❝Ante Mortem❞ 【Sally Face】

【xxiv ; secret told】

You laugh as Larry and Sal bickers about who's better at things, running your fingers through Larry's hair. You glance at his hair, seeing it straighten as you brush it. You then turn to Sal, looking as his hair as well. Huh.

"Hey, Mina you got hair ties?" You ask, suddenly getting an idea. Mina turns to you, gradually smiling and getting off the sofa and run up to the second floor. She gets back down with a small case, opening it to reveal that it's filled with hair supplies. You grin at her, turning to Larry, "Yo Johnson, Fisher, mind if we play with your hair?"

"Hell yeah! I've been waiting for you guys to ask!" Larry laughs, pushing Sal aside and sitting on the floor beside him. Mina takes Sal's place, gently taking off the hair ties tying his hair up in pigtails and combing his hair with her fingers. You take a hair brush from the case, taming Larry's wild hair down. You smile as you see the knots and tangles straightening, finally able to see Larry with brushed hair.

"Dude, you need to brush your hair often." You say, taking a hair tie from the case and starting to braid Larry's hair. "You look better with it."

"That's actually a compliment because you're admitting that I'm hot!" Larry laugh, reaching up and poking you on the forehead.

"Nah, I'm just saying you look better without messy hair." You snort, pulling on his hair as to put the strands together.

Soon you all decided to go to bed, as Todd and Selene had a lot of rounds battling each other. You didn't really feel like playing that night, so after braiding Larry's hair you went up and took a shower already.

You put your hair up in a towel turban, wanting it to dry up quickly. You walk out of the bathroom, calling out, "Who's next, I'm done- oOF!"

You slip, although you don't feel the floor below you. You open your eyes, only to see Selene holding her hand out with a horrified look, as does Mina.

"What happened- ow!" You suddenly fall on your bum, with you lying on the floor. You moan in pain, turning on your side and rubbing your bottom. "That hurt!"

"I-I-I'm so so-sorry-!" Selene suddenly bursts into tears, and you quickly stand up to give her a hug. You turn to Mina with wide eyes, who only looks hella confused.

"Selly, Selly look at me-" You gently hold Selene's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Selene, breathe, calm down. Calm down, take deep breaths."

You bring her inside Mina's room, where Ash is just hanging out. She spots the crying Selene, standing up and asking, "What happened?"

"I don't know, trying to found out." You say with a concerned look, crouching in front of Selene as you sit her on the bed, "Are you okay now?"

"P-Please don't hate me." Selene sobs, looking at her hands, "I-I'm just- just a freak-"

"Please don't say that." You frown, taking her hands and rubbing her palms with your thumbs as an act of comfort. You softly speak, trying to calm her down, "You're not a freak, Selly."

"I am, trust me." She replies silently, hiccuping a bit due to ho much she's sobbing. She covers her face once again, wiht you losing your grip on her hands, "I'm sorry f-for ruining the n-night."

"You really didn't, Sel." Ash speaks up, sitting on the bed and giving her a side hug. She leans her head on Selene's shoulder, mumbling in her ear, "Why would you think that?"

".. I can trust you guys, right?" Selene says after a moment of being silent. She suddenly shakes her head, mumbing, "No, no, you'd see me as a freak, I shouldn't be here-"

"Yo guys, we decided on watching a movie but- wait, what happened here?"

You look at the door, seeing the rest of the guys heading into the room. You seriously wonder how you all fit inside a room each, Mina's house is seriously big.

"I've been keeping a secret from you guys." Selene mumbles, wiping her tears with the sleeve of her turtleneck. You all listen closely, seeing how serious she looks. "Mrs. Brean isn't my real grandmother, I don't know who my real parents were, and I came from a research facility."

"Research facility?" Liam asks, frowning a bit. Selene averts her gaze, raising the sleeve of her turtleneck. You frown, seeing scars lining up her skin. She pulls it back down, her shoulders quivering.

"I don't like remembering what they did to me, because I remember what I did to them." She continues, head held low. Her voice turns small, you almost couldn't here her next words, "I'm scared of doing it to you too because I don't know how to use it."

"Selly, what do you mean?" Sal asks, the concern thick in his voice. You didn't mean to, but somehow your heart skipped a beat when you heard him speak with genuine emotion. It's refreshing in the sickest way. "Use what?"

Selene looks up from wiping her tears by the sleeves of her turtleneck, hiccuping a few times. She lifts her hand, and you could all feel the energy emanating from her being. A few items lift from where they once were, and you could feel your hair standing on its end. 

You couldn't believe it- how did experimentation give her superpowers? Those scientists surely did some fucked up experiments on her. You frown, now having more sympathy for the white haired girl.

"This- This is why I look like this-" Selene's shoulders shake, as if she's ready to cry all over again. She breathes heavily, trying to steady herself, "I don't remember what I look like originally."

".. Selene, believe me, I think that's hella cool." Larry speaks, smiling a bit as he tries to comfort her. The cheery tone in his voice seems to lift everyone's spirits. "It'll help that we're going to shut up about you having magical powers."

You could nearly facepalm, way to use your words, Larry.

"Larry, not helping." Mina scolds, and you could hear a light slap.

".. Thank you, guys." Selene smiles at you guys, but ends up bawling her eyes out as Ash hugs her, assuring her that you don't see her any different. You chuckle, turning to the guys.

"To lighten up the mood, what were you guys suggesting earlier?" You ask, wanting to clear up the negative atmosphere. You want to have the fun times again!

"We decided on watching a movie! Turns out Liam brought movies in a flashdrive he has." Gab exclaims, waving. "But of course, I can't watch a movie, so I'll just go to sleep or listen to whatever the fuck is happening."

"Sorry Gab." Liam chuckles, him ruffling his hair. You smile at Gab, who only leans into Liam's hand.

You all head down to the living room, seeing the couches have been moved for two mattresses to be on the floor. You jump down on one of the mattresses, Sal sitting beside you as Liam starts up the movie. You take one of the pillow provided, lying down on Sal's lap since he was the one beside you.

As you watch the movie, you start to feel a bit drowsy from Sal running his fingers through your hair.

"Is anyone awake?" You sleepily ask as you lie on your back. He shrugs, looking around to see that everyone else had fallen asleep. He chuckles, gently taking you off his lap to turn off the TV. He gets up, leaving to go to the kitchen. He comes back with a plastic cup filled with water, his prosthetic eye inside.

You're too sleepy to think properly, as you wait for him to put the cup in a stable position. He sits down, and you pull him down to lie down with you.

"Good night." You say, letting out a yawn as you close your eyes, pulling him close to you.

Luckily it was dark, so you wouldn't see the Sal's blushing face.