Moments are fleeting

Even though they were not allowed to go to the kitchen at night, James couldn’t resist it. He was always up late, usually studying, so at some point, he needed to eat, otherwise, his stomach wouldn’t let him sleep. His head was in the fridge, trying to find something to eat when he heard someone entering the room and that made he hit his head before looking at them. “Jesus Christ! You scared the shit out of me.” @luxorstarters​

Brendan had known that not getting off the bus at the rest stop to grab some food on the way back to Luxor would be a regrettable decision, and yet it was the decision he’d made anyways, because, at the time, he hadn’t been hungry at all. He wasn’t even hungry when he finally did make it back to campus in the early evening, but now that it was 10:30 at night, and the kitchens had been closed for hours? Of course now he was hungry. He really didn’t think sneaking into the kitchens for food would be too much trouble, so naturally, when he came across someone else in the kitchen, he very nearly had a heart attack. “Yeah? Well I...I could...yeah...I could say the same thing to you.” He said to the other boy with a nod of his head before he exhaled a sigh. “Any...anyways...uh....so did you....did you maybe...possibly... find anything good?” He added curiously as his stomach grumbled.

@brendan-knox​

The first time she saw Brendan Knox in the halls of Luxor Academy, she nearly hadn’t recognized him - like the years that had passed since they’d fallen out of touch had been several lifetimes ago. But underneath all the years and the stuffy tie and blazer of his uniform, his boyish grin was undeniably familiar and, as if by dormant habit, often prompted a similar smile of her own. It was hard not to feel like so much had changed in the years since they’d tumbled around in the gym together - she had changed most of all, and she wasn’t sure for the better - but it was nice to know that at least that much had never changed. 

Christmas had been… less than ideal, and after the first several days with her mom, Harper realized the secret blessing boarding school was to her. The way her mother could manage being both stifling and utterly detached was astounding, and in the end, Harper had decided to return to school early, even if it meant foregoing the extra few days with her father. That was its own can of worms: struggling to bite her tongue and keep her mother’s dirty secret… But he’d been proud to think she was adjusting so well to his alma mater that she couldn’t wait to get back to it, and Harper had been happy to let him believe it. 

So she came back to campus more tired and drained than anyone should after vacation, but just like always, the sight of Brendan brought a smile right back to her face. “Hey!” she called, practically bouncing over to him. “I have a present for you.” 

Brendan really couldn’t help but feel a little bit like Harry Potter every time that it came time for a holiday where people went home, because like Harry and wanting to stay at Hogwarts, he would have much preferred to stay at Luxor than go back to his Dad’s. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened over the Christmas holidays, and so Christmas had been a pretty miserable affair for the boy. So needless to say, he was more than a bit happy when his Dad had to return to work right before New Years, allowing him to return to school a week earlier than he’d expected to. He was already in high spirits when the buildings of the school came into his view, and the sight of a familiar face lifted a full fledged grin to his lips as she bounced over to him, holding out a present to boot. “I...wow I....I uh...Yeah..wow. I....yeah I guess that....that pretty much....that sums it up” He said as he struggled to try and find the words to express what he was feeling, but ultimately failed, which prompted a small laugh to escape his throat as he gave a small shake of his head. “I...really....I can’t....” Throwing his hands up in the air, he laughed again, before he stepped forward and hugged her. “You...I...jeez.” Laughing as he failed to properly say what he was feeling yet again, he shook his head.

“We’re on vacation. I’m not just going to let you sit here. We have to do something. Anything.” Ceci grabbed the person by the arm beginning to tug, “The night is ours. The ideas are endless. Snow ball fight? Late night gondola ride? Hot tubbing? For all I care we can steal some Grey Goose and spend the night listening to DaBaby.” She wasn’t giving, “Come onnnn…” She whined with persistence. 

@luxorstarters​

Brendan resisted against Ceci’s pull, not because the things she was suggesting were unappealing, but simply because he was all bundled up and warm as he flipped through all the pictures he’d gotten that day, and wasn’t huge on leaving the warmth and comfort behind to go back out into the cold. However, as his friend continued in her persistence, he finally groaned in relent, allowing her to pull him to his feet. “I...ugh...alright! Fine I’ll...whatever you wanna do...I’m...yeah...I guess I’m game.” He said with a shrug of his shoulders and a small sigh as he shot his still steaming cup of hot cocoa one last look of longing. 

Brendan was surprised to be getting a text from Ellana so late on a school night, telling him to come to her dorm, but he was also intrigued, and his adventurous streak inside of him couldn’t be stopped from heading out the door to see what his best friend had in mind. There was a slightly uncomfortable squirm in the pit of his stomach that seemed to always come with spending time in his best friend’s company; an anxiety that this would be the time he’d give himself away, and his feelings would be revealed. It was true that he was trying to put those feelings behind him, trying to forget them, and he even sometimes thought that he was succeeding, but every time he saw her smile is way, every time he would find himself laughing at once of her jokes, the butterflies in his stomach would return to remind him that he still had a long way to go yet. It was this feeling of anxiety that he had to push down as he opened the door to Ellana’s dorm room, poking his head in first. “Hey!” He said with a smile, before fully opening the door and stepping inside, although he didn’t move much past the door way. “So...so yeah. What did you....what is it that we’re doing?” He asked curiously.

His reaction to her taking his hand had another smile lighting up her features. It felt like that night, when she’d smiled so much, that she was certain she was a different person entirely. A person capable of feeling genuine happiness; someone with the ability to smile because they wanted to, because it didn’t feel like there was any reason not to, and not someone who smiled because they felt the need to put on a show. And that was the thing, she didn’t feel like she had to put on a show for him. The thought had crossed her mind at the masquerade, that she’d felt more like herself with him than she had ever felt before. The statement still held true, even in this moment. At least, he made her feel like the person she wanted to be. Not just the type of person who could smile without having to pull the strings, but someone who could feel a happiness that would last for more than a few fleeting seconds.

Granted, this could be fleeting and maybe it had started because of how magical that night had felt, but even if that ended up being true… It was like she said before, that she wouldn’t forgive herself if she never found out.

A soft laugh fell from her lips as he compared him asking if he could hold her hand to the test at the threshold. “Well, I’m sorry for taking so long to answer, but, hm… I know I keep making this reference, but I really do feel like I’m about to fall down a rabbit hole here. I don’t usually… Hold hands. Go on dates. It’s different, new… a good different,” she explained, keeping her gaze on him despite her mind being focused on the feeling of her hand in his. His hands were warm, gentle. It didn’t surprise her that she had felt safe that night, when the lights had gone out, because he’d taken her hand then and for a second, she’d felt less scared. “We shall.” She nodded, letting him lead the way as she fell into step beside him. “So…. um, I know Jareth The Goblin King, but uh… I want to know about Brendan. I know we’ve gone to school together for a minute, but I don’t really know much about you… And I’d like to.” 

As they began to walk, heading out onto the dark lamplit grounds of the school, the crisp and cool fall air causing them to see their breaths arise like mist, Brendan heard Lia’s statement about wanting to know about him, and he bit his lip for a moment as he nodded his head. “I...yeah...I’d....I’d like you to...to know Brendan too.” He admitted with a soft chuckle. “And...and I’d also like to know Lia.” He added, smiling softly before he exhaled a sigh of contemplation as he tried to determine what kinds of things he should say about himself. There was no real lack of things that he wanted to tell her about himself; in fact, it was a little surprising to him how exciting the idea of telling her about himself was. He wasn’t exactly a secretive person, but he didn’t usually feel inclined to share every detail of his life with people either; yet here he was, wanting to tell her every little aspect that came to his mind. When he couldn’t decide on a good place to start, he chuckled and shrugged his shoulders “I...okay. Um...so...so what...what kind of things do you want to know? I...you can ask me...well...pretty much anything. I’m uh...yeah, I’m an open book.” He declared, still reeling a little from how honest that statement really felt; he felt like there was nothing she could ask him that he wouldn’t be willing to tell her.

@luxorstarters​ Alek sat quietly across from the other in one of the student lounges. Feet resting freely on the table between then, she was peering into her bag of original Spitz, her hand hovering just at the entrance of the bag as though she were searching for the perfect seed to eat next. Finally choosing one, she reached into the bag before popping it into her mouth. Chewing a few times before shoving it into her cheek, absentmindedly thinking aloud, “think if I eat enough of these I’ll turn into a sunflower?” She said, not removing her eyes from the bag.

Brendan was just flipping through the photos that he’d taken at the nearby lake that morning on his camera, deleting the less nice looking shots as he went along. When he heard a voice speaking, he glanced up from what he was doing, a small chuckle escaping him at the question. “I...don’t....I’m not really...entirely sure? I mean...I’ve...it’s never happened before that I....that I know about, but maybe that’s just because no one has ever eaten to the right number of seeds before?” He replied with a small shrug of his shoulders, amusement clearly etched in his features as he pondered this theory. “I...honestly....I can...yeah...I can definitely understand wanting to be a sunflower though. They’re so pretty...not that you...I mean...not that it would...really....it wouldn’t... it wouldn’t be that much of a change for you but...I...yeah.” He flushed, shaking his head as he grinned sheepishly, before shrugging again.

As Brendan listed all the things Maia was witness to, Maia nodded along nonchalantly. The stairs, the pole, however when he mentioned the rejection, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh and covered her mouth to stop herself. Clearing her throat, she pressed her lips together to try to get back her neutral expression. “I would never blackmail you, Brenton.” She honestly spoke, a smirk threatening to break, but she kept it together. Hearing him mention the circle, she raised her brow with a sigh. “Yeah, too bad they probably don’t know all the juicy things I know or seen.” 

Although he rolled his eyes a bit when she teasingly called him Brenton, which was unfortunately not a first time occurrence, Brendan wasn’t able to stop himself from smirking a bit nonetheless. “Laugh all you want. Just you wait Maia I....listen....I don’t know....I don’t know...what or....when....but...but one of these days I’m gonna...you’re gonna do something embarrassing and...and I’m gonna be right there to witness it and I won’t...I will not ever let you forget it.” He assured her with a nod, although his tone was playful. As much as she teased him for his frequent mishaps, she’d never spilled the beans about any of it to anyone else, and he appreciated that. “I...honestly...I probably shouldn’t...shouldn’t even be risking this since I’m sure it’s like...it’s inviting you to see me do something else embarrassing but...I’m hungry so...food?” He suggested with a shrug of his shoulders.

Lia was finding it difficult to recall the last time that she’d smiled this much… She honestly wasn’t positive that she’d ever smiled so much before, and that smile only grew even more as she noticed that his face was as pink as hers undoubtedly was. She couldn’t help thinking how sweet it was. There was something endearing about seeing him blush… and seeing him smile, and honestly just everything about him, including the amount of thought he’d put into this date, was endearing her to him. “I, um… honestly? I don’t think that I have either, and… it is as terrifying and as exciting as I thought it would be.” The words were spoken softly and the shyness of her tone matched the shyness of his smile. It was only after they’d left her, however, that she felt a brief sense of panic, not wanting him to think that by terrifying, she meant anything bad because that was far from what she had meant. “I… I meant terrifying as in… like, thrilling. Terrifyingly exciting,” she was quick to tack on, a sort of awkward laugh falling from her lips afterward but it was only awkward because of how awkward she felt she was being and had nothing to do with him.

“Yeah, okay, let’s go,” she said with a nod, smile still perfectly in place as she waited for him to gather his belongings. She watched him as he walked back over to her, her gaze not missing the shy way he bit his lip before he reached out and took her hand. It fit into hers as easily as it had the night of the masquerade, and she felt the same sense of security and nervous excitement rush through her. When he asked if it was okay with her, she didn’t immediately respond. Instead, she grinned, as she linked her fingers through his and gave his hand a gentle squeeze, much like he had done that night after the lights had gone out. “It’s definitely okay with me,” she finally spoke up, putting emphasis on the word so that he wouldn’t doubt how much she meant it. 

Brendan didn’t really need Lia to explain what she’d meant when she’d said that this was terrifying for her, because he understood all too well, feeling the same way himself. After spending the better part of the past two years pining over his best friend, wanting more, but never being able to take the leap to try and ask for it, always hovering on the edge of deliberation, it was definitely more than a little bit scary to find himself in a situation that was the complete opposite of that; a situation where everything was unfolding so fast, with each and every second seeming to bring something new. They’d both compared the feeling to being in an adventure story, and there was really no comparison that was more apt. So, Brendan smiled softly, nodding his head at Lia’s tacked on explanation, because terrifyingly exciting was exactly how this felt.

For a moment, as his question hovered in the air after it had left his lips, Brendan found himself holding his breath as he awaited her response. His instinct was to pull his hand back immediately, to undo the bold action that he’d just done and hope that the damage was minimal, but he fought that instinct back, allowing himself to take a second to wallow in the true terror that was bubbling up inside him, because as terrifying as it was, it was also thrilling, and it felt right to stand his ground, and face that fear head on. Then as she grinned, and entwined her fingers with his own, and spoke words that left no doubt in his mind that she was okay with it, Brendan couldn’t stop the small laugh from escaping his chest, before he grinned, exhaling a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God.” He said, shaking his head at himself as he chuckled. “I...listen...I know that it’s....it’s no...fire breathing dragon or...or Bog of Eternal Stench but.....but it definitely felt like...you know...that test at the threshold for a second there..” He admitted. “I...anyways...shall we?” He added, before he led the way out the door.

 “The temptation’s just TOO strong,” Lucy agreed. “What’s this one called?” A little disappointed when he turned off the music, the girl felt invited enogh and waltzed inside Brendan’s room. “You can sing some more if you want to. I definitely wouldn’t mind. How do you even have battery, still? Most the people I’ve ran into have been with dead phones for HOURS.” Her own had only about an hour or something left before it gave up completely but that was mostly because she’d forgotten to charge it before the party. “Well, actually,” her smile turned teasing and she tilted her head a little, “you can always PERFORM solo. True, you might not match in volume but…”

Brendan chuckled at Lucy’s words, but shook his head. “Nah I...my phone is gonna die in like two minutes anyway. And I don’t...my voice doesn’t...yeah...it doesn’t sound quite as good acapella” He replied, still chuckling lightly. “And as...as for my battery on my phone...I mean...it...it helps that I’m not...not using it all the time like a lot of people are. Now the batteries on my cameras? They’re...yeah....they’re a different story. I’ve already gone through four of them.” He replied to her question with a shrug. Thankfully, he still had about ten more back up batteries, not to mention four other cameras that he could use once all the batteries had been sucked dry. Hearing Lucy’s words, Brendan flushed a bit, shaking his head as a laugh escaped him. “I....I mean...that’s...it’s not...that’s definitely true, but....but honestly? I...once I started performing duets the....the solo performances just...they kind of...they leave me feeling kind of...kind of unfulfilled.” He admitted with a sheepish sort of grin.

Troy: Muahaha.

Troy: If you were a villain from Kim Possible, which villain from Kim Possible would you be?

Brendan: Pffft Shego. Duh

As he stood there and simply stared at her with his mouth open, Lia could feel her face flushing. Not a single person had ever looked at her like that before, at least not to her knowledge. It was making her feel shy, which was entirely unusual to her because she liked to think that she wasn’t shy, but she would be lying if she claimed that she didn’t like it. When he finally spoke, she could feel herself blushing even more, but she didn’t try to hide it like she might have in the past. It made her feel vulnerable, but not in the bad way that she was accustomed to and so she didn’t mind letting him see that his words, and that way he was looking at her, were affecting her. “I, um, thank you. I honestly wasn’t even sure what to wear at first… I mean, I want to say that it took me only a few minutes to pick this out, but that would be a colossal lie,” she admitted, and the laugh that echoed her words was both quiet and nervous but not because she was uncomfortable; she merely wasn’t accustomed to any of this and it was embarrasingly obvious. “I… wow to you, too. You look… You look very pretty, too, or, well… handsome. I meant to say handsome.” She glanced away for the briefest of seconds, trying to cover up her severe embarrassment at having called him pretty because it was such a cliche thing to do. He did look good, however. Really good. Lia had always had a thing about arms, and rolled up sleeves were always attractive to her.

Lia’s smile widened as she listened to him, and she had to bite her tongue so as not to interrupt him when he admitted to not thinking that he could come up with anything as special as the time they’d spent together at the masquerade. She wanted to say that while the allure of spending the evening with a stranger, feeling that connection with someone who couldn’t see her, had been what had her drawn her to him… She didn’t want him to think that she needed that all of the time or ever, really, because at the end of the night, the masks had been just masks and all that mask had done for her was make her… less afraid to hide. She wanted to know him. not Jareth the Goblin King, but… Brendan. Her thoughts quieted as she studied the films he held up, and she couldn’t help but to smile even wider. “Um… The best part about being here is that you’re here, too… And anything would have been exciting because, uh, I just want to get to know you, but… this is amazing, and I know I said wow before but I’m saying wow again because this is just… I wasn’t expecting….” She paused, chewing the inside of her cheek momentarily as she tried to think of how to put her thoughts into words. What she was trying to say was that she couldn’t believe he’d put that much thought into their date, because the idea that someone would do that for her was impossible to her. “This is better than anything I could have dreamed up, and… Those movies? They’re actually my favorite. It’s a little embarrassing, but I’ve always… Alice in Wonderland is my favorite story, even still to this day. I’ve always liked the idea of falling down a rabbit hole and experiencing something wonderful… Something new and exciting.” She let the sentence trail off, thinking that right now she felt that she was experiencing exactly that. 

“We can definitely go for a walk first, though. I’d really like that,” she was quick to tack on once his last words finally reigstered with her. Maybe the fresh air would help to ease some of those nerves she was feeling and walking meant they could talk, and she really wanted nothing more than to keep talking to him. 

Brendan listened to Lia’s words, to her response to the plan he’d just laid out, and couldn’t help the smile that found it’s way to his lips, nor the light brush of colour that arose in his cheeks. He was extremely relieved that she was more than happy with the date he’d planned for them, but that wasn’t even close to the best part of what he was feeling. To hear her tell him that even despite how much she loved his plan, and how much she loved the movies he’d picked out, he was the best part of being there for her...well, Brendan couldn’t remember ever feeling quite as special as he did just then. He felt taller than he ever had as he stood there grinning a little more brightly with every passing word that left her lips. “I...honestly? I’ve...I’ve always loved these movies for that same reason and...and I don’t think I’ve ever related to that...well, to the feeling you just described more....more than I do now...more than I have since the night of the masquerade.” He admitted with a nod of his head, his grin still in place, shy and slightly sheepish though it was.

Happy to hear her agree to the going for a walk idea, Brendan nodded his head. “I...okay. Let’s uh...let’s get to it then!” He said, walking over to where his coat and scarf hung and quickly throwing them on before he returned to where Lia stood waiting. Biting his lip a bit, he slowly reached out his hand and took hers. “Is.....is this...okay...with you?” He asked cautiously with a soft smile. He really liked the feeling of holding her hand, and of course they had done so quite a bit on the night of the masquerade, but he still wanted to make sure that she was comfortable with it in the current circumstances they were in; the last thing he wanted to do was push the boundaries too far or too fast, or make any assumptions based on that night that they’d shared. 

Though it may have sounded incredibly dramatic had she said so aloud, Lia had honestly started to feel like Friday was never going to come. Ever since she’d gotten Brendan’s note, which she had thought was the cutest way ever to let her know when and where to meet him, she felt like the date was the only thing she could focus on. She’d spent the majority of her classes staring at the clock, watching the seconds tick by and hoping that it would be closer to the end of the day every time that she looked. Because if classes were over for the day, that meant that it was just that much closer to seven, and she could stop thinking about seeing him again and just actually see him again. She even had her outfit ready to go, because she’d spent the entirety of her night going through everything in her closet. It was the one time she’d found herself grateful for her lack of ability to sleep for more than a few hours, because it meant she didn’t have to try to figure out something last minute and risk being late. 

By the time 6 ‘o clock rolled around, Lia had already changed into the outfit she’d picked out. She was trying out the cute, but casual thing, by wearing leggings instead of sweatpants and a long shirt that looked more like a dress. She’d even dug out the boots her mother had bought her last Chritmas, the ones she’d only worn once because they didn’t usually go with her outfit. She’d finished getting ready about a half an hour later, and since she didn’t want to be too early, she spent the remainder of the time she had left nitpicking at every little thing she felt was wrong with her outfit. Doing so took up enough time before she left, that once she’d started on her way, she realized it would probably be exactly seven when she made it to the photography room.

She didn’t hesitate like last time before entering the room, given that she was far too excited to focus on her nerves. She could feel herself suck in a breath as her gaze fell on the sight in front of her, and a smile slowly creeped its way onto her lips as she did so. “Wow… this is, wow.” She mentally kicked herself for being unable to say anything else, before she turned to look at Brendan. If at all possible, her smile only grew wider. “I, sorry, I probably should have started with hi, so, uh… Hi.” A quiet laugh followed the words. “But um, this is… This is really amazing, in case the wows didn’t make that clear.” 

After his mouth fell slightly agape for a couple of seconds at the initial sight of her, Brendan grinned. She looked very pretty in the outfit she’d chosen for herself, but still looked comfortable, which made Brendan happy, because there was nothing worse than being uncomfortable in fancy clothes just because you wanted to look presentable. She had made herself look amazing without compromising her comfort, and he was glad for it; especially because he liked the idea that she felt comfortable enough with him to not feel the need to go to the extremes, which would be entirely unnecessary. He himself had worn a light blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and a black tie with black dress pants; nothing too fancy, but it was a good look. When she spoke, his grin widened, before he laughed lightly at her apology, shaking his head. “I...no..don’t....don’t apologize! I was....actually, I was about to....I was gonna say ‘wow’ myself, right before you did. You....you took the word right out of my mouth.” He put emphasis on the singularity of the word “word” while still grinning. “I...um...in...in case it wasn’t....in case you don’t....the reason....my reason for saying wow was....it was that you look....you look very....really pretty.” He clarified with a nod.

A great deal of deliberation had been put into figuring out what this date was going to be, and for the longest time, it seemed like it would all be for naught. It wasn’t until late Thursday evening, when he lay in bed feeling dread rise up inside of him at his lack of a plan for the next evening, that he sat upright quite suddenly, finally struck with a stroke of inspiration; and once the idea occurred to him, he felt silly that he hadn’t thought of it sooner. 

Fast forward twenty hours, and Brendan stood in the midst of his inspiration brought to life, feeling pretty proud of himself, and admittedly, hugely relieved that he’d managed to pull this off on so little time. The photography room certainly looked quite different than it usually did: The tables were all pushed out of the way, and in the centre of the room, there was an old film projector that he’d dug up out of the storage closet. He’d dragged in one of the couches from a nearby lounge, and from the ceiling, he’d hung different coloured sheets around the couch, enclosing it inside of three fabric walls. Looking down at his watch on his wrist for the fifth time in the past two minutes, he saw that it was very nearly 7 o’clock, meaning that so long as she’d gotten his note that he’d slipped under her door, Lia would be there any minute. Sure enough, when the clock hit 7, the door opened...

Now that Lia had said yes, she felt a different sort of nervous feeling kick in, because this would be her first date. It wasn’t like she was inexperienced or anything, but she wouldn’t have called anything she’d done before dating– and really, she usually shied away from anything romantic because it freaked her out so much. Of course, her saying no hadn’t even been a thought that crossed her mind, because she wanted to see him again and be given the opportunity to spend more time with him, where they weren’t surrounded by the entire student body or sitting in a library in total darkness. She knew the time between leaving here and whenever they decided to have their date would feel exactly like the time between leaving the masquerade ball and meeting him here today. Time filled with anticipation, excitement, and this longing to just… to just feel that connection for as long as she could feel it. 

She tried not to question the uncertainty in his voice, despite her mind automatically thinking that for some reason he’d changed his mind about wanting to go on a date. She immediately shoved that thought out of her mind, however, because she could feel how untrue that was and knew it was just her own insecurities trying to psyche her out of something she really wanted. The thought shocked her somewhat, that she was even allowing herself to have something she wanted, because it just wasn’t in her nature to do so, but she didn’t care about any of that right now because her desire to spend that time with him canceled out those parts of her that might try to talk herself out of this.

“Friday night sounds perfect,” she was quick to reply. Of course, she wasn’t that quick in replying because she didn’t want to seem overeager or anything of the sort, but well, she was eager, if she was being honest with herself. All that was left now was to figure out what to wear, which was another thought that shocked her as it crossed her mind, because Lia had never really cared about those kinds of things. She wasn’t the type of girl to spend hours getting ready in the morning or worry about her appearance, but she also didn’t want to make the mistake of showing up in jeans and a t-shirt if the date required something more formal than that. She was suddenly thankful that she had at least until Friday to figure out what to wear, even though she would have said any day before then sounded perfect, too, because she already wanted to see him again and they hadn’t even left yet. 

A grin easily found it’s way to Brendan’s lips at Lia’s response, and even though he was still internally freaking out about trying to figure out what they were going to do, for the moment, his excitement was the most dominant feeling inside of him. They were officially going to be going on a date, meaning that they would have the chance to explore this connection that they were both feeling even further. They had both taken a huge step in the direction of proving their fears and insecurities wrong today, and it was hard not to feel like this was a huge victory.

“Yes, I know what song you mean, dork,” she teased him with a laugh. Dalton seemed to appreciated the attention though and nuzzled his nose into the boy’s hand. Kenzie came closer and looked at the screen, grinning when she saw the photo of the horse. “That’s a great picture of him. Yeah, it definitely shows his personality. You take some really great pictures,” she complimented him with a grin.

Brendan laughed at her tease, shaking his head. “I... hey, listen...some people...I talked to some people today who....they didn’t know the song Paradise by The Dashboard Light! So...yeah...I can’t just assume with these things, Kenzie. Our...our generation....they’re sadly quite ignorant when it comes to the musical classics of the past.” He replied in a tone of mock tragedy, although he laughed a second later. Brendan smiled at her compliment, shrugging his shoulders. “I..thanks...Yeah...I mean, I’ve been doing this for....well since I was six so....so yeah I’ve...I’ve had a lot of practice.” He said, although he couldn’t help but stand a little taller and feel his pride swelling in his chest. He worked hard at his photography, pouring a great deal of himself into it, so it was always nice to hear that people appreciated the end result. “I...you...you know...I don’t wanna sound...like...weird...or anything but....but if you ever....if you ever want your picture taken for.... well, for whatever, I’d be happy to do that. I...this....this is the weird part but....but I’ve always thought you’d be a really good photo subject.”

“Are you a rockstar? That was amazing.” Lloyd clapped his hands for the boy. “What song is that? I’ve never heard it before? Did you write it? I just came in here because I was looking for Benny, but now I realize that I’m never going to find Benny in the darkness.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Can I just keep listening to you sing instead?”

Brendan’s brows quirked at the other boy’s complimentary words. It was true that he was a decent singer, and had even performed as part of a choir for awhile when he was growing up before his Dad had made him quit, but he felt that being referred to as a rockstar was a bit much; then again, the boy before him just seemed to be generally excitable and energetic. “Who...um...Benny? Who’s Benny?” He asked curiously, because of all the things that the boy had just rapidly throw at him, it was the one that stuck out to him the most. “I...the song....it’s...it’s called Paradise By The Dashboard Light and....and it’s...it’s performed by Meat Loaf...written by Jim Steinman. And....and I think I’m actually...I’m done singing it for....for right now.” He answered the rest of his questions with a shrug of his shoulders.