fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, Saturday, All Day

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!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, Saturday, All Day

If anyone in Fandom could control the weather, they weren't doing a particularly good job with it today. It was quite hot and sticky outside, so the lawn was filled with as many pop-up tents as could be acquired to provide some well-needed shade. There were plenty of cool drinks and ~~moddable~~ food that would hopefully survive the heat--it might not have felt like summer would be ending any time soon, but it was time to celebrate the coming fall nonetheless!

[Flying OCD-free! Have at it and stay cool!]

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Stark could be taught!

But he also did have a vested interest in Summer being happy. She was his friend, above all, and then there was everything else.

"I can get more ice," he said, nodding. "Maybe there's even ice cream? Or a popsicle? I'll look and I'll be right back."

And he would be. With a red popsicle and a freshly refilled cup and a hopeful smile.

Summer watch Stark go with a soft, pleased smile on her face. Not a smug or triumphant one, but one wrought from a little stirring of the something that had been brewing somewhere in her chest these last few weeks, that same thing that kept subtly nudging, unbeknownst to her, the needle on that seriousness gauge.

"Thanks, Stark," she said, taking them both and rewarding him for them by leaning in for a quick peck on the cheek, before pulling away again to get to that popsicle. "That was very thoughtful; good thinking."

Stark just wanted her to be happy and know she was cared for.

"You're welcome," he said, ducking his head a little at that kiss on the cheek. "Frozen sounded good for today."

Maybe they ought to try and go to the ice cream planet one day when it was hot. Just for fun.

"Anything else? You're all right? Seen anyone interesting so far?"

Or maybe when it was cold! Because irony!

Summer smiled a little as she nodded. "I'm good," she assured him. "Thank you. And, you know?" She took a second to look around the park again. "A lot of the usual suspects, as far as I can tell. Well, except maybe the little guy with the nose. At some point, I have to try to track down Belle, since I'm officially a ~faculty advisor~," look at her, and all her new fancy titles this semester!, "so I'm supposed to show her the ropes, but, I mean, easy peasy, she'd already been a student here, you know?

"How about you?"

"Another job," Stark said fondly. "You weren't busy enough?"

Oh, Summer.

"I haven't talked to anyone yet, really. I've just been looking around. I always look in case there's someone from home...or someone else come back. I haven't seen anyone yet. But I always look."

"I like to keep busy," Summer said, with a dismissive little shrug.

It helped stave off the existential dread!

"And I always like doing the advisor and teacher buddy stuff, too. I mean, I've been here long enough to know, you know? And it's a good way to meet new people, or more people, and really help them out, if I can. But, you know, whatever. If you do end up seeing or talking to anyone new or interesting, you'll have to let me know about it. You should, talking to new people is good for you!"

"I know you do." Stark nodded. "It helps, sometimes, staying busy."

Stark might need some new activities to keep himself busy!

"And you're good at helping. I've always thought so. And...I know. I'll look for people to talk to. I went to see Travis, yesterday."

"Yeah?" asked Summer, head tilting curiously. "And how's he been doing? Besides being a total fucking hermit, anyway."

"He mentioned being a hermit," Stark said. "And that you think he is one. I told him he doesn't need to be. I suggested maybe we could do something."

In a friend way. Not a friend way.

But even if it was in a friend way, that would be...erm...good.

Right?

"I am always telling him he should get out more," Summer confirmed with a nod. "What do you think you guys'll go do?"

Stark wasn't in the market for another friend. He was very happy with the just the one.

"I don't know. I just said we ought to. And that I ought to be a better friend especially after he rescued me from the House that wanted to torture me...Maybe
I can eat least get him to come to the bar on Wednesday? Or on Mondays."

"Tell him," said Summer, "that if he does show up to the bar on a Wednesday, I promise I will not give him crap for being such a fucking hermit. Maybe that'll add a little extra incentive."

And her smile was a bit apologetic. In part because she did tend to sort of harp on him about that whenever she ran into him, but mostly because she still felt kind of bad that she hadn't done more to rescue Stark from the house that wanted to torture him.

Though not for want of trying! She just got it wrong!

"I'll let him know," Stark promised. "And I'll...offer to buy him a drink." Or several.

"Maybe that will help. It shouldn't hurt. Unless you make him try all of the jello."

Summer made a little face at Stark, because, like, how even dare he.

"And what if," she said, lifting her eyebrows and her chin loftily, "I just so happen to make all good jello shots? Then he could only be so lucky to try all of them."

Stark just grinned at her.

"Then he'll be lucky," he said. "Just...not so lucky as I am."

"Why's that?" asked Summer, with a faint tickle in her brain that the answer could wind up being awkwardly sincere, but she apparently decided she'd deal with that if it were to be the case. "Because then you won't be stuck having to try any gross ones that night?"

"You know why," Stark told her, smiling softly.

"Nothing to do with not having to try gross jello at all."

And that was a sincere answer without being directly so, which Summer actually really appreciated, and so there was a soft smile back and maybe, just maybe, even a little bit of pink rising up to the surface of her face, maybe.

"I think," she said, "I might have an idea. That has nothing to do with the fact that you actually fucking love all that gross jello."

"Is that what I love?" Stark asked. "All the gross jello?"

He did love seeing it even if he didn't always love tasting it. But he'd do it gladly for the reactions it got.

"Mmhm," Summer hummed with a confident nod, because opacity and metaphor made a nice cushion against that awkward ache of sincerity. "Definitely all the gross jello. I mean, really, you can't get enough of all my gross jello..."

"You're right," Stark agreed, laughing softly. "I just keep coming back for more."

He reached for her hand impulsively. "More and more and more."

"You," Summer said, shaking her head but sounding absolutely delighted when Stark took her hand, and she squeezed his to use it to pull herself in closer. Very closer, "have got it really bad, huh? For...jello?"

"Very, very bad," Stark told her, voice low. "For jello."

Sure. Jello.

He was going to lean in for a kiss now. In public. Because he had it really bad for jello.

But Summer pulled back, not enough to pull them apart, just enough to be out of range for the kiss, unable to help smirking a little triumphantly because, god, she sure called that one.

"Later," she said. "And you can have as much gross, disgusting, horrible jello as you want, but just...later."

Hopefully Summer enjoyed the frustrated little whimper that move drew out of Stark.

"Promise?" he asked, squeezing her hand.

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