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anonniemousefics · 4 years

Note

Hello! I absolutely adore your writing, especially your writings of kanej! Anyway, I would love to see you write something about jealousy from either kaz or inej, I just think it would be interesting to see your take on it! Obviously you don’t have to, I love your work! You’re a great writer!

❤️ Thank you so much!! This was so sweet to receive, and I’m so sorry it’s taken me so long to get this to you! So, hopefully you’re cool with this, but I decided to apply this idea in a modern AU because I have another request I’m also working on for a modern AU and this felt like an opportunity for some more practice. 😊 (And it just made it more fun for me -- idk, my brain just needed to do something new with these characters to make this work.)

Samples - Modern AU

Fandom: Six of Crows | Kaz + Inej (ft. all the other Crows)

Word Count: 3,545

Rating: Teen And Up (Language)

“Who did this?”

All of Kaz’s friends were doubling over in laughter around the round hand-me-down table in Kaz and Jesper’s apartment. There were black and white Cards Against Humanity prompts spread across its surface – the most offensive combination of which had Inej, well, and everyone else, in fits.

What made my first kiss so awkward? had been the prompt Inej had drawn.

To which Kaz had submitted the following, randomly-selected card for her consideration – Announcing that I am about to cum. And then kept his poker face locked in place.

“Who did this?” Inej was demanding again, clutching her stomach.

Kaz wasn’t sure why he was hesitating -- something strange was happening while all of this was playing out. Nina had one hand on Inej’s arm while she was fairly screeching with laughter. Inej was slumping against Jesper, like the laugh was shaking her boneless. In fact, everywhere he looked, he was noticing how they were each exchanging these casual, unconscious touches in the midst of their mirth – Matthias turning his face against Nina’s shoulder, Wylan slapping Jesper’s shoulder.

No one was touching Kaz, though – which, that was good, though, right? That was because they were his friends, and they were thoughtful, and they knew all about The Very Sad Thing that had made him the way that he was.

And yet --

Kaz couldn’t find it in himself to laugh. He should be laughing, though, he realized. A normal person would be laughing, given the infectious nature of laughter. And also it was genuinely a really funny card – that’s why he’d played it. But all he could do was force a smile, and that was it.

He suddenly felt like an alien among them.

“Was it you?!” Inej was exclaiming, waving the card at him. Kaz designed what he hoped was a coy smirk for her.

“Are you saying that’s your favorite?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“It was you.” Inej looked appalled, which only made everyone around the table hoot louder. Kaz was still smirking as she threw his winning card back at him with a mischievous, red-faced grin on her face.

“Oh, my God, Brekker.” Nina was wiping the tears off her apple-red cheeks.

“Why does that make it so much worse?” Matthias wondered, since he evidently could never not take a jab at Kaz. He scrubbed his eyes like he needed to wash them out.

And still not a single laugh out of Kaz’s body – this was disturbing. How long had he been this way? And why did he care so much all of a sudden?

“Guys, I’m pretty sure he won,” Wylan was saying, pointing at Kaz’s stack of wins. Had he? Everyone turned to count their cards.

Jesus Christ, he hadn’t even been paying attention to winning? But Kaz loved winning. It was the only reason he tolerated his roommate hosting these raucous game nights – because it meant Kaz could win things. And usually a lot of things. It was especially choice winning things off of Matthias Helvar, Nina’s latest lughead boyfriend she’d met at the gym, who now had to be invited to everything even though he sucked. He was always cuddling close to Nina, putting his arm around her, whispering gross things in her ear that made her giggle insufferably. It was so fucking uncomfortable.

Kaz never acted that way around Inej, and they’d been together for years. Sort of. Not always officially. It really had only been officially lately, but Kaz had always told himself he wasn’t one to need to put labels on things. Inej knewhow he felt – he knew this. (Did he, though?) He definitely knew this. (No, he didn’t.) There was no need to be like Matthias fucking Helvar and canoodle her in front of everyone on game night.

Oh, God. Kaz was suddenly having a realization, right there in the middle of counting his cards.

Oh, God.

He was jealous of Matthias Helvar.

Oh, this sucked.

This really fucking sucked. Kaz thought no one in their right mind should ever be jealous of that big dumb fuck, with his protein shakes and his weirdly popular fitspo Instagram page. The guy looked like he ate nothing but wild-caught salmon and organic broccoli. He wasn’t funny, and he’d say weirdly spiritual shit at socially unacceptable times. He probably spent his weekends doing annoying, on-brand fuckery like being one with nature and brewing his own kombucha, that asshole.

And this was the guy who felt comfortable enough to kiss a girl’s ear in a total stranger’s apartment. (Well, not a total stranger, Kaz would relinquish that – Nina had been dating Matthias for three months.) Matthias Helvar was doing all that nothing with his life, and he wasn’t the least bit self-conscious.

Ugh. Kaz hated that guy. Worse! Kaz wanted to be that guy. Minus the kombucha and the religious stuff. And the gym membership. And probably the protein shakes.

Ok, fine, Kaz was only interested in the PDA. This was so fucking awful.

“What number were we playing to?” he heard himself ask. He wasn’t even paying attention to card counting. He was going to have to start again.

“Can’t count that high, Brekker?” Matthias asked, smirking, and there was always something Kaz took as halfway serious in the way he tried to joke.

“Die in a fire, Helvar,” he said, with a smile that was as good as a middle finger.

“And on that note!” Nina sung out, standing with a hand on Matthias’ shoulder. “It’s almost midnight. I have an eight a.m. class. We gotta call it a night.”

“Matthias drove us,” Inej explained to Kaz’s questioning look at the word “We.”

Inej and Nina were roommates, too, like Kaz and Jesper, but the two girls lived on campus in the dorms at Ketterdam University, where all but Matthias attended. (Fucking Matthias, who was a personal trainer and got money from wellness companies to tout their shit on his Instagram. Ugh.) Wylan, Jesper’s boyfriend, was also living in the dorms this year, after spending his freshmen year commuting from his dad’s enormous house. Wylan had been the one with the car before Kaz had finally scraped together the money for one, but his dad had cut him off over the summer. Kaz didn’t know much about that beyond what little Jesper had told him, which, in summary, was: goodbye, car; hello, dorm life.

“You should have said something – I could have picked you all up,” Kaz said, mostly to Inej, as the others were standing from the table.

Nina reached a tentative hand out to gently touch his shoulder, well-protected by the fabric of his black v-neck.

“Kaz,” she said, gingerly, “we love you, but Matthias has functioning air conditioning.”

Kaz slid his glance toward Inej, who gave a little confirming nod, pressing back her amused smile.

“My thighs don’t stick to the seats in his car,” she explained, softly, which may as well have been a knife to the gut. He loved driving her around in his car. And, to top it off, she was in a pair of really adorable denim cut offs, her legs deeply tan from the summer sun, and he hadn’t even had the nerve to try to touch her exposed knee all night. (Meanwhile, Hands-On Helvar over here had been sitting with his palm all over Nina’s plentiful thighs all night. God, he was so gross. Couldn’t Kaz be just a little bit gross?)

“Are you okay?” Inej was asking. She was stepping a little closer to him away from where everyone else was putting on shoes, preparing to leave. She had her arms wrapped around herself and her loose, purple crop-top, and her long, dark braid was pulled over her shoulder – just mercilessly cute all over. And he hadn’t touched her all night.

“I’m fine,” he replied, but he kept his hands in his jeans pockets. Inej’s dark brows knit together.

“You’d tell me if you weren’t?” she checked. Kaz huffed a laugh – how was he supposed to answer that? Realistically, he should lie.

“Probably not,” he admitted anyway, and gave a shrug. Inej opened her mouth to reply, but Nina called to her from the doorway of the apartment.

“Sorry! Eight a.m. class! She’s going to text you from the car anyway!” Nina was shouting.

“She’s not wrong,” Inej shrugged with a smile. And reached out to barely brush her hand against his spine, like the first attempt at a hug. But Kaz could only bunch up his shoulders, hands stuffed deeper into his pockets. Why was he like this?

There were a few more awkward goodbyes at the doorway, including Matthias’ one-more last-minute sales pitch on the recent CBD-infused green powder drink he was hawking online. (“I’ll bring you some samples next week. They say it’s excellent for chronic pain.” Kaz had flipped him off when his back was turned.)

But then, once they’d all gone and the apartment was quiet, Kaz felt like he was rolling in regret.

“You doing ok?” Jesper asked him, gathering up the empty Solo cups for the trash. Jesper was a really good roommate. They’d been randomly assigned the same dorm room at the beginning of freshmen year, and it just worked. Jesper’s high energy plus Kaz’s insomnia were meant to be. They liked all the same things: strong coffee, getting paid dirty money to write other people’s papers for them, and occasionally clearing the mind by playing Call of Duty all night. They’d moved off campus the following year (a better move for the plagiarism operation), never even really having a conversation about whether or not to room with someone else. It was not even a question, and who else would Kaz even want to room with?

“You’ve seemed off all night,” Jesper was pointing out, and if Kaz had half a brain, he knew he should have been asking Jesper for advice about PDA long before it had reached envying-Matthias-Helvar-levels. Jesper and Wylan were normal in public. When they held hands or hugged or traded kisses, it wasn’t some fucking scene.

But how was he even supposed to bring this up to Jesper?

“Helvar’s such a dillweed,” was all he could find to complain. Jesper snorted.

“He is not that bad,” he said, dumping a stack of Solo cups into the trash.

“He’s the literal worst,” Kaz objected. “I can’t believe he unironically called himself an influencer.” And at that, Jesper pretended to barf into the trashcan.

“Yeah, no, you’re right – that was dumb,” he said. “I commend you for not cutting off your own ears when he did.”

“We are not buying his stupid fucking green juice,” Kaz said, pointing at Jesper to show he meant business.

“Good!” Jesper agreed. “Nina says it gives him the shits.”

And that brought Kaz some comfort. He found he could smirk about it while he loaded up the dishwasher. He was starting it up when his phone buzzed on the counter. He leaned over to read it.

Inej: You seemed sad tonight.

Inej’s contact photo in his phone was one he’d snapped when she wasn’t looking – she was leaning her head back with her eyes closed, taking in the sunshine. It had made her brown skin glimmer and dazzle.

Kaz stared at her text for probably too long. Long enough for Jesper to peer around the corner of the kitchen doorway at him.

“I’m going to bed – everything okay?” he said, and cocked his head. “Is it another last minute job?” Those kinds of jobs – the ones where a student was giving up the night before something massive was due – paid the most, but for good reason. They were absolutely fucking miserable to pull off.

“No,” Kaz shook his head. “Just Inej.”

It was never “just Inej” – and Jesper nodded like he knew that.

“Hey, Kaz,” he said, as he began to leave for his bedroom. Kaz looked up at him sidelong as he mouthed, barely audible: “Tell her what’s wrong.”

“Thank you, Dr. Phil.” Kaz rolled his eyes. And heaved a heavy sigh.

And started typing.

Kaz: I guess I was a little.

Whoa, pressing send on that was unpleasant. He wandered over to his preferred recliner in the living room and flopped back in it. Shoved the footrest up to elevate his bad leg. Ugh. Just ugh to everything and everyone. He looked down at his phone again.

And Inej had been quick to respond.

Inej: You can tell me these things, you know.

Inej: I know I won’t always have the right thing to say, but I want to be there for you.

Inej. Why are you being so perfect so far away?

Why are you wasting your time with a boyfriend who struggles to touch you?

Inej: Are you writing a novel?

He’d been writing and rewriting the same sentence twenty different times. She’d probably been looking at those ominous three bobbing dots for way too long.

Ugh. God. Fine. Kaz drew in a long deep breath, staring up at the ceiling like it could intervene and come to his aid. And then fucking wrote.

Kaz: I wish things were different

Kaz: I wish I wasn’t so fucked

Kaz: I wish I knew how to be a better boyfriend – how to make you blush and laugh and make that one smile that’s like you’re telling secrets with your eyes

He pushed the recliner back as far as it would go. Maybe it would tip and dump him on his head and he’d have to go to the hospital, and that would at least delay Inej inevitably breaking up with him for being this pathetic wet blanket. The phone buzzed again, and he almost didn’t want to look.

Inej: Um, where were you all night? You literally had me doing all those things all night

Huh. That wasn’t how he remembered it.

Kaz: On the opposite side of the table from you

Kaz: Watching basically everyone else be able to touch you but me

Oh, fuck, oh, fuck, oh, fuck. That sounded so petulant, and he’d already pressed send. That sounded so needy and disgusting. Who said that kind of shit? Not even Matthias Helvar said that kind of shit. He wanted to throw his phone across the room. No, out the window. No, out into the sea.

Now he was on the receiving end of the three bobbing dots of doom. Fuuuuck.

Kaz: Can we just forget I said that?

More dots. Then nothing.

Then dots.

Inej: I don’t know. You’re kind of cute when you’re jealous.

At that, Kaz raised his eyebrows.

Kaz: I am not jealous.

Inej: You’re a little jealous

Kaz: No, I feel insufficient.

(Oooof. That was like trying to throw an anvil. Painful.)

Inej: Oh

Kaz was watching the texts come in from beneath his arm now, holding the phone high over his head. Like watching the slasher scenes in a horror movie.

Inej: I mean

Inej: It seems like you’re just splitting hairs here

Inej: Since you must think others are sufficient in ways you are not, so you envy them

…

Kaz: Touche, Ghafa.

And he couldn’t help smiling to himself when Inej sent him a gif of a swashbuckling cartoon Robin Hood brandishing a sword. Then another text bubble appeared.

Inej: You are not insufficient to me, Kaz.

He really wanted to believe that.

Kaz: Even if I’m not hanging all over you and amassing a truly staggering number of Instagram followers with my six-pack abs?

Inej: O.M.G.

Inej: Kaz

Inej: Brekker

Oh, God, what had he done?

Inej: Are you *jealous* of Matthias?

Uggghh, he was going to be sick.

Kaz: Fuck no

Kaz: It was just a hypothetical

Kaz: It was an exaggeration

Kaz: I could do the same thing with any one of our friends

Kaz: And we all know the abs are photoshopped anyway

Inej: OMG

Kaz: What now

Inej: You called Matthias our friend

Kaz wanted to stab himself in the brain.

Inej: I’m gonna tell him

Kaz: Don’t you fucking dare

Inej: I already did

Kaz: What? How? How are you that fast?

Inej: Still in the car

Kaz: ????

There was no reason for that – the dorms were hardly a 10-minute drive. Now Kaz’s brain was assaulting him with a thousand reasons things his girlfriend could still be doing in a car (A nice car! With working air conditioning!) with a personal trainer/amateur Instagram model, and none of them were pleasant or welcome thoughts. The phone buzzed again.

Inej: I asked him to bring me back to you. :)

At that, Kaz straightened the recliner, rising to his feet as fast as his stiff leg would allow.

Kaz: You did? And he did? Why?

He was limping toward the front door.

Inej: Because he’s not terrible, Kaz. And because I guess I missed your car after all ;)

Jesper and Kaz’s apartment was the third floor of a wonky old Victorian home that had once been something grand and only recently had been split into three different abodes – which was definitely the worst decision the two of them had made as roommates. Kaz was leaning hard against the railing as he took to the steps when the front door of the building banged shut below. And then there on the landing below was Inej, wearing a sheepish smile in the yellow, buzzing fluorescence of the hall light. She was holding her phone in one hand, her tan leather purse slung across her slim body.

“I thought you looked like you could use a hug,” she said, as she pocketed her phone.

Kaz took the last two stairs carefully, coming to stand in front of her. She smelled like vanilla and coconut oil – like something he wanted to wake up to every morning.

“You came all the way back for a hug,” he wanted to clarify. His hands – he should do something with his hands. What would Matthias do with his hands?

No. What do I want to do with my hands?

So, he looped a couple fingers through her belt loops. Tugged her a little closer. And she smiled.

“Technically,” she said, “Matthias came all the way back so I could bring you some samples.” She patted her purse, which did look a little bulkier. “They were in his car the whole time.”

“Mmmm.” He pretended to look tantalized. “Hot car samples. Delicious.”

Inej was twisting her fingers in the t-shirt fabric at the crest of his hips. Tugging him a little closer, too. God, it was so good. She’d been so right. He had wanted a hug.

“I know that’s how I want my protein powder,” she teased. “Piping hot, right out of the oven.”

“Just how Ma used to make it,” Kaz added, with a good bit of feigned nostalgia. Inej blurted out a laugh, tipping forward until her forehead bumped his sternum.

At that first brush, it was like his hands knew what to do from there. They slipped around her waist while her hands slid around his. And she pressed her cheek against his chest while he held her close.

“You are not insufficient,” Inej said against him.

“I would really like to pretend that never happened,” he said with a sigh, resting his chin on top of her head.

“Too late,” she hummed, happily, and gave him a light squeeze. He smiled against her hair.

“You know I wouldn’t want you to be like Matthias, right?” she asked.

“You shouldn’t even want Matthias to be like Matthias,” Kaz grumbled.

“Hey,” and Inej pulled back to look up at him with her big, soft brown eyes. “I mean it. I just want you to be you. I don’t want all the handsy stuff. That’s what Nina likes. I just like you.”

Kaz carefully pushed back a few strands of her hair from her forehead.

“Not even a little handsy stuff?” he checked, which made Inej give her coy little smirk, his very favorite.

“Maybe a little handsy stuff,” she said.

If there were ever going to be a time to kiss her, it would be now. But when he thought it, Kaz felt his heart make an enormous leap into his throat, seizing in panic. If he touched her mouth with his, if he closed his eyes and felt her face so close to his, would he just end up floundering in The Very Sad Thing again? What if it happened while he was kissing her? Would every kiss after that be tainted? Could he risk it – could he ever?

So, he didn’t move to meet her lips. He let his hands fall to the small of her back, though, and kept her close for another moment. Like a sample of physical affection, and she seemed okay with that. He would will himself to believe it was not insufficient.

“Drive me home?” she asked after a moment, with a kind of sweet, eager anticipation that made Kaz believe in magic. He nodded, of course.

“I’ll go up and get my keys,” he said. “And you throw away those samples.”

Inej laughed, following him up.

“Deal,” she said.

-----------------------------------

Tagging: @annejulianneh111, @loveyatopluto, @ireallyshouldsleeprn, @whosanxiety, @raging-bisexual-alert,

#kanej #kanej fanfic #soc fanfic #six of crows #crooked kingdom #grishaverse #leigh bardugo #modern au #kaz brekker #inej ghafa #jesper fahey #wylan van eck #matthias helvar #nina zenik #look so im not a matthias fan #dont come for me #i just want to make fun of him because he's a big doofus

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evalinkatrineberg · 4 years

Text

A Harmless Prank

A/N: This is about a little fun Evalin and @idaliamoretti had the morning after Idalia’s date, and before the Bourbon story. @wylan-caldwell @safiya-schreave and @arin-schreave are also there. I reccommend reading this after you’ve read the amazing date fic Ester wrote!!

I had been on the phone with June when Christina came in with the news. Out of all of my maids, she was the most prone to gossip, but her information almost always turned out to be accurate. I had come to the conclusion that her slight frame gave her the advantage of people either not noticing her, or believing that someone as non-threatening in appearance would never spread their conversations.

I had skipped breakfast that morning, coming back from my run late enough that I decided it wasn’t worth it to rush myself to get there on time. Instead, I was lounging on my bed, dressed in a pair of flowy black pants and a light blue button up blouse as Julia and Grace bustled around the room, interjecting into June and I’s conversation every now and then with their opinions and knowledge.

“Right, so my mother wants me to apologize, just in case I got blood on his seats,” I explained to June.

“She wants you to apologize? Seriously?” June’s tone was so shocked I could envision the exact way her jaw was hitting the floor at that moment.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “I don’t think Lydia agrees, though, seeing as she sent me a care package that I’m almost entirely positive contains a bottle of tequila.”

June let out a low whistle, just as Christina entered my room, shutting the door behind her.

“So,” Christina began, her voice sing-songy as she carried some new towels into the bathroom. “Guess what I just heard?”

“What?” I asked, my eyes immediately darting to her. Further in the room, Julia and Grace had stopped their work, looking over their shoulders at the third member of their group.

“I just can’t believe your mother thinks you should apologize to him, and not the other way around!” June yelled through the phone. Crap, she must’ve thought I was talking to her. I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks.

At the same time, Christina answered, “Lady Idalia had her first date with Prince Arin yesterday.”

My eyes went wide. “June, can I call you back later? I have to check in on a friend of mine.”

“Ah, His Unholy Royal Pain-in-the-Ass has caught another victim?” She sighed through the phone. “Send her my well wishes. I’ll talk to you again soon, anyway.”

“You’re the best!”

“You know it,” she replied before hanging up.

Putting down my phone, I walked over to my desk, opening the top drawer and digging around for a pen and some spare paper. Upon finding it, I scribbled a quick note, clicking my pen against my desk and putting it back in the drawer once I had finished. One look had Christina walking over to deliver the note, which read,

Dearest Idalia,

I’ll be at your door in fifteen minutes unless you tell me otherwise.

Sincerely,

Evalin

Once Christina had left, I began to make myself more presentable, smoothing out my hair and straightening out my clothes. I cast a glance at the care package my sister had sent me out of the corner of my eye. It had been sitting by the side of my dresser since it had arrived, next to the package that my mother had informed contained, “a gift of apology,” for the prince. I hadn’t had the heart to open my either package yet, though I had a good guess as to what was in my sister’s at least. If I was going to cheer up Idalia, which, if her date had gone anything like mine - though I hoped it hadn’t - I would be, maybe it would be a good idea to bring the package with me.

As I deliberated, Christina returned, bearing a reply from Idalia that read,

Why wait 15 mins?

You could die before then

- i.m

I smiled at that. Leave it to Idalia to add a dramatic flair to the entire situation. It seemed like she was in good enough spirits, then, at least. That was a good sign. Maybe Arin just had an issue with me, after all. Holding on to the hope that Idalia had had a happier experience, I grabbed my sister’s package, shifting it around in my hands until I felt comfortable that I had a good grip on it. With that, I was out the door, walking the few meters to Idalia’s door, which I knocked sharply on three times.

One of Idalia’s maids opened up the door, a bright smile gracing her face as she gestured for me to enter, offering help with the package. I accepted, offering her a relieved smile and a, “Thank you,” as she took the box out of my arms.

My attention turned to Idalia then, who was seated at her desk. At first glance it looked like she was still in her pajamas, but upon further inspection, it was apparent that the clothes she was wearing showed no signs of actually being slept in. On her bed, there was remnants of what appeared to be a breakfast that had been brought to her room. I narrowed my eyes at that, wondering if she had purposefully avoided the meal. Why would she do that?

Idalia spun around to face me then. “What brings you to my not-very-humble dwellings?

“I heard you had your date with Arin yesterday. I thought you might enjoy some of what my sister sent me in a care package after mine.” I winced, laughing a little nervously. What if I was reading the situation wrong? Maybe her date had gone great, and she’d think I was insane. I couldn’t decide whether or not that was a preferable scenario. It’d certainly mean happier things for her, but I didn’t want anything like that to put a dent in our budding friendship.

Idalia raised an eyebrow, a look of amusement flashing across her face. “Rumors fly here, don’t they?” She wasn’t wrong there. “When was yours?”

“A few days ago. It was…” I trailed off, grimacing at the memory of the date as I tried to find the right words to describe it, “something. Let’s just say I hope yours went better than mine, but in case it didn’t, we have whatever my sister sent to cheer us up!”

She gave me a smile that was somewhere between upset and sympathetic, and immediately my heart fell. Idalia didn’t say anything as she cleared her desk, though. Not until she turned back to the box, which her maid had placed on the very corner of her desk. “Let’s see what’s in that box first.”

I tried to smile in return, but I was positive it looked more nervous than I had intended it to. “Sure!” It was a start. “If I know my sister at all, there’s definitely some rom-coms and face masks, and maybe a bottle of tequila and some lemon tarts, too.” I made my way over to the desk, standing beside Idalia’s chair.

Idalia raised both eyebrows at me, flashing a more genuine smile at me this time. “Tequila?”

I mean, it was a little early in the morning to be drinking, for my taste, but if that was what she wanted, what were friends for? I laughed, wiggling my eyebrows back at her. “My drug of choice, but of course.” With that, I began to undo the ribbon that was tied in a bow around the box.

Idalia shot me another look, a little more perplexed this time, but then chuckled, watching intently as I began pulling out the items it contained. As I suspected, everything I had mentioned to her before was in there, along with some nail polish. As I reached the bottom of the box, Idalia commented, “It sounds like your sister doesn’t think you had a good date at all.”

I stopped what I was doing, the last bottle of nail polish still in my hand as I met Idalia’s gaze, shaking my head. “That’s because I called my sister after I got back from the date. It went from bad, to worse, to mortifying.” With that, I withdrew the last bottle of nail polish, along with a little card from my sister.

Evalin,

Hope this serves as an effective method of ridding yourself of some Royal Negativity :)

~ Lydia

I smiled at that, placing the card back in the box before looking back at Idalia, who was smiling as well. She picked up a nail polish before saying, “Well, if it’s any comfort, I have a feeling most girls will come back with similar stories.” She shook her head. “I almost can’t believe it.”

I felt my eyes go wide as I nodded in return. “Right? I mean, sure, our interview was formal, so I wasn’t sure what to expect on our date, but I certainly hadn’t dreamed of him being so downright rude. It’s like…” I trailed off again, shaking my head before furrowing my brows and looking upwards. “It’s like there’s a good person buried somewhere inside him, but he’s purposefully trying to cover that up and be a prick.” I considered divulging more details about my date, but decided against it, not wanting to upset Idalia, if her date was all bad. From her reaction alone, I had no clue as to how it had gone.

She simply opened one of the nail polishes, examining the color closely. “Or he’s a prick that wants to also be nice.”

“Is there a difference?” I smirked, laughing a little.

“Oh yes, of course. Your option is trying to be edgy, my option just feels guilty,” she explained.

I frowned, taking a seat on the edge of her bed. “What do you mean?” Why would she feel guilty?

She began to polish her nails, leaning back in her desk chair. “If he has a good person buried inside, like you say, it’s still…” she trailed off for a moment, analyzing the polish before continuing, “not much better since I wouldn’t know how to take that besides a sign he is immature - which is hefty from a twenty-three-year-old that went and got engaged a couple of months ago - but a prick that wants to be nice -” she pressed her lips together, narrowing her eyes at the nail she had just polished before taking a deep breath and beginning to polish the next nail “- that’s a guy that just tries to do good things because his guilt eats him up. There’s a difference between not wanting to hurt people and only caring once you’ve hurt them.”

Somehow, her explanation left me more confused than I had been before. It was all far too theoretical for my liking. “He didn’t even hurt me though,” I mumbled.

Shit. Did I say that out loud?

I shook my head, trying to cover up the mistake I had just made. “Sorry - thinking out loud. I get what you mean, though.” Lying to her made me feel immensely guilty, but I didn’t know how to politely explain to her that I still didn’t see a difference.

I looked up again to see her watching me closely, nodding slowly. “That’s alright,” she assured me with a smile. “What happened on your date, then?”

Ah, so it was time for this conversation, then.

I sighed. “We argued, teased each other, he fell on his ass, I got a nosebleed.” I waved my hands through the air dismissively before getting up and pulling out one of the lemon tarts, careful to keep it on the napkin, so as not to get crumbs all over Idalia’s room. “You know, the usual. What about you?”

“Wait, hold up -” she blinked twice “- nosebleed?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I used to get them somewhat frequently when I was a kid, but I haven’t gotten one in eight years.” I frowned, remembering that. I still wasn’t sure what had caused the nosebleed, which I found quite unsettling. I couldn’t prevent it from happening again if I didn’t know why it had happened in the first place, which was a fact that would likely come back to bite me in the ass later on. “It was kind of weird. He also knew exactly what to do to care for it.” I pursed my lips. “I was actually worried he might make me walk home, or at the very least tell me not to get blood on the seat of his car.”

“Sounds like he had left a wonderful first impression until the nosebleed,” she replied, raising an eyebrow.

I sighed again, shaking my head. “It was all going somewhat well until I asked him if he went camping with his family. Then he got tense, and we bickered for the whole date - he called me annoying, I said he had to pay for people to tolerate him -” I waved my hand through the air again “- until I got a nosebleed.” I snorted. “Nosebleed ex-machina, I guess. What happened on your date?”

“That’s…well.” She raised a brow at her nail polish. “Um, my date didn’t have any bickering, but it sounds like maybe yours went okay then. Until the nosebleed.”

I had to disagree there. “I wouldn’t call us arguing in a roller rink a successful date.” I shook my head. The bar had been pretty low, and the date had at least met the bar, but that wasn’t really saying much. I shrugged, beginning to wonder why Idalia seemed to have been ignoring my questions. That likely meant her date didn’t go well, right? Yet, she said they didn’t bicker. “Where did you go?”

“The aquarium,” she answered, smiling a bit, but not quite as enthusiastically as she had before. Ah, so it hadn’t gone well, then. “I really liked the jellyfish. There was also a tank huge enough to be a wall. The fish were beautiful, even if someone had started going to sleep.”

My eyes went wide, and I leaned forwards towards Idalia. “He fell asleep? That asshole! God, I…” I trailed off, looking up at the ceiling, attempting to collect my emotions and arrange my thoughts into a coherent sentence. “At least the fish sound like they were nice!” I sighed, then continued, “If he were any other person, I would be so tempted to prank him or something right about now, but I don’t have a death wish.” I shook my head, shooting Idalia a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry he did that on your date, though. You deserve so much better.”

Her ears turned pink, and she began to rub her neck, averting her gaze to her desk. “It’s fine. I honestly don’t know if I’ll stick around for long.”

The weight of her words hit me all at once, and my face fell instantly. “You mean, you’d really consider leaving?” This was the worst case scenario I had been picturing. I bit my lip. “I can’t say I blame you, and you should look out for yourself first, but,” I paused, looking up to meet Idalia’s eyes, “I’ll miss you a lot, if you do leave. Meals are going to be so boring and lifeless without you!”

She flashed me a small smile - not as wide as before, but it was something, and I’d take it - before turning her gaze back to her nails. “I- I guess it’s still under debate. Just because I’d like to stick around for some of you guys.” She looked at me again, her smile warmer this time. “It would be nice to hang out for a while,” she continued before casting her look off to the side again, “but I would have to figure out what I’m doing with Arin, since I don’t really...think he’s the type of person I want to be surrounded by. Out date was complicated, but still. I don’t trust people like him easily.

I could understand that. “That’s fair,” I offered with a solemn nod. “Maybe some time apart would help - or maybe a distraction would!” I flashed her a grin, the gears in my mind beginning to turn once again.

“I don’t know if this is a good idea,” she cautioned, raising an eyebrow slightly.

My grin only widened. “It’s probably not. Get dressed, and let’s find out!”

“Evalin,” she protested, even as she stood up, heading for her closet, “I really don’t think we should prank Arin.”

“I mean, I’m already going to have to apologize to him anyway.” If I could ever suck up my pride, that was. Or at least, that’s what my mother had yelled at me over the phone the day after my date. I shrugged. “Besides, he has Ayesha for a sister. I’m sure he’s used to getting pranked.” If my first day at the palace was any indication of what she was like, I was sure there was no way Idalia and I could do anything worse than she had done to him before.

She poked her head out of her closet, frowning. “Apologize?”

“I was kind of rude to him,” I admitted, frowning slightly. “I didn’t have to be.”

“Didn’t you say he called you annoying?”

“Yes, but that was after I said he’d probably explode if he ever set foot in a lab, laughed at his accent when he spoke Swendish, and laughed at him when he fell on his ass.” I shook my head. I still hadn’t figured out what had possessed me to behave like I had on our date, but the more I reflected upon it, the worse I felt.

Her rustling in the closet paused for a moment, before she called, “Isn’t that what you meant by bickering?”

“Yes,” I sighed. “I just feel bad about how mean I was to him. I didn’t have to do that.”

“But -” I could already hear the frown in her voice - “I thought - Okay, wait, why did you say he would explode in the first place?”

I grimaced at the memory. “He said he didn’t like planning things he didn’t want to do, meaning the date, and I said that that was tough and asked him what he thought would happen if I didn’t plan for a boring experiment in the lab, and he said hopefully he’d explode, and I said only if he was lucky.” I frowned, before adding, “My tone was also a lot harsher than the situation called for,” by way of explanation.

Her head poked out of the closet then. “Evalin, you’re telling me he straight up told you he didn’t want to be on that date.”

I bit my lip. Yeah, I guess he did. Well, that stung more than just a little bit. I shook my head. “But it was so weird! By the end, after my nosebleed, he kept looking at me with this weird mix of curiosity and concern.” I wrinkled my nose, potential implications of that running through my mind for the first time. Why hadn’t I thought of this before? In a lower voice, I asked, “God, do you think he has a blood fetish?”

Idalia shuddered before retreating back into the closet. “You’re not really making me feel more confident about staying with comments like that.” At least her tone was joking.

I still felt horrible though. That was the complete opposite of what I had come here to do. “Ah, sorry!” I offered her an apologetic smile, though she couldn’t see it. “It was just so weird. It was like, one moment we were going at it, and then after he had seen me more vulnerable, he couldn’t look at me the same way.” I shook my head again. “I honestly didn’t expect him to help, but only because if the way our date had gone, not because he’s a bad person. I was fully prepared to handle the situation and wait until we got back here to seek medical attention should I have needed it.” Anything to avoid having my date end in a hospital room.

She was silent for a while, until she finally replied, “I guess I might not be the best person to discuss this with.”

“Right, sorry.” I shook my head. I was really bad at cheering people up, apparently. Another thing to add to the long list of things I needed to get better at, I supposed. “Gosh, I’m sorry. Maybe we should just take a walk. It’s really nice out today!” Maybe that was better. It didn’t seem like Idalia needed to be pushed out of her comfort zone right now, and some fresh air never hurt.

She wore a sad smile when she emerged from the closet, holding a new outfit. “No, it’s okay, I just think we view things very differently. I think I’ve met people like him before, and, well, we can just say I’m not friends with them anymore. If that’s what he’s shown me, until he proved otherwise, I would never feel the need to apologize to him.” She offered me a kind smile then, but it was lost on me as I tried to process what she was saying. We were the same age, or very close to it, and yet, it felt like she was an older sister or cousin, trying to teach me the ways of the world. I guess being an internationally ranked athlete will help you grow up quickly. “People get what they give, Evalin. You really don’t seem like the type that would be mean just for the fun of it.”

That much I could agree with, I realized as I nodded. Now, if I could just figure out why I had been so mean, that would be great. “That’s fair. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve had to deal with people like that before. Nobody deserves that, but especially not someone as kind as you.” I shook my head again.

She chuckled lightly, hitting me with her usual, kind smile again. “You might want to start applying that sentence to yourself,” she stated, heading to the bathroom to change.”

I bit the inside of of my cheek, furrowing my brows and trying to figure out what she meant as I waited for her to come back out of the bathroom. As she did, I stood up, smiling. She had changed into a casual summer dress, her hair thrown up in a messy bun.

“So, what’s your plan, exactly?”

Well, crap. I hadn’t gotten that far yet.

“I don’t really have one.” I felt the blood rushing to my cheeks already. How could I have forgotten such a major detail. “I’m a little out of my element here. Normally one of my siblings plans the prank, and I just work out the logistics. Maybe we should just go for a walk…”

She chuckled. “Is this a prank for Arin still?”

With a sigh, I answered, “I honestly don’t know. I have no clue what I’m doing anymore.” I let out a nervous laugh. “All I know is we have to do something fun to distract ourselves.”

She looked at her desk before turning back to me. “When do they start getting the Dining Hall ready for lunch?”

I found myself biting the inside of my cheek again. “I’m honestly not sure. I’d assume about an hour before lunch begins, but don’t quote me on that.” I narrowed my eyes at Idalia, knowing full well she was on to something. “What are you thinking?”

“You know he recently posted what his least favorite color was?” She asked, the corners of her lips twitching upwards.

I began to grin as well. “That putrid, mucous green color? Yes, I’m aware.” I wrinkled my nose at the thought of the color. It truly was dreadful - I couldn’t disagree with him there. “Are you going where I think you are with this?”

She simply shrugged lightly. “I mean, I’ve got a printer and tape. It wouldn't be anything he couldn't immediately get off himself.”

“You are a genius!” I made my way over to her side, slinging an arm around her shoulder. Ayesha would’ve been proud of this, I was almost certain, were she here to see it. “Let’s get to it, shall we?”

With a light chuckle, she relented. “Alright, I'll try to confirm with Evanne when's the best time.”

After confirming the time with Evanne, who I learned was one of Idalia’s maids, we got to work gathering our materials. In what felt like mere moments, the two of us were scurrying down the halls towards the dining room, our arms laden with tape and paper. I could hear my heart racing in my ears, its beat like a drum, heightening the need I felt to be speedy. It was exhilarating, to be honest.

I felt my grin stretch from ear to ear as I peered into the dining room. Empty, just as we had planned. Perfect. “It looks like the coast is clear,” I whispered to Idalia as I began to slip through the doors, trusting that she was right behind me.

I heard her footsteps as she followed me in, and watcher her look over her shoulder as she rushed past me, whispering, “You’re too slow!”

“Sorry, my legs are sore from my run this morning!” I whispered back. “I’ve been going longer than usual lately - it gives me time to think, and be alone.” I shook my head, forcing myself to walk faster in order to keep up with her. “What do you need me to do?”

Apparently, I still wasn’t fast enough. Idalia took a few steps back towards me, grabbing me by the arm and dragging me the rest of the way. Her grip on my arm was like a vice, but then again, I supposed that would make sense, what with her being a fencer, and all. “I hope you’re slowly doing longer runs.”

“Not the issue at hand right now.” I rolled my eyes, elbowing her lightly in the side before turning my attention back to the papers and tape. “What part do you want me to do?”

She handed me the tape as we came to a stop in front of Arin’s chair, setting the papers down on top of it. “You cut pieces of tape and fold them,” she explained, demonstrating to me what she wanted. I tried not to be insulted that she thought I would need a demo on how to cut tape. “I take them and do the sticking.”

I set my emotions aside. I could deal with them at another point in time. Grinning and giving her a single nod, I replied, “Sounds like a plan. I cannot wait to see his reaction.” I let out a little laugh as I began cutting and folding the tape. A part of me hoped Arin would be outraged, but forced to keep his cool to maintain decorum in the dining room. Or maybe he would really make a fool of himself, and storm out, or do something equally as dramatic. It was going to be so hard to not laugh either way as we ate our lunch.

Idalia rolled her eyes a bit, but smiled at me nonetheless. “He will probably just stare at it and then steal Wylan’s seat, if we’re being honest.”

She had a point there, I realized. It would be classic Arin behavior - only thinking of himself and how he feels, and not considering how anyone else might feel as a direct consequence of his actions. “Poor Wylan, then.” I handed Idalia another piece of tape, not looking at her as I did. “I haven’t spoken to him, but he seems nice enough. What about you?”

Her smile widened as she put the tape I handed her on a piece of paper, holding out her hand for another piece of tape before sticking the paper to the back of the chair. “I’ve met him. I’m sure he will just sit down on it like its nothing.”

Maybe Wylan should be the one running this country, then. He certainly sounds like the mature one here. I smiled a little wryly at the thought, before something else nagged at the back of my mind. Idalia spoke about Wylan with such a sense of familiarity, as if she knew him quite well, actually. Well enough to predict his reactions. I knew she had mentioned in the past some conversations they had had on the internet, but I hadn’t thought much of the story until now.

“Sounds like he has a better personality than the prince, then,” I states, looking at Idalia out of the corner of my eye. “And a sense of humor, too.”

She let out a quiet laugh at that, her smile unwavering as she took another piece of tape and stuck another paper to the seat of the chair. “He’s a good friend?”

Only a good friend, eh? I found that hard to believe.

I offered her a smile of my own. “I’m glad to hear that.” I was genuinely happy that she had found someone that she enjoyed spending time with, whether he was just a friend or something more, but I still couldn’t stop myself from being a little surprised. Not that somebody being into Idalia was surprising - not in the slightest - but that this had apparently been happening right under Arin’s nose, and he had said nothing. Or maybe he hadn’t noticed. What kind of friend did that make him to Wylan?

I shook the thought out of my head. “Have you been able to enlighten him about pasta?”

She chuckled, holding out her hand again for more tape. “Not yet, but I’m sure the time will come around since I have two votes on the, “Idalia should not leave” box.”

I smiled at that, sticking a piece of tape to her hand. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who the second vote was. “Well, that I am definitely glad to hear.” Was it selfish of me to want Idalia to stay here, when Arin was making her unhappy? I was certain it was. The realization sent a bolt of guilt straight through my heart, and my voice was lower when I added, “This palace needs your energy, to liven it up.”

She blinked a few times, flashing me a soft smile. “You’re going to make me emotional. Stop it!”

“Ah, sorry!” I inhaled sharply wincing as I turned back to the tape. Without looking at her, I handed her another piece of tape, my voice quiet. “It’s true though.”

She snatched the tape out of my hand with a force that made me jolt. “Evalin!”

My brows furrowed as I turned to look at her. “What?”

She took the tape roll from my hands now, ripping more pieces so fast it was like her hands were blurred around the edges. “We’re on a mission. Stop complimenting me!” She paused, sticking some of the pieces of tape she had torn to the side of the chair, taking them off one by one and attaching them to the papers, before coating the remained of Arin’s seat with the paper. “But I really appreciate it.”

I nodded, glancing at my watch. “How much paper do we have left? We’re going to have to hurry.”

Idalia didn’t falter, continuing to work. “I think it’s almost done to be good enough.”

Behind us, I could hear the door to the dining room opening. I froze. We were dead meat. This didn’t make sense, we should have still had at least ten minutes to finish and get out!

Idalia didn’t hesitate. Before I had a chance to even look at her, she had begun shoving me under the table before she joined me there as well. I stared at her as she crawled under the table, my eyes wide as she pressed her index finger against her lips. The footsteps got closer to the table, whoever it was mumbling, “I can’t believe they put the new guys to deal with the main table.”

I shook my head at Idalia, my eyes still wide as saucers. Between this and the date, there was no way I wasn’t being sent home, and soon. “We’re so dead,” I whispered, my voice barely audible, even to me.

Idalia froze until the rustling stopped, glaring at me as she pulled out her phone. She typed something quickly, then flashed the screen in my direction. “He will leave soon. We can still slip out when he is done.”

I nodded, gesturing to Idalia’s phone, hoping she would understand that I wanted to type something back. She must have, because she handed me her phone, and I typed, “Sorry we ended up in this situation.” When I had said I wanted to prank Arin, I hadn’t meant that I wanted to spend the entirety of lunch staring at his feet. This had turned into a big mess, quickly.

Idalia frowned as she read my reply, taking two seconds to type one of her own. “You really need to stop apologizing for things that aren’t your fault. This was my idea. Granted, you did put the thought in my head with your vengeful thoughts.”

Either way, it was still my fault. At least she recognized that much. “It was my idea to prank Arin,” I typed back. “You tried to talk me out of it, and then you came up with the prank.” I was about to hand the phone back to her, but I stopped myself, adding, “We’re in this together.” Partners in crime, then.

She smiled a bit at her phone as she read the reply, then shot me a look like I was crazy. Maybe I was. I had gotten us into this mess, after all. There was a few clanking sounds, like cutlery being rearranged, before the footsteps receded yet again.

Idalia shot me a look as relief flooded through me. She began to crawl out from under the table, letting out a sigh before whispering, “We’re clear.” I was about to begin to crawl out after, when I heard more footsteps in the room. It seemed that somebody had chosen today to arrive right on time, of course. She jumped backwards, crawling back to my side and making soft shushing noises.

I furrowed my brows, remaining quiet and as still as I could manage. The footsteps stopped by a chair at our table. Of course. I wracked my brain in an attempt to remember the seating configuration at the main table, until it hit me. This very punctual person was Wylan Caldwell.

He let out a sigh as he slipped into his chair, tapping his foot as the sounds of someone typing on a phone trickled down to where Idalia and I hid. He wasn’t alone for long, though. Moments later, others started to trickle in, including Safiya and Mélanie. If any of them found us, we were so dead. I was already mortified, and they didn’t even know we were here yet.

An amused laugh ensued from Wylan, accompanied by a snort from Safiya and a sigh from Mélanie. Ah, so they had noticed the papers on Arin’s chair, then. At least our final deed here wouldn’t go unappreciated.

Above us, conversations began, as everyone eventually finished trickling into the room. I hoped nobody would be too concerned that Idalia and I had both been absent at two meals today, but then again, maybe nobody would notice. I listened to Wylan reply to a question Safiya asked him, trying to figure out our best chance at getting out of here unscathed. Focus, Evalin! Now was not the time to panic. We had to remain calm, and still, and hopefully then we’d be able to sneak out from under the table afterwards. All I could do was watch as more pairs of shoes appeared under the table. Yet, Arin still wasn’t here. What if he didn’t show at all? Had this all been for nothing?

I looked at Idalia, mouthing the word, “Shit,” but otherwise staying silent.

Idalia’s eyes were darting between each pair of shoes in our view, her gaze stopping on Wylan’s. It looked like she was trying to formulate a plan of her own. I only hoped it didn’t involve giving away our position.

The food was starting to come out, I realized, noting the shuffle of feet and the increase in noise as the servants came to serve everyone. I heard Wylan and Safiya thanking everyone who served them, and yet, still no Arin. Maybe he’s just running late.

Someone bumped against the table, and the next thing I knew, a fork had slidden across the floor, stopping right between me and Idalia. I was frozen. Maybe it would be okay, maybe whoever had dropped the fork would just ask for a new one, sure, but what if they didn’t? They’d see us for sure. We were busted.

“Haven’t you learned enough from us by now to know to keep your elbows off the table?” Safiya sounded amused.

“Yeah, yeah,” Wylan grumbled, “I’m a barbarian.” He pushed out his chair a bit, and, upon realizing his fork wasn’t there, he stuck his hand under the tablecloth, feeling around for the fork that was apparently his.

Idalia looked at me then, her jaw clenched and her eyes wide with alarm. The fork was well out of his reach, but it didn’t seem like he was going to give up. I narrowed my eyes at his hand. A quick analysis revealed to me that his hand moved in a pattern - first forward, the back to the left, then to the right, then in the middle, and then a little further forwards again. Wash, rinse, and repeat. A small smile flickered across my face. I knew how to get us out of this.

I was about to inform Idalia of as much, but she was already working on a plan of her own. She had picked up the fork, scooting slowly towards his hand. If I didn’t intervene, she was going to put it in the wrong place at the wrong time. I grabbed her empty hand, trying to get her to stop, but I was too late. As Idalia looked back at me, confusion flickering in her eyes, Wylan’s hand brushed hers.

We were so, so, so dead. Well, I guess Lydia would get to keep our bedroom to herself when I was in prison.

Wylan’s hand had latched on to Idalia’s wrist, showing no signs of letting go.

Above us, Safiya asked, “What, is it gone forever?”

“No,” Wylan answered, his tone confused as he let go of Idalia’s wrist. “Hold on, my barbarian ways will continue.” My heart just about stopped as he stuck his head under the table. This was it. This was the end.

“Wylan,” Safiya sighed, “we can ask for another fork.”

I just wished she had said that ten minutes earlier.

Idalia’s shoulders were tense as she drew her hand back, blinking twice at Wylan and giving him a sheepish smile. I didn’t understand how she could me so calm. My entire body had tensed up. I was crouching on the balls of my feet, one hand still on Idalia’s wrist, ready to drag her out if we had to make a run for it. Idalia seemed to relax though, the longer she and Wylan looked at each other. I couldn’t stop watching the two of them look at each other. It was like watching a tense scene in a movie as a child, peeking through my fingers because I didn’t want to see what happens next, but I was too curious to fully look away.

Wylan jerked, hitting his head on the table, his own eyes wide now, darting between me and Idalia. I couldn’t blame him for being surprised, but I wished he hadn’t made such a scene. Other people were going to notice now, and look. The thought of Mélanie finding us under the table raised the hairs on the back of my neck. God, this idea was such a mistake.

Wylan simply smiled at Idalia, grabbing his fork and poking her hand with it before going back to sit in his chair. So, that was it? He wasn’t going to report us? It had to be obvious to him that we were the ones responsible for the papers on Arin’s chair. Yet, he had looked more proud when he had smiled at Idalia than disappointed or upset.

Okay, so Arin must just be an asshole to everyone, then.

“Sorry,” Wylan replied to Safiya. “Couldn’t let this one go.” It sounded like he was smiling. What was happening?

Safiya let out a small scoff at that. “Special fork worth that head bump?

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

Was he happy that we were under the table? I looked upwards, pleading with him mentally to keep his mouth shut. I knew he couldn’t hear me, of course, but anything was worth a shot at this point.

Beside me, Idalia squeezed my arm, flashing me a grin. She must have been certain we’d be okay, then. When she had gotten to know Wylan to the point that she trusted him this much? I let out an inaudible sigh of relief, but frowned again when I noticed Arin still wasn’t there. All this stress and drama had been for absolutely nothing.

Above the table, Safiya had started teasing Wylan about his lack of etiquette, and how the Selected had learned faster than him, even though we hadn’t been here as long. Wylan simply replied, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that.”

It was interesting - refreshing, even - to hear them talking so casually, though Wylan’s last comment had be tempted to punch his shin. I decided against it, not wanting to blow our cover. Idalia had no such reservations, apparently, and leaned over to pinch his calf, glaring up at the table. Wylan twitched, but said nothing.

It was then that the sound of footsteps reached my ears again. Only one pair of feet. Arin’s chair moved backwards, which was followed by a brief moment of silence. This hadn’t all been for nothing after all. I couldn’t keep myself from smiling a little bit.

“Did you do this, Wylan?” He didn’t sound angry or hurt, but rather confused. From the sounds of it, it didn’t seem like he’d ever bother to figure out who was really responsible, either. Somehow, that was even better.

“Nope,” Wylan answered, the amusement evident in his voice.

It appeared that at this point, Arin had decided that he didn’t care anymore, and he took a seat without even bothering to remove the paper. It took everything in me not to laugh as the paper crinkled every time he moved. That small victory kept me entertained enough to make the rest of the meal fly by. It didn’t feel like long before everyone cleared out of the room, and the servants finished cleaning up the dishes and utensils.

As soon as the coast was clear, Idalia and I raced out from under the table, me nearly doubled over with laughter, and her glaring and showing me a text message Wylan had sent her that read, “Next time let me know so I can be your lookout.” It felt good, now that everything was over. I couldn’t remember the last time I had laughed this hard. It was a bittersweet realization.

Maybe I shouldn’t be focusing so much on Arin, but rather on everything else being here could offer me - friendship, experience, knowledge. Those would serve me well in the long run, no matter what happened. Plus, those things didn’t leave me half as irritated as Arin tended to, which was probably for the better for my own sanity. Would a fairytale romance be nice? Sure. Was I perfectly content to live in this exact moment forever, though? Yes, more than I ever thought I would be.

#selectionoc

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