[IC] Project Untamed

[Melissa]

_{Friday, October 26th, 2035
Location: Fitness Center | Featuring Dr. Sebastian Navarro}

A few days had passed since the scavenger hunt, the buzz and controversy surrounding the activity fading, and once again monotony returned to the campus of San Agustin. However, Friday brought about a certain excitement for the student body- after all, tonight was the party on the first floor of the residence hall, as well as the beginning of any other weekend shenanigans the students desired to get into.

But in the fitness center on late Friday afternoon, Leo Brooks sat dejected and pensive on the bench, pondering life and all. He wasn’t usually one for deep thought, but he couldn’t help but delve into the inner workings of his mind as he sat there. The boy had a dream the previous evening that he couldn’t wrap his head around. He was running- where, he didn’t know, but behind him the police yelled to him, sirens blaring. Leo knew he had never been apprehended by the police, so the mere thought of being cuffed and thrown in the back of a cruiser sent him reeling. He may possess the bad boy air, but he wasn’t a bad boy at heart… or was he?

Lying back down on the bench and wrapping his fingers around the metal bar, he pressed his arms upwards, lifting the barbell above the rack and holding for a moment before returning it back to it’s stationary position, the weight clanging as it was set back in place.

“You need a spotter, Brooks?”

Leo glanced over to the source of the question, and his eyes were met with Mr. Sebastian Navarro standing next to the treadmills. The dark haired boy nodded curtly, which the teacher took as an invitation to approach the bench. He stood behind Leo as he added on more weight to the bar. “You know, it’d be easier to track you down if you actually showed up to class today.”

Mr. Navarro was one of the only teachers who seemed to understand that Leo didn’t want to be there. The man taught calculus, which was the boy’s least favorite subject, but the only thing that made it bearable was the man’s early acceptance of Leo’s disinterest and how he worked through it. The two had a mutual understanding- so long as Leo got his work done, Mr. Navarro didn’t bother him during class. It was a give and take, and Sebastian was just happy that Leo didn’t dick around while he was teaching. What also helped was that the two had a good relationship where their conversations often drifted to things other than school.

Leo tried to speak as he lifted, but instead found himself breathing deeply, the weight of the barbell heavy on his chest. With a spotter there, he could push himself to lift heavier than he previously had. After placing the bar back on the rack, he exhaled loudly, and then replied. “Yeah, well you found me now,” The boy grabbed the towel he placed on the ground next to the bench, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.

“I was being responsible and respectful to my peers- Frankie’s sick, which sucks, so I’m worried I’m going to get sick now too since we were… hanging out the other day.” Leo was pissed when Frankie texted him saying she had caught the flu. He had a higher risk of catching it than most people since they spent a lot of time together between the sheets, so he prayed that he wouldn’t come down with anything serious.

“That’s not what we agreed to, Leo. But rest assured, she went to the health center as soon as her symptoms started to show, so you probably won’t catch it.” Lies. Sebastian hated the lies- these were good kids, and it ripped him apart sometimes that they were thrown into this. He wished he hadn’t taken this job, regretted it even. But the compensation was too good to pass up with the situation he was thrown into. Deep down, he knew that Leo wouldn’t see Frankie again for a while. “You were with her and Dwayne for the scavenger hunt- how did you think that went?”

Leo scoffed, “It was dumb. Frankie complained the whole time, Dwayne was getting on my nerves, and we didn’t even come close to winning. I practically carried the team so that we didn’t come in last. It was embarrassing.” A bit of an exaggeration, but nonetheless the boy didn’t enjoy the activity as much as he should have. Sebastian’s interest was piqued- with the heart and head of a lion, Leo should have been much more invested in the hunt than he truly was. It was exactly what he was cut out for, speed, agility and all.

“Did you want to win?”

“Not really, I didn’t want to be there. It would’ve been more fun if I had Sol or Sam on my team, but we probably would’ve been at each other's throats the entire time if I’m being honest.” Leo took a sip of his water as he laid back down, ready to do another set. Sebastian nodded in understanding. It made sense; that was his pack that he was referring to, his closest friends on campus. He was comfortable with them, he was their alpha. Once again, Leo lifted the bar, exerting his energy until he set it back down on the rack.

“I see.” Mr. Navarro replied, assisting Leo with his set. “Anyway, do you have any plans for the weekend? Anything you’re looking forward to?”

“Eh, not really. I’ll probably hang out with Billie at some point, and some of the girls from the first floor are having people over tonight so I might grace them with my presence. It probably won’t be exciting until I show up.” Leo explained, toweling off once more and throwing the rag over his shoulder. Sebastian chuckled.

“You talk quite highly of yourself Mr. Brooks.” The teacher stated, knowing that it was his lion personality coming through. King of the jungle he was, and king of the school he acted like. “And you’re quite the casanova it seems.” The scientists knew that Leo spread the wealth in terms of his relations. The younger doctors had to explain to the older ones what a fuck boy was, and how this was a good indication of their experimentation. Lions fuck for status, and that’s exactly what Leo did.

“What can I say, the ladies love me. Some of them at least.” He grumbled the last part, dwelling on some of his previous interactions that didn’t prove fruitful. “Billie and I have an arrangement that works. She puts up with my shit, and so does Frankie.”

“Just be careful. I was young once too and enjoyed having options. But options only get you so far.” Mr. Navarro said a lot without actually saying much. He hoped that Leo picked up what he was putting down metaphorically. “I’ll let you shower off, but don’t get it twisted- I might have let today’s skip slide, but you miss my class one more time and I’ll be calling on you for the rest of the semester.”

Leo smirked, and nodded. “You’ve got it, teach.”

[AlteredTundra]

_{A @metanoia & @HaleyTheRandom Collaboration Post
Featuring Nicholas & Billie Jean Grey}
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”They’re fighting again,” I say, leaning against the wall.

My door is cracked so it is to allow both the light from the living room to penetrate the darkness of my room and the screams from down the hall. And it wasn’t difficult for sound to reach my ears. Every night it’s been like this. Every night for a straight week I’ve heard him scream, yell, wail against the wall, continuously direct all of his ire at someone who met him with every bit of it and then some.

“So it’s my fault!” He yells to her, the tone of his voice with a surprising amount of shock in it, which was something he always had. Pretended that it wasn’t his fault when it was. I knew that and my siblings, they knew it too.

“Yes! You better take some responsibility! When it’s your fault, damn it--” The name, I couldn’t hear it. But it was a woman speaking. Her voice wasn’t soothing like it normally was. She was angry too. One thing I haven’t heard from her in quite some time.

It has to be his fault that she’s like this. The relaxed voice he remembered. She always was there for him. Even when her job demanded a lot of her attention, there was always something about REDACTED that made me feel safe, feel not like I was a burden to him. To feel like I wasn’t unwanted. I don’t understand, though. What was it about them? I know them. I know who they are, but their faces…

“Avi… Riel...Ona…” I say, whisper almost as I try to pinpoint it.

The door is cracked and I still can hear their violent outbursts.

And then suddenly…

SMASH!

A pulsating surge of unmeasurable agony began to flow through Nicholas’ left arm as his eyes, which were still full of crust and only half-open, bore witness to seeing his fist half-submerged into the drywall. Blood wasn’t gushing out rapidly but he did see the crimson liquid stream out slowly from the sides of his fist and paint the wall with his blood.

“Well, that’s just fucking fantastic!” Nicholas rarely cursed. He found it to be uncivilized, but when the moment called for it, sometimes saying fuck was the only recourse he had.

After he grabbed a nearby shirt to firmly wrap his hand up in, he started to reflect on the intense dream he just experienced.

That wasn’t the way he wanted to wake up, but more importantly, exactly what kind of dream was that? Nicholas has had some weird ones lately. Ever since the scavenger hunt, those odd visions of seeing people he thought he knew (or what felt like he knew them) were starting to be more of a frequent thing. Before, it was one every other week, seeing flashes of events that felt like memories but clearly weren’t. But now, they didn’t stop at just being flashes. He was having intense, lucid dreams that were telling full events as though he lived them, as though..

“As though they were my mem--” Nicholas was interrupted mid-thought, blood dripping down onto his lap. Nicholas stood up and was wearing a pair of blue sweats.

Pounding on the wooden door with every bit of strength she had, Billie was liable to wake up the whole floor of sleeping students. Fortunately for everyone involved, Nicholas decided to answer his door at the first knock this go around. Hair still in a messy bun, not a smudge of makeup on, Billie stood in the doorway of her brother's room with a serious expression.

When he opened the door, he wanted to say he was shocked, but his sister never did like to notify him whenever she stopped by. “Of course, it’s you,” he chuckled, “isn’t it a bit early for you to be conscious?” He asked, half-joking.

”I haven’t slept in days and when I finally do --” growling, the young woman lowered her voice so that no one other than her brother could hear her. ”Nick,” she said, her voice as fake calm as she could muster “- can you please let me in. I really need to talk to you.”

You don’t usually ask for permission. He mused, looking at her with a rare show of concern for his sister. She normally acted wild and unhinged, but something about the way she spoke was unnerving. One might even say she was starting to worry him. To think, she actually asked for anything of him. She never did that.

Nevertheless, he walked back into his dorm, holding his injured left hand close to him, though a trail of blood followed where he stepped. “By all means, enter my domain, sister!” He called out to her, singing alone as his uninjured arm waved above him in the typical dramatic Nicholas Grey fashion.

Lost in her own swirling thoughts and emotions, it took a few extra moments for Billie to notice Nicholas’s injured hand. ”Okay my shit can wait. What happened with your hand?”

Nicholas looked down at his uninjured hand. “Looks fine to me,” he said, raising it up so Billie could get a good view of it. “See? Just an ordinary hand!”

Rolling her eyes as she flopped down on the foot of his bed, Billie glared at her brother. ”Don’t be a smartass. You’re bleeding.”

He shrugged. “It’s nothing for you to worry about,” he said, dismissing her concern. He, of course, appreciated it, but what he spoke was the truth. A simple cut on a few of his knuckles wasn’t anything for anyone to concern themselves with, especially Billie and how worse for wear she already appeared to be. “I just cracked it against the wall over there when I woke up.” Nicholas gestured towards the literal hole in the wall behind Billie with his shirt-wrapped hand.

Turning to look at the wall, Billie pursed her lips and nodded her head approvingly. ”Not bad.” Crossing her legs, she took a deep breath while trying to figure out what to say.

”I had another dream last night. And it wasn’t like the other dreams. It wasn’t even like the other dream that wasn’t like the other dream. It was like… Nick. I don’t think the family we remember is actually our family. I don’t know how to explain it but the picture on my nightstand of us and mom and dad i-is… Nick, it’s fucking fake!”

And suddenly the stinging pain baby of a cut on his hand seemed to pale in comparison to Billie’s current train of thought. “Okay, slow down there.” He raised up his hand, trying to process everything she was saying and attempted to dissect it in a way that he could digest it. “So, you had another dream, which now makes you believe our parents aren’t our real parents?” Yeah, like that was the craziest thing he’s heard or flat out seen in the past hour alone. “You do realize how insane that sounds, right?”

”I do know. Thanks.” Taking a second to compose herself, Billie looked her brother in the eye before continuing to speak. ”I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is that the other day during the interview with Ms. Lincoln, she got me started on the subject of you and that stupid ass redhead you’re infatuated with.” Seeing the expression change on her brother's face caused her to stop speaking for the second time. ”If you defend her or give me the ‘she’s a good person speech’ I will kick your ass. BUT ANYWAY. I was ranting and I was going on and on about how you deserved someone perfect for you and I was looking for someone to compare this imaginary person to and it… Her name’s Fiona. We have a sister. Her name’s Fiona. She’s the same girl from the dance class dreams and the pancake dreams and she was in my dream last night helping me poke fun at the adults in the room down the hall because they were arguing over something and apparently they’re our parents.”

After her ramble, there was an awkward silence. ”So yeah! I have no actual evidence but these aren’t dreams. They feel like--”

“Memories,” he interjected without thinking. It just came out and now some missing puzzle pieces were starting to fill in.. “You were going to say they feel like memories, weren’t you?” Deep in his gut, Nicholas felt it twist and contort unto itself. It was like the bottomless pit was getting deeper the moment he started to piece his own dream with hers. Or maybe he should just call it a memory. “Tell me about the dream you had. Was the room dark with some light peaking through the cracked door?”

”Yeah. It was like… I was on my bed and the girl - Fiona, she walked through the door and she didn’t close it back all the way. So it was like a light from the kitchen or something was shining through and --- yeah. There was a light. Why?”

His response was a thoughtful hum and he bit his uninjured thumb, pondering both what she described and what he saw no less than an hour ago. “It’s just,” he began, stopping himself to ponder for a half of a moment longer, “what you’re describing is nearly identical to what I just dreamt and why I have this lovely crimson hand. I drept I was in that room, hearing two people who I feel like I knew, shouting at each other, blaming each other for something. I thought maybe you were just on one of your wild goose chases, but now…”

"Did the guy sound like he was begging for forgiveness but kinda blaming it on her? And she kinda sounded heartbroken and pissed?"

As he shrugged, Nicholas thought about it for a moment. His dreams typically didn’t linger about like this one was. “I suppose that’s one way of interpreting his tone of voice,” he said, adding another shrug of his shoulders for good measure.

Sighing again, it was now Billie’s turn to shrug her shoulders. ”Does any of this make any sense to you? Like at all?”

He shook his head, heavily sighing out a frustrated breath. The preferable answer would be yes, but Nicholas couldn’t make heads or tails of any of this. Both of them tended to be very lucid dreamers (more Billie than Nicholas), but for the twins to have the same dream and for the details to sync up around the same time -- “I wish I could quell both of our growing anxiety, but I earnestly have no clue about any of this.”

”Yeah… it’s kinda weird.” Pursing her lips, Billie hopped down off of her brother's bed. ”I’m gonna go take a nap and pretend this didn’t happen!” With a little extra excitement in her step as she went, Billie opened the door before turning back. ”Oh, Nick? What do you think I should wear to the party?”

“Party? What party?” Nicholas knew feigning ignorance was unlike him, but as far as he knew, only those who were on the small invite list were supposed to know about the party. And as much as he loved his sister, he knew for damn certain she wasn’t on said list, especially given who was going to be there.

”The one that She Who Must Not Be Named helped orchestrate, obviously.” Looking at her brother, it was easy to see that he wouldn’t be giving any information up - but that was fine. She knew the location and the time that the party started, and that was all that Billie needed. ”I’ll see you there,” she said, winking at him as she closed the door.

Nicholas didn’t quite understand what just happened. How did Billie find out? And why didn’t he just tell her not to come? “No use worrying about that, I guess. Besides…” Nicholas looked down at his injured hand. As far as immediate concerns, he had to get those cuts patched up, which meant he’ll be spending the next couple of hours getting looked after by the nurse, which also meant Nicholas might be fashionably late to the party.

Shrugging, he knew it couldn’t be helped.

A few minutes later after finding his shoes and a decent enough shirt, Nicholas left for the health center and all the while he wondered if it was in his best interest to let TJ and the others know that word about the party reached one of the few people they didn’t want there or if playing ignorant was his best play.

“Eh, I’ll make up my mind on the way.”

[Melissa]

_{@Melissa & @TootsiePop}
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The dorm rooms at San Agustin weren’t small, but they definitely weren’t giant either. Each student had a full size bed, a desk and a chair, but the rest of the room was up to them to decorate. Tyler Jane certainly made the most of the smaller space she was given- the linens on her bed were a minimalist cream color and her throws accented the sheets with tan and burnt orange. She also had enough pillows for an army, which made her bed the perfect place to snuggle up at the end of a long day. Her desk doubled as a workstation as well as a vanity, which is what she was currently using it for in order to get ready for the party. With a few prints on the walls and a hanging plant that she lovingly named Fern, the redhead was able to make the campus issued room her own.

She had once read in a magazine that the best way to be social and make friends at school was to keep your door open, so unless she was sleeping, studying, or getting dressed, wide open her room stayed. Tyler sat in her rolling chair as she applied her makeup meticulously, upbeat music playing in the background and drifting into the hallway. She was looking forward to having a fun, carefree night with her friends, especially if Savannah and Erica were successfully able to secure the alcohol. Since arriving on campus two months ago, they hadn’t gotten the chance to let loose and have a good time, so she was excited about the prospect of acting like a true high schooler.

Wearing all white, having not been in the dorms all day, Griffin cracked his neck as he strode down the hall to freshen up before the party. A party that was practically an open invite for their whole year to go. News travels around fast and only idiots would assume the only guests would be the people the hostesses exclusively chose. There was autrious and loud music coming out of his neighbor’s room which caused him to scoff. The music spoke volumes about her, and he hated it.

Speaking of the party, before he could walk past Tyler Jane’s room, he stopped in his tracks to see her delicately applying makeup around her eyes. A smirk fell on his face while he crossed his arms and leaned against the trim, not entering like Leo most definitely would’ve. “Trying to get into someone’s pants tonight, hm?” Griffin teased, knowing exactly who she was trying to go out of her way for, which was gross. His piercing blue and critical gaze looked at her, through the mirror, surveying her in prepossession. There should be no doubt in her mind that this boy believed her to be one-hell-of-a-try-hard. His expression said it all: disappointment. Just as though everything that she was... was fake and he refused to see the genuinity behind her personality.

The girl’s focus remained on her mirror as she brushed a soft pink eyeshadow onto her lids- nothing too flashy or bright, just enough of a pop of color to accent her blue eyes- but she could feel a presence at her door before he started talking. His tone just made it all the more evident who it was: snarky, mocking, and judgemental. “And you care because...?” Tyler Jane asked, glancing over to the doorway to make eye contact with Griffin before returning her gaze to her own reflection, continuing to apply her makeup.

Silently, Griffin smiled, not responding immediately, simply watching her, with those hawk eyes. “I just find it funny, is all.” He let his words linger in the air, never faltering from his stance. Even if his body was still, his unwavering feet planted to the ground, his shoulders were lax, his words stood out from the music, and his charming smile was full of life, dignified, yet blasé. “Your type.”

Tyler Jane placed the brush down on her desk, letting it roll carelessly towards her makeup bag. She just needed to continue to focus on getting ready, and then maybe he’d get bored and leave.... that should work, right? She picked up a skinny eye pencil, nimbly rolling it through her fingers. “Enlighten me,” The redhead stated while dragging just the smallest bit of black eyeliner onto her lash line. She was trying her best to not allow the annoyance to ring in her voice, remaining indifferent yet somewhat interested in his response. “What exactly would you say is my type?”

“Oh, you don’t know?” The boy rolled his eyes at her pretending not to care. “I suppose his charm and way with words does cover up how self-involved and narcissistic he is, but you know what? I get it. You both act so elegant and graceful. Nothing but two perfect peas in a pod.” He nodded to himself as if only now he was thinking about all this. “It’s only natural to think he’s just like you. But I see it, that pull he has because he has something you don’t. He’ll stroke your ego just as much as you would for him. The only difference is he doesn’t need flattery, you do.” Finally, he moved from his position, shrugging, and raising his hands up in fake innocence, “But what do I know? I’m not you. I just came by to say hi, seeing how your door is… open.”

She listened as Griffin spoke, her cheeks growing hot as he rambled on. The girl had yet to understand how one person could be so frustrating- he was worse than Leo by a landslide. It was one thing for the latter to be a fuck boy, but Griffin was a fucking boy, and an awful one at that. Of course, he had to live next door, it couldn’t have been anyone else because that would’ve been too easy. Tyler Jane made a valiant effort to not let his words get under her skin, but somehow, he knew exactly what to say to make her eyebrows knit together and nose scrunch up.

Slamming down the eyeliner pencil so hard that it almost snapped in two, she made unwavering eye contact with Griffin. “You’re completely right,” She paused, letting him think for a just moment that she agreed with him. Once a split second passed, she continued. “...you’re not me. And because of that, I don’t think it’s exactly your business to hyper-analyze who I choose to get involved with.” With a huff, Tyler Jane looked back at her mirror, picking up her mascara and continuing where she left off. As she took the wand out of the tube, she piped up again. “My door is open so that my friends can come in and say hello. Seeing as you’re not one of them, I don’t know why you care so much.”

Disregarding most of what she said, especially because he had no control over his need to analyze every little thing, Griffin focused on the last bit before dismissing himself. Like the smartass that he was, he chuckled, “I never stepped in, now did I?” Clearly amused, knowing exactly what he was doing, he enthusiastically slapped the trim of her door, “Speaking of friends! Please do me a favor and thank Savannah for me. Thanks to her, I’ll get to see a different side of you. I’m curious what kind of drunk you’ll be.” He locked his blue gaze with her sharp glare one last time, before slyly whispering, “Then again, I have my theories.” Casually saluting her goodbye, Griffin, that fucking boy, left her alone to stew in her own thoughts. To him, this was considered a successful interaction.

Tyler Jane couldn’t get in another word edgewise before Griffin disappeared back into the hallway as swiftly as he had appeared in the first place. It took her a few moments to realize what he had said, her frustration having been clouding her thoughts- not only was Savannah stepping on her toes when it came to Nicholas, but from what the boy was implying, she had decided to invite Griffin to the party just to piss her off even more. With another grumble, the redhead stood up and slammed the door to her room, ensuring no one else could rain on her parade. So much for making friends.

[Grimoire Gaming]

_{Collab with @NeoAJ & @smarty0114}

The roads of New Mexico were bumpier than Savannah remembered. She wouldn’t have thought there was so much traffic that it would have resulted in such a sorry state of affairs on their roads. But the constant bumps of the “borrowed” van into potholes proved otherwise.

Maybe she would feel a little better if she was driving, but she hadn’t driven anything in a while. Not since she left Stillwater, however long that was ago. It seemed like it was forever, when in reality it was what? Four months? Still, the van was a manual transmission, and she definitely had no skill for that. She wasn’t one of the farm kids who knew how to drive tractors by the time she was 12. She drove a beat-up Civic, and that sucker was automatic. This van was a far cry from that little coupe.

It was serving its purpose though. It was ferrying this three-person expedition off to the promised land that Erica had foretold of. The gas station on the main highway was no heaven, but it held the promise of manna from the gods themselves. More importantly, it offered the promise of Savannah’s salvation from her hubris earlier in the week. If Erica’s intel was correct, there would be enough booze to cover Sav’s blushes in the cafeteria and then some. Plus, now that the Texan was rocking a full array of ammunition for the mission, thanks to her scavenger hunt victory and the agreement of both Wesley and Talya that all their proceeds would go towards the party. The party that apparently EVERYONE AT SCHOOL knew about now. So no pressure or anything.

Besides, it wasn’t Savannah that had to go in there and be all cool under the circumstances. That was Kelsey Marston’s job.

She leaned to her left and addressed the driver. “Hey, so… where are we? I definitely don’t recognize that cactus… or anything really…”

“It’s cause we were coming the other way,” Erica said, gently pressing her foot into the clutch and shifting up a gear, then picking up speed. Her dad had taught her to drive stick last summer, and amidst Erica’s screams of frustrations, they actually managed to have a father-daughter bonding moment. It was a good thing he had too, because neither Wes or Sav could drive stick. “If I’m right about where we are, it should be coming up on our right in a few minutes.”

Erica’s eyes looked out on the barren desert, wishing the AC in this van worked just a bit better. She had yet to hear just how many people were coming to the party tonight, having been more concerned with getting alcohol and passing her chemistry test.

Finding the key to the school van just laying on a table in the library had been a stroke of good luck. After the catastrophe that was the scavenger hunt, Erica felt like she deserved some good karma, and the key only made her more sure that tonight would go off without a hitch. The universe wanted this party to happen.

The backseat of the van was probably the worst place to be. Every bump and pothole jolted Wes towards the roof and he’d gotten a couple of whacks on his head already to show for it. Being tall could be such a curse. Or perhaps it was just Erica’s driving. Or the road condition. Or the fact that he opted out of wearing his seatbelt. If you're riding in a stolen vehicle, what’s the point of following any other laws? Seatbelts were restrictive and Wesley Slater absolutely hated sitting still. Plus, thanks to repeated memory wipes, he couldn’t really remember those videos he was forced to watch in school where the kid not wearing his seatbelt becomes a projectile and kills all of his other friends in the car. Brutal.

“So…” Wesley leaned forward between the two girls, propping his lanky arms around the backs of their seats as he spoke. “You’ve both already proven that you guys got that femme fatale Charlie’s Angels thing going on with the whole van theft, but, what’s the plan now?”

“Because, let’s be honest,” Wes looked over to Savannah, eyeing up her pink hair in particular. “You’ll totally get clocked for your age with that punk dye, and I look like I belong in Twinks Gone Wild, so I’m assuming Erica is going to be doing the buying?” Wes’ brows furrowed at how casually he referred to himself as a twink. He meant to point out his babyface, but somehow this other brand of self-degradation came more naturally. It probably didn’t mean anything. Probably.

Savannah was going to ask Wes what the heck he meant by a twink, but there would be time for those sorts of questions later. “Hey, you don’t think I asked you for your grand prize without an idea of how this was going to work, did you?” she responded with an eyebrow raise of her own. “And for your info, this plan involves me doing the buying and you coming to help carry all our booze with that big ole backpack of yours. You know, like a proper gentleman and all.” She punctuated that last remark with a wink. “All you have to remember is that until that booze is back in the van, my name is Kelsey. Got that? Kelsey. And we are three grads travelling from Oklahoma to visit some friends at Arizona State for the weekend.”

It should have been shocking to Savannah how easy it was to fall into this mindset of blatant lying in order to facilitate more law-breaking. Truth be told, she could only remember being in a place that sold alcohol once, when she was 12. Her momma went in to buy some back up wine for a party and had Sav follow around before standing at the checkout waiting for the purchase to be made. There were no enticements to break the law back then. Now she was going to go full out and lead an entire class down a road of debauchery.

It was kinda fun really. Why hadn’t she done this before? Right, the moral quandaries and risk/reward factors and the Jesus. Right. Ah well. It’ll be over soon.

“We should probably save a little bit of credit card money to buy some mix and snacks and junk too, right?”

“Definitely. I don’t know about you two, but I’ll die if I spend the whole night drinking nothing but straight liquor,” Erica replied, impressed by how readily Sav was taking charge. It soothed the pit in her stomach that had been expanding rapidly as they sped down the road. She’d done this sort of thing before, back in New York and she recognized the anxiety from memories, that unique sort of panic over the possibility of getting arrested. Whatever she felt inside, she kept her face calm.

“Alright ‘Kelsey’, get ready,” Erica said. Taking a deep breath, she slowed down, downshifting and turning the van into the parking lot somewhat faster than she intended to. She heard Wes thud against the side of the van and called out her apologies. “My bad!” Oof. Maybe her driving could use a bit more practice.

The thump was followed by a grunt. “Eh, s’okay. I’m just getting a headstart on tomorrow’s inevitable hangover headache.” Wesley replied with a laugh as the vehicle finally reached their destination. Ah, the smooth relaxation of a parked vehicle, not a pothole or sharp turn in sight.

“Okay… so you’re Kelsey and we’re… nobody. Just a bunch of college friends. We got this.” Wes gave himself a pep talk as he hopped out of the back seat and onto the asphalt, shutting the car door behind him. He waited for ‘Kelsey’ to take the lead and followed after her. He did his best to be nonchalant, arms loose and relaxed, his hands in the pockets of his unzipped hoodie. The backpack was left in the van, he could pack that up full on the drive back.

A bell jingled above the door as the trio entered the trio entered the liquor store. Wesley briefly scanned the signs marking the aisles before choosing one to walk towards. “Rum?” He asked the others before committing to that direction.

Sa… “Kelsey” grabbed one of the little carts that were stacked by the doorway. No sense pretending they weren’t bringing a haul through the checkout. Go big or go home, right? Her scavenger hunt teammate was proving just as adept at finding the prime spirits as well as puzzle pieces.

She gave an approving nod. “Rum is a good idea. The sorority sisters will be pleased,” she added, getting right into character now. The key was immersing herself, shoving Savannah far from her mind at the moment. Kelsey had to get everything she needed for this party here because they were banned from all the shops in Tempe for various drunken infractions, and this was better than loading up in Oklahoma because this way they only had to stop once. Erica was her fellow sister and Wesley was the new boyfriend Kelsey was bringing to show off at the party and… OK, things were getting a little much. Wesley as her boyfriend? Couldn’t happen.

“Keep an eye out for some Hpnotiq. That’s Lyndsey’s favorite. She’ll flip if we don’t show up with some,” she informed the others. While searching through the choices, she lifted a cheap bottle of vodka which would serve their purpose well enough.

Erica trailed behind the other two, pocketing the keys to the van. She flashed the guy behind the counter a grin that he returned. Something about him rang a bell in her head… strange. She wasn’t used to reaching for a memory only to come up empty. She remembered everything! Turning away, she narrowed her eyes but kept quiet. It was probably nothing.

While “Kelsey” grabbed some cheap vodka and Wesley went for the rum, Erica craned her neck over the shelves, in search of the pastel bottles that she knew ment Hpnotiq. For a second, she wrote it off as an impossibility, figuring this place wouldn’t have anything your local hick couldn’t buy, but just as she was gonna give up, her eyes landed on a row of blue bottles. Perfect.

She sidled past Sav and Wes, and grabbed the bottle out of the fridge, holding it up as a trophy for her friends. “This should keep Lyndsey happy,” she said, taking more pleasure in playing along with Savannah's story than she’d expected.

These two girls kept surprising Wesley, Erica especially. Looking at someone like Savannah, you kind of expect her to have a few secrets and tricks up her sleeve. But Erica? She was the kind of girl you would expect to be valedictorian. Turns out he was instead surrounded by car thieves and filthy rotten liars. It was kind of sexy. Well... intriguing, at least. It just goes to show that you can’t always believe what's on the label.

Speaking of labels, Wesley scanned the variety of rum options on the shelves. He figured quantity was more important than quality for their situation, but at the same time, he was flipping some of this bill, so he should treat himself. Clearly Lyndsey was. Wes grabbed a small bottle of Captain Morgan spiced rum for his enjoyment and a couple of lower shelf bottles for the masses. He couldn’t remember the last time he had drank, but he was pretty sure that rum and cokes were his go to favorite.

“Hey, do you think Mikey is still obsessed with Jägerbombs, or has he finally outgrown them?” Wes asked the girls once he regrouped. He was trying to think of what kind of drinks Leo and the other hooligans might be into. Wes couldn’t stand the taste of Jäger himself, but there were usually a handful of people who wanted that at parties.

“Ugh!” “Kelsey” moaned in anguish at the mention of Wes’ alter-ego friend. “Let’s hope Ariana has outgrown him! Better get some just in case though.” This was fun. It was nice that her companions were playing along with everything. Plus, it had to help sell the story to the clerk. Other kids coming in would probably be stiff as anything, and petrified of getting caught. The way they were playing off each other, it had to be at least mostly believable.

Savannah could barely hide her excitement seeing Erica come up with the fabled blue bottle she had heard so much about. This was going to be hers for the evening, even if it did end up tasting bad. She would drink her mistake in that case. “Should we get some beers or ciders or anything? In case someone wants to play flip cup?” Flip cup was a game she had heard of before. That had to be a thing played at universities.

“Oh, good call,” Erica said, placing the Hpnotiq in Sav’s cart before turning around and grabbing two racks of Corona’s. She handed one off to Wes, and then replaced it with a large bag of solo cups that ended up snuggled next to the Hpnotiq. “And, last but not least, mixers!”

Erica led them over to the non-alcoholic drinks, where a variety of two liter bottles filled with juices and sodas were lined up. With her free hand, she passed down two bottles of Coke, for the rum, a lemonade for the vodka, and some fruit punch for a bowl of jungle juice. “We all set?”

Wesley added a case of Red Bulls to the pile of mixers and assessed their collection. Hopefully this was enough, because he was pretty sure that they were tipping pretty close to the edge of their budget. “Yeah, I think so. Besides like snacks, which I guess we’ll have to get somewhere else. Unless you guys already got that covered.” At the very least, food wasn’t really contraband, so they could easily buy them at the school store later.

Savannah offered a shrug. “We can run around to the gas station section to see what they got. If not, we can grab food once we get to campus. This is the important stuff.” A few packs of coolers hit the cart to balance things out but that would likely be all they would need. It was a bunch of high schoolers after all. One cooler would probably be enough for Hana. But no one would be getting anything if they were stopped at the checkout.

As “Kelsey” brought their wares to the counter, she motioned for the other two to back off for the moment. The less people present to ask questions the better. “Howdy,” she offered in her best Oklahoman accent, which sounded like her regular one but rougher. “Sorry ta make you work for this sale. Gotta lot here.”

“Ain’t got nothin’ better to do,” the clerk replied, shooting Savannah a white toothed grin. His eyes lingered on her, before flashing to Erica and Wes, sizing them up almost. The hair on Erica’s arm bristled, but she kept her cool. Just, keep smiling.

“Y’all go to school around here?” the clerk asked, in between computerized beeps from behind the counter.

“Nah, just passing through,” “Kelsey” confirmed. “Gonna surprise some friends with a right proper engagement shower. Just hope it don’t give some other people ideas, amirite? Can’t afford too many blenders this summer!” That seemed like a good enough reason to make the trip from dang near Arkansas through New Mexico to Arizona. She nodded back at Erica and Wes during that last bit. If nothing else, the clerk could draw his own opinions on who that was referring to.

“Well, your friends are lucky. From the looks of it, they’re in for a damn good time,” he said, smirking as he scanned the Hypnotiq. “You got an ID lil miss pink hair? Needa birthday to put into this bad boy,” he said, gesturing to the monitor that rested behind the counter.

While Savannah searched for her fake ID, Wes continued on with their charade. He put his arm around Erica's shoulders with a dumb grin and said, “I don't know, whadya think, babe? Should we get hitched and make Kels buy another blender? I mean, we'd probably be worth a full on KitchenAid mixer, two best friends in one and all that.”

Erica’s eyes widened as she felt Wes’ arm swing around her shoulder, but her grin remained steady as ever. She swung her own arm around him, squeezing them together harder than was probably necessary. “You know I’m just waiting on you to buy the ring, babe,” Erica said, doing her very best to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Her very best, wasn’t quite good enough.

“Calm down back there!” “Kelsey” shouted as she rummaged through her person for the wallet that contained the credit cards and Kelsey’s ID. “I ain’t made of mixers either! And I ain’t drivin’ anymore after whatcha pulled outside’a Weatherford!” She produced the Oklahoma license that she still had no idea how she acquired. But the pink hair matched the tone of the scowling picture and the date of Dec. 7, 2013 should be good enough for the clerk’s needs. “Sorry ‘bout the lovebirds. They do not know how to keep the PDAs to a minimum, ya know?”

The man behind the counter smiled, Erica wasn’t actually sure he’d ever stopped in the first place, and took a quick look at “Kelsey’s” ID. He punched her birthday in, and then directed her to the credit card kiosk on the counter. “Looks like two hundred in damages for ya,” he said.

Savannah breathed a sigh of relief. She wouldn’t have to dig into her personal account just yet. Maybe for snacks, but who knew if they needed to go heavy on those. “I can take the hit. Let me swipe these through,” “Kelsey” swiped the three gift cards the school had offered one-by-one, the first two being rendered useless afterwards but the third one showing $25 remaining. “Think the fine folks at VISA gotcha covered there, sir!” As the cash register dinged open, “Kelsey” motioned for Erica and Wesley to come grab their illicit gains.

Wesley did his best to carry the majority of the items, as a gentleman should. But by the arm strength of Erica’s unnecessarily tight squeeze, he was beginning to think she might be an even heavier lifter than him. “Thanks man, have a good’un.” He said to the smiley clerk before making his way towards the door.

Erica grabbed a rack, and a bag of clinking bottles, and followed Wes and Sav out to the car. “So, on a scale of 1-10, how necessary was it that Wes and I pretend to be a couple?” she asked, shooting Wes her classic side eye as the door swung shut behind her.

“Hey, I didn’t say nothin’,” “Kelsey” confirmed as she carried what the other two didn’t along with her repatriated fake ID and other belongings. “What y’all do on your time is on you.”

As the trio got their newly-acquired arsenal of booze to the van, “Kelsey” dropped her cargo into the back seat and Savannah breathed a huge sigh of relief. Her eyes were closed and her arms were shaking a little bit as the adrenaline from her dabbling in fraud and illegal activity was starting to wear off, pushing her back into her regular state. “But I’m glad we got through that. Good work, team. Mission accomplished.”

“Aw, c’mon, I was just getting into character!” Wes said in defense. Why was she so mad about it? “Was it because I touched your shoulder? Man, I’m sorry, I realized like half way through that was probably a bad idea because some people don’t like being touched but at point I had already committed and it’d look weird if I stopped.” The rambling intensified.

Erica rolled her eyes. He really hadn’t figured it out yet. “No… well yes, but, you know, I just think there are… other people who would prefer to be your fake boyfriend.” She heard the fuck up as soon as it rolled off her tongue. “Or girlfriend.” Shittiest save ever.

Savannah was looking back and forth between the two but was just getting confused at this point. Granted, she didn’t know Wesley that well prior to the hunt, but Erica was still acting a little weird about the whole thing. Plus the whole boyfriend remark… Was Wesley…? No. Couldn’t be. He seemed too macho for that. “Hey, you two did great, that was what mattered. I don’t know if the clerk knew or cared or whatever, but you sold it, and we got the goods. That was the important thing.”

Wes’ eyebrows stitched together from the backseat in response to Erica’s comment. It was enough to give him pause as he was shoving bottles of liquor into his large hiking backpack. Someone wanted to be his boyfriend? Was that just a slip of the tongue? Oh man, was it Theo?? Maybe that’s what the whole shirt thing was about… Thankfully, Savannah spoke up and stopped his head from spinning. “Yeah, we did it! And tonight’s gonna be a banger.” He said happily, squeezing his thoughts down into the backpack between the bottles of vodka and rum.

[Sugar and Spite]

For the rest of the weak, Sam had been keeping his head low and studying. Hana had been transferred to the medical ward, as well as Theo, making him wonder if he would get sick.

Sam turned into an absolute baby when he was sick. Chicken soup, cuddles, thick blankets - the whole nine yards. His brain always felt swollen, and his nose was always itchy, and if he came down with anything he’d miss the party!

Oh shit, the party! Today was Friday. It was already seven.

After hopping out of the shower, Sam saved his video game before turning off the TV. He hadn't planned an outfit, or made a plan with his friends. As far as he knew, Sol and Leo were both attending. Rumor had it that somehow the kids were trying to get a hold of booze. While the prospect of booze was definitely intriguing, that wasn’t Sam’s sole purpose for going. He wanted to hang out with his friends, maybe get a little tipsy and maybe - just maybe - he might hook up with someone cute.

The need to find someone to date had been itching at him here lately in a way that Same just couldn’t describe.

With a sigh and a shrug of the shoulders, Sam began to dig through his closet in search for the perfect outfit.

[Sugar and Spite]

A normal week at San Agustin for Talya was fairly boring. She’d draw a few sketches, ace a few tests and do her best to find something gossip worthy. Fortunately the perfect thing landed right in her lap shortly after the day of the scavenger hunt. She had gladly given up her gift card in exchange for details about the party. What was she going to do with a gift card while stuck at the school?

While she hadn’t planned on using the money, Talya still felt like Savannah and the rest of the gang should pay her back for her contribution. Of course bringing up repayment would make her look like a horrible person so she did the second best thing - let nearly everyone know about the party.

It had started out by letting Kendra know. An even larger tendency to gossip than Talya, Kendra couldn’t help but text her closest friends as soon as she heard. By the end of the week, Talya had managed to invite just about everyone. (Exceptions were the dude in math class that felt like feet and that one chick who always wore cat ears).

After finding an outfit that allowed her to be both comfy and stylish, Talya began putting her makeup on as scenarios of the party ran through her head.

Tonight was going to be epic, and she planned to do everything in her power to make it that way.

[Ejected]

^{(FC: Zolee Griggs; Dialogue: #DE563C)}

The news of the party that was scheduled to take place that evening had spread around the student body like a wildfire, thanks in part to Zakya and her inability to keep a secret. The young woman couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as she walked down the hall towards the dormitory kitchen, eventually passing by a small group of girls who giggled and spoke loudly among themselves, raving about finally being able to get their hands on some booze. It only took Zakya shooting a certain look in their direction for the girls to cease their whispering and speed off towards the stairwell.

Zakya's guilt momentarily subsided once she reached the kitchen entrance and came to the realization that she had yet to pick out something to wear. "Shit," the girl said under her breath, rolling her eyes as she pulled open the door and made a beeline for the stocked pantry. "Pop-Tarts and juice it is, then..." And after carrying her lunch back to her bedroom, the young woman took only five minutes to scarf most of it down before she got to work.

After spending a few moments trying to decide between an over-the-top or casual chic look, it only took a little over thirty minutes for Zakya to finally decide on the outfit she'd wear to the party. As anyone would've expected, she decided to go with the more over-the-top outfit: a bright green, two-piece skirt set and lace-up sandals to match. Although she knew that she'd only be standing in the middle of some hot, over-crowded dorm party getting white girl wasted on Hypnotiq, she figured that she might as well look good while doing so.

It was soon after then, when Zakya accidentally tipped over the rest of her cranberry juice that something strange happened. As the dark purple liquid began to spread across her desk and spill onto the carpet, the young woman nearly tripped over her own feet trying to find a towel or napkin in order to clean her mess. And it was as she began wiping the table down with paper towels that an unpleasant memory began to seep into her mind.

"Look at the mess you made, you fucking dork! There's literally cranberry juice all over the table."

An oddly familiar face looked down at Zakya as she tried her hardest to clean up the spilled juice with the napkins from her lunch tray; after a while, however, all she seemed to be doing was pushing the liquid around the table, making the situation worse. Zakya could feel her cheeks burn as she continued scrubbing, only to screw up yet again by flinging the slightest amount of juice in the angry girl's direction. The girl moved out of the way in just enough time, letting out a startled grunt in the process.

"Fuck. You're lucky this shit didn't get on my air forces. My mom just bought me these yesterday."

"I'm... I'm sorry." Zakya heard her own voice croak out.

"I'm sorryyyy," the angry girl said mockingly, before turning around to laugh with one of her friends. "Don't be sorry, be careful. Maybe you're not worried about messing up those busted ass shoes you always got on, but that doesn't mean that I'm on the same time." After the girl finished speaking, she took a napkin from her own tray and quickly swiped it through the cranberry juice, getting more than a few drops on Zakya's T-Shirt. And despite the rage that had begun building up inside of her, Zakya did nothing but stare at her shirt in horror.

"Bro, Delia, just leave her alone..." One of the girl's friends tried to step in as the rest of them doubled over in laughter.

Delia. That was her name. Delia Thomas.

"Nah, Tam. Why did we even let her sit with us? I don't care if she's Kayla's little sister. You know she can't hang... ain't that right, dork?" And then she started laughing again.

It was then that Zakya gave up on trying to clean the table; she figured the janitor would be able to finish the job. But as the sound of laughter continued to ring through the air, the young woman could feel herself growing angrier than ever before. And without taking the time to think it over, she grabbed hold of the napkin she'd held before, wound her arm back, and tossed it directly onto Delia's crisp, white sneaker.

A second later, the girl felt a fist coming into contact with her jaw. And after throwing a few punches of her own, trying her hardest to ignore the throbbing in the right side of her face, everything suddenly went black.

With a dropped jaw, buggy eyes, and sweaty palms, Zakya sat straight up in her bed in a heart-pounding state of emergency. After a split second of massively intense panic, however, it suddenly dawned on her that she was still in her bedroom. A quick glance at the clock told her that she'd been asleep for a little over two hours. Her bottle of cranberry juice sat in its same spot on the desk, and her outfit lay in a crumpled heap under her legs. She'd fallen asleep.

It was all a dream.

[Ejected]

^{(FC: Diggy Simmons; Dialogue: #751B27)}

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone that Dwayne was spending his Friday afternoon lifting weights in the gym. With iconic hip-hop tunes blasting in his ears, Dwayne rapped along to the music as he did ten reps. He'd only been in the gym for a little over twenty minutes, mostly looking to pass the time until he could take another trip to the courtyard.

It wasn't until after Dwayne had finished his set that he remembered hearing about some party that was supposed to be happening that evening; It was Zakya who'd told him about it earlier during class. Usually, Dwayne would've decided to miss out on the party; after all, he didn't really consider himself much of a party person, much preferring to stay in his room and read a good book or something similar. But he figured he'd at least make an appearance at this one, even if it would only be for a few moments. It was rare that something "exciting" happened at San Agustin.

Five o'clock rolled around a lot faster than Dwayne had anticipated. It was around that time that he left the gym and made his way towards his bedroom, figuring he should take some time to prepare himself for the party. The young man entered his room with his heart set on a long, scalding hot shower. He didn't leave his room again until he was dressed and ready to head to where the festivities were taking place.

[Venus]

A @Venus & @Melissa Collaboration
Featuring the lion Leo Brooks the tigress Soleil Jameson butting heads like the true alphas they are. ♡
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When the news first broke about Theodore being sent to the Health Center, Soleil hadn't given too much thought to it. Some sort of bug had been going around campus, and the health center became a revolving door for classmates of all grades and ages. But when no news of Teddy's condition was known by the second day, the young woman grew nervous-- as most of the students that had gotten sick were out in a matter of hours. The worried Sol attempted to visit Theo at the Health Center, hoping to be let in without a fuss by the sweet, elderly nurse lady at the front desk-- same as it had been when visiting Griffin not even a week previously. But this time, Shady was met by an arrogant, middle-aged male orderly who threatened to lock her up in the psych ward if she kept insisting on finding anything out about Theodore. It took the combined effort of three people to forcefully drag the raging girl into a room, where she was locked long enough for her anger to subside. And when she was finally released, Soleil went to the one person who would probably understand just how upset she was feeling.

After stomping the whole way back to her dorm, Soleil threw open the door to Leo's room and stormed right in without a warning. "They're not letting me fucking see him!" she shouted, her face contorted in anger and frustration as she began to pace in circles around the room. "Who the fuck are they to tell me that?! It's bullshit: all of it! It's like Griffin all over again, and at least I could see him!"

Leo had only returned from the gym a half hour ago. He worked out for as long as muscles would let him, which was a few hours, since if he was going to drink tonight, he’d need a good session at the gym to cancel out the calorie intake. As he stood in the center of his room, only a towel wrapped lowly around his hips, he let the remainder of the hot water from the shower slide down his body and collect on the rug beneath him. The boy could hear shoes thumping down the hall the moment that the person exited the elevator, but he couldn’t act fast enough to turn the lock as his door flew open, revealing an angry Sol. “Jesus, woman, can’t you knock?” He exclaimed, making sure his towel was secure and wasn’t going to slip. “What if I was with someone in here- this is my room after all.”

"Okay, first of all: I would know if you're with someone, because your big mouth would waste no time in telling me all about how you'll take your Flavor of the Day to 'see the stars' or whatever it is that you say to them," she shot back, glaring at her best friend and, in her rage, failing to notice his lack of clothing. "And second of all, some seriously shady shit is happening here and nobody else seems to give a fuck!"

“It’s ‘I take them to places they didn’t know existed’, actually.” With a quick sigh, Leo tried to focus on his friend’s rambling. “Slow down. What’s going on?”

"They aren't letting me see Theo at the Health Center!" Sol cried out, looking up at Leo with what seemed to be furious tears in her eyes. "I went up there to visit him today and they refused to let me in, and when I pressed on to at least know what was going in with him they locked me in a room until I 'called down' and threatened me! Threatened me! Me, of all people! They seriously threatened the amateur boxer chick whose left hook can put them in a coma!" she said with a sarcastic guffaw. "Can you believe that shit?!"

The boy tried his best not to roll his eyes as he sat down on his bed, hand clamping over where the two ends of his towel joined. As much as he loved Sol, there was only so much Theo talk he could take. “Well, maybe he’s contagious, I mean-” Leo stopped himself, realizing what she was actually saying. “Wait a second…. Theo’s sick? When did he get sick?” He asked quickly, not knowing previously that he had been swept into the health center.

"Like two days ago? It was around the same time Fra-" The dark-haired girl suddenly trailed off, green eyes now wide with dread as she let herself fall backwards into a sitting position and then faceup beside Leo on the bed. There was no fucking way, right? "Around the same time Frankie got sick."

Leo gulped, eyebrows raising as he tried to not grow suspicious without cause. It wasn’t for his sake- he could give a rats ass what Frankie did in her free time, or rather who she did in her spare time- but it was for Sol’s. “I hung out with her right after the scavenger hunt and she was fine. No symptoms, no nothing. If she were feeling sick, she would’ve complained about it. Did Theo seem sick at all?”

"Not really, no: that's what's eating at me. We were hanging out the night before last and everything seemed fine. Now out of nowhere he's in quarantine as if he's suddenly contracted a deadly disease or something, but you don't offer any further explanation other than 'stop asking questions or you'll suffer consequences'? I'm telling you: it's fucking shady…" Sol fumed, crossing her arms in front of her chest and staring daggers at the ceiling.

“I mean, those 48 hour bugs are nasty. Got one once last year, I was either on the floor in front of the toilet or lying in bed in agony. There was no in between.” Leo grimaced, remembering feeling so helplessly grimy and disgusting. “Maybe that’s what it is, and they’re just trying to protect you.” The boy rationalized, shrugging. He stood back up, grabbing the outfit he had set out for the party and disappearing into his bathroom to change. He left the door slightly cracked just so he could still hear Sol’s response.

"If that's the case then why not just come out and tell me that's what's wrong with him, huh? What's the point of all these threats and secrecy over a stupid stomach bug?" she pressed on, clearly not even considering letting go of the subject.

“I don’t know Sol, I’m not a mind reader.” Leo stated annoyedly, letting his towel drop to the floor before slipping on a clean pair of boxer briefs followed by a pair of jeans.

Soleil didn't miss the annoyance in Leo's voice, and it only served to throw her over the edge. Before she knew it, scrambling up from the bed, stomping across the room and taking up position by the bathroom door.

"You know, I don't even know why I bothered coming to you, of all people," she began, glaring at Leo through the mirror. "You're a selfish piece of shit who doesn't give a fuck about anyone but himself. I have to suck up your never-ending tales of who you stick your dick into, but the second anyone else needs you it's suddenly this big fat inconvenience. Get out of here with that shit!" Soleil knew she was out of hand, but anger was driving her actions at the moment.

The boy growled- he was not in the mood for this. He didn’t bother putting on his shirt as he threw open the door, nearly hitting Sol in the process. “Selfish? Me?” He questioned incredulously, almost shocked. “You were the one who barged in here to talk about your problems, acting like you own the place. You are the one who has been talking about Theo fucking nonstop and you won’t even tell him how you feel.” Leo exploded, raising his voice as a vein seemed to pop out of his temple angrily. “If anyone is selfish, it’s you.”

No matter how absolutely right he was about her being a coward for not telling Theo how she truly felt, the fact that Leo had been so quick to use the secrets she'd confided in him against her stung Sol more than she would ever admit. Her green eyes widened with the shock of his betrayal, and it took every single ounce of her self-control to hold back from swinging towards him. Although from the way her body had tensed up and her fists were balled up, if Leo said the wrong thing whenever she was still within earshot, he would undoubtedly be the target of one of her right hooks.

"You know what? Whatever. I'm done." Sol declared, raising her hands in surrender. "Good luck having lost one of the few people here who really had your back. I hope you have fun at that stupid party they tried hard to keep a secret from you because the majority of the kids in our class didn't want you to go because they can't fucking stand you," she spat, shooting him one last parting death glare before storming out of the room.

Leo was fuming- if this were a cartoon, you’d see steam billowing from his ears. In a blind rage he grabbed the closest thing to him, which happened to be a book, and threw it against the closed door. With another swing, he punched his wall, a dent forming where is fist had landed and blood coating his knuckles. He couldn’t believe that she had walked out on him like that, said those things, and blamed him for it.

If there was a night where Leo wanted to drink more than anything, tonight was it.

[Melissa]

_{A @Melissa, @NeoAJ, and @smarty0114 Collaboration
Featuring: Tyler Jane Morrissey, Erica Monet, and Savannah Payton}

Tyler Jane sat impatiently in the common room, checking her phone for the time and nervously bouncing her leg up and down while she waited for Erica and Savannah to return with the booze. The redhead had been quite skeptical of the blonde’s claims earlier that week, so when she heard from Erica that there was a school van and a fake ID involved, she was under the assumption that it was a disaster waiting to happen. But, surprisingly, she hadn’t heard anything from them in a few hours, so no news was good news. She hoped.

The girl had passed the time by rearranging the furniture to be more conducive to a large group of people- she stacked some chairs and hid them in a closet and moved one of the tables against the wall to be used for beer pong (or as a backup plan, water pong if they couldn’t get any beer…) with the box of ping pong balls she stole from the student center. She had begged another one of the students on the floor for their set of speakers, and luckily they obliged, so those sat in the far corner of the room already hooked up to her laptop. Tyler Jane had spent a while getting ready after being rudely interrupted by Griffin, makeup complete and hair now straightened. Her outfit was a little more risque than usual- a bralette underneath of a sheer mesh black shirt and a pair of ripped jeans, but she knew she looked good and hoped as an added bonus that a certain someone would think so as well.

Erica pushed the common room door open with her hip, and slid in, Savannah right behind her. Arms occupied with keeping their collection of alcohol off the ground, Erica quickly deposited the ill-begotten gains on the island, breathing a sigh of relief. They’d made it.

“The drinks have arrived!” she said, gesturing to the liquor with a flourish of her hand. All in all, this had been considerably easier than she’d thought it would. The keys practically fell into her lap, but hopefully that meant nobody would be too suspicious when they turned up in a bush near the van’s usual parking space. “Shots for good luck, ladies?” she asked, not even waiting for an answer before she pulled out one of the bottles of vodka and unscrewed the cap.

Savannah brought in the cases of Corona and coolers, since Erica was doing all the juggling with the collection of bottles. However, her prized acquisition, the personal bottle of Hpnotiq was safely stowed in her backpack. She set the softer booze selections down beside the table and by the time she was standing up, Erica was already kicking off what was sure to be a day and night of debauchery and nothing good.

It was exciting but also tense. There were parties held back in Stillwater, but as far as she remembered, she was the good girl serving as the designated driver. Maybe she would sneak in a cooler herself, but for the most part, she didn’t aim to get wasted. Tonight that was going to change. An entirely different side of Savannah was going to be unleashed. Maybe I won’t have to think about every possible exit strategy when I’m drunk… Although I should have the water bottle and garbage pail ready to go bedside just in case.

Savannah pulled out another fragile piece of their expedition rewards: a souvenir batch of four glasses that had various natural wonders of New Mexico on the sides. It seemed appropriate, and the gas station did have some chips that couldn’t be obtained from the vending machines here, so it was a worthwhile start. “OK, but let me get some chase or something. I don’t think I can handle straight vodka on my first go.” She didn’t know that it most certainly wasn’t her first go with vodka, but for now, she reached for a bottle of cranberry juice she bought for the ride home. It was almost gone, but it would serve her purpose. “OK. Hit me, Erica.”

Tyler Jane breathed a sigh of relief as the girls appeared and her eyes lit up as she noticed the haul they had in tow. All feelings of doubt washed away as the redhead grinned at Erica, and then turned to Sav and nodded in approval. “Color me impressed.” She stated simply- even if she was still a bit annoyed with her friend, she had to give her props. With the alcohol secured, a wild night was promised and delivered. She helped her friends set up the different liquors, beers, and ciders on the island in the community kitchen, and placed some solo cups and beers on the pong table. But when Erica asked if they wanted to take shots, all TJ could do was laugh as she dropped what she was doing. “You read my mind, I want to get this party started already!”

Erica grinned, bringing three of the shot glasses over and filling each one up. The vodka spilled over onto the counter as she handed TJ and Savannah their glasses, but for once, Erica let the mess stay. All problems from here on out were to be dealt with tomorrow. She raised her own glass and the three girls brought the shots together, the clinking of glass filling the room. “To an excellent night filled with only a few bad decisions!” She threw the shot back, grimacing as the bitter liquid moved through her.

As Savannah took the shot, the vodka instantly burned her tongue. With no sugar or flavoring to dull the pure distilled alcohol hitting her mouth, there was a noticeable twinge of pain. Her eyes bugged out slightly, her cheeks puffed up. It was almost as if she wasn’t ready for the taste of it, like she was hoping muscle memory would allow her to take the shot with the same grace she always had, but that was not the case here.

She quickly grabbed the bottle of juice and chased it down immediately to get the acrid taste out of her mouth. The cranberries were sort of doing the job but she could still feel it on the roof of her mouth. “Ugh… I… I kinda wish I grabbed a better bottle,” she eked out as she threw another big gulp of Ocean Spray past her lips. “Don’t think it would have helped deal with… that, but still…”

Tyler Jane said a little prayer to herself before tilting back her head and shooting the shot with almost no hesitation. Vodka turned to fire as it passed over her lips and down her throat and adrenaline began to course through her veins. As she slammed the glass back down on the table she smirked devilishly- whatever that feeling was, it was incredible, and she wanted more. But, the redhead knew better than to take another shot in that moment. This was a marathon, not a sprint, and she didn’t need to get too drunk before everyone showed up. Speaking of everyone...

“I vote we hide a bottle or two somewhere for ourselves- all of this alcohol will be gone before midnight if everyone shows up.”

“Seconded!” Erica called out, picking up two bottles and stowing them above the fridge, as far back as they could go. She glanced down at her outfit, and shook her head. This was, “steal a school van” attire, not “get a hot guy to stare at you all night” attire. “Okay, I definitely can’t wear this,” she said, making her way back to the entrance. “I’m gonna change real quick, come grab me if somebody hot shows up. Oh, and Sav, you better start on the Hypnotiq, unless you want the rabble to get a hold of it.” Her dark hair was the last they could see of her, before she slipped into her room.

“No! This one is mine!” Sav asserted as she held her backpack tight against a retreating Erica. “I mean, we’ll see how generous I get later, I guess.” Erica’s mention about outfits caused Savannah to look down at herself. She would be a little more upset with it, but apparently “go break the law” wear was pretty close to “do regular Savannah things” wear. Both were good for blending in, anyway. “I just hope it tastes good. It’s going to really suck if I built my hopes up for nothing.”

Tyler Jane watched as Erica disappeared down the hallway back to her dorm, leaving the redhead alone with Savannah for the first time since their… altercation on Monday. You could cut the awkwardness in the air with a knife, but being the good sport that she was, TJ nonchalantly continued the conversation.

“I personally don’t think any alcohol actually tastes good, except whiskey when you’re 60 and smoke from a pipe.” She popped the ‘p’ at the end of her statement playfully, taking a look at the haul once more. There was vodka, tequila, rum… you name it, Savannah and Erica got it. “How much did all of this cost you guys anyway? It seriously looks like you bought the whole store.”

“Well, factoring in the mix and everything, it was about $200,” Savannah admitted. “But I was able to cover it. The prize for the scavenger hunt was a $75 credit card for each team member and I was able to talk Wesley and Talya into contributing their cards for the booze tab.” She dragged the oo’s on booze in an attempt to sound cool. Or maybe it was just to get more air in her mouth as the effects of the vodka still were affecting her. “Of course, when Wesley told me he already knew about the party, that’s when I kinda put the press on. He said, everyone in school knew, TJ! Everyone! I don’t even know how everyone knew!” Cool gave way to that sense of paranoia again. ”I mean, I wasn’t going to tell anyone about this except for Wesley and Talya and now it’s like the entire school is coming and I don’t even know if $200 is enough booze and… and…”

Savannah was starting to panic. She was feeling trapped again. Like the booze would run out and she would be blamed and be the scapegoat and have to leave the school and ruin her chances of getting to A&M and maybe she should just start drinking the Hpnotiq now. She collapsed onto a nearby chair and reached inside her bag and procured the neon blue bottle that she was saving for herself.

The redhead sighed as she listened to the blonde ramble on, noticing that she was beginning to spin out of control. Even though she had only known the girl for a few months, and she was still annoyed with her, Tyler Jane was quite intuitive, and knew when Savannah needed to be brought back down to earth. “Hey, hey,” She consoled, “It’s going to be fine. There’s plenty of alcohol, and if we run out, then we run out. Not the end of the world.” TJ stated, shrugging. She had known that this party would not stay a secret or exclusive thing for long, and that was fine with her. “This is supposed to be fun, Sav.” She emphasized the word fun, before taking the Hpnotiq from the blonde’s hands and pouring her a shot.

The Texan let out a soft whimper as TJ took the bottle out of her hands, but calmed down a little when the liquid hit a shot glass that was then offered back to her. She didn’t hesitate to take the hit of alcohol this time, quickly downing it, almost letting it bypass her tongue entirely, but she could still taste the tropical hints that made this a much easier drink to swallow. “Oh wow. That’s better than I thought it was going to be…” she admitted. “It’s almost like fruit punch.”

She let out a sigh. “TJ, I’m sorry. I nearly blew this, and if it wasn’t for getting all that money from the scavenger hunt, I don’t think I would have been able to pull off this kind of heist. I shouldn’t have shot my big mouth off. I’m sorry.”

Tyler Jane couldn’t help but dissolve into a smile as Savannah mused about the Hpnotiq she had been desiring since Monday. As quickly as the girl had taken the shot an apology flowed out, mostly unexpected, but not completely surprising to the redhead. “I know.” She stated matter of factly, not arguing the fact that the blonde had over compromised and put herself in a difficult position. “You were lucky that the stars aligned, or else we’d be having a different conversation entirely. I didn’t like how you acted on Monday- that’s not the Savannah I know.”

With a small nod, she decided to put the issue behind them now that she had said her part and gotten her point across. “Consider it water under the bridge. After all, you pulled off the heist of the century, so I can’t stay annoyed forever.”

A weak smile crossed Savannah’s face. Tyler Jane had a point. For all the stressing and stupid stuff said on Monday and continued throughout the week, they were here now. They had a bunch of alcohol stashed in the common room. They had kitschy shot glasses. The Hpnotiq didn’t want to make her throw up. Things were looking up. It’s like TJ said. This WAS supposed to be a fun night.

“Thanks, TJ,” she mustered as she finally was able to stand back up. She wasn’t shaking any more at the very least. “Hey, maybe before everyone gets here, you can give me a quick beer pong lesson? I’m… kind of a newbie when it comes to it.” This was a lie. Not that Savannah knew it was a lie. She was to be feared with a ping-pong ball in her hand if she was back in Austin. Of course, they played with much harsher penalties for sunk shots than just a couple sips of beer. Even now, it looked like Savannah was going to cling to her blue lifeboat for dear life tonight.

“Yes, but on one condition…” Tyler Jane paused before smirking once more, “You let me try a little bit of that Hpnotiq.”

---

In a laboratory hidden in the depths of the Academic Building, a large group of scientists sat at various monitors. It had seemed they had rigged cameras to show off almost every angle of the common room- from the entrance, to the kitchen, to even the hallway that led to the first floor dorm rooms. They would have a front row seat to the evening’s unsanctioned event, and would be meticulously observing every part of it. And in the very center of the room, positioned in front of the largest set of monitors, were Dr’s Wayman and Hagerty, coffee cups in one hand and pencils in the other.

The scientists watched through the cameras as Subject #24, after taking another shot of alcohol, showed Subject #19 how to play the game. The redhead exclaimed as the blonde sunk a shot on her first try, appearing shocked.

“Psh, you don't need lessons, Sav. You're a natural!”

“I’m sure it was just luck or something…”

The two doctor’s looked at each other and nodded. Tonight would be an interesting look at how alcohol affected each of the test subjects, and they couldn’t wait to catalog their findings.

[smarty0114]

_{Location | PARTAAAAAAAY}

---

---

Bradley Barron stood in front of his mirror and dramatically tore another shirt off of his body, throwing it into a pile of fellow rejects. He shook his head and flopped onto his bed, face down. His exasperation was muffled by his pillows, but it was just as cathartic. He’d been trying to get ready for this party for what felt like hours. Nothing he put on felt right, nothing looked good enough. He should just stay in, listen to the thumping of the music through his door, and pretend like it had been the best night of his life.

Except he’d told Wes he’d come, and therein lay his dilemma. You’re being ridiculous. Get over it. Get over it. GET OVER IT Bradley lay still for a few minutes, trapped in a labyrinth of his own creation, until he finally decided to tune out of his ongoing saga of self-loathing. He forced himself to roll over and get up. At least if he went to the party, he could get drunk, and forget all of this. He wasn’t sure alcohol actually worked that way, considering he’d never had the stuff, but hidden deep in his subconscious, a small voice assured him he was correct.

Minutes passed and finally, Bradley settled on a simple outfit, nothing too showy, but something that made him feel like he was putting in some effort. If he listened closely, he could hear the thump of music coming from downstairs, soundwaves slipping out an open window and into his room.

He took a deep breath, and headed out into the hallway, catching the elevator just as a few of his classmates were headed down. Short skirts and way more makeup than usual made it pretty obvious that they were off to the party as well, and he wondered if Erica was prepared for the whole school to show up. He smiled softly to himself at the thought of Erica’s face when she saw the common room filled with strange bodies.

The party wasn’t in full swing quite yet, but people had begun to arrive, and they were helping themselves to alcohol and the dance floor. The music was even louder down here, and coupled with the shouts of party-goers, it was damn near impossible to hear yourself drink. The weight of everyone’s presence seemed to close in around him, and Bradley beelined for the alcohol. He was able to wrap his fingers around a half-empty bottle of vodka, and after examining it for a brief second, he poured some into an empty cup, and chugged.

The vodka tasted like hand sanitizer smelled, and his body fought him as it went down his throat. Nevertheless, he kept it down, grimacing as he looked around for a familiar face. He was out of his element here, surrounded by people he barely knew. He took another shot, just to ease the weight of their stares, and a third just for safety. Each time it got easier, and Brad was beginning to wonder what all the fuss was about. He felt like he’d been drinking for years.

Wes and Griff still weren’t here, but that was beginning to seem like less and less of a problem, as alcohol warmed his body and clouded his senses. The music, egregious a moment ago, was seeping into his muscles, and he found himself tapping his foot to the rhythm while he poured himself a mixed drink. He smiled softly. What could possibly go wrong?

[AlteredTundra]

_{Introducing Cassie Lucasta}

A few hours later after he had changed into his party clothes, that of which consisted of a blue floral patterned, buttoned-up T-shirt, beige shorts that show off his surprisingly attractive ankles and shins, and, to complete the outfit, some burnt sienna and white sneakers, Nicholas found himself walking out of the health center with a somewhat tightly-wrapped hand, which served as his reminder that he ought to have a better sense of his surroundings. Considering that his injuries could have been a lot worse, his poor imitation of being a Kyle would have landed him in the land of surgery, or at least that’s what the nurse told him.

“And thank god I’m not.”

But it still was unfortunate. Not only because he was left with just one fully-operational hand, but as he stopped about a few yards away from the health center, he decided to check the time and, of course, he was fucking late. WEll, not late in the sense he couldn’t still make it to the party if he hurried, but late enough that, if he were to keep his usual pace, he might actually miss the point of being fashionably late. “Then I better hurry.”

As he picked up his pace and felt the wind around him bush against his skin due to his brisk walk, he couldn’t help but wonder who all got the memo. He knew Billie knew about the party. Granted, he didn’t know how she knew. Maybe someone else who knew blabbed to her or he wasn’t giving his twin the credit she deserved. But honestly? As much as Nicholas wanted to get ahead of it, the one thing he knew was that, for his own health, playing dumb was his best course of action. Better Billie gets on the bad side of those who orchestrated it rather than him being the cause of Tyler Jane's anguish.

“Not like there’s any other option in front of me.”

“Talking to yourself again, Nicholas?”

“It helps me clear my thoughts.”

As he stopped in front of the dormitory, Nicholas whipped his head in all available directions and the to his left, he saw that familiar shade of blonde hair about seven inches down walking towards him with her camera hanging loosely around her neck and gripping it not-so-tenderly in her slender fingers.

“Shouldn’t you be off snooping somewhere, Cassie?” He could only look at her with a cautious friendliness, especially since he knew she was as dangerous as she was cute. And he thought she verged on being a fox.

The blonde giggled. “Calm down, Nicky!” Oh, how he hated when anyone but Billie disrespected his name like that. “I’m not snooping tonight. Just decided to catch some nature pics before the party tonight!”

“Wait how did you--” And then he remembered, this was Cassie Lucasta he was talking to and then he shut himself up. “--I didn’t think you were a fan of these parties. It‘s probably going to be lame anyway.” He didn’ say that because he believed it but he was still trying to save face in the event Cassie wasn’t letting on everything she knew, which would be absolutely like her.

“Nothing’s ever boring if its--” Cassie let out a sigh and smiled, walking out from the bushes, almost falling but Nicholas caught her. “--Oh, what a lifesaver you are!” She tapped his hard chest teasingly and regained her composure. “Like I was saying, never boring if it was kept a secret. Besides, how can I miss the chance to catch some marvelous candid moments nobody meant to be photographed?”

Nicholas had finally taken this opportunity to look over Cassie, seeing that she was also dressed for the party. Though, based on what she was wearing, it was shocking to him that she didn’t cut herself. With half of her torso exposed like it was and especially her reputation of being halfway to Clutzville, she had very selective luck.

“Guess I’ll be seeing you, Cassi--”

“Wait no!” She tugged on Nicholas’ arm, giving him the one true weakness that, of course, she knew: the cutesy puppy dog stare. “Aren’t you going to take me as your date?”

“Uhm, as my what?” For the first time in a few weeks, Nicholas’ face read like an out of body experience.

And for a solid moment that ran the length of five of Nicholas’ deepest breaths, she erupted into a fit of giggles, punching his arm. “Kiiiiidding!” The source of his near heart attack let go of his hand and proceeded ahead. “Catch ya later, Nicky!”

He didn’t stun easy. Anyone who knew Nicholas Salvador Grey knew that much about him. Or even if they didn’t know him personally, they had seen him around and how he was in his natural habitat. And that was to say his natural habitat was always when he put on the charm to anyone. It didn’t matter if that was shut-ins like Dwayne Freeman or delightful surprises like Tyler Jane Morrisey, he always had the upper-hand, but if there was one person that Nicholas had no saintly or devilishly handle on, it was Cassie Lucasta.

“I do not pity whoever ends up falling for her, or, God forbid if it were the reverse…”

---

_{Mood — Curious and Amazed
Interactions — @HaleyTheRandom}

“It’s truly a blessed night~”

Cassie’s sang as she half-skipped her way through the first floor, the sounds of a party beginning to fill her ears.

She couldn’t say that what she heard was the start of a wild party -- at least, she knew that those who knew about this secret, hush-hush, keep-it-on-the-DL party hadn’t arrived yet. How did she know this? Call it a girl’s intuition. Oh, and, of course, the pure and simple fact that it wasn’t out of control. The 4-1-1 hinted it was supposed to be a “need to know” shindig, but nothing stays secret forever and if it wasn’t meant to be enjoyed by all, why have the gathering in the first place?

To Picaso
That brother of yours really is a sight. Immediately caught me following him so I had to blow our cover. But fear not! He knows that the party deets were leaked hehe.
Ofc he dnt say anything to meeeeee. I think he’s plying dumb 4 ykw
Nyways, guess i’ll see ya at it.

Of course, Cassie just had to text her bestie! There was no way she wasn’t going to explain to her just how excited she was for not only this party and having the time of the life (especially since she missed out on the scavenger hunt), but there was a chance of seeing that certains someone she has a whole folder of. Maybe it was a little stalkerish, but they were always their most vulnerable when they let their guard down--oops, probably shouldn’t reveal too much!

“Oh!” Well no duh, Cassie! You have to let the hosts you’re here, don’t you. “Wait no! She should know where I am so she can sneak in accordingly.”

To Picasso
Immediate right by the ferns. Can’t miss me. ;)

---

_{Mood — Where's my stone when I need it?
Interactions — @Melissa @NeoAJ}

In the back of the room, against the wall, there had been a few tables set up for beer pong tables and he saw both Savannah and Tyler Jane, who, if he had to be honest, were both looking ravishing from where he stood, had started a game. Now, as much as he wanted to automatically approach them, observing them both might help him figure out just how to solve this problem.

No less than a week ago, he watched them in a similar position but they had been at each other, fighting for the prize of, well, him. And, of course, it was thoroughly entertaining that two incredibly beautiful girls would deem him worthy of their friendship nearly being thrown in the trash can, his reflection after the fact kind of changed his mind. And that’s not even counting that intense moment with TJ later. He was kind of on the fence but after talking with Mr. Hale, Nicholas knew where he stood. Still…

“--this needs to be handled with a little finesse.”

He waited a few more moments and took in a deep breath. Liquid courage wasn’t needed for this and Nicholas was, if nothing else, bold enough to take on two birds without a stone.

“Evening girls,” he said, easing himself towards the middle of the table, looking at both Tyler Jane, who immediately caught his eye in her black outfit that did everything right and Savannah, who again couldn’t do any wrong. “I have to admit: the place looks great. Although, nowhere nearly as good as you two do.”

[Melissa]

_{Mentions: Sol @Venus}

After Sol stormed out, Leo’s room felt emptier- colder almost. Even as argumentative and sullen as he was, the boy still couldn’t stand fighting with his friends, and the girl’s words rang clear and ever-repeating in his ears for a long while after she left.

"Good luck having lost one of the few people here who really had your back.”

He still couldn’t believe that they had lost their collective shit over their trivial love lives. Leo thought Sol was better than that… he thought he was better than that. She had some valid points, and he would take ownership of his mistakes, but he still had a hard time processing that she had the inability to acknowledge her own faults. He sat on his bed in deep thought for so long that it took the pumping bass coming from the first floor to take Leo out of his thoughts. As the dark haired boy snapped out of his trance, he noticed his bleeding knuckles dripping down onto the carpet. Cursing to no one in particular, he sauntered over to the bathroom to clean himself up and get ready. The promise of alcohol was enticing and fueled his desire to get over what had just happened and enjoy his night of teenage delinquency at the party.

“I hope you have fun at that stupid party they tried hard to keep a secret from you because the majority of the kids in our class didn't want you to go because they can't fucking stand you,"

As he watched his white sink stain red, Leo grumbled to himself “I will have fun at that party, Sol. Just you see.” Finding some bandages stocked in his cabinet, he meticulously wrapped his knuckles before fixing his hair and examining his outfit one last time for good measure. His momentary lapse of all sense of self control had come and gone, and now it was time for Leo to _{try and} enjoy himself.

Shutting the door loudly behind him, Leo strutted down the hallway to the beat of the music that pounded below his feet- upbeat and carefree. He bounded down the stairs instead of taking the elevator, sliding down the last flight of stairs via the railing and making his way to where the source of sound was coming from. The boy had arrived late evidently, as many people were already sipping on coolers and other various alcohol beverages. He quickly found his way over to the drinks and perused his options before spotting the Jägermeister and Red Bull and settling for a Jägerbomb to get the evening going. Spice was chased by sweet energy as he took a shot and immediately went for another.

Sober Leo was cruel and cocky, harsh and domineering. Drunk Leo… well we’ll find out what he’s like, won’t we?

[LovelyComplex]

_{@smarty0114 & @TootsiePop}
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

Erica shut the door to her room behind her, wearing something that better met her standards for the night. Her first realization, which came to her as her eyes fell on the conference room, was that there were way more people here than she had planned on, and more were still streaming in. She pushed her way through as politely as she knew how, and came to her second realization. People were having fun.

She couldn’t stop the grin that spread across her face, maybe because she was a little tipsy from her shot earlier, or maybe because she genuinely enjoyed making people happy. This kind of stuff was what brought kids closer. Later tonight, girls that had yet to become friends would bond over mutual toilet bowl escapades, and freshmen would work up the courage to text their crushes, and maybe, just maybe, Dwayne or Sam or any boy that wasn’t Leo would make a move on her.

“Y’know, for party planners, you sure know how to pick the place. Totally exclusive. I would’ve never found out.”

It was as if the universe had heard her wish, and laughed.

Rolling her eyes, Erica turned around to face Griffin Pierce. The two had what Brad called “crazy smart kid chemistry” and what Erica preferred to see as an unending academic rivalry.

“Well, unless you and the other two Musketeers have a secret clubhouse I don’t know about, I’d like to see you do better,” she said. A smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth, but that was absolutely, positively, just the shot from earlier.

“I could—” Griffin leaned up against the wall peering at her, his eyes never wavering below her face, only looking into her deep gaze.

His mysterious, laid back nature, while playful and insufferable at times, covered up more than most people realized. A boy as smart as him — there was more to him than being an annoying flirt, aiming to get under the skin of the prettiest girl on his campus. Someone he saw as his equal. Though, he’d never admit that to her face, since seeing her get riled up was all part of the fun.

Taking moments to glance behind her at the hustle and bustle of the party to see who was here, he smirked right back at her,“— If I cared enough.” There was some bridge of trust between the two, whether they were aware of it or not. Just by how close they were standing near each other could show that there was some underlying magnetism. It was like their rivalry forced them to see each other in such a short time. Perhaps accepting her strengths and putting his pride down also helped, because if he had to choose anyone to notice something that was ‘out of place’, it would be Erica Monet. She was a clever girl.

Truth be told, Griffin cared. A lot. He didn’t know why, but ever since he woke up on the bus months ago, he couldn’t stop asking questions and noticing things slightly skewed. Rewind the clock to after his confrontation with Tyler Jane, he spent some time in his room, thinking to himself and preparing. For some reason, he had an unsettling gut feeling, as if his recent interview with Ms. Mulligan would be used against him.

Unbeknownst to anyone, including his best friends, Griffin had hidden secrets throughout his room. Before leaving his room for what felt like would be the last time, he did something he wouldn’t normally do. He added slight disorder to his picture perfect boy’s room. Purposely, he placed his basketball in front of the wardrobe in his closet, then made an opening with his clothes, as if that led to something more, like fucking Narnia. Afterwards, he stood on his bed and shifted the ceiling tile, once again making it only noticeable to those that actually were good at finding subtle changes. Once he went back to the ground, Griffin grabbed the small painting Bradley made for him and placed it on his pillow, as if the cartoon s'mores eyes were staring straight at the ceiling. The last secret place he had was his dresser, the third drawer. Unfolding his clothes, which would differ from the rest of his drawers that were neatly organized and color coded, he let the chaos take over the wide space, followed by leaving the drawer ajar.

Call him paranoid, or whatever, but he felt a storm coming and if something were to happen to him, he wanted to make sure someone caught on. Quickly, he scribbled a note and put it in an envelope. With elegant cursive, that looked like near calligraphy, he wrote his letter to: Erica Monet. Pocketing it in his coat, he sighed to himself as he made his way to his door. Opening it, he quickly looked down the hallway to make sure all the people were at the party, and not around him. Cooly and swiftly, he stepped out and went to close the door. Using his body to cover the view of the camera nearest to him, he pretended to lock his door and instead taped a coin between the doorknob and deadbolt.

As if right on cue, Erica left her room, not looking in his direction, and strode to the party that she partook in planning. With that, he took out the letter, trying to make it seem like some sappy love confession, and slipped it under her door. To add to this narrative, he took a comb out of his inner coat pocket, touched up his hair to make sure he looked ‘on point’ and tailed behind her. If people were watching them, they knew how heated some of their discussions got and how out of the way they both went to one up each other.

And now, here they were.

“So, are you here to just drink, or care to dance?” He offered his hand, gesturing toward the center of the room, which he imagined could easily be a dancefloor. Leaning in, he whispered, “Bullshit and drama aside.”

Erica made a show of mulling over Griffin’s offer, before holding up a single, slender finger. “One song,” she said, before turning and sauntering towards the dance floor, not bothering to check that Griffin was following. One song wouldn’t hurt, right?

The song switched as the duo entered the growing crowd of entangled bodies. It was high energy, a song designed to get people on their feet. The words were catchy enough, and Erica began to twist and turn, her body moving with a practiced grace. Her arms swung in time to the song, wrapping this way and that in sensual motions. Her eyes met Griff’s and she smiled. “Well, you just gonna stand there, or are you gonna dance?”

Completely out of his element, but not afraid to make a fool of himself, Griffin retracted his hand and strolled through the sweaty crowd, blindly following her to the center. He watched her loosen up and though it was hardly emitting from her body, he did smell the scent of alcohol coming off of her. Before he did anything, he carefully examined her dance and that weird feeling of nostalgia washed over him, that feeling that haunted him, as if something was oh-too-familiar about this.

“Do you want to impress her, or what?”

Shaking a voice out of his head, a voice that reminded him of the whistle of birds, he decided to take it easy and not over do it, doing this thing called the ‘side-to-side rock’. He didn’t know why he knew what this basic dance was called, but it made him look chill and confident. There were only so many ways a guy could make himself attractive in a party setting, especially if dancing wasn’t his forte. He’d let her take over the dance floor as he’d only add to her moves, like an accessory. Perhaps this was another reason why she appealed to him over her best friend. Erica didn’t need to try to stand out. She just did, and she didn’t pretend to be someone else. She held her strengths and weaknesses like a medal of honor.

“Ask her something!”

“Uh, so getting the booze. Did it go off without a hitch? I haven’t seen Wes yet to ask.”

“Mostly, but uh, our mutual friend might need to make things a bit more obvious,” Erica said tilting her head over to where Bradley was leaning against the wall. With anyone else, talking about Bradley and Wes would’ve been a betrayal of sorts. Brad hadn’t told her anything, but he didn’t need to. She could put two and two together just fine, but it still felt wrong to gossip about her friend. Griff was just as smart as she was though, as hard as it might be to admit. If anyone had noticed something between the two it was him. “The long looks aren’t really getting through to anyone, least of all the person he wants.”

“Well the person he wants needs it literally spelt out for him too.” Griffin looked in the same direction as her and shook his head, “B-rad’s been hard crushin’ since the first week. I’ve tried to give him openings, but I guess he isn’t ready to risk what they have.” For a moment, it looked like Bradley found them, so he waved at his friend, but he guessed wrong, since his friend continued to search around like a blind bat.

“Sometimes people just need a nudge in the right direction,” Erica said. She smirked well aware of the double meaning that dripped off of her sentence. She grabbed Griffin’s hands and began leading the duo in a series of quick steps. It was clear she’d learned to dance somewhere, though Erica couldn’t recall ever taking formal lessons. “You excited for the weekend?” she called out over the music. She was not privy to whatever sense for danger Griffin held. As far as she was concerned, life was good.

“Excited?” Griffin scoffed in amusement. He did his best to follow her lead. This took a whole nother level of coordination, and was nothing like any basketball drills he did to improve his quickness. “I’m excited to not wake up on a hospital bed!” He raised his voice so she could hear him over the music. After giving her a quick twirl, he reeled her in close, breaking the barrier she had put up between them. He leaned in, his lips close to her ear, and whispered, letting his breath tickle her skin, “But at least I can remember this dance.”

Her cheeks grew hot as Griffin leaned in. She’d been playing a game tonight, and games were fun, but suddenly it was real. She didn’t know where all this confidence came from, but the fluttering in her stomach confirmed for her once and for all that this was just a mask. A mask she’d worn without even realizing it. She was used to being desired, but never enough for someone to act on it. This sudden intimacy was new, and nerve racking. A nervous giggle escaped her lips, and she stepped back. “I’m gonna go grab a drink,” she said, before, slipping off into the crowd, new questions filling her head with a thick fog.

For a second, subconsciously, Griffin reached for her, not wanting the moment to end, but as she walked away, he pulled back his hand. Under different circumstances, and at a different school, there would’ve been more to look forward to. There could be more to their story, like attending a silly school dance together or both staying up till dawn because neither wanted to go to sleep before the other. But, he knew this wasn’t their time or place. He knew something was wrong with San Agustin, which didn’t leave room for simple things like teenage romance.

Maybe he suffered from a hero complex, constantly battling conspiracy theories. Even so, Griffin knew there was something he had to do tonight, while everyone had a party to keep their spirits up. Smiling with sadness in his eyes, he watched her disappear in the crowd. As he shoved his hands in his jacket pockets, he felt his basketball bands and remembered one thing he wanted to do.

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Turning his attention to the direction where his friend was still standing, Griffin decided it was time to set his night in motion. Once he finished walking through the crowd, he leaned back on the wall, beside one of his best friends, and chuckled, “Looks like Wes is taking his sweet ass time.”

Bradley looked up, and grinned at the sight of his friend. He raised his glass in salute and took a sip. “That he is,” Bradley said once he’d swallowed the drink. “Looked like you and Erica were having fun,” Brad said, raising his eyebrow in a silent suggestion. The liquor had loosened his lips, and broken down the shell just a little bit. He was feeling funny right now, like he’d been the class clown in hiding all along.

“Damn right we were.” Griffin lightheartedly admitted, even letting out a small chuckle. “Sometimes, man, you just gotta’ go for it.” He gave a knowingly look to B-rad, even nudging him to add to his double meaning statement. “Carpe diem or some shit.”

Brad let a nervous chuckle slip out, and glanced down at his shoes. Was Griff suggesting what he thought he was? And if he was, how long had he known? Did everyone know? He polished off his cup to quell the growing anxiety rising in him. “Maybe I’ll try it out one day,” he said, confident that said day would never come.

“What if you only had one day?” Pushing himself off the wall, Griffin stared out at the party, his eyes immediately falling on Erica at the drink table. His voice went from fun-loving to serious, quick. Looking behind him, back at his friend, he shook his head, “I know, B-rad.” He knew for quite some time now, and if there was something he hoped he could do, it was give his friend the push he needed to take a chance for himself and nobody else.

Bradley’s eyes widened in realization before he quickly reapplied the facade he’d perfected so well. “Well then you know there’s nothing to seize. Wes doesn’t like boys, and even if he does, he doesn’t like me,” Bradley said, matter of fact. He‘d clearly given the situation a great deal of thought.

“So you admit it. You don’t know if Wes likes boys or not.” Griffin rolled his eyes, clearly realizing how poor his friend’s observation skills were. Did he not see how Wesley drooled when he saw Teddy’s body? After taking a deep breath in and out, he opened his mouth to respond, only to close it when he saw the devil himself walk into the party, finally.

Taking out one of his basketball bands, he swiftly slipped it on his friend’s right wrist, “You’re already thinking about getting rejected before you’ve even tried. What if he says no? What if he really doesn’t like boys? Okay, but ask yourself this: what if it does work out? What if he DOES like boys?” He let these questions linger in the air before grumbling, “Also: shut up with the whole he doesn’t like me. You’re right.” Griffin adjusted the band and gave a sincere grin, “He loves you, dumbass. And you have two options. Take the risk, or lose the chance. I don’t want you to end tonight not doing anything and living with that regret…” Momentarily, Griffin’s voice trailed off, wondering if he too should be doing something more daring. Sighing and going against his own advice, he added and released Bradley’s wrist, “Here, this is my lucky band.”

Placing his hand on Bradley’s shoulder, Griffin persisted, “Do you think I’d go this out of my way if I thought you had no chance in hell? Nah, man.” He decided to dismiss himself by lying, “I’m going to get a drink, and leave you two alone. Just stop thinking and just do. Okay? Okay!” With that, Griffin slapped the pair to his basketball band in Brad’s left hand and politely demanded, “Now give that to the little shit we love and seize the day motherfucker!” Not waiting for any objections, Griffin walked away, letting his two best friends have alone time together.

Bradley stood there, slightly shell shocked by Griff’s sudden passion, three words ringing clear through his brain. Seize. The. Day He mulled it over, and glanced down at the bands Griffin had given him. Maybe he’d take that advice.

[Grimoire Gaming]

_{Location | Wesley’s Room → The Party}

Wesley could not believe that they’d actually done it! The Booze Cruise had gone off without a hitch and Wes was still riding off the high of getting away with something so criminal. This was rule breaking to the extreme, more so than any of the pranks and mischief that he, Bradley, and Griff could cook up. Today, Wesley Slater broke the law… which was kind of concerning, considering that he was planning to study law and become a lawyer. But, maybe that made him an even better candidate for the job. A ton of people in law and law enforcement are actually criminals themselves, right?

With the alcohol properly secured, the van parked, the keys placed back where they were found, and the trio able to sneak into the dorms with their ill-gotten gains, the party plan was successfully in motion. Wesley brought his filled-to-the-brim backpack to the lounge and unloaded the alcohol, leaving Savannah and Erica to finish up with the party prep. It was their party, after all. He just pitched in his money, backpack, phenomenal acting skills, and, of course, invited damned near their entire class. The last job he had was to get himself ready.

Back in his room, Wes started with a shower to wash away the dried anxiety sweats from his silent mental spiral in the van on the way to the liquor store. He might have played the situation like the charming trickster that he was, but that didn’t mean that he never got nervous! Wesley had his music playing as he showered, dancing to the beats and scrubbing his hair in time, looking forward to all of the shenanigans that a night of drunken revelry might hold.

Once squeaky clean, Wesley made the first critical mistake of his evening. Clad in naught but a fuzzy white bath towel wrapped around his waist, he plopped down on his bed to relax and scroll through his phone. The scrolling slowed as his eyelids grew heavy from the combination of his post-excitement crash, the warmth of his shower, and good-old fashioned narcolepsy. He passed out within minutes and slept for a couple of hours. It wasn’t until the volume of the music from the party increased enough that the thumping bass vibrated his walls that Wesley awoke and realized his error.

“SHIT!” Wesley exclaimed, jumping out of bed and causing his towel to drop in the process. “Shit shit shit!” He continued as he stood naked in the center of his room, his hair having dried into the most ridiculous nest of curls from laying down and falling asleep with it wet. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he zipped over to his closet to find an appropriate party outfit to throw on and hopefully distract from his otherwise disheveled appearance. The next step was to make a second trip to the bathroom to try to salvage his hairstyle. Wetting his hair down and running his fingers through the curls succeeded in keeping them from defying gravity by sticking straight up, but it left him looking a bit like a drowned rat because of how much water was needed to tame them.

“Whatever…” he mumbled in a disgruntled tone before grabbing his phone, wallet, and keys to head down the hall. The party, as he expected, was already in full swing. A couple of his classmates looked like they had even already had their fair share of alcohol, which caused a momentary flash of panic. His Captain! Good lord, please don’t let the rum be gone! Before even looking for his besties, Wes beelined for the beverage station to prepare himself a drink. Thankfully, there was still about three quarters of the Captain Morgan left, and Wesley sighed in relief as he mixed a rum and coke, heavy on the rum, as it seemed he had some catching up to do. Looking around the crowded common area, he sought out his friends and found both Griffin and Bradley chatting. Perfect! He made his way over to them to start off his night on a better foot, hopefully.

[Melissa]

Blondes have more fun. At least that's what they say anyway, and Alexis Levinthal was ready to live up to that notion. The slender girl rummaged through her closet for something to wear as she could hear the music from the party loud and clear in her bedroom. What a great perk of living on the first floor- she got to walk out of her room and basically into the festivities! She continued to search until she found the exact outfit she was desiring, which consisted of a bright and fun crocheted floral crop top and a pair of bell bottom jeans. Alexis grinned as she slipped on the top that left little to the imagination as it hit at the skinniest part of her waist, and pulled on the jeans, nearly tumbling over as she did so. She may be cute, but was she ever clumsy.

Since she expected to be dancing (at least that's what happened at the parties she saw on all of her favorite high school TV shows), the blonde tied up her hair in a ponytail, leaving strands to frame her face. With a sigh as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror, she retouched her makeup from this afternoon, saving her time so that she could get out of her room sooner. Alexis was looking forward to hanging out with her friends and hopefully make some new ones at the party. Even though she had been on campus for the past two months, there were still so many people to meet! With her lips glossed and puckered, she stepped away from the glass and stood in the center of the room, trying to remember what she needed to grab before leaving... a minute passed, and she couldn't think of what it was.

As previously stated, she may be cute, but was she ever dense.

The blonde laughed at herself as she finally looked down at her toes and realized what she needed to get- shoes! After all, she couldn't show up to the party barefoot. But, knowing herself, if she wore uncomfy shoes they'd be thrown off as soon as her feet became sore and she'd end up sole-less anyway, so she opted for a pair of clean white sneakers. Slipping them on triumphantly, Alexis grabbed her phone and walked out the door, letting it close behind her with her keys still inside the room.

Oh well, she'd figure that out later.

The girl walked down the hallway and towards the party, smiling faces all around her as she emerged into the common room. People were just about everywhere and everyone was holding a red solo cup, dancing along to the loud thumping music. Excitedly, Alexis walked over to the drinks and grabbed herself a matching red cup, filling it with whatever concoction the person next to her was making, which ended up being Vodka, a bit of lemonade, and whiskey. An interesting choice, but the girl took a sip anyway, enjoying the sweetness of the lemonade against the harsher flavor of the alcohol. It burned on the way down, which Alexis somehow knew to expect, but the adrenaline rush afterwards was all she needed as incentive to drink more. Leaning up against the kitchen island, she watched as everyone enjoyed themselves, a smile gracing her delicate features as she swayed along to the song currently playing.

It was going to be a good night for Alexis Levinthal. She just knew it.

[Sugar and Spite]

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The rest of the day for Billie had been spent on school work. The realization from this morning had left her a little more than shaken, and she needed something to distract herself. Algebra and the facts about the Civil War had done a good job at keeping her company right up until time to get ready.

After taking a quick shower and blow drying her hair, Billie had straightened her hair to make sure that it was perfect. It had been a hot minute since she had been to a party, leaving her to scrounge for outfit ideas. Most of Billie's stuff that looked bomb was to formal. Her usual lazy grey sweat pants were to casual. She had to meet at a perfect medium. Something comfy, carefree....

Easy. Black denim jeans and a simple tank top to match. Perfecting her eyeliner and applying a layer of lip gloss, Billie put her earrings on before hearing her phone go off. Reading her friends text, Billie rolled her eyes as a small smile made it's way to her lips. Nick was going to play dumb for TJ. There was no doubt about that. No way in hell he was fixing to let Bambi think that he had invited his own sister to the party.

With a sigh, Billie shoved her phone in her back pocket before grabbing her favorite Adidas jacket. Another notification came through as she was halfway to her destination.

The ferns?

OH.

Cassie wanted to sneak in.

Of course she did.

While Billie would have slung the door open in a dramatic fashion and announced her arrival, Cassie would want Billie to sneak in and see how long it took people to notice. The blonde girl enjoyed small games like that, and Billie was happy to oblige.

Tiptoeing as she came to a stop right behind her friend, Billie stood on her tiptoes to peck Cassie on the cheek.

"Boo!" she whisper shouted. "What are we waiting for? Go in!"

[Melissa]

_{Mentions: Erica @smarty0114, Griffin @TootsiePop, Savannah @NeoAJ and Nicholas @metanoia}

The party was in full swing- one moment it was just her and Savannah, and the next, the rest of San Agustin had joined them in their revelry. The music was blasting, the booze was flowing, and everyone seemed to be having a good time already. Tyler Jane’s eyes continued to search the room for the person she was looking for, but instead she saw a few things she didn’t expect to see: Leo showing up to the party uninvited (so long as he didn’t cause any trouble, she didn’t care) and Erica dancing with Griffin of all people. The latter made her skin crawl, but she knew already how Erica felt about her getting involved with the twin of the Wicked Witch, so she wasn’t in any place to have any opinions about her friend’s affairs.

The shots she had taken earlier had definitely kicked in, a blush having spread on the redhead’s cheeks and nose that complemented her freckles. The buzz she was feeling was joyful, gleeful, and exciting- just enough to consider herself tipsy. She and Savannah, after they had made up and moved on, had decided to hang around the beer pong table for the first little bit of the evening to try to be social and play some games to get drunk. Plus, after seeing the blonde’s natural ability for the game, it was fun to watch her friend let loose and have a good time. As the two played, Tyler could feel someone’s presence approach the table, and she held her breath as they began to speak.

The girl knew exactly who it was without looking at him- even his voice somehow had the ability to send tingles down her spine. But shockingly, Tyler Jane resisted the temptation and didn’t look at Nicholas. The redhead knew he was eyeing her, taking in the tighter outfit choice for the party, but if she was going to win, she was going to have to play the game. Monday was evidence enough that Nicholas wanted her- that moment in front of the dorms had been replaying in her mind since it occurred- so why couldn’t she have a little bit of fun with it? His compliment went in one ear and out the other, the girl deciding to pay no mind to his clear choice of mentioning the both of them. After all, if he was going to be a tease, so could she.

Tyler Jane’s attention was still focused on the game of pong that they were in the middle of playing. She was down a decent amount of cups, but not out for the count yet. It was her turn, but the girl paused, thinking of her next move both literally and figuratively. Reacting on impulse alone, she made the ballsy decision to tap one of the boys who was standing near her on the shoulder, a devilish glint in her eyes and confidence oozing from her pores. “Want to take a celebrity shot for me? I’m sure you have good aim with arms like those.” She flirted, still not acknowledging Nicholas. The boy she had chosen nodded vigorously, stepping up to the edge of the table right next to the redhead. He tossed the ball and a small ‘kerplunk’ followed as it sank into one of the cups on the blonde’s side of the table. Tyler Jane smiled at him, subtly batting her eyelashes. “Nice shot, guess you’ve got good luck on your side tonight.”

Finally, she looked at Nicholas. It took every ounce of her being not to stare- his shirt was unbuttoned just enough to get a peek of the bare skin of his chest. But she resisted and locked eyes with him, raising an eyebrow and smirking as she leaned against the table. “Oh, hi Nicholas. Nice of you to join us... fashionably late I see.”

[Sugar and Spite]

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To tell you the truth, Sam was excited about the party. While he didn’t have that much experience with alcohol or parties as a whole, he was looking forward to the opportunity to get to know some of his classmates better. Trying his first shot of whiskey was high on his list of priorities tonight, and he wasn’t planning on missing out on it.

While he wasn’t directly invited by the hosts themselves, Sam didn’t think it would hurt for him to join the rest of the students at the party. After all, Josh from math class had invited him. He couldn’t let the guys down, right? Besides, nothing super interesting had happened at San Agustin yet. What if this was the only party that he would ever have the opportunity to go to?

Once dressed, Sam made his way to the party. Once inside of the dorm room, the young man was easily lost in the masses. He had heard a rumor that Erica, Sav, and TJ had wanted the party to be a small, quiet kind of thing. If that rumor turned out to be true…. Well, the girls had failed. Hard.

Deciding to look for snacks, Sam wound up in the kitchen next to a familiar face.

”Hey Lex. What’s up?”

[Venus]

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The argument with Leo had only served to further aggravate Soleil's rotten mood. While the rest of her classmates were starting to make their arrivals to the party downstairs, Shady was still lying in bed, staring daggers at the ceiling of her empty bedroom as if it was personally responsible for her suffering. Since they had known each other, Sol and Leo had gone through their fair share of 'confrontations', which mostly consisted of petty arguments over menial shit that were quickly forgiven and forgotten. However, this one felt different. Maybe it was because of the words exchanged, or because she knew that deep down they both meant what they had said. Either way, the clash had left the green-eyed girl's stomach bubbling with guilt and regret. No matter what negative thing she or any other person said about him, Leo Brooks was still her best friend. The last thing she wanted after this incident with Teddy was to lose another person she deeply cared about.

After a few more minutes of moping around feeling sorry for herself, Soleil decided to channel her feelings into something more productive. She quickly jumped up from the bed, changed into athletic wear, put on her wireless earphones and headed straight to her happy place. In no time, the sound of strong punches coming into contact with a heavy punching bag would fill the otherwise silent gymnasium.