balanced on a thread.

hunter brandon clarington. eighteen. college freshman. always on my way to bigger and better things.

[ivyhamilton]

We’ll see. I’ll make sure you get to witness it if so. I think so and I hope so. I’m done with the roommate life. Speaking of roommates, you still on your own or are you and Stevie all shacked up?

[hbclarington]

I was hoping you would say that. Good, you don’t need one. I can almost feel Stevie having an aneurysm at the phrase “shacked up.” We’re not there yet.

[ivyhamilton]

That’s pretty solid logic. Still not going to scream though. Hmm, I guess I’ll accept it. A little bit of the excitement is deflated by the fact that the freshmen have to live on campus, as I am currently reading in the welcome packet. Oh well, I’ll just have the best decorated dorm as per usual.

[hbclarington]

Maybe later. At least you’re already used to dorm life. I’m assuming you’re allowed to room alone?

[ivyhamilton]

It’s a huge deal, but I’ve never been the screaming out of excitement type so why start now? Get excited, Clarington, we’ll practically be neighbors again.

[hbclarington]

Because you’ve never gotten into Juilliard until now. Oh, trust me, this is me excited.

[ivyhamilton]

Okay, no big deal or anything, but I just got accepted to Juilliard. 

[hbclarington]

That’s certainly a big deal, if not a surprising one.

[steviestraight]

human tonight // stunter

[steviestraight]

Though she doubted that was his intent, it felt as if Hunter was passing judgment on her apartment, and she shifted a little, crossing to the coffee table to pick up the stack of menus they kept there just to give herself something to do. By her standards, it was an incredibly nice place, with more than enough space for her and Lex and furniture provided that was more expensive than she liked to dwell on, but although she hadn’t seen Hunter’s home yet, she knew it probably could have held dozens of this place. It was always the little things that he did that reminded her of how different their upbringings had been. “I’m glad. That’s kind of required if you want to be in my life. Also, I’m going to make the executive decision to get pizza. Mainly because I’m cheap and also because we should wait until date… five or so before I embarrass myself with chopsticks in front of you.”

Pulling up the website for her favorite pizza place, Stevie started typing in her order, not surprised by Hunter’s comment about her brother, but still finding it annoying. This was part of what made making friends so hard for Stevie. The friends she had knew about Lex, knew how protective she was, though none of them knew about her family’s inability to… well, be a family. They didn’t question her wanting to keep him company or spend some of her very limited free time with him. Hunter was new to her life, which wasn’t his fault, but she found herself annoyed anyway. “I leave him alone every time I have to go to an industry party, or walk a runway, or go to a photo shoot. I don’t need to do that to him when I’m not working, and I especially don’t need to leave him alone on the nights when–” she stopped, about to say that she hated him being alone when their father called, but thought better of it. “I just prefer this. I dragged him all the way to the city with me, I can at least acknowledge he exists.”

Well, this was off to a fantastic start. Granted, Stevie knew a lot of it was her fault. Though the day Hunter had brought her food had been pleasant enough, and they’d made small talk that wasn’t painfully awkward, she had yet to really open herself up to the fact that he was part of her life now. She was keeping him at arm’s length, and then getting annoyed when he didn’t understand her, and while the way he’d come into her life was all on him, she couldn’t keep blaming him for everything. “But uh, anyway. Yeah, he and I are just close. Which is why it was also important that you meet him.”

[hbclarington]

It was obvious that Stevie wasn’t very passionate about interior design and probably didn’t even know what an accent chair was, but her place wasn’t bad. He could tell it was lived in, that it was home to someone. Most things seemed to be pre-provided by her modeling agency, he assumed. There wasn’t much to make it seem like her own personal living space. But they managed to keep it clean and that was really the most he could ask. “You make it sound like I don’t have a choice. Pizza is fine -- don’t tell me I have to ‘adapt’ to your weird topping preferences, though. You could use a fork, I wouldn’t judge you.”

Hunter managed to look moderately shocked (fine, impressed) by her outburst. He saw her as relatively defensive, not that he minded much. It was so the opposite of him to react this strongly which he supposed made sense. Someone as deadpan as him would probably not be the best soul mate. And he was still fairly cavalier about that, too. Being soul mates was important to him and he would never dream of pretending that their relationship wasn’t possibly the most important one in his life, but there was no need to be mushy about it. “As much as I’m sure he enjoys your company, teenage boys like to be left alone. He’ll grow out of it eventually but I’m sure he’ll like you more if you give him space when you have important things to do. And nobody likes being treated like a child. There is no such thing as ‘dragging’ someone to New York City. It’s an improvement over most alternatives. If you ever actually think bringing him here is something to feel guilty about, you should stop.”

He got that, but he couldn’t help thinking quite sarcastically that they hadn’t really met. Hunter planned on being there for a while, so he was sure that unless Lex decided to hide out in his room, the two of them would do more talking. “That much is obvious.” Hunter’s instinct was to ask about the rest of her family, seeing as this living arrangement couldn’t exactly be considered normal, but he imagined her parents had to be either dead or absent and neither was something she would want to discuss or explain. “Does he have his first letter already?” He asked with thin interest, sort of trying to change the subject.

[hbclarington]

texts // stunter

Stevie: smartass. i get that enough from lex, thank you very much.

Stevie: see, i think that's meant to come across as a warning, but to me it feels like more of a challenge.

Hunter: I guess you're out of luck.

Hunter: It was neither, though more of the former in an effort to spare you that expectation later on.

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: I know I'm allowed to be, but that doesn't mean I want to be. I don't like being nervous. It feels like I don't have confidence in myself, and I know that's not what it means, but it feels that way regardless. I know. I like it though. You being part of my life is important to me, and that means keeping you in the loop.

Ivy: I guess? I don't know. There was this picture. A girl kissed him at a party and someone got it on camera. If I hadn't seen the picture before it was taken down, I don't think I ever would've known that happened. He never would've told me. And that hurts, knowing that he would so easily keep a secret from me.

Hunter: It's better to embrace the things you can't prevent. You're one of the most confident people I know. Then in the loop it is.

Hunter: I would be worried if the person I was with was comfortable keeping dumb things from me, too. Assuming you confronted him, did he not agree with you?

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: Well. That's fair.

Ivy: Don't jinx it. I only tell you this because you're you, but I'm actually kind of nervous. Actually, you're wrong about that first part. You're one of the first people I think of when I need to talk about something. I don't trust people with these parts of me often.

Ivy: I broke up with him because he won't talk to me. He hides things from me to prevent a fight when sometimes a fight is necessary. He won't open up to me, nothing.

Hunter: I know.

Hunter: You're allowed to be nervous. I've never sung a song without feeling nervous beforehand. But as long as you keep the nervousness for before the audition and ditch it when you start to dance, you'll get in. We've never really talked about these things before.

Hunter: And he would rather lose you than fight with you?

[hbclarington]

texts // stunter

Stevie: definitely not me.

Stevie: well that was an easy sell. i suppose i could get used to this.

Hunter: Would be weird if you were hosting a dinner and leaving town.

Hunter: I wouldn't get used to thinking of me as an easy sell.

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: Yes, but loopholes are a thing.

Ivy: That's understandable. I always advocate for aiming higher, and schools have to at least acknowledge how stellar your grades have always been. No, it doesn't. But I'm okay, for the most part. I'll live, at least.

Hunter: Not when you're as thorough as me.

Hunter: Obviously, what with you likely going to Juilliard. I may seem like the last person you can talk to about it but I'm always here if you need someone.

[hbclarington]

texts // stunter

Stevie: ah yes. that's a thing people do.

Stevie: i feel like saying "because i'm involved" is kind of arrogant but that's all i have to offer.

Hunter: Some people. Probably not me.

Hunter: That's good enough for me.

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: Now you're just intentionally trying to ruin my fun.

Ivy: I'm sure. Not happy with where you are then? But you probably can. I'm just really ready to be done with high school. Every class I sit through that's unrelated to dance feels like it goes on for ages. Trouble in paradise would imply that the paradise actually exists, which it no longer does, so technically you're incorrect.

Hunter: I didn't mean surprise in that way.

Hunter: I'd appreciate more of a challenge. It's a good school but I didn't aim higher because of my choices last year. I bet. It doesn't? I'm sorry.

[hbclarington]

texts // stunter

Stevie: do you have thanksgiving plans?

Stevie: because if you don't i have some for you. and if you do i have better ones for you.

Hunter: Loosely. I told my mother I might come home.

Hunter: Oh yeah? What makes them better?

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: I'm going to take that as a challenge now.

Ivy: Thanks. I'll tell you all about it when I get to the city. I'm not surprised, Dalton standards are beyond the general public sometimes. That's probably for the best. Avoid a lot of stress and heartache and such.

Hunter: Good luck. Jump scares don't count.

Hunter: I can't wait. Maybe I'll see if I can transfer elsewhere with this GPA next year. Sounds like there's trouble in paradise, but I'll continue not to ask.

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: I'm flattered. And would actually be unsurprised.

Ivy: Of course I do. I'm actually pretty terrible but I don't want to talk about it at the moment. Tell me about what's going on in your life instead. How's school? How's Stevie?

Hunter: I think we're past the point where we can properly surprise each other.

Hunter: Then I won't ask, at the moment. School is good but less challenging than Dalton. Stevie and I are taking things slow, but I'm not in any rush.

[hbclarington]

texts // hivy

Ivy: My Juilliard audition is the week after Thanksgiving and I don't want to stay in a hotel. Have a spare bedroom?

Ivy: Sorry. That was a really rude way to start a conversation. Hi. How are you?

Hunter: Of course. And it's just for you.

Hunter: Not really, you're implying you want to see me. I'm good. And you?

[steviestraight]

human tonight // stunter

[steviestraight]

It felt a little silly to get dressed up just to hang out in her own house but unless Hunter went to the trouble to go home and change before coming over, she didn’t see the harm in at least putting on a nice pair of jeans and a clean shirt. She rarely wore makeup when she wasn’t working so she didn’t bother with that, twisting her hair up into a bun and calling it a look. It felt a little strange every time she prepared herself to hang out with Hunter. Since he’d obviously known about her before they met, he’d already seen her in all kinds of makeup, all kinds of clothing, and in some cases, no clothing at all. And then of course when she let her mind wander to that, she couldn’t help but wonder what went through his mind on a daily basis, if he thought about seeing the real thing in person sometime, and if that was even something she wanted.

Hearing a knock on the door, Stevie didn’t bother rushing to get it, knowing Lex would beat her to it anyway. Instead she ducked into the bathroom to brush her teeth, leaving Lex to Hunter, hoping he wouldn’t be too ridiculous. So far, so good, because all he was doing was giving Hunter a quick glance, nodding as if approving some criteria known only to him. “That would be me. My sister will be right out. Either that or she’s using the fire escape to run away but I’m going to order sushi now anyway,” he said matter-of-factly, stepping aside to let Hunter enter the room. “Unless you wanted pizza. Steves suggested pizza but I–” Lex cut off suddenly, turning back around to look at his sister’s soul mate. “Don’t tell her I called her that in front of you, she might actually murder me and like, I’m turning fourteen soon.”

“Too late,” Stevie said in a singsong voice as she breezed into the room, giving her brother’s ear a hard flick. “Hey! Physical violence is not the answer! This is what you have to look forward to, Hunter.” Grimacing, Stevie shrugged at Hunter, glad her brother’s presence allowed her a reason to not really greet him. She still wasn’t sure how to go about doing that. They hadn’t kissed since their first meeting and truthfully, she still didn’t know what they were. They barely knew each other, really. Stevie was about to ask Hunter what he wanted to order for dinner when Lex’s phone ringing interrupted the thought, and she visibly grimaced. It was the weekly call from their dad, and Lex immediately picked up on his sister’s shift in mood, though he was excited that his dad had remembered this week. “Take that in your room, okay?” Lex nodded, shooting Hunter a wave as he started down the hall, knowing better than to ask his sister if she wanted to say hey. Once she was alone with Hunter, Stevie felt that familiar feeling of discomfort come over her, and she finally gave him her full attention. “Sorry we had to change our plans. There wasn’t anyone available to come hang out with him and I hate to leave him alone.”

[hbclarington]

Hunter glanced down idly at his wrist, feeling the near absence of tugging that meant she was definitely still in the apartment. Not that he had any real concerns. He smiled indulgently at Lex’s joke, anyways. Getting family members to like him was something Hunter could put an honest effort towards, especially when he could tell Lex was so important to Stevie and she was already so important to Hunter himself. 

He didn’t trust delivery sushi at all, but he figured he could at least trust Stevie on New York City matters -- for now. Soon he would know the place backwards and forwards, he was sure, but for the time being he could admit that she knew her way around a bit more than he did. Hunter was about to make some sort of comment about fourteen being a big age (not really) but thankfully Stevie appeared and saved him from having to make any kind of response. He watched their interaction silently, hoping his face didn’t give off any kind of judgmental air -- it tended to do that.

Once Lex was gone, Hunter trained his eyes on the only other person left in the room. He more or less invited himself in since nobody else had and stepped through the door frame. His eyes flicked around the apartment, taking in what he could, subtly or not. “It’s fine,” Hunter said distractedly before giving Stevie his full attention again. “I’m adaptable.” While he truly didn’t want to overstep his bounds, it would be unlike him to withhold any unwanted opinions. “But he’s thirteen, almost fourteen? I don’t think leaving him alone for a few hours would be the worst thing.”