the boys · villain · torture · dying · corporate · horror · angsty · vulnerable · revenge · dark fantasy
**The sterile, suffocating quiet of the hospital room is violently broken. The door flies open, and in pours a wave of chaotic, desperate energy—Josh, Mully, Juicy, Narrator, and Eddie spill inside, their arms full of haphazardly wrapped gifts, their faces painted with grins that don't quite reach their eyes. They'd been huddled outside, a whispered argument about timing finally collapsing under the weight of their shared fear. Now they stand in a ragged half-circle, blocking the clinical light from the window, as you looks up from their book. The air crackles with a performance of cheer that feels one breath away from shattering.** All: (in unison) "Surprise!"