Location: Campus, near Perimeter Road Date: Feb 17th, evening (closed to @sashahartashby)
Grayson’s got a lot of bad habits, and he’s working on most of them. He’s trying, at least, to be better. Smoking doesn’t fall into that category. It’s a family habit anyway, so he wouldn’t stand much of a chance—Grayson’s always associated his dad with sweat and cigarette smoke, as cliche as that is, and his grandfather too before that. He doesn’t remember if his mom smoked.
Either way, Grayson bought his first pack years ago; the perfect excuse to wander outside alone, the best distraction when he didn’t know what to do with his hands. It’s habit by now, an ingrained act, the way some people reach for a cup of coffee before the day truly begins.
He’ll go on the roof for a smoke sometimes, like any good Fox, but today finds Grayson at some picnic table on the outskirts of campus. It’s closer to the Den than it is the Tower, but that’s hardly a surprise to anyone who’s paid attention this past month or so. Perimeter Road is nearby, but anyone walking there doesn’t bother him. Headphones in, cigarette in hand; he’s not exactly approachable.
But someone does approach him anyway. Sasha does, more specifically, and for her Grayson breaks his routine. “Hey,” Grayson says, removing the earbuds with his free hand. He and Sasha are teammates, but it’s not as though they seek each other out much beyond practice and games. Grayson spends most of his free time with Jen. Sasha, he assumes, does whatever she wants.
They’re both off-the-clock right now, especially after a win—a game he’d played in, while Sasha waited on the bench from her latest brawl. There’s no judgement there. Grayson walked off the court without a red card again, despite getting shoved to the ground, but it’s not because he’s better: he only wants to be, and that isn’t the same thing. And even if it meant anything, how could he pretend to know what Sasha needs? “You looking to bum a cigarette or something?”
