♡ ▬▬▬ 𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐓𝐄,
ざ 🌸🌿ˎˊ- ━━━ 𝘃.
╱ ❝ 𝙳𝙴𝙽𝙸𝙰𝙱𝙻𝙴 𝚃𝙾𝚄𝙲𝙷 𝙾𝙵 𝙼𝙰𝙶𝙸𝙲 . . .
𝓜ISTY TRIED to snuggle up, wrapping a cotton blanket around herself and chugging down a cup of hot chocolate. The drink was courtesy of Carmen, who was sat next to her with one of her own. However, her focus was on the girl with the red, thick locks opposite her.
"Earl Grey is just hot water!" Carmen argued with Jac, who was arguing back at her with equal amounts of passion. They were all squatting in the dorm room, sitting around the communal area.
"It's perfection! But I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that, Glasses."
"Oh, please, Ariel. Anyone stupid enough to dye their hair that colour doesn't deserve an opinion."
"Ouch," Jac put a hand on her chest, her mouth fell open mockingly, "that hurt. I'm almost impressed."
"Keep talking ━ I'll find a way to make the pain physical..." Carmen was already climbing out of her seat, her hand was clenched into a limp-wristed fist.
"With what fighting skills?"
"I swear━"
"Does anyone else think that Hyacinth was acting a little weird?" Misty interrupted their squabble, "she was completely lost at lunch."
"You think she's acting weird because she wasn't as over-excited as usual? Relax, she's probably just having a bad day, it happens to all of us." Jac shrugged her off, going back to her seat on the window sill.
"Have you met Hyacinth?"
Jac shrugged, "Even the most optimistic people have mood swings, Misty. It's probably just that time of the month."
"I guess..." Misty twirled her dark hair around her finger, getting lost in thought, "maybe I'm overthinking it. What do you think, Hunter?" They all turned to the blonde who stood in the corner of the room, tucked into the wall. She was distracting herself by watching the flame of a lighter turn on and off.
Hunter flicked off the lighter, looking up at them, she shrugged, "She's probably just upset because she saw Riven with that nerdy chick, Beatrix."
Misty eyes widened, how had Hunter managed to find that out before she did? She rarely talked to anyone outside of their little group.
"Speak of the devil," Jac commented, hearing the door click open.
Hyacinth skipped in, bouncing on her feet. She was smiling wide, flashing her teeth. Her raven hair swished in the air, she danced into the centre of the room, twirling and tumbling.
"What the hell happened to you?" Jac scoffed, "you took drugs without me, again?"
"No," Hyacinth rolled her eyes, she clasped her hands together before smiling again, "it's just suddenly this is the best day ever!"
"Elaborate?" Misty rolled around to see her, "at lunch, you looked so upset..."
"I..." she was debating on whether or not to tell them, they'd probably think she was mad, "I, um, made a new friend. The girl we were chatting about the other day ━ Bloom."
"The changeling one she was rattling on about?" Carmen questioned, "what's she like?"
"Is she hot?" Misty asked, crawling to the edge of her seat, "anyone with a story that interesting must be a hottie."
"She was gorgeous ━ fiery, slightly misanthropic but she was very sweet." Hyacinth twirled, plopping into the available space on the couch.
"So...what were you so upset about earlier?" Misty questioned, convinced there was more to it. Part of her was worried about her friend but, of course, another small part of her was digging for gossip, "Was it Riven?"
Everyone was eagerly awaiting an answer, Jac looked somewhat interested and even Hunter's eyes darted up to look in her direction.
"It...was." Hyacinth chuckled nervously, scratching behind her ears. "Um, I went looking for you in Dowling's office and saw him with Beatrix."
Jac was already closing her eyes, wincing at where she knew this story was going. "Please tell me they weren't..."
"They were."
"That absolute fucking bitch!" Misty burst out, "I can't believe I thought she was nice..."
"Don't say that. I'm sure she didn't know anything about Riven talking to other girls, she's just into him. Besides, he and I were never together."
"I thought you'd be more upset to lose Mr Un-perfect ━ so you're just perfectly okay with him leading you on?"
"Actually, yes. I've only known him for a day, after all, I don't expect him to pledge devotion to me after a couple of hours." Hyacinth shrugged, "I'm good."
"Hmm," Jac was silent for a moment, then she smirked, "so does this mean you didn't stay and watch them?"
"No!"
"It's okay if you did, no one wouldn't blame you."
"But I didn't━"
"I wouldn't blame you," Misty smiled.
"I definitely wouldn't!" Carmen added, bumping her on the shoulder, giving her a wink.
"I wouldn't either," Hunter spoke up from the back, everyone turned to her, looking shell-shocked.
Misty broke the silence, "I guess we're all bonkers, then."
"Or we're just really horny," Hunter snorted, she simply blinked while everyone turned around again, staring at her with their mouths open.
Everyone just looked at each other and burst into laughter, even Hunter had a small smile on her face.
❀
𝓗YACINTH WALKED along the path with Hunter, they had their arms interlinked. The blonde girl wasn't saying anything but she was happy, the smile on her face told her as much.
Besides yesterday, she'd only ever heard Hunter say all but a few words to her and the rest of the group. The person she spoke to the most was Misty ━ Hyacinth didn't mind, it was almost unavoidable to not talk to Misty, but she knew it was mostly because she was closer to Misty than anyone else.
Hyacinth still made a point to ask her if she was okay. To which she replied with a nod, "Just kind of tired..."
"Oh, are you having trouble sleeping?"
"No, I just..." Hunter paused, thinking for a moment.
"If you're uncomfortable, you can switch rooms with me. I mean, I'm sure Jac and I can find a way to get along better."
Hunter's eyes lit up, she knew exactly what she was offering, a chance to share a room with the person she was closest too. "Oh, no ━ t-that's okay."
"Sure?"
Hunter responded with another nod and the conversation paused for a while as the two walked in silence.
"Hyacinth?" Hunter glanced down at her, "have you, uh-um, talked to Riven since the other day?"
"No," Hyacinth smiled ━ pleased that the girl had spoken to her directly with more than a two-word sentence, "why?"
Hunter nodded, pointing out the lanky boy who was sitting on the bench ahead. He was sitting next to Sky, they were engaging in a regular conversation, she could tell as much because they looked like they were on the verge of punching each other in the face.
Riven quickly noticed Hyacinth, who continued walking along slowly. She was whispering to her friend, who said small back before he interrupted, "Highwater! How's it going?"
He had a smirk on his face as he watched her jump a little ━ probably surprised he was even talking to her. His chest swelled a little with pride knowing he'd probably psyched her out a little.
She waved back energetically, "Hey, Riv! I'm good! You?" Riven's smirk dropped, his attempts to taunt her fell flat, he walked up to them almost immediately.
"Good luck," Hunter whispered in her ears, before moving away slowly, "um, I'll see you in class later, Hy."
"See ya!" She waved her goodbye. Screw you, Hunter, Hyacinth thought before she turned back around with a smile.
"What the hell is going on, Highwater?" Riven crossed his arms, he squinted his eyes, leaning in, his face was close to hers. "So, you're just going to pretend nothing happened?"
"Nothing did happen. Whoever you're having sex with is none of my business."
"Well, it's you're business when you saw it."
Fuck.
"I'm sorry," she laughed dryly, "but I wasn't going to stay and watch. Besides, I'm not upset."
"Are you sure?" Riven grabbed her shoulders, staring her down, he was trying to catch out the lie in her eyes but he couldn't see it. "Because Beatrix and I are...just friends."
"Friends don't give each other kisses."
"Look, you're clearly upset," Riven shook her shoulders, playfully, "you don't have to lie. I know you thought we had a little thing going on, hmm? Don't worry, I could tell you like me."
"I like you?" Hyacinth scoffed, pushing his hands off her shoulder. "If anything you like me. You're the one who approached me first."
Riven threw his eyes up into the air, before looking directly into hers, he sighed, "You've been the one chasing me ever since then. It's pretty desperate..."
"I'm desperate?" Hyacinth shoved him in the chest, only causing him to tumble a few steps. "You're the one who's been giving me mixed signals."
"You know what?" Riven chuckled, "I thought you were better than this. I thought you were different..."
Hyacinth's eyes narrowed, she looked into his own eyes deeply, before chuckling, "Is this the Riven way of apologising? The only way for you to function is to act like a dick?" She pushed him on the shoulder, "Hmm?"
"Don't be upset," Riven cooed, tapping her shoulder, "it's okay if you are, it's natural. I won't hold it against you."
"I feel so reassured," she had a deadly glare on her face and he pushed down the sinking feeling that came with her walking away.
He called after her, "See you around then?" The no-reply made him chuckle and he knew that he'd be seeing her again anyway.
❀
𝓜ISTY STROLLED up into the middle of the forest, taking in the dark surrounding. The birds crowed in the tall trees that bristled above. She retched at the smell of rainwater that filled her nose.
"We should really come up with a better meeting place!" Misty called out, her voice echoed back to her, her hands dove into her pockets. "If it rains I'm not going to be impressed."
"Why?" Brownish-red hair caught her eye ━ Beatrix appeared from behind a tree, "rain isn't romantic enough for you?"
"That's funny ━ you must have me confused with someone else." She crossed her arms. "I'm not the romantic 'type.' Besides, I'm not in the mood for your pathetic games."
"What's changed? I thought we were friends." Beatrix, standing a few metres away, trudged through leaves to get closer. "Aww," she poked her on the arm, "are you mad at me?"
She stepped back, "I found out what you did to Hyacinth. That wasn't nice."
Beatrix chuckled, "It's not my fault. How was I supposed to know she liked Riven? Or that she'd walk-in on us?"
"Because I'd told you about them already. She's my friend."
"Riven didn't seem that interested in mentioning someone else when we met. I assumed he lost interest."
"Well, you can't be surprised," Misty shrugged, "he's a fucking asshole. You both deserve better than him."
"He's fun ━ which I thought you were. That is until you came here to, what?...chastise me? Tell on me to Miss Dowling and her band of bungling sub-par educators so they can passive-aggressively slut-shame me?"
"No," Misty dipped her hand behind her back, lifting the back of her shirt and pulling out a small notebook ━ beaten and tattered. "I brought what you wanted."
"The exact spell? That works?"
"Yes," Misty crossed her arms again, "there aren't that many spells on telepathic locks. What is it you need it for?"
Beatrix smiled, tapping the notebook slowly. She knew that whatever she told her would be general knowledge by the end of the day. "Just an old box in my room. Someone must have left it there last year mistakenly. I would've asked Dowling but I really wanted to see what's in it."
Beatrix's heart was hammering harshly in her chest ━ Misty was eyeing her intensely. She leaned in close, observing her, dragging her eyes away slowly. Beatrix's heart started to beat normally again when she backed down.
"Hmm, okay..." Misty nodded. "Well if you ever need anything again, next time let's meet inside."
"Got it."
❀
𝓗YACINTH SWUNG a wooden stick towards Mikey, a hefty Specialist, he toppled over slightly before attacking back with a bigger swing. It sent her toppling backwards, she rolled to dodge a hit to the face.
They were the only ones left on a stand.
She kicked him in the stomach, snatching his wooden stick out of his arms. Knocking him over, she spun the wooden sticks a little, holding them to his face. He kicked her legs, making her fall with a thud. Hyacinth groaned, dropping the sticks in her hands in surrender.
Mikey put a hand out in front of her and she accepted it and he hoisted her up. He laughed, "How did you finally almost beat me?"
"You tell me," Hyacinth chuckled, "you must be getting slow, Mik." He bumped her on the shoulder in good nature, laughing with her.
"Don't worry, you'll get better...someday."
"Hey!" Hyacinth giggled, whacking him on the arm.
Sky spotted the first-year girl on a stand, she was joking around with another Specialist. He walked towards them once he saw Mikey walk away, jumping off the stand.
"Hey," he smiled, "he's right, you know. You shouldn't overwork yourself..."
"I just really, really want to do this properly. You didn't get to the top of the class with no work at all, did you?"
"No, but some of it was natural talent. Silva gives me more credit than I ask for."
"That's exactly why I need to work harder ━ I don't have natural talent or smarts. But you're being humble. I'm sure you spent just as much, if not more, hours training yourself to near death." She watched a smile form on his face. "See."
"Okay, so maybe I might have done that," Sky shrugged, "that doesn't mean you have to do the same thing. I'm sure that you have plenty of friends that will be missing you. I was lucky ━ Riven doesn't seem to miss me most of the time."
"Yeah but that's just Riven, isn't it?"
"Uh...yeah but he's a great guy, actually. Riv can be a dick sometimes but he cares━" Sky cleared his throat. He guessed that she had found the topic of Riven uncomfortable because he watched her smile slowly drop, "I know you two haven't got off on the right foot. Is everything alright between you two? Things seemed pretty tense earlier."
"Eh," she shook her head, "it was nothing."
"Well, if Riv ever bothers you at all, make sure you tell me." His eyes were gentle and concerned, he sounded serious when he asked, "Okay?"
Hyacinth smiled, "Okay. In that case, I know we don't know each other that well but if anything is ever wrong, I want you to know that I'm here for you to talk to too." She clutched his shoulders and the tension in his muscles eased.
Sky had never met someone who felt so organic. Normally, he would have assumed that someone this nice was being disingenuous but with Hyacinth, it felt real. Although, he supposed that her lack of a filter would have its disadvantages in some delicate situations.
"Thank you," Hyacinth placed a hand on his shoulder again. "And, seriously, if you ever even need anything...at all. I'm here to help."
"In that case, would you mind helping me out in my room? I will only take a second, I wouldn't want Silva to catch you━"
"With what?"