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Post by Toby Seaborn on Dec 18, 2015 2:13:52 GMT
Toby Seaborn found himself in a highly unusual situation. Since starting school at Cornell, he'd done his best making friends. Playing on the soccer team and being involved on campus helped put him over the edge. At the same time, he knew he was there on a scholarship and had to keep his grades up to not only stay on the team but keep the financial assistance that helped him stay in school.
Since becoming friends with Brody Finn, however, he found himself more often than not surrounded by his friends from Manhattan who lived a kind of life Toby had only glimpsed. While Brody was a great guy to hang out and play video games with, and Morgan was a sweet girl - but sometimes there were instances where he realized how differently they'd grown up. Whether it was figuring out where they were all going out to eat or listening to them talk about things back at home, Toby realized just how different it was and stayed quiet - or talked to Alex.
Now, Toby found himself at a party with not one, not two, but three teenagers who'd all lived a life on the other side of the fence. He was glad Alex was there too. He sipped his drink and made conversation with one of the girls on the school's volleyball team.
As he looked around, Morgan had been drinking too and while in the few times she'd come out with them, she never had before - he could understand why. The girl was ninety pounds soaking wet and didn't hold her liquor that well. He laughed under his breath as she wrapped her arms around Brody and giggled. He glanced around, spotting Ellie and Alex, he decided to excuse himself from the other girl and make his way over to them. "Having fun?" he asked them both.
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 18, 2015 2:31:40 GMT
Frustration only seemed to scratch the surface when Ellie Tyler tried to put into words what she was feeling. She tried to justify that she had been naive at her eighteenth birthday party when she thought that things were going to change with Everett, but she still couldn't ignore the feeling of disappointment when he didn't immediately decide to go all-in on a relationship with her. True, he had taken her on a date and given her a perfectly acceptable kiss good night, but after all of the hurt that she had experienced when he had pushed her away, she was expecting a bit more. But he had asked her to be patient and so she was trying. He did seem to genuinely like her if the thoughtful gift of a journal said anything about his feelings. It just didn't seem like enough.
She didn't want to be selfish or push him into anything he didn't want so when her sister had picked up on her frustrations, Ellie had been only too happy to accept the invitation to sneak up to Ithaca with her. She wasn't actually sure that it was really sneaking at this point, but she figured that as long as her parents didn't ask too many questions, then what they didn't know didn't hurt them. And besides, she had to admit, seeing Morgan and Brody back together made it all worthwhile. The happiness that Morgan seemed to exude around her new boyfriend wasn't necessarily contagious, but it kept Ellie from feeling too sorry for herself. Plus, she had to hand it to him, Brody seemed to be doing well at college too. In addition to being disgustingly cute with her sister, he had also made some pretty entertaining friends here too. Ellie had been laughing with Alex, sipping from whatever sort of alcohol mixture that had been poured into a punch bowl and divvied out into party cups, and realized that she was actually really enjoying herself.
"Yeah, actually," she said as Toby came over.
"Didn't we come with them?" Alex teased, catching sight of Brody and Morgan already coupling in the middle of the party. "Has Morgan ever drank before?"
"She has," Ellie nodded. "She's just never been able to hold her alcohol. Plus, I think Brody makes her ridiculously giddy." Laughing at her sister and their childhood friend, she shook her head. "Are you having fun, Toby?"
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Post by Toby Seaborn on Dec 18, 2015 2:48:38 GMT
Toby smiled at Ellie. She seemed like a really nice girl but at the same time vastly different than her twin sister. In fact, he might have accidentally laughed earlier when they'd told him they were twins, having thought they were kidding. And while she was a bit overdressed for a party up at Cornell, he was glad she was having a good time. He turned in the direction of his neighbors as Alex commented on them and he rolled his eyes. "I swear, they're always like that. Try sharing a wall with them," he muttered.
Turning back to Ellie, he smiled at her. "I'm having a good time, yeah. I don't normally come to these," he gestured to Alex. "This one and Brody seem to think its fun, so I tag along now and then. Plus, I was told I'd get to see your sister drunk and heard it was funny," he joked. He turned to Alex, peering in her cup, "You keeping out of trouble?" he asked her with a good-natured grin.
Meanwhile, Morgan took her sip of her own drink and looked up at Brody. "It tastes like lemonade," she marveled. In the past when Ellie had mixed her drinks at parties, they always tasted closer to rubbing alcohol. "Are you sure there's even anything in this?" she asked, taking another sip. She beamed up at him after a moment, laughing softly. "I missed you this week. My roommate, I swear, had two different guys in the room on Wednesday. Like when I left to go to the library there was one, when I tried to come back to get a couple of hours of sleep before my first class there was another one leaving. It's like a revolving door," she shook her head. "I missed your bed."
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 18, 2015 3:04:24 GMT
The absolute hysterics of the situation didn't pass over Alex Morrison's mind when she smiled and shook her head at the couple across the room. She wouldn't have even been here had it not been for the incredibly brief relationship she had had with Brody, and while it hadn't been a bad experience, she much preferred being his friend. Besides, she had realized within about thirty seconds of mentioning Morgan that she was the one that he was really supposed to be with. In fact, when he had showed up at her dorm room on the weekend that Morgan had first arrived, she didn't think she had been able to keep the smile off of her lips and even before he had gotten the chance to properly break up with her, she had already been trying to push him out the door and telling him to go be with his lady. On some level, she figured that she always knew that Brody wasn't the right person for her, but it had been nice to pop her college dating cherry with a nice, cute boy that still wanted to be her friend. Plus, it was an added bonus that his new girlfriend was pretty amazing, and Alex enjoyed Morgan's company almost more than she enjoyed Brody's or Toby's.
"Ew," Ellie wrinkled her nose as the idea of her sister and Brody doing something loud and uncomfortable in a room that she would have shared a wall with. "I'm really sorry," she said to Toby, causing Alex to laugh.
Shrugging, Alex looked into her own cup, "For now. I don't think there's enough booze in here - I can still taste the juice. Isn't that the point of college parties, you're supposed to get everyone so intoxicated that they can't remember that they just stood around talking to the people that they came with and they think that it was the best party ever?" Grinning cheekily, she took a long drink out of her cup regardless. "Best. Party. Ever."
Ellie laughed and shook her head. "So, is college always like this then?"
Brody laughed at Morgan and quickly kissed her before she started rambling about her roommate. "Oh yeah, I'm positive there's something in that." Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her close to him and smiled brightly at her. "I missed having you in my bed too. I was hoping that we could lounge there most of the weekend but I'm glad that you and Ellie are getting along again."
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 18, 2015 3:17:13 GMT
Toby laughed at Ellie and Alex for a moment before shaking his head at Ellie. "To be honest, I don't know. Like I said, I never really go to these things. Alex here has been to more parties than I have and I've been here for a year more than her." He smiled, "But college is kind of great, you know. When I went to high school back home, we had like...700 kids in the school? But I knew everyone in my graduating class. Here, I get to know someone new every week. Plus, then you get involved with things like student government and athletics and you get a core group of friends going. And you meet weirdos like Alex here, who's surprisingly good at Halo."
Morgan smiled brightly up at Brody, wrapping her arms around him. "We can still lounge around," she told him. "The three of us can watch a movie and order food and I can make us all breakfast on Sunday morning before we have to go home," she told him. "And I'll still be in your bed," she added, lifting her eyebrows and then giggling. "She was just a bit stressed about Everett, I thought it would be nice for all three of us to hang out - and I knew she'd get along with Alex!"
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Post by Ellie Tyler on Dec 18, 2015 3:29:10 GMT
Alex "hmmm"ed softly, tapping on her lips in thought as she considered whether or not college was always like this. "Yes and no," she decided. "This is the exciting part of college, but there are definitely times where I'd rather be hanging out with either of these two nerds and just order something in and play video games. It's weird, there's always something going on here and I'm not really used to that. There wasn't much to do in my hometown so it's kind of exciting and intimidating all at the same. But I'm sure you're used to this kind of stuff at home?"
Ellie shrugged, "This is much different. It's kind of cool, though. I mean, Morgan definitely isn't like this at home and it's always fun to see her step outside of her comfort zone." With an amused smile, she turned to Toby. "I'm sorry, did you say student government and athletics? Are you that guy, Toby? Are they going to name you Mr. Cornell or something?" she teased.
Brody laughed, "Well, I'm glad that she came then." While the idea of spending all weekend with his girlfriend and her sister wasn't necessarily the most appealing thought to be crossing a nineteen-year-old boy's mind, he had grown up with Ellie and Morgan and had spent enough time with them to know that if one twin was having a rough time with something then the other one would have been there in a heartbeat. It was actually quite an endearing trait and he figured it was one of the many things that he loved about her. "I feel like she's always stressed about one boy or another. What is it this time?"
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 18, 2015 3:56:18 GMT
Toby rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and chuckled. "I don't know about that. I came here basically on a full ride between financial aid, scholarships, and soccer, so I have to stay involved and stay on top of my grades," he explained. "My dad went to college, but my mom didn't. Neither did my grandparents, so it's sort of this really big deal to them that I get really involved, you know?"
He looked at Alex and grinned at her. "Yeah, hey - is cow tipping really a thing?" he asked her at the mention of her hometown, teasing her. While he hadn't lived the same life that the others had, he still had grown up in the city and whenever Alex talked about her hometown, he was always curious about it.
Morgan sighed at Brody, taking another long sip of her drink. "Well, Everett hadn't been talking to her - something about his dad. And then came to our birthday party," she blushed for a moment, thinking back to how she and Brody had spent their time during that party. "Anyway, he took her to dinner, but he wants Ellie to be patient while he keeps figuring things out. And, well, Ellie isn't patient." She shrugged. "It'll work out, I'm sure. If it's supposed to." She then beamed up at her boyfriend. "We worked out."
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Post by Alex Morrison on Dec 19, 2015 20:08:49 GMT
Even though she knew that Toby didn't quite understand the background that she came from, and while she knew that the friends that they had come with didn't understand it either, she had to laugh at her friend's question all the same. The worlds that they all came from seemed so alien to her, between people like Brody, Morgan, and Ellie who probably had never had to work very hard at anything, and people like Toby who had fought to get to where they were, she kind of relished the idea that she was the one in the middle. Her family was a regular middle-class family from middle America, both of her parents were college graduates and had great jobs at home, and she had no scholarships to speak of to help her pay for college bills. But all the same, being outside of her home state she was coming to realize that not everything she wrote off as being boring and average wasn't appealing to the right people. "Yes," she answered with a laugh. "And it is really... dumb."
Ellie grinned, shaking her head at the idea of someone's past time being something that seemed so unnecessary. Unlike her sister, she knew that there was a lot about the world that she still didn't even realize existed outside of Manhattan. Growing up her mother had always been really great about making sure that the girls stayed grounded, reminding them constantly that this wasn't the life that she was raised in and she didn't want them to assume that privilege meant that they were entitled to anything more than another person was. When Ellie was younger, she hadn't realized that she and Morgan really had or did anything different than any of the other kids, but as she got older and started high school, she quickly realized that she had been incredibly naive about the state of the world. Even now, being at Cornell, she was suddenly incredibly aware of how different everyone was. But despite the fact that some of the students she was meeting were wearing tennis shoes and ballet flats and she had come wearing her favorite pair of Saint Laurent strappy heels, she felt comfortable with them. Maybe, she thought, Morgan wasn't crazy for sneaking up here for the company of these people - and Brody, of course.
Shrugging at Toby, she sipped at the drink in her hand, "It makes sense, I guess. I'm sorry, I wouldn't really know."
While Morgan explained everything that had been going on with her sister, Brody had suddenly lost focus. At this rate, he wasn't sure that he was ever going to stop being so excited about having her around again, and as such he had found himself focused much more on the fullness of her lips and the way that she seemed to visibly brighten when she spoke about them as a couple. Drawing his attention back to their conversation, he smiled at her and nodded. "Ellie's always been pretty good at figuring out that kind of stuff for herself - just like you," he added, thinking about all of the times that Morgan had been more than willing to take the situation into her own hands. In particular, he kept thinking about how she had surprised him in his bed at the start of their entire adult relationship. Without warning, he was suddenly picturing her back in his bed at his apartment, and he brushed his lips against hers to try and drive the thought away. "We did," he echoed the sentiment that they had worked out. "And I think it's going pretty well."
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Post by Toby Seaborn on Dec 20, 2015 2:57:11 GMT
Toby smiled at Alex, nudging her a bit. "There are a few farms around here, you'll have to explain to me how that works," he joked, taking a sip of his beer and smiling at both girls. He grinned at Ellie and shrugged up a shoulder, "Anyway, I wouldn't really call myself that involved - I show my face around, but would rather be at my place playing video games," he nodded. As he said that, though, a few of the girls from the track team greeted him in passing. He flashed them a smile, waving at them but then turning his attention back to Ellie and Alex, ignoring what he thought might have been at least one disappointed face.
Toby was a perfectly normal 19 year old boy, and while he had noticed that - especially at parties like these - girls that he knew would make many attempts to talk to him, it was rare that he ever attempted to try to bring anyone home. With the exception of one girl that he'd dated through his second semester of his freshman year and his high school girlfriend, Toby wasn't really the sort to pick a girl to bring home just for the night. After all, he'd come with Ellie and Alex and he was perfectly content with their company.
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Post by Morgan Tyler on Dec 20, 2015 3:06:36 GMT
Morgan glanced at her sister, glad to see that Alex and Toby were both keeping her company and that she seemed to be having a good time. "She'll be fine, I just hope it works out soon. I don't like seeing her upset," she nodded. While she wasn't sure about Everett, she'd always taken her sister's happiness seriously and did what she could to make sure that anyone making her unhappy were put in their place - or in some cases, sent to the nurse's office with a broken nose. "Everett seems nice enough, I'd hate to hit him," she joked. She remembered the day that she'd hit Will and effectively decided to leave high school behind. She remembered the way that Brody had been there to stop her from making it any worse, too. Everything seemed as though it had happened so long ago, but it had really only been a year. Turning back to look at her sister, she smiled at Ellie's outfit which was admittedly a bit overdressed for the occasion but still looked flawless. "I maybe should have suggested she bring something more casual for the weekend," she added with a laugh. Looking down at her own jeans and her flannel shirt, she shrugged, Morgan's best outfits had always been picked out by her sister anyway - she was usually more one for comfort.
Finishing her drink, she examined her empty cup for a moment before she smiled up at Brody. "We're going really well," she nodded at him, tilting her head with a shy smile. "I'd even go as far as to say we're going great," she nodded, leaning up on her toes to kiss him again.
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