non-stop

Sterling: you have to think that people want you

Sterling: you have to think that you're already exactly what they want

Sterling: wtf does that even mean

Sterling: mature like owning a stone chess set

Sterling: or mature like the porn category

Sterling: wait

Sterling: or mature like 'I'm trying to get them to want to shack up with me forever and have babies'

Noah: but... what if im not that at all?

Noah: do i have to... change?

Noah: *flustered typing and erasing*

Anderson pulled off his helmet as he made his way for the court door. His was breathing in quick huffs as he made his way to the locker rooms. He spent a lot of time at the court, even between practices and games, but these solo sessions always left him feeling a mix of irritation and relief. He tried to avoid the other foxes off the court, but you know what? It’s fucking hard to practice goalie on your own! That didn’t mean he was going to cut back or, heaven forbid, ask someone to come with him. It just meant that he spent a lot of time practicing drills on an empty court. Which is where the relief came from. The foxes were a team of antagonist given blunt weapons, shoved into a court sized box, and told to play nice. Practices were filled with so many other things that his teammates brought to the court with them, that sometimes Anderson needed to see it quiet. He needed to clear his head and only focus on exy without anything else getting in his way. 

His breath was evening out as he moved to one of the benches, his helmet set beside him as he began the task of removing his armour. He took care with each piece of equipment. He didn’t think he’d ever be angry enough to take it out on his equipment. Free of his equipment, he moved to put things to rights, turned towards his locker when someone else entered the room. He repressed a sigh at Noah’s chipper voice. The man didn’t look up from his task until he saw the sweeping motion in his peripheral vision. 

He looked vaguely horrified at Noah’s attempt at miming racket swings, and was suddenly glad that the man was in the vixens and not the foxes. Anderson cleared his throat to pull himself out of his thoughts and just regarded the cheerleader with a rather bland expression. This time he did scoff. 

 “There’s no guarantee that we’ll win this game.” It came with his usual cold, moodiness. 

Noah liked Anderson. He thought Anderson was cool. Yeah, he was pretty sure the other was usually humoring him when he came to flit about him like a little fanboy, but the fact that he never told Noah to piss off was a positive in his book. And besides, he so often looked like he could use a pick-me-up! He was always so alone… and Noah never wanted any Fox or Vixen to feel like no one was thinking about them. Because Noah definitely was!

“Well, I wouldn’t be a good cheerleader if I didn’t have complete and total confidence in you guys!” he exclaimed, clasping his hands together and giving them a shake, demonstrating his much better cheering skills. The ice in Anderson’s voice flew over his head as Noah chocked it up to pre-game nerves, which were completely understandable. 

Sterling: how am I the shit?

Sterling: I'll tell you if you tell me why you want to know

Noah: yeah! like... how are you always so sure?

Noah: ((several seconds pass))

Noah: *typing*

Noah: *typing*

Sterling: lmao yeah???

Sterling: you seem pretty like you're not

Noah: well

Noah: yeah i

Noah: well how do you do it?

Noah: sorry this is so out of the blue

Noah: ((spends several seconds staring at chat))

Noah: Hey

Noah: you seem pretty confident about like

Noah: *typing...*

When: February 12th

Who: @andersonfordfoxes

Noah couldn’t help but feel mega excited for the game. He knew this was gonna be an important one; he could just feel it in the air. He hadn’t seen Basil since the previous game, and he was sure that he too was working his ass off to make sure they won. And with all of the Fox’s working so hard, he knew he had to make sure he kept up! Which was why he was heading to the Court with a happy little skip in his step. 

He wouldn’t lie; he was half hoping he would run into Basil practicing like he had all those months ago, but he ignored that part of him and remained determined to actually go to practice. 

Which was practically tossed out the window when he saw another lone person packing up after what seemed like an intense practice from the way they were sweating. Noah couldn’t help but perk up when he realized it was Anderson, tossing his gym bag on the matts and practically bouncing over. 

“Anderson!” he chirped, bouncing on the tips of his toes. “Are you just finishing? That sucks! I would’ve loved to see you playing! You’ve got such a big raquet! I bet you swing it around all whish whish,” Noah said, mimicking the movements poorly, but with enthusiasm. “Are you excited for the game? I know I am. Well like, nervous excited. I always feel like that before big games. But you guys shouldn’t worry too much, because you’re awesome!” he gushed seemingly without taking a breath.

         Unlike some people, Basil was particularly cool when it came to showing his emotions. He didn’t want people to know what he was feeling even on the best days Normally, Basil had an easier time with keeping his emotions to himself, there was just something about Noah that made it slightly more difficult to hide some of the emotions that he hid. He wasn’t sure that Noah could pick up on them still. His cool expression somehow still managed to confuse most people. He wished he could be as forthcoming with his own emotions as some people were, especially Noah. Basil wasn’t a mind reader, he knew better than to think that Noah liked him as more than a friend, but he did emote way more than Basil did.

         Relationships were a bad idea for Basil right now. he didn’t have the time that some people had to dedicate his life to being with another person. When he wasn’t studying for his classes or practicing, he was sleeping. Noah seemed like the type to be clingy—and while Basil normally could handle that, he was sure that Noah only thought of him as a friend. Plus, right now Basil just couldn’t handle a relationship. There were a lot of other things he needed to worry about. And when it came to romance, he didn’t have the emotional capacity to be there for someone. Sometimes Noah made him want to try. Hell, every time they got close, Basil ran away. He’d keep doing that too.

         He was painfully aware they weren’t alone. That one Vixen was still watching them. Who did they think they were fooling with their bright pink dress? Basil felt like Noah was just ignoring all the other people around them on purpose. He wasn’t ashamed of feeling this way. He just didn’t want anyone else around because this was a moment he wanted to share with just Noah. The Fox wished he’d taken Noah’s offer to go to Fox Tower because then at least they might be able to be alone. But a part of him had wanted them surrounded by other people—he wouldn’t be tempted to do anything stupid. Of course, he’d already said something stupid, so it wasn’t likely that he was bound to stop anytime soon.

         Basil looked at Noah and suddenly felt awful. The Vixen deserved someone much better than him. He was so messed up and destructive. When there was something good in his life, the first thing he did was ruin it. Why would that be any different with Noah? And they were friends. He couldn’t ruin the one friendship he had at Palmetto. He hadn’t even wanted friends when he’d come here and Noah had bulldozed into his life with his strawberries and smiles. Now it was months later and all he wanted to do was kiss the boy in front of him, yet somehow remain detached from everything. Basil rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to keep his cool. “I…” he said, clearing his throat. A part of him really wished that he could just disappear in this moment, let himself feel something other than the detached feeling he always had. “But I’m no good for you. No matter how much you might think I am. And no matter how much I might care about you.” He practically whispered the last part, hoping that Noah didn’t hear.

Noah had a feeling Basil wasn’t expecting that, and Noah almost felt taken aback by the surprised way Basil’s eyebrows twitched. Something he was sure that he would’ve missed if he wasn’t paying him so much attention. But he couldn’t help it. He was enraptured, caught up in this almost dreamlike moment, where someone was admitting…. Something that was, well, kind of romantic.

But no, not just anyone- Basil. Who was so icy, so cool, but melted under the right circumstances. But, maybe less like ice and more like sugar. Gritty and harsh, (yet still good) when raw, but so syrupy and sweet when softened. But it took time, and effort, and attention, all things that seemed very worth it for Noah to give to him. 

There it was again. The hesitance, the way he looked away, not out of indifference, but something else, and Noah was hooked on every word he had to say. And that was why the soft admission wasn’t lost in the distant pulse of the bass from inside or the gentle rushing of the wind. 

Noah felt the heat that was already in his face intensify, and he was sure Basil was saying something between those lines that Noah desperately wanted to be true. And wow, he had been dodging admitting to himself how much of a crush he had because it just seemed so implausible that Basil would ever be saying something like this to him. But now when it seemed less like a celebrity crush and more real, he could feel just how much he did want him. It was scary, but exciting in a way. He had always wanted to feel something like this and have it returned.

If that was what Basil was saying. Because maybe Noah had it all wrong and he was reading it through rose-colored, Valentine’s fever tinted glasses, but he couldn’t dismiss it so easily.

         He’d never been ashamed of who he was—not like some people. Basil was unapologetically himself no matter what. Even his sexuality never seemed like something he needed to hide. At least Anthony had never shamed him for that. He wasn’t taking Noah to a quieter spot because he was ashamed of him. He did so because even if Noah managed to block out most of the noise around him, he didn’t block out everything. Being alone with him felt intimate, like only the two of them shared this moment and the world around them stopped for just a second. In all his life, nothing like that had ever happened before and he wanted to cling to the feeling. He probably was alone in his feelings, too. There was no way that someone as bright as Noah could ever actually like him. But then there were moments that Basil could practically feel electricity and he couldn’t be alone in that.

         They weren’t completely alone outside, and he was painfully aware of that. Some Vixen walking towards the Den, completely wasted, seemed to stop when they saw Noah and Basil together. He realized he was probably the last person anyone would see at a party like this, let alone a Valentine’s day party. He didn’t mind the chill in the air and hoped Noah didn’t either. They could go back in if he did, Basil just wanted to be alone for a little bit. The Fox turned his attention back to the Vixen.

         “It was a bit loud,” he replied. Suddenly, he had no idea what the reason for bringing Noah out here was, other than to be alone. He’d wanted to be alone, but then as soon as he was, he got nervous. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their friendship, if it could even be counted as a friendship. “I did.” He’d only gotten one and he didn’t want to think it came from Noah because he’d probably only meant it as a friend. Basil listened to Noah talk, half wondering if he was nervous or something—and why. It wasn’t as if Basil was truly intimidating or anything—at least he didn’t think he was that intimidating. In high school, Basil had dated. His boarding school wasn’t an all-boys school, so he’d had his pick of anyone at the school. He’d actually been dating someone at the time of the accident, but it had fizzled after all the stories about Basil had hit the tabloids. “I’ve had a few,” Basil told Noah truthfully. “None that really mattered though.” Looking at Noah, he tilted his head to the side slightly. “I find it kind of surprising that no one’s interested in you. You’re probably the only person here I’d ever be interested in.” 

Noah didn’t want to make it obvious that he was frantically scanning Basil’s face for little ticks that would give him insight on what Basil was thinking, but he remained relatively neutral. Which wasn’t a surprise, but it didn’t give Noah much of an idea on what exactly Basil was thinking when Noah asked him about Valentines.

Although, to be fair, he mostly looked bored. He really could have anyone, Noah couldn’t help but think in awe. He seemed so disinterested in being in relationships, where as Noah couldn’t wait to really get involved with someone for the first time. It would be scary, because he would have to hide his accident but… maybe with time he would tell them. He hadn’t told anyone outside of who knew when it happened, and the thought of being so vulnerable was scary but… also something he couldn’t help but crave. 

And then Basil was expressing his disbelief that Noah had never had a Valentine, and it was a touch flattering, and he was ready to say so, when Basil continued on to say that, of anyone, it would be Noah Basil would want. Of anyone here.

When there were so many amazing Foxes and Vixens. Some that had baggage, but weren’t all messed up under their clothes like Noah was. And maybe that casual admission would change if Basil really saw him, but at the moment, all he could really register was the fact that Basil had said that about Noah. Basil, who was way too cool to think of Noah as anything other than a friend, maybe even a good friend. 

He felt his face heating and he cupped his own cheeks, unable to stop a huge flustered grin from splitting his face. “R-really? I… well, oh gosh, that’s so sweet, I don’t know what to say,” Noah said, his heart thumping so loud in his ears that he was sure Basil could hear it. “You really know how to make a guy feel special,” he said, trying for somewhat semi-suave and landing somewhere closer to painfully awkward as he ducked his head, shyly looking up at Basil through his lashes.

         Noah wouldn’t be saying that if he actually knew Ripley. The person they were with him was completely different than the person they’d been in high school. It was funny how susceptible Ripley was to manipulation—either by others or to others. Strangely Palmetto had been a little different. There were days when Ripley obviously spent too much time worrying if the Vixens viewed them a specific way, but most days Ripley tried not to care. “Oh, yeah so evil.” Ripley rolled their eyes. Maybe Noah didn’t know everything about Ripley for a reason though. If they told him everything, it painted them in a bad light.

         “Maybe Lily and I are actually the same person,” Ripley gasped, widening their eyes. They were in the mood to joke around and not be serious, so they couldn’t help being a little silly. Somehow, Ripley had always liked math. It made more sense to them. An answer was right or wrong. There wasn’t any subjective opinions about the answer to math problems. They struggled with subjects where a person couldn’t be completely objective in the matter. Math made sense to them, therefore, they enjoyed it. And they really didn’t understand how people thought it was so difficult.

         If Noah didn’t want to tell Ripley who they were crushing on, then that was fine. They weren’t going to push him to spill. Valentines was going to suck for them this year. Usually, Ripley spent it getting drunk and dancing the night away or hooking up with someone. Either way, this year they didn’t feel like doing either of those things. They might not have feelings for Cade anymore, but it was unusual for Ripley not to like someone. Sure they had potential crushes, however those didn’t always pan out. Besides, Ripley was planning on spending the actual evening of Valentine’s day with Etta—because they couldn’t say no to her.

         “I’m not teasing you,” they responded, sticking their tongue out at him. Ripley had no room to talk, considering not that long ago they’d had a crush on someone. “Are you saying I’m not refined? How do I know I’m not your crush? Shit that’d suck because I’d like to think I’m a little more observant than that.” Ripley couldn’t help but laugh as they spoke. Lighthearted conversations like this felt so easy sometimes. With Noah it was difficult to be unhappy because he always acted happy. Ripley liked that about him—even if their own happiness was fake, at least for a moment they could joke around and laugh. In a way, it reminded them of being around Pip.

         “Why not? The board is a staple of every cop movie and television show! It’s the best part of every show. You get to see the stupid shit people pin that has nothing to do with the actual crime.” Ripley wasn’t the biggest fan of crime shows, but they’d watch them. “Mulder always has the best ones too.” They were going off on a tangent. “Wait, is that the one Fox that I’ve never seen like… hanging out with anyone? He literally just goes to games and practice and I assume his classes, but always has this look on his face when he’s near the rest of the Foxes like it’s an inconvenience?” Ripley eyed Noah. “This is like some bad TV trope thing: the grump and the sunshine characters getting together. Holy shit, wait, wait. Can I borrow your phone?”

Noah faked a gasp. “No way! I can’t believe my very asian, very lesbian sister is actually also my very white, very pansexual nonbinary friend!” he said, pressing his hands to his cheeks and forcing his lips to pucker obnoxiously. “You’ll have to share your body morphing secrets with me. Maybe I’ll turn into one of your siblings next,” he said mysteriously, giggling a little bit as he said so. 

And then Noah threw his head back and laughed a little bit, before patting Ripley’s leg affectionately. “No, you’re very refined. So refined. The most refined, probably,” Noah said, nodding his head, before he leaned in with teasingly hooded eyes. “And of course, you’ll always have a small hold on my heart. Nestled up right next to my love for Ryan Reynolds,” Noah sighed, patting his chest softly.

“I hope this isn’t a cop show,” Noah retorted, before he blinked at Ripley’s assessment of Basil. “Well, hang on! He isn’t that grumpy. I mean… he keeps to himself but… he’s always been pretty nice to me,” Noah said, even though he distinctly remembers that their first meeting had been a complete disaster. Basil didn’t want to get close at first, but Noah is glad he had a change of heart.

He eyed Ripley dubiously. “What are you gonna do with it?” Noah asked, even though he was already handing it to them. Knowing Ripley, they were going to change their ringtone to a stupid sappy love song or something, but Noah couldn’t help but feel a little delighted in whatever little prank Ripley wanted to pull. 

         Dancing really want something that Basil had ever felt comfortable with, regardless of knowing some basics in ballroom dancing—which weren’t useful in most situations. He tended to steer clear of parties anyway. Back when he was living with Anthony, he’d gone to a lot of parties, but it was mostly just to piss his dad off. He’d done a lot of things just to anger his dad. Now he just didn’t go to parties because he didn’t want to socialize with people. Being a shut in was better than being around a bunch of people that he really didn’t want to get to know. Basil couldn’t tell if Noah was more disappointed or relieved that he didn’t want to dance. He wanted to dance with Noah, however he also wanted to be alone with him. That thought scared him.

         This whole exchange was starting to feel awkward. Basil didn’t feel like himself. He’d never really felt like this before, nervous and afraid. There was this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach he couldn’t figure out. Every single time he was around Noah, he felt like this. When Basil wasn’t around him, he felt normal. Too many people were around, so he couldn’t ask if Noah felt the same way—and really, he didn’t think he wanted to know the answer to the question. He wasn’t here for this, he was here to play Exy. Friends were going to keep him from his goal.

         “That’s because she’s awesome,” he responded. If a person didn’t like Beyoncé, it was a clear sign to stay away from them. At least in his opinion. Basil looked around the room. The place was decorated for the occasion and he felt ridiculous for probably taking the signs from the holiday and thinking Noah liked him. The Fox was reading signs that weren’t there. Noah probably just thought about him like any friend. He saw plenty of people who were friends hold hands and there was no evidence that Noah felt anything for him. Basil was hoping that he was reading into it because he really didn’t want to hurt Noah. He was here to play Exy and get an education, romance was not even on his radar right now when there were so many other problems he had to work on.

         Basil didn’t want to leave the party this early. Then it would make it seem like he’d only come here for Noah—which, he had, but no one else needed to know that. “Maybe we can just go outside. I don’t want to leave just yet,” he said, trying to play it casual. “We can always go to the Tower later.” That was playing it cool. Basil vaguely wondered if Noah had realized that the only things he cared about were Exy and cars.

Noah felt like he was going to shake out of his skin, being around Basil. He always wanted to go somewhere private. Somewhere quieter for them. He couldn’t help but wonder what it meant, but that was something for another time. For the moment, he was happy just nodding enthusiastically and moving to step outside, his fingers brushing Basil’s wrist so they didn’t separate. 

It was quieter outside, and it didn’t smell as heavy of booze, weed, and tobacco, and Noah couldn’t help but breathe in deep. Despite the cold, he found that he liked it outside, especially since Basil was there. Speaking of which, he spun around to face the other, smiling brightly up at him. 

“It was getting kind of stuffy in there. But it seems like everyone is having a good time! I love Valentine’s Day. It’s so fun to see everyone connecting. Did you get some Valentines? I got a couple, they were all really sweet,” he said in a rush, clasping his hands together and trying hard not to seem like he was low key probing to see how he felt about his Valentine which was so so stupid. “I’ve never had someone be my Valentine though,” he continued thoughtfully, before he smiled shyly at Basil. “I bet you have though. You’re certainly handsome enough to be asked.”

         Their mood had greatly shifted this week with Etta moving down to Columbia to run her own museum and Ripley trading rooms with Nico. While they still had issues to deal with and work through, somehow they felt better than they had in months. Which seemed almost idiotic to them, but they weren’t going to complain about it. “You’re the one that’s trying to make points. Three points is better than two. That’s how numbers work.” Ripley stuck their tongue out at Noah too. “Excuse me, Noah. I am a literal piece of shit. Don’t you forget that. One of these days I’m going to take over the world, and then you’ll have to deal with my evil plans.” They were allowed to poke fun at themself, even if that sounded absolutely negative and if Jasper was around, he wouldn’t stand to hear a comment like that. Noah didn’t really pay that much attention to what Ripley said. Their self-depreciation was carefully crafted behind jokes and stupid nonsense that rarely anyone caught it.

         “Math is very important,” Ripley said, glancing over at their friend, almost rolling their eyes. “And it’s also very simple math.” The Vixen was strangely a good student. Though their first semester here at Palmetto had been a rough one, now Ripley felt like they’d found a good routine. They were able to go to class and do their homework. Coming here was first and foremost about school for them. It had also been a way to prove that they were getting better. The Vixens had been a method of therapy, to stay active, and a simple way to make friends. They supposed that that was still the case, despite sometimes feeling as if the Vixens were the cause of all their problems. Ripley was trying to be a good student. They didn’t want any reason for their moms to pull them out of school.

         Ripley thought about Noah’s statement for a moment, they still had nothing. Cute messages weren’t their style. All the Valentines they were planning to send were probably going to be cheesy science pickup lines. “’He’s more refined than that…’” Ripley said, using air quotes. “Ohhhh, Noah’s got a little crush. Who’s refined? Sure as shit isn’t me. Are you going to tell me or do I have to play Mulder for a bit and pull out my murder board?” 

Noah wrinkled his nose at Ripley, but shrugged off their evil plans goof with a laugh. “Yeah, as if you’re capable of evil. I, on the other hand,” he said, as he steepled his fingers together, “am dastardly. Mwahaha!” he said in his best dark chuckle, which was mostly just his regular giggle with his brows furrowed. 

Noah couldn’t help but huff when Ripley commented on the importance of math. “Ug, you’re just like Lily,” he said, but while it sounded derogatory, it was anything but. His sister was brilliant, just like Ripley, and he couldn’t help but feel awed by them. Yeah, Noah could do the basic math, like to figure out a tip, but he was pretty average apart from that. Lily and Ripley were something else. 

And then, in true Ripley fashion, they practically croon out that Noah had a crush and Noah immediately felt his face grow hot, covering his face with his hands. He had been side stepping call it what it was because it was so improbable and silly, but there was no way he could convince Ripley that he didn’t have a crush. Because well…. The way he was acting…. 

He shoved Ripley gently in the shoulder and peeked at him through his fingers. “Don’t tease me,” he whined, tracing the start of his Valentine as his flush persisted. It was a little embarrassing to admit, because Basil was so clearly out of his league, but he wasn’t necessarily ashamed. Basil was… well, he was handsome, and so cool, so of course people would have crushes on him! He doubted he would be the only one. 

“No, please, don’t pull out the board,” Noah groaned with a teasing grin, before he cast his eyes away. “But, it’s Basil, if you must know.”

         The game had been an intense one, and Basil still wasn’t sure what exactly to make of it. He was happy that the Foxes had won their game and proud of himself for helping—yet now he felt like he was one step closer to being part of the team. Like now he couldn’t entirely lie about not wanting to be a Fox. He wasn’t even convincing himself these days because the more the was here with the Foxes, he more he felt connected to them. Each game seemed to be more intense than the last one. Basil had a rocky start with the Foxes and not much had changed his opinion of the Foxes, but there were some moments when being a part of this team didn’t feel as terrible as he wanted it to be. Somehow, there were Foxes that still cared about him, despite his lack of effort in getting to know them all. The game had given him a reason to stay with the Foxes—and given him fewer excuses to stop being so distant from them. Perhaps there was something to being a team off the court.

         After the game and press duty, Basil had decided to get some rest because he was tired. Press duty always took a lot out of him, and because of how on edge he was watching the shootout, he was exhausted. While the rest of the Foxes probably went out on the town since they were in Los Angeles, he thought it was a better option to get some rest. He had been correct about his suspicion that his father wouldn’t show up, but being in California still wasn’t a place Basil wanted to spend time in. There honestly had been a part of him that wanted to go and celebrate the win with his teammates—show up at whatever club the majority of them were at, have fun dancing, and celebrating the win as a team. And that thought scared him so much, that he’d decided to be alone for the rest of the night.

         He almost decided against going to the Valentine’s Day party. Now that the team was back in Palmetto, Basil felt less on edge and was starting to calm down from their win. His mind was back to practical mode. The Foxes could still win, they just had to keep up the work. Basil had spent part of the day on court, trying not to let everything else distract him. Though his mind kept going back to the party, celebrating with his teammates both their win and a day spent with loved ones. It was stupid. He didn’t even have any loved ones. Basil barely appreciated being able to play Exy on a good day and he didn’t appreciate half of his teammates. People like him weren’t welcome at the party. The more time he spent on court practicing though, the more he wanted to be there. He hadn’t seen Noah since his freak out the last time they were in California—and he wanted to make up for it. By the time Basil decided to head back to Fox Tower to get ready, the party had already started.

         When he walked in, a part of him almost expected his teammates and the Vixens to just look at him and tell him to get out. No one did that and he probably was going to get away with no one paying attention to him the entire time he was here. That wasn’t the case however, when only a few moments of walking in, Noah had found him. Was he like… a Noah magnet or something? Basil smiled at him. “Thanks,” he responded, shifting from foot to foot as he looked down at Noah. “You, um, look adorable.” Why are you so awkward? he thought. “Do you… want to… I don’t know.” 

Noah wasn’t sure if it was the light making him see things, but he was pretty sure Basil seemed happy to see him. Or at least neutral about it. He didn’t turn and run or anything like that, so that had to be a good sign right? And Noah had kept his hands to himself, even though he was practically vibrating with the need to spin Basil around in a circle with his excitement. 

The compliment had him flushing a pretty crimson color, and he ducked his head, unable to stop the pleased smile that grew on his face. He wanted to play it cool, not look like a complete dope, but he couldn’t help it. He had heard that before, from his sisters, his parents, but it just… it felt different coming from Basil. It sounded different, even, and perhaps that was why it took him a couple seconds to untangle his tongue in order to answer him. 

“Oh, um, do I want to….what? Dance?” he asked, his eyebrows raising to his hairline. Noah remembered asking Basil to dance at the banquet, but that music wasn’t really anything like the music that was playing now. All harsh electro and sticky bass, stuff that Noah loved to swivel and drop his hips to in his own room, but he didn’t go out dancing like that except for with Mars and Rosie. Did… did Basil want to dance like that? With him? The thought had the heat that had started to cool in his cheeks flare back to life and his heart beat a little faster.

“Because we totally can!” he blurted, perhaps a little too fast, and he forced himself not to flap his hands like an idiot. “I just didn’t think, I dunno, that you’d like this kind of music?” 

         “Your first point was two points,” Ripley said, as they scooted in closer towards Noah, trying to see if they can catch the name on the Valentine. Ripley’s suggestion was obviously a joke to a degree. They sort of did think that negatively about themself—the only person that seemed to pick up on it besides Betsy was Jasper. Noah was obviously preoccupied with whatever Valentine he was writing to notice Ripley’s comment’s negative implications. “What are you talking about? Vile is a great word! One of the best words in the dictionary. I have a vile smile,” they laughed and then grinned at Noah. Clearly it wasn’t the vibe Noah was going for with this Valentine. “Oh, well then. I am not the person you need to ask about sweet and nice things, as I am neither. I can’t take anything seriously.” Ripley caught Noah’s blush and they became even more curiously.

         “This is actually the perfect time for me to write my own out. I don’t think I am going to have another good time to get them done with all the homework I have due this week. Please tell me why I thought it was a good idea to major in astrophysics. My brain is melting.” Ripley pulled out a piece of notebook paper. They had no idea who they were even going to send them to other than a few people that were for sure getting them. Other than those, there were still people that were questionable. Luckily, Ripley had time to think about it and bounce ideas off their friend in the meantime.

         It was clear to Ripley that whoever this one was for, meant a lot to Noah. Ripley found themself curious as to who could make their friend blush this much and decided they were going to try and pry it from Noah. Ripley felt bad because they didn’t have as much time to dedicate to their friendship with Noah and obviously some things had happened since their last conversation. If Noah was dating someone, Ripley had no idea who it was because they weren’t paying attention to any of the drama in the Den, other than the drama of their own making. Whoever was able to make Noah act like this was obviously someone special. “Okay, okay,” Ripley said, shaking their writing hand out and closing their eyes for a second. “I’m in the zone and going into Serious Ripely Mode.”

         Ripley glanced at the Valentine. “Do you even need the rhyme?” they asked. “I think I’d do anything for one of your smiles is extremely cute on its own. I’m not good at this kind of thing though. English is obviously not my strong suit. Have you asked Cade? He might be more help.” 

Noah couldn’t resist the very childish urge to stick his tongue out at Ripley, and so he did. “You don’t have to get so nit picky on me,” he complained, but he couldn’t help but smile even as he did, huffing just a little for dramatic effect. Then he was grinning and making pinching movements at Ripley’s cheeks. “Awww, why would you say that? My wittle Wipley is the sweetest pal this side of the Mississippi,” he teased.

He shrugged at Ripley’s next question. “Beats me. I couldn’t do it. You’re waaaaay smarter than me. All that math and stuff? I couldn’t do that, not at all.” Noah wasn’t a bad student, but he was much more invested in the Vixens than he was in any class he was taking. Why would he study extra when he could be practicing?

Noah hummed a little bit at Ripley’s comment, and he nodded his head slowly. “Huh. Maybe it doesn’t have to rhyme. I just thought, you know, it’s more traditional. But I think it would be too cheesy for him. Probably. He’s more… more refined than that,” Noah said, fluttering his hands in front of him as he searched for the proper words, his cheeks coloring slightly. 

When: Friday, February 16th

Who: @basilwalcott

Despite the fact that a whole day had passed, Noah could still feel himself vibrating from the win. It had been so intense! Noah had been on the edge of his seat the whole time, and his voice was hoarse from how much he had been screaming at the top of his lungs. He was sure Patch was annoyed that he kept asking him to hold him up, but he couldn’t really care about that at the moment. 

And Basil!!! Noah was bursting with pride and delight, and all he really wanted to do was tackle him in a bear hug and squeal about how cool he was! About how amazing he was on the Court! But he was swept away with the other Vixens, and Basil went to press duty and well, he just couldn’t find him after that. But if he were to be anywhere, he might be at the party, which was why Noah was practically vibrating by the wall, up on his tippy toes to try and catch a glimpse of Basil.

He was starting to wilt at the thought that maybe he just wasn’t going to show, when he caught sight of him slipping in and surveying the room cooly. Noah was already pushing through the crowd to pop up by his side. He would’ve immediately went in for a hug, but he was all too aware of the fact that Basil had ditched last time when Noah was too affectionate, so he reigned it in.

The other side of him was wondering if Basil knew about the Valentine he had sent. He ended up going with a haiku in an attempt to seem more refined. And he wondered if Basil could see through him. 

But he was more interested in practically glowing as he smiled at him, clasping his hand in front of him. “Oh my god Basil! You were so amazing on the court yesterday! I’m so glad you came because I just had to say that you were like, so cool! I swear I screamed myself hoarse!” he gushed, his eyes practically starry with the way he looked up at him. 

Olivia never really celebrated Valentines day, it was a little lonely if she could be honest, considering that she’d never really ever had a relationship. Her deepest connection she’d ever had was with Zia but that was a sister like bond of a friendship. Romantic connections? She was zero to none in that department. But recently, she found herself getting a little crush on her roommate Beretta, and it made her feel weird. She’d never had a crush or feelings or got giddy about seeing someone but all arrows pointed to that fact that it was happening and there was nothing Olivia could do to stop it. So she looked at all the heart shaped decorations and pinks with reds all over the place with wide eyes as she walked into the Vixen Den so she could ask Mars a question. But, she was stopped from her venture by a peppy sounding voice.

Glancing over, she saw Noah waving her down with request of help, so supposed she wasn’t in a rush anyways. She headed over to him as she cleared her throat, “Hey Noah…what’s up?” Olivia approached as she toyed with the sleeves of her jacket, raising a brow at his question. “Oh, uh, it depends….what do you have so far?”

Noah couldn’t help but grin at Olivia. She was sweet, but in a quieter way than most of the Foxes and Vixens. Yet, on the Court, she was something else completely. Still, Noah thought that if there was anyone who wouldn’t make fun of him for what he had so far, it would definitely be Olivia. So he didn’t hesitate at all as he turned the paper around and showed her what he had. 

Roses are red,

___________

I think I’d do anything

For one of your smiles

“I just don’t know what to do for the second line,” he admitted, a little glumly. “I’m thinking about changing the style. Do you think rhyming is too cheesy?” he asked, both nervous and excited for her feedback, no matter what it was.