mouth full of white lies.

        and  she  has  MISSED  her  best  friend !  of  course  she  sees  alisa  a  few  times  a  year  ,   but  life’s  hard  to  get  together  with  friends  when  you’re  a  spy  ,   that’s  for  sure  .   it  seems  that  gallagher  will  always  come  through  for  the  two  of  them  ,   and  it  makes  her  and  her  curls  appreciate  her  alma  mater  more  and  more  each  passing  day  .    ‘  god !  that  was  so  fun  ,   though  .   no  regrets  ,   ever  .   and  i  live  by  that  ,  ’   she  says  with  a  nod  ,   turning  to  face  her  .   rose  grins  ,   leans  forward  with  EXCITEMENT  that  cannot  be  contained  .    ‘  we  should  re-work  the  old  mill  .   think  about  it  :   it’s  probably  in  the  need  of  an  update  ,   i  need  a  new  passion  project  ,   and  it’s  a  bit  TAINTED  with  death  now  .   we  should  bring  it  back  to  life  !!  ’  

          she’s  nervous  .   of  course  she  is  .   val  hasn’t  even  discussed  this  with  her  own  mother   (  and  it’s  not  for  a  lack  of  trying  on  her  mother’s  part  )  and  only  passively  with  her  sister  .   hands  reach  for  some  of  the  sour  patch  kids  ,   if  only  to  give  herself  feeling  somewhere  else  than  her  head  and  heart  .     ‘  i  can  definitely  do  that  .   eating  is  a  passion  of  mine  .  ’    humor  ,   of  course  ,   to  cover  the  awkwardness  she  feels  in  her  veins  .     ‘  it’s  going  to  sound  very  gossip  girl  -  but  …  and  email  got  sent  out  .  ’    hands  tremble  just  a  bit  ,   she  opens  the  email  about  ex-brotherhood  members  ,   hands  it  to  the  older  woman  .     ‘  uh  ,   my  dad’s  name  is  on   the  list  .  ’

                while   samuel   did   not   have   any   family   members   on   the   RUMORED   list   sent   out   to   the   students—he   SWEARS   he’s   the   first   and   LAST   garreau   to   ever   be   the   slightest   bit   of   associated   with   blackthrone—he   did   recognize   a   few   surnames   that   belong   to   his   mentees   and   fellow   mentors.   although,   he   had   been   enrolled   in   his   last   year   at   blackthorne   when   that   blip   of   brotherhood   activity   had   appeared   on   the   radar.  

                 the   knock   on   his   door   brings   his   attention   away   from   a   french   espionage   journal   he   discovered   in   the   library   (   he   may   or   may   not   have   been   looking   for   a   garreau   in   this   text   instead   ).   samuel   isn’t   expecting   company;   however,   he   does   have   any   idea   who   may   be   on   the   other   side   of   the   door.   he   opens   it   to   reveal   alisa   holding   a   bottle   of   wine   and   immediately   beams   at   the   brunette   —   he   was   right.   ❛   i’m   never   too   busy   for   you,   ❜   he   winks,   stepping   aside   to   allow   her   inside.   ❛   please,   come   in.   ❜

“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​

     rafa had been expecting her to be in her office, so when he hears her from outside of it, he jumps slightly. “shit, you kinda scared me.” while he’s spoken to many of his friends about the email, he has a feeling that going to alisa would have been beneficial for him to hear it from someone else’s point of view. he greets her with a smile that doesn’t quite resemble his usual smile, but he’s getting there. he follows her into her office, sitting down in one of the chairs in front of her desk. “yeah, it really has,” he breathes out as he leans back into the chair, an ankle resting on his knee. 

her  phone  blinks  23:31  when  her  restlessness  wins  out .      maybe  she  was  tired  of  being  on  her  own .      or  maybe  she  just  didn’t  want  to  drink  alone .      dealer’s  choice  on  that  one .      her  footsteps  bring  her  down  the  inexplicably  quiet  corridor  until  she  reaches  601,   knocking  twice .      when  the  door  swings  open,   alisa  raises  the  wine  bottle  in  her  hand  in  a  wave,   the  apparition  of  a  smile  flickering  across  her  features .      “   it  may  not  be  from  france,   but  it  comes  with  my  outstanding  company .      you  busy ?   ”

@durkacz​ :     ‘  i  have  the  most  BRILLIANT  idea  ,   ali !  ’   she’ll  gasp  enthusiastically  ,   practically  bouncing  up  as  the  idea  hits  her  brain  .   rosamie  would  like  to  say  it’s  the  ALCOHOL  in  her  body  that’s  making  her  talk  so  fast  with  this  amount  of  energy  ,   but  one  glass  of  wine  wouldn’t  do  that  to  her  .   no  ,   this  is  all  rosamie  in  her  glory  .    ‘  being  back  here  has  triggered  your  nostalgia  too  ,   riiiiight ?  ’   the  curly  haired  woman  will  ask  ,   beaming  up  to  her  best  friend  ,   eyes  wide  with  excitement  .    ‘  you  interested  ,   babe ?  ’  

@durkacz​

     growing up, rafa never really had solid role models, and for a long time, he had thought it was alright. but after attending gallagher for a little bit, he’s realized that instructors can actually help you, unlike some of the ones at blackthorne. and over the course of his studies at gallagher, alisa is the one that seems like the closest thing to a mother that he’s had in a long time. so after the list comes out and he’s calmed down slightly, he’s at her office. he knocks on her door, and he has a feeling that as soon as she looks at him, she’ll know what’s wrong. 

"   rafa !   ”      her  greeting  comes  almost  immediately  after  she  turns  the  corner  and  spots  him  knocking  on  her  door .      alisa’s  steps  echo  off  the  corridor  walls  as  she  approaches  her  office,   a  gentle  smile  tugging  at  the  corners  of  her  lips .      “  great  timing .   ”      she’s  shuffling  her  discarded  gallagher  blazer  and  an  overstuffed  file  over  to  her  left  arm  when  she  reaches  him,   but  the  look  on  his  face  has  her  sobering  a  touch .      it  was  only  a  matter  of  time  and,   frankly,   she  was  surprised  this  hadn’t  come  sooner .      “   come  on  in .   ”      alisa  nods  her  head  toward  the  door,   pushing  it  open  ahead  of  her .      long  strides  bring  her  to  her  desk  chair  where  she  tosses  the  blazer  over  the  high  back  and  drops  down  into  it .      “   sure  as  hell  been  a  week,   huh ?   ”

            WHEN SHE LOOKS UP AT HIM hudson can’t help but admire how GORGEOUS he is, because he is a man after all.  in a way she kind of reminds him of steph, though he’s not sure why, because they physically look nothing alike. but it makes him warm up more to her, though the joke doesn’t hurt.   “ it’s nice to meet you, “   he smiles back, giving her a small nod.  “ yeah, it’s okay. i, um.  just transferred from georgetown. “   a pregnant pause, to see whether she reacts to that information, and if she knows what the fuck he’s talking about.   “ what do you, um, TEACH here ? “   there’s inflection in the word teach because he’s not even sure that’s what she does.

          she  hasn’t  talked  about  it  as  nearly  enough  as  she  should  ,   val  knows  this  .   there  was  a  quick  passing  of  a  text  message  with  kass  ,   but  she  doesn’t  want  to  burden  her  older  sister  .   same  goes  for  her  uncle  cain  and  her  mom :  except  with  those  two  ,   she’s  kinda  actively  avoiding  them  .   she  lets  herself  wander  the  familiar  halls  ,   letting  muscle  memory  and  nostalgia  lead  her  around  the  school  as  she  lets  her  body  find  where  she  needs  to  be  ,   she  supposes  .   alisa  durkacz  ,   the  office  of  the  alum  who  specialized  in  one  of  her  majors  .   the  world  worked  in  funny  ways  .    ‘  hi  -  ’   she  says  when  she’s  realized  she’s  been  seen  .   sometimes  it’s  hard  to  forget  she’s  not  so  …  invisible  these  days  .    ‘  uhm  …  i  just  kind  of  ended  up  here ?  ’   in  her  phone  is  her  hand  ,   email  open  ,   for  she’s  read  her  father’s  name  at  least  20  times  in  the  past  hour  ,   as  she  closes  the  door  .    ‘  do  you  have  a  moment ?  ’  

               THERE’S AN EMAIL THAT WENT AROUND CAMPUS — at least, hudson is pretty sure.  him and his friends didn’t get any memo, but it seems like that was all the normal georgetown students could talk about, though other than the word email he isn’t able to figure out much else.  he could ask rowan or francis if he really wants to know, he supposes, but when he sees an older student-teacher  ( he thinks that’s what they are, at least )   sitting alone in the library, hudson decides now’s a good time as ever to make some ADULT connections.  who knows, maybe she’ll know about any updates on the status of him and his friends.  “ hi there. “   just like he would with any random student, hudson makes himself at home across from her and offers a friendly smile.  “ i don’t think we’ve met. i’m richard hudson.  you work at gallagher, right ? “   //  @durkacz​​

alisa’s  office  door  is  rarely  closed .      frankly,   the  makeshift  work  space  is  the  one  place  she  ensures  she  has  nothing  to  hide .      this  afternoon  her  desk  is  scattered  with  papers  written  in  various  languages  about  the  history  of  the  waltz  and  the  usage  of  dance  in  historical  espionage .      she  was  far  from  a  professor,   but  the  real  one  certainly  kept  her  busy .      always  beneficial  to  have  a  second  pair  of  eyes !    she  had  told  alisa  and  hal  during  the  initial  meeting  with  her .      alisa’s  in  the  midst  of  scrawling  a  note  regarding  incorrect  portuguese  conjugation  when  the  air  seems  to  shift  and  she  feels  someone  else  join  her .      grip  on  the  pen  loosens  as  she  looks  up,   a  smile  pulling  at  her  lips  as  she  readies  to  greet  her  company .      in  the  doorway,   she’s  met  with  valeria .      “   val !      how  can  i  help  ya,   love ?   ”      it  only  takes  her  a  beat  to  read  the  room   --   something’s  not  quite  right .      alisa  just  motions  a  hand  toward  the  cushioned  chair  across  from  her .      “   well,   come  on  in  and  close  the  door  behind  you .   ”

     𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐍’𝐓 𝐒𝐋𝐄𝐄𝐏. what’s new? he’s uneasy, he feels as though he’s losing control of something although he can’t place his finger on what. he decides that if he can’t rest, well, he might as well do something productive in the mean time, right? he’ll meditate. do some real soul searching, try to silence the loud anxieties that are eating him up alive. he pads down to the lounge to boil a pot of tea, not expecting to see anyone awake. alisa. he’s not sure what he’s done to her to deserve the silent treatment but he’s far too wrapped up in his own shit to try and work it out. seeing her in the dim light, papers sprawled out around her, he could easily mistake her for her mother. ( grief tastes sour in his mouth. ) “alisa.” he keeps a safe distance, moreso for her comfort than his. “can’t sleep.” not from the guilt she expects. “what’s your excuse, nancy drew?”