Alex Faulkner (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
videokilledme) wrote2018-02-10 07:46 pm
videokilledme) wrote2018-02-10 07:46 pm
“And The Rest Is (World) History.” Alex, Bianca. (Persona Dreamscape) - Chapter Nine
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"And The Rest Is (World) History." Alex, Bianca. (Persona Dreamscape) - Chapter Nine
[music]
Since he would be gone the whole week, Bill Faulkner had left his truck for Alex to use whenever he wanted, the only stipulation being that he had to fill up the tank the last time he used it. Alex thought that was more than fair, a little glimpse of the old rapport they’d shared not so long ago. Thinking about how things used to be was a waste of time, though, especially where Bill was concerned, so as always, Alex pushed aside that momentary pang of something like regret and focused on the present.
Up-N-Down Burger was a small 1950s style mom-and-pop restaurant that specialized in burgers, sandwiches, shakes, and sundaes. It had all the classic fixtures: the row of stools at the counter, the black-and-white tile floor, the cushy, crescent-moon-shaped faux-leather booths, and most importantly, the ancient but painstakingly well-kept jukebox occupying a place of honor at the far end of the diner; even the staff’s uniforms were old fashioned (and though Alex would’ve died before wearing one of the guys’ pink candy-striped uniforms with their polka-dotted aquamarine bow-ties, he thought the girls’ uniforms were rather flattering). It was very close to the Carrington campus, within easy walking distance, so it was fairly popular with the student body; just about any time of day or night, from opening until closing, you would probably find at least one student there, studying or eating or just hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere.
When Alex arrived at exactly 5:30, he found that Connor was already there—and had been there a while, judging by the three empty coffee cups at his elbow. Even as they made eye contact from across the slightly-dim room, Alex could tell there was something different about Connor’s entire demeanor. The tall Asian student had one arm stretched across the back of his booth, and he looked thoroughly at ease, much more laid-back and low-key than Alex had ever seen him, with no evidence of the usual over-the-top extroverted behavior.
As Alex walked up to the table, Connor greeted him with a strangely serene nod and a simple, “Hey,” rather than making the usual comment about Alex’s appearance or attitude.
“Hey,” Alex echoed, hesitantly edging his way into the other side of the booth, regretting his decision to come here more than ever. ‘Normal’ Connor was annoying, but ‘ultra chill’ Connor was unnerving, though the extent of the difference between the two was strangely fascinating.
“Order whatever you want, I’m paying, as promised.” It was a matter-of-fact statement, without even a minor vibe of the playful I’m paying so omg it’s a date, teehee~! manner Alex would’ve expected, and it was disconcerting as hell. When the (very pretty, college-age) waitress came by to take their orders, Connor was smooth and polite but not childishly flirty, more of a quiet smoulder than anything, and Alex was even more at a loss.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” he straight-up asked as soon as the waitress had gone, and Connor gave him a placid blink in response.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You’re not acting...anything at all like the way you act at school,” Alex managed to get out with only minor fumbling. “Usually you’d be doing some stupid magic trick to impress the waitress, or...or calling me some obnoxious nickname, or…”
One corner of Connor’s mouth quirked upwards in a lazy smile. “Heh, yeah, that’s me all right. Or at least the ‘me’ I pretend to be at school.”
Alex just stared across the table at him, dumbfounded.
“Gotta be honest, Alex, it’s pretty hilarious to see you struck speechless. What’s so surprising about what I said, though? Doesn’t everyone put on a good face when they’re trying to get along with people?” His half-smile widened, his dark eyes taking on a mischievous glint. “For me, it’s just a game I play, and I decided that I want to be popular, so why not?” Connor leaned forward with a grin, his voice dropping conspiratorially as those dark eyes gleamed brighter. “...Or did you think that you knew everything about me that there was to know, just based on what little you’ve seen?
“...More like ‘what little you’ve shown me,’ huh,” Alex said, an appreciable pensiveness slowing the words, and Connor clapped his hands together hard enough to turn the heads of the couple sitting across the aisle.
“Now you’re gettin’ it.”
“Okay...but why would you choose to be that irritating?”
Connor sat back again, sliding down into a comfortable slump. “Why not? It certainly got your attention, didn’t it?”
“Not in a good way,” Alex muttered darkly, and Connor just gave a careless one-shouldered shrug.
“Maybe not, but I was still one of the most memorable people around. If I hadn’t been, you would’ve just ignored me, like you try to do to everyone else. But because I was annoying, we made a real connection. At least, enough of one that you came here, even though you hate my guts,” the handsome senior said, looking supremely pleased with himself. “Of course, that ‘irritating’ side of me is still me. I just dial it up to eleven when I’m on campus, which is actually a lot of fun. It’s nice to let go, to go all-out like that sometimes.”
Alex was silent for a long moment, trying to process what he was being told. Good job, Alex. You let your first impression of him cloud your judgement. And after all that talk to Bianca of not judging a book by its cover… Though to be fair to himself, it wasn’t just his first impression. It was his second and third and fourth...and so on. Connor had definitely gone out of his way to make himself a perpetual frustration.
That was when the thought dawned on Alex that Connor was actually a lot like himself. While he pushed people away to keep them from getting close to him, Connor pretended to be someone else, or more of an exaggeration of one side of himself, to keep them at a distance, to let them think that they knew him when really nothing was farther from the truth.
“...What’s your major?” Alex said at last, grey eyes narrowing in a contemplative stare.
“Theatre.”
“Oh, that explains it.”
Connor chuckled at that. “Judging me by appearances again?”
“No. I was trying to figure out how you’re so good at fooling everyone and hiding your real personality.” Which is pretty twisted, I’d say. Not that I’m really one to talk.
Connor had gone still, his eyes widening in surprise at Alex’s apparently unexpected comment--or compliment, really.
“So when I see you at school from now on--because clearly you aren’t going to leave me alone,” Alex went on, “which Connor will I be getting? This one, or the annoying one?”
Connor grinned, leaning forward onto his elbows and batting his eyes at Alex mockingly. “Which one would you prefer?”
“...I take it back, both versions of you are equally annoying. Just in different ways.”
The tall senior laughed at that, but the waitress swept up with their food at just that moment, which saved Connor from having to answer. For a few minutes, all Alex cared about was his spicy pulled pork sandwich and mint chocolate chip shake--he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, he realized belatedly, not that that was unusual. On days off, especially when Bill wasn’t around, he tended to get caught up in his music or a book or even his homework, hours passing before he knew it, his focus intense enough that physical needs were pushed aside unconsciously. But even as he was shoving that sandwich into his face as fast as possible, his mind was still working on figuring out the person sitting across from him. The fact didn’t escape him that Connor hadn’t really answered his question: which Connor will I be getting? Still, it was probably best not to mention that he’d noticed. Better to have Connor underestimate him a bit, at least for now, until Alex was more sure of him.
“Actually,” Connor began, then paused to suck a bit of ketchup from his burger off his thumb, “that’s kinda what I was wanting to talk to you about.”
“What, how annoying you are?” Alex drawled, taking a quick sip of his milkshake before adding, “How much time do you have? We could be here a while.”
Connor snorted into his own already half-empty glass, the tiny bubble of unexpected laughter echoing hollowly. “The snark never stops with you, does it?”
“Well, I have to sleep some time.”
Connor’s grin was back and brighter than ever as he leaned forward onto his elbows again. “Damned if I don’t love every second of the abuse, too. But, back to what I wanted to talk to you about…”
Taking an especially big bite of his sandwich, Alex raised his eyebrows in an unspoken well then, better speak up while I can’t interrupt and chewed with a placid, unhurried steadiness.
“Okay, hear me out, all right? Because from what I’ve seen, I think it might do you good to act a little more like me.”
Alex inhaled hard, almost choking on his still-not-quite-completely-chewed mouthful of pulled pork, ultimately devolving into some ragged coughing. Connor nudged his water glass closer to the younger student, and Alex gulped down about half of it before gasping out a rough, sodden, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Yeah, and it nearly killed me, good job.” Clearing his throat, he took another, slower drink of water, then set the glass back down on the table with a quiet but firm clunk, rattling the ice cubes inside audibly. “What the hell are you talking about? Explain.”
Connor popped the end of a thick-cut steak fry into his mouth, taking his time answering. “I’m just saying, maybe you should try to be more...personable.”
Alex’s expression was a study in incredulous skepticism. “...Why?” Why would I ever want to? was the almost horrified undertone, and Connor laughed again, this time with decidedly less warmth and humor.
“Why not? What’s so bad about learning how to talk to people? I mean, you are a communications major, right? Like...holy irony, Batmonk.”
The blue-haired teen sputtered a bit, momentarily too indignant to form a coherent sentence, which just made Connor snicker.
“By all means, hon, keep doing that lovely tea kettle impression, and all the while proving my point even more at the same time. It’s just...you’re in a journalism class now, aren’t you?” Connor shook his head, his mouth taking on a quizzical slant. “Look, I know there’s plenty of things you could choose to do with your major, but you’re seriously gonna limit yourself if you can’t learn how to NOT be awkward and visibly uncomfortable around strangers. I mean, c’mon, who ever heard of a shy newspaper reporter?” Shaking his head again, he smeared another fry through the glob of ketchup on his plate. “Why did you even choose that major in the first place if you don’t like or at least want to interact with people?”
Alex had ducked his head well before Connor finished saying all that, pale eyes sliding elusively sideways. For a minute or two, silence stretched between them, with Connor all but boring holes in the younger student with his stare while Alex deliberately avoided his gaze, glaring at the wall as he worked through what, exactly, he was willing to tell Connor, and what he was not.
“...It wasn’t necessarily my first choice,” he said at last, voice low, “But it was the most rational choice, all things considered.”
“What the heck’s that supposed to mean?”
At that, Alex’s gaze flicked over onto Connor with mercurial speed, a fierceness there that nearly made the older student drop his next fry back onto his plate in surprise.
“That’s none of your business,” Alex stated with a quiet calm that belied the lick of cold flame in his eyes.
It looked like he might say more, the muscles in his jaw clenching tight, as if he was fighting a physical battle to speak—or not speak. The older student waited for it, his own expression closed, eyes hooded, but when the blue-haired teen turned his attention to pushing his food around on his plate, Connor spoke up.
“...Fair. But my point still stands. You should learn how to talk to people.”
“And who’s gonna teach me that? You?”
“There are worse teachers out there,” Connor shrugged, then pointed at Alex with a fry. “I’ll prove it to you, by giving you your first lesson here and now.”
“Free of charge? Aside from your usual annoyance tax, I mean.”
“Free of charge.”
“Wow. Lucky me.”
“Lesson number one,” Connor began, ignoring that flat, blatantly insincere comment, “and really, this is the only one you need to remember: it’s fine to figure out what people think about you...but don’t let yourself really care what they think about you. You have to have enough self-confidence to brush off the opinions of people who don’t know you, and who don’t really matter.”
Alex quirked his pierced eyebrow, gesturing to his clothes. “Do you really think I’d dress like this if I cared what other people thought?”
“Can you really say you don’t care when you could hardly look up from your plate the first time you ate dinner with Bianca, and got stuck with a table full of strangers in the bargain?”
Alex stared across the table, wide-eyed and slightly spooked. “...H-how did you-”
“I was at the next table over, and I was already starting to take an interest in Bianca...and you.”
Alex could only shake his head at that, though it was disbelief, not denial behind the movement.
“Look, the only way you can get comfortable with being around people and talking to people is to just do it. So...maybe instead of walling yourself away, you should hang out with more people.”
The blue-haired sophomore snorted. “...What, you just walk up to someone and say, ‘hey, let’s hang out’? Because that’s not weird.”
“It works for me.”
“I rest my case.”
Connor let out a noise that could really only be referred to as a cackle, slapping the table hard enough that their cups and plates chittered nervously and Alex winced. “Just when I least expect it, you slide that knife right between my ribs and give it a twist. God, I love it, heh!” Suddenly he straightened in his seat, eyes shining excitement. “Ohhhh, that reminds me! I’m a part of the campus radio crew--I have my own call-in request show and everything-”
“I’m sure I’ve never heard of it.”
“-But anyway, I want you to join me on it some time! As a guest star, or trial host or something, I guess! You’d help me answer calls, just talk to the people a little then play a song for them, easy stuff. And since it’s over the airwaves and not in person, it’ll be a lot less pressure, more like talking to people via text or over the internet.”
Alex tilted his head consideringly. “I am pretty curious about what it’d be like to be a radio personality. That’s something my advisor mentioned as a possible job when I first chose Communications as my major…”
“Right! The station’s staff sponsor and manager is a cool guy, so I’m sure he’ll say yes to me having you on, especially since it’s to see if you’d be interested in joining up. Plus, it’ll be a great way for you to practice talking to people! Totally win-win!”
“All right, I’ll think about it,” Alex said mildly, finishing off his milkshake before asking, “So what kind of show do you host?”
“It’s a song and dedication program...with a little bit of love advice thrown in! I’m pretty well-known, actually, especially on the internet. They call me ‘the Delilah of college radio’ and--hey, where are you going? Alex, come back!”
About ten minutes into Monday’s World History class, Alex’s unanswered question from the diner was finally answered.
Resoundingly.
“Dr. Pace!” Connor burst out, interrupting their professor in the middle of a sentence.
Their grey-eyed teacher frowned and partially turned around, though his words were more than half-sigh as he began, “Mr. Katou, just because you raised your hand doesn’t mean-”
“If I promise not to skip any more classes, can I sit wherever I want again?”
“No, you may not. You’ll be sitting in that seat until the end of this semester,” Dr. Pace answered, with the slightest pause for an unspoken unfortunately at the end of that second sentence before picking up his lecture again, scarcely missing a beat. “As I was saying, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, from around 1760 until sometime between 1820 and 1840. Economic historians agree that this shift from a primarily rural, agrarian--or farming-based--society to a more urban, industrial one is the most important event in the history of humanity since-”
“Well, if I can’t sit where I want to sit-” Here he twisted in his seat, turning to fix his gaze on a startled and slightly reddening Alex, “-Can I have someone else come sit down here with me?”
“No, Mr. Katou. You’re sitting there for doing something that I explicitly forbid on the first day of this class. It is a punishment. Unless someone else does the same thing, which I highly doubt will happen since you gave me cause to prove how serious I was about it, then you’ll be sitting there alone.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Dr. Pace leveled a stern look at the lanky senior, who appeared as cheerful as ever, unperturbed by that grim stare. “Do you have any more irrelevant questions that could have waited until after class, or might we return to today’s lecture?”
“Oh, yeah actually. Can I go to the bathroom? Waaaay too much coffee this morning, you know how it is-”
“Mr. Katou, please stay after class. It would seem that we have much to discuss about your behavior in a classroom setting and what it leaves to be desired.” Turning back to the dry erase board, Dr. Pace said over his shoulder, “But yes, you may make use of the facilities. Just make it quick.”
Connor stood, pivoted in place to grin at the class as a whole, then waggled his eyebrows in Alex and Bianca’s direction as he made a show of hurrying up the stairs and out the door, presumably to the nearest restroom. Bianca blinked, looking bewildered at Connor’s sudden fixation on Alex as well as herself, while Alex just pressed his lips together in a thin, hard line and pointedly refused to meet the tall Asian student’s gaze. A few seconds after he’d gone and Dr. Pace had restarted the lecture, Alex felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Doing his best to be surreptitious, he eased his phone out into his lap and glanced at the screen, finding two messages from Bianca.
Okay so that was pretty weird even for him, wasn’t it
What’s up?
Alex jotted down something about the point Dr. Pace was making before answering:
> He’s been doing crap like that a lot lately. Bugged me until I agreed to hang out with him last weekend.
Wow you actually agreed?? omg...how bad was it lol
> He’s actually really different outside of school. Creepily so. Not sure if he’s better or worse...
...Worse? Oh gods are you o
kay??
Alex couldn’t help a slight smile at that last text; the fact that she’d been so worried that she’d accidentally sent it too soon sent a warm tingle through his chest. It was nice to know--to be reminded--that she cared, especially considering how busy she’d been lately.
> I’m fine, he’s obnoxious either way but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I can tell you more about it after class if you have time. For now we’d better focus, or we’ll end up sitting down there with Connor.
I’d like to say you’re wrong but yeah, Uncle Mal would ttly do that
It was a little harder to focus and sit through the rest of class after that, but Alex managed it well enough. Connor was gone for nearly twenty minutes, and Dr. Pace completely ignored him when he came back in, other than raising his voice to make himself heard over the dark-haired student’s intentionally-loud footsteps.
Actually, Alex was exceedingly grateful that Connor had to stay after class: it meant that he and Bianca were free to walk together without the risk of any annoying interruptions. As they made their way up the stairs and into the hallway, then out the door and down the sidewalk, Alex filled her in on what had gone down at the burger joint the day before. As he’d suspected, Bianca hadn’t been the one who’d given his number to Connor--“No way! I know that you wouldn’t have given it to him, so I wouldn’t either, even if he’d asked me!”--though that left him with the nagging question of how Connor had gotten it...not that it really mattered in the end.
“You’re not rushing off somewhere,” Alex noted as they meandered down the sidewalk together, shoulders hunched against the chill November wind. “No practice, or game, or class, or board meeting, or U.N. summit to get to?”
Bianca laughed, albeit a little ruefully. “I’ve really been MIA lately, huh?”
“Yeah, how dare you prioritize the whole reason for your scholarship over getting crappy pizza at the cafeteria with me all the time?”
“Pfft, yeah. I mean, who does that? Super selfish and totally rude.”
“Right? Unbelievable.”
Glancing sideways at her out of the corner of his eye, Alex found Bianca doing the same right back at him, a not-quite-fully-repressed smirk to match his own on her face. On making eye contact, they both lost it, snickering and grinning and playfully bumping each other with their shoulders.
“So,” Bianca began once they’d gotten themselves under control again, “Since I do actually have time today, maybe we could go-”
“Hey, Bianca!”
Both of them turned simultaneously to look over their shoulders, back towards the source of the brassy, resounding voice, and found themselves looking across the green at a tall, well-muscled brunette. Alex recognized her right away as one of Bianca’s teammates--DuBois, a senior, and easily their best wing spiker--and Bianca raised a hand in acknowledgement.
“What’s up, Zoey?”
“Coach Volkov wants us all to meet up at her office in 15! Can you make it, or do you have class right now?”
“Yeah, I can make it! I’ll be right there!” Bianca hollered back, then sighed and turned an apologetic look down on Alex. “Sorry, guess I don’t have time after all. I won’t be in class on Wednesday because we’ve got an away game that night, and Friday I have to leave right afterwards for a special practice with our substitute libero. But maybe next Monday, we could try to eat together…?”
Next Monday would be their last History 1001 class before the Thanksgiving Break...which Alex was not particularly looking forward to.
“Sounds like a plan,” he nodded, then something Connor had said drifted back to the surface of his mind. “...Maybe...we could sit at the table with all your other friends, like we did the first time.”
A flicker of shock passed over Bianca’s face, and she took a half-step closer to him, her eyebrows drawn downwards just slightly. “I mean...if you really want to, then sure, we can do that. But-”
“BIANCA!”
“COMING!” Shaking her head, she started backing away. “Sorry Alex, I really gotta go. Just--text me if you change your mind about Monday, okay? Or for whatever. I know I’ve been super busy, but I still feel like I haven’t really heard from you lately, and it’s almost Thanksgiving break, so-”
“Just go,” Alex chuckled, offering her one of his rare small-but-real smiles. “I think your teammate might spontaneously combust if you don’t,” he said dryly, inclining his head towards the lean brunette jigging from one foot to the other in a restless dance of impatience. “I’ll text you tonight, don’t worry.”
Bianca laughed, her eyes soft with gratitude as she gave him a smile and an atypically gentle pat on the side of the shoulder before sprinting off across the quad towards Zoey. An unabashedly wistful look came over his face as Alex watched her go, feeling a strange pull in his chest that he could only assume was another component of the by-now-routine loneliness he felt whenever he thought about her absence.
Stop it, he told himself sternly, you’re texting her tonight, you’ll see her Friday, and on Monday you might even get to hang out with her again. Anyway, this isn’t forever. Once the volleyball season is over, you’ll have plenty of time to hang out again-
“Ohhhhh man, you got it baaaad...”
The all-too-familiar voice broke in on his thoughts, coming from directly behind (and a little bit above) him. Alex stiffened, but didn’t bother to turn around; he knew who it was already.
“Connor,” he acknowledged, trying and failing at keeping the umbrage out of his voice. “What do you want?”
“Well, originally I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out, but now? Now I wanna know just how long you’ve been in this deep.”
At that Alex did turn, angling a baffled frown up at the tall Asian student. “In what this deep? What are you talking about?”
Connor turned a look of wonderment down on the smaller student--the kind of expression one would give some strange, fantastic new species of plant or insect, Alex thought, a defensive little quiver of animosity rippling through him.
“What?” Alex student demanded, only narrowly resisting the urge to stomp a foot in childish frustration, or better yet, take a swing at Connor’s stupid, incredulous face.
“Dude, you don’t have to pretend. I totally saw the way you looked at her.”
With that the pieces all clicked together, and Alex was already rolling his eyes by the time Connor finished what he was saying. It was just further evidence that, smart as he seemed to be about some things, Connor was still really freaking dumb about others. One of those things being, apparently, the ability to recognize what friendship looked like as opposed to romantic interest. The fact that Alex had been so slow on the uptake was only more evidence that it wasn’t like that, that yes, okay, sure, he liked her more than anyone else he knew, but no, he was not in love with Bianca Jackson.
Alex shook his head and inhaled slowly, annoyance radiating from him like light and heat from a tiny, hateful sun. “...I would ask if you’re stupid or what, but the answer to that is just as obvious as the fact that Bianca and I are just friends. Maybe even more obvious.”
“Not from where I’m standing,” Connor shrugged, grinning that irritating grin that made Alex want to punch him right in the nose for the second time in as many minutes.
“Where’s that, the dumbass section? Didn’t realize you had your own special, reserved space.”
Just like before, Connor only grinned wider at that, though this time his voice dropped to a low purr as he responded, “Aww, Alex, you’re such a sweet-talker. Who knew that so much abuse could keep coming from such a pretty mouth.”
Alex blinked, then raised one questioning eyebrow, about to flat-out ask, Are you actually hitting on me, or are you just being especially obnoxious right now? Before he could, Connor’s hand had settled in the crook of his elbow and the taller student had begun attempting to pull him along.
“C’mon! As always, I know where the party’s at tonight. If you’re alone and you’re not dating anyone, you can be my wingman...or I can be yours.”
“Connor, I don’t want-”
“Alex, what did I say about learning to talk to people?”
“I know how to talk to people! And I don’t think people go to frat parties for the conversation.”
“Two points: a) no, you don’t; and b) it’s not a ‘frat party’,” Connor chuckled, still hauling Alex down the sidewalk after him. “Look, have you ever even been to a party here at Carrington?”
“No, but-”
“Then you can’t judge ‘cause you don’t really know what they’re like! Just trust me, I’ll make sure you have a good time, okay?”
Something deep inside Alex recoiled instantaneously, balking hard at that flippant-sounding attempt at reassurance, not to mention the salacious grin Connor paired it with. It occurred to him that he didn’t really know Connor well enough to know what the taller student would call a good time, which was clear cause for concern.
And yet...in spite of himself, Alex was curious. It was true that he’d never been to this kind of party, not in his previous year of college and not during high school either, due to a combination of lack of invitation, general introverted antisocialness, and Bill limiting his use of personal transportation and questioning his whereabouts with an intensity that bordered on inquisitorial. It had been easier all around not to bother. But things were different now; if he wanted to, here was his chance to see for himself what it was like.
...It was also true that he wasn’t as comfortable talking to people as he could, or maybe should be. Though it had been less than a day, he’d already spent a fair amount of time ruminating on what Connor had said at the diner, and had come to the realization that he did want to be more social, or at least try to be. Going to a party sounded like a reasonable first step down that road. After all, if he didn’t like it, if he wasn’t enjoying himself or if anything happened that he didn’t like, he could always just leave.
“...I’m late for class,” he said, twisting out of Connor’s grip and taking a pair of quick steps back and away from him. “I have this one and another one right after it. But...if you’re still around once I’m done for the night...then fine. You show up, and I’ll go.”
Connor, God love him, actually did an endzone-worthy fist-pump in celebration, and paired it with a resounding crow of victory, both of which only inspired Alex to turn on his heel and walk away all the more quickly. “Awriiiiiiiight! You’d better believe I’ll still be around!” By now Alex was well on his way down the sidewalk, intent on ignoring the other student’s existence entirely, but that didn’t stop Connor from cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting after him, “This shit is gonna be lit, bro! I promise you won’t be sorry!”
I highly doubt that, but what the hell, Alex thought to himself as he hurried towards his class. Like Bianca had said at the very start of the semester, this was college. Supposed to be one of the most fun and fulfilling times of his life, with all the privileges of adulthood, and none of the responsibilities, and all that.
And, well. It was true that he already had his share of regrets, but he’d ended up with those even after playing it safe and always making the smart, careful choices. It was about time for him to finally do something stupid, to act with all the reckless disregard of his nineteen years, and to find another, potentially more enjoyable way of amassing regrets.
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"And The Rest Is (World) History." Alex, Bianca. (Persona Dreamscape) - Chapter Nine
[music]
Since he would be gone the whole week, Bill Faulkner had left his truck for Alex to use whenever he wanted, the only stipulation being that he had to fill up the tank the last time he used it. Alex thought that was more than fair, a little glimpse of the old rapport they’d shared not so long ago. Thinking about how things used to be was a waste of time, though, especially where Bill was concerned, so as always, Alex pushed aside that momentary pang of something like regret and focused on the present.
Up-N-Down Burger was a small 1950s style mom-and-pop restaurant that specialized in burgers, sandwiches, shakes, and sundaes. It had all the classic fixtures: the row of stools at the counter, the black-and-white tile floor, the cushy, crescent-moon-shaped faux-leather booths, and most importantly, the ancient but painstakingly well-kept jukebox occupying a place of honor at the far end of the diner; even the staff’s uniforms were old fashioned (and though Alex would’ve died before wearing one of the guys’ pink candy-striped uniforms with their polka-dotted aquamarine bow-ties, he thought the girls’ uniforms were rather flattering). It was very close to the Carrington campus, within easy walking distance, so it was fairly popular with the student body; just about any time of day or night, from opening until closing, you would probably find at least one student there, studying or eating or just hanging out and enjoying the atmosphere.
When Alex arrived at exactly 5:30, he found that Connor was already there—and had been there a while, judging by the three empty coffee cups at his elbow. Even as they made eye contact from across the slightly-dim room, Alex could tell there was something different about Connor’s entire demeanor. The tall Asian student had one arm stretched across the back of his booth, and he looked thoroughly at ease, much more laid-back and low-key than Alex had ever seen him, with no evidence of the usual over-the-top extroverted behavior.
As Alex walked up to the table, Connor greeted him with a strangely serene nod and a simple, “Hey,” rather than making the usual comment about Alex’s appearance or attitude.
“Hey,” Alex echoed, hesitantly edging his way into the other side of the booth, regretting his decision to come here more than ever. ‘Normal’ Connor was annoying, but ‘ultra chill’ Connor was unnerving, though the extent of the difference between the two was strangely fascinating.
“Order whatever you want, I’m paying, as promised.” It was a matter-of-fact statement, without even a minor vibe of the playful I’m paying so omg it’s a date, teehee~! manner Alex would’ve expected, and it was disconcerting as hell. When the (very pretty, college-age) waitress came by to take their orders, Connor was smooth and polite but not childishly flirty, more of a quiet smoulder than anything, and Alex was even more at a loss.
“Okay, what’s going on here?” he straight-up asked as soon as the waitress had gone, and Connor gave him a placid blink in response.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean. You’re not acting...anything at all like the way you act at school,” Alex managed to get out with only minor fumbling. “Usually you’d be doing some stupid magic trick to impress the waitress, or...or calling me some obnoxious nickname, or…”
One corner of Connor’s mouth quirked upwards in a lazy smile. “Heh, yeah, that’s me all right. Or at least the ‘me’ I pretend to be at school.”
Alex just stared across the table at him, dumbfounded.
“Gotta be honest, Alex, it’s pretty hilarious to see you struck speechless. What’s so surprising about what I said, though? Doesn’t everyone put on a good face when they’re trying to get along with people?” His half-smile widened, his dark eyes taking on a mischievous glint. “For me, it’s just a game I play, and I decided that I want to be popular, so why not?” Connor leaned forward with a grin, his voice dropping conspiratorially as those dark eyes gleamed brighter. “...Or did you think that you knew everything about me that there was to know, just based on what little you’ve seen?
“...More like ‘what little you’ve shown me,’ huh,” Alex said, an appreciable pensiveness slowing the words, and Connor clapped his hands together hard enough to turn the heads of the couple sitting across the aisle.
“Now you’re gettin’ it.”
“Okay...but why would you choose to be that irritating?”
Connor sat back again, sliding down into a comfortable slump. “Why not? It certainly got your attention, didn’t it?”
“Not in a good way,” Alex muttered darkly, and Connor just gave a careless one-shouldered shrug.
“Maybe not, but I was still one of the most memorable people around. If I hadn’t been, you would’ve just ignored me, like you try to do to everyone else. But because I was annoying, we made a real connection. At least, enough of one that you came here, even though you hate my guts,” the handsome senior said, looking supremely pleased with himself. “Of course, that ‘irritating’ side of me is still me. I just dial it up to eleven when I’m on campus, which is actually a lot of fun. It’s nice to let go, to go all-out like that sometimes.”
Alex was silent for a long moment, trying to process what he was being told. Good job, Alex. You let your first impression of him cloud your judgement. And after all that talk to Bianca of not judging a book by its cover… Though to be fair to himself, it wasn’t just his first impression. It was his second and third and fourth...and so on. Connor had definitely gone out of his way to make himself a perpetual frustration.
That was when the thought dawned on Alex that Connor was actually a lot like himself. While he pushed people away to keep them from getting close to him, Connor pretended to be someone else, or more of an exaggeration of one side of himself, to keep them at a distance, to let them think that they knew him when really nothing was farther from the truth.
“...What’s your major?” Alex said at last, grey eyes narrowing in a contemplative stare.
“Theatre.”
“Oh, that explains it.”
Connor chuckled at that. “Judging me by appearances again?”
“No. I was trying to figure out how you’re so good at fooling everyone and hiding your real personality.” Which is pretty twisted, I’d say. Not that I’m really one to talk.
Connor had gone still, his eyes widening in surprise at Alex’s apparently unexpected comment--or compliment, really.
“So when I see you at school from now on--because clearly you aren’t going to leave me alone,” Alex went on, “which Connor will I be getting? This one, or the annoying one?”
Connor grinned, leaning forward onto his elbows and batting his eyes at Alex mockingly. “Which one would you prefer?”
“...I take it back, both versions of you are equally annoying. Just in different ways.”
The tall senior laughed at that, but the waitress swept up with their food at just that moment, which saved Connor from having to answer. For a few minutes, all Alex cared about was his spicy pulled pork sandwich and mint chocolate chip shake--he hadn’t eaten since breakfast, he realized belatedly, not that that was unusual. On days off, especially when Bill wasn’t around, he tended to get caught up in his music or a book or even his homework, hours passing before he knew it, his focus intense enough that physical needs were pushed aside unconsciously. But even as he was shoving that sandwich into his face as fast as possible, his mind was still working on figuring out the person sitting across from him. The fact didn’t escape him that Connor hadn’t really answered his question: which Connor will I be getting? Still, it was probably best not to mention that he’d noticed. Better to have Connor underestimate him a bit, at least for now, until Alex was more sure of him.
“Actually,” Connor began, then paused to suck a bit of ketchup from his burger off his thumb, “that’s kinda what I was wanting to talk to you about.”
“What, how annoying you are?” Alex drawled, taking a quick sip of his milkshake before adding, “How much time do you have? We could be here a while.”
Connor snorted into his own already half-empty glass, the tiny bubble of unexpected laughter echoing hollowly. “The snark never stops with you, does it?”
“Well, I have to sleep some time.”
Connor’s grin was back and brighter than ever as he leaned forward onto his elbows again. “Damned if I don’t love every second of the abuse, too. But, back to what I wanted to talk to you about…”
Taking an especially big bite of his sandwich, Alex raised his eyebrows in an unspoken well then, better speak up while I can’t interrupt and chewed with a placid, unhurried steadiness.
“Okay, hear me out, all right? Because from what I’ve seen, I think it might do you good to act a little more like me.”
Alex inhaled hard, almost choking on his still-not-quite-completely-chewed mouthful of pulled pork, ultimately devolving into some ragged coughing. Connor nudged his water glass closer to the younger student, and Alex gulped down about half of it before gasping out a rough, sodden, “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“Yeah, and it nearly killed me, good job.” Clearing his throat, he took another, slower drink of water, then set the glass back down on the table with a quiet but firm clunk, rattling the ice cubes inside audibly. “What the hell are you talking about? Explain.”
Connor popped the end of a thick-cut steak fry into his mouth, taking his time answering. “I’m just saying, maybe you should try to be more...personable.”
Alex’s expression was a study in incredulous skepticism. “...Why?” Why would I ever want to? was the almost horrified undertone, and Connor laughed again, this time with decidedly less warmth and humor.
“Why not? What’s so bad about learning how to talk to people? I mean, you are a communications major, right? Like...holy irony, Batmonk.”
The blue-haired teen sputtered a bit, momentarily too indignant to form a coherent sentence, which just made Connor snicker.
“By all means, hon, keep doing that lovely tea kettle impression, and all the while proving my point even more at the same time. It’s just...you’re in a journalism class now, aren’t you?” Connor shook his head, his mouth taking on a quizzical slant. “Look, I know there’s plenty of things you could choose to do with your major, but you’re seriously gonna limit yourself if you can’t learn how to NOT be awkward and visibly uncomfortable around strangers. I mean, c’mon, who ever heard of a shy newspaper reporter?” Shaking his head again, he smeared another fry through the glob of ketchup on his plate. “Why did you even choose that major in the first place if you don’t like or at least want to interact with people?”
Alex had ducked his head well before Connor finished saying all that, pale eyes sliding elusively sideways. For a minute or two, silence stretched between them, with Connor all but boring holes in the younger student with his stare while Alex deliberately avoided his gaze, glaring at the wall as he worked through what, exactly, he was willing to tell Connor, and what he was not.
“...It wasn’t necessarily my first choice,” he said at last, voice low, “But it was the most rational choice, all things considered.”
“What the heck’s that supposed to mean?”
At that, Alex’s gaze flicked over onto Connor with mercurial speed, a fierceness there that nearly made the older student drop his next fry back onto his plate in surprise.
“That’s none of your business,” Alex stated with a quiet calm that belied the lick of cold flame in his eyes.
It looked like he might say more, the muscles in his jaw clenching tight, as if he was fighting a physical battle to speak—or not speak. The older student waited for it, his own expression closed, eyes hooded, but when the blue-haired teen turned his attention to pushing his food around on his plate, Connor spoke up.
“...Fair. But my point still stands. You should learn how to talk to people.”
“And who’s gonna teach me that? You?”
“There are worse teachers out there,” Connor shrugged, then pointed at Alex with a fry. “I’ll prove it to you, by giving you your first lesson here and now.”
“Free of charge? Aside from your usual annoyance tax, I mean.”
“Free of charge.”
“Wow. Lucky me.”
“Lesson number one,” Connor began, ignoring that flat, blatantly insincere comment, “and really, this is the only one you need to remember: it’s fine to figure out what people think about you...but don’t let yourself really care what they think about you. You have to have enough self-confidence to brush off the opinions of people who don’t know you, and who don’t really matter.”
Alex quirked his pierced eyebrow, gesturing to his clothes. “Do you really think I’d dress like this if I cared what other people thought?”
“Can you really say you don’t care when you could hardly look up from your plate the first time you ate dinner with Bianca, and got stuck with a table full of strangers in the bargain?”
Alex stared across the table, wide-eyed and slightly spooked. “...H-how did you-”
“I was at the next table over, and I was already starting to take an interest in Bianca...and you.”
Alex could only shake his head at that, though it was disbelief, not denial behind the movement.
“Look, the only way you can get comfortable with being around people and talking to people is to just do it. So...maybe instead of walling yourself away, you should hang out with more people.”
The blue-haired sophomore snorted. “...What, you just walk up to someone and say, ‘hey, let’s hang out’? Because that’s not weird.”
“It works for me.”
“I rest my case.”
Connor let out a noise that could really only be referred to as a cackle, slapping the table hard enough that their cups and plates chittered nervously and Alex winced. “Just when I least expect it, you slide that knife right between my ribs and give it a twist. God, I love it, heh!” Suddenly he straightened in his seat, eyes shining excitement. “Ohhhh, that reminds me! I’m a part of the campus radio crew--I have my own call-in request show and everything-”
“I’m sure I’ve never heard of it.”
“-But anyway, I want you to join me on it some time! As a guest star, or trial host or something, I guess! You’d help me answer calls, just talk to the people a little then play a song for them, easy stuff. And since it’s over the airwaves and not in person, it’ll be a lot less pressure, more like talking to people via text or over the internet.”
Alex tilted his head consideringly. “I am pretty curious about what it’d be like to be a radio personality. That’s something my advisor mentioned as a possible job when I first chose Communications as my major…”
“Right! The station’s staff sponsor and manager is a cool guy, so I’m sure he’ll say yes to me having you on, especially since it’s to see if you’d be interested in joining up. Plus, it’ll be a great way for you to practice talking to people! Totally win-win!”
“All right, I’ll think about it,” Alex said mildly, finishing off his milkshake before asking, “So what kind of show do you host?”
“It’s a song and dedication program...with a little bit of love advice thrown in! I’m pretty well-known, actually, especially on the internet. They call me ‘the Delilah of college radio’ and--hey, where are you going? Alex, come back!”
About ten minutes into Monday’s World History class, Alex’s unanswered question from the diner was finally answered.
Resoundingly.
“Dr. Pace!” Connor burst out, interrupting their professor in the middle of a sentence.
Their grey-eyed teacher frowned and partially turned around, though his words were more than half-sigh as he began, “Mr. Katou, just because you raised your hand doesn’t mean-”
“If I promise not to skip any more classes, can I sit wherever I want again?”
“No, you may not. You’ll be sitting in that seat until the end of this semester,” Dr. Pace answered, with the slightest pause for an unspoken unfortunately at the end of that second sentence before picking up his lecture again, scarcely missing a beat. “As I was saying, the Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain, from around 1760 until sometime between 1820 and 1840. Economic historians agree that this shift from a primarily rural, agrarian--or farming-based--society to a more urban, industrial one is the most important event in the history of humanity since-”
“Well, if I can’t sit where I want to sit-” Here he twisted in his seat, turning to fix his gaze on a startled and slightly reddening Alex, “-Can I have someone else come sit down here with me?”
“No, Mr. Katou. You’re sitting there for doing something that I explicitly forbid on the first day of this class. It is a punishment. Unless someone else does the same thing, which I highly doubt will happen since you gave me cause to prove how serious I was about it, then you’ll be sitting there alone.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Dr. Pace leveled a stern look at the lanky senior, who appeared as cheerful as ever, unperturbed by that grim stare. “Do you have any more irrelevant questions that could have waited until after class, or might we return to today’s lecture?”
“Oh, yeah actually. Can I go to the bathroom? Waaaay too much coffee this morning, you know how it is-”
“Mr. Katou, please stay after class. It would seem that we have much to discuss about your behavior in a classroom setting and what it leaves to be desired.” Turning back to the dry erase board, Dr. Pace said over his shoulder, “But yes, you may make use of the facilities. Just make it quick.”
Connor stood, pivoted in place to grin at the class as a whole, then waggled his eyebrows in Alex and Bianca’s direction as he made a show of hurrying up the stairs and out the door, presumably to the nearest restroom. Bianca blinked, looking bewildered at Connor’s sudden fixation on Alex as well as herself, while Alex just pressed his lips together in a thin, hard line and pointedly refused to meet the tall Asian student’s gaze. A few seconds after he’d gone and Dr. Pace had restarted the lecture, Alex felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Doing his best to be surreptitious, he eased his phone out into his lap and glanced at the screen, finding two messages from Bianca.
Okay so that was pretty weird even for him, wasn’t it
What’s up?
Alex jotted down something about the point Dr. Pace was making before answering:
> He’s been doing crap like that a lot lately. Bugged me until I agreed to hang out with him last weekend.
Wow you actually agreed?? omg...how bad was it lol
> He’s actually really different outside of school. Creepily so. Not sure if he’s better or worse...
...Worse? Oh gods are you o
kay??
Alex couldn’t help a slight smile at that last text; the fact that she’d been so worried that she’d accidentally sent it too soon sent a warm tingle through his chest. It was nice to know--to be reminded--that she cared, especially considering how busy she’d been lately.
> I’m fine, he’s obnoxious either way but it’s nothing I can’t handle. I can tell you more about it after class if you have time. For now we’d better focus, or we’ll end up sitting down there with Connor.
I’d like to say you’re wrong but yeah, Uncle Mal would ttly do that
It was a little harder to focus and sit through the rest of class after that, but Alex managed it well enough. Connor was gone for nearly twenty minutes, and Dr. Pace completely ignored him when he came back in, other than raising his voice to make himself heard over the dark-haired student’s intentionally-loud footsteps.
Actually, Alex was exceedingly grateful that Connor had to stay after class: it meant that he and Bianca were free to walk together without the risk of any annoying interruptions. As they made their way up the stairs and into the hallway, then out the door and down the sidewalk, Alex filled her in on what had gone down at the burger joint the day before. As he’d suspected, Bianca hadn’t been the one who’d given his number to Connor--“No way! I know that you wouldn’t have given it to him, so I wouldn’t either, even if he’d asked me!”--though that left him with the nagging question of how Connor had gotten it...not that it really mattered in the end.
“You’re not rushing off somewhere,” Alex noted as they meandered down the sidewalk together, shoulders hunched against the chill November wind. “No practice, or game, or class, or board meeting, or U.N. summit to get to?”
Bianca laughed, albeit a little ruefully. “I’ve really been MIA lately, huh?”
“Yeah, how dare you prioritize the whole reason for your scholarship over getting crappy pizza at the cafeteria with me all the time?”
“Pfft, yeah. I mean, who does that? Super selfish and totally rude.”
“Right? Unbelievable.”
Glancing sideways at her out of the corner of his eye, Alex found Bianca doing the same right back at him, a not-quite-fully-repressed smirk to match his own on her face. On making eye contact, they both lost it, snickering and grinning and playfully bumping each other with their shoulders.
“So,” Bianca began once they’d gotten themselves under control again, “Since I do actually have time today, maybe we could go-”
“Hey, Bianca!”
Both of them turned simultaneously to look over their shoulders, back towards the source of the brassy, resounding voice, and found themselves looking across the green at a tall, well-muscled brunette. Alex recognized her right away as one of Bianca’s teammates--DuBois, a senior, and easily their best wing spiker--and Bianca raised a hand in acknowledgement.
“What’s up, Zoey?”
“Coach Volkov wants us all to meet up at her office in 15! Can you make it, or do you have class right now?”
“Yeah, I can make it! I’ll be right there!” Bianca hollered back, then sighed and turned an apologetic look down on Alex. “Sorry, guess I don’t have time after all. I won’t be in class on Wednesday because we’ve got an away game that night, and Friday I have to leave right afterwards for a special practice with our substitute libero. But maybe next Monday, we could try to eat together…?”
Next Monday would be their last History 1001 class before the Thanksgiving Break...which Alex was not particularly looking forward to.
“Sounds like a plan,” he nodded, then something Connor had said drifted back to the surface of his mind. “...Maybe...we could sit at the table with all your other friends, like we did the first time.”
A flicker of shock passed over Bianca’s face, and she took a half-step closer to him, her eyebrows drawn downwards just slightly. “I mean...if you really want to, then sure, we can do that. But-”
“BIANCA!”
“COMING!” Shaking her head, she started backing away. “Sorry Alex, I really gotta go. Just--text me if you change your mind about Monday, okay? Or for whatever. I know I’ve been super busy, but I still feel like I haven’t really heard from you lately, and it’s almost Thanksgiving break, so-”
“Just go,” Alex chuckled, offering her one of his rare small-but-real smiles. “I think your teammate might spontaneously combust if you don’t,” he said dryly, inclining his head towards the lean brunette jigging from one foot to the other in a restless dance of impatience. “I’ll text you tonight, don’t worry.”
Bianca laughed, her eyes soft with gratitude as she gave him a smile and an atypically gentle pat on the side of the shoulder before sprinting off across the quad towards Zoey. An unabashedly wistful look came over his face as Alex watched her go, feeling a strange pull in his chest that he could only assume was another component of the by-now-routine loneliness he felt whenever he thought about her absence.
Stop it, he told himself sternly, you’re texting her tonight, you’ll see her Friday, and on Monday you might even get to hang out with her again. Anyway, this isn’t forever. Once the volleyball season is over, you’ll have plenty of time to hang out again-
“Ohhhhh man, you got it baaaad...”
The all-too-familiar voice broke in on his thoughts, coming from directly behind (and a little bit above) him. Alex stiffened, but didn’t bother to turn around; he knew who it was already.
“Connor,” he acknowledged, trying and failing at keeping the umbrage out of his voice. “What do you want?”
“Well, originally I wanted to ask you if you wanted to hang out, but now? Now I wanna know just how long you’ve been in this deep.”
At that Alex did turn, angling a baffled frown up at the tall Asian student. “In what this deep? What are you talking about?”
Connor turned a look of wonderment down on the smaller student--the kind of expression one would give some strange, fantastic new species of plant or insect, Alex thought, a defensive little quiver of animosity rippling through him.
“What?” Alex student demanded, only narrowly resisting the urge to stomp a foot in childish frustration, or better yet, take a swing at Connor’s stupid, incredulous face.
“Dude, you don’t have to pretend. I totally saw the way you looked at her.”
With that the pieces all clicked together, and Alex was already rolling his eyes by the time Connor finished what he was saying. It was just further evidence that, smart as he seemed to be about some things, Connor was still really freaking dumb about others. One of those things being, apparently, the ability to recognize what friendship looked like as opposed to romantic interest. The fact that Alex had been so slow on the uptake was only more evidence that it wasn’t like that, that yes, okay, sure, he liked her more than anyone else he knew, but no, he was not in love with Bianca Jackson.
Alex shook his head and inhaled slowly, annoyance radiating from him like light and heat from a tiny, hateful sun. “...I would ask if you’re stupid or what, but the answer to that is just as obvious as the fact that Bianca and I are just friends. Maybe even more obvious.”
“Not from where I’m standing,” Connor shrugged, grinning that irritating grin that made Alex want to punch him right in the nose for the second time in as many minutes.
“Where’s that, the dumbass section? Didn’t realize you had your own special, reserved space.”
Just like before, Connor only grinned wider at that, though this time his voice dropped to a low purr as he responded, “Aww, Alex, you’re such a sweet-talker. Who knew that so much abuse could keep coming from such a pretty mouth.”
Alex blinked, then raised one questioning eyebrow, about to flat-out ask, Are you actually hitting on me, or are you just being especially obnoxious right now? Before he could, Connor’s hand had settled in the crook of his elbow and the taller student had begun attempting to pull him along.
“C’mon! As always, I know where the party’s at tonight. If you’re alone and you’re not dating anyone, you can be my wingman...or I can be yours.”
“Connor, I don’t want-”
“Alex, what did I say about learning to talk to people?”
“I know how to talk to people! And I don’t think people go to frat parties for the conversation.”
“Two points: a) no, you don’t; and b) it’s not a ‘frat party’,” Connor chuckled, still hauling Alex down the sidewalk after him. “Look, have you ever even been to a party here at Carrington?”
“No, but-”
“Then you can’t judge ‘cause you don’t really know what they’re like! Just trust me, I’ll make sure you have a good time, okay?”
Something deep inside Alex recoiled instantaneously, balking hard at that flippant-sounding attempt at reassurance, not to mention the salacious grin Connor paired it with. It occurred to him that he didn’t really know Connor well enough to know what the taller student would call a good time, which was clear cause for concern.
And yet...in spite of himself, Alex was curious. It was true that he’d never been to this kind of party, not in his previous year of college and not during high school either, due to a combination of lack of invitation, general introverted antisocialness, and Bill limiting his use of personal transportation and questioning his whereabouts with an intensity that bordered on inquisitorial. It had been easier all around not to bother. But things were different now; if he wanted to, here was his chance to see for himself what it was like.
...It was also true that he wasn’t as comfortable talking to people as he could, or maybe should be. Though it had been less than a day, he’d already spent a fair amount of time ruminating on what Connor had said at the diner, and had come to the realization that he did want to be more social, or at least try to be. Going to a party sounded like a reasonable first step down that road. After all, if he didn’t like it, if he wasn’t enjoying himself or if anything happened that he didn’t like, he could always just leave.
“...I’m late for class,” he said, twisting out of Connor’s grip and taking a pair of quick steps back and away from him. “I have this one and another one right after it. But...if you’re still around once I’m done for the night...then fine. You show up, and I’ll go.”
Connor, God love him, actually did an endzone-worthy fist-pump in celebration, and paired it with a resounding crow of victory, both of which only inspired Alex to turn on his heel and walk away all the more quickly. “Awriiiiiiiight! You’d better believe I’ll still be around!” By now Alex was well on his way down the sidewalk, intent on ignoring the other student’s existence entirely, but that didn’t stop Connor from cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting after him, “This shit is gonna be lit, bro! I promise you won’t be sorry!”
I highly doubt that, but what the hell, Alex thought to himself as he hurried towards his class. Like Bianca had said at the very start of the semester, this was college. Supposed to be one of the most fun and fulfilling times of his life, with all the privileges of adulthood, and none of the responsibilities, and all that.
And, well. It was true that he already had his share of regrets, but he’d ended up with those even after playing it safe and always making the smart, careful choices. It was about time for him to finally do something stupid, to act with all the reckless disregard of his nineteen years, and to find another, potentially more enjoyable way of amassing regrets.
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