Things that happened yesterday: crazy stuff that hindered my ability to write and correcting typos in the previous act. Things that happened the day before: saw The Conjuring, resulting in three screams at the movies and a later bedtime of about two hours (A+ movie, would recommend). Things that happened today: this act, and I got a date (with someone who told me afterward that she's been scheming for me to ask her out for MONTHS now, yay). Date is on Sunday OMG SO EXCITE.
Anyway, many thanks to CatastrophicAquarius, LinkinPark X, BlOo KiSsEs, Wolfen Artist of Hetalia, obsessed01616, RandomAnonymous, iDreamBig, thepeopleofthecrysis, and one guest for your reviews to the last act!
The next two days went by better than Eridan expected. True, Sol seemed to be avoiding so much as looking at him, let alone talking to him or being anywhere near him, but he tried not to let that bother him too much. Besides, just as suddenly as Vris appeared in his life, she seemed as content to fade out of it. He thankfully only had that lone Photography class with her, but since he skipped that on Wednesday in favor of hanging out with the group he'd somehow assimilated into, he counted that as a win.
However much she left him alone, though, she had turned the full wrath of her presence on John and Kanaya. He figured this had something to do with the fact that Gamzee Makara genuinely scared the shit out of her (Hell, the guy freaked him out sometimes, but he didn't doubt that Tavros would make it through the ordeal while only suffering a minimum of Vriska's presence) which explained why she seemed content not to bother Tavros, but he couldn't fathom why he'd been left out of the warpath. The only logical assumption he could come up with was that she found him boring. This wouldn't have surprised him, though—it was one of the reasons she'd been able to leave him so easily in the first place.
On Tuesday night, he ended up sketching the aquarium after turning off all the lights in his room save the light on the aquarium itself. He also took a few pictures of the way the light through the water reflected off his bedroom walls. He didn't think they'd be any good, but he needed the practice (in both photography and sketching) and he liked it anyway, so that was what counted. The water was a good muse for him, and it still calmed him down.
The meeting on Wednesday went much the same as the one they'd had on Monday. They gathered beneath the same tree and arranged themselves—whether consciously or unconsciously—in the same circle and in the same order, Eridan sitting between Karkat and Equius (as he'd learned was the name of the huge guy who had once been Vriska's friend). He was only slightly more comfortable with the group today than he was on Monday, but he chalked that up to nerves and the fact that Sollux's eyes stayed almost exclusively on the ground. Once or twice he glanced up toward Aradia, but he never looked at Eridan once.
Kanaya helpfully informed the group that ignoring Vriska had taken some of the proverbial wind out of her sails, and John concurred. He told them how Vriska had begun teasing him on the sidewalk in front of the Science building, and he and Dave had kept right on talking as if she wasn't there. He confessed it was one of the hardest things he'd done—Dave hid a snicker behind his hand at the double entendre, which John missed—but he managed it and, within two or three minutes, she let out a frustrated groan and walked away. It was certainly good news on that front, but Eridan couldn't help but wonder how long it would work. Vris was smart—she'd come up with some other way of getting under their skin soon enough.
After the group split up, Eridan hung back to talk to Aradia. She'd mentioned again gathering the group for a meet-up this weekend if everyone was able to come together and plan something, and it had given Eridan an idea. He needed to get his parents on board, but they were usually pretty easy-going...
"I had a' idea for somethin' we could do. Like, as a group," he said.
Aradia raised her eyebrow. "And what would that be?"
"Well," he started carefully, suspecting but not quite sure that maybe Sollux was finally looking at him (he couldn't check without being obvious about it, since the other boy was behind him), "I can talk to my parents an' they'll probably be cool with it, but I w-was thinkin' a' havin' like a party or somethin' at my house. Not, like, a' actual party, but somethin' w-where w-we could all hang out an' or maybe Saturday night. Like the only problem I could see is gettin' a few more people to driv-ve since my house is up near LA, but Fef would probably be okay with driv-vin' an' I can take a few-w people, so w-we got like eight people taken care a' for that." He was well-aware that he was starting to babble and when he babbled, he started to trip over his Vs and Ws, but he hoped that by talking faster, she (and Sollux) wouldn't notice it.
She appeared thoughtful for a moment or two, and he was sure she was going to say no, but then she started nodding slowly. "That sounds like a good idea, actually. What do you think, Sollux?" she added, grinning at the other boy over Eridan's shoulder. He turned.
"Yeah," Sollux muttered. His eyes stayed fixed on the ground and he twisted and untwisted his fingers through one of the straps on his backpack. "Great."
Trying not to feel disappointed by Sollux's lack of enthusiasm, Eridan looked back at Aradia. "'Kay. All I need to do is clear it with my parents but they should be okay with it," he said. "Uh, an' when I find out, I'll let you know."
"Alright, sounds good! I'm sure everyone else will be thrilled with the idea of getting out of here for awhile."
Eridan took that as an excuse to leave, so he quickly said goodbye to both Aradia and Sollux and headed off in search of caffeine.
"'Yeah, great,'" Aradia taunted lightly, putting her arm around Sollux's shoulders and steering him back toward the cafeteria. "It's a wonder he didn't swoon when you said that."
"I'm not trying to get him to swoon," Sollux grumbled. "I just... fuck, I don't know."
"Oh, come on, you know I'm just teasing. You're shy, I get it. It's hard work admitting you like someone."
"Especially that raging asshat," he added.
"He's a raging asshat that you like anyway."
"And the less anyone says about that, the better."
"Alright, well, let me ask you this: not being polite, but being honest, how do you really feel about going to this party at Eridan's place? I'm sure he'd understand if you didn't show up."
Sollux sighed. "Watching him moon over FF all night isn't my idea of a fun time."
"He probably won't, though. He'll probably moon over her half the time," she joked.
"I don't want to be in a fucking car with him. Or FF, either. So who else would we get to drive?"
"Well, there should be twelve of us with Feferi. So they can take ten people including themselves, and we can ask either Gamzee or Equius to drive. And if Equius drives, we can cut down on the congestion in the other two cars. I think that would be okay, huh? You, me, and Nepeta can ride with Equius and everyone else can figure out who to go with on their own."
"I haven't even decided if I want to go."
"Well, decide fast. Friday is two days away."
"Thanks, Captain Obvious."
"You're welcome, Major Sarcasm."
"You said what?" Fef demanded.
Eridan huddled against the cushioned booth, staring at the table and taking an anxious sip of his coffee. "I said that there would be a party an'—"
"Okay, I know what you said," she corrected, flipping her hair back, "but why?"
"It felt like the right thin' to do. Besides, it's been awhile since... I don't know..."
"You hung out with someone besides me?" she guessed.
"Kinda."
"Good. You need more friends."
"Yeah, but now I gotta talk to my parents an' see if they'll be cool with us takin' over the house for the weekend."
"Whale, it's not like either of us threw any wild parties in high school. They should trust us."
"So you think."
"Just ask them. And if they say no, I'm sure my mom will be fine with a bunch of twenty-year-olds filling up her house for the night."
"Yeah, let's hope." He'd told Aradia that his parents would probably not mind him having a party, but now that he was away from her, he became less sure. Even so, he knew that there was no way around it besides actually asking, so he reluctantly pulled out his phone and tapped his mom's number.
He took another drink as she answered, so he swallowed it quickly (burning his throat on the way down) and said, "Hey, Mom. How're you?"
"Just fine, dear. I can't say I expected your call today," she added with a laugh. In the background, he heard a sliding door open and then, faintly, the sound of waves on a beach. The door closed and after a moment, the sound gradually grew louder.
"Uh, where are you?" It didn't sound like home.
"The Bahamas."
Of course. "Why?"
She snorted with laughter. "Have you checked your calendar?"
"October twenty-third?"
"Yes. And what happens on October thirtieth?"
He tried to remember. Vriska's birthday was Halloween, but his mom's birthday was in July and his dad's was in May, so it wasn't either of those... "I got nothin'."
She laughed again. "Well, at least your dad didn't forget. Our wedding anniversary."
Eridan smacked his forehead. "Right, yeah. Sorry, I forgot. What, thirty-one years now, right?"
"Thirty-four."
"Crap. I'll remember it next year. Well, congratulations, then. Please tell me you're not on a nude beach."
"Technically, it's a private beach."
"I don't like the use a' the word 'technically.'"
"And I don't care," she said lightly. "Well, if your call is not because of the occasion, why did you call?"
"Can't I just call to check up on you?"
"Sure you can. You never do, though."
Damn, she had him pinned. "Alright, well, I was wonderin' if I could have some friends over at the house this weekend. I thought you were still home," he added unnecessarily.
"Clearly. Let me go ask Dad." She set the phone down somewhere and Eridan groaned.
"What?" Fef asked.
"She put me on hold."
"Ah. Where are they?"
"The Bahamas. Their anniversary's next week."
"Oooh, when are they gonna be back?"
"I don't know. I'll ask when she gets back to the damn phone."
"Eridan Rachel Ampora, you know your mother doesn't like to hear swearing," Feferi said with mock sternness, but the effect was ruined by the obviously phony middle name.
"Alright, Eridan?" his mom said, returning to the phone a few minutes later.
"Yes, Mother?"
"Your father and I agreed that you can have your friends over at the house on a few conditions."
"Name 'em."
"If anyone makes a mess, it will be cleaned up before we get home. That'll be November third, by the way. Next, you can have alcohol, as long as absolutely no one drives after drinking. Finally, lock up our bedroom and the study. Everywhere else is fine."
"Deal."
"Have fun, then, and try not to get too crazy, alright?"
"No promises."
"Promise anyway."
"'Kay. No messes, no drinkin' an' drivin', an' they'll all stay outta your rooms."
"Thank you."
"Yeah. Have fun on your trip." Eridan hung up and looked at Feferi. "She said yes."
"So the next step is alcohol?"
"Yeah." He sighed. "Do we know anyone over twenty-one?"
"Meenah, but that won't work for obvious reasons, unless we want to go over to my house before the party."
"Yeah, no. Let's not do that."
"So what else can we do?"
Eridan sighed again. "The only thing we can do. Looks like I gotta ask Cro."
My friend Kai got a kitten today. We both wanted to name him Cecil, but Kai's other friend John (who is a raging asshat, and not in a good way) said it was an old man's name and rejected it. (I personally think that since John isn't providing anything for this cat, he has no opinion, but whatever.) New name is Adam.
