the royals ✅

chap 27: fake friends

  Alexis eventually forces Lena up from the floor. She wipes her tears and stares Lena in the eye as she commands her to wash her face and freshen up. She watches Lena slowly, tapping her nails against the counter every few seconds. Her impatience grows. Alexis prefers to cut straight to the chase but she knows she'll have to be gentle with this one.

 She watches Lena avoid her glance, "You can do better then that" She calmly states as Lena finally raises a towel to her face. Lena meets her eyes with a stone-cold look. Alexis isn't bothered. Her and Lena have faced-off many times.

 Lena's face is blank, "You have spent your entire life undermining me," Lena bitterly replies, wiping her face with the towel "And you think I can do better then Eric? At least he pretended to like me for a while. At least he felt pity for me. It's more then you have ever done" Alexis suppresses the urge to roll her eyes.

"I'd say I was upfront with you" She responds point-blank, "I never pretended to like you"

A bitter laugh leaves her mouth as she says these words, and Alexis does not comment on it. She knows she has been rude to Lena, but she also knows that now, she needs her. Lena is her weapon against Eric. Lena is smart, and she can help her do every single thing she wants to achieve. But now is not the time. Lena is too fragile, too weak, and she does not know whether she can trust her. She needs to give Lena time to think, to brood, and realize how much she hates Eric for doing to her. Allow her anger to grow. Anger is the best weapon. Alexis plans to use it.

 She knows Lena will come running to her but she knows better then to push it. "Whenever you decide you want to make him pay for what he just did, call my number" Alexis replies, ignoring her previous comment. She then reaches for a pen, ignoring the hostile look in her eyes. She scribbles her number down onto a napkin, passing it to Lena. 

 "I can do it myself," Lena gruffly responds. Lena refuses to take it, pushing it away from her, so she leaves it on the counter. She gives Lena a fleeting look before she leaves. She is a mess. Her eyes are puffy from crying, and her lips are no longer properly glossed. Instead, the gloss is smeared over her face. Her foundation is also streaking now, probably as a result of many tears. Her eyes are still as pretty as ever, the green standing out against her blue top, which accentuates her flat stomach. Lena is pretty, even if it is in a very basic way. Her hair is blonde, and it usually hangs straight down her shoulder but now it is all bunched up.

 Alexis murmurs a few words under her breathe, "You've never had to defend yourself without Eric. I don't doubt you can do it," She calmly responds, "But I think that we have a mutual goal. And I would hope you won't let men walk all over you. You know better" 

"I never saw you do anything to Parker after he walked all over you" Lena snaps back, the lines in her face growing rigid.

 Alexis thinly smiles, "I'm going to ignore that because of your grief" She shuts the door, giving Lena privacy. The more she starts acting as if she is Lena's friend, the more likely to Lena is to come to her. She knows how this works. She has been playing this game for far too long. She looks both ways down the hallway before proceeding. She knows where to go. Bella and Daniel are her safe haven, for now. And she needs peace and weed to think.

 She strides down the stairs quickly, forcing herself through the crowd. Before she can, someone grasps her wrist. She pauses, turning to see who the source is. Max, who has a bit of white on his nose, is staring right at her. He is dressed simply, as she is. And he looks the same, gorgeous brown hair, perfectly built body, muscles honed from hours of lacrosse.

She lazily smiles, pointing to his nose.

"You have a bit left" She comments sweetly, and he laughs, the sound bouncing around slightly. His laugh is adorable, and she smiles at him. Max is someone who she truly adores.

He wipes it off now, staring at her. "Better?" he replies, slurring slightly. He is clearly not in his right senses, so she nods slightly. Forces a smile on her lips.

 "Yeah of course, you look amazing" She hates this version of Max, the one barely sober enough to think, much less function. He never remembers any of his experiences because he's constantly too high. She couldn't possibly fault him for that. She can't ever hold anything against him, regardless of what he does to her.  

 He smiles a little, lopsided, "Okay, come with me" He slurs again, and his eyes are unfocused. He almost tips into her, but she steadies him.

  She doesn't hesitate, "Lead the way" She patiently says, staring at him expectantly. She keeps him balanced, not allowing him to fall. He salutes her slightly, but he almost falls seconds later. She cannot stop the frown on her lips. She hates it, but she would do anything for Max. She owes him. When her father and mother fought for weeks, tearing each other apart, Max had been her safe haven. He and her had spent hours on the road, driving, smoking weed in the middle of the night. Parker was always by her side too, but he hated drugs. He wanted to talk out her emotions, discuss them- and Talia was never able to do that.

 She would rather smoke her feelings away. She follows Max, propping him upright to the best of her ability. She weighs a good 70 pounds less then him, yet she tries her best. He eventually slides open the door to a room, and she shoves him in slightly. She is greeted by a familiar aroma. Weed. Duke, at the center of the room, passing out bags to person after person. He pockets twenties slowly, placing it in his pocket.

 She watches person after person accept bags and exit the room the other way. A few people are milling around the room, and she spots Bella and Daniel in the corner, murmuring something to each other. She heads towards them, but before she can, Duke steps in her way. "You buy a bag or you leave" he sneers, and she raises an eyebrow. His brown eyes harden as he stares at her. While Max and him are twins, Max is easily the better twin.

 "Is that right?" She calmly says, leaning backwards slightly as she crosses her arms over her chest. Max is beside her now, and he stares at his brother. He is clearly not coherent enough to understand anything, so he does not say anything. He just stares at his brother blankly. Alexis meets his gaze and blinks. He smiles back, but he does not say anything. Duke shoves her backwards, away from Max.

  Alexis steps into his face, her anger slowly flaring, "What the fuck is your problem?" She hisses i now, fed up with his attitude. She steps back in front of him, not pausing for a second. When Duke just stares back at her, crossing his arms over her chest, she finally snaps. He doesn't give her any reaction, his face perfectly blank.

 She leans closer to him, stopping beside his ear. "You do know that you are the reason that Max is this fucked up right? I remember the old Max, he was joyful, happy. You fucked that up, Duke. You are the reason that he's barely sober anymore" She coolly says, her smile never failing as he shoves her away. She cannot stop the smug smile that crosses her face. She watches as he moves out of her way, keeping the smile on her face. In her books, that was a win. Duke never bows. He passes her a baggie as she moves, and she nods.

 Duke should know better then to fuck with her. Duke has no reason to hate her anyways. Max taps her, and she turns to face him. "Thank you" he murmurs slowly, and she nods. She passes him the baggie, stepping besides Daniel and Bella. Max drifts off now, sitting down in a corner of the room. She wishes that he wouldn't do drugs, but if he insists, she would prefer to give it to him. It is better then the alternative which usually involves Max doing something crazy to get them.

 She sits down beside Bella, and Bella passes her the weed without a word. She does not need to say anything. "Are you okay?" A voice drawls from nearby, and she takes a deep breathe as she faces Daniel. Daniel is not smiling, and he has a cigarette in his mouth. The whole room is clouded with the smoke from various cigarettes filled with weed. She puffs it lightly, passing it back to Bella. Her head feels empty suddenly. As if nothing exists inside of her. 

"Duke was just being an asshole" She murmurs, and she knows that it is loud enough for him to hear. She does not miss the glance he shoots her, but she ignores it, taking another puff. Another, another, another. 

  She does not stop until she is in the clouds, in a complete haze. She does not even know where she is when someone forces her into a car. She catches a glimpse of Lena's familiar blonde hair, but she is not sure. Someone pushes her upwards as they force her onto a couch. And then a bed. She finally closes her eyes as someone locks the door behind her. She drifts off into a deep sleep.

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