lucas shepherd

At his mention that they weren't really strangers, she shrugged her shoulders, bashful. "We share sheet music, that's not the same thing." But he had said he wanted to get acquainted. "Good thing you're attractive." Not a pickup line, and it was not a fruitful attempt at flirting. If anything, Noemi felt like they were stating the obvious and was egregiously aware that he'd know that fact about himself.

"And I'm already on my way out, so if you're wanting to team build," she started stepping backward slowly, waiting to see if he'd take her bait. They didn't need the ID or a dark secret, for now. "Depends," she deadpanned. "Are you a lousy smoking partner? Because I don't like mollycoddling."

An invitation: the bloom in his chest grew into a garden, sprouting up in his nerves, stoking excitement. He took the bait, in step with her down the drive like they were tied to one another. 

“Who, me?” Shepherd shook his head, laughed along with the motion. “I’m a dream.” He’d never been called very lousy when it came to company— especially not with a joint in his hand. “What about you, Noemi Ibarra? You a very good smoking partner, or am I signing up for something I’m gonna regret later?” 

He took the joint from behind his ear, held it out toward her. "Light it up, flamethrower."

there  is  a  warmth  settled  comfortably  in  the  pit  of  cecelia's  stomach,  the  kind  that  comes  from  good  company,  loud  music,  and  three  tequila  shots  consumed  over  the  course  of  forty  minutes.    she'd  let  herself  be  talked  into  a  night  out  without  much  convincing,  eager  to  trade  captaincies,  rehearsals,  and  everyone  else's  expectations  for  sticky  bar  tops,  a  dance  floor  she'd  inevitably  end  up  on,  and  the  familiar  comfort  of  lucas'  company.    by  now,  the  bass  reverberates  pleasantly  beneath  her  heels,  the  apples  of  her  cheeks  flushed  a  soft  pink  from  the  alcohol,  her  laughter  arriving  easier  than  the  carefully  measured  smiles  she  wears  the  rest  of  the  week.    nights  like  these  have  always  been  effortless  with  lucas,  which  is  probably  why  she  never  thinks  twice  before  saying  yes  ( even  if  she  does  make  a  habit  of  dragging  it  out  before  outright  accepting  it ).

cecelia  is  already  smiling  by  the  time  shepherd  finishes  his  question,  lifting  her  tequila  in  a  silent  toast  before  taking  a  sip.    “   shep,  i  laugh  at  you  recreationally.   ”    she  deadpans,  the  corners  of  her  lips  betraying  her  amusement.    “   you  really  didn't  need  to  ask.   ”    she  shifts  against  the  bar,  giving  him  her  full  attention,  expecting  whatever  story  he's  about  to  tell  to  be  embarrassing.    by  the  time  he  reaches  got  fucking  cast,  she's  already  covering  her  mouth  with  the  back  of  her  hand,  laughter  escaping  despite  her  best  efforts.    “   oh,  my  god.   ”    she  manages  between  laughs,  shaking  her  head.    “   you  got  cast?   ”    the  word  is  repeated  with  far  too  much  delight,  as  though  it  somehow  makes  the  situation  infinitely  funnier.

“You’re excused, Cecelia! If you had just taken your licks– followed through on the bet without making me join with you– then me singing wouldn’t have even been on the guys radar.” It was true. Ever since he’d joined Glee club most of the other brothers had been looking for ways to punish him— all in good fun, of course. Mostly. “Ipso facto, all roads lead back to Cece Sinclair. Maybe if you had just won the stupid bet, neither of us would be here.” 

He grinned, waved the bartender down for another drink. One for her too. “Wonder what your karma looks like… Maybe Scary Sheri will try to run you down again.”

As much as they could have just turned on their heel, Noemi couldn't find herself moving away. Partly because it would be an uninteresting thread if I did so. "Don't you have friends?" Another curious inquiry that she dropped almost as soon as she said it. She looked tired in a way that didn't match a house party setting. Just a vague, detached look. Bored, almost. "Nothing screams stranger danger more than inviting a stranger to your car." They may have been in Glee club together, but Noemi couldn't recount a time when they had actually spoken to each other.

"6'5," Shepherd scrunched his nose at her- it was almost taunting. "Looks like you're safe with me: it's the guys pushing 6'7 that you really have to worry about." 'Don't you have friends?' Technically he was surrounded by them- brothers, at least. Beta Rho Bros' were crawling all over the place, and the more... popular kids from St. Rivera were wandering. It didn't really matter, though. There was a task at hand; and an expression on Noemi's face that made him want to-

"You're not really a stranger." And she wasn't, in his eyes. Maybe they hadn't exactly spoken to each other before, but they were part of the same team. Two people who would be expected to rely on each other at some point, even if indirectly.

He let a moment pass by. "So, what's up? You don't smoke, or you don't wanna smoke with me? Makes you feel any better, I could toss you my ID, tell you one of my deep dark secrets," He probably wouldn't. But he'd never been too bad at making things up. "Get acquainted. Call it team building."

　　☠︎︎　　the request itself was inoffensive ,  but there was something about the pat of obviously empty pockets that made indy's eyes roll. they reach down, mimicking his movements for just a moment before they produced the white bic. disposable, in the sense that parties were often the last seen location of lighters. it had to be something she would willing it part with to even consider offering it up. a sentiment that seemed disproven by the sharpie designs that adorned the supposedly irrelevant plastic.

He quirked a look at her– grin, raised brow, questioning. No need to go back to his car if she had the lighter, but he wasn’t going to argue if she wanted to get away. He could use a break from the party anyway.

“Down the block.” He dug for the keys in his pocket, motioning for her to follow along. A few steps in, “I’ll get you back up here too. Might head out after.”

she   blinked   and   frowned   at   the   hand   being   currently   waved   in   her   face   before   registering   the   words   coming   out   of   his   mouth.   did   she   expect   anything   else   from   him   ?   no,   but   was   it   something   she   liked?   also,   no.   She   wasn't   a   fan   of   the   assignment   either,   especially   so   early   in   the   year   with   all   her   other   clubs   also   starting   out.   but   she   was   still   herself,   and   being   silent   was   never   one   of   her   biggest   strengths. “   slow   down   ?   look   i'm   not   sure   if   you   checked   the   deadline   but   in   case   you   haven't   we   do   have   one.   and   i   don't   like   to   lose   so   there's   no   way   we're   going   to   be   worst   ones   okay.   also   ”   at   the   other   comment   she   huffed   and   had   to   restrain   herself   to   not   cross   her   arms.   "   this   is   a   partnership   nor   a   solo   effort   like   it's   the   21st   century   lucas   here   boys   have   to   work   for   the   things   they   want   even   if   it's   extra   credit   in   an   after   school   activity   and   if   they're   boys   like   you.   "

“I know the deadline,” Shep had already started walking, and talking– he looked over his shoulder at her, motioned for her to follow. She’d have to if she wanted to keep him upright; he needed to hit the coffee cart. “Like I said, most of the other girls just like to hand me sheet music. You want me to help pick a song, then I’ll help pick a song– just can’t promise you that you’re going to like what I wanna do.”

"No," she said, echoing a bald-faced lie. She did keep a lighter on her person at all times, and if Lucas was smart enough, he'd see its outline in her jeans pocket. The invitation, too, of going back to his car was enough to decide that she did not want to give it to him, smoke with him, or be alone with him. Surely he was an okay guy; he had invited the sad band of losers here after all, but they weren't exactly looking forward to being a Dateline episode.

"Do you invite people to your car often?" Good looking out, Noems! That's the perfect way to catch a serial killer!

“Oh, only when I wanna get them alone,” He raised his eyebrows at her, amused. “Or when I don’t feel like hanging by myself.” That was the ticket– party full of people, and somehow, Shepherd had ended up in a corner with another Glee kid. Something about it screamed, ‘lonelyboy15.’ “Must not get a lot of invitations, huh? Giving off a real… Stranger Danger vibe there, Noemi Ibarra,” Shepherd said it like it was nefarious– he’d read it on the New Directions call sheet enough times to know.

𝐖𝐇𝐎:   luciana   castillo   ,   closed   to   @qbshepherd 𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄:   a   random   hallway   on   campus   as   she   accidentally   runs   into   him  𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍:   after   swim   practice   around   4pm-ish

after   swim   practice   lu   usually   took   a   short   walk   around   campus.   not   ready   to   go   back   to   her   dorm   yet.   this   time   she   was   also   thinking   about   the   assignment   she   still   had   to   start   on   for   glee   club.   something   she   very   visibly   rolled   her   eyes   at   in   practice   when   it   was   announced.   big   assignments   at   the   start   of   the   year   should   be   banned   in   her   opnion.   like   they   didn't   have   enough   to   do   already   without   it.  thankfully   this   time   the   assignment   could   be   split   into   2   as   she   didn't   have   to   do   it   alone.   which   was   also   both   a   blessing   and   a   curse,   as   now   she   had   to   make   sure   that   the   other   was   also   in   it   enough   to   be   good   and   not   end   last,   as   that   would   be   the   worst   thing   as   her   social   reputation   almost   had   a   holy   status   to   her.   so   her   next   step   would   be   to   actually   find   her   partner   to   start   discussing   song   options   and   maybe   even   plan   some   practice   or   just   see   their   opinion.  however   luck   seemed   to   be   in   her   favour   this   time   because   walking   around   campus   apparently   meant   today   that   the   chances   of   running   into   them   was   pretty   big.   She   smiled   to   herself   as   this   made   her   work   a   little   easier   she   adjusted   her   bag   before   stepping   over   to   the   other.   “   hi   nice   running   into   you   !   I   guess   it's   lu   and   lu   for   glee   practice.   almost   as   if   they   planned   it   right.   but   as   we   do   have   a   deadline   and   i   don't   like   to   underperform   we   do   really   need   to   get   some   things   going.   i'm   not   going   to   make   a   fool   out   of   myself   i   can   assume   you   don't   want   that   either   ”

Damn Cece, and this whole Glee club thing– or maybe damn himself for even putting it on their radar. Note to Shepherd: make sure a sword, and a bet, aren’t double edged before you go swinging. 

“Can you… slow down a little?” A raised eyebrow, a blank stare. Lu, and lu. “I figured you would just–  let me know what we’re doing?”