(boys and girls)
"NICE BOOKS."
James' eyes flicked up, studying Livia's figure next to his birch bookshelf. "Thanks. I got into reading a bit after you left."
Livia's mouth twitched when she saw a copy of World of Hate in a corner. "I didn't expect you to be a teen fiction type of person."
"I'm not. But that story hit hard. When is the sequel coming out?"
In a year, probably. Her first draft is done. She's a fast editor, and can probably finish that within the summer.
"You knew?"
"That you're Livvy Geller? Yeah. Doesn't take a genius to notice the similarity in writing style. Plot, too. It's your life. I'm River. Jack is Ryan. Melody's Maura. I put two and two together."
"Smart boy," Livia attempted to beam, but her smile faltered. "Did you like it?"
"I told you. It hit hard. One of my favourites."
"You had better like it," Livia hmphed. "I would have been very hurt otherwise."
"Oh please, you take criticism as good as a shield takes arrows."
"Not the best comparison, James."
James rolled his eyes. "Whatever, smart-ass. Leave me alone, I'm tired." He did not look tired, Livia mused.
"Are you now?" She snorted. "Come on, James, take a little criticism! I can, why can't you?"
"Because he's an idiot," Toire shot from the open doorway as she skipped into the bedroom. "Duh. Isn't that right, Jem?"
"Stop calling me Jem."
"Nah."
Livia frowned. "Have you been reading The Infernal Devices, Toire? Did you give him a nickname because of Jem from... you know?"
Toire beamed. "This is why you're my favourite person." But I shouldn't be. The words felt dry in her mouth, so she swallowed. No negativity tonight. This is about happiness. Joy. Living life to its best before it all falls apart again, because it will inevitably.
"That's great news," Livia snickered.
Toire pouted. "You're mocking me. Don't be mean, Livia."
"Yeah," James mimicked. "Don't be mean, Livia. You're so rude. And mean. And annoying. And bitchy."
"Hey! I didn't say any of that!" Victoire snapped, her arms crossed. Livia rolled her eyes. Kids will be kids. James, on the other hand...
"You immature fuck," Livia muttered. "Grow up, James." He didn't respond, pulling at his jacket with his mouth in a frown. Livia raised an eyebrow, tapping him on the shoulder. "I'm talking to you, McHill."
James slanted her the deadest look he could muster. "Yes, mother."
Livia looked amused as she turned back to Victoire. "You heard him, I'm your mom now too."
Victoire looked horrified at the thought of it. "Ew," she managed with a squeak. "I don't want you as my mom. You're like my better older sister."
"You don't have an older sister..." James frowned. "Victoire, did you hit your head while jumping on the bed?"
"This little shit jumps on the bed?"
"No I don't!" Victoire snapped. "He's lying, like always."
"For the last time, I didn't steal your candy!"
"You did, and you should stop lying about it. Lying rots your teeth."
"So does eating too much candy."
"So you did take it!"
"Jason did."
"LIAR!"
"Woah, enough shouting, you two. Move away from each other, Victoire, stop clenching your fists," Livia demanded, pushing the two quarrelling siblings apart. "You two are both very, very extra."
"This is why I want you to be my sister."
"Your mom did offer to adopt me..."
"I don't think she meant adopting," James sniped. Livia raised her eyebrow, whipping her head around to face him.
"What...?"
James rolled his eyes, and it finally dawned upon Livia. "Oh. Yeah, not happening. Nopity nope nope."
"Rude."
"I'm confused," Victoire frowned, burrowing her eyebrows. The two older teenagers stared at her for a moment before Livia waved her hand.
"Don't question it, midget."
"I am not a midget."
"You're half my size," James pointed out.
"No I'm not!"
"Victoire, darling, just admit it, you're tiny, you're adorably a dwarf. Embrace it. We all love you for it."
"I hate both of you so much."
"I thought you said I was a better older sister!"
"Compared to this guy?" She chirped, jabbing her thumb at James. "That's not something to be proud of. It's an insanely low bar."
"Why are you my sister again?" James asked, narrowing his eyes. "You are so rude. Nothing like any of us. Ill-mannered, no brains and incredibly impolite."
"Why are you describing yourself?"
"Get out of my room."
"And I'm the rude one?" Victoire riposted, crossing her arms with a frown. "You're such a hypocrite, you know?"
"You don't even know what that means..."
"She's a smart girl, she knows," Livia interjected. Victoire grinned proudly, and Livia resisted the urge to comb her hand through the girl's soft blonde hair. The McHill sibling dynamic seemed more insane every second that passes, and she wasn't sure if that was necessarily a good thing.
"Haha, very funny, don't overestimate my sister's intelligence just because she can think of some good insults."
"Oh, so you think my insults are good?" Victoire questioned, tilting her head, a diabolical smile spreading on her pale face.
James groaned. "Forget I said anything."
"No, I don't think I will," Toire giggled. "You said it, not me. Thanks for admitting you find me savage!"
Who uses the word savage anymore? James must have been thinking the same thing, for his expression clouded for a split second. "You edgy little child."
"You boring old man."
"Toddlers," Livia hissed with a shake of her head. "Both of you. Immature and stupid. Get with the times, Victoire, no one says 'savage' anymore except you. As for you, James... that was rich, coming from you of all people."
"Whose side are you on?"
"My own," Livia shrugged. "You should try it sometimes. It's real fun. See, you're not held back or restrained by either side, and you're free to do or say whatever the hell you want. It's fun!"
"Yeah, no thank you, I'm not a backstabber," Toire harrumphed.
Livia's expression darkened. "Shut up, Toire."
"No," the little girl laughed, sticking out her tongue. "No I won't."
"Listen to your elders," James scolded.
"Neither of you are old."
"You just called me an old man," James pointed out. "And you were calling me a hypocrite. You can do better, Toire."
"You're such a huge meanie."
"No, you're just dumb."
"I thought you said I was smart!"
"Wait, this isn't the best hypocrite contest?" Livia questioned, faking shock. "Oh, I'm so sorry about that," she whispered, walking over to a window and pulling the curtains open to show the road it oversaw.
"Both of you suck."
"Do we now?" Livia asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I- hey!" James snapped. "There's a child here."
"What?" Livia replied, frowning. "Oh. That. That's a you problem, McHill. Clean your mind with bleach, yeah? I'm sure everyone will appreciate it a lot."
"No they won't. You two love me, you're just too scared to admit it," James huffed. Livia let out a loud snort, and Victoire faked puking. James glared at both of them, leaning against his bed until Victoire managed to compose herself.
"This is so ew," she whimpered. "I need to use the bathroom now."
As she bolted out of the door, James screamed, "Slam the door behind you and don't come back!"
"Don't worry, I won't, you old idiot!"
"She has an attitude problem," Livia stammered once Victoire was out of ear shot. "And I'm saying this as the queen of attitude problems."
"You were literally encouraging her," James grunted. "Maybe next time, don't do that?"
"Hey, it's amusing."
"How's Pamela? I thought she was going to head over today too... but..."
"I invited her, if that's what you're asking about," Livia shrugged. "But she said she's heading over to Theodore Collin's."
"Are they dating?" James asked, eyebrows shooting up. "Theodore Collins... name sounds familiar."
"His mom plays Zelda Melhem from Celt. You know, the sitcom?"
James thought for a moment. "Celt... oh, that one with Miranda Orman as the lead? I can't remember her name. Zelda Melhem... that's the teacher, right? Black hair, grey eyes? Really fit and tall?"
"That's the one."
"Goddamn," he whistled. "So, are they dating?"
"I would have assumed so, but Anya Bazdar, one of her friends, went with her. I think Ian went too. Dinner party or something."
"Huh," James mumbled. "That's funny. Pamela getting a boyfriend is a hilarious thought."
"I know right?" Livia squeaked. "She's worse than I am, and that says a lot."
"You dated Alvin," James muttered. Alvin, Alvin, for some reason, James had never liked him much. At first, she thought there was some disagreement between the two (or as her fifteen-year-old self put it, "a blood feud spanning back eight generations").
"Alvin was a fucking joke," Livia snorted. "He counts as much as Eleanor."
"I will never understand your feud with Eleanor." That was true. Livia never liked the Korean girl. She couldn't pin down why. Eleanor made her feel uncomfortable. Almost... threatened. She hated that feeling. Eleanor was no threat to her in any way.
"So your mom wants to make me part of the family, huh?" Livia teased, quickly changing the subject as she drummed her finger against James' bedside table.
James' eyes flickered up, but he stayed silent.
"Don't be so scared, Jem, I know what you feel. I'm not the protagonist of a teen fiction bad boy story, I can tell when someone has feelings for me." Don't be scared, Livia mused to herself, so why was she herself avoiding his stare?
James cleared his throat. "When did you know?" He finally asked after a moment of awkward silent, fidgeting with his fingers.
"A long time ago," she chuckled. "It's not that hard to see, you know. I just thought it was a temporary thing. Every teenager goes through that bullshit. When I came back, it never even crossed my mind that you might have still fancied me. I didn't realise until I finally learnt the truth."
James shifted his face away from where she stood, cheeks growing redder by the moment.
"Come on, James, don't be so embarrassed, we're not three."
James glanced at his bedroom door. "Is that locked?"
"Does that matter?"
"My walls are sound-proofed. An open door isn't."
"What, afraid Victoire will jump in right as you're confessing your love for me?" Livia cooed before bursting into hysterical laughter. Okay, maybe they were both afraid. And feeling awfully awkward. Maybe she shouldn't have brought this up. This was getting a bit painful.
"Maybe," James blushed. "Stop this, come on, Livia."
"When did you start liking me?"
"Way back."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Since we were kids."
"Still doesn't, but okay. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Similar to you. I always thought it was some weird teenage crush that would eventually go away when I'm older. When I realised it wouldn't... it was too late."
Because Melody died, and you were too stubborn to listen to my side of the story. We could have made something work out and save each other from so much pain, but you refused to listen. You stuck to your own senses even though they were so wrong. You refused to separate fact from fiction and fictionalised an entire situation just for yourself to cope, even at the expense of year-long friendships.
"I'm sorry."
"What for? I've told you a thousand times. You have nothing to feel sorry for."
"Yes I do," Livia huffed. "I should have listened. Shouldn't have been so goddamned stupid! If I hadn't-"
"Hey, we all make mistakes," James interrupted with a small smile as he pushed himself up from his bed. "The important thing is that you learnt from it and moved on. Some people don't. Some people can't. But you did. And that's what matters."
"Thank you," Livia breathed, releasing a huff of air. "I appreciate that."
"I know it might be a little late. A little awkward, but I've held this back for years," James heaved. "I like you, Livia Wong. I really do. I don't know if you like me back- hell, I don't care if you like me back, but I fancy you. I've fancied you for a long time, and I'm glad I can finally say it out loud. I-"
"Hey, James?" Livia grinned as she wiggled over to the boy, careful and quietly
His eyes flicked up, his fingers still a mess as he nervously fidgeted around the hem of his shirt.
"Shut up."
She was still smiling when she pressed her lips against his, and she would swear he was too.
-
AND THAT'S A WRAP!!!!
that is the last proper chapter of hexes for exes! there's still the few extra sarah chapters i plan on writing, which should be published in the next few weeks, but other than that, the first book in the briarville girls trilogy is completed!
tysm to everyone who stuck with me for so long, i really appreciate it.
I'll keep this short since I'm saving everything up for the author's note that should be coming quite soon as well!! tysm for following livia's journey!!