Hey Sunshine

College Students Got to Pay Half Price!

"OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD. This is better than sex. Hell, this is better than my relationship. Matthias - I'm officially replacing you." Nina gloriously held up her ice cream sundae into the air, touting it around their faces.

Matthias looked at it surreptitiously, before giving Nina a nod. "I don't deserve you as a girlfriend," he deadpanned.

Nina smirked. "Naturally. Eat up hon, we have a hell of a night ahead of us."

As Matthias blanched an interesting shade of vermillion (Wylan mentally applauded his new and improved art vocabulary that came as a result of stress-painting/stress-drawing during and after semester finals) he smiled at the store's interior. It was an atrocity - bright pink was haphazardly thrown beside a cyan that honestly blinded him - but the ice cream was amazing, and the chairs were comfy.

Plus, college students got to pay half-price!

"That was information we didn't need to know," Kaz said distastefully, right as Jesper let out a mocking cat-call that altogether resembled the frat boys at their college way too much.

"Please stop," Wylan whispered longsufferingly. "You sound like..." he trailed off, trying to think of a frat boy he knew. "... somebody that's involved in a frat. A frat boy."

Jesper pretended to shudder in fear. "Not the frat boys," he said horrified. "Never the frat boys!"

Pretending to shake his head in disappointment, Wylan patted his shoulder. "There there," he said gently. "Acceptance is the first path towards a better future."

"But if we're being serious," Inej piped in, "what kind of future comes with being a frat boy?"

Wylan shrugged as Jesper feigned being shot. "I just keep on being hurt by the people I love," he said in a pained voice. Wylan almost choked on his own ice cream, just as Jesper began patting his back gingerly.

"Speaking of which," Jesper said, changing the subject. "what are we all doing for winter break?"

Wylan instantly remembered Kuweii's strange invitation and a strange feeling in his stomach rose. He chose to ignore it.

"Well, I was going to visit my aunt who's currently living in India, but it's too expensive," Inej explained. "So I'm probably just going to be in Denmark with Kaz."

Kaz shrugged. "Family," he said wordlessly. Wylan's brows narrowed as he remembered that Kaz had lived in an orphanage for a large part of his life, but chose to ignore it.

"He visits their graves," Jesper whispered to Wylan quietly amidst all the chaos of them eating their ice cream. He nodded sadly, thinking of them all. What family did they all return to during winter break? Did he have any right to complain about his own family?

"Anyways," Nina said shaking her head. "Matthias and I are going to my old home. I have a lot of... " she trailed off, looking for the right word. "People I know," she finally chose, "that stay there. I need to go back and keep in touch."

"What about you, Jes?" Wylan asked. The boy shrugged, and it occurred to him that Jes hadn't actually said anything about what his break was going to look like.

"Well, I'm going to visit my father," he said, giving him a careful look. "Sorry - I know we haven't talked about this at all but-" Wylan raised up a hand to stop him.

"It's fine," he said easily, "and plus, I've got to go see an old friend for winter break."

"What old friend?" Jesper asked curiously, straightening up a little. The rest of them all turned their heads to look at him and his cheeks instinctively darkened at the attention.