* 𝕣𝕦𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 ╱ 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 .

          𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓  𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕  ,  𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓  𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚  that  attracts  cooper’s  incessant  craving  for  a  high  ,  the  adrenaline  of  shots  and  dancing  and  forgetting  the  shit  going  on  outside  the  perimeters  of  whatever  house  party  he’d  decided  to  crash  tonight  .  the  grin  on  his  face  is  slanted  ,  a  little  sloppy  from  the  number  of  shots  he’s  already  consumed  ,  as  cooper  wanders  around  the  mansion  ,  looking  for  a  familiar  face  to  keep  him  company  .  upon  finding  a  group  of  juniors  snus  ,  yet  another  strong  drink  is  pushed  into  his  grip  .  he  takes  a  sip  and  winces  at  the  over  pour  ,  but  knocks  it  back  anyways  .  who  was  he  to  turn  down  a  drink  ?  as  he  laughs  along  to  whatever  his  frat  brothers  are  joking  about  ,  blue  eyes  patrol  his  surroundings  casually  —  a  usual  habit  of  his  ,  mostly  to  keep  his  eye  on  whoever  he’d  arrived  to  the  party  with  or  make  sure  things  weren’t  getting  too  out  of  hand  —  but  then  he  locks  eyes  with  a  familiar  gaze  that  makes  the  grin  on  his  lips  falter  .  he  sees  barom’s  gaze  quickly  tear  from  his  and  coop  frowns  ,  still  not  accustomed  to  this  new  distance  barom  had  been  putting  between  the  two  over  the  semester  .  normally  ,  they  would  be  the  life  of  the  party  together  ,  a  dynamic  duo  that  everyone  wanted  in  on  ,  not  avoiding  each  other’s  presence  .  cooper  has  never  been  one  for  confrontation  ,  preferring  to  drink  away  the  worries  that  ate  away  at  his  heart  ,  but  with  another  sip  of  liquid  courage  in  the  form  of  way  too  much  vodka  mixed  with  a  splash  of  cranberry  juice  ,  coop  feels  his  feet  carry  him  towards  barom  .  he’s  honestly  not  sure  what  he’s  going  to  say  to  him  —  especially  with  the  random  girl  chatting  the  other  male’s  ear  off  —  but  after  he  weaves  through  the  crowd  ,  cooper  spies  the  other  suddenly  alone  now  and  the  liquor  inside  of  him  whispers  something  about  fate  before  he  closes  the  distance  between  him  and  his  former  partner  in  crime  .  “  hey  ,  stranger  !  ”  cooper  greets  ,  adopting  a  smile  that  probably  looks  just  as  forced  as  it  feels  .  “  fancy  running  into  you  here  .  ”  he  laughs  and  drags  a  hand  through  his  dark  hair  .  “  nice  place  ,  huh  ?  ”  he  uses  the  excuse  to  tear  his  eyes  from  barom  for  a  second  and  look  around  the  richly  decorated  home  they  were  in  .  he  takes  a  sip  of  his  drink  and  looks  back  to  barom  .  “  how’ve  ya  been  ?  school  kicking  your  ass  too  ?  ”

*——— HIS EXPECTATIONS HAD BEEN UNCLEAR from the beginning, so the tinge of disappointment at the lack of energy is a surprise to him as well. “oh, you don’t?” he asks as arms cross over his chest, hazel pools flickering along the other’s frame, the want for the fight he came looking for dwindling as he takes in more and more. perhaps his ability to read others wasn’t as sharp as he would like, but the tripping over words and the doe-eyed face worked together in soothing a temper that hadn’t been too explosive currently in the first place.

clearing his throat, he plants his feet firmly onto the ground beneath him, blades of green trapped between where the two of them stand. “so why’s it i keep hearing your name?” brows furrow in an attempt to keep the energy he had approached with, though he feels the intrigue begin to overtake annoyance.

          BAROM  HAS  A  HABIT  OF  running  his  mouth  .  this  ,  he  knows  for  certain  .  his  mother  always  warned  him  that  his  mouth  would  get  him  into  trouble  --  if  anything  ,  it’s  led  him  to  getting  into  good  grace’s  .  in  this  current  moment  though  ,  he’s  completely  unsure  of  what  the  other  is  talking  about  .  ‘  no  ,  i  don’t  !  ’  his  voice  audibly  squeaks  .  his  short  outburst  catches  the  attention  of  a  couple  of  passersby  ,  and  he  bows  his  head  in  a  quick  apology  after  the  way  they  look  at  him  .  he  swallows  thickly  as  he  wonders  where  this  interaction  could  potentially  be  going  .  was  he  about  to  walk  away  with  his  tail  between  his  legs  or  was  he  about  to  be  wondering  if  he  had  a  bag  of  frozen  peas  in  the  freezer  ?

          he  makes  sure  to  stop  fiddling  with  his  things  ,  taking  the  pause  in  conversation  to  zip  up  his  backpack  and  sling  it  onto  his  back  .  ‘  um  --  i  don’t  really  know  ?  ’  he  attempts  to  wrack  his  brain  to  think  of  an  answer  that  doesn’t  make  him  sound  like  a  complete  idiot  .  he  licks  his  lips  and  brushes  his  hands  against  the  front  of  his  hollingsworth  sweatshirt  .  ‘  i  ...  i  don’t  even  know  your  name  .  ’

*——— CONFRONTATION WAS NEVER SOMETHING that xavier shied away from. most who knew him would agree it was almost second nature, noting the chaos that usually followed from his antics. had he been in a better state when the news had been presented, perhaps there wouldn’t have been a trek across campus locating the source of the gossip, but knuckles had been scab free for over a week, and the lack of crimson didn’t seem to sit quite well with them.

“you barom?” he asks once the black hoodie others had pointed out was spotted on the quad, fully knowing who he had picked out, was in fact, the culprit ( confirmed by multiple ). “i heard you were talking shit,” he begins, head cocking to the side as hues drink in his admittedly perfect features. “you got anything else you wanna say?” @spoiledfm​

         THERE’S  A  SCRUNCHED  DEMEANOR  ON barom’s  face  as  he  attempts  to  juggle  the  items  in  his  hands  ,  ranging  from  a  new  canvas  from  the  bookstore  to  a  half - finished  and  flat  bottle  of  coke  .  if  only  he  could  get  to  his  car  ,  then  he’d  stop  struggling  so  much  .  the  white  vehicle  is  only  a  few  feet  away  ,  and  barom’s  only  interested  in  putting  his  things  inside  and  heading  back  to  his  apartment  for  the  night  .  he’s  a  bit  stunned  though  ,  when  he  hears  someone  asking  about  him  in  a  not - so  pleasant  tone  ,  and  he  stops  messing  with  his  backpack  long  enough  to  see  who  it’s  coming  from  .

         ‘  uh  ,  yeah  ...  why  ?  ’  his  movements  are  slow  and  a  bit  calculated  as  he  tries  to  determine  how  this  conversation  will  go  .  talking  shit  ?  his  eyes  grow  wide  at  the  mention  and  immediately  puts  his  hands  up  in  the  form  of  a  weak  defense  . ‘  i  don’t  ...  what  are  you  talking  about  ?  ’  he  blinks  slowly  and  keeps  his  eyes  on  the  male  before  him  .  who  was  this  and  why  did  barom  feel  like  he  was  about  to  get  punched  in  the  face  ?  his  head  shakes  vehemently  . ‘ i  ...  i  really  have  no  clue what  you’re  talking  about  .  ’

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: i guess you'll have to bring me along and find out for yourself 😛

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: ooo , post break up . we are blasting queen bey's lemonade otw and gaining all of the inspo

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: i guess you'll have to prepare for that again then bc i'm going to make us go shot for shot so we're trashed all hoco weekend

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: alright, that's fair. where are you? i can pick you up

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: do you really think that'll help me? i love her just as much as the next guy but idk

𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐈: they actually banned me like last year but sure, i'm always down for an ikea trip 🥳 i fucking love jumping on their beds

𝐂𝐀𝐌𝐈: i mean ig i'd rather drunkenly critique ur decorating skills than study polsci. might be the most fun i have all week tbh

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: umm ... how did you manage to get banned from ikea? was it by jumping on the beds?

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: um you can 110% count me in , you know my major lk should've been interior design

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: what kind of look are u going for ?

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐒𝐄: i will gladly accept all the tequila shots and then we need to hit the bars bc monday funday 😋

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: is everyone around here good at interior design or are ya'll just saying that for a free trip ?

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: anything that doesn't remind me of now ? in other words, i'm going for a ... post-breakup kinda look .

𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒂 : i mean I'm always down to go to ikea but i have a feeling this was not meant for me ??

𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒂 : i have to say, i am a pretty good interior designer though . . . even if we're limited to ikea

𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒂 : i'd rather dinner & wine tbh, im not trying to get drunk on a weeknight

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: indeed it was.

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: who said anything about being /limited/ to ikea?

𝐒𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐍: ooh only if u will let me choose ur artwork .

𝐒𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐍: otherwise i'll pass . i have a huge essay due in two days n u already know i haven't started on it 😬

𝐒𝐔𝐓𝐓𝐎𝐍: i can never say no to some shots . can we do rum tho ? tequila makes me p*ke

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: i don't buy my artwork from ikea, i know better than that.

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: that's not my fault work on it in my car you'll have wifi or whatever else you need. besides, the ride to atlanta is like 3hrs but ... 🧐

𝐁𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐌: if i get a hold of my fam's jet it'll take an hour