p.s. i am a witch

never has grace been so eager to get out of the damn house. since being discharged from the hospital, she’s found it difficult to sleep, her mind much preferring to comb through traumatic memories against its own will rather than give her a moment of peace. it had gotten worse tonight, a strong wave of paranoia settling over her until she was blindly reaching for the phone on her bedside table. of course she’d felt guilty for interrupting booker’s night, but that was easily overshadowed by the relief that came the second he picked up the call. flash forward twenty minutes and she’s sneaking down the driveway to slide into his passenger seat, but no greeting has the chance to make its way free before his words are making her pause. "oh, right… that sounds important." pulling her phone free from her pocket, she sends off a text that assures she’s still alive and in safe hands; turns out saving her life put booker in her parents' good books. the only time they aren’t keeping too close an eye on her is when he’s around. “there. it’ll be fine.” leaning back against the cushioned seat, her smile shows a little more fatigue than usual. “thanks for coming. i swear i’m not usually this clingy.”

booker turns down the radio as she responds to his questions, the car rumbling underneath him as he checks his mirrors needlessly. no one else is on the street right now, but he takes more care driving than he did before everything happened. maybe he values his life a little more. shit, maybe john kramer had a point. he peels out, beginning to drive slowly down the dark street as he smiles softly in acknowledgement. "good." he states, waiting until he reaches a turn to look at her. "you can be clingy. i think what i've realised is that someone trying to murder you gets you a pass for a lot of weird ass behaviour." he states, finally taking his turn as he continues. "we took an extra forty minutes in the grocery store yesterday cause my mother let me just stand there and contemplate every choice. we were in the cereal aisle for ten minutes. i started seeing how much i could get away with." he laughs, but it's clear in his demeanour as he finishes, how tired he is. he isn't sleeping well either and he's hesitant about asking for sleeping pills. he's been having a hot chocolate every night, because his dad is convinced it'll help him sleep.

mandy had been sitting in her dumb costume trying to convince herself to move for close to an hour when she finally decided to give it up and text that she wouldn’t be coming after all. whatever. her friends will have fun regardless (especially when there’s alcohol involved) and really, there will probably be a bunch of people dressed like jennifer check anyway. nobody will be missing out. so, she’s resolved herself to a quiet night instead, hoping to get ahead on a few assignments while everyone else is busy partying until sun-up. apparently though, somebody has a different idea and it isn’t long before there’s a sudden, incessant knocking at her door. she swings it open, ready to tell whoever is on the other side that trick-or-treating shouldn’t count when you’re in a dorm, but the words quickly die on her tongue. that’s not who she expected. “it’s not you. i’m just… not in the mood right now and i doubt being around drunken frat boys will help with that.” it's a feeling which settled over her days ago and yes, it did start because of their little altercation, but that’s a technicality. “everything’s fine. you didn’t have to come here and make yourself late. i bet the others are pissed.” 

river kind of knows she has no right to demand answers from mandy. hell, to even show up like this is a little bit entitled of them, but they can't help it. she purses her lips, hand leaning against the door frame, the temporary tattoo that adorns that arm stretching a little as she raises her brows. "okay, point taken, but you already know we'd scare them off if they bothered you." river has a particular hate of every fraternity member on campus, just about and they do tend to frequent the halloween bar crawl, but still... it just feels weird. "it's not fine." they insist, tilting their head. "and i don't give a shit what they think. what i give a shit about is this being one of the most fucking fun nights of the year and it only happens once. just not being in the mood feels like a pretty shitty reason to miss it." she insists, trying not to push too hard, but it's kind of hard not to. reluctantly, they let their expression soften, regarding mandy with a touch of vulnerability. if not that, at least some honesty. "besides, it's not as fucking fun without you."

"just follow the rules, and you should be fine. don't have sex, don't do drugs or drink, and don't ever say you'll be right back. worked out for the others, didn't it?" actually, he didn't know. he wasn't into the scream movies. "you're gonna manifest that shit if you keep talking about it. why don't we go do something, take your mind off of it a bit? promise i won't make you go to some sketchy ass cabin in the woods." @felteverywhere

"follow the rules?" dove echoed, confusion filling her expression. "tyler, the final girl in that movie literally has sex with the killer. and she drinks!" she exclaimed. "oops, spoilers." she rolled her eyes, throwing herself back to the table to tuck her head down, groaning before tyler's words made her once again lift her head, slightly interested in distracting herself from the entire thing. "...okay, well, where would you take me, then? i need a specific suggestion before i stop my dramatics."

"you're a fucking... freak. i-i'm gonna call the cops." no she wasn't, they never helped her. in fact, they made her life harder every time they would make her move her car in the middle of a slumber. "what are you going to do to me? if i try to leave?"

freak. it wasn't like the name being thrown at her was new, but este steeled herself to it anyway, clenching her jaw, tilting her head. "how about we just say you can't and leave it at that?" este said, firm though her hands shook. "don't pretend you're not grateful."