p o i s o n *

PHOENIX: phoenix? from nyada? ugh, whatever.

PHOENIX: you don't even know what i'm asking yet.

CARTER: oh stalker, how did you even get my number?

PHOENIX: hey dickwad.

PHOENIX: need ur help.

PHOENIX: and don't make me regret asking.

CARTER: who's this?

NYADA was home to a lot of students that had important parents—whether that be executives, famous performers, or alumni. Julien often felt like a fish out of water in that way. Even though yes, his own dad had mentored several students that had gone on to do amazing things, it wasn’t exactly the same. So, as Julien talked to Carter, who was the child of a famous choreographer and former NYADA professor, it was hard not to feel intimidated. He did his best to mask it though. “I’m an okay dancer,” he insisted, letting out a goofy chuckle as he shrugged nonchalantly, “I mean…I’m no Steph Crawford, but I’ve got some moves.” Julien quickly did a wave that carried over from one of his arms to the other. “See?” …it was…not good. Julien grabbed a towel from his duffel bag and pat dried his forehead that was covered in beads of sweat. “Don’t worry about me, Carter. These legs won’t break,” or at least he hoped they wouldn’t. Julien was much happier to let Carter talk about his class and whatever else he was doing, but the conversation didn’t stay in that lane long before he was pivoting to glee club. “Hey!” Julien cut in playfully, “the Adam’s Apples aren’t sad. Just you wait. Once they start listening to my song ideas, it’ll be like a brand new club.” Wanting to take the spotlight off himself for once, he shrugged. “What class do you have next?” 

.

Carter let out a small laugh once Julien mentioned that he was an okay dancer – it was no lie that the younger boy could sing, and that it was impressive. Carter had to admit that he was impressed when he first heard him, although he probably hadn’t told him that yet. But when it came to dancing, it was obvious that Julien wasn’t the greatest at it; and his point was only proven once Julien did that idiotic dance. At least it was entertaining enough to get a small laugh out of Carter, followed by him shaking his head at him. “You definitely don’t have some moves. Maybe you should ask for your friend Steph to teach you some dance moves, even though you’re probably a lost cause at this point.” Carter said with a small shrug, before raising an eyebrow – Carter only knew Steph because she was in the same year as him, but other than that, he really didn’t know her that well – maybe she would be able to teach Julien some dance moves, but he thought that it wouldn’t be possible. As Julien went on about Adam’s Apples, Carter couldn’t help but to roll his eyes – ever since his first day, he had heard that joining the glee club at NYADA was social suicide; which is why Carter hadn’t even thought about it when he first got in the school. It was better that way. “Your song ideas? You mean Carly Rae Jepsen’s entire discography? Because it’s not that good and honestly it probably would make it even worse.” He said bluntly, before sighing when the other asked him about what class he had next. “Tap dancing. If you can believe it, it’s pretty hard to tap dance, but I’m sure that I’ll learn soon enough or else my mom will make sure that she teaches me herself. It won’t be pretty.” Carter admitted with a shrug.

Julien’s Movement & Voice class was his least favorite. He liked his professor and for the most part he liked his classmates, but dancing had never been his strong suit. It was always a blow to his self-confidence to get called out in class, so in his free time when he wasn’t with Ivy, Julien was filling his schedule with extra time in the dance studio. He was working on some steps when he heard the sound of Carter July’s voice coming through the door. Stopping mid-turn, Julien nearly slipped as he struggled to regain his balance. “Hi!” he greeted once he’d found his footing, clearing his throat and planting his hands on his hips as he looked around the studio, “not lost…just practicing and stuff. Do you need the room?” 

Carter was a pretty intimidating guy. He was older, he was talented, and he had definitely scared the crap out of Julien when he first got to NYADA. For this reason, Julien took all the jokes and mild insults Carter threw his way in stride. He’d do what he needed to to stay on the guy’s good side and stuff. “St. Games?” Julien questioned, scratching his head, “I don’t get it.” When Carter delivered his punchline, Julien let out a breathy laugh and shrugged. “Ha-ha,” he added, playfully rolling his eyes, “very funny, but no. Ivy isn’t making me practice. She’s busy doing her own thing and stuff…I’m just in here ‘cause I’m trying to pass my Movement & Voice class. The voice part is fine…it’s the movement part that’s hard.” A sigh as he made his way over to the corner of the room and took a sip from his water bottle. “What are you doing here? Do you have class or are you just…dicking around and stuff?” 

.

Carter had become used to the stressful life that was being a student at NYADA over his time there – of course, he had grown pretty used to it since his mom had been a dance teacher for as long as he could remember in there, so he was one of the first to adjust to it pretty quickly, mostly because it wasn’t that different from what he had at home. But of course, there were people that weren’t used to it and most of them would usually quit after the first week – Carter thought that would be the case after talking to Julien on his first day and making it seem like that place was like hell on earth, but the other had stayed even after all of this time. Carter had to respect that, mostly because he was expecting for the other to drop as soon as he had the chance. “No, no, I’ll find another room, don’t worry about it.” Carter said, shaking his head slowly at the other’s question.

Julien definitely was an odd guy from Ohio, that much was true – but it seemed like the entirety of Ohio had ended up at NYADA, so Carter just tried his best to ignore them and pretend they didn’t exist, which usually worked most of the time. When Julien didn’t get his pun, Carter didn’t even try to explain it to him, rolling his eyes slightly at the other as he kept talking, letting out a chuckle when he heard that the other was trying to pass the class in question. “I’ll take that you aren’t that good of a dancer… I don’t know why I’m so surprised. But don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it eventually. That is, if you don’t break a leg while you’re trying to dance and sing at the same time.” Carter said with a small smirk on his lips, before nodding his head at the other’s question. “Yes, I have class in about an hour, I just like to be early and get a little practice before class starts. I have to say, I was surprised to see you here. I thought you’d be busy with something else, like, I don’t know… That sad little glee club.” He said, tilting his head to the side.

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍: Friday, April 16th

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄: NYADA

Carter always made sure that he was early for his classes over at NYADA, mostly because his mom had always told him that it would cause a good impression – and of course he took that into consideration and started becoming a routine for him ever since he was a freshman. As he walked into the building and made his way to one of the dance rooms for his first class of the day, he was taken by surprise to see that someone was already there. Not that he was the only one to get there that early, but something about seeing Julien Schuester there felt weird – he couldn’t think of an exact reason for him to be there, especially since he wasn’t even sure that they shared some of the classes, but it was definitely a nice surprise.

The truth was that Carter couldn’t deny that Julien was talented, even though he didn’t believe it until he actually saw him perform and he was good. It wasn’t like Carter was going to tell him that, but he was good enough for Carter to be decent with him. As he made his way inside of the room, he dropped his bag on the floor and looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Schuester, are you lost or something?” He asked, crossing his arms, but before the other couldn’t even answer, he interrupted him. “Don’t tell me that Ivy St. Gaymes is making you practice a lot harder so the two of you can star in the infamous musical written by her parents, ‘Lady and the Tramp’?” Carter asked with a smirk on his face to show that he was only teasing with the other.

@ivystjames: oh kidding they totally did, BITCH!

@ivystjames: i will eat u 4 breakfast

@carterjuly: oh my god!

@carterjuly: and here i was thinking you needed at least 4 pages for that clown makeup you plaster on everyday plus your giant ego

@ivystjames: GREAT! i'll start...u look like u think dry shampoo is a substitute 4 a shower💖

@carterjuly: never said i wanted to try but since you insist

link could feel the upbeat nature he had started his day with begin to flicker out. who the hell did this guy think he was? chivalry truly was dead and fucking gone. with an unamused chuckle, link protectively ran a finger down the length of if you seek amy’s body. eyes narrowed, link leant forward. “ well excuse you, asshole. sorry that i’m not fucking boring. and britney is practically immortal at this point so don’t even try me, ” he hissed, letting any sense of friendliness disappear. 

jaw clenched, link could feel this face redden as this guy continue to poke jabs at his baby. the idea of thinking snakes were gross was something link couldn’t wrap his brain around at all. “ do i look like i’m joking? ” link said plainly, hand resting on his hip, right against the gucci belt he had paired with the jumpsuit he had picked out. “ and i’d watch it if i was you, i’m not insane but i am an extremely passionate man and i don’t take kindly to total uggos shitting all over my family. ” link was mere seconds away from breaking out into a catfight right in the middle of the street at this point. “ i’ll happily walk away if you apologize to her for what you said,” he continued, extended his arm out towards the other man.

.

While Carter could have just walked away from that situation and while it did seem like it was for the best, he couldn’t help it but to stick around for a little longer, just to see what the other’s reaction would be – it was definitely fun seeing the other get all riled up because he had insulted his stupid snakes. “Oh yes, because Britney Spears makes you so interesting. I had no idea that liking songs from the 2000’s was a personality trait, but here you are.” Carter rolled his eyes at the other, as he looked at him up and down – this guy seemed crazy just as he was, let alone the fact that he was walking around with snakes.

“Yes, actually, it kind of does… You look like you just came out of a Bravo show about gays in distress.” Carter scoffed, raising an eyebrow when the other decided to insult him – now this had to be a joke. As he let out a fake laugh, Carter just shook his head at the other. “I’m not surprised that those snakes are the only family you have. Plus, it’s not like I’m scared of you…” He said, before taking a step back from the other as he extended his arm out, raising an eyebrow at the snake. “I could just call the cops on you and tell them that you tried to attack me with that snake… I bet you won’t be so happy and confident once you see your little friend in a cage and dropped off at the zoo.” He said, shaking his head as his eyes turned back to look at his phone.

Every time Carter or anyone else mentioned the place that must not be named to him, Miles could feel his soul leave his body. Though, it could be argued that he didn’t truly have a soul. He was thankful when the conversation shifted to the party Miles was going to have later on that evening. He didn’t want to dwell on the past, especially not his boring traipse into Midwestern life. That was long behind him. “I’ve had plenty of parties without you there,” Miles joked, shaking his head. Not entirely true. Carter was undeniably fun. Anyone willing to drink and engage in reckless behavior with him was fun in his book. “A few people I graduated with,” he shrugged, mostly meaning Eli and Zoe. The rest of whatever Lima stragglers tried to hustle their way in would be turned away by his doorman. “And the usual crew,” he mumbled out, turning to watch as the bartender returned with their bottle and poured each of them their first glass. He reached for his drink and took in a small sip. “No guys you’re interested in will be there unless you’re trying to slum it with someone I know from Ohio.”

.

As Miles listed all of the people that were going to be at the party later tonight, Carter just nodded his head as he listened to what the other had to say – he couldn’t lie that when it came to partying, the people from Ohio usually knew how to party, which was surprising to say the least. “I know you have, but how many of those parties were actually good? Think about it.” Carter said before grabbing his drink and took a sip, looking over at his glass as he set it back on the counter. “Sounds pretty good to me, honestly. As long as you didn’t invite any of the weirdos from your high school and that it’s only some tolerable people, I won’t mind. I plan on being drunk either way.” Carter admitted with a small chuckle, as his eyes shifted to look at his glass as he rested his arms on the counter, looking over at Miles as the other kept talking. “No, thank you. I’m not that desperate, plus, I’ll end up going home with someone if we end up going to the city. But I appreciate that you worry about that, it’s so sweet of you. It’s almost like you have a soul now.” Carter teased the other, but it was what he knew how to do best – after all, his friendship with Miles had been based off that for many years now, so it was only natural that he kept doing it. “Are you trying to slum it with someone you know from Ohio?” Carter raised an eyebrow.

with an eyebrow cocked, link rested his free hand on his hip. new york was not exactly dripping in hospitality, and while that typically didn’t bother link, it wasn’t exactly very helpful when he was trying to network his ass off. “ wow, no need to be so rude. is it a crime for a guy to want to make some friends in the big city? ” link thought himself a pretty good choice of character, but it seemed like he had walked right up to a major dud if he wasn’t willing to converse with someone as iconic as link and didn’t even know his britney references. “ you know britney spears, don’t you? and her iconic hit song? ” if the answer was a ‘no’ link was certain the ground would crack open and he’d watch as this other man descended into hell.

gasping, link used his free hand to cover ‘if you seek amy’s’ face as if to shield her. “ don’t be mean to her! she’s emotionally fragile! ” he took his position as a snake dad very seriously, he spoiled his girls the way his dads had spoiled him. link stroked down the python’s back, addressing her while shooting daggers at the other man. “ it’s okay honey, this guy just doesn’t understand how beautiful pythons are. ”

.

“Honestly, it should be.” Carter answered to the other’s question as he rolled his eyes, as he tried to keep one eye on the snake and on the other on him. The last thing he needed or wanted right now was for this guy to set off a snake against him – it probably wouldn’t have been the first time that something like that had happened in New York and Carter definitely wasn’t ready for that to happen. As the other went on about Britney Spears and talking about the snake, Carter couldn’t help but to roll his eyes to the back of his head – this felt like a waste of time and the more he stood there, the more he wished that person had never talked to him in the first place. “Of course I know Britney Spears, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good name. Because it’s not, it’s horrible actually… Plus, isn’t she dead, anyway?” Carter asked, not sure if he had kept up with Britney Spears’ life for twenty-one years, but he was sure that he hadn’t heard from her in a while.

As the person in front of him started defending the snake and talking to it like it was an actually child, Carter couldn’t help but to scoff at the other. He had to be dreaming. “This has to be a joke… Snakes are fucking gross, sorry to be the one to tell you this. And I’ve just figured out that you’re actually insane, so… How about we call this a day and you can keep walking to wherever you were going. I have other stuff to do.” Carter said, offering a fake smile to him, as he shrugged his shoulders.

Spring Break had been pretty relaxing for Miles, but he was happy to be back in the city. It was always where he felt the most comfortable. And his comfort mattered more than anything else in the world. His face morphed into a frown as he approached Carter, and his friend dared to mention a topic that was off limits. Clearly, he’d forgotten how dramatic Miles could truly be. “Mention me living in Ohio again and I’ll sue you for defamation,” he retorted, shaking his head. Ohio never happened. Miles was fully prepared to erase every single bit of proof that he’d ever been forced to live there. “Buying you drinks all night is my charity work.” A laugh left his lips as he nodded toward Carter and they made their way inside. Getting drinks at the Plaza was probably one of his favorite past times. He took a seat at the bar and immediately slid the bartender a bundle of cash, ordering he and his friend a bottle of bourbon. “I was stocking up on supplies for tonight,” he shrugged, his eyes glancing around the room to see if there was anyone else there worth paying attention to. There wasn’t. “Will you be joining in on the festivities or what?”

.

Carter couldn’t help but to chuckle at the other’s reaction when he mentioned Lima, shaking his head at him – it was obvious that the other had hated his year off, but Carter made sure to remind him every time he got to chance, even if it annoyed him. “You can try suing me, I doubt that you’ll be able to. I’ll get the best lawyers in the city, you know that.” Carter scoffed with a small chuckle, as he walked inside of the building with Miles, shaking his head when the other mentioned that buying him drink was his charity work. “I don’t need your charity, but I appreciate your kindness. Maybe you did learn something when you were away.” Carter said with a shrug, as he looked back to Miles as the other ordered a bottle of bourbon. As he took a seat next to Miles, he rested his arms on the counter as he turned to look at his friend, before nodding his head slowly. “Of course, it’s not a party if I’m not there. Who do you take me for? Who’s going to be there?” Carter asked, just out of curiosity – he was still going, despite of the people that would be there, but he thought he should at least know who he was going to hang out with; plus, he wasn’t about to miss out on an opportunity to party.

WHEN: March 20th, 2043

WHERE: The Plaza, NYC

Whenever Carter wanted to go out, he knew exactly who to turn to – his best friend Miles Pearce. After the other had spent a year off somewhere in Ohio, Carter knew that what the other needed the most was to get a few drinks and just enjoy the year that he had pretty much missed – and of course, Carter was there to help with that. After quickly texting his friend, the two had planned to go The Plaza to get some drinks and just talk; especially since it seemed like the two hadn’t caught up in ages, even though Miles had been back for a while now. As he waited by his friend, standing outside of The Plaza, Carter smiled once he saw the other approach him, before shoving his phone back into his pocket as he looked over at Miles, nodding his head as the other walked towards him.

“Well, well, look who it is… If it isn’t the famous Ohio star, Miles Pearce.” Carter teased the other, knowing that the other would probably be insulted by it – it was funny to think about Miles being lost in Ohio, especially in some high school that he had never talked about, so of course that Carter had to make jokes about it. “Nice of you to show up, I thought you would be too busy doing some charity or something like that. Should we head inside?” Carter asked with a small smirk, as he started walking towards the inside of The Plaza, with Miles following short behind. “Where were you? What took you so long?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.