"A deal's a deal," Michael states from his seat at his desk.
"It was an unfair deal!" I protest as I pace in front of his desk. "We settled on ending the competition at dinner, and it was not yet dinner when you declared that the competition was over!"
He smirks. "Well, it was time for dinner. Everyone happened to be so distracted by the mess that they forgot about dinner."
"I had a plan," I lie, knowing that I did not have a plan. "You fucked it up."
He shrugs. "All is fair. It wasn't stated in the rules that I can't ruin your plan."
"I can't believe you," I sigh as I turn away from him to look around the office. "This is absolutely ridiculous."
"You're just annoyed that you lost," he states condescendingly. "I believe another term for that is sore loser."
"And you manipulated the rules so that you would win," I retort. "I believe another term for that is cheater."
He rolls his eyes. "Nevertheless, there's no going back, which means it's time for us to figure out how we're going to kill the witches."
I cross my arms. "I don't want to kill Mallory. She's nice enough."
"You're just making excuses," he scoffs. "I know you don't give a damn about that girl."
"Okay, so maybe I don't," I roll my eyes. "I'm still having trouble figuring out what's next, saying that we do somehow defeat the witches and get out of this alive."
"Simple. We go to the Sanctuary."
"And do what? Stare at each other all day? We barely tolerate each other as it is."
"I'm sure we can find something to do," he suggests with a smirk.
"Don't make me slap that smug look off your face," I roll my eyes.
He chuckles as he stands up. "Look, we can do whatever you want to do after we kill the witches. Nuclear fallout doesn't affect either of us. We can go explore the world - or what's left of it."
"And run into feral cannibals everywhere? I don't think so."
"Way to be pessimistic," he sighs.
"Not that it matters, considering that we'll be dead in two days."
"For the last time, the witches aren't going to defeat us!"
"Yes, they are! Last time I checked, they had a plan; we did not, and we still don't!"
"Okay, fine," he sighs defeatedly, holding his arms out. "I have a plan."
"Oh, really?" I ask sarcastically. "Enlighten me."
"We can both read minds. Maybe me better than you-"
"Doubt it."
"-but it works all the same. We can't read the mind of the Supreme, which is Cordelia Goode, but I'm sure there'll be witches besides her. We'll read their minds, figure out their plan, and stop it."
"So this plan entirely relies on our ability to read their minds?"
He shrugs. "I suppose."
"So if the witches somehow figured out a way to block our mind-reading, we're fucked?"
"Oh, come on, have some faith."
"Is this really your best plan? I was expecting better by now."
"I've been distracted!" he protests.
"You know what? This is for the best anyway. I won't have to worry about fighting alongside you since we'll be dead within seconds."
"You don't actually think that."
"I wouldn't if you had an inkling of a plan that wasn't entirely dependent on mind-reading!"
"Okay, you want to hear my backup plan?"
I stop abruptly and turn to him. "Are you fucking kidding me? You've had a backup plan this whole time and you're only just telling me?" I scoff as I sit down to listen to his plan.
He chuckles, sitting down at his desk. "Getting a rise out of you is just too entertaining for me to resist."
I narrow my eyes. "Just tell me the backup plan."
"Well, you aren't going to be as big of a fan, but here it goes. We'll have you pose as a witch who I've taken captive. Coco and Mallory know of how we hate each other, so they can testify to it."
"One issue with that: they both know we had sex."
"And they also know you weren't happy about it. Besides, I could just say that I was manipulating you or something."
I ponder his plan for a few seconds. "Well, I suppose it's better than just relying on mind-reading."
He smirks. "See? I do have an inkling of a plan."
I roll my eyes. "Notice how I'm the one doing the heavy lifting? I have to act like some witch you've taken captive."
"Don't worry, I'll make it easy for you."
"Excuse me?"
He smirks. "You'll see."
......
"Gallant, the Halloween Ball is tomorrow!" Coco yells.
"I know, Coco!" he responds angrily. "I don't want to talk about it!"
"Well, we have to! Otherwise we both die here when the cannibals come!"
"I see you two are doing a good job at working this argument out," I observe as I enter the sitting room and stand next to Coco.
"We're getting there," Coco tells me.
"No, we obviously aren't!" Gallant exclaims.
Coco rolls her eyes. "I'm trying to talk to you, but you aren't letting me."
"Don't make me mediate this argument," I threaten.
"Maybe if Gallant would just listen to what I have to say-"
I slip into Gallant's mind to make him cave; they only have two days left together, so they may as well make amends. "Fine," he sighs. He turns and motions to the sitting room dramatically, lacing his tone with sarcasm. "Let's talk."
She nods and motions to the sofa. "Come sit."
I look at Coco's face and realize she's about to have an emotional conversation. "I'll give you two some privacy," I offer as I walk to the exit.
As soon as I'm out of view, I transmutate to the library above the sitting room to listen in. I'm a few minutes late to the conversation, but I can catch the gist of what's happening.
"-I don't want to go to the Sanctuary without you. It took me realizing the threat of losing you to realize how much I actually need you. Honestly, I could never survive without you, Valentina, and Mallory. You're all my best friends."
"Coco, I had no idea. I'm so sorry for being so mean to you these past few weeks."
"No, it's okay. I was being a bitch too. The sad part is that I don't even know why anymore."
"Oh my god, I don't even know why either," Gallant gasps. "Oh god, we've been wasting all this time arguing when we don't even remember why we started."
I hear shuffling like they're moving together to hug. I smile to myself, happy that they can be at peace before shit hits the fan tomorrow.
......
"Hey, Langdon!" Coco yells down the hallway.
I quickly stop before I turn the corner so I don't make my presence known. I look around the corner to see Michael slowly turning to face Coco and Gallant, their backs facing me. He immediately takes notice of me watching but doesn't acknowledge me.
His usual smug smirk crawls onto his lips as he sends an amused glance at Coco and Gallant. "Have the two of you worked out the proposal I gave you?" he asks.
"We don't accept your proposal. We won't be leaving each other," Coco states as she crosses her arms.
"We'll both stay behind and take our chances together," Gallant states from her side.
Michael looks down on them, thoroughly amused by the situation. "This is quite an interesting situation. I can see that neither of you is entirely convinced of your decision. I am willing to make a deal; if you take back your decision right now, I will take you to the Sanctuary. The only exception: I'm only taking one of you, so the first person to take their rejection back gets the spot."
He watches them, hands folded behind his back, as they think it over in silence.
After a few seconds, Coco speaks up. "We're not taking back our decision."
Michael turns to Gallant, not even acknowledging Coco's response. "Mr. Gallant?" Michael questions.
Gallant gulps nervously, looking between Coco and Michael. I can read his mind to see that he is unsure. He finally makes up his mind and clears his throat. "I'm staying with Coco."
I smile to myself. After all the shit they pulled on each other, they're still staying loyal to each other.
"Very well then," Michael responds as he turns away.
"Oh, and Mr. Langdon," Coco calls out.
He turns around expectantly, already a decent distance down the hallway.
She holds her head up high, the spite clear behind her eyes. "Fuck you."