It’s Andrea’s usual days of heading out to the nearest alcohol serving, people gathering, music pumping locale. Drinking, dancing, and meeting new people are three of her favourite things to, so when she can do it all together? Well, that’s just a gift that keeps on giving.
Ever since Ophelia told her about her little date that’s coming up, she’s been so excited. It’ll be so good for her friend to date someone again. Just thinking about Ophelia being all loved up and happy makes Andrea feel all giddy on the inside.
Seeing an oddly familiar face, Andrea walked over to the bar slid into a seat. She folded her arms onto the counter and rested her chin on top of her hands.
“Brody~”
“Why are you looking so broody?” She said with a mischievous smile as she peered up from her eyelashes.
Harvey happily made his way towards Beachside ice cream. He had just finished his shift at the gym and was really looking forward to spending some time with Evelyn and her puppy. He paused for a second when he realized he was only dressed in a loose white sweat vest and some compression tights. It’s not exactly company proper but he really wanted to see his friend and maybe get some ice cream before heading home. Figuring that it would be fine for a short visit, he pushed open the door to the ice cream place. “Hello Evelyn!” He greeted out loud with a bright grin. “How are my favourite girls doing today?”
Lucy had hardly stopped smiling since her wand had glowed blue above her stomach. Happiness evading all of her senses all at once, a bounce in her step. One she hadn’t had since Hogwarts, no matter how happy she was at the time. Suddenly everything she’d gone through during the war looked dim compared to what her future held.
Nerves were also a dominant emotion in the small blonde. Sure they’d talked about having children, they were engaged after all, but they hadn’t exactly talked about at what age they’d start trying. She only hoped he would be as happy as she was about it.
The floo flashing green caused her to stand up, hands behind her back as she jumped on the balls of her feet.
Jules is surprised she doesn’t splinch herself as she lands roughly into his room. James springs up from his bed so fast she wants to make a joke but can’t. Not with her heart and her throat racing and secrets a villain had spilled while she fought him running through her head. Her eyes are wild and she’s scaring him, she knows this, but she can’t help herself. She’s faced death before and laughed in its face but the war finally brewing over was something she had thought she was ready for but actually wasn’t.
UMBRA had been something she’s joined without much thought, she was already saving lives anyway. This way she could fight along people she liked and even helped them save their own lives. Having them practice in her and James’ flat has been a no brainer. Something she was now paying for as she stepped closer to James. Her eyes still wide with fear she’s not used to feeling and her arms shaking as he grabs her by the arms.
“We have to go, Potter.” Are the first words she says to him and they come out steadier than she had thought they would. Pulling her arms away from him she leaves his room in a flurry. James hurries behind her but she’s already waving her hand around and packing her bagback. “They’re coming, Potter. They know. We have to go.” Jules doesn’t specify the they but James knows who’s she’s talking about and soon she’s following in her foot steps and packing himself a bag.
Looking around the sitting room she grabs James’ hand, before taking one last look and popping out of there.
He was cute and nice and also very boring. Grace had promised herself she’d never agree to another blind date again, and yet when Michelle had coerced her into one she hadn’t put up much of a fight. She hadn’t gotten dressed up in quite a bit for the sake of a date, nor had she been invited to drinks or anything of the like. So dressing up and getting food hadn’t seemed like much trouble. Except for that he was boring and she was trying to think of excuses as why she had to leave as soon as he’d excused himself to go to the restroom.
Leaning back in her seat she gently swirled the wine in in her glass. She was so focused on what she was doing that she didn’t notice the handsome man glancing at her before he headed her way. Hearing the chair being pulled out she straightened up and looked across the table at.. not her date. “You’re not Adam.” she commented, slight confusion in her voice.
[She made sure her mocking words were loud enough for the fans to hear as she smiled down at the brunette kneeling in the ring. Running towards the ropes she bounced off them, dropkicking Maddison in the face before standing up with a cheerful smile on her face. The smile widening at the boos the nxt crowd bestowed her with. Giving a shrug towards the audience she headed towards the ropes, knowing their time was almost up. Climbing the ring post she balanced on the ropes, not noticing the fans quieting down and the confused Maddison rolling away from the designated place, before gracefully flipping backwards.
A shock of pain rolled through her body as she curled up on her side, her body meeting the ring instead of the body she was supposed to have landed on. Rolling onto her side she heard the bell declaring the match to be over which only served to confuse her even more. Blinking up at the bright lights she shook her head at the face that appeared before her.]
Santana chewed on her nails and paced across the floor. She heard a door slam and her heart jumped into her throat, but then she heard a group of people talking as they passed and realized it was just some students down the hall. Surely the police had been called by now. There was still a lot of people at the party when she left. Someone would have seen him as they left, or maybe a gardener? All of those disgustingly wealthy families had gardeners, right? Looking at her phone quickly, she considered leaving right then. Word would eventually get to Quinn. She didn't have to explain everything and make her an accessory. Right?
Quinn rubbed her hands together as she stood on the opposite side of Santana's door. She was nervous about this honestly. The fear that had sank to the bottom of her stomach when she heard her friend had been trouble made her jump into the worse case scenarios. Shaking herself of those, she brought her hand to the door and knocked on it quickly. Not bothering to wait for someone to answer, she stepped inside and glanced at her friend who seemed to look a state, "S..." She whispered, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around her shoulders, "what the hell happened?" The blonde coughed, tightening her grip on her friend's shoulder.
Santana jumped for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Was this what the rest of her life was going to be like? Before she could make a decision on whether or not to answer the door, it opened and she felt a small amount of relief as Quinn wrapped her arms around her. She sighed and closed her eyes, allowing herself to be comforted for only a moment before she shook herself out of the embrace and moved to shut the door. Running a hand through her already well messed hair, she held out her hands. "There was a party out by the lake. One of those really rich douche bag trust fund babies, you know? Nate or something. A girl in my sociology class invited me. He was hitting on me pretty hard all night and after me rejecting him for the fourth time, he kicked me out. I dropped my car keys and when I went back to look for them, he was waiting for me. We fought. I was too drunk and he was too big for me to kick his ass. He'd..." She swallowed hard as acid began to rise from her stomach at the memory. "We were on the ground and he had my dress pushed up and I just....I just wanted him to get off me. I didn't wanna hurt him." She sat down on the bed as she began to get dizzy.
Quinn feeling Santana pull away and then move towards the door cause Quinn to pick at the hem of her skirt nervously. She was started to get scared. Very scared. This was so uncharacteristically Santana, that she didn't know who she was looking at right now. She paused as she listened to her friend's story. Her eyes pricking slightly, and her stomach churned. Alongside that, her face burned. How dare some guy take her friend's "no's" as a means of arguing with her fighting with her, trying to... assault her. A small tear strolled down her cheek at the thought of him actually carrying it through, but after a long moment, she looked up again. Only to see Santana had moved. Turning to face her, she wiped her face, sniffed and approached her, kneeling down and taking her hand. "What do you mean you didn't want to hurt him..?"
Santana closed her eyes and began to rock back and forth, waiting for the dizziness to go away. She wanted to wake up and for this to have all been a nightmare, but the dried blood that was still probably caked under her fingernails was proof that she was unfortunately not dreaming. Her eyes shot open when Quinn took her hand and she met her eyes briefly, only barely registering how scared she looked. "I tried hitting him with my fists." She whispered, her voice shaking. "But it's like he couldn't feel it. I think he was probably one of the ones in the kitchen doing coke. That shit kind of makes you feel invincible. Anyway, the music was too loud for anyone to hear me yell for help, and I don't even really remember grabbing the brick. I just remember that one second he was pulling at my panties, and the next he was laying on top of me, totally still. It wasn't until later I remembered hitting him."
Quinn sat very still for a moment as she watched her friend begin to explain what had happened next. It felt as though someone had been blasting white noise through her and right now she wasn't able to think properly. No tears came this time. Nothing did. She just sat there. Dumbfounded. As though she would be forever stuck in the spot, re-imagining her friend almost being assaulted, re-imagining her lifting that brick... re-imagining her hitting him. She swallowed as it all came back to her and she found herself letting go of Santana's hands and sitting away from her slightly. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. Getting to her feet, she brought on hand to her lips and let the other comb through her hair, "you killed him.." she whispered away from her. "You killed him."
Santana looked up to Quinn again, watched her leaning away from her, and when she said those words. you killed him, it was like she could smell the blood all over again, and she stood up quickly, running over to her garbage can, sure she was going to throw up. Nothing happened, though. There was nothing for her to throw up, anyway. She'd already done that after she squeezed out from underneath the heavy lifeless body on top of her, and again when she'd gotten back to campus, and when she basically scrubbed all of her skin off in the shower. "I killed him." She repeated Quinn's words. They didn't sound real. She couldn't have possibly done something like that. She'd never. It wasn't in her, despite her talk. She sank clumsily to the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. "I killed him." Resting her head against her knees, she began to cry. "I killed him."
Quinn watched her friend in despair, "hey, hey.. No. Please. Please don't cry." She got to her level, enveloping her arms around Santana's tiny figure and trying her best to comfort her. Kissing the girl's temple gently, she rested her head against hers and breathed slowly. "You were protecting yourself.. It was self-defense." She paused again as she tried to continue on, despite that fact that she felt this was something that was out of her hands. Raising the girl's chin, she wiped at her tears, "he was going to rape you." She choked on the reality of those words before gaining her composure again. "You protected yourself. We just have to explain that to the police. You'd have torn clothes, some bruises. It was self-defense..."
Santana considered Quinn's words, and for a second, she almost felt like maybe things weren't completely hopeless. It was true, her dress from last night had grass stains all over the back. There were scratches on her upper arms and thighs, bruises on her hips. There were other people at the party who had seen him being obnoxious with her. But in an instant, she saw the blood all over her hands and chest again and she shook her head. "No. I don't remember his first name, but I definitely remember his last. His family's the ones they named the auditorium after. People like that....it doesn't matter that I was defending myself. I ran, I didn't call anyone. Even rape cases where the girl goes to the police immediately after it happens get dismissed. You really think that I stand a chance with a family with that kind of money? I murdered him, Quinn."
Quinn felt a few hot tears trip down her cheeks and exhaled. It for a split second, she felt what it was really like to be a woman in this world. Santana, despite almost being abused, would not be considered the victim in her own right of self defense. No, she'd be considered the one who was in the wrong. Wiping her face and sniffing, she took her hands and got her to her feet. "Then you can runaway. Let's face it. You said people at the party saw you. They'll put two and two together. I am not letting you to prison for something you did as an act of defense. No..." She paused, realizing what could she do? She was twenty years old. She was still a kid. She didn't know how she would do this. But for one thing, she knew Santana couldn't stay. "We'll get out of the state for a while. Figure out where to go from there... I have money in my savings, that can keep us busy for a month or two?"
Santana felt numb as she was pulled to her feet. There was a tiny part of her that hoped Quinn would tell her she was wrong. That she'd have known some kind of law that Santana didn't. "What do you think I was doing before you came here?" She muttered, gesturing to the bag laying on her bed. "No one needs to put two and two together. I'm sure my dna is all over his b--" She took a breath. "His body." Why had she even gone to that party? Why did she make it a point to put herself in stupid situations? How had this not happened before with all the times she purposefully lead some poor guy on so that he'd buy her drinks, only for her to laugh at him at the end of the night and tell him she wasn't interested in what he was packing below the belt. Maybe she didn't deserve what would have happened to her, but she couldn't help but think this had to be some kind of karmic retribution. Suddenly, the rest of what Quinn said caught up to her and she furrowed her eyebrows. "What the hell do you mean us? Q, I'm not...no. I'm not making you an accessory. This is my mess."
Quinn shook er head firmly. "No. No it's not. Not anymore. I became involved the minute you decided to call me. Listen. I know that this is scary and I can't possibly comprehend what you are going through, but I'm here for you, okay? I promise. I am not letting you out there on your own. I'm not. I have money that can keep us going for a while San, until we figure out our next move. Which we will figure out. I just- have to read into it more. Besides, when I do find a way to get you out of this, and I do mean when, I'm not going to let you be somewhere I can't find you." Grazing her thumb over the back of the girls knuckles, she gave looked down and gave a small nod. "I won't let you do it on your own. Especially not after what almost happened. No, I'm coming too."
Santana stared at her hands in Quinn's for a moment, trying to process everything. She really didn't want to do this alone either, but how could she possibly ask her friend to help her break the law? Not just their usual underage drinking, fake ID law breaking. What she really wanted was to run to her parents and let them fix it. Weren't they supposed to be able to fix everything? She let the imagined look of disappointment on their faces linger for a moment before responding. "You have school. You've actually got a future to think about. I can't ruin that." Feeling some weird need to make a joke to lighten the seriousness of the situation, she continued. "Unless we tell them I took you hostage. That might actually gain you some kind of hero award."
Quinn tried to fight her smile, "that's not funny.." Stopping slightly, she licked her lips and forced Santana to listen to her. "Look at me though, seriously. There isn't the slightest chance of me letting you go through this by yourself. None. Is it crazy? Yes. Stupid? Probably. But there isn't anything I wouldn't do for you. I love you, you're my best friend. And I'll be damned if I let my best friend go off into the big bad world, the police hot on her trail.." She squeezed her hand slightly, "besides, you act on impulse, remember? You wouldn't last five minutes." She gave another faint smile before straightening her face. "We just need to be really, really sure that you don't want to go to the police about this. Because once we leave, there's no turning back."
Santana opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to settle on the right thing to say. Nothing seemed...enough, so she instead leaned forward and pecked Quinn's cheek, right at the corner of her lips before wrapping her arms around her tightly and hooking her chin over her shoulder. She didn't say anything for several long moments. There really wasn't words for what she was feeling anyway. When she pulled away, she cleared her throat and wiped tears from under her eyes. "Well, I've been dragging you into stupid situations since we met, what's one more?" She hesitated for a second, looking Quinn in the eyes. "I'm serious too. If we get caught...I'm telling them you're my hostage. We're not both going down for this."
Quinn gave a small smile as Santana kissed her before squeezing her hands and nodding in agreement. They were really going to do this. They really were. She was going to be harboring a fugitive. The idea lingered momentarily before she refocused her attentions back onto Santana again. She gave a slight roll of her eyes regarding the hostage situation, but decided, right now wasn't the time to tell Santana, that regardless, that was a stupid idea. Instead, she licked her lips. "I need to run back to my dorm quickly. Grab some essentials and my cards. If you really want this to look like a hostage situation, we don't want it to look like I packed up and left, now do we.." She tried to joke.
Santana started feeling dizzy again. This was all so surreal she almost wanted to laugh. Like she and Quinn were just going on a road trip instead of running from a crime. "Okay." She responded, her words even feeling strange. "I'm gonna--I'll wait here for you. I don't think enough time's passed yet for them to start looking for me. I wanna call my mom before we do this."
Quinn kissed Santana's cheek and quickly made her way back to her room. Without much thought, she grabbed her credit cards, her pjs, toothbrush, iPod, laptop and her phone. Stuffing a couple of outfits into her bag for good measure. She couldn't really believe she was doing this. Running away with someone who had committed this kind of crime. Then again, she trusted Santana more than she trusted anyone, and she knew, this was not her fault. Grabbing her keys, she swiftly made her way back to the girl's dorm room and breathed, "okay, I'm ready."
Santana hesitated as Quinn left the room, not wanting to make this call. What was she even supposed to say? Quickly, before she could lose courage, she tapped her mom's name and waited for her to answer. It went to voice mail, which was slightly disappointing. Just like she'd wished for Quinn to tell her things weren't so bad earlier, she'd hoped for the same thing from her mom. The message began recording and all she could do was sigh. Closing her eyes, her words came out quietly. "Mami, I swear I didn't do it on purpose. I thought he was gonna hurt me. I'm gonna miss you. Te quiero mucho mama." Lowering the phone from her face, she felt a tear roll down her cheek, but she quickly wiped it away and stood up. She sifted through her bag one more time to make sure there wasn't anything else she needed. She heard Quinn reenter the room and slung her bag over her shoulder. "We need to go to the bank first so I can empty my savings account. Then we'll drive my car headed toward the border, so when we ditch it, that's where they'll think to look. It'll probably be a while before they realize you're missing too. Maybe, anyway. I guess there are plenty of people to tell the police we're always together." She was a little concerned about how quickly she'd come up with a plan to make it so it would be hard to follow her. Too many movies, she guessed. She looked around her dorm once more and reached out to put an arm on Quinn's shoulder. "Last chance to back out. I won't judge you, I swear."
