the marionette.

Walid sighed as they put their silly little tv show on pause, cutting off everything by slamming - silently - their laptop closed and setting it on the desk above their head. With everything going on lately, they couldn't focus on catching up on their UK television. Seated in their spot under one of the tables on the top floor of the library - surrounded by stuffy autobiographies nobody cared enough for - had always been the best way to simply leave the world behind and pretend they were in rainy England.

Only they were certain the British wouldn't think to haunt a school as a prank with secret messages on blogs and flyers. Or perhaps they watched the wrong tv shows.

They heard footsteps a few rows of books off, and scrambled out from under the table, hitting their head in the process, which toppled over the stack of books laying there, which collided with the cups they'd smuggled into the library, and all of that combined made a pretty banging rukkus. "Oh bloody hell!" Walid yelled when their foot caught on the leg of a chair and they sprawled out of their hiding spot, laying face-down among the bookcases.

"Please ignore me and my shame, as I wallow in self-pity."

which was why it was a shock to her system when there were a series of crashes nearby, each more concerning than the last. she'd been deep in thought, trying to find just the right word to conclude her paper, when she let her more curious instincts take over and lead her in what seemed to be the right direction.

there weren't any additional crashes to guide her, but it didn't take her long to track down the person on the ground. from there, it wasn't difficult to deduce what must have happened.

"i can't do that, unfortunately," lore frowned, her expression soon shifting given the amusing picture before her. "are you okay? you have to at least let me help you up." an outstretched hand accompanied her words.

if you ever wanted to be alone with your thoughts, the rehearsal rooms were the best place on campus for it. sofia swore by it. mostly because they were sound proof. it meant you weren't going to be harassed with overstimulating noise from everyone around you.

this time of the day, they were mostly quiet. its why sofia found herself here. it's when she enjoyed practicing. while she often welcomed an audience, she didn't want one while practicing a new song. while she didn't make mistakes often, she wanted to be the only one around to witness when she did.

heading to her favorite room, the brunette was disappointed to hear it was occupied. coming upon it, the sound of someone playing the piano from within greeted her. looking through the window on the door, ready to tell off whoever was inside, sofia paused when she recognized the fellow student.

perhaps in another life she would have found no reason to engage with lore, but a request from her mother to make friends with the girl could not go ignored. shockingly, sofia found she enjoyed lore more then she had originally anticipated.

"no, yeah, i'm fine," she insisted, the words ringing false even to her own ears. but lizzie was a sore subject between the two of them, and it felt better to divert the conversation rather than press at what could be an old wound.

it wasn't long ago that lore had prioritized her blossoming friendship with lizzie over the one she had with sofia, turning down the thespian's invites and attention in favor of the blazing sun that had been the school's golden girl. sofia was a shining star, to be sure, but in record time lore's new orbit had been set, and she could not (and would not) break away.

that choice had made their every interaction since a little awkward. and now? lizzie was dead, and lore was on the fast track to orbiting around kit instead. the situation hadn't changed, there was simply a new iteration.

and it was time for a change of subject.

"were you wanting to practice in here? i can leave," lore suggested, standing up from her spot on the bench. "i know auditions must be coming up."

               her  shift  should  be  over  by  now  —  or  is  time  just  going  by  too  slowly?  by  now,  blue  can't  tell.  all  they  know  is  that  her  feet  have  begun  to  ache  from  going  up  and  down  the  stairs  to  fetch  merchandise  and  to  put  it  in  place,  so  she's  more  than  glad  when  her  shift  partner  decides  to  take  over,  leaving  her  on  the  counter  of  second  chance  threads,  watching  as  no  one  comes  and  goes.  they  are  so  bored  that  they  begin  to  go  through  the  inventory  list  on  the  computer  and  the  reserved  orders;  the  lilt  of  the  door's  bell  comes  as  the  best  sound  in  the  world  when  someone  walks  in.  until…  well,  she  sees  who  it  is.  walk  out  and  leave.  walk  out  and  leave.  the  silent  prayer  echoes  in  her  head  as  she  watches  lore  comes  in  instead.  “hey.  um,  i  need  to  take  my  break  soon  so  this  can  be  quick.”  it's  a  bit  of  a  lie  —  they  have  no  idea  when  their  co-worker  will  return.  “i  can  try  to  find  someone  else  to  attend  you,  i  mean,  if  you  want?”  she  cringes,  forgetting  any  attempt  to  play  this  out  cooly.  “i  think  you  had  a  reserve  for…a  book?  there's  also  something  else  under  your  surname.  a  fluffy  sleeved  sweater?  is  it  for,  like,  a  clueless  costume  party?”

it was an ice bucket challenge level of surprise, to hear █████'s voice again after so long. and yet, it had been unavoidable. montclair was not a large school, and they could change their name and avoid lore all they wanted, but the universe had a funny way of merging the past and the present when it wanted to.

all at once, lore was standing both in the thrift shop and in her childhood home, memories replaying in her mind of the last time they'd spoken face to face, history being rewritten as they were forced (by society) to interact then and there. lore was not the same girl she'd been all those years ago, when she'd shut █████ out of her life rather than turn to her as a replacement sister. and yet, patterns were repeating. the losses kept coming. and lore kept turning to others to fill the void.

was it time to apologize for the past, or was it still business as usual? glancing at █████'s nametag, it didn't take long for a decision to be made. and lore, as expected, took the easy way out.

"j-blue," she nodded in acknowledgment, the name not slipping easily from her mouth. "no, it's fine. i'm just stopping in to grab the book and the... sweater." the clueless of it all did not give the girl confidence in what had been selected for her, but she worked to get a smile on her face anyway. "clueless is in right now, actually. i imagine you'll probably be selling a ton of fluffy sweaters this winter."

she hadn't been expecting to speak to anyone when she settled into a bench near the yacht club way after hours, and she'd been alone for quite some time. long enough, it seemed, that her breath could no longer be seen when she spoke. the chill in the air had only been staved off by her mittens and the hot tea she held between her hands, and even that was cooling by the second. she was not long for this world (this world being staying outside in the middle of the night in january).

yet she stayed. and continued to speak, the unexpected nature of the conversation prompting a genuine response.

"my family used to go when i was a kid - my parents were big on teaching us about constellations when we took our more remote vacations. and then science camp was in the middle of nowhere, so i got very well acquainted with the stars. even though there are too many lights out here, it's still the best spot in greenwich to see them, i think."

on identity

WHERE: The Fairfax Courtyard

"What did I miss?" Stoic as ever, Noah had just landed back in Connecticut after spending the last four days in San Francisco. His grandfather hosted a memorial luncheon for his mother, leaving the Hart to plaster a cheerful glee around extended family and Ludwig business partners. Noah hardly said more than a few words to his father and their partner and had become good friends with the bartender all weekend. He welcomed returning to Montclair as soon as possible and hoped not much had surfaced in his absence. "Did you do something with your hair?"

until, of course, they did.

parties, drinks, it's the same old story. one thing leads to another and by the end of the night you're wasted and spilling your guts out to someone with which you'd previously only discussed the weather and which little appetizers were the best. noah (lizzie's forever boyfriend, even if they'd broken up some time ago) and lore (lizzie's devoted follower), having a heart to heart for one night only.

the night was a blur, a blackout drunk kind of evening, but she had stunning clarity regarding the one conversation she wished she could forget - everything she said, everything he said, just how pathetically she'd confided in him. every time she'd seen him since, it had played on a loop in her mind, accompanied by the nagging suspicion that he didn't remember a single moment of it.

it was better that way, surely. but until she knew it for a fact, she was treading lightly. and awkwardly.

"oh. uh, no. it's just... down. why? does it look bad?" she asked, noah's comment about her hair catching her off guard.

WHERE: The Montclair Quad

The sun was shining— a welcome sight given the gloom that had settled over the campus since Lizzie's death. The secret blog added fuel to the fire, making the tension in the air palpable. Zora didn’t thrive long in such an environment. Although her slight optimism was met with skepticism, someone needed to find the positive in this situation. “Macaron for your thoughts?” she offered, spotting a familiar figure relaxing on the quad. “They're leftovers from my aerodynamics class. I never knew Professor Blake had such refined tastes, considering their favorite food is hot dogs.” The Australian professor was one of the quirkiest instructors she had encountered in her studies. “How's your day going?”

to surely no one's surprise, lore was a worrier. so as she sat on a bench in the quad, flash cards for her quantum physics class temporarily abandoned at her side, she was ruminating on the blog. the threat. the truth that was out there and the secrets yet to be revealed. what did it mean? who knew what? and did anyone else know about the call lizzie had made to her that night?

lore was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice when zora appeared nearby. it was only thanks to the visual cue of the box in the girl's hands that she was able to connect the dots and determine what was on offer.

"don't mind if i do," she answered, popping a light blue treat into her mouth. zora's presence was a welcome distraction, as was the more lighthearted topic. therefore it was easy to manage a smile as she first addressed the question she'd been asked. "nothing terribly exciting going on for me right now, as per usual. i'm hoping your day's been better...?" but back to the more unusual topic. "how do you know that, by the way? the hot dog thing. was that your class ice breaker question, or?"

she just hadn't pegged marina hawthorn as one of those people. i almost didn't recognize you. one comment and lore's careful smile began to falter. what's that supposed to mean? she wanted to say, the words immediately sounding an alarm. instead, she went with a murmured. "i don't feel so in my element. i'm just... trying."