polyphonics | REALISTIC COLLEGE AU MEME, 2K17

REALISTIC COLLEGE AU MEME, 2K17

I. living conditions

01. my roommate’s boyfriend is staying over so can I please sleep on your floor
02. all our friends are drunk
03. we live in halls opposite one another and i keep seeing you change in the window please close your blinds
04. you’re the RA and you’re trying to bust me for having hermit crabs
05. you’re baking cookies in the communal kitchen at 3am and I’m angry but also really hungry
06. clearly we’re both really uncomfortable at this party
07. you peed on my car. you were drunk. I was in the car. there will be hell to pay.
08. my friend dragged me to this party and I just saw my ex quick make out with me
09. sorry my roommate puked on your shoes
10. my roommate borrowed your contraband hotpot and managed to set it on fire

II. chance meeting

01. it’s pouring and my final paper is in my backpack so I guess we’re stuck under this tiny awning together. do you think they’d deliver pizza here
02. waiting outside for pizza to be delivered but both of ours is super late
03. I know I keep coming to this [cookie/coffee/etc.] shop and for some reason it’s always your shift but don’t you dare judge me I need this for my sanity
04. I found your USB drive still in the computer (and potentially regret finding out what's on it)
05. you decked me in the head while you were playing frisbee golf
06. your school mailbox is right next to mine
07. what do you mean we’re under a tornado warning?

III. campus community

01. I’m really passionate about this cause and I will give you this flier if I have to shove it down your throat
02. it’s 3 am and I’m still in the library studying for finals and I’m losing my grip on reality and I think I just saw a ghost
03. we’re the only two people in this club. what is this club even for
04. humans vs zombies, all bets are off, friendships mean nothing
05. I thought I was the only one who liked the waffle station in the cafeteria
06. we’re studying in the library and there are two people very obviously fucking in the stacks and we keep sharing embarrassed glances
07. what are you doing at this table at the career fair
08. I saw you sneaking captain crunch and cutlery out of the dining hall
09. my computer crashed and you’re the student worker at the IT center
10. we’re both on athletic teams that aren’t as cool as the football team and they give us shit
11. you’re part of the guerrilla theater club on campus and crashed my class for a performance

IV. credit hour woes

01. hey I have to [photograph/draw blood/film/insert major here] someone for class, will you be my guinea pig
02. we’re the only people who ever talk in discussions it’s awful
03. group project
04. both of us turned up to the wrong room for this lecture and neither of us know where it's supposed to be
05. we’re both donating blood in the blood donation van in the quad to get out of the same class
06. wait, I actually have a competent lab partner?
07. waiting for office hours
08. we started racing up the three flights of stairs to class for some reason and we can’t stop
09. vicious battle over the only left handed desk in the room

V. limited resources

01. you keep using my preferred shower stall in the floor bathrooms when I’m trying to get ready for class
02. you keep parking in the space outside my student house you absolute asshole
03. you're the only person in the room when i break the printer and i'm panicking (so don't be a dick about it please)
04. neither of us bought the expensive textbook but there is only one copy in the library and it can’t leave the building
05. this awesome professor only has one TA slot and we’re rivals
06. you keep reserving the good study room in the corner of the library with the windows
07. I’ve been sitting in this seat all semester why did you decide to sit in it today
08. you’re REALLY GOOD at using the right search terms for the academic databases and I’m on a deadline
09. we’re always at the fitness center at the same time and end up competing on the treadmill
10. can I borrow a dryer sheet? I ran out and the ones in the vending machine give me a rash

MUSELIST

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ He chuckles, watching her as she works, fingertips bouncing together in his lap like he's not sure what to do with them now. It's so easy to lose himself in watching her that he doesn't respond for a moment, but then he realizes she probably thinks he's being a creep and straightens up again, staring off at some...point in the distance. ]

O-oh, yeah? Sibling rivalry? [ He STARES INTO THE FIRE. This is probably a tactic Gladio recommended, tbh. ]

I didn't know you had a twin. What's that like?

[ .. stare into the fire and ignore the girl?? ice her out, is that it? don't try to play hard to get prompto it won't work for you bud. ]

It's.. well, I don't have any other siblings, so it's the only thing I've ever known, but -

[ she smiles wryly and shakes her head, sighing heavily. ]

I love him dearly, but the comparisons get very tiring. Since we were very young we were always expected to.. compete, I suppose. To challenge one another.

[ and in nearly everything alphinaud is a hair ahead of her, easily dismissed by anyone else of course, but a perpetual thorn in alisaie's side. it doesn't help that he can be a bit of a smug little shit sometimes. ]

And he's incredibly smart and talented, so sometimes it feels exhausting to try to keep up with him.

[ His staring into the fire tactic isn't going to last long anyway, because as she talks more about her brother and their competitive nature he looks up again, head tilted, listening intently. It's a world he's never known, being an only child. It's hard to imagine that kind of relationship, but it's not just that that has him puzzled. ]

What do you mean? [ His brow is furrowed, and he leans forward, elbows on his knees. ] You're the one who's so incredibly smart and talented, and funny, and cool, and pret... [ He catches himself too late, but he can't not finish now. ] ...ty.

[ NEVER MIND, TIME TO STARE AT THE FIRE AGAIN. Maybe that will hide how red his face has gone. Maybe. ]

A-anyway, I'm just saying - I bet he feels like he has a hard time keeping up with you!

[ He says this all very much in a rush. ]

[ oh.

well, he's not the only one who looks away. alisaie's face flushes straight to her hairline, her ears burning hot but she's.. smiling, smiling in that goofy, unstoppable way you do when you're very happy and can't push it down. that he thinks so highly of her is flattering, and she doesn't quite know how to take it. alisaie doesn't receive compliments often, her parents are quite stiff, always expecting excellence, and it's not as if she has any real friends.

and that's fine, really, she doesn't require validation from others to stay her path, but it's still left her entirely unequipped to accept it gracefully. ]

T-thank you.

[ she stutters out, eventually, her face still very much on fire. but the meat and vegetables have caramelized nicely by now, so she upends the contents of the skillet into the pot of simmering water, and pops the lid on top. ]

You're.. very sweet.

[ Oh no, now she's blushing, too, why did he have to be so mushy - but she's smiling, too, in a way that isn't at his expense. Was she...actually flattered, then? That he thought those things about her?

It seems impossible. She's so out of his league, he still couldn't believe she'd given him her phone number in the first place. He'd still thought it was maybe only because she'd felt sorry about the whole air hockey incident, but now...

She's still blushing!! ]

H-hey, I'm just calling it like it is! [ He laughs nervously, but it's genuine, too. ] I've never met anyone like you before. So I just, uh...wanted you to know.

[ And then, he lifts a finger to the corner of his eye, where there's still a light scab from where the air hockey puck had hit him. ]

Air hockey tactics aside.

[ what a thing to say. never met anyone like her before? surely that must be nonsense. there's nothing special about her, are hundreds of thousands of studious, nerdy girls in the world to choose from.

but.. whether or not it's true, that he thinks it makes her heart flutter pleasantly.

but then he's bringing up the scab on his face and alisaie groans, wrapping her arms around her knees and burying her face against them. don't look at her.. ]

God.. I am sorry about that. I suppose I got a little too, um, aggressive.

[ not for the.. first time.... sweats ]

[ He laughs again - okay, at her reaction this time, but really, her embarrassment about it is pretty cute, coming from someone he's come to learn can be pretty hot-headed. He doesn't mean to make her upset or anything, but he can't help to tease her about it. It was funny, okay! ]

Don't be! It's a good story. And it's healin' up nice! In a few more days, my face'll be good as new.

[ He looks at her a moment longer, at the way she's buried her face against her knees, and he smiles warmly. ]

Besides...if you hadn't, we probably wouldn't be here.

[ He's just saying! ]

[ he says funny, she says mortifying?? teen magazines do not suggest winning a boy's heart by cracking him in the face with an air hockey puck. but then, prompto is no normal boy. she will still be embarrassed about it for the rest of her life though okay.

his assurance has her lifting her head enough to peer at him over her arms, her eyes narrowed, but soon she's chuckling. ]

I.. suppose that's true.

[ and since there's nothing left to do but wait for the stew to, well, stew, alisaie scoots back a little to rest against the log. ]

But you never know. I may have worked up the nerve to give you my phone number, eventually.

[ He's probably just going to have to get used to perpetually blushing for as long as this thread of conversation continues, but he just can't help it. He'd been so impossibly flattered when she'd set that number against his skin. He'd had plenty of crushes before, plenty of failed attempts at flirting, but with her...he hadn't even really been trying. Or rather...it had just felt more natural. Either way, he hadn't expected it at all. ]

Maybe so. But all things considered, I'm pretty okay with losing a little blood if it means I-I get to spend time with you.

[ Oh my god, he's going to die. How is he even saying this without going catatonic? It is truly a mystery. ]

[ that is the biggest mystery of all.

but she's glad of it, even if it's making her face burn hotter, and brings her heart to pounding in her ears. she feels like a foolish, lovesick schoolgirl but god it feels.. nice. for once. to be acting her age.

alisaie looks down almost demurely, tugging at her fingers for a lack of something better to do with them; now that there's nothing left to do but wait on the food she has little enough outlet for her fluttering, nervous energy. ]

Well, I.. certainly hope you won't need to shed blood next time you want to see me. I'm not quite that demanding.

[ He feels a little funny talking to the top of her head like this, so he slides down off the log to sit next to her so they're a little more at eye-level (but even in AU land can she escape being shorter than him??). There's an openness to those words that has heart fluttering in his chest. Next time? He's been so preoccupied thinking about this time, that he hasn't considered whether or not there would be a next time yet.

Did that mean...she wanted there to be? That can't be right. God, this is all so confusing.

- He still hasn't quite gone catatonic, but he is staring at her fidgeting fingers, at her hands that look so warm, his tongue feeling like lead in his mouth as he tries to work out what to say to that. ]

I'll keep that in mind. For...for next time.

[ He can't keep the sound of his grin out of his voice when he says that. ]

Edited 2017-11-03 02:55 (UTC)

[ oh no, he's coming to sit next to her, and part of her wants him to go away because she can't stand the way it makes her stomach clench up in excitement, but the other part is stupidly glad for it. that part is the stronger part.

her eyes flicker up to his again and she bites her lip. god, he's so cute, this close she can see all of his freckles, his eyelashes, the soft blue of his eyes. this is the first real time they've spent together without an air hockey table between them, with no distractions, nothing to keep them occupied but one another. it's positively nervewracking. ]

Y-yes.

[ smooth. clearing her throat, alisaie sucks in a quick inhale, determined to stop behaving like an idiot, but she's likely going to fail at that, too. ]

You may choose the venue, next time.

[ Her answer will see a smile slowly claiming his face, impossible to keep toned down even if he should maybe be playing it safe. In that moment, he doesn't care. He's so happy to hear her say that that it can't be helped. She wants to see him again... ]

Great! That's...really great... [ He trails off with a laugh, before he realizes he might've been staring into her eyes for look long and then his gaze drops to her hands again. Oh god. Okay. He's gonna do it. He's gonna...

...He's gonna do the slow hand slide. It seems far too bold to just take her hand outright. Far too bold indeed! And they're both already blushing like complete dorks. He doesn't want to make that any worse, even if he's fairly sure, after what she'd just said, that she'd be okay with...

Holding his hand. Oh be still, his heart.

But his hand stops on the ground between them, twitching nervously, and he shoots a cursory glance at her. ]

U-um - maybe...we could go...on a good, old-fashioned dinner-and-a-movie date?

[ This is date, right??? ]

[ you go prompto, so bold, so suave, putting your hand on the ground next to hers. what a man.

she may or may not be staring a little too much into his eyes as well, so if he's being weird about it, she's being weird right back. but she can't help it, okay, she could spend all day counting his freckles, and he has such kind eyes..

god, she's appalled by herself. who even is this girl?? thankfully her eyes follow his when they drop, breaking the moment a little, at least until he's using the word date and her heart skips in her breast. that's.. that's good. foolishly shy as alisaie may be about all of this, she prefers things upfront, and knowing that this is a date - well, it.. it clears a few things up, gives her some relief, even if it has her heart thrumming like a hummingbird.

in a burst of courage, she swallows thickly, then.. slips her fingers over his. in the grand scheme of things it's such a tiny gesture, and alisaie's embarrassed that she's so shy about it at all, but it still feels like a leap, and has her stomach clenching up. ]

I'd.. y-yes, I'd like that very much.

[ they can play pinball and eat french fry ]

[ Look, he wanted to make sure they were on the same page here first!!!

But evidently they must be, because he's getting lost in the sound of her voice again, in the sweet words she's saying that play like music to his ears, in the sudden, warm sweep of her fingers over his. He gasps outright at the feeling of it. Yes, it may be a simple gesture, but it's so much more than that. It's...delightful, in every way, her fingers so soft that it makes his tingle. It's so nice in so many ways and has yet another laugh bubbling out of him, irresistible. ]

I-I'm, um - glad we s-see eye to eye on this!

[ And then he looks into her eyes again, his hand turning beneath hers and threading their fingers together. It's so good, and perhaps it's just the warm feeling in his chest talking, but so perfect, too, how easily their fingers slip between each other's. Like it's a perfect fit.

But he gets the sense of that by touch alone, because his eyes still haven't left hers. He swallows against a dizzying, honey-sweet feeling in his throat, eyes traveling the short distance to her lips.

For a...pretty long moment, he lets his gaze linger there, at the curl of her lips, the shape of them, contemplating how soft they must be while his stomach bunches up in knots. He doesn't catch how his eyes have lidded, how the fire crackling is the only sound he can hear, until a few heartbeats more, and his gaze snaps back up to her eyes again. ]

U-um - we should -

[ IS DINNER READY YET, he needs a distraction, or something, before he does something crazy. Like kiss her. Which would be crazy. Totally crazy. You don't kiss on the first date!!!

(This was Iggy's advice, probably.) ]

[ oh god, he's so close, and his hand is so warm. his fingers slip through hers an she's glad of it, glad she made the right decision, that she was not too bold.

and all at once, time seems to slow to a crawl. he's.. he's so close, she can catch the scent of his hair, count his eyelashes - she can see it when his gaze drops down to her mouth. alisaie's gut clenches up all at once, a rush of icy adrenaline sweeping down her body from head to toe, electric, like every hair is on end.

is this - is he going to kiss her..?

she's terrified but god, she certainly hopes so. this may be their first real date, but it feels as if they've been playing at this forever, from the moment they met, when she challenged him, when they sparked up this.. this something, this chemistry. she's been waiting for this kiss for months. alisaie's eyelids flicker and lower, her chin tips forward just a bit, her breath a trembling rush -

..... aaaaand then he's talking again.

dazed, alisaie blinks, blinks again, her mouth working wordlessly for a moment. that's - oh. did she - did she misread..? oh god, kill her now. all at once her face flushes unbearably hot, and she looks pointedly away. ]

Y-yes.. um. I should.. check on - on the stew.

[ why did she ever think she could do this, she, who is The Worst at people. she's just going to. slip away and.. scoot toward the fire again to life the lid on the pot. ]

[ There's a moment, before he draws back, where he realizes the full gravity of this grievous mistake he has made. She was leaning in. She knew he was thinking about kissing her, and she was leaning in for it.

Oh, god, what has he done.

It's a fortunate thing that she scoots away and is no longer facing him, because it allows Prompto the chance to drop his face into both of his hands and contemplate how he's probably the dumbest guy in the universe right now. There he was, sitting next to the girl of his dreams and holding her hand, and she leans into kiss him and he does what?

He ruins the moment with that mouth of his, scaring her off, probably giving her the completely wrong impression. That he doesn't want to kiss her, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

Ughhhhhhh.

He stays like that for a moment, sighing into his hands before he realizes it'll only make things worse should she glance back and see him curling up into a ball like this. So he straightens, even if he doesn't slide any closer, still rooted to the spot by what a tremendous idiot he is. ]

How's it, uh...coming along?

[ HE IS DIRT, NO, EVEN LOWER THAN DIRT, THE SCUM OF THE EARTH, UGH. ]

[ yes prompto, suffer for your transgressions, as alisaie is also suffering. she'd been so sure that he.. but why would he be holding her hand, if he didn't want to kiss her? why would he be talking about dates? is this some sort of.. some sort of joke? are his friends lying in wait somewhere, ready to pop out and laugh at the stupid nerdy girl who was foolish enough to think a boy would like her?

no - no, he's not like that, it's only her paranoia and general mistrust of, well, everyone. he's kind. perhaps he's just trying to be gentle with her, to let her down easily. horribly disappointing though it might be.

so she'll just. busy herself by taking way longer than necessary to look into the pot at the stew that's nowhere close to done, it's only been a few minutes. ]

A little more time. [ don't worry prompto, she isn't looking at your fetal position of shame, she's looking only at this pot and nothing else ever again. ] It should be finished by sundown.

[ He glances up at the sky, as if by so doing he can will the sun to set. Or at least, for some time to pass, to ease this uncomfortable tension that has sprung up between them. Things had been going well...they'd been holding hands. Maybe it's just his imagination, but he swears he can still feel her warm grasp between his fingers.

And he totally blew it.

Maybe he should...let her out of this now. But - no, no, it's too soon to completely give up. Maybe he can still salvage this. Maybe she can still have a good time, at least enough that she'll be able to face him again after this, even if his odds at getting that second date are grim -

Ugh. ]

Soooo, um. So.

[ A few heartbeats. ]

Sooooooooooo.

Do you...like...anime?

[ oh my god ]

[ the awkward silence is the worst part, and alisaie is in no way equipped to remedy it.

.. apparently prompto isn't, either. she's a little relieved once he starts talking again, breaking the unbearable silence, but uh, he's not exactly improving upon it. alisaie's brow furrows, and for a moment she's glancing over her shoulder in clear confusion, but then -

- then she laughs. it's a soft laugh, breathless like she doesn't know how to force it out, but it's enough to ease some of the tension at least. look, it's just funny, he's so ridiculous.. ]

I.. have never watched any, truthfully.

[ WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING

WHY DID HE ASK HER IF SHE WATCHES ANIME

WHY DOES HE SAY ANY WORDS, EVER

WHY IS IT SUDDENLY SO HOT ]

O-oh! That's cool. I don't watch it that much, either...

[ God, this is the worst. He thought he could do this, go camping with a cute girl and maybe not make her miserable - he was doing it, until he went and put his foot in his mouth by not just kissing her when he had the chance, and now it's awkward and weird and he's talking about anime. No wonder his friends were so eager to give him advice. He's such a disaster at this, even with their help. Maybe this was all just...a mistake, and he's wasting her time.

But she'd...said she'd like to see him again.

After a long moment of silence, he swallows, before scooting a bit closer to her to peer at the pot. ]

Um...b-but there is the one that I think you might like! It's called "Princess Mononoke" and she's like, this super cool wolf princess who lives in the forest, but there's also this guy who has a demon in his arm? It's sorta freaky...

[ He PRESSES ON. ]

A-anyway, it's...playing at the campus international cinema next week, if you...wanna go with...me. N-no worries if it sounds lame, though! There's, uh, plenty of movies out there...

[ Please bear with him. He's trying to keep this thing going. ]

[ prompto scoots nearer, and alisaie finally lifts her gaze from where it was fixed strictly on the stew pot.

he's.. really quite endearing when he's nervous, and she finds a little of the uncertainty beginning to fade, the tightness in her chest loosening up, even if she's.. really, really confused. he hadn't kissed her when she had expected him to, but he's still - wanting to see her again? god she sucks at this so hard. why are people so complicated? why can't she simply be a mind-reader? of course she could just be upfront, which, honestly, she is 99% of the time.. but this is the 1%. it's so much harder to be open and honest about things like this.

but maybe she just.. has to be. at least a little bit. because stronger than her fear of social interaction is her dislike of feeling as if she's not standing on solid ground. so, with hesitation she lifts her eyes to his face again, quietly vulnerable, but forcing it out anyway. ]

A.. date?

[ if it's not - if he.. if he wants to go as friends, that's fine, she'll manage it, but heaven help her she has to know what his intentions are before the whiplash breaks her neck. ]

[ The word, put so forward like that, makes the color drain from his face, but he doesn't hesitate to answer. Can't hesitate, really, or he risks giving her the wrong idea, and he's already done enough of that. So even though he must speak past the lump in his throat to do it, he smiles and laughs: ]

Y-yeah! A date! I mean...if you want it to be.

[ If she wants to be just friends with him at this point, he could hardly blame her, but...

He really, really hopes that isn't the case. ]

[ she's holding her breath waiting for his answer, her eyes wide as saucers when she peers up into his face, like everything in the entire world is hanging on his answer. it isn't of course, but nonetheless it certainly feels that way.

but then his answer comes, and she can't help but break into a warm, if shy smile, her gaze lowering again. ]

Yes, all right.

[ she says, still smiling even if she can't meet his eyes again just yet. ]

I'd like that.

[ be still her heart!! she's never been so glad to be wrong. ]

Y-you would?

[ He can't help the genuine surprise in his voice. Even after his flub a few minutes ago, she...still would go on a date with him? She's giving him a second chance, even though he's an unmitigated disaster?

Oh, man. Oh, man, she's a keeper for sure.

His features crack into a vibrant grin, another laugh upon his breath. ]

Great! Great. It's settled, then. I'd be a grand old time! I promise.

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