𝚂𝙴𝚃𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚂𝙲𝙴𝙽𝙴: right after celibacy club ends.
𝙿𝙰𝚁𝚃𝙽𝙴𝚁𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚆𝙸𝚃𝙷: @divin3s.
the hallway outside the classroom looked like the aftermath of something sacred . students spilled from the doorway in clusters , voices low and careful , drifting together like incense smoke beneath the fluorescent lights . brooks walked straight into it with a sandwich in one hand . he looked wildly out of place . his hoodie sleeves were shoved to his elbows despite the chill in the air . there was mayonnaise on one thumb . a paper bag was tucked beneath his arm . he moved through the thinning crowd with such conviction that he couldn't comprehend considering the possibility that he wasn't welcome somewhere .
by the time the last few students had filtered away , only one person remained . abilene . " yo , abs ! " then , brooks' face fell immediately as he finally understood that the students leaving the room meant they were ... finished . " aw , man . " his words came out around a mouthful of sub . he chewed twice before swallowing and pointing the sandwich at the now - empty classroom . " it's over already ? " the disappointment sounded genuine . devastating , even .
he glanced past her shoulder into the room as though maybe there was still time to catch the second half . " i thought this thing went longer . " another bite disappeared . then he brightened . " wait . when's the next one ? " the question arrived with all the confidence of someone who had never attended a single meeting and had somehow skipped directly to assuming he belonged there .
his gaze settled on abilene . brooks knew exactly two things about her . one : she was religious . two : she was very religious . the distinction felt important . he wasn't entirely sure what celibacy club actually did . every explanation he'd ever received had sounded suspiciously like homework . still , he found himself fascinated by it in the same way people became fascinated by documentaries about deep sea fish . it was a completely different world from his own . he took another bite . " you guys got snacks in there ? ⸻ actually , scratch that . if you did , don't tell me . i'll get jealous . " the corner of his mouth twitched .
" though i gotta ask . what do you even talk about for an hour ? just everybody sitting in a circle like , ' yep . still not having sex . ' " he nodded thoughtfully . " seems like it'd be a pretty short meeting . " there wasn't a trace of malice in it . no mockery . no judgment . just genuine curiosity wrapped in the unfortunate delivery system that was brooks daniel keller . he shifted the sandwich to his other hand and fell into step beside her without invitation . " c'mon . walk with me . i got another fifteen minutes before i'm supposed to be somewhere , and there's at least a fifty percent chance i skip it ... okay , you got me ! you're good ! ... a seventy - five percent chance . "