Future Plans and Moonlight Dares [AU Quinny]

Of course they invited Quinn's family to dinner. Of course they did. Of course he'd seen this coming from a mile away, they always did this, convinced fully that he needed that creature to complete him, and vise versa. He scoffed as he came down the stairs, just in time to see the other family enter the house, "Welcome!" He called in a cheerful greeting, he meant it this time, to Quinn's parents anyway. He had no problems with them. He looked down at Quinn when she approached him, for some reason finding himself unable to actually form a retort for a moment as he looked her over in that dress, but only a moment before he smiled, heading for the table, "thank you Quinn, I could say the same for you. Quite a number." He punctuated his statement with a grin before sitting himself.

It didn't take him long either to become utterly fed up with this dinner, with enough boasting and him hawing from his parents to make him sick. He glanced over at Quinn just as she looked his way, giving a subtle nod before excusing himself from the table and heading for the back door. This was always their routine at any dinner, breakfast, or otherwise private get together. They would graciously put up with their parent's shit for a while before slipping away to more or less be themselves. He ran his hands through his long fiery hair as he stepped outside, letting out a groan, "it's enough to make a guy vomit." He laughed with no humor.

Despite their utter hatred, the two shared that kind of mental connection. They didn't need words to know what the other was thinking. A few minutes after Vincent excused himself, Quinn quickly followed suit. A mere moment more in that hell hole and she was sure she would be done for. As she left in a flurry of midnight black and violet hues, the pair of parents turned to each other, sharing a look before bursting out into laughter. Their kids always seemed to find a way to sneak off together, they mused to themselves. She quickly hurried after Vincent, finding him easily in the dark with his sunset colored locks. Quinn scowled. "I'd argue that it was even worse this time." She muttered in response, crossing her arms in a huff. "They don't even know what they're talking about, and that just makes it so much worse." She shook her head slightly.

It was getting colder out by the day, and this late at night was no exception. Quinn found herself wishing she'd snatch her fur lined coat on the way out, but she wouldn't dare say a word, make a sound. Quinn Bertram never intentionally showed any weakness in front of Vincent Bishop, it would only be an opening for one of his snide comments or low blows. He always seemed to go for the low blows. "Are all our nights going to be like this? I've better things to do than these abysmal dinner parties." Quinn kept her gaze more or less forward as they strolled along, only taking brief glances in Vincent's direction. Was there anything to do to salvage this night? She studied him for a moment, before an amused grin curled up her lips. "Hey Bishop, up for a classic game of dares? I'm running out of blackmail on you."

Vincent couldn't help but nod in agreement as she spoke, sighing softly, "ugh. Yeah. Seems like they only see what they want to see." They wanted to see them as best friends, as a pair who got along perfectly, who looked at each other with love instead of loathing. It was infuriating and obnoxious, and he was more than a little tired of their meddling. He shivered himself in the chill of the night, chuckling softly and shaking his head, "I hope not. I hope they get the message soon and stop all this nonsense." Did he really though? The more he thought about it, the more he felt that his life without Quinn would be dreadfully dull. He hated her guts, but she was entertaining anyway.

His eyes flashed with mischief when she suggested they play a game of dares, suddenly becoming very interested, "I am always up for that game, Quinn." It was one they'd played many times before, half to wile away the time and half to accumulate blackmail on one another, hilarious stories they could share at inopportune times, forcing the other to laugh it off while the other stewed in embarrassment. He grinned at her and gave a polite bow, "you're the guest Quinn, so you should go first."

"Yeah.. I do too." She spoke in agreement to his statement. The sooner they stopped these ridiculous gatherings, the better. Her heart seemed to drop at this thought, but she shook the feeling out of her head. She would just miss the opportunities to tease him, that was all. Could she really survive off of his despair only at the occasional party? Quinn caught his shiver, and suddenly felt a lot less conscious of shivering herself. It was a chilly night, after all. He couldn't expect her to be perfectly fine in this ridiculous dress. Violet eyes flickered up towards the moon. It was bright tonight, silvery light filtering down to render at least a little bit of the darkness useless. She did perk up a bit when he agreed to the game, like she knew he would.

"Lovely." She hummed, stifling a giggle at the boys mock bow. She didn't really know what was getting into her head tonight. She didn't even drink that much wine before they vanished from the dining room. She tilted her head to the side as she pondered what she could possibly ask of Vincent to start out this time. Questions and dares were becoming scarce between the two, they've played this game countless times since they were much younger. She ran her slender, pale fingers through dark inky locks. Her eyes wandered up to his fiery hair, and she grinned, seeming more excited than mischievous. "I'll admit, I've always wanted to do this since you've grown out your hair. Let me dutch braid it."

Vincent glanced over at her when he spotted her shivering, he probably could have used it to make some sarcastic quip at her expense, but he'd also just shivered, so instead he only chuckled, "feels like winter is on it's way, hm?" He looked her over, "especially for you, you left your coat in the house." He pointed out with a playful smirk, he wasn't attempting to be malicious this time, "you could borrow mine?" He offered with his gracious smile, oh wouldn't their parents have a field day with that one, it was as much a genuine offer as it was a playful one though.

He looked surprised when he heard her dare, which sounded more like a request than any kind of challenge, "Really?" He chuckled and nodded as he went to sit in one of the chairs that was set at a small table for afternoon lunches outdoors, "mother wants me to cut it." He sounded a bit disappointed in this as he reached to untie it from the ponytail he'd had it in, "she says it doesn't look proper for a young man to have hair befitting a young woman." He chuckled and rolled his eyes, "you can braid it though." He grinned, what an odd first dare.

She scowled, about to shoot a more or less bitchy retort back at him when he spoke again, informing her of his offer. At first, she assumed it was some kind of con. Vincent Bishop, offering to do something for her just out of the kindness of his heart? Unheard. He probably just thought it'd be funny once they got back to the house later. She studied him for a moment, startlingly pale violet eyes boring into him, trying to figure out if he was kidding or not. Eventually, she looked away. It was more or less genuine, wasn't it? Was he trying to fluster her on purpose? Not that she was at all flustered by the offer, of course. Not even when it came with that stupid smile. Eventually, she responded, in a quiet tone much unlike the usual sarcasm she usually snapped back with. "... Could I?"

Her eyes widened slightly when she heard that comment about his mother. "Does she really? Ha. If I'm allowed to cut my hair this short, you can have it as long as you want." She huffed, sounding a tad annoyed. After all, she knew all too well about the grip that society could have. As she spoke, she strode over behind Vincent to run her slender fingers through his coppery locks, untangling them with ease. "Oh shut up. It's not like I can braid my own hair, and you just have it in that ridiculous ponytail all the time. Have some variety, Bishop." She muttered, though her signature sly grin danced upon her lips. Deft fingers separated the hair she'd need to start, and she began to weave it more or less tightly, starting from the top of his head. It didn't take long to finish. Quinn had quick hands after all. Plus, it wasn't like his hair went down to his back or anything. Reaching over the male's shoulder, she took from his hand whatever he'd used to tie it back in the first place, and secured the loose locks at the bottom. After a brief inspection, she smiled. "See, it even looks decent. And a lot neater." She added, with a shrug.

Vincent could practically feel her scathing eyes on him after he offered her his coat. He really couldn't blame her, after all the time she'd done things just to mess with her or feigned genuine behavior just to make a jab, him offering just because was probably incredibly suspicious. When she finally replied he chuckled softly and nodded, slipping off his coat and handing it to her, he figured she wouldn't appreciate a gesture to slip it around her shoulders, despite how much he wanted to. Why did he want to?

He laughed and nodded, looking thoughtful, "yes, father too, they tolerate it but I know it annoys them, and I believe the neighbors have made comments." That was probably why, because someone said something, appearances tended to be everything around here. He chuckled when she called his ponytail ridiculous, sticking his tongue out, "Hey! I don't know how to do all that fancy stuff." He tried to keep to himself how impressed he was at her quick hands, she managed to produce a neat braid quicker than he ever could. When she finished he chuckled and ran a hand over it, "yes...I quite like this." He knew his mother would have a field day, but that made it even more fun. He tapped his chin now, "what to do what to do..." He had to dare her now.

He giggled after a moment with a wicked grin, leaning down with a shit eating smile as he tapped his cheek, "you have to give me a kiss on the cheek without losing your dinner." He gave her a challenging grin.

She took his coat carefully from his hands, as if still cautious that he might do or say something. But after a moment, she decided that it really was a genuine offer. Swinging the coat around, she draped it over her shoulders almost instantly feeling the warmth drive the chill of the night. "Thank you." She sighed in that same soft tone, refusing to meet his gaze for a moment. Nice Vincent was new to her, so new that she was incredibly skeptical. What did he want? What could he possibly gain from giving her his coat? Did he think she'd be disgusted by it? Well, it was Vincent's coat, but.. She shook her head, getting those thoughts out of her mind. No. No. She did NOT think that it smelled like him. Like vanilla and honeysuckle flowers. And even if it did, she wouldn't like it.

"Oh well if the neighbors are making comments, it must be the beginning of a second war." She joked, finding the whole situation to be pathetic. Who cared if Vincent wanted to have long hair? Like, 99% of everyone a hundred years ago had long hair, and if they were going for traditionalism. Her violet gaze flickered down. At least with her situation, she understood why her parents would disapprove. Her attention was drawn back to the boy when he ran his hand over her work, and she avoided a smile. "Well it's certainly better than whatever you had going on before." She huffed, crossing her arms. Though, her mischievous grin returned, lights dancing in her faded eyes. "Your turn, Bishop. Let's see what you can come up with."

"you have to give me a kiss on the cheek without losing your dinner."

Well. She certainly didn't expect him to come up with that. Quinn stiffened, quickly raising her head to look him straight in the eye, and found him looking back at her with that fucking grin of his. When he tapped his cheek with a finger, she had a mind to slap him there. Shocked eyes quickly narrowed into a glare. "Oh, you think you're so funny, don't you?" She growled, unable to help the blush dusting her cheeks, though she hardly noticed it was there. As soon as Vincent had spoken, her heart started pounding in her chest. She averted her gaze. "Fine." He was tall. Even with him leaning down slightly, she had to move in order to reach his cheek. She pressed her lips against the smooth skin, just barely longer than a peck, and then settling herself flat on her feet once more. Quinn crossed her arms, face now a darker pink hue, as she fumed. "Satisfied?"

Vincent just loved the expression that crossed Quinn's face at his dare, it had given the exact effect he'd been hoping it would and he was beyond pleased to see the blush on her cheeks. He kept himself from commenting about the blush, instead chuckling as he tip toed to kiss him. Really he'd shot himself in the foot as his own cheeks reddened at the kiss, and when he straightened up he took his tie to fiddle with it, clearing his throat with a grin, "oh yes. I uh..Ahem. I can't believe you did that to be honest."

This was getting out of hand, he realized, their dares weren't malicious or meant for blackmail, she'd said herself that she wanted to braid his hair. Had he wanted her to kiss him? No, definitely not, but why ask such a random dare? He chuckled after a moment and looked down at her, giving her his cheeky grin, "you'll have to try hard to top that dare, hm? I'm ready for anything." His eyes were challenging as he waited for her next move, it was very much like a game of chess.

"It was a dare." She replied quickly, though she was surprised to see a reddened face when she peered up at him through ashy lashes. Had.. No, it wasn't possible. They absolutely hated each other, they couldn't stand one another. Shame? Embarrassment? Was that why the two were flustered and blushing beyond belief? It had to be. There was no other logical explanation for why Vincent would want her to kiss his cheek or why she would love to wear his coat around her shoulders. This had to be fixed, she had to do something to revert it all back to the status quo. She needed a dare that could be used as blackmail, something malicious enough that it would provide a great story of Vincent embarrassing the hell out of himself.

Her gaze flickered up towards the full moon, and a sly grin came to her face. "Got one." She mused, eyes landing on Vincent once more, matching his challenging gaze with a daring one of her own. "I dare you to find the old oak tree in Pembrey woods." She spoke, voice almost musical. It was a common legend. Lightning had struck the oak tree, burning the branches. Miraculously, the rest of the forest didn't catch on fire. The oak was one thing, just a random occurrence. The real fable was that the forest was full of wolves. Not just any wolves, either. Werewolves. Howls at night and mysterious disappearances had contributed greatly. Now, nobody ever when in there. Anyone sent in to investigate never came out. It was now just a place for kids to satisfy their curiosities. Of course, this wasn't ever during the full moon. "What, you don't believe those old wive's tales, do you?" This was perfect. He wouldn't go in, and Quinn would have something to tell at the next party that would leave Vincent fuming.

Vincent kept his smug smile until he heard her dare, glancing between her, the full moon that hung huge in the sky, and the forest. Of course he'd heard all the legends, who hadn't? He swallowed, "Th-the forest?" It was hard to banish his nerves, there was a deeply instinctive wariness towards the place, but Quinn's next words caused him to set a determined look in his eyes, and he glared at her, "pfft. Of course I don't." He was glad for the fact that he lived right at the mouth of those fabled woods, "I'm not scared of some dumb forest." He muttered as he turned to start the walk to the forest's edge.

When he got to the place where the well kept grass met the wild woods, he cast a last, determined look at Quinn before stepping into the trees. It didn't take him long to disappear from sight as he walked deeper into the woods, keeping his eyes peeled for the tree in question. He jumped when he heard the snapping of twigs, "ugh...Keep it together." He chastised himself, gasping when he finally saw the oak, he felt a thrill of accomplishment that was quickly dashed by the growl from the darkness. All his hair stood on end as he considered the legends of this place. Turning to look in the direction the sound had come from.

All he needed to see was the glowing eyes before he took off, running blindly in what he hoped was the direction of his home. He didn't know if anything was chasing him, but the bone chilling howl only pushed his frantic fleeing harder. There was no way in his panicked state that he could have see the ledge coming, and all he could manage was a loud scream of his own as he stumbled over the long drop. He was barely aware of anything as he tumbled down the rock face of the drop off, not even sure of which way was up and down. When his body finally hit the ground with a sick thump, he stared up at the ledge he'd fallen from, his vision, or half of it, was nothing but red, and he was slowly realizing that he couldn't feel anything below his waste. His eyes, or the one that didn't currently have a rock hanging out of it, went blurry as he began to lose consciousness.

She honestly didn't expect him to accept the dare. She thought he'd make an excuse, or he'd try to go in but back out at the last moment. She didn't, in all of a few minutes, for once even entertain the thought that Vincent might actually go into those fucked up woods. She watched, stunned, as he cast one last determined glance back at her, before he turned back towards the looming trees and headed straight into them. Quinn tried to banish her thoughts. Of course those tales weren't true. They were absolutely ridiculous, hogwash, bullshit. Stories made up to keep little kids from wandering in and getting themselves hurt. Weird coincidences, that's all anything was.

At thirty seconds, she shifted her feet uneasily, and tugged Vincent's coat tighter around her.
At one minute, she cautiously crept towards the edge of the woods, debating on whether or not to call his name.
At five minutes, she heard a piercing scream that caused her to freeze, and violet eyes to widen.
At five minutes and four seconds, the edge of the woods was void of life, and Quinn had dashed inside.

She clutched his coat as she ran, darting through the woods for any sign of him. Finally, she came upon a place, only just lit by moonlight, where she could tell that he must've stumbled through. She followed the trail, breath clouding the chilled air and footsteps as silent as she could make them. Whatever he had run from didn't follow for long, but Quinn quickly slowed to a stop when she saw the drop-off, skidding in her shoes. Something clicked in her mind, and a gasp escaped her throat. To whatever god there was, she prayed that all those times she called Vincent an idiot, she had been lying. Quinn skirted around, stumbling down the rocks on the sides of the sheer drop. Scratches and scrapes were no matter. When she reached the bottom, the sickening scent of metallic blood clouded her senses, and tears sprung to her eyes. He was there, she could see the coppery glint of his hair, matched by the gleaming blood. "Oh my god." She whispered. She was frozen, she couldn't move, the world stopped turning. Time had stopped in that moment, only to be broken by the screech that left her throat. "Vinny!" She cried, before darting forward to fall to her knees by his broken body. "No no no no... Oh my god Vinny.." She whispered, tears now streaming down her cheeks as she brought her hands to his head, holding it gently. She gasped in relief when she felt the pulse in his neck, faint but still there. He must just be knocked out.

Quinn had no idea how long it would take her to get him out of this godforsaken forest, but she would, she had to. So, taking advantage of his unconscious state, she slung his arm over her shoulder, and fought to drag him with her.

(im thinking we could timeskip to where he wakes up or something so we don't have to make a whole new post XD)

****Later, at the hospital****

Vincent had been lucky that Quinn had found him when they did, he'd been losing blood fast from the deep cuts that lined him after his fall. He was bandaged from head to toe in various places, and it was clear from the stabilizer that had be placed along his body that his back had been broken. He'd spend the next five days in a coma, with doctors desperately battling to save his life, and finally, he flicked open his remaining eye with a groan, "ugh..." His whole body felt like it was made of lead, and with a sickening realization, he noticed he couldn't feel or even twitch his legs.

He didn't have long to dwell on this as his parents came to his side, along with a doctor. Five days? Had he really been out that long? He was still processing all he'd been told as they left him alone, "so that's that..." He'd been told that he was likely to be wheelchair bound for the rest of his life, paralyzed from the waist down. He let out a shuddering sigh.

And then he noticed Quinn, sleeping half on, half off of his bed, what was Quinn doing here? He lifted a hand, gently setting it on her shoulder and giving a soft nudge, "Quinny?" His voice was soft and tight with an unspoken kind of hurt, physical as well as mental, it was still sinking in that he was crippled for the rest of his life.