Like I said in HOC, this had been prompted by 'stonegirl'! Enjoy?

Poppy pushed her books into her locker, humming a quiet tune that she'd heard on the radio earlier in the day. She, Jerome and Mara had gone out for breakfast that morning. The song Make You Feel My Love by Adele, which Jerome had declared was officially his and Mara's "song".

"Hey, Poppy, how's it hanging?"

Poppy closed her locker door and looked over at her friend with a smile and a roll of her blue-green eyes. He was one of the first people she met when she first came to school. They rarely hung out and Poppy was glad. If she were to hang out with him more often, she'd be staring at him most of the time. He was a year older than her, making him fifteen years old, with dark brown hair that had that I-just-got-out-of-bed look and brown eyes that could make any girl melt. He wasn't the most athletic but he wasn't a super genius either. He really had no place in society; he was just a guy that even some of the upper class girls found extremely handsome, despite his age.

But what Poppy never knew was that, Ryan Anderson didn't care if she stared. Because, if she'd stare at him, he'd have an excuse to stare at her; her light brown hair was braided today and her skin was a flawless pale with bright, mischievous eyes, just like her brother. From the first moment he'd met her, he found her extremely pretty, and none of the girls in the school matched the beauty she had. He was probably the only one that saw it.

"Hey, Ryan, what's up?"

"Nothing, just walking around before class starts." He shrugged, hands stuffed into the front pockets of his uniform kakis.

"You've been bored lately, huh?"

"Very; ya know, the only thing that's been even remotely interesting, was when Jules ran up to me and slapped me across the face because I cheated off her science test answer." He chuckled with a shake of his head, dark hair flopping over his eyes for a moment before he jerked them away.

"Which question?"

"The first one, the hardest in the entire test, I don't know what Sweety's problem is with these questions."

"What was the answer?"

"That's the problem; it was so complicated, I can't even remember it, even though I wrote it down."

Poppy stopped outside of the History classroom and Ryan halted with her.

"Maths is that way, bud." She pointed down the hallway with a teasing smile.

"Would you like to go out with me?" Ryan asked suddenly.

Poppy's head flew back in surprise. He'd said it so calmly, but she could see the nervousness in his dark orbs. He held the strap of his backpack tightly, his knuckles coming close to turning a ghostly shade of white. His tanned cheeks started to tint a light pink as the silence continued between them.

"What would we do?" the young girl asked?

"Go see a movie?" he suggested, confidence coming back and cheeks returning to their original shade.

"When,"

"Tomorrow,"

"Alright, I'll see you at seven." Poppy smiled and hopped into her class.

Ryan grinned after her and then pumped his fist triumphantly.

"That's fantastic, Poppy!" Mara congratulated her friend, tucking her legs underneath her as the two girls sat in the Anubis House common room.

"What's fantastic?" Jerome spoke up, appearing in the doorway. He moved over to them and took a seat next to his girlfriend on the old leather sofa. He swung his arm over the back and Mara turned to look at him with a small, awkward smile.

"Nothing, just girl things, you don't wanna know about that right?"

"I got a date." The younger Clarke said proudly.

Mara closed her brown eyes and bit her bottom lip, ready for Jerome's outburst.

"Oh, wow, congratulations, Poops," the blonde smiled. He pushed Mara's black hair away from her ear and brushed his lips against it. "Can I speak to you a moment, Jaffray?" he whispered.

"Um, sure,"

Poppy watched them curiously as her brother pulled Mara out of the room and down the hallway to his bedroom.

"Jerome, what is it?" Mara asked.

"She can't go on a date, she's only fourteen!" he protested in a loud whisper.

"Exactly, she's fourteen, she's going to go out with boys sometime, might as well get used to it. You can't be so over protective." His girlfriend scolded him.

"I'm her older brother; I'm supposed to be over protective. It's my job."

Mara placed a hand on his shoulder, looking up into his blue orbs. "Jerome, Poppy will always be your little sister, and you will always be her older brother, but that doesn't change the fact that she is growing up and you have to let her. If you keep her caged up all her life, when she finally goes out into the world, she won't be able to handle herself, and she needs to know how to do that. Let her go."

"I never said she couldn't. I just don't want her to get hurt."

"The guy is Ryan Anderson, remember him?"

"Oh, he's a good kid. I guess." He mumbled.

"He is; he gets good grades and he's one of Mr. Sweet's favorite students."

"Oh, just what we need, a nerd and a teacher's pet, dating my little sister. It's fine if I do it but—ow!" he cried, rubbing the arm she slapped.

"I'm not a nerd." Mara glared at him and left the room with a small, teasing smile. She made her way back to the common room and she smiled at Poppy. "Poppy, you didn't have to wait for me."

"Actually I do. Can you help me pick out an outfit?"

"Absolutely!" the two left the building, making their way to Thoth, Poppy's boarding house.

"That movie was fantastic! I loved it!" Poppy grinned as she and Ryan walked out of the theater.

That was something that Poppy loved about her relationship with Ryan. She could be herself and not have to be worried about weirding him out with her slight bizarreness. Ryan was glad that she wasn't afraid to show him what she was really like out of school. He liked this side of her; she wasn't being mischievous and manipulative, and she wasn't being a regular teenage girl, she was being Poppy Clarke.

"Glad you liked it," Ryan grinned, jerking his dark brown hair out of his eyes and lifting his arm to hail a cab.

"What was your favorite part?" his date asked, climbing into the waiting taxi.

They continued to talk about the movie and soon they were nearing the school. Ryan was about to walk Poppy to her house when he noticed she was headed in the opposite direction.

"Um, your house is this way." he pointed out, trailing after her.

"Yeah, I know, I wanted to talk to a friend before I went back. Don't worry; my brother will walk me back."

"Well, let me walk you back there at least."

They were silent once again. And it wasn't awkward, it was comfortable and peaceful. Ryan cleared his throat and spoke up again.

"How does your brother feel about me taking you out?"

"What do you mean?" Poppy turned to look at him, light eyebrows furrowed.

"Well, it's no secret that Jerome is extremely protective when it comes to you, and his girlfriend."

"Mara," she told him.

"Right, all I'm saying is that I can't picture Jerome Clarke being okay with me taking his younger sister out."

"Mara is really good at convincing my brother to do stuff. She told him to let me live my life and that was that."

"Got it, so, he'd be okay with me taking you out again?" he asked with a half smile, looking down at her. She was tall for her age, but the top of her head didn't reach past his chin.

"No, but he'll let me if it means Mara's happy." She let a smirk that Jerome would be proud of slip onto her flawless face.

"Alright, cool," he nodded and climbed the Anubis House steps with her. "I'll see you—"

The door beside them opened and Poppy rolled her eyes as Jerome appeared in the doorway. He gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I was just heading out—"

"No, you weren't, Jerome." Mara's voice came from behind him. The blue collar of his sweater was pulled back with him. Mara's head popped around the corner and she smiled at the two a bright smile. "I'm sorry, please continue."

"But, Mara, I need to make sure he doesn't kiss her—" Poppy's older brother whispered frantically.

"Well, see you tomorrow, yeah?" Ryan chuckled, scratching the back of his neck.

Poppy nodded and swallowed.

"Kay, later." he smirked and leaned, kissing her on the cheek quickly.

"Bye," Poppy smiled and once he was fading into the dark of the night, she let a grin spread across her face, and she ran into the house to tell Mara about her night.

I thought this version was much better!

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Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment. -Psalm 51:4

Love y'all!

-Rachel