Caleb Michaels

It's New Years Eve, and Neil had made it pretty clear that the closer it got to midnight, the more dangerous Darrow became. Last year, Caleb hadn't even bothered with New Years. It'd been barely a month after he'd arrived, and he'd still been reeling with confusion and loneliness and fear.

That feels like a lifetime ago, now.

Now, he has a boyfriend. He's got friends, here, some of the best friends he's ever known. He still misses his family. Christmas had been hard in its own way, with them not here. But the 'transplants' or 'immigrants' or whatever the appropriate term for people like him is, they all stick together, and that makes their bonds impossibly strong — stronger than the bonds he'd had with people back home. He's building a new family.

Tonight is about celebrating those bonds.

He could've hosted the party at High Gate, but the truth is, he'd wanted to stay close to Dani. He'd known she wouldn't come even before he'd invited her, no matter where it's held. Here, at least, he can duck out and head to her apartment to check on her — and if she really wants to be alone, he'd feel that before he'd even reach the door, and he could leave a little note for her, or something.

It's a bonus that the apartment happens to also be home to two of the most important people in Caleb's Darrow life. He gets most of the stuff — paper plates, napkins, cutlery — set up early, so if anyone wants to head out to enjoy whatever fun's going on after sundown, they can. The important thing is to be back before midnight, so they could, in theory, be safe. Caleb had made sure that Rosie and Neil knew to invite anyone they wanted, and he'd sent out a few invites, as well (with the promise that he really, really won't be offended if they say no), and he makes sure there're drinks and snacks to suit a variety of palates.

Including alcohol. Not much, but it's there, and he makes sure to promise Neil to distance himself if he starts to feel too swirly. He can handle himself, and anyway, the important thing is for everyone to have safe, healthy fun with their friends and loved ones.

[ HAPPY NEW YEAR! Micro-gathering at Candlewood #8B! For friends of Rosie, Neil, and Caleb, in the event you wish to hide away from the Darrow shenanigans. Tag in, tag around, have fun! Timed to begin at 10PM, and will be linked for January reqs. ]

Oh, God. French class. Caleb had been taking Latin in Boston, and Petros High doesn't offer that, so he has to take another language course to get his credits to graduate. His options were Spanish and French, and he'd figured French would be the easier of the two.

He's second guessing his choice now, as he sits in the middle row of seats, listening to the teacher speaking in French and pointing at the board. He's late to the course, but he has some homework to catch up. He just... hasn't done it yet. So he feels totally lost, and he's not the only one.

His leg jiggles under his desk, and he keeps looking between some of the seasick faces before trying to focus on the teacher again. He feels like he's listening to the adults in Charlie Brown specials. Just lots of 'wah wahs' and not a lot of words.

About halfway into the class, the teacher splits them up into groups. Caleb doesn't know that because he suddenly understands French. He knows that because other kids start pairing off with each other. There's a flash of swirly butterflies, and Caleb looks up to see one of the cheerleaders approaching him. He's saved by one of the football players asking her to be his partner, and he swallows a sigh of relief.

He turns to see who else is left, and spots a familiar face that helps his shoulders unclench.

"Rosie?" he calls. "Um, can we—?"