Nolan Holloway

Right Place, Wrong Time [Lucifer||Nolan]

“I told you I understood!” the young one pleaded up at him, his hands pressed together. “Please… I have a wife at home, I’ve only done two centuries!” Lucifer began to walk towards him, golden flames focusing on the beaten Guardian. “Please, brother….”

Lucifer was quick then, pulling him up and close to his body. “Embrace me, brother,” he commanded, watching as the Guardian let out a sob and weakly wrapped his arms around the towering Devil. “You shouldn’t had let me see you kill that vampire,” Lucifer lamented, hugging the other tightly, his hands running up the other’s back. “You are young and do not understand what they have done to you, brother…. And you will never understand that none of you should ever dare call yourselves my Brothers.” Lucifer’s hands dug into the other’s back, making the Guardian scream in pain as the Devil reached into his very essence. “I am your God.”

Lucifer ripped off his arms off the Guardian, a pain-filled scream leaving the other’s lungs as he fell backwards, blood dripping everywhere. Lucifer stood above him, holding the wings he had ripped off the Guardian, feathers falling around him as they cracked in his tight grip and he tossed them to the side. He pounced on him then, his teeth digging into his throat until blood began pouring into his mouth…..

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Nolan had the worst luck. His entire life was a series of unfortunate events all wrapped up in layers of anxiety and paranoia that only seemed to make him more prone to getting caught up in things he’d rather not be. As he stood there watching a beast of a man rip the wings off what he could only assume to be an angel, that face had never been clearer. 

He tried to silently back away from the confrontation, accidentally stumbling over a trashcan as per his bad luck streak, making a lot of noise. There was no way the man - no monster - hadn’t heard him and really he should’ve immediately started running right then, but his legs wouldn’t listen. Instead, he stood there dumbfounded, his eyes wide and his face pale. 

There was so much blood. There was so much blood and - fuck - the man was drinking it. He could see the red glisten in the lamplight even when it was partially obscured by the alleyway. The sight brought back old fears, it brought back the feeling that had driven him to Monroe’s side in the first place - that feeling of hopelessness, the thought that he was next on the menu. It was survival of the fittest and the odds had never been in his favor. 

@hxllxway​

“I’ll bet you didn’t know that the woman who passed by with her dog is a demon…” she educated as she came up beside the boy, whom she would describe as the picture of humans the ancient gods would paint; a picture of innocence, of wonder, “It’s hard to tell if you don’t have the ability to see it for yourself.”

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“What?” He replied, dumbly, looking at her with a mixture of confusion and unease. It wasn’t every day someone walked up to him and told him some random bystander was a demon wearing human skin like a halloween costume, but it also wasn’t entirely out of the blue when he really thought about it. Beacon Hills was getting more and more terrifying with each passing day - between new creatures, biblical threats, and people he’d wronged in the past all contained in one supernatural bubble, he felt like he was dodging bullets every time he went outside. 

“I mean - no, I didn’t. But, um, now I do?” Stuffing his hands into the pocket of his hoodie, he shut himself up before he could make an even worse attempt to look less brain dead.

Nicola felt him sit next to her and she almost broke right there and then, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to take a deep breath to hold back the tears. She refused to move, to show any sign that she felt anything other than complete and utter numbness because it wasn’t fair for her to push this onto him. Nolan didn’t need to hear her problems and she was going to tell him as such.

“I-” Wow, falling at the first hurdle, huh? Her voice felt thick in her throat and she struggled to get her words out, her eyes still tightly shut to the point where it was starting to hurt. Beside her, her fingers clutched onto the sofa, digging in and turning her knuckles white.”I’m okay. You don’t have to sit here with me.” She was choking on her words and it had become fairly obvious that she was not, in fact, okay yet she soldiered on, finally opening her eyes to look at her friend and try to smile. Her grip on the sofa tightened. “Seriously. I’m fine.”

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“I don’t have to, but I will.” Nolan replied, not believing for a second the words she forced out - words that so drastically contradicted their delivery. Swallowing, he watched her tighten her grip on the sofa cushion like clinging to it hard enough would keep her from falling to pieces. It was all the confirmation he needed to be certain he was making the right decision, no matter how much the scared little voice in the back of his head told him to get as far away as he could. “I want to.” 

[ Closed Starter for Nolan Holloway @hxllxway​ ]

Nicola didn’t bother removing her jacket or her shoes after she’d walked through the door, instead opting to sit on the sofa in a numb silence and the clothes she had left the house in the previous morning. Seeing the body of her friend just… lying there, it was too much and even though she knew deep down her banshee side had predicted it, she had convinced herself it was wrong. But the proof had been right there and she couldn’t deny it. Her brain was struggling to process the last week, never mind the previous twenty-four hours, resulting in her just staring blankly at the floor.

She didn’t snap out of it when she heard Nolan moving around somewhere. She didn’t call out to him, offering to pick up takeout or snacks. She didn’t ask how his day was. She just sat, and stared, and stayed silent because if she opened her mouth, she’d cry. And Nolan already had his own problems, he didn’t need to hear hers too.

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Nolan liked the routine they’d fallen into, he’d grown used to Nicola - to her kindness and her energy - it still caught him off guard sometimes, but in a good way. The argument they’d had a few weeks was still fresh in his mind along with the seeds of doubt it’d planted, but along with it had come a fog of guilt and worry. Pushing her away may have made sense at the time, but in the end it wasn’t what he wanted. He liked having friends, he liked being around people who cared about him, and Nicola was certainly one of them. 

They’d fallen into a routine, which is why it was so jarring to find the house completely silent when he got home from work. Furrowing his brow, he slipped off his shoes at the door and made his way into the living room. 

She was quiet; quiet and still and a thousand miles away stuck in her own head. He didn’t dare break that silence, choosing instead to sit down on the couch next to her, perched close to the edge as if he were seconds from fleeing. Something was wrong. Something was so blatantly wrong even he couldn’t miss it and he was entirely out of his depth. 

Despite remembering her past lives, Penny was still Penny: the girl who loved food. “Dude, no worries - I’m the same most of the time. Sometimes it’s better being in your own little world, just make sure you don’t do it when you’re in the street.” She chuckled.

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A genuine smile made a quick appearance on his face for the first time in a while, fleeting and small but still there. There was just something about the woman, something breezy, that made it hard not to feel just a little more at ease. Maybe it was the fact that she seemed to accept his behavior and move on like it was nothing. “Still...I should’ve been paying attention. Supermarkets aren’t the best place for it either.” 

Shit. Shit. Fuck. Nicola could think of about a thousand swear words but none of them could accurately describe her guilt and panic as she sat in the passenger seat of Nolan’s car in complete silence. She dare not move, or speak, or make a single noise, unsure of exactly how his anger manifested - she’d never seen him pissed off and never did she think it would be aimed at her. Her entire body was tensed, arms crossed over her chest tightly and legs pulled as close as the seat would allow, even as they pulled up to the house she couldn’t move until he had. As soon as he slammed the door she scrambled after him, struggling with her seat belt for a second in her haste. 

She let him unlock the door and walk inside, staying back in order to delay the inevitable because she figured he wasn’t going to be the one to start talking. And why should he, after all, she was the one who left him alone when she knew it wasn’t a good idea. Even now, sat on the sofa, she returned to her rigid form, pressed against the arm of the couch in an effort to stay as far away as possible. 

“So… I know that you’re mad… I can see that. Clearly. I don’t- I don’t have an excuse…” She couldn’t look at him, staring at her hands in her lap instead.

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“Why not? I gave you plenty of time in the car to think one up? Oh...and then you had all that time you were gone. You’re not even going to try?!” Nolan asked, his body rigid and his fingers trembling where he’d tucked them in his pockets. “I...I was actually excited, Nicola! I wanted to be there, I wanted to be outside for once doing something normal! Pretending that nothing was fucked up! You...you’re always trying to get me to do things and when I go - for once - you leave me alone. You don’t even answer my text messages! I was scared you were dead! I was scared...I was scared something had gotten you.” 

Nolan’s eyes darted across the floor as he tried to compose his thoughts into words. “I don’t give a shit if you want to...go fuck someone or whatever. I don’t care! Do it! But don’t tell me you’re excited to watch a movie with me before you do. Don’t tell me you’re going to get snacks and then disappear for two hours -” he swallowed thickly, his voice cracking. “- don’t leave me alone with no answers. I thought you were dead.” 

Adriel wasn’t in any rush when it came to menial things. Sure, she’d found herself a place to stay for a while, which was basically a loft with one bed in it that had been completely abandoned, but those were just material things. What came first was safety, cleansing this town of everything evil. Convenient that they were all trapped under one bubble. She’d frowned when the boy apologized, making her step to the side of him with concern on her face, “Are you alright?” she asked, gently, “You seemed rather lost in something…”

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“Oh...yeah, I’m okay!” He replied, forcing a smile onto his face as convincingly as he could manage. Nolan had never been able to hide his emotions, everything he felt - everything he thought - it always plastered itself across his face like a tattoo. Even strangers he’d never seen before could tell there was something wrong with him, something more than usual. “Sorry, I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now.” 

@hxllxway​  /  elena’s  head  hurt.  it’s  the  simplest  explanation.  a  dull  and  almost  gentle  throb  at  first  that  only  grew,  AND  GREW,  AND  GREW  until  she  saw  stars  in  her  peripheral  vision.  her  knees  wobbled  and  she  sucked  in  a  deep  breath,  hoping  it  would  help  ease  the  sudden  urge  to  vomit.  it  doesn’t  help,  no,  only  adds  fuel  to  the  fire.  overcome,  she  reaches  out  for  a  wall  in  some  attempt  to  steady  herself  but  no … walls  are  so  humanly  squishy  the  way  the  other  was.  her  hand?  connected  with  the  bend  of  his  elbow,  and  in  the  process,  her  other  hand  found  his  shoulder.  she  panted,  “i’m  not …”  not  feeling  well.  BUT  AS  SHE  TRIED  TO  SPEAK,  SHE  FELT  THE  DULL  PAIN  SPREAD  LIKE  WILDFIRE  STARTING  AT  HER  ELBOW  AND  RADIATING  OUTWARD.  had  she  hurt  herself  somehow?  “i’m …”  her  flushed  skin,  panting  breath  and  dilated  pupils  show  she’s  not  feeling  well  clearly.  “help,”  she  stammered,  but  was  it  her  that  needed  help?

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Nolan froze, trying to keep himself upright as the sudden weight of another person was added to his frame. She looked ill, scarily so, her face blotchy and pink and her speech slurred. It was obvious she needed help, serious medical help, which he in no way could provide nor supplement until someone else came along. His first reaction was to panic, his eyes wide as he glanced around the street, grabbing her waist to help steady her. “Help! Somebody help?!” 

When no one responded, the street nearly vacant at that point in the morning, it got a whole lot harder to stay calm. “Shit,” he cursed, under his breath, looking around again before deciding there was no better place to set her down than right there. Gently lowering her to the ground, he shrugged out of his hoodie, balling it up and putting it under her head in a desperate attempt to somehow make her comfortable. “Um...everything’s going to be fine. Right? We’re gonna call 911 and...and you’ll be fine.” 

“Oh...sorry,” Nolan said quickly, when he’d finally snapped out of his thoughts enough to realize someone was standing behind him probably wanting to buy tortillas sometimes within the next hour. Stepping to the side, he picked at his cuticles, mentally scolding himself for not staying in the present while he was in public. 

Nolan: Nicola, where are you? 

Nolan: It’s been an hour, are you okay?

Nolan: Nicola?

“Your word doesn’t me anything to me right now, nothing you say...nothing you say holds any merit because you’ve proven that it doesn’t mean shit to you, either,” Nolan replied, coldly, still angry about the events of the weekend before. He was well aware that this could cost him his home and his friend, but...maybe it’d be better that way. At least when he was living with his coworker, he didn’t have anyone to abandon him. For as much as he hated loneliness, it was easier to know no one. It was easier to choose to be alone than to let people do it for him.

“I don’t need protection. I don’t need anyone to save me from the world. I’m an adult. I’m not some useless kid you need to coddle. What I needed was for you to be there when...when you said you would be and you weren’t.” 

.

Gabe wasn’t sure he wanted this conversation to be over so soon, “I can try to help you find her, we can look together.” He said quickly, not wanting Nolan to walk away from him. “Maybe we can talk about…us and what happened.”

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Nolan’s eyes widened at Gabe’s suggestion, his suggestion that they stick together and search for Nicola. As much as he wanted to immediately reject the offer, he could use the extra set of eyes, and he knew for a fact they worked well as a team. Digging his teeth into his lower lip, he nodded. “Alright. I could...I could use the help.” 

Talking about them, on the other hand...well he had no intention of reopening those old wounds. 

Nolan hadn’t said a word on the ride home, his fingers wrapped so tight around the steering wheel his knuckles turned white. He’d spent the entire length of a feature film and then some looking for Nicola and she just...showed right back up like nothing happened. To think he’d actually be able to get his thoughts into order before they pulled into Nicola’s house was wishful thinking. 

Parking the car, he made a point of not acknowledging the other as he stepped out of the vehicle, slamming the door with more force than necessary. This is exactly why he didn’t like getting close to people or having friends that counted as something more than a passing acquaintance. For as much as he loathed the feeling of loneliness, it was better than waiting for the day when he was left alone. 

.

Gabe looked down at the photo, furrowing his brow, after a moment he shook his head. “I haven’t seen her..” He whispered, looking down. “I’m sorry, I hope you find her.” He didn’t know what else to say, Nolan didn’t want to talk about what had happened, he didn’t want to talk about where they stood. He wanted to find some girl.

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“Right...um, well if you do, you know what my truck looks like. Please tell me?” He asked, shoving his phone back into his pocket. Nolan didn’t know what else to say, he didn’t know if he wanted to say anything else, it just felt like he needed to. Unless he’d be doing them both a favor by turning on his heels and leaving? Gabe didn’t seem too happy talking to him either. 

“And...thanks, I guess.” 

Gabe wasn’t sure how to feel about Nolan approaching him with the words, “I need to talk to you.” But he was willing to listen. “Okay..” He said softly, swallowing as he played with his fingers. “What’s up?” He hadn’t spoken or tried to approach Nolan since the other had yelled at him.

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“I was wondering if you’d...um...seen this woman?” He asked, unlocking his phone and pulling up Nicola’s photo. It felt a little weird, but Nolan didn’t want there to be any confusion. “She went to get snacks like forever ago and I’m worried because it’s...this is Beacon Hills.” Glancing up at Gabe, he ran his fingernail between the lip of his phone case and the screen. There wasn’t anymore he could add to that statement, anyone who’d spent more than a week in the town knew exactly how dangerous it could be, especially now with the undead and the kidnapping and...everything else. 

Nolan had been searching for Nicola for at least a half an hour, getting more and more concerned as the minutes crept by and he couldn’t find a trace of her. It was times like these that he wished he were a werewolf so he could track her down using scent or something, but then he remembered the eyes and the claws and the fear that went along with it and that desire went away real quick. Searching the crowd with a new level of desperation, he still couldn’t find his roommate, but he did spot...someone. 

Gabe. 

Did he dare approach? He had to, he had no choice, he had to find Nicola. Walking away wasn’t an option. Right? 

Taking a deep breath, hesitating a moment as he forced his legs to take a step forward, he made quick work of the small distance between them. Swallowing thickly, he tapped on Gabe’s shoulder to get his attention, immediately pulling away like it physically pained him to do so. “Um...Gabe? I need to talk to you.” 

@trappedreblogs​​  /  she  would  be  working  if  state  regulations  hadn’t  mandated  a  break  between  shifts  if  you  seemingly  work  too  much.  what’s  a  girl  to  do?  get  a  bucket  of  jumbo  popcorn  and  a  coke,  and  make  her  way  to  a  free  swing  beyond  the  cars  and  rows  of  people  wanting  to  see  a  movie.  it  seems  like  a  great  idea  but  she  can’t  help  look  at  the  person  on  the  swings  beside  her  who  looks  like  they  need  to  be  anywhere  but  here.  “i  haven’t  been  to  one  of  these  in  years,”  not  since  the  boys  were,  well,  boys,  “but  i’m  pretty  sure  we’re  supposed  to  leave  our  troubles  at  the  gate  for  a  few  hours.  wanna  talk  about  it?”

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Nolan was startled out of his thoughts by the sound of a vaguely familiar voice, his gaze shooting up to meet her’s. He recognized her immediately, how could he not, Melissa McCall had played an active role in the only good part of the worst night of his life. She was - from what he could gather - really damn good at her job and basically the surrogate mother to Scott’s pack. 

Seeing her there was unexpected, especially since he’d made a point of far removing himself from the rest of the drive in, but not completely unwelcome. She had a nice presence, a comforting on, and he was pretty sure she’d be willing to help him find Nicola. 

“Oh, um...I’m just worried.”