Until Dawn in an alternate universe, no Wendigos, and Josh is not a psycho.
Jessica loved her best friend, Emily.
So, why did she steal her boyfriend?
And why is she fighting her now?
Will the sworn enemies rekindle their bond?
An endearing friend...
She was running into the cold night. Jessica could feel her hair stiffen up. There was no way of hiding it. She was in love with Emily. She had been for years now- her ex-best friend, whom she missed so dearly. They had just had the fight of their life with each other. Emily was mad at Jessica for stealing Mike. Jessica would have wanted to tell her, "Take him back! I don't care!". But she didn't want that either, she wanted Emily to be hers, just hers.
So, she had rushed outside in the storm, ignoring Joshuas' proposition of going to the guest cabin with Mike or Mike's imploration of not going into the blizzard.
She needed to clear her head and be as far away as possible from her boyfriend. So stupid! How did she even end up with him? Of course, she knew exactly how. Almost half a year ago Mike and Emily were on fighting terms when he had started flirting with her. They were at a birthday party and Emily was sick with the flu. Out of pure jealousy and wanting Emily to break up with Mike, she reciprocated. She didn't know why, maybe it was that she was drunk, or maybe it was that old saying: "If I can't have you no one should". So, she leaned in and kissed him, kissing turned into a sloppy make-out and then even sloppier sex.
Emily had found out, God knows how, and stopped talking to the both of them. Jessica didn't think Mike planned to actually date her. The whole thing had been done to make Emily jealous so she would make up with him. He didn't see it coming, her breaking up with him over it. He had always fucked some girl, and Emily had always gotten jealous and taken him back after an initial mad phase. But this mad phase had lasted for too long and Mike had eventually understood that Emily was not going to take him back. Jessica had no Emily left after the incident, which she knew would happen. Part of her wanted that because she couldn't bear being that close to Emily anymore. So, all alone, she accepted Mike's half-hearted proposal of a relationship.
When she had been invited back to the Blackwood estate her initial instinct was to deny the invitation, but she was feeling too guilty about Hannah and Beth to refuse Josh's invitation. Now, she regretted it more than ever, her fluffy overpriced cyan jacket not keeping her warm enough. She had walked such a long distance in the meantime. As she turned around, she didn't see the lodge anymore. The problem was, she hadn't even followed a path, she had simply started fast-paced walking through the pine forest.
It was pitch black outside and she had no flashlight. A little frightened, Jessica started towards the lodge. The more she walked the more her walk turned into a jog, until it turned to running. Until she came to a halt. She finally admitted it- she was lost. But how? She had just walked in a straight line from the lodge, right? She wasn't sure anymore. She had also remembered the wolf and bears that were said to be up on the mountain and how Hannah and Beth had disappeared precisely a year ago on an occasion very much like this one. She felt the world press down on her, the trees tightened around her, the cold became hot, and she had to fall. Now she was leaning against a tree breathing 1-2-3, 3-2-1, 1-2-3... Until she felt the panic attack subside. Then she noticed how cold the ground was. Her leggings had gotten wet from the snow and were now colder than ever. She checked her phone even though she knew there was no service on the mountain. Of course, no accurate location- Fuck!
She started walking around again, hoping to stumble upon a path. She knew she could try calling her friends. It was worth a shot. But she didn't want to look like a fool, having gotten lost after storming out.
"Jessica...! Jessicaaa!" She heard a voice calling out to her. It was Emily, of course, she could have recognized that pitch anywhere.
"Emily!" She called back running towards the girl.
"Jess" Emily whispered, now in front of her. Jessica wanted to hug the girl and tell her how glad she was to see her. But they had just said "I hate you" and "you bitch" to each other. So, she frowned instead.
"Why are you here?" She demanded as though Emily hadn't just saved her from the blizzard.
"Why am I here? Jessica, you were gonna freeze to death if I hadn't shown up!" She barked back. She was right, of course, but Jessica didn't like that.
"I was literally on my way back..."
"So, you weren't completely lost?"
"Of course not!" Jessica lied. Emily shrugged, her black Canada Goose jacket doing a better job at keeping her warm than Jessica's.
"I don't believe that. But, to answer your question. I'm here because you, storming out like that, reminded me so much of Hanna running away a year ago. And I can't... I couldn't let myself be the reason for someone else's disappearance" She finished coldly.
They had already started walking on what Jessica guessed to be the path leading to the cabin. She felt a pang of gratitude towards Emily.
"Thank you... I was lost," Jess whispered. Emily faintly smiled, but Jessica captured the instant.
"We don't have to talk. Who knows? You're thanking me now, a few moments later you'll be apologizing." Emilly observed snuggled up in her jacket.
"Let's not get our hopes up." Jessica countered.
The lodge's lights were already visible now. Jessica and Emily stepped away from each other as they caught sight of their friends waiting on the patio, smoking cigarettes, and drinking hot chocolate.
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