Confusion on Cascade Hall

Lexi Stafford

December 02, 2007 6:45 PM

Confusion by Lexi Stafford

Boys were useless. Just…useless. Useless and completely insane.

That was Lexi Stafford’s mantra s she made her way to Cascade from her room in Teppenpaw. After receiving Chris’s final letter, her room had seemed too stuffy to stay in any longer. Somehow, between the first and second paragraph, it felt like all the air had left the room, and she couldn’t breathe anymore.

However, she came to the conclusion that the change in location hadn’t proved all that helpful, as she still felt lightheaded sitting down at one of the tables, and staring blankly at the food. What was with Christobel Dupree? Did insanity run in the family? In Lexi’s experience, one didn’t respond to letters like hers with…that. God.

She didn’t even know what he wanted her to do now. Was she just supposed to remember this, on the off chance he didn’t ‘fall in love’ with someone else within a week or two, as seemed to be his habit? Was she supposed to not date anyone else until he figured out what was going on? She’d almost have preferred him to be angry right back at her, and for the two of them to cut ties irreparably. Now, though, she was stuck even more, and with no clue what to do.

Pulling the chain and pendant out of her pocket, Lexi idly twisted it, watching the way the light reflected off of it. She’d not yet found herself able to put it back on, and she wasn’t sure if she was ever going to be. This was just…too much. She hadn’t expected it could get worse than the break-up itself, and then Chris’s reply. Actually, she was a bit nervous about what was going to be the next thing that made the situation worse.

She decided that, as long as she was down here, she might as well get something to eat, since it was nearing time for dinner anyway, so she piled some food on her plate, though she didn’t put away the necklace yet.

0 Lexi Stafford Confusion 0 Lexi Stafford 1 5

Bella

December 02, 2007 6:57 PM

Is the way of life? by Bella

Bella's first week back was an interesting week to say the least. First with Chris and his issue with Lexi. Then Bella's anxiety over her boyfriend. Then her boyfriend (her amazingly perfect boyfriend) who sang to her and made her feel absolutely beautiful even when she believed she was nothing more than a fat cow. And now...back to Chris. He was happy (which was a bonus after the last few days of him being miserable or angry), but it was over letters with Lexi. Letters that had Bella scoffing at the both of them for their behaviors. And, to top it off, Chris decided to tell her he'd love her forever. Or something.

What?

He explained himself of course, but Bella still couldn't believe it. Seriously, those two were...incorrigible. So much so that Bella found herself wanting to stuff her face and ruin her diet. She had lost seven pounds and she was just about to go and gain them all back.

But, as soon as she entered the hall, she spotted on of the people she was trying to figure out. Lexi. Her boyfriend's sister and her best friend's...something. Bella immediately headed in the redhead's direction. "Beautiful necklace." Bella complimented as she took a seat opposite of her. "So, rough few days?"

0 Bella Is the way of life? 0 Bella 0 5

Lexi

December 02, 2007 7:07 PM

Some people have simple lives by Lexi

Bella Santoro was not who Lexi had been expecting to come and join her. Surprisingly, given the close connections between the two of them, the two of them had never really spent much time together in the past. Lexi actually really wasn’t sure how she was supposed to respond to being joined by the Aladren, though at the very least Bella seemed friendly enough.

“You have no idea,” the redhead replied with a small smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes, and then reconsidered. “Well, actually, you might, depending on how much Chris told you. So, are you here as my brother’s girlfriend, or as my ex-boyfriend’s good friend, because that can significantly affect the direction this conversation is going to take.”

She paused, and poked at her food with her fork, having lost the urge to eat again. Then she glanced at the other girl out of the corner of her eye. Bella Santoro actually might be useful in trying to make sense of some of the things that had happened. “Oh, and your best friend’s a complete loon, no matter who you’re here for.”

0 Lexi Some people have simple lives 0 Lexi 0 5

Bella

December 02, 2007 8:13 PM

Those people are rare. by Bella

Bella smiled knowingly at Lexi. Bella knew all about it all. Too much in fact. More than she'll ever want to know again. But, she kept it between her and Chris. She figured, Lexi would talk to her brother about it and it would already be awkward between Chris and Ben that Bella didn't want to gossip about his sister and her best friend/his roommate's romance. Just as she wouldn't gossip to Lexi on her's and Ben's. If the two of them ever got close enough to have one of those relationships.

At the moment, it seemed unlikely.

"Can't I have come for both or none at all?" Bella asked her. "You and I are in the same classes and you're on my brother's quidditch team. Surely I have more to say to you than just being your brother's girlfriend or your ex's best friend." Bella continued, though her voice held only amusement with a bit of exasperation.

Bella decided to just have a glass of water after all and not stuff her face like she had originally intended. She glanced up at Lexi's comment on Chris. "Yes, he is." She agreed without hesitation. Chris was a loon for more than one reason. "But, he's finally figuring out a way to help himself and because of that, I'll support him even if I might not always agree with his way of thinking." Bella paused for a moment and looked directly at Lexi.

"I don't know why you did what you did as it's completely irrelevant now, but you have to understand that Chris is under a lot of pressure. Pressure you and I will never understand. Marie is a figure to remind Chris of his imprisonment. His reminder that he can never live a life of his choosing." Bella was frowning as she spoke, though it was not her life, when she thought about Chris and his responsibilities, she felt heavy in sorrow.

"He fell in love with someone who was everything opposite of how he was raised. Lexi...please, don't hate him."

0 Bella Those people are rare. 0 Bella 0 5

Lexi

December 02, 2007 9:15 PM

Still, can't I be one? by Lexi

It was less awkward than Lexi would have thought this conversation would have been, and Bella was the one to thank for that. Lexi wasn’t sure if she could have managed to remain as impartial and uncomplicated as Bella was at the moment.

“Touché,” she responded with an actual smile this time, raising her glass in a semi-toast. “Though it is a bit suspicious, the first time for you to come and talk to me being a few days after I dump Chris, something I have a feeling my brother approves of, and then the day that…things happen” she said, hastily amending what she was trying to say, realizing that she had no way of putting what Chris told her in words.

Lexi glanced at Bella perplexedly when the other girl started essentially lecturing her, and then understood. So, despite what the Aladren had said, it was for Chris that she was here, or at the very least she was taking this opportunity to make her point. And, yet, though Lexi hated to be patronized, she couldn’t blame Bella.

She was silent for a long time after the other girl finished, but only because the last thing said shocked her more than a little. Yes, it was a reasonable request, but it wasn’t actually something Lexi had thought about. “I do understand that Chris is under a lot of pressure. And I don’t hate him. He’s a loon because he’s male. And he says things without explaining what the hell I’m supposed to do now that he’s told me.” She buried her head in her arms. “He’s told you about the letters, I take it. But, no, I don’t hate him. Just don’t like him very much right now.”

She intentionally glossed over a lot of what Bella said, because it had only made her more anxious and uncomfortable, and she didn’t like thinking of it now.

0 Lexi Still, can't I be one? 0 Lexi 0 5

Bella

December 02, 2007 9:39 PM

Only if you start behaving. by Bella

"A girl needs a break from time to time. And talk with Chris makes me hungry." Bella admitted. Of couse, talking with Lexi was for Bella's own purpose in trying to fix whatever glitch was between Lexi and Chris so that Bella could have a perfectly normal life with her boyfriend, her best friend, and her boyfriend's sister. Not to say that she wanted them to start dating again (Merlin knew where that would lead), but to just be...okay.

Bella took long sips of water to fill her stomach while she waited for Lexi to digest her words. She hadn't meant to say all of that, honestly. And she wasn't sure how Chris would feel knowing that she had, but... Bella couldn't help it. Just as Chris needed to be told to grow up and Bella was oh so happy to have done so, Lexi needed to understand that not everything was really a result of what she had done but rather, what Chris had to face everyday of his life.

"Do you?" Bella questioned because she didn't think Lexi really knew. Bella felt sorry for Lexi on a friend level because it must have been tough possibly loving someone who could never really give her what she needed out of life. At least, not until he figured out what he needed first.

Bella looked at the girl in front of her curiously. What was she to do? Wasn't that obvious? "What do you mean? You be Lexi. You continue to be Lexi. Make decisions as Lexi. Live as Lexi." Bella placed a hand on Lexi's arm in a gesture of comfort. "Who knows how long Chris needs to figure out what to do with his life. How to fix all the wrongs. He'll be okay. It might take some time, but he'll be okay. He doesn't expect you to just stop living your life because of what he wrote to you. So, you continue being Lexi." Bella smiled at the girl. It probably didn't make much sense, but to Bella, it was the simpliest of things.

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Lexi

December 02, 2007 10:01 PM

This is me behaving by Lexi

Lexi shrugged. “I try to understand, at least, or did, insofar as I can imagine. I acknowledge that he deals with things far beyond my realm of experience. And it’s not my fault that his family’s twisted, and they’ve got strange traditions that some pureblood families seem to find important. I can’t help it that my family’s relatively normal compared to that. Can I?” she asked Bella, unknowingly giving a pleading look.

She also couldn’t help but scoff at Bella’s reply. “Right. Sure. Be Lexi. And what if I’m the kind of girl who really does go around being kissed by random boys I barely knows, who flirts with every guy I meet. Or what if I’m normal enough, but still likes being in a relationship, so, say…” Lexi scrambled for a completely irrational hypothetical, so Bella wouldn’t start getting ideas, and report back to her ex (she doubted it, but one never knew).

“Say by some freak accident your brother and Jennifer broke up, and it was the Lexiish thing to do to date him. Do you want to deal with Chris if he gets upset over that, or would you want me to? Or Ben, Ben would be an excellent one.” She laughed, though it didn’t sound amused.

“Of course, this all hinges on the fact that he’s not just gone momentarily insane. Personally, I’m of the opinion that, as soon as another girl comes along, he’s going to forget about me, and, really, I couldn’t care less.” Well, actually, it would bother her at least a little, but that was beside the point.

“Yet if by some miracle he doesn’t, what happens if he does manage to get away from Marie? Does he want me to live my life now, and then, when that happens, go straight back to what we were before the break?” Lexi sighed again. “Alright, I rescind my earlier statement. Right now I hate him.”

0 Lexi This is me behaving 0 Lexi 0 5

Bella

December 02, 2007 10:52 PM

Then you'll never be simple by Bella

"No, it isn't your fault and I'll never claim that it is. Nor is it Chris's and it's the exact thing he's rebelling against. And the exact thing that his sister has rebelled against, which might very well lead to both of their disownments." Bella commented casually. "And, for the record, I totally love your family." More to the point, Bella loved Ben and if she had been forced to choose between her family and him, she would have gladly chosen him.

And then, Lexi was going off on her much the same way that Chris had gone off on her. She sat patiently waiting for Lexi to finish. Bella had a knack for saying something that meant something simple to her, but was taken the wrong way by everyone else. The only person who seemed to understand her at all (aside from her family) was Ben. He never questioned what she said, he simply went with it.

"Whoa Lexi. Whoa." Bella replied after a moment, trying to take in everything she had said. "I don't think you are that type of girl. Crap happens. Crap that you can't prevent and there's no point in trying to figure it out. So some guy kissed you, so what? Get over it. I told Chris to do the exact same thing." Bella set her drink aside and frowned at Lexi. "If you think such poor things of yourself, Lexi, then everyone else will believe it too."

Bella gave her a soft smile. "If you did decide to date my brother, then so be it. His love life is his own and he wouldn't listen to me even if I did complain. Which I won't. I like you, Lexi. I think you'd be good for anyone." She meant it too. She had made Chris very happy up until the end and even that could one day be rectified.

"I know when you say that about Chris because of what happened after Kaylie, but... Kaylie and Chris's relationship was weird. He certainly didn't have the sort of feelings for her the way he does for you. He never gave her his ring. I'm pretty sure he didn't love her. Cared for, but not loved. You were...er... are his first. And I'm not saying this to make you feel guilty or anything, it's simply fact. If you hated Chris forever, then so be it, I wouldn't hold it against you." Bella sighed and rubbed her eyes for a moment. These two...really.

"Does it matter what Chris will want however long from now?" Bella asked her. She loved Chris, honestly, but she would side with Lexi on this one. He couldn't ask for her to stop living her life or ask to go back to what was. "Lexi, I meant what I said. Continue on as is, right now. Do what you want to do. Whether that be flirting with every boy you know, smacking people off brooms much to my brother's delight, or my boyfriend's sister who has a great sense of humor and whom I hope to one be good friends with. You choose, Lexi. It's your life to live. Be the girl you choose to be. And if, by chance, Chris gets his head on straight, you can figure things out then."

0 Bella Then you'll never be simple 0 Bella 0 5

Lexi

December 10, 2007 6:24 PM

That's no fair by Lexi

Despite the somber topic, Lexi couldn’t help but grin as Bella expressed her feelings toward the Staffords, or, she assumed, one in particular. “I love my family too. I take it you’ve gotten your gift, then?” Lexi had been a witness to most of Ben’s plans for it, and had approved whole-heartedly, once she’d gotten over the shock of her brother playing a semi-bohemian instrument. And, from Bella’s reaction, she concluded his girlfriend had appreciated it.

Lexi stopped her ranting when Bella told her to, and took a few deep breaths. She supposed the other girl was right, and that she was being ridiculous, but it was really hard not to think about the personal implications of her character.

However serious Lexi took Bella’s advice, though, she couldn’t stop herself from choking when the other girl took the suggestion about dating Jake seriously, though from suppressed laughter or complete shock and disgust, the Teppenpaw couldn’t say. Once she’d gained control of herself, she shuddered. “I wasn’t serious about the Jake thing. At all. I mean, I know he’s your brother, and he’s a great guy, but…Merlin, it would be so wrong. I mean, apart from being semi-incestuous, what with you and Ben dating, he’s just…Jake. Though thanks for the compliment.” She smiled weakly, still trying to lose the mental image.

There wasn’t really anything she could say to the comments about her relationship with Chris versus Kaylie’s, and it wasn’t something she wanted to delve into in any case. It was going to be weird enough dealing with the other prefect already; she didn’t need to compare the two of them in any way. From now on, Lexi was going to cause as few problems between herself and the people around her she had to deal with regularly, she decided firmly, to keep things like this from happening again.

However, it was probably important to tune back into Bella’s advice, she conclude a minute later, and so started paying attention again. “You seem very skeptical about Chris being capable of getting his head back on straight,” she commented with a grin. “Though I have to agree with you, it’s not something he does particularly well. And thank you for your compliments. I hope we can be friends too. It’s nice to talk to somebody in our year in Aladren who actually has sense.”

She finally remembered that she still had the necklace out, and hastily put it away in her bag. Lexi would keep it, for now, since she didn’t want to cause another fight between Chris and herself, or continue owling it back and forth to each other for eternity like would probably happen. However, just because she had it didn’t mean she had to wear it, and she personally thought it might be a long time, if ever, before she felt comfortable doing that again.

0 Lexi That's no fair 0 Lexi 0 5

Bella

December 12, 2007 6:44 PM

You make it complicated by Bella

Bella's face lit immediately up when Lexi mentioned her Christmas gift. "It was absolutely amazing! I had no idea he was so talented, the stupid lug never told me!" Bella exclaimed, sounding heated, but still grinning madly. "I'm going to marry him someday, you just wait."

It seemed like such a seriously thing to admit to. Marriage. And for two people so young, people might even laugh at such a sentiment spoken. But Bella truly believed in her words, even though she knew there may come a day when the two of them ended their relationship. She was living in the here and now and right now, Bella would do anything Ben asked of her.

She laughed openly at Lexi's reaction to her own example. "I know you weren't really serious and even if you had been, I don't think Jake and Jennifer are about to break up anytime soon. They've been on that line though...too many times, but they're holding strong." Bella had been on the receiving end of one of Jake's anxiety filled rants when it came to his girlfriend. She wished them both happiness, she really did, but... they both needed to learn how to communicate better.

"Look, I love Chris. I really do. Ben, Merlin love him, stays with me for who knows what, but Chris, he's my best friend and one of the only few people willing to deal with me. But, he's insane." Bella stated while Lexi made herself busy with hiding the necklace. "I know he does things because he thinks he's helping, but he doesn't think things through. I want him to find himself on his own, but it's a struggle and he keeps making mistakes.

"I'm not perfect either and will never claim to be. I have insecurities. I worry about a lot of things. But, I think about how to go about things before actually doing anything. Chris is like a girl, and I don't mean physically." Bella added the last part so that it didn't seem like she was calling him names because she wasn't. "He runs on emotions. Things get heated and he acts out. That's what gets him into trouble. He needs to learn to calm down first before he can get anywhere."

Bella paused for a moment before waving off a hand. "Anyway, I really didn't sit with you to discuss Chris. I honestly want to chat because we're so closely tied and have never really talked. Truth is, I don't seem to be able to make friends with girls so easily. I'm not really sure why. And, out of our year, you're probably the one whom I'd get along with best. Boys aside, you stick out."

0 Bella You make it complicated 0 Bella 0 5

Lexi

December 14, 2007 11:57 PM

No, boys make it complicated by Lexi

“He’s a guy, they tend to do things without thinking sometimes,” Lexi said automatically when Bella complained about Ben, though then felt bad because she was the silly, unthinking one in her (former) relationship. Still, it was meant in jest, and she was sure Bella’d understand that.

Bella’s next statement, though, made her sit up and stare at the other girl. She wasn’t quite sure how she was supposed to respond to the news that her brother’s girlfriend was planning to marry him. “Um…congratulations, I guess,” she said after a few very long moments of silence, deciding joking was still the way to go. “Does Ben know about this yet? And, if for some reason you decide to put me in the wedding party, can you not choose pink for the dresses? It looks awful with my hair.”

Lexi nodded when her companion mentioned that Jennifer and Jake seemed to be doing well. “I hope so. From what I’ve seen, she’s been good for him…well, when he’s not angry,” she shrugged, remembering the conversation the two of them had had last year in the gardens. “And, personally, I wouldn’t want to deal with my roommate if Jake were to be single again. She’s very happy with Adam right now and it might only confuse—shoot, I wasn’t supposed to say anything about that. Damn it, Bella, you’re too easy to talk to.”

Most of what Bella said about her ex-boyfriend Lexi already knew, though there were a few things that came as a surprise. “Chris, running on emotions?” she asked incredulously. “I mean, I suppose you would know him better but…he seemed anything but to me most of the time. He was just so ridiculously passive most of the time. When we first got together, explaining about his fiancee, hell, even when I told him another boy kissed me, he never really seemed emotional about it." She laughed a bit bitterly. "Maybe that's part of why I dumped him, just to see if I could get something out of him, see if he actually cared. And, despite whatever he may have written me, he didn't seem to.

"How has he been, by the way? I mean, from what I’ve communicated with him, he seems...” Bitter, angry, and cruel sprung to mind, but she wisely chose to just let the sentence trail off there. “Of course, it’s not been the most accurate method of gauging his emotions.”

She did hope Chris was doing well. Lexi would have felt awful if it were otherwise—well, more awful, which didn’t seem possible sometimes. When she thought about Chris, she either felt guilty, or like an idiot, neither emotions she enjoyed. She had pondered asking Kaylie if they, or the missing, went away, and how long it took, but she doubted that conversation would have gone well, and Lexi was at her quota for bad conversations.

“For good or ill, I suppose I do stick out,” she admitted with a laugh. “And I’m glad you figured we’d get along. We seem to be doing well so far, and, given the semi-depressing state of our subject matter, we’ll only probably do better. And I believe that you didn’t come to talk about Chris, and I’m sorry for semi-monopolizing the conversation about him. He’s just…being confusing, and I don’t think the two of us will be talking for at least a while, so you’re it as far as explanations go.”
\r\n\r\n

0 Lexi No, boys make it complicated 0 Lexi 0 5

Bella

December 15, 2007 8:11 PM

Girls don't help in the matter by Bella

Bella nodded in agreement, looking thoughtful as she did so. "Yeah, Jake does that a lot and Mateo too." Bella said. Her brothers were the only boys she really knew aside from Chris, but she was going to leave Chris out of this part of the conversation.

Bella found Lexi staring at her after her declaration to marry her brother. She tilted her head slightly at the redhead with a look of amusement and curiosity registering on her dark features. She laughed when Lexi finally found her voice and responded.

"Not yet. I figure, I'd give him a few years before I told him so." Bella explained, though it would be hard for anyone to discern whether or not she was joking. "Of course you'd be in the wedding. You are Ben's twin. And I wouldn't have pink be in the wedding, even though I love the color. It's pretty tacky." Bella commented.

She looked entirely entertained as Lexi started talking about Dalila and apparently something that had to do with her and Jake. "Yes, well, Jake and Jen seem to have a complicated relationship that they keep making it worse on themselves. Does Dalila like Jake or something? Because that's totally a laugh if she does. Jake only has eyes for Jen. Poor girl." Bella looked genuinely sad for Dalila.

"Good thing Adam's the hands on type. He'll keep her preoccupied for awhile." Adam had been on the same summer league as Jake had been a few years back before they both became too old for it and Adam wasn't allowed to play anymore. She knew enough about him to know how he worked.

Bella blinked at Lexi. "Do you think those letters he wrote were when he was calm?" She asked her. Bella didn't know how he was with Lexi on a one to one basis, but when Bella was with him, he was all emotion. "He probably didn't seem emotional when he was with you, but his words and actions would have said otherwise. Or, he may have just held it all in until you were out of sight. I think guys do that sometimes. Hold it in and then explode elsewhere..." She wasn't really sure. The guys in her family would take it all out at once just to get it over with. But that was with each other. It could very well be completey different if it were with a girl. Jake, for instance, never seemed to voice his worries to his girlfriend, but would dump them onto her or Anita.

She shrugged slightly at her. "Well, he seems to be figuring things out right now, but he's more spirited than before. Scratch that, he was very spirited after you dumped him. Totally cocoa-bananas. He punched the wall and scared the crap out of me. Once I told him to breathe though, he seemed to have deflated. But now he's spirited in a not so angry way. But no, writing letters and sending gifts and rings and the like through Owl was probably not the best thing to have done. Not that I can't say I wouldn't have done the same."

In all honesty, Bella had no idea what she would have done if Ben broke her heart because he kissed another girl. She probably wouldn't have ever spoken to him again. Not a word. She may have very well run off to Chris and cried to him. Full out cried. But not one word to Ben.

"I don't mind talking about Chris with you. I mean, how else am I going to talk to about him with? Ben? Cos I'm sure that'll go over well." Bella mused. Ben was a great guy, really, but Bella didn't think he'd take to kindly to her talking about his roommate/twin sister's ex boyfriend. "Anyway, the two of you need to work out something and if I'm the one who has to step in and make something work, then so be it. You are, however, forever stuck with me now. So get used to it." Bella smiled at her.

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Lexi

December 23, 2007 12:32 AM

Minor detail by Lexi

Lexi nodded seriously as Bella explained that Ben had no idea about his eventual marriage yet. “That’s probably all for the best,” she agreed solemnly. “Ben can be a bit foolish sometimes about things like that; probably best to ease him into it slowly. And I couldn’t take it for granted.” She grinned. “I may be Ben’s twin, but we also rarely talk when we’re not at home. And I did manage to make things horribly awkward between him and his roommate for almost a year, which wouldn’t endear me to him much, though I suppose he’d probably blame Chris for that more than me.”

She had felt awful at first about mentioning Dalila and her unsuccessful crush on Jake. It honestly had just slipped out without any previous thought. However, her roommate had been dating Adam for a while now, so it really was old news. She couldn’t help but give Bella a skeptical look, though, at the other girl’s response. “A laugh? Not really, when I had to deal with her crying when I told her that Jake and Jennifer were dating in the first place. I don’t actually think she likes him anymore, but she did for a while. Your brother’s just a popular guy, I suppose,” she shrugged. “And, despite whatever complications they may have, they at least manage not to break up over them, or haven’t yet. That’s something in their favor over others of us.”

It was incredibly difficult for Lexi to equate the image of Chris that Bella painted with the one she knew. The latter seemed so calm most of the time (and really was, for all intents and purposes, a bit of a pushover), the former… “He punched a wall?” she asked incredulously, perking up a little without realizing it, and putting the other things Bella mentioned aside for a moment. “Really?” With much difficulty, she could almost picture her ex doing it, and the image pleased her more than it should have, given that Chris was her ex-boyfriend, and violence should not be condoned. Still, damn.

“I know it wasn’t the wisest course of action, doing everything by owl. Still, the first letter had to be sent, just because I didn’t know how he was, and didn’t want to risk a face-to-face encounter. The second—God, I was going to slap him if I saw him after getting his reply at the very least. We could have done things worse, too. We could have used you or Ben to communicate. That would have been just dandy.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at Bella’s joking suggestion. “Oh, please talk to my brother about Chris and my relationship, and then take a picture of his face. I will pay you untold amounts of gold for that. Or trade comical Ben stories, whichever you prefer.” Her humor faded when Bella insisted that she and Chris would have to sort things out. “I think we have, or at least I have my plan. Avoid him whenever possible, and have nice, civil, impersonal conversations when I can’t. Should last me through the rest of the year, at least, maybe longer. And I don’t have a problem with being stuck with you, Bella. You seem like you make life much more interesting.” Lexi still couldn’t see how Ben had managed to convince a girl that appeared to be this great to date him, but she was incredibly grateful for whatever underhand methods he had used. It was always nice to have another friend, and Bella had potential to be an amazing one.

0 Lexi Minor detail 0 Lexi 0 5