halo

“that’s like, totally fucked up.” kaia’s sun kissed nose scrunched in displeasure as she held her phone to her ear, ignoring most other passerbyers. “mom, i’m not…no!” she exclaimed before clearly hanging up out of pure frustration. her blood boiled as it made it’s way through her veins causing her to feel heat around her, “sorry,” she huffed, her arms crossing across her chest. “can you believe my mom is trying to make me leave school because of mr. polaroid man?” her eyes fluttered in annoyance. 

      halo's  interest  had  been  piqued as  the  other  swore,  and  now  they  couldn’t  help  but  listen  in  to  the  girl’s  conversation.  ❛  you  know,  i’m  actually  surprised  that  my  mother  hasn’t  tried  to  make  me  leave.  ❜  to  be  fair  to  their  mother,  they  hadn’t  actually  called   and  told  her  about  the  polaroid  killer.  they  shook  their  head  to  pull  themself  out  of  their  thoughts,  ❛  i’m  sure  you  could  convince  her  to  let  you  stay.  ❜

truth  be  told,  oliver  hadn’t  paid  much  mind  to  the  polaroid  killer  up  until  now.  of  course  he  was  nervous  about  the  idea  of  a  murderer  on  campus;  but  it  hadn’t  felt  real  until  not  one  but  two  of  his  friends  were  the  ones  to  be  attacked.  now  it  felt  too  real  and  so  incredibly  wrong.  it  felt  like  being  stuck  inside  a  lovecraftian  tale,  in  a  warped  world  where  things  no  longer  made  sense.  so  he’d  stayed  holed  up  in  his  room,  knowing  he  wouldn’t  be  able  to  pretend  to  be  fine  that  day.  he’d  been  deep  in  thought  when  a  knock  on  the  door  startled  him;  he  panicked  for  a  moment,  feeling  wholly  unprepared  for  human  interaction,  until  he  heard  halo’s  voice  coming  from  outside.  if there was one person who would understand how helpless this thing made him feel, it was halo.  so,  after  kicking  a  bit  of  clutter  under  his  bed  to  make  the  place  seem  a  little  tidier,  he  opened  the  door  for  them.  as  soon  as  he  saw  his  own  distress  reflected  on  their  face,  he  felt  an  uncharacteristic  urge  to  hug  them. “hey,” he said instead, trying to sound casual and stepping aside to let them into the messy room. “come in.”

      they  felt  a  sense  of  relief  wash  over  them  as  soon  as  he  opened  the  door.  it  was  something  about  even  being  in  his  presence  calmed  them  to  their  very  core.  ❛  i  was  going  to  ask  if  you  were  okay,  but...  ❜  they paused and sighed,  ❛  i  feel  like  the  answer  is  no.  ❜  they  finished  as  they  made  their  way  into  his  room.  it  was  a  familiar  space  to  them,  as  it  was  one  of  the  rooms  that  they’d  spent  most  of  their  time  in,  outside  of  their own.  

      there  was  so  much  going  on  in  the  world  around  them,  and  currently  they  didn’t  want  to  think  about   it  anymore.  they  walked  over  to  oliver’s  bed  and  sat  down  on  the  edge, running  their  hand  through  their  hair.  ❛  i’m  so  tired,  oli.  ❜  they  hadn’t  planned  on  saying  that,  they  were  so  used  to  keeping  their  feelings  to  themself,  but  something  about  oliver  made  them  more  willing  to  being  open.  ❛  i  didn’t  mean  to say  that.  ❜  

          ⥽  people  were  on  edge;  almost  everybody  and  their  MOTHER  could  tell  you  that.  not  many  people  were  lingering  the  campus,  or  any  of  the  other  places.  sitting  quietly  with  the  school’s  news - letter  in  the  holloway  library,  he  turns  to  one  of  the  few  people  sharing  the  space.  ❝  shit  is  FUCKED,  huh  ??  ❞  

      they  hadn’t  been  paying  attention  to  their  surroundings,  eyes  SEEMINGLY  focused  on  the  assignment  that  sat  in  front  of  them.  halo  had  been  in  the  library  for  hours,  trying  to  write  this  paper,  but  the  current  state  of  the  campus  occupied  the  forefront  of  their  minds.  before  the  bonfire,  halo  hadn’t  given  much  thought  to  the  polaroid  killer,  but  now...  the  people  targeted  were  both  people  that   halo  knew,  albeit  not  super well,  but  they  knew  them  nonetheless.  their  attention  was  drawn  to  the  voice,  ❛  you  could  say  that  again.  ❜

“you’re drunk and i’m beautiful!” theo slurred, dimples engraving in her cheeks before her brows knit into a furrow, “wait…no…” she could count on her fingers the number of times she’d been drunk: 1. so to say that she was a lightweight was an understatement. “i MEAN you’re beautiful and i’m drunk. there we go. nailed it.”

a  smile  passed  over  their  face  as  theo  complimented  them.  ❛  i  was  about  to  say,  i’m  not  drunk,  ❜  they  held  a  hand  out  to  the  other.   halo  wasn’t  known  to  get  drunk,  their  need  to  be  in  control  was  much  stronger  than  their  want  to  relax. ❛  and  thank  you  theo,  that’s  very  sweet  of  you.  ❜  

❛   oh   fuck   off,   that’s   not   how   i   sound   !   ❜   benny   rolled   his   eyes,   yanking   the   page   from   the   sketchbook   he   had   been   just   drawing   on   to   throw   it   at   their   head,   starting   the   drawing   from   scratch   on   a   blank   page.   ❛   you   put   up   with   me   because   i’m   literally   the   best   thing   in   your   life   right   now.   ❜

        their  eyes  squeezed  shut  as  a  laugh  escaped  their  mouth  as  they  dodged  the  page  he  had  thrown  at  them.  ❛  i  don’t  know  benny,  it  sounded  pretty  accurate  to  me.  ❜  they  said,  a  smirk  on  their  face.  benny  was  one  of  the  few  people  that  halo  felt  they  could  truly  be  themselves  around,  there  was  just  something  about  him  that  made  them  feel  at  home,  ❛  don’t  let  it  go  to  your  head,  sweetheart.  ❜

        *! giselle’s mouth falls open slightly. she wasn’t expecting halo to offer their help - especially not ENTHUSIASTICALLY. “i feel like i should have you fill out a waiver. cooking with me can be a liability.” there’s a tinge of humor in her tone but she can easily recall dozens of times when her mom kicked her out of the kitchen for being a hindrance. “what’s your signature thing? i’m fully expecting you to say some gordon ramsey shit.”

         they  smiled  as  giselle’s  mouth  fell,  there  was  something  so  pure  and  innocent  about  the  expression  on  her  face.  they  shook  their  head  in  response  to  her,  ❛  i  taught  all  four  of  my  siblings  to  cook,  so  i’m  sure  that  it  won’t  be  that  bad.  ❜  they  put  a  bookmark  in  their  book  and  shut  it.  ❛  i  won’t  yell  at  you,  it’s  been  proven  to  be  counterproductive  to     ❜  they  stopped  before  finishing  their  thought,  figuring  it  wasn’t  that  important.  ❛  did  you  have  anything  in  particular  that  you’d  like  to  learn  to  make  ?  ❜

carson’s eyes widened upon realizing who it was that spoke. he quickly composed himself and shrugged his shoulders. “surprise,” he muttered, softly. carson sighed, shifting his gaze to look up at the sky. it was starting to get cold out; he couldn’t wait for winter. “it’s a little much, yeah?” he nodded his head. “you’ll feel better if you stay outside for a few minutes.” another pause. “i didn’t expect to see you here.” 

       they  didn’t  look  toward  carson,  there  was  just  too  much  going  on  in  their  head  for  them  to  make  themselves  look  at  the  man  they  once  loved.  the  statement  made  them  chuckle,  ❛ didn’t  expect  to  be  here  if  we’re  being  honest, ❜  it  was  weird  to  have  someone  who  knew  them  so  well  that  they  no  longer  spoke  to  in  the  capacity  that  they  used  to. ❛ wanted  to  get  the  full  college  experience,  y’know,  but  maybe  it’s  just  not  for  me. ❜  

        *! “my biggest regret is not learning how to cook over the summer. i always tell myself i’m going to learn and then … do literally anything else.” giselle and her mom hadn’t maintained a good relationship in years so asking her for recipes and advice was out of the question. cookbooks were only SO helpful and realistically, nothing could compare to her mom’s cooking. “it was cute like, as a freshman but NOW ? i hate this. the worst is getting a craving and not being able to fuckin’ cook it.” giselle huffs, her stomach growling angrily as if on cue.  “i really could be supreme TROPHY WIFE material … what a missed opportunity.” 

         ❛  i  can  help  you  with  that      ❜  they  paused  what  they  were  doing,  translating  the  iliad  from  the original  ancient  greek,  to  look  up  at  the  girl.  a  genuine  smile  on  their  face  as  they  thought  back  to  all  the  years  that  they’d  been  cooking  for  their  younger  siblings,  and  how  much  joy  they  got  from  helping  others.  ❛  i’ve  cooked  for  myself  and  my  family  since  i  was  ten,  so  i’d  say  i  have  the  experience.  ❜

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐑: @simplyhalo​

          “ i’m NEVER having kids. born, adopted, whatever — ”     it’s a lightly said statement, sounding more jest than truth, but there’s more truth to it than first comes across.     “ — i swear i’ve already gotten the full experience by now ; don’t need to go through it for REAL. ”     he sets his phone back face down on the table after texting one of the freshmen on the team that no you can’t just put dish soap in the dishwasher. he has a feeling that maybe it’s already happening and certain events have already been put into motion, but that seems like a problem for an ra to solve, not him. gaze raises to halo — his fellow PARENT-in-crime ( less now then they used to be, but he still thinks of them as such sometimes ), tendrils of still damp hair curl lazily over his forehead as he raises his cup of hot chocolate,     “ — dunno how my mom did it by herself. ”

          halo  couldn’t  help  the  scoff  that  erupted  from  them  as  jason  spoke.  they  lifted  their  eyes  from  their  phone  and  could  see  his  exasperated  expression,  ❛  what’d  they  do  now  ?  ❜  they  could  tell  that  someone  had  probably  just  asked  a  question  that  they  should  already  know  the answer  to,  it  was  really  just  parr  for  the  course  at  this  point.  ❛  and  you  make  a great  point,  we  really  have  gotten  all  the  full  parent  experience  !  ❜  they  thought  back  through  the  three  years  that  the  two  of  them  have  known  each  other  and  the  chaos  that  they’d  witnessed.  with  a  small  nod  they  responded,  ❛  single  mother’s  are  strong  as  hell.  ❜

benny   laughs   at   their   reaction.   ❛   i   just   asked   !   ❜   he   said,   truly   believing   his   little   dramatic   anctics   had   been   a   request.   and   since   halo’s   hand   is   still,   he   bends   his   head   down,   taking   back   the   notepad   so   he   can   start   a   draft   of   it.   ❛   i’ll   make   sure   to   give   you   a   written   notice   next   time,   though.   ❜   he   snickered.

         ❛  i’ll  make  sure  to  give  you  a  written  notice  next  time, ❜  they  mocked  while  keeping  their  hand  in  the  same  position  for  him.  in  order  to  compensate  for  their  current  lack  of  a  second  hand  they  adjusted  the  rest  of  their  position  so  that  they  could  continue  to  read  their  book.  ❛  y’know  i  truly  don’t  know  why  i  continue  to  put  up  with  you,  ❜  they  joked  with  him.