FOTD, Rocky Road 14, Peppermint 27: Roadsigns
Title: Roadsigns
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: FOTD (libation: a beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage, an act or instance of drinking.), rocky road 14 (on the road), peppermint 27 (compass), My Treat (Ivy has a horrible sense of direction.), malt (And that's how Gina got the nickname ____).
Word Count: 1428
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina, finding her way.
Notes: Full of noodle incidents.
"...and that," Aaron finished, to a riot of laughter, "is why Lars is never, ever allowed to plan a road trip again." He took a drink, then shook his head. "Okay, I'm done, someone else's turn."
Everyone, for no reason that Gina could see, turned to look at Lars.
He choked on his beer, then after some enthusiastic whacks on the back from Danny, said, "Hey, don't look at me! Aaron just told my last good story."
Ivy, leaning on the sofa across the circle from him, smirked into her beer glass, and draped her arm over Aaron's knees. "Oh, you got more."
"None suitable for mixed company," Lars retorted, and shook his head obstinately as a chorus of cajoling erupted from the group..
Gina, who sat next to Olivia a little ways apart, tucked her skirt closer over her knees and observed them with a sort of worried affection. They were so noisy, and so clearly enjoying themselves so very much. Not the sort of people she'd hung out with since... well, since college. She hadn't had this kind of evening since college, either. She'd been younger then, more resilient.
But then, look at the sort of company she'd been keeping since college. This was a hell of an improvement.
"Gina?" Olivia asked in an undertone, leaning close to her ear. "You okay?"
She shook herself, and said, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just feel a little..." Lost? Disjointed? "Out of place."
Olivia looked out at the group-- Danny was now throwing her socks at Lars, for some unfathomable reason, Ivy and Aaron collapsed together in giggles on the couch-- with amusement in her eyes. "They're a bit strange," she said. "But you get used to them."
"How did you meet up with them, anyway?" If this was not her sort of group, it was even less Olivia's.
"Many ways," Olivia said, and smiled. "I met Danny first, actually. We lived in the same building. And then I met Jake--" She sent a dreaming smile in her boyfriend's direction. Jake, just grabbing another beer from the cooler, dropped it. "And he introduced me to Ivy and Aaron and they sort of adopted me as a sort of ersatz sister. And now you."
"Oh," Gina said, and looked across the circle again, at Ivy now straightening up and stretching, the lines of her body clear and strong against her shirt, the bones of her wrists stark under her skin. Sister was not what she wanted to be. "That's... good."
Olivia nodded, still smiling that dreaming smile, then blinked. "Oh, but you said you felt a bit left out. That's not good."
Gina shrugged. "It's all right. It happens when you're new."
"No, it's not all right." Olivia considered, then leaned forward and shouted over the mild din. "Okay, okay, I got one."
The noise quieted immediately, and Gina found herself and Olivia the subject of a circle of interested eyes. She squirmed, and hissed, "Livvy..."
Olivia ignored her. "Did I ever tell you guys about the first time I went home with Gina?"
Ivy, who was clearly more than a little tipsy, squinted at both of them. "I thought you were straight, Livvy."
Jake choked on his beer and a laugh, and failed to catch either. Gina covered a smile with, she hoped, rather more success.
"I am," Olivia said, with no sign of offense. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I used to go home with Gina for breaks because otherwise I'd just be staying at college. Spent three whole summers with her family." She smiled across the circle at Gina, who couldn't help smiling back. "They're wonderful. They made me feel like I belonged."
"My parents like you too," she told Olivia.
Olivia's smile twisted just a little bit before she turned away and beamed out at the rest of the circle. "Anyway, there's two things you have to understand. The first is that I didn't get my driver's license until like my third year of college. When I first got to Smith, I had absolutely no clue how a car worked."
Gina snorted, remembering that, but didn't say anything. Olivia, who probably knew exactly what she was thinking, smirked at her, and then added, "The second thing is that Gina drives like a maniac."
"I do not," Gina said. "That is base slander."
"I swear to fucking God," Olivia told everyone else. "The roads between Northampton and Syracuse are really windy and twisty and insane, too. So here we are, doing like eighty down these roads like sidewinders on crack, and I'm clinging to the oh shit bar and Gina's just breezing along, cool as you please. I'm freaking out, like, 'what the hell is wrong with you' and she just looks at me and goes, 'what, haven't you ever been in a car before?'"
Gina had no idea why this was so funny-- possibly because most of the group was well on their way to being tipsy, if not actually drunk-- but that got almost as much laughter as the road trip story.
Which ended abruptly when Aaron rose and, somewhat unsteadily, lifted his beer. "I've got it!" he said, solemnly.
This announcement apparently merited silent and utter attention. Gina, who figured that she'd better go along with the group, folded her hands in her lap and looked at him expectantly.
"Speedy G," Aaron said, with all the portent of someone knighting a man. He poured a bit of beer on his fingers and flicked it at her. "So I do baptize thee. Wear it well."
That silence held for a while, until Gina broke it by saying plaintively, "I have no idea what just happened."
"Aaron likes to nickname people," Olivia told her, over yet more laughter. "I don't have one yet, but like, Jake is JoFo. Or was, rather, until he found out about it."
JoFo? Gina didn't even know how to react to that. "So... the fact that I got a nickname..."
"Good," Olivia said, smiling, and then Ivy came over and plopped down next to them.
"Congratulations!" she said, beaming, and Gina saw that she was not quite so tipsy as previously expected. Olivia excused herself and went to Jake-- Gina hardly noticed. "Welcome to the family."
Gina choked on air. "Family?"
Ivy, unruffled, shrugged. "In a manner of speaking. Haven't you ever heard that saying 'friends are the family you choose?'" She gestured at the circle. "Well, welcome aboard."
Against her will, Gina felt a smile tugging at her mouth. It must be Ivy, she decided. "Thanks," she said. "Although that didn't feel like I had much of a choice."
Ivy grinned. "We do rather conscript people. Ask Danny about how she got introduced sometime. But yeah. We're nice, I promise."
Gina nodded, thoughtfully. "So... Aaron is the final arbiter?"
"No-o," Ivy said, drawn out and thoughtful. "No, that's more of a group decision, but it's not like anyone actually talks about it, you know, it just happens. You happened." She shrugged again and downed the last of her beer. "That's the way it goes sometimes."
Gina didn't understand that very much, but she wasn't sure she wanted to, right now; her breath was coming a bit short, and she thought that if she asked Ivy to explain, she wouldn't hear a word. Instead she looked away, across the rest of the group-- Danny now inexplicably in Aaron's lap, Lars saying something that involved a lot of gestures-- and said, "Speedy G. I'm not sure what I think of it."
"Could be worse," Ivy said, phlegmatically. "I was Two-Street Terror once. For about a month, mind, then he got bored and went back to Vee, but he'll still call me that once in a while when I've gotten lost again."
Gina turned and stared at her. "Two-Street Terror?" she asked. "This I have to hear."
Ivy grinned again. "My sense of direction is crap," she said. "So this one time I got lost in this little tiny podunk town that only had two streets. I shit you not. Aaron had to drag out a fucking compass before we got anywhere reasonable."
Gina was quiet for a moment, then said, "Two streets?"
"Two streets," Ivy said. "I shit you not. Even I don't know how I managed that one. Aaron gives me one of those little plastic crappy compasses for Christmas now, every year." She looked fondly at her brother. "He thinks he's funny."
"I think it's funny," Gina said.
"Traitor," Ivy said, and smiled.
Gina smiled back, and felt herself begin to find a way in.
Main Story: In the Heart
Flavors, Toppings, Extras: FOTD (libation: a beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage, an act or instance of drinking.), rocky road 14 (on the road), peppermint 27 (compass), My Treat (Ivy has a horrible sense of direction.), malt (And that's how Gina got the nickname ____).
Word Count: 1428
Rating: PG.
Summary: Gina, finding her way.
Notes: Full of noodle incidents.
"...and that," Aaron finished, to a riot of laughter, "is why Lars is never, ever allowed to plan a road trip again." He took a drink, then shook his head. "Okay, I'm done, someone else's turn."
Everyone, for no reason that Gina could see, turned to look at Lars.
He choked on his beer, then after some enthusiastic whacks on the back from Danny, said, "Hey, don't look at me! Aaron just told my last good story."
Ivy, leaning on the sofa across the circle from him, smirked into her beer glass, and draped her arm over Aaron's knees. "Oh, you got more."
"None suitable for mixed company," Lars retorted, and shook his head obstinately as a chorus of cajoling erupted from the group..
Gina, who sat next to Olivia a little ways apart, tucked her skirt closer over her knees and observed them with a sort of worried affection. They were so noisy, and so clearly enjoying themselves so very much. Not the sort of people she'd hung out with since... well, since college. She hadn't had this kind of evening since college, either. She'd been younger then, more resilient.
But then, look at the sort of company she'd been keeping since college. This was a hell of an improvement.
"Gina?" Olivia asked in an undertone, leaning close to her ear. "You okay?"
She shook herself, and said, "Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just feel a little..." Lost? Disjointed? "Out of place."
Olivia looked out at the group-- Danny was now throwing her socks at Lars, for some unfathomable reason, Ivy and Aaron collapsed together in giggles on the couch-- with amusement in her eyes. "They're a bit strange," she said. "But you get used to them."
"How did you meet up with them, anyway?" If this was not her sort of group, it was even less Olivia's.
"Many ways," Olivia said, and smiled. "I met Danny first, actually. We lived in the same building. And then I met Jake--" She sent a dreaming smile in her boyfriend's direction. Jake, just grabbing another beer from the cooler, dropped it. "And he introduced me to Ivy and Aaron and they sort of adopted me as a sort of ersatz sister. And now you."
"Oh," Gina said, and looked across the circle again, at Ivy now straightening up and stretching, the lines of her body clear and strong against her shirt, the bones of her wrists stark under her skin. Sister was not what she wanted to be. "That's... good."
Olivia nodded, still smiling that dreaming smile, then blinked. "Oh, but you said you felt a bit left out. That's not good."
Gina shrugged. "It's all right. It happens when you're new."
"No, it's not all right." Olivia considered, then leaned forward and shouted over the mild din. "Okay, okay, I got one."
The noise quieted immediately, and Gina found herself and Olivia the subject of a circle of interested eyes. She squirmed, and hissed, "Livvy..."
Olivia ignored her. "Did I ever tell you guys about the first time I went home with Gina?"
Ivy, who was clearly more than a little tipsy, squinted at both of them. "I thought you were straight, Livvy."
Jake choked on his beer and a laugh, and failed to catch either. Gina covered a smile with, she hoped, rather more success.
"I am," Olivia said, with no sign of offense. "Get your mind out of the gutter. I used to go home with Gina for breaks because otherwise I'd just be staying at college. Spent three whole summers with her family." She smiled across the circle at Gina, who couldn't help smiling back. "They're wonderful. They made me feel like I belonged."
"My parents like you too," she told Olivia.
Olivia's smile twisted just a little bit before she turned away and beamed out at the rest of the circle. "Anyway, there's two things you have to understand. The first is that I didn't get my driver's license until like my third year of college. When I first got to Smith, I had absolutely no clue how a car worked."
Gina snorted, remembering that, but didn't say anything. Olivia, who probably knew exactly what she was thinking, smirked at her, and then added, "The second thing is that Gina drives like a maniac."
"I do not," Gina said. "That is base slander."
"I swear to fucking God," Olivia told everyone else. "The roads between Northampton and Syracuse are really windy and twisty and insane, too. So here we are, doing like eighty down these roads like sidewinders on crack, and I'm clinging to the oh shit bar and Gina's just breezing along, cool as you please. I'm freaking out, like, 'what the hell is wrong with you' and she just looks at me and goes, 'what, haven't you ever been in a car before?'"
Gina had no idea why this was so funny-- possibly because most of the group was well on their way to being tipsy, if not actually drunk-- but that got almost as much laughter as the road trip story.
Which ended abruptly when Aaron rose and, somewhat unsteadily, lifted his beer. "I've got it!" he said, solemnly.
This announcement apparently merited silent and utter attention. Gina, who figured that she'd better go along with the group, folded her hands in her lap and looked at him expectantly.
"Speedy G," Aaron said, with all the portent of someone knighting a man. He poured a bit of beer on his fingers and flicked it at her. "So I do baptize thee. Wear it well."
That silence held for a while, until Gina broke it by saying plaintively, "I have no idea what just happened."
"Aaron likes to nickname people," Olivia told her, over yet more laughter. "I don't have one yet, but like, Jake is JoFo. Or was, rather, until he found out about it."
JoFo? Gina didn't even know how to react to that. "So... the fact that I got a nickname..."
"Good," Olivia said, smiling, and then Ivy came over and plopped down next to them.
"Congratulations!" she said, beaming, and Gina saw that she was not quite so tipsy as previously expected. Olivia excused herself and went to Jake-- Gina hardly noticed. "Welcome to the family."
Gina choked on air. "Family?"
Ivy, unruffled, shrugged. "In a manner of speaking. Haven't you ever heard that saying 'friends are the family you choose?'" She gestured at the circle. "Well, welcome aboard."
Against her will, Gina felt a smile tugging at her mouth. It must be Ivy, she decided. "Thanks," she said. "Although that didn't feel like I had much of a choice."
Ivy grinned. "We do rather conscript people. Ask Danny about how she got introduced sometime. But yeah. We're nice, I promise."
Gina nodded, thoughtfully. "So... Aaron is the final arbiter?"
"No-o," Ivy said, drawn out and thoughtful. "No, that's more of a group decision, but it's not like anyone actually talks about it, you know, it just happens. You happened." She shrugged again and downed the last of her beer. "That's the way it goes sometimes."
Gina didn't understand that very much, but she wasn't sure she wanted to, right now; her breath was coming a bit short, and she thought that if she asked Ivy to explain, she wouldn't hear a word. Instead she looked away, across the rest of the group-- Danny now inexplicably in Aaron's lap, Lars saying something that involved a lot of gestures-- and said, "Speedy G. I'm not sure what I think of it."
"Could be worse," Ivy said, phlegmatically. "I was Two-Street Terror once. For about a month, mind, then he got bored and went back to Vee, but he'll still call me that once in a while when I've gotten lost again."
Gina turned and stared at her. "Two-Street Terror?" she asked. "This I have to hear."
Ivy grinned again. "My sense of direction is crap," she said. "So this one time I got lost in this little tiny podunk town that only had two streets. I shit you not. Aaron had to drag out a fucking compass before we got anywhere reasonable."
Gina was quiet for a moment, then said, "Two streets?"
"Two streets," Ivy said. "I shit you not. Even I don't know how I managed that one. Aaron gives me one of those little plastic crappy compasses for Christmas now, every year." She looked fondly at her brother. "He thinks he's funny."
"I think it's funny," Gina said.
"Traitor," Ivy said, and smiled.
Gina smiled back, and felt herself begin to find a way in.