✧˖°. 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚

Paz felt him move closer, which she was thankful for, considering she had also inched herself in his direction. It was hard not to think about when he had disappeared, how long she had been forced to wait until he came back, losing her mind and imagining every single worst-case scenario she could until she had convinced herself she would never see him again. Her hand reached for his as she turned to face him, hoping for both of their sakes that everyone else was fine and just keeping to themselves this afternoon. "Something else? You know if we go anywhere in public, we might run into the same problem, and I wouldn't want you to freak out."

Normally, Paz would have been thrilled with the town being quiet, that would mean all of the morons that ran around like chickens without heads had finally either found a way out or a new personality that didn't make her want to throw herself off of the highest building in town. Pausing, the blonde looked around them, noticing for the first time that things really were silent. "Maybe they're all sleeping in? Or...I don't know, do we really have to think about it? I'm getting flashbacks."

Lowering his hood, Shaggy nodded, shaking his hair out of his face after he did so. He couldn't blame her for assuming he was here for Velma . . . which he supposed was somewhat true, but on his own decision.

" cookbooks , cookbooks , " phyllis hummed , poking the round of her chin as the keyboard keys began to click-clack on their own , the computer beginning to browse through the libraries resources . the device then gives a series of dings and phyllis peers over at it , clapping her hands together .

Haku swallowed hard a few more times, loathe to even bring the words into this little slice of tranquility.

saal's touch was medical , focused , surveying his wounds and his breathing . her brows were furrowed , concentration hardening her feminine features . haku's hand taking hers caught her by surprise , breaking her trance and forcing her to bat her lashes , lifting her head to meet his stare . she didn't squeeze back , her hand instead going stiff in his hold . when was the last time someone had held her tenderly ?? even in a way as small as this ??

~

phyllis waited expectantly , her brows furrowed as she moved to fold her cardigan clad arms across her chest . who phyllis had to surround herself with was an incredibly small pool to pull from — not even a pool , a puddle — and she did not want the few people she did in her life have keeping SECRETS from her !! " go on , " she encouraged , a ghoulish grin tugging at her lips as she lifted the books just a bit higher . " — i'm listening . "

LOCATION: ramen & roll FOR: @wildcstwinter ( tiff )

tiffany was sat with one leg bent on her side of the booth , the other stretched out beneath the table so her doc-clad foot was perched on the edge of swizz's seat . she is scrolling on her phone , catching up on the latest submissions to her blog's inbox , before swizz speaks up . looking at him over the device's edge , her brows furrow , almost as if she's confused he's there . in a way , she was .

~

with a dissatisfied roll of her eyes , saal looked down at the vial in her hand and replaced its cork , securing it with the pad of her thumb as she sighed . of course he didn't need her to do anything . she wished he would need her , the same way she needed him . in any dose , large or small , to ensure she could keep breathing in a world she didn't understand .

Flynn waited for what felt like a painfully long time but was definitely only just a moment or two before her response. He couldn't help but to show the disappointment at her obvious hesitance. The last time around she had been the one to convince him to come along for their adventure, blackmailed him really. This was all new to him.

amusement glimmered in pools of emerald , biting the inside of a freckled cheek as she suppressed a girlish laugh . a hand lifted to cover her lips , masking the blush that rose to her skin's surface . " the smolder ?? i've - i'm sorry , i don't mean to laugh at you , , , " but the apology was interwoven between short bursts of giggles , having to turn her face away to get a grip . it was more than the face , or even its name , more so that her heart was beating as wild as a startled rabbits . something akin to excitement bubbling her stomach .

"I need to go back," Haku replied, regret tinging every word as they left their mouth. His heart ached for a moment, hating himself for the complete selfishness of their actions.

saal , ever patient when it comes to the medical treatment of others ( showing the very tenderness she had always hoped from ) , didn't let her brief irritation cross her expression or show itself in her work . she moved silently from one cut to the other , gently brushing debris from his scrapes , brows knotted in concentration . " go back where , haku ?? " she inquired , not as delicate in her questioning as she should be , tone flat as she tried to keep her responses neutral . solely an assessment for information .

~

an innocent tilt of her head , a mischievous grin on her lips as she bats her eyes ; " what ever do you mean ?? i was , AM , the most well behaved ghoul there ever was . you're confusing me for winnie . " she navigates to the check out screen , punching in maddox's information to bring up his profile . then , she squints , leaning closer to the glowing monitor to ensure she was reading things right . " maddox , you have like , , , four books overdue . " a quizzical glance to her big brother , the wrinkling of her nose as he insinuated she wouldn't understand whatever it was he was getting into .

It wasn't cold, not compared to the recent winter weather, but Shaggy liked hoodies too much to ditch his just yet. They were perfect for concealing him from the world a little more, which also meant concealing him from familiar faces from time to time.

the ghoul leaned over the desk enough , elbows propped on it's surface , that her feet floated just above the warped floorboards . she tilted her head , light hair falling to one side . " coach ?? is that you ?? " she perked upon recognizing him , ghoulish laughter floating from her lips as she lifted her hands to cradle her chin in her palms .

"So rude," Nick teased, "ignoring me like that. I'm hurt." Leaning back against his pillow, phone on speaker by his ear, he couldn't hide the smile in his tone. Not that he was trying very hard. "I'm always okay with you coming over." He paused before addressing the unasked question. "I told Judy you'd be by." At least, he thought he had. But Peri had no reason to worry ; there had been tension before, he would admit as much, but Judy had been the one to suggest rekindling their romance. Surely there were no hard feelings there anymore. "What do you want for dinner? I'll play chef tonight."

peri's laughter is soft as lips spread into a soft grin , plucking a particularly large sweater off of the rack before draping it over her forearm . " i'm sorry , sweets . i'll make it up to you . " she shifts the phone from one ear to the other , moving towards a different rack in the lounge wear section . her heart misses a beat , making her words tighten just a bit . hardly enough to be noticeable but , enough for her to have to force them out ; " oh , really ?? will they be home ?? " peri asks , keeping her tone light . despite the consistent reassurance that everything between herself and judy was fine , that the other posed no ill-will towards her , peri couldn't help but have her doubts . maybe it was just insecurity , but something in her gut told her something about the whole situation was just odd .

Pacifica nodded slowly, knowing that he was right as far as she could remember. To be fair, she didn't often want to remember when her own father had offered to work for him and instead - well, that wasn't something she liked to dwell on even if it had felt like a victory at the time. But the point still stood. Bill wasn't the type to have an equal partner and the idea of someone like that existing was a terrifying one. "Okay, maybe...maybe he found someone but if that were the case, wouldn't more horrible things be happening already?" She really didn't want to think about that possibility.

" i am NOT an awful liar !! " dipper huffed , yet , he knew he was . sure , he was good at hiding things , , , but lying outright always proved itself to be a challenge . he wasn't attempting to appear humble whenever he said he wasn't good with words . he truly wasn't . dipper drags his thumb up and down the side of her clothed hip , lips turning down into a scowl . " okay , so , maybe i haven't been sleeping , " he dismisses the severity of his lack-of-rest with a limp shrug of his shoulder , muttering the confession under stubborn breath .

Harry didn't often get a night off from the tavern, not because they were short-staffed or anything, but because he genuinely liked working there. However, he'd heard about this blind date, speed date event and it had sounded intriguing. Plus, he was completely unattached as of this moment and might have been on the lookout for someone new to...get to know. "You too?" Harry asked with jovial exasperation, as though they were the only two people left in this whole bar without a fake engagement. "It does seem a bit unfair, doesn't it? A little backwards considering those of us without a match are the ones who most likely need those free drinks the most." He teased, laughing warmly as he settled down onto the stool beside hers. "You know what this means, don't you?"

a solemn nod , followed by the dramatic blowing of a lock of strawberry blonde out of her face ; " me too . " she gives him a clear and less than discrete once over , almost sizing him up to see if the open bar was worth handing herself away so easily , coming to find that he seemed suitable . his voice was nice and he smelt good . like a warm meal mixed with notes of whatever cologne he was wearing . a playful smile as she prods her lower lip with her straw , wagging the red thread . " i do , " she mused , an amused laugh sounding . huh , marriage puns were far easier to come by than she'd ever considered . not that she had spent much time considering them .