Blooper Reels: A The World (It Burns Through Me) Fan Series | Chapter 9!!
Ao3 | 1.2k words
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tension finally rising, slow burn is actually sparking, polycules are starting to become possible....
Tags: halloween, party, actors au, firefighters au, slowburn, personality changes, all differences from canon are completely purposeful and done with lots of thought and reasoning, Sam, Quinn, Darlin, Alexis, David, Kassidy (OC), Asher, Vincent, Lovely, Porter
Summary: David's HR violation. The warmth of alcohol. A hand on your back.
The air outside was crisp, and you were grateful for its chill against your face. It was sobering, standing out on the balcony of this ridiculous mansion as adrenaline pounded its way through your veins. You were still deciding whether or not being sober was a welcome feeling to your brain when your ears pricked at the sound of the door opening behind you.
“Hey,” you were surprised to hear David’s voice coming from the newcomer. You didn’t turn around.
“Hey,” you replied.
“Are you moping out here for a reason?” He asked, shouldering up next to you and leaning on the railing.
“Needed air,” you glanced over, “got too… crowded in there.” David looked ridiculous. You did too, who were you to judge?
David nodded, the look on his face telling you that he only half believed your reasoning. “I get it,” he observed you in a way that sparked annoyance in your chest. You hated when people tried to look at you with pity. “They’re gonna do voting for the costume contest soon, you should come back inside.”
He nudged you with his elbow, “Kassidy’s been asking where you are. They want to say hi.”
You rolled your eyes and smiled, “trying to bait me inside with your little HR violation, huh? I see how it is.” You stood up, wanting to get a refill of your drink anyway, and motioned towards the door before David could protest to your comment, “let’s go.”
…
Kassidy was sweet as ever, if not a little more nervous than usual. Unfortunately for you, it didn’t take long for Sam and Quinn to catch your eye. You huffed and excused yourself, deciding to not let your strong hatred for vulnerability ruin your night.
Walking back over to the two, you motioned towards the bar, “I’m getting a refill.” Sam nodded and followed you, Quinn close on his tail. Neither of them dared to ask if you were alright, and you were beyond grateful for that. There was an odd thickness in the air between the three of you, thick enough to make you add double the liquor to your drink this time around. You’d decided: sober was not a welcome feeling right now.
The voting for the costume contest was surprisingly well thought out. Vincent and his partner took polaroid photos of everyone in their costumes while Porter handed out clothespins that were painted with various halloween themes.
Once everyone’s photos were hung up on the fairy lights that had supposedly been put up specifically to display them, Vincent announced that in order to vote you had to place your pin on someone’s photo. He also announced that there were twenty minutes to vote, so nobody had to rush.
A couple of people who didn’t trust themselves to not lose their clothespins went to vote immediately, and that group included you. You figured that if you didn’t vote now, you’d forget to before voting time was over. You realized that the woman Asher had been practically glued to all night was named Alexis when you saw her polaroid photo next to his. They were an annoyingly gorgeous couple, and somehow their serious personalities didn’t clash the way you’d expect them to.
You decided to vote for the couple dressed as Morticia and Gomez, they were in the same photo and were competing together, and they were cute. You were pretty sure you recognized one of them as one of the camera techs.
By the time voting was over and Vincent was calling for everyone’s attention again, you felt the warmth of alcohol taking hold of you again. You grabbed another drink anyway. Alexis won the contest, as you’d honestly expected, and you clapped alongside Sam and Quinn as Porter placed a crown atop her head.
Once you’d finished your drink, you realized quite promptly that it was time to go home when you stumbled on your way to get a refill. You turned to Sam, whose brow was raised, and spoke. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
He nodded his head and tapped Quinn, “Let’s blow this joint, hm?”
Quinn raised his glass to the two of you and finished it in one swig, taking your glass and depositing both at the bar. You considered saying goodbye to Vincent but abandoned the idea for your tried and true Irish goodbye technique.
When you got to the car, you got into the backseat without thought, much preferring the comfort of a backseat while drunk rather than a passenger seat that was much too close to the action of the road for your liking.
Quinn and Sam shared a look, and Quinn slipped into the backseat alongside you. Sam got into the driver’s seat and turned on the car, turning down the music so that it was only a whisper in your ears. Loud enough to soothe the anxiety of silence but quiet enough as to not assault your ears.
It wasn’t very long into the drive that you realized you hadn’t handled your alcohol the way you thought you had, and you were starting to feel vaguely carsick. You leaned over your lap, letting out a slow groan as your eyes closed.
A cold hand slipped under your shirt, resting on your back. It caused you to shiver at first, but the cool sensation helped take your focus away from the quiet yet threatening churning in your stomach. Someone was talking to you, but you couldn't be bothered to make out what they were saying. All you knew was that their voice was quiet and soothing, so you responded with a short whine.
The hand on your back gently ran across your skin, prompting a shaky breath from your lungs. The drive was more tolerable with the comfort, and you must have fallen asleep at some point because all of the sudden, the hand was on top of your shirt giving you little pats.
The smell of outside came to you, and you sat up to see that the door was open, and Sam was standing there with his hand out to help you out of the car. “C’mon, darlin’-- let’s get you inside.”
You got out of the car slowly, making your way to your door alongside Sam. You unlocked the door and immediately began abandoning parts of your costume the second you made it inside, your shoes, accessories, and shirt discarded on the floor. Sam brought you into your bathroom, opening the medicine cabinet and taking out your face wash. “Here, wash your face so you can get in bed.”
He stood watch as you washed your face, and you caught a glimpse of a figure that you assumed was Quinn picking up your things in the hall. Face (mostly) clean, you turned to leave the bathroom. Sam followed you as you entered your bedroom, making sure you made it to the bed and pausing at your bedside.
You kicked off your pants and socks, crawling under the sheets and burying your face into the pillow. You felt a hand on your head, and something else press into your hair, and heard a muffled “goodnight” from Sam before the light turned off and the door closed.
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