peter rabbit would be wise to stay out of mr. mcgreggor's garden ;; nolan

It was an early afternoon on a Sunday, and Ali had nothing to do but laze around in her pajama shorts and fuzzy slippers. Her roommate wasn't home, probably still asleep at the house or dorm she might have crashed at after partying all Saturday night. It was quiet, and Ali was debating on either reading, doing homework, or taking a nap.

She probably should have chosen the homework, but instead she opted for the nap, however, as soon as she kicked off her slippers and snuggled deep within the confines of her bed and blankets, there was a knock at the door. Darn.

Ali sat up and threw the blankets off of her, and shuffled from her bed to the door. Her roommate must have forgotten her key last night. She opened the door only to be greeted by not her roommate, but her new friend Nolan!

"Oh hey!" She greeted. "What a surprise!"

Ali opened the door wider so that Nolan could walk in, and she turned to walk to her desk, and grabbed the cardigan that was hanging on the back of her chair, to put on over her little camisole. She turned and sat on her bed, legs crossed indian-style.

"What's up?" She asked.

Nolan had snaked his way through campus until he ended up right in front of Alaska's door. He stared it at for a few minutes, a lone drop of sweat on his brow as he went over one of the many plans he had in his head, over and over and over again. Could this be the day? Would this Sunday afternoon mark the beginning of the rest of his proper future, finally?

He wondered what Alaska would be wearing when she answered the door. He knew she was here (by some means) but didn't know what she was up to. He knew her roommate wasn't here either, and knew exactly which house the roommate had crashed at the previous night. He knew almost everything -- his life was carefully controlled by every move he made, and so were the lives around him.

He finally knocked, and Ali predictably answered. A cute little camisole draped over her perfect little body. Nolan quickly added some energy to his normally-monotonous aura.

"Hi," he said as if he were nervous. "I hope you don't mind if I stop by, it's just so nice outside, I needed to get out of my room for a bit."

He followed her into her room, looking around and taking in every inch of detail. He sat on the chair that she pulled the cardigan off of, turning it to face her on the bed. "I'm sorry, were you sleeping?" he asked, noticing the slippers and the way the blankets were thrown. "I tried not to come over too early, but 'early' seems to be defined a bit differently on this campus on the weekends, heh."

"Well, I was about to," Ali admitted. "But I had literally climbed into bed when you knocked."

She smiled reassuringly, she didn't want him to think she was annoyed or mad that he had taken her from her nap. She glanced out the small window that was in her dorm room when he mentioned the weather. She hadn't been out since last night. It was early fall, and it was that kind of weather when it was chilly in the mornings and at night, but blazing hot during the day. She decided to crawl off her bed and go to the window to open it. Maybe she and Nolan could take a walk together later.

Ali chuckled at Nolan's "early" comment then said, "It is nice outside." She leaned closer to the window, to feel the light fall breeze come through and tousle her hair. "I've been awake since eight and still haven't left this building."

"Oh, I'm sorry I stopped you -- Sunday afternoons are practically nap heaven," he said, his eyes looking over her body as she leaned toward the window. He saw wisps of her blonde hair move with the wind. Was this a sign from the universe that today was the right time to escape with Ali? She looked so beautiful, how could he resist?

"Do you want to go somewhere, maybe?" he asked casually, assuming she'd think of a walk in a park or sitting at a cafe. All he could see in his head was the contrast between her bright wisps of hair against the color of his dark apartment in Adhbhar. He had cleaned it up before traveling to MV, but he was still worried it wouldn't be in good enough shape for his liking once he and Ali arrived.

Maybe I should go tidy up before I start all of this, he said, uncharacteristically doubting himself. He was just so excited and wanted everything to be perfect for the two of them.

You've already cleaned enough, Roanoke responded, sniffing something on the floor. Just follow the plan.

Ali turned away from her window to face Nolan, wrapping her cardigan tightly around her body. She wasn't wearing a bra and felt a little self conscious. She tucked some of her hair behind her ear, looking thoughtful. She definitely wanted to take him up on his offer on going somewhere, but where? They could take a walk around campus, or maybe even go to the beach.

"Have you seen the beach yet?" She asked him. "It might be crowded, but it could still be nice!"

Ali didn't wait for his response before going to her little dresser at the end of her bed, and started to dig for something to wear. She couldn't decide if she wanted to wear jeans, or shorts. She figured she might as well get dressed, whether he wanted to go to the beach or somewhere else. Either way they were probably leaving.

Yes, he'd seen the beach. He'd seen Ali on the beach many times.

"No, I don't think I have," he said, wondering how appropriate it would be to go somewhere crowded when they were about to disappear together. That could really tip clio off to their whereabouts later on.

"I heard really good things about some parks around here too, maybe we can check out a few places. Extended tour?" If they could jump around, they'd see considerably less clio and it should be alright. Most clio still didn't know who Nolan was anyway, let alone anything about him outside of being a student.

He wondered what she'd wear out on their adventure. Whatever she chose could be the what she'd wear for a long time, at least until they got her a brand new wardrobe. What a big decision that she didn't even know about.

"Yeah, totally!" Ali responded to his comments about the parks. Finally, she pulled out a pair of ripped up skinny jeans, and a loose fitting red flannel to wear on their outing. The flannel was thin enough to where she wouldn't overheat in the sun, but warm enough to be comfortable when a fall breeze blew by. She pulled the flannel on over her cami without bothering to put on a bra, then looked back up at Nolan, a playful grin on her face.

"Turn around," she instructed him. "I don't feel like shuffling all the way to the bathroom down the hall just to change my pants."

When Nolan did what he was told, Ali quickly pulled down her pajama shorts, kicked them to the side, then pulled on her jeans one foot at a time. She sighed irritably when one of her feet kept going through one of the holes, but finally got them up and buttoned.

"Okay," she said, while walking back to her bed to sit on it. "It's safe to look now."

She leaned over to try and find some "no-show" socks to wear with her low-top sneakers. She always just slipped her socks off when she'd get home from class, so they were littered all about the floor of her dorm. When she couldn't find any matching ones, she settled on a red one and a purple one that was spotted like a leopard.

"Well then we could head to the beach first then," she said, while pulling on one of her mismatched socks. "I can show you the lighthouse where all the kids go to get drunk."

Nolan turned around as Ali requested, closing his eyes as shivers and waves of cool pleasure moved throughout his body. Why would Ali do this if she didn't hold mutual feelings for Nolan? He knew she remembered him from all that time ago in the cafe, but maybe she was scared to say anything or be too forward.

Nolan smiled. They'd be together soon.

He composed himself as he turned back around once she was done dressing herself.

"Yeah that sounds fun," he said with a nod and a shrug. "Maybe we could throw back some shots too!" He was sort of joking, but also not joking that much. He wasn't much of a drinker, but he thought maybe if Ali drank a little, maybe she'd loosen up and admit her feelings for him. The plan would go much easier that way.

"That is the best idea ever," Ali replied, while leaning over and playfully slapping Nolan's knee. "Gods I wish tomorrow wasn't Monday!"

Ali sighed, then leaned back over to grabbed her low-tops from under her bed and pulled them on. She ran a hand through her messy blonde hair, and tried to untangle the back. Thanks to both of her parents, she was forever cursed with frizzy, curly, hair. She gave up, and decided to pull her unruly hair up into a messy bun. Fringe sprang out everywhere almost instantly. Oh well.

"Well," she said. "Are you ready to go?”

"That is the best idea ever," Ali replied, while leaning over and playfully slapping Nolan's knee. "Gods I wish tomorrow wasn't Monday!"

"Yeah..." he said, taking a quick breath in as she slapped his knee.

Oh my gods... he thought, imagining all the touches she'd give him during their lives together.

"You're right though, maybe we should wait until another weekend...but if you ever want some, I can buy it. You know, for you. Or whoever."

He was getting frazzled, which he hated. It made him feel like he couldn't control himself -- that's how his feelings for her tended to make him feel quite often. He loved loving her, but hated being unpredictable and impulsive.

"Well," she said. "Are you ready to go?”

"Ready whenever you are," he said with a nod.

Ali didn't notice how flustered Nolan was acting. If anything, she took it as him trying to flirt and be sweet. "We definitely have to go to a party together," she said, while standing and stretching. "It'll be fun!"

She started walking toward the door, grabbing her purse as she did and stopped when the door opened suddenly. Her roommate came in, her hair a mess and her clothes looking a little wrinkled.

"Josie!" Ali laughed. "Where have you been?"

Josie walked in, barely even noticing Nolan at first, and began working on trying to pull the hair tie from the top of her head. "Girl," she said. "You'll never believe what happened last night."

Ali smiled apologetically at Nolan as Josie began to talk about her night.