Why can't you come stitch me up?

Leon sits across the table from a waitress with all the time in the world. She's probably used to drunk cravings stumbling in past midnight. Though having a college drunk insist she sit and have a coffee too is different from the usual, he has been talking to her about Shauna coming to pick him up.

"Whoah... she talks a lot." He blinks hard at his phone, reading up to something about dying tonight and pulling a face when his phone starts to ring. "She's gonna... kill me?"

He answers but instead of talking, he holds the phone out and waves it. There's a distinct voice mumbling "but she won't yell at you" before the phone changes hands.

There's a sigh into the receiver. "Hi, hun. You're the girlfriend looking for your lost puppy, huh? Hah! Come pick him up at 45 pleasant valley parkway, we're the ihop next to the blood centre you really can't miss us. Safe travels, y'hear."

Unbelievable, she thought to herself.

Leon was lucky that he was utterly charming, even now, is what she assumes as she prepares herself to look for him and is, instead, greeted over the phone by a woman. Girlfriend!? She almost refuted, instead choosing to keep that to herself. God, she felt like an idiot for feeling her heart skip a beat over that. Could she be blamed? Surely a bunch of girls had contracted arrhythmia over fantasizing being Leon's girlfriend. And maybe it was fine for her to play the part, too.

"Holy fuc— I mean, thank you so much. God, I hope he wasn't an inconvenience to you, I'll be there in a second." How does Leon find the kindest of people all over the world? She'll never know, but she hopes she can get some of that good luck on her way.

When the phone is passed, Shauna rolls her eyes, a smile present as she rushes down the road. If she thinks about it for a little while, she might have gone to that particular ihop before, the lady was right, it was unmissable. Even drunk Leon had found his way there.

"Well, aren't you lucky?" Shauna says, snorting a bit at the thought. He really is unbelievable, but this would undoubtedly be a funny story to talk about the next day... And at college, and to anyone who was willing to listen.

"You're even luckier now, 'cause I am just parking my car over." Shauna states, filling up one of the empty lots available. She hops out of the car, reaching for the door as quickly as she can. Then, she runs over to where she can see the drunken Leon. Apologetically, she nods back at the waitresses around and then to the one sitting across Leon.

"crazy? that's what my dad tells me," charlie chuckled, riding through the pelting rain with little regard for being wet. once hitting under a tree though, he slid to a stop. mostly so that his phone didn't get utterly soaked.

an eyebrow raised as they thought about the offer. see, the issue with being talked to about these sort of ideas was that it was coming from shauna of all people. someone who made her smile simply seeing her name on her screen.

Something about waiting for Charlie's answer was causing her heartbeat to speed up. It made her feel ridiculous... It was a yes or no that her heart was racing for. She'd scold herself if her body wasn't absolutely petrified while she listened in.

But his response is much more than she could have ever hoped for. The way she practically jumps from her seat would've totally caused a few laughs among her team. Thank goodness she was alone... And that she would not be for long. Now that she was standing, she took the chance to get the cocoa ready. A smile was shamelessly plastered over, feeling special over just a few kind words.

Also Shauna, in Pa.lwor.ld with the gift Jackie gave her (and her pink hair to match Jackie's green):

Claire hums her agreement. The phone reception is new information to her, and it makes her frown. That... didn't simply happen. It usually meant damage to infrastructure, but there hadn't been any explosive or blatantly loud accidents. Only this very weird lockdown.

"Sooo... the government is totally hiding shit from us?" She offers, only half-jokingly. Her own attention snaps around when a woman shrieks. She leaps up and takes a couple assertive steps, fully prepared to rush in. Only, the silence gives her pause. "Ma'am, are you okay?" Only unsteady footfalls reach them as answer.

That wasn't the person who shrieked. No way. His muttering, while faint, reveals a too-deep voice. Her brows furrow a little and she looks to Shauna. "This is fucking weird. We should find the one who was screaming, right?" For all they know the man giving off the weird vibes is the reason for the scream.

Her body is amped and ready for a fight. Good thing, too. He suddenly picks up pace and lunges at her. "WHAT THE FUCK?!" Claire isn't quiet, she's the type who reacts loud and fierce. She shoves as hard as she can, and she follows through, pushing him away wasn't enough she kicks out his legs to topple him to the ground. "Asshole!" she reflexively yells, stalking her way down the grim hallway.

The fun banter they'd been having before takes a back seat after the abrupt turn of events. Maybe, she should have expected a strange night after lockdown, but never would she have expected this. When Claire turns to her, Shauna instinctively responds with a nod at her statement. Sure enough, strange was probably the right word for all of this.

"R.. Right," she can't even finish her thoughts when the man suddenly throws himself at Claire. What the fuck? Surely, he had done something similar to the poor woman that had shrieked... Well, she wasn't about to leave Claire fighting this weirdo alone. ...Or that was her plan a few seconds ago. Redfield could really pack a serious punch, er, kick. Shauna could only follow, glaring at the strange man before she turns over to whatever caught Claire's attention.

Sure enough, she also freezes in place.

"Holy... shit," so much for her own morbid love for making her best friend Jackie freak out at the movies by acting excited over guts and gore... This was nothing like a movie, she was just as horrified as anyone else would be. If Jackie could see her now, maybe she'd laugh at just how scared she was. She couldn't discern much of it in the dark but what she could, coupled with the gurgling, was enough of a tell for her to know they shouldn't linger here for long.

That lady was a lost cause.

"Fuck, I don't think we can help her... Maybe you were right about the government." Shauna tries to joke with that last part, but she is definitely believing it, at this moment. Even her voice did little to change from the clear fear that was seeping through her. Still, she decides to move closer to what she thought would soon be a corpse, just to see if they could do something, after all.

As her steps drew closer, Shauna realized that something unsettling was happening to woman. Her body was twitching, shaking erratically, as if it were reacting to something. Shauna takes a few steps backwards and, as she does, her eyes catch glimpse of odd figures in the distance. Mumbles ring from further away, deeper in the dark, shadows of what should be people stumble. It makes chills run down her spine.

From the other end of the hallway, they approach, out of place. Worst of all, it seems like the woman's own body is starting to rise, trying to reach out to her, to anything. To top it off, the noise both the woman and the shadows make is strangely similar to how that man that attacked Claire sounded. Swallowing dry, Shauna takes hurried steps back to Claire when the lady tries to swing her hands towards her. Quick, Shauna's hand latches onto Claire's wrist to try and lead her. She points to some stairs nearby, rushing to them.

"Something really fucked up is definitely going on. We... we have to go. This hallway is not safe, that lady is not safe, and that motherfucker is still back there. We have to go up." Her tone is low but desperate. Maybe the fear was making her see and hear things. Maybe she is being paranoid, but still, she didn't want to stick around and find out. Plus, it should help to have a vantage point... or a breather, anything that was not whatever she had just witnessed.

"I wish you loved me less."

"You'rе so, so pretty, boy."

"I'm paranoid I made you up."

"Let's go steady, let's go out."

"What if this isn't what I want?"

"You know I could never leave."

"I know that the bar closes at 11."

"I'm overwhelmed, I'm underfed."

"I resent you for not being brave."

"This isn't what it should feel like."

"Left hook, right punch to the gut."

"These days, I've got expectations."

"Nobody's wanted somebody more."

"God, I love the way you look at me."

"I regret you… and how long I stayed."

"You said that I made loving look easy."

"I think you're what's wrong with me…"

"But I hope you never finish that beer."

"Don't go… go where you don't belong."

"Yeah, I'd love it if you walked me home."

"I thought I found the antidote with you."

"Are we so in love? Are we too attached?"

"I thought I found the antidote this time."

"Their indecision is painfully unattractivе."

"And all the girls at this party are so cool."

"That's never been a thing that I could do."

"So, where'd you get that confidence from?"

"I feel right, I feel wrong, I feel totally insane."

"I'm sleeping in my dress and my high heels."

"But I think we might go really nice together."

"Tell your friends that you're mine, I'm yours."

"Feeling so alone, might as well be on the moon."

"And yet I still cling to hope like snow on mountains."

"They say it's a virtue to not let good love slip away."

"It's a little hard to stomach all your amateur moves."

"'Cause I always had a vision of us standing like this."

"You're lookin' like an angel on the walls of Versailles."

"I'm a zombie in my body, I'm a train off of the track."

"I know everybody changes, but I hope that we don't."

"He wasn't smart or funny, I convinced myself he was."

"So, I'm cool and forgiving, I'll take what you're giving."

"My day was so mundane, I don't think I left the house."

"And I'm too shy to say what I see when I dream of you."

"Maybe I'm a petty bitch, but you made me resort to this."

"Give me back my time and I will give you back your heart."

"I thought I'd done enough, but they keep moving the line."

"And I want you more than any stupid song could ever say."

"And if there is a god, he's the bond that's between us two."

"I'm a sad shell of a woman and I've got maggots for brains."

"But my head is full of poison, and my heart is full of doubt."

"You should feel how I feel when somebody says your name."

"You're a spark in the dark and my clothes all caught aflame."

"They say that honest love is a cage that makes you feel free."

"In the dark, I'm not scared, I just reach and you're right there."

"Take me out to dinner, you know you can take me anywhere."

"I thought that he was perfect, and now his number's blocked."

"It's getting harder every day, and I can't seem to get around it."

"Yeah, I've got hope. Yeah, I've got drive. I will not lose my faith."

"But you've seen me truly happy, so you know right now I'm not."

"Sometimes, I get overwhelmed and way too far ahead of myself."

"Let's just go to bed or something. Maybe it'll fix itself tomorrow."

"So I guess that it's true, time can heal even the worst of wounds."

"The most alive I've ever been, but kiss me and I might drop dеad."

"And tell me yet again about when we met and what you thought of me."

"If you let me stay the night, well, I think I might just have to stay forever."

"But it don't matter how your love feels anymore… It will never be the cure."

"I've been droppin' hints all night that I'd love if you held my hand, goddamn."

"If loving me means letting go and wishing me the best then, I guess, I wish you loved me less."

"Some nights can be so fucking lonely… but it's better than begging for you to stand up for me."

"All that I want is to know, undoubtedly, that you just have eyes for me. Could you make it clear?"

He watches her move, shove a box to him, hack off every sentence and then stand up and try to get him to get going, too. Funny, how she could avoid looking at him directly for so long.

Luis himself is a little confused – turning the little box between his fingers curiously, then smiling a little.

“Oye, chavala. What’s this?”, he asks, wisely quickly working on opening the box. He knows Shauna. She was quick, too. And she might try to snatch the box away again.

The smile on Luis’ face grows wider – and then it freezes for a moment, when he looks at the little necklace. It only takes a blink for him to recognize the little stamped drawing on it. His favourite!

And he has been around Shauna long enough to have seen her drawing at times, too. Even though she hid her sketches, as if it was something embarrassing, whenever he asked.

Luis blinks again as he holds the little necklace up, making the metalplate reflect so he can see every detail. And finally, his smile grows even wider than before. Warmer, too.

“For me? Really?”, he asks in a whisper. Looking to Shauna, there is a traitorous glint in his eyes. For just a moment. Oh, maybe in this they are a little similar, still. Luis isn’t ashamed for his emotions. But he can’t cry over this, can he?

So instead he blinks a little faster, his thumb feeling over the stamped drawing.

“You made that yourself.”, not a question – and the next second Luis works to put the necklace around his neck, proudly grinning when it hangs on his collar, "No one ever made something that sweet for me."

Oh, Shauna won’t get away with this. Not that easily. Luis is on his feet in a second and the next his arms wrap around Shauna, pulling her in close. He holds her, prickling cheek covering the crown of her head.

It's too late to back off and she thinks herself an absolute idiot for even thinking this was a good idea in the first place. Was she a child, honoring silly festivities in hopes of approval and affection?

Instead of turning, running away, literally anything that would make more sense, she stares at him, heart on her mouth. She should run away from the turmoil, but she stands her ground... If feeling as fragile as a leaf could be called that.

The necklace is studied and she feels like an exotic animal on display, under scrutiny, even though his attention is to her creation, instead. She knows Luis would not crush her heart if he didn't have to, he'd be nice about this stupid gift. Still, she was waiting for a storm, searching for even a sliver of disappointment.

She found none. And that was probably worse than the alternative, cause now she had hope.

"Right... it is for you." Shauna whispers... Sure enough, she can't keep looking, she does have to run away, after all. But Luis has other plans and she is still dumbfounded by the way Luis actually appreciates her trinket. She watches him stand, she thinks they're going to go on their way to ice cream, she is ready to follow.

"I know you're making that up, you must've gotten a bunch of thoughtful gifts bef–" Holy shit. No way she had earned a hug out of something so mediocre. No way, no way. She raised her hands to try and pinch herself, but instead ended up wrapping them against Luis, using his movement as blueprint.

The awkwardness in the way her body tries to ease up to it makes her intensely self-conscious, but she doesn't want to move away. Shauna stays there for a while before she can't take the silence anymore.

And I'm so high, but still so low I think I'm losing my mind

DOOMCOMES – an indie, semi-selective blog for Shauna Shipman from Yellowjackets, as portrayed by Kuroki. Adapted to different media, including Resident Evil, Until Dawn, and Life is Strange! (template by poohsources)