& the leading man !

jason: oh haha i rehearse all of the time so

jason: do you really think that if you were capable of murder that i would tell the cops?

jason: i live with you, i wouldn't sell someone out who lives with me. i'm not an idiot, mathias.

mathias: and ur doing a Stellar job rehearsing all the time

mathias: no sarcasm promise

[ text : mathias ] oh damn man [ text : mathias ] i am so sorry about that [ text : mathias ] the police are really fucking up [ text : mathias ] do you have any idea why they think that tho?

ZAHRA: stop giving chandler shit about orson.

ZAHRA: & now that that's out of the way

ZAHRA: very bold of you to bet on jonah in a fight, of all things. bad move, believe me - i've seen him naked.

MATHIAS: i hear u but consider this:

MATHIAS: no

She nods and pours him a glass from the filter pitcher she keeps in their fridge. Their back is turned to him as he makes his movements, but when they turn and see he’s not already seated on the bed they recognize the slight awkwardness in his stance. It makes her smirk. Saffi has always liked to think that she can bring Mathias down a peg or two, that if they couldn’t be equals in theater, they could be equalized partners, or maybe that she could even have a leg up on him.

“Here,” she hands his glass to him, clears her books and highlighters off of her bed, and takes a seat on it. “Why? Because I’m a mysterious, magical, powerful person?” She teases. “Thanks, though. Why are you bringing it up, I’m sure you’re not feeling great about the whole thing.”

Taking the glass from her and using the opportunity to take a long sip, he follows her lead and sits on the bed beside her, albeit slightly more delicately. Only slightly. Mathias is tall and has an overwhelming presence; he doesn’t think he’s ever been able to shrink himself in his entire life. “Orson probably would’ve given you one of the witches, too,” he says honestly, and there’s not meant to be weight behind it. His trust in Orson is not a secret. “I just... I agree. It suits you. It just does.”

[ text : mathias ] and u didn’t try bribing her? smh your game IS slipping huh [ text : mathias ] my fans agree i look Sexy™️ as Hecate tho so i have that going for me [ text : mathias ] it’s ok, you can buy your way in somewhere else!

Jonah was surprised to find that he believed Mathias. His general predisposition was towards cynicism and pessimism, but he also knew Mathias – he’d never once seen the other perform badly, much to his own frustration. Even on an off day, Mathias could act in circles around the majority of them, and Jonah fucking hated it. However, it seemed that not even his prowess could save him from Heidi. “How did you manage that?” he asked in reference to Mathias’ theory, almost amused. “It’s been like a week, Mathias, and you could convince a fucking rock that you’re its best friend. So. Again I ask the same question: what did you mess up?”

He knew why Heidi disliked him – it was how everyone felt about him generally, so why should she be any different? – but after so many years of Orson whispering in his ear that perfection had a name and it was Mathias Knight, it was hard for him to believe that she would discount Mathias so quickly too.

Gulping down the rest of his drink and pressing his tongue to his teeth as the liquor burned its way down his throat, he raked a hand through his messy hair and tried to catch the bartender’s eye to order himself another. “I never thought it would be like this,” he sighed, loosened by the liquor, honesty slipping out of him like ripe fruit falling from a tree. “I thought there’s no way anything can be worse than losing to you. Than the look on Orson’s face when you don’t measure up to what he wants – not that you’d know what that feels like,” he added, humorless laugh punctuating the sentence.

Drink refilled in front of him, he pulled it towards him as he added, bitterness permeating every syllable, “And, to add insult to fucking injury, I’m Hudson’s fucking understudy. I guess Orson isn’t the only one who knows how to give a backhanded complement…”

The bitter thing in him coils tightly in his chest for a moment, makes him press his lips tightly together. What Jonah says is the truth, isn’t it? As annoying as Mathias is, there’s something about him that draws people towards him -- charisma, definitely, charm, and also just the energy. People feel like they’re on top of the world when they’re with him. People feel like they’re important, just as important as he is, when they’re with him. Beneath the glitter, beneath of boisterous laughter and mesmerising talent, Mathias is still the type of person people want to be friends with, whether for good reasons or not. 

But Jonah’s insistence that that wasn’t the case makes Mathias roll his eyes, just a little. “Even she said my performance was the best,” he says, gritted teeth and all. The confusion in his own voice bleeds out. “She said I was the best too. We all know it. She said it. She said my audition was the best she’d seen that day.” He pauses, takes another long sip of his drink, before adding, “She doesn’t like me, and she’d rather jeopardise the whole play to make me know that.”

It’s the closest thing he’s come to a valid reasoning for it, for choosing Hudson as the lead instead of him.

He glances at Jonah, says with a precise, casual balance of deadly seriousness and light ease, “I wouldn’t think on that too much. Losing to me, that is. Everyone does, you’re hardly ever the first.” He’s thinking of more reassuring things to say, if you could call it that -- Mathias isn’t known for support. He’s thinking of more reassuring things to say, but he stops abruptly when Jonah says --”You’re Hudson’s understudy?”

An awful taste in his mouth, nothing to do with the alcohol.

Her head is chaos. She’s unable to separate one thought from another. They run into each other, her anxieties and her fears. But there’s relief too - gratitude that her peers didn’t point their fingers at her, or Jonah, or even Harry. This comfort is quickly smothered by Chandler, the fact her secrets were splashed across campus, the fact that she’s a person of interest in a murder Helen knows she isn’t guilty of. 

So she runs away. She’s always been a master of that craft.

Glancing up at Mathias, Helen’s heart can’t bring itself to summon its ordinary fluttering. It’s replaced instead by a cool rage, angry on her best friend’s behalf. “Temperature is subjective.” She doesn’t care whether that’s factually accurate or not. At his offer, she briefly shakes her head before reconsidering. “Sure.” Desperate times, right? A beat later, and she summons the courage to look him straight in the eye. “Why do you hate Chandler so much?”

He’s already passing her a cigarette before she’s confirmed it, and then pulls another out for himself. To say he still doesn’t immediately recognise her would be the truth; really, he assumes she’s from a lower year, and he’s always been easy with making friends. He lights his own first before he holds his hand out, clicking the lighter and waiting for her to lean forward.

And then she mentions Chandler, and suddenly he’s got a name to a face. At some point, he’s spoken to Helen to get her contact name on his phone. And he’s most certainly spoken to her on previous occasions. But it’s only now can he finally string together the pieces of it all, and something so small should not make him so triumphant, but it does. “Helen,” he says, with a satisfied nod. Then, he frowns, finally processing the question. “Uh. Because she’s an awful person?”

jason: hey i saw you were rehearsing

jason: didn't want to bother you so i left the room

mathias: o bless u i wasn't rehearsing

mathias: like i need to rehearse fuckin king duncan lmao

“Oh, look at you, smooth talker,” she teases, closing the door behind them. She won’t deny that she often misses his straightforwardness. He could be obnoxious for sure, but his honesty was reassuring, like a cool breeze. They always knew where they stood with Mathias, and in a community as often uncertain as the fourth years were, that assurance was a breath of fresh air.

“Well, now that you’re here, I may as well be a good host. Would you like something to drink? To eat?”

He’s not drunk, or at least, no drunker than he’s been all day, so all he says is, “Water’ll be great, thanks.” Walks further into the room, towards the bed automatically to sit, but then pauses last minute. The movement is odd, something different from his usually confident, self-assured way, but being around Saffi does that, these days. Mathias is bold and brash and impulsive, but he doesn’t want any sudden movements to scare Saffi away from... Whatever they’re doing lately. 

[ text : mathias ] aww says the person who texted me first. it’s ok i won’t tell. [ text : mathias ] give it up for our boy duncan

it’s a beautiful morning in alderidge and teddy is feeling happy. lately, he’s been feeling like that. despite everything, things are working out for him. coffee in hand, he throws a genuine smile in mathias’ way as he sits next to him. he wonders if he should say something about the fact that they’ll be playing father and son, duncan and malcolm. but teddy knows mathias way better than he’d like to admit. he knows he would only sneer at the comment. adding salt to the wound of not getting macbeth.

teddy laughs and nods his head. “my notes?”, he asks. “you know i am not the smartest in class. why don’t you ask someone else? harry maybe?” teddy shrugs his shoulders. he really wants to bring up the malcolm and duncan topic, but instead he bites his lip. “you weren’t in class yesterday?” he asks, though it sounds more like an assertion. “is something wrong? are you feeling well?”

“i tried harry, but the oddest thing -- she gave me a blank look, so i don’t think she really heard me,” mathias says, and then squints as if trying to recall the moment earlier that morning. it doesn’t even occur to him, really, that harry might’ve simply pretended she never heard him -- but that was mathias for you, ever always caught up in his own drama that he forgot others were reacting around him.

he butters his toast as a way not to look teddy in the eye in the aftermath of his question, waits a beat to take a bite and says, “nah, i’m not sick. sometimes you just need a day off, you know? had much more fun wandering around the grounds and drinking -- probably more fun than you, shut up in class with heidi and that.” at that, mathias grins, as if all is well, but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. it feels a bit embarrassing, to crumble in any way in front of teddy of all people.

( OUT OF CHARACTER ! ) -- me? too lazy to make a photoshop post of each individual one so i’m going to instead caption it? bet

(l-r, top row)  1 - posting a headshot bc he’s a vain motherfucker 2 - abundance of selfies on his feed. he’s giving the people What They Want 3 - josie stole his phone to post a selfie of them

(l-r, bottom row) 1 - hehe another selfie but this one shirtless, absolutely knows this is a thirst trap 2 - josie and him being bougie mfs!!!!  3 - he thinks he’s funny for Vandalism