"I'll go," you offer, "It shouldn't take us too long if we're just going to the alley right? It shouldn't take us more than, what? Fifteen minutes?"

"Yeah, I think so. All I need to do is hop inside and look for a big can, right? That should be easy!"


"Alright alright, you girls can go. But I'm only giving you twenty minutes before you have to come back, got it? And it would probably be best if you don't stray too far, but don't go making a ruckus right behind the house either. Just go down a block and look in one of those, and if someone catches you-"


"We're just two Girl Scouters looking for recyclables for a badge, got it! Wait, let me get ready real quick!" Marilyn races up the stairs, way more prepared for this than you are. She slides past Aria as she comes down the stairs, watching the younger girl disappear on the second floor before coming down to join you on the couch in a half awake daze.


"So what's going on now?" Aria yawns.

"Me and Marilyn are Girl Scouts now."

"Oh?" Raising an eye, Aria looks towards John, "How come you never put me in scouts, Dad?" You try to stifle giggles at the initial confusion on John's face, Aria not bothering to hide it as he finally catches on.


"Damn. If all of you are gonna be my kids, I expect some nice Father's Day gifts. Hey, someone go ask Law if he wants to call me 'daddy' too." Everyone but Lisa is grinning, who instead leans in close to you and whispers.


"He's not really everyone's dad, is he?" Shaking your head 'no', Lisa looks relieved just by the fact that she's not left out of the loop. Bounding down the stairs, Marilyn returns bundled up and prepared to go out. Given a thick pair of gloves much too big for her hands, she's finally ready to start her task. With you leading the way, Lawrence helps the two of you out of the window and back outside. Despite everything being quiet, you can't help but feel on guard after what happened earlier. No car parked in the alley and no one hanging around where they shouldn't be -sans your group- it's an easy beeline to and out the gate. As John suggested, you lead the way from one alley to the next, able to still see the fence to the house.


"Okay, so you know what to do for all this, right?" you ask, peeking into one dumpster as you cover your nose.

"Yeah. Does that one look safe?"

"I...guess? Not really sure what I need to be looking for..."

[1/2]

"Um, here. Let me take a look." Barely able to look over the edge, Marilyn stands on tiptoes to peer inside the half full dumpster. "...it's good enough. Will you help me in?" It's a bit of a struggle, but you manage to help lift and push her inside, ever so thankful that it's not you going feet first into other people's trash.


"Do you need me to do anything else?"

"Keep an eye out. And um, I guess let me know if anyone is coming." Standing on top of stacked black bags, Marilyn searches around for the best place to start first. Finding the target she gets to work, tearing open the bag and starting to sort through it's contents.


"Remember the size we need, I think as long as it's bigger than like a can of vegetables we should be fine." Standing outside the dumpster, you take to looking up and down the alley as Marilyn begins her search. Between the rustling and shifting of trash being sorted you can pick out lyrics that Marilyn hums to herself to occupy the silent space. You think about how nice it would be if she uncovered a radio or even a Walkman inside, but doubt that it'll be that lucky.


"How's it going in there? Finding anything?"

"Um, yeah, actually. I think there's a Folgers can or something in this one. I just need to get some stuff out of the way..."

[2/3dammit, i suck]

"Oh, that's good. No rush, I just wanted to make sure you weren't too busy singing Taylor Dayne and not finding anything." You easily move out of reach when Marilyn attempts to retaliate, fuming at the mention of her singing. Sticking her tongue out briefly, she returns to her work of uncovering the ever so important can. While on guard, you've heard cars come and go occasionally, none of them stopping or raising any suspicion. It's only when you hear people, rather boys, talking from around the corner that you start paying special attention. Sounding to be around your age, it feels odd that they would be out on a school day during this time.


"Yeah man, but what if we get caught?"

"We aren't going to, we'll just hang around the old skate park till we're supposed to be released from class. No one goes over there during the day, and if we don't go now then it'll be too icy to even try anything for weeks!"


Bicycle tires squeaking on the ground, it sounds as if the two are making plans. You aren't too concerned, expecting them to just walk away, but Marilyn seems to think otherwise.


"Oh! Shoot! Help me out of here! I don't want anyone to see me in here!" She says, looking down the way.

"I don't think they're going to see you."

"Bet so! They're cutting class, they aren't going to be walking on the streets! They're probably going to cut through here!" Ready to try and say that she's over reacting, you remember that Marilyn is the one with the most experience in playing hooky.


They're just two boys your age, if you decide to not act suspicious then there's not really much they'll try to do.

But you two should really stay out of sight as much as possible, if you feel like running then there's always down the alley and out the other end or even back into the house if you can manage that. Or, as much as it sucks to say it, you doubt they would stop to look in a dumpster...

What do you do?

>>700577

Dumpster time. Desperate times and all.

>>700577
Gross. Ech.

Into the dumpster.

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Trivia: Wisteria is a cameo of Whirlpool from Whirlpool Quest. So here's Melancholic-verse Whirlpool and her love interest,along with Del and John.

I've actually done this for a long while, I've just been waiting for new thread to post this.

"Back inside!"

"What? I don't want to go back in here-" Marilyn's request is ignored with your hand pushing her back in and your own body following soon after. No time for one last clean breath, you duck down and pull the lid down with. In a suffocating darkness, you wait with an ear towards the outside. It's cramped, the top of your head grazing the plastic top. For a moment you hold your breath, sure that you would be able to smell and taste the garbage if you breathed through your mouth. Knees and shins cramping, you hope that Marilyn is faring better as you curse those boys for taking their sweet time. Agonizingly they move down the wet path waiting before you outside, stopping often to focus on their pointlessly annoying conversation. Lungs burning and begging for breath, you are forced to take a deep lung full of the putrid air.


Trying to look back, your eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, it's easier to feel than see Marilyn's hands grab you. Unable to share that this will pass soon enough, you only pray that it does instead. From their conversation, it sounds as if the local middle school is rather near by and that both boys live nearby this block. Getting to finally hear their voices travel away you resist the urge to jump out. In readjusting your foot and having it sink down you near have a heart attack, but regain your balance and silence enough to remain hidden. The moment you can't understand their conversation anymore you toss the lid open and reach up for fresh air. Helping Marilyn stand first you jump to get out of the trash. Now free of the black bags and their contents you begin shaking your body in hopes of sending off anything that may be clinging. Even if you don't look all that dirty, you sure as hell feel disgusting now.


"Is it safe?" Marilyn whispers, leaning over the edge of the dumpster to look down the alley.

"Ew...yeah, I think it is. Can you hurry and get that can now?"


Waiting just long enough to nod, Marilyn jumps back into the pile to look for her target. It only takes a minute for her to resurface, prize in hand. Even though you just came from the same dumpster, you still feel icky holding Marilyn's arms to help her out. Letting her carry the can back you focus on getting back to the gate without crossing paths with anyone. Seeing that the boys have carried on their way, you waste no time to getting back into the yard. Recalling the special knock that Aria had done close enough, the window is opened and you're allowed to climb in.


"We got it!" you announce, holding your filthy arms out far from your body. Marilyn setting down the can she soon after begins removing her coat, an icky expression on her face. Feeling Lawrence coming up and ready to touch your shoulder you turn around and back away.

[1/3]

"Don't touch! I'm filthy!" your warning coming out more like a whine, trying not to touch anything yourself. With Marilyn stripping off any unneeded layers and tossing them away like they were tainted, neither of you offer much explanation.

"Are y'all back? Did you find one?" John asks, limping to the kitchen. "How'd the exploration go-"


"It was awful!" Marilyn is first to complain, kicking away the clothes she has removed thus far. "Okay like, it wasn't at the start, but then we had to hide in there and then it was gross! All the bags were open and we had the lid shut, it was terrible! And those boys! THOSE BOYS! What were they even talking about? Nothing! They made me crouch in trash cause they were talking about some stupid...'Hey did you know you could get extra lives in Cortana?' 'No you can't'...they made me hide in the dumpster forever cause of a stupid video game! Ugh, gross! My leg feels wet too!"


"Wait, boys? Did they see you?"

"No, we hid in the dumpster before they came down the alley. I think they were cutting class...it was awful, but they didn't know we were there." You sound calmer than Marilyn, but it still feels like your skin is crawling.

"But you two are fine? Any cuts?"


"Oh, I don't think so. Um, yeah I feel fine. What about you?" Marilyn returns the same answer, her peeved face finally relaxing to barely annoyed.

"And you got the can?"

"Yeah, will this work?" you were going to pick it up and hand it over, but quite honestly you'd rather not handle anything else that was inside there.


"Alright, nice nice. I'll go ahead and clean this up then," Lawrence hands the can over to John, who takes it over to the sink. "Now, don't either of you go near the little two, not till you've both washed off." Marilyn looks more than ready for this, but the smile that was on her face quickly drops when she sees you.

"Oh. We don't have hot water though."

"No you do not. I'd suggest a quick one then."

[2/3]

Lawrence only shoots you a quick sympathetic look, but you know it's better to get it done sooner. Taking the downstairs bathroom, you strip down and stare at the freezing water, trying to prepare for the first leap in. Once shivering and inside, you scrub away at your skin. It's not as if much got on you, but it still feels disgusting. You feel dirty, no matter how much you scrub. Hot water might have helped, but right now it still feels as if your skin is crawling. It's not good, but you end up scratching at your arm till it's red. It's not the first time you've seen yourself like this, when you felt disgusting and like you couldn't stand your own body. That time, it felt like most of the disgusting things were inside your body, far away from where you can scratch. Reminding yourself that this isn't like that time, you try to calm yourself beneath the harsh water.

Stepping out doesn't help with your lack of body heat any, the clean pair of clothes you brought barely helping. Holding the dirty clothes far out as you can from your body, you race up the stairs and dump them off to the bedroom floor as quick as you can. Knowing you'll need to clean them later, you decide to let later you deal with that. Right now, you just have two goals in mind. Warm up and then use the stupid can you guys had to go find. Rubbing your arms in an attempt to generate some heat, you begin walking back towards the stairs. The bathroom door opens a crack, Marilyn peering out.


"A-Are you busy?" she asks, talking low.

"Um, not at this second no- what's wrong?"

Marilyn bites her lip and glances down the hall, making sure no one else is coming by.

"C-...Can you look at something for me?"

"Um, I mean probably? Is there something wrong...?"

[3/4 i hate breaking up posts fuck you character limits]

"It's not a huge deal, I promise! But I um, I guess I did cut myself out there. Just a bit, and I know if I ask Aria to look she'll just make a big deal about it and I don't want that..."

"Oh. Um sure, where?" You are granted access inside, Marilyn standing in a towel. Turning, she points to her calf, a long thin line trailing down towards her ankle. "Jesus, what happened?"


"I think it was when we were hiding...something must have caught me, and I was just too scared to feel it...I guess it was blood that made my leg feel wet like that..." Marilyn reaches down to look over it herself, and your eyes and nose trail over to the side. Sure enough, you can make out the small patch on the inside of her pants.

"Sh-...shoot, um, why don't we just tell one of them-" you begin to turn to the door, ready to leave before the smell can come to you.


"No, they'll just freak out! I can take care of this, I promise! Pappy showed me how!" Marilyn's desperate voice stops you, hand at the handle. "And they'll just end up wasting more supplies than they should! Pappy has to do a lot to get them...I can take care of this! If you could just like, bring me up some stuff than I can take care of this no problem! If it scares you too much, then you don't need to help, I can manage it myself. Pleeease...?"


Scared that she'll try to beg more, you stop in place. Bringing up supplies might be a little hard, but if you thought you could handle it than maybe you could even offer to help her get patched up.

But then, you begin to wonder if this is really something you should leave up to her..

>>701476

She seems confident about it. That being said however we're pretty sure we've heard about all the dangerous things that can wind up in the trash and if she hurt herself maybe she could get, like, sick or something?

We should bring her the stuff and inform someone about it at the same time. But we should try and convince whoever we tell to let Lyn take care of it for now, at least until Sam is back to take a closer look.

>>701476
She's probably not lying, Sam likely has taught her how to do this stuff.

We could try getting her whatever, sure, but she has to let it be known if the cut gets worse. People throw out all kinds of gross stuff so...

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>>701476
>>701466
>>701456
>>701448
>>700577

So, someone decided that it would be humorous to misarchive your quest as Gorgon Child Quest 5. That certainly makes things less than ideal for both of us, so I figured I'd let you know sooner rather than later.

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=gorgon+child

>>702332
Oh Jeez, thanks for the heads up man.

>>702378

No problem.

It may be just a cut, but you were in there with Marilyn and you know just how dirty that dumpster was. Her plead for help and confidentiality is too much for you to deny though, and almost unwillingly you give in.

"Okay, I'll get you what you need. What am I looking for?"


"Um, lets see. I'm going to need the soap they keep with the bandages, umm....rubbing alcohol if you can't find the soap. A clean rag would be nice too, and um what else..."

"A bandaid?"


"No, this is too long for a bandaid. But...if we have some gauze, then maybe that'll work. And then something like a safety pin to hold it in place, and I think that should be good. Just bring me that, don't let anyone know, and I'll be good." Marilyn sits on the edge of the tub, hiding away the cut. Covering your nose and taking your leave, you hear her add, "Thank you."

Leaving the room, you settle on her blood being one that is warm and sunny.


...


In the kit you borrowed from the veteran's, you're able to pocket the cleaning supplies. To your dismay, it lacks the gauze, something that you'll need to borrow from downstairs. Bringing the cleaning pads, you go to the first floor and try to look like you aren't sneaking around. Looking over to the living room, you see that Aria is attempting to show Lisa how to hold the baby. In the kitchen, John is prepping all the supplies for a makeshift stove.


"Hey there missy, everythin' fine?" He asks, peeling away the remaining part of the can's label.

"Yeah. Marilyn's taking her time I think..."

"That's fine. Cecilia's settling down a bit, she was bein' a bit fussy earlier."


"As long as we're not in a huge hurry. Um, we have a first-aid kit around, don't we? I got a splinter upstairs and just wanted to grab a band-aid."

"Uh, who used it last...pretty sure that was you Law," John looks over to where Lawrence is messing with the blinds over the back door, trying to make them close better. "Wanna run and get that for her?"


"I'll go with you, I...need you to help me get something down from the closet in the nursery anyways. Please?" When Lawrence comes over to join, you can't help but feel like John is watching him carefully.

"And you sure you're fine, missy?"

[1/2]

"Yep! I'll get Marilyn down here soon, sorry about the wait!" Grabbing Lawrence's hand, you hurry him out of the room and upstairs. Finding privacy in the bedroom, you close the door and have him bend over so you an whisper.


"Sorry, I lied down there. Marilyn cut herself in the dumpster, but she doesn't want everyone freaking out about it. It sounds like she knows what she's doing though, so it might be dumb but...but I'm going to trust her on this. If she starts getting sick though...well, that's why."


"Got it. How did...look?"

"She had it cleaned up pretty good already, it wasn't bleeding when she showed me anyways. And I didn't end up feeling like...like I was going to lose it in there or anything."


"I trust...you. Anything you...need?"

"I do need that first-aid kit though, she needs some gauze to cover the cut with."

"Okay. Downstairs."


Done with confiding this secret, you follow Lawrence back to the first floor bathroom and receive the white roll. You thank him, giving his hand a quick squeeze before going back up to Marilyn's aid. Knocking on the door first, she gives you permission to enter.

"I hope this is everything..." you say, lining them along the sink counter.


"Looks like it, thank you so much." Marilyn picks up the first swab, pulling it out of the package to being rubbing it down the bright red line. Catching a whiff of the warm smell, you take it as your cue to exit the room.


"I'll wait in the hallway in case you need help, but I need to step out for a bit..."

"That's fine," Marilyn winces, pulling the white square away for a moment, "I think I can handle this."


Watching as she tends to her own wound, you try to block out the light scent and move out of the room.

"Hey..." Marilyn calls out to you.

"Yeah?"

"Why are you scared of blood? Like, I know it's icky, but does it really make you feel sick?"


Opening your mouth, you prepare to come up with some sort of lie to carry you along, but falter before the first word can even come up.

This could be your chance to tell her the truth, or at least some of it, if you wanted to...

>>703249
A half-truth might be better, she can probably sniff out an outright lie.

It's not so much that we're scared of blood, it just... messes with our senses. Sorta like in a fever dream? Confusion, nausea. We don't know what it is, but mom has it too.

OP here, might be a while till update, currently in ER cause I thought drunk arm wrestling would be a good idea.

>>703396

Supporting. No need to share this kinda info with her just yet.

Sue's raw story pastebin isn't current, so here is a pure story text:
Melancholic Quest Collection 1 (1-4): http://pastebin.com/hTK0fQmd
Melancholic Quest Collection 2: http://pastebin.com/cX4HC6Q9
Melancholic Quest Collection 3: http://pastebin.com/sTuR8xJv
Melancholic Quest Collection 4: http://pastebin.com/RPwa7nEt
Melancholic Quest Collection 5: http://pastebin.com/DJ71TtFc
Melancholic Quest Collection 6: http://pastebin.com/xxCdZfx6
Melancholic Quest Collection 7: http://pastebin.com/7skcyeX0
(divided because of 500kb limit)

>>705248
skipped that info the first time: So, you're one-armed now? How fast can you type with one finger? Best of luck getting that bionic arm!

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>>709776
I have upgraded myself, pic related.

And Jesus, that's some dedication anon. Niiice.

"I'm...it's not really that I'm scared of it. Looking at it doesn't make me faint or anything like that." Looking to the side, you catch a glimpse of the nearly browned blood clinging to her discarded pants and close your eyes. "It's the smell of it, that's what bothers me. Sometimes it really gets to me and makes me feel sick...I think my mom is the same way. I can't handle being around too much of the smell at once, that's all." You don't add to the fact that the smell if delicious, or how you want to taste it, or how it hurts when you deny your want.


"Oh. That makes sense, I guess. Sometimes when I've helped Pappy before, there would be a lot of blood and dirt in someone's cut, and if they didn't clean it right then it'd smell all awful. I hope I didn't make you feel sick."


"It's not your fault you didn't know, I'm just..." You pause just long enough to open the door, allowing fresh air to come your way. "...just going to be outside. Let me know if you need help." Free of that warm scent, the dim hallway feels all the more lonely and cold now.


...

You bide your time in the hall alone, waiting patiently a few feet from the door. It takes time for Marilyn to dress her wound and shower, coming out to greet you with damp hair and chattering teeth.


"So you're all good then?" Marilyn doesn't attempt to vocalize an answer, choosing to nod as she attempts to warm her arms up. Attempting to look her face over, you're not really sure what you should be looking for. Aside from being a little wet and trying not to freeze you can't find anything else out of place. Dried off but nearly just as cold, you share in the frigid suffering the two have as you lead her down stairs. Expecting to interrupt a conversation, you find the first floor to be oddly silent. Cuddled together on the couch, Lisa purposely curls up to share Aria's heat, the older girl's head tilted forward and seemingly sleeping by accident. Leaving them to rest, you enter an uncomfortable silence in the kitchen. Over where the sliding glass door in the kitchen is being covered, Lawrence shoots you a questioning look that lets you know this quietness isn't just one sided for once.

[1/3]

"You girls finally done?" John asks from the table, with the can in one hand and a Swiss Army knife in the other. "Everythin' good?"

"Yep! Everything is fine, just freezing." Marilyn answers and you let it serve as your answer, trying to not look at her leg too much.


"Great. If y'all just wanna huddle around, I'll show you how this is gonna work. Already got the sink in here cleaned up, so we'll fill that up. But first we need to get the water heated up, but thanks to you two we can do that even without a gas line. Now, I went ahead and cleaned this can up for us too, so first we're gonna make a few holes along the top here..." With the can opening tool, John leaves punctures along the silver top. "Gotta have a way for oxygen to come in and the smoke to come out, that's what these are for. Next we gotta make sure our heat source ready for underneath. Usually I'd use something bigger, but since we're inside and just needing to heat up water this will have to do."


You watch the process as John starts to assemble the stove, taking careful note. A flat piece of rock, something you recognize from the walkway in the backyard, set on the ground with a large and round candle fixed on top. The wick is lit and the entire setup disappears beneath the coffee can. A thin wisp of smoke begins to escape from the holes already made, and you wait to see if there's more to this.


"Is that it?" Marilyn asks the question for you.

"For this one. Kinda small and that candle might take a while to heat things up, but you should get at least two bowls of hot water with that in half an hour. Just need you to watch for the water to boil and then pour it in the sink for me, once we got enough in there we can finally get Cecilia cleaned up. Easy, ain't it?"


"Yeah, it looks like it anyways. We can take care of this if you want to go rest for a bit."

"Would really appreciate it. Just holler when it's ready or if y'all have a question."


You get to work on starting the process, carefully balancing the slightly too big bowl on top of the smoking stove. Seeing that the wait will take quite some time, you pull up a seat to watch the rippling water. Marilyn copies, sitting next to you as she looks towards the water.

[2/3]

"We're being helpful, right?" she asks, pulling her feet up on top of the chair.

"Us? Yeah, we're being helpful right now."

"That's good. I like when they let me help with things."

For a while you sit in silence, in the mindset that you've got a job and should act like it. If the job wasn't so boring than maybe you'd feel satisfied about just watching, but now you remember why it always took you so long to make spaghetti before.


"Psst, Lawrence.." you whisper, peering over the edge of the chair to watch him. "Did you bring me anything back?" You just wanted an excuse to talk with him, but you begin to feel excited when he stops his task and walks over to where a paper bag sits on the counter. Trying not to appear too giddy, you prepare for all the praise you'll give him for really bringing back the dessert. Upon getting the bad, you eagerly reach inside and pull out the first thing you touch.


"Oh, no fair! I want a pudding cup too!" Marilyn whines, eyeing the small plastic container in your hand. A single serving of chocolate pudding from a cheap store and a plastic spoon in hand, you look up at Lawrence and try not to laugh. Having a few spare ones in the bag, you pass over a pudding to Marilyn and watch her face light up. She wastes no time in digging in, and you pull another one out to offer to Lawrence.


"This is close enough, you should hang out with us for a bit though. At least long enough to eat one of these." To your delight, Lawrence doesn't try to say no. Pulling up a chair across from you, he joins in the mini circle around the hobo stove.

"You didn't have to actually bring anything," you say, tearing open the top. "I was just teasing before."


Lawrence passes a quick note, reading;
I got a better surprise waiting for you later

Feeling both surprised and excited at what might be waiting, you give the paper back and dig into the dessert, hoping your face doesn't look as red as it feels.


With both Marilyn and Lawrence sitting here and some time to kill, is there anything you would like to talk about?

Discuss about getting help from Wisteria, she seems like a nice lady who'd totally understand our situation. At the very least, if she won't be an on-and-off member of the party she could be a secondary contact to call help from..

>>711409
Maybe ask Lawrence what's around the neighborhood, get a general idea of where to avoid and such. Maybe hear if there's a payphone or something nearby. Might be good to call Sharron one of these days and hear if Al told her about Aria.

And maybe that detective, if we can figure out what to say. At least make sure grandma knows we're okay, if he's who he says he is.

>>712306

Supporting. We could ask after Sharron's brother too.

"So you've been around the neighborhood a bit, right?" you ask Lawrence, "Is there anything we need to worry about? I've only been around a few blocks."


There's an elementary school or something within reasonable walking distance. I think they get out around 2 or 3, no clue when they go in. Might be good to know
Seems that most people who live around here are older, or at least middle age. Lot of parents and grandparents. I still want you to be on guard though.
And from what I've seen, there's usually a police Chevy making rounds. Seen some adults get stopped, but never really kids so I think you guys will be fine as long as it at least looks like you're behaving


"So like, nothing we need to really look out for?"

Nothing that you shouldn't be already. You two are pretty wholesome looking, so you really shouldn't have too much trouble

"We've kinda had trouble though," Marilyn says as she peers over the note, "But like, not cause someone was being mean to us. Which is kinda weird..."


"Yeah. It's more like, there's this woman who lives near by. We keep running into her, and she's trying to be nice but it's been more like an inconvenience to us. But I guess it's better that she's trying to be helpful, but it'd be nice if she'd stop trying to...to be so helpful. I swear, every time we see her it's just going to be more lies..."


"It's cool though, cause now we're sisters." Marilyn says, getting the last bit of pudding from her cup. "And since you're the older sister, you have to help me with stuff. No matter what."

"What? No I don't."


Yes you do With Lawrence backing her up on this, Marilyn shoots you a pompous look as her spoon is cleaned off next.

"Told ya so. Did you have to listen to a little sister or something Law?" Marilyn asks the question innocently, but you wait for the answer with a troubled look. Lawrence doesn't seem all that bothered by it, nothing that he shows on the outside.


I'm the little brother
When you're the younger one, you get to annoy your sister for rides and to take you places and buy you things
It's pretty great, but then they're pretty good at getting revenge
So you might want to be careful with how far you push it

[1/3]

"Did that happen to you? Were you a bad little brother?" Marilyn asks. You're thankful that she can, as the knot in your stomach is already twisting from the subject.


There was this one time, I kept bothering my sister for a ride out to go see this movie and she kept blowing me off
Told our mom that Michele had cut classes a few days ago to go hang out at the mall, got her grounded for a month
So while she's still really mad about all of this, she waits one night when it's snowing and goes to the washing machine
She ended up taking all my wet clothes and leaving them outside all night so they were all frozen when I had to get ready for school, it was awful
Michele ended up feeling bad about it though, we went to go see a different movie that weekend and we stopped fighting about it


"Did you two fight like that a lot?" you ask, feeling like you shouldn't even be allowed to talk about this.

Not too bad, not compared to how some people can be anyways.
For the most part we got along, but when you live together with someone for so long it's bound to happen


"Well, I'll make sure to save my little sister powers for when it really matters then." Marilyn is completely unaware that the sister Lawrence is talking about is dead, and neither of them know her blood has been on your hands. It might be best to keep things this way, a conversation like this is nice, even if you notice that he's looking away while the notes are being read. Swirling the spoon around in the nearly empty pudding cup, you hesitantly move on.

"Do you know if there's any payphones near by? I'd like to talk to Sharron, Mr. Faraway's sister. It'd be nice to see what's going on with them too."


A few blocks down the way, kind of near the school, there's a convenience store. There should be a payphone over there, if not closer to the school

"Could I walk there?"

Not alone, but it's not that far away

"I didn't plan on going alone. It'd be nice to get that done soon tho-"

[2/3]

"Hey! The water!" Marilyn points at the bowl, the water at a full broil. You nearly grab at it with bare hands, feeling the heat emanating off of it long before you come in contact. Seeing as there are no convenient potholders, not to mention the fact that carrying burning hot water all the way to the sink is more of a challenge than you had prepared for, you stare up at Lawrence with a pleading look.

Standing back with Marilyn, you both are more than willing to let Lawrence carry the heated water into the sink, his coat serving as the means to protect his hands. With thanks you let him go, filling the rest of the sink with cold water till a lukewarm bath sits before you.


"This should be good enough," you say, testing the gentle water with a hand, "At least for what we can do." You feel a bit jealous when removing your hand, wishing you could take a warm bath too. Marilyn goes to fetch John, instead bringing Aria with the baby in her arms.

"So it's ready?" Aria asks, rubbing her eyes as she balances Cecilia in the other arm.


"I think so, are you going to do this?"

"Yeah. John's feeling kind of bad right now so I offered to. I guess hip is acting up right now." Aria rests Cecilia against the counter, Marilyn holding a blanket and set of clean clothes to change her in to.


"Oh, okay. Do you need help?"

"Three might be a bit much for washing one baby, and Marilyn said she wanted to learn how to do this. I mean, stick around if you like but if there's something else you'd like to do that's fine."


You watch as Aria prepares the bath for a bit before looking at the living room. Leaning back in the chair with eyes shut and a grimace on his face, John looks like he's trying to sleep. Lisa remains on the couch, spread out freely as she keeps on napping. From upstairs you can hear the movement of heavy footsteps and tiny scratches on the floor, giving away where Lawrence and the dog have gone. There's no working clock in the house, not that you know of, but if you had to guess then it'd be about noon.

What would you like to do?

That feeling when you're a senior in college and all your classes have stuff due on the same week, and then trying to prepare for a gallery, and time just slips away. My bad guys. My bad.

>>721634
We recently got John a pill, so we probably can't go about doing that again. Let's leave everyone to their business down here and join Law, maybe talk a bit in private.

>>721744

Supporting.

You head upstairs, taking great care in making sure you don't make too much noise. In the second story hallway, you notice a small square in the ceiling. An entrance to what must be a small attic, you can't imagine how cold and dusty it might be up there. Approaching the bedroom you are first greeted by Buttercup scampering out, sliding on the wooden floor and jumping up at you, begging to be held. Her warm furry body acts as a great means to warm up your hands and you hold on to her closely as she squirms into place.


With the door cracked open you first peer into the bedroom, catching a whiff of cigarette smoke trailing out. Traveling on the draft coming from a cracked open window, the smoke trails back to a lit cigarette hanging out of Lawrence's mouth. You stifle the immediate want to call out to him, noticing that he's once again trying to stare out into the street. The harsh focus that shadows his face makes you want to leave him be, but instead you push your way inside.


"Jeez, aren't you supposed to be smoking outside?" The cigarette droops and nearly falls to the ground, Lawrence nearly trying to greet you out loud. Even with being near mute for years, the habit to try and speak has yet to completely die. You come up, hoping to try and take a look out and figure out what exactly has been holding his interest for so long. There's not much that you can view and for now you decide to give up on the endeavor. "Careful, if someone smells it they might come up here and scold you." When the cigarette's cherry is extinguished and it's returned to the case shorter than the rest you regret your teasing.


"Wait, I'm sure it's fine. I was just messing with you." Lawrence closes the window, giving you a quick grin as he settles on the floor below it. He's already started to write when you come to sit by him, at least glad that there's no more chill seeping in. Brushing shoulders you resist the urge to lean up against him and steal all the body warmth he has.

[1/3]

I need to start cutting back on them. Plus, this reminds me too much of sneaking smokes from my parent's house
Did you need anything right now?

"Well maybe you can take me to that payphone later-...er, that's right. We need to try and keep away from each other outside, so I guess I'll have to go with Aria or something..." Looking across the room you notice a new bag against the wall, a large piece of cardboard with it. "Um, not that I mind going with her. And Marilyn would probably like to come too, which is fine. I know we're all different ages and stuff, but it's kind of like when I used to hang out with friends when I was in school. I guess I should be used to not going out with boys, I didn't really hang out with any outside of class."


I was the same way, at least till around high school. And even then, it was only one girl and only hung out with her sometimes
It was a 'friend of a friend' type deal, but she was nice


"I don't think I would have minded hanging out with some of the boys in class. There were times where I'd see them go out like, exploring outside and wanted to join them. I was always too nervous to ask though," you pet Buttercup as you reminisce over these memories, "Oh, there was this one time in class...me and a bunch of other girls were kind of gathered around a table and talking and someone had said that one of the boys in class had a crush on me, that he was going to try and ask me out or something like that. I felt like I was going to pass out, I was so scared that he was actually going to try it during lunch that day. It's not like I didn't like boys, but...I don't know. I don't think I would have said yes, but maybe I would have. That probably sounds pretty stupid though, it's not like we were in high school, it wouldn't have been real dating."

Lawrence tries to hide it but you catch the quick laugh he has at this last part, your face heating up near instantly.

"What's so funny?"


I wouldn't really calling dating in high school real either. You might get to go out and do more, but it's not like most of those couples stay together
If anything, you end up seeing more drama and mistakes being made. Not really worth it if all you want is someone to go to the movies with

"Did something like that happen to you?"

Not really, mostly watch it. I never really got around to doing any of that when I was in school.
I did try asking out that one girl, but it didn't really work out


You consider asking him more about this, but remember that Michele running away and his accident all happened while he was in school. There couldn't have been enough time for too many good memories and digging up anything too unsavory doesn't sound like a good idea.

[2/3]

"Y-Yeah, I'm not sure I could have handled it if that boy had ended up asking me. I ended up moving a little after that though, so I have no idea if he actually would have or not. And it's not like I would have known what to say, like I'm sure he would have been nice but..." You stop, feeling a quick twinge of pain in your head. It's nice remembering some of these times, but it also leaves a bitter and tight feeling in your chest. "But um...well, I guess that's all in the past now." Lawrence doesn't know what to say next and that's fine with you. For now you take solace in the silence, moving close to him and sharing warmth. The last of the cigarette smoke begins to fade away and your eyes feel heavy. Winter always made you feel sleepy, at least when you were at home. This is far from that, yet there are times when you have to remind yourself of this. This isn't your house and shouldn't be treated as such, you sure as hell shouldn't be getting comfortable and off guard.


Finally Lawrence begins writing again, hopefully to start a new conversation. The writing continues on for a while, several long pauses interrupting the flow. You try to catch a peek but are unable to see too many of the words properly, telling yourself just to wait. The frantic noise of words being scratched out catches your attention again, Lawrence looking frustrated with what he wrote. The notebook is put aside, out of your view. You're about to ask if something is wrong when you catch sight of the door, a pair of eyes peeking past the frame.


"Um...do you need something?" Upon hearing that she's been spotted Lisa moves out of view, that sound of feet running across the floor soon following. You're ready to ignore it, up till her slipping and crash into the floor catches your attention again. A small whimper of pain gives off her need for help and Lawrence jumps up to this right away, slipping out into the hall. Ready to join, the notebook laying on the ground catches your sight. Making sure no one can see, you take a look over what had already been previously written.


Most of the words are scratched out, you'd need to look at it really closely to try and read what he was saying. You could try it right now, but then there's trying to make sure you aren't caught...

You also can't help but notice how heavy handed Lawrence was writing. It might be harder to read later, but it'd be pretty easy for you to steal the page beneath this one and try to read the grooves left behind.

But even with how curious you are, the guilt you might feel in reading this without him knowing may be too much...[/b]

I see now that I messed up the tag, but I am also not going to fix it.

>>728209

We've been kept holed up indoors for awhile now and people still treating us like a child who doesn't need to hear or know things is getting annoying. We've shown we can be dependable and mature right? It shouldn't hurt anything to find out what he wrote by taking that lower page..... But we should ask him what he was trying to write first before reading it.

>>728209
Nah, we should just ask him about it later. We don't need to be too nosy.

>>728209
Let's let him have his secrets. Last time we read one of his discarded notes it was a jumbled, uncomfortable mess.

Maybe he just can't find the right words...

The notebook stays in place undisturbed, though the urge to rip out the bottom page is there. If Lawrence wanted you to know what it said, he'd show it to you.
Right?


By the time you arrive in the hallway, Lisa has already been placed back on her feet and trying to wipe away tears she's attempting to hide. A skidded knee pokes out from below her dress, red and raw from her slip on the floor. You're hesitant to approach, afraid that you'll catch some enticing smell. The skin appears to only be irritated and bruised, allowing you to approach the two.


"It doesn't h-hurt that bad..." Lisa sniffles, still wiping away wayward tears. "My socks are slippery..."

"Did you need something? You didn't need to run off like that." you say, looking around and expecting to catch Marilyn nearby. From the sounds downstairs it seems that she's still busy with the baby, leaving Lisa to act alone. In response to your question Lisa only shakes her head, keeping her lips shut tight and looking off and away. "Well then, is there another reason why you're up here?"


"I'm supposed to check on you."

"Wait, who said th-"

"Does that hurt?" Lisa completely shifts gears, a finger now pointing at Lawrence's cheek. He only shakes his head, an attempt of a friendly grin on his face. Her eyes dart over his face, over the cuts beginning to heal. Seeing that it's still the same -if a bit crooked- smile as before, Lisa puts the same on her teary face. "That's good. My knee doesn't hurt either."


"That's good, it sounded like you took a pretty good fall. Now who-"

"What you are doing?" The injury doing nothing to slow her, Lisa heads straight in to the bedroom, looking around and sniffing. "It smells like smoke."

"Um, Lawrence had the window opened a bit earlier. I bet it was just coming from outside-" Lisa isn't bothering to wait for any answers, poking around the room instead. She spots the cardboard and the bag, finding the large square the more interesting of the two.

[1/2]

"Whaaat's this?" She draws out the words with curiosity, kneeling down and reaching out to inspect the new objects. Lawrence is quick to snatch her up and away, looking like he's about to have a heart attack all while the young girl is giggling at the sudden motion. "Eek! Put me dooown!" She's released soon enough, set down and away from her previous exploration goal. This only spurs your own interest further, but you know better than to try and sneak a peek now. Lisa continues to search the room, which only consists of her circling to each corner of the room and looking around.


"Is there anything you're looking for, or...?" You wait for an answer, Lisa more focused on her inspection rather than answering. Only once she has been satisfied with her investigation does she allow you to have an answer.

"You're be-having. Good job!" She announces, sounding proud for you.

"Oh. That's...good. I guess?"


Buttercup comes up to Lisa, paws up against her leg now as the puppy finds someone new to beg for attention. Lisa is quick to oblige, kneeling down and running her hands over a soft belly. You look over at Lawrence, shrugging to show you're out of the loop on all this. He seems to share the thought, but seeing as there has been no real harm done you leave her be for now. You're almost hesitant to talk in front of her, unsure of what would be considered okay to talk about with someone like Lisa around. Her fascination seems to be taken away with Buttercup, and you decide that it would be fine after all.

[2/3whoops i fucked that up]

"So um, was there something you wanted to tell me?" you point over to the notepad when Lawrence looks over, hoping to not seem too push, "Over there? You were writing for a while, I didn't want you to end up forgetting then..." The page with crossed out words flips out and away, the cleaner one underneath being used and keeping you from trying to catch a glimpse at the previous words.


It's something that should be a later thing, like tonight

"Okay, You can tell me tonight then." You try not to sound too pushy with your words, but this isn't something you'd want shoved off and forgotten. Lawrence nods as a promise, and though there's a short smile it doesn't look like he's looking forward to it. Feeling uneasy now, you resort petting Buttercup too now, apprehension creeping up your spine. You nearly ask him if everything is okay when Aria's panicked voice interrupts from downstairs.


"Dammit...LAW! Get down here! I need your help, hurry!"

Lawrence wastes no time running to the stairs, his steps moving down to the first floor. From the doorway you try to listen and stay calm.

"Help me get him to the tub, it's opened up again...John just hold still, he'll carry you. What happened this time, did you slip?"


Even though you want to go down and make sure everything is fine, you know that if John's bleeding again it's best for you to remain here.

"Is he okay?" Lisa asks, clinging to the back of your pants as she tries to look past the door. You nod, only for the sake of keeping her calm.

"Yeah...stay up here with me for now though, okay? Find something to do maybe..." Lisa nods, backing up into the room again.


You just need to stay up here with Lisa for a while, at least till John's taken care of downstairs. What do you want to do?

>>733123
Let's try to lure some info out of Lisa, see if she'll spill the beans on who told her to check on us. Though it could just be a scenario she's concocted in her mind.

>>733123
Time for an interrogation. Who sent Lisa?!

Buncha stuff happening all at once, will make a new thread tomorrow with update!

Senior year plus car troubles are going to be the death of me, I swear