paper cranes

she watched as he faked walking back to the party, gently rolling her eyes as she sensed the sarcasm in his words, "you joke, but i really wish you would turn off the concern." she replied simply. "you've truly got me wishing you were more of an asshole, how does that work?" holden teased, taking his gesture and starting to walk again. she would protest but she figured it'd just end with her caving anyway. "just as long as you don't blame me for missing more opportunity to drink," she smirked, "so what happens if something happens to you on the way back? or are you going to be smart and call yourself a cab?"

"so do i." teddy said with a goofy grin. "i figure that i could take over the world if i could only turn of the pesky part of my brain that makes me care about people. can you imagine how much i would get done?" he asked, shaking his head. "tragically for both of us, i am not more of an asshole, and i do desperately care about people." he sighed, pocketing his hands once more. "holden, i am not a big drinker. so i am missing shit, and i am fully capable of kicking any attackers ass." theo said with another nonchalant shrug. something told him kennedy would appear at the last second if teddy was ever in trouble. "so, don't worry about me, lead the way, and tell me, did you enjoy yourself tonight miss holden?"

"definitely nothing wrong with being a shithead in my books, then again, i am biased in that opinion," the male smirked. "hey, i don't want to assume because if anything ever happens and i've assumed wrong? well then i'd be incredibly embarrassed," he chuckled softly, hands raising in a fake defensive manner. "i think i should be worrying more about the present than the actual party, right?" diesel spoke jumping up from his seat to walk over to her when he noticed her falling quiet, hand gently placing on her shoulder. "did you maybe want some help? take some of the load off your shoulders? i do think your enthusiasm is great but sometimes you get overwhelmed with it all, y'know?"

"that's true, you're a shithead too." kenny teased, looking at him with a fake look of tragedy. some cross between disappointment and pity with a playful tinge to it. "assume it. if i ever tell you about a thing i am doing or hosting or whatever, assume you are invited." kennedy waved him off, the idea that she could talk openly about a thing she had no intention in invinting him to making her a little queasy for moment. "oh, good god, please no. presents are lovely, but i'm way too old to expect anyone to get me anything." she shook her head, stuffing her hands into her pockets as they stood there. his touch brought her back from her thoughts properly, her flippant nature easing as she smiled up at diesel. "you're too good, you know that right?" she said, a compliment to move the topic along, bright smile on her face an attempt of distraction. "don't worry about me, diesel. i'm a crane, i could run the world if you asked me nicely."

    “ wow, say that a little harsher, ” he said as he sat on the bed and grabbed his phone.   he looked through photos of his own.   he knew that there were tons of chapels in vegas, but were they really legally binding if both of them were drunk.   he found another photo of the two of them kissing, and one where theodore kissed his cheek and winter was smiling like crazy.  “ god, we look happy.   i wonder what we said to each other to make us look so happy, and think marrying each other was some brilliant idea, ” winter sighed.

"sorry." teddy sighed, carding a hand through his hair. he didn't know what they were supposed to do, and the thought of asking kenny for help made him want to die. theo was pulled from his spiral though by the soft tone of winter's voice. he looked over the other man, catching a glimpse at the picture on the screen. they did look happy. "the million dollar question, eh?" he agreed, lips pursed together as he looked away. he hadn't ever looked that happy, not that he could think of. it was a kind of happy he just assumed was made up in movies and really old couples. blinding smiles and hope in their eyes. "it doesn't make any sense." theodore crane wasn't a pessimist, but it had to be fake. some like of delierous trip or something.

when she noticed how much teddy had been stressing dallas assumed she could probably take her sarcastic comments down a notch. after she corrected him, “your mom would be so lucky to have a daughter in law like me. please i have seen the company you keep, you are welcome.” but then she sighed, “fine, i will chill.” Dallas reassured him as she looked for her own phone only to see the little white lingerie in a pile in the floor accompanied by a veil. all dallas could do is laugh, but it wasn’t a happy and funny laugh. she picked up the veil in one hand and the lingerie in the other. “please..please tell me you had someone else in here tonight. fuck.” It had finally hit her, “we couldn’t have..no way. even drunk we wouldn’t like each other that much.” she dropped the items of clothing and rushed to her own phone to search for evidence that she was wrong, “please be wrong” she murmured to herself. “god.” her tone was almost as cry as she scrolled her camera roll. “no…no…god no..”

"melissa would hate you." teddy said, brows scrunched together, annoyance rolling off him like waves. "you hang out with half the same people as i do, dallas." he finally took a breath, trying to steady something in him, his breath, his heart, his hands, he wasn't sure. he finally found his phone. theo's attention was pulled back to dallas before the device turned on, nose wrinkling at the little white set. "we did. trust me. we did." he didn't remember, but he wasn't stupid. the most simple person he could imagine would figure the whole thing out with just a cursory dance. there was something so fucked up to him about blacking out, he preferred to smoke weed over drinking just on the basis that blacking out was an option. like he had been posessed or something. and there was something that felt gross about knowing he had slept with dallas without either of their permission just because they had had a few drinks too many. she grabbed her phone and he was reminded of his own, glancing down to see the little pin pad on the screen for his password. there was a panicked moment, hesitation before he punched in the code and found his messages. thirty six texts. over half would be from his sister. teddy tossed his phone down again and buried his face in his hands, coasting up through his hair. "what the fuck did we do?"

"A freak? You? Trust me, I've seen freak, and you're the total opposite," she told her. "Besides, you don't got anything that I don't got." She shimmied past Kennedy to hold the door open for her. "We're girls, you know? Nothin' to be shy about. Now, hurry up 'fore this door attacks both of us and hits you over the nose again."

her cheeks deepened their pink to a soft rose colour, not that she could see it, nor would it stick out too much with what she assumed was a red nose anyway. she could feel the heat as it pooled in her cheeks though, and that was enough. "people should think more like you, twy." she hummed happily, following after the blond and then slipping out of the room. "i know i could use a little more carefree in my head."

"dude, stop your fucking screaming," sebastian groaned sleepily, eyes squeezing shut as the hangover that weighed his head down pounded through him. he didn't even remember much of last night after the fourth drink and he wasn't sure if he wanted to remember. drunk sebastian was a whole other entity that he sometimes liked to call his alter ego: bas. eventually, sebastian finally lifted his head off the pillow and glowered at teddy. "the fuck you yelling about so early? i need at least three cups of coffee before i can deal with that."

teddy stood there dumbfounded for a moment. this couldn't be happening right? it was ridiculous to even think so. painfully cliche. something bambi would have written about in tokio hotel fanfiction when she was in eigth grade right? bad fanfiction. "sebastian. i think we fucked up." theo got quiet, crouched down to his location as he all but pleaded with his pretty brown eyes. "i promise to buy you a swimming pool worth of coffee but i need you to sit up, focus and help me figure this shit out. do you think you can pull that off?" he asked, only ever so snarky in his tone.

"that's cause you are too busy staring at all the bad you did. it's not a zero sum game." she called him out, brow arched for just a moment before her expression softened. "there's this theory that you can't help other people until you help yourself. the thing about that kind of thinking is that it completely removes the fact that someone can heal themselves in the act of helping heal others." she said, voice low and gentle as she offered a weak shrug. "war's a fucking bitch, but you already know what you have to do instead of being angry about it. you're fucking smart, bucky. and compassionate. and honest. those are good things. they hurt sometimes but they are good."

"that's cause you are too busy staring at all the bad you did. it's not a zero sum game." she called him out, brow arched for just a moment before her expression softened. "there's this theory that you can't help other people until you help yourself. the thing about that kind of thinking is that it completely removes the fact that someone can heal themselves in the act of helping heal others." she said, voice low and gentle as she offered a weak shrug. "war's a fucking bitch, but you already know what you have to do instead of being angry about it. you're fucking smart, bucky. and compassionate. and honest. those are good things. they hurt sometimes but they are good."

THE SITUATION WAS AWKWARD AND amusing at the same time. Playing it cool came to Storm easily. He listened to her introduction and feigned awe as if he met her for the first time. "Kennedy," he said her name, pretending like it was new knowledge. He knew her name very well from the night before. He wouldn't forget the wild night they shared. It was still fresh from his memory. "Bambi? I guess we'll go with that name since I'm already a friend." His lips curled into a knowing simper.

her name fell from his lips as if it was his first time tasting it, he was a talent actor, she could see that much. he also seemed to be having just as much of a mixed experience in the moment as she was, and that put her at ease somehow. "so, tell me a little more about yourself, storm." she shot their mutual friend a smile and nodded away to him, shifting the drink in her hand as she started walking off with him. a perfect connection in their friend's eyes she was sure, and no hint that the two had already formed a fleeting connection on their own.

          penelope remained silent as he thought her words over, part of her hoping that he wouldn’t agree. that he’d find some other way for them to get out of this. but the more time that passed, the more vulnerable they were. anyone could come driving down that path and spot them, standing there in front of a body.  ❛  theo..  ❜  penelope attempted to reach out for his hand, an effort to calm him down until he was eventually agreeing to the lake. she nodded, stepping over to grab the man’s legs.  ❛  i hate this, i hate this.  ❜  she whispered underneath her breath as they carried him. it felt like forever before they finally reached the lake, penelope nearly dropping his legs more times than she liked.  ❛  should we.. say a few words for him first or something?  ❜ 

teddy didn't know how to let her close. they were something before this right. he had a life before this moment and he was supposed to be fine. he had a good life. and now it all seemed to be teetering on the edge of a sword, threating to all disappear. fuck. kennedy was going to kill him if she found out about this. he hardly remembered carrying the man, and he certainly didn't remember the drive. that was a bad thing right? since he was driving. he almost came to standing next to penelope at the edge of where they were going to drop him. "no." theo said with a shake of his head. "for us. we have to keep this between us. we can't let anyone know we did this. i am trusting you. our lives are over if this ever comes out." he said, a crinkle between his brows.

cai was used to people reacting strangely to figuring out that she had a different name now, that she was so different but she appreciated leo repeating her name as if he was studying it, and keeping a gentle smile on his face. she had adored him, back in the day, but her own struggles made her very hard to love at that time. "yeah, you know me - no mercy." she teased and tilted her head. "i think you look mighty fine though." she complimented him and couldn't help but flirt somewhat. he was handsome, she couldn't deny that. "i've been wonderful. i'm here to visit family, which... makes me realize that literally, no one knows me anymore. i work as a welder, studying to become a hyperbaric welder - welding underwater. so yeah, i'm doing great. what about you?"

teddy gave an embarrassed roll of his eyes, playful if a little flirty as he scratched at the back of his neck softly. "thank you, thank you, i like to believe i stole all the crane good looks, but kenny would kill me if i said it." he joked, a tiny lie, as his twin sister would hit him for claiming she stole the good genes. "jesus, cai, no mercy indeed." he chuckled, swaying ever so as he looked away and then back at her. "nothing nearly as impressive, underwater welding? that's amazing and terrifying and kinda intimidating. i manage barnacle records now, so not much. and i am still writing and performing." it was hard to grow when you were comfortable, and theo had been comfortable for nearly a decade.