Tonight's performance went stellar! We totally knocked it out of the park! Hell, I think even Jade was impressed, and that's really saying something! Little Red was bouncing around with excitement as we all talked over one another. Jade walked over, and the room went silent. Then she gave a big smile and congratulated us on a job well done! Suffice it to say, everybody was super hyped. We were performing at someone else's stadium, so once everything was all said and done, we boarded a bus to head back to our campus.
Scarlett sat next to me, which worked out great since I had been wanting to go over some character design ideas with her. At first, I just told Scarlett what ideas I had in mind, then she started rambling off about the character's story and journey. So I took the opportunity to work on some drawings while she talked, which worked out super well as her ideas informed my designs, and sometimes my designs would impact her ideas.
"You two seem to be getting along well," we both heard Jade say. We stopped and looked up. Sure enough, Jade was standing right by us. "Oh well, yeah! We're like total besties now," Scarlett giggled, which did make me smile. But also Jade tends to make me rather nerrvous so I was feeling on edge.
Jade nodded, her expression never shifting. "I've noticed. I believe you've been spending a lot of time with Joey, too, right?" She directed her question at Scarlett. Scarlett, however, did not waver in her smile nor her bubblyiness.
"Yeah! The three of us are working on making a game together! It's going to be so exciting!" That was true enough, of course, even so, the idea of Jade getting wind of our situation made me nervous. Jade didn't like drama, or the potential for drama. If she found out, she was almost certain to kick us both out of the team.
Jade tilted her head to the side and smirked ever so softly, "creating a game, huh?" There was something rather genuine about her tone as her eyes gazed around the bus. She looked back at us with a kindness I hadn't seen in her before. "How wonderful." Was this for real?
"Jade?" The single word was enough to voice my myriad of questions. Jade only really showed a fake, gentle version of herself to the teachers and people watching us. But for us on the team, we knew the real Jade, and she was a hard-boiled egg if I'd ever seen one. To see her suddenly being so soft felt so wrong.
Jade lowered her voice, like she herself was unaccustomed to her own sudden change in behavior. "Sometimes I worry. College isn't forever. Our time here is fun, but what comes next? Not everybody figures out what the future will look like before the future arrives. I don't want your time on the team to be the pinnacle of your life. But for some people, that's unavoidable, I suppose. They'll spend the rest of their lives defined by these moments in college. But right now, the whole point is discovery, to figure out who we are, what we like, and chase a passion worthy of a lifetime. I'm glad that it seems you two are finding that. Or you three, I should say."
"Oh, um, thanks," Scarlett replied while I kept looking on like a dumbfounded dumbass. "You can actually be really sweet, Jade." Jade just rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving us alone. Neither one of us really had the energy to continue talking about the game, so instead we both took a nap for the rest of the ride back.
Once back, we said our goodbyes to everyone and made our own way home. We still had our dorms but lately all four of us have really just been staying at Barrett's place. Or well, our place now, I suppose. That would certainly take some getting used to.
"Welcome back," Barrett said. He was sitting on the couch watching some tv with a notebook and a textbook opened up on the table in front of him. It looks like he was trying to study and failed. I walked over and kissed him; he kissed me back, but of course, he couldn't resist also smacking my ass. Can't say I was upset about it, though.
Scarlett plopped down on the other couch. "Today was awesome! You should've seen us!" She began exclaiming and ranting about all our success. I sat on Barrett's lap, and he paused the tv as we listened to Scarlett rattle on. Honestly, she could go on for hours, but we really didn't mind. It was rather cute after all.
About an hour later, Joey arrived from his study session with some other students from one of his classes. He walked over and kissed me hello, sitting down on the couch while I shifted to be right between him and Barrett. Scarlett jumped over, sitting to the other side of Joey and getting her kiss hello as well.
"Sorry, I wasn't able to come watch. How'd it go though?" Joey asked, unaware that Scarlett had just given a full rundown. Luckily, her energy reserves were not yet depleted, and so she told it all yet again. Towards the end of her tale, Scarlett mentioned our conversation on the bus about the character designs.
This led us all to further discuss the game, its story, its mechanics, etc. Before long, it was well past midnight, and the four of us were cuddled up, sleepily chatting away. The whole time, though, I just kept thinking back to what Jade had said.
I honestly hadn't given the future much thought before recently. Nor had I originally intended to explore more about myself. Yet here I am, cuddled up with two boyfriends. One of which I'm sharing with Scarlett. Working towards making a game. Building a future.
I suppose things have really worked out. Though I'll admit it wasn't all due to me trying to make it all work out, per se. Either way, I'm glad we all found some happiness together.