somewhere outside my life

{ CHASE SUI WONDERS, 22, CIS WOMAN, SHE/HER } Is that AVERY ZHAO? A SOPHOMORE originally from ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, they decided to come to Ogden College to study MUSIC. They’re THE TORTURED ARTIST on campus, but even they could get blamed for Greer’s disappearance.  

-

Nate winced at Avery’s tone, cracking open the bottle of water he had grabbed and taking a long sip from it before he glanced back over towards her. She had crept closer to him, Nate giving her look out of the corner of his eyes. He hadn’t ever fully explained his….extracurriculars to her, though he had figured she had at least somewhat put it together, as often as he had showed back up bruised and battered. “Aves, it’s not a big deal,” he said with a shrug, turning to face her a bit more fully, arms crossed over his chest, fingers lightly crunching against the water bottle as he held it. His eyes blinked away from hers, settling on the ground, irritation crossing his face as he thought about the fact that Jesse had been there. If he hadn’t invited him, who knew if he would’ve ended up in a hospital bed. It was certainly easier to blame it on him than on Nate’s own mindset. 

“Some guys and I…fight on weekends. I lost on Saturday. A new guy was there and freaked a little bit,” he said, one shoulder shrugging up as he continued avoiding his roommate’s gaze. 

-

“You’re part of... a legit... Fight Club.” Why did this both not surprise Avery and infuriate her at the same time? There was only so many excuses she could make for Nate before having to throw her hands up in the air and say ‘yup, he’s a total fucking cliché of a dude, I don’t know what to tell you’. “Right...” She continued to try and process it. “So that’s totally normal and fine.” It was not. She went quiet, letting out a bit of a huff as she lowered herself to sit on the sofa. There were so many questions running through her head. “Where do you do this?” She asked a moment. “And why?” That was probably the more important one of the bunch. If he went and told her it was just for kicks, Avery may just contribute to another bruise to Nate’s face.

-

Ollie reached forward, squeezing Avery’s shoulder as she lead the way down the stairs. He felt vulnerable being in the back suddenly, but he guessed he’d been the one to tell her to lead the way. This was only fair. He guessed. Too bad G hadn’t sent a third person out here with them, then he could have hid between them. But every haunted house worker knew that was the person you had to go for! “We totally should actually go get some food after this,” Ollie said. It might be 2am but the munchies never slept. They were at the door, and Ollie was busy deciding what they should go get to eat when there was once again another bang coming from over head, making Ollie give an absolutely brave yelp, before pushing Avery out the door and slamming it shut behind them. “Let’s just go.” He said, grabbing her arm and making their quick exit from the area. Fuck this school. He knew it was haunted.

“Barbie and her… huh?” Monty trailed off with a hum, his face immediately screwing up with a confused furrow pulling between his brows. His lips were parted, mouth left hanging open as he tried to mentally repeat back the massive mouthful of a title that Avery had rattled off like it was nothing. That couldn’t be a real movie, there was just no way. How could Mattel do that to children? She had to be fucking him. His eyes narrowed a little, uncertain as he asked, “Barbie has sisters? Are their names like, Darbie and Carbie?” Monty snorted a little and then nudged Avery’s arm again, flicking at her elbow. “I’ll let you go inside if you promise to share your deep Barbie lore with me. Impart your wisdom, Aves.”

-

“Barbie and her sisters, dude. Keep up.” Though Monty’s confusion was understandable. If you were unaware, learning that Barbie had a whole web of alternate realties was a bit of headfuck. “Yeah,” she answered matter-of-factly. “Though their names aren’t creative as that. At least I think. I was super high when I watched the movie.” The only reason she watched something like that to begin with. Bored on Netflix and high out of her mind. 

-

After sending the messages in return, Mari locked her phone, the screen dark as she started tapping it against the heel of her hand, glancing around until she saw Avery, already typing away at her phone. She turned, her back towards her, face pinched up as she tried to figure out what exactly the angle was here. It was hard for her to believe it was just a genuine approach. She’d have a hard time believing that of everyone, but considering the way their last few encounters had gone, she really had a hard time believing this was just an olive branch being extended. 

With the buzz of her phone in her hand, Mari glanced down, seeing three messages from Avery come in in quick succession, a frown deepening the lines of her face as she read them. She bit her lower lip, trying to figure out what to answer - should she say yes - when she heard a familiar voice. From the very person who had just bought up taking her swimsuit off with her teeth. 

Mari wasn’t going to lie. Avery’s approach, her overly casual demeanor, after that text…it had her entirely on edge. Perhaps it was more reflective of her own mindset that the series of interactions from Avery made her paranoid, but she couldn’t help the wariness with which she looked at the other girl. A quiet sigh left her lips, Mari shrugging up her shoulders as her eyes shifted to the bottle of vodka, the slightest hint of distaste appearing on her face. “I’m not going to say no to that,” she said a beat later, looking back towards Avery with one eyebrow slowly creeping up on her forehead. “What’s all this about?” she asked, the question utterly blunt. 

-

“What? Me texting you ‘I want to take your clothes off with my teeth’?” Mission accomplished. Look at her, cleverly working her way around that, saying it to Mari out loud but not quite in the way the text probably intended. “I just thought since speaking in code was our thing I’d try it out. Kind of fun being on the sending end of a text like that. Was it fun being on the receiving end?” Avery wondered aloud, tilting her head to one side as she looked at Mari. “But you do look hot though.” She couldn’t help but let that slip out. Credit where credit was due and all. “So... you got a cup or you just gonna sit and I pour it in your mouth?” She wiggled the bottle of vodka.

Booker frowned. “I’d rather not fail an elective if that’s okay with you.” He said it dryly. Music is a minor passion of his, so when he had an opening in his schedule, he decided to take a music class. This project became an unexpected pain in his side. A devilish glint flashes in his eye. “I don’t know. With one good tug, you’re joining me.” He smirked at her, feigning to grab her leg. “I’ve had a bit, but I’m pacing myself. Is Monty a better hookup than Ollie?” He asked, genuinely curious. His plan was to hit up Ollie, leaning on his relationship with Sam, but if Monty was easier, then he may change his plans.

-

“Relax, Bookerino. We could pass the project with our eyes shut.” At least Avery could. But Booker struck her as someone who liked to contribute. While they haven’t gotten to know each other too well yet, she got the inkling that Booker would be a bit of a stickler. Avery raised a brow at his teasing threat. When he pretended to grab at her, she jumped before catching herself with a gasp. Little shit, she thought. Maybe she’d make his life hard on purpose now. She was already thinking about it: delayed responses regarding their project, having done her part but sharing it with Booker at the very last second to make him sweat. Her mouth twisted to one side in a smirk. “A bit? Well, look at you.” So Booker wasn’t allergic to fun. “Monty works with Ollie. If you’re buying from Monty, you’re buying from Ollie,” she explained easily.

      “ how would you know that ? you don’t know me. you don’t know my life, and what i like to wake up to. ” he fights back, but the grin was already creeping across his features. he knew better than to try to lie to avery about this, of all people. she wasn’t much of a rule follower herself. “ well… exams get hard sometimes, you know ? i think it would help to have a cute little animal sitting on my bed while i try not to fail my mandatory courses. ” why did he still have to take some science as a film student ? some of his electives were required to be in that field. with or without a little support animal, he wasn’t going to go past a c in those. at her joke, he rolls his eyes so hard with a scoff. “ alright, stud. i pity whoever your neighbours are. you gonna help me get this alarm clock up to my room or what ? ” he asks with a small grin. 

-

Avery was always a sucker for a good bad idea. While she wasn’t the biggest pet person, she understood the appeal of having one of the litter critters around. With the lift of one side of her mouth, a mischievous smile was formed and she answered. “I thought you’d never ask.” She wondered if anyone in Linden was a tattletale. If everyone managed to keep this hush, its residents could have a sort of communal dorm pet. As the two went inside the dorm building, Avery keeping an eye out for any suspicious onlookers, she glanced briefly to Bowie’s bag before settling her eyes on his face. “So where’d you find the ‘alarm clock’?” A beat and she jokingly suggested. “Was it helplessly dangling from the side of a tree?”

-

Ollie snorted a little at Avery’s question as he peered into the upper level of the boathouse, shining his phones light around. Once in a while lingering on something vaguely human shaped, before realizing it was a chair or something similar, and moving on. “I’d say like 90 percent at least. I think it’s more likely some kind of animal…” He said, shaking his head directing his light towards any windows that may have appeared to be open and giving a small humming sound. Though he turned to look at Avery, “did you know, recently I read a book that said you shouldn’t do the count down thing with children. Because when they don’t listen it means they’ve won.” Maybe he should have thought about that before he started it. Oh well. “Okay! Well, we’re going to go and get some food. If you leave right now then maybe we’ll get you some too,” Ollie called. As if it were an animal it would absolutely understand what he was saying. After a moment he turned towards Avery with a shrug, “I don’t know, I’m out of ideas. This problem isn’t on any standardized tests that’s pretty much where my intelligence begins and ends… I think we should go. We’re both very queer and could die…”

-

Ninety percent? That was way too fucking high for Avery’s comfort. God, they must look like such dumbasses right now. Looking at Ollie when he turned to her, Avery listened to what he had to say with a tilted head. Her first thought was: what the hell was Ollie reading to learn that information? Secondly, fuck kids. Little demons. A snort fell out of her when Ollie teased whoever may or may not have been up on the second floor with them right now. Nothing followed after he spoke so they may have very well just been threatening air. Greeeeat. She sighed, bobbing her head in agreement when Ollie suggested they should vacate. Don’t have to tell her twice. This place was sketch as hell this late at night. “Yeah okay, let’s get out of here. I’m not looking to be a member of the Bury Your Gays trope.” She led Ollie along, starting back down the stairs and hopefully the hell out of this creepy fucking boathouse. “If there was anyone here, fuck youuu.” Some parting words to Casper for wasting their time. She held a middle finger up in the air as they climbed down the staircase.

with: open to all location: a rando off-campus house party when: night of oct 28th, halloweekend

“Ah, ah – wait a sec!” Monty caught the other’s arm before they could cross through the open sliding glass door, forcing them to pause while he took a hit from his newly minted vape pen. He’d been chilling on the back porch for the majority of the party, slouched against the siding like an unofficial and quite unneeded bouncer, but this was the first time he’d stopped anyone in a good hour. “You gotta guess my favorite scary movie before you can go back in,” he claimed, thinking up the arbitrary rule on the spot with a cherry-flavored grin.

-

Avery gave a fond roll of her eyes when Monty caught her arm just as she was about to re-enter the party. “Whaaaat,” she whined, turning to face him. A cocktail of party favors in her, her body was running very, very hot. She was desperate to get back inside and let the cool air hit her. Parts of her body that her costume didn’t cover were already catching a taste of it standing this close to the door. Itching for relief, she barely gave Monty’s question a proper consideration before putting forward an answer. “Is it Barbie and Her Sisters In A Great Puppy Adventure? Because whatever was going on there was absolutely terrifying.” As always, Avery had to go the humorous route, never passing the opportunity to shake Monty’s chain. 

— 𝙊𝙋𝙀𝙉 𝙎𝙏𝘼𝙍𝙏𝙀𝙍

WHERE right outside of the linden dorms 

     “ shh, please, be quiet — ” he desperately whispers into his backpack, which was now being carried at the very front of him, with the bag facing wherever he was walking. but it was as if bowie was just talking to a helpless baby animal, the kitten hidden in his backpack only meowed louder back in response. maybe this wasn’t his brightest idea. he stops in his tracks, when he realizes that he was about to walk into someone else. “ shit, sorry — ” and just as he began to apologize, the kitten meowed from the half open bag once again. he looked straight at the person in front of him. “ — don’t mind that, that’s just… my alarm. going off. i like to wake up to meows. ” he says confidently, as though that wasn’t the stupidest strain of words to leave his lips. “ on a very separate, hypothetical note… is it a Big Ogden Crime if i try to sneak a pet into the dorms ? i’m asking for my friend. ” at this point, he’d given up, a grin already making its way onto his lips. 

-

“You like to wake up to meows?” Avery snorted. “Dude, that’s the worst lie ever.” She didn’t hesitate to call Bowie out on it. Pushing to stand on her tiptoes, she tried to get a peek at what was in his bag. Though she had a pretty solid assumption of what was in it. What Bowie said next just about confirmed what she was thinking too. “Pretty sure it’s off the table unless it’s like an emotional support, you-genuinely-need-it type of thing.” She was pulling that out of her ass though. If there was a rulebook, she didn’t read it. If there were policies in place, she was hardly aware of them. Avery assumed dorms were a lot like rentals. No pets, no permanent alterations to the walls or fixtures. Crap like that. “But do you though. I bring pussy up to my room all the time and don’t get shit for it.” Her mouth pulled into a shit-eating smile then, far too pleased that she managed to work that joke in.

-

Mari felt her phone buzz again, nearly tossing it away. She had been waiting all night, growing antsier and antsier about the thus unfulfilled promise of a game. A game she was sure that would only be enjoyable for one person involved. She glanced at her phone with trepidation, fingers nearly turning white where she was clutching it, her nostrils flaring out when she saw the name on the screen. After the last notably unreturned text, and the awkward few run ins they had, Mari hadn’t expected to be hearing from Avery, and she briefly assumed that it had to be a mistake. Or were they on texting terms? She never quite knew where they stood, which made her all the more confused when she unlocked her screen and saw the message. 

She glanced up, eyes scanning for Avery in the crowd, sure she’d see her pointing and laughing or frantically coming over to clarify that wasn’t meant for Mari, god forbid their relationship get any more awkward. And part of her wanted so desperately to just…ignore it. Would serve Avery right for leaving her on read. But Mari did not have that type of restraint, instead debating for a few moments before typing. She couldn’t have the text bubble appearing and disappearing like she was trying too hard to think of something to reply. 

mari: can’t help but think teeth would be impractical mari: unless “i want to take off what you’re wearing with my teeth” is lesbian speak for “hey, let’s try this friend thing again” 

-

Avery smirked at the text messages Mari sent her in response, eyes wandering up to find the other woman’s lithe figure before she lowered them back to the screen to type up a reply. As tempting as the idea of another go with Mari was, Avery wanted to be good. Besides, this was just a dare. Nothing was actually supposed to come from it. Friendship, friendship, friendship, she reminded herself as her thumbs tapped away on the virtual keyboard.

avery: autocorrect is crazy these days avery: let’s try this friend thing again is exactly what i meant to type avery: want to have a drink?

She considered tacking on ‘as friends’ but figured that’d be overkill. Instead of fuss over what was sent, Avery snagged an abandoned half-full bottle of vodka on the bench closest to her and walked over to where Mari was. The sext was just one part of the dare. She still had to say it to her face out loud.

“Hey,” she greeted once she came up to Mari, quickly flashing a smile before holding up the bottle of vodka. “Interest you in a shot?”

Booker eyed the fluffy robe appreciatively. “You look cozy, Avery.” She seemed in a good mood, considering he never saw anything other than a pissed-off expression on her face. They hadn’t really spoken since they got paired for a project, to his relief. Some people are too much. “I’m having a good time. Thanks for putting this on. I bet you put a lot of work into it.” His smile could be described as patronizing, if one were looking closely. He doubted she spent more than five minutes thinking up the idea. However, it was fun so far, so he would give credit where it was due. “No push?” Booker pouted. “I’ll be waiting if you want one."  

-

“I feel very cozy, Wells.” Avery agreed. In a way, the robe made her feel a little bit more... safe. Protected from whatever weird bad juju they were drawing in tonight by hosting a party for a missing girl. I bet you put a lot of work into it. The comment drew a smile out of her. God, Wells, if you only knew. Regardless of the truth, she took the compliment. “Oh yeah, and I’ll be putting the same amount of effort into that project we have.”  She gave a wink. That was joke between her and her. She wasn’t a lazy person when it came to music per se. But the class she and Book got paired for was so basic, she didn’t feel the need to exert much effort for it. She chuckled a little at his pout. “You’ll be waiting a pretty long time, my dude. Have you had a drink yet?” She asked. “If something else is more your speed, Monty’s around here somewhere. Fully stocked.”

send a sext to someone you shouldn’t.

It should have been easy enough, right? But it wasn’t like there were a lot of people that were off limits to Avery. She couldn’t believe this was her struggle with dare. Not the fact that she was blackmailed to do one to begin with. From where she stood at one end of the pool, her eyes scanned the party. Who to pick, who to pick, who to pick... Then just as her gaze veered to the right, her eyes landed on someone who fit the bill.

Taking her phone out of the pocket of her robe, she scrolled through her contacts and tapped at their name. A new window took over her screen and it was just about writing the message. Avery, thinking she was hilarious, first typed out a joke.

avery: dan nicky your bobbies

After that pulled a laugh out of her, Avery backspaced until there was nothing there. Okay, okay, be serious... But then yet another joke surfaced in her mind.

avery: holy fuck avery: holy fucking fuck avery: that body of yours is absurd

She cackled to herself quietly like an insane person. God, she should have been a comedian in another life. But Mari didn’t exactly have the sense of humor she did, so those messages were erased and Avery settled for something Mari would plainly understand.

avery: i want to take off what you’re wearing with my teeth

Send.

-

Whatever was on the upper level of the boathouse was most likely nothing that would actually kill them. The rational part of his brain told him that. He knew that. There was no axe murderer upstairs. At worse they would get an eye full of someone having sex they did not want to see having sex. Or maybe get attacked by a raccoon or something like that. But there was no one up there that was going to try to kill them. However, the irrational and erratic part of his brain definitely said it could be anything. There was already one missing student and no one knew what happened to Greer! What were two more? He snorted at Avery’s threat, shaking his head a little. “Can you imagine if that worked?” But he decided to not point out literally anyone could go to Mensa meetings, they typically didn’t care at all, but he would play along. “Yeah! We have complete and legally sanctioned authority to kick your ass if you don’t show yourself and get the fuck out of here in ten seconds!” Ollie called, slowly running the light of his phone across the darkness as he started counting down. “Ten… Nine… Eight… Seven… Six?… Five….?” The numbers becoming more and more uncertain as he went on glancing over at Avery, his expression screwed up in a grimace.

-

The beat of Avery’s heart picked up steadily as Ollie’s countdown grew closer to zero. She was so over this shit being creepy. If someone was here to kill them, she’d rather they just end it now. She didn’t like all of this adrenaline building in her. After sharing a confused glance with Ollie, Avery continued where he left off. “Four?” Maybe there was no one here. Or maybe they just wanted to wait until the last second. “Three?” She peered into the dark, trying to make out a shape but it was fruitless. Pushing out a frustrated breath, she decided to get this over with. “Two, one!” She said in quick succession. It was highly possible that she and Ollie were just being paranoid. It was hard not to be considering how they ended up here. Mysterious texts from an anonymous asshole. She turned to Ollie. “What are the chances we’re being total idiots right now and no one’s up here at all?”

.

“I’m not really sure, alright?” Dulce rolled her eyes before looking back and the joint. It wasn’t like she absolutely loathed the idea of going for it, but she knew better than trying something as unpredictable. Among friends, perhaps, but not with Avery around. Of course she knew what she was doing, but Dulce feared this wouldn’t end well, so she hid the weed in its previous place. “I just want to have a good time. You do know how to have a good time, don’t you? I guess the definition of it just varies for us, doesn’t it?” Dulce smirked at Avery, which turned into a short giggle. “Fine, get me to the nearest gas station I’ll buy us something nice,” and so they did. Arriving there Dulce got out of the car and chose a good pre-mixed cocktail in a bottle, which was more expensive than if you’d mix it on your own. Dulce couldn’t be bothered, so she grabbed two bottles of pre-mixed Motjito, two bags of Takis and a sixpack of beer. “Are you sure you want to go there? We might have to spend the night on top of that hill. I won’t let you drive if you drink alcohol, Avery.”

-

“Well, if you’re not sure, then you probably shouldn’t,” Avery advised. As much as she loved a good time, wanting that for others as well, when it came to new experiences, Avery believed in a you’re all in or you’re out sort of outlook. You wouldn’t enjoy it if you weren’t wholly doing it for yourself. She glanced to her right briefly when she noticed Dulce return the joint where she found it. “I do...” Avery agreed. But like Dulce said, their definitions varied. They arrived at the gas station soon enough. For no reason other than boredom, Avery accompanied Dulce inside the convenience store, watching her pick out things to enjoy later. At her question, Avery’s mouth curved into a smirk. “How responsible of you. But uh, I don’t drink so you don’t need to worry about that,” she revealed with a quiet chuckle. That tidbit about her often came as a surprise to some people, especially considering how indulgent she was about things that could alter her state of mind. “Don’t let me stop you though,” she said, gesturing to the selection in Dulce’s arms. “Whatever you don’t drink, you could always save for another day. I’m just your humble DD tonight.”

-

Nate had thanked Ollie for the ride home, sent him back to his own dorm, and skulked back towards Alcott with his head down and hood up, determined to make it back without being acknowledged by anyone. He was hoping that Avery was gone - it was Monday morning. but of course, it was still too early for her to be gone, his roommate nearly the first thing he saw when he walked through the doorway to their dorm. Nate winced, holding up a hand as she approached, a heavy exhale his first greeting to her. “I’m fine,” he said, shrugging a moment later, brushing past her to go further into the room, clearly uncomfortable with any sort of concern. Over him. It just wasn’t…common enough for him to feel as though it was warranted, Nate far more comfortable with brushing things like this off. 

“But, uh - no bomb ass alien pussy, unfortunately,” he said as he dropped his stuff - including the plastic bag the hospital had returned his belongings to him in to the floor, going into their fridge to grab a water, glancing back towards Avery, still frozen by the door. Honestly, the fact that that was the only text his roommate had sent him when he hadn’t come back to the dorm for two nights in a row was…amusing. In his opinion. It’s not like he hadn’t disappeared for full weekends fully out of his own decision. “It was just a fight that got a little out of hand,” he finally said, the explanation brushing off any seriousness that could be given to the moment. 

-

“O...kay..?” Avery shook her head. He was fine. Great, cool. Not enough though. Her heartrate was still raised and he still looked like he volunteered to be a punching bag at an Anger Management meeting where the attendees were failing miserably at what they were trying to achieve. She didn’t miss the giant ‘PATIENT BELONGINGS’ written across the plastic bag he just put down. Was he at the hospital this weekend? Avery moved closer to him but kept her distance, knowing that crowding Nate might just have the opposite effect of what she wanted from him. “Elaborate? Maybe?” Though asked with the cadence of a question, it was more of a demand than anything. Her arms crossed over her chest, leaning against one of the seats in the shared living area as she stared at him with unease.