( ♟ )⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀annie had always been good at reading between the lines.
not just the words people said , but the way they held them ----- like a blade at the throat , ʟɪᴋᴇ ᴀ ᴡᴇɪɢʜᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʀɪʙs , like something barbed , too sharp to swallow but too painful to spit out. this stranger spoke like a man who had already choked down every bitter truth this town had to offer &* had long since stopped expecting them to go down smooth.
she listened , quiet , fingers curling around the fork but not moving to eat just yet. his words carried something heavier than their lazy , offhand delivery suggested ---- a warning , maybe , or just a statement of fact. either way , he wasn’t wrong.
everybody in arcadia had a tragic backstory.
she wouldn't share hers anyway ------- there's nothing that can compare.
besides the fact that there was no getting out.
she knew it already. maybe not in the way he 𝔪𝔢𝔞𝔫𝔱 it , not yet , but she felt it , deep in her bones , 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚠𝚗 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚍 𝚊𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 , in the way even the air tasted like it had been repurposed from someone else's lungs. three days , and already arcadia sat in her stomach like an undigested meal , heavy and impossible to forget. still , she smiled. not bright , not defiant ------ just something small , something tired but steady , the kind of smile that had been stitched together with 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖓-𝖔𝖚𝖙 𝖊𝖉𝖌𝖊𝖘 but still held.
❛❛ lucky-ass day, huh? ❜❜ she mused , using her fork and finally , finally taking a bite. the food was hot , salty , greasy in a way that made her stomach both protest and beg for more. she barely swallowed before adding, ❛❛ if this is what luck looks like in arcadia , i think i'd hate to see a 𝐛𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐚𝐲. ❜❜
the words tasted strange in her mouth. she had always used humor like a shield , something easy to lift between herself and the world , but here , it felt different. here , she wasn’t sure if it was armor or if it was just another way to make herself seem smaller , easier to overlook. a joke can’t bleed if the thing in the dark decides to sink its teeth in. she set the fork down , tilting her head slightly at him , considering. he didn’t have to talk to her. didn’t have to stay. and yet , here he was , feet still planted , ᴏғғᴇʀɪɴɢ ʜᴇʀ ᴘɪᴇ.
𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 , so painfully , 𝖆𝖈𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖑𝖞 normal in a place where normality had long since been chewed up and spat out.
and then ------ her lips quirked , just slightly , something playful creeping into the exhaustion as she gave him a pointed look. ❛❛ oh , clever girl? ❜❜ she echoed , one brow arching. ❛❛ you realize that line was about a ᴠᴇʟᴏᴄɪʀᴀᴘᴛᴏʀ , right? ❜❜ a beat. then , grinning just a little , she tapped a finger to her temple. ❛❛ which , if we’re being honest , i’m not saying its wrong ------ i do have a history of being small , fast , and highly food-motivated. but if you start looking at me like i might lunge at your throat , i’m gonna be real disappointed. ❜❜
she leaned forward just slightly , feigning nonchalance as if letting the joke slip away like an afterthought , but the warmth in her eyes lingered.
truth be told , 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚐𝚛𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 , this strange , sharp-edged kindness wrapped in sarcasm and grease-stained fingers. it was easier this way , ᴛᴀʟᴋɪɴɢ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴋᴇᴛᴄʜᴜᴘ ᴄᴏɴsᴘɪʀᴀᴄɪᴇs &* jurassic park references instead of the truth: that she was so , so hungry , in ways that food couldn’t fix , that she was so , so tired in ways that sleep wouldn’t cure.
𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐞’𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫.
❛❛ anyway. splitting pie with the guy who just welcomed me to hell? now that sounds like a proper initiation. ❜❜ a soft huff of a laugh , ᴍᴏʀᴇ ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴛʜᴀɴ sᴏᴜɴᴅ. ❛❛ besides , if we’re all doomed anyway , might as well have dessert first. ❜❜
she didn’t know if it was bravery or just another form of 𝖘𝖚𝖗𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 , but either way , she picked up her fork and held it like a pact.
