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 Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2026 6:40 pm
It was probably silly, that Ever insisted on being early to class. This was a large freshman seminar; it wasn't like the professor was going to remember him any more or less than any other student. And yet, there he was, hovering by the door, several minutes early because otherwise he might as well be late.
Did he feel a little ridiculous? Yes. But at least he knew he looked cute, and he was well and prepared, and had done all the reading and then some, so freshman bio seminar was going to get its a** kicked. Or something like that.
He fiddled with one of the loose locks of his hair, left down to frame his face with the rest pulled into a high ponytail with a cute little bow. He could, at least, also be pleased with how he looked.
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Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2026 5:06 pm
Riker was early.
Obviously.
He'd gotten to campus with Julian with more than enough time to spare, and they'd split off once they had to head toward different buildings. There were already plans to meet up later — lunch with at least some combination of their friends, depending on everyone's schedules, and then apparently some freshman social thing afterward that Riker had already decided he wasn't going to enjoy.
So it wasn't like he was alone.
That didn't stop the unfamiliar building from making him feel like he was.
He adjusted the strap of his bag higher on his shoulder as he approached the classroom, already regretting the black long-sleeved shirt he'd picked that morning. It was thin, at least, but he didn't risk rolling the sleeves up and getting awkward stares from strangers who would assume the wrong thing. Not that the truth was any better. His freshly redyed bangs were probably the only part of him that looked like he'd made an effort, the rest of his hair pulled back into its usual low ponytail.
There was already someone waiting by the door.
Riker slowed. For half a second, the long hair and skirt made him think of Dawn, except — no. Too flat-chested. And then something about the build and softer features reminded him more of Atticus, which probably should have been where his brain stopped.
Instead, apparently, he stared long enough to make it weird.
s**t.
He looked abruptly at the classroom number like he'd been intensely interested in confirming it.
"Bio seminar?" he asked, despite the fact that they were both standing directly beneath the sign.
Great start.
Riker shifted his bag again, jaw tightening as he tried to salvage whatever that had been. "I mean. You're waiting for this one, right? Not just…" He gestured vaguely toward the hallway.
Jesus Christ.
"Never mind. That sounded stupid."
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Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2026 8:11 pm
It wasn't exactly unexpected to have someone come up to the door, given that this was a public hallway in a college building where plenty of other people were bound to be, but the brown-haired man stared at Ever long enough that he had to take a moment to look back.
There was something familiar about him--though for the first moment, Ever couldn't quite tell what. Like a memory scratching at the back of his brain, until it kicked itself to the forefront.
"....Riker? Riker Starmount?"
Ever was not exactly excited for the blast from the past; being transported back to middle school was never exactly an ideal experience, but being transported back by running into someone who had known him then was....well, considering the shape of that knowing, less than pleasant. Sure, six years later Ever could recognize that Riker's taunts hadn't exactly been wittily winning, but when he'd been sensitive, grieving, and just starting to realize that a lot of things about him weren't like other boys...
Ever exhaled between his teeth and forced a smile. It had been years. All of high school. Riker probably didn't even recognize him and if he'd been just a little smarter, he could have flown under the radar about it.
"Wow, you've really grown up since middle school." Still kind of awkward, though. "Yes, I'm here for freshman bio." But it was a massive class. So that was something.
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Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2026 6:13 pm
Riker froze. Not because he knew his name, but because he knew that name.
His grip tightened around the strap of his bag, and for a second all the awkward uncertainty he'd been carrying about being somewhere new drowned beneath something much colder.
"McCann," he mumbled without thinking about it. "It's McCann now."
Which probably wasn't the important part.
Riker looked at him again. Really looked this time, trying to drag six-year-old memories into focus around the long blue hair and the way the other carried himself now.
Middle school.
Oh.
Oh, s**t.
His stomach dropped.
"Ever?"
The name came out cautiously, though recognition was already settling unpleasantly into place. He remembered enough. Not every word, maybe. Not every stupid thing he'd said trying to impress people who had never deserved that much of him in the first place. But he remembered picking at Ever. Remembered choosing someone else's discomfort because, at the time, he'd thought being cruel might make him seem tougher. Cooler. Worth something to people who thought him worthless in the first place.
None of that mattered now. Not as an excuse, anyway.
Riker knew better than to pretend he'd only been a kid, or that he'd had his own problems, or that half the things he'd said hadn't even had much conviction behind them. Ever had still been on the receiving end of it. Riker had still been the one who'd done it.
And apparently Ever remembered.
"Yeah," Riker said after an uncomfortable moment. Ever probably meant his height. Riker had shot up plenty since middle school.
His eyes dropped toward the floor anyway.
Not enough, some ugly part of him offered, and that had nothing to do with inches.
He swallowed and glanced back up, expression tight with embarrassment. "I was a d**k to you." There wasn't much point in softening it.
Riker grimaced, fingers tightening once more around the strap of his bag. "I'm sorry."
The apology felt small. Pathetic, almost, compared to something Ever had apparently carried well enough to recognize him six years later. Riker didn't expect it to fix anything. He wasn't sure he would have believed Ever if he'd said it did.
He shifted his weight, looking briefly toward the classroom like escape might still be an option.
"So. Uh…" His expression twisted in shame and remorse. "This is going well."
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2026 1:21 pm
"Oh, sorry," Ever said, and he did mean it. Not that he'd have had any way of knowing what might have made Riker change his name, but it probably sucked to hear the wrong one.
"Aw, you do remember." Ever knew he sounded bitey and passive aggressive. And maybe it wasn't fair. They'd both separately been through high school and now they were college freshman, and probably that was enough time to forgive and forget, or whatever the mentally healthy thing to do was.
He'd been grieving, then, still. Just two years out from his mother's death. Maybe he was grieving again now--Destiny wasn't exactly doing a good job of acting like his and Miyako's mom, but that didn't make her presence grate any less.
"You were," Ever agreed. It wasn't as if it was exactly debatable. "But hey, we were twelve." It wasn't exactly forgiveness; Riker might not have been the worst, but it had still been a wound when Ever was already messy and vulnerable. "I hope you're not doing that s**t anymore."
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Posted: Wed Sep 02, 2026 6:26 pm
"Yeah."
Riker deserved that. The bite in Ever's voice hit exactly where it was supposed to, and he made himself stay where he was instead of looking away again. There wasn't any point in acting wounded over being reminded that he'd hurt someone first.
Twelve.
His mouth pressed together into a thin line. Maybe that mattered to Ever. Maybe it was supposed to make the whole thing easier to put somewhere distant and stupid and childish.
Riker wasn't very good at doing that.
He'd been twelve and desperate and angry and so busy trying not to drown that he'd never stopped to consider who else he might be dragging under with him.
There had been people who would have reached for him, too. He knew that now. None of it was anything Ever needed to hear.
"No," Riker said quickly when Ever asked if he still did that s**t. His expression tightened, like the possibility itself offended him. "No. I don't."
He hesitated. "At least, I ******** hope not." Ah… that probably sounded less reassuring than he'd intended.
Riker let out a breath through his nose and shifted the bag higher on his shoulder again. "I mean… I'm still an a*****e sometimes. Just—..." He grimaced. "Not like that."
Probably.
God, this was going terribly.
He glanced over at Ever for a moment before his gaze settled somewhere over his shoulder instead. "And you don't have to do the whole 'we were twelve' thing for me," he added, quieter. "I know what I did."
He didn't want Ever thinking he was fishing for forgiveness. Especially when Ever hadn't offered it. And especially since Riker didn't think he deserved it.
Another uncomfortable moment passed, then Riker nodded toward the classroom. "I can sit on the other side of the room from you, if you want."
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Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2026 12:39 am
Well, that was something. There was no denying that Riker seemed remorseful, and Ever guessed that was probably a step in the right direction. It didn't necessarily make him more eager to fall all over himself in forgiveness, but it maybe made him feel a little better about sharing a classroom with him.
"Yeah, there are varieties of assholery," he acknowledged, "so I guess I'm glad that you've moved on to new, different ventures on that front." and, if Ever was being nice and sympathetic, everyone was kind of an a*****e sometimes. So whatever.
"You don't need to martyr yourself for my forgiveness, either." It was and wasn't a big deal, Ever supposed. "Anyway, there's going to be a hundred people in this class, or something like that. Yeah, we can sit separately and it's fine."
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Posted: Thu Sep 03, 2026 11:33 am
Riker winced.
Okay.
That one landed a little closer than Ever probably realized.
"I'm not—"
The denial came automatically, but Riker stopped himself before he could finish it. His mouth closed again.
Wasn't it?
Maybe not intentionally. He wasn't trying to make Ever feel sorry for him, and he definitely wasn't expecting forgiveness just because he'd managed to say he was sorry six years too late. But standing there mentally going through every reason Ever had to hate him probably wasn't going to accomplish anything useful, either.
And Ever shouldn't have to deal with that on top of everything else.
"Yeah," Riker conceded instead, quieter. "Okay."
His fingers finally loosened from the strap of his bag, and he almost felt his mouth twitch in amusement at the comment about different varieties of assholery, but couldn't quite decide whether that would be inappropriate. "I've diversified."
Okay… probably not the best joke he'd ever made.
At least Ever didn't seem worried about sharing a classroom with him. Riker could take that for what it was without trying to make it mean anything more.
He almost told Ever that he wasn't asking for forgiveness, but that wasn't really the point, either. So he kept it to himself.
"Other side of the room it is," Riker said instead, with a small nod. "I'll try not to ruin freshman bio for you, too."
He paused and grimaced.
"...That was a joke."
Mostly.
Thankfully, more students had begun filtering down the hallway toward them, which meant there were finally other people to absorb some of the awkwardness. Riker stepped aside to let a couple pass into the room before looking back at Ever.
"I'll see you around, I guess."
Given the size of the campus, maybe he wouldn't.
Given Riker's luck, they probably had three more classes together.
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