Chapter thirteen is here! Thanks as always for your awesome reviews, guys! They're what keep me going when it gets harder for the story to come!

Holly O'Hair's Fanfiction Diary

Thirteen: Enter the Joker

When she and Apple had talked, Raven hadn't really known what Apple meant by saying that she would 'charm' her.

Halfway through the next day, she thought she was starting to get an idea.

She had moved back into her dorm that she shared with Apple following their talk, figuring that would be best if she wanted to start figuring out how she felt about Apple. After all, they didn't exactly have a whole lot of classes together.

Of course, now Apple darting around the room half-dressed carried an entirely new meaning, and Raven had started to get dizzy from blood rushing to her head before she even made it out of the room. From the way Apple had reacted—rushing forward and clasping both arms around Raven's right arm, asking if she was okay and pulling Raven into her generous cleavage—she wasn't entirely sure this was unintentional.

Briefly, as she got ready, her eyes caught sight of Apple standing before her massive closet dressed only in her bra and panties, and whipped her head away, face flushed again, wondering if maybe there should be some boundaries. She was starting to feel uncomfortably warm as her insides, particularly her lower body, tingled at the sight of Apple's generous, soft curves and flawless skin.

But she had brushed it off as she pulled her hair into a high ponytail and a fully clothed Apple skipped forward to loop their arms together as they left for their classes.

Apple had also gone back to claiming Raven as her partner in all the classes that they did share, and if Raven had thought this might have raised suspicions before, it was nothing compared to now, when pretty much the entire school thought they were dating anyway.

As soon as Professor Rumplestiltskin had announced that they would be working in partners for the day, Apple had once again looped her arm around Raven's, this time simultaneously grabbing her hand as she loudly announced that Raven was 'hers'.

Once again, Raven felt the blood rushing to her head, but she hadn't attempted to pull away from Apple. Whatever her feelings were, their time apart had made it clear to her that however embarrassing, she liked the feeling of being 'claimed' by Apple, and of being pampered by her.

Now that lunch was rolling around, though, she was starting to realize she had no idea what being 'claimed' by Apple really was.

Apparently, Dexter had decided that, like Apple, he was not going to just sit back and let Raven be stolen away from him. Raven walked into the castleteria, accompanied, of course, by Apple, only to come to a halt at her usual table. Dexter was sitting there, right next to her usual seat, with his own tray in front of him and another, presumably for Raven, next to it.

"I got your favorite," he said, hopefully, his cheeks flushing as she took the proffered seat, feeling Apple's grip tighten almost painfully around her arm as she did so.

"Thanks, Dex," she said, just a little awkward after their last encounter. Still, it was a genuinely sweet thing to do, and she wasn't just going to turn him away, especially since she was working out what she felt for him, as well. "That's really sweet."

"Yeah, really sweet," she heard Apple mumble just loud enough for her to hear. Raven turned to look at Apple, concerned, but the blonde was glaring petulantly at the table, so she shrugged and turned back to Dexter.

They were soon joined by Briar, who was half-dragging a near-comatose Holly along with her. "Passed by the bookball field on the way here," she said by way of greeting, jerking her head towards Holly and rolling her eyes. "Turns out Darling joined the team. They were doing stretches. Come on, sweetie, sit down now."

Apple's mood seemed to brighten a little at this as she giggled with her friends, and Raven gave a small sigh of relief.

"So…how have you been, Raven?" Dexter asked, a little louder than he normally would have, obviously trying to win back her attention. Beside her, Raven heard Apple give what she could swear was a tiny scoff. She frowned slightly at the blonde, who again averted her gaze. It wasn't like Apple to be so…well, not sweet!

"I've been fine," Raven replied kindly, shooting Apple a bemused glance. "You?"

"Yeah, I'm doing okay," Dexter said, affecting a brave tone. "I mean, I've been better, haha..."

This time, Apple gave an audible huff, and Raven felt Apple's soft curves press firmly into her side as the grip on her arm tightened even further.

Across the table, Briar looked right at home, alone watching the entire scene play out in all its teenage absurdity. Raven was surprised she didn't pull out a bag of popcorn. She widened her eyes in the direction of the brunette.

Help me!

Briar pursed her lips for a long moment, then seemed to decide on being merciful. She leaned forward so that her chest was pressed against the table, arms folded in front of her. Raven surprised herself in glancing away with a slight blush. It was nothing compared to her reaction to Apple, but still…Briar was still a girl. Was Raven possibly not as straight as she'd always assumed? "So, Apple," Briar began, conversationally, "are you planning on running for Thronecoming Queen again this year?"

This, thankfully, seemed to distract Apple, whose grip loosened as she leaned in to speak excitedly with her BFFA of all her Thronecoming plans, leaving Raven free to focus on Dexter for a moment.

"You're really okay?" she asked, her voice soft, laced with a small amount of guilt. The shock of having two incredibly attractive people 'fighting' over her hadn't been exactly unpleasant, per se, but Dexter and Apple were both her friends, and Raven really didn't want either of them to get hurt because of her.

"Yeah," Dexter said, shooting her a half-smile. He reached out and set his hand atop hers as if he'd been psyching himself up to it. His palm was clammy—he was clearly nervous. "Raven, I care about you. I want you to be happy. I want you to…I want you to know who you'll be happiest with, so you can choose who you really want to be with."

Like Apple, it looked like it cost him a lot to say this. Raven smiled back at him and laced her fingers through his, trying not to focus on how she didn't feel funny in the pit of her stomach holding his hand like she did with Apple. "Thank you, Dex," she said, and meant it.

Of course, Apple chose that exact moment to turn back to Raven, and her eyes widened, then narrowed as she focused on their hands.

"So, Dexter," she said, louder than was strictly necessary and leaning well into Raven's personal space. To Raven's shock, she reached right over Raven and clasped Dexter's hand herself, forcing him to release Raven. She fixed him with a sickly sweet smile that Raven had never seen before on Apple—it would look, she thought, much more at home on someone like Duchess or Kitty—and continued, "I know we haven't really talked in forever after, but Raven tells me you're still a really nice guy." Apple hesitated, giving Dexter a very obvious once-over. "I guess that has to count for something, right?"

Raven's eyes widened in disbelief. Across the table, Briar went into a coughing fit to cover up a loud snort. Even Holly seemed to break from her Darling-induced trance at the sight of Apple White acting downright catty.

"Uh…yeah," Dexter said, clearly unsure of what to say in response. "I guess so."

Again, Apple shot him a too-sweet smile, and Raven felt an arm curl tightly around her waist and was overcome by a wave of delicious apple-cinnamon perfume as Apple's curls fell over her shoulder.

"I really don't know how Daring gets all the girls," she continued. "I mean, you're much sweeter, Dexter. I'm sure there are plenty of girls who have noticed you…nobody could blame you if your gaze…slipped…once or twice…"

Raven stiffened as she realized what Apple was doing. With a great amount of effort (and a greater amount of willpower), she forced Apple's arm from around her waist, receiving a positively wounded look in return. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" she ground out, not waiting for a reply before she stalked away from the table. Apple, so confident moments before, followed like a puppy who'd been caught in the trash.

"What was that about, Apple?!" Raven hissed the second they were out of hearing range. She affected a high-pitched tone, "Nobody could blame you if your gaze slipped… What the hex?"

Apple wasn't meeting Raven's eyes. Her right hand was gripping her left arm and her lips were pursed as if she were trying not to say something.

"Well?"

"I was just trying to help him, Rav—"

"No, try again," Raven said, cutting Apple off before she could finish her sentence. "I've never seen you act that way, Apple! It was almost like watching Duchess out there!"

"Hexcuse me," came a slightly nasally voice from behind the pair, and Raven straightened just as Duchess Swan slipped delicately in between the two. "Whatever this little lover's quarrel is about, leave me out of it."

"Right, I'm sure you have enough of those with Poppy," Raven deadpanned right back, not thinking. She instantly regretted her words as Duchess flushed and seemed to puff up in front of her. The last thing she needed was an argument with Duchess Swan when she was trying to have an argument with Apple.

But, to Raven's utter shock, Duchess turned on her heel and darted down the hallway without another word, her arms flapping occasionally at her sides.

"Um," Raven said, blinking a few times. Then she regained her focus and turned back to Apple, who had seemed to pull herself together in those few moments of distraction. She was now glaring at Raven with a determined fire in her eyes. "Tell me the truth, Apple."

"You want the truth?" Apple asked, folding her plump arms over her chest. "Fine. I didn't like the way he was holding your hand, like you belonged to him or something." Her face was flushed, but her voice was steady and her eyes didn't waver.

Raven gawked for a moment. Whatever she'd been expecting, it hadn't been for Apple to just come out with it all at once like that. And besides that… "Wait, what?" she asked, voice tinged with disbelief. "First of all, I can hold whoever's hand I want." Apple's lips formed a distinct pout at this, and Raven tried to fight back the sense of impending guilt. "Besides, hand-holding is hardly proof of me 'belonging' to anyone. And for that matter, haven't you been clinging on me all day? How is that any different?"

Apple didn't seem to have an answer for this one, but she was still looking fairly argumentative. After a moment, she spoke again, so quietly that Raven almost didn't hear her, and had to lean forward to catch every word.

"He's acting like you're still his," she mumbled, eyes glued to the floor, chubby cheeks dusted a pretty pink. "I don't like it."

Raven felt her face heat up despite herself. She knew she should discourage this behavior, but… But a large part of her was ridiculously attracted to Apple's borderline possessive behavior—the same part that wanted to grab the blonde and kiss her silly right this instant. But she had promised herself that she wouldn't get romantically involved with either of them until she had made her decision. It just wasn't fair to them.

"Okay…," she said, slowly, biting down on her lower lip while simultaneously biting down on her hormones. "But Apple, like I said before, you've been…you know…really affectionate, too, and—"

"But you've never been mine!" Apple interrupted, her eyes finally meeting Raven's. She had actually stomped her foot with these words. "I'm just acting how I always do with you!"

Raven wasn't sure this was entirely true. "You've never been this affectionate," she replied, though she was sure she resembled a tomato by this point. Talking so openly about feelings, specifically Apple's for her, was not something Raven had planned on having to do.

Apple huffed. "Well, can you blame me if I'm a little touchier than usual?" she replied defensively. "Maybe this is just a hassle to you, Raven, but…but I really want to be with you!"

A feeling of intense guilt crashed over Raven. She had been trying to go about everything as normally as she always would. Of course it wouldn't be the same—of course Apple would want to be closer, and, if she was entirely honest, Raven certainly wasn't disliking the extra attention. "Apple…," she began, looking Apple in the eye—she was startled to find the beginnings of tears there, "I'm sorry. I didn't even try to think about things that way. This is all just…so new to me that I've just been trying to go about as normally as I can."

Apple seemed to study her for a minute. Then her cherry-red lips broke into a fond smile as she reached out and took Raven's hands in her own. "It's alright, Raven," she replied, squeezing reassuringly. "I may have been a bit…proactive…in trying to get Dexter to back off."

"A bit?" Raven asked, amusement in her tone.

Apple rolled her eyes. "A bit," she repeated. "Now come here."

She pulled Raven forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her, and Raven found herself reciprocating immediately. As they hugged, she felt weeks' worth of stress melt away beneath Apple's soft, warm, safe embrace. Apple holding her felt like coming home, and Raven very nearly lost herself in it as she breathed in the scent of those perfect, blonde ringlets. But then she remembered Dexter, and, belatedly, Briar and Holly. It would look very suspicious indeed if they took too long out here.

"Let's go back in," she said, reluctantly pulling away from Apple, who allowed the parting but secured Raven's left arm as she fell to her side. "And…try to be a little nicer?"

"Oh, Raven," Apple replied, waving a hand in the air as if to dismiss Raven's concerns, "when am I ever not nice?"

Raven responded with a little half smile, though she had the oddest feeling that she hadn't actually resolved anything at all as they reentered the castleteria and Apple's grip tightened around her arm.

Holly had no idea how she had gotten to the castleteria—she could only assume that Briar had guided her there, since the tall brunette was currently seated right next to her.

But that was hardly the issue at the moment. What had snapped Holly out of her Darling-induced coma was the sight and sound of Apple White staking a very unsubtle claim on Raven Queen. She blinked wordlessly as Raven stood up, her movement rather jerky, and demanded that Apple follow her out of the castleteria.

"Wow," Briar deadpanned. "That was not subtle at all." She turned to Dexter, who was picking at his food. "Sorry, man."

Holly shot her a chastising glare, to which Briar widened her eyes and held up her hands as if to say, 'what?'. Holly just rolled her eyes and turned back to Dexter with a sympathetic expression.

For a moment, Dexter looked like he was going to say something, either to play dumb or defend himself, but after a few seconds, he seemed to deflate with a sigh. "She's not gonna pick me, is she?" he asked with a small, brave half-smile.

Briar hummed and Holly bit her lip anxiously. The truth was that although Holly knew Raven did care for Dexter, the way she interacted with Apple without even thinking about it spoke volumes about who she should really be with. "Dexter…," Holly said softly, reaching out to touch his hand in consolation.

But Dexter pulled his hand back and shook his head, raising his eyes to meet her gaze. "Don't worry about me," he said, still affecting that meek smile. "It's like I told Raven…I kind of always saw something there, you know? I'm just glad I got the time I had with her."

With that, he stood up from the table, tray in hand, and left, presumably to sit with his siblings.

"That is bleak," Briar commented.

Holly rolled her eyes. "It's brave," she shot back. "And very chivalrous, when you think about it. I'm not sure there are many boys who would do that for the girl they love…or at least care for deeply."

"It's still depressing," Briar replied. Then she turned to Holly and raised her eyebrows. "Speaking of which, I see you've recovered."

Holly flushed, then huffed at the insinuation. "Having a crush on Darling Charming is not depressing," she shot. "If anything, it makes much more sense than having a crush on any of the other girls around here." As soon as she'd said the words, she thought better of them. "I mean, not that the girls here aren't beautiful, or anything," she quickly corrected, ignoring Briar's amused grin, "but, I mean, Darling is just so…charming."

"What a beautiful description," Briar drawled. "Well, if you want to hook up—"

"I do not want to just 'hook up'!" Holly replied, indignantly.

Briar rolled her eyes. "Picky," she muttered. "Well, whatever—if you want to get together," she eyed Holly beadily, but was met by no objections, "you'll have to get over this whole fangirl stage. You know that, right?"

Holly flushed. "Of course I know that," she said. "It's just hard to do when you're crushing on someone so…dreamy."

Briar mock gagged, and Holly shot her a stern look through her blush. The tall brunette sighed and stood up from the table. "I don't know, Holly, write some fanfiction about it or something," she said, thumping Holly on the back, nearly sending the latter face first into her potatoes. "Isn't that how you writer types get out your…frustrations?"

She winked salaciously before turning on her heel and walking away with a swing of the hips. Holly watched after her for a moment, feeling an irrational spike of irritation. How was it fair that Briar could manage to be so seductive without even trying, when Holly herself was constantly mistaken for an underclassman?

She did have one thing right, though, Holly thought as she turned back to her meal, glumly realizing that she had been completely abandoned at the table. Fanfiction writing was a good way to…well…vent her frustrations, so to speak.

And she had just the pair in mind…

Drawing the Joker

Wonderland.

It's almost impossible to describe from an outsider's point of view.

Upside down, inside-out and topsy-turvy come to mind.

And mad, of course.

Always mad.

PGBR

"Your majesty, the White Rabbit is here to see you!"

Blue eyes, rimmed with thick, black eyeliner, flickered open and hardened. "What for?" the Queen of Hearts demanded, standing and turning to face the simpering card guard who knelt before her. She inclined her head just slightly, basking in the moment.

She loved it—the control.

Watching them bow before her, trembling in her wake.

"W-what…for, your Majesty?"

One thin, black eyebrow arched above a large, red heart painted over one eye. "Yes," she repeated slowly, as if talking to a child. "What. For?"

The card (a five of clubs, not even a face card—not even a heart) let out a whimper. "S-she has a question, Your Majesty," stuttering, pathetic, "about—about the story. About the boy—about the next Alice—"

"Send her away!" The Queen spat. She was too busy to be bothered with the insecurities of a silly, lovestruck bunny rabbit.

The card jumped, as if slapped. "Y-yes, Your Majesty!"

It scrambled out of the room as if it were on fire.

The Queen of Hearts watched it go with half-lidded eyes. It was probably sighing in relief right about now, she mused. Good. There was more power to be gained from reigning through fear than through kindness.

Still…

She turned her gaze back to her quarters—a hedonist's paradise if ever there was one. It was a masterpiece in red and black, with the odd white splashed in here and there to keep it from looking too terribly grim. A large, plush red sofa sat to the left of the door, and next to it, a large, heart-shaped wardrobe. The bed served as the centerpiece, though it wasn't heart-shaped itself (that would be horribly tacky), framed by a black nightstand on each side. Several large poufs in varying shades of red, black and white littered the room and atop a black bureau sat a collection of stuffed animals, one of the only traces of something beyond queen ship that she allowed herself. On the far end of the room, facing to the west, was a splendid balcony framed by two doors made completely of glass. A fainting couch rested just inside the balcony, and on it, a blonde with a smile worthy of the Cheshire cat…

The Queen of Hearts just barely stopped herself from shrieking, a hand rocketing up to her breast, as if to clutch her rapidly beating heart.

"Why if it isn't little Lizzie Hearts," the intruder crooned in a cockney accent. She stretched luxuriously, panther-like, before standing and cocking a hip, resting a hand on it. "'Ello, love."

"You are to address me as 'Your Majesty'," snapped Lizzie Hearts. She had long-since perfected the imperious voice she had been honing since childhood. "And what are you doing here, Courtly Jester? In my private chambers, might I add?"

"Goosey Goosey Gander, whither shall I wander?" sing-songed Courtley as she took a step further into the room, running a hand along the back of the fainting couch. "Upstairs and downstairs and in my lady's chamber!" She punctuated the rhyme with a mad laugh.

Lizzie's eyes narrowed, and her arms folded over her chest.

"You are not welcome here, Joker," she stated in her most queenly voice. "Leave now, before I banish you to the outlands."

"Oh, dear, not the outlands!" cried Courtly, spinning to face Lizzie, eyes glittering with mirth. She flounced toward Lizzie, ducking down so that she was looking up at Lizzie, arms behind her back. "It's so terribly frightening out there!"

"What do you want?" Lizzie demanded, dropping all pretenses.

Courtly straightened, and so too did her features, all traces of madness vanished. "My fair share," she stated. "I want to rule, darling," she added. "But I would settle for a share of the kingdom."

"You shan't have it," Lizzie replied, her voice hard. "Even if I were at liberty to simply allocate the kingdom to whomever I wished, what makes you think I would trust a Joker with any of it?"

Courtly hummed under her breath. "I thought you might say that," she said after a moment. Turning away from Lizzie, she began to walk slowly around the room, eyes roaming from one thing to another as if she were on a tour. "You know," she said after several minutes, seemingly unaware of (or unperturbed by) Lizzie's hawk-like gaze following her every movement, "it's interesting that you should have become the Queen of Hearts."

Lizzie felt herself inflate, her chest puffing in indignance, hands tightening into fists at her side. "You dare—" she began, but Courtly, spinning to face her, cut her off.

"Oh, don't take it so personally," she said, completely unaffected by Lizzie's growing ire. This only served to increase it—if there was anything Lizzie Hearts couldn't stand, it was not being in control of a situation. "I simply meant that it is quite ironic that a girl who could not hold onto even one heart in her youth is now the queen of all hearts." Courtly shrugged, once again turning away. "But then again, it is a mad, mad world out there…"

"You…" Lizzie was at a loss for words. "How dare— How could—"

"I have my ways, Your Majesty," Courtly drawled. "Just a word of advice, though."

In an instant she was inches from Lizzie's face, her eyes dark and her lips parted. Slowly, almost tenderly, she leaned forward and pushed several strands of dark hair behind Lizzie's ear. Lizzie's eyes widened and she batted the hand away reflexively, only for Courtly to grab her wrist, twist it and shove her back against the wall. Before Lizzie could struggle, one of Courtly's long, slender, tights-covered legs was pressed firmly between her own so that she was rendered completely immobile.

Lizzie glared up at Courtly with as much hatred as she could muster, her jaw set. Her free hand, which Courtly had taken in her own and pressed roughly to the wall, flexed as she dug her nails as tightly as she could into the pale flesh that kept her there.

Courtly didn't seem to notice, or, if she did, she took a weird pleasure out of it, as her smile became an almost deranged grin. She leaned forward, close enough that Lizzie could feel her cheek flush against her own, and tilted her head slightly so that her lips were pressed to Lizzie's exposed ear.

"A queen ought to be a little more careful with her heart," she whispered. "I hope you've grown less foolish since your school days." Her leg pressed minutely more firmly into place, and despite herself, Lizzie felt a wave of heat pulse down between her legs. Her grip tightened on Courtly's hand, and she felt rather than saw her smirk against the flesh of her ear. "I wouldn't want you to make it too easy for me," Courtly continued, evidently quite aware of what she was doing to Lizzie. Slowly, purposefully, her lips slips slipped from Lizzie's ear, leaving a molten trail down to the crook of her neck, where she stopped, her eyes raising to meet Lizzie's.

And she bit down.

Lizzie resisted the urge to cry out, but just barely. She felt the skin beneath her fingernails break, though Courtly didn't flinch. The blonde brought herself back to her full height, though she didn't pull back, resulting in their lips just barely brushing against each other. "That would be dreadfully dull, after all," she murmured, and Lizzie fought to keep her eyes open as she felt Courtly's lips move against her own.

And then, without warning, Courtly smashed their lips together. It was a kiss unlike any Lizzie had ever experienced before—all teeth and tongues and a battle for dominance that neither was willing to surrender. She growled into Courtly's mouth, straining against the Joker's hold, not to pull away or attack, but to pull her in closer.

But Courtly pulled away with a loud smack before Lizzie could break free.

"I'll see you around, then, love," she said, her voice husky, eyes dilated with pure, unabashed arousal.

And then, quite suddenly, she let go of Lizzie and flounced back out to the balcony, hopping onto the railing and balancing there just long enough to send the queen a lewd wink.

And then she was gone.

With a whimper most unbecoming of a queen, Lizzie Hearts slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, uncomfortably aware of the pulsing between her legs as she tried to regulate her breathing.

She had expected Courtly, of course. But this… It seemed as though Courtly Jester planned to make herself a much bigger pest than Lizzie had prepared for.

She sat there for a long time, hands pressed to her lips as though she were praying.

And then, slowly, a smile crept onto plump, blood-red lips.

For the first time since she had left school for Wonderland, Lizzie Hearts was not bored at all.

"Duchess, what's—oompf!"

Poppy let out a muffled cry of surprise as Duchess shoved her into a wall and began to attack her lips like they were candy.

"Duchess, come—mmm…come on, hold up," Poppy struggled to get out as the taller girl pressed closer. She yelped as Duchess's hands slipped from their position on her waist. "Grimm, Duchess!" she cried out, finally managing to pull away and folding her arms over her chest protectively. Duchess rolled her eyes, setting a hand on her waist as she regarded Poppy with a look that clearly said 'really?'. "What's with the manhandling, dude?"

"First of all," Duchess said, already fixing her hair, "never call me 'dude' again." This time it was Poppy's turn to roll her eyes. "Secondly, I think some people are…on to us."

Poppy snorted, then tried to turn it into a cough when Duchess whipped her head around and fixed her with a glare. "Really?" Poppy asked as she got ahold of herself. "People are on to us, so your immediate response is to try to kiss the lips off my face? Not that I mind, or anything," she added quickly, when Duchess raised an eyebrow.

"No," the ballerina admitted, flushing and turning away from Poppy. "That was…well…I couldn't help myself," she muttered, darkening even further. Poppy felt her heart skip a beat in her chest.

"Aww…," she managed to coo sarcastically, through her own flustered state.

"Shut up!" Duchess snapped. Poppy frowned. She did seem a little stressed out. "I was just thinking…we need to be careful."

"You mean more careful than barely acknowledging each other?" Poppy asked, deadpan.

"Yes!" Duchess replied, completely serious. Poppy rolled her eyes. "Thanks to that stupid story by your sister, everyone already suspects something, so—"

"So what?" Poppy asked, a little defensive now. She hadn't thought Duchess would be exactly jumping for joy at the thought of going public, but if barely acknowledging the other's existence was too 'close'…

Duchess flushed at Poppy's tone. "Poppy, no," she said, her voice suddenly taking on a more gentle, and slightly pleading tone as she reached out and grabbed one of Poppy's hands. "I'm not ashamed or anything, I promise. I'm just…not quite ready yet." Her gaze fell to the floor next to Poppy's feet. "It's…it's hard to explain. Just please, give me a little bit longer?"

With Duchess practically pleading, Poppy could hardly refuse. She nodded, and Duchess let out a happy noise—something between a squeal and a honk—and clasped Poppy's face between her hands, pulling her in for a sound kiss.

Poppy watched after Duchess as she walked back down the hall—Duchess walked like royalty, tall and confident, with just a slight, seductive sway to her hips which Poppy thought (hoped) might have been for her benefit.

Sighing, she fell back against the door to her dorm room (Duchess had caught her right before she'd entered) and allowed her head to knock against the wood. She'd known Duchess was going to be a handful—she supposed she'd better get used to it sooner rather than later. Still, she hoped Duchess didn't take too long…Poppy really loved the feeling of Duchess's hand in hers, of her arm secure around her waist…

She let out a yelp as her surface was suddenly yanked away from her and, unable to catch her balance, she toppled over backwards.

"Guess who just wrote another fanfic?!" Holly cried, excitedly, before blinking and glancing down at her sister on the floor. "What are you doing down there?"

Poppy glared up at her for a long moment before responding. "Oh, nothing, just contemplating the meaning of life," she replied sarcastically as she got to her feet. "So, what was this new story about, anyway?"

Aaaaand scene! I know, I know—I was going to focus on Briar and Faybelle this chapter, but then this monster came out instead! I promise I'm not leaving everyone else behind! I know I've been focusing on these pairs a lot recently, but trust me, I'm not going to abandon the others! I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter anyway!

Please, please leave me a review, and until next time, read on!