As she was waiting for her friends to respond, she looked over past Dee and noticed that Lloyd was sitting on the other side. "Oh my gosh, I so didn't see you!" she exclaimed, immediately feeling guilty. But Rose gave her friend a big smile and a wave, hoping she wouldn't be too upset about it. Just then another presence distracted her, as Garrett plopped himself down in the midst of the many students that were sitting around her.
"I'm joining Cervus House, if that's cool with everyone," he said, not really seeming to care who he sat by. She giggled quietly, shaking her head a little, before nibbling on her food more.
"Wait, wait. Don't say it... it'll come back to me... R-... Ra, no Ro-... Ro-... Rose! Bam, knew I'd get it. Oh, and hey Felix Two, hey Delilah. Cool if I crash here for a bit? I think Ivan the Terrible over there's going to light the table on fire in a bit." Her cheeks reddened as she realized he was talking to her, and she kept her eyes fixed on her food.
Am I really that forgettable? she asked herself, even though she already knew the answer. Of course she was. Someone as popular as Garrett Flint couldn't even remember her name. She sighed, feeling particularly down. Until Felix grasped her hand back, and that brought a smile to her face.
Rose brought her eyes to meet his as he described his summer in Alamosa, and his house sounded wonderful. She liked nature, and figured she would especially love the cool air in the mountains of Colorado. Her heart sagged a little as he talked about visiting his parents graves. He'd been completely truthful with her about what happened, which she appreciated greatly. But it still made her sad every time she thought about it, and she constantly worried about him for multiple reasons. "It sounds really great, Felix! I'd love to visit sometime..." she chimed in. She realized she was still clutching his hand, and gave it one last reassuring squeeze before letting go.
She gracefully ate her oatmeal as she faintly heard Felix address Garrett. It was then that Delilah spoke up.
āIf youāre running from drama Iāve been at the center of some today. Not exactly safe here either.ā She raised her eyebrows at that, staring at Dee in shock. She hadn't heard about anything, so she made a mental note to ask what had happened later. If she had to guess, it was something with Sam. The thought made her anxious. She really liked the both of them, and didn't want them to be angry at each other, forcing her to choose sides. She always preferred to stay neutral when she could. Her thoughts were practically confirmed as she followed Dee's gaze, and found Sam at the other end.
Oh boy..."Rose!" she heard for the second time that morning. She turned to find Bliss as the source, and a bright smile lit up her face. How had she not seen Bliss last night? She was one of Rose's closest friends, and someone she liked to hang out with as much as possible. She made her come out of her shell, which was something everyone was telling her was a good thing. No sooner than Bliss had gotten comfortable, her sister came strolling in as well. "Summer, it's great to see you!" she said as the girl sat down among the random group of students. They had actually drawn quite a large crowd, which made Rose slightly uncomfortable.
What was more important, though, was that she was spending time with all of her friends. Now that they were practically all together, she realized just how much she had missed them over the summer. She couldn't believe that some of them were graduating already, and that after one more year, she would be as well. She made a second mental note of the morning, determined to spend as much time as she could with everyone, since time was running out. Perhaps Bliss could somehow help her be a little more outgoing. Well, there was no time like the present.
Standing up, she murmured her goodbyes, knowing she would see most of them later anyway. She grabbed Bliss' arm and pulled her from the table, dragging her out of the Great Hall entirely. She pulled her to the side of the entryway to an unoccupied corner. "So.. I have a request for you," she said, feeling more nervous than she should. Bliss was one of her best friends, and would help her no matter what, but she felt anxious nonetheless. "I-I was hoping... well, that you could... I mean... could you like, teach me how to be more outgoing?" She tucked her hair behind her ear, staring down at the floor before bringing her eyes up to meet her friends.
Myra seemed a little tongue tied... or maybe she had a frog in her throat. Finn wouldn't really be surprised, since it was Magus Grex. Of course, he thought he remembered her being the same way the last time he'd spoken to her. He couldn't exactly remember when it had been, but he did remember her practically choking on something she was eating. He'd patted on her back until she could successfully talk again. He knew she was quiet, but honestly didn't know why she always seemed so nervous around him. He was one of the most personable people in the entire castle. He never turned anyone away, and always tried to be polite to everyone.
āUh, uhm, it was great. Yeah, greatā¦ Justā¦ uhā¦ great,ā she said, almost as if she had forgotten how to speak. Regardless, he smiled and nodded. "That's very good to hear." He was still leaning on the table, particularly close to her.
āBut you? How about you? Your summer, that is. I mean, how was it? Your summer." He couldn't help it, and chuckled at her not being able to speak.
"How was your summer?ā She seemed to be fighting some kind of internal battle, but he was glad she seemed to finally be able to talk. "It was good, thanks for asking. I actually got to go to the Quodpot finals in Atlanta, so that was the highlight of the summer for me. Otherwise, just spent a lot of time at the beach." He smiled, then stood up, stretching his arms.
Finn's eyes looked over to the Ferre table quickly, and all the students still seemed to be in order. And no first years looked to be in a panic or frightened out of their minds, so he took that as a good sign, and figured he didn't need to be over there right away. "Do you mind if I sit down for a few minutes? I'm starving."
He didn't wait for an answer, and took a seat across from her. He piled a few pancakes on his plate, accompanied with more than a few slices of bacon. He drowned the pancakes in syrup, and took a few bites, moaning at the wonderful taste. "Sorry for my poor etiquette," he said, shrugging his shoulders slightly. "I really like food." That probably sounded stupid, but he didn't care. Because it was extremely true. And he didn't really have a lot of time before he was required to be somewhere else.
"So what are you most excited for this year?" he asked, taking a bite of bacon. He figured he would attempt some sort of conversation for the few minutes he'd be sitting there.
She had been rather pleased with herself after her witty retort, since she hadn't expected Lee to open the door practically naked. Priscilla didn't actually think Vance was doing anything with Lee, let alone
sleeping with him as she had implied. She had never seen Vance show romantic interest in anyone, boys or girls. So she highly doubted he had anything going with Lee, even though his statement about kissing was particularly interesting to hear. However, she could never have expected Vance's reaction.
She understood half of what he said at first, and was partly confused the rest of the time. Normally Vance wasn't so... honest. He was literally telling her exactly what Lee was up to, and why he had said what he did. That threw her off, as well as the fact that he seemed to be extremely upset with her. Since when did a few little pokes of fun make Vance so angry? It was almost frightening to her.
āBut she canāt even get the boy she actually likes to notice her. Itās sad, really. Like a barker at a bazaar who canāt unload even a single vial of snake-oil. And when presented with a chance to make a formidable ally, what does she do? She lashes that serpentās tongue yet again, makes intimations about the two of us, ludicrous though the thought might be.ā That was the sentence that pissed her off. At that moment she didn't care if he was freaking her out, she just wanted to rip his head off. It was scary how much rage could fill her tiny body. She took a step towards him, only to feel a hand grasp her arm softly. It made her pause, and she looked behind her to find it was Ćrem.
When Vance was done with his little speech, she questioned his sanity more than anything. But she was still rather pissed off at him for his rather rude comment."You're fucking crazy..." she said, staring at him with narrowed eyes. "I had agreed with you, saying we would make better allies than enemies, and then you go and pull that shit. You have most definitely just made an enemy." She wrenched free of Ćrem's arm, and was about to walk away when Zack came striding toward her.
Oh great, he probably heard every word... she thought, hating this situation even more. Tears came to her eyes, more out of anger and frustration than actual sadness. This was NOT the way to get Zack to fall for her.
He walked past her at first, saying something to Vance and Lee that she didn't care to listen to, then appeared before her eyes.
"I thought I apologized for being an ass last night. You can't still be mad at me." Him feigning ignorance did not help to improve her mood. "Oh don't act like you didn't hear every word that was just said," she said, pushing past him. She hurried down the steps as fast as she could, and pushed out of the common room door with force. She headed for the main part of the castle, and walked into the first empty classroom she could find.
She slammed the door behind her, and walked over to the desk, giving it a large kick out of frustration. She grabbed a handful of pens and threw them against the far wall of the room, where they hit the wall with much less force than she had felt like she'd thrown them with. She sank to the floor right there, tears spilling out of her eyes and running down her cheeks. She was so angry at everyone: Vance, Zack, Lee, even Ćrem. She couldn't believe everything that had just happened. While she had never hated Vance before, she most certainly did now. Something seemed different about him this year, but either way she wouldn't excuse the horrid things he'd said. Since when had making a few jokes been such a big deal? He'd done that all the time the previous year. And Zack had heard every word, even about her not being able to catch his attention.
After a few moments, she attempted to get her composure back, and wiped the tears from her face. Her makeup probably looked horrific now. Now that she had gotten her emotions out, she felt much more clear headed. Vance's words seemed less important. She knew that regardless of what he said, she could be the greatest queen bee of Magus Grex. And she most certainly could get Zack's attention. But her new number one goal would to make Vance Abernathy's world a living hell.