ɴᴏᴛ ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ғᴏᴜɴᴅ.

“You know? That project we’re supposed to be working on.” Tae had obviously forgotten, or just didn’t care. Nova didn’t care either, but not in a way that was rude. They just didn’t care to waste energy on things that didn’t make them feel alive, not when they had such a short future ahead of them. But they knew that the moment they skipped out on the meeting with Tae, the boy would throw them underneath the bus, and the instructors always took the side of the kids from Halloway, the kids who were born into the Royal School. Not the ones who had to fight to be there, the ones like Nova. 

“excuse you, puns and jokes are plenty creative ! this one here makes me laugh every single time i lay eyes on it, promise.” he argued, chuckling for emphasis when looking over at the sign. “okay, the watch wasn’t the point. could’ve easily said bracelet or ring or designer t shirt or whatever dumb shit you guys spend your money on.” x clarified, rolling his eyes again. 

atlas shakes his head. he never knows why he expects tae to be serious if he says stuff like this. “hey!” he tugs his arm back, bringing the joint up to his lips and inhaling deeply. he breathes it out of his nostrils, and tosses the bottle into the trash. “like i said, produce costs money, tae.” not that he can’t afford to share this one joint with him, atlas just likes being a dick. he runs his fingers through his hair, still damp from his earlier shower. “on another note, are you busy right now?”

“Okay, that’s… fair, I guess.” Nova was frowning, wishing they could take it back. Obviously, this person did not want to have a friendly and joking conversation about their taste in music. There was absolutely nothing friendly about that smile. “Alright. So, music aside, I’m actually here for a reason.” Nova was willing to let it go if he would just stop insulting them. 

x rolls his eyes at tae, shaking his head to mimic the other’s disapproval. “you would think that. i think it exhibits our fine sense of humor and creativity.” he replies, narrowing his eyes at the other in slight irritation. he chooses not to reply to the gold comment, hoping that his silence speaks for himself. “thought you cried diamonds, guess not. what a major letdown.” he says, small grin spreading across his face. “hell no, some of us actually have things to do, you know ? can’t sit aorund on my arse all day wondering what watch i want to wear for the day.”

as words pour out of tae’s mouth, arlox takes a moment to truly contemplate the difference between their lives. arlox wonders what it’s like to live in such a… constricted world personally, he could never imagine living a similar life. arlox enjoys the haphazard lifestyle he’s given himself. he loves wandering down to the local pub once in awhile, allowing the words he’s tried to keep inside him to flow into any willing ear. it’s passionate and heartfelt, ripped from his shaky bones, and he often stumbles and rambles as he goes on but people listen and try to pick his brain for his intense vision, ridiculous drive, and arlox just loves it. sure, he doesn’t have copious amounts of money and he’s destined to die far too young. and hell, sometimes people tell him that everything he’s doing is all for nothing. but arlox always just shrugs and continues. because that’s just how life goes – do whatever you fucking want and good things will come from it. things are alright in his life now. good, even. and sure, he still continues to search for something to set him ablaze, so to speak. it’s like an itch he doesn’t know how to scratch. but he’s living, he’s free. and he’s not sure he can say the same thing about people like tae. “who knows? you could have decided to turn over a new leaf. find love with god and all that.” the words slip out around a crooked smirk. i’d always be willing to change that for you, of course. infinitesimally, his body hardens, just infinitesimally, before his usual confident demeanor slides back into place. “oh joonie, hasn’t anyone ever told you not to change yourself for others?”

and despite the majority of people who believe her vocabulary is limited to words such as “uhm,” “so,” and “like,” costas prides herself to be rather eloquent. but instead of pointing this out, she lets out a light laugh. “but it totally makes sense, no?” then, she observes his absolute disgust as she resumes slurping her milkshake once again. his grimace is so utterly comedic, costas can’t help but to laugh at him.

“honestly? i don’t care all that much about most ‘substances,’ as you so eloquently put it.” tae lifts his shoulders up in a shrug. “relying on that kind of shit is fucking stupid, and having an ‘unlimited amount’ doesn’t sound all that appealing to me, so,” he waves a passive, disinterested hand in the air. “i’ll pass, thanks.”

“career is a bit of an overstatement, innit?” tae asks, quirking his eyebrow up alongside the rhetorical question. “i just dance. it’s not as if you can make a genuine career out of that in halloway, so there’s nothing much more to it.” his shoulders lift up in a careless shrug, despite the obnoxious curl of disappointment unfurling in his belly. “it is what it is.”