ACE ATTORNEY AU

[enigmaster]

Comments

[agoodname]

As they always do, yes.

[enigmaster]

Mhm. They were setting it up in advance, working hard on it and everything. There was this whole haunted house they were doing and everything. ...And Tommy, he said there was something he wanted to do. So, um. It wasn't a school day, but we broke in. To take a look at everything. He said... it'd be fun. [Edward swallows, nervously. Breathing out for a moment.] He wanted to mess around with stuff. Break some of it, I don't know, he has a shitty sense of humor. But I didn't... really want to.

[agoodname]

Of course not. That doesn't sound like you at all. [gently, thumb petting against the fabric at Edward's knee. Again: soothing]

[enigmaster]

I got into trouble a lot for doing stuff I didn't do. I didn't just want to prove people right, you know? ...It kind of turned into a whole thing. I guess. I just wanted to leave, honestly. But... [...] There was this... prop coffin, there...

[agoodname]

[ah. He sees where this is going] Ah. Just big enough for a teenage boy?

[enigmaster]

...Yeah. Just about. [He's quiet, for a moment.] He thought it was fitting, you know. Because I have the whole death thing going on and... all of that. He forced me in and... then I couldn't get out anymore. I'm pretty sure he just left right after. [Because why would he stick around?] I didn't actually get out until the next day, when someone was checking the props. They kind of freaked out, but I guess I must've looked pretty dead after a whole day in there, so... I can't blame them.

[agoodname]

[Tommy. Someone named Tommy is going to die very soon. Oswald swallows a bit, and refocuses on Edward] ...I'm sorry. That's horrible.

[enigmaster]

It... was kind of awful, yeah. I got in trouble for it, too, because I guess the school assumed I was trying to scare someone on purpose. [It was not... a great time.] I didn't correct them.

[agoodname]

Idiots. [harshly--but then he swallows and reigns it in] Absolute worthless imbeciles, the lot of them.

[enigmaster]

Mhm. I didn't really care. They suspended me, but I just... couldn't go back there again.

[agoodname]

I can certainly see why. [he pauses for a moment, and squeezes his knee gently] ...thank you for telling me. [like he's not already making a list of the people he's going to murder for this.]

[enigmaster]

Ah... [...] ...Sure. [Sure, he says, like it was easy. But it... wasn't.] ...I've never really told anyone before.

[agoodname]

Then...I'm glad you told me. And I appreciate it. [he does, too. It...makes him feel trusted. With such a secret, how could he not? Something Edward's never told others...Oswald swallows] I understand why you hate Halloween.

[enigmaster]

...Yeah. Just. Bad memories, you know? [Edward fidgets a little, looking away.] Can't look at any decorations without being... reminded. [It's a real big trigger.] ...I kind of shut down for a while, afterwards.

[agoodname]

.....ah. The grocery store. When you left early to go outside.

[enigmaster]

...Mhm, yeah. I wasn't really ready for it. It's... if I know it'll be there, I can kind of deal with it, but it's still not... great.

[agoodname]

Well. In that case, all the more reason to stay inside, isn't it? [he hums a little, quietly] It's cold, wet, windy, and there are tacky, horrible Halloween decorations everywhere. Best avoid it all completely.

[enigmaster]

Hah... Yeah. [Edward's... quiet, a little longer.] The timing of it's... pretty awkward.

[agoodname]

Oh? How so?

[enigmaster]

I was actually born in October.

[agoodname]

[.....what. Oswald just...stares at him a moment]

....your...your birthday is this month? [HEY EDWARD???] When exactly?

[enigmaster]

The 27th. [Isn't that just. Fun. Edward sounds a little bitter about it.] A few days before Halloween. [And hey, you know, Edward didn't actually say that the incident happened... on Halloween.]

[agoodname]

[...are you kidding]

Well. We'll just have to do something fun inside, then. [he squeezes his knee again, this time more decisively.]

[enigmaster]

[yeah his luck is kind of garbage, huh? but also ????] Ah, it's okay, we don't have to...

[agoodname]

It's your birthday, Edward. I want to. [he pauses for a moment] Unless, you don't want to...?