call me , beep me

jake: hey bud

jake: i'll need your knowledge in the class we don't share

jake: do u mind answering a health question?

dom: if this is a question about anything below the belt, im out.

dom: i get more messages than you would think.

“Are you telling me you don’t know classics like The Sixth Sense? The Others? Now those are real ghosts. We need to show you the good stuff, my boy,” Jai said, hand on his chest as if he were older and wiser. Truth was, he just really liked to get high, sit down and watch horror movies for the sake of it. Was he easily scared? Absolutely, but that was part of the charm. “Wait– my name? You’ve heard my name? Am I famous?” He knew that was hardly true, and if he had heard about him, it was probably not for a good reason, he just kept wondering why. Had they slept together already? No, no. He would remember. Jai had a good memory for faces, even when he had been fucked up. No, it was something different. Curiosity wouldn’t let him sleep now, but he wondered if he really wanted to know. 

“Dominic sounds a bit too serious for a partner, doesn’t it? Might be just me– well, it’s hot,” he thought out loud, immediately moving on to the next subject. “Aw, that’s cute. My mother had a strong preference for henna tattoos, but… well, I like things a little bit more permanent,” he laughed it off, trying not to stop too long on the memory of his mother. 

Jai smiled. He wished for a moment, he never had to owe anything in his life, but it seemed like his life was owned anyway. And he had to pay back somehow. He owed so much to so many people. The Graves, The Morettis, his own mother now resting in peace, wherever that would be. He wouldn’t be here if he wasn’t for owing somebody, both, Gallagher and the living plain itself. He shook it off. “Listen. For someone who lived off of Dunkin breakfast sandwiches for the majority of my life, I’ll take cheap chips,” he chuckled, a hand moving through his hair. 

The spy version of a doctor sounded somehow even more attractive to him. In his mind was now some version of James Bond, dark tux, bowtie and all, and now add a white robe on top? It was like he had come out of his fantasies. “Dr Dom sounds cool, like some sort of super hero, but I’ll respect that, like I respect the fact that nobody calls me by my second name. Reginald is really a bad name,” he confessed in a whisper, as if he cared to reveal such a secret of himself. He was an open book. “That sounds great, though. I would never– I mean, I could be in the front lines of some real smooth covert operation, if what they want is a hot pimp or something,” he laughed a little, “but fighting isn’t exactly my strongest skill. I’m learning though, got the best coach ever. But we haven’t gotten around to start. But I will be cool. Think Rambo? That will be me one day.”

“I’m a Seduction & Flirtation major. Gotta make use or my best assets,” he said, framing his face jokingly. “But McGuyver too. It’s cool. I’m a creative guy too,” Jai shrugged, almost making himself look innocent. Truth was, that had always been his strength since he was a child. He always found his way of using things to his advantage, whether it was a box, a fork or a simple string. His mother used to call it endearing. “What? Your clothes? Nah, mate. It gives your clothes a certain style. I dig,” he smiled, looking down at his body for the first time, though he looked up rather quickly. “So… ice cream? Or… studying? What is it going to be?”

“Unfortunately my parents never pushed me to see those movies so I avoided them. So you’re saying I should watch them?” Dominic liked to boast about his surplus amount of energy, but Jai may have had him beat. He titled his head at Jai’s question, he was a pretty blunt person, and didn’t mind telling him. “You don’t have anything bad associate to your name if that’s what you’re worried about - that I know of. Though, I hear you’re a big flirt but I don’t know if that’s really a good or bad thing yet.” Dominic shrugged, but he would admit to himself, Jai was fun to be around.

“You’re way too good at compliments. I don’t deserve how much you’re gassing me up right now. And that relationship got way too serious in all the wrong ways - so I guess you’re right about that.” He joked. Dominic’s parents would kill him if he had any visibly tattoos, but that didn’t stop him from admiring other’s. The man didn’t hide that he was looking. “Truth me, I’ve always wanted one or two but..yeah..never mind. I do like yours.” Dominic sucked when it came to knowing the right thing to say when complimenting someone, and it would be obvious to the right people. “Dunkin Donuts doesn’t even have the best breakfast sandwiches. I can guarantee that. You know who can? This guy.”

“Reginald? That’s adorable. I think it’s cute to call someone Reggie. It makes me think of a guy who wears a leather jacket and has jet black hair. Is that your aesthetic - because oh my god, it would be dead on.” Dominic got way too excited saying that, and the added chuckle showed. “Oh - and Seduction & Flirtation make a lot of sense. You know how to steer a conversation perfectly. It’s..impressive..and I’ll admit that.” He said, mentally making a note to calm down on the compliments. “And I actually get the rambo reference.”

“Since you’re building my ego so well, how about an ice cream? But you’re not allowed to give me any more compliments because I refuse to let you see me smile like an idiot.” He once again pulled out his pump, checking the levels to make sure he wouldn’t need to rush. “Oh and...” Dominic reached into his pocket, pulling out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. “Put this on before we head in - this is probably the right time to admit that I’m..a little extra at times.”

    WHAT A FUNNY play on words she thought as she blinked rapidly at the boy before smiling and continuing to pick at her mini donuts. “No, no, just…waiting to see if you accidentally hit a self destruct button or something,” she laughed slightly while pointing to his pump that felt out almost as if he were a machine with a bunch of malfunctioning parts. “By snacks do you mean the very OBVIOUS, very powdered donuts that are sitting right in front of me? Because, if so then…N O.”

Dominic admired another person that had similar humor to his own, especially people who didn’t freak out at his pump and/or needle. “You know, that honestly explains why people get jumpy at airports when I pull this out.” That was something he never thought about and just assumed people were being rude. “I don’t blame you, but now I’ll do a puppy dog face for at least one - this has worked on all of my ex-boyfriends.” Dominic teased, giving the exact face moments after.

The nickname made her look up at him. Everything inside her completely froze for a few seconds, which felt like long minutes underwater. The pressure in her chest growing to almost make it impossible for her to breathe. At this point, it almost seemed as if her only options were to faint or to break down crying, and the throbbing pain in her wrist would not be enough of an excuse for her tears. “I couldn’t…” Ella whispered, her throat almost shut by a giant lump making it harder to breathe, speak, allow her to do anything at all. She felt bad now, terrible. She had lost so many things when her mother had died, and most of them had been on her. Depression was a bitch, and it acted out in different ways with different people; for Ella it had been to shut down, and shut everyone and everything away from her. Hence why Ivory had come to her, which she had eventually made sure to lose as well, but that was a whole other monster. 

Ella sighed and looked down to cover up for a tear that had escaped her yet again. She was too proud to show herself crying, though it seemed like it was a common thing for her nowadays. “I lost so many things that year, Dom. I want to understand. Hell, I think I do,” Ella wiped a tear from her face again. “It was just hard to go back to… whatever life I had after that. Dance included, you included. I felt… I felt like everything I knew was over, and I wasn’t ready. I don’t think I was ready until not long ago.” Fuck, am I ready? She thought for herself. She had gotten a lot more involved when it came to Gallagher and spy affairs, but that hadn’t been much of her choice either. She had been forced by life, or pressure to be involved. Now she just didn’t have much of a chance to think about it. 

“I just don’t get it. How you could keep that fucking secret from me? For so many years? I– All my trust was shattered, you know what I mean?” She didn’t mean to get angry again, but her emotions were so superficial lately, that every little thing would set her off like some sort of time bomb. Ella sighed eventually, letting off some steam. “I’m not a good person, Dom. I’m selfish. I do things without thinking much.” Ella admitted, not looking for sympathy, but as a simple fact she knew of herself. She tried to get better at it every single time, with every single person she knew, but somehow she always managed to fuck things up.

“It’s not your fault either. Life is a fucking bitch, and I did want people to leave me the fuck alone back then. So, I know I did everything I could to push you away, so it’s not… there’s nothing on you.” Ella sighed, wiping her tears again, wanting to reach and comfort her cousin with a hug, a hand on his shoulder, but instead he just reached to brush their fingers, too shy to make any sort of contact after years of nothing but awkwardness. 

“Saying I’m sorry won’t fix it, though, will it?”

Tears. Dominic doesn’t have many things that make him uncomfortable, but they are one of them. His own parents avoided conversations around deep emotions and anything regarding negative feelings. Growing up that way shaped him to be the comedic man that he was, but also one that would get extremely uncomfortable. And the worst part was, he didn’t know what he was feeling.

“ I feel bad and I can’t begin to understand what you went through - but you’re only telling me because you happened to catch me during a shift here for spraining your wrist and I brought this up?” Dominic questioned, his voice slightly raising in tone. His hands were moving with each word, something he only did when being serious. He stood up straight, looking at his cousin in the eyes as he spoke.

Dom hoped she would at least try to look at the situation from his side, he at least deserved that from her. “Are you fucking serious, El? You were really so hurt that you want to blame me for a secret that my parents and YOUR parents wanted me to keep from you?” Dominic turned his back towards the girl for a brief moment as he roughly massaged his temples. “ I’ve apologized to you for this, 100 times. I texted you, tried to call you, and you were that angry at me that you couldn’t at least give your BEST FRIEND at the time a conversation?” In that instance, he realized just how much his switch had flipped. Tears were falling from his eyes and he was so full of adrenaline he hardly noticed.

He felt an entire weight lifted off his shoulders, but the anger had still been hanging over him along with a giant feeling of guilt. “I don’t know.” He replied, grabbing his backpack and heading towards the door. Someone else was already in the back and everything was locked. “Every 8 hours on those ice packs. Use the freezer in your dorm.” Dominic walked out of the infirmary feeling emotions from his teenager years that he chose to push down, and the encounter with his cousin was just as bad as he knew it would go.

           ‘  well  ,   good  to  know  .   sorry  -  i’ve  been  a  bit  jumpy  since  the  lockdown  ,  ’   val  apologizes  softly  to  him  ,   offering  a  soft  smile  as  she  tucks  a  curl  of  hair  behind  her  ear  .    ‘  it  was  almost  a  month  ago  and  i’m  still  on  edge  ,  ’    she  murmurs  ,   but  it’s  still  loud  enough  that  he  can  overhear  it  .  

            eyes  spark  with  mischief  ,   she  nods  at  him  .    ‘  i’m  one  of  the  two  students  who  can  call  this  building  her  permanent  home  .   the  staff  knows  me  by  first  name  and  i  them  ,   and  that’s  absolutely  what  i’m  suggesting  -  ’   girl  says  with  a  playful  wink  .   excitement  hits  her  voice  ,   she  grins  lightly  .     ‘  i  actually  don’t  have  a  lot  of  that  ,   but  i  figure  i  could  read  up  on  it  .   unless  you  want  the  sparknotes  version ?  ’    she  asks  curiously  .    ‘  i’d  like  to  say  no  ,   but  that’d  be  a  lie  .  ’    how  else  would  she  serve  her  shitty  sleep  schedule ?

 “ no apologies needed here, i did just get in your face with a needle nearly sticking out of me asking for snacks.” dominic scratched the back of his head, ‘ saying it out loud actually sounds pretty scary if i weren’t used to it, huh?” he chuckled. “seriously, you’re good. aren’t we always taught to be cautious?”

Was she expecting the confrontation right in that moment? Before she popped a couple of Tylenol pills? Nope. For a moment in her mind, it made her angry that Domenic had chosen that exact moment to do something like that, but then again, she would probably spend a whole other year (or more) if he didn’t say anything, so who was at fault for that, really? Ella felt the tension in the air as she pressed an ice pack to her now perfectly bandaged wrist, glad to at least have something to do with her hands before she could pick at her nails. 

Truth was, Ella was good at holding grudges, and she held on to them like the only thing she knew and believed in. She couldn’t remember much of the feelings she’d had back in the day– she only knew it had been a terrible moment for everything, her mother dying, her life completely changing to something she had never had a clue about. And he had known all along? 

“Dom…” Ella started without having much to say at first, her mind was blank as her stomach turned upside down making her nauseous. “I know,” she finally came up with that. “And it’s not like I blame you… I don’t– I can’t. None of the shitty fucked up shit that happened in my life is your fault, I know that, I’m not that… stupid? Is that the word I want? I don’t know.” She sighed, shaking her head a couple times. Her hair had yet again fell down on her face before she looked up. She didn’t care to push it back. “I just feel like maybe if I had known something before… I would’ve been more prepared, I don’t know.” Ella bit down on her bottom lip so hard she almost drew blood. “What would you have done in my place?”

Dominic and Ella were exact opposite with grudges. He’d never been angry at her for being mad at him, only being mad at him for so long. Constantly he had to explain to his parents why he and his cousin were no longer close, and they’d even suggested trying to mend their relationship which he thought was pointless because they’d hardly seen each other when they had no reason to. Ella has been through it, and every time he wanted to text her or call her, it seemed as if another hardship came into her life.

“All you have to do is just talk to me, El.” Saying the nickname he gave to her when they were younger felt natural, and the expression on his face turned into a more upset one when he realized how long it’d been since he’d said it. Dominic hated seeing his cousin broken down, and though he won’t admit it, he’d still do whatever he could to make sure she was okay. Even when she was showing signs that she was upset, it became more difficult for Dominic to be completely sympathetic because of his mixed emotions.

“He wanted to comfort her, but all he could do was stand frozen in the spot he was in. “I get that you were upset because I kept that secret from you. Part of me always just wished you understood that I promised my parents..our parents I wouldn’t say anything to you.” Dominic, who normally kept his emotions under control was doing his best to not sound hurt. “I don’t know what i woul-” He stopped speaking, realizing the answer he was going to say would have been a lie. “I..would have done the same thing...but I’d like to think that Dominic at the time would have done his best to try to understand how terrible I felt keeping that from you and trust that I didn’t do it by choice.”

A single tear fell from his right eye,and Dominic looked away from them both to try and hide it. “I’m in the wrong here too. It’s not like me to just..ignore someone like that. You were hurt...and leaving someone that’s hurt when they tell you they want you to leave them alone is usually not the best idea.”

         if  anyone  finds  her  ,   she  thinks  ,   she’ll  blame  it  on  finding  cat  food  because  onyx  would  not  shut  up  .   it  was  when  most  students  were  in  class  ,   though  val  had  a  bit  of  a  …  weirder  schedule  that  kept  her  free  when  everyone  was  out  .   for  the  most  part  ,   that  was  how  she  liked  it  .   it  was  easier  to  focus  when  no  one  was  around  .   the  music  is  playing  low  against  her  ear  drums  ,   but  she’s  still  taken  by  surprise  when  she  hears  his  voice  .  

         ‘  huh ?  ’    she  asks  ,   taking  the  earbuds  out  .    ‘  sorry  ,   i  was  just  …  kinda  spacing  out  for  a  bit  .   usually  do  when  i  have  music  playing  ,  ’   she  says  with  a  shrug  .   val  bites  her  lips  and  shakes  her  head  .    ‘  no  ,   but  i  was  about  to  sneak  into  the  kitchen  to  steal  some  if  you  wanted  to  join  me ?  ’  

“ i’m actually not mad. you’re looking at the champion of someone who has to asks multiple times to repeat themselves even when i’m listening.” dominic checked the padding around the needle of his pump and noticed they needed to be replaced because of the rough pull.

“As a back up career - not that I think the spy thing isn’t going to go well, but just in case - you could provide some kind of immersive exposure therapy to cowards like me,” he suggested, grinning, “just show us loads of needles, or something.” He felt he’d just about got away with the weirdness of his comment, when Dominic tacked on a teasing question. “Well… a little bit intimidating at the very least. Lots of glamour and mystery.” He wafted his hands to signal ‘mystery’, rather dramatically, before realising what he was doing and dropping them. 

It took Micah a moment to process that they were moving the conversation to a secondary location (he told himself he couldn’t have messed up too badly then), and he scuttled after Dominic to catch him. “Oh, me? It’s not very interesting. I do Linguistics and Culture and Research and Development. I’m pretty sure that’s as un-sexy and glam as it gets.” He pushed his glasses up his nose a little self-consciously. “So essentially perfect?” He replied without a beat, before realising how dumb he sounded. “I just mean… what a killer combo - or sort of opposite of killer with the doctor thing.”

Dominic hovered his hand around Micah’s chest. “Hold on. You’re not a coward. I won’t allow that kind of slander.” He chuckled. Dom never planned on being any kind of therapist, he could hardly deal with his own problems as it was. The man’s eyebrows raised at the compliments he was getting, his teeth being exposed because of how hard he’d been smiling. “Micah, I can say that I don’t have an intimidating bone in my body. I’m more the type to stare someone down that I know if they are looking a mess. Which you don’t, so you’re fine.” Dom winked.

“Degrading yourself is not allowed in this circle, my friend.” He stopped the both of them while they were walking, being serious for once. “You got accepted into this place for a reason. You’re just as vital as anyone else.” Dominic jokingly gave his best attempt at an intimidating look before breaking character because he’d been laughing. “How was that?” He asked as the food court was starting to come into view. The killer comment made him laugh harder than he should, Dom covered his mouth to muffle them briefly. “Does that linguistics training also come with an ability to say the right joke at the right time? Also, i’m buying whatever you get. No is not an option:”

“Oh, so that’s what the thing is for!” He couldn’t say he knew much about diabetes– if anything, he knew how to spell the word and knew there were usually needles around. “Can you imagine though? Aren’t ghosts supposed to be like… stuck on loops or something? Maybe you’d still be trapped doing diabetic things,” he laughed it off. He’d never been one to take things seriously. Ever. Which backfired for him every now and then. “I’m Jai. It’s very nice to meet you– can I call you Dom?” It was no big secret Jai was much too lazy and had a preference for short names. “Psh!” He scoffed. “No need to thank me. It’s all normal, dude. Needles shouldn’t be such a big fucking deal, unless of course, they’re anywhere near your eyes, then I’d definitely scream.”

Jai had not much of a choice other than take the five. He didn’t feel precisely comfortable, but he hadn’t been one to think three times before taking money from people, after all, he had always found himself needing it. “You’ve ever heard of a favor? Besides, what if tomorrow I’m in need of a snack and you’re the one with the extras?” Jai countered, a smart smirk crossing his face. “You’re a doctor then?” Jai was impressed. He always liked to surround himself with intelligent people, even if it made him seem even more stupid (well, in all honesty, his intelligence relied on different skills like survival but that was a whole other thing). “Uh– I was going to the cafe for some ice cream or something– you sure studying can’t wait?”

“It’s my lifeline. Can’t tell you how many of these I’ve broken or other people have broken since coming here.” He was thankful his parents were able to help him provide for his diabetes because he’s heard horror stories of multiple people who were not as fortunate as him.  Dominic shrugged, “My ghost knowledge is what I know from american horror story season 1 and paranormal activity.” He wasn’t going to admit it but he was terrified of horror movies. He could walk right into a firefight but could not handle scary movies. “Jai..your name is familiar...I think I’ve heard of you before. But yeah, Dom is fine. Anyone that calls me Dominic is either someone I’m dating or my parents.” He couldn’t exactly place why he knew about Jai, but, he knew someone very well who was very similar in personality and it didn’t end well. “This is the only needle I’ll be able to pierce through my skin. My abuelita would have my ass if she found out anything else.”

Dom shook his head, “I don’t like owing people.” It was true, he was a very independent individual and the fact that he owed someone for something  bothered him. “Unfortunately you’d only have a choice between cheap bags of chips and a lot of pay day bars.” Jai was attractive, Dom would give him that. “I’m the spy version of a doctor. Please don’t call me Dr. Dom.” Dom said, his tone being serious for once. “ I really want to be able to be on the frontlines but also help out if someone gets injured. You would think that having two different majors that are completely different would be easy - but it’s fucking awful. I’m studying or drinking - there’s no in between.” He nodded.

“Hmmmm.” Dom thought about it, and ice cream did sound good. “You never told me what your major was, by the way.” He commented, dusting himself off once more and flattening out the creases in his clothing. To add to just how extra he was, Dom pulled out his phone and did a check of every area of his hair. “I really need to learn to stop getting my pump stuck, it makes the iron i use completely useless.”

“Matteo. I’m a firearms and knives major too.” He took his hand with a firm grip and shook it, with a nod of acknowledgement. He shrugged with nonchalance as he released Dom’s hand. “I cook when I can. If you’ve grown up on your abuela’s food, the level of spice here is fucking criminal. There’s only so much a man can take - “ Matteo was interrupted mid thought.  He was slightly perturbed at how loquacious he had suddenly become. There were only two things that set him off like this, bad fighting form and bad food. “Should you eat something more substantial? Before I have to carry you to the medic bay in five minutes.” He pivoted the conversation, his stern tone dancing on the edge of teasing in his attempt at humour. 

Dom’s laughed, “We’ve 100 percent had classes together and didn’t realize.” The man was a natural at casual conversation and being social, even his own parents were surprised he didn’t take more of a spy and disguise type route over his current goals. “Let’s just say that when I got in trouble at her house she’d make me eat or drink the hottest thing she could find. You really did a great job on the spice..my tongue is still burning.” He tried his best to not make it too obvious that he’d been keeping his mouth slightly open to help cool his tongue down. “Probably.” Dom looked towards the direction of the food court. “You down to get some food at the food court? I’ll pay. I do owe you one.”

callisto wasn’t paying much attention to her surroundings, her mind was going through some lessons in one of her classes, and she was snapped out of her reverie upon seeing dominic crouched down attaching something to himself.

she shook her head, “why would i bring snacks with me?”

dominic struggled in deciding how to take the her tone, but ultimately decided to go with his gut feeling. his insulin pump had thankfully not been damaged but the needle had slightly been moved slightly. he turned towards the wall, doing a quick adjust and turning around.

       “   don’t   judge   a   prepared   person   that   holds   your   fate   in   their   hands   ,   ”   lennon   jokes   ,   listening   after   at   how   dominic   explains   his   trouble   with   needles   .   “   i   mean   i’m   not   going   around   begging   people   to   use   needles   around   me   ,   but   it   doesn’t   bother   me   .   even   if   it   did   ,   i   would   hope   i   could   make   an   exception   for   someone   who   has   to   use   it   for   living   not   leisure   .   sorry   people   give   you   trouble   .   ”

“Right, an internship…” She repeated in a mumble, a bit skeptically. She would be skeptical of literally anything at this point. Then again, medical students were probably the ones with the most ‘normal’ jobs in the school. If anything, they would be the ones with internships and real jobs outside of this entire spy world. Maybe she should’ve chosen that one, then, if normal was all she ever wanted to be. Ella sighed, then sat on the tall chair Dominic brought for her. She needed help, there was no need to argue over that. She could’ve let it heal, but as a dancer, she had learned the power of taking care of her injuries instead of letting them get worse. She hadn’t gotten to that level of self-destruction just yet.

“Shit– Ouch!” She winced when Dominic grabbed her hand. She hated it, and yet, if she would trust anyone with this, it would be him. Ha! Trust. That exact same thing that pulled them apart a few years ago. Well, the lack of it, more like. Ella didn’t think it would be anything too serious, but it would be a bitch to take care of for the next couple weeks, she knew that much. She sat there quietly, nodding at all the things Dominic was saying about her hand. She had a test at the end of the week, but she wouldn’t mind missing a grade or two at this point. So much for taking school seriously, she thought for herself, mocking her one New Year’s resolution, which clearly, she hadn’t done much of. 

What Ella was not expecting was the mention of the elephant in the room, which only made her stomach turn, making her feel even more uncomfortable. Was 2020 the year where she had to face all the ghosts and mistakes from the past? It certainly seemed like it. Ella pushed her hair back with her good hand and sighed. “Seems like we’ve come full circle,” she attempted to smile, but there was too much nostalgia and pent up anger in her still. Coming from Dominic, her best friend basically, it had felt like betrayal. “Are you enjoying Gallagher?”

Dominic believed in giving Ella all the space she needed and for a long time he didn’t blame her for being angry about their family secret. It pained him more than she would probably ever know that he didn’t tell her, but he promised his father and mother he’d not tell a soul. He eventually gave up all hope if her forgiveness and them being the two peas in the pod that they were. Dominic understood her right to be angry, but he always wished she would put herself in his shoes.

“Gallagher is great. I’ve managed to stick it out.” He didn’t know how to comfortably make small talk when there was a giant invisible wall between them. Dominic stepped back, moving to pull the reusable ice packs from the freezer. The infirmary had enough ice packs for an army, which made sense with the trainings that go on in the school. He put them in a freezer safe back and passed them off to his cousin.

“Cousin, if i’m being honest. Doing what we are doing right now, isn’t me.” He had his back turned away from Ella. For the man that called himself the master of confrontation and honesty, he had a hard time confronting the person he should be honest with the most. Dominic faced her after a few seconds. “You need to stop blaming me for something that happened so long ago.”

His face perks up slightly at abuelita. A rare, dull ache of homesickness washed over him, a sensation he had not felt since he was much younger. Hearing someone enjoy his food made him happier than he would have liked to admit. He had always found it easier to communicate through his cooking than with words. “Absolutely not.” His tone comes out much more authoritatively and sterner than intended. He quickly adds, “My abuela would come back from the dead and break into Gallagher just to slap the upside of my head if she knew I was profiting off her recipe.” 

Dominic’s abuelita lived next door to his home, her home was completely paid for by his parents. He was over her house every single day before going to college, and even now he tries to contact her when he can. The sudden shift in tone was a surprise and Dom’s face showed his surprise. Without any hesitation he put the money back into his pocket knowing he wasn’t going to win this round. “Alright. I would be wrong to ask you to take this knowing that.” He chuckled. Dominic did the instinctive pat around his clothes to make sure his shirt was neat and pulled down to hide his pump. “Do you cook often? If you’re this good with spices, than you know how much the school lacks in it with the food sometimes.” The man was so used to homecooking for years because his abuelita made dinner for the entire family every night.

“Oh and..” He extended his hand for the other to shake. “I’m Dominic. Dom works too. I double major in medical and firearms/knives/swat training.”

Matteo was more perturbed by what the appropriate course of action was rather than the surprise appearance of the equipment itself. Am I meant to pick it up for them? Is that okay? You would not be able to tell the flurry of thoughts passing his mind from the stony expression on his face. He composed himself, berating himself silently for his reaction. “Yeah.” Matteo reaches into his bag and pulls out a small bag of his own homemade tortilla chips, dusted in red-orange flavoring. “Careful. It’s very spicy. If you can handle it.”

Dominic never knew exactly how someone would react, but the reaction he just experienced was one of the more casual one. “I owe you one. My dumbass left my entire bag in my room without realizing it. I was starting to feel off and just thinking it was the heat.” He took the time to check the needle stuck in the side closest to his ribs. People always asked if he felt the needle, and truth be told, he didn’t. Dominic has to stick himself once or twice a day for most of his life, it was similar to putting a piercing in. Thank fuck he only had to shift some of the padding surrounding the needle.

“My Abuelita is the reigning queen of making her own spices. I’ve been having hot foods and flavoring since I could walk. This, actually made my day.” Dominic took a few of the chips, as he didn’t need too much and already felt bad taking the other’s food. The taste was strong and did warm his mouth. “Damn, these are good. Thank you. And yeah, you’re right..the spicy really kicks. Did you make these chips?” Dom reached into his pocket, pulling out a $5 dollar bill. “Here. I won’t take no for an answer.”