how long?

         milos knows exactly what he’s doing in bringing up certain subjects; ricky and milos are always pushing at each other’s poetry-lined buttons with reckless abandon. it’s probably for the best that the two only see each other during club meetings. “ greatest material? ” art is subjective is an objection that rings in his head, but he simply can’t help himself. “ the poets of the harlem renaissance and the confessionalists beg to differ, ricky. ” there’s a roll of his eyes at the playground comment, but he manages to reign himself in as the other takes in his words. “ not a word, ” it’s quite the confessional, in interacting with ricky, but he felt the need to be honest. milos hesitates for a second at the offer, then a familiar phrase flashes through his mind; when in rome, do as the romans do. sitting with enemies and sharing pleasantries was certainly a roman sentiment. “ sure, why not? ”

          “ who would i be to stop you from doing something you want to do? i’m okay with getting eaten second, really, ” the joking manner is almost foreign to milos’ tongue, and it likely would have gone unnoticed had it not been for the laughter to escape him. “ if we’re both gonna be monster chow, wouldn’t it be like, traditionally gentlemanly to let you go first? ” it’s clear that a bit of his anxiety is beginning to wear off the closer they get away from the closed off rooms and hallways; however, his heart does take a dip into his stomach when alex starts peering down below. “ then, i guess i’m a new year’s resolution kind of person. i think i need to read someone new, but i don’t know who yet... any suggestions? ” he watches her closely as the joint is lit, puffed twice, then subsequently it finds his hand. he’s quick to allow a long drag to fill his lungs, and it’s held there as alex speaks. “ don’t do anything stupid, ” is his response that comes out with the smoke, even though he knows alex is very keen on doing stupid things. “ i know you can heal yourself, but we don’t need you getting injured. ”

          milos can only shrug. alex’s counterpoint is definitely a good one; it’s just a little weed. “ doesn’t that make us easier to catch, though? looking for smaller openings... they’re always more vulnerable. ” it’s his athena-esque strategic brain at work, trying to calculate movements the administration will take throughout this process in italy. it’s obvious he’s not too sure how to articulate it, however, but alex doesn’t seem too phased. “ so you’re wanting to get your head bitten off first? that’s fair, i guess, be my guest. ” he starts to rub at his temple, still following alongside alex to the rooftop. once they reach it, the air is fresher than the building, and it eases some of the pressure building in milos’ skull. a different kind of pressure returns once alex’s question crosses her lips. “ like, new year new me? not really, ” he answers while he’s in the process of sitting across from the other. “ or, maybe? i’ve given myself, like, challenges at the beginning of the year. read this book or make a design of that. does that count? ”

          although the hostile reaction from ricky is pretty much what milos is expecting, it shocks him all the same; the open answer of the state of his writing being inevitably tied to his sobriety in italy … well, maybe milos wasn’t expecting it that much. “ plenty of people write well while sober, you know... just because the beat generation was always on something doesn’t mean we need to be. ” and if you asked him, the beat poets were over-romanticized in their non-sobriety. even so, milos hasn’t written a word since stepping foot on italian soil. “ no i, uh... i haven’t written everything. i was wondering if it was the same for anyone else. never mind, then. ”

          “ maybe block him from taking out more books? did he check them out with his card? ” it’s a poor suggestion, but a suggestion nonetheless. iker’s words go on half listened to by milos. generally, he’s got the gist of the others frustration; sage hasn’t returned books seemingly long overdue. the other half of milos’ attention is set on iker’s jaw and the way his frustration tightens, then how it softens the moment a sigh is emitted. the moment that iker’s attention is turned toward milos himself, he suddenly feels unspeakably awkward. is he that obvious? “ oh, uh, both? i mean--- i’m waiting for a student who’s supposed to be here in...” he trails to glance at the watch on his wrist. “ twenty minutes. but i also like hanging out up here! plus you seemed frustrated and i don’t mind listening, so it all works out, you know? ”

          there’s hardly a moment between milos drawing alex into his room, and alex drawing him back out into the hallway. his panic is silly, and it washes over him a moment later; when had alex ever actually endangered him? “ i don’t trust the admin here, i feel like we’d get in more trouble than we would back in athens for getting caught. ” it was definitely his paranoia talking, but he likes to think a little bit of caution never hurt anyone. as the two walk side by side, milos catches alex putting the joint behind her ear out of the corner of his eye. sure, away. “ gah, don’t joke about that! monsters are like beetlejuice. ” soon, his gaze falls to her. “ how do you intend on protecting me when you’re the one getting attacked? whatever, i don’t want to see it play out. i just wanna calm down for a little. ”

          “ such a bore, ” milos sighed, but a smile was left behind in its wake. “ i just know he would’ve made us focus on something kantian the way kant meant it in his tinly little brain. ” although he would’ve been a liar if he said he didn’t follow any kantian ethic, but he found himself questioning them more often than not. “ i’m telling you, we need to bring it up to the chair again. maybe he’ll get annoyed enough and make a class, maybe switch out one of the socratic ones? ” he joked. he knew jiyeon was just as bothered by him by the short-sightedness of more than a handful of their professors; it was nice to be on common ground. “ it’s alright, i’ve, uh, read it a couple times. but it was the only thing i could get before... you know. ”

          milos was pacing around the housing building’s lobby, debating on whether he should or shouldn’t attend the rooftop party. as usual, his brain held equally lengthy pro and con lists, with the top con being the crowd and the top pro being not acting like a loser for once; it was only when he saw maggie, obviously upset, that the decision was clear and he wouldn’t be going. “ maggie, what’s wrong? ” @eumiyoung​ 

         “ you know, i’m kinda glad i didn’t have to do the term paper for dr. vasilakis’ ethics class, ” milos speaks suddenly, after a long stretch of silence between the two of them. they’d been reading together for some time, in attempt to get away from the bustle of things going on. pretending things were normal was half the battle in milos’ brain. “ without articulation, he kinda, you know... sucks. how’s the book, though? ” @eujiyeon​

          winding up in italy at the end of the semester had been less than ideal for milos; the subject of finals was questionable at best, and his anxiousness had doubled since entering an unfamiliar place. to combat such, he was attempting to make things feel as normal as possible; that meant sitting outside panini coppedè with the only book he managed to pack before the evacuation. all was going well, truly, when milos looked up from his book and was suddenly meeting eyes with none other than ricky. “ oh, hey... ” of course it was his luck to end up at the same evacuation spot as his least favorite poetry club member. “ have you, uh... managed to write anything since the last meeting? ” the meeting that happened a few days before the campus panic? genius question, milos. @euricky​