𝑹 𝑯 𝒀 𝑺

JULIETTE, as always, was fashionably late to the cherry blossom festival. the sun had a few minutes at best before it dipped beneath the horizon and the night settled in. she stood on the edge of the orchard, her eyes glazing over the scene before her, scanning the milling crowd for a familiar face but in the low light it was hard to differentiate figures let alone faces. instead, the blonde decided to get herself a drink, weaving in and out through the crowd to get herself a glass of champagne. usually, the clock had to hit at least double digits for her to lose herself in inebriation, but today was different. with the uncovering of the ex brotherhood members, of which her father had been one, she was desperate for a night of IGNORANCE and BLISS. she brought the glass to her lips, downing it of its contents as she felt the presence of someone next to her. “i think this is cheap champagne,” she said, wrinkling her nose as she tilts her head to look at the glass. | @gallagherstart​

    “OH NO, THAT just won’t do,” Rhys feigned shock before smirking and trying to flag somebody down for a drink himself. He’d been here for a while and was thoroughly under buzzed. It was a situation that needed rectifying QUICK. “As long as it gets you drunk, that’s all that matters.”

             “ JESUS CHRIST. “   she puts a hand up to shield her eyes from his blinding all-yellow outfit.   “ what the hell are you wearing ?   you’re literally in no place to say shit. “   

    “HA, HA, SO funny,” he commented sarcastically as he pulled her arm from her face  ─  making sure to NOT let go. Not yet. “It’s spring, the time of REBIRTH and second chances. What’s more positive and looking forward to that than BRIGHT yellow? I’m trying to remain on brand here, but together we look like a fucking hazard sign. What happened to coordination?”

Jai stopped on his tracks as soon as he was past the door, making sure it was closed before he said or did anything. Not like he cared, but a serious conversation came with a certain level of intimacy Jai wanted to keep. “What’s wrong?” He asked, looking at him getting back into his bed. “Everyone is ready for the party, and here you are in your sad pajamas,” Jai sighed disapprovingly, but his voice was softer, loaded with genuine concern. “Come on,” he said, as he jumped in bed with him, not quite holding him, though the space in bed didn’t allow much personal space. “Talk to daddy.”

    “NOTHING, JUST,” HE sighed as his hands dragged down his face. “Not really ready for the picnic.” Rhys knew that a party for everyone else meant trying to make AMENDS with people who’d rather not be bothered with him. It wasn’t necessarily something he was looking forward to. “I messed up...and today is one of many days I’ll spend trying to fix that.”

The sparkling lemonade that she had been drinking, making her feel all light and fizzy inside, instantly went flat in her stomach the moment that she saw him. “You look….the same,” Lou drawled out. He was her with Jo, she knew that, and her disapproval was obvious to everyone. But he was being….pleasant or at least his version of it and she knew that it was only because of Jo. Tired of trying to get between her friends and their boy drama, Lou just let out a long sigh. “You have five minutes. Five minutes to convince me why I should even give you one.”

    SAME OLD LOU, he thought and he couldn’t help but smile a bit. Rhys was sure she would rather chug bleach until she passed out before she gave him a genuine compliment. Perhaps that’s how they’d ALWAYS be. “Five minutes,” he repeated. When Jo had given him the same ultimatum weeks ago Rhys had been able to convince her otherwise. Something told him Lou would not be as lenient. “I’m...changing. Maybe not as much as YOU want. Maybe not at the speed you’d like but I am. Me and Jo, we’re GOOD. Or almost good. But we won’t be great if you and I keep going at each other’s throats  ─  and the quick digs aren’t worth me losing her AGAIN.”

she would never admit to lose control, but whenever somebody said party, it was a given that sage would end up not sober. was she trying to black out again? absolutely not. but she was not even close to coming to that point. she was having a good time, and she planned on keeping it that way as she took another sip from the flask in her pocket. “oh,” she feigned surprise when rhys sneaked up on her. “well, i don’t know. depends. what do i get in exchange?”

    HE GAVE A half-hearted shrug at her question. “I would say the PLEASURE of my company but I really don’t need to sound more slutty than I actually am,” Rhys commented bitterly. He’d come to realize this whole reputation shit was more than it cracked up to me. “C’mon, don’t be stingy.”

He needed to be more selective about which students he chose to put up with. Even if they were studying his specialization, he could just pawn them off on Alisa. “Insulting people isn’t a personality, Cromwell,” he said blandly.

    “YOU SURE? SEEMS to be working out for me just fine,” he responded with a sniff. Though it really wasn’t. And he was taking precautions to be more sensitive...well, be more sensitive to the people that mattered. “And it wasn’t an insult as much as an OBSERVATION. Clearly, there are some lifestyle choices you’re making that you r e a l l y shouldn’t be.”

Ella found herself laughing against her own will. Rhys amused her no matter why, and apparently that was good enough of a reason for her to choose to crush on him once upon a time. And she still hated herself for it. “I’m sure you know what your rep is, you suave motherfucker,” she teased, nudging him lightly. She was not expecting Rhys to come up with a little story time moment, but it was a happy surprise, she had to admit. Not many people talked about the past, not herself at least, which is why she kept herself from asking as well. “Sounds like a good adventure, though. I didn’t know you were from Manhattan.” That was interesting conversation, because well, Ella missed New York every single day she spent away from the city. “I hate it. I… hate it. It’s sort of easy, though. I went with an easy cover– I’m not from Georgetown, just was there to look. So basically I’m still me, but like three years ago me, you know?” Ella shrugged. “I guess. I don’t think I’m a good liar, though. Nor I’ll ever be.”

    SHE WAS TEASING him, but he was serious. Reputations, in this case, truly preceded him. “You realize I’ve only hooked up with ONE person while I’ve been here,” he confessed lowly. “Guess all that gossiping is shit, huh?” Though it was mostly his fault. When you have people who knew you from BEFORE and you allude to who you are NOW, why wouldn’t they believe you? After his last year of high school, it wasn’t farfetched to market himself as depraved and full of bad intentions. “Yeah. I used to hate the city. It felt so large and so SMALL at the same time, y’know?” He asked. It was an island, but it was an island that held millions. There was no reason for him to constantly be in situations he’d rather not face. And looking at Ella, who struggled to even put her current predicament into words, he could tell she was in one of her own. “It’s hard,” Rhys started as he stared straight at her. “It always will be. But you have to be good, there’s no other option. Whatever nervousness, whatever guilt you feel, it can’t exist. Not with us,” he paused for a moment, adding on, “I don’t think they’d allow it.”

“My nuts are a decent, aesthetically pleasing size. You’ve seen them before, but I’m willing to show proof, bring them as close as you need them for proper examination. And even if they were little, m&ms have mini nuts, and damn, those shits are good–” he said in one single breath, then looked down at Rhys and back up at his eyes. “What the fuck are you wearing?” He asked, being as dramatic as ever. He would’ve never imagined Rhys in flannel pajamas. “Is that the proper outfit to receive your wife with?” 

    HIS EXPRESSION WAS unmoving as he listened to Jai’s rants, even more so as he eventually turned to go return back to his bed. “I’m in a MOOD and that requires sad pajamas,” Rhys retorted as he flopped back down. “And I’m about five seconds away from filing for divorce if you don’t hush it.”

    HE’D BEEN WATCHING the girl secretly sip from a flask for over an hour now. Rhys guesses the beverage section the school offered wasn’t...strong enough for her. But nonetheless, he approached the blonde slyly, looking for trouble. “You gonna share that or...” he trailed off.

    “SO ─ I DON’T see any vodka, but I’ll keep an eye out for you,” he joked as he stepped up to a particularly feisty redhead. With a quick look, up and down, Rhys slowly said, “You look...nice, Eloise”

“i appreciate some good hanami as much as the next person,” he starts, to nobody in particular, though his voice is loud enough as not to be ignored, “but this is verging on disrespectful. though i suppose i’m not fussed about an excuse to get students out to see the cherry blossoms while they’re in bloom.” hal manages to censor himself enough not to voice his belief that the kids would be far too lazy and caught up in their own drama to appreciate the brief beauty of the flowers. “though, what is it you lot say…the vibe is off, as it were. any idea why?” / @gallagherstart​

     THE HALF-DRANK GLASS OF MADEIRA sits calmly in front of sarauniya, abandoned and seemingly forgotten as the girl sobs quietly into the sleeve of her sweater, opened books about the history of espionage scattered across the table. muscles she never knew she had burn at the slightest movement, pushed to their limits at an awareness training class she would have never thought legal to instruct in such a manner. it’s only been two days, but gallagher has surpassed any grueling challenge sara has ever had to face in her years at an ivy league school. she’s convinced the curriculum for espionage is something forged straight from hell, but she thinks it to be a fair price to pay for her safety, for her family’s peace of mind.

     sara hears footsteps behind her, and she jumps muttering, “ oh, god, ” before mentally berating herself, reminding herself of the raison d'être of the class she was just in that afternoon. thoughts about how she isn’t cut out for this race through her mind, but she manages to force them down, quiets them long enough to formulate an actual response. “ sorry, i didn’t think anyone else would be here. ” there was a reason sara chose to sneak a drink at the library at one in the morning, and it was precisely that. she didn’t want anyone to hear her cry or see her break down, couldn’t bear the idea of having another person witness the fact that it took this little for her to come apart at the seams. “ you can help yourself, if you want, ” sara sniffles as she pushes the bottle to the part of the table where the light she kept open shines, offering the drink as her body unconsciously moves away, shielding herself from whoever came in. “ we— we don’t have to talk, because this is kind of embarrassing, and i look disgusting, but i just really needed a cry. ” @gallagherstart​

    RHYS WASN’T GOOD with emotion ─ that was obvious. But that doesn’t mean he was completely oblivious to someone else’s pain. He didn’t know what prompted him to wander the campus this late at night but he wasn’t expecting to find a girl drinking her sorrows away and still showing kindness while down. It was a rarity to find someone with a soft soul like that, perhaps it affected him. Slightly. “Let me guess ─ Gallagher blues finally hitting?” He questioned lightly as he neared her. “No, embarrassing is barely making it a week here and calling your father during an emotional breakdown and him saying you were “humiliating him” and “tainting the family name”. But, of course, you didn’t hear this from me. In fact, if anyone hears of this I might have to kill you,” Rhys joked as he sat across from her. “We can talk. Or not talk. Or drink ─ whatever.”

                      jo’s head shook slowly as he spoke, a mix of disbelief and UNEASE filling in her chest.  what was she…  what does one possibly SAY to this ?    her head and her heart were giving her two different reactions, splitting her right down the middle.  looking down at her food, she took a few more bites, letting silence hang between them for some time.  “ if we’re going to be FRIENDS, “  she finally said, looking up to finally look at him,   “ you’re going to have to promise me no more bullshitting me and cutting me out.  if you have a problem with me, you say something, and i’ll do the same.  otherwise you might as well leave right now. “ 

    THAT SOUNDED FAIR and he nodded his head, agreeing as much. “I promise, the next time I want to rip your head off I’ll tell you to your face instead of making it trend on TWITTER,” he sighed, holding his hand up like a boy scout. But even Jo had to know he was up to NO good. “But,” Rhys started after a moment, looking back at her with all seriousness. “What if I want to be M O R E? What if...friends isn’t enough this time?”

“No we cannot be Switzerland,” she spat back. When Lou despised someone like she did him, she didn’t back down nor change her opinions and wave white flags or sign peace treaties. She would much rather Hiroshima his ass so that she would never have to see him again but unfortunately she didn’t have access to any nuclear weapons at the moment. “I prefer vodka. And besides if you even attempt that,” she scoffed at the idea, “I’ll knock you flat onto your face, again.”

    “OKAY...VODKA THEN,” he conceded. Hell, Rhys was practically groveling here. What the hell did she expect from him? To get on his knees and BEG? “C’mon, Lou, really,” he said after a moment. “I’m working on things with Jo and it would be...really nice if you and I could at least be cordial. For her sake.”

Ella couldn’t help the soft laugh that almost escaped her, but she kept in check when she turned to look at Rhys with an almost amused expression. “Come on, knowing you, you absolutely loved the slap, didn’t you? Almost wished it had been somewhere else,” Ella teased in response, not usually did she speak like this, but Rhys was an easy one to do it and get away with it. “Rhys, Rhys, Rhys,” Ella shook her head. “As a guy with a rep like yours, you should know by now us girls don’t say what we want, and we still want to get it all,” Ella winked at him before breaking into a little laugh. She looked at him, holding her breath, considering for a second if Rhys was serious for once. Ella exhaled and just shrugged. “God. I wish I at least had a blonde wig and lots of money.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s… alright. Not something I wanted to spend my entire semester doing, to be fair. And now we’re supposed to look after them– what does that even mean? If someone tries to kill them, should we jump in front of them?” Ella made it sound like something absolutely crazy, and yet, deep inside, she knew she would do it.

    HE SQUINTED AT her. “Don’t tease me,” he warned. It was no secret that Rhys was pretty much on board for anything and everything. So he had kinks, who didn’t? “Oh yeah? What exactly is my ‘REP’?” Rhys said adding finger quotes to the end. Oh, he knew ─ but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t like to hear it from someone else ever now and again. “Yeah, I gotta admit, glad I’m not in your shoes.” He confessed. “In high school, I would run away sometimes, no longer than a day or two, and just PRETEND to be some else. Being a Cromwell can be tiring and Manhattan got so crowded...anyways, that got tough after a couple months so I stopped. But, yeah, I can’t imagine doing it day after day, having to switch identities on the spot like this. Sorta sloppy if you ask me, though, you are getting some early practice in. I mean, isn’t this what we’re training to be? LIARS?”

“How will you know I’m naked if you don’t open the door?” He responded, not caring if he was talking too loud for other rooms to hear, or if any of Rhys’ roommates were in it. “Or if I have Lonely Girl Margarita Mix for that matter.” Another knock. “Come on, Rhys, my dove. It’s cold out here. My nuts will be the size of marbles if you keep me waiting another minute.”

    UGH, RHYS HATED moving, but he forced himself up with a groan. He didn’t care that it was the early afternoon and he was still in his flannel pajamas, today was a lazy day. He said so as he flung the door open, looking at Jai with a half-dead expression. “Your nuts are already the size of marbles. Your name is literally ‘Mini Nuts’ in my phone.”