festivus | per, els, mal & ev
"Don’t tease me." It was a lighthearted command, but a command nonetheless, Malachi could make fun of the other girl’s as much as he wanted, but she drew the line when her ability of intuition was involved. "They’re as much my friends as they are yours." The frizzy haired brunette said pointedly with a sharp, jeer of her tiny chin and a drunken tilt of her now empty plastic glass; the last remnants of the vodka it used to contain now evaporating from the plush pout of her reddening mouth. "I didn’t need any help, besides.." Evan faltered, torn between having to admit she might have been wrong and blatantly lying to save face; she didn’t want to have to explain that she’d possibly gotten things backwards again, especially when half or her reasoning involved a golden frat boy who’d been inexplicably close to being invited back to her room. However, she really didn’t want to lie to her best friend on a night like this one either, just on the off chance that she still might be right and something terrible took place between them, so she surrendered to her silence and dutifully glanced at him instead. What she expected was some kind of knowing, reassuring gaze typical of Malachi, but what she found was a boy wavering unsteadily with his eyes clamped shut like he was having some manner of mental episode and just as her mouth parted to inquire about his condition, he spoke. Startling a little, Evan grabbed the railing she was perched upon and then hopped down, clutching the still swaying boy with the last of her calm composure. "Malachi. Snap out of it. Now we have to find Madison and I’m a little drunk. I need you to work with me here." She announced directly in a voice that was a little too rigid and firm to be her own, the minor reflection of one Cordelia Foxx. "Where is Elias? I know he’s here, I can feel his cryptkeeper vibes.." The girl questioned more of herself than of her dazed companion.
His eyes opened, but Madison's image remained, her slack jaw and pallid, damp forehead ingrained in his consciousness. Malachi blinked several times, each time dissipating the image, but the whites of her rolling eyes remained, two bright dots warning him to not forget what he saw. He pawed the air with trembling hands, searching for Evan. Her shoulder felt cool beneath his sweaty fingers, and he pulled her close, their noses briefly touching. The remnants of Madison's face faded, morphing into Evan's thick, arched eyebrows and large, roguish eyes. "I'm sorry." His voice was thin, barely audible above the party roar. "I don't know what's wrong. I haven't had anything to drink, but I feel strange. Nauseated, almost. And I saw Madison. Evan, something awful is happening. Someone's hurting her." He glanced at his outstretched arm, so thin the muscle was barely discernible from the bone. "A lot of someones. Too many for me and you to take on our own." He heaved a sigh, gripping her shoulder tightly. "Where's Elias? Don't let go of me, we need to find him."
