prayin' to a god i don't believe in; [mandy-ashby]

[JAZLYN LAISHA QI]

Church was… boring? Pointless? Controlling? Insane? Jazlyn giggled, earning her a few nasty looks from the other churchgoers. They were supposed to be quiet, but when you had someone like her… in a place like this… quiet was a fleeting concept. After all, an atmosphere that focused on worshipping a being that had either died a long time ago with little to no proof of its existence or a being that didn’t exist seemed more insane than people claimed she was. Not that she was atheist. She was… what was it called? Agnostic? Yeah, that was the one. She believed in a higher power, but she wasn’t about to label it. Something was going on out there in the big ole universe, she just had no idea who or what it was. That was why she didn’t shoot down random people’s ideas. That was why she went to church occasionally, just to get in touch with why she was what she was.

Of course, that didn’t mean anyone else understood. Many people thought she was weird, insane, much like the doctors that prescribed the pills she had in her pocket. Because she’d been just that sure that someone had been watching her that morning, she hadn’t taken the time to flush them down the toilet as she usually did. Her “hallucination,” as Alec was called, was not harmful. Quite the opposite. He was fun to be around, a close friend and confidant, someone she trusted. She didn’t want to lose that. What she did want to lose were the people that were always watching her, always watching unless she went somewhere they couldn’t. Like church. They never followed her here. Of course, she planned to take advantage of that by visiting a dark corner soon and crushing the pills with a stone or two that she would probably find.

But it wasn’t just paranoia that was earning her a few apprehensive looks. It probably had something to do with that bruise blossoming on her cheek. The bruises on her arms, neck, and torso were hidden by her white hoodie, as were the scrapes and cuts she’d gotten from the other’s knife. The nasty scrape on her calf was hidden by the ratty jeans she’d picked out for the day. Years-old converse keeping her feet toasty warm despite the already hot temperature. The fight was relatively recent, and nearly a complete secret. It was one of the few fights she’d ever gotten into with a guy, mostly because most guys didn’t want to hit a girl, or small girl that looked as defensively as she sometimes did. This one had been unafraid, even brought a blade. Boy, had he been surprised. She’d beaten his ass. Beaten it good. And the physical pain felt good, as often went when paired with emotional pain. The only emotional pain she suffered from was the fact that she missed her brother, missed him terribly.

And Church really wasn’t helping.

[ASHBY GARETH FALKNER]

Church was not a place Ashby frequently visited. Especially not the one back home because that's where the service for his mother's funeral had been. No, after her death, he had not set foot in the place. God was also someone Ashby did not know to believe in. God was the one who decided to take his mother away and for that, he would always be angry with him. Ashby knew that if his mother was still here, he would have never been abused, raped, neglected or...crazy. He most definitely would not be here. Ashby did not think his life would be normal, but it would have had to be better than this shit.

The church was an eery quiet as he stepped inside its Catholic decorated walls. The air smelled of incense and lemon. Ever so silent, his feet padded on the marble tiles. Upon reaching a pew that was a few back behind a girl, he sat down, wrapping his hoodie around him tightly because suddenly, he felt so unseasonably cold. In the pew, Ashby was at a lost. Should he pray? Maybe kneel? Both of those made him feel awkward, so he just sat there and stared at the works of art. Religion was something he knew much about because his mother was a devout Catholic, but it was something he had never been interested in. Hearing giggling, he looked up at the back of the girl, seeing her shaking shoulders. He wondered...What could be so funny inside a church?

[JAZLYN LAISHA QI]

There were so many things to laugh at inside a church. The devout churchgoers, for instance. Those idiots sitting in the front --- sorry, kneeling in the front --- and praying with their eyes closed, hands folded in their laps. Why did people face down when they prayed anyway? God wasn’t down there (if he even existed). Satan was. People should face up when they prayed. They’d be facing the not-so-surely-existent God then, at least. Not that she prayed anyway. Jazlyn didn’t like praying. She felt like an idiot talking to someone that didn’t exist. And God probably didn’t exist. Unlike Alec. Alec was sitting right next to her, facing backwards to the church doors.

Apparently, they’d just been joined. Her best friend nodded behind her, and she turned curiously, wincing as she bumped a bruise on the back of the pew. A relatively cute guy had just walked in and sat down a few rows behind her. He was looking around, and this made her giggle again. And then he was looking at her. She waved, grinning, wondering how he’d react at the large bruise coloring half her face. Most people looked at weird, some smiled evilly. After a few moments of smiling at him, she got up, Alec following her obediently, and slid into the pew beside the new kid. “Mind if I join you?” she asked, making her accent hint at British while she smiled sweetly at him, brushing bangs out of her eyes.

He was…average. Not as cute as she’d originally thought. But maybe that was just her natural lying jumping in to take over her mocking, sarcastic nature. Maybe she was a pessimist as well. Or “they” had sent this relatively cute guy to distract her, to lure her out of the church so they could have a sniper shoot her with a poison dart that would spread acid through her veins to torture her and kill her simultaneously. She was tempted to imitate the classic movie eye twitch. She had gotten rather good at that lately… But then, maybe she should disarm the agent in a different manner?