the sky is not the limit

Wes Wilder. Don't call me Lawrence.

[taliesinmauk]

“Same.” Taliesin agreed, keeping his tone warm even if he was trying to push the darkness away. They weren’t doing that anymore. If he said that enough it would be true. That was how it worked. Right?

He sighed at the offer to talk. “I know.” Sometimes he wished Wes could be a little more like the rest of the guys he knew. Amir was allergic to emotions. Tal’s father’s approach to conflict was to have it at any and all opportunities. “I just don’t know what to say.” Taliesin ran a hand through his hair, self conscious. “I know. Me not knowing what to say. Surprise, surprise.”

“I respect Fiona Woolfe, man. Even if she doesn’t respect anyone aside from Morgan Little.” He was being pointed in neglecting Poppy there. He understood why Wes’ relationships collapsed. There tended to be mutual fault there, mutual understanding, finding the right fit. But he hadn’t liked seeing Poppy in her post-not-breakup fugue. Perhaps it reminded him too much of himself. “Speaking of Tali, though… Lou wants us to do this double date thing with her and her new guy. The same guy that upset Rals at that stupid dinner. I know I need to talk to him about it. I just… don’t get how Lou compartmentalizes this shit. Was Tali this like…” evil he swallowed “…before?”

[wilywes]

Always good to remember Tal was in his corner. How else could he face the girls when things that were completely his fault blew up in his face?

"You can always talk until you find something to say, you know. Maybe all you have to say to me is nonsense, but I'd still wanna listen." Getting info out of the New Romantics was like prospecting for gold when you knew the seam was running dry. Wes always tried, even if it was useless.

He still couldn't explain to himself why these friends got more grace than Reg. More prospecting was needed, this time in his own head. Bigger machines, new techniques. (This metaphor got away from him.)

There were a few people who upset Raleigh at the party, and for good reason. He and Tal should discuss the dinner now that it was in the air again. "Who?" He racked his brain for the guest list. With everything to happen since, he didn't feel so bad about forgetting. "The Texas guy?"

"Nat—I mean, Tali...she's a lot of things. Not sure what you mean." Her friendship with Tony spoke for itself, but Wes didn't think he could claim any high ground for disliking the guy. People were complicated, and life was messy. "Don't think I'm ignoring the double date. We'll get to it."

[raleighreed]

“You promise?” Raleigh said with a shy laugh. There was something so soothing about that notion. Maybe because it reminded her so deeply of her brother, the professional know-it-all who was always admitting how little he knew. (Johnny was squarely not a boy to her mind. Never had been and never would be. She realized, suddenly, she was clinging to the idea of a future where she got to see him again like a rope above a chasm. All she could do was keep herself from looking down for too long.)

The laugh turned bitter, and not just because of the thought. “My first instinct is always the wrong one, Wes. Second, third, and fourth, too.” Even the people who loved her knew that. Rals and her terrible taste in men. She was waiting patiently for Young to reveal himself to be a terrible fit for her. But right now the only flaw she was seeing was that he was too nice, too careful. She should have spent the night with him instead. But knowing that didn’t make her feel any less embarrassed. Young would have had the good sense to skip this mess.

“Open enrollment in the New Romantics, can you imagine?” She found herself smiling at him again somehow. “You’re going to force Lou to lower her standards. Good luck with that.” Still, she knew what he meant. “It’s true that people unite around a common enemy, but I’m not sure I want to be part of that kind of group. Hasn’t gone well for my kind before.” It was a dark reference for a dark time. She told herself she was thinking of Christian’s unfortunate ancestors rather than the other thing.

Raleigh blinked at him as he started to talk about star stuff. “It moved? What do you mean it moved? Like the whole sky? Or just Beetlejuice?” It was the same thing as whatever weird word he’d just said, right? It felt like the same thing.

[wilywes]

"I promise. I'd offer to declare it like I was dedicating another song to you, but we both know how that turned out." A very fond memory for him, though Wes could detect embarrassment as well as the shut UP Wes Spidey-sense. "You can always count on me to be oblivious."

He wanted to flip Raleigh's laugh from bitter to sweet but didn't know how. Maybe it wasn't a night to feel good about things. Maybe it was a night for wallowing. And yet, Wes could still reach out to her. There was room for empathy in misery's company. "That only makes your series deficit 4 and 0. Fifth time's the charm. Getting to the right decision is more important than the wrong turns along the way. Just ask the Sox."

"Even I know when I'm fighting a losing battle. Still worth a try. Who knows? We might find someone who's good enough to be drafted."

Wes would never understand the challenges Raleigh faced in this world and the other, but he could support her. There was no other option.

"To be technical, we're always moving on a trajectory." Wes did remember to compress the explanation if he wanted to keep his audience, much as it was disappointing. "Space is also always moving and expanding." He heaved a huge sigh. "But for our understanding, now and today, the position of stars depends on where we are. It's really not a good thing to find ourselves even an inch from recorded coordinates."

Trying not to look as helpless as he felt, Wes raised his hands.

"Like I said, weird sky stuff. And I don't know how to fix it."

[taliesinmauk]

Taliesin waved the thanks away. He’d been in a cooking mood/mode ever since Ruby and Viola had moved in, partly for practicality reasons and partly because he was spending more time on the bottom floor of the Villa Sisniega home, which involved missing them while also being roped into whatever chef-y project Ruby wanted to start to avoid thinking about how much Viola was sleeping. Yet another reason to leave the house, especially when Lou was busy.

Taliesin had not expected to have this conversation, and he wasn’t really sure he wanted to have it. He was keenly aware that if Lou told all their friends they were done with him, they would almost certainly do as she said. Not that she would. Just that he was aware of the hypothetical situation. “…I didn’t think it was one.” Which was accurate, but Tal had enough awareness to know what he was getting at.

He stopped on the side of the road. They’d barely made it past Rumi’s house. He desperately hoped she wasn’t home. “Listen, man. We don’t have to do this. I was in a fucked up place. I said things I shouldn’t have. I don’t begrudge you telling Louie it wasn’t acceptable. Our relationship is… was… weird. And kind of built on not talking about things. I wouldn’t endorse it. But we’re not doing that anymore.”

“I know she deserves better than me. But she told me to get the fuck over that, so I’m trying to. Included in that is pushing through whatever weirdness happened between the three of us. So we can talk about it, or we can not. I’m going to end up interrogating you about Fern anyway, so if you want to start that conversation with acknowledging you want to date your friends, that’s not news to me. It doesn’t bother me, Wes. Even if it’s Lou.” He sighed. “Even if it’s me. If it did, I wouldn’t be here. And it’s not because I think you can’t compete. It’s because I value your friendship.” He paused. “And because the only relationship you’d had that I respect is with Hye. Who continues to be, first and foremost, your friend.”

[wilywes]

If Tal could admit he was wrong, so could he. (Unless Cricket was involved.) "We don't," Wes allowed, only for Taliesin to jump right in. Tal always spoke in a way he appreciated, although defining it was difficult. Could it be the way the words seemed older than Taliesin himself, and waited for a body to say them aloud? Or was it how his friend was wiser than anybody else in West Ham, making the rest—Wes included—sound immature? "I'm glad you aren't doing that anymore." What little he knew wasn't enough to grasp the big picture, so hearing a new leaf was turned over felt like music to his ears. It wasn't any great hardship to remember what Lou said in the boba shop, nor was it a chore to see the fracture between them during the meeting. He had wanted them to work it out, and told Hye so. Good intentions, bad execution. "We can talk whenever you need to, you know," Wes pointed out. Would the 'fucked up place' be so bad if Taliesin had other people to listen to him? Maybe, maybe not.

Wes enjoyed running, but following Taliesin's thoughts could sometimes feel like racing around a track and crashing into every hurdle along the way. Unwilling to interrupt, Wes listened, leaving room for each statement to wobble and right itself, like his imagined running feet jump-started his understanding the further away from them he got. Wanting to date his friends was a bit of a stretch, though. Wes Wilder was open to possibilities, that was all, and felt no shame about it.

He decided to give the Fern segue some thought later, a little surprised Tal brought her up at all. Some more thought, if Wes was being honest. He had been thinking of her already, more and more all the time...

He finished the burrito and searched his pockets for his pack of gum. "You're my best friend," Wes reminded Tal, offering a piece. "I value you too." He wriggled the spearmint out of Tal's reach for a moment, looking stern, then handed it over. "But you should try to respect what I've had with other people, dude." Just because it didn't work out with Fiona or Tali didn't mean they were lesser people than Hye. There were things to like, to admire, even if the compatibility didn't align in the long run.

[taliesinmauk]

Taliesin tended to get a hangover easily. The weed usually dulled his senses enough that it didn’t matter, but the initial chaos he’d dealt with last night had meant he hadn’t gotten to use his old ‘gallons of water and two vitamin gummies’ trick. So he’d barely finished making his hair of the dog burrito when Wes knocked.

He looked down at the plate plaintively, then sliced it with a knife and grabbed some baker’s parchment to wrap it up to go. He offered the other half of the burrito to Wes as the best form of affirmative he could muster right now, putting a pair of aviators on as backup against the headache. “I mean, it’s going to hurt anyway, so why not?”

He took a bite before fully leveling his gaze at Wes. “Impressed you’re still moving after yesterday. Maybe I’m just getting old.”

[wilywes]

If Wes was ever body snatched, his friends would know it when the snatcher turned down a burrito. (He did not turn down the burrito.)

"Thanks." Chewing, Wes agreed. Walking up so early after a party like that was just asking to be miserable, but Wes liked Tal's company over feeling bad any day. His run could wait. They had, for all intents and purposes, all the time in the world. "Might as well get it over with, right?"

There was another thing he wanted to get over with, though, and teasing Tal for his old age wasn't it. Beyond the blackout, and the injuries, and the drama, Wes did have the sense he'd stepped out of line somewhere. That Spidey sense was flashing, but it was the other signal this time, the one telling him to speak, not shut up, and if he was going to avoid this particular mistake again, Wes had to get in front of it. "Speaking of yesterday, I want you to know how happy I am for you and Lou. No joke."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

[wilywes]

Last night, Wes had felt like the party would never end.

The party, as it turned out, went from a blacklight to a blackout to a complete mess. Between hearing of Adrian King going down, and holding up the air canister for Sprout's recovery, Wes passed an hour or two trying to think of another event in recent memory going so badly.

Rather than taking his pick, Wes kept positive. He tended to prefer it that way anyhow. Looking ahead to the next thing, the next mission, bells on and ready to avoid repeating the same mistakes. This line of thinking led him right to Lou's door. Shading his eyes from the sun, Wes knocked.

"Morning," he greeted when the door swung open. "Fancy a walk?"

@taliesinmauk

[helifusco]

Heli agreed with Wes that Drew would be a good candidate, but she knew that if she said that anywhere that Bronte could hear her, she’d be in deep, deep trouble.

“Sure. I’d say it to Rumi’s face, too.” She’d always been more than a little intimidated by the senior’s poise. “And ‘too quantified’ seems like a good problem to have, don’t you think? It lets you get down to the real tissues.” Yes. That sounded like something Taliesin would say. Nailed it. “Like who’s nice and qualified.”

She could understand Wes’ discomfort, but she knew these things would keep coming up. Best to straighten this out now. “No. I’ll answer it. In my… not a lot of experience with Britt.” A gentle lie, she supposed. “…she never apologized for her choices. So I don’t think she would want anyone saying she was ordered or directed or forced to do anything. She went out there to help us. Fernie inspires people, but they make their own decisions.” Heli blinked at Niamh, confused when she asked about Fern’s hair. Heli knew she did a great job with it. She wasn’t certain of a lot of things, but this was one. “Why are you asking?” She eyed Niamh’s roots. “I can help if you think you need a touch up, but it looks great.”

@niamhwoolfe

[niamhwoolfe]

Niamh felt like Wes was toeing the line of taking over her interview entirely, but she had needed the help so she wasn’t going to get annoyed yet.

She frowned at Wes scolding her (maybe he wasn’t but it felt like it). “Uh. My questions are reflections of what I think the student body at large would want to know, Wesley. They’re not what I think.” She turned to Heli. “Sorry, I can be blunt. It’s the genetics. And you’re… well you’re you, so,” she shrugged, as if that explained her approach. Which, to Niamh, it really fucking did. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just trying to be a good documentary… maker. Documentarian?”

“My blonde is natural,” she said, reaching up to touch it self consciously. Niamh was usually quite proud of that, considering all the girls in her family faked it. But now she wasn’t so sure.

She swallowed nervously. “So Britt wouldn’t have blamed her because she chose to go in there herself.” She searched her mind for another question, but she was kind of thrown and she honestly just wanted to go to bed. “Can you think of any other questions or do you think it’s time to wrap it up?” she asked Wes.

@wilywes

[wilywes]

"Thanks, Zenon. She'll really appreciate that." Imagining the look on Rumi's face as she listened to Heli's commendation, Wes figured it was right around the time when he should shut up. Nearly all of his high school career among the New Romantics—and the baseball team, for that matter—had evolved into a Spidey sense in him which (often) flashed like a railroad crossing. He ignored it half the time (more often than not). Sometimes, the greater good needed a sacrifice play.

Ding, ding, ding. Danger. At least she wasn't calling him Lawrence.

Ding, ding, ding! Imagining a train hitting him at full speed so he wouldn't start laughing, Wes schooled his face and busied himself with the camera. "Masterful work, ma'am," he said under his breath. She was already treating him like a servant, so he might as well act like a butler.

"Always good to wrap it up," Wes told her, hoping it would take Niamh off the back foot. Or, at least, turn her back foot on him. If she called bluntness genetic, it had to be a Woolfe trait to want to kick his ass.

"Thanks again for your time," Wes added, redirecting his attention to Heli.

@helifusco

[helifusco]

“Oh. Okay Niamh.” She smiled, trying it out before pausing. “I think I may have forgotten who was running? Hold on.” She took out her Lisa Frank spiral notebook that Trip had bought her off of Ebay to try to teach her to take notes. “Oh. Here we go. I’m really proud of Drew and so is Bronnie but she’s also kind of terrified. Hold on. Not as helpful. But Drew doesn’t want to be President. I should reimitate that.”

She scanned the page again. “I really liked Rumi. And not just because she’s your friend, Buzz.” She blushed. “Like she can be kind of judge-y, but she’s super judge-y of herself, and that seems fair. Dante talked really good, and I didn’t, like, fully get it, but Trip likes him, so I trust him. Reg is like, super smart, so if you’re going to choose… you know… that continent, he’s the way to go. And I think Fernie did great.”

She paused, considering. “I don’t know if I’m still allowed to call her Fernie now that she’s a president, but she did great. Britt would…” Heli swallowed, wondering how much she should say. But something about Noah’s display earlier had started to make her angry rather than frightened in the cool night air. “Britt wouldn’t want anyone to use her death against someone. Especially a fellow blonde.”

Heli knew Britt probably would have been more focused on Tony saying her name a bunch of times, but she could empathize. If you liked someone enough, sometimes it didn’t matter what they were saying as long as you could hear their voice.

Then she realized she’d nearly forgot. “And Lucy. Frank’s sister. She’s so glamourous. Politics could use more glamour. Like Marilyn Monroe.”

@niamhwoolfe

[niamhwoolfe]

Heli was talking a LOT but it was perfect because Niamh needed a solid minute to get herself under control. She tried to listen to bits of what she was saying so that she could have follow up questions. She couldn’t have herself looking like a complete fucking fool ON CAMERA. Fucking hell.

“Those are some great thoughts!” She said a little too loudly. “It’s interesting what you said about Britt. You don’t think she would want Fern being blamed for her untimely demise? Isn’t that somewhat a test of her leadership too? And is she a real blonde?” Niamh didn’t know Britt well enough to have any thoughts on Britt’s feelings. If she herself had gone into the woods on someone elses instruction and fucking died because of it, she probably would wanna haunt that person a little bit. Before moving onto her sisters, of course.

“I like.. um, your notebook Heli. Where did you get it?”

@wilywes

[wilywes]

"He'd make a good one," Wes opined, even if Drew wasn't running. Once you earned a leadership position, the stature clung like static. The best leaders were the ones who didn't want power. Yet it was pretty obvious how uncomfortable Drew could get in the spotlight.

It took a secure person to know their own limits. Wes respected that.

"Can I pass on the message? Rumi would love to hear it." He followed Heli's roundabout thinking without difficulty, imagining each verdict like the loops and bends of a yellow brick road. "Everyone's qualified in their own ways," said Wes, risking a lecture from Niamh for giving his input again. "Do you think we have too many qualified people on the ballot? It might be hard for some of us to commit to a decision."

Some people were indecisive. Wes couldn't relate. Much.

Niamh, Niamh, Niamh! He looked on in horror, half hidden by the camera. Trying to throw her a life vest, Wes intervened. "I don't think any of us are able to answer that question," he said at large. He lowered his voice and leaned over to address Niamh. "You can't throw curve balls like that. You don't know where the pitch is gonna land."

@helifusco

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[raleighreed]

Raleigh let herself smile. “This is what I like about you, Wes. You know when to say you don’t know. Might be the only boy I know who does that. Maybe Drew.” But that thought just made her heart hurt more. “I don’t know what to tell Taliesin. If anything. And Q… I mean, Dylan Quilter. I don’t think he knew he was walking me into a trap, but he did. They say when people show you who they are, believe them. But what if they do it by accident? Taliesin, he… he tried. And Dylan… well, I could make a suck up joke but I’d be more grossed out that I am right now. He did apologize. Guess it goes to show you should probably warn the hookups you try to convert into friends if you have long standing rivalries with new money. Maybe it’s my fault.”

She held Wes’s gaze as he thought it through. He did have a point, and it gave her something to react to, to reason through. She dragged a spoon through her food, contemplating with each bite. “You’re right. You’re super right. I don’t think they ever considered they’d have a revolution on their hands, even when Taliesin tried to get them to think about it. That’s the trick. We have to mobilize the proletariat.” She paused. “Without losing our own heads.” She’d be a bigger target than he would, but he did have a very nice house. She wondered if anyone had try to graffiti it. “It helps that Lou’s like… the people’s Queen Bee or something.”

“Wes, right now, i would give anything for weird stuff in the sky. Spill.” Maybe she’d even explain the weirdness in the graveyard. She was still turning it over in her head and coming up with nothing.

[wilywes]

"Oh? That's good. I'll try to say it more." For all things Wes committed to memory, there were still so many out of his reach. But he always reached for the next one like he was accepting the spark of life. Wes liked it that way. Good scientists didn't always have the right answer, but it was only a matter of time before an explanation was found.

He shook his head. "None of this is your fault." Would she listen to the guy who just admitted he didn't know something? Wes hoped so. Some things he didn't need to think about. "I'm the last person who'd want to boss you around, but you should hear me when I say that you're not to blame for other people's decisions. So you believed in someone. That's a good thing, Ral. Just because they disappointed you later on doesn't mean your first instinct was the wrong one."

"We can and we will," Wes promised. Lines were quickly being drawn, though not in a way he wanted. They would have to make do with what they had. "We have a head start now. When they close ranks, we'll...I don't know...open enroll?" There were more people in town who weren't in Tony's inner circle. If they had anything, it was the numbers.

"Oh," Wes said again. Telling Raleigh and Fern was all well and good, but what good was he without an explanation? This was only a discovery, like the frog realizing the water in the pot was boiling. Wes had a plan to get everyone out of the boiling water, though, even if he couldn't admit that to Raleigh. "Well, Betelgeuse moved. The supergiant? Or us—Earth. These things don't just happen."

"So," Wes prompted, still toying with his food, "weird enough?"

[helifusco]

Heli felt a little bad about handing Trip off to Frankie, but they were both clearly tired and she tended to tire people out even further. She’d drive them home when they felt up to walking. (Very carefully. She’d promised. Full attention on the road.) But as she was heading to get to the car, she heard two very good reasons to turn around.

“Niamh! Buzz!” She hugged Niamh then looked apologetically to Wes. “I’m sorry I can’t hug you but I think I’d break the camera. Oh. Also I’m a girlfriend. Someone else’s, I mean. Trip’s.” She held out her Tiffany charm bracelet for a moment before realizing it kind of looked like she was holding out an engagement ring. She looked past the camera and directly to Wes. “Not boyfriend-girlfriend like you and Hye. Exclusive.” She shouldn’t have lingered on that last word, but she couldn’t help it. “You and Hye were so modern. What is it called again? High communism?”

Heli paused, unnecessarily smoothing her hair and very necessarily pulling her skirt hem down. “What do you want to know, Miss Woolfe? Do I call you Ms. Woolfe? Or just your name, like Oprah? You could be Oprah! But then do we just call you Niamh then? How do people know that Oprah’s Oprah? You do have your own network after all.”

@niamhwoolfe

[niamhwoolfe]

Niamh’s heart kicked into high gear when she saw where Wes was leading her. Heli? Fusco? The prettiest girl at their school?

Heli was hugging her and she did her best to like.. move. At all. She was pretty sure all she managed was a weird half pat on Heli’s back but she could not get her nervous system to start up again. She smelled amazing. And now she was talking about being someone’s girlfriend. SAD. Another single icon lost to monogamy. She stared at the bracelet, not hearing a word she was saying.

Niamh schooled her face into a smile. It did not feel right, but she was about to freak out so there was only so much she could do. “Um,” she began, but it came out very high. She cleared her throat. “You can just call me Niamh. I don’t really…” Niamh trailed off laughing awkwardly before turning pleading eyes on Wes. HELP ME.

“Oprah’s great!”

@wilywes

[wilywes]

Wes could be oblivious, but he was not that oblivious. Heli's effect on people was out of this world.

"Zenon," he parried, grinning back and shifting the weight of the camera on his shoulder again. He'd be sore later. "Congratulations on the...Trip." She seemed over the moon about him, which was enough for Wes. He worried about her as much as he could worry about all the other girls in his life, though most of them might knock his teeth out if he said so. "We called it 'open'. Nice and simple." Modern was a slippery word, but easier to use than to describe him and Hye as communism. He was dying to know how Heli got to that point.

He answered Niamh's plea with another grin toward Heli, taking no notice of her discomfort. If he didn't see it, she couldn't feel embarrassed, right? "There's only one Niamh in town, so WoolfesWorld does kinda make her our Oprah. And speaking of her channel, she's looking for your thoughts on these elections. We've been asking around. Anything you want to tell us is great. Who's gonna rock it? Who's gonna blow it? We want to hear what you have to say."

That much they could agree on—going gaga over Heli Fusco.

@helifusco

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[wilywes]

That seemed like Dante. Better to stay away until they got down to brass tacks, literally. “Got it. We suffer from enough of a headache when the council’s in session.”

He thought about it. Jordan was already pulling time from his gig with Cricket to entertain their assignment. With the (secret) extra credit work on the yet-to-come Dorothy Gale, there wouldn’t be a lot of hours left for Jordan to catch his breath, much less have a social life. “How’s ten hours to start, split across each day however you want it? We can reassess as we get going. You call the play, and I do the leg work.” Wes imagined wiling away his days in the Palmer garage, building an escape route piece by piece. The excitement drummed louder. An honest try was better than no try at all.

“Nothing can beat the best, but we’ll swing for the fences anyway.”

Wes stuck out his hand, smiling with fresh enthusiasm. The guy had to be alone with his book now. Jordan Utley’s free time was about to get less and less free. “Deal?”

[jordanutley]

"Democracy is the best of the available actions but it does present its own problems when resources are as limited as ours are.” Not to mention that Dante was ruling his excel spreadsheet with an iron fist. “I am doing what I can to help the bureaucrats but there have been hiccups.”

Jordan gave it a moment to think over. He hated providing people with answers that he would have to later change. “I think that will work beautifully.” Ten hours wasn’t that large of a commitment, especially if it was on his own schedule. It felt nice to be trusted for a change.

“We do know a painter.” He wasn’t sure that Mia’s design would be as… regimented as the Hurricane Hunters but it was guaranteed to be eye catching in some way.

He couldn’t help but marvel at how much smoother this meeting was than the one he’d had with Cricket. Jordan stuck out his hand and gave Wes’s a firm shake. “Deal.”

(end)

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[jordanutley]

"I understand your perspective, but given my recent workload I imagine he’ll fill in the blanks for himself.” Dante was preoccupied with allocation of resources and so far all of their meetings had concerned Cricket’s need for materials. “We can approach him when we’ve established that this is viable. Otherwise we’re creating a headache for all of us.”

He did some mental calculations of his own schedule. He could make room for that, although he would have to change his Gossip Girl watching plans. Morgan’s company aside, he’d miss the peek into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. It was much more relaxing than the problems they were dealing with. “I believe I can make that work. Do you have an estimate of how many hours a week we can expect to be working on this? I’d like to plan things out.”

Jordan smiled, happy to have suggested the idea. “If we’re going to do this, then we should do it right. It won’t be as exciting as the so-called Hurricane Hunters, but I aspire to do something at least as amusing as Kermit and Miss Piggy.”

[wilywes]

That seemed like Dante. Better to stay away until they got down to brass tacks, literally. "Got it. We suffer from enough of a headache when the council's in session."

He thought about it. Jordan was already pulling time from his gig with Cricket to entertain their assignment. With the (secret) extra credit work on the yet-to-come Dorothy Gale, there wouldn't be a lot of hours left for Jordan to catch his breath, much less have a social life. "How's ten hours to start, split across each day however you want it? We can reassess as we get going. You call the play, and I do the leg work." Wes imagined wiling away his days in the Palmer garage, building an escape route piece by piece. The excitement drummed louder. An honest try was better than no try at all.

"Nothing can beat the best, but we'll swing for the fences anyway."

Wes stuck out his hand, smiling with fresh enthusiasm. The guy had to be alone with his book now. Jordan Utley's free time was about to get less and less free. "Deal?"

[cricketmarston]

Several things made Cricket murderous. Poorly manufactured motherboards. Republicans. Lou’s little clique. Demands on his time. Lou’s little jock and Fiona’s little sister were checking several boxes right now. And that was without Del fighting tears against his shoulder. He folded them close to him, probably looking more butch than he ever actually preferred to look.

“No comment, thanks Fio–” He paused, full ‘library is open’ haughtiness on display. “Oh. Sorry. You’re the little one, aren’t you?” That would hopefully be enough to leave her sputtering. A 3 for 1 insult. “Wesley. Get that thing out of my face or even I won’t be able to repair it. Or. Rather, I will only be able to at great effort and I don’t particularly want to.” He really should have let Rowan teach him how to do a shoulder check when she offered.

@niamhwoolfe

[niamhwoolfe]

Niamh gaped at him. That was so fucking rude. Being mistaken for her ice queen of a big sister was bad enough, but Nuala too? How did he not know who she was? She was fucking famous. “Wrong on both counts. I’m Niamh, but I think you know that.” God she hoped he knew that and was just doing it to be a bitch.

Niamh’s nostrils flared in anger. “Are you seriously threatening to damage my property in front of Community Maintenance?” she asked, her voice rising in pitch. “I’ve just been told by the other half of CM that you will have to sit through talks with me so we can understand each other. Does that sound like fun? Worth breaking the only camera I have?”

“You don’t have to be so rude. We were asking permission. You or Del, who we were actually asking because we think they have a valuable point of view, could have just said no.” She folded her arms and glared over at him.

@wilywes

[wilywes]

"Try it." This wasn't even his camera, and yet...

Wes didn't often think of himself as a guy with an axe to grind, but one syllable from Cricket in that tone might fashion him into a master armorer in two seconds flat.

"Seriously? You can't even tell them apart?" Cricket was on strike eighty-seven by now. Coach would've demanded he hang it up. "Niamh's got her own show for fuck's sake."

His unwanted commentary was probably setting him up for a firing from Niamh, Wes reasoned, but some unprofessional behavior would make all his work almost worth it.

"You should've left things at 'no comment'," Wes added, more calmly now as his gaze slid sideways. Was Del upset? He couldn't tell. Returning his attention to Cricket in his own tone of forced politeness, Wes prompted, "Would you like to try that one again?"

@cricketmarston

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[jordanutley]

Jordan nodded in agreement. He was genuinely happy to be alright. It was a sight better than most things, given the circumstances. "Statistically speaking, they probably are somewhere else. I’m not quite sure where, but we seem to be the ones facing the end of society problems, so I imagine their biggest problem is the lack of us.” He hoped so, anyways, the idea that there was some facsimile out there with his mother was too unnerving. An idea best left to books.

He expected someone would notice. Despite the obviously broken camera outside the store, there were still cameras inside. “I would let Dante know that I’ve taken the tarps, but I doubt he’d be very curious at this point as to why.” As for help, that would always be welcomed. “I would love an extra set of hands, seeing what’s available could be useful for the project down the line.”

There was something almost charming about Wes’ choice of name. A tip of the hat to a fictional counterpart. An ardent belief that getting home was as simple as clicking your shoes. “I think that’s rather fitting. I will try and practice my painting so she can have her name in the glory it deserves.”

[wilywes]

It sounded better than Wes's most abstract fears, and just plain simple. They weren't here, but there. Worrying like all parents would, yet safe. Wes hoped...well, he hoped, this still in an abstract way, undefined by any borders. It was all they could do.

"Wouldn't put it past him to ask what you're up to, but you've got my help." That just seemed like Dante thing to do, even in passing interest. He'd want to know why Jordan was doing that for the sake of asking, for his calculations. It wasn't wrong or alien or even weird to Wes—it was just another perspective in their melting pot of town. "How about we go in the next day or two?" Wes would've started tearing his car apart now, though he didn't want to look desperate or commandeer Jordan's time like Cricket.

"Dude." Wes tried to imagine the final product but couldn't do it justice. He didn't know Jordan was into art. "That'd be sick. And this way is fair. I name her, you paint her."

This idea was actually taking off. Wes loved it.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[jordanutley]

"Exactly.” Jordan agreed. The statistical models were sound but higher level math was more about how to use numbers not just the numbers themselves. Dante knew that, but Jordan worried what he’d do with the power given to him. That’s why he’d voted for Fern. Both times.

He nodded non-committally. “I’m alright.” Truthfully, it was almost a little boring at times. He loved having more time to read and maintaining the electrical grid was enough to keep him busy. He’d barely had time to get to know Drew better. “There’s plenty to keep busy with. It’s getting harder for me to remember what things were like before.” His mother’s voice was growing fainter in his memory. The smells of home had changed. The loss of the internet had been substantial at the time but he’d adjusted now. “How’re you?”

The Palmers were growing more and more useful. He was grateful they would have more spaces to work in without worrying about prying eyes. “I’m not sure we’ll need to worry about that. We’ve had minimal cloud cover for the past two weeks. But I can grab a few tarps from Revere’s.”

He enjoyed Wes’ passion for the project. It was a refreshing change of pace when compared with Cricket. “I am horrible at naming things. I give the honor to you.”

[wilywes]

"Alright's better than awful." Wes was glad for him. Jordan had stuff to do and seemed like he was coping well. That was all anyone could ask for at this point. "Yeah, it's weird. I thought I wouldn't get used to living alone, but I'm starting to. But I also keep thinking my parents are out on their date night and just coming home late, not...you know. Somewhere else." Wes was grateful for that part, at least. His parents were likely together and Eliza could zip home from New York as soon as she heard about him...

He didn't want to think of the Wilders' reaction, but it stuck with him. Had any other families heard? Or were they frozen in time, unaware of what happened? Was West Ham the frozen one? It didn't feel frozen, just somewhere new. The stars and the trees were in different places. Power lines worked and stretched into nothing. No animals aside from one little viper. No adults. No rules. "Good, I think." A nice, interchangeable word. Wes could use it every day until he pinned down how he felt other than impatient. Impatient to start, to go, to feel something that wasn't restlessness.

"Nobody'll notice if you grab things from Revere's?" Wes hoped not. One Cricket loyalist was one hindrance too many in their plans. "Need any backup from me?"

Him? Wes figured he'd know the name their project deserved right off the bat, but he was stumped. He could only think of the stupid ones, like MUSTARD and Spacelab...

Wes went back to pacing. Star Trek ones were out. He wanted something else. Something that appealed to him. Maybe picking a name was like jumping in a pool—you just had to do it, so he did. "Could be goofy, but I'm gonna go with the Dorothy Gale." It was simple, classic, and more importantly, he liked it. Pilot's privilege and all.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[jordanutley]

Jordan’s mind stuttered at Wes’s question. Height wasn’t something he considered to be very important. Perhaps because of his own shape, he found it more a hindrance than anything else. "I believe you’re taller than him, but I’ve only seen him stand a handful of times. He prefers to yell from the circulation desk.”

He chuckled softly at the question. To him, the answer was obvious but he could understand the confusion. “Too severe in rationing. If you’re planning for us to be here indefinitely there comes a point where we are rationing single potato chips to eat.” Personally, he felt that testing the soil for growing potential should be a top priority, but he wasn’t in charge of those conversations.

Wes’ neighbor sounded almost like a foreign species to him. The wealth was one thing, but the choice of how to spend it was the most perplexing. “Would it be better to fabricate the wings in your own garage? Or do your neighbors have space in their backyard?”

[wilywes]

Yells from behind a desk? Wes wasn't worried about the guy now. Good luck to him.

"A single chip would last me a minute." Jordan wasn't wrong to worry. What if some people needed more food than others? One size never did fit all. And speaking of worry... "How are you feeling about everything?" Wes asked, stopping his pacing and turning his attention to his friend. Probably should've led with that. "Doing good?"

"I don't have a garage, so the backyard's our best bet. Their fencing is pretty high too. Nobody'll be able to see what we're doing unless they're twelve feet tall." The Palmers hated people walking on either yard, so they emptied Welly's last summer and built up like they were keeping out the Picts. "Our only issue by then would be keeping the parts from exposure, so maybe we can track down a tent or a tarp or something."

This was really coming together, and he owed it all to Jordan. "Thanks for this, dude," said Wes, suppressing the urge to the Rocky jump. "I know I won't be able to pull it off without you." He perked up with an idea. "Wanna name the plane? You can call dibs."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[jordanutley]

"I’m sure,” Wes tended to put himself in close to proximity to yellers. It was something Jordan didn’t understand. “I am warning you, though, that his anger is much more potent than most people’s. I don’t think it’ll become physical but he is very aggressive.” He thought for a moment. “I believe he dated…Noah. If that tells you anything.” He’d almost forgotten, but the fallout of that situation had been hard to miss at the games.

There was a lot to be concerned about these days. He was grateful that his job was located in electricity rather than something more forward-facing. “I believe that Dante intends to keep us all alive for the unforeseeable future. While I’m excited on some level, I’m also worried about how far he plans to ration things.”

Jordan gestured to Wes as though to tell him to continue his thought. He was pleased when Wes did. A car engine would definitely be a big help. Disassembling things would be complicated, but they could find a suitable place to get it done. “I think that would work well. We’ll need some sort of private area to work on things.”

[wilywes]

"Says a lot about his type, but not about him." Who would give Noah a second of their time if they could help it? "I can't place the guy, but that's okay. Is he taller than me?" Wes could take him, taller or shorter, but a bit of height would give him an edge.

Huh. He was considering fighting a lot lately. Even offering to defend Lou's honor was bizarre, since she could take care of herself and he couldn't name a day when he'd thrown a punch. Was he becoming a brand new person? He wasn't sure he liked it.

"Worried?" This was the first time Wes could remember thinking of hiccups in Dante's plans, which always sounded solid. "In what way? Too much rationing, or too little?"

"My neighbor's garage might work." Was it still called a garage if it had three bays instead of one? The Palmers added onto their place as if they were trying to outdo Sarah Winchester or meet a world record. Wes had begun to notice how empty the house looked now that the couple and their three adult sons were gone. You really couldn't take it with you. "They're addicted to HGTV and just set up this big barndominium for their pickup trucks. It's made of sheet metal." Wes scratched his chin, mulling things over. "The trucks are gone, so we'll have the space." He illustrated the working area for Jordan with his hands. "We could use some of the metal and have the room to work too. The only problem would be the exit bays. We'd have to work on the wings separately. There's no way to get the plane out without breaking them off."