𝘳𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴

"– and then he started talking about how he believed in vampires. i mean, have you ever heard anything so ridiculous?" unfortunately, the stranger was having to hear cordelia's rant about her crappy date, because she'd been harping on about it to anyone who would listen. there was deep irony in her complaint, but she had zero memories of her real life. all things hellmouth, vampire and demon were lying dormant. "i got up and walked out. i mean, what a freak, right?"

alec laughed and rolled his eyes ❝ he must have hit his head. everyone knows vampires aren't real. maybe he should stop watching these movies and read books. start to live in the real world ❞ this could be fun. he could play along that they are not real. whenever people didn't believe in vampires, he thought it was a challenge to argue with them ❝ a real freak. people here are weird ❞

" Of course . Now that you're away from your precious stronghold , you're starting to worry about whether or not you may be in danger . Isn't that it ? " Irina would never do anything to help a Volturi . They were the reason why everything had gone down as it had . Or maybe , she just didn't want to blame herself . " You except me to believe that is true ? That you broke away from them ? From your sister ? "

❝ no. why would i? i can take care of myself ❞ he wasn't going to tell why he needed the books he searched for. arms crossed over his chest ❝ i am curious to know how we got here ❞ alec added, which was true, but not the whole truth. his brows raised ❝ believe what you want, i am not with them anymore. my sister, if she still wants to be with them, i will have to accept it or try to convince her to break free too ❞ whenever she remembers. irina doesn't have to know about jane's memory loss.

her nose wrinkled slightly at the notion of bothering to ask why. in truth, that had been enough for her because it tugged at something familiar inside of her, and she absolutely refused to unpack what that could possibly be. leaving had seemed like the superior option, lest she end up having to listen to some freak drone on and on about vampires of all things. "seriously! like, maybe you should save your whacky beliefs for therapy. i got out of there before he could explain," cordelia shrugged. "you're not seriously saying you might believe in them too, though, right? i mean, ew. what's next, the loch ness monster?"

was she not a ray of sunshine. summer tried being a bit funny, didn't seem to work. she felt this wouldn't be easy. on her way to say she already goes to therapy, but no one needed to know. had not heard anyone say seriously as much as cordelia ❝ noted ❞ she mumbled, her eyes rolled ❝ seriously, no. i don't believe in vampires or any of that supernatural things. it is just fun hearing people talk about it, especially if they believe it to be true. because i said i don't know what to believe in anymore, doesn't mean i think vampires are real. it'd be weird, we don't live in a fantasy world ❞

“people  do  say  that  men  are  a  different  species.  maybe  they're  right.”  kendall  chuckled.  “but  alas…  i  am  attracted  to  them.  what  a  tragedy.”  she  was  only  messing,  once  again.  she  liked  to  joke  around.  even  if  deep  down;  kendall  was  a  rather  insecure  and  quiet  girl…  when  she  found  someone  she  gelled  with?  she  could  be  rather  playful.  “there's  just  something  about  seeing  em  fighting  and  playing  that  damn  game.  i  agree  though,  sometimes  it  can  be  a  bit  much.”  kendall  nodded.  she  clicked  her  tongue  playfully,  humming.  “oh  boy  were  they.  there  must  be  something  in  the  water  there.  pretty  sure  everyone  there  was  damn  hot.”  kendall  admitted.  “i'm  glad  to  hear  that  you  aren't  going  to  give  up  hope.  that  you  aren't  the  sort  of  person  to  do  that.  it's  good.”  she  grinned.  “hey,  would  you  maybe  wanna  hang  out  sometime?  i  would  really  like  to  get  to  know  more  about  you.”

❝ i am starting to think they are. not like aliens, but other kind of different specie ❞ summer couldn't agree more. she often wondered what went through her brothers mind ❝ i thought i understood them because i grew up with two brothers, turns out i don't ❞ she laughed. wished many times her parents could have another child. she didn't like being the little sister ❝ i am guessing so. but don't they often get hurt? hit their head or anything? i cannot imagine all the injuries with the game ❞ it looked like it hurt to get slammed into the glass by the other teams ❝ right? something must it have been. no wonder the girls ran after them ❞ she said with a smile. pretty sure she had too, if she was there from the beginning ❝ no. i'd never. i never give up with anything, even though it may take a while ❞ even if summer had difficult with a lot of things or to talk with someone she liked, she didn't want to give up. she was stubborn ❝ absolutely! i'd love to hang out with you and get to know you too. you seem to be much cooler than those other girls i met at briar. when do you have time? ❞

"Oh, I'm about eighty percent sure memory loss is the reason." penelope admitted with a nod. "yeah, it's real. don't worry, i'm not like the witches from Hocus Pocus or anything. i don't eat people and i am cool with kids."

❝ that is good to know in the future, i guess ❞ at least now she has people here who can remind her who she is. as long as they don't lose their memories ❝ ah, good to know! got a bit worried there for a moment ❞ summer joked ❝ what kind of magic can you do? ❞

" I'm sorry . If you want to walk around , that should be something you could do . I don't know why I even said that . " Nina just laughed , giving a shake of her head . Nina wouldn't have liked hearing someone tell her that and so , she shouldn't do the same thing to someone else . She was just not in a good place . Her mind kept on going back to that man who shared her late husband's face . What was she to do about that ? " Doesn't annoy me at all . My daughter is , was the same way . "

❝ thank you ! you are forgiven ❞ she was not someone who was angry a long time. depends on what had happened. the woman was being polite and apologized. summer couldn't stay annoyed at her ❝ sometimes i think we all say things without meaning it. i do too ❞ she admitted, an eyebrow raised ❝ your daughter? how old is she? ❞

"Yes, it is." Erica replied, giving a nod. "I've never been there but I'm sure it's not much different. It would seem most small towns are the same." she admitted. "it's nice to meet you, summer. i'm erica. look at us, modern women putting our heads together to solve a huge mystery. love it." she smiled.

❝ i have not heard of it. i guess they are. i have as well lived in new york back and forth. my parents own a luxurious hotel there, or well my mom does, it was her family's hotel ❞ summer explained. missed it now when she started to talk about it ❝ it's nice to meet you erica. yes! i love that. women should work together instead of fighting or being jealous of each other. although i admit i can be a little jealous sometimes. who isn't right ❞ she shrugged ❝ any suggestions how we start this mystery and where? ❞

" Thanks . Am I supposed to be flattered ? Because I think am . A little . " Garrett was messing around , grinning when he looked up to her after that . Summer was Dean's sister and so , how he saw it , she was also an extended part of his family . If Dean did not arrive here soon , Garrett was going to take care of her , if he could . " What did you think ? " Garrett looked towards her , giving a shake of his head . Yeah , he had needed to hear something like that , so he thought . " Thanks . We are not their money , no . I think we can do it a little better than that . " Garrett shrugged . " I thought I did like it . Lately , though , I think my head's a little of a mess . "

summer's eyebrows raised ❝ i am really bad at compliments, alright, or explain what i mean. sure, if you want to be flattered ❞ she laughed. must think before she say something ❝ what year were you in at briar? it is strange, i went there too, but i don't remember you, dean, logan or tucker still being students there. only fitz, hunter and hollis ❞ did they go there when garrett still went to the college? she knew colin did ❝ no, we are not. you think we can do better than our parents? ❞ she asked, nodded. maybe her parents wanted her to follow their footsteps, but she wanted to focus on fashion. not be like them. her name might take her far, but she wanted to build up her own career ❝ why is your head a mess? i am a good listener, if you want to talk about it. i promise to not tell anything to anyone ❞

❝ no surprise. my disney moment? ❞ he laughed ❝ oh, maybe i should sing disney songs next time, or sing next time instead on a karaoke night ❞

“you  have  a  truly  remarkable  voice.”  vivian  complimented.  “that  was  a  beautiful  song.  it  is  not  something  i  have  heard  of…  is  it  your  own  creation  or  just  one  i  have  not  heard  before?”

❝ yeah, you are right. i bet it isn't the first time i sing out loud somewhere, and others have heard it ❞ wouldn't surprise him if his best friend had heard, and never told him. whenever he had sang karaoke back home was he never serious ❝ no, not at all. sit down. do you come here often? it's the second time i am here, but wasn't many people as it is now ❞ logan smiled. he looked around them, it was many around the café. seemed as it was more popular than he thought. people stared at him and he gave them an awkward smile ❝ thank you. i don't sing much, unless i am alone. yes, it is something i wrote a while ago now ❞

"I mean, I heard it but you know, sing your heart out man." Blitzo told the other with a slight shrug. He had been known to bust a note out sometimes, even if he didn't have much of a singing voice. "Oh, sure, I can sit here. I was mostly just walking past and then I noticed this place is too damn busy. Maybe they are here because you are giving them a free concert." He chuckled.

logan laughed ❝ right. it was only a one time thing. i should think next time, whenever i get distracted. do not sing out loud ❞ maybe not like this ❝ yeah, it seems to be very busy today. nah, doubt it. did i really sing loud? i was writing this essay, or tried to, forgot for a moment where i was and started to sing ❞

" And that is exactly what someone who is not fine would say . " They knew their brother . They knew whenever he was alright and whenever he wasn't . They also knew , without a doubt , the difference between those two things . Now ? He wasn't fine , no matter how much he was trying to say so . " Such as ? "

i am fine, no worries ? yes, probably. the expressions he had on his face every time he was annoyed, angry or sad could he not hide. maybe he had a bit difficult controlling his emotions more than he thought ❝ would they? ❞ he questioned them, knowing it was true ❝ i was dumb to not think of telling new players i trained about the safety out there on the ice rink ❞ logan nodded, bit on his lower lip and looked at jules ❝ i have been distracted lately, with a lot of things. before i knew it, one of them came right at me, and all of sudden pushed me into the boards. i don't think he know how strong he really is. my chest crashed into the glass, really hard. i barely could breath afterward and i walked to the hospital, to check so nothing was broken. i am fine, i probably should take it easy, huh. sorry to bother you about my life. you shouldn't have to worry about me jules ❞

"Dude, your voice is killer! You've gotta be kiddin' me, having all that talent in that body of yours!" Harley replied with a soft nod. She moved to take the seat that was offered to her, wanting to inquire more about the other. "Was that a song from your world or did you write it?"

a killer voice. should he sing more and write songs? he had only written one song. was not a songwriter or whatever they called themselves in the music industry. john smiled ❝ a killer voice- really? ❞ his brows raised ❝ i don't really sing ❞ he admitted ❝ from my world? i did write it yes, with an old friend a long time ago ❞

his brows furrowed ❝ sorry. i did? ❞ landon didn't think of it. maybe he did ❝ nothing against you, i just don't trust strangers. i promise i am not. my name is landon ❞ it wasn't anything against anyone. after everything, it wasn't easy to trust strangers. he probably was not alone with it.

"Yep, the one and only." Erica teased, giving a slight nod. "This has my brother and his little friends on it. i can't prove it, but you know, i like blaming him for shit." she chuckled. "it makes no sense and everyone here is so unhelpful!"

❝ you think they are behind this? i wouldn't count on it. both mike and lucas seem to be completely gone in their heads. i tried to explain how this city works for mike, he thinks i am crazy ❞ maybe he was. his head tilted, brows furrowed ❝ nope, it doesn't make sense. some are, some are kind ❞

as a distraction, huh. phillip supposed that made sense - he'd always turned to plants, books and writing himself, but times changed. there was so much about the 21st century that was baffling to the mind of someone from the 1800s, though he wasn't opposed to any of it. "there does seem to be an awful lot you can use these things for," he mused. "what sort of distractions do they offer?"

❝ i don't know exactly ❞ kie shrugged. brows raised, she can't speak for others. she got distracted by searching for all kind of facts about sea animals. since she can't see them here, she though why not search. dream away to another world ❝ maybe tiktok, chatting with friends, watching live streams. people goggle much too. some i think text each other even though they are in the same room. it's a lot you can do with the phones ❞