High Point University

James took the pile and did just that, handing one half to Benji.

"Yes. That seems the most efficient use of our time."

"Ah, it's not anywhere in here I guess." Lordy finished shuffling around the room, ignoring their whispers. "Okay, you two hold tight, I'll be right back."

Lordy left them alone in the room and closed the door behind him. He made his way downstairs into the teacher's lounge where a giant fridge held everyone's things. He threw the door open as a couple of the other professors watched him.

On the bottom shelf was his cherished delicacy that he was more than happy to share with his new pals, "Mmm, sphaget."

Spoiler

Mild warning: this post might cause you to lose a few brain cells. Also, there are some minor sexual themes that follow the 16+ tag. Nothing uncomfy - just an FYI because this is a party in a college AU and things can get ~steamy~ sometimes.



I swear Evaline isn't usually like this - I BLAME REK.

srry if you all need to bleach your eyes after this


^ me when writing this post

Evaline figured Rek was playful and blunt, but she didn't realize he'd be this bold. She was starting to have mixed feeling about this. His confidence was almost too overwhelming, but at the same time, she was glad that he was playful and casual about it.

"Right," she said quietly as she finished drawing his fingers, trying to keep a focused expression. "Performance. That's, um... a strong word, but I know what you mean."

This was oddly starting to feel like a competition with who was better in bed, and she didn't want that at all. It was just supposed to be pure, harmless fun.



Rek looked at Evaline curiously. It seemed like she was veering back towards expressions that he couldn't quite understand. Why was performance a strong word? That was literally his major? Music performance. But she seemed to be getting uncomfortable, which isn't what he'd intended to happen.

"I mean, yeah, whatever you want to call it." He flashed another grin. "I'm just happy to have someone to share the experience with."



This conversation seemed to ping back and forth between unwavering confidence and gentleness. It was a little odd, but Evaline decided to not overthink it. She started to glance up at Rek's hair, filling it in the drawing.

"In that case, I'd be happy to, ah --" she paused to playfully smile up at him, "-- play the piano with you."



Finally. Back on the same page. He returned the smile. "Can't wait!"



Evaline nodded, finding herself rushing now. She almost felt ashamed for rushing her work. Even when this wasn't a paid commission, usually treated her drawings with the utmost detail and time, but right now, she didn't really care. After an awful summer and a stressful day, she really just wanted to escape.

"I'm almost done," she murmured after some pauses, her pencil flying across the paper as she drew in his expression. "Just give me another minute..."



"No rush," Rek laughed, enjoying her enthusiasm.

He couldn't believe how lucky he was that she cared about music as much as he did. He briefly thought about what he'd need to do when they headed back next door. Who knew what state Jerica had left his bedroom -- but before he'd decided to be nice and let her use his bed for her nap, it was tidy enough. Not too much laundry, and it was just piled in the corner. His piano was a little cramped on the wall opposite the bed, but shouldn't take too much time to get tuned and ready for her to play.

He barely resisted the urge to crane his neck to see her drawing. "I'm excited to see it."



At this point, she decided to focus and finish without any distractions, so Evaline let the conversation lull to a natural end. After she filled in Rek's eyes, she placed the pencil down, peered down into the drawing with pursed lips, and then sighed.

It wasn't amazing since she probably should have spent another ten minutes on it, but it was good enough. Whatever. She was getting what she wanted by leading him into this, anyways.

"I'm done," she announced, flipping the sketchbook around for him to see.

She couldn't repress the bashful smile. It was always hard to take in any inevitable compliment that will come her way, and this was such a rushed work, she would rather they skip this part and move on.

"It's not the best, but -- like I said, it's free. I hope you like it."

She paused, tilting her head and feeling the beginning of another smirk.

"Maybe I can draw you again tonight?"

She wasn't usually this bold, and she cringed as she felt the warmth rise up to her face again. Rek was obviously very sexually confident, and even though she was getting nervous just from him hyping himself up, she still found it refreshing. Something about that confidence plus, his charm, and his agreement to keep things casual made her not care about her image or the short-term future.



"Are you kidding? That's amazing!" Rek flipped off the banister and took several steps forward, leaning down to look at it closer. Her talent was just... "Wow."

He tried drawing so many times, and never could get eyes or hands quite right. But this sketch was complete perfection. It looked better than a photograph -- even his pants were drawn in minute detail.

"You can draw me any time you like." He grinned at her. "I love it... want to go check out my piano now? Let me return the favor?"



"Thanks," Evaline said quietly, tearing the paper and handing it to him.

She stood up from the chair. Rek was not only bold and confident -- he cut to the chase. She liked how he thinks.

"Yes, let's go," she said in a hurry, putting her things back in her messenger bag and slinging it across her shoulder. "I'll follow you."



"Great!" He smiled at her, then down at the drawing. It was so good. This was going to be the best semester yet, having an art buddy that he could bounce ideas off. He couldn't remember if he'd mentioned it, but wanted some small talk to fill the silence as he started back in towards the party. "I'm just right next door."

He glanced around until he found Jerica. She had food and seemed happy, so he ducked his head and led the way out of the apartment, then right next door. He turned back to look at Evaline to be sure that she was following him. "This one!"



Evaline followed him out to the apartment, only nodding at her friends passing by. Elias was nowhere to be seen -- unsurprising, as he was probably doing something stupid like finding himself on the roof of the building -- and Mel had her back towards her and didn't see her leave. Probably for the best. She loved her friends, but they were sometimes a little nosy... especially when they tried to play matchmaker.

They exited the apartment and literally took three steps down the hallway. She peered at the door in front of her.

"Huh, you really weren't kidding when you said you were next door," she mused out loud as he fished for the keys to unlock it.

It was a little weird that Rek lived on the same floor as Elias and Elias's friends', but she didn't dwell on that thought. She thought it was stranger that they'd be doing this with only a wall separating everyone else, but the music still ricocheting off the walls. It was likely still noisy in his apartment, too.



Rek got the door open and held it for Evaline. "It's not much, but, uh, home, right?"

He closed the door behind him and hesitated, trying to decide on whether to lock it or not. He didn't want her to feel uncomfy, but at the same time, with how loud it was he wouldn't have any idea if someone else came into the apartment. And his laptop was out here. And Father would not like having to buy him another one so soon.

He decided to just lock the door rather than make a big deal about it.

"My piano is in my bedroom," he explained, cutting down the hall that branched off the living room they were standing in now and went past the kitchen on the right. He pulled closed the door to the laundry room on the left. "Sorry for the mess -- first day, things are a little chaotic."

He barely bit back a sigh as he saw that Jerica had left his blanket heaped in the middle of the floor. It wasn't surprising. Just annoying. He bent and picked it up, then tossed it over his bed and smoothed it down, trying to make the room at least a little bit presentable.

"Well, here it is!" He flashed her another grin. "Where all the magic happens. Glad their music is still up so high. We can play as loud as we want and not have to worry about bothering them."



Evaline gladly followed him to his bedroom -- or his piano, whatever he was calling it because at this point she didn't know what exactly this metaphor stood for now. But when she stood by the doorway and peered in, she was pleasantly surprised to find that he actually had a piano in there, taking up a big chunk of his room.

"You really do have a piano in here," she said with am amused smile, sitting on the edge of his bed and peering up at him.

Spoiler

I would take this moment to remind everyone that Rina is equally responsible for this shitshow and also extend the same disclaimer to this post as well.

Also, Rek b like:

Rek hesitated but smiled politely, vaguely feeling like he was missing something. Or, maybe she was missing something. He wasn't quite sure what he was talking about again, but at this point it didn't matter. Now, it was time to make music.

"Yeah!" He said, taking a step closer to it. "Upgraded from a keyboard -- it's so nice having a real piano."

He pulled out the bench and straddled it, knees still facing her, but turned his body so that he could lift the wooden cover that protected the keys.



For a few awkward seconds, Evaline didn't know what to do. She figured she'd follow whatever Rek's lead was, but she had no idea what his lead was. Did he normally start off these kinds of things by actually playing the piano..? Maybe he was a romantic and had a song in mind for her? Ugh. She really hoped that wasn't the case.

Deciding to not risk it, she got up on her feet and walked next to him, her hands pressed on top of the wooden cover so he wouldn't lift it. She turned towards him, tilting her head with a small playful smile.

"Maybe you can play that after...?" she said, her voice trailing off as her eyes looked down to his lips and then chest. Without hesitating, she lifted her hand and lined the collar of his t-shirt, then let it caress down his chest until her fingers slipped under his shirt.



Rek looked up with a passive smile on his face, confused as she wouldn't let him lift the cover. He gave her a playful smile and he returned it, not quite sure what was happening, but he'd play along. It was nice to see her actually smiling now, unlike back at the party.

He tensed as she put her hand on his chest and leaned close. The smile froze in place on his face, even though confusion -- and panic -- flooded into him and started drowning out the thrill of the piano. Something was very wrong here. But he was too confused for his mind to really process what was happening. What Evaline was doing. What she wanted. And so he just sat still and stared at her as he felt her hands slip under his shirt.



Rek wasn't reacting, but again, she decided to not overthink this. She was here because she didn't want to overthink any of this.

Maybe he was just a little... shy? Even though he was so bold and confident before?

She decided it was her turn to be bold this time. It was easier when they were locked in a room without prying eyes and he was someone she didn't know at all, and potentially never meet again.

In one quick motion, she took one of his hands on the piano, slipped it under her sweater so he was holding her back, and then cupped his face as she leaned in to kiss his neck.

Neck, not lips. It was always better that way, she found out.



Rek felt himself frozen in fear again, realizing that they must not have been talking about the same things at all. She was -- but he -- and then... his brain couldn't form full thoughts. The only thing he was acutely aware of was the panic surging through him and his hand on her back and then she was... kissing him.

Oh no.

His breath was caught, brain desperate for a way out. Was there a way out? He hadn't meant this at all. But she'd clearly thought he did. And... it would embarass her so badly if he didn't play along. Oh gods.

He took shaky breath.

Gods, gods, gods, gods. They were doing it. He had to do it. Oh gods, he had to do it. He couldn't hurt her feelings by rejecting her -- not at this point. This was the point of no return. Had he led her on? How the hell had she been led here?

That didn't matter at this point.

What mattered was that they were here -- and there was no polite way out of here. He swallowed hard and slid his hand further up her back, hesitating as his fingers brushed her bra strap... he thought. There was something there -- lace? How the hell do I get one of those off?

That seemed like the least of his problems. He stood up, barely resisting the urge to shrink away as his body made contact with hers, and took a step towards the bed, still holding on to her. It can't be that bad... can it?



Nights like these were nice because it melted away any stress and anxiety she had. Evaline's new focus wasn't like drawing where she had to make sure every detail was perfect; instead, the focus was on each other, just trying to make sure they both had a night of meaningless fun. That was it. No thoughts. No feelings.

So she didn't really think through her actions or really anything. Rek seemed to tense up, but she felt his hand inch up towards the back of her bralette, which she mentally cursed herself for because she did not anticipate coming to HPU and having this kind of night, but it was alright. She could take it out for him.

She pulled out from the kiss when she noticed him stumbling towards the bed, taking his hand and quickly leading him there and wordlessly sitting him down.

She started to take off her sweater, figuring that if she stripped down first, he'd follow her lead. She'd rather he do that himself anyways.



His chest felt like he'd just gone for a long run -- tight and burning and completely and devoid of any oxygen. He was fairly certain there wasn't any air left in the entire room. He swallowed hard, staring with wide eyes as she started taking her sweater off. And then there was her abdomen and --

He averted his eyes from habit. That wasn't for him. He'd always made a point of not looking at partially clothed girls. Not because it did anything for him, but because he knew it made them feel safer to not have every single man gawking at them. But she... seemed to want him to look.

He took a deep breath. His mind could finally form thoughts again -- and now it wouldn't stop. There were more questions flooding into his brain than he could possibly ever hope to keep track of. Where were his hands supposed to go? Where were hers gonna go?

Stop thinking. That was clearly going to be the only way to get through this. He hadn't felt this panicked in years, but somehow girls were much, much scarier than boys. At least, some things were already decided for them.

He swallowed hard and pulled his shirt off, letting it fall to the floor, then reached forward awkwardly, hoping she'd guide him to wherever the hell he was supposed to put them.



Evaline had peeled her sweater off her and unbuttoned her loose jeans, about to slip off of them. Before she did, she glanced at Rek and noticed... Well, she couldn't exactly place what his expression was, exactly.

Tense? Anxious? Terrified?

She paused as she stared at him, this close to slipping her jeans off. But something at the back of her mind told her that she should address this before she stood in front of him with just her bra and underwear.

"...Are you okay?" she asked flatly.



"Yeah!" he answered a bit too loudly. She was... they were... unbuttoned. Because, yes, that was what happened next. He tried to smile, but failed, gaze transfixed on her abdomen instead of looking up to meet her gaze.

He wanted to be able to relax his shoulders and hide his tension and just let whatever was about to happen, happen. But there was far too much unbridled terror surging through him to hope for that. "I'm fine! This is.. fine. Everything's fine... are.. you okay?"



Evaline decided to ignore his question, feeling the anxiety return in small waves, which was exactly the opposite effect of what she intended for.

"You don't... sound fine," she said with sudden uncertainty in her voice. She tensed and felt herself pushing to rebutton her jeans again.



Thank the gods, she buttoned her jeans again. He took a deep breath and looked up to meet her gaze, suddenly feeling much more like a guilty school boy than anything. "No, yeah, I'm fine. It's... great. This is... more than I possibly could have expected."



It hit her all at once.

Rek sounded like he wasn't expecting this at all. His broken words, his tenseness, him sounding like he was trying to reassure himself more than he was trying to reassure her...

He did not expect this.

And, the piano in the room. The... piano. Did he... actually only want to play... the piano..? This whole time, had she—?

"Oh, my god," she breathed out, feeling her head spin as she finished rebuttoning her jeans and then quickly reached down to get her sweater. She felt her face flush red hot as she pulled the sweater over her head and started to stumble towards the door to get out of this place.



"Evaline! Wait!" He stumbled to his feet, starting after her.

He was just making this worse and worse and worse. And now he'd embarrassed her. He felt so bad. He hadn't wanted to make her -- this was exactly what he was trying to avoid.

"I'm sorry!" He tripped over his own feet, desperately trying to catch up with her, even though he had exactly no idea how he could fix this even if he could make her listen to him. "I'm so sorry this is... it's..."

It's not you, it's me.

That would just keep adding fuel to the fire.

"Please wait! I can explain!"



She was an idiot. God, how was she this big of an idiot? Why didn't she just ask? Why did she decide to play the flirting game instead of her usual method: swipe right on Tinder, meet up, never see each other again? She thought this would be easy and spontaneous. But no, she was just an idiot.

Evaline didn't want to stay for the aftermess of this embarrassing trainwreck. Maybe she shouldn't come back to HPU after all. Maybe she should request another university for her traveling studio class. Maybe Mel and Elias could visit her instead.

She didn't want to stay to listen to Rek's half-ass apologies. She grabbed her messenger bag off the counter as she zipped down the apartment's hallway, bending down to grab her shoes. She didn't bother to even put them on as she turned the doorknob.

Locked.

Well, add that to the list of things that made her think they were on the same page.

Rek was just around the corner, and she quickly turned the lock and then opened the door, slipping out so she could run down the hall and head towards the door to leave the apartment complex.



"It's not what you think!" He followed her into the hall and tried go after her, but it was clear that she didn't want him to follow her. "I'm sorry!"

He slowly stopped, staring after her hopelessly. He'd tried so hard for it to not come to this. He hated hurting people's feelings. And he wasn't sure if it was possible to be much more upset than Evaline seemed to be.

He didn't know what to do.

There was clearly no fixing this with Evaline. Maybe he could try to figure out whose friend she was so he could make it up to her... somehow? But if she'd misinterpreted piano then what would she think of flowers or candy?

He glanced to the side and realized he was standing in front of Carter's apartment again. He sighed. He just wanted to go back home, but he didn't want to be alone in his apartment with all of that. At the very least, he wanted Jerica there. Maybe she could tell him what he'd done so very, very wrong. He braced himself for the impending chaos and pushed the door open.

Spoiler

MUCH TIME HAS TRANSPIRED - er, many pages - since I replied to this so I'm gonna put the previous post in spoiler for MY sake

Jerica happily half-skipped towards the kitchen, grateful that now that J.R. was gone she didn't have to put on a tough-guy persona anymore. Her head was buzzing pleasantly.

"Such a good cook," she murmured, grabbing two paper plates and slamming them down on the counter. She scooped some of each of the foods onto each plate, a little clumsy, but trying her best to get the food onto the plates.

She turned and looked at Bo earnestly, suddenly remembering that she hadn't answered him, so she explained. "For Carter. 'Cause he's a pillow."

She turned to the fridge and grabbed two cans of beer, slipping one into each of the pockets on her sweats. She held up a third can to be sure he saw it, then set it on the counter. "For you."

She grabbed both of the plates she'd fixed and started back towards the living room a few steps but turned back to wait for Bo.

Bo was going to get food for himself, but he waited as Jerica started preparing plates for two people, and decided to just let her do it at this point. She seemed like she wanted to, and she was drunk, and it wasn't like she was making that much of a mess. It was nice of her to do, so it wasn't a problem, really.

He laughed at her Carter comment.

"Yes, a pillow," he echoed, then grabbed the drink she set on the counter. With his other free hand, he grabbed a paper plate and quickly took a helping of all the food, put it on his plate, and then followed Jerica back out into the living room.

But just before he did, he grabbed three forks, because he noticed Jerica forgot those.

As they walked back to their previous spots near Carter, Bo handed a fork to carter and then offered Jerica a fork.



James watched as Lordshire finally left them, and glanced back at Benji.

"This definitely wasn't what I expected to be doing with my time this afternoon," he said, reading one of the papers at the same time. "But hopefully, this works in our favor."

Evaline ran down the flights of stairs and then fiercely opened the door to exit the apartment complex. The crisp outside air instantly filled her lungs with relief as she stepped aside to lean against the building wall, taking deep breaths. It felt suffocating to stay in that building.

This didn't even feel real. How did she mess up this bad? She left an awful impression, and she hoped to god that it was the only impression. She wasn't usually like this. Why did she act that way? Why did she decide to say, "Screw it, who cares what anyone thinks, let's just do it"? This was all so embarrassing and she wanted to die inside.

On the bright side, she didn't actually go to this university. It was a good thing this happened here and not at Prestige. If it did happen there, she might as well just drop out and find a new career at that point.

Some minutes passed as she stayed there leaning against the wall, shoeless and looking completely frazzled. Some random students walked in and out of the apartment, and she noticed that they all had a keycard to come in. So great, she was locked out too. But that was fine. It wasn't like she wanted to go back in. She could still hear the dull beats of the music of their apartment above.

Sighing, she slipped on her shoes and began to aimlessly wander, trying to dull the mix of embarrassment and anxiety swirling in her chest. It was okay. She didn't have to see Rek again. She'll just text Elias and Mel later when they were ready to go, and she'll skim by the rest of the week without a problem. She just had to be less of an idiot.

There was a bench not too far away from the apartment, and she started to walk down the field towards it in a daze. When she reached it, she set her bag beside her and pulled out her tablet. She told herself that she wasn't going to work on the submission this week since she didn't want to stress about it, but she needed a distraction that was more than idly sketching... especially considering how awful that worked for her last time.

Evening was falling, but she still had some time before it got dark. She plugged her earbuds into her phone and played a song on repeat to get into the right muse to draw on the tablet.

Jerica happily started back towards the couch when she was satisfied that Bo was following her back. The food smelled so good. She couldn't wait to eat it. She flopped down on the couch, cursing under her breath when a bit of the egg slid off her plate.

"Sorry!" She tried to reach down to pick it up, then realized both of her hands were occupied. "I will... get that in a minute."

She looked up at Carter and held the plate out to him, smiling at him. But then her gaze slid down to the plate and she realized that the food wasn't eat-able. There were eggs and hashbrowns and all kinds of things that weren't meant to be eaten with fingers. And she hadn't even thought about that.

"Oh. I forgot--" Before she could finish her statement, Bo was offering her a fork. She took it and looked at him with an appreciative smile. "My gods, you really are the perfect man."

She set her plate on her lap with the fork on top, then dug into her pockets. She pulled one of the beers out and waved it at Carter before setting it on the cushion next to him -- or maybe it was next to her, it was too hard to gauge distances. She cracked the top on hers and then held it between her knees and started eating.

The food was pure heaven. The best food that she had ever had in her entire life. She looked at Bo again with another smile and shook her head. "Perfect."



Bo was beginning to think that Jerica had had more than five drinks, and it didn't look like she was stopping any time soon. He knew this was typical at parties like this, but it didn't have to be. At least she wasn't throwing up or anything, but she had yet to finish her plate of food, so that had yet to be seen.

Bo ended up scanning the rest of the crowd for a moment, taking account of where everyone was.

Chad and Thad were at the far end of the couch, laughing and drinking up a storm. It looked like Brittany (he still wasn't 100% sure on her name) had found her way over to them too, and was sitting between both of them. The amount of giggling coming from all of them was, well, a lot. But they seemed alright.

Mel and Stephanie had migrated to a beanbag in the corner of the living room and it looked like Mel was braiding her hair. Elias and Daniel were... gone. So was nugget. Bo hoped they were okay, but he felt like Daniel would be able to handle Elias, and he didn't think either of them were quite as drunk as everyone in the apartment at the moment.

Rek and the dark-haired girl (whose name he couldn't remember, but she was another one one of Elias's friends) were nowhere to be seen, but he thought he'd seen them go out on the porch. But a quick glance confirmed they were not, in fact, on the porch.

He hummed in thought, finally looking back down at Jerica, Carter, and Kayla (who was still fast asleep). Not everyone was accounted for, and while Bo wasn't anyone's parent, he just wanted to make sure no one was doing anything too crazy. Like, breaking things, hurting themselves, or setting anything on fire. Because he'd seen some crazy things happen before when things got out of hand. But at the moment, things were pretty chill in comparison.

He looked to his plate and started with his muffin. He'd gotten about one bite in when he saw Rek stumble in through the front door.

Carter lazily glanced to the door as well.

"Your cousin looks like he saw a ghost," Carter said, muffled through a mouthful of food.



Jerica was happily munching on her food. It had the entirety of her attention. As it should. Because it was the best food. Ever. In the entire universe. But, then, Carter spoke and she looked up just in time to see Rek almost to the couch.

"Rek!" She scrambled to her feet, throwing her plate on the coffee table a bit too quickly. She was vaguely aware she made a mess but couldn't be bothered to care. He didn't look like he'd seen a ghost -- he looked like he'd just had his heart ripped out.

He was... not wearing a shirt. Jerica squinted at him as she started towards him, staggering a bit to the side. But she didn't spill the almost-full beer in her hands. She took a deep breath, wishing for the first time all afternoon that she was less drunk.

She didn't bother to wait to ask him what happened. Instead she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. He didn't react at first. This was dire. Rek loved hugs, and especially to be hugged. A moment later he wrapped his arms around her, loosely at first, then he held on to her tightly, breaths shaky.

She held on to him as tightly as she could for several long moments, cooing at him the best that she could in an attempt to get him to calm down. After a while, he finally let go and took half a step back to look down at her.

"Come, sit," she said reassuringly, pushing him down on the couch before he had a chance to respond. She pushed her own beer into his hands and then pushed his hand towards his own mouth. "Tell me."

"I..." Rek took a shaky breath, seeming like he was on the edge of a break down.

"Okay." Jerica pushed his hand again for him to take another drink, sinking down on the couch next to him now that Bo had scooted away a bit to give them extra space. "Drinky first, talky second. Take your time."



Bo really, genuinely, completely had no idea what was going on - but somehow, in the brief moments he hadn't been paying attention, Rek had slipped out of the apartment, ended up shirtless, and come back looking like he was genuinely freaked out. Bo could only think of worst-case scenarios at first, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions.

That said, he was very worried. Normally Carter's parties were chaotic, but not this kind of chaotic.

"I don't think he needs more drinks," Bo said quietly. "Not if he doesn't want them, at least."

He glanced at the mess of food on the table, then over at Carter, who was steadily eating food and just... watching, really.

"Rek, do you want me to get you water? And--" oh, he didn't have to wait to get Rek something to cover him up. "Okay, one sec," he said.

He slid his hoodie off over his head and plopped it into Rek's lap.

"Put this on," he said. Clothes always made people feel safer.



Rek let Jerica guide him to the couch and shove a beer in his hands. He needed this. He felt vaguely numb -- and yet, like he was experiencing every single negative emotion, all at once. He was still so confused. And guilty. And anxious. But mostly confused.

He looked down in bewilderment as the big man -- Bo's -- hoodie landed in his lap.

"No, I don't need..." He took another shaky breath. It felt like his entire world was crumbling beneath his feet. But then he looked down at his own bare chest and felt a fresh pang of embarrassment.

"Deep breaths," Jerica said gently, taking the beer back as she poked at the hoodie. "It helps, trust me. Just put it on."

Rek sighed deeply. He did trust her, even though it was clear that she had already managed to make it past a buzz. He put the hoodie on and shrugged it into place, feeling even smaller now that he realized how massively huge Bo's hoodie was.

He took the beer back from Jerica before she could offer it to him and chugged the rest of it. He took a few shaky breaths, wishing that he could calm down. His chest still felt so tight. His mind was spinning. He hadn't meant it like that. He was still so confused how she'd interpreted "come see my piano" to mean... that.

Rek looked down and realized there was an unopen can of beer on the cushion between him and Carter. "Is this...?"

"Yours," Jerica answered, reaching over him to grab the beer and crack the top for him. He let her take the empty can, cringing as she clumsily threw it at the coffee table. Her eyes were filled with concern and fixed on him.

Rek took several gulps of the beer. He wasn't anywhere near boozed up enough to deal with this kind of a shit show. Maybe the beer would take the edge off of how badly that had stung. It made him feel bad to have someone sprinting out of his bedroom -- he couldn't even imagine how badly she was feeling just then. I'm such an asshole.

"I just... I meant piano. Piano." He looked at Jerica. She didn't understand a bit of what he was saying, but still had her hand on his shoulder and was nodding at him reassuringly. "I said... I said piano. I don't... understand..."

"Shhh, you're okay now," Jerica cooed, grasp tightning a bit on his shoulder, trying to comfort him.

"Piano..." His eyes flicked over her shoulder at Bo, and then widened. He was struck with a sudden, horrifying thought that maybe Bo had also thought he was hitting on him. And... that just made everything even more confusing. He looked at Bo earnestly. "I meant piano -- earlier, when we were talking. Like, piano-piano. Not...something else. Just... piano."



Bo's confusion was not clearing up the more Rek spoke. He kept rambling about a piano, insisting he only mean piano, but Bo had no idea what else he could possibly mean.

"I know," Bo said, trying to sound reassuring even though he was still beyond confused. "I didn't think you meant anything else?"

He looked from Jerica to Carter, finding no help in either of their faces. Neither of them looked any more knowledgeable about what was going on.

"Rek -- you don't have to tell us, but did something happen?"



Rek looked more distressed than Jerica had ever seen him before. She tried to massage his shoulder the best she could, trying to calm him down. She had the same question as Bo. Something had clearly happened.

"No... thank the gods, no, it didn't," Rek shook his head, not making eye contact with anyone anymore. His chest was heaving, like he'd just been in some fight. But aside from how shaken up he was, nothing else seemed wrong. Plus, he wasn't really the type to fight. "I just... I don't understand."

"I don't either," Jerica answered gently, moving her hand to cup his face.

Rek flinched, yanking his head away. His eyes met hers, then filled with guilt. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Jerica was getting progressively more concerned with each moment that passed, her worry taking the edge off her buzz. "Did something happen with your piano?"

"I... I just... I wanted to show her my piano." Rek looked at her earnestly. "My piano. In my room."

"Show who?"

He hesitated then shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Okay," Jerica said gently, deciding not to push him. She could always get a name out of him later. "Did she... not like your piano?"

Tears sprang into Rek's eyes.

Oh no.

She braced herself as he threw himself forward and wrapped her in a tight hug. "She didn't... think... I meant... piano."



Carter blinked slowly, watching this whole interaction between Jerica, Bo, and Rek. It shouldn't have been amusing that Rek was drowning in Bo's sweatshirt, and almost looked like a little kid as he hugged Jerica, but it kind of was. He didn't laugh though, because Rek was clearly distressed, and he knew it wasn't appropriate.

That said, he was starting to piece things together.

He'd noticed when Rek and Evaline stepped out onto the porch, and then slipped out of the apartment. Being stuck on the couch with Kayla on his shoulder left him as a quiet observer every time Bo, Jerica, or anyone else got up and walked around, so he hadn't missed things like the others did.

And the way Rek said "she didn't think I meant piano," well... that was one of the weirder innuendos he'd ever heard but maybe it was an arts degree thing. He wouldn't be surprised it Evaline had some weird piano kink. Hell if he knew.

Still, it was a shame Rek was so distraught. He would be too if someone with a piano kink hit on him. That wasn't his thing.

"Don't worry about it Rek," Carter finally said soothingly. "I don't think she'll be coming back. You can relax, now, okay?"



A fresh surge of panic stabbed through Rek when he heard Carter's voice. She. Oh gods, did he know who it was? He didn't want anyone to piece it together. For his sake -- for hers. He just wished the entire night never existed in the first place. He should have let Jerica come get drunk by herself.

"I know she won't." Rek pulled away from Jerica. That was an understatement. He doubted he was ever going to see her again -- not even to be able to properly apologize. To explain. Don't let them figure it out. He rubbed at his eyes roughly, pretending that he hadn't just cried, and leaned back into the couch with a shrug. "I don't even know who she was. Just one... great big misunderstanding."



Carter reached out and patted Rek on the shoulder.

"It's ok. There's still plenty of the night ahead of us to forget about all of that and have some fun," he said, offering Rek a small smile of encouragement.

He noticed that Bo was still watching Rek with concern, but Bo was always the type to worry about things out of his control. Always trying to fix things.

"Bo, why don't you invite some of your friends? You always keep good company."

Bo pouted his lips for a second as he looked at Rek, and then sighed. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his phone.

"Sure," he said. "I'll see if they're free."



Jerica felt like she was half a step behind everyone else. Maybe she was drunker than she thought. She kept her hand on Rek's shoulder as Carter reached up to pat his other one and offer reassurance.

What girl? What piano? What in the hell had happened? And was happening now?

Suddenly all the pieces threw themselves together. Her gaze snapped up to Rek's eyes. "DID SOME BITCH--"

"SHHH!" Rek dove forward to slam his hand over her mouth. He glanced around, paranoid, then turned back towards her with a low voice. "It's okay."

"It's not okay." She was ready to fight. How dare some girl try to take advantage of Rek's kindness. It wasn't okay. Not now. Not ever. "Where is she? I'll kick her ass."

"Please don't," Rek pleaded. "She didn't know."



"He did say it was all one big misunderstanding," Carter said calmly. "She's probably just as flustered. It's best just to let it blow over, for both their sakes. Drawing more attention to it will only make it worse."

Bo was in the middle of sending a text when his brain started lagging.

Wait... this was about a girl?

Spoiler

So like, a girl had hit on him or something? Or more than that? He had walked back in shirtless. Oh. Goodness. That would explain so much. Poor guy.

"You're okay, though? You said nothing happened?" Bo asked.



"Yeah." Rek shook his head, trying to clear it. He looked at Bo and offered a small smile, appreciating his concern. "She stopped before..." He took another deep breath. "I mean, I think she realized..."

"You need to learn to tell the sorority bitches off," Jerica said firmly. "You don't have to be nice to them, especially if they're not being nice to you."

"It wasn't her fault..." Rek shook his head with a sigh. "I'm honestly not really sure whose fault it was. Maybe I was leading her on, I don't know... I didn't think anything of it... I just wanted to show her my... piano."

He was still so confused how they'd managed to miscommunicate that badly.

"I didn't mean it that way." He looked at Carter earnestly, feeling the need to defend himself even though no one was blaming him. "I... that is not my pick up line... I don't even know how she thought that was a line."

Rek took a deep breath and sighed again, taking another drink of his beer.

"That is not my pick up line," he repeated firmly, looking Bo in the eyes. "The fact that my piano is in my bedroom is an unfortunate coincidence. I mean piano."



Oooooooooooooooooh.

Bo didn't voice the realization out loud, but he felt like he was finally beginning to understand what happened.

"Dude, I'm so sorry," Bo empathized. "I didn't think it was a pick-up line either. Pick-up lines are more obvious than that, anyways. And cheesy. Usually."

"I'm sorry you had to endure that much miscommunication," Carter said, patting Rek's shoulder again. "It sounds like it was all just an accident. I'm sorry it happened at all."

"It's okay, Rek," Bo said. "I'm glad nothing came of it and you both realized you were on a different page."



Jerica looked between all three of them, not quite sure what to make of the situation. She still wanted to track down whoever the girl was to be sure that she knew not to do it again. But Rek needed her to cuddle him just then, not go maul whoever attacked him.

She settled back on the couch and slid her arm around Rek's lower back so that she could hook it around his torso and pull him in for a hug. She snuggled against his shoulder, waiting until he wrapped his arm around her. "We gotchu now. No bitches gon' get you on my watch."

Spoiler

It almost felt like five pages of eternity passed before Daniel responded. Luckily, the buzz of the beer seemed to give Elias a tad more patience than normal. Maybe it was a good thing he didn't take an Adderall after all.

Bo seemed to forget to toss him some food for Nugget. Or maybe a higher being seemed to forget. It was a weird thought to have, but he blame it on the Natty Lights. Or was it Bud Light? PBR? What did Chad and Thad bring in, again? He did wave at them when they came in, right? At this point, time was a social construct.

"Nah, I don't have any leftovers in my room," he said back to him, and he swore that Nugget looked disappointed. Could chickens make expressions? Nugget certainly could. Expression 1: big eyes.

"I don't even have a mini fridge in my room," he continued on, sounding disappointed. "I should, though. Bo has a million food items. We should get more room so Nugget can eat."

And then buzzed Elias brain slowly started to realize the most genius idea he had ever had, possibly ever.

"Dan," he said slowly with eyes wide in excitement even though Daniel frowned when he said his name. "We have to get Nugget nuggets."

Spoiler

"You didn't have any beers, right? Well, anyways, here are my keys," Elias said, tossing his keys over to Daniel. "Aaaaand here's my car."

He reached out to open the car door, but it was locked, so he looked up at Daniel.

"Are you going to unlock the car?" he asked, a bit impatient.

"You drive a smart car?" Daniel asked, sounding shocked.

Spoiler

"Yeah, man," Elias said proudly. "And it's a hybrid. Save the environment and all. Climate change is not a hoax."

Daniel stared at the car for a little longer, but then shook his head and shrugged, unlocking the car and opening the door to come in.

"A little crammed in here," he murmured after the turned on the car and they both put on their seatbelts.

"Eh. You get used to it," Elias responded back, plugging his phone into the aux cord with Nugget resting on his lap.

"So, where are we going again...?" Daniel said, but was cut off since the speakers started to boom with the song.



"Yo, this song is a bop!" Elias exclaimed, bopping his head to the song. Even Nugget looked like she was bopping her head. Because it was about her. Nugget.

Daniel sighed. "Elias, where are we going?"

"Hey, don't worry about it, Dan," Elias reassured, fully in rhythm. "I'll tell you where to go. Get out of the parking lot and take a left at University Boulevard."

Spoiler

"There's nothing here," Daniel said, voice strained.

"Hey man, trust me, it's here, I swear," Elias said. "Just keep going.

"Elias," Daniel kept going, visibly losing patience after an hour of driving. "This is a muddy field. Why did you take us out of the city?"

"Don't worry, it's all part of the grand man. Keep going."

"Keep going where?"

Elias pointed ahead of him. "Upward and onward, friend."

"What do you mean?" Daniel said, sounding more exasperated. "Where are we?" He voice was getting louder and louder as it was clear he was losing patience.

"Hey, no need to yell," Elias said. "I know where we are! Just follow the road!"

"THERE'S NO ROAD HERE!"

Spoiler

But still, Daniel kept driving anyways while the Chicken Nugget song kept playing on repeat.

Spoiler

"Welcome to Old MacDonalds Had a Farm, how many I take your order?" the drive-through lady said as Daniel pulled up to the window.

"Oh hi, Lauren!" Elias chimed as he leaned in forward close to Daniel even though he was visible irritated at this point.

"Elias?" Lauren said with a smile, squinting in. "I thought that was your car. How's it going?"

"It's been chill, just hanging out with my chicken," he said casually, having this conversation over Daniel. "How's Peter doing?"

Lauren grimaced. "I'm sorry to say, Peter passed some time ago."

Well, things got dark fast.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. He was a good FBI agent," Elias said gently, and Lauren seemed to suppress a sniff.

"Yeah," she said softly. "It's been hard since I don't remember his passcode to his place, and I don't have access, and..." She sighed. "I'm sorry. Usual order toady? I'll throw in a few grilled nuggets for free just for listening."

"That's okay," Elias said with a smile. "You can always text me if you need to. But also, uh, not the usual order. Can I get five regular orders of chicken nuggets?"

Spoiler

"Didn't you say you were a vegetarian?" Daniel asked, staring as Elias opened up a box and ate one himself.

"Yeah," Elias said, taking another bite. "A lazy one. Don't tell my girlfriend, though. If anyone asks, I ordered the grilled nuggets."

"I'm pretty sure that's still made out of chickens," he mumbled.

Spoiler

Somehow, the two of them managed to get back to the apartment complex unscathed, with only a muddy car, four boxes of chicken nuggets, and a very full chicken who ate an entire box of nuggets.

With Daniel in tow and holding all the nuggets, Elias walked in to Carter's apartment while cradling Nugget, announcing their arrival and that they brought nuggets.

Daniel didn't mind a little chaos here and there, but he quickly came to realize that chaos with Elias was an entirely different kind of chaos. By the time they returned to the party with chicken nuggets and the chicken Nugget in tow, Daniel was starting to get a delayed rush of adrenaline. If he hadn't been so worried about getting lost and hitting something when trying to follow Elias's vague directions, he probably would have felt it sooner.

Daniel placed the nuggets down in the kitchen.

"We should probably get actual food for Nugget at some point," Daniel mused as he returned to Elias. "Chicken cannibalism doesn't hurt, but I don't think it's good for her to have it all the time."


Benji gave a nod.

"...I'm not sure what I expected to be doing this afternoon," he admitted. He grabbed half of the papers and started to shift through them. "I was going to figure it out in my room, but someone on another floor was throwing a party."

Bo smiled and nodded to Rek and Jerica, in full agreement.

"Yeah, we gotchu," he echoed as his eyes darted up to the front door. Elias and Daniel were back with Nugget in tow, and apparently some... McDonalds? Maybe? He saw the telltale nugget boxes. So that's what they'd been up to.

"Hey, welcome back!" he shouted over the music. He was glad everyone was back and accounted for.



James was scanning the syllabus and some of the prompts, already starting to match them up in order, but he paused at Benji's last comment.

"...You wouldn't happen to also live in High Point Plaza, would you?"

Benji stopped going through the papers and slowly looked over at James.

"...I do," he hesitantly replied. "Why are you asking?"

James took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let out a longsuffering sigh. He looked down at the desk and facepalmed.

"That's my roommate," he muttered. "He's like this all the time. No respect or consideration of other people living around us. Trust me, I've talked to him about it countless times before."

And every time he did it always came down to money and who was paying the bulk of the rent. Some would call it blackmailing, but really he was just using his wealth as leverage since he knew things would become much more difficult for James if he lived somewhere else.

He shook his head and looked back down at the papers.

"I'm sorry. I've learned to just leave to escape the noise. I'm sorry you had to leave as well."

Benji shook his head.

"You don't need to apologize," he said. "It's not your fault. I...I commuted at WVU, but I've heard stories of how bad living on campus can be."

He let out a sigh and glanced back down at the papers.

"I should have been more prepared for the noise," he admitted.

"You know what's saved my life?" James said, talking now while reading at the same time. "Noise-canceling headphones. And earplugs. Those combined? I wouldn't hear if the fire alarm went off. Pros and cons, there, but when Carter has people over, sometimes it's necessary. The library's not open all hours of the night."

Benji followed his lead and started reading the papers again.

"I have headphones like that," he said, "but I'll have to try the earplugs, too."

He bit his lip and glanced over at James. He wasn't used to talking this much about himself; he couldn't remember the last time he had even admitted how much loud noises bugged him. But this felt safe. James felt safe.

"...Usually the headphones are enough," he added.

He checked the syllabus again, then took a deep breath.

"I'm not good with loud noises," he admitted. "My hearing's always been good, so I'm used to being overwhelmed. It was just...a different level of noise than I was used to."