Chapter Text
Stefani is panicking.
Maybe a little too much, but what the hell, she's worried. Stefani does nothing but panic and worry these days, and today is no different. Maybe if Erik could pick up his fucking phone-
"It keeps going to voicemail," Charlie mutters, rapidly tapping his screen as the furrow in his brows grows deeper. Stefani knows that expression- he looks like he's doing a puzzle but all he can find is the corner pieces.
His phone dings with that familiar buzz, and Stefani briefly takes her eyes off the road, watching Charlie's eyes go wide as saucers. "What? Is that him?" Her voice cracks. Please please please please-
"My friend said the tattoo parlour burned down last night." Charlie says numbly, staring at his phone as the colour drains from his face, and Stefani feels a spike of fear in her gut. Too late again, Stef.
Charlie looks up, eyes practically popping out of their sockets. "Stef, Stef Stef-!"
The car jerks to a halt, her head smacking against her seat. Her vision spins, locking on a blurry dark figure outside her windshield. "Ow! What, are you trying to kill me?!"
"Erik?" His name feels like chalk in her mouth.
"Oh." He groans, smacking the hood of the car as he straightens up, juice box once again finding its way to his mouth. Charlie lets out a heavy sigh, hands dragging down his face. "Yeah, of course it's you."
"Dude!" Charlie steps out of the car, shutting the door. "We heard about the fire, we thought you were dead!" "I'm fine." "Oh my god, are you okay?!" Stefani slams her door with much less caution, hurrying to grasp him by the shoulders and inspect him for any wounds. That panic is still searing through her veins. "I was so worried about you..."
"Yeah, firefighter said I was lucky as fuck I was wearing that leather jacket." Erik takes an obnoxious slurp of his juice, smiling a cocky smirk. "Barely got burned. Ruined my favourite jacket though."
Stefani holds up his elbow, wrapped with fresh white gauze, voice quivering with horror. "What is this?" "Oh yeah, check it out!" Erik peels it back, revealing a fresh Dad tattooed in cursive, as well as a small, ugly heart shape burn. Charlie winces at the sight. "I got branded! Sick, right?"
"You said you were asleep." Stefani drops his arm, unable to hide all the accusation in her tone. "Well you were blowing up my phone like a goddamn stalker, what'd you want me to think?" Erik's smile drops. "No, no, I don't get it, you should be dead."
It doesn't make sense. Stefani hates when she doesn't understand things, that makes everything complicated. Too many thoughts at the same time, a raging river that flashes by too fast for her to grasp any concepts. It makes her feel lost.
"Yeah, yeah, or!" Erik shrugs, stepping off the sidewalk into the street. Stefani's anxiety rockets into the atmosphere. "Maybe Death's not actually coming for our family. Because that would be fucking crazy-!"
A black van whizzes past, so close Stefani can see the rearview mirror brush Erik's hair.
"Jesus!" He shrieks, an almost funny expression of shock on his face. Stefani stares, knuckles white around Charlie's hand. He looks equally horrified, arm half outstretched to pull him back. "Shit!"
Erik looks back at them, something she can't put her finger on flickering in his eyes before a slow grin grows on his face. He chuckles. "Or maybe I'm invincible." "Erik- Erik, wait, stop, Erik-!"
He ignores her, of course. Not for the first time, a flash of irritation stings. Stefani still follows as he crosses the street, Charlie close behind. "Just because Death didn't kill you last night doesn't mean you're safe!"
Her eyes fall to a tree trimmer leaning against the trunk of a tree, neon orange like a warning sign. Stefani grasps for Charlie's arm, pulling him behind her protectively because if there's one person Death's not taking from her it's Charlie. "Stay away from that tree trimmer." "Gonna move on it's own, huh Stef?" Erik dances around it with a mocking gasp of surprise. "Is that what's gonna do?" "It- it could fall." Even to her own brain, it sounds ridiculous. She glances warily at the neighbour's kids, playing soccer in the driveway. "And stay away from those kids!"
"Stef," Charlie's voice is soft, hands gentle like he's soothing a frightened animal, and Stefani hates it, "How's a couple kids with a soccer ball gonna kill him?" "I mean, I don't know, the- the trimmer could fall and hit the leaf blower, which... which causes him to blow stuff into the kids eyes and kick the ball into his face!"
"Woah woah woah," Erik stops, a sarcastically serious twinge to his voice as he chucks his now empty juice box into the garbage bin, "A soccer ball to my face?" He pretends to consider it before nodding solemnly. "That does sound deadly. I should be more careful."
Stefani bites down on a snappish remark as Julia emerges from the house, dressed in pink running gear and looking at her phone. Julia looks up, expression crinkling with worry. "What happened to you?" "Charboiled by death, apparently." Erik shows off his new tattoo. It's only now that Stefani notices the dark circles under his eyes.
"Jeez, Kiki," Julia mutters, inspecting it gently, "That looks really bad." "Whatever, its fine." "No, no, let me see that-" Her grip is firm around his wrist, gaze glued to the burn on his light skin. Stefani's stomach drops as a large yellow garbage truck pulls up to their driveway. "Ow, Jules, quit it-" "Erik, stay away from that truck." She warns, pressing a hand to his back. He's warm, under his dark t-shirt.
Erik follows her gaze, and fuck she knows that look. Oh lord.
"Oh, you mean this truck?" He says innocently, brushing her aside like she's nothing but a twig, causing her heart rate to spike. "Oh my god," Julia's voice is faint, a simple mutter to Charlie stained with annoyance. He says nothing back, watching his sister and cousin bicker with an odd expression.
"But it's such a beautiful truck!" "Erik, Erik, please stop-!" Stefani's panic dulls to frustration as he starts kissing the truck with a loud smack of his lips. It's shocking, considering which one of them is almost 30. "Don't touch-" "You like that?" He slaps the tire. Julia's on her phone again, while Charlie now looks mildly uncomfortable.
Okay. This is just to wind her up, isn't it.
"Uh oh, Erik's tempting Death again, what's gonna happen?" Erik teases, high and mocking, rubbing his hips into the tire. "What's gonna happen?" "Stop it!" "What's gonna happen, Stef?" He practically prances, waving his hands as the truck pulls away. Stefani can't control a quiet sigh of relief. "Nothing at all! How about that!"
Stefani inhales sharply, stepping back as Erik approaches, bumping into Julia in the process, "I'm just trying to help you-" "I swear to God, try less." "Yeah, honestly, we are so done with your garbage." Julia mutters, borderline glaring in her direction as she sticks her headphones in and starts jogging down the street.
Erik sighs, trying to side step her. Stefani blocks his path, because she physically can't watch anyone die again, he has to listen to her, "Can you please-"
"For the fifteenth hundredth time!" Erik snaps, annoyance drawn thin and snapping like a plastic hair-tie. Stefani recoils like she's been shot. "Nobody gives a shit about your silly little death curse, alright, so take a hint, and leave us alone, because Death's not coming for our family-!"
A shrill shriek of terror rips through the air, and Stefani's head whips around just in time to watch Julia's legs be dumped into the garbage truck as it pulls away.
"Julia!" She screams, sprinting after the truck. That seems to spur her brother and cousin to action, knocking them from their shock as they hurry behind. There are panicked cries of her name, Stefani's muscles aching from pumping her legs. She hasn't run like this in years.
But Stefani's spent her whole life running, so it takes what feels like no time at all to reach the ladder.
Stefani climbs, flashes of blue and black in her peripheral vision as she clutches the bars for dear life. "Julia?!" "Stop the truck!" Erik's voice is terrified- it doesn't match, that shout and her beloved older cousin.
The wind threatens to knock her over as she reaches the top, searching for any flash of pink and blonde in the depths of dark plastic bags and the revolting smell of rot. "Julia!"
"Stef!" The cry is music to her ears.
"Give me your hand!" Stefani shouts over the rushing blood in her ears, waiting for Julia to grasp her fingers, slick with who knows what, before heaving her to her feet. She falls back into the garbage, too uneven of a surface to get her footing with a scream. "You're not next, it's okay!"
In one version of this story, Stefani is too late. A split millisecond, one that changed everything as she knew it. Crimson and flesh paint her mind until there is nothing but grief and a shell of what she was before. Julia becomes nothing but a cadaver that coroners will marvel at. That is the version of events you know.
In this one, the Universe is just a little kinder, and Stefani has spent too long running to stop now.
Julia stumbles past the edge just as the compacter closes in, catching her by the foot. Stefani pulls her up before she is caught, the only casualty being Julia's white sneaker.
The truck screeches to a halt, almost sending the two flying off the top, but Stefani digs her heels in and holds Julia tight, clutching her head close to her chest.
"Oh my god." Julia whispers, shaking like a tree in a hurricane. She's covered in God-knows-what, dirty and missing a shoe but she's warm under Stef's fingers and that is all she can ask for. Stefani gently plucks a piece of trash from her dirty blonde hair.
"Let's get you down." Stefani says eventually, and can't hide how her voice wobbles.
As soon as Julia's feet hit the ground, Erik sweeps her up, checking her over and hugging his sister like she might vanish if he lets go. "Jules, holy shit-" "I'm fine." She mumbles. Absolutely no-one believes it.
Charlie walks over, paler than she likes. There's still a faint tremor to his hands. "What the hell was that?"
Stefani looks at the two siblings, silent as Erik holds her afloat, and realizes with a stab of horror that for once she can't answer.