madi.

madisyn can always talk even when somebody isn’t listening, and she can never tell if they’re listening or not either. so the date seems to be a success so far. madi feels as if she’s intriguing him with her dazzling personality and that she’s managed to find a date who cares about what she says. “right? i thought so too.” she agrees with him, feeling affirmed and fluttery. she purses her lips in thought at the question, humming softly. “the people are so much nicer here, that’s for sure. personally, i prefer hot states so i wasn’t in new york that much if i could help it. l.a was my go to.” she talks about herself happily before remembering it is polite to ask lucky about himself. “so wait, you’re from cali? it’s so weird we never saw each other.” madi says as if california is a city because she only thinks of l.a when she thinks of it. “what did you do there? and how did you end up here? my p.r agent says it seems to be like punishment to end up here.”

A dopey grin spreads across his face when his random response worked. Though he made triple sure to pay attention now and stop thinking about how pretty she was. “This is the first place I lived besides California. It’s def super cold but I kind of like that a little bit. Sometimes it gets too hot out there, you know?” Probably because it never rained or hardly. He nodded to her question. “Yeah, totally. Long Beach, born and raised ba-by.” Lucky laughed at his dorky statement. “But I mean, L.A. is huge so it makes sense. I probably didn’t hang with all the cool people you did. I was more with the skaters and the surfers and definitely the stoners. Bunch of slackers.” Some might consider it self depreciation but it was what they were always called growing up so why not embrace it? “I did a lot of surfing and skating. A lot of tournaments. Travelled up north and did some cool waves along the Pacific.” He shrugged. “I uh, came here after my mom um, anyways. My dad lives here and I’d never met him before. So me and my sister came here then ended up sticking around.” Lucky wondered if it was weird to explain since it seemed so chill and natural now. “What about you, why did you come here?”

where: neue

who: @madixlauder​

Lucky was staring at her while she spoke in complete wonderment. He still couldn’t believe she had agreed to go out with him. In public, too. If he was smarter he would probably question if she was okay, but he wasn’t going to sabotage himself. He was certain his mouth would do that for him. Oh shit, what was she talking about? She was so pretty he’d forgotten to listen. “Yeah that’s totally cool,” he responded hoping that was the right thing to say and it wouldn’t be obvious he was off in another world. “So, uh, do you like Colorado better than New York? I miss the ocean a lot but I don’t miss the traffic at all, it was insane trying to get anywhere sometimes.” He had to assume it was the same way in NYC but then again she was like, super rich, so maybe she just had a driver that took her everywhere. Man, that must have been so cool.

pip.

✧┈┈┈┈┈•♛•┈┈┈┈┈✧  

                              Pip hadn’t considered the possibility that the murderer was still wandering the school, and she gasped loudly as soon as Lucky mentioned it. “You mean they haven’t caught him!? What the fuck do we even pay our taxes for?” she said in shock, glancing around the room where her outburst had made a few people open their eyes. She took no notice and was more concerned with pulling her brother’s hoodie over her frame. “Obviously I care, he’s your dad. I’m not like…evil.” she shrugged, getting some blankets to wrap around herself. Disappointed that she couldn’t really thirst over the superhero…or villain…or side character? What was it Lucky said he was? Anyways, disappointed that she couldn’t thirst over him, Pip pouted and slumped her shoulders. “Like an alien? I mean, some aliens are kinda hot. Venom is hot, is that his name? The thing that looks like tar gloop?” she had to blink after the last part, before she laughed happily. “Wait you’re being serious? You wanna own it?”

.

"Not that I've heard. Wait, you pay taxes? Who does your taxes?" Maybe it was their mom. That's who did Lucky's every year. He was probably going to ask Blaze or Ecrin to help now. Once she was settled, Lucky laid back on the cot letting his legs hang off so his feet touched the floor. Giving her the other half to chill on instead of moving to the empty one. “I know you’re not evil, I’m just saying it’s a nice thing to like, do, and stuff. That’s all.” Not everyone took the time to think of others so he thought it was really considerate for Pip to think of Blaze right away. “I mean, we’re all family, right? I know he digs you, probably more than me cause I’m kind of an idiot.” He listened to her take on the hotness of comic book characters and busted out laughing. “Did you just call the morphing parasite alien hot? That’s hilarious.” Lucky giggled again and shook his head forgetting what they were talking about. “Yeah, I think it would be cool like I could work on my art and still do the design shit on the side. I’d get to talk about comics all day and book people for signings and shit. It would be so dope.”

khalil.

-

“Fingers crossed you won’t have to say goodbye,” Khalil smiles over at Lucky, lifting their hand and physically crossing their fingers. However, he does steer clear of the word ‘promise’. The last thing he wants to do, now or ever, is place a promise he couldn’t see through to fruition. Mother Nature, the wondrous beauty that she is, is highly unpredictable. In good faith, he can’t swear Shelly will be okay, because he simply doesn’t know if it’s entirely true. Khalil eases into a laugh that easily turns into an amused laugh. “I don’t know, man. I mean after all of this,” He gestures to their current circumstance. “I think they’ll have to give you just a little credit,” Their smile grows when they look at Lucky again before turning their attention in front of them, the door to the janitor’s closet only a few feet away. Khalil skips over to it, making a grand gesture of opening the door and motioning for his roommate to take a step inside. “What? No! I’m pretty sure that’s like illegal. They’d be sending us to their deaths,” He says casually as he steps into the closet and closes the door behind him. “Not like literal death, though, but maybe,” The attempt to make it better is there, but he simply can’t lie to Lucky. “But we’re good in here,” Khalil grabs a towel, bending over to seal the crack under the door. “We’re safe.”

.

It was hard to express just how grateful Lucky was that Khalil was not only there for him but also sympathetic to his worries. Most people made fun of him for the attachments he had to non-people things. "I'll tell the next person who calls me a transplant that. Or like," he paused to enter the small room, fucking so he didn't hit his head. "Maybe I should get a badge or pin." He laughed. The room wasn't bad, it would fit the two of them perfectly and it kind of reminded him of the nooks he smoked in back in high school. "Okay sweet because I don't think I could find my way back home out there." He didn't even know how far away they were from the apartment. Plus Pip would throw a fit. "You can't even see a few feet in front of your face it's fuckin' nuts dude." Lucky watched Khalil smokeproof the room with a nod. Whatever they said he trusted it because they obviously knew better than him. "Fuck yeah," he took that as signal to spark up and flipped a bucket over to sit on first. Immediately he lit the blunt, took two generous puffs and passed it over to their friend. "I think I'm going to try and buy the comic shop."

madi.

“oh! actually, i was needing some bags moved from the front doors. i thought they like, brought them to you once you settled.” madi shrugs, moving slowly to her feet so she can escort him and not lift an actual finger. she continues to nibble at the cookie, staring back at him as if she’s waiting for a wind up toy to react and she chuckles when he finally does. “oh that’s so cool, we must’ve just missed each other! i knew i liked your vibes if you’re from cali. do you skateboard too?” there was a lot of money in skateboarding, which is why madi tried and failed to launch a lauder range of boards. business was hard and her sister makes it look so easy. “he did! lemme show you.” she chuckles, pulling her phone from her clutch and bringing up a video. “this is a few years old now but i made sure to tell the keeper to keep him practicing. he’s called uggie because he’s kinda ugly in a cute way.”

.

“Maybe? I don’t really know how all that works, I just know when we had to evacuate for the fires they never helped us with our stuff.” Lucky always tried to help the seniors and families out because he would have wanted someone to do that for his mom or mee maw if he wasn’t around. Just like he was happy to help Madi, and not just because she had the best smile he’d seen in a long time. “Really? Aw, thanks. I, uh,” he completely forgot what she asked him for a second, stuck blushing because she said something nice about him and he had no idea how to accept compliments. “Skateboard!” He half shouted in a eureka tone because he remembered what she said. “Yeah skateboard tournaments, they let me hang on a few of the Vans Warped Tour festivals, not on stage or anything but like I got to skate with some of the pros there. I love most things involving a board - snow, surf, skate. Longboards aren’t my vibe though.” He wanted to do tricks, not just skate around. Excited to see the video of her dog, he moved in and grinned. “Whoa man, that’s so freaking cool. I get that, I’m ugly in a cute way too.” He joked. “Not you though, you’re pretty in a very pretty way. Like a cake.” 

This is my favorite photo of him. The light. The color. His face. His hands. The angle of his head. Amazing. Pure beautifulness.

You're fascinating, I feel blessed But I have to be honest I don't know what we're taking about And I haven't for a while And I don't know what we're talking about And I haven't for a while

blaze.

;

Blaze had helped a lot of friends with their kids, and felt the panic and worry but nobody prepared him to know what it really felt like when it was one of his own. Lucky may have been an adult but the thought of something bad happening to him made Blaze feel sick. “No chance I’m leaving you out in this thing.” Blaze laughed because it came as naturally as breathing to want to make sure Lucky was okay first. With the winds picking up and Lucky’s precious jeep buried in snow, Blaze tried to dive right in carefully and shovel with his hands to get a better handle of the door. “Okay, if we can do this without damaging Shelley then we’ve had a good day.” he called back through the window, tugging on the handle but then realizing they needed to countdown. “Alright, on three.” Blaze instructed. “One…two…three.” As soon as he said it he tugged the handle, but couldn’t feel much pressure from the other side, thanks to the snow laying thick. “Lucky, you pushing?” he asked, pulling but finding it hard to get any grip. “What about the back seat, can you climb over and we try the back?”

.

Lucky didn’t say anything but it filled him with a warm feeling when Blaze said he wouldn’t leave him out in the storm. Like when his mom would make him soup when he was sick or came to one of his tournaments. “Yeah I’m pushing,” he called back. Lucky huffed out a breath and sat back up when it didn’t work. It would suck if he had to climb through the window because he wouldn’t be able to shut the window once he was through it which meant there was going to be a pile of snow in his beautiful land rover. That would be the end of his precious Shelley. “Yeah, okay.” He maneuvered his tall lanky body over the front seat, his head hitting the roof. “Ow, fuck,” he cursed falling onto the back seat. “Wait, is the trunk clear? I could go through there.” He didn’t even think about the back end. If that was clear it would be a breeze, just have to climb into the trunk and out to freedom. “If not I’m ready to kick this bitch open.”

ecrin.

Lucky is not somebody Ecrin would actively choose as a friend. His exact personality is the blueprint of Californian stereotypes, which Ecrin has made plenty of jokes out of too. However, there’s something endearing about Lucky even if mildly stressful for the overly organized Avci. Lucky has reminded Ecrin on many occasions to slow down, perhaps unintentionally but it is why he appreciates him secretly. “You know, this might be the only time I am excited to hear what you have to say.” he smiles, because the boredom of the evacuation means Lucky’s strangely wired brain will be an amusement instead of frustration. “What’s the question this time? Why can’t we use banana peels as ice skates?”

.

“I totally thought you would be,” he nodded with a laugh and extended his hand out for a quick bro shake. “What? Why would you use banana peels as ice skates, that’s silly man. You’re so wild.” Lucky let out a dopey chuckle and shook his head at the idea. Could that work? He would have to think about it later, maybe draw up a prototype. Ecrin was so funny sometimes, Lucky couldn’t tell when he was joking or not. “No, I was wondering, well, so the comic book shop is for sale. The guy who owned it didn’t have anyone to take over so he’s selling it and I want to buy it but like, I don’t want it to be a bad idea. I also have no clue how you go about all that. Like, do I need some money type people to take interest in me like a sponsorship for surfing?” Lucky had a couple of sweet sponsors back in the day but they came to him, he didn’t have to go find them. He hoped he didn’t have to do that.

madi.

madi needs to integrate with the small town much better than she has been, because whenever she interacts with the locals, she begins to assume they’re staff of somewhere. almost like NPCs. “oh, cute! are you like…the help?” she asks him, peering up at him and then casting a long studying gaze. he reminds her of the surfer bros in california, which madi has a partial liking to. then again, she has a partial liking to anybody who likes her or gives her attention. it’s a problem, according to one of the several therapists she’s been forced to speak to. “lucky. ” she repeats, nibbling the cookie with a dainty bite. “ohhh.” she then nods, thinking she understands why he’s here. the skater-esque style. the awkwardness. it makes sense. “the thing about tony hawk was a total lie. he’s like married. i wanted one of my pitballs to learn how to skateboard for like…views and he offered lessons, and i don’t know why gossip magazines even found that out. so no, your skating hero is not a creep. he’s a total nice guy.”

.

“The help? Like can I help? I mean I can try to help, what do you need help with?” He eagerly stepped forward to help her with whatever she needed but she never told him but instead said his name. It sounded really cool when she said it. Then the way she took a bite of the cookie made him grin. He was so wrapped up in watching to see if she would take another bite that he almost missed her story. Lucky she’s talking to you, pay attention. Wait, did she just say Tony Hawk? “Whoa, what? You know Tony Hawk?” His mouth hung open for a few moments in utter shock. “Dude, that’s so cool. I know he’s not a creep though, I met him at a couple tourneys. One was in my hometown Long Beach and then the other one was in Portland. Dude was really chill.” He nodded. It was good that he slipped in the tournament part, girls like guys who compete in things and win. Lucky has only won first place in one tournament but he’s placed in the top five in a bunch of other ones. “Did your dog learn to skateboard? I would totally love to see that. You are like, so cool.”

pip.

✧┈┈┈┈┈•♛•┈┈┈┈┈✧

                              “Damn. Maybe we should like…check in?” Piper didn’t sound as sad now, but added a sniff after she spoke so it wasn’t as obvious. She wondered why Lucky assumed she knew the biker, and blinked a few times. “I can be sad for someone I don’t know.” she defended herself, touching her chest faintly as if she clutched an invisible set of pearls. “All I know is he went out in a real bad way.” she once again gave a mimic of a throat slice, adding in a dramatic eye roll as her tongue flopped from her mouth. “Kinda weird if the person who did it is still here. Actually, that’s fucking scary.” Pip continued, dropping her mini puppet show and getting comfortable on her brother’s bed. The hoodie offer made her nod with a childish pout. Lucky’s hoodies were the best, and as much as she loved Bunny, she 100% demaded them back when they broke up. Pip tried to be a supportive sister, even as she listened about the comic book and it being written all over her face that she didn’t understand a word. “Oh…cool.” she forced a sweet voice, blinking a few times. “Is he hot?”

.

“I’ll send him a text and see where he’s at. I don’t really want to wander around if there’s a murder dude hanging out in here, you know?” Lucky wasn’t the sharpest crayon in the box but he knew better than to separate himself from the crowd when there’s someone picking off loners. Well, possibly. They didn’t really know what was going on there. “Really scary, but I mean that’s really nice of you to care so much.” Lucky shuddered at her animation of how the dude went out. He handed over his extra hoodie and the snack bag. For a short moment he thought Pip was actually interested in the comic book but the glazed over look told him all he needed to know. He lost her at the title of the series. “I mean he isn’t human? He doesn’t really have a mouth and has red eyes with black paint around them.” Lucky shrugged. “He’s super ripped though, so that’s cool.” He drummed his fingers against his leg for a second. “Oh, I am going to talk to my friend Ecrin and maybe see if I can buy the comic shop.”

khalil.

ok on it

to the rescue

Khalil’s in motion again, heading straight for the gym. Fortunately, it’s not too far away, just a quick jog down until he pushes through the doors. Standing up straighter, he cranes his neck and looks around, hoping to spot his roommate. Their fingers begin creeping towards their phone nestled into their pocket, turning just as they spot Lucky coming their way. “Hey!” He smiles brightly, embracing the one armed hug that he gets. “No yeah, dude. It’s no joke. Sorry for not giving you a better heads up, but you’re a real Coloradan now,” He teases, clapping Lucky on the shoulder with pride. “The Land Rover is good and sturdy. It should be good,” Khalil nods, but then his brows lift when Lucky’s voice drops. There’s a playful mischief in his kind eyes. “Thought you’d never ask. Follow me,” He nods back towards the doors, making his way back to them and leading the charge back to the janitor’s closet.

.

“I will for real cry like a little baby if something happens to Shelly. She’s been with me through so much, dude. I’m not ready to say goodbye.” Lucky put a hand on his chest as they walked together and jutted out his lip in a small pout. Another reason was because he bought that car with his mom and there were so many good memories had in there. “A real Coloradan? Does that mean people will stop calling me a transplant and telling me to go back to California?” He laughed even though he totally got why people got so upset with all the California and Texas people moving there. Snow driving was not their strong suit and they were making the cost of living sky rocket. As they followed them he got to thinking about smoking weed in school, which was something he was totally familiar with and got in a lot of trouble for in the past. “Hey so, if they catch us are they going to kick us out into the storm? They wouldn’t do that right?”

Shelly, Lucky’s beloved Land Rover

where: edison high school

who: @madixlauder​

He’d seen her around before but he had no clue what her name is. All he knew is she was super pretty and always caught his eye. Lucky almost said hi to her twice but chickened out. Once was at the New Year’s Eve party and the other at the coffee shop. The first one made him kind of a hypocrite since he had told his dad to go shoot his shot with that pretty older lady he kept looking at, but Lucky didn’t do it himself. This time he was going to do it. It was just saying hi, that’s not a big deal, right? He grabbed an extra cookie from the food table and walked over to where she was with a dopey smile on his face. “Hey, I uh, saw you chillin’ over here alone and I got an extra cookie, I thought maybe you would want it?” The tall Californian shifted in place while holding it out to her. “Lucky, I mean, my name is Lucky.” He laughed a scratched at the back of his head with his free hand. “Hi.”

blaze.

;

Blaze’s worry subsided a little when Lucky said he wasn’t hurt, but there was still a growing instinct to get to him as quickly as possible. He felt his phone buzz with the location, but fumbled for a few moments to get it up without ending the call. “Blastin’…fat fingers.” he grumbled before seeing it and nodding, as if Lucky could see him. “Shit yeah, I got it. I’m on my way now. Del has probably downed the whole liquor cabinet, so she’s warm. You’re first.” he said, grabbing a bunch of blankets as he headed to his truck. “Stay on the call, I won’t be long.” Blaze added, fumbling some more getting his phone into the hands free holder. “I need to take it kind of slow, just so there’s not two of us in a snow ditch and relying on Del to get us out because we’d be Ice Cubes.” he laughed, but it wasn’t far from the truth. He followed the directions as carefully as he could in the conditions, until he saw his sons collided car. “Alright. I see ya.” Blaze said, hanging up and getting out of his truck to go and see what could be done. He wandered to Lucky’s door, trying the handle. “Please say this is just locked and you’re not gonna need to climb out.”

.

“Whoa, you okay? Did I lose you?” The sounds coming from the other end were muffled and scratchy but then he heard him speak clear again. “Oh, okay, you sure dude? Like, I can totally wait if they’re not okay. I have a bag full of clothes, snacks and stuff.” Along with his tablet, a few comfort comics, edibles, and vapes because he anticipated being bored with a major side of anxiety. He didn’t know if he should be worried about creepy doll person, like were they just being dumb like him and thought they didn’t need to go or what? Lucky wasn’t about to argue with his dad about it though, he had nothing to go off of and Del was his friend, not Lucky’s. “Okay, be careful though, for real. These roads are mad icy.” Lucky put him on speaker phone and set it down on the seat so he could grab his stuff out of the back. Also remember his charger because without it he was going to be a very sad boy. “Wait you do?” He squinted out the window but everything was already frosted over. “Uh,” he checked the door to see if it was locked. “Nah it’s not locked.” Lucky grunted and slammed his shoulder into the door to see if he could open it from the inside. The other side was fucked already he knew because it was all snow. “Here I got an idea, you pull up the handle and I’m going to try to kick it open.” Lucky moved to the passenger seat and got his legs ready to kick it.  

pip.

where: edison high school with: @lucky-williams​

✧┈┈┈┈┈•♛•┈┈┈┈┈✧

                              “Do you think Blaze is gonna be okay?” Pip sniffled, dramatically landing in front of her brother and throwing herself onto his cot before he had the chance to lay down. “His nickname was Kamikaze, did you know that? Like he must’ve been such a good friend to get a nickname like that.” she sniffed once more, as if she was rolling through the emotions of actually knowing the late and great Felix. “And I’m cold and hungry.” she added, because ultimately that was more important. “I can’t sleep, talk to me about your weird comics. Or like…well not too much. Just until I get bored.”

.

“I, uh, I don’t know. I haven’t seen him since all the, you know, stuff happened.” He sat back up, mildly sad he wasn’t going to be able to go back to sleep. Maybe he should try to find his dad and check on him. Was that weird? Lucky never met the guy and he was kind of surprised Pip knew him. Then again, his sister was always way more extraverted than he was. Lucky was awkward until he got to know someone. “Where did you meet him? I’m sure he was cool, do you think they caught who did it yet?” Being from Long Beach, he was kind of immune to hearing about murders but this was the first time it happened while he was in the same building. “Do you want my extra hoodie?” He reached into his bag and handed over his half eaten bag of takis to offer as well. “Oh shit, okay, well um, I’ve been reading this one called Dream Master and it’s about this paladin who protects us from nightmares when we sleep and makes sure we wake up. It’s cool, he can like, control dreams and stuff kind of like Sandman.”