astra inclinant

pierce sutton ; 22 ; astrology ; atmokinesis and flight "I had always seen myself as a star; I wanted to be a galaxy."

[dxrthe-deactivated20160321]

“Yeah, it’s not really an opinion that a lot of people agree with. I guess I’m just different,” he says with an offered smile, trying to relax himself visibly so that the other could do the same. He looked somewhat tense for some reason, although perhaps that was Crixus being misguided, and he wondered if he had done anything to cross a line of some sort, but as the conversation carried on, he decided against it.

“Ah, I see. My father was very big on astronomy. I don’t remember much about why or what he did but I guess I did learn a few things about constellations?” He tries to recall fleeting memories but decides against it. “I’m double majoring in chemistry and physics. Yeah I know, sounds very fun right?”

[piercesutton-blog]

“Yeah, but different is good, isn’t it? What makes us unique sets us apart from the rest of the world.” Pierce stated, smiling in return. That, at least, was one of the many things he remembered that his mom had taught him. On days where he had felt vastly alone and outcasted, it was one of the things that he often remembered. Passing it onto someone else was the only thing he could do, whether they believed it or not was out of his control. At least, he had gotten his point across.

“Really?” He asked, cobalt eyes twinkling with something akin to curiosity and excitement before he thought better of asking about it. Whistling at the combination Crixus was studying, his eyebrows raised. “Wow, you must be a genius or something. It might not be fun, though I hope it is, but it’s sure going to be useful.”

[nadiarainier-blog]

“Not too badly, don’t worry,” she returned with a grin. “You were even almost on beat with my music, it was impressive.” It was amusing, though, she had to admit; though his denial would have been perfect if she’d walked up a minute or two later than she did, she’d just had the luck of good timing to catch him. “Oh, sleep-talking, now that would have been golden. Imagine finding out you sleep-talk because you told a stranger you were fighting monkeys or something ridiculous like that. Brilliant, really.”

Settling back with her laptop on her knees while he offered to help, Nadia gave a hum of appreciation, looking over her spreadsheet in thought while she spoke. “I could definitely use the second ear, if you’re sure you’re up for it,” she returned. “I’ve only got to make another… four lists, I think, before I’m down to just artists and venues, but I’m out of complete sets to use, so I’m mixing and matching things now. It’s an odd project, it’s kind of like… a mock concert series. We’re mostly using pre-composed things, but I get three free days to work my own pieces into, and I don’t have anything long enough to fill a full show.”

[piercesutton-blog]

“Really?” He asked, rather surprised. “It figures the only time I have any musical talent, even if it is as a metronome, is when I’m asleep.” Pierce joked, shaking his head at himself. The thought of him sleep talking was almost terrifying, knowing that some of the dreams that he managed to remember were really wild and not all put together as he seemed he would be. “Actually, it wouldn’t just be monkeys. Probably something along the lines of space monkeys dressed in pirate hats and eye patches, something stupid like that. Thankfully, I don’t actually do that...” He trailed off, feigning innocence.

He wasn’t entirely sure what he had gotten himself into, really, music wasn’t his forte. But he was perfectly willing to help if it meant her getting a good (maybe a decent grade, at worst) grade on her final. “Like I said, I’ll definitely try. I’m not musically gifted like you probably are, but I’m not tone deaf either. Though, I can’t guarantee I won’t clap and cheer for anything and everything that you do.” Nodding along as though he understood, which he clearly didn’t at all, he was oddly surprised by the amount of work she had to put into this. “Wow, I can’t believe you have to do all of that. I’m usually just writing papers about why Pluto was considered a dwarf planet.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

“What the hell is wrong with me?” 

[piercesutton-blog]

“Oh, uh, hey! Are you okay?”

[piercesutton-blog]

As the lights flickered on and off around Pierce, he found that he suddenly couldn’t breathe. Entirely unsure if it was a simple panic attack, he fell to the floor as he tried to gasp for air. When the lights suddenly shut off, it felt as though there was a vacuum sucking what little air he had left in his lungs from him. Something was entirely wrong and he was suffocating in the dark, alone and completely terrified. Using the last of his strength, he forced himself on his feet and ran towards the entrance of the library. Desperate to get some source of fresh air, even if it meant running out into the storm. As he forced the doors open with his shoulder, the lights snapped back on and he stumbled into a bright and sunny day.

“What the fu-” He cursed underneath his breath, eyes wide and filled with confusion. “... Wasn’t it just storming?” While he was mostly speaking to himself, he wasn’t aware of the person who stood behind him as well.

[dxrthe-deactivated20160321]

An acknowledging look comes over his features as he nods, knowing it to be true but never having once thought about ignoring the sounds of the storm. “The thunder is somewhat… soothing though, no? I mean I know we’re stuck in here because of the rain and thunder and the winds and I should be scared to my wits but I don’t know. There’s always been something about thunder that I thought sounded beautiful.” And once again he’s going on about trivial facts that he’s sure aren’t as important to the other as they are to him, mostly because they weren’t all that prominent in his own life as well.

“No no, it’s okay. Crixus, nice to meet you,” he replies as he offers his hand to the other. “So what do you major in? I don’t think I’ve seen you around on campus before.”

[piercesutton-blog]

The other boy’s point of view on the storm raging on above them was curious, forcing Pierce to pause and really think about how he felt about it. Pressing his lips together into a line before speaking, he supposed he agreed slightly. “... I think the rain is what soothes me, the pitter-patter of it. The thunder, on the other hand, it unnerves me a bit. I think this whole storm does, actually. I usually don’t mind the weather, but I got caught out there in the beginning and it was really wild.” He tried to explain his own reasoning, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously.

“It’s nice to meet you too.” He exchanged pleasantries with him, taking the other’s hand and giving it a firm shake before dropping it once more. “I’m not really too surprised by that, I’m an astronomy major. What about you?”

[aliadamsen-blog]

“Well those people are stupid.” She said decisively. She wanted to laugh at his comment of being real, but he was so heartfelt it felt mean to laugh, so she didn’t. She just gave him a sweet smile. “Well then you are luck, because I am disastrously real to a fault.”

“Well like I said, people can be stupid. Everyone gets lost in their own thoughts sometimes. I mean, real life can be too boring for words, sometimes it’s nice to get lost in wherever you want to be.” She shrugged, a little unsure if he’d understand or agree or if she was just talking nonsense again. She’d always subscribed to the theory that foreign languages made someone instantly more alluring or attractive or whathaveyou, but she’d never actually been on the receiving end. Nice to know that wasn’t just a theory- it was definitely fact. Her cheeks went a little red, charmed despite the fact he might have just said anything from ‘You’re cool’ to 'I’m going to the restroom be right back’, and her giggle was a little more flustered than it had been. “Well. I was going to say I don’t think you need French to help you in that department, but it seems I was mistaken. The French works. Unless you said something silly like 'I like cheese’ in which case pretend I didn’t say that. I can’t go around getting all blushy because of food comments just because they’re in French. What did you say?”

She almost told him. It wasn’t habit to keep her life facts to herself, and he looked so open and understanding, it would have made it easy. But she didn’t. She wasn’t ashamed of it, she just didn’t want to drag the conversation down with mentions of family tragedies. And despite how much she’d come to terms with it and didn’t burst into tears or anything like that when she talked about it, talk of her mom tended to bring conversations to an awkward standstill. She didn’t want that standstill in this conversation. It was usually followed by some excuse to leave, and she liked him here, not the him that would be eager to escape her. So she smiled brightly. “Me, it seems.” She lilted playfully. “Sorry, just thinking, I’m back now.” She promised earnestly, telling herself that’d be the only time she spaced out on him.

It took him a little while to look over what she’d asked about, and she wondered if she’d gotten it wrong. But then he was agreeing that she was right, and then she smiled, realizing what was happening. “At hand, huh?” She teased, squeezing his hand. “As much as I appreciate it, if I’m making you uncomfortable, you don’t have to keep holding my hand.” Even though I’d really like you to, she added in her head. She waited for his response before looking back down at the book. “I do that a lot, actually, drown in words and forget half of them on tests. How are you so smart?” She muttered, not expecting any real answer.  

[piercesutton-blog]

Though he wanted to agree with her statement, Pierce had always been taught to see the good in people and he opted to shrug. “I’m sure they’re not all bad, just selective with their friends.” He murmured, unsure if he actually meant it or not. “That’s good, that’s one of the many things I like about you.”

“Daydreaming that I’m somewhere else really gets me through the day, actually. I have a serious case of wanderlust for places on this planet and some places not... Which is silly because I’m not even sure what it looks like off this planet.” He responded, laughing breathlessly. At this point, he wasn’t entirely sure if he wanted to become an astronomer or an astronaut. Whichever one, he was sure he’d be pleased with the results of both careers. In a sudden twist of events, it seemed that Ali had been turned into the blushing one and not him. While he was genuinely pleased that he hadn’t taken French for nothing, it was really the person he was with that had been effected by it that really pleased him. Tossing her a cheeky smile at her giggle, it made him feel a sense of accomplishment at making her turn a bright pink when he had been the one to do so nearly all night. “Don’t worry, I definitely didn’t say anything about food, even if I really do like food myself. No, um, I said I like you.” He spoke, not explaining further as he allowed her to interpret it how she would. He wasn’t quite sure what he had meant by it either, truth be told.

Still slightly troubled by the look on her face prior to coming back down to reality, Pierce knew it was truly none of his business. After all, he had just met the girl and he had told her that they should save the more serious things for a different time. It seemed there was much more to Ali than the happy girl with a huge family and he was quite curious to know more about the side that not many others saw. Even if he was reluctant to share anything more about himself, maybe he’d lighten up and manage to open up to her about the non-superficial things one day. But in the meantime, he couldn’t expect her to share tidbits about her life when he wasn’t willing to reciprocate. “Don’t worry about it, you know how often I get lost in my own head. The least I can do is let you get in your own and allow you to finish whatever train of thought you had, you know?”

Her response made him clear his throat in slight embarrassment and keep his eyes downcast to the book. Pierce felt no real obligation to continue holding her hand, but it wasn’t as though he didn’t want to. It simply made him nervous and he didn’t want to seem too presumptuous with his actions. “No, it’s not that. I’m not uncomfortable... I’m just not used to it. It’s nice, though. To hold your hand, I mean. I’ve never really held anyone else’s hand.” He tried to explain now, stumbling over his own words. Relieved when she turned their conversation back to her studies, he chuckled and shook his head at her words. “Years and years of practice, I almost failed all my classes in my first year because I was doing what you were doing. I was trying to memorize the entire textbook instead of key words and associating them with certain things.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

“Well, in case you were worried I was more weird than I was friendly. She can vouch that I’m basically a nice person, if a little demanding in the friendship department.” She said with an easy shrug.

“Mmmm,” she made a little purring sound. “Just my kind of person.” She agreed with a wink. “Besides, if my head was filled with stars I’d want to be there more than here too.” She added. She laughed at the insistence of his stepmother, she couldn’t imagine her dad pushing her toward anything that might lead to romance, but then again it was probably different for guys. Or maybe different for moms, she’d never really gotten a chance to find out, she hadn’t really started liking boys before her mom’s accident, so she’d never gotten to the advice part of the mother-daughter relationship. “I don’t thin-” She bit her lip against finishing the knee jerk comment and bounced onto his next words. “I don’t know… I think I feel myself succumbing to the charms of your French already.” She said with a playful smile.

He had a great smile, especially this one, all radiance and delight at the thought of sharing his Thing, and she decided she was going to make him smile like that as much as she could. It’d be a shame to keep that kind of infectious smile from the world. Her grin was bright as well, even as he steered her back to her studies, not even that able to take away the excitement of his excitement. She laughed and laid a hand on her ribs. “Yes, let’s keep me in one who piece for a while longer, shall we?” She had a brief, irrational moment of concern about Tad- he hated the topic of CPR. She’d never asked, but always assumed it had to do with their mom; he’d been old enough to remember the crash, old enough to remember the panic of response that would have followed. She’d been barely a teenager, and no one had told her until it was too late. But those were negative thoughts, and she refocused back on Pierce with a relieved smile, happy to have something good to focus on.

God this storm was unnerving. Maybe she should ask if they could walk around, maybe go find someone they knew, or didn’t know but could get to know; she seemed to do better when she didn’t have to  focus too heavily on the storm, but now, sitting here with her dull econ book trying to figure out how to highlight and paying more attention to the boy next to her, she could help focusing on this stupid, alarming, storm- she blinked in surprise as a warm hand reached for hers, long fingers slipped between her own, and as he squeezed her hand she looked up with a grateful smile.Before she could thank him, he was back to Econ, and she nodded, trying to focus past his hand in hers and trying not to read into it. “But it looked like such a fun paragraph.” She said, her joke falling a little flat as she actually managed to focus on his advice, even as her thumb idly brushed across the warm skin of his hand. “Ok, so then for this one,” she reached for the highlighter with her hand not in his, and touched the capped pen to a paragraph. “Maybe just… this part,” she glided it across part of a sentence without highlighting yet, “And this one?” She did the same to another sentence and looked up for approval or disapproval.

[piercesutton-blog]

“I mean even if you were more weird than friendly, I don’t exactly have room to judge. Plenty of people think I’m weird. Besides, I trust you to be completely real with me.” He replied genuinely, wanting her to believe that he did believe her.

Laughing quietly at her purring, Pierce only managed to look slightly abashed when she winked at him. “Not a lot of people see it that way, but I’m glad you understand.” He spoke kindly, sighing with a bit of relief. He really enjoyed making Ali laugh, making a note to lighten up so he could hear it more often rather than hitting her with all the serious things, no matter how much she enjoyed him as he was. Quirking an eyebrow up at her broken sentence, he was highly curious of what she decided not to tell him. Instead of asking, however, he simply brushed it off like she did. Whatever it was, he was sure she’d tell him in time if they truly decided to continue this friendship the way they were both saying they were. Giving her a dubious look at her joke, he rolled his eyes playfully. “Je t’aime bien, Ali.” He spoke, laughing as he did so.

He was delighted to see her smile reflect his, his cheeks hurting slightly from the amount of smiles and laughs that had been exchanged between the two in the time she had managed to startle him awake to now. If all people were like her, it seemed he needed to get out more. “That means no dying of boredom, then.” He responded, giving her his own wink at that. Pierce soon noticed the own fleeting look in her eyes, one he was sure that he gave to others often. It was troubling to see it on her face, someone so bright and happy trapped in their own thoughts. He had half a mind to snap her out of it, but he knew how irritable he was when someone did the same to her, so he allowed her to finish whatever line of thought she was having. As soon as she came back to reality, he gave her an understanding and gentle smile. “Now, who’s the daydreamer now, huh?”

As inattentive as he seemed to other people, he noticed the look on Ali’s face out of the corner of his eye. Pleased with himself knowing that he had done the right thing, he couldn’t help but to smile inwardly and cheer to himself. In a world where he often made the wrong decisions with people, he was glad that knowing that he had done right by her tonight. Though not a physical person, it was easy to understand that she was and he wouldn’t taken that comfort from her, especially when this storm was raging overhead and she seemed as unsettled as he was about it. Highly distracted with her thumb continually drawing patterns against his skin, it took him everything he had not to blush a bright red again and he cleared his throat as she spoke. He wasn’t entirely sure if she’d notice, but it took him several tries to read over what she wanted to highlight, spending a few minutes rather than a couple of seconds to ponder over it. “Y-Yeah, those. It’ll do you good to associate these things with the broader topic at hand.” He winced slightly at his choice of words, shaking it off with a small nod of his head. “You don’t want to drown yourself in a sea of irrelevant words, that’s how you end up misconstruing things on tests.”

[jazlynisms-blog]

“You’re going to get hit by a bird up there, while I’ll be closer to earth and cackling like crazy.” she giggled, slightly kneeling so she looked even shorter. “See the airplanes yet?” Seriously, that was almost alarming. She wasn’t that short, but was completely topped now. It was funny how people looked really shorter from afar - and turned out to be a full head taller up close. Unfair. “I’d use a few inches more, just so I don’t get neck pain for trying to look you in the eye everytime.” 

Jazz raised an eyebrow, slowly restoring her confidence. “Oh, please. Just stop, my ego is feeling way too flattered right now, and if it goes on I just won’t be able to step through any door. And come on, don’t tell me you’re doing bad at school, I’d never believe you.” Just as she said it, she realized she did have no idea. Pierce’s grades wasn’t something she kept herself updated about, and asking his parents would just weird them out. They already didn’t talk much, much less asking about each other’s classes. “I’ve probably come up with new things since the last time you saw some. Maybe it improved. Maybe it got worse. My opinion can’t be objective.” 

“What tells you I’m not vicious to?” The thing was, she was not. But she could be. Especially when someone she loved was involved. The only black spot in that seemingly-perfect scheme was that she realized things hurt her too late. It was already gone and all she could do was take it in and deal with it. “You’re right.” she recognized reluctantly, chewing her lower lip. “I’ll…try to restrain myself. But if it goes on, I just can’t promise I’ll stand there and do nothing.” Tje girl gave a little laugh. “Anyway, in a few months, I’m pretty sure they’re just going to ‘aaw’ over the baby and forget they treated her like shit.”

[piercesutton-blog]

“I think I’d rather be hit by a bird than be carried off by ants who think you’re their next meal or something.” He replied, struggling not to chuckle himself at his own rebuttal. “I’m seeing a few trying to navigate their way through his horrible storm, actually.” The least he could do was play along after teasing her himself, not wanting to step on her toes any further if he even was. Unlike most, Jazlyn’s opinion actually mattered to him, which was a very strange feeling to him. “I’ll just sit down every time we talk from now on so you can actually look me in the eye.”

Rubbing the back of his neck as he stopped himself from paying her another compliment, he thought that he maybe was laying it on too thick. “I mean, I really do think everyone’s hard work deserves some praise, but I’ll save it for another time... Like maybe when you’re opening your own gallery or something.” He grinned, finding his hypocrisy a little hilarious. “Uh, no, I’m doing pretty well in school, but that’s probably because I’ve been doing this for four years now and I’m only taking the classes I’m interested in. No more of that gen ed stuff.” Pierce did his best to wave off whatever attempts people had to talk about his schooling, not deeming it as important as others did. Though he did adore learning, essays and projects were not his forte unless it directly related to stargazing. “Truth be told, I’ve only ever seen your things in passing. I’m sure they’re all great though, probably better than before, so don’t lie to me like that.”

“I’m sure you are, but you shouldn’t stoop to their level, you’re far more mature than that.” He spoke, throwing his hands up as if to surrender. As much as he didn’t want her to threaten them, he didn’t want to get his himself on her bad side either. The sigh of relief that left his lips when she agreed with him was almost obvious, his orbs slinking back to hers as he nodded at her agreement. “It’ll just show her who her real friends are and who’s going to stick by her with this pregnancy, if she decides to keep it.” Pierce shrugged, trying his best to reason it out. “They’re going to forget, but I know she won’t and if she’s anything like you, I’ll trust her judgement about those people.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

She laughed, shaking her head. “No, nothing like that. I mean, she’s awesome and we’re friends, don’t get me wrong, but we only know each other because her brother Graham used to date my sister Brianne. So we hung out and got to know each other pretty well. You can totally ask her about me for a character reference, she can assure you I’m not some weirdo.” She thought about that for a second and added with a abashed shrug. “Ok, she’ll tell you I’m a well meaning weirdo.” She allowed.

“I can definitely offer lessons in non-seriousness, it’s my specialty, but I like you the way you are so don’t take my lessons too much to heart.” She warned with a playful finger pointed at him. She winced, hating to destroy the facade but not wanting him to think she was smarter than she was. “Only a little. Tad told me it was stupid and a dead language so of course I made that my language requirement so I’ve got two years under my belt. I’m barely decent at best, but I could ask someone where the bathroom is, or ask for directions if I ever find myself in a situation where the surrounding public speaks latin.” She laughed. “Hey! Don’t call me a nerd, nerd.” She teased. “I’m pretty sure like, every person knows that phrase, so it’s not that impressive.” It might be impressive, she didn’t know; she’d never thought about it. She wasn’t the most intelligent- that was Tad, or the smartest about life things- that was Brianne, and she wasn’t the ferocious one that bulldozed her way to whatever she wanted- that was Hanna. She was just Ali, the baby Adamsen, and that was how she saw herself. Maybe the most fun, but not much more. And she was fine with that.

“Oh,” she said disbelievingly. She’d already come to the conclusion he was smart, but if he wanted to be modest about it, that was fine by her. She nodded eagerly, fidgeting in her chair excitedly. “I do! I’d love to learn about them!” Not in a classroom of course- that sounded boring, if she was being honest. But with Pierce- that just sounded fun. She loved things that people loved, she loved getting involved in people’s interests and giving them the chance to share that interest with someone who was as eager and excitable as their interest deserved. “I think I can agree to four minutes.” She said with a straight face, trying to keep her serious expression in tact and succeeding for a good few seconds before giggling again. “I appreciate your consideration for my non-death.”

She quickly covered her mouth, trying to smother the giggle at his fluster, and only barely succeeding. “It’s a date.” She agreed easily, grinning until the storm ruined their fun once more. She instinctively reached for his hand, but caught herself at the last second and instead dropped both hands to her lap, holding her own hand instead. “Yeah…” she agreed, barely hearing him. The storm was making what should be a lighthearted conversation tense and uneasy, and she didn’t like it. She wanted to be in her dorm room, hidden under her covers with Thea’s soft snoring from the other bed, or at home, with her father and Jack letting her sleep on their laps in the living room while they worked or watched tv. At the very least, she wanted to hide- as much as one could hide from the weather raging outdoors- next to Pierce, but unfortunately she didn’t think that’d go over well in the ‘trying to convince him she wasn’t a weirdo’ department. So she twisted her hands and every now and then reached for the highlighter to highlight a few lines at random, returning her hands to her lap each time and trying to keep her leg from drifting toward his under the table, desperate for some contact. A few minutes passed in silence before she spoke again, her words playful but her tone uneasy. “So… what if I think everything’s going to be important? Does that mean I’m doomed?”

[piercesutton-blog]

Pierce glanced at her curiously, slightly surprised at how small of a world it was. He briefly wondered if he and Ali ever were in the Sullivan residence at the same time and he somehow didn’t notice her, writing it off as him not being attentive enough. “Why would I ask her about you when I could just ask you about yourself?” He asked, feigning innocence and pushing down the guilt he felt as he lied. Truth be told, he didn’t really want her to know he had been asking about her, wanting to keep his innate interest in her under wraps for the time being. “I don’t think you’re a weirdo, just really friendly.”

“You like me as I am? A quiet geek that’s more in his head often that not and doesn’t really get sarcasm sometimes?” He questioned, craning his head one way as a dog would. Though he could have been sarcastic himself, there were some instances where he didn’t quite catch on to other people’s, especially those who used it as their humor. While her brother had been right and Latin was very much a dead language, it still had lots of purposes such as knowing the scientific names for organisms in biology and parts of the body for anatomy. Unfortunately for Pierce, however, he had been forced to learn it on his own and rather unsuccessfully. “If it makes you feel any better, I was almost forced into taking french because my stepmom kept prodding me about it and told me it was the language of love and I could probably use some of that in my life.” He replied, rolling his eyes at the thought of those words. “I’d trade you if I could, so even your basic understanding and phrases are still impressive to me. I mostly just remember stuff like la pizza and la cookie, so the joke’s on my stepmom anyways. I don’t think I could woo someone by saying those words over and over again if I went to France or even Canada.”

Eyes bright at the thought of someone even remotely interested in knowing about the constellations, his responding smile reflected the very same brilliance. “I’ll teach them to you, then. But maybe when we can actually see them and not when we’re both stuck here and you have to study for your exams.” He spoke, not getting too caught up in his head once more. His concern for her education far outweighed his interests at the moment, strangely. For someone he had barely met and spoken to, it seemed he was rather invested in how well she did in school. “It’s mostly so I don’t have to do CPR on you, I never have my certified CPR card on me, your family might sue me if I break a few ribs trying to resuscitate you or something.” He joked, scrunching his own face together as well.

His whole face burning a bright pink when she spoke, he had to really force himself not to let his jaw drop at her words. Pierce was sure that she was simply repeating his phrase, not actually insinuating a real date. That was absolutely ridiculous, Ali wanting to go on a date with him? And him wanting to go on a date in general? No, that was impossible. Despite his embarrassment, he could still notice her unease, which in turn made him want to comfort her. It was easy to see her fidgeting and he almost felt apologetic towards it, as if this storm were somehow his fault. He wasn’t too sure what he was supposed to do to help her with this, however, not sure what making someone feel better entailed. Really, the only person he had managed to do that with was his mother. So, he did the only thing he remembered how to do. Reaching out to her hands in her lap, he intertwined his fingers with hers and gave them a tight squeeze before clearing his throat and peering down at the things she had highlighted. “Don’t overthink everything, just highlight some key words, alright? I doubt you’re going to need this whole chunk of paragraph for your exam. Aaaand, this whole thing? You most likely don’t need to know it either, it’s common sense.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

How common was that name, she wondered. “Wait, Jazz? You are so not talking about Jazz Sullivan are you?” She asked excitedly. This could be great! If he wasn’t sure about wanting to be friends with her Jazz could totally vouch that while overly loud and personally invasive about every little detail someone wanted to offer her, she was basically a nice person and a good friend. A friend she wanted to convince him was worth having.

Her unease had affected him, and she felt bad. He’d just been trying to compliment her, and she’d gone and made it weird. And while most people would try to gloss over it and return to some sort of normal topic, if stilted now because of the too-long pause and fidgeting, Ali wasn’t most people. “Wow, I sure went and made that awkward.” She said bluntly, smiling over at him and offering a small ‘please find that more funny than weird’ laugh. “Thank you. I appreciate the compliments, I’m just not used to serious and you’re like, way serious and I like it but I’m not sure how to be serious back so…” She wrinkled her nose in an attempt to be cute and playful. “Awkward.” She finished lamely. “Mea culpa.”

“Small probably means competitive, which means you’re probably really smart, then.” The words could have been construed as a question of his intelligence, except that it was said with a decisiveness that didn’t need an answer. He was smart, it was a given. “Color me impressed. You’ll have to teach me something about the stars sometimes- if you want to I mean.” She added as an afterthought, not wanting him to think she was being too demanding. “It might. You’re pretty interesting, five whole minutes might be asking more than I can give.” She laughed.

He was cute when he was flustered, and in a rare show of restraint, she refrained from saying that aloud in an attempt to not make him even more flustered. But she did lean closer and bump his shoulder with hers briefly. “I think they will be a next time, so leaving some stuff for then is a good idea.” She agreed. He was as uncomfortable with the storm as she was, and partly for her own comfort, and partly because maybe it would comfort him as well, she scooted her chair closer, bringing her barely an inch away as she leaned over the book and even closer to him. She liked physical closeness, it reassured her, and already she felt a little better about the storm and her lack of signal and everything in general, and hoped it had helped him even a little. “Serious studying.” She repeated, forgetting to add a joke to the end of it and flipping to the right chapter. “So this is the first chapter the test will be on, as well as the next two.” She said, looking up at him.

[piercesutton-blog]

Pierce shouldn’t have been surprised that Ali and Jazz were friends, or at least knew each other, the both of them social butterflies in comparison to him. “I am, yeah. Don’t tell me, you two are best friends for life or something?” He asked, teasing her once more. It also didn’t come as a shock that Jazlyn had never spoken about him to her, the two never having been too close for reasons unexplained and truly unknown to him. Perhaps he was just too closed off and she had others things to do with her time than reach out to him, either way, it wasn’t a big deal to him. Now, however, he made a mental note to ask her about the girl before him... Not that he had any doubts that she wasn’t exactly who she said she was and how she seemed.

His attention shifted back to her as she laughed awkwardly, causing him to smile in return, the reaction simply automatic to him. Ocean hues flickered to her nose and back to her eyes as she scrunched her face together, something ridiculously adorable that he couldn’t help but to grin at. While he wasn’t sure what to do, at least he knew that whatever he was doing beforehand, it was sure working. “You don’t have to be serious back. If anything, I should learn how to lighten up. Maybe I can take some lessons from you?” He suggested, leaning forward in his chair as if genuinely interested. Thoroughly impressed by her Latin, no matter if it was a popular phrase, Pierce perked up once more. “You know Latin? Are you secretly a nerd who likes to look up phrases and things related to it?”

“Oh, no. Not really smart, I just... I’m really passionate about it and that’s what keeps me here.” He replied, waving around the library as if it were the school itself. At least, in his mind, he wasn’t a complete geek about other things related to science or math, especially since he really did suck at math as well. “Um, if you actually want to learn about the stars, then I’ll teach you. As long as you really do want to learn about them, you know?” Pierce spoke, curiosity in his own eyes as he regarded her. “In that case, I’ll definitely try not to space out around you for more than four minutes because I might snap out of it to find you keeled over and we can’t have that, now can we?”

Her contact with his shoulder made his ears burn a bright red again, thoroughly embarrassed and anxious about the way he was handling himself and her. Ali’s reply only made him even more nervous, at the thought of another night like this where they spent it talking, something far too unfamiliar for him. “It’s a date, then. I mean, wait, no. It’s not a date, that’s just a saying! Oh my god.” He sputtered out, a hand moving to cover the top half of his face as if that would make him disappear. Pierce did notice her shifting closer to him, something that he wasn’t used to but could get adjusted to it quickly. Another roar of lightning caused him to jump and look away from her, alarmed by the flash and following sound. “Err, yeah, serious studying.” He murmured, clearly distracted as his gaze flew back down to her text book. “Okay, so, um... You’re going to get through at least a few pages and write down and highlight what you think is going to be important and we’ll go from there, is that alright with you?”

[bethanyramirez]

“No problem,” she said, taking the card and scanning it in the machine, using the opportunity to find out his name while she did. She scanned the book and handed it back to him, giving the mandatory spiel about due dates and fines as she did. “You’ve got a week to return that, but you can renew it online or in here whenever you like before then. Late fees increase exponentially the longer you keep the book, but if you want to know a secret, they don’t actually start charging anything until two days after the return date.” Okay, so maybe the last part wasn’t mandatory, and was technically a trade secret she shouldn’t share with students, but she always felt bad when people rushed to return books on the day when they didn’t technically need to.

Beth noticed his surprise and was relieved to see it was the pleasant kind of surprise, and not the ‘you’re a creepy stalker how do you know my classes’ kind people sometimes got when she tried to make conversation like this. “I have to admit, that’s mostly to do with jealousy. It always looks so comfy in there, I usually get tempted to have a nap,” she confessed, grinning ruefully. “Yep, that’s me. Nice to properly meet you.”

[piercesutton-blog]

Pierce nodded along to her words, being courteous and pretending as though this was the first time he had heard her spiel. Though he had always been surprised by the two day glitch, he had never truly needed longer than a week with a book, often opting to read it within days and return it soon after. Nevertheless, he appreciated Beth’s willingness to help others and to be kind to someone she could consider a stranger. While he considered himself to be a nice person and went out of his way at times to show someone a kindness, he didn’t do it very often and he undoubtedly knew that it wasn’t just him she explained this to. “Okay, thanks. That’s honestly really good to know.” He replied, trying his best to pour genuine appreciation into his tone.

Laughing and leaning against the counter slightly, not so much that she thought that he was trying to hit on her, the very last thing on his mind. “Maybe one day you’ll be able to, just pretend you’re out getting a snack or something.” He suggested, shaking his head at his own foolishness. “It’s very nice to meet you too, honestly. Anyways, you looked really into whatever you were doing before I interrupted you... What were you doing anyways?” He questioned, building up the courage to ask despite knowing it was truly none of his business.

[aliadamsen-blog]

“Maybe one day.” She agreed happily. “Family’s boring, why am I wasting all your time talking about family?” She actually loved talking about her family, and other people’s families, and random families she came across in life, but the subject seemed to make him uncomfortable (though he seemed a little uncomfortable about the whole exchange, or at least unsure about her) so she decided it was time to stop the family talk. He wouldn’t want to be around her if they only talked about subjects that made him uneasy. Eventually, if he wanted her to know about his family, he’d share more. Or she’d forget in a couple weeks, ask, he’d get unhappy and she’d cut the topic short again.

He was more serious than she was used to, and it made his comments heavier than others’. Thea was serious to a degree, but living with someone meant you got to see the less serious side of them more often, and she knew Thea’s fun side. She didn’t know Pierce’s fun side, so his comments and compliments all had the edge of seriousness to them, and while she wasn’t very good at serious, she couldn’t help feeling it when he spoke. She wasn’t sure how to respond to his quiet agreement, so she just smiled and debated hugging him again, decided against that because of his discomfort, decided to do it because it was her comfort, and then settled on not doing it because his comfort outweighed hers, and she glanced back at the books, grateful when the conversation turned back to him.

“So just usual parental worry, they’ll get over it. Discovering your own star, huh? That paired with the supernova comparison and I’m going to take a wild guess and say your major is Astrology? No wait!” She corrected herself with a half laughing, half ‘oh shit!’ look. “Not astrology, astronomy. Oh my god, how embarrassing, I know you’re not studying zodiac signs, so sorry!” She was trying not to laugh at her screw up, but it was hard. It was a funny screw up after all. Hopefully he thought so too. “I won’t think you’re ignoring me, but if it’s just you and me and you drift off, I cannot be held responsible for dying of boredom in your lap for lack of someone to talk to.” She added jokingly.

She snapped her fingers in an ‘aw shucks’ manner. “Well dang, there goes my first two questions, how’d you know?” She teased, shaking her hair out of her face. “No, nothing serious. Like, favorites, colors, food, shows, ooh now I can ask favorite and most interesting stars in your opinion. Shallow stuff, never fear.” A threatening rumble of thunder growled over their heads, and the lights flickered briefly, struggling to stay alive over the storm. The flicker made her look automatically to her phone, realizing she’d lost the single bar she’d had earlier. She didn’t like being out of contact with her siblings, it made her itchy and uncomfortable, but she tried to hide it with a bright smile at Pierce. “We’ll save the serious stuff for a less serious night. Can’t have too much serious in one place, right?”

[piercesutton-blog]

“That’s alright, your family is pretty interesting, so I don’t mind much. Just the thought of meeting them is a little daunting for me... I’ve never met anyone’s parents other than Jazz’s but we grew up together.” He reasoned, wanting her to talk about something she seemed as though she were passionate about. Pierce hadn’t gathered much on Ali other than the fact that she was practically radiant with all her optimism, but he knew that she considered her family important despite the seemingly annoying things they did with each other. The last thing he wanted to do was cut something out of their conversations that she deemed great because of his own discomfort with his family. He had a basic and rudimentary idea of friendship and he knew that it meant sharing the things they thought were interesting.

It was easy to see the shift in the conversation, the pause in it speaking more than words ever could. He wasn’t used to being serious or social and she wasn’t used to compliments, it seemed. This was made into a mental note, so he wouldn’t make that mistake again and wouldn’t speak without thinking it through first. He was inherently sure that while she was complimented all the time, it wasn’t often by someone like him. After all, who would want to be flattered by someone who had little to no friends and someone who they had just met? Unless, it was someone who wanted attention and Ali didn’t scream that type of person from what little he knew about her now. She had enough attention at home and with her other friends. This caused Pierce to bite his lip once more, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as though he had made a brash decision.

“Hopefully, it will.” He replied, before she spoke further. He had the decency to look slightly offended at her mess up, laughing along with her soon after. Others made the mistake often enough that he wasn’t truly surprised or shocked when someone new did too. While the zodiacs were rather interesting, they were far too generalizing for him and the constellations appealed to him far more than the signs. “Don’t worry, a lot of people make that mistake too. But, yeah, I’m majoring in astronomy. It’s not a very large field, but people are still needed in it.” Pierce spoke, speaking rather modestly of it. “I don’t think I’ll be stuck in a daydream long enough for you to die, unless it takes longer than five minutes for you to die of boredom?”

“Oh, you know, I just know you so well and everything.” He chuckled, eyes twinkling with mirth. “Of course, I can answer those. I just wanted to make sure there was still stuff left for the next time I see you, you know? I mean, if there is a next time after this. If you want, not that you need to agree. Like, you should agree, I just... Never mind.” Pierce managed to stammer out idiotically, trying very hard to explain himself only to shut himself down once again. Gripping the table tightly and quickly when the lights flashed, he clenched his jaw at his uneasiness again. It seemed to him there was something wrong, but he couldn’t pinpoint what it was and didn’t have the time to puzzle it out. Perhaps it was the storm, making him rather queasy at the thought of returning home to flooding or something along the lines. He hardly noticed Ali’s look of apprehension as well, pushing his own feelings away. “I think... The only thing that should be serious tonight is your studying, actually.”

[jazlynisms-blog]

“That’s your fault. No one has ever told you to grow this much.” she joked. The time when they were both toddlers was definitely over, but she had not expected being forced to look up in order to see his face. “You’re almost a full head taller, it’s not fair.” Jazz protested, a smile spreading over her features. Sure, the whole ‘same age’ business was fun, until the point when it became too obvious one would grow much taller than the other. AKA, their case.

She couldn’t help but feel her cheeks turn a bright pink as she looked away. Her, a revolutionary? For the moment, no way. Maybe later - since the world had far enough issues for them to try to fix, at least. As a little girl, it was easy to have a head full of dreams and a to-do list that could probably be used to wrap up the entire Earth. “I’d like to, but for now, the objective is passing my classes. Then, I’ll have time to think about world issues that need to be fixed.” she sighed. “With some luck there’ll be less censorship in the years to come.” 

“I’m not gonna wait for karma to get them, I’ll get things done myself.” she replied, shrugging her shoulders. Since the very moment Carlie had burst into her room, and cried a whole puddle of tears before telling her she had a huge problem, Jazlyn had decided to get things straight with those. “I can’t just let them? I bet they already know I’m going after them anyway.” the girl sighed, balancing on the footstool. “Nah, even if they’re not really tolerant, our parents raised us well.” She shook her head. “She doesn’t need me all day - she still goes to school, I’ll just visit regularly. It’s just for a few days. Thank you, really. We would’ve been kind of screwed otherwise.” 

[piercesutton-blog]

Leaning down to tease her, Pierce flashed her a cheeky smirk. “What’s that? I couldn’t hear you from all the way up here? It’s a whole different world when you’re my height, you know.” He joked, finding himself to be rather hilarious before straightening out once more. “If I could give you a few inches, I would. Unfortunately, that just isn’t how life works.” Though be barely hovered over 6′2″, it seemed that most people in his life were destined to be much shorter than him, aside from his father. It didn’t help the image that he was unapproachable either, his height somewhat daunting according to some people he spoke to in passing.

For as long as he had known her, there had always been an aura of confidence around Jazz, another reason why he had always been rather hesitant to speak to her. His assumption had always been that she was too busy, too social to give him the time of day despite growing up together. Her sister was very much the same, but this: a blushing, somewhat skeptical of her skills Jazz was a side of her he had never really seen. Though always taught never to judge a book by its cover, her was thoroughly surprised by the contents of this one. “From the very little I’ve seen of your pictures, I know you have talent. It just remains to be seen whether or not everyone else thinks so. I think they will, though. It’s hard not to and you’ll pass your classes with flying colours.”

“You might get hurt in the process, people these days are absolutely vicious.” He murmured, biting the inside of his cheek as he spoke. Gentle as he were, it wasn’t as though he hadn’t been bullied in school either, especially before he hit his growth spurts. This was another reason why he didn’t speak much and kept his head down, fearing reactions to his words. “They’ll just taunt her more if you step in, as if she couldn’t fight her own fight and they’ll know that it’s hurting her, so they’ll do it more.” Pierce tried to reason with her, eyes filled with melancholy as he looked away. “It’s no problem, I’ll just make sure the fridge and freezer are stocked up before she comes over. And in case I’m not there and she’s sleeping or something, I’ll make a spare for you.”

[aliadamsen-blog]

She laughed. “Of course we are!” She said, giving him a funny look.

“Please, only Jack’s the threatening type and I’ll kick him if he did, Tad’ll probably ignore us, and my sisters are too busy with their own lives. We’re not that scary.” Unless one was threatened or in trouble. She debated telling him about the time Hanna got stranded by a now-ex-boyfriend an hour outside of town after a fight they’d had. Tad already had his job in the next town over, Brianne was still in college, and Jack and Ali were still in high school, but between them all and their father, Hanna had been home within a couple hours, eating a tub of ice cream and screaming about her ex, and her ex had been thoroughly scared straight on how to treat one’s significant other by a glowering Tad and their terrifying cop father.

But that seemed a bit too far into TMI territory, especially given he already seemed nervous around her and talk of family, so she didn’t. Maybe another time, once he’d gotten more comfortable with her. “Of course you’re fun, weirdo. Unless you’re just pretending, in which case hat’s off to you.” She paused at the compliment, said much more seriously than most of the ones she received on her odd bubbliness, but it was quickly followed by an abashed grin. “Thank you.” She said, thrown a little off by the serious turn of the conversation, “I like to think I’m pretty cool.” She said, attempting to recover the playfulness of their chatting. She was good at a lot of things, but seriousness wasn’t one of them.

Thankfully, he spared her having to continue the serious line of conversation, and jumped onto her question. “Well, she’s silly. Who cares if other people understand your major? You like it right?” She waited only a moment for the nod of confirmation before continuing, “So it doesn’t matter what other people think. You like it, you want to go after it, and more power to you. Drifting how? Like you don’t know what you want to do, because I completely feel you on that. Or like, spacing out sometimes, because I think that’s normal, especially when you have to take classes that have nothing to do with your interests.”

“Like econ,” she wailed, returning her attention to the book in front of them and letting herself fall onto the table, her arms splayed onto the book until he spoke again and she popped back up, grinning once more. “Aaaaaanything?” She asked liltingly. “How about we make it a game?” She asked eagerly. “For every you-choose number of questions I get right, I get to ask you a question about you and your interests! It’s a getting to know you game!” She beamed, pleased with herself. “You can ask me questions too if you want, you don’t need to answer questions correctly obviously.” She added as an afterthought.

[piercesutton-blog]

For some odd reason, Pierce was relieved by her words. Friends weren’t too easy to come by, but with Ali, it almost felt effortless and as long as he paid attention to her words, it seemed everything would work out fine between them. “I guess we’ll just have to see one day, right? Maybe you’ll get to meet my dad and my stepmom too, if they’re not busy or anything. They usually are though.” He replied, not quite elaborating on his family. They weren’t particularly close, a rift forming between him and his dad when his mother had died. And while his stepmom coddled and prodded him often, it was never quite the same between the two of them as it was with his real mother. While he had never been in a real relationship before, he had watched enough movies to know that it didn’t take less than a year to get over someone you loved unless you never truly loved them. The question had always been on his mind, but he had never asked.

Genuinely pleased that she thought he was fun, he managed to look up and glance into her eyes long enough to give her a grin of his own. Thankful that she was making his compliment lighthearted, the tension in his shoulders melted as he realized that she appreciated it but wasn’t reading too much into it. A good thing, considering he wasn’t entirely sure what he had meant by it as well. Though one thing was for sure with her: cool certainly wasn’t the first thing he would think of when he thought of her. Kind, pure, and even a little funny were just some. “Yeah, you are.” He agreed quietly, not wanting to lay it on too thick at first, seeming too desperate to please and to be her friend.

He could only nod along to her words, someone who understood that his life was his choice and so far, he had liked the choices he had made. This was important to him and it was especially difficult now to understand why his parents didn’t understand it either when someone who he had just met did. “I think it’s both. I know this major isn’t going to get me too many job offers, but I’m incapable of stopping myself from majoring in it, it’s the only thing I think I’m good at it, you know? Maybe one day I’ll discover a star of my own... And I think you know that I daydream a lot more often than others do. It’s to the point where they think I’m actually trying to ignore them, I hope you don’t think that’s the case. I just get lost in my own head a lot.”

Letting out yet another laugh at her behavior, he simply leaned back in his chair and took it all in. How had he gone from wanting a quiet night to being here and actually wanting to be here? It was a total mystery to him, but he didn’t regret it at all. Ocean hues filled with surprise at her game, making him mildly uncomfortable once again. He didn’t speak about himself much and he wasn’t one to overindulge in it either, but if that’s what she wanted and if it motivated her to study, then he would do it. “Um, yeah, okay. I can do that... Just nothing too personal, okay? Like if I’ve murdered anyone or what my opinions on Jennifer Lawrence are.” He joked, batting away the uneasiness that kept crowding his mind.

[aliadamsen-blog]

She cocked her head, confused, her next words a little naive but very matter-of-fact. “We’re friends though.”

“Yeah, we’re kinda a lot when we’re all together, I wouldn’t subject you to that so soon. Maybe after like years, or if we ever decide we hate each other, I’ll be mean enough to subject you to a dinner with the Adamsen clan.” She laughed, assuming he was kidding about not really being friends. “I think quiet they’d enjoy, and strange they’re used to, but you seem pretty fun so I think you’d be fine in the end. But we can’t risk it; they might end up liking you more than me.” She grinned at him.

“What are you even talking about Animorphs is like the coolest thing of my childhood!” She laughed. “It would be terrifying, I completely agree. To not have control over what I’m doing or saying or feeling? It’d be the worst thing I could think of. Especially if they’re yeerky, I doubt anyone in power is going to trust them.”

She cocked her head again. “Do people question you a lot?” She asked. She knew the feeling; her family questioned every move she ever made, but it’d always been that way and she wasn’t even sure what she’d do if she didn’t have her family to bounce her decisions off. But she could see how others may not feel that way.

She dropped into the seat next to him, groaning at an almost acceptable level for the library they were in. “Ugh, neither.” She groused, but reached for her Econ book anyway. She did have that test after all. She left it in front of her, poking at the page it was opened to much like a child would poke unfamiliar vegetables with their fork on a dinner plate.  

[piercesutton-blog]

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Pierce could only look up at her with a surprised expression. “We are?” He questioned gently, not wanting to hurt her feelings.

“I feel like that’d be chaos. Probably a mixture of your brothers threatening me, your sisters glaring at me, and probably a lot of banter I wouldn’t understand going back and forth. And, you know, your parents being wary of me or something...” He trailed off, not really wanting to think about how foreign and uncomfortable he’d feel in that situation. Truth be told, he was already nervous enough talking to Ali, it’d only get worse with her family in the picture. Perking up at her words, however, he tilted his head one way. “I’m fun? But, uh, I really doubt they’d like me more than you. You’re their daughter, after all. I’d just be that guy their daughter brought over who didn’t really speak much and was probably way too polite that they’d suspect I was hiding something.”

However fleeting, he felt a strange mixture of admiration and fondness rush through him as she spoke. It was then that he wasn’t sure why he had never approached her before, why he had ever been afraid to. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Ali.” He said before even thinking his words through. “I hope you know how special you are.”

Though wavering, he held eye contact with her for a few seconds before looking away, the tips of his ears turning red as he realized what he had just said. Doing what he could to avoid explaining what had just happened, he quickly launched himself into the next subject. “My stepmom questions me a lot, she doesn’t understand my major or why I just seem like I’m drifting. She means well, though, I think.” He shrugged, biting his lip.

Glancing over at the book she was poking as if it were the bubonic plague, Pierce couldn’t help the idiotic smile rising on his face once more. She had that effect, like he said, to brighten up a room despite the storm outside. “Hey,” he spoke, tone gentle and kind once more, “I don’t want you to fail and neither do your siblings. It’s easier to study if you actually want to, so what can I do to make you want to study? It can be anything, I’ll do it.”

[nadiarainier-blog]

“Resting your eyes with a snore, huh? Best kind of eye rest I know of,” she couldn’t help bu tease at his insistence that he hadn’t been asleep. She noted, though, the way that he hugged the telescope closer to his chest, the almost nervous look that had overcome his face. That was curious. She almost wanted to question it, but she knew just from his response that it wasn’t really her place to ask. Not at the moment, at least. She knew nothing about him, after all.

“I won’t let anyone take your telescope, don’t worry. Long as my humming now and then won’t bug you, I mean. I’ve got a Music History project to finish up, and I have to put together set lists for the next couple hours, so I’ll probably wind up making a little bit of noise while I work those out.” As long as she wasn’t full-out singing, that was a step in the right direction, she had long since decided. A hummed line here and there to ensure fluidity of a list as practically nothing.

[piercesutton-blog]

“Was I really snoring? God, that’s embarrassing.” Pierce asked, running a hand through his curls with a laugh. At least now that he knew she wasn’t a complete hardass, he could relax a bit. Of course, if they went on to be friends, he was sure that she’d never exactly let him live it down that he had fallen asleep in the library and his futile attempts to deny that he even had at all. Then again, he was getting way too ahead of himself now. “At least, it wasn’t like I was talking in my sleep or sleepwalking. So I guess I’ll take snoring than all that.”

“Okay,” he nodded, a certain amount of trust put into her statement. “I don’t really mind you singing or making any noise, really. I think it’d be quite interesting to hear someone compose something. So if you really do want to sing something, by all means. Or if you need help, not that I know all that much about music, I can try?” He smiled, wanting to help her out so he didn’t pass out again. He always had a certain appreciation for music, his only solace when he couldn’t stare up at the night sky.

[bethanyramirez]

“No, that’s absolutely fine. Have you got your ID card?” Beth rattled off the default response, words she was well practiced at saying by now, but she did so with a smile. “It’s not a problem if not,” she added, picking up on the sheepish, apologetic nature of the boy and wanting to offer some comfort.

It took her a few seconds to place where she recognised him from - Beth found familiarity in a lot of faces around campus these days, and although she had a good memory for them, it was considerably more difficult to remember why they were familiar. “I think you’re in my Astronomy lecture, right? Professor Davies?”

[piercesutton-blog]

“Oh, uh, yeah. I always forget that you need it to check stuff out.” Pierce replied, laughing breathlessly as cursing his forgetful mind as he pulled it out from his wallet. A curious look crossed his features at what he assumed had been pity for him, a tiny grin appearing as if to prove he wasn’t completely helpless all the time.

Surprise soon decorated his grin as she recognized him, it wasn’t often that someone did. He, of course, knew her, he knew most of his classmates, just didn’t have the courage or time to speak to them. “Yeah, actually! And you sometimes nudge me awake when I fall asleep in the kids section.” He offered up, trying not to laugh. “It’s Pierce, by the way. And you’re Beth, right?”