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Aspen kept walking, following Bean but keeping her eyes on the ground while she walked, she hoped keeping silent and pretending like she hadnt heard the question would keep her from answering it, or feeling like she had to. When they stopped outside a dorm room Aspen finally looked up.
"This your room?" She asked with a smile, Bean's name was painted on in what looked like washable paint, the letters in cursive.
Bean nodded, smiling. “Yep! Like my handwriting? Or should I say…paintwriting?” she joked a tiny bit. She remembered how she taught her siblings cursive, and that the twins would constantly make a mess. She laughed lightly.
"I love it, actually." She said with a small blush. Then nodded to the door "it's awfully pretty, it kind of matches you as a person, just as elegant and wonderfully charming." She said with a sly grin, nudging Bean with her elbow playfully,
Bean blushed deeply, smiling. “Thank you…” she said sweetly as she opened the door. “I worked pretty hard on it, since I wanted it to be perfect…” she laughed a bit.
"it is perfect" Aspen expressed truthfully, "the letters are so precise, not too loopy, but just enough loop, very elegant." She added with a grin, stepping into the room behind Bean and looking around "wow. This is so you." She stated, looking around and eyeing all the decorations and posters.
Bean laughed softly as she set her bag down. “Yeah, I told you there would be a lot of musical merch,” she smiled as she took her phone out of her bag. “I also have some pretty soft blankets, since I love snuggling up in bed,” she giggled.
Aspen gave a soft smile and inhaled slowly. Her nose tingled with a fragrance that she had nostalgia of smelling before, but couldn't quite remember why. She took on the room and smiled, this room seemed to fit Bean's personality perfectly.
"is that?" She sniffed audibly, then scrunched her brows together in thought "Lavender?" She asked quietly, as Clementine had always out on Sweet Pea and Lavender body spray and perfume. She smiled sadly at Bean.
Bean nodded. “Lavender reminds me of home, so I spray in my room…especially on the days I feel homesick,” she smiled sadly. “It especially reminds me of my siblings,” she laughed weakly as she fixed her pillows. She really missed home, but she didn’t regret coming here. The only thing she regretted was the fight, but she was planning on calling Lilac later.
"that's sweet." Aspen said quietly, mentally agreeing with Bean, as Lavender too, reminded her of something from her past, but her little sister instead.
"Ready to go?" Aspen asked nervously, suddenly realising she wanted to be alone. All the reminders of Clementine today was more than usual, enough to send Aspen into panic and possibly even a panic attack and she didn't want Bean to think she was a freak if she exploded while with her, she wanted to hurry up and get it over, so she could lay in the bed in her studio apartment and let her pillow contain all the screams she had held in all day, when Clementine floated into her mind.
Bean nodded, letting go of her stuff. “Yeah…we can go now,” she muttered as she put her phone in her pocket. “It’s actually better if we do…this is making me homesick,” she smiled reassuringly as she walked over to the door and opened it. She walked into the hall, making room for Aspen to join her.
Aspen followed, stepping in front of Bean to lead the way to her car. She walked slowly, so Bean could follow, leading her to the parking lot, pulling out her keys and unlocking her car she turned to Bean "hop in" she said and got into the driver seat, pulling the door shut behind her.
Bean hopped into the passenger seat, smiling at Aspen. She shut the door behind her and put her seatbelt on. “So…where are we going first?” she asked, leaning back in the seat. She was excited to see what Arizona had to offer.
Aspen gave a small smile and turned to Bean as she started the car and put on her seatbelt. "I was thinking the small stuff first, like restaurants, parks, thrift stores, stuff like that. Then maybe one day we'll have enough time to explore bigger monuments like Canyon de Chelly and other cool stuff." She said grinning "seatbelt" she added, reminding Bean to put on her seat belt, she never drove anyone without them having a seatbelt on.
Bean nodded, showing that her seatbelt was on and fastened. “That sounds good,” she smiled. Despite how much she missed her family, she knew they would want her to be happy. She sighed softly. “This is going to be so much fun…” she smiled softly.
Aspen nodded slightly, driving towards the little shopping center near the campus. "These are the shops and stuff closest to the campus, very efficient for you I'd say." She said with a grin.
Bean laughed lightly. “Yep. It’s very helpful,” she smiled as she looked around. She took a couple pictures with her phone, sending them to her family. Like a lot of things lately, no response from Lilac. She sighed as she put her phone away.
Aspen gave a grin and drove forward, turning to the left briskly. "And here are more of like non needed places for like relaxing. Like the spa, the nail salon and the craft store because duh, crafts when stressed is a thing lots of people do." She said with a laugh "myself included" she added
“Ooh, crafts are fun,” Bean said, holding in a couple of giggles. “So are those other things…” she smiled as she went back to looking out the window. She took a deep breath as she watched the cars pass.
Aspen then circled around, pointing out various building which were of nominal importance. She drove towards the right of stores exiting the campus parking lot. "This is Thrifty's" she said, pointing to a red buildings, the windows containing golden trims. "My favorite thrift store. Ever." She said with a grin "they have the most shit I've ever seen, and not old useless shit, actual good shit you hope to buy when you plan on going thrifting." She added.
Bean laughed, turning so that she could see the store. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she smiled, leaning back. “The store looks kinda nice for being a thrift store…” she pointed out.
Aspen smiled and gave a laugh. "Yeah it's very bougie I would say, but once you get inside you can totally tell its a thrift store." She said, and kept driving, her hands gripping the wheel lightly. "These are all the food places pretty much." She said, pointing out the window.
Bean nodded in understanding. “Thank you for doing this…I could have done this alone, but I appreciate you helping me,” she smiled softly, turning to look out the window again. She lightly tapped her hands on her knees, humming quietly.
"no problem, seems like both of us could use a friend." Aspen said to Bean with a smile, she pointed out the window at a park with a visible, large cement fountain spouting water. They were at a stop light, currently red and Aspen pointed at the fountain. "I spent almost everyday sitting on a bench in front of that fountain trying to sketch it correctly, people always told me my sketches were good, but everytime I sketched it I felt something big was missing." Aspen said, her smile faltering a bit, before becoming solid again. "It was my favorite place in the entire state." She added, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel.
Bean noticed the change in Aspen’s expression and frowned a bit. “Are…Are you okay?” she asked, not wanting to make her upset. “You seem sad…” she told her, wishing she could offer better comfort. “It’s okay if you aren’t ready to talk about it, but…I don’t want you being sad…”
"nah…im good." Aspen stated, then looped around back into the student parking lot. And parking briskly and quickly "well, looks like this is the end, maybe next time we can see more." She said in a tone of fake sympathy and hope.
"I have to go home and do homework and stuff so— I guess this is goodbye." She added with a sad smile and turned the radio up.