Layla

It all came rushing back in a flood. She thought if she just ignored it, the memories would go away on their own. But, evidently not. "I'll ask Oliver in a second, I won't be going though. Just want to get some fresh air while walking there." She hoped her text would be good enough for Alyra to not be too worried about her. I don't want to get in another Uber after yesterday. And definitely not with the high chance that it'd be the same wendigo.

Oliver

He arrives at Alyra's door and is about to knock on it when Layla texts him. Hm, I suppose since I'm here, I'll just tell Alyra in person. He knocks on the door. "Hey, Alyra. I'll be happy to take the Uber with you." He fiddled with the straps holding the wings on his back, since they were digging into his shoulders. I should find a way to adjust those later.

Alyra opens the door after making sure that it's not Jameson again, "Ok, we should probably head down right now because it'll take a while to walk down all of the stairs," She says, and links her arm in his. "I like your costume, it's cool," She tells him, "And those wings look really heavy," She observes, noticing how much bigger they are than her wings and wondering if she'd even be able to move if she had dragon wings. "Hopefully the driver doesn't kill anyone like last time," She laughs uncomfortably, remembering what happened and feeling a tear build in her eyes, but she tries to think about happy things, like boxes of puppies and kittens, jelly donuts, the first snow, but it's difficult with how terribly the day has gone so far.

(I cant tell if Alyra has a) a mini crush on Oliver, b) linked her arm in his because friendship or c) shes trying to, unconsciously or not, make Jameson jealous and honestly I'm here for all three.)

Layla

The memories were painful. She adjusted her dress. If I head out now, and use my super speed, I shouldn't run into the wendigo from yesterday. And I'll arrive early to the party, which is good, because I'd hate to be late to go anywhere. She sighed, and opened her dorm door, running quickly down the hallway and stairs. Using her best navigational skills to get to Roxanne's house.

Oliver

"Thank you. Though these wings are torturous. Much heavier than I expected, I'll admit. Good thing I have super strength or I would likely not be able to move for long in these." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Obviously, Layla was thinking the same thing. It must be why she so vehemently denied Alyra's offer. "I'm. . . sorry we made you late to gym earlier. We especially didn't mean for us all to have water dumped on our heads."

(Maybe it is all three? )
(#girlpower, Layla is doing the impossible and running in a floor-length dress, I would fall flat on my face after the first step lmao)

"Oh, it wasn't your guys's fault, i'm the one who invited you two over in the first place. And honestly it wasn't that big of a deal, i'm just... dramatic I guess." She brushes off the subject because it's an uncomfortable topic and hopes that he hadn't seen her face without makeup. "I sure hope they have snacks at the party, I didn't eat dinner yet," Alyra tries to change the subject, but then realizes that food won't last long to talk about and tries to come up with another thing, completely blanking in her panic.

roxanne dances around her house shouting at maids to make sure that everything is perfect for her party. she had even picked matching costumes for her and jameson to make sure that everything is perfect, and she claps when he walks into the foyer from the bathroom that he was changing in, and jumps into his arms, kissing him on the lips. "perfect," she smiles, and shows off her own costume. "i am totally going to humiliate that half breed girl, i know she has to have a crush on you, so i need you to break her for me. its going to be perfect."

in case it wasnt obvious, they are pirates

(Same you have to pick up the dress in that princess style way or youll fall and drop everything in your hands and the dogs will run away from you because they got scared and your hot tea will spill on the floor and youll hit your knee shooting pain up your leg. . . Not speaking from experience tho ofc. But Roxanne better be careful or Layla might break her. . . nose, her nose. I dont think she could break anything else tbh)

Layla

She finally made it to Roxanne's house, with seemingly nothing wrong. The edges of her dress had gotten dirty from dragging on the dirt. It. . . kind of adds character. I look like a true ghost. But I still want to present my best. So, she quickly cleaned the edge of her dress the best she could. It is amazing how I managed to get here without tripping or anything. Once she made sure she looked as best as she could, she knocked on Roxanne's door.

Oliver

"You had a perfectly sane reaction to suddenly having water dumped on you, as well as having the humiliation of being late to a class. If anything, my sister is the one who's abnormal." He shrugged, "Plus, what party wouldn't have snacks. A really lame one? So, what's your plan if you run into Roxanne?" He smiled, trying to rack his brain for a different topic, but coming up short.

(lmao so real tho)

A maid answers the door to Layla with a frightened look on her face and Roxanne screaming at another maid in the background. "I'd run while you still can. If Ms. Roxanne finds out you're early she'll have a fit..." The maid tells Layla, before closing the door carefully to not alert Roxanne that it had ever been opened in the first place.

"Well, thank you." Alyra smiles at Oliver, and then waves down the uber. "Over here!" She tells the driver, and to her relief it turns out to be a kind-looking old lady. Alyra can't tell what kind of being she is, so she assumes she's probably a half-breed like her, and is settled by the smell of freshly-baked cookies and pumpkin spice in the vehicle.

(Dang Layla really freaked out over nothing huh)

Layla

"Alright, then, I guess I'll just wait out here." She leaned onto a wall near a window, looking at the time on her phone tick down. Not much else to do except play games, I guess. Roxanne was really going in on that poor maid though. Definitely wouldn't want to be in that situation. Pulling up a simple puzzle game to do until the party started. She had a cute pirate costume on, though. She peeked through the window to try and get a sneak peak at what to expect.

Oliver

The smell was comforting, reminding him of a long-forgotten time, a time when his parents didn't actively drive a wedge between Layla and him. He quickly stepped into the car. "Thank you, ma'am." Strangely enough, Oliver wasn't sure what the old lady's species was, but he didn't think she was malevolent. I guess Layla didn't have to be so wary after all.

(Nah bro ptsd is terrible honestly Layla is the only sane one in the friend trio)

During the ride, the driver played some old-timey country music, which Alyra sang along to and elbowed Oliver playfully to do so as well. The old lady was a very slow driver though, and it seemed that they would end up a few minutes late to the party. The music took Alyra back to when she and her family used to visit her grandparents and they all played card games around a table, chatting and catching up on things that they had done during the time then were apart.

Jameson tries to ignore how badly Roxanne is treating the maids, but his heart gets in the way when he sees her smack an old woman across the face. "Hey!" He hisses at Roxanne, and then corrects himself before she turns on him next. "Uh.. look at that!" He tells Roxanne, pointing at something nonexistent. When Roxanne gets mad at him, demanding for him to explain why he yelled at her, he simply says "There was a mosquito, we can't have another species of blood-suckers ruining the party." He shrugs, playing dumb while inconspicuously signalling for the maid to escape.

(True though, I would get into another Uber if my life depended on it tbh. Also I thought halfway through Jamesons part he was going to point at Layla looking through the window lol)

Oliver

He smirked, and quietly sang along to the lyrics, mainly letting Alyra take center-stage. He didn't mind how slow they were going, though, as it left him to watch everything outside the window. "It'll be nice to be fashionably late to the party. I mean, we'll probably get there the same time Roxanne will show up." He inhaled the smell of pumpkin spice as he leaned against his seat, filled with nostalgia of when he was younger.

Layla

She retreated from the window as she saw Roxanne hit her maid. She may be powerful, but her personality brings her down a lot. She started a new game of Tetris, quickly losing it, and spelling out in frustration. "Dang it!" Realizing that she had likely alerted the rampaging Nova to her presence, she ducked down to under the window, hoping she wouldn't look down. Why would I choose the game I'm the worst at when I'm trying to be inconspicuous? Have I learned nothing?