Chapter Text
It was almost two in the afternoon when the car engine finally stopped, but the group was nowhere close to their destination. All around them there were trees and the country road Mark sweared was a shortcut that would save them at least an hour of driving. Now there he was attempting to start the engine again, but with no luck, he got out and as soon as he lifted the hood of the van smoke and hot air hit him in the face.
Coughing and flipping his hand around Mark started swearing while some your friends also got out of the car, trying and failing to catch some signal on their phones and call for help. You could already feel the begining of a migraine, but it seemed that while you were sleeping someone helped themselves to all your snacks, just your luck.
You know they don't really like you, they are Mark's friends and Emma's and even if they broke up two years ago before you met him somehow the rest look at you like the outsider and even if they don't outwardly ignore you, there's a clear line between you and them.
Giving up on the thought of food, you just swallow the pill as it is, chasing it with some water and getting out of the car to strech a little. Everyone seems to be in a bad mood, this was supposed to be a week long getaway to some rural part of the scottish highlands, some kind of summer festival if you remember correctly. The view around was actually beautiful, it's a pity that all the shouting and whining from the others kind of breaks the illusion of peace.
After another 40 minutes of wasted efforts and more shouting there's the sillouette of a man approaching a couple meters away. As he gets closer you can distinguish a head of curls bouncing with every step, a pair of soft brown eyes looking at each and everyone of you, pausing on you just for a second too long and then moving on. A pretty smile greats you as he asks what happened and if you need any help. He offers to led you to his village to stay the night and from there someone might contact a repair shop from the closest town.
As the group starts walking you learn that his name is Kyle, after another 25 minutes you see the edge of a village, a few figures noticing the arrival of strangers and stopping their work. There are a lot of pairs of eyes on all of you, making you feel a little uneasy. One of the men approaches the group, putting his hand on Kyle's shoulder as if congratulating him for a job well done. Blue eyes look you up and down, a pair of mutton chops along his cheeks as he extends his arms smiling.
"My name is John Price, the chief of this village. Kyle told me what happened to your car, it is unfortunate to get stranded so far away, we will try to help you as much as we can. Welcome to the commune!"
As you are being led away to accomodations there's this weird feeling in the pit of your stomach that something doesn't feel quite right. The people's smiles are too large and their willingless to help your group although touching is a little unnerving. Is this type of guest welcoming something specific to the rural parts of Scotland? You'll have to look it up after you leave. At least they promised food, that's always a good argument and a nice bed to relax your cramped muscles from the hours spent in the car.
Unbeknowst to you there were four pairs of eyes trailing after you since the group entered the village. They'll have plenty of time the next few days to get acquianted to you. The car won't go anywhere, your little boyfriend didn't even noticed the busted tires so he just pushed the car until the engine gave out. They'll have to thank Simon for sprinkling a couple of nails along the road this morning. Johnny offered to come get you, but he's always too enthusiastic and that puts strangers on edge, better for Kyle to go, people tend to trust him so easily.