it ain't easy being cheesy

BIANCA: Ha ha, how cute. I’ll have you know I care very much about the environment!

BIANCA: Oh. I’m sure you didn’t say anything dumb, Griff. Don’t be so hard on yourself, okay? And no, she didn’t. Some friend, right?

BIANCA: Maybe I’m being too sensitive about this. But she just left and I was fine with that but then she lost touch with me and that really hurt. It still hurts.

GRIFFIN: Tell that to the litter!

GRIFFIN: I hope you're right, but I think I did. Like all sorts of dumb stuff. Maybe she wanted to do it in person?

I think New York is my favorite place in the universe so far! Everything here is always so lively, and I’ve managed to accumulate so many new things. My first week here I found a bicycle someone was giving away for free! It’s a little small for me but that’s okay, I still love it. I also love the libraries! There are so many, and they’re all so different. I’ve forgotten how cool computers are, it’s exciting to be on one again. Maybe I’ll get lucky again and manage to get my hands on a laptop one day. So many people have them, I’m sure the perfect one is out there for me too– somewhere in this big, big city.

Whoa, dude, someone gave you a whole bike? Like one that worked and wasn’t like missing a wheel or a seat or something? That’s so cool.

BIANCA: I don't care about the littering part! I mean I do, I just care more about the Eury suddenly being back in NYC part.

BIANCA: Did you talk to her at all?

GRIFFIN: Ooh, right. I knew that. I guess that's why you guys aren't the green ranger. You know because the environment.

“Beep beep! Hungry dude coming through! He hasn’t eaten since breakfast, so get outta his way!” Liam exclaimed as he weaved between people on his skateboard. “Please!” he added as an afterthought, because manners were very important, and his mother would be disappointed if he forgot them. He was sure that a couple of people had answered him back, but he couldn’t hear them over the growls of his rumbling stomach. 

He could see the Taco Bell sign getting nearer, and he felt like a dog that was salivating at the mouth. Food. Sweet, sweet food was going to be within his reach in the next few minutes. Or so he thought. “CRAP!” he yelled, feeling himself losing balance on his board as he swerved to avoid a speeding, small child. 

Landing on the ground was inevitable, but he didn’t think it was going to hurt so much. “Oh Mylanta! Oh, this hurts!” he cried out, hugging knee to his chest as he watched his board roll off into the distance. “My board!” he yelled sadly, feeling like his day couldn’t get any worse. His knee was scraped, and so were the heels of his hands. And he still hadn’t eaten.

“Whoa, dude, are you alright?” Griffin asked as he jogged up to his cousin with the abandoned skateboard in his hand. “If it helps, I think only half New York saw you instead of everyone,” he teased as he hoped to lighten the mood. He never liked seeing his cousin hurt whether it was scraped knees or anything else. They’d always looked out for each other, and he couldn’t see that ever changing. Offering his hand to help Liam stand up, he tucked the skateboard under his other arm. “Let’s go get you cleaned up.”

Bianca beamed at Griffin’s compliment as they sat in two vacant chairs. She didn’t need his validation, or anyone’s for that matter, but his opinion sort of meant the world to her. Plus, he had reminded her of an important point- he probably knew way more about cheerleaders than she did having played sports his entire life. She blushed a little when he mentioned her split but took the opportunity to turn towards him and stretch her legs out across his lap. “Well there’s more where that came from,” she flirted, her fingers playing with the pleats of her skirt. “Maybe I should try out for the NYU Cheerleading Team so I can cheer our incredibly talented football team to victory.”

“Yes, we have a little over a month before it opens. I hope that you’re right, though. I offer advice but some people just aren’t willing to accept it,” she huffed. “Thanks though,” she added sweetly. “I don’t think I’ll ever make it onstage. Lucille’s in perfect health which means she’ll be fulfilling her role as Campbell and I’ll be waiting on the sidelines to sub in. It’s still fun, though! And you’re obviously still invited, of course, but there’s no pressure to come.”  

Griffin lifted his hands from his lap so that Bianca’s legs could easily replace them. He was used to being near her with all their time spent watching movies together, but it never stopped having an effect on him. Watching her fingers play with the hem of her skirt his brain short circuited as it dove towards a dirtier place. “Like uhm..” he struggled to come up for the word he was looking for and forced his eyes up to meet hers. “Like what kind of stuff?” he finally asked as he tried to imagine seeing her on the sidelines for all his games instead of up in the stands. He was fairly certain that it would make concentrating a whole lot harder. 

BIANCA: What?!

BIANCA: Are you sure it was her?

BIANCA: There's no way. She wouldn't just come back like that, would she?

BIANCA: GRIFFIN ANSWER!!! (please 💗)

[MANY MINUTES OF BIANCA IMPATIENTLY WAITING LATER]

Standing on the campus grounds, Eury had never felt more nervous. It had been six months since she’d last been around, and she guessed that a lot had changed since she left. Her friends would have moved on without her, and her relationships with each of the rangers would probably be strained as hell now that she was back. Part of her considered running away again, and hopping on the next bus out of the city. But she couldn’t leave again, she had to be strong. There were people she needed to see, and relationships that she needed to mend — mostly the one with her sister.

Taking a deep breath, she threw her cigarette butt on the grass, and began to walk. Considering that she was a fighter, and she’d take on anyone who got in her way, she sure felt like a coward right then. At least Tommy and Kat had forgiven her for deciding to bounce. She doubted that the same could be said for the people who relied on her, and expected her to lead. Six months had gone by, and she still hadn’t thought of what to say to her teammates, or her family. Sure, she’d sent the odd text here and there, but that really wasn’t much effort, was it?

As she was walking, she wasn’t really looking where she was going, due to her mind being so clouded with negative thoughts. Before she knew it, she’d collided with someone, and had to find her voice in order to apologise. Or maybe she wouldn’t. Saying sorry had never really been her thing. Keeping her eyes downcast, she frowned a little and readjusted her bag over her shoulder. “Don’t ya know it’s rude to walk into people,” she grumbled.

Making his way to the weight room, Griffin squinted into the sunlight as he thought he recognized a familiar face. It’d been ages since he’d seen Eury around, and he wasn’t sure if she was even back again. Pulling out his phone, he shot Bianca a quick text. ‘Did you know Eury was back? I think I just saw her litter.’ He’d just hit send when he crashed into someone. Sure they always warned you about texting and driving, but texting and walking wasn’t too safe either. “At least I wasn’t carrying a knife,” he joked without thinking about it. His brain took a second to catch up to his mouth, and when it did, his eyes grew wide and he hurried to try and fix his mistake. “I mean like that whole ‘he ran into my knife ten times’ thing. See, there’s this movie that Bianca got me to watch, because I’m supposed to watch different kinds for this class, and there’s all this singing and so then uh, then she said that.” Griffin finally stopped for a second as he realized he wasn’t helping his situation. Rubbing the back of his head like it would somehow activate his brain, he started over again. 

“Uh, what I meant to say was, hey Eury, it’s good to see you. Sorry for bumping into you. How’s it going? You doing okay? Did you get taller?” he added to try and compliment the awkwardness away. He hadn’t seen her in a long time, but for some reason the time apart did not magically solve his problem of not knowing how to talk to her. If anything, it’d made it worse as he had been left to wonder if he was at least partly to blame for her leaving. Of everyone around him that was affected by his unfortunate encounter with Devon, Eury was the one that he still held on to the most guilt about. “So uhm are you? Doing okay, I mean.”

Bianca snatched the bag from Griffin’s hand once he brought it back within her reach and she peered inside, her mouth watering at all of the candy options he’d scored from the vending machine. She chose to keep her eyes in the bag as Griffin explained that he wanted to surprise her. She’d eventually get over Griffin and she knew better than to interpret things like this as anything more than just being friendly but it still made her giddy to know he was thinking about her. And when he said things like ‘I might have missed you’ she couldn’t help but think maybe he did see something more in her than just a friend. 

“Well I’m glad because I might have missed you too,” she admitted, elbowing him in the side. “I think this is the wrong kind of sugar for sustainable energy but I’ll take what I can get,” she joked. “Plus, how lucky am I that you kindly chose to share your winnings? The answer is very.” 

“Would you really?” she asked hopefully when he asked about practice, excitedly grabbing his arm in anticipation of his response. “I’ve worked so hard on this role and if I’m being honest, I don’t even like the show that much. It’s not the plot or the characters it’s just the director and the cast. They’re kind of awful,” she admitted, biting the head off of a red Sour Patch Kid. 

Griffin popped another Sour Patch Kid into his mouth to keep his smile from spreading any larger when she admitted she’d missed him too. He liked to at least pretend like he had an ounce of cool in him, even though he was positive that he’d proven time and time again that when it came to Bianca, he didn’t. She had a way of bringing out another side of him that most people wouldn’t expect to find in NYU’s starting quarterback. He was able to let his guard down around her and be himself, which wasn’t something he was able to do often.

Bianca blushed when she realized that it was Griffin who had entered her space and not just some random frat boy who didn’t know how to read. She felt a little bit bad for going into defensive mode but the feeling past, especially when she saw his handsome smile that still gave her butterflies appear on his face. Nothing made her happier than seeing Griffin, especially when she least expected it. Despite how busy their lives were, they always managed to spend time with one another and that made her feel like the luckiest girl alive. Ignoring his teasing, she ran towards him and jumped into his arms in a welcoming hug. 

“I had no idea you were coming!” she exclaimed, squeezing her arms and legs around him tightly. “I’m great now that you’re here! No need to beg, I’m all yours,” she promised, pulling away from him to peer into the snack bag. “Are there sour patch kids in there?” she asked suspiciously, narrowing her eyes and smiling coyly at him. Before she came to college Bianca didn’t even really like candy but having spent so much time with Griffin she had slowly but surely become addicted. She liked that he let her eat all of the red and blue ones even though they were the best flavors. It was one of the many things that she loved about him. 

Griffin's smile widened as Bianca bounded towards him, and he caught her in his arms without missing a beat. He wasn't exactly a science whiz, but he was pretty sure that her hugs could cure cancer. They never failed to make his heart race and get the butterflies flapping in his stomach. "I wanted to surprise you," he explained as he let her hop back down and he jokingly held the bag out of her reach for a second before handing it over for her to inspect the bag of goodies he'd brought with him. "I knew you'd need a break, and sugar totally helps with like energy and stuff. Plus, I might have missed you." Griffin stressed the 'might' like it wasn't completely and totally the main reason for his visit. He doubted he fooled her for a second, and honestly, he didn't want to. No day seemed quite complete without getting to talk to her.

"The vending machine in Cantor was paying out double again. It's like Christmas. All the Sour Patch you can handle." Griffin reached in and grabbed a package, tearing open the corner and picking one of the orange ones she didn’t prefer to toss into his mouth. “How’s the practice going? You sounded way good. If I was Truman, I’d be pumped up.”

Bianca ran through the routine for ‘Legendary’ for the hundredth time. Despite having dedicated her entire afternoon to reciting her lines and staging, she still managed to perform her high kicks, cartwheels, spirit tucks, and toe touches in a flawless and energetic manner. There was nothing more satisfying than reminding herself how exceptional of a performer she was, particularly in comparison to Lucille who was the girl currently occupying the role of Campbell in the off-off-Broadway production of Bring it On: The Musical. She tried being a good sport, but it was hard being so good at something while being forced to stand in the shadows of a mediocre performer. It was one of the struggles of being a budding young ingenue, she supposed. Besides, serving as an understudy would eventually become an interesting addition to her autobiography. And in the event that Lucille fell under the weather (please, please fall under the weather!), Bianca would be more than prepared to wow the crowd with her performance.

The last beats to the song signaled her to spin and slide into the splits. Her arms were extended in a V-shape as she landed the move and she smiled brightly to the imaginary audience. “Go Truman!” she cried out in a peppy voice. At the same time, the sound of the door to the multipurpose room at the campus recwell center opening interrupted her. 

“Didn’t you see the reserved sign on the door?” Bianca shifted from the splits so she was standing and spun around accusingly to identify the intruder, the ridiculous red flyaway skirt swishing around her thighs. 

Pushing open the door to the recwell room, Griffin heard the unmistakable voice of Bianca cheering for some guy named Truman. He had no idea what exactly her play was about, besides the fact that there was cheerleading involved, but he knew she’d be amazing in it. She’d told him many times that she was the best, and he’d seen her in enough things to know that the confidence was well earned. She was the most talented person he’d ever met, and he'd once run into Vin Diesel outside of a deli. 

“Uhm, are you sure it was there?” Griffin asked as he glanced over his shoulder like he was double checking despite the fact that the door was closing behind him.

The scene before her is unlike anything she’s seen before on the NYU campus. No, it’s not slimy giant piles of goo trying to suck up people and buildings, nor reptilian creatures running amock. It’s not even remotely monstrous at all, unless you consider book-burning to be so. Unfortunately, Aspen is torn on the topic. On the one hand, she clings tightly to the thick tome on modern physics in her arms. She hasn’t even read through it all the way yet and she knows she’ll likely need it for next year, so the appeal of burning her books come the end of the semester is lost on her. But alternately, there’s a morbid fascination that keeps her standing there among the crowd, watching the flames of the large bonfire at the center of campus climb higher and higher as student after student deposit their books, notes, and various school supplies into the growing pile.

“Holy shit,” is all she can seem to say, stunned as something flammable gives a fresh roar of life to the flames. “Can you believe campus security hasn’t shut this down yet?”

“Or maybe like the fire department, I guess?” Griffin said as he scratched the back of his head and took in the sight in front of him. He had none of the same problems of watching books go up in smoke, and was thinking more about how he should have brought his own to add to the pile, well, except for the one that’s been propping his desk to a level height all semester. He’s quite fond of that one. “I wonder if someone brought marshmallows,” he said as he dropped his head back to his side and looked over at Aspen with a smile. “Some s’mores would be awesome,” he clarified in case it wasn’t already obvious what he’d been getting at. Not everyone went out camping and things like that after all, even though in his mind, everyone should be introduced to the magic of s’smores. “Are you gonna add yours? Books, not marshmallows. But I’d totally share those with you too.”

To say that her breakup with Cody had hit Eury hard would be an understatement. Ever since they’d parted ways, she’d been a mess. She was constantly crying, and if she wasn’t crying she was picking fights with people at bars and drinking just to not feel sad for a few hours. Her knuckles were bruised and red, and she was sporting a black eye and split lip as she walked out of a bar near campus. She’d just gotten thrown out for beating a man twice her size until a group of people managed to pull her off him. They must’ve thought it was bizarre just how much manpower was needed to get a small, feisty brunette off a fully grown man. 

“Yeah, well, your bar fucking sucked anyway!” she half slurred and half yelled at the bouncer who shut the door in her face. As she stumbled down the street, she grabbed her hip flask and unscrewed the top, bringing it to her lips and draining it of the remainder of the vodka that was inside it. She knew that how she was behaving was irresponsible, and stupid. But she still couldn’t stop herself. She wanted the pain in her chest to go away, and the thoughts that kept invading her mind to stop. 

She got about half way back to campus, where she was going to try and find one of the other rangers, or anyone really to spend the night with, when she started crying again. She was homeless now that Cody and her had broken up, so it wasn’t like she had a home that she could go to. Ever since Sunday, she’d been spending the night with random losers from clubs, not caring that she barely knew them and she’d regret it in a few weeks time. She hadn’t told a soul about the breakup, so she was avoiding her friends like the plague whenever she was sober.

Just as she was reaching the campus lawn, she stumbled over her own feet and fell down. Looking up, she noticed a familiar face looking at her with what she assumed to be judging eyes. “Don’t you fuckin’ look at me like that,” she slurred, raising a hand to point at them accusingly. “I’m goin’ through some shit,” she hiccuped, not liking the way her head was spinning so quickly. “Did you know… Hold on…” she had to pause half way through her sentence to try and remember what she was going to say, and to struggle back up onto her feet. Once she had, she continued her ridiculous spiel. “Oh, yeah! Did you know that you’re ten times more likely to fuck a person if you’re tryin’ to get over someone? Hmm? Did you? Because I didn’t until… I don’t remember what day it was. But yep! Anyway… My point is, d’ya wanna bone? If not, get the fuck outta my face.”

On his way back to the dorms with more Chinese take out than any one person should eat in a week, let alone a night, Griffin saw a girl trip over her own feet and land face first on the ground. Maybe it was his RA job ingrained into her every move, but his instincts kicked in, and he jogged over to lend a hang. It wasn’t until she looked up that Griffin saw that it was Eury. There was likely no one who would want his help less in the world, but he knew he couldn’t leave her while she was clearly in pain. He’d done that enough already. While he had no idea what she was going through, he somehow felt responsible anyway. He doubted getting stabbed by someone you trusted was an easy thing to get over, and he hadn’t done near enough to reach out to her since. He’d told himself that he was giving her space, and while it was partially true, it was always the easy way out. He wasn’t confronted with what he’d done and got to seem like a good person for staying out of the way like she’d said she wanted. It was a cowards way out and he knew it. 

“Uhm, is that going to be on the test?” he asked to try and joke his way out of an uncomfortable situation. Anyone could see that she’d been drinking, even if he hadn’t witnessed her faceplant. “Are you okay?” Griffin reached his hand out to try and help Eury up out of instinct, but stopped half way when he realized it wouldn’t be welcomed in the least. “I’m not like an expert or anything, but I don’t think that it really helps, you know?” He shifted his takeout to his other hand as he reached into his pocket to find his phone. There had to be someone he could call to help her. “It’s like, uhm, a temporary fix,” he explained. Realizing that texting someone else to help Eury was running away from a problem like he’d fallen into the habit of, he put his phone back away and gave her his full attention. “Cause when it’s over, they’re still not who you want.”

There was something about homecoming week that always put Rory at ease. In high school, it had been fun, dressing up for ‘spirit week’ and going to the dance with friends, and in many ways, college still had that sense of camaraderie. The entire school came together to root for the Violets victory over their rivals, and though Rory wasn’t a part of that specific event anymore, she had friends and people to celebrate with. Perhaps, more than anything, it was the fact that something so trivial and fun made her feel like a kid again. For even the briefest moments in time, the weight of the world was lifted and Rory could just be… well, Rory. 

“Lookin’ hot, hippoGriff,” she said, pushing through the small crowd gathered around the booth. She passed over a couple of bills and took the ball from someone else’s hand before tossing it lightly into the air as she looked at him. She caught it again, turning it in her hands and prolonging her throw. She wasn’t much for trash talk. In fact, she was quite terrible at it, but dunking Griff was for a good cause and besides… she missed him. She’d been a little out of touch since quitting the team to focus on hockey and training, and since she lived with Sawyer now, her time with Griff had taken a major hit. Unfortunately for him, she’d taken the opportunity to find him now, and her interest in sports gave her fairly decent accuracy. She cocked her head, that wide smile spreading across her face. “Maybe you should go for a swim?” 

Griffin recognized Rory’s voice before he saw her step out of the crowd and take the ball into her capable hands. So much had happened in the past year, and while he had plenty of regrets to go around, one that was near the top of his list was how little he’d managed to be there for his friends. As everyone’s problems mounted, Griffin felt like he wasn’t capable of doing anything to help. Dealing with the potential end of the world was a whole lot different than making sure the dryers in the dorm laundry room weren’t used to heat up leftovers or being the deciding vote in a roommate battle over shower schedules. He missed Rory and felt the guilt of hiding from fully embracing his powers to help like she had. She was always the braver of the two of them, but as he watched her toss and catch the ball in her own hand, he channeled a little of her strength. 

“You know you were always a lot better at catching than throwing. Dropping football’s got you going all soft,” he teased with a grin. There was little doubt in his mind that he’d end up swimming sometime, and no doubt very soon, but since the whole point was to raise money, he felt that egging people on was the least he could do. “Unless you’re hiding a hockey stick somewhere on you, I’m totally safe up here.”

“I was just giving the people what they want!” she defended herself, shrugging her shoulders innocently. “When you said there would be a dunk tank, you conveniently left out the fact that you would be one of the targets. It definitely was a nice surprise to show up at the homecoming carnival to see my favorite football player in the hot seat!” She began to laugh at the nickname he came up with for her and tossed her hair back with one hand. “All it took was nine dollars and a whole lot of luck,” she corrected. Bianca’s jaw dropped at Griffin’s threat to give her a hug. He was cute- really cute (it was Griffin Sayoc, after all) but not even that smile of his that made her knees go weak could convince her that a hug was a good idea. “No way, QB!” she shrieked and jolted away from his soaking body. His suggestion to follow made her feel even luckier to be present in that very moment. What was so special about her that she had the opportunity to spend some one on one time with the star of the evening? “I’d like that,” she grinned. “And you can even give me a hug then, too. Meet me by the drink stand?” She waved goodbye to him so he could change before making her way to the booth selling warm drinks and placing their order. 

He didn’t know it was possible, but the already big smile on his face brightened at Bianca’s reaction. She had a way of bringing it out in him more and more as they spent time together. “Not even a quick goodbye hug?” he called after her with a soft laugh to himself as he walked her walk away. Once the crowd swallowed Bianca up, Griffin realized that not only had he been staring at the sway of her hips as she moved, but that he also really needed to go get changed into his dry clothes. Using the towel Bianca had given him, he was still smiling as he walked off.

All warm, dry, and ready for some spiced pumpkin that he pretended not to be obsessed with. Griffin scanned the crowd next to the drink booth until he spotted Bianca standing with two cups in her hands. It was just like her be thoughtful and buy them even though he’d been teasing about having her pay. “I think I was promised a hug,” he said as he walked up behind her and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her back to his chest. The warmth of her body warmed him even more than putting on his dry clothes had. 

@estrellarivera: @griffindor 😤 check yourself before you wreck yourself, griffin alexander sayoc 😤

@estrellarivera: @griffindor those are all great but how can it compare to leggings & vest season???

@estrellarivera: @griffindor: I think I can concede to the best season debate but only because winter is also perfect cuddle weather. wanna prove it with me? ☺️😉😘

@griffindor: @estrellarivera I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU FULL NAMED ME. I know I'm in trouble now.

@griffindor: @estrellarivera I don't think that I can say cause I don't wear leggings, y'know? You look great in them tho. I mean, but you look good in anything.

Syria was in the college’s library absentmindedly twirling a pen between her figures as she read from the book in front of her. With her phone in her lap. Every since Aspen told her about what was happening with her mom. Syria made sure her phone was charged and with her at all time. She said that she would be there for Aspen and she was going to keep that promise. Even if it meant facing her father’s wrath. What he wanted from her didn’t matter anymore. The thought of Aspen and Eury losing Mama Holmes was an unbearable thought. Syria couldn’t just sit around and do nothing about it. She had to do something. Besides, trying to make Aspen feel a little better and going to visit her mom in the hospital. Maybe she would be able to do this imposable. If she could help Dr. Oliver create the power ranger serum and if she was able to create a healing serum with Dr. Cranston’s help. Then maybe she would be able to create a cure for multiple sclerosis. But, is she good enough to and would Eury be alright with her trying to find a cure? Signing as she closed the book. How the would she be able to do something like this? Syria would need to work in the lab at the command center. Not only that but she would need Mama Holmes medical records. Syria didn’t notice the person as she ran her fingers through her hair. She was a little lost in thought. 

Despite being a junior now, Griffin always felt lost when he entered the library. There were way too many books, and the tables were always full of stressed out students trying to cram information into their overly tired brains. Unfortunately for him, he needed to be one of those students. With a big paper that’s due date was looming closer and closer every day, he knew he had to break down and do some research. Apparently typing his subject into google and reading the wikipedia page on it wasn’t enough. He fully disagreed, but since it was his teacher with the ability to fail him, Griffin decided to follow along for the sake of his scholarship and eligibility. 

Wandering through the large shelves of books and filled tables, he looked for a place to sit down and get some work done. Just as he’d accepted his fate of disrupting a stranger as he invaded their space to take a seat at their table, Griffin spotted Syria. Even with all the things that had gone down between them, the choice between sitting with her or the kid a few tables over who kept intensely mumbling to herself, he chose Syria. Besides, as she closed her book, he figured she might be leaving soon anyway. “Hey, uhm, mind if I sit here?” he whispered in his best library voice as he set his bag down on the table and slid out a chair in preparation for her to say yes. “I promise not to beg you to write my paper for me. I mean, unless that would work,” he added with a small smile to show that he came in peace so to speak.