fake happy

“ You’ve.. never played mad libs before? “ Eden asked, slightly surprised by the other’s confession. She brightened up once her roomate agreed to get her nails done and dove into her container of nail polishes that she brought. “ Of course I do! “ she chimed, holding out three different green polishes: A forest green, one mint and  a christmassy green filled with glitter.  “ The glittery one is my personal favorite. “ she admitted with a giggle. 

“no. i don’t think half of Europe has,” hella replied easily, sitting down on the bed with her boots still on. she squinted at the colours, thinking to herself ‘of course she prefers glitter’. the Norweign didn’t though, looking at the forest green with approving eyes. “the darker one. you might have to strip my nails of black though,” and she revealed her bitten down, chipped nails.

(  camp starter for @frcmhel )

“ Isn’t this so exciting? It’s kinda like one big slumber party! “ she gushed with a giggle. At least she assumed this was what slumber parties were like considering she wasn’t allowed to have one because her mother was terrified of letting strangers into the house. “ We should totally paint each others nails and play mad libs!  “ she suggested, holding up the plie that she had brought specially for the trip. 

hella had never really liked slumber parties, though in part that was from attending an all-girls boarding school. often, she had been on the receiving end of many of the ‘fun’ pranks pulled. at least this was different, camping as something she’d done with her brothers. being surrounded by acres and acres of forest was calming, and familiar. “i never like slumber parties,” hella tells the chirpy blonde, face passive. “and i don’t know what mad libs are. you can paint my nails though. do you have green? it’s my favourite colour,”

“excuse me, you work at the morgue, right?” he asked softly, feeling a bit awkward about approaching a stranger about their job – especially about the other’s assumed profession. “do they ever lie in the papers about how people have passed? i mean, instead of being attacked and causing panic, they say they passed peacefully? or am i wrong?”

starter for @frcmhel 

hella hummed in confirmation at the question, looking at the young boy. did he want a job or something? usually, it was the goth looking or edgy kids that asked her questions about her job. “that’s an oddly specific question,” she replies, voice deadpan as per usual. “no, they don’t. if anything, papers like to fuel mass hysteria,” the woman paused. “why, thinking of getting in them for something like that?”

randomly generated no. 1 - attack hugging them

arms wrapped around her so suddenly, hella didn’t have enough time to react in her usual negative way. this pretty blonde was already squeezing the life out of her or, at least attempting to. she was a great deal smaller than hella’s impressive 6″1. gingerly, she let herself pat the others back. “uh. hey. thanks?” 

things were happening lately that Hella couldn’t explain. normally, she shrugged any abnormalities off, having watched far too many horror films in her lifetime to believe in the supernatural. it was all tricks of the mind, camera work and primal brain nonsense. working with the dead to, had shown her the frank state of death and it’s finality. and yet - she could see things. people, maybe once but now faded apparitions of what they once were. 

some of them ignored her, and some didn’t, shocked at being seen. there were two in particular that seemed to stare at her, following around a young man she didn’t recognise. “hey, you,” hella called out, as bold and brash as ever. “you believe in ghosts?”

randomly generated no. 4 - holding their hand for the first time

hella had not expected the gesture, certainly not from a stranger, or at least someone she barely knew. sure, she was a little upset but, she always dealt with it on her own and in her own way ( with a bottle of vodka and whoever she picked up at a bar ). all these things happening so suddenly made her feel like she was going mad. fingers brushing against her own before the hand slipped easily into hers helped to ground her. she wasn’t going crazy, she could just see dead people. “thanks,” she mumbled to him.

Yuuri laid back in the shaded grass, arms and legs sprawled out. He was far too used to the cool and crisp air of the rink to really acclimate to the summer heat, especially when the heat was getting a bit ridiculous at this point. “I think this is how it ends. The AC unit in my apartment broke last night, so I found a way to sneak into the skating rink just so I could sleep. But, I was almost caught by a security guard, so I don’t think I can keep doing that one,” he said with a sigh. “I feel like I’m literally melting away. Do you think you have a place for me to sleep at yours tonight? I’ll sleep on the floor of the bathroom if I have to because I cannot sleep at all if I’m sweating.”

Even though the summer back home wasn't much different to the ones here, Hella had always had a low tolerance for the warm weather. Her typical wardrobe of all-black t-shirts, jeans and jackets became defunct and troublesome when the sun was out. The regular chill of the mortuary had been replaced by a stagnant heat that made everyone worry about the fridges breaking down. She hummed at what the other was saying, only half-listening. “My place isn’t much better. I’m considering just tucking myself into my fridge at night,” Hella joked with a shrug. “You’re welcome to come try sleep on my floor though. If it's uncomfortable, pretty sure the freezer will be big enough for you,”

“Russ?” He repeated, never having heard the word before. But, it definitely sounded way more appealing than prom any day. “Maybe the town should host one of those next. But it might get a little too cozy if we’re all stuck in buses and hotels together for two weeks,” he said, laughing at the idea. He held out his hand for the other to take in order to lead the dance. “No need to worry! I have super strong feet made out of titanium. Honestly, I should be a super hero or something,” he joked.

“ah yes, the big Sparkwood road trip. i’m sure we’d have all murdered each other by the end of it,” Hella remarked with a sardonic smile. her own Russ had been particularly eventful, as she’d stolen another school jumpsuit and ran off with them instead of staying with her barbaric all-girls academy. carefully, she placed her cold hand in his. this didn’t usually happen. “that’s a very practical power, titanium toes. that’s your superhero name now,”

why her parents insisted on living out this ludicrous and unbelievable lie was beyond her. did people really think they were the picture perfect family that her mother and tony liked to pretend they were? it was bullshit. when her mom wasn’t keeping a watchful eye on her, alyssa managed to slip outside. she had changed into converse ( which clashed with her god-awful dress ) and put a denim jacket to shield her from the cooler night air. she stood there with earbuds secured, the smiths blasting as a distraction. even though she was quite oblivious to most everything going on around her, she felt as if someone was watching her and turned to see someone nearby. one headphone dangled as she properly faced them, “are you just going to stand there like a fucking creep or come closer?” this brash attitude was probably why she didn’t have friends. “do you have a cigarette i could bum off of you?”

though not anti-social, the woman had issues with formal events. they reminded her very much of her formative years spent being tosses between her mother, her fathers family and boarding schools, never quite fitting it. now older, hella found the simple pleasures of these functions in their stocked bars and secluded smoking areas. taking a stroll around with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth, she stopped at a girl. the norwegian had thought she was alone out here. creep? she snorted, reaching down into her combat boots to retrieve a battered packet of fags. “you’re very lucky, yanno. not everyone you call a creep will give you their last cigarette,”

Open event starter.

Peter always thought it was fun whenever the town decided to organize these events. It gave him a good excuse to make friendly with those who may otherwise avoid him. It was expected to be loud and fun at dances, so Peter was going to do just that. Which, wasn’t any different than his usual self. “Dude, this reminds me of the prom I never went to. We should dance so I can pretend I actually had one,” he teased, a chuckle escaping him. But, he was serious.

Hella wasn’t really a dance person but, she did enjoy turning up for drinking and mingling with people. Sometimes, she locked herself in without really meaning to. “I never went to prom either,” Though that was because they didn’t have proms where she was from. “We have Russ where I’m from. Kind of a two week bender across the country, much cooler. I’ll dance with you, but I might step on your feet,”

“i’m just saying.” isabelle exclaimed, drink in hand. it was clear she was a little tipsy, a little too loud, but definitely not drunk yet. it was the weekend. she wanted to go out and have a little fun. “if you’re going to use police issued handcuffs for non-police reasons you better have a real good backup plan for it you lose the key.” it was a really specific scenario, clearly one she was speaking about from experience. maybe it should have been mortifying, but she couldn’t help but laugh as she talked, as easy smile wide on her face. “not that i really had a problem asking my boss to help get me out of them, but i think he’s been avoiding me ever since.”

Hella snorted at what the girl was saying to her, taking a swig of her own beer. “No, no see I have a friend in the force, that's my backup,“ she jokes, half-imagining how mortified Kaiden would be to find her handcuffed in her underwear to her bed. He'd probably like it, she mused, smile still on her face. "Always keep a spare key nearby to avoid embarassment, ey? Especially with your boss. I think mine would die, or molest me if the situation arose,"

A smile made its way onto Kaiden’s face. Although they were usually rare due to his sarcastic yet serious nature, around Hella, he seemed to find himself smiling a bit more. “Did you really?” He asked, surprise and curiosity in his voice. He wouldn’t have pegged Hella for the fishing type. “I’ve never been on a boat before.” Boats just weren’t his thing. Awkwardly, he held out his hand for her. “Let’s go.”

“Yeah. The ocean always reminded me of home,“ Hella said, a distance in her voice as if remembering a time past now. Which she was, those rare moments as a child with her brothers, playing in the sea. Catching fish with their hands in the rivers, then letting them go. "They're calming. Well, unless you get seasick," Which she dearly hoped Kaiden wouldn't. Staring awkwardly at his outstretched hand, she hesitated before slipping her own into it carefully.

@frcmhel

Kaiden was currently standing at the docks, where he’d texted Hella to meet him. When he’d signed up for a blind date (since he’d decided that it was time he stopped trying to figure out if those he liked, liked him and just see if he could find someone in general), he honestly hadn’t expected to see Hella’s name. And yet, that was exactly what had happened. Dressing a little nicer, he’d gone out, rented a sailboat (and someone to sail it), and gotten food for them. Looking up, he saw Hella approaching. “Hey.” He said, giving her a nod. This would be a rather interesting (and possibly awkward) time.

Hella hadn't been on a date in a very long time. Though not yet 30, she could count on one hand the number of times boys and girls had asked her out, and she'd said no to more than half. Hella believed very little in such things a love and affection, preffering to find partners in the dark and smoky rooms of a bar and take them home. Going out with Kaiden, however strange, was better than a complete weirdo. At least he was someone familiar, Hella could pretend this was just friends trying something new, nothing more. Skipping down to the docks, she smiled at him. Her dark make-up wasn't as smudged as usual, lightning prescion, she looked a little more put-together.“Hey,“ She greeted with a smile, an odd nice-ness about her. "I like this. Boats, I mean. Lunch on the water sounds good, I used to fish back in Norway, with my great-grandfather,"