Chapter Text
Friday, August 25th
Sebastian was maybe three or four days of understimulated, existential nothingness away from offing himself.
He was on his bed, laying on his side and facing his wall, doomscrolling. Despite it being the middle of summer, when he should be reveling in his excess of free time, all he could do was let it pass him by.
I should get back to that project I started in Spring.
I should try and write another song.
I should ask Abigail to hang out.
I should get out of fucking bed.
It wasn’t like he was lazy; of course not. He’d been working his ass off for three, long years. At least, that’s what it felt like. His parents probably wouldn’t see it that way, though. If his mom walked in right then, all she would see was her miserable, unproductive son somehow still in bed at 5pm.
That would never happen, though.
“Sebastian, are you awake?”
The door to Sebastian’s room opened, and Robin popped her head in.
“Yoba, mom, I could’ve been naked,” Sebastian grunted.
“Well, good thing you’re not, then,” Robin said with a chuckle. Sebastian didn’t think it was very funny.
“What do you want?” Sebastian said in monotone.
Robin sighed. “I just wanted to check in. It feels like you’ve been slowly merging with your bed ever since you came home.”
“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”
Robin narrowed her eyes. “If you say so.”
Sebastian looked at his mother, hoping she’d get a clue.
“So… Any updates on that job?”
Sebastian sighed. “Still waitlisted.”
Thanks to lots of convincing from Robin and Demetrius, and against all better judgment, Sebastian applied to be an RA at his school next year. The interview was months ago, and he’d been left hanging for almost that long now.
Robin frowned. “Huh. I'm sorry, Seb. Let me know if you need any support.”
Sebastian forced himself not to roll his eyes. He knew his mom was being genuine, but he also knew that if he didn’t get that job, it would be at the expense of her and Demetrius’s wallets.
“Yeah, sure, whatever. Do you need anything else?”
Robin narrowed her eyes. “Well, I wanted to ask if you wanted to eat dinner with your family tonight, but I’m not exactly holding out hope.”
Sebastian was the one to sigh this time. “I’ll think about it, mom.”
Robin smiled. “Great! I’ll let Demetrius know.” She left the room before Sebastian could clarify that he technically didn’t say yes.
With a groan, Sebastian forced himself to stand up. The thought of eating dinner with his family made him want to vomit, but at this point, it seemed like he didn’t have a choice. Well, if he didn’t want an earful about how his portion of the shitty food Demetrius cooked went to waste, at least. He supposed he should throw his family a bone.
Not sober, of course. But he’d still do it.
Sebastian assumed he had about an hour before he had to be at the dinner table, so he took the time to take a quick shower and sneak out of the house. It was twilight in Pelican Town, so he was pretty sure nobody would be at his usual spot.
Thankfully, nobody was in the lab, and Robin seemed to have closed shop for the day, so he was able to leave the house unnoticed. He took himself to the lake and lit a cigarette. He let himself take a moment to get lost in the sounds of running water and gentle breeze. Summer may have been his least favorite season, but at this point in the day, things cooled down enough that it wasn’t so bad. This was a flavor of solitude that was probably a little less concerning to everybody around him.
As long as they could look past the smoking, at least.
Of course, though, because Sebastian couldn’t seem to have nice things for more than a couple minutes at a time, his solitude was abruptly ended by an unfamiliar presence.
“Yo, how’s it going?” A slender, blond man with long hair and intense sideburns plopped himself right next to Sebastian and started to fish. The audacity made Sebastian furrow his brow.
“Excuse me?” Sebastian said.
“Oh, uh, my bad. I guess we aren’t acquainted. My name’s Wilson. I tend to the farm west of town.”
“Ah.” Sebastian cleared his throat, and looked away, hoping this Wilson guy knew how to take a hint.
“Uh… what’s your name, then?” Wilson said with a tilt of the head, proving to Sebastian that he could not, in fact, take a hint.
“Sebastian.”
“Ah, you’re Robin’s son, right? I think I heard her mention your name at some point,” Wilson said with a smile. Either he was completely oblivious to Sebastian’s disinterest in the conversation, or he just didn’t care. Sebastian didn’t know which option he disliked more.
“Did she, now?” Sebastian refused to look at Wilson, took a puff of his cigarette, and silently prayed that the dude would never get a fish on the line so he’d have no reason to stick around.
“Uh, yeah, she did.” The smile on Wilson’s face turned into concentration as he started reeling in his fishing line. So much for that, Sebastian thought.
Sebastian knew he could just leave, or move if he really wanted to. But he was far too stubborn for that, not to mention socially awkward.
“Gotcha!” Wilson said as he reeled in a large green fish. “So, I take it you’re not much of a talker?”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I talk plenty when I’m not forced to by random strangers.”
He was trying to be snarky, but Wilson just laughed. “I guess that’s fair. Sorry about that.”
What was this guy’s deal? Was Sebastian missing something?
“Whatever, I guess. Do you always talk to people like you’re going up to them and pressing ‘A’?” Sebastian asked.
“Well, I’m new to town, so I really wanted to meet the locals and see who’s cool. And, uh, I guess you looked cool.” Wilson looked at Sebastian. “Not to be blunt—no pun intended—but you’re the first person in town who looks like they wouldn’t turn their nose up at me smoking weed.”
Now it was Sebastian’s turn to laugh. “I can’t imagine why,” he said, glancing at the cigarette in his hand.
“Yeah, I’m just perceptive like that,” Wilson said with a smile.
Maybe Sebastian was too quick to judge.
“Uh… I don’t have any weed on me, but if you wanna bum a smoke, I don’t mind,” Sebastian offered.
“Cheers.”
Wilson propped up his fishing rod on a nearby tree, and Sebastian tossed him his cigarettes and lighter. Wilson lit one up like a pro.
“So, like, what’s your story?” Wilson asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Oh, it’s just that I’ve been here for a couple seasons now and I’ve never seen you around until now. You a student, or what?”
Sebastian blinked. “Uh, yeah, actually. I go to ZCU; gonna be a senior this fall. Computer science. Fun shit.”
“Ay! Nice. Let’s go, serpents!” Wilson said, pumping his fist, making Sebastian roll his eyes. “Oh, uh… I wasn’t one of those guys, don’t worry.”
“You sure?” Sebastian asked, raising an eyebrow.
“I mean, I was in a frat,” Wilson admitted. “But, uh, I wasn’t there to make friends, if you catch my drift.”
Ah. The two of them had more in common than Sebastian thought.
“Hot,” Sebastian said, half smiling.
“You don’t even know the half of it,” Wilson said.
“You might be surprised,” Sebastian said. ”I probably need therapy.”
“Preach, brother,” Wilson said. “Seriously, though, I graduated just a couple years ago. Ended up working a desk job at Joja Corp, which was absolutely terrible. Real productive use of my college degree.”
“Fuck, that’s exactly what I’m afraid of right now. I was just at this internship that made me want to kill myself.”
“You still got time, my guy. It’s not like I totally regret going to college, I just… would’ve done some things differently if I could.”
“Like hooking up with more frat guys?”
“Exactly.”
Sebastian laughed again before taking another puff. “So… you’re a farmer now, huh?”
“Sure am. My grandpa left me the deed to the farm after he passed. Now I’m slaving away out here, trying to find more meaning than I did behind a desk at a corporation.”
“How’s that going?”
Wilson shrugged. “Could be worse. It’s getting me fit. This town has a lot of character, for the most part. There’s a lot more, ah, magic to this place than I was expecting.” He smiled. “Not a whole lot of strapping young men around to sweep me off my feet, but hey… there’s still time.”
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, don’t worry. You’re not my type,” Wilson assured Sebastian.
“Damn, harsh,” Sebastian said, taking another puff, trying not to feel embarrassed for being presumptuous.
“Nah, just honest. You’re a cute guy and all, I just think you’d probably be better off with another ZCU guy instead of a bumpkin like myself.”
Sebastian snorted. “If every gay dude on that campus weren’t the flakiest motherfucker on the planet, I’d be inclined to agree.”
Not that Sebastian was a paragon of commitment himself, but Wilson didn’t need to know that.
“Can’t deny that,” Wilson said with a little shrug.
Sebastian watched Wilson attempt to reel in another fish. He wondered if Wilson actually enjoyed fishing, or if Willy put him up to it. Based on the giant wad of algae that was stuck to Wilson’s bobber as he pulled it out of the water, Sebastian suspected it was the latter.
”Damn. Happens every time.” Wilson made a clicking sound before turning to face Sebastian. “You got anything cool happening this fall, or is it just same old?”
Sebastian sighed. “Well, my parents made me apply to be a fucking RA this fall because they wanted me to save some money. My sister’s starting at ZCU as well, so I guess they won’t be able to support us both? I didn’t want the job in the first place, but they also waitlisted me, so… Honestly, I can’t decide if I’m relieved I won’t have to do it, or dreading the fact that I’m gonna have to take out more loans.”
“Yikes… an RA? That’s pretty brutal.”
“Yeah, seriously. Those guys are basically cops.” Sebastian muttered.
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I get it,” Wildon said. “Especially if you end up somewhere like SCAR.”
Sebastian looked at Wilson. “Don’t speak that into existence, man. Yoba,” he said with a shudder.
Wilson laughed. “My bad, dude. If it’s any comfort, I knew some RAs back in the day. You’d be surprised how many of them are just as disinterested as you are, and were also only doing it for the housing. It’s probably more common than not.”
“I know, it’s just…” Sebastian sighed. “Look, it’s not like I’m even gonna get the job. I’ve been on the waitlist for months. I already have a lease signed for an off campus apartment anyway…”
Sebastian was interrupted by a ding from his phone, which had somehow been unsilenced.
“Uh, sorry…”
“No, it’s okay! I think I have one on the line here,” Wilson said as he turned to reel in a fish.
Sebastian looked at his phone. It was only an email, nothing too crazy… right?
ZUZU CITY UNIVERSITY HOUSING
Subject: RA Offer And Placement
Hello, Sebastian!
We are writing to inform you that a Resident Assistant Position has opened in Stardrop Center for Academics and Recreation (SCAR), and we would like to offer you this position. We believe you have the capabilities to be a strong student leader, and contribute positively to our on-campus community.
Below, there is information regarding your contract, and important dates and times you should be aware of. Please accept or decline your position within the next seven days.
We look forward to working with you this fall!
Thank you,
Zuzu City University Housing
The timing could not have been more perfect.
Sebastian skimmed the rest of the email, and it was all official dates, a description of the role, and a link to a file containing the contract. He was reeling from the sheer coincidence of it all, with his eyes lingering over a few words in particular.
Stardrop Center for Academics and Recreation. SCAR.
Fucking hell.
Wilson finished reeling in his fish, and Sebastian broke the news.
“Uh… You might have spoken it into existence.”
Wilson’s eyes widened. “Wait, for real? You’re kidding, right?”
“Yes,” Sebastian snorted. “I’m just joking about getting this job that I’m obviously super thrilled about getting. What the fuck do you think?”
Wilson laughed, and came to look over Sebastian’s shoulder to read the email himself. “No way! That’s fucking crazy timing, dude. Congrats!”
Sebastian pursed his lips. “Look a little closer.” He figured Wilson would understand the problem.
Wilson’s eyes scanned the email, and there was a moment of recognition. “Ah. That’s what you meant.”
“Yeah.” Sebastian put his phone into his pocket and rubbed his temples. Any ZCU student or recent alumni understood exactly why this was such a problem.
“Well… I mean, that’s not ideal, but you’re still taking the job, right?”
Sebastian sighed. “Yes, not that I have much of a choice. If my parents found out I got the job and rejected the offer, they’d kill me.”
“Yeah, I guess so, huh?”
“But, like… it’s SCAR, man. They’re gonna chew me up and spit me out. What the hell am I gonna do?”
Wilson inched a little closer to Sebastian, causing him to flinch. He must have sounded more distressed than he intended.
“Hey, I know you barely know me, but trust me when I say it’s gonna be alright,” Wilson said before chuckling. “According to my old RA friends, it is stupid easy to do the bare minimum in that job. You can get away with a lot.”
That… wasn’t really what Sebastian was worried about.
“Come on. I’m a skinny loser geek. That dorm is, like, all big ass sporty frat guys. They could rip me in half if they wanted to.”
Wilson smirked. “If I remember anything about Greek life, half of those guys are secretly hoping to be ripped in half themselves. Maybe it’s an opportunity.”
“I’m being serious!” Sebastian protested. “I dunno what I’m gonna do.”
“Shit, sorry.” Wilson’s eyes were twinged with guilt. “Honestly, being an RA in that frat house sounds like hell. But, like, maybe it’ll be cool. Fun, even.”
Sebastian narrowed his eyes. “Fun, huh?”
He looked out at the lake, and then back at Sebastian. “I mean, moving all the way out here was fucking terrifying, but it’s gone alright for me so far.”
Sebastian chose not to mention that these were completely different scenarios. The guy was trying to be nice, even if it wasn’t working.
After taking one more puff of his cigarette, Sebastian’s phone buzzed again.
Mom: Hey Sebby! Dinner will be ready in 10 minutes :)
Sebastian sighed as he put his phone in his pocket. “My parents want me to eat dinner with them. I should probably go.”
Wilson smiled. “No worries, man. Thanks for the cigarette. Also, here…” He ruffled through his bag a bit, pulled out a familiar white gem, and tossed it at Sebastian.
A frozen tear. Sebastian had seen pictures, and always found them beautiful, but he never had the courage to go down through the mines to get one for himself. He opened his mouth a few times, trying to find the right words.
“I… shit, man, I love this. How did you know?”
“Just a hunch.” Wilson gave Sebastian a wave. “I’m gonna keep fishing. Enjoy your dinner! Don’t be a stranger!”
“Yeah.”
~~~
Dinner with family was… not a common occurrence in Sebastian’s life, even before he went to college. He always felt like his presence made everybody vaguely uncomfortable, so he preferred to eat alone downstairs. As he walked inside, he mentally prepared himself for whatever awkward bullshit he was about to deal with.
Just smile. Small talk is a necessary evil. Be nice. Be fucking nice.
Ugh. It wasn’t in his nature. But he did, sort of, promise his mom that he would participate. And, he did love his mom, of course.
Sebastian walked into the dining room, and the table was already almost set. The whole family was there; Maru was already at the table with her dinner served, while Robin and Demetrius were moving plates to the table.
“Ah! Welcome, Sebastian. You’re right on time,” Demetrius opened.
“Hi, Demetrius.”
“Wow, you’re actually joining us?” Maru chimed in. “That’s rare.”
Be nice. Be nice. Be nice.
“You…” Sebastian bit his tongue. “Ah, yeah. I guess it is, huh.”
“It’s lovely to see you, Seb,” Robin said, looking over her shoulder at Sebastian. “Grab a plate!”
Alright. So far so good. At least the whole family wasn’t treating him like a zoo animal for daring to leave his room. Mostly.
The four of them got situated. Dinner was fairly simple; just spaghetti and meatballs. It tasted fine, thankfully.
“It’s so lovely to have a family dinner again!” Demetrius said with a smile. “It’s vital for humans to bond with their immediate kin for the sake of…”
“Okay, dad, we get it,” Maru interrupted. Sebastian stifled a smile.
“I agree, though! Pretty soon, it’s going to be even harder to find time for this, won’t it, Maru?” Robin said.
“Hey, I’m probably going to be on break at the same time as Sebastian!” Maru objected. “We can collaborate on when to come home!”
Robin gave a warm chuckle. “Of course, of course.”
Sebastian was in the middle of a bite of spaghetti when he realized he hadn’t said anything all dinner.
“Oh, uh, Maru… what dorm are you staying in again?” Yeah, that seemed appropriate.
“Walnut.”
The Walnut Caldera. Considering their financial situation, that sounded about right.
Maru sighed dramatically. “I really wanted Junimo Woods, but these two here wouldn’t let me!”
“It’s out of our price range!” Demetrius declaimed.
“I know, I know. I’m just saying, though, it wasn’t my first choice,” Maru said with a smirk.
“Oh, huh,” Sebastian said. He hoped he wasn’t coming off like a total alien.
“What if they put you in my dorm for your RA thing? Would you write me up for all the drugs I’m gonna do?” Maru asked.
“Not as long as you share with me,” Sebastian responded dryly.
“Maru, there will be no drug-doing in your dorm, period! The usage of illicit substances in young adult brains can have dramatic repercussions later in…”
Sebastian felt a tinge of annoyance bubble within him while listening to Demetrius lecture them about how drugs are bad or whatever. It felt… sort of targeted, even if Demetrius didn’t know the half of it. If he knew the extent of what Sebastian actually did in school, he’d probably have a heart attack, and forbid Sebastian from talking to Maru ever again. But Sebastian did his best to keep it down. For Robin’s sake, he was going to behave, as nauseating as Demetrius’s ramble was.
After it seemed like Demetrius was done and Maru’s eyes were completely glazed over, Robin chimed in.
“Your father just wants you to be healthy, hon,” she said to Maru. “Also, not to backtrack, but we still don’t know if Seb even got that job yet.”
“Oh, um… about that…” Sebastian started, and immediately wished he didn’t.
The whole family’s eyes were on him now. Bringing this up would center the conversation squarely on him, and frankly, Sebastian would rather die than let that happen.
But it was too late now. Sebastian forced himself to continue. “I, uh… I actually did get it. I’m off the waitlist. They emailed me about it right before dinner.”
Robin and Demetrius both practically leapt out of their chairs.
“Yoba, why didn’t you say so sooner, Seb? That’s amazing! Congratulations!” Robin exclaimed.
“Yes, exactly! Aren’t you excited?” Demetrius added.
Ugh. He shouldn’t have even brought this up. He should’ve waited to tell Robin alone. But, he promised himself he would behave, so he swallowed his pride and played along.
“Uh, yeah… I guess so,” Sebastian gulped.
“You don’t sound excited! Where did they put you?” Maru asked eagerly, then gasped. “Was it actually Walnut?”
“Um, no. They put me in SCAR.”
Based on their reactions, this meant nothing to Robin or Demetrius, but apparently, Maru had done her research.
“Oh, shit… you’re so dead, Seb,” Maru said with a hand over her mouth.
“Maru! No swearing at the dinner table!” Demetrius said.
Robin waved her hand before asking her question. “Wait, what’s wrong with it? Why is it called SCAR of all things?”
Maru must have been ready for this, because her eyes lit up. “Well, it’s actually called the Stardrop Center for Academics and Recreation; SCAR for short. Apparently, back in the day, it was always shortened to simply Stardrop Center, or SC. Some super rich donor was the one that gave it the full name, and it must’ve been enough money for ZCU housing to overlook the fact that you could easily shorten the building’s name to SCAR. Of course, students noticed this immediately, and the building became colloquially known as SCAR. At some point, ZCU gave in and began to use it officially.” She smiled. “It’s honestly kinda funny.”
“Huh.” Sebastian didn’t know any of that. He thought it was just a comically on the nose name because the administration was too stupid to know better.
“Oh, wow! Did you research this, Maru? What’s so bad about it then?” Robin asked.
Maru enthusiastically continued, clearly proud to display her newfound knowledge. “Well, the building is, uh, let’s just say, a lot heavier on the recreation than the academics. Because of many of the quirks of the building’s architecture, it was quickly noticed that the dorms, bathrooms, lounges, and hallways were ideal for, well, social gatherings. It didn’t take long for it to be the go-to for prospective members of fraternity/sorority life, or other students looking for the movie flavor of college life.”
Demetrius and Robin were nodding along, but didn’t speak, so Sebastian decided to summarize in simpler terms.
“It’s the party dorm. They put me in the party dorm, in a country where the drinking age is 21 and the average age of occupants is 18. That’s the problem.” Sebastian grimaced.
“Exactly,” Maru confirmed.
“I see,” Demetrius said, turning to face Sebastian. “Are you going to accept the offer?”
Sebastian averted his eyes. “Uh, do I have a choice?”
“Well, we’d prefer if you took the job. I think you’ll be glad you did it in the long run, financially anyway,” Robin said gently. “But really, it’s up to you. I’d hate for your senior year to be overly stressful or frustrating.”
“Personally, I think you should do it,” Maru chimed in. “Think of all the crazy stories you’ll be able to tell people!”
“That’s super easy to say when you’re not the one making the decision,” Sebastian said. This time, he couldn’t hide the venom in his tone.
“Come now,” Robin gave Sebastian a look that felt something like don’t ruin this now, Seb. Funny enough, though, it was Demetrius that came to Sebastian’s side.
“Well, Sebastian does have a point. What much are stories worth if one’s mental health is sacrificed along the way?” Demetrius stated. It might have been the most emotionally intelligent thing Sebastian had ever heard him say.
“I guess that’s fair,” Maru agreed quickly.
Sebastian didn’t expect the conversation to go this direction. He was anticipating a lot more pressure to sign that contract immediately; especially from Demetrius. That was the vibe he was getting when they were first talking about it. But his family seemed like they really wanted Sebastian to be the one making the decision himself. That… was rare.
He thought back to his talk with Wilson. Maybe it’ll be cool. Fun, even.
Maybe he was onto something.
Sebastian cleared his throat. “Um… anyway, I actually think I am going to take the job.”
He expected overly enthusiastic whoops and cheers, but instead, his family just smiled.
“I’m glad to hear that, Seb. I actually think this will be good for you! Maybe it’ll get you out of your shell more,” Robin said.
“Your mother is right. I’m proud of you, son!” Demetrius added. Sebastian tried not to gag at Demetrius calling him son.
“You get a single room, right? Yoba, I’m so jealous,” Maru complained.
“Yeah, I think I’m gonna need it to hide from all the insane people,” Sebastian quipped.
Sebastian was never glad to eat dinner with his family, but this… could’ve gone much worse. They moved on from that part of the conversation in favor of Maru’s big plans for what she’s going to do with her freshman year. Sebastian was okay with that.
After they were done, and everybody dispersed, Robin came down to Sebastian’s bedroom one more time. She actually waited for Sebastian to invite her in this time, which was nice.
“Hey, mom,” Sebastian said, looking over his computer.
“Hi, Seb,” Robin smiled. “Thanks for eating dinner with us.”
“Don’t mention it. If I didn’t, you guys would get on my ass about it later.”
“Well, regardless, it was nice to talk to you again. I worry about you a lot, you know.”
“Yeah, you’ve mentioned it before.” Sebastian tried not to roll his eyes.
“And I’ll mention it again!” Robin exclaimed. “You’re always so reclusive, and thorny. Just like me when I was younger. It just worries me.”
“Yeah, yeah. I get it.”
“I know you do. I just wanted to say I love you, and remind you that the decision to take this job is up to you. Not gonna lie, that dorm sounds like a shithole. I wouldn’t want to RA there.”
Sebastian smiled at his mom cursing. It was a rare but welcome surprise.
“I know, mom. I appreciate it.”
“Glad to hear it. Get some sleep, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Night, mom.”
Robin left Sebastian’s room, and he was alone again.
The words from his family and Wilson were all circling in his head as he pulled up the email from earlier and hit reply.
SEBASTIAN COOK
Subject: Re: RA Offer And Placement
To whom it may concern,
I hope you’re having a good evening. I would like to accept the Resident Assistant role for the upcoming school year. Thank you for the opportunity, and I look forward to working with you in the coming months.
Thank you,
Sebastian Cook