Second Floor Common Room [Thursday, Afternoon]

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

Well, school was essentially over for Shawn, and wow was that a scary thought. No more finals, no more nothing. Except his Senior prom, which he had no date for. That was a bit depressing, really. He'd gotten so used to not needing to worry about that sort of thing.

Still, in honour of never having another class here, Shawn was lazing. Why the heck not?

There was plenty of bad TV to watch, and lots of junk food to eat. The caffeine deprivation issue was barely affecting him, and he was going to enjoy his last little while here.

[[Open, of course. I'll be out for dinner for a short while later, but around again after that.]]

Comments

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Bridge hadn't been kidding yesterday about Anders leaving no stone unturned in his search for caffeine -- he'd actually, literally gotten to the point of looking under rocks.

He wasn't exactly looking his best as he came in and flopped into a chair with a whimper.

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"That bad?" Shawn asked, looking at him over the arm of the sofa he was slouched in.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Uh huh," Anders said pitifully. "Not that I need the kick, no more studying to do, but it's a thing and can you frakkin' believe we're done?"

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

Shawn smirked a little. He was so glad right now that he wasn't a big coffee drinker.

"Really can't," he agreed shaking his head. "We have to be adult now, when the hell did that happen?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"While we were sleeping over the weekend?" Anders hazarded. "Sure as hell snuck up, is all I know. So . . . what're your plans for the big ol' real world, dude?"

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Heading for Washington State," Shawn replied leaning over to snag a handful of chips. "My mom bribed me with the offer of home cooking every once in a while if I picked a college in state."

"You?" he continued, just before he started to work his way through that handful.

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Ah, you'll be up the coast from me then," Anders said. He made a halfhearted attempt to sort of flop one arm in the direction of the chips, but with a resoundingly negative amount of success. "Heading for California and the SOs. And college," he added as an afterthought.

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

Shawn helpfully nudged the bowl a bit closer for him.

"You have a way more exciting reason to pick where you went," he said with a chuckle. "Still with the plural girl and boyfriend, I guess that means."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders managed, with a brief nod of thanks, to juuuuuuuuuuuuust snag one chip between his fingertips. "I kinda worry," he said, "that it's not a good enough reason, least as far as my future goes."

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Think colleges are pretty much the same wherever you go," Shawn said. "Or do you want something else?"

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"I want a shot at a baseball career," Anders said, and sent another chip flying in a failed attempt to snag it. "No way I'll be able to crack an NCAA Division I team roster without any previous experience, so a small school's my best chance to get a foot in the door. Finding a school close enough to where they are that I can live there? That was a bonus."

Okay, it had also been a pretty big part of his narrowing-down-the-options methodology.

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Least it sounds like you know pretty much where you're wanting to go," Shawn said thoughtfully. "Me? I'm just sorta going and hoping I figure it out."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"That's my usual approach," Anders laughed. "So I'm a little weirded out by the fact that I actually sat down and thought things through. I don't know if that's a sign I'm growing up, or a really weird fluke."

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Little of both, maybe?" Shawn suggested with a chuckle.

"I'm still wondering if I actually made the right choice in deciding to move back to even the vague vicinity of Seattle."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Huh." Anders had kind of used up his entire day's supply of coherency in his last couple of sentences. Sad, huh? "Y'got some kind of game plan for if that doesn't work out?"

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Not really." Shawn pulled a face. "It's mostly just... Seattle in my world, not the best place for people like me, other than having my family around."

He shrugged, "I'm sure it'll work itself out either way."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

Anders grimaced. "Yeah, I guess . . . can't say I understand exactly, but I guess I get that. I guess if you ever need a place to crash, if, y'know, things go bad, well . . ."

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"I'll bear that in mind," Shawn said with a chuckle. "Thanks, man."

"Seattle's not half bad sometimes. Same goes for you, y'know, if things start to suck. With any luck no one will remember who I am when I get back and I'll avoid the publicity crap."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Hey, who knows? Maybe if I get my break I could end up with the Mariners. Or at least in the AL, and maybe if I swing through town . . . and that's assuming the same world, and that's making my head hurt."

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

Shawn laughed. "Tell me about it, man. This place can make your brain hurt in more different ways even than back home can, and I thought I'd seen it all even before I started here."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"And now," Anders said, "we head off into the big scary real world knowing more than most people out there just how brain-hurty it can be. Yay education."

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"They are always saying a well-rounded education is the way forward," Shawn agreed.

"And, okay, I wouldn't call coming here exactly 'round', as educations go... Few too many dimensions involved for that, but, we know a hell of a lot that no one else does."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"Yeah." Anders flailed at the chips until he snagged at another one, chewed the chip thoughtfully, then asked, "You think that'll make it weird? Being surrounded by people who have no frakking clue how much stuff actually exists or goes on and probably don't want to know?"

[justmisplaced.livejournal.com]

"Probably," Shawn decided. "I mean, not being able to tell people most things about your life..." He wrinkled his nose, "That's gonna get old real quick."

"I'm gonna have to start talking to my brother again or something."

[cantgetnorelief.livejournal.com]

"This is why we have the alumni network, I guess," Anders said. "So we can freak out at each other about this stuff when nobody else will understand."

He tilted his head. "What's up with your brother?"