oh , my 𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓷𝓰.

a sigh leaves his lips , shaking his head. “ key , buddy. ” he lets out a soft chuckle , running a hand through slack curls. “ it’s fine , you know i don’t really care if we talk about her. but you should know that even if she did , i’m sworn to twin secrecy , so i wouldn’t tell you shit. you’re my bud , but i’m ALREADY risking dani being pissed at me , don’t think i’m that ballsy. ” their friendship was a slight risk , though he feels his sister would understand. “ are you missing her , or what ? ”

“ well HELLO to you too , lauren. ” a soft chuckle leaves his lips as he’s sketching sometimes onto the sketch book in front of him. “ can’t say i even realized there was a such thing as a smoothie bar , but i know there’s a good frozen yogurt place close if that’s ... any compensation for the loss of a smoothie. ” he chuckles , running a hand through soft honey-blonde locks. “ or , we can always make some smoothies. i have a blender. i think. ”

“ i dunno , maybe because i’m NICE and it felt like the right thing to do ? ” manny really was being honest , though he as a secret track record of fibbing. despite him being genuine , alisair’s reaction was still almost amusing to him –– it didn’t make him mad , he was just curious as to why he was so adamant. “ i mean , maybe , but if the person is telling me they’re going to help clean it up , i can imagine i wouldn’t really be that mad. especially if the person DIDN’T make the mess and they’re just trying to be fucking nice. just SAYING. ” he lets out a soft chuckle , leaning against the closest wall. “ i can just go if it’s really rubbing you the wrong way. was just trying to be helpful , man. ”  

eyes narrow , trying to figure out if she’s for real or not , until his THICK skull finally processes that she’s fucking with him. he laughs , taking the bottle from her and he hands his over , shamelessly taking a large swig from it. “ i’m partial to spain , but i still see your point. ” shoulders shrug , and then he’s LAUGHING , almost like she told a joke. “ oh , i WENT , but it’s so incredibly L A U G H A B L E that you think i took notes. notes ?! me ?! god , have you met me ? are you new here ? notes. god , what do you think this is ? ” a drama-ridden spiel falls from his lips , removing his laptop from his bag. “ however. i can airdrop you this. some kid that sits up from sends me these each lecture. i only read them before tests. ” it really was a miracle he was passing.  

he’s pissed –– it only increases with her reaction or rather , LACK therefore of. he ignores the words she does give him , feeling that’s irrelevant from what he really wants to talk about. he feels AWKWARD , staying put and trying to figure out how to call her out without being insensitive. but at this point , nicolas was in no mood or position to worry about being insensitive. “ why are you pushing me away , carol ? i fucking ––– i know that this has been hard for you. fuck , it’s been hard for me too. ” for some reason , he doesn’t consider that her pulling away was just because she was struggling with the loss of her brother. he thinks about it for a moment , but he knows her. he KNOWS there’s something else. “ i just want to know why , because i know it’s not just the obvious. if i did something wrong . . . ” he trails off , running a hand through his hair. nicolas wasn’t usually like this , he typically wouldn’t CARE , but this was his best friend. he cared. he needed her , and it was KILLING him. “ no bullshit , okay ? we have a no fucking bullshit policy. ”

manny wasn’t sure what he EXPECTED from mateo. he knew he messed up , but there was a part of him that just wanted the other to let it go. it’s not fair to ask that of him , all things considered , but he wanted his f r i e n d back. it was almost more painful that the manny watched the friendship fizzle before his eyes , unread texted , unreturned phone calls. so he took it upon himself to try and fix that. he was STUBBORN , that was for sure. “ mateo. ” it’s almost like a plea , but he’s not sure for what other than a few minutes. “ we haven’t TALKED at all. you just . . . stopped replying. stopping hanging out with me. look , i know you’re m a d . . . ” he trails off , trying to find his words. “ i miss you , you know ? i didn’t think we’d just stop being friends. you’re the only person that knows. ”

life was truly EXHAUSTING , and he wasn’t sure why he thought it would get any better. each day was as , if not more , exhausting than the last. the best part of his day was going back to his room and laying mindlessly in bed , only to be interrupted by a knock. he’s huffing , complaining before he even opens the door. and then , eyes lay on his sister and a sigh of pure relief falls from his lips. “ thank fuck it’s you. ” he lets out a chuckle. “ i CANNOT deal with any more interactions this week. people are out of fucking pocket. ” he’s just bitching , eyes glancing to the food she brought over. “ you’re the best , dani , really. ”

he holds back a soft laugh , holding his hands up in defense. “ i’m not being cocky , i’m just letting you know what i’m doing , since you ASKED. ” he points out , hands resting in the pockets of his jeans. “ and i never said i made the mess , because i didn’t. i just happened to notice it and i’m not a complete asshole , so i was gonna HELP. but , as stated , your attitude makes wanting to extend help less enjoyable. wouldn’t hurt you to loosen up , would it ? ”

he was FED up , and he didn’t even know why he was fed up. well , he did , but he didn’t know WHY caroline was distancing herself. he was , however , positive that she was and he was going to get to the bottom of it. after she ignores more texts and calls , he decides to just walk himself to her room , texting her that he’s outside and not leaving until she opens the door. arms crossed over his chest , eyebrows raise when she opens the door. “ you could’ve gotten dressed first. i’m patient. ” eyes linger , he can’t help it. “ i did though , yeah , since it seems so fucking HARD to see you as of recently and i’m gonna be honest , care , i’ve kinda needed my best friend. ” he comes in heavy , not able to hold it back anymore. 

“ i’m sorry they don’t have your little ––– LIGHTS , or whatever. ” he’s attempting , in his own way , to be somewhat comforting in the trying times of dorm shopping , though he really could care L E S S. “ why do you even bother FUSSING with all that ? penciling a whole room makeover into your schedule. it just seems like a waster of time , but then again , i have zero sense of design . . . so. ” a soft chuckle leaves parted lips , and then shoulders shrug. “ i think i do , i just didn’t realize they were called FAIRY lights. ” another shrug , and then an idea comes into his head. “ HEY , since you’re free now since the only , light situation , do you wanna come by my room ? i’ll order dinner for us. ”

he’s already in a SHIT mood , which wasn’t uncommon for nic as of recently , but all he wanted was a decent cup of coffee and to be back in his room without another person asking him about his day , or his sister. he places himself in the line which is absurdly long , and feels someone approaching the line behind him. curious eyes turn , and he can’t help the groan that immediately leaves his body. “ of fucking course it would be you. ” venom is heavy in his tone , not bothering to hide his distaste. “ shouldn’t have asked myself if today could possibly get any w o r s e. ” 

it wasn’t like he DIDN’T understand why mateo was upset with him. he did , but he wasn’t going to stop trying to get the other to forgive him. it was a tricky situation , trusting someone with a secret and then watching them react different than you thought they were going to. he’s wading in rough waters , showing up to mateo’s door unannounced , but he has to do something. “ hey. ” foot creeps forward , a silent blocker just in case mateo decides to try to shut the door in his face. “ can we talk , maybe ? it’s been ... a while and i really want to talk about what i told you. ” bad wording , manuel. “ please ? ”

the first week of school , and nicolas was already avoiding school work. he didn’t want to admit that it was because he was having a hard time EMOTIONALLY , so instead he just blamed it on his own , prominent characteristics and it seemed full believable. a hand closes the book in front of him , looking over at erik , who was doing –– whatever it was that he was doing next to him. “ are we doing something tonight , or what ? ” he asks , fingers tapping against the hardly-read text book. “ i’m b o r e d. ”

words flow though his ears , eyes glancing over at the DILEMMA happening next to him. “ i’m pretty sure you can manage without whatever the fuck fairy lights are. ” words fill the momentary silence after she spoke , arms coming up to cross firmly over his chest. “ get ‘em on AMAZON or something. ”

“ i mean , i noticed the stain as i was LEAVING and i was going to HELP , i’ve read some tricks online to getting the smell of ALCOHOL out of carpets , but if you’re gonna be an asshole , you can clean it yourself , bud. ” there’s no aggression in his tone , completely neutral. “ up to you. don’t need to stick around if you’ve got it taken care of. ”