it's always bears [03]

[intothering]

As the group moves down the hallway, the lights blink and go out behind them. Alan thinks about what he said just a few minutes before - can't go back - and worries slightly about how accurate that seems now

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[1in_perfection]

"We got out of there." Mary replies, letting herself only feel relief, at first. Confusion wants to burrow into her head as well, along with some panic, and maybe even a touch of fear that either the drugs, or the lack of them, are finally starting to fry her brain.

She doesn't let any of those in, just yet.

"One thing at a time."

She looks around, seeing if it's possible to get an idea of where they are, and...Yes, there it is; that's the cake shop she used to stop by on her way home, before she lost her taste (and spare money) for sweets. But that location should mean...

"My apartment should be close by. Why don't we gather our wits there?" And she can finally get her fix, and maybe see if that cake she pinched is still any good.

[intothering]

"Sounds like as good a plan as any," Alan shrugs. Now that they're out of danger, he could go off on his own. He doesn't consider it for long, though. He likes being around people, and even with the all the weird stuff that's been happening, he's pretty sure he likes these two. There's something very familiar about hanging around them.

There's a gap in the line of pedestrians, and Alan spots a payphone a few feet away. "Here, do you mind taking this back?" he asks Mary, offering her the bookbag back. "I want to make a phone call first." Even out of the oppressive atmosphere of the hospital, he can't shake the feeling that something is wrong.

[1in_perfection]

"Ah-Alright." After all the hell she went through to get the bag and the pills back, Mary is surprised that Alan hands them over so easily; maybe he wasn't in on...Whatever it was her cousin thought was for the best.

Said cousin also seems to still be a bit dazed, which leaves Mary to point her to the phone booth, and then leave her with whatever it is that's bothering her. Mary herself is still working on keeping all those feelings of what just happened to them at bay. With that done, she leads the way after Alan, still wondering over why this all seems so familiar.

[intothering]

Once the bookbag is out of his hands (maybe prematurely, but Mary was acting fine and he had other things on his mind) Alan heads for the payphone. He has to stretch upwards to slide the coins into the slot, but soon he's got the phone pressed to his ear and the familiar number dialed in.

He can hear the phone ring. Shouldn't be too long. Laura's dorm shares one phone, so someone's always around to pick up. He remembers once when one of the other girls had answered. "Oh, it's you again, Alan? Man, I wish my boyfriend called as often as you did," she had said before Laura took the phone from her.

The phone continues to ring. "C'mon," Alan says, not realizing he's speaking out loud. "Pick up. Pick up. Pick up." It keeps ringing.