Bus Ride from Hell [Root x Willow]

What a throughly disappointing day. This morning had been one where absolutely nothing had gone right. He had the throughly irritating experience of having to go to class without breakfast, having taken a cold, unsatisfactory shower and arriving five minutes late to class.  He barely saw Alexia, his conversations with Adrianna were painfully short and all and all he felt like he had accomplished precisely nothing. It would have been a wiser course of action for him to have just stayed in bed and read something. 

Thankfully he might be able to salvage something from this awful day. He was going to visit Adrianna at her lab.  Maybe he could get a nice dinner, call her, and start to turn this day around. 

This hope was soured a bit when he got onto the bus and the last seat had been taken. The trickster was going to have to sit by someone a fact he wouldn't have minded so much any day other then this day in question.  He sighed and looked around noticing the Ultimate Unlucky student and cursing under his breath. He took time to close his eyes, gather himself, and pray to the Gods that this trip was not made into a disaster by the presence of this beacon of Bad Luck. 

Willow then took a seat close by. The boy he sat by looked familer. Probably the Ultimate Scientist, Root something. After a moment his bad mood succumbed to curiosity. He was the one who lived next to Adrianna right? And it payed to get to know his lady friends neighbors. Especially one with his greasy good looks. 

"Hello...Root was it? My name is Willow Fey, we both attend Hope's Peak academy and I believe we have a mutual acquaintance. One Ms. Kravenski." Willow said. Throwing it out there to see how he would react. At the very least he could make the trip into an interesting diversion. 

Willow got a quick glance inside his notebook. Root had recorded down his name and the facts that he was a Hope's Peak student who knew Adrianna. He also saw the bit about finding Mariko pretty. Now the only Mariko he knew was Mariko Nakazawa. Ultimate...something to do with film. Honestly she was a bit too cutesy for his taste. The trickster preferred girls who had a bit of an edge. Preferences aside, it was an interesting piece of information to have.  Root seemed to be a chronic journaler, which was usually found in the sentimental types or those with poor memory. Perhaps the scientific facts he knew crowded out his day to day dealings? Or maybe he was merely a more sensitive type and recorded it for the benefit of a physical copy of his memories. Much like others compulsively take photos.

Or he could be recording it for the benefit of someone else. Root wouldn't be the first person he knew who coped with the loss of a loved one by writing messages for them. It was even possible that the bit about Mariko was in code and the true purpose of the journal was to pass it along to some organization that wanted information about Hope's Peak and it's students. A scientist always needed funding after all and there were quite a lot of people who wanted eyes and ears inside the greatest school in the world. Already he was turning out to be a fairly fascinating figure.


"Ah I see. I will keep that in mind. " Willow said. Trying to tune out the dozens of distractions on the bus. He could take this conversation in many different directions if he so wished. A dozen tricks he could run with just the minimal amount of information he knew. He had heard dubious rumors that Mariko's tastes ran more to the female side of the equation. Not particularly likely to be true but it could snap him out of the initial idealization phase if he was forced to think about what she wanted. Still he hadn't observed anything that would indicate his infatuation with Mariko was a problem. 

Flirting with Root would be fun. However he had only a little information about the man and he didn't want to make things unnecessarily awkward for Adrianna. While he didn't think that Root was the sort of man who would take out his dislike of Willow's actions (or perhaps an intense interest in Willow's proposal?) out on Adrianna. He didn't know for sure. It was best to play it safe.

"Honestly I am just curious. People fascinate me Root. Which I suppose is fitting for my talent." Willow said. The bus was beginning to make worrying noises. He sincerely hoped that the bus would actually make it to his stop. 

"Your her neighbor after all. So I wanted to know what you were like. The mild curiosity people have when for each other when they have mutual acquaintances." Willow paused briefly before continuing to say, "Ms.Kravenski is quite attractive, isn't she?". His tone was even and friendly. He really didn't care what Root said. No matter what he would learn something about Root by how he reacted. The trickster was hardly the jealous type, so he wouldn't care if Root had a fondness for the flower maiden as well. In fact a threesome might be fun to arrange. Maybe even Mariko could join them? Ah but he was getting ahead of himself.

If Adrianna wasn't to his tastes. Well...there was still quite a lot of things to discuss with Root wasn't there? This bus ride might not be completely unsalvageable after all. 

Willow clicked his tongue quietly. Root seemed to be the type who didn't know very much about themselves. People like that tended to go through life frustrated and bitter, pushing people away.

Still he hadn't been too rude. Perhaps he was a true softie inside. The trickster was curious to see. Regardless it was clear that Root did have an attraction to Adrianna of a sort. Which made some interesting possibilities come to mind. 

"Just a coworker huh. I've heard that before. "We're just friends", "We're just roomates", "She's just my teacher." One of those was a personal experience. Try to guess which. You should know that you have nothing to be afraid of, if you and Ms.Kravenski hit it off. I am not the jealous kind." Willow said. Currently the engine of the bus was giving strange sounds. Which was worrying to say the least.

"As for my talent..well you could call me this years Ultimate Therapist. If you ever have anything you want to get off your chest..feel free to come to me." Willow said with a smile. The possibilities for this were endless. He wouldn't misuse any trust to blackmail or hurt Root, he just wanted the information for entertainment and to possibly make Root's life a little brighter. 

At the very least he could get him laid. The guy really looked like he could use it. Honestly Willow could use it too. 

Willow laughed good-naturedly. 

"In my experience everyone could use a therapist, especially the ones who say they don't need one. I bet you keep all your feelings locked up inside. That's not particularly healthy. If not a therapist, you need a confidante of some sort. No man is an island and pretending you are is bound to get you into trouble. Who knows, it might even be the death of you." Willow said with a smile. But for a brief instant he felt as if someone stepped over his grave. It was an odd feeling, a portent of doom.


"This person you have an attraction to. It wouldn't be Ms. Nakazawa would it?" Willow asked. Another terrible feeling that passed fairly quickly. Was this all just a coincidence?  Or was the presence of the Ultimate Bad luck allowing his sensitive mind greater access to negative future events? Willow would have to read his divinations carefully tonight, maybe try to build his relationship up with the spirits of Hope's Peak academy.

More worrying sounds from the engine. Willow wondered if Ultimate Bad Luck's misfortune clung to people. A purifying ritual after he was back in his dorm would be in order.

Willow wasn't expecting such an emotional display, and once again he felt an ominous feeling. He "needed to do" something? It could just be his science, a way to distract himself from a world that scared and disappointed him and made him feel worthwhile. But Willow felt like it might be something deeper. A goal that he needed to accomplish in particular.

"Caring about people is not a weakness. Generally if you have to cut off people to do what you "need" to do, it's usually not something good for you. Or you've had less then exemplary friends. I don't know a lot about you, but Adrianna seems to like you. And I trust her judgement. I want you to be happy. Generally I want people to be happy but with you I have a vested interest." Willow said.


Willow didn't know exactly what to say about his next outburst. Honestly Willow was just going to tease him. However it seemed to catch him in his insecurities. A miscalculation. 

"It's alright Root. You'll be fine. I'm sure that you can attract anyone you want to you. Your an intelligent guy and surprisingly attractive." Willow said, giving him the once over. It could be quite fun playing with a guy like Root. It had been a bit since he slept with a guy and he was getting cravings. 

"Why don't you Adrianna and I get dinner sometime? You can invite this Mariko girl even, we can make a truly splendid evening of it and-" Willow said, and was suddenly interrupted during his flirty proposition.

The bus had broken down. 

"You say that, but no human can be happy completely isolated. We are a social animal Root." Willow said simply. The trickster glared at the Ultimate Bad Luck on the bus. Her presence here was probably causing this malfunction. 

"A sloppy man has his appeal too. A gruff and rude man with a sensitive side is even more sought after. You would do well with women and men as well. You would even do well with me." Willow flirted. He did always have a thing for people who didn't care too much about what others thought. It must be liberating to be so unconcerned with social norms. 

"I have goals as well you know. Taking time out for other things is vital to them. Inspiration often comes during the times you are not thinking about your work after all." Willow said. He sighed. At least this wasn't the worst case scenario. If they got into a bus crash..that would have made for a much worse end to the day.

He still wasn't happy though. By any means. This was seriously annoying in fact.