Penthouse One/Alex and Brooke Pt. VI

"Met in Third Year I think? We got a few classes together and she was one of the few people who kept me sane so, yeah, we're close."

Alex Bellrose

She nodded slightly, "best friend?" She asked, keeping up the curious tone from before.

Brooklyn C.

"Hm, I guess. I don't really title anyone my best friend or anything."

Alex Bellrose

She looked away, ignoring the sense of smugness that was beginning to jab at her chest. "Guess not," she said, "have you seen her? Or would she be getting ready?"

Brooklyn C.

"Saw her hair," she snorted. "Does that count?"

Alex Bellrose

"Certainly," she said, "you saw something of her."

Brooklyn C.

"Well then I guess I saw her."

Alex Bellrose

"Reckon she's looking for you or do we have to find a fishing rod and pull her out?"

Brooklyn C.

"I mean we could get a fishing rod but we have to work out the kinks in the plan. What if we hook onto to someone else by accident?"

Alex Bellrose

"Then we throw them back into the void of this crowd," she said, "why do crowds exist? Can't they just find a chair? Or leave."

Brooklyn C.

"People are waiting for other people, people are picky. There's a multitude of reasons."

Alex Bellrose

"Wait for them in their seats," she grumbled before stretching, her back arching. "Is this like...a big event? Or is it just for the school."

Brooklyn C.

"No, not a school thing. It's the first big recital for the studio downtown. The biggest in Central City, too."

Alex Bellrose

"Tickets must have been have been hard to come by," she murmured, "were they expensive? Or did you get 'em free? Since you're friends with one of them."

Brooklyn C.

"July sneaked me some, gave me an extra just for you."

Alex Bellrose

A faint smile crossed her face, "remind me to thank her for that," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh I will." Once everyone was finally seated, the lights dimmed and the recital began. The owner of the studio came on stage and spoke a little about the history of the studio and what the recital was about before letting the dancers do their thing.

Alex Bellrose

She watched them with her chin on her palm, relaxed, and her eyes ate up the dance lazily, like a cat.

Brooklyn C.

"Look, see the girl in the black shorts and white crop top? With the frizzy brown hair?" she whispered to Alex, pointing to July who was currently in front on the stage. "That's July."

Alex Bellrose

She squinted, trying to piece together the people on the stage. "Oh yeah," she said, "she looks pretty."

Brooklyn C.

"Not as pretty as the girl sitting next to me," she teased.

Alex Bellrose

She leaned forward to look at the elderly woman, caked with botox and makeup, who was on the other side of Brooklyn. "You're right, definitely not as pretty," she agreed.

Brooklyn C.

"I was talking about *you*, silly."

Alex Bellrose

"Lies, you're prettier and I bet you she is too."

Brooklyn C.

"That's a lie, you're prettier than everyone else in this room."

Alex Bellrose

She hesitated before changing the subject. She didn't really think anyone could come close to, well, Brooklyn. "Focus," she said instead, "you're missing the dance."

Brooklyn C.

"The dance is interesting sure but not as intriguing as you."

Alex Bellrose

She blushed and she rubbed her lips with her knuckles, hoping the dark room hid her reaction, "you flatter me," she replied, trying to keep her tone neutral but not sure if she succeeded very well.

Brooklyn C.

"I don't flatter, I state true facts, ma'am."

Alex Bellrose

"Ma'am?" She repeated, "I assure you I am in no position of authority."

Brooklyn C.

"You're in position of authority over my thoughts."

Alex Bellrose

"Then god help you, you're in a terrible position. I'm not very good, you know, at being authoritative....I kind of just let people do what they want," she added on as an afterthought.

Brooklyn C.

"So basically you're letting me think about you?"

Alex Bellrose

"I-" she started then cut off as she thought through her words. "You know what I meant," she said making a face at her.

Brooklyn C.

"Maybe... It's hard to focus when you make such a cute face."

Alex Bellrose

"You're impossible," she muttered before grinning, "but I can't stop you from thinking about me."

Brooklyn C.

"You act like you're probably not daydreaming about me right now."

Alex Bellrose

"I'm not," she said, biting back laughter, "I'm daydreaming of paying attention to this dance."

Brooklyn C.

"And I'm the one dancing up there in your daydream."

Alex Bellrose

Her brows shot up and she twisted away from her, "*don't*," she said, her shoulders beginning to shake from laughter and she covered her mouth, "give me any ideas."

Brooklyn C.

"A bit too late for that now, don't you think?"

Alex Bellrose

"You are terrible," she said, eventually quietening down, "absolutely terrible."

Brooklyn C.

"Lying is bad Alex, you know I'm perfect."

Alex Bellrose

"I'm not lying," she shot back turning to look at her, "and I am not agreeing with that. I won't be the cause of you getting a bigger head."

Brooklyn C.

"I can't make you accept the truth, but I can tell you it."

Alex Bellrose

"You can also tell the mirror that you're perfect frequently. Doesn't mean it's true," she pointed out. Of course, Alex kind of realised by then, every argument she had against Brooklyn was a lost cause.

Brooklyn C.

"I don't need to look in the mirror, I already have you to blush every time you see me."

Alex Bellrose

"I-I don't blush every time I see you," she said, her ears turning red. *Blasted woman.*

Brooklyn C.

"Then I assume you somehow just caught a fever?"

Alex Bellrose

"I have allergies," she lied, "causes me to go red and blotchy."

Brooklyn C.

"Randomly, in the dark, at a dance recital. Kay."

Alex Bellrose

"Hush," she said, "point is. Not cause of you."

Brooklyn C.

"Then you've failed to give proper reasoning behind your point."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh shut it," she said, "I'm illogical, remember?"

Brooklyn C.

"Illogically amazing, that's for sure," she finished with another wink.

Alex Bellrose

She shook her head slowly, giving up on the other girl. "You're impossible," she breathed out, echoing her earlier words.

Brooklyn C.

"Impossible? Of course not, or you'd be talking to figments of your imagination."

Alex Bellrose

"That idea is still up for grabs," she muttered, more to herself than Brooklyn, before glancing over to Brooklyn, her eyes slightly shadowed as she gazed at her.

Brooklyn C.

"Is it because I'm too amazing to be real?"

Alex Bellrose

She opened her mouth then closed it for a moment, deciding to just say, "no comment." It didn't help that Alex actually slightly agreed with the phrases.

Brooklyn C.

"Suit yourself, though it would help if you accepted the truth."

Alex Bellrose

"I accept nothing," she said stubbornly, "and I'm serious, we're missing the dance."

Brooklyn C.

"I don't know what you're doing, but I am analyzing this dance and talking to you at the same time. It's called multitasking, sweetie."

Alex Bellrose

"Hasn't it been proven over and over again that multi tasking is impossible?" She asked, turning to narrow her eyes. "Did you just call me Sweetie?"

Brooklyn C.

"Is it, is it really? And yes I did, do you want a different nickname?"

Alex Bellrose

She paused, not realising 'sweetie' was short for 'sweetheart'. In all honesty she was confused on why she was being nicknamed 'sweet-y' or 'candy'. "Is that a common nickname? That's one of those pet names, isn't it? Like Baby or Babe."

Brooklyn C.

She nodded slowly, giving the other girl an odd look. "Would you rather me call you that instead?"

Alex Bellrose

Her face went blank for a moment, "well, no, yes, I don't know. If you want. I just don't-oh," she stopped herself as she began to go throw the romantic nicknames she'd picked up on and it clicked. "Sweetheart. It's short for sweetheart. I, um, call me what you want."

Brooklyn C.

She did her best to contain her giggles as she watched Alex stammer. "You're *adorkable*."

Alex Bellrose

"Excluding that," she said instantly, "that will not be a nickname that comes anywhere near me. Put it on, I don't know, Zero." Her eye twitched as she felt her facial skin steam red. If she was Dobby, she'd be whacking herself with a lamp by now.

Brooklyn C.

"But Zero isn't a dork... And he's not adorable in the way you are." She pouted afterward, poking Alex's cheeks in protest. "Why not?"

Alex Bellrose

She shifted away, her nose crinkling, "cause it's not a word and you can't fool me into thinking that is," she argued.

Brooklyn C.

"That's a pretty crappy argument," Brooke decided, leaning back in the chair and crossing her legs.

Alex Bellrose

"I'm too tired to make a better argument," she said with a wave of her hand, giving up on the dance and rested her chin on her hands as she gazed at Brooklyn, "plus, adorkable isn't a nickname. At best, it's an adjective."

Brooklyn C.

"Of course it is. I wasn't using it as a nickname, silly."

Alex Bellrose

She shot her a small smile, "my bad," she replied, "still, it's never coming near me again. Ever."

Brooklyn C.

"You have no power over me. " That was a lie, Alex had a lot of power over her emotions at best.

Alex Bellrose

"Maybe not," she agreed, "but I can promise you, you might wake up to your mouth taped shut."

Brooklyn C.

"You're too nice to do that," she pointed out. "Especially since it's me."

Alex Bellrose

She opened her mouth then closed it. "Maybe so," she said eventually, "you never know...I could be pretending to be nice."

Brooklyn C.

"Maybe, but there's a difference between fake kindness and just plain ol' dorky niceness."

Alex Bellrose

"Ah, whatever," Alex said, "I'll let you win that one. I'm still not a dork, though."

Brooklyn C.

"Whatever you say."

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes in response before jumping as the room erupted into applause. "Intermission?" She guessed.

Brooklyn C.

"Nah, things over. The first recital usually isn't too long because of the beginning of the year and all the new recruits and stuff." Brooke stood up, clapping with the rest as the dancers on stage bowed. "Hey, you can meet July now."

Alex Bellrose

She slipped out of her chair, clapping, "lucky me," she said, watching the dancers.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh be more enthusiastic." She stood, hopping out her seat and maneuvering around the crowds of people to reach the entrance to the backstage.

Alex Bellrose

To not get separated from the jostling crowds, she jolted forward, grabbing the back of Brooklyns shirt, "oh I am very enthusiastic," she muttered.

Brooklyn C.

"You don't sound like it," she retorted, stepping in and closing the door to the backstage after Alex stepped in.

Alex Bellrose

She didn't respond instead she gazed at the new location, taking in the people and atmosphere.

Brooklyn C.

The backstage, of course, was buzzing with dancers, stage crew, and other staff. However, it wasn't hard to find who she was looking for. July was fiddling with her top as she talked to another dancer who had a solo in the recital.

Alex Bellrose

She unknowingly shifted closer to Brooklyn as she realized how many people were here. "Can you see her?" She asked.

Brooklyn C.

"She's right there," she sighed, pointing to July and the other dancer talking.

Alex Bellrose

She did a once over of July, "yep, suspicions were correct, she's-" really fucking "-pretty."

Brooklyn C.

"But her personality isn't," Brooke snickered, walking over to tap July on the shoulder. The brown-haired girl spun around and attacked the blonde in a hug, squealing something that sounded like *You came! Oh my gosh, you actually showed up!*

Alex Bellrose

She followed, albeit slowly, and fiddled with the zip of her jacket. Has she ever told someone that she hated meeting new people? She should. Or maybe not. She wondered, briefly, if Brooklyn wasn't the type of person to not turn up to something like this. She doubted it. She seemed like someone who would sit through anything if it was important to a friend. She glanced at the girl, July, again, trying to find, well, her but didn't really find anything similar except for the obvious.

Posted on 03:56, September 11, 2017 (UTC)

July let go of Brooke, grinning cheerfully when she noticed Alex. She'd heard rumors but she never bothered to pay attention to gossip, and to be honest, Alex looked like none of the things she'd been accused of. "You're Alexandra, right?" she chirped. "I'm July, if Brooke hasn't already told you."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled over at her, "yeah, that's me," she said, "just Alex, though. Great dance, by the way, it was really good."

Posted on 04:30, September 11, 2017 (UTC)

"Oh, thanks. I consider myself more of a rookie, but you flatter me," she beamed. "So, has Brooke annoyed you to death yet?"

Brooklyn C.

Brooke made a face and whacked July in the arm. "Oh hush, she loves me."

Alex Bellrose

She hesitated, unsure if she should even try to tease Brooklyn. Alex didn't find her annoying, she's met a hell of a lot worse. "Not yet," she said, "but it's early days."

Posted on 05:04, September 11, 2017 (UTC)

"Prepare yourself," she stated dramatically. "Brooklyn is that one friend that latches on and never let's go. She's a good friend though, so don't worry."

Alex Bellrose

She giggled at July's words, "yeah, I think I tend to do that as well, so I can't complain."

Brooklyn C.

She puffed out her cheeks even though she knew what July was saying was true. July just laughed at her. "Well I have to go change, so I'll see you sometime, Alex."

Alex Bellrose

She raised her hand and wagged her fingers for a wave. "I think I probably will," she said, "but it was nice meeting you."

Brooklyn C.

July turned and left, jogging to catch up with a ground of three other girls as they entered the changing rooms. Brooke turned to Alex with a grin. "Hey, looks like you might have made a new friend, eh?"

Alex Bellrose

"Don't get ahead of yourself, she was being polite," she said, "and, who said I don't have friends. I have friends. I'm friends with Zero. And you. That's multiple people."

Brooklyn C.

"That's two people. And there's a difference between July being 'polite' and actually being nice. Which is kind of rare considering what type of person she is. You need more friends, okay? I will share all my friends with you if I have to."

Alex Bellrose

*You're friends with the whole year level, who all kind of hate me. I do not see myself being their friend.*"You don't have to go all of that trouble. I like the one's I've got," she said with a shrug. "We should get going," she said, changing subject, "it's getting late."

Brooklyn C.

"Right right, let's head back then."

## Jax and Alex

Alex Bellrose

She was walking down the street, their walk only lit by the street lights, and Alex was fiddling with her zip, pulling it up then down then back up again. She could briefly see the school over the roof tops and paused when she hard a voice ring out.

Jax.Woods1
The Dealer
Posted on {{{2}}}

"Jade!" He yelled out, jogging to reach the two girls. He'd been looking for her everywhere. She wasn't in her dorm and he didn't want to hang around there so he stalked the nearby streets, muttering his annoyance with the girl finding a social life. "Wait up!"

me, myself, and I

Brooklyn C.

Brooke spun around to look at the resonator of the voice, all the while vaguely wondering *Who's Jade?*

Alex Bellrose

She froze, recognising the voice instantly, and slowly turned around. "Jax," she said forcing a smiling onto her face.

Jax.Woods1
The Dealer
Posted on {{{2}}}

He reached them and shot her a small smile before looking at Brooklyn, curiously, "hey," he said, "to you too, I'm Jax. Student from SPA," he said in introduction before turning back to Alex. "Sorry for jumping you like this, I know it's late. I did go to your dorm-"

me, myself, and I

Alex Bellrose

"You know where I live?"

Jax.Woods1
The Dealer
Posted on {{{2}}}

"Of course I do," he said dismissing it. "You go to Earth, right?"

me, myself, and I

Brooklyn C.

"Kay, whoa, whoa, whoa," Brooke interrupted, waving her hands. "Please explain what the hell is happening and who the hell this guy is before you continue whatever this is."

Alex Bellrose

*Brooklyn, meet Jax, my drug dealer.* The words passed through her mind and she bit her lips, deciding she didn't exactly want to say that. "He's a...student, from September Peaks. And I cant tell you what's happening cause I don't know but yeah, I'm going to Earth tomorrow, why?"

Jax.Woods1
The Dealer
Posted on {{{2}}}

"Great, have you heard of Pocky? I need some of them, a couple of boxes."

me, myself, and I

Alex Bellrose

She blinked slowly. "You want...chocolate covered sticks? You hunted me down at midnight for....pocky."

Brooklyn C.

"You... Okay, you two do your thing. I'm going stand over here and make sure no one gets mugged."

Alex Bellrose

After five minutes of muttered discussion, Jax eventually nodded his goodbye to Brooklyn before disappearing back down the street, the shadows eventually closing around him. Alex looked over at her, slightly guilty, "sorry," she said, "I didn't realise he was going to turn up."

Brooklyn C.

"You can't exactly plan unexpected appearances," she reminded Alex. "It's chill."

Alex Bellrose

She shot Brooklyn a small smile before glancing back to where Jax disappeared. "Guess not," she said before turning back to Brooklyn, "lets go home."

Brooklyn C.

"You mean let's go to Paris, duh."

## Paris cause about time

Alex Bellrose

She breathed in the Parisian air, breathing in the familiar scents, her eyes taking in the familiar buildings. "We should find a cafe or something. I could do with a coffee and...gives us time to plan something." Alex wanted to avoid the hotels, knowing most were owned by her father, but also knew they were probably the easiest to find.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke, who had a backpack slung over her shoulder was taking in the sights of Paris. She didn't even bother to quiet her gasps as she observed the new world around her. Tutors in the Empress' Palace taught many things about Earth, for what purpose, she wasn't currently aware, but it gave her a background on Paris, a place she'd on seen on a holographic screen.

Alex Bellrose

She glanced towards Brooklyn briefly before she looked back, watching her, her gaze softening and she bit down on her lip, her breath stuck in her throat. Forcing herself to look away, she adjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder. "I know you'll probably say Central's prettier but...this place is pretty impressive, don't you think?" She shook her head, throwing intrusive thoughts away, "come on, lets go," she said, moving to the cafe across the street.

Brooklyn C.

"Hm? Oh, well... I guess. But this place is magnificent in its own merit." Brooke followed Alex, all the while continuing to gasp and gawk at everything. When she lived on Earth, she had only been out of the country once, and it was for a wedding in Canada. Now she was half way across the world in Paris, France and she was having a hard time comprehending that.

Alex Bellrose

"You know...I forget, sometimes, that people actually want to come here," she confessed as she found an outside table, curling up in one of the chairs, hugging her legs. "It's just..." she trailed off looking around before back to Brooklyn grinning, "sorry, I'm being depressing. Still going to smoke your ass in the gifts, by the way, I completely own that advantage."

Brooklyn C.

"Whatever you wanna think Bellrose," she teased. "But we know at the end of the day, you're going to be sitting in mountains of presents so tall, Mount Everest is going to look small."

Alex Bellrose

She flushed. "Neither of us *really* know that," she argued, shifting in her seat, "wistful thinking."

Brooklyn C.

"Just wanna let you dream before I defeat you," she whistled, crossing her legs under the table.

Alex Bellrose

She opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the waiter and a few words exchanged in French passed between them. "Want anything?" She asked, reverting back to English, looking to Brooklyn, "they have a great selection of snails if you want to try?"

Brooklyn C.

"I think I'll pass on the snails," she snickered, leaning back in her chair. "Do they have like... something with chocolate, because I'll eat that."

Alex Bellrose

She said a few words in French and the waiter disappeared. Turning her eyes back to Brooklyn, "so...you have three options," she began, "we go to a hotel and do the typical touristy stuff, planning everything in advance. Guided tours and the like. Second option is to do the touristy stuff just without the structure, do what we feel like and give ourselves tours, or we get lost."

Brooklyn C.

"Probably the option that involves us getting lost!" she exclaimed brightly. "I mean if we really do, spells exist. And any passerby will probably think it's like a fake magic show or something."

Alex Bellrose

"No," she said shaking her head, "that's cheating."

Brooklyn C.

She pouted. "No it's noooot. C'mon, we can limit each other to three spells, okay?"

Alex Bellrose

"Three spells that aren't related to location," she said, "if we get lost...we get lost."

Brooklyn C.

"Mapping spells...? Agh, fine, We'll get lost and find our way back the *traditional* way."

Alex Bellrose

She grinned, her dimples slightly showing. "It'll be fun," she said, "and who knows what you'll find when you least expect it."

Brooklyn C.

"Agh, ew, getting lost. Okay, okay, we'll do it without any 'cheats'."

Alex Bellrose

Her grin grew bigger. "So what place? We could stay in the, you know, preppy hotels. Get a proper penthouse that deserves the title 'pent house' or we could just rent a place. Air BnB style."

Brooklyn C.

"Let's rent a place! Besides, I don't know if hotel managers will appreciate the present mountains..."

Alex Bellrose

She sniggered. "Considering I'm their bosses daughter, they'd have to appreciate it. Plus, they have way to much space so they can deal with it. But still, renting it is."

Brooklyn C.

"Wait, wait, your parents' own hotels here?" she gasped.

Alex Bellrose

"Just dad, well, I guess my step mum owns like half of it," she said frowning, "but yeah...he owns a bunch of hotels across the world, but owns a lot of the big hotels here especially. It's not a big deal..."

Brooklyn C.

"Let's go to the hotel so we can trash the place."

Alex Bellrose

She sniggered, covering her mouth to hide the laugh. "Hush," she protested, "he's not *that* bad. It's the step mother who's really the pain in the ass. Plus, I don't think he'll notice it if we trash the place anyway. He's way too busy for that." She shrugged, before smiling at the waiter as he gave her a ~~quadruple shot~~ espresso and a triple layer chocolate cake for Brooklyn. Splatters of chocolate sauce was scattered across it and the plate and a fine layer of cut strawberries adorned one side of the plate.

Brooklyn C.

Distracted by the cake placed in front of her, she didn't bother to pay attention to Alex's order. "Oooh, fancy... and delicious-looking."

Alex Bellrose

"Chocolate-y, enough?" She asked innocently before sipping at the coffee, taking another look at her surroundings. "We're so going to the top of the tower," she declared, spying the Eiffel tower in the distance. "Tonight."

Brooklyn C.

"Of course. We must begin the trip with a bang," she commented, before taking a bite of cake.

Alex Bellrose

She grinned again, despite herself, "*definitely*," she said. *It's like every word she says makes you smile like an idiot. Control yourself.* A voice pointed out but she ignored it with a sip of her coffee. "You know," she said, in a way to distract herself, "about two hundred years ago, this very street was covered in blood. One of the...attempts to revolt took place in one of the buildings nearby."

Brooklyn C.

She listened intently, interested to hear more. She leaned forward, taking momentary bites of her cake.

Alex Bellrose

"Against the king, you know? French Revolution and all that. I don't think this one worked...I think Michael told me what happened, but I never listened," she confessed with a wince. "I don't really know anything about the period. Just that a king got his head chopped off."

Brooklyn C.

"Isn't there like a Coldplay song about that? Vida La Viva or something?"

Alex Bellrose

"Viva La Vida, Long Live Life," she said nodding. "Good song."

Brooklyn C.

"I was close... just mixed it up," she giggled. "It is a good song... Welp, we should finish so we can go get 'lost'."

Alex Bellrose

She shrugged, finishing the coffee. "What better way of getting to know the city?"

Brooklyn C.

"You lived here. How do we even get lost?"

Alex Bellrose

She was silent for a moment, slowly blinking, "I mean, I *might* know the general direction we'd be going in but I won't know where we end up. Or I could just let you take the lead and not tell you where you're going."

Brooklyn C.

"You're a cruel person," she mused, finishing the rest of her cake "Well, let's go get lost then."

Alex Bellrose

She snickered, "no, I'm not," she said, before slipping out of her table, leaving some paper notes on the plate.

Brooklyn C.

"All I hear are lies," she sing-songed, standing up.

Alex Bellrose

She shook her head, giving up on arguing with her, and slung her bag over her shoulder.

Brooklyn C.

"Let's goooo...." Brooke spun around momentarily with her eyes closed and when she stopped, pointed to a certain direction before opening her eyes. "Down that street."

Alex Bellrose

She looked in the direction, to a scatter of markets. "I know that," she said, "Marché Saxe-Breteuil."

Brooklyn C.

She blinked, trying to figure out what she said. "Marche... wha...?"

Alex Bellrose

She giggled, "marché Saxe-Breteuil," she repeated, "it's the name of the market."

Brooklyn C.

"Alright," she said with a click of her tongue. "From now on, you handle the French pronunciations."

Alex Bellrose

"Come on," she said, grabbing her wrist to tug her towards the place, "this place is great. Lots of fresh fruit and veggies."

Brooklyn C.

"Yay...?" she yelped, trying to act in enthusiastic when it really just came out flat and dead.

Alex Bellrose

"Don't sound so enthusiastic," she said, snickering as they entered the place, French being yelled across the open space. There was fruit and vegetables but other stalls had clothes, jewellery, art work, even stacks of CDs adorning the bench.

Brooklyn C.

She snorted, "Oh trust me. I'm not." Her eyes swayed around, taking in her surroundings. Ultimately she was profoundly confused since she had no idea what anyone was saying.

Alex Bellrose

She frowned slightly, a bit put out, but shrugged it off. "It's not that bad," she said, "all they're yelling about is prices and whether another stall is selling the same stuff. Stuff like that. Hey...look at this," she said, darting to one of the stalls, filled with masks, and grabbed one, placing it over her eyes. It was a plague doctor mask, with a long crow-like beak. The eyes were hidden by shaded goggles, woven into the mask. "Cool, right?"

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn tilted her head, studying the mask. "Creepy..." she drifted off. "Can I wear it?"

Alex Bellrose

She shrugged, offering it out to her, "sure...supposedly, you wouldn't get the plague if you wore it. Guess they thought the nose could block the plague from coming near."

Brooklyn C.

"Huh... interesting," she commented, taking the mask. "Oh, take a picture! I wanna show this to my other friends!"

Alex Bellrose

"Alright...alright," she said, bringing out the camera, "say cheers, I guess?"

Brooklyn C.

She wore the mask and held up two fingers on each hand. "Cheers!" she exclaimed though it was muffled.

Alex Bellrose

"Alright, what do you want to do? Forget the lost idea. Not working. What do you want to do?"

Brooklyn C.

"Oh... oh, we should pretend to be tour guides and confuse the tourists."

Alex Bellrose

She snickered. "Yes," she said, "steal the tourist guide's revenue. Great idea. Better yet, I just be the tour guide of some random American and we can screw the random tourists."

Brooklyn C.

"Yes, we must do it, Right now. It doesn't hurt to have a little fun everyone once and awhile."

Alex Bellrose

"Hey, I have fun," she said, "every day. Fun is my middle name. Come on, we'll do it at the..." It hit her and she grinned, "you like French history, right? Come on, we'll go to the Palace of Versailles."

Brooklyn C.

"Palace of Versailles... Alright, I'm down, let's head out... Oh, I wish we could take those double-decker buses, but this is France and not Britain."

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes, "France is so much better," she said, before darting through the crowds, "station's this way."

Brooklyn C.

"Say what you want, but there are no double-decker buses here. That's definitely a point from them," she pointed out. It was slightly difficult to keep track of Alex due to her size, but she followed the other girl with little to no problems.

Alex Bellrose

"We have double decker trains?" She argued, eventually leaving the market and into the open streets. "And we have horse pulled carriages. Britain has that too but our carriages are designed better."

Brooklyn C.

"I'm going to not consider the possibility that you're being biased."

Alex Bellrose

"Absolutely not," she said shaking her head, "I am *completely* unbiased so unless you want to be wrong, I would not go down that path."

Brooklyn C.

"You know I'm right," she pointed out. "So much opinion in your statements."

Alex Bellrose

"You know, one day that pretty head of yours is going to have to get something wrong," she said, reaching the stairs that lead underground to the train station.

Brooklyn C.

"But it sure ain't today," she snickered, jogging down the stairs into the station.

Alex Bellrose

She followed, not jogging, but rather struggled to keep a sight of the other through the pushing crowd, but she managed. "Still early in the day," she pointed out. "We have...whatever hours to prove that wrong."

Brooklyn C.

"You really want me to be wrong, don't you?"

Alex Bellrose

"No," she said carefully, "it'd just help..." *disproving the idea you're perfect. Can't be perfect if you're wrong.* "My pride."

Brooklyn C.

"You know I would never hurt your pride on purpose. Actually, that's a lie."

Alex Bellrose

She poked her tongue out at her before stopping at a large, floor to ceiling, map of the train lines. "You're going to be the death of me, I swear," she sighed before beginning to look for "Versailles".

Brooklyn C.

Brooke grinned, searching for the sign too. "I know." She found it and poked Alex to get her attention. "That it?"

Alex Bellrose

Her eyes glanced up and nodded, her hand absentmindedly swatting at Brooklyn's hand. "That's it," she said, "green line which should be...that way," she said, eying the sign.

Brooklyn C.

"That way it is."

Alex Bellrose

She began walking, up and down the levels of the station, "I haven't missed this," she conceded in regards to the crowd before reaching the station. "Just in time." True enough, the train did have two levels.

Brooklyn C.

"You're obviously not a large crowd type of person... You know what? Same, but not because I don't like being in large crowds, it's just usually I'm the center of attention..."

Alex Bellrose

"And I don't like that," she declared, "think I'd much rather keep you to myself, thanks. But seriously, I have noticed that. I don't know how you survive."

Brooklyn C.

"You learn and you lived," she hummed. "I thought I was the possessive one."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, you are," she said, wandering up to the top to find a seat. "So much more possessive than I am."

Brooklyn C.

"All I hear are complete utter lies," she teased.

Alex Bellrose

"I'm not the one who threatened to transfer with me if I left."

Brooklyn C.

"Okay, okay, I get it. I'm possessive, shhhh."

Alex Bellrose

She grinned, turning her head to look at Paris as the train went by before looking back to Brooklyn. "Chicago must be next."

Brooklyn C.

"You want me to take you to America...?"

Alex Bellrose

"What's wrong with America?" She asked, "there's Trump towers. There's Obama."

Brooklyn C.

"Ah... That's not my concern. Um, sure, Next time."

Alex Bellrose

"You make it sound like America's the most repugnant place you could ever go," she said, holding back laughter.

Brooklyn C.

"Well, it's not that far off," she said under her breath.

Alex Bellrose

Her grin disappeared, melting off her face, and she eyed Brooklyn for a moment. She didn't hear the words, but she could tell the tone. "Sorry," she said, "I didn't...think that through." She was silent for a moment before opening her mouth to say something else but was interrupted by a loud voice. Turning her head, she watched as a man with an accordion began to sing along. "Oh," she said, "gypsies. Beggars."

Brooklyn C.

"It's—" she started, but was interrupted by Alex.; "Oh... We should give them some money," she suggested.

Alex Bellrose

She nodded slightly, "when they finish," she said, "strange...I always thought they plagued Italy but guess they migrated."

Brooklyn C.

"Maybe better pay is found here."

Alex Bellrose

"Suppose France is more economically stable than Italy," she said, "don't quote me on that. At all. I have no knowledge of economics."

Brooklyn C.

"I'm totally quoting you on that, and you can't stop me."

Alex Bellrose

She bit down on her lip, grinning, "fine, fine," she said, leaning over Brooklyn to hand one of the gypsies a few notes. "At the warning of being inaccurate, go ahead."

Brooklyn C.

"Ha, I don't take warnings. If I'm always right, I'm perfect."

Alex Bellrose

Alex opened her mouth to reply to her but the musician muttered something in French and Alex's mouth snapped shut. The gypsy, thinking that both of them were tourists and didn't know French, realised his mistake and hurried away. Alex blinked at his back before sitting back down to her chair. "Don't ask what he just said, I won't tell you," she said, before reverting back to the old topic, "and I will never verbally agree to that. So hush."

Brooklyn C.

She shot the gypsies a strange look but left it at that, not wanting to delve further into the subject anyway. "Which means in your head you agree."

Alex Bellrose

"I could, I could not," she said, "you will never know. Stroke your ego and believe that I do but you shall never know."

Brooklyn C.

"Oh, stop teasing me and get on the train," she pouted, pointing to the open door to the train up ahead.

Alex Bellrose

She grinned, grabbing her other hand, intertwining her fingers, and pushed through the crowds. "Top or bottom?"

Brooklyn C.

Truth be told she connected those words to a less pure meaning but nodded her head as she said, "Top."

Alex Bellrose

"Naturally," she said but headed up to the upper level anyway, going through the aisles for a seat.

Brooklyn C.

She followed her, sitting down in one of a pair of empty seats.

Alex Bellrose

She, of course, sat right down next to her.

Brooklyn C.

"So, you're the tour guide. Do tour guide-sy stuff."

Alex Bellrose

"Do I get paid?" She asked curiously, before looking out the window, "well," she began, "Gare d'Austerlitz. That's the station. I think it was built in the 1800s? It's named after an Austrian town where Napoleon won a battle. Something like that."

Brooklyn C.

"Do I really have to pay you for having lived here and knowing stuff?" she snorted.

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, hush, people pay thousands to get a personal tour guide. Thousands," she said snickering as the train pulled away from the station. "My info might not be accurate, mind you, this is all second hand knowledge."

Brooklyn C.

"Still good enough. Rather have you than pay thousands so carry on."

Alex Bellrose

She grinned slightly. Settling in, she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger. "The ride's about an hour. See, the king didn't want to mingle with the peasants so he built the palace miles away from the city."

Brooklyn C.

"Of course, now I see can see why all the citizens were so cranky. Stuck up royalty." She made a face and laughed.

Alex Bellrose

She giggled. "Of course," she said, "but wasn't every royal family stuck up? I would be. If I was surrounded by diamonds and golden rings from the moment I was born."

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, but then there were the few rare gems who had something called humility. Ever heard of this magical concept?"

Alex Bellrose

"I think they only popped up when the people started chopping their heads off," she said with a snicker.

Brooklyn C.

"That's... depressing to think about. How often do you talk with Zero?"

Alex Bellrose

"We've had a few conversations," she said with a frown, "the dragon riding class. The government thing. We ran into each other the next morning and then the evening. So like...four conversations?"

Brooklyn C.

"...That's either dry humor or Zero is rubbing off on you."

Alex Bellrose

She blinked. "Neither, actually, we really did just have four conversations. They were just really long. We only met a couple of days ago."

Brooklyn C.

"Uh huh," she replied, unimpressed. "Well, save the chopping off heads for another conversation because you're still the tour guide."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh hush," she said, "I'll show you the plaza where he got his head knocked off tomorrow."

Brooklyn C.

"I'd rather not but you're the tour guide. Guide away!"

Alex Bellrose

"It's historically interesting," she said, "also Marie Antoinette. Now she's the one that'll make you cry."

Brooklyn C.

"Why will she make me cry?" she asked.

Alex Bellrose

"Because it's sad," she said, "that's why you'll cry."

Brooklyn C.

"Valid answer. But why is it sad?"

Alex Bellrose

"Spoilers," she said, "now shut up about the guide responsibility. I'm going to run out of things to tell you."

Brooklyn C.

"I'm totally going to be a better tour guide when we go to Chicago."

Alex Bellrose

She stuck out her tongue towards Brooklyn in response, but she didn't deny it. It was probably true. "Not much to tell you on a train," she pointed out.

Brooklyn C.

"You could tell me about trains!"

Alex Bellrose

"Do I look like I know anything about trains? No. I could tell you about cars. But I can't tell you about trains."

Brooklyn C.

"You could tell me if you like trains or not," she suggested jokingly.

Alex Bellrose

"Unfortunately, Thomas the tank put me off this form of transport indefinitely," she said with a grin, "always preferred cars."