mr perfectly fine

Parker leans against the wall by the drink table, her eyes focusing on the liquid in the glass she's holding. She exhales as she raises her gaze to look around the room, her lips press together as she tries to figure out what is going on in everyone else's head? Is that night taking up their every thought to? Does it eat them alive as much as it does her? She chews on her lower lip, her gaze shifting to look over at Malcolm as he approaches the table.

malcolm side eyes the girl a little bit. he recognizes her. parker, he thinks he remembers as her name. "yeah, why wouldn't i be?" he asks, truly confused by her question. was she asking because of the video? was she asking because he had to make a speech and it was clear he was uncomfortable doing so? he couldn't imagine that people actually saw and understood how much chris had meant to him. he laughs a little, shaking his head. "wild night, huh? i'm sure it was just a mix up. it happens."

setting: plot drop 2 event tagged: @classcursestarters

malcolm is a bit anxious about approaching helena, although he can't pinpoint exactly why. there's no real reason anyone could draw anything from that video. but even if they did ... the two did sleep together. it wouldn't be a lie. he just doesn't ever want her to know why he did it. "yeah. why the fuck were we being recorded just hanging out?" he questions. "and why did someone feel it was important to share?"

malcolm's eyebrows simply knit together as the other man speaks. he honestly finds it funny these days. he always knew he'd eventually just become that guy who followed chris around, but it kind of fell off once chris had disappeared. if anything, after that he hoped he'd just kind of sink into the shadows. a world without chris still to this day isn't a world malcolm is very interested in. he simply laughs. "the fuck is up your ass?" malcolm leans into the wall, crossing one leg over the other. "helena was never really my type, anyways, so you've got that a bit twisted there," he lies smoothly. "you've got quite the imagination though. ever thought of becoming an author? let me know, we can sell your book at my store. plenty of room for more grandiose works of fiction."

malcolm's fists clench at his sides. he can't even believe kai has the audacity to touch him. going further than talking is too much, especially in a time like this. he shakes his head at kai. he will never understand the other man's desire to make the lives of others more difficult. "jesus christ kai, can you just focus on your own shit for one fucking day in your life?" he finally says, exasperation clear in his voice. "the headmistress doesn't give a fuck what happened. i don't give a fuck what happened. and i certainly don't think your parents give a fuck why for some god forsaken reason myself and helena showed up in that slideshow." he rolls his eyes. "you know what, yeah. why don't we go talk to your parents? i'm sure they'd love to hear from their other long lost son. because you know, losing one just wasn't enough for them. they needed both to disappear on them, didn't they?" malcolm knows how chris' parents are. he knows that their family isn't perfect and maybe he can't blame kai for disappearing like that. but he does. he blames him because it's the closest thing he can get to chris, and sometimes a deep and bitter part of him blames chris for leaving him too.

malcolm sighs, knowing her response is probably correct. they're all expected to be a bunch of mature adults now, right? no one is going to spike the punch. no one is going to make a scene. but someone is going to change the slideshow, make it an odd clip of malcolm and helena. was it a warning? was someone out to get him with that, now that they were all back home? maybe he's just smoked a little too much and the paranoia is here to get him. he breathes out a sigh.

the smack on the shoulder is unfortunately so fucking distinguishable. typical kai (at least before he made himself disappear from town) to make his presence known to malcolm so quickly and efficiently. malcolm makes an attempt to hide his eye roll, but he's not very good at it. he isn't in the mood to deal with kai tonight. the wounds are so raw, like everything just happened yesterday. he hasn't even had the gall to speak to the boys' parents yet. it's not like he hasn't seen them or spoken to them since chris went missing, but this setting feels so different.

He knew Malcom from the newspaper committee, back in the simple days when writing had been his dream, hell, his whole life. The thought stung, made Hollis briefly wish they were back in school again, working on papers with Chris and a much sounder mind. But here they were instead, convincing a group of snobby parents and their kids that this school was the perfect fit for them, or whatever all of this was about. He actually hadn't paid too much attention to what was going on, he didn't have the energy for t.

malcolm is no stranger to most of these faces. he met so many people just from following chris around. he still wonders to this day if anyone had realized how enamored he was, or if everyone just thought they were really good friends. that was what he had wanted everyone to continue to believe. at least until the day he could get chris to return his feelings. that was the plan all along. and then... the chance was lost.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 : @malcolmiswright .

malcolm's memories are nearly always swimming with things related to chris. whoever said love or obsessions or whatever this was didn't last once a person was lost - they were wrong. he especially remembers kai. how could he forget? he'd spent so much time at chris' house and developing a distaste for the brother. and for him to just disappear after everything, malcolm hasn't forgiven him. kai had run while malcolm stayed, and it still tears at his soul. he stops in his tracks, observing the other man. "kai." he nods. this isn't going to be a pleasant reunion, he can feel it. malcolm isn't an angry man, but there were certain people that pressed on his buttons. kai had been one for the duration of his and chris' friendship. it's nice to see that hasn't changed. he digs his fingernails into the palm of his hand subtly. he'd always tolerated kai just for chris' sake. but chris isn't here. chris never will be here again, and kai just left with that knowledge. "i don't often offer hugs to strangers," he replies, shrugging his shoulders. "that is, after all, what you'd call someone who skips town for years and you never hear from them." not that he's ever expected or desired to hear from kai. he's just reaching for some kind of proof that the man might at least care.

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 : @malcolmiswright .

zeppelin had become an unlikely friend for malcolm. truly, he had thought he'd never make another friend after chris. but zep pleasantly surprised him. to malcolm, there will never be another chris - for so many reasons. he can't imagine ever looking at another human that way. the way he had trusted chris with his whole soul, would have given up every single thing for him. he hasn't felt that since. zeppelin, at the least, was kind and reliable. a comfort in the last few years. they had grown close enough that malcolm might even refer to him as his best friend now. it's not like malcolm exactly attracts friends easily. however, he's not accustomed to talking about chris. when zeppelin speaks, he nearly freezes. those words - feels like it happened yesterday. the unspoken it. have they ever even discussed chris like that? malcolm can't remember. he clears his throat and nods. "it's too much attention if you ask me. i don't know what they think they're going to get out of all of this. we didn't have the answers ten years ago and we don't have them now." he shrugs, taking a hit from the marijuana filled vape pen he carries on him. "i just hope they direct their attention more towards the people who left town. we've been here for too long for them to care about us."

malcolm is intrigued by vincent's attitude. he truly doesn't remember much about the other man either, but he finds it quite amusing that vince doesn't even remember who he is. he at least recognizes most of them. malcolm takes the pen back and pockets it. he's got a rather constant high most of the time. he can't remember the last extended period of time in which he was sober. he was high so often that his mother had stopped scolding him for coming to the house smelling like weed. "malcolm wright," he answers in response, tilting his head upward in greeting. "also class of '14, only difference is i never left this god forsaken place."

malcolm barely runs his tongue across his lower lip. "i'm not godly enough to pray over," he jokes. "i'm sure you couldn't have forgotten that much about me." he sticks his hands in his pockets and watches her as she speaks. it's so odd to him to see his old classmates this many years later. "it's very cruel. don't let it happen again. i'll let it slide just this one time." the smirk never leaves his face.

That claim was debatable, and they all knew it - had Malcolm really run anything? Not when Helena was in the room, the town or even the goddamn country. But there was no need to dwell on that when they both knew it was true. "I've been in Milan now for a few years, went on a trip for work and never wanted to leave so I didn't." It had been easy, and her life had been absolutely blessed ever since. She had everything she wanted, everyone she could ever be interested in and coming back here was just hammering the last nail into the coffin of St. Mary's. Hopefully. "I'm not surprised, who hasn't missed it?"

malcolm hasn't seen her in so long, yet her affect on him hasn't faltered. he presumes it hasn't with anyone. helena has always been, well, different. she's so likeable. loveable, even. malcolm had once said he could see why chris would love her, and maybe in another life he could have too. "milan sounds like a dream. they were very lucky to have you." he crosses his arms over his chest, eyes taking in the woman before him. "people without taste, maybe." he chuckles softly. "how do you feel about being back? please reassure me that i'm the best part for you." the shameless flirt.

"well haven't you just got me pinned," malcolm responds, smirking at her. he doesn't want to think about how accurate his own statement is. after all, that's what had gotten him into the position of her knowing his deep dark secret. he rubs a hand across the stubble coating his chin. "i'm anything but stagnant, if i do say so myself. i'm thriving here, baby. can't you tell?" he interlaces his fingers behind his head, attempting to emphasize his feelings. he doesn't say that the only reason he hasn't left is because he won't leave chris.

"Oh, does it?" She asked, knowing he was only joking ( or she assumed he was ) but there was nothing she wanted more than to be back in Portland with all of this behind her. Although with having Yvonne as a stepmother, would she ever be free of it? "That's depressing. No offense to anyone but, fuck, I couldn't get out of here fast enough." And sometimes she wished she'd stayed in New York after Columbia, but she'd been guilt tripped too hard to be closer. "I know your interests are...out there but Lincoln City? This can't be it for you."

malcolm props his hands on his hips, head tilted like he's really thinking hard about it. "totally," he finally responds, though not seriously. he tucks his tongue into his lip as she speaks, nodding along. "well, to each their own, you know?" he honestly isn't sure he'd have even been able to leave if it weren't for his mom. could he leave chris like that? "and what's that supposed to mean, ris?" his mouth tweaks up in a smirk. "it's it for me now. i'm comfy, why would i leave that?"

"And you'd be right about that." Helena's smirk grew into a full-blown grin as she crossed over and threw her arms around him. Was it too much considering their history? Absolutely. But as far as people went, Malcolm was one that she understood and actually didn't mind being around. It was strange all things considered but it didn't matter to her, and she didn't think about it that much. "How have you been, babes? It's been ages."

malcolm's grin doesn't falter when helena's weight falls into his own. he's happy to see her, even ignoring that little voice in the back of his mind that reminds him why he ever slept with her in the first place. but she'd never know. she could never know. he squeezes her close for a few moments before pulling back. "oh you know, same old same old. still running this town like i own it, of course." he chuckles. "how are you? i've missed that pretty face around town, you know."