Author's Note: Presenting a fluff chapter that is light and silly. Mostly. Please indulge me in the fluff. Roll all around in it. It's soft and smells of lavender fabric sheets.
Friendly Competition
There was a knock on the door, and Izzy called an acknowledgment. He turned away from his desk, then smiled when his eyes landed on Amy's. He was a moment away from standing and moving in for an embrace when he noticed a second person entering his room behind her.
A startled sound slipped out of him when he recognized Hana.
His glance shifted to Amy, and she smiled sheepishly and lifted her shoulders in a tiny shrug. Hana, blast her, was already in the center of the room, glancing about.
"There isn't a single decoration in here," she commented, placing her hands on her hips. "Well, unless you count that map of campus." She leaned over Joe's desk, shaking her head at the papers taped above it. "Mon Dieu, is this schedule... color coded to match the map?"
She pressed a finger against the map and continued, not allowing time for Izzy to reply. "Is this your desk, Izzy?" He opened his mouth to answer, but she was already speaking again. "Oh! No, look at the other desk. So much computer crap…! That's gotta be you."
Izzy offered a stiff nod. What was the point of engaging her if she was going to turn a conversation into a soliloquy?
"Oh! Hi, Tai!" Izzy turned at the sound of Amy's voice, glad for a distraction. Tai was standing in his doorway, leaning against the frame with his particular brand of natural nonchalance.
"Hey. Listen, I need to talk to the others, so I'll make this quick. There's a wing eating contest at a pub, you know, the one with the candy flavored vodka drinks and the New York style pizza. It's starting soon, so head right over if you're in."
Hana whipped around to face Tai, and Izzy smiled as the athlete's arm slid down the door frame. "What's the prize?" she demanded. "How much does it cost to enter?"
Amy tsked as Tai's eyes traveled blatantly up and down Hana's body. His expression went distinctly skeptical. "Why do you care?" The words weren't spoken with malice, but rather a dollop of wariness that Izzy understood all too well. "I bet you can only fit like three decent size wings in there." He nodded towards her stomach.
Izzy knew better than to say anything, but he was inclined to agree. Hana was shorter than him, a rarity even among female students, and she was rail thin. But then, it was possible that she was asking on behalf of a friend whose dimensions were more suited to gastronomic pursuits.
He shuddered when he recalled that she was friends with Ryo. But then, the thought of prim, proper Ryo setting foot inside a dive bar was enough to have him grinning. Besides, Izzy was fairly sure that the psychologist went to a different school, and was unlikely to be on hand. His stiff muscles began to relax.
Unfortunately, Hana's wicked smile had him tensing right back up. "We'll see about that," she said, twirling a hip out and slamming a palm onto it. Tai's brow pressed down, and Hana laughed and followed him out of the room, presumably to pick at him some more. Izzy waited a moment, then went to the door and closed it.
Izzy collapsed against the surface, using it for support. He fixed his girlfriend with a pained expression. "Amy. Why did you bring her here? Now she knows where I live."
A snorting laugh popped out of her, and she lifted a hand to her mouth, as if to shove it back in. "I didn't really mean to. She sort of just... followed me here," she said, lifting her hands.
Izzy arched an eyebrow at her. "Like a puppy?" While the image of Hana trotting at Amy's heels was entertaining, it seemed unlikely. From what little he knew of Hana- and, frankly, that was more information than he wanted- she had probably planned out this trip to his dorm room beforehand, for mysterious purposes that couldn't end well for him.
Despite his misgivings, Amy's answering smile had Izzy moving towards her. His hands landed on her hips. "Like a chatty puppy," she agreed, pausing long enough to bend and kiss his forehead. "Anyway, I think you and Tai are too hard on her."
Izzy sighed and moved closer, tilting his head to the side. His ear landed over her heart, and his eyes shut as its beating sound soothed him. "It's not that I dislike her," he offered at last. "But, you must admit... She's somewhat trying."
Amy shrugged, and the movement pressed his cheek into her chest. "So is TK, but we get on."
Izzy declined to reply. He found TK's mischief, high energy, and antics exhausting, and encounters with the younger teen left him baffled and slightly vexed. Hana, on the other hand, gave him the desire to simultaneously bury his head in sand and bash it into a wall.
But that difference was something he would have to dissect at a later date. "Are you interested in going?" he asked, glancing at his wristwatch. Personally, he would rather stay here, but something in him was a little curious about Hana's desire to eat her body weight in wings. And he suspected that Amy would be interested in the pizza and candy flavored alcohol.
"Hmm... I would like to eat something there, but I dunno... I'm not that wild about watching people eat like that. Turns my stomach after a while, you know? And it seems like such a waste…"
She was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Izzy went to open it. Matt was standing outside, and he leaned forward, easily looking into the room over Izzy's head.
"Tai told you, right?" he called to Amy. "Come on, we need to get going. Tai already left."
"Where's Sora?" Amy asked, joining them at the door.
Matt sighed. "She said she wasn't interested. Come on, Amy. I'll but you a drink. It's less fun to laugh at Tai's stupid ass by myself."
"Is an eating contest that amusing?" Izzy asked. It didn't seem like it would be all that interesting, once the initial shock of glorified gluttony wore off.
Matt's smile twisted, then morphed into laughter so strong that he doubled over under its force. Izzy glanced at Amy, but she looked as puzzled as he felt. Matt fished a piece of paper out of his pocket, then fought for breath before explaining.
"I'm the one who told Tai about this," he began, unfolding the paper. Its upper surface was uneven and ragged. "I tore this off of the flier before I gave it to him."
Izzy cocked an eyebrow at Matt, then accepted the flier. He tilted it towards Amy, and she bent closer to read it. The paper featured a neon orange mushroom cloud surrounded by garish flames.
"I don't follow," Izzy admitted. Amy reached over and pointed to the fine print below the drawing, whose bright colors and bold outline had commanded Izzy's full attention. This contest celebrates the release of our new nuclear wings, it read. May the strongest win!
The paper crinkled in Izzy's hands as his fingers twitched. "Matt," he began, his tone conversational and light. "Does Tai think, perchance, that he's about to gorge himself on typical hot wings?"
Matt sighed blissfully, like a father watching his sleeping child. "He'll be crying by the tenth wing."
Izzy turned automatically, heading back into his room. "What are you doing?" Amy asked.
"It's a bit cold," he replied, throwing back his closet door. "I'll be needing my jacket."
Soon After
Tai looked over at Hana and smirked. They were seated at a long, picnic-style table among a crowd of huge frat dudes. A massive pile of wings took up most of the surface, leaving just enough room for dining space and an empty bucket per contestant. The smell of buffalo sauce was overwhelming. His eyes were on the edge of watering.
Tai had to give Hana credit. Although her eyes had widened at the sight of the contest area and the enormous guys taking part, she hadn't missed a stride on her way to the registration line. Honestly, he had expected her to back out, but she was seated close by his elbow.
And answering his smirk with a cocky, faux-innocent smile.
Oh, we'll see what we'll see, little girl, Tai thought. His eyes narrowed; so did hers.
Someone was explaining the rules and laying pitchers of water on the odd remaining spaces, but Tai didn't break eye contact with Hana. Besides, how complicated could an eating contest be, anyway?
Then, the game started, and Tai had the flesh ripped off his first wing in roughly three seconds.
Meanwhile
Matt leaned into Amy and smiled, his shoulders shaking. "Tai's not listening to a damn word about the contest, is he," he said, pausing mid-way on laughter. His eyes flicked from Tai to their environment. They were in a pub located underground, sandwiched between two apartment complexes within ten minutes of their campus. The place had a vaguely cave-like feeling, with gray walls and floors, no windows, and a slight chill from being located beneath street level. It was a total dive, and the flickering glow of televisions running sports channels provided the only light, except for the illumination over the contest table. Still, the food was cheap, and, surprisingly, pretty good.
Also, patrons weren't carder here, which was a plus.
Amy sighed and shook her head. "No, he's too busy staring Hana down. Why does he get so caught up in competing? She's like a third of his size."
"A competitor is a competitor, I suppose," Izzy provided. Much to Matt's surprise, it seemed that Izzy had mellowed out a bit about drinking. He had downed Amy's first Swedish Fish vodka concoction with the intention of taking a sip, then ordered two more, looking somewhat sheepish. "Tai's innate sense of equality is one of the things I admire about him."
"I'm sorry," Matt said, tapping his ear. "There's a lot of noise- I think I didn't hear you right."
Izzy finished swallowing his second drink with a huge gulp. "One of the few things I admire."
"There it is." Grinning, Matt raised his beer in cheers, then turned to Amy. She was facing away from the contest area, and had to turn around to see anything.
"Do you two wanna come over here?" he asked, tipping his head to the right. "There's room."
"No, thanks," Amy said immediately. "I'd rather just have a glance every now and then. I'll lose my appetite before the pizza comes out of the oven."
"Trust me," Matt said, sighing with pleasure. "You guys will want to see Tai's face when the contest starts."
Izzy blinked, then turned around, resting his elbows against the surface of the table. Amy mimicked him, then leaned closer as he tipped his head in.
"What other flavors do they serve?" he asked, and Matt shook his head. It surprised him to learn that Izzy had a weakness for oddly-flavored alcohol, but, well, someone had to like the stuff, or else the pub wouldn't offer it.
"Umm... I think they have gummy bear and cotton candy and pixie stick." She frowned. "But... You don't eat stuff like that? Ice cream and fruits are the only sweet things I've seen you eat. Maybe some soda and juice."
"I know. It's baffling, but, despite not being especially interested in sweet food, I've always been extremely fond of sweet fluids."
Matt was suddenly grateful that this was his first beer. He wasn't sure that he could have left that comment alone if he were tipsy. It's almost a pity, though. Amy would have blushed for a solid twenty minutes…
A sudden hush in the room had him focusing on the contestants. The event's moderator had stopped talking, and was leaning forward. "It's going to start," Matt said. His eyes snapped onto Tai, who was staring at the pile of wings with absurd intensity.
The man's cry of 'start!' was still ringing in Matt's ears when Tai stripped the meat off his first wing. For a moment, nothing happened, and confusion and disappointment had Matt's shoulders drooping.
Then the cussing began.
Immediately Following
Hana's eyes popped at the language streaming out of Tai. It was bad enough that she nearly forgot the fact that her mouth had turned into an incinerator. But then the burning sensation seemed to pass through her teeth, burying into the nerves sheltered in her gums, and she swallowed convulsively, desperate to get the heat out of her mouth.
She felt the lump of meat slipping down her esophagus like a cinder, charring tender membranes, making her cough like an asthmatic. Her hands made a mad grab for her water, and she downed half the glass in a long draught. "What the hell, Tai?!" she demanded. "Why didn't you tell me these were wings from hell?!" Most of the contestants were reacting, whether by coughing, swearing, tearing up, or laughing in a defeated sort of way.
Tai turned running eyes to her, and Hana leaned closer automatically when she noticed the golden sheen to his irises. "Do I look like I knew?" he snarled, his top lip curling up. "Matt set me up. Fucking fucker...!"
Hana took the opportunity to laugh in his face, despite the anger churning in her gut. She could understand the desire to prank Tai, but someone could have warned her, at least...! She glared out into the seating area. The restaurant was dimly lit, but she could make out Matt's body, doubled over the table, his palm flat against the surface for support. Izzy was grinning, but Amy looked a little worried.
Hana stored that information away for future reference, then returned her attention to Tai. "Are you still doing this?" she asked stiffly, waving an arm dramatically at the pile of wings.
Tai's only response was a growled obscenity. His eyes narrowed, and he grabbed a wing, paused for a moment, then lifted it to his mouth. White, slightly crooked teeth ripped the flesh from the bone, and Hana shuddered when she saw the lump of food slide right down his throat.
Her stomach simultaneously churned and sank. She had entered the contest for fun, and also with the expectation of goading Tai into eating more than he could handle, just to mess with him. But spicy foods weren't her forte, and her lips were still coated with stinging, aching heat.
But Tai had gotten through three more wings, and she was determined not to come out of this looking bad. Gritting her teeth, she picked up a wing and prepared to down it as quickly as possible, praying that she wouldn't swallow a bone.
Soon, she was teaching the nearest contestants some particularly filthy French.
Soon After
"That was the fastest eating contest I have ever seen," Matt said as Tai and Hana approached his table.
Tai bared his teeth, then hissed at the pain caused by the motion. The surface of his lips felt seared, like tips of beef, leaving a strange feeling of relative coolness beneath the outer flesh. "You're a dead man walking, Matt," he said, sitting right up against his best friend. He graced him with a potent death glare, but the blond's only reaction was to hand over the unopened beer in front of him.
"Drinks on me," he said smoothly. "Well, I've got thirty bucks, anyway." He passed over a ten and a twenty, and Tai shifted his glare to the cash. While drinking the fire out of his throat, cheeks, tongue, and lips sounded appealing, especially on someone else's dime, he wasn't sure if he wanted to accept the peace offering. By an unspoken guide of gentleman's conduct, he couldn't keep bitching at Matt if he did. And what was the fun in that?
He was still hesitating when Hana leaned over him from behind and snatched the cash. "Hey!" Tai cried, turning around to face her. She hopped up from the bench so swiftly that Tai had to edge back to dodge a bony hip.
Damn, but she moves quick! The dancer was already at the counter, laying the bills flat against it. Tai hurried to catch up, until he was standing behind her, bending over her head to see what she was doing.
"I want an order of those hell wings." Tai's brows shot up at the sound of her voice. She sounded like a heroine in a fantasy movie, ready to lead her troops into a war for vengeance. It was incredibly over the top, and the guy behind the counter snickered before requesting a repetition.
Sighing, Hana threw her hands up, then pointed to the contest table, which hadn't been cleared yet. "Your face melters. Give me some."
"The hell do you want more of those for? Don't waste my money on that." Tai clamped his hands on her shoulders, oblivious to the folly of exerting force on an acquaintance.
Her upturned nose caught his attention as she tipped her head back. "I ended up eating those torture devices because your friends wanted to laugh at you." Her fingertips tapped the bills. "This is my money."
The sound of knuckles on wood distracted Tai from the scathing, profane retort he wanted to deliver. The cashier was trying not to smile, it seemed, turning his mouth into a series of uneven ridges. "If you want, you can help yourself to the leftovers. They don't keep, anyway."
"Merci," Hana said, holding her hands out. "Plate, please?"
Tai watched, baffled, as the girl accepted a paper plate. Suddenly, he realized that she wasn't touching the cash anymore, and he swept it up.
Hana cocked an eyebrow at him. "Get me some wine."
"Haha," Tai drawled, rolling his eyes. Hana came to a complete pause, then narrowed her eyes. Tai waited for some sort of comment, but she just looked at him, until he realized what was happened.
"Oh- uh- you were serious. Seriously?" She nodded. "Okay- uh- wow. Hana. Take a look around." He lead his face in a quick tour of the dim, underground dive bar. "They don't exactly have a wine list here."
Color crept into her cheeks. "Just get me whatever you're getting," she snapped, turning on her heels. Tai watched her move toward the contest table for a moment, then shook his head and ordered two beers.
When Tai returned to their table, he found Hana laying a plate of wings down. She sat beside Matt with a sense of finality and heaviness that belied her small stature.
"You," she said, pointing at Matt, "I don't even know you, pretty boy, but you're downing three of these."
Tai laughed, even as he struggled to unravel her logic. That accusing finger drifted to Izzy. "You too. And, Amy, I can't believe you didn't warn me, you're supposed to have my back!"
Amy tilted her head, her expression startled and a little confused, but said nothing. Her eyes fixed on Hana's fingertip.
"But you didn't laugh," Hana allowed reluctantly. "So... One."
I guess this is her idea of revenge? Tai thought, scowling. While he was totally on board with Matt and Izzy eating those wings, he didn't want Amy to go through that. He was still trying to decide how to get her out of this when Matt turned to Amy.
"Who is this?" he asked. His tone was level, but tight enough that even Tai knew he was struggling to keep it that way.
"That, Matt," Izzy began, shaking his head, "is Hana."
"Uh... huh." Matt sat his drink down, then folded his arms. "Look. Hana. Amy warned me that I was getting you into this, too. I told her not to say anything because I didn't want Tai to hear about it. I'm sorry."
"And I see where you're coming from," Hana said, shrugging. "So no hard feelings. Now, get eating." Matt turned his glance to Tai, as if to ask for support, but Tai just grinned and nudged the plate towards Matt and away from Amy.
Matt scowled at the plate and shook his head. "Okay, uh. Hate to break it to you, but you have no way of making me eat something." An incensed shiver rippled over Hana's body, and Tai summoned that death glare again. He didn't really realize that he was aligning himself with Hana; he was too focused on making the boys bleed from the gums.
"Will it really make you feel better if we eat these?" Amy asked, drawing the plate towards herself.
"Not physically," Hana said, shrugging. "I still can't feel my face. But it would be a nice laugh, yeah."
"Amy!" Tai cried, watching her pick up a wing. "Seriously, those are, like, biological warfare. You do not want to eat that shit."
"I hate buffalo sauce flavor..." Amy muttered, sighing as she pulled the flesh from the bone.
"Amy," Izzy interjected, his voice going high. "There's really no need for you to participate in benign masochism at Hana's orders."
"You saw Tai's face when he ate that," Matt added, his brow furrowing.
Amy stared at them, piled the meat into her palm, and smiled. "Boys are cowards."
And then she tilted her head back and dumped the chicken into her mouth.
"Wow, that has got a kick!" she commented a moment later. "But ughhhh, I can't believe you guys like food like this, uggghhh." She grabbed her glass and drank deeply, apparently not noticing the jaws dropping around her.
Hana's palms slammed onto the table. "Seriously? Seriously?! That isn't burning holes in your cheeks?"
"It's hot," Amy agreed. She lifted the back of her palm to her forehead, and Tai noticed that it came away glistening with a bit of moisture. "But it doesn't hurt or anything."
"What the-" Tai stared at her, mouth agape, eyes popping. He wanted to rant, but, suddenly, it just seemed like too much effort. "No, fuck this." He waved a hand dismissively, then turned to Hana.
"Look," he said, sighing, wanting to move past all of this crap with the hot wings, "you did good out there." He nudged her beer over, then lifted his. "Cheers, or whatever."
Emerald eyes fastened on the bottle in his hand. "You got me beer?" she demanded, her tone incredulous and unimpressed. Tai lowered the drink, cocking an eyebrow at her.
"Yeaaaaah? You said to get you whatever I was drinking." He shook the bottle. "Annnnd this is what I'm drinking."
She edged back and gave him a look that might have been appropriate if he had dropped a cockroach in front of her. "I'm not drinking that."
Tai breathed in deeply through his nose. "Fine," he returned, his voice tight. "I'll drink it." A waiter passed by, and he caught his attention. "Yeah, can we get one of those cotton candy drinks over here?" Maybe he should have asked Hana what she wanted, but he was under the impression that she had no idea what to do when deprived of wine. Princess, he thought.
Then he remembered the way she had worked through those hot wings, and he retracted the insult.
"Hey," he said, leaning closer to her and lowering his voice. "If you ever want to get even with Matt and Izzy, let me know. I've got all kinds of shit on Matt, and he shares a room with me, so we should be able to mess with him pretty easily. And I can always toss Izzy out of a second story window, or something. He won't break any bones that way." He paused, considered, then smirked. "I think."
Hana stared at him for a moment, then started to laugh. "Is it always brute force with you? We'd better leave the planning to me."
Tai grinned. "Well," he said easily, shrugging and popping the cap off of his beer, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Emerald eyes rolled in a playful arc. "Just break it yourself."
A surprised laugh slipped out of him. "Okay, fine, you win. You can make the plan. I'll be the muscle." So saying, he lifted his arm and flexed, showing off the lean muscle there. While he was no body builder, since speed was more his game than strength, he kept himself strong enough to be able to handle the demands of his athletic lifestyle, and to back up the cheques that his mouth foolishly wrote.
And if it impressed the ladies, well, he certainly wouldn't complain.
Sadly, Hana's response was a surprisingly sharp smack on the head. "God," he murmured, "maybe you should be the muscle, too."
She smirked, all self-satisfaction. "We'll talk, Tai. We'll talk."
Then she returned her attention to the general conversation, and Tai followed her lead, rubbing his head and hoping that her plan would be a good one.
Another Day
Matt knocked on Sora's door, received an acknowledgment from Amy, and let himself in. Izzy was working at Amy's desk, his face buried in a screen. Amy was sitting on her bed with a textbook open across her lap.
"Hey. Anyone seen Sora?" Matt pulled his girlfriend's chair away from the desk, which was overladen with fabrics and sketches, then sat.
Amy sighed and leaned back into her pillows. "No. Some days, she's in here all the time. Others, I don't even see her. She's probably talking to models or professors or the people in charge of the show. It seems like she's working really hard."
Man leaned forward, balancing his forearms against his knees. "Yeah," he said heavily. "I know it's what she wants to do, but I'm worried about her. She's wearing herself thin."
Amy smiled at him. "So you wanna take her on a date? Get her off campus for a while?"
"Am I that obvious?" Matt asked, shaking his head. Amy didn't offer an answer, and, judging by his behavior thus far, Izzy still wasn't aware that he was present.
Silence filled the room, but Matt had no objection. He leaned back in the chair and tried to relax, soaking in the easy, peaceful atmosphere.
Eventually, his eyes fell on Amy, and he frowned as he realized that she was staring out the window instead of into her book. Catching her in a daydream wasn't unusual, but the tiny frown on her face was.
"What's on your mind, Amy?" he asked, shifting the chair closer to her. He saw Izzy turn away from his laptop in his periphery, his first movement since Matt entered the room.
Amy jerked, then turned away from the window, blinking like a person exiting a dim movie theater. Matt's instincts stirred, warning him of a potential problem.
"Oh- uh- I was just- Well, it's not very important."
Matt fixed her with an unimpressed look, then fought not to smile as Izzy crossed his arms and frowned. It occurred to him that, for the first time, he was going to have some calm, rational support in unraveling whatever this was, and that boosted his spirits a little.
Thankfully, the redhead remained silent, leaving the talking to him. "I've got time," he said, shrugging easily. "I'm just waiting around for Sora, anyway."
Amy looked at him, then at Izzy, then back at him. Her fingers began to play with the edges of her textbook pages, lifting them, ruffling them, releasing them. "Ah- Well, it's just- You know how I worked with those vampire bats over winter break?"
"My memory's still holding up alright," he said easily, trying to swallow his impatience. Amy rarely shot straight, especially when she was talking about herself, but he knew from experience that he had to let her ease into things if he wanted to hear that bottom line.
"Right," she said, running her fingers through the ends of her hair. "Well, uh, he apparently has a colleague in Ohio who is working with a colony of bats in a cave. The cave is in the middle of nowhere, I gather, and-"
"Amy," Izzy interrupted. Matt tensed, knowing that throwing Amy off could easily lead to even more dithering. But there was warmth and amusement in the way Izzy strung those three letters together, and Amy smiled and tossed her hair back over her shoulder.
"Right," she repeated. "Ah, apparently this colleague mentioned needing help over the summer. And, well, I don't know why, since he has so many other students working with him, but, uh, the professor I worked with... he recommended me to his colleague."
Matt offered her a calm smile, despite his sudden focus and fast thinking. As far as he was concerned, this could be a very, very interesting development. "That sounds like a good opportunity. Would you be paid? Would they put you up?"
Amy hesitated. Matt watched her eyes slide from his face to Izzy's, and then slowly back. Reluctance. Wariness. Both things he expected to find. "There's apparently some kind of agricultural college nearby. This colleague has worked things out with them so that the students he hires- for pay, yes- will be able to stay in a dorm over the summer and use the cafeteria." She licked her lips, then filled her voice with a brightness that rang painfully false. "See, agricultural schools would be interested in the health of their local bat population. Bats eat many of the pests that harm their crops, so-"
"You should do it." Matt filled the words with confidence that didn't pass on to Amy. Instantly, her teeth were on her lower lip, worrying it. She looked away from him and at Izzy.
"It's… it sounds like interesting work. Field work, with a real, wild colony."
The redhead smiled. "Congratulations. It sounds like something you'd enjoy."
"Oh. Yes." Amy tilted her head down, staring into the pages of her textbook. There was a long, painful pause, but Matt grit his teeth and waited it out. If he let her, Amy would meander her way towards that bottom line… eventually.
"It's… It's an awfully long time to be in the middle of nowhere by myself." The admission was murmured into the book, at a volume that had both boys leaning towards her to hear.
There it is. Matt had guessed what Amy's problem would be, but having her say it aloud would help him cut to the chase in later arguments. The thought of leaving her circle of security, a safe perimeter comprised of her friends, was terrifying to Amy. But it was something that needed to be done. After all, in just a few years, they would all be starting their adult lives, drifting apart from each other. They would always stay in touch, and would probably meet up regularly. But that wasn't the same as the constant presence Amy was accustomed to.
"You'll be fine. It's only three months, and most of us are going to be busy around here, anyway. I think I may have finally found the right people for my band, or at least some of them, and if that pans out, I'll be busy rehearsing all summer. Tai's got soccer ruling his life. And Izzy, you're staying here, right? For classes and work?"
"True," Izzy agreed. "I should be just as busy then as I am now."
She still didn't look convinced. In fact, the faintest glint of moisture appeared in her eyes, and Matt fought for another angle. He wouldn't be able to push much longer today, not if he wanted to avoid upsetting her. "You won't have to go home for the summer," Matt added, hoping to end on a strong point that would get stuck in her head.
Her hand trembled around the edge of her textbook. "That's… Yeah. That's true. But I don't have to give him an answer until the end of the month, so…" Her head tilted, and her hair slipped over her shoulder, blocking her face from view. She sighed, hunched over her lap, and lifted the textbook, pulling herself out of the conversation.
Oh boy, Matt thought as he fished his cell out of his pocket. This is not going to be easy. He scrolled through his messages to a random text and used it as an excuse to leave, hoping to find Sora and sort his thoughts out on the way.
One way or another, he was going to make sure Amy got the nudge that pushed her out into the world on her own. Even if it meant straining something between them.
She is not going to want to do this. Can you really convince her with just some strain? What if something breaks? What then, old son?
Matt hissed and rubbed at the sudden pain in his forehead. He hated to admit it, but he didn't have an answer.
Author's Notes: Ahh silly silly fluff. And also an establishing scene at the end there.
Not much to say about this one. Hana is working her way more and more into the group, and that's always interesting.
Seeking Resonance will be updated next Sunday. See you then! Thank you for reading.
