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[qixingtianji]

deleting nearly everything that isn't my poppyxmc fics. if you knew me before the makeover of this blog, i'm sorry for you cause i'm even more annoying than i was back then.

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im a simple gay, i see a girl, i asfkjdgfhjk

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where the flowers are… 🌼

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VALENTINE’S ARRANGEMENTS

SUMMARY

MC (Charlie) has been working as Mr. Sinclair’s PA for about six months now, and while she knows that he’s an asshole, he’s the asshole who pays her so she doesn’t hate him. His daughter, on the other hand... Poppy Min-Sinclair is crazy and has a crazy request that involves her father, a secret Valentine’s day dinner and ends with a rooftop bar.

"Hey, goody two-shoes!"

The voice that called was the kind that could make anyone roll their eyes in annoyance at the first syllable. There was too much arrogance in it, and it undoubtedly carried a sense of superiority that wouldn't settle well with anyone.

And it sure as hell didn't settle well with Charlie. But by now, she was used to its grating sound; she had had a little over six months to get used to it now. That o so terrible voice belonged to her boss' pain in the ass of a daughter (the apple didn't fall from the tree in that case, no doubt).

"What can I do to help you today, Ms. Sinclair?" Charlie asked, swallowing her pride as she looked up from her papers to face the little demonic heir. She put on her best fake smile, goddamn customer service smile that she had to teach herself back when she worked in retail.

Poppy Min-Sinclair stood there for a moment, unmoving, like a marble statue. Ironically (or not so ironically, really), her heart might have been colder than stone, but it wasn't something that Charlie would be willing to comment on out loud, she liked having her head on her shoulders after all. And she also liked having a job that paid well (even if her boss and his daughter were assholes more often than not).

"You're good at driving people crazy, aren't you?" the stupid Sinclair heir asked, with a voice that didn't reflect the insult in her words.

"Your father taught me well, yes." Charlie leaned back in her chair. "So, how may I help you today?"

"My father has an important dinner with a potential new client this evening, doesn't he?"

Charlie's only response was to raise an eyebrow at the question. If the little blond demon wanted answers, she would need to ask questions she didn't already know the answers to.

Maybe it was a family thing. Being completely unable to ask for help nicely, expecting for people around you to drop everything and do as much as humanly possible to help you. Maybe that was what growing up with a silver spoon shoved down your throat did to you.

"If you're asking, you already know. So I don't see how I can help you by telling you that, yes, your father does have an important dinner-slash-meeting this evening."

"You're his secretary, so you should know where that dinner will be." There was the slightest tilt in Sinclair's voice, which indicated, once again, that she expected to get an answer without asking a proper question. And the way she was now tapping her perfectly manicured fingernails against her painfully expensive watch showed that she was losing patience with Charlie's lack of cooperation — driving people crazy was one of Charlie's specialties.

"I'm his PA, not his secretary."

"And I care about the difference why?"

Charlie had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from scoffing or making a comment that she would regret. Poppy Min-Sinclair didn't care about anything. Charlie had been working for Mr. Sinclair for half a year, had met his daughter on her first day, but she doubted that either of them would know her name. Even if it was written on her desk. And on the badge she had to wear around her neck everyday at work. Then again, everything had "Charlotte" written in nice little black letters...

"Just tell me where he'll be."

"I can't reveal anything about Mr. Sinclair's private business to anyone. That would be a breach of contract."

Poppy stomped her foot and Charlie pressed her lips together not to laugh at her petulant, child-like antics. She was having the time of her life driving the little devil crazy, but she couldn't let it show if she wanted to keep her job and her head on her shoulders.

“I’m his daughter.”

“And he spends more time with his ‘secretary’ than his own daughter,” Charlie offered the blonde her fakest smile, “So, where does that get us?”

“If you can’t tell me, take me there.”

Charlie coughed, choking on her saliva at the unexpected request. That, she could have never seen coming. The Sinclairs were a weird and wild breed, but that was a whole new level of messed up.

“Excuse me?” Her voice was raw, trembling as she struggled to clear her throat.

“Take me to that stupid restaurant. I need to see him.”

Charlie arched an eyebrow. She turned her chair around to look at Mr. Sinclair’s office (a nice and luxurious glass box that allowed him to watch his employees and make sure that they didn’t slack off). The man was right there, sitting at his desk, and Charlie waved an arm in his direction.

“He’s literally right here if you want to talk to him. His meeting is in three hours. It should be more than enough time for you to have a conversation with him,” she explained, her brows furrowed as she looked back at the girl standing by her desk. Jesus, the Sinclairs really were something else... “I can tell him that you want to see him?” she offered hesitantly, reaching for her phone.

Poppy slammed a hand over the receiver, startling Charlie.

“Don’t. You. Dare.”

Charlie put her hands up, surrendering. Poppy Min-Sinclair turned on her heels and left. Just like that. Without saying anything else.

So, she came all the way here, bothered to go through a way too long elevator ride, to demand information and talk to her father, got neither of those things, and left? Charlie couldn’t help but scratch her head at that. And as if the situation wasn’t complicated already, Mr. Sinclair opened his office door.

“Why was my daughter here?”

Beats me.

“I’m... not sure, sir.”

“Do your job properly next time.”

And he disappeared back inside his office. There was no door slamming today. Charlie wasn’t sure it was a good sign.

Why didn’t she just tell him that his daughter wanted to stalk him and follow him to his dinner-meeting-thing, likely with not so altruistic intentions? She would have been doing her job properly, but Mr. Sinclair would have likely been angry at his daughter for about a week. Charlie shuddered at the thought. The man was scary when he was angry. And no matter how much she disliked Poppy Min-Sinclair, she wouldn’t wish that man’s anger on anyone.

--

Two and a half hours later, Mr. Sinclair had left the building to go to his meeting, and everything at the office felt a lot more relaxing. Everyone around her was chatting, exchanging whatever gossip they had to share today. When the cat’s away, the mice will play.

Charlie had been busy making calls for nearly an hour now, only to try to fix an issue with her boss’ schedule. People kept redirecting her to other people. And when the vicious circle finally ended, she let out a too loud sigh and slid down into her chair, closing her eyes. She could finally take some time to breathe.

Freedom. Pure bliss.

“Where is my father?”

Charlie almost fell from her chair.

She sat back up, straightening her back, glancing around the office to find the source of her near heart attack. Poppy Min-Sinclair was back, eyes fixed on her.

“Not here,” Charlie answered with a forced smile on her lips.

“Take me there.”

“Why would I?”

Poppy crossed her arms under her chest and tilted her head. Charlie waited patiently for the blonde to find a way to convince her to do something that would most likely get her fired (she was confident in her ability to say no to anything that the girl had to offer, as her father paid extremely well, even if he was an asshole with little morals). 

“I will pay you if you do.”

Charlie stood up and grabbed her blazer.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Who was she to say no to free money? All she had to do was drive her there and leave before Mr. Sinclair could spot her.

Of course, Charlie regretted everything just nine minutes after accepting the offer. Poppy Min-Sinclair was insufferable and wouldn’t shut up; wouldn’t stop complaining about how small her car was, or how uncomfortable the passenger seat was, or how cheap everything smelled and felt. Charlie only took deep breaths to avoid snapping at the woman who had promised her money in exchange for a ride to some five-star restaurant in the middle of the city center.

And while traffic wasn’t a complete nightmare like it could sometimes be, it was far from fluid.

When Charlie parked her car, she sighed in relief. The torture was over. Poppy Min-Sinclair would step out of her car and leave her alone. She could go home and hide under her blanket, watch a movie. Enjoy the rest of her evening in bed with a good movie.

“Are you coming or what?”

“What?”

“Get out of the car. Now.”

Too confused by the order, Charlie obeyed. She locked her car and followed Poppy as she made her way to the restaurant. Super expensive and luxurious restaurant that Charlie was way too under-dressed for to feel comfortable just approaching. So, obviously, Poppy stepped inside and waited for her to do the same.

She was so dead. If her boss noticed her there with his daughter, she would be jobless and then dead. Well, might as well be dead if she lost her job. Her mom would never let her forget that she went to the city only to fail to keep a job.

The boy at the front desk looked even younger than her, and Charlie almost winced at the sight. She remained several steps behind the blonde, hiding from anyone who might see her. Everyone was wearing gorgeous dresses or sharp suits, but Charlie was there in denim and a wrinkled blazer over a probably coffee-stained shirt.

“Table for two.”

“Reservation?” the boy asked.

“I don’t have one.”

“Then I’m sorry, but we’re booked. It’s Valentine’s day...”

Poppy placed her hands down on the front desk and leaned forward, clearly invading that poor boy’s personal space. Charlie couldn’t bear to look at whatever disaster was bound to unfold under her eyes.

“How much do I need to pay you to get a table?”

“I’m sorry, but-”

“But what? You can’t get me a table because my partner is a woman? Is that the issue here?” Poppy rose her voice with each word she spoke.

God. Charlie could feel the second-hand embarrassment filling up her brain. She wasn’t even part of the conversation but she could feel her face turning red.

“It’s not what I’m saying-”

Poppy waved a dismissive hand too close to his face, effectively making him shut up. Charlie felt bad for him. The fool didn’t realize that he shouldn’t argue with Poppy Min-Sinclair.

“I’m sure that refusing to serve clients because of their sexuality would look very nice in a review and all over Twitter,” Poppy glanced over her shoulder to find Charlie’s eyes, “don’t you agree, honey?”

Honey? Gross. What was she trying to accomplish here? Make sure that all the clients in the restaurant noticed them? Make her father get here to check what was happening? At this point, Charlie could only hope that the ground would crack under her feet so the earth could swallow her whole.

“How about you go find your boss for me?” Poppy asked, though it sounded more like an order than a question.

Poor boy left, scrambling away as if to save his life, but not without giving a polite bow. God. That evil blonde had probably traumatized him by pulling a Karen on him out of nowhere, and for absolutely no reason at all.

“Why did you do that?” Charlie asked, her voice barely above a whisper, as she refused to cause more of a fuss than Poppy already had. “He did nothing wrong. And you can’t expect to get a table here without a reservation...”

“I know,” Poppy said with a smirk on her lips, “I just wanted to get rid of him so I can look for my father without him getting in the way.” The blonde turned around to face Charlie. “Can you see him?”

Charlie was about to simply say no without even trying to look for her boss when she noticed something out of place. Her boss was right there. And the person sitting opposite him definitely wasn’t Mr. Parks, because Mr. Parks was an overweight middle-aged man, and well... that woman was nothing like Mr. Parks, starting with the fact that she was not a man.

“I don’t want to sound judgmental, but...” Charlie started hesitantly, “I’m going to assume that your mother isn’t some white woman who appears to be in her mid twenties?”

No response came, so Charlie looked back at Poppy, who was taking out her phone from her purse, the most disinterested expression etched onto her face. It looked like her father was cheating on her mother with a woman her own age, but Poppy Min-Sinclair just couldn’t bother to care.

“Take pictures,” Poppy demanded, shoving her phone in Charlie’s hands.

“Can’t you do it yourself?”

“I’d rather he sees you than me.”

Because of course. She rolled her eyes and did as asked. It was no use to argue when Poppy Min-Sinclair could create arguments out of thin air. Being dramatic seemed to be her specialty, and Charlie didn’t want to get on her actual bad side. She was fine being on her “I don’t care about you” side.

Her little improvised photoshoot was interrupted when the clerk boy appeared in her peripheral vision, and Charlie nearly dropped Poppy’s phone trying to hide it behind her back. She felt Poppy take it back from her hands. The faintest of touches spread warmth through Charlie’s body; the little Sinclair devil had very soft hands.

“I’m sorry, but-” the boy started, but he was immediately cut off by Poppy.

“Honey, let’s go.”

Charlie looked between the boy and Poppy’s already retrieving figure. She gave him an apologetic smile, mouthing a quick sorry and hurried after the blonde. Poppy settled back in her car without saying a word.

What had just happened? Had they just stalked Mr. Sinclair and taken pictures of him cheating on his wife on Valentine’s day? It sure seemed to be the case.

Charlie shook her head and sat in the driver’s seat, though she made no move to start the car. Something still bothered her. Aside from the fact that she had done something unethical, possibly illegal and plain unreasonable.

“Did you call me honey because you don’t know my name?”

When the blond devil fixed her eyes on her, Charlie’s heartbeat quickened. This was how she would die. Murdered in her own car. And when Poppy grabbed the ID badge that Charlie forgot she was still wearing around her neck (rushing out of the office hadn’t given her enough time to think about taking it off), she could only swallow and pray in silence.

“Charlotte. You don’t look like a Charlotte.”

Charlie was still silently praying, eyes shut tight, when Poppy let go of the badge. She opened her eyes again, and Poppy was looking at her like she was growing a second head. Poppy Min-Sinclair wasn’t planning on murdering her (yet), then. That was embarrassing.

She ran a hand through her hair and adjusted her shirt, a desperate attempt to straighten herself up.

“Charlie. Nobody calls me Charlotte.”

“Nobody calls you by your name?”

“Nope.” 

Charlie shook her head. She could elaborate on how she never liked the association of her name with her birth parents, or the fact that she felt trapped in the femininity of such an old school name. But Poppy Min-Sinclair was no friend of hers and did not need to hear any of it. Things were already more than awkward enough anyway.

“Should I drive you home?” she asked Poppy.

“Actually, I have a better idea.”

--

Nothing could have prepared Charlie for Poppy’s ‘better idea’ to be a very expensive looking rooftop bar. Everyone else there was well-dressed; not like the people at the restaurant who wore their fanciest clothes though; those patrons were dressed in what Charlie knew to be designer clothes. Dressed perfectly to the newest fashion trends. And Charlie? Well, Charlie was still wearing her coffee-stained shirt and wrinkled blazer. And yet again, she felt out of place.

Charlie wasn’t really sure what was happening, and all she could do was follow Poppy as she ordered them drinks at the bar and then headed towards a nice little secluded area. Not completely closed off. But it was a comfortable little corner, partly surrounded by gorgeous potted plants, and the seats were comfortably cushioned.

They spent a long time sipping at their drinks in silence, ordering more drinks, progressively easing into casual conversation about the people around them (like the poor waiter who slipped on a spilled drink and dropped the tray they had been carrying). It was nice enough, surprisingly easy. Charlie was almost shocked to realize that she was enjoying Poppy’s company.

"You're not as bad as I thought you were, farm girl. So why are you spending Valentine's day with me?" Poppy asked, seemingly out of the blue. “You could have left, you know?”

Earlier, some time after her second glass of wine, Poppy had told Charlie that she was free to go, if she wanted to get back home or spend Valentine’s day with her partner. Charlie had refused, of course; not only because there wasn’t anyone waiting for her at home, but also because Poppy turned out not to be as annoying and bratty as she used to think (at least not with wine in her system).

"My main specialty is driving people crazy. The other one is getting dumped."

Poppy didn't say anything, she just sipped at her glass of wine, staring at her. For the first time since they had first met, Poppy Min-Sinclair was patient and calm, waiting without expecting.

"I'm too much, apparently. Too overwhelming. Zero to a hundred real fast," Charlie started to explain, giving a shrug as she finished the last remaining drops of her beer. "Or I'm too nice and deserve better. No matter what I do, I'm too much of something and never the right amount of anything." She shrugged again. She had accepted that her love life was a disaster and would stay one, probably until she took her last breath on her death bed. Maybe she was too dramatic as well. "They all say they're sorry, but they never act like they are."

"Because they aren't."

Charlie looked up at Poppy, surprised that she would speak up. Surprised that she had actually been listening in the first place. Charlie thought she was safe oversharing with Poppy because she didn't care enough to listen. It felt weird, to feel like someone actually listened to her for once.

"They aren't sorry because they don't care," Poppy said, like she wanted to make sure that Charlie understood what she meant.

"Good to know." It was all Charlie managed to muster. This was one hell of a sour Valentine' day.

Silence settled between them again. Poppy's index finger slowly caressed the rim of her now empty glass, and Charlie could only stare in silence. Poppy had pretty hands, they were nice to stare at. The situation was stiff, though, a bit awkward, but nothing too bad.

"You're too soft," Poppy said. "People step all over you because you let them. You let them take all the decisions away from you, and they allow themselves to tell you what you deserve because you let them. You aren't too good. You're just a coward who refuses to risk hurting others’ feelings."

“You majored in psychology, or something?”

“Business management, actually. Extremely boring.” Poppy shrugged, and it was the first time that Charlie saw her being so casual. “But I’m the bitch steps all over people’s feelings. You know what it’s like on one side of the break-up, I know what it’s like on the other.”

“And she’s self-aware...”

“I heard that, you know?”

Charlie chuckled and offered Poppy a smile. Of course she knew that Poppy had heard.

“So... we both suck at dating?”

Poppy merely hummed in response. It seemed like they had more in common than Charlie had expected; she wasn’t sure she liked the notion, but she had no choice but to accept it.

“Let’s get drunk.”

Charlie didn’t have time to register the words, and even less comment on them, that Poppy was up from her seat and walking towards the bar.

Of all the ways she expected her day to go, this really wasn’t it. After spying on her boss, she was now (apparently) getting wasted with his daughter at some way too luxurious rooftop bar.

Several drinks later, sober couldn’t describe them anymore. They had moved to one of the small couches to be more comfortable, and Poppy now leaned heavily against Charlie’s side, threatening to fall over if either of them moved the slightest bit. How would they even get home when neither of them was able to drive? They had wondered out loud earlier but had come to the conclusion that it was a problem for later. And now... now they were even more drunk and Poppy was rambling some guy named Bradley Denbrough as if Charlie was supposed to know who he was – she had gathered that he was some popular actor that Poppy dated, but Charlie had never heard of him before.

“And he had the balls... he had the balls to tell me that I wasn’t hot enough for him to introduce me to his friends,” Poppy slurred her words. “Me? Not hot enough? Can you imagine?”

Charlie laughed at her offended tone, even if she wasn’t sure what was so funny about it. Probably (most likely) all the alcohol in her system. Or maybe it was the warmth of Poppy’s body against her own that made everything euphoric.

“I wish there was a way to take potential partners on a test drive, like we do with cars,” Charlie mumbled before a yawn took her over; she didn’t bother to cover her mouth, and for a moment, Poppy looked offended by her lack of manners.

“Wait.” Poppy sat up properly and moved to face Charlie, who couldn’t help but notice the way her skirt rode up as she crossed her legs or how her knee pressed against the side of her thigh. “Maybe we can do that!”

Charlie frowned.

“Let’s date!”

“What?”

“We both suck at dating, right? You’re a coward but you don’t act like one with me. And I’m a bitch, but I think you’re not half bad.”

Charlie tilted her head to the side. This was not clearing up anything.

“We can date each other, get better at dating together, and then you dump me!”

That was definitely not helping shed light on whatever Poppy was going on about. Poppy sighed and rolled her eyes.

“You want us to date so I can dump you later? So, just, fake dating?”

Poppy shook her head, “It’s not fake dating if we’re making out for real.”

Charlie coughed, choking on the sip of her drink she had just taken. That came out of nowhere and she definitely wasn’t anywhere near ready to hear something like that.

“Who talked about making out?”

“Me. Just now.” No matter how much Poppy slurred her words, she sounded confident and disturbingly proud. “Are you saying you don’t want to kiss me? I’ve seen the way you look at me, you know?”

“It’s the alcohol.”

“Wanna bet?”

--

Going to work the next day with a pounding headache made Charlie rethink every decision she had ever taken in her life. It made no sense that her life would have come to this. Being at the office hungover and nearly unable to focus on anything for more than a handful of seconds.

She had gotten so drunk the previous night that she had woken up in bed with her boss’ daughter. Charlie could still hardly believe that it had happened. What the hell had even happened? She had spied on her boss so that his daughter could have proof that he was cheating, just like his wife had cheated on him (Poppy had explained that detail when they had made it to Poppy’s bed), had gotten wasted, needed to get in a taxi to go to her boss’ daughter’s place. At least they both had been too drunk to try to have sex.

Charlie slammed her head against her desk. She groaned and stood up. She had work to do, no matter how much her head was killing her. With a too heavy folder under her arm, she made her way to the copy room, bracing herself for the excruciating pain that would undoubtedly accompany the noises emitted by the machines.

“Charlie?”

She turned around to find Zoey leaning against the door.

“Poppy Min-Sinclair is here.”

“Did you tell her that her father isn’t here right now?”

Zoey nodded. “And she said that she’s here to see her girlfriend?” There wasn’t any sort of confidence in her voice, like Zoey couldn’t believe there was any truth to the words she spoke. “She has a girlfriend? Here?”

“Oh, fuck me,” Charlie whispered under her breath, clearing her throat loudly when Zoey arched an eyebrow at her.

She grabbed all her papers and headed back out of the copy room, followed closely by a too curious Zoey. Charlie had hoped that she could keep her arrangement with Poppy a secret. Better yet, she had hoped that the arrangement was just part of some crazy, elaborate nightmare. But it wasn’t.

She didn’t have time to open her mouth when Poppy noticed her.

“Grab your things, we’re going out for lunch.”

“Did we agree on going for lunch today?”

“No. But I want to eat out for lunch. So you’re coming with me.”

Charlie sighed, too tired to bother arguing with Poppy. Instead of trying to find a way to get out of that mess, she tidied up her desk to avoid angering her boss when he would eventually come back to the office and grabbed her jacket. Under Zoey’s extremely confused stare.

“When were you planning on telling me you’re dating our boss’ daughter?”

Charlie pressed her lips together, unsure what was the best way to answer that.

“At the right moment?”

Zoey was not convinced. They usually shared everything with each other, now more friends than mere colleagues.

“Charlotte McAllister. Hurry up or I tell my father what happened yesterday.”

“We’ll talk after lunch. Bye, Zoey!”

Poppy grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the elevator. The moment the doors closed, Charlie turned to glare at Poppy.

“First lesson to get better at dating: do not plan lunch dates without asking me beforehand.”

Poppy rolled her eyes at the comment, but she mumbled a quick “alright”. No apology followed though. Charlie should have known better than to expect an apology from a Sinclair. 

“And I was hoping we could keep it to ourselves longer than, you know, a few hours?” Charlie couldn’t stop her exasperation from sipping into her voice.

“Can’t have people thinking that my girlfriend is single, can I?”

It was Charlie’s turn to roll her eyes. The devilish smirk on Poppy’s lips made her look away. What was she so hot for?

“Don’t forget that you’re mine until we decide that we’ve both learned enough to be decent at relationships.”

Charlie took a deep breath, pretending that she couldn’t feel the warmth spreading on her cheeks, ignoring the shade of crimson that was definitely spreaking all the way to her ears. With another deep breath, she stepped closer to Poppy, until she had the blonde backed in a corner of the elevator. Poppy didn’t seem the slightest bit intimidated, but Charlie didn’t miss the way she swallowed at their close proximity.

“I’m won’t forget that I’m yours.” Charlie punctuated her sentence by placing a hand on Poppy’s waist. If she didn’t feel confident, she could at least fake it. “But don’t forget that you promised to pay me to take you to your father yesterday.”

Charlie winked at Poppy and moved away, turning her back to her, proud of herself as she stepped out of the elevator the moment its doors opened.

[qixingtianji]

gay🖋irl

[qixingtianji]

CALLOUT POST @ ALL WRITERS

write

[qixingtianji]

[qixingtianji]

Don’t compare your progress to others.

Don’t compare your progress to others.

Don’t compare your progress to others.

Don’t compare your progress to others.

Don’t compare your progress to others.

Don’t compare your progress to others.

[qixingtianji]

SUMMARY

MC (Charlie) has been working as Mr. Sinclair’s PA for about six months now, and while she knows that he’s an asshole, he’s the asshole who pays her so she doesn’t hate him. His daughter, on the other hand... Poppy Min-Sinclair is crazy and has a crazy request that involves her father, a secret Valentine’s day dinner and ends with a rooftop bar.

out february 14.

PREVIEW

Charlie had been busy making calls for nearly an hour now, only to try to fix an issue with her boss’ schedule. People kept redirecting her to other people. And when the vicious circle ended, she let out a too loud sigh and slid down into her chair, closing her eyes. She could finally take some time to breathe.

Freedom. Pure bliss.

“Where is my father?”

Charlie almost fell from her chair.

She sat back up, straightening her back, glancing around the office to find the source of her near heart attack. Poppy Min-Sinclair was back, eyes fixed on her.

“Not here,” Charlie answered with a forced smile on her lips.

“Take me there.”

“Why would I?”

Poppy crossed her arms under her chest and tilted her head. Charlie waited patiently for the blonde to find a way to convince her to do something that would most likely get her fired (she was confident in her ability to say no to anything that the girl had to offer, as her father paid extremely well, even if he was an asshole with little morals).

“I will pay you if you do.”

Charlie stood up and grabbed her blazer.

“Alright, let’s go.”

[qixingtianji]

Just because your feelings are valid, this doesn't mean that every possible reaction to them is. Yes, it's okay to be angry - but it's not okay to take it out on someone by breaking their stuff. Yes, it's okay to be jealous - but it's not okay to sabotage relationships. Yes, it's okay to want attention - but it's not okay to lie to get it. And so on. Your feelings are always valid, but you still have a responsibility for how you choose to express them.

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bees and bis (4/??)

TAG LIST : @origmansello @save-me-the-last-dance @consideryourselfchang-ed @somewillwin @spywidownat 

a fake dating thing that nobody asked for, written by someone who hasn’t done shit in a while and can’t ever finish a fic. my mc is named charlie, comes from mcallister, and her puppy is named kai, so, those are the names i went for. (yes, i legit just keep copy pasting the intro from previous parts, that’s how lazy i am)

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

     the second you step in the fast-food restaurant, poppy lets go of your hand to grab onto your arm. she clutches it so hard you can feel her nails digging into your skin through your jacket. she’s gonna leave marks on your skin, and it won’t even from crazy good sex, which is quite the let down after last time you hung out with poppy. not that she had left marks on your body anyway ─ she hadn’t even left one single hickey! who would have thought poppy min-sinclair would be so proper in bed? bed is probably the only place where she has manners.

     “i don’t like it here,” she mumbles, her grip on your arm tightening even more. she’s frowning and her nose is scrunched up, as if her nose is being attacked by the foulest of smells.

     “it’s really not that bad,” you start, but her expression only turns more sour. “we’ll just order to go so we can get away from all that cheap smell.”

     she looks up at you, and for a brief moment, you think she’s going to thank you. and then you remember that she is poppy min-sinclair and she doesn’t even thank taylor for doing absolutely everything for her, so she definitely won’t thank you for doing the bare minimum.

     what was poppy like when she was dating carter? did she ever torture him the way she tortures you? maybe you should talk to carter about poppy. sure, if poppy heard about it, she would murder you and carter, but you can’t exactly live in fear of poppy all the time anyway.

     “what do you want to eat?” you ask poppy as you hurry to make your way to the touchscreen that has just been released before anyone else can steal it right under your nose.

     “nothing that’s on the menu here because this place is trash.”

     you glance at poppy but she doesn’t add a word. she seems very uninterested in you right now, focused on everything happening around the two of you, and yet, her hands are still on your arm. is she feeling unsafe because she’s surrounded by people who wouldn’t dream of ever having as much money as her family does?

     “stop getting distracted and order already,” poppy demands, her annoyance painfully obvious in her voice.

     you order your usual ─ very unreasonable ─ meal, add a salad to respect poppy’s cliché preppy reputation, as well as a few more things poppy might want if her dumb salad isn’t enough food for her so she doesn’t have to steal your food. you hurry to pay your order and move away from the touchscreen and guide poppy away from the biggest part of the crowd to wait for your meal in a calmer corner of the restaurant.

     ready to wait for several very long and awkward minutes, you lean you back against the wall, trying to find a more comfortable position. to your surprise, poppy presses her body to yours, her chest flush against yours. what. the. fuck. is happening here. poppy grabs your wrist and guides your hand to her hip.

     "there's bottom feeders in here. we're supposed to be convincing in this relationship, because if anyone figures out what's happening, we won't stay in the top 10 very long," she says through gritted teeth.

     "you don't need excuses to give me a hug, you know?" you smirk down at her, ready to feel her wrath and get bitch slapped, but she does nothing. well, she glares at you, but you're so used to it by now that it barely counts as a reaction from poppy. it's kinda disappointing. "i mean, we don't need to act so cozy, people are gonna talk no matter what we do together, poppy."

     it's not that you aren't enjoying a poppy half-assed hug and having your hand on her hip. you like that very much. the problem is how much you like it and how fake all of it is. you know zoey warned you not to turn it into some romcom crap, but your heart already wants to do the mushy thing and go all soft for fucking poppy min-sinclair. don't fall for the bitchiest of bitches. don't fall for the bitchiest of bitches.

     your order number being called sounds like a saving grace, and you hurry to move away from the wall and from poppy.

     it feels weird to walk out of there with a bag in one hand and poppy's hand in the other. this is what your life has just become, apparently. going on dates with the enemy who isn't an enemy anymore.

     "how far do we need to go before your sensitive nose stops being offended by the grease smell?"

     "as far as your head is up kingsley's ass."

     "what?"

     poppy doesn’t answer and starts guiding you, tugging at your hand.

     “the food’s gonna get cold.”

     “shut up.”

     you expect her to go back to the zeta house, but quickly enough, you realize that she’s taking you to the alphas and zetas’ stupid luxury getaway. great. your fries are gonna be cold and you’re gonna have to deal with a bunch of bros on top of everything when you could have been on a chill date with poppy.

     not that you want to go on a chill date with poppy. but she isn’t as bad when it’s just the two of you. you aren’t exactly excited to get insulted over your hog calling video or over whatever you were wearing the first day you arrived at belvoire.

     “the alphas are having a party at their house. everyone will be there. we’ll have the pool to ourselves.”

     you can’t stop yourself from smiling. don’t let yourself soften up around poppy, you remind yourself, even if you know it’s too late already. you can hear “i told you so” in zoey’s voice.

     poppy walks over to the pool and takes off her shoes without sparing you glance. your brain isn’t even registering what’s happening. she sits at the edge of the pool, feet in the water. she looks so relaxed, so peaceful, you don’t want to approach and bother her ─ too worried you’ll ruin her mood and anger her as you usually do.

     “what are you waiting for? i’m hungry.”

     “i thought the food was crap?”

     “shut up, mcallister.”

     you roll your eyes. of course she would start calling you mcallister again. still, you join her by the pool. feet in the water of a luxurious indoor pool to eat cold fries and a burger isn’t exactly what you imagined when you accepted to go on this fake date with poppy, but it seems to be exactly what you’re getting right now. there are worse ways to spend your time.

     you open the paper bag that you set between the two of you and hand poppy her salad before grabbing your own food ─ better let her think that she’s more important and can have her food before you, and it’s likely the best way to avoid a temper tantrum anyway.

     “how long do you want to keep up the charade?” you ask before taking a first bite of your sandwich.

     “until everyone finds you’ve been sleeping with kingsley.”

     what is it with everyone being obsessed with you and ina? you frown. poppy shouldn’t know about it. you’ve told zoey, but you would never tell poppy.

     “stop looking so confused, i always find out about everything,” she adds, not leaving you much time to overthink the situation.

     “i only slept with her once, and it was before knowing that she was a professor at belvoire.”

     “then why become her ta?”

     poppy isn’t looking at you, she is poking at her salad with her fork, like this is the most boring and useless conversation she’s ever had.

     “because chloe went out of her way to make everyone believe that i cheated my way into belvoire. to please you.”

     “don’t blame me for chloe’s actions.”

     “chloe does everything for you, poppy!”

     poppy scoffs and completely ignores you. great.

     refusing to get angry over this, you try your best to just move on, focus on your food instead of getting frustrated with poppy and starting an argument that wouldn’t get you anywhere good.

     silence really isn’t a nice thing between you two. it’s always awkward and heavy and you want to say something, anything, to get rid of it. but you’re with poppy, which means that you can’t just say anything without thinking about it first.

     you let out a deep sigh. you don’t know how long you’ve been sitting by the pool, but it’s been too long. poppy stepped away at least half an hour ago when she got a call and hasn’t reappeared since. you know she’s still inside the building, since you didn’t hear the door, but you can’t hear her voice anymore.

     you lie down on your back, and all your eyes find is the ceiling. not the most fascinating of views. but zoey is too busy with her date to answer your messages right now, and you can’t blame her for enjoying her night. you don’t even have a swimsuit with you to make use of the pool ─ maybe you should just get in there in your underwear; you doubt it’d be the worst this pool has seen, considering that the alphas regularly come here.

     “mcallister!”

     the sound of poppy’s voice startles, but you try your best not to let it show. you sit up to look at poppy. there’s something different about the way she looks at you, an expression that you don’t remember ever seeing on her face. what was that phone call all about?

     “you okay?”

     “thanks to you, my father is pissed at me for breaking up with bradley.”

     “thanks to me? you did that on your own.”

     you get back up on your feet and close the distance separating you from poppy ─ just a few steps and you’re invading her personal space.

     “if you only want to start fight, i’m out of here, poppy. i don’t want to be pretending to be your girlfriend only to hear even more insults than before.”

     she holds your gaze for several second before stepping away, purposely bumping her shoulder into yours. your turn around, ready to call her out on it, but she is taking off her dress and you suddenly lose all desire to say anything.

     “what─ what are you doing?” you inquire, unsure where to even look.

     “isn’t it obvious?” she asks before dropping her dress ─ really, really expensive dress ─ at her feet. and just like that, she’s stepping into the water, looking like the ethereal evil queen that she is. in goddamn pink fucking matching lingerie. “join me and i won’t start a fight.”

     if someone had asked you what you expected from a date with poppy, seeing her step into a swimming pool in lingerie wouldn’t have been the first thing to come to your mind. it wouldn’t even have been the last one, since you could have never expected this. not that you have any sort of complaint.

     no time for hesitation. you pull your shirt above your head and unbutton your pants.

     “your body looks hotter than last time. have you been working out for me, charlie?”

[qixingtianji]

some people really need to understand that there’s a difference between saying ‘they’re a good character’ and ‘they’re a good person’

[qixingtianji]

bees and bis (3/??)

TAG LIST : @origmansello @save-me-the-last-dance @consideryourselfchang-ed @somewillwin 

a fake dating thing that nobody asked for, written by someone who hasn’t done shit in a while and can’t ever finish a fic. my mc is named charlie, comes from mcallister, and her puppy is named kai, so, those are the names i went for. (yes, i legit just copy pasted the intro from part 2, that’s how lazy i am)

part 1 | part 2

     as you follow poppy out of her bedroom, you are suddenly hit with a “i just set myself up for a goddamn disaster i can’t escape” feeling. you've just accepted to fake date the equivalent of your goddamn nemesis at belvoire for some reason. and she's holding your puppy in her arms like he's hers. you wouldn't trust her to hold you, but you know kai is safe with her, at least, since she values pets a lot more than human beings, which you can't exactly blame her for.

     oh god. you've just accepted to fake date poppy min-sinclair and you haven't told zoey! if she hears about it from the t first rather than from you...

     you stop at the top of the stairs and take out your phone.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝘀𝗼  𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗱 @ 𝗺𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗶 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆'𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗴𝗳

your messages appear as read almost immediately, and a second later, the three dots indicating that zoey is typing pop up on your screen. alright. so, that's probably a little bit worrying.

𝗭𝗢 💓 𝗚𝗜𝗥𝗟 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗶 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻??? 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆????

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗶'𝗺 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲'𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗳𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲.......

𝗭𝗢 💓 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗛𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗘𝗦! 𝗶 𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿...

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗲, 𝗶𝘁'𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗸𝗮𝘆. 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗶'𝗺 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗶'𝗺 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿. 𝗶'𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄, 𝘇𝗼, 𝗶 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴❤️

𝗭𝗢 💓 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 "𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄"?? 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻???

     you start typing an answer, but a loud scream startles you. you almost drop your phone, barely catching before it falls to the floor. you glance around, not sure where it came from. you find veronica's eyes on you. there's something in her eyes that make you fear for your life, not because veronica scares you, but because she looks scared for your life.

     "MCALLISTER!" 

     and there goes the screaming again. only this time, you understand what it was saying, and you recognize the voice it belonged to. you should have known it was poppy, really, considering how maybe time she's screamed at you since you came to belvoire.

     "don't make her angry, please," veronica whispers. "or if you do, text me before you come back so i can be ready to record."

     you smirk. "i don't think you want to record what we'll be doing when we come back," you say, winking at veronica.

     "get it, girl!"

     you hurry down the stairs, only to find poppy waiting for you by the front door, hands on her hips. you’re pretty sure that if she didn’t need you to pretend to be her girlfriend, she would be strangling the life out of you right about now.

     “theresa! if anything happens to the dog while i’m away, i will make sure that everyone here gets kicked out of belvoire!” poppy threatens before looking back you, “and you too, mcallister.”

     you offer taylor an apologetic smile, and a small, awkward wave of the hand.

     “thanks for taking care of kai. i really hope you didn’t have plans.”

     “don’t worry, charlie. my date with benedict is tomorrow,” she responds, a bright smile on her lips, a slight blush tinting her cheeks. you feel pride soaring in your heart ─ you may not have done much for her, but it feels good to know that you helped taylor and benedict find each other.

     before you can open your mouth to tell taylor how glad you are that things seem to be working between her and benedict, you feel a hand clutching at your jacket, a strong grip in your left sleeve.

     “mcallister, if i have to call you one more time, the next video i send to the whole student body will not be as... children friendly.”

     you turn around and arc an eyebrow at poppy. what is she trying to say? that she’ll send revenge porn that she doesn’t have because her phone was on the nightstand the whole time you were in her room last time? poppy lets go of your sleeve, but you grab her hand instead. you hear someone gasp behind you, but you aren’t sure who it is.

     let the rumors begin.

     or let poppy murder you in your sleep because you took her hand in yours without asking for permission. but while she looks like she is plotting your death, she doesn’t exactly look more angry at you than usual. she doesn’t comment on the hand-holding and simply stares at you. she gives your hand a tug and you follow her out of the zeta house.

     “so, you’re inviting?” you ask.

     poppy is walking a step ahead of you, even though you are still holding hands. it isn’t exactly comfortable, but there’s nothing you can do when poppy isn’t acknowledging your existence.

     “i wouldn’t expect you to be able to afford a meal in the restaurants where i usually go.”

     you stop dead in your tracks. poppy turns back when you don’t budge. you let go of her hand and she takes the opportunity to grab her phone. confusion becomes the only thing you feel when she dials a number. and apparently, it’s obvious on your face.

     “i’m calling us a driver,” she explains, her tone making it sound like you should know exactly what she’s doing.

     a driver? seriously? not even a cab, but a driver?

     you reach for poppy’s phone and pull it out of her hand ─ she doesn’t have time to react, doesn’t resist, but she sure as hell looks beyond offended when she realizes what you’ve just done.

     “give me back my phone, pig girl.”

     “i will set a few rules before i give you back your phone.”

     you hear a voice coming from poppy’s phone. “sinclair driver #1″ is the name on the screen. why are you even surprised poppy’s family would have private drivers? you hang up without even thinking.

     “i swear, mcallister, i will kill you and steal your dog,” she grumbles as she tries to take her phone back, but all you have to do is rise it up above your head and stretch your arm a little to get it out of poppy’s reach.

     sounds like you were right to think that poppy had asked you to come only to murder you and steal kai. you grin down at poppy as she tries for her phone again, only to fail a second time. it feels so damn good to have the height advantage after being tortured the exact same way by zoey the freaking amazon goddess.

     “if you want your phone back, you need to call me by my name.”

     poppy seems to have given up on trying to take her phone back from you.

     “let’s say i accept to comply with that... rule,” she punctuates the sentence with a roll of her eyes, “you said that you had a few rules?”

     “we are not going to eat in super expensive restaurants until at least the third date.”

     “i did not picture us going on more than two dates.”

     you blink. alright then. that hurt a little. but it’s poppy, so you’ll get over it, you shouldn’t have expected anything else from her.

     “you don’t plan anything for our fake relationship without tell me about it first.”

     “i can manage, i suppose. any more rule?”

     “kiss me.”

     “you’re lucky i just got a manicure. otherwise, i would have punched you. now stop being annoying and give me back my phone, mcallister.”

     you tilt your head slightly and arc an eyebrow.

     “charlie,” she corrects herself, and you half expect to choke on your name.

     “kiss me.”

     “no.”

     “you’re gonna have to kiss me if you want people to believe we’re dating.”

     “i don’t want to kiss the farm hand.”

     “poppy. you’re such an asshole kissing you is basically rimming, so i─”

     you feel two hands on the back of your neck, pulling you down, and all of a sudden, poppy is kissing you. you barely have time to register what’s happening and close your eyes that poppy’s tongue is teasing your parted lips. without any hesitation, you wrap your arms around her waist and deepen the kiss, not a care in the world for the fact that you’re in the middle of campus. her teeth graze your bottom lip and you have to pull away to stifle a moan.

     “your presence is a lot more bearable when you’re not talking, charlie.” she smirks and extends a hand towards you, palm up.

     still unable to think, you place poppy’s phone in her hand.

     “now what?” she inquires. “since you refuse to go to restaurants that are actually worth something, where are we supposed to go?”

     you mentally shake your head, trying to sort out your thoughts after that kiss. a kiss that clearly didn’t mean anything since you’re just poppy’s fake girlfriend, just like bradley denbrough was poppy’s fake, well, boyfriend, not girlfriend.

     you take a deep breath and smile.

     “it’s a surprise!”

     “you are the most annoying person on this entire campus.”

     “and yet, i’m your girlfriend, remember?”

     she rolls her eyes but she still grabs your hand. “let’s go,” she mutters under her breath, “before i decide to strangle you.”

     you give poppy’s hand a light squeeze, still unable to believe that there seemed to be no reluctance in the gesture. should you risk intertwining your fingers? you decide against it and start leading the way.

     you walk in silence, it’s a little awkward, but it at least isn’t as heavy as you expected it to be. or maybe it’s because you keep getting distracted, glancing at poppy’s face every five second. no matter how bitchy she is, poppy also is painfully pretty and attractive and it kinda makes you want to punch yourself in the face.

     “can i ask why you wanted to call a driver? shouldn’t you own some car that’s more expensive that a house?” you ask, trying to start a conversation.

     “you can ask, but it doesn’t mean i will answer.”

     alright. no talking for the moment. either way, you will arrive at destination very soon, and you know that she will have things to say about your choice. you smile at the sight of a big, bright, yellow m, but your smile disappears the second you feel poppy tightening her grip on your hand. okay, maybe fast food was a mistake and a way too bold.

     “this is a joke, isn’t it?” the exasperation in her voice in her voice is impossible to ignore.

     “come on, poppy! live a little!”

     “i refuse to spend five minutes inside this... greasy hole...”

     “then we can order and eat outside. that’s what the tables are for, you know?”

     poppy glares at you, but to your greatest surprise, she still hasn’t tried to run away or even let go of your hand.

     “you better go down on me for an hour for putting me through this.”

     you don’t have time to ask poppy to repeat herself, to make sure that you heard her right, that she is stepping towards the entrance doors. you hurry to catch up with her and open the door for her before she has the time to probably complain about you being slow and useless.

[qixingtianji]

bees and bis (2/??)

TAG LIST : @origmansello @save-me-the-last-dance

a fake dating thing that nobody asked for, written by someone who hasn’t done shit in a while and can’t ever finish a fic. my mc is named charlie, comes from mcallister, and her puppy is named kai, so, those are the names i went for. (yes, i just copy pasted the intro from part 1, i’m an extremely lazy human being)

part 1

     “date me, mcallister.”

     you blink, glance around yourself, around the whole room, desperately looking for veronica and her phone, for a camera, for bradley hidden in the closet, for anything that could explain why those words would be coming out of poppy’s mouth. maybe poppy isn’t poppy, but rather an alien in poppy’s body. that would make a lot more sense than whatever you think you’ve just heard.

     poppy is gritting her teeth, jaw tense as she stares at you, she even crosses her arms. you have a feeling that she’s only a second away from exploding.

     “are you seriously asking me out?” you question, arching an eyebrow, still very much confused.

     “it wasn’t a question, pig girl. you are going to date me.”

     “excuse you?” it takes all you have not to just grab kai and storm out right now. you really have no clue what’s going on in that girl’s head, and you are pretty sure you don’t want to ever know what the hell she is going on about right now. 

     “did i stutter?”

     “do you expect me to be crazy enough to date you?”

     she rolls her eyes so hard that for a second, you’re worried they’ll get stuck that way. you’re also worried she’ll go for your throat and strangle you right there and then. there are worse ways to go, really. she turns around with a sigh. the silence that settles in the room is painfully heavy, and there isn’t much you can do about it. you watch as poppy walks over to the window ─ what kind of dramatic movie villain move is that?

     “for some unfathomable reason, your popularity keeps rising and everyone just loves your stupid, obnoxious face. and because of your genius plan to get back at me for that ridiculous video of yours, my popularity is being threatened again, after i’ve just gotten my crown back.”

     “thanks to me,” you add against your better judgement, “you got your crown back thanks to me.”

     poppy turns around quickly, startling you a lot more than you would care to admit. your mouth is running without you even wanting to let it walk, and it’s going to get you killed. right there, in the zeta house, of all places.

     “fuck you, mcallister. don’t play smart with me.”

     “i’d argue that you’ve already fucked me, your highness.”

     she opens her mouth but closes it immediately. you hear her take a deep breath. but it’s all she does. did you just make poppy min-sinclair speechless? she turns her back to you again, but you’re pretty there’s a hint of red tint to her cheeks ─ you want to know, to ask if you’ve embarrassed her, but you also don’t want to die without, well, you aren’t sure what you want to do with your life before dying. you try to collect your thoughts; it really isn’t the right moment for an existential crisis.

     “why should i date you?” you ask, against your better judgement.

     “i need your popularity. people already know that we had sex. if i cheated on bradley just for a one-night stand, people won’t forgive me. but if i cheated on him because i─” poppy pauses, holds her breath. you see her swallow. it’s like she is choking on words that refuse to come out of her mouth. “if i cheated on bradley because i care about you and date you...” she stops herself again. 

     you can read the pain on poppy’s face, it’s obvious how much she is struggling to admit that she wants your help, struggling to swallow her pride. it’s a very entertaining sight. you smirk and cross your arms, patiently waiting for her to finish what she has to say.

     “mcallister, just shut up and pretend to date me so everyone can forgive me for being a backstabbing bitch who cheated on bradley denbrough.”

     you shrug. where’s the fun if you simply accept her offer? sure, you’re putting your life on the line by testing poppy’s patience, but you can’t give her everything she wants without making her work for it.

     “everyone knows you’re the one who spread the hog calling video. how would we explain that?”

     “we had an argument because i didn’t want to break up with bradley to maintain appearances. i got angry. we can say i apologized for that, or whatever.”

     “you didn’t apologize for it.”

     “don’t expect me to, mcallister.”

     “we’ve been fighting since my first day here. us dating wouldn’t be believable, would it?”

     “sexual tension.”

     that part might be the only one that isn’t a lie. again, you shrug. you walk over to poppy’s bed and sit down next to kai, who happily settles in your lap for a well-deserved puppy nap.

     “you’ve been thinking about this for a while, haven’t you?” you ask, resting your hand on kai’s small body; if there’s one good thing to come out of belvoire, it’s him. “can’t you ask chloe or veronica to date you?”

     “i made the mistake of sleeping with you, pig girl, not them.”

     “you’d have to start calling me by my name if you want to sell it.” you don’t even try to glance back over your shoulder to see her, too worried she might turn you into stone if you dare look at her while questioning her whole somewhat-genius-but-actually-really-not-genius-at-all plan.

     “i suppose i could manage.”

     “what’s in it for me, though? dating you isn’t going to do my popularity any good right n─”

     you stop talking as soon as you hear her move, your whole body tensing up. kai even senses it and opens his cute little eyes before moving out of your lap ─ but only to lie down right against your thigh. this is it. this is the moment you die, killed by poppy min-sinclair.

     she stands in front of you, staring at you, her eyes cold and unreadable. you clench your fists on your lap when she moves her arms, but she only reaches for the zipper on her side. oh, okay then. she unzips her dress painfully slowly, and all you can think about is ripping the stupid dress off of her body. poppy slides a finger under one of the straps of her dress and moves it down her shoulder, proceeding to the same with the other one.

     “good enough incentive for you?” she asks, holding your gaze. you can’t even begin to form a coherent sentence before she gently tugs down at the straps of her dress to reveal a white lace bra that doesn’t leave much to the imagination. “good enough for you, charlie?”

     her voice is sinfully sultry, and a shiver runs up your spine. you need to get your shit together and stop being such a useless gay mess before poppy manages to make you agree to any insane demand her brain could produce.

     you cover kai eyes with a hand. “not in front of my son!”

     poppy groans, rolls her eyes and sighs. that’s a new combo! you’ve never seen that much annoyance on poppy’s face without hearing her scream at you.

     “you really have a gift for ruining everything, don’t you, mcallister?”

     “and yet you’re the one who wants to date me.”

     “fake date you. don’t flatter yourself.”

     “but you still want me.”

     to your great disappointment, she puts her dress back on properly, and you almost want to whine. maybe you should have kept your mouth shut for once, even if there’s no fun in staying quiet when you can tease poppy. you’ve just missed the opportunity to touch poppy for the sake of a dumb joke, and you’ve probably just make her so annoyed with you that she might not let you put your hands on her body for a while.

     you shake your head and lean back a little on poppy’s bed, resting your weight on your arms, stretched behind you. you almost want to grab the silky covers of poppy’s bed, to grip them in tight fists like you did the last time you got the chance to be right here.

     “what’s would our first move as belvoire’s new power couple be?” you ask, tilting your head to the side slightly.

     “going on a date tonight so everybody can see us together.”

     alright. while going on a date with poppy min-sinclair sounds like the craziest thing you’ve heard in a while, you’ve also just heard her asking you out. and it is at least a pretty sound plan to sell the whole fake dating thing ─ not that you’re actually planning on accepting to do it (except you know you’re going to accept but would rather fool yourself into thinking you aren’t going to give in).

     “why would you ask me to bring kai with me if you’re planning on taking me out?”

     “because you’re staying here for the night and i don’t trust your... roommate... with him.”

     roommate? and not the usual “new money”? it’s weird, but you don’t dare question it. there are more important things to deal with.

     “and what happens to kai whi─ if we go on that date?”

     “ask taylor to take care of him while we’re away.”

     dammit. that’s also pretty logical. taylor does really like kai, and you have no reason to think that you can’t trust him with her. anyone who can handle poppy can handle an adorable puppy (with slight destructive tendencies, but poppy and taylor don’t need to know about that just yet). wait...

     “taylor?”

     “useless girl who follows me around. you know, the one you used against me to earn me the nickname poopy poppy.”

     her voice is venomous and fill like she is spitting right in your face. you had no idea poppy knew about the whole ordeal. did taylor tell her about it? or did poppy magically guess? or maybe she has a deal with the devil, that wouldn’t be all that surprising, there’s a reason why you call her satan.

     “i know who taylor is. you just never call her by her name. i didn’t think you knew anything about her.”

     “i need to keep her on her toes. if she thinks i care about her, she won’t work as hard to impress me.”

     did poppy just accidentally imply that she cares about taylor or are you reading too much into this? there’s no way poppy cares about anything besides herself, the animal shelter, and popularity.

     “poppy, do you realize you’re evil?”

     “and yet you slept with me and enjoyed it thoroughly. so what does that make you? the whore of babylon?”

     you can’t help but roll your eyes.

     “where do we go for our “date”, then?”

     for a split second, you see a smile on poppy’s face, that genuine smile she gave you when you were dancing together, that genuine smile she had on her lips at the animal shelter. but it disappears just as quickly as it appeared, so quickly that you wonder if you’ve really seen it.

     “welcome to the winning team, mcallister.”

[qixingtianji]

bees and bis (1/??)

a fake dating thing that nobody asked for, written by someone who hasn’t done shit in a while and can’t ever finish a fic. my mc is named charlie, comes from mcallister, and her puppy is named kai, so, those are the names i went for, yay?

     having put your phone on silent mode hasn’t helped you the slightest bit as you find yourself unable to stay away from your phone for more than a couple of minutes. zoey has tried in vain to confiscate your phone ─ she just can’t say no to the puppy dog eyes you put on as soon as she halfheartedly threatens to throw your phone out the window.

     “𝘀𝗼, 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗶𝗴 𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹? 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗼𝗹”

     it’s the latest comment to invade your feed. you’ve read many others like this one, and you still don’t know how to feel about it. sure, you hate to see everyone bringing up your past, pointing out how out of place you are at belvoire ─ like you need the reminders. how the hell did your life end up becoming such a gigantic disaster? it all went downhill the second you faced fucking poppy min-sinclair for the first time, didn’t it?

     “why are you letting all the haters get to you, babe?” you hear zoey ask. “it’s not like you actually slept with her anyway.”

     you look up from your phone, wide-eyed, mouth agape, as you stare at your friend. you stare at each other in silence for a second, until zoey’s eyes widen in realization and she lets out a gasp. well, you’re thoroughly fucked.

     “when i said it wouldn’t be good to get in bed with poppy, i didn’t think i needed to warn you against going so literal about it!” she sighs and shakes her head a little, like a teacher disappointed in their favorite student. you can’t help feeling bad about it ─ you already knew that what you had done was far from being good, but seeing zoey’s reaction is really putting it into perspective for you right now. that is, until a little smirk tugs at the corner of zoey’s mouth. oh no. what is she thinking about? “you gotta have some dirt on her! what was it like? what was she like?”

     “oh no, zo, we’re so not doing this right now!”

     “don’t leave me hanging. you’ve seen poppy naked! is there a human being under all the bitch and gucci layers? or is she a robot?”

     “zo,” you warn, staring back at your friend. zoey meets your eyes and doesn’t lower or avert her gaze; she is way too motivated to hear about whatever you could say about poppy, despite having been the one to encourage you to stop thinking about her in the first place ─ you’re sure that zoey would argue that she didn’t know you had slept with poppy when she asked you to forget about her. 

     “she is human. a shitty human, but still a human.”

     it’s the only answer you’re willing to give zoey. you can’t exactly start talking about how perfect poppy’s tits are. not that you’ve ever thought that anything about poppy was perfect. clearly not. poppy is the worst person you’ve ever met in your entire life, you remind yourself, you hate poppy and every fiber of her being with every fiber of your being.

     “does the carpet match the drapes─”

     “zo!”

     “come on! how much does she really bleach her hair?”

     you cross your arms over your chest and stare at zoey. she doesn’t seem to want to back down the slightest bit. no matter how much you want to talk about poppy, you can’t just bring yourself to gossip right now. 

     your phone lights up with a notification, and you can’t help but roll your eyes when you read the name that pops up on your screen.

     “is it your girlfriend?”

     “i slept with poppy just the one time! she isn’t my girlfriend!”

     “i was thinking about professor kingsley, actually. but it’s good to know where your loyalty is.”

     you let out a groan. all you want to do is face-plant in your bed and scream into your pillow until everything goes away. zoey is having way too much fun teasing you about this whole situation, though arguably, you would do just the same if you were in her shoes.

     you unlock your phone with a quick swipe and open your conversation with poppy.

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗶 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽, 𝗺𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻'𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼? 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗺𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄?

     “what does she want?” zoey asks.

     “a fight, i guess.” you shrug.

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗯𝗻𝗼𝘅𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀? 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆. 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀. 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘄𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝘅. 𝗱𝗼 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝗽𝘆... 𝘄𝗲 𝗗𝗜𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝘅... 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗺 𝗶 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲���� 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼? 𝗳𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲?

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝘀𝗵𝘂𝘁 𝘂𝗽. 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗶𝗴 𝘀𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘀.

     your pig squeals? this is what she is going with?

     you look up at zoey, who is staring at you, eyebrow arched, like all she is waiting for if for you to start talking about whatever drama poppy is throwing at you. you may not be in the mood for gossiping, but you sure are in the mood to ramble about poppy out of frustration because she is getting on your nerves with her double standards, unreasonable expectations and stupid attitude.

     “she is blaming me for ruining her rep because people are saying she’s slept with the pig girl.” you just have to roll your eyes. “like she isn’t the one who made me the pig girl!”

     “babe, it’s poppy you’re talking about here. you can’t expect her to be logical and accept to take responsibility for what she’s done.”

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺.

𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗜𝗘 𝗮𝘄𝘄, 𝗶 𝗸𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲!

𝗦𝗔𝗧𝗔𝗡 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄. 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗸𝗮𝗶 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂.

     “either poppy is in love with me, or she wants to murder me and steal my dog.”

     zoey chuckles lightly, shaking her head.

     “she’s been wanting to murder you since the day you arrived to belvoire, babe. she’s going to steal your life and your dog.”

     you grin at her. “and my heart!” you add.

     “sure, if you’re into getting insulted on a daily basis...”

     “zo, it’s rude to kink shame people like that!”

     she gives your arm a light slap before getting up from her seat. you watch in silence as she adjusts her skirt and shirt.

     “babe, if you want to trust poppy min-sinclair with your life, it’s too late to save you, so i’m just going to pretend i heard nothing of what you said, and i’m going to go find myself a hot date for tonight.”

     you let out an exaggerated gasp and place a hand over your heart. “you’re replacing me?”

     zoey grabs your face between her hands and presses a gentle kiss to your forehead before stepping back and away from you to head to your room.

     “you started by cheating on me with poppy, darling! now it’s my turn to get a side piece!” she throws you a wink and turns her back to you.

     you sigh. if poppy expects you to be in her room as soon as possible, you shouldn’t be losing time just sitting at the kitchen counter. there’s no need to be thinking about what poppy wants ─ there’s no way you could figure out what goes on inside that girl’s head, especially when you aren’t sure she knows what goes on inside her own head. but hurrying just for poppy’s sake doesn’t quite sit right with you.

     so, while you make no effort to hurry to get ready and head out, you also make sure not to get too distracted by the amount of new clothes zoey has shoved in your wardrobe without you realizing, or by kai’s adorable little face. and in the end, it takes you over half an hour to get ready ─ there’s no doubt in your mind that poppy will scold you for taking way too much time and making her wait. if she hasn’t already forgotten that she asked you to get to her room. why her room again anyway? won’t the rest of the sorority see you? sure, they don’t care about anything or pay attention to anything, but still.

     you shrug to yourself, throw your bag over your shoulder, and pick up kai in your arms.

     “gonna go get murdered! it was a pleasure knowing you, zo!”

     “love you, babe! try to come back with half your dignity!”

     “bye, babe! see you never!”

     the walk to the zetas’ house isn’t exactly the longest, so you don’t try to walk faster than necessary, which would be hassle while you’re wearing heels and carrying a puppy anyway.

     the moment you reach the sorority, you’re greeted by taylor opening the door for you, even though you haven’t knocked at the door. creepy much?

     “hi, charlie,” taylor says, barely able to meet your eyes, focusing on kai immediately to pet his head, “fair warning, poppy is really mad.”

     “thanks for the warning, taylor.” 

     you smile at taylor before heading for the stairs, where you find veronica, phone in her hand as usual.

     “say hi to the camera, charlie!”

     without thinking, you give a small wave. fuck. she’s probably doing one of her stupid lives again. now the whole of belvoire is going to know that you’re at the zeta house. perfect, just what you needed to fuel the rumors and poppy’s bad temper.

     “you here to see your girlfriend? or is she your fuck buddy?”

     “she is neither, veronica.”

     before either of you can say anything else, poppy opens her bedroom door and glares at you. she doesn’t even need to say anything, you just know that she is pissed and that the message is “get your ass right here, right now”. you exchange an awkward look with veronica over her phone.

     “come to my room if poppy gets too boring, hot stuff!”

     you know you’re blushing, so instead of acknowledging veronica’s words, you lower your head slightly and walk towards poppy, knowing full well that you’re signing your death wish a second time over.

     the second you put kai down on the floor, it’s like you cease to exist entirely for poppy. she only greets him, and takes him in her arms to go sit on her bed with him. ignoring your existence. like it isn’t the most awkward situation ever. that’s just great. you’re in the lions’ den and you’re being ignored. you can’t remember the last time you’ve felt so insignificant to anyone else before.

     “i know i’m hot, mcallister, but you don’t have to stare at me like that.”

     you roll your eyes at the comment. you hadn’t taken the time to really look at her until now. poppy isn’t wearing one of the usual tight skirt and blouse combo that she always has on. the pastel pink dress she is wearing seems simple, but you know that it’s worth a lot more than what you would have been willing to pay just for anything just a few months ago. it fits her perfectly, hugging her waist tightly and presenting her cleavage in the most attractive of ways.

     there’s no doubt, you are very much staring now. and when you look up at her face, poppy is smirking. surprisingly, with kai in her lap, she doesn’t look half as threatening as usual.

     “did you ask me to come only to ignore me? is that your evil plan for revenge?” you ask, still standing near the door, unsure what to do with yourself without poppy allowing you to do anything in her room ─ you don’t need her permission for anything, but you’d rather avoid provoking her wrath when you are on her territory.

     poppy’s hand stills on kai’s head, and she stares right back at you. god, if looks could kill... you’d have died the second you set foot at belvoire.

     “everybody thinks i cheated on bradley.”

     “technically, you did.”

     “i’m not interested in him and he isn’t interested in me. we were dating for the sake of convenience.”

     were dating?

     “everybody hates me because i cheated on bradley,” she says absentmindedly as she scratches kai’s stomach.

     you snort.

     “everybody hates you because you’re a backstabbing bitch.”

     “you’re a backstabbing bitch as well, mcallister.”

     the conversation really isn’t getting you anywhere. you don’t know why, but you have a feeling poppy is just beating around the bush, which is extremely unlike her, as she has proven to enjoy brutal honesty with you so far.

     “what do you want from me, poppy?”

     she gently moves kai out of her lap and places him on her bed. she stands up, steps towards you. close. way too close. you hold your breath for a second, but relax almost immediately, as her attitude isn’t aggressive ─ then again, you should probably be worried about that part.

     “date me, mcallister.”