Oneshot Collection

Attention: KOTLC

So I've had this idea for a while. I'm bored so I decided to write it. Hope you like it!

Keefe craved attention.

It was the result of growing up in the cold, empty tower, and he knew it.

Maybe someday he would be fine being alone. Maybe someday he would be able to go home and not anxiously look at the door, waiting and dreading and hoping that the crystal doorway would be suddenly filled by a blond figure.

Maybe someday he wouldn't care.

But that day was certainly not anytime soon.

Sometimes, Keefe wondered what would happen if he were to run away. Would anyone even notice, or care?

He doubted it.

But he had to stay, because what if the day he left would be the day his parents decided to start caring?

But they didn't, so he had to get their attention.

He pranked everyone he could. He ditched class as often as possible, adopting a snarky persona that covered up the lonely boy beneath. He became best friends with a Vacker, performed well in every class.

Keefe wanted attention because it was something new. It was something that he'd heard of in school, from all the prodigies with loving parents and teasing siblings.

Keefe Sencen craved attention, but he thought that maybe, sometime in the future, he wouldn't have to.

...

Biana needed attention.

She caught the eye of everyone who passed. She wore the fanciest gowns anyone could ever own, far too decorative for her age. She wore makeup, perfecting the art through years of practice, and applied a little too much for where she was. She styled her hair with sparkles and jewels because whatever could make someone notice her, she wanted.

She lived for those appreciative glances, the wistful stares, the passing compliments.

She needed them, because how else would she receive them?

Her brother was far better at school than she (or so she assumed), so why even try? She passed her classes, but it didn't matter if she tried. She was a Vacker, and who would dare expel the daughter of the famous Alden?

She became popular, and each friend (or follower, more like) was an ego boost.

If she could get so many friends, Biana sometimes thought, maybe her father would notice her. Maybe he'd be the one praising her. Maybe he'd like her as much as Fitz.

Soon, insults were welcome too, because they were people noticing her. 

People thought that she was snobby, stuck up, and she let them, because maybe she was. WHat else was there to her?

Biana demanded attention. She required it to make up for the huge, empty house that was only sometimes filled with love (and usually only when company was over). She needed it to make her father notice her (he would eventually, right? If she made herself popular?). She needed it to make it known that she was more than just a face in the crowd. She was more than Fitz's little sister.

She became queen of a plastic world, where compliments that dripped with jealousy were welcome because at least they noticed her. 

Yes, Biana Vacker needed attention. But sometimes, she wished she didn't.

...

Sophie hated attention.

She hated the sparkles and ruffles and makeup that seemed to draw the eyes of strangers. She loathed being put on the spot, and she positively detested special focus.