SOTC: Car Radio by twenty øne piløts
• Sometimes, quiet is violent •
I walked slowly up to the house, eyes wide and fingers fidgeting. It was so huge, mansion-sized, and we could have it all to ourselves? The house back in Atlanta was a one-floor thing with pasty green slathered on the sides. When I was little, I would chip my initials into the paint, because, of course, that house was going to be ours forever.
Carl came out, smiling and waving. It was so strange, for one day to be surviving and the next to be... Normal?
This wasn't normal. This was very strange.
Then I noticed something,
I ran up the steps and gave Carl a look. "Why the hell aren't you wearing your hat?!"
He laughed, but I gave him a playful glare. "You don't look like yourself."
"We're going to see some of the other teenagers," he reasoned. "I figured we should try to make a normal first impression."
"It's so strange," I murmured, grabbing my bag. I dragged it inside and held in a gasp.
The house was pretty damn big. There was a living room that could easily fit six sleeping bags comfortably. A shiny-tiled floor in the kitchen, which included had a sink that I could live in.
I unlaced my converse and kicked them towards the couches. Carl plopped down on the cushion.
"You should tame your mane." I plopped down on the couch and let out a sigh of comfort. "Normal people have used a comb in the last three years."
He bobbed his head up and down and gestured for the door. "I'll meet you outside?"
I leapt up and slotted my little knife into my belt, concealing it with my shirt. "Well, I need to get ready too."
Then I headed upstairs to see what I could whip up for myself.
•••
Jessie let us in the door like she had been our friend for longer than five seconds, smiling and shaking our hands. Her house was a bit different with ours, with a blackish marble on the countertops instead of our granite.
"They're upstairs in the first bedroom to the right," she said, turning back to the kitchen and resuming her cooking.
"Thanks," I replied, flashing her a smile and heading to the stairs. Carl trailed behind me. He had indeed tamed his mane, but it bugged me a lot. He looked like a normal teenager and that made my nerves string up tight.
I'd left my mom's police badge too, which had been pinned onto my shirt for the longest time. It had left two holes where the metal had tugged on the fabric for so long.
I switched out my shirt too, because it was so grimy and blood-covered and stinky that it would've been destined for the garbage can (but I kept it anyway). Instead, I'd pulled on a purplish-bluish flannel shirt that I'd found in one of the closets.
I kept my braid though. However greasy, frizzy and bloody it was, I had to keep a piece of me or I'd go crazy.
Carl ran up ahead of me and twisted the knob, taking a deep breath before pushing the door open.
Act like you're a normal person.
"Umm... Hi," I chirped shyly, before my heart plummeted down to my feet.
Actual people, actual people our age were looking at us.
There was a girl with light brown hair and midnight blue eyes. She was sitting on the bed, with a frown plastered across her face, which was full-on shoved into a book.
I'm going to like her, I thought. She didn't look up at me, but I could tell.
Then two other boys peeked around the doorframe. One looked kind of douchey and the other looked normal.
The douchey one cleared his throat and put down his video game controller. "You guys must be the newbies."
I nodded in response and he continued. "I'm Ron, that's Mikey," he pointed at the normal dude. He swung his finger around to the girl. "And that's Enid."
She looked up from her book, first at Carl, then me. Her lips twitched when her eyes landed on my red-clumped hair. She likes blood...?
"She's only been here for a few months," Ron continued. "Now, what about you two?"
I unlatched my thoughts from Enid. "Uh, this is Carl, and I'm Keira."
"Cool. You guys wanna play some video games?"
No, in fact I did not want to play video games with douche face and normal guy. Instead I sat down with Enid while Carl went with the guys. He can make his own decisions.
Before I could open my mouth, she put her book down and smiled. "Finally, another girl."
I laughed. "Yup."
"You two were from the new group, right?"
I nodded, and she sat up in criss-cross to face me. "These guys don't know what it's like out there. Someday I'll show you and your brother how to get back out there."
"Why would I want to go back?" And then I felt a jolt in my stomach. "Did you say brother?"
She knit her eyebrows. "You and Carl aren't siblings?"
"Aww hell no," I said, laughing.
"How about dating?"
"That's a terrifying thought." I buried my smiling face into my palm.
"Too bad. Y'all'd be a cute couple." She pulled a bundle of hair behind her ear. "Anyway, I'm a survivor too. I still haven't adjusted to this place. Everything comes too easy. What I'm built for is making it to the next day. But here... Your biggest challenge is not pissing somebody off."
I nodded, shifting my weight a bit.
A smile split across Enid's face. "Is that a knife?" She whispered, pointed at my belt, which, sure enough, had revealed my dagger. "We're going to get along just fine."
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A/N: Holy shit, it's been a while.
So sorry for the delay. Between life and my other fanfic, I've been squished pretty tight when it comes to time.
Anyway... They're officially settled in Alexandria!
More surprises to come 😈
QOTD: Any plans for Valentine's Day?
AOTD: I am forever alone so I'm just going to watch TWD and then watch the Gravity Falls finale the next day. IF THEY DARE KILL MABEL OR DIPPER OR WADDLES I SWEAR SOMEBODY'S GOING TO GET BRUTALLY MURDERED
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Word count:
1078
Created 1-26-16
Edited 3-7-16