full moon growing up

It's hard growing up. It's hard and no one understands.

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Dinner Party || Ghanee and Dan || Mid January

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

  Ghanee lifted her knees and pulled her legs up so that she was completely on the counter. She looked at Dan impassively, not saying a word as he kicked a cabinet.

Why was he mad? If he hadn’t wanted to do it, then why didn’t he just not? Was it his family? Ugh. They were trying to impress his family, and if Ghanee was to solidify as the model girlfriend, then she couldn’t allow any emotional turmoils to put that in jeopardy. Ghanee leaned forwards.

"Dan, calm down. What’s wrong?" she asked. 

[lycomania-rising]

"It's nothing," he said, and stalked out of the kitchen. His angry flush had darkened and the kitchen door swung behind him. There was the sound of footsteps down the hall, and then, overhead, on the stairs;

"What's his deal?" Lane's voice, concerned. 

"I'unno," Everett's voice, oblivious, around a mouthful of food. 

Byron tsked, and there was the brief sound of forks being picked up. Unexpectedly, Eli spoke,

"He's engaging in self-destructive isolating behavior because he feels as if his time away from home has isolated him to the point of no return," Eli said conversationally. The table fell silent. 

[lycomania-rising]

Stand Too Close || Eli and Thalia || End of January

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

  Thalia gasped softly. “No, no, it’s okay! Um…let me just find you a kleenex, or napkin, or…something to use!” She gave him a soft smile and stood up before going to all of the drawers and cabinets. In her home, the unused napkins were stored in their unopened packed in drawers. Hopefully, it was the same case for him.  "You need to let it out…you know?" She spoke meekly, trying to not startle Eli too much while speaking. "Just let it out and wait for her. I promise, she’ll come to you and talk in time."

[lycomania-rising]

"I told you," Eli protested. "I'm not crying." He moved his face to the crook of his elbow and refused to look at her, preferring instead to shut his eyes against his long-sleeved t-shirt, though the fabric was scratchy against his eyelids and made the skin on the back of his neck erupt in goosebumps.

After a moment, cautiously, he raised his head to stare at the wall. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face eerily blank, but after another moment he blinked and his face seemed to start up again, re-boot the way a computer might. He frowned, rubbed his eyes, and apologized brusquely,

"Sorry."

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Dinner Party || Ghanee and Dan || Mid January

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

  "Mmrphm!" Ghanee protested at she was kissed, hard, by Dan. She frowned deeply, eyebrows furrowed deeply.

"What a-" she began between kisses "—gentleman. I- -swoon."

However, as the footsteps approached, Ghanee’s face smoothed and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. If they were gonna look like a couple having an ellicit make out session, then they were gonna have an ellicit make out session. Jumping so she sat on the countertop, Ghanee wrapped her legs comfortably around Dan’s waist. Just as the door swung open, she pulled Dan closer, letting her hand wander a bit. 

"Oh Dan.” she said in a fake voice.

[lycomania-rising]

"'Course you do," Dan said, a twinge of irony in his voice where it was ragged at the edges, but the words were smothered quickly and desperately.

"Oh, guh-ross," Everett said loudly, and there was the clatter of forks on plate as silverware was set down. "They're-- okay, no," he said plainly, brow furrowed, face pinched together in evident disgust. He took a step back, and let the door swing shut. From the other side, he could be heard clearly;

"Ever since he's gotten back, he's been so weird."

At Everett's words, Dan's hand fell from Ghanee's waist and his flush deepened from where it already tinged his cheeks a dark pink. He fell silent, staring at the floor, and turned around to kick a cabinet savagely.

"Fuck," he mumbled, and didn't turn around. 

[lycomania-rising]

Stand Too Close || Eli and Thalia || End of January

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

Thalia nodded slowly and looked down at her lap.  The situation was a difficult one, too difficult to give typical advice. She fiddled with her fingers and spoke slowly, feeling rather unsure. 

"I think that, well, she’ll come to you. If something bothers her, she’s very likely to confront it, you know? Very…upfront."  She looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. “So, really, make yourself easy to find for her. It might not be the smoothest conversation, but after she is given time to cool down a bit, she’d do it.”  Haley was very angry, though. I’m not sure how long it’d take. 

"Eventually she’ll find it too tiring to stay angry, not worth her time." 

[lycomania-rising]

"Not worth her time," he repeated, mumbling the last syllable, and raked a hand through his hair, "No-- I don't mean it like that, I'm relieved-- no, really." The heels of his hands flew to his eyes and he pressed vigorously for a moment, his cheeks turning a bruised sort of pink, before saying emphatically,

"I'm not crying--"

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Dinner Party || Ghanee and Dan || Mid January

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

  "Er. Okay?" Ghanee said, not entirely sure what to say in response to that. "Like I said, could be a dozen different things." She shrugged and kicked her feet against the cupboards. "Either way we need him to stop doing it. Cause he— someone’s coming.." she said, standing up and hissing it. 

[lycomania-rising]

Dan ignored her for a long moment, thinking-- he didn't dare clue in Ryn for fear of the ensuing hysterics (he quite believed he was the only rational mind in his family and the feeling was rather depressing) nor any other member of his family. He sighed and raked a hand through his hair; he wasn't altogether sure if Eli knew he knew, and that was a subject to be approached carefully, if at all.

He pressed his lips together and was only moved into action when her words clicked into place-- he looked at the door, and at her, and shrugged apologetically.

"Can I-- okay, hear me out-- okay, no time for that-- close your mouth, you look dumb-- mmph!"

He kissed her, bruisingly and with little but desperation behind it.

[lycomania-rising]

Stand Too Close || Eli and Thalia || End of January

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

  Thalia couldn’t help but smile. There it was, the bit of familiarity. It was small and close to being drowned by the unusualness of the situation, but it was there. For the first time in a long time, she felt hope.  However, that quickly faded after his next question. 

Thalia looked down at her feet and hesitated before answering. “I…um…to be honest, I am not one to plan things out.” She looked up at him a little embarrassed. “So, um…readjust to your old routine bit by bit, and focus on classes first…?”

[lycomania-rising]

He shook his head. "Not what I meant," he dismissed. "I plan to be graduated by this time next year," he added, and shrugged. "Classes can be managed."

He took a large bite of turkey and swallowed thickly, and then managed not to gasp for air but instead drank half of his glass of water. 

"You know what I mean," he murmured, and eyed her. 

[lycomania-rising]

Speaking the Gambit || Corin and May || First Week of January; Friday

[werewolf-time]

May leaned forward with a startled laugh and grinned— For once, it seemed, they were almost on the same page.

"I’ve seen this one!" She announced, a little giddy with the knowledge. Maybe it’d been a long time, but she had seen it. She glanced to Corin and grinned,

"The one with the girl who— Yeah! There she is." She nodded to the screen, and wiggled, trying to make herself comfortable. She could hear her heart in her ears and was trying not to watch him watch the movie, but it was hard to help and she pressed her palms down flat on the sides of her seat. 

[lycomania-rising]

Corin grinned and eyed the screen and her in between lines of dialogue; after a moment, he murmured, his voice sliding beneath those from the television,

"Oh, gosh. What's Duckie even wearing?" He laughed and said, "I think my mom wears those shoes to PTA meetings. When she goes," he added, and wrinkled his nose, but shrugged it off-- he didn't much care who went to what meetings. 

[werewolf-time]

Confrontation || Duncan & May

[werewolf-time]

May could hear the wind whipping around the corners of the school and the slow whirr of the tape recorder, her breath caught in the air, hanging like frost on a windowpane. She almost had to steady herself and her head spun, as she managed,

"Seriously?"

She wanted to yell at him and hit him and hug him simultaneously. On one hand, he was a fucking moron. On the other hand, the fucking moron had also risked— And accepted— expulsion on her behalf, or perhaps just on behalf of the truth: She wasn’t ready to give herself too much, or frankly, any credit.

Instead, she shook her head and exhaled shakily, looking at Duncan with befuddlement:

"Jesus. Seriously? Seriously?" She laughed a little nervously, then a little louder, and her hands flew over her mouth, "Duncan! You idiot, I could fuckin’ hug you!"

In that instant she didn’t give a shit if Kirin or Haley thought she was— Well— A murderer. Whatever! They didn’t have to believe it. She knew plenty about Bos that wasn’t too great, either, just from the rumor mill. And Haley? Well, she had a bit of firsthand knowledge on that particular subject. Besides, Pierce kept to herself and her skating, mostly: She wasn’t the type to blab. So someone else heard and spread it? Only a rumor.

Only a rumor now. Sure, there’d be lots of— Damage control— But what would the police believe? Evidence or rumors?

Something ticked in her gut, and it suggested a little too cooly that perhaps she still had plenty of reason to worry but… She’d figure that out later. She had time, for now.

[lycomania-rising]

"Seriously," he affirmed, and nodded-- though his expression looked almost pained, but with effort it cleared and he laughed hoarsely, 

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Don't hug me, okay? Wouldn't want anyone to think," he raised his eyebrows and waggled them, "than anything was, ah, up between us, y'know? Who knows, Corin Falstaff could accuse me of murder next. Now there's a story," he mused. 

"Vengeful Boyfriend Accuses Star Detective of Murdering His Own Case," he announced, and looked around sheepishly for witnesses to his ridiculousness-- thankfully, there were none, and he rolled his shoulders, finally relaxed enough to grin widely at her.

"I mean, hey, I figure, I've gotta be on the run, you know? Can't stay in one place too long. I've got to cultivate my-- aura of mystery. Yeah." He laughed. 

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Dinner Party || Ghanee and Dan || Mid January

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

  Ghanee’s mouth pursed as she thought about it. “Perhaps. It could be a whole pile of reasons, but we won’t know unless we talk to him. Gently. He already knows I know- you too- but I think caution would be good.”

She hugged herself, her arms held close. “He certainly has a lot to be scared of now he’s— what he is.”

[lycomania-rising]

"No, hang on--" Dan said suddenly, and broke off to think again as he pushed himself off where he was half-perched on the counter to pace the length of the kitchen and turn on his heel,

"Okay, ever since Eli was little, he'd have these wild, crazy nightmares. Like, screaming-in-your-sleep nightmares," he added, and grimaced. "Ryn knows more about them than I do, though, but still-- what if, like, he's hurting himself 'cos he's asleep and there's nothing else around to hurt, or something?" he said, frowning. 

[lycomania-rising]

Stand Too Close || Eli and Thalia || End of January

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

  Thalia shook her head. “No, but thank you. I’m not hungry anymore.” She looked down at her lap and stayed quiet for a moment, allowing what Eli said to sink in. Did he wish to be alone, or did he really want company? Was he really trying to reach out for help or push it away? The signals were mixed and a bit confusing, and Thalia had a difficult time trying to read them. After quietly going through her thoughts, she replied,  "But you are missed."  Thalia looked up into his eyes. “I understand that it is hard to take my word for it. I really do. But…there will always be one person there at least. I have missed your announcements.”  It wasn’t just the announcements. She also missed the familiarity that came with them. These last few months have been nothing but crazy, and she wanted at least a small bit of stability to return in her life, even if it meant something most people took for granted.

[lycomania-rising]

He nodded and slid off the stool, padding across the kitchen to awkwardly maneuver the kitchen utensils until he had a nicely sized piece of turkey. He waited until he was seated again to speak, and grinned softly though it looked almost pained,

"I can do those from here. Doesn't take much skill. 'Chess club meeting in room 329. Bring your own rooks'," he said in a dry, bored monotone, but he cracked an attempt at a grin though it soon faded. 

"I don't know," he said, suddenly, after a moment. "So, say I go back to school," he said. "And then what?"

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Ground like Coffee || Kirin and Haley (and this Asshole)

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

  “A gun.” Haley repeated flatly.  That obvious and loud of a weapon, huh?

Haley raised a brow and stared at Duncan for what almost felt like an eternity. She then moved her gaze to look over at Kirin. The other girl across the table looked a little pale, sort of shaken, and it seemed to take almost all of her willpower to simply ask the question. 

"Seriously? Just because Chad was being a dick, you know, like usual?" The redhead continued to stare at him in disbelief. "If that was the case, someone could’ve killed him a lot sooner. He had all of his previous years to die for the same reason."  Now Haley raised both of her brows. “Live with what? Spit it out!”

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Kirin shook her head, saying before she could think: “But he wasn’t killed with a gun.” Her eyes widened and she shut her mouth, quietly. “Er. I mean. There w-would h-have been a-a bang! The music w-wasn’t that loud! We w-w-were at the p-party, we would have known.”

Her face grew red, and Kirin sunk lower into her seat. “Th-there were a bunch of us when the body was found. Just cause May knew a few things a-about dead b-bodies doesn’t mean sh-she did it.”

Kirin knew a few things about dead corpses too. Of course, most of them where deer, but animals, humans… What’s the difference when they’re dead? But what made Duncan so sure that it was May if his story didn’t match up with Gaius’ version—

Her stomach clenched and she swallowed drily.

[lycomania-rising]

He shook his head. "Baxter wasn't killed Halloween night-- or, I guess, the night of the party, or whatever. He was dead 'least a few days before then. Figure May wanted to check up on the body, make sure it was, you know, still dead."

He grinned, but it dropped soon. "That was a joke," he added, slightly, hurt, but sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

"I can live with being expelled," he restated, and shrugged. "Doesn't matter much to me. figure one school's as good as any other. More mysteries the better," he added, and attempted a rueful grin. "What I can't live with is not knowing why she did it," he admitted, and rested his chin on his palm. 

[lycomania-rising]

Speaking the Gambit || Corin and May || First Week of January; Friday

[werewolf-time]

  May’s brow lifted but she didn’t say anything, listening quietly. Her face flickered into a smile, then a full on grin as he got excited, explaining far off concepts and distant realities—

He lit up and it made her heart lurch and her stomach tightened. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed that—- Or maybe she’d just been denying it. She swallowed and laughed a little,

"No! No, that’s— That’s kinda neat, actually. I didn’t know that. So, what, they just become one hunk of metal?"

She whistled, “Sounds intense. They just go THUNK and colide, just like that? And then they’re one.”

She leaned back and nodded, “That’s really cool.”

[lycomania-rising]

"Yeah," he said, and grinned despite himself, cheeks still flushed and eyes still bright. On the television, the program about space ended and switched to commercial; he reached for the remote, offered it to May, and flipped to the guide, which he squinted at as he tried to make out the tiny digital letters,

"Oh, Pretty in Pink is on!" he said, and added, "I mean, I know it's a kinda-- silly move and all, but I like it." He switched channels and watched briefly as Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy kissed in front of a dilapidated house.

Andie reminds me of you, he almost said, but bit down on the words. May was smarter than he was, she'd figure it out. And, Corin figured, if he'd had a worse haircut and clothes from the eighties and, well, functioning legs, he figured he'd be a pretty good stand-in for Blaine.

Yeah, life wasn't exactly always a John Hughes film, not always. But sometimes it felt like one, just for a few minutes. 

[werewolf-time]

Confrontation || Duncan & May

[werewolf-time]

  May’s mouth flickered into a grin, feline and pointed, before fading with a snort, “Whatever you say.”

She raised her brow, “Record away if it makes you feel better. I really don’t care. I’m not here for recordings.” She frowned and removed her hands, empty and threatless. She realized too late how suspicious she’d looked, and felt a little guilty—

But only a little. Shifting her weight she looked Duncan up and down. Kinda scrawny, definitely nerdy— Probably faster than he looked. She could probably out run him, but she’d be winded, she figured.

Soooooo.

Right. Taking a deep breath, she met his eye and asked,

"Did you seriously fucking tell people you thought I murdered Chad? Because— People are talking, and it’s not a great position to be in, y’know?”

She squared her shoulders and continued, “I told you, look: I didn’t like him, but I wouldn’t murder him. I’m not stupid, nor that heartless. He still had a family, and maybe even a future if he hadn’t fucked that up already. I wasn’t involved in his personal life— I don’t know. But I wouldn’t kill him, and it’s pretty fucking shitty to hear from people who, by the way, I don’t even know, that I did!”

[lycomania-rising]

"Just for the record, it would make me feel better," he murmured, and popped open the front of the recorder to flip the cassette, only marked with the date. He pressed the square red button and the cassette whirled in its place, the tape moving as it recorded, for a moment, thin air passing between the bike racks and the sound of the volleyball players squealing in the background.

"May Forester, close to three PM on a Tuesday afternoon in March," he said, loudly and clearly, and set it in the space between them.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he searched for words and started without them,  "Okay, okay-- wait, seriously, okay, I have an-- explanation, or whatever, i guess-- okay, seriously, I didn't mean to. Like, honestly." He punctuated 'honestly' with a nod and his eyes widened, as if honesty in him was hard to come by and he knew as much.

"I was with Kirin Pierce and Haley Bos-- wait, no, switch that, Haley Pierce and Kirin Bos, at the coffee shop, right?" He didn't wait for her confirmation. "And so I, okay, yeah, my fault-- accidentally, like, slipped up. Told them, yeah, okay. Explained myself, too," he added, with a suspicious look to her. 

"No clue what happened to it next," he said. "There were, yeah, okay, my fault again, like, tons of people there-- but I told them to keep it down, okay? Honestly." 

He dropped his head to perch his chin on his fist and his elbow on his knee, tracing patterns in the dusty dirt with the toe of his shoe. "When you told me you didn't-- you know, kill him, I tore up all my notes and told the administration I had nothing. Figured you needed this place more than I do." He shrugged. 

"So, as it stands, you killing Chad Baxter and all is just a dumb rumor."

[werewolf-time]

Confrontation || Duncan & May

[werewolf-time]

  May was seated on the concrete barrier beside the bike rack, hood pulled up, toying with rolling papers. She didn’t have anything to roll, but the feeling was a momentary distraction. At the sound of distant, albiet hesitant footsteps, she slipped the papers into her pocket and stood, legs apart, shoulders wide and chin up, frowning over her nose down the way from which they came.

At Duncan’s approach she tossed her head, the hood falling back, and exhaled:

"Fuck, Detective. I thought you’d bailed. Glad to see you’ve got some stones.”

She glanced to the gym behind her and frowned, “They’re a racket, huh?” She’d had some time to calm, to mellow out. Rehearsal wasn’t until five, and the ability to escape the rather dramatic and idiotic notions of her pressing reality was enough to make her relax slightly. Sure, she was still hell-bent on wanting to punch Duncan’s face in, but she considered that a pretty normal reflex to…Well, Duncan.

"Ever see one of them fall?" She lifted a brow, "It’s like magic, I swear to god. They squeal and then — It’s like two water balloons hitting plywood. Then they bounce back up and start again. Fucking amazing."

She snorted lowly, “But I’m distracting you. Seriously- Have a seat or something, you look like you’re about to shit yourself.”

[lycomania-rising]

His phone bleated loudly in the moment it took for him to blink at her, and he reached for it without breaking eye-contant, his mouth bent in a sort of wry but vaguely panicky grin-turned-smirk as he read,

has she killed you yet if she did just type back 1 wait

Duncan pressed his lips together to smother a grin and glanced back at May, but his repressed smile soon turned to a vaguely disgusted look of protest as he said, "I am not," with as much gall as he could muster, but still he let his backpack slide from his shoulder onto his arm, and he set it down, instinctively reaching for something from the back pocket. He unzipped it and brought out a square, smooth plastic box with several buttons--

"Tape recorder," he said. "My hand was cramping up." He eyed her, and then dropped his gaze, "Okay, okay, I'll put it away. Sheesh."

He sat, and raised a brow,

"Soooooo."

[lycomania-rising]

Speaking the Gambit || Corin and May || First Week of January; Friday

[werewolf-time]

  May looked slightly startled as she looked up, face uncomfortably warm. She reached for her hair but it was already tucked back, and sighed heavily, biting down on a smile.

"…You’re right. Not even probably right, just— Right. Thanks. I mean," She glanced to him holding his nose and tried to not smile but failed at it and felt stupid and aloof, and muttered, "Thanks for not being what I thought you mighta’ been. You’re a nice surprise."

She shrugged, “And Darc’ may suck at… A lot. But she’s got her good points. And there’s plenty you don’t suck at,” She nudged him, and in doing so, moved slightly closer.

The television was distracting. She blinked, then asked, “Hey, what show is this?” 

There was a lingering pause and she said, almost embarrassed, “Sorry, I don’t- Er— watch a lot of TV. Is that a squirrel in a space suit..?”

[lycomania-rising]

"There's plenty you don't suck at, too," he murmured in undertone, and side-glanced to her; his eyes moved back to the television and he squinted, lips rubbing together to salvage whatever ChapStick he'd thought to put on earlier that afternoon as he tried to identify it from the other nameless sounds that seemed to make a soundtrack of his home.

"I think it's about space travel," he said, a little doubtfully. Did'ja know, if two pieces of metal touch in space, they become permanently stuck together?" he added, and gestured to explain,

"No, really! Two pieces of metal without any coating on them will make a single piece in the vacuum. This doesn’t happen on earth-- 'cos the atmosphere puts a layer of oxidized material between the surfaces. 'Course, you'd think it'd be a big problem on the space station but as most tools used there, are, you know, from earth, so they'e already coated with some kinda material."

He ducked his head and flushed. "Sorry, it's dumb."

[lycomania-rising]

Stand Too Close || Eli and Thalia || End of January

[sweetlight-bittershadow]

  Thalia tried to nod at the right places and smile politely. She really did. However, as soon as Eli got to his example with the ant and the expanding balloon, she could feel her mind and focus just tumble out into the unknown.  This is why I am not very good with science. It’s very, very overwhelming. "I…um…" Thalia began weakly. "You’re telling me this…because…?"

[lycomania-rising]

"I don't know," he murmured after a second. "But I kind of feel like an ant right now, and it puts it in perspective. I'm like-- a missing person who isn't missed at all."

He stared at his plate and then at her, raised his eyebrows, and added, "More? I'm kinda hungrier. Than usual, I guess." 

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

Dinner Party || Ghanee and Dan || Mid January

[teenage-weredom-aint-easy]

  "Your brother is also devoutly vegetarian, but that didn’t stop him from wolfing down a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Sorry, bad pun." Ghanee said. She sighed, shaking her head. "It’s- it’s not a fun idea, but this sort of thing can happen. Especially after a traumatic event like this."

Ghanee would have to talk to Eli. His healing was faster, but so fast that he can get away with this sort of thing with no one noticing. 

She paused. “And we are talking about the same boy who refused to leave his room for a month after being rejected. I wouldn’t say that he’s very stable, emotionally or mentally.”

[lycomania-rising]

Dan grimaced at the crude choice of words and rolled his shoulder-- extending his foot, he pushed the door open again and let it swing shut as he tried to peer behind it; Eli and Everett were engaged in some sort of debate and Eli was using his hands as Eli was wont to do-- expressively, with great articulate gestures, and Dan frowned in thought as he turned back to Ghanee,

"Things like that don't just-- change. Look, I know Eli, and he's too scared of--

"Hang on," he murmured, and tapped his chin thoughtfully, chewing his lower lip. "What if-- he's doing it because he's scared?"