PAPER TOWN

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[askbethanysocs]

gretacatchlovewrites:

“I could when I was 15. A lot has changed in the 5 years since then.”

“Yeah, right. Fifteen? I think I thought hard lemonade was edgy.”

[askbethanysocs]

gretacatchlovewrites:

“Salt me next. Salt me!”

“All this time in pubs, and you still can’t take it straight?”

[askbethanysocs]

gretacatchlovewrites:

“A mini allen wrench to be exact. But that’s just what I’ve heard.”

“You’re the worst.”

[askbethanysocs]

gretacatchlovewrites:

“No, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“Tool.”

[askbethanysocs]

gretacatchlovewrites:

“See the sparkly shorts, tequila shot in hand? I’m not working tonight.”

“That’s what I’m talking about.”

[askstarlene]

raleighrose:

“I’m grateful, Ephraim.”

~fin~

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

Without thinking, Raleigh pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you.”

Ephraim tensed as he realized what Raleigh was doing. He cleared his throat and avoided her eyes, the patch of skin she had kissed burning a little.

“Don’t thank me yet.”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

I don’t mind helping.

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“I’m sorry, Ephraim.” 

“Why? I’m not saying that for you to be sorry. I’m saying that to show you I’m serious.” The weight of what he was agreeing to suddenly pressed down on Ephraim’s chest, but he refused to let it go.

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“And you wouldn’t tell anyone?”

“Do you know what would happen to me if I did?”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“I just know, Ephraim. It’s my space—it’s a part of me. Something’s not right.”

“I could take a look, if you want. At the system.”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“I think someone is breaking into my room. Nothing’s gone, nothing’s out of place, but it doesn’t feel right.”

“What makes you think so? Feel so?”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“No one really takes note of me here.”

On the contrary, Ephraim thought she stuck out like a sore thumb.

“But you must have a reason…”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“There’s countless recordings of the area, and I thought… Take a short amount of footage, make a copy, and loop it in.”

“How’d you get the access, I meant.”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

“I left the monitors on a loop for the hour prior. No one can see we’re here.” Raleigh looked to the sandy ground. “I’m sorry, that sounds—” 

Ephraim should have been concerned, but he was more impressed with how Raleigh had managed something so difficult and large scale.

“How?”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

Raleigh clutched tightly to Ephraim’s hand, and in a second the pair was transported to the outskirts of the city. Instead of an urban sprawl, a boundless desert surrounded the pair. It was a terrain unfamiliar to Raleigh, growing up in the lush, green mountains of Highlands. 

“Have you been here before?”

No, Ephraim hadn’t been. He’d watched tests fly out over the barren wasteland outside the bustling city, but those had been over screens, in electric colors. Nothing like this.

“Not exactly.”

“Why?”

[mindofephraim]

raleighrose:

Raleigh began carefully walking to the nearest, vacant portal, careful to make sure their presence went undetected. 

“Take my hand?”

“Okay.”