FAKE DEEP.

“  GOOD  MORNING  , Y’ALL  .  ”  eli  beams  as  he  enters  the  office  ,  a  fresh  (  &  fourth  )  mug  of  coffee  in  hand  &  a  battle  plan  for  halloween  already  figured  out  .  he  smiles  even  wider  at  the  sight  of  bryce  ,  and  starts  in  his  direction  .  “  bryce  ,  my  man  !  how  you  doin’  ,  buddy  ?  you doin’  good  ?  you  look  good !  you  would  not  BELIEVE  the  morning  i  had  ,  how  was  yours  ?  ”

(  @brycekngs  )

she tilts her head to the side, eyes flickering between bryce and the contents of julian’s desk for a brief moment until she slowly approaches the desk–––– using one arm, she sweeps off the items he mentions into the small trash can right beside it.   “   where?   ”   his next comment brings a smile to her face. the sheer predictability of their other team member is just too good. lana lifts her foot high enough to pull out the bottom drawer and examines the few books inside,   “   let’s see… no copy of the shining or it. ding, ding, ding, we have a loser,   ”   and his name is julian vega, of course. as bryce continues on, she walks back over to her corner.   “   hey, i can’t complain,   ”   she states, raising her hands up to surrender,   “   ah, who am i kidding? i can complain all day. but, that’s part of my charm. how about you? got bored of living a nice and normal life so you had to come back?   ”

kimi’s eyes trace the ceiling as she tries to remember what bryce’s job was pre-disappearance, only to come up empty. “ what were you doing before ? ” she leaned against his desk, curious as to what even brought this on. “ i don’t think anyone here knows how to take a hint. you currently hold the record for being gone the longest, but considering you’re back, that means absolutely nothing. ”

when she heard a familar voice, lana was just returning to her desk from grabbing a few papers from the printer. using a palm, she slams the sheets down and looks in the same direction as the voice. bryce… damn, another ghost. a few of the others were politely welcoming him back, but lana decides to talk over them instead,   “   there’s an empty one over here!   ”   she flashes a smile and points to a desk near her. except, it isn’t empty–––– the spot is actually julian’s. however, it’s been quite the snooze fest around the office and she figures being her typical asshole of a self would spice things up a bit.

“ no, ” kimi calls out, not bothering to look up from her laptop. a second later, she shifts her widened gaze to the boy standing at the door. “ bryce ? ” quickly saving her project, she pushes away from the desk to stand. she gestures towards a desk not far from her own. “ um … that one’s free. you work here again ? ” it PROBABLY sounds meaner than she intends it to be, but she doesn’t care. “ didn’t you already quit … like, four times ? ” quitting seems to be the Mysterybusters Brand™, so she can’t blame him. but he’s admittedly among the faces that she never thought she’d see again.

yes, whatever, sweat and leather aren’t the greatest combination. she knows that.  ❛ —— but i look good, ❜  she protests, effortlessly flipping some of her hair over one shoulder, as if that’s the only explanation bryce needs.  ❛ and, no. dance practice. ❜ 

the office door opens with not so much a push as it does a whole shoulder check. she’s pissed — but mostly at herself. early is on time and on time is fucking late; a motto alex has long since drilled into memory ( and by no shortage into the mysterybusters as well ), so the hypocrisy here is painfully annoying. the dance studio to hq commute ran long, leaving alex messy-haired, sweat-sheened, and fully out of patience. she shrugs on a leather jacket hanging on the back of her chair and calls it a day, managing to turn a sideless tank and sports bra into a fashion statement in a matter of seconds before logging into the computer and pulling her latest editing project. ❛ now, where was i…? ❜

trevor nodded his head, honestly he knew he needed to get out and stop wallowing. if bryce was going to be the one to get him out, so be it. “ okay… “ he agreed to go for a walk or something that wasn’t sitting on that couch for any longer because he knew if he stayed that he’d end up just staying in that numb feeling. “ i don’t know yet… “ the stoner looked down at the sling that kept his arm from just swinging in pain before looking back at up bryce. “ i have to go back in two weeks so i’ll probably find out then. “

the stoner was definitely a downer today, usually he brought a presence of happiness and positivity along with strange anecdotes but now he was a bit negative. he could hear the footsteps coming towards him since it was basically silent in the headquarters. his head moved slightly so he could look at up at bryce was obviously trying to get him to feel better. trevor let out a sigh as he used his non-hurt arm to push himself off the couch. “ where are we going ? “ he asked, as he walked towards the other man.

ever since they had gotten home trevor had this gut feeling of dread where ever he went. he felt quilty, guilty that when it came down to helping everyone he was tossed aside like day old bread and left gasping in pain while others got even more hurt. the stoner definitely wasn’t himself as he sat on a couch in the mysterybusters head quarters, his arm now professionally set and in an annoying sling. he was zoning in and out as people walked by, everyone seemed to be going right back to work as if nothing happened but he couldn’t.

“hey, listen,” though he was speaking rather softly, julian’s voice broke the silence that had fallen between him and the other. “i know there’s probably not… a ton i can do to help out, but if you need any help catching up on all the missed assignments–you know, that’s something… that i might be able to handle.”

two more steps, and zach would have been out the door, on his way home. but he stopped himself just short of the exit to the office, and sighed. “hey,” he turned back around to the other, still hesitant to talk to them. “can i ask you something?” 

micah laughs a little quietly, setting his stuff down in the back of bryce’s car, before sliding into the passenger’s seat. ❛ …don’t become an uber driver. do you know how many people you’ll have to deal with? ❜  it’s not exactly what he’s thinking, but it’s a very valid point. ❛ stick to driving me around. i deserve it. ❜  

what are the chances of them surviving the same hell twice? she doesn’t know; she doesn’t want to think about them, because she’s not going to die there.  ❛ you’re probably right, ❜  she lies, smiling at him with a brief nod.  ❛ and i think it’s brave that you’re willing to go again for your sister. ❜