer's realm unannounced, right? he's smarter than that. she pushes the mask up on top of her head and rushes down the stairs, something's wrong here. ]
What happened?
i sat down with the goal to make this short and still failed
[ the sound of julie's voice registers before the familiarity in it does and eddie reacts on instinct and impulse. the second he's alerted to someone else in the building - the second he picks up the sound of a footstep, his hands drop and he reaches for and snatches up an empty beer bottle from near his foot by the neck, standing and turning and smashing the end of it against the brick around the fireplace in one quick motion. eddie's not naive enough to think he has any chance against a killer on their own turf, but he's also not jaded enough to not put up some kind of fight even in the face of shitty odds.
it clicks for him, as he stands there on the bottom floor with his arm extended toward the landing and a broken bottle in his hand, staring up at a mask he's maybe a little too familiar with, that he knows the voice behind it. or that was behind it. julie takes off her mask, and once eddie's confirmed that it's her, he immediately relaxes, arm dropping, bottle falling out of his hand. maybe it says something about him that he's so quick to let his guard down, knowing that it's her, but that's - something for him to think about later. or never. probably never.
eddie sits back down, this time on the arm of the couch. he brings an unsteady hand back up to his face, presses his thumb and two of his fingers against his eyelids and pulls inward until he's pinching the bridge of his nose. on the one hand, he's relieved that it's just julie. on the other hand, he doesn't like that he's been caught partway into - what? an anxious meltdown? on his third mutant hand, needed for this point - being at the campfire and trying to keep his shit together felt worse than this, so.
he drops his hand, lips pressed into a tight line, eyes still squeezed closed. eddie doesn't answer julie for a moment, has only really barely registered that she's come down the stairs just by the sound of it, but he turns his head away slightly. after a beat, he lifts the same hand he drops and waves it kind of vaguely, like he's brushing something off. he shakes his head, opens his eyes, takes another second to inhale. ]
I, ah - it's. [ he exhales, tries not to think about the sound of breaking bones. how the fuck does anyone get used to that shit? why does it keep happening right in front of him? when is he gonna catch a goddamn break? eddie swallows around a strangled note of frustration and shakes his head again. he still hasn't looked at julie directly now that she's taken off her mask. ] It's nothing, man. I just - I don't know, I needed to get outta there and I guess I just - [ quieter, more to himself: ] What the fuck?
[ he looks at julie, finally, and he just looks all kinds of roughed up, both physically - there's still blood on his shirt from his trial, though most of it is not his - and mentally. with zero context, he pleads: ]
What is she? Jesus Christ, give me a goddamn break already—
[ under different circumstances, julie wouldn't be ashamed to admit that eddie immediately grabbing that bottle was extremely attractive of him, but right now she's just... worried. she's fucking worried about him. christ. she lifts her hands as she comes down those last few steps, strangely more cautious now he's dropped the bottle, and tosses her knife and mask down on one of the chairs once she's down there. ]
[ she used to be good at this — comforting people, making them feel safe. sure some of it was artificial, learned care rather than genuine, but it was still something she could do. nobody comes to her for that, so as a skill it's regressed a little. ]
[ hesitantly, julie comes to stand by him where he's perched on the arm of the couch and lightly (perhaps a little more lightly than necessary, she's not exactly used to touching survivors, has no idea how that strength translates outside a trial) lifts a hand to his shoulder. at the very least, the worry in the frown she looks down at him with is genuine, as is the concern in her voice. ]
What is who?
[ should she push him to talk about it? or just try and distract him? she has no idea. ]
[ even as light and as cautious as it is, the touch to eddie's shoulder makes him tense up at first, instinct urging him to shy away. it pings at the feeling of being suffocated for a moment, but eddie stays right where he is and works through the brief spike of anxiety. it's insane to think of julie as someone that's safe, but once the urge to get up and get away passes, the gentle weight on his shoulder becomes kind of... grounding. certainly not enough to calm him down entirely, but he feels a little further away from a complete shutdown.
eddie's knee bounces anxiously, the chain clipped to his belt loop shifting quietly against his thigh. he brings his thumbnail to his teeth, chews for a second as he tries to put a sentence together that doesn't sound totally deranged. he remembers, briefly, trying to explain to dustin and steve what happened to chrissy, and how absolutely batshit insane it sounded even to himself at the time.
he looks up at julie. funny, how they were talking about him being taller not that long enough. ]
The - shit, the girl with the - the goddamn TVs everywhere. She just - [ he flings his hand out a little bit, gesturing at nothing. ] Kennedy just lifted, and then all his shit started to break and it was just like before. Just like before. [ he crosses his arms, but it seems more like he's just trying to comfort himself, slightly hunched in on himself. ] She's not - she's not Vecna, or Henry or whatever his name is, but it's the same.
[ she almost pulls her hand back and apologizes, but eddie relaxes that little bit and julie lets her hand rest a little heavier in response, thumb brushing back and forth over the fabric of his vest. it's all she can really think of to do in the moment, just staying present. ]
[ though the description makes her suck in a breath through her teeth-- julie remembers well enough him telling her about the cheerleader who got fucking folded right there in his home. maybe if she'd known that was a thing sadako did she would've warned him. probably not, but she can't help but wish she had, seeing eddie like this, right on the edge of a breakdown. ]
Shit, Eddie... [ not munson, or some other vaguely affectionate insult. she only seems to use his name when she's concerned, she's learning. or would, if she was paying attention to that. ] That's-- I can't even imagine.
not that long enough? one day. ONE DAY i'll make some goddamn sense
[ part of eddie feels kind of stupid for being so worked up over something that's not even really new to him anyway, but then again, it's not like he's really ever had the time to stop and process everything he's had to endure since chrissy cunningham was murdered in his living room. from the second her body dropped, eddie's been moving at full speed - from hiding from the cops to hiding from an entire town, hunted down by his own classmates looking for revenge - from venturing (unwillingly!) into the upside down to offering himself as bat bait to being eaten alive in the middle of the street, to finding himself not dead, but alive in some hell dimension - there's just never been any time to cope. it feels like it's finally catching up to him, or maybe he's just too frayed at the edges anymore to try and keep himself from coming apart.
eddie squeezes his bicep, shifting his gaze away from julie and down to his sneakers. there's a dead, wet leaf stuck to the rubber toe. eddie uses the bottom of his opposite shoe to try and brush it away, just to give his brain something else to focus on for a second. ]
I thought I - [ he catches himself. ] I thought we were done with that shit. Got away from it at the very least.
[ and that feels kind of shitty to admit out loud - to be grateful that at least if vecna was still around back home, being here meant eddie wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. he tries not to think about henderson too often, about gareth and the guys, his uncle, but sometimes he wonders if they're doing okay without him, if they're safe.
eddie drags a hand over his face, forcing himself to take another deep breath. ]
I ran in 'cause I thought I could save him, you know? Take a hook from him so he'd have more time - [ he's referencing whatever weird-ass pact he seems to have with the entity, where he can claim someone else's hook states as his own. ] And as soon as I got close enough -
[ eddie shakes his head again, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. he focuses on the weight on his shoulder, and while it's comforting, it's also kind of sobering in that eddie seems to realize, belatedly, that he really should not be here. as nice as it was to have some peace and quiet for all of - what, fifteen seconds? - and as ... strangely kind julie has been in the face of this mini meltdown, he's probably definitely crossing some boundaries.
he clears his throat, uncrosses his arms and starts to stand. ]
I, uh - I'm sorry. I really didn't mean - shit, I should go.
[ julie's eyes track his expression as he speaks, in the moments where he has to think about what he's about to say. eddie comes off so light most of the time that she forgets how fucked up just the shit she knows about is. no doubt there's more. it makes her just kind of sad for him, makes her wish she had some solution to make him feel better. but trauma isn't something you can just get rid of like that. ]
No-- no. It's fine. [ a little rushed, but she doesn't feel right just shooing him off when he's clearly in the middle of some shit. ] Nobody else is here right now, so.
[ she gestures with an awkward swing of her arm and immediately regrets it, tries not to let it show on her face. she's just always a little uncomfortable without some facade to prop her up, but they've kind of moved past "bitchy and violent" as standard, and right now certainly isn't the best time to pull that one back out. ]
I can leave you alone if you just wanna be by yourself. It's fine.
[ "it's fine" again, jesus. being nice to people is hard. ]
I don't. [ if julie's no, it's fine was rushed, then eddie's i don't leaves his mouth at near mach speed at the suggestion of being left alone. he should feel embarrassed at how quickly he declines, ashamed of the mild thread of desperation in his tone and in his eyes when he chances a quick look at julie, but instead he just feels... relieved. sure, he left the campfire because it felt too crowded and cramped and he needed some space to work through his panic and anxiety without dozens of eyes on him, but being alone is one of the last things he wants right now.
eddie sinks back down slowly onto the arm of the couch, his shoulders sagging a little as he pushes out a heavy exhale. he lifts one of his hands and rubs his palm down over the bottom half of his face and shakes his head slightly before letting his hand fall and come to rest by his thigh.
he should elaborate, probably. ] I don't... want to be alone.
[ eddie looks back down again, but it's not out of shame or embarrassment. he just feels... drained, physically and otherwise, and though the staticky, shocky feeling of anxiety is still buzzing through his veins and clouding up his chest, he can feel it slowly starting to dissipate, and the relief is exhausting. quietly, he nudges at some of the broken glass by his shoes, scattered everywhere from when he smashed a bottle against the brick fireplace not too long ago. he looks up again. ]
[ that makes something in her chest ache and julie frowns down at him. soft, empathetic, worried. but after a moment she nods, offers him a small smile and a gently amused exhale through her nose at the offer to clean up. ]
Yeah. [ it's just a little teasing. testing the waters to see how he is with that right now. ] Later though.
[ he looks exhausted and julie imagines he feels even worse, she's not gonna make him tidy up right now. even if he can't just come in here and start smashing bottles and then leave. for the moment, he just needs somewhere safe and calm and that's here apparently, and that confuses the hell out of julie but at least it's something she thinks she can provide. she's at least mildly confused by things with eddie at all times anyway, she can handle it. ]
[ gently, julie nudges him toward the actual couch with the hand on his shoulder ] I'll stay with you.
[ ending up in a killer's realm while seeking out someplace safe to pull his shit together should strike eddie as odd, but the absurdity of it doesn't really cross his mind beyond the understanding that he's trespassing, and that if anyone else but julie were here, he would most certainly not be welcomed. it's something for him to think about later, once he's returned to his own turf, so to speak, but for now he's appreciative of the calm quietness ormond provides.
the gentle teasing earns a soft exhale and a faint smile from eddie, and when julie attempts to guide him to sit properly on the couch, he goes easily, turning slightly and sliding from the arm down to the cushions. though it's not luxurious or plush by any means, eddie sinks into it, and for the first time since he stumbled in here, he takes a deep breath and then breathes it back out nice and slow. he drags both of his hands down his face, and tries not to think about - whatever the fuck that girl is anymore. focuses on the subtle warmth from the fireplace instead, and how quiet the lodge is when there isn't a generator hissing away or echoing screams in the distance as fellow survivors are injured and hooked.
it's kinda nice, actually. though most things probably are when you spend all your time huddled around a campfire and sleeping in the woods.
idly, he picks at the front of his shirt with one hand, pulling it up from where it's stuck to him a bit, still a little tacky with mostly-dried blood. he probably should have cleaned up when he got back to camp, but that's another thing that hadn't crossed his mind until now. ah, well. he glances at julie, feeling tired but grateful for her company, even if he had to come in swinging and nearly hyperventilating to get it. ]
Threegion's not gonna come back and go all - [ he raises a hand, curls his hand into a loose fist and makes a couple lazy stabbing motions before dropping his hand again, ] - on me for being here, are they?
[ when he slides down onto the couch, julie moves around the other side of him to sit, curls a leg under herself with a small sigh as she sinks into the cushions. it's old, worn down, but the entity's insistence on keeping the realms semi-static keeps that quality sort of comfy instead of the cushions wearing down into nothing. ]
[ she picks at a loose thread on one of those cushions, stares down at her hand to stop herself from watching eddie creepily to try and figure out how he's doing. though she does look up at him at the question. ]
Nah. [ she shakes her head. ] Might give me shit about it, but that's all.
[ and she's fine with that actually, even if it means admitting she's being a massive hypocrite right now. better that then turfing eddie out to have a whole meltdown god knows where. ]
[ aside from looking incredibly exhausted all of the sudden, eddie also looks somewhat surprised by julie's comment. he can't imagine anyone giving julie shit, not in any way that's meant to be serious - it's why he refers to her as legion and the rest as threegion, after all (and also because it's funny to him and always will be funny to him but that's beside the point). out of the four of them (and hunk), she just seems the most put together.
eddie sinks a little more into the couch, turns his head slightly to look at julie, then looks down at himself. at his body that looks like it's melting into the cushions. he plucks at his shirt again, then looks back up at her, smile faint and a little tired. ]
... Well. If it'll help, you can tell 'em you stabbed me.
[ ha ha. you know. because he's wearing someone else's blood, and if you don't look hard enough you can barely even tell that it's not his. ]
I'm not going to tell them that. [ it's good-natured, she rolls her eyes when she says it. ] They can just deal.
[ as she says that, she turns a little toward him, leaning against the back of the couch, and reaches out a hand little hesitantly to touch his shirt, frowning. though her expression relaxes a little when she realises most of that blood isn't his. ]
[ when julie reaches out toward him, eddie doesn't flinch or lean away, but he does tense up a little bit, unsure of her intention. it's subtle, and mostly contained to his torso - there are dozens and dozens of ugly scars hidden under his clothes, and he'd prefer that they stay that way for many reasons, so it's instinct to want to shy away from anyone who gets too close these days. especially people who just - don't know about what happened to him back home.
but julie just touches his shirt and it really seems to dawn on eddie in that moment that he really must look like a goddamn horror show. he knows he's basically painted red, and it's not the first time his clothes have been stuck to him with his or someone else's blood, but it's the first time he's really stopped to consider what it looks like to someone else. outside of a trial, where it doesn't really feel all that out of place, considering.
eddie wets his lips and looks up from her hand at his shirt, his voice quiet. ] It's, uh... not mine. [ well. ] Most of it.
[ a lot of it is leon's. after that girl snapped him ten way to fucking sunday and left him there, eddie had found whatever fucking courage he could muster and swooped in to see if there was anything he could do to help him, panic and fear choking him up as he dragged his body into his lap and begged him to get up, promised him he was gonna be okay, knowing in the back of his mind that leon wouldn't be getting back up again. not until everyone else was dead, or someone got the gates open and the entity called for the end. ]
[ she's seen eddie bloodied up countless times at this point, it shouldn't stand out to her, and yet here julie is frowning at the thought of whatever happened to him in that trial. it's different outside a trial, it's real then. she trails her fingertips on along the outline of one of those bloodstains. ]
We've got a bathroom if you want-- [ wait. she gasps suddenly and sits up straight. ] I've got something for you. Just-- stay there.
[ despite the situation, she looks a little excited as she pulls herself up off the couch. about to rush off back to her room unless eddie protests. ]
[ eddie's already confused enough about there being a bathroom ( of course there's a bathroom, what kind of ski lodge wouldn't have a fucking bathroom? it's probably behind one of those locked doors nobody can ever get through during a trial ) that julie supposedly having something for him just - confuses him even more. he doesn't protest, just looks at her with pinched brows and very mild uncertainty. curiosity, too. what the hell could someone possibly have for him here?
eddie blinks at her, still absently picking at the front of his shirt, stiff and tacky. ]
[ she's only gone a few minutes, long enough to dig around in the bedroom for the sweater she finally did actually make for him, a brief smile on her face when she thinks about frank making fun of her when she ruined two other shirts trying to get this right, and comes back out. ]
[ she briefly thinks about telling eddie to close his eyes so she can surprise him with it, but what actually happens is-- ] Hey, catch. [ julie balls up the sweater and throws it at his head from the balcony. ]
[ while julie's gone, eddie takes a minute to just - look around the place, for once. he's been here a handful of times before, but never outside of a trial, and never without the threat death hot on his heels, never with nothing to do to make sure nobody dies. he's never had the time (or the desire, honestly) to pay attention to the smaller details - like the fact that there's a whole-ass bar here. he's climbed through that window who knows how many times, and it's just - never registered to him until now.
there's plenty of other shit he's noticed before now, but has never really thought too hard about. skis, for instance, but there's no mountain nearby that he knows of, so - on theme, but kind of pointless otherwise.
julie's not gone for long, and eddie looks up at the sound of her footsteps from up above him, and just barely reacts in time to fling a hand out to catch the ball of fabric she hurls at him. it's quite obvious that it's a shirt, which only confuses him more because julie mad it sound like she had something specifically for him, and not just like - a logical replacement for his mucked up shirt, but. he's not gonna complain.
eddie sits stands up, starts to shake out the shirt, and pauses when he finally gets a look at the front of it. it's - the fucking DARE shirt they joked about. eddie can't help but laugh at it, quiet but genuine as he holds it out in front of him. he looks up at julie again after a moment, and he says, like an idiot: ]
... You made me a shirt.
[ because it's too specific to be something she just happened to find somewhere in one of the realms. ]
[ and maybe it took a while of julie huffing and puffing over one wrecked shirt before frank pointed out to her that ormond is literally full of bags of luggage and there's probably shirts in there that she could use, don't worry about it. what's important is the way julie smiles, bright and wide at the look on eddie's face when he holds up the shirt. ]
[ she comes back down the stairs and throws herself down on the couch next to eddie, sitting sideways again so she can face him, and pulls a foot up on the couch. ]
So if you want to get cleaned up or whatever, you've got a clean shirt to change into.
[ eddie gently balls the shirt up in his hands again, still kind of genuinely surprised that julie followed through on a dumb joke. not that eddie didn't have plans to make her a shirt too, once he got his hands on all the right shit (stealing harrington's green sweater was also not a joke), but it's just - surprising. and nice, even if eddie's kind of iffy on the bleach-dye, but only because he's just - never really worn anything like it before.
when julie sits again and tells him he's free to clean up, eddie hesitates for a second, then lets go of the shirt with one hand to kind of gesture in two different directions with a finger. ]
Where's, uh...?
[ the bathroom. where is the bathroom. ]
Edited (maybe it is bed time) 2023-01-03 22:47 (UTC)
[ of course he wouldn't know where the bathrooms are, they can't get to them in trials, she doesn't know why so don't ask. she twists in her seat and points out a door by one of the flights of stairs, (and, uh. the giant fucking hole in the wall. great joke from the entity putting the hole next to the shower.) ]
It's kinda cramped, but it's a shower.
[ she says that much with a slightly awkward laugh, oddly self-conscious about the whole thing suddenly. it's kind of dim and dingy in there, but they keep it clean and uncluttered — julie would kill everyone if they didn't — and there's a bathtub with a shower, and a sink. and it's got surprisingly more headroom than one might expect, which is probably why that's the one with the shower. ]
[ the last time eddie had a proper shower was— well, he can't remember, honestly. probably the same morning everything went to shit back home - you know, when a cheerleader came to him looking for some relief and ended up dead in the middle of his living room. washing off in the lake is... fine. it gets the job done as far as cleaning off blood and guts and sometimes vomit, but the possibility of an actual shower feels like a dream.
eddie nods his head once, then somewhat awkwardly gets up. he murmurs a quiet be right back, and then he's off with his new shirt in the direction of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
it's weird, once inside. eddie stands there, staring at the door like he doesn't know what to do with himself, shirt still clutched in one hand. after a moment, he turns around on his heels, and startles a little at his own reflection in the mirror above the sink. eddie averts his eyes quickly, not interested in seeing himself covered in someone else's blood. not interested in knowing what he might have looked like to anyone who might have found him back home, if anyone even found him at all. to this day, eddie still feels sick and guilty every time he thinks about henderson's stupid crying face hovering above him.
gritting his teeth a little, eddie drapes his clean shirt over the edge of the sink and then turns away from the mirror slightly so he can peel his jacket and his bloodied shirt off. now that he's alone, it's easy to kind of backslide a little, his thoughts drifting back to the trial. to leon, and the girl who just - fucking folded him up like paper before dropping him like - well, like dead weight. eddie takes a deep, shaking breath and turns back to the sink, purposely avoiding looking at his own reflection. he moves the clean shirt out of the way, then turns on the sink and shoves his hellfire shirt under the water, watching the water turn a rusty brownish-pink color as the blood starts to come out of it and swirl down the drain.
a minute ago, a shower sounded like a goddamn miracle, but now eddie's not sure he has the energy for it. if he deserves a luxury like that when people are dead. in the end, he skips the shower entirely. rinses and wrings out his club shirt so he can use it as a washcloth, wiping and dabbing as much of the dried blood off of his skin as he can. when he's done, he wrings his shirt out again, turns off the sink, and reaches for his new shirt. it's such a stupid thing, but it does make him laugh a little, a quiet breath escaping through his nose as he pulls it on.
even all cleaned up, eddie does not look at himself. he takes his wet shirt and his jacket and about five minutes after slinking off, eddie steps out of the bathroom. he clears his throat, slowly making his way back toward the couch, and the fireplace. ]
Is it, uh. Is it cool if I like - drape this? To dry.
[ his hellfire shirt, he means, lifting his hand and giving it a little shake just in case it's not clear. ]
[ julie watches a little pensively as eddie heads to the bathroom, the weird urge to call out and ask if he needs help strikes when the door closes behind him and she rolls her eyes at herself. help with what? he's grown, she's pretty sure the guy knows how to wash himself. her mother's voice rolls around in the back of her head, telling her it's just good manners for a host to offer to help their guest and berating her for not offering to make him a coffee or some shit like this is just a normal day in a normal place and she didn't find the guy halfway having a panic attack in a broken down ski lodge. ]
[ a minute or two of staring at the bathroom door like a creep passes and julie eventually makes herself get up, takes herself upstairs to grab a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and drops down onto the couch when she comes back. all of it is really just ways to keep her mind occupied and off the fact that having someone here makes her more anxious than she would've expected, but that's probably all there is to it. just don't think too hard on it. ]
[ she's curled into the corner of the couch that eddie had been in when he comes out of the bathroom sooner than expected, and julie looks over, unable to hide the little smile seeing him in that stupid shirt puts on her face. ]
Uh-- sure. Yeah.
[ she gestures to the fireplace and the space around it like he needs help finding it. excellent job, jules. ]
[ with julie's permission, eddie moves along the side of the couch, stepping over the broken glass from the bottle he shattered when he first got here and thought there was a good chance he was about to be attacked. he makes a mental note to pick all of that up at some point before he leaves, and drapes his damp shirt over one of the short wooden posts protruding from the brick above the fire grating, out of the way but hopefully close enough that the heat'll dry it.
when he turns back, eddie leaves his jacket over the back of the couch, and he's only semi-awkward for a second or two before he sits back down on the couch with julie, taking up the opposite side. not quite in the corner, but not quite in the middle and all up in julie's space. he sinks down a little, sagging into the cushions much like he had been before, but this time he seems a little bit more comfortable now that he's not wearing someone else's blood.
eddie lulls his head to look at julie, notes the cigarettes in her hand, and puts his own hand out. he curls his fingers, silently asking for one. ]
Not a bad job.
[ he says about the shirt, smiling at her a little. he still looks... very tired, but the melt down from earlier is mostly behind him for now. ]
[ so he didn't shower. there's no way anyone with that much hair could be anything other than absolutely soaked if they did, but he looks better at least. or maybe it's just the lack of blood covering him now, but that's an improvement too. ]
[ her eyes track over his face, trying to figure out how he's feeling right now, and she leans toward him to hand over the pack and a lighter. ]
I'm glad you think so, because you're actually contractually obliged to love it actually.
Contractually obligated, huh. [ his eyebrows lift, and he pauses with his hand on the cigarettes, the crushed paper connecting the two of them. eddie laughs a little under his breath, the corners of his mouth pulling with a half smile.
truthfully, it's a really dope shirt, though half of the reason he likes it at all is because it's an inside joke between them. the other half is because it's hand made - because she put in the effort to bring a dumb joke to life, when she was not contractually obligated to do so. he says it's not a bad job, but he's pretty pleased.
eddie slides the lighter and the cigarettes out of her hand, bringing the pack up to his face so he can pluck one free with his mouth. he hands the cigarettes back, gets his own lit in two attempts and then holds the lighter back out to her as well. finally, he turns a little sideways so he's facing julie, lifting his arm a bit so he can rest it along the back of the couch.
he inhales a cloud of smoke, tilts his chin down and to the side a bit to exhale away from them, then wets his lips before he looks back up. he leans his cheek against his arm, blinks a bit sleepily. ] I don't remember signing shit.
[ he smiles, lazy and teasing. ]
Guess it doesn't matter though. [ and then, quieter. ] I do kinda love it.
"actually contractually obliged to love it actually" why
[ there's a joke about signing in blood that makes it all the way to the tip of julie's tongue before she catches it, but she does and swallows it back down with an inhale of smoke. which is honestly pretty good for her, she doesn't often catch those jokes before she says them these days. ]
[ which is good, because it means she hears eddie says he kinda loves it and that makes julie smile. wide and stupid for a moment, and she turns her head to look away for a moment while she wills the heat on her face not to turn into a blush because she'd really hate to kill eddie in his new shirt. ]
Well if we were back in Ormond I'd invite you over to "study." By which I mean "make out without our parents knowing." So I'm thinking something along those lines?
I DON'T. I don't have those years of desensitization to the concept of creepy FOG full of monsters in a place where literally an entire group's goal is to actually kill you in violent ways! I'm not wandering out there so I can accidentally find a Xenomorph or something equally horrific!!
[ eddie's mouth opens in semi-mock offense when julie steals the cigarette's from him, looking at her with mild disbelief. he's the one who came out here - by himself! - to snoop around for shit to bring back to camp (sure, mostly for himself, but if he'd found anything he thought could be useful for someone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to bring whatever back for them), and she's claiming a finder's fee? for what? finding him, when he specifically said she could and should wait by the gates if she was insisting on coming to get him?
eddie scoffs, reaching for the cigarettes. ]
Finder's fee my ass, Jules, you didn't—
[ but julie freezes instead of jerking her hand away the way eddie was expecting her too, and that's enough to make him pause too, eyebrows furrowing when julie practically ignores him and spins around. it has not slipped eddie's mind that they're not exactly safe from the nightmare monstrosity that apparently lives here, but it's been pretty quiet, and from the handful of times eddie's had to face that thing, he's learned that it doesn't really come quietly.
also in his few encounters, eddie has been fortunate in that he hasn't seen it in its... festive form, so when he catches a very very brief glimpse of white in the distance, shifting behind some trees and brush, he mistakes it for something far less harmful. ]
It's - that's a snowman. Someone's - probably just fucking around.
[ but julie's got her knife out, and if he knows anything about julie - which is admittedly, not very much and not as much as he would like to know - it's that she doesn't spook easily, and she's not stupid. the way she backs up toward him, broadening herself to act like a shield between eddie and whatever it is she thinks she saw, it's enough to convince eddie that maybe she knows better.
eddie shoves the disposable camera in his back pocket and curls his hand in the bend of julie's elbow, pulling her along with him as he starts to move, backing away from the scattering of cars toward some fences close by. ]
[ aside from the slight movements of her head as she tries to figure out where the dredge went, she stands rigid on the spot, like a cat that's spotted something it really doesn't like. she doesn't move initially when he pulls on her arm, only when she thinks she sees it moving in the house does she turn toward him and start to move in the direction of the gate. ]
If it comes for us you better run your ass out of here. [ julie is generally firm in the things she says, serious and unwavering when she needs to be, but stern isn't a tone she takes often. ] I'm faster than both of you, I'll be fine.
[ never mind they're talking about a malevolent manifestation of rage and fear that has a much tighter link with the entity than her and also can teleport, though without a ton of lockers littered around the place julie doubts it can do much in that regard. she just knows she's not leaving eddie to that thing if she can do something about it, even if 'something' happens to be occupying its attention by dying horribly. ]
[ she's just... not going to think about what it means that she finds herself so often worried about this guy. ]
[ eddie lets go of julie's arm only after she starts moving, but he doesn't drift very far from her nor does he let her linger too far behind. if he's learned about - splitting up, at least back home, it's that it doesn't typically end well. it's just something he knows from experience.
creeping into a jungle gym of fences, eddie casts julie a look like he think she's a little bit crazy - which, he does, that's not a new observation, he's just making it evident in this moment. ]
What are you gonna do, fight it? It'll eat you alive, dude. [ eddie says this casually, but there's nothing casual about it. the dredge creeps him the fuck out, and what does eddie do when he's scared? he either screeches like an idiot... or he copes with sarcasm and humor. he flings out a hand, peering around the edge of a fence and then glancing back at julie. ] And between the two of us, I'm more experienced.
[ at... being eaten alive. it's funny, if you know what happened to him. and by funny, it's really just fucked up and traumatic and not really that funny at all. regardless, eddie doesn't elaborate and he doesn't expect julie to understand, either. instead, he looks back around the edge of the fence again, and murmurs:]
I want those cigarettes back. We can split 'em. Finder's fee.
[ he makes a sound like he's sucking his teeth. like he's unimpressed. but! it looks like the coast is clear for now, so eddie keeps moving, waving julie along. ]
[ julie gives eddie a confused look, but she assumes he means because of trials and stuff. and that's fair enough, she supposes. she's never had to do what they do in trials — not that she's never had to run and hide from other killers, but it's different, she knows that. ]
[ but still-- ] You that eager for another death, Munson? [ she shoves his shoulder to punctuate. following through the fence maze. ] Based on how easy you are to catch, I'd say I've got a better chance keeping that thing occupied than you.
[ he's a support class and that's fine. let the rogue handle it. things she'd say if she cared enough to learn about d&d. ]
[ eddie whirls on his heel so fast that his dumb hair flairs out around him a little, and he fixes julie with a look. it's clear by the brief flash of mischief in his eyes that he's not being that serious, but he puts on a serious face anyway and scrunches his eyebrows up at her. ]
I'm easy to catch because I let you catch me like - seventy-five percent of the time.
[ they both know that's not true. eddie's not entirely useless when it comes to taking chase, but he's definitely not as good as, say, david or meg, and when julie catches him it's definitely because she's faster and outplayed him. he's really not that eager to die again, in a trial or here in this dumb garden with a meat monster creeping around somewhere.
eddie turns back around again, and just as he's about to step out of the rectangle of fences, he hears the not so distant sound of a dozen agonized voices. way too fucking close for comfort, but that thing could be a football field away and eddie would still hate it. he freezes, spins on his heel again and instinctively braces a hand against julie's ribs so she won't move, leaned in close. he says nothing, but the look he gives her, eyes serious and jaw tight, should say enough. ]
[ julie just about manages to stop herself walking straight into eddie when he stops and whirls around, closes her eyes and tilts her head with a reluctant smile to stop herself from laughing and gives him another light shove for his trouble. ]
Whatever you say, Munson. [ he's more like morel than thomas, which is fine. kind of a pain actually because it means things are more likely to get done when he's there, getting thrown in with a team of four runners is kind of the ideal, even if it makes the trial like ten times longer. ]
[ she's pulled out of thoughts on trials and how every survivor is a special kind of nuisance by the approaching chorus of wails, and it really doesn't take much to make her stay still in that moment. back pressed flat to the fence, julie's grip tightens on her knife and she turns her head to try and listen for when it hopefully passes them by. something catches her eye though and she looks back up at eddie to get his attention and gestures to a treehouse a little bit away with a jut of her chin, hoping he catches her thoughts here. they can hide out up there without too much worry until it's safe to beeline it out of this place. ]
[ honestly, it's not particularly hard to put eddie on edge, but there's something about the dredge that makes eddie want to crawl out of his own skin and slink off somewhere to die. it's just this - unshakeable sense of dread whenever that thing is nearby, and right now is now different. it starts to creep up on him like a suffocating blanket, and though outwardly eddie doesn't look any more unsettled than julie does, inwardly his heartbeat's starting to stutter a little, tripping over itself to speed up.
eddie clenches his teeth together and keeps completely still, his hand still spread across julie's ribs like he has any say in what she does or where she goes. he doesn't think she's stupid enough to sell herself out just to fight the damn thing, but she's already implied more than once that she'll put herself in the way so eddie can run.
which is... something to think about. when they're not trying to avoid a gruesome death. later, maybe.
eddie looks down at julie as she looks up at him, and it takes him a second to pick up what she's trying to communicate, following the tilt of her chin up toward a treehouse not that far from them. eddie's not really sure he's ever noticed it before now, but it's not like he spends a lot of time giving himself the grand tour of every realm when he's dumped into one, and this is the first time he's been out here outside of a trial.
it's not a bad idea. if anything, it'll get them out of an immediate line of sight. can the dredge even look up? eddie has no idea, but he does know it probably can't climb a fucking tree. (then again, maybe it's an olympic tree climber, with all those stolen hands). he looks back at julie again, gives a curt nod to indicate that he understands, he's on board.
it takes a minute or so of waiting before the dredge's miserable orchestra of devoured souls starts to fade away, getting quieter and quieter with distance. when it's just barely audible, eddie finally takes his hand off of julie's ribs and blindly grabs for her hand instead, already on the move. ]
[ there's a brief moment where julie's wondering if the treehouse is actually a good idea, they have to cross the street to get to it and there's no cover between where they are and it, nowhere to hide if it sees them except a scant couple of cars — she's definitely spotted survivors from across the map in similar situations during trials, thinking they can move unseen because they can't hear the music. but if, by some stroke of terrible luck, it does see them it'd have to move faster than she thinks it even can to catch them. and if they're really unlucky, well. julie's solid on her intent to distract it for eddie's safety. it can't chase them both. ]
[ she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath until the chorus fades to dull, distant whimpers, and she exhales. wishing she could see which way it went, but 'not here' is good enough for the moment. takes a deep breath and-- and eddie's already grabbing her hand and pulling her along. ]
[ well. fair enough. no time to overthink things right now. julie trusts him not to run them into a ditch, checking over her shoulder and to their sides to make sure it's not looking at them from a distance, out a window, from behind a car. around some bullshit corner that doesn't even make any fucking sense. god she hates when she has a trial here. ]
[ he might be stubborn about refusing to take off without her, but julie hopes eddie isn't too full of whatever it is to fight with her about it when she tightens her grip on his hand and pulls him toward the boards nailed to the tree in some facsimile of a ladder. ]
[ eddie might not like the idea of going up first, evident by the way his clenches his teeth a little to keep whatever remark is waiting on his tongue caged behind him, but contrary to popular belief, he's not an idiot. to argue about this would be a colossal waste of time, and they both know that the longer they stay out here in the open, the more at risk they are of being caught. and eddie does not want to get caught. he doesn't want julie to get caught either, but if it'll get the both of them up into the treehouse faster, then eddie's willing to concede.
he does shoot julie a look though, clearly mildly annoyed that he knows that she knows he'd be an idiot to argue. but then he lets go of julie's hand, finally, and starts to climb. fairly nimbly, too, but the last thing he had to climb like this was a rope made of his bed sheets, hung between dimensions. a ladder made of two by fours nailed into the side of a tree's a lot easier to master.
as he climbs, he keeps a look out too, mindful of where he puts his hands and his feet so he doesn't fall and shatter his tailbone or something, but also scanning for anything moving out in the gardens that should not be moving. anything slinking around like a demented, possessed snowman. when he gets to the top of the ladder, he hauls himself a little less than gracefully through the treehouse window, then turns around and hangs about halfway out, arms extended down toward julie.
he waves his hands, hissing down to her. ]
Your turn. Come on, I got you.
[ he... does not have her, because he's too far up for him to just reach down and haul her up, but once she climbs high enough, he's set to help her up and in. ]
[ it's just smarter if he goes first! even if there's no sign of the dredge coming back (which there isn't, thank god,) she's stronger than him. if those boards didn't hold and eddie fell, she would've done a better job catching him than the reverse, she's pretty sure. all of which is clearly communicated in the little smile, raised eyebrows, and slight nod to the planks as if to say hurry up julie gives him in response to that look. ]
[ she's pretty fucking glad eddie's good at getting up there quick though, tension clear in the way she holds herself rigid and keeps scanning what she can see of this little street between glances up at eddie to make sure he's doing okay. once he's in, she's moving before he even speaks — might be willing to take the heat on his behalf, but that doesn't mean julie is by any means eager to be face-to-faces with that thing — and she starts climbing up to meet those hands. ]
[ well, first she casts a cautious look up just to satisfy her own worries about somehow pulling him out of the treehouse and dropping him to his death, but there's no way eddie is enough of a fool to reach for her if that was a risk. she hopes. but then julie reaches out for him, clasping his forearm in a tight grip, and once she feels like he's got her she does what she can to help him pull her up and in to the stupid little treehouse where she can catch her breath. ]
[ julie may chase him around and stab a bunch of holes in him on occasion, but that doesn't mean he wants her to die. falling to their death is the last thing in his agenda, and he wouldn't be offering to help her if thought he couldn't do it. eddie might push himself a little hard sometimes in trials, but he knows his limits.
when julie clasps her hand around his arm, eddie does the same to her, curling his fingers around her forearm and bracing his other hand against the edge of the window. he's not surprisingly strong by any means, but for being a beanpole, he's decent at pulling his weight, both metaphorically and literally. eddie helps haul her up the rest of the way to the window, uses both hands to get her inside, and only lets go of her once he's sure they're both inside and safe.
well. relatively safe. eddie leans against the wall next to the window, taking a second to catch his own breath, idly watching julie. she's still got those dumb sunglasses on that he stole from one of the cars down at the end of the street. sunglasses, and no mask. he hasn't forgotten about how odd that is that she came all the way out here without it.
eventually, eddie sinks until he's sitting. the treehouse isn't very big, definitely not made for someone to stand up straight very comfortably - and he's slowly coming down from a small adrenaline high, so it just feels better to sit. he gestures up at julie after a beat with a lazy flail of one hand, pulling his knees up a bit so he can rest his other arm on one of them. ]
You could get away with those, you know. [ the sunglasses. he's commenting about her lack of a mask without commenting on it directly. ] They always put that black box over peoples' eyes when they're trying to hide their identity in like - TV shows and shit. No one would know.
[ that's bullshit, and eddie knows that. he also knows that's probably not really the entire purpose of the masks, either, but whatever. he waits for a beat, then smirks at her a little. ]
[ julie's still feeling pretty restless, even once her heartrate settles down. if there was room in here to pace, she probably would, but she settles for sitting next to eddie with a snort when he points out the sunglasses — just like a censor bar, sure — cross-legged with her knee bouncing like that's enough to work out the excess energy from that adrenaline high. ]
[ and then he makes his stupid little comment and julie bristles noticeably, her leg stops moving and she puffs up a little like an angry cat. julie was kind of hoping he hadn't noticed, or at least didn't think much of her turning up maskless, and now she's doubly annoyed because she can't even threaten him to shut up because eddie should be well aware he's safe from her outside trials by now. ]
Yeah, well I've never heard of Dredge bugging anyone since it turned up, but you'd go and find a way to be an exception.
[ yes, fine, she was worried. and who could blame her? nobody! ]
[ when eddie first arrived in the fog, a shift in julie's attitude like that would have set him on edge - but he's been here for a while now, and he's spent enough one on one time with julie that he's not so easily unsettled by her. definitely not affected by the threats she used to spit at him, which have become notably less frequent.
he does feel like maybe he's touched a nerve though, watching the way she goes kind of static for a moment when he subtly brings attention to the fact that she came out here without her mask. eddie's pretty sure he's never seen her anywhere without it on her in some capacity. even that one time, when he stumbled into the lodge looking for a quiet place to lose his shit for a minute, she came out with it on, like she was ready.
it's just - interesting, is all.
eddie turns his head to look at her, leans a little to bump his shoulder against hers. ]
What, you don't think I could convince it to like me? [ it worked for julie, who's to say he couldn't sway the dredge, too. not that he'd want to, because that sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen, but still. ] In a, uh... non-cannibalistic kind of way. Do you think it counts as cannibalism if it's made up of like - a bunch of human parts?
[ she doesn't like not having her mask, especially not away from the lodge like this. hates being seen without it and the security it provides, but eddie's seen her without it enough that not having it doesn't exactly leave her feeling vulnerable and exposed like it would with anyone else. that doesn't mean she's fine with not having it though. ]
[ the question (disregarding the horse, she can't get into that right now ) makes her roll her eyes, and julie shakes her head. ]
I'm not sure it counts as cannibalism anyway. Is it actually eating anyone?
[ a better question: does she want to know? probably not. ]
Anyway, I don't think you wanna find out. [ if he could make it like him, that is. who really wants a pile of limbs as a friend? ]
[ eddie sure as fuck doesn't want to find out, julie's right about that, but now he's stuck thinking about the technicalities of cannibalism and whether or not it applies to the dredge. is it actually eating people? eddie tilts his head, contemplates. ]
Definitely consumes people. [ he makes lazy air quotes around consumes. ] Puts bodies in its... body?
[ all right, that's enough of that. eddie makes a face like he's grossed out by the thought, physically shakes the whole thought away. whatever, it's not important and he doesn't care that much.
now that they don't have to worry so much about being maybe-cannibalized though, eddie starts to dig through his pockets for all the shit he stole. when he drags a hand out of his vest pocket, he's got those listerine strips in his palm. curious, he flicks the little case open with his thumb, and finds what looks like a bunch of neatly cut blue-green... strips. as advertised, apparently, though he still can't quite grasp what the hell they are.
he looks at julie for a second, then takes one of the strips out. gives it a little shake, like he expects it to make some kind of sound like when you shake a big sheet of metal. he says: ]
If it's not drugs, I hope it's fun at least.
[ and then with a shrug, he simultaneously offers julie the listerine strips and pops one on his tongue. ]
[ puts bodies in its body. she hates that! julie wrinkles her nose and frown at eddie, shakes her head in a way that suggests he better be done with this line of conversation because she refuses to think about it any more. ]
I think we've earned drugs, right?
[ she says, innocently taking a listerine strip and popping it right on her tongue, a move she comes to regret mere moments later when it starts to melt and it's like someone smeared a square of toothpaste on her tongue? it's not gummy, it just kind of turns to slime? julie smacks her tongue against the roof of her mouth a couple of times and and she makes a face of mild horror at eddie like he personally cursed her. ]
[ when eddie puts the strip in his mouth, he has no initial reaction, sitting there next to julie with a blank face. and then it starts to dissolve on his tongue, melting into some kind of fucked up goo, and eddie just - opens his mouth, like that'll make it stop. his brows furrow sharply, and he looks like he's just licked the bottom of a shoe or something.
this isn't drugs or fun. minty, but fucking awful as an overall experience. why do these exist? how cursed is the fucking future, and should he be glad he beefed it in the middle of the upside down back in hawkins? why the hell are people carrying these around with them? just buy some fucking altoids. brush your teeth. nobody should do themselves.
eddie clicks the little cartridge closed, rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth just to get the strip to dissolve faster. he looks at julie, then at the little case in his hand, and then twists... and drops it out the goddamn window. ]
What the fuck? [ she still looks deeply upset with this whole experience, halfway tempted to lick her sleeve or something just for a different flavour to suffer with. who came up with those things? is that what they're doing in the ✨new millenium✨? just fucking slurping down toothpaste goo? ]
[ julie's about to ask these questions as if eddie isn't here from ten years before her, but she remembers something and stops to reach in her pocket for the pack of cigarettes and taps two out, because she's keeping this box, and holds one out for eddie. ]
I'm definitely keeping the pack after that. [ she scrapes her tongue against the roof of her mouth and makes another of those displeased cat faces. ] Fuck.
nobody should do themselves??? removing my fingers
[ it would appear that, for the moment, he and julie are sharing the same brain cell, because for a second eddie seriously considers using the inside hem of his jacket to get the gross shit off his tongue, and only decides against it because he likes his vest too much to subject it to whatever the fuck these strips are made of.
eddie throws his hands up a little when julie swears at him like he's fucking mr. listerine himself. he didn't make the damn things, and he sure as fuck didn't know they were awful, so he can't really be held accountable here. he murmurs a disgusted jesus christ under his breath, trying to work the texture and the taste of his mouth when julie digs the cigarettes she stole from him out.
seems a little unfair that she should be allowed to keep him, considering he's the one who did all the work to find them in the first place, but you know what? he decides he's gonna let her have this one. because he's nice. he takes the offered cigarette, wrinkles his nose up as he brings it to his mouth. ] Whoever greenlit that shit's a psychopath, Christ.
[ as far as she's concerned, the toothpaste slime is entirely eddie's fault and he should be held accountable for making this happen to her. but she makes a quiet noise, agreeing with eddie as she stretches out a leg to fish her lighter out of her pocket. a silent prayer as she lights up that this erases the phantom sensation left in her mouth. ]
So. [ she takes that first inhale to make sure it's lit properly and offers the lighter over to eddie as she tilts her head back to exhale. ] Back to Harrington's legs.
[ eddie's half tempted to reach out and pinch the end of her cigarette out when julie brings harrington and his stupid legs up again, his fingertips be damned. he doesn't though, just fixes her with an unamused stare as he plucks the lighter out of her hand and flicks it to life with his thumb, lighting up his own. when he's done with the lighter, he returns it to julie by balancing it flat on her thigh.
eddie fills his lungs with smoke, blows it back out and shakes his head, finding it in himself to laugh a little. christ. ]
Something's wrong with you.
[ that's all he can come up with, half embarrassed but also half wary, because staring at a dude's legs for a little too long is the kind of thing that would land him with a split lip and a black eye or worse, laid out in the middle of the school parking lot or left to bruise in a bathroom stall. hawkins is a very small town, full of not-so-open-minded people, he's learned.
not that eddie expects julie to be prodding just to turn around and give him (serious) shit for it, but it's a habit to be cautious.
eddie gestures kind of vaguely with his hand, careful of getting too close to julie with his cigarette. ]
I just think it's - funny, is all. The dumb little outfit.
[ and weirdly attractive in a way that's kind of bizarre even to eddie, but that probably doesn't need to be said. ]
[ julie's been in the fog long enough, open long enough, that she's kind of forgotten the threat of being queer when you're from some shitty, small town. she hasn't even thought about rochelle who emphatically told julie she's not "that way" and abruptly broke up with her — is it really breaking up when all you do is meet up and make out in secret? — in years. so she assumes eddie's caution is entirely because it's a weird thing to be into, survival instinct doesn't even cross her mind. ]
Oh that's what that face you make means. It's funny. [ she's quiet for all of a moment that might seem like she's going to let it go to someone who doesn't know her, and she nudges him with her elbow just before she speaks again. ] Just admit you're into his stupid ice cream man look.
[ eddie tilts a little when julie nudges him, then straightens himself back up again. he scoffs a little under his breath, passes his tongue over his teeth to buy another second or two. ]
I don't make a face. [ he probably does, but he couldn't do it now if he wanted to because he has no idea what he looks like when he catches harrington sprinting by with his stupid fucking legs out. as far as he knew, he was being subtle, but apparently not. or maybe julie just watches him way too closely, which should creep him out more than it actually does if that's the case.
eddie reaches his hand up and back, ashes out the window before bringing his hand back in. he wets his lips, lifts his cigarette to his mouth, pauses with it hovering there for a moment. he glances at julie out of the corner of his eye. ] Why do you care so much?
[ julie shrugs a shoulder, just looks down at the cigarette between her fingers. she definitely wants to argue that he does make a face because sometimes he does and it's totally hilarious. like he's just seen something he wants in a store window mixed with something significantly less wholesome. and what it means that she's so keyed in to the faces eddie is making during trials that she can pick out his expressions so often isn't worth thinking about too much. she's just observant is all. it's a skill she's had to work on since toying with stealth perks kinda hamstrings frenzy's ability to find people. ]
I only care this much now because you keep denying it. [ a pointed raise of her eyebrows punctuated by a drag on the cigarette. ] I just thought it was funny because I would never in a million years have guessed Harrington did it for you, let alone in his little sailor boy shorts.
[ to be fair, eddie would never in a million years have guessed that harrington would ever do it for him, either. eddie used to hate the guy - distantly, never really to his face, but when they were in school together, their circles couldn't have been farther apart. and then harrington graduated and eddie stayed behind, and truthfully, eddie forgot about him for a while. only remembered the guy existed at all when he met dustin henderson, and the stupid little squirt wouldn't shut up about him.
and then, you know. hawkins went to hell in a hand basket, and through a series of very unfortunate and traumatizing events, eddie got to know steve, and he figured out pretty quickly that - yeah. people do change, and steve - steve's a pretty decent guy. and also attractive, but that's irrelevant. mostly. it should be, but julie won't fucking let it go.
eddie doesn't say anything for a minute. he smokes his cigarette and he pointedly ignores julie, like he's not even gonna bother anymore with arguing if she's just gonna keep insisting that he's lying (because he is). he looks around the small, cramped tree house just to kill some time, rubs his tongue against the roof of his mouth to chase the rest of the acrid listerine aftertaste away, and it's not until he's burned his cigarette nearly down to the filter that he says anything. ]
... He's not what he seems, you know. Or, no - I guess he's exactly what he seems. Now. I used to hate the guy, but I barely knew him. Turns out, sometimes when you get to know someone, they're not as bad as you thought they'd be.
[ eddie turns his head and looks at julie pointedly, because this is not a sentiment that applies exclusively to steve. he goes to stub his cigarette out on the floorboard by his knee but then thinks better of it - with his luck, he'd light the whole damn treehouse up with them inside it - and rubs it out on the leg of his jeans instead.
he looks at julie again, offers a half shrug. presses his lips together for a moment, like he's debating his next words, and then just decides - fuck it. ]
Never saw him in shorts until here. He's got nice legs. Are you happy? [ he laughs. ] Jesus.
[ julie watches him when he goes quiet, trying to figure out what's going through his head, but she can't get it just from looking at him. maybe this is the point to actually let it go, is what she's thinking herself, and then eddie actually finally responds. nothing about it is particularly surprising (and she ignores the hell out of that pointed look), kinda cliché if anything, but it does make julie smile a little triumphantly. ]
Yes. [ she laughs a little herself, leans over and bumps him with her shoulder. ] God, that was like pulling teeth.
[ eddie reaches and pinches her leg in retaliation when julie nudges him with her shoulder, mostly just for something to do but also because she's kind of a little shit and he kind of hates that about her. unfortunately, it's also one of the things he really likes about her, too. ]
Yeah, whatever. [ he rolls his eyes, like she's being dramatic and exaggerating, like it was never that serious even though he's the one who was trying to dance around having to give a straightforward answer, or just straight up trying to lie. ] You're a freak.
[ he looks at julie, and it's clear in his expression that that's freak (affectionate) and not freak (derogatory). after a beat, he looks away... and starts to empty his pockets out into the small space between them, mostly just everything he stole from the cars down the street. when he fishes out the small, disposable camera, he turns it over in his hands like he's never really seen one before, at least not like this - but it seems pretty straight forward. he thumbs at the little wheel at the top right, winds the film, and then without really bring it up to his face, he turns it and points it at julie and snaps a picture, flash on and everything.
[ julie gasps and smacks at eddie's hand when he pinches her leg, laughing softly still at the same time. ]
Takes one to know one.
[ it's similarly freak (affectionate) on her end, a small smile staying on her face as she leans forward to put her cigarette out on the sole of her shoe, totally unprepared for when that flash goes off and blinds her for a split second, which she doesn't appreciate at all. ]
Oh great. [ she rubs her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, still with enough of a smirk on her face to give away that she thinks it's at least a little funny despite the deadpan delivery. ] Now it's like Harrington's here too.
[ eddie sets the camera down between them so he doesn't accidentally blind anyone again, still laughing a little bit under his breath about it. maybe he'd be more interested in taking more pictures - not just of julie - if he thought there was any way to get the film developed. as it stands, he briefly wonders if he could get away with taking the camera into a trial, use it to try to blind killers who expect flashlights and flashbangs over anything else.
his attention is easily drawn away though when julie mentions harrington for what feels like the millionth time in the last hour or so. he rolls his eyes, but there's something vaguely playful in his expression. ]
[ eddies eyes dart up to the sunglasses perched on her head for a moment before he looks back at her. occasionally, it strikes him just how... normal julie can be. how easy it is to get along with her outside of being chased and stabbed a million times.
he looks away from her, leans his head back against the wall, lulls his head to look at her again. her stupid little smirk. ]
You already stole my cigarettes. What more could you want?
[ her smirk turns a little impish as she looks at him, head tilted as if she's thinking hard about this, and she slouches against the wall with a shrug. ]
Better question is what you'd be willing to offer.
[ furrowing his brows slightly at her, like maybe he's trying to get a read on her, eddie looks at julie with a thread of curiosity in his gaze. he doesn't say anything right away, expression vaguely thoughtful. truthfully, they both know that he probably doesn't have a whole lot to give when it comes to bartering - she's the one with a whole ski lodge to herself, with dozens of suitcases to rifle through for more or less whatever she could want within reason, but he still makes a little show of contemplation.
eventually, his brow softens and the corner of his mouth slowly starts to curve up in the barest hint of a smirk. slowly, he leans closer to her, makes a small gestures with his hand like he's beckoning for her to come closer too. regardless of whether she obliges him, eddie tilts in kind of close to her ear, his voice real low like he's offering her something of high value that he doesn't want anyone else to know about. he doesn't even know what it is he's meant to be negotiating for, but does that stop him?
absolutely not. ]
I'll wear the costume for you.
[ that's right, that stupid little ren-fair looking bullshit he sometimes turns up in trial wearing, with the lute and everything. is he being serious? of course not, even eddie knows julie could never properly appreciate the art of balloon pants and dark red velvet. but that's what makes it funny.
just as quietly, like the offer is even tempting at all, he says, ]
[ it's not a real offer anyway. firstly she doesn't even have shorts — at best maybe she could steal some underwear from frank if eddie wants to see a pair of pale thighs so badly — nor does she particularly want to wear any. similarly she doubts eddie has much to offer, this is just a dumb joke conversation anyway. so when eddie leans toward her like he's got a real good deal to offer, it makes her curious. ]
[ so she leans toward him, head bowed, eyebrows raised. real intently listening. it takes a second for her to even process what he just said, and when she does her laughter comes out in a sudden bark that surprises even herself, and she clamps her hand over her mouth to muffle it as much as she can. ]
Shut the fuck up. [ still laughing, she puts a hand on his chest to shove him away. ] I hate that fucking thing.
[ almost immediately, eddie starts to shush her when she bursts out laughing with a finger held to his own lips - they are, after all, still hiding from the dredge. there's a grin behind his hand though, and he has to work to stifle his own amusement, pleased with himself for making julie laugh. granted, it's at his expense, but that's hardly anything new. and, you know, maybe it's worth it. eddie likes it when she smiles.
when julie pushes at his chest, eddie instinctively closes his hand around her forearm, mostly to keep himself from being knocked over regardless of the strength behind the shove. he doesn't let go though, barely even aware he's latched onto her as he smiles back, a teasing lilt in his tone. ]
Ah, the lady doth protest too much, methinks. [ he raises his brows slightly, tilts his head so he has to look at her through his lashes a bit. ] You like it a little bit. It's okay.
[ julie barely even notices his hand on her arm, too busy letting out an audible groan and rolling her eyes at his little bit. ] It turns me into a middle school bully, I've never wanted to wedgie someone so bad in my life.
[ like a bull seeing red whenever she catches sight of that stupid little cape, and then he does his stupid medieval talk and it drives her nuts. she wants to just push him over like an obnoxious child. julie gives him the tiniest little shake of her head, voice low since they're this close now apparently, refusing to let the amusement dancing at the edges of her expression fully manifest by pure strength of will. ]
You have no idea how much self-restraint dealing with you takes sometimes.
[ does she sound a little frustrated by that? it's probably just because she wants to bully him mercilessly and no other possible reason. ]
[ like almost every other time julie's threatened him, serious or otherwise, eddie appears unfazed. amused, more than anything, the corners of his mouth pulling just the tiniest bit as he works to suppress a smirk. a wedgie is pretty tame compared to her usual taunts, which only makes eddie thinks she's deflecting, and that only serves to amuse him even more.
idly, his thumb rubs a lazy line against her wrist that he's not even really that aware of. the thread of frustration in her tone intrigues him and he takes a second to just look at her. eddie's gaze flits up to the cheap sunglasses perched on her head, down to her eyes, down again for the briefest of moments to the shape of her mouth before darting back up.
he tilts his head, keeps his voice low. ]
No? [ eddie slowly lifts his other hand, reaches and nudges the arm of her sunglasses so they slide down over her eyes. absently brushes a loose strand of her hair back without much thought. ] If I'm so bad, why'd you come all the way out here?
[ two things that are pretty rare for julie happen at the same time; the question leaves her a little speechless, opening her mouth and closing it again when nothing comes out, and it flusters her enough that her gaze darts down to the space between them, even when she unconsciously leans a little into the touch of his hand when he tucks her hair back. ]
[ the thing is she plays the part well but julie's really not as confident or self-assured as she comes across. she masks it well, the bitchy, violent girl is a comfortable place to settle for her, but when it's like this? with nothing to lean on? only one person really knows that about her, and she's pretty fucking keen on keeping it that way. ]
[ it does piss her off a little, the way this has her floundering and unsure of herself all of a sudden, though at least the sunglasses hide the brief flash of panic in her eyes when she realises it. julie makes to move away a little, straighten up again. put some distance between them and make some attempt to save face here. ]
I, um-- [ she clears her throat, turns her head to look in any other direction to hide the fact that she's pretty sure her cheeks are a little pink. what a fascinating branch that is over there. ] I don't know.
[ ... jesus christ. fuck. what if she just jumped out the window right now? he couldn't stop her. ]
[ eddie watches her closely. watches the way her mouth opens and closes with nothing to say, notes the subtle shift toward his hand moving her hair out of the way. for as much as eddie thinks he knows julie, he also knows that he knows nearly nothing at all when it comes to the things that matter. when it comes to reading her beyond the surface, though he likes to think he's gotten past the first couple layers she likes to hide behind.
but he doesn't know what she's thinking. he doesn't know if by putting her on the spot, he's managed to dig under another layer of skin. what he does know, though, is that the moment's been lost, whatever the moment may have been, and that's - fine. julie clears her throat and pulls away and eddie doesn't hesitate to let go of her wrist so she can put however much space she wants between them. does he catch the new color in her cheeks? it's hard to tell.
eddie doesn't say anything right away. lets the silence hang for a few seconds after her i don't know. he looks at the random assortment of stolen knickknacks he's unloaded from his pockets, then starts to pick them up at a slow pace, filling his pockets back up. ]
Sure you do. [ he says eventually, only briefly glancing over at her. he picks up the disposable camera, considers giving it to her for her to keep, then sets it back down. ] I do all the dangerous dirty work, and you profit by undercutting my earnings.
[ or, you know. stealing his pilfered cigarettes. ]
[ julie watches him out of the corner of her eye, a brief frown of concentration on her face as she tries to figure out what he's thinking now that she's gone and embarrassed herself. unthinking, she pulls her knees up, wraps her arms around them with a snort at eddie's assessment. ]
[ she can still feel the ghost of his hand on the side of her face, but shrugs it off, turning her head to look down at the pile of stuff he's putting back in his pockets. still pointedly not looking at him, but that's no big deal. ]
Yeah, that's me. [ light, sarcastic. maybe lacking the punch she usually has, but maybe not. ] Big cigarette baron.
[ eddie's used to julie's sarcasm by now, but it hits a little different here, feels a little... empty in a way he can't quite put his finger on. enough to make him pause in the middle of gathering all of his stolen junk up, enough to make him glance her way again, only to find her with her arms cradling her knees.
it makes her look young, he thinks. not in a bad way, because it's not as if she's not young, but she just looks... like a regular person. like someone eddie could know outside of a place like this. he shoves a pen into his vest pocket, picks the camera back up and carefully balances it on the peak of one of her knees. she'd probably get more use out of it than he would, and besides - where the hell is he going to develop pictures in the middle of the woods. sure, nancy's boyfriend might know, from what he's heard, but it's still... doubtful. ]
Lucky for you, [ eddie says quietly, starting to shift up onto his feet, staying in a low crouch for now. he dusts his hands off on his haunches, then rests his arms on his knees. ] I kinda dig powerful women.
[ and that's all he says before he straights up a little and moves toward the window to peek out, looking for that freaky mass of... frozen meat, or whatever the hell the dredge is today. ]
[ julie's still got her head tilted, watching the pile of stuff as eddie gathers it all up, so she catches the way he pauses after she speaks. luckily him balancing the camera on her knee distracts her, and she picks it up. inspecting it to see how many pictures it's even got left. ]
[ how would she even develop it? maybe byers knows, but she doesn't want to ask him for anything. better him than ghost face though, she supposes. ]
Shut up.
[ she snorts at his little comment, powerful women, sure. tempted to push him over when she sees him pull himself into that little crouch, but she doesn't. winds up the camera instead and pushes up the sunglasses so she can look through the viewfinder. ]
Wait a sec-- Smile.
[ that's all the warning eddie gets before she snaps a photo. ]
[ eddie's still a little preoccupied with scanning the property for a creepy ass snowman creature, so when julie tells him to wait, he assumes she's picked up on something he hasn't - she's the one with plenty of hunting and tracking experience under her belt, all things considered, so eddie missing something obvious wouldn't be that surprising - but when he whips his head sideways to look at her, curious... he's immediately blinded. face full of flash, that smile registering just a second too late.
flinging up a hand as a delayed response, eddie squeezes his eyes shut and rears his head back a little, arm held in front of his face for a second as a useless shield. ]
Jesus - Chrrrist.
[ he blinks rapidly, trying to get the floaty white spots out of his vision, but instead of being upset about it, he just kind of laughs a little. it's fair, you know. eddie did the same thing to julie, and now they're even, even if eddie hadn't really intended to blind julie when he'd accidentally snapped a photo while fucking around.
with one hand still holding the edge of the little window, eddie rubs at his eyes with the other. ]
Maybe I'll start using flashlights a little more seriously.
[ he probably won't, but shit. he understands now why some killers get a little more aggressive (and a little more paranoid) when a flashlight is in play. ]
[ julie just smiles at him, absolutely smug and satisfied with that response, and tucks the camera away. ]
Flashlights are worse.
[ it's an offhand comment, not a correction or an argument, just a fact. like somebody opening the curtains when you haven't had enough sleep and on the other side of the window is the sun. she hates them. not as much as some of the other killers do, but still. they suck! ]
[ anyway, julie pulls herself up into a similar crouch and moves past eddie to clamber out of the stupid little treehouse, because obviously she's going first. it just makes sense. if eddie wants to argue with her about it he can argue with her butt while she climbs out onto the branch. ]
[ eddie peeks through his fingers at her, eyebrows lifting slightly. ]
... Oh? Noted.
[ the way his eyes crinkle a little near the corners suggests he might be smiling a little behind his hand. now that he's got confirmation that flashlights bother her at least a little, he might have to start picking them up more often and working on his aim instead of leaving them in chests or handing them off to the first person he runs into mid-trial.
you know. just for fun.
eddie drops his hand away from his eyes as julie gets up and moves past him. at first, he just assumes she's about to peek out and double check that the coast is clear, so when she just - starts to climb out, he scrambles a little. doesn't grab for her or anything because he doesn't want to fuck with her balance or her grip and send her plummeting fifteen feet to the ground, but there's some flailing. why does she always have to go first?
when she's out the window enough - because he is not going to argue with her ass - he leans out of the window and looks down at her, hissing, ]
Jesus, did you even check if it was clear? [ or is she just blindly trusting that eddie did a fine enough job of looking out? ] If your ass gets Tauntauned I'm leaving you here.
[ tauntauned. like when luke was on hoth and freezing to death and han sliced open a tauntaun and shoved him inside of its carcass to keep him warm. definitely the same thing as being consumed by the snow-dredge.
anyway. once there's room, eddie climbs out after her. ]
[ julie looks up at him once she's gotten on the little ladder, raises an eyebrow with a light shrug. ] You telling me I shouldn't trust your judgement when it comes to spotting killers?
[ he's certainly just up and fucking vanished from generators she knows he was on enough to make her think he's pretty good at it, but fine. maybe she was just too eager to get out of there. julie pauses her descent to look around, down what she can see of the street, into the windows in the house, over her shoulder at the gardens. no sign of the thing, and that snowman getup isn't exactly stealthy. she feels like she'd see it, right? either way it's definitely not close, they would've heard that fucking wailing by now. ]
[ she also gives him a blank stare at 'tauntauned', but resumes her climb down, clearly not making the link. she just shrugs it off and decides it's probably some fantasy shit she wouldn't care about. ]
[ between the both of them, she's the one with a... killer instinct (quite literally), so he'd put her judgement above his, but he's also not about to admit that much out loud, at least not right now. instead, he just rolls his eyes and shakes his head and worries about descending from this treehouse without either of them breaking their necks or being eaten alive at the bottom. does the dredge technically eat people, or is it just.. a void? either way, eddie doesn't really want to know.
it's quiet, and that's all that really matters. no creepy fucking wails means they should be relatively safe.
once julie's out of the way at the bottom, eddie hops down the last few feet. brushes his hands off on the front of his vest and takes an extra second to glance over his shoulder just to be sure they aren't being watched from afar, or approached from a distance. the gate's not far. eddie looks back at julie, cocks his head in the direction of the nearest exit and then starts to head for it, swiveling on his heel and walking backwards just to see if she's coming with. ]
[ julie steps back once she's on the ground so eddie has space to come down, looks up to watch him just in case he slips because it would be pretty embarrassing for both of them if julie came out here to save his ass and then eddie died from a short fall off the side of a tree. ]
[ quiet is good, but it's not safe, julie knows that. as she follows eddie toward the gate she casts the odd look around, just to make sure. almost misses it when she sees the snowfall way off to their right, who knows if it's even seen them, but the change in julie's demeanour is immediate. instantaneously drops her shoulders and runs at eddie, practically tackles him if not for the way she also wraps an arm around his middle and another over his legs to hoist him up on her shoulder without slowing down any. ]
[ regardless of whether or not it saw them, julie's not risking being slow about getting out of there, and she's faster than both it and, more importantly, eddie. so she's just gonna pick him up and sprint the fuck out of there and he can't stop her. ]
[ the gate's not far, but even as they walk, eddie does a slow turn every now and then just to survey their surroundings, does a lazy little swivel just to be sure, but it seems fine, which honestly should be more of a red flag than it is. nothing ever goes "fine" for eddie any more - in fact, he can't really recall something in his life (or... afterlife, whatever the fuck this is supposed to be for him) went off without a hitch, so getting out of here scott-free doesn't feel like it should be in the cards.
because it isn't. it's during one of these half-assed turnabouts when eddie realizes something's wrong - precisely when he turns and sees julie charging toward him, almost the same way she does when she's in frenzy in a trial. only her arm isn't up, ready to jam a knife in his back. armed or not though, it's still pretty startling, so eddie throws his hands out a little like he's trying to calm a spooked animal. too bad he's the spooked animal. ]
Whoa, whoa, hey. Julie, what the fu— [ but there's a shoulder in his ribs before he can finish, and suddenly he's feet are just - not on the ground anymore, and he's more or less face to face with julie's ass. again. what the fuck? ] Jesus H. Christ, Jules!
[ that's a screech if anyone's ever heard one, but he wasn't exactly expecting to be picked up and hauled off, especially without a damn warning. eddie flails a little, only slightly panicky because he has no idea what's going on, and manages to brace his hands against julie so he can get a little bit of leverage and lift his torso enough to look behind them. ahead of himself, behind her. whatever. if his hands happen to plant right at the top of her ass, it's purely coincidence.
it takes eddie a second to catch sight of the dredge in all its fucked up winter glory, definitely slinking in their direction. and you know? this is fine. eddie's totally fine with this, with context. ]
[ julie's instant response is a hissed shut up in response to eddie's screeches, but judging by his next addition, it's definitely seen them. now that she's in motion though? she's not worried. there aren't many killers who can keep up with legion, and dredge sure as fuck isn't one of them. ]
[ clearing the gate bolsters her confidence, as does chancing a glance over her shoulder because she's pretty sure it's further behind them than when she started running. ]
Eat shit, Frosty the Slowman! [ she is feeling that adrenaline high for sure, because she usually doesn't, you know. yell insults at the killers who are a little (or a lot) more monster than person. ] This one's mine, you waste of a snowdrift!
[ julie... might regret that when she remembers later, but right now she's high on that untouchable feeling she used to get back home, when they would just barely manage to escape some stupid situation without getting picked up by the cops. even if it keeps following them, she knows she can lose it easy enough once the woods start to thicken around them as she runs deeper into the fog. ]
[ with every step julie takes, their odds of getting the hell out of here and losing the abominable snow-nightmare creep higher and higher, and eddie's mild panic reshapes itself into something closer to giddy adrenaline. julie's sick burns definitely help, and he finds himself laughing more than he expects to. frosty the slowman is comedy gold to him, apparently. ]
Yeah! Eat shit you goddamn slowcone! [ not as good as frosty the slowman, but he laughs all the way through, taking one hand off of julie so he can throw up a middle finger at the dredge's shrinking form. ] Can't take what's already taken!
[ whatever that means. eddie's just riffing off of julie and coasting on the high of shittalking a killer he would normally, in every other circumstance, never intentionally engage with for any reason. turns out he's a little bolder when he feels safe. wild that he feels safe draped over the shoulder of someone who regularly threatens to cut him open, and sometimes actually does. ]
[ julie's laugh comes out loud and bright, though more of a cackle than anything. she keeps sprinting until she's sure they're safe, where the woods are thick around them and there's no way the dredge could possibly know which way they went or how far away they are. then she breathes out a soft okay and carefully bends over to put eddie back on his feet. ]
[ and then stays bent over, knees slightly bent, hands holding her legs just a couple inches above her ankles while she catches her breath. holy shit. even boosted as she is by the entity, running that much with a fully grown person on her shoulder is still a lot. ]
[ normally, the woods creep him out a little - it's dark, and there's no telling who's slinking around in the fog at any given moment, especially this far from a campfire - but the fact that there are zero lockers out here makes eddie feel a lot safer. the dredge could probably catch up to them if it really wanted to, but at least there's comfort in knowing it's not gonna just - bust the fuck out of nowhere with no warning out here.
when julie puts him down, eddie's still laughing, still cruising on that adrenaline high. a little out of breath because being draped over julie's shoulder made it a little difficult to get a full breath, what with his ribs being crushed under his own weight, but he doesn't seem to mind. eddie looks down at her, shaking his head and grinning. ]
[ julie laughs and looks up at eddie, and she reaches out to put a hand on his hip and give him a light shove for his trouble. ]
Got you out of there, didn't I?
[ is she insane? maybe. she used to take dumb risks like this more when they first showed up, before the full scope of their situation had really set in. petty vandalism and theft all over the likes of macmillan and coldwind. running eddie out of there wasn't exactly hard, but it still felt good. ]
[ instinctively, eddie catches her wrist for a second when she shoves him, just to keep his own balance even though he's not really at much of a risk of tipping over. not as much as she might be, anyway. but he lets go just as quickly, expends a little pent up energy by pacing around in short back-and-forths in front of her just to get some of that adrenaline out of him. ]
Yeah, [ he says, a little breathy because it's tacked onto a light, curious laugh. why did she do that? eddie doesn't believe julie's just as brutal out of a trial as she is in one, but it still makes him curious that she came all the way out here just to make sure he didn't get his ass devoured by a creature she seemed to be at least mildly afraid of - and then scooped his ass up and carted him the fuck away like it was nothing, like his added weight wouldn't slow her down at all and also potentially put her at risk.
eddie turns on his heel, but instead of packing back the other way, he suddenly drops into a crouch in front of julie, his weight rested on his haunches. he ducks his head a little, just so he can see her face a little better, and raises his eyebrows slightly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. ] Doesn't change the fact that you're nuts.
[ his eyes dart back and forth between hers, like he's trying to figure something out, smirk fading but not in any way that should come off as concerning, and he subconsciously wets his lips. ]
[ julie looks back at him when he crouches, gaze meeting his, a smirk of her own tugging at her lips. she's quiet for a long few moments, just watching him as his eyes move, trying to figure out what's going through his mind. she has no idea though, never really does, he still manages to surprise her often enough. probably because he's a lunatic and a freak, a real 'takes one to know one' kind of situation. ]
Be pretty embarrassing for me if I came out here to save your ass and then you got eaten anyway.
[ she mirrors him, tongue darting out to wet her lips, briefly thinking about back there in the garden — eddie's hand splayed against her ribs when they were hiding, bodies pressed back against that fence, or tucking her hair away. ]
[ she shakes her head with another small laugh. what a day. ]
[ eddie watches her tongue peek out, listens to that quiet laugh and memorizes the way her eyes shine just the slightest bit more when she's smiling, and he thinks - fuck it. he likes to think he's good at reading people, and for the most part he is, but getting a read on julie feels impossible sometimes. or maybe it's not that hard, and eddie's just hoping if he doesn't look too deep, he won't find something he doesn't really want to find. like - rejection, or whatever else. why the fuck it matters to him whether or not a literal murderer likes him is anyone's guess, but.
well. she's not wrong about him being a lunatic and a freak. maybe not for the reasons she thinks, but it's not a bad assessment. ]
Yeah. [ there's that word again that he keeps repeating in lieu of anything else to say. he's distracted, so expecting eloquence from him here is maybe asking a little too much. eddie's eyes dart back and forth again, drop down for a brief, fleeting moment before snapping back up. he shakes his head slightly, and slowly shifts his weight forward onto his knees, balances between them and his haunches. when he speaks again, his voice is low, almost like he's talking mostly to himself and not julie. ] Oh, you're gonna kill me for this, but if I'm gonna die out here I'd pick you over that thing every time.
[ and then, kinda quick, eddie reaches up with both hands, holds both sides of her face, and pushes up onto his knees just enough so he can kiss her without having to pull her down to him, his heart hammering in his throat. ]
[ considering eddie doesn't seem to know how to stay in one position longer than a couple minutes at best, julie doesn't think much of it when he shifts onto his knees. if anything, she has a passing thought about the fact that she's still bent over in half like an idiot. ]
[ not that she gets much more of a chance to think or do anything about it, giving about a couple of seconds to be confused about whatever the fuck eddie just said before he has her face in his hands and-- oh. she makes a small noise of surprise that maybe comes out a little like a squeak, he might not be pulling her but julie still stumbles anyway and puts out a hand to grab eddie's shoulder for stability. ]
[ she does, however, kiss him back when the surprise wears off. puts her other hand down by the side of his neck and tilt her head into it. ]
[ if he's honest with himself, eddie's expecting a knife in the ribs for this, but he's accepted his fate - so when the sharp sting of a blade being wedged into his chest doesn't come, when a hand grabs for his shoulder and doesn't shove him backwards onto his ass - when another hand finds the side of his neck and julie's still there, he almost doesn't know what to do.
he knows he can't fumble this, though. not when it's going better than he anticipated, not when julie is kissing him back. eddie sighs through his nose, tilts his head too and slides one of his hands back, his fingers combing her hair away from one side of her face. ]
[ it'd be an out and out fucking lie if julie said she hadn't been thinking about this for some time now, basically since they first met, but this is still not on the extensive list of ways she'd thought about to kiss eddie for the first time. she mumbles something a little incoherent against his lips, just a slight warning as she carefully bends and lowers herself onto a knee without pulling away from this. ]
[ though-- the temptation to shove him on his ass is there, for a multitude of reasons, but julie manages to resist it. she instead lets one of her hands slip down to his chest, balls it into a fist in his jacket to hold him. ]
[ eddie doesn't have a fucking clue what she murmurs against his mouth, but he nods anyway like he understands. to his credit, he is listening, but it's a little hard to focus when his heart's beating up in his ears and his mind is screaming at him not to fuck this up, but he figures if he's not bleeding out from a knife wound in his gut, he can assume that whatever it was she was trying to tell him was positive.
the hand pushing through her hair settles at the back of her neck, fingers tangled up in it so it stays out of her face. his other hand drifts from the side of julie's face, following her arm to her wrist, where she's gripping at the front of his jacket which is... more attractive than expects it to be. he opens his mouth a little, just so he can tentatively catch her lower lip with his teeth, and sinks some of his weight back onto his heels, tugging her with him so they don't drift apart.
eventually, though, he pulls away, but only enough so there's space for him to breath. eddie swallows, darts his tongue out over his lower lip like he's chasing the taste of her mouth even though it's only been a literal second since he broke away. he clears his throat, eyes open halfway and focused on the shape of her mouth, hand still buried in her hair. ]
So, uh. [ he clears his throat again because his voice is a little gravelly, and then he laughs a little under his breath. ] If you're gonna gut me... at least give me a head start?
[ julie moves with him easily, intensely focused on the feel and the taste of his lips and mouth against hers, pretty sure she can taste a hint of those stupid listerine strips which registers as faintly amusing enough to make her smile just a little. ]
[ when he pulls away, she opens her eyes to look at him, bites her lip out of uncertainty because... what now? do they talk? do they go back to kissing? do they act like this never happened? a whole bunch of questions go through her mind, pretty much detailing every reason she's never kissed him no matter how many times she's thought about it. part of her already thinking maybe they should just totally lie to themselves and brush this off as being because of the adrenaline when he speaks and interrupts that thought. ]
I'm not gonna gut you. [ she laughs, a little breathless, tilts her head toward his. ] Just surprised you actually went for it-- if you knew how many times I had to stop myself... [ she trails off into another soft laugh. all that self-restraint and now they're kissing in the dirt in the woods. ]
[ the way she bites her lip makes eddie want to surge forward and kiss her again, but he shows a sliver of self-restraint and forces himself to look up at her eyes instead, fingers flexing lightly against the back of her skull. he has no idea what she's thinking, what's about to happen from here, but the faint amusement threaded throughout her expression makes him feel like maybe he's okay, like he's not in as much danger as he was anticipating when he tossed caution to the wind and took a risk in kissing her. and even if he was at risk of being sliced open, this was definitely worth it.
but julie reassures him that she's not interested in spilling his guts all over the forest floor (right now), reveals that she too has been thinking about exactly this, and though eddie's had a feeling that there's been something here between them, it still comes as a little bit of a surprise. she's thought about kissing him? more than once? eddie could toss every luck offering he has into the campfire at once and he still doesn't think he'd be lucky enough. he's never that lucky.
julie laughs, and she smiles, and not for the first time eddie's a little awestruck by how pretty she is. he smiles too, laughs to himself because it's absurd to him still that julie's thought about kissing him at all, but you know? maybe he's finally due for one nice thing amidst all the bullshit. ]
Yeah? ... Me too. [ the tree house, the lodge, the countless times he's thought about trying to grab her through a doorway during a trial, just to try and kiss her and throw her off her game (and definitely not for no other reason), all the dozens of moments in between. his eyes shift back and forth between hers, but this time there's a little mirth behind them. his thumb rubs a lazy circle behind her ear. ] Don't hold back now...
[ eddie doesn't wait though and takes his own advice instead, using the hand on the back of her neck to pull her back in so he can kiss her again. ]
[ unlike some people, apparently, julie was well aware the attraction between them was mutual, she just always figured eddie had similar reservations about it. it's not like there aren't a bunch of reasons she could point out that following through on this is a bad idea, even if crazily enough it's hard to pull those up in her mind right now. she just looks at that dumb look on his face and thinks about kissing him again, and again. as many times as it takes to get it through that helmet of curls that this really shouldn't be a surprise. ]
[ she strokes her thumb along his jaw almost in response to the one behind her ear, abd when he says not to hold back she gets about as far as a raised eyebrow and 'probably--' before she's being kissed again. which is probably for the best rather than letting her keep talking. ]
[ she does, however, use the grip she has on his jacket to tug him closer with a quiet, satisfied noise. ]
[ oh there are dozens of reasons why getting involved with julie is probably, definitely, one of his worse ideas, but here's the thing: what's the worst that could happen at this point? she kills him? like she doesn't already do that on the regular. she rejects him? really not the worst that could happen to him. if eddie has learned anything between dying in the middle of the street in the upside down and waking up here, it's that life is fucking short and stupid and sometimes you just gotta kiss the girl and suffer whatever consequences may or may not come of it.
so far though, it seems pretty fucking nice. all of his blood is still on the inside, and julie's lips are soft and her hair feels nice threaded between his fingers and if he's gonna get brutally murdered over and over every night by one of like - fifty fucking people, he might as well get to make out a little with a super hot, super smart, super strong girl that steals his cigarettes and introduces him to new music and makes him dumb fucking shirts as an inside joke. you know, as a treat.
whatever that sound is that julie makes, eddie feels like he can almost taste it, like if he just tries hard enough he can find it somewhere in between the vague hint of tobacco and artificial mint. he tilts his head a little, chases that note with a tentative press of his tongue at the seam of her lips. snakes an arm low around her back and shifts his weight backwards off of his knees and onto his ass, dragging her with him. ]
[ no need to ask her twice. julie follows his movements and pulls herself forward with him until she's seated snug in his lap, as close as she can get. it feels a little like taking a joyride at full speed, ignoring every warning sign on the way without a care for even so much as belting up. julie opens her mouth like it's an invitation and deepens the kiss like she has to grab on to everything in this moment that she possibly can. ]
[ truthfully, she's still holding back at least a little, but he doesn't need to know that. doesn't need to know how accurate it is when he called her insane, because now that she's actually kissing him it's really fucking hard for julie to slow down. to stop herself thinking about how she wants to claim every noise and breath and dumb little face he makes and hoard them all like they're things she can swallow and keep in her chest. how she wants to see what he looks like when he's inside her so she can memorize it, paint it inside her eyelids like a chapel ceiling. ]
[ and then there's the part of her who just wants to get up and run back to ormond because he's already seen way too much of her and this feels like crossing a line that gives him access to pieces of herself she only shares with a select few. because eddie has this way of just barrelling through every wall she puts up like it's a boarded over door in dead dawg and it's kind of infuriating and terrifying in equal measures. ]
[ julie wraps her arms around eddie's shoulders, keeps her body flush against his. if she's gonna go fucking insane over this she might as well try to enjoy it first. ]
[ the weight of her in his lap plucks at something in eddie's brain, sparks something hot in his stomach. it makes him feel a little insane himself, because realistically, this is not somewhere he imagined he'd ever be. though about it, sure, definitely. daydreamed about what the inside of her mouth tastes like, what her hair would feel like tangled up around his fingers, what her pulse would feel like under the flat of his tongue, and now - now this.
now he's got julie fully settled in his lap, body flush with his, and he doesn't have to wonder what she tastes like because it's right there like a fucking invitation and eddie's not strong enough to turn it down. doesn't fucking want to, because what idiot would? his fingers drag against her nape, grip a little at her hair as he tilts his head and licks into her mouth, and the low note he almost sighs into her mouth escapes him unintentionally.
when it comes to imagination, eddie's is pretty limitless, but admittedly his idle daydreams fall pretty fucking short of the real thing. there has to be a catch, but whatever it is, eddie can't bring himself to care about whatever it is in the slightest, not when he's busy working a hand under the back of her shirt. ]
[ julie practically chases after that sound like she could wrap her tongue around it and taste it, feel the texture of it. she leans her weight harder against eddie, into the kiss, trying to get closer or deeper or whatever the fuck as if either is even possible right now. ]
[ her hand finds the back of his head, fingers twitching against his skull as julie wrestles with the twin feelings that this is better than anything she expected and yet, also, not enough. back arching at the touch of eddie's hand and she sighs her own small, pleased noise into his mouth. ]
[ julie's skin is hot under his palm, warmer than he expects because he's already forgotten that she just ran like half a marathon with his stupid ass draped over her shoulder like he weighs nothing - but he likes it. the heat, the smoothness of her skin, the way her spine bows under his hand and how it only brings her closer to him. like there's even any more fucking room between them to slide into.
that soft little sound feels like it melts in his mouth, taste likes something he couldn't put a name to if he tried, but he swallows it like he can keep it safe. flattens his hand and drags his palm up her back, shirt bunching up around his forearm, his rings scraping slightly.
the way julie fits in his lap is - dangerous. it's a problem, actually, or it's about to become one if eddie doesn't do something about it. but instead of gently easing her backwards and slowing this down, eddie slides his hand back down to the bottom of her spine, shifts his grip to her hip, and tugs gently, subtly and silently encouraging her to grind a little. ]
[ she doesn't really need the encouragement, barely even needs permission. there's a sensible part of her mind saying that at the very least she should get up and drag his ass back to ormond if this is what they're gonna do, but julie shifts her weight-- rolls her hips down experimentally against eddie's and that shuts up any thoughts in her head real quick. it makes her breath catch in her throat, sends a shiver up her spine that feels electric, fizzles out and buzzes under her skin. ]
[ julie balls her hand into a fist in his hair, testing the waters a little when she bites at his lower lip and soothes it with her tongue, kisses him hungry and messy because that's about how she's feeling right now. months of holding herself back and keeping herself in check all tumbling over and leaving her more instinct-driven than she tends to be about this sort of thing. chasing whatever sensation feels best in the moment without any thought for what's next. ]
[ it isn't eddie's first foray into fooling around in the woods - harrington's not the only one who knows about skull rock, and it's a miracle they never ran into each other, though eddie assumes steve was probably a much more frequent visitor than he ever was - so it doesn't really occur to him that they should maybe take this elsewhere. to be fair, he doesn't really have much of an "elsewhere" - it's not like he can just waltz back to camp with a legion in tow and pick a corner. there's too many people around for that, for one, and he's fairly certain it would be at least a little bit frowned upon to be fraternizing with "the enemy". ormond doesn't really cross his mind, mostly because it's not his place to go back to.
and his mind is busy with other things anyway, like julie rolling her hips down into his, and that little stutter in her breath. he's half hard in his jeans and even just that little bit of friction is slightly maddening. eddie pants a quiet ah, shit against her mouth, fingers flexing against her hip when she buries her fist in his hair and bites at his lip, a deep, appreciative sound catching at the back of his throat.
julie's going to kill him, though he can't say he wouldn't prefer to be taken out this way over a knife in the chest. eddie's so into her it's stupid, but now that the floodgates have been opened, now that he's allowed to kiss her - now that he knows what she tastes like after having thought about it for what feels like an eternity, now that he knows that her hair is soft but her skin is softer, he thinks - it doesn't really matter what happens. as far as he's concerned, this is maybe the best thing that's happened to him since —
hell, he doesn't even know since when.
but it's not enough. or, it is enough, but right now it doesn't feel like it. there's still that needling desire to be closer to her even though they're about as close as they can get like this. as julie kisses him, eddie surges a little without warning, leaning up to get at her mouth, just as hungry and as messy. the hand at her hip moves; he wraps his arm around her lower back, shifts his weight - picks her up and twists the both of them, and not-so-gracefully lays her out on the forest floor, where he immediately fits himself between her knees.
but eddie hovers. he braces his weight on one forearm in the dirt up near julie's head, leans down to keep kissing her, but his other hand - his other hand finds her knee and slides from there down to about midway down the inside of her thigh. ]
[ a quietly surprised "what--" slips out of julie when eddie picks her up, turns into a laugh when her back's on the ground — short, breathy, fond. she's not really one to let someone just pick her up and move her, not without significant input on her part, but julie's so astonished by eddie having the balls to just do it that she's not even mad about it. ]
[ though she does nip at his bottom lip again when eddie's back in kissing range, harder this time, just as a way of telling him off. ]
[ that aside though, julie has few complaints, the list getting significantly shorter when she shimmies a little to get comfortable on the ground, hitches the thigh without a hand on it up at eddie's hip. gets about as far with 'getting comfortable' as unzipping her hoodie before she decides a better place for her hands is sliding them under eddie's shirt, around his sides and up his back. palms flat and fingers splayed out over his skin like she's trying to touch as much of him as possible. ]
[ the sharp nip at his lip stings a little, but eddie likes it, as evidenced by the low, pleased little laugh that he hides in her mouth. he feels... obsessed, and in some corner of his mind he knows that's dangerous, but between hawkins and here, eddie's life feels like it's been one giant risk for who knows how long anymore - so what's one more?
but his thoughts are elsewhere. on julie, and the metallic buzz of a zipper as she opens up her hoodie, the solid, warm weight of her thigh up over his hip, the slide of her palms under his shirt—
it's very brief, very blink-and-you'll-miss it, but there's a quick moment in which eddie pauses. he doesn't flinch or pull away, but his inhales sharpens a little and the hand on her thigh stills just for that one tick of a second when her hands splay over his sides, drift over the spread of welted scar tissue mapped across his torso. eddie's not terribly insecure about his body and the way it looks now, after the number the demobats did to him, but he knows it's ugly. he knows no one else knows about it, except maybe harrington. maybe buckley, too.
but it's fine. the moment is fleeting, and eddie pushes forward, sinks a little closer to julie, slides the hand on her thigh further up, his thumb following along the inseam of her jeans. he buries his face against the side of her neck, finds her pulse with his mouth and presses the flat of his tongue over it like he can measure her heartbeat that way, the way he's thought about doing too many times before now.
when he runs out of thigh and can go no higher, eddie turns his hand, presses three of his fingers between her legs and moves them slowly, just once, rubbing her over her jeans. ]
[ of course she's seen the hint of scars every now and then — peeking out from his collar, under his shirt — but it's not like julie's ever been in a position to investigate. just kind of assumed that he ate shit a couple of times because it's eddie, of course he would. but the scarring is way more extensive than she would've imagined and her fingers travel up the edges of what she can feel of it, following the bumps and jagged edges around to his side. her other hand finding its place between his shoulders. ]
[ she wonders what happened, wonders if it's even okay to ask, but doesn't exactly have much mental real estate to spare to that consideration right now. ]
[ she turns her head, looking for him, but stops with another hitched breath at his mouth on her neck, tilting her head a little to encourage him. gasps softly at the press of his fingers and bites her lip, spreading her legs just a little more for him and rolls her hips down against his hand in response. ]
[ in between that tiny little gasp and the way julie parts her legs a little more to make room for him, it's absolutely wild that eddie has even a shred of decency left in him - but that's just eddie, and as much as he would like to get julie off in the middle of the fucking woods, even he's smart enough to know that there are safer places. julie might be an expert at what she does, she might be fast an always armed, but second to screwing around in another killer's territory, the woods are probably one of the most dangerous places to be caught off your guard.
and, you know. julie kinda deserves better than a forest floor.
so just short of biting a mark into the side of her throat, eddie withdraws only far enough to pant a hot, quiet breath against her neck, his fingers firm where they're still between her legs, encouraging her to keep grinding. ]
Is, uh - [ he kisses his way up the side of her neck, gently scrapes his teeth against the skin just below her ear, and when he speaks, his voice is low and quiet and gravelly at the edges. ] S'anyone at the lodge?
[ it's a good thing eddie says something, especially if the way one of julie's hands finds its way to his waistband is anything to judge by, thumb pressed to the button on his jeans like she's looking for the right angle to pop them open. she's obviously not thinking about what a poor decision it is to get up to this on the ground in the woods. ]
[ she keeps her hips pressed to his fingers, bites her lip on a quiet moan that wants to slip out and lets it taper into a shaky breath at the way he scrapes his teeth over her skin. immediately encouraging in the way she tilts her head that little bit more for him. ]
[ it takes her a second to parse the question, and when she does her voice is coarse, a little husky. ]
[A girl date. Corey can’t believe this. It’s never happened before. Sure he’s tried asking girls out, but the attempts never really went anywhere. They’d either say yes and then ghost, actually make the plans with him but not show up, straight up laugh in his face, ignore him entirely… Corey Cunningham, always the butt of the joke no matter what tactics he tried.
Then there were the times he couldn’t even get the words out to bother asking in the first place. Just fumbled and said forget about it. After being rejected so much the spirit gets beaten down. There’s no point in trying anymore. So he stopped.
But now he has a date. An actual one. He made sure it was clarified. Just in case. She asked him out and he’s still reeling from that. The week was so odd after that. Imagine - having something to look forward to for once. Sure he saw her at the garage every day but he’ll get to see her outside of work too. Friday. 8pm. How crazy.
To say he’s nervous would be an understatement. But then again - he’s always nervous. Or at the very least a bit on the anxious side. It’s his default setting nowadays. Can’t be helped. The closer Friday gets the more his anxiety spikes. But it’s not all crippling fear for once? It’s… excitement? That’s different. Not used to that feeling at all.
He said he’d pick her up. No problem. It’s a chilly evening out there, so he pulls his leather jacket on over his sweater before leaving the house. Was Joan upset? Absolutely. Joan’s always upset. But Ronald had his back. He’s a good guy like that. Just let the kid go out for once. He’ll be alright. Have fun, Corey. Corey just mouths his thanks, looking sheepish about it, and runs his hand through his hair. Messy is best he’s found. Oh, and he pockets his glasses. For some reason he doesn’t seem to need them much as of late, but bringing them along isn’t a bad idea. Always prep for the worst case scenario.
He shoots Julie a text letting her know he’s on his way, putting his phone away before any response comes back. And he takes a moment to breathe before revving up his bike and heading out.
For a Friday night, Haddonfield sure seems quiet. The roads anyway. This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger the longer he stays. One day he’ll leave. He keeps telling himself that. His mind wanders - but not too much, being safe is important - on the ride over. And that makes the time go by faster.
Before he knows it he’s standing outside her place and knocking. 8pm on the dot. Super prompt. That’s him.
[ originally julie just spoke to corey because he was one of the only people in this whole fucking town who was any kind of nice or helpful to her, because apparently nobody cares if you move to haddonfield unless you're a couple looking to settle down, maybe start a family. a few people actively gave her shit for moving here on her own, even. or they did until one of them got a black eye and a bloody nose. ]
[ there's something about him that fascinates her though, keeps her interested enough at least to keep her attention until it's time to move on and finally see her friends again. every now and then when someone shoots a shitty comment at one of them at work, or when she sees him at a bar, something that sits under the surface that she desperately wants to dig her fingers into. ]
[ also, he's cute. she's allowed to be a bit shallow. ]
[ she hasn't been on a date since, well. since frank. (who promptly made fun of her in the group chat, but it's fine. susie was helpful.) doesn't really have clothes for it, but it's fine. she has a nice enough shirt, and after deliberation she puts on some eyeliner. smiles when she gets that text and comes out to meet him. ]
Hey. [ she's pulling on her leather jacket as she comes over to his bike. ] Fancy seeing you here.
[Haddonfield’s a pit, sinking in upon itself more and more as time passes. Certainly no place for people like them. One of these days the ground will open up and swallow the diseased place whole. And hopefully they’ll be long gone by then.
…Unless he’s getting way too far ahead of himself in that regard. He can’t blame himself for getting attached so quickly. It’s just a Thing that happens. Always. Impossible to avoid. His track record is disastrous, but nothing she needs to know about.
There are a lot of Things that Julie doesn’t need to know about.
He tries to be cool, tries keeping his utter elation at seeing her at the door on the inside. Yes, he’s excited. Relieved. A jumbled mess of feelings he can’t pinpoint. But he goes with cool. It kinda fits the whole image he’s trying to go for.
He smiles at her hey, forces himself not to stare at her for too long as she approaches. She did something different, can’t quite put his finger on it presently. He’ll figure it out soon.]
Right? I was just passing by and figured - oh. Wonder what Julie’s up to. [He smiles again, relaxing some in the seat of his ride, but then looks concerned. His arms cross.] Thought you had a hot date tonight? [Real concerned, borderline pouting.] He didn’t stand you up did he?
[ julie rolls her eyes, huffs as if to say 'can you believe it?' as she idly rests a hand on one of the handlebars, gives the bike a thoughtful look — she knows plenty about cars, not much about bikes, but she knows he fixed this one up right? that's cool — and when she looks back up at him with a hint of something playful in her eyes that usually only shows up when she leans over and says something absolutely devastating to him about someone who was a total asshole to one or both of them. It's not that this time, though. ]
Oh, woe is me. [ completely deadpan as she looks at him. ] What's a girl to do?
Damn… really? [He tuts, shaking his head.] Guy must be out of his mind… [Corey don’t giggle. You’ll ruin the game. He’s trying really hard but asksjahkaf, you know?
He sits upright, leaning in closer to catch her gaze and keep it as she rests against the handlebar.]
Could always hang with me instead. If you want. I’d sure love the company. [She might be deadpan but he can’t stop the little smirk that creeps across his face. He’s bad at this but definitely trying not to be. (Is it working?)]
[ he's such a dork. and she doesn't usually go for that, but you know what, this time it's kind of endearing. ]
Yeah? You got time?
[ julie doesn't bother asking permission, just walks down the side of the bike to seat herself behind him and puts her arm around his middle for stability. ]
Let's go then, Cunningham.
finally get to use the appropriate icons yes yes yes
[Just gonna keep laying it on thick then! Seems to be working out just fine.]
For you? All the time in the world.
[And his eyes follow her as she rounds to the back of the bike. He ends up looking straight ahead as she climbs on behind him, swallowing nothing. Her arm around his middle - he flinches, but it's so subtle it could be anything really. She just went for it didn't she? Okay. That's fine. He can handle this. What did he think was going to happen?
He nods, starts it up. And then they're off soon after. Destination? Well, he knows a place.]
[ julie snorts, maybe there's a quiet murmur that sounds a little like dork, but the way she's pressed to his back, he'll feel the brief tremble that comes with silent laughter too. the way he flinched when she got on the bike, when she put her arm around him didn't escape her, but julie decides to chalk that up to corey being the anxious basket case that he is and leave it at that. ]
[ she thinks about asking where he's taking her, but she stays quiet, enjoying the ride. there's a kind of symbiosis to it, she finds, learning to understand what his body language means. having to lean with him, make sure she's not a distraction. it's... nice. ]
[Whatever anxiety that’s there at first seems to disappear as they ride off, left behind in the dust. Corey’s proud of his bike and all the work he put into it. It doubles as a source of confidence he so desperately needs lately.
He doesn’t pull any maneuvers on her - it’s too soon for that. Just keeps things safe, silently enjoying the way she holds onto him and leans into all the turns without much prompting. Okay well maybe he goes a touch fast on the main road to be a show-off. He just likes how the engine sounds once it really opens up. But nothing more extreme than that.
It’s a nice, quiet night and the wind feels nice in his hair and maybe - just maybe - this is going to work out. Maybe he has absolutely nothing to worry about after all. He almost wants to ditch his initial plan and end up riding around some more instead. But - they can figure that out later. It’s her choice after all. He’s just here to facilitate.
They roll up to the diner and he ends up parking around the back. The lot is a bit on the full side and no one needs to know where he’s leaving his bike. If they do, there’s gonna be problems.]
Not bad, huh? [He looks back at Julie once the kickstand is down and smiles.] Used to run like trash but I think I figured it out. [Look at him being all proud of himself.]
[ against his back corey can probably feel the soft, quiet chuckle that slips out of julie when he speeds up, but judging by the way she lifts her head a little to get more wind in her hair she's clearly enjoying it. ]
[ when they're parked, julie gets down off the bike and smiles back at him, looking down at his little pride and glory there. ] Nice. [ she shoves her hands in her jacket pockets. ] I don't know shit about bikes, it could be a total piece of shit and I'd have to believe you when you said you totally fixed it up nice.
[ she's joking... ish. she does believe him, because he strikes her as someone who'd be fucking awful at lying, but she'd probably only know if it was in bad shape if the engine sounded real off or something. ]
[Corey waits for her to climb down first, because the gentlemanly thing to do. Also he's rather enamored with her opinion. Because what Julie thinks is most important - about him, about his whole deal, about his bike. So he's studying her, waiting for her verdict, hanging on her every move and word.]
It's not a mega impressive model or anything but I worked on it myself and it hasn't fallen apart yet so I'd say that's the best thing I could ask for. [Just take the compliment, dude!] Thanks. [There we go. He's sheepish when he says it, but it's something.
Yeah he's terrible at lying, how did you ever pick up on that? Was it the way he gets all fidgety and nervous-looking, the way his eyes can't just focus on one thing... all things he's doing right now...
He gets down from the bike and shoves his hands into the pockets of his own jacket - making sure to extend the elbow closest to Julie for her to take if she so chooses. It's cold out, they have to use their pockets. That's the smart thing to do. The cool thing. But she can have his arm on the way inside the diner.]
[ julie doesn't say anything, but she does nod and smile, approving. he never really talks himself up or sounds proud of himself, so it's a welcome change. ]
[ she also doesn't take his arm, because this isn't 1954, and kind of gives his arm a bit of a look, but it's brief. he's just trying to be a good date and he doesn't know her well, she supposes, though julie would've thought it was obvious she's not exactly a 'take his arm' kind of girl. if anything she's the one offering an arm. but whatever. julie points out a table with a jut of her chin, a nice booth away from everyone else in there at the moment, and nudges corey with her shoulder as they walk. ]
[Corey notices the look, but there's a bit of a delay in withdrawing his offer. The moment's a bit awkward. He's not quite sure why what he attempted to do was wrong but... oh well. Swing and a miss. No hard feelings or anything.
He does smile at her picking the booth in the back though. Excellent choice, one he usually makes when he comes here on his own. Sitting at a table in public is rare thing for him in general - but yeah.]
Hm. Few weeks? A month, maybe? Didn't have much going on so I just sorta focused on that. Ron let me work on it at the garage sometimes. If things were slow.
[Just gonna slide on into the booth once they head over there.]
That's cool. [ she slides into the seat opposite him and grabs a menu like she doesn't already know what she's going to order. mostly it's just a way to ignore the glances they're getting from other people in the diner. ] I've never fixed anything up like that.
[ the equivalent of a kid who's great at academia but had no interest in it, she knows plenty about cars just from growing up working in a shop but julie's not really a car person at all. she's been driving the same old sedan for years because it works and never has a problem she can't fix herself. ]
[More than cool. Probably the coolest thing about himself - if he had to choose.
He doesn’t pick up a menu - no need to fake like he needs to figure out what he’s going to order. He folds his hands on the table, leans in a little, gets comfortable like that.]
Really? It was kinda challenging at times, but nothing too crazy. You’re good at what you do - [not like he’s been watching or anything, nope not at all] - it’d probably be a breeze for you. If you ever wanted to broaden your repair horizons. [Have a doofy little smile.]
I'm not really into cars, you know? [ she leans forward on her elbows, props her chin up on a palm with a shrug. ] I'm glad I know how to fix them and all, but it's not like my thing.
[ unless you put her within ten feet of a vintage muscle car, but you can blame her dad for that one. ]
So what are you into? If it isn't cars. [He mimics her - elbow on the table, chin in his hand - but only for the briefest moment before smiling and dropping it.] It's gotta be something.
[Julie doesn't really talk about herself. But neither does he? Unless he gets caught up in an anxiety-fueled word vomit session. Those are a frequent enough occurrence now that he's thinking about it...]
[ i used to read a lot about serial killers. i think i wanted to figure out what was wrong with me. it's right there, the words are ready, but julie shakes her head and shrugs a shoulder instead. ]
Nothing really. [ she had great extracurriculars, none of which she gave a shit about. a lot of tricks for a pedigree pet. she laughs softly. ] Don't tell anyone, but I'm kind of boring.
You? [Both eyebrows raise.] Boring? [Corey laughs a bit, hand curled into a fist in front of his mouth for a moment.] Oh come on, Jules. I bet you aren't. You tell me something - anything - I'm sure it's cool as hell.
I'm serious! [ she laughs again, though this time it's a little less bright. ] I really don't do anything outside work. [ ... well. ] Except make bad decisions after too many drinks anyway.
And so am I! [Super serious. See - he can't stop grinning.
He nods at the comment about work because - well. Same boat. Besides working on his bike there's not... much... he actually does. Especially now that the thing's up and running like new.
But he gestures towards her with a point when she finally adds something.]
Well that's something. How bad do you think these decisions are? Because I think there's gotta be some sort of sliding scale...
I think I might've hooked up with a married woman last week?
[ she says it with a hushed voice and a bit of a grimace — not that julie particularly cares about this random woman's relationship, but she's kind of surprised that one hasn't come back to bite her considering how people in this town love to gossip. ]
I'd say that probably ranks as at least "not great".
[ the way she emphasises 'lady' should say plenty about whether or not julie thinks of herself as one (she doesn't), as should the way she looks like what she's said is very funny to her. ]
[ she notes too, that he's gone a little pink, just a bit. it's cute. something to remember for later if this whole date goes well and julie really feels like teasing him. she won't right now though, not least because a waitress comes over-- does a bit of a double take when she realises who julie's here with, or rather that corey is here with someone, but she doesn't say anything. julie doesn't really give her the chance anyway, just politely orders a burger and fries. and a sprite. ]
[He rolls his eyes at her comment - just a little - but it's all in good fun. Messaged received. He wasn't asking for anything super specific, nor did he think she'd be so quick to share. He's just trying to be a tease and make conversation. Dropping the subject.
The waitress coming to the table might as well be a jumpscare for him. Corey had entirely forgotten where they were, the fact that someone hadn't come over yet to begin with. He makes the briefest eye contact with the woman (he thinks he's seen her working here before), gives a shy smile just to be polite, then decides to focus straight ahead at Julie across from him. He doesn't like the looks he gets. Still isn't used to them. It's uncomfortable.
He orders once Julie does (the same thing but swap the Sprite out for a chocolate milkshake because that's just who he is), then says thank you not once but twice. He doesn't physically relax again until she leaves their table. And it's obvious whatever vibe of confidence he had going a few minutes ago is gone.]
Sorry, uh - you don't have to tell me who it was. Or anything about it really. If you don't want to.
[ she breathes out a little laugh. ] I was joking.
[ julie notes the loss of confidence, but honestly she's surprised he kept it up this long. which is fine, she's used to just pushing through corey's awkwardness and discomfort. though... maybe not so candidly. julie shrugs a shoulder, just speaks like it's nothing at all. ]
I mean if you want the details, she's just a lonely cougar who could barely even find her own clit, let alone mine.
You know what - I'm totally cool being left in the dark. [The slightest nervous laughter.] Don't mind me. Shouldn't have said anything. It's none of my business - whatever you and... said lonely cougar did... or didn't do.
[Let's just keep ramping up the awkwardness, shall we? He's so quick to shut down the topic of conversation, despite all the joking around only moments before, and he's physically shifting in his seat with discomfort.]
[ julie doesn't laugh, not out loud, but the amusement is clear in the pull of her lips and the way her eyes brighten up a little. she reaches across the table, puts a placating hand on corey's arm and shakes her head. ]
[Wait. Julie Touch? Julie Touch. He freezes up, the sensation taking a moment to register in his brain. He just goes from one sort of flustered to the other and he's honestly not sure which is better or worse or whatever.
She's smiling - at least somewhat - so it has to be okay. Corey takes that as a sign for him to calm the hell down or at least try to.]
Please and thank you. I'm too sheltered. My brain wouldn't be able to handle it.
[And then he throws in that self-deprecating joke just because.]
[ julie doesn't think anything of the touch, it's just a normal and friendly gesture, but corey's clearly not the only one who thinks a little more of it. she can't make out what they're saying exactly but she definitely picks up on some jeering from that table near the front, turns her head to shoot a scowl their way. ]
[ she's distracted from her new nemesis...es. nemeses? by the waitress coming back with their drinks, setting those down along with a little cutlery basket and some napkins. julie waits until she's gone again to look at corey and roll her eyes with a shake of her head. ]
People in this town really don't know how to mind their fucking business do they?
[ she takes her drink and leans back in her seat, staring back at that table. yeah, she's talking about you idiots. ]
Oh. Whispers and gossip come with the territory of choosing to socialize with him. He’s just… so used to it by now he usually ignores it. Or does his very best.
(He can’t hear them either but if he had one guess as to who they’re giggling about he’d hit the nail on the head without fail.)
But hey! Milkshake. Chocolate milkshake. He slides it over towards himself. Time to chill out. This will help.]
Uh - no. They really don’t. [An awkward chuckle.] Never have and - between you and me? It’s gotten way worse. [Straw sip, an accompanying eyeroll. He doesn’t want to look where she’s looking, but he ends up doing it anyway. And then quickly looking away before he’s caught.]
[ julie doesn't give a shit, she keeps staring at them. they pick up energy when one of them notices corey looked their way; calling his name, laughing. typical bullshit. ]
[ yeah, fuck that. she's trying to have a nice night out with a cute guy. julie puts her drink down, reaches over to the cutlery and grabs a steak knife as she stands up. twirls it around her fingers in a movement that belies exactly how comfortable holding knives she is and starts off toward that table with purpose. ]
[ there's maybe 2 seconds before she gets to that table with a loud "hey, fuckwads" if corey wants to stop her causing a scene. ]
[Yep okay so this isn’t good at all. She’s still looking and they’re getting louder and Corey can’t help but keep glancing between Julie and the other table and back again, increasingly more uncomfortable by the second.]
Jules—-
[He manages to spit out just her name, but doesn’t tell her to stop or to sit back down as she grabs the knife and stands to turn away. He could just stop her. There’s a big part of him that wants to. There’s another that wants to hide under the table. Another is beyond curious to see how things play out - utterly amused at the prospects really - and he wants nothing more than to turn that specific part off.
He moves to stand up himself, palms flat on the tabletop and ready to push, and he doesn’t take his eyes off her back as she heads straight for the other table. A moment later he relaxes, ends up sitting back on his side of the booth. So quiet as he observes.
[ there's a moment, when julie calls out to them, that they're still laughing and they point her out to the guy who's probably their leader or whatever. he spots the knife in julie's hand and sits up straighter, looking panicked, and then his buddies follow suit. she leans over this main guy, arm around his shoulders like a friend, if not for the way she gestures with the knife in her other hand. taps him on the chest, points at the others, makes sure it's always close enough to his throat that nobody could stop her no matter how fast they acted. ]
[ the conversation she has with them is hushed, but tense. mostly she's querying why they feel the need to butt into other people's business, to harass people who are just trying to have a meal in peace. one of them says something that definitely bothers her, and julie squints and points her knife at him, but it passes. ]
[ of course, she has to really be a terror, so she snatches up a wallet off the table as she stands and slips the driver's license out of the front to read it with a smile that could pass for friendly in different circumstances, like this is a funny joke everybody's in on. ]
Daniel Green from... 1264 Winchester Drive, thank you so much for your apology. [ she tosses his driver's license down on the table. after some thought she grabs some cash out of his wallet and tosses the wallet down too. ] And for making it up to us by paying. That's so kind of you.
[ and back to the table she comes. everyone's staring, but nobody stopped her. no wonder awful shit seems to happen here. ]
[Corey doesn’t make a move, doesn’t strain to try listening in. Her conversation with the goons is private as far as he’s concerned. Besides, the body language - hers, theirs - that tells him everything he needs to know from where he’s seated.
To stifle his chuckles of sheer amusement he leans in to sip some more shake every now and then, casually pretends like he’s looking elsewhere instead of where the action is.
He can’t keep a straight face when he says this, but damn does he try to. He’s all grinning teeth and on the verge of laughter:] But I thought I was gonna pay for us, babe?
[LOOK. He’s trying it on. Seeing how it fits. And if he wasn’t looking at her like an overtly smitten fool before she pulled a knife on someone in public - he certainly is now.
[ it takes a second, after she sits and puts the knife down, while she's smoothing out her shirt, for the words to make any kind of sense. when she looks across at corey it's obvious by the pinch of her lips that she has to make an effort not to burst out laughing. ]
[When she finally does look his way, Corey’s busy sipping more shake through the straw and it’s apparent he’s been staring at her while she settles. Elbow on table, side of face held up by hand. Smitten and silly.]
Oh I’m down for a free meal. But I was supposed to treat you, not Dan Green over there. [There’s a nod of his head in the other guy’s general direction, then he gives a cheeky little expression.] He wasn’t even invited on this date last I checked.
[ it's weird how easily corey accepts what just happened, totally relaxed, finding it funny even. given how he usually is, one would expect him to be totally freaked out about julie more or less threatening a man with a knife and stealing his money. weirder still that julie doesn't think much of it, like some part of her already knew he wouldn't be a problem. ]
[ she tilts her head in thought and turns her head to look back at the table, offers them a wink when she sees them watching and turns back to face corey with a shrug and a grin. ]
Wow. That sure was sweet of him. [He sinks into his seat a little, sipping more milkshake, eyes trained solely on the other table as they keep looking their way. They’re just gonna keep watching, huh? He’ll look right back.
Until they get spooked enough and stop.
Which doesn’t take long, surprisingly enough.]
So what do you think, Jules? [His attention is back on his date.] Are the wishes well? [He laughs a little at his own terrible joke.
When the waitress comes back it’s with burgers and she’s questioning if everything is okay. The scuffle was definitely noticed. She’s not being accusatory or anything. She just works there, you know?]
[ I could go with an elaborate set up but you know I'm doing this 100% because it's funny, so really, it's Valentine's Day, that's all you need to know. And that's why Julie gets this text at like 5am. ]
[ Because when she gets out there, Frank's kicked back sitting against a tree. A few feet away, there's a body. A very obviously dead body, wrapped up in a ragged tarp. The face is covered but there's a lot of rusty stains dried into the canvas. One of the corpse's hand is sticking out of the bundle — it's desiccated, almost bones. This is a real fucking old corpse. ]
[ the cocoa here isn't great, but julie makes up a shitty little thermos and manages not to spill any on her way out to where frank said he was. when she gets there, she sets the thermos down by frank's thigh and pushes her mask up so she can lean down and give him a little kiss. ]
What's this?
[ she wanders over and nudges the body with the toe of her shoe. ]
[ Shitty cocoa is better than no cocoa, especially when it's accompanied by hanging out with his girl. Especially when he gets to kiss his girl hello — he gives Julie that kiss and a quick little grin before turning his attention to the thermos. ]
No clue. Found it while I was looking around earlier. It's got some of that glowy bullshit all over it.
[ By "glowy bullshit" he means Vittorio's weird ass glowing tattoos. Magic bullshit.
Hey, Julie, hey. Look at this weird corpse he found. Isn't it a cool present? ]
[ julie is fascinated by it, by the weird tattoos. she takes a knee, carefully pulls back the canvas to look at a little more of it and wrinkles her nose — she's never seen a body this old, her experience with corpses by and large involves fresh ones. ]
You think Toscano was pals with whoever this was? [ the corpse is old, but-- ] He's old as shit, right?
[ what does time really matter in the fog anyway? for all she knows a corpse could mummify in the time it takes her to walk to macmillan one day and the next a body would take weeks just to start decomposing. ]
[ That's agreement. Frank takes a long sip, then sets the thermos aside in favor of kneeling next to Julie. Top date activities in the Fog: poking weirdo mummified corpses with the proverbial stick. ]
They've got the same stupid wizard shit or whatever. [ He plucks at a scrap of the corpse's shirt, still miraculously clinging to it. ] Wonder if they still work.
( julie and frank would both make excellent vessels for a deadite, just so everyone knows. )
fuck i miss our movie nights you think if i put in a request for a vcr and tv and consistent electricity to the big boss upstairs and we're good boys and girls for the rest of the ???? year???? we'll get something under the tree for xmas
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a texting thread but also not
And you never get a text back, but sometimes you do get a response of a sort. Like this one.
He shows up a short while after the misfire, out in the middle of the snow on Mount Ormond, by the visitors’ information board. Anyone can tell he’s there because the mountain is eerily quiet. The usual low howling of the icy winds, the cracking and breaking and falling of icicles, the distant cawing of crows… it’s all missing. All signs of life and the passing of time just goes completely dead silent. Even here, the presence of the purest evil is acknowledged by everything.
And he watches. Stares. Does nothing and says nothing, but he’s there, as though waiting for an answer. ]
michael that wasn't an invite!!!
[ something's wrong here. in a way that's familiar, but not enough so for her to place it. ]
[ weirdly, she doesn't even notice michael straight away. only when she turns on the spot a little way away from the notice board, a niggling feeling that she's missed something important, that's when she spots him. her very sensible response being to shriek out of surprise and throw the pack of cigarettes at him. ]
[ and then she bursts into laughter when that adrenaline hits. ]
What the fuck? What are you doing here?
@dnds
See you then.
[ a little relieved he doesn't ask why not ormond, even if she did give a good excuse for trekking to autohaven. julie appreciates that about talking to eddie, he doesn't really pry. some of the other survivors ask so many questions like they should get to look at her life story or whatever just because she's not some twisted up monstrosity on the outside. pisses her off. ]
[ anyway. ]
[ getting through the fog is easy enough at this point, at least it is when it comes to travelling between the realms (and to the campfire.) there's other stuff out there, she knows, but julie's never tried venturing out that far. the thought gets choked away every time it starts to form. but getting to autohaven is quick and easy, takes maybe ten minutes even at a normal pace, so she stops first to grab her walkman and a couple things before setting off. a bottle of water because sometimes she gets the worst cottonmouth and a couple bags of chips they raided from the rpd vending machines. mask on and knife in hand, that's when she feels comfortable enough to leave. ]
[ it's no surprise she gets there first. it's chilly, but it doesn't compare to the cold of ormond, and julie's careful and quiet about making her way through to the office. she brought a sleeping bag too, just for something soft to sit on, and plops it down by a wall and herself soon after. knees pulled up, one foot tapping along to her music while she waits. ]
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it takes a couple minutes to get the timing right. to find a moment where no one's paying him any attention, where everyone's focused on something or someone else for long enough that he can slink away unnoticed, but he manages fairly easy. when it comes to navigating through the fog, though, he's still kind of green. getting the hang of it will come with time and experience, but until then, it's a mildly unsettling trip to say the least, but he finds his way with little trouble.
it's still creepy though. being here now, presumably alone (save for julie), is somehow more unsettling than it is when he gets dragged here with three other survivors knowing someone is hunting them. eddie tries not to think about it too much as he slinks through the yard, headed for the office. julie said the wraith probably wouldn't care about them being here, but he's still cautious.
eddie hears the very faint and distant, tinny sound of music, too quiet to be recognizable or familiar, but it pulls him in the right direction, and when he steps into the office doorway (more like swings into it, one hand gripping at the door frame), he hangs out there for a few seconds. with julie sitting on the floor, he has to look down at her, and he smiles a little lopsidedly. ]
Shit, am I late? [ he's pretty sure he's not, but she looks like she's been here for a couple minutes already at the very least, and even if his twenty minutes have been up, he doesn't really seem that genuinely concerned about it. eddie pushes away from the door frame, the thing chains holding his jacket cuff somewhat together swinging a bit loosely with the motion of his arm. he wanders in, casual but still alert, and eventually takes a seat next to julie, back against the wall. he stretches his legs out, turns his head to look at her, and doesn't seem to care if she can hear him or not. ] Wheeler's got - goddamn eagle eyes or something, I swear. Took me a minute to get out of there without anyone noticing.
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I thought twenty minutes was ambitious for a new guy, but I didn't want to rain on your parade.
[ instinctively, her hand comes to the edge of her mask as she talks, moving on autopilot because she only hangs out like this with friends, right? why would she cover her face. the hesitation is brief, but noticeable, she freezes for a second because she does her best to make sure survivors never see her without her mask on. hell, only a couple of killers outside of legion have seen her face either. ]
[ but it would be weird as hell if she just kept it on this whole time, and she
sure as hell can't smoke with it on, so it's gotta go. ]
Don't scream, okay? [ the joke's for herself more than anything, and she takes a small breath before she actually pushes the mask up and off her head. brown eyes and bleach blonde hair, there's julie. ]
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it doesn't even really cross his mind that julie'll have to unmask until she's curling a thumb under the edge of it, ready to slide it back and off - but it makes sense. eddie's halfway through rolling his eyes at her offhand comment about his ambitions when he catches the movement and pauses. he doesn't stare, but he watches, curious. about the brief moment of hesitation, about what she looks like, because he'd be lying if he said he'd never wondered. he doesn't stare, but he glances out of the corner of his eye as he tilts his weight a little to one side, away from her, so he can dig into his jacket pocket for the main reason they're even here.
when julie jokes, eddie feels a little more at ease, though he's not even sure why he felt tense at all in the first place. he casts her another glance, this one a little more intentional, and smiles a bit at her as he slides two rolled joints out of his pocket, kept 'safe' in a little plastic baggie clearly marked 'EVIDENCE', and a crushed book of matches.
with the mask gone, eddie allows himself a few seconds to just look at julie. he's not sure what he expected, if he expected anything at all. she's pretty, but she's just... a normal girl. eddie smiles at her again, faint and easy, and shakes his head slightly. ]
Oh, man. Truly terrifying. Horrifying, even. [ he puts his hand to his chest, crushing the bag a little under it, and then drags one of his knees up so he can rest his wrist on it. eddie turns his attention to the grass in his hands, fishing a single joint out. ] Thought you'd have different eyes, though. Blue.
[ eddie turns his head, offers her the joint, held carefully between his fingers. ]
Brown suits you.
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[ it feels weirder to be complimented though, even in such a small way. it used to be normal, way back when she went above and beyond to be acceptable, but even then it was basic shit. nothing that suggested a dude was thinking about her in any way except naked. ]
[ god if she ends up flustered because eddie's being nice to her she's gonna have to kill him. ]
Thanks. [ julie takes the joint and fishes in her pocket for a lighter, uses it as a way to hide the barest hint of a smile as she lights it and takes a drag. ] I picked it myself.
[ completely deadpan, as if she's being 100% serious. ]
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shaking the match out, eddie pinches the spliff loosely between his fingers and inhales, the corners of his mouth quirked a little like he maybe wants to smile. the deadpan delivery is amusing to him. he makes a small sound of interest in the back of his throat, then tips his head back a bit so he can exhale toward the ceiling. look at that, he's courteous, too. ]
Yeah? [ he looks back at julie again, wetting his bottom lip and resting his hand on his peaked knee. eddie lifts his eyebrows a fraction. ] Drew out that little - square grid thing in the womb and picked the best one?
[ eddie drops the dead match down with the plastic bag, absently scratching at the small patch of skin on his knee with his thumb, exposed through the rip in his jeans. ]
I don't remember what that shit was called. From - biology or whatever. You know. [ he lifts his hand off his knee, draws a lazy 4-squared grid in the air in the space between them before dropping his hand again. explaining it beyond that is just gonna kill the joke, and the joke isn't even that funny.
eddie nods toward julie's headphones. ] What were you listening to? Sounded - angry.
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[ it's funny enough, though julie wouldn't admit it lest eddie find out she finds more of his dumb jokes funny than he thinks, she'd never live it down. so it's more for that reason than any worry about drawing the joke out too long that julie's relieved when he brings up her music, her eyes light up a little at the question, but it's a blink and you'll miss it expression. immediately changing to something that could be a little self-conscious as her gaze falls to her walkman where she'd put it down. ]
Nirvana. They're, um... [ when she looks back at eddie it's with a raised eyebrow, both curious but also about to be just a little of a shit. ] Did they have grunge back in your day?
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he catches that little flash of enthusiasm, too. the little jolt of excited energy to talk about something she likes, presumably. not so surprisingly, eddie finds it endearing - he gets the same way about music he's really into, too, so he gets it. he'd talk about megadeth and dio and wasp and metallica all day if only someone gave him the opportunity.
eddie takes another short drag, burns through a bit of grass. like the first time, he blows the smoke out away from the both of them, then turns his attention back to julie. at her little crack of a joke, eddie rolls his eyes, but one corner of his mouth pulls up a little with the hint of a fleeting smirk. he tilts his head back against the wall, turns his face to look at her. ]
I don't know, I'm too old to remember. [ back in his day. please. also, it's still kind of weird knowing that there are people here who come from a time after his. from the future, or whatever. and also from the past. that's also kinda weird too.
eddie shrugs one of his shoulders, loose and lazy, and absently thumbs at the chunky silver ring on his left index finger, turning it slightly back and forth just for something to do with his unoccupied hand. ] Can't say I've heard of it, though. Or, uh. Nirvana.
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[ she mirrors him, head tilted back against the wall, face turned to look at eddie. every now and then her knee bounces a couple times like it's trying to shake off some excess energy but otherwise julie's pretty relaxed even without the weed starting to hit yet. ]
[ ...admittedly less so when eddie looks at her and she remembers she's not wearing her mask, but at least she's not freaking out about it. ]
Well, gramps. It's sort of like... [ she turns her head to look up at the ceiling, chewing her bottom lip as she tries to think of the best way to describe it. ] Like if punk and metal had a really moody child.
[ shaking her head just a little as she says it, julie takes another slower drag on that joint. as a description it's not quite right, but it'll do. ]
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he looks back at her again after her description, catches the slight bounce of her knee out of the corner of his eye and shifts his attention there for a beat. he wonders, briefly, if she's anxious too, though he can't imagine why she would be. between the two of them, she's the one more likely to have shown up with a weapon. eddie doesn't ask though, easily distracted by the idea of this bastard child of two genres of music he very much likes. ]
Shit. [ he exhales, shaking his head a little with a lazy smile. ] That sounds... awesome, actually.
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[ saved it. ]
[ god she has no idea why she's so anxious and awkward, just hanging out isn't exactly something she used to have a problem with. granted, back in ormond she was playing a much nicer, more friendly version of herself and she wasn't years out of practice on socializing with anyone other than the rest of legion, but still. awkward is a strange feeling for her. ]
You wanna give some of it a listen?
[ she turns her head back to look at eddie when she asks, eyebrows raised with the question. her gaze flits down to the patches on his battle jacket, curious if he'd even like it or if it'd be too soft for him. ]
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just as quickly as it comes, the pinch in his brows smooths and disappears, and when julie offers him a chance to listen to her music, he perks up a little. sits up a bit, even, and uses the heel of his sneaker to push himself an inch or two back until his shoulders bump the wall behind him. ]
Yeah. [ if his eagerness matches julie's initial eagerness from earlier, it's purely coincidental. eddie twists slightly, turning more toward her. he takes a quick hit off his joint, tilts his chin down this time to exhale into the space between them, and then nods his head once, twice. ] Yeah, sure. 'Course I do.
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[ his eagerness to listen to her music helps though. julie sits up and reaches for her walkman. ] Okay-- hang on. [ the smile doesn't come back, but it's obvious in the way she quickly perches the joint between her lips so her hands are free to put on her headphones and hold the walkman that she's a little giddy still. ]
[ quick bursts of songs filter out of her headphones as she rewinds the tape, starting and stopping and looking for a song she thinks eddie will like, lips downturned in concentration around her joint and hair falling in her face as she leans forward. this is important, after all. ]
[ once she's found it, she turns fully toward eddie and holds out the headphones for him to take. all queued up with stone temple pilots' wicked garden for him once he's ready. ]
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eventually, his eyes drift back to her. to the way her hair's falling in her face a little bit, how... normal she looks. he didn't think it'd be weird, seeing her without the mask, and it isn't weird, not necessarily, but it's just - odd. how the person sitting next to him and the person who chases him around sometimes with a knife in hand and their face behind a mask feel like two different people. but maybe that's the point.
when julie turns toward him, eddie feels a little bit like he's been caught and instinctively and very quickly drops his gaze away from her face and down to her hands, where the headphones are waiting. eddie makes a quiet sound, just a quick hum of a low note, and tucks his spliff between the pinch of his lips to free up his hands. he takes the headphones and puts them on, his hair only getting in the way just slightly, but he deliberately leaves one side of the headphones halfway off an ear. this way, he can listen to the music and still listen to julie at the same time, and also not accidentally yell because he can't hear himself.
eddie gives her a brief nod to let her know he's good to go and she can play the tape. when the song starts, there's no immediate reaction aside form the subtle tilt of his head, like he's really trying to listen and pay attention. at around the fifteen second mark though, he lifts his head, looks over at julie and raises his eyebrows slightly. it's not bad once the guitar really comes in. he murmurs a quiet oh, shit, mildly impressed, but otherwise holds his commentary, because he can hardly pass fair judgement based on the first twenty seconds.
as he listens though, he keeps looking at julie. doesn't stare at her, because that's a little creepy, but it's clear the more the song goes on that he's pretty decently impressed. nods his head a bit with it once he picks up the general rhythm, taps his fingers against his knee with a rhythmic laziness, less like he's following the drums and more like he's working something else out.
when it seems like the song's coming to an end, he takes another puff from his joint and moves the headphone that's already halfway off just a bit more away from the shell of his ear. he turns his head away to empty his lungs, and when he turns back, he's got a lopsided smile on his face. ]
... Well. Shit. Not gonna lie - that was pretty good. [ not as hard as some of the shit he listens to, but not far off. ] This is - Nirvana?
[ forgive him. he'll learn. ]
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[ it's the only tape she has, well that and her trial mix, so julie knows every song back to font. could probably tell what part of the song eddie's on just from the tinny drum fill and guitar that filters out through his hair. a couple of times, when she's turning her head to blow out smoke and not paying attention, she mouths silently along to the words, closes her eyes and nods along to the beat. ]
[ when it ends she stops the tape so eddie's not immediately attacked by courtney love's off-key singing following it up, smile small but genuine when he says it's good. though when he asks if it's nirvana, well. it's a totally understandable mistake, but a slightly surprised laugh bubbles out of julie anyway and she shakes her head. ] Stone Temple Pilots. I thought they'd be more your speed.
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when julie tells him the actual name of the band, eddie nods slowly, thoughtfully dragging his teeth over his bottom lip for a moment. he takes another puff from his joint, then leans slightly toward julie for a second, but only so he can dig into his jacket pocket on his opposite side. he tilts his chin up a little, but keeps his eyes on julie as he exhales a thin line of smoke. ]
Stone Temple Pilots. Okay. [ he says it like he's committing it to memory, but there's a moment of... something in his tone. ] When do they come around?
[ when eddie leans away again, sitting straight once more, he's got... a candy bar in his hand. probably very slightly melted from being in his jacket pocket for however long, but he offers it wordlessly to julie and raises his eyebrows a little, the tiniest smirk pulling at the corners of his mouth. ]
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Ninety... two? I think?
[ that's when the album came out anyway, and she's pretty sure it was their first one. so technically maybe a couple of years before-- is that a candy bar? ]
[ that throws her out of her attempts to remember when stone temple pilots formed and she stares at the bar for a long moment as if she has no idea what it even is, and when she takes it it's with an amused exhale of smoke through her nose. ]
Squishy candy. [ she's grinning, don't let the deadpan voice fool you. ] Just what every girl wants.
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he looks up at julie, slightly below her eye-level now that he's relaxed (see: melted) a little, and he doesn't so much exhale, but lets the smoke filter out of his mouth as he speaks instead. ]
Ninety-two, huh? [ he says this mostly to himself, even though he's looking at her. he raises one lazy hand, thumb and index fingers held close together. ] So close.
[ not that close at all, actually, and not a year he's likely to see if he ever makes it out of here, but that's kind of a downer and has the potential to kill the high that's only just starting to kick in, so he avoids that kind of talk.
instead, he smiles up at julie, nudging the back of her nearest wrist with his knuckles. squishy candy. right. ]
It's like - a s'more. [ he shrugs, cuts the same hand he nudged her with through the space between them. ] Without any of the other stuff.
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Other stuff?
[ what does that even mean? there's only three parts to a s'more. julie squints down at the bar in her hands, maybe she could read the wrapper, but she won't. there's a couple puffs left in her joint and she offers that out to eddie before she unwraps the bar, pulling it open along the seam instead of just tearing it open. ]
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when julie offers what's left of her stubby little joint to him, eddie takes it from her gently, careful not to drop it or pinch it out. he doesn't take a drag from it though, just holds it for her while he watches her peel the wrapper open like a weird kid afraid to tear the wrapping paper on christmas morning. he laughs a little under his breath, flicking his eyes up from her hands to her face. ]
Yeah. Marshmallows, graham cracker. [ he nods his chin at the melty candy in her hands, making two stacking gestures with his hand, spliff still pinched between his fingers as he lists off the very long list of ingredients for s'mores. eddie smiles, almost teasing. ] Almost there. One out of three's not bad.
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Well, it's my favourite third at least. [ maybe not when it's half-melted though, julie starts to try and break a piece off but when it just kind of squishes and wiggles instead of breaking she decides that can wait. ] But maybe I'll just...
[ of course there's no fridge in this office, but autohaven is a chilly place. julie looks around, thinking, and eventually gets to her feet with a grunt of complaint and effort — doing anything except sitting and/or laying down right now is actually offensive suddenly — to walk over to the window, where she places the bar on the ledge to get cold. ]
There.
[ she seems pretty proud of herself. and they definitely won't forget about it. ]
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eddie watches julie stand, his eyebrows lifting slightly. the fog (ha) slowly creeping around the edges of his brain means it takes him a couple seconds longer than it should to realize that she's not just getting up and taking off on him without a word (though it wouldn't be the first time someone used him for drugs and then bounced). when she sets the candy bar on the window's ledge to harden up a little, eddie grins up at her, lopsided and relax. ]
My lady, you - are a genius. [ he offers what's left of the joint he's babysitting up to her, arm outstretched, weight leaning on his other elbow. ] And a coward. Sticky hands won't kill you.
[ maybe not the smartest thing to be calling someone who semi-regularly sacrifices him to a spider god in the sky a coward, but it's clear by the way he starts to laugh a little that he's just teasing. ]
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[ it's very important that eddie understand that, and julie takes a moment to squint at him in apparent thought about this and decides she's satisfied. unless he decides to argue with her about it. she's fully willing to fight about which state of chocolate is the best. ]
[ anyway. she's sick of standing now. julie starts to sit, or rather, bends down and then just kind of collapses into a heap of limbs and snorts a laugh. this is fine, she's fine. ]
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the hand on the hip thing, not the - smoking weed in an abandoned office thing. eddie's not sure harrington's cool enough for that, but then again, that guy is full of surprises.
as julie folds like a deflating inflatable tube man, eddie turns and shifts so he's less on his side and more on his back, his weight distributed between both of his elbows instead of just the one. he drags his knees up a little, white sneakers scraping quietly against the floor, fingers tapping slowly against the floorboards near his sides. eddie leans his head again, cheek close to his shoulder but not quite touching this time as he looks back at julie. ]
Beer's also better when it's cold, but you seem to like it warm and in a shoe, so. Whose judgement should we really be trusting here? [ his eyebrows lift, the corner of his mouth quirk. ] Hm?
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[ she turns her head to look at eddie, watching him and letting another laugh slip out at the mention of the beer shoe. she can't believe she forgot that's what got them here of all the dumb things she's said lately. ]
I told you, that's how we do it in Canada. [ a small smirk tugs at her lips, even through the facial shrug. ] Clearly my taste is perfect, hoser.
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Or. [ his eyebrows climb higher, his eyes vaguely glassy but still bright. ] Or. Canadians are just full of shit.
[ eddie takes his weight off one elbow so he can point at her like a ha, sticking his thumb up as an afterthought so he can bend it, like he's firing a gun. he drops his hand after a beat, and then gives up trying to hold himself up and flops backwards, folding his hands behind his head. ]
Then again - maybe you do have good taste. [ he lolls his head to the side so he can look at julie. something about the shape of his mouth is very telling that he knows he's full of shit. ] Hanging out with me, burning a little grass... one might say your taste is impeccable.
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One might, huh.
[ she raises an eyebrow with a little smirk at eddie, arms folded over her chest. ]
Is 'one' called Eddie Munson, by any chance?
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Eddie... Munson. [ eddie says his own name like he's never heard it before, like he's testing out the sound of it, then cuts his eyes back to julie. his eyebrows relax, and then lift. ] Never heard of him.
[ shrugging a lazy shoulder, eddie untucks one of his hands from behind his head so he can gesture kind of aimlessly with it before letting it settle over the bright red demon head printed on his chest. ]
He sounds like a badass though.
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[ she says it very seriously, not smiling but it's there in her eyes, bright and amused as she looks away from the ceiling and turns her head to look at eddie. adjusts her legs and crosses them the other way. ]
I saw him blow a gen three times in a row the other day.
[ that makes a little smirk bloom on her face, but she's looking back at the ceiling now. ]
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after another moment or two, he lifts his head up off of his hand, neck craned so he can look at julie. his hand comes up off of his chest too, and he cuts his palm through the hair. ]
Okay, hey. Not true. [ he curls his fingers in, leaves one out so he's pointing at her. accusingly. ] That second one was Dwight. And it startled me.
[ which accounts for the third one. get off his case, miss murder. eddie drops his hand back down to his chest, starts to lay his head back down too when he pauses. ]
What were you doing, watching me for that long? [ ... ] You're a little creep, aren't you?
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[ and then he brings up her watching and she frowns, bristles a little at being called a creep but she's too mellow to lean into that like she usually would, so she just huffs in protest instead. ]
I was trying out something new, I wanted to know if you guys could tell I was there.
[ stealth legion is coming. she's making it happen. ]
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julie's little huff makes eddie laugh, quiet and lazy. he lifts his foot, uses the toe of his sneaker to scratch at an itch on the back of his opposite calf, then slaps his foot back down a little harder than he intended. ]
I could tell. [ he shifts his attention back to her, absently wondering if her legs are falling asleep yet. ] I thought you were Myers for a sec. [ hence the... first gen explosion, when he was initially startled. ] White mask in the distance, easy mistake.
[ eddie shrugs a shoulder, stretches his legs back out. ]
But that dude never wears plaid. And you're not as tall - no offense. And you were just kinda standing there, so I was like 'I guess she's just gonna let us do this generator'. And then Dwight saw you, blew it up again. Blah blah blah.
[ he doesn't need to explain a second time. and she was there, so. ]
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What do you mean I'm not as tall? [ she shimmies a little on the floor, pushes herself away from the wall a bit. ] I'm so tall.
[ julie looks serious about it, even if she's not. hell, eddie's taller than her, it's not like it's a convincing lie. ]
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Maybe compared to Threegion. [ he's not entirely sure, but he thinks maybe julie's the tallest out of the four of them. maybe the five of them if that weird hunk guy counts, but including him makes threegion null and void and he likes it too much to let it go, so. sorry not sorry, hunk.
eddie smiles at her, and there's something mildly fond hidden in the shape of it. ] I can see clean over your head, sweetheart.
[ when they're standing. and maybe not clean over, because a 3 inch difference between their heights isn't really that much, but still. ]
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Sweetheart?
[ funny that not even a week ago she definitely would've threatened to cut him open if he called her that, and now she just finds it kind of funny. doesn't entirely mind it, though that might change when she's sober. ]
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Yeah, what's up?
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[ that does, at least, get a laugh out of her and julie reaches out to shove eddie's shoulder. rolling her eyes with a little shake of her head as is appropriate for such a terrible joke. ]
You're such a pain.
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[ he's unfazed by the shove to his shoulder, to the name calling. he made her laugh, which is what's important. to him, at least. he likes entertaining people, even if it comes at his own expense. ]
One that shares his weed and chocolate though.
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[ it still confuses the hell out of her, every time they talk it's like he's forgotten she's stabbed him countless times at this point and she's not going to stop doing that, but he clearly hasn't. and she knows why she likes eddie — he's fun to talk to and the kind of person she would've flocked to back in ormond, the weirdo outcast delinquents were always her favourite people — she just doesn't understand the reverse. ]
Not that I'm complaining, just seems weird to share with me instead of one of your pals by the fire. I'm sure it's harder for you to raid that evidence room than one of us.
[ yes she saw the label on that bag. ]
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[ his immediate response is a joke, which isn't surprising, but eddie seems to consider her question for a few long moments afterwards, eyes shifting back and forth as he stares up at the ceiling. truthfully, he can't really explain why. reasonably, no one should be hanging out and shooting the shit with someone who routinely stabs them, but maybe it's that she hasn't stabbed him yet outside of trials that makes eddie view her differently than he probably should. julie's threatened it, sure, more than a few times, but eddie's just kind of breezed right through every one.
and now they're here, high and hanging out together in some shitty office in someone else's realm. life's just weird sometimes. that's about all he's got.
eddie rolls over onto his stomach, rests his cheek on his folded hands, rings squishing against the edge of his chin. ]
What, you're not my pal? [ teasing still. ] I don't know. You're cool, I guess. And I don't think Harrington's much of a toker. Buckley ripped a cigarette right out of my mouth and tossed it into a lake before I could even light it up once, so. She's out too, I think.
[ he shrugs. ]
And you've got decent music. We've got, uh. Kate? She's... fine. But not my style. [ folk music just ain't it. ] Anyway, it wasn't that hard. There's usually a totem nearby, so any time I end up in the station I just, you know - kill two birds, one... bone.
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You guess I'm cool?
[ julie says it with a smirk, teasing in return, eyes traveling the length of a crack in the wall, the paint that peels away from it. ]
High praise, Munson.
[ the foot still propped up on the wall finally comes down, and julie frowns briefly at the slight numbness of it as she stretches it out, rotates the ankle a little before she rests it down. god what she'd give to be on a couch or a bed right now, somewhere soft and warm to just swallow her up. that sounds amazing. ]
[ -- wait, what else did eddie say? julie turns her head to look at him and give him a confused squint, but it's gone now. it's not coming back. she was too busy thinking about wanting to be cosy. ]
@micronap
[ she can hear the entity in the back of her head, it's... angry, but also disappointed. she hasn't been doing her best in trials lately. she and frank are usually the reliable ones, even if the survivors get out it's usually still a good showing. enough to keep it sated until the next trial. this is probably gonna be a bad meeting. they're all bad meetings. ]
[ julie, when quentin arrives, is sitting on the floor just outside the stall, just in a tank top and her mask. her hoodie and jacket are on the ground next to her, hood and shoulder of said hoodie soaked in blood, as is julie's hair turned red from blonde mostly on the top left part. she's tried to clean up, but there's not really much she can do until she's sent back to ormond. ]
You know, that's something I've never wanted to think about. Thanks.
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Like this is an utterly dangerous move and he's probably getting impaled in 2 minutes by a giant spider claw for it but whatever. ]
You're welcome. I personally think we should think about how monsters shit more often.
[ Flashing a toothy smile at her. He crouches next to her, crunching pieces beneath his soles and by dropping a kit on the floor. He's rolling his jacket sleeves up to his elbows while doing a quick damage assessment with the current visuals. Ouch. He reaches a hand towards her head then pulls it back in a hesitation, looking at her eyes- ...her mask's eyes with a raised eyebrow like he's unsure if she's going to slice his wrist for doing it. Blue eyes briefly then go darting around the floor for the knife. Is it in the jacket?
He shrugs then and goes in there with all the practice of someone that's taken care of a thousand head wounds by now. ]
Do you bring the drinks in with you or pre-game the trial? 'Cause this is an elementary school.
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What? You never found a flask in the teacher's desk?
[ it's confusing, she would've assumed she'd sober up coming here, but she doesn't remember being drunk before a trial before. maybe the entity doesn't like to help out that way. or maybe she's just unlucky. ]
[ after a few moments contemplation of her miserable situation, julie looks up suddenly and smack's quentin's hand away. ]
Why are you helping me? Get the fuck out.
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He once tried to help Pig. It didn't go over well. ]
Here? No, only percocet. Back home? Same answer. Want some for your head? Got plenty.
[ Her moments of contemplation give him time to at least clean it some and make sure there weren't any shards of porcelain in there. At the slap, he holds his hands up by his face and backs up on his feet from where he's crouching. ]
Seemed like you needed it. And I have no idea if you guys stay hurt when you leave these. [ He makes a face in a bit of irritation. He looks around, assessing the time left. Minute to go. ] At least get off the bathroom floor.
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[ this time she does grab her knife, grip firm on the handle, but she's not raising it to quentin. yet. holds it in a fist atop her thigh more like a barrier between them. ]
I don't know why the fuck the Entity decided to make you my designated driver or whatever, but we're not friends and I don't need your help.
[ a lot of attitude from someone who's still too dizzy to trust her legs enough to try getting up, but there's a scowl behind the mask as julie stares up at him, and then gestures in the vague direction of the exit. ]
You can still get out of here in one piece. Go.
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Maybe it was looking out for you. [ He frowns. ] Or luring me into being a nice easy kill to help get your groove back on.
[ Quentin can't really tell how poorly or not she might be seeing, since he has no visuals on her actual face and eyes. He has no idea if she's making faces at him under that mask or having her eyes roll back into her head due to a concussion. She gestures, he flinches like he's already going to bolt but hesitates and stays with his feet planted. ]
But- [ He's making a face at her. It's either die by her hand, die by Entity saying "time's up" or get out of dodge. The last option being the most useful to all of them both for his well being and for being able to check in with her after, most likely. He exhales a breath through his nose, throws his hands to the side. ] Okay. [ The medkit is pushed over to her. He then thinks about it and empties his pockets of painkillers and band-aids and puts them in her actual jacket's pocket since she isn't wearing it. He's never actually seen a killer pick up their items before so maybe the Entity doesn't let them but if it's in her pocket then that's hers. Good thing Frank shakes him upside down enough so he figured that out. ]
If you're all fucked up after this then, uh, I told you so? Drink with someone next time. Fuck, I'll even drink with you. I'm a fucking lightweight but just so you stop smashing your head into toilets. Okay? Bye. Talk to you later.
[ He's just tipping to the side with a little wave and rolling in the hole in the floor as a shortcut out of there. Maybe that'd look cool if he didn't hit the stall on the way down. Whatever. He got hatch again. ]
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[ it's when she's finally back at ormond, face down on the couch in a state of general ennui, that she shoves her hand in her pocket and laughs when her hand finds a bottle of acetaminophen. rattles it and sits up, shaking her head. quentin is probably going to drive her actually insane one of these days. ]
[ several hours later one might be forgiven for thinking julie's just pushed this all aside and plans to forget it ever happened, because that's her usual modus operandi, but she hasn't. instead she turns up in the woods by the campfire, quiet. waiting. (she's taken notes from the stalkery fucks.) when she finally spots quentin on his own, she speaks up, leaning against a tree all casual. ]
What's your fucking deal anyway?
[ hi. ]
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He’s emptying his pockets into a medkit while yawning loudly and practically jumps out of his skin when Julie speaks up and breaks the silence. Full body flinch and he grips a syringe so tightly in his hand it shatters. The only person that sneaks up on him outside of trials is Krueger, which means he fell asleep and is fucked, …and that time Steve did it and got punched in the face for it. ]
What the FUCK?!
[ Quentin shoots a firey glare over in her direction. Though the look fades completely and switches to confusion when he sees who it is. ]
…Julie. [ ????
He shakes his hand and rubs it on his pant leg, looking around then back at her. Was she looking for Susie or something? Surely she’s not actually here to bug him. ]
Uh. Hey. What do you mean?
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I mean you and your relentless fucking altruism. [ she points at him with her knife, gesturing up and down. ] Do you know how annoying it is?
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My altruism. [ Flat. Questioning. Eyes on the knife again, following it up and down as she moves it. ] Pretty annoying if you're coming all the way over here to cut me over it. I'm not going to apologize for trying to help.
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You're so goddamn nice. Kinda makes me wanna slit your throat like... All the time.
[ but she puts her knife away when she says that, so obviously it's not what julie's here to do. she folds her arms over her chest, scowling behind her mask. ]
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Oh. Cool. That's a normal reaction to have to niceness. [ The knife goes away and his shoulders drop down some. He moves a hand towards his mouth like he's going to bite his nails but never actually does it. ] So, uh, why aren't you-- ? [ The hand near his face is used to point at his neck and run an invisible line through it. Slice. ] Not that I want that.
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[ said like it's a joke, but it's not and they both know it. maybe susie wouldn't skin her, but she's possessive and that darkness in her was there well before the entity got its claws in. ]
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[ He nods, a little smile crosses his face for a second and he visibly relaxes into a slouch. Any guard just melted away. Susie, Susie, he adores you. He doesn't think she'd actually skin Julie and thinks that's probably an exaggeration to "it would upset Susie" though. Julie's a good friend to Susie and wouldn't hurt her feelings. That's what that is.
Okay so maybe Susie might tackle her to the ground or something? ]
And in the trial?
[ Didn't get him there either. He made it super easy too. Should he be questioning this and potentially making her change her mind on actually following through with the knife? Probably not. ]
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[ a normal thing to do would be to thank him for trying to help, and the thought does cross her mind, but that's dangerously close to showing appreciation or something and that's stupid. ]
Here. [ she reaches inside her jacket and pulls out a bottle that she abruptly tosses to quentin with no warning. the glass is thick though, fancy looking vodka bottle, if it falls it should be fine. ] You said you'd drink with me, right?
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[ Asking kindly about her well-being after she just said him being nice made her want to slit his throat is fine now because she's not going to do it. Ha.
The bottle gets tossed and he's honestly definitely not expecting thick glass. It almost smacks him right in the face and he only caught it by the grace of god, albeit entirely awkwardly in his elbow. ] Shit. [ He shifts the weight in his arm to grab it properly, looking at the label with a bemused expression. Okay. Didn't think she'd actually follow up on that one. ]
Uh- Y-Yeah, yeah. I did say that. [ Well. Guess he's about to be drinking now. He tries to recall how many different drugs are in his system today and how well they mix with alcohol. Should be just his own pills and maybe some- Whatever. He doesn't actually care. He's not pleased about the drunken sleep this'll lead to. That's going to be fucking horrific. Terrifying even. Maybe he can black out and not even dream.
Or being next to Julie is deterrent? Hopefully she doesn't ditch him somewhere. ]
You want to hang here or--? Do you even get along with anyone here?
[ No, right? Quentin's already taking the cap off the bottle and taking a swing of it. He makes a disgusted face, hating it and the burn. He coughs. And then just takes a second gulp of it. ] Ugh. [ He closes the medkit he had been filling, puts it aside in a safe spot then moves over to her and holds the bottle out. ]
Okay. Here. Where we going?
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[ she watches quentin fumble with the bottle with a raised eyebrow and a snort, a shake of her head at his question. she's probably threatened to gut at least half of the people there in the middle of otherwise seemingly normal conversations, so... yeah. doesn't really get along with them is a way to put it. ]
[ ahem. anyway. ]
You don't sleep 'cause of Fingers, right?
[ it's not a question so much as julie thinking things through as she speaks, because it doesn't occur to her until right then that she can't hang around here, and she's going to have to keep an eye on quentin. she sighs as she takes the bottle, lifts her mask just enough to take a drink, and then gestures for quentin to follow her. ]
Come to Ormond. That way if you pass out he can't get you.
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[ Quentin rubs under his nose, shrugging at her and looking anywhere but at her at the question. ]
Fingers- Right. Yeah, I don't sleep because of that plate of baked ziti.
[ He wonders what Julie thinks. Susie knows what Krueger did, at least to the extent that he hurt him very young. He starts tilting his head to try and peak under her mask at her when she drinks. He's not about to ask about her opinions but she seems to provide an answer for him that makes him crack a smile at her. ]
Cool. Okay. [ His hands find their way into his pockets and he waits for her to take point. He'll follow right next to her. The fog is the fog and killers know their way around better than he does. Especially when he's just started drinking... ]
You know Susie lets me sleep there sometimes. [ Not sure that was a secret? ] I hope that's not, um, massively invading your space or anything? Frank apparently knows. [ He leans his head back, making a face. ]
And like... drew on me.
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[ she holds the bottle tight as she leads the way — it's not a long walk for her, five or ten minutes at the very most — and decides she doesn't want to think too much about anything quentin says. she knows he's linked to freddy somehow, and her own... interactions with him have a million suggestions flit through her head, but it's none of her business and she sure as fuck doesn't want to end up feeling sympathetic toward quentin. ]
[ but that means at least she doesn't ask any questions, lets it lie and lets quentin move the conversation elsewhere. ]
Yeah, I know.
[ and her tone of voice suggests she's not happy about it, but she doesn't say any more on the topic. she hasn't said a word to julie about it, barely anything to frank even, because what is she going to do? susie knows she hates survivors being in ormond outside trials, in their space, but that said there's no reasonable way to say "hey don't bring your boyfriend here" so... quentin gets to sleep there. ]
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Not that he wants to talk about Krueger but he half-expected to be questioned on it. Frank would've said something, for sure. He doesn't know Julie well enough to know she wouldn't. That's appreciated. He's more than happy to move on there.
The bottle has only been tapped by him so far and he's starting to feel a little stupid for that. Maybe he should've waited. And not brought up invading her home by making it a spot he's frequenting? She sounds displeased. But, you know, he's there. He's kissing her friend. He should be able to talk to them without it being weird as hell. ]
I put all the movies I found to watch with Susie by that TV you guys had that I guess, uh, Joey brought in to, um, to try and date a ghost but it's good for regular non-cursed entertainment now.
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[ the mention of joey is something she can latch on to though, electing not to think too hard on the fact that quentin is apparently tight with joey too. of course he is. jesus christ. ]
God I wish he'd try and talk to her like a normal person.
[ and now they all have to be worried about this stupid tape because joey's a dumbass about girls. ]
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He's moving while looking behind them every so often because there are things in the fog, even if they haven't gone for him. Maybe it's his company lately. ]
Not exactly a normal person to try to talk to. But, yeah, I think re-watching that thing is insane. Once was probably enough to give her an idea he was interested. Has he always done things like that?
[ Joey, there are safer ways to try and get a date. Not that Quentin can do much talking about it. ]
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[ it's not a yes, but it's not a no either. still, julie says it with both the fondness and exhaustion appropriate for a friendship as long as theirs, but she's not going to tell quentin any fun details either. ]
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[ There's amusement hearing the fondness she's got in her tone. He doesn't expect Julie to go into specifics but that's a simple enough question. Yes or No. ]
He's charming enough.
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[ a nice way to say "well he has hecka intimacy issues like all four of us do and we lived in a small town so y'know after a while there's no more girls." ]
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[ Fond and exhaustion she used earlier echoed back faintly, tinged with sadness. He rubs his arm, shrugging both his shoulders up. ]
This is pretty small place too. She's, you know, different so maybe it'll stick.
[ Different by being a little dead revenge fueled girl that curses you. ]
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Can she even talk? I've never heard her say anything.
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[ temporary phone curses aside, julie visibly relaxes a little when ormond comes into view. just a few more minutes until she's on her home turf. ]
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[ He widens his eyes and snaps his fingers. ] Instant death. Is Adiris your friend? She asked me about religion once.
[ He picks up his pace a step, now that where they're going is in sight. Ormond is becoming a comforting place. It's a safe haven here. Susie is there. Certain demons are not. It's cold as hell but there are ways to stay warm. ]
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[ and another killer who goes easy on him? everybody just loves quentin huh. ]
Not really, but I try not to piss her off.
[ she feels like plague doesn't really grasp exactly why she's here, or rather that isn't some god looking out for her or whatever. it's just some cosmic parasite hellbent on sucking as much out of them as it can before it throws them away and moves on. ]
I don't know if Sadako cursed it on purpose, she just kinda... [ hm ] I think her shit gets fucky with tech? I haven't asked though.
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He nods, trying to visualize Julie talking to Adiris all casual like. Adiris sort of explained her reasoning to him. She thinks the Entity is her god and will fix everything so she follows it without question. It's sad, in a way. But maybe he's been doing the same thing thinking somebody will spare him eventually. ]
Maybe we can get Joey to ask if he pulls it off. I haven't asked around too much about her since I didn't want to make Yoichi uncomfortable.
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Are they... [ what's the word ] Linked?
[ she glances at quentin briefly when she asks, that's one she's never sure of when a new pair show up. the entity loves to bring in a survivor and killer together, but that doesn't mean they know eachother or are obviously connected somehow. though julie suspects sometimes they are more than they think. ]
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Um, they're... [ Linked is probably a good word for that. He wouldn't know how else to really describe survivors that come in with killers they actually know. Steve, Nancy, Jonathan and the Demogorgon. Jill and Nemesis, now Wesker along with the rest of the people from her city. Yoichi and Sadako. Him and Krueger. He doesn't know if there are others that are. Nobody brought it up or acts like it. ] Yeah. They are.
[ He looks back at her, curiosity peaked. ]
Are you linked to anyone? [ Maybe it just didn't come up. ]
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We went to school with Jeff. [ she puts her feet up on the edge of the little coffee table with a shrug. she knows jeff isn't a chatty guy but it still surprises her that nobody seems to know. ] We weren't friends or anything though, no idea why it picked him.
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He's quiet, thinking about Jeff and wondering if every killer has a counterpart now, however distant - but there's something that's more interesting in there two. ]
I wonder why it took you from different times. That's got to be, like, at least ten years, right?
[ Should he sit too? Quentin takes the seat closest to the fire after hovering for a minute and leans forward, propping his head up with his hand and looking around. ]
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[ closer to fifteen if she had to guess, but she hasn't asked. they've only spoken a few times since he turned up and as far as she can tell he has no idea why the entity chose him either. maybe there'll be a future tome that shines some light on the matter, maybe not. ]
[ julie looks at quentin when he sits, and to the bottle in her hands. she's gonna have to take her mask off, isn't she? fuck it. first she pushes it up just enough to take a drink, and then she pushes it up over her head and drops it down on the coffee table. the nonchalance as she reclines back into that chair is forced, but she's good at that. most of the time frank's the only one who sees through her unless they're really paying attention. ]
I try not to spend too much time thinking about the Entity and why it does anything.
[ a shrug as she takes another drink and leans over to offer the bottle to quentin. ]
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[ You guys can get tomes?
The mask comes off and there he goes, looking at her like he’s studying some kind of painting with a curious little smile on. Quentin at least as the foresight to look away after a second instead of outright staring like he had with Susie. Julie wouldn’t even take that off for a head injury that the strap might be rubbing against.
Quentin’s paying attention but he doesn’t know Julie. Not really. Any forcing she’s doing goes unnoticed for the most part. ]
Maybe I’m spending too much thinking about it…
[ He’s been thinking about it since he got here. Why it does things. Why him? Why then? Why why why why-
He smiles in thanks and takes the bottle, his drink deep. He makes another face at the alcohol but it’s better than the first two drinks he had now. ]
Can I ask why doesn’t your mask get a mouth?
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[ it's immediate, a little "duh" in tone, but julie looks at her mask on the coffee table and its X mouth with a thoughtful frown. Maybe there's something to it — a face with no mouth for a girl who spent almost her whole life feeling like she could never say what was on her mind except to the rest of legion, like they were the only people she could be herself around — but even if she was willing to do that kind of introspection, julie's certainly not willing to say that much to quentin. ]
[ she shrugs a shoulder ] Maybe I just really liked Miffy.
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[ an immediate retort, carrying an eye-roll because she knows what he meant. he waits for a response, taking a whole gulp out of the bottle again before putting it down on the table where she can easily reach it. drinking with julie: he sure meant it.
quentin leans back in the chair then raising an eyebrow. ]
What's Miffy? Is that a cartoon?
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Yeah, she was a [ she lifts her hands to either side of her head, two fingers pointed up on each in a mime for ears ] bunny with a little cross for a mouth.
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That's cute. You should make the bunny suit's mouth an X and turn it into Miffy.
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[ julie reaches for the bottle and takes a drink, holding it in her lap while she thinks. there's only one thing to do with quentin she's particularly interested in though. ]
So. [ immediate topic change. ] You and Suze are official now, eh?
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[ There's that topic. Quentin, in response, raises his shoulders up with a silly lovestruck smile on his face that reaches his eyes. Head dips and nods. There's no denial here. ]
Yeah. All official now. Susie's the best.
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[ it makes it harder to be mad about their relationship, and julie thinks it's still stupid as hell for susie to fall in with a survivor — she's much too soft, lets it shift her priorities — but there's nothing julie can do about it. she can... try to help, though. because she doubts quentin's really got a good idea how dark it can get for them and if he wants to be with susie he needs to be prepared for that. ]
God, look at you. [ it's lightly teasing, and julie takes a deeper drink and puts the bottle on the table. ]. The best, huh? Even when she gets mad?
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quentin has the inkling of how dark it is. he knows there's consequences but susie always keeps reassuring him it's nothing too serious, nothing she can't handle - but he knows she's lying, just not how hard. he knows susie has an edge to her he doesn't get to see but vastly underestimates it. thinks there's never any enjoyment to it.
maybe the buzz has him extra smiley about the topic of susie, his new favorite subject. ]
Yeah. I get mad too. [ He makes a bit of a face. ] Really mad. It's fine. [ He sighs, back to smiling. ] Mad or happy or sad or just completely rolling on those never sleep pills you have or giving me a jab so I stop getting in her way. She's the best still.
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[ he hasn't seen it. it gets bad, really bad. susie has a lot of anger in her, and having the power to really take that out on someone, to really rip into someone and make them hurt... ]
[ does she say something? does she leave it be? julie presses her lips together in a frown. ]
That's, um. It gets worse. A lot worse.
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[ Quentin’s dreamy loving look fades slowly into something confused, for a split second, then incredulous. He’s tired.
Part of him knows, seen the signs, heard of them but it’s been put off. Like sleep. Something that can’t be denied forever. He shakes his head dismissively and rubs at his own face. ]
Look. I know you don’t approve but if you’re about to make something up to get me to back off, it’s not going to work.
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[ with a sigh, julie turns to sit side-on in the armchair, knees pulled up and feet wedged in the corner. the temptation to keep drinking is there, but she's only just edging over into tipsy and she'd rather have her head on straight. ]
Would I rather you two didn't get together? Yeah, I haven't been fucking subtle about it. But ending it now would just hurt her even worse than it never happening to begin with, I'm not gonna try and make you do that. [ she shrugs a shoulder ] As if I could anyway.
[ julie looks at quentin, frowning. ]
But you can't hold on to this idealised version of her. The darkness goes deep in all of us, I know for a fact she's been doing her best to hide that from you.
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Okay... [ He nods, in understanding. In agreement. Yeah, she couldn't break them up. He's serious about this. And it would just hurt Susie for her friend to try to do that or if she actually got Quentin off. Susie doesn't need that.
But idealized? He's frowning back, something tense and cautious now. ]
...She's hiding that it- [ He spins two fingers by his temple. ] Gets to her a lot more than she's telling me. She says she's fine but I know it's not true. But that's not her darkness, right? It puts that in there.
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There's a reason we're killers, Smith. [ she's sure susie's told him how they got here, but with what she's seen and learned julie doesn't think any of them would be killers if it wasn't already in them. janitor or not. ] It can twist it, amplify it, but it can't change what's inside us.
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The reason was one time and that could be any of us. People can switch sides. It's not a requirement to be stuck like a killer forever. [ Or a survivor but- ] You can't think you're inherently evil, Julie.
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[ julie rolls her eyes, reaches for the bottle. she's starting to understand how this is her fault, how she encouraged and nurtured something in all of them that turned them into monsters, and she needs quentin to understand that that's a significant part of who susie is. ]
It's not about good or evil, it's about the fact that what we are runs deeper than one awful thing she was part of.
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[ grasping at straws. he trails off himself and huffs. he wishes she didn't just grab the bottle or he'd be chugging it right now. quentin's fidgeting in his seat and ends up messing around with his necklace again. he leans back, bouncing a leg, looking up at the ceiling of the lodge -- or the big gaping hole in the roof. ]
What are you then? If you say 'killers' I'm telling you to shut up.
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People with the right kind of anger and malice for the Entity to use? [ she looks down at her knees, thinking. frowning. pulls at a stray thread. this is almost certainly saying too much, but... it's for susie. ] I think... There has to be a part of you already willing to hurt people-- really hurt them. People who've never done a thing to you. Doesn't matter if you have or haven't, just have to have that bit of venom already in your heart for the Entity to get its hooks in.
[ she's never said any of this to the others, but she's thought about it a lot, because otherwise why them? why joey and susie when neither of them are close to as unhinged or vicious as she and frank? when some of those survivors must have significant body counts and were probably much quicker to kill than any of them ever were before this place. it's what makes sense. ]
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The right kind of anger. [ His isn't good enough, he thinks. But then she continues and he picks his head up to look at her, the worrying his bottom lip in thought. No. He was right. His anger really isn't good enough. He doesn't have that in him. Venom and anger and hate but it's not unbiased, it's not uncontrolled that it'll hit a bystander. His heart would break if he hurt someone that never deserved it. Theirs would not. That's the difference, he supposes. There's a harsh reality to this that. Julie has that willingness.
Susie has that, it turns out. ]
Fuck. Okay. [ He rubs his face with one hand and looks off, drinking deeply from it as if that'll damper the discomfort and unease and everything. He holds it against his chest after stopping, which he might've only had to do to breathe. And just stares at the floor for a moment blinking like he wants to fight tears. Maybe he's always doing that. ]
So... You put a lot of thought into that, didn't you? I've been trying to figure it out. Why it's you that gets the knife but not me? Jill would put a bullet in any of you instantly but she wouldn't hurt someone that didn't deserve it. I didn't have the other side's insli..- [ He grunts and clears his throat. Rubbing his face. ] Insight.
[ He picks at his necklace again, then he's got another drink going. He'll give it back after with a significant dent. ]
I think I'm drunk now.
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[ any further things to say on that topic are cut off by a laugh at quentin's slip, when he admits he's drunk, and julie reaches over to take the bottle back. maybe that's enough for him considering he doesn't usually drink. ]
When's the last time you drank?
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[ He's patting his cheeks to wake himself up now that the alcohol has officially really got to him. He looks at her, face scrunched up and one eye closed. ]
Um. Once here, like when I first got here, with moonshine they found because I thought getting blackout drunk would maybe prevent- [ He gestures at his head and almost slaps himself in the face. He drops his hand quickly. You didn't see that. ] Didn't work. I was just drunk dreaming.
[ He sinks into the chair, snorting. ]
Five or four cakes since then. Cake years. You know how it does the whole cycle and comes back to the cakes? Whatever. And I've only drank like once before getting to this place.
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[ anyway. julie snorts a laugh, a bit surprised. ] Okay, yeah. I'm cutting you off.
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No. [ That came a little whined out. ] I'm fine. I can handle it. I've been way more fucked up than any sorta drunk. [ He's reaching for that bottle. Grabby hand. ]
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You're gonna be so fucking hungover, I'm not dealing with it.
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But you don't have to deal with it. I've got so many things for pain. [ He puts a hand in his pockets like he'll prove it to make a point and- ] Oh. I emptied these before I got here. [ He throws a hand up in frustration. Then drops it. And folds his arms. He gives up. ]
Okay. Fine. I wouldn't want you all hungover either.
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[ it's not really, julie tries not to dump her problems in anyone's lap — even his — especially not when they're problems of her own making, but it's a funny thought right. frank having to deal with julie while she's hungover and bitchy as hell. ]
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You're being kind of cool. Telling me, like, horrible things about Susie's inner darkness that I have to think about. But that's not changing how I feel. That's... I'll think about it later. [ He looks at her, upside down ] Do you need to bitch? I'll listen. Or I'll bitch. [ He holds a hand up, middle finger up. ] Fuck this hole in your ceiling.
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What did you mean before, people can switch sides?
[ she just remembered he said that, like part of her mind completely blocked it out until just now. asking the question comes with a bit of discomfort behind the eye, like the start of a headache, but the words are out of her mouth now. suck it, entity. ]
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I keep collecting these pages and stuff? You know. I'm up all night so I just read everything I get my hands on. One said one of you, one of the killers, used to be on our side. So I keeping thinking, why not the other way around?
[ He raises his brows at her, expression hopeful. ]
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[ there might be something to it if the entity wants her to stop listening this badly. ]
Maybe... [ she presses the heel of her palm to her eye as the noise dies off, trying to focus. ] Going that way's probably harder than the other though, right?
[ hm ]
Or maybe not. The fuck do I know?
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Maybe! Does your head hurt? [ She looks like she's having a harder time being awake than he is suddenly, he thinks. Maybe she was the lightweight the whole time. If he weren't drunk, he'd probably be thinking harder about it. ] Well, yeah. Going insane and snapping would be way easier than reeling in murderous impulses probably. But not impossible.
I guess you don't know since you-you...- [ He points at her. ] Haven't really tried.
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[ she pulls a bit of a face at his finger though, a frown of deep offence like one might at being told off by a parent, but relaxes and looks at his face with a bit of a shrug. ]
Yeah. I'm not really interested in switching sides.
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Thas tuh- [ Nail out of the mouth. ] That's the problem though. That's why we don't have proof it works. Nobody would be interested in this. Why would any of you guys want to switch sides? You get power, a place to sleep that's not a cheap tent, and pizza. I get murdered sometimes up to twelve times on a daily basis, I have two shirts which often have buckets of blood dumped on them, and then there's every time I-
[ He shakes his head, rocking in his seat and yawning again. Then patting his pockets like he's looking for-- Oh right. He emptied those. Second time he's forgot. ] Who the fuck would wanna come to this side? It's awful. [ He covers his face with his hands. ] I'm not enough to convince anyone to do that.
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I don't know if that's true. [ she leans her head against the back of her chair, frown back on her face as she thinks about her words. ] I wasn't joking when I said she'd skin me if I hurt you.
[ back to picking at her jeans, there's a lot of thoughts that won't fully form. won't connect. little fragments based on things she knows or believes, but they don't mean anything on their own. ]
[ julie sighs. ] Anyway. Not like any of us even know where to start with that kind of thing.
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Can you guys go in the hatch? Maybe she can jump in with me. See where it goes. I know there's a block for the, uh... the... exit. It gets those spikes. But that never has any.
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[ huh. julie pats down her pockets while she considers that and pulls a pack of cigarettes out of her hoodie — sorry quentin she's reached the point of drunk where smoking sounds great — and lifts one to her lips, leaving it perched there at the corner of her mouth. ]
Do you think she could?
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Maybe? Why not? It just drops you back at camp so it's worth trying? ...Do you have a lighter for that? [ He pats his pockets for a third time and oh right. Man he's drunk. ]
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[ ... what were they talking about again? the hatch? going through the hatch, that's right. ]
I dunno. It feels... Different to everything else in the trial.
[ she doesn't know how exactly, it just is. ]
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Different how?
[ She doesn't know and he still asked. ] I think it feels not Entity, if that makes sense. It has this sound that's very... [ There's an attempt to mimic it. He hums a high note, surprisingly not off-key though he does squeak in the middle of doing it. ] Like hymns.
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Yeah-- yeah. Not Entity.
[ she knows the noise pretty well. granted, she's more one to slug for that sweet 4k but sometimes the hatch opening can't be helped. ]
Dunno what that means though.
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Maybe someone made it. [ He sings it out then waves a hand while he talks. ] Like… that isn’t here anymore because they got out. But now it’s route is cut off…
[ He lulls his head to one side, barely keeping an eye open. He outright punched himself then blinks a few times. ]
Do you remember when the- you could get out through it earlier? But now you can’t find it anymore until everyone else is gone. I think it hides it because there’s a way out in those tunnels. Or used to be anyway.
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Yeah, I remember having to patrol the fucking place just in case all two of you decided to take the trash chute out of the trial.
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Yeah, it was easier. Now the keys are a waste of space and don't really do anything. And I think it all changed because it really could've did something. So I thinng- I think that it was made by someone that got out and the Entity covered it up. Literally covers it until the last second in a trial.
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Do you need to sleep?
[ it's a sudden shift in topic, sure, but it's also a fair bet that at any given time quentin probably does need to sleep. even without the alcohol. ]
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Do I need to- [ He snorts, giggling between words. His fingers turn to point at himself. ] Me? Yeah. Fucking probably!
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[ wow okay. ]
You should, uh. Do that.
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Yeah… Don’t leave if I do. [ He leans back again, sinking. ] You said you wouldn’t. I need one of you here.
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[ she leans over to put the vodka bottle on the table even, no more drinking! though she does think about texting susie to come take over when she can, just in case. ]
I'm an asshole but even I'm not that bad.
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[ He unfolds his legs on the chair to turn on it sideways again, pulling his beanie off his head and putting it over his face. ]
Yeah, you’re pretty cool. I’d hang with you.
[ He jerks himself awake after letting his eyes drop under there for a minute then pulls the hat off to eye her. Okay. Eyes closed. ]
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@photocard
I wouldn't flatter yourself. I'll hold a conversation with most of the survivors even when I text them by accident.
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What do you have their numbers for if you're only talking to them when it's an accident? Or is that just your cover story?
@deepwound
You got any better ideas?
[ please have a better idea ]
ty for binning captcha
[ Sorry, no better idea, babe. ]
sry not sry this is long for no reason
when it happened to patrick, out in the middle of lover's lake - when he watched some kid he barely knew rise up out of the water like some kind of god, eyes wide and frightened by something no one could see - eddie was more prepared. but it didn't feel any different, watching someone's limbs crack and their body contort. the familiarity, or lack thereof in his and patrick's case, changed nothing. it did not lessen the trauma, the terror. the guilt.
eventually, they were able to give it a name - vecna's curse. a childish label, stolen from a fantasy game, but not a name that was unfitting for the ailment or the person responsible for it. eventually, they came up with a plan to fight it, to end it. end him, and when eddie lay bleeding out in the middle of some phantom copy of his own street, he thought maybe they'd done it. maybe they'd beat him. maybe he was dying, but maybe no one else would have to, and that seemed worth it.
the fog seemed like an unfair trade for sacrificing his life. finding some of his friends here felt like a blessing and a curse at the same time, comforting and nauseating, depending on the hour, but if there's anything that helped him keep his shit at least somewhat together, it was the lack of anything vecna. no vine hivemind, no clocks, no fucking demon bats. crows and a whole bunch of twisted psychopaths, sure - but no vecna.
and then it happened to leon. in the middle of a trial, pursued by what appeared to be a tiny girl, the air crackling with static - it happened again, almost exactly the same way. no warning, none of the same signs, but the lifting, the snapping bones, the heavy thud of a body hitting the ground - it was all too close, too familiar.
eddie survived that trial, somehow. but that's how it goes, doesn't it - chrissy, patrick. they both died in front of him, like he was meant to witness them. like he was meant to be punished for - something. fred died in the middle of the street right behind eddie's house, for christ's sake. and max - eddie doesn't want to think about max. he doesn't want to know.
the anxiety is still festering when he makes it back to the campfire. it builds in his chest, starts to make him feel like he's suffocating. starts to make him feel a little crazy, honestly, to have to sit here and listen and watch while everyone else acts like nothing happened. like people getting folded up like paper cranes is just an every day occurrence - and maybe it is, maybe eddie shouldn't be as messed up about it as he is, but - it turns out trauma doesn't work that way. most of them weren't even there in the trial, so he can't fault them for being able to relax, but it feels isolating.
he goes for a walk. gets up and murmurs something about being right back to no one in particular, and wanders off into the woods to get some space, some air, some distance. eddie's gotten better at navigating through the fog, but this time, he doesn't really think about anything. no place in mind, but eventually the air starts to feel a little crisper, colder, and the ground underneath his sneakers starts to crunch a little differently.
when he comes back to himself, he's surrounded by white. snow, a disabled ski lift creaking quietly above his head as a biting breeze blows through. eddie blinks. he's been to ormond before, but never outside of a trial. never uninvited, and there's a reason for it - he might be cool with julie, but there's at least one of threegion that has made it clear they're not really a fan of him, and no telling how the others feel, but eddie could probably guess that they're not as nice ("nice") as julie.
but it seems quiet, and that's enough to tempt eddie forward. he shoves his hands into his jacket pockets and heads toward the lodge, jaw clenched loosely. inside, he's cautious. he takes his hands out of his pockets, takes quiet, wary steps and swivels his head as he looks around. he's never really taken the time before to take anything in inside, rushed by adrenaline and the need to survive, but he takes a second now. notes the mural on the wall that he's somehow never noticed before, the ski rack. the silence should be unsettling, but for eddie - something tight begins to unwind his chest very slowly.
satisfied that he's not about to be ambushed, eddie practically collapses onto the couch near the fireplace. he hunches forward a little, rests his elbows on his knees, and drops his face into his hands, fingers pushing up into his fringe just slightly. he exhales, long and heavy, breathing out the words more than speaking them clearly. ]
Oh, Jesus Christ...
gets out my pipe and reading glasses we're in for a long night kids
[ one could say it was noticeable in her trials, but there's maybe four survivors tops who could probably tell. rarely could julie ever be convinced to let someone escape, but she'd let someone have a second chance if the circumstances were right. (usually if they fucked up comically enough.) ]
[ funnily enough, julie's the one who's really fastidious about not having survivors in their space, and if they are here invited then not longer than necessary. anything to stop them feeling welcome, like they can just waltz in whenever they want. it's important to keep that line in the sand between them so they don't run the risk of going soft, so the survivors don't start feeling like they can take liberties. so when julie senses someone on their turf it pushes her from stewing on her anger to deciding this idiot is gonna get it. grabs her mask and a knife and comes out from her room ready to kill. ]
Whoever's here, you better have a real good reason for-- [ speaking of going soft, she stops dead when she comes out on the landing and sees a familiar mess of curls on the couch downstairs. ] ... Eddie?
[ that's... concerning. for starters it's really not like him to just turn up in a killer's realm unannounced, right? he's smarter than that. she pushes the mask up on top of her head and rushes down the stairs, something's wrong here. ]
What happened?
i sat down with the goal to make this short and still failed
it clicks for him, as he stands there on the bottom floor with his arm extended toward the landing and a broken bottle in his hand, staring up at a mask he's maybe a little too familiar with, that he knows the voice behind it. or that was behind it. julie takes off her mask, and once eddie's confirmed that it's her, he immediately relaxes, arm dropping, bottle falling out of his hand. maybe it says something about him that he's so quick to let his guard down, knowing that it's her, but that's - something for him to think about later. or never. probably never.
eddie sits back down, this time on the arm of the couch. he brings an unsteady hand back up to his face, presses his thumb and two of his fingers against his eyelids and pulls inward until he's pinching the bridge of his nose. on the one hand, he's relieved that it's just julie. on the other hand, he doesn't like that he's been caught partway into - what? an anxious meltdown? on his third mutant hand, needed for this point - being at the campfire and trying to keep his shit together felt worse than this, so.
he drops his hand, lips pressed into a tight line, eyes still squeezed closed. eddie doesn't answer julie for a moment, has only really barely registered that she's come down the stairs just by the sound of it, but he turns his head away slightly. after a beat, he lifts the same hand he drops and waves it kind of vaguely, like he's brushing something off. he shakes his head, opens his eyes, takes another second to inhale. ]
I, ah - it's. [ he exhales, tries not to think about the sound of breaking bones. how the fuck does anyone get used to that shit? why does it keep happening right in front of him? when is he gonna catch a goddamn break? eddie swallows around a strangled note of frustration and shakes his head again. he still hasn't looked at julie directly now that she's taken off her mask. ] It's nothing, man. I just - I don't know, I needed to get outta there and I guess I just - [ quieter, more to himself: ] What the fuck?
[ he looks at julie, finally, and he just looks all kinds of roughed up, both physically - there's still blood on his shirt from his trial, though most of it is not his - and mentally. with zero context, he pleads: ]
What is she? Jesus Christ, give me a goddamn break already—
https://i.imgur.com/PwAm5mS.png
[ she used to be good at this — comforting people, making them feel safe. sure some of it was artificial, learned care rather than genuine, but it was still something she could do. nobody comes to her for that, so as a skill it's regressed a little. ]
[ hesitantly, julie comes to stand by him where he's perched on the arm of the couch and lightly (perhaps a little more lightly than necessary, she's not exactly used to touching survivors, has no idea how that strength translates outside a trial) lifts a hand to his shoulder. at the very least, the worry in the frown she looks down at him with is genuine, as is the concern in her voice. ]
What is who?
[ should she push him to talk about it? or just try and distract him? she has no idea. ]
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eddie's knee bounces anxiously, the chain clipped to his belt loop shifting quietly against his thigh. he brings his thumbnail to his teeth, chews for a second as he tries to put a sentence together that doesn't sound totally deranged. he remembers, briefly, trying to explain to dustin and steve what happened to chrissy, and how absolutely batshit insane it sounded even to himself at the time.
he looks up at julie. funny, how they were talking about him being taller not that long enough. ]
The - shit, the girl with the - the goddamn TVs everywhere. She just - [ he flings his hand out a little bit, gesturing at nothing. ] Kennedy just lifted, and then all his shit started to break and it was just like before. Just like before. [ he crosses his arms, but it seems more like he's just trying to comfort himself, slightly hunched in on himself. ] She's not - she's not Vecna, or Henry or whatever his name is, but it's the same.
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[ though the description makes her suck in a breath through her teeth-- julie remembers well enough him telling her about the cheerleader who got fucking folded right there in his home. maybe if she'd known that was a thing sadako did she would've warned him. probably not, but she can't help but wish she had, seeing eddie like this, right on the edge of a breakdown. ]
Shit, Eddie... [ not munson, or some other vaguely affectionate insult. she only seems to use his name when she's concerned, she's learning. or would, if she was paying attention to that. ] That's-- I can't even imagine.
not that long enough? one day. ONE DAY i'll make some goddamn sense
eddie squeezes his bicep, shifting his gaze away from julie and down to his sneakers. there's a dead, wet leaf stuck to the rubber toe. eddie uses the bottom of his opposite shoe to try and brush it away, just to give his brain something else to focus on for a second. ]
I thought I - [ he catches himself. ] I thought we were done with that shit. Got away from it at the very least.
[ and that feels kind of shitty to admit out loud - to be grateful that at least if vecna was still around back home, being here meant eddie wouldn't have to deal with it anymore. he tries not to think about henderson too often, about gareth and the guys, his uncle, but sometimes he wonders if they're doing okay without him, if they're safe.
eddie drags a hand over his face, forcing himself to take another deep breath. ]
I ran in 'cause I thought I could save him, you know? Take a hook from him so he'd have more time - [ he's referencing whatever weird-ass pact he seems to have with the entity, where he can claim someone else's hook states as his own. ] And as soon as I got close enough -
[ eddie shakes his head again, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip. he focuses on the weight on his shoulder, and while it's comforting, it's also kind of sobering in that eddie seems to realize, belatedly, that he really should not be here. as nice as it was to have some peace and quiet for all of - what, fifteen seconds? - and as ... strangely kind julie has been in the face of this mini meltdown, he's probably definitely crossing some boundaries.
he clears his throat, uncrosses his arms and starts to stand. ]
I, uh - I'm sorry. I really didn't mean - shit, I should go.
no you won't
No-- no. It's fine. [ a little rushed, but she doesn't feel right just shooing him off when he's clearly in the middle of some shit. ] Nobody else is here right now, so.
[ she gestures with an awkward swing of her arm and immediately regrets it, tries not to let it show on her face. she's just always a little uncomfortable without some facade to prop her up, but they've kind of moved past "bitchy and violent" as standard, and right now certainly isn't the best time to pull that one back out. ]
I can leave you alone if you just wanna be by yourself. It's fine.
[ "it's fine" again, jesus. being nice to people is hard. ]
how the fuck has it been two weeks
eddie sinks back down slowly onto the arm of the couch, his shoulders sagging a little as he pushes out a heavy exhale. he lifts one of his hands and rubs his palm down over the bottom half of his face and shakes his head slightly before letting his hand fall and come to rest by his thigh.
he should elaborate, probably. ] I don't... want to be alone.
[ eddie looks back down again, but it's not out of shame or embarrassment. he just feels... drained, physically and otherwise, and though the staticky, shocky feeling of anxiety is still buzzing through his veins and clouding up his chest, he can feel it slowly starting to dissipate, and the relief is exhausting. quietly, he nudges at some of the broken glass by his shoes, scattered everywhere from when he smashed a bottle against the brick fireplace not too long ago. he looks up again. ]
... I'll clean that up.
don't lie to me like that
Yeah. [ it's just a little teasing. testing the waters to see how he is with that right now. ] Later though.
[ he looks exhausted and julie imagines he feels even worse, she's not gonna make him tidy up right now. even if he can't just come in here and start smashing bottles and then leave. for the moment, he just needs somewhere safe and calm and that's here apparently, and that confuses the hell out of julie but at least it's something she thinks she can provide. she's at least mildly confused by things with eddie at all times anyway, she can handle it. ]
[ gently, julie nudges him toward the actual couch with the hand on his shoulder ] I'll stay with you.
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the gentle teasing earns a soft exhale and a faint smile from eddie, and when julie attempts to guide him to sit properly on the couch, he goes easily, turning slightly and sliding from the arm down to the cushions. though it's not luxurious or plush by any means, eddie sinks into it, and for the first time since he stumbled in here, he takes a deep breath and then breathes it back out nice and slow. he drags both of his hands down his face, and tries not to think about - whatever the fuck that girl is anymore. focuses on the subtle warmth from the fireplace instead, and how quiet the lodge is when there isn't a generator hissing away or echoing screams in the distance as fellow survivors are injured and hooked.
it's kinda nice, actually. though most things probably are when you spend all your time huddled around a campfire and sleeping in the woods.
idly, he picks at the front of his shirt with one hand, pulling it up from where it's stuck to him a bit, still a little tacky with mostly-dried blood. he probably should have cleaned up when he got back to camp, but that's another thing that hadn't crossed his mind until now. ah, well. he glances at julie, feeling tired but grateful for her company, even if he had to come in swinging and nearly hyperventilating to get it. ]
Threegion's not gonna come back and go all - [ he raises a hand, curls his hand into a loose fist and makes a couple lazy stabbing motions before dropping his hand again, ] - on me for being here, are they?
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[ she picks at a loose thread on one of those cushions, stares down at her hand to stop herself from watching eddie creepily to try and figure out how he's doing. though she does look up at him at the question. ]
Nah. [ she shakes her head. ] Might give me shit about it, but that's all.
[ and she's fine with that actually, even if it means admitting she's being a massive hypocrite right now. better that then turfing eddie out to have a whole meltdown god knows where. ]
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eddie sinks a little more into the couch, turns his head slightly to look at julie, then looks down at himself. at his body that looks like it's melting into the cushions. he plucks at his shirt again, then looks back up at her, smile faint and a little tired. ]
... Well. If it'll help, you can tell 'em you stabbed me.
[ ha ha. you know. because he's wearing someone else's blood, and if you don't look hard enough you can barely even tell that it's not his. ]
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[ as she says that, she turns a little toward him, leaning against the back of the couch, and reaches out a hand little hesitantly to touch his shirt, frowning. though her expression relaxes a little when she realises most of that blood isn't his. ]
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but julie just touches his shirt and it really seems to dawn on eddie in that moment that he really must look like a goddamn horror show. he knows he's basically painted red, and it's not the first time his clothes have been stuck to him with his or someone else's blood, but it's the first time he's really stopped to consider what it looks like to someone else. outside of a trial, where it doesn't really feel all that out of place, considering.
eddie wets his lips and looks up from her hand at his shirt, his voice quiet. ] It's, uh... not mine. [ well. ] Most of it.
[ a lot of it is leon's. after that girl snapped him ten way to fucking sunday and left him there, eddie had found whatever fucking courage he could muster and swooped in to see if there was anything he could do to help him, panic and fear choking him up as he dragged his body into his lap and begged him to get up, promised him he was gonna be okay, knowing in the back of his mind that leon wouldn't be getting back up again. not until everyone else was dead, or someone got the gates open and the entity called for the end. ]
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We've got a bathroom if you want-- [ wait. she gasps suddenly and sits up straight. ] I've got something for you. Just-- stay there.
[ despite the situation, she looks a little excited as she pulls herself up off the couch. about to rush off back to her room unless eddie protests. ]
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eddie blinks at her, still absently picking at the front of his shirt, stiff and tacky. ]
O... kay? Okay.
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[ she briefly thinks about telling eddie to close his eyes so she can surprise him with it, but what actually happens is-- ] Hey, catch. [ julie balls up the sweater and throws it at his head from the balcony. ]
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there's plenty of other shit he's noticed before now, but has never really thought too hard about. skis, for instance, but there's no mountain nearby that he knows of, so - on theme, but kind of pointless otherwise.
julie's not gone for long, and eddie looks up at the sound of her footsteps from up above him, and just barely reacts in time to fling a hand out to catch the ball of fabric she hurls at him. it's quite obvious that it's a shirt, which only confuses him more because julie mad it sound like she had something specifically for him, and not just like - a logical replacement for his mucked up shirt, but. he's not gonna complain.
eddie sits stands up, starts to shake out the shirt, and pauses when he finally gets a look at the front of it. it's - the fucking DARE shirt they joked about. eddie can't help but laugh at it, quiet but genuine as he holds it out in front of him. he looks up at julie again after a moment, and he says, like an idiot: ]
... You made me a shirt.
[ because it's too specific to be something she just happened to find somewhere in one of the realms. ]
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[ and maybe it took a while of julie huffing and puffing over one wrecked shirt before frank pointed out to her that ormond is literally full of bags of luggage and there's probably shirts in there that she could use, don't worry about it. what's important is the way julie smiles, bright and wide at the look on eddie's face when he holds up the shirt. ]
[ she comes back down the stairs and throws herself down on the couch next to eddie, sitting sideways again so she can face him, and pulls a foot up on the couch. ]
So if you want to get cleaned up or whatever, you've got a clean shirt to change into.
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when julie sits again and tells him he's free to clean up, eddie hesitates for a second, then lets go of the shirt with one hand to kind of gesture in two different directions with a finger. ]
Where's, uh...?
[ the bathroom. where is the bathroom. ]
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[ of course he wouldn't know where the bathrooms are, they can't get to them in trials, she doesn't know why so don't ask. she twists in her seat and points out a door by one of the flights of stairs, (and, uh. the giant fucking hole in the wall. great joke from the entity putting the hole next to the shower.) ]
It's kinda cramped, but it's a shower.
[ she says that much with a slightly awkward laugh, oddly self-conscious about the whole thing suddenly. it's kind of dim and dingy in there, but they keep it clean and uncluttered — julie would kill everyone if they didn't — and there's a bathtub with a shower, and a sink. and it's got surprisingly more headroom than one might expect, which is probably why that's the one with the shower. ]
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eddie nods his head once, then somewhat awkwardly gets up. he murmurs a quiet be right back, and then he's off with his new shirt in the direction of the bathroom, closing the door behind him.
it's weird, once inside. eddie stands there, staring at the door like he doesn't know what to do with himself, shirt still clutched in one hand. after a moment, he turns around on his heels, and startles a little at his own reflection in the mirror above the sink. eddie averts his eyes quickly, not interested in seeing himself covered in someone else's blood. not interested in knowing what he might have looked like to anyone who might have found him back home, if anyone even found him at all. to this day, eddie still feels sick and guilty every time he thinks about henderson's stupid crying face hovering above him.
gritting his teeth a little, eddie drapes his clean shirt over the edge of the sink and then turns away from the mirror slightly so he can peel his jacket and his bloodied shirt off. now that he's alone, it's easy to kind of backslide a little, his thoughts drifting back to the trial. to leon, and the girl who just - fucking folded him up like paper before dropping him like - well, like dead weight. eddie takes a deep, shaking breath and turns back to the sink, purposely avoiding looking at his own reflection. he moves the clean shirt out of the way, then turns on the sink and shoves his hellfire shirt under the water, watching the water turn a rusty brownish-pink color as the blood starts to come out of it and swirl down the drain.
a minute ago, a shower sounded like a goddamn miracle, but now eddie's not sure he has the energy for it. if he deserves a luxury like that when people are dead. in the end, he skips the shower entirely. rinses and wrings out his club shirt so he can use it as a washcloth, wiping and dabbing as much of the dried blood off of his skin as he can. when he's done, he wrings his shirt out again, turns off the sink, and reaches for his new shirt. it's such a stupid thing, but it does make him laugh a little, a quiet breath escaping through his nose as he pulls it on.
even all cleaned up, eddie does not look at himself. he takes his wet shirt and his jacket and about five minutes after slinking off, eddie steps out of the bathroom. he clears his throat, slowly making his way back toward the couch, and the fireplace. ]
Is it, uh. Is it cool if I like - drape this? To dry.
[ his hellfire shirt, he means, lifting his hand and giving it a little shake just in case it's not clear. ]
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[ a minute or two of staring at the bathroom door like a creep passes and julie eventually makes herself get up, takes herself upstairs to grab a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and drops down onto the couch when she comes back. all of it is really just ways to keep her mind occupied and off the fact that having someone here makes her more anxious than she would've expected, but that's probably all there is to it. just don't think too hard on it. ]
[ she's curled into the corner of the couch that eddie had been in when he comes out of the bathroom sooner than expected, and julie looks over, unable to hide the little smile seeing him in that stupid shirt puts on her face. ]
Uh-- sure. Yeah.
[ she gestures to the fireplace and the space around it like he needs help finding it. excellent job, jules. ]
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when he turns back, eddie leaves his jacket over the back of the couch, and he's only semi-awkward for a second or two before he sits back down on the couch with julie, taking up the opposite side. not quite in the corner, but not quite in the middle and all up in julie's space. he sinks down a little, sagging into the cushions much like he had been before, but this time he seems a little bit more comfortable now that he's not wearing someone else's blood.
eddie lulls his head to look at julie, notes the cigarettes in her hand, and puts his own hand out. he curls his fingers, silently asking for one. ]
Not a bad job.
[ he says about the shirt, smiling at her a little. he still looks... very tired, but the melt down from earlier is mostly behind him for now. ]
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[ her eyes track over his face, trying to figure out how he's feeling right now, and she leans toward him to hand over the pack and a lighter. ]
I'm glad you think so, because you're actually contractually obliged to love it actually.
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truthfully, it's a really dope shirt, though half of the reason he likes it at all is because it's an inside joke between them. the other half is because it's hand made - because she put in the effort to bring a dumb joke to life, when she was not contractually obligated to do so. he says it's not a bad job, but he's pretty pleased.
eddie slides the lighter and the cigarettes out of her hand, bringing the pack up to his face so he can pluck one free with his mouth. he hands the cigarettes back, gets his own lit in two attempts and then holds the lighter back out to her as well. finally, he turns a little sideways so he's facing julie, lifting his arm a bit so he can rest it along the back of the couch.
he inhales a cloud of smoke, tilts his chin down and to the side a bit to exhale away from them, then wets his lips before he looks back up. he leans his cheek against his arm, blinks a bit sleepily. ] I don't remember signing shit.
[ he smiles, lazy and teasing. ]
Guess it doesn't matter though. [ and then, quieter. ] I do kinda love it.
"actually contractually obliged to love it actually" why
[ which is good, because it means she hears eddie says he kinda loves it and that makes julie smile. wide and stupid for a moment, and she turns her head to look away for a moment while she wills the heat on her face not to turn into a blush because she'd really hate to kill eddie in his new shirt. ]
... Good. [ ahem ]
@godownon
Well if we were back in Ormond I'd invite you over to "study."
By which I mean "make out without our parents knowing."
So I'm thinking something along those lines?
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You're inviting me over to make out???
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I could like
DIE.
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I can come get you if you want.
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Yes.
Come get me.
Hold my hand.
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I'll walk you here and back. Be about fifteen minutes?
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[ eddie's mouth opens in semi-mock offense when julie steals the cigarette's from him, looking at her with mild disbelief. he's the one who came out here - by himself! - to snoop around for shit to bring back to camp (sure, mostly for himself, but if he'd found anything he thought could be useful for someone else, he wouldn't have hesitated to bring whatever back for them), and she's claiming a finder's fee? for what? finding him, when he specifically said she could and should wait by the gates if she was insisting on coming to get him?
eddie scoffs, reaching for the cigarettes. ]
Finder's fee my ass, Jules, you didn't—
[ but julie freezes instead of jerking her hand away the way eddie was expecting her too, and that's enough to make him pause too, eyebrows furrowing when julie practically ignores him and spins around. it has not slipped eddie's mind that they're not exactly safe from the nightmare monstrosity that apparently lives here, but it's been pretty quiet, and from the handful of times eddie's had to face that thing, he's learned that it doesn't really come quietly.
also in his few encounters, eddie has been fortunate in that he hasn't seen it in its... festive form, so when he catches a very very brief glimpse of white in the distance, shifting behind some trees and brush, he mistakes it for something far less harmful. ]
It's - that's a snowman. Someone's - probably just fucking around.
[ but julie's got her knife out, and if he knows anything about julie - which is admittedly, not very much and not as much as he would like to know - it's that she doesn't spook easily, and she's not stupid. the way she backs up toward him, broadening herself to act like a shield between eddie and whatever it is she thinks she saw, it's enough to convince eddie that maybe she knows better.
eddie shoves the disposable camera in his back pocket and curls his hand in the bend of julie's elbow, pulling her along with him as he starts to move, backing away from the scattering of cars toward some fences close by. ]
C'mon. Not without you.
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If it comes for us you better run your ass out of here. [ julie is generally firm in the things she says, serious and unwavering when she needs to be, but stern isn't a tone she takes often. ] I'm faster than both of you, I'll be fine.
[ never mind they're talking about a malevolent manifestation of rage and fear that has a much tighter link with the entity than her and also can teleport, though without a ton of lockers littered around the place julie doubts it can do much in that regard. she just knows she's not leaving eddie to that thing if she can do something about it, even if 'something' happens to be occupying its attention by dying horribly. ]
[ she's just... not going to think about what it means that she finds herself so often worried about this guy. ]
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creeping into a jungle gym of fences, eddie casts julie a look like he think she's a little bit crazy - which, he does, that's not a new observation, he's just making it evident in this moment. ]
What are you gonna do, fight it? It'll eat you alive, dude. [ eddie says this casually, but there's nothing casual about it. the dredge creeps him the fuck out, and what does eddie do when he's scared? he either screeches like an idiot... or he copes with sarcasm and humor. he flings out a hand, peering around the edge of a fence and then glancing back at julie. ] And between the two of us, I'm more experienced.
[ at... being eaten alive. it's funny, if you know what happened to him. and by funny, it's really just fucked up and traumatic and not really that funny at all. regardless, eddie doesn't elaborate and he doesn't expect julie to understand, either. instead, he looks back around the edge of the fence again, and murmurs:]
I want those cigarettes back. We can split 'em. Finder's fee.
[ he makes a sound like he's sucking his teeth. like he's unimpressed. but! it looks like the coast is clear for now, so eddie keeps moving, waving julie along. ]
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[ but still-- ] You that eager for another death, Munson? [ she shoves his shoulder to punctuate. following through the fence maze. ] Based on how easy you are to catch, I'd say I've got a better chance keeping that thing occupied than you.
[ he's a support class and that's fine. let the rogue handle it. things she'd say if she cared enough to learn about d&d. ]
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I'm easy to catch because I let you catch me like - seventy-five percent of the time.
[ they both know that's not true. eddie's not entirely useless when it comes to taking chase, but he's definitely not as good as, say, david or meg, and when julie catches him it's definitely because she's faster and outplayed him. he's really not that eager to die again, in a trial or here in this dumb garden with a meat monster creeping around somewhere.
eddie turns back around again, and just as he's about to step out of the rectangle of fences, he hears the not so distant sound of a dozen agonized voices. way too fucking close for comfort, but that thing could be a football field away and eddie would still hate it. he freezes, spins on his heel again and instinctively braces a hand against julie's ribs so she won't move, leaned in close. he says nothing, but the look he gives her, eyes serious and jaw tight, should say enough. ]
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Whatever you say, Munson. [ he's more like morel than thomas, which is fine. kind of a pain actually because it means things are more likely to get done when he's there, getting thrown in with a team of four runners is kind of the ideal, even if it makes the trial like ten times longer. ]
[ she's pulled out of thoughts on trials and how every survivor is a special kind of nuisance by the approaching chorus of wails, and it really doesn't take much to make her stay still in that moment. back pressed flat to the fence, julie's grip tightens on her knife and she turns her head to try and listen for when it hopefully passes them by. something catches her eye though and she looks back up at eddie to get his attention and gestures to a treehouse a little bit away with a jut of her chin, hoping he catches her thoughts here. they can hide out up there without too much worry until it's safe to beeline it out of this place. ]
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eddie clenches his teeth together and keeps completely still, his hand still spread across julie's ribs like he has any say in what she does or where she goes. he doesn't think she's stupid enough to sell herself out just to fight the damn thing, but she's already implied more than once that she'll put herself in the way so eddie can run.
which is... something to think about. when they're not trying to avoid a gruesome death. later, maybe.
eddie looks down at julie as she looks up at him, and it takes him a second to pick up what she's trying to communicate, following the tilt of her chin up toward a treehouse not that far from them. eddie's not really sure he's ever noticed it before now, but it's not like he spends a lot of time giving himself the grand tour of every realm when he's dumped into one, and this is the first time he's been out here outside of a trial.
it's not a bad idea. if anything, it'll get them out of an immediate line of sight. can the dredge even look up? eddie has no idea, but he does know it probably can't climb a fucking tree. (then again, maybe it's an olympic tree climber, with all those stolen hands). he looks back at julie again, gives a curt nod to indicate that he understands, he's on board.
it takes a minute or so of waiting before the dredge's miserable orchestra of devoured souls starts to fade away, getting quieter and quieter with distance. when it's just barely audible, eddie finally takes his hand off of julie's ribs and blindly grabs for her hand instead, already on the move. ]
Now, come on.
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[ she hadn't even realized she was holding her breath until the chorus fades to dull, distant whimpers, and she exhales. wishing she could see which way it went, but 'not here' is good enough for the moment. takes a deep breath and-- and eddie's already grabbing her hand and pulling her along. ]
[ well. fair enough. no time to overthink things right now. julie trusts him not to run them into a ditch, checking over her shoulder and to their sides to make sure it's not looking at them from a distance, out a window, from behind a car. around some bullshit corner that doesn't even make any fucking sense. god she hates when she has a trial here. ]
[ he might be stubborn about refusing to take off without her, but julie hopes eddie isn't too full of whatever it is to fight with her about it when she tightens her grip on his hand and pulls him toward the boards nailed to the tree in some facsimile of a ladder. ]
You first.
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he does shoot julie a look though, clearly mildly annoyed that he knows that she knows he'd be an idiot to argue. but then he lets go of julie's hand, finally, and starts to climb. fairly nimbly, too, but the last thing he had to climb like this was a rope made of his bed sheets, hung between dimensions. a ladder made of two by fours nailed into the side of a tree's a lot easier to master.
as he climbs, he keeps a look out too, mindful of where he puts his hands and his feet so he doesn't fall and shatter his tailbone or something, but also scanning for anything moving out in the gardens that should not be moving. anything slinking around like a demented, possessed snowman. when he gets to the top of the ladder, he hauls himself a little less than gracefully through the treehouse window, then turns around and hangs about halfway out, arms extended down toward julie.
he waves his hands, hissing down to her. ]
Your turn. Come on, I got you.
[ he... does not have her, because he's too far up for him to just reach down and haul her up, but once she climbs high enough, he's set to help her up and in. ]
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[ she's pretty fucking glad eddie's good at getting up there quick though, tension clear in the way she holds herself rigid and keeps scanning what she can see of this little street between glances up at eddie to make sure he's doing okay. once he's in, she's moving before he even speaks — might be willing to take the heat on his behalf, but that doesn't mean julie is by any means eager to be face-to-faces with that thing — and she starts climbing up to meet those hands. ]
[ well, first she casts a cautious look up just to satisfy her own worries about somehow pulling him out of the treehouse and dropping him to his death, but there's no way eddie is enough of a fool to reach for her if that was a risk. she hopes. but then julie reaches out for him, clasping his forearm in a tight grip, and once she feels like he's got her she does what she can to help him pull her up and in to the stupid little treehouse where she can catch her breath. ]
[ jesus christ what a fucking day. ]
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when julie clasps her hand around his arm, eddie does the same to her, curling his fingers around her forearm and bracing his other hand against the edge of the window. he's not surprisingly strong by any means, but for being a beanpole, he's decent at pulling his weight, both metaphorically and literally. eddie helps haul her up the rest of the way to the window, uses both hands to get her inside, and only lets go of her once he's sure they're both inside and safe.
well. relatively safe. eddie leans against the wall next to the window, taking a second to catch his own breath, idly watching julie. she's still got those dumb sunglasses on that he stole from one of the cars down at the end of the street. sunglasses, and no mask. he hasn't forgotten about how odd that is that she came all the way out here without it.
eventually, eddie sinks until he's sitting. the treehouse isn't very big, definitely not made for someone to stand up straight very comfortably - and he's slowly coming down from a small adrenaline high, so it just feels better to sit. he gestures up at julie after a beat with a lazy flail of one hand, pulling his knees up a bit so he can rest his other arm on one of them. ]
You could get away with those, you know. [ the sunglasses. he's commenting about her lack of a mask without commenting on it directly. ] They always put that black box over peoples' eyes when they're trying to hide their identity in like - TV shows and shit. No one would know.
[ that's bullshit, and eddie knows that. he also knows that's probably not really the entire purpose of the masks, either, but whatever. he waits for a beat, then smirks at her a little. ]
That worried about me, huh?
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[ and then he makes his stupid little comment and julie bristles noticeably, her leg stops moving and she puffs up a little like an angry cat. julie was kind of hoping he hadn't noticed, or at least didn't think much of her turning up maskless, and now she's doubly annoyed because she can't even threaten him to shut up because eddie should be well aware he's safe from her outside trials by now. ]
Yeah, well I've never heard of Dredge bugging anyone since it turned up, but you'd go and find a way to be an exception.
[ yes, fine, she was worried. and who could blame her? nobody! ]
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he does feel like maybe he's touched a nerve though, watching the way she goes kind of static for a moment when he subtly brings attention to the fact that she came out here without her mask. eddie's pretty sure he's never seen her anywhere without it on her in some capacity. even that one time, when he stumbled into the lodge looking for a quiet place to lose his shit for a minute, she came out with it on, like she was ready.
it's just - interesting, is all.
eddie turns his head to look at her, leans a little to bump his shoulder against hers. ]
What, you don't think I could convince it to like me? [ it worked for julie, who's to say he couldn't sway the dredge, too. not that he'd want to, because that sounds like a nightmare waiting to happen, but still. ] In a, uh... non-cannibalistic kind of way. Do you think it counts as cannibalism if it's made up of like - a bunch of human parts?
[ a beat. ]
And a horse? [ he's unsure about the horse. ]
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[ the question (disregarding the horse, she can't get into that right now ) makes her roll her eyes, and julie shakes her head. ]
I'm not sure it counts as cannibalism anyway. Is it actually eating anyone?
[ a better question: does she want to know? probably not. ]
Anyway, I don't think you wanna find out. [ if he could make it like him, that is. who really wants a pile of limbs as a friend? ]
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Definitely consumes people. [ he makes lazy air quotes around consumes. ] Puts bodies in its... body?
[ all right, that's enough of that. eddie makes a face like he's grossed out by the thought, physically shakes the whole thought away. whatever, it's not important and he doesn't care that much.
now that they don't have to worry so much about being maybe-cannibalized though, eddie starts to dig through his pockets for all the shit he stole. when he drags a hand out of his vest pocket, he's got those listerine strips in his palm. curious, he flicks the little case open with his thumb, and finds what looks like a bunch of neatly cut blue-green... strips. as advertised, apparently, though he still can't quite grasp what the hell they are.
he looks at julie for a second, then takes one of the strips out. gives it a little shake, like he expects it to make some kind of sound like when you shake a big sheet of metal. he says: ]
If it's not drugs, I hope it's fun at least.
[ and then with a shrug, he simultaneously offers julie the listerine strips and pops one on his tongue. ]
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I think we've earned drugs, right?
[ she says, innocently taking a listerine strip and popping it right on her tongue, a move she comes to regret mere moments later when it starts to melt and it's like someone smeared a square of toothpaste on her tongue? it's not gummy, it just kind of turns to slime? julie smacks her tongue against the roof of her mouth a couple of times and and she makes a face of mild horror at eddie like he personally cursed her. ]
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this isn't drugs or fun. minty, but fucking awful as an overall experience. why do these exist? how cursed is the fucking future, and should he be glad he beefed it in the middle of the upside down back in hawkins? why the hell are people carrying these around with them? just buy some fucking altoids. brush your teeth. nobody should do themselves.
eddie clicks the little cartridge closed, rubbing his tongue against the roof of his mouth just to get the strip to dissolve faster. he looks at julie, then at the little case in his hand, and then twists... and drops it out the goddamn window. ]
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[ julie's about to ask these questions as if eddie isn't here from ten years before her, but she remembers something and stops to reach in her pocket for the pack of cigarettes and taps two out, because she's keeping this box, and holds one out for eddie. ]
I'm definitely keeping the pack after that. [ she scrapes her tongue against the roof of her mouth and makes another of those displeased cat faces. ] Fuck.
nobody should do themselves??? removing my fingers
eddie throws his hands up a little when julie swears at him like he's fucking mr. listerine himself. he didn't make the damn things, and he sure as fuck didn't know they were awful, so he can't really be held accountable here. he murmurs a disgusted jesus christ under his breath, trying to work the texture and the taste of his mouth when julie digs the cigarettes she stole from him out.
seems a little unfair that she should be allowed to keep him, considering he's the one who did all the work to find them in the first place, but you know what? he decides he's gonna let her have this one. because he's nice. he takes the offered cigarette, wrinkles his nose up as he brings it to his mouth. ] Whoever greenlit that shit's a psychopath, Christ.
eddie says no to masturbation
So. [ she takes that first inhale to make sure it's lit properly and offers the lighter over to eddie as she tilts her head back to exhale. ] Back to Harrington's legs.
rip
eddie fills his lungs with smoke, blows it back out and shakes his head, finding it in himself to laugh a little. christ. ]
Something's wrong with you.
[ that's all he can come up with, half embarrassed but also half wary, because staring at a dude's legs for a little too long is the kind of thing that would land him with a split lip and a black eye or worse, laid out in the middle of the school parking lot or left to bruise in a bathroom stall. hawkins is a very small town, full of not-so-open-minded people, he's learned.
not that eddie expects julie to be prodding just to turn around and give him (serious) shit for it, but it's a habit to be cautious.
eddie gestures kind of vaguely with his hand, careful of getting too close to julie with his cigarette. ]
I just think it's - funny, is all. The dumb little outfit.
[ and weirdly attractive in a way that's kind of bizarre even to eddie, but that probably doesn't need to be said. ]
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Oh that's what that face you make means. It's funny. [ she's quiet for all of a moment that might seem like she's going to let it go to someone who doesn't know her, and she nudges him with her elbow just before she speaks again. ] Just admit you're into his stupid ice cream man look.
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I don't make a face. [ he probably does, but he couldn't do it now if he wanted to because he has no idea what he looks like when he catches harrington sprinting by with his stupid fucking legs out. as far as he knew, he was being subtle, but apparently not. or maybe julie just watches him way too closely, which should creep him out more than it actually does if that's the case.
eddie reaches his hand up and back, ashes out the window before bringing his hand back in. he wets his lips, lifts his cigarette to his mouth, pauses with it hovering there for a moment. he glances at julie out of the corner of his eye. ] Why do you care so much?
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I only care this much now because you keep denying it. [ a pointed raise of her eyebrows punctuated by a drag on the cigarette. ] I just thought it was funny because I would never in a million years have guessed Harrington did it for you, let alone in his little sailor boy shorts.
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and then, you know. hawkins went to hell in a hand basket, and through a series of very unfortunate and traumatizing events, eddie got to know steve, and he figured out pretty quickly that - yeah. people do change, and steve - steve's a pretty decent guy. and also attractive, but that's irrelevant. mostly. it should be, but julie won't fucking let it go.
eddie doesn't say anything for a minute. he smokes his cigarette and he pointedly ignores julie, like he's not even gonna bother anymore with arguing if she's just gonna keep insisting that he's lying (because he is). he looks around the small, cramped tree house just to kill some time, rubs his tongue against the roof of his mouth to chase the rest of the acrid listerine aftertaste away, and it's not until he's burned his cigarette nearly down to the filter that he says anything. ]
... He's not what he seems, you know. Or, no - I guess he's exactly what he seems. Now. I used to hate the guy, but I barely knew him. Turns out, sometimes when you get to know someone, they're not as bad as you thought they'd be.
[ eddie turns his head and looks at julie pointedly, because this is not a sentiment that applies exclusively to steve. he goes to stub his cigarette out on the floorboard by his knee but then thinks better of it - with his luck, he'd light the whole damn treehouse up with them inside it - and rubs it out on the leg of his jeans instead.
he looks at julie again, offers a half shrug. presses his lips together for a moment, like he's debating his next words, and then just decides - fuck it. ]
Never saw him in shorts until here. He's got nice legs. Are you happy? [ he laughs. ] Jesus.
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Yes. [ she laughs a little herself, leans over and bumps him with her shoulder. ] God, that was like pulling teeth.
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Yeah, whatever. [ he rolls his eyes, like she's being dramatic and exaggerating, like it was never that serious even though he's the one who was trying to dance around having to give a straightforward answer, or just straight up trying to lie. ] You're a freak.
[ he looks at julie, and it's clear in his expression that that's freak (affectionate) and not freak (derogatory). after a beat, he looks away... and starts to empty his pockets out into the small space between them, mostly just everything he stole from the cars down the street. when he fishes out the small, disposable camera, he turns it over in his hands like he's never really seen one before, at least not like this - but it seems pretty straight forward. he thumbs at the little wheel at the top right, winds the film, and then without really bring it up to his face, he turns it and points it at julie and snaps a picture, flash on and everything.
eddie laughs, a little surprised by the flash. ]
Oh, shit. Sorry.
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Takes one to know one.
[ it's similarly freak (affectionate) on her end, a small smile staying on her face as she leans forward to put her cigarette out on the sole of her shoe, totally unprepared for when that flash goes off and blinds her for a split second, which she doesn't appreciate at all. ]
Oh great. [ she rubs her eyes with her thumb and forefinger, still with enough of a smirk on her face to give away that she thinks it's at least a little funny despite the deadpan delivery. ] Now it's like Harrington's here too.
[ flashlight clicking jerk ]
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his attention is easily drawn away though when julie mentions harrington for what feels like the millionth time in the last hour or so. he rolls his eyes, but there's something vaguely playful in his expression. ]
I'm not putting on shorts for you.
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[ she shakes her head, reseats the sunglasses on top of her head, and fixes eddie with a playful smirk in return. ]
But I might be able to be bribed.
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he looks away from her, leans his head back against the wall, lulls his head to look at her again. her stupid little smirk. ]
You already stole my cigarettes. What more could you want?
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[ her smirk turns a little impish as she looks at him, head tilted as if she's thinking hard about this, and she slouches against the wall with a shrug. ]
Better question is what you'd be willing to offer.
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eventually, his brow softens and the corner of his mouth slowly starts to curve up in the barest hint of a smirk. slowly, he leans closer to her, makes a small gestures with his hand like he's beckoning for her to come closer too. regardless of whether she obliges him, eddie tilts in kind of close to her ear, his voice real low like he's offering her something of high value that he doesn't want anyone else to know about. he doesn't even know what it is he's meant to be negotiating for, but does that stop him?
absolutely not. ]
I'll wear the costume for you.
[ that's right, that stupid little ren-fair looking bullshit he sometimes turns up in trial wearing, with the lute and everything. is he being serious? of course not, even eddie knows julie could never properly appreciate the art of balloon pants and dark red velvet. but that's what makes it funny.
just as quietly, like the offer is even tempting at all, he says, ]
You know the one.
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[ so she leans toward him, head bowed, eyebrows raised. real intently listening. it takes a second for her to even process what he just said, and when she does her laughter comes out in a sudden bark that surprises even herself, and she clamps her hand over her mouth to muffle it as much as she can. ]
Shut the fuck up. [ still laughing, she puts a hand on his chest to shove him away. ] I hate that fucking thing.
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when julie pushes at his chest, eddie instinctively closes his hand around her forearm, mostly to keep himself from being knocked over regardless of the strength behind the shove. he doesn't let go though, barely even aware he's latched onto her as he smiles back, a teasing lilt in his tone. ]
Ah, the lady doth protest too much, methinks. [ he raises his brows slightly, tilts his head so he has to look at her through his lashes a bit. ] You like it a little bit. It's okay.
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[ like a bull seeing red whenever she catches sight of that stupid little cape, and then he does his stupid medieval talk and it drives her nuts. she wants to just push him over like an obnoxious child. julie gives him the tiniest little shake of her head, voice low since they're this close now apparently, refusing to let the amusement dancing at the edges of her expression fully manifest by pure strength of will. ]
You have no idea how much self-restraint dealing with you takes sometimes.
[ does she sound a little frustrated by that? it's probably just because she wants to bully him mercilessly and no other possible reason. ]
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idly, his thumb rubs a lazy line against her wrist that he's not even really that aware of. the thread of frustration in her tone intrigues him and he takes a second to just look at her. eddie's gaze flits up to the cheap sunglasses perched on her head, down to her eyes, down again for the briefest of moments to the shape of her mouth before darting back up.
he tilts his head, keeps his voice low. ]
No? [ eddie slowly lifts his other hand, reaches and nudges the arm of her sunglasses so they slide down over her eyes. absently brushes a loose strand of her hair back without much thought. ] If I'm so bad, why'd you come all the way out here?
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[ the thing is she plays the part well but julie's really not as confident or self-assured as she comes across. she masks it well, the bitchy, violent girl is a comfortable place to settle for her, but when it's like this? with nothing to lean on? only one person really knows that about her, and she's pretty fucking keen on keeping it that way. ]
[ it does piss her off a little, the way this has her floundering and unsure of herself all of a sudden, though at least the sunglasses hide the brief flash of panic in her eyes when she realises it. julie makes to move away a little, straighten up again. put some distance between them and make some attempt to save face here. ]
I, um-- [ she clears her throat, turns her head to look in any other direction to hide the fact that she's pretty sure her cheeks are a little pink. what a fascinating branch that is over there. ] I don't know.
[ ... jesus christ. fuck. what if she just jumped out the window right now? he couldn't stop her. ]
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but he doesn't know what she's thinking. he doesn't know if by putting her on the spot, he's managed to dig under another layer of skin. what he does know, though, is that the moment's been lost, whatever the moment may have been, and that's - fine. julie clears her throat and pulls away and eddie doesn't hesitate to let go of her wrist so she can put however much space she wants between them. does he catch the new color in her cheeks? it's hard to tell.
eddie doesn't say anything right away. lets the silence hang for a few seconds after her i don't know. he looks at the random assortment of stolen knickknacks he's unloaded from his pockets, then starts to pick them up at a slow pace, filling his pockets back up. ]
Sure you do. [ he says eventually, only briefly glancing over at her. he picks up the disposable camera, considers giving it to her for her to keep, then sets it back down. ] I do all the dangerous dirty work, and you profit by undercutting my earnings.
[ or, you know. stealing his pilfered cigarettes. ]
Very capitalist of you.
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[ she can still feel the ghost of his hand on the side of her face, but shrugs it off, turning her head to look down at the pile of stuff he's putting back in his pockets. still pointedly not looking at him, but that's no big deal. ]
Yeah, that's me. [ light, sarcastic. maybe lacking the punch she usually has, but maybe not. ] Big cigarette baron.
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it makes her look young, he thinks. not in a bad way, because it's not as if she's not young, but she just looks... like a regular person. like someone eddie could know outside of a place like this. he shoves a pen into his vest pocket, picks the camera back up and carefully balances it on the peak of one of her knees. she'd probably get more use out of it than he would, and besides - where the hell is he going to develop pictures in the middle of the woods. sure, nancy's boyfriend might know, from what he's heard, but it's still... doubtful. ]
Lucky for you, [ eddie says quietly, starting to shift up onto his feet, staying in a low crouch for now. he dusts his hands off on his haunches, then rests his arms on his knees. ] I kinda dig powerful women.
[ and that's all he says before he straights up a little and moves toward the window to peek out, looking for that freaky mass of... frozen meat, or whatever the hell the dredge is today. ]
I think we could probably make a run for it.
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[ how would she even develop it? maybe byers knows, but she doesn't want to ask him for anything. better him than ghost face though, she supposes. ]
Shut up.
[ she snorts at his little comment, powerful women, sure. tempted to push him over when she sees him pull himself into that little crouch, but she doesn't. winds up the camera instead and pushes up the sunglasses so she can look through the viewfinder. ]
Wait a sec-- Smile.
[ that's all the warning eddie gets before she snaps a photo. ]
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flinging up a hand as a delayed response, eddie squeezes his eyes shut and rears his head back a little, arm held in front of his face for a second as a useless shield. ]
Jesus - Chrrrist.
[ he blinks rapidly, trying to get the floaty white spots out of his vision, but instead of being upset about it, he just kind of laughs a little. it's fair, you know. eddie did the same thing to julie, and now they're even, even if eddie hadn't really intended to blind julie when he'd accidentally snapped a photo while fucking around.
with one hand still holding the edge of the little window, eddie rubs at his eyes with the other. ]
Maybe I'll start using flashlights a little more seriously.
[ he probably won't, but shit. he understands now why some killers get a little more aggressive (and a little more paranoid) when a flashlight is in play. ]
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Flashlights are worse.
[ it's an offhand comment, not a correction or an argument, just a fact. like somebody opening the curtains when you haven't had enough sleep and on the other side of the window is the sun. she hates them. not as much as some of the other killers do, but still. they suck! ]
[ anyway, julie pulls herself up into a similar crouch and moves past eddie to clamber out of the stupid little treehouse, because obviously she's going first. it just makes sense. if eddie wants to argue with her about it he can argue with her butt while she climbs out onto the branch. ]
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... Oh? Noted.
[ the way his eyes crinkle a little near the corners suggests he might be smiling a little behind his hand. now that he's got confirmation that flashlights bother her at least a little, he might have to start picking them up more often and working on his aim instead of leaving them in chests or handing them off to the first person he runs into mid-trial.
you know. just for fun.
eddie drops his hand away from his eyes as julie gets up and moves past him. at first, he just assumes she's about to peek out and double check that the coast is clear, so when she just - starts to climb out, he scrambles a little. doesn't grab for her or anything because he doesn't want to fuck with her balance or her grip and send her plummeting fifteen feet to the ground, but there's some flailing. why does she always have to go first?
when she's out the window enough - because he is not going to argue with her ass - he leans out of the window and looks down at her, hissing, ]
Jesus, did you even check if it was clear? [ or is she just blindly trusting that eddie did a fine enough job of looking out? ] If your ass gets Tauntauned I'm leaving you here.
[ tauntauned. like when luke was on hoth and freezing to death and han sliced open a tauntaun and shoved him inside of its carcass to keep him warm. definitely the same thing as being consumed by the snow-dredge.
anyway. once there's room, eddie climbs out after her. ]
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[ he's certainly just up and fucking vanished from generators she knows he was on enough to make her think he's pretty good at it, but fine. maybe she was just too eager to get out of there. julie pauses her descent to look around, down what she can see of the street, into the windows in the house, over her shoulder at the gardens. no sign of the thing, and that snowman getup isn't exactly stealthy. she feels like she'd see it, right? either way it's definitely not close, they would've heard that fucking wailing by now. ]
[ she also gives him a blank stare at 'tauntauned', but resumes her climb down, clearly not making the link. she just shrugs it off and decides it's probably some fantasy shit she wouldn't care about. ]
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it's quiet, and that's all that really matters. no creepy fucking wails means they should be relatively safe.
once julie's out of the way at the bottom, eddie hops down the last few feet. brushes his hands off on the front of his vest and takes an extra second to glance over his shoulder just to be sure they aren't being watched from afar, or approached from a distance. the gate's not far. eddie looks back at julie, cocks his head in the direction of the nearest exit and then starts to head for it, swiveling on his heel and walking backwards just to see if she's coming with. ]
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[ quiet is good, but it's not safe, julie knows that. as she follows eddie toward the gate she casts the odd look around, just to make sure. almost misses it when she sees the snowfall way off to their right, who knows if it's even seen them, but the change in julie's demeanour is immediate. instantaneously drops her shoulders and runs at eddie, practically tackles him if not for the way she also wraps an arm around his middle and another over his legs to hoist him up on her shoulder without slowing down any. ]
[ regardless of whether or not it saw them, julie's not risking being slow about getting out of there, and she's faster than both it and, more importantly, eddie. so she's just gonna pick him up and sprint the fuck out of there and he can't stop her. ]
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because it isn't. it's during one of these half-assed turnabouts when eddie realizes something's wrong - precisely when he turns and sees julie charging toward him, almost the same way she does when she's in frenzy in a trial. only her arm isn't up, ready to jam a knife in his back. armed or not though, it's still pretty startling, so eddie throws his hands out a little like he's trying to calm a spooked animal. too bad he's the spooked animal. ]
Whoa, whoa, hey. Julie, what the fu— [ but there's a shoulder in his ribs before he can finish, and suddenly he's feet are just - not on the ground anymore, and he's more or less face to face with julie's ass. again. what the fuck? ] Jesus H. Christ, Jules!
[ that's a screech if anyone's ever heard one, but he wasn't exactly expecting to be picked up and hauled off, especially without a damn warning. eddie flails a little, only slightly panicky because he has no idea what's going on, and manages to brace his hands against julie so he can get a little bit of leverage and lift his torso enough to look behind them. ahead of himself, behind her. whatever. if his hands happen to plant right at the top of her ass, it's purely coincidence.
it takes eddie a second to catch sight of the dredge in all its fucked up winter glory, definitely slinking in their direction. and you know? this is fine. eddie's totally fine with this, with context. ]
Oooh, shit. Fuck that thing, keep going!
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[ clearing the gate bolsters her confidence, as does chancing a glance over her shoulder because she's pretty sure it's further behind them than when she started running. ]
Eat shit, Frosty the Slowman! [ she is feeling that adrenaline high for sure, because she usually doesn't, you know. yell insults at the killers who are a little (or a lot) more monster than person. ] This one's mine, you waste of a snowdrift!
[ julie... might regret that when she remembers later, but right now she's high on that untouchable feeling she used to get back home, when they would just barely manage to escape some stupid situation without getting picked up by the cops. even if it keeps following them, she knows she can lose it easy enough once the woods start to thicken around them as she runs deeper into the fog. ]
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Yeah! Eat shit you goddamn slowcone! [ not as good as frosty the slowman, but he laughs all the way through, taking one hand off of julie so he can throw up a middle finger at the dredge's shrinking form. ] Can't take what's already taken!
[ whatever that means. eddie's just riffing off of julie and coasting on the high of shittalking a killer he would normally, in every other circumstance, never intentionally engage with for any reason. turns out he's a little bolder when he feels safe. wild that he feels safe draped over the shoulder of someone who regularly threatens to cut him open, and sometimes actually does. ]
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[ and then stays bent over, knees slightly bent, hands holding her legs just a couple inches above her ankles while she catches her breath. holy shit. even boosted as she is by the entity, running that much with a fully grown person on her shoulder is still a lot. ]
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when julie puts him down, eddie's still laughing, still cruising on that adrenaline high. a little out of breath because being draped over julie's shoulder made it a little difficult to get a full breath, what with his ribs being crushed under his own weight, but he doesn't seem to mind. eddie looks down at her, shaking his head and grinning. ]
Dude. You're insane.
[ but like. insane (affectionate). ]
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Got you out of there, didn't I?
[ is she insane? maybe. she used to take dumb risks like this more when they first showed up, before the full scope of their situation had really set in. petty vandalism and theft all over the likes of macmillan and coldwind. running eddie out of there wasn't exactly hard, but it still felt good. ]
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Yeah, [ he says, a little breathy because it's tacked onto a light, curious laugh. why did she do that? eddie doesn't believe julie's just as brutal out of a trial as she is in one, but it still makes him curious that she came all the way out here just to make sure he didn't get his ass devoured by a creature she seemed to be at least mildly afraid of - and then scooped his ass up and carted him the fuck away like it was nothing, like his added weight wouldn't slow her down at all and also potentially put her at risk.
eddie turns on his heel, but instead of packing back the other way, he suddenly drops into a crouch in front of julie, his weight rested on his haunches. he ducks his head a little, just so he can see her face a little better, and raises his eyebrows slightly, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth. ] Doesn't change the fact that you're nuts.
[ his eyes dart back and forth between hers, like he's trying to figure something out, smirk fading but not in any way that should come off as concerning, and he subconsciously wets his lips. ]
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Be pretty embarrassing for me if I came out here to save your ass and then you got eaten anyway.
[ she mirrors him, tongue darting out to wet her lips, briefly thinking about back there in the garden — eddie's hand splayed against her ribs when they were hiding, bodies pressed back against that fence, or tucking her hair away. ]
[ she shakes her head with another small laugh. what a day. ]
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well. she's not wrong about him being a lunatic and a freak. maybe not for the reasons she thinks, but it's not a bad assessment. ]
Yeah. [ there's that word again that he keeps repeating in lieu of anything else to say. he's distracted, so expecting eloquence from him here is maybe asking a little too much. eddie's eyes dart back and forth again, drop down for a brief, fleeting moment before snapping back up. he shakes his head slightly, and slowly shifts his weight forward onto his knees, balances between them and his haunches. when he speaks again, his voice is low, almost like he's talking mostly to himself and not julie. ] Oh, you're gonna kill me for this, but if I'm gonna die out here I'd pick you over that thing every time.
[ and then, kinda quick, eddie reaches up with both hands, holds both sides of her face, and pushes up onto his knees just enough so he can kiss her without having to pull her down to him, his heart hammering in his throat. ]
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[ not that she gets much more of a chance to think or do anything about it, giving about a couple of seconds to be confused about whatever the fuck eddie just said before he has her face in his hands and-- oh. she makes a small noise of surprise that maybe comes out a little like a squeak, he might not be pulling her but julie still stumbles anyway and puts out a hand to grab eddie's shoulder for stability. ]
[ she does, however, kiss him back when the surprise wears off. puts her other hand down by the side of his neck and tilt her head into it. ]
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he knows he can't fumble this, though. not when it's going better than he anticipated, not when julie is kissing him back. eddie sighs through his nose, tilts his head too and slides one of his hands back, his fingers combing her hair away from one side of her face. ]
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[ though-- the temptation to shove him on his ass is there, for a multitude of reasons, but julie manages to resist it. she instead lets one of her hands slip down to his chest, balls it into a fist in his jacket to hold him. ]
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the hand pushing through her hair settles at the back of her neck, fingers tangled up in it so it stays out of her face. his other hand drifts from the side of julie's face, following her arm to her wrist, where she's gripping at the front of his jacket which is... more attractive than expects it to be. he opens his mouth a little, just so he can tentatively catch her lower lip with his teeth, and sinks some of his weight back onto his heels, tugging her with him so they don't drift apart.
eventually, though, he pulls away, but only enough so there's space for him to breath. eddie swallows, darts his tongue out over his lower lip like he's chasing the taste of her mouth even though it's only been a literal second since he broke away. he clears his throat, eyes open halfway and focused on the shape of her mouth, hand still buried in her hair. ]
So, uh. [ he clears his throat again because his voice is a little gravelly, and then he laughs a little under his breath. ] If you're gonna gut me... at least give me a head start?
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[ when he pulls away, she opens her eyes to look at him, bites her lip out of uncertainty because... what now? do they talk? do they go back to kissing? do they act like this never happened? a whole bunch of questions go through her mind, pretty much detailing every reason she's never kissed him no matter how many times she's thought about it. part of her already thinking maybe they should just totally lie to themselves and brush this off as being because of the adrenaline when he speaks and interrupts that thought. ]
I'm not gonna gut you. [ she laughs, a little breathless, tilts her head toward his. ] Just surprised you actually went for it-- if you knew how many times I had to stop myself... [ she trails off into another soft laugh. all that self-restraint and now they're kissing in the dirt in the woods. ]
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but julie reassures him that she's not interested in spilling his guts all over the forest floor (right now), reveals that she too has been thinking about exactly this, and though eddie's had a feeling that there's been something here between them, it still comes as a little bit of a surprise. she's thought about kissing him? more than once? eddie could toss every luck offering he has into the campfire at once and he still doesn't think he'd be lucky enough. he's never that lucky.
julie laughs, and she smiles, and not for the first time eddie's a little awestruck by how pretty she is. he smiles too, laughs to himself because it's absurd to him still that julie's thought about kissing him at all, but you know? maybe he's finally due for one nice thing amidst all the bullshit. ]
Yeah? ... Me too. [ the tree house, the lodge, the countless times he's thought about trying to grab her through a doorway during a trial, just to try and kiss her and throw her off her game (and definitely not for no other reason), all the dozens of moments in between. his eyes shift back and forth between hers, but this time there's a little mirth behind them. his thumb rubs a lazy circle behind her ear. ] Don't hold back now...
[ eddie doesn't wait though and takes his own advice instead, using the hand on the back of her neck to pull her back in so he can kiss her again. ]
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[ she strokes her thumb along his jaw almost in response to the one behind her ear, abd when he says not to hold back she gets about as far as a raised eyebrow and 'probably--' before she's being kissed again. which is probably for the best rather than letting her keep talking. ]
[ she does, however, use the grip she has on his jacket to tug him closer with a quiet, satisfied noise. ]
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so far though, it seems pretty fucking nice. all of his blood is still on the inside, and julie's lips are soft and her hair feels nice threaded between his fingers and if he's gonna get brutally murdered over and over every night by one of like - fifty fucking people, he might as well get to make out a little with a super hot, super smart, super strong girl that steals his cigarettes and introduces him to new music and makes him dumb fucking shirts as an inside joke. you know, as a treat.
whatever that sound is that julie makes, eddie feels like he can almost taste it, like if he just tries hard enough he can find it somewhere in between the vague hint of tobacco and artificial mint. he tilts his head a little, chases that note with a tentative press of his tongue at the seam of her lips. snakes an arm low around her back and shifts his weight backwards off of his knees and onto his ass, dragging her with him. ]
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[ truthfully, she's still holding back at least a little, but he doesn't need to know that. doesn't need to know how accurate it is when he called her insane, because now that she's actually kissing him it's really fucking hard for julie to slow down. to stop herself thinking about how she wants to claim every noise and breath and dumb little face he makes and hoard them all like they're things she can swallow and keep in her chest. how she wants to see what he looks like when he's inside her so she can memorize it, paint it inside her eyelids like a chapel ceiling. ]
[ and then there's the part of her who just wants to get up and run back to ormond because he's already seen way too much of her and this feels like crossing a line that gives him access to pieces of herself she only shares with a select few. because eddie has this way of just barrelling through every wall she puts up like it's a boarded over door in dead dawg and it's kind of infuriating and terrifying in equal measures. ]
[ julie wraps her arms around eddie's shoulders, keeps her body flush against his. if she's gonna go fucking insane over this she might as well try to enjoy it first. ]
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now he's got julie fully settled in his lap, body flush with his, and he doesn't have to wonder what she tastes like because it's right there like a fucking invitation and eddie's not strong enough to turn it down. doesn't fucking want to, because what idiot would? his fingers drag against her nape, grip a little at her hair as he tilts his head and licks into her mouth, and the low note he almost sighs into her mouth escapes him unintentionally.
when it comes to imagination, eddie's is pretty limitless, but admittedly his idle daydreams fall pretty fucking short of the real thing. there has to be a catch, but whatever it is, eddie can't bring himself to care about whatever it is in the slightest, not when he's busy working a hand under the back of her shirt. ]
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[ her hand finds the back of his head, fingers twitching against his skull as julie wrestles with the twin feelings that this is better than anything she expected and yet, also, not enough. back arching at the touch of eddie's hand and she sighs her own small, pleased noise into his mouth. ]
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that soft little sound feels like it melts in his mouth, taste likes something he couldn't put a name to if he tried, but he swallows it like he can keep it safe. flattens his hand and drags his palm up her back, shirt bunching up around his forearm, his rings scraping slightly.
the way julie fits in his lap is - dangerous. it's a problem, actually, or it's about to become one if eddie doesn't do something about it. but instead of gently easing her backwards and slowing this down, eddie slides his hand back down to the bottom of her spine, shifts his grip to her hip, and tugs gently, subtly and silently encouraging her to grind a little. ]
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[ julie balls her hand into a fist in his hair, testing the waters a little when she bites at his lower lip and soothes it with her tongue, kisses him hungry and messy because that's about how she's feeling right now. months of holding herself back and keeping herself in check all tumbling over and leaving her more instinct-driven than she tends to be about this sort of thing. chasing whatever sensation feels best in the moment without any thought for what's next. ]
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and his mind is busy with other things anyway, like julie rolling her hips down into his, and that little stutter in her breath. he's half hard in his jeans and even just that little bit of friction is slightly maddening. eddie pants a quiet ah, shit against her mouth, fingers flexing against her hip when she buries her fist in his hair and bites at his lip, a deep, appreciative sound catching at the back of his throat.
julie's going to kill him, though he can't say he wouldn't prefer to be taken out this way over a knife in the chest. eddie's so into her it's stupid, but now that the floodgates have been opened, now that he's allowed to kiss her - now that he knows what she tastes like after having thought about it for what feels like an eternity, now that he knows that her hair is soft but her skin is softer, he thinks - it doesn't really matter what happens. as far as he's concerned, this is maybe the best thing that's happened to him since —
hell, he doesn't even know since when.
but it's not enough. or, it is enough, but right now it doesn't feel like it. there's still that needling desire to be closer to her even though they're about as close as they can get like this. as julie kisses him, eddie surges a little without warning, leaning up to get at her mouth, just as hungry and as messy. the hand at her hip moves; he wraps his arm around her lower back, shifts his weight - picks her up and twists the both of them, and not-so-gracefully lays her out on the forest floor, where he immediately fits himself between her knees.
but eddie hovers. he braces his weight on one forearm in the dirt up near julie's head, leans down to keep kissing her, but his other hand - his other hand finds her knee and slides from there down to about midway down the inside of her thigh. ]
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[ though she does nip at his bottom lip again when eddie's back in kissing range, harder this time, just as a way of telling him off. ]
[ that aside though, julie has few complaints, the list getting significantly shorter when she shimmies a little to get comfortable on the ground, hitches the thigh without a hand on it up at eddie's hip. gets about as far with 'getting comfortable' as unzipping her hoodie before she decides a better place for her hands is sliding them under eddie's shirt, around his sides and up his back. palms flat and fingers splayed out over his skin like she's trying to touch as much of him as possible. ]
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but his thoughts are elsewhere. on julie, and the metallic buzz of a zipper as she opens up her hoodie, the solid, warm weight of her thigh up over his hip, the slide of her palms under his shirt—
it's very brief, very blink-and-you'll-miss it, but there's a quick moment in which eddie pauses. he doesn't flinch or pull away, but his inhales sharpens a little and the hand on her thigh stills just for that one tick of a second when her hands splay over his sides, drift over the spread of welted scar tissue mapped across his torso. eddie's not terribly insecure about his body and the way it looks now, after the number the demobats did to him, but he knows it's ugly. he knows no one else knows about it, except maybe harrington. maybe buckley, too.
but it's fine. the moment is fleeting, and eddie pushes forward, sinks a little closer to julie, slides the hand on her thigh further up, his thumb following along the inseam of her jeans. he buries his face against the side of her neck, finds her pulse with his mouth and presses the flat of his tongue over it like he can measure her heartbeat that way, the way he's thought about doing too many times before now.
when he runs out of thigh and can go no higher, eddie turns his hand, presses three of his fingers between her legs and moves them slowly, just once, rubbing her over her jeans. ]
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[ she wonders what happened, wonders if it's even okay to ask, but doesn't exactly have much mental real estate to spare to that consideration right now. ]
[ she turns her head, looking for him, but stops with another hitched breath at his mouth on her neck, tilting her head a little to encourage him. gasps softly at the press of his fingers and bites her lip, spreading her legs just a little more for him and rolls her hips down against his hand in response. ]
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and, you know. julie kinda deserves better than a forest floor.
so just short of biting a mark into the side of her throat, eddie withdraws only far enough to pant a hot, quiet breath against her neck, his fingers firm where they're still between her legs, encouraging her to keep grinding. ]
Is, uh - [ he kisses his way up the side of her neck, gently scrapes his teeth against the skin just below her ear, and when he speaks, his voice is low and quiet and gravelly at the edges. ] S'anyone at the lodge?
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[ she keeps her hips pressed to his fingers, bites her lip on a quiet moan that wants to slip out and lets it taper into a shaky breath at the way he scrapes his teeth over her skin. immediately encouraging in the way she tilts her head that little bit more for him. ]
[ it takes her a second to parse the question, and when she does her voice is coarse, a little husky. ]
I-- I don't think so.
a girl date.
Then there were the times he couldn’t even get the words out to bother asking in the first place. Just fumbled and said forget about it. After being rejected so much the spirit gets beaten down. There’s no point in trying anymore. So he stopped.
But now he has a date. An actual one. He made sure it was clarified. Just in case. She asked him out and he’s still reeling from that. The week was so odd after that. Imagine - having something to look forward to for once. Sure he saw her at the garage every day but he’ll get to see her outside of work too. Friday. 8pm. How crazy.
To say he’s nervous would be an understatement. But then again - he’s always nervous. Or at the very least a bit on the anxious side. It’s his default setting nowadays. Can’t be helped. The closer Friday gets the more his anxiety spikes. But it’s not all crippling fear for once? It’s… excitement? That’s different. Not used to that feeling at all.
He said he’d pick her up. No problem. It’s a chilly evening out there, so he pulls his leather jacket on over his sweater before leaving the house. Was Joan upset? Absolutely. Joan’s always upset. But Ronald had his back. He’s a good guy like that. Just let the kid go out for once. He’ll be alright. Have fun, Corey. Corey just mouths his thanks, looking sheepish about it, and runs his hand through his hair. Messy is best he’s found. Oh, and he pockets his glasses. For some reason he doesn’t seem to need them much as of late, but bringing them along isn’t a bad idea. Always prep for the worst case scenario.
He shoots Julie a text letting her know he’s on his way, putting his phone away before any response comes back. And he takes a moment to breathe before revving up his bike and heading out.
For a Friday night, Haddonfield sure seems quiet. The roads anyway. This place just keeps getting stranger and stranger the longer he stays. One day he’ll leave. He keeps telling himself that. His mind wanders - but not too much, being safe is important - on the ride over. And that makes the time go by faster.
Before he knows it he’s standing outside her place and knocking. 8pm on the dot. Super prompt. That’s him.
God he better not fuck this up.]
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[ there's something about him that fascinates her though, keeps her interested enough at least to keep her attention until it's time to move on and finally see her friends again. every now and then when someone shoots a shitty comment at one of them at work, or when she sees him at a bar, something that sits under the surface that she desperately wants to dig her fingers into. ]
[ also, he's cute. she's allowed to be a bit shallow. ]
[ she hasn't been on a date since, well. since frank. (who promptly made fun of her in the group chat, but it's fine. susie was helpful.) doesn't really have clothes for it, but it's fine. she has a nice enough shirt, and after deliberation she puts on some eyeliner. smiles when she gets that text and comes out to meet him. ]
Hey. [ she's pulling on her leather jacket as she comes over to his bike. ] Fancy seeing you here.
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…Unless he’s getting way too far ahead of himself in that regard. He can’t blame himself for getting attached so quickly. It’s just a Thing that happens. Always. Impossible to avoid. His track record is disastrous, but nothing she needs to know about.
There are a lot of Things that Julie doesn’t need to know about.
He tries to be cool, tries keeping his utter elation at seeing her at the door on the inside. Yes, he’s excited. Relieved. A jumbled mess of feelings he can’t pinpoint. But he goes with cool. It kinda fits the whole image he’s trying to go for.
He smiles at her hey, forces himself not to stare at her for too long as she approaches. She did something different, can’t quite put his finger on it presently. He’ll figure it out soon.]
Right? I was just passing by and figured - oh. Wonder what Julie’s up to. [He smiles again, relaxing some in the seat of his ride, but then looks concerned. His arms cross.] Thought you had a hot date tonight? [Real concerned, borderline pouting.] He didn’t stand you up did he?
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[ julie rolls her eyes, huffs as if to say 'can you believe it?' as she idly rests a hand on one of the handlebars, gives the bike a thoughtful look — she knows plenty about cars, not much about bikes, but she knows he fixed this one up right? that's cool — and when she looks back up at him with a hint of something playful in her eyes that usually only shows up when she leans over and says something absolutely devastating to him about someone who was a total asshole to one or both of them. It's not that this time, though. ]
Oh, woe is me. [ completely deadpan as she looks at him. ] What's a girl to do?
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He sits upright, leaning in closer to catch her gaze and keep it as she rests against the handlebar.]
Could always hang with me instead. If you want. I’d sure love the company. [She might be deadpan but he can’t stop the little smirk that creeps across his face. He’s bad at this but definitely trying not to be. (Is it working?)]
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Yeah? You got time?
[ julie doesn't bother asking permission, just walks down the side of the bike to seat herself behind him and puts her arm around his middle for stability. ]
Let's go then, Cunningham.
finally get to use the appropriate icons yes yes yes
For you? All the time in the world.
[And his eyes follow her as she rounds to the back of the bike. He ends up looking straight ahead as she climbs on behind him, swallowing nothing. Her arm around his middle - he flinches, but it's so subtle it could be anything really. She just went for it didn't she? Okay. That's fine. He can handle this. What did he think was going to happen?
He nods, starts it up. And then they're off soon after. Destination? Well, he knows a place.]
🥰
[ she thinks about asking where he's taking her, but she stays quiet, enjoying the ride. there's a kind of symbiosis to it, she finds, learning to understand what his body language means. having to lean with him, make sure she's not a distraction. it's... nice. ]
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He doesn’t pull any maneuvers on her - it’s too soon for that. Just keeps things safe, silently enjoying the way she holds onto him and leans into all the turns without much prompting. Okay well maybe he goes a touch fast on the main road to be a show-off. He just likes how the engine sounds once it really opens up. But nothing more extreme than that.
It’s a nice, quiet night and the wind feels nice in his hair and maybe - just maybe - this is going to work out. Maybe he has absolutely nothing to worry about after all. He almost wants to ditch his initial plan and end up riding around some more instead. But - they can figure that out later. It’s her choice after all. He’s just here to facilitate.
They roll up to the diner and he ends up parking around the back. The lot is a bit on the full side and no one needs to know where he’s leaving his bike. If they do, there’s gonna be problems.]
Not bad, huh? [He looks back at Julie once the kickstand is down and smiles.] Used to run like trash but I think I figured it out. [Look at him being all proud of himself.]
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[ when they're parked, julie gets down off the bike and smiles back at him, looking down at his little pride and glory there. ] Nice. [ she shoves her hands in her jacket pockets. ] I don't know shit about bikes, it could be a total piece of shit and I'd have to believe you when you said you totally fixed it up nice.
[ she's joking... ish. she does believe him, because he strikes her as someone who'd be fucking awful at lying, but she'd probably only know if it was in bad shape if the engine sounded real off or something. ]
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It's not a mega impressive model or anything but I worked on it myself and it hasn't fallen apart yet so I'd say that's the best thing I could ask for. [Just take the compliment, dude!] Thanks. [There we go. He's sheepish when he says it, but it's something.
Yeah he's terrible at lying, how did you ever pick up on that? Was it the way he gets all fidgety and nervous-looking, the way his eyes can't just focus on one thing... all things he's doing right now...
He gets down from the bike and shoves his hands into the pockets of his own jacket - making sure to extend the elbow closest to Julie for her to take if she so chooses. It's cold out, they have to use their pockets. That's the smart thing to do. The cool thing. But she can have his arm on the way inside the diner.]
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[ she also doesn't take his arm, because this isn't 1954, and kind of gives his arm a bit of a look, but it's brief. he's just trying to be a good date and he doesn't know her well, she supposes, though julie would've thought it was obvious she's not exactly a 'take his arm' kind of girl. if anything she's the one offering an arm. but whatever. julie points out a table with a jut of her chin, a nice booth away from everyone else in there at the moment, and nudges corey with her shoulder as they walk. ]
How long did it take you to fix up the bike?
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He does smile at her picking the booth in the back though. Excellent choice, one he usually makes when he comes here on his own. Sitting at a table in public is rare thing for him in general - but yeah.]
Hm. Few weeks? A month, maybe? Didn't have much going on so I just sorta focused on that. Ron let me work on it at the garage sometimes. If things were slow.
[Just gonna slide on into the booth once they head over there.]
i genuinely thought i replied to this omg
[ the equivalent of a kid who's great at academia but had no interest in it, she knows plenty about cars just from growing up working in a shop but julie's not really a car person at all. she's been driving the same old sedan for years because it works and never has a problem she can't fix herself. ]
totally okay!
He doesn’t pick up a menu - no need to fake like he needs to figure out what he’s going to order. He folds his hands on the table, leans in a little, gets comfortable like that.]
Really? It was kinda challenging at times, but nothing too crazy. You’re good at what you do - [not like he’s been watching or anything, nope not at all] - it’d probably be a breeze for you. If you ever wanted to broaden your repair horizons. [Have a doofy little smile.]
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[ unless you put her within ten feet of a vintage muscle car, but you can blame her dad for that one. ]
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[Julie doesn't really talk about herself. But neither does he? Unless he gets caught up in an anxiety-fueled word vomit session. Those are a frequent enough occurrence now that he's thinking about it...]
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Nothing really. [ she had great extracurriculars, none of which she gave a shit about. a lot of tricks for a pedigree pet. she laughs softly. ] Don't tell anyone, but I'm kind of boring.
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He nods at the comment about work because - well. Same boat. Besides working on his bike there's not... much... he actually does. Especially now that the thing's up and running like new.
But he gestures towards her with a point when she finally adds something.]
Well that's something. How bad do you think these decisions are? Because I think there's gotta be some sort of sliding scale...
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[ she says it with a hushed voice and a bit of a grimace — not that julie particularly cares about this random woman's relationship, but she's kind of surprised that one hasn't come back to bite her considering how people in this town love to gossip. ]
I'd say that probably ranks as at least "not great".
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He’s just gonna… lower his voice too. Because one never knows who could be listening nearby.]
I mean - yeah. I’d say so. [Pause.] But did you have fun at least? At the time? [The slightest smile. Is he blushing? A little.]
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[ the way she emphasises 'lady' should say plenty about whether or not julie thinks of herself as one (she doesn't), as should the way she looks like what she's said is very funny to her. ]
[ she notes too, that he's gone a little pink, just a bit. it's cute. something to remember for later if this whole date goes well and julie really feels like teasing him. she won't right now though, not least because a waitress comes over-- does a bit of a double take when she realises who julie's here with, or rather that corey is here with someone, but she doesn't say anything. julie doesn't really give her the chance anyway, just politely orders a burger and fries. and a sprite. ]
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The waitress coming to the table might as well be a jumpscare for him. Corey had entirely forgotten where they were, the fact that someone hadn't come over yet to begin with. He makes the briefest eye contact with the woman (he thinks he's seen her working here before), gives a shy smile just to be polite, then decides to focus straight ahead at Julie across from him. He doesn't like the looks he gets. Still isn't used to them. It's uncomfortable.
He orders once Julie does (the same thing but swap the Sprite out for a chocolate milkshake because that's just who he is), then says thank you not once but twice. He doesn't physically relax again until she leaves their table. And it's obvious whatever vibe of confidence he had going a few minutes ago is gone.]
Sorry, uh - you don't have to tell me who it was. Or anything about it really. If you don't want to.
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[ julie notes the loss of confidence, but honestly she's surprised he kept it up this long. which is fine, she's used to just pushing through corey's awkwardness and discomfort. though... maybe not so candidly. julie shrugs a shoulder, just speaks like it's nothing at all. ]
I mean if you want the details, she's just a lonely cougar who could barely even find her own clit, let alone mine.
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You know what - I'm totally cool being left in the dark. [The slightest nervous laughter.] Don't mind me. Shouldn't have said anything. It's none of my business - whatever you and... said lonely cougar did... or didn't do.
[Let's just keep ramping up the awkwardness, shall we? He's so quick to shut down the topic of conversation, despite all the joking around only moments before, and he's physically shifting in his seat with discomfort.]
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Okay, okay. No more details.
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She's smiling - at least somewhat - so it has to be okay. Corey takes that as a sign for him to calm the hell down or at least try to.]
Please and thank you. I'm too sheltered. My brain wouldn't be able to handle it.
[And then he throws in that self-deprecating joke just because.]
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[ she's distracted from her new nemesis...es. nemeses? by the waitress coming back with their drinks, setting those down along with a little cutlery basket and some napkins. julie waits until she's gone again to look at corey and roll her eyes with a shake of her head. ]
People in this town really don't know how to mind their fucking business do they?
[ she takes her drink and leans back in her seat, staring back at that table. yeah, she's talking about you idiots. ]
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Oh. Whispers and gossip come with the territory of choosing to socialize with him. He’s just… so used to it by now he usually ignores it. Or does his very best.
(He can’t hear them either but if he had one guess as to who they’re giggling about he’d hit the nail on the head without fail.)
But hey! Milkshake. Chocolate milkshake. He slides it over towards himself. Time to chill out. This will help.]
Uh - no. They really don’t. [An awkward chuckle.] Never have and - between you and me? It’s gotten way worse. [Straw sip, an accompanying eyeroll. He doesn’t want to look where she’s looking, but he ends up doing it anyway. And then quickly looking away before he’s caught.]
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[ yeah, fuck that. she's trying to have a nice night out with a cute guy. julie puts her drink down, reaches over to the cutlery and grabs a steak knife as she stands up. twirls it around her fingers in a movement that belies exactly how comfortable holding knives she is and starts off toward that table with purpose. ]
[ there's maybe 2 seconds before she gets to that table with a loud "hey, fuckwads" if corey wants to stop her causing a scene. ]
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Jules—-
[He manages to spit out just her name, but doesn’t tell her to stop or to sit back down as she grabs the knife and stands to turn away. He could just stop her. There’s a big part of him that wants to. There’s another that wants to hide under the table. Another is beyond curious to see how things play out - utterly amused at the prospects really - and he wants nothing more than to turn that specific part off.
He moves to stand up himself, palms flat on the tabletop and ready to push, and he doesn’t take his eyes off her back as she heads straight for the other table. A moment later he relaxes, ends up sitting back on his side of the booth. So quiet as he observes.
Guess which part won.]
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[ the conversation she has with them is hushed, but tense. mostly she's querying why they feel the need to butt into other people's business, to harass people who are just trying to have a meal in peace. one of them says something that definitely bothers her, and julie squints and points her knife at him, but it passes. ]
[ of course, she has to really be a terror, so she snatches up a wallet off the table as she stands and slips the driver's license out of the front to read it with a smile that could pass for friendly in different circumstances, like this is a funny joke everybody's in on. ]
Daniel Green from... 1264 Winchester Drive, thank you so much for your apology. [ she tosses his driver's license down on the table. after some thought she grabs some cash out of his wallet and tosses the wallet down too. ] And for making it up to us by paying. That's so kind of you.
[ and back to the table she comes. everyone's staring, but nobody stopped her. no wonder awful shit seems to happen here. ]
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To stifle his chuckles of sheer amusement he leans in to sip some more shake every now and then, casually pretends like he’s looking elsewhere instead of where the action is.
He can’t keep a straight face when he says this, but damn does he try to. He’s all grinning teeth and on the verge of laughter:] But I thought I was gonna pay for us, babe?
[LOOK. He’s trying it on. Seeing how it fits. And if he wasn’t looking at her like an overtly smitten fool before she pulled a knife on someone in public - he certainly is now.
For some strange, inexplicable reason.]
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You're not down for a free meal?
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Oh I’m down for a free meal. But I was supposed to treat you, not Dan Green over there. [There’s a nod of his head in the other guy’s general direction, then he gives a cheeky little expression.] He wasn’t even invited on this date last I checked.
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[ she tilts her head in thought and turns her head to look back at the table, offers them a wink when she sees them watching and turns back to face corey with a shrug and a grin. ]
I think he just wanted to send his well wishes.
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Until they get spooked enough and stop.
Which doesn’t take long, surprisingly enough.]
So what do you think, Jules? [His attention is back on his date.] Are the wishes well? [He laughs a little at his own terrible joke.
When the waitress comes back it’s with burgers and she’s questioning if everything is okay. The scuffle was definitely noticed. She’s not being accusatory or anything. She just works there, you know?]
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Hey, babe, got a little something for you.
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[ she's half asleep, turns over in bed like frank's gonna be there but obviously he's not if he's texting her, and squints at her phone. ]
What is it?
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Where are you?
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[ Because when she gets out there, Frank's kicked back sitting against a tree. A few feet away, there's a body. A very obviously dead body, wrapped up in a ragged tarp. The face is covered but there's a lot of rusty stains dried into the canvas. One of the corpse's hand is sticking out of the bundle — it's desiccated, almost bones. This is a real fucking old corpse. ]
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What's this?
[ she wanders over and nudges the body with the toe of her shoe. ]
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No clue. Found it while I was looking around earlier. It's got some of that glowy bullshit all over it.
[ By "glowy bullshit" he means Vittorio's weird ass glowing tattoos. Magic bullshit.
Hey, Julie, hey. Look at this weird corpse he found. Isn't it a cool present? ]
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You think Toscano was pals with whoever this was? [ the corpse is old, but-- ] He's old as shit, right?
[ what does time really matter in the fog anyway? for all she knows a corpse could mummify in the time it takes her to walk to macmillan one day and the next a body would take weeks just to start decomposing. ]
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[ That's agreement. Frank takes a long sip, then sets the thermos aside in favor of kneeling next to Julie. Top date activities in the Fog: poking weirdo mummified corpses with the proverbial stick. ]
They've got the same stupid wizard shit or whatever. [ He plucks at a scrap of the corpse's shirt, still miraculously clinging to it. ] Wonder if they still work.
@kneecapped
Sounds like if Sam Raimi directed a Steve Martin movie.
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fuck i miss our movie nights
you think if i put in a request for a vcr and tv and consistent electricity to the big boss upstairs and we're good boys and girls for the rest of the ???? year???? we'll get something under the tree for xmas
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Gonna have to convince Suze and Joey to get on board, and I'm not sure I want to give in to Joey's taste in movies for it.