UNPARAGONED

                                                            * ・ ﾟ

living in crestle cove for as long as he had, one tends to forget the true extents of the town’s murky yet vast history. noah felt lucky enough to be able to push certain urban legends out of mind when making his way through the day to day. however, given his current circumstances, that seemed like a luxury. still, he decides to go along with the joke for the thrill of it. no harm, no foul. it’s just a joke. wait, it’s just a joke, right?

NOAH: don’t remind me NOAH: my days are numbered

it’s nice to banter with her like this ( or, at least, he hopes it’s bantering and not a genuine warning. yifei always had had that otherworldly charm about her, and suddenly, noah wondered if there was something more, something deeper to that ) and noah chuckles as he’s typing on his phone, although he is quick to go against her advice and checks behind him.

there’s no one there … as far as he can see.

NOAH: and to think that the weirdest thing that happened to me tonight was that we decided to get together when we’re both sober

he frowns at that, deciding to add on a quick addendum.

NOAH: well, at least, for now.

the unique nature of their current situation doesn’t properly occur to her until he points it out, making her thumb hover still over the screen. huh, that’s right. well, she could blame it on the fact that she’s running low on booze, which she nearly does but quickly deletes that reply before hitting send. getting stoned leaves her with cotton mouth, not foot-in-mouth syndrome. 

besides, it’d kinda be a lie.

kinda.

( sms » noah ) only because i have nothing to drink ( sms » noah ) the night’s still young and you’re still outside exposed to everything so

and technically speaking, she’s sober. in the sense that she hasn’t opened the liquor cabinet. but she also finished a whole joint not too long ago. so where she falls on that spectrum, she doesn’t know. either way, if he’s expecting her to be stone cold sober, well... yeah. he’ll be disappointed.

but better this than her starting another petty fight.

( ` something sinks when she sees yifei’s replying smile, the corners of her mouth tight at that invitation. there’s been something wrong lately, something missing between her and yifei. she doesn’t know what it is, and hasn’t picked up the courage to find out. )  why, are you gonna rob us?  ( ` she feels like a hypocrite, faking a smile for yifei when she teases her, a filler to cover up the hurt she’s been plagued with )  yeah,  ( ` takes a glance at their newly bought clock that noah’d managed to somehow get fixed, delicate hour hand moving a little past the one. )  it’s 1:10, yi’.  ( ` she opens out her hands, and pours another drink. maybe she can fix theses cracks still, with the only way she knows how )  stay a little longer if you don’t wanna go?  ( ` just for something more lighthearted, she nods towards the obnoxiously framed picture she’s got hanging on the wall, of noah and his unfortunate high school fashion choices )  that’s the only thing you’ve got to worry about here, anyway.

he’s better known for his short fuse before his music, which in turn, makes him angrier at the fact. thats what punks all about, he reasons, anger and anarchy and bullshit. lots of bullshit. because the world was bullshit, as was life, as was pain. he could go on and on, but he saves the rants and opts to push it into lyrics instead. he’s bent over his little notebook, glasses slipping down his nose bridge as he scribbles furiously into it. he’s mid-bridge before the sound of yifei’s voice manages through his headphones. he has half a mind to act as if he doesn’t hear her, but sighs as he removes the headset and rolls his eyes to her. 

“you know, you could actually knock instead of say it, right?” he’s being petty, and a little shit, and he knows it. the betrayal hurt him more than he could say, more than he could sing. the hex girls were always his family, the only people who could ever understand him beyond the surface level. his love and devotion for the two remained unyielding, despite the mark yifei left on it, but the thought of them branching out, moving onto bigger, better things without him left his heart heavy. “thought i was always a brat, or something?” he’s not giving in without a fight. her oblivious act had him seething, but he’s keeping busy with his notebook to keep it contained. “or maybe its just you being a major bitch, lately.” 

does she blame him for this ? no, not really. it’s already quite a surprise to her that bora is alright with it, so if daehyun was as well, then it’s unbelievable at that point. it’d be a little presumptuous of her to expect everyone to automatically be on board with the whole solo thing. she likes to think that she knows him well enough in that sense. or well, she knows him enough that his words don’t really feel as hurtful as they sound. 

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

“ look, bora deserves much more than she gets. she’s probably the sweetest person to ever walk the earth and she deserves recognition for it, especially since she has me for a band member. but like, proper recognition. not echo only bringing her up to drag me through the mud. that shit doesn’t count. she’s been so understanding about me going solo too. frankly, it’s impossible not to like her.

dante’s still the same kid i knew in high school, good with music, not so much with his attitude. but he’s gotten better — thanks to me. he kinda reminds me of a younger brother, so it’s all good, i’m used to it and y’know, i get it. and i know he’s really passionate about the hex girls, more than myself probably.

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

?? QUESTIONS WITH THORN OF THE HEX GIRLS | VOGUE

                                                             * ・ ﾟ

as he wanders through the fluorescent aisles of the corner store, he feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. noah has a hunch that if he shows up to her door empty-handed, she’ll likely turn him away ( he can’t even blame her, though. ) his eyes land on some faintly french-sounding brand name and the little label reading ‘white chocolate’ has him reaching out for it. watch this cost, like, 20 dollars, he muses to himself before his phone’s vibrations nag at him again.

did she change her mind?

he looks down at his phone and actually laughs – effectively earning himself an odd glance from the man behind the counter – at what yifei says. typical.

NOAH: and what do you suspect the people who like dark chocolate have? NOAH: rocks where taste buds should be?

at this point, he feels like he’s poking a sleeping tiger. he feels comfortable enough with yifei like this, which should surprise him but mostly causes a sort of warmth to bloom somewhere in the vicinity of his heart. his lungs, maybe.

he shakes his head and ignores whatever the hell that thought process was, and pays for the candy ( which wasn’t as expensive as he thought it would be, but was more expensive that any chocolate really should have been. he’ll have to mention that to her when he sees her. )

after noah thanks the worker and leaves the store, he pockets the bar and is on his way towards yifei’s house. suddenly, his senses are all heightened and he can’t shake the feeling as though he’s being watched. oh god.

NOAH: if i’m not there in the next 5 minutes NOAH: call the cops

sure, it’s a little dramatic, but sue him for wanting to err on the side of caution.

figuring she’ll be waiting for a while, since she doubts her took the car, she opts to sit on one of the stools by the counter, glass by her side as she pulls out her phone, grip loose. it nearly slides out of her grasp for a second there if her fear of breaking her phone didn’t kick in just in time. she takes a big swig of water, mouth dry and all while reading his texts.

( sms » noah ) exactly.

can he hear the deadpan in her tone through that text ? probably. she figures they know each other well enough at this point, even though it is being threatened. but you really can’t blame her. it’s a gut feeling type of thing, and oftentimes she ends up being right.

not to brag.

his next texts get a raised brow from her, lips quirking up into an amused smile. she checks the time, then types out a reply. might as well give him reason to hurry up. if he went to the store she thinks he did, he’s only a block away anyways.

( sms » noah ) careful ( sms » noah ) it’s witching hour 😌

in this state, she’s a little numb to the fear of the unknown that surrounds the town. a laugh slips out when another little idea hits.