callowayfox

[callowayfox]

𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 .

He hadn’t noticed that Cal was in the coffee shop as well, too engrossed in working out this coding problem he was trying to troubleshoot on his laptop. It wasn’t until the lights went out that he blinked a few times looking up from his screen, now casting his face in the dim light, did he notice Cal standing there. He sighed a little at Cal’s words, shutting his laptop down to conserve the battery (just in case) as he looked up at them. “And you didn’t even bring me a coffee, so it clearly wouldn’t have been much of an apology, would it?” Ollie said, arching an eyebrow. His tone challenging. He wasn’t completely sure he wanted to makeup with Cal yet. Or ever. But he always felt like that when they were fighting.

          The power going out was not good timing. Without Ollie, Cal didn’t have that many friends. None really. Being a loaner meant that he had very few friends or people that he hung out with on a regular basis. What was there to do without internet and battery power these days. Cal wasn’t in the mood for a party or anything, but that’s probably all that was going to happen. "I’d offer you this one, but it’s actually tea.” That made him feel calmer than coffee and as anxious as he was these days, calmness was needed. “But fine, be a little bitch. I hope you don’t, you know trip on anything.”  

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 .

     “ ouch, i’m shocked. truly. ” though, it would be the sanest thing in the world to only assume that cal didn’t like them at all. if link was another person and he met himself ? he would absolutely despise themself. thank god i haven’t met a soul like me so far. there was a small pang of jealousy that spiked within them at the mention of ollie’s name, but they shook it off. jealousy is not a feeling that link was used to, and not one that he tries to keep in his system for too long. though, some would say that this whole behavior towards cal was just a result of his jealousy. to those people, link would say choke on a dick. “ so why don’t i make it on the top 100 list ? ” he’d pull it out of them eventually, even if it ended badly for him.  

          “Are you joking?” he asked with a little laugh. Why exactly was it so shocking? Cal didn’t have the energy to really hate anyone. That required way more energy than they were capable of feeling right now. That was part of the reason they’d left Broadway. The numb feeling wasn’t a good thing and he was tired of it. A break from everything was good. And things here had been good until this year. Maybe he should drop out of college. He had a career that he could run away to Los Angeles and start acting. “Because all people are the worst and I don’t like any of them,” he replied with a shrug. “I don’t like anyone.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐘 .

—

for a couple of seconds, lily stalled. expression blank, eyelids only blinking back at him. fairly enough, that was practically her neutral expression, anyway. though, this time, it came as a reaction to a sudden processing of thought. the line of thought being something along the lines of, not often hearing any sort of similar accent, not many—if any—other people from australia, perhaps nate’s own accent had lessened over the years, i wonder if and-or when i’ll come across him, i’d perhaps reach out if it hadn’t been years or no-contact and i was averse to cuddly reunions on a fundamental level. all in two, perhaps three, blinks of the eye.

her mind was akin to a computer processor in that way.

on the outside, however, the moment passed and she offered a slight grin and shrug. “their loss.” lily’s weight then shifted from one leg to the other, eyes pouring over the other and their books. “you all good to go? no shoe laces to trip over or obstacles in your path that’d cause a repeat? the books don’t deserve that.”

          Cal was one of those people that didn’t really know how to talk to other people. Social skills were not really in their wheelhouse considering their entire childhood up until the age of ten had been globetrotting with his parents and then it was five years of what most people consider normal before he was off to New York. Cal always felt like they were navigating social interactions with a pit in their stomach and it wasn’t fun. 

          They weren’t a true Australian anyway. Just had somewhat of an accent from those first few vital years of living there. “Oh, um, no. Yeah. I’m all good. Just... gonna watch out for... people and uh, frisbees.” 

[callowayfox]

LOCATION: campus coffee shop

TIME: saturday / time of the blackout 

STATUS: closed for @ollieinoue

          Cal didn’t really want to be out of his dorm room today. He’d been in a sour mood this week because of the fight he was in with Ollie. It wasn’t unusual for them to get into an argument about something, but this time Cal actually felt responsible for the fight and they didn’t like that. Being on campus without having a friend felt awful and they didn’t like the way that this felt when they were alone. They felt anxious and didn’t want to do anything about it. At least anxiety was easier to deal with than some of the things they were dealing with. Sitting in the coffee shop, waiting for their order, they spotted Ollie. He gave them a little wave, walking over. Was this fate saying he should apologize? And just as he got to Ollie’s table the lights went out. “Well I was going to apologize, but I think the lights are telling me you should stay in the dark when it comes to my emotions.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 .

Ollie scoffs, as he looks down at Cal. Not necessarily in a disbelieving way, though he didn’t know if he did believe him or not. “Well, that’s boring then,” he says, rolling off of Cal, and turning towards his side table taking time to pack a bowl, before he turned back onto his back and lit it up. “So, you came here to do nothing, but still decided to make me stop working?” Ollie said, arching an eyebrow. A little blunt. A little harsh. But he’d never minced words with Cal before. He inhaled from the pipe before holding it out to Cal to share, if he wanted to. “This is like… my job, dude. It’s how I make money.”

          “You’d say that yeah.” It wasn’t true though. Cal like Ollie more than he wanted to admit and he wished that romance was less complicated than it felt. Most of the time, Cal was doing his best to ignore feelings. Especially since his last relationship had been... well it had blown up in his face. They watched Ollie with the weed and sighed. “I repeat: if you don’t want me here I can leave,” Cal said, an even tone to the words. They had no idea how to even talk to Ollie, but they took the pipe regardless of every voice screaming not to. A little weed wouldn’t kill him. “I didn’t make you stop working, but here.” They grabbed a wad of cash and threw it on the closest table. “For your wasted time.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐊𝐈𝐓 .

“Calloway…” Kit tasted the name on his tongue. Pretty badass. His mouth curved to the right at the thought. “Sick name, bro,” he complimented. British people were so next level with their names. Always so fancy. Calloway, Nathaniel… In America, names were a lot more basic. Just your average Johns or Jims. Matts were pretty common too. Then there were names like his –  short and also the term for a bunch of equipment. “I’m Kit,” he introduced himself with a grin, putting a hand on the guy’s shoulder as he led him to the closest bench. “Here, dude. Pop a squat.” He lowered the pile of books he’d gathered from the grass and laid them atop an empty space on the long seat. “You new or something? Don’t think I’ve seen you around before.”

          Cal had always loved how simple his stage name was. How it rolled off the tongue and looked printed on playbills. “Thanks,” they responded, not entirely sure how to deal with compliments about their name from people they didn’t know. Their real name felt like... well, it felt too plain. Calloway Fox was a star. “Is Kit short for something?” he asked, before wondering if that was rude. “It’s really cute. Like my aunties would pinch your cheeks at family reunions or something.” Nevermind that he didn’t go to family reunions since he didn’t have any family. “I’m not new. I’m a sophomore. I came here last year after deciding to take a break from Broadway for a bit.” That seemed like honestly the easiest truth. He took a seat on the bench beside Kit. 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 .

     what would link really gain by probing and picking at cal like this ? probably nothing useful — or maybe he just wanted to see who it was that ollie paid so much attention to other than them ? or when he and ollie weren’t exactly on speaking terms, which happened more often than not. besides, it’s not like ollie had a shortage of people who were fawning for his attention — so why did cal and link seem to tunnel-vision at each other ? “ i don’t know, free points to get into heaven ? or whatever it is you wanna call it — the good place. ” he references the tv show, a small shrug on his shoulders. “ — i get the feeling i don’t make it on your top 5 people in ogden. ” okay, so we’re going blunt, i see ? link didn’t have control over their actions most of the time, smugness overcoming everything else, wanting to see how best to push people’s buttons and taking notes for later. 

          They were one of those people that didn’t really care about anything right now. Everything felt numb and everyone was talking about Greer. This time of year was always tough on him though and while he was doing his best not to fall apart, Cal couldn’t say that it was easy. Cal let out a hollow laugh at that. “I’m not going to Gan Eden, but okay.” It wasn’t like Cal was a horrible person, but they knew better than to say they were. “You don’t hit the top hundred Link, but no one does. Ollie, on a good day is maybe in the top five. I have more in common with a blade of grass than most people here at this school.” That wasn’t because he thought he was better than them but because he thought he was a bit of a loner and a loser compared to most of the people here. “I’m sure you understand my hesitation.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 .

He sighed, a little over dramatically at Cal’s words. It wasn’t that Ollie wouldn’t admit he needed help- although he absolutely wouldn’t- it was that he didn’t like the idea of getting help. If he got help from someone… it felt a little like he was taking something away from himself. Maybe when he got closer to graduating he’d take someone under his wing and teach them the business, but until then it was going to be all him. His eyes flicked between each of Cal’s eyes as if he were searching for something, though he wasn’t sure what, before their lips pressed together. He put his hand on Cal’s shoulder and pushed them onto their back until he was leaning over them. “I knew you had an ulterior motive,” he said, tone a little cocky until he moved back in to kiss him again.

          Cal didn’t really know how to describe his relationship with Ollie. Sometimes they were fine and other times they were screaming at each other. They didn’t always know what happened between the two of them, sometimes his fault, sometimes Ollie’s. But they always gravitated towards each other. They probably both deserved someone better. Still he kept coming back. Kept thinking that something different would happen this time. And every time, they got their heart broken. Cal let out a little laugh at Ollie’s statement. “I never have an ulterior motive with you Ollie.” That was the problem. They wanted things to go differently this time around. Really he had just come here to nap. 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 .

     though there was a weirdness with cal for reasons that are 100% tied with ollie, he still seeked them out right now, desperate for any interaction that didn’t have a thing to do with philosophy. and sometimes, he wanted to test the waters, see if they felt the same kind of oddity from link. “ you need math for music ? ” he questions, not making that connection themself. “ struggling with philosophy, actually. it’s hard not to assume that they were all just talking out of their asses.. ” they flip through the pages once again, before fully shutting the book between his hands. he looks back up to cal, “ think you can tolerate me for a little while in my desperate search of entertainment ? ”

          Cal was one of those people that got jealous easily. He didn’t like people knowing that about him, but it was a product of growing up in the field that he’d grown up wanting to be in. Broadway had always been his goal, though acting was a bit of cut throat competition. Cal got jealous over a ton of things outside of acting. It was kind of problematic. “Yes, but you also need music for math. Music completes a lot of things in math.” People didn’t really know about it. Cal however liked to think about the way math and music were related. “Just Google it,” they shrugged. “Yeah, well. That’s because they are.” They looked down at their own homework. “I don’t know. What’s in it for me if I do entertain you?” 

[callowayfox]

𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 .

“They’re what?” The alarm on Mitch’s face was akin to a child finding out Santa Claus wasn’t real. A true, deep in the bone, shock. It sunk in overtime, the freshman fixing his gaze on Cal for a beat. “Woah, no. No, no, no. Less of that. I picked her because she’s hot. She’s also in Black Swan - which was more my point.” It was also the only form of media Mitch had garnered any ballet knowledge from. It was inevitable he’d remember that scene the most. “Wait, you have? Can you like… Introduce me? I’m basically Ashton Kutcher’s younger, more attractive brother.”

          “The bottom of a ballet shoe is actually wooden. That’s how they can stand. Honestly the shoes are fucking terrifying.” He let out a laugh. Cal would never want to be hit in the face by one of those shoes. “Sure you did.” Sometimes they wondered if people even knew they were Jewish. They didn’t hide it at all. “Like the Black Swan ballet?” As much of an actor as Cal wanted to be, they didn’t know very many films. Especially not ones that were American. “Tell you what. Become fluent in Hebrew and I’ll introduce you. Shit’s impressive.” They tilted their head to the side. “You know what I can see the family resemblance.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐘 .

—

lily’s brows fleetingly knit together, the professional detail throwing her off a touch. had they simply meant that they, too, didn’t study singing or music at school? was that… particular detail entirely necessary? though, as the fellow classmate continued on to provide more context, namedropping broadway—placedropping?—she got the sense that they were the type to bring it up when given the chance. fair on them, it was something to be proud of, though lily wasn’t all that eager to go into shock over it. not that she reacted that way to much of, well, anything.

many talents. “yeah,” lily agreed, tone having deflated some over the last ten or so seconds. though, she couldn’t suppress the chuckle that left her at cal’s additional comment. she’d anticipated this—the whole accent thing being everyone’s initial go-to comment—but seeing as cal seemed to carry one of his own, it hadn’t come off nearly as groan-inducing. random, sure, but no harm in that. transplants tended to bond over this sort of thing, that she knew. “what gave it away?” sarcasm, clearly, though it lacked bite. more playful than anything. “don’t get many of us non-americans around campus, do they?”

          They didn’t miss the whole being a child actor thing and the meltdown that had happened because of it. He didn’t like people who knew about his time on Broadway asking about it, so he always felt a bit better when he brought it up. They weren’t here to bond with people though, not really. Things were already complicated as was. Having to deal with people just seemed like a lot these days. Cal was very ready to get out of New York for a bit and maybe do some acting or make a career in Los Angeles. He really didn’t know yet. That was what he was doing here for now. Trying to find something or somewhere to go. 

          There was always a bit of anxiety dealing with people. The problem was that Calloway wanted to please people. He wanted more than anything to be able to go into every conversation and have a person like them, though it wasn’t always easy or possible. It was a bit obvious what had given it away, so he just shrugged. Anxiety bubbling up that he wasn’t liked. “No, it’s not often I come across someone with any sort of similar accent.”  Not that his was similar at all. Cal had only lived in Australia long enough to pick up the accent. Then they were on to the next place. 

[callowayfox]

𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐀𝐍 .

— You know… — He started, approaching his friend and picking some of their books spilled on the floor. — This is how movie characters always loose an important paper. Then, someone finds it and the plot thickens.

As soon as Dorian saw his friend’s face, he regretted saying that. He didn’t know what it was, but they clearly didn’t feel well. His elder child mode assumed control and he smiled gently, trying to establish eye contact with Cal.

— Hey, you good? Want me to help you carry this? We can have an iced coffee or something.

          As much as Cal liked to think that they weren’t clumsy, whenever they were in their head, they tended to not pay attention to where they were walking. These days it was hard not to get out of their head too. Still, this was one of the worst wipeouts he’d had in a while. “Aren’t those usually romantic comedies?” they laughed. “Is this you saying this is finally our meet cute?” Cal wasn’t being serious, though the whole concept was kind of nice. “Yeah, no, this is fine. It’s all like sheet music and stuff. I don’t need help. Just need to watch for uneven bricks. Though an iced coffee does sound enjoyable.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐊𝐄𝐘𝐒 .

Keys let out a laugh, the truth of the words lost on him. If it wasn’t alt rock from the early 2000s or before, it was likely Keys knew very little. But awkward moments were sort of where he flourished, straightening as he tilted his chin higher. “Well, I guess you are in luck, because, at the very least, I am something.”

His lips turned down with interest as he looked his new company up and down. He’d picked up the ukulele as a reason to pass the time when invites to birthday parties never made their way to him in school; it’d never been meant for anything serious, so he handed it over easily. “It deserves someone who knows what they’re doing.” Once the instrument had passed hands, Keys dug around in his bag for his real talent, producing the sketchbook that went with him everywhere. “Mind if I…” he gestured down to the blank sheet of paper he’d flipped to.

          Cal didn’t expect many people to actually know who they were. Most of their classmates in their major maybe, but not anyone who knew nothing about Broadway or the NYC acting scene. Cal didn’t care though because they weren’t here to be known. They were here to get away. They always ran away from their problems and one day it was going to bite them. “Well, clearly. I’m guessing human cricket? You know playing the same sing over and over again. Cicada maybe?” They let out a laugh.

          They weren’t very good at playing the ukulele, but singing came naturally. One day Cal would get better at instruments. They just needed to practice. “I mean, I don’t want to keep it. I have access to all the music hall instruments.” Also they could afford to buy one if they wanted to. Technically. “Oh, sure.” Cal started playing softly.

[callowayfox]

𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐂𝐇 .

“What can you use as a weapon in ballet? A slipper? Hot sex with Mila Kunis?” His eyes narrowed as he listed off the possibilities. Clear enthusiasm resounding in the latter. “Maybe I should change hobbies.” He kicks the back of his heel against the floorboards as he speaks; his line of sight gravitating towards the far stretch of the room. “I’m sure the cops would have a field day with that. ‘Sibling to missing student, Greer Morrison, kills unsuspecting peer with Fender Stratocaster’.” Both palms lift upwards, stretching out as if the statement was written in lights. 

          “The shoes. You know they’re wood right?” Cal gave Mitch a confused look. “Did you really pick a random celeb or did you pick Mila Kunis because she’s the first Jewish celeb you could think of?” Cal figured it was easy for most people to tell they were gay, but maybe it wasn’t as obvious as they thought. “I’ve actually met Mila before at a Shabbat dinner. Perks of knowing actors, I guess.” Cal snorted. “Makes you seem kinda guilty. Not gonna lie.” Cal’s stomach instantly turned at the thought. The whole thing with Greer was too much and he was doing everything to not think about it. 

[callowayfox]

𝐊𝐈𝐓 .

- 

“It’s alright, man. Happens to the best of us,” Kit assured. He gave the guy some space and moved to stand upright. Glancing to his side at the books he managed to collect, Kit had to agree with the guy. This seemed like… a lot. “You studyin’ for a big test or something?” Kit asked. Since he had half the library in his hands and all. Well, half was probably a huge exaggeration but it was still more books than Kit would expect anyone to check out of the library. He had to wonder if this was an effort to look intimidating to everyone else or maybe the guy actually just needed all of these books for whatever he was taking up. “Do you wanna sit maybe? There’s like a bench over there…”

          These weren’t the people that Cal spoke to that often. He wanted to remain invisible here at Ogden because then no one would ask him questions that he really didn’t want to answer. “Um, it’s sheet music.” Some of them were books on music, but a majority of it were books of sheet music they’d grabbed. A lot of it was from shows they were already familiar with, but not all of it was. “Sitting would be nice. I think. Probably. Stop my heart from beating out of my chest.” Cal didn’t like it when people paid attention to them. It was nice that the people playing frisbee had already gone back to playing. But here was a stranger talking to them. Fuck, why was he so anxious thee days? “I’m Calloway, um, Cal.” 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 .

— 𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑.  

WHERE. anywhere that works !

     link threw his head back dramatically, closing his eyes as he lets out a small sigh. why the hell did i ever think a philosophy elective would be fun ? to them, it felt like they were just reading a bunch of words that didn’t even make any sense. no wonder these guys could never figure anything out. he turns his head to the side, looking over at the person next to him before he grab their attention, “ what can i do to convince you to put me out of my misery ? ”

          Cal was trying to work on homework for his statistics class, an annoying little general education class he had to take to graduate. Math had never been his strong suit, so he was trying to get all the help possible from professors and tutors outside class. “The same amount it will take me to convince you to put me out of my misery,” they replied, looking up from their laptop at link. Cal was trying to do their best to get all their homework done before the end of the hour. “Statistics will be the death of me. Tell me why do I need math when I’m studying music?” Not mentioning that math and music were... similar. “What are you struggling with?” 

[callowayfox]

𝐋𝐈𝐋𝐘 .

—

her brows rose, head tilting to one side in brief consideration. if the comment had warranted more of a response, perhaps she would’ve said that walking in stilettos—on stage, presumably performing something or another, at that—was, indeed, a talent. one that took a certain level of mastery and skill to make look effortless. lily briefly recalled her first ever pole class that’d been hosted by a coworker from the bar back home. her jaw had nearly smacked the floor when she stood up in those 8-inch platforms for the first time. but that was a story for another time. a topic that was promptly pushed aside at the mention of sheet music. of singing.

“you sing?” she repeated, ignoring the question that’d been asked of her—for now. her tone noticeably took on a touch more enthusiasm. “and here i thought you were a dancer.” they’d shared the studio enough times for her to have assumed so, anyway. “aside from my aforementioned reality-TV-worthy athletic skills, i sing, too. nothing to do with school or anything, but you know. local gigs.”

          Cal tended to see the worst in situations, especially himself. Because he had driven so many people away and continued to do that. However, he knew that the things he did were... well, they took talent. Being able to walk in stilettos was a talent, especially for someone who somehow was as clumsy as he was. Cal was never quiet about what they were talented at. Being an actor was honestly not something that everyone could do. Although he wasn’t really acting anymore. Broadway felt like another lifetime ago because somehow it was. They weren’t acting anymore, they weren’t even thinking about going back to New York for it just yet.

          “Yeah. Well, I mean professionally I sing. Or did.” Cal shrugged. “Singing, dancing, acting. I used to be on Broadway until I decided to go to school.” Not the entire truth, but she didn’t need to know that. “Ah, so a woman of many talents,” they nodded. “That’s pretty cool though. And you’re Australian.”