ʎɹǝsıɯ

Honor was always the designated driver when it came to parties in high school. The only times she would drink were when her sister threw a party while their parents were gone, which was next to never. So Honor never really got the chance to build up a…tolerance. She walks around with two cups in her hands and slowly sips from both of them. “Hey,” she says as she walks over to someone. “Can you pretty please hold one of my drinks for me while I answer one of the three thousand texts I just got? I can feel my phone going off and it’s torture.” She holds out one of her cups.

– “OKAY, MATT, YOU HAVE A POINT…WE COULD TOTALLY GIVE THEM A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY.” she beams in his direction, and there’s a lot that’s unstated. allie and matt have always gotten along, always happy to spend late nights in the kitchen joking around, but now she needs his company more than ever. she’s pretty sure that matt knows that she bakes more frequently to relieve stress anyway – he’d spent so much time cheering her up last year when she and hudson fell out, and…now she wants to be here for him, too. in all the ways that he’s there for her. allie pouts playfully in response to the way he chuckles, but it makes her giggle too, blinking excessively to get any of the dust out of her eyes. her heart softens at the way matt calls her ‘angel,’ falling silent at the gentle movements of his hands, and it occurs to her that he’s more than she deserves. “ what ? ” she wrinkles her nose at him, “ don’t say it like that, now i KNOW i look like a whole mess. ” 

“Come on, isn’t Georgetown like that as well?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at Matt. They couldn’t be saints over there, why were they expecting them to be well behaved here as well? Hadn’t they seen enough parties at Gallagher to know these kids also liked to have fun at the expense of some substances? “I’m sure if you ask in the dorms, there will be a dealer per floor. So why would it be any different here?” She challenged his idea, then broke into a little laugh. 

Ella took that failed attempt of a hit, feeling like her chest was burning for a few seconds later. “Really?” Her voice was still strained, a couple more coughs and she felt like she could breathe properly. “What happened on your first time? I’m sorry, it’s kind of a little hard to imagine something worse than what I just did.” Ella laughed at her own expense. “Why do people even like doing this?” She questioned, but either way, took the blunt from him and took a second hit, one a little less deep, a little slower this time. Alright, it wasn’t this bad. Only a little burn. She could handle that. “I’ll take your word for it. How long does it take to hit?”

                    Matt shrugs.    “ Yeah but Gallagher just hits differently. “     Sure, in one way or another, Georgetown has that elite status as what people would like to describe it, same with Gallagher. But stepping into Gallagher is just stepping into a whole new dimension. No one knows about it. Matt would sure know.    “ In Georgetown, you can go out as you please. How do people get things they want to get is just beyond me. We can’t even get UberEats here, you know. “

             ‘   but  i  say  a  lot  of  bullshit  ,  ’   steph  says  with  a  wink  .   she’s  got  to  keep  morale  up  somehow  .   not  that  anyone  told  her  that  .   she  kind  of  just  sets  her  own  standards  for  herself  .   it  is  what  it  is  .    ‘  a  fair  amount  .   a  part  of  me  is  ready  to  risk  it  .  ’    though  she  knows  hudson  will  probably  try  to  talk  her  out  of  it  ,   because  that’s  who  he  is  .    ‘  is  anyone  friends  with  someone  who  can  get  in  and  out ?  easily ?  ’  

   A new episode was starting and Jake was already laughing out loud. It was his favorite cartoon for several reasons, some of which he couldn’t go out talking about out loud. His attention was outdrawn to the boy’s voice, he seemed to have just arrived. Jake was glad to know that someone else had already seen the cartoon, even if it was in another language. “Really, what language are you used to?” He wondered giving space on the comfortable sofa so that the other could sit next to him. “For sure, I can search for a caption, or you can try to see it like this, I do it sometimes, when I have to learn another language. It’s a trick.”

– MATT ALWAYS SEEMS TO GET HER — whether it’s sensing the slightest cadence of her mood or knowing just what to say, he understands. she’s not sure whether they simply click naturally or they just pay close attention to each other, but either way, it works. his smile works, and she feels safer – better, like none of that stuff from earlier in the day matters, because they have cookies to bake, a job to do. “ yeah, ” she nods, “ we do have each other, after all. we’ll get through it. ” she shakes her head, “ honestly, i think we’re the only people that can pull it off ! paul and mary would be so impressed ! ” she grins, remembering simpler days, where she and matt would binge the great british baking show in her dorm on saturday nights, talking animatedly about things they wanted to try – and which contestants they were rooting for. it’s so cramped lately, it’s hard to steal away for moments that are just theirs. baking cookies past 1 a.m. seems to do the trick tonight. she puts out all the ingredients, finding the bowls and getting started on the first steps. “ i think it’s the perfect time to make up our own recipe anyway. ” she’s a bit enthusiastic in her endeavor, so much so that when she opens the bag of flour, it sort of explodes. allie sputters and coughs, wiping dust out of her eyes, “ oops. ” 

She probably wouldn’t have been able to do it. She lacked patience, and usually everything she held in her hands ended up broken  or bent up somehow– it was safer for Matt to do it. She looked at him with attention, as if she were trying to learn as well, despite all the teasing she had done for him not being able to do it on a first attempt. “You should’ve bought them rolled up– I’m sure they do that– right?” She lived in New York her entire life and she had never come in contact with a weed supplier? It was hardly believable, but very much true. 

Ella looked at the rolled blunt for a long second, then took it in her hands and bit her bottom lip. “You have to promise… You have to promise you won’t laugh at me when I cough my lungs out– and… remember not to take seriously anything I say when I’m high. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I should warn you,” she said– she probably should’ve made him sign a contract or something. Ella looked at him one last time, the blunt now between her lips. She lit it up and inhaled as she imagined would work with a cigarette as well, her eyes not leaving his for the moment… and then she started coughing with little to no control right after she passed the blunt back. “Well,” cough, “that did not go as smoothly as I thought it would,” Ella laughed.

             “ I’m not sure that was an option. “   He admitted, rubbing his nape. Matt had reached the sort of comfort with Ella not to be embarrassed by the revelation. Not like he thought it was a big deal for her despite her teasing him. He was also comfortable that he is willing to take hits with her, something he only does with his friends. Ella is definitely a friend.   “ It’s my first time to get a weed directly from a dealer actually. Gallagher never fails to surprise me. “   

Dimitri chuckled under his breath, a hearty sound that came from his chest. “Of course. That’s why they sent the terrifying Russian to come and get you,” he joked back, his voice void of amusement until he cracked another smile at the other. “I’m just kidding. You’re from Georgetown, right? I’m just your… really late welcoming committee,” he lied smoothly, offering his hand to him. “Dimitri Orlov.” 

           ‘  of  course  you’re  on  your  laptop  ,  ’    she  teases  him  ,   joining  matt  with  her  own  laptop  .   steph  is  SMART  -  but  also  the  type  of  girl  who  would  smoke  a  joint  an  hour  before  starting  the  homework  that  was  due  in  less  than  three  hours  .    ‘  studying ?  ’  steph  jokes  ,   leaning  into  his  space  to  peer  at  his  screen  before  blinking  at  him  .    ‘  it’s  definitely  weird  .   i  …  want  to  do  more  research  .   ask  the  students  ,   or  the  suttons  -  or  ,   OH  ,   break  into  a  banned  part  of  the  library  .   –  but  a  target ?  ’    she  swallows  ,   doesn’t  want  to  cause  chaos  ;   but  between  the  bombing  and  the  lockdown  …  they  aren’t  exactly  out  of  the  picture  .     ‘  i  …  wouldn’t  be  surprised  if  we  are  .  ’  

a hand moves to the back of his own neck, warming the chilling bumps that appear at the question of taking a shot of him. any other kind of shot would bring the same feeling, but at least those would be less invasive. “ i uh … yeah, sure. do i just - ” he’s dancing a two step accidentally as he moves back and forth. “ just stand here, or … here or ? ”

– “OH, COME ON, DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE NOT USED TO IT BY NOW?” SHE TEASES, grinning at him. she can still tell that something’s bothering him, that the smile on his face doesn’t reach his eyes, but she’s not exactly the sort of person to say something about it – or to KNOW what to say about it anyway. so, she tries to act normal instead. “ yeah, the chefs are like…world class. they work us hard, but they treat us good. ”

Dimitri came up to the young man he had been assigned to all but protect like it was a matter of life or death, which, in reality, it was. He was to keep him safe no matter what, and despite knowing that this was part of his job now, it was much different than the tasks that he been assigned by his father. It was just a slow adjustment. “Hey, man,” he said, the words awkward with his accent, heavy in his mouth. He was going for friendliness, but at 6′3 and full Russian, it was a little difficult. “Were you heading this way?” he asked, pointing toward the common room. // @mattcastt​

“I thought you said you knew how to do it!” Ella teased when he was taking too long. How long had it been since the last time she laughed this freely? Quite some time, considering she wasn’t drunk or intoxicated– yet. That was the plan. She was quite nervous, of course– having never done it before, but there was always a first time and Matt seemed like good company for a first… right? Ella surely thought so. How did they wound up by themselves instead of a large group was still a mystery, but one Ella didn’t care much to solve. Interaction with one person was much easier, less stressful. “Alright– you gonna start or should I say fuck it and give it a go?”  (( @mattcastt​ ))