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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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