the royals ✅

chap 24: fake apologies

 Her eyes darken as she watches Lena approach, the jealousy splattered across her face clear. Alexis runs her hand through her immaculately brushed dirty-blonde hair, which is down in layers. Her mother had insisted on it. Her mother had forced her to do so, claiming it softened her features. Alexis found that amusing. Her mother, too, could see the changes in her. The difference between the portrait and her now. The difference was obviously clear.

She taps her nails against the table, bitterly smiling. As Lena approaches, she opens her mouth to speak, but then she looks around. Her black eyes scan the surroundings before she presses her hand against the table, slowly settling down besides Dave. Dave is ignoring her presence, adjusting his cuff-links. He turns towards Alexis, offering a small smile. She watches Lena's expression fall, but she masks it with a smile seconds later. Lena is an expert at pushing her buttons, and now it's her turn to push Lena's buttons. Upset her.

 Alexis taps her fingers on the table, calm as ever "Is something wrong ?" Alexis placidly asks, picking up the drink from beside her. She meets Lena's eyes, searching for something. Anything. A sign of what she is feeling. Lena doesn't give her anything, her face is a blank canvas, staring back at Alexis with her eyes blank. She ignores Alexis, swiveling to face Dave. She stares at him for a few seconds before she speaks, her expression wistful.

 Dave leans back, confident as ever "What the fuck are you doing here?" Lena darkly says, keeping her tone hushed. She makes sure to lean closer to him so the people surrounding them cannot hear her. He doesn't bother meeting her eyes. Alexis, better then anyone, understands this. This show of strength he feels the need to show. Alexis watches Eric's heated gaze on her face, "Alexis is my date. Does that bother you?" He calmly asks, sipping his own drink. Alexis finds the show amusing, and she leans backwards, settling in her chair. This is far better then anything else she could have been doing this evening.

 Lena's eyes narrow, and she slams her hands against the table with little force. "Bullshit," She hisses lowly, and she props herself upright. Lena surveys both of them slowly, her eyes lingering on Dave longer. She seems upset, almost bitter as she moves her gaze to Alexis. "You aren't over me yet. And if you think this is getting back at me, you are absolutely wrong. This is fucked, Dave. Even for you" Alexis smiles blankly, not saying a single word. Lena tugs on Dave, deciding to switch her choice. Dave resists for a few seconds, pulling away from her, but Lena whispers something in his ear.

He stiffens for a few seconds, and then he follows her. Alexis sighs. She was hoping for a show, but clearly tonight is not her night. She regrets tying up her hair. It doesn't feel anything like her. At all. Her hair down makes  her look less rough, less intimidating, more innocent, kinder. She sifts through her clutch, pulling out a rubber band and wrapping it around her wrist. She's spent her entire fucking life changing for other people. She's tired of it.  She's tried to please, time and time again, playing to people's needs, sacrificing, giving in. All she wants to be now is herself. She doesn't want to pretend to be someone else, she doesn't want to pretend to be okay.

She's tired of it. She sips her wine, watching people float around the ballroom. Her mother is spitting image of her aged by 30 years. She has fine lines on her face, but other then that, her mother is still beautiful. She could say that beauty doesn't matter and personality means everything and that people care about personality but she knows, more then anything, that is a pile of bullshit. Beauty leads to attraction. Attraction leads to interest in personality. It doesn't matter what your personality is if attraction doesn't exist.

The world is shallow and she's accepted it.

 Someone sits beside her, but she ignores him to the best of her ability, tilting her head away from him. She slowly finishes her dinner, taking her time, aware of the gaze on her face. He doesn't say anything either, preserving the silence surrounding them. The room is full of noise but she can't hear any of it. Ares, softly staring at her. He seems to be thinking of what to say as he taps his hand against his chin.