A Fuckton of Polygrumps

GGHSHC: Arin's Route Pt. 1

The semester is off to a great start! You're lucky enough to have a class with each of the Grumps and the awkwardness of being the new kid has worn away as you begin to find your niche. A routine forms itself and it's Monday, so that means Dan walks you to home room where you start your morning. Afterwards, you walk across the building with Barry and Ross and part ways so you can take Makeup 101. This particular Monday is only the second of the semester but you already feel more comfortable having them escort you to class.

You enter the lab, a bit nervous considering you've only memorized the basics of makeup and maybe a little more than that. Your eyes dart from table to table as you stand in the doorway, searching for anyone familiar to you. You'd only opted for a makeup class for variety's sake and you were trying desperately to believe it was worth it.

"Oh, oh! Y/N! Come sit with me," Suzy chirps, patting the large lab table towards the back.

Thank goodness for Suzy. At least with a beauty guru by your side, things might not be so bad. You settle onto the stool next to her and fiddle with the blue pen tucked into the spirals of your notebook. Suzy begins to chatter about her weekend and you listen, just glad to consider someone as goddess-like as her a friend.

"Good morning, class," a woman, Tati, greets at exactly 10:10 AM. "Grab a partner, a palette, and some clean brushes. We're doing full eye makeup today."

"I brought my own," Suzy whispers, opening her black cat-shaped purse.

Just as you and Suzy began picking through palettes, Arin trudges in, plopping down next on the stool next to you. You hardly have time to even prepare yourself or think of what you want to say. He smiles at you, clearly groggy from sleeping in. You can't help but admire how cute he could be despite looking so disheveled. He'd obviously thrown on whatever shirt he could find this morning, but it still matches the pink Hello Kitty pajama pants and sparkling Converse.

"Hey, sleepy head," Suzy purred, poking Arin's nose. "I tried calling you this morning to wake you up before my coffee run."

"Slept through it," Arin grumbled, letting out a loud yawn afterwards.

"Clearly!"

She slides a compact mirror a comb across the lab table and grins good-naturedly at you. Your heart sinks a little. The perfect symbiosis of their relationship is hardly something you'd hate to interfere in. You begin to wonder why someone in such a wonderful relationship would join a host club to begin with.

"Actually, I'm gonna go work with James," Suzy announces suddenly, causing your spine to stiffen and Arin to stop combing his hair out. "You two should work together!"

Your face flushes as you desperately try to explain that you'd never want to ruin a relationship or dare to cross Suzy. She stands up and turns to leave, winking at you. Soon, you're alone with Arin. He brightens up when he catches you staring at him from the corner of his eye.

"You...don't look like you overslept, if-" you begin only for him to cut you off.

"I look like shit and I'm cool with that, I definitely liked the sleep."

You nod, immediately wondering if you might've said the wrong thing. You watch Arin rummage through Suzy's bag. It's his purse too...apparently. He holds out three ColourPop palettes to you. Your eyes flicker from the red, to the pink, and finally to the purple. You grab the pink palette in the middle and Arin's eyes immediately light up again.

"I'm....uh, clearly not an expert," you admit quietly, turning your stool to face him.

"Hey, fuck all the way off with that. We're all just practicing, right? You fuckin' think Suzy just started out knowing how to be some kind of...fuckin...makeup wizard?" Arin demands, pointing an eyeshadow brush at you. "Of course not! And what if you actually kick ass at it and just haven't unlocked that potential yet?"