a picnic (with my pants on) [Jane]

The effects of being at Harriman were like a drug to Will; that being said, he found that on this particular day he hadn't needed a hit when he woke up, and gone about his usual business distinctly not tripped out. It puffed his chest in pride a little to note that today, at his lunch with Jane, he wouldn't get scolded for his habits (okay, maybe a little, but not as harshly as if he had showed up high), and could enjoy some time with his best girl free of any influences except for her outstanding beauty and radiant sense of humor. Making a mental tick to tell her that later (oh the teasing he could get away with!), he moved with his usual lazy gait from the dormitory, through the halls, hands in his pockets and whistling as he went, until he arrived at the particular tree he had requested to meet Jane under. The backpack on his shoulders weighed heavily with material for the event, and he dropped it gingerly, unzipping it and unloading the contents. First, there was the usual picnic blanket - but not red checkered. This one was tie-dye. It was much more appealing; at least, to Will it was, Plopping into the grass, he peeled off the light sweat jacket he'd been wearing, revealing a faded Mellow Mushroom Pizza Bakers shirt beneath, and pulled out the containers of food he'd bought from the E-Z; macaroni and cheese, chicken strips, chocolate pudding, pickles, and cream sodas. He smirked at the layout; Jane was sure to comment on his need to eat things that were polar opposite each other. It was a habit he'd taken up while with MJ, apparently.

After making sure everything was ready on the big blanket and plates and silverware were placed nicely, he laid back in the grass and waved his arms and legs like he was making a snow angel before settling the former behind his head and cross his ankles. The sky was bright, a clear blue, and little puffs of clouds floated over head soothingly. If Will had been high, he would have been counting sheep, no doubt; smiling fondly at the thought, he closed his eyes and ignored the 'sheep', instead letting the warmth of a mid-autumn day seep into his skin and clothes, the wind whispering through the strings on the holes of his jeans. There was something about laying in the grass that mellowed him out; of course, he was already mellow, so it didn't take much. He had a lot on his mind to share with Jay; his growing physical desire for Saffron, his affection for Audrey, his curiosity about Isaac and (God forbid) Sophia, and of course he wanted to push Jay's buttons about Gerard, who she silently lusted after like there was no tomorrow. Grinning at the thought, he rubbed his face and eyes, stretching, then scratched his tummy and rolled to his side, facing the picnic. He felt idle, but not bored; he didn't want a hit, he didn't want a cigarette, and he didn't want a drink. He just wanted Jane's company.

Jay had slept in lazily, her favorite bad habit reserved specially for weekends and holidays, and weathered the storm that was the in-an-outing of her less lazy roommates. With her big down comforter wrapped tightly around her legs and one arm holding a large pillow firmly over the side of her head, she had managed to only slightly regain consciousness while her three roommates made their ways around the room and out to do whatever business they had. She new she was going to have a wonderful time having lunch with Will that afternoon, in fact many of her fleeting dreams centered on shady trees and violently red tablecloths, but she could have almost as wonderful a time wrapped up in sleep and blankets. It wasn't until about eleven-thirty that Jay's body had finally had enough of her happy dozing. Her groggy head insisted that she get out of bed and perhaps put some clothes on (as if Will had never seen her in a sports bra and booty shorts before) or else she would end up late for the picnic. She had taken a shower the previous night (mostly to facilitate the sleeping in she had already been planning) so she didn't have to worry about that, though her hair was something of a mess after having been slept on wet. She tore a brush through it, not meeting with too many tangles (her hair tended to get more funnily-shaped then tangled), and then pulled her longish locks into braids running down each side of her head and in front of each of her shoulders. The look was slightly juvenile, but she loved it nonetheless.

She stretched as she made a beeline for Audie's dresser, wondering if her friend's purple v-neck was clean, and found the article of clothing without much trouble. She changed into a real bra (dark and light pink polka dotted, and her favorite), threw on Audie's shirt, and buttoned a small black vest of her own (probably) on top of the shirt. She then hobbled to the exit of the dorm room as she pulled on a pair of light gray-blue jeans. She finished buttoning them (they were boy's jeans, the kind with a ton of buttons and no zipper) just as she was entering the hallway connecting the dorm, looking around to see if anybody was staring. She didn't really mind if anybody saw her buttoning her fly, it wasn't like they could see her green striped boy short undies, anyway. Even if they did, the undies were probably less revealing than any of the bathing suits she owned. She hiked up her jeans as she walked away from the dorms and outside, her tummy rumbling hopefully. She realized that sleeping in had apparently worked up quite an appetite; boy was she glad that Will had handled the food and all that. If she'd been doing she probably would have eaten half of it by the time the picnic even started! She spotted Will under the specified tree, laying on his back and looking extremely comfortable next to his tie-dye blanket. Jay put a hand over her mouth to stop the smile that was growing there from blossoming into a laugh, then began walking towards the picnic spread, hips swaying and hands shoved into jean pockets.

"Noice spread you got there, guv'nor" she said in her best (and pretty good) street urchin voice, running a hand across her nose for effect. She gave Will a large grin and plopped down beside him, turning to her side with one hand supporting her head and the other draped over her hips like Cleopatra. She brought her eyelids to half mast at the sight of Will's obviously clear blue and white of Will's eyes. "Why Lysander William Gates, are you by any chance sober?" she asked, smiling in that dimpled way that only really happened when she was around Will or Audie. The smile that was one part mischief and two parts good cheer. "What've you brought to eat anyway?" she asked, rolling over to her back and pulling herself into a seated position on the grass. "Quite an interesting combination of tastes here. Oh you and your complicated palate." She grinned at him again then fell on top of him gently (mostly) to give him an on-the-ground hug, burying her head in the place where his neck met his right shoulder. "Food and Will. My two very favorite things!" she said, her voice slightly muffled by his neck. She pulled back from the hug, half of her weight on the ground half on Will (he was in tip top shape, he could handle it), "Well, at least at the moment. How've you been stranger?"

Will's characteristic lopsided grin was brighter than the sun upon the appearance of his self-described 'ray of light'. Jane was his reason for all seasons, the peanut-butter to his jelly, the angel to his devil, the...well, you get the point. Being proverbially attached at the hip to a girl since you were eleven years old would do that to you, he mused. Blonde little tart had stolen the coveted best friend spot and been damn clever at it, too. He chuckled merrily at her womanly impression of his new sidelong position in the grass, and felt the tiniest hint of a pleased blush rise to his cheekbones, his lashes lowering slightly as he squinted at her. Very proudly, he declared, "I haven't even had a cigarette this morning, actually." He wrinkled his nose pleasantly and then glanced over at the spread he'd created, chuckling at his choices. "I've determined that I tend to always have the munchies. I just bought what looked good at the time." He made to sit up with her, shrugging a little as he did so, but was quickly tackle back down into the grass by his favorite - a hug from his Jay. Will wrapped his muscular arms around her thin frame and snuggled her fiercely, one his hands petting her blonde hair affectionately, his nose buried in the crown of her head. She felt strangely bony. The boy frowned and poked her ribs curiously. "Hey, skeleton woman, you should probably eat that entire tub of macaroni by yourself, from the feel of you."

Instantly cracking up at how dirty that sounded, he grinned up at her and slid his hand from the hair hanging around her shoulders to ruffle the top of her head. "Hmm. I've been hungry, tripping, horny, lonely, pretty, spiffy, waaayyyy cool, you know. The usual." Will winked happily and put his hands behind his head, hair flying in every which direction, eyes twinkling pleasantly. "I feel very awake, but I suppose that's because I didn't have a doobie this morning." If he was anything, Mr. Gates was matter-of-fact. It was a surprise to many that he hadn't been caught yet, as open as he was about his habits. "Izz and I are already working on a new piece, Isaac's gonna want to kick my ass!" Smirking happily, he reached up and tweaked her nose, holding his thumb between his fingers jokingly. "And you, Miss Jane-without-a-nose, how have you been?"

Jay returned Will's snuggle about as fiercely as he had given it, far past the point of worrying if she would hurt him. She doubted there was any way in the world that she would be able to even bruise him a little bit, no matter how hard she tried. She wiggled a little and laughed (without being able to help it, really) when Will poked at her ribs. She could be insanely ticklish sometimes, and now appeared to be one of those times. She considered Will's comment for a moment, then looked down at her ribs. They weren't sticking out, were they? Ew, gross! She looked up at him, realizing he was laughing, and a slow smile surfaced on her face as she realized the way he had sounded. "Well, if that's how you feel I feel, then I'd better start digging in!" She smiled like a little kid when he ruffled her hair, and tried to purr. It ended up sounding more like she was a retarded pigeon.

Luckily his answer to her question cut her accidental pigeon imitation short, and she could ignore her own silliness and concentrate on his. She was shaking with suppressed laughter at about the time he added spiffy to his list. She closed her eyes at the sudden onslaught of his hair, and brushed away the strands that had landed close to her face. "Dooooobie." she repeated, liking the sound of the thing far more than she liked the thing itself. She reached after her 'nose', her hand coming to rest on top of Will's wrist. "Well, nose-less for one thing." she said, her smile incredibly naked and pleased. Will just felt like home to her. "Other than that I've been pretty good. I'm missing the beach like crazy. It's funny. I was missing Harriman like crazy all summer, and now all I want to do is go home." She tapped her index finger against the back of his hand, "Well, all I want to do is stuff my face with my most favoritest guy in the world. Then go home." She looked up at the still-clear Maine sky. Yeah she was homesick, but she also didn't really want to go home. Not really. She guessed that Harriman felt like home, too. Ugh, it was going to hurt to graduate.

She squeezed Will's wrist, fighting for her 'nose' back, and smirked at him. "How am I possibly supposed to enjoy your wonderful selection of food properly if I don't...have...a nose!" She was now wrestling with his hand, trying to pry it open. It wasn't working very well. She stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at him, trying not to ruin it with that laughter that wanted to come out. She sat up and edged closer to the food, hands hovering over the containers and finally dive-bombing for the macaroni. "Ah well, I'll just have to do my best with what I have. Why don't you get your fine ass over here and tell me about your dance while we eat?"

At her expression of homesickness, Will smiled fondly at her, knowing what she meant full well. He didn't have a problem with New York, of course, but London was where it was at. He told her often that when they had a chance, he would take her to London and the Soho district where he grew up - the arts district of one of the easiest-paced cities on earth. Rows of shops lined the streets, all with their own special flare - boutiques of antiques, vintage clothing stores, novelty warehouses, and then, of course, the theatres, the dance halls, the concert venues. Soho was undeniably his most favorite place in the world (besides anywhere Jane was, of course), and it was also the place where he had learned his favorite sins - weed, alcohol, cigarettes. Thankfully, there were rarely hookers in Soho, or Will would have been really well rounded in bad behaviors. He grinned at Jane and spoke. "I know what it's like to miss home. I still have to take you to Soho." He snugged her again and then held his hand high above his head (pointless, considering he was still on his back), trying to keep her nose from her. "You can eat without your nose, you just won't be able to taste anything."

Will laughed heartily, and then, thinking back to a previous comment, sat up with her an smiled. "Jane, you can say doobie as much as you want. That was funny shit." Grinning, he continued. "Well, it's like shagging on stage, obviously. I mean...it's me and Izz." He reached out for a bit of mac and cheese and continued. "Racy and heart-stopping, I would say." This had been spoken in an even more elevated English accent than he already had, like a critic, and he waggled his brows accordingly before finishing chewing his food and swallowing. "Another masterpiece, of course. I've also been informed by Isabelle that I choice but to be her dance partner in the musical if she is cast in the role she's lusting for. I'm going to be a busy boy."