Hellie Watson

**Hellie Watson** (born Helen Watson) lived in Southern California. She had a hard life, at one point living homeless after her mother kicked her out. After meeting Len Beacon and joining his group, she would meet Alex Stern, who she fostered a close relationship with.

## Biography

### Early Life

Hellie grew up in her parents' house in Carpinteria, a seaside city in Santa Barbara County, CA. She knew how to surf and skateboard and had a habit of journaling. In high school, she played soccer and softball for the Midway Mustangs. For an unknown reason, Hellie was kicked out of her home by her mother, which caused her to be homeless for a period of time.

### Pre-Series

She met Len Beacon and Alex Stern on the Venice Beach boardwalk. She was taken in by the group and lived with them in the apartment on Cedros Avenue in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, which Alex and Hellie called 'Ground Zero.' Like Alex, Hellie used drugs and alcohol. While she was originally invited to the group by Len to incite jealously within Alex, Hellie and Alex instead grew close. Hellie and Alex would spend extra bits of cash on make up, saving up for glitter eye liner and lip gloss, and generally spent a lot of quality time together.

At some point, Hellie and Alex were on the Venice boardwalk to get tattoos. The pair randomly pulled cards from a tarot deck. While Alex picked the Wheel, Hellie drew the Nine of Wands, only to dislike her draw. Hellie tried to insist on drawing again, but in the end, didn't get the tattoo.

### Death

Len Beacon invited Ariel Harel to Ground Zero to party, intent on getting Eitan Shafir to involve him more in dealing heavier drugs. When Alex dismissed Len's demand to clean the apartment up, Len slapped her, causing Hellie to halfheartedly protest. Len relaxes, repeating his order to clean up the apartment and to look nice at the party.

Alex dragged Hellie out of that apartment, and the pair walked to the bus stop on Sherman Way, with no particular destination in mind. Although they've taken the bus all the way to Barstow and Vegas, they have always come back to the apartment on Cedros. This time it was a simple trip to the West Side of LA. Hellie voices her concern about potentially losing Ground Zero, Len had said that keeping the apartment depended on making Ariel happy. Instead of directly responding, Alex told Hellie that Eitan sent his girlfriend away as well as the other usual girls that hang around, only keeping Valley trash.

They took the bus all the way to Westwood and walked up the slope to UCLA's campus, finally settling down to watch students relaxing on the green. Alex tried to start up a conversation around their hypothetical Two Year Gameplan, but feeling cynical and sullen, Hellie wasn't willing to play along. Hellie redirected the conversation to the apartment, stating she can't be homeless again. Alex tries to reassure her, saying that Len was just talking, that they'd figure it out. Done with the conversation, Hellie stands and declares they were going to smoke and see a movie.

At the old Fox theater, Alex and Hellie sat for a movie. When Alex fell asleep against her, Hellie left to go back to Ground Zero and the party. At some point, she would receive texts from Alex asking where she went, and Hellie texted her a reassurance. At the party, Hellie would be sexually assaulted and raped by Ariel and at some point, be overdosed with fentanyl. She would be cognizant enough to stumble into the back bedroom and lie down next to Alex before her death.

A few hours later, when Alex woke up, she would realize that Hellie was dead and that her spirit was now a Gray. Panicked, Len and Betcha made plans to ditch her body outside of a club, staging a drug overdose. Distraught, Alex would invite Hellie into her as a kind of possession, using Hellie's energy to beat and murder Len, Betcha, Ariel and the other men remaining in the house. Alex was exhausted afterwards, prompting Hellie to gently take primary control to get Alex to wash herself off in the LA River before dropping her back off in the bedroom of Ground Zero. It is assumed that after doing so, Hellie's spirit moved on.

## Personal Attributes

### Personality

Hellie was sporty, warm-spirited and was easy to get along with. At the same time, Hellie enjoyed the small comforts of life and was jaded by her experiences.

### Physical Description

Hellie had blue eyes, golden blonde hair, and tan skin. She had an athletic body and had no tattoos.

## Relationships

### Alex Stern

Alex admired and loved Hellie deeply. Hellie too seemed to find joy in Alex's company. The pair were close and often hung outside the purview of Len Beacon's crew at Ground Zero.

## Trivia

* Hellie was left-handed.
* Hellie's hair smelled of coconut.
* The tarot card that would Hellie would pull in a method of choosing tattoos with Alex would be the Nine of Wands. With the context of her death in mind, Hellie likely pulled the card upside down.
	+ "The Nine of Cards reversed shows a person who may not be a risk taker; they may not want to make a long-term move as they are afraid that they may not be able to come out of it. This person may be afraid that they do not have enough resources to face some upcoming challenges, which is why they may be open to running away or avoiding it. This is a situation that encourages one to be brave, but also to be careful not to make hasty decisions that may costly. The Nine of Wands may be an indication of a great personal fear or mentality."

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 *Ninth House* Chapter 19 (Last Summer)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 *Ninth House* Chapter 8 (Winter)
3. ↑ *Ninth House* Chapter 18 (Last Fall)
4. ↑ *Ninth House* Chapter 1 (Winter)
5. ↑ *Ninth House* Chapter 5 (Winter)
6. ↑ *Ninth* *House* Chapter 31 (Early Spring)
7. ↑ Ninth House Chapter 9 (Winter)
8. ↑ https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-cups/nine-of-cups/