Forget {Varian x Reader}

-Chapter Six- Dancing With Your Shadows

"Wiped out?" asked Cassandra, who was now fully in uniform as she walked down the hallway, carrying a helmet under her arm.

Varian stood up straight with a grin. "Who? Us? No. Just fainted." He paused, realizing his mistake. "Uh- um, I mean, fin- we finished! Finished."

Y/n decided not to mention Varian's earlier bout of unconsciousness- if only to protect his dignity.

"Finished?" asked Cassandra. "Wow, kids. I'm impressed."

"Oh, it was no big deal." said Y/n. No big deal, just trying to get information out of you later. No problem.

Varian smiled again, beginning to walk away. "Now," he began smugly, "if you'll excuse me, I have a contest to win." He turned to Cassandra with a hopeful- and embarrassed- expression. "Assistant?"

"Remember, you said it would only take a minute!" Cassandra shouted after him. "I'm on duty!"

Y/n looked away, her gaze landing on the stone floors of the hallway. Again, she had already known Varian wanted to impress someone else today- that much was clear. And yet... it still hurt, knowing he didn't want her to help him with his presentation.

As Y/n was beginning to zone out, she was snapped back to reality by the sound of glass shattering, and a shout coming from down the hallway. "Ow! My back!"

Cassandra and Y/n walked over- sure, Cassandra more... urgently than Y/n, but she'd argue that her lack of enthusiasm was justified.

Stan, the guard, was lying on the floor, and Rapunzel was standing next to him with a concerned look. "I went to get Master St. Croix a drink, and slipped on the floor!" he was saying. "What kind of monster would leave a wet floor where people could slip on it?" Y/n winced, remembering cleaning this exact hallway with Cassandra and Varian.

"Stan, what happened?" The Captain had arrived, and was staring sternly down at Stan. Rapunzel tried to help him up, but an unpleasant crack echoed through the hallway. "Oh! My back!"

The Captain put a hand to his face in exasperation. "We need someone to replace him as Master St. Croix's security detail. Pete! On the double!"

Pete began running down the hallway. "On my way! Whoa-!" With a thud, he slipped on the same spot, crashing to the ground. "Ow! My back!"

Pete was now sprawled on top of Stan, both of them groaning in pain. "Why is this floor so slippery!"

Y/n's gaze turned to the Captain, but she could still hear the sounds of another guard running down the hallway- "Hey, Pete, are you oka- Whoa! My back!" The Captain sighed. "Cassandra, are you up for this?"

Cassandra smiled, but Rapunzel turned to her with a pointed cough. "Uh, Cassandra, don't you have somewhere to be during the judging?"

The three of them heard a squeaking noise and turned, seeing Varian wheeling his invention, which was covered by a sheet, down a hallway. Cassandra looked down, seemingly hesitating a bit, but shook off whatever emotions were plaguing her and looked back up with a determined expression. "I'll do it."

─── ⋅ ∙ ∘ ☽ ༓ ☾ ∘ ⋅ ⋅ ───

The Science Expo had officially begun, and Y/n was standing in the crowd next to Varian, who was watching the stage excitedly. Y/n was getting a bad vibe from the guy onstage, but if Varian respected this person, she wouldn't ruin this for him. He had begun to speak in a pompous voice, but Y/n's eyes were locked on Cassandra, who stood to his right.

"One of you," St. Croix began in a very self-important voice, "will walk away with the greatest prize in all of sciences." He paused for dramatic effect. "My approval."