lennonkent

[lennonkent]

There is minimal reaction to Lennon’s approach and she simply raises a brow as Holland replies, offering a smile. Something about the interaction already has her buzzing with interest. It’s not lost on the brunette that there is never a guarantee when you decide to chat up an acquaintance, but things usually turn out better than one might think. “Music and literature are a good pair, I’d guess,” Lennon offers. There’s little musical talent in her bones, no matter how  much her mother continues to refer to herself as a triple threat. “Do you collect a certain author or just anything that is pretty enough to tempt you?” With a soft hum, Lennon tilts her head this way and that.

There’s nothing she likes more than trying to guess what popular book the book club will pick each semester… or quarter. She can’t quite remember how it works, considering the rate at which she consumes books. “As long as it isn’t another Gillian Flynn,” she pauses, thinking this would be in bad taste even if she liked the author. “I think I’ll be fine. But I suspect the pick will be something like My Year of Rest and Relaxation or something equally depressing… I’d suggest Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, but that’s self serving because I’d love to read it.” Lennon catches herself rambling and shakes her head. “Maybe I should just pick it up if they have it here,” she laughs softly.

Sometimes Holland likes to sit in one spot and watch people. It was one of her favorite things to do back in the city. Go to a random bar or Central Park and watch as different people walked by. A parent and their child tossing a football around, a bunch of teens giggling and gossiping together, a woman in a power suit talking on a phone while trying to finish her lunch quickly, everyone had a story. Holland liked the idea that she wouldn't know everything about everyone she came in contact with and there would always be a bit of a mystery to some people. One of their favorite places to go people watching in were bookstores. While they preferred indie bookstores to the corporate chains, sometimes there wasn't much of a choice. At least Ogden had a decent small bookstore close by so she didn't have to rely on Barnes and Nobel to entertain her.

The thing about people watching though was that sometimes people didn't like it. Sometimes people thought it was creepy. Holland had long decided that no matter what they did, there would always be something different about them and the rest of the people in the world. Perhaps it was the way she was raised or maybe it was more to do with people being able to tell that there was something different about her. She didn't like that feeling and so people watching, as much as it was for them to question society, it was also a way for them to see how to fit in. That's why she was always drawn to certain types of people and watching celebrities on social media to generally attempting to mimic the way they acted. Holland thought that by now, they could really put on a good act.

"Not really. Attempting to look through the collections to see if there's anything that'll catch my eye before the semester starts. Spending hours in the music rooms rehearsing takes up so much of my spare time." Alas, the curse of her being a music major. "What about you? Something specific or just browsing? Do you have any guesses as to what the first pick will be?" Book club was one of the few clubs that Holland really enjoyed that was outside their normal interests. Reading would always be something she enjoyed.

[lennonkent]

The previous semester’s happenings and the way the year had begun felt rather… gauche to Lennon. Most of her fellow Ogden students seemed to still be so wrapped up in Greer’s missing presence, but in all honesty? It had become a stark difference to Lennon that if someone like her ( albeit, less famous, of course ) had gone missing, the campus would have moved on by now. Surely Diego understood this, too, though she wasn’t about to speak it out loud. Her privilege was enough to negate the validity of the argument. Even so, she offers Diego a soft smile. “Maybe you should offer to drop out and see how much she likes that,” Lennon laughs gently. “It would kind of feel odd to leave now… with everything we’ve all been through together,” she points out, her own words settling in before she speaks once more. “Have you heard anything new about what happened at the ski lodges?”

He raised his eyebrows at Lennon’s assessment, it seemed a little cold. Penny had just died, Greer was missing, there was an ongoing investigation that would likely become even worse now that the aformentioned death had happened. Diego couldn’t say he disagreed with her, however. His mom had been a bit sensationalist in her own assemessment. Like most things in life, things would likely continue on without much difference one way or another, as depressing as it was to think about. “No, not really. But if I never hear one more subtle in about transfer forms, or how great of a school Columbia is, I’ll be a happy man. It would feel worse leaving than it would sticking it out. Maybe that’s strange.”

[lennonkent]

on anyone other than charlie, the jokes about her being lost on greek row would be unbecoming and overused. but there is something about the blonde’s undeterred confidence that had always made lennon want to bask in her sunlight a little bit. in a world where she wanted everyone’s attention, it seemed girls like charlie did so without effort. so she’ll take the joke – overused or not. 

“god, you should absolutely be dead, or at the very least passed out by now,” she blinks at the girl, lashes fluttering at the scene before her. again, very little exertion is put in for charlie to find what she’s looking for, ending with a white can in her grasp. lennon looks at the label, turning it towards herself. in most instances, she is more of an onda girl when it comes to pre-mixed beverages in a can, but she’s just thankful that charlie hadn’t forced her into the whole shared keg situation. with a soft smile, she takes a swig, simply thankful that it is mostly cold. “do i look that out of place?” lennon asks, the question punctuated with a laugh as she looks down at her all too pricey get up. “listen, i just wanted to see how the other half lives,” she teases. “thought maybe there would be something… someone i could entertain myself with. ogden gets old when you stick with the same crowd for too long, you know?”

she probably didn't cover up the quizzical look on her face fast enough for lennon to not notice it. there was a certain crowd charlie expected to see in a fraternity basement, and lennon kent in an outfit that probably cost more than the entire property was not amongst them. "hey babe. are you lost?" she was grinning, but she was only half joking.

she pulled lennon in for an awkward one-armed hug. "it's a marathon, not a sprint. well, i've been sprinting since this afternoon, but my blood is probably 40% alcohol, so it's hardly a fair comparison." she wouldn't say she was proud of most of her qualities, but she was proud of her alcohol tolerance. with a shout to a pledge, she procured a white claw seemingly out of nowhere, cracking it open as she handed it to lennon. "i mean, there's a keg, but you don't seem like a girl who enjoys warm miller lite. so like..." she gestured at the generally incongruous image of lennon in the grime of the house, "what's the deal tonight? new year new you?"

[lennonkent]

     alex was certainly lucky enough to have the mother that he does... even if her love and motherly instinct only kicked in after the divorce. but he also had a very absent father, who only actually ever sent gift cards on birthdays and holidays at most. there was a point to relate to each other on here, and maybe that was why alex was really drawn to lennon. it started as attraction at first, because alex loved any woman that could probably stomp on his neck. but now, he’s shoving his way into her heart, and forcing their friendship on her — and seemingly so, she has no choice but to accept it. 

“ well, i think my mom would like you, so welcome to the family ! i hope you know, we’ve got our own baggage that we carry, so you won’t be escaping much. ” they respond with a small grin, lifting their head up slightly from where they were lying down on the couch to look at her. “ i don’t... i don’t think i’ll be hearing much from my dad, and if it makes you feel better, that doesn’t feel so great, either. ”

“i mean, surely the baggage you have is, in the least, more entertaining than mine,” lennon laughs softly, knowing very well that most people find others’ lives to be a lot less boring than their own. after all, is that not why her own mother chooses to falsify her personality for most of the year? sure, it’s in the form of one character or another and it’s a job, but it must be a blast to pretend. she lets out a sigh, her head lolling to the side as she looks down at alex. raising her hand, she pokes a gentle finger to his nose, wrinkling her own. “well, even if he did, it would probably be to ride the coattails of the drama that keeps happening at this godforsaken school,” lennon rolls her eyes. “would you even want him to call or text if all he’s asking about is the series of unfortunate events that have occurred? i can't decide if i'd rather the radio silence.”

[lennonkent]

there’s nothing as entertaining to lennon as a game. a little bit of cat and mouse always makes her feel good. perhaps that’s why she keeps returning to summer’s orbit, keeps inserting herself into the girl’s nights to pull a pin on her grenade and walk in the opposite direction. it’s too fun to mess with her and there’s little incentive for her to stop when summer seems so bothered by it. ( is she though? ) when the blonde states she doesn’t miss lennon, nothing is offered but the quirk of a smile. it’s unimaginative to ask the question back, but she’d have done the same. no one would blame summer for wanting to know.

 with her dark gaze centered on summer’s, lennon wrapped her lithe fingers around the neck of the liquor bottle and pressed it to her lips. she downs one, two seconds of a pull before shoving it back into summer’s hands. does she miss the girl? len is surprised by the resounding yes that shakes her ribs, threatening to squeeze around her lungs. there are no witty words at the tip of her tongue, no taunting at the center of her throat. this is the very feeling, she recalls, that had swallowed her whole when summer was hers. before lennon blew it all up the first time. slowly, she steps backwards, lifting a hand and wiggling her fingers in a wave at her ex-girlfriend before turning and disappearing back into the crowd. there’s no world in which lennon kent gives too much ammo, but summer still comes close to ripping it from her without even trying and that’s too dangerous.

END THREAD.

     before lennon, summer couldn’t understand the whole stay away from your exes at all costs belief. how could you just drop someone out of your life that was once so important to you ? she didn’t get it, up until her ex was lennon kent. she was relentless when it came to summer, and summer sat and took it without saying a word. she tried to, at least… it just never worked in her favor. it’s a good thing summer didn’t mind lying her ass off and cheating during games. “ — i don’t. ” but she never was a good liar when it came to lennon, was she ? it felt like she already knew the answer to the question she was asking. “ do you.. do you miss me ? ” she asks, trying her best to sound confident in both her answer and question.  

[lennonkent]

to live in different worlds and coexist at ogden is always something of entertainment to lennon kent. she has a mother who is an actress, both on and off screen, and it allows her a little bit of leeway into molding herself to fit, in most cases. the problem, however, is that there is still something quite out of touch about the girl. whether it be her ability to all but forget about that penny chick who tragically passed over break or her inability to come to terms with the fact that people couldn’t sense her coming from paces away. thea hadn’t seen her? lennon found that hard to believe. 

“not to worry,” lennon nods in thea’s direction, eyes scanning behind them before returning her gaze to that of her new companion’s. “just fine? trouble at home?” she asks, adjusting the lapel of her coat. “i wish. it would’ve been nice to get some solid vitamin d in new orleans or los angeles, but i ended up shacking up at my parents’ place in new york city… honestly, it was kind of boring. i was almost tempted to fly to paris for a few nights. anything to get away from the looming semester, you know? are you looking forward to classes starting again?” lennon inquires, her dark eyes scanning every last feature of thea’s face. certainly there was something to find there.

as much as they complain about hating the cold, there is something invigorating about it as well. the way it hits your face and the world just stops. it always catches her off-guard, but that's pretty easy to do in the first place.

they had spent most of the morning walking around campus, mostly wanting to ignore the world and avoid anyone and everyone. their gaze was fixed at their feet as to not slip on ice, their hands shoved into the pockets of their coat and airpods blaring their current obsession. they were so caught up in themselves they hadn't noticed lennon exiting the dorm until they collided, feet spinning a bit from the impact.

"oh, shit. sorry." she shakes her head, reaching to remove an airpod and shove it into her pocket. "i was so focused on not falling i wasn't paying attention." she explained, giving lennon a shy smile. it drops only slightly at the question. who in their right mind had a good break? "it was fine." she responded curtly with a tight smile. "and you? did you go home?"

[lennonkent]

the opening for more interaction later on is something that lennon captures and tucks into her back pocket. there is nothing more that she wants than to see if she can lure anya into whatever trap she can. they are absolutely gorgeous and it is with ease that the brunette finds herself needy for more time, more understanding of what it is that makes this person tick. that, paired with this promise of more knowledge is like catnip for the story lover inside of her. anya will be hearing more from her, preferably when she is sober and can remember more of what is going on. even if she loves the way she feels - uninhibited, relaxed, at ease, full of life - there are certainly cons to taking acid before trekking through snow to find a contraption she’s never seen in her life. 

lennon should be unsurprised that their thoughts of penny aren’t unique, but when anya says the girl is on a power trip, all she can do is chuckle to herself. truly, her decisions seemed to rarely make sense so far tonight, but she hadn't been sure if that was because of penny being penny or the little happy pill lennon had slipped beneath her tongue. clearly, it was the penny of it all in the end. 

the phone seems to falter just as the cord comes into view, a few frayed wires and a clean cut at one end is all that lennon can see before her phone dies, leaving them drenched in darkness once again. “oh, for fuck’s sake,” she whines softly, her mind briefly going to the fact that there is now no one for her to contact, if need be. the lack of service is far from her mind, but she almost tosses the brick of a phone into the snow, leaving it to die a slow death and buying a new one to replace it. what use was the damn thing if it couldn’t even last a night without a charge? furrowing her brow, len shakes her head at anya, her eyes fighting to readjust to the night again. “what do you mean someone did this on purpose?” she asks, tilting her head. “who the hell would cut the wires inside of a backup generator? that makes no sense! maybe it was a squirrel or something,” she offers. 

but the longer she thinks about it… the more she allows her blurred mind to mull over the idea that someone purposely did this, the more that terror begins to rattle through her body. “who… anya, who would do this?”

anya crouches, putting one hand down to steady themselves so they don’t topple over, only to immediately retract it upon remembering that the ground is covered in snow. a quick wipe of the same hand against the fabric of her suit trousers, and then she squints. yeah. there’s no way they’d be able to figure this thing out. not unless lennon can somehow magically get reception in the middle of a snowstorm. “i’m telling you, she’s having a fucking power trip,” anya groans in response as she systematically inspects the components. wires, buttons, vents. whatever. it didn’t help much that they could name the pieces, if she didn’t know what they were supposed to do. 

the flashlight helps a little. but once again, they are confronted by the knowledge that all they can do in this moment is to fumble. anya is well aqcuainted with buttons, and loves nothing more than to press them, be they metaphorical or actual ones. but it’s a little bit helpless, being down on the ground like this, rooting around in  a metal cabinet for some thing she’s not sure she’ll recognise. her hand feels the side of the main box, and then is immediately retracted. a loose piece of cable clutters to the ground with a faint thud. “right. well. fuck.” she looks up at lennon. “that’s … someone has to have done that on purpose, don’t you think? like that looks like it was cut off.”

[lennonkent]

Midnight blue. Lennon’s eyes were drawn to the folder in Ollie’s hands, wondering what had brought him to pick the color for her file specifically. It had been a mainstay in their friendship over the years. Most of her courses these days were related to Literature and she could pass those without issue. But things like science and math and anything that revolved around those subjects truly mystified the girl. It had been a godsend to know Ollie and his brilliant mind – he had never led her astray up to this point and she certainly wasn’t going to stop relying on him now. “I don’t think I do have any left after this semester,” Len pointed out, her legs primly crossed at the knee. She sat at her desk, turned toward Ollie with a soft smile on her face. She’d been paying him for his help for so long, she wasn’t sure what she would do once they no longer needed each other. “My mother has always been a fan of talking about how quickly time passes,” she shrugs a shoulder, somehow making the motion seem both graceful and casual. “What ever will you do with all of your free time when you’re not rigging Ogden’s average overall GPA?” she asked, teasing gently. “I can’t really picture life outside this place anymore. Can you?”

Alcott Dorm #208. Sometime during the first couple days of classes. [ @lennonkent ]

He was laid out on his stomach on the floor of Lennon's dorm, organizing papers for some of her classes for next term. Making sure everything was set up how it was always set up, a schedule of her professors lesson plans so she would know when she was going to have to come to him for papers, or test answers, or worksheets, whatever she needed to make things easiest on Lennon. It was why people came to him for this sort of thing, and not a tutor or something like that. Ollie didn't only provide a service, he did it really well. Once he realized how much people would pay him for this back in Freshman year for shit like this, he didn't mind putting in the work. "Do you know if you have any more gen eds next year?" He asked looking in Lennon's direction. Ollie sat up holding out her color coded folder to her, a deep midnight blue color for Lennon. Much safer than labeling peoples names all over everything. "It's crazy to think there is only a few more terms of this, and I'm fucking done." He didn't know if that was totally true, If he stayed at Ogden for his Masters he may continue, just not for the undergrads, but if he left… Leaving was looking better and better per month, too. All made that much clearer as his eyes, every once in a while, flicked towards the dorm room that currently stood mostly empty out of some morbid habit. As if Greer was going to eventually wander in or out, like she so often used to do.

[lennonkent]

“And so humble too.” She chides Lennon softly before withdrawing her arm. “Hey, it’s just us in here.” If you asked her Summer wasn’t someone to be afraid of as unhinged as she was. She knew how to fight dirty. It was just less messy, for everyone involved, to keep what conspired between them a secret. “That’s better.” The girl grins. “I like you a lot more when you’re flattering me instead of moping around by yourself.” She was sure the night wasn’t easy on Lennon. Typically Inés looked down on her classmates when it came to how some of them treated their families, but she supposed if she was born wealthy then she would create issues too. “I might have promised a date with someone’s son so somebody would put a good word in for the summer internship with the Senator.” She didn’t appear to be looking forward to it. “Gag me now. If my mother tried to set me up at a school event I’d realize I’m completely hopeless. I’m ready to have some real fun.”

It’s rare, really, that Lennon is genuinely putting herself down. Opening up to people and exposing her actual flaws isn’t something she is willing to do, at least not with Inés ( not with most people, in fact ). “I certainly have no plans to do anything but compliment you all of the time,” she coos softly, reaching up and running her fingers through her dark waves. There are times when she wonders if things are awkward between them because she’s unwilling to talk to anyone about what has transpired between them. It isn’t something that Len is particularly comfortable with, but there is something intensely protective in her when it comes to Ines, a feeling that is rare and different from how she feels about most people she sleeps with. No matter the circumstances. “Just wait until you get a call telling you that you have an interview for the internship and then it’s followed up with another… you’ll have to suffer through some boy’s stupidity and for what?” Lennon clicks her tongue, suddenly thankful for her lack of impact in the political sphere. “I’ll say a prayer for you, dear. Dates with politicians’ sons and senatorial internships sound like my kind of hell.”

[lennonkent]

Lennon wonders, albeit briefly, if a pity party is something she is even quite capable of. After all, she isn’t sure she pities anyone, least of all herself. There is more to her life than the gilded wings she was born with. It just would take a fucking miracle to get anyone to see that, not that she… pities herself for that lack. “Should I get some streamers? Hat and those paper blow thingies that make a noise?” she asks, motioning as though she is strapping a birthday hat onto her head, elastic and all. “It seems we’re kind of throwing one together, does it not?” Lennon allows herself to smile, to seem unbothered by the idea that she’d need to stoop so low as to feel sorry for herself. “Let me know how that goes for you. In a few hours one of us will be having the time of our lives and the other… could be dead on the floor of this chalet,” she grins, despite the ominous nature of her words. “A little mystery, a little intrigue for your night. I’m sure it’s just what you were looking for.”

Nate's mouth closed after she dropped the pill into it, swallowing it without bothering to find any sort of drink to chase it down, listening to Lennon with a faint expression of disinterest on his face. It was exaggerated, put on - but that's what she deserved, to be honest. "You throwing a pity party out here, then?" Nate said, eyebrows arching up on his forehead, a snort of laughter in the words. What could someone like Lennon Kent seriously have to be moping around about outside? "Least I'm the right person to you join you if you were looking for someone to play russian roulette with worse odds," he said dryly, the sarcasm audible as a crooked smirk flickered across his lips. But he wasn't really being that sarcastic - they say misery loves company, after all, and Nate was nothing if not miserable.

[lennonkent]

there are some things that actually haunt lennon kent and though she might often seem, to others, like she had some semblance of togetherness, it is built on shaky legs. being called a demon is something akin to injecting caffeine directly into her bloodstream. it unfurls a smile across her lips and she suddenly wishes to find an amber bottle to press to them, to hide how much joy she gets from the thought of perching like a gargoyle on the spire of link’s night. undeniably enjoyable, she thinks. a laugh tumbles from her lips – albeit a short one – and she steps closer to link, sliding a hand on his shoulder ( the perfect spot for her talons to sink in ). turning her head, she whispers into his ear. 

“ maybe you should already be convinced, lincoln. i’m certainly no angel, ” another breathy chuckle is released as she rounds his body and walks a few steps away, hand slipping over the door to re-enter the cabin. “ don’t think about me too much while you’re trying to convince the world to love you, buddy. i’ll be there to ruin it all. ”

     when she gets close, link tenses up. she moves as though she’s 100% certain that she was capable of absolutely ruining him, bring him down with flames. lots of people came and went in his life holding that same notion about him — but lennon was the one that worried him the most, because she actually had all the information to easily fuck him over. and when she said that last statement before walking away, link froze. when she finally left, that turned into pure anger — angry at her for seeing him so fucking clearly, and angry at himself for ever allowing her even get a glimpse at that. he leans against the railing, willing himself to calm down... at least before he starts to peak, because that would not be a good fucking trip. with a breath, link convinces themself that they’ll do what they do best eventually — they’ll find dirt on her, they’ll bring her down before she could ever do it to them. at the end of the day, if she wanted to end him, she probably would have by now. at least, that thought was what kept link sane... that maybe the difference between the both of them was that she was all talk, and link will willingly set her shit on fire. he spends some time smoking another cigarette and calming himself down, before he re-enters the party, mask back in tact on his face. it’ll be over for lennon kent if link ever gets his hands on the means to do so. 

END OF THREAD. 

[lennonkent]

got caught giving a fuck. embarrassing.

[lennonkent]

who – alethea / @aletheapierce when – the week between winter break and classes starting, tuesday afternoon where – outside of alcott hall

it’s still way too fucking cold to deal with traipsing through campus. if it was up to lennon, she’d have the first half of the semester exist virtually so she could take classes from somewhere exotic. somewhere like bali or the maldives, anywhere but on the east coast with its oversteeped weather and dreary fashion sense. her morning consisted of taking ages to do her makeup to take a few selfies at her mother’s publicist’s request. something to do with a quota of social media presence that lennon had only half paid attention to as the woman droned on and on. there is so much going on at ogden that she isn’t sure how she’s expected to care if she posts four times a month or not.

by the time she has finished up her chores, the brunette realizes it is well into the afternoon and she has somewhere to be. a jacket is tugged over her arms and she all but races out of her building, practically crashing into something – someone – as she does so. there is little that she cares to discuss with one of greer’s old crones, but one must do what they have to.

“alethea,” lennon coos, touching their elbow gently as she rights them both after they’ve almost taken one another down. by accident, of course. her smile graces her lips with ease. “better be careful with all this ice,” she mentions sweetly. “can’t have you breaking anything…” again, her tone is full of honey and she drops her hand from their elbow. “long time no see. did you have a good break?”

[lennonkent]

with – alex / @alexmhn when – the week between winter break and classes starting, monday evening where – the commons

everyone – like literally everyone – seems worried about returning to campus. that student council president dying really has put a damper on the whole back to school feeling and while her parents placated lennon over the phone, she has this ominous feeling that the rest of the kids’ guardians were actually concerned. her father hadn’t even seemed to blink at there being a second unfortunate event in six months and her mother had simply sent a text this morning that read:

[ sms ] stay safe xx bises 💋

what a fucking joke it is to be the daughter of these people who care little about what her needs are and more about what she can do for them. more often than not, lennon feels as though she was conceived to check a box rather than to be cared for. though, how often did people have children for the right reasons?

“oh my god, lex,” len starts, her head throwing back against the armchair she has deemed her throne for the evening. “do you think you can adopt me? or maybe just take my place as my parents’ child for a couple weeks?” she asks, sighing heavily as she tosses her phone aside, looking at her friend. alex has always known far more about her than she feels comfortable, veering too close to real friendship for her usual liking. but he is easy and he doesn’t let her get away with trying to turn the other direction. “i would almost rather my mother not talk to me than send me this shit,” she whines, pulling her brows together.

[lennonkent]

with – mari / @mari-zuko when – the week between winter break and classes starting, wednesday morningish where – the quad

“I just need you to acknowledge the fact that…” she drifts off, her words falling to pieces as she spots someone vaguely Greer-like across the quad. They are certainly the same height with that same long, blonde hair and the bouncy cadence of her steps. Over the years of sharing a room with her, the girl’s mannerisms are tattooed on the inside of Lennon’s mind. It takes a few beats, a few flutters of the brunette’s lengthy lashes to realize it is just some other perky blonde. The powerful thrumming of her nervous heart continues in her chest, almost stealing her breath even though the danger has proven itself false.

“Sorry, what was I saying?” Lennon asks, waving a hand through the air. Every last thought she had has fled her mind and she simply sighs in Mari’s direction. “I just think that this whole thing has gotten so fucking twisted up and, like, can’t we just go into this semester with a clean slate? Surely that would make both of us happy.”

[lennonkent]

with – charlie / @charfletchh when – the week between winter break and classes starting, thirsty thursday? where – some frat house party (pike?)

the week between winter break and classes starting is something of a solace to lennon. it’s like dead week without the finals looming overhead and everyone is teeming with anxiety for the start of new classes and to see one another again. there is something to do every night and while, usually, places like this wouldn’t exactly be lennon’s scene, she is trying something new. college parties, externally at least, aren’t curated to the academically inclined, those of which the young woman finds herself to be one of. however, she finds her heels sticking to the floor of the frat’s living room as she navigates through the ample number of students who, to her knowledge, are already intoxicated.

it isn’t until her eyes land on a certain blonde that she realizes she has, quite possibly, made an even worse decision than she initially thought. something lodges into her throat, perhaps her heart, and her flight or flight response seems to be activated ( though she chooses neither ). their gazes have already connected, giving her little opportunity to select a path that avoids interaction all together. “charlie!” her voice sounds over excited to her own ears and it’s only years of training her mask that she refrains from cringing. she closes more of the distance between them, looking at the selection of beverage options. with a swallow, she reaches for a brilliantly red cup. “how much do i have to drink to catch up with you? seems i’m a little behind,” she beams at the girl, gaze drifting to the keg beside her with a wrinkled nose. if she has to fill her own cup, there’s another hell coming. a kent hasn’t poured their own beverage in decades.

[lennonkent]

with – holland / @hollandbryants when – later in the week between winter break and classes starting where – athena books

There’s this edgy feeling that Lennon gets whenever she’s forced to wait longer than she deems necessary. It’s not impatience so to speak ( or is it? ), but she cannot, for the life of her, feel as though taking fifteen minutes to make a smoothie is normal behavior. She stands, posture straight, and holds Joan Didion’s The White Album in her hands, attempting to immerse herself in the late 1960s through the powerhouse’s lens. It inevitably does not work, especially as she hears her name finally called and a vibrant green smoothie is set onto a counter before her, ready to bring life back to her being. Surely anything green in the winter will do the trick, but ginger and spinach are specifically necessary.

As she has these thoughts, Lennon is distracted, unwilling to relinquish them. That much is clear as she rounds the corner from the juice bar and takes her first sip of her smoothie only to walk directly into traffic, as though she is… untouchable ( and isn’t she? ). A car honks in her direction and she simply looks ahead, continuing on her path as though her heart isn’t trying to escape her chest. By the time she makes it to Athena Books, the smoothie has given her a bad taste in her mouth and, 82% full, she tosses it into one of the trash cans lining the sidewalk. It’s with little work that she opens the door to one of her favorite places on campus. She browses needlessly, as though she isn’t sure what she’s searching for, and when she comes across a semi-familiar face perusing the shelves, she tilts her head.

“Looking for something specific?” she asks them, knowing very well they are in the Ogden book club just as Lennon is. It’s difficult to pinpoint their name, but she hopes it’ll come to her… maybe. “Not sure they’ve picked this semester’s first book yet,” she hums, unsure why she has decided to suddenly approach a practical stranger. This place does weird things to her.