bigger than these bones

“I think most people are, they just aren’t willing to admit that they’re bad at it.” He reassured her. “How long have you been at FrightLand?”

“not too long,” she admitted with a half smile, “i’ve never really sad down and thought about lengths of time though. what about you?”

landon furrowed his eyebrows and tilted his hand to one side, “so, what am i supposed to use then?”

“you can get soft face wipes that’ll take the makeup up. or a special kinda water that removes it on a pad. but it’s not just plain water, that’s not going to take it off easily.”

“see, i knew this wasn’t the only place i’ve seen you.” jasper pointed out and let out a small chuckle. “right. i’m jasper. it’s nice to meet you too.” he smiled.

“it’s really nice to meet you jasper,” she said with a sweet smile, holding out her hand for him to take. “and i’ve definitely seen you before.”

“oh, i’m sorry.” she hadn’t meant to take the conversation to bad territory. riley knew she was lucky to be that close to her father, maybe not her mother since she hadn’t seen her in twenty years, but she knew some people weren’t close to either. “well, are you staying in the hotel at least? that must be helping a little with the rent situation? maybe even helping to save a little.”

she shook her head quickly, “no, no, don’t worry at all. it’s fine, i’m not like, upset about it or anything like that,” she qualified quickly. “i am, yeah. it’s helping quite a lot, i’m basically trying to spend nothing except for what i need to survive.”

“i remember when everyone was obsessed with that song. i couldn’t go to any store in the mall without hearing it every five minutes. not that i hated it but you get sick of any song after hearing it none stop.” the memory was a strong one. there were days when she couldn’t escape hearing it. it was a good song though. “so do you play music for other people? like, do you perform?”

she laughed and nodded, “i know what you mean. sorry for picking an annoying song,” she answered with a growing half smile. she glanced up. “i guess so. kinda. i mean, i mostly busk, but i used to perform a bit.”

“well, it’s a very good side gig. sometimes people have side gigs but they aren’t very good at them, at least you know you’re good at it.” riley smiled and nodded. “oh yeah. i’ve been holding out on actually getting my own place, i know it’s so bad, but my dad hasn’t pushed me out yet so i’m going to keep it up as long as i can.”

“thanks,” evie said with an appreciative smile growing on her face. “it’s always nice to get good feedback, especially since it’s something i’ve loved since i was really young.” she nodded, “i don’t blame you at all,” evie admitted with a quick nod, “if i was close to my parents, i would’ve stayed way longer than i did.”

Oliver closed his book softly, knowing that he probably should be doing the same as this person. He barely knew anyone else working in the house. “Pretty good plan to introduce yourself, didn’t think of it myself,” He admitted openly. “I’m Oliver. One of the new Sound Techs here.”

she shrugged, but nodded her head in acknowledgement of his compliment. “thanks.” she told him, “i’m evie. did i already say that? i’m terrible in these situations.” she admitted with a smile. “it’s nice to meet you, oliver.”

the song was familiar. she knew she knew it. becca stopped and stood close to the girl, not too close to be weird, but her attention was caught. when the song ended, she clapped a little, walking a bit closer. “that wasn’t too bad. radiohead, right? i haven’t heard that song in ages.”

evie nodded her head when the other girl asked her whether it was radiohead. not ‘too bad’ wasn’t something she was aiming for, but she knew her style wasn’t too everyone’s tastes. “yeah, it is. creep by radiohead. i love it.”

jasper looked at the girl, a smile tugging on the corner of his lips as he did so. “yeah, i do.” he nodded. now he knew where he knew her from. “you do too though, right? i think i’ve seen you around a couple of times.” 

she nodded, “yeah, that probably is where you’ve seen me,” she agreed, “i’m, uh, one of the scare actors,” she said with a little growing smile. “i’m evie, it’s uh, it’s nice to meet you.”

landon pursed his lips at her question, almost knowing she might scold him but what else was he supposed to use? “…water and soap. the soap doesn’t really help that much though.”

she snorted, “oh my god, lan. i am going to change your life forever. you’re not supposed to just use water and soap.”

Oliver couldn’t lie, he had no idea why he had been hired. He had no experience in the field. All he had was a good amount of bullshit and a degree in something completely different. He had never worked as a sound tech before or any type of tech that wasn’t in a lab. Becca had gotten the job here first and there had been a moment when he realized he’d have to figure something out too. He had done a little bit research before applying. Which lead him to sitting quickly reading over a book about being a sound tech. It was the best he could get other than asking the other techs for help. Glancing up, the sun in his eyes blurring who it was,“Can I help you?”

“oh, uh, nah, nothing serious,” evie said easily as she sat down a little bit away. “i was just trying to introduce myself to people since i’m gonna be working here, y’know. and i just barely know anyone. i wasn’t meaning to disturb you or anything like that,” she told him with a half smile, generally annoyed with herself for having been so awkward about it.

jasper stopped in the middle of his walk toward the coffee shop when he heard the girl sang. he was obviously impressed by her voice because if he wasn’t then he would’ve kept walking. he bent down, throwing a couple of dollars in her beanie. he didn’t have a lot to spare but she was probably struggling just like he was. a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, “hi.”

she smiled and gave him a quick nod when he put money into her beanie. she didn’t make much from doing this, but she felt better just for feeling like she wasn’t just abandoning music altogether to make money, even if it was just on the street corner. “you... work at frightland, right?” she asked him softly.

a trip back to the bakery was long overdue. riley was walking the familiar path back to the family business when a voice caught her attention. she didn’t think her dad would mind if she was late…since he wasn’t expecting her anyway. pausing, riley listened to the rest of the song before clapping. and then she realized she knew the girl. “hi! evie right? not sure if you remember me, i’m riley. i didn’t know you could sing?”

the small brunette put on a bright smile when the girl recognised her. she had wanted to make friends within the job and she was really happy about meeting someone who seemed to have recognised her. she could be rather meek. “that’s right,” she said with a smile. “it’s nice to see you again. yeah, i guess this is kinda like... my side gig.” she said with a smile, “rent is expensive usually, y’know?”

Salem cocked a brow as she watched the girl perform - she knew her from somewhere, but she just couldn’t place it. Dropping a dollar into her collections, she pondered for a moment. Not that she wanted to stay, but she felt obligated to enjoy the show she paid for - a show she felt obligated to pay for. Street performances always felt that way. “Oh, hey.” She was taken off guard, but offered  a smile regardless. She wanted to know why her face looked so familiar, but instead she blurted “Don’t you worry about it raining on your keyboard?”

evie struggled a little more when she knew someone was watching her straight on, which was a big part of why she usually seemed to sing with her eyes closed. when the girl asked her about her concern for rain, she nodded, “definitely. i just get ready to run whenever it looks really, really grey. “hey, do you work at frightland, by the way?”