Dedicated to @ktwriter_ because whatever she writes is absolute gold. 'Stories We Tell' is so good that I just- I am deceased as fuck. No like seriously the wording jfc I die because who can put a bunch of words together and make something so lovely because holy shit that doesn't happen by chance and I'm just- so yeah

-----x

"An endless circle of living and dying until somebody breaks it."

Andy loved that movie.

Ginger Ale, rolling his eyes, remained by her side; his mind filled with the calming scent of her hair. Its getting harder for him to squeeze into the role of her queer older brother when the only one he could picture himself with in the house is a girl. Andy Dollface.

"Kill Your Darlings? Again?" He sighed, taking a sip from his warm mug of bitter chocolate. "Isn't this the third time you watched this? Today. The third time today."

It's been three days since Merlin was first admitted to the hospital. It opened with a rocky start, but things patched themselves in no time. That is, if many things are being ignored- and so far, everyone is doing their best to do just that. Tension still cuts like a knife between Adam and Ale, even during their 'playful' banters. Jimmy tried his best not to act bothered by Andy's bruised knuckles, and she tried not to notice his bleeding gums and bruised cheek. Adam made breakfast, left for work and inks away as if nothing is wrong. Merlin is still in the hospital; talking and eating still hurts but Dee-Kay makes it much easier. On the outside, everything is fine, and god forbid anyone tries to dig deeper.

The blonde gave her taller friend a nudge, giggling. "Shut up, I never complain when you watch those weird crime shows."

"Because I don't wake you up when you fall asleep." Ale spoke with a silent 'hmph'.    

The time showed 23:10, but the kids aren't bound by rules to sleep at a given time. Even Jimmy, who at this point made little to no noise as he buried himself on stolen books regarding the very interesting topic of Thermodynamics. To him, it's just a distraction; he needs to keep himself from remembering what happened three days ago. It's proven to be hard since the beautiful mind of Jiminy Cricket does not forget.

Its hard to ignore the silence and enjoy the peace when he could still piece whatever is going on. There is an absence of 'Carry on My Wayward Son' blasting from the room next door, and for the first time in forever the air doesn't smell like cheap cigarettes. It's replaced by blood on the floor and walls, but nobody wanted to clean it up- they don't want to remember. The whole 'act okay until it is okay' allows him to run away from reality, but not from his own head. Jimmy doesn't want to be alone.

"Can we watch The Road To El Dorado or something?" Jimmy opened the door, poking his blonde head out. "Fuck- watch Napoleon Dynamite. The Twilight Zone. I seriously give zero shit, just watch something I like."

Andy scoffed, choosing X-Files with no hesitation before tossing the remote to Jimmy. "Everyone knows you're super into Dana, man." The girl smirked, raising a shoulder teasingly. "Or Mulder, I can see why either way."

------x

"Thanks so much for letting me crash." Adam smiled, clumping the pillows on a grossly pink couch that is now his bed. "The kids aren't really cool with me atm. Like as in they will mob the fuck outa me if I show my face."

"Really? They don't like your face as much as I do?" Teased Grace. The brunette then gave a light shrug, her pale cheeks growing pink. Just from that, Adam could tell that she doesn't usually allow men inside her house, let alone allow one to stay the night. "Its okay. Sure you don't want the bed?" She continued to speak in that frail voice he found so adorable.

He scoffed. "Ha. You'd turn pinker than this couch if we share a bed, love." His eyes scanned the room, pausing at a picture of her with a blonde's arm snaked around her shoulder. "Besides, your boyfriend might beat me up, and then I'll have to beat him up."

Grace took the picture off the wall, laughing. "Oh my god, that's Everett Channing. He's not my boyfriend, he's just the son of my dad's boss." For some reason, Adam looked a bit uneasy. "Chill out, we're just friends. I told him about you, and he actually seems really excited to meet you."Grace spoke, noticing the slight drop of his ever-smiling lips.

"Excited, yeah?" He stared at the picture, and the longer he does the more doubt he eliminated. Of course- Adam's familiar with those pearly white teeth and warm brown eyes. He punched them in once, looking over those beautiful features when they're covered in blood as he contemplated whether or not to pull the trigger. His memory gets blurry past that, but he remembered quite clearly that the two should never meet again. Adam remembered that he started running, his feet felt tired but he didn't stop. He hasn't. "What did you say his name was, again?"

"Everett. Everett Channing." Grace raised a brow, putting the picture aside. "Um, you guys know each other?" She asked. Shit. Grace couldn't know, she shouldn't. Sure, the whole 'badboy in a leather jacket' aspect of it seems appealing, but past that it all screams danger and she should stay away. So Adam shook his head, giving a smug smile that's mostly fake.

"As if. I don't hang around with crowds like that- not unless he drops the 'my daddy will sue' get-up and go to underground concerts." He chuckled, lacing of his boots with shivering hands before looking back at Grace. "Sleep, babe. I'll be fine. I look like I might steal your TV, but I really only wanna steal your heart. Surgically." He joked. "You know how much a heart costs in the black market? I can buy tens of those TVs."

Grace smiled, waving as she climbed the stairs. "Aren't you romantic?"

-----x

Ale is fast asleep by now; the tall, lanky built serves as a decent pillow for Andy to sleep on. Ale always had a certain smell to him that she found calming; she couldn't place a finger on it but it's the exact opposite of cigarettes and mistakes. He had always been what she was never, and in that Andy felt the need to keep him close. They balanced each other, understood each other, loved each other. And it isn't the perverse kind of love- it was just a familiar feeling that she grasped and he radiated. Andy often wondered why Ale chose to go out at night sometimes, leering male companies so he can be brought home to satisfy their sinful and carnal desires. Andy saw it as a path to self destruction, Ale saw it as self worth. Because the kind of love Ale wanted is from desperate men who needed a form of self release in both violence and sex, and he often came home bruised from it. Andy would help cover it with concealer and ask no question, sometimes just giving a pained expression when he sets out for the same thing not two days after.

It was a night too quiet for her to spend just thinking about Ale and Adam and Merlin. Everything was crumbling down, and for once she couldn't stop it. She wanted to visit Merlin in the hospital and apologize for nearly killing him- she wanted none of it to ever happen. She just wanted everyone to be okay, she wanted to show it without being weak. Andy never wanted to be the antagonist in her own fairy tale.

"Oh my god, what are you doing awake?" Ale squeezed through the blonde curls of Jimmy just to find Doll still wide-eyed as if she chugged 12 cups of coffee and got baptized in Redbull.

Pale was her face, lips trembling, wordless. "I think I wont sleep for a while-" The girl spoke, rubbing her blue eyes that have never been so red before.

Ale perked up, showing concern as he rests Jimmy on the couch so he could move freely. The taller male stood up just to kneel in front of Andy with his brows in knits. "Is it Merlin again?" He asks, taking her by the small hands and placing a soft kiss on each bruise. "Jimmy was just from there. He's alright, he's awake." He spoke, the voice calm and soothing but not enough.

"No- No, you're wrong. He's just awake." She whined, taking her hands back with one quick motion. "You need to make me feel better."

That's what he had been trying to do until he realized it wont do. This is something not even his calm voice and gentle touch can fix, because for once something is actually broken. This is different from all the times Andy had complained about a girl she saw on the street or a movie she felt had a bad ending or some whining when she gained a pound; this isn't those kinds of problem. "Andy- I dont know how. You know I'm not good with words, but if it helps, I think it's not your fault. I think it's Adam's fault, and I hate it that you beat yourself for it." He spoke, honesty pouring to places it shouldn't.

Blue eyes grew wide as she stared in dismay. "Why Adam?" She asks, slowly eating at the honey being poured into her ear. "Why not me?"

"He could've been here. He could've picked up the phone. So many things he could've done if he wasn't so busy with his new toy." Ale spoke, no hint of the bashful and reserved boy in sight until he finished his sentence. "You know what I think, Doll? I think Grace is just trouble and a pretty face."

"I-" Andy stuttered, slowly standing up to press Ale's head into her chest. She needed to hear it. The blame needed to be placed somewhere else, anywhere else except for within her. "I knew she was going to be a fucking- ugh. She's trying to take him away from us, Ale. Adam hasn't even came home in so long- I don't want him to go away." The blonde whined, her dainty fingers getting lost in Ale's fiery locks.

"I'll try and change his mind then." Ale breathed into her neck before he stood. "Sleep now, yeah?".

Unknown to the two of them, Jimmy had woken up to the slight noise of Ale's whisper. Also unknown to the two of them is a familiar face Jimmy saw through the window. He'd remember the dark eyes anywhere. Blonde Hair. Smug grin that could be manipulated into the kindest of smiles. It brought back visions of a quarrel that turned into his worse night mare, a few years ago when he met Adam. He could feel the disgusting nostalgia of cold steel pressed against his forehead as tears streamed down out eyes, the sound of a gun being cocked so close to his face.

Everett Channing.

-----x