#Queen B Choices

[thequeenb]

The Perfect Ending

2 whole years..who would ever believe that Poppy would be the relationship type? Not me. I know what a lot of you are wondering what the hell we were up to the past years..well let me fill you up.

“Are you done packing? The flight leaves in literally 40 minutes” I say with a pinch of annoyance because one thing about being with Poppy is that you will always be late

“You can’t rush beauty darling” she looks at me over the bathroom mirror and gives me a wink. Ugh sometimes I hate how attractive she is

After Collage ended and we graduated with both our degrees we decided to take a holiday to her Miami Beach house..I know right?

We arrived to our gate and we finally settled down to the plane, of course we sit first class you didn’t even have to wonder.

“Well we have 2 hours so if you excuse me I will get on with my skincare routine” she says and the flashbacks come back almost immediately of our first hookup in her room

“Well your skin looks like shit Hughes so let me do you a favour” she straddle my lap and I am probably looking up at her with starry eyes because she has a satisfied smirk on her face

“I didn’t knew you had a soft spot for me Poppy but a girl can take a break” I wink at her and she rolls her eyes at me..how adorable I always loved when she did that

“If you are my rival you better look good” she casually says and why did I get turned on suddenly? I realise how close she is and how her breasts are pressed against mine. Damn it stop being so horny! But how can I not? Her perfectly glossed lips, her beautiful silk blonde hair..her soft hands working on my face..it’s almost too much

“Bea for the last time do you want champagne? Sorry she apparently has a hearing problem” Poppy says to the flight attendant and I roll my eyes nodding

“I thought after you asked me out you would stop bullying me” I stick my tongue out and I can see a small smile playing on her lips

“Well tell me what got you all parched” she hands me the champagne flute and gives me a smile I could never resist

“That’s for you to find out Min-Sinclair, in the meantime I want to focus to you” I place my hand on her thigh ever so flirty and she lets a small gasp escape her lips

“Careful what you wish for Bea..I don’t play nice, you should be the only one who knows that”

And she is right..if I close my eyes I can pin point the exact moments she tried to ruin me, but on the other side i can almost feel all the times she made me feel like no one ever did before

“Well? Are we playing dirty?” She locks eyes with me and I settle my champagne down.

Her eyes never leaving mine she watches me flip my hair back seductively

“I feel so worked up Poppy..maybe you can help me” this phrase reminded me of that time we fought for the crown..how we had a cat fight in the fountain..how much I wanted her

“I feel so worked up Poppy” it’s the only words that escape my lips “maybe you can help me unwind” are you kidding me? You literally slapped her, dragged her across the fountain and ruined her manicure and that’s what you are going to say?

Interestingly enough she doesn’t look angry anymore..I can feel her heat radiating off her body and she slams me against the fountain, water splashes everywhere as her tongue goes playfully in my mouth and all I can feel is her

I blink a few times trying to cool down and she knows what kind of effect she has on me because she smirks and gets back on her seat. Sigh she is not someone to play with I learnt that from the first time she approached me

Our plane finally lands and a private car was waiting for us to take us back to the house.

I didn’t expect anything less..the car pulls up to a gate and when they open I can see a beautiful house and palm trees everywhere decorating the big garden

The car finally stops and Poppy hurries to open my door. I step out and I try my best not to gasp

“You can gasp Farmsville this is far from the land you grew up on” she winks at me and I roll my eyes

We walk inside and the house is beautiful as expected but what catches my eye is the big window where you can see the beach, the waves the sunset

“This is where I came when you humiliated me in front of all my father’s clients and the whole school” she casually says but a pinch of guilt fills my heart, it wasn’t my proudest moment

I hold the award in my hands and I can’t believe I finally beat Poppy Min-Sin bitch at her own little game. She stormed out after I humiliated her and her parents but why do I feel guilty? Isn’t that what I planned for since I first got here?

“Make a speech make a speech make a speech” everyone is chanting and I finally feel the weight of the award in my hand..the weight of what I just did to Poppy

I hold her tight, a small tear escaped my eye but she just smiles at me giving me a gentle kiss on my forehead “Don’t be sad..remind me to punish you later for that night”

I laugh and I wipe my tears getting my attention back to the window. The waves perfectly collide with the sand and I get the perfect idea

“Let’s go to the beach I am dying to watch the sunset with you” is it my idea or did my proposition made her nervous? She quickly recovers and offers me a smile. Sure she says and she leads me to the coast

She holds my hand tight and for a moment everything looks perfect. The sun is going down and the deep orange colour blends beautifully with the blue sky..the birds fly freely in the air and Poppy looks more than gorgeous under the sunset

I must have been daydreaming for a moment because when I regain my focus Poppy is down on one knee. Excuse me!?

“I get my dress dirty for this so you better say yes” she takes a deep breath and continues

“Since the moment that I met you you have been nothing but a challenge for me, even in the beginning you didn’t know how to dress”

I roll my eyes but I can start feel the tears forming in my eyes, I can’t believe this is happening

“I didn’t even bat an eye at you but you decided to make my life a living hell and I promised to make yours even worse”

“I fell for you since you first kissed me but then I heard that hog calling video and I wanted to go deaf” she chuckles

“I didn’t imagine I could feel this way but you proved to be a worthy opponent and someone who kept me always on my toes..when I found out of your affair with Kingsley I should have used it and destroy you but it only made me more sad”

Now my tears run freely like a waterfall but she is quick to wipe them for me..I didn’t realise I fell to my knees to her eye level..holding her hand so tight

“And since then I knew I didn’t want to be with anyone but you..someone who always challenges me and changes me for the better so that only leaves me with one question”

I gasp when she reaches and opens a small velvet box revealing the most beautiful diamond ring I have ever seen

“Bea Hughes will you marry me?”

I immediately scream yes and she struggles to put the ring on fast enough, we are already covered in sand kissing each other like there is no tomorrow

“I can’t believe you proposed!!” I scream happily and I am not the only one cheering because when I turn around I watch all our friends and family smiling at us “No you didn’t!!”

Zoey hugs me first spectating on my beautiful ring and then comes my parents which I am surprised Poppy flew from Farmsvile.

“From a farm girl to your fiancé how are you feeling?” I smile at her and she simply roll her eyes at me

“Don’t make me regret proposing Hughes”

And that’s how our story ended..watching the sunset with my fiancé gasp! From enemies to lovers and from lovers to newly weds..who knew the two hot rivals from Belvoire could ever end like this? I bet the T would love an inside story about our wedding..I am just kidding..or am I?

Kisses, the T

Tag list: @indecisive-chaos @kiara-36 @ognenniyvolk @somewillwin @ghalind @sergeant-pepper-loves-choices @dibberdipper @aiswood @alexlabhont @uselesslesbianfr @wolfietheduckyou @somin-yin @stanzoeywade @uhh-the-green-thing @jmojellybae @simp-pony @made-me-deep-blue @samanthadalton @crazzyplays @thepotatobleh @thatwhorefromnextdoor @cloud9in @promisedneverwrite @calraquin

[dist4nt-shores]

choices as random text posts i have saved part 2!! (again beneath the cut because i’m nice :) )

blades crew

mal volari

every choices mc & their forced li

foreign affairs

guinevere

beckett harrington

atlas from the elementalists

zoey and the queen b mc

kieran from the cursed heart

desire and decorum mc

renza fierro from the royal masquerade

jake mckenzie

continually messing up during a fight scene

part one | part two | part three

[princepotatosack]

What If Choices' Race-customizable LIs Had Surnames Reflective Of Their Ethnicity?: An Experiment Just For Fun (Part 3/3)

Info in Part 1

Part 2

THE PRINCESS SWAP

Derya

This is a special case and not only because Clarke doesn't have a canon surname: the top row of face options are described in the asset files as "Middle Eastern" and the bottom row are described as "Caucasian". Caucasian is used in the U.S. interchangeably with "white" even though the Caucasus region is in east Europe/west Asia and can be interpreted to encompass parts of Turkey.

Clarke's family members (including parents of both face options) all have Turkish names and if I’m remembering correctly, it’s heavily implied in the text and art that their country is based on Turkey. Which makes the name Clarke really confounding. I wanted to replace it with a Turkish name but I couldn’t find anything that sounded remotely similar. So I chose the unisex name Derya because I like how it sounds!!!!!

Devin Rhee

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. The masc face option’s haircut leaves me no choice but to headcanon him (and by extension the fem face option) as Korean. What the extremely common Korean surname Rhee lacks in being spelled similar to Wright, it makes up for in sounding kinda like Wright. If you were hearing it spoken from another room. Lmao

QUEEN B

Ian Wang / Ina Wang

These face options are described in the asset files as “Asian”. As discussed in Part 1, there are not a lot of sound matches in Asian languages or Spanish for King(sley). I did read a theory online that this LI’s name comes from the fact that they’re the counterpart to the MC who is the titular queen of the series, so I went with the thematic route and chose the surname Wang, which means “king” in Chinese and Korean. The fem face option reminds me of several Korean women I know so I headcanon these face options as Korean, although Wang is a rare surname in Korea whereas it is one of the most common (if not thee most common?) surnames in China. So I guess they could also be Chinese?

Ian Reyes / Ina Reyes

These face options are described in the asset files as “Hispanic”. Same as above, not too many Spanish sound matches, king/queen themes and motifs, etc., so I chose the Spanish surname Reyes which means “kings”.

ROOMMATES WITH BENEFITS

Drew Yáñez

This one was so hard lmao. These face options are described in the asset files as "Hispanic" and there were not a lot of Spanish-language surnames that are a sound match for Young.

Drew Yadao

Also a hard one! These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian" which is really broad, and they don't look "typically" East Asian to me or like any East Asian person I know. The masc one reminds me of someone I know who's Filipino so I'm going with that for my headcanon. Again not a lot of sound matches for Young just like in general, and I decided on the Ilocano surname Yadao because it was one of the only Filipino surnames I could find that started with a Y.

SHIP OF DREAMS

Theodore Kassavetis / Theodora Kassavetis

These face options are described in the asset files as "Mediterranean", although the wiki does note that there's a scene where they say they're Greek. So I initially decided on the Greek surname Karakostas since it kept the "K-AR-T" sound pattern from Carter but then I changed my mind and gave them the surname Kassavetis because I like John Cassavetes the Greek-American director.

SURRENDER

Reagan Tong

These face options are described in the asset files as "Asian". The "th" sound in Thorne that's found in very few other languages like come on now don't piss me off. These face options honestly give Vietnamese to me but I couldn't find any Vietnamese surnames that matched Thorne and the Cantonese surname Tong sounded closer in my opinion.

UNBRIDLED

Ryder Villanueva

The face option on the left is described in the asset files as "Hispanic", and the one on the right is described as "Filipino". A unique situation here as many people in the Philippines have Spanish-language surnames and some speak Spanish due to Spain's historical colonization of the Philippines, meaning "Hispanic" can sometimes apply to Filipinos. We're touching on a complicated issue of using "Hispanic" as an ethnic descriptor but this post is not the place to discuss that. Sooooo since Spanish does not traditionally use the letter W (?) there aren't any Spanish-language surnames starting with W, and the only surname from a Filipino language starting with W that I cound find was Wenceslao which I didn't think was a good match for Wilson. So we're going with the Spanish Villanueva which has the initial "il" sound . Also means "new house" which I think is thematically appropriate for this book? Idk I don't have VIP so I can't play it yet and I just read the summary.

Part 1

Part 2

[thelonewolfstar]

I’m hoping there would be Poppy Min Sinclair. Come on PB. I can’t wait for Olivia’s turn next chapter.

[christianworld]

Do not play with me. I will forever have Queen B withdrawals 🥲🥹😫

[moominofthevalley]

i want more choices mcs to be like. terrible. but so 'lovable'. like a character kindve like the queen b mc but also kinda like fleabag. like just a fucked up morally grey complex character. AND NO i do not want them to end up morally-sound.

[cyb3rsn4k3-sim]

Milkis 28 Day CAS Challenge @mil-kis Day 24 - Girly

Can you guess who she is?

SkinOverlay1 @pralinesims SkinOverlay2 @northernsiberiawinds Eye Preset @obscurus-sims Nose Preset @obscurus-sims Body Preset @obscurus-sims Eyes @simmerstesia Eyebrows [40] @obscurus-sims Eyelashes @kijiko-sims Hair @aharris00britney Eyeshadow @pralinesims Eyeliner @crypticsim Lips @pralinesims Earrings @oakiyo Necklace @joliebean Rings @arethabee Watch @joliebean Sweater @aharris00britney Skirt @serenity-cc Heels @dallasgirl79

[bimalewife]

did phil lester write this???

[myautumnrose]

I tried to do this during Halloween but ran out of time. I have always had this thought on if the Desire and Decorum characters were ghosts!! Since Veronica is so social media based I thought it would be funny if she took the picture. I hope you like it!!

[princess-starscourge]

Replayed Queen B 2 and the emphasis they put on Poppy being a short stack…I meannnn they knew what they was doing. Bitches love height difference lmao

[sneakybananabox]

Well in that case, i have new request for u and thank u for writing previous. Poppy and mc are in a relationship and its poppy's birthday, so mc surprises her by taking her to spend time with her dad Art like in story poppy memtioned in letters that how much she wanted to meet him but cant bcz of piers. Please keep twin out of it like there are no twins. Thanks in advance. You are great.

I had this started but never finished. I had to practically dust off my idea journal to jog my memory. (I am being a little dramatic) I tried to do a quick edit so sorry for any mistakes cuties. Sorry for being awol again.

Happy Birthday

Poppy could feel the migraine beating against her head. Each surge of pain, only made her angrier. All the Zetas in the meeting felt like they were playing catch with a bomb, one wrong move, and everyone was dead.

“For bid day on Friday, we thought the theme could be Wizard of Oz because there is no place like Zeta.” Ohio clicked to her next slide with a picture of the Zeta house with a yellow brick road leading up to the front steps. Listening to all the girls get giddy about the theme only made her migraine worse.

“Everyone, could you shut up! I don’t want to sit through any more presentations so Ohio you are in luck. You, Chloe, Hayley, and Taylor will work on bid day. If you all fuck this up you can pack your bags.” Poppy hit the gavel against the table and got up to go to her room. “Meeting adjourned.”

She pulled out her phone to text Bea to see if she wanted to hang out. Her migraines made her feel clingy. All she wanted was to be cuddled in bed with her girlfriend.  Since dating Bea some say she had softened and lost her touch. It wasn’t that she lost her touch, she just wasn’t as angry anymore. Poppy no longer had to hide a huge part of herself anymore. She could finally be free to be herself. Her parents weren’t always on the same page, but it was time to live for herself not them. Even though they weren’t excited about her newfound partner, Bea Hughes, as long as she stayed number one her parents were satisfied. She needed to keep her position as head bitch in charge, no one would dare to take it from her either.

Hughes

Want to come over and keep me company?

I have a headache and need attention.

Sorry BB I have to help Zoey with her

setlist for Lil Nos F. After though I will

swing and give you some world famous

Bea Hughes cuddles. 

She threw her phone onto her bed. Her migraine needed to be gone and fast. It seemed like the perfect time to hit up her favorite tea place to help with her migraine. She changed into some more casual clothes and pulled out her jewelry box. She grabbed her favorite necklace Bea got her around the time they started dating. She admired the pink poppy in the middle with the black center. She looked at the bottom of the jewelry box and contemplated for a moment. After putting on the necklace she went over to her door to make sure it was locked and sat on her bed. She pulled up the false bottom of the box. Pulling out a stack of letters she went through the letters she never sent to Art Nakamara.

It had only been four months since she found out the truth about her family. She was home for the weekend for some business event she didn’t care about.

Piers was trying to impress a mogul from another company and he needed his token family to parade around to make himself seem perfect. Poppy had on one of her favorite pink dresses that was customized just for her. She was forced to talk to the mogul’s son Harrison.

“We were out on the lake for like a month. It was a great time, it would have been better if you were there in a bikini.” Harrison moved closer to Poppy to put his arm around her. He smelled like strong leather and tobacco. 

“I’m allergic to water, sorry.” Poppy got from under his arm, eyes stinging from the cologne. She practically sprinted to the bar, she needed a shot of anything right away. “Hit me with a shot of anything.” The bartender slid her a glass with clear liquid and before he had time to turn Poppy downed it. It was smooth, but burned like hell going down, just what she needed. She turned and was met with her mother.

“Poppy, what are you doing at the bar alone? Where is Harrison? He seems like such a nice single boy. Cute too.”

“He had to go to the restroom. I am sure he has women practically lining up to date him mother. I am however off market. I told him I would meet him at the bar” Poppy wasn’t sure if her mom believed her lie, but she couldn’t really care. Her parents were acting strange, which says a lot because her parents weren’t exactly like most. They haven’t been in contact as often. Weekly phone calls have turned monthly. They haven’t had the easiest time accepting Bea, but she couldn’t continue to live for them she needed to live for herself. Poppy was going to need six more shots to just get through the night.

“Just make sure you are a good hostess to him. We need to make sure the Vanderwald’s leave happy.”

“Yes mother I know. I will make sure he leaves…. Content of course.” Her mother must be out of her mind if she thought she would spend anymore time with that boring ass boy. 

The miscellaneous shots she took were finally kicking in. She pulled out her phone and looked through Instagram. She saw a picture of Bea back at Belvoire. It looked like her and Zoey were in their dorm. Poppy couldn't help but admire her girlfriend. She hated that she had to miss their night to schmooze these boring people. The alcohol she drank gave her a great idea though. She sent a text to Bea and hoped her plan would work.

About an hour later Poppy met Bea and Zoey at the door relieved she had back up now.

“What took you so long?” Poppy was running out of excuses to dodge Harrison all night. Bea enveloped Poppy into a hug.

“We had to get ready. If I am going to be around the Min-Sinclairs I need to look my best.”

“She changed her outfit like four times while freaking out.” Zoey was tired of watching Bea change her outfits back at the door. 

Bea playfully pushed Zoey, “She is lying. It was traffic too.” 

“I am just glad you are here to save me from the annoying Harrison Vanderwald.”

“Oh Yea, the guy that got kicked out of Belvoire for trying to bribe his professors.” Bea had a class with him and remembers him being such a dick.

The night went on with less bumps than the beginning. Harrison found someone else to leech off of in the night. People were finally leaving from the Min-Sinclairs and Poppy could finally take a breath.  

“Thanks for the invite Pops.” Bea enveloped Poppy in her arms.

“Alright you two I will be waiting out in the car. Thanks Min-Sinclair. Bea don’t take forever or I am leaving you.”

“Yea Yea Zoey. I will be out in a second.”  Bea goofily grinned, holding Poppy,excited to be alone with Poppy for the first time tonight. 

“I missed you Popcorn.” Bea kissed her girlfriend. 

“It’s definitely the alcohol making me soft but I missed you too.” They just held each other for a moment until they heard the sound of a stomach grumble. “Hughes have you eaten anything all day?”

“Well we were going to go to get pizza, but I got excited by your message.”

“Bea Hughes choosing me over pizza. You really do care about me.”

“I absolutely do Pops.” Bea places a soft kiss on Poppy’s forehead. Her stomach grumbles even louder this time.

“Alright let’s get you a snack” 

Poppy pulled out one of Bea’s favorite snacks. She had secretly been requesting this snack because eating it always reminds her of Bea. She would rather shave herself bald then tell Bea this.

“Ooh my favorite thanks Poppy.” Bea kissed Poppy’s forehead before indulging in her snack.  Poppy’s heart explodes everytime her girlfriend lightens up. 

After an angry text from Zoey wondering what was taking so long, Poppy and Bea started walking to the closest exit. They heard a whispered argument taking place.

“Ana if this gets out I will be a laughing stock. How could you be so fucking careless. The stock would plumet and then what of the fancy life I have given you.”

“I know, I am sorry. No one knows of this. Not even Poppy. As far as she knows you are her father.”

“Yea no one except me, you and any decent private investigator. I will take care of this like always.”

Poppy and Bea ran to the walk in pantry to avoid Piers from catching them on their accidental eavesdrop. Poppy felt like the air was sucked out of her lungs. She collapsed into Bea’s arm and quietly sobbed. Piers was not her father and her mother kept her from her bio father.

Poppy was lucky to find one private investigator not under Piers thumb. She was given Arts name and found out all she could about him. He was a well loved preschool teacher. He would supportive of his students and even as adults they would come visit him to catch up. Everyone saw his like another parent in their life. She felt robbed for missing our of know her real dad and stuck with Piers. Piers was controlling and not at all affectionate which as a kid made her question her self worth. Bea slowly helped her through her feelings and downfalls. She wishes her girlfriend wasn’t so busy because she could really use her cuddles right about now.

Bea felt bad about lying to her girlfriend but she was trying to desperately figure out what to give someone who has everything for their birthday. She has gone through a thousand ideas all of which she felt were not good/expensive enough for the girl who swiftly stole her heart. She barged into Zoey’s room and threw herself onto her bed.

“Bea what if I were naked. Knock at least next time!” Zoey lectured without even looking up from her laptop.

“I would have closed my eyes. I need some help from that beautiful mind of yours.”

“You are lucky flattery will get your everywhere with me. What’s the problem roomie?”

“I don’t know what to get Poppy for her birthday. I have brainstormed for weeks and came up with diddly squat.” 

“ That’s like picking a gift for Satan themself. Ow watch the laptop” Zoey rubbed her the back of her head that was assaulted with her fluffy pillow.

“Don’t be dramatic that was practically a cloud. Now please help me with this dilemma so I don’t end up sad and single.”

“First of all you are being dramatic and second of alll nothing wrong with because single. Most people will agree you have melted Poppy’s ice princess facade. Even if she doesn’t admit it she loves your ‘from the heart sappy shit you do’.  Just think with that big heart of …” Before Zoey could finish her sentence Bea jumped off her bed and ran out. 

Poppy held Bea’s hand while she drove. She paid attention to the hum of her car and the warmth of her hand. Her hands felt empty without her phone, but Bea insisted on her leaving her phone at the Zeta house. She didn’t need much convincing wearing a blindfold for a surprise. She wasn’t going to show it, but she was just happy to be in Bea’s presence. It was like feeling a calm wash over her mind. She vented about her day and how annoying the Zetas were during the presentations. They drove what felt like hours away from the University.

“Okay Pops I need you to do me a favor. Stay here while I go get something. No peaking or else I will withhold kisses for the next week.”

“Are you even allowed to be so cruel on my birthday?” Bea kissed Poppy quickly before running into the mysterious location. Pops just listened but none of the sounds were out of the ordinary. After about 5 minutes Bea came to Poppy’s door and opened. She helped her out of the car and handed she her favorite tea. 

“Don’t tell me we drove all this way for you to poison me.” She took a sip and recongized it being one of her favorite drinks Matcha. “Hughes I know you did not make us drive all this way for something we could go about 5 minutes from campus to get.”

“Poppy if I wanted to poison you I wouldn’t have done it in somewhere so public. But no it’s not just for the tea we had to come here for you birthday gift. Take of your blindfold.” Poppy took off her blindfold and felt like she recognized where she was. She looked around and noticed a man walking towards them.  He was a bit shorter than she was and he was smiling. She recongized him from the pictures the P.I. sent her as well as when she googled Art Nakamura , her bio dad.

“Hello, Poppy” The man beamed at her. “Happy Birthday” He held out a bouquet of flowers. Poppy hesitantly took the flowers.

“Hello Mr. Nakamura.” 

“Please feel free to call me Art.”

“ Thank you for the flowers Mr. Nakam– Art. Could you give Bea and I a moment?”

“No worries I will get us a table in the cafe.” Art walked into the cafe and Poppy turned to her girlfriend.

“What the fuck were thinking, Hughes?” Poppy shouted not worrying about the looks from passerbys. “How did you know about him? Do you know what could happen if Piers finds out about this? I could loose everything! Do you not fucking think!?”

“I was just trying to get you a good birthday gift and you have everything and I thought maybe it would be nice to meet him and get answers for questions you wanted. One of the nights I stayed over the letters were out and I accidentally read one of them. I didn’t say anything ,but the emotion just pour out of them and it seemed like you really wanted to meet him.”

“Those were private! Bea I can’t do this with you. Please just leave. I will find another way to get back to campus.”  

“But Poppy you don’t have your phone.”

“I don’t care. Just go.” Poppy shouted at Bea. Her chest felt heavy because she felt bad for yelling but she was just so angry. Anything else Bea had to say died in her throat. She walked back to her car and got in to leave. Poppy walked inside and found Art enjoying a mug of green liquid. She could smell the matcha.

“I am sorry for intruding, Poppy.”

“No, Art it’s no worries. It was just an unexpected surprise.”

They talked for awhile and Poppy’s stiff posture softened as she learned more about Art. He loved matcha just as much as she did. He talked about his time in college and how he always wanted to be a teacher. He showed her a picture of when he took his class to the museum and helped pay for the kids who couldn’t afford it. 

“I know it’s none of my business and my apologies in advance if I am over stepping. You shouldn’t be so hard on your girlfriend Bea.”

“She told you about our relationship?”

“No she didn’t need to. I know the look of love anywhere. We have all been bitten by the love bug once or twice.”

“ You don’t care that I am dating a girl.”

“Of course not. We can’t help who we love.” Poppy did her best to keep her tears from escaping.

“I appreciate you saying that Art. I just couldn’t imagine the wrath if Piers found out.”

“Bea said the same thing when planning this. She didn’t even let me bring my phone. I didn’t even park around here she made me park farther away and walk. I thought she was joking at first. She had me turn right 8 times to make sure I wasn’t being tailed.”

“I don’t have my phone either. She really went above and beyond.” She whispered the last part. Suddenly she felt like the worst girlfriend on this planet. She looked at where Bea had parked and saw an empty space. 

Bea found a quiet restaurant to sulk. She barely touched her fries when her phone started to buzz. It was a number she didn’t recongize, but there was no scam likely under it so she answered.

“Hello?”

“I’m so sorry for blowing up at you.” Poppy muttered. “I just was so sacred and had so many emotions running about I didn’t know how to react.”

“It’s okay Poptart. I should have ran this by you and not read the letter.”

“Will you come back? I want you to meet my dad.” 

“Absolutely, I will be right over.” Bea only went over 1 block, she didn’t want to leave Poppy stranded. After parking she walked into the cafe and saw Poppy laughing with Art. She was actually belly laughing. Bea’s heart felt so full to see her girlfriend enjoying her time with her father. She walked over and Poppy pulled her into a hug. She always felt light when her and Poppy embraced. Like nothing in the world could hurt them as long as they were together.

“Art I know you two have corresponded ,but I would like to officially introduce Bea my girlfriend.”

“Nice to meet you in person Bea. Thank you for today.” Bea shook Art’s hand and they sat and talked.

Art was telling them a story from his time in college and Bea was giggling at the story. Poppy imagined what life would have been like if Art was always her dad and raised her. She imagines with someone so warm as a father she would have turned out different. They stayed until close and parted ways after exchanging numbers on napkins.

On the way back to campus Poppy grabbed her girlfriends hands and planted a soft kiss on the back of Bea’s hand.

“Thank you for an amazing day.”

“Always. Happy Birthday Pops.”

Master List

[peonyblossom]

Meet My MC - Quinn Hughes

Book: Queen B Name: Quinn Isabelle Hughes Pronouns: she/her Birthday: August 31, 1999 Zodiac: Virgo Height: 5’10” Gender: Transwoman (mtf) Sexuality: Pansexual Love Interests: Ian Kingsley, Zoey Wade Fave Taylor Swift Album: reputation Hometown: Dixon Township, Oklahoma Major: Fashion studies Hobbies: Equestrian riding, hair styling (specifically for black hair), and photography

[dist4nt-shores]

choices as random text posts i have saved part 3!!! u guessed it, beneath the cut

blades fans wanting to romance valax after ch.1

choices mcs when their entire friend group is in love with them

immortal desires mc

foreign affairs mc

the kindred coven

ian kingsley

kade from blades of light & shadow

the phantom agent

part one | part two | part three

[choicesmonthlychallenge]

To Be or Not to Be: a Valentine's Event

I know there are several Valentine's events already, however some people reached out that they enjoyed the "not to be" part of my Valentine's event. Plus, I already had the idea to use conversation hearts for this year's TBONTB event and didn't trust myself to remember it for next year lol

The Event runs from February 11-19; however I will reblog early entries as they're recieved. So feel free to think of this event as running from now to February 19th.

Guidelines:

Entries must use (or be based on) one of the above prompts.

Entries that simply mention conversation/candy hearts will also be included

You may use any prompt for either "to be" or "not to be" (for example: you can use "hell no" as a "to be" prompt even though it's listed as "not to be")

the "or" category I added this year is based more on traditional candy hearts and can be used for either "to be" or "not to be"

Any prompt may also be used for friends/platonic holiday creations

Please label if your work is "to be"  (valentine's/romantic/love/fluff) or "not to be" (anti-valentine's/angst/breakup) or if friends just state that

All creative work is accepted (writing, art, edits, moodboards, etc)

May be combined with other challenges and events

Please tag any triggers or mature themes appropriately

Please tag @choicesmonthlychallenge and/or @lovealexhunt

*If I don't reblog your work within a day, please message me since tags are not always reliable

[thelonewolfstar]

What if Poppy has a CG?

[timetravesty]

(Queen B Book 3) Say You Love Me Pt. 13

✨Pt.1300018 is here!✨ Please Enjoy!

Context: I'M BACK (at least for this new fic in the new year). Couple of things to note:

I have no writing schedule, everything is in the air

Peep the name change, much cleaner imo, thank you @yslrs 😽If it wasn't clear, this was originally "I'll Forget You Too" and will be "Say You Love Me" from now on.

Hope everyone is having a good new year so far, January felt too long...

Please enjoy! (and ignore any grammar mistakes, it's late 🫠)

Masterlist

General Content Warnings: Mature, Angst, NSFW, Cursing, Internalized Homophobia, Homophobia, Semi-Violence, Cheating, Slow Burn, Don Sterling 🥴(mentioned)

----------------------------------------------------

“Usually the drink doesn’t end up on my shirt, I swear.” Bea commented, leaning against the counter as Lana walked over to the paper towel dispenser. The small click of her heels against the tile seemed fairly loud as she sighed to herself. 

That also sounded pretty damn loud. 

 The two had walked quickly to the nearest bathroom, ducking away from the large groups of people until they were both completely alone. She grabbed a few towels, pointedly looking at the floor as she returned to where Bea was standing.

Okay, so this was not the time for jokes. 

A few seconds of silence passed, some off tune beat vibrating from the club as Bea’s hands gripped the counter, knuckles turning white. In the silence, Bea hadn’t gotten a good look at Lana, who was wearing a striking silver dress with small pearl earrings. Bea guessed she was attending some kind of company event, but she coudln’t be sure. A nightclub was a weird place for an event. 

It also didn’t help the fact that, if they were having a company event, Bea was wildly underdressed. A black tee now well-covered in two types of alcoholic drinks. 

Bea tapped a finger against the counter. 

“Lana-”

“Bea-” 

They spoke at the same time, Lana finally looking up at Bea and smiling sheepishly. Not a typical look for her. 

“Sorry, you can go first.” She murmured, gently dabbing the towels against Bea’s soaked shirt. Alcohol stains were definitely not going to be cleaned out by a dab of a brown paper towel. 

“Thanks. I wanted to say I’m… glad I ran into you.” 

“Really? How come?” 

Bea swallowed hard. It felt like a giant jawbreaker was stuck in her throat and obviously, now was not the time to be a chicken. 

“Cause I’ve made a mistake.” Bea admitted, heart thumping in her ear as Lana stopped dabbing her towel. “What I told you last week, I was a huge jerk…”

“More like a massive jackass.” 

Bea grimaced. “...I was being a massive jackass. What I told you-” 

Quickly, Lana placed her finger against Bea’s lips, shushing the girl. “Bea. I don’t want to hear a million excuses. Please be honest with me.” Lana took a deep breath. It seemed like she wanted that out of her system for a while. 

The overhead light in the bathroom gleamed above, lightly displaying the red rims under Lana’s eyes as she looked at Bea silently. A little too puffy to be claimed as simple allergies. She had obviously been upset for the past few days which led to Bea pushing the dread in her stomach down. Lana dropped her arm, resuming dabbing at Bea’s shirt as Bea thought of the best way to word her thoughts. 

Being honest shouldn't be so hard. 

“I said I don’t date, which is kinda a half-lie. What I really meant was…while we both work under Poppy, she would make both of our lives a living hell if anything….” Bea gestured between the two of them. Lana’s eyes widened in curiosity, probably turning over this new info in that gorgeous head of hers. 

 Bea waited patiently, feeling a slight pressure lifted off her shoulders. It felt good to admit something honest to Lana. It felt weird though, to even reference Poppy by name when all Bea had done lately is avoid the very thought of her. 

“But why would she even care?”

Cause she was bent on making Bea move back to SweetCreek and stay a nobody in that small town and possibly make her pick up pig goop for the rest of her life, all because of what happened at Belvoire. But she couldn't admit that to Lana without a whole sob story to follow. A pathetic sob story. 

So she worked with what she could. 

“Okay, honest truth, Poppy and I… we’ve got history. As in, she hated my guts in college.” 

Lana barked a laugh, smiling to herself as Bea raised a sharp brow. “That’s funny to you?” 

“I mean… I can see why. You seem like the complete opposite of Poppy. Though, you two went to the same college?”

“Yea, Belvoire… Can we back up for a second? You’re not pissed at me?” Lana laughed again. 

“Of course I am, but you’re just so adorable.” She mumbled, finally tossing away the paper towels and returning her gaze to Bea. Her emerald green eyes sparkled just a little, as she reached out her palm, letting it rest on top of Bea’s knuckles, which were still white from gripping the counter. “I’m glad you’re finally willing to be honest with me at least. Though when you say you’ve got history…” 

“We were just college rivals!” Bea answered quickly, hopefully not too quickly. “There’s like a whole history on Belvoire that is way too detailed to tell in a nightclub bathroom but-“

Lana broke into laughter, cutting Bea off as she gripped her stomach. Bea watched her before breaking into a few chuckles of her own. Lana’s laugh was infectious. A couple of seconds later, Lana wiped a few stray tears from her eyes as she smiled brightly at Bea. “Sorry, sorry. It’s just this whole thing… What’re we doing Bea?” 

“Trying to get the alcohol stains out of my shirt?” Bea tried, causing Lana to break into a small grin. 

“Okay that, but also… Why are we acting like we’re in high school? Poppy hated your guts in college, but we’re all adults now.”

Poppy probably didn’t have the same mindset, but Bea wasn’t going to argue with Lana. Especially because she was standing so close and smelled so good. 

“Think we can just put this all behind us? Start over?” 

Bea grinned brightly. No way would she be able to make herself look cool after thinking about Lana constantly for the past week. Mornings, afternoons, and evenings. 

“I’d like that, I’d hate to continue being a massive jerk in your eyes for longer than a week.” 

“You‘ll still be a massive jerk until you take me out on a date next Friday.” Lana said casually, never breaking eye contact with Bea who felt a chill run down her spine. 

“Wait, really?”

Lana nodded confidently. “My contract with Pulse was terminated. You’re looking at the new junior model for Belle.” 

“Which means that-“ 

“It means that I will also be working under Poppy, and since she apparently has ‘beef’ with you, we have two options.” Lana held up two fingers. Perfectly manicured nails that she waved slightly in the air to keep Bea’s attention. 

“We can tell HR and deal with the madness that follows or we can wait until your contract with her is up.” 

“…Seriously? You’d go to HR?” Bea asked as Lana nodded with resolve. She had moved herself a bit closer to Bea, smiling fondly as she kept her hand over Bea’s knuckles. 

“I would because like I said, you owe me a date.”

Bea bit her lip, running through the options in her head. HR would be a mess. Not only would it be a problem for Kat, Poppy would probably be even more nit picky and bossy due to reasons Bea refused to name. 

Yet her job under Poppy should only last until the early months of next year. Bea had been kept as a secret for much longer before. 

“It’s only a year. I don’t think telling HR would be necessary. Especially since I’m just an external party.” 

“Then it’s settled.” Lana smiled, the first genuine smile that Bea hadn’t seen in awhile. She wanted to possibly lean in, finally know what Lana tasted like, but a first kiss in a club bathroom would not only be embarrassing but possibly the most un-smooth thing Bea could do.

Also, Lana deserved more than a messy bathroom kiss. She deserved more than being a random hookup or a secret too, but the last one was out of Bea’s hands at the moment. 

“Earth to Bea.” Lana said, snapping her fingers as Bea shook her head gently. That thought would have to wait. She didn’t screw it up, Lana was still here. Still standing with a slight lean towards Bea who was fighting the urge to reach out. 

“Sorry, just lost in thought.” 

“About?”

“…About where I get to take you on Friday.” 

—————————————————————————

“Holy shit…” Bea mumbled, clicking the light on in Poppy’s bathroom and closing the door with her foot. 

Bea had assumed she would need to beg hard to even get into this section of Poppy’s room, but it was safe to say the blonde was a little worn out after several rounds. 

Bea glanced around the bathroom. It was average, gold lining, large walk-in shower and of course the biggest mirror Bea had ever seen in her life. 

There was a scatter of makeup products as well. All surprisingly organized to perfection. 

Bea rubbed the back of her neck, stretching slightly before pulling her hand away. Small traces of blood lined her fingertips as Bea turned her back towards the mirror. 

“HOLY SHIT!” She hissed out when she finally saw the mess that Poppy had made of her back. Bea was right to comment on her claws as they had probably made a permanent indent on the skin of bea’s back. 

She couldn’t lie and say she wasn’t a bit proud of that. Poppy seemed to have a good time, even though she would probably deny it to the grave. 

Smirking to herself, Bea tidied herself up, walking out of the pristine bathroom a few minutes later to find Poppy sitting upright in the bed. 

Her covers were loosely draped around her waist as she was currently holding a silver compact mirror. Her head was angled to expose her neck, rubbing slender fingers over the skin as she didn’t bother to acknowledge Bea’s presence. 

Jumping on the bed was a big no. She could already tell as Poppy snapped the mirror shut just as Bea crossed her line of vision. 

“God, you’re still here? I thought I told you to leave already?” 

“Was that before or after you were-“ Poppy held up a hand, rolling her eyes as Bea leaned down to pick up her discarded jeans. Poppy was not kind to the denim. 

“Leave SweetCreek. Don’t make me repeat myself.” 

Bea smiled, licking her lips as she casually threw on her pants, humming to herself as Poppy glared at Bea. She took her time slipping on her jacket too, wondering how impatient she could make Poppy. 

“Alright, alright… I just wanted to say goodnight.” Bea smiled, facing Poppy who looked a little less irritated when Bea caught her staring. 

That quickly changed back into her sour demeanor as Bea walked a step closer. That probably wasn’t wise as Poppy subtly straightened herself upright from her previously casual slant. 

“Thanks for a good time, Poptart. I’ve got a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other soon.” 

“You so wish.” Poppy bit back, narrowing her eyes as Bea laughed to herself. 

She really shouldn’t admit it… but she really was wishing for it. 

“Have a good night.” Bea smiled, turning towards the door, before a brilliant idea popped in her head. Bea walked up to Poppy’s bay window, undoing the lock as she heard a mutter of confusion behind her. 

The storm had finally settled down, allowing Bea to open the window to a cool breeze with only hints of mist. IIt was a nice night, especially after such an active storm. 

“What do you think you’re-“ 

Bea peered down the bay window, blocking Poppy out while she was probably shouting profanities at Bea’s turned back. Oh yea, she could climb that. 

“Try not to think of me too much while I’m gone.” Bea said with a confident lilt, winking at Poppy as she ducked herself down, climbing down the vine that grew against the Zeta House. 

The last thing Bea heard was a couple of curse words from Poppy’s window before finally hitting the ground, luckily not tumbling into the rose bushes below. 

She obviously needed to make a cool getaway entrance which was achieved. As stupid as it could have looked…

Securing on her shoes, Bea walked off, humming to herself as she made her way to her dorm. What a night…

Bea could hardly believe it either. A girl’s night turning into sleeping with her mortal enemy? A week ago, it was a foreign concept to even think of fooling around with Poppy. 

But of course, she had to admit that she had thought of it before. It was Poppy after all. She wasn’t the Queen B for nothing. Besides being a conniving bitch, she was possibly the hottest person at Belvoire. 

Bea could admit it, especially after….

Shaking her head, Bea slapped herself mentally. What she wouldn't do is romanticize the whole thing. Poppy was bad news. Even though she had said all those cocky and confident phrases, Zoey would have her head for even messing around with Poppy for a night. Which is probably why Bea would be keeping this info to herself for the time being. 

She ran home, memories of only a few hours running through her mind all the way to her doorstop. Sliding her shoes against the doormat, Bea slowly turned her key into the handle, creaking the door open softly, before breathing a sigh of relief.

Her dorm was pitch black, Zoey’s door completely closed as Otis slept in his small doggy bed next to the couch. Bea tip-toed inside, setting her shoes near the door as she passed Otis and made her way into her room, only for her light to be turned on and Zoey to spin around in her desk chair like some evil super villain. 

“Well well well.” She said, uncrossing her legs as Bea caved her shoulders in. Busted. 

“Look what the cat dragged in. Do you know what time it is?” 

“...one…” 

Zoey glared. 

“...two…” 

“Four in the morning Bea. I send you out looking like a snack to go meet Poppy in some swanky nightclub and you come back home at four in the morning.” Zoey stood from her chair, wearing a set of green silk pajamas as she tapped her foot against Bea’s carpet. 

“Care to explain?” 

It would likely be easier to tell Zoey that she had fallen prey to the wiles of Poppy MIn-Sinclair. But easier did not mean smarter. 

“Hey, you know the story. Good looking bartender and a really good drink pun.” Bea shrugged, shrugging out of her jacket before, pausing as she heard an audible gasp from Zoey. 

“Shit dude, was the bartender part werewolf?? Your back looks horrifying.” Bea blushed, taking the jacket off completely as she grinned as best as she could. 

“Guess my puns weren’t all she liked.” Zoey gave her a deadpan stare, probably contemplating whether she was telling the truth as she tapped her slipper impatiently. 

“Uhuh, and what happened to Poppy during the night?” 

“She disappeared early, probably off to suck tongues with her new boyfriend.” Bea stated. This lying thing was coming out a little too smoothly. 

A moment of silence passed as Bea stood awkwardly in her room, before nodding. “Fine, it’s believable. Just don’t give me a heart attack like that again. I called like five times and I was ready to accuse Poppy of first degree murder.” 

“Sorry babe, won’t happen again.” Zoey smiled, walking past Bea and out of her room. 

“You owe me dinner.” She called out as Bea yelled back in agreement before hearing Zoey’s door close and the sound of her whale noises resume. 

Closing her own door, Bea mumbled out a groan, throwing her coat on her bed and walking towards the bathroom. 

A cold shower was a necessity after the night she had. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------

“Four missed calls from your father and three calls from Don Sterling.” Tevon said, reading off of his ipad as Poppy nursed a headache. 

After that…fiasco of a party, she had returned to her penthouse and broke out the good wine…and brandy and some scotch as well. That was what her weekend included. Work, sleep, wine, brandy, scotch, and sushi. She had forgotten weekends were not as long as they felt. 

Come Monday, she had woken up late and was in the office at lunch time, forcing Tevon to wolf down his tuna sandwich and read her the new list of tasks she needed to complete minus four hours. 

“A meeting with a new journalist, a meeting with Paula Husk for an interview as well as the New York Pressed, and a tailoring at four.” He said, peering over his ipad as Poppy hadn’t lifted her head once. 

“Ms. Min-Sinclair? I don’t mean to be blunt, but you look like you’re dying at your desk.” He said as Poppy looked up, not even bothering to hide the fact she had dark circles under her eyes. 

“Tevon, I asked for an update, not an opinion.” She said, waving him off as she tapped her nail against her desk.

“Push the tailoring to tomorrow, and move the interview to next week. As for Don… what does he want now?” 

“He said he wants to reschedule dinner on Thursday. Something about being interrupted previously.” 

“...tell him Thursday doesn’t work for me.”

“He also said Friday would be better for him.” 

Poppy scoffed. Of course he did. “Fine, Friday is fine.” 

“And your father?”

“Ignore him.” Poppy mumbled, turning on her monitor and clicking it to life. “Also, call Rensler and schedule a meeting with Bea Hughes.” She said as she typed in her password. “But tell her to come to my office. I have a few comments on the latest layout changes.” 

Tevon nodded, leaving Poppy’s office a second later, right as she left her head hit the table again. 

She shouldn’t have had so much to drink last night. She wasn’t entirely sure what made her drink so much in the first place. Sure, she was a little… miffed about the whole Bea situation, but that was hardly a reason to drink herself into a stupor. 

Bea had pissed her off plenty of times during their Belvoire days. It was the same thing everytime. Even two years couldn't change the way Bea made her skin boil. 

Right as Poppy lifted her head, probably to reposition her head, the phone connected to Tevon’s rang, causing her to jump. Poppy cleared her throat, straightening her jacket as she clicked accept.

“Poppy Min-Sinclair speaking.” 

“Good afternoon Ms. Min-Sinclair. I’m a reporter for the New York Pressed and wanted to confirm our meeting for tomorrow?” 

Poppy raised a sharp brow, looking over at her door where Tevon was likely sitting. “Yes, I’m sorry, didn’t my assistant already confirm your appointment?”

“Yes ma’am, but here at the Press, we like to have direct confirmation with our interviewee.” 

“I see… well in that case, yes, I look forward to meeting with you Ms… I don’t think I caught your name?” 

“Oh right, Burnett. Carol Burnette. I look forward to our meeting Ms. Min-Sinclair.” 

The line went dead as Poppy hung up the phone, lips pursed at the reporter's name. Carol Burnette… that name was oddly familiar. Before she could think any longer, Poppy felt a sharp pang hit her head, causing her to wince. 

“Tevon! Could you please bring some Advil and some water?” She asked through the speaker of her office phone, allowing her head to drop once more.

-------------------------------------------------

“Bea Hughes.” Bea said, tapping her foot restlessly as Tevon clicked away on his computer. The man was quiet, focused on his work as he smiled up at her. It was a well-practiced secretary smile.

“I’ll tell Ms. Min-Sinclair you’re here. Please take a seat.”

“Thanks.” Bea moved towards the waiting chairs, setting her bag down as Tevon left the room, walking into Poppy’s large solo office as she breathed out a sigh of release.

In reality, Bea hadn’t expected to see Poppy as soon as a few days later. 

After the sudden bump in the club, the reconnection with Lana, and a very tired Bea looking up great date spots over the weekend, she wasn’t sure if she could handle the Min-Sinclair wrath. 

But here she was. 

Dressed in casual black jeans and a button down top, ready to attend to her client’s every need. Which was a lot. The majority of her weekend consisted of checking over designs and emails from Poppy about the layout and timing. 

She was adamant about finishing this project at lightning speed it seemed. 

“Ms. Hughes? Ms. Min-Sinclair will see you now.” Tevon called, snapping Bea out of her thoughts as she nodded. Standing up, Bea approached the large double doors, opening one as the light hit her straight in the eye. 

While they hadn’t discussed what Poppy’s personal office would look like in the new building, Bea had assumed it would be as big and bright as her current space. A better view as well considering her current layout only overlooked other buildings. 

Poppy was currently sitting in her large leather chair, spinning on the wheels slightly as she typed away on her fancy keyboard. Her hair was perfectly framed around her face, not a strand out of place, but oddly enough she was wearing a pair of dark rimmed glasses. 

Bea pursed her lips, walking into the office as Poppy’s hands stopped their movement. 

“Good afternoon, Ms. Min-Sinclair.” Bea said, watching Poppy push herself away from the keyboard to look at Bea in the eyes. Or at least she assumed considering how dark her shades were. 

“I’m not sure how good of an afternoon it is, Hughes.” She mumbled back, reaching into one of her desk drawers as Bea took a seat from across her desk. 

Poppy was... noticeably clumsier today. Bea could see the mess of papers across her desk, the pens scattered across, and a bottle Advil almost tipped over. There was also the fact that Poppy's coat was just draped over her desk and not hung up neatly in the closet near the corner.

Poppy shuffled around in her drawer, pulling out a stack of papers as she sighed heavily. “Look, I called you in today to briefly go over some of the new design choices. I’m not really in the mood for a full blown session, but my secretary can-” 

“Are you feeling alright?” Bea blurted out, stalling her hand from slapping over her mouth as Poppy looked up. 

“Excuse me?” She asked, scrunching her brows from what Bea could tell. 

“Sorry, you’re just… wearing sunglasses inside.” 

“What I wear inside my own building is none of your concern, you-.” Poppy snapped, before drawing back, clearing her throat and tapping a sharp nail to her desk. 

“I’m fine.” She ended, taking off her glasses a moment later as Bea nodded in compliance. She was definitely not fine if the bags under her eyes were any indication. It looked like she was auditioning for a local punk band. 

“Now, can we carry on with business?” 

“Yes, of course….” Bea paused, reaching for her bag as Poppy resumed shuffling through her papers. “...you know whenever I’m hungover, I always drink some powerade.” Bea said as she pulled out her laptop. 

Poppy sighed, casting a blank stare over at Bea who was humming to herself. “I’m not hungover.” She stated, feeling the thought of a fight rather draining. She was extremely hungover. 

“I didn’t say you were. I said when I’m hungover, I drink powerade.” Bea stated, placing her laptop on the desk as she looked up at Poppy. 

Call her crazy, but with everything working out with Lana, her job, heck, even being in Poppy’s company, something seemed a little brighter. 

Poppy scoffed. “That never worked for me. You know-” She paused. 

You know I tried it at Belvoire. 

“Energy drinks are unhealthy.” She said, flipping the idea away as she cleared her throat and pointed at her monitor. “Now, back to business.”

Bea could have figured how that sentence would have ended, but they had promised they wouldn't pry. They wouldn't discuss the past and would only focus on the future, besides, she had at least tried to do her good deed for the day.

“Right, I was looking over these designs…”

-----------------------------------------------------------

Poppy spun in her chair, tapping her nails against the arm as her phone rang for the sixth time. She knew who it was, but she still wouldn’t feel inclined to answer. 

Bea had left over an hour ago. It seemed she was in a better mood than she had been for the past few days. Poppy wasn’t sure why. 

Stopping her chair mid spin, Poppy reached for the powerade she had asked Tevon to bring her. She had forgotten about this home remedy that…Bea had once told her about. 

It felt like years ago and it was, but saying it was only two years made Poppy feel a million times older. The last time she saw Bea, in her mind, was at least a decade long. 

She took a tentative sip, recoiling at the sudden burst of taste. When Bea said it worked for her hangovers, Poppy assumed that was because she probably recoiled from the taste versus the electrolytes helping. 

Though, she distinctly remembered a certain cup that Bea would always carry around, filled with red liquid. She was always the hyper type. 

The phone paused its ringing, allowing Poppy to take another sip of her drink before the ringing resumed. She set the drink down, finally pulling out her phone and accepting the call. 

“Poppy, I’ve called several times.” Piers shouted through the line as Poppy stood up from her chair, walking over to her floor length window as she took a deep breath. 

“I apologize, I was just in a company call.” 

Piers grumbled through the line, something about ungratefulness and pride, before her cleared his throat. “I’m assuming you received a calling card from Don recently?”

Of course her father was interested in Don Sterling's pursuits and nothing else. Certainly not the fact that Poppy’s newest issue was a few weeks from release. 

“I have, we’re having dinner this Friday.” Poppy commented, hearing her father huff in pride. 

“Good! Good! I’m calling because I want you to invite Don to the Leighton-Sinclair Golf Club Tournament next month.” 

Poppy crossed her arms over her chest, walking over to the phone and picking it up. “The golf tournament you wouldn’t even invite mother or I too?” 

“Yes, that’s the one.” 

“You want me to invite Don?” 

“Poppy, is the reception at your office bad? You heard what I said.” 

“I don’t think that’s the best idea…” Poppy stated as Piers let out a hearty evil chuckle. 

“Nonsense. I think it’s a marvelous idea! Your mother is looking forward to it. You know how much she loves Don.” 

“It’s almost as if she should be wooing him instead.” Poppy snapped back, scrolling through her computers calendar as her father released an awkward mumble. 

“Now Poppy, you know Don is a highly respectable man. Handsome too, wouldn’t you say?” 

She didn’t exactly know how to answer that. Don Sterling was handsome in the sense that most modern movie stars were. Conventionally attractive, but nothing else. 

“He’s a good man and he’s certainly brilliant.” 

Living off of his father’s fortune took a lot of brain power according to Piers. 

Poppy didn’t bother to answer, scrolling her calendar to next month only to see a large strip of purple over the weekend of the tournament. 

“I already asked Tevon to clear your schedule for that weekend. So that you’ll have time to fly out to Colorado and spend a relaxing weekend with your family.” Piers stated as Poppy mentally calculated how much to take out of Tevon’s bonus for this betrayal. 

“Dad, I don’t-” 

“Poppy, it’s settled. Invite Don when you see him this Friday.” Her father stated with an air of authority felt even through the phone line. 

Poppy kept a fist glued to her desk, nodding as she closed her eyes. “Of course, dad.” 

“Perfect, goodbye Poppy.” He hung up before she could even muster a fake reply. 

Setting down her phone, she took a seat in her chair, slumping a little low as her forehead hit the desk with a rather loud thump. 

A date with Don, more meetings with Bea Hughes, a magazine release week, and now a doomed and inevitable mini-vacation with her parents. 

Reaching for the powerade, Poppy took a swing, similar to how she had taken down shots only a night before. Maybe it wouldn’t cure the hangover, but it certainly could drown out something. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Red? Black? Purple?” Bea asked, shifting between hangers as Zoey casually scrolled through her phone. 

“Red is hot, blue brings out your eyes, and black is a no-go.” Zoey commented as Bea gave her a pleading look. 

“Zo, c’mon. You gotta help me here, I’m not sure what to wear.” 

“Bea.” Zoey said in her most dead-pan voice. “It’s one date, not marriage.” 

“It’s not just one date!” Bea smiled, thinking of how many ways she could attempt to woo Lana in less than 120 hours. “It’s Lana, and she’s-”

“Gorgeous, kind, unbelievably sexy? You told me and I stalked her picta. You definitely have a type.” 

Bea shrugged, casting a glance over at Zoey who was still browsing on her phone. “Even though I said I wouldn't talk about she who won’t be named, Lana is nothing like Poppy.” 

“Except they’re drop dead gorgeous, both fairly smart as much as I hate to compliment the devil, and weirdly attracted to you.” 

Bea scoffed, pulling away with a beige checkered blazer. “Rude, you know I’m hot.” 

“I think you think you’re hot. You’re attractive, sure, but it’s a little unheard of for two drop-dead girls going after your gay ass.” 

“I guess I’m just living the gay dream. And not even a comment about my stellar personality?” Bea remarked as Zoey rolled her eyes. 

Zoey laughed, swaying to her feet and taking the beige jacket from Bea. “Tell you what, I help you with this outfit, and then you tell me about your new boss.” 

“Zo…” 

“No Bea, I’ve been on tour for months. I deserve a touch of drama, I mean for heaven’s sake, the most drama I got these past months was someone constantly stealing Peter’s sandwich.” 

“That was probably you.” 

“Maybe, but not the point. The point is, I wanna hear what our old rival has been up to for these past few years.” 

“You’re out of luck then. She’s as dry as a well.” 

“That can't be true. Poppy always had a flair for dramatics.” 

Bea moved to sit where Zoey had been, stretching her leg as other customers bustled around the store. “It’s the truth. Sometimes, she’ll be completely chill and then she’ll just…snap.” 

“Snap like, hot snap or bitchy snap?”

“Second one.” 

“Ouch.” 

Rubbing her palms over her jeans, Bea thought back onto recent conversations with Poppy. As much as she might want to find some common ground, the way everything had ended was a complete mess. Bea wasn't sure if there was even a ground to reach. 

It felt a little too much like falling without end. 

“Point is, I probably only have to work with her till the end of this year and maybe a little longer, but after that, we’re done.” 

Zoey paused her shuffling through the racks, tapping her heel to the beat of some upbeat pop song, which was coincidentally her own. “...In a way, it’s a little depressing huh?” 

“What? What’s depressing?” 

“Poppy I guess. Like, she made this whole empire with Belle and stuff, all for her to have a stick wedged up her-” A mother walked by, covering her child’s ears as Zoey corrected herself. “Handbag.” 

Turning with a gray plaid fitting blazer, Zoey smiled sheepishly as she set the blazer down on a nearby automann. “Like, in Belvoire, she was a mess too, and even out of Belvoire? She’s still the same Poppy.” 

“What am I supposed to do about that?” Bea snapped a little too quickly as Zoey raised a sharp brow, returning to the clothing rack. 

“I’m not saying you’re supposed to do anything. I’m saying that Poppy was a bitch in college and she’s a bitch now. Seems like nothing has changed.” 

Bea kept quiet, staring at the marble floor as Zoey cooed at various outfits. Zoey had never… know the full extent of Poppy and her relationship. She knew it happened, she knew Bea was a mess for awhile, but she didn’t know much else. 

Mostly because of all the shit that went down during Belvoire, but also the fact that Bea kept most of it private. While she didn’t have to worry about Poppy spewing anything, Bea didn’t think she needed to say anything either. 

In the simplest way she could put it, Poppy and Bea’s relationship was their own. It was hers as much as it was Poppy’s. It was private because they kept it that way and even though it was never an official thing, it was still theirs. 

“See why I don’t want to talk about it now?” Bea asked as Zoey smirked. 

“I mean, a small sliver in me was hoping you’d come back with more interesting news than just Poppy hasn’t changed one bit, but yes, I get it.” 

Zoey walked back over to Bea, patting her firmly on the head as Bea squirmed away. “Now come on Casanova, it’s time to actually start getting ready for your date, and in your eyes, the rest of your life.”

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