bleary

– THEY HANG OUT LIKE THIS OFTEN. just peacefully, doing their own things without any obligation to constantly be talking. odette likes that – the ability to be by herself but not be alone. she’s curled up with her book and jovan is doing whatever the hell else. he doesn’t have to talk for her to feel safer that he’s there – it’s only WEIRD because quentin isn’t. over the past few years, it’s always been the three of them, the musketeers, a constant in her life. she worries that now that’s changed, it’s only a matter of time before jovan doesn’t stick around. 

some might call their relationship complicated considering their history, but to odette, it’s very simple: he’s her best friend. of course, once he’d been one of her best friends – but without quentin, there’d maybe been a promotion. all the more reason she doesn’t want to lose him.

odette shifts in her bed, closing her book and setting it aside. “jovan?” she scoots to make space for him. “can i…talk to you about something?” stupid question, but she can’t help but feel anxious about it. 

        WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME jovan experienced this kind of peace and quiet? with all the recent events that occurred, he could barely remember. stress and a weird sort of tension or pressure had always been prevalent. however, here in the room with odette he can’t help but feel it all slowly melt away into nothingness. even if there existed a small part of his brain constantly concerned by the fact that there was a murderer at large, there was a certain comfort to be found in this constant that didn’t seem to have changed much. 

(was it awful of him to expect things to be the same with odette when everything else seemed to have been thrown to the wind? when the person who used to be here with them from the very beginning was suddenly found dead?)

the pencil in his hand suddenly stops moving and he squints at the unfinished illustration of a statice, tracing the lines of the stalk gingerly. he would have to redo that. midway of rummaging through his pencil case for an eraser, his ears perk up at the sound of his name. his head turns around, letting out a distracted “ hm? ” as he carelessly put the pencil case back down on the desk. jovan moves soundlessly to odette’s side as she makes space for him, leaving a small gap in between. a reminder. that this was not what it used to be. with quentin gone, it’s like something had fallen out of place for good. 

on whether that was inherently bad, however, he has yet to decide. 

                    sigh. it was a good thing that the other didn’t know that joshua wasn’t saving the seat for anyone in particular. it was more of his own sort of … preference. he didn’t like people being close enough to stare at him while he ate. it felt WEIRDLY personal. before jovan is able to pull out the chair and sit on it, joshua extends his ridiculously long legs and throws his feet on the seat of the chair. “it wasn’t a fucking suggestion,” he counters, eyes narrowed. to hell if someone was going to disturb his cherished half-hour break before his self-imposed schedule forced him back to the studio. 

          HE TAKES A MOMENT to compose himself, staring blankly at the guy’s feet on the chair all the while suppressing the urge to do something rash and totally out of character. he’s had nothing to eat or drink since the moment he woke up, and having his first meal of the day being denied right in front of his eyes by some selfish prick would be reason enough for him to snap. maybe he should’ve just followed the professor when she asked him to help her with the preparation of lecture materials. maybe then he wouldn’t have fallen into such a foolish predicament where the only table with seats available to him in the dining hall was the one occupied by above-mentioned prick. jovan’s eyes flicker upwards, receiving the intentions behind his glare fairly well but there’s the tiniest of tugs on one side of his lip. 

“this is so stupid,” delia sighed as she scanned books back into the computer in the campus library. this was the closest to a job that she had ever come, and she was seething. in a moment of hot passion the girl had said some pretty fiery things to the campus librarian about her selection of ‘hot’ books that were featured on the table centered to the entrance. in delias defense though, was sarah dessen really an author that deserved to be front and center in the library at ashcroft university? wasn’t that a bit juvenile? the librarian had taken great offense at Delias words, and referred her to the dean; who in turn sent her back to the library to find some books that she deemed fit to be placed on that front table. however, before she could do so she had to work an entire day at the desk, and scan every book returned back into the system. of course, this was a Tuesday afternoon, and it seemed that hundreds of books were being returned every two hours. “hi, how may I help you?” the girl spoke quickly, as soon as she saw someone walking up to the desk. “please do not tell me that you’re here to return a book, because I just might throw it back at you.” the joke seemed prevalent in her tone, but she was half serious. 

                     joshua ate alone. always. without fail. it wasn’t like he had FRIENDS to share a seat with, and the few people that he might have cared about, he actively pushed away. he preferred it this way –– he could mindlessly scroll through youtube, pick up some inspiration from new dance videos, eat at his own pace, and most importantly, not be disturbed. he liked his little situation. it was regular, familiar, and he could focus on himself. with apple in hand and a full plate of a bleak-looking salad, he sat at a table in the far corner of the dining hall, headphones blocking his ears from hearing anyone else in his vicinity. but his eyes still peered over his phone, noting someone passing by his claimed little area. “LEAVE. this seat’s fucking taken,” he lies, an aggression painting his words as he gestures to the space in front of him. he doesn’t want to be interrupted. 

hey guy ,im kon aka the person behind mr jovan reyes ,,, u can read more abt his life choices here and a VERY basic rundown here!! pls press the heart if u wanna plot <3 

(froy gutierrez, cismale) JOVAN REYES, the ALFRESCO, is TWENTY-ONE and a JUNIOR. HE is majoring in ANTHROPOLOGY. In addition to being Quentin’s CLOSE FRIEND, they are part of the Imperium Society. JOVAN was probably selected because HIS FATHER IS A RENOWNED BIOLOGIST. They remind me of FEET IN FRESH EARTH, THE SOUND OF PENCILS SCRATCHING ON PAPER, DISTANT LAUGHTER AND RAIN ON SUNNY AFTERNOONS.