College AU! - Small Group RP - Closed

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou wasn’t bringing any work, either. He was barely bringing anything, in fact - he had a very small bag, with art supplies and snacks, but that was all. It was all he really expected to need, they weren’t going to be there long.
“Hello!” He called, joining Newt as the taller boy approached. “I’m ready now! We should go, before they do everything without us.”
He hoped they hadn’t started whatever activities they had planned. Not that he minded missing the tent setup, but he was interested to see if he could start the fire...ah, well, maybe tomorrow if it was too late today.
He turned, heading for the motorcycle outside, trusting Newt to follow.

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou hadn’t thought to bring more clothes, which was probably bit of an oversight on his part. In his defense, this would be his first ever camping trip, and he wasn’t entirely sure what was needed. Hopefully he wouldn’t regret it, but if he did, there were probably towels. Hopefully towels. It wasn’t like he’d thought to bring any of those, either.
“Good. I’m all caught up on homework now,” he said cheerfully, hands in his pockets as he headed outside. “And it didn’t rain. I thought it might, but I’m glad it didn’t, umbrellas don’t work when you’re also riding a motorcycle. I’m ready to see what camping is like, now.”
He glanced at Newt. His roommate hadn’t needed to stay back with him. But he had, and Juuzou was grateful for it. A motorcycle ride was a lot of fun alone, but he ‘ew the other boy had been interested in riding along sometime. This seemed like a good time.

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou wouldn’t have minded being squeezed into a car, but he definitely vastly preferred being in control of his own vehicle. Maybe that was why he liked motorcycles so much. He didn’t have to let anyone else drive when he was driving.
“Yes, I like the stars,” he agreed, glancing up at the thought. He couldn’t see them very well yet, but hopefully, that would change soon. He didn’t know just how clear they would be, and he wouldn’t until they actually got there, since he definitely shouldn’t be watching the sky while driving a motorcycle.
He was oblivious to Newt’s concern as they approached, and he swung his leg over the vehicle, preparing to turn it on. “They gave us helmets,” he remarked, handing one to Newt. “You just get on behind me. And hold on so you don’t fall off. It’s pretty easy, I’ve driven these before.”
He hadn’t for a while. But that was okay. It hadn’t been too long, and he was sure he remembered.

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou was confident in his ability to drive the motorcycle safely, even if he hadn’t driven one recently. Nothing bad had happened last time, after all. And he had Newt to worry about, too.
He hadn’t been completely sure about his roommate at first, but it turned out they seemed to get along very well so far. They hadn’t yet irritated each other. They hadn’t even argued. Juuzou wasn’t quite the best at staying on his side of the room, true, but he did mind his own business most of the time, and he was serious about studying. It was something he had always wanted to to, even before he had known there was a way he actually could, and here they were, at college. He wasn’t going to waste a moment of this time.
He nodded a little as Newt held on, securely in place behind him. “It’ll be loud,” he said after a pause. “And fast. And I probably won’t be able to hear you if you try to talk. And don’t let go.”
He turned the motorcycle on, the engine roaring to life, and kicked off.

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

It would take a lot to make Juuzou rethink his interactions with the others. He wasn’t picky, really, and no one had been mean or tried to bother him so far. He hadn’t actually really talked to them much, apart from online, and even that not much. If they were going to end up being frustrating, they hadn’t yet.
It didn’t take very long to get there, but he had time to think. Consider what the camping trip might be like, think of the stars...he wanted to get there and see what it was like.
He pulled into a parking space, the engine dying as he switched the vehicle off. He took the helmet off ans shook out his black hair, glancing over his shoulder to grin at Newt. “That was fun,” he said brightly. “I think I want my own. Then I could do that all the time.”
He climbed off and stretched, nodding a little to himself. “Did they say which site they were at?” He asked after a moment, glancing around in the hope that he would see them. They all had to be there by then, right?

Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou wasn’t the best at looking cool either. He tended to look more...well, like himself. Whatever that meant. He didn’t try to come off a certain way, he just did things and people read into it. That was his experience with it, anyway.
The others, some of them at least, did see to put some effort into how they looked to others. And it wasn’t like Juuzou didn’t at all, he just...didn’t try for a specific look that wasn’t his own. Everything he did had a sort of genuine air to it, since he wasn’t doing it for anyone else.
Not that there was anything wrong with trying to appear a certain way. It felt like Nico made an effort, for example, to come across a certain way, but...it just wasn’t in Juuzou’s nature,
He nodded, a grin coming over his face, “I think we’ll be friends. And I think a road trip would be amazing...we could go see something cool! And ride a motorcycle at the same time.”
He nodded a little to himself and turned in the direction Newt had indicated. “Ready,” he agreed, and headed off, his own small bag in hand.

Ronan and Juuzou | The Camping Trip | strider

Newt’s opinion about Juuzou seemed fairly accurate. He didn’t tend to fit himself into categories, didn’t try to be perceived a certain way. How he seemed to to others wasn’t his concern, and so far, it hadn’t stopped him from making friends.
Friends. Was that what he considered these people? What else would they be? Newt, especially, they lived together, but the others...he had talked online. He thought he was going to like meeting them, and camping with them.
“Where would you go if you could?” He asked, glancing at Newt in time to see his smile. Good, he was happy. Juuzou was, too, but it was harder to tell about others, unless they told him.
He headed for the others, dropping his bag once he made it next to the tents and raising his arms in excitement. “Hello! We’re here! Did you wait for us?”
His eyes scanned the others, looking for evidence of s’mores. He wasn’t sure what else they might have done without him and Newt, but he hoped there were still some things left to do.

Ronan glanced up, tossing a marshmallow back and forth between his hands, his eyebrows raising. “Great. Did anyone bring bug spray?” He asked instead of a greeting, pausing with the marshmallow in his left hand, then throwing it at Noah none too gently. He looked at Newt, eyebrows raising a little. “You have plenty of stuff. Bug spray?”
It wasn’t like they really needed it, not yet at least. But there were a few mosquitoes here and there that had to be slapped at, so the request had a bit of merit to it, if nothing else.
He leaned back in his chair, smirking at the fire. “No s’mores yet,” he added, picking out another marshmallow to toss back and forth. “Nico isn’t here yet, either. He’s even later than you two, and that’s saying something.”

Ronan and Sal | The Camping Trip | strider

Ronan grinned, appearing entirely unapologetic about the marshmallow attack. He caught the bug spray a moment later and began to spray it on his exposed arms, then sprayed the rest of him, too, for good measure. He put it on the ground a second later and looked up again, watching the others.
He didn’t yet count any of these people (besides Noah of course) as friends. They were people, people who he wasn’t close to, and that meant he wouldn’t be completely torn up if something happened and he moved out, or dropped out and never saw them again. He didn’t get attached quickly, but he didn’t get attached slowly, either . It tended to happen like most other things happened to and because of Ronan Lynch: Abruptly and without warning. It was a little like falling in love without the romance. Perhaps because that was exactly what it was.

Sal glanced up, his blue eyes catching on Newt’s face. His own expression was, as usual, hidden behind his prosthetic, but he could read Newt’s fairly well.
He was worried about Nico. The other boy hadn’t arrived yet, and him traveling alone without telling anyone where he was going to be...yeah, Sal couldn’t help worrying about him, even if he’d said it would be fine. Sal trusted him, but he knew that sometimes there wasn’t any stopping the bad things from happening. Especially when you were alone.
“He didn’t say,” he answered after a moment. He didn’t mention that he’d asked and Nico hadn’t wanted to say. That seemed...a little invasive to bring up unless it was an emergency. It wasn’t an emergency yet, just a...slightly concerning situation. He glanced around, hoping to see Nico appearing out of the trees, or emerging from the parking lot. No such luck yet, though. He looked down again, shaking his head a little. “Anyone know what time it is?”

If L had really messed anything up, Orpheus would have told him. He didn’t think Xichen actually disliked L, he just thought that… well, hacking into a private discussion was probably not the best way to show someone that you were a good person. But Xichen knew Orpheus well enough to know that he wasn’t likely to end up dating a complete jerk. Although a little bit shy at times, Orpheus had a habit of first trying to convince jerks that there was nothing wrong with being nice, and then undermining them without them realizing it was happening. It wasn’t really intentional, just a side effect of who he was and how he interacted with people. He couldn’t stand it when people acted like they were better than others. Point was, he had a feeling that Xichen would be willing to give L the benefit of the doubt. That he already had.
“I’m not terribly surprised,” Orpheus replied lightly, a small smile pulling at his lips. “First impressions are difficult, even without mentions of cannibalism, relevant or not. I’m surprised Eurydice ever wanted to talk to me again after the first time I talked to her. Actually… I’m surprised you still talk to me after some of what I said the first time we met.” He gave a quiet laugh, leaning his head back against L.
“I don’t say it enough, but I’m very glad you’re in my life,” Orpheus murmured, letting his eyes slip closed for just a moment. “You… well, you make things easier to handle, even if it involves cannibalism. And I love you.”

Nico looked between the others, staying a safe distance away from the campfire and the rest of the group, even as he came a little bit closer. He saw the way Sal in particular was looking at him. Maybe he should have come from the direction of the parking lot, but it was a little bit too late to fix that now. If they thought he was a cryptid, so be it. He had certainly been thought of as worse. A traitor, a killer, a turncoat… yeah, cryptid was the least of his worries. And it would fit into the reputation he was building for himself quite nicely.
“Sorry I didn’t answer your text,” he told Sal, just loud enough to be heard. He hadn’t quite joined the group at the campfire – he didn’t really think he would be welcome, if he were honest with himself. He wasn’t used to the idea that people could want him around. Why would they? He shook the thought away, instead forcing a hesitant smile.
“Glad to hear I didn’t miss much, though.”

Zuko frowned, crossing his arms as Nico seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was… unusual, to say the least, but he had quickly learned that there wasn’t much usual about the people who had been lumped into the suite with him. He figured it could be worse. He could deal with weird all day long, but if he had to share a room with a frat bro… well, he was fairly certain that one of them would have died, and Zuko valued his life pretty highly. But the particular brand of weird that seemed to be shared among the other seven? Somehow, Zuko found he fit right in with it… or at least, he thought he might. He was still a little bit iffy on sharing a room, but if he kept his binders well hidden… it wouldn’t be too much of a problem. Varian seemed to at least try to respect his space, and he’d been helpful in taking care of the plants so far…
“We should start s’mores,” he said after a moment, eyes narrowing just a little bit. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do while camping?”

It was hard to read Sal’s expression because of the prosthetic, but Nico got the feeling he was looking at him weird. Which… made sense considering it seemed like he had just appeared almost from out of nowhere, but still. It was also possible hew as just reading into things, that Sal was looking at him perfectly normally, his prosthetic was just blocking the facial features that would let Nico know that. Not that he was always the best at picking up on other people’s facial expressions. He shook the thought away, turning his attention back towards the fire and the others. His eyes widened almost imperceptibly as Sal offered a seat, and he hesitated for just a moment before taking it. He bit his lip for a moment before turning and dipping his head to Sal in gratitude. He wasn’t really… hungry, but… he never was, these days. Maybe sharing a s’more with these people that could one day be his friends would be enough to get around the mental block.
Nico noticed how much space Sal had left between them. He didn’t say anything, but he did notice. And it raised his respect for Sal immensely.

“Hey!” Noah protested again, just barely managing to catch the marshmallow this time. He threw it back in Ronan’s direction, feeling at least a little bit satisfied as his aim proved true. Good. Two could play at throwing marshmallows, especially since Noah wasn’t actually planning on eating any more. The last one hadn’t tasted like anything. He missed tasting sweets. He missed tasting a lot of things, actually. He kept that thought to himself, though, instead watching the others.

Zuko took the supplies from Ronan, carefully grabbing a stick and placing one end in the fire. He had been told that was supposed to sanitize it, but he didn’t know if it worked. Even if it didn’t… it made him feel a little bit better. He grabbed a marshmallow, mounting it on the stick before passing the bag to Sal.
“So…” he said a bit awkwardly after a moment of silence, “what’s the only right way to cook a marshmallow?”

Zuko blushed a little bit as Sal actually started teaching him how to make a good s’more. He had more brought it up because he knew people liked arguing about that, because everyone had their own particular way of doing it, but he wasn’t going to mention that when Sal was going out of his way to be both kind and informative. He didn’t have the heart to tell him he had made s’mores before. Fortunately, Sal’s way of making s’mores was similar enough to Zuko’s that he could do it the same way, just pretend he had left it in for a little bit too long. Burned wasn’t good. Too… bad tasting. Too crunchy, too. You needed just a soft coating of crunch, but you needed to keep it in long enough that the inside was perfectly gooey. A little bit more than golden brown, perhaps. Singed, maybe, but not burnt. He was very particular about his own s’mores.
He stuck the marshmallow just on the edge of the fire, letting the flames lick it and darken it, then let it lower just a little bit closer before blowing it out and carefully sliding it in between the graham crackers.

“You’re all delusional,” Newt piped up, a small smile on his lips as he loaded his own marshmallow onto a stick. “You want it to be cooked on the outside, but still a little bit hard in the center. It’s the best texture for it.” He held his marshmallow a ways above the fire, letting the outside cook for a bit before he pulled it away and methodically stacked the chocolate on top of the graham cracker, then slid the marshmallow in between. He took a bite, giving a thumbs-up as he did so.
“I brought some extra chocolate, if nobody else did. That way we can have some with double chocolate without suffering from a chocolate shortage.” As far as he was concerned, the chocolate was the best part of the s’more, and as long as the marshmallow was warm enough to melt it a little bit… it was good enough for him.

Zuko looked over at Sal, trying to search his expression before remembering that it wasn’t… really possible. Well… he would have to thank him, later. For showing him how to make marshmallows, even if he already technically knew how. He felt his cheeks coloring and found himself grateful for the light of the fire. It made it a little bit harder to tell that his cheeks were getting red. He’d… just be careful about what he said from then on. But… Sal’s marshmallow had fallen off the stick, and… Zuko considered for a long moment, then broke the s’more he had made in half and held the smaller half out to Sal.
“Thanks,” he said after a moment, giving an almost firm nod.

“Chocolate does not ruin the ratio,” Newt replied in a mock-scandalized voice, though the smile pulling at his features betrayed that he was joking. “But yeah… don’t take any chemistry classes with that attitude,” he teased lightly, unsure how far was too far when he didn’t really know these people. At home… well, at home you got to know people by gently teasing them. He didn’t know if that was the right vibe for his suitemates, though.

At the mention of Chainsaw, Noah’s expression lit up and he nodded eagerly – although he had technically already met her. He was excited to see what the others thought. It seemed implausible that they all thought Ronan had a girlfriend. Especially one named Chainsaw. Although, he supposed the others hadn’t known Ronan for as long as he had. Nobody else had seen the painfully obvious way he’d looked at Adam Parrish before they’d finally kissed. He hid the smile that came across his features at that.

“Your… girlfriend?” Nico replied, brows raising in a mixture of curiosity and concern. He sent a look in Sal’s direction, hoping his roommate would catch on that this was… weird. Nico squinted a little bit, counting the life forms… the six of them, plus Noah – who he would have to talk to later, because he hadn’t anticipated having a ghost as a roommate – a couple of birds here and there… a fox, deeper in the woods… no girlfriend, at least as far as Nico was aware.

Noah watched eagerly, scanning everyone’s face as he waited for Ronan to make his demonstration. He didn’t know how they were going to react, but he did wish he had popcorn, if only for the aesthetic of it. He thought briefly about filming it, but that would ruin the surprise. And he wanted to see their reactions live. It was odd, seeing Chainsaw as she was now, a magnificent specter. He remembered when she had been a tiny croaking ball of feathers that Ronan had to smuggle into school to feed.
“Stop wasting marshmallows!” he gasped finally, crossing his arms as Chainsaw dropped another marshmallow onto the ground. Noah wasn’t eating that one.

Nico frowned a little bit, crossing his arms as he took a marshmallow from the bag and waited to see what sort of trick Ronan thought he was playing. There wasn’t anyone there… he considered for a moment whether it would be worth it to put his marshmallow on a stick and roast it, but decided instead to just nibble at the corner. He might as well ease into it… and then the marshmallow fell from his fingers as Chainsaw swooped in, lighting on Ronan’s shoulders. She was alive, technically, but it was almost as though she was tied to Ronan in a way. He nodded appreciatively, picking his marshmallow up from the ground and pulling off the section that hadn’t touched it.

“No such thing as too strong when it comes to chocolate,” Newt replied, shaking his head a little bit. The smile never left his face, even as he took a bite of the s’more, careful not to get his hands sticky. Unlike Varian, he noted, who appeared to have bits of the marshmallow stuck there. It was interesting, Newt thought, seeing each of their personalities come out in greater capacity here, when they weren’t stressed about school or moving in or anything like that. It felt… almost like a group of friends. It would take them a while to officially get there, but he hoped they would, one day.
“Ronan has a girlfriend none of us have ever-” he broke off, eyes widening in awe as the magnificent bird swooped down. She looked quite at home there, almost… like she fit.
“She’s pretty,” he said a moment later, once he’d gotten his words back.

Zuko just nodded, not saying anything else. He wasn’t intimated by Sal. Actually, he thought it would be hypocritical of him if he were – his face was far from a pretty sight, so who was he to judge anyone else’s? He already had a feeling that he was much more intimidating personality-wise than Sal would ever be. And the bright blue pigtails certainly helped tone down the intimidation factor. Zuko wasn’t sure if he wanted to be intimidating or not. He didn’t really want to make people afraid of him, but… sometimes that was how things went. Sometimes it actually worked out for the better, having people afraid of him. He didn’t actually do much to dispel the idea. In fact, he had probably accidentally supplemented it by demanding a single.
And then his attention was drawn entirely away from Sal because there was something big flying just overhead, drawn in by Ronan’s marshmallow. He tensed, ready to fight off a hawk or something – well… in theory. He didn’t know if he’d be capable of that physically – when it landed on Ronan’s shoulder. She. Chainsaw.
Confusion crossed his features for a long moment as he took her in. He stayed silent until some of the other reactions died down. When he spoke, his tone was blunt.
“You’re dating a bird?”