baneful eyes

IN A PETTY FIT OF GRIEF & ANGER , althea had deleted joon’s number all those months ago ; but it’s not like it had actually mattered. she’d had those digits memorized for years , & not being able to see them with her damnable eyes didn’t make the slightest difference in her ability to shoot him a text.

they had spoken maybe 10 words to one another over nearly a year , & she’d done everything in her power to keep it that way , until last night. she’d been forced to pack her schedule with more electives this year , & the last one she’d begrudgingly had to settle for was intro to drama. to say the thought terrified her would be an absolute understatement , & her nerves were absolutely fried at the thought of having to attend. the first few classes hadn’t been terrible , but it was still much more social & personal than she was willing to be with any given random peer. it was only the first week , but she’d only gotten maybe nine hours of sleep over these first four days due to the stress. 

& being the academic over achiever that she was , althea couldn’t stand the idea of such a bad start to her semester. as much as she didn’t want to ( oh , the way she lies to herself ) , she knew joon would be able to fix her up right , & he might not even charge her. even if he did , a quarter of bud & a few xanax wouldn’t run her too deep into her wallet.

so here she was , standing outside his familiar apartment door , staring at the fading numbers & the slightly chipped paint , begging them to make all of this better. after a solid minute , nothing came of course , & she sighed , lifting her hand to wrap her knuckles lightly against the wood.

looking the new comer over, silently there was something that could be called relief that rolled down his spine. more often than not mika was running into people that knew them. knew about them. followed them on instagram. someone they had partied with before. there was a large list of people that looked at mika as if they expected something. of course they did. they expected smiles. expected exuberance. they expected life but that wasn’t something mika truly knew how to give anymore. the ghosts in his mind of what was didn’t offer enough for him to go off of. 

but althea was a little different. there was no echo of before. no expectation of was, simply, now. a small favor in the world they were brought back in. something to ease the unease that seemed to be one of the only feelings that clawed it’s way up his spine. tilting their head in curiosity, mika looked at the cup in front of them and shrugged. “burger wasn’t that good. this might help it.” they offered. knowing that the chocolate wouldn’t be much better but they were certain a gifted thing shouldn’t be ignored. taking a sip, they could honestly the warmth of the drink was a good feeling. it was easy to remember the cold. “thank you.” was added quickly before taking another drink. 

wrapping the rest of the burger up in hast, they tossed it in the trash can and turned to his newer friend. “what would you like to read this time? we got some new horror in.. i think. h.p lovecraft. compilation i think.” mika offered with a gesture towards the shelves. their words as dead pan as usual but they knew she wouldn’t mind. if althea didn’t come in so often they wouldn’t be pressed to remember what she had read or hadn’t read. seeing as she visited enough for them to remember, it worked out nicely.  “or there is always fantasy this time.” 

DARK BROWN , ALMOST BLACK HUES were hidden from view by the thick layer of plastic between them , & it allowed althea enough time to truly take mika in. she’d once made a puppet joke that hadn’t gone over very well , but the more time she spent in their presence , the more she was allowed to really observe their mannerisms & their clunky way of being. . . she couldn’t help but wonder if she’d hit the nail on the head with her quip. she was well versed with the other things that lingered in the world , behind the scenes , there but hidden --- hell , she was one of them. althea wished for a way to politely breach that wall , to ask after them in that way , but every time she thought on how to do it , she came up dry. their connection was a simple one , & all in all , she wanted to cling to that as long as she could. her curiosity be damned.

lips curled around the straw of her own drink , taking a healthy sip of her citrus smoothie , smacking her lips in satisfaction as she listened. “ no problem ! i knew i was heading this way & i figured you could use a pick - me - up. i hope they got it right , i asked them to add extra chocolate sauce for you. ”

____

Parker hadn’t intended to stop by a flower shop on her way home from work. In fact, she hadn’t intended to stop anywhere. Moving was exhausting and between that, her pre-semester cheer prep, working, and her nightly intelligence gathering and safety monitoring sessions all she wanted to do was take a nap in her big comfy bed and read something entirely devoid of anything supernatural.

But no. Ever the one to be the RA for the whole world, Parker had gotten sidetracked after stopping by the convenience store for more first aid supplies, and one look at the sunflowers at the nearby flower shop had given her further pause. Goldie was likely due for another heartbreak sooner or later, so would it not be a good idea to keep a steady stream of flowers in their apartment at all times to maintain a consistent cheery atmosphere?

Turning to look over the nearest bunch of lilies instead, Parker’s eyes fell to the other person nearby before they’d even spoken up. Immediately cautious, nothing about the girl’s presence felt overly threatening. Her words seemed to only further confirm that.

“Oh, no worries,” Autumn piped up, shrugging off the apology. On any normal day perhaps she would’ve just left it at that and moved on, but a question had been on the girl’s mind since the flowers had first caught her attention and she didn’t exactly trust anyone working there to answer honestly.

“Have you bought flowers here before? Or… at all? I have no idea how long they’re supposed to last.”

SHADE COVERED GAZE was nothing if not perceptive , & althea couldn’t help but tilt her head in curiosity at how the girl now next to her had all but sized her up. apparently there was nothing to be found in her presence , & the tingle that ran down the back of althea’s neck told her that it was probably a good thing. her shades were bulky enough that her eyebrows wouldn’t be visible to the other as they pinched in with her own weariness --- but she pushed the inclination aside. she was weary of everyone , why should this girl be any different ?

the sadness in the other’s tone was also easy to pick up , & althea wondered at their level of comfort in their own skin to be such an open book to the world around them. it was easy work to force a smile through her own internal misgivings , to listen & properly formulate an answer to their question.

“ i have. i’m probably the thing keeping this place open , with how many i’ve bought. ” she was tempted to make a joke about the girl having a brown thumb , but it felt inappropriate for the vibe they had about them in this moment. “ they last as long as you care for them properly. which seems really hard , but they want to thrive. a little water & the proper amount of light , with a properly sized pot to put them in , can go a very long way. are you. . . looking for a specific kind of flower ? there aren’t many that do well indoors. do you want some help ? ”

The apartment was coming along swimmingly. All of Goldie’s furniture had arrive, albeit a few days late, but the point being it was there. And now that meant it was time to fully decorate. She had found some super easy to work with temporary wallpaper that was supposed to be easy to remove, so she was already planning an accent wall in her bedroom. And had a super cute full length mirror she had seen on amazon shipping to the apartment sometime this week. Now she was in the mood for some plants. They always seemed to brighten up a room, and thankfully there was enough light that came into her bedroom during the day that keeping some plants in her windows was totally an option.

Bloom and Bud was obviously the first place she thought of checking out. She knew they had a good selection of flowers and she was hopeful they had some kind of nursery out back for things like potted plants. Of course the flowers had caught her eye upon entering the store, though, and she quickly lost sight of her original mission. Caught off guard by how beautiful the lilies smelled, Goldie was taking a sniff when she heard a voice from nearby. Turning, she recognized the owner of it and smiled. “Oh no, you don’t have to apologize. I was like, in my own little world. If you didn’t say anything I probably wouldn’t have noticed you were here.” Deciding to take a bundle of lilies home, she made a mental note and turned back to the brunette. “So um, do you work here?”

THAT BUBBLY VOICE CARESSED althea’s ears softly , & her lips pulled up in her recognition --- goldie , was her name. she’d tried to recruit her to the sorority at bryne , & as fun as the concept sounded , althea had forced herself to respectfully decline. she didn’t do group settings. & the idea of living with anyone but letty made her skin crawl with fear at the endless possibilities of ways she could truly put a stick in whatever vibe the house had. so , while the girl before her came off as kind enough , it was probably a decision made for the better of both their lives , even if althea craved the social life & the interaction.

ALTHEA MADE A POINT TO NOT have any accidental interactions with people , in spite of thick prescription - grade shades that kept the outside world safe from her gaze. every effort in life was spent avoiding everyone --- she worked with the dead , she lived with the dead. anything to maintain her white - knuckle grip on being able to function as a social thing without putting anyone in danger. it was a constant worry, especially after losing joon because of it only a little over a year ago. eyebrows pinched together over designer armani shades , remembering that it was absolutely useless to start feeling sorry for herself.  

quietly they sat, the still warm air of the end of august ruffling mika’s dark hair as they absentmindedly held onto the hamburger in their hand. it was made as raw as they could get it. something about guidelines. something about safety. they think there is an echo of disappointment bouncing around their mind. something akin to a snarl hanging at the back of their throat. all bared teeth with red hanging to them. it was never enough. nothing was ever enough. tapping their free hand’s fingers on the outdoor table outside of Abigail’s they watched as people walked by. 

would something else be better? could something else keep things level longer? could -, mika’s mind abruptly stopped for a moment, watching someone walk by with a bandage on their hand. they couldn’t smell it. they couldn’t know. it wasn’t… this time they pushed their thoughts to the side. placing the burger down without much of a sound. willing themselves to get up. move. people from before were coming. still, their limbs took a moment and by the time they almost did, a shadow moved over the table. looking up, mika pushed the dark fringe from their eyes and caught sight of  face they had seen before and echo of something ghosting over his thoughts as they offered a quick quirk of their lips. 

“hey,” their low voice provided in greeting. they knew that was a normal way to say hi. “welcome back.” there was an attempt to add extra inflection. something like excitement. like they wanted to !!!! but, mika wasn’t certain it worked. 

FOREHEAD WAS SLICK WITH SWEAT , & althea gently reminded herself to unclench her jaw & breathe. she had too much hair for all this damn heat , but , no one gave her extra flack for her shades when the sun was up , so settling into her easy temper wasn’t really fair. bright red converse carried her down the sidewalk & she tried not to sulk , turning her thoughts to all the things she needed to consider --- the new semester was starting soon . althea already had everything together for monday morning , but that didn’t mean she was necessarily ready . people were so exhausting , & every year , she couldn’t help but dread the forced - social interaction that was the beginning of every year. ugh , wasn’t she trying not to sulk ?

she felt a little foolish grabbing a hot chocolate with her citrus smoothie at the corner coffee shop , but she knew one odd book store attendant that would appreciate the gesture. she had finished her last mystery quickly , & she was thinking this time to grab something from the fantasy section. she sighed as she toed open the door with practiced ease , it was maybe a little silly how attached she’d become to the boy who was typically behind the counter , but he didn’t ask questions about her shades , or her ability to read. & , oddly enough , for a reason she couldn’t discern , he could actually hold her gaze for a beat without any negative reaction. she’d never needed more than one hand to count her friends , sue her if she was excited at the possibility of adding one more.

is that SAMANTHA LOGAN wandering around cinderbrush? oh no, it’s just ALTHEA MONROE. SHE is TWENTY-TWO and a JUNIOR at bryne university. I overheard them say she identifies as CISWOMAN and BISEXUAL. if I remember correctly, they have a job as a MEDICAL ASSISTANT AT THE MORGUE, and they tend to go by THE GORGON. (karia, 28, she/they, est) 

here’s her pinterest ! (her 3 connections have sections c:)