College AU! - Small Group RP - Closed

L Lawliet | Room 4C | strider

L didn’t want to deprive Orpheus of the chance to do what he wanted to do. He didn’t want to stand in the way of Orpheus getting to become a famous musician, if he decided he wanted to at some point. He loved his work, of course, he had a passion for the cases he solved, but…he knew that it made things hard, sometimes. He couldn’t just drop everything and run off with Orpheus, living off music and going anywhere they chose, even if a deep part of him wanted that. He would forever feel guilty for all the lives he didn’t save. And of course…he would miss it, the work, the cases, solving crimes. But he hated to think it stood in the way. He would need to ask Orpheus at some point whether he was interested in becoming more well known. They would probably need to discuss all that and more before they even thought seriously about moving in together. But, for now, they had plans, and L’s work wouldn’t interfere with them. Probably.
He nodded a little, head tilted as he considered. “If he’s willing, I think that would be helpful,” He decided. “Someone who has experience with it would be good to learn from, and teaching something is a good way to test whether you’ve learned it, so it would help him, too.”
Orpheus was probably right about the classes, too. He definitely had a better grasp on college in general than L did, since he’d done it, and L hadn’t even studied it much. He looked like he was getting distracted now, thinking through this idea and imagining it…L smiled a little. He loved it when Orpheus’ caught onto ideas and tried to see them through, tried to make them perfect. This was worth it, purely to see Orpheus’ enthusiasm over it.
“Are auditions hard?” He asked after a long moment, his voice soft. How was trying to prompt Orpheus to keep talking and thinking as much as he was looking for information, now. It was just…he loved the fact that Orpheus was happy to have him closer. It warmed him that they could both be excited about taking classes together.

Orpheus didn’t want to believe that their futures might be incompatible. He didn’t want to believe that they couldn’t both have everything they had ever wanted. He wanted a future where he could keep writing music and L could keep solving crimes and saving lives, and nobody would ever find out that they were together, because that would be dangerous. In truth, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be famous. He wasn’t sure he wanted to be in the public eye. Not for the reasons L avoided it, but because he saw how often people who were famous were stripped of their private lives, and Orpheus’ private life (although not particularly exciting) was important to him. For example, the fact that he was dating the three best detectives in the entire world. No, he didn’t think he wanted to be the kind of famous that was hunted down by paparazzi and expected to interview and do fan appearances… he wanted people to hear his music, but he found he would just as soon submit it anonymously as he would perform it himself in front of large audiences. He could keep his audience small. He could play on street corners indefinitely, as long as there were people who were willing to hear his music.
“Xichen will probably be willing,” Orpheus confirmed, though he couldn’t speak for the other RA. “He’s super nice, and… well, he’s really good at the instrument. I think he’ll be happy to help, as long as we catch him when he has free time. We might not be able to get tutoring during midterm season unless he’s procrastinating.” He tilted his head as he thought it through, then let his head rest against L’s shoulder.
“Auditions shouldn’t be too difficult,” Orpheus replied after a long moment, though he didn’t actually know for sure. He had known he had nailed his audition, but that was because he had performed his best song at the time, and he was used to people telling him his music was good. He didn’t actually know how difficult the audition was. “I mean… you just have to play a song, and then they decide if you’re good enough for the program. But I’ll make sure you are before you have to audition. I know you can do it.”

Noah had lived a fairly sheltered life. He had been searching for adventure, he had wanted to believe that there was something beyond Aglionby and his parents, that there was something out there that wasn’t just… growing up and getting a job. He had always had his head in the clouds, dreaming of thousands of paper birds blotting out the midday sky. He had wanted a world where ancient Welsh kings still breathed, where wishes had come true… he had followed Whelk, and Whelk had believed the only reason he’d done that was because it was something to do. Maybe that was what it had been for Whelk. Maybe Whelk didn’t have the same fire burning under his skin that Noah had, so he hadn’t believed his friend capable of it. Noah hadn’t been looking out of desperation, either, not like Whelk had been. Noah had been looking because the world had always seemed a little bit magic, and he wasn’t going to give up on the idea that it was. Perhaps he’d been a little bit too restless for his own good. He shook the thought off, instead focusing on Juuzou.
“You’re not technically allowed to ask for clarification on my answers, cause that’s not a yes or no question,” Noah confirmed, a tiny smile touching his lips. “And no, it’s not purple.” He had to think really hard about that once the words had left his lips. Was it purple? It could appear to be under certain lights, but… it wasn’t. And then again, anything could appear to be purple if you put it under purple light.

Newt rarely allowed himself to be wild. That is to say, he rarely allowed himself to be a teenager. He had needed to be responsible, second in command, to make sure that nobody got hurt when they were doing something dangerous. He had made it to college, though he hadn’t ever actually expected to. He had thought he’d either die or have to go right into being an adult. The chance to be a real teenager… that was new to him. He was enjoying it, this private thrill, this escape from responsibility. He knew that Ronan wasn’t always like this. He knew this free, impossible boy wasn’t the same as the sulky, harsh boy he’d met on campus. They were both parts of Ronan Lynch, but Newt was having a hard time picturing both in his head at once. This Ronan… this Ronan felt more real, and he seemed to bring out a part of Newt that rarely made an appearance. A part of himself that Newt hadn’t even known existed until just now. This was freedom, he thought. This was pure, unmitigated freedom. He couldn’t imagine anything better. For the moment, he couldn’t imagine anything else at all.
He gave a soft snort as he looked over at Ronan, rolling his eyes almost affectionately. They weren’t friends, not yet, but it felt as though they were alone in this moment. As though this night was theirs, as they had stolen away from the others and had briefly paused time as they went to pick up fireworks. He knew he wasn’t the one making this moment special. He knew this could have been anyone – whoever Ronan had decided was the least annoying at the moment. For all intents and purposes, it really should have been Noah, not Newt. Newt was grateful it was him, though. This felt… well, it felt more inclusive than anything else at college had yet, though he had enjoyed his conversation with Hange. It seemed that finding friends wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be. Even if he had to keep reminding himself that they weren’t friends yet and may never truly be.
“Yeah, coming,” he returned, getting out of the car and closing the door just a little bit more gently than Ronan had. He was just a pace behind, but he caught up quickly, entering the fireworks tent hot on Ronan’s heels.

A blush crept over Orpheus’ cheeks as he looked over at Xichen. He tried his best to be nice, but it always embarrassed him a little bit to hear that he had succeeded. He wasn’t always the best at taking compliments. He worked hard, but he believed that there were always others who worked harder and accomplished more. He was just proud of what he managed to accomplish with his meager life. It seemed to him that he had succeeded in being a good friend. Hopefully, the two of them would succeed in making Floor 4 a comfortable and welcoming environment. There were some things they would have to work on, but Orpheus believed it was possible.
“Right,” Orpheus replied, setting down what he was carrying and looking over at Xichen to see if there was anything he wanted help setting up. He figured it wasn’t going to take very long to make the entire place presentable. “Well… L’s a really really good detective, so they ended up catching the guy. It was a faculty member, but he was from the business school. Which… I feel like if it was going to be any department it would have been business. He ended up framing me because I knew the… I knew the victim pretty well. I think he’s in jail now, so we don’t need to worry or anything.”

“I know,” Orpheus replied, a small smile touching his features. “I’m just bad at accepting compliments. I… I really appreciate it, Xichen.” He hoped he hadn’t made that too awkward.
It seemed, however, that there was no getting around this conversation being awkward. It was a serious topic and Orpheus felt as though he probably shouldn’t have brought it up with quite so much levity. It still hurt to think about, but he was doing his best to get past it. He was never going to fully recover from it, he thought, but he had allowed himself to start moving on. He could talk about it now, at least.
“It’s okay,” he said after a moment, his smile a touch more serious. “You had no way of knowing. Please don’t feel bad. She’s… well, she’s okay,” he breathed, looking over at Xichen. “She was in danger for a while and she had to be moved somewhere else. She’s okay, that’s all I know. It would be dangerous for her if I tried to contact her, though, so… I’ll probably never see her again.”

“I wish I could be that hopeful,” Orpheus replied after a long moment, brow creasing and jaw tightening as he mindlessly straightened something on the corner of his desk. It hurt to think about Eurydice. It hurt to think about how he had failed her, and it hurt to think about the fact that he likely would never see her again. He knew that Xichen had good intentions, but the question he’d asked… there was no room in Orpheus’ heart for hope about that particular subject. Not anymore. He forced a smile, sending it in Xichen’s direction as the other RA let the conversation slide to a close.
“That sounds nice,” he said after a moment, brightening up at the shift in conversation. “I can pull out some more supplies for that. I think we should make them as colorful as possible without… you know… blinding people.”

L Lawliet | Room 4C | strider

“I would like to meet him at some point,” L murmured, glancing at Orpheus. “Properly, that is. Of course, he knows I’m a detective, and he knows we’re dating, and he knows I’m called L…”
He hummed lightly, shaking his head a little. “There is security to be taken into account, as usual. But we can work out the details another time. The point is, I want to meet your friends. I don’t generally care whether I’m liked, but I don’t want people you like to dislike me, for some reason. I don’t really know why it matters, it’s not as though i’d be asking you to choose between us or something stupid like that, but…”
He was overthinking it, probably. He tilted his head, glancing sideways at Orpheus. The audition seemed…intimidating. He was not used to being anything but the absolute best in his field. This was firmly outside his comfort zone.
“Promise you’ll help me practice, even when you have too much homework and your professors think you’re only taking their class?”

The Squad | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou nodded, humming a little as he thought. It wasn’t purple…and he couldn’t ask for clarification. He could go with that.
He’d never really been that adventurous. Then again…he’d never really had the chance. Mostly, he just wanted to be able to make his own decisions about things. And this? This was a good start.
He wasn’t sure what sort of question he should ask. He watched Noah for a long moment, trying to decide what would be a good way of narrowing it down.
He almost asked what question Noah thought was best. But that wasn’t a yes or no question, so he didn’t.
“Is there one in our college?” He asked finally, eyeing the other boy.

Ronan couldn’t seem to help this. Being…whatever he was, it wasn’t something he could change. This version of him, this wild, free boy behind the wheel of a car that matched his soul, it wasn’t purposely hidden, so much as it needed certain things to exist properly, and a college dorm full of strangers was a good ways off. It was impossible for all of him to fit inside a school, and he’d always known that. It was just…college was supposed to be different. There were no uniforms, you chose your own classes. You even had some say over when you took them. And if you got kicked out…well. There was no Gansey there to force him back. There was no one who would give up everything just to keep him in a place that was killing him. If he was out, he was out, and that was that.
But right now? He was going to buy some fireworks. And then he was going to go back and he was going to light them and it would do what nothing else in the world was capable of doing.
And for some reason, Newt’s presence wasn’t making it worse. He didn’t know why a boy he didn’t know was able to exist in his presence when he felt this way, but for some reason…he could. For now, anyway.
He looked around the place as he stepped in, taking in his surroundings. It felt like the kind of place that would have fireworks, he had to admit. It wasn’t as…bright as the other place had been. It didn’t feel built with a sort of aggressive friendliness, the sort that was supposed to draw you in, but usually just felt fake. This felt…
Real. Exactly the sort of place he was supposed to be tonight, and exactly the sort of place he wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near tonight.
He headed for the fireworks as soon as he saw them, eyeing them for a moment before he began picking some up with the casual sort of ease someone buying shampoo used.
He looked at Newt, raising an eyebrow.
“If you want anything, grab it.”

Juuzou hummed, watching Noah as the other boy struggled to reply. That was interesting…he didn’t know why that question would have been hard. It either was or it wasn’t. He didn’t question it, though. He wasn’t supposed to ask for clarification.
He considered for a long moment, swinging his legs.
“Is it something that we brought with us to college?” He asked finally. It was the only reason he could think of for Noah to hesitate on that question.

It wasn’t hard to grab as many as they needed. The place wasn’t exactly well stocked, but there was enough, and Ronan had grabbed a basket once he’d realized carrying enough with his arms alone wasn’t going to work. He didn’t expect Newt to get all that many, but he didn’t really care if he did. The worst case scenario was having extras, and Ronan was sure Noah wouldn’t mind their presence in the room. Especially if he happened to be included in their use.
Noah was still dead. Ronan hadn’t intended to dream him that way - a bit of guilt gnawed at him over it, but he ignored it - but he was. If Ronan could have dreamt him alive, he would have. He knew how much the other boy missed being alive.
But Ronan had never known Noah, before. Noah, alive. Noah, as his sisters had known him. It was absurd that he could dream the impossible to life and he couldn’t dream his best friend how he’d wanted to be. But it wasn’t as though he could try again.
The point was, Noah was dead, and could theoretically therefore do very dangerous things with fireworks without risk. Ronan, of course, was very much alive and therefore at risk of dying, but that had never stopped him before.
Could you be thrown out of college before classes started?
He turned, checking his basket, then glancing around for Newt. The shelves were empty. In Ronan’s defense they hadn’t been that full to begin with.
He headed for the counter and set the basket down slightly harder than necessary.

The Squad | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou watched as Noah flipped upside down, his eyes widening a little. Not out of concern, but out of surprise that someone had done it before he had. He liked Noah, he decided, and promptly flipped over too, effortlessly holding himself up the same way Noah was.
“Is it one of us?” He asked after a moment, eyes very wide as he looked at Noah. He didn’t elaborate on why he had come to that possibility, he just looked at the other boy and waited for an answer.

Ronan knew how to look intimidating. Usually, he didn’t even have to say anything. He was the sort of person mothers crossed streets to keep their children away from. Most kids would get a couple exasperated glances if they were caught somewhere they weren’t supposed to be. Ronan was generally assumed to be committing some sort of crime even when he was in a perfectly legal place at a perfectly legal time. Which suited him just fine. He wasn’t interested in being liked by strangers, and he wasn’t interested in letting strangers become acquaintances. And it wasn’t as though the warning colors weren’t there for a reason.
Newt was technically a stranger, too. But currently, he was on the right side of the counter, so he got a free pass.
He wordlessly paid for the fireworks and gathered them up, glancing at Newt for a moment before he turned and headed out, back towards the car. They still had time to make it back before an hour had passed, and he fully planned to make it happen, legal or not.
It was too quiet. He slid into the car and reached for the music, turning it up a bit as he prepared to take off again.

The Squad | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou swung lightly as he watched Noah, letting his arms hang down towards the ground. He couldn’t actually reach it, of course, but he liked just letting them hang limply anyway.
“You said it could probably die,” he noted. “That means you aren’t sure. Is it alive?” He had already stopped keeping track of how many questions he had asked, but he figured Noah would probably know. If he didn’t, they’d figure it out eventually.
He couldn’t imagine not knowing if a thing could die unless it was alive first, but he figured he’d ask just to be sure.

Ronan had never truly been a leader. He wasn’t built for it, even if he didn’t let anyone tell him what to do.
He had never really expected his life to change as much as he had. He’d known, deep down, that it was going to have to change. But he’d never included himself in the equation. Adam had always been going to leave, and they’d both known it. Blue had never been exactly quiet about her desire to see the world. Gansey…
Had Ronan thought Gansey would leave him? He didn’t think he had. It had been obvious, that it would have to happen someday. That life was calling and Gansey would follow its call as he always had. But just as Ronan struggled to picture a Gansey that had never met him, he struggled to picture a Gansey who would leave him behind.
Or maybe that was backwards. Maybe he just couldn’t picture himself without also picturing Gansey.
Even Noah had left him. Ronan had brought him back, but he couldn’t erase that it had happened.
He put the car in gear and shot Newt a look. Under normal circumstances, he’d never have allowed him to come on this trip. Under normal circumstances…but these were not normal circumstances. The world was out of balance, and for now, Ronan would allow this.
A dangerous smirk curled at his lips as he looked back at the road, the music beating with his heart, the wheel warm and familiar under his hands. He didn’t dignify the question with a reply. He just sped out of the parking lot and took to the street, tires squealing.

Juuzou watched Noah, aware that he was mostly copying him. It was sort of a compliment, in a way. He did what he wanted to do, it was just that Noah had good ideas, and he wanted to use them. Besides, he hated sitting still. Anything that stopped that was a good thing.
He swayed back and forth, getting distracted by the feeling of gravity and forgetting to ask another question. He was almost tempted to leap out of the tree, but that would ruin the surprise, so he couldn’t yet.
He flipped upright and began to climb higher instead.
“Is it Gizmo?” He asked as he moved swiftly upwards, uncaring of the way the branches grew thinner.

Even if there were technically leader types, Ronan didn’t intend to just find someone to follow. He had followed Gansey. But here, he didn’t have anyone he would do anything for, except Noah, who also wasn’t a leader. So for the moment…he was just going to have to be a loner.
Considering how this camping trip had gone, that might be for the best.
He didn’t reply to Newt, not with words. He just gave a savage grin and sped up a little, reaching to roll Newt’s and his window down as he did.
He wanted it to take longer. It would have, if he hadn’t been speeding, but that would have missed the point. But as he pulled back into the parking lot and found a space (purposefully farther from the campsite this time) he had to wonder whether he should have stalled a little bit longer.
He let the music blare a little bit longer before he rolled the windows back up, killed the engine, and let the sound die. He sat still for a long moment, hands on the steering wheel, eyes fixed ahead.
Then he got out of the car without looking back.

The Squad | The Camping Trip | strider

Juuzou opened his mouth to continue, since really, there was only one other option that made sense. The name didn’t make it out as Noah shushed him, and he fell silent, listening.
He was right. Someone was coming. Were they back? They had to be.
He peered down at the camp, waiting for someone to appear. Sure enough, there was Ronan and Chainsaw, making their appearance. He shifted his weight a little, getting into a better position to drop, and looked at Noah, grinning.
He could have waited for a signal, but that was boring.
Instead, he just stepped off the branch and dropped.

Ronan nodded, eyes flicking back towards the camp. He couldn’t see it very well, but he could tell which one it was.
He shoved his hands in his pockets and started off, letting Newt grab the fireworks and the sparklers. He didn’t really have a plan for what he’d do when he got there, but that was fine. He didn’t need a plan.
Chainsaw gave a loud cry from above his head as she noticed him, and she dove, landing lightly on his shoulder. He didn’t acknowledge her presence, but he didn’t shrug her off either, which was as good as a welcome form him.
He stepped into the trees, not bothering to keep his footsteps quiet. They were welcome to know he was returning, assuming they hadn’t all killed each other.
He didn’t actually see anyone at camp. He had assumed the conversation would be over, but he had also though someone would have stuck around after everyone else left…he frowned, moving closer. He didn’t really want to try calling for anyone. He didn’t know who he’d call, anyway.
“Noah?” He said finally. “You around here?”

The Squad | The Camping Trip | strider

Ronan turned, trying to see a little further. He thought he could hear voices nearby…he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t think they’d all actually left he campsite behind. If they had, they’d clearly forgotten that he was the one with the car. It didn’t matter to him if they didn’t want a ride back.
He shook his head, ready to go further in when a dark blur crashed down directly in front of him, landing lightly on its feet and straightening to give him a huge grin.
“What the f - “ Ronan backed up a step, then turned as Noah’s voice came from directly behind him, swearing again, with more success this time. In fairness, this appearing and being generally creepy was expected from Noah. An accomplice was not.
“Were you just sitting in a tree waiting for someone to walk by?” He demanded, looking up. There were a few solid branches, but it wasn’t like it really looked all that easy to climb.

Juuzou landed easily, breaking his own fall and straightening up to grin at Ronan. That had been even more fun than he’d expected it to be. It had worked well, too, with the way the trees had been arranged…really, it had gone perfectly.
He didn’t see any need to speak. He had successfully pulled off what could be considered a prank. His first, in fact. Had Noah done this before? He had seemed to know how. Maybe not this specifically but a prank in general. He’d have to ask.
“Chainsaw!” He crowed a moment later pointing at the bird and looking at Noah. She was clearly the last possible thing Noah could have been thinking of, after all.

Sal looked up at the quiet words, searching until he found…there was Newt, at least. And we’re those fireworks?
Secretly, Sal was slightly conflicted by that idea. On the one hand, he was more than ready to set off some fireworks and get some tension out of the air. On the other hand, however, he wasn’t entirely sure he trusted a good percentage of these boys with explosives of any kind. He didn’t really know them that well. And, as much as he was fighting to give Zuko the benefit of the doubt…he just seemed like a generally angry person. Between him and Ronan, there seemed to be enough fireworks already.
He shrugged it off. He was not a parent here. If they wanted to go for it, he wouldn’t stop them.
He raised a hand in greeting as Newt drew closer. “Hey, man. Fireworks?”