Nico has become an expert in avoidance. They don't message Kye, of course they don't. How could they? Nico also doesn't enjoy spending nights in the church basement. Yesterday morning, Nico awoke, gasping, hands hovering over their throat but not touching the skin. They were grabbing at where the skin could have been swelling. Nico avoids thinking about death, even if it creeps into their dreams.

It has only been two days since they researched Kye in the library and it feels impossibly long. So, Nico devises a plan. A surprise, since Nico is in the mood for a surprise.

While Ajay makes breakfast, Nico struts into the middle of the room. They clear their throat, and dramatically toss one of the used scarves over their shoulder like they are Kye with a feather boa.

"Tonight, we are having a busher!"

Half the room groans. Only Barry looks about, confused.

"A what?"

Nico sighs, "Kye explained them to me. I live in Montreal, so I get the confusion."

"Bush parties are a small-town thing," Leo explains, his voice steady and strong. He's broken up enough during training up north to know what happens at them without ever having attended. "Mostly young adults do them, and teens of course."

"It's the kind of shit people do when there isn't shit to do," Kaia smiles, looking over at Nico.

In the first four weeks when Kaia first got to British Colombia, Kaia was invited to three different bush parties. The first one she went to was out in a pasture on the outskirts of a town whose name she doesn't remember, which wouldn't be any more remarkable than Chelster if Kaia wasn't tied here forever. It was a damn cold night, and she can remember standing so close to the burning wood pellets, watching a drunk sixteen-year-old do a keg stand. She kissed a girl whose name she can barely taste, like the beer on her lips.

Kaia loved it.

"Not tonight," Audrey whips their head around, turning to Ajay in the kitchen.

Ajay hears her voice and his neck prickles. He hopes neither Fallon or Lydia notice as they help plate the food. Ajay still hasn't asked for two people who won't ask questions. Ambrose should be one of them, he's sure of that. If Eva weren't such a wildcard, he'd pick her from the deck. Ajay wants to put the whole thing off altogether, since he doesn't trust whatever Audrey has planned.

"Non-negotiable," Eva offers. She sits down at one of the three round tables they pulled out of storage. When she kicks her feet up on the chair, she leans back to tilt at Audrey. "Anyone who doesn't come loses shower privileges for the next week."

"That's an abuse of power," Audrey snaps.

Eva smiles. It's strange to be seen as someone who has power.

"It might be nice to just, hang out," Fallon offers, teetering as she balances a third plate on her arm.

She can't think of death anymore. She can't think of anything. Eva holds up her hand as Fallon sits down, putting the plates out on the table. She starts to head back to the kitchen, but high-fives Eva, who might have waited for all of time there with her hand up.

Clare stares down at her bedsheets. It's risky. They might feel like living people again, in their new clothes, but they are not. None of them have licenses to buy alcohol, and getting caught and thrown in the drunk tank isn't something any of them can brush off easily. It doesn't seem like the police have called anyone, which works in their favourite to avoid violent experimentation. However, no one seems to care why they aren't calling anyone. Clare is starting to think it's because they have unfinished businesses.

Her. The final nail in her coffin didn't keep her in. Whoever actually put her there might be trying to figure out how to put her back. Dying all over again doesn't seem ideal, even if she doesn't remember the experience. There are worse ways to keep her quiet.

She whips her head around the room at the sound of a bullet.

Lydia glances at Clare as she walks past, balancing three plates in her hands. She takes a seat at a table and taps the back of the chair beside her. She looks over at Barry, glancing at them and then looking past them at the only blinds in their small room. It's too old to let the air in though Lydia hates closed windows. A party is never something she enjoys. Gatherings are opportunities, and perhaps it might be useful to have some people under her wing.

She barely notices Barry stand and move to join her.

"What part of the forest?" Este asks, looking over at Ambrose. She doesn't particularly want to go, and she could finance her own showers, but her money is better spent.

"Ambrose," Eva stands up, tilting her head back and pointing at him dramatically. "He will lead the way."

The others turn to stare at him, and Ambrose doesn't look. He swears he can hear someone else in the building. The breathes above him. A heaving chest, a hand on the pews making it creak. No footsteps.

~~~

Lead the way Ambrose does. Clare and Leo were unhappy when Eva came back with Fallon and Audrey, three two fours and four two sixes between them all. At the right stores, they won't get ID'd. In the end, they took the plastic cups from the cupboards and shoved them in some of the spare boxes in the storage room. Eva struts next to Ambrose, a little cigarette in her hand, as they make their way through the forest.

"We're deep enough, aren't we?" Lydia groans. She is carrying some towels they've gotten, hopefully so people have somewhere to sit. They don't have lawn chairs and it wasn't worth it to pay for any.

Barry looks at her. They've got a two four, and their arms are aching from the case of beer even if they won't admit it. Despite this, Barry has offered to carry her bag. Twice. She won't take them up on the offer. Barry would sooner let their arms fall by the wayside and decompose in this forest than show weakness in front of her.

Of course, Lydia knows.

Ambrose stops for a second. People pause, and then he twists in another direction.

"A bit strange, isn't he?" Kaia whispers under her breath. She and Clare are carrying wood, which Clare doesn't know that Eva knicked from a backyard.

"Definitely," Clare smiles looking at his shadow. It's dark out, and if Ajay lighting the way with a flashlight, she'd not be able to see anything. Somehow, she doubts Ambrose would ever let her get lost in here. "He's pretty nice though."

Leo tries to hurry up to catch Ambrose, hoping to ask him to stop. This is made complicated by the guitar that he is carrying, with little shakers shoved in the case. He is not as in shape as he was two weeks ago, but he's feeling much better. Soon, they'll need to get out of the church basement. Leo might take up to jogging out here if he ever knew the woods as well as Ambrose does.

Then, Ambrose stops. He turns to look at them all.

"Here."

Nico is the first besides Eva to enter, who has extinguished her cigarettes and is spinning. Ambrose has brought them to a clearing. In the middle, there is a spring. The pool seems to shimmer, its colour cannot be made out in the light. Nico kneels on the ground before it, trailing their fingers through the water.

When Este enters, she looks up. There are stars above them. Hundreds and hundreds of Esters. The sky doesn't even look dark. It's violet. She remembers first coming to Chelster with Jayce. She was always meant for big cities like Toronto. She's ashamed that there is a part of her so like Barry. When she got here, it felt all wrong everywhere. She wanted a nightlife with bright lights and buildings full of people. A world with a million people who she could study forever. Then, on one of Jayce's repeated bouts of kindness whenever Este felt close enough to living, he took her just out of town, where there are no lights at all, but stars all above them. Her name means star, and so Este felt like she was everywhere in the town and it was part of her.

"This is..." Fallon trails off, staring around them. This is something Corrin would want to paint. Something she wants to take a picture of even if the shitty phone they all share would never capture the glimmer of starlight in the water, or the beginnings of dew in the grass.

Fallon loves the rain, but her heart would break if it started now. Every part of her would wash away.

Eva slips over as people enter and steals a beer from Barry. Using a bottle opener, she takes off the metal cap of the bottle and holds it up in the air. Maybe she can bottle the wishes that feel like they are raining down on her.

"Let's party!" Nico shouts.

Eva lets out a howl like someone about to jump in water on a cold day, but she doesn't jump in the lake. Audrey sighs. They would rather have a shovel in their hands, but they suppose a delay could be worse.

So in the forest, they drink and laugh. None of them have a speaker or a radio or music, and that doesn't make it quite the busher that it could be. Kaia flitters through the crowd, feeling more herself than she has in weeks. She makes Fallon and Clare, and even Audrey laugh. When Eva strongarms Fallon and Leo into trading songs, Kaia sings along, playing percussion on trees while Nico tries to swing her into dances.

Though Lydia never drinks of her own accord and Este couldn't be paid to drink beer or straight liquor, they even have smug grins. There is something enjoyable in watching the drunken antics of the others. Lydia winces when Eva bumps Barry into the water. The edge is only deep enough to soak into their pants, and Barry holds his tongue when he sees Lydia watching. Her fingers trace the edge of her red solo cup, her eyes on him. God, she should've been a star in the afterlife. This is second best.

Ajay gets drunk too quickly. He is chatting and drinking, and he doesn't realize how easy it is to drink too many shots when the liquor keeps one warmer than their coat can. Soon enough, he runs his hands in the stream and washes his face. Medical school has taught him never to put a drunk person in the shower, but the repetition of the feeling is better than its sobering effects.

"Going in for a dip?" Eva asks.

Ajay scrambles away from the edge and Eva cackles.

Watching on, Audrey takes notes. They can get stomach aches and drunk. Consumption definitely affects their bodies. Audrey will write out their findings once everyone stumbles back home. Theories are building, as much as the smile on Audrey's face when Nico challenges Kaia to a dance-off with the background of an acoustic guitar.

Barry joins Lydia later, after drying off their pants with a towel that Lydia and Este aren't lounging on. Barry bows and leads her into a slow dance. They are nimbler on their feet than Lydia thought.

"You practice often?" she whispers in his ear as they glide over the grass. "I'm jealous of those other girls."

You, Barry thinks. Always you. "I don't blame you. I have that effect on people."

Fallon watches them. She misses dancing. It was always so wonderful.

From his spot playing guitar, Leo sees her face, how she smiles but her eyes crinkle, and Leo leans over to Clare.

"Ask her to dance," Leo whispers.

Clare looks back at him, "what?"

"My hands are preoccupied, please?" Leo pleads, looking over at Fallon.

Then, Clare sighs. She looks over at Fallon, and sees that look, and Clare sighs again. She walks over to Fallon and tries her best to smile, hoping no one else will watch or say anything about this.

"Let's dance," Clare offers. "It'll be fun."

Fallon looks over, tears in her eyes. She looks Clare over, and then accepts her hand. The two start to dance, and Clare is absolutely rotten, but Fallon doesn't mind. She couldn't have expected it to be like it is with Corrin. It is something. There is a universe of stars out there that aren't Corrin. Fallon can't expect to have her forever.

Then, Ajay sits, exhausted, besides Este. His head is spinning. She is sturdy though, and he looks at her. It isn't fair to grasp her. He wants to do it. There she is, as beautiful and mysterious and alluring as ever. Ajay has always wanted to solve things, to know how every part of the body works. This drunk, he gets the feeling he could never be satisfied, and what a wonderful thing it is to never need to seek out something new since there is always more to understand just at your fingertips.

"You're staring," Este smiles at him. "And drunk."

"Yes," he says. "Yes, as well. Staring and drunk."

Este feels herself beaming.

Dancing to herself, Eva pours a double shot into Audrey's cup. It is only fair that Audrey lets themself be a subject. They have never agreed with the journalist principle about objectivity. There is knowledge in being. If Audrey must be, then she shall.

While dancing opposite Kaia, Nico dares to peek around. People are having fun. Nico did it. They can lead. They can do anything. Everyone has longer lists of haven't done than they do have dones, and Nico's is becoming a bit shorter today. It isn't everything. It doesn't have to be.

~~~~~

Done! I know it's late but the last chapter was so long I thought it only fair. We've got some little interactions here. I'm so excited for it! Any dynamics you like the most (with and without your character involved)?