think i'm made out of moonlight. @shadowedtower - Tumblr Blog

Pinterest. Full bio. tldr bio summary under the cut.

TW: death (specifically the loss of a parent)!

After they locked up their bike outside, Justice followed Sarah up the stairs; the exterior was familiar, but even their vague recollection of Sarah's house from their brief visit that week didn't match up to what they saw. It hadn't registered to them, at first, that this apartment building was her childhood home repurposed; not until they'd gotten up the stairs did it dawn on them that the whole place had been gutted. The sadness of the fact resonated. Sarah had lost her mother, and her childhood home, and her best friend... life had been constant mourning for her, hadn't it? The click of her door unlocking brought Justice back to attention, her eyes landing immediately on Ward. A genuine smile broke out on her face - "what a good dog," she murmured, sliding her shoes off before entering and getting on her knees to be at Ward's level. The blonde had considered getting a pet, but the freedom of not having to worry about getting home on time or taking care of a more-or-less fully dependent creature instead of following the night wherever it took them was too good to give up. What would a dog do, Justice reasoned, if she'd been out late with the derby team and didn't come home until the next morning? They'd be no good as a pet owner, not yet at least. Letting Ward sniff them, Justice looked up at Sarah as she offered a slew of things - food, water, clothes. "I'd look very silly in your clothes," they responded, their smile widening at the thought. Sarah's style was feminine, and it was no clearer than when Justice looked around the apartment. Purple curtains, a pink couch, multiple fluffy, patterned rugs - yeah, it matched perfectly with Sarah's lace cami and oversized cardigan with a flowy skirt vibe. Justice, however, was in loose jeans and a flannel over a sweater covered in a jacket. Sure, maybe the jeans were lightwash, but they knew they were dressed like a generic cartoon boy from the 2000s. Ward gave Justice a soft lick on their hands, and their attention returned to him. "You think so, too, buddy?" Cupping the dog's face in their hands and giving him lots of face and ear scratches, Justice began to relax. It wasn't technically their first time at her apartment, but it was the first time they were welcome. As a part of pretending things were fine, they ignored the echoes of the last time they were here, choosing instead to focus on the now. "I was just gonna sleep in my underwear," Justice finally replied, eyes flicking back up to Sarah, "which is what I normally do. But I could borrow some pajamas if you'd prefer?"

shadowedtower

sarah looked at ward adoringly. she stepped closer, standing beside where justice crouched and feathering her fingers through ward’s fur. ward, who had been a gift from wren. wren who sarah felt she was somehow betraying in that moment, despite not knowing yet if that was true. she blinked. hard. once, then again.

she was supposed to be pretending nothing bad had happened.

with a smile pasted back on her face, sarah nodded. "he is a good dog. we've had to work on some things... like not immediately jumping on anyone that walks through the door. he's just happy to see everyone, but he kept bowling me over every time I came home from work... anyway," sarah trailed off, figuring she was rambling on for a bit too long about something frankly inconsequential.

sarah walked to the right of the entryway, into the small kitchen and poured two glasses of water. justice hadn't asked for one, but she felt rude pouring herself one without pouring another for them. then, she picked ward's water bowl off the floor, emptied it, cleaned it, refilled it and put it back in its place by the tv. water for all.

"i do own plain t-shirts and shorts," sarah laughed gently, taking a sip from her water. she set it down, and walked toward her bedroom. her bedroom was around the corner from the livingroom, but otherwise separated by nothing but a beaded curtain. there had been a door there when she moved out of the house, but she'd never objected to it being missing now. unless you happened to be sitting at her piano, which was covered in a thin layer of dust that suggested even she didn't sit at it much these days, you wouldn't be able to see into her room regardless. she pulled some clothes for herself out of her closet, including a t-shirt with her college's logo on it for justice if they wanted it. "your underwear are fine. do you want a t-shirt at least?"

#i know you wont mind me asking this of you #ignore that man #*freewill.#&justice.

intcgrities

Though the silence in the car was charged with fear and concern, Justice felt like things were finally falling into place in the moments after Sarah saying she wanted to be with them, too. Relief had washed their tense body; caterpillars turn to goo before they become butterflies, the blonde reminded themself. They were in a fucked up cocoon together. (And that cocoon may be in the middle of a spiderweb, if they wanted to keep running with the bit.) They leaned their head back onto the headrest, eyes still on Sarah. Things had to fall in place just so to get the two of them back into each other's lives, but it caused a domino effect that lead them back to the cabin - a now tragic symbol that provided both clarity and confusion in the process of trying to figure out what was going on. No, this wasn't the ideal way to bring Sarah back into her life, but they weren't sure if they had time to dwell on that before The Bad Things rematerialized. They'd only realized Sarah wasn't driving anymore when she spoke again, it clicking into place that of course she wasn't driving anymore, they'd just been looking at each other for an extended period of time. Sarah's pitch for normalcy sounded perfect. The two seemed to work best when there was no one else in the world (they'd analyze that at another time, because if they started now - well, they wouldn't be pretending that nothing was wrong). Justice answered by bringing Sarah's hand to their lips before nodding. "Anything you want," they murmured.

shadowedtower

in reply to justice's agreement to her request, sarah smiled softly. one night of pretending things were normal, of putting themselves into an alternate reality where amelia wasn't dead, they weren't being stalked by her murderer, where there was no alibi for justice to even be asked to provide. for the night, they would pretend that things were simple, and made sense. they were just two normal people, spending the night together.

"okay." sarah finally said, opening her car door and climbing out into her driveway. the house that stood before them was in fact sarah's childhood home, but when her mom died and her dad lost his job, and therefore the home, it had been bought and renovated into an apartment building. sarah had been offered the upstairs unit, where her childhood bedroom's walls had been torn down to become the living room. her current bedroom had once been her father's office.

sarah led the way up the stairwell, unlocking the door to her place. she wasn't always the type to lock her door, but she knew her friends wouldn't approve if she didn't.

as she pushed the door open, ward was sitting just inside, his tail wagging a clear indication that he was happy to see them. as sarah walked in, she took off her shoes and placed them neatly beneath the coat rack, while simultaneously petting the top of ward's head. "if you ever want to test your speed on skates, ward'll give you a run for your money." sarah went on a run most mornings, and ward loved to join her. she'd only tried to bring him while on skates a few times, during which it ended up being him dragging her more than them moving together. it was a work in progress.

"are you hungry? thirsty? i can get some clothes together for you too."

#&justice.#*freewill.

intcgrities

The moment Sarah's hand touched their arm, Justice's head snapped looked at her. Maybe it was the remnants of their high, or sparkles glistening in their peripheral vision from the anxiety, but the moonlight reflecting off Sarah's face made her glow. The pressure cooker of the evening had begun to feel like it was coming to a head in the car, and Justice yearned for a moment of peace that they could actually share with Sarah. The blonde shook her head; "I want to be with you tonight," she admitted - no caveats, no platonic assurance to hide behind.

Even when many of the fears that kept Justice up at night centered on Sarah's rejection, they couldn't give up on trying for her. It had to mean something that she was able to tell Justice off, to express how upset she was, to really actually communicate with them - the things that she'd confessed in that very cabin, eyes bright and watery, that she felt like she wasn't allowed to do. A bad influence as ever, Justice had asked Sarah if she'd ever smoked before - a simple solution, they thought, to how tightly wound this little ballerina in a music box was. They would have been lying if they'd said that offering to shotgun Sarah's first hit wasn't a way to test the waters on if Sarah was feeling what they had been for the past week - but when she nodded and closed the gap between them they were taken aback. After what felt like hours of kissing and playing with each other's hair and carefully moving their hands over each other's clothes, the two laid down on the blanket Justice brought and watched the sunset between the branches, life budding in time for young love. Fingers laced with Sarah's, Justice swore to themself they would try to make things better for her. Let her be sad, or angry, or scared - give her the space she so clearly craved to be imperfect. Their hand moved to cover hers in gratitude. I want to be whatever you'll have of me, they wanted to say, but they were afraid they'd start crying in the passenger seat. The conversations from the night replayed in their mind, from Anthony's admission of not knowing what Amelia's motives were to Georgia and Jordan's confusion on why the cabin mattered, but it all came back to one thing: this cabin wasn't the place it'd been when Justice first took Sarah there. And like everything else they were upset about, it was their own damn fault.

shadowedtower

sarah was driving, so her eyes were mostly focused on the road ahead of her. the path back to her apartment. but, she stole the occasional glance. a prolonged gaze or two under the glow of a stop light. she smiled, an unsure and gentle sort of gesture. "i want to be with you, too."

she wanted things to make sense again. desperately. she wanted some semblance of normalcy. it felt like she spent all of her time chasing that lately. celebrating the little victories. the happiness of her friends, their hope for the future. she tried to remember what 'normal' felt like, to keep it as close as she could. she supposed, if she isolated this moment, and set aside everything else... this might be what normal felt like. sitting in a car with someone you cared about, rekindling a long lost love, your favorite playlist playing quietly in the background, their hand on yours. that was what normal people did.

normal people were not puppets, their movements orchestrated by some anonymous murderer. ultimately, what had happened between justice and wren... that wouldn't have happened if wren was never imprisoned in the first place. the blame for that, she knew, landed on tag's shoulders. regardless of what justice did, or did not say to wren.

sarah pulled her car into the driveway of her apartment, putting it in park. before she got out, she took a moment to look at justice. whatever her discussion with wren would bring, they deserved one more chance to be normal, didn't they? they deserved the benefit of the doubt, even if it could mean she'd be even more distraught the day after. one more night... one more night chasing the high of normalcy. she deserved that. "can we pretend, just for tonight, that we're... normal? that nothing is wrong?" if you squinted, it was a little like them playing house when they were young, pretending to be people they weren't.

#*freewill.#&justice.

antdesilvs

as wren spoke, anthony kept his hand firmly on his shoulder, squeezing gently every now and then in support. he knew that being in jail had been rough, obvious in the bruises and everything that still marred wren's face. he hadn't commented on them when the other man first showed up outside the bakery this morning, despite how glaringly obvious they had been. even now, when he can't actually see them head-on, the image flashes in his mind as the other two talk, as if haunting him.

the more that anthony listens, the more he recognizes that it was probably hard for justice to make this decision. or, at least, why they might have struggled with it. but knowing what wren went through... it should've been an easy decision, right? giving the police the alibi and saving wren from experiencing whatever hell the wrensted cops unleashed on him. ant knew how much influence the castros had in town, had apparent it had been even back in high school. if the cops really believed that wren had killed amelia, then... he couldn't imagine what it would've been like for wren in there.

he nodded when sarah thanked wren, the small gesture echoing his own thanks, but he squeezed wren's shoulder again-- the touch an added bonus.

"justice made it seem like tag had the power to put both of you in jail. which they didn't want to risk, i guess," he adds, sighing, "but it also seemed like a really shitty situation to be selfish during too."

the podcast. anthony knows it was partly his idea, but he never intended for it to go like this-- and he wants to make sure wren knows this.

"when i brought up the podcast, i thought justice would use it to talk about how the cops were wrong about you. i didn't think..." he trails off, gaze dropping to the coffee mug in his hand. "i wouldn't have suggested it if i had known all of this would happen. i'm sorry."

@wrenpoe

wrenpoe

it was hard to put into words how little of justice’s reasoning mattered to him. whether it was out of the goodness of their heart or a terrible pit where their heart should be – the end was the same. it was him, stuck in jail with the possibilities lingering over his head. tag, people of wrensted, or the fucking diaz family could have done whatever they wanted. with or without the alibi. what mattered to him was it was the first time he asked them for anything. truly asked. needed them. not them deciding to slide him something but him reaching out to someone that wren thought he could call a friend, and he found out he couldn’t.

still, it was good to know that sarah and ant hadn’t thought he should go on the podcast specifically. it soothed a piece of him that had been terrified he was, once again, placing trust in people he shouldn’t be. it was nice to be wrong for once. nice to have his insecurities squashed by the simple fact that the worst had not come to pass. the squeeze on his shoulder and the apology just made him shake his head,

“it’s okay. you didn’t. neither of you did,” he looked between anthony and sarah before focusing back on anthony. his hand moved to touch the other man’s that had been on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. "thanks for wanting clarity, i guess. most people would just - not believe me..."

@shadowedtower

shadowedtower

sarah had no idea what to do from here. for a moment, she just sat there beside her friends in silence. “i’m sorry for making you talk about it, wren. i’m sure it’s a sensitive topic for you. thank you for telling us.” she turned to look at him, and offered a soft, appreciative smile.

she believed him, of course. but, she'd believed justice too. justice was in the wrong, but what she'd told them wasn't untrue. so what did that mean for the future of her relationships with both justice and wren? it felt like there was a line drawn between the two of them, and she needed to figure out which side of it she would be on.

if tag's goal was to torture them, it seemed like he could probably take a step back for a while. they were doing a fine job at it without his interference.

ultimately, though, it was tag's actions that put them all in the position they were in. wren never would've been arrested if it weren't for their anonymous stalker, after all. from what she'd seen thus far, it seemed that he was trying to drive a wedge between them. asking wren to choose between her and ant, having her throw a drink on amara... they seemed to be things to insight discourse between them. this just seemed like the most effective version so far.

tag always brought the fuel, he had done it on more than one occasion. all it took was for someone else to light the match. unfortunately, that had been justice.

sarah's biggest desire was to go home to her apartment, and not reemerge until absolutely necessary. she was already trying to remember if she had any sick time accrued at work. perhaps by the time she came back out, things would have righted themselves.

"this is... it's a lot, you know?"

@antdesilvs

#*freewill.#&ant.#&wren.

silcntfigvre

where: rollaways leisure center who: nic carson & sarah jeong @shadowedtower

"so... what'd you think of the party we threw?" nic asked as she laced up her skates. obviously, they had to throw in the fact that it was their party. not just because the town believed it, so it was best to keep appearances up in case someone was listening in (and we know they are), but also because it now was kind of an inside joke.

"kind of a crazy night, right?" part of nic wanted to ask about what was going on with justice and sarah. they had noticed the two seemed a bit closer then before... but also it was none of her business. just like she wasn't out here asking will and georgia what the fuck was going on there... or ant and wren. if people wanted to be up front with their personal lives, they'd do it. there wasn't any need to pry.

shadowedtower

sarah sat down beside nic, lacing up her own skates as well. after making the team, she had invested in some better gear than the borrowed or repurposed items she had utilized for try outs. "it was a bit duller than i expected." she said, vague enough that anyone overhearing the discussion wouldn't know what she meant, but she hoped that nic could read between the lines. once everyone had learned the real mastermind behind the surprise party, they were anticipating the night ending in disaster. most seemed to assume the drinks or snacks had been tampered with, but... apparently they hadn't been after all. "and some guests i don't remember us inviting," they hadn't invited any of them, but she was referencing paige, of course. "but, i guess that's to be expected at a party."

#*freewill.#&nic.

intcgrities

The irony of Sarah and Anthony now being closer to Wren hurt. And the fact that Sarah was only going to meet up with them because tag!Justice was saying they needed help with an apology was rich; no offense to Sarah, but Justice didn't need her guidance on an apology for someone she barely knew. Not when Justice knew for a fact that they'd be going into the apology scenario not seeking forgiveness, or a rekindling of their friendship - things that one might expect to be a result of an apology - but to let him know they knew what they did was wrong and that they needed to do better. Wait… Was she telling Justice they couldn't spend the night? “I can… um, if you don't want me around tonight, you can just… I get it.” Maybe they shouldn't have asked about spending the night together in the first place. It must have been Sarah feeling like she couldn't say no - something that added a layer of sadness to the whole thing. They'd been so happy to see her angry because that meant she trusted them, it meant she valued them enough to let them see her. But now Justice feared they were starting to take on the role Amelia once had: someone to say yes to. “I'd set an alarm or something, but I can just… you can bring me home if that's… if you don't…” Maybe she should just text Vienna for real.

shadowedtower

"no," sarah moved one hand from the steering wheel to rest on justice's forearm, a sign for them to slow down for a moment. "that's not why i was telling you. i just thought you should know, and i'll probably be leaving pretty early in the morning." sarah elaborated as she drove, the tension making her feel nauseous. "you don't have to set an alarm, i'm sure ward wouldn't mind the company."

things may have been weird right now, but sarah trusted justice to be in her home while she was away. "unless you want to go home. it's okay if you do."

#&justice.#*freewill.

antdesilvs

as anthony listened to sarah’s explanation, he keeps one hand on wren’s shoulder. he had heard most of this before, when sarah first explained everything to him, but he knew that it was important for all of this context to be laid out in front of them. he didn’t know justice well, only from glimpses in high school and the few interactions they’d had since he was back in town, and he couldn’t form a solid opinion on them. one minute, he would think they were trying to be a good friend, and the next… the shit with the podcast made it hard to trust anything they said.

ant takes one last sip of his coffee before setting it back down on the side table. “they were kinda avoiding telling us the exact wording they used with you,” he amends softly, recalling the way him and sarah had to ask more than once. “so we want to hear your side of it.”

@wrenpoe

wrenpoe

listening to sarah, was like listening to a story. of people he didn’t know or wish to know when he was a kid. by then his life was already terrible, but somebody’s wasn’t. sarah’s wasn’t for a little while, until one misunderstanding changed everything for her… it sparked something in him, a wish to protect but it was all half in the open already, what could he do to protect but the truth?

to be honest, he wished he could say he couldn’t remember much. that it was vague after a week. but no, it had run through his mind so often it dug trenches to keep itself there. “justice started by telling me they got a very specific text message from a mutual friend,” his voice low, the sort of low that would be hard to reuse if somehow tag was recording them. “if they did what was asked, they would get their job back and i would be in prison or worse,” just thinking about death row was something he wasn’t interested in any further than he already had.

“they said they weren’t going to do it, so i didn’t worry. then i brought up that they could really help me. that if amelia had died that night, i was accounted for picking up my check. because i figured, freddie wouldn’t be much help,” his eyes were distant, not looking at either of them as he looked to the floor. “if you come on the podcast, we can talk about your alibi,” the words hung there for a moment, because they weren’t his. “i asked if they meant they wouldn’t give it to me, without going on. they said no, i'm not saying that but then -,” if it were possible, his voice got even lower, as he tried to keep it together and not fall into the same mental space jail had him in. ant’s hand on his shoulder, the only thing grounding him in the moment.

“i’m losing my job when i give your alibi,” the part that hurt the most. like it was only fair he went on the podcast for what they had to give up. “like it was payment for being a decent human being,” finally, his eyes stayed glued to the ground, “they said we have an idea, like all three of you, thought it was only fair. so, i snapped,” he moved a hand to scrub over his face as he sighed, wiping away the tears that had been forming and just over all trying to stay in the present. “i told them they should just do what that mutual friend wanted because if it fucking was to keep me in jail,” a humorless laugh escaped as he shrugged, “not giving me my alibi would surely do that.”

a feeling like hysteria clung to him for a moment before he sighed again, moving a hand to grasp anthony’s on his shoulder, something deep and centering. “i told justice to fuck off and get out,” looking up between the two of them, he could feel the anxiety building. would they believe him? had anyone ever believed him? he wanted to believe they would, but his trust issues reminded him that they had only been getting to know each other for two months… but wanting to prevent a misunderstanding meant something too. it had to.

@shadowedtower

shadowedtower

sarah nodded along as both men spoke. first, in agreement to anthony's statement, regarding justice reluctance to provide them with the exact wording they had used when discussing wren's alibi and the podcast. it was strange how justice had said they hadn't stopped thinking about everything, ruminating on all the details and how badly things could go. their vigilant focus on everything made it seem unlikely that they'd forget a detail like that. and yet.

in the case of wren, she nodded along to show that she was listening intently. she didn't want to interrupt, so she focused on taking in all the details as he went on. justice had mentioned the text message from tag as well. she did understand the difficult situation justice was in when it came to their job. rollaways was surely not irreplacable, but they lived in a small town. if everyone thought they'd vandalized the place, who would hire them?

there had to be someone that could see through the smoke and mirrors of it all. blythe, at the very least, who had just as much experience with all of this chaos as the rest of them. if not, she was sure they could help one another out. ward could use a midday walk while sarah was at work, and sarah would be happy to pay justice to take him. she was confident that at least some of the others could come up with similar jobs for them until they could be proven innocent. regardless, both parties had agreed that justice wasn't willing to trade her job for wren's freedom, so that part was beside the point.

"justice's main argument to us," meaning herself and ant. "was that tag could discredit the alibi, then they'd end up in trouble for obstruction of justice or falsifying information or whatever. which i guess is possible..." sarah added. she wasn't coming to their defense, just sharing what she had been told. to make sure he understood she wasn't defending it, she continued. "but unless they're in that police station somehow, either because they are a cop, or through a bug. i don't see how that would be possible. how could tag even know they were there to provide an alibi versus just being there to visit you? if tag was... busy." busy killing sarah's best friend. "how would they even know where you were at that time, to know that justice could provide an alibi?" sarah knew the decision she would've made in justice's shoes. everything was so convoluted, but sarah was sure she'd do the right thing and say she'd seen wren at rollaways that day, even if it meant going down with him. even if she barely knew him at that time. perhaps it would lead the officers to talk to freddie, or check security cameras of nearby witnesses to see if he'd gone in that day.

sarah, and justice among many others, had done that for liza, hadn't they? stuck by her regardless of the consequences, ending up banned from her best friend's funeral and becoming town pariahs in the process.

there was definitely a gray area in the way justice had worded things... justice hadn't used the word blackmail necessarily. but, if it was worded how wren said, there was definitely an air of manipulation behind it. a 'if i do this for you, the least you can do is do this for me.' sort of undertone. wrong, regardless.

"there was some talk about the podcast. but that it would be a good idea if you wanted to do it." sarah knew she had told him that already, at the police station, but she felt the need to reiterate it. knowing wren though, she had assumed even then that he wouldn't be interested in being on the podcast. nor was she. "thank you for telling us."

@antdesilvs

#*freewill.#&ant.#&wren.

antdesilvs

at sarah’s request, anthony begins to work on her coffee. he’s not the best at guessing what other people’s definitions are of a little or a decent amount, but he tries his best. once he’s finished, he carries the mug gently over to the couch and hands it to sarah. he picks up his own cup then, finally taking a sip of the now lukewarm coffee as he settles on the arm of the couch next to wren. one hand finds the other man almost immediately, resting lightly on wren’s shoulder.

“he’s out, that’s all that matters, right?” ant offers hopefully, glancing at wren with a small smile before turning his gaze back onto sarah. “even if… it doesn’t sound like justice came through with the alibi. i mean,” he starts, turning his attention to wren, “you mentioned lack of evidence, right? they didn’t say anything about an alibi?”

@wrenpoe

wrenpoe

it hadn't occurred to him that sarah would want to hug him. most people didn't. but he was trying to get used to the idea of it all. even with his anxiety, her wanting to hug was good right? so he let himself go for it but didn't let it sit for too long. more happy than ever that he had showered he gave her a quick squeeze before sitting back and soon enough. ant was next to him, his hand on his shoulder. wren didn't know he was a tactile person but now that someone was constantly tactile with him... well... he was happy for the connection.

"nothing to be sorry, not from you," he offered softly, hoping it would help sarah deal with whatever she had going on internally before he looked to anthony, "no, no mention of an alibi," was added in answer to the question. "no apology. no real details. just here's your shit and get out..."

@shadowedtower

shadowedtower

"thank you." sarah said to ant as she took the cup of coffee from him. she waited a while to take the first sip, allowing it to cool a little bit first. but, once she did drink some, it was perfect. she was never that particular about coffee anyway.

now that they were all settled, sarah brought the conversation back to justice once again. "you know, when my mom died and i was out of school for a while, our teacher assigned justice to help me catch up when i got back. most people had no idea how to act around me. i don't blame them, i wouldn't have known either. but justice treated me like i was normal and i needed that. then, a couple years later when amelia was away on vacation i ran into them at the mall during spring break..." sarah wasn't sure why she was telling them, exactly. she supposed she just wanted them to understand her perspective before they got into the real conversation. "we didn't date, but we spent a lot of that break together. it felt real. my first kiss, we were even supposed to go on a date but peyton had seen us together. and when amelia got back, peyton mentioned it. so amelia asked about it... and i messed up. i was, i am a coward. i said we weren't together, and when amelia invited me to hang out with her on the same day, i stood justice up. i tried to apologize, but they didn't answer when i knocked."

"i found out recently they weren't even home, and we spent all those years avoiding each other because of that... but that's beside the point. we rekindled things recently, obviously. we were supposed to have another shot at our first date but..." sarah didn't want to cry, so instead she shook her head and laughed bitterly. "the fucking podcast. they posted this episode saying they were friends with amelia, but what they said was really about me, not amelia. i was so mad that they'd lie. but i wanted it to work so much that i accepted their explanation and apology." she was simplifying things for the sake of time, of course. "i thought we put it all behind us at the sweethearts dance and they wouldn't do something like that again but now-" it wasn't the same thing, but it was similar enough. sarah looked at wren, hating that she was making it about her when it was clearly him that deserved the sympathy right now. she hated to add pressure to him, but she had to know. she needed to rip off the bandaid. maybe if she did, she could finally sleep at night. "can you tell me what they said? they said it was just a misunderstanding and they didn't mean it to be blackmail, but they couldn't remember exactly what they said to you."

@antdesilvs

#and when i told ya'll this reply would be long... i did not lie #*freewill.#&ant.#&wren.

antdesilvs

anthony quickly shakes his head and steps back from the doorway to let sarah in. “no, please, come in,” he urges as he closes the door behind her. he gestures for sarah to take a seat next to wren while he moves towards the kitchenette to make another cup of coffee. “we’ve just been talking. random shit. we haven’t, uh… we haven’t breached the topic of justice yet.” he pauses, holding up a mug. “how do you take your coffee? i can get that going while you guys catch up.”

@wrenpoe

wrenpoe

stretching like a cat, wren shifted his sprawled position to something more suitable to having someone sitting near him and offered a simple nod in agreement before the mention of justice. his easy sense of calm shifted to unease as sarah made her way in and ant went to get her coffee of her own. they didn't believe him, did they? this comforting bit, the happy to see him, was just a ruse… wasn't it? trying to silence his distrust and down right paranoia at always being the bad guy in every definition of the word, he just took a small breath. “justice, huh?” it wasn't a real question, but more of an invitation to rip off the bandaid.

@shadowedtower

shadowedtower

sarah stepped into ant’s apartment and toed off both of her shoes, setting them neatly by the door before crossing the room to hold her arms out to wren. an offer… one given without pressure. she wanted to hug him, she was so relieved he was here. but, she didn’t want to cross any lines. especially when he looked so beat up, she wasn’t sure if a hug would only bring him more discomfort. “a little sugar, a decent amount of creamer… and a bit of cinnamon if you happen to have it.”

sarah winced at the mention of justice. that would be a difficult discussion… and while it seemed that ant was willing to give sarah to sort things out, she worried about how wren would feel about sarah’s hesitation. it wasn’t that she didn’t believe wren, she did believe him. the trouble was, she wanted desperately to believe justice too. “we can wait for ant to broach that subject.” but, catching up was hard too. she was sure he wouldn’t want to dwell on whatever he went through while imprisoned. “i’m sorry all of this happened to you wren,” sarah said, genuinely. as she spoke, she sat down near by. leaving the seat immediately beside him for ant to occupy. “i wish i wouldn’t have moved out of the way at the dance. i know it was inevitable… but i still wish i would’ve tried harder.”

@antdesilvs

#&ant.#*freewill.#&wren.

antdesilvs

the insanity of wren showing up at sabrina's this morning had thrown anthony through a loop. he could barely contain his excitement at wren's release and subsequent worry that this could just be another domino that the anonymous texter was pushing down. a happy event that leads to a much worse one. but that is not what is on anthony's mind as he sits on his couch, coffee mug abandoned on the side table, his arms wrapped around wren, just grateful that this is real.

it isn't until the knock comes on his door that he remembers the plan he'd made with sarah-- the one that was definitely unnecessary now. he mutters an apology to wren before disentangling himself to open the door. "hey, sarah," he says sheepishly before opening the door wider, revealing the other man on his couch, "change of plans?"

@wrenpoe

wrenpoe

at some point he had changed clothes and took a shower but the moment that was over with, anthony had decided he needed pastries and coffee. at no point was wren looking a gift horse in the mouth. still, that kindness was surpassed by their time time cuddled up and for the first time in a week he felt like he could finally relax. sleep even if given the chance. the knock nearly made him pout. humming softly as ant went to answer the door, smiled something small at hearing sarah's name and watched her slowly be revealed at the door frame. he just offered a lazy wave, "hey."

@shadowedtower

shadowedtower

when ant stepped aside so sarah could see wren sitting on the couch, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. she had thought the next time the three of them would see each other would be in the cold, dull, uncomfortable setting of the wrensted police station. yet, here they all were within the comfort of ant's apartment. "holy shit," she murmured absentmindedly, not even acknowledging that her cursing seemed to be occurring more naturally with every passing day. "i'm so happy to see you! is it okay if i come in? or i could come back later, if you guys want?" her instinct was to hug wren, she was so relieved to see him outside of the police station. but, politeness was woven tightly in the fabric of her being. there was no chance of her overstepping what she saw as a potential boundary without permission.

@antdesilvs

intcgrities

location: sarah's car, post-party characters: justice & sarah @shadowedtower

When Sarah had started the car, Justice kept quiet. The night, though nothing terrible had seemingly happened yet, was heavy. They knew that fucking text from "Nic" was suspicious, but they still went. The scoop. Fucking ridiculous. Sarah coming at the prospect of tag!Justice apologizing to Wren, however, had been something they didn't expect. Obviously it knew about them being together (???), so they had not been wrong to worry about getting involved with her. But weren't there other people in Sarah's life that it'd be less risky to pretend to be, or was Justice downplaying how Sarah may feel about them? Either way, it was a micro-win in a series of fucking losses tonight. Hands in her lap, Justice scrolled through Stories from the night on mute, trying to see if anyone was in the background looking suspicious; instead she just saw the faces of her party "co-planners", some of them looking miserable in the blurry scene behind the selfie takers. Flipping their phone over so they weren't looking at the screen anymore, they broke the silence. "Thank you," they said quietly. "For driving," for caring about me, "and spending the night with me." They didn't want to risk another tag!Justice text coming during the night. All of the normal things they'd talk to her about felt like traps. Can't ask her how the party was, it was terrifying. Can't ask her who she talked to, that's weirdly posessive sounding for whatever vague thing they were right now. And talking about the night of the prank? No way. "I'm worried about Anthony," they heard themself settle on aloud. Shit, that wasn't a good topic, either.

shadowedtower

sarah had been looking forward to leaving the party all night. her stomach was tied in knots, so much so that if she had consumed anything at the party she likely would've driven herself to wrensted medical center under the assumption that tag had poisoned her. but, her stomach was empty. she was safe... physically... for now anyway.

she kept her eyes affixed on the road ahead, notably more attentive than she usually was when she drove. "you're welcome." sarah said softly. she had put justice's bike and phone in her car in a spur of the moment decision, in part to cut the tension that had formed earlier in the night. before they had even discovered that they were attending liza's surprise party. but... mostly because she did care about justice. if tag made an appearance, she didn't want them riding their bike while everyone else drove off without them. regardless of how unsure she was of where they stood.

all sarah wanted was a break from everything. a chance to scream, and cry, and mourn her best friend and every sense of normalcy that had left along with her.

there was no time for that now. maybe there never would be.

"i am too." sarah glanced at justice in her passenger's seat. "i'm meeting up with him tomorrow morning, though. we're going to visit wren together." sarah was sure justice would understand the implication, and she thought it was only fair they knew. in case it made them change their mind, and ask her to drive them home. ask if they could spend the night in their own apartments instead. she let the statement hang heavy in the air, giving justice the opportunity to respond to it if they chose to do so.

#&justice.#*freewill.

closed starter for @antdesilvs and @wrenpoe.

sarah and ant had made a rudimentary plan to meet up the morning following liza’s surprise party, and go together to talk to wren. naturally, the two had some follow-up questions for him, now that they’d both heard justice’s side of things.

one of the only things sarah and ant had worked out the night prior (amid the worry that came with attending a party so clearly planned by tag) was the time she’d meet him at his apartment. fifteen to thirty minutes before visiting hours were set to begin, so they could meet with wren as soon as possible. as promised, that was when sarah knocked on the door to ant’s apartment, not realizing that their plans had changed for the better.

#&ant.#&wren.#*freewill.

wrenpoe

THE EMPRESS ⟶ SARAH NOEUL JEONG

something in her chest broke. broke so violently that she wondered if it was possible for no one to have heard it…

#muse.

antdesilvs

the embrace caught anthony off guard. so much so that he hesitated for a few seconds before returning it with one arm, the other holding the marshmallow a safe distance from sarah. it was still an adjustment, seeing her as a close friend after spending so many years only knowing sarah as amelia’s best friend. but ant can’t deny how much things have changed, in only just the past few months.

the mention of wren brings an uneasy smile to anthony's face. he has no qualms about going to see the other man (his friend? boyfriend? they never got so far as to determine what they actually were to each other before wren’s arrest), but he knows this conversation won’t be a lighthearted one like the past few have been.

“we can, yeah. as long as nothing crazy happens at this party,” he jokes though it comes out more weary than he intends. “it’s weird that we supposedly planned this, right?”

shadowedtower

sarah took a step back after the hug, but remained close enough that the two of them could talk in a hushed tone without being overheard if need be. could they trust the others they'd found each other at the party with? paige most of all... she had more reason than anyone else to punish them, and her showing up here of all places didn't feel coincidental in the least.

"it is odd." she agreed with him easily. "i hope it doesn't end in total disaster... but it seems likely. i can only imagine that tilly, vienna and the others will assume whatever happens is our doing too." how could they defend themselves from something they didn't understand?

#&ant.#*elwoodcelebrations.

antdesilvs

even though anthony was vaguely aware (for the most part) of what was going on between sarah and justice, he was still hesitant to breech the topic in conversation. especially after everything that happened when they confronted justice about wren and the podcast. to him, it felt wrong to try to get someone to 'tell their side of the story' to god knows how many listeners when that isn't even close to what they want. but justice had other ideas-- and apparently sarah was buying into them.

"good, good," he mumbles, taking a step closer to the bonfire in search of the bag of marshmallows. once he finds the bag, he pauses, turning back to sarah with a furrowed brow. "you don't need to apologize, sarah. you're, like... the last person who needs to apologize for anything." he pulls a marshmallow from the bag, squishing it between his fingers once before he adds, "can't say the same for some others, though."

shadowedtower

sarah listened to ant, tired eyes watching him as he picked up the bag of marshmallows. quietly, she walked over to him and hugged him despite the fact that he held a squished marshmallow in one hand that could've ended up in her hair or on her clothes. "thank you."

it would've been easy for him to write her off. to draw a line in the sand with him and wren on one side and she and justice on the other. but, he hadn't. he was willing to work through it with her. the two of them stood in solidarity, attempting to figure out what was going on together. that meant a lot to her. hopefully, it would also result in a better outcome for whatever it was that was going on with justice and wren.

"maybe we could go see wren tomorrow morning?"

#&ant.#*elwoodcelebrations.

knewitalls

william hadn't meant to seek out sarah, but given the twists and turns of the evening thus far, it was not a surprise when his brain unconsciously led him to her location.

they tended to wind up in the same place when they both attended a party, so it had really only been a matter of time. however, unlike new year's eve and the gatherings they attended in high school, he wasn't simply looking to pass the time in her presence. something had been bothering him - not only all night, but for weeks. and now that he was certain of what had been going on, it only felt right to connect all of the dots.

sarah was the one who'd gotten a text specifically mentioning peyton dazey. she had been the key to unraveling the whole thing. but that also meant... she had to know something. because the texts wouldn't have been a threat otherwise, right?

"you know me. living the dream," he said as he stood near the fire for warmth, sarcasm dripping from every word.

it wasn't long before he was looking around, taking note of where everyone was and was not. realizing that there were others a little too close for him to have the private conversation he was wanting, he gestured towards the trees that were in the general direction of the parking lot before making his proposal. "do you want to take a walk?"

shadowedtower

it was a good thing that sarah trusted william. because otherwise a walk in the woods during times like these would've been completely out of the question.

"okay, yeah. a walk sounds nice." she agreed, though she suspected there was more to it than just a quick stroll. there was likely something he wanted to look for, without doing so alone. but, he'd likely seek georgia or jordan for that. so, the more likely scenario was that there something he wanted to talk about with her specifically without the risk of being overheard.

sarah stood from her place by the fire, and started walking away from the group sitting by the fire. her seat was almost immediately claimed as they moved toward the tree line. she kept walking, waiting for william to decide when he felt they were far enough out of earshot. out of an abundance of caution, she signed "my phone is in my car." keeping her hands as close to her body as possible, to shield them from anyone that might be watching as much as she could. "we can alternate between signing and speaking, maybe? so if we're being watched or listened to... either way they'll only get half of the conversation." she suggested, speaking this part out loud.

#*elwoodcelebrations.#&william.

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