let's draw straws

Dani wasn’t sure what was going on with Bram, but for now, she didn’t really care. It was nice to just have some company that was nice to look at, too. She had convinced herself that no matter what this was, that she could handle just being friends, as it wasn’t like she had an abundance of them to begin with. “You think I live under a rock?” she asked with a raised brow, watching as he carelessly hopped over the counter to put the record on. Dani used to consider herself adventurous and rebellious before she met Bram, and then she realized that to every quality she had, there was someone who was more extreme. “That doesn’t mean we can’t take this place over, anyway,” she agreed, a smile coming to her lips as the music began to play. “Care for a dance, sir?” Dani asked, bowing sarcastically.

☠

For all knew, she could’ve. Time didn’t hit the same as it used to and he started to lose track of what was from when. It turns out that when you don’t need to worry about it running out that dates didn’t quite mean as much as they used to. Not that he didn’t like the idea of being infinite but he missed the feeling of being alive. Spending time with Dani kind of reminded him of what it used to be like. He gave her a smile, a laugh to follow as he turned to look back at her. “Oh, right, trolls usually live under bridges,” he joked getting close to her and biting his lip a little at his own amusement. Then he held his face there near hers for a moment, just observing. Truth was he hadn’t really looked at her. “You have nice eyes.” Bram was nonchalant as he spoke, even adding a shrug before bringing the space back between them and putting the record on for them to enjoy. “We will most definitely be taking it over, especially if they’re going to keep playing this crap,” he said holding up the record he removed and tossing it onto the counter. “Depends, are you gonna lead?” The boy laughed, even giving a curtsy before holding his hand out for her. 

Selene had found herself looking for Bram whenever her mind wandered more and more these days. It was weird. She had always sought him out from time to time before, but now she felt borderline obsessive. The moment she allowed her feelings to start crawling out of the hiding place she shut them in it changed something in her. Made her want to try and show Bram that he was important. She wanted to just…be better. She had spent her entire life being ready to fight for her right to simply exist and she didn’t need to do that with Bram and she was starting to get that. Everything they’ve been through and everything they’ve seen….it was leading to that dream that they could just relax someday. Be people. She knew they still worked for Otis and that it wasn’t always going to be smooth sailing, but right now, while the workload was light, this was the time to act. Finding him on the roof made sense and she took the joint from his hands as she cozied up to him. Just being close like this without acting like a defensive porcupine was progress on her end, but she was sure she was the only one who noticed that. “I would enjoy that very much, actually. Better than staring at the sad sap that is Lukas downstairs.”

☠

It wasn’t any secret that they all had somewhat of a complicated relationship. Sure, he’d always been more of a sucker for Selene but that didn’t need to be advertised. They all just knew. From the way he looked at her and the way he used to follow her around like a lost puppy. Bram wondered if he’d ever actually be able to admit to the lot of them that the boy had it bad, not like it wasn’t already obvious. Not like any of them would ever be able to have anything real. How could they when they were all monsters? Even though he didn’t crave blood like the other two, he knew what they were all capable of. They were all living life on a timeline with everyone besides each other. Not that he’d rather be stuck here with anyone else. He gave her a smile as she joined him, happy she’d come to see what he was up to and it had to be better than watching Lukas be, well, Lukas. “Ah, a tragic sight, really. At least these people have some stakes, you know? Like they’re all gonna die one day, they better get this shit figured out before then.” He chuckled as he pulled an arm around her shoulder. 

He’d found himself spending more time in New Salem lately, probably at the fault of Dani. She had been a pretty good tour guide and Bram had actually started to like this place more than he thought. There was something about it that made him miss Halloween a little less, filling a bit of the boredom the rest of the year brung. Even though she’d mostly stumbled into his life he wasn’t mad about it and had actually grown kind of fond of the girl. He knew she had something weird about her from the moment they met, that still drawing him in today, a curiosity he couldn’t describe. To make sure she didn’t get her throat ripped out though he kept his interactions with Dani away from Coolsville when he could. Selene was many things and jealous was at the top of the list, not that anything had happened between them but it wouldn’t matter. He pulled a record out of a bin and held it out for her to see. “Tell me you’ve listened to these guys, tell me you have taste, Shortcake,” he said with a serious expression. It was quick to turn into a laugh as he creased his lips in a smile, pulling out the record to put it on himself. Bram hopped over the counter that was left empty and switched them out. “No time like the present.” 

Lately he’d been a little more quiet than usual, wanting the world to keep going on while he stayed still. He wasn’t meant to watch it all go by him as he was stuck like this. As much as he enjoyed the feeling of being invincible the same thrill of riding the line between life and death had been severed. There was nothing to be afraid of as far as he was concerned. Life was their oyster or at least that’s how he tried to start looking at things. If he didn’t change his point of view he would’ve fallen into a spiral that he wouldn’t allow. Bram liked to be adaptable, even when he wasn’t entirely in on the life that he had been given. At least he would get to spend his eternity, whatever the fuck that entailed, with his family. He was on the roof of their complex a lot more often recently, wanting to smoke in peace while staring out at the world that lived on a time clock. Hearing the door open brought his eyes over to see Selene coming out to probably see why he’d been hiding out here but instead he just held out his joint for her. “Care to come stare at a bunch of sad saps with me?” 

@ohshocker

At the end of the day, Bram usually found his way back to Selene. As they sat on the roof of their apartment complex he inhaled the smoke from his cigarette to numb his lungs. His head needed the calm, something to fog out the world for a little bit. Not that he had anything to fear when he was an apex predator but people were loud. He liked the quiet of his own head, the place no one else had control of besides him. After joining Otis he felt like he lacked individuality and having someone tell him what to do drove him up a wall. These moments with her were always treasured for the peace they brought him. He looked over from where he lay on the roof, opening an eye while he released the smoke he'd been withholding. It wasn't often she let herself be vulnerable like this so he made sure to take what he could. "Good thing we have forever then," Bram said as a smile formed when he saw her. "I'll always be your first mate if you let me."

@lockedinthenight

Bram was already laughing as he pulled his Michael Meyers mask over his face. It was a pretty uneventful evening and he wanted to change that. This night seemed too good to pass up a scaring opportunity, figuring he might as well screw with some people. Lukas was always down for some mischief anyway. Sometimes he thought that was what really brought the pair together: their sense of adventure. Of course, that didn't mean their idea of adventure wasn't a bit skewed and normally led to trouble. "Come on, let's so scare some teenagers at the camps."

-

Selene snorted. The dress was ruined more than they both wanted to say, but that was what made it funnier. Rich people like that deserved to be humbled here and there anyways so she was fine with that. Bram really had no idea the grip he had on Selene. She was going to stay home, maybe hit a bar when the crowds died down, and then he spoke of this and she agreed before he could even try to convince her. It amazed her how he still looked like he was waiting for her to ditch him. She would never do that to him. She was with him for life and the afterlife. “No need to thank me. I wanted to spend time with you….” She could feel her stomach churning just for being so nice in the open, and yet she still reached out to hold his hand. If she threw up, she could blame it on booze anyways. “You clean up pretty nicely yourself. But I know, I look pretty damn good. Are you going to do anything about it?”

☠

When it came to Selene he knew he was an idiot. She could get anything from him if she wanted to and everyone knew it. The way he felt about her had never been secret and that’s exactly why he wanted to be with her when the clock hit midnight. Sure they could’ve stayed home and done the same thing but it would be more fun like this anyway. She understood how much he liked causing a little bit of chaos anyway, Selene being his right hand in all of his favorite dealings. He felt like he was on his A-game when she was around. She brought out another side of him in more ways than one. “I’m glad you did though, there’s no one else I’d rather be here with right now,” he said looking over at her with a small smile. It wasn’t often she was like this and he wouldn’t complain when she was, enjoying it more than he should. Bram took her hand as a smirk came to his lips and he pulled her a little closer. “I’m trying to wait until midnight but I guess all that shit is for people who actually have to worry about time running out.”

“Excuse you, this is an eighteen-and-older event,” she scoffed in retort, shaking her head. Of course she wouldn’t be trying her fake on these people; they’d probably have her arrested if they found out she was underage. Dani took a sip from her bottle as he took a swig from his glass, nearly choking on the liquid as he spoke about his adventures before she’d found him. “A snake? You’re fucking crazy. Make sure she doesn’t sue you or something.” Had she learned anything from being in school, it was that the law was complicated, but rich people knew it well. At least, their lawyers did. “Hold on, you got his date to buy you a drink after you spilled juice on him? How?” Dani couldn’t tell if he was crazy in the way that he was insane or brilliant. Time would only tell, but just looking at him almost melted any sort of irrational fear that he might be a madman. “What are you drinking in there?”

☠

He stepped back and gave her a once over with his gaze before nodding. “Yeah, I guess you look more grown up tonight.” Since they met he hadn’t noticed that if she wanted to Dani cleaned up pretty nice. Bram was anything but, already causing enough chaos for the night and it hadn’t even hit 11 yet. It wasn’t expected from someone like him and yet he kind of enjoyed getting into a nice suit. They were fancy, uncomfortable, and everything that Bram stood against. That was until he put one on and suddenly he felt like a mob boss, ready to take on whoever came into his way which in this case was anyone here that he was able to bother. “Not a real snake, I wouldn’t put the poor fella through this.” Bram looked at her seriously, as if he was offended she thought he’d do that to an animal. The only time he did was when he had to feed and it was never because he wanted to. In fact, Bram actually hated it but kept that to himself. “Because I’m amazing at what I do, Shortcake,” he said giving her a wink. Bram looked down at the cup in front of him and laughed, knowing he would love his answer. “Water.” 

event starter for @barrelingthrough​

Dani had been hoping to see Bram at the new year party after how good they’d left things since they’d met randomly in the middle of the fucking woods, in the middle of the fucking night. She wasn’t sure that was the start to any great relationship, but he hadn’t kidnapped her, and had even bought her a drink after. “Ah, Bram muffin,” she greeted with a smirk, tapping his shoulder with her bottle of beer. “Just the guy I was looking to see. You pick up any other girls in the woods since I’ve seen you?” She had to play this cool, like she was the chill kind of girl who would be wandering about after midnight despite not being able to stop thinking about him or his stupid motorcycle ever since. “I would’ve thought something like this would be too stuffy for you. Or, are you like me, here for the free food that I can barely pronounce?”

☠

This whole party had been an excuse for him to have fun and not the kind where you get blackout drunk. He’d already “accidentally” spilt his drink on like three different dudes and made a lady almost pass out when she saw his cocktail cockroaches. Bram stood happily at the edge of the room, holding a cup in his hand as he stared over his handiwork. Without even turning he knew exactly who it was and a smile came to his face while his eyes stayed on the crowd. “Hiya Shortcake, I didn’t think they’d let you in with that shitty fake of yours,” he said with a laugh. “Not yet but the night is still young.” Bram held up his cup before taking a small swig from it. Not often did he meet anyone of actual interest when he left the house but if he did it made sense for it to be in the middle of the woods. “Oh, it is, I’m just here to piss people off.” He grinned proudly before leaning down and pointing forward. “That lady, I got earlier with the snake. Dude I spilt an entire glass of cranberry juice on earlier then totally got his date to buy me a drink.”

Selene really had no plans to go to this party until Bram expressed he wanted to go. Of course that meant she was going to go with him and she was going to look as good as she could so that people knew better than to hit on him or whatever. She wasn’t going to actually do anything to anyone who did; at least not the night of. She would let him be a slut and she would be a slut in return because that was what they did, feelings aside. They loved playing games with one another and Selene was not going to deny him of one if that was what he wanted. Of course a part of her hoped he didn’t, but she was mentally prepared for it if it came down to it. Of course instead they were pulling pranks and making people miserable; being the perfect partners in crime as they gave this party hell. Before she knew it they were on the roof and Selene was just staring at how good he looked when he was so happy from causing problems. She couldn’t help that her heart skipped several beats and she tried her best to just…focus on the view instead. “She for sure doesn’t know. I doubt anyone here is kind enough to let her know. We may be evil but the people downstairs….a different kind of vicious that comes with money or whatever.” She looked at him again, a small smile on her face. “That was a lot of fun. I needed that.”

☠

Bram knew it was stupid to ever see her the way he did, she was a force to be reckoned with and somehow she still spent time with a dork like him. Before he even knew her name he knew she was out of his league. Girls like Selene didn’t always stick around but he hoped she would, surprised she’d kept him around this long. That was the best thing about turning, that he got to spend it all with her. “I made it look better, now she could like use it as an arm hole or something,” he said with another laugh. Bram amused himself more often than not. Maybe it was silly but he didn’t care to think of it that way. “Good, I’m glad you had fun.” It wasn’t all that often they were able to run around like that anymore. Days seemed so simple when they first met and would just screw around in the parking lot of the liquor store. She had him the same way she did then, wrapped around her finger. “Thanks for coming with me. You look like super amazing by the way.”

He’d only really shown up to mess with the other attendees. The fact Selene came along to cause chaos only made it better. Sometimes he doubted himself when it came to her, always questioning her next move. She kept him on his toes to say the least but that’s why he had forever to figure her out. Once they’d upset at least a handful of people downstairs at the party Bram took her up to the roof. They were laughing the whole way up the stairs while running from angry attendees and he was living for each moment. Time meant so little to him anymore than something like New Years Eve had no meaning but tonight felt good. As he laid out in the cold winter air staring at the stars he exhaled, looking over at the girl he’d been pining after since the day they met. “You think that lady still hasn’t noticed the rip in her dress after I tripped over it?” While running he made a few ricochets, the biggest fatality being that woman’s train.  

New Years Eve was rough for Lilo. All of the holidays were, an unavoidable reminder that her parents weren’t there to celebrate with her… or see another year. She didn’t understand how other people coped with loss. It had been so long, and it still felt like she was ripping her own heart out every single time she thought about her mom and dad. She’d only decided to come to the party as a distraction, that and the fact that after missing out on so many events in her past she felt the need to be part of every one from here on out. “So,” she turned to one of the friends she’d managed to spot, her first real conversation of the night, “how do people who don’t drink enjoy celebrating things like this?”

@barrelingthrough

☠

He hated stuff like this, in fact he’d only showed up for a little bit to see what sort of trouble he could get into before midnight. That’s when he had plans and would need to find Selene. Until then he was going to do his best to get into as much of a mess as possible. The only way he’d been able to entertain himself was through causing a little bit of chaos which was what he did best. Bram had already been putting fake cockroaches in the food spread when Lilo came up to him. At first he turned around as if he’d been caught, only to relax once he saw who it was. “Pissing people off,” he said waving a plastic insect in the air. “Even though the real ones are more fun I didn’t want to put them through the pain of this thing too.” Bram chuckled before turning back around to face the female. “The night is young, there’s so many more people to mess with before then.”

Dani hated that she had a curfew and still lived under her parents’ rule, especially when it was clear that he didn’t have to worry about that. She also despised that even if she could sneak in without her parents noticing that Max would probably find out, and even if he wouldn’t spill it to their parents, he would hold it over her head forever. “Alright, take a left at the light up there, and then pull over at the first place on the right,” she instructed, thinking of the Dark Room. “It’s a bar, and they let me in there.” Dani had been going there since she was old enough to even know what alcohol was back in high school, and they’d been letting her get in without an ID ever since. They pulled into the parking lot of the bar, Dani reluctant to hop off the motorcycle. “I hope this is as cool as one of the Coolsville bars.”

☠

He wondered what her folks were like, assuming they probably kept a watchful eye on her. She seemed like she was bursting at the seams for something actually exciting to happen. Maybe that was just how he saw her too, still getting to know what exactly made her tick. She was hiding at least something he could feel it. Not like he had a clean slate but that wasn’t something he was ready to dive too deep into yet. Bram didn’t advertise the fact that he was a vampire, not everyone got it. He had the inkling that she might if he ever chose to tell her. Upon hearing her directions he gave a nod before revving up the engine a little and taking off towards wherever she was taking him. He didn’t ask, whatever she had in mind was gonna be better than anything he knew around here. Bram hadn’t spent much time in New Salem yet, maybe that would change soon. “Good to know,” he said with a chuckle before running into the parking lot. “Wouldn’t know, haven’t hung around many of them.” There was another kind of drink that he found sweeter than alcohol. “Not really my scene.” Maybe this place would be. Bram shook out his hair after removing his helmet and set it on his seat. “You like a regular here or something, Shortcake?” He said with a laugh as he made his way inside, holding the door open for her. 

Maybe giving him the upper hand wasn’t the best idea, since he now knew that Dani not only was terrified but that she wanted to spend more time with him, too. Bram held way too much power over her, literally and figuratively, with his hands on the handlebars, but as long as she kept her cool and didn’t seem too enthusiastic, she’d be fine. “I guess not,” she agreed, giving him a shrug he couldn’t see. That had to be his cue to live life fearlessly, to go for exactly what she wanted, which was him right now, after all. “Uh, unless you know of anywhere near here, there’s a place in New Salem we could stop by. It’s kind of close to my house. Up to you. I just don’t feel like going back to my parents right now, y’know?”

☠

Dani had been a mysterious case but Bram was happy to take on the job. There was something about her he could feel was abnormal. He should know since he himself was an absolute freak of nature. Perhaps he was born to turn, always being a bit of an outcast himself. Bram didn’t mind being strange but he refused to waste his time on anyone that was branded as anything but. Normal, what a thought, he hadn’t felt normal ever and especially not now that he had become the monster they all imagined. Maybe he was meant for this, even if it hurt sometimes. “It’s not past your curfew?” He chuckled before speeding up the engine to blow past where he was headed and deeper into this new town. “Don’t have to tell me twice you want to avoid the folks, I’ve got nowhere to be.”