run.

pepe tilted his head to the side, not sure he quite bought the reason given. but he wouldn’t argue when he was told he was handsome. compliments always got anyone far when it came to pepe. he smiled proudly, running a hand through his hair. “well, thank you. at least someone has noticed. i’m not one to beg for compliments, but the people around here really don’t know taste, do they?” he teasingly said, laughing slightly. he wet his lips, trying to think of the best way of explaining what he was famous for. he didn’t want to scare the other off, but he didn’t want to outright lie either. “i’m too spicy for youtube. no, i’m on private websites you have to pay to see me. and, let me tell you: people certainly pay.”

eunhyuk nodded in agreement, knowing he would love to have a small group of friends over a large one. but, first, he would actually need to find people who wanted to be his friend in the first place. he smiled easily, simply happy to have helped. even if he didn’t manage to do anything else for the night, at least he’d done something good. “i do feel far too accomplished now. i’ve done too much, in fact, and should probably leave to save myself from getting in over my head,” he playfully joked. it was a light and good feeling that came over him, the other helping him more than he probably knew. “you don’t have to return anything to me. as long as i know you’re staying out of trouble and not ending up on my table, i will be happy with that. but, if you’re okay with leaving now, i would be more than happy with walking out together. let’s just hope my sister doesn’t see me escape. i don’t need to hear her asking me whether or not we did something more after this,” he said with an amused shake of his head before motioning for the other to follow him in their jointed escape.

eunhyuk couldn’t help his chuckle as she talked about not hearing about the dishes. he couldn’t actually be upset with her over it considering it was such a small thing when it all came down to it. “you don’t have to worry about doing them right now or anything. you can just hang out with me,” he suggested. they didn’t spend much time together, eunhyuk either always working or eunyoo always with her headphones in. while he didn’t mind it considering he thrived in his introverted ways, he still craved for some familial bonding with her. he didn’t want to lose touch when she was all the family he realistically had left. “i’ll be sure to get hurt so much more now for your benefit,” he teased with a roll of his eyes, carefully climbing into the car once they were close enough. “really, though. thank you. i know i can always count on you whenever i need to.”

rhys shook his head dismissively. “nah. you wouldn’t want to kill me because i’m one of your better henchman. it would be a waste for you to kill me off. you’re still a badass little sith lord,” he said, playfully patting the other’s chest. “you need a lot more than me telling you the truth, honestly. it’s been a bust here. we need a good rave scene here. euro clubs is where its at,” he lightly complained. “we should fuck off. get some booze, maybe some dust. you know, if you want to indulge. that’s more thrilling than this,” he suggested, wetting his lips as he looked back over to the other.

rhys nodded as the other took his hand and explained that his actions certainly helped him get what he wanted. rhys wasn’t a dick: he wasn’t going to pressure someone into doing something they didn’t want to do. but, if he could convince them to trust him into doing the thing, that was a different matter entirely. “oh, i’ll totally show you why you should come with me out of here. dancing like everyone else or not, you’re going to be so impressed,” he teased, a small smirk on his lips as he turned the other around and pulled him closer by his hips. then he proceeded to lead them in a small and intimate dance, his lips lingering close to the other’s ear. “you said against the grain, so you’re going to get what you wanted,” he joked. “and everyone is going to stare at us and wish they were doing just the same. i knew you were an influencer of some sort.”

it probably wasn’t fair for jj to assume sarah had ill-intentions for his best friend, but he couldn’t help but be protective. he knew john b was a soft guy and would easily get hurt, especially when he was so upset about his missing dad lately. he was surprised she said she liked john b, not able to doubt her words. however, before he could say anything else about it, he was stunned by her finding out about rafe coming to his house. immediately, he began to panic and think of an excuse. “what? why are you following your brother around? that’s kind of creepy, sarah,” he said, a laugh escaping him as he tried to avoid the topic. “maybe i am buying something off of him. or, maybe he’s buying something off of me. what’s it matter?” he asked with a one shouldered shrug.

jj’s mouth fell open in a silent gasp, playfully offended by the jab at his appearance. “i’m just effortlessly beautiful and i like to exemplify that,” he joked, playfully adjusting his clothes. he wet his lips as rafe drew closer, his heart picking up its pace. he felt goosebumps run along his skin. “if it’s you picking me up, then yeah. i don’t want you to work yourself too hard, rafe,” he whispered back, turning his head just slightly so their cheeks brushed. “but, keep talking about how i look and you might win something a bit more than a date.”

shang-chi was knelt over and mopping up the mess as the other joined him, flashing the other a grateful and bright smile. “don’t feel bad! i need to be more aware. you would think that someone who is very aware of his surroundings for work would be able to function outside of a car, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. my powers are very limited,” he joked with a laugh. he picked up the dirty napkins and the now-empty cup, throwing it all into the trash. “i’m sure they would give me a replacement, no need for you to pay for it. but, maybe this is a sign that maybe coffee isn’t for me. i was already tempted with the hot chocolate, but i felt like i needed to pretend that i’m an adult dependent on caffeine,” he said. “what do you think? i’ll let you decide for me since you are not unfortunately involved with my mess,” he asked, flashing the other another smile.

pepe playfully shook his head, tsking lightly. “then, it will be my duty to refresh you instead,” he teased. he shrugged his shoulders at the mention of the new priest. he was quite aware of the man’s arrival and chose his costume accordingly to that. he was raised catholic and had a particular distaste for it, much to his mother’s dismay. “thank you. i think i make a much better priest than he does. but, it is my plan to meet up with him later for some civil discussion,” he joked, a grin on his lips. “you’re free to come along to see his reaction. i know it’ll be very amusing.”

eunyuk felt bad that she was obviously disappointed that she couldn’t leave just yet, but he always wanted to be cautious when it came to the health of others. obviously, considering his choice of profession. “at least it’s three hours and not three days. things could have been a lot worse. i just need to be sure your body has everything it needs for proper healing and that you won’t be coming back in because of constant headaches or anything like that,” he explained. “your friend cans till come and wait with you. surely that would be more fun that having me attempt at small talk. i’ve been told i’m better silent than trying to say anything really.”

pepe scrunched up his nose, clearly not pleased with the answer he got. she didn’t even go on to ask more about him. even if she didn’t know him, he wouldn’t mind spreading the word. “well, do you think i should be famous at least? perhaps a model for how good i look? you can’t tell me you wouldn’t like gazing upon my figure,” he attempted, trying to find a way of talking about himself.

pepe felt slightly hurt by the other asking if he should be familiar or not. while he shouldn’t be surprised considering what he was known for, he still craved public attention. but, the mention of a spider had his eyes growing wide and his hand wildly brushing off his hair in an attempt to free himself of his unknown attacker. “are you fucking serious. why are you so calm about this? why didn’t you get it for me? oh my god that’s so fucking gross,” he said, slightly panicked. if there was one creature he truly hated, it was spiders.

“it was you who had a hand in this, wasn’t it, fae?” odin asked, keeping a small distance between himself and the other. he had heard of the other, but had never had the chance to meet her. now that he had, he had to choose his battle carefully. “i don’t wish to say what you’ve done is wrong, but i don’t think it was entirely necessary. an agent of chaos, much like my son, is not always necessary. midgaurdians cause their own misfortunes every day, no need to give them even more.”

mal thought he was being clever with his costume choice the moment he heard what alina was dressing as. perhaps he could throw a hint or try his luck. “since we’re dressed like this, i think you might owe me a dance. or, maybe a duet. but, i know you don’t want to hear me start singing,” he joked with a small laugh before reaching out to take their hand. “you can just pretend i’m not me if that helps,” he quickly back tracked with a shrug, his sudden surge of confidence dying just slightly. he didn’t want it to see like he was forcing alina to give him attention. but, he craved it.

it was a silly children’s game that scho would usually be hesitant to play now that he was a grown adult, but he was actually having a much better time than he thought. ducking behind bookshelves and find cover by standing posters he felt like he could finally let go of his troubles for once and simply be in the moment, a real moment. he wasn’t stuck in a past that was not his. he was in his very real present finding joy in a stranger that shared a passion with him. however, as he found himself sitting in a tight space in the children’s section, there was a familiar and unpleasant feeling beginning to wash over him. it was suffocating and weighing him down. he started to hyperventilate, feeling lost in a dark vision with his mind creating the deafening sounds of rocks tumbling over him.