To say that Toni was excited for this was an understatement. The pink hair dye had been sitting in her dresser for weeks now, and she was getting tired of looking at it. Anson was finally getting around to losing his dare. She had perfect faith in Alistaire -- nothing would shake him, especially not half-baked sexts from Anson, who seemed to be lacking his mojo these days. She just had to find Ali, sit near him, and then let Anson know she was ready.
The hardest part of all this was locating Alistaire. When she had texted him to ask where he was, he apparently had thought he would be funny and texted her back telling her to come and find him, like it was a game. Lucky for her, she knew his normal haunts, and it wasn’t long before she found him playing piano in the lounge.
“There you are.” She walked over to the piano and sat next to him on the bench, not caring if she was disrupting his playing. He would deal with it. “You’re actually not that hard to find, you know.”
What’s your character’s go-to fifteen minute meal?
Toni loves fruit, and would probably just throw some yoghurt and strawberries and a bowl with some granola and call it good. That’s not even fifteen minutes, but why waste time when you don’t have to?
How would they describe their perfect vacation?
Somewhere warm, with minimal clothing and parental supervision, and lots of attractive people.
What’s the most read book on their bookshelf?
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy; it was one of the first books she read that wasn’t assigned to her. The summer she read it for the first time was an awful holiday in Tokyo that was just a business trip for her father masquerading as a family vacation. Toni spent the majority of the time holed up in the hotel room with a dictionary, pushing her way through the massive novel.
If they had to describe themselves as a type of shoe, which type would they choose? Why?
Toni would pick a black suede booty (Louboutin, of course) because it is stylish, yet subtle, and practical to wear almost everywhere.
Do they have an emergency treat (cookies, sweets, chocolate, etc.) hidden somewhere in their room for bad days? What is it?
Toni likes to keep a tin of Danish butter cookies in the bottom desk of her drawer and eats them slowly. She’s always loved them, and they make her feel less alone, probably because of her heritage.
What’s their weirdest bedtime ritual?
She sets out everything she will need in the morning from her clothes to her hairbrush to her make-up. By the time Toni sleeps, her entire day is basically laid out in a line on her desk.
What sort of pyjamas do they wear? How about underwear?
Contrary to what she answers to the after-midnight texts of ‘what are you wearing ;)’, Toni sleeps in pajama pants and a tank top most nights.
Who/what is the one thing that can make them smile no matter how terrible their day has been?
Her dad used to tell her these really corny jokes when he called to tell her goodnight. They were the most ‘dad’ jokes possible, and it makes her laugh when she’s reminded of them. It’s no surprise her mood has been awful since he hasn’t called in weeks.
Where do they go when they need some time alone?
The library, always the library. It’s a bit ridiculous, considering that it’s a public area, but she can easily lose herself in the stacks.
What’s one conspiracy theory that they secretly agree with?
While Toni is intelligent, she’s not a scientist, and she really doesn’t trust that GMO’s aren’t dangerous. She tries to not to think about all of the food provided by the school that isn’t completely natural.
Who’s the person they most want to tell when they hear a funny joke?
Her dad.
What’s the first section of the newspaper (or online news source) that they check each day?
The politics section, since that is one of her ideal career options and she has to stay current.
How would they react to being punched in the face?
Toni is tiny, and couldn’t punch anyone back with enough force to hurt them, and would probably end up tearing the person’s hair out in retaliation.
Who would they call to bail them out of jail? Bonus points if you describe why they were arrested!
She would call her mom, no question. Poppy would be so concerned with getting Toni out before the press were alerted, because that would reflect badly on the family. As for why she ended up there in the first place, it was likely because she uses a fake id when she goes out to pubs and got caught drinking underage. Either that or she was hooking up with someone in a bathroom or alley and was seen.
Is there a number in their phone that they should definitely delete but just can’t seem to erase?
Alistaire’s, probably. All joking aside, she’s got the number to her adoption agency in her phone, and she doesn’t know why it’s still there. It’s not like she will be calling them anytime soon; she just saw it on one of her adoption documents and put it into her phone.
What’s the one scent that most reminds them of home?
Before they move into a new place, Poppy always makes sure it is professionally cleaned. Toni doesn’t spend too much time in any one home, and her holidays are largely spent abroad. Home to Toni means a new house every time, which means the smell of cleaning.
What do they consider their greatest achievement?
She’s done a lot of things she’s proud of, but she’s most proud about getting her academics turned around when she got to STAG.
If you gave them an office chair, would they spin around on it and wheel around the room?
No. She might spin around once, but then she would sit still. There is probably work to be done.
How much time do they spend on the Internet each day?
Just enough to check her email and do her homework. Life is for living, not wasting on social media, and the internet is a very public place. While Toni doesn’t keep secrets, she is careful who she tells what.
What is their favourite meme/internet joke?
Her favorite is probably “Annoying Facebook Girl” because she can’t stand people who post everything about their lives on social media.
When Toni is not feeling schoolwork, she will usually take a nap or go for a walk.
If someone where to make a movie of their life, who would they want to play them?
Probably Holland Roden, because of the red hair. She’s also got the right attitude.
Do they have a celebrity crush? If so, who?
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, honestly. She doesn’t understand how he gets more attractive every time she sees him in a film, but it happens.
What do they think of celebrity baby naming fads? What would they call their own child(ren)?
I think that Toni thinks the fads are ridiculous, but she doesn’t care a whole lot because it doesn’t affect her. Maybe she’ll get irritated in twenty years when she’s got a secretary named ‘Purple’. She hasn’t thought of baby names because she doesn’t plan on having children.
Who would they dress up as for Halloween?
A pirate, hands down, and not one of those super trashy ones. She would go out of her way to make sure that everything was historically accurate and also high quality, and it would be tailored to fit her perfectly without being too revealing.
If they could transport themselves into a fictional universe, which one would they choose?
Toni would probably choose the Hunger Games universe because she has no doubt that she could defend herself, and she would have no moral qualms about killing other people in the process because it had to be done.
If they were a wizard/witch in the Harry Potter universe, what would their Patronus be?
Her Patronus would be the tiger.
Would they chug a bottle of liquor rather than give it to airport security?
No, why on earth would she do that when she could just buy another one when she landed?
What kind of a Mario Kart player are they? (Aggressive, calm, tentative, ruthless etc.)
Toni is pretty calm when it comes to Mario Kart, but she’s ruthless. She doesn’t really say anything, but she doesn’t hold back. She will blue shell anyone.
STAG Gossip: Oh, YOU'RE threatening US now? How adorable! Listen, as much as we'd love to see your feeble attempts at going all Liam Neeson on us, we've been nothing but truthful. So relax.
STAG Gossip: You're very welcome, dear. Don't let us down now!
Judging by her non-existent reaction, it seemed that joke had been even less amusing than Alistaire had thought, which was a little disappointing. Nevertheless, he pushed the feeling aside; the smile on his face only growing as Toni spoke. “Ruining your life? What on earth are you talking about? You’d love every second of it.” Still, despite constantly winding her up about it, Ali’s feelings towards the matter were largely the same as Toni’s own. The thought of the redhead baking pies and hosting book club meetings was disturbing – not to mention a terrible waste of potential. Ruler of the World, however, was a role Ali could definitely see her in. “Darling, I’d help you conquer the entire universe, if it meant you’d be my wife.” Suppressing a laugh of his own, he raised a brow at her request, wondering if his ears were deceiving him. Toni wanting any sort of close contact outside of their little rendezvous was a rarity, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth by questioning it. It’d be a lot more fun to tease her about it later, anyway. “Well, how could I possibly say no to that?” Grinning, he hopped down into the spot beside her. Ali was tempted to sling an arm around her shoulders, but decided a gentle nudge with his elbow would suffice, lest she decided she wasn’t in the mood for being all touchy-feely after all. “Come on, then; enlighten me. How did you do it?”
His comment made her roll her eyes even as she smiled. “You’re such a smooth talker, Ali. I’m curious -- do you ever accidentally talk yourself into something?” Toni smirked as he joined her on the couch and pushed her gently with his elbow. She wondered if Alistaire would make her pay later for requesting his presence next to her, but she was feeling too needy to care. “I guess you just can’t say no, which is to be expected, as I’m quite amazing” She flipped her hair dramatically over her shoulder, summoning the energy somehow through her exhaustion. The idea that Toni had started the fire was ridiculous; becoming a pyro didn’t fit into her career plans very well. But she was always, always playing a game with Alistaire and she didn’t dare drop the act, even for a second. “There I was, laying in my bed. I was having the most steamy dream, and it was just too hot, so the building burst into flames. The end.” She flashed a coy look at him, and then burst into laughter. He wouldn’t get up, but she laced her elbow through his for good measure. “I honestly have no idea about the fire, but now you’re sitting here and you can’t leave.”
Anson froze at the reminder. He did remember, he was just hoping Toni wouldn’t. He wasn’t confident in his flirting abilities and he really didn’t want pink hair. Being in a relationship with one person for so long didn’t prepare him for sexting someone he hardly knew. “No, I remember,” He muttered awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck as he scanned the room. “I’m just looking for the right time, you know? I can’t do it while he’s in the room and I don’t want to make things awkward while he’s living with me. He might think I’m weird after,” He shrugged nervously. Or worse, what if he laughed or was disgusted with the thought of Anson?
“Are you okay, Anson? You look a little wary.” She looked at him, her amusement barely peeking through her grin. “You can just bow out now, and just embrace your pink hair, if you’d like.” While that would be less than ideal, Toni would accept it. What she wouldn’t accept was Anson backing out completely, which he appeared to be on the verge of doing. “Oh, no. Is that what you’re worried about? If I know Alistaire, he’ll probably think you’re charming and fun. Besides, you can just tell him I put you up to it, if it goes wrong.” Toni shrugged; there wasn’t a chance in hell that Ali would be upset with her for it.
When Valentine felt his muscles burning and his heart pounding on his chest, time came back to him. After hours working on the same routine, his body was completely taken by exhaustion. Performing extended forward and backward swings, combined with near-bar elements, changes of direction and grip, and the release and regrasp movements, to his own sadistic pleasure, seemed quite too much, even to the captain of the gymnastics team whose best apparatus was that same horizontal bar. Valentine wasn’t the obsessed kind, though, yet, forcing his body to the edge was the only thing able to calm his nerves down or to offer him some clarity. There was just too much going on. Too many things to solve. – Half of a day lost on that place and he was no where near the so desired peace. “Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, eyes closed as he dismounted from the bar with his dowel grips still on.
It was all useless.
His breath was completely uneven, sweat covering his bare torso as the gym shorts seemed far too familiar. He was becoming obsessed. No point on denying it. And once he realized his little scape hadn’t been as secretive as he thought, the raven haired boy finally found himself aware of his surroundings. How much did that fire haired girl knew? How much she saw of his scars and stupid welsh dragon tattoo on his back? He felt exposed. Caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to be doing. Except that, there was no rule against training one’s arse off for god-knows-how-long. There was no reason to act suspicious. “Had the same idea, huh?” Valentine tried to sound casual, though his voice didn’t seemed normal with all the panting going on.
Toni had gone to search Valentine out following the texts from the gossip blog. She wasn’t sure what to believe. Aside from the few practices he had led for the gymnastics team (and that one time he had helped her ‘study’ which turned out to be him just listening to her vent for awhile), she had barely spent time with him. It was possible he was the kind of person that would have lit her building on fire, she didn’t know. She honestly didn’t know the boy at all.
She texted Johnny to ask if he was in the room, and got a negative response. When she found him, what would the best approach be? Toni couldn’t imagine a good outcome if she simply marched up to Valentine and accused him of arson. Her search finally ended in the gymnasium, where she heard the familiar sounds of someone practicing the horizontal bar. She found him there, spinning and moving with a grace he didn’t even seemed to think about. As she stood in the doorway and watched him, she realized that she still didn’t have a plan of attack.
Of course she was furious. She had every reason to think he had done it. That’s what the texts had said, right? But for all that logic, she just couldn’t believe that someone who could create such a routine would ever want to destroy something. But then Toni was back where she had been twenty minutes before. She didn’t know Valentine from anybody else, and she couldn’t make decisions without proof.
He dismounted and then finally seemed to realize she was there. “Not exactly.” What could she even say that wouldn’t come out wrong? If they were lying (and they could be, but why would they??), she got the feeling that angering Valentine would be a very bad move for her. “I need to talk to you. It’s about the fire.” Her phone was in her hand, and she fiddled with it nervously. She couldn’t get away with recording him, but at least if she ran the camera, she would catch the relevant audio if she talked him into confessing. That was, if he even did it.
STAG Gossip: Oh, we WOULD dare. We've always thought your vast list of conquests deserved to know what you truly thought of them, so it'd be no skin off our noses.
STAG Gossip: But we're sure it won't come to that, right?
Toni: so you're threatening me again, wow.
Toni: I'll help you, but I don't do favours for people.
Anson smiled sympathetically and led her inside the room. It was obvious she was a bit shaken up from the encounter, her usual confident demeanor dulled down. “Me too,” He responded with a soft laugh. “I’m pretty useless without sleep. I’m the worst at sleepovers,” He took a seat on his bed and patted the spot beside him. “You’re welcome to stay here for the night if you’d like. Though Alistaire is staying here too, so I don’t know how you’d feel about that,” He gestured to the spot where Alistaire’s stuff lay. He was still trying to figure out what the other was really like. He kept hearing conflicting stories. With all the drama going on, he completely forgot about the bet they had going on, and was a little nervous to go through with it, considering he was now living with Alistaire. If it ended badly, there was no escape.
She glanced around his room as she entered it; there was no sign of Alistaire other than the cot that had been set-up in the corner. “I’ll bet you were that kid who fell asleep first and ended up slapping your face with shaving cream. I usually stayed awake all night, but then was a complete space case the next morning.” The thought made Toni smirk. “Oh, no. I couldn’t. You and Alistaire will have a great time by yourselves, especially after this bet.” With a grin, she turned to him and raised her eyebrows. “You haven’t forgotten about it, have you? You, texting Alistaire racy messages; me, watching for him to blush as he reads them. It shouldn’t take too much for you to embarrass him.”
STAG Gossip: Hello, Miss Mathews. A little while back, you asked us if we were threatening you and, though it pains us to say it, we were. HOWEVER, we've since seen the error of our ways and would like to make it up to you...
STAG Gossip: If you so choose, we'll happily tell you who started the fire, so you can inform the faculty and sort out this terrible mess.
One thing Toni could get into trouble for having at St. Arcanus.
There are a lot of things Toni could in trouble for having, mostly because she is the go to person to get illegal things on campus. She doesn’t keep any drugs in her room other than prescribed medications (which she sells but wouldn’t get in trouble for if someone found them), but she does have lots of lighters, which she definitely not allowed.
One thing Toni would hate for someone else to find out about.
It’s really juvenile, and really invasive, but Toni has kept a journal with every single tryst she’s had. She doesn’t write names, but dates are there, as are her general thoughts about it. For someone who claims she doesn’t put much stock into how many times or how many people she’s slept with, she sure keeps a careful record. If someone found it, it would be a huge hit to her reputation.
One thing Toni would be thoroughly devastated to lose.
She was never supposed to find the letter from her birth parents. Her adoptive parents hid it in the attic with the rest of her adoption paperwork, and Toni found it when she was doing a school project one summer. Ever since then, it has lived in her desk. She reads it whenever she feels particularly ignored by Poppy and Ian, and losing it would be terrible. Luckily, she hasn’t remembered that it was in her room, or she would be completely frantic about it.
This conversation was completely different that Jonathan had thought it would have been. She was laughing and joking with him– actual joking, not just mocking him– and she’d even given her some insight about her life, which was nice. He didn’t feel like was was going to use his moment of weakness against him either, and it that felt good. He’d been at Arcana for almost two months now, and he was doing quite terrible in the friendship department. He was starting to miss everyone back home, back in California, and he found himself stalking their Facebooks more often than not. Maybe he wasn’t trying hard enough out here, his father had assured him over the phone a couple of nights ago, and maybe the man was right. Maybe he wasn’t.
“Well yeah, but like, I don’t hate you. You were kinda being an asshole, so I just thought you should know.” He smiled at her as he shook his head, recalling how angry and mortified he’d felt, enough that he’d kicked his chair and stormed off. Maybe that’s been just a little dramatic. Along with ignoring her for three weeks. “It was a little childish, wasn’t it? I’m sorry, man. I just don’t do okay with feeling stupid, you know? If you want, I can teach you, to make it up. To skateboard, I mean.” He was starting to trip over his words as he imagined her on his board, and he holding her hand. He just hoped his face wasn’t as red as he felt it. He looked away to laugh for good measure, just in case. “You just have to promise to not do the accent again, because it’s kinda shit, and that you won’t hate me after that. Then we’re good to go.”
“Four weeks? Wow.” That was a long time, almost as long as he hadn’t heard from his own mother. Not that she hadn’t tried, however, but in his mind, they felt almost the same. Not that he’d quite share that with her. For one, talking about his own parents seemed selfish. And two, although he felt comfortable enough to talk to her about his coursework and the reason of his failings, he wasn’t too keen on suddenly introducing her into his life. “Did you piss him off the last time you guys spoke to each other?”
“I was trying to be friendly! Okay, okay, I’m sorry.” He was smiling, which was a good sign he wasn’t really upset about it. “Maybe it was little childish. I’m sorry I made you feel stupid, but that wasn’t my intention. I didn’t know it was a sensitive subject, you know.” Toni shrugged and blinked at him. He wasn’t lying; her California accent was terrible. “Agreed. I will never do the accent again, but I can’t make any guarantees about hating you. I think it’s unlikely, but you could try to do a British accent, and then we’d be in trouble.” She paused, grinning at him, and then realized he wasn’t kidding. “Wait, you’re really going to teach me to skateboard? How is that going to happen when your board is either locked up in your room or burnt?” She didn’t mean to upset him, and judging by the look on his face when she mentioned the potential demise of his board, she had done just that. “I mean, it’s not burnt. There’s no way. It would have taken out all of the other rooms before yours. It’s probably fine, honestly.”
Toni was already regretting opening up to him about this. Of course Jonathan would think it was something she did to upset her father. That’s what he really thought of her, after all. “I didn’t say anything to upset him. The last time we talked, I told him about my roommates, and how school was going. All normal things.” Her face had contorted into a frown, and she knew she shouldn’t be upset with the boy sitting next to her, but she was. “I don’t like that you’re accusing me, either. My dad is the one that’s wrong here, not me. I don’t care if I told him I hated him, he still has to call me. He’s my dad.”
Anson was trying to catch up on sleep after the traumatising night. He never did well without sleep. He was always the first person to pass out at sleep overs and was always grumpy without a solid eight hours. A steady knock in the door caused him to rouse from his slumber with a groan. Peering over the bed, he saw that Alistaire wasn’t in the room at the moment. He enjoyed the other’s company, but it was nice to have a moment to himself–that was until he remembered someone was at the door. Yawning, he pulled on a jumper and made his way to the door.
“Oh, hello,” He greeted Toni sleepily, rubbing at his eye before opening the door to let her in. “Who’s room did you end up getting? I hope all your stuff is alright,” He said sincerely, honestly feeling awful for all the students that were truly effected by the fire. He was lucky he was in a completely different building.
Anson looked as worn out as Toni felt. “Oh, I’m sorry -- were you sleeping?” He kept rubbing his eyes, and she felt slightly guilty waking him over something as inconsequential as this bet. She followed him into his room, and stood by the door uncomfortably, arms crossed over her chest. “I’m with Aubrey and Vanessa. I haven’t actually been to the room yet, but I’m sure there’s a lot of talking about feelings going on in there.” Toni gave him a small smile at his apology. “Thanks for your concern, but it’s just stuff. I suppose we’ll eventually find out if any of it survived; luckily my parents can afford to replace my things if they were ruined.” If Toni asked, her mother would probably make a donation for the Waitesmith fire victims if any of their belongings were damaged. It would look good on her record for her to try and arrange a fundraiser at the next student council meeting, too. She realized that she had wandered off mentally. Shaking her head to clear it and refocus, she looked at him. “Did you say something? Sorry, I’m really tired. I have a hard time paying attention when I haven’t had enough sleep.”
“In-depth examinations, eh?” Ali waggled his eyebrows. It was a juvenile innuendo, even by his standards, but if there was a chance it would elicit even an eye-roll from Toni, he was damn well going to make it. Still smiling, he turned momentarily to snap the lid of the piano shut – and promptly turned back with a gasp, gawking at what she said. “Of course I’m truly glad, Antonia. I’m honestly hurt you’d ever think otherwise.” A pout formed on his lips and his brows contracted into a frown. It was all an act, of course; Ali knew what she was trying to do and, as always, he was more than happy to play along. “I know I might want to cremate most of our peers, but to suggest I’d make an attempt at doing so with you, my one true love and future mother of my children, sleeping in the next room…” He scoffed, shaking his head as he stood. The thought of dramatically storming out did occur to him, but instead, Alistaire wandered over to the sofa, leaning over the back of it so he could point an accusatory finger at Toni. “Are you sure this isn’t your guilty conscience trying to pass the buck?”
His joke seemed half-hearted, but if he was trying to annoy her, it wasn’t working. She didn’t even have enough energy to roll her eyes, so she leaned her head against the back of the couch and just stared at him. Alistaire closed the piano, and she thought for a moment that he might come sit with her so she pulled her feet underneath her to make room. At his offended tone, she smiled. “Oh, how could I forget? You’re hellbent on ruining my life by turning me into your trophy wife.” He knew that being stifled in such a way was her worst nightmare, and she shivered at the thought. Imagining such a future always made her react negatively. “The only way I would marry you, Alistaire, is if you helped me conquer the world first.” His thinly veiled accusation made her laugh. “Oh sure, blame the redhead.” Toni was tired of him being across the sofa from her. She was in a strange mood; she usually never wanted physical comfort, but she was exhausted. In truth, Toni was too drained by the recent events to play keep up with Ali, though she very much wanted to. “Come sit with me, and I’ll tell you all about how I managed to start a fire while I was asleep in my bed. It was quite a feat, I promise you’ll be impressed.”
