and we can be anything, even apart

[Cicada]

|| Ashlyn Graves, Thread 6 ||

She was the actual Pyramid Head stalking the halls of the party, counterpoint to Salem's... obscure, understatement, meme that could have been mistaken for her costume at a passing glance. The art director for Silent Hill 2 had designed the iconic monolith of a horror trope from mechanized vehicles of war- tanks, planes, if it was used by the Axis to kill Allies in World War 2, it had been turned into the rusty scritch scratch that haunted and hunted every dark screen, every dark corner of the...

Fangirling aside.

Spoilers: best ending was the one with the doppelganger. Just the right amount of fucked up for her taste.

The costume was by a relative definition of the word 'comfortable'. She'd put in the needed amount of extra time for padding the neckhole and putting large enough eye holes to make basic movement around a winnable battle. The metallic paint job wasn't exactly convincing, but close enough for a last minute thing. Neck down she'd opted for a sleeveless robe, quality-wise a potato sack with a bit of extra leg, done up to the nines with singe marks, mostly modest rips and tears, and blood stains painted from dyed corn starch.

Dani's latest party had been discovered by Salem, the one between the two of them who actually paid attention to what happened in cheerleading chat still. A lot of names Ash was only familiar with in the 'I definitely won't remember these after high school but I'll still wish the best for them' sense were per the rumor mill likely to attend. It looked... smaller, actually walking in and amongst the expensive liquor yet to be stolen and the shrimp cocktail plates unfortunately long picked clean. Maybe Dani's house had been renovated for the eight-hundredth time. Maybe the illusion of the world being big and mysterious was wearing off faster than Ash had expected it to with her eighteenth birthday rushing ever closer. Either statement belonged in a society.

It made it feel weirdly desolate though. Like the entire house was swallowing up everything, no evidence to be left for the authorities. Maybe Ash needed to be a bit more drunk. Yeah, that was a sentence that ended in a wholesome time with no regrets. She idly felt the weight of the bottle in her hand, slippery from condensation heated to lukewarm by her still beating heart. Half downed, two empty and left behind in other rooms. With the other abandoned bottles of course- she wasn't a total animal with no regard for social littering cues.

She'd be able to handle it, she decided in an instant. Rest of the bottle was efficiently annihilated, with a quick resting of Pyramid Head's helmet under her free arm. She liked to think she made it look fairly elegant, as pretty as a magic trick with Sam Adams could be.

[TheLordOfAwesome]

((Medea Parth continued from Skipping Leg Day))

Parties weren’t exactly her usual scene. Not because she didn’t like them, but more that she hardly ever actually attended them. It wasn’t like she wasn’t invited to any parties — she was well liked enough to be considered for invitation — but because she hardly found the energy to actively make herself participate. A lot of the time she wouldn’t get around to the party because she got more than a little lazy and stayed home or she just couldn’t get a ride. Rides were always hard to come by in her experience.

But lucky her, she got a ride this time! Which was fortunate since Dani gave her the invite. Granted, it seemed Dani had an open invite sort of thing going on with this party. She saw quite a few people attending that she managed to recognize. Lots of neat costumes on display! She was happy to compliment anyone’s look when she got to talk to them. And everyone was so nice about her costume! It was simple she felt, but the bear onesie she was wearing was just too cute!

Of course, talking to people was the extent of her partying at Dani’s surprising big home. Medea had thought her parents’ house was big, but Dani’s was a whole nother level. She was sure she would get lost if she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings enough. Which she certainly wasn’t! She most definitely didn’t get her own internal map a little screwed up on her way back from the bathroom that she now wasn’t too sure what part of the mansion she was in.

As she walked into the room, she looked around the room to find maybe a helpful source of info that could guide her through this labyrinth home.

Eventually her gaze fell on someone in a Pyramid Head cost-

Ashlyn.

Medea recognized her right away. There was no mistaking it was Ashlyn! Hard to forget someone who was one of your close friends from years back! She wasn’t as close to her as her other friends, but Medea still thought of Ashlyn as someone she was close to.

“Hey!” Medea called out, waving her hand in the air. “Hey Ashlyn!”

With a skip in her step, Medea started to make her way over to Ashlyn, smiling brightly.

[Cicada]

Liver still holding up better than Canon during a basic interview format. Ash didn't see bottles nearby so she held onto it.

Held onto her helmet too. Much as the aesthetic of being muffled and cumbersome might have improved her average conversational ability... present company deserved undivided attention. Ashlyn smiled, and waved with her free hand, both actions very nonchalantly delayed in tempo so that she, Ash Graves, the no-epithet earned ex-captain of the middling JEM Volleyball Terriers, did not look like she was malding as hard as she was in that exact moment. Full on hairline evaporation.

Medea was, uh. A great friend Ashlyn didn't deserve, and not only that, one Ash had actually managed to formerly deserve up until life events: deep scars and trauma, years of her life lost, yadda yadda; resulted in Ash being so out of the loop she'd actively bullied and antagonized one of the other friends Madea made who actually deserved her unconditional love and support.

Unconditional was not hyperbole, the woman was unfairly kind. Especially to Ash, which always made Ash a bit uncomfortable. In the vein of paranoia that was warranted- the synonym for vigilance, as opposed to the synonym for 'trip to the psychiatrist'. Ashlyn was not her sister.

And Medea, inevitably, was probably nice to Kitty as well. Medea was one of the few people on this earth who could make Ash feel like trash: unrecycled, non-biodegradable. And she was definitively a face Ash preferred to see over most of the student body... and, to be clear not just because she was unfathomably attractive in an unfair way. Pretty smile, and one that was not cheapened in value no matter how much Madea liked to use it.

All of that awkward hero worship took like a second tops. Mind like a reverse bear trap, Ashlyn's. Proven time and time again.

"That's my line." Ashlyn smiled easy and held up one strong arm- as much as was possible in the stupid robe- for an offered hug. "Your costume is tooth decay tiers of sweet. Wish I could pull it off without looking like an idiot."

The mental image of Ash in Medea's costume was science going too far.

"You drinking? I have seen way too many people here who don't seem nearly hype enough, dunno about you. I feel like I should challenge someone to a wrestling match or someone, just to get some energy going in the crowd." She'd do it too. No regrets, no apologies, no take-backsies. And she'd make it look graceful, even. "Not you though. How's Belphy?"

Belphy, unlike Mr. Kitty, probably had some regard for Ashlyn as a living being.

[TheLordOfAwesome]

Medea was quick to rush in and give the hug to Ashlyn. She beamed and giggled as she practically nuzzled into her friend. Hugs were great. Medea loved hugs, and hugs with friends were even better.

“Thanks! I’m glad you like my costume!” She said as she forced herself to let go of her friend. “I think you’d look really good if you wore it! You are such a cutie! But I really like your costume! It is Pyramid Head, right?”

She looked over Ashlyn’s costume, admiring the details. As far as Medea could tell, it was accurate enough of a costume. She never actually played Silent Hill, but she was familiar enough with it. Scary games were not so much her thing. Horror in general really. She played a few horror games the last few times she streamed this month, and it freaked her out so much! Why did someone have to make those animatronic animals so scary?!

But those scary jumpscares were in the past! Right now she was at a party with one of her close friends!

“Oh, I don’t drink or do drugs really. So none of that… uh, fun for me!” She gave a nervous laugh. She knew some people get all flabbergasted when someone says they don’t drink, especially at a party. But that was her, and she wasn’t going to change that! “And Belphy is doing good! Cute little guy even got all dressed up for Halloween!”

She quickly dug into the pocket that was on the onesie, fishing out her phone. She quickly looked through her photos until she found what she was looking for. She turned the phone to Ashlyn so she could see her cat in his costume.

…It was just him sleeping in a cat tree with a small witch’s hat — small even for him — resting on his head.

“Isn’t my baby cute?” She coo’d, swaying back and forth as she balanced on the balls of her feet. “I wish I could have brought him here, but I didn’t want to stress that little guy out. Besides, he loves his sleepies!”

[Cicada]

Ashlyn wasn't, allergic to enthusiasm. She wasn't that soulless. Besides, soft and warm. She gave as good as Medea gave, the only difference being the smaller, sourer smile. And even that was kind of just an Ash trademark- she had far more tough girl expressions to pull out on people she didn't keenly adore.

"Aye, I be the butcher." A challenging riposte with eyebrow. "I recall you have Silent Hill sometime in your future, don't you? You lost a bet with your viewers." Among whose ranks Ashlyn was not counted. She wasn't big on watching video games honestly, spoiled the ambiance of a good jump scare to watch it through someone else's perspective. No cerebral fluid leaking the wrong way when the soul ollied out of the body, so on.

"Damn, you'd think I'd know that. Guess the last time we hung out at a party was... never, god damn." The grunt that followed was one of self-disappointment, and the one after that involved Ashlyn finding the one couch in the room (one of the less crowded living rooms. Living rooms in the plural, by the way) that was the most dismally lit, because hey, paired great with her soul. Like a nice accessory to compliment an outfit, or a nice chianti to compliment fava beans. "Apologies for completely vanishing from your life for the tenth time this decade. We both get busy, we're both grinding, all that."

An earnest smile. Medea was by definition lazy, actually, but she didn't slouch when it came to having fun, and in a way Ash could respect that. Play hard without the work hard. Sounded like a fun life, Ash was kind of jealous.

"Wow, Medy." A smirk of a giggle. "Maybe we should put him in the onesie instead of either of us." Ashlyn casually reached out, as if to cuddle the furball face upon yonder screen. Fluff. So. Tempting, et cetera.

"I get you, he'd probably be anxious with this many people around. Relatable in a way, you know? Though it's been a pretty drama free year so far, much as gossip is a sin, forgive me." A casual shrug. Like Ashlyn would ever actually be sorry for anything when it came time for her to face heaven's gates. "Maybe our class is finally growing up. Better late than never, right?"

[TheLordOfAwesome]

Medea chuckled nervously at the memory of losing a bet to her viewers. She really did not like scary games, but a promise was a promise. She’d just have to decide when she’ll do that. But disregarding that, Ashlyn more or less said she watches her streams! That made Medea’s heart all aflutter knowing one of her friends liked to watch her play games.

“Of course we’re grown up!” She said, waving her arms. “I mean, we’re all eighteen or almost eighteen! Of course we’re gonna be past silly things like rumors and all that. I’m super proud of everyone in our class! Sure, some might make mistakes, but that’s life, right? Making mistakes and hoping to get better.”

She smiled a little awkwardly. She was sure that might sound silly to Ashlyn, but she felt it was true all the same. No one is perfect so mistakes will happen, but people are maturing! A good example of that sort of thing is Laci. Her bestie Laci pretty much was the maturest person she could think of. Sometimes, Medea felt she was a little too mature, but she loved her friend all the same. Even if she tried to get her to think about what college to go to every now and then.

Thinking of the future, Medea’s smile faltered for a moment before returning as she focused on Ashlyn. She wasn’t upset that Ash didn’t interact with her much over the last few years. Well, maybe a little upset but not at Ash herself! No, she was more upset that she didn’t get to be with her friend as much. Was this maybe the longest she’s talked with Ash? She wasn’t quite sure. It had been a while since the last time. Things happened, of course. Ash had her own life, and Medea… Well, she had things of her own. But just because they were distant for a while doesn’t mean that can’t change. She moved to hug her friend again, squeezing her tightly and pressing her head into her.

“I know you didn’t mean to vanish, Ash.” Medea said. “I know I should have reached out too. I’m always going to be your friend.” She pulled back a little, looking Ashlyn in the eyes. “But maybe we can both try to find some time to spend with each other? You can come over and play with Belphy! I’m sure he’d love to see you!”

[Cicada]

Yeah yeah fine, she did watch the streams even if she didn't like the idea of them. She liked the idea of Medea, right? Good enough reason as any.

"Making mistakes, I know about that." Ashlyn might have been even more blunt than that and briefly shouted out the fact that she was supposed to have already graduated the year before, but uh. Medea had a good vibe going and Ash didn't want to defile. Not even a little, which was in theory really out of character if Ash were anywhere near lacking in self-awareness enough to actually buy into her own soulless affect. As it was she was just... happy. It wasn't the most impressive conversation but it was one she already wanted to remember after the fact.

"Proud would be, uh... strong word, but I'll maybe tear up a bit at graduation. Don't @ me, especially because you'll be way worse than me."

Ash's reply smile wasn't awkward, it was confidently awkward. Big difference.

"Mmm." A second hug was unexpected as the inquisition, but it was much more welcome. Ash had always wondered if she looked like as much of an idiot as she felt when trying to cuddle up to something because soft things tended to low key bounce off the hard muscle she'd cultivated over the years. But, exaggeration. Ashlyn wasn't the Iron Giant (okay she was feeling cutesy enough now that she could actually admit she liked that block of cheese called a movie, damn, the sheer power of Medea's aura) and she wasn't going to fly into the sky to sacrifice herself for people who probably feared and hated her (ok completing the metaphor like that was way more in assumed character), she was still soft enough to get with the ladies.

Awkward thought. Maybe the overpriced beer was working after all.

"We really do need to, for sure." Hug wasn't over yet. She was still feeling it, but. "Grab a selfie while we're in this position? It's too cute to pass up."

Her phone was already out and she'd already snapped a shot and- hm. Normally she didn't check FB updates but this one happened to catch her eye.

Oh, funny. She'd just been forgetting she had a boyfriend.

"Sorry, normally not the type to text and talk. Or who am I kidding, I totally am. Busy busy." She put her phone aside, to be permanently ignored until real life beckoned from beyond the four walls trapping in all the teen hedonism. Or in this case because she'd recognized Ara Voorhees in passing, THE CALLS WERE COMING FROM INSIDE THE HOUSE, etc.

She could see herself in Medea's eyes, sure, but she saw Medea first. Her eyelashes looked gorgeous today.

Or was that everyday?

"It's been forever since I was last at your house... Before middle school, actually. Nowadays," she smirked, "inviting someone to your house by themselves kind of carries a different undertone, don't it?"

[TheLordOfAwesome]

Medea was quick to strike a small pose as Ashlyn took a selfie of the two in their embrace. Smiling at the phone’s camera and holding up peace fingers. She broke off the hug as Ashlyn looked through her message, giving her a reassuring smile as she apologized. Medea didn’t see anything wrong with someone texting while talking with another person. If anything, she admired Ashlyn’s ability to multitask like that. Ashlyn turned back to her and-

Huh. She was just noticing how pretty Ashlyn’s eyes were. Maybe they were always like that, but right now she felt like she was just noticing.

“I don’t know what you-” She paused, thinking for a moment. “Oh! Uh, I… Uh didn’t mean it like that.” She chuckles a little bit. “I was thinking we could just hang out, play games, maybe watch a movie. Give Belphy some of the good scritches that he loves.” She paused for a moment, thinking on what she said and what Ashlyn was saying. Suddenly she was feeling a little awkward and now that she was thinking about it, she was a little worried she might be hurting Ashlyn’s feelings.

“Not that I don’t think it wouldn’t be nice of you to come over for stuff like that though!” She blurted out. “You’re very pretty and I just think it would be great if we can hang out again! Maybe not like that because I’m… ya know, and uh…”

She paused again, looking around with an embarrassed smile on her face.

“Hey Ash, I, uh, feel like I’m digging myself a hole here…” She said, laughing nervously.

[Cicada]

Eye contact not breaking yet. Interesting. Ashlyn left not enough room for Jesus between their legs.

… Yeah actually, Ashlyn wasn't sure what Medea was trying to say. Someone had taken a defibrillator to the part of her brain that produced speech and now she was rapidly peaking and valleying between platonic and more suggestive than. 'I don't mean it'. 'It's on the table though'. 'You're pretty'. 'I'm you know'. Nah, Ash didn't know. She'd learned long ago to stop assuming things about people, at their worst or otherwise.

"Yeah, you are. But it looks fun down there, maybe let me in the hole too." Ashlyn shrugged, still smiling. It wasn't her mean smile, she wasn't trying to twist the knife. Much as she was going to, of course, but she was actually genuinely enjoying herself. Medea's energy was the sort that made paint drying in slow motion interesting to watch, so with all the little quirky glances and stops and starts and... Hm. Ashlyn was starting to feel a little awkward herself. She wasn't going to be awkward, but feeling like this was always fun in the most intense of ways.

She'd learned from (very online article based) psychology that part of lust was the thrill of the hunt. Sounded about right.

"You very much make it sound like you're open to the idea." A thoughtful pause, punctuation ending her sentence with the raise of her eyebrows. A confident Ash felt a little bigger when she relaxed her posture and slinked out a bit more over the couch, one thigh pushing her friend's way.

"Games and a movie sound good for sure, but it doesn't have to end there."

[TheLordOfAwesome]

Medea’s face flushed a little, nervously diverting her gaze from Ash’s for a moment. Feeling the butterflies in her stomach, Medea weighed her options as best as she could. She liked Ash, maybe more than a little. Medea wasn’t oblivious to Ash’s obvious attraction to her and it was clear what Ash had on her mind. But the issue is a matter of compatible sexuality. Ash had a sex drive, while Medea most certainly did not. Medea really did like Ash, maybe could even seem them being together, but if what Medea suspected to be true… It might complicate matters.

“And, uh… What do you mean it doesn’t need to end there?” She asked. Unconsciously, Medea found herself scooting closer to Ash.

Mentally, she was wishing she should just come out and say what she was thinking. Did Ash really not know she was asexual? Would it be too cruel of Medea to say it to her after dragging this out? She didn’t want to hurt her friend. She tried to form the words, but try as she might she couldn’t get them out. Instead she just sat there, in close proximity with Ashlyn.

She breathed in and out, steadying herself. She mentally prepared herself to tell Ashlyn, and-

She rested her hand on Ashlyn’s thigh.

Dang it.

[Cicada]

"Damn."

Ash hadn't actually expected the hunt to reach the part where the animal noises got loud- or even close to that. As a lifer lesbian save for the one (ongoing) time she hadn't quite been militantly gay she knew by heart that most girls weren't up for it; over time she'd learned to swallow the moment of frustration and keep her body language placid as mosquito water when rejected like the bad credit card she was. Now she was frustrated for the reason that things would neither escalate as fast as she was suddenly wishing they could, nor that they would escalate at all, because...

Well, she was vibing with the idea of prolonging it anyways. Enjoying the moment sounded like a good time when there were so few moments left to enjoy as her mortal wheel turned relentlessly. Ash felt a certain attraction to the idea of going too far- boundaries existed because what was on the other side was sweet poison. Bad for you, but so damn good.

Friendly like, platonic like, they were still very much technically just friends and this was a normal gesture for normal friends, Ash swooped both hands down so her fingers weaved into Medea's own. Lot of body heat going around, even through the cheap fabric painted with blood that so clearly looked fake this close up. Ash could play the role of innocently excited because she was very much one of those two verbs. Much as she had never, ever, been the other verb ever in her entire life.

"What I meant depends on whether you're home alone tonight or not." Ashlyn's voice projected a whisper pretty well and it smoothly filled it's target like a trained waitress could a wine glass.

She'd whispered at the right volume to lean in afterwards, pushing herself right past the threshold of Medea's personal space. Ashlyn's hair carried motes of a dusky floral shampoo, a bit overly mature for a girl her age even if the mentality fit snugly. The rest of what her friend was suddenly breathing in deep was Ash minus embellishments. Pheromones- if they actually existed.

"If I'm going too fast for you, sorry. Can't help it."

[midnight_twelve]

Chloé had been at the party a while now- she’d been one of the first to arrive, to give herself time to raid Dani’s closet in peace. She’d hung around the host for a while after that, spent some time with the popular cliques, but after entering the third hour of slightly mean-spirited gossip, she’d excused herself and set off to stretch her legs and shake things up. A Eucharist of wine and canapé split between her hands, she walked the familiar halls of the Bird residence looking for new company.

((Chloé Delacroix continued from Executive Privilege))

Poking her head through the doorway of a living room, Chloé caught sight of Ashlyn Graves over someone else’s shoulder. She had no idea what the costume was meant to be (then again, she had no idea what her own costume was meant to be- she’d just taken Dani’s word for it that it was some character or another), but it was definitely Ash wearing it. The other figure, clad in what looked to be a bear or dog onesie, was facing away from Chloé, talking to Ash, so Chloé couldn’t see their face. They looked too short to be Salem, though. Chloé didn’t know if she was surprised or not that he wasn’t with Ash? Come to think of it, she hadn’t seen him around- maybe he’d missed the party, which might mean the world was ending, or maybe he was adorned in a costume so extravagant that he was unrecognisable. She didn’t think anything else of it, not then, and approached the two anyway, weaving through the room’s more inebriated inhabitants. She couldn’t yet hear what Ash and her friend were saying; that was probably why they were stood so close together, it was difficult to even hear yourself at one of Dani’s parties, let alone anyone else.

“Hi, Ash!” Stopping at the shorter figure's side, Chloé turned back to face them, extending the same brilliant smile, “Hey, Mede-ea..”

The two were stood very close, actually, closer than you needed to be to hear each other. Had they been dancing?

Chloé’s brow furrowed, smile faltering. “Sorry… I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Almost awkwardly, she put a canapé in her mouth. Closed her smile, started chewing. Her eyes flickered down to the girls’ hands. She swallowed.

Gosh, Dani’s clothes were tight. If they didn’t leave so much skin exposed she’d probably have fainted by now, but she was really feeling what was there start to constrict her.

[TheLordOfAwesome]

Medea swallowed nervously as the closeness to Ashlyn and whispering words set her head spinning. Whether or not she was home alone tonight or not… Well, truthfully, she wasn’t sure if either of her parents were on call. But she had to remind herself that wasn’t the point. Especially given that Ashlyn was now so very close to her. Scents went to her nose and she had to admit the other woman smelled pretty good. Again, no sex drive, but Ashlyn was just so very pleasing to the senses. Was Ashlyn going too fast? Probably! Medea felt more than a little overwhelmed that her better judgment was being hampered and that she hadn’t even managed to work up the nerve to tell Ashlyn that she was ace.

Medea breathed, absorbing more of Ashlyn’s scent, and tried to focus up.

“Ash, I-”

She came to a stop when someone greeted them. She blinked and focused her attention on the newcomer, recognizing it as Chloé Delacroix. She studied her appearance for a moment, and her costume seemed familiar but it wasn’t quite clicking with her right away. Skin was being shown and it reminded her somewhat of the outfits Dani liked to dress up as for her Instagram. Chloé had been smiling at them, which then faded as she kept looking at them, and following the arrival’s gaze she realized she was looking at their hands.

Medea flushed, realizing how this must have looked. She’d protest that it wasn’t what it looked like, but that would be a gosh darn lie and Medea was no liar… Just really late to tell the truth in this case.

“Oh, uh, hi! Chloé!” She greeted, her voice cracking a little as she raised it. “Nice to see you! I like your costume!”

[Cicada]

In an instant, their two sets of personal space were thoroughly separate. The way Ash had pushed herself at Medea with recklessly youthful aggression, that might have been a challenge to undo with a more normie sense of proprioception, but Ash made it look easy.

"You are, technically! But we were just about done anyways."

Ash had been pretty fully thrown off her game (just a game, said the voice in Ash's head that served as her HR department- her plausible deniability even she didn't really believe) by the appearance of one of her original Freshman crushes. Freshman... Sophomore... Junior... in theory the last time she'd thought it through she was over Miss Literally Perfect, newly crowned Class President, please notice me senpai (fuck, had she unironically just phrased it that way) Chloé Delacroix. But uh, the way Chloé was presenting herself, that definitely caused nostalgia. And not because Ash recognized the outfit at all, maybe Salem had a poster of that shit somewhere on his wall or something.

Like, come on. A whip? Why the hell was there so much lace just... cupping her boobs like that? Why was it so detailed, and most importantly, why could Ash have never pulled off that look in a million years? Despite ostensibly having more to work with? Whoops. Classic jealousy-attraction 2-for-1 pack. Ordinary day in the life.

Caught between two unnecessarily unnerving young women Ash kept her hands to herself. Nope, she'd never been clutching at Medea like an excited schoolgirl- she'd never even been a schoolgirl because she was too old and jaded for that- all reports were blatant character assassination. Emphasis on the part with Ashlyn dying and corpse being hidden from the authorities, she might not have minded that so much as an out right about now.

"It's a great costume, yeah. Daring, I'm a bit surprised you had it in you." Ash relaxed back into the couch, just lazily enough that it looked like she belonged there. Her body language was otherwise cautious- too lazy and she might be tempted to start slowly glomping onto Medea again. Maybe she had drunk too much? Her bones felt... pliable. Keen on bending in the direction of warmth, like sunflowers.

"Expected nothing less from the VIP president herself." Ash smiled, the compliment was coming from a genuine place. Not like Chloé was Aracelis- she'd earned the title of 'hot shit'. The work ethic shined and polished her in the apple of Ash's dead eye brighter than any amount of her unbearable attractiveness could.

[midnight_twelve]

The two girls pulled away from each other, almost immediately, Medea somewhat awkwardly, Ash almost coolly. Neither made any effort to refute the impression their closeness had given. In fact, according to Ash, Chloé was interrupting something, but what? Did it matter? Ash and Salem’s relationship or lack thereof wasn’t really her business, was it? Except… she was thoroughly over Salem, had been for a long time, but- or maybe so- she didn’t want to see him get hurt.

“I like your costume too, Medea. You look adorable.”

It was, to be fair, impossible to dislike Medea. The girl was the nicest Chloé knew, by a country mile, even if she included herself in that competition. But didn’t that only make it weirder if she’d been entertaining Ash’s advances? The whole thing gave her a weird vibe, because she wanted everyone involved to be happy, Salem and Ashlyn and Medea, and maybe they were, and maybe her view of relationships was just too old-fashioned, but it still didn’t sit right with her. She tried to empathise, put herself in their shoes, but all she felt was jealousy. But then Ash too was complimenting her costume, so Chloé twirled around to offer a full view of Dani’s handiwork- and hide a frown that briefly crossed her lips.