full moon growing up

Why was he mad? If he hadn’t wanted to do it, then why didn’t he just not? Was it his family? Ugh. They were trying to impress his family, and if Ghanee was to solidify as the model girlfriend, then she couldn’t allow any emotional turmoils to put that in jeopardy. Ghanee leaned forwards.

"What's his deal?" Lane's voice, concerned. 

"I'unno," Everett's voice, oblivious, around a mouthful of food. 

Byron tsked, and there was the brief sound of forks being picked up. Unexpectedly, Eli spoke,

After a moment, cautiously, he raised his head to stare at the wall. His eyes were red-rimmed and his face eerily blank, but after another moment he blinked and his face seemed to start up again, re-boot the way a computer might. He frowned, rubbed his eyes, and apologized brusquely,

"What a-" she began between kisses "—gentleman. I- -swoon."

However, as the footsteps approached, Ghanee’s face smoothed and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. If they were gonna look like a couple having an ellicit make out session, then they were gonna have an ellicit make out session. Jumping so she sat on the countertop, Ghanee wrapped her legs comfortably around Dan’s waist. Just as the door swung open, she pulled Dan closer, letting her hand wander a bit. 

"Oh, guh-ross," Everett said loudly, and there was the clatter of forks on plate as silverware was set down. "They're-- okay, no," he said plainly, brow furrowed, face pinched together in evident disgust. He took a step back, and let the door swing shut. From the other side, he could be heard clearly;

"Ever since he's gotten back, he's been so weird."

At Everett's words, Dan's hand fell from Ghanee's waist and his flush deepened from where it already tinged his cheeks a dark pink. He fell silent, staring at the floor, and turned around to kick a cabinet savagely.

"I think that, well, she’ll come to you. If something bothers her, she’s very likely to confront it, you know? Very…upfront."  She looked up at him and gazed into his eyes. “So, really, make yourself easy to find for her. It might not be the smoothest conversation, but after she is given time to cool down a bit, she’d do it.”  Haley was very angry, though. I’m not sure how long it’d take. 

He pressed his lips together and was only moved into action when her words clicked into place-- he looked at the door, and at her, and shrugged apologetically.

"Can I-- okay, hear me out-- okay, no time for that-- close your mouth, you look dumb-- mmph!"

He took a large bite of turkey and swallowed thickly, and then managed not to gasp for air but instead drank half of his glass of water. 

"I’ve seen this one!" She announced, a little giddy with the knowledge. Maybe it’d been a long time, but she had seen it. She glanced to Corin and grinned,

"Seriously?"

She wanted to yell at him and hit him and hug him simultaneously. On one hand, he was a fucking moron. On the other hand, the fucking moron had also risked— And accepted— expulsion on her behalf, or perhaps just on behalf of the truth: She wasn’t ready to give herself too much, or frankly, any credit.

Instead, she shook her head and exhaled shakily, looking at Duncan with befuddlement:

"Jesus. Seriously? Seriously?" She laughed a little nervously, then a little louder, and her hands flew over her mouth, "Duncan! You idiot, I could fuckin’ hug you!"

In that instant she didn’t give a shit if Kirin or Haley thought she was— Well— A murderer. Whatever! They didn’t have to believe it. She knew plenty about Bos that wasn’t too great, either, just from the rumor mill. And Haley? Well, she had a bit of firsthand knowledge on that particular subject. Besides, Pierce kept to herself and her skating, mostly: She wasn’t the type to blab. So someone else heard and spread it? Only a rumor.

Only a rumor now. Sure, there’d be lots of— Damage control— But what would the police believe? Evidence or rumors?

"Yeah, yeah, okay. Don't hug me, okay? Wouldn't want anyone to think," he raised his eyebrows and waggled them, "than anything was, ah, up between us, y'know? Who knows, Corin Falstaff could accuse me of murder next. Now there's a story," he mused. 

"Vengeful Boyfriend Accuses Star Detective of Murdering His Own Case," he announced, and looked around sheepishly for witnesses to his ridiculousness-- thankfully, there were none, and he rolled his shoulders, finally relaxed enough to grin widely at her.

"I can do those from here. Doesn't take much skill. 'Chess club meeting in room 329. Bring your own rooks'," he said in a dry, bored monotone, but he cracked an attempt at a grin though it soon faded. 

Haley raised a brow and stared at Duncan for what almost felt like an eternity. She then moved her gaze to look over at Kirin. The other girl across the table looked a little pale, sort of shaken, and it seemed to take almost all of her willpower to simply ask the question. 

Her face grew red, and Kirin sunk lower into her seat. “Th-there were a bunch of us when the body was found. Just cause May knew a few things a-about dead b-bodies doesn’t mean sh-she did it.”

Kirin knew a few things about dead corpses too. Of course, most of them where deer, but animals, humans… What’s the difference when they’re dead? But what made Duncan so sure that it was May if his story didn’t match up with Gaius’ version—

He grinned, but it dropped soon. "That was a joke," he added, slightly, hurt, but sighed and ran a hand through his hair. 

He lit up and it made her heart lurch and her stomach tightened. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed that—- Or maybe she’d just been denying it. She swallowed and laughed a little,

"No! No, that’s— That’s kinda neat, actually. I didn’t know that. So, what, they just become one hunk of metal?"

She whistled, “Sounds intense. They just go THUNK and colide, just like that? And then they’re one.”

"Oh, Pretty in Pink is on!" he said, and added, "I mean, I know it's a kinda-- silly move and all, but I like it." He switched channels and watched briefly as Molly Ringwald and Andrew McCarthy kissed in front of a dilapidated house.

Andie reminds me of you, he almost said, but bit down on the words. May was smarter than he was, she'd figure it out. And, Corin figured, if he'd had a worse haircut and clothes from the eighties and, well, functioning legs, he figured he'd be a pretty good stand-in for Blaine.

She raised her brow, “Record away if it makes you feel better. I really don’t care. I’m not here for recordings.” She frowned and removed her hands, empty and threatless. She realized too late how suspicious she’d looked, and felt a little guilty—

But only a little. Shifting her weight she looked Duncan up and down. Kinda scrawny, definitely nerdy— Probably faster than he looked. She could probably out run him, but she’d be winded, she figured.

Soooooo.

Right. Taking a deep breath, she met his eye and asked,

"Did you seriously fucking tell people you thought I murdered Chad? Because— People are talking, and it’s not a great position to be in, y’know?”

"May Forester, close to three PM on a Tuesday afternoon in March," he said, loudly and clearly, and set it in the space between them.

He bit the inside of his cheek as he searched for words and started without them,  "Okay, okay-- wait, seriously, okay, I have an-- explanation, or whatever, i guess-- okay, seriously, I didn't mean to. Like, honestly." He punctuated 'honestly' with a nod and his eyes widened, as if honesty in him was hard to come by and he knew as much.

"I was with Kirin Pierce and Haley Bos-- wait, no, switch that, Haley Pierce and Kirin Bos, at the coffee shop, right?" He didn't wait for her confirmation. "And so I, okay, yeah, my fault-- accidentally, like, slipped up. Told them, yeah, okay. Explained myself, too," he added, with a suspicious look to her. 

"No clue what happened to it next," he said. "There were, yeah, okay, my fault again, like, tons of people there-- but I told them to keep it down, okay? Honestly." 

He dropped his head to perch his chin on his fist and his elbow on his knee, tracing patterns in the dusty dirt with the toe of his shoe. "When you told me you didn't-- you know, kill him, I tore up all my notes and told the administration I had nothing. Figured you needed this place more than I do." He shrugged. 

At Duncan’s approach she tossed her head, the hood falling back, and exhaled:

"Fuck, Detective. I thought you’d bailed. Glad to see you’ve got some stones.”

She glanced to the gym behind her and frowned, “They’re a racket, huh?” She’d had some time to calm, to mellow out. Rehearsal wasn’t until five, and the ability to escape the rather dramatic and idiotic notions of her pressing reality was enough to make her relax slightly. Sure, she was still hell-bent on wanting to punch Duncan’s face in, but she considered that a pretty normal reflex to…Well, Duncan.

"Ever see one of them fall?" She lifted a brow, "It’s like magic, I swear to god. They squeal and then — It’s like two water balloons hitting plywood. Then they bounce back up and start again. Fucking amazing."

has she killed you yet if she did just type back 1 wait

Duncan pressed his lips together to smother a grin and glanced back at May, but his repressed smile soon turned to a vaguely disgusted look of protest as he said, "I am not," with as much gall as he could muster, but still he let his backpack slide from his shoulder onto his arm, and he set it down, instinctively reaching for something from the back pocket. He unzipped it and brought out a square, smooth plastic box with several buttons--

"Tape recorder," he said. "My hand was cramping up." He eyed her, and then dropped his gaze, "Okay, okay, I'll put it away. Sheesh."

He sat, and raised a brow,

"…You’re right. Not even probably right, just— Right. Thanks. I mean," She glanced to him holding his nose and tried to not smile but failed at it and felt stupid and aloof, and muttered, "Thanks for not being what I thought you mighta’ been. You’re a nice surprise."

She shrugged, “And Darc’ may suck at… A lot. But she’s got her good points. And there’s plenty you don’t suck at,” She nudged him, and in doing so, moved slightly closer.

The television was distracting. She blinked, then asked, “Hey, what show is this?” 

"I think it's about space travel," he said, a little doubtfully. Did'ja know, if two pieces of metal touch in space, they become permanently stuck together?" he added, and gestured to explain,

"No, really! Two pieces of metal without any coating on them will make a single piece in the vacuum. This doesn’t happen on earth-- 'cos the atmosphere puts a layer of oxidized material between the surfaces. 'Course, you'd think it'd be a big problem on the space station but as most tools used there, are, you know, from earth, so they'e already coated with some kinda material."

Ghanee would have to talk to Eli. His healing was faster, but so fast that he can get away with this sort of thing with no one noticing. 

"Things like that don't just-- change. Look, I know Eli, and he's too scared of--