ALL OR NOTHING~ Dalton Lambert

A NEW KIND OF WEAKNESS

Shiloh walked unsteadily behind her friends, finally looking up to see the frat house from before. It's been two days since she, Dalton, Chris, and Ezi planned to come back to the place. Giving themselves a few hours to step back and breathe, 'back to school baby!' Shiloh read in her mind, staring at the white banner hanging from the side of the building. Dalton held the door for the girls, faint voices echoed while crickets chirped outside. "So the plan is what, exactly?" Chris whispered to Dalton, "I got this." he said, trying to seem more confident than he was feeling.

"Can I help you?" a woman's voice asked the four, stopping them in their tracks. A few people were gathered around a large tv, watching a movie with beer bottles in hand. "Hello. We've left our brassieres in Nicholas's room." Chris blurted, head nodding towards Ezi whose arm was wrapped around hers, the girl keeping quiet and simply shaking her head in agreement. "And we were wondering if he is perchance home?" She finished, Shiloh grabbed Dalton's hand and smiled, playing along in the whole act.

"I think he's upstairs studying with Paige." the woman on the couch answered, Chris gave her a wide smile and grabbed Ezi's hand, guiding them all towards the hall, "great job, Dalton."

Shiloh looked back at the people surrounding the tv and waved to her and smiled, still holding Dalton's hand.

"I'm gonna read you this. It's called In Flames." Nick's voice echoed from down the hall, causing all four heads to turn. Shiloh holding onto Dalton's hand slightly tighter than before, not caring to give him a glance as he did to her. "Very vulnerable piece. 'Looking across a campfire...'" he continued reading, distracted enough for Shiloh and her friends to sneak a few doors down, Chris listening in on which ones were possibly empty.
"I need a room with darkness." Dalton whispered over to his roommate, "okay," Chris answered before marching off to a different door. Shiloh and the boy stood in place, looking at each other nervously.

Ezi trying really hard to stay silent and not make a comment about the two, Shiloh was the one to pull away, for the first time she let go first.
"Then what?" Chris smiled, walking right past all three of them. Still wiggling every door knob. "You gonna float through the air and do a little 'Ooh'?" Chris imitating a ghost, Dalton looked at her in disbelief. Finding her behavior odd but he was thankful she made situations like this better, making stupid jokes whenever she could. "I'm not like a ghost." He explained, "and you never will be with that attitude, Casper." Chris bit back.

Finally, she found a door that was unlocked and empty. "Bingo." Chris whispered, looking back at her friends before swiftly moving into the room. Once all four entered, Dalton shut the door quietly. Shiloh and Ezi looked at each other, then turned their heels slowly in a circle, examining the dusty bedroom.
A chill flew down Shilohs spine, she got that creepy, unnerving feeling but chose to ignore it. "What are the chances those bedsheets are crusty?" Chris asked, Shiloh making a mental note to watch where she sat and stood.

"Probably snap like a taco shell." Dalton observed, "I'll take the dirty floor." he claimed, looking over at Chris with certainty. It was slightly disturbing, Shiloh couldn't help but cringe at the thought that this may or may not be the room of the deceased frat boy.
The dust roaming over their shoulders made Ezi's nose stuffy, it creeped the girls out that this room had gone completely untouched, if anything. They were praying in silence that this wasn't what they thought it could be.
Dalton rushed to turn the lamp off and grabbed a blanket off the bed, placing it on the floor and positioning himself up against the wall. Shiloh and Ezi stood further away to watch silently, however Chris sat right next to him and watched him. "Can you give me a little space, please?" he asked her awkwardly, "oh, yeah. Sorry." Chris rushed over to the desk.

He took a breath and looked over at Shiloh, "you ready for this?" she asked him, concerned clearly in her voice. He gave her a tight lipped smile before shutting his eyes, Shiloh looked at Ezi who looked at Chris, beginning to count down from ten.
All three girls watched him and how in just a matter of seconds he seemed to be asleep, his body going completely still and head falling to the side. Chris looked at him in shock, then at her friends, "holy shit." Ezi said under her breath.
They got comfortable, sitting down wherever considering they could be there for a while. No noise entering the room, "are you floating yet?" Chris whispered, yet got no response. That was until the door slowly opened, "farewell, traveler." she said proudly. Scoffing in disbelief, "I can't believe he did it." Ezi whispered over to Shiloh, smiling as she looked at Shilohs face- looking for any hint of happiness. Chris peaked out the doorway, whispering to Dalton and watching carefully for any sign of life.

Shiloh leaned against the desk, tapping her leg up and down anxiously, grabbing a fist full of her hair. The eagerness was unreal, she didn't trust this at all, she knew how dangerous this was but kept silent, hoping maybe her friends would learn a lesson if this didn't work. "You okay?" Ezi asked, bringing her out of her thoughts, Shiloh slightly jumping at the sound of her roommate's voice. She just nodded and averted her gaze back down to her shoes, thinking about what Dalton could be doing or if he was okay, waiting for him to come back to her.
"So what's with you and Dalton?" Ezi looked over at Shiloh again, Chris quickly joined the conversation, just as curious as Ezi. "Nothing." Shiloh gave her friends a disgusted look, clearly keeping her thoughts locked in a tight space.
'Mhm' was all her friends had to say before giggling to each other, "Shi it's fine, yeah? You both have only known each other for a small amount of time but don't you find him intresting?" shiloh looked up at Ezi, her eyes softer than usual, she didn't know what to say.

For all she knew Dalton could've been standing right in front of her, waiting for an answer that she certainly did not want to give.
"Can we just focus on this, right now?" Shiloh scoffed, gesturing her hands around in a circle, moving the dust that roamed in the air. She was too stubborn to give anyone a clear answer right now, Shiloh herself didn't want to admit her feelings for Dalton. Iut felt silly, a new kind of weakness to her.

Authors Note
Here's a lil something while I figure my shit out🫶