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totallyuseless-ugh · 1 year ago

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Across the Campus

Chapter Five: Some Rainy Thoughts To-Go

With each passing day continued fall to approach, announcing itself in the form of colored leaves and grey skies. From the other side of the glass balcony door came an unusual lack of light as dark clouds poured out rain onto the campus. It was far from actual stormy weather. And yet, it did not surprise Darnell in the slightest to see barely anyone spending that morning out on the green. Only a few people were making their way along the slippery stone paths with umbrellas in hand, probably to get to the library or an appointment before classes began.

“I damn hope you don’t plan on going on the balcony in that weather,” Pico warned as he returned from his daily errand run to the kitchen. He gestured at the weather with his mug while handing Darnell the other.

Darnell shook his head as he took hold of his own drink and took a slow sip of it. “Got no reason to catch myself a cold.”

“Good to know we see eye to eye on that. I really don’t feel like missing any classes.”

The two settled on either of their beds, silently watching the rain go on without an end in sight. It was oddly beautiful to have this change in weather and scenery, having the chance to let their eyes rest on the green in front of them without the daily busyness trying to distract. Starting the day this quietly felt like a rare treat to the two friends.

The lack of conversation had Darnell finishing up his drink faster than usual. He put the empty mug aside to get dressed in some warmer clothes. Digging through the back of his closet felt oddly comforting, to finally bring back the clothes Darnell had put away for other, colder days.

“What the fuck,” Pico uttered just as Darnell put on his blue sweater.

“Ey, no need to cuss at me for my outfit. That ain’t cool of you.” He scoffed. It was normal for both to roast each other on their outfits, though it still was a bit too early for Darnell to go along with Pico's comments. But for once, this had not been the intention of the redhead.

“Nah, look!”

Darnell furrowed his brows in confusion as he turned and looked outside onto campus to where Pico was pointing. Completely unbothered by the miserable weather stood CJ by the usual corner, looking up at the balcony as if they were waiting for something to happen.

“That motherfucker-“ Darnell cussed to himself and his expression changed from annoyance to disbelief. He did not hesitate to storm out onto the balcony and yell down at the blonde, “CJ, are you insane?!” He could not hear their response through the amount of background sounds drowning out their voice in the distance.

“Get your ass inside, right now!!” Darnell continued to yell and waved with both of his hands towards himself to make sure the message would get across. And it seemed to have worked, seeing how CJ slouched their shoulders and trotted back down the path towards the dormitory.

Pico watched his friend jump back inside and frantically search through his closet. “The fuck are you now up to?” He asked with a raised brow and a smirk on his lips. The question was more to confirm his thoughts than answer genuine confusion.

“Making sure CJ also doesn’t get a cold!” Darnell answered quickly, either purposely dismissing Pico's teasing or not having heard the laughing tone of the question. With a large towel in hand ran Darnell out of the room to the stairs. Knowing how slow the elevator was, he did not even bother wasting a single second considering it as an option.

Darnell skipped down the steps as fast as he could in a selfmade sense of urgency. And just when he had reached the ground floor came the tall blonde walking in through the front door. All of their clothes were soaking wet and clinging to their skin, they were leaving a trail of small puddles with every step, and the usually neat hairbun had fallen apart into dozens of dark strands hanging from their head like sad curtains.

“You idiot,” Darnell let out an airy laugh as he tried catching his breath. “You got me sprinting down here like a maniac!” He bunched the towel into a ball and threw it at CJ, making them laugh as well.

CJ shrugged and began drying off their hair and face without a care in the world. “Or maybe this was my plan all along. Some exercise surely wouldn’t hurt you.”

“I would hate you so damn much for this, I could kill you.”

CJ snickered at the harmless threat. They put the towel over their shoulders for a bit more warmth as the water slowly began to cool them down. “I wouldn’t do that, don’t worry. I don’t have a deathwish,” CJ explained as they followed Darnell, who was heading back upstairs.

“Well, what genius idea was it then that got you running in the rain?” He asked purely out of curiosity. Darnell was not the type to go out doing sports every day. He already could not relate to sportsy people, let alone anyone who went out jogging during rainy weather.

“I wanted to see you and say good morning. Or, well, greet you. We don’t yell ‘good morning’ to each other after all.”

Darnell stopped in his tracks and stared at CJ in disbelief. In his head, their nonchalant tone did not match with their words. “Please tell me you’re joking,” he asked and hoped their answer would not make his heart jump a second time.

CJ began to grin at the shocked face in front of them. “No, seriously! Seeing you every morning sorta became part of my routine, so it feels wrong not to do that.” As if words had not been enough, CJ’s big-eyed, gentle expression was proof that they were not joking around.

Knowing he was even a part of the reason they had gone out running in the rain made Darnell feel fuzzy inside. For one, it would make him feel guilty if CJ ended up with a harsh cold because of this. But oddly enough, Darnell also found the whole situation somewhat endearing. This minor role he played in CJ’s daily life was still important enough to them to keep it as part of their routine.

Darnell chortled weakly for a lack of a better response and continued the walk upstairs in silence. When they both finally reached the second floor waited Pico in the hall already, holding out a bathrobe to the tall blonde. “Might as well go in the showers, dry yourself off there before you turn the place into an aquarium.”

“Aye aye,” CJ gave him a two-finger salute, replacing the towel over their shoulders with the bathrobe. Before they could ask for it pointed Darnell already down the hall for direction. “I’ll bring you some clothes to borrow in a sec.” He watched for a moment as CJ nodded and made their way over to the shower rooms.

Back in his room, Darnell searched for any oversized clothes he owned. The height difference him and CJ had was not too great, at most a couple inches. But after having wet clothes clinging to one’s skin, it was probably best to have something loose and comfy on for a change.

Pico leaned against his desk while Darnell was once more with his head in the closet. “You’re down bad, huh?” He began to grin when he received an unamused look in return.

“Wow, you’re a bright one. Your parents must be proud,” Darnell scoffed, not bothering to let Pico distract him much longer.

“Hey, I wasn’t the one who took so long to accept that fact.”

“Does it get your dick hard when you’re right, or why d’you keep pestering me with this?”

Pico shrugged his shoulders, the grin on his lips growing ever so slightly, “Just enjoy pulling you back down in the crab bucket.”

“I bet five bucks you’re the first crab of the bucket to get eaten.”

“Yeah, sure.” Pico dismissed the conversation with a wave of his hand. “Don’t keep CJ waiting too long. They’re already waiting for their loyal simp.”

Darnell tutted to himself as he grabbed the clothes and left. He did not want to feed into Pico’s teasing any further.

He headed down the hall to the communal washrooms where CJ was waiting with a soft smile. “I hope they won’t be too tight on you,” Darnell said and handed over his clothes.

“I’m sure it’ll do. Anything is better than going back to my dorm like this.” CJ gestured down on themselves to point out the drenched outfit under the bathrobe. The already dark blue colour of the sports outfit was even deeper from the rain. But at least it had stopped dripping water all over the place and creating a slipping hazard, for the most part.

Darnell cleared his throat as he pulled his eyes off CJ’s body to look at their face again. "Yeah, you're right," he tried laughing off the feeling of self-consciousness that was slowly brewing in his guts. He received another warm smile before the other disappeared with his clothes in hand, giving Darnell enough time to quickly pick up his things for going to class.

It did not take long for CJ to get changed into the new clothes, and once the damp outfit was bagged up went Darnell and CJ outside on their way back across the campus.

The rain had become less heavy over time, but it was still enough to have them both share Darnell’s umbrella for the short walk. Neither of them said a word, only when their eyes happened to meet exchanged both a few gentle smiles. It was already enough to make it worth for Darnell how he had to hold the umbrella up higher than usual for CJ to comfortably walk under it.

They both came to stop by the main entrance of the other dormitory, still smiling at each other in silence for another moment.

"Well.. thanks for the kind help," CJ eventually spoke up softly. Their hand was quietly fiddling with the plastic bag loops as if they wanted Darnell not notice it.

Meanwhile Darnell felt himself gripping more onto the umbrella handle, oblivious to the small rustling sounds. Of course CJ would thank him, and yet he still got surprised by their words and left speechless for a moment. It was a struggle for him to even get a coherent sentence out. "Ah- I mean, I.. that's just..." He groaned to himself and threw his other hand up dismissively, "No big deal. As long as you don't get sick, I'm happy."

CJ's smile grew from gentle to big and amused, accompanied with a small laugh. "Alright, might as well quarantine myself for a few days to stay healthy for you."

For you

The words echoed in Darnell's mind, repeatedly dribbling into his thoughts like the rain around him. No matter how much he would try, Darnell could not remember how the conversation ended, what happened in his classes that day, nor was he able to notice the weather change on his way back to his room. All that his mind would focus on for all that time were these two words and the voice which had said them.

Though, Darnell got no further than a couple steps into his dorm before Pico practically jumped in front of him with a wide grin, making him finally break from his trance. “Hey! I got news!”

He blinked as he took a moment to recognise his friend again. “Good ones I assume?”

“Duh!”

“If I can still relax in the meantime, go ‘head and tell me,” Darnell gave Pico a somewhat tired smile. He dropped his bag in its usual spot by his desk, wanting to change into more comfortable clothes before he would sit down for some work.

Pico leaned against the wall near the desk as he talked, “So I was in class, and we were all waitin’ for the prof to show up. And some people were talking near me, so I joined in ‘n stuff. We talked about assignments and all that, and-“

“You gonna get to the point?”

“I was about to, jeez!” Pico threw his hands in the air as he complained. “Anyway, one of them then mentioned a party for the weekend! Not like a closed circle one, anyone on campus can join. So, what do you think?”

Darnell hesitated with his answer. He finally sat by the desk, avoiding eye contact with Pico until he finally had words for him, “I’m not sure, man. Still got my essay to work on.”

“Oh come on! You got time still, and it’s just one night!”

“One night I could spend with work and getting some proper sleep.”

“As if you were the type to need a real sleep schedule to function,” Pico scoffed as if he were trying to do an impression of his little sister. The Flintson siblings really liked to copy behaviours from each other.

Darnell already knew Pico would not let him off the hook that easily. If nearly ten years of friendship had taught Darnell something, it was that the redhead would probably continue to pester him about this party every free minute they got around each other. Maybe even over text too.

“Man, you know I gotta write my essay, ‘nd I don't even have all the books I need yet! I’ll try to be productive and get as much done as I can here. If, and I’m saying if, I get more than 75 percent done until Saturday, I will join ya. That good?”

Pico's smile grew wide and toothy. And in that moment, Darnell was not sure how good of an idea this decision was. But as long as he had Pico off his back, he would not waste much more time thinking about this than necessary.

And although Darnell finally had the mental capacity and time for focusing on his course work, it was not exactly easy to get a lot done with half the material needed not being around for him to reference and research with. Of course, he was aware of the internet's existence. But to him, it was far easier (and frankly more satisfying) to have a book in his hands to flip through and find the answers he was looking for than typing in some keywords into a search engine and pray that it would spit out some decent and reliable sources.

Reluctantly, Darnell had to surrender after getting no further than the essay's title and opening. He headed out to the library to find at least one or two books to take with him.

Although the walk was not far, he still gladly acknowledged the end of the rainy weather. The sky was still dimmed by the grey clouds overhead, but they were not intimidating enough to make him take an umbrella along that time. He knew what he would be looking for, so he was sure the trip would be short enough to not get surprised with a sudden rain shower. And indeed, it was a quick run around the science section. Though, it was partially due to a handful of books on his list having been rented out already. But his findings were still good enough for a start.

As Darnell reached the counter, however, the library assistant was gone. They were nowhere to be seen, but that was not really surprising, considering the size of the building. He had no choice but to simply wait for their return. Darnell needed the books, and if he did not check them out today, they might be gone soon for who knows how long, just like the others he could not find.

He placed the heavy books on the counter, ready for scanning and took out his phone to kill some time. Darnell was reading back the messages between him and his mother, discussing the latest happenings in his hometown when two students queued up behind him. The fact that they were in a library did not seem to keep either of them from giggling and chatting with each other in an outside-level voice.

“And, oh my gawd, I swear they must be getting desperate for real.”

- “What did they do?”

“Remember how bad it was raining this morning? Hailey told me they went out jogging anyway. Like, their clothes stuck to them, messy hair and all that shit.”

Darnell tried not to make it obvious as he began to listen in on the conversation happening behind his back.

- “Jeez. Aren’t their outfits enough anymore to get a good fuck around here?”

“Apparently not. But really, who wants to bang the campus slut?”

The laughter was incredibly distracting. Darnell had a hard time focusing on any of the thoughts starting to race in his head. He had completely forgotten about the chat he was reading before, he did not even remember why he was in the library anymore. That was until finally, the assistant returned with an exhausted laugh, “Sorry for the wait!”

“Ah, all good.” Darnell offered a small smile as reassurance. He would have to push the matter aside for a later time. For now, his priorities were to get out of the library and finally get some proper work done on his essay. There was no time to waste on some stupid gossip about the person he had lent his clothes to this morning. It was not worth it to involve himself in what most likely was just the usual type of drama hunters who made mountains out of any molehill they could find.

The next day was not pouring down as badly as the one before. But Darnell and Pico decided it was best to spend their morning routine inside again regardless. Neither felt it was worth getting dressed just for them to tolerate the cold winds. Especially when this would in turn also make their coffee cool down even quicker.

And although it was no problem for them to not engage in conversation, Pico still felt as if something was off. The way that Darnell frowned at his mug was not normal. "You good?"

"Huh?-" Darnell's expression softened rather quickly as he switched to look at Pico. "Yeah, just a bit surprised CJ ain't showing up today."

Pico raised a brow, part teasing, part genuine wonder. "Are you really that desperate to see them soaked again?"

"Oh shut it," Darnell groaned. "I even told them myself to stay the fuck inside 'nd not get sick." He was not even realising how his mind had mixed up his thoughts and actual memory.

Pico in turn began to frown himself. "I don't see the issue then."

"That's the thing, there is none."

"Nells, you're being cryptic."

"I.. guess it just feels weird to not see them this morning. I've gotten used to it."

Pico seemed to accept the answer. It was still too early for him to challenge all of Darnell's words or bully him endearingly for his crush. And it did not even need the redhead to make one of his usual snark comments to get his friend speak up again just shortly after.

"I heard some.. weird shit yesterday."

"Like what?"

"In the library, while I waited to check out my books. No clue who, but some students were shitting on CJ. Called 'em desperate and the 'campus slut'. No clue where that title came from."

There was a moment of silence in the room. Neither of them was sure what to say, how to not be disrespectful and dismissive or form strong opinions based on barely any information.

Pico tapped his nails on the mug in his hands. His mind was full of thoughts which left him staring into nothingness. He broke out of the trance shortly after and released a small tired groan before taking a long sip of his coffee. "That's.. shit."

Darnell agreed with a low hum.

"Are you gonna tell them about it?" Pico asked curiously.

Hesitantly, Darnell answered with a shrug, "I mean, should I? 'm not gonna go to their dorm 'nd say 'hey dude, what's the deal with people calling you the campus slut?' Not my style. Or, what if they're already aware of it, if I'd just bring up some shit they try livin' with for I dunno how long?"

"Ah, shit.."

The room fell silent once more, only being broken up by the small noises of Pico and Darnell eventually getting ready for either of their day’s classes. Oddly enough, Darnell's mind was not flooded with worries, or arguments going back and forth on whether he should keep his knowledge a secret to CJ.

No, his head felt almost empty. Unable to really form and hold onto any thoughts for an extended period of time. He could manage to follow his lectures throughout the day, take notes and stay on time with his schedule, be productive during his short off time. But only because these things did not require him to really think on his own. The almost mindless activities served as somewhat of a distraction.

It almost felt like some sort of amnesia to the issue. Knowing there was something, but not being able to figure out what that thing was.

Until the end of his final lecture.

Until he stopped by the other dorm.

Until he got to a particular room on the fourth floor.

Darnell stood in front of the door, hand raised in a fist and ready to knock. The sounds of laughter and bits of conversation poured through. It had become a familiar mix of noise to him from his regular visits.

All of the sounds stopped when he knocked. It took no longer than a few seconds, and the door swung open.

"Nells!" CJ greeted their friend with a wide grin.

Without a warning, Darnell was reminded of what he had 'forgotten' during the day. He could not help but look at the tall blonde, the kind face standing in front of him and wonder what they must have done to deserve such a demeaning title. Though, deserve was probably not the right word to use.

"How ye'r doing, Jay?" Darnell gave CJ a big smile in return.

"Good, good! So far, I'm still fit."

"Fit enough to work on the essays?"

CJ's grin grew slightly and they brought a hand down on Darnell's shoulder. "You're really taking this seriously, huh?" They laughed softly.

Darnell shrugged in response and took up on the nonverbal invitation inside. For now, he was here to work with CJ. Anything that would keep him from being productive would stay outside the room for the time being.

He could worry about the meaning of it all on a less rainy day.

#cj #darnell #pico #across the campus #chapter five #alternate universe #non trauma au #oh boi time for gossip #took me long enough to finish this #enjoy while i disappear for another three months

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