Chapter Text
Imogen's week in detention flew by without issue. People forgot all about Andy's broken nose, and he stopped messing with Laudna. In contrast, Ashton continued building his frequent flyer points, maybe even more so than before. However, it wasn't from a lack of trying to avoid trouble. Unfortunately for other people, they'd sometimes brush too hard in the hall or say the wrong thing to the wrong person. And now that Ashton had more people in his little circle to look out for, those occurrences happened even more often.
That said, Ashton no longer spent their detentions alone. Imogen would 'sneak' in to work on her homework, Bertrand greeting her with a smile each time while Ashton tried not to fall asleep. Sometimes, they play more of their game, and on Fridays, Laudna joins them. She and Imogen are practically attached at the hip, and the only reason she's not there every day is her commitments to the drama and art clubs.
Before Ashton knows it, homecoming week is upon them. F.C.G. and Milo are the most excited, with Laudna not far behind. F.C.G. because he's into the whole school spirit thing, one step away from becoming a member of the cheer squad. And Milo because they'll take any excuse to create elaborate costumes. Laudna is very much into the planning and picking out their costumes. However, Ashton can't help but notice that the topic of the actual football game is avoided. The week being narrowed to costumes and dressing up.
So, on the first day of spirit week, Ashton finds himself rising earlier than he has before. If that wasn't bad enough, Milo has them running around gathering the last of their supplies to take to Laudna's house. The morning grows weirder as Ashton buckles himself into the front passenger seat of Eshteross' van. Ashton doesn't own a car, and the only time an adult drives you anywhere at Greymoore is if you're actively dying because ambulances are too expensive. And Laudna had been so excited for them all to get ready together, so Eshteross had offered to pick them up and then take them to school. Ashton had never met an adult more willing to 'waste' his time on some random kids.
Ashton doesn't know what they expected from their principal's house, but a mansion masquerading as a townhouse was not it. Laudna greets them right in the door in a flurry of glittering blue and tulle. "You came!"
"Yep!" Milo says, already pulling out things from their bag, a few stray fabric pieces hitting the floor.
Ashton bites a groan, picking them up, and notices Eshteross meticulously entering security codes into two different alarms and rechecking several locks. He then follows the other two into the living room, where it seems an explosion of red and blue fabric has occurred.
"Smiley day," F.C.G. says with a wide smile, turning to them.
Well, he tries, but Imogen grabs his head and holds it in place. "Please be still." She's holding a blue dipped brush in one hand, tauntingly close to their eye. "I'm almost done, so unless you want face paint in your eye, please be still."
Unphased, Laudna gushes over Milo's DIY denim, flame-painted jacket, "You have to tell me how you got such a nice ombre on fabric."
Laudna had given them a rundown of all the themes the week before, but Ashton had only semi-retained them. Monday was some rival's thing about blue and red. Based on the flames of Milo's jacket and waves painted on F.C.G.'s face, it seems they'd chosen fire v. water.
They think they were assigned fire. It seems Imogen was fire if the flowy red, yellow, and orange halter dress is anything to go by. To his surprise, for the first time since he's met her, no leather gloves are trapping the lightning esc scars that weave up her arms. They are instead abandoned on top of a red sequin jacket.
That means Laudna is water. If F.C.G.'s powder blue suit that looks like it was stolen from an 80's prom movie isn't elaborate enough. Laudna has one-upped him with a long-sleeved leotard, blue ombre leggings, a tulle skirt, and a shimmery blue cape. Icing on the cake, Pâté sits on her shoulder with a blue bow around his neck.
Ashton doesn't know how long goes by before several pieces of clothing are thrust in front of his face.
"I pulled some options for you, Ashton because I wasn't sure what'd you like," Laudna says, bouncing on the balls of her feet. When they don't immediately respond, she continues, "I was thinking of these joggers and jacket, but if you don't like them, I also have some red pants that we could pair with the jacket. Or if you're not interested in like actual fire designs, you could just wear all red. That's fine too. I don't-"
She's so excited. He almost wishes he could meet that same excitement. He picks the one she is most enthusiastic about, even though he's pretty sure it's killing any of his street cred. "Let's do the set."
"Good choice," She says, handing the items over. "There's a bathroom across the hall to change. You can wear the jacket over the shirt you have on."
So Ashton takes the black jogger set with flames up the arms and legs and heads to get changed. When they return, Laudna has also painted waves on her face, and Milo has spiked their hair up and sprayed the ends red, though over the blue it kind of looks purple. They seem happy with it, so Ashton guesses it's alright.
Imogen offers him a soft, thankful smile, "You look great, Ashton."
"Uhm, thanks."
"Do you want face paint? You don't have to," Laudna offers, grabbing a brush to start on Imogen's face paint.
They shrug, in for a dime in for a dozen, and sit near Milo, who is doing their makeup in the mirror. "I guess when you get done, Milo, you can do mine. No glitter."
"Got it!"
If the morning wasn't enough out of the ordinary, the weirdest part of the day is when Eshteross comes in and offers them all a ride to school. He's never seen their principal in anything but suits or a sweater vest and khakis. Which he's wearing now, but the blue tulle skirt over his kakis is definitely an addition.
"Unless you guys want to be late, I recommend finishing up and getting in the van."
"Ariks, would you like face paint?" Ashton would have never been brave enough to ask Eshteross such a thing, but Laudna doesn't even blink an eye.
The taller man gives a little huff and sits down at one of the chairs. "Make it quick."
Laudna grins and makes quick work of painting waves on Eshteross' face as the rest of them start to clean up.
Laudna doesn't look up from her work but addresses the two Greymoore kids. "Milo, Ashton, do you want to spend the night tonight? Imogen and F.C.G. are."
Ashton looks to Eshteross, who nods slightly, causing a slight crook in one of the waves. "Sure."
"Cool, Imogen's going to cut my hair tonight. It's going to be so fun."
:::::::
"Are you sure about this?" Imogen asks later that night as she, Ashton, and Laudna are gathered in Laudna's bathroom upstairs.
Laudna is sitting tall on a stool, looking in the mirror as Imogen nervously holds a pair of scissors. Ashton perches on the toilet tank, which he knows he probably shouldn't be, but Laudna doesn't seem to mind.
Milo and F.C.G. are in the downstairs guest bathroom, replacing the blue in F.C.G.'s hair with pink. Ashton had opted to go with the girls after seeing how nervous Imogen was about making her hairdresser debut.
"I trust you, darling."
Imogen takes a deep breath. "Okay, how short do you want it?"
"Just above my shoulders. I'm gonna curl it in the morning," Laudna explains, indicating to Imogen where she wants it with one hand as her other absently pets Pâté.
Imogen has foregone her gloves again, and Ashton almost squirms at the intimacy of the moment. They've never had friends like this before, so everything feels like too much at times. He's pulled out of his musing by the snip of the scissors. Laudna's smile increases as the first chunks of hair hit the floor. Imogen's nerves only seem to get worse. Despite that, she makes quick and accurate work cutting Laudna's long hair to her shoulders.
"Tomorrow is dress like teachers day," Laudna informs them. "You never picked one, so I picked one for you if that's alright."
"That's fine."
"Ariks said you could borrow one of his old sweater vests."
It takes him a second to process. "Principal Eshteross, you want me to dress like Prinicipal Eshteross?"
Ashton has never seen someone they didn't just punch fold inside themselves so quickly.
"It's fine. We'll figure something else out, maybe Coach Fjord or uhm-"
Ashton feels guilt start eating through him. How was anyone ever mean to her when her dark eyes could look at you with so much sadness? "No, it's fine. I just didn't think he'd be cool with it you know."
"Oh, yeah, he was totally fine with it. Even gave me stuff for you to wear."
She slowly starts to smile again.
"You're dressing like Mr. Tealeaf, right?"
"Yeah, I thought about Ms. Lavore, but Mr. Tealeaf has his signature coat that I wanted to try and recreate. I'm very excited to show him that I painted my own." She gives Pâté an extra scratch behind his ear. "Pâté's going to be Sprinkle."
Sprinkle, yet another notorious animal within the walls of Jrusar High. Ms. Lavore's class pet weasel is known for hating most humans. There are even rumors amongst the student body that he has bit multiple teachers and that Ms. Lavore must have some blackmail against Eshteross to keep him.
Sprinkle and Pâté are not the only heavily questioned animals at the school. Mr. Widogast, one of the history teachers, has a Bengal cat named Frumpkin that is never seen far from his owner's heels. Ashton has a lot of respect for the care Eshteross shows his employees and students, no matter what the board of education might say.
It's been interesting getting to see Eshteross in his home environment. Ashton had always known that behind his professional demeanor, giving them detention every other week there was a heart of gold. But it's something else seeing it in action.
A soft knock on the door interrupts them as the man in question peeks his head in. "How's it going?"
Laudna jumps up to do a little twirl, leaving Imogen brushing air as she tries to brush off bits of hair. "I told you Imogen was very capable."
"Indeed," He takes a step into the room. "I just came to let you know Keyleth is on the phone, and I made some cookies for you guys."
"Already?" Laudna asks, biting her lip.
Eshteross frowns. "Well, their homecoming is this week too, so I guess she wanted to call before it got too busy."
"Okay," Laudna turns to the two of them, "I'm going to go talk to Kiki, and then I'll help clean up." Her face is still cheerful, but her eyes tell a different story
Ashton and Imogen are left alone in the bathroom. Ashton wants to ask who Keyleth is, and he knows Imogen probably knows, but it's not in his nature to pry information from an outside source without a reason. So, they'll save it for another day.
:::::::
"Mr. Tealeaf," Laudna calls, dragging Imogen into the drama classroom early the next morning as Ashton trails behind them.
Ashton doesn't recall any other time he's been in the drama classroom. Though Mr. Tealeaf also teaches Ashton's English class, so they've met the eccentric man.
"Laudna, dear," The tall, purple-haired man greets, doing a circle around them. "Great detail, almost a perfect replica."
Laudna blushes. "Thank you."
"I see we also have a Mr. Widogast and Principal Eshteross," He observes, returning to in front of them.
"Yes, sir. F.C.G. is Mr. Clay, and Milo is Mr. Joe. They went to show them." Laudna pulls out Pâté and presents him to Mr. Tealeaf. "And Pâté is Sprinkle."
Mr. Tealeaf smiles at Pâté, who has a green bow around his neck and is currently a brownish red after a messy adventure last night of dying the damn thing. Ashton didn't even know you could dye a rat. However, Pâté didn't seem to mind the process too much.
"Jester will just love this," Mr. Tealeaf states before looking over his shoulder, "Jessie!"
Ashton watches as Ms. Lavore stumbles out from behind one of the room dividers, juggling several props. She glances over them and then notices Pâté still held up. "Is that Sprinkle?"
Laudna nods.
"We have to show Sprinkle and Fjord!"
And just like that, they are swept up to show off Laudna's handy work to Ms. Lavore's friend group of teachers dubbed the Mighty Nein. Though, last time he checked, Ashton was pretty sure there were more than nine of them.
:::::::
No one asks Ashton and Milo to spend the night the next night, but no one tells them to go home. So later that night, they find themselves laughing around a table with more home-cooked food than they have ever had in their lives.
After dinner, Ashton finds himself alone on the couch he's been crashing on the last two nights. A couch that feels more like home than the bed they've known most of their life.
"I thought I'd bring you some of these before Laudna eats all of them." Esteross offers, holding out a platter of ginger snap cookies. "They're her favorite."
Ashton grabs one, then reaches for a second. "Thanks."
"You're welcome." Esteross sets the tray down on the coffee table next to Ashton. "Thank you for looking out for my girls and Letters. However, we do need to discuss finding less physical ways to do so. We need to get you out on the football field."
"I'm not a jock."
Eshteross chuckles. "But you could be. Mr. Bell would have you on the team in a heartbeat. Though you'd have to stay out of trouble and get those grades up a little."
"I'll think about it." Ashton offers, but they both know the answer will always be no. No way he'd trade blows in the hall on bad days for red and silver letters.
Laudna finds them later with half a plate of cookies gone and immediately scoops up three. "Thank you for yesterday and today. I know I can be a lot. Especially when it comes to crafts and stuff."
"Don't worry about it. This was kind of fun."
Laudna gleams, and he knows he said the right thing for once. Unfortunately, the shared lightness doesn't last long as the day's dramas shift to the nightly news. Any sense of joy wipes from Laudna's face, and Ashton finds themself looking at a scared child. He turns his gaze to the TV to see what has her so spooked as the anchor speaks. On the screen is a faded picture of a high-society couple surrounded by multiple children.
The anchor speaks with a lack of emotion out of tune with her words, "Friday will mark the 25th anniversary of the murder of former mayor Fredrick de Rolo and his family. This week will also mark the 5th anniversary of the Briarwood Marasscre."
When they turn back to look at Laudna she's gone, and Eshteross is standing at the door with a frown and anger that Ashton is glad for once that is not directed at them. They both turn back to the TV, listening as the news anchor details the murder of most of the de Rolo family and how on the 20th anniversary Delilah Briarwood, who had gotten away the first time, came back to try and finish the job. While her attempt to murder the remaining family members failed, it was not before murdering several citizens of Whitestone.
While the news anchor doesn't say anything about citizens surviving their injuries, Ashton knows looking at Eshteross that at least one survived, and she became the spooky girl with a rat that has a horse girl, a tough front principal, and a punk that punches people for fun wrapped around her finger.
:::::::
Ashton doesn't say anything to Laudna the next morning, but he picks the brightest Hawaiian shirt she offers for beach day. They even put on a pair of flip-flops that go against their entire being and make Imogen snicker. However, his slight embarrassment is rewarded with Laudna's smile from under her comically large sun hat.
In a surprising turn of events, they manage not to punch a jerk who shoves them in the hall too hard. Detention would take away from costume prep that evening, and he can't rely on Eshteross making an exception. Plus, Thursday is decades day, and they have been assigned the 80's which they are genuinely excited to help with the creation of his costume.
Again, he doesn't go home that evening and eats his weight in gingersnap cookies. It isn't till Thursday night, when they fail to go home again, that Imogen corners them in the hall outside the bathroom. "Are you going to the football game tomorrow?"
Ashton knows this particular interaction has no malice, but even while he has to look down at the lavender-haired girl, he'd never want to be on the other end of integration with her. "Wasn't really planning on it; though, a month ago I wouldn't have dressed up for homecoming week either. "
Imogen nods and then chooses her next words slowly to get a point across without giving out too much. "Letters and Milo are going, but, uhm, Laud and I were planning to stay in and have a movie night. If you want to go with them that's fine, but I think Laudna would like it if you were here."
Ashton smiles. "I think a movie night sounds way better than a football game. Just none of that hallmark shit."
:::::::
"Are you crying?" Imogen asks, quietly holding out a tissue box.
"No," Ashton claims as they take one of the offered tissues.
"It's okay, it was a sad movie," Laudna offers.
Ashton roughly wipes his eyes as Betty White's character cries over her husband's coffin. At Laudna's request, because she was unspokingly in charge tonight, they'd started with a spookier movie. After they were pretty sure Imogen had popped at least one of the bones in Laudna's hand, a hallmark movie had been put on instead.
"I'd never stop looking for you," Laudna says in reference to the movie about a woman spending her life waiting for a love that disappeared in the war.
Imogen blushes. "I wouldn't either, Laud."
Ashton can't wait till they figure out they're helplessly in love. He's happy they found each other.
So he spends the night on a couch with the two of them, watching the Hallmark movies he said he wouldn't. At some point, Laudna falls asleep with her head in Imogen's lap and her feet on theirs. Eventually, Estheross returns with F.C.G. and Milo, who join them for a movie. Well, part of a movie, as Ashton loses the plot 10 minutes in and remembers nothing after the first 20.
His back is killing him the next morning, but he still thinks it's the most pleasant sleep he's had. No nightmare about their father, no worry about their stuff getting stolen, no listening out for Milo and the younger kids. Just a peaceful sleep surrounded by people he cares about and cares about him.
When they see a news heading a week or so later with Zephra, football team, and bus crash in the title they think nothing of it.