Nestled in the corner of the couch in their rehearsal space, Avery was scrolling through TikTok on her phone, thumb swiping idly and only intermittently looking up to mumble a ‘see ya’ to whoever retrieved their belongings from the pile beside her and left. The group were done for the afternoon. Another jam session down in the books. Avery never expected to enjoy their regular meet-ups as much as she did but the hour or two they would spend together a couple times a week to enjoy music was easily one of her favorite ways to kill time now.

One of the last to vacate was Jacqui. Seeing them approach to gather their things, Avery nudged their shoe with her own. “Can I tempt you to stay?” She asked, thumb pressing the lock button on her phone and her screen going dark. “I’ve got...” Her hand tucked into her bag, reappearing a moment later gripping a pack of candy. “Snacks.” Sour Punch. Rainbow straws, of course. “Though if that’s not enough...” She reached into the pocket of a jacket she had laid against the arm of the sofa, revealing a well-rolled joint between her fingers a moment later. Her head canted to a side. “Down?”

Knock, knock, knock. Kit wasn’t sure what the rules were when you beat someone up in the middle of a party, but he felt really bad that the scene he caused probably ruined the vibes of Ollie’s get-together. It was why he was here: fruit basket in hand in front of Room 201 hoping Ollie didn’t hate him terribly for what he’d done. It’s been some time between then and now –  the mostly healed cuts on Kit’s knuckles proof of that – so he hoped if Ollie was really pissed then that he cooled off a good amount by now. When the door swung open, Kit didn’t expect the person across from it, his face crumpling slightly. “Jacqui, hey... Sorry. Didn’t mean to bother ya. Is Ollie here? I was kind of hoping to talk to him.”