[color=silver][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xfM9Hr9.png[/img]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/786yqQO.gif[/img]       [img]https://i.imgur.com/pXknSbZ.gif[/img]
[sub][i]A [@metanoia] & [@GhostMami] Collaboration Post
Featuring [color=4169e1]Teddybear[/color] & [color=80e5ff]Gamer Girl[/color][/i][/sub]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/Yapfsol.png?1[/img][/center][indent][indent][indent]On his way to The Bean, Theo’s mind was plagued with several thoughts, some of which seemed to be fixated on The Bash. He went over it in his mind far too many times for his own personal comfort. He promised himself that he wouldn’t entertain them, but when he was alone, he couldn’t help it. Despite how reassuring Fiona was for his own mental state and despite how knowing one person that didn’t hate him for all of this existed, the amount of guilt he felt for putting so many people in that situation was something that weighed on Theo’s mind more than the people he actually hurt at the bash.

Well, one person. 

Several minutes later as he would walk through the doors of The Bean, a bell that sat at the top of the hinges ringing as soon as he pushed it gently open, he pushed those thoughts out. Being hit by the wave of the cool breeze from the high-powered air conditioning that loudly blew above was the cleansing that he didn’t know he needed. It reset his thoughts as he became weirdly relaxed.

The Bean, like most college coffee shops (especially those on larger campuses like Meadow) was everything one should expect. In regards to the sheer size of it, The Bean was quite large. It held enough space for spacious bathrooms, a bakery and kitchen, a couple rows of tables with 2-4 chairs each, and about ten couches spread throughout with a table set between every two couches. There were also recliners spread throughout and ceiling fans five blades and bright yellow lights hung above, spinning gently to produce a breeze that counteracted the heat from the bakery.

As he scanned the area, it wasn’t long until Theo found who he was looking for. Shi didn’t make it difficult to find her. She had a specific shade that made her stick out and especially when everything around her was so earthy in color. Her bright pink hair was the sore thumb of this brown land.

[color=4169e1]“Sup Gamer Girl!”[/color] Theo greeted her with a smile, taking the chair opposite of her. He noticed a mug piled high with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate syrup. He took a quick sip of it, sacrificing all forms of dignity as the whipped topping and chocolate syrup found its way onto his nose, but it was worth it. The triple mocha frap was always worth it. He grabbed a napkin from the centerpiece on the table and wiped his face clean. [color=4169e1]“Appreciate this by the way. Morning’s been mostly crap, but only you would know this right here makes it less crappy,”[/color] he laughed, taking another sip of his drink.

[color=80e5ff]“Nice whipped cream, dork.”[/color] Shiloh teased before he grabbed a napkin to wipe it away. Her voice cracked and she realized that aside from ordering their drinks just now, she hadn’t really spoken aloud to a human in like... two [i]whole[/i] days. Shi cleared her throat, which was still sore, and soothed it with a sip of tea. [color=80e5ff]“Can’t imagine why your morning’s been crap.”[/color] She said sarcastically with a smirk that said she was joking. [color=80e5ff]“Hey, what the hell is academic probation anyway? Isn’t that some sports shit?”[/color]

[color=4169e1]“Yeah, usually it is.”[/color] Theo raised his cup to his lips, taking another sip. He exhaled a slow sigh, brown eyes finding their way back to Shi. [color=4169e1]“Usually, only those who are involved in the university’s sports teams are slapped with academic probation, but you know this school: mess up once and they throw out that rulebook they cherish above everything else.”[/color] Theo found that ironic. How could the same people who held the students to their rules not abide by the same standards? How could they pick and choose when and how they decided to follow their own rules? If you asked him, Theo thought it was absolutely bullshit, but maybe it was what he got for being an idiot meathead. [color=4169e1]“Long story short: we’re all paying the piper for a pretty stupid mistake I made at the Bash.”[/color] 

[color=80e5ff]“Yeah… [i]about that[/i]...”[/color] Shiloh raised a judging eyebrow at her friend. [color=80e5ff]“I liked the part of the video where Cassie got all alpha — ‘didn’t that make you tingly?’ — verrryyy homoerotic. But, that’s beside the point. What on earth made you go full fucking caveman, bruh?”[/color] Shiloh asked, but she probably already knew the answer. She was just going to make him admit it, so she could roast him for it.

All of the questions and comments directed at him had mostly been focused on the act itself and the punishment that followed, which made Shi the first one to actually ask the why of it all. Part of Theo’s mind was relieved but he recognized that look in her eye. It had the all-too-familiar gleam she usually had when she was getting ready to roast some poor unlucky sap. He normally enjoyed watching her work. She had a certain cruel genius in how she tore apart a person, but knowing he was going to be in that seat made him nervous about telling her.

As he sat on that thought for a few moments and how he was going to phrase it, Theo knew the best way was the direct way. [color=4169e1]“You know how Cassian can be. He is one of the few people at this place that knows what to say to get under my skin and [i]how[/i] to say it so he gets the reaction he wanted.”[/color] Theo felt like the disappointment he often saw himself as whenever he thought about his parents. By letting Cass get to him, the result was just karma working her magic.

[color=80e5ff]“Oh my god, I fucking [i]knew[/i] it. It was for a girl. THE GIRL. It’s Mac, isn’t it? I knew it!”[/color] Shiloh announced proudly. She had been sleuthing out who Theo’s mad love crush was for a while now, but he kept her name under wraps for the most part. That video was all the confirmation she needed though. Her triumphant smile was quickly replaced with a slightly disappointed look. [color=80e5ff]“But I thought you were better than those troglodyte meatheads, Theo. No, I [i]know[/i] you are. This isn’t the fucking African savanna! You aren’t a couple of lions that have to fight each other as a show of strength to woo the lioness into mating. Jesus, I know I’m gay but I can guarantee that het girls don’t want to see that.”[/color] Shi cleared her throat again and sipped her tea to soothe her throat after all that talking. [color=80e5ff]“You big dork.”[/color] Shiloh said with a small smile that showed the roast was all in good fun.

[color=4169e1]“That’s me! The big red-haired dork!”[/color] He laughed through the pain his injuries caused him. He couldn’t deny that Shi was on-point, though. A lot of what she said not only made a lot of sense, it also forced him to think back about how things could’ve gone differently. If not for his sake because he rarely gave a damn about what happened to him, but if he would’ve shown some self-control, he wouldn’t be the reason why a lot of people who didn’t deserve any of this attention be at the center just like he was. [color=4169e1]“Not much I can do about it now. Most of the third year class probably wants to add onto these bruises. And that’s not even including how royally I screwed up any chances with Mac.”[/color] That was probably the harshest blow dealt to him since the video became public.

[color=80e5ff]“Heyyy, you may be drinking a bitch drink right now, but don’t go totally weenie hut on me.”[/color] Shiloh said with a teasing eye roll. [color=80e5ff]“You didn’t ruin anything yet. You actually have a great opportunity here — an opportunity for total honesty. You’re a big ginger Teddybear and you need to show her that. Apologize for what happened… and [i]why[/i] it happened… and then you go right into telling her how you [i]really feel[/i].”[/color] Shiloh punctuated her statement with a sensual shoulder shake and eyebrow wiggle.

[color=4169e1]“Okay, you had me right up until that last part,”[/color] Theo said, laughing out somewhat nervously. He leaned back in his chair. [color=4169e1]“I mean, it’s not like I don’t think Mac would be willing to hear my side of it all and I’m sure an apology would go a long way, but confessing my feelings for her [i]to[/i] her?”[/color] The thought played back and it sounded as ridiculous as it did when Shi had said it. [color=4169e1]“How will I do that when I’m not even sure what the hell I feel for her?”[/color] He asked her. What he wanted to do was to shrug it off as Shi just joking around but he knew her long enough to know when she was playing around in a teasing way and when she was playing around in an attempt to get him to do what he normally wouldn’t.

[color=80e5ff]“Wow, you really got your head whacked real good, didn’t you?”[/color] Shiloh asked with a laugh that led to a cough. [color=80e5ff]“Shit, man. If you think people are mad about what you did now, imagine how mad they’ll be if you don’t get the girl after all this. It’s not like anyone’s mad that you decked Cassian, hell, half the school probably wishes that they could do that. I’ve definitely comforted some real sad girls that he hit and quit that wish they could do what you did. And also, the fact that you [i]did[/i] do what you did proves what you feel for her, because it’s very unlike you. You wouldn’t do that for just any girl. I’m afraid you just have to nut up and tell her, my friend. You have no choice, this has been a Shiloh PSA.”[/color]

[color=4169e1]“You should write Hallmark cards because you paint with words.”[/color] As he laughed, he knew she was right not only about Mac but everything else. Theo might've been stuck in sulking ginger mode the entire morning, but there was something about how Shi operated. She always knew exactly what to say to lift his spirits up. Between her and Connor, Theo considered himself blessed and they were most definitely the reason he didn’t drown himself in the lake the moment shit became anything less than slightly uncomfortable.  [color=4169e1]“Well, until then, I gotta bounce. Class in an hour and I have to run by the manor in town.”[/color] The amount of wear and tear his truck will go through in the next hour alone was enough to force a visible grimace on Theo’s face. 

[color=80e5ff]“I think if I did, all of my greeting cards would just end up on a rack at Spencers.”[/color] Shiloh shrugged as she mused on that fate. [color=80e5ff]“Which doesn’t sound like the end of the world really, kind of fitting for me. Anyway, catch you later, Teddybear. Try not to get mauled by an angry mob before your class.”[/color][/indent][/indent][/indent][/color]