#bloodredfirework

The sun had long since set when Felix was on his way back home, the blond playing music in the car while he drove and tried not to fall asleep. He wasn’t really tired, but driving home by himself was a bit boring since he had no one to talk to. Still, he hadn’t wanted to stay the night with the girl he’d slept with. It risked giving her the wrong impression, and he didn’t want her to start thinking they were going to start dating. There was nothing wrong with dating either, but after too many failed relationships and people walking out on him, he was mentally and emotionally exhausted and thought it was best to put it off for now. It would take someone special for him to start up that shit again.

It was nearing midnight when the headlights of his car illuminated a figure walking ahead down the sidewalk. It was a girl, made obvious by her frame and size, but as he got closer he realized that he recognized who it was. It was Shiloh, who he hadn’t seen for about three or so weeks after they’d visited the shelter together. Bringing his car to a stop just a few feet in front of her, Felix rolled down his window to speak to her.

Kate sat on the ground in front of the campfire, her back leaned up against a log behind her. There was quiet chatter among the other survivors who sat nearby, waiting for the others to return from their trial. They’d been gone for a long time now, but Kate supposed it was good news that nobody had returned yet. It meant they were still alive. With her guitar resting beside her, leaned up against the log, she was always ready to help lift peoples spirits with music. No longer did she feel compelled to play that same, gloomy, awful melody that had been stuck in her head before she entered the realm.

Tilting her head upwards after being approached by one of the newcomers, Kate soon smiled at Shiloh’s question and gave a small nod of her head. “Sure is! I’m lucky that I was able to keep it with me when I came here. I know a few people had stuff that was taken off of em. Sometimes I wonder if it would be taken from me too if I brought it into a trial ‘n smashed a killer over the head with it,” she began to explain, giving a small shrug of her shoulders paired with a widening grin. “I used to play all the time. Writin’ songs and singin’ in front of crowds was my favorite thing to do.” Sure, she’d hit a low point before coming here and her inspiration had been drained, but she was determined to get out of this place and start over.

     Around two weeks had passed since that night at the beach where Felix had nearly gotten into a full on fight with Hunter. As predicted, it had become old news pretty fast. There was always new shit happening, and Felix had long since forgotten about it. Today, he had left the trailer park to drive to the other side of the city to meet up with a dealer. He was running low on pills and he didn’t want to push off getting a refill--nor did he want to make another visit to the clinic, since stopping in too frequently was a big red flag that he was abusing the medication given to him. There was no rush to get back home, so he’d decided to stop to look around a few different places. One of the ones that caught his interest was the record store, which he’d seen while driving by but had never actually bothered to visit.

     Inside the store, Felix had been looking at various records on display when he heard a familiar voice nearby offering assistance to someone. He couldn’t put a face to who it belonged to, but he knew he vaguely recognized it from somewhere. Turning a little to look past the customer, he immediately remembered her as the girl from the beach. The one he’d driven home about two weeks ago when he discovered that Hunter, who had just landed himself a job working at the gas station with him, had impounded her car. She’d just finished up talking to the customer when Felix cut in. “Hey. Uh...Shiloh, right?”

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒  ARGUMENTS WERE COMMON BETWEEN FELIX and Jake, normality bestowed upon them in a world filled with WI-FI and fast moving cars that just didn’t coax Jake into removing himself from the inside of his home often. Even when thrown into the mix of something he could call familiar, calming, he still felt his eyebrow twitch heavily before he’d finally thrown his arms up and ended the argument by walking away, not wanting to delve further into the matter of why the other man was wrong ; it wouldn’t do good when stubborn as a mule was such a common trait among the group -- or, he should say, annoying on purpose as Seokga (or from what he remembered).

       By this point, he couldn’t even REMEMBER what had started their discussion. Did it even matter? Sometimes it could be a crumb that started up the argument, sometimes it could be that Felix was just a moron, sometimes it could be that Jake was just too harsh -- well, at least the latter two were opinions of the boys at each other (Jake’s being more based on actions than actual intelligence for Felix). As the door closed behind him and back rested against its cool surface, he’d realize that, in his pursuit of solitude, he’d found Shiloh -- it wasn’t intentional that he’d walk in on her doing anything but it appeared he would remain, because he’d sooner throw himself out the window and break his leg than turn around and leave the room to mockery over going into the wrong place.

       It was the inclusion of Shiloh’s comment once he’d realized his error and released a heavy, if relieved sigh that she hadn’t freaked out and that he’d managed to remove himself from the conflict for a brief fluttering seconds, which caused him to finally react ; the butterfly wings were always causing earthquakes here, it appeared. 

       Weirdly enough, her comment on his height didn’t cause him to break out into a glare that would burn her alive if it were capable, but his lips were pried apart in what appeared to be a smile. His chagrin over it is easy enough to witness as he tried desperately to hide it by pulling his head upward, then he turned away, pressing his head against the door, masking it by the full of head of dark hair. ❝ Shut up... ❞

How long could days stretch out for? How long could the sun keep it's teeth dug into the blue openness of the outstretched sky until the moon complained it was hogging the spotlight and the stars decided they wanted time to play? Rylan was unsure. After all, she didn't tend to spend many days curled up under the warmth and softness of her oversized comforter in a shirt too big for her small frame. A breath falls from her lips at the thought and she only curls in tighter upon her self. Addison had been out. The last text she had received was something about coffee and food and a boy thrown in there but Rylan hadn't really paid much attention when she had read the words upon the screen, but she could feel a soft smile etch upon soft lips at the thought of her best friend being happy. Addison had been through far more than Rylan cared to admit to knowing and the girl deserved some fucking happiness for once in her life. After all, thet two shared that as a connection. A way that they had bonded years ago in grade school. Their father's had been trash for different reasons but they were still trash.

There's a shake of her head, sending strands of onyx colored hair flying out across the soft pillow in which her head rested upon. Rylan shifts, turning on to her left side, facing the door that sat just a crack open. She wondered if she was here alone or if Addison had sent out an S.O.S. Something was wrong with the girl that refused to stay in bed any longer than was meant for sleep to happen. Or other things. It truly depended on her mood. Hell, Rylan hadn't even called into work or to check on Max to see if she needed to be there. Surely the boy had been whisked off to school by their mother. She had grown tired. Her body sore. She wanted a small break from being an active person in society. Though, it's with that thought that she lifts herself from her comforts into a sitting position, hand rising to run through her hair, moving it out of her features as she drops both hands on either side of her. Her room was slightly messy, clothing strewn across the floor, all dirty and in need of being washed. Her comforter was a hap hazard mess that made her question how it was even covering her body with the amount of tossing and turning she had seemed to do last night.

Surprisingly, the apartment had seemingly been quiet but that still wasn't enough to lull the young girl out of bed. Nothing felt like it would, despite the fact that when her door had shifted open more, Rylan had jumped in her bed. Almost letting a soft yelp fall from her lips but holding it back in her throat. She offers Shiloh a soft smile but at the question, there's a small shrug that rolls off her shoulders. "Nothing's really sounded interesting today." Rylan replies easily, her voice still strong of sleep and exhaustion, despite the fact she's been awake for a few hours now, just laying and staring at the ceiling. She moves a little, legs folding in on themselves and she pats the bed beside her. "Not even coffee or food have caused me to rise from my death." There's a small smirk that shifts her features followed by a short laugh. "Wanna join me? This bed is large enough and definitely comfortable enough. Though, if you've got ideas to get me out of bed, I'm open to hearing them."

     Boredom could come easily while spending hours in the RV. One could only do one thing so many times before it became repetitive, yet somehow that wasn’t the case with the game of Connect Four. Shiloh and Felix specifically had spent hours playing the game, and somehow neither of them were tiring of it. Round after round, they kept on going and laughing at some of the stupid, obvious mistakes they made.

     Connect Four was a game that Felix knew he was good at because he’d played it some years ago and had kicked everyone’s ass in it. Shiloh was no exception to this and had a losing streak going, but that all changed with one stupid, thoughtless move Felix had made early on. Shiloh had pointed it out to him almost immediately, and Felix’s face shifted from shocked to completely unimpressed when he saw what he had done. He’d set himself up for failure. Hell, he’d practically just handed the win to her. For a few moments, he was silent. Pick your poison, he already knew Shiloh was going to say.