#MAGGOTSFORBRAINS

🏒           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ    contrary to popular belief, hockey and football weren't in some ultra-machismo rivalry on campus, able to co-exist unlike how the cheerios always needed to be apex predator. and they were proof of it, sydney and caleb just hanging out together, though it was mostly sydney trying to work on his ancient sumerian mythology paper while caleb … complained. "  yeah, speedos aside, any water sport does not really have that combination of grace and aggression you need in hockey. that's what's sexy,   " sydney said matter-of-fact, looking up from his laptop screen for a moment. though there was also that smug twinkle in his eyes, as if confident of his own sexiness or whatever caleb was trying to argue here. "  and football? it's so hypermasculine, hyperpatriotic, hyperaggressive. it feels like LARPing as a wrecking ball, "  sydney shrugged as he typed away another thought, then looked back up at caleb with a brow quirked curiously, wondering which person rejected him in favor of a hockey player and made him complain about hockey being sexy. "  and girls … or anyone, really … don't find it hot watching a bunch of dudes giving each other concussions in a field of painted grass while their just-as-repressed dads are cheering from the stands.   "

miss eleanor took it upon herself to host an extra practice for new directioners... and nobody showed up! she's totally crashing out now, so. good luck!

🏒           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ    he'd thought he was about to get an earful from the rest of the club, to be chided for being a new member and already slacking, but it wasn't his fault that the pizza place took so long to make a dozen boxes, each with different toppings, each paid from his own pockets. but sydney tried to be there as quickly as possible anyway, to surprise the team with an impromptu pizza party, leaning his head to the side to peer around the tower of pizza boxes in his hands, only be met with a nearly empty choir room. and despite being the only one who seemed to have shown up, sydney still felt guilty for being late anyway, for how she seemed to have taken it personally. "  i'm sure they'll...   " be here? sydney couldn't even bring himself to finish the sentiment because they both knew it'd be a lie. but sydney fennewick was nothing if not a people pleaser, so he tried his best to come up with something that she might want to hear. "  maybe they're just intimidated by your talents. probably thought you had something to prove when you called the meeting, and they know they won't be compelled to give up their solo opportunities if they're not here to hear you at all.   " he said with a charming smile, but expression was quick to turn into a grimace when his arms began to feel sore after carrying all these boxes through campus. "  but uh...   " he smiled again, half lightheartedly pleading, half trying to diffuse her tense mood. "  d'you think you could take a few off my hands? ...think my arms are about to give out.   " but the gears in his head were already turning, didn't really want neither the food nor their time to go to waste. "  and maybe we can give it out to the people chilling at the quad? say it's courtesy of glee club.   " sydney suggested, hoping it could at least make her feel better about no one showing up for her unofficial rehearsal. "  you could then perform a song for them, sweeten the deal. and i'd even sing back-up, too, if it helps.   "

   there  it  was  again  .  that  instinct  to  roll  her  eyes  before  the  corner  of  her  mouth  betrayed  her  with  something  gentler  .  glee  club  was  exhausting  .  too  many  personalities  compressed  into  one  rehearsal  room  .  too  many  people  who  insisted  on  filling  every  silence  as  though  quiet  itself  were  a  disease  .  there  were  days  she  left  after  learning  exactly  what  she  needed  and  not  a  second  more  .  and  yet  .  she  kept  coming  back  .

   she  wasn't  sure  when  obligation  had  quietly  become  comfort  .  or  when  the  noise  had  started  feeling  less  like  something  to  survive  and  more  like  proof  that  she'd  found  somewhere  she  didn't  immediately  want  to  leave  .  it  irritated  her  a  little  .  "  they  complain  because  they're  dramatic  .  "  casper  finally  said  .  "  give  them  a  microphone  and  suddenly  everyone's  living  through  the  end  of  civilization  because  somebody  missed  a  harmony  .  "  a  pause  .  "  they're  usually  wrong  .  "  usually  .

   her  eyes  lifted  again  .  billy  was  still  looking  at  her  .  she  wondered  if  she  did  that  with  everyone  .  listened  like  this  .  looked  like  this  .  as  though  every  sentence  deserved  to  be  held  for  a  moment  before  being  put  down  .  it  was  unnerving  , but  not  because  it  felt  invasive  .  it was because  it  felt ...  nice  .  casper  wasn't  practiced  enough  in  receiving  that  kind  of  attention  to  know  where  to  put  her  hands  .  or  her  eyes  .

🎙️           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ     truth be told, but billy found it almost impossible to concentrate on the words rolling off casper's tongue. she still listened, still held onto every detail as if brushstrokes painting a much bigger picture, but it also took everything in her not to simply get lost in her eyes. blame it on the time, blame it on loneliness, or blame it on how simple eye contact with a pretty girl always had her imagining a three-bedroom and two-and-a-half bath house with a garden, but it was pathetic either way. not that it really mattered, rarely ever pursued anyone or spurred an attraction into something more than a night together, too much work, too much commitment, too frightened to ever wear her heart on her sleeve. but casper also seemed to be more than just a pretty face, possessing a magnetic sort of nonchalance that made her question if she knew her at all, that made her want to dig up whatever was hidden underneath the floorboards. everyone had their skeletons in the closet, and if she couldn't stomach anything more than some fleeting intimacy, then she'd at least try to figure her out to pacify her curiosity. "  of course i do.   " billy replied, a slight laugh escaping her, almost as if in disbelief of her own penchant for interrogating the lives of the people around her. she'd never really thought of it as filling her mind with strangers, but the comparison wasn't wrong either. "  i guess there'll just always be a small part of me that belongs to everyone else.   " but she didn't speak as if it was an entirely bad thing, moreso a simple fact that she'd learned about herself throughout the years. and maybe the crux of it all was loneliness, or maybe it was the state of being lonesome, could go hand in hand but not quite the same. listening to people made her feel less alone, but she'd made home in being lonesome, in holding herself separate for her own self-preservation. a listener, but never quite reciprocated giving herself just as much. they could have her ears, but never her heart. "  and i like it that way,   " billy smiled. "  less time to think about myself when i've got an entire choir looking for their voice in my head.   " but she couldn't really let this be entirely about her, leaning ever so slightly closer, like a sign, like a olive branch to let casper know she could tell her anything. "  and you?   " she asked. "  is this whole act of being too cool more about the mystique and allure, "  a brief pause, her turn to tip her head in curiosity, eyes gleaming with interest, with the desire to peer into her mind. "  or are you just trying to keep people at an arm's length so they don't dare start prying?   "

there were very few people who got to see this version of him, the rhys who smiled without calculating the repercussions, and the rhys who could tease without worrying about going too far. "flirting, though?" he mused. "that's progress. i'm proud of you." the words were dry as per usual, but genuine underneath. "although i should probably warn you... if your opening line is anything like your political takes, that poor barista's going to transfer locations by the end of the week." he nudged his shoulder lightly against syd's. "come on. let's start smaller. ever skipped class?"

🏒           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ    relax. it sounded so simple, but to actually do it still seemed to be the hardest thing in world. spontaneous moments were few and far between, usually brought on by the company he kept, often felt of less value whenever he strayed too far from routine, from the fennewick he was supposed to portray. but it was also a new year, and sydney already made a promise to milo to really try to hit their new-experiences-quota this year, and he was lucky enough to also have rhys on his side for this venture. still, he was visibly relieved that rhys' plans didn't involve hair dyes or a stab at flirtation, something simpler, though not exactly brand new to him, if anyone could believe it. "  i'll have you know that i've actually skipped class.   " sydney said with a self-satisfied smile, albeit the reasons weren't exactly for any hedonistic endeavors. "  milo ate a really bad italian breakfast burrito from breadstix last year, and i had to play bedside nurse for the whole day. "  an explanation, though it didn't really help his case at all, would do it over and over again for his friends, but it still wasn't exactly for fun. "  no regrets about skipping class for that. so i guess it depends on what you want us to do, if we're going to count it as rebellion. but hey, i'll do it. "  he smiled, at least a confirmation that he was really willing to indulge rhys, even if he didn't fully trust he would keep them out of trouble. "  i'm ahead with the readings anyway.   "

🎙️           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ     billy should probably be more cognizant whenever she made little comments under her breath, couldn't really mute herself in a face to face like she normally would in a broadcast booth so her audience couldn't hear any unnecessary snark. but still, she cocked her head and looked at bear with feigned innocence. "  what? i didn't say anything.   " she said, brows furrowed as she slowly shook her head in faux confusion, so natural that it would be so believable if the truth didn't exist just a few seconds. "  but i believe you anyway. that you can climb up the garage, at least. your survival is a whole another question, however.   " and billy looked at the tall structure for a second, wincing at the idea of anyone doing such daredevil acts. "  but you caught me,   " she chuckled sarcastically as she brought her gaze back to him, hands briefly raised in fake surrender. "  people say i've been touched by death.   " no they don't. "  but death doesn't want to claim me. he just takes the people around me, especially the ones who make bad decisions around me. and this shit?   " she gestured at the parking garage for a second, and hoped that bear was superstitious enough not to actually climb the goddamn structure. "  a decision worse than the cheerios coach trying to commission the engineering department about a human cannon.   "

🎸           ˚           ﹕ㅤㅤ    of course, hollis forgot, just in his nature when he had a hundred thoughts in his mind at any given moment, guided by one whim after another that commitments and promises rarely ever stood a chance. but he'd rather lie than tell the truth, poor dude already looked stressed enough that he'd rather not add terrible roommate to the list of things to worry about, so he shook his head as if offended by the accusation. " what? no? the traffic was just really bad. " hollis chuckled, lighthearted, until he remembered he didn't have a car, practically skating everywhere he needed to be. so, another chuckle escaped him, more nervous this time, which made him chuckle again, trying to sound more natural now so dennis wouldn't catch on. " foot traffic, " he corrected himself as he grabbed his chair from his side of the room, finally sitting down to check out his roomie's dilemma. he pressed play, listening while his eyes paid attention to the different stems of the arrangement, fuck synchronized singing and dancing because production was more his lane. easier to get lost in these type of problems than figuring out what to do with his feet. " here, " he paused then pointed at a section of the mashup. " the stems are clashing, so you have to match their pitches. i think lowering it by two semitones should work here, " said as he showed dennis how to do it for next time. " and instead of going overboard with the transitions, it's better to add a limiter and very slight reverb first. very, very, very subtle just to make it all sound glued-together from the get-go. " and he did those for dennis, too, before finally looking at him with a satisfied smile, pressing play again so they could listen to the track together. " ...and voila. not so cooked anymore, are you? "