Lucas Raises His Hands And Takes A Step Back.

Lucas keeps holding her, knowing that once she's ready, she'll break the embrace.

He tries to think what to say that can help her. No flowery bullshit. Ana isn't like that.

"When my dad first got diagnosed, I refused to go to the hospital to visit him. I just couldn't handle it. There wasn't anything I could do to help. And it got worse when he got it again. The chemo just took this man I looked up to and whittled him down to a stranger."

He looks at the wall, running a hand up and down her back in a soothing gesture.

"There was a few months where I barely visited him at home even. Just felt pointless. I was scared that seeing him like that would ruin all the good memories I had of him."

More tears drop.

"But finally I went, and I realized that not going hurt me more than going ever would've."

He kisses the top of her head.

"I keep going because otherwise it is all pointless. Even if we never find a way out, we're still alive, and giving up means everything is pointless."

Anastasia tenses briefly in Lucas’s embrace—old reflexes, a habit of keeping people at arm's length. But then, something inside her lets go. Her shoulders sag as if she’s been carrying too much for far too long, and she leans into the hug, not for comfort exactly, but because standing upright suddenly feels too exhausting.

"I tried to hold the line, Luke," she murmurs, her voice brittle. "But it’s slipping through my hands. Every day, I wake up hoping today will feel different. That I’ll care, or find a reason to try... but mostly, I just feel numb. Like I’m already a ghost."

She stays still, not moving to pull away from him, but not clinging, either. Just resting, as if being in the same space with someone who understands makes things a little lighter, if only for a moment.

"How do you do it?" she asks, her voice quiet, almost desperate. "How do you keep going when it all feels... pointless?"

Adrien giggles.

"Maybe. You ever heard of Saltburn?"

He can't really know if Cherry has been here as long as him or way longer. He can accept that not everyone is going to understand, so making up what he is is alright.

"It's a movie, and there's a hot guy that wears angel wings for a party. Figures I could make a version of it for tonight."

SHE HAS TO BLINK IN SURPRISE AT THE INTRODUCTION, thrown off for just a minute before she's smiling back in amusement . " hi, adrien !" the greeting is slightly more enthusiastic considering the amount of liquor she's consumed in the small amount of time she's been here but that's neither here nor there . she leans in to offer him her hand to shake . " i'm cherry !" she blinks at him then, looking him over in amusement before she pokes at one of his wings . " you're a — what ? an angel ?"

"Trust me, Cher. There are much better things I'd rather do this morning."

They're still working on recovering from the storm. The only reason any of the sheriff's or deputies have gotten sleep is because the alternative is sleeping in their offices at night, and they all agree that that's almost as bad as facing one of the creatures in the middle of the night.

Lucas pulls out his note pad.

"Says here you stole some bottles from Lally's yesterday morning right before the town meeting."

He looks up and gives her an unimpressed expression.

STATUS : closed for @patroclusblossom ! LOCATION : the motel !

CHERRY BLINKS AT THE SIGHT OF HIM . once and then twice before her face scrunches in honest confusion . " the fuck did i do ?" cherry would say that the question was understandable all things considered . after all, she only ever really saw lucas for one reason and one reason only . but even know as cherry wracks her brain she can't imagine what he'd be bringing her in for . she tries to think back, trying to consider what she's done in the past few days that she might be getting caught out for now . she's coming up empty, but frankly, it's been a long couple of days . she can't be expected to remember all the shit she does . she's not a fuckin' computer . " i didn't do shit, luke ." a bewildered twist of her expression . " and haven't you got better things to do than hover over me ? aren't we in a crisis or whatever ?"

TANNER BUCHANAN How to Date Billy Walsh (2024)

He briefly considers putting her into a headlock just to show how easy it would be to catch her, but he's honestly too tired to put in the effort. And she's right about the rationing. He's probably just using it as an excuse to avoid his personal problems rattling in his head right now.

"By that logic, we all worry too much," he replies. "It's our jobs to worry too much. So the people who can't do our jobs don't have to."

He sees and even feels the edge in her smile.

"This was an unexpected event. By all accounts, they broke the rules we thought were in place."

He leans against a table, crossing his arms to show he's in serious mode now. Not ready for the emotional talk quite yet. At least not until Ana is.

Anastasia lets out a quiet huff, the corners of her mouth twitching into a smirk. "A nap sounds nice, but you’d have to catch me first." She rolls her neck, feeling the tension stretch and settle, then flicks her gaze to the horizon as if sleep is a luxury meant for someone else.

"I’ll sleep when things stop breaking." She exhales through her nose, the humor slipping just slightly. "Besides, if you lock me up, who’s gonna keep you from rationing those supplies into oblivion?"

Her smile softens, but there’s an edge to it—one Lucas would recognize instantly. "I’m fine, Lu. You worry too much." But they both know that’s not exactly true. Not anymore.

Lucas considers this. He's been in a lot of the woods around town but hasn't come across a tree like that. Of course, that's not at all surprising. Still, it has him thinking.

"Okay," he says, focusing back on Elm. "That's good. Was there anything else?"

He gives her a small smile.

ELM CONSIDERS THE QUESTION FOR A MOMENT BEFORE SHRUGGING . " it's the only thing i remember ." elm wonders if that's enough to make it notable . there's another beat of thought where their head tilts before they're adding a, " there was a moon over it ." their brows furrow a bit . " it was full and ..." a thoughtful pause before elm is making a round gesture with their hands . " the tree was by itself . in a circle, like this ."

"Well, unfortunately, I'm the sheriff, so yeah, I'm a cop."

He lowers his hands and gestures around his waist, where it's very clear he doesn't even have a holster. Hopefully, that lets her trust him more.

"I don't like carrying a gun around town unless I have to."

He steps closer, even stuffing his hand in his pockets to seem more casual.

"I understand that you need to be in control of yourself, and me dragging you away would do the opposite of that. So I'm just going to say this: if you want to risk your life against those monsters, we can't stop you. We can't protect people who don't want our protection. I just hope you decide that our protection is good enough for you as the others have."

— A scoff escapes her lips before she can stop it , her scowl only furthering at the words of the other . “ what're you , a cop ? ” she asks with a scrunch of her nose , tapping some ash from her smoke while disdain drips from her every word . “ being cautious is one thing , threatening people with physical restraint so they conform to your so - called safety standards , that's another thing entirely . very authoritarian of you all , i must say . ” there is something comforting , almost nostalgic , about being a smartass with authority ; a sense of warm familiarity , in a town that is entirely unknown to her .

he's the loml 🤍

Lucas hums and considers the best way to explain.

"So there was a cartoon show about a teenage girl, Kim Possible, that while also being a student and cheerleader, she was a hero that went around the world and saved people. She took her best friend, Ron Stoppable, with her. So Ana is Kim, and I'm Ron."

He sighs and rubs his face

"Yeah, it's loud. I think there are some quiet rooms upstairs in the east wing if you want to get away?"

East wing is designated quiet areas. West wing rooms are for private and not quiet activities.

she didn't understand his joke, but she offers a smile anyway. "what are you supposed to be?" not that she would even know when he tells her. her knowledge was very limited.

"no, i hate this," she says, looking out at the party. "it's too loud." it was the worst day of the year in her opinion and not because of the monsters outside.

"I mean, there aren't many good men out there, so it's not your fault for only finding the bad ones."

He snickers. Then the song changes and he cheers.

"I love this song. Come dance with me."

He grabs Cherry's hand and tugs on her.

THE QUESTION TAKES CHERRY ABACK FOR A MOMENT . her face scrunches a bit at the thought as she says, " usually pretty shit . at least by my track record ." there's a beat before she adds the disclaimer , " at least when it comes to men ." she shrugs then . " when it comes to everyone else it's pretty okay ."