#ofatheva

— a loving voicemail ;

     he knew he should probably just let things lie. but cam had always been attracted to cora like a moth to the flame and this time was no different. lips pursed in disdain at the starbucks cup in hand, his gaze found that unmistakable red hair at one of the tables. a part of him was telling him to just keep it moving, but the other part ( the stronger one ) led him over. the two had been straddling a weird fucking line of not being together and yet emotionally investing into one another’s problems. probably wasn’t healthy but cam had always liked things that were terrible for him. cigarettes, coffee, her.

           ‘ the red’s back. ’ he announced his presence as he approached the table, thick eyebrow quirking as he looked her over. ‘ -- uh, heard you won the contest. ’

On a day where the sun was only just daring to peak out behind layers of clouds, it was limited how many people you’d find mingling outside. Not as few as on a rainy day, but not quite the same numbers as when the sky was blue. To Buster, however, any amount of sun was the perfect amount. Messenger bag hanging off his shoulder, he was searching campus grounds for an inspiring spot to claim as today’s work-space. But lo and behold, a wild distraction had appeared, complete with fiery hair that called out to him. Truly you never knew what a day was going to throw at you until it happened! “Did you see that the sun is out today? Well, sort of. A bit at least. It’s better than no sun, right?”

     god, she hated this song. 

     as the nasally pop singer warbled over the store speakers, evie flipped idly through a rack, her fingers brushing against the cheap faux-velvet material of a skirt. only four bucks... what a steal. truthfully, she wasn’t really looking for anything in particular but when the perky redhead offered the chance to come along on the excursion, it felt rude to say no.

     let be known: evelyn parrish didn’t give a shit about being rude. but she was more cautious about her callous side around exactly three people on this goddamn planet. they made it easier to be... nicer -- and cora was one of them.

Cam: it

Cam: it sucksr eally

Cam: to konw you fuck up everythingg

Mari: there's a party at theta's tonight...

Mari: Angel vs devil theme

      what the fuck was he doing here ? he barely knew anyone and wasn’t in the mood to socialize. maybe it had been a mistake ; he hadn’t even attended the game, after all. but curiosity killed the cat and perhaps cameron was in the midst of his funeral. blinking through bleary vision, he gripped the neck of his beer bottle -- his fourth for the night. or was it his fifth ? he’d lost count after smoking a joint midway through an stupid top 40 song. but being cross-faded only meant one thing: he was hungry and sad as fuck.

     venturing into the kitchen easily, he ignored everyone around him as he opened one of the cabinets, frowning in disdain to see that they had all been cleared out. noticing the blonde holding a chip in her hand, cam perked up easily. ‘ -- hey, where did you get those ? ’ immediately, he halted when he realized who it was. oh, fuck. the sight of cora hit him like a fucking freight train.

          ‘ red ? ’

               cold. was she meant to feel so cold ?

     a shudder slipped from her cracked lips as another quell of nausea coursed through her body. shoulders tensing, mari did all she could from reject the little substance that she had in her stomach, but it could not be helped. even as she blinked blearily through one of the medics patting down her sweltering forehead with a damp towel, she was left with a horrific sinking of her stomach, the terrible realization that nothing would make her feel better.

    her gaze dropped down to cut into her peripheal vision, watching the blood gush from where the teeth had sunk into her flesh, where the skin sprouted away from her muscles and bones. everyone seemed too afraid to touch it, to dare risk infection themselves. the tiny brunette wondered if she would die first from the infection, or from the severe blood loss. another harsh tremble coursed through her body as she let out a whimper, her mouth parting to scream from the pain -- yet no words came out. it wasn’t until her hazy vision settled onto a familiar, panicked face when mari uttered her first words since scout had carried her into shelter.