Paige arrived at her protective embrace of her quarterback boyfriend, as he kicked open the door, unnecessarily but still politely, and greeted Molly at the door before placing her on the bed. After explaining what had occurred earlier, Paige wore an irritated expression as she devoured a bag of monster munchies greedily. While Logan spoke in his to-die-for accent, Molly smiled and Paige occasionally added in comments of her own.
"So, he gave you an ultimatum?" Molly scoffed, shaking her long hair and fixing her pants, glancing at Paige. "Doesn't sound like something our little freshmen would do."
Paige shrugged her shoulders and licked the remains of her snack off her tipped fingers. "He might have just been upset, you should have seen him, Molly. He looked so broken...poor kid. At least Johnny didn't make fun of him." She patted the bed and grinned cheekily when Archie jumped on her bed and licked her fingers happily.
"He left?" Molly questioned as she flung another bag of monster munchies at her roommate.
Logan sipped a can of monster-aid and buried his hand in the bag, munching away discreetly. He looked up and smiled faintly, although he looked incredibly tired from his many practices and games that had occupied his time, along with the prospect of having his girlfriend in bandages. "Yeah, he left after the blue kid did," he informed. "Shame though. Kid had some talent, too bad he was a jerk."
"Logan is right," Paige agreed, and placed the bag on her sheets to go to her closet, pulling out a large hoodie. "Johnny just gave up afterwards, probably to find someone to fill Sulley's spot in his fraternity. The Scare Games ,or whatever this school calls it, aren't too far away, and I bet you anything that Johnny would even pick Logan if it meant having enough players to compete."
Molly nodded. "Of course. The Scare Games are huge to any fraternity or sorority, but especially to the Roar Omega Roar Fraternity. They've competed every year since their founding. Any year they don't compete makes everyone in the frat look bad. Johnny would be the laughing-stock of his family, his mom would probably be furious."
Paige frowned thoughtfully. Johnny had flipped out when she had mentioned his parents and how they had raised him-he was infuriated with her. Even Javier had mentioned the subject between Johnny and his parents was touchy and something they brought up as little as possible. "I guess," Paige spoke slowly, "he got really upset when I mentioned his parents. Maybe he's just as worried about letting his own parents down as we are."
"But he doesn't have his- Molly interrupted. But a quick glance towards Logan and back to Paige stopped her from completing the rest of her sentence.
Paige bit back a bitter response to what she knew her friend was going to say. But she knew it would do her no good to get angry at Molly and dropped the subject, filling the room with a deafening silence albeit the occasional slurp and ruffle of plastic.
"These are delicious," Logan said through a mouth full of munchies.
Molly shot him a look. "Do they not have monster munchies where you are from?"
Logan snorted, rubbing the crumbs off his face. "We have better things to do than eat city food."
"And yet, here you are; eating the last of our supplies." Molly teased. "Guess the big city has its perks, eh, cowboy?"
Logan looked down at the bag and shrugged. "It sure is different from anything back where I'm from, it sure is nice sometimes. But I'll always miss home, y'all know? Still, this city is bout the coolest thing for people in my hometown."
Paige wasn't fooled. "Mm-hmm. You can admit that the city smells awful; we know it's true," she told Logan.
"The only thing that smells bad here," Logan began, "is Johnny."
The sophomores laughed and Paige smiled at the monsters closet to her as she pulled on her hoodie and curled up next to Logan.
After finishing homework, Logan and Paige bid their friend a goodbye before racing off towards the Scaring building for their own classes. Logan carried Paige the way there, despite his fatigue and Paige imploring for him to no strain himself for her. Paige contained the part of her that felt like royalty as Logan dashed across the campus and resisted the urge to call attention to herself by yelling how wonderful of a boyfriend Logan was.
He brought her up the black stairs of the building, humming as he did, and Paige was fully able to admire the building from a slightly higher perspective. It was a wonderful piece of architecture that made most people stop and stare, not to mention it was freaking gigantic.
"Enjoying the view?"
Paige snapped out of her admiring to smirk. "Maybe...the building is pretty cool."
"I was talking about me, but I guess it is." Logan smirked back and Paige giggled in reply. He planted a light kiss on the tip of her nose, changing her maroon skin to a shade darker than normal.
But then a familiar noise reminded Paige where she was. She slowly turned her head to glance over Logan's shoulder and saw the brooding form of Johnny and co. glaring heatedly at Johnny, while Javier waved lightly to her. Johnny, however, looked less than pleased. His vibrant eyes were not focused on her, but on the monster carrying her instead, as if he could burn holes through his head if he stared long enough.
"You know, glaring at my head doesn't make it go away," Logan called back nonchalantly, frowning over his shoulder.
Johnny's lip twitched before forming into a large scowl. "I wish it did."
Neither monster said anything as the two glared at one another and blocked out all the other people around them. Paige shifted uneasily in the hold of Logan as she felt his grip tightening around her form and crushing her healing body. "Umm...Logan, you mind?" Paige hissed in pain.
He blinked, breaking eye contact with the purple eyes of Johnny and stared at her apologetically. He muttered a quick sorry before taking the stairs two at a time to escape Johnny's glare and Paige silently thanked him for doing so. She continued to look back at the stairs as they advanced towards the classroom where the Roar Omega Roar brothers were going to appear and begin talking trash or pushing monsters out of their way.
And the lived up to their expectations.
The atmosphere darkened as they entered the main classroom where their professor believed that monsters always work better in the dark, even when they were supposed to read from their textbooks.
Logan situated himself and her at the top of the stairs, towards the stairs for a quick getaway and an easy exit. With gentleness most didn't think a football player would have, he comfortably placed her on the plush chairs and propped her foot up on the seat in front of her. She smiled happily at him and adjusted herself in the seat to receive the ultimate comfort.
"Is this seat taken?"
Paige looked up at the brooding monster beside her with one dagger like finger-pointing to the seat beside Logan who looked less than pleased to see Johnny again so soon. He shook his head, nonetheless, since it wasn't in his nature to lie. Johnny shuffled by her carefully moving her feet as he did and she managed to flash Javier a grim smile despite the pain shooting through her leg. They lined up in a perfect row beside them and settled in their spots, waiting for their class to begin.
"Good to see you all again," their professor greeted as he emerged from his hiding spot and walked to the front of the classroom, a small smile on his face as he did so. "You all did quite well on your projects and I have the results right here."
Paige tensed in her seat and groaned loudly. She had left the presentation all up to Johnny after he left the hospital early and went back to present all they had learned on Magellan Jordan, or at least she hoped he had. He had refused to learn about an "ancestor of a humanist". With a fearful heart, she glanced over Logan to see how Johnny was behaving and he offered her a slight smirk before giving her a thumbs up. Her heart fluttered and suddenly, she didn't feel so afraid of the results.
"You can collect them at the end of the class period; I'll have them right here on the board, but I will say this," he smiled, ruffling through the papers. "Miss. Jordan and Mr. Worthington had a very nice book that I found both informative and entertaining. So, congratulations to those two."
The classroom filled with light applause and a couple of the monsters glared back at them, obviously not pleased that they hadn't done as well. Paige waved meekly to Naomi, who had a kind smile on her face while the ROR fraternity clapped their president on the back.
"Looks like Johnny pulled it off." Paige whispered to Logan with new relief.
He smirked. "Yeah, even I have ta admit that he did perrty well. Fer a city boy and fer a fraternity junkie."
"He did well? On my presentation?" She questioned with surprise.
"Yeah, he looked real passionate about it, like he was...having fun, in a way. Didn't know he had it in him to seem so interested about something you forced him to do."
Paige sat back in her seat, stunned but happy that Johnny hadn't failed her. She listened carefully as another lecture began for her and her classmates, another topic that she had read about. Professor Knight pointed to their board and his words droned out to her once more, like it usually did. Beside Logan, Johnny tapped his foot in a bored way and nudged a sleeping Javier who jolted awake, slapping Reggie as he did.
She quickly moved her hand to her mouth to stop herself from breaking into fits of laughter as did Logan.
"Excuse me, Miss. Jordan, Mr. Moore, is everything okay up there? I would hate to be interrupting something between this classmates number one lovers." Professor Knight teased, but underneath he was irritated.
"No sir, I'm sorry." Paige called back and tried to cover the blush on her face. "And one more thing, sir."
He blinked, "yes, Miss. Jordan?"
"That words bums me out unless it's between taco and delight."
He chuckled warmly and a few of the other students joined in as well. Paige felt as if she could fly at the moment, with or without wings. Despite the few people who had labeled her as a humanist and ignored her altogether, it felt good to know that some, if only a couple, had decided she wasn't such a bad egg. That she was just like them in every other way, besides her lineage. "I guess I walked into that one, but I don't want to hear another word from all of you. I'm going to explain your next assignment that will take place over break."
The laughter died down and was replaced with annoyed groans and mutters. Even Logan, who remained optimistic, groaned as well and shook his head, leaning over to Paige.
"Hate it when he does this. We didn't have a project during our free time, but suddenly break is here, and he gives us a darn project." Logan complained, face scrunched in aggravation. "I heard that last year they had to...oh no." Logan froze and groaned once more, even more displeased then before.
"What? What's wrong?"
He closed his eyes before they flicked open and locked with her own. "He made them go to each others houses."
"You mean...!?" Paige cried, realization hitting her like a train. "Oh crap..."
Professor Knight paced the wooden floor below. "This winter project was designed by me just this year and will prove to be the hardest project I have ever handed out, for any year. Each student and their partner will be in charge of creating a simulation of an meet with a human using their own technology available at their homes. The simulation must include the what is written on the rubric and must be as life-like as possible. The simulation is in two parts; one, the exact approach of your simulated monster. And two, it must be a real case scenario where you can explain what can and can't be done in that situation. If your simulation is the best of the class, you have a chance to have visit a Scare Company of your choice and have a chance to show your simulation to the Scaring Board of that company as well. It is the honor of your University lifetime, so work hard and good luck!"
"A simulation project? Sounds cool."
Logan shook his head. "But you'll be spending your winter break with the eggplant."
"You both know I can hear you." Johnny snapped, baring his teeth at the pair.
"Then don't eavesdrop, Worthington." Logan shot back and turned away from Paige to glare at the horned monster beside him.
"Then don't talk about me, Moore."
"MR. WORTHINGTON! MR. MOORE!" Professor Knight roared, slapping the pointer in his hand on the board with a thud. "How many times do I have to break up fights between you two!? Ever since Mr. Worthington's return from the hospital, you two have been at each other's throats and I am sick of it. Both of you will be serving detention with me after break and I hope for your sake that this is the last skirmish I have to break up! Am I understood, gentlemen?"
The two men nodded glumly, glared at one another and slumped back into their seats. Paige rose an eyebrow in question, but didn't ask what was on her mind. While Professor Knight excused the behavior of his students and hurriedly continued to explain the project, Paige thought of the words her professor had said. Johnny and Logan fighting, especially in class, was something she wasn't expecting. And it bothered her greatly that Logan had forgotten to mention that.
"Alright, slackers! Have a nice break and when you get back, I'm expecting some good projects. They will count for 50% of your grade, so they better make me weep with joy!" He shouted as the students conversed with happiness at the prospect of escape the confining campus of their university. Naomi winked once at Paige as she waited patiently for Johnny to climb over his seat, to avoid Logan, and grab her by the waist to lead her out. Javier sighed and followed suit as did his fellow brothers; Reggie smiled at her, Chet snapped his claws menacingly and Chip pointed at the cookbook in his hand as they passed.
"What did he mean by that?" Paige asked as Logan stood to help her climb from her seat.
"It means if we don't do well on our projects, he's gonna be pissed," Logan quipped, flashing her a pearly white smile, but she frowned at him.
"Nice try. What did he mean by 'at each other's throats', huh?"
Logan sighed and wrapped his arms carefully around her torso before lifting her gently. "So ya caught that..? Worthington came back and ya didn't, and I was worried. So I asked him about it, and asked him if ya were okay. He just...he just said that he didn't care and I...kind of tried to fight him. Would've to if hadn't been for that bug boy of his. And I kind of just get angry at him about anything now..."
Her eyes widened before glancing towards the door where moments earlier Johnny had departed from. "He said that?"
Logan said nothing and walked towards the door, bringing her closer for warmth, and took the stairs at his fastest speed. Snow had begun to blanket the grass, the large trees and the paved sidewalks. The little park benches were students enjoyed their lunches were pale white. And it was beautiful. Tiny snowflakes fell on her green hair and landed on the spot she considered 'bald.' Other monsters that had left or packing for their breaks dumped their things on the ground before diving into the snow and laughing at the wonderful white precipitation falling on their clothes.
She pushed her hand into the air and enjoyed the feeling of snowflakes falling on her maroon flesh. Paige erupted into laughter and demanded to be released from the hold of her close friend who obliged quickly. Although she stumbled forward, she continued to laugh and reached down to pick up the snow before turning and flinging it at her carrier as best as she could.
"No fair!" He shouted.
Paige rolled her eyes before stumbling forward and towards the patches of snow where no other monster could invade her own personal area. She inhaled the cold air and hobbled over to a nearby tree, feeling slightly more confident than she had in a while. With careful feet, she gripped the lowest branch of the tree. Dressed in only a large coat and lose jeans, she must have looked silly to anyone who saw her. Biting her lip, Paige swung herself up to the first branch and curled up into the trunk, letting the wind blow by her and her long, thick hair.
I could get used to this.
Paige closed her eyes and inhaled the amazingly cool and wonderfully smelling aroma after spending so much time locked inside a hospital and school. It was a good different in her opinion.
Opening her eyes, she skirted forward and swung down so she hung upside down, gripping the branch with her limbs and waving to Logan who was busy with a snowmonster. Letting her head hang down, she nearly gave a shot of surprise when she saw two violet eyes gazing curiously back into her own.
Dropping down from the tree, Paige fell non to gracefully into the arms of Johnny, standing directly under the tree, and studying her with amused eyes.
Logan's foot steps cracked against the powdery snow. "Paige! Be more careful, will ya?"
Johnny Worthington scoffed, rolling his eyes and stared into the golden eyes of Paige. "The cowboy has a point, Bones. I won't always be around to save you, you know?"
She stared up at the monster who had saved her twice. Her heart pounded painfully in her chest and she pushed away the monster. "Let go of me, Johnny."
"Poor choice of words," Johnny tsked and promptly dropped the girl on her rear, laughing at the yelp she released. "Don't look at me like that. You fell into that one."
Paige growled unhappily and rubbed her sore bum, before cursing her way back to her feet. Despite being surprised to see the fraternity president, Paige understood why he had saved her and why he was standing before her now. Their project was due at the end of the winter break and Paige doubted that he would go to her home, so it left only one option. She had to go to his house; the house of the Worthingtons. And judging by his own expression in class, he was just as excited as she was. "I know why you're here," Paige spoke quickly, deciding not to beat around the bush.
"Good," Johnny replied, shuffling his feet in the cold, "we should leave today, my house is only a couple hours away. I can drive us there and we will still have enough time if you run back to your dorm and pack your junk-I mean-stuff. So stop staring at me like that and go! I don't have all day."
"Rude, but I got it." Paige confirmed and turned to Logan. "We have to go. I have to get to my dorm and pack for my trip to the Worthington Estate." Logan nodded and quickly hoisted her off the ground into his strong grip. "I'll see you outside the main entrance, be there in twenty? Fifteen if you're lucky."
Before she could wait to hear his response, Logan took off and raced away from Johnny, leaving him in white dust to stare at their fleeting forms.
Paige returned to her dorm not too long after to find Molly stocking her side of the room with monster munchies and Archie sleeping peacefully. "Hey, roomie," she greeted through a mouthful of food. "How was class today?
"Bad," Paige said, uncertain if she should mention the her going to Johnny's house. Realizing that it would be useless not to tell her that she would be going to the estate, since she would find out eventually, she added, "Do you know where Johnny lives?"
Molly let out a thoughtful sigh as she took a seat on her bed. "Hmm...well. if I remember correctly from all the garbage he spouted on the first day I came here...it's somewhere not too far from here. And it's supposed to be really beautiful and reclusive; I don't think monsters are allowed to even enter the grounds without direct permission from a member of the Worthington Family."
"The Worthington Family?" Paige echoed with a small frown as she yanked out her suitcases and shoved various clothes in it. She had heard of Johnny, and naturally, John John, but beyond them she didn't have any knowledge of any other family members.
She nodded. "Yes. Their estate is massive. I'm pretty sure when Johnny isn't there, it's just...a butler, Mrs. Worthington and Worthington Senior. But we never see any of them, only the butler is seen in public, but all magazines say that Mrs. Worthington hasn't been seen for a year. Why?"
"Because she's going there." Logan added as he entered the room and Molly shrieked.
She jumped from her bed at her roommate and shook her shoulders. "WHAT?!" Molly's face widened with shock. "I'm sorry that he ended up being your partner, Paige. I had no idea that they would have a winter break project. Will all be back here and you'll...well, you'll be hours away from real civilization."
Paige shrugged. "It's all right," She lied. "I can always call. I'm sure Johnny can't lock me up there, I bet I can visit sometime soon."
"True, but that's still awful." Molly sighed, hugging Paige apologetically before returning to her bed.
Logan sat down on Paige's bed and propped his feet on the bed's edge. "You have any plans for the break, Molly?"
"Yes and no. I guess most people wouldn't consider it a vacation. I'm going to go to the beach with my brothers, Terri and Terry. I love those boys to death, but for once, I wish my parents would just let me go off and do something myself. I can't believe they still try to keep a leash on me even though I'm old enough to take care of myself...and so are they. I can't help that they get bullied..."
"Your brothers get bullied?" Logan and Paige asked in unison.
"Sadly, yes," Molly answered sorrowfully. "Monsters always pick on my brothers and it seems like I can never help them, no matter how hard I try. I give up sometimes, but then it just gets worse. I'm just going to watch over them, even if all three of us don't want to. That's why no will humiliate my brothers as long as I am here at this school, no one."
"That's good," Logan complemented, electing a blush from Molly. "I bet Paige feels the same way about her brother."
When the pair looked to the closet, Paige was gone.
Neither said anything until Molly laughed. "Wow...she's good."
After skillfully sneaking away from her closest friends, Paige went walking towards the designated meeting place she had for herself and Johnny. It was windy and still snowing, but nothing a car or she couldn't handle. Paige was still unsure if she could handle the break away from her mom and Alex and spending it with Johnny. The parents had been notified about the project and Paige made sure to tell her mother and brother she loved them when she called on her way down the stairs. Her mother had encouraged her to enjoy the trip and say hello to Mrs. Worthington if the monster didn't hide herself away in her room like she did from the world with her home.
But spending a break with a monster she both knew little about and didn't like was difficult, for anyone. She didn't want to get ahead of herself and think that Johnny was attempting to become friends, although it would be better than having glaring matches with him. Paige knew why it would never work, a friendship; Johnny's mother and her mother would frown upon the friendship, mostly because their father's were always fighting themselves. They would turn out no different.
Paige greeted Johnny at the entrance as she maneuvered around other monsters attempting to leave campus before the snow locked them in. After several minutes of cramming suitcases into the trunk of a very nice car, Paige noted, the car roared to life and they took off down the road at an easy pace.
Silence ensued and Paige cringed at the awkward silence as both tried to think of something to say. After several minutes, Johnny glanced at her and said: "So...what do you like to listen to?"
Paige looked over at him and folded her arms over her chest. "Anything is fine."
"Got it. I think you would be more of a pop person," he admitted after she shot him a look of disbelief. He reached for the radio that was already playing his music and took a steady turn to the left. "Look, Bones. I know we don't get along and I get that. But we have to do well for this project."
Paige nodded. "I know that...if...if we have the best project, which company do you want to go to?"
"Ain't it obvious?" Johnny scoffed as if it was the simplest question. "Fear Co."
She scrunched her nose in distaste. "No way! You want to go there? I'm going to Monsters Incorporated; where all of my ancestors went. We have to go there!"
"I'm going to go there," Johnny interrupted, gripping the wheel tightly. His eyes brimmed with determination, but stayed steady on the road. "I'm going as soon as I graduate and become a great scarer. And nobody is going to change that."
"What about Naomi?" Paige asked in a soft voice, but the driver didn't respond, but she saw it. Saw the slightest dulling of his eyes before he shook his head and remained quiet. "Are you going to forget about Javier too? He said he was thinking about Monsters Inc. too. Are you...are you not going to talk to him again after this?"
"Stop asking about me...what about you, Bones? What are you going to do about Logan when he runs off to go play football, also, what do you see in a guy like him?"
"I'm going to sleep, wake me when we get there," Paige requested, ignoring his question, before pulling her hood over her face and closing her eyes.
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