His playful nature was something she wasn’t really used to and so, delicate fingers covered her lips as she expressed tenderness while the other played with the cape. Utterly adorable, ‘quite adorable for a pet’ —-it was something she probably would have said back in high school or her freshman year at college, but this boy was helping her to sneak out, so the least she could do was to be nice to him.
“Oh, plenty of times; I have never been quite the rule follower, which is why uh— mom sent me away for a while”, she lied with a little shrug as she started climbing up the fence. “I wanted someone to give me enough courage to escape tonight”, she admitted, finally jumping to the other side, Adira was way more lucid than in the afternoon; after all, taking her meds really did help sometimes.
Once they were out of danger, Adira stopped abruptly and turned to Enzo ( little thing reached only past his chest ), “wait, now let me look at you properly”, she commander and without permission she took off his hat and lifted up the mask, because yes, his costume was on point, but it wasn’t the same without looking at his face which she really liked. “The mask is really cool, Enzo, but at least give me the chance to look at you without it until we arrive, yeah?”, she adds as her hands drop at the sides of his face and the situation is too quiet, too… tempting, but he deserves better than that. Her hands drop to his chest where she fiddles with the fabric as her green eyes look into his brown ones with curiosity, “by the way… where is the party taking place exactly? I just know is in the south, but I realized I have no real knowledge of where we’re going”.
“Oh?” Enzo announces suddenly, that dreaded sense of curiosity finally getting the best of him as he looks at the not-so-innocent girl with look of mild bewilderment. “Thats comes as a huge surprise to me, no offense, babe.” His gloved hands are shoved into his pocket as he watches her expertly climb the fences, a grin washing over his features at the unassuming sight. Maybe this North girl had a little Southern kick to her and just that thought alone made him buzz all over with excitement. Maybe he didn’t have to be so careful around her. Or maybe he had all the more reason to be. “Well, glad to be of service to you then, m’lady.” He bows to her funnily, cape swooshing with his movements before he decides to climb the fence himself, a lot faster due to his time in New York jumping gates.
Once the boy lands on his feet, much like a cat would, he dusts off his hands off and straightens only so pause abruptly following the smaller girl’s motions. “Uh, huh?” He says dumbly, and slightly out of breath since it had been a hot minute since he last engaged in some sort of physical activity like climbing. He went rigid, eyes wide and focused on her as he watches her remove the mask, an awkward smile perking up at random. “I’m going to need that back eventually..” He comments weakly, putting his hand over her hair and giving it a little affectionate pat. “You can keep it if you want it. I can be V without the melodrama of it all. I’ll be one of those protesters in the movie, yanno?”
True to his jokester nature, he pulls a funny face at Adira in hopes of making her smile or maybe even getting to hear one of her melodic laughters. Then, the boy quietens at her silence, eyes focusing on where her hands landed and curiously blinking in awe. Was something wrong? Oh! “Its in that abandoned mansion. You know the murder house?” He grins, his hand taking ahold of her wrist and leading her out into streets, eyes wandering until they settle back onto the girl. Would she kill him if he held her hand? His hand unknowingly slipped until his fingers were wrapped around hers. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. Just follow me, I’m a great navigator.”
Knox dismisses the words about his mother, even though anger sparks inside him briefly; but aunt Clara has taught him to cool down and not be impulsive. People are all different and he has to learn how to accept and understand all opinions… even if they were wrong. The confident attitude of this man shies him away softly, making him fiddle with the cleaning cloth in his hands for a moment as he tried to keep anxiety at bay. Curious eyes lay on the computer; ah, he always wanted one, but mom would never allow. The person bounces the game back to the florist and he takes a little step back, bumping against a table and so, hopping on it to sit down and avoid more stupid shenanigans his feet could come up with.
“Uhm—- “, but he doesn’t have an idea, he doesn’t know why else would people lose some sleep away from home and in front of a screen. TAKE A GUESS, KID! “—-you’re… working?”
if the cafe allowed it, enzo would be chain smoking his stupid little lungs away the entire night, but because he was indoors and there were rules to follow, he decided to bring this joint some decent revenue for the night. see, he could be a good boy when he wanted to be ! his attention eventually wanders back to his laptop once he hears that familiar ping!, his frame perking up and grin becoming wolfish at the sight of a good paying job with minimal effort. how cool was this dark web shit? after years of roaming the scene and seeing all the weird shit it ensued, he never tired of the job. disregarding the strange aura he got from the waiter, even more so when he decides to jump on one of the tables, he holds a finger up as if telling him to wait and begins clacking away, humming in response every now and again until he is finished and moving onto his next project. “ i guess thats a decent observation. you ain’t wrong — damn the technicalities, i was hoping to sound cool. category three are the people that are up to no good. ”
“My mom says that people that stay this late out are either in finals or avoiding to go home for whatever reason…”.
Knox was checking everything in the other tables was ready for whatever client decided to arrive either later that night or early tomorrow. ‘The Petite Garden’ coffee shop was open 24hrs during this time of the year, so it wasn’t very weird to receive clients after most businesses had closed, but it was certainly weird to have people in here after midnight.
“…so which one are you?”
“ tell your ma she’s got it aaaall wrong, buddy. ” enzo says cooly, letting out a low whistle with a wink for added effect as he pauses the fervid and slightly obscene clacking on his keyboard to glance up at his otherworldly friend. “ i fall straight into the third category, got any idea what it is ? ” his mischievous brown eyes eventually drift back to his computer screen, white words popping out on a black background —- bid after bid placed, job done and job accepted, one after the other until he felt he hit his limit. the dark web shouldn’t be used so casually in public, but the young man was so sure of his abilities, he held a single foul finger up in the air and did as he pleased. “ i’ll buy you something cool if you guess right. ”
The pebbles catch her attention and so, she bolts towards the windows, opening them, leaning over the balcony with a smile that only turned wider when she saw him all dressed up as V. The layers of her dress softly fluttered with the wind as she leaned on the banister; her fairy tale loving heart was quite enjoying the Shakespearean scene. She knew they had to hurry, but still, Adira took five extra seconds to look at him from above ( know your place, noble knight ).
She had done this before, plenty of times even after returning home and so, her bare feet started climbing down the wood fence laying against the wall that was used by the bindweed to creep upwards. Her skin was already used to some scratches, but it still didn’t help her to avoid a couple of little wounds on her feet as she finished climbing down and just like that, she pushed her hair back to look at him better and gift him yet another grin as she did a little courtesy, “my, my, aren’t you looking dapper tonight? These clothes look really cool on you!”, she expresses finally approaching to walk around him, completely forgetting about the guard dogs, “I love the cape”, Adira beams as she extends the black fabric to see how big it was, “Ah, we have to leave!”, she suddenly remembers with a gasp before grabbing his hand and pulling him towards some bushes she always used to sneak out.
Truth be told, Enzo had no idea what to expect out of the night.. but seeing Adira climbing down the wooden fence herself was certainly last on his list. He watched her with a wild sense of fascination written across his face, dry mouth slightly agape until her feet expertly landed on the floor below them. “H-Hey, hey!” He stumbled rather lamely, his right hand awkwardly lifting up in greeting as he walked towards her to get a better look. “You really haven’t looked in a mirror recently now, have you?” Dark eyes trail downwards then up, a subtle hint of appreciativeness flashing in his gaze. “Thanks! The cape adds to the mystery, yeah?” He grabs the other end of the cape and jokingly pulls it up to hide the bottom half of his visage, eyes twinkling in sheer amusement. Despite the difficulties he’s faced in life, there is always room in his heart for playfulness, no matter the circumstance. His face sobers up and he nods quickly, wishing for the most fleeting of moments that he wasn’t wearing a glove so he could feel her skin on his. “I’m starting to think you’ve done this more often than not.” He teased, shooting her a sly wink as he followed closely behind. “I was supposed to sneak you out.. but it seems its the other way around.”
“I’d look into it, but I’m afraid marine biology is not something quite useful to investigate crimes”, she replies with a slight concern in her voice, chewing on the tip of her finger before looking up to her friend and gifting him a smile. ”Yes, I am aware I am safe, which is why I will be extra clingy with you tonight. Parties like this one is where bad things happen in horror movies”, Adira points out.
The strength in her expression briefly falters as she recognizes a rainbow of emotions rushing through Enzo’s eyes, “what can I say? I have seen your heart and I know I can drop my entire faith on you”, she smiles and even her emotions become intense again, until he changes position and for a moment, takes the leading stand, making her drop a breathless gasp and she even tries to complain as his hands grab her face and she feels a wave of red coming to her cheeks and she shuts her eyes instinctively, but the kiss on the forehead takes her by surprise and suddenly, she is out of words, but her eyes never leave his; who would say, her brave swordsman—- no, THE DRAGON IN DISGUISE, could be as charming as a prince?
Adira remains attached to his shirt with an impish smile as Enzo complains, she laughs, though, about the ( not so wrong ) concept he had her family in. “Oh, stop it, my family isn’t gonna do anything to you… as long as they don’t know”, she adds with a teasing tone, before pushing him jokingly, “just kidding, you’re fine, I promise”; and her grin matches his at this point as they both melt in this Halloween mischief. The wink makes her roll her eyes, but now both of her hands are clinging to his shirt, pulling him down a little; “Ah, so you like it when people beg…”, Adira purrs back before she is pushed back. “Got my costume ready, see you there, Enzo Ramos”.
*********
All dressed up and ready, Adira opened the huge crystal doors to her balcony, leaving only a dim light on inside her bedroom to return later. Ocean green eyes look through the darkness of the garden for her bandit. The girl leaned on the banister, giving last touches to her make up as she waited, because for some reason, she really wanted to cause an impression and not at the party, oh no, fuck the party! She was doing all this performance for the sake of this boy’s attention.
It had been hours since they last departed and Enzo was still foolishly reliving their afternoon encounter. A lot. Maybe a little more than what would be deemed as normal. The male could still vividly remember the way she looked at him after he stupidly kissed her, or the way they playfully flirted as if they were long-time lovers. Enzo almost felt like kicking himself for forgetting the sole purpose of his being in Rosewick. He didn’t deserve unattainable luxuries like Adira Warder when the death of his best friend remained unavenged. He had a mission to fulfill, he had someone to mangle until they were a ghost of whatever pathetic excuse of a human being they were. Leaving his home was the easy part. He locked the door to his apartment shut but not before flipping his drunken mother to her side so she wouldn’t choke on whatever regurgitated alcohol she had guzzled down that evening. He was lucky she didn’t even swing at him like she normally would. Surprisingly.. the night was easy.
Then he arrived at the Warder residence, he was starting to doubt the easiness of sneaking this girl out. Guards, dogs, a gate too high and a home so expensive a lifetime of hacking commissions wouldn’t be able to nick at the overall pricing of the place. But he was a man with a mission and he would be damned if he didn’t rescue the princess from the tower of her house. After jumping a few gates and even dodging a couple of guards, Enzo finally made it to his destination. The light was pouring out and he could only blame the painful racing of his heart on all of the cardio he had just done. It wasn’t because he was excited to see her again or anything of the sort. Heavens no. He was just out of shape.. right? Adjusting the white mask on his face ( appropriately dressed as the antivillain from V for Vendetta ), he tossed a pebble at her window, praying that it wouldn’t rupture it and rupture his wallet in the process.
“Adira! Ads!” He whispered sharply, his hands pushing the stupid mask over his head and tossing another pebble. Thank goodness he retained his pitching skills from baseball. “It’s 9pm, babe. We gotta go before I get mauled by your freakin’ dogs.”
“Where would I find someone like that? Well, that’s kind of a hard question, I am sure a lot of people spend time lollygagging; it is not like they will have a ‘hacker’ legend on their t-shirt or something while laughing maniacally with a laptop in the busiest coffee shop, right?”, Adira laughs; not like she is particularly interested on finding who A is ( unless that solves Aiden’s murder ), but the doctors always advise her to keep her head busy with other things rather than her fairy tales. She sighs and twists her lips, “it is kinda pointless, though, but.. someone must know something, I just— I just think it is too weird that this person appears out of nowhere and nobody has any idea of their identity”.
The girl drops a chuckle with a shake of her head and a roll of eyes, she never understood why Enzo was so self-demeaning all the time; Adira could sense some kind of sadness and constant emotional evasion coming from him, but who was her to even ask about it? As his hand touches her, she looks up, sweetly, but still defying, she wasn’t going to change her away around him now or never; she would never cease to try and prove him he was worthy of care. As he stumbles back, Adira takes the advantage to cling to his shirt with one hand and stand on her toes to look him right in the eyes, “I will never stop caring about you, Enzo Ramos, and that’s a final”, she established with decisive eyes, before they turned in the blue lagoons full of hopefulness as some moments before, her two personalities clashing in one second, showing her capacity of emotional vulnerability.
Her eyes beg at him as she pulls closer with no other intention, but to be insistent. He steps back and the girl cocks her head to the side in a rather childish way, although a mischievous smile draws up on her lips as he speaks, “that’s the fun part, my friend! That’s when the sneaking out part comes!”, she grins, “ah, my family can be really snobbish, but it helps that my parents aren’t always home; it is completely irrelevant what they think, I love spending time with you, you are fun!”, she grins. The girl squealed happily as she jumped to hang her arms around her friend’s shoulders. “Yes, yes yes! I’ll be good, I promise”. But no, she won’t be good, you cannot trust a girl that was raised in the party scene, someone that danced until her feet hurt and even bled. BEWARE, Enzo Ramos, because you are meddling with an ocean witch.
He didn’t mean for it to sound so awkward, but it did anyway.. the mentioning of a hacker furiously hacking away in the local coffee shop made him choke out a small albeit choppy laugh. Was he that much of a cliche? What was he, some superhero with his identity in danger of being exposed? The boy reaches to the nape of his neck and tugs on the ends of his hair, a lopsided grin washing over his features at the sharp inquisitiveness of the girl. “I dunno, Ads. Hacker legend does sound like a badass logo though.” Joke about it, dumb boy, maybe that’ll throw her off. Or maybe she wasn’t even aware of his newly born discomfort to begin with.
Despite having zero curiosity towards A and even less of a fear towards someone that hid behind their screen, he had to admit his tactics were pretty grueling to unravel. If he wanted to, though, Enzo was certain he could track this person down with a little bit of dedication and a dozen pack of energy drinks. “It is weird, you’re right.” He hums in thought, head twisted in all the ways he could bring light to the person hiding behind that tragic letter of theirs. “But, no one cares enough to look into it. I sure don’t. Don’t stress yourself too much about it, alright? You’re safe and nothing will happen to you.” Not if he has a say in it.
The melody of her amusement is heaven to his ears, but the expression that tagged along with it nearly made him want to cower before her. Enzo could see the glint of defiance in her wide gorgeous eyes, the sight nearly makes him gulp back whatever deprecating thing he was going to say next. It was a force of habit, probably a coping mechanism for all of the shit he was carrying on his back. For everything he would forever feel guilty about. If Adira knew.. if she knew even a grain of what he was capable of, he was sure she would never look at him the same way. The poisoned thought makes him shift in discomfort, the smile static yet untrue his underlying emotions. “You have too much faith in me, Miss Warder.” There is a sudden shift in his chest, one for the greater good of things as he cracks a genuine smile. Shaking his head lightly, he places his hands on both sides of her face and leans in to give her forehead a firm yet fleeting kiss. “Thank you.” And that’s it on the topic. No whys or buts, just blissful acceptance.
He was about to move back when she took him by surprise, his shirt crinkled in her firm grasp. The boy lets out a nervous bout of laughter, face suddenly hot with their unexpected proximity. “You’re something else, Adira!” He exclaims as he allows her ( self gratification, much? ) to cling onto his form, his own hands awkwardly hovering over her waist in reaction to the happening. “Your family is going to skin me alive. I just really want you to know that.” He’s grinning now, the idea of sneaking the girl a million miles out of his league outside her home being the enthralling part. Did he deserve to feel this alive? Probably not.. but for once, he was going to indulge. That’s what they were going to do, run away into the night, and he already had a plan on how to do it. “Well, since you’re practically begging me..” Sly bastard, the wink for added effect does nothing to lessen the suggestive comment. Placing his hands on her shoulders, he pushes her slightly back and smiles. “It’s a costume party. I’ll be outside your window at 9pm sharp. See you later, pretty girl.”
As the one male caved, buying more than what she was expecting, she wasn’t going to complain. The faster she was able to get rid of them, the faster she would be able to leave. She wasn’t made for this, she just couldn’t sell, it’s not what she was made to do. Though, when hearing a voice she never thought she would hear again, Luna’s eyes quickly moved up to the male that was standing there. He was someone she never thought she would see again. Someone she had thought about from time to time, still thinking about how he was handling things, even when a great amount of time had passed. It was almost as if she was seeing a ghost from her past. He had been the first person she ever had a crush on, and she didn’t even know how to deal with it back then besides being awkward. It was crazy how things had changed since then. “God, I haven’t heard that nickname in forever,” a soft chuckle fell from her lips as she stood up straight. Placing the money she had in her hands in the small grey lock box, she put her complete attention towards him. “Nobody else wanted the job,” a roll of her eyes as she spoke the truth. As his question, a small, mischievous smirk took place on her lips. “Could be a handshake, a hug, a kiss – anywhere on your body, or if you’re really feeling lucky – who knows what could end up happening,” she hummed. “It all depends on what you want.”
His smile grows lopsided once the younger girl realizes who it is thats speaking to her, big puppy dog eyes filled with such nostalgia, he decides to lean against her table to distract himself from spiraling into a wave of melancholy. “Its a cute nickname, yanno? Surprised no one has used it since.” Enzo can’t help but feel light. He feels as though he has stepped into a time where there was hope for the world. Where he would sit outside waiting for his best friend to be prepped for visitation and he would share a cup of coffee with the same girl standing across from him. In addition to the lightness in his feet, there was a niggling sensation of regret festering in his brain for disappearing without saying a word to her. After she died.. everything else died too. Even his brief ( yet wholesome ) friendship with the sweet girl. His eyes follow her as she stands from her seat, his hands going straight to his pocket to locate his wallet. “Always the good girl, huh, Moonie? Happy that hasn’t changed.” Enzo didn’t even like cookies, but if it bought him a minute longer with the girl without seeming like a creep, a few less bucks in his pocket wouldn’t hurt. He had been so busy trying to find a tenner that the insinuation failed to register until an entire thirty seconds later. The wheels in his brained sounded rusty once he understood, the blush creeping up until his face was beet red. “Shit, Luna. You don’t have to do that, I.. I just want a cookie.” He laughs nervously, fingers fidgeting with his hair in an attempt to keep himself grounded. It was science, gorgeous girls like Luna made him nervous. “Raincheck on the second half, yeah? Can I whisk you away when you’re done with all of this instead? Maybe we can grab some coffee and catch up.. if you want. I’m sure you’re a busy woman and all.”
Adira looked discretely at her friend, trying to read about the notorious bitterness plastered on his face and yet, she didn’t get much out of it; since the mental hospital she had lost a bit of her touch to read people, caused by her brain foggy at all times due the medicines that kept in a state of constant mental shut down. BAD MEMORIES. BAD MEMORIES. Eyes encounter each other when he looks up and she gifts him a sweet smile, her own gaze never retreating at the idea of getting caught watching ( that was one of the things some people could consider a bit unnerving about her ).
“Idle hands are the devil’s workshop”, she repeats, blinking away to stare at the starry sky above them, “I like that”, Adira hums softly, “then I guess we will have to find someone with a lot of time in their hands to catch the trickster”, she solves with a little shrug, as if it was so easy.
A melodic soft laughter leaves her lips, accompanied by a roll of her eyes as she carefully folds the handkerchief in her hands. “My friend, do not speak so poorly of yourself”, she grins, “it is always a pleasure to take a bit of yourself with me every time we see each other”. Adira’s eyes light up with childish excitement as he speaks about his plans and so, she pushes herself towards him with her fingertips brushing her lips as she gasps. “I heard about a party as well, but I am not allowed to go… can I go with you to your party?”, she asks hopeful, “I just have to sneak out and pass security since my parents won’t be home that night”, the girl explains, “Pleeaase, Enzo”.
It was hard for Enzo to stay annoyed when someone as special like Adira was in his company. The entire world could tear apart the foundation of his sanity and a single smile could mend even the deepest cracks in his psyche anew. To be frank, the young man found her ability to soothe the demons raging within appalling. Maybe the demons were vain and pretty girls were the solution to his woes. Or maybe it was just singular instead of plural. Enzo scoffs at his downward yet wishful spiel of thoughts, messy brows furrowing even lower in discontent for even considering the idea. And then she smiled at him and thunder struck again for the nth time that minute. Arms fold tightly across his chest, cheeks tinted a soft shade that he was sure would look prettier on her.
“Yup, that’s right, princess.” He says, pushing back perfect yet floppy curls, a lopsided grin washing over his face. Brown eyes trail upwards to see what she was seeing, though he knew very well the sky would look nowhere as beautiful as she likely saw it. There was just darkness with satellites that looked like stars. It looked bleak. “Yeah?” He responds lowly, head still facing up, not daring to look back down at her in fears she’ll look at him again with those big vast eyes. Stupid boy. “Hmm, and where would you find someone like that? ...Not that I want in on your plan.. I’d rather not waste my time doing pointless shit, no offense.”
Finally, he glances down once the beautiful chime of her laughter blesses his ears, the spiked chain wrapped around his heart growing tighter the longer he attempted to indulge in the sound. He had to be a masochist to inflict so much pain on his already self-sacrificing heart. Letting out a breath of fresh air, Enzo grins, genuinely, before shaking his yet once again. “You’re too nice, you know? If I were you, I’d make me buy you another one for ruining it.” He pauses, brows pinching slightly. “Cigarette ash is nasty to remove you know.. the amounts of shirts I’ve had to throw away.” His voice is softer now as he gently touches her wrist to keep her from folding it, one step closer to look at the piece of fabric. As soon as she pushes forward, Enzo nearly stumbles back, his tongue tied as she rambles about a party he was certain he wouldn’t take her to. Adira with a bunch of drunks? He wouldn’t dare dream of it.
“No, no way.” He defends weakly, his voice nearly betraying the hammering of his heart from how close she had come so suddenly. His bigger hands rest on his shoulders, careful not to get any ashes on her clothes, and he takes a single step back. Two steps to be sure. “I don’t want your family chewing me out for taking you to a shoddy party in the South. I don’t think your family would be happy knowing you’re even breathing the same air as me.” He lets out a chuckle, self-deprecating as always, dumb boy. “I don’t know, Adira..” Enzo laughs, nearly choking on his words from how precious she looked begging. “Fuck. Shit.. look at me. If I take you, its on my terms. Can you promise you won’t stray too far?”
“People are making a big deal out of it, aren’t they?”, she questions with a single-shoulder-shrug and a little smile. Oh, baby girl, and didn’t you make a big deal as well? You cried and screamed yourself to sleep, you teared apart your pillow and broke many things around your room last night as soon as that text arrived; but mommy said ‘make no scene, Adira’ and you are a good girl, so you obeyed, put teabags on your eyes the next morning, did your make up in an excellent way as always and painted a fake smile on your face before heading out. Hide your feelings. Make the family look good. Daddy’s princess tilted her head slightly looking at the other; kinda pretty boy, right? Her green eyes drilled on every feature of his face without blinking before relaxing the posture. A PRANK? Her heart itches, even though she knows Aiden is dead; he was already in the water, waiting for her. No, he isn’t dead, HE WILL LIVE FOREVER. THEY WILL LIVE FOREVER. TOGETHER. “Very logical”, she agrees ( she has learned to agree with almost everything ). “Who could’ve gotten his phone, though? Someone at the police station? A HACKER? Adira taps her chin with the index in a thoughtful motion before her eyes catch on a little dirt on the other’s cheek. “Don’t mind me, darling”, she comments and pulls out a baby blue handkerchief with her initials embroidered on a corner; she rubbed the soft fabric on his cheek until the stain disappeared. “There we go”, she smiles, “Talking about Halloween, are you celebrating it?”
“too big a deal if you asked me..” enzo muttered in what seemed like a toned down shade of annoyance. should anyone not know of what had happened behind the scenes of his private life away from rosewick, one could go as far as mistaking enzo for a jealous boy. unfortunately, there was nothing festering in his heart other than disdain for a certain aiden lancaster. why people grieved the memory of a horrible man would forever be beyond his immediate understanding. with a nonchalant shrug and the ashes of his cigarette falling with each syllable that escaped his lips, he casually glanced up to focus his angsty gaze on the ethereal light that was adira warder. ever the pretty little thing, it was such a shame that she was just another soul in the crowd of mourning faces. furrowing his brows and looking away almost instantaneously, enzo immediately felt guilt for thinking that poorly of adira, even if it was for a second too long. “a hacker, huh?” its distant, the murmur of his voice, though a tiny smile cracks at the thought of some random hacker playing a cruel joke on the town collectively. too bad his ability to play pranks wasn’t on that scale of morbidness. safe to say that would truly be royally fucked up. “its doubtful, babe. i just think its someone with too much time on their hands. you know what they say.. idle hands are the devil’s workshop.” he blows out the last remaining puff of smoke before tossing the roach on the ground, every ounce of his attention suddenly swept by the tenderness she easily seemed to bathe him in. he didn’t deserve kindness like hers, he didn’t deserve any at all. “how many of those have you ruined now because of me?” his lips curve up in a smile, his insides twisting up just with her gaze alone. the back of his hand swipes at the same spot she dabbed at, cheeks tinted lightly in embarrassment. “uh.. i’m not sure. go to a party.. heard there might be one the day of halloween. what about you?”
“ if y’ain’t got nothin’ to hide, why’re ya so damn scared of a little dead boy’s text message ? ” that indomitable brooklyn accent rolled swiftly from his tongue as he exhaled a rather large cloud of smoke from his nearly finished cigarette. leaning lazily against the murky brick wall of some random building on the south side of town, a stupid grin was quick to paint the male’s features amused as he idly watched the cars zip by. when he first moved to rosewick, which wasn’t that long ago to begin with, he wasn’t expecting so much paranoia to be bundled up in one place. sure, moving to this town wasn’t his brightest idea yet, but it was certainly bringing him closer to enacting justice on the bastard who finished ruining his less than fantastic life. “ halloween’s comin’ up, for fuck’s sake. i’m willing to bet the half yard in my pocket that this is aaalll just one huge prank. ” he quietens and takes another, much lengthier, drag from his cigarette, dark eyes shifting to focus on the other. “ ...logical, right ? ”
Every town has its own haunted house and Rosewick wasn’t the exception. With Halloween coming, the little canine was excited about the many things that were to come. If not something blowing up, he was sure at least some sick party would be thrown in the south; but for now, he was happy looking through one of the windows of the old mansion that was resting on dust and legends told from generation to generation. It was getting late, but that didn’t keep him from fidgeting with the lock of the entrance to test his luck inside the building.
When Enzo heard there was a haunted house in town, it was like his nihilistic views towards life sprung out. He wanted to prove to all the believers in town that rosewick’s tacky ghost story was just that: a fucking story. Upon strolling into the abandoned steps of the mansion, he spotted a male figure at the very entrance, most likely doing what he was there to do. Breaking and entering, Enzo’s most favorite past time. Stealthily walking up to him, the brunet leaned against a pillar and waited for his counterpart to finish picking the lock. What happened instead was the chipping of his eternally patient facade the longer it took. “So.. is that how long it takes for you to unclip a bra?” He mocks with a wide grin, dark orbs focused on the ground until a pretty little rock catches his attention. “You know what? I’m just gonna to do what you’re too pussy to do. Step aside, kiddo. Let the big boys do the real work.” Tossing it in the air, he catches the rock and launches it into the window, the force of the throw causing a wide enough hole for him to stick his hand in. He struggles briefly until he hears the glorious click of the door. Bingo! The door eerily creaked open once he twisted the knob and he stepped back, looking like a child who had gotten a big fat 10/10 on his quiz. “After you.”
Oh, how fun it was for the beginning of the new school year. And first year of college. That just added on the fun, especially with not knowing what she even wanted to major in. Yet, here she was, with a group of people she really didn’t care for, trying to sell some baked good for whatever fundraiser they were doing… yeah, Luna really didn’t pay attention to much of anything, just that she needed to get rid of all of these items. “C’mon. I didn’t make them, but I can promise you something sweet,” she said in a flirtatious tone. If she had to give a kiss – or even something else to get rid of these, so be it. “It’s only two dollars – I think. I don’t know. Either way, you’ll get some type of reward. Your choice.. plus the cupcake, or any other baked good of your choice. What do you say?” Luna asked with her charming smile as she leaned over the counter, not taking her eyes off of them.
College. Now that was a particularly sore topic for Enzo whenever he passed by the place. The idea of higher education always seemed to remind him of his failed plans of success with his very best friend at his side. Instead, he was burdened with a desire to move forward and always being stumped by the overwhelming guilt of his broken promises to a dead woman. The male was truly minding his business as he passed by — he was already out of his comfort zone in a place he avoided at all costs — but an eerily familiar voice seemed to catch his attention. A voice that he associated with a hopeful past and his wishes that everything would turn out okay. With an inconspicuous glance, he finally catches glimpse of a girl he hadn’t seen in ages. Much taller and far more outgoing in contrast to her timid preteen self, Enzo couldn’t help but snicker when he overheard her conversation. “Didn’t peg you for a saleswoman, Moonie.” He chimed in after the person ahead of him scurried away with baked goods and a red face, a fond grin stretching at the edges of his lips. “Whats this reward you’re talking so loudly about? Maybe I’ll buy some if its impressive enough, who the hell knows.”
「 benjamin wadsworth. cismale. he/him. 」oh, him ? yeah, that’s ENZO RAMOS. people are always talkin’ about how buoyant & erudite they are, but i think they can be impulsive & unruly. guess that’s why they’re known around rosewick as “ the phoenix. ” he’s a twenty-four year old hacker for the crimson roses and you can catch him over on the south side. rumor has it he joined the roses to find the person who caused his best friend’s death.
STATISTICS.
full name: enzo miguel ramos.
age: twenty-four
date of birth: 18 september
birthplace: queens, new york
nationality: american
gender: cis male
pronouns: he/him
orientation: heteroromantic, heterosexual
religion: his mom didn’t raise him religious so its really no surprise that the kid doesn’t believe in anything at all. don’t even ask him what his views are because he will straight up say he is athiest. leaning more towards nihilism even.
occupation: hacker.
highest education level: graduated from high school with high honors and completed half a semester in college before dropping out.
language(s) spoken: english and spanish.
BIOGRAPHY.
life has a tendency to be full of twists and turns for the better and for the worst, but for enzo ramos, it seemed that the first twelve years of his life were full of the latter. having been born in queens, new york to a couple of inexperienced people inadequate for the life of parents, it was but a sheer surprise that enzo himself didn’t end up being a completely awful human being like the two of them combined.
enzo’s father didn’t have a good reputation to begin the story and that was made clear when he took the boroughs of queens and their women by storm. surprisingly enough, his erratic behavior didn’t prevent her highly independent mother from dancing with the devil (and eventually even falling in love with him). the two of them made a severely odd couple to everyone around them, but enzo’s mother was too enamored to see his blatant flaws. in less than two months time, enzo’s father wordlessly rode off into the sunset, leaving his poor young mother pregnant and in the dust.
when enzo was born many months later, his mother fell into a deep post-partum depression that she simply couldn’t get rid of. she would eventually begin to comfort herself by drinking heavily the older enzo got, all in a silly attempt to shake off her codependency on her could have been husband. one drink would quickly become two and soon enough, the bottle was empty and his mother was pathetically drunk on the bathroom floor, still disbelieving of the fact that the love of her life left her. this was a sight enzo grew up thinking was normal; the tears, the rage, the broken heart.
to be frank, enzo’s childhood was full of one too many questionable decisions made by his depressed mother, who eventually even gained the title of the town drunk over time. he was the one who took care of his mother (instead of the other way around) and loved her so deeply and unconditionally, nothing she did could ever make him turn against her. when his mother’s alcoholism began to take an especially violent turn, enzo forgave her every single time. the peppered bruises on his skin, the split lips, and healed scars.. that was enough to tell the whole town of queens what was going on behind their closed doors. unfortunately, no one actually cared enough to stop the drunken child abuse, no one except for a brave little girl named winona morrison.
winona and enzo became best friends in the fifth grade and the two of them proceeded to grow up together. during this time, enzo gradually began to spend more and more time away from his mother and more with the morrison family. each time he did come home (which taught him the lesson of never EVER coming home before 9pm), the repercussions grew more severe than the last. because of this, enzo was often caught in between wanting to lead a happy normal childhood versus wanting to do the right thing. in the end, he always picked his mother over everything else and the same old violent cycle would ensue despite the constant promises of fixing up tomorrow while pouring out what little alcohol was left in the bottle.
truth of the matter was, there was no such thing as “kicking her addiction to the curb” for enzo’s mother. there was no such thing as not feeling dependent on alcohol anymore or doing it for her darling little boy. the yearning to better herself simply didn’t exist and the sad thing was that it took enzo’s naiveness to wear off for him to finally understand that. despite having had an unfortunate life at home, not every little aspect of his life was godawful. high school was surprisingly a breeze for the tragically anxious enzo, though that was mostly because he tried to go undetected by his classmates. he wasn’t as outgoing or as popular as his pretty counterpart was, but he knew damn well how to be convivial and patient. the two kids, as polar opposite as they could ever be, were a dynamic duo; iconic, smart, and with bright futures ahead of them.
sadly, that future never became a reality for one of the two as they were caught in a fatal car accident on their way to a frat party outside of town when they were nineteen years old, leaving winona in a deathly catatonic state and enzo with one too many broken bones. winona’s dreams of graduating and exploring the world with her best friend were all but crushed, her health rapidly declining as the days went by. the only thing that kept her alive was the machinery that they hooked her up to, her will to live dying along with her. after his recovery, which was plenty faster than his best friend’s, enzo decided to wait for her to heal so they could achieve their joint dreams.
what he got out of every visitation was a broken heart, his pain overwhelming whenever winona begged him to put her out of her misery. the morrison family was completely unaware of her wishes, but they refused to let go despite her condition destroying her day by day. when enzo was twenty, he saw winona go into a cardiac arrest. he witnessed first hand the agony that she wanted to be liberated from. it had been nearly a year and a half since their accident and it was clear as day that there was no hope for her full recovery. by the time winona was stable enough to have visitors, she asked enzo one last time to do it for her, to amp up the morphine levels on her IV and let her drift off into a painless and eternal sleep.
after their tearful goodbyes and a string of apologies and reassurances, enzo did the unthinkable and ended winona morrison’s life with his own two hands. the hospital later went on to conclude that her death was due to a still fragile state, but a few staff members were convinced it was enzo, the last person on file that visited her. they weren’t wrong about their suspicions, but they were quickly dismissed by the doctors as rumors who ruled her death as completely natural and unavoidable. eventually, the rumor got out and the neighborhood where enzo grew up was quick to judge him, more specifically the morrison family. they didn’t see him as a tragic little boy with a bright future but rather a spiteful young man who was jealous and angry just like his poor excuse of a mother.
to escape the constant judgement and scrutinizing of his old neighborhood, enzo began to track down the files of their accident and found a lead. the person, a drunk driver with a rose tattoo, lived in a city named rosewick. with his alcoholic mother in toll, all in hopes of trying to start anew, he moved into the south side and found himself joining the crimson roses with a secret plan of his own. its been a couple of years since he last saw winona smile and the guilt of her death hasn’t lessened in the slightest. the only thing that is keeping him alive is the attempt to track down the bastard that ended up killing his best friend. the hardest part of being in a gang he absolutely despises is trying to keep it under the wraps.
PERSONALITY.
enzo is a tortured soul, really ; crestfallen, introspective, impulsive and reticent. he is the kind of guy that can be seen smiling regardless of the situation that he’s in. he is so cheerful, always in decent spirits and trying to do his best, but when he gets too happy, it’s like something pulls on his leash til he’s choking on old bones. enzo feels like he doesn’t deserve to live a good life unless it’s with his best friend who is long gone. he tends to keep his opinions to himself on most days (when he’s feeling like a particularly good boy that day) and is suspiciously patient with everyone he meets. warmhearted, illusive, understanding and stupid smart, there is also a quiet part of him that desperately wants to get better. a good part of him shines through the bad and he is constantly fighting his need to justice and his need to let it go. all in all, enzo is a decent guy with a couple of secrets under his sleeve. he’ll befriend anyone, but whether he truly trusts you all depends on his mood.
