a    fortress    forbidden    since    childhood  .          the    desire    to    venture    beyond    its    gates    null                        until    now  .          bianca’s    words    linger    in    the    back    of    her    mind    :      it’s    foolish      ,        moronic      .    .    .      denial    of    fact  .          she    can’t    shake    the    feeling    it’s    more    than    mere    accident    that    kept    their    mother    from    returning    home    that    night.          𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝙰𝙻      ,        grief’s    first    stage.          yet    what    she    knows    as    this  :    there’s    no    rest    to    be    found    without    closure  .

                kept    to    the    shadows      ,        following    sign    after    sign    conspicuously    marking    what’s    OFF    LIMITS  .          could    they    be    less    blatant  ?          then    again      ,        the    sensation’s    there                          somewhere    eyes    watch  .          her    story’s    cemented      ,        should    she    find    herself    caught.          a    daughter    grieving      ,        desperate    to    learn    if    anything’d    been    left    behind.          focus    caught      ,        the    hall    seems    to    grow    darker    with    fluorescents    that    flicker.          nearing    in    on    its    corner    where    scratches      ,        where    dents    find    the    wall    speckled    in    dried    crimson    thus    far    unscathed.

⸻ his father has spent so much of his time in laboratory walls , he’s begun to take those very same cold , secretive walls & put them up in their home . in the beginning , they were thin enough to at least hold clear conversations through . nowadays he’s lucky if he’s able to hear someone who might even resemble the man . “ where are you going ? ” the voice had asked — out of obligation rather than concern . “ why do you care ? ” he’d shot back .

patrick parked his bulky , lurid mint green jeep blocks from forbidden shell of a facility & creeps his way past rusted fences armed with determination & his blade . to snoop around in a place like this without so much as a notion of what exactly he's looking for is far from his grandest idea . & his excuse ? hands - on research for a school paper . humanoid shadow grabs tight to his focus & drops rocks in his stomach . licking dried lips , blade appears from its hilt , stalks strange silhouette . whoever -- whatever he'd been expecting to find , kat stratford hadn't been among the possibilities .

fluffy cuteness for all your fluffy cuteness needs.  Feel free to adjust as needed ! ♡

06.) interlude ii ( second thoughts ).

“the truth is the kid’s medicine made him sin.” “we put his record on until he’s bleeding on the needle.” “cut down on his curtain call.” “take aim with these hands he once possessed.” “a dozen roses on the pavement laid the rest.” “will i feel some remorse?” “no, pull the trigger.” “his brain has a sickness, so kill it at the source.”

07.) curtain call.

“springtime, and i still haven’t left you behind.” “i find that i’m anything but fine.” “no, i’m okay.” “please, just look away.” “please don’t say that i begged you to stay.” “truth just hurts too much.” “bourbon to kill my pain.” “curtains to hold my shame.” “they can’t look away: cannot contain my rage.” “limbo has been awaiting my stay.” “please, dear god: just give me some price to pay.” “oh please god, just make it all go away.” “(GUNSHOT)” “they know a concrete grave cannot contain my rage.” “so take my hand, hold my shame.”

08.) interlude iv ( showtime ).

“we’re finally free. welcome home.” “it’s just you and me now, standing alone.” “the world is ours.” “get in the car.” “this isn’t finished.” “even though the kid’s dead, i’m still seeing red.” “i’m just a shell of his form, that his innocence shed.” “he lived a good life and he gave it to you.” “look at him, showered in blood and flowers.” “now, look in my eyes. she still holds the power.” “after years and tears and confronting his fears: he’s dead on his record for the world to hear.” “they’ll all think it was suicide. but i know it was you inside.” “i saved him! i held him ‘til the moment he died.” “you choked him out of his own god damn mind!” “you promised the world to him, a god damn lie!” “what do you want from me?” “look outside yourself.” “i won’t help you take her down.” “…fine. i’ll do it by myself.” “she’s been gone for years, i know you can beat it.” “look in the mirror, you know we both fear her.” “we’re one in the same, we’re afraid to be near her.” “you won’t let me kill him. you’re worse than ____!” “i told you to end it. it was all for the best.” “so i have you to blame for this pain in my chest?” “if you won’t go i will.” “you’re filling your heart up with hate, all the same as the kid that you left face down on the pavement.” “it’s time i made a statement.” “a pity the city has ruined us, we could’ve fooled hollywood: just the two of us.” “you’re lost.” “is this what love is really for? “is this all i get for being yours, the kid in front of me in blood and gore?” “show’s about to start. don’t be late.”

09.) war!

*punches a wall*