Imagine In The Darkest Nights Until Dawn

“I mean are you serious that you came out here without taking any lessons?” Alex asked Brad. Brad looked uncomfortable, and you kind of wanted to help him. But you also knew how dangerous diving could be, so lessons to learn how to do it safely were paramount after all.

“Uhh... Kinda, yeah,” Brad answered, clearly fumbling a little for an answer before he straightened again.

“I wanted to, I... just didn’t... I didn’t have time, you know? I had to work all summer.”

Being Brad’s coworker, you absolutely knew the feeling. That’s why you weren’t planning on doving at all, you were just tagging along for the adventure.

“What about you, Y/N?” Alex asked you. Panicking a little, you were still glad to take the heat off Brad for a while. You knew how important this was to Alex, but he could be a little insensitive about things sometimes, mostly because he was insecure himself.

“Yeah, I’m not diving. I came for the vacation, and to finally meet Julia. You’ve spoken so much about her.”

“It’s so cold, do you think Chris will let us in soon?” Ashley asked. You shrugged. Chris and Josh hadn’t exactly told you what they were planning to do, and since none of them had come back, it was hard to know.

“My guess’s as good as yours,” you replied. It really was cold up here, but you were dressed well. Your jacket was really nice and warm, even if the others had made fun of it for being so big. Mike looked like he was ready to turn blue, and doing everything in his power to hide it. Talking to Jessica seemed to help him with that. Sam seemed to be doing alright, having chatted with you earlier and making her was to Ashley now. Matt and Emily still hasn’t returned.

You heard Chris try and fail to mess with Sam and Ashley, before going on his way again. You had been really nervous about coming. You couldn’t really say no, you didn’t have the heart to, but it still felt weird to be back.

“I’m sorry Y/N, that really sucks. Fighting’s never fun,”

Matt said, while rubbing your back. He’d noticed that something was wrong almost the second he saw you. You were hoping to make it a little less obvious, but there was no denying that Matt made you feel better.

“Sometimes fighting is necessary though, to clear the air and know where you stand.” “What if that is too far away? What if we can’t be friends again?”

You were still sobbing a little. You were hurt and angry, but you didn’t know if that meant you wanted to stop being friends.

“Then that’s something you needed to know, too,”

“You really don’t have to be here with me, Y/N,” Sam said, clearly still feeling a little guilty about you not getting to party or be around your other friends/family tonight. You remained firm in your decision though; there was no way you were letting Sam celebrate New Years Eve alone. She may have a punch of animals around her, but she should have someone human to feast with as well. When Sam had told you that she couldn’t celebrate with the others, because she was worried the fireworks would scare the animals in the shelter, you had immediately decided to go with her.

“If the fireworks really do end up scaring the animals, you won’t be able to take care of all of them by yourself,” you responded. Sam didn’t say anything after that, knowing that you were right. With the current almost twenty inhabitants in the shelter, you might have your work cut out for you even being two. You didn’t have any regrets however, not after seeing all their cute faces, and seeing how happy Sam was with them. This was not at all a bad way to start the new year.

Mike: Enjoys parties a lot, but would probably also be into spending the night on a romantic date with his SO. While he loves to socialise, he is also very romantic, so he would be thrilled to spend the night with great (and probably expensive) food, somewhere with a nice view, so you two could watch the skyline and the fireworks well. Might be interested in starting the new year having sex with you, both for the romance, and also so he could say that the sex lasted since last year.

Matt: Would like to spend the night with his datemate and his closest friends and possibly the part of his family he feels closest to. A small party or somewhat large get-together would make it the best possible start of a new year to him. His first concern would always be that his partner was happy and content however, so if you would rather not be around many people, or you would like to invite your friends and/or family as well, he would be very flexible. Some time around his family is a must though, as Matt values the traditional parts of himself, and would like to be where his roots are, at least for a while.

Chris: Probably wouldn’t even notice the special occasion aside from special game offers/events, unless you reminded him. He would probably be happy spending the night in comfortable clothes, watching movies or playing games with you. He would probably have spent the day/evening with friends and family, but the night is for you two to have fun and chill together, the way you normally do. It’s what you’re the most happy doing together, so he doesn’t see the need to do anything different just because the date is different.

Mike: obviously has a thing for wolfish dogs, but never got one because a parent or sibling was scared of dogs. Mike never complained to said person or anyone else, and so no one knows how fond he actually is of dogs. The secret only got out when he met Jessica’s large dog, something that really had a large part in bonding the two of them.

Matt: is 100% a dog-lover that is also fond-but-wary of cats. Despite this, the only pet he actually has is an old turtle that used to belong to his grandfather. With Matt having a very close relationship with him, to the point that he originally got into sports to follow his grandfather’s footsteps, Matt was devastated when he died. None of the other relatives wanted the turtle, and Matt wanted to keep something meaningful of his grandfather’s, which is how he ended up with the fifty year old turtle Frank McFrankelini.

Chris: is surprisingly fond of cats, though he spends 25/7 on average bickering with them. Despite his blatant denial of it, he really appreciates how independent and self-reliant they are. Occasionally he even admires their huge egos, because as a kid he never stood up for himself when bullied, and he isn’t really doing much of that now either, though the bullying has decreased a lot. Might be in the danger-sone of calling his two cats something like Fist and Fury, possibly out of spite because he knows the cats would hate it.

Josh: while he mostly likes animals, especially when he feels down and too drained to be with people, he knows he isn’t able to take care of one. On his depressive days he wouldn’t have the energy to feed or play with the animal, and on his more delusional days, he would feel as if they were staring at him excessively and perhaps even plotting against him. He loves all his friends’ pets, and sometimes even sneaks into the shelter Sam works at to be around the animals without humans, though. Sam would sometimes find him sleeping on her tiny couch and bring him a cup of cocoa, because no one knows what kinks in the neck that thing can cause as well as she does. Josh makes fun of Chris a lot for his bickering with his cats, and also mocks their names.

Emily: doesn’t have any pets. Whether or not she likes animals is debatable, but she’s allergic to about 99% of animals that walk the earth, and therefore has to stay away from them. In a way this is a great relief for her, as she would otherwise have had to worry about seeming too soft and doting if she did have pets.

Jessica: loves dogs a lot. You might think she is the kind of person to have a super-tiny purse-dog, but she actually grew up having a Great Dane like a big brother to her, and she will always have a special place in her heart for large dogs. They make her feel safe and are great for cuddling with.

Ashley: probably has several rats that she loves with all her heart, but also regularly run (harmless) experiments on, like the old cheese-somewhere-in-the-labyrinth thing. She probably also caves in the wake of their big pleading eyes, something that leads to slightly fat rats (that kind of impacts her experiments on them, something she also regularly scolds the rats for in her sternest voice).

Sam: loves every animal everywhere all the time. Probably works in an animal shelter, but always feels guilty because she wants to take all of them home with her. Eventually she very stealthily starts leaving some of her stuff at the shelter, and she sleeps on the tiny couch by the cash register. Within months every other employee knows that Sam lives there, and after a full year the owner just sighs while signing papers to install a shower and get an actual bed in a newly restored storage room.

“Hey Mike! Hi Wolfie! How’re you doing buddy? You look so good today!”

You hadn’t even been able to finish your sentence before you were petting Wolfie, your hands softly scratching behind his ears, in that spot you imagined he just barely didn’t manage to reach himself. Considering that Wolfie was seemingly a wild wolf, it was actually surprising how fast he had taken to you and Mike, and how affectionate he was with you. Wolfie was completely relaxed around you. You considered this the greatest achievement of your life so far. Mike was smiling fondly at the two of you, despite whining and complaining.

“Gee Y/N, sometimes I think you’re only using me for my wolf. That hurts, you know. Throw a guy a bone, yeah?”

Mike waggled his eyebrows before giving you a almost wolffish grin. Awful puns aside though, Wolfie was giving Mike The Look, so you instantly translated it to words so Mike wouldn’t get mangled by a sensitive and offended wolf.

“So are you actually going to do it?”

Beth glanced at the picture laying face down, Hannah’s challenge clearly visible. Beth had been all for it when she still thought Hannah was more bark than bite, but now she was wavering. It was more the economy than the guts she was worried about, you knew. The Washington family might have a lot of money, but Beth wanted to make her own way and support herself. She had talked to you about it for a long time, voicing her uncertainty about the whole thing. While she didn’t actually tell you so, you could tell that the reason Hannah decided to get a tattoo was bothering Beth. Hannah hadn’t explicitly told anyone about why she suddenly decided to get a tattoo either, but the transparent crush on Mike and the way she did anything for him to notice her was indication enough. Beth was really worried Hannah would get hurt.