Aldysfool - ❝ ᴛᴏ ᴘʟᴀʏ ᴛʜᴇ 𝓯𝓸𝓸𝓵,

harryzhangs​:

harry snorts, trying to keep her attitude about it light and unaffected. a good sport, that’s what she has to be. it’s what she’s always been. no one needs to know just how fucking exhausting it’s become. “don’t wear it out, i’m not sure how they even fit the whole thing in one line on the cast list,” she catches up to nate with a grin. “you excited for the read-through? i’m considering starting a betting pool on the fights that’ll probably break out over the course of this whole process.”

nate’s eyes grow wide with mischief, “oh, you know i want in on this. i’ve got ten bucks and a bottle of cheap tequila that says josie will throw a temper tantrum and get herself kicked out of the play before hell week.” nate laughs and slows his pace towards the building, because honestly class is dumb and they’ll be out of here before they know it, as he considers the circumstances. as much as he was excited to dig into macbeth, he just couldn’t shake a thought. “heidi really just said ‘fuck it’ and gave this group of accused conspirators of real murder the chance to act in a play about murder, huh? i think it’s kinda badass, not gonna lie.”

bxstvrd​:

Jonah could barely keep up with Nate, his words blurring and twisting together, all of them turning into a cacophony of nonsense, filling up the silence in the room. And… he tried to find it in him to spit and snarl, to say something so cruel and terrible that Nate would leave, but instead, he was forced to contend with the truth: he liked that Nate was here. He liked not being alone.

He picked listlessly at the waffle, instead opting to grab for the drink Nate had offered him, the familiar aroma of fresh coffee tugging him out of his shell. Hands pawed up in his sweater, he lifted the cup to his lips and took a long, revelatory sip.

Then, even he surprised himself, because there was no malice in his voice when he asked: “Why are you here?”

Not because he’d turned over a new leaf. Mostly because he couldn’t muster the strength to be mean to Nate, which was his usual method of forcing people to leave him alone. It had worked so far with Julian, that much he was certain, but it was also a lonely way to live. When all you wanted was for people to see you for who you are, and yet you kept giving them reasons not to look past the surface… who did Jonah have to blame for any of this but himself?

“We’re not friends,” he said bluntly, not for any purpose other than to root them back in the truth. “You don’t owe me anything. So… why are do you care?”

nate is halfway through his waffle already, because his sweet tooth is something fierce in the morning, when he hears jonah’s question. it’s something about jonah’s candor that nate appreciates; if people walked around and just said what they felt more often, then maybe shit wouldn’t be so weird all the time ─ especially in this department. but nate can tell something is kicking jonah’s ass, and he can’t just leave him like this without having something to say about it. because he’s been there. 

although nate hasn’t completely finished chewing, he shrugs in response, “mmuhm? t’ me tha souns li’ th perf-uh pers tuh ta to*.” nate gives him a thumbs-up and a closed-mouth smile before swallowing. and then he collects his thoughts. 

“so, those are good questions, but secretly i don’t think you care about what my answer is either way. maybe sometimes a bro just wants to share a waffle with another bro. even if said bro doesn’t want the other bro to be there,” nate shakes his head and pulls out a banana from his bag. “besides, the same reason why i’m here is the same reason why you were there for me years ago.” 

he goes to take another bite of his waffle before he offers his banana to jonah. “you want some potassium?”

pvlmer​:

as much as jason hates to admit it, he needs this. he doesn’t want to admit that he was freaked out by the events at the masque. because that would be admitting that he has a reason to be scared. and he can’t let that happen. he can’t let people know that he had anything to do with orson’s death. least of all nate. nate was one of the only people he felt like actually believed in him and he didn’t want his brother to believe the horrible truth about him, that he was an accomplice to murder. 

jason nods as his brother relays his stressful evening. he can definitely sympathize, considering they were all accused of murdering orson. but jason knew that nate wasn’t involved in the murder, he was the perfect one. and besides, he couldn’t picture his bright and shining brother hurting anyone intentionally. jason used to think he wouldn’t hurt others intentionally either, until that night. at the mention of happy pills, jason can’t help but instinctively put his hand on nate’s shoulder. he’s not really sure what he’s trying to convey. maybe that he’s there, even if it sometimes feels like he isn’t. jason feels another pang of guilt when he realizes how scared nate must’ve been not getting an answer from him. “right, sorry about that, i put my phone on silent so i could think,” jason replies with a grimace and an ‘ i’m your brother and you love me so forgive me ’ face. 

“did someone say grilled cheese?” jason asked, with a slight smile. despite the terrible events of the night and the sheer amount of food he had eaten to avoid talking to people, jason would kill for a grilled cheese right now. “that sounds like the perfect meal to take the edge off what happened tonight. wanna postmates and hang in here?”

before jason can finish his question about nate hanging out with him, he’s already ducked past him and entered the room. nate hates feeling like this — when even he can’t laugh the pain away, but he finds some sort of peace when he’s with jason. sure, their relationship wasn’t the best, and nate hated that they were obviously keeping secrets from each other  — but they were brothers. and for every bad memory, there were two good ones in its place. at least, that’s how nate saw it. 

“well i was hoping you’d offer to go with me to the kitchen and whip up some homemade cheezies, but honestly, spending too much money on postmates sounds like a much better idea. i can send you the money, just get me anything greasy and with a stupid amount of calories on top. i trust you.” nate takes off his jacket and throws it over the back of a chair while taking in the suite jason and mathias share. he doesn’t visit often, he realizes. nate finds a seat to plop down in and spread out, the ache in his ankle dull enough to ignore. even though he tries to keep things somewhat light, nate knows he can’t bullshit with jason for much longer. he runs through a gamut of emotions — sadness, anger, confusion — and none of it seems to ever make sense of what he discovered that day with the person standing in front of him. the only brother he’s ever known. his first best friend. his first confidant. it’s heartbreaking to think jason could ever be responsible for  — 

“so. you said you needed time to think, right? ....what about? i mean, if it’s about ice caps melting in the Artic, i’m right there with you, buddy.”

where: courtyard between FAB & alderidge hall; when: tuesday afternoon, before the read-through; who: @joseqhine​.

as usual for someone who has an unhealthy dependence on drugs to get through each day, nate is outside smoking before the cast’s call time  —  just something to take the edge off. he places his copy of macbeth down to stub out the cigarette when he looks up and sees a familiar face. he bursts into laughter when he sees her. josie’s the kind of person that nate didn’t ever get along with; and looking at her, it still blows his mind that she and mads were ever close. he thinks she’ll probably walk by and ignore him, but nate just can’t let this opportunity pass him up. “what’s up, lady ‘duff? memorize that scene yet?"

harryzhangs​:

harry chuckles in agreement to his comment about the food. she knows nate doesn’t owe her an answer, but she has to admit she’s curious as to how the rest of her peers are doing tonight. over the years she’s discovered that people seem comfortable confiding things in her, and her time at alderidge has been no exception. harry doesn’t mind it, though– on the contrary, it’s really one of the only methods she has of feeling close to people. she nods sympathetically when nate continues; if there’s one thing she understands right now, it’s not liking the presence of those detectives inside the refectory. of course, his phrasing makes harry curious… nate was the one to find orson’s body, but she still wonders if there’s anything else he could be hiding about that whole night, like she is. she wonders about it constantly, truth be told. not just in regards to nate, but to all of them. harry might not know exactly what happened, but she’s damn sure she and jonah aren’t the only ones with secrets.

“i get that,” harry agrees before taking another drag from nate’s joint. with this one, she starts to feel it a bit, a nice calm spreading over her that only weed could ever cause. “it’s hard to move forward with all these reminders of what happened. especially when we don’t know what they’re looking for, or… who they might suspect, you know?” she shivers before passing the joint back to nate.

he misses his therapist. she always had a good way of giving clarity to nate’s thoughts and challenging him to think deeper, as any professional should do. while the fear of what certain truths would come up has kept him away recently, nate thinks back to many of their conversations and tries to remember any piece of actual therapy he got from those sessions. because maybe, he’d stop feeling like he was going crazy. maybe he’d be able to get the image of orson’s dead body out of his head. maybe he’d be able to face whatever the fuck was going on with jason. 

and that’s exactly who he’s thinking about when harry mentions the detectives and potential suspects. nate hopes he isn’t wearing it all on his face and lowers his head as he brings the joint back to his lips. two long puffs and the joint is barely hanging on at this point. he shrugs, “yeah, things like this make it really hard to move on. and that’s all i wanna do at this point. ...for my sake but mostly for jason’s — i mean, everybody’s sake, y’know,” nate panics a little, so he stands up and knocks the ash against the railing. nate slides his suit jacket off and offers it to harry. “i should probably get back inside and keep the party going. i started a petition to play firework over the sound system, so...gotta check on that progress.”

teddynewell​:

when nate calls, teddy answers. he didn’t hesitate to meet him at the anchor. hanging out with nate always meant a fun time, it meant forgetting about the weight of the world on his shoulders. teddy’s eyes widen at the sight of the fireball shots. it’s a weekday. not that it had ever mattered before, but it still throws him off for a second. he turns to look at nate and his smile widens. “i’m so so proud of you, you have no idea,” he tells him. teddy really likes hanging out with nate. there’s something about him, something teddy can’t pinpoint yet. “oh, wow. i feel so special.” he wraps his arm around nate’s shoulders, raising his own glass. “let’s toast to us, and to you, to getting you absolutely wasted tonight.”

"here here!” nate laughs and downs his first shot with ease. at this point, the smooth, fiery shots were like a rite of passage for him before the actual drinks for the night. and no, he didn’t care what day it was. nate had seriously considered waiting until a larger group of the fourth years could occupy a couple of booths in the back and wreck havoc, but the reason to celebrate was urgent. luckily, he could always depend on teddy to meet up with him for some potentially dumb decisions to be made. the night was still young, after all. “i’m proud of us, teddy bear. we did it! between you as malcolm and me as first witch, we’re gonna steal the hell out of this show. sidebar, why have i never called you that before?” when the second round comes, nate picks them up and motions towards the pool table in the back corner. “either way, that’s some cast list, right? chandler is going to kill lady ‘beth, for sure.”

ofmadsle​:

Nate always surprised her with his sincerity, though she finds herself more surprised when people were genuinely in her corner and on her side. It wasn’t a reflection on anyone else, really, but just one of the myriad of trust issues she harbored over the years. She smiles, small at first, yet it grew into a wide grin as he continued. “Thank you, thank you. Billy’s got some issues writing women but hey, that monologue got me here, ya know? Kind of ending this semester where I started.” She laughs at the picture he painted, only it faltered just a bit as she was reminded of Orson’s death. “And you’ll be the best damn witch I’ve seen. Double double toil and trouble should be the matching tattoos we eventually get.” She grins, lips pursing together slightly as she realized where they were. “With how often men test my patience, it’s true.” She grins. She wouldn’t dwell on it either.

“Fuck yeah! I should throw a costume party, because what do we have to look forward to? St. Patty’s Day? How boring, I don’t need green beer.” She grins at the thought of all the shenanigans she could get herself into, determined to end this semester with a bang now more than ever. “Oh, well, you know.” She shrugs, slightly shy but smiles nevertheless. “I go for these big roles at the community theater, I know I can do it. And you know, with Heidi here, I figured why not give it a real shot. Ya know? Like I know I’ll have competition, and that’s okay. I don’t need to get it, but I wanna know I at least tried for the role that got me to love Shakespeare in the first place.” She sighed, turning only slightly solemn. “Sounds dumb, but like you said. It’s our last show.” It was increasingly clear that Mads’ remorse for Orson’s death was simply nonexistent, and while she didn’t kill him herself, she might as well have with how she was talking. If only she knew.

nate’s eyes light up at mads’ suggestion, “holy shit, i will hold you to that, regardless of who we end up with. i’ve been meaning to try inner lip tattoos, so that’s perfect. i think there’s a word count, but whatever.” nate laughs, and offers mads a high five. costume parties at literally any time of the year were nate’s favorite thing in the world. and the further away from halloween, the better. 

“well honestly, i hope you snag it. and it may be my spidey senses or the weed kickin’ in, but i’ve got a good feeling heidi is about to shake some shit up around here. it’s not like we’re the only ones who’ve got shit to prove in the wake of...everything that’s happened, y’know?” if nate was heidi, he didn’t know what he’d do. but with orson’s death and the events from the masque creating this looming presence over the department, something big had to happen, right? nate felt like was he was doing nothing else but waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“but let’s stop for a second. do you really think one of us did what we were all accused of the other night?” nate sighs, “because i’ve been thinking...and i’ve got some conspiracy theories knocking around in my head. one, of which, says that we’re on a collective acid dream we haven’t woken up from yet.”

where: the refectory, the 4th year table; when: post-announcement, before read-through; who: @chandlerrosen​.

there are some things nate is going to miss about aldy when they’re all gone from this place, and the refectory’s food was definitely one of them. nate sits at the usual table for their class, his food spread out in front of him like a five-course meal, with his personal copy of macbeth sitting in his lap. he’s doodling a picture of a flaming skull over the title character’s first meeting with the witches when he sees chandler across the way. he grins and waves, “yo, lady ‘beth! chandler! you have a second? i’ve got a tiny favor to ask.” he pushes some of his food out of the way, suddenly aware of how much space he’s taking up.

harryzhangs​:

location: campus, morning after cast list reveal closed to @aldysfool​

“nate?” harry calls out, squinting toward the figure walking toward the FAB just ahead of her. she power-walks a bit to catch up to him, figuring if they both have to be up this early to go to class, they might as well go together. “by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. wait, shit, is it even the first witch who says that?”

nate is strolling along towards the FAB, trying to decide if he wants to ditch class this morning when he hears his name being called. he grins at harry, but his mind blanks on the line, “oh fuck, i don’t actually know! damn, you found me out. i’m a bad actor.” nate slows his pace, ”but hey, good gentlewoman slash donalbain slash siward, congrats to you! how do you feel?” 

scenestlr​:

grace scoffs softly at his comment, “i’m not surprised you’d find it so boring. i still don’t know how the hell you got pandarus last semester.” the cast list came as a surprise for her, to see him in  such an important role in trolius and cressida. she didn’t care for that role, nor did she want to take it from him - but that very essence of knowing he didn’t deserve it struck her to her core. the very bitter and evil thought of maybe nate hooked up with orson like chandler did to get that role crosses her mind. grace lets that anger subside, just for a moment, as she hears his next question.

she presses her lips together, she’s used to his typical comments and jabs - just as he was hers, but that felt pointed. the whispers were one thing, but a direct accusation to murdering someone feels different. she holds little respect for how he gets his ways, on and off the stage. it’s a dirty move, something they shouldn’t be joking about. “you’d love that, wouldn’t you?” she forms her words carefully and malignantly. “i don’t have to prove my innocence to you, palmer.”

it’s always nice to know that while most things change, others would remain the exact same. for example, nate has done a lot of soul searching over the course of his twenty-two years — contrary to what he presents to most people, he’s done a lot of growing up; compared to grace, who, unfortunately looked like she was always gonna be hater. yikes. nate rolls his eyes at her comment about pandarus, but is satisfied that she’s still salty about it. point for him.

“well i hate to break it to ya, but you haven’t been proving much of anything to me in these past few years i’ve known you,” he cringes a little at the harshness, so he follows up, “...besides the fact that it’s clear to me and everybody else that you’re secretly in love with me, which honestly, i don’t blame you. but the whole ‘enemies to friends to lovers’ trope is kinda played out, don’t you think?” nate brings the joint back to his lips, and he hides his smirk behind the smoke. messing with grace was his favorite pastime, but there’s something about this night that has nate feeling particularly weird, so he keeps talking for no good reason.

“all i’m saying is, you don’t have to try so hard. especially since orson....y’know. bit the dust.”