closed starter for @silcntfigvre.
located at the porter family residence, in the living room, at almost midnight.
it was almost midnight when some of the others started corralling everyone toward whatever TV happened to be the closest. the living room, basement, bedroom... wherever. even if you couldn't see the screen from where you stood. sarah happened to find herself in the living room, as close to the exterior wall as she could get. not a chance of seeing the television. not that she cared. no one, to her knowledge, had really been watching the usual new year's eve entertainment all night. but apparently they wanted to make sure everyone heard the last musical guest's performance, and in a few more minutes, counted down to the new year.
sarah looked at who surrounded her, stopping when she noticed nic immediately beside her. sarah had been drinking, not enough that she couldn't control herself, but enough to let her speak unabashedly despite the rules that had been instilled in her throughout her childhood. don't speak unless spoken to. "i didn't think people watched this anymore..." she confessed. "the past three years i think i fell asleep before midnight."
closed starter for @antdesilvs.
located at the porter family residence, in the kitchen.
sarah's heart wasn't in it. but, she had to be here at least long enough to soil amara's night. and needed an excuse as to why she did so, so that amara maybe wouldn't resent her for the rest of their lives. sarah had dwelled in the quieter areas of the party, and wandered through a couple of mostly empty rooms, before finally deciding that she had to make an effort.
besides, she had made a promise.
she owed ant a shot. so, she shuffled through the more occupied areas of the house, her eyes scanning the rooms for ant as she did. finally, she spotted him in the kitchen. where there happened to be plenty of alcohol, conveniently enough. "hey!" sarah called out to him, her voice mostly drowned out by the surrounding chatter. she reached out and placed her hand on his arm to get his attention. "hey. is that shot still on the table?"
closed interaction with @shadowedtower. located on the road between the porter house and their respective apartments.
TW: death.
jordan was in the middle of dancing when she caught sight of sarah out of the corner of her eye, saying her goodbyes on her way out of the front door of the porter house. it was already after midnight, but jordan hadn't been able to build up her courage to confide in sarah like she was bid by tag to do. but, it was now or never.
so, jordan quickly told her dance partner that she would see them later. then, ducked and weaved through the crowd of fellow party attendees to meet sarah at the front door. "hey, sarah!" she yelled over the music, then continued once they had both exited the residence and shut the door behind them. most of the music was muffled now, letting her speak freely without yelling. "headed home?"
sarah confirmed with a quick nod, sliding her arms into her jacket. "yeah, nothing good happens after midnight, right?" sarah said, harkening back to a saying she'd heard her grandmother use a time or two, as if that was her reason for leaving the party. in reality, she had never wanted to come to begin with.
jordan smiled, and mirrored sarah's nod. "can we walk together?" jordan requested, realizing that doing so would be an even better opportunity to confide in sarah without being overheard, or being misheard because of the blaringly loud party music. jordan was fairly certain her and sarah lived in vaguely the same direction. or at least hoped sarah wouldn't notice if they didn't. "i know neither of us seem very intimidating, but there's safety in numbers. right?"
as if in confirmation, sarah began walking down the sidewalk in the direction of both of their homes. "is that because of general post-party safety practices, or because of the murderer on the loose?" sarah asked with an apparent forced, but practiced smile. regardless, a little company never hurt, and admittedly did make both of them feel a little bit safer. usually, sarah only stepped into a party if amelia dragged her there. it made sense that she didn't realize that most people left parties in groups or pairs.
jordan stayed quiet for a beat, the scuffing of her vans on the sidewalk the only sound. "both, i suppose." she answered, finally. as they walked, she gazed at sarah. she was completely unsure of how to start this discussion. jordan was the queen of listening. of being the shoulder others cried on. she felt it was her place to be the warmth that others sought during their hardest days. so, the idea of dropping her emotional trauma on sarah, who had just gone through something so devastating, seemed so wrong. jordan's goal was to lift others up, not drag them down with her own troubles.
but, she feared the repercussions of her inaction too much not to complete her assigned task.
"sar-" jordan stumbled over a loose stone, but stayed upright. "you know, i've been where you are. not to the same extent, but i'm sure that- you know," jordan was really struggling to word what she was saying, despite having practiced the a vague script. it came out awkward and jumbled. instead, she attempted to speak faster, in the hopes of powering through it. "i'm a 911 dispatcher right? the day that liza broke up with me, i had just gotten done with the worst shift of my life. i got a call for an allergic reaction. it was some guy who was dating someone new. they were supposed to go on a first date that night, but the other guy had to cancel for some work thing. so he dropped off some food instead as an apology. which is sweet, like as a way to reassure him that he wasn't just flaking on him. anyway, he was struggling to breath, hands were swelling and all that. i dispatched an ambulance as soon as i had his address." jordan let silence settle between them once again, waiting until she thought she could speak past the lump that had formed in her throat. "they didn't make it in time. i heard him take his last breath. then, i heard the emergency responders pronounce him dead when they got there."
sarah slowed down, and turned to look at jordan. she was clearly confused by how the story related to her, but sympathetic nonetheless. "i'm so sorry..." jordan put a hand up, to stop her before she continued with what she was saying.
"all i wanted to do was tell liza. it's not her fault, i'm pretty good at pretending everything is okay. sunny disposition, and all. so, i walked in like nothing happened, but i was going to tell her about it. i just wanted to make sure she was doing good, and could handle me trauma dumping." ironic, now that she was trauma dumping on someone that likely wasn't in the headspace to handle it now. "but, she broke up with me that day." and with that, jordan felt that her assigned task was complete. sarah was the first person she'd ever told the story to. now, it was time for her to smooth over the edges. to make herself feel better for adding to sarah's emotional distress. to make it about sarah, somehow.
"so what i'm trying to say is i understand going through something traumatic, and not being able to tell the person you trust the most about it. and how hard it is, and how likely you are to just bottle it all up and never tell anyone. because that's exactly what i did." jordan finally arrived at the point, and sarah nodded in slow understanding as they finally approached the spot where their paths to the respective homes would force them to split. jordan stopped there, fully facing sarah now. "and what i'm trying to get at, is that i'm here for you. if you need someone to talk to, sarah. i know it's not the same, but if you ever need someone. you can count on me. in fact, i expect you to talk to me about it when you're ready."
sarah nodded gratefully, despite her deep down not feeling as devastated as she was supposed to yet. sarah's feelings were complex, so much so that she was deep in denial without even realizing it. the shock was wearing off, and what she felt most of all was guilt over their fight. but, she couldn't acknowledge that amelia was even gone yet. "thanks, jordan. honestly, when my mom died when we were younger... i had this pit in my stomach. this sinking feeling, like i just knew something was wrong before anyone even told me she was gone." tears welled in sarah's eyes at the mention of her mom, at the memory. like it had just happened yesterday. "but, i don't have that feeling now, for amelia. something about it just... doesn't feel the same."
"maybe you just haven't accepted it yet." it wasn't uncommon, from what she understood. denial was the first stage of grief, and it could take some time for the sadness to really settle in. she leaned in, and gave sarah a gentle, side hug. "and that's okay. but when it does, just give me a call. show up on my door step. whatever you need to do."
sarah nodded, and continued her walk home, diverting her path from jordan's. before there was too much space between them, when she could still be heard at a normal speaking volume, she said "or maybe it means amelia isn't actually gone... maybe whoever texted us faked her death." jordan had started walking, her back to sarah. when she heard sarah's hypothesis, though, she stopped and turned her head to glance at her. sarah continued walking. "thanks, through, jordan. for checking on me."
that wasn't the way jordan had anticipated this conversation going, but before she could fully process sarah's words she was already gone. jordan would just have to keep an eye out for future warning signs, maybe recruit a few of the others to keep an eye on her if they were receptive to it. she was sure she was overthinking it anyway, sarah was in denial, and clearly intoxicated as well. "text me when you get home safe!" jordan yelled, with an affirmative response from sarah that made her feel assured in her decision to continue her own journey home.
closed starter for @knewitalls.
located at the porter family residence, in the basement.
sarah had expected the basement to be more crowded than it was. back in high school, the basement always seemed to be the focal point of the party. but, not today. sure, there were a few people milling about, but they were doing their own thing and left her more or less alone. their faces weren't familiar to her, which meant they likely didn't know her as the best friend of the dead girl. the music wasn't so insufferably loud down here which was just icing on the cake. not that she needed the silence to invite in the thoughts that lingered on the edges of her mind.
after a meander around the room, sarah discovered the black game cube beneath the large tv in the basement. she wiped the dust from its surface, and pressed the grey on button. sure enough, it came to life. sarah knelt down to get a better view of the cabinet beneath the television, and rifled through some of the games. pikmin, the original animal crossing, super smash bros, the legends of zelda: wind waker, mario kart double dash, frogger ancient shadow, and mario party to name a few. she wouldn't expect randy to play most of them, but it seemed his parents had just bought a vast majority of the games available in the hopes that he liked some of them.
sarah glanced over her shoulder, just in time to see william reach the bottom of the basement stairs. she knew he was as likely as she was to want some sort of escape from the party festivities. "hey! perfect timing. want to play? we could play mario kart, or mario party. i'd be willing to bet i'd win."
closed starter for @loverzhq
located at the porter family residence, in the living room.
sarah had only just arrived to the party hosted by randy porter. it was the last place she wanted to be, and yet she was forced to be there nevertheless. initially, she had assumed that the messages that she and the others were receiving were a disgusting joke by someone trying to profit off their misery. but, the more the talked the more she suspected that it was real. the thought had kept her up all night, wracked by her grief and stricken with terror.
once sarah had dragged herself into the party, she dropped into a seat in the living room, next to someone that she didn't even spare a glance at. she needed a few minutes, before she could even think about socializing or the task that the anonymous texter had given her. finally, she realized that she hadn't asked if it was okay for her to sit with, whoever she was with on the couch. "is it... is this seat taken?" she murmured, her head finally turning so she could ascertain if she knew the couch's other occupant. and, of course, of all people it would be liza.
