The Smell of Popcorn and Death | Helen, Melissa and John
Who: Helen Leventis, Melissa McCall and John Greenberg When: Friday, June 13, 2014 -- night Where: Helen's house and the hospital What: After a much needed break, John and Helen are watching Frozen when Helen receives a text from Ashlyn. At first, John is reluctant to go and check on their friend considering what Ashlyn had said the last time they'd talked. However, after sirens are heard, they decide to go check on their friend only to find her in the ICU in Beacon Hills Hospital.
Helen: A DVD night with John -- what was supposed to be just a normal evening, something Helen rarely had lately, turned into something Helen couldn't really enjoy at all. No matter how hard she tried, her mind always drifted off to Daphne and her addiction to the bite and Helen's fight with Ashlyn. Those things really made it difficult for her to follow the story of whatever movie she was watching with John. Right now they were watching Frozen and even though she loved these movies, Helen didn't show any reaction. She just leaned against John's side and ate popcorn.
John: Movies with Helen was exactly what they both needed after the week of exams they had. Now that everything was said and done, John was resting casually on Helen's couch, his arm around her a bowl of popcorn between them. "I don't understand this." John said, plopping a piece or two of popcorn into his mouth as he chewed, then swallowed. "Doesn't Olaf know that he's going to melt when it's summer? I mean, c'mon, he's a snowman for Christs sake."
Helen: "..hu?", she looked up at him, a confused look on her face. "Oh right, Olaf...doesn't look like he knows it, does it? I mean, considering the way he's talking, he really doesn't know it. I mean, he's a snowman so obviously he hasn't seen summer before, that's why he doesn't know that sun is actually bad for him -- so yes, he doesn't know it." She quickly took a sip of her Pepsi as she noticed that she was talking way too much, and moved her eyes back to the screen so it would look like she was watching the movie -- which she wasn't.
John: "The snowman needs to learn that and Elsa really doesn't think that guy loves her does she? I mean really." John shook his head, throwing a piece of popcorn up only to have it land on his nose. Trying gain, John made his mouth and kissed the top of Helens head. "The reindeer makes me laugh. He's kinda funny."
Helen: "I think it's cute that he thinks the sun won't harm him. And she did", she answered, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth as John kissed her head. "And if you would actually continue watching, in silence, you'll see that you'll get all your answers at the end of the movie -- but you're right, the reindeer is awesome...reminds me a little of you", she added with a little chuckle.
John: "That's because I'm awesome as is the reindeer." He threw a piece of popcorn at Helen before he went silent again. Instead of talking, he stayed quiet seeing as things were getting intense. "You can't just…you can't do that!" John threw popcorn at the TV when Hans turned evil and the look on his face. When Helen sat up, John thought that she was going to swat at him but instead, nothing came and he looked over at her. "What's wrong?"
Helen: "Yes, you're both awesome." She chuckled again before she gave him a pinch because he threw a piece of popcorn at her. After John turned quiet to watch the movie, Helen got lost in her thoughts. She really tried not to, since she was basically thinking the whole day about those things and she was in need of a break, but she just couldn't help it. She didn't really notice John's reaction to Hans finally showing his real face, she was deep in thoughts -- but she did notice that her phone started to vibrate. Getting it out of her jeans pocket and looking at the screen, Helen sat up as she saw who it was and what she wrote; 'SOS - Ash'. She knitted her eyebrows a little, obviously confused about the message. Was that Ashlyn's way of getting in contact with Helen again? Did she realize what she did and now she felt bad? No, a part in her knew that if Ash felt sorry, she would do something different, like actually going to Helen to talk to her face to face. The blonde grabbed the remote and paused the movie before she turned to John. "It's Ash, she send SOS to me. I think we should go and check on her."
John: "Why?" John asked, plopping some more popcorn into his mouth. "She was an ass to me the last time we talked. Plus Hans! I have to find out what happens." If John knew what was really going on, he'd change his attitude over the whole thing. "I mean, look at him. He's like Vince. The ass of the sc--" However, John paused when he heard sirens, driving in the direction of Ash's house. Looking back back at Helen, he nodded. "I think we should go check on her."
John: "Why?" John asked, plopping some more popcorn into his mouth. "She was an ass to me the last time we talked. Plus Hans! I have to find out what happens." If John knew what was really going on, he'd change his attitude over the whole thing. "I mean, look at him. He's like Vince. The ass of the sc--" However, John paused when he heard sirens, driving in the direction of Ash's house. Looking back back at Helen, he nodded. "I think we should go check on her."
Helen: "She was rude to me too but she wrote SOS, so I'm a little concerned", she replied, slightly upset that John seemed like he would prefer to continue watching the movie. Helen raised an eyebrow as John didn't finish his sentence, she didn't hear the sirens yet. "Yeah, I think we should." She quickly turned off the TV and got up to put on her shoes and a jacket. As she did it, she could finally hear the sirens as well, which didn't really help her to stay calm -- In fact, Helen was already freaking out on the inside. "C'mon hurry", she said after she was already out of the frontdoor.
John: Much like Helen, John was up, jumping on one foot as he put on his shoes, he finally had them on and was following her out of the house. Instead of saying anything, John followed Helen out of house. "Go, we'll take…something. Does your sister have a car or something?" John asked seeing as he had walked over here.
Helen: "Y -- yes, she has a very crappy car." She looked over to the driveway, letting out a sigh in relief as she saw that it was actually standing there. "And if her car is here, the car key must be....HA! It's here!" A little smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she found the key hanging on the keyboard close to the cloak hanger. After she found the key, she quickly left the house again, closed the door and gave John the car key, since she didn't have a driver license yet. Her hands were shaking as she opened the car door and sat down on the passenger seat -- she suddenly had a very bad feeling.
John: "I ca--" John was cut off as Helen muttered to herself, or more likely to him not that he couldn't hear her because he could, but he kept quiet knowing that she would talk her way into what she needed or wanted to be done. However, he felt the keys in his hand and without a question, knowing what needed to be done. Sliding into the car, he backed up and started off towards Ashlyn's house. However, before he got there he could see the ambulance pulling away, lights and sirens going that forced him to pull over as the whizzed past him. "…Uhhh…."
Helen: The blonde chewed on her lowerlip, tapping her fingers on her knees as John was driving as fast as the car could -- which wasn't that fast, sadly. Helen was beyond nervous and as they arrived at Ash's house and Helen could see the ambulance driving away, it only got worse. Feeling tears in her eyes, Helen looked over to her boyfriend. "What are you waiting for? Drive to the hospital!", she almost yelled, but not in anger, she was just really terrified right now.
John: Flustered for a moment as Helen yelled, John quickly followed after the ambulance. Nerves were going through his body as he drove, his hands shaking. Maybe they should've listened to the text earlier and left faster because maybe they could've been there sooner. However, he knew that wasn't possible. Instead, they were driving behind the ambulance. When they pulled into the parking lot rather sharply, John caught a glimpse of the blonde girl being pulled into the hospital on a stretcher with oxygen over her face. "Shit." John parked rather badly, taking the keys from the ignition and scrambling out of the car and reached for Helen's hand. "C'mon."
Helen: Helen had her hands folded, hear forehead resting against them as she send prayers up to the gods. Yes, she was angry at them most of the time and quite frankly she honestly hated them, but right now she was hoping that they would listen to her nevertheless -- that they wouldn't let anything bad happen to her best friend...her sister. "What? Why did you say that?", she asked confused, raising her head, Helen hadn't seen what John saw -- which was probably not too bad because she would've definitely had a little break down then. The blonde quickly got out of the car after John parked it, and took his hand before the two of them almost ran into the hospital. "Can you see her? Where do we go?", she asked, her breathing a little heavy because she was already fighting against a little panic attack.
John: "Nothing." John lied, not wanting to tell Helen what he saw. It wasn't something that Helen needed to know about right now. Holding onto her hand, John could hear her heartbeat going faster than normal. Both of them were nervous and terrified for their friend right now but he knew that she was in good hands. There was nothing he could do about it right now. "I don't think so, they just got her back there." John pulled Helen towards him, wrapping his arms around her. "She'll be alright."
Melissa: Pulling of the pair of now slightly bloodied gloves from her hands, Melissa looked over to Helen's stable condition. Drug overdoses were one of her least favorite things. And she knew Ashlyn. She was a nice girl, she didn't deserve to die. Rubbing her hands over her face, she sighed loudly. She'd called Alexander a dozen times so far but he wasn't picking up. The girl was alive, barely. Unconscious, stable, alive and very very alone. "Have you tried calling him again?" Melissa asked one of her co-workers as she pursed her lips together and glanced back at the blonde. Looking out the window, into the waiting room, Melissa spotted John and Helen. Twisting her hair back into a ponytail, Melissa quickly sprinted over to them. "Do you know where Alexander Quinn is? I need to contact him about Ashlyn's condition."
Helen: Helen leaned against John, eyes wide open, a hand covering her mouth and her legs more than shaky. She didn't like this, she didn't like standing here without knowing what's wrong with her best friend at all -- and the utterly bad feeling she had didn't make her calm down. She didn't even hear John's soothing words because she was really in shock. Anyway, she managed to pull herself out of it a little as she saw a familiar face -- Melissa McCall. She knew her from her own stay at the hospital months ago, back when John had attacked her. She had never talked a lot with her, but she knew that she was close with Alex, therefore she /must/ now something about Ash. Pulling away from John, Helen walked towards Melissa. "N -- no, I don't know...I -- I didn't even think about calling him", she looked back at John, an almost guilty expression on her face. Why the hell didn't she think about calling Alex? "W -- what's wrong with her? What happened?", she asked, turning back to Melissa. "Ash send me an SOS and as -- as we got to her place, the ambulance was already driving away with her...she's -- she's okay, right?" Helen bit her lowerlip, feeling how her legs got even more shaky, which is why she reached out for John. Needless to say, Helen was close to a break down -- she just couldn't lose her sister.
John: As they stood there, John felt himself growing worse with worry. He needed someone there but Helen was right there in his arms and that was enough for right now. Instead, he was going to hold her, soothe her hair and tell her everything was going to be okay -- words that he didn't believe but only one of them was the werewolf who could detect the lying heartbeat. When he saw Melissa, he almost said something but then stopped. He'd seen her at the lacrosse games since freshman year of high school. When she talked, he shook his head regarding Alex because much like Helen, the thought didn't cross his mind. Instead of saying anything, John stayed by Helen, not saying anything as Helen talked. Someone could do the talking right now instead of himself.
Melissa: Crinkled her eyebrows together and took a deep breath. "You're not her immediate family so I am not able to tell you the extensive details of her condition but she is stable. For now." She smiled hopefully at Helen. She remember the young girl. She'd had the most awful wounds from an 'animal attack'. "It's okay, Miss. Leventis. Just breathe. So neither of you know where he is? He's not picking up his phone and it is of vital importance that we contact him. He is her only family after all." Inhaling again, Melissa guided Helen over to a seat and said. "You should probably sit down. Do you need something to drink?" She looked like she was about to faint and Melissa didn't want to deal with another person that needed help. She'd told Isaac that she was going to be home just over an hour ago and she hadn't gotten around to calling him so that he knew she'd be late.
Helen: Helen let out a frustrated groan as Melissa said that she couldn't tell her anything -- of course she understood it, but right in this moment she really hated those rules. "..w -- wait, what do you mean for now?...what the hell happened to her...GODS!" She brushed her shaking hands through her hair, a hopeless expression on her face. Helen didn't want this, she didn't want to stand here and not knowing anything, she wanted to be with Ashlyn, she wanted to know what happened. Why the hell wasn't Alex around? He would definitely tell her everything. The blonde didn't really notice that Mrs. McCall guided her over to a seat and made her sit, she was too overwhelmed right now. "No...I wanna see my friend...", she replied before burying her face in her hands, trying to hold back a few sobs -- this was just too much.
John: "I need to know." John growled at Melissa and instincts kicking in when the older women touched Helen. He almost went over and did it himself but then he stopped because he knew that she would take care of Helen. "I need to know." John repeated but when it was evident that she was going to tell him, John growled again, grinding his teeth. The smell of the hospital was too strong, the smell of life and death and he needed to leave for a little. "I'll be right back." John whispered in Helen's ear before he quickly left, leaning against a pole before he slid down, closing his eyes. The image of Ashlyn danced before his eyes and he dug his nails into his scalp, the smell of death lingering in his nose.
