|| DARBY BUCKLEY || interacting with: jenny
❀❀ darby didn’t go to parties. throughout her four years of high school, darby had yet to attend a single party, and hardly even hung out with friends. darby spent her friday nights with her brother, or picking up extra shifts at the arcade, or even just trying to catch up on all the sleep she missed during the week. thats probably why it was so surprising when she showed up to jennifer’s house that night, probably why people stared and gawked and murmured when they saw her there. in hindsight, it was probably really stupid to go. she knew she wouldn’t have any fun, knew that the most exciting thing she’d get to do was sip on some cheap spiked punch all night. still, even knowing this darby couldn’t stop herself from going. her brother was having a nasty fight with his girlfriend, the arcade was closed this late at night, and there was no way in hell she could sleep with all that shouting. jennifer’s house was really her only option, unless she wanted to sit outside her house until some strange man came and kidnapped her. which, evidently, she didn’t.
darby wasn’t stupid- she knew to expect some trouble doing a stupid thing like this, so none of their stares or petty gossips really got to her. she knew the kind of people that would be at this party, including the devil of a hostess herself, and knew they’d be tearing her apart the minute they heard word of her attendance. it was just the price she had to pay for free booze, she guessed. that didn’t mean darby came unprepared though, if the little switchblade hidden deep in her pocket meant anything. these dicks had never gotten physical with her, nor was darby intending to actually use it on anyone, but dumb teenagers did dumb shit after drinking. if they tried anything, all darby had to do was wave the knife around until they backed off. it was a simple plan, one darby could only hope wouldn’t blow up in her face.
and so, semi-confident in her safety, darby poured herself a glass and sat down, waiting patiently for whatever hell was about to come her way. she took slow, gentle sips, seemingly savoring each drop. her brother had taught her how to drink without getting absolutely trashed, and though darby wouldn’t mind being a little shitfaced right now, she knew it was dangerous at a scene like this. as she took her last sip, her eyes locked with a certain platinum-blonde bitch she’d been hoping to avoid. as soon as she realized where she was looking, she averted her gaze, but it was too late. the damage was done. they’d made eye contact; darby noticed jennifer, and jennifer must have noticed her back. teeth catching her bottom lip, her fingers tensed around the plastic cup, gaze glued on her drink as she tried to pretend like it never happened. she was keenly aware of the knife at this point, the way it felt pressed against her through the cloth of her shorts, its position, how quickly she could reach for it.
❀❀ I THINK I LEFT MY CONSCIENCE ON YOUR FRONT DOORSTEP
|| HEATHER CLARKE || interacting with: the kiddo squad
❀❀ “i’m rolling to seduce.” heather was finally starting to feel comfortable around her friends again. two years deep into her treatment, and finally, fucking finally, could she look liam in the eye again, or reply to what nicole was saying, or laugh whenever alex overreacted to something. hell, she could even laugh at one of oliver’s jokes again! it was such a gratifying feeling, like she’d finally done something with her life. of course, other thoughts would soon creep in, thoughts of self-loathing and disappointment for feeling so proud of something so simple, but she shoved those nasties to the back of her mind for now. she could cry about it later, but right now? heather was too busy trying to save her party from a nasty (but pretty) witch, threatening to turn the lot of them into frogs. “we... we, um, don't need to fight right now. we should save up our strength for whatever o - overpowered boss liam expects us to beat next.” a good excuse, considering otherwise, her party might have thought she wanted to seduce the witch for other, more lesbianistic reasons... which, y’know, would have been completely wrong obviously.
fingers scrambling for the dice, she was quick to scoop them up into her shaky little palms and give them a few shakes. twenty times exactly, with an extra for good luck, before she threw them out and onto the table and- “a twenty! that’s gotta be a success, right?” heather almost felt guilty. whenever she joined a campaign, she was either the party’s saving grace or their painful downfall. the poor kid could only roll a twenty or a one, nothing in between. either she failed horribly (and probably died along the way), or she was just as overpowered as the monsters liam thought up. either way, it seemed to frustrate the hell out of liam, not that heather really blamed him. “ooo, can she go turn the boss monster into a frog? c - can she give us all a temporary plus three in s - strength?” heather grinned, before she realized just how wide her smile was, face falling in turn.
it was no secret that heather was self-conscious. not just about her body or her personality, but about her life in general. i mean, with how many times she’d nearly died, she often wondered if the universe had wanted her to exist at all. why else would they make someone so unlucky? why else would they give one kid so much baggage? it just didn’t make sense. her therapist told her time and time again that thoughts like these were normal, that it made sense to feel so astray after going through something like that. heather’s pretty sure she was just telling her that to make her feel better. after all, how normal could a girl like her be? she couldn’t even talk to her best friends for two goddamn years because of it! that couldn’t be normal- that had to be a new, pathetic kind of unusual. “how powerful i - is this witch, anyways?” her voice quivered slightly, a quirk her friends had grown used to over the years.
❀❀ I GO TO BED WITH ALL MY LIGHTS TURNED ON SO I DON’T SLIP AWAY