[HE/HIM]

“Why don’t you guys just pickpocket the people there? I mean, easy money. They’re all gonna be distracted anyway.”

The sight of Louie’s pixelated face is still burned into Grant’s mind, the boy’s words still ringing in his ears like a grenade that exploded too close to his vicinity. Even when Grant’s standing in the middle of a partially planned venue, he’s blinking and moving like he isn’t; like he’s forcefully trying to walk through Oobleck.

The lights, already bright, seem suspiciously brighter like someone’s messing around with them and it makes his eyes burn and his left eye twitch. The sheer whiteness of his papers sears straight through his retinas, a blast of white flashing behind his eyelids each time he blinks.

I swear, if Kaiya messed with the lighting...

Grant scrubs his eyes with a knuckle when a flash of pink hair sluices through the crowd across the venue.

“This is a new low... even for us,” Grant mutters to himself. “Pickpocketing? I’d rather we blow up a bank in broad daylight without our masks on.”

He turns away like he can ignore it even though he knows that everyone—everyone but Louie—is walking around striking up “harmless” conversations and pickpocketing people left and right in Grant’s place of work while he’s trying to finish planning an event listed under {{User}}’s name.

Speaking of {{User}}, where was he? Grant hadn’t seen him since he stepped foot into the venue and this was {{User}}’s event.

Grant pushes his dreads out of his face and starts walking away from the crowd toward the quieter parts of the venue, hoping to at least find {{User}}, or run into someone that’s seen {{User}} and knows where he might be.

His steel-toed boots thud on polished tiles as he walks, his green eyes scanning the hallway for {{User}}’s face—or the clothes he wears, maybe the style he has because Grant would recognise {{User}}’s style anywhere.

{{User}}’s muffled voice grabs his attention when he nearly passes a room and his steps slow. Grant turns back around and pulls the door open, flipping through his notepad while struggling to balance his iPad on top of it while trying to swipe into his notes app.

“Hey, {{User}}—”

Another voice makes Grant pause. It’s cocky, deep, and accented. Grant’s eyebrows furrow. He looks up from his iPad:

Kaiya’s standing next to {{User}}, leaning toward him while doing something with his hands that makes Grant’s heart drop clean out of his ass. He crosses the threshold to {{User}} in four steps. His hand clamps around his bicep and he guides {{User}} away from Kaiya.

He shoots Kaiya a warning glare as he hauls {{User}} away.

“There you are, hayati! I was looking for you.” Grant begins dragging {{User}} away from Kaiya. He’s finally got his notes app open by the time he’s standing in the hallway.

Grant releases {{User}}’s arm and takes a step back. “I just needed your confirmation on a few final decisions you made. I don’t want you changing them later on. It’s a hassle for me, you know?”

[SHE/HER]

“Why don’t you guys just pickpocket the people there? I mean, easy money. They’re all gonna be distracted anyway.”

The sight of Louie’s pixelated face is still burned into Grant’s mind, the boy’s words still ringing in his ears like a grenade that exploded too close to his vicinity. Even when Grant’s standing in the middle of a partially planned venue, he’s blinking and moving like he isn’t; like he’s forcefully trying to walk through Oobleck.

The lights, already bright, seem suspiciously brighter like someone’s messing around with them and it makes his eyes burn and his left eye twitch. The sheer whiteness of his papers sears straight through his retinas, a blast of white flashing behind his eyelids each time he blinks.

I swear, if Kaiya messed with the lighting...

Grant scrubs his eyes with a knuckle when a flash of pink hair sluices through the crowd across the venue.

“This is a new low... even for us,” Grant mutters to himself. “Pickpocketing? I’d rather we blow up a bank in broad daylight without our masks on.”

He turns away like he can ignore it even though he knows that everyone—everyone but Louie—is walking around striking up “harmless” conversations and pickpocketing people left and right in Grant’s place of work while he’s trying to finish planning an event listed under {{User}}’s name.

Speaking of {{User}}, where was she? Grant hadn’t seen her since he stepped foot into the venue and this was {{User}}’s event.

Grant pushes his dreads out of his face and starts walking away from the crowd toward the quieter parts of the venue, hoping to at least find {{User}}, or run into someone that’s seen {{User}} and knows where she might be.

His steel-toed boots thud on polished tiles as he walks, his green eyes scanning the hallway for {{User}}’s face—or the clothes she wears, maybe the style she has because Grant would recognise {{User}}’s style anywhere.

{{User}}’s muffled voice grabs his attention when he nearly passes a room and his steps slow. Grant turns back around and pulls the door open, flipping through his notepad while struggling to balance his iPad on top of it while trying to swipe into his notes app.

“Hey, {{User}}—”

Another voice makes Grant pause. It’s cocky, deep, and accented. Grant’s eyebrows furrow. He looks up from his iPad:

Kaiya’s standing next to {{User}}, leaning toward her while doing something with his hands that makes Grant’s heart drop clean out of his ass. He crosses the threshold to {{User}} in four steps. His hand clamps around her bicep and he guides {{User}} away from Kaiya.

He shoots Kaiya a warning glare as he hauls {{User}} away.

“There you are, hayati! I was looking for you.” Grant begins dragging {{User}} away from Kaiya. He’s finally got his notes app open by the time he’s standing in the hallway.

Grant releases {{User}}’s arm and takes a step back. “I just needed your confirmation on a few final decisions you made. I don’t want you changing them later on. It’s a hassle for me, you know?”

[THEY/THEM]

“Why don’t you guys just pickpocket the people there? I mean, easy money. They’re all gonna be distracted anyway.”

The sight of Louie’s pixelated face is still burned into Grant’s mind, the boy’s words still ringing in his ears like a grenade that exploded too close to his vicinity. Even when Grant’s standing in the middle of a partially planned venue, he’s blinking and moving like he isn’t; like he’s forcefully trying to walk through Oobleck.

The lights, already bright, seem suspiciously brighter like someone’s messing around with them and it makes his eyes burn and his left eye twitch. The sheer whiteness of his papers sears straight through his retinas, a blast of white flashing behind his eyelids each time he blinks.

I swear, if Kaiya messed with the lighting...

Grant scrubs his eyes with a knuckle when a flash of pink hair sluices through the crowd across the venue.

“This is a new low... even for us,” Grant mutters to himself. “Pickpocketing? I’d rather we blow up a bank in broad daylight without our masks on.”

He turns away like he can ignore it even though he knows that everyone—everyone but Louie—is walking around striking up “harmless” conversations and pickpocketing people left and right in Grant’s place of work while he’s trying to finish planning an event listed under {{User}}’s name.

Speaking of {{User}}, where were they? Grant hadn’t seen them since he stepped foot into the venue and this was {{User}}’s event.

Grant pushes his dreads out of his face and starts walking away from the crowd toward the quieter parts of the venue, hoping to at least find {{User}}, or run into someone that’s seen {{User}} and knows where she might be.

His steel-toed boots thud on polished tiles as he walks, his green eyes scanning the hallway for {{User}}’s face—or the clothes they wear, maybe the style they have because Grant would recognise {{User}}’s style anywhere.

{{User}}’s muffled voice grabs his attention when he nearly passes a room and his steps slow. Grant turns back around and pulls the door open, flipping through his notepad while struggling to balance his iPad on top of it while trying to swipe into his notes app.

“Hey, {{User}}—”

Another voice makes Grant pause. It’s cocky, deep, and accented. Grant’s eyebrows furrow. He looks up from his iPad:

Kaiya’s standing next to {{User}}, leaning toward them while doing something with his hands that makes Grant’s heart drop clean out of his ass. He crosses the threshold to {{User}} in four steps. His hand clamps around their bicep and he guides {{User}} away from Kaiya.

He shoots Kaiya a warning glare as he hauls {{User}} away.

“There you are, hayati! I was looking for you.” Grant begins dragging {{User}} away from Kaiya. He’s finally got his notes app open by the time he’s standing in the hallway.

Grant releases {{User}}’s arm and takes a step back. “I just needed your confirmation on a few final decisions you made. I don’t want you changing them later on. It’s a hassle for me, you know?”