take a sip !

Angie made it a point of pride to know students who approached her. It wasn’t easy—well, it was actually, thanks to her memory—but it was a habit nonetheless. Eden was a different matter altogether. They helped her sometimes; they would’ve been remembered by anyone at this point in their friendship. “Reading through intro papers and probably falling asleep in the lab,” she laughed. “It’s going to be a long day for sure. I also have a class this afternoon myself.” She dipped her head to the side and smiled at Eden. “What about you? Day off or day of doom?” she teased. She didn’t have the time to doddle, but she could make it. It just meant she’d be grabbing an extra coffee tonight to keep her going.

"sounds unpleasant,” eden commented, making a face. but that was life, life liked to throw boring but essential things at people, which was why they often chose to switch it up sometimes. “honestly, i don’t have anywhere to be for about,” they paused, glancing at the watch on their wrist. “90 minutes, so, want some help with those intro papers?” they weren’t completely blind to social cues and norms, they just chose to ignore them most time. it was normally weird for people to invite themselves into someone else’s schedule, but eden never had trouble offering, nor did they struggle when their attempts were denied. they’d think no more, nor no less, of angie regardless of her decision.

as   if   on   instinct   she   slammed   the   grimoire   closed                    people   peering   into   her   ex   covens   secrets   was   not   what   she   was   interested   in   dealing   with   .           ‘    no    .     ’     she   was   cold   as   she   shoved   the   book   onto   a  shelf   beneath   to   counter   top   ,   palms   of   her   hands   pressing   into   the   wooden   top   as   she   now   stared   at   them   .           ‘    if   you’re   not   buying   ,   leave   .     ’

“aren’t you afraid i’m going to run out screaming, ‘witch! witch!’?” eden stood straight once the grimoire shut and she locked them out of her little witchy world. their arms crossed, eyes studying her stoic expression. they were annoyed, but not surprised by the denial of the job issue. it’d be a good place for them. “not that they aren’t saying it already. you’re not exactly friendly, are you?”

“It’s real,” Vera said with a light laugh after a moment of just looking at them, she saw double now and something inside of her quaked a bit. Maybe this was the time to slow down, she wasn’t driving, no way would that moody manager give back her car keys. She couldn’t get sick, but something cried for her to cease on the tequila shots. Ignoring this voice with a severe lack of judgement, Vera took two more for good luck. It wasn’t luck clearly, but that’s what she was going to tell herself. “I’m from London.”

within moments of entering the grill and spotting the blond, eden strode to his table and slid into the seat across from him. “okay, so, about the founder’s ball,” they began, having thought this all through in their head already; to cement the plan would be ideal. “it’s early so i’m assuming you don’t already have a date to the founder’s ball, so i’ll take you if you let me. we can pretend to be goals, or whatever you kids say these days, and i’ll have a way in to do what i need to do without looking like a freak.” they finished, leaning back in their chair feeling satisfied but ever doubtful. “you in?”

        “ these are BLOODY delicious, “ she echoed as she nibbled on a bit more of the cookies in the center of the table. she’d in the coffin for too long, she’d missed the pure pleasure of  something delicious on her stomach, spreading over her taste buds. she looked up not realizing how engrossed she was. “ i beg pardon, what did you say? “

eden had their suspicions about the woman, and about most people in this town. but definitely this woman. and if they were correct, she has both been around for a very long time, and been gone for a very long time. “wouldn’t it be great if there was some kind of magic that existed to fill the plate again?” they repeated to her, leaning forward carefully.

“Hmm, wot do I owe the pleasure?”

Vera asked a bit sarcastically and with a bit of a slur, it was truly a desperate time, she had sworn a glimpse of her past had made themselves known. She had spent the past two hours drinking her way through a bottle of tequila that sat almost empty in front of the wolf. Standing up would be hilarious and she wanted to put if off as long as possible, so maybe talking wouldn’t be such a bad thing.

eden didn’t drink, so the prospect of them even being here at this point at night was ridiculous because the bar at the mystic grill was crawling with drunks. the woman beside them was no exception, not that they really knew a thing about her. almost boredly, they turned their gaze towards her. despite their usual moody responses to being spoken to, eden wasn’t feeling so moody this evening. more so, amused by everything going on around them. “so, the accent. is that real or a product of the alcohol in front of you?”

‘     am   i   doing   this   right   ?     ’                        loretta   had   spent   so   much   of   her   time   focused   on   one   thing   that   now   she’d   found   him   again   ,   she   had   no   true   idea   what   was   going   on   in   this   day   and   age   .   the   little   device   in   her   finger   tips   made   an   awful   repetitive   sound   that   just   kept   going   ,    she   raised   it    high   in   the   air   ,   like   she’d   seen   another   girl   do   as   she   paused   on   the   street   .          ‘     it’s   not   stopping   ?     ’          the   southern   accent   was   twinged   with   confusion   as   she   glanced   around    .            ‘      why   won’t   it   stop   ?     ’

eden could tell where the woman was from by her deep accent, but other than that, they’d suspect she was from a different planet by the spectacle they were staring at right now. “seriously?” they huffed, yanking the blaring phone from her hand, not exactly gently. “do you think you’re cute and funny?” the irritated witch mumbled, ending the call with ease and pushing it back into the girl’s hand. why did she have a phone or contacts in the phone if she couldn’t read the options on the screen? typically, eden would just leave it alone, but this was a new level of annoyance, and they didn’t know whether it was brought on by the treacherous ringtone on the phone, or the girl herself.

      Sitting in a booth in the Mystic Grill, Bonnie was poring through old books and family photo albums she had gotten from her grandmother’s house. She was having trouble admitting that all the old stories about her family lineage might be true and before she went to her grandmother, she wanted to do some research for herself. So engrossed in it all, she snapped when someone stopped at her table, quickly feeling guilty afterwards. “I’m sorry I just — ” She broke off her apology with a long sigh, shaking her head. “Never mind. Sorry for snapping at you.”

eden stopped at the table, tilting their head as the girl snapped and changed her mind, quite immediately. “you underestimate my ability to stand up for myself.” a hint of equal ferocity was present in their tone, but it melted away at the sight of a bennett family photo they had seen before. their gaze flickered to her face, and they slid into a chair across from her. “anyway, i would have done the same thing had someone approached me while i was reminiscing in memories.” honestly, eden didn’t have any of those moments. they wouldn’t want to think about memories they had. “then again, i also wouldn’t be so careless as to do so in public, where anyone can see it and interrupt.”

                                  ❝   on the risk of sounding like your stereotypical photographer ———— would you mind shimmying to your left a little bit ?   ❞   camera is slowly lowered in front of her, revealing a borderline bashful expression written across fine features. she was snapping photograph after photograph of the town’s scenery before the figure came into lens view.  ❝   normally i wouldn’t ask. it’s just that the specific area you’re standing in is showing up cinematic perfection with my camera’s tonal range. i’d have to be a complete and total moron to pass up on the opportunity.   ❞

eden was pondering and minding their own business when the woman’s voice stole their attention. “absolutely not.” eden moved not an inch as they sat on the bench in the town square, hand above their eyes to shield them from the sun behind the girl’s silhouette. “and that camera will be in pieces on the floor if you don’t put it down in three seconds.” the smile on their face was sarcastic, unfriendly; it, along with their town, revealed hints of the anger inside them at the thought of being permanently captured on a stranger’s device.

eden was too old to be here if he was really an aspiring grad student at whitmore, but it didn’t matter because he didn’t look like it. also, he wasn’t here as an aspiring grad student. he was here as a friend, or perhaps more accurately, an ally. the witch did some work with some researchers here on campus, but that didn’t mean he was a stranger to everyone who worked here, like angeley de medina, the teacher’s assistant of a class he was particularly interested in. sometimes, he worked with her too. “good morning, angie,” he greeted as always when he spotted her in the hall. “what’s on the agenda for today?”

                    HE COULD SEE THE OTHER’S    annoyance right off the bat , his apologetic expression growing more so by the moment . if there was something james hated , it was having someone upset with him . especially when he could try to turn the situation around . so he jogged after them a little , going around to stand facing them .      ‘   at least let me like .. buy you a coffee  ?   or let me know if you ever need some help with heavy lifting  ?   us careless teenagers are good for somethings .   ’      he offered them a goofy smile .

eden could have zapped the boy for standing in their path, or for speaking to them in general. but truthfully not many careless teenagers would express such an offer, and who was eden to turn down a free coffee with everything they needed the energy to do? after considering it carefully, they tilted their head and shrugged. there was not a valid excuse for them to turn it down and eden was nothing if not honest. “alright, i’ll take a coffee. as long as you don’t bring that along.” they nodded to the ball in his hands, the dirt on which eden could still feel on their fingertips.

a   scowl   crossed   her   features   as   footsteps   halted                    it   was   like   as   each   decade   passed   she   lost   faith   in   the   human   race   ,   never   as   much   as   her   siblings   at   times   but   honestly   ,   what   was   wrong   with   people   ?   was   courtesy   not   common   anymore   ?           ‘      seriously   ?    what   is   wrong   with   people   ?     ’       

eden had done their random act of kindness for the day, not that that was something they wanted to make a habit of. they watched the stranger’s face drop. “yeah, i know. i already told someone.” that had also been exhausting, seeing as nothing was being done about it yet. “the men’s bathroom is fine if you want to give that a go.”

“seems like it,” she stated with a hint of smile, a soft laugh escaping between her pink lips as the other continued to attempt to belittle her. her fingers grabbed at the edges of her books, pushing them closed. “what’s so bad about thirty anyway? thirty’s the new twenty or whatever they say.” 

"the problem is i shouldn’t have to be thirty.” eden’s answer was sharp, tone annoyed like this is something she should know. really, he was just ranting to a stranger, despite how his frustration seems directed towards her. “i’m special, more than any of you.” never mind that this wouldn’t make sense to anybody outside of the realm of the supernatural.

eyes   turn   back   to   the   grimoire   in   her   lap                    elbow   to   the   darkly   stained   bench   as   she   focused   on   the   words   and   listening   for   their   steps   in   her   shop   ,   it   was   her   way   to   watching   them   ,   unfocused   on   anyone   and   she   could   still   hear   them   most   of   the   time   .          ‘      do   you   ?    ’      had   anyone   simply   been   listening   it   would   seem   she   never   gave   him   her   answer   ,    but   she   had   with   a   flick   of   dainty   fingers   ,   not   even   looking   as   she   closed   the   bottle   he’d   opened   ,   without   even   touching   it.

eden leaned down towards the bottle he’d opened, sniffing it in, pursing their lips and straightening up again. if it weren’t for the nonverbal answer she’d given them, they’d assume this was all a big scam. they could smell it. but intrigue crossed their features as the bottle promptly shut following his question. “good.” a hint of a smile as they stepped towards the counter, leaning over it towards the woman to peer at the book she had open in her lap. "are you hiring?”

                    SHE’D BEEN STANDING OUTSIDE   the church for a few hours , contemplating the pros   &   cons of entering . the last time she’d walked into one was for her brother’s funeral . it was the search for truth that had taken her to new orleans , with a promise to return once she’d finished her education . she’d failed to mention to her uncle , of course , of the trail she’d followed into town . the strange things she’d noticed couldn’t be just a confidence . it was these thoughts she’d lost herself into when she felt someone approach her . just back slightly , her hand fell against her chest with a thud .      ‘   oh god . you scared me half to death  !   ’

“didn’t know mystic falls was against small talk.” maybe she wasn’t the best people person, it was something that easily ran in the family. even if the other wasn’t having the best day, was small talk such a bad thing? was making friends - even if they were almost thirty years old, a bad thing? “thirty year old people make fiends, even with people my age. have fun being grumpy.”

eden rolled his eyes. so now she wanted to be friends? he’d never even seen her before. “trust me, this is not my grumpy face.” once more he looked up from his laptop screen to glower at the girl. didn’t she have some homework to be working on, instead of this small talk she spoke of? “this is why i don’t make friends with people your age. you’re so judgey, it’s disgusting.” nevermind that he was stereotyping an entire age group in the same sentence.