had to have high hopes for a living

“Oh no not your shoes!” He exclaimed, raising a hand to his forehead. “Here’s a serious question though– it says a lot about your character… how do you tie your shoes? Do you do the loopdy-loops or do you make two little bunny ears and tie them together?” Ronan, at least in his previous school, was often labeled as childish or immature with all of his jokes. Not only the corny dad jokes, but just– He was always laughing at something. It was as if he was afraid what would happen if he actually tried to take anything seriously. Afraid to actually allow himself to feel all of the emotions and thoughts he deemed to be ‘negative’ and suppressed them with all of his might. Peers even asked him questions– some were more direct than others, some tried to dance around what they really were wondering. But all of the questions seemed to have the same central theme: how are you so happy after everything that happened? Ronan would of course simply shrug and answer with a quick remark. If they were expecting a serious answer, clearly they didn’t know Ronan too well. While being positive could be considered to be showing courage, Ronan didn’t feel strong. He didn’t feel courageous. He wasn’t laughing despite his pain, he was laughing to run and hide from his pain. “Before you answer– Just know that your answer may permanently change the course of our friendship.”

“I know! It’ll be okay though, I got them!” Collen wasn’t sure why Ronan was asking about how he tied his shoe laces, he couldn’t see how it mattered. “Honestly? Neither - I tend to go with a "Double Slip Knop at this point.” He admits, it never actually came undone on it’s own and that was how he liked it. “So I guess it definitely holds weight that I answered something completely different. Our friendship’s not ruined, right? Shoelace tying is very important, I know - way more important than astrology signs.” He grins, it was certainly a lighthearted comment but sometimes it was better to just joke around then to focus on everything going wrong at the moment.

“A c–” He took a pause, biting on his tongue as he was already trying to conceal his laughter. “A cold shoulder!” Before wasting another second, Ronan bursted out into laughter. He had a lot of jokes that he just had to laugh at– and that one was definitely one of them. “Now tell me, is that the best joke you’ve ever heard? Or is that the best joke you’ve ever heard?

Collen chuckles, it was cheesy sure - but it was definitely a cute joke, and he had no problem laughing along at it. “It was great, I gotta retie my shoes now though, my socks knocked them off in the process. He jokes as he leans down to pretend to retie his sneakers - it was mostly for his sake honestly, he knew Ronan couldn’t see him, but it was nice to play around with the joke. It was nice, to shove all the shit with Rissa, Lucy, and Adrian to the back of his mind and just relax for the time being.

Maybe he couldn’t push the thoughts aways forever - but at the moment the only thing that mattered was joking around with excellent company.

“Of course not, Collen, there is nothing to be concerned about, I promise,” Clarissa stressed, having no idea that he would, in fact, be very stressed out here in just a moment. As soon as he agreed and took her hand, the girl practically beamed from her own excitement. She was so ready for this! Lucielle and Collen were going to get back together and be a beautiful thing again, and she would get to see them be happy once more. Clarissa may not have mentioned it to either of them, but she had certainly noticed a lack of spark in both their eyes lately. 

Was she being fanciful about that?  Quite possibly. But Clarissa was sure it held some truth to it.

Regardless, the short blonde held high hopes in improving her friends’ situation. She was certain that the two of them wanted to be back together– why they broke up such a good thing in the first place was beyond her. Clearly, they were sorta idiots– but they were idiots in love. They only needed a small push from her to right themselves back together. So, Clarissa offered Collen a brief smile before she dragged him back across the room to where she had left Lucielle in the first place. “Lucielle!” She called out to her cousin brightly, “look who said he would like to speak with you too!” With this, she pulled Collen forward, and quickly eased herself in behind him at his back, giving the boy a light nudge towards her cousin before she took a clear step backwards and to the side.

Her head now bounced between the two of them with a dopey little smile of innocent excitement. 

@luciellebp​

 Left to her own devices, Lucy didn’t have much to ENTERTAIN herself with. Yeah, she was really thrilled that her cousin had finally realized how right she was and was trying her luck with someone and sure, she watched as the other girl departed in search for the target THEY had settled on but the crowd soon closed behind Rissa’s fragile frame and she could see her no more. And so she remained to look around in search of something or someone that could hopefully cure her BOREDOM. Lucielle sipped on her drink, briefly chatted up some classmates, craned her neck from time to time to hopefully spy on her cousin but alas, Clarissa was nowhere in sight.

 Her conversation with a boy from her Calculus class was abruptly interrupted by the sound of her name and Lucielle turned around with a BRIGHT smile, recognizing her cousin’s voice. Was she bringing the guy to her for extra-approval? That was a little weird, but Lucy certainly didn’t mind. That is, until she saw the boy that Rissa was ACTUALLY dragging along.

 Her breath froze in her lungs.

 Lucielle blinked a few times, sure that there was NO WAY she was seeing right. Except Collen was still there. Her mouth felt incredibly dry, sticky even, and Lucy couldn’t stop STARING, for fuck’s sake! He wanted to talk to her, too? What was that supposed to mean? As far as she was aware, her ex didn’t want to see her. Possibly ever.

 Wide green eyes turned to Rissa, disbelief and confusion forming her expression “Clarissa,” she asked weakly. “What are you doing?” Her gaze jumped to Collen then, because, as it turned out, he was some sort of a MAGNET. “What’s happening?” Her arms crossed in front of her chest as she looked around for any hidden cameras. Was this a sick prank? Was her cousin getting revenge for Lucy saying she needed to ‘get laid’. “I MUST be drunk already,” the blonde muttered in conclusion. Half of a cup getting to her head seemed way more likely than whatever shitshow was happening right then.

Collen truly wasn’t certain what Rissa thought she was doing by dragging him over to Lucy, but the color quickly starts to fade out of his face as he realizes what is going on. “I echo that what are you doing statement. Why would you think this is a good idea?” He asks, not even sure what he was supposed to do. He knew Rissa, she didn’t do this with ill intentions, but that also didn’t make it okay. This was crossing the line, Lucy had hurt him - whether or not she cared about the situation, he did. This wasn’t something they were going to talk out any time soon. “You should have told me that you wanted me to talk to Lucy, this isn’t the parent trap - this isn’t a movie, real hearts got broken Clarissa.” His displeasure is clear in his tone.

“And it’s cruel to just push us together without giving us any say in the matter. I know you, good intentions and all - but you can’t just meddle in people’s breakups. That’s how you hurt people.” He then turns his attention to Lucy, taking a deep breath. “You look lovely though, Lucy. Hopefully I didn’t ruin your night, Rissa left out some vital information.” He’s not sure if he’s allowed to flee yet, after all he should give his friend the space to explain what she had done, but he was already looking for escape routes that read to alcohol.

“If your socks don’t leave, I might not ever get over it,” He says before clearing his throat to tell the joke. “So– what did the cannibal get when he showed up to the party late?” 

“I’m sure they’ll be running down the sidewalk.” Collen assures him, his grin growing when he hears the joke. “I don’t know, what did the cannibal get when he showed up for the party late?” He asks, he had to give Ronan the fact that even if the punchline sucked (which he doubted it would) - this was one he had never heard before in his life.

Logan nodded to Collen. The guy was very excited. It seemed like it meant to him a lot, teaching someone something he loved. Logan had taught one of friends basketball back home and he remembered it being very enjoyable. He’d assumed it was what Collen was feeling right now. “It’s good you over-packed then. I’m not sure if I forgot anything. I don’t think so, though.”

Logan chuckled lightly. It was good he wasn’t planning on going easy on him. He wanted a challenge. He nodded. “You’ve got to start with me from scratch. I’ve only seen a boxing game once or twice my whole life.” He listened carefully to everything Collen was saying, taking a mental note of it. “Never knew footwork was that important in boxing. I assumed it was all about knowing when to land a punch and how to defend yourself. Yep, we’ll do this the right way, then.”

"I’m sure you’ll be fine though - you tend to be on top of stuff.” Collen honestly didn’t doubt that Logan had packed the night before, he wasn’t the type of person who’d just grab an item or two on his way out of the door. The odds of him being fine were much higher than the odds of Logan forgetting something vital in Collen’s opinion. “You’re not a grab stuff as you run out the door and hope you didn’t forget anything kind of person usually.”

“Being able to throw a punch definitely helps, but if you trip when you dodge a blow? It’s not going to end well for you, having good footwork helps open things up for you in a fight. It’s actually considered one of the most important factors in boxing.” He explains, setting his bag down on the ground. “One of the things I found helped me with my footwork is actually an exercise you should never do in a fight, but it gets you used to the the very basics. I think I’m going to run you through it a little bit today, could help.” He thinks about it a few seconds before shrugging. “First though, we’re gonna go over basic stance. You ready?”

@luxorstarters

As soon as Ronan heard footsteps approaching, he quickly turned around to face the sound. “Hey!” He quickly called out, hoping he was actually facing whoever was approaching, and not just speaking to air. “So– Listen, I got a great joke. It’ll really knock your socks off, I assure you.” 

Collen smiles at Ronan’s words, “well - I always love a good joke. Hit me!” He honestly always loved a good laugh, and right now he felt like he needed one more than ever. It was nice, to be able to exchange jokes and have fun - it kept his mind off of the fact he wanted to swear off parties until after graduation after the last two he went to. “I’ll let you know if my socks decide to leave me after.” His tone is playful, honestly if Ronan wouldn’t call him out for joking about his socks literally running away from him after a joke - that was his kind of humor.

“You know what? In this case, I’m actually looking forward to this, just to see his face. After all, given how things went down with Lucy - this isn’t that bad.”

“Thanks for offering to show me, man,” he said. “I have to admit, though, I did not double check if I had everything in my bag. I packed my stuff yesterday,” he added. Logan had a habit of double checking everything. He liked being sure of everything. So, he was kinda annoyed he overslept and didn’t get the chance to double check, but he was relieved Collen had over-packed. “It’s good you over-packed in case I missed something.”

He followed Collen to the gym. He’d seen the ring before and ever since he saw it the first time, an interest peaked in him to learn the sport, up take it as a new hobby. He’d never let go of basketball or swimming, but an extra sport was always a good idea. “Yeah, I got enough sleep. Don’t go easy on me,” he stated. He liked a challenge and he liked it when things were hard.

“No problem! I get to try to teach you the ropes of something i love, won’t ever complain about that.” Collen admits,  honestly he was more than happy to teach someone else the sport. He never had gotten the chance before to teach someone from step one how to box and he welcomed the chance. “It happens! I’ve done it before, it’s part of why i over-pack now. Sometimes you find yourself needing something and having to ask someone else if they packed it.” He smiles, honestly it was always better to be over prepared then finding out you forgot gauze or something in your bag and you needed it.

He smiles, “I have no intentions on going easy on you - Logan. Glad you’ve gotten the sleep you required. We’re going to be starting with footwork though. If you’re not keeping your balance, you’re going to hate life in the ring. If you have poor footwork and balance, the guy you’re against is going to have an easier time getting swings in and avoiding your swings.” He couldn’t keep his footwork outside of the right , if he did he probably would manage to not trip outside of the ring as well as he managed to avoid tripping in it. Then again, if he walked in a boxing stance, people would probably be concerned. “Footwork is a core foundation, it doesn’t matter how good your swing if you have bad balance in the ring. Sometimes people skip it for purely exercise boxing but I think it’s better to learn correctly the first time than find out down the line you need to relearn everything if you decide you want to try being in the ring.”

After all, if you couldn’t get a punch in or avoid a punch - it wasn’t a fight, it was a beating.

Layla listened and smiled softly as the boy spoke. “That is very true, you do.” She told him. “But I should warn you I might be the last person you want to be taking advice from when it comes to dating or whatever.” She told him with a little smile. “Some girls love when boys go all out and ask them out others love simple but you won’t really know if that person is right for you just by asking them out right? You need to go on the date and see from there.” She told him with a smile. Layla really was the last person to be giving advice on anything right now her mind was all over. “You know I’m totally up for playing wingman.” She smiled at the boy as he said thanks to her, and that she was. She loved seeing people happy and in love, even more, when that relationship was just starting out and they two couldn’t get enough of each other, the girl always found that so cute when others found it so lame. “I don’t bring chips or drinks if they’re needed and plus I was told to never show up empty-handed when invited somewhere.” She told the boy with a smile. 

“I doubt you’re the last person to ask for advice, sometimes talking about where things went wrong can also be beneficial. Plus sometimes we give other people the advice we’re scared to take ourselves. I trust your judgement, even if you don’t.” Collen smiles at Layla, honestly any advice was worth giving critical thought and she hadn’t said anything he disagreed with so far. “I don’t think I’m at a point a wing-man will actually help, I don’t think I could actually ask out the person I’d like to take to dinner sometime. It’s way more complicated than I’d like to get into.” He’d probably actually enjoy taking Rissa out to dinner, even if it turned out to be a horrible idea and one of them misunderstood signs, he had a feeling they’d get past it and come out stronger friends if they did actually go grab dinner or something together. But she didn’t exactly.... date, and he had dated her cousin - who cheated on him - it was definitely easier to stay single and process his emotions with that (especially considering he was still hurt Lucy had slept with someone else instead of talking to him). “I mean, you’re a guest - you don’t have to bring stuff unless you want to and I stand by that, but if you want to - it’s welcome, Layla.”

“Okay, you got me there. But I mean just any boy showing up with flowers should be enough to put a smile on anyone’s face and if it’s not then that person shouldn’t even be worth your time.” Layla told him with a little smile. “Well thanks, I think. I mean I hope you find someone who makes you the happiest you can be.” She told him. The thing is Layla thought she found the person, tell he left now she way trying to move on and finding it just too hard. “That sounds like a pretty good day if you ask me. Yeah, I would love to come I’m not sure I have many people to join so I hope you don’t mind me coming solo?” She told him with a little shrug of her shoulders. “Should I bring anything?”

“It should have been the first sign things weren’t going to work out there, but hey, you learn from experience right?” Collen smiles, honestly he didn’t want to talk to much about what had happened with Lucy. He was more focused on moving past it at this point and leaving the relationship behind him. “Thanks, Layla.” He honestly didn’t know what else to say past that, even if it was a nice thing to hear - he didn’t really know how to reply other than a thank you to the hope for happiness. He’d have to remember this before he said it next time. “I think it should be! You’re more than welcome to come solo if you want to! Bringing a friend is just a forever open option if you’d want it.” It was always nice to watch a movie with a good group of friends, after all, and he wasn’t exactly certain who Layla would know in the group - the last thing he wanted was to accidentally throw her into an awkward situation. “You don’t have to bring anything - it’s not a requirement - but it’s always a ‘more snacks the merrier reaction so if you want to help pitch in, I won’t stop you.” He had gotten a few bags of chips and stuff already, and he was sure some other people would pitch in too, so it was far from a requirement - just a you could if you wanted to thing.

“Honestly these days I think girls are pretty lucky if guys show up with flowers. I mean usually all people seem to get is a text from the guys saying ‘hey I’m here’ then it’s off to dinner or something and let’s face it that’s not what people want or maybe that’s just not what I want.” Layla went on for a moment and shook her head as she smiled to herself. “It’s okay, oddly I think I’ve had worse.” She told the boy as she shrugged her shoulders, meeting his eyes and gave him a little smile. “But now that we know all about my day, how was yours?”

“The flower thing doesn’t always work either, I guess it’s just finding the right match.” Collen admits, honestly Lucy and him really didn’t work out -  he had ignored all the warning signs with her he was supposed to have heeded, after all. “Hopefully you find a guy who treats you the way you’d like him to someday.” It was a hope he had for most people in general to be honest, the chance to be happy with someone who loved them just as much as they did. “My day is going well honestly, I’m planning on hitting the gym for a bit before the Marvel movie marathon a few of us have planned in the common room tonight.” He smiles, would it be a good thing to invite Layla to come? He questions it for a few moments before his smile widens a little. “We’re starting them after dinner, if you’d like to join us? As many friends as you want to bring are welcome too if you want - the more the merrier.”

“I don’t think many guys show up with flowers these days.” Layla looked at the boy as her shoulders shrugged at her words. “Though that would be sweet.” She told him. “I think he more just wanted to try something new or try and see if a cheesy pickup line would or could get him a girl.” The girl did find it funny that the boy even tried, yes she found them funny and when she laughed she never really meant to hunt the boys feelings, but wouldn’t anyone laugh in her shoes? “Yeah, you might be right on that.” 

“Is there stuff girls like more than flowers?” Collen asks, honestly he was the type of boy who showed up with flowers and tried his best to spoil his partners. It was definitely a massive part of why Lucy cheating on him had hurt so badly, he still avoided her like the plague at this point - actually. His ability to remain civil didn’t mean it felt nice to talk to her. “Honestly the thing with trying something new is expecting it to backfire, especially if it’s a cheesy pickup line on a pretty girl.” He rubs the back of his neck again, hoping he didn’t just make things awkward by calling Layla pretty - it was definitely more casual than anything but given the day she had, the last thing he needed was to make things worse for her. “I’m sure he’ll figure it out in the future. Sorry you had to deal with that though.”

Today was the day Logan would get to box. He’d been wanting to get into a new sport. He loved basketball and swimming, but he wanted more sports. They were a major source of stress relief for him.

He had expressed interest in the sport to Collen, one of his very few friends at the school and someone who was part of the boxing team at Luxor. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” Logan had waken up a bit later than he should’ve. He had a problem of not being the most punctual person ever. He hurried to grab his gym bag, not having the time to double check he had everything he needed to box.  

Logan opened the door and left his dorm room, closing the door behind him. “Hey, man. Sorry to keep you waiting. You ready?”

Collen was used to Logan running a bit late honestly, so he didn’t really mind waiting too horribly much. He was just excited he was going to get to teach someone else how to box. The work he did with Dawn was different - she knew what she was doing in a fight, she needed help with other aspects of the ring. He smiles when Logan finally comes out, shrugging at his friend’s apology. “I wasn’t waiting too long, no big deal.” He honestly didn’t mind, his smile hadn’t even faltered in the wait. “Yeah, I’m ready! I made sure to get up early to over-pack my gym bag just in case.” It wouldn’t be the first time someone had forgot something they’d need for the ring, hell, he had done it a few times before and had to rely on his teammates to be more prepared than he was.

It was always better to over-pack than under-pack at this point in his life.

He starts to walk in the direction of the gym, assuming Logan will just follow him. “How did you sleep? Get enough sleep?” He checks, honestly if Logan hadn’t slept he’d have go a bit easier than intended for the first lesson but as long as his friend felt like he could carry on with the lesson - he’d go off Logan’s judgement. Logan did enough sports to know when to stop himself for his health.

Layla lightly placed a hand over her mouth as she laughed at the boy’s words. “It seems like it.” She told him, a little smile still on her face. “I think so he seemed so hurt when I laughed at his words and didn’t give my number and decide to fall all over him.” The girl shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. “He just walked away, he didn’t really say anything just looked upset, like I hurt his pride or something,” Layla told the boy. “I feel kind of bad now.”

Collen could understand why Layla felt guilty that the boy was hurt, but Collen really couldn’t see the point of the attempt. It was common sense if you were serious about flirting with someone, a cheesy pickup line wasn’t the route to go. “Honestly it sucks his feelings were hurt but it’s not like he got you flowers and said something original, he should have been able to rebound from your laughter. I think most people would have laughed.” He admits, rubbing his neck. It was a weird spot to be in, he definitely didn’t want to be in Layla’s shoes right now. “I don’t think it’s your fault, if his pride is so fragile he cant bounce back from a pickup line he stole already, anything you do could break it. You probably dodged a bullet.”

Collen knocks on Logan’s door in the morning, hoping he wouldn’t be walking up his friend’s roommate in the process of getting the boy for the gym. Logan had expressed interest in learning to box, and Collen was more than happy to teach him. It was something he loved, the chance to share someone he cared about so much made him excited.

He got up earlier and made sure he had well packed his gym bag, ensuring there was extra stuff for Logan just in case his friend had forgotten something he’d need. It was always better to over prepared than to find out down the line they needed something neither of them had - after all. He knocks again, “Logan, today’s the day! Come on!” There’s a hint of excitement in his voice with the words, and he wasn’t even going to deny it if it was questioned.

He was excited to teach Logan, and he had a very good feeling about this.