Penthouse One/Robin Hood Style

IG
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Will Deneris

He stood at Alex's bedroom door, mashing his hand against the wood. "Hurry up!" He yelled in there. He was dressed in a suit, black pants and shoes, shined enough that they reflected the light, and his bowtie was undone, hanging around his neck.

Alex Bellrose

She, though, was in the bathroom, glaring at herself in the mirror, tugging at the hems of the dress, trying to make it go down lower. Hearing Will, she sighed. She decided she was not looking forward to tonight. Walking out, she grabbed her heels, swinging the door open. "I look like a slut," she pointed out, "surely another dress would have been better?"

Will Deneris

Walking out to the kitchen, he shook his head. "That's the point!"

Brooklyn C.

"And where do you two think you're going dressed like that?" Brooke demanded, sitting at the kitchen counter with a glass of water.

Will Deneris

He narrowed his eyes at her. "First of all: deal's a deal," he said, "I get her tonight. And two...don't I look great?" He fixed his collars, "I love suits. No matter how ugly you are, you always look good in a suit. Of course, I look good in everything, even without clothes."

Alex Bellrose

She could feel herself wanting to slap her own face but she forced herself to ignore him, and slipped onto the chair next to Brooklyn, leaning down to slip the shoes on. "I'm going to trip in these," she noted, her tone sounding like she was already resigned to the bruises that would probably exist by the next morning.

Brooklyn C.

"No you're not, because you're not wearing them," she fired back. "I remember the deal, but the deal did not include dressing Alex up like she's a plastic barbie. I don't care what the hell you wear, but she's not going anywhere in this."

Will Deneris

He shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest, quite willing to kidnap Alex if need be. "I didn't dress her up, she dressed herself up. And I don't get why you're so fussed..." he trailed off, his lips pulling into a grin, "gives you something to dream about."

Alex Bellrose

She turned red at his words. "*Will!*" She spluttered, "Will, *no*."

Brooklyn C.

She narrowed her eyes at him yet her ears reddened. "Alex... go change into something more comfortable. I'm not letting you two leave until your attire meets my expectations."

Will Deneris

He tilted his head as he gazed at Brooklyn before shrugging, "alright, alright," he said, "Alex...go do as she says." He stepped to the side.

Alex Bellrose

She blinked slowly, looking between Brooklyn and Will before focussing on Will. Eventually, she slipped out of her chair, moving past Will. "....Alright."

Will Deneris

As she came by him, he bent down, scooping her over his shoulder in one move, holding her around her thighs to make sure she doesn't fall off. "Okay," he said, darting to the door, "we shall be back around midnight, say? Don't wait up!" With that, he moved through the door, ignoring Alex who was whacking his back.

Brooklyn C.

She stood up immediately and wrenched Alex from his grip, personally carrying her back and placing her in front of their bedroom door. "Change. Now."

Will Deneris

"If Alex is fine with it, I don't see why you have the jurisdiction to ask her to change," he pointed out before sighing, tapping his foot from the ground, "whatever, just...grab a jacket or something. We can't be late."

Alex Bellrose

*I'm being passed around like a rag doll. Fuck my life.* She had automatically grabbed Brooklyn's shoulders as she was dragged off Will and quickly withdrew her hands. "He's right...I really don't mind. It's not like anyone will really see me..."

Brooklyn C.

She narrowed her eyes at Alex. "At least... put on a jacket or something."

Alex Bellrose

She came back out with ~~Brooklyn's~~ hoodie in her arms, leaning up to press her lips against the other girl's cheek. "Happy? I'll see you tonight, or tomorrow morning, whatever."

Will Deneris

He had made his way to the door, "hurry up!"

Brooklyn C.

She kept herself from mentioning that Alex had taken *her* hoodie and just watched the two exit with a bitter glint in her eye.

## Timeskip

Alex Bellrose

She stumbled into the bedroom, a minute after midnight, wincing at the shooting of pain jolting out of her feet. Stupid heels. She did end up wearing the hoodie afterwards as it was cold, and she'd noticed her mistake when she saw the sleeves hang off her hands. Instinctively she looked up for her roommate, expecting her to be asleep really.

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn was in fact, not asleep. She was sitting on their bed with her legs crossed as she casually read a book. The sound of the door opening caused her to look up momentarily but in the end, she merely said, "How was your night out?"

Alex Bellrose

She sat down on one of the chairs, instantly going for the shoes. "Boring without you there," she said, slightly joking but slightly meaning it too. Letting the heels drop to the floor, she began to massage them with her hand, already spying the bruises beginning to show. "How was yours?" She asked, her eyes going to the book.

Brooklyn C.

"Mediocre," she said subtlety. "Do you want some ointment for that?" she asked, nodding towards the bruises on Alex's feet. "It's going to sting later if we don't take care of it now."

Alex Bellrose

She glanced down to it, the pad of her thumb pressing down onto the bruise before wincing. "Yeah, yeah, I guess," she said, nibbling on her cheek. She took another look towards Brooklyn, hesitating slightly, "are you...alright?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well, I'm not dead.... So yes, I'm good." She closed her book and placed it on the bed, standing up. "Are you alright? What did Will make you do?"

Alex Bellrose

She cringed, shifting in her seat, "yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, "I really did just stand around all night." She knew she promised Will not to tell Brooklyn specifically and got a level of threats if she were to do it. However, she also promised Brooklyn to spill everything. Tough choice. "Really, he made me swindle money out of a bunch of 60 to 70 year old men and woman."

Brooklyn C.

"That... to a degree sounds like something Will would do. What exactly did you do to get the money?"

Alex Bellrose

"He...uh...set up a fake charity," she said, "invites a bunch of people and they all donate money. What did I do? Well, Will finds that people tend to give more if they're, you know, trying to find a...uh..." Her ears tinged red and she bit on her lip, not sure how to explain it. "you know."

Brooklyn C.

"A y'know is not a person, thing, place, or idea. I'm going to need you to elaborate," she responded.

Alex Bellrose

"Will found if the other person was attracted to you, they'll give more money over. Unfortunately, he can't attract gay woman and straight men," she said, "which is where I came in. I really did just stand next to him, smiling at people."

Brooklyn C.

"... not too bad. What does he even do with this money?"

Alex Bellrose

"I...don't know, really, I never asked when I found out," she said with a shrug, "he gets millions last time I checked. He didn't tell me what I was doing when I first did it and when I found out...I set the money he got on fire. I didn't really take the time to count it." She pulled the earrings out of her ears, placing them on a textbook and pulled her hair out, running her hand through it.

Brooklyn C.

"Well, that's good. I guess. As long as you are not hurt or involved in anything dangerous... I don't have much to worry about. Remind me to pry more details out of Will."

Alex Bellrose

*Other than the fact that it's illegal and I could technically get arrested for being an accessory, nothing dangerous about it.* "No, don't do that," she said, "you're not meant to know."

Brooklyn C.

"If Will honestly thought he could get anything past me, he's dead wrong." *On the other hand, I honestly could've just asked Luci to hack cameras around the city, but I can't get to him for some reason.*

Alex Bellrose

"He has for the last two years or so," she pointed out, before looking over her shoulder, to the zip. "Hey, uh...don't suppose you could do me a favour...? I can't reach the zip. Arm's are too small or something."

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, pretty sure it's because your arms are too short, but that's none of my business," she shot back, standing up.

Alex Bellrose

She shot Brooklyn a look, pouting slightly, before twisting around. "Can you just help me pull it down?" She asked, "kind of want to get out of it."

Brooklyn C.

"Still wish you wore something else," she huffed, helping Alex out of the dress. "I honestly can't believe you had to stand in front of people and wave in *that*."

Alex Bellrose

She snickered, holding the dress up so it didn't fall off her, and moved to the cupboard for clothes. "Had to have the seventy year old man have something to stare at," she said. "Plus, you can't deny it, you love the dress."

Brooklyn C.

"I love it when I'm the only one who gets to see it."

Alex Bellrose

She shot her a grin, ignoring her own blush, and disappeared into the bathroom to change. Coming out, she pulled her hair into a pony tail. "Say...we never talked about, you know, the tea cups."

Brooklyn C.

"The teacups?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.

Alex Bellrose

"Yeah," she said, sitting on the bed, fiddling with the blankets, "what happened on it."

Brooklyn C.

"What happened on the teacups.... I dunno, can't remember." Of course, she was lying but it was much easier to push on from the subject.

Alex Bellrose

*Ouch*. She pressed her lips together before shaking her head, dropping the subject, to hide her own hurt. "Well, okay," she said, nibbling on her lip, "how's Zero?" She asked instead, "like, after the whole...you know, hospital thing."

Brooklyn C.

She sucked in a breath, not wanting to really talk about the subject. "He's... decent. I have him eat at least once a day but his migraines still concern me so there's that." She sat down on the bed again, staring at her feet. "So um there's this thing... and..."

Alex Bellrose

She looked over to her, her eyebrows drawing together, watching Brooklyn, her stomach twisting slightly, not use to a quiet Brooklyn. Leaning over, she pulled a marker out of her bedside drawer before shuffling towards Brooklyn, snatching her hand to draw on. Nibbling on her lip, "yeah...?" She asked, "what thing?"

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn restrained herself from yanking her hand back. Instead, she narrowed her eyes at the marker, watching carefully as Alex drew. "There's this special field trip for this... after school club, I'm in, so I'm going to be gone for some days."

Alex Bellrose

She had begun to draw mindless shapes, triangles, that slotted in with each other, and at her words the marker withdrew from the skin for a moment, before returning. "Oh," she said, her stomach untwisting, "that's all?" She asked, "that's cool. Is it for track? Or Martial arts? Off to kick someone's ass?"

Brooklyn C.

"It's... an underground sport," she conceded. "Not very common to hear about in the open but it exists. I used to do it for money, but the sport is intriguing so I'm pretty stuck playing it."

Alex Bellrose

She paused as she processed this. "Oh," she said, "oh, right. Yeah, I've heard of those. Underground fighting. Which, I don't know about here, are..." *illegal in France.* But...that's none of Alex's business. "Really are off to kick some ass. Um...you don't get hurt, do you?" Her head raised to slightly scowl up at Brooklyn at the thought. Naturally, she jumped to assumptions that Brooklyn, well, won but still...possibility one of them could beat her.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh it's not like fighting or anything... They're actually parkour courses," she laughed. "Really... dangerous parkour courses, but like they're fun and stuff."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh..." she said, trying to remember what Parkour even was. She decided she was going to guess 'obstacle courses'. "Well, as long as you don't die on me. How come it's not, well, in the open."

Brooklyn C.

"Because it's dangerous. It's like near-death type of stuff, and if you die in the competition no one compensates. So it's basically murder."

Alex Bellrose

She froze at the idea that Brooklyn could die and her mind briefly wondering if she could get Brooklyn to stay before deciding that probably wouldn't work, and her scowl turned into a glare. "If you fucking die on me, I will never speak to you again," she said, "I don't care if you come back as a ghost. I will not talk to you."

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn laughed, shaking her head. "I won't, I won't. I'm a champ at this, trust me," she announced with a playful wink. "I'll be back before you know it." In the back of her head, she could feel the rising guilt as she lied, but she couldn't reveal to Alex about the mission the Enchantress had assigned her.

Alex Bellrose

"Lucky, lucky me," she said, sighing, before writing 'fuck you' on the back of Brooklyn's hand. "It's fine. I'll just hang around Bex and cry myself to sleep at night." The last part was most certainly a joke and she shot her a teasing grin.

Brooklyn C.

She glanced at her hand, her expression morphing into one of annoyance as she glared at Alex. "Fuck you? Really, Alex?"

Alex Bellrose

She smirked up at her, "that's what you get for ditching me," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"I'm not *ditching* you. I've been on this championship roster for a month. C'mon, the prize is like a million Aurem."

Alex Bellrose

"Certainly leaving me," she said, "all alone. With Jude and Will. So you can go earn an excessive amount of money." She broke into a grin, "it's whatever. I can deal. Just...take me to an expensive restaurant when you come back."

Brooklyn C.

"You realize Zero is here too? And you could talk to the others... Y'know, Mira, Valerie, Pandora."

Alex Bellrose

She waved her away, capping the pen. "He's rarely seen outside of his room unless it's like two in the morning."

Brooklyn C.

"Doesn't mean he doesn't come out of it," she argued. "You have classes with him right? And knocking on his door every once and awhile won't kill you."

Alex Bellrose

"Doesn't matter if I have class with him, I don't go anyway so I may as well not have class with him," she said with a shrug before slowly blinking. *Did not think that through.* Shaking her head, she changed the subject, "and I know it doesn't kill me. I do it anyway. I don't hang around you *all* the time. I hang out with Jude too. He's cool. I helped him on a case the other day."

Brooklyn C.

"Then why are you complaining that you'll be alone?" she teased with a snicker.

Alex Bellrose

*Cause they're not you, dumbass.* She grabbed a pillow and threw it at her, "oh shut it," she said, "I'm going to sleep."

Brooklyn C.

"Not without me!" she chirped, catching the pillow.

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes at Brooklyn. "Then hurry up," she said, "and gimme the pillow back. I need it."

Brooklyn C.

"What do you need this pillow for?" she asked innocently, plopping down on their bed.

Alex Bellrose

She followed, sitting on her side of the bed, blinking at her. "Absolutely nothing," she said eventually, flicking the light off. "Wait....when are you leaving? Tomorrow?"

Brooklyn C.

"Tomorrow afternoon after classes end," she informed her, lying down.

Alex Bellrose

She didn't move, biting her lip. She was going to go shopping during class for a new pair of glasses but... "Want to skip?" She asked, leaning over to poke Brooklyn in the stomach. "Classes that is."

Brooklyn C.

"I already got a lot of crap for trying to get a day off so I can do this contest. I don't think they'll appreciate it if I decided to skip tomorrow too."

Alex Bellrose

"Half the day," she said, "I'm going to go get glasses anyway, so come with me."

Brooklyn C.

"Ah... can't we do this during lunch or something?"

Alex Bellrose

She sighed, "fine,' she said, "fine, we can do that at lunch."

Brooklyn C.

"Thank you. I actually intend to have a future if I don't die thank you very much. Now c'mon, sleep."

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, shut it, you sound like Zero," she grumbled before slipping under the covers, lying down.

Brooklyn C.

"I feel like that should be an insult," she said, snuggling under the covers beside Alex.

Alex Bellrose

"It's not an insult or a compliment," she said, shifting around to gaze at her, before poking at her arm, "open up, I'm cold and you have an unnatural high body heat. Plus, if you steal my pillow, then I need a replacement."

Brooklyn C.

Brooke tossed the pillow on Alex's face and hugged her, dragging the other girl into her grasp. "So demanding."

Alex Bellrose

She pushed the pillow away, before shifting into the Brooklyn's arms with a smug smirk. "Only from you," she said teasingly.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh hush it and go to sleep," she pouted.

Alex Bellrose

She allowed her body to relax, sore from how tense it had been recently, but doubted sleep would come any time soon. Regardless, one of them should get sleep so she kept quite.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke didn't fall asleep for awhile. She just lied there, thinking, assuming that Alex had already fallen asleep so she kept quiet as well. There was a paranoid feeling in her stomach but she ignored it for the most part.

Alex Bellrose

After, what she estimated to be at least twenty or thirty minutes, she began to test out Brooklyn's arms, deciding she was bored and she wasn't going to sleep. She can catch up on study instead.

Brooklyn C.

Brooklyn raised an eyebrow, shifting and glancing down at Alex to find her awake. "What are you doing?"

Alex Bellrose

*Fuck.* She stopped moving away, her hand settling on Brooklyn's waist. "I...thought you were asleep," she said as an answer.

Brooklyn C.

"Aha, same. Guess the both of us aren't getting easy sleep are we..."

Alex Bellrose

"Thought you had a special relationship with it," she said with a sigh.

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah, we're going through a rough patch right now," she joked.

Alex Bellrose

She burst into laughter, her shoulders shaking, and she felt her limbs give up and she pulled herself closer to Brooklyn. "Sorry to hear that. Must be jealous of me, taking away your attention."

Brooklyn C.

"Well it can stay jealous because sleep could never beat you."

Alex Bellrose

She laughed again. "Stop it," she muttered, "stop making me laugh."

Brooklyn C.

"That's like asking me to stop saying the truth," she pouted.

Alex Bellrose

"Oh, hush it," she grumbled, "stop being so-" she cut herself off. *No.* "It's annoying when I can't stop laughing."

Brooklyn C.

"But I like the sound of your laughter."

Alex Bellrose

She sighed, rather dramatically, "impossible," she muttered, "but still...I can't sleep." *Not if I want to experience them.* "And Will stole my pills so I'm stuck."

Brooklyn C.

"What am I here for then? I'm supposed to help you sleep."

Alex Bellrose

"You're here to make me comfortable," she said, smiling again, "and warm."

Brooklyn C.

"My uses only extend that far? I am offended."

Alex Bellrose

"Maybe not only that...you make great food as well," she said before bursting into giggles she instantly tried to control. "Better not be offended...I'm really only teasing you." She hesitated, her stomach empty and tense, and opened her mouth, as if to say something then closed it.

Brooklyn C.

"I am so offended that I am tempted to get up and get a bucket of ice cream and sit on the couch and binge watch sitcoms."

Alex Bellrose

"Ooh, what about Friends? I like friends," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"You're saying that like you want to come sit on the couch and watch sitcoms with me while we eat ice cream."

Alex Bellrose

"Whilst *you* eat the icecream. I don't touch the stuff. But I would watch it with you," she corrected.

Brooklyn C.

"Why don't you eat ice cream?" she asked curiously.

Alex Bellrose

*Cause it's fatty and full of calories.* "Don't like it," she lied. "Makes my brain freeze and teeth to hurt."

Brooklyn C.

"Because you eat too fast, dummy."

Alex Bellrose

She opened her mouth in indignation and lightly kicked Brooklyn in the shin. "I do *not*," she said, "I am a slow eater."

Brooklyn C.

"That's when you're distracted which is ninety-nine point nine percent of the time."

Alex Bellrose

"That...okay, yeah, I'll give you that one," she said, biting down onto her lip, "I can't argue with that."

Brooklyn C.

"When you have facts on your side," she teased.

Alex Bellrose

"My eating speed is not facts," she huffed, "plus, it's your fault for distracting me."

Brooklyn C.

"How in the world am I distracting? Literally, if we ate lunch together and no one talked, would I still be distracting?"

Alex Bellrose

She didn't answer that for a moment. "Yes," she eventually breathed out, "yes. I would still be distracted."

Brooklyn C.

"Why would you still be distracted?"

Alex Bellrose

"I..." She wasn't sure how to answer that. Wasn't sure how to say her very presence could distract her and that she could probably stare at Brooklyn for the rest of her life. It was an issue, Alex knew someone shouldn't take up that much of her attention but she never had self control. "Cause you're you."

Brooklyn C.

"So descriptive," she said sarcastically. "Ten out of ten."

Alex Bellrose

"I know right? I've been told I'm amazing in poetry," she joked.

Brooklyn C.

"Wah, leave. How dare you take my poetry crown."

Alex Bellrose

"I can if you *really* want," she said, shuffling away from her, sitting up, raising an eyebrow.

Brooklyn C.

"I was kidding silly. Stay here." She tugged Alex towards her more in response.

Alex Bellrose

She, of course, slid right back into her original position (like she had the body mass to stop it), her eyes flicking down to Brooklyn's lips briefly but then reminded herself, Brooklyn probably doesn't want that path. She drew small circles onto Brooklyn's neck to distract herself with the tip of her nail. "You're right," she said, "I'd get cold if I left, so I'll just stay with you."

Brooklyn C.

She shifted, to stare at Alex more comfortably. She'd been thinking of kissing Alex multiple times over the course of their conversation but always held back for fear of her reaction. For now, she felt like playing it safe was the only option. "I am not a blanket," she pouted. "Is this my only use?"

OOC: great, they're both scared of each other. What a stalemate.

Alex Bellrose

"No," she said, smiling slightly, "you have other uses. But hey, I have to put the fact that you're really fucking hot to good use sometimes."

Brooklyn C.

"That better not be limited to body heat," she teased.

Alex Bellrose

She gave her a lazy smile, "maybe," she said, "I mean, I won't deny that you're gorgeous. Then I'd definitely be a liar. But I guess you already knew that, heartbreaker."

Brooklyn C.

*I dare you to say that one more time.* Brooke just smiled back at her, making no verbal retaliation. Her eyes were focused on something else anyway.

Alex Bellrose

"I'm serious about that, by the way, I'm going to hire Jude just to get that mile long list of names of hearts you've broken. And my name will not be on it because it hasn't happened yet. I'll keep the list so I can write it down when it does," she said before she tugged on the bottom of her lip with her teeth, realising what she's just said.

Brooklyn C.

And then it happened. She leaned it, planting her lips on the girl before her. Why? Many excuses could be made. She wouldn't shut up, she seemed eager to be on that "list", her lips were tempting... but really, Brooke just wanted to kiss her so it happened.

Alex Bellrose

She paused, her heart slowing down before beginning to race, as she felt Brooklyn's lips before melting into them, kissing back, her hands slipping up to cup the other girl's cheeks, pulling her closer.

Brooklyn C.

She tugged Alex closer if that was even possible, tightly enveloping her waist. Fire filled her veins as she felt Alex kiss back and all felt right with the world in that moment.

Alex Bellrose

Her hands slipped into Brooklyn's hair, running through it, very much making sure Brooklyn didn't start pulling back. She wasn't sure if she felt fire or ice, goosebumps covered the skin where she could feel Brooklyn and her mind was full of fog.

Brooklyn C.

She pulled away, sucking in a breath, though she kept eye contact with Alex. "...why don't we do that more often?" she whispered.

Alex Bellrose

"Because you don't do it more often," she shot back, "well, that answered one question. Turns out you did like kissing me. I thought you...well, didn't like it after the teacups." She winced at how that came out, but whatever. "I mean...we didn't have to stop."

Brooklyn C.

"Oh... what? Of course, I did. Is that why you brought them up? I'm... an idiot, ha," she laughed. "Let's do that more often from now on, okay?"

Alex Bellrose

"More often? Definitely. Maybe like, every day, hey there's a reason why you should stay and not leave," she said grinning, leaning in again to kiss her briefly, just to make sure what happened is real and she wasn't dreaming.

Brooklyn C.

She basked in the comfort of Alex's lips on hers for a moment and then pulled away. "You're going to spoil me," she pointed out.

Alex Bellrose

"Maybe you deserve it," she shot back before pausing, "so...what are we then? I'm going to say we're not friends."

Brooklyn C.

"We're not friends. So we're girlfriends. Logical conclusion, right?"

Alex Bellrose

She snickered, "hush, I'm the illogical one, remember?" She tucked a strand of hair behind Brooklyn's ear, "way to ask a girl out, mind you."

Brooklyn C.

"I mean, it's not like we haven't kissed like three times now. And I'd be lying if I said I didn't like you so like..."

Alex Bellrose

She kissed her again, but her grin broke it, "four times now," she chirped, "well, girlfriends it is, then."

Brooklyn C.

"We should head to sleep now. I need ten hours of sleep to function properly and I god save me if I show up late."

Alex Bellrose

She narrowed her eyes, doing the math, but let it go. "Alright," she said, "do you actually think you'll sleep? Cause I won't be...well, goodnight."

Brooklyn C.

"Nope. As long as you're awake, I'll probably be awake but it's worth a try."

Alex Bellrose

She went back to drawing circles on Brooklyn's arms. "Sleep," she said, "I won't move an inch for the rest of the night so I won't wake you."

Brooklyn C.

"You moving isn't going to keep me awake. I've been told I can sleep through earthquakes."

Alex Bellrose

She snickered. "Lucky," she said, "then sleep through me being awake."

Brooklyn C.

"That doesn't just happen Alex," she snickered.

Alex Bellrose

She was silent a moment, "hush," she said, "but, seriously, *sleep*. Ignore me."

Brooklyn C.

"Stop asking me to do impossible things and then we'll see."

Alex Bellrose

"Aren't we at a stalemate," she muttered before sighing, "fine, I'll try and sleep, how about that?"

Brooklyn C.

"That works," she said with a grin.

### Lunch

Alex Bellrose

She was sitting just outside the school, waiting for Brooklyn to appear. She hadn't gone to classes but she doubted she'd have been able to focus anyway. Her mind still wondered if last night was a dream but she hoped it wasn't.

Brooklyn C.

She found Alex easily, and ran over to her with a bag of Chinese good. "Hey! Alex! Lunch time!"

Alex Bellrose

She turned to look at her, blinking at the bag, her eyes hidden by her sunglasses. "No, shopping for glasses time," she said, leaning forward to peak inside the bag, "where do you even get this food? I swear they do not offer Chinese at the cafeteria."

Brooklyn C.

"Got a friend who knows's a friend who makes amazing Chinese food."

Alex Bellrose

"Of course you do," she said before slipping onto her feet, "bus, taxi or walk?"

Brooklyn C.

"Let's take a bus. Haven't been on one of those in awhile," she decided.

Alex Bellrose

*We went on it a couple of days ago with Jude and Zero.* She shrugged. "Bus it is," she said.

Brooklyn C.

"Ahh, the sweet smell of Chinese food. I'm so hungry."

Alex Bellrose

She smiled briefly. Unlike Brooklyn, she wasn't hungry, despite not having breakfast either. "I guess we can put off the shopping if you want to sit down and eat."

Brooklyn C.

"Nah, I need to see you in your cute new glasses."

Alex Bellrose

"I could choose the ugliest ones possible. Spiked, polka dot style, might give you nightmares though."

Brooklyn C.

"Eh, you'd still be cute in them so it wouldn't make a difference," she argued, walking outside the gates of campus and heading towards the bus station.

Alex Bellrose

"You flatter me," she said, following Brooklyn with a jump in her step, "I bet you'd look better in them, though."

Brooklyn C.

"Totally," she said with a grin, winking at Alex. "But we're not here to acknowledge how amazing I am. We're here to go see you rock those new shades."

Alex Bellrose

She narrowed her eyes slightly at Brooklyn before reaching the bus stop. "They'll probably just be identical to the ones I had before, minus the tape," she conceded, "you're just keeping me company."

Brooklyn C.

"As long as I am here, that isn't happening hon."

Alex Bellrose

She glanced over to her, staring at her briefly, before looking down the road. "We'll see," she said, looking back to her. She was silent for a brief moment before asking, "does Zero wear glasses?"

Brooklyn C.

"Hm?" She glanced down at Alex, minorly surprised at the question but slowly nodded. "Yeah. Not consistently though. He wears them when he wants to. Most of the time if he has a headache."

Alex Bellrose

She nodded slightly, "thought so," she murmured, "does he get a lot of them? Headaches that is. I...he got one during that lunch, didn't he? Not an anomaly?"

Brooklyn C.

"Well... not until recently. You know about his extreme migraines. Since then he's been wearing his glasses all the time."

Alex Bellrose

"Do you think it's TDC?" She asked, rather innocently, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers.

Brooklyn C.

"Honestly, I'm so tired of that theory. It's a possibility but I don't want it to be one."

Alex Bellrose

She opened her mouth to say, 'Zero doesn't think it's a theory', before shutting her mouth. "Sorry," she said instead, "I didn't mean to pick at it."

Brooklyn C.

"It's fine. I'm just concerned. The Dreamscape is a rather dangerous topic to play with." *Especially since I know several people who can use it.*

Alex Bellrose

She supposed that it was probably now that she should say, *you think? I play with it all the time*, but she didn't, instead she untwirled the hair, letting her hand drop. "I don't really know much about it," she said with a shrug, watching the bus pull to a stop in front of them, "I guess it can be dangerous. If you use it to control people."

Brooklyn C.

"...You can't really... I... I have a friend who can use the Dreamscape well. He... she... They'll explain it better."

Alex Bellrose

She hummed, hopping onto the bus. "I don't care for the place, regardless, so let them save their breath," she said, moving to the back.

Brooklyn C.

"Gonna take you to see them anyway. They're one of the people I'm going against in the parkour contest."

Alex Bellrose

She slipped into one of the chairs. "Nice," she said, "I feel like I've suddenly had a sudden growth in my social circle since meeting you."

Brooklyn C.

"Well duh, I'm amazing." She sat down next to her, crossing her legs as the bus began to move.

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes at her, shifting around so her back was leaning against the windows, throwing her legs over Brooklyn. She was silent for a moment before she began to laugh. "Maybe I shouldn't do a naked Will, maybe I should draw a shirtless Jude. Hm..no. I can't draw Jude yet, he'd be all wrong."

Brooklyn C.

"Draw on me again and I will kick you to New Mexico."

Alex Bellrose

"Like you can kick someone hard enough they land in Earth," she sniggered.

Brooklyn C.

"Ha, you wanna try me Bellrose?"

Alex Bellrose

She oped her mouth to say 'no' but then paused, "actually," she said, "yeah, I'll try you on that. We're on a bus with the only mirror being the rear view so yeah, give it your best."

Brooklyn C.

"K. Don't blame me if you get stuck between time and space because I decided to use the window," she said, standing up and sweeping Alex into her arms.

Alex Bellrose

She widened her eyes slightly, automatically locking her arms around Brooklyn's neck to steady herself. "You wouldn't risk it," she said, only slightly sure of that statement.

Brooklyn C.

"Like I said. Try me, Bellrose."

Alex Bellrose

She narrowed her eyes at Brooklyn. "Fine," she breathed out, "you win, obviously."

Brooklyn C.

She swung Alex forward just to tease her and then sat her in her seat again. "Of course I do," she stated with a confident hair toss before sitting down again.

Alex Bellrose

Her grip on Brooklyn instantly tightened but she shuffled back, away from Brooklyn, when she felt the seat again and narrowed her eyes, kicking her lightly in the thigh, muttering a word in French.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke swatted Alex's leg away, rolling her eyes, but she smiled. "You still have to teach me, French."

Alex Bellrose

She snickered, "I don't know, anymore, it's kind of useful. You not knowing French, that is."

Brooklyn C.

"I will throw you out that window into Earth," she threatened jokingly.

Alex Bellrose

She looked at Brooklyn, in the eye and said, "si tu fais ça, je romprai avec toi."

Brooklyn C.

"...You would never," she retorted. "Ha, jokes on you. I took it upon myself to start learning some French. I don't need you," Brooke huffed.

Alex Bellrose

She widened her eyes slightly, her jaw dropping, her cheeks turning slightly red. "You-how...how quick of a learner are you?" She asked with a frown.

Brooklyn C.

"I go to the library for a couple hours after I finish homework and study French using some textbooks and an application I downloaded on my HC."

Alex Bellrose

She scowled at that. *Pray you don't remember what I said in Paris.* "Well, how about that," she said slowly, "guess you don't need my help after all. Whatever."

Brooklyn C.

"It'd be good to have someone to practice with, don't be so grumpy. I need you for more advanced French."

Alex Bellrose

"I'm not grumpy," she said, poking her tongue out.

Brooklyn C.

"Have you met yourself without coffee?"

Alex Bellrose

She tilted her head slowly, silent for a while. "Not for a while," she said eventually, "I don't think I'm *that* bad. I could be worse," she joked.

Brooklyn C.

"No, you couldn't. You're full of positivity and sunshine and it's annoying for everyone else who can get angry like a normal human being."

Alex Bellrose

"Are you saying I should get angry more?" She asked, "and I don't think you can call me an abnormal human being. Not when there's you around."

Brooklyn C.

"'Scuse me? I'm just saying, *normal* human beings feel a full range of emotions unlike someone..."

Alex Bellrose

"I *do* feel a range of emotions," she argued, "I just ignore the ones on the negative spectrum."

Brooklyn C.

"That's... that's not how it works."

Alex Bellrose

She broke into a grin, winking. "Maybe, maybe not, it works for me."

Brooklyn C.

"I will kick you to New Mexico," she teased, as the bus stopped.

Alex Bellrose

She poked at Brooklyn in the side to move. "Why New Mexico?" She asked, "surely I can land somewhere better. Like New York."

Brooklyn C.

"Because ain't nobody like New Mexico."

Alex Bellrose

"Move, this our stop," she said, poking harder, "plus, you won't send me to New Mexico. You'll miss me too much."

Brooklyn C.

"If I missed you that much I wouldn't threaten to kick you to New Mexico."

Alex Bellrose

"Cruel," she said, making a face, "and I swear, if you don't move, then I will crawl over you. I'm not going on a tour of a city on a bus."

Brooklyn C.

She moved into the aisle and climbed off the bus, leaned against a poll, and waited for Alex to get off.

Alex Bellrose

She brushed past her, jumping onto the pavement, before moving in the direction of the shops.

Brooklyn C.

She rolled her eyes and followed Alex, catching up to her a couple of seconds.

Alex Bellrose

"You grabbed the food, right?" She asked, watching the bus as it drove away.

Brooklyn C.

"Yeah," she said, holding up the bag. "Where is this place?"

Alex Bellrose

She moved through the automatic doors. "Just in here," she said, looking past the other shops to point at the Optometrists.

Brooklyn C.

"Oh... yay. Y'know, you'd think after all these years, someone would invent a spell or some sort of technology to improve sight."

Alex Bellrose

"Since they defeated cancer, you think so, wouldn't you?" She asked, "be real helpful, too."

Brooklyn C.

"Guess it wasn't a huge priority. I mean, they've defeated diabetes, cancer, a majority of STDs and other viral diseases... but they still haven't gotten around to eyesight."

Alex Bellrose

"I bet the people who can make it happen all have great eyesight," she muttered, walking into the store.

Brooklyn C.

"Well duh," she said. "How else are they going to find out how to make eyesight better if they can't properly see what they're working on? It's probably people around them with eyesight issues that will motivate them to start change. That's usually how it works for people not directly involved or related."

Alex Bellrose

She rolled her eyes at Brooklyn before sliding the broken pair of glasses over the counter and the attendant checked the lenses before asking if she wanted a test. Shaking her head, Alex told them no and so they were lead to a section of glasses to choose from. Pulling out an identical pair, she slid them on, wiggling her eyebrows over at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

"So plain. You look cute in them and all, but c'mon on, don't be so boring."

Alex Bellrose

She raised an eyebrow at her before pulling them off and placing them back into position. "Fine, what about...." she trailed off before pulling out another pair. She'd chosen thick, circular glasses that kind of made her look like Edna Mode.

Brooklyn C.

"Oooh. You should get these gold ones." She pointed to a set just like it, but it was thinner with a gold rim.

Alex Bellrose

She burst into laughter when she saw them. "They look ridiculous," she said, pulling the other pair off to slide them on and wiggled her eyebrows over at Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

"You look cute in them. You should buy them."

Alex Bellrose

She pulled them off but didn't slide them back in there, looking at Brooklyn briefly before back to the glasses. "Then these ones it is," she said, folding them up.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke grinned, satisfied with herself. "How much are they?"

Alex Bellrose

She flipped back the price tag and slightly winced. Shrugging, she slid them into a case. "Nothing to have nightmares over," she said, pulling out her wallet.

Brooklyn C.

She placed her hand over Alex's wallet and pulled out her own. "The most that's probably in there is 10 Aurem. Let me pay."

Alex Bellrose

She blinked, her eyes darting up to her in slight surprise, not expecting it before shaking her head. "No," she said, "no way, I can't let you pay for them. That's too much."

Brooklyn C.

"I am paying for you whether you like or not, Bellrose," she retorted. Brooke flipped her wallet open and slapped a few bills on the counter. "I just did anyway."

Alex Bellrose

She bit down on her lip, watching Brooklyn with a slow blink, not quite...sure on how to feel. Sadly enough, that was probably one of the nicest things someone's done for her in a while. "Thank you," she said before her lips pulled into a genuine smile that, for once, actually reached her eyes.

Brooklyn C.

Brooke watched Alex's face for a few seconds, studying the girl's expression before smiling herself and turning to face the woman at the counter. She slipped her wallet back into her pocket and held her hands behind her back.

Alex Bellrose

The woman took a look at the glasses and tapped a few things into a HC. "7A," she said as Alex moved beside Brooklyn.

Brooklyn C.

"See, now thanks to me, you can use those 10A for something else."

Alex Bellrose

"You really didn't have to do that," she said, frowning up at her, "seriously, I don't...." want to be a burden. She trailed off, biting her cheek. "Thank you," she said, echoing her earlier statement.