#f1rstcut

[helldwells]

fuck. he was a man who prided himself on his implacable stoicism, on the unwavering mask he wore to shield his emotions from the world ⸻ but he found that mask slipping, the carefully constructed walls around his heart crumbling in the face of his concern for her. as he observed her, he noted how he detested the feeling of helplessness, the gnawing apprehension that clawed at his insides. but most of all, he detested the way it forced him to confront the emotions he had long buried. ❝ huh, not really. ❞ he retorted, his vox a low rumble that barely concealed the concern ( was she hurt? what had happened? ) lurking beneath. he tried to infuse his tone with casual detachment, but the effort was in vain. every word felt like a betrayal of the emotions he sought to suppress. ❝ you look like shit, frankly. i was just curious. ❞

&. rivals ( to lovers? ) sentence starters "oh, so now you care?" ( @f1rstcut )

[lifesver]

@f1rstcut cont. from here!

❝ come — on —! ❞ he slams his palms against the door, angry, grief-stricken. again, and again. he throws his shoulder into it. all it does it make noise, send bolts of pain radiating through his exhausted frame. the door doesn't budge. hasn't budged. they're trapped in this fucking room, still. he hits the door again, something like a choked sob catching in his throat. his hands feel numb. ❝ — please... i'm sorry. ❞ it barely comes out as a frayed whisper, this time.

your fault. your fault —

his ears ring. he knows the dripping sound is from their dead friend, in the room over. leland almost doesn’t hear maria speaking to him. everything sounds so underwater, warped and pitchy, and maybe like it’s happening to someone else. god, he wished this was happening to someone else. his eyes take a moment to meet hers, glassy and snapping to focus. she’s scared. so is he. and he doesn't know what to say. what will make any of it better. what the hell will bring their dead friends back. he feels like he can't breathe without tasting rot. blood. feels the sick spatter of it on his face, where the fissure in the wall hadn’t spared them the mess of chainsaw teeth tearing through flesh and organs and— god. god. what the hell is happening to them? he can still hear her fucking screaming.

red, red light, red room, red hair, limp and tangled around connie's shadowed face. this is all your fault, you should have been there —

his knees want to buckle, sudden headrush making him sway slightly on his feet. his stinging palms slide down the cold metal, defeated as he stumbles back from it. maria’s hands coming to frame his face are the closest thing he has to an anchor on reality, and leland crumbles apart easily at her touch; ❝ sorry, i’m — i’m sorry. ❞ he stammers out, voice a strained rasp. ❝ i should have. i didn’t… why'd i let her go alone? why — ❞ he didn’t realize he’d started crying. quiet sob shaken from him as hot tears spill down his cheeks, over maria's hands. she bleeds into water colour in his vision.

he should have been able to protect them. at the campsite. here. when they’d gotten separated, caught out by the monsters hunting them through these god-forsaken tunnels. there were too many of them. he couldn't keep her safe. can't stop thinking about how scared she must have been. thinking she was all alone, when they were so close. so fucking close, and he couldn't do anything while that monster —

his mouth runs senselessly; ❝ i can’t — we can’t leave her out there. maria, we… it’s not right. we have to do something, they can't — ❞ he's half incoherent, shaking badly through the shoulders. he knows, maybe, there's nothing he can do. he knows there’s nothing fair about this. despite how his world tilts and falls away around him, he tries to use what he's feeling for something. anything to keep his grip on reality. mindlessly, he brings his hand up to the side of maria’s face, mirroring her. carefully thumbing away the fresh blood. connie's blood. she was so hesitant to come along on this trip. she knew it could be dangerous, but she came anyway and —

leland feels sick. he remembers talking in the light of the campfire, not even half a day ago. with their sleeping friends all around them. they had thought they were safe.

unsteady, he refocuses on maria, dragging in a harsh breath as he tries to listen to her words. she needs him here. she needs him to keep it together. she's alive. you found her. you have to be strong. and if you can’t be strong for real, you just have to fake it. just keep faking it.

leland blinks fast, nods minutely; ❝ o — okay. ❞ confirmation is weak, and hiccupped around the overflow of tears. but he steels himself as best he can. tries again; ❝ okay. y — yeah. okay. ❞ he can. he has to. he can’t let maria down. can’t give up. can’t feel sorry for himself. he has to get them out of here. keep moving. keep breathing. don't think about it. don't think about it. his head still pounds. pain lances up flaring knife wounds all along his back. but whatever he was feeling must be nothing compared to maria.

teeth press together stubbornly against the threat of another bout of welling in his chest. he looks to maria, half-helplessly. ❝ what... what should we do? ❞

[luminarot]

@f1rstcut // continued from here.

A bright burst of laughter announces Patrick's departure from his hiding space, pushing wild hair out of eyes as he rounds the car to meet Maria. He might've taken his leisurely time getting here, but the fact that he'd abandoned dreamland at all shows just how eager he is for this adventure; even early mornings have their advantages, like a pastel sky painted in shifting hues, and the promise of good company. Hearing Maria tease him now, Patrick thinks the trade is already paying off.

"What'd you just call me?" he asks, mock offense wrapped up in the delight of a genuine desire to learn. He always lights up when he learns something new, even if it's something small and insignificant; it's one of his favorite parts of being on the road and meeting lots of people. Back home, everyone lived under a rock where they all walked and talked the same. It was miserable, but out here in the big wide world, everything is brand spanking new. "You keep teasing me like that, and maybe I'll be a flat leaver after all."

It's obvious he doesn't mean it, though, all smiles as he adjusts his hold on his own bag where it sits on his back. By the looks of things, he'd packed much lighter than Maria, but he made sure to grab the essentials before he took off — some water and a couple snacks, as ready as he can be for a day spent in the sun and unrelenting heat. He can't wait to see what new natural wonder Maria has to show him next.

"The river? Right on, wildflower; lead the way!"

[luminarot]

@f1rstcut said: "you have to tell me the most exciting place you've been through already. paint the picture for me, clear as day." nothing short of a demand while she shields her eyes from the onslaught of sun.

Sunlight pours over the quiet expanse like golden honey, warming Patrick enough to fold his signature denim jacket over the back of the wooden fence he’s perched himself atop. The van had pulled into town just in time for the wildflowers’ bloom, apparently, and he’s been trying to make the most of it — an endeavor both brought on and made easier by the bright presence of his new friend Maria, who leans against the fence beside him with a familiar gleam in her eyes. It's not often he meets such a kindred spirit, but what can he say? Texas has been good to him. He wouldn't mind coming back again sometime for a visit.

He has a ton of other places he wants to see first, though, and plenty of sights to see while he's still here in the present. Not that he's reluctant to reminisce; on the contrary, Maria's demand is met with a dreamy grin, all the stars appearing at once just to gather in his eyes as he thinks back on the places he's been.

"Is it too predictable if I say Woodstock?" he asks, plucking the sunglasses off his head to share with his squinting companion, placing them on her face before she even has a chance to answer. "That was one of the first big things we did once we hit the road. I mean, we'd been driving for a few months by then, but still! Hard to beat a thing like that. All that music, man, and the people — it was unreal. Everybody was groovy, just there for a good time. I saw Grateful Dead and Jimi fucking Hendrix; not even the rain was enough to stop us!"

He's beaming as he talks, dimples on full display as he rambles about the legendary festival. "But hey, if you're looking for a more unique answer, there's always Yellowstone; now, that place is something else. You ever seen any pictures? I've got some in my album, but man. Nothing compares to seeing one of those geysers in person. It just takes your breath away; you'd love it. You should visit sometime, if you ever head up there! I bet you'd get some good pictures. Maybe they'd even put 'em in the magazines."

[jestrot]

@f1rstcut

Jogging out of the house, hammer in hand. Bubba looked to his surroundings for a moment. There was someone around, that much he knew but... "Bwh...." Glancing around he moved to sit on the steps. Rubbing his face now, clearly stressing now. His brother is going to beat him if he can't find this person...

[mvriigold]

there is no warning. not really, outside of the slide of her arm around julie's waist to hold her briefly still while her free hand tucks a smaller sunflower just behind julie's ear. satisfied with the result, maria beams! ( @ julie )

Lazing around in the grass like this, Julie really, genuinely can’t think of a better way to live. 

Sure, she’s still miles upon miles from California, and some mornings, she wakes up so homesick that it makes her stomach hurt. But every day is worth it. The experience of meeting so many new people, making friends, spreading her wings and trying to step out of her comfort zone. Julie wouldn’t go back on any of it. And certainly not on days like this.

Laid back in a sea of grass and wildflowers, she’d closed her eyes and soaked in the daylight after hers and Maria’s packed lunch, looking not too unlike a dazed, sun-drunk cat. Lips curled upwards in pleasure, Julie had ended up actively dozing off in the meadow. Lulled to rest by her company, a full stomach, and the blissful existence of having a day, for once, with exactly zero responsibilities waiting on her. Realistically, she hadn’t stood a chance. 

Knocking out for what could be minutes or hours, Julie isn’t sure how much time she’s lost when her eyes finally reopen. In those first few moments, all that exists is her and the endless blue sky. Thank god she remembered to put on sunscreen.

With a lazy sleep-soaked hum, she sits upwards. Hands propped behind her back, she pauses for a moment before straightening: both arms stretching out with a satisfied noise. Her muscles are certainly grateful for the break from workouts and volleyball rallies, and with that nap out of the way, she’s thinking the rest of her body is too. 

“I’m up!”

She still sounds a little out of it, but there’s points for effort. 

Stretching a little further, Julie glances around for a glimpse of her friend - easing into a smile the moment she spots her. With a last, satisfying stretch of her neck, she gets to her feet and makes her way over: curious as to what exactly Maria was busying herself with while she was napping, and maybe looking to catch her off guard. It’s her remaining tiredness that ends up foiling her.

Grey-green eyes widen as Maria’s arm slips around her waist - and then a delighted smile blooms as the flower is tucked behind her ear. Laughter following, Julie raises a hand to feather gently over the yellow petals as Maria beams at her. Though she’s tempted to remove the flower to examine it, she leaves it right where it is. 

In fact, as far as she’s concerned, it’s staying there for the rest of the day.

“Guess you caught me.”

Shrugging with a lingering smile, Julie reaches forwards to snap a matching flowerhead from the plant. It’s deftly tucked behind Maria’s opposite ear, and she looks more than a little proud of her work as her lips upturn further. “There. Now we match. What have you been up to?”

[nxmeolvides]

continuation for @f1rstcut!

It had been a bit of an adventure, finding enough conjoined bus routes to make her way to Austin. Uvalde wasn’t exactly the bustling centre of Texas, to put it lightly. But Ana hadn’t been willing to put their mother in the position of having no car for several days. She’d saved the money for the bus fares, for everything, and had sat in those borderline uncomfortable seats as her stomach twisted into excited knots. Bright sunshine had greeted her as she stepped off the vehicle, suitcase in hand: but that couldn’t even begin to compare to the happiness lighting up her sister’s face.

Maria had always had a way of lighting up the room.

Laughter escapes as she’s practically bowled over into the hug, her own sun-kissed arms winding around her sister to return the affection. Thankfully, Ana had thought to set her suitcase down before her greeting, and it sits on the pavement in a cheery, if faded splash of red. 

Her own nose wrinkles at the kiss dropped onto her head, but it’s offset by the smile burrowing into her cheeks: both staying as she lifts her head to meet Maria’s gaze as well. 

“A little,” Ana admits. “I did eat at home, but you know… not a lot.” 

She’d never enjoyed travelling on a full stomach. Had tried it a few times when they were both young, and spent the latter half of the car trip leant against her sister and whining with discomfort. Now, at least marginally smarter, she plans her initial meals to be small, with the promise of something bigger when she’s on the other side. A reward for herself, for battling through the journey.

“Is there anywhere nearby?” She asks, eyes turning slightly pleading as if by instinct. A habit of being a younger sister that she can’t quite turn off, despite the fact that Maria has never been the type to deny her things at all. “I could kill for a hamburger. Even just a milkshake.”

The thought of a tall glass of vanilla sweetness has her stomach threatening to grumble on the spot.