morgan feels pity for someone he never thought possible. based on this. ( @missingapulse )
morgan was sure heâd never seen so many people gathered in the one place before. between his father, aunt juniper, and aunt betty, there were so many sides of the family, it was hard to focus on all of them. it at least meant his friends were around, and so when he wasnât brooding in his chair, he was talking to thorn and oberon. he didnât have to keep an eye on leda. she was always talking to someone or another, mostly the bunny force five ( he still had no idea what that was supposed to mean ), though he often saw her with cassiel, and sometimes even bubbles or aislin.
the dance floor in the middle of the room was full of people, though rules had needed to be put in place an hour or so in when one of the von schweetz triplets tried to initiate a dance off and ended up falling over a table as a result. that was where he was now, not really dancing, just goofing off with thorn and oberon, swaying while talking, that kind of thing. it was a miracle theyâd gotten him up in the first place.
oberonâs gaze went over thorn and morganâs heads about ten minutes in, eyebrows scrunching together as he spotted something on the far side of the room. âis that nerina?â
morgan didnât want to look, but he did anyway, turning around to see what oberon was talking about. nerina was a girl who often exuded an air of confidence, back always straight, head always up, but right now she looked nervous. her perfectly done nails tapped against each other as she approached a boy off to the side. he was probably a couple of years older than her, over a head taller, and morgan didnât recognise him personally, but from his posture and clothes ( which to him just screamed âdouchebagâ ), he found he didnât want to.
âshe is not about to ask him to dance,â he heard thorn say behind him, laughter in his voice.
morganâs sentiments exactly, but they were all proved long as the fidgeting stopped for a moment and she looked at the boy with a hopeful smile on her face, a rare sight for her. she said something, he looked up, clearly disinterested, said a few words, and turned away. it was a short exchange, but it was enough. nerinaâs face fell for a moment before she schooled her features and turned to face rosalind and celandine. she pretended to be okay, morgan could tell that much, but as soon as they were gone, she sat down at one of the tables and drummed her fingers against it.
one of her nervous habits.
âouch,â oberon said, pity seeping into his voice. âat least it looks like sheâs taking it in her stride.â
but morgan knew better. this was just the outer layer, the poker face of nerina blue-thames, the person he could spend hours on end arguing with about anything and everything. sheâd practically sealed their fate the first time theyâd met and sheâd said, âiâm nerina blue-thames and your daddy blasted toilet water in my daddyâs face.â heâd seen that face make plenty of expressions, and while she had variations of her fatherâs trademark poker face, this was not one of them.
it was only when he saw the tiny tear slip that he felt propelled to do something.
âiâll be back,â he said to thorn and oberon, only half-turning to address them, and so he missed the exchange of money behind the boysâ backs, the two bills being shoved into oberonâs pocket. he was already halfway across the room by that time.
it was only when he was a few strides away that he faltered, wondering what to say. why was he here in the first place? he was supposed to hate her, wasnât he? was this the whole âgirls are confusingâ thing his father had been talking about a few weeks ago? he hoped not.
when he finally did stop in front of her, her small face looking up at him with annoyed and -- was that apprehension? it confused him for a moment before he realised why, that she probably thought he was here to make fun of her. after all, it was something he would do.
and so he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, outstretching hand with a, âwanna dance?â
nerina was clearly surprised ( and rightfully so ), though she was quick to school her features. to his surprise, she took his hand and stood, the air of dignity heâd come to partner with her returning despite the slight redness of her eyes.
she headed towards the dance floor, stopping for only a brief moment to look back at him. âwell, are you coming or not? you did ask me to dance.â
he glared at her, but didnât let go, rushing to the dance floor at twice the speed just to spite her. he knew there would be pictures of this ( aunt sabrina was a savage with that camera of hers ), but for now it was time to dance.
The buildings that made up the downtown D.C. ruins were a welcome sight for Cass after spending so long out in the Wasteland staring at nothing but the grey sand. Being back around people was great too. Surprisingly. For now though, it was time to enjoy some time on her own with Dogmeat.
They had left Project Purity and had headed in the direction of Rivet City to wander wherever they wanted to go further in the city ruins. Dogmeat had done his usual thing of wandering on ahead and keeping his nose on the ground while Cass followed on behind keeping an eye out for anything or anyone that may have decided to join them. It was quiet though. For now.
She doubted it'd take long for something to find them out here. Mutants being the biggest problem if she stayed above ground but ghouls if she headed into the metro tunnels. She wasn't sure which she'd rather come across... While debating it though she just aimlessly carried on walking by following Dogmeat along.
