and the interns reunite

Who: Cheryl and Drew and Jeremy!
When: Morning
Where: Out

It took awhile for Cheryl to get used to her new "house". She didn't see much of it, given she had arrived late the night before and had been too wary and tired to actually explore. She'd stayed awake in the strange new bed, staring at the ceiling with her fists clutched in the blankets. She had left her bedroom door open and her bedroom window, which had eased some of the fear, but her sleep had been sporadic, leaving her feeling a bit groggy when the sun finally rose and forced her out of bed. She showered and changed into a clean pair of jeans and light blue sweater. Slipping a headband in her drying hair, Cheryl slipped her shoes on and got to finally checking out the small house. It didn't seem so bad. It was clean and there looked to be almost everything she might need. Hopefully she didn't have to be there for very long. After awhile, Cheryl began to feel a bit restless. She paced the house for a bit before finally decided to go outside and look around. She walked outside and shut the door behind her, glancing up and down the street. Everything appeared to be normal. Almost a bit too normal given how everything looked exactly the same. Cheryl headed out to the sidewalk and began to walk. Maybe she would just go around the block. Or wander for awhile and see if there were any shops, or something to distract her.

She got to the end of the street and looked up. Middle Row. All of the houses appeared to be the same there as well. She chewed on her lip as she debated, and then turned right. Cherry Street was next and glancing down, she could see a park at the end of the street. That was something wasn't it? She began to walk in it's direction, a bit unnerved by the town already and she had only been more or less around the block. Something didn't sit well with her, but that could just be paranoia, right? Maybe she could find someone outside and ask how large the town was. Did it matter? Anything was better than where she had been over the last several months, right? She would go home soon, once everything was taken care of and cleared, and then she never had to think about this experience ever again. Which she realized was probably wishful thinking.

Drew was sitting on his porch. Really, this whole shellshocked thing could end any time now. Seriously. But that's how he felt. Shellshocked. Like he couldn't quite accept what was going on around him. Which, really, in light of say, everything, it was probably understandable, but still! He should stop feeling paranoid now, right? Shouldn't he? There was a working theory in there somewhere, but he couldn't quite get his mind to accept it.

He was in a house that was his, he could lock the doors, he could hide in there if he really wanted to. And no one was going to show up and lynch him. He didn't think. They hadn't in the house, so...they wouldn't now, right? There were people here to stop that sort of thing and hey there was someone walking up the sidewalk. Looking up, he actually started to wave, then sat there like a frozen idiot as he stared, wide eyed.

Cheryl caught movement out of her eye coming from one of the houses. Her first instinct was to flinch and cower, but she caught herself before she did so. She had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't in that room anymore. She was outside with the freedom to go anywhere she wanted. Well, to an extent. Cheryl took a small breath and let her gaze tick to the person out on their porch. And then she froze, nearly tripping over herself as she stopped dead in the middle of the sidewalk and stared with her lips parted in shock. Maybe she was hallucinating? Or maybe lack of sleep was really starting to wear on her. Because she was looking at Drew. Drew. And he was staring back at her like maybe she was a ghost or something. Was she really insane?

"Drew?" Her voice caught in her throat and the name barely managed to make it's way past a whisper. She dropped her arms to her side and started to walk a bit more briskly toward his house. If he disappeared before she got there, then... yes, she probably was crazy. There was a surge of hope and that foreign feeling of happiness in her chest when he remained there, the closer she got. Cheryl cleared her throat. "Drew?"

"Cheryl?" he asked stupidly, making an attempt to walk down the last two steps to the sidewalk. However Drew and coordination weren't friends at the best of times, and he stumbled. landing on his hands and knees on the sidewalk with a little short surprised cry. Wow! So at least he knew this wasn't a dream or something, he was already making an ass out of himself in front of the girl he'd had the biggest thing for since puberty hit. That was definitely his luck and his life. No two ways about that.

Watching him stumble, she lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle the soft gasp and then realized that yes, it was really Drew. It seemed near next to impossible that he was there. What had happened to him after she was taken away from the experiment? Had he gone through what she had? Was he going home too? Was Jeremy there? Cheryl's heart was racing as she closed the distance between them and bent down to help him up. "Drew. Oh my god, it's you." She clutched at his forearms. "Are you okay? Did you hurt yourself? Oh my god..." She needed to make sure he hadn't hurt himself first, but it was difficult to examine him given she was pulling him into an awkward hug there on the sidewalk. She wanted to cling to him like a lifeline. She really just wanted to touch him to make sure he was real.

Drew was sort of wondering why holes in the earth didn't open up and swallow you when you really wanted them to. His palms stung because he'd scraped them, and he was willing to bet both knees were torn out of his jeans, but---there was a Cheryl hugging him. Cheryl, who had had a nervous breakdown and been removed, and they hadn't been allowed to contact her. Cheryl, who after a while he'd wondered if she was just dead. That sort of kicked him into gear and he gave her an awkward hug back, trying to make sure he didn't do anything stupid like get blood on her sweater or something. That would really not be stunningly awesome of him. Not that he managed anything remotely resembling that around Cheryl. In his bout of Dumb, he forgot to say anything at all.

Cheryl clenched her eyes shut as she hugged him, not caring a thing about blood, or awkwardness. Because Drew was here, and she was touching him, and he was real and alive. She had spent so many months alone, wondering if he and Jeremy had been taken away, or killed, or something equally as horrible. It had done terrible things to her mind. And now she didn't know whether to laugh at the entire situation, or cry. It took a few moments for her to gather herself enough to speak without breaking down. She pulled back just enough to take his hands in hers, holding his scraped palms facing up to take a look. "You're bleeding," she said lamely, pleased that she could speak, even if her voice was a bit hoarse. She looked up at his face, taking in the familiarity of it. Drew was here sitting in front of her, bleeding and everything. It was probably the best moment she had in months. She had so many questions for him, but the shock of seeing him was still clouding the coherent part of her brain.

He didn't look like he was bleeding. The look on his face was a lot happier than that. He wanted to pull her in, do something movie-esque like lean her back and kiss her or something--buuuut that was just his idiocy talking. He was never in his life going to be that smooth. Plus, she didn't think about him like that. "You're--I mean--" he started, stuttering awfully. "God, I'm so glad to see you, what happened, are you okay? Are you--jesus, you're here." came tumbling out of his mouth, without checking with his brain first.

It felt strange, but the first real genuine smile she'd had in months began to tug at her lips. For the first time in a long time, she felt that burst of happiness in her chest. "I'm here," she said with a small nod. She refused to let go of his hands. "You're here too. God, I was so worried about you... I didn't know... I thought you were..." Her throat tightened again and she swallowed, pushing those morbid thoughts away for another time. "This is just... I'm so happy to see you. Where have you been? How did you get here? What about Jeremy? Is he here too? Are you okay?" She had so many questions and she was torn between wanting to shake them out of him or say to hell with all the answers and hug him to death again instead.

Hey, there it was, the inevitable question about Jeremy. Which, he didn't know the answer to. But he didn't want to tell her that. "Let's go sit down, Cher." he said, starting to lead her over towards the steps. "Jeremy...he disappeared the day before I did." Drew answered her, wiping blood on his jeans, and glancing at them to make sure they weren't gushing--which they weren't, thank fully--before he took her hands in his to be supportive. "I don't know what happened to him. We didn't really know what happened to you, we didn't necessarily believe them that they took you to a hospital and everything...which I think it's safe to say they didn't. Jer disappeared, and they--" he paused, not sure how to word it. Then went on anyways. "They just dropped me right into the experiment." he told her. "I woke up in the house."

Maybe she should have just kept the questions for later. The answers somewhat deflated her initial joy and she gripped his hands in response. Jeremy disappeared. She could only imagine where he was taken or what happened to him, which prompted a sinking, sick feeling in her stomach. Cheryl's eyes ticked away from Drew's face as she digested the information. She was tossed into a solitary, padded room. Jeremy disappeared. And Drew was placed in the experiment. Was that their respective punishments for trying to take down the scientists? Maybe Jeremy was alive somewhere. Maybe he had been sent home already. She clung to that for now. And Cheryl didn't explain where she had been just yet, instead she looked back at Drew's face, her lips encased in a frown now. "Did the scientists out you to the participants? They didn't hurt you, did they? What happened while you were there? I wasn't told much when I was being brought here other than the experiments were halted and I was going to be sent home after some international complications were cleared up."

"Well, first of all I found out that there were other experiments going on that we never were told about." Drew said with a sigh. All their work, and it only would have outed a fragment of what had been going on. He didn't know what to tell her about what happened to him. He fidgeted. "They didn't out me right away. They told me I had a month. So, I was there, and I tried to help where I could. Then...I don't know, I got sick of waiting for the axe to fall, and I just did it myself." And I expected to be lynched on the spot. Only it didn't happen, and I still kind of am waiting for someone to kill me in my sleep. I got beat up a few times, but that was all, and that's way too light a sentence.

"There are more?" She stared at him in disbelief. More experiments. God. Would their attempts to expose the scientists have been helpful at all? That sinking feeling simply continued. Cheryl released a shaky breath and looked down at their joined hands. Did they all suffer in their own way for absolutely no reason? "I'm so sorry, Drew. No one hurt you when you told them, did they? We witnessed first hand what went on in that house." Drew would have been the perfect person to blame all the horror on. And she wouldn't have put it past some of the participants to think it would be justice to take their pain out on him. And she hated - hated - picturing him stuck in there with the others, having to deal with whatever the scientists and remaining interns threw at him along with everything else.

"Not really." He answered her in what he hoped was a convincing tone. And that was kinda sorta true. They'd definitely decided they didn't like him anymore. ...except a few notable exceptions. Like Rin. But mostly? People had decided to hate him, and pick fights in the hall. Which, he hadn't really fought back on, either. He hadn't felt he'd had a right, really. So, it meant he'd gotten his ass kicked a time or so. Cheryl, however, didn't need to know that.

Cheryl arched an eyebrow at that, her eyes skeptical. 'Not really' wasn't 'No.' was it? She released a long sigh and brushed her thumbs over the scrapes on his hands. She could get angry and say they had no right to do anything to him - whatever that might have been - but if she had been in Drew's position, she probably wouldn't have blamed the house participants for hating her, or hurting her and knowing Drew, he probably didn't either. Still, it had to have been stressful and frightening. She had been alone for months - he had been in close quarters with those angry, stressed out people. "But it's over now, right? Once all of this is cleared up, we'll get to go home." She was clinging to that desperately, because a part of her was still scared that this was all another sick experiment. They had told her she was going home once before, and that had been months ago when they locked her away. Could she believe them now? A part of her felt she could, because Drew was here with her. "And maybe someone can tell us what happened to Jeremy."

Drew nodded, and gave her a light smile, even if he really couldn't honestly tell her what she wanted to hear. So, he gave her the next best thing, which was a hug, and a pat on the back of her shoulder. "I'm sure it'll be fine." he said. Which wasn't at all how he felt. But he really needed her to think that. He couldn't not. She'd...been through way more than enough. He wasn't about to make that worse.

She hoped it would be fine. She really did. Having Drew there helped things, because she wouldn't be completely alone in this place anymore. And it was Drew. She had spent months thinking he might be hurt, or worse, and he was right here beside her, all in one piece. There was a spark of hope inside of her that maybe Jeremy was okay too. "I'm so glad you're here," Cheryl said quietly before leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder. "It feels like I'm finally crawling out of hell. There's so much to think about, and questions that need answers, but a part of me doesn't want to think about any of that stuff right now."

Drew shifted so he could sit there comfortably with her, automatically giving her the support she needed. And y'know. Noticing that she smelled nice. "I"m glad you're here too." he told her. "I'm just glad you're okay." he added. "And...I dunno, don't think about it right now?" he suggested. "You don't have to. Give yourself time. It'll be alright. And if you need anything...well. You know where I am now."

Don't think about it. That was easier said than done. She spent every waking moment thinking about these things. "You live right behind me," Cheryl explained with a faint, but pleased smile. "I'll try not to attach myself to your side or anything. It's just... hard being in that house alone." In ways she couldn't even begin to describe. At least she was somewhere where she could open the windows and doors - a place where she could leave whenever she pleased. Her eyes held a cautiously hopeful expression when she lifted her face to his. "Do you mind if I just stay with you for a little while?"

"Of course not." Drew said immediately, not going to deny her that at all. But then again, he was just a little bit of a pushover when it came to her. Or girls, or...yeah. Whatever, he couldn't say no. Plus, he didn't necessarily want to. "So...you can...I mean, as long as you want, sure. You can. No problem. Sure." he said, thinking he should probably attempt braining before speech.

Her smile was quick as the relief flooded her. Drew had always been dependable, which is why she had counted on him for so much when they had been interns together. She already felt safer sitting there beside him, and a huge part of her was incredibly reluctant to break apart from that. "How long have you been here?" Cheryl asked suddenly, realizing she hadn't yet. "Maybe you could show me around town a bit? I don't have the first clue where to go, or what's around." She supposed she could have looked at the map, but it hadn't crossed her mind when she left the house earlier.

"...a dayish?" Drew suggested. "Not long. I kind of still haven't really gotten used to the house and haven't seen the town yet or anything. So, we'd have to explore together, definitely." he said, giving her a light smile. "Did you want to do that?" Because he'd cater. Really he would. Maybe it would help get that haunted look out of her eyes.

"Yes." Her answer was quick and with a small smile. A part of her wanted to hole herself up in his house with him - but she knew she needed to get out and see things and get used to the situation she found herself in. And Drew was there. She just had to keep telling herself that. "I think it might be beneficial for us both to know where things are, right?" She would not cling to him the entire day. She could be strong - she used to be strong.

"Right." Drew said, and he stood up, helping her up with him, since he didn't necessarily want to dislodge her. "Well, let's get on that, I guess. We can...walk around, and hopefully not get lost." Or something. He was going for a walk with Cheryl. In a town that looked like it was a movie set. His life wasn't ever going to stop being weird.

Cheryl was fearful for a second that they would get lost. But... surely the town wasn't that big, was it? And she was sure other people would be around to help them, if they needed it. Were there other interns too? Participants? That put another ball of fear in her gut. Would they try to hurt her like they had done to Drew? Good god, staying inside sounded really good about now. She slipped her arm around Drew, trying to keep her fingers from digging into his side. She could do this okay. "Maybe we could take a right at the end of your street," she suggested. "See what's up that way. Everything looks exactly the same to me right now."

"Sounds good." Drew said, perfectly fine with her picking the direction, so he started them off that way. He kind of liked that she put her arm around him and his automatically went around her shoulders in turn. "I think most of this town is the same." he replied, since when he'd been driven to his place, it had certainly looked that way.

Jeremy had spent the day trying to be brave about his new apartment; or more accurately his new house, which was just a whole new level of weirdness. He’d picked the smallest room to sleep in and gone over the walls, ceiling and floor in a painfully detailed manner to see if there were cameras or hidden trapdoors. So far he'd found nothing but he was nowhere near satisfied yet. He didn't care much for the living room so far. It was fairly big and he was slowly coming to realize that being in large spaces for a long time gave him headaches, the dimensions too difficult to figure out somehow. The kitchen was nice though, just having a kitchen was a definite improvement and currently the window by the sink had fallen prey to his ongoing search for spy ware.

He was running his fingers over the wooden window sill when movement outside his window caught his attention and he nervously peeked out to the street to see which of the town's many inhabitants was wandering past his house. He already knew a few of them though they hadn't met face to face. That was something that dawned on him when he first looked at the journals. Familiar faces and names, people he knew way too much about, especially considering he'd never met them face to face save for when they were sleeping.

It turned out to be none of those people he dreaded actually meeting. These were familiar faces that gave him warm, familiar feelings and he damn well nearly tripped over himself trying to get from the kitchen to the front door. Drew and Cheryl. He hadn’t even known if they were alive or if they'd gotten away but those were two people he'd never stopped thinking about. Despite his rush he couldn’t help but stop at the front door, pressing his shaking hands, palms flat, against it. What if they were in on it? What if they'd watched him suffer in that room? What if…? He realized that at this moment he didn't care, he needed to believe they were as much victims as he was, there was nobody else there. So he tore the door open and headed outside, not quite bringing himself to run but almost; walking hurriedly up to them and hoping he'd get their attention without shouting. It was too open out there to shout, everyone would hear and he didn’t want the attention.

"It's kind of creepy," Cheryl said, lowering her voice to a near whisper, though she didn't know why. It wasn't like they were listening. Or watching. Paranoia, she supposed. She was still expecting to wake up from this, or have someone grab her and throw her back into that room. "With everything being so cookie cutter and..." The movement of someone approaching caught her eye and she stiffened immediately, her fingers pressing into Drew's side as her throat caught with fear. But then she caught sight of their face and for the second time that morning she was blind sided. Another round of relief and joy burst within her at the familiar face. "Oh my god." Slipping away from Drew without thought she began to hurry toward Jeremy with purposeful, brisk steps. "Jeremy!"

Jeremy didn't even consider that his friends might have come out of this with a gift basket of issues. If he had thought of it he would have approached them with a little more caution but as it was he was just overwhelmed by the sight of them. He swept Cheryl up in a tight hug, smiling for the first time in what felt like forever as he looked at Drew behind her."What happened to you?" He asked, fisting his hand in her long hair, careful not to pull on it.

He knew what happened, of course, but it had seemed too surreal. He'd had his theories that it wasn't a breakdown at all, but rather that the scientists had drugged her and faked the whole thing. It wasn't such a far fetched theory, everything considered.

And hey look. There was Cheryl, gone, because there was Jeremy. That lasted all of .2 seconds. That thought was drowned out though, because his first reaction was much like Cheryl's--that flood of relief and joy at seeing he was alive. So, he rushed over too, but stood back a little awkwardly, not wanting to say, intrude on them two. "What happened with you, Jer?" Drew asked. "I...you were gone, the next day they dropped me into the house." he said, rubbing at the back of his neck in a vaguely nervous fashion. "Are you okay?"

Jeremy pulled him in as he was speaking, giving him a pat on the back as he hugged him as well but then he gave him a look of surprise and mild disgust. "They put you in the house? The house?" For a moment he was glad he'd just been in a room and not surrounded by the very people he'd taken part in tormenting. "Are you okay? Did they know who you were?" Probably not, he guessed, or Drew would be dead by now.

"They stuck me in a room, there was another experiment." He replied quickly before Drew had time to answer. They probably knew all about the other experiments by now, people were already talking up a storm about it, it was all on the journals and he'd been told during orientation, but it just really seemed like big news to be talked about. "Five damn experiments." He'd let go of Cheryl, finally and took turns looking them up and down as if scanning for injuries. At least he'd made sure by now they weren't hallucinations, both of them warm and solid and right there, even if it was hard to believe.

This was the most bizarre thing. For the last several months she had been stuck in a room alone - supposedly in an institution - wishing to see these two. Wondering what had happened to them. And just like that, they were both there. Cheryl was ecstatic, but a part of her was a little bit suspicious. Not of them, but of the situation. It just felt too good to be true. She smiled faintly at Drew, and then her eyes ticked to Jeremy - it was so nice to be able to look at his face again. And she was still clinging to his arm, even if he had let her go. She carefully released him as casually as she could, though she stood close. "What kind of room were you in?" she asked Jeremy. "Were you alone?"

Jeremy nodded and it was a little hard to think back on that when he'd rather focus on Drew and Cheryl. "Alone, yeah. Cameras, monitors... A journal." He shrugged, not wanting to talk about the video footage he'd been subjected to. "Where were you?" He asked, resting his hand on Cheryl's back and glancing at Drew after asking. "Six months, I never saw either of you, are you both okay?"

Drew just kind of hung back, watching, listening, of course, but not wanting to interrupt. His hands had found their way into his pockets, and he all but shuffled his feet. "I just...I don't know. I just woke up in the house, and they told me I had a month before they were going to tell everyone about me. Then I told them myself, because I wasn't going to let those fuckers have one up. I...kinda sorta expected to be lynched immediately, but wasn't." And that was about all he wanted to say at current.

Cheryl found she felt another small pang from hearing that from Drew. Mob mentality could have easily taken over, and he could have been hurt. Or killed. It made her want to grab him and cling. And then grab Jeremy and cling. Hell, maybe just cling both of them until she was on a plane home. "I suppose the important thing right now is that we're all okay..." More or less, right? Certainly things wouldn't be rainbows and butterflies, but Cheryl felt she was holding it together fairly well right now. "I'm just so glad you both are okay. I thought about you every day, I kept asking to see you... " She had a thought that probably should have sunk in earlier. "Do you think the people living here will leave us alone? I mean, no thoughts of... of lynching the interns?"

Jeremy winced at the question, unable to keep from looking around. "I don't plan-, you know," he mumbled, gesturing up at the house. "You want to go in for a bit?" Even without the thought of an angry mob of people, it was starting to make him feel exposed standing out there with all those houses and all those windows. "I don't -, haven't been shopping, so..." He smiled awkwardly and kept making small gestures at the house. Not that he trusted the house yet. He'd only really gone through the bedroom, the rest of it could be loaded with cameras and bugs without his knowledge. "But there's water and chairs."

Drew suddenly felt like he had a target placed on his back. Shit. Would people kinda randomly decide one day they wanted to hurt him, and take it out on his friends too? Maybe he should kinda...not advertise it that they had been interns too. Or...something. He didn't know. He gave a weak kind of half smile at the two of them, sort of half wondering who Cheryl had been talking about when she said she'd asked to see 'you' every day. Probably Jer. ...definitely Jer. "Water and chairs're good." he said, just a little belatedly, distracted.

Jeremy nodded and with a glance at Cheryl for approval nudged her toward the house, half tugging on Drew as well. It wasn't hard to see how much they'd all changed, how this experiment had sucked every ounce of confidence out of them as they warily made their way inside. Jeremy leaned against the door once it was closed behind them, focusing on not sagging against it. It was great seeing them and he should be so happy, but it felt like they would be taken away at any moment. As soon as his body gave in and he slept, he'd wake up somewhere else, God only knew where. And the scientists.

The minute she was in his house, she glanced around and then folded her arms around her. Cheryl had noted Drew's behavior, but didn't want to press him on it. They all seemed a little tense, and Cheryl yearned for the days when they had just met, and everything was seemingly fun and light-hearted. She took a breath and gave Jeremy a faint smile. "Could you open a window or two?" Feeling closed in and freaking out in front of them was the last thing she wanted to do. And then she did look at Drew. "Do you think we should keep quiet about what we did in the experiment? Or do you think people will be relieved enough to be out of it that they'll understand?"

Jeremy went to open the windows, a task that by itself felt extremely odd since he hadn't done it in months. He glanced back worriedly at her question and shook his head. "I don't, it wouldn't be good," he said a bit anxiously, shaking his head again and stepping away from the window as if the angry test subjects had become snipers. He looked to Drew for an answer though, Drew had always been somewhat in charge if anyone asked Jeremy.

Drew was suddenly on the spot and wondered how the hell that had happened. He wasn't in charge, was he? But they were both looking at him like he was the one who had all the answers. Kinda like how Rin always looked at him... Trying to push down internal panic, he rubbed the back of his neck and took a few steps away, giving himself time to think for a second. Because he was of two schools of thought on this. What with having been there, really. First of all, if they came clean, there could be massive trouble. People could do what he'd figured they'd do in the first place, and blame them and take things out on then. A molotov through the front window or something equally as insane. On the other hand, if they said nothing, people might not do anything now, but what if they found out later? There were probably other interns in town. Drew could deduce that easily enough considering they were all there. So...there had to be others. What if they told? Were they going to say anything on their own? Rat themselves out so to speak? Fuck fuck fuck. He glanced over and noted they were still looking at him like he was the end all of the decision making process here.

Shiiiiiit. "Well...I don't think that people are going to be happy if they find out. The question is if we tell them up front and be honest--er. You guys. People know about me. But if they see you hanging around me all the time and shit they might figure it out just because they're not that stupid. If you're up front, there's the possibility that people are going to come down hard on you from the get go. If you hide it and they find out later, they might come down harder. But then again I'm still breathing, and I really figured i was toast there, so maybe they wouldn't do anything, they'd just be pissy. Or, you could not say, steer clear of me publicly, and maybe no one would ever find out." He sighed. "But there isn't a clear cut answer here, guys."

Jeremy thought about it. Things had changed that way, Drew had been more the advisor of the group while Jeremy made the decisions and decided to put Drew's good ideas to work. Now he was being passive, waiting for Drew to become that guy he himself had been and the realization stung quite a bit. Drew was right though, he was usually right and it was the lesser of two evils to speak up now. Hopefully a little honesty would gain them some trust and subdue at least some of the ill will toward interns.

"Better to speak," he said, unable to even imagine not talking to them again, pretending not to know them, not after everything. "Unless you want... It's up to you," he added, looking at Cheryl. If she wanted to keep her status hidden, he wouldn't blame her but he firmly believed they had to stick together. He also had to fight back the paranoid notion that they should do the sticking together twenty four hours a day and take turns sleeping, though a big part of him wanted to start boarding up the windows and actually set that particular plan in motion.

She fretted for a moment, looking between the two men. She would probably end up doing whatever they both suggested, only because she felt so unsure of herself right now. Cheryl had no idea what she was doing here, or what she would do. All she could do right now was look for guidance. "I think... I think that I won't hide it. But I don't know if I feel comfortable enough announcing it right now." And then she paused, second guessing herself. "But I mean, I'll do what you guys think is best."

"Give it thought," Jeremy mumbled, ushering them nervously inside the living room, though he mostly wanted to drag them both to the bedroom he'd already searched as thoroughly as he knew how to. "So glad to see you, both of you," he told them as he sat down, feeling a bit like he wasn't really there at all. None of the things in there belonged to him, everything he'd brought with him stacked up in the bedroom. It made the house seem even more like another trap, or as if he was trespassing.

"Cheryl, you need to do what you think is best for you." Drew tried to tell her as they were ushered. "I'll back both of you in whatever you do, but just...figure out what you want." Please don't just follow what I say. I don't know what I'm doing. I never know what I'm doing. Events just happen to...happen around me and that's about it. I suck, alright? "And it's good to see you both too, I thought...well. The worst."

Jeremy wished he could rewind himself to a point where he still had fight left in him and could tell them both what to do, try to keep them safe and stand up to whoever had a problem with him. He hadn't known what to think but seeing them both alive and well did somewhat strengthen his faith in the lesser of two evils theory wise; that this was all still just a test and none of the torture sessions had been real. But the fact remained, it was unethical and probably blurring the lines of legal, how much their heads had been fucked with. That fact never changed and that was what had him worried they wouldn't be getting out alive.

Cheryl watched Drew's face for a moment. She didn't know what was best for her yet, but she was going to try hard to figure out. "I think we should just do what we're comfortable doing. I'll back you both up too. I know we meant to stick together the last time, and that didn't work out so well, but things are different now. I just want to get through this with you both and try to get back on pace to something normal."

Jeremy didn't think that it was any different this time, as far as he was concerned they were as much at the mercy of others as they had been back then and if anything, he was even worse suited to deal with anything that came up. He didn't want to tell her that though, she needed optimism as did they all, so he nodded and set his hand on her upper arm briefly, giving it a comforting little squeeze. "We're all alive so far," which was more than he could say about some of the other participants. "We even live close, like back then. We'll muddle through."

Drew listened to the both of them and couldn't help but think that they just weren't ready. Ready, or prepared, or equipped to deal. He'd had to. He'd been dropped right into the experiment, and had had to deal with experiments too. With the people he knew way too much about. He didn't know if that made it worse or better. But he did feel like he was going to have to watch out for them now, even if that was the last thing he ever figured he'd be doing. "We're alive. I'll...if you two need anything, I'm around, alright? You know where I live, the door'll be open to you. I'll...get keys or something. I guess I've already been through this stage of things when I was put into the house, so, I'm less shellshocked right now. But still...anything you need, let me know."

Cheryl was entirely sure that it was very fair to Drew to put that out there - only because she was afraid she would take full advantage of it, and didn't he have his own problems to deal with? Still, it was nice to hear and she nodded with a faint smile. "Same here. I mean, if you two need anything... " They would get through this. They had to. And Cheryl had a feeling now she might be able to with them there. That's all that mattered to her.