Jul 13 00:31:12 <Knave>	Early afternoon, class pretty much just let out, Jon receives a text from Austin, <Hey Bossman. You free to hang?> This is followed by what can only be a random selection of emojis, including a baseball bat, a cactus, and some sparkles.
Jul 13 00:33:08 <Cezar>	Oh, shit. It's quicksilver! Ahaa! Jon smirks at the text. <Hell yeah. Totally. Let me just tell Cin I'm leaving and I'll be right out. Where are you at?> Jonathan, while he was waiting on his reply, went to throw on a hoodie and a pair of jeans and sneakers before looking back at his phone.
Jul 13 00:34:47 <Knave>	<I am everywhere my friend [star emoji]> Arrives immediately, then a brief pause before it's followed in sequence by, <I'm at the gazebo> <But it's freezing out still> <Meet you in the common room?>
Jul 13 00:36:49 <Cezar>	Jon smirks and shakes his head at the first text. Throwing over his hoodie, he looks back at the phone for an update. <Oh.> <Sure.> <Omw.> He tucks the phone in his pocket, says goodbye to Cin and checks out. To the common room! When he arrives, he mists into the room and reforms, looking around for Austin.
Jul 13 00:38:47 <Knave>	Austin slides in with a relaxed air about him, hands in pockets and pushing the door open by leaning his back into it. He spins gently inside then flashes a grin when he sees Jon, coming to a stop and walking up to him, his smile pulling lopsided. "Hey Bossman. How's things?"
Jul 13 00:41:04 <Cezar>	"Sup, Austin? Things are absolutely great, man. A lot of good things are happening lately." He said. Jon took a seat and crossed his legs. "What about you? Good things?"
Jul 13 00:43:08 <Knave>	Austin leans on the back of a couch, "A little of this and a little of that," He shrugs, "Life's never bad when you get to see Austin Silver in your mirror." His impishly grinning face, for a moment, looks just like it does when people imagine him. The Austin Silver brand. "Still, you know how things can be with Sunnybrook kids. A little instability, a little not seeing people for a while. Drives you nuts." He chuckles.
Jul 13 00:45:45 <Cezar>	"Yeah, that's true." He nodded in agreement. "There's a lot of instability around. Hell, you'd think a bunch of kids would have some supervisors who care about them. Nope. It's almost like they just say 'here, be free in this school. We don't care what you do as long as you don't break any laws'." Jonathan shrugged. "Well, at least there are some good things."
Jul 13 00:49:43 <Knave>	"Amen to that." Austin's smile becomes a littler, gentler one, as he speculates inwardly that he and Jon might be thinking on the same lines, in terms of the good things. Austin's happy thoughts tasted like hazelnuts. He vaults the back of the couch to sit beside Jon, with catlike grace, "Anything interesting happened lately in the world-o-Jon? I feel like for an ace reporter I sure do miss every damn thing going on in this school."
Jul 13 00:52:28 <Cezar>	Jonathan smiled. "Yeah. A lot. Or maybe just one big thing. Yeah... definitely a big thing." He said. "I... you remember Cindaria, right? Have I told you about her? My girlfriend? We've been dating for quite a long time, now. Actually, a few good months. We love each other so much so... I proposed to her. And she said yes." He smiled. "And before you go saying we're too young, you can marry at 16 in Canada, with parental permission. The school is our permission, so..."
Jul 13 00:56:47 <Knave>	Austin carefully makes sure that his face doesn't show shock, or panic, or second-hand fear. So what it shows instead is blankness, undisguised, which is as bad as any of them. "Well." He says, all the energy of his voice squeezed through a strangled throat, "That sure is something, isn't it?"
Jul 13 01:00:20 <Cezar>	Which quickly made Jonathan feel like Austin didn't give a shit, or was hiding some emotion. Obviously, if Austin was /hiding/ emotion, it was some form of negative. But, it could just be that he doesn't care... either way, this puts him down. Did one of his friends simply not care about his life? "... Yeah... so... is something wrong?" Best to confront it now than to simply let it be.
Jul 13 01:02:26 <Knave>	"Well.." Austin rubs the back of his neck, smiling nervously, "It's just, well... you are a little... you know, young, to be... marriage is... obviously, I know where you're coming from, but... are you sure?"
Jul 13 01:04:07 <Cezar>	"Does it... really matter?" Jon asked. "She and I already know there's some other timeline out there where we get married and have children and have a life. We know that we love each other... and... it's been a while. We both think we're ready and it's /legal/... so...?"
Jul 13 01:08:00 <Knave>	"Well, sure, but think about it - maybe in that other timeline, the two of you never knew about any other timelines where you get married. Maybe in that timeline you broke up for a while, one of you travelled the world, the other did bronze sculpting, you learned about yourselves and that you got back together. Maybe you needed to do that. Or maybe alternate-timeline-you did one of a million other things different." He spreads out his arms as he rambles, "I'm just saying, alternate timeline shenanigans are no guarantee of success, amigo. This is a huge decision." He finishes sounding more serious than Jon normally hears him.
Jul 13 01:13:55 <Cezar>	Jonathan sighs. "That's really... besides the point by now. We've both made the decision. We both feel that we're ready. Just because we get married in an alternate timeline, that's not the /sole/ reason we're doing this. I think it would've happened regardless of whether we met Claudia and Adison. I'm just saying... man... you're kinda lettin' me down here. We're both super happy..."
Jul 13 01:16:51 <Knave>	"Well, good for you, man, if you're happy you're happy." Austin shrugs, settling back into the sofa with a shuffling motion, "I just worry, see, 'cause I'm a worrier when it comes to my friends."
Jul 13 01:24:04 <Cezar>	Jonathan frowned a little. "I appreciate the concern, but this is something I'd rather be supported on and not criticized on. Simply because there are a lot of people who criticize it."
Jul 13 01:26:27 <Knave>	"And what do you want support for?" Says Austin, closing his eyes and putting his arms behind his head, adopting his airy philosopher's tone, "If it makes you happy it makes you happy, what's it matter what the peanut gallery says?" He opens one eye and directs it with the inkling of a smile at Jon, "What, you want me to help you write your vows? Book the venue?"
Jul 13 01:28:20 <Cezar>	"Well, bro..." He looked at him. "I don't need any help with /that/." He said. "And the peanut gallery matters because you know I'm insecure... always have been. I'm a little insecure peanut and I hate it... but..." He sighed. "... I do need at least a best man."
Jul 13 01:30:49 <Knave>	Austin smirks, wider and toothier than any smirk, by rights, should be, and claps Jon on the shoulder, "Well, I certainly don't know any better ones." A wave of inspiration crosses his face, "And hey, if you want I could give the engagement a write-up in the paper, take your side on the whole thing. With your permission, of course. Might shut up some of the people criticizing you." He shrugs with one shoulder, tilting his head, "Of course, it might get you a whole new and exciting wave of critics, but who knows. What do you think?"
Jul 13 01:33:58 <Cezar>	"Well, to be honest, I did already have you in mind. I mean... Brett, I'm pretty sure, is going to be a bridesmaid or something. Or..... maybe that was a joke?" He shrugged. "It sounds good. And I've known you longer. Hell, you were one of my first friends in Sunnybrook. I remember you when I first /came/ to Sunnybrook. That seems so long ago... but we're still good friends. At least, I like to think so."
Jul 13 01:37:36 <Knave>	"You're a solid constant, Jon, even when I'm Scotch mist." Austin smiles, roguish and undeniable, "If you're set on getting married, I trust your judgement, and I'd be honoured to be your best man." The smile turns slyer, more snakelike, "You realize this involves allowing me to give a speech on the happiest day of your life, yeah?"
Jul 13 01:39:41 <Cezar>	"Scotch mist...?" He mumbles to himself on that. What the hell does that even mean? "Oh, jeez. I hope you're not going to try and embarrass me or some crap... you wouldn't do that, right? I'll kill you dead if you do."
Jul 13 01:41:08 <Knave>	"Jon," Austin says, straight-faced, leaning forward, before a smile spreads across his face, "Have I ever had to try?"
Jul 13 01:42:29 <Cezar>	"The question is, will you like the consequences of what will happen if you do?" He smirks and says back.
Jul 13 01:44:17 <Knave>	"Consequences are just things that happen to other people." He waves a hand dismissively, chesire grin growing, "Strictly rear-view stuff." He lets the slight mask of mockery slip, his smile good-natured, "So, you set a date for the big day yet?"
Jul 13 01:48:18 <Cezar>	"Uhh. Nope, not yet. But, Cin is making her own dress... so I'm not allowed to go into the dress room." Jonathan misted a little and changed his spot. "But I don't think we really know when it's going to happen, just yet. Probably somewhat soon, though."
Jul 13 01:49:50 <Knave>	"Just make sure you give me a day's warning to air my suit out and get a speech prepared." Austin crosses his legs flourishingly, "Any other best man duties need taken care of? Oh, hey, bachelor party! You got a guest list in mind?"
Jul 13 01:53:32 <Cezar>	"Ah, we already got a thing planned for that. Hey, I'll see about asking Cin who's planning it at the moment and have them text you, yeah?" Jonathan let one leg fall to his side and his right arm rest leisurely on the couch.
Jul 13 01:55:03 <Knave>	"Sure," Austin says, the wind taken out of his sails. He shimmies in place, resting his arms over the back of the couch, "Anything else you need me to do, then?"
Jul 13 01:55:41 <Cezar>	"Uhhh. Not sure what else, no. Other than just be my friend and hang out with me because all of my old friends have left... or graduated." He said.
Jul 13 01:58:49 <Knave>	Austin snaps his fingers into a finger-gun at Jon, "That I can do, my compadre. That I can do." He smiles, mostly to himself, "So how'd you propose? Was it romantic?"
Jul 13 02:00:39 <Cezar>	"Uhhh.. fuck. Well... I was originally going to simply give her a promise ring, because I didn't think she was ready for it. /I/ thought it was romantic because I told her how much I felt. And I didn't really show it to her right away. I had it in my hand and let her feel it when she went to hold my hand."
Jul 13 02:01:14 <Cezar>	"We talked about it for a little bit and we both decided we were ready. So, the promise ring because the engagement ring."
Jul 13 02:03:28 <Knave>	"That's sweet." Austin says with a little lilt to his voice. He reaches out and gently prods Jon's shoulder, "You're too darn cute sometimes, Jon, y'know that?"
Jul 13 02:05:19 <Cezar>	Jonathan smiled. "Thanks man... I really do try sometimes. Sometimes I feel like I have social problems... do I? People say I'm getting better..."
Jul 13 02:07:27 <Knave>	"Everyone has social problems of one kind or another, man." Austin says with the assuredness of erudite slackers, "And not everyone gets better." Austin flashes another smile, "You're doing just fine, I reckon."
Jul 13 02:08:32 <Cezar>	"Cool." Jon nodded and smiled. "Well... uh... I better get back to the dorm, Cin wanted to talk to me... so... talk to you alter? I mean.. later?"
Jul 13 02:09:57 <Knave>	"Later it is, my man." Austin lazily puts his feet up on the table and waves a casual salute, "And congratulations on the engagement. Sincerely. Mazel tov."
Jul 13 02:11:10 <Cezar>	"Thanks. See you later, quicksilver." Then, he's out, misting like there's no tomorrow. Damn, he's gotten really good and really fast at that.
Jul 13 02:12:12 <Knave>	-scene bread-