#gngshooting

Finally gathering the courage, the door seems to close just as quickly as it opens and Lucy cringes at the harsh sound that seems to echo off the walls, breathing out in relief when she notes that the noise hadn't bothered Sarah from sleep. Maybe the sound wasn't loud at all, she considers.  Sometimes Lucy doesn't feel like she can create something remotely loud in the first place. She feels so light, and she's just so caught up in how much she wants things that she doesn't realize the impact she's making until the bomb's exploding and her ears are ringing and she's flat on the ground, using her hand to scramble away from the scene as quickly as she possibly can - to safety, where she can observe with interest everything that will happen next.

She doesn't quite realize she wants to be alone with Sarah until she notes with relief that the room is empty. 

She knows, somewhere in her mind, that Sarah is fine. Her brain tries to assure the rest of her this over and over and over, reminding her of all the times she's spoken to Sarah over the few days and how fine, absolutely fine, Sarah has seemed. She knows that Sarah is sleeping, and that if she so desired, she could shake Sarah and Sarah's eyes would flutter open once again and she'd be here, right here with Lucy. But all Lucy can focus on, suddenly, And finally, Lucy pulls aside a chair where she normally sits when other people are in the room with her. Only now is different. Now it is just her and Sarah, and she isn't more busy focusing on if everyone else is okay.

Lucy doesn't think she's a fraud. Not really. She thinks of herself more as sticky goo that she used to play with as a child, changing colors and stretching in to different shapes, but still the same goo all the while. And Lucy sighs, trying to get the weight on her chest to loosen even slightly as she turns in her seat, fumbling quietly for her journal as she turns to a clean page. Maybe she'll just jot things down until Sarah wakes up, and Lucy will look up and smile at her and ask her if she needs anything and resist the urges to climb in bed with her and press her body up against Sarah's. And she smiles because she's okay and Sarah's okay and it'll all be okay, eventually.

She wonders if Bella can feel the positiveness of her thoughts and she wonders if Bella cringes and she wonders if Bella would yell and tell her that it's not okay, and Lucy wonders if she'd believe her or not and Lucy wonders if she could rest her hand on Bella's shoulder and show her that maybe it's not okay now, but it will be. And she wonders if she's really strong enough to make Bella believe that just by Lucy vowing it, and if she's strong enough to handle Bella not believing her. 

She hums, closing her journal reluctantly as she realizes that she really has no desire to write any of this down - I'm worried about Bella, I'm sad over Sarah, I'm happy over Fletcher, school was hard, I'm a mess (but I'm not really). Instead, she pulls her chair as close to the bed as she can without being too close and without making a lot of noise. "I'm so incredibly glad you're okay," she finally murmurs, though the words come out barely audible because suddenly all she can think of is how very much alive Sarah is, and how Lucy really doesn't want to offer up any sort of explanation for this. "You keep cheating death... a lot. Twice now. Much, much more than any other person should have to, let alone someone of your age. I think that means you have big purposes here. I'm not sure if you have any idea what that is, or they are. But I'd love to hear them, when you do,"

She squirms a little in her seat, and she wonders how she can be so confident in front of many, many people but suddenly be so insecure when it's just her and another person. "I love you," she finally finishes, which sounds significantly better than anything else she had said. She considers leaning forward and considers kissing her forehead, but the door starts to turn and a nurse steps in, offering her a bright smile and Lucy smiles back, relaxing back in her chair as she watches the nurse do her thing.

She doesn't think of it as putting on a mask, or pretending. Mostly she just thinks of it as biding her time until she figures out who she really is, not wanting to give people the wrong impression.

Friday was Dougie's favorite day of the week, which made the curly headed boy be in a good mood. First period was his study hall, meaning he could do whatever he wanted to. It was strange, he hadn't seen Alec all day, but he was guessing that the boy was running late per usual. Dougie texted him a goodmorning text, then went to the choir room to work on some music. The bell hadn't rang yet and he was shuffling through some sheet music, they had regionals coming up at some point. So, the young singer wanted to be ready for whatever was thrown at him. His long fingers skimmed over the papers, music notes and staffs on them all, music and lyrics. One day, he'd do something with it, music. The thought made him smile before heading over to the piano.

But, as soon as he sat down, he heard a loud popping noise followed by some screaming. His smile soon faded and he looked around, what was that noise? It sounded almost like...

Terror and panic, the two things that made Dougie knock over the bench as he shot up from the wooden piece of furniture. Something was wrong, something that made the young boy's body grow hot with sweat on the palms of his hands. A shooter, or a gun, something with a gun was happening outside and he was all alone in a room. The thought of it scared him beyond anything. Scooting into a corner, he picked up his phone, trying to call Alec. He had to answer, Dougie had to warn him that something was wrong and to not come into school. But there was no answer, it went straight to voicemail, and that isn't something that Alec did. His phone was usually always on, and if Dougie was trying to get ahold of him, his boyfriend answered within the first two rings. Something was wrong, and the thought of anything happening to Alec made him bury his head in his arms.

It was stupid, his idea, but he couldn't help it...Alec meant the world to him. He had to find him, he had to make sure he was okay. Leaving the room, going out into the open hallways, it was probably the dumbest thing anyone could do in a time like this. But his body was in charge, not his mind, and he slipped out into the halls. His back to the wall, the boy crawled along the sides of the narrow walkways. Everytime he heard a noise, he ducked into another hallway and hid until it was gone. Not moving, not breathing, not making one noise. Dougie had to stay safe, not only for himself, but for the sake of all his friends and family. He already almost died once, he wasn't going to let it happen again. Besides, he had to help, he had to find Alec.

Suddenly, another shot rang out and it made the brunette flinch, squeezing his eyes shut. It sounded a few hallways down, and Dougie changed his route based on the footsteps running the other way. Rounding the corner where Alec's locker was, he saw a body on the ground and was about to move his location before his breath caught in his throat. "No. No. No....fucking, shit." He choked out under his breath, his voice cracking as he saw Alec's body laying in a little pool of blood. "A-Alec." Dougie whimpered out as he rushed over to the boy, his eyes already flooding with tears. Leaning down, he heard more shots and screams, people running for safety. "Fuck." The tall boy squeaked out, carefully lifting Alec up by the arms and dragging him into a janitor closet. Shutting and locking the door behind him, finally, the tears began to spill out of his eyes.

Dougie cradled his boyfriend's head in his lap, brushing his hair out of his face, the blood getting on his hand and making him whimper softly. "Shhh, i-it's gonna b-be alright, boobear...." The brunette said, his voice breaking at the nickname he called Alec. It had to be okay, Alec was the light of his life...he always had been. If that light was taken away from him, he'd be in darkness forever...something he'd seen before and hated. It made him into something he never wanted to be. Stroking his boyfriend's hair, he began to softly sing to him, "Black bird singing in the dead of night...take there broken wings and learn to fly..."  

That was, thankfully, unlikely. Kasey and Eli had been sort of an unlikely pairing that Kasey wouldn't have even thought of in high school, but that worked almost perfectly now. Their differences in personality could often lead to little arguments (mostly Kasey initiating it), but their relationship was definitely a lot better off than the stuff she noticed when she came down to California to visit or information that she gathered from her sisters and the only person Kasey bothered keeping around, Sydney Holliday. Going and getting coffee and donuts as a morning treat was bit of a splurge for the pair and would put added strain on their tight budget, but hey, things that provided as excellent excuse for sex didn't have to have a price budget, did it? Skillfully balancing the box of donuts in her arms with the two coffees, she stiffens as she hears the sound of her cell phone going off in the pocket of her jeans. The table at the other end of the shop looks inviting, pleading with Kasey to give in and put her stuff down momentarily while she fished out her phone for what damn well better be worth it (she had a specific ringtone dedicated to pregnant Syd), and one dedicated for her mom. The one that just so happened to be screaming at her right now, worsening her headache.  

Pointedly turning away from the table with a glare, Kasey thinks to herself that that was for lazy people and Kasey was fucking awesome and she could definitely handle this, no way was she going to let the task of getting out her cell phone bring her down. "Hello?" She finally breathes, hissing in a breath as the coffee tilts dangerously close to spilling all over her chest. At least her boobs were impressive enough that no one in their right mind would complain, she thought with a smirk. Distracted by trying to avoid burning herself, Emma's words come out muffled as Kasey tries her best to direct her mouth in the direction of the phone that was already slipping off her shoulder. Frustratingly throwing her hands up in the air as a sign of defeat, she mouths a loud fuck! as the coffee wins in the mission of Kasey Schuester vs. Real World and spills all over her. Gritting her teeth, she throws the soaked box of donuts to the floor in a fit, placing the other blasted cup of coffee to the floor with a little more care. "This better be fucking good and if this something about one of those retarded as hell shows, I really don't care who's the next American Whore and - what?" Her ranting finally slows as her mom starts to speak again, little voice hiccuping as she explains the words shooting and Summer and Kylie. In the back of her mind, she wonders if Mini-Ellison is alright. 

Emma doesn't need to repeat herself before Kasey's hanging up her phone, kicking the ruined box of donuts out of her way hurriedly as she jumps over the mess and out the door. The message was clear as Kylie laid bleeding somewhere. That damn well could've been her. And back in Los Angeles, a ginger girl who was a part of her was hurting. Whether she had actually been hurt or not wasn't something that Kasey cared to pay attention to. Her family was hurt, and she was gonna get there, even if it meant Eli and her hitchhiking their way to Los Angeles.

If she was a more dedicated and all around more pleasant person, Kristin could've been dedicating her time to finding her... girl, Kayla. But doing anything to suggest that the two were more than friends (though they had hardly been friends in the first place) was stupid, and was genuinely something that Kristin didn't want to find herself caught up in. Adapting to having another person to consider in her life was a bit of a struggle for her, and the thought that the blonde was probably with her obnoxious as hell friends soothes any worry she has to longingly thumb the pages of the tattered library book. Hastily muttering some sort of excuse to the small group of friends who smiled and nodded as she got up, Kristin begins the end of her morning routine. It was a bit obsessive, maybe, but Kristin found that she enjoyed the steadiness it provided her. It was something she could control, something that was her own. Always the same book, always the same table, always the same chair, her backpack always lazily propped underneath the table where she would rest her feet on top of it with a small hum of content. The other girls had given up pestering her to join them in whatever it was they did in the morning (though Kristin had noticed it seemed to consist of tracking down people around and around the school, and fuck that. Kristin wasn't going to be trailing around behind them like some pathetic dog that needed guidance), accepting after a while that this was what she did and after a while, adapting their routines to come visit her. She didn't know why they stuck around, to be honest. Difficult personality and impressive acting skills aside, Kristin probably should've been held back in Kindergarten for the rest of her life because of her poor socializing skills. But they remained, and somewhere along the line Kristin found her annoyance growing in to some sort of a fond annoyance.

A sudden bang going off in the distance remains unheard to the brunette with the earbuds rested in her ears, but the frantic elbows jiving at her causes her irritation to peak as the book falls to the floor, huffing as she bends down to retrieve it. "Fucking smooth," she huffed. It's only then that she peers up long enough to see a swarm of feet moving past the door as if their lives depended on it and she frowns, plucking her earbuds out of her ears as it was getting to a good part of the song. Though frustration was her initial feeling, she couldn't help the worry and confusion that surfaced before the next gunshot finally jolted her back to reality. Abandoning the book, dimly she realizes that the older librarians were forbidding anyone from leaving the media center. And it's only then that she turns around, frowning as she sees the scared looks on her friends faces. She can't feel her own eyes widen in desperation, or her soft pants of swear words under her breath or the shaking of her hands or the moving of her feet as she makes her way over to her friends, suddenly grateful for their presence and the fact that she wasn't totally alone in this situation. 

Tabby, she realized. The name feels odd in her thoughts, a name that had been unspokenly forbidden in her house and shoved to the back of her mind in her head to avoid any guilt and a pathetic cycle of self pity over things that she sure as hell couldn't change. But it all comes blaring to the surface now - the look on Tabby's face as she left the house, the way Kristin had sort of dumbly stared at the bags and then heaved in a breath as if to speak before carefully stepping around them, and the sound of Tabby finally leaving. Fear and shame bleed out her body and dribble down her chin from where someone had nailed her in an attempt to get past her, and the blood that rages from her upper lip slithers its way into her mouth.

 Looking over at the little blond standing next to him. She looked scared, and he didn’t blame her at all. Was it really anything he could do or say to make her feel even just a little better? The blue-eyed boy wanted to make her less scared, tell her everything was going to be fine. However it wasn’t anything he could say. He needed to do something Jake was her friend. He was supposed to be her best friend. And for Jake that meant something, being a friend meant something to Jake. Even if the girl was older then him, he didn’t see her as older. It was only with a few months. The boy, who where facing the girl, took her hand. He could feel her tens up slightly as he did. He looked at her and shook his head, telling her without words to try and calm down. All that Jake could think about right now was his friends. His family, where they one of those how’d been shot? Would they ever know what happened, it anything was to happen to Jake? He wanted to know that his family was all right. Kevin that had a child, if anything was to happen to him, Jake didn’t know what to do. Sydney and Cooper. Everything was all a mess in Jake’s head right now. A part of him wanted to think like he always did, childish, funny and plain stupid. Because that way he didn’t need to be scared, and he would know what to do. Only, his brain would not let him. His brain only could focus on his family and friends.