The Tiberius J. Swann Education Facility

Who: Lyle and Peyton
What: Popping in for an unexpected visit
Where: Lyle's apartment
When: Lunch time
Rating: TBD


It was a pretty typical day, but not a typical week, for Lyle. On Monday Fisher had called him to tell him that his ex girlfriend had released a new album and apparently it was "the grittiest chunk of true emotion since Adele set fire to the rain". On Tuesday, someone from some crappy no-name tabloid had called Lyle to ask him about not his brother's nuptials, which was his first assumption, but his relationship with Peyton Billings. Then four hours later someone from a well known tabloid called asking for similar information. And then another called, and another. And then on Wednesday there was a handful of letters, all wanting his side of the story about a relationship that had been dead for ten years.

Frustrated, and annoyed, and a little worried that media snooping might blow the lid off TJS, Lyle called the record company that was representing Peyton and, with a good amount of lying and false names, he got through to her publicist's voicemail. He demanded that they retract the statement, or at the very least lie and say that the person she named wasn't him, and to tell Peyton that he was at "the school" and this attention was going to, quote, "fuck this little world". He hoped that she would at least care enough about the people here to not want that to happen.

Thursday seemed promising, since only two media morons had called him and he had hung up on them both. Hopefully it would just blow over. The less he had to think about this, the better he'd be. So he was busy with grading papers and making notes about which students were understanding the material, which weren't, and which were just too thickheaded to be helped. When a knock came to the door Lyle didn't think much of it, so he answered while skimming over his text book. And then he flat out dropped it, and his jaw, when he saw who was standing on the other side of the door.

Who: Lyle, Kael, Fisher maybe Nico
What: Meeting the eldest brother
Where: Lyle's apartment
When: Evening
Rating: TBD

Since Fisher hadn't requested transportation, Lyle hadn't bothered to send someone to the airport and pick up his brother. But like the cat that always came back in that song he couldn't quite remember from third grade, Fisher showed up at his apartment in the late afternoon with an overnight bag and an anxious look about him. "Nervous?" Lyle smirked as he closed the door behind his brother.

"Nah," Fisher lied. "I meet new people all the time. No big deal."

"Mm hm. Where's the Gayor?"

Frowning, Fisher dropped his bag on the floor by the doorway, which he knew made Nico (and thusly Lyle) crazy. "Don't call him that. And I left him in Vegas."

"Your handler lets you travel alone?" he asked, seemingly impressed. This made Fisher frown harder.

"I'm an adult, douchebag. I can do what I want." With a pause, he added "And I'm only going to be gone a few days."

"You mean you're not staying forever?" Lyle asked wryly, shuffling over to grab Fisher's bag and taking it to the spare room before Nico got home and started getting all... antsy. "Damn. I'll cry."

"Fuck you. So, where is the thing?"

Tossing the bag into the room and shutting the door, Lyle ran a hand through his hair. "That thing has a name, and it's Kael. And don't be a dick to him, okay? It's not his fault that this is all fucked up. He really wants to meet you for some reason so... just try and not totally suck, please?"

Taking a seat on the sofa, Fisher twirled a strand of hair, chewing on his inner lip. "I won't," he said quietly. "Or I guess, I'll try. But I don't really know what I'm gonna say to him, I mean... am I supposed to be reassuring or something? You're a frickin vampire. If that doesn't make him assured that he's not a freak, I dunno what will." Fisher didn't want to be the kind of person that someone might look up to. There had been a time when he didn't mind, but he had failed at being a role model so spectacularly, he never wanted a repeat occurrence. "Is he gonna be home soon? I wanna get this over with."

Taking a seat next to Fisher, Lyle patted his brother's arm. "He should be home soon. Don't stress about it. Just talk to him, answer questions. He's a good kid and a decent person. He's not gonna try and get all hero worship on you."

Who: Lyle and Kael
What: Lyle meets his half brother
Where: CPS Office in New York
When: Later evening (around 8)
Rating: PG

Mrs. Kline had insisted on doing things what she considered the proper way, which meant that all the necessary paperwork had to be completed before she would introduce Lyle to Kael. But once that was all squared away, she rose from her desk and asked, "Are you ready to meet him now?" She waited his response before leading him down the hallway to retrieve the seventeen year old.

Kael was in one of the rooms where they held children while they were waiting on their placements. It was geared more toward younger children, filled with random toys and a television that was placed high up and played nothing but family friendly channels. He was slouched down in his chair, staring absently at the television which was currently playing some random episode of Spongebob Squarepants. He looked over when the door to the room opened, and then sat up a bit more when he saw Lyle, feeling his anxiety at finally meeting the other man welling in his stomach.

"Well, you two.. take your time and.. when you're ready to go, let me know. I'll show you both out." Kelly smiled and then took her leave, leaving the brothers to get aquainted in what was hopefully a nice neutral place.
( The second he saw the kid, though, there was no question about what was really going on. Kael looked exactly like his dad. )

Who: Maggie and Lyle
When: Monday night
Where: her dorm room
What: flirting because she thinks she's in looooove
Rating: probably tame because he's gonna shoot her down!

Maggie was totally nervous about seeing Lyle tonight, and she'd never been nervous around him before. Suddenly there were all these feelings when she thought about him. Maggie wasn't new to having feelings for boys, nor was she innocent. But this was intense and different. It felt like she loved him. Maybe she'd loved him all along. He'd been her sponsor when she was a senior in high school last year, and he tutored her in math outside of class because she really struggled with the subject. But now, well, she didn't see him as a teacher or confidant anymore. She thought he was simply amazing and sexy, and she wanted to do all sorts of terrible things with him!

That was perhaps the strangest part, because Maggie had sworn off sex after several bad experiences with Devon. Not that he was bad. He was wonderful and patient. She really loved him, though it was more as a best friend. But who wanted to lose their virginity each and every time they had sex? Not Maggie! It hurt, and it would always hurt. So while she had desires, the pain worked as negative conditioning to make her avoid such things.

But maybe it would be different with Lyle. Or maybe she could just block out the pain. Something. She wanted him. And she hoped that the little black dress she picked would make him want her. She fixed her hair in a way that looked quite grown-up, and she did her makeup in a similar fashion. Sure, they were just watching a movie in her dorm room, so it might look a little odd for her to be dolled up like this, but she'd worn a ball gown to his place last night just for fun. Maybe he wouldn't suspect anything and would just be enchanted by her bombshell appearance. Hoping to add to the ambience, she lit a bunch of candles and turned out the lights.

Who: Frankie and Lyle
When: Sunday evening
Where: his place
What: a visit

Frankie hadn't talked to Lyle much lately, and it was completely on purpose. He was really good at reading her, and since he still hadn't broken the news about the baby to her family, she was afraid of Lyle finding out and blabbing. He was Vinnie's friend. He might be required to share that kind of information as part of the bro code or something.

But she missed Lyle, and so against her better judgment, she headed over to his place after dinner. She brought a bag of Oreos with her. He probably wouldn't eat them, what with the dead taste buds, but she'd wolf down a whole bag easily. She knocked lightly on the door, hoping she wasn't interrupting any sort of 'alone' time with his man.

Who: Lyle and Rorie
What: Vamp bonding
Where: Lyle's apartment
When: After Rorie wakes up from his power nap.

( Enter, awkward penguin Rorie )

Who: Lyle and Nico
What: A surprise.
Where: Outside the outdoor pool
When: Just after sunset
Rating: TBD

Go outside to the pool. I have a surprise for you.

That's all the note that Lyle left on the table said. He knew Nico wasn't big on surprises, but... well too bad. This was a good one. He was pretty sure there wouldn't be a complaint, since this surprise was wicked sweet and it wasn't crowding up the apartment. And it was fun! And as much as Nico liked to sulk and scowl and "be busy", Lyle knew that he wasn't opposed to fun. It kind of sucked, though, that it had to stay outside so Lyle could only use it at night, but that was better than never he supposed. The grounds staff had seemed a little less than thrilled by its presence, but that didn't deter Lyle any.

Now if only Nico would hurry up and get there. Sitting on the edge, Lyle swung his feet and waited as patiently as possible. Finally, when he saw his roommate, a huge grin spread over his face. "I wanted it!" he declared, standing up on his sweet new trampoline. "And I thought, who deserves a trampoline? My boy. So I got you a trampoline. Come bounce with me, it's wicked fun!"

Who: Peyton and Lyle
What: Talking
Where: Rec center
When: Midday
Rating: TBD

Lyle hadn't seent a reply to Peyton until he was already at the rec center (and sitting on the pool table) because he hadn't wanted to risk the awkward possibility of them meeting up in the staff apartment building and having to walk there together. Besides, it was likely that Peyton would just teleport there anyway, so he might as well already be waiting. Why he had decided on doing this meeting, he wasn't entirely sure. Just seeing her journal name on the community site, hell even seeing her brother walking around the school, made him feel both angry and sick. And he hadn't been exactly pleasant to Nico since last Friday either. He and Peyton hadn't really talked since she'd left, and Lyle had convinced himself that he was over her and he hated her and she'd be gone forever and he'd never have to think of her again. But of course that wasn't true, as he was repeatedly finding out. So maybe he needed to confront her and get her out of his system.

So he was here now, waiting for her to come (if she came), drumming his fingers op the slate top and thinking that this was probably a shitty idea. So what did he plan to say to her? And so what if they made peace? Would it change anything at all, or would it only complictae everything? Unfortunately, he didn't really have time to back out.

Who: Lyle and Myron
What: Meeting of old friends
Where: The Halls
When: Afternoon

( Why are you dead!? How are you dead? )

Who: Lyle and Fisher (and Nico if he feels sociable)
What: Dropping in for a visit
Where: Lyle's apartment
When: Early morning
Rating: PG 13

It was barely 8am, and someone was knocking on the door. Nico was probably in the grow room, or possibly not home, and was therefore ignoring the morning intruder. So Lyle rolled himself out of bed and padded in his pajama pants to the door, and opened it without bothering to look through the peephole because if it was someone here to kill him, they deserved to succeed just from being out and about so goddamn early. It wasn't an assassin though, almost to Lyle's disappointment. It was Fisher. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked blearily.

"Jesus, you got pale. I think you're paler than I am."

Lyle blinked, then stepped aside to let his brother in. "I catch fire in sunlight," he yawned, pushing the door and just trusting that it would close all the way (which it did). "What's your excuse."

"I'm pretty sure I do too," Fisher said simply, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "It's amazing how much we have in common."

"What are you doing here?" Lyle asked again, taking in a deep breath. Oh, bless Nico, he'd made coffee, and he'd made it strong.

"Well, I was going to go to my other brother's house, but then I remembered I don't have one, well at least, I think I don't have one, dad was-"

"Fish-eerrr!" Lyle whined irritably.

( I feel like I've been shot in the face with a tee shirt cannon of irony. )

Who: Sim and Lyle
What: Showing around
Where: Campus
When: Afternoon

Sim had been given a list of things. Some of it were things she understood, others not so much. It was frustrating, but she would have to learn more English. Especially written English. She was in America now and not everyone was accommodating. She'd stayed at the big house where Blake lived for the night, mostly because she was reluctant to leave the only person she knew that actually understood her fully. It would be tough, but she'd have to power through. After all, she was there to find her father and actually meet him.

That would come later though. Right then, she had to find her dorm. "Excusez-moi. Excusez-moi," she tried to get someone, anyone to stop, but it seemed either they didn't care or they didn't understand her. Maybe even a possible mixture of both. "Cet endroit est impossible! Quelqu'un simplement arrêter et aidez-moi pour quelques minutes?" She huffed, looking down at the papers and groaning. This is why she didn't go to a regular school. She preferred her traveling lifestyle over this! "Jerks," she grumbled, trying to find her way again.

[Excuse me. Excuse me.
This place is impossible! Will anyone just stop and help me for a few minutes!?]

Who: Lyle and Nico
When: Morning
Where: Their apartment
What: Affection
Rated: NSFW

( In progress )

Who: Frankie and Lyle
When: Wednesday night
Where: her room
What: nothing planned right now

Frankie and Lyle had one BIG thing in common. They were both excellent at putting themselves down and not accepting help from one another. That needed to change, but Frankie doubted it would. She was glad he at least agreed to come over, and now that he was speaking again, maybe she wouldn't talk so damn much. Yeah, no, that was unlikely.

Having changed into some pajama pants and a tank top, Frankie threw some popcorn into the microwave. She had the munchies, and it wasn't because of pot, though she might have a joint with Lyle if he was interested. The sound of kernels popping began to slow when Lyle knocked on the door. Frankie jogged over to answer it with a smile. "Hey, come on in.. I gotta get the popcorn before it burns," and she ran back to the microwave to get the bag out.

Who: Nico and Lyle
What: A date and discussions
Where: Boston
When: Evening
Rating: TBD

Lyle had taken Nico to Bistro du Midi, a little French place in the heart of Boston with excellent wine and really decent food. Lyle had ordered everything in flawless french, which had confused the waiter and made the vampire laugh. He wanted this night to be fun, because he honestly didn't know how Nico would accept what he was going to say to him. It could go either way. On the one hand, Nico might not care and say he was perfectly fine with everything, and life would simply go on as it had before. Or he could not like it whatsoever, and then they'd have a problem. Lyle was really, really hoping there wouldn't be a problem.

It wasn't until after the dinner plates had been cleared away, and they had been left to debate over dessert, that Lyle decided he wanted to bring up The Discussion. He knew he shouldn't have been looking at it as such a big deal, because if he didn't think or act like it was a big deal, it wouldn't be. "So," he said casually, swirling the dregs in the bottom of his wine glass (his third). "I guess now is as good a time as any to get to the ulterior motive, hm?"

Who: Lyle and Fisher
What: Brother talking
Where: Lyle's apartment
When: Midmorning
Rating: PG 13


Fisher was winning at Marvel vs. Capcom, and Lyle was not very happy about that. In fact he was getting kind of pissed. Fisher had always sucked at video games, and the fact that he was kicking so much ass right now was unsettling. Growling, Lyle tossed down the controller, plunking his feet up on the coffee table. "Ugh," he grunted. "Forget that game. It sucks anyway."

Smirking, Fisher turned off the console, placed the remote on the coffee table and tucked his feet up beneath himself. It was good to have Lyle talking, and even better still having him talking to Fisher. If Lyle was pitching fits about video games, it meant that he was comfortable around Fisher, which meant he didn't hate him. "Can I talk to you about something?" he asked softly, resting his elbow on the back of the couch, temple rested against his fist.

Giving a glare, Lyle shrugged. "Guess so. If you have to."

"I wanted to talk about you and... your um... roommate." His eyes cast a gaze toward the grow room, where he could faintly here Nico rummaging around.

Scoffing, Lyle folded his arms over his chest. He had been waiting for something like this, and sure enough Fisher was not disappointing. "He's my boyfriend, Fisher. I know you think you've got the monopoly on all the homos in this place, but get over it."

"Would you shut up?" Fisher growled sourly, frowning. "I'm serious."

"Fine, whatever. What."

"Look, Lyle... I know you're not gay." A hand shot up, cutting off Lyle's reply before one could be made. "Shut up and let me finish. I know you're not gay. But I also know that, well... I mean life doesn't always fit into the labels we give ourselves, or that other people give us. Sometimes you have to find happiness wherever you can, especially when shit gets complicated. And I get that, you know?" A hand raked through his hair, which was badly in need of cutting, fingers grabbing hold of the dark tresses. "But sometimes it's... well..." He sighed, giving Lyle a look and then gazing off toward the room where Nico was. "I've been him before. I've been the guy that a straight guy falls for, because I was different than everything he knew. I was new, and I didn't ask anything of him, and I just... accomodated. I was easy to love. I didn't ask anything of him." His eyes moved back to Lyle, his look full of meaning. And the way Lyle was looking back, surprised but trying to hide it, said everything Fisher needed to know. So he continued. "Every one of those relationships ended because, once the comfortable change was old, and the newness and excitement of something different wore off, he realized that I wasn't what he wanted. Because no matter how much any of them might have cared about me, none of them loved me. They loved the idea of me, and what I could do for them, but not me. And they all realized that, really, they were straight. And some guy that gave them relief from real life for awhile wasn't what they wanted. And I got hurt." Pausing again, Fisher looked at his brother, really looked at him, his gray eyes sad. "I've been Nico before, and it always ended badly. I always got hurt. And I just... I don't want you to hurt him just because you need a break from your life."

Lyle was quiet for a long, long time. He stared back at his brother, face blank. The fact of the matter was, much to Lyle's dismay, Fisher raised a really good point. Lyle knew he was straight. But he did care about Nico, a lot. A lot more than he had thought he ever could care about another guy. So what did that mean, exactly? What if his brother was right, and once Lyle got this phase out of his system, once he rejoined life the way he needed to, he wouldn't care so much anymore? Could it really be that superficial without him even knowing it?

"I don't like him just because of what he does for me," he said finally, getting to his feet and avoiding Fisher's gaze. "I like him because of who he is."

"I know you do," Fisher agreed softly. "But just think about it, okay? If you're not completely sure that you want him, then the best thing you can do is to just not do this to him." Standing up as well, Fisher gave his brother a half smile, and ruffled his hair a little. "He seems like a nice enough guy, even if he is kinda odd. Just don't break his heart because you're broken, okay?"

All Lyle could do was nod as Fisher walked away, going to the spare bedroom and shutting the door behind him. Fisher was right, Lyle needed to think about this. He didn't want to hurt Nico, he never wanted to do that. But it was very possible that he would.

Who: Lyle, Nico and Fisher
When: Afternoon
Where: The apartment
What: Nico rises from the dead

It was Monday afternoon before Nico finally felt like moving. He managed to amble his way to the bathroom on his own and relieve himself before he turned his nose up at his own stench and peeled off his clothes to climb into a hot shower. He stayed until the water was cold before he finally climbed out, dried off, and tugged on a pair of clean pajama pants for what felt like the first time in forever.

Nico was still a bit uneven on his feet as he made his way down the hallway where he could hear the soft sound of the television playing. When he arrived, he found Lyle sitting on the sofa with some dark-haired guy that he was sure he should recognize, but didn't. The last little while was pretty hazy and the day before was no exception.

"Hey," he said in a soft voice, still strained from having been ill so long but stronger than it had been for a while. Eying Fisher, he looked at Lyle and signed, Who's he? Of course no sooner had he asked the question then it finally came to him, like some sort of fever dream that hadn't really happened. "Wait," he said, shaking his head. "Never mind. I remember. Handy with a needle."

Who: Lyle, Fisher, Ingrid and Nico
What: Getting cured
Where: Nico and Lyle's apartment
When: Sunday afternoon
Rating: PG 13

It had been days since Fisher had been trying to get to his brother, and even though he'd barely slept at all, he felt completely alert. There were three needles clutched in his hand, three doses of antidote for the three people apparently living in his old apartment. Three people (one of them his straight brother's fucking boyfriend) that were dying of whatever sickness was going on in there. Fisher's stride was long and quick as he moved, and since he still had a key to the place, he walked in without knocking.

( The last person Lyle had expected to see stride into his apartment uninvited was his brother. )

Who: Nico and Lyle
When: Early morning
Where: Nico's bed
What: Nico has a coherent moment

( I'm not going to leave you. )

Who: Nico, Ingrid, then Lyle
What: Confrontations and the onslaught of illness
When: Evening
Where: The apartment

Since Lyle was not currently in the apartment as he had gone to get a few things from the main building because they were snowed in and couldn't get out to the stores, Nico decided that it was as good a time as any to have a conversation with Ingrid that had been nagging at the back of his mind for days. So he found her sitting on the sofa, surfing through the various channels, a frown clearly etched upon her face, and he took a seat next to her and was, for the moment, ignored.

"You know you can't do that to him," Nico said after a moment, and Ingrid looked over at him with a brow arched slightly. "I know what you've been thinking about, I can feel it. And you're not going to do that to him." A glare was received in response to those words and she focused her gaze back on the television, jaw set.

( I will chain you up in a fucking windowless basement if I have to, and don't think that I won't. )

Who: Lyle and Nico (and probs Ingrid)
What: Whatever
Where: Their apartment
When: Sunday morning
Rating: PG (as far as I know)

Life had been somewhat tense in Lyle's apartment since The Night. Ingrid was still kind of miffed that he talked to Nico and not her, and also that Lyle was being a little bit dickish about his unwillingness to forgive and forget properly. He couldn't blame her for that. It was harder to just let go with Ingrid, because she meant so much to him and he loved having her close but at the same time he hated having her around. It brought forth a great internal conflict Lyle was having trouble balancing. And Nico, clearly trying to keep the peace, just stayed quiet and did what needed doing and tried staying out of his vampire roommates way. Which of course made Lyle feel a little guilty, and it made him worry that Nico would just move out on him one of these days.

It was thoughts like this, and similar ones, that had Lyle up and about very early on Sunday, even awake before Nico for once. Lyle could have gone outside and stood on the front lawn and not fear burning, that's how early it was. But since it was so early and he had nothing to do, he decided to cook- first starting a batch of chocolate chip cookies from scratch, and while those were baking whipping up a quiche for Nico when he got up. And while he worked, he smoked a joint from the Canada stuff Ingrid had brought him, and he did something that most people had never heard him do before- he sang.

"Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong
You're enchained by your own sorrow
In your eyes there is no hope for tomorrow
How I hate to see you like this
There is no way you can deny it
I can see that you're oh so sad, so quiet..."

It was quiet, low and smooth, his voice full and rich and deep. It wasn't loud enough to wake anyone, but certainly loud enough to be heard by those already stirred from their slumber.