* NELSON !

Noah tilted her head in agreement and sat down at the table, grabbing the beer almost immediately and taking a sip. Every time she hung out with someone from high school’s past, she constantly felt like she had some weird spurt of deja vu because everything was so routine. How’s school? How’s work? It was all the same. “I am not girly,” Noah sputtered. It had been true that since graduation she had taken to dressing up more and was curling her hair more, but that was just New York in Noah’s opinion. Looking good was just a given. “But jeans just don’t cut it at clubs,” she said. “You know, if you ever get a break from all of this,” she motioned around them, taking another sip. “You should come up to New York. Winnie, too,” those were words she never expected to come out of her mouth, but if the two seemed to be sticking it out together, Noah assumed that Winnie would have to pop up at more things. “Of course, I always forget you’re like always here,” it wasn’t a jab, but knowing that Austin was a permanent face in Lima always shocked her. Maybe it was because she knew he should have been in Columbus or in one of those Northern towns where he could play hockey all year round. “She is a cute baby,” she agreed. Noah had seen photos of Cara and she was definitely the product of Winnie and Austin when it came to looks. “It’s so weird to think you’re a literal parent. Like, how do you do that? I can barely hold a baby, let alone care for one.”

.

it might not have been a jab, but noah definitely had austin rolling his eyes. “sure, i’ll come visit you in another eighteen years.” he joked. a trip to new york didn’t sound bad, but with their current financial state, and due to the whole...parent thing, it wasn’t exactly in the cards for winnie and himself to head on out to visit. “kidding, but maybe. i gotta check with her and shit.” he leaned back into his seat, taking another sip of his beer. “but back to this taking winnie’s clothes...sounds kinda fucking girly.” he told her, then sipped his beer again. “i honestly don’t remember if they’re still in the closet or in a trash bag. she told me i had to do something with them, but i don’t remember what it was.” austin admitted, “we can go into our room in a little bit but for now? i’m planted right here.” he told noah, bringing the beer to his lips for a third time and rolling his eyes for a second, “why are you asking me how to parent?” he teased, “are you expecting?” 

As soon as Noah landed in Lima, she had to make her very first pit stop. Winnie and Austin’s apartment. Turns out one of Noah’s favorite hobbies was stalking her former classmates like hell, especially Winnie’s, because it seemed like the girl was constantly sizing down her closet and Noah was one to load up on every pink mini skirt she saw. It wasn’t her style, but it was always something nice to hold onto for shows. With Austin opening the door, Noah would admit she was happy it was him and not Winnie. “Got in last night,” she said, walking into the apartment. She quickly clocked that Austin looked exhausted, assuming he had a long day at work or caring for a toddler. Both seemed exhausting. “I have to pick up some clothes, actually, but a beer sounds nice,” the blonde stated, “You are coming to the wedding, right? Better yet, the rehearsal dinner? Zoe would probably die if you weren’t there.”

.

austin was already on his way to the fridge and cracking open a cold one for noah. “don’t snitch.” he warned, setting the drink on the table for her, then grabbing his own. sipping on it, his brows first furrowed, then he laughed, “clothes? from winnie? who the fuck are you?” he asked. “i didn’t know you were all girly and shit now.” austin prodded, genuinely curious where this change of character had come from. pulling a chair out from the table with his foot, austin slid into it. he thought if he stood on his feet for another moment, he might literally collapse. “of course i’m coming to the wedding, i wouldn’t miss it for the world.” austin assured. “plus i see your mom all the fucking time. i’m here when the three of you are off...doing whatever the fuck.” he gestured vaguely. “and not to be that guy, but what middle aged woman doesn’t love a baby as cute as mine?”

zoe puckerman hadn’t gone into the night thinking she’d end up throwing punches in lj holliday’s direction….. then again, she hadn’t gone in 2041 thinking the love of her life would drop her like a hot potato. anyone who really knew zoe knew she had been hurting. heartbroken, even. in a way that was different from their high school breakup. theo beiste had, and unfortunately still was, zoe’s everything. she had always been a firm believer that theo was her person, so to see him smiling and leaning into sterling duval, of all people? well, it had her seeing red faster than someone could say “prom queen”. and to add salt to an already festering wound, zoe’s sworn enemy lj holliday decided to open her big, dumb mouth. all it had taken was a couple of words for zoe to channel the tequila in her system and her inner-father to pull back and throw a fist. it was over before it even started, and as zoe felt a pair of arms form around her waist, her legs went flailing. “fuck you, you stupid bitch,” she screamed as she was being pulled towards the door. in a strange twist of fate, a pool of warmth spread throughout zo’s heart as she was placed down and turned to face the first person to ever really have her back. “i hate her,” she scoffed through broken breaths. “this is me. i guess you just don’t know me anymore,” a lie, and while she liked to think she was tough, zo knew she couldn’t lie to him, of all people. “he was flirting with sterling and lj thought it was funny.” zoe wasn’t normally someone who liked to show emotion, but tequila had a funny way of changing things. “i miss him,” her eyes wide and cast down. “and he can’t even look at me.”

austin could flawlessly score a goal and wrangle his rambunctious daughter with great ease, but as he hauled zoe to the door and she squirmed about, he had met his match. arms still secured firmly around her waist, he tugged her away from the party in an explosive scene that only she could make. again, if austin wasn’t genuinely concerned, he’d probably praise her for the display. instead, he guided her down into the lima bean. where the lights were off, and things for the most part were quiet. sitting them down at a table, austin nodded as she professed her hate for lj. “yeah, she’s fucking weird.” he agreed, then rolled his eyes. “i don’t know you anymore? cut it with the soap opera shit. what i meant was you usually aim with your brain not your fists.” austin wasn’t all that convinced his sentiment made sense, but he rolled with it anyhow. the aggressive and relatively light hearted nature of the conversation changed in an instant though as zoe puckerman crumbled before his eyes. without thinking twice, austin broke his own tough guy code and scooted closer to pull her into a hug. zoe puckerman, always his exception. “i know you do.” he acknowledged her, tone surprisingly gentle. “he fucking sucks though, he doesn’t even deserve to look at you.” austin whispered. had theo and zoe broken up back in high school, maybe he would’ve had a little less tact and dare to utter an i told you so like the asshole he was, but even he’d matured to the point that he knew it wasn’t the time. “none of them are worth a fucking thing you know, i mean, look at them. they’re all stuck in ohio, lima losers waiting to happen.” rich coming from austin, but zoe needed to hear it. “look at you, off in new york, living a life they couldn’t even comprehend.” he continued to attempt to cheer her up, then pulled away from the hug. “hey” he couldn’t help himself. “that punch you threw was fucking amazing though. where’d you learn to swing like that?” 

WHO @puckermanoah​ and austin nelson. WHEN thursday, 4/22. WHERE winnie and austin’s apartment.

working was kinda fucking hard. in high school, austin thought playing three sports was strenuous, but as it turned out, working at the gas station, local motel, and taking some courses online was worse. today when he got back from his shift, winnie was out at the park with cara doing one of those mommy groups she would come home and complain about the other woman in. fine by him, though. he didn’t mind laying on the couch with a beer and unwinding for a while till they got home. then a knock. “who is it?” he called with a groan, rising from the couch as he near stomped to the door. throwing it open, he found noah, and his attitude instantly changed. “hey! i didn’t know you were back in town already, come in, come in.” he urged, moving out of the way so she could make her entrance, “what the fuck brings you over here? can i get you anything? a beer? dinner?”

WHO @zoepuckerman​ and austin nelson. WHEN friday 4/23. WHERE lima bean party.

once in a blue moon, austin was actually able to get out of the house to enjoy himself. he had stepped up well into being a family man, but he was still just twenty years old and liked to party. this week had been nice. he had work off in preparation for the wedding, winnie was taking care of the kid, and with each sip of his cup, he relaxed into the party scene he’d been missing. all was well, until, he heard shrieking from the other end of the party that could only mean girl fight. racing to the scene, austin was appalled to find zoe and lj getting into it. maybe at one point, he would’ve gawked and cheered it on, but that wasn’t him now. with an irritated, “for fucks sake.” he stepped into the heat of the battle and pulled zoe off of lj. guiding her away from the other, he shook his head. “what the fuck has gotten into you zozo?” austin asked, unfamiliarly stern. “you trying to get a black eye for the big day tomorrow?” he teased, hints of a smile showing. if he weren’t trying to scold, maybe he’d tell her that she was definitely winning the fight and atta girl. seeing as that wasn’t the case though, he cleared away any signs of pleasure from his face with a cough, and advised, “seriously you need to fucking cool it though, z. that was....nothing like you. what even happened?”

“Nelson, are you being fucking serious right now?” Rocky deadpanned, turning his body in the passenger’s seat of Austin’s car to stare at his friend who, more often than not, acted like some big wig hot shot. “What do you think he’s gonna do, man? No offense, but I’m pretty sure you’re not his fucking type,” that was purely an assumption. Rocky didn’t know if Tommy was gay or not. He’d heard about his dad and stuff, but that guy was old as balls now. What was there to be scared of? At the mention of his grandpa, Rocky clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes. That was a topic he definitely didn’t want to get into—especially not with Austin. That just wasn’t the nature of their relationship. “Fine,” Rocky said as he pulled out his phone and muttered, “fucking pussy.” He pulled up Instagram and quickly found Tommy through Frankie Puckerman’s page. He quickly shot him a message and then showed it to Austin. “Happy, you fucking baby?” he asked, now twisting the knife, “drive then, let’s fucking go.” 

“fuck you, i’m everyone’s type. including tommy ryerson.” austin grumbled. as much as he loved to argue, it was pretty pointless with rocky, especially after he had already agreed to get in touch with tommy. pulling back on the gearshift, he reversed out of the driveway and got out on the road, “ecstatic.” he said, flashing rocky a smile as he hit the gas and started down the road. “i can pay and shit since you might get murdered by him.” making a sharp turn, austin realized he actually had no fucking clue where he was going and looked at rocky again, “did he say where he wanted to meet? don’t say the view we’re definitely gonna killed if we meet him there. i don’t trust dudes who are balding.”

At the mention of Skyline Chili, Ophie’s eyes lit up. “Curious that you think I wouldn’t like that, but I see what you’re trying to say,” a smile came to her face just thinking about Austin Nelson actually taking her out. Her crush on Michael had finally fizzled out as he and Otto continued to hang out with each other and surely would date soon. It was just how it worked. Not that she was using Austin as some excuse to get attention from someone, it wasn’t like that for her. Austin was someone whose buttons she liked to push, but also someone that she could see herself dating because they had that fire of emotion bubbling underneath. As he laid out what he thought would happen for the date, Ophie crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, I’m game, but just know if you fuck this up, Nelson, Otto will have your ass on a platter.” 

“their food is objectively shit, but it fills you up. it’s not a place for like...” austin gestured vaguely between the two of them, “two people like us to go.” the physical gesture, in a way, was the perfect summary of what exactly was going on between the two of them. they weren’t anything, but they also weren’t not something. it was confusing, and murky, and that was just how austin liked it. he had no intent of clearing things up either. if he was lucky, he’d get away with just leaving things in limbo for a while. “no offense, but i’m not scared of your sister.” he said flatly, then asked, “you got a curfew or anything?”

austin nelson was typically an easy person to read. he was simple and after spending year after year by his side, zoe could practically predict what he was going to say next…. except for winnie’s cool. her ears piqued with curiosity at the words and her eyes flashed to meet his quickly. “winnie’s cool?” she echoed, her tone incredulous. “earth to austin,” she flicked her fingers against his forehead. “are you okay? you just said there’s no labels but you’re worried she’s gonna flip out if you talk to another cheerio? sounds to me like you have a girlfriend.” zoe peeled herself off her bed and kicked her feet into a pair of shoes before glancing back at austin. “we can go the view but i’m not done with this conversation.” winnie (and theo) were taboo topics of conversation between the pair, but zoe wasn’t about to let austin get away scot-free. “you like her,” she observed. it wasn’t a question. “are you gonna ask her to prom?”

“ow! what the fuck was that for?” austin’s hands flew up to rub his forehead, right where zoe had flicked him. like a rowdy child, he instantly reached out and flicked her shoulder in return before he actually took the time to thoughtfully respond to what zoe was asking him. “yeah she’s cool! do you not speak english?” he defended, “and there aren’t any labels, i haven’t done labels since like...fuck...i don’t know? when dylan and i dated?” austin reminded her as he sat back on zoe’s bed as she stood so he could lace up his sneakers. “she’s not my fucking girlfriend.” he scoffed, and rolled his eyes, switching from right foot to left, “what more conversation is there to have? i’m not up your ass about theo every four minutes. i thought this was a banned topic between us, honestly.” austin shrugged, now rising to his feet. maybe he did like her, and if there was anyone he couldn’t hide that from, it would be zoe. “so what if i do? graduation is like, soon.” he shook his head, stuffing hands into pockets and bounding down the steps. “i don’t know? should i ask her to prom?” austin asked, looking over his shoulder at zoe as they exited the front door. “any stops you need to make before we get up there? could go for a don’s run...”

austin nelson wasn’t exactly zoe’s first choice of study partner, but the closer and closer they got to graduation, the less she cared about school and the more she cared about spending time with her people, and that had always included austin, regardless of the shit he pulled. zoe liked to believe she was loyal to a fault, and when someone was pulled into her inner circle, they were there for life. that didn’t mean she didn’t get annoyed with him, though. “shut up,” she sighed before tossing her pencil at his head. “he was the twenty-eighth president and the guy who lead the united states into world war one,” she paused before adding a loud, “duh.” zoe slid her notebook into her textbook before slamming it shut. it was obvious that any studying  they had got done (read: barely) was officially over. “okay,” she said with a simple shrug and an accompanying smirk. “if you tell me what the fuck is going on with you and winnie. your texts were so bizarre. is she your girlfriend or something?”

AT HER ANSWER, austin’s hand flew back to his paper as he scribbled ‘28th president, started world war.’ then tucked any thoughts of homework away. following zoe’s lead he physically closed his work and shoved it into his backpack. “that’s a stupid fucking condition.” he rolled his eyes, zipping his bag closed, then tossing it on the ground. “winnie’s cool.” he reluctantly answered, now climbing off of zoe’s bed and to his feet, “we hang out sometimes, but it’s whatever, no labels or anything. i just think that...you know she...” realizing he had kinda cornered himself, he swiped a hand across the lower half of his face. “i just think she’d blow her top if i was showing interest in another cheerio, and she’s fucking psycho, and i don’t really wanna deal with that.” austin offered, then shrugged the conversation off both figuratively and literally, “good enough for you? can we go to the view now?”

AUSTIN: [image attached]

AUSTIN: it's not even that funny smfh

ZOE: lame

ZOE: am i talking about u or lem ?? i guess we'll never know

AUSTIN: definitely lemon lmao

AUSTIN: got myself a date anyhow

After the hockey season had ended, Ophie had set her bag to the corner of her room for the last time feeling like a failure in more ways than one. The team had lost in the second to last round with a few devastating penalty shots. As she had removed herself from the public eye after Valentine’s Day and then the loss, she had taken to forgetting that anyone really existed apart from herself and Otto. It had been…nice. With a swift reset, Ophie was determined to get back on track. As Austin approached her locker, a small smile came to her face. While she didn’t hate the attention from Austin, she also didn’t want to feel like she was just another girl to him. Their flirtationship had always been tumultuous at best, which was just how Ophie liked it. As he puckered his lips toward her, Ophie flicked his forehead away from her. “You? A gentleman?” Ophie scoffed and grabbed her English textbook from her locker. “Actually, fuck it. If you want to take me out and treat me to whatever sort of date behavior, I guess I could get on board for that,” Rolling her eyes, Ophie couldn’t help but feel a flutter in her stomach. “I’m telling you now though, I eat a shitton of carbs.”

“DON’T LOOK SO SHOCKED.” austin scoffed, but the smile on his face was more than obvious. “it’ll be fun. i won’t even make you go to skyline chili with me.” he nudged her a little. ophie was one of many girls austin had asked out on dates and flirted relentlessly with, but the first he’d had to cash in a bet with, and one of few that had actually been able to keep up with him. “let’s go to breadstix, i can get you at seven....” he laid the scene, “you can act like you hate me, which we both fucking know isn’t true.” he deliberately leaned in, seeing if he could catch her off guard at all, “and i’ll act like i don’t care.” he said, voice dropping to a whisper as her met her gaze for a second, then stepped back, “so? what do you say?” 

LEMON: interesting how? do i give any impressions that i wannt hang out w/ you?

LEMON: i figured

LEMON: who put you up to it? rocky or zoe?

AUSTIN: ur unwavering hatred of me is kinda flattering.

AUSTIN: u suck so bad omfg

AUSTIN: if this gets back to winnie u owe me a fat fuckin apology

AUSTIN: gimme a minute

ZOE: ur super concerned about someone whose not ur gf. sus.

ZOE: waiting patiently 😍

AUSTIN: [image attached]

LEMON: absolutely not

AUSTIN: interesting response.