Chapter Text
The drive from Lodi to Knockfell wasn't bad. It was mostly highways that were empty and long silences between you and your dad filled only with the loud and raunchy sounds of the punk, metal, and rock mixtape stuck in the cassette player. That cassette had been stuck in there for years now, probably since you were brought home from the hospital as a baby, but it wasn’t like either of you minded the music, hell it's what you grew up on. When the drive got boring on the long and barren stretches of road, your dad turned the volume up all the way with the windows down and you screamed out the lyrics together. It was only a two-night drive to Knockfell but they were definitely the loudest two nights and three days of your life. Once the sign stating what town you were in came up, the music got turned down as you watched the sleepy scenery pass the passenger window of your dad's dust-covered 4runner. The green SUV rumbled along the small-town roads, the headlights illuminating the street in between the yellow lamps lining the road. A low whistle of surprise was heard from your left, your dad’s head turning to look around. “This place looks like it's got some secrets or something.” He chuckled and scratched his scruffy chin. “It looks like the setting of some B-list slasher flick.” You laughed at his statement, looking out the window again as you passed by a church. “A small, kinda creepy town with a new girl moving in late on a summer night? That's totally some horror movie shit.” Your dad shook his head, laughing at the Hollywood cliche you were living right now.
Your dad turned down a street and slowed his speed. He reached his hand into the center console and pulled out a cigarette and stuck it between his lips. "Where the hell-" Before he could finish rummaging through his pockets, you held out a lighter and sparked it, holding it in front of your dad's face. He leaned in, lighting the cigarette and taking a long drag from it. "Thanks, kid. Wait, is that my old lighter? I thought I lost it in the laundry…" Before he could connect the dots of his missing lighter and you, you notice the sign of the apartment building you were going to move into. "Oh hey look at that, it's our new home..!" That little distraction helped you avoid getting a flick to the forehead for stealing your father’s old favorite lighter. As the car pulled into the parking lot, you saw how old and beat-up the sign for the building was. It was yellowed and growing moss or mold (you weren’t really sure which and you didn’t wanna find out) in the corners. The blocky lettering was cracking and peeling away, like an old t-shirt that went through the wash too many times. In a way, it had charm, even though it seemed like it’d been standing there without getting cleaned or replaced for 30 years. And you could say the same in the building you faced as you stepped down from the 4runner. A five-story, red brick building that, for all intents and purposes, looked sketchy as fuck.
“Dad. This place is creepy as shit.” Your shock at the building was minor as you peered closer at it without moving from beside the vehicle, noticing a Kilroy and shitty cat graffitied next to the front doors, eliciting a nice giggle out of you. Your dad’s door slammed as he stepped out, stretching his arms and grunting. “Holy crap, this is creepy.” There was a mellow smile on his face as he stared at the complex. There was a single window you could see illuminated in the night, though you couldn’t peek in because of the curtains. It’s like 12:30, who the hell is still up? Your staring contest with the innocent window was cut off when your dad called your name, the opening of the hatchback clicking with his voice. “Go in and get the apartment unlocked, I’m gonna bring in a few boxes in a minute.” The man threw his keys at you, one of which was marked with an ‘A’, which you could only assume meant apartment. You nodded and grabbed your backpack from the floor of the car, slinging one strap over your shoulder as you slammed the door. The walk to the front doors was brief, and the old ass glass doors creaked and groaned as you pulled them open. The second you walked in, the first thing to hit you about the inside was how it smelled. “Cigs and grandma perfume. Yep, someone totally died here.” Once the initial wave of smells dissipated, you looked around at the interior, very brown. Gross. Whoever decided this was a good color scheme should be publicly executed. You let out a small laugh at your thoughts and walk further into the lobby. There wasn’t a front desk or anything, which you should’ve expected, this isn't a damn hotel, but there was a small table with mailboxes over it. On the table, there was a small envelope labeled ‘welcome new tenants’ in curly lettering and with too many exclamation points. Using your impeccable skills of deduction, you concluded that this was meant for you and your father. Opening the envelope and pulling out the paper that was in it showed you more of that pretty handwriting that was on the envelope. The letter was a warm and sweet welcome from a woman named Lisa Johnson, apparently the maintenance lady, but at the bottom of the white paper was a piece of ripped-out notebook paper with less pretty handwriting.
Hey I’m Sal Fisher from room 402 (the room next to yours) and I thought I’d introduce myself in case you got in late. Lisa said you have a kid around my age and I’m stoked to meet them! There are some families here with kids so feel free to come and introduce yourselves. Welcome to Addison Apartments!
After he signed his name, there was a little cat doodle that was extremely similar to the graffiti on the outside of the building. You smiled and pocketed the letter in your flannel. You made your way toward the elevator, before getting stopped by the sound of squeaking. You halted dead in your tracks, whipping your head around in every direction in mild panic. A small “ahem” came from the door you just passed, making you look at it and saw a pair of eyes staring at you from the mailslot. “Good evening, new resident of Addison Apartments, room 401. I am Terrence Addison, the owner of this establishment.” You took a moment to process the random dude talking and staring at you from his mailslot.
What the hell is happening? “Uhm, hi, holy crap you scared me. Sorry, did I wake you up?” You breathed out a sigh of relief as you realized there was no imminent threat around you, you fiddled with the hem of your flannel absentmindedly as the strange man behind the door spoke. “Oh, no my dear, don’t worry. I was still up when I heard the front door open. Now, if I remember right, your father requested a secondary key for you.” As Mr. Addison spoke about the key, a pale and boney hand reached through the metal slot and held out a key identical to the one on your dad’s keychain. “Thanks, man. I’m gonna head up now. Have a good night.” The strange landlord bid you goodnight as you walked away and his mailslot clinked closed. Ok, total weirdo but he seemed nice. Maybe he's just a hermit or something, this place feels weird enough to have that kinda person living here. The elevator dinged and started moving up. You pressed the fourth-floor button and took your bag from your shoulder, rummaging through the hoodie, cassette tapes, and countless candy bar wrappers, you located your Walkman and headphones. “Music to make this freaky place even better? Me thinks yes!” You laughed and pressed the play button on the plastic and metal music player and turned to volume all the way up, pulling the headphones onto your head and bobbing your head as the song started up.
Once the elevator doors opened, you hiked the backpack into your shoulder and readied your key for the door. The moment the doors opened, your eyes darted to the head of electric blue hair that stood outside of a door, a stark contrast to the dingy brown walls and green doors. The head of blue hair turned as they heard the elevator and faced you. It seemed to be a dude with his hair in pigtails and a mask or something covering his entire face, save for eye holes that show off matching electric blue irises. You shoved the headphones off of your ears and offered a mellow smile to the guy, bringing your hand up to wave. He turned fully towards you and waved back before speaking. "Hey, you must be one of the new tenants, right? I've never seen you around before." His voice was gravelly and slightly muffled from the mask but was actually quite a pleasant sound. "Yep! We just got in from Lodi like, 5 minutes ago, I'm Y/n. You uh... you wouldn't happen to be Sal Fisher would ya?" You dig the note from your pocket and hold it up for the boy to see. He nods and laughs a little, "Yeah, but my friends call me Sally Face. You're from New Jersey?" A look of surprise washes over your face once he mentions Jersey, no one guesses new jersey unless they’re from New Jersey when you say the town you're from. "How the hell did you know what state I'm from?" Sal seems to panic and sputter a bit at the confusion in your tone, he didn't want to seem like a total creeper. "I'm from Jersey too! I promise I'm not some stalker or something like that." He sounded scared, like you would hit him or something like that but his fluster just made you laugh, the sound cutting over the music still playing from your headphones. "Dude, chill! I just didn't expect you to know where Lodi is. No offense, but you don't really look like the jersey type." Your laughing calmed him down, pulling a small chuckle from him too. “Yeah, guess not…”
There was a beat of silence between the two of you for a moment, the only sound filling the silent hallway being the loud ass screaming of a Sanity’s Fall song booming from your headphones. “By the way, I like the little cat doodle. Matches the graffiti out front perfectly.” You moved forwards and past him to your new door. He watches you as you walk past him, unbeknownst to you a small heat coated over his face once you’re next to him. “Oh shit, you saw that? Larry said he cleaned it off…” You let out another giggle and unlock your door, chucking your bag into the room before leaning on the wall facing the shorter boy. “Oh yeah, that was like, the one thing keeping me from being scared shitless of this place.” Sal’s mask lifted slightly at your words, his eyes squinting and giving the impression that he was smiling from behind the thick, plastic barrier. “The apartments definitely look pretty rough from the outside, but there are cool people here. I think it makes up for the ominous exterior.” With a nod of your head, you agree with the boy. “I’m not saying it’s not cool here, it’s definitely got that weird, scary movie charm to it, y’know? You’ll have to introduce me to some of those people tomorrow though, kay?” Sal nodded softly. “For sure. It’s getting pretty late, you should get some rest.” You decided to follow what he said, agreeing that it was past your bedtime and you were exhausted from just sitting in a car all day long. “Yeah, goodnight Sally Face. See ya tomorrow!” With a flourishing wave, you waltz into your apartment and close the door, leaving Sal standing by his door fairly flustered under his prosthetic.
The blue boy just stood by his door for a few minutes, trying to process the charming and beautiful girl that had just moved in right next to him. It was a lot for Sal to process in the moment, but once he came to, he walked back into his apartment and sped to his bedroom. Closing his door gently so he wouldn’t wake his dad, he grabbed the walkie-talkie from the top of his dresser and paged Larry. “Sally Face to Larry Face, do you copy?” The small device clicked and static came through for a moment before the crunchy voice of Larry was heard. “I copy. What's up, man? You sound all freaked out.” Sal sighed in relief hearing his best friend's voice over the receiver. He took a breath, preparing to spill the news about you to the stoner in the basement. “The new tenants just got here and I ran into the girl after dropping off your mom’s welcome note.” Larry urged Sal to continue, and he did. He recounted the interaction he had with you, highlighting how pretty he thought you were and how interesting already seemed. “Dude, talk about a bombshell, she’s easily one of the prettiest girls I’ve ever met. She’s also super chill, didn’t look weirded out by my prosthetic or anything..!” It wasn’t often that pretty girls looked at Sal with something other than unease, let alone most people, so he was already intrigued with you. The brunette laughed through the talkie, trying to imagine you with Sal’s description. “Ok, you have to bring her down tomorrow, we gotta put her through the test.” Larry’s voice was serious at the end as if his best friend didn’t know exactly what his so-called ‘test’ was. Sal nodded even though Larry wasn’t there to see it. “You just want to see her and make her listen to music.” Larry made a noise of mock offense before agreeing and moving on.
⨫back with you⨬
Once you walked into the room and observed it for a second, the apartment looked the exact same as the rest of the building, save for the kitchen, the provided coffee table, couch, and two mattresses set upright near the bedrooms. “Could be better, but at least it’s not a dumpster.” With that said, you flung yourself into the couch and took in the scent, it wasn’t as prominent as the lobby, but the smell of cigs and mold was still present in the room, but it was quickly becoming familiar and less grating the longer you spent breathing in the air. You hum in satisfaction as you stretch, the couch squishing and creaking beneath you as you settle. “Hell yeah, new crashpad.” After a few minutes, the front door clicks and opens, your father walks in with two boxes in his arms. He sets them down on the floor and kicks one with your name over to you, hitting your foot with the cardboard cube and alerting you of his existence. You sat up and made room for your dad as he walked over, sitting down on the couch with a groan, an unopened beer can in hand. “We got a welcome letter from the maintenance lady and one of the guys living in 402.” You dig the letter and small note out from the depths of your pocket and hand it over, letting the older man read both fully. “Huh, cool. Didn’t really expect any families in this hole but that's cool. We’ll have to go say hi to em tomorrow after we unpack and get some groceries.” With a nod, your mind is brought back to the interaction you had with your neighbor. “Oh yeah, I met the neighbor who wrote the little note. He seems pretty chill.” Your dad looks at you for a second with a mischievous smile. “Oh, it's a he? Now listen, just cause we’re in a new place doesn’t mean you get to go expressing your whole pent-up female frustrations on him-” Before he gets the rest of his speech out, you hit your dad in the ribs playfully. “OH MY GOD. DAD, SHUT UP.” The man winced as you punched him as he started laughing hysterically. Once he calmed down a bit he reached over and placed a hand on your head, running his finger through the strands soothingly. “Whatever, I don’t give a shit who you hang out with as long as they aren’t total assholes.” You only hummed in agreement and relaxed back into the fabric of the sofa.
※◬※
At some point, you fell asleep on the couch and only vaguely remember getting woken up to go into your room where a mattress with sheets sat on the floor. The morning sun flooded through your windows and the smell of hot pockets wafted into your room, the smell of breakfast egged your brain to wake up. The rumbling of your empty stomach jolted you awake, the sound loud enough to actually scare you. With a stretch and a mighty yawn, you hauled yourself up from the comfortable floor mattress and into the den. Your dad was standing in the kitchen with a cup of coffee in hand, curly brown hair in a messy bun atop his head, and eyes still trying to adjust to being opened again. You have no idea when he set up the coffee pot or got out a mug but that wasn't something to worry about, you smelt food and you were fiendin’ for it. From the look of all the boxes that were once in the back of the 4runner now being inside your new home, it was a safe bet that after you fell asleep, he dragged in all the boxes before conking out on the couch. “Morning kid.” Your nickname slipped from his lips as you walked into the kitchen, the sound of his rough and groggy voice and the feeling of his hand patting your messy bedhead being one of the few familiar things in this new place. “Mornin'.” The microwave beeped and it seemed to immediately perk you up as you raced over to it, stealing the delicious sustenance from within with one hand while fighting off your own father with the other in a free-for-all food battle. You giggled triumphantly as he finally gave up, his final attack being a flick in between your eyes. “I was gonna make you one when you got up, brat.” His words fell on deaf ears as you took a massive bite from the pizza pocket, that one action proving to be your fatal move as lava-hot pepperoni, cheese, and fake pasta sauce coated your mouth and throat, forcing you to cry out and do the whole ‘hashashashash’ number. Your dad laughed hysterically as you opened and closed your mouth in vain while pushing air out to cool the food in your mouth. Once you recovered and swallowed the bite you stuck your tongue out at the grown man and blew a raspberry, showing off your 16-year-old maturity, but it was alright because the 35-year-old adult did the exact same and flipped you the bird for extra emphasis. Guess I know where I get the maturity from.
After the fight for breakfast, you finally decided that some work should get done with unpacking so you grabbed your box of clothing and walked into your room. Putting on a muscle tee made from an old Sanity’s Fall shirt and some comfy shorts, you got to work putting away clothes and setting up your bed frame. It wasn't easy, but by the time 12:30 rolled around your room was almost completely set up, all else that needed to get done was putting up all of your posters, but it was time for a break. You traipsed out of your room and saw your dad putting things that belong in the kitchen away. He had gotten out his old boombox before anything else and had a Mötorhead cassette playing in the background. A sudden knock at the door caught you off guard for a second before you made your way toward the sound. Taking a quick look through the peephole, you see the same short guy with bright blue hair standing in front of your door that you had met last night. Opening the door, you show off an easy smile and lean against the doorframe. “Hey, Sally Face.” Sal looks at you and waves a little, his mask lifting as he smiles. “Hey, how’s the unpacking going? Need any help with anything?” Noticing you standing at the front door and talking with someone, your dad turns down his music and wanders up behind you. “Is this the neighbor you were talking to last night?” He looked down at Sal and offered him a friendly smile, Sal waved and introduced himself to your dad, explaining how he and a few of his friends lived in the apartments too, as well as how you’d run into him last night. “Nice to meet ya Sal, I’m Glenn. Is your dad home? I’ll go and introduce myself, socialize for a minute, all that good shit” Sal nodded and chuffed at your dad’s blunt language and you both moved out of the doorway, letting your dad through and to Sal’s place. It was sort of a funny sight, this total metalhead dude that looks like he’s still in his early 20s, knocking on the door of an apartment and standing there just waiting for another, more adult, adult. You giggled to yourself before looking back at your new friend. “Wanna come in for a sec? It’s still kinda a mess but my room is actually set up now.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come meet one of the other kids here. His name’s Larry and I think you and him will get along perfectly.” The idea of meeting more people your age sparked a feeling of excitement in you. “Hell yeah! Lemme put my shoes on real quick.” You ran into your room, quickly shoving your feet into your well-worn chucks and tying them in a sloppy knot. You ran back towards the door, checking your pockets for your keys before shuffling out to Sal. In the few minutes you were absent, Sal took up talking with his and your dad, offering friendly conversation where he could. Running into the hallway, you tap Sal’s shoulder gently, giggling at the surprised sound he made. “Let’s go, dude! Show me where to go!” Your excitement bled into him as he laughed and strolled over to the elevator. Your dad only asked where you were going but Sal’s dad explained how Sal was just going to introduce you to his friend and he just let you go, knowing he couldn’t stop you even if he wanted to. You stepped into the elevator and Sal stuck a key card into the basement level slot, the button lighting up as it read the card. “Larry and his mom Lisa, the lady who wrote you the official welcome, live in the basement. I’ll see if Lisa can spare a key card for you if you and Larry end up getting along.” You hummed and smiled at the boy again. “Sick.” In the silence and privacy of the elevator, you took a moment to observe Sal. His hair was an unnatural blue color but his roots made you think it was completely natural, his ears were double pierced with his first being gauged out a little, his face was covered by the mask and you were curious about the reason he wore it but wrote it off as self-expression in avoidance of asking a question that could be too personal, and he wore a plain long-sleeve black t-shirt with ripped up Persian red jeans and a pair of beat up air-force blue chucks. All in all, this dude looked pretty punk, and he was really nice so far. You couldn’t quite place it, but something was telling you this kid was going to be a big aspect of your life, and who were you to deny the universe of its wants? Sal could feel your eyes on him, practically burning holes into him and he thought he knew why. He thought he knew what you were thinking since almost everyone thought the same thing when they looked at him. “It’s a prosthetic, I’ve had it almost my entire life.” He looked up at you and blinked from behind the mask, but was surprised to see you just smiling at him with that pretty, calm smile you’d held when he met you. “Oh, interesting. Sorry for staring, but this is the first time I actually got a good look at you fully.” You looked back at the doors and side-eyed him for a second as he stared back at you. “I like your style.” There it was again, that warm feeling spreading over his face. It was pleasant being complimented after getting stared at, though it felt a bit foreign to Sal. He just muttered a small thanks before the elevator doors opened and revealed the basement level floor.
You followed Sal to a door and walked in with him as he opened it. The basement room still carried the same look as all the other apartments but was definitely more spacious with its living room and kitchen. There were pictures hung up on the walls and such, all holding a woman with tan skin and long dark hair and/or a boy with long hair. Your subtle snooping got cut short as Sal knocked on a door with a sign on it before walking in, you right on his heels. Standing in the middle of the room was a guy, a bit taller than you, with long hair and a Sanitys Fall shirt that matched the one you had on, albeit a different color. You whistled lowly as you looked around the room, admiring all the posters, art, and paraphernalia decorating it. “Sweet digs.” You noted that room smells distinctly more like weed than cigarettes but that smell was still prevalent. “Larry, this is Y/n, Y/n, this is Larry.” Sal motioned at each of you as he stated your names. You nodded and slipped your hands into your pockets. “‘Sup, I just moved in last night.” Larry smiled and nodded back at you, taking a second to eye you up and down before speaking. “Hey, I like your shirt. You like Sanitys Fall?” There was a lilt of excitement in the boy’s otherwise chill voice, his dark eyes lighting up as he mentions his favorite band. “Fuck yeah I do! I have to love it, good ass music like that makes me cream dude.” Sal and Larry busted out laughing, that statement causing Larry to double over wheezing, and Sal to tear up. “Dude, Sal, I like this girl, we should have her meet the gang.” The shorter boy chuckled and nodded at his best friend, actually agreeing that you would be the perfect addition to their little group. “Ash would be really happy to have another girl to talk to, I think she’d fit well.” You smiled wider at the prospect of making friends on literally your first day in Knockfell.
The two boys continued to talk and converse with you for a while, the day quickly turning to evening. “So that’s how I became an urban legend in middle school, as the kid that burned down half of the library by accident.” Once again, you got Larry to start wheezing with the wild and absolutely stupid stories you were conveying. Sal was enraptured with the odd adventures you’d had when you were younger and couldn’t help but hope for him and the rest of his friends to become part of the tales you spin someday. Once Larry finished dying, you got up from your spot on one of his beanbags, leaving his room to piss. Recollecting himself, the taller boy leans over to the blue-haired one, smirking weirdly at his best friend. “Dude, you were so right. She’s drop-dead gorgeous, AND she’s funny as hell!” Larry was whisper-yelling all of this like he was scared you would bust through the wall any second like some beautiful Kool-Aid man. Sal nodded in agreement, tilting his head to look up at the popcorn ceiling above him. “She is. I can’t… I can’t really place but, something feels different about her.” He let out a huff, trying to articulate what he meant. Larry raises a brow, confused but letting his friend continue without interruption. “Not like a bad different. I don’t really know how to describe it. But I don’t think she’s going to be anything even close to bad to have around, y’know?” The boys just sit there for a moment, taking in and thinking about the new girl who’d just charmed them. “Yeah, she’s good, I can feel it.” There was a beat after that before Sal side-eyed Larry. “You just like her 'cause she likes Sanitys Fall just as much as you do Lar.” Sal laughs as he playfully insults the other male, the ladder of which gasps exasperatedly. When you rejoin the boys, it’s nothing but smiles and laughs between all three of you.
Oh yeah, moving to this seemingly shitty little town in buttfuck nowhere would be just what you needed, and you had yet to even experience the horrors, the drama, and the love that lay ahead of you.