S1 E13: Will You Dance With Me?

Kenzie Tartaglione (MC):

The content warning for this episode includes underage drinking, discussion of drug use, discussion of sexual assault, gagging noises, drinking blood, blood and gore, allusions to transphobia, and brief descriptions of body horror.

Kenzie (Adam Moore):

You almost ready, Caleb?

Kenzie (MC):

You’re standing in front of the mirror, adjusting the final touches of your outfit.

Mads McDonough:

Caleb is wearing the transmasc experience of please do not perceive me, I would rather die. He is wearing, compared to all these other beautiful outfits, pretty boring getup, here. We’ve got the black dress pants, the black dress shoes, black socks, a black belt. The shirt is slightly crazy and by that, I mean one solid color. It is a deep set emerald-green button up and then a black suitcoat jacket thrown on over top of that. He’s going back and forth right now on whether he wants to wear a tie, so he’s been trying to adjust the tie because if Adam did anything for him, at least he showed him how to tie a fucking tie. So, he’s been putting the tie on, looking in the mirror, taking it off, trying to pop the collar a little bit, have like one button down. No, no, no. Button it back up, set the collar right, put the tie back on. And he’s been doing this for the past like ten, fifteen minutes. By the time that Adam calls, he’s halfway into tying it again and then just quickly finishes doing it because I mean like at least you can put that away in your pocket. If it’s not right and I’m in the car, I’ll just take it off and put it in my pocket. It’s better to have it.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam peeks around the door. He has on a dark purple dress shirt tucked into slacks. His jacket matches the pants and the sleeves of the jacket are purposefully a little short with the purple shirt sticking down past the ends of it. And of course, because its Adam, his collar is popped. And instead of looking like a fratty bro, it makes the outfit. His hair is shorter around the ears than yours is and he managed to gel his hair in the flawlessly messy way of his that you’ve never been able to manage. As he looks in he repeats,

Kenzie (Adam):

You ready?

Mads:

I look at his outfit, at the collar, and I tie the tie more, Deciding that yeah, this is the better option.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam appears next to him in the doorway and goes,

Kenzie (Sam Marshall):

I’m ready!

Kenzie (MC):

And they have on a loose black shirt with large white dots. Its got a few buttons at the neck undone. Its tucked into loose, cloth, striped gray pants. Light gray socks stick above these just old worn, black lace-up shoes. And to top it off, he has a long, knee length blue sweater on. Their eyeliner is messy but they don’t seem to really care and their wavy hair hangs a bit in their face, their cheeks shining with glitter. It’s giving like dark academia.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam strides into your room and reaches up and straightens your tie and then he throws his arm around your shoulder and centers you both in the mirror and he smiles at your reflections and its uncanny, all of it really. Adam. Him acting like a brother. The resemblance. And he goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

Why didn’t you ask anyone? Look at you, they’d be lucky.

Mads (Caleb):

I asked someone. I’m meeting them there.

Kenzie (Sam):

Also, I mean, technically he asked me.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam shoots Sam a look and said,

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, after my date turned you down.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, come on. That wasn’t – Sam, it was a really nice gesture, I promise, bud.

Kenzie (Sam):

I never expected Ivy to say yes to me.

Kenzie (Adam):

Then why’d you ask her?

Kenzie (MC):

Sam just kinda shrugs and shoves their hands in their pockets.

Kenzie (Sam):

I don’t know, ‘cause I’m tired of not doing anything. So, I did something. And Ivy’s really pretty and I had fun with her at your party! So, I thought we’d have fun dancing together again. That’s not a big deal. But you know, technically I’m still going with her because, um, we’re all going to be in the same car so, I don’t know… Adam, I think maybe you just don’t know what’s happening this evening.

Mads (Caleb):

Maybe next time just not like the whole school kinda being in on it before Ivy was. Maybe just a suggestion for next time.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, no, I really went like all big spectacle grand gesture on my first try. So I think next time I’ll just probably ask somebody just by saying, “Hey.”

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, you hit the limit.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah.

Mads (Caleb):

And now you know where the limit is so we can just draw back from there.

Kenzie (Sam):

She was very kind about it, I will say. Because she did not look too happy but she didn’t like slap me and that could have happened so…

Kenzie (MC):

Adam kinad slaps you on the back, Caleb, and says,

Kenzie (Adam):

Alright, alright. Enough talking about her. She’s going to be here in a minute. Both of you guys get the backseat though ‘cause Ivy gets shotgun.

Mads (Caleb):

(groans)

Kenzie (Adam):

Don’t complain, Caleb. If you had a date, we wouldn’t even be discussing it, okay?

Mads (Caleb):

I didn’t say anything.

Kenzie (Adam):

I heard the groan.

Mads (Caleb):

(mockingly mumbles)

Mads:

I shoulder past him. I’m going to stop in the bathroom on my way out though, just in the hallway, and I have a little case in there that has some jewelry in it. Most of it is pretty old. A lot of it I don’t wear anymore. And some of it, honestly, I feel nervous to wear. There’s an aspect of still enjoying these things that are perceived as being feminine that makes me feel like if someone were to see me with it, that I would not be me anymore. And so I hesitate for a moment and kinda rustle around in it, pick through some things. And I find this little pair of – they’re like – they look like an onyx almost, like gem. They’re tiny little studded earring. I pick up, kinda hold to the light for a moment, think really hard on it and then put them on.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, I’m ready! Can we get going?

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She’ll be here in a sec.

Kenzie (MC):

And as he says that, you can hear a call pull up to outside of your house. And Adam is like out the door immediately. Has forgotten about you and Sam as soon as Ivy arrives and Sam goes,

Kenzie (Sam):

Okay, I’m starting to realize that this could be awkward.

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, you mean, sitting in the car with Ivy after you tried to ask her out. That part? That awkward part?

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah.

Mads (Caleb):

You know, I’d rib into you more for this but honestly, Adam, is like a really, really, really stupid dog to a bone right now. He’s not going to make any sense in the car and Ivy’s going to be so caught up with him – like whatever is going on between them right now, I’m sorta of used to it. They won’t acknowledge us.

Kenzie (Sam):

Okay, I can do that. Most people don’t.

Mads:

I reach out and grab Sam and use my arm to kinda put them into a headlock. I’m about to ruffle up their hair and then I remember that they did and make it really nice today. And so I’m about to and then my hand reaches down and flicks his nose instead.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh, goodness gracious!

Mads:

And then I shove them to the side and I start running downstairs.

Kenzie (MC):

Ivy you’ve barely parked the car before Adam is opening the driver’s side and almost half bowing to you with a hand out.

April:

Consalo (Ivy Duncan):

Jesus, give me a second to put my shoes back on.

April:

:

Ivy like reaches around a grabs her heels and –

Kenzie (Adam):

I could just carry you to my car and then you wouldn’t even have to put my shoes on.

April:

:

Ivy’s dangling her heels from one finger. She goes,

April (Ivy):

Oh, really? By all means.

Kenzie (MC):

He dips inside the car a little bit and scoops you up. Like bridle carries you over to his car instead and Caleb is walking out of the house as you’re in Adam’s arms and Adam goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

Caleb, Caleb, get the door. Get the door for me.

Mads:

I look at the two of them and then I look at Sam. I look at the two of them again. And I walk to the backseat (laughs) and close the door to the car.

April (Ivy):

Caleb!

Kenzie (Adam):

Sam. Sam! Can you be nicer than my brother? Please.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay!

Kenzie (MC):

And Sam opens the passenger seat door and then follows Caleb into the – into the backseat. And Adam walks over and puts you in the car.

April:

:

Ivy looks over her shoulder and throws a little,

April (Ivy):

Thanks, Sam!

Kenzie (MC):

Sam takes a deep, stuttering breath. (laughs) Adam shuts the door and walks around to the driver’s side and as he gets in and he turns the car on, it kinda like – the car kinda shakes a little bit and shudders to life. It probably would’ve been better if he drove your car but if your dad’s smelled Adam in their car, they might be not very happy about it. So, he gets in, the car kinda stutters to life a little bit and he goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

I have a surprise for you.

Kenzie (MC):

And he reaches in the middle console and pulls out a CD case and opens it up and slides a CD in and you can kinda see, its orange and its got some Sharpie on it and you recognize it as like a playlist you guys made together while you were dating of just songs that you both liked when you were listening to the radio on drives. And he puts it in.

Kenzie (Adam):

I just thought that memories are good and it could, I don’t know, start the night off on a good note.

April:

:

Ivy looks at him, just whoo! Eyes shining and she kinda like leans over and gives him a kiss on the cheek and she says,

April (Ivy):

It’s perfect.

Mads:

From the backseat I say,

Mads (Caleb):

If there is any Peter Gabriel on this playlist, I am not even going to bother opening up the door. I am going to vomit on the floor.

Kenzie (Adam):

Caleb, I don’t even know who that is.

Mads (Caleb):

A man without taste. Thank god. Okay.

Kenzie (MC):

Caleb your phone goes off with a text. It’s from Sam.

Mads:

I sideways glance to Sam, look down at the message.

Kenzie (MC):

Their eyes are glued onto their phone and the text reads,

Kenzie (Sam):

They’re kinda really gross.

Mads:

My sideways glance to Sam turns into like a full turn to Sam and then without looking, I type on my phone as I’m staring at them,

Mads (Caleb):

You think?

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer, you also get a text in the backseat with Natalie as you’re mom is driving you to Wildmoore High. It is also from Sam and it is in the group message you have with Caleb and it says,

Kenzie (Sam):

Ivy and Adam are kinda like really gross.

Mads:

I reply in the group message,

Mads (Caleb):

I tried to warn them.

Brennan Hershock (Sawyer Hook):

How far are you guys?

Kenzie (Sam):

We’re sitting on the lawn outside of Caleb’s house.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuck.

Mads (Caleb):

We haven’t even started.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuck. We’re like almost there.

April:

:

Ivy is holding like has her hand wound into the nape of Adam’s neck, in his hair and is just twirling one curl around her finger.

Mads:

I reply to the group text message with Sawyer,

Mads (Caleb):

Why are you so worried?

Mads:

And then out loud, whenever I see this happening I go,

Mads (Caleb):

(gagging noise)

Brennan:

You get a response in all caps back,

Brennan (Sawyer):

MOM.

Brennan:

And then another singular text.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Homecoming chaperone.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, okay, you have a right to be nervous because that is terrifying!

Mads:

I reply back,

Mads (Caleb):

Lmao.

Brennan:

I send a text to Ivy,

Brennan (Sawyer):

Pics, bitch.

April:

:

Ivy has already taken pictures, a million pictures for that night and they look flawless so when her phone goes off, she doesn’t even remove her hand from Adam’s neck, she just sends Sawyer the like folder of thirty selfies that she’s already taken.

Kenzie (MC):

As Sawyer receives that message, you hear,

Kenzie (Natalie Samuels):

Oh, wow.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Oh yeah, this is pictures of Ivy’s dress.

Kenzie (MC):

And Natalie’s eyes kinda widen a little bit and she goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, she looks great.

Brennan:

I just text back,

Brennan (Sawyer):

Natalie says you look great

April:

:

I just thumbs up that one.

Kenzie (MC):

And Natalie goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Oh, you didn’t have to tell her that.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Why? Its going – why?

Kenzie (Natalie):

I guess I – I guess I –

Brennan (Sawyer):

She looks great.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yep. Mm-hmm. She does.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Hey, by the way –

Brennan:

And I’ll lean in over the music that I’m sure my mom is like singing over.

Brennan (Sawyer):

-when we stop, we’re going to make a break for it.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Like when we stop at the school?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Maybe she’ll – wait one second. Mrs. Hook? Can I – I have a question?

Kenzie (MC):

And your mom turns down the stereo and she’s like,

Kenzie (Ely Hook):

Yes? Yes? What is it?

Kenzie (MC):

And Natalie goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Do you think you could let us out by the front doors before you park because we have to get in line for, uh, to get our tickets scanned.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Mm-hmm.

Kenzie (Ely):

Oh! Yeah, I think I can do that. Definitely.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Awesome. Hey, I really love that part of the song. Can you turn it back up?

Kenzie (Ely):

Oh yeah, sure, sure.

Kenzie (MC):

And she turns the music back up.

Brennan:

And I’ll just thumbs up over to Natalie.

Kenzie (MC):

She gives you a little thumbs up as well.

April:

:

Ivy texts Sawyer and just says,

April (Ivy):

What era of costume are you wearing?

Brennan (Sawyer):

You’ll see.

Mads:

So, Caleb did ask someone, with the full intention to make someone else very jealous. Caleb isn’t great at doing these things on his own and remembered that he did have a new friend of sorts that potentially they could do favors for each other. This felt like a very good favor. So, Caleb reaches out to his new friend, Q, about a little arrangement for Homecoming. And of course, Caleb didn’t actually get his number or any other information so this is a series of events that take place around school, trying to talk to the people he knows that Sawyer used to be close with, because those would be the circles you would be able to find him through. And a little bit of digging, a little bit of bluntness – a lot a bit of bluntness – and a little bit of honesty is enough to be able to drag Q out that I think they’re able to meet under the bridge.

Kenzie (MC):

You’re there first. And then you can hear crunching leaves as Q, in a hoodie – honestly wearing what kinda looks like what you wear a lot – just a T-shirt, a hoodie, jeans, sneakers. Hands deep in his pocket. Kinda jerks his head, nods at you as he sees you.

Kenzie (Q):

Caleb, been a while.

Mads (Caleb):

Q… you know there’s no easy way to say this… I want to make someone very jealous. Maybe this is suing you a little bit, but also, I could actually take you out to dinner sometime, maybe another time, um, I’m getting ahead of myself. Would you go to Homecoming with me?

Kenzie (MC):

He is absolutely surprised, taken aback. Those were not the words that he, in a million years, thought would come out of your mouth.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh… like at Wildmoore High?

Mads (Caleb):

No, right now, under this bridge with the toads. Of course its at Wildmoore High.

Kenzie (Q):

Jesus, Caleb, don’t need to be so aggressive about it, this is like a really weird ask out of nowhere.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, yeah, you got a point there. Have you ever been to Homecoming before?

Kenzie (Q):

Yeah, like, when I was in high school.

Mads (Caleb):

Well, you have practice then. I’ve never been to Homecoming before. I went to private school. They didn’t really do that.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, I’m like, not –

Kenzie (MC):

He kind of, uh, looks away and just runs his hand weirdly through his hair and blows out through his lips,

Kenzie (Q):

I’m like not gay.

Mads:

Caleb perks his eyebrows up a little bit and cants his head to the side and says,

Mads (Caleb):

Well, I am. Do you want a prize?

Kenzie (Q):

I just mean that like, I don’t know if anybody would believe us going to Homecoming together.

Mads:

Caleb kind of huffs, crosses his arms and looks up and then closes his eyes and looks back at Q, takes one step forward and says,

Mads (Caleb):

Let me try something.

Kenzie (Q):

What does that mean?

Mads (Caleb):

Just a test. See if its believable.

Kenzie (Q):

Caleb, I’m like five years older than you.

Mads:

Caleb tilts his head to the side again. Lifts both of his eyebrows up.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s an act, Q. You don’t need to make this so serious.

Kenzie (Q):

Okay, but I just like had the vibe that you were going to try to kiss me and that would be really uncomfortable seeing that you’re underage.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay.

Mads:

He takes a step back again.

Mads (Caleb):

We can just be there, then. Honestly, I think just you being in the vicinity is going to get the job done. You’re a business man kinda guy, this is just another transaction.

Kenzie (Q):

Okay, Moore. Then I’m going to ask for something in return.

Mads:

Caleb shrugs a little bit.

Mads (Caleb):

I thought so. What do you have in mind?

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, the Halloween party at Blackthorn Manor? Get me in.

Mads:

He thinks for a minute.

Mads (Caleb):

I’ll figure it out.

Kenzie (MC):

He sighs.

Kenzie (Q):

Don’t expect me to like get really fancy, okay?

Mads:

I roll my eyes again and then I go to walk past him and kinda like tap him on the shoulder – give him a little pat on the shoulder as I’m passing by.

Mads (Caleb):

The accent color’s green.

Kenzie (Q):

Okay. Oh!

Kenzie (MC):

And he catches you as you walk away,

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, I guess like if you have to call me a name while were there it would be weird if you called me by my name and not by the name everybody else calls me.

Mads (Caleb):

Do you want me to call you something other than Q? Master Kush still feels really really bad in my mouth.

Kenzie (Q):

I know, I don’t like it! But I guess just, I guess just – I mean, maybe it would –

Mads (Caleb):

Please tell me you didn’t come up with that yourself.

Kenzie (Q):

No! We had this conversation. I didn’t do it. You never give yourself your own nickname.

Mads (Caleb):

I know. It just feels like maybe you thought about it at least a little too long.

Kenzie (Q):

No, Q’s fine. It might help you sell it. Can I ask why you’re going through all of this trouble to make somebody jealous?

Mads:

Caleb stopped. Before he was kinda like talking over his shoulder and now he’s just like looking down at the dirt. He sees this weird looking rock and tries to stub his toe into it so it kicks to the side.

Mads (Caleb):

I feel like a lot of my life has been in the shadow of other people. I’m –

Mads:

And he like motions his hand around and then motions between the two of them.

Mads (Caleb):

-blunt, direct, harsh, wehatever. The subtlety stuff, I don’t know, I didn’t think it worked that well. But it works really well for everyone else I got to school with, so maybe play their game for a little bit? I don’t know if it’ll actually bring me peace. If this is all just a really weird, bad idea I thought up last night.

Kenzie (Q):

I think its pretty much a really weird, bad idea you thought up last night but that doesn’t mean it won’t work.

Mads (Caleb):

If it gets the results that I want, is it really that weird?

Kenzie (Q):

Yeah, it’s still pretty fucking weird.

Mads (Caleb):

Ooooh. Come on.

Kenzie (Q):

No one’s going to know. I just think it’s – I just think it’s weird. I’m the only one who’s going to know. I’m not going to tell anybody.

Mads:

I’m gonna like turn around properly to look at Q now.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s Sawyer.

Kenzie (Q):

I mean I’ll still do it, but I don’t know if being with me is going to make him jealous or make him mad.

Mads:

Caleb bites his lip.

Mads (Caleb):

Well, everything else isn’t working so at least it will get something out of him. It’s either that or like plan some grand elaborate scheme where I bring in the whole theatre department at the high school and like try to ask him out which would just result in him laughing at me.

Kenzie (Q):

That sounds like the worst decision you could ever make. That sounds horrible.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, it’s, uh, really really bad to witness actually and I never want to do something like that.

Kenzie (Q):

Alright, Caleb, well, you got a deal. I’ll just meet you there, I guess. I haven’t been back to that school – inside that school – since I graduated. That’s gonna be weird.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s called Homecoming for a reason.

Kenzie (Q):

I hope no one calls Wildmoore High their home.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, its kinda a shit place, isn’t it? But that’s kinda home.

Kenzie (Q):

Isn’t it kinda messed up, the shitty places we find comfort in?

Mads (Caleb):

When its all you’ve ever known, yeah.

Kenzie (Q):

Hey, next time you want to ask me a simple question and – that’s gonna take five minutes, can we do it not twenty minutes out side of town?

Mads:

I pull my phone out of my pocket. I open up the new contact and hand it over to him.

Kenzie (MC):

He types his name and number in and then texts himself from your phone.

Kenzie (Q):

This would probably be helpful for that night anyway so…

Mads:

I take my phone back and I just hold it up next to my head, shake it a little bit and then again, I say,

Mads (Caleb):

Green.

Kenzie (MC):

He runs his hand through his hair again and he says,

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, one more thing. You know that I know right?

Mads:

I lower my phone.

Mads (Caleb):

Noooo… I just told you I’m gay, yes.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh (chuckles) no I don’t care, that’s fine. Uh, I don’t care about the other thing either but like I know the other thing – and like everybody knows the other thing and I know you don’t want everybody to know but we all do.

Mads (Caleb):

You’re going to have to give me something more to work with here.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, the last time I said something about it, Sawyer tried to fight me so I don’t really know how to say it that’s not, I guess, mean.

Mads (Caleb):

I just had a conversation with you about how blunt and off-putting I am, you can tell me anything.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, we all like know, because we all lived in this town, that like you weren’t a dude before.

Mads:

Caleb puts his hands on his hips, stares at Q.

Mads (Caleb):

And?

Kenzie (Q):

It just seemed like something that you didn’t want anybody to know but we all knew anyway. And I just wanted you to know that I knew, and I said I don’t care I just thought that if you were trying not to have people know, I know, and you should know that I know.

Mads:

He looks skyward again and like somewhere past Q’s shoulder, takes a deep breath in and back out, nods once.

Mads (Caleb):

Yep, thanks for your honesty.

Kenzie (Q):

This is the part where instead of saying that, I punched Sawyer in the face so… um, I think that maybe that this would work, at least in the sense that I think you could make him jealous. I think there’s something there that, yeah, I think you’re right.

Mads (Caleb):

Wait. What are you – I’m confused, you lost me.

Kenzie (Q):

I’m trying to say the things but like say them in a way that isn’t rude or mean and it’s just all – it’s just making me ramble, and circle because I don’t know how to say anything about anything.

Mads (Caleb):

The best way to say something that you don’t know how to say is just to say it and hope the company that you keep will understand your intentions anyways. My best friend taught me that. It’s been working well so far.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, okay. Sawyer cares enough about you to try to fight me when I said something stupid and so I think that means – I guess I don’t know what type of care that is but I just think that you have a shot. So, what I’m saying is, if you’re trying to make him jealous with me, I just think that in general, you would have a shot at making him jealous. I think that there are feelings that exist, that jealousy could – I don’t know, it could work.

Mads:

Caleb nods and bites his lip to keep himself from smiling ‘cause he’s trying so hard in this interaction to act like he’s kinda got his shit together. But instead, whenever he nods and tries to say, “Okay, thank you for telling me,” he goes,

Mads (Caleb):

(high pitched mumble) (clears throat) Your input’s noted.

Kenzie (Q):

Uh, cool, I’ll see ya in like a week then.

Mads:

He nods a couple more time and it seems like all of this showy bluster has just been gut punched out of him so he just goes,

Mads (Caleb):

Mm-hmm (clear throat). Mm-hmmn. (coughs) See ya.

Mads:

Turns around to leave.

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer, as your mom pulls into the entrance of Wildmoore High, you see a figure standing just off the sidewalk, trying to stay away from the test of the crowd. Arms crossed over his chest just kinda looking around like he’s keeping an eye out, and its Master Kush. But you pass and he doesn’t seem to take any notice of you guys in the car as you pass by him. And your mom lets you out in front of the school as promised and you can see that the front doors of the building are thrown open wide. You see that The Commons has been fully decorated, the columns twirled with streamers, lights strung all around the windows. There’s a table set up where they are collecting tickets but there’s a line out the door currently because there are two Wildmoore police officers, administering breathalyzer tests to everyone before they can enter.

Brennan:

As soon as my mom drives away, I do the little just like four-finger wave. I look over at that figure standing there and try to just shake it off. Turn back to Natalie.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Um, by the way, I just wanted to get the hell out of there with my parents and everything but you look beautiful and, um, I, uh, I just want to have a good time tonight so let’s just have an easy night, huh?

Kenzie (MC):

There’s a hint of a blush on her cheeks as you say that and she goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Thank you, thank you. Um, yeah, I think – you know, we both thought we would have fun tonight, coming together so, um, yeah, I just want to have a fun time too.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, sorry about the teal shoes by the way. I kinda found them last minute.

Kenzie (Natalie):

It threw but it’s okay. It’s okay. You know, you’re in a lot of white so you needed the pop of color, so I get it.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, man, I hope the punch is… well, it’s gonna be bright red ‘cause its punch so I’ll just be careful about that.

Kenzie (Natalie):

This is just going to absorb everything.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, its just a walking stain magnet.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I have something but we have to get inside first and then we’ll talk.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Okay, cool, you’re not like – you didn’t take a couple shots because you’re nervous or anything before showing up to my house, right? So, we’re going to pass here? ‘Cause who would do that?

Kenzie (MC):

Its taking a stupid amount of time because half the time the breathalyzer thing isn’t actually working correctly and they have to do like people multiple time and its just holding up the whole shindig. At some point, you hear,

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Aw, come on, man! Seriously?

Kenzie (MC):

As a student is turned away and Sawyer, you see Oreoz, high off his ass, throwing his hands up in surrender and walking away from the building towards you. And he puts a hand up, he goes,

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Eh! If it isn’t Runtz. Long time no see, my dude.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yes. Yeah, hey, what’s up?

Kenzie (MC):

He is not dressed at all like he is going to Homecoming, he’s just in jeans and a T-shirt.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Where are the duds?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

They wouldn’t let me in ‘cause they said I was hi. Yeah, of fucking course.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, like they should know, right? By now?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

So, that’s a bummer.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, well, hey how have you like been with the crew?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Oh, uh, everything’s kinda the same. Chill.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, very chill.

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Kinda miss ya dude.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Do you?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

You’re kinda cool. I mean, you brought like a different energy to the space.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, sure, Oreoz. Hey? Is everyone here?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Oh, I mean I assume Widow is. I haven’t seen ‘em though.

Brennan (Sawyer):

But like, everyone?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Widow, Sour Diesel, maybe.

Brennan:

And I just turn his head over to (laughs) Master Kush.

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Well, that’s fuckin’ weird.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Who wants to come back to high school once you graduate?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, I thought it was weird as well. There’s no way he’s getting through the breathalyzer, right?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Uh, I mean –

Brennan (Sawyer):

No chance.

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Unless he’s sober.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, but, I mean…

Kenzie (Oreoz):

He’s probably – aside from you now – the most sober of us all, so…

Brennan (Sawyer):

What?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Yeah, he kinda runs the business, man.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Are you going to sneak in the back or something?

Kenzie (Oreoz):

I was thinking about it, but also like, is it worth it? Is this going to be a fun night? I guess we’ll never know unless I get in.

Brennan (Sawyer):

See ya!

Kenzie (Oreoz):

Cool, cool, cool, don’t get attacked by like any big cats, you know? (chuckles)

Brennan (Sawyer):

Whatever you say!

Kenzie (Natalie):

He’s, uh, I have never met him before.

Brennan (Sawyer):

He’s, uh, yeah, he’s just Oreoz.

Kenzie (Natalie):

He doesn’t seem like he could fly under the radar. He’s pretty out there.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Big on energies.

Kenzie (Natalie):

He doesn’t come to school a lot because I don’t see him.

Brennan (Sawyer):

No, he hangs out in the sewers.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Oh, um… odd, I guess. Why would someone want to do that?

Brennan (Sawyer):

I guess now that I think about it, it is a good place to spoke weed.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Oh, that’s how you know him ‘cause – ah, I see, I see. Okay, makes a little bit more sense now.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, we sort of um… Oreoz, Runtz, like we’re all named after a different strain that we smoked. It’s pretty lame.

Kenzie (Natalie):

So, Runtz wasn’t like an age joke or a height joke?

Brennan (Sawyer):

It probably was too, yeah, it probably was as well, yeah. But I don’t hang out with them anymore. I hang out with a lot cooler people now.

Kenzie (MC):

You guys are just making it to the front of the line when you see Adam’s car pulled in, packed with people. Caleb, you see as the car pulls in, Q standing outside. Doesn’t seem to notice that you’re in the car though. You just see him like still scanning, looking about. And Adam pulls into a parking spot and says,

Kenzie (Adam):

Ivy, sit. Do not move.

Kenzie (MC):

And he gets out of the car and he runs around the front and he opens the door.

April:

:

Ivy flips her hair a little bit and like, slowly sticks her legs out of the car, stands up. Its like still kinda light out so the setting sun hits all the sequins on her dress and refracts onto the ground in front of her so she’s literally lit up. She reaches up and gives Adam a little kiss and says,

April (Ivy):

Thanks, baby.

Brennan:

In the group chat with Caleb and Sam, there’s a gif that just pops ups that’s a cat just like profusely trying to throw up.

Mads:

Before Adam is able to make his way around the car, and he’s moving fast, he’s bookin’ it. In that split second where he hops out the car, slam the car door closed, and is moving, I lean forward enough so both Ivy and Sam can hear me at the same time and I say,

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, so I did actually ask someone to Homecoming but neither of you can freak out about this and I promise it’s just a bit. It’s just like funny little time. It’s just a little act that we’re both putting on. He owed me a favor. And, um, we’re just not gonna – we’re not gonna talk about it any more – oh!

Mads:

And then Adam’s opening the door.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam is just staring at you like, “What the fuck?” Not saying anything but just like, staring at you. Ivy is all hits you as you’re swept up into Adam’s energy of this is your guys’ night and he’s gonna make it happen.

April:

:

Ivy just throws like one raised eyebrow in Caleb’s direction as her and Adam approach the school.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam climbs out of the car, kind of like adjusts their sweater.

Kenzie (Sam):

I realize now that I’m going to get hot in this. Whoo! (laughs)

Mads (Caleb):

I thought that’s why you wore the layers, so you could a slow reveal throughout the night.

Kenzie (MC):

His eyes widen. Like you just gave them the best idea ever.

Kenzie (Sam):

I never even – no! This was the whole fit. This was the whole thing.

Mads (Caleb):

Well, I’m making adjustments for you. You’re welcome.

Kenzie (Sam):

Do you think Ivy would have liked it better with the sweater off?

Kenzie (MC):

And they kind of dramatically throw the sweater over their shoulder, so it’s off their shoulder so you can’t really see it anymore.

Mads:

I take one step back, like cross my arm over my chest, put one of my hands to my chin like I’m greatly appraising their outfit, really taking it in. I do like a slow up and down nod and then,

Mads (Caleb):

Mmm. I think she would’ve liked it better if you had just asked her and not made it into a production. I think that was where it stopped.

Kenzie (Sam):

That was where I fucked up, okay… It’s not because I don’t have a popped collar?

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, no, no, no. No, it’s not that.

Kenzie (Sam):

Cool, cool. Good to know. Good to know. Good to know. I still am going to see if I can wiggle my way in there and like get a dance. I think I’m gonna try.

Mads (Caleb):

Honestly? Okay, they’re gross, they’re disgusting but Ivy, when she’s on like this, saves face. I think she’d go for a dance.

Kenzie (Sam):

Okay!

Kenzie (MC):

And he pulls the sweater back up of their shoulders.

Mads:

I lean in a little bit,

Mads (Caleb):

So, the thin I just mentioned in the car again –

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh, yeah, what the fuck?

Mads (Caleb):

-don’t talk about it. We’re not going to make a big deal about it at all. It’s just a -

Kenzie (Sam):

Lips are sealed.

Mads (Caleb):

-friend of mine.

Mads:

And then I look to the side where Q is like just kinda lingering on the outskirts and I allow my glance to the side, Sam to kinda put that together and look where I’m looking.

Kenzie (MC):

It takes a bit. They look where you look and they see the person and they just kinda look around a little bit and they’re like,

Kenzie (Sam):

What!? Him? Caleb! Since when are you friends with Master Kush. He’s like a drug dealer.

Mads (Caleb):

His name is Q, first of all.

Kenzie (Sam):

I thought Sawyer said he was a bad dude and that he dropped him.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Sam):

And that he doesn’t hang out with him anymore.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, well, you know who else is a bad dude –

Kenzie (Sam):

Since when are you friends?

Mads (Caleb):

Since a while.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh my goodness, Caleb –

Mads (Caleb):

We’re doing each other a favor.

Kenzie (Sam):

-are we keeping secrets from each other now?

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, this is just like a transaction. Like a business deal. I don’t think I can get drugs out of him though, I don’t think that’s part of this one. If I wanted to do something later –

Kenzie (Sam):

I wasn’t asking to get drugs, Caleb. I’m saying that I’m a little bit irritated by the fact that you kept this a secret from me.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, look, I –

Mads:

I’m going to grab Sam’s shoulders and move them closer to me so that my head is just over top of where their shoulder is, so that I’m almost directly whispering into their ear but its just like a weird little position that we’re in.

Mads (Caleb):

I’m going to tell you a secret and you cannot tell anyone this. You have to die in this moment with this secret if you let this go. Actually, no, I will kill. I will find you, Sam. Do you understand?

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah! Mm-hmm.

Kenzie (MC):

They swallow.

Mads (Caleb):

I’m doing it to make someone else jealous.

Kenzie (Sam):

Who?

Mads (Caleb):

Someone important to me?

Kenzie (Sam):

Caleb, I don’t like you like that.

Mads (Caleb):

Sam –

Mads:

I lean into his ear closer.

Mads (Caleb):

Sam! I love you so much. I would never do that. Please this is so platonic, I love you so much.

Mads:

I bite their ear.

Mads (Caleb):

Don’t say that ever again.

Kenzie (Sam):

Okay well then, who? I’m waiting.

Mads (Caleb):

Who else, Sam, my wonderful, beautiful, really smart, friend that can put things together is even sort of an aspect of my life?

Kenzie (Sam):

Um.

Mads (Caleb):

That was not in the car that we were just in… gross.

Kenzie (MC):

Their eyes widen as realization hits them. They take a sharp intake of breath.

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m going to be a third wheel!

Mads (Caleb):

No, no!

Kenzie (Sam):

We can’t have a business of making a video game together and then one of us is a third wheel!

Mads (Caleb):

Sam – Sam! I need you to come back to Earth for a minute.

Kenzie (Sam):

This is horrible Why?

Mads (Caleb):

Bud, I –

Kenzie (Sam):

Come one!

Mads (Caleb):

No, you, Sam – Sam! Sam.

Kenzie (Sam):

What?

Mads:

I pull away from them so I can look them in the eyes now.

Mads (Caleb):

You are my number one, okay?

Kenzie (Sam):

Kay.

Mads (Caleb):

I would never third wheel you. If there’s a chance I could possibly third wheel you, I would just not let it happen. I would just simply leave.

Kenzie (MC):

They have a sour expression on their face as they consider this situation.

Kenzie (Sam):

Caleb, I’ll take your word for it. But, I don’t think that people choose to third wheel people. I think that it happens because they are enamored with the other person. So –

Mads:

I pull one of my hands off their shoulders and I put up one finger. I say,

Mads (Caleb):

Then, I’m holding you to this, Sam. If I start to third wheel you, you can just take me out. You can just knock me out cold. Just at the kneecaps. Flat on my ass. Or just tell me to shut up.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, I appreciate the sentiment but I don’t think I could physically knock you out. You scared off that football player at the quarry party so…

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, it’s kind of a problem. I’m working on it. But, if I start to third wheel you – we can come up with like a code word. We can say something that then we’ll know –

Kenzie (Sam):

Why would we need a code word? Why wouldn’t I just say look at you guys and be like, “Stop flirting”?

Mads (Caleb):

Well, when you put it like that, it makes more sense that way. I don’t know – yeah, you can say that too, I guess. Or you could say like, “Watermelon,” “Clementine.”

Kenzie (Sam):

The caboose is loose.

Mads (Caleb):

A code word might me kind a fun.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh, that’s really funny in this situation, Caleb. The caboose –

Mads (Caleb):

What?

Kenzie (Sam):

The caboose is loose being the code word again is really funny in this situation. Because I think it mirrors the saying that my uncle told me about one time – actually it wasn’t my uncle, it was my mom yelling at my uncle on the phone and telling him that if he didn’t stop chasing as sand get a life, that she would cut him off. I think that like chasing ass and the caboose is loose could be the same sentence.

Mads (Caleb):

I will allow you to say this and I will not make a fuss about it.

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m not loosing the caboose. But you are.

Kenzie (MC):

They wiggle their eyebrows.

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, my god.

Mads:

And I shove them away.

Mads (Caleb):

Speaking of loosing the caboose…

Kenzie (MC):

And they look over your shoulder and you turn and you see Q walking towards you. And while he said not to expect much, that he wasn’t getting dressed up, he is wearing very well-fitted clothing Like – just, it looks good. It looks almost as well-fit as Adam’s clothes look on him. It is a dark green – like an army green pant with white sneakers, white button down and an army green vest on top of it, with the buttons of the white shirt undone. He has a rough, short beard that he has made sure to trim up nicely. His hair is kinda – not like slicked back – but gelled to stay in place nicely on his head. And he strides toward you with his one hand in his pocket and the other swinging by his side.

Kenzie (Q):

I think it’s the wrong green.

Mads:

I give him a once over similar to what I just did with Sam. But this one instead is actual appraisal and then I look back up to him.

Mads (Caleb):

You clean up really nice. Are you sure you’re not gay?

Kenzie (Q):

I just wore this to my cousin’s wedding last year so I had it in my closet.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s a good thing that your cousin used green as an accent too, huh?

Kenzie (Q):

Yeah, but again, not the same green. I’m sorry. Uh, you just said green.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, it works.

Kenzie (Q):

Who – who are you?

Kenzie (MC):

He just points at Sam.

Mads (Caleb):

This is Sam.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam narrows their eyes.

Mads (Caleb):

Sam, you know of Q.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, mm-hmm, I’ve heard of you.

Mads (Caleb):

Don’t call him that weird name. Please don’t.

Kenzie (Sam):

I didn’t call him any name.

Mads (Caleb):

You’re thinking it. I can see it in your brain.

Kenzie (Sam):

Well, isn’t that what your name is?

Mads:

I look over at Q.

Kenzie (Q):

You can just call me Q, too.

Kenzie (MC):

And he goes to run his hand through his hair but he remembers that its done and he just drops his hand again.

Kenzie (Q):

Anyways, yeah, so, you have the tickets, yeah?

Mads (Caleb):

Mm-hmm.

Kenzie (Q):

Great.

Kenzie (MC):

And then he sticks his hand out towards you.

Mads:

I look down at it, I look back up at him.

Mads (Caleb):

I’m not going to give you a small stroke, am I?

Kenzie (Q):

I’m – we – you want to sell it, yeah?

Mads:

I take his hand.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam is just looking at him, just with like – like he was a dad giving the shovel talk. Like just so intense. Sam is going to have their eyes on Q all night. You guys walk towards the entrance. Ivy and Adam get their first and Adam does not go to the back of the line, he just strides up exatly where Natalie and Sawyer are and goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

Hey, Sawyer, how’s it goin’?

Brennan (Sawyer):

What’s up?

Kenzie (Adam):

You look great, man.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thanks.

April (Ivy):

Is that Rococo?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah… yeah it is. Yeah.

April (Ivy):

Hell, yeah.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You like it?

April (Ivy):

I do actually.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Cool.

April (Ivy):

It’s very you.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, I thrifted for like fucking six weeks for this. Like before I even though I was going to go. This was just going to be like something I would wear but –

April (Ivy):

No, it suits you.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thanks. And you guys, wow, like holy shit. Picture didn’t do any justice.

April:

:

Ivy kinda like rolls her eyes but with a smile. She goes,

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thank you, of course.

April:

:

Her eyes like flit over to Natalie.

April (Ivy):

Hey.

Kenzie (MC):

Natalie is trying to avoid eye contact with you which means she kinda has her eyes like on your shoulder and she’s just,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Hey! Yeah, you look great. I think Sawyer already told you I thought that, so.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, you look gorgeous. That color is so good on you.

Kenzie (MC):

She looks like she’s trying to hold back a smile and fight it and she says,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Thanks.

Kenzie (MC):

And she finally meets your eyes.

April:

:

Ivy glances down at her shoulder and then down at her boobs and then meets eye contact with Natalie.

Brennan:

I look to Adam,

Brennan (Sawyer):

You look gorgeous too, wow.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, thanks, man. You look – ah, I said that already.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, whatever.

Kenzie (Adam):

I mean it, man. You look great. I don’t think I can pull that off.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You know, I keep getting those sort of like, I don’t know if it’s a full on compliment sorta –

Kenzie (Adam):

Okay, fine. You look great, man. End of compliment.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Cool, that works for me.

April:

:

Ivy like slaps Sawyer’s cheek and says,

April (Ivy):

I told you you look good. Is that not enough?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Hey, you guys aren’t fucked up are ya? ‘Cause…

Brennan:

I’ll point up at the head of the line.

April:

:

Ivy shrug and she’s like,

April (Ivy):

Not yet.

April:

:

But then her eyes flick up to Adam and study him.

Brennan:

Same with Sawyer. Sawyer’s just like really intently looking at Adam.

Kenzie (MC):

His eyes and his head are turning between both of you and he goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

I’m fine.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Sure.

April (Ivy):

Cool.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Sure.

April (Ivy):

Yeah.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Cool.

April (Ivy):

Mm-hmm.

Kenzie (MC):

Ivy, he squeezes your hand.

Kenzie (Adam):

I’m fine.

April (Ivy):

Yeah. Don’t worry. I mean, I was never worried about this.

Kenzie (Adam):

Okay.

Kenzie (MC):

And as she says that, Caleb, Q is walking straight towards this group, hand in your hand.

Mads (Caleb):

So, we’re really doing this? No back of the line. You just want to go.

Kenzie (Q):

I mean, they’re your friends, right? And they’re the people that – or he’s the person that – isn’t it best to just hit it head on?

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, yeah, yeah, you’re right. (shaky breath) Super right.

Mads:

I squeeze his hand a little bit to kinda like ground myself and I don’t realize my nails are a little bit sharper than they usually are, right now.

Kenzie (Q):

Hey, Caleb.

Mads:

And then I pull back immediately.

Mads (Caleb):

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I wanted this.

Kenzie (Q):

Yeah, you asked me.

Mads (Caleb):

I did. I did. Ooh.

Kenzie (MC):

You hear Sam grumble,

Kenzie (Sam):

I don’t know why you did that. That’s so fuckin’ weird. I don’t know why we’re all doing this right now.

Mads:

I elbow Sam.

April:

:

Ivy hears them first and turns her head and just screams,

Mads (Caleb):

Ahhhh! No fucking way.

Mads:

I don’t say anything. I just tilt my jaw up a little bit and cant my head to the side, raise my eyebrows.

Brennan:

Sawyer tilts his head over and instantly just furrows his brow.

Kenzie (MC):

As they both get up to your group, Q says,

Kenzie (Q):

Sawyer.

Kenzie (MC):

And there’s like a little smile on his face.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Kinda far from the retirement home, huh?

Kenzie (Q):

I was trying to be polite and not call you, Runtz, but we can do that if that’s how you want it to be.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Whatever.

April:

:

Ivy’s eyes go between Adam and Sawyer and Caleb and Sam and Q and then her eyes just lock on Caleb and she just gives this slow, shake of her head, with a huge grin.

Mads:

Caleb is looking into the middle distance, again, past everyone. And rethinking every decision that he made. And then slips to the side to like make eye contact with Ivy after feeling her eyes boring into the side of his head. There’s this moment where they lock eyes and it’s this terrible gay panic where it’s like – it starts to slip a little bit, the resolve that he had coming into this. Like the “Oh no, did I fuck up?” And then his eyes narrow just a little bit and it’s that moment of like, “Remember what I just told you in the car, this is just a bit, we’re not going to fucking talk about it. That this is just a bit.”

April:

:

Ivy just gives you one huge wink.

Mads:

At the wink, my eyes dart to the side and it just so happens that when they dart to the side, I lock eyes with Sawyer (laughs).

Brennan:

Sawyer looks pissed.

Mads:

I look at Sawyer and there’s this moment where my eyes widen and just a bit crestfallen like, “Oh, no, I’ve disappointed him. Oh, this is terrible. Oh, this isn’t what I wanted at all. I should’ve done everything different. This is so bad, why did I do this?” And then my eyes start to track down and then I catch – are they holding hands? Are Sawyer and Natalie holding hands right now?

Kenzie (MC):

I think that when Ivy and Adam came up, Natalie dropped Sawyer’s hand.

Brennan:

I think at that point we were probably just chillin’ next to each other.

Mads:

My eyes track down just a little bit to be able to see, the hint, the pop of color from Natalie’s dress and then like I look back up and I see Natalie again. I see Sawyer standing next to Natalie. I see the two of them standing here together, matching to some degree even though Sawyer is really fuckin’ off the walls for some reason. I look at Sawyer again and that, “Oh, no, I messed up. Oh, no, I disappointed him,” all of that gets shoved somewhere in the back of my brain and instead this really petty, teenage part rears its head and comes to the forefront so that out of my mouth, instead, I say,

Mads (Caleb):

Hey, you look nice. Aw, you guys look so cute together.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thanks.

Mads (Caleb):

Of course.

Brennan:

And Sawyer looks at Ivy like, “What the fuck do I do in this situation?”

April:

:

Ivy doesn’t look at Sawyer, she just keeps staring at Caleb. She goes,

April (Ivy):

And you guys! You two look so cute together too.

Kenzie (MC):

Q does the thing with his hand again where he forgets about his hair and hesitates and goes,

Kenzie (Q):

Um, wrong greens, but we tried.

April (Ivy):

No, it goes. It like – it works for you. You clean up real nice, man.

Kenzie (Q):

I’ve been told.

Mads:

I bump my shoulder into him a little bit.

Mads (Caleb):

He’s being modest.

Brennan (Sawyer):

The suit still smells like weed though.

Kenzie (Q):

Yep, man, I live above a weed shop, so.

Mads:

I look over to Sawyer.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, I hope you get past.

April (Ivy):

Don’t worry, we’re all getting through.

Brennan:

I look at Ivy.

Mads:

I look at Ivy.

Kenzie (MC):

Q looks – like he’s taller than you, Caleb – so he kinda looks over and down at you and he goes,

Kenzie (Q):

I’m not high, by the way if you were worried about that.

Mads:

I glance up at him.

Mads (Caleb):

I know.

Kenzie (MC):

The dance committee has danced the hallway in a path leading to the gym. The lockers are covered in fabric and strange golden branches. You can hear the music and it gets louder and louder until you enter the gym. They’ve done their best. Transforming the gym into anything other than a gym is difficult. There is a balloon arch across the doorway when you walk in, light yellow and peach in color. There are billowing pieces of fabric draped across the ceiling and strange structures of wires and fairy lights placed at the outskirts. There’s a photo booth with accessories and a backdrop. There’s a long table of snacks and drinks out of the way of the dance floor. The bleachers have been pulled out for seating. Also, offering, though not on purpose, a bit of a space underneath that people can get to. The seats have been covered in a cream colored cloth with lights running up the stairs. There’s a temporary stage setup with all of Jordan’s DJ equipment as well as towers of lights that she seems to be controlling, just flashing colors, strobing, the lights perfectly paired with the beat of the music. Jordan is up there currently. She is wearing a black cropped tank top, connected at the bottom by two chains to her black shorts with straps that hang down the front of the shorts, connecting to this metal circle on the middle of her thigh, that has a strap around her thigh. Her legs are covered in fishnets and she has on a blue and black plaid shirt that’s hanging off her shoulders as she DJs. There’s a necklace that lays at her throat and her hair is pulled up and back. You can see from the lights, this like light sheen of sweat on her forehead as she jumps up and down, trying to hype up the crowd from the booth.

There’s a table with a box on it for voting for Homecoming King and Queen and that is what you see as you enter this overwhelmingly noisy and light-crazy place.

April:

:

Ivy immediately spots Jordan looking hot.

Kenzie (MC):

You’ve seen her before and she’s outdone herself, because she’s fine, you’ve noticed her but like, she keeps to herself, she’s a band kid. She hangs out with all those people. This is different.

April:

:

Ivy immediately just like takes her in and then she turns to the whole group and goes,

April (Ivy):

When did Jordan get hot?

Brennan:

Sawyer is like not looking at you.

Mads:

Caleb looks and acknowledges but it ain’t there.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam looks and they go,

Kenzie (Sam):

Wow, yeah, she’s pretty hot..

April (Ivy):

Thank you, Sam.

Kenzie (Sam):

I got your back.

April:

:

Ivy like glares at Sawyer and Caleb.

Brennan:

I look at Natalie.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You want to go dance?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, come here, come here, come here.

Kenzie (MC):

And Natalie pulls you kinda aside, not under the bleachers, but just to the side of them where they’re open and she goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Okay, so, I know that you’ve stopped smoking weed but I’ve got this.

Kenzie (MC):

And from this little purse she has, she pulls a flask and she wiggles it in front of you.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Do you want any?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuck, yes.

Brennan:

I’ll take a very large swig of it.

Kenzie (MC):

You hand it back and kind mirrors that. She puts it to her lips and throws her head backs, takes this massive swig. And wincing as she swallows, she says,

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’m sure, someone will try to spike the punch bowl but I don’t know with what and I don’t necessarily want to find out. So, we are safe with this.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, that’s a good call. Hey, like, I don’t like that dude. I don’t know if that was like super obvious.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, it was kinda – it was pretty obvious.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I want it to be fun tonight though. We could just like do our think, you know?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Okay!

Brennan (Sawyer):

Is that cool?

Kenzie (Natalie):

I just want to hang out and dance a lot so we can do that together.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Cool!

Kenzie (Natalie):

It might be best, uh, actually, to separate ourselves a bit.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I didn’t want to like – I don’t know, be off and then fuck off your night and everything. I want it to be, you know, fun.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I agree and I feel the same.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, let’s go fuckin’ dance.

Brennan:

And I’ll take another swig and I’ll pass it back.

Kenzie (MC):

And she puts it away in her purse and you can lead her out on the dance for to start dancing.

Brennan:

I pass everybody and don’t look at a single one of them.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam says,

Kenzie (Adam):

Ivy, I think she’s probably always been hot but I just don’t really notice.

April (Ivy):

You didn’t notice?

Kenzie (MC):

He kinda steps back from you and just gestures at you and he’s like,

Kenzie (Adam):

No. My attention is kinda taken.

Mads (Caleb):

God, wouldn’t it be great if this ceiling got ripped off and a meteor hurtled to the floor right now and took me the fuck out. Can we please go?

Mads:

And then I start to tug on Q’s hand and then I take Sam’s as well and start to drag them away.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh okay, bye guys! See you later!

April:

:

Without taking her eyes off of Adam, Ivy says,

April (Ivy):

Bye, Sam.

Kenzie (Adam):

I am not necessarily upset that it’s just us.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, me neither.

Kenzie (Adam):

It’s been a while and I missed it.

April:

:

Ivy gets up close to Adam and says,

April (Ivy):

Me too. Can I ask you something?

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah.

April (Ivy):

Are you really sober right now?

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, while you were gone, my parents possibly found out about the whole thing and took my pills so yeah.

April:

:

Ivy’s eyes are immediately so worried. There’s this dissonance between the glitter and the lights on her face and like how full of concern her eyes are and she reaches a thumb up and touches the dark under eye circles that he has.

Kenzie (Adam):

I tried to –

April (Ivy):

No, you look beautiful. Are you going to be okay without them?

Kenzie (Adam):

I don’t know. It’s in there alright, I can feel it. But, um, I feel better that you’re with me now.

April:

:

Ivy breaks out into a huge smile. She says,

April (Ivy):

You want to get fucked up. Would that help or be fun? I mean, we don’t have to but I got the hook up if you want.

Kenzie (Adam):

Can we just maybe not right now?

April (Ivy):

Yeah, of course.

Kenzie (Adam):

So I think I have to ask you another question.

April (Ivy):

Okay.

Kenzie (Adam):

Would you like to dance with me?

April (Ivy):

Of course I would like to dance with you. Let’s go!

Kenzie (MC):

He sweeps you onto the dance floor and there is a sense of rightness in this, not just between you two but like with the people around you who are dancing too, the sense of like, oh, they’re back. Things are recalibrated. Like this is how it’s always been, everybody got used to this and it was really weird when it wasn’t good between you two. So, there’s like a weird – calm isn’t the right word – but a weird sense that the status quo has returned

Q, to Caleb as you pull him and Sam away says,

Kenzie (Q):

I’m sorry. He like hates me. That did not go well.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, I’m realizing that maybe I didn’t think this through as much as I should have but a reaction is better than no reaction. At least that’s what I’m telling myself. Maybe just –

Mads:

And I let go of his hand and I kinda cross my arms over my chest. Look around me to this dance and I feel a little selfish. Its catching up with me. And I shake my head and I look at Sam and then I look at Q.

Mads (Caleb):

We can still have a good night though. I invited you here. I mean, you can leave if you want to. I’m not going to keep you but you said it yourself, this place is kinda shitty and wouldn’t it be nice to just have a good time. Pretend it’s not so shitty for a minute?

Kenzie (Q):

And I don’t want to ditch you completely, we did have a deal. Um, but, if it would make things better for me to leave, I could stage a – we could stage a fight (chuckles) I guess.

Mads (Caleb):

No.

Kenzie (Q):

I’ve never fake dated somebody before.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, it’s a first for me.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam is listening to this whole conversation, looking between the both of you and just says,

Kenzie (Sam):

This was ridiculous from the beginning and its ridiculous now. And that’s what I think about it!

Brennan:

Sam gets a text from Sawyer. It says,

Brennan (Sawyer):

Come meet me on the dance floor.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam looks at his phone and goes,

Kenzie (Sam):

Okay, I’m gonna go dance. Um, see you guys around!

Kenzie (MC):

And then finger guns you as they mosey away.

Mads (Caleb):

Sure, uh, we’ll be here.

Kenzie (Q):

I don’t think that your friend really likes me either and I don’t even know them. I just feel like I’m putting a crux in the whole night, Caleb.

Mads:

I’m going to move so that I’m standing next to him again with my arms still crossed and just look our, survey everyone.

Mads (Caleb):

I mean, I don’t think a lot of people like you here.

Kenzie (Q):

Which is so weird because I supply every single one of these people with drugs.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, you’d think they they’d kinda want to be nicer to you.

Kenzie (Q):

At least tolerate me.

Mads (Caleb):

Look everyone knows my business. The –

Mads:

And then I just gesture to all of myself.

Mads (Caleb):

That I wasn’t always like this. And even if they’re okay with it, I still know they talk about me. It’s not really the same but feel like maybe you get some of that too. People making assumptions about you without even really having met you.

Mads:

I shrug.

Mads (Caleb):

Like I said, we can still have a good night. You said you went to Homecomign when you were here, right?

Kenzie (Q):

I did.

Mads (Caleb):

Did you actually dance or were just selling out behind the bleachers.

Kenzie (Q):

I don’t really know how to dance.

Mads (Caleb):

(laughs) Wait.

Kenzie (Q):

Caleb…

Mads (Caleb):

You don’t know how to dance?

Kenzie (Q):

Do I look like someone who has any rhythm?

Mads:

I look at him and then I bite my lip.

Kenzie (Q):

Usually what would happen is I would stand and my date would usually kind of dance around me and I would try to twirl her if I could but I couldn’t really like move. And then other times she would dance with her friends and I would sit and drink some punch and eat some pretzels.

Mads (Caleb):

If stuffy private school taught me anything, if going away to a goddamn boarding school did anything for me, it was to teach me ridiculous, stupid, stuffy old dances. And I’m going to teach you now.

Kenzie (Q):

Oh, no. Stuffy old dances are not going to fit with this music.

Mads (Caleb):

You think that I actually learned the stuffy old dances like they were supposed to be? No, no, no, no, no. Come on, I’ll lead.

Kenzie (MC):

So I think its going to have to be manipulate, but we’ll change it to sound nice. I want you to Persuade an NPC (laughs).

Mads:

Okay! It’s an eight.

Kenzie (Q):

Phew. Okay, to make this worth my time, teach me the stuffy old dance. But, I don’t have to dance all night. That’s my caveat. I can sit, yeah?

Mads:

I nod and I hold my hand out.

Kenzie (MC):

He takes a deep breath.

Kenzie (Q):

Okay, but I am going to step on your toes.

Kenzie (MC):

And grabs your hand and you twirl into whatever type of dance Caleb knows and is teaching Q.

Mads:

So, Caleb, at his preppy little boarding school when he was there, he did learn how to dance. He does have rhythm. He knows how to move his body even though so much of it has been restrained with awkwardness and general dysphoria. The best part about learning out to dance and learning how to dance well is that you can combine dancing. Is that you can take apart aspects of it and turn it into something else. So, this is what once was like formal – almost ballroom training but in a more modern twist so it is not stuffy and it is not stiff. It’s very loose. It's like fluid. Caleb is going to take the lead position though so Q is in the follow position.

Kenzie (MC):

It's hard. It’s a struggle. He has absolutely no idea what he’s doing, what you’re trying to teach him and you’re toes definitely get stepped on and you bump into other people dancing. But, he’s also laughing about it and finds it insanely funny that he is doing this at all.

Mads:

Caleb is laughing to because even though there’s that part of him that is so afraid he’s going to be judged and so afraid of what other people think of him - which is that awkwardness – there’s something about dancing that is freeing. And there’s something about showing someone who is genuinely seeking something from you as well, let it be maybe a relationship pursuit of something like that, or in this case, just learning how to dance at fucking Homecoming for the first time. There’s something about it that’s very, very genuine and Caleb picks up on that and laughs. And whenever there’s a very rough harsh step, will turn them in a way to try and incorporate it in the dance further.

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer you and Natalie have been dancing for a little bit together, having a fun time, when all of a sudden she stops and her face from joy turns to worry and she’s looking over your shoulder and she just goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Oh, no.

Brennan (Sawyer):

What!? What’s going on?

Brennan:

And Sawyer like jumping up and down sweaty, perm majestically bouncing.

Kenzie (MC):

You see, as you turn over your shoulder, in walks Alina arm in arm with Callum Banks, with like an entourage behind them. And she is walking in through this balloon arch like she fucking owns the place.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Aw fuck.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, this could end really badly.

Kenzie (MC):

And you see Natalie’s eyes dart to where Adam and Ivy are kinda just in their own world completely.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Should I go tell here?

Kenzie (Natalie):

I don’t know what would be worse, I truly don’t.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’ll just shoot her a text. I’ll just shoot her a text.

Kenzie (Natalie):

It’s going to bad no matter what.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’m just going to give her the heads up.

Brennan:

And I’ll just say,

Brennan (Sawyer):

Watch out, wicked witch arrived.

April:

:

Ivy hears her phone go off and she does check it immediately. Looks over her shoulder and sees Alina with her, you know, usually benched hockey boyfriend. And then when she looks back at Adam, she sees Caleb and Q dancing so wildly and she just goes,

April (Ivy):

Fuck, yeah, Caleb!

April:

:

And grabs Adam’s hands because who else would Caleb teach dance moves to when he came home but Adam. And of course, Gabriel and Bast have taught Ivy every type of dance that exists. So, Adam and Ivy just immediately lock eyes and they know, and they start breaking into this gorgeous, uninhibited, perfectly fluid dance routine. But it’s also like hot and sexy – it’s like everything that you would like ideally dream of in your wildest Homecoming fantasy but you know you would never do it. It’s like a movie. They both know what they’re doing, and Ivy remembered how fun it is to be on Adam’s side and to have him on her side as they just laugh and dance. At one point during a twirl, Ivy just throws Alina one look. Not even a glare, just an acknowledgement, before getting wrapped back up with Adam and giving him a long, very tongue filled kiss.

Brennan:

You get another text.

April:

:

Without even missing a beat, Ivy pulls her phone out while still dancing.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Also, what the fuck.

April:

:

She just puts her phone back in her purse and when she makes her way to be able to make eye contact with Sawyer, she just throws him a wink.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam had been doing the wild dancing that they do and so it takes a long time to notice that Sawyer and Natalie stopped dancing and then they finally go,

Kenzie (Sam):

What’s going on? What happened? Why are the vibes weird now?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Uhhh, just stupid drama.

Kenzie (Sam):

That’s kinda been the beginning of this night to the end of this night it feels like it’s gonna be that way.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, what the hell? What is Caleb doing?

Kenzie (Sam):

Nothing!

Kenzie (MC):

They swallow.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, sure, what the – no. No! What is Caleb doing Sam?

Kenzie (Sam):

Ooooooooh. I don’t know, I think that (high pitched humming) yeah, I think somebody is calling me over there.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Hey! No, no, no.

Kenzie (Sam):

I just want to get some punch you know?

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’ll come with ya. Natalie do you want some?

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’m good. I’m good. No thanks.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’ll be right back.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam is like power walking over to the punch.

Brennan:

Power walking behind.

Kenzie (MC):

And like fills a cup and like starts chugging it and spits it back in the cup and is like,

Kenzie (Sam):

That’s not punch. That’s not punch!

Brennan (Sawyer):

No, you should still drink it. But also, once you finish that –

Kenzie (Sam):

It already happened. That was so quick. It’s only been like half an hour.

Brennan (Sawyer):

What’s up with the dodging?

Kenzie (Sam):

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Mm-hmm. I’ll quit the game. I’ll quit it right now.

Kenzie (Sam):

What?

Brennan (Sawyer):

What’s going on?

Kenzie (Sam):

You’re going – you’re going to quit –

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’m not actually going to quit the game. I just want you to be fuckin – tell me – you guys know I hate, Master Kush!

Kenzie (Sam):

Uh-huh. Can I ask you why you hate him more specifically?

Brennan (Sawyer):

‘Cause he’s a fucking dick.

Kenzie (Sam):

That’s – just that in general.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I don’t remember if like you remember when we first met and I had a black eye but yeah, um, Master Kush.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh, he punched you in the face.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, he punched me in the face, really fucking hard.

Kenzie (Sam):

That sucks.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I sorta swung first but like I missed –

Kenzie (Sam):

Sawyer! That’s part of the – that’s like a big part of the story!

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, I swung for a good fucking reason!

Kenzie (Sam):

Why did you swing!?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Because Master Kush is just a fucking asshole, okay?

Kenzie (Sam):

That’s not much of an explanation, but –

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, you haven’t given me much of an explanation.

Kenzie (Sam):

Well, maybe it’s not my thing to say! You ever thought about that, Sawyer? That I’ve been sworn to secrecy. I zipped my lips and threw away the key? ‘Cause I did it.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You should’ve just told me that I would’ve - yeah, I can respect that. Do I need to like go fucking – what do I do?

Kenzie (Sam):

About Master Kush being here? I think his name is Q. He asked me to call him Q.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah I’ve been calling him Master Kush for so long it feels kinda weird. Like we were kinda the, you know, everyone knows the names but we were kinda there at the origins, you know?

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m gonna just (breaths out heavily) –

Kenzie (MC):

Fills up some more.

Kenzie (Sam):

Last time I did this, I fell off a stage and smashed my nose open so let’s hope that doesn’t happen again.

Kenzie (MC):

And they start chugging down another glass of punch.

Kenzie (Sam):

It’s like really gross too. Whatever this is, is really gross.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I don’t mean to be like weird. I wasn’t trying to be weird, you know what I mean? I just wanted to come here and have fun.

Kenzie (Sam):

Caleb just wanted to come and have fun too.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Should I just like let it be?

Kenzie (MC):

They glance over to Caleb.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh my goodness, he’s like my best friend but you’re like becoming my really good friend right now, too. This is so hard.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuck. It’s cool. I’ll figure it out.

Kenzie (Sam):

Are you mad at Caleb though?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh see, see? No, no, no, no, no, no that’s a bad thing. That’s a bad ting.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I don’t know it’s kinda a fucking dick move.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, I don’t think he thought it through very much.

Brennan (Sawyer):

(groans) Alright, I don’t want to like put you in a – okay, tell me – what can you tell me without telling me? We have to figure this out, Sam. I’m gonna just unzip one little zipper part. Kay, one little zipper part.

Kenzie (Sam):

(muffled) Okay.

Brennan (Sawyer):

It’s not the whole thing –

Kenzie (Sam):

No, no, just one little bit.

Brennan (Sawyer):

- the side mouth.

Kenzie (Sam):

Just one little bit.

Brennan (Sawyer):

So, Caleb wants to make me mad?

Kenzie (Sam):

(high pitch) Mmmmm.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Caleb doesn’t like me ‘cause I did something.

Kenzie (Sam):

(low pitch) Mmmm.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Caleb wants something out of Master Kush. This is like a plot to get something.

Kenzie (Sam):

(in agreement) Mm!

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah! Okay, drugs? There are way easier ways to get this. Something involving me?

Kenzie (Sam):

(sadly) Mmmm.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’m going to open one more zipper.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yes.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yes? Something involving me with Master Kush?

Kenzie (Sam):

Uh-huh.

Brennan:

The gears, after like hundreds of just centuries of being rusted in place, just chhh, move half an inch. The cogs just start to turn.

Brennan (Sawyer):

To make me feel some type of way.

Kenzie (Sam):

Can I zip it back up?

Brennan:

And I’ll take my hand and zip it and Sawyer just like slowly turns around and looks towards – if I can see them – Caleb and Q.

Kenzie (MC):

Q is so ridiculously easy to spot in the crowd of high schoolers (laughs).

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thanks, Sam.

Kenzie (Sam):

I know she said she didn’t want any but I’m going to take this back to Natalie, okay, bye!

Brennan (Sawyer):

Okay!

Brennan:

Sawyer will scoop a cup and just like lightly slip on it.

Kenzie (MC):

Somebody put like moonshine in this. It’s disgusting.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Holy shit.

Brennan:

Puts it back on the table.

Kenzie (MC):

Out of the corner of your eye, you see your mother actively not look at you and walk right past the table.

Brennan:

I’ll just smile and nod at her. I’ll look down and then go back out to the dance floor and make my way towards Ivy.

April:

:

Ivy sees Sawyer and with her arms around Adam’s neck, goes,

April (Ivy):

Sawyer!

April:

:

And then takes a few steps over and embraces him.

Brennan:

Just gonna start dancing as much as I can with you guys.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, so you fuckin’ knew, huh?

April (Ivy):

Yeah! What? Huh?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, huh, what. You got a zipper on too!

April (Ivy):

No, this dress doesn’t have a zipper. I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Brennan (Sawyer):

What!?

April (Ivy):

What?

Brennan (Sawyer):

No! Huh?

April (Ivy):

Huh?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Adam did you know?

Kenzie (Adam):

I don’t know what you’re talking about.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You fuckin’ knew!

Kenzie (Adam):

What did I fuckin’ know?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Uh.

Kenzie (Adam):

Dude, what are you talking about?

April (Ivy):

Sawyer, you’re being a freak can you just like use English words, please?

Brennan (Sawyer):

There!

Kenzie (Adam):

My brother dancing with a drug dealer? I didn’t know about it. I thought he didn’t have a date!

April (Ivy):

I didn’t know about it either.

Kenzie (Adam):

And then we show up here and he waltzes up to Master Kush like he does it every day.

Brennan:

I’ll get in close to Ivy.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You fuckin’ knew.

April:

:

I grab Sawyer’s face like with one hand and I go,

April (Ivy):

Look, Sawyer, I didn’t know that Caleb was coming here with Master Kush.

April:

:

And then I like turn his head to look at them and press our cheeks together.

April (Ivy):

But I do know they look hot together.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You’re an evil bitch.

April (Ivy):

I’m sorry? You just called me a bitch.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I love you, bud!

Brennan:

(laughing) And I’ll walk back onto the dance floor.

April:

:

I yell after him and I go,

April (Ivy):

You can’t just use that as like an overarching excuse.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Love you bud!

April (Ivy):

Okay fine. Goodbye.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Love you!

April (Ivy):

Goodbye.

Kenzie (MC):

Some time passes, the energy gets ramped up even more and more as everybody from the school like finally arrives and the gym is just packed to the gills. You see people putting their little ballots in the boxes. You see that there are refills of the punch bowls being brought out and I think you catch – at least Ivy would catch when that happens – that you see one of the football players walk by and do a little thing to spike the new punch. And you also see that Sawyer’s mom has seen that happen.

April:

:

I grab Adam by his popped collar and I like pull him down to my level and I say,

April (Ivy):

I’ll be right back. Got some business to attend to.

April:

:

And then let him go. And I beeline to the punch bowl and get a big cup of it and approach Mama Hook.

Kenzie (MC):

She watches you, sees you as you walk over and she goes,

Kenzie (Ely):

Well, Ivy, I didn’t know that I was allowed to talk to any of Sawyer’s friends this evening, but since you came up to me I think its okay and I want to let you know that you look absolutely stunning. And you and Adam look gorgeous together like you always did.

April:

:

Ivy like kind of strikes a pose and she goes,

Kenzie (Ely):

Thank you, Mama. Hook.

April (Ivy):

Of course.

Kenzie (Ely):

And I also know, that you are not going to be drinking that, are you?

April (Ivy):

Oh no.

April:

:

I take a big sip of it and I say,

April (Ivy):

No, Mama Hook. This is – it’s good. It’s clean.

April:

:

I’m gonna manipulate an NPC. I got a nine!

Kenzie (Ely):

Ivy, I have been given the job to be a chaperone here and I watched that young man put something in this punch, okay? I watched it happen. So, because I know your dads and because I know you, I’m not going to tattle on you, but I’m going to have to confiscate this punch bowl and I’m going to have to kick that young man out.

April (Ivy):

Can I get another cup before you do that?

Kenzie (Ely):

Yes, go ahead, sweetheart.

April (Ivy):

Thanks, Mama.

Kenzie (Ely):

Don’t tell anybody.

April:

:

She blows her a little kiss with her free hand and runs back and gets another very full cup and she goes to Natalie,

Kenzie (MC):

Natalie and Sawyer are dancing. Sam has removed their sweater and has thrown it aside and literally like the hair by their face is just like sweat. It’s just like dripping wet and they’re just going at it. They’re so wild. Like you have to avoid and duck them to get to Natalie.

April:

:

Over my shoulder as I’m like ducking through their dance moves I say,

April (Ivy):

The outfit’s better without the sweater.

Kenzie (MC):

They stop completely in their tracks and they look at you – Sam is such a lightweight. Those two cups that they chugged are hanging with them.

Kenzie (Sam):

That’s what I told Caleb! I told – I told Caleb that you would like the oufit better… he lied to me. He said you wouldn’t care.

April (Ivy):

Why did you tell Caleb that I would want – um, okay.

Kenzie (Sam):

I asked him if he thought you would like the outfit better without the sweater and he said you wouldn’t care.

April (Ivy):

Well, I do care. And it looks better without the sweater. You were right, Sam.

Kenzie (Sam):

I know!

April:

:

Ivy throws him a huge grin and then turns to Natalie and says,

April (Ivy):

Hey, bitch, I got you a cup before they bring in the new punch.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Oh, um, hey!

Kenzie (MC):

And she drops away from Sawyer as you come.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Um, thanks.

April (Ivy):

To best friends!

April:

:

And she like raises her cup to cheers with Natalie.

Kenzie (MC):

There’s an expectation from you that Natalie is going to be like, “Yeah to best friends!” and cheers. And she doesn’t. She looks at you with – devastation is a harsh word to you. That’s like a really intense word to use here. But with like this sense of being on a completely different page than you are. She frowns a little bit and half-heartedly holds up the glass and touches it to yours and says,

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, uh, yeah to best friends.

Kenzie (MC):

And then just starts chugging the drink.

April:

:

Ivy is very confused because she thought she fixed this. But also chugs the whole cup. And then she’s kinda left with an empty cup and Ivy’s not usually one to feel awkward but the trio that she is with right now, is making her feel something close to that.

Brennan:

Sawyer is violently pumping his fist and shoving his head downwards with every drop of the fist.

April (Ivy):

You guys look great together. Seriously, like I coulda called this a long time ago.

Kenzie (MC):

Natalie looks to Sawyer.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, we do.

Brennan:

I’d like to think Sawyer’s just kinda in the zone dancing with Sam, off to the side when that is said.

April (Ivy):

Cool. How um – how have you been?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Honestly, Sawyer and I have just been hanging out a lot. I guess I haven’t really heard about your trip.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, it was, um, it was amazing. You know, I’ve never been to all those places. I learned a whole bunch of new stuff. I really needed some time away, so, I think it was good for me.

Kenzie (Natalie):

That’s great.

April (Ivy):

I’m glad you and Sawyer have been hanging out so much. I mean, obviously I couldn’t really ask for anything better. I mean, two of my favorite people making each other happy.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, he’s really chill and cool and we get along so yeah we have a lot of fun.

April (Ivy):

Why do I feel like you’re brushing me off?

Kenzie (Natalie):

About?

April (Ivy):

In general. I don’t…

April:

:

Ivy was very blood drunk coming into this dance and is now starting to get human, alcohol drunk as well and kind of does that drunk person thing where she like gets too close to you.

April (Ivy):

No, there’s something. You’re doing something here.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I am talking with my friend who asked me a question that I answered.

April (Ivy):

That’s what I thought too but you’re being weird.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Maybe it’s just the mixing – I have my own flask of stuff so maybe its’ just the mixing of liquor.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, but you’re like a happy drunk. I mean, like a happy, horny drunk, but…

Kenzie (Natalie):

Maybe I’ll get there! Maybe I just need another drink.

April (Ivy):

Alright. I hope so!

April:

:

Ivy’s really trying to get the like girly, “Whooo!” thing going here and its just like not catching and she kinda looks over her shoulder at Sawyer and then grabs Natalie’s arm and pulls her out of earshot and she just goes,

April (Ivy):

Wait, Nat, is this going poorly? Is this going bad?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Do you want to be a little bit more specific?

April (Ivy):

This date, with Sawyer. Is that what’s wrong?

Kenzie (Natalie):

No… I’m fine, Ivy.

April (Ivy):

Okay.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Maybe I just need another drink, okay? There was some tension outside before we came in and it was kinda weird so –

April (Ivy):

I’m gonna get you another drink.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I would hurry up.

Kenzie (MC):

And she points and you see Mama Hook like dragging the football player out of the gym.

April:

:

Ivy plucks Natalie’s cup out of her hand and has her own empty cup and rushes over and refills them quickly. Chugs her own cup as fast as she can and then refills it to the top.

Mads:

So, Caleb and Q have been dancing for a hot minute and Caleb can see that he’s starting to wind down a little bit. Like he does need a break and Caleb has more energy than like the normal person and it’s probably the wolf thing and kind of pulls him off the side and then motions to a side, like either a table, a chair, something that’s up against a corner just so that he has a moment of privacy.

Mads (Caleb):

Go on, old man.

Kenzie (Q):

I’m sorry, what did you call me?

Mads (Caleb):

I’m sorry, you couldn’t hear me. Do you need me to say it slower for you?

Kenzie (Q):

Okay, no, thanks, Caleb. Thanks, Caleb.

Mads (Caleb):

Thank you for dancing with me.

Kenzie (Q):

Thank you for teaching me.

Mads (Caleb):

I’m a very good teacher.

Kenzie (Q):

Pat yourself on the back there a little bit.

Mads:

He’s going to like motion to the side to where Adam is just milling about stupidly,

Mads (Caleb):

If I can get him to learn how to dance, I can do it for anyone.

Mads:

Caleb’s going to like cuff him on the side of the arm because it’s the only way he knows how to show affection to people. And then he’s going to turn and make his way to the punch bowl which is where he finds Ivy, frantically grabbing drinks. And he just kinda like stands off the side, behind her, watching for a minute.

Mads (Caleb):

Is there a fire somewhere?

April:

:

Ivy stops her chug.

April (Ivy):

I knew you were there, Caleb. I could smell you.

April:

:

And then continues to chug.

Mads:

I come up next to her and I’m like scooping it, like getting my own cup of it.

Mads (Caleb):

Ha, ha, dog joke.

April (Ivy):

Gotta make ‘em.

Mads:

Shake my head and smile and then tip the cup up to the mouth and there’s a moment where I’m like (almost gags). And then I like look into the cup and I side glance to Ivy and then I side in the other direction to see Mama Hook escorting the football player out. I look back at Ivy and I shrug and I down the whole thing.

April:

:

I match you. Kinda like choke on the last sip.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s like lighter fluid.

April (Ivy):

Truly we could set this gym on fire with this. A little concerned. It’s more of a fire hazard than anything else.

Mads (Caleb):

We’re doing it a real service by just getting rid of it.

April (Ivy):

Absolutely.

April:

:

She like dunks the whole cup inside the punch bowl, doesn’t even bother with the ladle.

Mads:

Caleb laughs and then does the same.

April (Ivy):

Missed you, dude.

Mads:

Caleb like looks at her and from around the brim of the cup, raises his eyebrows and says,

Mads (Caleb):

Ivy, you know I didn’t go anywhere.

April:

:

She like half shrugs.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, but it was you. I put you in danger.

Mads (Caleb):

Wait was that – was that… Ivy.

April (Ivy):

What do you mean was that why? I literally (clears throat) I literally almost killed you.

Mads:

I lean in a little bit closer and I say,

Mads (Caleb):

Ivy, there is literally a TikTok account of me almost killing someone. The bar doesn’t exist.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, but –

Mads (Caleb):

Hey, if there’s anyone that can kinda understand that feeling, I think it’s me. We can’t be doing that to each other.

April:

:

Ivy just ferociously, knocking the wind out him, hugs him.

Mads:

Some of the drink like dribbles and spill on the side of my shirt and then a little bit onto your shoulder.

April (Ivy):

Thanks, Caleb.

Mads:

I use my free hand to come around, hold you there for a second.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, yeah.

April (Ivy):

(lets out deep breath) Yeah, um, I am still sorry though. Will you take that?

Mads:

He rolls his eyes a little bit and looks back out at the party.

Mads (Caleb):

I’ll accept it.

April (Ivy):

You tasted pretty good so, if you ever want to help me out, I’m running low on willing participants these days.

Mads (Caleb):

Wow, wait, no. You cannot be running low on willing participants. You’re Ivy Duncan.

April:

:

She like shakes her head. She like very pink in the cheeks.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, you know, here’s the thing about that is that I don’t know what that means anymore. Ivy Duncan was always a really easy thing to be. I’m just not really sure if what I’m doing now, is that.

Mads (Caleb):

Well, what you’re doing now is that.

Mads:

And I motion over to where Adam, again, is just bumbling around stupidly.

April:

:

Ivy kinda giggles but then side-eyes Caleb

April (Ivy):

I mean… no. We haven’t… like…

April:

:

She widens her eyes.

April (Ivy):

I mean we’re basically back together but Adam’s been, uh, sorry I know this is probably weird for you to talk about your brother and me, basically your sister, but I mean, no -

Mads (Caleb):

When my brother is Adam, when that’s the standard that I’m working with, there’s not privacy. There’s nothing. I know everything about that stupid man.

April (Ivy):

Great. So, me and Adam aren’t fucking for some reason.

Mads (Caleb):

Next question, do you want to be?

April (Ivy):

I do.

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, damn, Adam, what the hell?

April:

:

Ivy like gestures wildly with her beverage. She’s like,

April (Ivy):

I know!

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, I know, you’re a fucking catch.

April (Ivy):

Thank you!

Mads (Caleb):

When you were gone we had like a little intervention time and then my parents pretended like they actually gave a damn for a while. He’s been getting better because he’s not fucking high all the time but every once in a while it kinda creeps out still, the goo thing, stuff. I mean it could just be holding back because he’s not sure when the goo’s going to come and like –

April (Ivy):

Please don’t say that in reference –

Mads (Caleb):

What? The goo coming.

April:

:

Ivy does laugh.

Mads (Caleb):

Ivy, you’re above this.

Mads:

He says this deadpan and then starts to smile a little bit.

April (Ivy):

Caleb, there is no goo coming I already told you this.

Mads (Caleb):

I live in the same house as him. I know everything about that stupid man. But, maybe he’s worried about someone else being present, if you were involved.

April:

:

Ivy kinda looks off into the middle distance.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, he did – well he said something weird, right before I left on my trip. He said something about – well, you know about Alina.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, he said that pretty crudely in front of all of us. But he said something about like how neither of them wanted it to happen.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay like he’s a dick, yeah? But he’s not like that kind of dick. Like he’s not like –

April (Ivy):

No.

Mads (Caleb):

I mean you know. Like he’s –

April (Ivy): /h5>

Of course, he wouldn’t – no, he said it was like…

April:

:

Ivy’s eyes are really glassy and you notice that her cup is empty again.

April (Ivy): /h5>

It was like (sighs)… he said he didn’t want to fuck Alina but that like the goo made him and so Alina like didn’t consent to Adam because Adam wasn’t present. Adam wasn’t there technically.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s like he was backseat and just watching it through the most fucked up, drive-in movie.

April (Ivy): /h5>

Yeah, something like that.

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, Ivy, that’s fucked.

April (Ivy): /h5>

I know and I’ve been trying to be there for him and like, Alina came to my house and just rubbed it in my face like how hot it was and how good it was and it just makes me sick that she would say that.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, well Alina can get bent, Ivy.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, fuck her.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, no, she’s –

Mads:

And then I look to the crowd to find Alina.

Kenzie (MC):

She is dance with the cheer squad that took her side and Callum Banks and her are macking on the middle of the dance floor.

April (Ivy):

Literally ewww.

Mads (Caleb):

It’s like really tacky actually. As much as I hate to say it because again, brother and basically sister at this point, you guys do it better.

April (Ivy):

I mean… of course. But thank you.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, don’t get too comfortable.

Brennan:

Sawyer will stroll up to Adam and kinda just wander next to him, arms crossed, just right shoulder to his left shoulder.

Brennan (Sawyer):

‘Sup, homie?

Kenzie (Adam):

Hey, Sawyer, how’s it going?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Good, you havin’ fun?

Kenzie (Adam):

Kinda, yeah, um I’m realizing that it’s been so long since I’ve been in a group of people without being absolutely out of my mind and I don’t really know what to do.

Brennan (Sawyer):

That’s how I feel like all the time.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah.

>

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, I mean, hanging out here is probably good. Hey, uh, is it – we’re still friends?

Kenzie (Adam):

I got the vibe that you were really mad at me so I wasn’t sure where you were on that front…

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, but it’s also kinda been like not just recently, you know? We haven’t really been friends in a while.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Like when was the last time we hung out, you know?

Kenzie (Adam):

Before high school.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Which is cool, like I get it… hey, do you like love Ivy?

Kenzie (MC):

His brow furrows.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, why?

Brennan:

And Sawyer will kinda look down and nod his head and look back up at him.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I just, uh, I’m happy you guys are figuring it out.

Kenzie (Adam):

Kinda would’ve sucked if we didn’t ‘cause pretty sure I’ve been in love with ivy since we were like five so…

Brennan (Sawyer):

(whistles) Hmm. Yeah, I love her too. Not like that, don’t worry.

Kenzie (Adam):

Oh, man, I know. We all loved each other at that point and stuff so.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You ready for the season?

Kenzie (Adam):

Oh, man, I fucking better be. It’s so soon. It’s coming so quick.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, it’s real quick. You been training?

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, um, you gonna come out to our first game?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuck yeah!

Kenzie (Adam):

That’d be cool. You guys should all come. It should be like a big group thing again. Maybe we can like hang out afterwards or something.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, yeah! We should all like go do something. Maybe do something like – I don’t know, what do you like to do know? Where do you hang out?

Kenzie (Adam):

You know what we should do? Is we should all just go to Joe’s Diner, you know? The four of us, whatever, leave our respective – I know I can’t technically leave my respective date at home since, uh, that’s Ivy. But, you know, turn that off for the night or something and I don’t know – we used to all go to Joe’s all the time.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, I’ll mark it in the old calendar.

Brennan:

And I’ll kinda just push my fist against his chest.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Are you doing okay?

Kenzie (Adam):

Uh… kinda different every day, every hour. Haven’t been able to do what I’ve usually been doing to try and ward all this shit in my head off so it’s kinda like new experiences every day.

Brennan (Sawyer):

It’s good that you got Ivy now.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, she kinda brings some sort of calm to it all.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, she is equal parts that and chaos.

Kenzie (Adam):

I think it’s just ‘cause she’s familiar.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You know I think us four are going to be good.

Kenzie (Adam):

I don’t know if we have an option.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, we really don’t.

Kenzie (Adam):

I also want us to be good.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Fuckin’ me too. Oh my god it’s been like fuckin’ – I don’t even – I felt like I was the only one that wanted that for a long time and then it was like –

Kenzie (Adam):

Well, I think maybe you were. There’s a lot of shit.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, that hurts. Alright, I figured that though.

Kenzie (Adam):

I still think there’s a lot of shit. But I think that we’re all trying to, um, tolerate each other’s shit to an extent that maybe we weren’t before.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I think the diner’s exactly what we need. Sandwiches and kinda, maybe, just hanging out like it’s normal.

Kenzie (Adam):

Normal.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You do look good by the way.

Brennan:

And I’ll punch him but like a little hard.

Kenzie (Adam):

Dude, you got an arm on you know, man. Thanks though. I wasn’t kidding earlier. I didn’t mean to give you a backhanded compliment. I just literally mean like there’s not a lot of people that could pull off that jacket so the fact that you can is dope and also you look good.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Thanks, yeah! I mean it’s really – I wasn’t as really worried about the jacket, it’s really the perm that’s kinda – I got it and I halfway regret it.

Kenzie (Adam):

I’ll be a little honest with you, that’s like – you could have gone without that. It’s not like its horrible but you could’ve gone without it.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I miss you, bud.

Kenzie (Adam):

I was gonna say it first. Okay, yeah, miss you too. You might want to get back to your date though ‘casue your friend Sam is a little wily one and I think he’s trying to steal Ivy out from underneath me and I think he might be going for Natalie now, so…

Brennan (Sawyer):

Oh, well we’re not – yeah, you should watch out for Sam.

Kenzie (Adam):

I’ll keep my eyes out.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Charismatic little bastard.

Kenzie (Adam):

He is, isn’t he?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Alright, I’m glad we chatted.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, we’re going to do it again soon.

>

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah, hopefully not all weird and bleh like this, fuck off.

Brennan:

And I’ll like push his face.

Kenzie (Adam):

Yeah, get the fuck out of here, Sawyer. Go on.

Kenzie (MC):

As the dance continues, you see that Damian, in just a white button down with a black skinny tie and like a leather jacket as a suit jacket is just sitting up in the stands next to Farrow, who has black jeans on with this dark green button down and a suit jacket. They have slicked their hair slicked back in an attempt to look fancy and they have a bit of black eyeliner on and you can also see that they’re wearing a fanny pack and they have somehow snuck their little rat in.

You see Vic in this see-through, floral, puffball blouse with this bit white collar that’s tucked into this yellow, leather skirt with these calf-high white boots, just spinning and twirling around the dance floor. At some point in this night, Naia comes up to Ivy and just does a kiss on each cheek and her entire outfit is dark purple, almost black. And she has this corset on top of a long, lace black skirt. Black heeled boots. She’s got these glove-like things that are almost the opposite of gloves. The fabric covers the back of her hand and wraps between her thumb and her pointer finger and then like goes down and is laced up her forearm. And she just come to say a quick hello.

At one point, Sam gathers Sawyer and Caleb together and he’s like, a little drunk, kinda like jumping, pumping himself up and he’s like,

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m gonna do it. It’s time, I’m gonna do it!

Brennan (Sawyer):

Oh, god, what?

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m going to go ask her to dance.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I thought you were going to stage dive.

Kenzie (Sam):

I’m never stage diving again, Sawyer!

Mads (Caleb):

Don’t even think about it.

Kenzie (Sam):

She’s gonna say, “yeah,” right? She’s gonna “yes.” Just one, she’s gonna say, “yes.”

Mads (Caleb):

She’s going to say yes for sure.

Kenzie (MC):

Ivy, behind Adam, you can see Sam and you can see them hyping themselves up and you see them steel themselves and you know exactly what’s coming when they start walking towards you.

Mads:

Can I make eye contact with Ivy as Sam is coming towards you? I am downing the rest of – I had like two cups when I was over talking to Ivy and then I’ve had a third one I’ve just been nursing since then. I finish drinking it entirely though, not breaking eye contact with Ivy.

Brennan:

I’m just gonna grab it before you finish the very last sip and take the rest.

Kenzie (MC):

Sam, reaches the couple of you dancing and they reach up and they tap Adam on the shoulder and they go,

Kenzie (Sam):

Um, excuse me?

Kenzie (MC):

And Adam pauses the dance and he looks over his shoulder, just holding Ivy close and they were dancing and he raises an eyebrow at Sam. And Sam goes,

Kenzie (Sam):

I thought, um, maybe, if Ivy wanted to, we could dance one dance.

April:

:

Ivy looks up at Adam and kinda like touches him on the chin with her thumb.

April (Ivy):

I’ll be right back, babe.

Kenzie (MC):

He lets go of you. He points at Sam and he goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

You bring her back.

Kenzie (Sam):

I just wanted one dance.

April:

:

Ivy holds her arms out and she goes,

April (Ivy):

Alright, Sam, let’s do it.

Kenzie (Sam):

So, you guys are like really good at dancing and like I said, when I asked you, I’m not really good at dancing, so can we just like sway?

April (Ivy):

Of course.

Kenzie (MC):

They reach out and hesitantly grab you around the waist (laughs). But almost completely arm’s length away.

April:

:

Ivy is grinning but not making fun. It’s just so sweet. She does the same, just barely able to touch the finger tips on their shoulders and she’s like,

April (Ivy):

Sam, I wanted to tell you, I’m really sorry that you did all that and it didn’t turn out the way you wanted.

Kenzie (Sam):

It was pretty not well thought out plan. It was kind of a lot.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, I did hate it, but I still would’ve said yes, if I wasn’t going with Adam.

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, I also didn’t know you already had a date and I wouldn’t have asked – I wasn’t truing to be rude.

April (Ivy):

Sam, we’re friends.

I would’ve said yes if I wasn’t going with Adam, you know? Just wanted to let you know that.

Kenzie (Sam):

I appreciate it. And I wanted to say that I know I was weird when we kinda first met because I was like telling you how pretty you are – which you are by the way, but you probably already know that.

April (Ivy):

I do.

Kenzie (Sam):

And then like it was a lot of fun hanging out with you at the party and I thought that we were like kinda friends –

April (Ivy):

We are!

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah, but I just wanted to make sure that like, you know, that that’s cool with me as well.

April (Ivy):

You’re cool with being friends with me?

Kenzie (Sam):

Yeah! Just ‘cause I asked you out and told you, you were pretty. I just want to make it clear that I’m cool with being friends.

April (Ivy):

Thank you, Sam.

April:

:

Ivy is trying so hard not to burst into giggles but she kinda half-grins and she says,

April (Ivy):

Sam, you can get a little closer to me, if you want.

Kenzie (Sam):

I think I’m good.

April (Ivy):

Okay, great.

Kenzie (Sam):

There’s already a lot going on in this gym and sometimes like I don’t – your dress is really, really pretty but I don’t like the texture of it. So, the less I’m touching it, the better.

April (Ivy):

That’s valid, I suppose.

April:

:

Ivy’s fingertips kinda slip because she’s so far away (laughs).

Kenzie (Sam):

Oh, no, no, I see!

Kenzie (MC):

They take a step forward but they move their elbows out so they still don’t have to touch your dress more.

April (Ivy):

Thank you, Sam.

Mads:

As this is happening and Sawyer and I are standing way off to the side of the dance, just witnessing the two of them, I like lean a little bit closer to you and say,

Mads (Caleb):

If I have to watch anymore of this, I might just combust from the sheer second hand embarrassment that’s coming off of them.

Brennan (Sawyer):

It’s actually going better than I expected.

Mads (Caleb):

It could be so much worse but that doesn’t mean it’s good, Sawyer.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I think it’s good for Sam.

Mads (Caleb):

I think it’s good for Sam. You go buddy.

Brennan:

And I’m going to stand there in about ten second of silence.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Do you want to dance?

Mads (Caleb):

(stuttering) Oh, because they’re having a dance, too. Yeah, yeah, we can do –

Brennan (Sawyer):

Do you want to dance, like, with me?

Mads:

I look around.

Mads (Caleb):

Where is Natalie?

Brennan (Sawyer):

I don’t know. I swear she was right over there dancing but, um, I don’t know.

Mads (Caleb):

And you don’t – she doesn’t – you wouldn’t –

Brennan (Sawyer):

We’ve been dancing the whole night.

Mads (Caleb):

Right.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I mean if I lost her, she lost me too.

Brennan:

And I’ll extend my hand.

Mads:

I’ll look at it for a minute and then I look at Sawyer and there’s this like, so many different things flashing behind my eyes of like fear and anxiety and embarrassment and then excitement, hopefulness, squashed down by fear again. There’s this hesitation. I take your hand.

Brennan:

I will instantly lead us to the dance floor. I’ll grab you and just kinda grab your hands and go,

Brennan (Sawyer):

You lead because I’m not great at dancing slow.

Mads:

Some of the tension and that anxiety start to slip out of my body at that. I kinda roll my eyes a little bit and say,

Mads (Caleb):

The lead doesn’t always have to be in the instructor.

Mads:

And I place Sawyer’s hands on my waist so then I can place my hands on his shoulders.

Mads (Caleb):

You just need to take the first step.

Brennan:

And as we slowly begin to sway, I’ll look at you and I’ll say,

Brennan (Sawyer):

I don’t want to make things weird.

Brennan:

And then I’m going to try to kiss you.

Mads:

There’s a moment where like I’m about to say, “Why would this be weird?” and then it starts to happen. Again the hesitancy. Whenever you meet Caleb’s lips, its cold, its frozen completely. It’s like stalled out. Like deer in the headlights. And then there’s that, “oh” moment and he immediately reciprocates.

If you are the freezer in this situation, Sawyer is like the furnace and Sawyer is almost more comfortable and calm and less awkward – maybe- than he has been in an interaction with you. And he’ll kinda pull away after the first couple of kisses.

Brennan (Sawyer):

The perm’s really bad right?

Mads:

There’s that moment again of just like frozen completely where Caleb kinda like chases after you for a moment, comes back to himself, looks at your hair. He’s going to take a hand and kinda of brush through it a little bit.

Mads (Caleb):

You know, Adam was always better at hair than I was. I was more the outfit guy and even though I want to just rip into this and say this looks like it came out of a pirates’ costumes store –

Mads:

And I tug at the frill, the lace that’s at his color.

Mads (Caleb):

Somehow, some fucking how you’re making it really work.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Okay (sighs) that’s a fucking relief.

Brennan:

And I’ll put my head against your upper chest and I’ll just say,

Brennan (Sawyer):

We’re fucking so stupid.

Mads:

I lean my chin a little bit against his head, and I shake my head enough so he can feel a head moving.

Mads (Caleb):

This is Wildmoore. Of course we are.

Brennan:

You hear Sawyer laugh.

Mads:

I’ll start to sway back and forth.

Brennan:

Sawyer will nuzzle up into you and just dance.

Kenzie (MC):

Ivy as you’re dancing with Sam, you see them look away for a second and then they go,

Kenzie (Sam):

I knew they were going to third wheel me.

April:

:

Ivy looks puzzled at Sam and then follows their gaze. Are they still kissing when I look over?

Kenzie (MC):

So, they’re like pulling apart from a kiss when you look over.

April:

:

Ivy is aghast in the best way but also very confused.

April (Ivy):

Sam? I will be right back.

April:

:

She kinda just taps his head as she like beelines towards Adam.

April (Ivy):

Did you – did you just – did you see? Did you see?

Kenzie (Adam):

Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I’m looking at it right now.

April (Ivy):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Adam):

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Interesting.

April (Ivy):

Um, how long has that been going on for?

Kenzie (Adam):

Good question, I don’t know. I’m seeing it now in front of me for the first time.

April (Ivy):

I really thought other things were going on here tonight. Master Kush and Natalie and, um, oh my god.

Kenzie (Adam):

Well, I just told Sawyer that we should hang out and that when we hang out, we will leave our dates at home but now we’re all couples up, so now it doesn’t matter.

April (Ivy):

That’s pretty obnoxious of us, honestly.

Kenzie (Adam):

It is quite gross. I liked us being the gross ones. I liked everybody thinking that we were gross because that just to me meant we were just really, really ridiculously cute.

April (Ivy):

I mean we are. And we are still going to be the cute ones. So, I don’t really think we have anything to worry about.

April:

:

And Ivy kisses him, just all open mouth. She’s still very drunk. But then she kinda stays on tiptoe and has her cheek pressed against his and she looks over at them and she’s like,

April (Ivy):

I kinda love it though.

Kenzie (Adam):

It was about time Caleb had something going for him.

April (Ivy):

As long as they don’t break up. We all know how well that goes in this group.

Kenzie (Adam):

Is that insinuating that we are fully back together again?

April (Ivy):

Do you want to be?

April:

:

And when Ivy says that she fully meets Adam’s gaze and she’s really, really asking that question. Her eyes are super open and vulnerable.

April (Ivy):

Like really, do you – is that what you want?

Kenzie (Adam):

I fucked up quite badly before. And I want anything to be able to take that back, so we can start over again. I would love that.

April (Ivy):

Day one, baby.

Kenzie (Adam):

Always.

April:

:

She just nuzzles up into his chest and she says,

April (Ivy):

God, you always smell so good.

Kenzie (MC):

The night continues on. At points you guys split up from one another, coming back together from one another. And there’s a moment where all four of you come together and Adam ribs the heck out of you guys but all in good fun and in jest. At some point, Ivy you split off from Adam and kinda walk out towards the back of the gym to go to the restroom and as you’re doing that, someone grabs you around the waist and says, “Boo!” in your ear.

April:

:

Ivy is very concerned that someone was able to sneak up on her. She does not get startled very often so she reacts kinda poorly and like really jumps.

April (Ivy):

God! Oh, what? What?

Kenzie (MC):

You turn and you see Natalie a bit dazed, you can smell just vodka wafting off of her. Her eyeliner’s a bit smeared. She unapologetically looks you up and down. This is the most forward Natalie has ever been without your prompting or encouragement. And she just goes,

Kenzie (Natalie):

You look incredible.

April (Ivy):

Thanks.

April:

:

Ivy holds her cheeks and is like,

April (Ivy):

You’re drunk.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I see that you’re back with Adam now.

April (Ivy):

Yeah.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah. Do you want to know a secret?

April (Ivy):

Yeah, what?

Kenzie (MC):

And she kinda pulls you out of the entryway of the gym, off into the dark hallway next to the wall. And she leans in really close, her lips touching you ear and she says,

Kenzie (Natalie):

I was gonna ask you.

April (Ivy):

What were you going to ask me?

Kenzie (Natalie):

To the dance. I was gonna ask you (laughing).

April (Ivy):

When? Like a few weeks ago?

Kenzie (Natalie):

And then you kinda – I don’t even know if we can call it broke up with me because I don’t think we were really together so I scrapped that idea. And then you told me that I should go with Sawyer so I was like, “You know what? Ivy wants that, let’s try that.” And I like him and he’s great and now he (laughing) likes somebody else.

April (Ivy):

Okay, um, Natalie maybe we should get you like a glass of water or something. I think –

Kenzie (Natalie):

No, no.

April (Ivy):

-you’d feel better.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. I did this on purpose ‘cause you asked what was wrong before. So that’s what’s wrong.

April (Ivy):

I thought – I thought –

April:

:

Ivy kinda shakes her own drunkenness out of the way and tries to focus better.

April (Ivy):

I thought you were like over me.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Why would you think that? I told you that I loved you.

April (Ivy):

You did. That’s true. But then you were spending all that time with Sawyer and I thought that maybe you liked him instead.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I liked him too.

April (Ivy):

Yeah, I understand – I get that. Uh sorry…

April:

:

Ivy like leans up against the brick wall and presses her hands to her cheeks, her hot cheeks.

April (Ivy):

Sorry, I just, um, that’s a lot – I know that’s a lot to deal with.

Kenzie (Natalie):

You keep telling me things and then I follow your lead and then they just come around and bit me in the ass and destroy the whole night. And why would you tell me – why would you tell me Sawyer liked me when he so obviously likes Caleb? Why would you tell me that?

April (Ivy):

Honestly, Natalie, that was a big shock to me. I’m still reeling from that realization. I didn’t know that. I just – I thought like you know, you’re amazing, and beautiful, and smart and Sawyer is amazing, and beautiful, and smart –

Kenzie (Natalie):

Stop, stop, stop!

April (Ivy):

What? What!?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Stop saying that.

April (Ivy):

It’s just true, okay? And you can’t – here’s the thing Natalie. You cannot be with me. It’s not good for you.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Why? Because of the whole thing that we do.

April (Ivy):

What thing? Like the back and forth thing?

Kenzie (Natalie):

No, the whole –

Kenzie (MC):

And she like gestures at her neck.

April:

:

Ivy’s face goes from flushed to just no color and she like flinches back from Natalie.

April (Ivy):

You remember that?

Kenzie (Natalie):

It happened! In your room. That’s not just something I’m going to forget.

April (Ivy):

Oh my – oh my god. Um, you haven’t told anyone have you?

Kenzie (Natalie):

I don’t care. No, I mean I talked to Sawyer about it but that’s because he already knew.

April (Ivy):

Oh, Sawyer knows you know, and he didn’t tell me?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Yeah, I guess he knows that I know because I told him about it.

April (Ivy):

Right.

Kenzie (Natalie):

Because I saw you too with him.

April (Ivy):

And you remember that, amazing.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I wasn’t drunk. You had kinda just kicked me out of your bedroom after everything that had happened and then I showed up at this party that you asked me to come to and then you were doing the thing that I thought that you did with me, with Sawyer.

April (Ivy):

Natalie, I need you to stop talking, okay? I need you to be fucking quiet.

April:

:

And Ivy puts her hands on either side of Natalie’s head, against the wall.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’m not telling anybody. But you fucking are messing with my head.

April (Ivy):

And I have to keep doing it.

Kenzie (MC):

Make your roll.

April:

:

It’s an eleven. Ivy looks at Natalie, deep into her eyes until she’s almost like looking through her eyes. It’s almost as if she can see like the electricity in her brain and she just wants to move one wire and Ivy says,

April (Ivy):

Natalie, I never bit you. I never fed on you. I never fed on Sawyer. You have never seen me drink blood. Because vampires aren’t real.

Kenzie (MC):

You see it start to take affect and the glaziness that comes over her face and she kinda looks away and then she looks back.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’m sorry, I’m a mess. I’m not trying to ruin your night. I knew that you were going to be with Adam and it’s stupid of me to think that you weren’t. I’m sorry – I should just go home, I’m kinda drunk.

April:

:

Ivy immediately like switches from that scary, intensity to cheerleader Ivy, best friend Ivy.

April (Ivy):

No, babe! Look – okay, we’re going to get you some water and it’s all fine. Really. Like I get it. It’s okay.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I don’t really think it’s okay but yeah, I should get some water probably.

April (Ivy):

And we’re going to work on this. I’m going to be a better friend to you, okay? And if you want me to be.

Kenzie (Natalie):

I’ll think about it.

April (Ivy):

Do you think you’re going to throw up?

Kenzie (Natalie):

Just water.

April (Ivy):

Yep. Okay, okay. Water. Mm-hmm.

April:

:

And I’m going to put my arm around her and leader her to a water fountain.

Kenzie (MC):

It’s getting towards the end of the night. The principal has come up to the stage and taken the mic from Jordan and announced in about fifteen minutes, they will be announcing the Homecoming King and Queen and you have taken a break from dancing for a little bit when someone comes up and grabs your arm, hard. And it’s Adam. And his jaw is set and his lips are twitching and he’s blinking rapidly and he’s like,

Kenzie (Adam):

Caleb? Caleb, I can’t –

Kenzie (MC):

And his neck moves in a way that harkens back to the Heart of Wildmoore.

Kenzie (Adam):

I’m trying to. But I don’t have the pills anymore and I can’t hold it off. And it’s so deep in me I can feel it.

Kenzie (MC):

And suddenly he bends over, grasping at his stomach as if somebody punched him in the guts.

Kenzie (Adam):

Something’s happening.

Kenzie (MC):

And he just grits out.

Kenzie (Adam):

Get Naia. Teacher’s lounge.

Kenzie (MC):

And he just stumbles off, half-bent over, out of the gym.

Mads:

I see him go and immediately my jaw is set also. My arms are tensed. I look at Sawyer.

Mads (Caleb):

Can you get Naia? I’m gonna go after him, okay?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Yeah.

Mads (Caleb):

We need to maybe grab Ivy too.

Brennan (Sawyer):

My mom?

Mads (Caleb):

Do you think your mom cold help with something like this? Sawyer, no offense but like –

Brennan (Sawyer):

No, go, I’ll get Naia.

Mads (Caleb):

Okay, um, I’ll see if I can find Ivy on my way, I don’t see her anymore.

Brennan (Sawyer):

I’ll text her. You just get him.

Brennan:

I instantly start going on my phone, texting Ivy.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Teacher’s lounge. Adam problem. Emergency.

Brennan:

And I go off and I look for Naia.

Kenzie (MC):

Caleb, you follow out. You can see his shadow in the dark hallway just stumbling down the hall. The teacher’s lounge is not that far away from the gym.

Mads:

Thankfully I took my jacket off a while ago and I have my sleeves rolled up to like the elbows again so I’m just like running.

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer, you can find Naia really quickly. You saw her come in and what she was wearing and you spot her in the crowd and grab ahold of her and she goes,

Kenzie (Naia):

Fuck, Sawyer! I told him I don’t know what to do anymore.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Well, we need your fucking help!

Kenzie (Naia):

Alright, alright, alright, let’s go!

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer and Naia manage to also find their way into the teacher’s lounge. It’s been some time, Mrs. Hook at one point took over for caring for Natalie

April:

:

I think maybe I’m just watching Natalie be cared for and making sure that it took affect and that she’s kinda okay. And then I hear my phone go off and as soon as I see Adam’s name, I am immediately almost running out of the gym.

Kenzie (MC):

As you burst through the door of the teacher’s lounge, Adam is struggling inside. He’s leaning over the little kitchen table in here, knuckles white, his entire body shaking. Naia’s just like,

Kenzie (Naia):

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Kenzie (MC):

And Adam manages to growl out,

Kenzie (Adam):

Try anything.

Kenzie (Naia):

I have to – I have to bind him.

Kenzie (MC):

And she seems to be speaking to you, Caleb, when she says that. And then she starts saying in another language, one that sounds like Spanish yet a little bit different. There’s a power to it, something about her voice and cadence and the actual words seem to hold weight and thrum in this dark room. And you can all feel this as she speaks. And Adam’s body is reacting to the words, snapping to attention. A chair flies out from the table, hitting him in the back of the knees, causing him to sit down, and then his back goes rigid and his arms fly to his side and his ankles snap together. And it’s only then that she dares go anywhere near him.

Kenzie (Naia):

Caleb – Ivy, you too - if he breaks the binding, I’m going to need you to help hold him back until I can do it again, okay?

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, yeah, of course –

Brennan (Sawyer):

What do you need me to do?

Kenzie (Naia):

Honestly? Look for a knife.

April (Ivy):

A knife?

Brennan:

I run to the cafeteria.

Kenzie (MC):

She starts unbuttoning his shirt as you say that Ivy and she looks at you and she says,

Kenzie (Naia):

Do you trust me or not?

April:

:

Ivy looks between Adam’s tortured face and Naia’s and she says,

April (Ivy):

Maybe, I guess! What is the knife for, okay?

Kenzie (Naia):

I have to draw his blood.

Kenzie (MC):

And as she starts unbuttoning his shirt, for some reason this is the action that brings Adam back to himself.

Kenzie (Adam):

What are you doing?

Kenzie (MC):

And Naia just rolls her eyes and she’s just like,

Kenzie (Naia):

Oh seriously, I’m not interested, I’m just trying to save your life.

Kenzie (MC):

Sawyer, you find a knife in the cafeteria, and you sprint back across the first floor. And as you come in the door, Naia holds her hand out for you to give it to her. She has unbuttoned his shirt so that his chest is exposed, and she winces when she takes the knife from you and she’s like,

Kenzie (Naia):

This is gonna hurt.

Kenzie (MC):

And then she just presses it into his skin and starts dragging it across his chest.

Kenzie (Adam):

Ahhhhhh!

Mads:

I run around behind where he’s locked in this chair and I am going to put my hands on the side of his arms and kinda like squeeze it a little bit more just in case he tries to rear up. And I’m going to like – as this is happening – lean down and say,

Mads (Caleb):

Oh, you’ve had worse.

Brennan:

I’m going to look at Ivy.

Brennan (Sawyer):

Do you need blood?

April (Ivy):

No, I drank a fuck ton tonight, I’m fine.

Kenzie (MC):

And Naia looks up to you and she goes,

Kenzie (Naia):

It’s the only way to do it.

April (Ivy):

No, really, it’s – I don’t feel it. It’s him.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam’s teeth are clenched together, panting heavily. There’s blood trickling down his chest and to her horror, Naia rubs her hands in it and then begins drawing something on his face in his own blood. Something that looks familiar to Caleb and Sawyer, something that looks like the symbol you found in the glove box of his car. And his eyes go black and he sneers and Naia backs up and goes,

Kenzie (Naia):

Fuck!

Kenzie (MC):

And out of the cut on his chest starts to leak, along with the blood, black. And it drips down his skin and the black streams in his skins start to come to the surface, vein-like and horrifying. And Naia just goes,

Kenzie (Naia):

Fight it, Adam. Come on.

April (Ivy):

Naia! What the fuck is going on?

Kenzie (Naia):

I don’t know, Ivy! I told you that I don’t know how to do this.

Kenzie (MC):

And Adam is just growling and snarling and his body his like twitching in his chair. Her hand is just dripping his blood onto the floor and she just says to anybody in the room,

Kenzie (Naia):

He needs something else. Something to ground him. Something to make him stay.

April:

:

Ivy runs up to Adam and instead of going to where his blood is, she sinks her teeth into where the black goo is coming out and starts to try to pull it out of his body.

Kenzie (MC):

It tastes disgusting, but you can feel it drawing into you as you feed like that – on that instead of the blood. You feel yourself start to not be in control of it – the substance itself. And you can feel it coating the interior of your mouth and you can feel it moving of its own accord inside your mouth.

Mads:

My hands are still gripped into the side of Adam’s arms. But I’m going to turn my body in a way that I can kick Ivy, because I’m shouting her name and telling her to stop, “What the fuck are you doing?” but it’s only hitting her like she’s underwater and it’s like garbled, it’s not making sense.

Kenzie (MC):

Lash Out Physically to see if you have the strength.

Mads:

It’s a seven.

Kenzie (MC):

It works. Ivy you’re going to take one harm as you feel Caleb kick into you and throw you with the force of the werewolf behind it, off of his brother. Adam’s neck kinda goes up so he’s looking at Caleb and he’s like,

Kenzie (Adam):

Caleb, you need to get out her ‘cause it just really wants you.

Mads:

I’m going to hold tighter and my claws start to extend so they kinda pierce into his arms and I’m going to lean down close so I’m looking over his shoulder,

Mads (Caleb):

Tell it I’m right fucking here then.

Kenzie (MC):

Something flashes in his eyes that isn’t the black taking over or anything. There’s like a flash like that hit him more than it hit the shadow creature. And he goes,

Kenzie (Adam):

I know that we haven’t been good. But you don’t want this. And I don’t want you to have it.

Mads:

I kinda clench my jaw and like push my head into the side of his.

Mads (Caleb):

Yeah, well there’s a lot of things that I don’t want but this? I’ll take it. I can handle it Adam.

Kenzie (MC):

Adam’s eyes like scan all of you. They land on Caleb, they land on Sawyer, they land on Ivy and he just kinda laughs, just an Adam laugh.

Kenzie (Adam):

Look at us, all back together again. Give me a second.

Kenzie (MC):

And he closes his eyes and when he opens them again, they’re all black. And you hear in the weird voice that’s speaking too voices,

Kenzie (The Shadow):

Oh, witch, your magic is not going to hold me. And you –

Kenzie (MC):

And he looks at Ivy.

Kenzie (The Shadow):

- I have a piece of you now, or you have a piece of me.

April:

:

Ivy immediately projectile vomits. She vomits up like this goo mixed with blood mixed with vodka, just this horrifying substance. She can’t stop. She just keeps heaving and gagging and more and more its just the black goo. And her eyes are fucking blown wide and her vision is sparking and blurry at the edges and too colorful. And she’s like on all fours just crying and throwing up until eventually she’s just coughing on the ground in the fetal position.

Brennan:

Sawyer rushed over to you. Can I open my phone, look at Gabriel’s number and Gaze Into the Abyss to see if it’s a good idea to bring Gabriel into this.

Kenzie (MC):

Yeah, roll your dark.

Brennan:

Ten.

Kenzie (MC):

Your vision clouds over with just like these lucid dreamlike quality in which Adam is saved but Gabriel’s not there. It’s just the three of you. You kinda hear as an echo of Naia saying, “He needs something to ground him.”

Brennan:

And I’ll lift Ivy up like from behind.

Brennan (Sawyer):

You need to fucking kiss that monstrosity right now.

April (Ivy):

(coughing) What?

Brennan (Sawyer):

Do what the fuck I say!

Brennan:

And I’ll (laughs) thrust you forward.

April:

:

Ivy like stumbles but onto Adam and kinda just like looks up into his face, looks at the black eyes, this wave of like possessiveness washes over her and she takes the back of her hand and wipes her mouth and she says,

April (Ivy):

This better fucking work.

April:

:

And then kisses him full on the mouth and she uses her vampire strength to grip his hair so he can’t get away from it.

Kenzie (MC):

His lips are ice cold when your lips touch them and there is not an ounce of reciprocation as you just press so hard against him in this kiss. And you can hear a voice in your head saying,

Kenzie (The Shadow):

You can’t get rid of me now.

Kenzie (MC):

And then you feel the tension in his lips start to drain away and you feel a bit of warmth return and you feel the slight twitch of him kinda kissing you back. And you pull back a bit and Adam blinks his eyes open and one eyes is perfectly normal and the other one hasn’t changed back. And it’s just a black void. In his normal Adam voice says,

Kenzie (Adam):

Well that did somethin’.

Kenzie (MC):

He doesn’t seem to know anything is different with how he looks.

April:

:

Ivy’s kinda ended up sitting on his lap, acing him at this point. Her eyes are just going back and forth so quickly between the two eyes.

April (Ivy):

Adam, how do you feel?

Kenzie (Adam):

It’s like I can still hear it but it’s not controlling me anymore.

Kenzie (MC):

And like you see the veins, the black veins, start to recede and he looks at you, finally meets your gaze. His face just drops into complete despair.

Kenzie (Adam):

Ivy, it’s in you now.

April (Ivy):

It’s okay (sniffles). What else was I supposed to do Adam?

Kenzie (Adam):

I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.

April (Ivy):

You know I’d take it from you if I could.

Kenzie (Adam):

I think you kinda already did. Partially at least.

Mads:

I’m still standing behind Adam with my arms braced into his shoulders. And this happens but its kinda like the heat, the rush of the moment and everything so I don’t comment on it. But if I see Ivy sitting there now, what do her eyes look like?

Kenzie (MC):

Her eyes look normal.

Brennan:

Sawyer in understanding the grounded nature of the situation, has his phone out and has “Careless Whisper” ready to play, looking at Ivy.

April:

:

Ivy kinda like stares at Sawyer for a second and then she just says,

April (Ivy):

Don’t you fuckin’ dare.

Brennan (Sawyer):

(chuckles) You never know.

Kenzie (MC):

You all hear the door creak open and then you just hear,

Kenzie (Farrow):

What the hell?

Kenzie (MC):

All five of you turn at once. And standing in the doorway, holding a rat on a leash, is Farrow. And they say,

Kenzie (Farrow):

Uh, sorry, I was just going to the bathroom and I heard some weird noises.

Kenzie (MC):

And through the open door you can hear the mic from in the gym.

Kenzie (The Principal):

And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for, to announce your Homecoming King and Queen. I’m so excited to tell you all…

Kenzie (MC):

And there’s a pause for a moment.

Kenzie (The Principal):

Homecoming King, Adam Moore! Homecoming Queen, Ivy Duncan! Where are these two? Come up here, guys.

Kenzie (MC):

Ivy you can hear mumbling as no one is walking forward, as the five of you – three of you covered in blood and black goo – stare at this kid in the doorway who has no idea what they just walked in on.

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