Sweet Vendetta //Danger Days//

2. Take Over Control

My house in the Nest was very predictable. It was organised chaos. The entire front room was littered with random artifacts. It wasn't as welcoming to me as the studio, but it was mine. I hadn't stepped inside its thin wooden walls in months, but my little bungalow remained untouched. I was thankful for that, as I thought that it would have been ransacked. My boots let out a soft thud as they pressed against the creaking floor. It was almost identical to Val's; one story with a semi-operational kitchen. There were two bedrooms and one bathroom, and a small living area right as you walked inside.

It sounds more luxurious than it actually is.

In reality, the walls were cracking, there were bugs, the pipes leaked when there was running water, it smelt of musk and smoke and it was drafty as all hell. But it was better than the tiny shack I had called home for the past three months. I discovered it in the middle of the burning terrain, and decided that the little wooden cabin was my home.

I was relieved to be out of that dump, and back in a slightly nicer dump.

I didn't spend too much of my time observing my old house. Instead, I thought it best to go to the ancient church to visit it's inhabitants. I calmly locked the frail wooden door behind me as I walked back out into the main street of the Nest. My car was still parked behind Val's house, but he was only a few heartbeats away from me. Out of habit, I tried to remain on the down-low as I smuggled myself behind the rows of flimsy buildings. I successfully made it back to the car unnoticed, and felt my pulse quicken as I began my journey to the church.

They hadn't seen me in over a month, after all.

---

For the past month, the only people I've spoken to have been Dr D, Cherri Cola, DJ Psycho (and his girlfriend from another radio station), Show Pony and Val. I hoped that by practically disappearing, I could sort a few things out for myself.

I realized that I couldn't just hide from my problems like that.

I was nervous to see them. Unsure of what they would think of me turning up there after all of this time, I began to imagine all of the worst scenarios. They could turn me away, or hate me forever. They could have forgotten me completely. I prayed that they hadn't forgotten me. When I arrived at the unstable structure that looked like it was ready to collapse at any moment, I saw that three of my best friends were already waiting outside. Smoke Bomb, Toxic Rift and Charismatic Volume all sat outside on the front steps, talking amongst themselves. When they saw me pull the car into the front lot, Volume shot up from her seat, her newly died grey hair flying in the desert wind. I threw open the car door, clumsily presenting myself in front of them.

"You're back!" She grinned, embracing me tightly. I stiffened in surprise.

"I thought you'd hate me." I titled my head, wrapping my arms around her back.

"No, we understand why you left." She let go of me, guiding me over to the two boys on the stairs.

"Well finally! We've been waiting for you to stop moping around the studio." Toxic slapped my back.

"I'm really sorry, I just needed to sort things out." I apologized, dipping my head.

"Hey, it's fine. I just hated the way Val ran around here like he was in charge while you were away." Smoke told me. I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.

"Yeah, he does that, but he means well." I tried to sympathize with the man who could have been leader if I wasn't around.

"I can argue that." Volume mumbled, causing Toxic to giggle under his breath.