𝑬𝑷𝑰𝑷𝑯𝑨𝑵𝑰𝑬𝑺

Jordan had been sitting at a high lab table, feet dangling from a stool. “Okay!” He took the test tube like there was nothing to be concerned about. Nodding along with an unbothered smile, he just took a big sip of the liquid, humming for a second. “Ooh! I like the tast—” His head fell and hit the table top like Kuzco in that one scene in the Emperor’s New Groove. There was like a five second pause before he sat back up again with a deep breath. “Woah!” he laughed, ignoring the redness left over on his forehead. He squinted as his attention drifted curiously around the lab. “Why is everything in rainbow?” It was like some rainbow filter except right from his vision instead of through a phone screen. So, either Jordan’s mood just happened to be the epitome of a rainbow, or this was another unintentional effect.

"Laurie Sinclair," Billie announced dramatically—or as dramatically as one can announce something while carrying a plate of french fries to a table. They set the plate down, leveling a look at the blonde. "You scared our new server off. Not cool." After fake chastising the blonde, Billie plopped down into the seat opposite of her without asking. "Was it just your aura or what? Tell me everything."

Laurie didn’t even do anything! The server had tried to serenade her, but then got nervous, and God forbid a blonde say something teasing. Either the server got self-conscious because they were singing to a Vice founding family member or because Laurie was pretty or something else or all of the above. Regardless, they had just stumbled over an apology and scurried off. And Laurie couldn’t help but get déjà vu from when she’d been at Frenchie’s weeks ago. Huffing at Billie’s comments, Laurie glanced up from her compact mirror where she was touching up her lipstick. “It’s not my fault you hired someone who’s scared to make eye-contact,” she quipped back. “I think this place is losing its touch. I haven’t been entertained once since I walked in.” She grabbed some fries while giving an exaggerated sigh of fake inconvenience.

The sight of her best friend standing at the door with a bottle of pink Moscato made Kendall raise an eyebrow with faint amusement. “Did you assume I wouldn’t let you in without an offering?” She stepped to the side and pulled the door open wider, allowing the other to enter. “I am free,” she assured her with a small smile, wondering when Lottie became so good at predicting her schedule. Or lack thereof. “You do know me well, apparently. I suppose I’m just… that predictable.” She certainly hadn't intended to go to any Virtue functions, for one. She'd done enough of those growing up, when her mother had determinedly dragged her to every gala and reception possible. Kendall had never quite shared the enthusiasm. Nowadays, she didn’t naturally gravitate toward them unless they were relevant to work or Charlotte wanted her there.

Leni broke the quiet again and earned a soft groan from Laurie, who was starting to realize that customer satisfaction seemed to run high as fuck on this girl’s desperate priorities. Finally, the blonde sipped at the milkshake. “Fuck…” She mumbled slowly, letting out a sigh but it was actually more of relief than annoyance now. Her blood sugar had been running fairly low and that milkshake was actually pretty— “Fucking incredible.” Laurie hadn’t intentionally blurted that but no matter, she just chugged at the milkshake more. Then she squinted, glancing toward the ceiling with a scoff. “Why is this place so fucking bright?” she off-handedly murmured, even though the diner was rather lit in a normal manner for a normal building.

“Oh,” Kendall quietly said, the word almost not audible. Her thumb traced along the rim of her mug as she absentmindedly gave a nod, though she was actively contemplating what to say next. The questions who is she? and what’s her name? were just lingering on the tip of her tongue, but a different question followed first instead. “How long have you known?” she asked. While her tone didn’t necessarily indicate it, she suddenly thought that the question might have sounded accusatory. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean—” She exhaled softly, looking at the counter top. “I’m just… trying to understand.”

Running into someone taller than him really was ridiculous. How had he not noticed the man when it should’ve been a blaringly obvious obstacle to easily avoid? Oh, because he was Jordan. Not that Xavier knew him or his mannerisms at all, though. “I, uh—I was reading the brochure,” he tried to explain, looking down at the item that had been the initial distraction. “Reading it… really, really closely?” He laughed quietly, rubbing the back of his neck before peering up at the man again. “Sorry again! Are you, uh, in the tour group too?” The same tour group that was simultaneously walking away.

Jordan was on the same brain wave about the coins, nodding several times. “It’s almost like if the coin was standing upright too! And like, both sides are heads and you can see both and there’s like…” He managed to take a breath as he paused to find the word. “Symmetry!” Sure, a coin balanced on its edge could possibly stay still without falling onto its side. But neither of their comparisons were really sounding logical when put together even though Jordan was seconds away from pulling out an old penny to test it. “Good questions!” He bent his knees a bit to peer closer at the sculptures. “Or we just get them all and let them choose? Or we could flip a coin!” And we’re back to the coin thing.

“That’s cool!” Jordan replied. He had never attended school in Hiraeth, having only showed up in that new world just a few years ago. He wondered how different things would’ve been if he had originally been from there instead. Or maybe some things wouldn’t be so different at all. “Was it something you’ve always wanted to do? Like a dream?” Curiosity was written all over his expression before he beamed at Sara’s own question. “Oh! I work at Frenchie’s Diner! I’m, uh, just off today.” Which was kind of implied because he wasn’t the type of person to just skip a shift without telling anyone.

RAIN SPENCER in THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY

requested by @dumbnsweet

SCHITT'S CREEK 2.06 – "Moira vs. Town Council"

And yet, it wasn’t like Laurie couldn’t kind of understand where he was coming from. They grew up under the same roof where she had also experienced a consistent lack of familial attention and care, and witnessed the loveless marriage between their parents too. Not that she was going to mention any of that out loud. They weren’t about to randomly have some stupid bonding moment, especially not after Jaren started this whole thing talking about fish.

Yeah, if someone was vying for juicy gossip and drama, Jordan wasn’t the best person to ask anyway. “I’ll try my best!” he promised, though his best might still land him in similar scenarios depending on the day. “Yeah, I guess I got lucky.” He glanced at his hand being cleaned for a moment before looking around the room again as if he might suddenly find something new within his vision. “Have you worked here for a long time?” And there came the small talk, except Jordan genuinely did want to know as he smiled at her again.

Kendall lingered in another room in her condo, straightening some stacks of documents she had been working on right before Christian had arrived. As she returned to the kitchen, there was a slight pause in her step at his comment. Someone beginning a conversation with I have some news wasn’t exactly reassuring to her without prior context. Still, she nodded and gave a small smile back as she went to pour her herself a cup of coffee too. “Okay,” she replied, stepping toward the island afterward with her mug and then glancing toward the empty stool near him. “Is this a sit-down kind of news?”