connor.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

ೃ࿐✧ଂ٠· 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐫 𝐨'𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲.

❛𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒔𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆.❜

↻ + ♡ ?

[connor. @offamilyroots]

arms crossed over chest, amusement brightens his face, making it seem far lighter than usual.

“here to enjoy the show ?”

[* / 𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙣𝙮 ! @ofhersolitude]

she has a small handful of balls, right in the front of connor's tank, with a smirk in place.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

nice shot, josh.

( approving nod from the sidelines as he takes another swig of beer. )

[connor. @offamilyroots]

arm slinks around her waist, holding her against him.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

with a bottle of beer, provided by carter, connor watches penny throw with an admiring smile.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

oh.

well. you found me.

( a little awkwardly, he smiles. )

good job with the tank. it's been raising a lot already.

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍* 𝗷𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 @reformatvs]

nothing. just was looking for you.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

what's up ?

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍* 𝗷𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 @reformatvs]

hey!

[connor. @offamilyroots]

hey.

[‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍* 𝗷𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 @reformatvs]

has anyone seen connor?

[connor. @offamilyroots]

connor stares after the excitable group as they depart together, feeling a slight pang strike his chest. it takes him a while later until he's finally able to discern what it actually is - loneliness.

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

'yooooo, carter ! we're going to the beach now !' eli calls suddenly from the door, surrounded by a few other members of the bigfoots.

carter grins one last time at connor, withdrawing his hand once more.

“see you at the tank, connor.”

with that, he returns to his friends, +

[connor. @offamilyroots]

+ in him for this charity stunt. jason's the only reason he isn't pulling out. still, a small smile is mustered up for carter.

“yeah. thanks, man.”

[connor. @offamilyroots]

the touch to his shoulder - it's nothing new. carter's one of the otters on the team that isn't so ruthlessly competitive; he'd congratulate connor's effort at any swim meet - win or loss - unlike garrett and sofia.

he exhales heavily through his nose. there's no excitement +

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

a little thoughtful hum. then, a click of his tongue, lifting his hand to clasp onto connor's shoulder.

“well. can’t have you putting all the effort in for our team. if none of the other otters sign up, i’ll fill the slot after you.”

[connor. @offamilyroots]

lips purse a little at the reminder. he'd tried to pull the same trick, but jason didn't seem to hear.

he rolls his shoulders into a shrug.

“nope. i'm currently our only rep, i guess.”

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

“ah, and it’s all for charity, which is cool. you were volunteered by julian, right ~ ? . . . did he not sign up as well ?”

[connor. @offamilyroots]

“uh, yeah.” squinting a little. “jason’s a friend, so.”

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

“you signed up for the otters, hey ?” he asks with a grin, appearing at his side casually.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

checking when he's up for the dunk tank.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

+ bad and his smile seems . . . sincere, at least. it's enough for connor to give a firm nod to reiterate his gratitude.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

“right. yeah. thanks.”

his replies are blunt - but he's quietly grateful as he washes down the painkillers with his water, satisfied in knowing the pounding of his skull will end soon.

carter. he glances him over - he'd never seen him at the front of anything particularly +

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

“what else are fridays for ?” he remarks casually, not a hint of judgement in his tone.

let connor think he's just a helpful guy, not someone trying to make a dig. he doesn't blame him; that's often the first assumption that people have with the vortex club.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

as the packet falls into the spot on the sofa beside him, connor looks up with furrowed brows.

“i don't --”

[' carter. @bridgingabyss]

recognising the stance well enough by now ( since connor seems to have quite the habit of drinking too much at the weekends ), carter throws an amused glance back at his friends.

but when he moves forward, it's without them at his side, throwing casually at him a packet of +

[connor. @offamilyroots]

nursing a slight hangover in the common room, sat with hunched shoulders, half - closed eyes and a glass of water on the table.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

it's friday - so, he's going heavy with the beers in the common room.

[connor. @offamilyroots]

( wouldn't dream of it. )

[Julian. @passedhisprime]

( don't lump him into that. )

[connor. @offamilyroots]

😒