#led me to be a bit more sympathetic to harrison and doubt some of the more aggressive theories about sarahs death

[technicolorxsn]

watching the newest chezzkids analysis vid and im wondering if I might have misinterpreted some stuff,,,

[etoileholland]

If I could be that guy, instead of me

Pairing: Tom Holland x reader, Osterfield!sister

Warnings: none

Word Count: 2.1k

Summary: Tom doesn’t think you like him in the same way, especially not after seeing you fawn over someone else. 

A/N: I was listening to the song “The look you give that guy/un coup de soleil” by Angèle, which heavily inspired this, but you don’t need to listen to the song to read this :) also this is for @chloecreatesfictions 1k writing challenge ❣ I really hope you enjoy it! The gif is not mine, all credit goes to its respective owner.

That look you give that guy, I wanna see looking right at me, Tom thought to himself as he wistfully watched you talk to the guy that worked at the bookstore.

You went to pick up a book that you ordered, making sure that it got sent specifically to that store location. At first Tom was unsure why it had to be this specific location, especially since it was clear across London, but once he saw the smile on your face when your eyes met the boy’s behind the counter, it all made sense.

He was everything Tom wasn’t, or at least Tom thought so. The guy you were talking to was taller, a bit more athletic, and definitely dressed better. If I could be that guy instead of me, Tom thought wistfully.

But sadly, no matter how much he wanted you, he knew that it would probably never happen since you were his best friend’s little sister. He knew that you only saw him as a brother figure, since he’s always been that to you.

It’ll probably never happen, he thought.

Noticing a chair near the counter, one that was just close enough to listen to your conversation, but not too close to be obvious, he plunked himself down in it. He looked around nervously for a second, but once he heard your joyous laugh, he fixed his gaze over to you.

He made note of your beaming smile, as well as how when you’re around that guy, your eyes just shine. They never did that when you were talking to him, nor did your smile seem as bright compared to when you were talking to this other guy.

“You are so funny!” You exclaimed to the guy behind the counter, twirling a strand of your hair in the process. The guy smiled at you, before saying, “Well, I think you’re quite funny too.”

There was a comfortable pause before a wave of remembrance washed over the boys face as he knelt down under the counter to retrieve something. He stood back up, a book in hand, wrapped up in brown paper with a red bow around it.

“Here’s the book you ordered.” He slid the book towards you, and you picked it up, admiring the wrapping. “I thought I should wrap it nicely, if that was alright with you.”

Smiling, you said, “It was, thank you.” Holding the book, you turned on your heel and gave him a little wave. “It was nice to see you Luke.” You added, smiling as the guy gave you a wave back.

“It was nice to see you too.” He answered, watching you practically skip over to Tom, who was now flipping through a free magazine.

“Did you see that?” You gasped, grinning from ear to ear.

Tom, less than enthused, answered, “See what?”

You gave him a knowing glance and said, “My conversation over there, he was practically flirting with me!” You grabbed Tom’s hand and yanked him out of the chair, eagerly leading him towards the door.

Tom allowed himself to be led by you, enjoying that you were holding his hand. Sure, it was only platonic for now, but it was better than nothing.

You led him outside, away from the store, and once you were far enough away you did a little happy dance, squeals and giggles and all. “Maybe he really likes me, wouldn’t that be nice?”

Of course not, I don’t want him liking you, it should be me instead of him, Tom thought. Instead of saying how he really felt, not wanting to spoil your happy moment, he answered “It would be.”

By this point you had let go of his hand, and Tom already missed the feeling of how your hand fit nicely in his. You were skipping ahead of him, smiling and joyous. When you turned your head and noticed he was a few paces behind you, you stopped and waited for Tom to catch up.

“Hey, do you still wanna grab lunch?” You inquired, stopping in front of a Chinese restaurant that you and Tom often frequented.

“Yeah, sounds good.” Tom answered back, giving you a half smile.

—

“You know, if you have feelings for my sister, just be honest with me.” Harrison uttered while he was benching some weights. He noticed that Tom had been distracted for about the past week, which matched up with the timeframe of you telling your brother Harrison about your crush on the guy at the bookstore.

When Tom heard his best friend say that, he nearly dropped the weights on his foot. “What makes you say that?” He replied, trying to act oblivious.

“I’ve seen the way you look at her, and I’ve seen the way your face scrunches up when she rambles on about that guy.”

“Right,” he answered, unsure of what else to say.

“Also, when you got drunk last night, while Y/N was at her friends, you confessed to me that you’re in love with her.” Harrison smirked, raising his eyebrow.

“I have no recollection of that.”

“Yeah, because you were absolutely sloshed. I’m even surprised you even remember your own name at this point.”

“Ha, ha, very funny.” Tom quipped back, before sitting on the bench of the bench press.

Harrison walked over to his friend and sat down next to him. “Really though, if you’re in love with her, go for it. I know you better than anyone, and I know you would be good for her.”

When Harrison saw that Tom looked at him unconvinced, he continued to speak. “I mean sure, it’ll definitely be weird at first, there’s no doubt about that. My best friend and my sister, how odd is that?” He laughed, “but I trust you with her. I know you’ll treat her like she deserves to be treated, with respect. So I’m only going to say this once more, if you want to be with her, you have my blessing.”

Tom glanced back at Harrison, who looked back at him sympathetically. “Do you really mean that?”

“Absolutely.” Harrison stood up, and patted Tom’s bicep. “Enough of this heart to heart, we have a tight schedule.” He joked, smiling at his best friend.

“Thank you.” Tom whispered as he stood back up, and walking back towards the set of weights on the wall.

—

“But do you really think Tom likes me?” You inquired while you and your friend Alexis were eating crêpes at the crêperie in Harrods. She was on the hunt for the perfect dress for her cousin’s wedding next month. Knowing that Harrison was fashionable, she asked if he wanted to come with to help pick something out, but he declined politely because he and Tom were set to go to the gym instead. She was also hoping to try to give you and Tom some one on one time while her and your brother shopped.

“Okay, listen to me,” Alexis stressed, “trust me when I say he likes you. It’s so obvious, but somehow you’re still clueless and oblivious.”

“I don’t know, I just feel like he doesn’t see me that way.” You stated, taking a sip of your espresso. “Like what if he only sees me as a little sister?”

Alexis sighed, rolling her eyes at the same time. “He doesn’t, he’s so in love with you!” She exclaimed a little too loudly, wincing when an older gentleman looked at her disapprovingly.

“Okay, if you’re so sure about it, what should I do about it?”

“Well, maybe be more flirty?” She shrugged.

Eating the last bite of your crêpe, you shook your head. “But what about Luke?”

“Who?”

“The guy from the bookstore.” You reminded her.

“Oh, that guy? Does he like you?”

“I mean, I think so.” You leaned forward with your elbows bent on the table, face resting on your hand. “He’s friendly with me, that’s for sure.”

“He’s hot too though, and really smart, plus his accent is like honey.” Your friend commented, eyes lighting up at the thought of him. “Why don’t we go over there after this, and see if he’ll ask you out?”

“You know, that’s actually a good idea.” You stood up from the table, pushing in your chairs. “Let’s do that.”

An hour later, you and your friend were walking up to the door of the bookstore. The bell from the door jingled when you opened it, and upon hearing that, Luke looked at you and Alexis and smiled. His gaze seemed to be fixed on Alexis as the both of you approached the counter. At the sight of her, he became flustered, his checks turning red.

“Hi,” he squeaked out, grimacing at how awkward that was. “How are you both?”

“Good.” You answered in unison, giggling. Just then, Alexis’s phone began to ring, and she ducked away from the conversation and stepped outside. You and Luke watched her walk outside, waiting for the door to close behind her. When it closed, Luke spoke up.

“Hey, while we have a second alone, do you think I can ask you something?”

Feeling your heart beginning to race, you nodded.

Luke cleared his throat before asking, “Is Alexis single? It’s just that she’s really pretty and-”

“Oh my god, yes she is.” You interrupted, grinning giddily. Instead of feeling disappointed that he didn’t like you, you felt a wave of relief wash over you. This meant that if Alexis was right earlier, you could have a real chance with Tom instead, and that was something to be happy about. “She really likes you.”

Placing a hand on his chest, he let out a breath. “Thank god, that’s such a relief.” He laughed, “So should I ask her out?”

“Definitely, I promise you’ve got nothing to lose.” You nodded your head, smiling at him.

When Alexis walked back inside the bookstore and back over to you both, you couldn’t contain your happiness. Neither could Luke apparently as he was smiling nervously.

“So um, Alexis, do you mind if I ask you something?” He asked, mustering up the courage.

“Of course.”

“Without soundly too forward, will you, by any chance, want to go on a date with me?” Luke asked, eyes nervously looking at Alexis.

Before she answered, she looked over at you for approval. When you gave her a subtle thumbs up where Luke couldn’t see, she smiled at you. “I’d love to go on a date with you.”

“Great, here’s my number.” He wrote it on a blank receipt paper and handed it to her, his hands shaky.

“Thank you.” Alexis nicely folded the piece of paper and stuck it in her pocket. “We should definitely get going, Y/N and I need to finish running some errands but it was so lovely to see you.” She grabbed your hand and smiled back at Luke, leading you outside of the store. When you both were far enough away, she squealed.

“I’m going on a date!” She said in a sing song voice, throwing her arms up in the air. “And you know what this means?” She tugged at your sleeve. “You can be with Tom now!”

Before you could answer, you heard a familiar voice speak up from behind you. “Who’s going to be with me now?”

You turned around to see Tom and your brother walking towards you. Their hair was slightly ruffled from working out, as well as being tousled from the cold autumn wind. When you didn’t answer the question, Tom smirked.

“Well,” you paused, “actually, what are you doing here?” You asked, hoping to avert the attention away from you.

“Oh, we were just stopping by to...” Tom began to answer, but when he couldn’t think of an excuse he looked over at Harrison, who just shrugged back.

“Get a book.” Harrison answered too quickly.

“Sure you did, like you guys know how to read.” You joked.

“Okay, rude.” Harrison remarked. “But really though, we figured we’d find you here.”

“You’re right, we just popped in to see Luke.” Alexis added, “which was good for me because he asked me out!” She eagerly pulled the paper out of her pocket, playfully waving it in front of Tom and Harrison’s face.

Harrison glanced over at you to make sure you weren’t upset by it all, but was shocked to see you smiling back at him.

“Are you alright with that Y/N?” Tom questioned, “because I know you really like him.”

You half-smiled, admiring how considerate Tom was of your feelings. “Actually yes, yes I am. I think Alexis is much better suited for Luke instead, and besides, there’s someone else I’d rather be with.” You glanced over at Tom, smiling from ear to ear. There was a glimmer in your eyes when you looked at him, in a way that you’ve never done before.

It took Tom a second to realise that the way you were looking at him, just now, was the same way that you looked at Luke. The way your eyes shone, how they seemed so full of wonder and love, was finally being directed at Tom, and him alone. 

mes anges (taglist): @scarletxwidow @sunflowerhollands @fangirlwithasweettooth @lmaotshollandd @musicalkeys @harrysleftchelseaboot @halfblood-princess-505 @quaksonhehe @zeppelin005 

[ancientbooshartifacts]

It's Only A Paper Moon

Author: Life_Downsized

Year: 2012

Rating: PG-13

Pairing: Dennis/The Moon

When Dennis finally told his friends about his new partner, it was at the Shaman Council Office Christmas bash. They were sitting, as they usually did, in the middle of Epping Forest, but due to the unexpected snowfall the landscape was a lot more cold and wet than usual, like Narnia gone wrong. Dennis had been perfectly happy to sit on his seat nursing a whiskey as the party got steadily wilder, but suddenly he had been roped into confessing all by an inebriated Tony Harrison.

  “Go on,” the bladder urged. “Have a couple of poppers – your wife ain’t round to scold you, is she?”

  “I’m straight-edged, Tony. You know this,” Dennis sighed. “Ever since that night in Moscow. And don’t speak of Methuselah. She and I are through, as you well know.”

  “Oh, lighten up, Dennis, you bumbag,” said Saboo, taking a sip of his White Russian. “Otherwise where are you going to be when it comes to the crunch?”

  “Which crunch are we talking about?”

  Saboo nodded sagely. “The sexual crunch.”

  “Oh.”

  “You’ll never meet anyone the way you are now,” Saboo smirked.

  It might have been the way the trees were casting a magical shadow onto the soft snow, or the desire to shut Saboo up, or it might well have been the fumes from whatever concoction Kirk had passed out smoking, but Dennis’ mind seemed a little warmer and fuzzier than it had at the beginning of the evening. It was thus that he shrugged his cloak tighter around his shoulders and said: “If you must know, I have already met someone.”

  “Dennis, you dog!” cried Tony Harrison with a wide, shit-eating grin. “Why didn’t you tell us? Three cheers, everyone. I’m off my tits!”

  Dennis smiled in embarrassment as the group of Shaman toasted his new-found romantic life. “Well, I mean…”

  “So go on, Dennis, who’s this lucky lady?” Diane interrupted.

  “Erm…well, actually, he’s a man.”

  Saboo quirked an eyebrow, now completely composed. “He? Dear God, it’s Naboo, isn’t it?”

  “No!” Dennis protested.

  “Well, go on, squire!” yelled the inebriated Tony.

  “Actually, I…we decided we’d keep it on the low-down for a bit and…”

  Dennis trailed off as he registered the looks on the faces of the group, and realised he’d dug himself into a bigger hole than he was in before. Why couldn’t he have just said he was still single? Now he actually had to admit it, or else they’d pour Bacardi down his throat until he did.

  He sighed deeply and jumped headfirst into the metaphorical shark-infested pond: “Issamun.”

  “Speak up, you onion.”

  “It’s…the Moon, I’m going out with the Moon.”

  The forest fell silent, punctuated only by the sound of Saboo choking on his White Russian. Dennis coughed awkwardly, and mumbled: “Thought you should…know.”

  “This is an outrage!” cried Tony Harrison. “He’s on the rebound!”

  “I’m not!” Dennis protested hotly. “We’re very much in love.”

  “But…the Moon?” Saboo squawked. “He’s an alabaster retard. He’s a pleb, he’s a pillock-”

  “He’s my partner. And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t talk about him that way. Everybody has their faults.”

  “I mean, how did you even meet?”

  Dennis shrugged self-consciously. “I was in Highgate Park a couple of nights after Methuselah and I divorced. I was trying to do a spell that required the light of the full Moon and, well, we got chatting. He was very sympathetic. One thing led to another…”

  “Oh, God!” Saboo grimaced. “Is that even possible?”

  “Of course not!”

  “Good. I didn’t need to hear about your crater-play.”

  “Ours is a relationship built on respect, trust and mutual interests. Methuselah was all about the sex: ‘Dennis, put this lump of coal in your mouth,’ ‘Dennis, pretend I’m a meerkat’, ‘Dennis, lick these raw parsnip shavings off my body.’ With the Moon…it’s different. I can be my own man. We don’t need to succumb to base pleasures to enjoy each other’s company.”

  Saboo shook his head. “With all due respect, sire, you’ve gone wrong. I mean, what mutual interests could you possibly have?”

  “Lots,” Dennis replied quickly, but then when he asked his brain for answers it merely shrugged back at him. “Like…avant-garde cinema, and…garden gnomes?”

  Saboo smirked. “Case closed.”

  “Look, if none of you can accept my new relationship-”

  “Dennis, you mushroom,” said Tony Harrison, attempting a wise tone but sounding more pissed than ever. “This isn’t a healthy union!”

  “Why can’t you all just be happy for me?” Dennis kicked the snow like a petulant child. “You all hated Methuselah, and now I’ve got someone who really brings joy to my life and you’re all acting like I’m some kind of idiot.”

  “It’s not that we think you’re an idiot, Dennis,” Diane soothed, shooting a motherly glare at Saboo and Tony Harrison. “We just don’t want you to rush into something that’ll make you unhappy, that’s all.”

  In the corner, Kirk giggled and mumbled something about a cougar from the future.

  “I’m not unhappy,” Dennis said, but it sounded unconvincing even to his own ears. “I mean, I’m not getting younger any time soon. It’s a good thing to settle down, isn’t it?”

  “Oh, my word!” Tony cried. “He’s having an age crisis!”

  “I am not having an age crisis!”

  “The Moon’s a billion years old, Dennis,” smirked Saboo. “You’re his toyboy. That’s definitely a sign of an age crisis.”

  “It’s not! Is it?”

  “Without a doubt.”

  Dennis sighed deeply, and put his head in his hands. “Do you all think I should break it off, then?”

  Around the forest came a chorus of affirmatives, apart from Tony who had drunkenly fallen off the desk and landed in a thick pile of snow.

  “Right,” Dennis huffed. “Thanks a lot, guys.”

  Up in the night sky, the Moon looked down at the scene and sniffed. “I thought we had somethin’ special. I’m the Moon. I’m not good with long-distance relationships.”

[clove-teasdale]

a guy that i’d never be into

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

A/N: not a challenge! (mUsiCaL reference on the title ahem). super late, but a lot of late fics are coming this week so head’s up! These whole 2k words take place on the 28th of December (yes ik, almost a month ago lol). Thanks, @eloiseduval for the rp and all the girls involved in the fleur birthday rp that is referenced here! I couldn’t include the actual rp cause it would be super long fic and I’m already late on other things. Getting back to it: Have fun. forgive typos, grammar issues, the usual. I made this in the last few hours with my small timeframe and feel like it sucks and i’m sorry, but Crooks talk here. 

*:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧ *:･ﾟ✧

Maybe I’m a bad kisser. That’s why he thought it was a mistake. Oh god, what am I saying?

I punched the bag again and sighed. I was not one to worry about this stuff and yet here I was. Two kisses was all it took to become a mistake.

I clenched my jaw at the thought, ready to hit the bag again, but my resolve came to an end as my shoulders slumped and I took a deep breath. Reaching for the punching bag with my hands, I held it in place and leaned my forehead against it, heartbeat ringing in my ears.

Maybe he had kissed me to try it out. Hence it became a mistake. He risked our friendship for a childhood crush he realized wasn’t that meaningful in the end. He probably regretted kissing me. He was too sweet and I was the girl punching a bag.

Coming off abrasive. Rough around the edges. With harsh humor. Guys didn’t like that...which was the reason I’d started adopting the attitude when I was around the annoying ones. I had dropped it a bit when around him though... because he’d finally stopped earning it. 

I didn’t have to be mean if he wasn’t looking for a fight. He made me laugh. Bickering had become fun instead of irritating. Both our smiles had become more genuine. But maybe he’d reconsidered how he felt—if he ever truly felt like that at all—and settled it was a mistake. 

A bitter taste joined the word every single time I thought of it now. Was it my dignity hurt or my feelings?

That night, at Fleur’s party, was the first time I spoke to Brooks after our talk on Christmas morning. I guess not that long had passed—only three days really—but it somehow felt wrong. He hadn’t used the signal to meet me and plan our way out of the palace to crash Harrison Levi's party on New Year's Eve. I hadn't either. 

Though we agree the kiss meant nothing, there was some stupid, unspoken rule to avoid each other. I took a deep breath and told myself to act normal when he arrived at the birthday. If we both tried, we’d be back to how things were soon enough. We had to be. 

For the sake of our teamwork.

For the sake of our friendship. 

In my room, after the party, Eloise sat on my bed and I, on the couch across from it, doing my best to focus on advising her as best I could. Surprisingly, Nate was her current problem. Some sort of argument had happened. 

It sounded mostly like Nate had personal doubts and said the wrong things, making Eloise upset. Then it blew up in their faces. The only way to fix it was to talk it out and try to understand the circumstances. Nonetheless, I had no doubt they would figure it out. Eloise was beginning to accept a conversation between them was inevitable after our talk had been going for a while and a few pillow hits from me had happened. 

As she lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, I focused on the window next to my desk. The fireworks that had gone out on Christmas Eve replayed in my head as my thoughts drifted back to him. The thought that Brooks and I would have to head out to the city in less than two days loomed. 

It hadn’t been too bad at the party. We just had to handle being alone and we’d be okay. We’ve done that before. It’ll be fine. Just use the signal and—  a pillow flew in my direction to interrupt my thoughts. I barely managed to dodge it, giving Eloise a puzzled look after she sat up. Jeez, pillows are my weapon, woman.

“What was up with you and Brooks?” she asked with a flat look. “You guys were acting weird with each other. More so than usual.”

I waved it away and pointed out she was changing the subject. She rolled her eyes but didn’t deny it, instead claiming she wasn’t imagining things.

“Nothing happened…” Even I knew I wasn’t doing my best at lying.

“You know, you can tell me things, Clove.” She cracked a smile after her cautious tone. “I’ve been told I’m a good listener,” she held up her hands in surrender, “but if you don’t want to tell me, I understand.”

“Good listener, huh?”

She nodded patiently and I turned to the window again. 

I’d grown close to Eloise after all this time. I knew she would try to help, talk it out with me, but I’d never talked about boys or kisses with anyone. Firstly, because I’d never kissed anyone, but secondly, because whenever old friends talked about boys I mostly listened and commented in a general way. I never talked to them about the guys I liked. That only led to gossip and problems—  

—not to say I liked Brooks. I mean, I liked him. As a guy. But not like that... Okay, maybe a little, but that’s irrelevant at this point.

Figuring there was no way to approach the topic if I was still trying to lie to myself, I changed the subject too. “Do you think they’ll let the families come soon?” 

I wondered what having my parents around would be like in the Elite. Probably a mess considering my father was very likely on the other side of my conspiracy with Brooks, but then I wondered how Dad would react to news of us kissing. That was bound to be...even weirder.

“I hope so. I’d really love to see mine soon. That happens with the Elite, right?” I could hear Eloise talk, but my thoughts kept going. 

If things weren’t so messed up I could almost imagine Brooks stuttering to talk to my dad. After so many years of not really interacting, talking with the father of the girl he kissed would definitely make him nervous. 

Well, except he claims it all meant nothing, so why would he care?

“Clove?”

“Brooks and I kissed,” I blurted out, snapping out of my thoughts.

Eloise blinked at me before her jaw dropped a little. “You- I’m sorry, you guys kissed? Kissed?”

How many types of “kissed” are there? Mouth agape for a moment as well, I could only blink back. It felt almost surreal to admit it. “We kissed. He kissed me. I kissed him back. For a moment.” I pressed a hand against my forehead and muttered, “Great, I’m clearly not forgetting it anytime soon.”

Her eyebrows furrowed, taking in the information. “You kissed him back. Okay... Wait, when did this happen?”

I groaned in frustration, standing up and pacing the room. “The ball. It came out of nowhere and you would expect me to pull away and flip, but that’s not the first thing I did. And then we acted like nothing happened and avoided each other in the morning, but we couldn’t avoid each other forever, and—”

“Clove, slow down,” she chose her words carefully, “you said you couldn’t avoid each other forever, does that mean you talked about it?”

I scoffed sightly at the memory. “Yeah, we talked. Apparently, we agreed it was a mistake.” My hands went up in despair, making a hand gesture I couldn’t even describe as if that could explain my frustration. “I can’t stop thinking about it, however.”

She raised an eyebrow when I sighed. “Doesn’t sound like you think it was a mistake, then.”

I clenched my jaw at her words, pushing any personal thoughts aside. “It was. Heat of the moment, hormones...call it whatever you want.”

“You’re right, it could have been the heat of the moment. But,” she hesitated, “maybe it wasn’t. You said yourself you can’t stop thinking about it. Would it be so bad if it wasn’t a mistake?”

“We agreed it was. He thought it was...So it has to be. I just don’t know how easily I’ll be able to act like it didn’t happen around him and that’s annoying and problematic.”

“Sometimes people say things they don’t really mean, Clove. I’m sure this is just as unfamiliar to him as it is for you. As for how to act, you just have to take it one day at a time.” I ignored her sympathetic smile and walked over to the bed, letting myself fall on it, face landing straight on the mattress.

My voice was muffled by the blankets. “I hate him.”

A small chuckle escaped her as she patted my head. “I know.”

“He needs to learn to control his hormones.”

“He’s a teenage boy.” Silence, then, “So... how was it?

Oh, shut up. I grumbled something incoherent and I could picture her smirk as she leaned a little closer, asking, “What was that?”

I lifted my head from the bed and yelled, “NO COMMENTS.”

She laughed, flopping down on her back. “Brooks, I'm impressed.” She went silent again and I pressed my face back on the mattress. “What um, what does this mean for Nate?”

“Oh, God... I committed treason.” I jumped back up. “With his brother!”

Sitting up with me, she began, “Nate is an understanding guy, I don’t think he’ll look at it that way. But it also depends on how you two feel about each other.”

So far we just seemed like friends and I told her as much. There was no real point in telling Nate about me and Brooks though. Especially since...there was no me and Brooks. It wouldn’t change anything. It would only be the last confirmation to send me home--which was reasonable, of course--but I didn’t want to go home yet. I had the conspiracy. I needed confirmation that my dad was involved or I wouldn’t be able to drop it. Also, I’d miss a lot of people here. 

I simply wasn’t ready to leave the palace.

Eloise shook her head. “You won't have to leave. And... I wouldn't want you to go home either.”

I smiled a bit. “You’d clearly be lost without me.”

“I'd be fine, thank you very much.” She used my weapon of choice against me again after an eye roll, but I only laughed at the soft hit of the pillow.

“Who would you talk to, if not me?”

“I’d probably go bother Brooks or something.”

I crossed my arms. “Watch out in case he decides the heat of the moment will get him again.” He never technically answered he wouldn’t have kissed someone else in my place… I secretly hoped he wouldn’t.

“Sure, Brooks would totally get caught in the heat of the moment and kiss me. That’d be like kissing a brother.”

Sighing, I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah…Do you also think he likes me?

I’d been wondering the past days if everyone had seen it but me. After considering it for a minute, Eloise admitted she thought he did but wasn’t aware. I’d sensed some people thought that since Marshall’s sleepover--birthday girl included. Eloise had never been too subtle, Barnes was always suspicious of him whenever he saw us together and Quinn had seemed to have her own thoughts about it too. I had told myself everyone was just trying to be annoying.

Eloise couldn’t be more proud to say she’d seen it coming though, and I shook my head at her smugness, unable to smile and mumble, “maybe you should be Watson.”

“Watson?”

I cleared my throat, realizing she wouldn’t get the reference to a conversation she wasn’t involved in. Remembering the debate I’d had with Brooks about who of us was Holmes and who Watson at the ball was a little strange. When I thought about it now all the little mental notes I’d made about how close we were and the way he’d wrapped his hand around mine stood out more. Whoever was who didn’t matter anymore, however. I wouldn’t want someone else to replace him as my partner in crime. Or maybe it was better to say against crime.

“Uh, just an inside joke, never mind.”