Gamepost / Sunnydale AU: The Monday after

[mm_adiva]

Okay, say what you like about prom, but the clean-up committee did astounding work.

[ooc: The Sunnydale AU strikes again! This is the Monday after the demon prom. Or it isn't -- maybe it's just Monday at Sunnydale. Continuity is for suckers, obviously.]

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[teenangstbs]

Oh, there are those goddamn cigarettes. She knew they were in her locker somewhere.

[ofsmokeandblood]

Hannibal turns the corner at the far end of the hall, catches sight of Veronica and her cigarettes, and smiles.

[teenangstbs]

Let's see, next class is Calculus, and after that is English, where they're reading The Bell Jar . . .

Don't ask Veronica why she isn't skipping school, after the debacle of the prom. She doesn't know. The same reason everyone just kept going to school after Heather and Kurt and Ram died, presumably -- you've got to have a routine.

[ofsmokeandblood]

He waits until he is within a more reasonable speaking distance, and then says:

"Good morning."

Take a moment to let that sink in, folks.

Hannibal Lecter said two largely unnecessary words.

[says_the_booyah]

Cy wakes up in the empty gym, a note taped to his chest: Cyborg - Emergency in Hub City - can handle it alone. Call when you are awake. R

Boy, that was some party. Five Titans, a hundred demons, and who know how many other teens who can handle themselves in a fight. No wonder he was zonked. Well, that and using up all his power. He's not surprised to find himself plugged in.

He gets up, unplugs, and stretches.

[mordredeschain]

"Wasn't prom great?"

Asks the creepy stick-thin kid that always seems to be this close to wearing rags.

[says_the_booyah]

"Beg your pardon? You liked that?" Yeah. Creepy.

[mordredeschain]

"Yup.

"Mind you, I only killed three people. And they were the real bullies. But getting to be myself at prom? Great."

[not_the_lion]

Regulus is in the library, trying to see if there are any resources there that might be of help regarding the mysterious bar in his closet. (And Anne's football locker, apparently.)
He's not counting on it working out; the school has a truly pitiful collection, especially compared to his family's library. But one never knows, and it's worth a try, in any case.

[vinceniaknight]

"Nothing interesting." A girl in a soccer jersey plunks down beside him. "Hi." She sighs, shaking her head. "There's nothing good in this library no matter what you're looking for."

[not_the_lion]

"It's certainly not as extensive as some."
Regulus smiles as she sits down. "How did your game go?"

[vinceniaknight]

"We won." Anne shrugs. "I swear word got out about prom and people went easy on her."

[ofsmokeandblood]

Hannibal can be found seated on a bench in the shade of a large tree, between classes, reading a book.

Just like any other day.

[border_prince]

James is sporting a sling, and a pronounced limp. The ankle aches with every step, but he's still going around the school grounds, looking at faces, checking who's here and who isn't.

His own face registers tired relief when he sees Hannibal. He goes over and takes a seat next to him, stretching his leg out carefully in front of him.

(It's funny, because he sort of remembers the ankle being pulverized, the arm shattered, but clearly that can't be right. His memory of parts of the night is patchy. He doesn't even remember how he got home. It must just be another trick his mind is playing on him.)

(He won't even notice when the limp has all but disappeared by the end of the day.)

"I see you made it out," he says. "I'm glad."

[ofsmokeandblood]

He nods, observing everything: the sling, the limp, the careful stretch. Perhaps the relief, too.

For a long, quiet moment, he considers elaborating on that nod. On the one hand, Mr. Mayer is a teacher and teachers do not, as a whole, approve of students bringing swords to school. On the other hand, he shot a demon.

Eventually, the thoughtful look passes without Hannibal saying a word.

[border_prince]

And James, as may be deduced from the remark above, completely missed Hannibal in action - once he got to the gym, the level of chaos he found kept his attention away from anything that didn't involve killing the demon in front of him or sneaking a student out the back door.

"Lot of stories going around about what happened," he says. "What have you heard?"

He wouldn't gamble on the odds of his getting a verbal answer, but he can't know for sure if he doesn't try, right?

[border_prince]

James is mostly circulating the hallways when he's not in his classroom - there's too much to see and look for, too much mess to clear up (more metaphorically than literally; the clean-up crew really did do a great job) for him to want to stay still any more than he has to.

His ankle, however, though it's beginning to feel less stiff, will only take so much, so eventually he stops to rest for a moment or two in the faculty lounge.

It's mostly empty when he sits. Students aren't the only population at Sunnydale High that took a hit at the prom.

[stillbecoming]

Mostly empty, but not quite. There's clanging in the kitchen, although the source of the noise is hidden from view by the ancient refrigerator (which looks like it's been through a few wars, and possibly has).

A few moments later, somebody spins from behind it into view, although somebody's face is actually hidden by the stack of pizza box, doughnut box, carton of orange juice, plate, and handful of napkins in somebody's arms.

[border_prince]

James isn't sure if he should offer to help carry anything or not. He'd hate to startle . . . somebody . . . into dropping everything if she didn't hear him come in.

He debates for a few seconds, then decides that, when precarious stacks of food and kitchenware are involved, silence is golden.

[stillbecoming]

Still blithely unaware that anyone else came into the lounge during her impromptu pot percussion session, Buffy manages to teeter everything onto the single square foot of counter without any casualties. Which puts her back to the couch.

She opens the pizza box, and peers inside. And sighs. To herself: "The eternal question. Students or demons?"