#cherryholly

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] It's not that I'm not happy for you. Because I am. And I'm super proud. But you graduating early just feels like

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] Do you even realize how much of my life I've given up for you time and time

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] All I ever wanted was to be you and you don't even fucking know how much

Logan: zelda asked about you at lunch today. she's noticed you've been kind of out of it these days.

Logan: i told her that senior year's a bitch and she snuck me an extra brownie to bring to you, which... i would, if i hadn't already eaten it.

Mia: hey captain, my captain.

Chloe: I know you don't want to act like we're friends or anything, but I just wanted to say thank you for coming with me on Monday.

[ a beat ]

       CHERRYRPG PLOT                       here’s a letter.

it’s taken almost a month since coach vanessa garland disappeared into the night to replace her, but the school administration has finally stepped up to offer a new cheerleading coach: ms. jill wagner - an overeager 23 year old who just graduated from the university of alabama a mere six months ago.  in the hours after the announcement, the girls all trickle into the office to meet with their new coach, each of them getting a different impression - but most of them come to the same consensus: they would have been better off with letting holly wood lead them until garland came back.  the filling of the position brings about a new round of grief, as well. with the whole left by garland filled, it seems to make her disappearance more real, more final. when her spot was open, there was a chance she would come back. but now - there’s no telling if, or when, she’ll come back.  no one’s heard from her in a month. no one’s seen her in a month. but on the afternoon of november 7th, holly wood opens her locker to find a note:                      tell the girls i’m okay.                       i’m sorry for leaving.                             it’s better this way.  there’s no signature, no acknowledgement of who it’s from, but holly knows: garland somehow snuck in undetected to leave her a cryptic message, evidence by the wavy ‘y’ and the circle above her ‘i’s.  garland’s alive, but gone. and for the first time, the possibility that she really might not be returning weighs heavily on the girls. 

the arsons that took place the night of homecoming have gone marked under ‘unsolved’ in the police department, and there’ve been no signs of those who went missing that night either. all houses involved have been wrapped around with police tape over the past couple of weeks, and while whispers travel around town, that’s as far as they get. 

in the time since, two more families have gone missing: the brewer’s, with their daughter a freshman at the high school, and the castillo’s, who had no children. the only common thread between everyone who went missing is one thing: riverside community college. in every house, at least one of the adults worked or taught at the school, with the only exception being coach garland. 

the faceclaim for jill wagner is katie findlay.

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] Why is the bottle emp

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] You do realize we share

Merrick: [ UNSENT ] Do I need to get mom and d

Merrick: Mom said you didn’t come home last night. She sounded worried. I don’t think dad told her. I said you probably just spent the night with a friend.

Merrick: Dad clearly went through your room, though. So if you plan on continuing, you’ll need more since I’m sure he destroyed whatever stash you had.

Merrick: I know you think this is some sort of payback for Logan, or whatever, and I know I’ve been a bitch this week. But I’m not mad about that, you didn’t do anything and it’s easier to be angry than it is to admit how heartbroken I am. I want you two to be happy. I figured you’d bond over my hatred.

Merrick: But this is bigger than him. You’re my sister, no matter what you say, and I love you, and I’m worried. And I wanted to help you, just us, but you shut me down every time. So I did what I had to do.