welsh_shadow (welsh_shadow) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2016-09-26 08:53:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, spencer hastings, will herondale |
Who: Will and Spencer
When: 22nd September
Where: UCI
What: Random Encounter
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Will was thankful that it was once again time to return to university. He enjoyed his course but it also served as a distraction now. Things were still a little strange at home but settling, he was hoping that university starting again would help that. Normalcy was something he was craving at the moment.
Entering the campus cafeteria he sighed when he saw how busy it was, he hasn’t missed this part. Grabbing a sandwich and drink he took a place in line.
Spencer wasn’t all that excited about starting up a new quarter at UCI. Truth was, she didn’t want to be there. She wanted to be at Stanford, which was her second choice school. (She hadn’t gotten into her first.) But UCI came in at third, and she’d rather be at school than on her own, so… here she was. Still smarting from being kicked out of her old school, ego bruised, kicking herself, and not really wanting to be there at all.
She sighed in the line in the commons, holding a tray with some hot soup on it. It was a long line, and her stomach was grumbling.
“Eager for lunch?” Will asked turning a little to smile at the sighing girl in line behind him. It wasn’t unusual for people to get impatient in line, Will was one of them when he had another class to get to.
The voice that came from the man in front of her in line didn’t really register at first. Spencer didn’t know anyone on campus yet, so she figured that the person was talking to someone else. That’s why it took her a moment to lift her face and meet his eyes. When she realized he was talking to her, Spencer went a little pink, wide-eyed. “I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Sorry, I have a habit of talking to people” Will told her with a slight smile, “I asked if you were eager for lunch? Or is it a lesson you want to get to?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Oh,” Spencer broke into a little smile, something sheepish, and then shrugged. “Hungry. I skipped breakfast this morning. Not sure how the traffic was gonna be now that school’s started,” she explained. “I should have grabbed something to go, but didn’t want to chance it.”
Will nodded, “I know what you mean. Always hard to tell on the first week or so back, people panic arrive early so it’s always busier” he agreed, “Shouldn’t be too long, queues moving steadily. So what are you studying?”
“And there are the people who drop out, too. They make more spaces for those of us willing to stick through to the end.” Spencer was both glad that they made room so the rest of the quarter would be more comfortable, and a little sad that people felt the need to drop out. Oh well. She was competitive by nature, and glad that the pool of competitors thinned naturally.
“I’m not sure yet. Right now I’m a liberal arts major.” It didn’t sound like much. Spencer was sure it was going to change at least once before she ended up where she was going. “I know my mom and dad want me to study law, but I’m not sure I want to follow in their footsteps.”
Will nodded, “Yeah, parental pressures can be a lot to deal with but whatever you choose you’ll be the one stuck with it right? It has to be the right choice for you” He was lucky that his parents had never pressured him into anything really but he had friends whose parents had pushed them down a specific path.
Spencer nodded, smiling softly. She gave a tiny flail with her hand in the air, agreeing with him. “Thank you! That’s what I keep saying! Though, my name apparently comes with some sort of responsibility, and my parents expect more from me than I’ve been showing them lately. It’s a big, huge mess.”
“Sorry to hear that. Way I see it adding pressure, whether you have a name or not, isn’t going to help anybody. If anything it’ll push you to do something stupid just to rebel or follow the path and burn out. Neither of which is going to look good on your ‘name’, so best thing is just to let you be” It seemed simple to Will but then he’d never been the sort to cave to pressure. Generally he gave the middle finger and did what he wanted to do.
“God, where were you when my parents needed advice?” Spencer said, giving him an even brighter smile. He was making all kinds of sense, and she appreciated it. Actually, she’d have to log both those arguments away for later. Either rebel or burn out? Not good options. Surely her parents would understand that logic if she threw it at them. She turned to step forward in line.
“Hey, if you’re not terribly busy… I don’t really know anyone around campus. Do you want to eat lunch together?” Nothing shady, she promised. Spencer just hated sitting alone and feeling like a pariah.
“I’d guess in Wales” Will replied with a grin, but he was glad he’d been able to make her smile. He tried to make people feel better and he preferred smiles to frowns.
“I have time, I’d love to join you” he said easily, “Better than eating alone or sneaking it into the library” he admitted with a cheeky grin as he stepped forward to pay.
Spencer gave a laugh at that. He was cheeky, that was for sure. And she found she was enjoying his company. “I’m Spencer.” She held out a hand for him to shake.
Once they both had their lunches and were paid up, Spencer led the way over to an empty table so they could sit and have a nice lunch together.
“Will” he replied shaking her hand, “Pleased to meet you” he added before following her, looking forward to getting to know her a bit better. It never hurt to have friends on campus, even if they weren’t studying the same subjects.
“So, Will,” Spencer said, slipping into the table and smiling over at him. “What are you studying? Do you like it here? Are there any teachers I should watch out for?” She was new, she needed all the little details, all the warnings.