#clove is like the mean girls best friend LOL

[swagging-back-to]

uh oh trouble in paradise

i guess all the ladies decided they wanted to fight every and anyone they could for like no reason.

ginger was humping everyone to establish her dominance and dhal hated it and now clove is fighting dhal bc clove liked it and ginger is fist fighting with jasmine who is partially blind but beating gingers ass

[amaris-noir]

All the asks!

It took me a few days but I finally did it! Thanks for asking~

🐰- do you believe in soul mates?

- yea.. I guess

💌- diary or journal?

- In my imagnation diary is nicer (describing experiences, feels and all) but in real life and currently - definitely a journal. I’m trying to keep all important stuff noted, especially little plans for each day so that I can mark them as done (it’s kinda useful and motivational)

✨- which fictional character (book, show, or movie) do you relate to most?

- Bridget Jones lmaooo not but seriously I don’t know

💕- are you crushing on someone?

- nah

💋- kissing in the dark or kissing in the rain?

- I think..kissing in the dark

🐝- describe your aesthetic in emojis

- 😏😈👌🌱🌿🥀🌙🌃🖤💮

🍼- what is your favorite memory?

- discovering Paris.. some days there were really memorable

🌸- what is your favorite flower?

- carnations/cloves? rose

💖- have you ever been in love?

- yes

🍰- strawberry or vanilla?

- vanilla?

🍯- describe your favorite smell

- flowery, jasmine, wood smell for perfume I guess? but I like a lot and can never decive, fresh book smell and Japanese green tea smell?

🎂- if you had 3 wishes, what would they be?

have a well-paid job that I like (and that would allow me to travel because that’s one of my dreams~)

stay healthy

find someone I’d have mutual feelings with, could share stuffs and travel. I’ve had someone I really wanted to do this with but it wasn’t mutual and it’s impossible now anyway.

🍪- cookie dough or cookies?

- ahh coookies or ice-cream with cookie dough flavor

☕- coffee or tea?

- definitely tea, green tea like sencha or black tea. I rarely drink coffee.. if I do then it’s cappuccino lol

🍃- would you rather live in a sea with mermaids or a forest with fairies?

- forest

🍂- what’s your middle name?

-  I have none

💫- what is your sun, moon, and rising sign?

Apparently: Sun - Gemini, Moon and rising: Scorpio. Also midheaven in Leo. (I hadn’t really read what it all means… but I just did some reading on Sun and midheaven and well, it’s accurate lol)

🌧️- favorite thing to do on rainy days?

- watching some TV series/movie, going somewhere like a restaurant to eat and spend time with someone

🍭- how tall are you?

- 173 cm

🎄- what is your favorite holiday?

The ones when we have days off but don’t have to do much

🍦- what scented candle is your favorite?

- flower scents, vanilla, lavender? idk

💘- 3 ways to win your heart?

- be kind, passionate, have some things in common with me? and we could probably be friends~

🍩- current mood?

- I was tired but feeling kinda okay now, sentimental about the past

❄️- what is your favorite season?

- spring/autumn when it doesn’t rain / blow too strongly

💍- your current relationship status?

- single but emotionally complicated

📷- a photo of yourself

- will post it later

💅🏻- do you like being spoiled?

- I doubt I have ever been so I’m not sure. It’d be hard for me to let anyone spoil me without thinking I own them.. I’d have to be really close with someone and also want to spoil them in return hah

🕊️- 3 habits you have?

drinking green tea every morning & early evening

listening to popular music while working out lol

not leaving home without earphones? I guess it’s normal

🦄- how do you perceive yourself?

Most of all I find myself lazy but still I’m not punishing myself or being too hard on myself. I see myself as a lonely a bit alienated person with not many friends but dreams and ambitious goals even tho I’m a bit lost and don’t know what I wanna do in life.

🦋- how do you think others perceive you?

I think people don’t notice me and if they do.. they might think I’m talkative, indecisive, can’t decide on a consistent style hah

🌈- things I find attractive in girls/guys

kindness, loyalty, sincerity, ambition/determination

🍓- one secret about yourself

- I don’t think I keep any secrets concerning me.. I’m rather honest and if my friends asked me something about me, I’d tell them so idk if there’s anything I could state here that would be somehow exceptionally revealing lol

🍒- how do you act when you have a crush?

- in real life I’d avoid them and probably admire them from a distance.

💔- the reason behind your last breakup?

💬- what your last text message says?

Danke, gleichfalls! 

🎥- what show are you currently binging on?

- mhm.. I have a few going on but the most recent one has been a Chinese drama by Netflix.. the garden of meteors? Kinda silly but I need something light

⛅- what is your morning routine?

- drinking green tea as I mentioned earlier.. obviously skin clean up & treatment before doing makeup. Not so long ago I started to listen to foreign language podcasts in the morning while getting ready~ I don’t have much time to study languages besides refreshing stuffs on language apps so I listen to natives talking so that my brain doesn’t forget or so that it refreshes the vocab a bit.

💗- who do you miss?

- someone I shouldn’t

🥀- last time you cried?

- a few nights ago

🎁- when is your birthday?

- it’s in June. 20th.

🔪- scariest/creepiest experience?

- the last scariest and most intense experience was Hollywood tower in Disneyland haha; also fainting or almost fainting scares me

💤- date someone younger, older, or same age as you?

- I guess rather someone around my age +5/-3 would be best for relational / life experience reasons but tbh it all depends on a person so I wouldn’t look at someone’s age

[everlarkingjoshifer]

A Different Way CHPT 13

Hello, my lovelies, 

I’m here with another late ass chapter of this crazy story. It’s been a busy week for me but I’m trying. LOL

First, I would like to thank @titaniasfics and @javistg for her incredible beta work. (You ladies are awesome!) To @mega-aulover @jobanana7 and my sexy Hubby for being such amazing cheerleaders and finally to @sunsetsrmydreams for her beautiful banner. 

To my loyal readers and those who have left such incredibly sweet comments, I just wanted you all to know how incredibly honored I feel and you guys are the very reason I keep writing despite all my doubts and second thinking. Without you, I wouldn’t even be in the position I’m in. So Thank you guys, thank you for your continuous love and support. Know, that I appreciate everything from the bottom of my overly anxious heart! 

If you’d like to access any other chapter, you can do so here AO3

As always, don’t forget to read, review, and reblog. Now on to the story... 

Katniss awoke to Peeta’s arm slung across her hip. They’d decided to cuddle on the sofa and ended up falling asleep. After an unsuccessful attempt to move, she instead resorted to using her free hand to shake him awake. “Peeta wake up.”

“No, not yet,” he moaned, wrapping his arm around her tighter and breathing in the scent of her hair.

“Peeta, I don’t want the kids to see us like this. We have to get up before they do,” she insisted patting him on the arm.

Blearily, Peeta raised himself from his sleep and rubbed his eyes. “Fine, I’m up.”

“Toothbrushes?” she asked covering her mouth.

Peeta pointed to a general area, “It’s in the closet with the towels.”

Katniss nodded and went to freshen up. She widened her eyes when raccoon-like prints looked back at her and groaned. this was exactly why she hated makeup so much. Turning on the faucet she tried to wipe as much of the mascara as she could. Once she was satisfied with the results she got to brushing her teeth. Hoping Peeta hadn’t noticed the disheveled mess she’d woken up as she walked out of the bathroom and said, “Should I make breakfast?”

“That would be great!” Peeta said brightening up while he folded the comforter.

The kids woke up midway through Katniss making scrambled eggs and bacon.

“So, what is it with Johanna and your sister? Are they lovers or roommates,” Peeta asked with a bite of his eggs.

Katniss choked. “Oh god, no, they’re just roommates. They’re both highly hetero.”

“What’s hetero daddy?” asked Rye, big eyes looking his way.

“It means a man and a woman like each other,” Peeta answered looking at Katniss.

“Oh, so it’s not like aunty Rue, right mommy? She likes a girl,” Willow added.

“That’s right, baby, she’s a lesbian. You get two aunties. Aunty Rue, and Tia Clove,” Katniss replied smiling. She looked over at Peeta. “Rue’s my old college roommate.”

Peeta nodded understanding. Once everyone had their tummies filled, Katniss hung out until Willow begged to go home because she missed her own clothes.

Putting on her coat, she smiled at Peeta and squeezed his hand while Willow gave Rye a quick hug goodbye before walking out of the house.

A couple of weeks passed. Katniss had never felt hornier than when around Peeta Mellark. It was as though she were a teenager all over again. She would often go over to his house while the kids were at school. Sometimes as early as dropping Willow off. Sometimes he would let her in and had what Katniss considered to be the hottest sex she’d ever experienced, and other times work took a priority leaving Katniss to settle her discomfort on her own which frustrated her to no end. Her hand could only do so much as Peeta was more than attentive and knew exactly which buttons to push.

Her work, thank God, never suffered. But when Johanna Skyped her in the middle of her little sessions Katniss grunted with frustration at not being able to finish, cursing herself for not bothering to close the stupid laptop.

“What the hell are you doing, and why are you so sweaty?” Johanna asked rummaging into a chip bag.

“I was busy if you must know,” Katniss answered hoping to avoid any more questions.

Johanna looked unconvinced as she chewed. “Doing what?”

“None of your business,” Katniss clipped.

“Ask her if she was flicking the bean,” yelled Prim off camera.

Katniss gasped and turned crimson.

“Oh my god, you were, weren’t you?” Johanna squealed.

Katniss shook her head. “No, I wasn’t.”

“Liar. I can always tell when you’re lying,” Johanna accused. She turned to call Prim who rushed by. “Your sister was flicking her bean.”

Katniss covered her face. “Oh my god, I hate you both.”

“You were?” asked Prim looking both surprised and a little grossed out.

Katniss swallowed and closed her eyes as she nodded. She could hear both girls squealing gleefully and felt herself blush even more.

“What brought on this new course of events?” asked Prim settling on a chair next to Johanna. Both women looking attentive waiting for an answer.

Katniss sighed knowing there would be no way she could keep her secret from them. They’d eventually wear her down. “I slept with Peeta.” Mortification set in as both her sister and best friend gasped and Johanna yelled a ‘fuck yes’. Katniss could picture them pumping their hands triumphantly.

Rolling her eyes she groaned, “Okay, you can stop now.”

“Hell to the no,” yelled Johanna enthusiastically. “You have so much more to explain. When did this happen and, more to the point, was he good? I betcha he was good.”

“ I really hate you,” Katniss groaned.

Johanna stuck her tongue out. “No, you don’t. You love us.”

Prim made a disgusted face. “Ew, I don’t want to know about my sister’s sex life.”

“Well then, cover your dainty ears. Wouldn’t want to affect your delicate sensibilities,” Johanna advised.

Prim stuck her tongue out.

“Why me?” Katniss whispered knowing her best friend was right.

Johanna gave off a cartoonish cackle, “Why not? You’re super hot and you can be nice when you want to be.”

Katniss gave them the middle finger as she did everything to avoid their gaze. “I’m awesome, okay? And for the record, yes he’s amazing. Come to think of it, I don’t think Gale was ever half as good as Peeta. I think this is the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Probably the ONLY good sex you’ve ever had. It doesn’t look like Gale would ever be good at any of it,” Johanna tuned in.

Katniss snorted. “How would you know that?”

Prim rolled her eyes. “Puh-lease. He’s so into himself that I suspect he’s selfish. Bet you he was more worried about his pleasure than yours.”

“Not to mention that I think he has a small dick that curves to the left and he has problems with cumming as fast as the flash runs,” Johanna chimed in.

Katniss laughed nervously. “How did you know?”

“She was right?” asked Prim scrunching up her face. “Ew.”

“What can I say, I’m a talented woman,” Johanna looked so proud of herself.  

Clearing her throat Katniss continued, “Actually, I’ve been sleeping with him for a couple of weeks now.”

Both Johanna and Prim’s eyes looked like saucers as they gasped and covered their mouths to muffle their squealing. Katniss was beginning to suspect Prim and Johanna were part dolphin, what with the frequency they emitted through the computer. It was both thrilling and annoying at the same time.

“You’re fucking that hot piece of ass and didn’t tell us right away? Oh, now I’m mad,” Johanna murmured and glared once she regained her bearings.

“Yup,” Katniss answered.

Prim looked impressed. “Not bad.”

Rolling her eyes, Katniss told them the whole story of Gale and his insensitive words. Both ladies reacted appropriately, with Johanna promising to crush his nutsack between her hands and Prim, who wasn’t one to use curse words, finally calling him a fuckface.

When she got to the part where Peeta showed her his painting and she discovered her portrait they sighed romantically.

“Don’t be such a stingy hoe and share more details already,” Johanna pouted bouncing on her chair like a spoiled five-year-old.  

“What else is there to say, though,” Katniss asked shrugging.

Prim laughed shaking her head. “You could tell us if you guys are dating. Do I get to call him my big brother now?”

“That’s the problem, we haven’t exactly established anything, and he hasn’t taken off his wedding band. I’m afraid I’m falling for a guy who feels he has to keep the memory of his wife alive as some sort of punishment to whatever he feels he’s guilty of,” Katniss said. She hesitated for a second taking a wavering breath. “I’m scared,” she whispered

“Katniss, there’s nothing to be scared of. He’s loved you forever, and I’m pretty sure he’s feeling just as insecure as you. I mean, you have to deal with Lame Gale,” Prim said looking to Johanna for assertion.

Katniss pursed her lips, “But what if he decides that having a relationship could ruin his son?”

“That won’t happen. Rye would’ve already rejected you and he hasn’t,” Johanna put in choosing to resume her chip munching.

Katniss groaned running her hand across her face. “What am I gonna do?”

“Katniss, do you love him, or even like him enough to know that you can love him?” Prim asked.

Katniss thought for a minute. “I’m not sure if what I feel for him is gratitude for helping me so much or love. Maybe it’s a combination of both, or I don’t really know.”

“Well, I suggest you figure that shit out first,” Johanna said with Prim nodding vigorously.

Katniss huffed. “Well, I guess fuck me, huh?”

Johanna wiggled her eyebrows. “More like keep fucking him! He’s delicious looking, you lucky bitch.”

Katniss snorted. “Shut up.”

[clove-teasdale]

appreciation post edition numero two

((ooc post)) 

HEY YALL IM BACK. unless u live under a rock (or fine, maybe this is your first selection), u would know i was @jynsongxvii during the dreaded obscurantism of ocnet selections, aka dom’s selection. back then, i posted a little thing to boost morale up when some anon stuff seemed to be getting hairy, so i’m doing it again. i should actually be writing my next crooks fic but,,, i mean,,, yeah, whatever. yall will live with the wait if you’re keeping up with that. let’s get started. 

last time i think i did all the girls cause it was pretty early on in the selection, but considering levels of activity at the moment, the fact that the end is getting nearer and the other fact that i’m kinda busy + have fics to write, i will have to keep it brief. sorry if i get ur name wrong, but i tried to remember. this is based on personal interaction and what i’ve managed to get from your characters, so, yeh. if we haven’t talked much i will focus on oc. ALPHABETIC ORDER. no fights.

t h e -  e l  i  t e

me ↠ i go first. i am water. i am also awesome. ALSO also, i suck. all the typos and CAPS. i will send u all the reaction pics i have compiled and u will realize i am a meme. decent-ish writing? crooks trash. i called froy gutierrez fort once because of auTOCORRECT HATING ME. never shuts up. probably should. my face is okay.

anna aka @ladyaadamaier ↠ german secret princess. lonely allegra that lived happily with the stars. tried her best to have two ocs and both reached elite so ayeee, u prevailed. 

anya aka @camille-marshall ↠ tHE SARGENT. or lieutenant actually. i am bad with military and i am not going to do more research, okay? the appreciator of all my caps and typos. has an awkward bean as an oc that must learn to stop being elsa with the “conceal don’t feel” vibe and--JUST ACCEPT U LOVE THE PALACE MARSHALL. gave us the gift of drunk marshall as well.  gOT INTO THE COLLEGE SHE WANTED YEET.  ur face is lovely.

bethia aka @fleur-quinn ↠ seems really nice ooc. has hosted an oc birthday for the redhead star with a fake twin. it’s been interesting competing against u for the side prince so far. nice oc fights on the rp. A+

brianna aka @eloiseduval ↠ the ™ to my ™. i’m glad we’ve fINALLY been able to get close in this selection. u are the coolest of beans but need to actually talk to people more. anyhow. lovely fics, like, yes they are good sHUt uP. always has nice ocs and trying her best. also adamant crooks shipper, so thanks. please give her love. she’s just playing the game. ur face is lovely.

lena aka @claraeclair ↠ super nice ooc. her oc gave all the sweets. was a literal cinnamon roll in and out of character. also, ik u and u are a sNEAKY ONE. she knows what i’m talking about.

simone aka @victoria-seaberg ↠ cracked mal so she doesn’t hate her oc. very active. we haven’t talked much but you’re friends with lovely people ik and it’s pretty clear you’re a literal cinnamon roll bringing all the support. keep that up. her oc is not to be messed with.

skye aka @ladyvenusvale ↠  pInK hAiR for the beauty guru now. has hosted an oc party too! with taylor swift which i technically owe thE DUET ™ for, so thanks skye. also ZEDAYA. like, yes. thank you. if you want oc drama, ask her help. she will do what she can to deliver. ur face is lovely.

zara aka @mistylane059   ↠ wine ™ . has included guards like me! guards are always nice. put a lot of effort on including her maids in fics. also, was my secret santa wuu~ 

some people i will mention because ik them lol. 

cass aka @memeselectionoc ↠ memes. must i say more? i mean, memes guys. mEMES. pretty sure she sends love to people because i am a detective and figure stuff like that out. wants meme not hate. ur face is lovely. oc maya got her bff to date her and was part of the awkward hand-gestures club with... 

issy aka @evelyn-fenton ↠ yes part of that club (i broke alphabet cause i needed these two together). awkward writer bean that had brotp with maya. got herself a guy before leaving. DREW AWESOME CLOVE AS MY SS, LIKE? deserves all the acknowledgment. gOT INTO THE COLLEGE SHE WANTED TOO YEET. ur face is lovely.

chris aka @phaniecastello  ↠ AWESOME. IMPROVEMENT IN WRITING ENGLISH. so prOUD. grandma that everyone should love. had a super nice oc and is super nice ooc. the sweetest bean. loretta was crazy. ur face is lovely.

I THINK SYL? aka @vaticancameos333 ↠ I BELIEVE YOUR OC WAS JORDAN? IF NOT I AM SORRY TO HAVE MISTAKEN YOU BUT,,, has been keeping up with my crooks fics even tho her character isn’t active anymore and I NEEDED U IN THE APPRECIATION POST BECAUSE THAT IS SO NICE OF YOU. THANKS. also i followed ur blog through clove and it’s one of the things that keeps my dash alive. A+

T H E - H O S T S

grace and claire aka... um, lets just tag @nathaniel-schreave & @brooks-schreave  ↠ FICS. SHIPS. STORYLINES. PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT WHILE BEING IN SCHOOL. trying their best as anyone who is prince does and as all we do as contestants. lots of characters! H U G E improvement from dom the brick. one of them is the reason i will never forget the alamo. ur faces are lovely.

--

that has been my psa. ik there is stress sometimes guys, I BREATHE STRESS. but let’s be civil, not bitter. remember hannah montanna. see a vine compilation when u are upset. pray if u believe in God. IDK. even talk it out civilly. that’s cool too. but don’t throw blind jabs at each other cause that’s just gonna get us all upset and maybe you’ll make someone who isn’t at fault feel bad. sending love yet again, i will shut up now.

water.

[eloiseduval]

challenge 5

a/n: the group date in which eloise is the epitome of poise and grace. lol no, but this was fun to write. thanks to everyone for rping! @nathaniel-schreave @clove-teasdale @camille-marshall @victoria-seaberg @ladyallegrahannon word count: 2640

Apparently I was a master at avoiding someone, princes specifically.

It had been about a week since that day on the beach with Nate, and I had managed to avoid any semblance of a mature conversation with him. I was well on my way to a successful lifelong relationship.

I winced at that thought, wondering when I had become so sarcastic. I blamed Clove.

He had tried more than once to catch my eye at dinners, but even then I focused solely on my food and conversations with the girls around me. At this point, I wasn’t even angry with him. I was guilty, and that guilt was welling up inside to the point of me not being able to face him for fear of what he might say or do.

Now, I couldn’t avoid him any longer as I was headed to a group cooking date with him and a few other Selected. Some merciful twist of fate had allowed Clove to be put in my group, something I was eternally grateful for when Nate stepped up to the few of us gathered outside the kitchens.

“Hey, sorry I was running a bit late. The meeting went a little over…”

Did he have to look so good all the time? That one little piece of his hair curled over his forehead, his suit jacket unbuttoned for this more casual activity.

“Don’t sweat it.” Marshall reassured, joined in by Clove who mentioned something about not ruining his suit. Although at her words, I slowly maneuvered myself so I was practically half hidden behind my taller friend.

I only heard Nate’s chuckle as he guided us into the kitchen. Clove eyed me behind her, not missing a beat when it came to my awkward interactions around him, though began talking to Marshall with a grin. We learned upon entering the kitchens that we would be making lasagna, all of the ingredients set out before us.

Nate turned to face us. “Marshall could you get the pasta cooked and stuff? Allegra you could help Marshall with that. And Victoria you could… measure the cheese? And Clove and Eloise can you come with me to help cut some vegetables...?”

Clove nodded, sparing me a glance before turning back to Nate. She knew me too well. “Sure… Where to?”

I could only nod at his request, though silently wishing I could have been helping one of the other girls.

“Just to that island,” Nate instructed, pointing to the other far side of the kitchen.

The other girls separated to do their tasks, Clove gesturing for him to lead the way. “We all know how to use a knife, right?”

I shot her a flat look. “Yes, we do.”

Nate merely walked to the island with a “We have a lot of veggies to cut.”

“It was just a question.” She raised her hands in surrender before following Nate, making me feel guilty for snapping at her. It wasn’t her fault I felt so uncomfortable.

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered before following suit to the island.

Once I stepped up next to Nate he handed me a knife and a cucumber, giving Clove the same with a different vegetable. “Could you dice these?”

I didn’t even look at him as I took the offered knife and slowly began to dice the vegetable on a cutting board. Being this close to him after so long was doing weird things to my head, so I did my best to focus on the task at hand. Though after a brief glance I noticed Clove looking between us awkwardly.

I hated being like this. Why couldn’t I get my act together and just talk to him? This wasn’t who I was, shrinking away from the people I truly cared about. And I did care about Nate, more than I wished to admit. But if I was being honest with myself, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened with me. First with Alex, our mutual avoidance lasting for almost two years, then with Isaac, although with him I had been avoiding my own feelings rather than a conversation.

Still, this pattern was becoming too frequent to sit well with me, and I hoped that I could summon up the courage to fix this… thing with Nate.

Soon.

Maybe.

I almost groaned out loud at my thoughts, only to be drawn out of them at Victoria’s question of what our favorite food was.

Allegra moaned hungrily. “Mac and cheese.”

As I sliced a few more cucumber pieces, I moved them into a bowl only to accidentally brush my arm against Nate’s. I doubted he even noticed as I quickly brought my arm back, pressing my lips together to continue with the cutting.

“Lasagna isn’t in too bad a spot on my list,” Clove replied.

Marshall commented something about burritos and s’mores, to which Allegra and Victoria both agreed with. Though I quickly found myself caught up with the sudden awareness of Nate standing next to me. Every little movement he made — shifting his feet or his hand coming close to mine as we dropped our vegetables in a bowl — I was hyper aware of.

Snap out of it, you’re just cutting vegetables. You’re fine.

To clear my head, I answered Victoria’s question. “I’m a fan of baby carrots.”

I heard her say something else curiously to which Allegra replied, but I couldn’t register the words as Nate chuckled at my comment, the first real acknowledgement I had from him besides instructing me. That simple action alone made my attention waver and my hand with the knife slip to cleanly cut across the palm of my left hand.

“Ow.” I immediately dropped the knife, moving away from the counter to grab some paper towels and press them against the alarmingly bloody cut.

I was an idiot. Who let one laugh unsettle them so much to the point where they literally cut themselves?

“Eloise… are you okay?” I heard Nate ask. Glancing up for a moment I noticed how he had paled at the sight of all the blood. “Uhhh.”

I looked back down at my hand to focus on anything other than the embarrassment of the situation. “I’m fine, it’s fine. I’m just— I’m going to go get this taken care of.”

Leave leave leave.

“Is there a first aid kit?” Allegra asked. I turned to face her, desperate for an opportunity to get myself together, out of this group date.

”No really, you guys just finish here and I’ll go to the hospital wing.”

“Are you sure? I know how to bandage wounds.” The offer was kind but my hand was starting to throb painfully. I had a feeling I would need more than just a bandage.

“Um Clove could you take Eloise to the hospital wing please.” Nate sounded concerned from behind me.

I shook my head at Allegra. “Don’t need any more blood anywhere than necessary.” I flashed a small smile and moved to leave with Clove who had come over to me.

After another brief goodbye, we left. As soon as we were far enough away to be heard, I groaned in pain. “Ow dammit this hurts.” I pressed my lips together and furrowed my eyebrows, not wanting any more colorful language to slip out.

“And you judged me for asking if everyone knew how to use a knife.” Her dry remark went unappreciated as she merely stared straight ahead, evoking a glare out of me.

“I wasn't exactly in the best mood.” I paused, sighing at my temper that rarely came out. My lack of sleep over the past week wasn’t a positive contributor to my mood either, though that wasn’t a good excuse. I needed to get my act together, and fast. “Sorry, we just— Nate and I still haven't talked yet.”

“As the mature adults you are.”

I couldn’t help but tense at her blunt words. Clove wasn’t one to sugar coat anything. “It's not the easiest topic to broach.”

“You just... talk about it. It's better than waiting for the perfect moment.” But she hadn’t seen his face. She hadn’t seen how torn he looked at the sight of me angry at him, so torn that I wondered if he even wanted to forgive me anymore. He could’ve sent me home and dealt with someone else who wouldn’t lash out at him irrationally. But Nate wasn’t one to do that, and I knew that deep down.

I shook my head, both at her words and my wandering thoughts. “I'm not that doing that either, I—” I took a deep breath. “I'll talk to him soon. I think.”

“You think.”

This conversation was going nowhere and I needed to think about something other than Nate and myself, so I looked over at her pointedly. “And how are you and Brooks? You never did tell me about your little New Year's getaway.” After covering for the pair of them on New Year’s Eve, they had never found the time to tell me what they were doing, both that night and since the beginning of the Selection.

“Oh... that one’s a complicated one.”

“You two are nothing but complicated. Spill.”

She considered my words for a moment, sparing the hallway a glance. “After the hospital wing we're making a stop at your room.”

I nodded once. “Perfect.” It’s about time.

“So… do you want the actual info or do you want to know about Brooks and I?” Clove rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Because there's news on both sides.”

“Both. Feel free to start with whichever you want.” I moved to sit on my bed, crossing my arms to prepare for her overdue stories while she stayed standing in front of me.

“Good or bad first?”

“I guess the bad.”

“Alright, so...do you remember the first time we talked at breakfast?”

An odd thing to bring up, but I tilted my head to one side as I tried to recall the conversation. “Vaguely, but yes. Why?”

She scratched the back of her ear. “Remember you said it was funny I got Selected?”

“Oh yeah, I think I said it was crazy odds or something like that.”

“Right, um, well...turns out it wasn’t really in the hands of odds.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean?”

She hesitated before getting her words out. “The whole raffle thing...it's not really at random. It's fixed to have as many high castes as possible.” Wait, what?

I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. “But... why would they do that? Out of 35 girls they're bound to get high castes already.”

“Yes, but did you realize the amount this time? It's pretty high.”

I took a moment to recall all the girls who had been Selected, and my eyes widened as I counted about half of us who had been of high caste at the start of the Selection. That was too many to be considered random, yet no one had noticed. “Oh. What I still don't understand is why, the people would have been happy with almost any girl Nate favored, high caste or not.”

“It's not the first time they've done this. Nate would've never agreed on taking castes into consideration though, so we're guessing they decided to keep things under wraps and make most of his options close to what they considered good for a Queen. It's not like he would find out anyway and it was easier than trying to convince him on accepting their "advice". They would have to leave some of it to chance, but with half the girls being high castes at the beginning, the Elite was bound to end up pretty much the same. No one is under Four and half of us are Twos.”

I bit my lip, taking in all of the information. “I’d say I feel honored but... that feels wrong.” My teasing wasn’t making itself known in the best of times, but I didn’t know what else to say. I hadn’t been chosen by chance, there were a group of men and women who had looked at my application and thought “She’s good enough,” yet discounted so many other girls who hoped for a chance of a lifetime. The whole point of the Selection was not just for Nate to find a wife, but to give opportunities to those who may have have never had one, and they had violated that.

Nate. One fact of what Clove stuck out in my mind, making me frown. “And you said Nate doesn’t know about this?”

“It feels wrong because it is, but no, he doesn't know. And we're not telling him yet, okay?”

My eyebrows furrowed. “I don’t like the idea of keeping secrets from him, Clove. We have this,” I waved one hand, “thing of being honest with each other and even though we’re... not in the best place with each other, I just—” I couldn’t even finish my thought, rubbing my forehead with a sigh. This was a lot to process in one day on top of everything else.

“Oh, we're definitely telling him. I promised him I would explain why I was being weird on our first encounter,” she frowned at herself, “I never thought it would get to this though…”

She sighed. “I just don't want him to get angry and do something stupid. Now that Brooks is involved I don't even know if he'll want to be the one to tell him. We'll look for a better time, okay? We're still looking into it.”

She moved to sit next to me on the bed, though I kept my gaze ahead, considering her suggestion. Nate deserved to know, but it wasn’t my place to tell him. I trusted Clove enough to realize that it would be better for them to inform him of everything. Still, I wanted to be there when they did.

I peered over at her. “Can I be there when you tell him?”

She returned my gaze. “Sure, if that's what you want I'll tell Brooks about it.”

I nodded. “Thank you.” Looking down at my hand, I played with the bandage a little, only to look back up at Clove when I remembered this wasn’t the only thing she wanted to tell me. “Wait, you said you had good news.”

“Oh.” She seemed to snap out of the serious mode she had been in, her cheeks reddening slightly. I took that as a good sign. Her and Brooks had an unspoken thing for too long, and it was encouraging to see her on better terms with him. They had a long way to go, though I had a feeling that in the end, they would end up happy with one another.

She told me all about New Year’s eve, and after some well worth the wait teasing on my end, we made our way back to the date. The time away had given me a chance to get my thoughts together and realize that being so caught up in myself wasn’t the way to handle the situation. I would work up the nerve to talk to Nate eventually, but for now I would talk to and be myself around the girls.

When we got back, I did exactly that. Talked with Marshall and Clove, even helped with some of the cooking without making a mess of things. Everything was good, and by the time we finished our lasagna I was ready to leave in a much better mood. I was considering when I would find a good time to approach Nate when the opportunity found me instead.

As we were all headed to leave the kitchens, I felt a tap on my arm and a familiar prince whisper, “Can you stay for a bit?”

Well shoot.

[taehcns-blog]

henlo everyone !!!!!!!!!! my name is clove, i’m eighteen, use he/him pronouns, & i’m your resident boy group enthusiast™ hittin’ the tags to bring you my precious angel hwan taehan ! he’s genuinely a mf puppy and all he wants to do is sip on lattes, wear cute clothes, & stare at boys bc he’s waaay too awkward & innocent to approach one whoops !! either way, you can read more about him below so have fun & if you wanna plot lmk !!!!!

( tw. ) ─── depression. death. homophobia. underage sex. typing errors.

001. ooookay gang, this is gonna be v messy and i apologize in advance, but i wanna get this up so i can start writing with all of you sweetie pies, kapeesh ??? anyway ─── taehan was born in the jinhae-gu district of changwon city, south korea. his parents owned and operated a restaurant in the area for 8 years prior to his birth, and even after he was born, the two of them kept their business up and running for much longer !!!! he spent lots of time becoming acquainted with customers, their children, and being almost the face™ of the restaurant, and he adored all of the attention he got ! he wasn’t a shy kid, and often made friends v easily so he was well-liked, and his parents felt almost too lucky to have a son as handsome, sweet, and friendly as he was !!!!

002. however, as he got a lil older, his family was beginning to realize that he was different. unlike most of his friends growing up, he was clearly a lot more feminine than them, and he loved things that not many little boys did at his age. instead of working on the family car with his father, he much preferred to bake things with his mother. he liked playing with dolls, his favorite color was pink, and whenever the neighborhood boys and him would play, he’d always taken on the role of the princess, or the mother, or the ‘girlfriend’ whenever they’d get involved with all of that. both mom and dad kinda shrugged all that off as a phase and didn’t necessarily wish to change their child in anyway ─── after all, he was their pride and joy, so to them, he was still v perfect ... however, it wasn’t like that for lots of others.

003. all of the people that once adored him would now try to ruin all the fun he had, and his parents were p much pissed about it tbh. whenever he’d be running about the restaurants with his dolls, some customers would take them away from him and say that dolls were for girls, or that pink was a girl color, etc. and it began to leave a sour taste in all of their mouths. taehan was beginning to question literally EVERYTHING bc like, he had never once been told that he acted weird or like a girl before ... and it kinda fucked with him ??? like what did that even mean ya feel ??? it was then when he began to ask his parents tons of questions about how he acted or how he was naturally, and they had a hard time explaining to him that some people were just mean and didn’t understand him and that helped him feel better about all of it, but apart of him after that always felt weird. 

004. in school, he thought he’d thought that he’d make tons and TONS of friends bc everyone seemed to like him around the restaurant and his neighborhood. he got along well with girls, but lots of the boys were mean to him; calling him names, treating him bad, and overall, making him feel even more like an outcast than he already did. whenever he’d go home and tell his parents about what was going on school, they would do their best to talk to his teachers, and the principal, but none of them really did anything to help the situation. however, after years and years of him enduring all this bullying, his family decided it’d be best to just relocate elsewhere. their restaurant wasn’t doing too well in the area anymore, and they wanted bigger, better things, so they packed up all their things and moved to seoul, which is where his mother was from initially, and he was excited to be near his grandma, who he always had a wonderful relationship with !!!!!!

005. however, on the drive over there, his family was involved in a car accident that, unfortunately, ended up killing his father. sick with grief, his mother, and himself, didn’t think that life would ever be the same. their move to seoul was now in a different light ─── instead of setting their sights on bigger, brighter things, the two of them moved in with his grandmother and built themselves a new life from scratch. his mother worked the dry cleaning and seamstress business that his grandmother had owned for p much all of her life, and it was a rough time all around tbh. although still a resilient child, he longed to see his dad once again, but he knew that that would never, ever happen... and it made him v sad. his mom never really bounced back from all of it, and even after years had passed, she’s still grieving in her own way. however, life went on, and things got better, but with age came a ton more complications in taehan’s life ... and he often longed for the time things were simpler when he was with his mom and dad at the restaurant in jinhae-gu.

006. in middle school, he was often a wallflower and an outcast, and many of his peers didn’t necessarily feel the need to hangout with him, and it sent him into a bit of a downward spiral. once puberty hit, he began to understand why so many people thought of him to act like a girl in lots of ways. he’d look at boys and stare at them longer ; often liking their appearances and figuring out that girls didn’t make him feel that way whatsoever. he’d often talk to his mom about it, and she said it was normal, and that nothing was weird. she had a good friend when she was younger who liked other men, and she was understanding of all of that. even though at home he felt safe, he became worried that others would bully him if they ever found out the things that were on his mind, so he never confided the truth about himself to anyone ever. he didn’t want his life to be ruined, or to be embarrassed. however, in high school, things seemed to look up for him... but not for long lol rip.

007. he met a boy that he like high-key had a crush on ... and out of the blue, the two of them began to form some sort of friendship. none of it was too serious or whatever. they were kids, and they were just having fun and stuff. however, the more time they spent with one another, the more that taehan was FALLING for him real hard and like ..... all he could think about was the other boy, and he wanted to be around him all the time, and he’d get v jealous whenever he’d choose other friends over him, etc. and it all get low-key messy. so, he asked his mother’s advice and she told him that it may be best to tell his friend how he felt, so the next day, he did just that... but it didn’t end well at all. see, at first his friend said he felt the same way, and one thing led to another and they began to kiss and mess around... however, his friend had his webcam on while they were in his room and recorded everything ... and it got around the school and his friend was exposed as a total snake bc all of this was a dare from his other friends. i hope that made sense lol. needless to say, taehan was totally MORTIFIED and refused to go to school after that ... and his mother felt v bad

008. after that, he spiraled into a horrible depression ... and his mom sent him to a therapist that she’d been seeing for the last few years, and he was prescribed an anti-depressant. the first month on the meds were absolute hell, and his therapist was there to guide him all through it ... but once that trial period was over, they helped level him out a lot ... and he knew there were lots of things he still needed to get over from his past and his present, but he liked that he didn’t feel like ending it all whenever he got into his depressive episodes. to this day, he still takes his meds and sees a therapist, and he’s glad for that. he switched schools after that and felt a lot better, making more friends, and graduating with lovely grades to bring him to his loving and supportive family !!!!! now, he’s going to college and studying business, much like his father, and hopes to reopen the restaurant that his family had at one point in time ... as well as maybe venture into the world of fashion. 

009. he’s still living at home with his mom and his grandmother, and they love him to bits, but whenever he saves some money, he does wanna try living with a roommate or by himself to see what all of that’s about !!!!!! he’s just a simple boy going through life and figuring his shit out, y’know ???

( connections. ) ─── lots of friends tbh. they can be whoever. he trusts women more, obvs, but he’ll be happy with any male friends, too. they’ll help kinda bridge the gap of men he has in his life. potential romantic interest. pls you’ll give me all the fluffy feels that i need to BREATHE ok. this can start however and we can build it up from scratch, or have them be friends that slowly fade into a couple idek. i just neeeeed it. the dude that fucked him over in hs. this could be ANGST city but i kinda want it if anyone’s down lol. a female friend he may have used for a beard at one point / bff. c’mon... think of the CUTENESS. they can be v protective of one another and affectionate with each other, and they’re basically soulmates, but they’re in no way attracted to each other so they’re just bffs. anything else tbh hmu with any ideas !!!!!!!

[rosevalntne-blog]

all of the questions!

thank you so much my love

bubble bath: do you have any routines before bedtime? like skin care, etc.? what are they? i’m trying to establish a solid skincare schedule but i’ve been so ill in the last year that i’ve been literally incapable of figuring out how bedtime works?? so it’s pretty much just clean the litterbox (wash my hands) and brush my teeth most nights

champagne: what topic could you talk about for hours? shakespeare and also food network

crushed velvet: have you ever used your charm to get something you want? i have no charm lol

diamonds: how do you feel about excessively spending money? fun but don’t probably

faux fur: describe your wardrobe lots of dark colors, flannels, lots of dresses and striped stockings, lots of dark leggings

glitter: describe someone special to you fnfnfndskjs i can’t pick just one and leave ppl out!!! so: gina has been my friend since we were in, like, sixth grade. we hit a rough patch once but other than that she’s seen me through everything. i try to be a good friend to her bc i love her so much and i really want to help her feel happy whenever i can.river is my platonic soulmate. i’ve never met anybody more relatable & they’re so supportive of me when i’m not well. they never ever ever call me terms i don’t like applied to me (e.g. “psychotic”) because they know that whatever i’m experiencing is real to me and that’s enough. they show me so much affection & i show it back and they make me feel so loved. cassie (you) is someone i wish i’d spoken to earlier. you followed me for a while before we became friends and i noticed you in my notifications but was always a little shy to reach out to you. i’m really, really glad you came off anon one day because you mean a lot to me. rae has helped me so much, especially as i learn which of my traits are bpd related and how to cope with them. i try to be supportive because i love them and even though i know sometimes i’m not the best friend i could be, i hope they know how much i love them because they really mean the world to me. i wish all the best for them and even if i’m scared to reach out because i easily think people don’t want to talk to me, i’m sending them good vibes every single day. spence is somebody i’ve really only become closer with recently but i want to be closer to him. not a day goes by that i don’t think of him and send him good vibes. i luv him and he’s really fun to bake with and i hope he’s having a good day. (if we’re pals and i didn’t mention you, it’s not bc you don’t mean a lot to me! i’m just rambling a lot so i need to cut it off here.) 

gold: describe what you would call the most perfect meal. hmmm i really like breakfast food and especially oatmeal but i like it kind of watered down? so i would say slightly watery oatmeal with raspberries, peanut butter & co. chocolate peanut butter, slivered almonds, and a little honey, and also a croissant and green tea! or also i make the fucking best vegan peanut butter cookies so like a whole batch of those probably.

jazz: name a song that resonates with you and your emotions: explain the reason why. there are so many but most of all, in this moment right now, i’m going to go with “the high road” by broken bells. i listened to it a lot in eighth grade when my depression first really set in (i.e. to a clinical level episode instead of a more slightly-below-cyclothymia situation that i had going on from ages eight to twelve), and i’ve been thinking a lot about then because i had the chance to get help then and i passed it up, and that makes me really sad because maybe my illness wouldn’t have progressed as much as it did if i had gotten help earlier. lyrics like “come on and get your overdose / collect it at the borderline” make me think of the “borderline” between reality/psychosis even though that probably wasn’t the original intention, and even though i’m not quite there yet, i feel like it might be coming, which is why i’m being so aggressive with med changes right now. and it just sounds echoey and surreal, which is how i feel. 

lace: what is something in your life completely different from last year? my manic depression has gotten significantly worse. i have full blown mania now, which changed my diagnosis from bipolar ii to bipolar i. i know diagnoses are only ways for clinicians to know how to treat you, but that feels like a big deal to me. unfortunately, i’ve definitely gotten worse. 

lingerie: do you consider yourself to be a promiscuous person? not at all. i am severely sex-repulsed. i slept with a girl once and had such a severe breakdown i almost killed myself, & still have flashbacks to this day. 

lipstick: do you enjoy talking to strangers? not in the least. 

pearls: what’s something about your personality that surprises others? i think most people are surprised to find how desperate i am for validation until they get to know me. i’m told i come off as rather mature and pulled-together, so i think people who don’t know me well don’t realize how dependent i am on the opinions and validation of others. 

penthouse: what do you consider your dream home? describe it. a little cottage in the woods just on the outskirts of a little town! it would be made of uneven stones with ivy crawling up the sides and a garden out front. there would be a river nearby with willow trees. inside, it would be quaint and often a little dusty, with mismatched furniture found at tag sales and filled bookshelves everywhere. the kitchen would be the biggest room because i spend so much time baking in there. 

perfume: if you could make your own signature fragrance, what would it smell like? roses, honey, and vanilla. 

robe: how do you prepare for an evening alone with a loved one/date? clean up my room, pop hamlet into my dvd player, and bake something? idk i’ve never dated anyone,,

roses: if it had to be winter, spring, summer, or autumn for the rest of your life, which would you choose? autumn! when the air smells like cinnamon and cloves, it’s the perfect time for chai tea and pumpkin spice lattes, the leaves are beautiful, and it’s neither too hot nor too cold. 

satin: what is your most favorite article of clothing? black and white striped stockings :^)

sheet mask: what is your favorite lazy activity? drinking lattes and watching food network!

silk: do you have more inner beauty or outer beauty? neither i’m a bad person and a goblin

silver: do you have any obscure hobbies? what are they? i used to collect the tags on tea bags but i lost them all lol

sparkling water: what are your top three songs for the summer? for an ideal summer? (1) “my girl,” the temptations; (2) “rosalita (come out tonight),” bruce springsteen; (3) “on my way,” phil collins. 

wine: what kind of drunk are you? i’ve only been drunk during severe episodes but when i’m in a mixed episode and drunk i get very poetic and write a lot and i’m very self-reflective and stuck in the void and when i’m manic i’m just very giggly and i shout a lot. 

[cessanderson]

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly! And Healthy! https://ift.tt/2PYo7Cb

‘Tis the season to be jolly! And healthy! And if you’re wondering where to even start with a healthier lifestyle, here’s my story. As you know, I’m a DIY girl. No fear about diving in and giving things a try. So doing the same when it comes to wellness made sense to me. This is what got me started, raised awareness and made a difference in my lifestyle:

  Is what you put into your body important to you? I‘m pretty sure by now that you’ve heard a lot about essential oils, right? ::groan:: and ::eye roll:: <— that was my initial reaction too! lol! What IS all the fuss about? Let me share it with you as short and sweet as I can why essential oils are all the rage for me personally. (Some affiliate links below.)

I am so forver grateful someone shared with me: When I first heard, I thought it was some temporary popular trend and I tuned it out. la-la-la-la-la!!!!!! But nearly 4 years ago on a blogging retreat, two of my blog buddies shared essential oils with me…I have a bit of an issue with traveling which causes some uncomfortable side effects (TMI! you don’t want to know) and the essential oil shared made all the difference! Oh.my.good.NESS! If it worked for that, how else? In my world at the time, my mom and sister were going through treatments for breast cancer. I was ready and open to making healthier choices. Baby steps. Just starting somewhere.

You guys, I’ve had 6 family members diagnosed with cancer in SIX years! I felt so helpless! 

Essential oils have been around FOREVER and I know that lately they’re ALL THE HYPE but I believe it’s because word of mouth spreads faster these days via social media. They aren’t new. And specifically, Young Living has been around going on 30 years! I was still practically a child (and I’m a grandma now!). That’s not anything bright and shiny and just born. And “Young Living” is THE BRAND everyone wants. Because guess what? Not all essential oils are created equal! What I really love about Young Living is their Seed to Seal Guarantee. They aren’t just buying from a supplier and slapping on a label. Young Living controls the process of planting, harvesting, distilling, bottling, labeling and shipping from their own farms and partner farms from around the world with high standards and lots of testing. In fact,

  Young Living is the #1 essential oils company in the world. I am confident that I am getting the best quality essential oil. One other quick point about Young Living…unlike buying a cheap oil from Amazon or WalMart or even TJMaxx (be aware: even a label with 100% pure doesn’t mean that’s the case), I love that I have support, resources and testimonials from personal experiences to help guide me on my oily journey. I’ve never had to work about my health but now I’m empowered to research, to learn more and to embrace wellness. When someone tells me they tried an essential oil and it didn’t work, I’m pretty sure they tried a fragrance or lower grade, not the quality of Young Living essential oils. 

Nostalgia: Something that is really important to me … creating an environment for my sweet grandson that’s FREE of toxins. Know what else I really love? You know how a certain scent will take you back to a really special memory? I love that he is going to associate those amazing good scents like lavender or clove/cinnamon with his grammy. 

What is an essential oil anyway? My first uneducated thought: “oh, some air freshening junk that maybe helps you relax, snake oils for hippies”. An essential oil is the substance created by plants for protection against damage, injury, predators, environmental/weather changes. And they work for humans (oh and my dog and that horse too) in much the same way. Whoa! I certainly never imagined that essential oils had powerful health benefits. What? Why haven’t we heard about them before? Why didn’t I know that I could grab an essential oil for relief or health support in so many ways without the synthetic chemicals or side effects? The answer to that is an involved blog post for another day but just because I never knew, doesn’t mean it isn’t so. Essential oils were one of the first medicines! I’m learning so much and I’m so thankful that my friends DID share with  me because it’s made a HUGE difference in our lifestyle, our health, our finances and our home. 

  Again, why Young Living brand? The history, the quality, the support, the selection (hello essential oils, personal care, supplements, cleaning products and so much more – toxin free products I use every day!), the opportunities (ask me how I’m going to the lavender farm for FREE this fall and how I’ve passed up my blogging income, especially when I vowed I would NEVER promote one of those work-from-home type companies). It’s rewarding having the opportunity to help others make healthier choices too. I see how it really is changing lives. And because I see that for myself personally, I really can’t help but to shout it out to you on my blog on occasion or from the top of my lungs on Facebook! “YOU need these oils too!” 

  Recommendation:

SO here is what I recommend: THIS DIFFUSER IS THE BOMB! 3-5-10 hour settings, LED lights (including a pretty candle flicker)! Love it!

…just dip your toe in by purchasing the premium starter kit. Just try and see. This gives you the biggest bang for your buck with NO obligations. It’s the best way to give essential oils a good fair shot to see the benefits for yourself! For $160 (+tax/shipping) you get:

  A diffuser: You’re going to want to diffuse your essential oils into the air so you can breathe in those health benefits and support! What I love: unlike a candle, there are no toxic chemicals or synthetic fragrances. I get to choose the scent I want to diffuse…something uplifting or relaxing, something immune boosting or cleansing, etc. AND I get to control the strength. A drop or two for sensitive noses, more for a POW – my house smells amazing! The diffusers are constructed of a medical grade material that will not break down with the use of essential oils. It also comes with a 1 year warranty.

11 bottles of essential oils: Peppermint (cooling, great for after exercise, occasional head tension, supporting a healthy digestive system), Frankincense (supports healthy skin, meditative/spiritual, promotes a sense of well being), Lemon (energizing and cleansing), Citrus Fresh (I love adding a few drops to freshen up laundry)), DiGize (a must have for supporting a healthy digestive system), Thieves (supports a healthy immune system, very popular oil that because of it’s awesome power is also used in YL’s household cleaner concentrate, bar soap, hand soap, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid and dishwasher powder, dental products, hand purifier, etc. too – it’s SO good!), Lavender (relaxing and calming and awesome for all.things.healthy.skin!!!), Copaiba, PanAway (smells like IcyHot, great for after exercise), Raven (supports a healthy respiratory system!), Stress Away (enough said!).

A sample of Thieves Household Cleaner (YOU WILL LOVE THIS!!! Cinnamon/clove scent?! Yes please!)

Sample bottles and cards to share with others.

Sample Ningxia Red (super juice – POW!) 

A lifetime wholesale membership – sounds scary but there are no obligations to order ever again. But if you do want to, you now have access to 24% off retail prices! Hurray! Spend 50 pv ($around $50) per year to stay an active member or … hey, go inactive. There is no penalty. You just don’t order again, you walk away free and clear.

Friendships and support!

The potential to share with others and to make a paycheck – it’s just there, hanging out, yours for the taking IF you want it. No requirements. No monthly quotas. You never HAVE to ‘sell’ or share or speak a word to anyone if you don’t want to. But if you do, you might just get an accidental paycheck! Let’s discuss the details. It’s not like your usual work-from-home multi-level marketing company.

Access to a Rewards program IF you decide you love you oils to pieces and can’t live without MORE! Completely optional. I love it because I get things I used to buy at WalMart (but now a chemical free version) and my essential oils delivered to my door and I earn rewards BIG TIME (shopping spree!) but that’s just me. I’m talking about not just essential oils but our toothpaste, household cleaner, deodorant, laundry detergent, lotion, supplements, etc. You have the choice. Decline immediately, sign up if you want some other time or never join it. Up to you!

CYBER MONDAY DIYSHOWOFF PROMOTION:

FREE GIFTS! ORDER NOW through November 30, 2018 and receive $25 cash back, a welcome bundle from DIYShowOff (that’s from me to you personally!) WHILE SUPPLIES LAST that includes my favorite educational material so you’re not left in the dark. Hey, those oils aren’t going to do anyone any good sitting in the box. Don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed…we’ve got you covered. I really want to get you all set up and ready to love your essential oils!). Choose one of these holiday gifts (first come, first serve basis)

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

Not really on board or into essential oils? Young Living is all about a chemical free home and healthy lifestyle. There are more options: 

1. The Premium Starter Kit with diffuser (dewdrop diffuser shown below), 11 oils and samples.  

2. The Ningxi Red kit (AWESOME daily supplement) and everything shown below: 

 3. Savvy Minerals Makeup kit…

4. Thieves Kit – all things Thieves & cleaning, supporting a healthy immune system. 

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

How? Just go to YoungLiving.com. Be sure that my member#1836762 is in the enroller and sponsor spots, choose your Premium Starter Kit and you’re all set! Want recommendations for more or to learn how you can get free products with your order? Contact me for more info and I can walk you through the sign up process. 

I’m excited for you to join an amazing oily family filled with so much love and support and fun! Can’t wait!

*This blog is sponsored by DIYShowOff & Young Living Essential Oils (Independent Distributor). The information on this blog is not meant to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. 

***Be sure to make your purchase using the enroller/sponsor#1836762 to qualify for DIYShowOff welcome bundle, community, incentives and gifts.

CYBER MONDAY: 

 CYBER MONDAY  

As if Young Living didn’t spoil us enough on Black Friday with 20% off 50 oils & Diffusers…..they’re doing it again on Cyber Monday!

WHEN: From 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m., MT, on Monday, November 26 (ONE DAY ONLY!)

 WHAT: you can save 20 percent on select Thieves®, NingXia, and Savvy Minerals® products!

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[clove-teasdale]

everything has changed

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A/N: not a challenge! I wrote this and the challenge fic that I will try to post at midnight (cause i’m still not done with it) in a flash cause I need to head out soon lol. still, enjoy this 1280 words <3 sorry I’m going to be a little late on the challenge. this takes place right after getting out of the safe rooms.

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The dining door slammed open.

Brooks came in, looking panicked around the room and my eyes widened at the sight. I took a step towards him as he caught my eye, but then stopped myself, remembering we weren’t alone. Lots of Selected had arrived from their safe rooms by now. Even Eloise had been found according to Barnes. She was with Nate, however. 

I watched as Brooks brushed a thumb over nose and recognizing the signal, I did the same thing.

He left the room without another word and I slipped right after him as soon as I saw the chance. He was fidgeting outside the room, leaning against a wall until he saw me. I opened my mouth to say something but before I could manage anything to say, he grabbed my hand and pulled me into a room.

The door was closed behind us when his lips met mine. He kissing me, like, really kissed me. No hesitation or doubt, like he needed the reassurance that I was there. Safe. Alive. I was surprised but did not hesitate either. When he hugged me tightly, I returned the action with the same vigor, not letting go even when he sighed, “Oh, thank God…”

“Why did you take so long to come?” I looked up for a moment, worried. “Y-You’re okay, right?”

He pulled back, brushing the hair out of my face. “I'm fine. Are you?”

“Yeah, I'm good. Just a little…” I gestured vaguely at the air before placing my palm against his chest, quietly feeling his heart beating underneath. Part of me was still worried after all the pacing around the dining room, waiting for everyone to come in safe, but feeling slight disappointment whenever he failed to be the next one to step inside. “I was worried when you didn't appear.”

He placed his hand over mine.“You were worried about me? How embarrassing.”

It was such a bad time to tease, I had to narrow my eyes at him, but couldn’t hold back a smile. “Was that only me then?”

He leaned to kiss me again, murmuring against my lips a “No.”

I closed my eyes, placing a hand through his hair as we parted but didn’t pull away fully. His hair was so soft it was almost annoying, but I could only smile, mumbling back, “Good…” and staying close to him. 

It was reassuring to finally know he was okay. The whole time in the safe room I’d been worrying and thinking of too many things to rest. Placing my forehead on his shoulder, I let my hand wander down closer to his nape as I stroked his hair. For a moment I refused to think about anything but relaxing a bit.

Brooks was the first to break the silence though. “This is new.”

I looked up, realizing what I was doing and blushing. It was new, but everything seemed to be new between us. Things were different ever since New Years. They had shifted--changed--into something neither of us could figure out. Should I pull away?

“Oh...Sorry. I-I’m a bit tired.” Not a lie as I awkwardly avoided his gaze.

He blushed too. “Did you make it to a safe room?”

I nodded, deciding it was best to pull away to rub my arm. “Yeah, with um, Fleur and Venus. We were in the Women’s Room when Rogers came in to help us. What about you?”

He lifted his eyebrows at the names and then answered, “Marshall and Max. We were in the library when it happened.”

“I saw Marshall hiding a limp. Did you encounter... one of them?”

“No, but she did. That girl really is a fighter,” he chuckled, and I felt compelled to smile a bit at the sound. “How was your group?”

At the question, however, I couldn’t help but sigh. “Stressful...for many reasons. Venus hurt herself and then Fleur was pretending like it was all rainbows and sunshine. Then Venus started talking about me like I wasn’t there and—” I stopped myself, pinching the bridge of my nose and feeling my shoulders tense up again at thinking of being trapped in that Safe Room. “Eventually we just did our own thing and they apologized or whatever.”

“Sounds about right. Poor Fleur…”

I peeked up at that, watching him with curiosity as I asked, “Why poor?”

“She's usually such a happy person. I just feel bad.” He shrugged as if it was meaningless, but I could tell he was hiding something. I frowned confused by the comment and remembering my thoughts from before: The possible feelings Fleur had for him. I’d never seen something that made me think he had feelings for anyone before… but what if I was wrong?

“You just feel bad?”

He hesitated. “She’s a friend.”

I stared at him and shifted back on my feet. “I see... well, she was acting happy if that helps.” In a mumble, I added, “she wasn’t too convincing though.”

“I know that look,” he frowned.

“Why?”

“Well, uh,” he looked down, “I've caused her to look that way before.”

I frowned too, looking at him in confusion. “You’ve... made her act happy when she isn’t?”

He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it again, taking another moment. “No... She told me she liked me and I didn't reciprocate the feelings.”

Didn’t. I watched him for a moment, blinking, then muttered, “Oh…” More to myself, I added, “well, Venus had even less of an idea of what she was talking about.” I cleared my throat. “So she’s a friend, like Eloise?”

“Right. I was a tad more interested in someone else.”

“... interested?”

“Yep.”

I noticed his smile and felt my cheeks heating up, a smile tugging at my own lips. The probability of his answer still made me anxious as I asked, “Is she a Selected?”

“No.”

Surprised, I stared up, but then quickly focused on the floor again, blushing even more. I took a step back, hugging myself a bit. “Oh...um, who then?” “A really annoying girl. Known her all my life,” he grinned and as I noticed his joke I narrowed my eyes and pushed his shoulder. 

“You're awful.” He laughed, taking my hand. “I'm aware.”

I squeezed his hand back, still amused. “I've been considering the same thing with this one guy though... He used to bother me a lot but he's not that bad now.” A grin spread across my face. “Sometimes.” “Do I know him?” “Maybe. I think you'd be very annoyed by him, however.”

“Probably jealous.” “Of that dork?” I spared him a teasing glance before looking back down at our hands and swinging them back and forth. The first time that had happened it had been under different circumstances, a million times more awkward, and felt like ages ago. “I don’t know.” He kissed me again. Both of us were smiling, but as we pulled away, I whispered, “Not a mistake?” “Never,” he leaned for one last peck at my lips, “We've gotta go, Clove.” “I guess so...” I nodded, “I want to check up on Eloise eventually when she’s back...But we have to talk about our... project later today. We might have a problem after this.” “No more leaving the palace. More watchful guards... Minor setbacks.” “We might be able to find what we need here if we play our cards right…” I hesitated, “But do you think it’s still a good idea?” “With everything going on, with this snowball rolling, definitely.” “People are angry enough to attack the palace, Brooks..” If the public found out about this it wouldn’t appease them anymore. Brooks knew that too and looked down at his feet, thinking. “Then let's fix things from the inside. Show it to my dad first. He can't execute his own son.” Gulping at the thought, I stared at our linked hands. “That would mean showing it to all the advisers too.” He frowned slightly. “But you knew that.” “I know, I just—” the thought of directly confronting my father--who was surely going to come after a rebel attak to the palace--made me uneasy. Nevertheless, I shook my head, saying in a lower voice, “Nothing. Just me being stupid. Let’s go.” He brushed my hair back one last time, offering a smile. “Let's.”

[clove-teasdale]

a guy that i’d never be into

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A/N: not a challenge! (mUsiCaL reference on the title ahem). super late, but a lot of late fics are coming this week so head’s up! These whole 2k words take place on the 28th of December (yes ik, almost a month ago lol). Thanks, @eloiseduval for the rp and all the girls involved in the fleur birthday rp that is referenced here! I couldn’t include the actual rp cause it would be super long fic and I’m already late on other things. Getting back to it: Have fun. forgive typos, grammar issues, the usual. I made this in the last few hours with my small timeframe and feel like it sucks and i’m sorry, but Crooks talk here. 

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Maybe I’m a bad kisser. That’s why he thought it was a mistake. Oh god, what am I saying?

I punched the bag again and sighed. I was not one to worry about this stuff and yet here I was. Two kisses was all it took to become a mistake.

I clenched my jaw at the thought, ready to hit the bag again, but my resolve came to an end as my shoulders slumped and I took a deep breath. Reaching for the punching bag with my hands, I held it in place and leaned my forehead against it, heartbeat ringing in my ears.

Maybe he had kissed me to try it out. Hence it became a mistake. He risked our friendship for a childhood crush he realized wasn’t that meaningful in the end. He probably regretted kissing me. He was too sweet and I was the girl punching a bag.

Coming off abrasive. Rough around the edges. With harsh humor. Guys didn’t like that...which was the reason I’d started adopting the attitude when I was around the annoying ones. I had dropped it a bit when around him though... because he’d finally stopped earning it. 

I didn’t have to be mean if he wasn’t looking for a fight. He made me laugh. Bickering had become fun instead of irritating. Both our smiles had become more genuine. But maybe he’d reconsidered how he felt—if he ever truly felt like that at all—and settled it was a mistake. 

A bitter taste joined the word every single time I thought of it now. Was it my dignity hurt or my feelings?

That night, at Fleur’s party, was the first time I spoke to Brooks after our talk on Christmas morning. I guess not that long had passed—only three days really—but it somehow felt wrong. He hadn’t used the signal to meet me and plan our way out of the palace to crash Harrison Levi's party on New Year's Eve. I hadn't either. 

Though we agree the kiss meant nothing, there was some stupid, unspoken rule to avoid each other. I took a deep breath and told myself to act normal when he arrived at the birthday. If we both tried, we’d be back to how things were soon enough. We had to be. 

For the sake of our teamwork.

For the sake of our friendship. 

In my room, after the party, Eloise sat on my bed and I, on the couch across from it, doing my best to focus on advising her as best I could. Surprisingly, Nate was her current problem. Some sort of argument had happened. 

It sounded mostly like Nate had personal doubts and said the wrong things, making Eloise upset. Then it blew up in their faces. The only way to fix it was to talk it out and try to understand the circumstances. Nonetheless, I had no doubt they would figure it out. Eloise was beginning to accept a conversation between them was inevitable after our talk had been going for a while and a few pillow hits from me had happened. 

As she lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I focused on the window next to my desk. The fireworks that had gone out on Christmas Eve replayed in my head as my thoughts drifted back to him. The thought that Brooks and I would have to head out to the city in less than two days loomed. 

It hadn’t been too bad at the party. We just had to handle being alone and we’d be okay. We’ve done that before. It’ll be fine. Just use the signal and—  a pillow flew in my direction to interrupt my thoughts. I barely managed to dodge it, giving Eloise a puzzled look after she sat up. Jeez, pillows are my weapon, woman.

“What was up with you and Brooks?” she asked with a flat look. “You guys were acting weird with each other. More so than usual.”

I waved it away and pointed out she was changing the subject. She rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it, instead claiming she wasn’t imagining things.

“Nothing happened…” Even I knew I wasn’t doing my best at lying.

“You know, you can tell me things, Clove.” She cracked a smile after her cautious tone. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener,” she held up her hands in surrender, “but if you don’t want to tell me, I understand.”

“Good listener, huh?”

She nodded patiently and I turned to the window again. 

I’d grown close to Eloise after all this time. I knew she would try to help, talk it out with me, but I’d never talked about boys or kisses with anyone. Firstly, because I’d never kissed anyone, but secondly, because whenever old friends talked about boys I mostly listened and commented in a general way. I never talked to them about the guys I liked. That only led to gossip and problems—  

—not to say I liked Brooks. I mean, I liked him. As a guy. But not like that... Okay, maybe a little, but that’s irrelevant at this point.

Figuring there was no way to approach the topic if I was still trying to lie to myself, I changed the subject too. “Do you think they’ll let the families come soon?” 

I wondered what having my parents around would be like in the Elite. Probably a mess considering my father was very likely on the other side of my conspiracy with Brooks, but then I wondered how Dad would react to news of us kissing. That was bound to be...even weirder.

“I hope so. I’d really love to see mine soon. That happens with the Elite, right?” I could hear Eloise talk, but my thoughts kept going. 

If things weren’t so messed up I could almost imagine Brooks stuttering to talk to my dad. After so many years of not really interacting, talking with the father of the girl he kissed would definitely make him nervous. 

Well, except he claims it all meant nothing, so why would he care?

“Clove?”

“Brooks and I kissed,” I blurted out, snapping out of my thoughts.

Eloise blinked at me before her jaw dropped a little. “You- I’m sorry, you guys kissed? Kissed?”

How many types of “kissed” are there? Mouth agape for a moment as well, I could only blink back. It felt almost surreal to admit it. “We kissed. He kissed me. I kissed him back. For a moment.” I pressed a hand against my forehead and muttered, “Great, I’m clearly not forgetting it anytime soon.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, taking in the information. “You kissed him back. Okay... Wait, when did this happen?”

I groaned in frustration, standing up and pacing the room. “The ball. It came out of nowhere and you would expect me to pull away and flip, but that’s not the first thing I did. And then we acted like nothing happened and avoided each other in the morning, but we couldn’t avoid each other forever, and—”

“Clove, slow down,” she chose her words carefully, “you said you couldn’t avoid each other forever, does that mean you talked about it?”

I scoffed sightly at the memory. “Yeah, we talked. Apparently, we agreed it was a mistake.” My hands went up in despair, making a hand gesture I couldn’t even describe as if that could explain my frustration. “I can’t stop thinking about it, however.”

She raised an eyebrow when I sighed. “Doesn’t sound like you think it was a mistake, then.”

I clenched my jaw at her words, pushing any personal thoughts aside. “It was. Heat of the moment, hormones...call it whatever you want.”

“You’re right, it could have been the heat of the moment. But,” she hesitated, “maybe it wasn’t. You said yourself you can’t stop thinking about it. Would it be so bad if it wasn’t a mistake?”

“We agreed it was. He thought it was...So it has to be. I just don’t know how easily I’ll be able to act like it didn’t happen around him and that’s annoying and problematic.”

“Sometimes people say things they don’t really mean, Clove. I’m sure this is just as unfamiliar to him as it is for you. As for how to act, you just have to take it one day at a time.” I ignored her sympathetic smile and walked over to the bed, letting myself fall on it, face landing straight on the mattress.

My voice was muffled by the blankets. “I hate him.”

A small chuckle escaped her as she patted my head. “I know.”

“He needs to learn to control his hormones.”

“He’s a teenage boy.” Silence, then, “So... how was it?

Oh, shut up. I grumbled something incoherent and I could picture her smirk as she leaned a little closer, asking, “What was that?”

I lifted my head from the bed and yelled, “NO COMMENTS.”

She laughed, flopping down on her back. “Brooks, I'm impressed.” She went silent again and I pressed my face back on the mattress. “What um, what does this mean for Nate?”

“Oh, God... I committed treason.” I jumped back up. “With his brother!”

Sitting up with me, she began, “Nate is an understanding guy, I don’t think he’ll look at it that way. But it also depends on how you two feel about each other.”

So far we just seemed like friends and I told her as much. There was no real point in telling Nate about me and Brooks though. Especially since...there was no me and Brooks. It wouldn’t change anything. It would only be the last confirmation to send me home--which was reasonable, of course--but I didn’t want to go home yet. I had the conspiracy. I needed confirmation that my dad was involved or I wouldn’t be able to drop it. Also, I’d miss a lot of people here. 

I simply wasn’t ready to leave the palace.

Eloise shook her head. “You won't have to leave. And... I wouldn't want you to go home either.”

I smiled a bit. “You’d clearly be lost without me.”

“I'd be fine, thank you very much.” She used my weapon of choice against me again after an eye roll, but I only laughed at the soft hit of the pillow.

“Who would you talk to, if not me?”

“I’d probably go bother Brooks or something.”

I crossed my arms. “Watch out in case he decides the heat of the moment will get him again.” He never technically answered he wouldn’t have kissed someone else in my place… I secretly hoped he wouldn’t.

“Sure, Brooks would totally get caught in the heat of the moment and kiss me. That’d be like kissing a brother.”

Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah…Do you also think he likes me?

I’d been wondering the past days if everyone had seen it but me. After considering it for a minute, Eloise admitted she thought he did but wasn’t aware. I’d sensed some people thought that since Marshall’s sleepover--birthday girl included. Eloise had never been too subtle, Barnes was always suspicious of him whenever he saw us together and Quinn had seemed to have her own thoughts about it too. I had told myself everyone was just trying to be annoying.

Eloise couldn’t be more proud to say she’d seen it coming though, and I shook my head at her smugness, unable to smile and mumble, “maybe you should be Watson.”

“Watson?”

I cleared my throat, realizing she wouldn’t get the reference to a conversation she wasn’t involved in. Remembering the debate I’d had with Brooks about who of us was Holmes and who Watson at the ball was a little strange. When I thought about it now all the little mental notes I’d made about how close we were and the way he’d wrapped his hand around mine stood out more. Whoever was who didn’t matter anymore, however. I wouldn’t want someone else to replace him as my partner in crime. Or maybe it was better to say against crime.

“Uh, just an inside joke, never mind.”

[clove-teasdale]

holmes & watson at the ball

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A/N: challenge #4! I asked for two more days cause I had a lot of things this week (IM OFFICIALLY 18 YALL. FIRST FIC FINISHED AS A TECHNICAL ADULT(?)) Anyhow. Here is the fic. I was still pretty busy today so this might suck but thERE IS PROGRESS SO. have fun reading and forgive any weird writing or typos. Ft. detective crooks ™, one of my guard ocs cause I always bring one up lol & nate. Thanks @brooks-schreave @nathaniel-schreave @eloiseduval for the rps that couldn’t all be included so this wasn’t a monster fic. around 3,2k words

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“Your drink, Lady,” Rogers said, offering me a glass with a half bow as a joke. I snorted, but accepted it, taking a sip of the mysterious orange-tinged drink and tasting the alcohol.

“Well, Officer Rogers,” I stated dramatically, ready to tease him. “I doubt your commanding officer will approve of you giving alcohol to a Selected.”

He gave me a fake glare. “You said to surprise you. I just complied with a cocktail. Besides, it’s not like you’re not old enough.” His amused grin disappeared when I raised both eyebrows, silently asking, ‘am I though?’ He took the drink from my hand and set it on the silver platter of a passing servant. “Never mind.”

I laughed and stole his drink instead. His was just cider, which is what I would’ve asked for if it weren’t for my curiosity of what he would bring otherwise. “I see you like to keep it clean.”

He nodded, gladly taking my comment as a compliment and glancing at the ballroom. “I’m technically still on duty.”

“Fair point.”

I watched the beautifully decored ballroom too, in the midst of couples, spotting Eloise now done with Officer Barnes and dancing with Brooks. The prince looked different in his suit. A good different as he laughed at something our shared friend had told him. The brat kinda had a nice laugh… but anyway, that left my options to be, hanging around Rogers, chatting it up with another Selected or finding someone else to dance with.

I knew at some point of the night I would end up dancing with Brooks since we’d agreed to do so when our lead arrived, but that wouldn’t happen at the moment. Eventually, I was certain Rogers would be asked by another young Lady to dance with him. With no doubt, his good looks would help him. That meant I needed to figure out what I’d do next. My goal of making at least one friend so far had been accomplished with Eloise, but I had yet to establish any meaningful conversations with anyone else.

I was planning on it. Really, I was. But I was always too busy with research on the journal–or actually, any excuse I could come up with. After the success of Marshall’s birthday party, I considered her to be a good prospect though. For a moment, I thought I could try talking with her tonight. Even someone else for the sake of trying.

Many of the girls seemed to be getting a bit too excited about the variety of beverages available, however, and I did not do well with drunk people. While searching for sober familiar faces, I found the one prince we were all supposed to be there for. Finally free to talk.

“Go ahead,” Rogers teased when he noticed where my glance was.

I rolled my eyes, but handed him the glass back, telling him to shut up and walking over to Nate. Tapping his shoulder, I said, “Hello there,” and he turned around.

“Hey, how are you?”

“Quite free to dance at the moment.”

“Well so am I, would you care to dance?” He held out his hand for me to take.

“My, how unexpected of you Nate. It would be a pleasure.”

“Hello, dear Nathaniel.”

Brooks. A mischievous smile on his face and a confused Eloise on his hand as he approached me and Nate mid-dance. Stealing my hand from Nate’s, he changed my place with Eloise and told them to have fun. With no further explanation, he dragged me away.

“Hi.”

That wasn’t how I’d expected him to ask me to dance. Not now. Once I’d offered Eloise and Nate a polite smile, I gave him a deadpan look. “Was there no better moment for this?”

“Nope. See that guy?” He gestured towards a group of men that were clearly advisers. His hand was on my waist and my own on his shoulder as we easily slipped into our waltz. “That’s William Holt, father of the advisor John Holt, and one of the names mentioned in the journal.”

I spared them a glance as casually as possible. W.H. “Our mystery initials from the notes?”

“Yes, dear, our mystery initials.” I did my best not to roll eyes at the grin accompanying his joking ‘dear’ and let him continue. “I spoke a bit to some advisors, and I think he’s here on business. There’s been some talk of someone stealing books from the restricted section of the library.”

I raised an eyebrow with a smirk. “My, my… is that so? No wonder I never saw that journal while I was there. I had no access.”

A smirk of his own spread across his face as he whispered, “Neither did I. But tell me, why are they so fascinated that book is gone?”

“Guess we’re on the right track.”

“I have a plan. I’ve noticed key advisors have been flocking around him deep in some random conversation. If we stay close, we may find something.”

“Lead the way…Highness.”

Dancing us towards the men, I could see the same excitement coming off him as I’d seen the day before when I told him about the ink. It was kinda cute to see that childlike enthusiasm. “Be very quiet and listen.”

Once we were at the required distance to do so, I acted as if nothing was more important than our dancing, in reality, eavesdrop alongside Brooks on what the group was saying. They were too immersed in conversation to care about us or the other couples nearby. Nobody was supposed to be interested in their conversation anyway.

William Holt was older than my father but still managed to look decent. His son, John, did not share his silver hair yet but had the same cheekbones and bushy eyebrows.

“I figured this would happen. It’s a bit soon though,” William complained to the others. None appeared too concerned except John, however.

“Aren’t you worried who has it?”

William took a drink. “My bet is Levi.”

I exchanged looks with Brooks at the mention of a name.

“After all these years? He’s ancient by now.”

“He was always a resourceful one.”

“Do you know where he is?”

“Last I checked, Harrison still lives downtown. He throws some annual New Year’s Eve party. We’ll check him out after that. We wouldn’t want to draw suspicion.” William finished his drink after that as his son and the rest of the advisers nodded in agreement.

I mouthed, ‘journal?’ to Brooks and he danced us away to talk.

“We’ve gotta find that Levi guy.”

“Can we be sure he’s our guy?” I wondered. “I mean, he’s definitely related to the whole ordeal, but he might not be the writer of the annotations.”

“Regardless, it’s a lead. He may know who wrote them.”

His hand played with the fabric on the back of my dress as he spoke. I did my best to ignore it, unsure he was even aware he was doing it. Why I didn’t feel the need to mention it was also beyond me.

“Fair enough. We should check this guy out…But later.”

“You’re right,” he nodded, “We have to stay at the ball for a while longer. I’ll get in trouble if I leave.”

“Such a tragedy,” I said with an eye roll, but my sight drifted soon after to the advisers talking around the room. Dad hadn’t come and I pursed my lips, mumbling, “Strange…” at the realization. He hadn’t called me since his last visit, but I assumed he’d be here. He never missed events.

Before I could debate any possibilities in my head, Brooks spun me around. That earned him a laugh as he said, “Riveting.”

“What is?”

“This whole thing. I feel like I’m a part of the Scooby Gang.”

“A two-person gang?” I asked, amused.

As our investigation hit a pause, I found myself truthfully focused on dancing again, taking more deliberate strides as I watched my feet and smiled. All thanks to one name. I couldn’t help but feel excited. One step closer to the truth. “There’s always Holmes and Watson, you know? I’ll let you be my John.”

“John, really?” Brooks almost scoffed. “Dream on.”

“He’s very important too, don’t belittle the guy.”

“He’s the sidekick, Clove. I’m obviously the main attraction here.”

I let out a single laugh but noticed the small smile he gave me. “Don’t flatter yourself that much, Brooks. And stop insulting John! He had the heart of the team… well, depending on the adaptation.”

“If you prefer him so much, you can be him. I insist.”

I rolled my eyes and smiled smugly. “Need I remind you who of us managed to decipher that horrid writing and translate it?”

“Need I remind you of,” he twirled me again, “who started this in the first place?”

I feigned offense with a gasp, not missing a beat on my steps though. “I was doing my own research before you came along in case you weren’t aware.”

“But I definitely sped things up for you, didn’t I? Admit it. You needed me.”

“I had already admitted that… in my head, at least. From day one, that’s why I agreed to work with you. You needed my help as much as I needed yours. We wouldn’t have gotten far without each other.” I cleared my throat, noticing how my last sentence sounded and clarified, “Each other’s help, I mean.”

As I watched the way his lips parted to reveal a small smile, his cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. “I really do appreciate your help. I hope you know that.”

Unable to drift my gaze away, I smiled too, pleasantly surprised by the sincere tone of his voice–the honesty, lacking any hint of sarcasm this once. “Well, now I know…I’m glad to be included.” It was strange to feel shy at the admission, but I only averted my eyes for a second and then looked back up. “It seems my help on other matters served its purpose too.”

“What do you mean?”

“No stepping on feet so far…and I haven’t been spun into oblivion either,” I teased and he rolled his eyes.

“Don’t jinx me.”

I chuckled. “Just keep it up.”

The song slowed down even more as he pulled me closer, like when we’d whispered to each other during dancing practice. The difference was that this time, his hand also covered the back of mine and pulled it to rest against his chest. I wasn’t sure if I imagined his heartbeat or not.

“Only for you.” His voice was dramatic as if it were one of his many jokes. Nonetheless, it somehow felt like there was some truth behind the words.

Blinking up at him, I was unable to reply for a few seconds at the change of positions. My head kept making mental notes that seemed rather unnecessary, such as the warmth of his hand seeping into mine. The way my heart almost fluttered at the proximity of our faces. The smell of hazelnut on him. My lack of concern for how close we were to each other. It felt very different from yesterday’s practice.

I rolled eyes at his joking tone, but when meeting his gaze again, a lump formed in my throat. I hoped my freckles would hide my slight blush as I said, “Lucky me.”

A small laugh. “As a gentleman, I feel like I should compliment you.”

I chuckled softly too. “But as Brooks, you must mock me, I’m sure.”

“No.” He paused. “A gentleman would feel required to tell you how lovely you look, but Brooks… I would mean it.”

My heartbeat was definitely skyrocketing now and I wasn’t sure why or how to make it stop. He’s just being nice. I stared down at my dress, smiling. Hopefully, not too awkwardly. That was actually… really sweet of him to say.

“Is that so? Well, you look quite handsome yourself.” I kept the tone light and decided not to make a big deal out of it. “Not too bad…”

“The word you’re looking for is ‘dashing’.”

“How very humble of you.”

A while later, the song came to an end and he released my hand slowly. I kinda missed the feeling of it wrapped around mine. “Meet me at the door when I signal you. We can research the address of that guy. We don’t have a lot of time until New Year’s Eve.”

An hour or so later, when I’d danced with Barnes, some politicians and chatted up with Eloise about that new trinket around her neck upon her return to the ballroom, I saw Brooks near the exit, brushing a thumb over his nose. I returned the signal and made sure no one was watching before walking over.

Brooks pulled me out into the hallway.  “Sorry if I cut your evening short.”

“We have to figure this out anyway. It’s the best lead we’ve got.”

He nodded and led the way to another part of the palace forbidden for the Selected. Once there, he gestured for me to be silent and got a key from his pocket. I kept a lookout as he opened the door cautiously. I had to reprimand myself for suddenly agreeing on his Scooby gang comparison.

He let me walk in first and closed the door softly behind him. I decided to ask where he’d gotten that key at another moment and followed him as he swiftly made his way to the single computer in the room. Technology had been making a comeback amongst some crowds in the past years but was still pretty rare.

Despite that, Brooks didn’t seem to have a problem browsing the computer. “This is where they keep the online files of addresses, birthdates, castes, stuff like that. All we have to do is look at past advisors and search for a Harrison Levi.”

My finger traced the top of the old equipment as I took a glance at the other file cabinets and bookshelves in the room. “In how much trouble would we be if we were caught here?”

“Lots and lots.” He glanced up from his typing quickly and asked, “Why?”

I focused on the different folders he was opening on the screen. “Aren’t you concerned?”

“I’ve spent my entire life being nervous about things. I’m past the point of nerves now.” The relentless sound of clicking echoed in the room as he continued. “Here’s the page. We just need to let it load now, which could take…” he squinted at the screen, “a while.”

“Just because I’ve avoided being caught before doesn’t stop me from being nervous, sadly. Especially because this is so much worse than just being out after curfew. I don’t entirely mind the adrenaline, simply want to know how much I’m risking here.”

He replied nothing at first and began humming instead. I couldn’t stop the memory of our duet from crossing my mind.

And all I’ve seen since eighteen hours ago is blue eyes and freckles and your smile… Spinning around in his swivel chair, he faced me, a hint of uncertainty in his features. “I really am sorry to have pulled you away from the Ball.”

I tried to wave away his insecurity. “It’s fine. I had already danced enough and made my presence.” Moving the edges of my skirt, I made the fabric dance around my legs and added with a shrug, “And I got to wear a pretty dress so…”

“You’re not upset I pulled you away from Nate? I know it’s hard to get time with him.”

“He’s a busy guy, but what we got was good. He has a lot of other girls to worry about more than me.” I thought about our conversation during the ball again. I did feel good around Nate, but not like there was something yet. I even brought up the word ‘friend’ without a care in the world. “I‘m pretty sure what we have will always be a friendship and that’s okay.”

Brooks lifted both eyebrows. “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, that’s what it feels like… I like him, but not in that way, you know? Some others already seem to have feelings for him and as much as I care for him it’s not… romantic. I came here knowing love had a very slim chance of striking, so I’m not that disappointed I guess,” I spared him a glance, “Why so surprised?”

He repressed a smile and turned back to the computer. “I’ve always shown an interest in your love life, haven’t I? I’m nosy like that.”

I clicked my tongue and narrowed my eyes at him. Smiling was unavoidable though. “You’re still horrible.” Leaning forward to take a closer look at the screen, I asked if there was a match yet. The computer seemed to continue running over a million old archives, however.

From the corner of my eye, I thought I saw him spare me a glance, like my proximity made him nervous, but the screen finally loaded and stole my attention away. The profile picture of a man in his early thirties had popped up along other windows behind it. The photo was not recent, of course. It had to be from the days this man worked as part of the royal cabinet. Ginger hair and lively green eyes had once gazed upon a camera for that picture.

“It’s a match, holy shoot, it’s a match!”

Leaning even closer to the screen and reaching for the mouse over Brooks, I held back the euphoria bubbling in my stomach, clicking on the other windows to see more information. His files confirmed his years working with the royal family as an adviser. His early resignation did not go unnoticed, but a few clicks later I found what I was searching for.

In a handful of documents, one of them contained his signature. My eyes widen as I read aloud, “Harrison Levi… It’s the same handwriting.” A grin slowly took over my face, “the strokes and loops, the way he strings the letters together.” I turned to Brooks with a wide smile. “It’s him. He wrote the annotations.”

He didn’t move for an instant as if he’d been watching me from the moment I opened my mouth with some sort of fascination. The second passed by fast and he stood up. “Do you know what this means? Clove, we have his address. We can find this guy!”

Running a hand through my hair, I looked back at Brooks, beaming with excitement. “We found him…He’s alive and we know where he lives.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “We even have a party to crash!”

He ran a hand through his hair as well, full of disbelief, in the frenzy of our eureka moment, picking me up, hands on my waist as he swung me around in a thrill. All I could do was chuckle with the same happiness and anticipation. A sense of butterflies in my stomach I finally understood.

Nothing could’ve prepared me for what happened right after, however.

[clove-teasdale]

survival of the fittest

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

A/N: not a challenge but has background, some detective clove and rp~ Sorry for any mistakes in writing or typos, I was done with revisions and probs missed some stuff lol. there are mulan and batman (and slight marvel) references. italics section in the end is past. word count around 3k. enjoy! ft. rp with @maya-edwards  & little wilson

[edit--some slight changes were made/added in the last section]

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

One earbud in, I tapped the pen against my notebook. 6 Twos in the last Selection. Gradually less than our current 10.

I’d found the list of old Selected in a magazine published over two decades ago. I doubted ripping off the page was allowed considering it was from the library, but it wasn’t an actual book so I sneaked it out anyway. The possibility of someone noticing was extremely low after all.

I kept the page folded and clipped in the back cover of my notebook in case I needed it later, but had already made my own version of the list on a fresh page. I wanted to work through it even with other people around, so I knew I had to make it visually confusing. For once my love for complicated plans came in handy. 

The list consisted of name abbreviations. Carmen Zoraya becoming C.Z and so on. Next, to each name, I added caste number and week of elimination. 

C.Z-3-W8.  R.D.J.-2-W12 B.M-5-W3

Getting the information had taken me hours of reading in the library, but I’d managed. I went through different magazines, hidden between some pillars and a bookshelf to avoid being spotted by other girls that frequented the area. Organizing the old issues by their dates had probably been the biggest challenge–sitting on the carpeted floor, my back to the bookshelf and dozens of magazines on my lap.

I focused mostly on reading eliminations to get the crucial information out, but I hoped to go back later in the week to read about the dramas that had ensued during those months. Maybe that would give some extra insight otherwise dismissed when looking only at the bigger picture.

I wasn’t sure why I was still working on this. A gut feeling? Many psychologists debated there was always information and data our right brain was taking in, no matter if our left brain was busy on something else. The body registers the information even when your mind stays unaware. If that were true, what had I noticed besides the already obvious? I couldn’t tell, but it didn’t matter. I had enough spare time to work on it.

Running through the names again, I added strikes under Threes. I was in the eighth strike when I caught a girl approaching from the corner of my eye. She was the embodiment of nervousness, eyes searching the room as she clutched a book to her chest. There was an empty spot next to me, but she hadn’t noticed it yet when Victoria walked behind her. The TV sensation hadn’t even batted an eye in her direction, but the girl with the short afro was startled nonetheless.

The book was soon in the air as she juggled it around in an attempt to catch it. She wasn’t as swift as a coursing river though and it fell to the ground pretty quickly. 

She sighed, shoulders slumping in disappointment. I stared in silence, making sure others hadn’t paid much attention to the event before stating, “I think you dropped something.”

She was startled once more, but this time by my voice, a groan leaving her lips as she realized the spectacle had had an audience. “You saw all that, didn’t you…”

“Does it make it any better if I say no?”

She reached for the book and once standing, nodded a little, a worried frown as she said, “A-actually yes…”

I raised an eyebrow at her fear, unsure of the reason behind it, but settled with an “Okay,” and went back to my notes. I knew the best thing was not to make any further comments.

“Can I, uh- Can I sit here?” She asked after a moment.

I stopped in the middle of adding another strike to the number of Threes and considered the question. Staring at my notes without context made no sense as expected, so I figured it wasn’t a problem. “The seat is open to the public, you may sit.”

Whether she understood my slightly joking tone or not was hard to tell, but she cleared her throat and sat down either way. “Thanks…”

I’d seen her around before. Maya was her name if I remembered correctly. Sometimes she seemed kind of lost. Not like she didn’t know what was happening, but more like she wasn’t sure why she was there or what her plan was. A combination of shy and awkward was very likely.

Easy targets tend to know what they are. Wilson’s face crossed my mind at the thought. I took the single earbud I was wearing off, then went back to counting Threes. “No need to thank me. You didn’t need my permission to sit there.”

“Uh, well…Maybe you didn’t want company or- maybe it was taken?”

“Whether I want company or not should not scare you away from taking a seat that is there to be used by you.”

She frowned, considering my words. “I suppose not?” A moment of silence. “Sorry?”

I paused my count. So one of those people. Looking up, I raised an eyebrow at her. “Why sorry?”

Her own logic caught up with mine as she stuttered, “Uh-well- I don’t know…” 

Trying to run away from embarrassment, she quickly opened her book and pretended to read. Too bad she wasn’t good at pretending. 

I smirked down at my notes and said, “I see you have the ability of reading upside down.”

Her blush was unmistakable as she closed her eyes, realizing she was holding the book incorrectly. She tried to fix it, turning it over quickly. “No-Yes, yes, very entertaining, I can tell you.” She cleared her throat at the end and my smirk didn’t leave.

“Mhmm, I bet so. What did you think about the love interest killing his sister?”

“It really uh, turned the story ‘upside down’…”

I snorted at the pun. “Of course… you do realize that doesn’t happen though?” Taking the book from her and reading the page at the bottom I pointed out, “Page 56. The love interest isn’t introduced yet.” Also, there was no sister. Closing the book, I handed it back with a smug smile. Her smile in return was awkward.

“Well, it was worth a try? Sor– I mean, eh the book is nice then? Haven’t read it yet.”

“I figured as much, but yes, it’s a decent one. What made you pick it up?”

“I dropped it? So… Then I picked it up again?” She frowned and a head tilt followed. I frowned too, not getting what she was talking about at first, but then laughing at the mistake.

Once she realized what I meant she was quick to explain she hoped to get some knowledge on palace rules and etiquette considering the setting of the book. In theory, it sounded like something good, but it wasn’t going to be enough and she actually had access to books about the subject in the library. I suggested those for later. She pointed out they were boring in a small voice and I couldn’t disagree. I did tell her a novel wouldn’t help much, however.

“I know, I know…” She pouted, but soon curiosity took over her features. “What are you doing though?”

I stared at my barely understandable handwriting. I had the potential to make it neat if I bothered to try, but half the time I didn’t and especially not now. “A… personal project I guess.” I shrugged it off as I closed the notebook. “Nothing too important.”

“O-of course! I didn’t mean to uh–…” She vaguely gestured with her hands in the air when I waited for her to continue. “You know, to be rude.”

“It’s alright, not that big a deal, just something I don’t think I’d be able to explain.“ A partial lie. I didn’t want to start havoc just because I’d run a couple of numbers that could technically still be coincidental. Thankfully, I usually pulled off keeping things to myself pretty well. “You’re Maya, right?”

“Yes! And you’re Clove.” She smiled, taking another second to remember to offer a hand for me to shake. 

I nodded at the name and accepted the handshake. It wasn’t a soft grip, but slightly wary. She could use a little confidence. “You know, you shouldn’t be so frightened by them. They won’t bite you.”

I hadn’t mentioned Victoria’s name, but she got what I meant, biting her lip and trying to joke to dismiss my comment. I wasn’t too impressed. “I mean it.” I opened my notebook, this time on a random page, and started doodling a spiral pattern out of habit. “They seem like they’ll hurt you but if anyone was that mean sabotage would already be happening.  Worse case scenario maybe one of them is that petty, but you’d have to piss them off for real to worry about it.”

Maya nodded. “It sounds logical… Thanks anyway.”

That smile was more convincing than the previously given, even if she changed the subject after it. 

It took a few seconds for Wilson to stop laughing. “Oh wait, you’re serious?”

Even if he couldn’t see it through the call, I rolled my eyes at him. “You talk as if I can’t make friends.”

“Well, I mean… you can, but you hate them most of the time.”

That got a snort from me. “I don’t hate them. I just don’t trust their intentions.”

“Same difference. Clove Teasdale doesn’t make friends.”

That was a partial truth. I had various friend groups during high school and middle school, but none of them stuck with me. I was that person people wanted to be friends with, but not for any good reasons. It was because we fitted or because it was expected. Other times it was just convenient. Sometimes I wondered if maybe it was me though. Maybe I didn’t know how to be a good friend. That or I had really bad luck.

People at Mt. Rainer High School always seemed to strike some drama no matter what the clique. More often than not, about something I couldn’t understand, but whenever I gave suggestions to make things less complicated I was ignored, an annoyance, or horrible for not supporting a side.

When groups fractured I took a step back. Better alone than in a mess. Wilson had never understood why I’d give it all up and move on so fast, but I didn’t blame him. He knew that it was a smart choice to avoid drama, yet wished he could have that choice himself. He didn’t. He wasn’t really liked around school and therefore had only one friend...Which wasn't that different from me except I could pretend more.

Students liked to say it was because he was kind of a nerd. He knew as much as I did that it was because of his previous Caste though, even if no one would admit so. It was kinda dumb. As dumb as the caste system itself–trying to set a number with the life you’ll get–forcing a talented artist to become a teacher and a physics genius to be Picasso.

Not everyone could pull off a Da Vinci and be good at whatever they were put in. Many people failed because of that. Others were like Wilson’s mother, giving up the life she was born in for a life as a Three with whom she fell in love with. That left Wilson as nothing but a Two by chance. Terrible, dreadful chance that he never even asked for and would probably give up to get his parents back.

I leaned against my chair and got back to our conversation. “Statistically speaking, most people that stay friends are from college so…”

He pretended to be offended. “Ouch.”

”You’re decent enough. But as I was saying, I’ll try to befriend some of the girls. This isn’t school.”

“Hmm, you’re right. Everyone here sucks.”

“Even Graciela?” I teased, remembering the name I’d gotten out of him a few days ago. He scoffed back at me.

“No, she hasn’t been corrupted yet.”

“Now you just have to actually talk to her.”

He laughed for the second time. I was silent. “Oh, you’re serious again.”

I shook my head. “You’re a lost cause, kid.”

It was the middle of freshman year when we met for the first time.

I was placing books in my backpack, my head making a list of the homework for the next day when Cooper pushed him into a set of lockers feet away. I turned my head in the direction of who would one day be the future varsity quarterback as he took care of the new wimpy kid. 

Cooper wasn’t really original, trying as hard as possible to go for the popular-jock-bully stereotype as soon as the school year started. Intimidating middle schoolers and stealing lunch money he didn’t even need. It was hard to ignore sometimes, but I did.

Pressing my lips together, I watched as he stepped away to laugh at the boy, inciting his two friends to join him on whatever joke he’d made. Obviously, they did. Cooper’s father was a high ranking officer in the military. He had everything he needed to be on a high pedestal in school one day, which was annoying. 

I was on the list of few who ever stood up to him since we’d once been friends. That is before he filled his head with air. The brief moment I got to look at his new prey was enough to recognize the black haired kid holding tightly onto the strap of his backpack with a clenched jaw. 

His eyes darted from Cooper to the floor around him, head hidden between his shoulders. I’d seen that face in a million pictures around Mrs. Grayson’s house after my chess classes with her. It was her grandson, the one she always referred to as little robin. Apparently, the kid ran around saying “holy cows, Batman” more than he should when he was seven.

She told my parents he would move in with her soon, being the legal guardian his parents’ had asked for. “Car accident,” she’d mentioned. I had already spotted him in our algebra class a few times that week. He seemed advanced enough to take it before high school which only made him a bigger target.

Cooper nudged him, “Come on, that was hilarious.” Little Robin didn’t seem to have the same spirit Mrs. Grayson always talked about now and only gulped, averting his gaze. Cooper didn’t leave him though. “Cat got your tongue or something? I’ve never heard you say anything in class.” He towered over him, making him press his back even closer to the lockers.

I narrowed my eyes at them and walked over. I hadn’t precisely told Mrs. Grayson I would keep an eye out for him, but I felt like I needed to on her behalf. Sometimes she’d served as a babysitter of sorts when my parents traveled together. She was good to me. 

I elbowed Cooper’s friends out of the way and they gave angry glares until they recognized me. They decided to step away instead so I stood behind Cooper and tapped his shoulder.

“What-” he paused mid-sentence as he turned around, eyes locking on me, annoyed for the split second he realized I wasn’t one of his friends. Jaw clenched, he stood up straighter and then mumbled my name between a gritted-teeth smile. “Anything I can help you with?”

“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, flatly.

He offered a charming smile. “Oh, just asking the genius for some tutoring classes. You know how bad I’m at Algebra. I thought I might as well ask him to teach me some stuff. Right George?” He elbowed the kid for a sign of confirmation.

I was pretty sure his name wasn’t George, yet Little Robin didn’t correct him either as he spared me a glance himself. There was a pause long enough to tell Cooper was lying. And though I knew that much already, in the end, the boy thought it was wiser to agree halfheartedly to the lie. Survival of the fittest. He wouldn’t disagree after Cooper established himself as an authority so firmly.

I remained silent, thinking of how to turn the situation around. The kid was new, he didn’t know what to do. It was like a game of poker. Bluff even if you don’t have the upper hand.

“He can’t tutor you,” I stated, earning a confused frown from both.

“And why is that?” Cooper crossed his arms, puffing out his chest. Good thing this wasn’t a matter of physical strength, and if it were, a strategy could give leverage either way.

“Because I asked him to tutor me already.” My turn to lie.

The boy blinked, trying to read between the lines of our conversation while Cooper narrowed his eyes at me. “I didn’t think you needed help with math, Clove.”

“Well, I do, and he promised to help me out.” I looked at the boy. “Right kid?”

Again he only blinked. 

Your turn to join the game Robin, don’t disappoint. It took him another second, but his eyes lit up with understanding and he stood up straighter. “Yeah, I um…I did.” 

Cooper glared at him and the kid broke eye contact, however, didn’t slump against the lockers anymore. Then the glowering was at me. 

I only raised my eyebrows in response, inciting a move from Cooper. His lip twitched, jaw set as I stared up at him. He knew better than to make a scene. I’d tied his hands. He couldn’t force Wilson to tutor him if I claimed he’d agreed to tutor me first. Bringing in a teacher to ‘settle the situation’ was possible if I wanted too. There was no way for him to win.

Knowing how to pick his battles, he turned around to leave but I stopped him. “Wait.”

“What?” he groaned.

I crossed my arms. “Did you take any money from him?”

His eyes flashed as he swiveled around. I waited. He let out a breath through his nose before placing a grin on his face to hide unwillingness. If there was something Cooper hated was letting others know someone had been able to push his buttons.

He turned to the boy, taking a few bills out of his pocket, and forced his voice to sound friendly. “Hey, thanks for lending me the money kid, but turns out I might not need it anymore.” 

The boy stared at the money like it was on fire, but accepted its returns when he noticed my head gesture and the jock’s angry gaze. 

“Happy now,” Cooper muttered afterward. I shrugged and he stormed off as soon as he could, followed by the other two jerks. Once they were gone I looked back at him.

“You okay?”

His head snapped back in my direction. “What just..”

I didn’t let him finish the question and simply announced, “He lost the game.” 

His mouth opened to reply. Nothing came out and I glanced at my watch. If I didn’t get moving I’d have no chance to eat. “Stay out of his way and you’ll be fine.”

“Um… y-yeah, alright. Thanks.”

I nodded. “Clove Teasdale.”

“Geordi Wilson.”

George would have been better… I sized him up. His uniform was in pristine form: shirt tucked in, vest ironed to perfection, hair combed neatly and shoes as shiny as they could be. Not bad by any means, but definitely like he was trying too hard. He would need some help to survive around here.

I turned around to leave. “Stick with Wilson, kid.”