TRAGIC!

for   the   most   part   ,   lot   had   grown   to   expect   the   worst   out   of   people   .   yeah   ,   it   was   a   sad   &   pessimistic   way   to   live   .   but   it   meant   that   he   rarely   got   his   hopes   up   or   extended   himself   further   than   he   should   .   but   being   caught   eating   skittles   on   the   floor   of   the   food   hall   this   early   in   the   morning   was   a   vulnerable   thing   ,   causing   the   boy   to   ignorantly   lean   into   a   kind   gesture   .   for   some   reason   ,   the   last   thing   he   expected   was   for   his   breakfast   to   get   knocked   all   over   the   GROUND   by   eden   lennox   fucking   montegomery   .   lot   clenched   his   jaw   &   gathered   up   the   fallen   skittles   in   his   hand   before   hurling   them   directly   at   her   .   "   maybe   it   fucking   is   !   so   what   ?   we   can’t   all   eat   one   boiled   egg   &   a   glass   of   water   for   breakfast   ,   "   he   snapped   ,   trying   to   ignore   the   tell   -   tale   lump   in   his   throat   .   his   eyes   remained   fixed   on   the   skittles   that   had   pelted   her   ,   scowl   settled   perfectly   on   his   features   .

oh god...this is it. the world was ending. tiny meteorites the shape of skittles were falling all around her, some even pelted her porcelain skin. a shriek fit for a horror film rang throughout the near empty dining hall. she waited until the assault was over and the air seemed clear to turn her anger towards lot. blue eyes might as well have been red with the glare she gave him. “what the fuck is wrong with you!?” and like a bull, her target was locked in and she began her advance towards him. it was only at the very last moment that she decided to curb her anger by picking up a green skittle and hurling it at him with all of her force. “see? that fucking hurts!” though in comparison she might’ve thrown it with more force than he had when hitting her with them. 

location: outside the on-campus apartments

date: one oh-seven, december twentieth

with: open

everything felt real, now. worse. those obituaries posted all over the campus had been the rudest possible awakening, and that bad feeling ella had had from the very beginning was only confirmed. perhaps it wasn’t official, but that thought filled her up to her throat. melanie was dead, melanie was dead, melanie was-. it was a paralyzing thought, and ella had barely been able to leave her bed since she left her apartment to get breakfast from the dining hall. now, she felt spurred into action. doing nothing only made her feel worthless, useless; she’d feel better if she did something. the question was: what? 

she wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck, trying to think of what she could do. maybe she could… talk to people, but that was a terrifying concept in and of itself. it was never something ella had been particularly good at. she zipped her coat up as she left the building, cold air nipping at her collarbone. almost as soon as she looked up, she caught sight of another person, one of the other twenty-three. she shot them an uneasy, forced smile, and thought, well, here goes nothing. “hey,” she said as soon as she was close enough to be heard, cheeks quickly going pink and ignoring the signs that surrounded them. “hey, um… are you… are you doing okay?” 

cold. that’s how eden felt as she awoke that morning, a gentle breeze blew in through the cracked window she hadn’t recalled leaving open the night before. however that’s not the part of her morning that came as much of a surprise. it’s what she found there, in her own home, paired with melanie’s ridiculous obituary posted in just about every nook and cranny of covington university’s campus. the missing dead girl’s eyes followed her every move from the on campus coffee shop to library and her walk back home. melanie rivera was around every corner she turned. how ironic was that? after all that time and just trying to forget.

 forgetting wasn’t that easy though. neither was the act of forgiving and now it seems she can’t do either. there’s no possibility of ever forgiving melanie, not that she would exactly do so up front, but it’s always been a decision weighed heavily on her subconscious. eden took a moment to think about it then, staring right back at the brown eyed girl in the picture. a myriad of thoughts ran through her mind at once, but one stood out in particular. the impending doom. the forced move of her hand at a game a chess that she didn’t want to play. tension seizes up in her jaw as she forces herself to hold it together until — “jesus! ” she could recognize ella by her voice despite not having heard anything from her since the party. the blonde turns away from the other quickly, allowing one last moment to herself to regain her composure. “ella..you scared me. I..” eden rests on a gentle sigh, turning back to the brunette with her right hand upon her chest. “I don’t know right now it feels like I almost had a heart attack.” a mild attempt at a jest. “...what about you? I haven’t really heard from you a lot.”

penny wasn’t a complete stranger to eden’s type, but that didn’t mean it didn’t make her walls of defense slide right back up. “yeah, sorry.” she apologized for being unclear, even though there was literally no one else around them for penelope to be talking to. she’d let eden pretend like the question was warranted. it was just easier that way. she was about to empathize, say she knew the feeling because she needed to get hers redone soon and in fact she’d missed her appointment because of having to stay on campus when eden continued. penny couldn’t even call it shade towards her sister because the jab was clear and direct. “well, mediocre nails are better than atrocious nails.” she smiled pleasantly, big brown eyes blinking innocently as she tried to rein in her anger. she didn’t appreciate being scrutinized and she didn’t appreciate the shit talk about her sister either. “i don’t think either of us would be here if i knew that.” wasn’t this donnie’s new bestie? how’d they end up as friends in the first place? penelope already hated this. “do you know where she is?” 

“yeah, but don’t you worry I’m sure you’ll find a way to get those fixed soon.” the blonde deflects the jeer, opting instead to paint it back on penelope. a light shrug lifts her shoulders and a tight smile tugs at her lips before she returns to the books in front of her, picking one out at random to read off the summary on the inner cover. in truth she was only half listening to the other girl. had she been anyone other than melanie’s blood relation, eden honestly might’ve liked the girl. she was quick and snappy all bundled up in doe eyes and an angel’s smile. it’d take her a long way if she honestly knew how to use it...she’d learn. eventually the world will teach her how to be just as cruel. the book snaps shut with a loud clap and eden’s blue eyed gaze returns to the brunette. “why would I  know where she is? it’s just like you said. I don’t want to fucking be here.”

melanie was really never her favorite. she wasn’t the best rivera sister, in donnie’s opinion. she wasn’t the best in their high school group, either. in fact, donatella always thought of her as overrated. her dislike for the missing girl didn’t start, however, until her best friend told her about how melanie used to torment her when they were younger. it was like every blasé feelings she had about her transformed into the ugliest type of emotions she ever felt. perhaps she was just overcompensating, acting that way about melanie because she couldn’t really do it about her mother. maybe it was just how she dealt with the loss of her sister. 

maybe melanie was just a scapegoat.

all donatella knew, was that it was difficult to live inside her own head. the turmoil was too great even for her and sometimes all she wanted was to get away for a little while. she still didn’t know how to make her own inner voice shut up, but it was all she needed - a little bit of peace and quiet. it had been a while since she felt that. ❝ i’m sorry, i didn’t mean to make you pause the movie, it’s just… ❞ the brunette trailed off, as soon as eden turned her attention to her. her eyes were cold, like they always were, and donnie felt the ever so familiar feeling of not being good enough pierce her soul. she didn’t know what she would do if eden left her behind too.

the irritated tone in her best friend’s voice gave her a pause, she should’ve known this would be eden’s reaction. she should’ve known not to push her luck when the blonde thought she was talking about the movie. but there was something about the whole situation that made her wary. it was all that she could think about lately, all that she could talk about. ❝ it’s just… scary. hemlock doesn’t have the best history and i guess i just didn’t expect something like this to happen now. ❞ she replied, hesitantly. ❝ and i know how we- how you feel about her, and about the things she did when she was younger. i guess… i guess i wanted to know where’s your head at right now. are you… i don’t know, even a little bit relieved maybe ? ❞

slender digits weave their way into her hair as she leans an elbow against the back of the couch. it was beginning to become more and more apparent that this wasn’t just going to be a short conversation in passing. her anger only stood in place of her discomfort with the topic. it’s as per usual when melanie rivera is brought back to the forefront of her mind. it’s as if the girl were her shadow. constantly looming over her with the only escape being the dead of night. and yet even then she somehow creeps into her thoughts. still..donatella had nothing to do with melanie or the torment the blonde endured all those years ago and so she must remind herself to bite down on some of her frustrations now. after all the brunette was probably just as scared as she and the rest of the covington twenty three.

“so...what you’re worried history is repeating itself?” as it so often did.. no hemlock’s history is chalk full of ugly truths... as was hers... having grown up there and seen what she had seen... experienced what’s she’s been through... and all that’s gone on behind those closed doors. symbolically the town must’ve been plagued and poisoned as it’s name would suggest. “you don’t have to remind me...” eden huffs, a touch of agitation re-entering her tone once more as she’s reminded of her past with the  missing girl in question. donatella doesn’t exactly have to finish her question for the girl to understand what she was getting at though it still takes her a moment to process what’s been asked. “I don’t know...” she answers truthfully. “I don’t know if I should feel good right now..or...I don’t know... upset. and..yeah it’s okay but there’s nothing we can do right now. you’ve already gone in and talked to them right?”

and there it was, almost immediately, the ice queen decided to continue with her cold persona, and it made michal’s blood curdle. first there was the innate distrust with the dog and the act of violently snatching him back, then there was the tone of her voice when she asked the question, and then there was the mispronunciation of her name. she furrowed her eyebrows. “well, evan, thanks so much for asking. i’m here because my roommate and one of my closest friends has disappeared, what about you, evelyn? what are you doing here? last i checked you hated her guts, or do they think that you’re responsible for her disappearance?” she looked around at her surroundings and lowered her voice, speaking in a mocking tone. “did you eat her?”

her head tilts as a hum emanates from her throat. a sympathetic sort of smile curls at her lips as her brows knit together. “oh how cute. you think that’s doing something?” she responds, knowing full well that michal knew what her name was. this was just her petty way of fighting back or something. “yes. as a matter of fact I did.” the blonde plays along despite the sour turn their conversation quickly took. eden set louis down on the ground, wrapping the leesh around her right wrist before delicately rubbing at her stomach. “surprisingly not the most filling breakfast I’ve ever had. do you wanna be next?” and by then she’s already reaching out to caress the other’s chocolate locks. 

    oh, jesus christ. peyton had only just finally survived her hangover from the party, the migraine fading and giving her some long anticipated relief. the shrill bark of her name in the hall was enough to send her temples pounding once more, but she stopped and turned to face the other blonde. “i don’t even know what that is, but yeah, probably,” she admitted truthfully, biting her lower lip and offering a shrug. holding up a hand, she flashed her current chipped coating of polish — black, with a gloss of sparkle and hot pink glitter. not the red color currently being searched for. “if i let you look in my makeup bag, will you fix my nails?” 

a simple huff is all that eden has to offer at first. there was just no getting to peyton like this was there? her expression wrinkles upon viewing the other’s nails. god — she could only imagine what peyton had gotten into. “first of all why the fuck did you insist on getting this unicorn throw up on your nails anyways? and I know you probably begged for it so don’t say you didn’t.” the girl jeers as she takes her hand to inspect them closely. “fine. whatever. but if you don’t give it back to me or if I don’t find it right away I’m ripping  your cuticles out.”

𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @edcns​

there    weren’t    many    times    where    you    could    find    lot    kang    settled    on    the    ground    with    his    back    pressed    to    a    candy    machine    at    eight    o’clock    in    the    morning    .    but    now    was    ,    in    fact    ,    one    of    those    times    .    the    boy    had    been    CRAVING    skittles    all    night    long    ,    but    felt    guilty    calling    someone    to    come    open    the    cafeteria    at    3    AM    .    so    ,    he    stayed    up    all    night    to    wait    for    the    moment    the    food    hall    opened    just    so    he    could    get    in    contact    with    that    snack    machine    .    the    candy    reminded    him    of    home    -    the    rainbow    colored    candies    being    the    one    his    father    would    pick    up    from    him    occasionally    on    the    way    home    from    work    -    and    the    boy    just    missed    florida    right    about    now    .    hell    ,    lot    MAY    have    even    cried    when    the    popped    that    first    skittle    into    his    mouth    after    busting    into    the    food    hall    the    moment    it    opened    .    but    that    rumor    cannot    be    proven    !    what    he    did    not    expect    to    see    was    someone    entering    the    food    hall    at    the    same    early    hour    as    him    .    the    boy    didn’t    even    bother    moving    from    where    he    sat    .    instead    ,    he    reached    up    ,    quickly    wiped    away    what    may    or    may    not    be    tear    stains    ,    and    put    a    scowl    on    his    face    .    despite    the    grumpy    look    ,    lot    still    raised    the    baggie    of    candy    towards    the    passerby    .    “    skittles    for    breakfast    ?    very    healthy    ,    gives    you    tons    of    energy    .    doctors    recommend    it    ,    "    lot    grumbled    .

it was truly a rare sight to see so early in the morning. having spent most of the previous night swiping her way through various apps and lining up a few lucky contenders for the moment they’re allowed to leave campus; her priorities were clearly set and sleep hadn’t exactly been top of the list. however, mother doesn’t wait for anyone and a previously scheduled seven am phone call is one she’d die from if her screen reported to her that the call was missed. so eden’s awake. cranky but awake— for the most part. sleep still threatened to lull her to bed so she turned to coffee to combat it. it almost takes her by surprise when lot’s hand extends up towards her with an offer of skittles. “ugh get that away from me.” the blonde huffs, smacking the tiny bag away. the sound of a few of the candies pattering the ground fills the silence that follows soon after until— “huh..that’s a sad fucking breakfast.”

for @skleton

o n e  w e e k. that’s exactly how long they’d spent held captive on campus. it’s safe to say within the first hour the blonde was already sick of it. now however her skin crawled  with the need to be anywhere else but on campus viewing the same sour expression every two seconds. eden lennox montgomery was not made for such an idle life. no. she’d become so much more than that. evolved and grown entirely beyond all given expectations of her. so much so that it sometimes became too much for her. and so she arrived pounding. small right fist remained clenched into a fist as it banged against darcy’s apartment door. the other hand kept a firm grip on a near empty bottle of tequila. “hi!” blue eyes beamed with mischief as she invited herself in past the fiery headed girl. eden made herself at home, heading straight towards the kitchen and setting the bottle down firmly, a little more pressure and it might’ve busted. “let’s fucking get out of here!” she proposed. 

when penelope looked at eden montgomery, she saw everything she’d ever wanted to be staring her right in the face; blonde, first off. then beautiful, and then memorable. if penelope had any shred of relevance left, she’d wonder if she’d get invited to the same parties, where all of the cool kids go to go do body shots off of each other and pretend they would still be friends if they didn’t look hot anymore. winning best hair superlative was nice and everything, and so was winning prom queen, but once the crown had been set on her head she’d felt alone even with everyone cheering her on and congratulating her. did eden’s newfound popularity feel that way to her? probably not; it was probably hard to feel lonely looking like that. penny liked to pretend like she was still waiting for her peak - her eden montgomery moment of shocking everyone to the core. yet here penny was, the one doing the ogling. she’d never had a reason to talk to eden before, and as they ended up in the same aisle of the library penelope kept searching for a way to open conversation. “i like your nails,” was all she had to offer.

☽༓･*˚⁺‧͙ @edcns​ - post questioning

there’s nothing quite as satisfying as running your fingers down a row of books. this is especially true just after a fresh manicure. coffin shaped tips delicately danced along the hard covered spines in search of an old favorite to keep her company in their time of seclusion from the rest of the world. eden hardly noticed penelope until the girl peeped just beside her. a soft hum emanates from her throat as claws retract from the books and light blue hues examine them for just a moment to confirm that— yes, she does know her nails look bomb. mauve tinted lips turn upward to reflect such thought before her head turns all quick and pigeon like to regard penelope. i’m sorry “ are you talking to me?” the blonde inquires with a quick look around despite knowing that there were so few on campus and even less so within the library at that moment. uniquely that’s why she was there. because other people werent. and then there was penelope rivera. sibling to one missing melanie rivera, the bane of blonde’s very existence. while eden could hardly stand melanie on a good day, she hadn’t exactly passed her judgement on the younger penny. for the girl that’s a good thing. “I know.” she settled with the obvious, “I just got them done. they were absolutely a t r o c i o u s       before.” her gaze doesn’t hold back on raking up and down the other as she says the word either. “speaking of...where the fuck is your sister?”

the science building is one that michal knows well, and when she is itching to do some experiments, is the first place she decides to go. so, she grabs a handful of optimara little violets from the conservatory and some blue dye from her kitchen, planning on making cordelia a present, her favorite flowers dyed her favorite color. she is letting the flowers soak when she hears a noise, causing her to check the hallway. she doesn’t know what she is expecting, but what she finds is a small dog, and her heart begins to melt. she leans down to pet the dog, grinning at it. “hi little darling, what are you doing here, you can’t do science experiments unsupervised.” with an easy scoop, she picks him up and holds up, walking towards the main part of the building to try and find the dog’s owner. and then, she does. “oh, yeah, here,” she says, scratching the puppy on the hand before handing him back to eden. “he’s a real cutie.”

“oh I know” slender digits gently wrap around louis’ belly to support him as she takes the dog back but the intent behind her motion isn’t quite as kind when she pulls him to her chest. “and you know you can’t just run away from mommy like that baby. it scares her very much.” eden coos at the pup in a much higher and baby like tone than her natural way of speech. a moment of discomfort settled into the blonde as she wasn’t sure whether it was best to shoo michal away or engage in conversation. they both seemed fixated on the pomeranian so the blonde decided she wanted to take the upper hand in whatever was to come next. “what are you doing here michal?” and there it is, the rather rough butchering of a name she only ever pronounced correctly a few times in her youth.  

for @brickyellow​

covington university saw some thousand of students each and everyday that it’s doors remained opened. when the campus was alive it was quite easy for eden to feed off of all of the energy provided by the students. she often shined her brightest on the busiest hours of the busiest days. the more were often the merrier for the blonde who loved to show off. now, however, life on campus shifted drastically. all that remained were the twenty two other students. each with a tie to covington’s very own melanie rivera. it made her sick. much in the same vein as what they called food made her sick as well. one bite of what she previously assumed to be chili turned out to be something else entirely and utterly horrendous. a loud shriek emanated from her throat as she let the mystery food fall off of her tongue and back onto her plate. eden then shoved it aside and snatched the napkin that belonged to the person closest to her to wipe the taste off of her tongue. “what?” she snaps at them, eyes narrowed in a glare. “it’s fucking disgusting.”

donatella knew she should’ve kept quiet, kept her thoughts trapped into her own mind. eden was her best friend, she knew by now what the blonde liked and what she couldn’t stand. normally, she wouldn’t have said anything, not until the movie was over, but her head was swimming in thoughts and there was no way she could have kept silent. ❝ oh. yes, of course. like the parent trap. ❞ donnie replied, absentmindedly. of course she wasn’t talking about the movie, but now she could think her actions through. did she really want to talk about melanie right now ?  ❝ no, i’m sorry. i’m not talking about the movie. ❞ the brunette blurted out, after a few seconds of silence. apparently, she did want to talk about the missing girl right now. ❝ it’s about melanie. what are your theories ? ❞

it’s about melanie...

a tired sigh fills the space after eden hit pause on the princess switch. brows knit together to help convey the minor irritation added to her expression with donnie’s seemingly recent concern for melanie. the blonde sat herself up properly to set her cold eyes on her best friend. a simple shrug is all she has to offer as an answer at first. “I don’t know don. she’s probably fucking just run off to chicago or somewhere farther to fuck with all of us. I don’t think another debate team win was enough for her. she’s led so many already she probably just wants more attention.” and that’s what’s so irritating about all of this. somehow everything is still just all about melanie even after the fact that she’s gone. “why?” blue eyes then narrow towards her companion, “why are you so concerned all of a sudden?”

for @paintingpeyton

it must’ve looked like something akin to a bull locked on target and charging as the blonde stomped down the near empty hall. each step of her high heels reverberated off the walls menacingly as she passed by the empty classrooms of the art building. she’d already spent the better half of her afternoon tearing her room apart in search for one thing and she knew donatella knew better than to take something without telling her about it. which left her with a recollection of an instance of the past and one person in mind— “peyton!” eden barked upon finally spotting the other down the hall. “did you take my red ysl nail polish?!” she questioned although her right hand already fell open before her, palm face up, as if peyton would’ve had it on person ready to hand it over. 

✦ * · ˚ 001. with eden → @edcns​ .

location: eden and donnie’s on campus apartment .

 if donatella was being honest with herself, what annoyed her the most in the whole “ where is melanie rivera ? ” situation was not being allowed to leave covington. she wouldn’t be oppose to actually being able to go to hemlock while the officials were investigating the case, maybe even going around to see her dad, but being stuck at the place where the missing girl had been last seen was nerve wracking. and it seemed that it was all everyone wanted to talk about lately… even herself. so, sitting next to eden on their couch while they watched a random movie on netflix, she was biting her word. trying not to make her best friend mad, like she always did. ❝ so… what are your theories ? ❞ donnie caved in, not really ready to hear the answer.

it’s almost like eden knew. she could just tell donnie was about to say some stupid ass shit. there was a shift of tension within her friend beside her. like a thought popped into her mind and began snowballing until she couldn’t help but speak it into existence. it shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all and yet the blonde’s eyes still narrowed in annoyance. one of her biggest pet peeves is people talking during tv shows or movies. “about what? the movie?” she bites back, brows knitting together as she looks at the screen. “obviously they’re both vanessa hudgens. It’s like the parent trap.”