The campus seemed a little brighter as Lorcán merrily made his way across, feeling lighter and more free than he had only hours ago. The crisp September wind only further accented the heat of the late summer sun as it held its own against the changing of the season. He jumped up on a nearby curve, quickly balancing along the beam before leaping into a spin and landing on the nearby path again.
His erratic movements drew a few stray eyes, but Lorcán heeded them no regard, whistling a tune as he went. He spun around a nearby lamp post, clicking his heels together, no longer worried about the damp clothing he was in or the mess of hair atop his head. Miranda had unlocked his memories, helped him realize what he had only dared hope before.
Aurora Mitchell loved him.
Despite all the troubles of late, despite the obstacles that kept them apart, the miscommunication, the poor timing, despite it all.
Aurora Mitchell loved Lorcán Roth.
The words rang out in his mind clear as day, the fog and otherworldly oppression cleared, gone and obliterated thanks to Miranda’s assistance. The weight of guilt and shame lifted, his soul light as a feather and all he wanted to do was soar through skies as Haven was so enviably capable of.
He needed to see Aurora right now, he needed to climb the Administration building, he needed to shout from the rooftops.
Lorcán Roth loved Aurora Mitchell.
Except.
Except that she would hate that. Even Lorcán knew that Aurora,
his Lady Dude, did not like public display of affection, let alone mass spectacles. Even if his chest was fit to burst at any second, even if he wanted to run laps around campus in sheer joy, he knew he needed to wait until they had a moment together, something private and intimate.
Something that was just the two of them.
A dumb grin set across his face, as Lorcán suddenly sprung onto his hands, cartwheeling before using his abilities to boost himself into a handspring and backflip. His display was followed by more gawking, but Lorcán didn’t have a care in the world as his wavy mane was lifted by the cool breeze. His molten-coloured eyes stared into the distance, focusing on the Myotis dorms, locking onto the balcony in front of Aurora’s dorm.
He could have jetted the distance, scaled the balcony and burst through. But Aurora had a date tonight, and it wasn’t his place to ruin it for her. It wasn’t his place to intervene but perhaps, perhaps she could save him the last dance of the night. He had waited this long, what was a few hours more? Lorcán owed Aurora at least that, it wasn’t about him or his epiphanies, it was about both of them and Aurora had accepted another young man’s invitation.
Lorcán wasn’t about to meddle, no matter who that mystery man was.
Letting out a small ‘whoop’ Lorcán sprung forward, front flipping into a slight jog before jumping off another lamp post and nearly colliding with a familiar face. His fiery eyes came into focus, before he tumbled on top of Gil, the pair colliding with the pavement beneath them as Lorcán came to rest atop the other boy, cans sent rolling in all directions as some nearby bystanders let out a couple catcalls while Lorcán was laid out atop Gil’s chest.
“S’pose I should at least offer to buy you dinner first, bro,” Lorcán mumbled, dusting himself up before extending a hand to Gil,
“Where are you headed loaded up with the brewskis?”“...to come and meet you. And Rory. And Banjo, I suppose, though I'm not sure how to reach him with Calliope off-island...” Gil replied, taking Lorcán’s hand before the pair picked up the scattered drinks together.
“It's the dance tonight. Did you forget we were supposed to get ready and pre-game? I messaged you to let you know I was on the way over.”“Dude, I haven’t had my phone for like the last twelve hours, it was dead when I got home and I totally forgot to grab it.” Lorcán replied with a laugh,
“It’s totally going to blow up when I finally turn it back on.” The laid back young man looked Gil over, his jaw was clenched, he was clearly agitated but even Lorcán suspected that it was more than just being carelessly knocked to the ground.
“You choka, dude?” The younger man asked,
“You look about as tight as a sail in the wind, ready to tear at any second.”“I'm fine." Gil said, reflexively evading the probe. He paused, then sighed. No point in trying to hide it - the news would get out eventually. Besides, where was that new-found honesty?
"I...I quit acting. Artie didn't take it well when I told him. It's unpleasant to effectively fire an old friend." Gil’s honest response caught Lorcán off guard before he offered some sympathy to his friend.
“Dude, that blows chunks, man, I’m sorry it went down that way,” Lorcán replied before putting an arm around Gil and leading him towards the Canis dorms.
“No wonder you want to get lit tonight, I’m really looking forward to it.” He nodded enthusiastically.
“Provided they play some good music anyways, need something I can move to,” Lorcán smiled before pulling away from Gil and swaying to an imaginary beat only to immediately trip on his own feet.
“I think you'd better stick to some standstill bob'n'sway.”“Yeah, yeah,” Lorcán replied dismissively,
“Look, I get the last few days have sucked, but I really do think that tonight will be a good night.” He continued, swiping his student card in the door before opening the Canis dorms and holding it open for Gil.
Gil lifted a beer in salute before opening the can and taking an impressive pull.
"One way or another." He replied, letting Lorcán lead him inside. A mischievous smile crossed the latter’s face, as sparks appeared in his molten-coloured eyes.
“‘Cause I’ve got a feelin’!” He suddenly sang.
“That tonight’s gonna be a good night, that tonight’s gonna be a-” He suddenly cartwheeled again, nearly wiping out as the mat slipped under his hands.
“Good, good night!” Lorcán called back off-key, steadying himself again before he ran a couple steps ahead of Gil. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Gil shake his head at his antics, a small smile cracking on the other young man’s face before they eventually approached the door to Rory and Lorcán’s shared dorm.
“Honey!” Lorcán bellowed upon entering the dorm,
“We’re home!” He called out, initially waiting for Rory’s reply before excusing himself to Gil and dipping into his bedroom. It was still in a state of disarray from the turbulent sleep, or lack there of the night before. But Lorcán was able to quickly locate his cellphone on the floor beside his nightstand, the charging cable thankfully still attached.
Booting the device up, Lorcán impatiently waited as the device took what felt like forever to boot up. He had a missed call and a voicemail from Cass, a message from Gil and Rory each in the Wolfpack group chat, Gil of course being an honorary member due to his misfortune of being in House Lynx.
He paused, his heart skipping a beat as Lorcán saw an unread message from Aurora.
AURORA MITCHELL SAID: Hey, I’m so relieved you’re okay. Sorry I ducked out before you woke up 😔 AURORA MITCHELL SAID SAID: Want to talk to you about something… come find me tonight, I’ll save you a dance. |
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Aurora Mitchell loved Lorcán Roth.Lorcán’s thumb hovered over the call button. He wanted to meet now, he wanted to explain everything to her. He wanted to tell Aurora how he’d been in love with her from the first time their eyes met, how he wanted to kiss her that night on the beach, how he was trying to tell her that Amma saved him, how it had always been Aurora. No one else even came close.
But,Aurora had a date tonight.
YOU SAID: I def want to talk to you too, I missed you the last couple of days. :Save me that dance, I’ll def be cashing in, Lady Dude! |
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Taking a deep breath, he pressed send before changing his clothes and pocketing his phone again. Turning to rejoin Rory and Gil, something caught Lorcán’s eye that caused him to stop. The object that Jonas had gifted him had rolled out of his pocket from yesterday’s clothing.
Picking it up, Lorcán gave it a reassuring squeeze before feeling the familiar warm pulse. With a small shrug, he tucked it into his pocket and turned to leave his room.
Couldn’t hurt to keep it on him after all.