elodie hunt (iaminfinite) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-11-29 20:26:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, elodie, elodie x ruby, ruby |
Who: Ruby and Elodie
Where: The High School
When: Before lunch, Tuesday, November 21
Status: Complete
After leaving Jasper’s house, Ruby had spent Sunday night hiding away in her room and watching movies until she fell asleep from exhaustion. She’d needed something to occupy her mind other than reality because she really wasn’t sure what was real anymore. When she woke on Monday, the feelings she’d been so sure of the day before were gone - Jasper was just her friend again. Sure, she might’ve had a tiny crush on him before the whole fiasco, but fuck if she wasn’t feeling desperate to stomp that out now, something that was far easier to manage when she wasn’t pining over him, or crying from a broken heart.
The whole experience left her feeling drained, relieved but shaken, and it was easy to convince her dad that she was sick on Monday morning. She needed a day off to be normal again, to make sure there weren’t any lasting effects from whatever had hit her. As the day wore on, she felt more and more like herself and her inability to rationalize what she’d done just solidified the theory that she’d been drugged. So Tuesday she was back at school, doing her best to pretend like nothing happened, even though the only person who knew was Jasper and he’d sworn not to tell Jules. That was the only pending crisis, as far as she could tell. If Jules found out, she was sure all hell would break loose, no matter what she had to say on the matter.
Elodie had been keeping to herself for awhile now, embracing what it meant to be invisible, because she was. Invisible, that was. Flitting about through school, and at home, essentially ignored. Not that it bothered her. Things were what they were and when people forgot about you, well, it made it easier to watch, and to listen and learn. She missed New York but Point Pleasant had it's advantages. Weird shit happened here. Really weird shit that most people tried to pass off as something explainable. It wasn't even the weird shit that interested her, though. Completely normal shit could be intriguing too, depending on what it was, and who was involved. Like Jasper and Ruby. Elodie had been sitting on the back stoop when the two of them wandered out of Jasper's house to have a smoke. She hadn't thought much of it, smoking her own cigarette in the cold, but then Ruby had started talking about why she and Jasper had only been friends and Elodie had lifted her phone to start recording the conversation without even thinking. Nothing terribly scandalous happened. She would have loved some kind of overly romantic gesture like a kiss or something, but Jasper apparently liked his girlfriend enough to blow off Ruby... in a friendly way, of course.
Still. It became clear to Elodie by Tuesday that Jasper had kept his promise not to tell Jules about Ruby's interest, because Jules and Jasper were still disgustingly "cute" at school and Jules didn't seem overly murderous to Elodie, which was a real shame. Whatever happened to angsty high school drama? Did she have to do everything herself?
Ruby had skipped out on school on Monday, the coward, but when Elodie saw her in the halls on Tuesday before lunch, she clutched one hand around her bag strap and approached her. "Hey," she greeted with a smile. "You were out yesterday. Sick?"
"Hey," Ruby smiled back at Elodie's greeting. She hadn't seen her around much lately, but then she'd also been a bit preoccupied. It felt like a long time had passed since they'd last talked, which was why it surprised her a bit that Elodie had noticed her absence. "Yeah, something like that," she said with a little shake of her head. "The weekend was weird, I felt horrible, and just didn't sleep at all Sunday night. I could've come, but didn't really want to deal with the teachers telling me to wake up all day, you know?"
"Yeah," Elodie said with a small nod. "I get it. I don't think I would have slept at all after what happened either. I mean, I probably would have slept, but not great? That was some heavy stuff." She simply assumed Ruby knew what Elodie was talking about, but... probably not, if she and Jasper hadn't realized Elodie had been right there the whole time. That was one of the upsides of being invisible. She would have probably been prancing around naked and they wouldn't have taken a glance. But that was how Elodie got a lot of her entertainment... quietly observing and filing away information.
Ruby’s footsteps slowed, any traces of a smile dropping from her expression as she looked at Elodie. She’d assumed that Jasper hadn’t told anyone because… because he said he wouldn’t. And she hadn’t heard about it yet. If it was public knowledge, then Jules knew, and she couldn’t imagine making it to lunch without someone saying something. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her heart starting to speed up. Maybe she was referring to the way people were drugged at the dance. She hadn’t been the only one, she knew that much, even if she hadn’t heard of anyone reacting quite the way she did.
Elodie's brows furrowed in confusion for a moment. "What happened at Jasper's. I mean... that's why you didn't come to school yesterday, right?" Her expression calmed and she offered Ruby a small, sympathetic smile. "I was in my backyard next door? I guess you guys didn't seem me. Which I get, since it was like, a super serious conversation going on and everything." Which she had recorded on her phone, though she didn't tell Ruby that just yet. She wasn't sure she would. Sometimes it was better to keep her cards held close to her chest, just in case.
If Ruby had known Elodie was there, she wouldn't have let the conversation take place outside. Even in her weird state of mind, she'd known it was a private conversation and she suspected Elodie knew that as well. Ruby stopped in her tracks and grabbed Elodie's arm, her eyes wide with alarm. "You can't tell anyone," she hissed. "Please, Elodie." She liked the girl, but she felt a little like she was asking a fire not to burn. What were the chances that Elodie would keep her mouth shut? If it benefit her, maybe, but Ruby couldn't think of anything to offer and she hated the idea of having to bribe anyone. "I was high or something. I didn't know what I was talking about, completely out of my head."
Elodie's face pinched in a way that clearly indicated she didn't believe her. That maybe she even pitied Ruby a little, needing to come up with some kind of excuse for crazy behavior. Elodie didn't think people needed to ever apologize for shit they did, if they meant what they were doing. And from where she'd sat, it definitely sounded like Ruby had meant it. "Really? You were high? Would that had been your excuse if he had like, reciprocated your feelings?" Look at her, using big words like reciprocate. "That's the thing about this town. People do all sorts of things and then blame like... the weather, or ghosts or like, a rock in their backyard. Why can't people just own up to shit here? You like him and you told him. Is it that big a deal?"
"Yeah, it is, 'cause I don't feel that way today," Ruby said, annoyed at the idea that she wouldn't own up to it if it was still true. It would have been complicated, and a huge problem, but if she'd still loved Jasper the way she did on Sunday, then she'd find a way to deal with it and move on. Because that's what people did when they had feelings for someone and they weren't returned. The problem was, whatever she was feeling on Sunday wasn't there, just the minor crush that she'd always had, though now even that was spoiled. "I don't know what was going on with me, but I didn't feel that way on Saturday and I don't now. I don't know what the fuck I would've done if he'd felt the same way, but it'd be worse. Way worse. He's one of my best friends, or he was, but if this gets out it'll ruin any chance of me ever fixing things."
Elodie hummed, as if she didn't quite believe any of that. To her, it sounded like Ruby decided to bare her soul to Jasper, he didn't return her feelings, and now she was trying to cover her ass by pretending it was something Weird. Point Pleasant Weird. Elodie rocked back on her heels and then dug around in her bag for her cigarettes. "I think it'll end up being way worse if you keep secrets," she said simply. "Lying is always worse than the truth, if you ask me." She pulled out her rumpled back and slid a cigarette out. Not to light in the middle of the hall, but she planned on popping outside for a smoke during lunch. "These fucking small towns. What else is there for people to do but talk? You and Jasper are really gonna pretend like it never happened and that's all?"
“I’m not lying,” Ruby said, more forcefully this time. “What’s the point of talking about it when it’s not true? It’ll make Jules paranoid, it’ll hurt my friendship with both of them, and all for nothing. If I felt that way about Jasper, I would’ve told him already.” She hated trying to explain herself, especially when it came to years worth of complications with both people involved. Even if Jasper had been single, she couldn’t imagine herself approaching things like she had on Sunday. It was just a mess and she wanted it to disappear. “I’ll probably have to talk to him again, but that’s between us. Getting other people involved won’t make anyone happy… except maybe Victoria Chapman. She’s all about the gossip, too.” She liked to think Elodie was better than Victoria, but maybe she was wrong.
"I meant lying to Jules," Elodie said, raising a dark brow with some interest. If it wasn't true, why would Ruby put herself out there like that? It was pretty sad, really. "All I'm saying is... lying to friends is the worst. Because if she does find out someday and knows that neither of you told her..." She shrugged. "But I guess you can do whatever you want, if you feel it's the right thing. I don't even think Victoria Chapman knows, so hopefully it stays that way. I was alone in my backyard so... I guess I'm the only one who heard it all." She brought the cigarette up to her lips. "I'm going to go smoke, though. I'll catch you later though, I'm sure."
"What would I even say? 'Hey, I told your boyfriend I love him, but I didn't really mean it. We still cool?'" Ruby couldn't imagine that going over well with anyone, let alone Jules. She knew it would be worse if Jules found out, but the only people that knew were her and Jasper... and Elodie. And she didn't know how to convince any of them that it wasn't true. She sighed, nodding when Elodie dismissed herself, wishing that she could tag along for a cigarette, but also wanting to put this all behind her. "’Kay. See ya."
It wouldn't go over well, definitely not, because girls could be as crazy and territorial as guys were. But that wasn't really the point. Elodie didn't consider herself the morality police at all... she preferred chaos and drama, as long as she was the one causing it, or at least watching it. But she figured she gave Ruby a shot and if Jules found out some other way, then Jules found out some other way. "Good luck," she told Ruby with a mock salute before she turned on her heel to head for the side hallway exit. At least she knew now that Ruby planned to keep that shit to herself. That meant Elodie got to have some fun herself, and she had been sorely lacking in fun lately.