SUAW Workbook

Date of Fate: Scene 1

It was around 4pm as Jean sat in his university's library, the blind pulled down so the sun didn't glare into his screen. His fingers flew madly across the keyboard as he tried to finish an essay he already got an extension for. If anything, he was already debating his odds of survival if he turned in this assignment late.

At large, he was unaware of his surroundings, earbuds playing something he had long since tuned out. No one sat near him, his clicking keyboard too noisy for anyone to concentrate, but no one reported him to the librarian, either. Good. They'd be hypocrites if they did. Jean was sure he wasn't the only one in this state while midterms ran rampant.

However, there was one thing he noticed: someone stopped down the line of shelves to look out the window. Sure, the window looked over a lake and had a couple ducks swimming in it, but it wasn't anything to write home about. Maybe it was a student going through a silent breakdown—mood—so Jean wasn't about to disturb him.

That is, until the person started to walk towards him and suddenly stopped.

That caught Jean's attention. He snapped his head to the side, ready to tell this person to piss off when his jaw nearly hit the floor. The person—a man—looked just as shocked.

"Holy shit, you're real," Jean blurted out before he could stop himself.

"I could say the same about you," the man—the Sky Barlow—replied, and his lips twitched into a smile. "This is actually quite the relief. Now I know the man behind the profile matches the face."

Jean couldn't help but snort. "What, thought I was a catfish?"

"Sort of, yes. Your profile was of you—or what I'm assuming is you—was shirtless for a time there."

Jean didn't know if he wanted to curse Winter or thank her. "Yeah, um, that. My roommate made the profile originally—for me! Not for herself, I should make that clear—and then I changed it once she was done playing around with it. Whatever is on it now is me."

"And the Instagram?"

Holy shit he's been actually looking at my Instagram. "Y-Yeah. That's me, too."

Jean was very aware of what was on that Instagram and how he looked now in contrast. He didn't need a mirror to know he probably had the darkest eye bags imaginable, and he was sure the two Red Bulls sitting next to him weren't doing him any favors. At least it was 100% worth stealing Winter's oversized grey cardigan today since it made his joggers and t-shirt look slightly more pulled together. Sky, on the other hand, looked like a god with his hair pulled back neatly as he wore a light tan duster jacket over a mustard yellow jumper and khakis.

"So...what are you here for?" Jean asked, both curious and internally hoping that he didn't just attract a stalker.

"Oh, I'm here on a research trip, actually," Sky explained, patting the laptop bag that was looped over his shoulder. "I plan on adapting a novel into a screenplay, and the novel was based on this area." Sky paused. "Are you busy?"

Jean glanced down at his essay. He had one page to go to reach the criteria's minimum.

"I'm almost done," Jean replied truthfully. "Afterwards, I'm down to talk if that's what you're going for?"

Sky smiled at that, and Jean was going to blame his heart palpitations on the Red Bull. "Great! I know this is last minute, but I wasn't sure if we'd get an opportunity like this anytime soon. I was heading down to the college cafe to get a coffee; would you like me to get you something?"

"I think my heart's had enough caffeine for the day," Jean said with a small smirk, lifting his half-finished can of Red Bull. "But thank you."

"Sure thing."

Sky set his coat and bag in the seat across from him. Jean wasn't sure if the bag was heavy or if Sky left it to reassure him that he really was going to come back, but either way, Jean was silently thankful for it. But as soon as Sky disappeared around the corner, Jean immediately pulled out his phone and opened the camera to check his hair. Sky was hot, and he, decidedly, was currently not. He looked tired as hell, but his hair actually looked halfway decent. Thank God for dry shampoo. Moving to open his messages, he sent a quick text to Winter.

Me: Cancel our plans Sky is fucking here

WorstRoommateTM: go get yo man twink

Me: Thx I'll see you at home

WorstRoommateTM: and ur fucking welcome for the sweater

Me: And you're my favorite bitchy friend for that

WorstRoommateTM: what other bitch friends do you have?????

WorstRoommateTM: Jean???? are you best friend cheating on me???????

By that point, Jean set down his phone and set it to silent. If he wanted to talk to Sky, he needed to finish the essay. He didn't think his professor would accept the "A guy I met online is here in the area and I dropped everything to spend time with him" excuse. If anything, he was sure his professor would fail him on the spot.