Highschool // AU

[preciousgarbage]

Ugh.

It's cold. It's raining. A couple of her friends were supposed to pick her up over an hour ago, but it never happened. Things came up. They had to give someone else a ride instead. And what's-her-name is busy, and so-and-so probably fell asleep and that's why they're not answering their phone, and while Trixie may not be the most socially-conscious crayon in the box, she knows how to take a fucking hint.

So here's the problem: squishing down her self-pity has become secondary to the fact that a torrential downpour threatens to melt her like a piece of candy if she stands out in it for more than a few seconds. She was waiting for a bus, but the app says the bus is running a half-hour late, probably because of the weather. She knows this because she has been staring at her phone for the last ten minutes or so, desperately hoping that the large, boozed-up guy next to her would stop trying to start a conversation and let her huddle under the two-foot overhang in peace.

She keeps looking up and down the road, as if a bus would magically materialize for her... But after he asks for the second time what school she goes to, she starts looking for basically anything to make the situation less of an epic cringe-fest.

Comments

[indigochild]

He doesn't cling onto the idea as enthusiastically as some might, and even narrows his eyes in vague suspicion (maybe Trixie's reputation precedes her?), but he does eventually look over at the drunken man while he holds his ground.

That guy's slurred goodbye is already reverting into more questions, it sounds like. He still wants to know what school they go to, and how old her "boyfriend" is. Given another moment, his weight also starts to shift forward, like he's planning on catching up with them.

However, that's as much as the tall boy needs to make a decision. He continues to look at the man for a moment in a way that does seem a little imposing--or at least distinctly unwelcoming--before finally continuing down the sidewalk exactly as he'd been planning on doing in he first place, plus one girl attached to his arm.

[preciousgarbage]

Her reaction is palpable. She's been playing a good game for a while now, but she was seriously starting to worry that she'd have to walk home in the rain or get further harassed by that guy--and she literally could not handle either of those things right now. So she sighs and walks easily, sticking under the umbrella and chattering in such a way as to complete the illusion all the way through.

"I was supposed to get picked up by my friends, you know, but they're all too busy. Or whatever." Her dramatic eyeroll turns into a good excuse to glance back behind them, make sure they aren't being followed. "So I'm super glad you brought the umbrella. You're a lifesaver, really."

[indigochild]

She gets a scarf-muffled "Mhmm" in response, which is extremely cooperative for Irahl--not that Trixie can realize the magnitude of the gesture. And with how thoroughly ignored the drunken man is, and how naturally intimidating a nearly-seven-foot-tall adolescent can be, they are allowed to make their escape in peace.

The two of them make it all the way down the block under this illusion, and Irahl guides them around the corner and out of sight of the bus stop... before he finally starts to slow up.

He maybe assumed this was as far as Trixie was intending on taking it.

[preciousgarbage]

She is very grateful. Really. Truly.

But she is also a scrappy little scavenger of a girl, and if given an inch, will try to take a mile. The weather is no cheerier on this block than it was in the last block. She has to at least make it into a Burger King or something.

She lets go of him, her high-heels making little splashes in the pavement underneath her. She still does not leave the safety of the umbrella.

"Jeez, thank you. Seriously..." She moves on rather quickly, eyebrows scrunching together, "I know you from school, right?"

[indigochild]

Ask anyone who has ever had the rare honor of interacting with Irahl for any significant amount of time, and they will tell you that he is severely standoffish and has a deep talent for stubbornness... but Trixie moves much too quickly for any of that. If you ignore the first point, and push forward before he has a chance to dig his heels in with the second, you can actually make progress with him.

So, he doesn't have time to mumble a goodbye and politely ditch her before she pins him there for another moment with a question.

"Mm, probably," he shrugs, as if he has actually managed to miss noticing the technicolor girl in the halls.

[preciousgarbage]

"Okay, that's what I thought." She flips some of her (currently pastel purple) hair over her shoulder, not intending on stopping for a second. "Man, you are a lot taller than you look from far away."

He must be an upperclassman, only because she cannot imagine a freshman possibly being that tall. They'd have to be some kind of complete freak of nature.

"Anyway, what's your name again?"