Bolt and Zach's Dorm

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“He doesn't stay here very often,” Bolt answered. He never really liked that guy anyway, so it was fine with him. There was just something off sometimes. Plus he seemed to think the dorm was beneath him which was something else. “Why, are you trying for a different date? I may be able to set you up regardless.”

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“You’re feisty when you’re losing.” Genevieve replied, breathing a laugh as she stood and went to check out some of the things he had there. She couldn’t help noticing that certain frames were turned upside down, and she reached for one so she’d see who had scorned him enough to warrant such a placement.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“I'm not losing,” Bolt grumbled. It was just tight. He and Blaze were pretty much neck and neck on this one, so it took more concentration. So…she wasn't wrong, exactly. On any bit of it.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“You’re not winning, either.” Gen replied, staring at the pretty blonde in the photo as she kissed Bolts cheek. They were at the lake in the photo, which she only knew because she could see hints of that siren the twins spoke about sometimes. She of course knew Anastasia already, but she’d only seen a version of her that had pretty much… hated Genevieve. Which was fine. Whatever.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt glanced over, not that he could blame her for snooping. He should have gotten rid of the photos altogether. The frames and all had been given to him after his living arrangements were deemed sparse, and he hadn't been able to do more than flip them down. “Here, the round is almost over. Do you want to try?”

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“Fine, sure. But you’ll have to teach me.” Genevieve said, setting the photo down on it’s previous position before going over to sit on the floor besides Blaze.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“There's not too much to learn,” Bolt said, getting up to take the place Genevieve has previously occupied. The frame, he picked up and tucked it into his drawer rather than looking at it. There was a reason why it was flipped over, of course. He should have put it away a long time ago.

Blaze started to explain the game the best he could. Just the basics, controls and objectives. He wasn't the best at explaining but it could easily be worse. Bolt watched for a while before excusing himself. “I'm going to grab a snack.”

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“Don’t take long.” Gen called out as he left, then mumbled something to Blaze. Most likely about the game or whatever. She was pretty good so far, though.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt sighed and headed out. He needed a break from people. Even Blaze was more exhausting company than he used to be. It was so much easier when he didn't care what people thought. Not when he was trying to repair a relationship.

There was only one guy standing in the center of the common room, staring at his phone in confusion. He was supposed to be making a delivery but he was lost to where it was supposed to go. When he finally saw someone approach he felt an overwhelming amount of relief. “I’m sorry to bother you but I was wondering if you knew where Bolt Dragomere is staying? I have a package for him.”

Bolt frowned a little, the look just a slight twisting of one corner of his mouth. He didn't have to be expressive anymore either. Falling into that had been easy. Relaxing, in a sad way. “That would be me,” he said, but couldn't recall ordering anything. “Do I need to sign for it?”

“It is?” He said, relief clear on his face as she scrambled for his clipboard. “Two signatures. One on the top and the other right… here.” He told him, pointing to the lines and handing him a pen while he reached for the big black box he’d placed on the table.

Bolt looked over the paper to sign with the expectation of a hint as to what this was. It had to be the one sheet that only listed the courier service.

Once everything was signed he took the clipboard and handed him the box. “Just keep it inside the box and it’ll be fine until the day you need to use it. But if there’s any sort of mishap and you need to iron it or something, don’t hesitate in going to us. Have a splendid day.” He said, giving him a bow before he was just… gone. This was his last delivery of the day, thankfully.

It took him a moment to register what it was, even looking at the box with the company name on it. He was perhaps shutting it out because it wasn't the best part of his recent decisions. He stared at the box as he returned to his room, without a snack, because he surprisingly wasn't hungry anymore. Maybe he forgot that they were in there, too.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Gen didn’t say anything for a few minutes, because she was playing, but once she realized he was being even more quiet than usual she glanced at him. “Bolt?” She asked, noticing the box. “What do you have there?”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“It's my suit,” Bolt answered, somewhat vaguely. He didn't clarify that it was what Anastasia had bought him to match her dress. She had done all of it, so he assumed either his tie or the embellishments would match in a dark color. He was half surprised she hadn't cancelled it, but maybe it wasn't her first thought.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“You got it already?” She asked, honestly surprised. She had half expected to buy it herself at the very last minute because he wasn’t exactly interested in doing so.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“I didn't buy it,” Bolt answered, earning a glance from his brother too, which didn't deserve a response. It shouldn't have been a surprise to anyone that Anastasia would have planned that far ahead to get their attire.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Genevieve looked between them for a moment and more or less realized why there was some… tension. “Well, let’s see it.” She said, setting the controller aside and going over to him. “We normally have to modify the suit to match the dress but depending on how it is we could do it the other way around.”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt frowned a little and started to open up the box. He didn't care how it looked but he supposed it needed to be looked at. Knowing Anastasia, she wouldn't come ask him to return it or anything. “It should be generic enough.”

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Gen shrugged and looked at the box as he began to open it, admiring a bit of the design on it. Once it was open she looked a little… well, very impressed. “Not off the rack, I assume?” She asked, reaching over to trace the fine lining to admire it. “Unless your local tailoring place has such fine fabric and sells it casually, I mean.”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“No, I'm sure it's not off the rack,” Bolt answered. He hadn't gotten fitted, exactly, but meticulous measurements had been taken. For this custom suit he wasn't even sure he should wear.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“Whoever designed it sure did want you to look your best.” Gen said, staring at it a moment before she reached over to the take it out of the box. He just had to try it on.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“Blaze can wear it,” Bolt said, though it twisted something in him. He wasn't the type to need fancy clothes or fawn over the idea of looking good. There was so much more to it than the elegant fabric and stitching.

“Me?” Blaze asked, stunned to be dragged into this. He and Bolt weren't identical anymore either so the suit wouldn't fit the same. But also, it was way too nice. He'd mess it up.

“I don't want it,” Bolt said. He hadn't even wanted to go to the dance and now he wanted to go even less. That awful mix of hurt and missing her was churning again and he wanted to turn it off. Getting rid of the suit wouldn't fix everything, but it wouldn't keep hurting.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Gen stared at Bolt for a moment before she gave Blaze a smile. “You two are identical enough that I don’t doubt they’d be able to help you alter it.” She said, shrugging a shoulder. “I’ll worry about getting Bolt another one.”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt stared at Gen for a second, but didn't say anything. How he'd been convinced, he couldn't recall. And now he'd have to back out some way.

“It-” Blaze started, but stopped short at the dark look in his twin's eyes. He supposed he could make this suit work, but he still wasn't comfortable with it. He felt uncomfortable enough with all of this that he was ready to head out. After a few moments of that awkward silence over the game noise, he mentioned something he had to do and excused himself to do just that.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Genevieve waited for a moment after Blaze left before she went to sit down again, picking up her controller. “Is there a way to change it to only one player?” She asked, trying a few buttons.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“Yeah, I can switch it for you,” Bolt said, numbly compared to some other moods he could be in. Really he'd rather distract himself with something productive, but he couldn't make Gen leave for that. He took one of the controllers and started the process since there was little desire to play with her.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Gen watched him for a while before she patted the spot besides her. “Sit down.” She said, practically an order, as she scooted so he wouldn’t complain about there being no space.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt sighed a little and sat as requested, though he might have rolled his eyes a little. If she thought she could fix him, she couldn't. He didn't even want it. He was paying the punishment for a slip in judgement. A vulnerability he'd known was a risk.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Gen moved up behind him when he sat, setting her control aside. “You’re so tense I’m half afraid you’ll end up hurting yourself.” She said, moving her hands to his shoulders. Her touch was light but very confident, so hopefully he wouldn’t flinch. “Ah, just as I thought. You have many knots.”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

“I'm fine,” Bolt said, though he was rather wrong about it. He hadn't been relaxed or at ease in several weeks so the tension really had built up. Especially with no end to that in sight. If he knew what would stop it, maybe he would choose that, but the only thought he had was leaving.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

“That's what a friend of mine said once, and he ended up… well, not good.” Genevieve said, and expertly began to massage him. She’d only known because her previous partner had been a pretty stressed out man too, so she’d learned to help him like this. “Relax. I’ll have you feeling better in no time.”

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt frowned but decided he would try to relax. He closed his eyes, thoughts already drifting to the idea of leaving. It wasn't something he wanted to do, but everything reminded him of her. Even his sheets that he kept washing to remove her scent was clinging to it in the same way. He missed her so much. Would it fade when her presence was so close?

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

Genevieve didn't say anything as she massaged him, but she had to admit the music playing softly from his laptop was sort of… setting a mood. Which she almost thought nothing about, except she then started getting hints that he… maybe agreed. She waited a few moments to see if she was exaggerating, but when the hints became full blown truths, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his neck.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt stiffened up for a half second when he felt her lips on his neck. Almost completely because it had seemed like his painful fantasy come to life for a moment. To say he relaxed when he realized it was not Anastasia was not exactly accurate. It was more like…giving in.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

When he didn’t pull away, Genevieve moved her lips further down his shoulder, having to slowly move his shirt to the side so she’d have more space. Her other hand moved down his shoulder and to his chest for no other reason than wanting to get a feel of him. This was… not what she’d expected out of today, if she were honest. But she liked it.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt knew it was wrong to continue the fantasy, to let his mind continue with the memory of Anastasia overlaying reality. But he was so desperate, so lonely, that he didn't stop her. Maybe encouraged it, in some small way, as he tilted his head to the side to give her more room.

[Evelin ☪️ Queen of Witches]

At his encouragement, Genevieve shifted to the side and pulled him down on the bed before climbing over him, leaning down to kiss him on the lips before she overanalyzed any of this and pulled back. He seemed to want her, though- even if not exactly… her.

[☣ EMᕈRESS SERΔ ☣, Supreme Mod of Overcomplicated Projects]

Bolt moved as she bade him, pliable as if moving in a trance. Until something woke in him and he needed this. Even he wasn't sure if he was seeing her as Genevieve or as Anastasia, but he started to tug off his clothes all the same. Soon enough it wouldn’t matter who he thought about, would it?

--End--