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Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
America.
It was so exciting to be back again. Hopefully for a good deal longer than last time. The first visit had been abruptly ended without her say. The reason behind it had been understandable, and yet...still she'd felt gypped. But now they were back, and Jezebel was determined to enjoy that to the very fullest.
But right then, she wanted a little bit of home.
"Luca?" She called out as she knocked on the door. A text had been sent earlier in the day, asking to visit later once classes were over. Maybe odd, but it felt polite anyways. This was her brother and sister's apartment- while she doubted she wouldn't be allowed in at any time, it was still theirs. She'd chosen to live in the dorms once she'd returned to Bellefonte. It made it much easier to meet other students and possible friends that way.
"It's me!" A few more knocks followed just for good measure before she stopped and listened. There was an urge to just use the key she had to the apartment to let herself in. But she'd come there specifically to see Luca. If he didn't answer the door, that meant he might not be home. Something might have come up at the new club or maybe something else. As much as she liked the apartment, Jez wouldn't want to just be there alone. Even if that meant she could potentially raid the fridge and freezer. Or sit and go through every action movie she could think of. Likely while eating what snacks she found.
Suddenly the idea to just open the door herself was getting more and more appealing in her head...
Getting an apartment was practically useless, Luca was coming to find. The only time ever spent in the apartment for him was often just to sleep, although he hadn't been doing a very good job at that. The opening night for the club was such a short time away that he couldn't focus on anything but that. He'd hardly unpacked, barely went out for groceries. If it hadn't been for Lorena, he was pretty sure he probably wouldn't even eat anything, but she still found time to look out for him in all the chaos.
With a minuscule break in his schedule, Luca had fully intended on unpacking his things. He told Callie that he was intent on staying put, whether the club sank or swam, he was remaining in Oregon. The first task before unpacking that he'd been messing with for hours was preparing each room accordingly. His room needed an air conditioner, one that was high powered and wouldn't break easily because with Lorena living with him, well, they needed their own ecosystems more or less and he had bought her a heater for her own room to maintain a comfortable temperature for herself. At least if her heater broke, she'd likely be okay, but if his air conditioner broke, he wasn't sure what would happen. He'd have to make a few friends quickly just to make sure he had a place to stay.
He was sweating profusely, something that was very rare for him with his overall body temperature being cooler than most. But the air conditioner was heavy and he'd been working on it extensively. Which would explain why it took him a minute to even hear the calls from outside the apartment. Luca took a moment to catch his breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a cold, damp rag before pushing himself up onto his feet and making his way out of his bedroom and to the door. He glanced around to see if his twin was anywhere to be found, but he didn't hear any rustling anywhere else. She must've left to get more groceries or something, the kitchen was a little bare.
Finally, he opened the door to his youngest sister and smiled, hoping not to show any signs of wear on his expression. "Sorry, love, I was working in my room. Why didn't you just use the key, that's what I gave it to you for. Never mind, come in. Make yourself comfortable. How was class?" It was always the same with him, a bombardment of information thrown all at once. He couldn't stop himself though, it was like a routine. Not living with her for so long, he couldn't bear to have anything left out in their conversations now.
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Fortunately the appearance of her brother stopped her thoughts from going further. A warm smile overtook her expression as she stepped forward and gave him a quick little hug. The bombardment of questions was typical, so she didn't sweat it. Jez appreciated any conversation she could have with her siblings now. "Didn't want to come in if you were home. I came here to see you after all. Class was fine though. No one broke anything or got burned in chemistry, so our teacher called that an improvement." She replied with a small laugh. They'd at least done better, supposedly, than the other classes. Questions then answered, Jez dropped her arms and actually went inside.
"How was your day though? You're sweating as though you'd just ran. Smell like it too." With a turn of the head Jez revealed the little teasing smile that took any bite out of her words. Though there was some truth in them: the hug had revealed her brother had indeed been up to something. "Did you finally start unpacking?" That was her best guess so far.
Once fully into the apartment, she shrugged off her backpack and placed it on the floor. Somewhere she wouldn't forget it- there was no need to repeat that mistake again. Though once inside, blue eyes wandered about searchingly. Happy as she was with just Luca, she couldn't help but wonder where her sister was too. "Is Lori here?" Jez asked, turning to look at Luca as she sought the nearest place to sit down.
Her reasoning was sound, especially since his time here was few and far between. His expression shifted to that of amusement when she spoke of her classes. He could recall quite a few accidents in his own classes, especially the ones that dealt with more dangerous chemicals. He'd frozen a few things in chemistry, and he'd never been allowed to touch the bunsen burners because fire and ice didn't quite work well together as he and his twin had found out before his departure. "That does sound like an improvement. The chemistry teachers all seem to have it much worse than any others, I think."
He kissed the top of her head before she released him to walk into the apartment. The jab she made at his current state caused him to frown, "I'm going to try not to take offense to that. You caught me in the middle of something, so really it's your fault for being so persistent. I didn't have time to shower." Although he was not disappointed by her interruption. How could he be? "I've been trying to unpack, yes. But I needed to get that damned air conditioner set up so that I don't keel over without anyone here." That was not something he very well wanted to put on Lorena, finding him from heat exhaustion which was why they had their ecosystems. She could tolerate the house without a heater, but he could hardly function without the AC.
Luca's eyes narrowed as she scoped the apartment, and he was certain that he knew what she was looking for. Only moments later, the question came that solidified his assumption. "I think she went out for groceries or something for the club. I didn't hear her leave," He shrugged. They were adults, he had learned to loosen the reins a bit when it came to looking over the two of them, even if he was still a tad bit on the protective side. Lorena had only been in America for a few months, he probably should have been more worried by her leaving without him. "Can I get you something? A drink? I think we have a few cans of Coke left and some orange juice. I'm not sure about food, though."
Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle.
Jez only laughed a little at the frown and response she got from her brother. She'd only been kidding, of course, but he'd taken it semi-seriously anyways. Although it was a good thing to hear he'd gotten around to unpacking. It still amazed her on some level that despite the fact her two siblings were twins, they were the polar opposite when it came to powers- quite literally. "You didn't hurt yourself though, yes?" She had to ask. While she'd never had to carry one herself she could imagine the air conditioner would be heavy. The last thing she'd want would be him throwing out his back.
"Ah." There was a slightly disappointed ring to her voice at hearing about Lori's absence. A subtle droop of the shoulders that soon disappeared. She still had Luca, so that was good enough for her. She'd just see Lori another time.
At the mention of a drink, Jez turned her attention back. "Orange juice please!" Drinks like Coke or Pepsi had never really been her thing. Something about the taste just threw her off for most of them. Juice, on the other hand, was an all-time favorite. Might've had something to do with her connection to plants. Whatever the case, she was happy to accept the offer.
Now, it was her turn to ask some questions. "So how's the club going so far?" Jez inquired, taking a seat once she'd found one and letting out a relieved sigh. Blue eyes went back to him, however. "Good? I really wanted to see it once everything was done."
