Longest Night: Lori

*something about wandering the streets, looking for something to do*
You find yourself approaching the Snack Falcon. It’s quiet and almost entirely empty, from the looks of it. After all, who would be going for a snack run on today of all days?
You suddenly get your answer when Lori comes out carrying a bag of microwave popcorn, chips, and a six-pack of ginger ale. She’s also carrying a bag over her shoulder with the words “Video Outpost Too”.

Lori looks up and her eyes contract, coming to a halt.
Lori: Oh (player)! I didn’t see you!!
	Sorry if I startled you.
Lori: N-no, it’s okay, I’m fine.
Happy Longest Night, by the way. What brings you here?
	You too. I dunno, I’m just trying to… I dunno, find something.
Lori: Huh. So did you ever decide what to do today? I imagine you didn’t have much of a Longest Night living alone in that big old house.
	No, I never did decide.
Lori: Aw geez. So much for planning ahead, huh?
Your head droops, embarrassed.
Lori: Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to… er, that is…
	No no, it’s not your fault.
Lori: Yeah, yeah.
I guess I’m here? Talking to you? That’s something you can do today.
If that’s alright.
	Best thing to happen to me today, actually.
Lori: Oh, cool.
So I was headed back home to see these movies. You wanna come? If that’s okay.
	That’d be great, actually. It’s cold out here.
Lori: Great! I’ve got some hot cocoa mix at home, that’ll warm you up.
You like the sound of that. You’re suddenly craving those chips and sodas too.
You follow her all the way to her home, which is just beyond the train tracks, discussing the Video Outpost and it’s niche market for obscure horror movies on VHS. It soon starts getting dark.

Lori’s house is small and modest, almost cramped in comparison to the huge house you inherited, but it’s cozy and inviting.
It’s almost painfully average in it’s decor, but the further in you go into it, the more you notice a bizarre collection of aged memorabilia and artwork on the shelves and walls, mostly of various symbols of death, decay and monsters, such as small rubber spiders and a tiny snowglobe with a castle in it.
By the time you get to the living room, you’re greeted by a wall covered in horror movie posters with an old flatscreen television in front of it that looks as though it was picked up from off the street. Next to it are several small miniatures of skeletons of various species, some fantastic, and a ten-inch action figure of a werewolf.
Lori notices you looking at it all.
Lori: You’d be amazed what you can find at flea markets and thrift stores sometimes.
	This is some pretty cool stuff.
Lori: You think so? Most people think it’s really weird.
	It’s a good kind of weird.
Lori: Oh, that’s good to hear. I’m lucky my dad doesn’t seem to mind either. He used to be one of those “Monster Kids”, so I guess that’s why.
I don’t ever have much money, but whenever I have a little extra cash I always look for stuff like this. You wouldn’t believe what people get rid of!
So I’ll just set things up, okay?

As Lori sets down the chips and soda on the coffee table and heads to the kitchen to microwave the popcorn, your turn to look at a bookcase filled with titles like “Graveyards from Around the World” and “Fungus and Molds: An Appreciation” and “A Surgeon’s Guide to Anatomy”.
You find yourself wandering down the hallway just past the TV and facing a bedroom door.
As if on some sort of journey guided by the strange objects in the house, you enter the room and you’re now surrounded by a gallery of drawings taped onto the walls.
Some of the them are rather gruesome, with an excess of red ball-point pen depicting blood, but somehow there’s nothing to make you queasy or disturbed. In fact, there’s a strange elegance to the frantic, scrawling lines.
Lori: Hey (player), where’d you go?
You tense up, wondering if you’ve invaded her privacy. She appears behind you, but you don’t want to turn around.
Lori: Oh, um… s-so… yeah, this is my room? D-do you like it?
	Are these drawings yours?
Lori: Yes- I- well- it’s- um- it’s nothing, really- I just-
Your quickly turn around and try to be comforting.
	Hey, it’s alright! They’re really good!
Lori: I’m sorry- I’m just- I’m not used to visitors or anything-
She puts her hands to her chest and her forehead, trying to slow her breathing.
	Are you ok?
Lori: …I’ll be fine. I’m glad… I’m glad you like my drawings.
They’re all ideas I want to make into movies.
	I’d watch ‘em. There’s some really interesting stuff here.
Lori: Would you really?
	Sure.
Lori went still, and you thought you detected a hint of restrained redness in her cheeks.

Her eyes suddenly refocused as her nose wriggled to smell the air. You smell it too.
Lori: Crap! I forgot the popcorn!
You both hurry to the kitchen and hear the microwave give it’s final beep. She rips open the bag and a cloud of steam and the scent of burnt kernels escapes from it.
Lori: Ugh. I shoulda been listening to the pops.
It’s not so bad, though. Still edible.
	I almost kinda like it that way, actually.
Lori: Really? Yeah, I can kinda see that.
So’re we ready?
	Yeah.

She grabs the first tape and sticks it in the VCR, which you’re surprised is still working after all these decades, from the looks of its aged plastic.
To your surprise, Lori sits on the floor in front of the couch and rests her feet on the coffee table, her back on the couch’s lower half.
Not wanting to make things awkward, you join her on the floor next to her as she cracks open a can of ginger ale and starts munching the popcorn.
Lori: You’ll like this one, I think.

When the first VHS starts playing, it begins with some sort of introductory segment- one of those late-night horror movie hosts with cheesy makeup.
He introduces himself as Harfest Hortense, a pale-faced chubby man who looks like a used car salesman who died in the 1960s and rose from the grave.
The sets and props are extremely cheap and it looks like it was shot with an old camcorder. The tape is also pretty worn and faded.

Lori: I love this guy, he’s hilarious.
	You like these sort of movies?
Lori: Oh sure, most of ‘em are good for a laugh. But sometimes there’s a hidden gem, and this one’s pretty eerie.

The movie is something called “Grave Premonitions”, made by some long-defunct film studio from the 1950s and long since fallen out of copyright, featuring actors you’ve never heard of, directed by somebody you’ve never heard of.
It’s actually pretty good. It’s about a gravedigger who’s somehow able to predict when somebody dies. The atmosphere is moody and everything is cloaked in shadow, and the ending is mysterious and ambiguous.
Harfest Hortense interrupted the movie several times, probably for in between commercial breaks, to tell a series of bad puns and silly skits, which somewhat derailed the mood of the movie.
Lori laughs out loud at his dumb jokes, however, so you can’t help but at least chuckle.
She frequently points out camera techniques and weird angles, excitedly using jargon you don’t really understand.

*brief transition here*
The second movie is much stranger. It’s in some language you don’t understand and there are no subtitles.
Lori doesn’t seem to want to explain it as she gazes intently on the screen. Maybe she wants you to experience it without knowing what’s going on.
The film switches back and forth from sepia-tone to full color, seeming to jump from one narrative to the next.
From what you can gather, the sepia-tone scenes are about two immortals gazing down on the bleak outcomes of the people of Earth.
They grimly argue whether or not the mortals deserve mercy until they seemingly kill one another, only to rise again and begin their endless cycle anew.
The color scenes initially feature some beautiful young woman frantically wandering around some old dark castle for unknown reasons, repeatedly getting killed by some death trap or torture device over and over.
As it moves on, however, things get increasingly surreal, with new characters in situations that fill you with dread as you watch.
There’s almost no let-up of the tension, and no jumpscares.

You’ve been peering over at Lori every now and then, trying to read her expression or get some idea of what she’s thinking.
Her intensity is fascinating to you.
Slowly she leans her shoulder towards you, until it gradually meets yours. She wraps her arms around herself, but never breaks eye contact with the screen.
Lori: …It’s getting colder, isn’t it?
You’re uncertain how deliberate she’s being, but either way your cheeks gets warm and you swallow dryly. She then looks at you.
Lori: …You want some cocoa?
	Sure.
She doesn’t pause the movie when she gets up, leaving you to try and comprehend the movie.
She returns with hot steaming mugs, and you both blow on them as she sits down again.
The taste is unusually rich and complex. Must be dark chocolate. It fills you with pleasant warmth that soothes you.
Lori leans over again and whispers in your ear.
Lori: …I don’t scare you, do I?
You think for half a second.
	Not in a bad way.
Lori: Thanks… that’s cool of you to say.
I never thought of it that way.
I freak almost everybody out. Mae was the first to really understand me.
	Yeah, Mae’s cool that way, I guess.
Like we said, we’re not a couple, though. Not like Gregg and Angus.
	What about Bea?
Lori: Bea? I dunno.
	And, uh… Germ?
Lori: Germ?? Pff, nobody knows.
Why are you asking, anyway?
	I dunno… I was wondering if you were… *with* anybody.
Lori: Well- I-
…Who wants to know?
	I do. I thought… I dunno.
Lori: You thought what?
	I thought you… might be lonely.
Lori’s eyes went wide, looking nervous and offended all at once.
Lori: I don’t- I don’t want your-

Crap, what did you do wrong now?
Lori: Y-you don’t have to pity me! I’m not- I’m not looking!
	Sorry, I didn’t mean to… hey, it’s okay, I don’t mean that it’s wrong or anything.
Lori: *Huff huff*
You try to act comforting, and pick up her mug of cocoa.
	Here, does this help?
She grabs the mug and chokes down the remaining warm swallows of cocoa.
She gasps a couple times before calming down again.
Lori: …I’m sorry if I act all weird and gross.
	You don’t! I shouldn’t have gotten so personal.
Lori: No, I shouldn’t be insulted. I’m pretty pitiable.
	No you’re not. We both screwed up.
You’ve both forgotten about the movie by now and focus on each other.
Lori: …So no, I’m not “with” anybody. I never looked. Who would want me?
	I don’t see why not.
Your answer surprises her, and she looks you straight in the eye.
Lori: …You’re not just saying…?
	No, I mean it. I think you’re really interesting. You can tell me all about the stuff you’re into, it’s really cool.
Lori’s eyes look down sheepishly.
Lori: …Thanks.
She suddenly yawns.
Lori: …I was never very popular in high school. They’d watch me draw monsters instead taking a test and call me a “freak”.
	Yeah, the students and teachers in my high school hated me too.
Lori: Sometimes the teacher would punish me and take my drawings away until I finished the test.
Even though I was getting better grades than everybody else in class.
	That sucks.
Lori: I didn’t need to stare at some dumb piece of paper the whole time! I usually finished before anybody else anyway. What else was I supposed to do??
…And then they’d send me to some school psychiatrist after class was over ’cause they thought I was “mentally disturbed”.
You stare at the coffee table as you digest her story, your eyes glancing over a large battered notebook. You pick it up.
	Are these more of your drawings?
Lori: Oh, yeah. You… you can look at ‘em if you want.
You open up the first page and you’re greeted by some deranged-looking monster with an enormous forked tongue that has its victim wrapped in the prehensile appendage, clearly about to eat the hapless prey.
	Yikes. He’s a goner.
Lori: She’s just hungry.
	A monster’s gotta eat, right?
You flip through the pages, admiring the gallery of impossible beasts and bizarre amalgamations.
Most of them involve some novel way of capturing and killing their meals, but after a while the tone shifts and the monsters are sleeping soundly in their lairs or guarding their territory.
Towards the end you see the creatures in pairs, seemingly cuddling and playing together. It’s almost cute, in a strange sort of way.
Lori: All too often movie monsters are just rampaging and killing people for no reason. I like to think that they have real lives, and real habits.
You turn another page and see a monster couple gently tending to their hideously deformed babies.
Lori: And how else are they supposed to continue the species?
	Well, some monsters are immortal. And some multiply by splitting apart like bacteria. So they don’t need parenting.
Lori: Haha, right. And some exist outside of time, living for all eternity!
But I like monsters who have feelings, monsters that are misunderstood.
	…Monsters who just want to be loved?
She raises and eyebrow and smirks.
Lori: Oh, cut it out, you.
The next page has two monsters kissing. Lori blushes.
Lori: …And these two have been searching for each other for thousands of years, constantly getting rejected or hunted down because everyone thought they were too ugly…
…But now they’ve found each other…

You turn to look into each other’s eyes.
She yawns again. It makes you yawn too.
She slumps back, leaning over and supporting herself on your shoulder.
Lori: Hot cocoa always makes me sleepy…
She rests her hand your arm.
Lori: Thanks for being with me on Longest Night…
You feel yourself getting warm, and you lean your head on top of hers, not saying anything. She turns to look at you.
Lori: …(player)?
	…Mm?
Lori: …I’m not ugly to you, right?
	Not at all.
With a sleepy look in her eyes she nuzzles your neck, tingling your skin, and you start to worry her tiredness may be clouding her judgement.
And yet you couldn’t possibly turn her down, and hesitantly return the gesture.
In response she impulsively kisses you on the neck and cheek, wrapping an arm around you.
You tense up for a second, unsure how to react. Should you let this continue?
Lori: Let’s be monsters together…
Who could reject this?
You place your hand on hers and the two of you drift off to sleep before the movie finishes.

You’re abruptly awakened by the roar of a train engine passing by just a few meters away, blaring its horn incessantly.
Your muscles clench and your eyes shoot open as your fight-or-flight response kicks in.
Once you realize what’s going on, you relax again. Where are you again?
You turn to see Lori, still asleep, and you begin to piece things together. You smile when you remember the great Longest Night you had with her.
You get up, careful not to wake her, watching as her chest slowly rises and falls with her breath.
You grab the empty mugs and head into the kitchen while recall what happened last night. It almost seemed like you fell in love, but you’re not 100% sure.
Your stomach growls, so you look for some breakfast, hoping she won’t mind.
You find some cereal, but they’re out of milk and clean spoons. Eating dry cereal with your hands is okay, you suppose.
Lori: …(player)?
You poke your head into the living room munching on a mouthful of cereal.
Lori’s still laying on the floor by the TV, rubbing her eyes.
Lori: Did I… did I kiss you last night?
	A little.
Lori: …Oh.
…Did you mind?
	Not at all.
You sit down next to her and set your bowl on the floor.
Lori: I guess we missed the end of the movie last night. Oh well, it wasn’t so great…
Do you wanna see any more movies? My dad won’t be back until late tonight.
	Why not?
She smiles and grabs a handful of the cereal, and pops in the next VHS. You wrap you arm around her.

You spend the rest of the day watching movies, enthusiastically discussing their tropes and ideas, and Lori tells you all about her concepts for movies, showing you more of her drawings.
When her dad finally arrives, you give a somewhat awkward explanation of what you’re doing there, which thankfully he believes.
Apparently Lori has never told him about her friends right away, not even Mae.