Pepper couldn't seem to get the courage to move out of bed. It was midnight, and everyone had retired to their rooms for the night. She had wanted to go outside, but at the same time, everything in her was pleading not to move. When she finally managed to stand up, moving to the door itself was a challenge. Each step needed to be carefully set, one foot after the other. She put her hand on the doorknob. She swung open the door and ran through the hallway and down the stairs. She felt as though every shadow in the hotel hid another monster, some angry spirit, waiting to grab her. She finally made it through the front door, breathing heavily as she caught her breath at last. The light of the moon reflected off her face, bathing her in it's comforting light. She composed herself, adjusted her posture, and made her way to that circle of stones. She stood in front of it, as if waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened. So, she called out it's- no, her name.

"Salt."

She spat out.
There was no answer. Had that all been in her head after all? What a relief. She laughed awkwardly to herself, mostly out of relief. She felt so stupid, for worrying about nothing. Just a mirage that was created out of her desire to see Salt again. She almost turned back to leave, almost left back to her room, to finally be able to sleep soundly again. Then she heard it. That familiar voice.

"Yeah? What do you want?"

Pepper flinched. She hadn't actually wanted to hear an answer. And yet, she did. She turned around. She looked down at the circle of stones. Once again, it had been disturbed. The broken glass body was protruding out from its center once again. It smiled at Pepper.

"What took you so long to visit me again? I missed you!"

She exclaimed. Pepper didn't answer. It didn't make any sense. It really was Salt. The same Salt she'd known her entire life, the same Salt that just the other day shattered into a thousand pieces right before her eyes. Everyone had seen it, everyone was a witness to her fate. So how was she still here? Pepper didn't know what to say to her. What was she even supposed to say?
Salt grew impatient with Pepper's silence, so she just continued to speak.

"Not even a 'hello'? What's wrong with you?? Can't you talk?"

She still didn't answer. Realizing that Salt's patience was wearing thin, and fearing what she would do if she didn't answer.

"I...I can talk."

Was all she said. Salt rolled her eyes and nodded her head. With every movement, Salt's body cracked and made other sickening sounds.

"Well obviously I know you can. But why won't you say anything to me?"

  Pepper was at a loss. She didn't know what to do. Tell her the truth? Or would that only make her more angry? She opted for a half truth.

"You...You look- different."

"Different? In a bad way..?"

Salt asked. Her cracked smile dropped, and she looked down at herself. She moved her broken arms to cover herself, as if she was embarrassed of how she looked. Pepper immediately drew back her previous statement.

"No-! Not in a bad way! I just..didn't recognize you."

Apparently, that was an even worse choice of words. Salt's face contorted into a look of anger.

"What the hell? Why not?!"

Shit, shit, shit. How did she fix it? What to say, what would make her happy? Then it struck her.

"You look...So good!"

She beamed at her deceased friend. Salt took in her words for a moment, before her expression changed. She looked happy once again, content with Pepper's words. They both laughed, Salt from simple joy and Pepper from immense relief. Sure enough, this was Salt. She sounded exactly like her, and had her same loving smile. Pepper had missed it so much. But now that she was calm, she needed answers from Salt. She had to know what was going on.

"Can I..Ask you something?"

"Sure, sure! Anything."

Once again, Pepper wanted to organize her thoughts properly, not only to keep Salt content, but to get all the information she wanted from her.

"So, you know what happened the other day right? When you...you tripped. And f-"

"-And fell down the stairs? Yeah. I remember."

Pepper nodded. She sat down, a bit closer to Salt. Salt gave that same welcoming smile, as if inviting her to sit closer. Though Pepper wasn't prepared to do that just yet, she still felt uneasy. She did her best to shake off her nerves and proceeded with her questions.

"Well...did it hurt..?"

Salt leaned casually on one of the stones surrounding the circle she was inside. She breathed sharply, and Pepper swore she could almost hear the sound of broken glass again, in every word Salt spoke.

"Of course it hurt, dummy. But not anymore. I think I'm like, totally fine now. Just a scratch."

Pepper resisted the urge to scoff. 'Just a scratch' didn't quite show the extent of Salt's injuries, but Pepper didn't correct her.

"I just...needed to know that you're okay. I was w-"

"-By the way. What the FUCK happened to Soap?! She was a MESS! I watched everyone like, come outside, and I'm wondering 'What the hell is going on?????' And then I see her and I'm like 'OH SHIT! She's all fucked up!' That's the worst! Soap was nice, I liked her..And OJ just stood off to the side, all brooding and mad..It was kinda cute. But SHIT! Poor Soap. I wonder if she'll look the same? Like, if they can put her back together."

Salt continued to speak like normal, as If it was a normal conversation like any other day. Pepper was unnerved, until she noticed how the light of the moon shined off Salt's glass exterior. The same way the sun would, when every morning Pepper would wake up and stare at her beautiful face. The face was the same, albeit cracked. Salt didn't change, she never left. A smile creeped up on Pepper's face as she listened to her best friend. She had no idea how long she sat there, as the sun slowly began to creep up on the horizon.

The hotel was silent once again, even as the morning arrived. Nobody left their room, and nobody spoke. Not even to their roommates. Except OJ of course, who had walked downstairs hours ago, and was sitting alone at the table. The cup of coffee in his hand was bitter, like the aura creeping in every corner of the building. What did it matter if he showed an example or not?

Everyone is too cowardly to come out of hiding. They can stay in their rooms all day if they want.

OJ was no longer unnerved by his own thoughts, these ones felt far more justified. He took a sip of coffee. Bitter.

To his shock, the sound of footsteps approaching emanated from the hallway. Bomb entered the kitchen, looking around. He flinched when his eyes fell on OJ.

"H-H hello."

He stammered.
OJ waved back at him, not saying a word. Bomb quietly grabbed a bowl and carton of milk, and started pouring the milk into it. OJ watched him, as he had nothing better to look at. Bomb kept looking back at him, as if he was worried OJ would barrade him. OJ raised an eyebrow at this.
As he looked back, Bomb accidentally dropped the carton into the bowl, and they both fell off the counter, crashing on the floor. The sound frightened Bomb, and he flinched, making a frightened noise.
OJ put down his cup, walking over to help him, however when he reached out a hand, Bomb moved away.
"What?"

OJ asked.
Bomb was backing away from him, looking at the ground. OJ was baffled by his behavior. Bomb was acting as if OJ would scream at him over this mistake, when in reality OJ couldn't remember a single time he'd ever raised his voice at Bomb, at least recently.

"I..Im.. Im s-sorry, OJ."

He said at last. OJ looked him in the eyes, feeling Bomb's fear. He shook his head, reaching his arms out and embracing his friend. Bomb flinched, but relaxed as OJ slowly rubbed his back.

"Why are you apologizing? It's just an accident."

He muttered, softly holding the eccentric explosive. Bomb met his gaze as OJ finally pulled away.

"I'Im just- just s-so j-j-jjittery these days..I-I cant- sleep. I- I thought..y-you were m-m-mad at m-me."

"Man..Why would I be mad?"

"Y-you- you work r-really hard t-to fix this. I didn't want t-to give y-y..you anything else t-to worry a-a-bout."

OJ's gaze softened, and he went in to hug him again, and this time bomb held him back.

"You were the only one to come down. I don't hate you, if anything I respect you more than anyone in this place..Don't doubt yourself, okay?"

Bomb nodded in agreement.

"H-hey man, d-don't hug me too hard, I-I m-might blow th-this place u-up!"

He joked. OJ snicked, glad that his humor had returned. He gave Bomb a pat on the back and helped him clean up the mess.

Suddenly, another set of footsteps could be heard through the hall. OJ smiled, hoping that Bomb's entrance would give others the strength to come down.
His gaze suddenly fell as Pepper came in, hopping into the kitchen. Bomb stared at her in bewilderment. She seemed chipper as she approached them.

"Gooood morning boys! How are you?"

She greeted, a wide smile across her face.
OJ did not respond, just stared. Pepper seemed..abnormally happy. Just a day ago she was still so torn up, she couldn't get up from her bed or leave her room, and now she was as giddy as ever. OJ finally answered after a while of uncomfortable silence.

"Good- good morning..?"

He said. Pepper took a sip of his coffee, and spit it out, making a 'blehhh' sound.

"Gross. You don't take this with any sugar?"

She commented, as she placed the cup back in his hands. He held it, but he was hardly aware. He was so completely flabbergasted by her behavior that he didn't know what to say.
Was she always like this? And did he just notice this because Salt was always talking over her?? He realized in that moment that he really didn't know anything about Pepper, just that she was Salt's other half. Nothing more, nothing less. It was deeply saddening, more so than he remembered.

"Anyway, I'm taking this. Byeee!"

She said, taking the new bowl of cereal tha Bomb made for himself. Before he could retort, she skipped out of the room, just as the Cherries entered. They looked back at her, then to OJ. Cher pointed back at her, almost as if asking 'What's her deal???' OJ simply shrugged, as if responding 'I haven't got a clue.'