Realistic or Modern espresso { ♪ } yourself

cellar. · May 1, 2017

espresso yourself

Muse A is a musician who regularly plays at a coffee shop, who is not-so-obviously blind. While Muse B is a customer who comes every day just to see them.

CHARACTERS
Samuel Song :: Muse A
Adrian Lee :: Muse B

OTHER
x :: Link to Graphics
x :: Link to Playlists

one x one between I I I I & cellar.
gifs from tumblr.

cellar. · May 2, 2017

CHARACTER PROFILE;

A D R I A N • L E E

taurus; 19
sophomore
{ blue sunshine }

“I swear. Easy as shit.”

They grasp hands. And on the count of three – weeds scratching his ankles, midnight mist sticking to his lungs, some mugginess of summer clinging to his chest with each breath of reckless abandon, looking to collect another scar of bad ideas – they let go.

He runs, slams his hands into the fence, the feel of grit rubbing against his fingers. Rust grinds into skin. The sound of a ringing pulse, the silver of moon, the smell of chlorine – these are the stakes they slapped down into each other’s palms, built from boredom. And he’s nearly certain he’s going to win, only to see Nate perched on the top of the fence already, lounging as easily as the moonlight strikes the metal. The other boy blows him a kiss, jumps, and lands effortlessly on the other side.

“Fuck –” but Nate is waiting for him, looking smug as hell as he pulls him down the last three feet by the back of his shirt. And before he can orientate himself on the aqua tiles of the swimming pool ledge, he’s crashing into the water, a blink and a hard shove later.

He remembers, however, to make a point to splash the fuck out of Nate as he falls, the screams of laughter from his friends muffled by the water.

“Ade – oh fuck Adrian, we gotta go!”

His shoes are squishy and his clothes are heavy, but this is the dream age, this is lemonade and video games. This is life, and the fence hurts when it scratches his bare arms, his lungs hurt from being soaked, and he's running for his goddamn life from the flashlight of some underpaid pool police, gunning it through the streets. But this is life.

--

“Adrian, it’s a good school.”
“I know”
“Adrian –”
“Dad. I know.”
“Besides, you didn’t get in anywhere better.”

“Like Thomas did,” he finishes. But he lets that thought sink between his teeth, bites back any taste of spite. Venom spills – he was always hot-headed – but he mops it up sloppily from the dinner table, excuses himself and screams to the wind.

--

The music is humming into him, warm, and melts into his bones until he’s a puddle on the floor of the dark basement. A girl presses herself against his chest, kisses him, and he’s not even sure what’s happening – just that he is very hot, his t-shirt sticking to him from some combination of sweat and mysterious substances, and her lips are very soft and nice but he’s too dizzy to want to right now.

He had never been good at saying no, but an uneasiness in his belly makes him push her away gently. Nausea burns and like smoke, it crawls up his throat, his stomach rolling in embers as he goes up the stairs two at a time, trying not to trip, shoes sticking to the floor of the frat with each shaky step.

It hurts. He’s shivering, left puking off the side of the patio as the November frost takes up his lungs. And he’s lost count of how many times it’s ended like this, every time he’s wanted that light-headed euphoria from slipping through. Fuck this. Fuck himself. Fuck everything.

At least he’s got enough sense not to vomit on himself this time.

And this is fine. Even if it isn’t. This is fine because this is life too. This is the same pain as choking on swimming pools, and this is the same dizziness as some summer heatwave. Everything will be okay tomorrow morning, everything will be alright –

“Yo. What the fuck Ade,” he hears someone say.

ADRIAN EXTRAS
-probably an aries moon or something
-birthday: april 21st

-biggest hoe
-biggest heart
-eats to live, lives to eat
-doesn't know what he's doing lol, what's a major ?? he's an engineer rn tho

-fam consists of his dad and his older brother, thomas
-haha what is caution ?? what is moderation ?? reckless af
-is a burrito of fun tho
-actually likes long walks on the beach and watching the sunset from a picturesque grassy knoll
-idk what else

I I I I · May 3, 2017

b a s i c s: FULL NAME Samuel Weilong Song
NICKNAME Simply, Sam.

GENDER Male
ETHNICITY Chinese
NATIONALITY American
BIRTHDATE December 9, 1996
AGE 20

HEIGHT 5'10
WEIGHT 143 lbs

ORIENTATION Gender is pretty irrelevant to Sam.
OCCUPATION Full-time student currently in his sophomore year. He does also work part-time as a musician at a local cafe.

p e r s o n a l i t y: Samuel has a pretty easy-going type of personality but would not be considered timid. He normally appears relaxed and seemingly confident. To the degree that most people don't even realize that he is blind at first. Even though he is naturally quiet, he has a charming quality about him. Despite being someone who has a lot of vulnerability, he does not have very many fears. He would much rather try and horribly fail at something than to not try at all out of fear. The worst thing that you could possibly say to Sam is that he isn't capable of doing something, especially if the reason for that belief is because of his lack of sight. Of course, it will hurt him. But it will also make him more stubborn and dedicated to proving you wrong.

-He's the happiest when he's listening to or making music.

- Just because he enjoys rainy days, hot drinks and cozy blankets doesn't mean he can't enjoy the opposite- unexpected adventures can be great too.

- He isn't overly sensitive and can have a good laugh at himself in awkward situations.

- He is in no way antisocial but he is incredibly independent.

b a c k g r o u n d: There is absolutely nothing he could complain about in regards to his childhood. He feels as if he lived a pretty normal life as a kid; loving parents (albeit a little strict), decent at school, he was involved with sports, and had some great friends. The only thing that set him apart from the other kids was that around the young age of two years old, he was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa: a retinal, degenerative disease that causes a gradual decline in the vision. Without a doubt, at some point in his life, he would become completely sightless. But a kid isn't even going to think too seriously about that fact and just be, ya know, a kid.

He had been put into music lessons at a young age, like a lot of kids are forced into, and was taught the fundamentals of both piano and the guitar. But he was around only eight years old when he started to become serious about the guitar. In all honesty, it quickly became pretty much the only thing he cared about.

As the terms 'gradual' and 'degenerative' imply, his eyesight did get worse slowly over time. It started out as merely night blindness, then blurriness and difficulty reading, tunnel vision, loss of depth perception, and then he lost the ability to discriminate colors. He was in the 8th grade when he officially went blind, although if you asked him he wouldn't be able to tell you what the last thing he saw even was- considering how it was such a gradual loss.

The depression and anxiety hit him hard. It took a lot of professional help and support from those around him before he could even begin to live a 'normal' life again. As soon as he was mentally able, his parents pushed him into competitive sports that were adaptable for the blind or visually impaired; such as swimming, track and marathons, and even judo. It served as a good distraction and allowed him to get some drive back into his life, not to mention it helped him stay physically healthy rather than just allowing him to never leave his room like he would have preferred at one point. And while he actually enjoyed some of the sports, it was music that truly pulled him through. Even after losing his sight, his muscle memory didn't forget how to play just because he couldn't look at the strings anymore. In fact, his lack of sight helped him adapt to having a better ear.

He qualified with his guide dog when he was fifteen; the labrador mix came with the name Baron. It didn't take long at all for Samuel to warm up to Baron but he was hesitant at first to put all of his trust in a dog. Baron is not only loving, though, but also extremely dedicated to his work- so Sam was able to feel safe and in capable ~~paws~~ hands in no time.

When you have a very prominent disability, people seem to assume that it is acceptable to tell you what you can and cannot do. Samuel had never really had a problem with discrimination until he got older. Specifically, when it was time to start thinking about college and a career. Even his own parents were hesitant to let him go to college on his own, even questioning if it's worth it and doubting whether or not he can get into a decent profession. But he was adamant about becoming more independent- about going out and living his life.

o t h e r: - He has a pretty solid plan in regards to his education. He is majoring in music and is also persuing a minor in psychology with the end goal of becoming a music therapist.

- His guide dog, Baron, just recently turned four years old.

- So what does he actually see? A common symptom of RP is having a sensitivity to light. You could say that 98% of his vision has been completely lost, but he can somewhat differentiate between lights and shadows. Some examples could be: if a light is bright enough, he can pinpoint it; or if he's looking at a window, he can tell if someone were to walk in front of it because they'd be blocking the light.

-The above is why he turns lights on when he walks into a room, even though he can't see much more than where the brightest light fixtures are.

- His eyes are sensitive to the sun and going from a dimly lit place to a well-lit place too sudenly can be painful. (Ie; coming inside to a dimly lit area on a sunny day.)

- OTHER IMAGES

cellar. · May 5, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

Crap on a biscuit. (Was that even an expression? Whatever.)

Thirsty Thursdays always fucked him up. And if last night wasn't proof enough of this fact – then this morning certainly was a no-shit-Sherlock array of evidence slapping him across the face.

As he had learned way back when he was still a wee, spring-green freshman, college was this magical place where people worshipped the god of Forties and Burnett, got shit-faced on a weekday while it was still socially acceptable, did dumb things before dawn, and tried not to think about the disaster that was a Friday morning class. Maybe he should be more concerned about missed lectures. And maybe behavior of materials was, like, actually important to being a mech engineer or something.

Pfft. But not at ass o'clock in the morning, it wasn’t.

Eleven am seemed to be a reasonable time to rise and shine. Or at least, that’s what his housemates thought. He, on the other hand, was perfectly alright with sleeping for another five or ten hours.

"Brunch."
"Breakfast-lunch."
"No stupid, it obviously stands for brain punch."

"Yo. Keep it down you fucks -- before I give you all a goddamn brain punch,” Adrian said underneath the safety of his covers, amour of cotton and a sleepy haze to sooth his headache. These qualities, however, also muffled whatever menace he could muster up in his voice, the bite of his threat lost in the fluff of his pillow.

So Je-sus, somehow he found himself nursing a cup of coffee fifteen minutes later in a café, the quiet din of the shop not nearly loud enough to compete with whatever Noam and Danny were gently bickering about before him. They came here often enough though, the nice ambiance and the quality coffee never failing their Friday morning ritual of pacifying a caustic Thursday night that sleep couldn't entirely fix.

Resting the weight of his hangover on a coffee cup, Adrian effectively zoned out of their conversation, focused on a chip in the china instead, pressing his thumb on the rim against the small crack. The music made him look up from his poor distraction – to see the familiar face settling into a stool with a guitar with another song. Huh. This dude came in as regularly to play as they came to eat.

He watched as the musician plucked away at the guitar strings, a mellow hum and an easy rhythm mixing seamlessly into the musicality of the café noises – which made him want to be able to play an instrument, as it had many times before.

It was musical envy, which he believed stemmed from the time he was eleven and deemed a failure at piano by some abrasive, asshole teacher. He didn’t have the necessary concentration, or magic touch, or something essential of that sort. But he quit those lessons after failing to play Scarborough Fair one too many fucking times, realizing that he could’ve probably used all those hours on his Nintendo DS.

Quitting. Enlightenment.
Same difference to an eleven year old.

“Hey Ade,” he heard Noam say, “don’t fall asleep on us.”

"What – in love with the guitarist?" Danny interjected.

"Pfft. No." Adrian put down his coffee. After all, he had to have both hands to throw shade.

"Daniel, not everyone wants to have sex with everything on two – or maybe four legs," words that promptly ignited a chorus of cheerful ooh sick burn's from Noam.

"Maybe you should learn to play, Adrian. Might get Audrey to like you –" Danny countered, met with an appropriate snicker from Noam and a slap from Ade.

Still, maybe it wasn't a totally awful idea to go back to his instrument-fucking-up days, even if it wasn't entirely for euphonious purposes. Mona Lisa, Girl With a Pearl – weren't most magnum opuses of famous artists because of a girl anyway?

I I I I · May 7, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

A slow but sudden shift of weight on his bed was what caused him to stir in his sleep and made him roll over onto his side. The heavy and comfortable feeling you get when you wake up only slightly and realize you don't have to wake up just yet, that wonderful feeling, well it only lasted for about ten seconds before he was forced to wake up by a cold and damp dog nose attacking his face. A sleepy but surprised noise left Samuel as he quickly raised a hand to cover his face before his inaudible complaints were muffled against his pillow. A heavy paw dropped onto his arm and he knew that this wasn't merely a wake-up call, Baron probably needed to go outside.

"Okay- okay." He mumbled, needing to clear his throat and repeat himself for any sound to leave his lips. Rolling onto his back once again, he felt around his bed for his phone. Once he grasped it, he lifting it in front of his face. The voice-over on his phone talked to him in a fast paced, monotone voice; telling him the time, date, and any notifications he had gotten since the last time he had picked it up. He pried his tired eyes open to look at the screen that he could not read, his brain appreciating the light that came from it. Upon hearing that it was nine in the morning, he let go of a soft sigh- Baron normally needs the toilet at around seven in the morning so at least he had lasted longer than expected. Even though nine in the morning on a day that he does not have classes feels quite early, in reality, it's only thirty minutes before his alarm anyway.

Noah, his roommate, would have already left for his early-morning classes a few hours ago. So Sam was used to waking up to a quiet dorm room on Friday mornings. Sitting upright and pushing the blankets off of him, the dark-haired young man turned to place his feet on the floor. He could feel Baron resting his head on his knee and he reached down to place a hand near the labrador mix's ear. "Hang on," he said softly. Standing up, he walked over to where a pair of his sneakers were by the door, pulling them on without bothering with socks. He raked his fingers through his bedhead hair and then grabbed one of Baron's leashes that were hung up nearby. He was dressed enough to not even bother with getting ready; clad simply in a pair of thick, gray sweatpants and a matching hoodie. He leaned down to hold out the harness of which Baron easily stepped into, then he clipped on the regular leash.

"Ready?" He questioned, making sure he had his phone (which had a wallet case, so it also carried his residential key card), he wrapped the leash around his wrist and pulled open the door. Living on the first floor of the dorm building has its perks, the most important one being that his guide dog is relatively close to an exit for bathroom breaks. Holding the leash closer to the harness keeps Baron close to his left side just slightly in front of him. As soon as they were in the hall and Samuel shut his room door behind him, Baron knew exactly where to go and how to get to the side-door exit.

It only took a few minutes, so Samuel was quickly back in his room to get ready for the day. Even though he doesn't have classes today, he will normally go into work at the local café in the mornings on Friday and the weekend. He went about his morning routine by grabbing a small snack, going into the joint bathroom that is shared with the room next door for a shower, brushing his teeth, drying his hair, and etc., then figuring out his outfit for the day. His closet is extremely organized which helps him. For the most part, his clothes are picked specifically to where they could match pretty much anything in his closet. Solid color tops and jeans, mostly. For the clothing that might not match just anything he picks up- some of his clothes have brail on the labels so he knows what color they are.

He noticed that the early morning, November air had a chill to it when he was outside earlier... so he ended up choosing a thick, long-sleeved, orange sweater; a pair of black pants that were cut off just above the ankle; and a pair of dirty, white, velcro puma sneakers.X

He was pretty much ready to go after grabbing a jacket and a pair of sunglasses. So he plugged a pair of earbuds into his phone, only keeping one of them in his ear as his phone went into his back pocket, grabbed his guitar case, and then Baron's leash before heading out.

He started walking in the direction he knew the exit was and Baron led him, stopping to only briefly sit back on his hind legs and put a paw on the residential hall's entrance door to let Samuel know they had reached it. He adjusted his guitar case's strap on his shoulder once they were outside. It was a little cloudy at the moment so he didn't need to wear his sunglasses, he had just shoved them into his jacket pocket. With his memory, a GPS quietly telling him street names and vibrating in his pocket when he passes favorited landmarks, and Baron being his eyes, Sam was able to walk comfortably.

He had gotten out of the dorm at around ten and would be able to reach the café in nearly a little less than a half hour. He felt his phone vibrate upon reaching the café and Baron led him right to the door, the routine practically branded into the dog's memory. The shop would have already been open for a few hours but since this is Sam's day off from school, and probably around the time when the café starts to get busy nearing lunch time, it would make sense for him to sleep in at least a little.

When he stepped inside, he heard a familiar barista's voice bidding him a good morning. A smile graced Sam's lips as he walked over to his usual seat.

While the small café does not have any sort of stage, Sam usually frequents a stool that's right in the middle of the back wall. It's in front of a window which makes it easier for him to find and is the perfect spot where he can be seen from almost all of the tables and booths. Not that he really needs to be seen, he only needs to be heard in order to do his job but the owner said it's as good of a spot as any.

He normally sits on the stool comfortably and plays there, but for now, he acts like any other customer and sits down properly at a table close to it. Baron settled under the table near Sam's feet, where he'd be out of the way. It wasn't long before Noah would join him to have breakfast/lunch. He heard the sound of the chair across from him being pulled back, "Fucking hell, I'm absolutely dead if I fail chemistry." The complaint brought a sympathetic smile to Sam's expression. "Did you wait long?" Samuel shook his head in a silent answer to the question, "I barely passed so I can't really help." They both laughed upon remembering how pitiful Sam's grade had been.

"Right- didn't you just manage a 70?"
"70.3"
"I think he pity-passed you, man"
While it wasn't something Sam liked to agree on, it was probably true.

Their food came and they ate pretty quickly, Noah stuffing his face so he could get back to campus for his next class on time. Once Noah left, Samuel took one last bite before letting the waitress take his plate away. He figured it was about time to start working.

Getting up, he picked up his guitar out of the case and set it down on the table. Just as he was about to move over to the stool, pulling his guitar onto his lap, someone had turned the music that had been playing off. He left his guitar case on the table he had eaten at and Barron stayed under there as well, not drawing any attention. Sam took his time, looking completely relaxed. He was used to the atmosphere of the café by now and there really is no reason for him to feel nervous, even though he could feel that there were eyes on him. While some people would be curious as to what he's doing, most people that bother coming here are regulars and have heard him play here before. His fingers found their home against the strings and he plucked the first few notes- playing whatever song comes to mind first.

He had probably been playing for about an hour when he heard the jingle of the door open like it had a ton of times already, but this time he heard a familiarly loud trio. Though he couldn't hear what they were saying, his eyes had briefly lifted in their direction. He stood up so he could lean towards the table his drink was resting on, taking a small gulp of his tea before setting it back down- his pinky finger feeling the edge of the table before he actually let go of the glass.

He wiped his hands on his pants a bit before settling back down onto the stool. Gently crossing his legs, his foot tapping a tempo that sounded in his head once he made up his mind on what song he would play next, and he leaned into the first note a bit. His percussive fingerstyle technique gives him a unique sound when he's playing the guitar, his notes and chords are always very crisp and clear but also flow well. The melody of his covers always easily recognizable to the ear. Although just because it's easy to recognize does not mean his arrangements are simple.

It would be quite obvious what the song was even after hearing the first few chords. But if you happened to not hear it at first, you definitely would when he started to gently 'string slap' a very clear beat along with his melody. Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. While it could hardly be called dancing, his entire self moved subtly along with the music that he produced. A soft smile on his lips as he could hear the lyrics in his head. The slight nodding of his head not even pausing during his quite complicated adlibs, he actually looked like he was playing with the song- it not sounding the same as the way he has played it previously because he was just having fun with it.

He does generally tend to look down when he plays. While he obviously can't be looking at the strings, his eyes are cast toward the floor usually. His hair casting shadows over his eyes anyway. Though if he does look up he will look 'out' the window beside him, his eyes being stimulated by the light coming from outside.

Shape of You came to an ending, him closing it off with a playful chord. He shifted to push up his sleeves a bit before beginning again. The next two songs that he would play would be more on the slow and soft side. While the original songs might be considered sad, it might not sound so melancholic when Samuel plays them. Because he plays them so honestly, it sounds more genuine to himself than just merely sad. And with his personality, it's only natural for his guitar to have a somewhat hopeful ring to it. The first being Lost Stars by Adam Levine, the second being 7 Years by Lukas Graham. He played both songs without much pause in between, blending the ending of one into the beginning of the next.

The more soft songs that are known to be somewhat sad only added to the quiet and almost sleepy atmosphere of the café. It also didn't help that it was a slightly cloudy and cool morning, most people would much rather be sleeping still. As 7 Years came to an end, the vibrations of his guitar stilling, he focused on the quiet hum of interaction within the shop. While the cozy air in here is something this café is known for, he figured that he probably shouldn't be putting people back to sleep while they are on their way to school or work. So the next song he chose was something slightly more upbeat and energetic, while still suiting the aesthetic of the shop, an original song that he had composed a few months ago: On Cloud Nine.

He licked his lips, biting at his bottom lip slightly. While he isn't the type to feel shy while performing, he slightly paused before starting this song. He opened it with a rather strong and loud chord, letting it contrast with the melody that he picked that was a bit softer. Drumming/ knocking a low and steady rhythm with the heel of his hand. Seeming like the first chord had only been louder either by accident or to gain people's attention. But then he leaned over his guitar a little and played a few chords by slapping the fret wires, louder like he had with the opening chord. Like his intention, it sounded energetic- leading him into a relaxed but refreshing melody.

It was a song he obviously enjoyed, one that he had written while in a great mood (which is implied by the name he had given it) and one that tends to brighten his mood when he plays it. While musicality wise, he used volume control well with this song- having soft melodies mixed in with stronger chords. But overall it was a huge contrast in volume and color in comparison to the previous two of which he had played quite softly. He hoped as his last song, it would leave a positive impression (mood wise). His long, slender fingers looking almost elegant as he tapped and slapped at the frets during some of the more busy sections of the songs. While the movements were quick, he didn't really have to try too hard. Besides, even if he made a small mistake no one would even know because it was his own song. He smiled when the song reached what seemed to be it's climax, a wider smile than his usual subtle and soft one, at nothing in particular other than the fact he enjoyed what he was doing. The song came to an end with it's soft, repetitive melody along with the low thumping with the heel of his hand- interrupted once again by the energetic slapping. He let the loud chord ring for a short moment before moving to cover the strings with his hand to stop the vibration. Samuel froze for a moment, letting his silence ring in the air for a few moments before relaxing.

Letting go of a soft sigh, he stood up and went to set his guitar back down into it's case. He reached for his drink (careful but not obviously being careful), which had been watered down by melted ice long ago, and brought the rim to his lips. He tilted his head back a bit as he finished off the glass before setting it down so he could pack up. He hadn't brought much with him to begin with so he was quick about it. He grabbed his phone, putting it back into his pocket and placing the earbud in his left ear. He shrugged into his jacket that he had draped over a chair, zipped up his guitar case and slung it over his shoulder, and then snapped a few times to get Barron's attention. The well behaved dog got up from his nap, coming out from under the table and pressing it's nose to Sam's hand. He reached down to grab Barron's leash and turned to walk in the direction of the counter.

He took his phone out to produce his credit card from his wallet, handing it over when it was his turn. "You know that Anne wouldn't charge you for breakfast..." the barista reminded, despite Sam paying for it every time. He gave a soft smile, "I know." He said, his naturally quiet voice sounding light. He didn't mind paying for it, in his opinion he didn't deserve to have free breakfast just because he is an 'employee'. Especially when he doesn't really consider playing the guitar as 'work'. The owner is just too nice to him. He just rested his hand on the counter, of which the barista just tapped his knuckles with his card when she was done with it. He had kept his eyes mostly directed towards the counter, but as he was saying goodbye he lifted them to make 'eye contact' with her. Something he will normally only do when he is absolutely certain where the person is.

"Thanks, see you tomorrow." He turned towards the exit and gave a slight wave over his shoulder. "Exit." He said quietly to Barron, only loud enough for the dog to hear. Pushing through the door, the jingling of the bells attached to it signaling his exit, he stepped outside. He turned to go back in the direction of the campus but he squinted and looked down to the ground. The sun was peaking out from the clouds in that direction, the contrast too bright for his eyes to adjust to. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his sunglasses, only looking up once he had them on. (And no they weren't blacked out, typical blind-person sunglasses. They were just regular sunglasses.)

cellar. · May 10, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

It was still sunny and pretty outside for November, the trees wearing wreaths of gold and red and sunset colours, looking deceptively warm and balmy despite the sweater weather. He liked being here with his primary life source – i.e. coffee – watching the sunlight play off the porcelain cups, tuning in and out of conversation, and sporadically picking out familiar pop-y songs from the guitarist’s set list when it caught his attention.

He also noticed that the guy’s dog was curled up underneath a table, looking like a cozy puddle of yellow fur. Which was cute. Because dog. And all dogs were cute.

Yes. This was definitely worth skipping his behaviour of materials class for.

Maybe he was still mildly drunk from whatever mysterious jungle juice he’d consumed last night, but Danny's teasing was enough to get his thoughts caught in the clouds of a magical fantasy plan, daydreaming of all the songs he could serenade Audrey with – just like the dramatic climax of a cheesy rom-com (starring Heath Ledger, plus a marching band.) Of course, Adrian wasn’t the type to pursue something so utterly ungrounded and wistful.

…Except his big, soft, puffy flower heart totally would do something as stupid as accidentally starting a budding musical career from his initial intent of wooing a girl. Heck – why not.

He didn’t even know what the fuck he was doing so far in college with his current state of affairs, and learning to play the guitar was definitely not among the stupider, more self-indulgent decisions he had made before.

He'd listened to this café dude play more than just a few times, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to ask the minor musical genius if he was down to teach a person who never made it past grade three piano. There was the slight issue that he was just a tiny bit broke as fucking hell, but that was a problem to consider later.

As Adrian was formulating these thoughts, and spacing out to around Jupiter’s orbit by now, he wasn’t paying attention to the fact that this coffee shop busker was already up-and-going, only stopping briefly to make an exchange with the barista. It was the soft jingle of the bells on the café door that brought him back to earth. He looked up the see a glimpse of orange disappear out of the shop.

“Oh shit –”

"Dude, where are you going?”

"I'll be right back!” Adrian yelled in Noam’s general direction, running to catch the musician.

Lucky enough for him, the guy was stopped right outside on the sidewalk with his dog, pausing to put on some shades.

“Hey –” Ade called out to flag him down before approaching him. “Hey, I noticed you playing back there, and it sounded really nice and stuff.” Nice and stuff. Okay, so he wasn’t the most articulate and flattering with compliments. He paused a bit at that cringe attempt, but let the question tumble out before he started having (fairly logical) regrets about the whole flighty plan he’d devised in the span of ten minutes.

“I was wondering if you do lessons?” He said. “Oh yeah, I’m Adrian by the way. Nice to meet you,” Ade added, sticking his hand out for a handshake.

I I I I · May 10, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

Samuel was still a bit hesitant to properly open his eyes even after he had put the shades on. He very much wanted to avoid the sharp headache that normally accompanies the overexposure; it was already creeping up to stab at his temples but thankfully would dull quickly now that he had the sunglasses on. Carefully squinting his eyes open, he waited briefly until he found that it felt O.K.

Flipping his phone case open and folding the thin, wallet half of it behind his phone, he took a moment to pull up the GPS. While he was 99.9% confident in finding his way back without it, he's all too aware on how it only takes a few seconds of him spacing out to get turned around. No matter how smart Baron is, the dog's not going to think twice if Sam starts to go in the wrong direction. But if all else fails, hey- at least Baron will assure that he's walking in a straight line and keep him from stepping out in front of any cars.

So, after scrolling through his favorited places and coming across the campus, he started up the navigation. The fast spoken information had already started playing in his left ear when he heard someone call out a "Hey-". Though the voice didn't sound familiar and there was no way he could have known it was directed at him, so he didn't respond to it. It was only when he could feel someone coming close to him that he turned slightly to face the person, curiously. And when he heard what the person had to say, he could safely deduct that he was indeed being spoken to.

His lips parted, the corners turning upward just slightly in a polite smile- which widened a little upon hearing the somewhat awkward compliment. So this was obviously someone that had been at the café... He was about to give his thanks when the guy continued. "I was wondering if you do lessons?" The question honestly caught the young music major off guard. But first things, first- he gave a small laugh before introducing himself as well. "Good to meet you, i'm Sam."

He assumed that the other had held out a hand for a handshake, so Sam sort of swung his hand to lightly clap his hand against the stranger's and then grabbing it. Doing this friendlier handshake instead of a straight handshake made it less likely that he'd miss. He just thanked the Gods that his assumption about the other holding out his hand for a shake in the first place was correct. But then again, it wouldn't have been the first time he made a fool of himself by assuming.

"Uhhm, lessons?" He asked with a soft hum. After they let go of each other's hand, he shifted a bit. They were standing close enough that Sam could guess about how tall Adrian was, therefore he could guess where he should be looking. He reached up to remove the earbud from his ear, this way he could give the guy all of his attention. "What do you need help with?" While he didn't quite understand why someone would want lessons from him in particular, he didn't necessarily mind and a bit of extra cash wouldn't hurt.

cellar. · May 12, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

At some point, while asking these questions, it did occur to Adrian that he would need to somehow acquire a guitar. How he would accomplish this – well, he would properly think about that little, uh, hitch in the plan later. Maybe one of his friends had a guitar or something he could borrow.

Heck, he needed to get better friends if he couldn’t even casually exploit them for something as basic and fundamental as this. Pfft. How much did a guitar cost anyway?

Je-sus, he hadn’t even looked at his bank balance since the beginning of the semester. The experience of realizing he probably had like twelve dollars and fifteen cents left was too painful to face – a situation he had previously encountered last semester after blowing waaay too much money on two a.m. snacking, alcohol, and other completely unnecessary crap. He’d told himself at the time that it was c’est la vie, carpe diem, #yolo, whatever.

Right. Whatever. His favourite mantra in life. He’d worry about that later. Much later. Like he usually did.

No regrets.

The guy did a slap kind of handshake thing. Like the beginnings of a secret handshake, but ultimately very short and sweet. Ade smiled at that, as the other dude introduced himself as Sam.

"Uhhm, lessons?" – Hell, even his voice had a slight musical lilt to it. Sam looked kind of familiar though, like he’d seen him around somewhere other than just the café. In complete honesty though, Ade wasn’t at all attentive to his surroundings if it didn't concern him, or noticed much outside of what was holding his attention at the time. He wouldn’t be surprised if they had encountered each other on campus somewhere. It was a large enough school for some kind of anonymity in the tumultuous seas of students that was Cargill University, but not totally huge so that he wouldn’t be able to recognize classmates.

However, when Sam answered with a “what do you need help with?” it took Adrian aback a little bit. That was a little too detailed for his very simple plan of learning to play guitar good enough to get laid.

“Uh. Um. Probably everything,” he said. “Like, the basics of how to play, look cool, you know – like what you do. Except minus a billion times in intensity and hardness.” That sounded about right. “I dunno know man – if you’re willing, I can give you my phone number? And like, we can text about it.”

He looked at Sam again more intently, trying not to be creepy about it while simultaneously doing a comprehensive mental scan. Yeah okay. He’d definitely seen this guy around before, but he couldn’t quite place a finger on where exactly. Maybe he was in engineering? In one of his electives?

“Hey, are you an engineer? Or wait – ahh, maybe that philo class, Choice Theory?” He asked, snapping his fingers at the sudden revelation of where he had likely seen Sam before.

I I I I · May 15, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

He could feel Baron shifting at his side, the tug of the leash signaling that the dog wanted to sit down. Samuel gave the leash a little more slack but he still kept it short and wound around his wrist. He couldn't be exactly sure how close to the curb they were or if he was taking up too much space on the sidewalk and blocking people's path. Plus, keeping the leash shorter meant that he could more easily feel Baron's every move. For someone like Sam who relies quite a bit on a dog's pair of eyes, it was necessary for him to keep the leash pulled tight (especially since he wasn't using the disability harness like his doctors always advise him to). But to an unknowing bystander he might have just seemed like a strict dog parent.

"Uh. Um. Probably everything," Samuel's lips parted in a silent, 'ah', expression as he listened to Adrian's words. It wouldn't be the easiest thing in the world to teach someone from a completely blank slate. But if Adrian only wanted to learn enough to look 'cool', then it shouldn't be too difficult. He smiled at how Adrian explained what he wanted to accomplish with the lessons. It's definitely not the first time he had heard of someone who only wanted to learn the basics in order to impress someone but it is a far leap from Samuel's own perspective of music. He wasn't offended at all, though, and ended up agreeing- much to his own surprise. He nodded, "Yeah- I can do that." If he's overly comfortable and confident in anything at all, it's the guitar, so this shouldn't be difficult.

"Sure." His voice was soft and light toned. He gave a subtle double tap to his phone screen with three fingers, turning off the voice over so that it could be navigated normally before handing it over to Adrian. He figured that Adrian wouldn't mind going in and adding a new contact himself.

His phone looks pretty normal with the same apps everyone else probably has; including social media apps. The only differences are that he has a handful of extra apps specifically to help him out in the 'blind' department. Like using a different navigation app, a money reader so he can tell cash and change apart when needed, a color identifier in case someone isn't around to help him with matching is clothes, and things of that like. Of which Adrian probably wouldn't even notice unless he's goes in with a purpose of snooping around. The only obvious thing that might be unusual is that he has a very plain background and lock screen.

As he waited, he moved his gaze down towards the ground. He didn't look impatient though at all. The next question to hit his ears made him look back up though. The snapping of Adrian's fingers causing Sam to blink somewhat slowly behind his shades. It took him a moment to follow Adrian's train of thought before he spoke up. He shifted, one of his hands moving to rest at the back of his neck. "Choice Theory? Yeah, with uh... Kauffman?" He figured there was only one philosophy class this semester that was specifically covering Choice Theory.

It wouldn't come as a surprise to Sam if they had indeed been in the same class without knowing. The class is big to begin with and Sam doesn't tend to bring a lot of attention to himself. He always comes in through door at the back of the classrooms and sits on the last row- he doesn't need to be close to the chalkboard or screens anyway.

cellar. · May 20, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

Sam handed him the phone, and Ade typed in his name, his phone number, his address – and because he was actually the most fucking extra person on earth – took a quick picture of himself and added it too. Honestly; he was just a shameless selfie hoe.

“There,” he said, giving the phone back to Sam, as he finished and hit the ‘add new contacts’ button. “That’s me and my number – and I put my address in there too. So when we figure out the meeting times and stuff, you’ll know where I live.”

There was a sensible part of him, buried deep underneath nineteen years’ worth of lackadaisical decisions and a whatever mentality, that couldn’t quite believe that Sam had agreed to the lessons and that this was actually happening as smoothly as it was. Usually he needed the other person to be the impulse control, the voice of reason – not the enabler of his self-indulgent actions.

When he had been coerced out of bed this fine autumn day by Noam and Danny – the birds singing, the ridiculously fat campus squirrels harvesting, the students everywhere mildly dying – he didn’t think he would end up here and now, on the cusp of becoming the next Jimi Hendrix. Or would he be Andrés Segovia? Or more simply, would he be able to play Wonderwall well enough to magically and dazzlingly and unironically capture Audrey's heart?

Maybe if he actually paid any attention in his Choice Theory class, then he could philosophize about himself and all his dumb decisions.

“Yeah, with Kauffman,” Adrian answered, sighing as he thought briefly about that growing headache.

“Damn, I thought Philosophy would be a bird class, but all these papers are stressing me out more than some of my engineering stuff,” he said, pushing his hair from his forehead.

Jesus. Next time, he would pick something that would absolutely be a blow-off class. Like underwater basket weaving. Or something of the sort.

His internal lamenting, however, was cut short as his attention was caught on something in the café window – specifically Danny waving at him through the glass before reaching over and taking his goddamn cup and sipping his goddamn coffee – notwithstanding the fact that Adrian had definitely not given him permission to steal the only source of energy he had for the day.

“What the f – uh," he stopped himself from swearing. "Uh, anyways, it was nice meeting you Sam. Text me and we can meet up soon," Ade said hurriedly, "I gotta get back inside though –”

“to protect my goddamn food,” he finished in his head.

“I’ll see you later!”

--

“What’s up?” Noam casually asked, as if Adrian hadn’t just walked back into the café and whacked Danny on the shoulder, all while Danny was still nonchalantly drinking Ade’s coffee, refusing to relinquish what he had rightfully stolen.

“I’m going to learn how to play the guitar,” Adrian replied, eating, now successfully having taken Danny’s bagel in retaliation. The beginnings of a war were in motion over here, ignited by a brunch time dispute. He raised his voice over Dan’s loud protests of it was getting cold anyway. “I just asked for lessons.”

“Yo, no shit, huh.”

Despite the healthy dose of skepticism from his friend and his own self-doubt, he placed a hand over his heart, a cinnamon-raisin bagel in the other.

Twelve o’nine.
November third.
In a café on South Cedar.

“I’m gonna do it, swear,” Adrian said, unaware of what that entailed.

I I I I · Jun 1, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

The quiet shutter of his phone's camera hit his ears and he could only assume what Adrian had been doing. A quiet laugh escaped him. No one had ever bothered taking a contact photo to put in his phone for many obvious reasons. Although he didn't mind or mention it. He heard Adrian say the word "There", signaling that he was finished, so Sam held out his hand and waited for Adrian to set the phone back into his palm. He gave a small smile and a nod at the other's words as he took the phone back.

Hearing the sigh that followed their philosophy professor's name, a sympathetic look crossed Sam's expression. While the class is pretty challenging and quite demanding when it comes to the amount of papers they are required to write, he is actually pretty interested in the subject so he doesn't find it as bad. Though, to someone who doesn't have much of an interest in social behavior or methodological individualism, that class is probably hell.

Baron stood up and quite suddenly pulled Samuel to the side a little, making him take a step away from the curb. Sam was calm about it, his movement quite fluid with the canine's so it wasn't obvious that he didn't know what had happened. He was momentarily distracted as he listened for whatever Baron had been weary of. It was a car coming up to parallel park against the curb they were standing by. It was something that a sighted person would have just stepped back from without even really thinking about it.

Clearing his throat softly, he agreed with Adrian. "Most people in our class probably took it thinking it was a blowoff class." If the other student's protests and honestly rather dumb questions are any indication of how unprepared they were.

Their conversation came to a quick end though when Adrian seemed to notice something before hurriedly excusing himself. "Uh, yeah, see you later", he managed to get in before the other walked off. "Nice meeting you," he said lightly, knowing the guy wouldn't hear him.

Flipping his phone over in his hand and turning the voice over back on, he put the earbud back into his ear. "Come on," He turned them in the direction of campus, "Forward~" He commanded in a slightly hushed but enthusiastic tone.

Later that day, Sam had gotten around to texting Adrian. A simple,

Hey, it's Sam

just so the other had his number. And at some point that night they had decided to just meet up the following night. A Saturday- being the best day for both of their schedules considering they wouldn't have classes or be pressed with the panic of having to do last-minute homework.

So here Samuel was, getting dropped off at exactly 10 p.m. at the address Adrian had given him. "Uhhh, Sam, are you sure this is right? It looks like there's a party goin' on." Noah questioned as he slowed the car down to a stop in front of the house in question. Samuel just handed his phone over so that Noah could check to make sure they were at the right place. "I mean, that's what he put".

"Maybe he typed it wrong"
"Or maybe someone else in the house threw a party"

Samuel shifted to grab Baron's leash and push his door open. Not seeming to care much about the fact that they could hear the music through the walls of the house. After he and Baron were out of the car, he took his guitar case when Noah handed it over to him. He pulled the strap of the soft case over his shoulder and adjusted Baron's leash around his wrist, turning to leave.

"Wait- want me to walk you in?" Samuel couldn't help but laugh. He turned back to face the car, one hand braced on the top of the car as he leaned down to 'look' at Noah- letting the guy see his face as he said, "I"ll be fine." He flashed his friend a smile before backing away from the car and shutting the door.

He heard the window roll down, "Call me if you want me to come get you!" Baron helped Sam find the walkway and he just chuckled at his motherly friend, waving in the direction he thought the car was. He could hear a final, "Call me!", before Noah finally drove off.

Facing the house, Sam inhaled a lungful of the chilly air. He could practically feel the vibrations coming from the music. Adjusting the strap over his shoulder, he sighed softly before urging Baron forward. "Door, find the door." he told his guide. After being brought up to the door, Baron came to a stop and leaned back to put a paw up on the door to make things easy. Sam wondered if anyone would even hear him knocking but he tried anyway. It was probably closer to banging on the door.

To his surprise, it was pulled open pretty quickly. "How's it going? Come on in!" The voice was overly friendly, and probably slightly intoxicated, considering they probably didn't know each other.

"Uh, actually, is Adrian here?"

cellar. · Jun 4, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

“Okay, hear me out – strip beer pong.”

“That is –” Ade said over the noise of the beer pong tournament going on. He took a slightly sloppy sip of beer from a cup, before staring back at Danny, trying to glare at him with as much skepticism as he could muster for someone who had pregamed with a few cups of some kind of mysterious jungle juice that Noam-the-potions-master had put together with his absolute, unchallenged power over their cupboard of liquor for the night – “The worst fucking idea ever.”

It was probably not "the worst fucking idea ever", considering the fact that Adrian was deliberating the proposition, even though he was at least somewhat sober enough to know it was most certainly a terrible idea.

But not the worst.

Actually, wait. No. On second thought, if he was contemplating playing strip beer pong, then it was definitely one of the worst ideas ever in existence.

Because knowing himself, only he would agree to partake in something that stupid.

It was right next to letting Noam mix their drinks. Holy hell.

Or deciding to host.

Or having twice as many people show up than intended.

“Yeah, but you’re gonna do it. Aren’t you?”

He didn’t have time to answer, however, because about a second later he heard someone scream his name down the hall, voice reverberating off the walls before becoming lost to the hum of the loud music bleeding from the decked-out, neon-lit basement, the clamour of conversation, and the drunken antics of their friends.

“YO ADRIAN LEE, SOMEONE’S LOOKING FOR YOU AT THE DOOR.”

Probably pizza, was his first though.
Hopefully pizza, was his second.

It was not pizza, however, when he got to the door. Instead, he was greeted by a certain someone who looked way too familiar, wearing the strap of a guitar case that reminded him of a promise he made to himself that was waaay too fucking real at this moment.

Oh.

Oh fuck.

Holy cow, he was stupid.

“Sam, oh god. Fuck, I totally forgot this was happening tonight – and then I totally forgot this was also happening tonight,” he said, indicating to the general festivities occurring behind him.

“Oh man. Here – come in, feel free to make yourself comfortable.” He brushed his hair back with a hand distractedly, cursing his own terrible planning and his general messiness at life, before turning back to Sam with a sheepish smile.

Jesus, this was awkward.

He remembered thinking about all the stuff he had to do during the day, then texting Sam to meet up at a later hour as a result of his frequent procrastination until the weekend. And yet, he had completely forgotten all the fun extracurricular stuff they had planned for the night.

“You can put your stuff in my room – ah wait. You – you brought your dog?” He asked, kind of incredulous, just noticing the fluffy yellow dog leading the way through the crowd of people congregated near the staircase. Not that he minded much at all. Heck – if he had a fuzzy pet, maybe he would also bring that fucker everywhere and love it eternally.

It was then, at that moment – before Adrian could effectively part the sea of college students that were chatting and lounging about on the staircase, like crossing a tumultuous (and sweaty) body of water – in which Danny grabbed his arm and did a weird koala cling.

“Cool, you found a partner,” he said, patting Sam affectionately on the shoulder before also trying to loop an arm around him too. “C’mon Adrian – and Adrian’s friend; we’re getting started.”

He tried to shake Danny off, but the kid had a vice-like grip on him. And, truth be told, Ade wasn’t actually trying too hard.

He could be talked into anything, so it seemed.

Ah fuck it. The night was already beginning to look like a goddamn mess, between his poor planning and inability to make good life choices. He had a philosophy paper to write, a linear algebra midterm to study for, a heaping ton of laundry waiting for him to do – but w h a t e v e r. Regret was always relegated for tomorrow morning.

He was feeling slightly light-headed, and he was feeling pretty buzzed, and he was feeling good. And wasn’t this fact all that mattered in the moment?

“Ahhhhh haha. Fineee. You’re on.”

I I I I · Jun 5, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

Samuel stood in the open doorway as the person who had greeted him went off to locate the owner of the house. He could hear the guy yell over the music that was currently spilling out into the yard, letting that entire half of the house know that someone was looking for Adrian Lee. Though the message was quickly swallowed up by the music, the rumble of chatter, and the occasionally obnoxious yelling.

Sam shifted to lean on the door frame, unsure of how difficult it would be to find Adrian or how long he'd have to wait. He could safely assume how crowded this party was just by listening. He didn't mind waiting, though, and he just calmly slid his free hand into the pocket of his jacket. He could feel the frame subtly vibrate to the bass of the music coming the basement below.

It didn't take too long before he was greeted by a familiar voice saying his name. He shifted more upright from his position of leaning on the doorframe and gave a slight smile. So it turns out that Adrian really did forget and suddenly Sam realized he should have probably called before coming.

His lips parted to begin saying that he could come back another time, the smile on his lips showing that it wasn't a big deal. But he was invited inside before he could speak his thoughts.

“Oh man. Here – come in, feel free to make yourself comfortable.” Sam breathed out a soft laugh. He only hesitated slightly before entering. Having never been here before, he had absolutely no idea of what the layout of the house looked like. He reached out behind him to pull the door closed with him, then bravely took the first step. Barron knew the drill and started walking forward, naturally following Adrian since Sam wasn't telling him otherwise.

Barron led him through the mass of people but every once in a while he would bump into someone. A quiet "Sorry," along with apologetic smiles left him each time he knocked into a shoulder or felt a sweaty arm. He isn't the type to avoid parties but all of the noise was somewhat disorientating.

When he heard the rather incredulous sounding statement about him having brought his dog, Sam paused in his step slightly. "Oh- yeah, is that okay?" Technically, by law, a service dog can accompany him anywhere but he isn't a big enough asshole to assume that everyone would be OK with a dog in their house. He can understand that because allergies exist- he's not that evil.

“Cool, you found a partner,”

Sam hadn't realized this new voice was speaking to Adrian/them until he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was very subtle but he actually jumped in surprise, shifting away just slightly. But when he felt the an arm cling onto him and realized that it was just a friend of Adrian's he didn't try to get away. He just wore a somewhat awkward expression. "Getting started?"

They were brought over somewhere that was definitely off course from Adrian's room. And when they came to a stop in front of something, he heard, “Ahhhhh haha. Fineee. You’re on.”

Blinking, absolutely clueless, Sam spoke up. "Uh... what is this?" He asked, referring to what he had just been volunteered to do. He didn't sound unwilling just confused.

cellar. · Jun 7, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

They were whisked away to the living room in the blink of an eye, where their dining table had been unceremoniously dumped after a good thirty minutes of heavy lifting and arguing over where was the truly optimal place to put it – “Look, not the basement – it’s too dark – well not the walkway either, you shithead – yo, last time I checked, I’m the only goddamn engineer here.”

Ah yes, they had definitely utilized their university education and quick wit for important matters, such as this one.

With Danny dragging them along, they approached the table that was marked off with masking tape for their game. The red cups were placed pristinely at each end, a perfect pyramid, waiting to be toppled by four impetuous college kids.

“Oh it’s no problem,” Adrian replied, indicating towards the dog. “Honestly, it’s my bad. Should’ve remembered the lesson. I’m honestly awful at keeping track of everything.” Before Adrian could answer Sam’s question, however, Danny clapped his hands together, voice bellowing out above the din.

“Alright y’all. Standard rules apply, no elbows and shit. Drink or take off an article of clothing. Drinking removes the cup, taking your clothes off lets you keep it until it’s sunk again. Losers clear the table and the water cup – or clear your body,” Danny added with a wink. Which made Ade want to spritz some holy water into his goddamn eye.

He was also drawing in a small crowd by the way he was yelling out the rules for everyone in the general vicinity to hear, people picking themselves up from the couches, wandering over idly to see what the commotion was about.

Ahaha. Great. This night was going to be forever immortalized in the minds of several people, probably bound to undergo years of metamorphosis, rising from the ashes of oblivion through re-telling and re-telling and re-telling. Even if he was trying to get drunk enough to never, ever remember.

Still, a part of him was stupidly excited, a stubborn determination to get going and win – at least to stop Danny from ever playing this shitty version again. And the water cup? That was frickin’ gross as heck. There was no way he was drinking that thing at the end of the game.

It was all, or nothing.

“Me and Blake, Ade and his friend,” Danny continued, “Rock, paper, scissors – you and me kid.”

“Strip beer pong,” Adrian clarified as he turned to Sam, finally getting a word in. As if the rules hadn’t made it obvious enough.

He was kind of hesitant about dragging in a person who was his musical-instructor-turned-life-or-death-beer-pong-partner into Danny’s latest wild escapade of sorts. For one, he wasn’t sure if Sam even wanted in on any of this whole mess. And two, it was risky business partnering up with someone he’d never had the chance to scope out. Was Sam the Messi of the beer pong field? The LeBron of the cup court?

He would just have to find out.

Because moments later, he found his paper facing off Danny’s scissors – the beginning of a very, very long night.

I I I I · Jun 8, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

It was at least a good thing that it didn't seem Barron would be bothering anyone. A lot of people here, by the sounds of things, wouldn't even notice the quiet dog. Though before Adrian could answer his current question, the friend that had dragged them over into the living room started to announce the game rules.

“Alright y’all. Standard rules apply, no elbows and shit. Drink or take off an article of clothing. Drinking removes the cup, taking your clothes off lets you keep it until it’s sunk again. Losers clear the table and the water cup – or clear your body,”

It didn't take very long for Sam to realize what was going on. His expression turning more and more into an what did i just get myself into kind of look. His eyebrows furrowing and his lips parting upon hearing Adrian's clarification. "Strip beer pong."

He could feel that people had started to crowd around, it got a lot warmer and he could clearly hear more conversations around him. A duel of rock paper scissors took place and and Samuel quickly gathered that Adrian had lost, sending them to the guillotine first.

How in the hell could he get out of this? He probably should, right? He definitely wasn't the greatest partner to have. But he knew he would either come across as 'scared' or 'uptight' if he tried backing out now. He didn't need his eyesight to know that there were a ton of eyes on them.

"Sam? Hey, Song!" Hearing his name, Samuel ended up turning a little to look in the direction he thought he had heard it. The voice didn't sound familiar at first until it came closer. "You good?" He finally recognized the voice as someone he has partnered up with quite a bit in his psychology classes. The light haired, tattooed male, approached them with what could be perceived as mild concern. Obviously the guy knew what Samuel had thought was obvious but apparently wasn't.

*insert Danny cooly assuring that Sam is 'all good' as he pulled Sam's guitar case and jacket from his shoulders to shove half under the couch, encouraging them to begin the game*

The slightly intimidating looking guy lightly grabbed onto Sam's elbow to show where he was and to lead him away if needed. But Sam just laughed, albeit somewhat nervously. He reached out, his hand trailing up the guy's arm so he could pat his shoulder. "I'm good, i'm good. Thank you." That was all it took for the acquaintance to leave on a good note. A, "Just making sure, man," and a wave as he walked off even though he knew Sam couldn't see it. The entire interaction was short and sweet.

Without his jacket, Sam was left in an all black outfit- his black, short sleeved t-shirt was already clinging to him slightly from the warmth in here. He let go of Barron's leash, knowing that the dog wouldn't wander. The only way Barron would leave is if someone were to lead him away, then the mellow dog would not protest. He then reached up to grab his cap, pushing his hair back and turning the cap around.

"I'm good- but there is a small problem," he said as he moved to rest his arm on Adrian's shoulder, just so he could have a better idea of where exactly the guy was as he leaned closer. "Adrian. I'm blind." He bit at his lip a little and tried not to laugh at the ridiculous situation that they were in.

He thought that this would have been obvious. Even though he has been told before that people had no idea until he told them.

cellar. · Jun 12, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

"Sam? Hey, Song!"

The voice didn’t seem to come from anyone Adrian knew. And when the guy stepped out from the crowd to approach Sam – he became a hundred percent certain he’d never seen this person before in his life. Eh, so much for keeping the party list closed to mutual acquaintances. It would probably explain why there were, like, a bajillion guests milling around.

“Oh he’s good,” Danny piped up to the stranger’s question, smoothly whooshing off Sam’s jacket and guitar case like some kind of magician, before less-than-smoothly shoving the whole thing underneath the couch as his magic trick. “Sam here is just grand, don’t worry my dude.” As if Danny hadn’t just learned his name two seconds ago.

Things seemed to be going pretty a-okay, however, as words were exchanged between Sam and his friend. So Ade turned his gaze back down the length of the table – watching the cups that were filled with beer and foamy collars, trying to apply his knowledge of physics after two traumatic semesters of the stuff.

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder, bringing him back to earth from kinematics hell.

"Adrian. I'm blind."

Pfft. Funny.

This, however, was not the time to have doubts about their abilities to sink one. He was ready to give Sam some kind of dumb pep talk, some secret bro handshake, some team-building exercise or whatever, to solidify their newfound partnership. They would be the duo of all duos, better than PB&J, better than Ben and Jerry’s, better than –

Unfortunately, when he turned around to respond appropriately at Sam's lame attempt at stand-up – he realized that this was absolutely not a joke, judging by the expression on Sam's face.

What. The. Fuck.
No way.

No fucking way.

This whole situation, however, seemed to be a massive joke being played on him by some higher power that was easily cooing karma's a bitch for all the sins he had committed recently. Ah Jesus, never again would he drink milk straight from the carton without telling anyone.

Heck, what was this crap anyway? Spontaneous guitar lessons turned into house party turned into this sinking ship. Was he on a fucking episode of Seinfeld? Since when had his life turned into goddamn sitcom fodder?

Um. What the fuck.

"What the fuck?" Ade repeated for the third time, but now actually out loud. "You're serious? Holy shit, why didn't you say earlier?"

In the middle of this mental woe-is-me lament, he watched as Danny sunk the ball in cleanly, within the blink of an eye, to the staggering cheers that erupted from his shot.

Ah crap. What the actual fuck.

He racked his brains for his previous encounter with Sam.

Maybe it was all really obvious and he was just dumb as hell, now that he really paid attention and thought about it. Sam didn't just bring his dog around everywhere for kicks – it was a service dog. It also explained the way he kind of looked at people, but didn’t. And the way his contact list was totally devoid of pictures. Because hell, he couldn't see.

Everything was making sense now.

Except how they were still stuck in this godforsaken situation.

Both dutifully and shakily, Ade started untying his shoe laces to the somewhat ominous taunting of onlookers, already blushing like a frickin' rose despite the fact that this was as PG as it was going to get. He brushed his hair out of his eyes before standing back up.

"Are – are you sure you want to do this?" Ade asked Sam quietly. It would be embarrassing as hell if they backed out now – but really, would it be any more embarrassing than strip beer pong itself?

I I I I · Jun 12, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

Sam's eyes were downcast towards the floor but Adrian would still be able to see his face. He listened rather carefully, even breathing quieter as he waited for some hint of what the other's reaction would be. He sadly assumed that Adrian hadn't realized before this that he is blind, hence the silence.

"What the fuck?... You're serious? Holy shit, why didn't you say earlier?"

He gave an understanding nod when he heard the disbelief in Adrian's voice. Adrian was right though to sound exasperated. Why hadn't he said anything about it earlier? He just assumed that the guy knew and he isn't really the type to back out of things if he can somehow manage to do it, even if it isn't easy for him to do, so he didn't bring it up. But after hearing Adrian's reaction he started to realize maybe he should have.

With his hand still on Adrian's shoulder, he felt the other bend down to begin taking his shoes off. Taking in the conversations he could hear from onlookers and the satisfied comments of Danny and the other person participating, he gathered that Danny had landed a cup. "It went in?" he asked just to make sure. He let go of Adrian's shoulder and leaned over to untie his own shoelaces.

Hearing the tentative question, Sam straightened back up as he stepped on the heels of his shoes to get them off. His shoulder brushed against Adrian's arm as he leaned closer again. Their voices were quiet, the equivalent of whispering in such a loud room. To any onlookers, it would probably just look like they were scheming up some form of stragety. He hummed a little in thought before speaking. "I mean... you can use me as an excuse if you want to give up?" Honestly, he wouldn't even be offended. He'd completely understand and would be willing to be the scapegoat. "But i'm up for it if you are." he added. He was actually kind of motivated, not liking the idea of giving up before trying.

He figured that Adrian might not have much faith in him but Samuel himself was actually quite relaxed. Reaching out until his knuckles made contact with the edge of the table, he ran his fingers along the edge to get an idea of it's width. Then he used his hand to gesture where the middle is, "This is straight down the middle?" Even though it would mostly be luck on whether or not he could make it into a cup, at least he could make some sort of mental image of the general area he should be aiming for.

cellar. · Jun 14, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

"Yeah, it went in," Ade responded tentatively, watching as Sam bent down to undo his own shoelaces.

Jesus.

How in the holy mackerel world was Sam remaining so calm and poised during this whole fiasco?

Well, Adrian would never be able to understand it. It was, perhaps, right up there with life's greatest mysteries: the meaning of Stonehenge, the sound structural integrity of the pyramids, the esoteric yet blessed grade curve for calculus two.

Sam straightened up again, leaning closer into Ade so he could hear through the noise of the room. And in a quiet, conversational tone, he responded to his question with a rather sensible, "you can use me as an excuse if you want to give up? But I'm up for it if you are."

He paused, thought about it for half a second. The proposition did seem rather appealing, and pretty logical too. It would be an easy way out, for both of them. And this was certainly a situation of now or never, but –

Nuh-uh. No way. He wasn't about to throw Sam under the bus and wimp out if the dude who was freaking blind was confident enough in their chances at winning. Besides, it wasn’t like he was scared or anything – okay, okay, maybe he was a little nervous going in – but a small self-pep talk and some more alcohol would be able to fix that.

"Yeah, that's the middle," he replied, a little surprised that Sam had figured it out – which, duh, of course he had. The guy could play the guitar like a goddamn god, so what was the length of a table to him?

No, he was just going to have to buckle up and trust Sam on this one, whether he really believed it or not. Ade sucked in a deep breath, exhaling before clapping his hands together.

"Okay partner, think High School Musical," Adrian said, resting an arm around Sam's shoulders. "Get your head in the game, pal, because we're all in this together; our dreams have no limitations and teamwork makes the dream work." This was seriously all cheesy as hell, but whatever. Wasn't every victory preceded by a speech, delivered just as the protagonist seemed to be losing in the face of evil? He was doing this cliché justice here. He was heralding their would-be triumph.

“Hey! Hands off the table,” Blake called out, before taking his shot. Without a hitch, the ball bounced into a corner cup.

Well fuck.

“It went in,” Adrian clarified, a bit sulkily, as if the cheering from the other end of the table wasn’t indication enough of the other team’s success. Ah hell. He bent down and pulled off his socks, trying not to imagine what the mysterious stickiness was underneath his bare feet.

Carefully, he fished the ball out of the cup, hesitating for a second before pressing it into Sam’s palm.

In the most serious way possible, while still quoting High School Musical, he intoned “this is the start of something new.”

I I I I · Jun 25, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

After Adrian confirmed that he had found where the middle of the table is, he kept a finger on the edge of the table there. Sam hardly even registered the hint of surprise in Adrian's tone. He was used to people assuming he can't do things and then being surprised when he did them anyway.

An arm was draped over his shoulders and at first, his eyebrows furrowed slightly in a look of seriousness at the other's words. That is, until he comprehended them. His amused look was accompanied by a soft laugh at all of the High School Musical references. He did try to hide his smile and look more serious, because this indeed was a very serious moment. If he didn't pay attention he could very well end up stripping in front of an audience of classmates. And while Sam isn't the type to be overly shy, he didn't necessarily want to be reminded of his embarrassment every single time he walks into a classroom for the next few days. At least he was confident that this drunken lot would forget about it before the week is over, everyone here are stressed students and surely have other things to worry about- like how they can cheat on their next test or how in the world they are going to be able to afford toilet paper until their next allowance.

“Hey! Hands off the table,” Sam hesitantly pulled his hand away from the table, hoping that he had a good sense of where the center was. Sam sighed quietly when he was told that Blake got it in.

"Does this count?" He asked as he reached up to remove his cap. He breathed out a laugh as he said it, pretty much grasping at the air in terms of hope- he ended up taking off his socks as well. He dropped the cap and his socks onto the floor near his shoes and reached up to rake his fingers though his hair but it just fell back into it's slightly messy place.

When the ping pong ball was handed to him, he dried it and hands hands off on his pants first. “This is the start of something new.” A lighthearted scoff left him, a wordless 'what did we get ourselves into'. He breathed, looking pretty darn calm despite the fact that he was at a huge disadvantage. "Okay." He nodded as if reassuring both Adrian and himself. "Okay..." Trying to picture where the center was again, he raised the ball. "How far?" He questioned. He had an idea of the width of the table but had no clue of it's length.

cellar. · Jul 13, 2017

A D R I A N • L E E

Sam laughed softly at his very terrible, super cheesy, High School Musical infused pep talk. And as semi-serious as Ade had been while delivering the whole of his proverbial wisdom through the power of pop music and a teen dramedy, he felt a bit more at ease from the light-heartedness of Sam's response.

Hell, he hoped this could be something he'd be able to laugh about years later – if he made it out of here alive tonight.

He quickly sobered up, however, as Blake squared off against their pyramid of red cups, watching as Sam took off his baseball cap, then dropping to take off his socks amidst the rowdy protests from the other team.

This was it. This also meant he was basically out of safe stuff to take off – unless he somehow made an argument that the wristbands he wore counted as an item of clothing. But the chances that a bit of string and fabric would be sufficient enough, unless he wanted to endure the subsequent heckling, were looking grim considering that a hat hadn't even counted.

Jesus, he wasn't nearly drunk enough to start taking off his shirt. Not that he was shy or anything dumb like that, pfft, no way – okay, maybe he was just a little shy. It was a bit counterintuitive perhaps, but he tended to be self-aware about things like that. Sometimes appreciatively, in the dumb check-yourself-out-in-the-mirror-after-working-out type of self-consciousness, and sometimes in a way that was actually a bit…self-derogatory. Absently, Adrian tugged at the hem of his t-shirt, considering his options.

"How far?"

"Umm," he glanced at the table, wondering why he'd never thought to take a measurement of the thing for reference – didn’t he know that one day he would be standing here, playing strip beer pong with someone who was blind? Where was his sixth sense? His prophetic abilities?

Okay, okay, whatever, he would just have to make an estimation, hoping his judgment of table length wasn't as terrible as his judgment of everything else.

"Maybe six or seven feet? So imagine, uh, so imagine lying down on this table, but you still have some room to stretch or something, but like? Not a full stretch either. A half-stretch. I don’t know."

With that iffy description of the table, it would be a miracle if Sam could visualize the distance.

In the end, he had to trust Sam, which was honestly becoming harder and harder to do as the time approached for him to make the shot. But taking in a deep breath, his arm still resting on Sam's shoulders, he said with as much confidence as possible, "dude, I believe in you. Hear the beer, feel the pong."

I I I I · Aug 15, 2017

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G
"I can do this. And even if I can't, I have to."

He heard Adrian's hummed "Umm". While he waited for the guy to make a guess on the length of the table, Sam focused on trying to hear the other team's voices. While the entire house was anything but quiet, luckily the other team's rowdy yelling caught his ears.

Despite the assumptions and jokes among his friends, he does not have extraordinary, super-hero-like hearing abilities. But maybe he is capable of focusing on sounds more than the average person because, well, that's all he has to rely on in some situations. So he took a few moments to really concentrate on the voices at the other end of the table.

His relaxed expression seemed to get a little more serious as he focused on what he could hear. But it softened into a wider eyed, questioning look upon hearing Adrian's description. "Six or seven feet... Got it." He repeated after Adrian, trying to apply a mental image of his own height to the table.

When it finally became time for his turn, he could pretty much feel the eyes of their audience turn to him. He also could feel the slight change in Adrian's posture along with the seemingly nervous deep breath.

Sam had raised his hand, allowing his knuckle to knock into the edge of the table again on it's way up for placement reassurance. But he couldn't help the breath of a laugh and smile that escaped him when heard Adrian say, "dude, I believe in you. Hear the beer, feel the pong."

He gave a nod, calming himself and mustering all of his confidence. He closed his eyes again and waited; mentally measuring how far he should throw and waiting for one thing.. for someone on the other team to say something. The second that one of the guys on the other side of the table spoke, Sam tossed the ping-pong ball. He didn't even pay attention to what was said, he only focused on the auditory distance- aiming down the middle of the table and just short of the voice he had focused on.

The second the ball was out of his grasp, he looked more uncertain, even trying to take a slight step back but ended up backing more into Adrian. He held his breath and waited for a sign of the result.

cellar. · Jul 2, 2018

A D R I A N • L E E

A second later, Sam was backing into Adrian. He blinked at the soft collision, trying to keep his balance as much as he could, as the room started to turn spinny after the rainbow of pre-drinks he’d had under Noam’s, uh, guidance and Danny’s insistence on calling shotgun on literally everything.

But in the moment when he opened his eyes, he heard a gentle plop. The ping pong ball was now floating lazily in a plastic cup, bouncing ever-so-slightly to the bass of the music.

There was a pause, and then –

What the fuck.

WHAT THE FUCK –

“SAM!” He exclaimed, half in disbelief, half in absolute admiration, “Holy fuck – Sam!” He repeated his name again, but this time, it was lost to an eruption of cheers shaking the room underneath his feet, a great celebratory cacophony. He was practically screaming like an idiot now, almost strangling Sam in the process of trying to hug him as he jumped up and down, watching with satisfaction as Danny and Blake kicked off their shoes.

“Whoa, you’re like Daredevil, dude!” This was crazy. Sam was some unbelievable guitar-playing, beer-pong slaying fucking superhero because that was going to be the only explanation Ade would accept forever and ever and ever. They were actually going to have a chance at winning, a crowning spot in the history books of really dumb drunken antics, and the very alluring possibility that they were going to get to keep their pants firmly on their butts.

Blake fished the ball out of the cup, shaking his head as he tossed it back, still wet with the taste of sweet victory. “Hey! It’s only just started; don’t get so cocky.”

But Ade was riding on the high of the win, hyping himself up as he prepared to take the next shot while the buzz of the crowd died down into the ambiance. And as dizzying as his head was becoming as the monster combination of tequila, vodka, and Fanta in window-cleaner blue bubbled happily into his bloodstream, he tried to focus his vision as well as possible, putting a hand on Sam’s shoulder to steady his balance before sucking in a deep breath and letting the ball take off from his fingertips.

‘C’mon Ade, you got this.’

Following a tremendously beautiful arc and really showcasing the natural phenomena that was gravity, the ping pong ball flew and –

Totally fucking missed.

With a mixture of sympathetic ohs from the crowd and laughs from the other team, Ade shuffled himself back to where Sam was standing, mood souring at his own incompetence as he pouted by gently kicking the table leg – “fuck me. You gotta teach me some of your frickin’ ninja skills or we’ll be goners.”

I I I I · Jul 3, 2018

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G

Somehow. Somehow. They had managed not to lose at the very last second. With a mixture of Sam's luck and amazing sound-depth perception, he was able to hold onto his end of the figurative fort strongly. One would think that a completely sighted engineer would be the one leading them to their victory but that is definitely something that Sam would tease Adrian about later.

After being pulled by someone to take part in a celebratory shot-chugging contest, Samuel found himself reaching out to grab onto who he thought was Adrian's arm. The fact that he couldn't see only made his intoxicated balance problems even worse. While his blindness had never kept him from going to things like parties and he doesn't shy away from drinking, he can quite easily say that he doesn't get drunk very often. So to say the least, it was an interesting experience for him.

His skin was a bit flushed from both the alcohol and the fact that it was too hot in here from the amount of people that had crowded inside. His ears were also ringing a little at this point due to the loud music.

It seemed to only then dawn on him that he indeed was wearing almost nothing, in a party full of students that he could possibly run into in class at any point in the future. His hand had lowered to his stomach, as if trying to hide his exposed skin. "Where did i take my clothes off?" He questioned, which would have sounded weird out loud in any other public setting. He made his way back to the ping pong table, when he found it he bent down to feel the ground.

His hand found a mound of fabric and he held it up a little, "Are these my pants?" He directed the question over to Adrian.

Normally, if he was at home or something, he could ask Barron for simple things like picking up something he has dropped. However he highly doubted Barron would be able to actually complete a command like that when there is a ton of other people's things all over the place.

Speaking of- Sam's eyes widened a little from where he was kneeling down. "Barron?" he called out, snapping his fingers a few times which would normally get the dog to come if he was within hearing distance. When he didn't get any sort of response he actually started to low-key panic; the alcohol in his system making the situation seem a lot more extreme than it was... and it was already a pretty big deal that his guide dog was gone. Not only was his legal pair of eyes nowhere to be found but Barron is more than just a service dog to him.

So it wouldn't come as a much of a surprise when his expression shifted to looking like he might be sick and his unfocused eyes reflected a bit of panic- which is totally out of character for him considering he's a rather calm person by nature.

cellar. · Jul 7, 2018

A D R I A N • L E E

They had been down to their last cup on each end when Danny missed, and Sam-slash-Daredevil – since Ade was entirely convinced at this point that Sam was a real life vigilante – sunk their last ship with a swooping arc.

The ball bounced innocuously in the red cup as the room exploded with cheers – victory drinks were poured, copious amounts of hugs were given, generous pats on the back were passed out. For tonight, they had gone to war together; they were brothers on the motherfucking battlefield now, having conquered the unforgiving landscape that was the barren stretch of the dining room table. Heroes were born, tragedies were written, and history was made in the beer spilt and splattered on this night of tribulations.

Now, after smugly watching Blake and Danny choose between going full on birthday suit or chugging down the gross-as-fuck water cup, he was ready to take a few more gratuitous celebratory shots even though he was so way past gone, hoping his future self wouldn’t curse his current, happily intoxicated self to the dirt for the monster hangover he was bound to have.

Mid-shot of Fireball, he felt a hand press on his bare back and turned slightly at the touch, realizing as a postfix thought that he was still walking around in his underwear. With the taste of cinnamon burning the base of his throat, he called out “Heeey! It’s Sam, my dude,” somewhat sloppily, but brightening up at seeing his newfound beer-pong dream team teammate, words rushing into each other like a tide of joy.

Sam looked a bit red, a bit unsteady, pausing as he put his hand on his stomach for a full moment before intoning in a way that Ade thought was way too conversational, “Where did I take my clothes off?”

Oh yeah.
“Haha ummm…”

He put a hand to his own stomach in mirror as he looked around, trying to spy where on earth they’d shed their clothes in the heat of the game. His skin felt slightly sticky – if not from alcohol, then from the warmth of the room.

“Are these my pants?” Ade shifted his focus to Sam’s voice, watching as he emerged with what definitely wasn’t pants.

“Dude, that’s an armhole. Also not even an armhole to your shirt.”

Crap. Fuck. Clothes.

He walked away from the table to the other side of the room, looking underneath people's feet and uprooting furniture until –

“Yo I think Danny stole your shit,” a girl called out casually from the couch, eating pretzels and lounging nonchalantly as she gave them the hot tea.

“Excuse me?”

With that tidbit on the mystery of their disappearing clothes, Adrian was mentally cursing the frickin’ stuffing out of Danny right now and willed himself to remember this for future reference. Whatever, he could just go upstairs and grab some pants, but as for Sam –

“So apparently Danny stole our clothes ‘cuz he's a petty hoe,” he announced, walking back towards Sam, upon which he saw the guy frozen with some kind of look of terror splayed across his face. “Oh, I mean he’ll probably give them back eventually – I dunno who’s shirt that is but you could probably just borrow it for the time being, I –”

He paused when he realized Sam hadn't responded, and quickly made his way over, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Man, are you okay? Do you need some water?”

I I I I · Jul 7, 2018

S A M U E L ☀ S O N G

Upon being told that the fabric that he had been holding not only didn't belong to him but it wasn't even a pair of pants. He had let the shirt drop back to the ground around where he had picked it up- only then realizing that it was a bit damp from god knows what.

After the panic had set in that he had no clue where Barron was, if felt like the ringing in his ears doubled. He didn't even realize that someone was speaking to him until he felt the hand on his shoulder.

“Man, are you okay? Do you need some water?”

He recognized Adrian's voice.
Water?

Samuel swallowed the lump that was growing in his throat and actively tried to stay calm. "Do you... Do you see my dog?" He questioned. While it was mostly a comfort thing considering he had been handling things fine before he realized that Barron wasn't nearby, he felt helpless.

He didn't even think to bring his white cane or anything because he hadn't planned for a crowded party. If he had known what he was getting into he would have either never let go of Barron's leash or wouldn't have brought the service dog at all.

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