#bitty didn't think several tens of thousands of students could just disappear but what do you know

[parvuls]

a samwell au where bitty isn't on the hockey team but still wants to keep in shape, and is having difficulty dragging himself out of bed to exercise before class. one day he sees a post in the samwell undergrad facebook group (written by someone whose name is just "Jack Z" and who has no profile pic, which is... maybe suspicious) stating that he's starting a 5a.m. running group, for serious athletes only. the post isn't phrased in a particularly inviting way, but bitty is desperate, so he signs up. perhaps unsurprisingly, he's the only one who does.

anyway. a vaguely dream-like au where bitty and jack form a two-person running group and only ever meet each other between 5 to 7 in the morning, when no one else is around. their social circles don't overlap. they don't have any classes together. in fact, by winter break, bitty's not even sure that jack is a real person who goes to his school.