I know anyone who is seeing this is thinking, Rose, come on now. You've had how many apply fics over the years and haven't finished a single one! and to that I would say, you are very right. But I have ADHD and a huge problem with starting large projects that I do not finish. That does not stop my brain from thinking up ideas though, you know? I transitioned to AO3 for a bit, which was a much better fit for me because I could write one shots rather than chaptered fics and avoid the whole burnout/leave people hanging thing. But, I still dream of finishing another chaptered fic one day, yanno?

So, anyways, I'm going to lay out my idea here to at least speak my thoughts into the void. Who knows if I will ever publish this, but at the moment I'm still day dreaming about it. So, here it is:

TITLE: Parasite (this title is a work in progress TBH)

SUMMARY

Two years is a long time to go without speaking to someone you once spent everyday with. It is especially hard when there is no one to blame. Distance, time, and life get in the way, complicating what once was simple, beautiful, fun.

Life after college can be lonely, but no one warned you of that. It is easy to say that you will stay in touch, that you will call consistently and plan visits when your schedules line up. It is difficult to make that hope a reality. One missed call. One cancelled plan. Suddenly you are 24 and you have not seen the people that you once whispered secrets in the dark with. The ones you stayed up all night with. The ones you held while they cried, and who held you.

So, if an invitation arrived, inviting you back to the lake house that you and your friends once visited during spring break, you would accept it, right? You wouldn't question the time passed, or the ways you've all changed. You would step out of your current life and allow yourself one week away, high on nostalgia and grief for the person you once were. One week to drink like you did in college and stay up late because you don't have to work in the morning. One week to regress.

Except, things have changed. You have changed. They have changed. Perhaps more than you bargained for.

SONGS

i. Where'd All the Time Go? — Dr. Dog

❝ where'd all the time go? / it's starting to fly / see how the hands go / waving goodbye / and you know i get so forgetful / when i look in your eyes ❞

ii. Cigarette Daydreams — Cage the Elephant

❝ funny how it seems like yesterday / as i recall you were looking out of place / gathered up your things and slipped away / no time at all i followed you into the hall ❞

iii. doomsday — Lizzy McAlpine

❝ doomsday is close at hand / i'll book the marching band to play as you speak / i'll feel like throwing up / you'll sit and stare like a goddamn machine ❞

iv. evermore — Taylor Swift

❝ i rewind the tape but all it does is pause / on the very moment all was lost / sending signals / to be double crossed ❞

v. Cherry Wine — Hozier

❝ oh but she burns / like rum on the fire / hot and fast and angry as she can be ❞

vi. Graceland Too — Phoebe Bridgers

❝ i would do anything you want me to / i would do anything for you / i would do anything, i would do anything / whatever you want me to do, i will do ❞

vii. Sun Bleached Flies  — Ethel Cain

❝ we all know how it goes / the more it hurts, the less it shows / but i still feel like they all know / and that's why i could never go back home ❞

MY OC

Ella Hunt as Vallie Sinclair

Further Explanation

This is probably the shittiest explanation for a story that I've ever given, but it's hard to explain without spoiling the whole plot. The gist is basically a group of friends from college who have fallen out of touch receive a text from my OC inviting them to spend a week at her family's lake house. They accept, and obviously when they arrive things are not what they anticipated. Specifics on how the week goes obviously would be influenced by the characters.

Who knows if I'll ever write this, because we've seen my track record. But I've been itching to write a mystery book for years (and yes, this would be a mystery) and I just had to get some piece of this out of my system.