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Chapter Text

Saoirse had felt a wave and mixture of both relief and sadness all in one as soon as her hands had reached that Blackwell letter, The crisp paper and the wax right in the middle, sealing a letter just for her.

Usually, the letters would consist of taxes and rent, her family would barely call except her mother who insists on phone calls daily, both noon and night. She had few friends mostly because of her English blood and they unfortunately don't do well over there, especially where she is. Saoirse is surrounded by idiots, farmers, and alcoholics just for extra pay, and who wouldn't? Because of this, her colleagues often insulted and threatened her; there was an occurrence where she was even followed home but was lucky; her neighbor loved Republicans. That man had all sorts of guns locked inside his home and as soon as she walked into the lobby entrance that man pulled a pistol from nowhere and shouted at the weirdo. In her eyes, they're both crazy but she thanked the man and ran to the elevator quicker than the hooded man had left the building.

Saoirse was so excited to walk out of this shit-hole, a full-ride scholarship back to America! Her mother had screamed even louder than her once the opened letter fell into her freshly manicured hands, the envelope getting stained with bright red and salty tears as the two embraced, shouting incoherently at each other. Soon, she quit her dumb job and left as soon as she could, which was the best thing that could happen to her. Her mother had forced her to take all these unnecessary classes for "her life" but it was just a pain in the ass; Blackwell was prestigious, and just for the arts! Saoirse wouldn't have to take online classes until dawn and work her ass clean off til' dusk, There were dorms and even pay for the people who take shifts within the school campus. It seemed way easier than her life right now and she had everything in her left hand, the anxious slick clinging onto the back of her neck and her mother's sweaty palm squeezing her wrist. She tugs her daughter toward the station that would lead into British lands and onto a plane out of this hell-hole. "Mamaidh.." she pleaded, pulling back from her mother's grip only for her to receive a sharp glare, her mother's red eyes prove that she didn't want this either. "Go." She leans forward, giving her daughter a wet kiss on her cheek, not bothering to wipe the stain her red lips left. Saoirse used the back of her hand to wipe the tears that ran down her face which didn't do much except make her shirt wet and her mother's quick readjustments to her clothing made it easier for her to leave, her touch was comforting, like a soothing melody if the harmony was replaced with the beeping from the intercom, almost rushing her to go. Which it was.

in a scurry Meabh quickly fixed her daughter's collar and wrinkled shirt before making her way to the front of the second station, Saoirse felt a rush of sadness as she watched the train ride through the station before blowing the loud whistle which called the passengers to enter. Rain began to drip onto her clothes as the train screeched, the doors miraculously stopping right in front of her. Meabh yanked her daughter from the crowd that pushed against her before giving her another kiss on the other cheek, ignoring the tears that fell onto her nose which ruined the contour. "Be good, A Ghra. Call me once you leave the train and study well," She strokes Saoirse's cheek, gently scratching her daughter's face with her long nails, "..don't come back to me pregnant." Saoirse giggles behind her sadness, sniffling before giving her mother a tight hug, squeezing the air out of her own body just enough for a sob to escape her lips. Meabh digs her nails into her back with a similar choked noise until the final whistle blew then was forced to push away and let the crowd whisk her daughter onto the train. Saoirse quickly ran up the train steps and into one of the four seats near the window with the best view of her mother, her blonde hair cascading down her shoulders alongside a maroon dress and black stilettos. Saoirse always made fun of her clothing but now it might be what she'll miss most, besides her cooking. She watched her mother sob into a black silk scarf which was originally around her neck, it was stained with a mixture of foundation, blush, and lipstick; her face looked worse. After of few moments, the train's wheels began working and Saoirse watched her mother go farther and farther until the station view became the scenery of the isles, she could even see the factory she worked at, watching the steam exiting from a large pipe that stuck out of the building. She wiped tears from her face, sniffling snot back up her nose, and went to grab her headphones from the small side pocket of her bag. Untangling them always managed to piss her off but this time she didn't have the capacity in her brain to get angry and pressed the button on her phone, humming along to the chorus of the song that blasted into her ears. The droplets of rain crashing down onto the window made her woozy and soon after a while, she felt her weight lean onto the icy window. Saoirse drifted to sleep as the melody continued in her ears.

-~{+}~-

Saoirse stared at the large building overhead, standing right in front of a bronze statue that seemed older than her and rusted by the bright sun that burned the back of her head. She did not know how something could be so small yet so exclusive when only 5 people get admitted into Blackwell yearly, it was her and a group of people. two girls and two boys who she did not bother talking to and was forced to sit with a boy who kept rambling about how excited he was about chemistry with someone named Grant, who she had too. Even her music wasn't much to block out his words that were still directed toward her even when it was obvious about her disinterest, Saoirse was forced to listen, unfortunately.

She had no idea where to go or who to talk to and the lady who seemed to direct them didn't do much to help her, that woman just told her to walk straight and then take a right when she reached the statue. But after a few moments of wandering about the campus with a bag almost the size of her and a suitcase that went to her hips, she finally noticed the same boy who sat next to her, also carrying a similar bag. Saoirse decided to follow him until he stood in front of the male dorms which was also surrounded by... you guessed it! men. Saoirse groaned in annoyance and anger at how large the campus actually was to the point where she couldn't even find where she was meant to be, she also had classes in the afternoon which didn't help her current mental state. (fucked over, by the way.) The group of boys chuckled when they saw her, and Saoirse would admit, she didn't look her best but almost three days of travel would do that to a person. Her head thumped from the headache that formed and she wanted to take a shower immediately; the change of climate shocked both her and her body, Oregon was totally different from the highlands that were usually surrounded by cattle and factories that would taint the flora. She was born somewhere modern though, with cities and everything. Saoirse spent some of the year before working and doing online classes with the little time that remained. As she looked around at the quaint area in front of the dormitories, two played football whilst a girl read what seemed to be a bible in the little nook near the tall totem that ominously stared at her.

"..What the hell..." Saoirse felt a wave of discomfort as the face of the totem stared back at her which seemed rather stupid, but there wasn't anything like that near her childhood schools. She jumped from fear when a hand patted her shoulder, "Hey, you from the bus?" incited the brunette as he noticed why she was so uncomfortable, "That's called a Tobunga, apparently... I, uh, read it in the pamphlets that came with the acceptance letter." Saoirse nodded at him, looking back at the statue. "...It's native from a tribe that was here over a hundred years ago," The boy let the bag fall to his hips before rummaging into the mess within it, pulling a pamphlet similar to his description. "Here."

Saoirse stared at it with a frown, why didn't she get a pamphlet? She didn't want to seem rude, she took the paper from his hands with a forced smile she barely had the energy for. "Thanks.." Saoirse mumbled as she scanned through the paper she was given. "No probz.. Hey, you can keep that, by the way." With a slight laugh, the boy readjusted his bag over his back before craning his neck, probably from the weight. "Im Warren, y'know.. from the bus?" Fuck sake, is he serious? Saoirse gave a heavy sigh as she shoved the pamphlet into her side pocket of the luggage, "Yeah, I know. Do you like dystopian stuff?" Warren led an audible 'oh' as she said that, patting his jeans. "I'm ALWAYS up for dystopian shit, making an entire flash drive is my specialty!" Saoirse stared at him with a raised brow, "No really, I am! ton of cool stuff like Lord of the Rings, twi-zone," She chuckles softly, twilight zone? geez hadn't heard that in a while... "You should put those cheesy vamps movies from Blockbuster, fucking loved those things as a kid.." Warren gives her a wide grin, rubbing his palms together, "Damn! hadn't heard that in a while, I got so pissed when they got bankrupt. Remember making my dad's wallet empty from those ape DVDs, who wouldn't?" She hummed, the pleasant memories of cocoa and old Christmas movies because they were so broke they couldn't afford the real deal but they actually seemed better when Saoirse had her own money to get the real ones. The pamphlet said the dorms housed both male and female guests, luckily. She barely had the energy to walk the steps, but she did. "Uh, here.." he then grabs her black suitcase, carrying it up the stairs. Warren opens the door that led inside the dorms like he's inviting her inside his damn home, even when he acted like an idiot, the gesture was nice. Much nicer than the re-American experience she had a few hours ago on the planes. Saoirse smiled at him as she took the invite, walking into the dorms and being immediately wafted with the stench of old carpet and toilet water from the door that led to the men's side.

She hopes her days at Blackwell get better because Saoirse isn't in the mood to nap with the smell of toilet water in her room nor is she willing to share dorms with a rando she doesn't know anything about.

Chapter Text

Music played
in the morning written in the beginning - SONG FOR NICK DRAKE, BY SKULLCRUSHER (on spotify!)
written toward the end. - BEING ALONE BY LOVE ON A REAL TRAIN, ROBERT FRANCIS (on spotify!)

-~{+}~-
Almost a month had gone by and Saoirse seemed to adjust well within Arcadia Bay, it was quiet and nice and completely different from the highlands. Not a good change of scenery though; the fishy smell was indeed pungent from the markets and merchants selling little what came by, which seemed twice the price as it was the day she got here. It greatly affected her wallet and not much came by besides what her mother gave her, the job Saoirse had in the Blackwell library was nice but had very little pay; Warren came from time to time and whenever he was that's when she knew they either had a test with Ms. Grant or it was just to get some stuff in his head, according to him. Warren somehow knew everything about science, memorized the periodic table, and would constantly talk about it during their lunch sessions at the Two Whales Diner. He never gave her a break with those weird fascinations of his. The Sunday morning breeze made her shiver slightly, the window was cracked open from when she snuck Warren in so they could study for the exam, ..and watch those emo vampire movies he managed to pirate through his techy knowledge. He weighed a fuck ton, couldn't pull him up from the window, and had to use her duvet and a pillow so he could latch on. They even found a stray whilst their midnight sneak out, a fat cat full of fleas that ended up biting Warren so hard he had to go to the nurse; lied and said he fell out of his window and had to break it to make it believable, at the end of the day, he paid like 200 bucks just to fix it. Poor Warren, no more diner trips, unfortunately.

Saoirse got up from the bed and according to the monkey clock she had on her bedside cabinet, it was almost 8 am. She was always an early riser and in the night, wouldn't sleep until three in the morning; or unless she'd slip those sleeping pills in her tea, Saoirse wasnt a fan of coffee but Warren loved that Arcadia dark roast like his life depended on it, he always paired it with the morning glory at Two Whales. With a disheveled sigh, Saoirse closed the window that threw an iced breeze into her room; it seemed prettier now with everything from back home was now in it, her oak bed frame was much better than the creaky one from before, and considering how exclusive Blackwell was Saoirse thought that students deserved more than what they're given. She still had all sorts of things she needed to finish, Life Drawing and Algebra especially; she's currently aceing her science class because of Warren and that smart head of his, all the study sessions or as she would call it, sneak-out sessions. Happened multiple times a week. They'd skip their last or first class to spend their time at the Two Whales, maybe even sneak into the Science lab since Ms. Grant doesn't do morning classes and stay there until the bell would eventually ring and cause her to rush out to her Photography class which was usually on Tuesdays and Fridays. Because of Warren, her grades skyrocketed from a 3.2 to a 4.0 and would often fluctuate around the two. Thank goodness for him.

As she grabbed her Shower caddy from her closet, her phone pinged from somewhere near her bed and as Saoirse went to see who it was, she heard girls shouting near her door. "Fuck-sake, what the hell did Courtney do now?" Bit out Saoirse, who was sick and tired of the queen bee of Blackwell. Victoria was so egotistical she expected everybody to do what she wished for them to do; even going up to Saoirse on the first day to tell her to move and claiming where she sat was her designated spot since day one. Vic has been a bitch since she got here and not giving a break to literally everyone at Blackwell was the only thing she seemed good at except trying to suck Jeffersons' dick every single day.

As Saoirse went toward her bed to try and fish out her phone from under the pillow, it pinged again ..and again, until almost 3 messages came all at once when she was face to face with her screen. Her wallpaper was a drawing of her mother, and at the bottom was a total of 6 messages from Warren. There was one from Dana wondering if she could sneak into the library via the spare keys she had; Saoirse hummed as she unlocked her phone because if she didn't respond now, Warren would probably ask Brooke to come knocking at her door.

WARREN
-Did you forget your promise to go wild on those Belgians with me?
-Two Whales, you promised to go bust on them baconzz. Oink
-PLEASE

-I love waiting outside, birds chirping and sun's warm...
-bacon shit-cold now
-seeeorroeskjahsuideiue

the slight pause from 7:48 then going to 8:07 proves that he spent like 20 minutes waiting outside, he could have just called but guess not. Saoirse completely forgot about that promise last night, Warren busted his ass on the physics test he had on Friday and got the worst grade ever even when he studied. ...He got an 82 and if that's bad she didn't even want to know what she got, she really didn't.

WARREN
-Did you forget your promise to go wild on those Belgians with me?
-Two Whales, you promised to go bust on them baconzz. Oink
-PLEASE

-I love waiting outside, birds chirping and sun's warm...
-bacon shit-cold now
-seeeorroeskjahsuideiue

~Jeezloweez, comin' wait 10 minutes gonna take a shower.

After a few seconds, Warren answered quicker than she expected.

-OH GAWD HURY

She decided to open Dana's message even when she knew what it was.

DANA
-Hey Blondie brownie, don't forget to come round and get those keys. THX A BUNCH! saved our asses, owe u.

Saoirse knew Dana had that exam for Physical Science and knowing Dana, she didn't study for shit.

DANA
-Hey Blondie brownie, don't forget to come round and get those keys. THX A BUNCH! saved our asses. owe u.

~NP might not come so if I don't just bring to my dorm, TTYL

Saoirse didn't want to dawdle and make Warren pouty about his Belgian waffles and knowing Joyce she probably had a plate ready for him. As she walked out of her dorm room with her shower caddy in hand she noticed Courtney and Victoria screaming at each other about something fucking stupid. That said stupid was because Court didn't wash Victoria's clothes correctly and now she is covered in hives. Thank god for Courtney because she didn't want to deal with her today. walking inside the bathrooms was the best thing ever as the girl's hall smelled of weed because Samson usually cleans at noon, Taylor spends her whole allowance on that stuff. It smelled of cleaning solution and Kate's strawberry shampoo, Saoirse really needed to ask her where she got that stuff; the deeper she delved inside the Bathroom, Her rabbit slippers squished against the wet floor and in turn would squirm in disgust from the wet sock feeling. "Really? shit.." Saoirse's cursing didn't go unnoticed as one of the girls in the showers cleared her throat louder than she expected, most likely Kate and her distaste for such language. She walked into the shower and removed the clothing she had on the day before, including an oversized shirt from her mom's closet and small shorts, throwing them over the shower wall. Feeling the scalding water against her Honey hair felt amazing and she began to scrub the layer of sweat and dried makeup from the night, the little sneak session into the school to snag a couple of sodas put her in a daze; too much soda in her digestive system and not enough emotion to genuinely care. Saoirse's floral scent from the shampoo clung to her as she left the shower with a towel wrapped around her frame, and her cloth caddy around her wrist. Near the sinks was Kate, brushing her teeth like usual but this time it seemed she wasn't up for it, her hair was dripping with water which soaked her pajamas.

Kate seemed in her own world but Saoirse didn't know if she should ask why, this entire week she had acted strange and often didn't go to her classes. Many cared little besides a handful of people and when they asked she gave them excuses saying ' I'm just ill' or 'just didn't sleep well' but Saoirse genuinely didn't believe any of it. How could she? That violin of hers would usually play early in the mornings and would only stop at noon or if she had classes in the mornings but she stopped two days ago. Saoirse decided to greet her, "Hello, Kate. How are you?" Kate gave her a slow smile, her face was drained and pale and it seemed so horrible to look at her in her condition. "Hi... I'm- I'm okay, just tired.." Saoirse let out a gentle sigh as her smile soon faded and begin to sway awkwardly, Kate was obviously unwell. "Well.. you always have my number Kate and I'll try to meet with you about the Meals on Wheels program!" She gave her a slow nod with a tiny smile before continuing to brush her teeth, Saoirse put the caddy down and pulled a bottle from the side pocket; lathering the foam onto her face before rinsing it off with cold water and more people began to enter the bathrooms, one of them was her neighbor who had the brunette bob and would loudly snore in the middle of the night. According to Warren, she was Maxine. Someone special apparently but Saoirse only saw her a few times during the hall transfers and in her photography class, she seemed well too; her photos were always complimented by Jefferson with a deep sense of adoration, something he doesn't usually do with the others. The number of bitter looks and snippy remarks coming from Victoria and her posse often send everybody in that class into a stir, making Max an easy target; Almost everybody in there is an easy target for them, even Kate, who shared no such taste for the language and isn't deserving of it either.

Saoirse was buzzed by the cold water that hit her face moments ago and the chilly breeze that entered the dorm hall made it feel even worse for her. The scent that was carried along said breeze was a mixture of both cheap and expensive perfume; like, college tuition expensive. She already knew who it was, Taylor and Victoria: The whores of Blackwell. Taylor wasn't much of that but she often sells herself out during those dumb parties and Saoirse didn't give a shit about them, they were usually filled with coke and bucketloads of other substances. She didn't even want to know what goes on during the after-scares of those things... Warren talks about them a ton during their meals, yet even then she finds them strange, Saoirse wasn't much of a party fiend. Even now, she would rather stay in and focus on sleeping beyond the musical shakes of the party, which was a rather difficult ordeal.

Victoria shot her a glance, "Hey, dumbass!" Giving her an egotistical wave before whipping around toward the bathrooms, "saw that test score of yours, shocker you did worse than Courtney..~" Saoirse glared at the blond locks without recognition of the wearer. She paced toward her room and quickly changed into the only clean clothes she had left in her closet; she really needed to do some laundry because their an eyesore, just lying in a basket in the corner of her room. Saoirse moved toward the couch in the middle of her room, plopping onto it making the springs creak from the weight. She wanked her dark brown boots from underneath the light cream couch, quickly tying them into wonky knots that she cared little in turn of fixing; Her cable-knit sweater rubbed against her ankles, sending twitches up her body. Saoirse ran near the door but paused in front of the mirror at the side of her closet, her hair was still wet but she had a brush in her bag; She could just brush it out in Warrens new car he saved up for. As she rushed down the dormitory halls, she noticed Kate run out of the showers visibly upset. She raised a hand, trying to stop her, but Kate angrily slammed her door with a loud bang. Cackling could be heard from the women's bathrooms which sent fury through her; Saoirse's phone buzzed like before and that is what truly stopped her from running in there.

As she left the female dorms, Saoirse noticed Warren sitting on a bench focused on whatever dumb game he was playing now on the Gameboy he had thrifted a few weeks ago during their trip to the markets. She quietly walked near the benches, trying her hardest for her heeled boots to not clack against the rocky terrain. "Heya." She whispered into the shell of his ear, making him jump and drop the ancient Gameboy right on the ground. "S-Se! damn, thought you fell or something.." Saoirse rolled her eyes at the comment, ignoring the finger motion he was doing, "Har Har, very funny- Ready to raid on those Belgians?" Warren dusted himself of any jagged rocks that clung to his pants when he picked that thing up from the ground, "Fuck yeah! Miss that Joyce-roast.." fiddling with the flap of the brown crossbody bag that seemed rugged with wear, he shoves the Gameboy into one of the pockets within the inner side; Saoirse pulled out a small brush from her small bag and began to pull against the tangles with plastic teeth, wincing slightly from the tugging sensation. Warren watches as he adjusts his undershirt.

"Damn, why didn't you just dry it?" He leans forward slightly, trying to get a good view of her face- or the side bangs that clung to it. Saoirse watches him walk like a hunchback to get a proper view of her wet hair, "Well... One, It was your fault that I couldn't get much done and two, Those prissy bitches were messing with Kate again." He gives her a sigh as Kate becomes the topic of their conversation, staring back onto the concrete with a rigid brow, chewing the inside of his cheek. She squeezes the remaining water from her head as they walk down to the parking lot near the dormitory. Warren motions Saoirse toward a beaten van that he proudly shows off as his own, "Check out my Hotwheels! Rough, right?" a small laugh bubbles from her and he gives her the same toothy smile he always does, his slightly crooked front tooth is her favorite. "Jeez, nerd alert. Who still messes with Hotwheels?" He gives her a fake pout before opening the car door and throwing his bag in the backseat. "Uhm, me? Can't a Science geek like geeky things..?" Saoirse walks over and pats the side of his shoulder with a smirk before getting in the car and climbing over to the other side, "Be a gentleman and drive, pretty please!" Warren plops onto the car seat and pulls a weird keychain from his pocket, all sorts of charms attached, even some of the periodic tables she made last week out of polymer from her art class.

As Warren inserts the key, his car rumbles lowly, almost grimly when the car begins to move away from the parking space. "Shit.." He blows under his breath under the guise of something hopeful, but Saoirse knows he probably got scammed due to the stress that creased his brow. She stares out the window which smells of glass cleaner, the seats have a powerful odor of cleanliness, making her melt into the vinyl. He shifts slightly in the seat, against the buckle, and moves his hand from the wheel toward the radio. Slowly moving between channels that consisted of Country or pure static until he finally stopped on one that seemed to lull her into a daze, Warren flicks his vision back and forth from the road to the girl in his car, almost nervously. "..Uhm..." he mumbles, obviously nervous. "Im.. uh, sorry that I kept messing with you.." Saoirse hummed softly before opening her eyes, turning her head to stare at him, "Hm, trust me this morning wasn't much..." She mumbled, "You should've said this during that sneak session of yours, got us in so much trouble Wells called my MOM."

Warren let out an awkward chuckle, scratching his forearm over the striped long-sleeve shirt. Saoirse ignored it at first until she straightened her back, leaned forward then flicked her wrist to turn up the music, "Since you are my nerdy sidekick; You could treat me to dinner." He hums in agreement, focusing on the road whilst Saoirse closes her eyes and listens to the music. Warren's a major geek but he has impeccable music taste.