storm in a teacup.

nathaniel was thirteen years old. he was young, and he allowed himself to feel things he doesn’t feel anymore. he wrote letters to his best friend that had moved away, but all his letters went unanswered. 

he sent them for a year. 

@ofvivicnnc​

nathaniel, as had become evident throughout his years at montpelier, did not like to interact with other students. he was very much a loner, however the self-isolation was something that nathaniel relished, and even treasured at times. the only two clubs he allowed himself to enter into were academically focused, and he tried his hardest to avoid any of the people in there. there was one person however, in both those clubs, that made that nearly impossible. nate, walking down the hall, could see emma jane in his vision and quickly threw him to the side and leaned up against a locker in the hopes of concealing himself.

“naji.” again, no further explanation. as far as naji’s concerned, it’s not needed. this guy needs an umbrella, and naji has room under his. it’s really not that deep. he nods, crossing the short distance between them to scoop up the pile and tuck it under his arm. “stop gawping. you’ll catch a fly in your mouth like that.” he levels the other with a bored stare and short jerk of his head to the rain. “fine. lead the way.” he shifts the books in his grip a bit, brows furrowed in quiet consideration. “what’s all this for anyway?” seeing as he was saving this guy’s life, naji figures he at least has the freedom to ask questions, even if the other doesn’t answer them.

Holden left for the gym for an hour, and upon his return he expected the dorm to look exactly like the hellish state he’d left it this morning. While it was still a tragedy, the space was now a Christmas edition of a tragedy. However, Holden couldn’t help but feel some kind of appreciation for the little things that Blue did, like decorate the dorm for the holiday. Part of Holden wondered if he did this due to the fact that the boy never had anywhere to go during the break, and wanted to make it as festive and homey as he could. Either way, he felt something in between delight and sadness at the sight. “Someone told you that it’s November right, you absolute bozo?” Holden asked as he shut the door behind him, dropping his duffel off to the side, and toeing out of his sneakers. “Love what you’ve done with the place, my lil Elf. You gonna up some mistletoe for me later?” he joked, wagging his brows at the blond, and blowing a kiss Blue’s way.

holden: you know you can obtain a zesty hug from me any time you like, u zesty fool

holden: first ALL, i am a pretzel man. secondly, fdklsd you're so fucking right. how much you wanna bet they have an outfit in the closet that resembles a flight hostess

holden: WHAT AN OPPORTUNITY!! i would wanna b "one more time" music video britt. which 1 are you?

holden: wow, that should be your tinder bio tbh

blue: the way you hold me feels zesty holden, and i don't know if i could handle it all day every day u feel

blue: what do u have against peanuts. and we all know wyatt is better than us all why we gotta argue

blue: tag urself im the britney in denim with justin timberlake

“Well, who else would it be?” The brunette questioned as he spoke. “I’ll be honest with you, I wouldn’t have pegged anyone else to be the ultimate prank master, so you’ve definitely got me on board there. Come in, we can’t let all of the secrets be known to the public,” she laughed as she stood back slightly, letting him make his way into the dorm. Cassidy wasn’t necessarily the one that would want to prank anyone (apart from her siblings, maybe), but with the recent turn of events and then blue’s note in her halloween basket, it would have been dumb of her to pass up the hilarious offer. “Okay, so what did you have in mind, exactly?”

Blue let himself be ushered into the room, a devious glint in his eyes. The two subjects of this prank would be none other than his fellow dorm mates ( and occassional friends ) Jem Sweet and Wyatt Collins. The pair had put Cassidy under so much stress lately, alongside Blue’s own grievances with the pair in recent times, it only seemed fair that a prank balanced out the scores a little. Knowing that Blue was perhaps a little too prepared for this, he tried to act as casual as he could by leaning against the wall and trying his utmost to seem cool. Cassidy was his mate, and had been for a while, but he needed her one hundred percent committed to this plan for it to work. “Well, dear Cassowary, I have options. Many different options, all just as great,” he affirmed, placing his bag on the ground. “I gotta warn you, before I reveal the list... not all of these are technically allowed,” Blue awkwardly chuckled. “But I promise they won’t get hurt. Well, except for one of them, but that would be their fault... so, are you still in ?”

The calming sounds of Christmas carols slowly began playing throughout dorm one. Boxes of decorations littering the common space in the dorm, Blue hadn’t bothered to ask the others if it was okay to put them up. Blue was very much a ‘holiday guy’. Any excuse for merriment, celebration, decoration and spending time with others and he was all for it. Already adorned in one of his many ugly Christmas sweaters, Blue cocked his head to the direction of the door. He spun around on his heel as he expanded his arms wide. “Welcome to the North Pole ! Do you like what I’ve done with the place ?” Blue hadn’t done all that much to the place yet, save for making an extreme mess. Little reindeer, penguins and santas were scattered around the dorm, alongside specks of fake tinsel they’ll be finding until they graduate. 

Blue had wondered if he’d gone a step too far. Especially given his competitive nature when it came to such a thing, Blue wasn’t known to do anything by small measures. But as he walked towards Cassidy’s dorm, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder, a list of deviant ( albeit benign ) pranks in his mind, and a certain number on speed-dial, he gently began knocking on the other’s door, and greeted her with a fabulous smile when she answered. “I hear you are in need of a prank consultant ? Well, I happen to know just the guy,” Blue proclaimed to the hall, raising his arms in bravado. Pausing for a second, he leans in a little closer to Cass. “I mean me, by the way. I’m the prank consultant.”

It seemed like the first moment since she’d awoken that morning that Libby was able to breath, as a wave of relief washed over her with his following words. She could feel the physical tension that had manifested within her ebb away, and return her to her usual, even temperament. One that was nearly always light-hearted and placid. He held no ill-will towards, her in fact, Blue carried some form of concern regarding her situation, and Libby felt as though this was the last thing she possibly deserved after the stunt she had pulled. Blue might’ve held no resentment towards her, despite her admittedly selfish actions, however, she certainly would bear a rancor towards herself for quite some time for harming someone she concerned to be innocent in all this, and benevolent in nature. As he kneeled in front of her, peering up at her with honesty swimming in his gaze, there was yet another rush of that feeling she wish she could kill. But in fact, the more and more time she spent in Blue’s presence and the more and more he continued to be this incredibly warm, and kind human being, she could feel herself becoming increasingly more attached. She loathed it, and wished more than anything to slice it out of her heart and toss it to the side, as not to complicate the already perplexing situation already. There was an enormous part of Libby that desperately wanted for him to have met her guilt with contempt, looked upon her with disappointment and coldly turned his back upon her. She wished he would generously would give her a reason to carefully carve him out of her life, and so that she may look back at him years later as an impactful stranger that had touched her life in a big way, but have no more thoughts about him. But there she was, sitting on the edge of a bed, staring back at him knowing that she was about to fall over the edge into something more dangerous than she could possibly anticipate. Swallowing the lump that hard formed in her throat, Libby finally mustered a small, hoarse, “Thank you.” A whisper of a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, as she resisted the pathetic urge to cry right there and then. She sucked in a deep breath, eyes jamming to a close, and she finally fell back into Holden’s disaster zone of a bed, legs still dangling off the edge. A small bubble of laughter emitted from her, the pressures of uneasiness now lifted from her body. “God, dude, I was so worried that you were going to rip me to shreds. I even wore waterproof mascara in preparation for this event,” she informed him, the mirth returning to her as she grinned at the ceiling. Her legs began to lightly kick off the side of the bed, an arm curling under her head, as a vague sense of peace wafted back to her, and she revered in it for a moment.

The right thing to do was to thank him once more for his kindness, and continue on. Try to forget about the new feeling coiling around her heart, try to burn it. Instead, weak and unable to turn away from him, Libby submitted herself to this feeling of affection, wanting to soak in any time she could with Blue. Licking her lips, Libby shifted herself into a seated position, only to plant herself next to Blue on the floor. She sat pretzel style, elbows at her knees, her chin propped up within her palm. She met his gaze for the first time all morning, the first time in months if she could properly recall. “Why are you such a nice person?” she asked quietly, genuinely curious. Blue had something of a peculiar position at school. He was popular and well-liked, exceedingly kind, but Libby wasn’t sure if he felt a true sense of belonging from all of this, golden boy behavior. Something seemed off. Something seems missing. Why was there an emptiness? Who or what took it out of him? And what would fill the gaping hole that he seemed to delicately avoid with wide grins, and altruistic behavior? She wished she could worm her way into his brain, and discover some answers in an attempt to subdue whatever ugliness plagued at him. “Because I think… I think you’re so considerate to others, even when they don’t deserve in the slightest capacity. Like me, for example. You had every right to flip out, but you turned it into regard for me, and my situation. But who does that for you? I’ve almost never seen it returned, save for the few real friends that you have here,” Libby added, searching his face, as if an answer would present itself in his expression. “So, why go through all the trouble?” she asked, cocking her head to the side as a hand absentmindedly tugged at the lace of her sneaker.

Blue felt a pang of guilt reverberate within him as he saw the relief melt from Libby’s expression. The very thought he could at all have caused her discomfort sets off an uneasy feeling in his stomach, one that leaves him bewildered and a tad confused. They had kissed apparently, and although it wasn’t a big deal to Blue, maybe it was a big deal to her ? But what could he do about it now ? He can’t just take it back. “You wore... you wore waterproof mascara for me ? Dude, I’m sorry you felt that way. Shit. Honestly, if you ever think I’m pissed at you, food will solve it nine times out of ten. Also, I’d never want you to cry.” Blue  created a breath of distance between the pair as he shuffled back slightly and collapsed to the floor in an unceremonious seat, as he tried to waiver the most insolent guilt that had started bubbling. It made no sense, and given the circumstances outside Blue’s understanding, it was also ironic. But seeing the joy of others often compensated and meant more than that of his own.