ambit. [hs au]

Prequel | Frat Boy

2014

When Birdie's family announced they were coming to visit her in Los Angeles, she got so excited, she couldn't sleep for 2 days.

Living abroad in such a dreamy country as Los Angeles has its perks - it is almost always sunny and beautiful, and the people there is just so fucking glamorous. The restaurants are amazing, the beaches are superb and the parties are completely wild. It's more than what Birdie had ever dreamed of, but it also can be quite lonely.

Of course, she has Sadie. They're still sharing a dorm at UCLA, both of them studying as hard as they party during the weekends, and Birdie honestly doesn't know what would be of her if Sadie wasn't around. However, at the end of the day, she still misses her family greatly. Especially on the last weekend of every month, when Sadie travels to Colorado to stay with her parents, and Birdie spends the whole weekend alone - it's not like she could simply hop in an airplane every time she misses her family.

After 4 years living there, she was more than ready to graduate and finally start her adult life. In fact, she was supposed to be graduating soon, but she took some time off for two whole quarters last year, after having a minor identity crisis over her major. Though Birdie has always loved everything about Architecture, she came to realize it's not what she wants to do with her life - in fact, decorating and planning interiors became more of a hobby than a career choice.

In a complete twist of events, what used to be her hobby suddenly turned into something she now wants to make a career out of it - writing. While she was almost going crazy with studying math, angles and stuff, she found her escape by writing fantasy novels until later at night, every night. It was a complete make-believe world that she gave life to, and she ended up realizing the best part of her day was when she opened her laptop to write about the fantastic world she created in her mind.

At first, she thought it would be totally crazy to do something like this, but when Sadie convinced her to read what she had written, and completely lost her mind, washing Birdie down with praises, Birdie decided to just give it a go, promising herself she would finish her graduation like she was supposed to, and then dedicate herself entirely to writing.

That's a decision she's yet to share with her parents, and she honestly thought she would do it during their visit, but then they arrived in L.A with big, expectant smiles, and the last person Birdie was expecting to see in tow.

Well, she knew Timmy was coming, Dot wouldn't stop talking about how much fun they were going to have at the beach, but she was definitely not aware Harry would tag along as well.

After that afternoon at Timmy's 7 years-old party, about 4 years ago, they've never seen or spoken to each other. Though Birdie visits her parents twice a year, at Christmas and sometimes for Summer Vacations, Harry was never around when she was there. Yeah, he was in Thirstok, but never in the same places as her. Even when Timmy was hanging out in their house, he would always send Luke or TJ to pick him up, and even though Birdie knows there's no reason for him to be avoiding her, she couldn't stop herself from thinking he maybe was.

So, imagine her surprise when she finally left school for the day and rushed to meet her family at the hotel they were staying, only to bump into Harry right at the reception.

It didn't help that he was looking absolutely handsome, even taller than he was the last time she saw him, his shoulders broader, his chest wide. She was positively speechless while noticing the new tattoos marking his skin - a pitch black rose on the right side of his neck, a skull tangled in tentacles on the left side, going up right under his jaw and down to his chest. He was wearing a loose flannel shirt that was barely buttoned, which also made it possible for Birdie to see the goat skull with a dagger tattooed on his chest, between his pecs, and the two birds right above them. His arms were also covered in tattoos - he was quite different from her memories.