Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Liam’s routine as of late has been tedious; sleep, check up on the Plane, try to figure out how the computer works, sleep, rinse and repeat. God bless that he doesn’t need to eat or drink in this place as it saves time, but the monotony is getting to him.

It was like a sinking ship; the atmosphere has only become more bleak and somber as days passed by to the point it could drown Liam. And he can’t blame them. The only person who could use the computer and make them leave is Airy, and you know how that went. So, Liam took the matters into his own hands.

Five months. That’s how much he counted from the carved lines on the cave walls. Five months. It was foolish to think that he could get everyone out in 2 weeks if he just endlessly worked at the computer, but the task has proven itself to be challenging. He has to learn how to code without a manual to be found, pile that with the fear of accidentally killing everyone while doing so.

While reading Airy’s code helped speed up the process, the weeks still stretched out into months. All he's done so far is removing some grass blades, teleported (non-sentient) items in the Plane, and just recently changed the color of the grass to yellow. Sure, it made things less boring, but he has to get everyone home.

Everyone... The word ran in Liam’s mind as he turned at the tiny planet beside him. 

The situation in the Plane did not encourage nor motivate him. All he saw of Scenty was her lying down, either staring off to a distance or crying. Either way, she wasn’t responding to any of Liam’s greetings or ‘how are you’s. He couldn’t even tell if she talked to anyone for these past few months.

Everyone else wasn’t any better. Bryce talked scarcely, those brief conversations were just comments on what Liam added or changed and checkups on his progress. Even in those short times, Liam could tell from the sound of Bryce’s voice that he’s not doing well. Moldy, Whippy Creamy and Tray are practically unresponsive, with Whippy Creamy and Tray being back in their non-sentient forms, and Moldy’s condition not improving.

Therefore, there were only two other people that he’s been talking to...

“Subway Seat, what are you doing?” Liam asked, amused at the sight of the object looking at the recently-teleported bed with curiosity.

“I’m just checking if someone’s alive.” Subway Seat said. He poked at the mattress of the bed, frowning when he saw no activity. “Maybe they’re scared?”

“Oh, no, it’s just a normal bed, Subway Seat.” Liam chuckled. “I just only put it in here since you all have been laying down on the grass, that could be uncomfortable.”

“It was uncomfortable.” Atom poked in, prompting Liam to find the atom before seeing a blade of grass on the bed. “So, thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome.” said Liam as silence fell between them. He only watched Subway Seat struggle to climb on the bed before succeeding and laying down on it.

Even if they were the only two people he could keep a long conversation with, Liam can tell that the hopelessness of the situation has been suffocating the both of them. Subway Seat’s a lot less talkative than he remembered, and Atom’s response felt stiff.

Liam only looked at the discarded laptop beside him, feelings of melancholy weighing down his smile. “I should probably teleport more for the others.” he mused.

The blade of grass swayed from side to side for a moment. “They look like they don’t need it.”

“Well, just in case!” Liam stammered, his hands on the keyboard. “Maybe Bryce and Scenty wants something to lay down upon—”

“ Amelia , Liam.” Bryce corrected as he walked up to the bed, leaning towards it instead of laying down on it.

Liam froze. Oh no, no wonder she’s not responding to Liam. “Oh— oh right, her name- I’m sorry—”

“Liam.” Bryce interrupted. “Was this worth it?”

“...What?”

Bryce repeated, “Was this worth it?”

“What do you mean 'was it worth it?”

“We went on a wild-goose chase trying to stop Airy, and you achieved that, right?” Bryce explained, crossing his arms. “So, was it worth it?”

“Of course, Bryce! We stopped the competition, so all we need to do now is to go home—”

“What will you do after that?” the soda bottle sighed deeply. “You’ll be trapped here either way! I don’t know how long it will take you to...” he trailed off, but Liam knows what he’s implying.

He turned back at the monitor, seeing the lines of code that littered the screen. Even if he somehow got everyone out, what would he do after that?

“I... I will never follow his footsteps, Bryce.” he asserted. “I don’t know what else you’re implying.”

“That’s not the issue, Liam.” Bryce sat on the bed. “Think about it for a second, would you be here if we never went on this chase? Would it be easier if you just... let him do his thing?”

The question pierced Liam in the pocket. At first, he wanted to yell at Bryce, ask him what in his right mind makes him want to let Airy continue to rip people away from their normal lives. But, when he held the microphone, it left him to think.

Would it really be easier? Just letting Airy have his fun with people before sending them away? 

Sure, he’s ripping them out of their normal lives and Liam has his life fallen apart because of him, but he barely knew these people and Airy would teleport them out in a specified time period. He could just ignore the notes and rebuild his life from the ground up slowly. Would he be happier if he didn’t go on this tail-chasing adventure where he only got himself in a perpetual dead end?

Stone. The name flashed in his mind. Liam could only rest his head on his hands.

As Bryce went silent and Liam went back to coding, his mind wandered to Stone, an idea bubbling in his mind. Yes, he vowed to never teleport anyone in the Plane as he will never follow in Airy’s footsteps. But in this case, Stone needs to know how much he didn’t save the contestants. How he didn’t stop Airy (he could go back in this world with the radio anytime). How he failed .

Liam typed, only looking back at the Plane to check for Stone. When he found the mineral standing in the Plane, he quickly leaned over the mic. He couldn’t even look at Stone’s eyes as he spoke.

“Stone. I’m sorry.” Liam said. “Airy’s gone , I lost Texty’s charger and the notes, and we’ll be trapped... or, well, I’ll be trapped once I get everyone out.” he blinked away the tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “We failed.”

Liam had to compose himself to even look at Stone’s eyes. A look of disappointment, maybe anger. He won’t blame him for either.

But there was no change in Stone’s expression. He only did one thing.

A thumbs up.

“...Huh?”

Chapter Text

“...Huh?”

Of course, Liam was confused by the answer. A thumbs up? Not even a thumbs down? Hell, Liam will say he would prefer the latter option since it would at least give him an idea of what Stone’s thinking. Questions only ran through his mind as Stone looked around, not bothered by the somberness around him.

There was only one possibility. “Stone,” Liam started. “Was this the plan?”

A pause. Then a nod.

Liam’s breath hitched, feeling like something has deeply punctured his pocket. “Are— are you serious? ” Even when Stone’s eyes widened and they started shaking their hands, Liam talked over them. “Is that the plan? Getting everyone to be stuck in another dimension, away from their homes, forever? Is that what you want, Stone?”

The comment was enough for (almost) everyone in the Plane to perk up. Even Liam could see Sce- Amelia sit up from the ground she has been laying on, and life returning to Charlotte’s eyes. With all eyes on Stone, the mineral froze on their spot for a moment before shaking their hands once more.

Bryce stepped forward first. “Come on, explain yourself. What were you intending?” he glared at Stone. While Stone didn’t budge from his spot, he still raised a palm to stop Bryce from stepping closer. Soon after, they pointed at the sky and made a gesture of writing something with their palm.

Understanding the message, Liam went to type on the computer, a notepad and a pencil falling from the sky and landed next to Stone. He picked up the pencil and wrote on the notepad before showing it to Bryce.

The soda bottle leaned in to read the note. “‘No, you all won’t be trapped here forever ’... Well, that’s a relief,” Bryce commented before continuing. “‘But this is how the plan is supposed to go’... Alright, genius, we hit a dead end. How can we move on from here?”

Stone flipped a page, “'You all will go back to Earth’,” Bryce read, not noticing Amelia, who moved to his side to read along. “‘But it is required that you fulfill this one task before you all move on: Get Airy along and bond wi—’ ”

“No. Stone, we’re not doing that,” Charlotte butted in, scowling. “Do you expect me to just sweep all of this under the rug?”

“I agree.” Bryce nodded. “Why do we need to become buddies with him? He’s the one that started this in the first place.” And also the one who ruined our lives. He grumbled under his breath.

As everyone declined Stone’s request, Liam only sat on his chair. All he got was ‘bond with Airy’, which affirmed his mixed feelings about him. 

Yes, he isn’t fond of the lantern. Bitterness and anger from everything due to Airy resided in his being. But he will admit there are underlying feelings of pity, further cemented by how he was the one who gave Liam the wooden cast before dying. Twice in different situations; all without a word of mockery.

Liam would be lying if he said that he’s not even the slightest bit curious about his thought process.

So, Liam leaned onto the mic, “We can do that, Stone.”

Predictably, they were shocked by this. Bryce gaped, “What? Liam, are you serious?! He was the one who took everything away from us!” he exclaimed, glaring up at the sky.

“Yeah, but this is Stone! It could be the key to stopping this entire thing!”

“His notes lead us to this!” Bryce pointed at Stone, “For all we know, this could be yet another trap—”

The sound of a thump echoed in the air. They all turned at the sound to see Stone had pounded the notepad on the bed. Shaking their head, Stone showed the note to Bryce again. 

“'If he dies again, what’s stopping him from pulling you... back here?’... ” Bryce’s voice went quiet.

Silence. 

The words hung in the air, weighing on every person present.

After what felt like several minutes, Liam sighed and spoke. “You have a point, Stone. We’ve already lost enough as it is.” he said. “If this stops Airy for good, then we’re doing it.”

Liam could see that everyone is not enthusiastic about Stone’s so-called ‘plan’. Bryce and Charlotte has crossed their arms; a deep scowl carving their faces. Amelia just silently stood there; not keeping eye contact with anyone, and Subway Seat’s expression is unreadable; but it is clearly not expressions of excitement.

Hell, he could say that he’s also not enthusiastic. He’s not sure what to expect of Airy despite possibly knowing him the most here, and that craving to go back to his old life still hasn’t been fed. But if it’s something to stop this cycle...

“Fine,” Bryce finally said. “Just give us instructions on what to do next, alright? I don’t want to stay in this place a little longer.”

Satisfied, Stone went on to write on the notepad, ripping each page and then giving them to the soda bottle. Bryce cocked an eyebrow. “You know you could just write it all in one page?... Nevermind,”

He began flipping through the notes, “We got... Airy’s info, not reading that, and an address?” the soda bottle narrowed his eyes, reading the note carefully. “‘3651 Martha Ave, Unit B Room 12... Toledo, Ohio?' Or at least that’s what I think ‘OH’ stands for.” he mumbled out the last part as he continued flipping through the notes.

Subway Seat leaned forward, seeing the note with 5 lines of random numbers and the letters ‘SF’ on top of it.  “What even is that weird number code anyway?”

“A code back to San Francisco—”

Amelia suddenly stepped in, “Wait, so you’re telling me that there’s some sort of code to go back home?” she stammered in disbelief, her voice raspy from months of disuse.

“Well, only back to San Francisco.”

“What?” Amelia took a shuddering exhale. “Okay, so you just... put on a little code and then you’re back? Where did you find out about this anyway?”

“By dying.”

Understandably, everyone looked shocked. Bryce covered his eyes, cursing under his breath. “Right , forgot not everyone here knows about that radio.” he said. “When you die, you see this radio, right? So we have to exactly put this number on to get back to Earth—”

“I’m not concerned about that part,” Amelia blurted out, “Do we really have to die to do this? Surely, there must be another way, right?”

“Besides, I think some of us here want to go back to our worlds.” Subway Seat commented, glancing over at the static forms of Tray and Whippy Creamy.

“Don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine. The only bad thing that might happen is you running off to a distance,” Bryce nonchalantly explained as if he’s reading a news report. Which is clearly not relieving Amelia’s nerves in the slightest, but she stayed quiet.

“So we have to die to do this...” Liam mused, “But how do we do exactly that? I’m not gonna go and crush everyone here with a boulder and then myself, that’s... too intense.”

Stone only nodded, walked up to Bryce and tapped on a note. As Bryce flipped to the note, his eyes widened, more out of curiosity than surprise. “Kill command?” it read. “Like Texty?” he asked, getting another nod from Stone in return. “Well, that might be a lot less painful and terrifying than being crushed by a boulder. Get your keyboard, Liam.”

As Liam carefully typed out the command, his eyes kept darting between the screen and the Plane, a million questions running through his head. If it was this easy to code killing everyone, including himself, couldn’t Airy possibly just teleport himself back home? Maybe find the radio frequency to Earth eventually? Have better use of his time that is not tormenting people?

Perhaps he could find out the answer to all of these questions soon enough.

Liam unzipped himself, pocketed the laptop, and made sure to ask everyone in the Plane if they were ready. Upon hearing some ‘yes’s and reluctant thumbs ups, he sat back in his chair.

A tap of the enter button.

And he was out.

Chapter Text

The brief darkness that followed never failed to make Liam feel cold.

He opened his eyes soon after, relieved by the sight of the colorful space of the afterlife, savoring the feeling of moving his leg freely without the wooden cast encasing it. Liam would appreciate the sunset-like colors that surrounded him, and the way the ground rippled under his feet... if all of it was not associated with the dread of being stuck here for over a decade.

Shaking away the thoughts, “So, what’s next, Stone?” Liam turned around, his need for guidance shattered in an instant as soon he saw the mineral without limbs or a face. Just a normal, ordinary rock. He was even reduced to a small size too, as Liam picked him up with one hand.

Liam groaned to himself and unzipped his pocket, deciding to put little Stone inside. Looks like he’s about to do this by himself again. “Wait.” He felt around his pocket, only feeling the laptop. “Wait, the notes! I don’t have them in my pocket—”

“Liam.”

Liam flinched and looked at Bryce’s direction, stress leaving him in an instant when he saw the notes were stored in the soda bottle.

It was comical to see Bryce walk up to him, the papers bouncing off the base of the soda bottle like they’re being shaken. Though, it did make Liam think. “How are we gonna take these out?” he mused.

“I’m not letting you inside of me, that’s for sure,” Bryce said before his expression blanked. “Okay, that sounded wrong, but you get the picture.”

“I could take your cap out and then shake them out, or get someone to take it out.”

“I’m not letting you shake me like a maraca either,” Bryce looked around for anyone to assist them, before spotting Amelia in the distance.

The waves crashed against the shore, and the sun began to set; coloring the sky with dark lavender. Scenty walked down the beach, relaxing under the sound of sand crunching under her feet. What a terrible dream she had; how it all felt too real.

But that doesn’t matter now, doesn’t it? She stepped towards a bar in a distance, vague figures laughing and speakers blaring with music. There was one clear figure, who looked surprised by Scenty’s presence.

“Hey Ames, glad you came to the party! Want a drink?” Melony( ? Doesn’t he have a name like she does? ) spoke, raising up the cup of strawberry margarita like he’s beckoning Scenty to come closer — offering Scenty the drink. It was an appetizing color of red, looking more like a fruit smoothie.

All she could mumble out was an “I would like to,” while her arm reached out for the drink, a tiny smile curling her lips. How long has it been since she drank something ? Or even tasted anything in her mouth? She wants to find out...

...Before finding herself being pulled away.

She cried out for help, yet Melony continued on with his life as if nothing was happening. Scenty tried to squirm away to no avail, seeing specks of green and red as she was forcefully turned around. “Let go of me!”

“Amelia! We need your help real quick,” Backpack spoke, pointing at the pieces of paper inside Soda Bottle, who promptly unscrewed his cap.

“Oh.”

As if a fog lifted from Amelia’s mind, she calmed down almost immediately. “Right, the notes.” she slurred, pulling the notes out of the soda bottle and offering them to the backpack. Liam gently lifted Bryce down before taking the papers.

Liam flipped through them for a moment before looking up. “Now where’s everyone else?” he said, looking around. Charlotte walked up to the group without any trouble and Subway sat in the middle of the space with a dumbfounded expression. Atom took a bit to spot; the grass blade chilling on top of Subway.

The only thing that took Liam aback was the sight of Whippy Creamy and Tray back in their animated forms, looking around the place with mouths agape.

“The cafeteria...” Tray murmured. “How did we get here?”

“Because we’re in the afterlife. You know, the place after you die.” Liam shrugged, not sure on how to explain it further.

Whippy Creamy’s eyes widened from surprise. “Wait, so we’re dead?”

“Yes, but not for long. We just need to do something first.” Liam pointed at a peculiar lantern in the distance.

Airy was simply sitting on a chair, seemingly unbothered by the fact there are other objects in the plane, narrowly focused on tuning the radio beside him. One difference Liam can tell is that the shattered spot where his left eye resided is now gone. 

The group circled Airy, not sure how to continue. Obviously, beating him up senselessly for being held hostage in another universe for almost a year is out of the question.

Stepping forward first, Liam cleared his throat. Airy looked up at the sound, the only change in his poker-face being his eyebrows raising.

“You’re all here.” Airy’s voice was the same as it always has been, monotonous and slow. It was the confirmation everyone needed... which is why Amelia suddenly advanced to firmly grasp Airy’s shoulders, the others taken aback by the action.

“Do you have any idea on what you have done to me? What have you done to everyone else?!” Amelia shouted, her voice cracking mid-sentence, “You heartless, emotionless, bastard!”

Airy’s shoulders were tense, but the frown on his face didn’t waver. “I... uh...” he mumbled. “...thought it might be fun.”

Amelia’s eye twitched, an exasperated grin making its way up to her face. “Wooow~! Airy, thank you very much! I was definitely having lots of fun! ” she sardonically exclaimed, “How about you try thinking about others’ feelings sometime, huh? Does that sound fun?”

“I... don’t know.”

Amelia clenched his shoulders, causing Airy to squirm from the pain. “You’re lucky that I can’t smash your face in right now.”

Airy blinked. “Why... couldn’t you?” he uttered.

Charlotte stepped in, arms akimbo. “Because you have to join us when we get back to Earth and become friends with you.” She explained bluntly, not noticing—or caring—the way Airy’s gaze averted from the circle.

“Friends?” he repeated as if he’s testing how the word feels on his tongue.

“Yes. Friends.” Liam gently pulled Amelia’s hands off Airy’s shoulders with no trouble. “This doesn’t mean everything that just happened is null now, okay? But we shouldn’t do anything crazy if we want this thing to go well.” he said, glancing towards Amelia before looking back at Airy, “Consider it as a truce.”

“We’ll go back to Earth?”

“Yes, but in San Francisco.” Liam sat down on an empty chair, putting down the ‘SF’ note on the table. “Have you heard of it?”

“It is familiar.” Airy remarked, fiddling with his fingers. “Are we leaving right now?”

“Yes.”

“Could I... take a moment?” his voice got softer as he stood up from the chair, his eyes more focused on his surroundings than the group.

Liam only shrugged. “Go ahead, it usually takes me a while to do these.” With the note on hand, Liam tuned the radio, the buzzing of the device filling the silence in the air.

After a minute, “Airy, check it.”

Airy looked at the numbers...

...For only 2 seconds before shrugging and looking at Liam with the same deadpan expression he always has. “Eh, looks good to me—”

Bryce pushed him aside. “Do I look like I want to go through all of that again?” and leaned close into the radio.

As Bryce takes his time reading the radio, Whippy Creamy turns at Tray and Subway Seat. “I thought you two wanted to go home, right?” he cocked a brow.

“I mean, I thought Airy would send me home, but that didn’t happen.” Subway shrugged. “Besides, that weird little rock didn’t give us the code back to our homes, so we can’t do anything about it.”

“Yeah, but also...” Tray started, trying to compose her words. “During those 5 months, I was thinking. I spent so long just sitting —and doing that same thing before we escaped—that I thought that I couldn’t throw away the opportunity to be Tray! Not a school lunch tray, just Tray.” Tray huffed, “So I decided to join you all because I couldn’t just leave my friends alone! So I will be with them!... And... stuff... like that... ”

Silence.

A moment passed before Whippy Creamy spoke up. “You were doing good until that last part,” he blankly said, “But hey, I agree with you!” Whippy Creamy grinned widely, resting his elbow on Tray’s shoulder. “We’re not just objects that sit around all day, we’re objects who can move and speak!” he patted Tray. “Welcome to the gang.”

“Yeah, I’m just glad that things are not... you know,” Tray frowned. She might’ve given up by the end there, but things seem to be looking promising. “Besides I’ve always thought about what it feels like to live like a human.”

“Look, I’m just glad that I’m never sitting all day in a fridge ever again,” Whippy Creamy huffed.

“Don’t they use something called a ‘real name’ like humans? I think we need to come up with something when we get there.” Subway said.

“Right, they do!” Tray nodded. “I want to be Charlotte!”

“But we already have a Charlotte!”

“...Charlotte 2?”

Subway sighed. “You know what, let’s just figure it out as we go on.”

After a moment, Bryce signaled Liam a thumbs up, a satisfied smile curling the backpack’s lips. “Is everyone ready?” He turned to the group.

After getting a bunch of ‘yes’s, Liam outstretched his hand towards the antenna of the radio and raised it.

A chime. 

Then the colors are gone.

Liam found himself back at the Golden Gate Bridge, standing in the middle of the walkway. 

The moon was high above, casting its warm glow on the surface, leaving shadows on the pavement. Thousands of silver dots littered the night sky like a paint splatter; a work of art to be desired.

The group stared up in amazement. For the others in the Plane, especially. Seeing nothing but constant daylight had made them wonder what it feels like to be under the calming shade of the night sky again.

But, Airy?

Liam turned at the lantern when his name came to mind. He wasn’t focused on the night sky at all, instead, he focused on how his hands felt when they touched the railings of the bridge. How his hands felt when they touched the pavement of the sidewalk, as if testing if they’re actually real or not.

Liam sighed, approaching him. There is admittedly a certain amount of tragedy to be found with Airy; a decade of isolation, away from the real world. He knows in all his being that this won’t be an easy ride. Getting someone to integrate back to society while dealing with the impacts of their actions is no simple task.

But, for now, they have a job to do. While it will take a while for Liam to even consider forgiving Airy, he is not gonna leave him all alone in the streets and make him suffer all because of it.

Liam rested a palm on Airy’s hat, getting his attention. “Doesn’t this look beautiful?” he asked, pointing up at the starry sky. 

Airy followed Liam’s hand, his mouth gaping slightly at the sight.

“...Yes.” he finally answered.

Bryce is not pleased.

There’s that entire thing with Airy, but he’s not too worried about that right now. Rather, those 5 months of being missing have thrown him back at square one. Except it’s like as soon he was thrown back at square one, he’s been pushed down several flights of stairs and landed on a mud puddle.

He doesn’t have a job and a roof, not even a wallet or money. This is not square one, this is square zero.

“Alright, all of us have no money, no job, and no shelter, and you’re telling me we’re gonna have to be ‘buddies’ with this lantern in the process?” ranted Bryce as he turned at the circle, his hand gesturing towards Airy.

After staring at the night sky for a while, the group began to walk down the bridge, mostly trying to figure out what to do from here. Some suggested possibly rebuilding a life here in San Francisco or organizing a crime syndicate, but neither option seemed appealing for Bryce.

“We have no other choice, don’t we?” said Liam. “I think I have an idea on what we could do first, but that will require a bunch of walking.”

Bryce leaned in. “What is it?”

“Do you remember how I found your apartment with these notes, which lead to... well, us helping each other?” Liam showed the note to Bryce again, the one with an address scribbled on it. “Maybe if we meet someone with this, we might get some help.”

Toledo, OH. Bryce focused on those words scribbled on the bottom. It was vaguely familiar; like he read it from somewhere. One thing’s for sure, it made Bryce feel confident that it won’t be a farce.

“Then we’re going there.” The soda bottle nodded. “How far is San Francisco to Ohio?”

Liam took a moment to recall the states from the top of his head before turning back to Bryce. “Ohio’s not too far from Connecticut.”

“...What does that mean.”

“It took me a week to get to your apartment, so if we do the math,” Liam hummed, “It’ll take us, give or take, 5 days.”

“That’s a lot,” Whippy Creamy whined. “Surely we’re not gonna just walk for 5 days straight, right? I don’t think my legs can handle all that!”

“Oh, don’t worry about it. We’re hitchhiking! We’ll be taking free rides from anyone who’s passing by.”

“Sure, Liam, but I don’t think anyone’s gonna let like 9 weirdos into their car.” Half of them are not even from this world, Bryce grunted.

“Right, you have a point.” Liam furrowed his brows in thought. Of course there’s no common car that has more than 9 seats... Because that’s not a car, that’s a van.

Even then, vans are not easy to come by, which leaves one choice:

“We could split up into three groups. Three because I think Tray, Whippy Creamy and Subway could take up a lot of space, ” Liam’s voice quieted, not wanting to offend either of them. “Besides, I think people will pick us up easier if we’re in three groups of 3—”

“I know I’m staying with my boy, Subway!” Whippy Creamy excitedly leaned towards Subway, wrapping their arms around each other. “And Atom too,” he added, raising the grass blade up on his palm.

“Eh, that idea doesn’t sound too bad. Staying with Liam.” Bryce chimed in. “Amelia, you want in?”

Amelia stared at Bryce and Liam for a moment.

“Sure.” she hesitantly stepped towards the duo, relaxing slightly when Bryce patted her shoulder.

That leaves... Charlotte scrunched her face when she glanced at Airy. She turned at Liam’s group. “Surely, you don’t have room for a fourth, right?”

“It’ll be more likely for these riders to pick us up if we’re going in threes.” Liam explained, earning a deep sigh from Charlotte.

“Great.” Charlotte facepalmed. Not like she’s complaining; has she even made a friend that hasn’t been eliminated in the Plane?

So, she pulled Tray and Airy close. “We’re in a group now. So don’t do anything stupid, alright?” she ordered.

Tray nervously nodded while Airy only blinked twice.

Due to how big the United States can be, they all decided that they will split up and then meet up in any Epic Burger joints if possible. 

But otherwise, the instructions Liam gave Whippy Creamy and Charlotte is this: they will go to Toledo, Ohio, and if they are feeling unwell during the trip, they should find a homeless shelter to get themselves regenerated for the next day. 

( “Also remember to eat, Charlotte. Maybe get Airy fed too.” Liam said, only getting a thumbs up from Charlotte and a “Road trip!” from Whippy Creamy as he throws Subway in the trunk of the car.)

It wasn’t difficult. Sure, they forgot to nourish a few times, that’s something to adjust to. But keeping track of everyone and making sure that none of them got lost wasn’t easy. He’s not sure how the journey is going for everyone, but from the anecdotes Liam heard the few times they met up, it was...

( “I had to stop Moldy from opening the car door and throwing Airy out of it a few times.” Tray shuddered.)

(“Me, Atom, and Subway got bored, so we tried to get some sunglasses in this store, but we got thrown out because we couldn’t ‘provide our personal identification’ and ‘social security’ number’.” Whippy Creamy leaned into his seat. “I think they said something about ‘calling the police’ or something.”)

...well, none of them got lost as far as he knows, so it’s all fine.

This entire thing would be less convenient if we all had a phone... Liam thought to himself as he caressed little Stone on his hand, with Amelia watching curiously and Bryce leaning towards the car window, his eyes closed.

Was it mildly disturbing that they’re using Stone’s inanimate form as a designated pet rock? Probably. But also, Liam thought that an eternity in the waiting room sounds worse than drowning in pea gravel every couple of hours.

Yes, whenever they had a stop, he had to take a moment to find pea gravel just to ‘feed’ Stone. Even cleaned him whenever there’s a river nearby. Everytime he does so, though, he is often met with confused glances from Bryce. Probably thought the backpack had lost his mind or something.

He couldn’t blame him; he probably looks insane finding rivers to clean a rock, ignoring how it was a living, breathing object days prior. But there was a soothing effect to holding the rock in his palms, feeling every bump and dip with his thumbs and admiring every detail. Besides, he doesn’t want Stone to return—if ever—looking like they were living in a dumpster.

“Can I hold him?” Amelia was initially weirded out, but when she joined Liam in cleaning Stone during one of their stops, she hasn’t come back since.

With a small chuckle, “Sure,” he dropped the stone on Amelia’s spread palms. A smile formed on her face as she began stroking it. It was the calmest he had ever seen her in a while, Liam thought. “You’re really liking him, huh?”

“I suppose so,” her thumb brushed against the bumps of the stone. “It reminds me to stay in the moment, to live in the present.”

“So you’re getting free therapy from a rock.” Liam joked, earning a small laugh from Amelia. “Jokes aside, that’s what I was feeling. I don’t know why I feel soothed by a rock.”

Amelia narrowed her eyes as if she’s trying to remember something, her thumb slowing until it stopped entirely. “I believe it is a form of mindfulness in a way. You’re focusing on something else instead of your worries; which helps deepen your concentration and lessen your stress.” she explained, her words unnaturally slow.

Liam understood what she said nonetheless. “Wow,” he whispered in awe. “I mean, you do yoga, of course you know a thing or two about mindfulness.”

“Well, yes. I did yoga, I...” Amelia trailed off, her smile deflating to a frown. “I really need to pick it up again sometime, I don’t think I have done it in a while.” She blinked unevenly before giving the stone back to Liam without a word.

Liam only held the rock, staring at Amelia with concern. “Are you okay? No need to answer if you don’t feel like it.”

“I’m not sure,” Amelia folded her arms. “I’ve been in that place for so long that I... I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s alright, Amelia,” Liam wrapped an arm around her. “We’ll get back on our feet eventually—”

The car abruptly stopped, causing the duo to lurch forward, held back by their seatbelts. “Y’all can get off now,” the driver gruffed as the backpack mumbled out a ‘thank you’.

Leaning towards the car window, Liam spotted the all-blue sign above them.

‘this is ohio. this is the state you’re entering.’

They’re here.

“We’re really gonna ask for help on a stranger’s doorstep, huh?”

Charlotte’s voice echoed in the small hallway as the group followed Liam, grumbling under her throat when she accidentally bumped onto a plant for what felt like an umpteenth time. There isn’t any dirt as far as she can see, but there were some cobwebs and dust on the ceiling.

“I met Bryce with the notes before,” Liam tucked the paper in his pocket. “I think this person could be someone we know in the competition, so maybe not exactly a stranger.”

“Who do you think it might be?” Amelia asked.

“Don’t know yet. We’ll figure it out together.”

They stopped as soon they reached the door, the number ‘12’ written in bold letters beside it.

The sight took Liam back to when he met Bryce again, which left him to think. There’s so many possibilities on how this will go—either the person will help them, leave them to wait for the rest of the night, or slam the door shut on their faces and they’ll be back in square one. Either way, the journey ahead looked so uncertain.

Composing himself for a moment, Liam knocked on the door and took a step back.

The door opened slowly, punctuated by the hinges creaking. “Please don’t be the landlord, please don’t be the landlord...” a voice whispered from behind the door.

They were met by a red rolled-up magazine, their eyes widening in fear upon seeing the amount of people on her doorstep. “W-who...”

There was a look of recognition when they looked down and saw the small blue candle.

“Scenty?” 

Taylor muttered out.

When Amelia nodded, she felt Taylor’s arms wrap around her.

Chapter Text

“Hey,” 

Taylor snapped back to reality at the sound of Scenty’s voice. 

“Are you alright?”

“I don’t wanna be here anymore.”

Taylor’s answer was slow and vulnerable. Even when she’s turned away from Scenty, she could hear the concern in her voice when she asked another question.

“Just a few hours ago, you were super into the competition. Why’d you change your mind?”

Taylor relaxed due to the lack of judgment in her tone. “I guess at first I didn’t really think about anything that was going on, but at this point, this place is starting to freak me out.” Taylor replied. “I don’t know what the heck is going on!”

“Yeah, I wish I understood, too.” Scenty said before giving Taylor a small, but comforting smile. Oh, how she wishes she could see that same amount of care more often. “I’m sure you’ll be home soon, though.”

“I don’t- I don’t know.” Taylor stumbled on her words at Scenty’s sentence, reluctance making its way to her tone. “At least here, stuff happens. Back home, it’s just more of the same,” 

She listed her monotonous routine: Wake up. Go to school. Go to work. Go home, then sleep. 

Sure, sometimes there’s something interesting at school or work, and she tries to spice up her routine by shopping with Charise whenever they have the time and money, but most of the time, life feels like a long trip to the grocery store. 

She’s just staying on the sidewalk that is her routine, and God knows what even is the ‘grocery store’ in this situation. A college degree? A vacation?...

...No, neither sounds right.

“I just...” Her emotions surfaced in the form of tears in the corner of her eyes. Surely, there has to be some kind of purpose for why she has to keep living like this, right? “I-I just wish I—

“—could be something more!” Taylor exclaimed, looking up to expect Scenty’s reaction or another word of understanding. However, she was met with the sight of her peeled wallpapers.

She quickly wiped away the tears that trailed down her cover, “Not now,” she mumbled to herself.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust from the sudden change from bright to darkness, to process that she’s back in her room without warning. As Taylor looked around her dim room, she spotted her phone, which sat on her bedside countertop.

When she picked it up, she noticed that there was a crack on the top corner of the screen, likely impacted by the fall when she was teleported to that place. While it still worked with no trouble, Taylor still frowned and swiped her thumb over the crack as if it could be wiped away.

It was expensive. It took weeks of saving. Sure, it’s not the newest model, and it could snugly fit on her palm in contrast to the bigger phones that makes her extend her fingers, but it is her precious.

When she swiped down to look at her notifications, she froze at the amount of worried texts from her friends, and the ‘February 12th, 12:32 AM’ that were inscribed on the top in bold letters.

She’s been gone for two days! Fortunately, not long enough to miss her exams, but there’s the amount of schoolwork she might’ve missed and... “What do I even say to everyone?!” Taylor thought out loud. “Yeah, I got abducted by some omnipotent talking air along with other people where we play in a game show against our will, totally not making this up, haha!—”

“Taylor?”

Taylor paused, hearing a voice outside of her room. With a small knock for permission, and a ‘come in’ from Taylor, the door slowly opened to reveal Mr. Nolan. (Or ‘dad’ in better days.)

A crumpled Yellow Pages book, Mr. Nolan was barely taller than Taylor by only an inch as he pulled her close.

“Oh honey,” he said, hugging her tighter. “Please don’t leave me like that again.”

Even if she’s overwhelmed right now, heightened by the smell of alcohol that enveloped her, Taylor still made the effort to hug back, burying her face on her dad’s frame. “I won’t.” she forced herself to say.

Still, the warmth of the hug was not enough to warm the sudden coldness in her being.

Emptiness is a feeling that Taylor is no stranger to. As much as it’s elevated by her friends (especially Charise), there’s this constant weight on her chest that will never leave her.

Whether it’s witnessing the tail-end of her parents' divorce, or stressing over the bills for the month, there are times where all she wants to do is lay on her bed all day.

Being out of the Plane was one of those times.

Yes, she was relieved that she’s out of the place that creeped her out, but it did leave her with this unbearing emptiness soon after. Time now felt like it’s going sluggishly, and all of her responsibilities seemed to pile up more.

But there is one question in her mind that stuck to her hours after the experience: “What was that ?”

The question followed her around even during lunchtime. Even when she’s mopping the floors of the store she works in. Even when she’s sitting on her bed, her eyes strained from the bright screen of her phone that lit the darkness of her room.

2:34 AM. It wasn’t wise to do this on a school night, but she has to do something, right?

Opening a web browser, Taylor started investigating. Searched up anything that comes to mind, and even used the last page of the search results...

Only to come up with nothing.

What is she, stupid? Of course searching up ‘Plain from another universe’ or ‘Airy’ on the internet without any prior context didn’t generate her any useful results. Even if she tried to be more specific, she just got lists of completely unrelated hosts, or pictures of airplanes.

She doesn’t even know everyone’s names, for crying out loud.

Taylor dropped the phone to the side and groaned as she buried her face on the pillow. What chance does a teenager even have against a god? She’s not some cool novel protagonist or someone in a movie, she is just a normal teenage girl with too many responsibilities to count.

All she wants is just a story of her own. To be part of something bigger. To get out of the monotony that is her life.

As much as she relished the thought of saving these ‘contestants’ from their dimensional prison and becoming the savior of the story, she can’t. The information she has about the place was little to none, and she’s sure that if she told anyone about her situation, she’ll be booked a psychiatric visit.

It was a pipe dream, a castle in the air. A fantasy.

Taylor Nolan, an average 16-year old about to turn 17, laid down on her cruddy bed after coming back from another afternoon shift, noting how the wallpaper on the walls have been peeling more recently. Maybe she could use this month’s savings to replace it. 

If she even makes the price, that is.

Ignoring the onslaught of notifications from her phone, Taylor drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

Bryce lifted the cup to his lip, the vegetal taste of green tea filling his mouth.

It was a serving from Taylor, which made Bryce think on how absurd this entire situation is; a group of adults and objects from another universe have gone to a random building instructed by a living rock to seek temporary shelter from a teenager.

Who’s still in school.

Sounds like a set up for a joke.

The others like Tray, Whippy Creamy and Subway, those said objects from another universe, have just taken to going outside and exploring ‘Earth’ in their own words, so it’s just only these adults for now. They were all situated on a couch, given cups of tea and talking to Taylor.

When he looked up from the cup, he noted how much Taylor was pacing around, a look of bewilderment plastered on her expression. While she was eager to let the former contestants (and Airy ) in and listen to their story, Bryce knows the magazine’s overwhelmed by the onslaught of information.

“So, wait, let me get this straight,” Taylor rubbed her eyes, “You found my apartment because an omniscient rock told you all to do so?” she said in disbelief.

“Yes.” Liam nodded, showing Stone’s inanimate form to Taylor. “He had limbs and everything. I think he only gets sentience in the Plane.”

“That’s what it’s called?” said Taylor. Liam nodded in response. “I mean, it’s a better name than 'That Place.’ So you found Airy and everything?” She looked at Airy, who was near a plant pot, playing with its leaves. “...he’s a lot shorter than I thought.”

Bryce kept quiet the entire time, listening to the conversation and nodding along. All he got so far is that Taylor had a raise in her job so she’s been able to get by, she lives with a single dad...

“Goodness! You’re always left to fend for yourself? At your age?” Amelia gaped.

“Well, yes. I barely saw dad, even on the weekends.” Taylor shrugged. “Gotta cook and clean by myself. Not like it’s a problem, I’ve grown used to it.”

“That’s already a lot of responsibility to pile on a teenager, and that’s not even including school,” Amelia huffed, standing up from the couch and walking away. “Here, I’ll lend you a hand. Where’s the cleaning closet?”

“Oh god, Scenty, it’s okay—”

“Don’t worry, she’s like that to everyone.” Charlotte rested a hand on Taylor’s shoulder.

...and might get a new parent.

As much as Taylor is willing to provide a temporary shelter, it sets in that they couldn’t stay for too long, with Taylor living with her dad and everything. They all don’t have the energy to explain everything to her father.

It made Bryce think on what’s the point of going to her condo. The possibility of getting shelter had already evaporated when Bryce stepped foot into the condo; too cramped, too small, it won’t fit 9 objects. And the owner couldn’t provide it for a long period of time. 

So, they gained nothing from this nearly one-week trip.

Thank you, Stone.

As they started discussing what to do next, Bryce stood up from the couch and excused himself, walking out of the room. “Just need to get fresh air,” he said.

The night breeze blew through Bryce as he stepped out of the building, letting his shoulders relax. He hasn’t felt the wind in a long time—the Plane really worked weirdly in terms of physics.

The soda bottle walked down the sidewalk, the warm glow of the streetlamps illuminating his path along with the bright lights of 24/7 convenience stores. He took a deep breath in, then a deep breath out.

5 months earlier, he would think about what he would do at work or what meal he would have that isn’t bland cereal. Now, all he could think about was how both of those things are now off his hands.

All because of a certain someone.

He clenched his fists. 

Just as soon as he’s starting to turn his life around for the better and work on his bad habits, Airy pulls him back on the Plane. All of his progress; gone, null, zilch. It led Bryce to a variety of feelings; the feeling of bitterness, anger...

The feeling of losing something you care about.

Stella.

Bryce stopped in his tracks. With a stagger, he leaned heavily into a wall. It really does feel like he’s back at square one, wasn’t it? Back to being the miserable, depressed soda bottle that drinks his life away. Bryce’s breaths came out harsh as he rested his face on his hands, trying to will away the stinging in his eyes, trying to will away the sobs rising up in his throat—

“Hey.”

Airy’s voice pierced through Bryce like an arrow, halting the stream of tears. Quickly wiping them away, he turned around to see Airy behind him, the wideness of his dome-shaped lid enough to cast a shadow over his eyes.

Bryce expected a question, maybe a ‘are you okay’ or ‘what are you doing here’, but all he got was a moment of silence, with him staring at Airy as they both blinked at each other. The only notable thing is how Airy is scratching his palms like he wants to hold something.

With a grunt, Bryce asked. “What do you want?”

Another moment passed. 

“Nothing.”

God, the sound of his monotone voice makes Bryce want to smash that glass face in, it’s like he doesn’t care, or is in too in his world. Forcing his arms to stay at his side, “Did you just follow me for no reason at all?” Bryce said.

“No.” Another blink. “I just want to check out this place.” Airy tilted his head. “Why are you outside?”

“I... also want to check out this place.” Not entirely a lie; Bryce does want to wander around Ohio. But that’s mostly because they’ll be staying here for weeks, maybe months at most, might as well know the landmarks. Satisfied with the answer, Airy looked away from Bryce.

The soda bottle crossed his arms, thinking back to Stone’s instructions. ‘Get Airy along and bond with him’. Of course he’s not heartless enough to just abandon Airy in the chaotic world that is the USA, but it’s not like he’s planning to have a cemented bond with him. All Airy’s actions aside, the lantern is so much of an enigma that Bryce finds himself asking more questions than not.

So, he needs to keep a watch on him. Who knows if he somehow finds a way to continue the competition? When Bryce looked up, he saw Airy walk off to a distance.

He immediately chased after him. “Hey, what are you doing? You’re getting too far away!” he said, gesturing at the condominium.

“Trying to find something.” Airy answered simply without sparing Bryce a glance, stopping near a tech retail shop. Noticing the ‘CLOSED’ sign on the door, the lantern decided to lean towards the window of the shop, looking through the displayed devices.

“What are you trying to find?”

“A cassette player.”

Bryce rolled his eyes. “You’ll be hard-pressed to find a cassette player in this day and age.”

Airy glanced at Bryce, his eyes subtly widened. “Why?”

“It’s not the 1990s anymore. Or the 2000s, or... whenever you died,” Bryce shook his hand. “You’ll have a better time finding it online. I believe people sell cassette players there.”

“...Online?”

Bryce paused. Right, he’s been dead for possibly years, of course he doesn’t know about the internet. Or maybe he forgot. Airy can be hard to predict sometimes.

Shaking away his thoughts, Bryce explained. “Basically it’s this box, you write questions into it and it gives you answers. Not always reliable, but it has information on every topic.”

“...So an encyclopedia in a box?”

“Sort of, yes.”

“How can I get into this... ‘online’ thing?” Despite keeping the same tone of voice, Airy’s body leaned towards Bryce, eager to hear the answer.

Bryce is just eager to make him go away. “You could go back and ask Taylor.” Bryce pointed at the condominium, his frown deepening when Airy cocked his head to the side. “...Magazine, if you can’t recall,” he added. “She has a phone, if I remember correctly. She can lead you from there.”

Sure, he might be using Taylor as a meatshield for the bullet that is Airy, but it’s not like he has a phone.

Or anything at all.

As Airy walked back, Bryce turned away from his direction, not bothering to look back.

Oh, how tempting it is to numb everything out, to flush away all of the pain with just enough alcohol. When he spotted a bar in the distance, he didn’t hesitate to approach it.

Bryce’s hand rested on the knob...

“What are you doing?”

Bryce flinched at the voice. This is the second time, Bryce thought to himself as he turned at the source, seeing a concerned Liam.

“What else does it look like? Checking out the door?” Bryce replied, his tone sounding more harsh than intended.

Liam narrowed his eyes. “Are you seriously trying to get drunk?”

“Well, I’m dealing with a certain someone for the next week or two depending on if we land him a job fast enough. Might as well lessen the pain while we’re at it.”

“Look, Bryce. You being drunk won’t help one bit, okay?—”

Bryce turned towards Liam, his fists clenched by his sides. “He ruined all of us, and now we have to deal with him even more because of that stupid rock, ” he growled. “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just moved on and went back to our lives? I’m sure you don’t mind having Airy with you,”

“I would mind. But you know what Stone wrote you, Bryce! If he dies again, what’s stopping him from—”

“I know!” Bryce yelled. After seeing Liam’s shocked expression, his voice softened. “I... I know, I know what they said. I know.”

He clenched his eyes closed, rubbing away the tears that were about to form. Not now, not in front of him. “It hurts , Liam.” he choked out.

When he opened his eyes slightly, he saw Liam’s hand hovering over his shoulder, as if asking for permission. When Bryce nodded, Liam wrapped his arm around him and pulled Bryce close.

He decided to not comment on how much Bryce is trembling against him. “It’s okay, Bryce. It’s okay.”

“It doesn’t feel like it right now.” Bryce muttered. “How am I supposed to move on from this? What do I do from here?”

“I... can’t answer that, Bryce.” Liam frowned. “All I know is that... we’re in this together. You’re not the only one who’s hurting.”

As Liam raised his hand, Bryce felt his thumb wipe the corner of his eye, causing Bryce to look down and realize he’s tearing up. Blinking them away, he mumbled, “I guess.” he slowly pulled away from the backpack. “Our lives are ruined because of Airy, guess it’s time to pick up the pieces.”

Liam chuckled, “That’s a good way to put it.” he stepped away from Bryce. “Are you alright?”

“No....” Bryce paused. “But I will be.

“Alright, I’m not gonna do anything stupid, but that’s because it’s not like I have something to go back to,” he said before leaning towards Liam. “But don’t expect me to even be around him, even with a ten foot pole. I’m only checking on Charlotte and Amelia,” and maybe you too, Liam. Bryce didn’t add.

They both turned around to walk away from the bar. “Have you and Amelia come up with a plan on what to do next?” Bryce asked.

“We need to get money, for one.” Liam shrugged. “We just need to... you know, not be dead. Get our IDs back and everything.”

Bryce nodded. “Police station?”

“Police station.”

Apparently, proving that you’re not dead despite the fact that they could see that you’re not dead was much more of a hassle than expected. There’s those threats of being arrested for identity theft, and suspicions of financial fraud. The only excuse Bryce and Liam could come up with is that they’ve been abducted and just recently escaped, which wasn’t entirely a lie.

They got suspicious when they found out that Bryce and Liam died months prior on top of a lighthouse, but excused it with incorrect fingerprint identification. While Bryce has not gone missing enough to be presumed dead, the incident considered him dead. 

Feels like the universe hates them right now.

They still don’t have their IDs back and everything, but they did provide their personal identification for checking...

...Well, most of them. While Bryce, Liam and Charlotte provided their full names without a problem, Amelia couldn’t provide an answer when she was asked for her last name and middle name. 

Even when she was asked for her hometown.

Suspecting she might be an amnesiac, they told her that they’ll find her identity by looking through the missing person cases. Maybe get a fingerprint or two.

Otherwise, they all won’t be employed in a while. Great. Another problem piled up in the long list of problems that is their current life. A migraine to be had in the upcoming weeks. All Bryce could think of was how absurd it is to watch Charlotte and Liam convince the posse that they’re not dead.

“It is what it is.” Bryce sighed, unfolding cardboard and spreading it on the ground. Of course, they don’t have a place to stay either, so they’re going to sleep in the streets. It felt pathetic, but it’s the reality of their situation, might as well get used to it.

As Bryce, Liam and Amelia started forming their... makeshift cardboard ‘mattress’, he heard footsteps approaching the alleyway they’re sleeping in.

“Hello!”

It’s the third time. This time, Bryce knew who it was; Taylor’s immature voice is hard to miss. When Bryce turned towards the magazine, he noticed that she was holding a pile of blankets. “Is that for us?”

“Of course,” she puts them down on the cardboard ‘mattress’, not wanting to get them dirty. “It gets very cold in February. Don’t want you all to freeze out there.”

“Well, I thank you for your kindness, Taylor!” Amelia smiled. “Though, you don’t have to do this.”

“It’s alright. These are just extra blankets for when... mom used to live here,” Taylor trailed off, her smile faltering. “But that’s okay, these blankets have been laying around for a while!” she looked around before leaning in towards the group. “Oh, also, take this...”

And pulled out a 5 dollar bill. “Consider this as an allowance.” she said, slipping it towards the group.

Liam chuckled, “Seriously, Taylor, you don’t have to do this.”

“Really, I can handle it. There’s more where that came from.” she shook both of her hands. “You all look like you need some help right now, so I’ll help.”

“Thanks, Taylor.” Amelia thanked, taking the 5 dollar bill. “How can we repay you for this?”

She grinned widely at Amelia, earning a small laugh from the candle. “Okay, fine,” and hugged the magazine. Taylor enthusiastically hugged back before pulling away a moment later.

“Goodnight everyone!” She waved them a goodbye before running back to the condominium, silence falling in the air soon after.

Everyone just took from the pile of blankets and unfolded them quietly, tucking themselves into it. Better than trying to find a blanket in a trash can. As Bryce tucked himself in, he felt two forms lean onto his sides.

“Long night, wasn’t it?” Liam yawned, snuggling himself close to Bryce. Amelia was already sleeping by his side, using folded cardboard over her face to act as a sleep mask.

“Sure was.” Bryce muttered out, saying ‘goodnight’ to Liam as the backpack dozed off to sleep.

For the next couple of minutes—or at least it felt that way—Bryce only stared at the night sky, watching the stars twinkle, his mind wandering off to certain places.

Being at your lowest is nothing new for Bryce; his entire life has been nothing but that. Every time he thinks his life is turning for the better, there’s always something to ruin it.

However, this time, instead of feeling nothing but melancholic acceptance...

Even if they’re all at their lowest points right now, Bryce knows that they’ll all get through this together, as corny as it sounds. There’s no other, better way to say it, other than that he’s not alone.

His eyes drifted down at the duo, sleeping soundly by his sides.

While he can’t find himself saying he cares about them out loud, he pulled Liam and Amelia closer, hope they feel warmed by his presence,

And drifted off to a well-rested sleep.