Motel rooms are not ideal for Halloween parties. The space is crammed, and for a second, Nico misses the church basement and the VCR player, and the actual oven even if it was impossibly small. They are cramped, shuffling to the music much like a member of a zombie hoard. Still, it is exactly what they hoped for. Perhaps it is better.

On the television, the end credits for the movie are still paused, because technically Nico could rewatch it again tomorrow morning so long as it's not finished. Kaia seemed to like it, and maybe they will rent another one. Este suggested a horror movie from the 1970s, and now the two are talking, elbows pressed into each other as they lean against one of the beds.

Kaia laughs, a round and ringing sound. At the snack table they have made out of the desk, Clare turns their head quickly. They grab a few gummy worms and press them into their mouth. Sour powder stings their tongue, but Clare supposes they like sour things. At least, more than they did a few weeks ago. Clare craves vinegar.

Beside Clare, Ajay barely looks. His eyes are on Este, who is giggling too, leaning in closer to Kaia. Her brown hair is warm in the cheap yellow lights of the motel. Her cheeks are flushed too, the colour of the rose in her plastic cup. Ajay swallows, turning back and grabbing a cookie.

"Have you tried these?" Ajay asks, looking at Clare.

He flinches, just a bit when Clare looks up at him. Her eyes are pitch black, wide and vacant. He tastes metal on his tongue. But then he leans away and there is the brown colour, albeit subtle. It's the damn lighting. Ajay grabs his cup and brings it to his mouth, chasing the taste away with a cheaper beer isn't any better.

"No," Clare says.

They grab a cookie too, quickly pulling it up to their mouth. The hunger is all-consuming. In over two weeks, Clare hadn't felt any different than usual, but one terrible drop and all they can think about is eating. At least, the distraction is welcome. It's better than staring at Kaia.

Clare hasn't drank in just as long, and the toaster oven cookies are not moist. They are dry, like sand and paper on Clare's tongue. One hand reaches over quickly, covered in sweet powder from the gummy worms, to grab a beer. Before Ajay can say anything, Clare cracks it open with the bottle opener and begins to chug.

"Fuck yeah," Ajay laughs, shaking his head.

Leo spots Clare chugging beer with Ajay too, and he doesn't look away. Audrey is next to him, answering his question about fire and dirt, and Ajay tries to listen his best. Only when the bottle is empty does Clare stop drinking. Ajay slaps their shoulder, and Ajay puts a hand on Audrey's shoulder.

"Excuse me," he whispers.

Audrey crosses her arms over her chest as Leo walks away. Now, she's stuck with Barry. It's a blessing actually, because he's sulking beside her. She digs into her pocket, pulling out her notebook and flipping through it. Some pagers are smeared with dirt. Or blood maybe, or ash, but the things seem to be more interchangeable in her than in anyone else.

Beside her, Barry only has a glass of wine. Lydia is on the opposite side of the crowd, thankfully, and she's hard to see from here. Barry would go to the bathroom and lock himself in to avoid looking if he had to do it. She's drinking liquor, stuff she clearly doesn't like, hard shots pounding one after the other, and she's clinging to Eva. And Barry hates Eva.

"You talk to Lydia lately?" he asks Audrey.

She doesn't answer. He curses to himself under his breath. All of it is mortifying, his death, her new life, all of it. While this Lydia isn't his, she isn't hers either. She never was. Even in this new version of her, Barry has trouble imaging that she is happy to become everything no one wanted her to be.

What does Lydia want?

Pressed into the doorway, popping to the music with Fallon beside her, Lydia asks herself the same question. Next to Fallon, she moves slower, since Fallon is struggling to dance by herself. She's four drinks deep, more drunk than she has ever been in her entire life, but Eva isn't interested. Who is Lydia without someone to please or disappoint?

"Did you ever..." Lydia pauses.

She leans against the wall, stepping on the tips of her toes to get a look at Barry. He's not paying attention to her. The thought hasn't bothered her much now, but she's drunk. While she may not remember Barry, she knows him now. And he's gotten bored with this version of her, somehow.

Fallon looks over, "sorry?"

"What do you think your ex-fiancée is doing now?" Lydia asks.

Fallon freezes. She's probably still devastated. As Fallon is, constantly.

"I don't know," Fallon swallows. "Moving on, I hope."

Lydia looks over at Barry. She lowers her head, for a second.

"You should go see her," Lydia says. Fallon opens her mouth and Lydia sloppily puts a hand up to Fallon's lips to silence her. She leans in. "Even if she doesn't see you. Never stop looking at people you love. Alright? Don't stop noticing them."

Fallon furrows her brow. She glances around, barely catching Leo's eye. He looks at her sympathetically, but goes toward Clare. Fallon's cheeks become red. She wraps an arm around Lydia.

"He still loves you," Fallon says, looking through the crowd at Barry. A man who unsettles her, but who somehow looks more like Corrin now. "He'd take you back."

"Hush," Lydia leans her head against Fallon, sneaks a hand around her waist and squeezes it.

Fallon blushes, her heart pounding.

From her spot on the balcony door, Eva sees them. She rolls her eyes, a smirk playing on her cheek. Never would she have imagined months ago that the only successful person to ever come out of Chelster would be ruined at Eva's hands. Now, everyone is unhappy and unsettling, just like her. Eva is not alone now.

But maybe she is. The only other person who has ever given her pause is gone. Ambrose has still not returned to the party of the dead.

A crow lands on the powerline above the parking lot. It caws, twisting its head and then staring at Eva. She leans over the metal balcony to get closer to it, to try to peer at its face above hers.

"Hello, Ambrose," she laughs, staring at him. "I have to say, you look less handsome now."

The bird caws at her again. She cackles so loud that Fallon in the doorway tenses and spins around to look at Eva.

And in the centre of it all, keeping their eyes on the crowd, Nico smiles. Yes, they think to themselves. The party is going well. It's a good thing, for now, that they didn't mention the murder of Este's husband. It would just ruin the party, especially since Nico doesn't know for sure that Este is responsible. It could be completely unrelated to anything else. More unrelated than Nico forgetting their epi-pen is a gas station a few days before their death. More unrelated than the cookies that Nico made but won't eat.

Nico had picked one up earlier. Before even taking a bite, Nico could taste it. An unfamiliar flavour, and then suddenly the feeling of blood rushing through their ears, faster than the wind that picked up this night. Like rolling thunder over the dry lands they've been living in. No lightning storm today. None but in Nico's mind.

Before Clare can finish her second drink, Leo steps forward. Ajay looks at him, an eyebrow raised. Leo gestures toward Ajay, who sighs.

"Clare, slow down," he says.

They pull the bottle away from their lips, holding it out far away.

"Grab it," Clare instructs.

Leo does take it. He looks at Leo, who just shrugs and slips through the crowd.

"Sorry," she manages, gasping for air. She burps and then hiccups. Leo pats her back gently. "It felt like... well burning."

Leo pats her shoulder gently. She tilts in and hugs him. His heart stops, he swears. Leo looks at Nico through the crowd. Maybe people aren't that scared of him. Nico isn't, but well Nico is uncomplicatedly kind and welcoming. Of course, Clare and Ajay have previously been his partners in crime, mainly the solving of it, but as Clare hugs Leo, and warmth, not fire, spreads through his chest, he looks at Nico.

"Sorry," Clare pulls away, their cheeks pink and their lips red too. "I've been weird lately."

"We all have been," Barry mumbles, pushing past her to grab a cookie off the snack table.

Leo nods a bit. Barry grabs more wine to refill his cup.

"Loss has that effect," he adds, mostly to himself, more quiet than he wants it to sound.

Kaia sees Barry with Clare. She excuses herself from Este, just as Ajay arrives. The pair watch Kaia slink toward Clare. To their surprise, she starts talking to Barry, asking him questions. Clare and Leo look puzzled.

Both Ajay and Este are feigning paying attention to the interaction. Both are acutely aware that Ajay's arm is pressed into Este's shoulder. Their hips are touching too, even through all those layers of fabric.

"Kaia's a good person," Ajay whispers, "putting up with Barry like that."

Este nods, reaching their cup up only to find there is only a little liquid in the bottom. They start to finish it, feeling the cool liquid on their lips, and then their tongue, and then pouring down their throat.

"Am I distracting you?" Ajay leans forward, whispering the words into her hair, her ears hidden somewhere beneath.

Este turns their head. They put down their empty cup on the bed behind them and reach their fingers forward. Ajay stiffens, jaw tight as Este grabs the strings of his hoodie and pulls them tight. Their fingers are nimble, nails painted red as of that afternoon. The front of Este's body presses into his as she ties a knot in the strings, and then a bow at the front of his shirt. Her eyes seem barely to be open.

Ajay's breathing catches.

She chuckles, low and quiet, "I'm distracted? Do you even remember what we were talking about?"

Ajay bites his lip, turning his head.

He would lean in, but there are too many people. Nico in particular brushes past him at the moment, but Ajay doesn't look away.

When Nico finally gets to Fallon, who is tilting under Lydia's weight, Nico bows and reaches a hand forward.

"Can I have this dance?" they ask.

Fallon looks over at Lydia, but she's already pushing Fallon into Nico's arms. Lydia leans against the wall, giving Fallon the thumbs up. From here, she can see Barry better. He's talking to Kaia about something, and Kaia's laughing. Barry even seems to have a bit of a smile.

The song is too quick for a proper slow dance, but Nico forces it anyway. They can't dance, but they know Fallon loves it. So, the pair spin in the tight room, brushing against bedframes and bodies as the music continues. When Fallon giggles, Nico swears it's the best music that has ever been made. Maybe it's because Fallon is a musician, or because they haven't heard Leo play guitar in a few weeks, but Nico decides in that moment that this is it.

Nico loved Kye. And being without him is a betrayal, but Kye would never be so vindictive to deny Nico this kind of happiness.

Soon enough, Nico moves over and grabs Leo, dragging him in. Fallon grabs Clare too, and Ajay dips a hand toward Este, offering them the floor.

When Lydia gets to Barry, pushing through the new number of dancers, he worries she is going to drag him in too. Instead, she looks down at his glass.

"Tell me about the woman you loved," Lydia whispers, slurring her words.

Barry shakes his head, "bit morbid to talk about the dead at a party, Lydia Darcy."

She wants to scrunch her nose but doesn't. Wrinkles are unbecoming. It's what her mother would say. And then she wants to scrunch her nose to spite her mother, but her nose is on her face, so who is she really spiting?

"I think I would've loved her too," Lydia stumbles a bit, backing into the table. "She sounds so wonderful."

"I think she secretly hated herself," Barry responds. Despite all the noise, the room suddenly feels clear. "I mean, she died over everyone's expectations."

So, Lydia does the only think she can think to do. Something as unexpected as she can get.

"Well, Barry Lament, it's lovely to meet you," she sticks out her hand. When he doesn't move, she reaches forward and forcefully takes it. The previous version of her would never. She was perfectly timid and shy, perfectly the person you could project anything you think on to her. "I'm Lydia James Darcy. You can call me Jamie."

Barry rolls his eyes. Lydia laughs, letting go of his hand to push him gently. He's handsome. The man who doesn't like her very much, and who expects nothing of her. Here is someone she has disappointed over and over again, who clearly dislikes her, and she has no desire to please.

And fuck, she likes him. She likes his hard jawline and his insistence on being unloved by everyone, herself included. She, Jamie she supposes, likes Barry Lament. And she grabs his hands and pulls him in to dance.

When Eva comes back inside, not having smoked a cigarette but still craving one as she always does, everyone but Audrey is dancing. The blonde woman is curled up in the corner, holding up a copper strand of hair and examining it. Eva tastes acid in her mouth, and her body suddenly feels cold. There is something on her tongue, and she reaches into her mouth to peel it away, but it doesn't come.

The fucking tablet.

Her death is there, in the room, and she cackles. It's the kind of thing that no one would appreciate but Ambrose. She turns around, ready to run to the crow and stumbles back, slamming into the crowd.

She knocks into Fallon, who screams. And in her scream, she hears Corrin's.

The music blares as Ambrose steps into the room. Dark black liquid is crusted onto his lips, and leaks from his eyes. He stumbles and slams into the floor. Audrey looks up at the sudden movement and grabs the alarm clock's cord and pulls it from the wall. The music cuts, their footsteps stop, and Ambrose heaves on the ground. He smells like the wood after it rains, but it has been dry in town for weeks.

Ambrose pulls himself into a kneeling position but teeters. Eva tries to grab him. His flesh is squishy, and she feels scurrying under his skin. She yelps and drops him.

He coughs, and grey smoke comes out of his mouth.

Leo is there again, smelling his own flesh burn.

Ambrose crashes into the floor, rolling onto his side. Black liquid seeps into the cheap motel carpet.

~~~~~

Once again no edit, but once again on time lmao. And, AND I'm almost done the next chapter already. NaNoWriMo goal here I come! As always, let me know what you think in the comments. As things come to a close, are there any particular loose ends you are hoping to see tied?