haunted houses

savannah whittacker & jacob moore

[havntedhovses]

ashwrths​:

“i was just asking how you were doing.” emily gave him a sympathetic smile, placing her back at her side instead of offering it to her friend. he didn’t seem to be in the mood for company from the way that he visibly flinched when she went to greet him. then again, she couldn’t blame him. his wife had died. “it’s okay to be sad or angry or however you want to feel. these signs probably aren’t helping, but maybe take that as a sign within itself? try talking to someone? i know some widows in my book club that can relate to what you’re going through.” though none of their spouses offed themselves in the home they shared, she pointed out yet kept that tidbit of information to herself. “helping the less fortunate always helps me when i’m in a bad mood or need a sense of purpose.”

“right. sorry. i’m a little... distracted.” jake pulled his attention away from the signs once and for all, turning to emily. he tried for a smile—he knew she was trying to help—but he barely had the energy to make sure his kids were okay, let alone fix himself and help others.  “yeah, maybe i should try that. i’ve been wishing i could just... get away.”

[havntedhovses]

julieofwisteria​:

“It’s fine, we always see a little bit of a quieter period after the festivities so it’s been nice to have some time off. Although we will of course end up having the romantics trying to book in soon. Always something around the corner,” She chuckled to herself.

“right, yeah,” jake said, nodding along. always something around the corner. he couldn’t help but wonder what was around the corner for him. what came next, after all this? “well, i hope it comes around fast,” he said with a small smile.

[havntedhovses]

cnthelane​:

“I’m pretty sure at thirty I was doing the exact same thing I’m doing now.” She was a teacher, a mother, a wife. Okay, so maybe something had changed in the last decade. “So maybe my fifties will be the time to reclaim that.” She’d go travelling or she’d skydive or get a tattoo. Do something crazy. She liked the sound of that. She narrowed her eyes jokingly, not even she could deny that was the crazy teacher - even if she’d always preferred to think of herself as enthusiastic, or passionate. “You’re just lucky I can’t give you detention anymore.” Although she was sure she could count on her fingers how many detentions she’d ever actually given out.

savannah laughed, tossing her hair over her shoulder. “you wouldn’t even if you could,” she argued. it was true. everyone knew if you wanted to slack off or get wild in class, mrs. rhodes’ art room was the place to do it. nothing too crazy of course. fairview was not a place where children acted out.

[havntedhovses]

cnthelane​:

Piper was relieved to see that Jake’s reaction hadn’t been to her personally, a part of her had been worried that he had noticed her near outburst despite her ex-husband’s timely intervention. However, it seemed that she’d remained uncaught. Good. She didn’t want to be another reason the Moores were suffering. “Oh same old, same old,” She attempted to play off. It wasn’t though. Of course it wasn’t. No book club. No poker night. They hadn’t gotten together over the holidays. But she was sure he didn’t need a neighbour telling him that things had changed. If Rose’s death had rocked her world…well what had it done to her husband’s? “You know you don’t have to be a stranger. I know I was more Rose’s friend but…well if you want to come over for coffee it’s about the only competent thing that comes out of my kitchen.” She wasn’t sure he would want to, but she had to try at least.

jake could see the wheels turning in her head, trying to figure out how he was doing. or maybe he was projecting, because he felt that way with everyone lately. he smiled sadly. “thanks, piper.” she was sweet to offer. jake just wasn’t sure he could handle it. all he could imagine was the conversation turning to rose... and he couldn’t stomach that yet. “definitely soon.”

[havntedhovses]

benquello​:

     “you know, i’m not sure but if you cut me a sweet deal on a seat in that private jet i might be able to make a little space on the drive way.” well, it wasn’t like his dad was ever home anyway, was it? he looked at savannah and briefly glanced towards her phone but he had little interest with anything to do with social media unless it was sharing conspiracy theories about the moon landing and lizard people on reddit at 3am in the morning. “what are you up to anyway?” he gestures, making conversation but also slightly interested in what the rest of fairview did in their spare time because he really wasn’t sure. 

“i might be able to make that happen,” savannah said with a smirk. she wasn’t upset to be distracted from her phone for a moment, which didn’t happen often. she sighed. “not much. trying to find something to do in this boring town.”

[havntedhovses]

benquello​:

    he stands outside the garage, the circle of suburbia encasing his home as it encases the neighbourhood. is he the only one who finds it odd that this seems to be the personal tragedy of every single person who lives in the area and not just those directly affected? he’s starting to feel it’s true what all of those weird utopian films about surburbanites turning evil suggest; maybe there’s something in the water. it’s not like he would be offset with so much paranoid had he not seen what he saw like a weird peeping tom, now the secrets are swirling and he’s creating new mysteries, creating a murder and a crime scene in his own mind standing on his empty driveway.

he snaps out of it as someone passes by, the backpack slack in his hand as his dark eyes travel to see who it is – there are no surprises in suburbia usually, isn’t that why he always LOVED fairview before all of this? “sorry, you just caught me mid day dream. i was just thinking about where to park my dream ferrari. guess there’s plenty of space since it’s imaginary anyway.”

savannah hadn’t even noticed ben apart from the fact that there was someone else on the sidewalk—she was too engrossed in deleting risque comments off her latest posts. men could be so disgusting. “huh?” she looked up, surprised to be spoken to, then realized ben was mostly just rambling. “think there’s space for my dream private jet?”

[havntedhovses]

cnthelane​:

“So what am I looking at? Forty?” Because that gave her another four weeks of living before teenagers would declare that her life was over. And that sounded about right. She narrowed her eyes teasingly. “Is that your really nice way of calling me the crazy teacher?” Because that sounded about right to.

“no way. fifty is, like, the new thirty.” savannah wasn’t sure that was entirely true, but she did know that plenty of people started a whole new life once they hit the age where everything seemed hopeless and pointless. she shrugged, smiling. “maybe. i wouldn’t say that’s inaccurate, would you?”

[havntedhovses]

diamondxosborne​:

“I said move…like five time, I believe,” Dime spoke, with a smile that gave nothing of her real emotions away, while stressing the word move. “I was just contemplating on whether or not I should go in for a sixth request and possibly even a shove, but it looks like that’s not necessary, now that you’ve woken the hell up.” She gestured towards the bench he was standing in front of, the one she’d been eyeing for the last minute as a possible place to sit for a bit and eat the salad she’d gotten from the food joint across the street. But of course, he was blocking her way. She hadn’t wanted to dine in, because she had Cicero with her - and said Doberman was currently standing alert and ever watchful at her side as she spoke - but returning home to eat just seemed like a total waste of time, especially when she still had a few errands to run first. So the bench, out in the snow, was her only viable option. “Although if I gotta ask you to move again, I might change my mind on the shoving part…I’m not exactly known for having an extended amount of patience, and I’ve already exceeded my own expectation on that front five time.” She wasn’t actually serious - going around pushing people around on a whim had never been her thing, and it never would be, but her sardonic delivery made it nearly impossible to tell.

jake was a little taken aback by her aggressive demeanor, and it’s pairing with a smile. but he stepped out of the way, shaking it off. he felt like he was overanalyzing everything these days. “my bad. go ahead.” he looked down and suddenly put two and two together; he recognized that dog from around the neighborhood, the osborne house. he hadn’t seen any of the residents in a while. “right. well, sixth time is the charm, i guess.”

[havntedhovses]

julieofwisteria​:

Julie gave a small nod her words lost on her tongue once more and she stood in awkward silence. It wasn’t that she wanted to be invited in, she could remember what it was like having people come into her Gran’s home after she’d died and just the emptiness of it all. “Right. Good. Please do, him indoors as well would be happy to chat I’m sure.”

this was the worst part of all these interactions—hoping they’d forget how strange it was, wishing life hadn’t gotten so hard. “yeah. i would too.” the short silence felt heavy, a weight on his shoulders he hadn’t been able to shake since the funeral. he had to say something. “how is... everything? your business?”

[havntedhovses]

christaashworth​:

    there was one advantage that christa had that perhaps others on wisteria lane lacked; she had never experienced true tragedy, heart ache or an ounce of real emotional pain. therefore she led with blind optimism and complete oblivion, attempting to make the best out of any situation and although she was a great empath she rarely identified how deep real feelings ran through the veins of others. 

“no need to apologise, it’s my fault,” she adjusts quickly, hand gently squeezing the hand with which he holds his coffee at the wrist. a reassurance, she thinks but perhaps not. “i was just saying you should arrange with my parents to come over. all of you. we’d love to have you over for dinner and drinks whenever you want.”

jake had to adjust his mindset, remember this was a little girl in front of him, remember she knew his kids. some days he felt like he was going insane, with the way familiar faces turned to strangers in the midst of his grief. “oh, that’s very, christa,” he replied with a small smile. he could tell she meant the best, was being genuine. but the last thing he wanted was to get drunk at someone else’s house. it would only turn him into a sad, slurring mess. “i’ll have to talk to them about it.” he wouldn’t be saying a word.

[havntedhovses]

cnthelane​:

Piper wouldn’t deny, she’d been avoiding Jake. It wasn’t anything against him, in fact it was quite the opposite. She’d been ashamed of herself. First for how she’d allowed the affair to effect her friendship with Rose - who, with the benefit of hindsight, she could see must have been struggling with her own issues - and then for how she’d behaved at the funeral. For the first time in a long while she’d been thankful for Elias, he’d managed to stop her creating the scene she’d been heading towards in her guilt and grief. Still, she hadn’t quite managed to look the widower in the eyes knowing that had she not been stopped she would have made the day so much harder for Jake and his children. However, spotting him downtown, she thought that it was a sign. It was time to face her fears and be a good friend to Rose, better late than never.

“Jake,” She had greeted him softly, but when she was met with a sharp flinch she in turn nearly jumped out of her skin. “Sorry!” She immediately began to apologise, “Sorry, I just saw you over here and…well we haven’t spoken.” 

jake relaxed visibly when he realized who he was talking to. “yeah, it’s been a while. how are things?” these days he was asking that before anyone had the chance to ask him. he could never tell the truth—falling apart at the seams, barely getting the kids to school and sports and tutors. he was a walking disaster. but mostly, no one could tell. he hoped.

[havntedhovses]

thedogofwar​:

Man, this guy was jumpy. He hadn’t thought much of Jacob prior to Rose’s death, but the way he seemed to scare easy was quickly changing that fact. The man looked out of it. Was it his grief talking? Maybe. Adrian followed Jacob’s line of sight, staring in the direction of the yard signs. He could see why he was so unsettled. “Was asking if you were alright.” He said, giving his arm a comforting squeeze. “Look like you’ve seen a ghost.” 

jake tried to smile, but it came out sheepish and halfhearted. “fine. yeah, well... she seems to be everywhere, even though she’s gone.” all the reminders just made it worse. and rose was a good soul, thoroughly involved in fairview’s small community. everyone had something to say about her now that she wasn’t here to defend herself.

[havntedhovses]

wisterialvne​:

Sam felt bad for the poor man. He’d been through enough in his personal life, and now it seemed like the entire town wanted to make a spectacle out of showing their support for him. That being said, Sam was entirely complicit in doing the same thing. Still, that didn’t stop her from feeling bad about it to begin with. Even though she’d spoken, it seemed like Jacob was lost in his own world. “No, don’t be sorry. I should be the one apologizing. I was asking how you were holding up. If you need anything – whether that’s someone to come by and clean the house for you, or a homecooked meal… even just a distraction. I can only imagine how difficult all of this must be right now…”

jake shook his head, conflicted. he was grateful for the support, but he was getting weary of being gracious and thankful. “that’s really thoughtful, sam, thanks,” he answered with a hollow smile. “we’re hanging in there. all you can do, right?”

[havntedhovses]

julieofwisteria​:

“Yes well, I’ve had only good reports,” Julie said with a small shrug. She wanted to offer her condolences but the words were stuck on her tongue.What could she possibly say that hadn’t been said to them already?

“I em, I just wanted to offer my help with anything. I know I’m not a doctor or a lawyer or whatever but if there’s anything you need. I’d be happy to help.” She murmured after a moment. “Even something as small as coming round for a cuppa to get out the house.”

jacob always felt awkward standing in his doorway, accepting food and never inviting anyone in. but there was no way he could have anyone else seeing how empty it was without her. that was for his eyes and his children’s alone. and hopefully, he was doing a good enough job at filling the void for his kids. “thank you. i appreciate that. i might take you up on that one day.”

[havntedhovses]

wisterialvne​:

Nora knew who Jacob was, even if he didn’t know her. She’d seen him with Rose, before everything that happened, seen him at the funeral that she’d attended (despite not knowing anyone in the family well). But once it set in that she was talking to the widower himself, Nora started to backpedal, suddenly at a loss for words, unsure if she should offer her condolences or act like nothing had happened and that this was just a regular, neighborly interaction. “Yeah? Okay, if you say so,” she offered. “I’m Nora, by the way. – just moved in a few weeks ago. Do you want to keep walking with me? I could use a cool-down, and, uh… it’d be nice to get to know some more people on the block.”

jake gave her a small smile and considered stepping around her—she seemed a little distracted. but she introduced herself and he suddenly remembered hearing something about a moving truck. “oh, good to meet you. i’m jake, i live over there, the gray one.” he pointed it out, then turned back to her. “uh, sure, yeah. where’d you move from?”

[havntedhovses]

🔛 - emily, sloane, piper

you know, i’m really not comfortable with some of these topics. can’t anybody respect a grieving man’s privacy?

[havntedhovses]

🔪 - protect, attack, fight side-by-side with. julie, diamond, piper (for Jake)

i’d have to protect piper, of course. she and rose were such good friends. julie is a force to be reckoned with, so i’d fight alongside her any day. and that just leaves diamond...