A/N: hey hey hey! happy pride month you guys! to celebrate, there's gonna be a very close scene in a few chapters ;) for now, enjoy this one! tysm for reading!

reviewss:

fallingfromthecosmos: Awwwww haha. Yesss lol right? sTuPiD kEeFe.

Sokeefe: It doessss ikr. Did ;) ty for reviewing!

IShipWayToManyShips: Wowww that's a rlly long awww XD. THEY ARE! Aww thank you. That means to much to me to hear! Lol yes Fitz sucksss.

A very obsessed fangirl: Lolll probably by fangirl standards. FOR REAL! Awwww. I hope so lol but I'm not too sure. Thanks for reviewing!

Chapter Nine

I yawned, a drop of saliva trickling down the side of my mouth and down my chin. I vigorously scrub at my eyes to wake myself up, and stretch in the soft linens of my bed. I sit up, kicking the covers off me.

I swing my feet onto the floor and frown at the empty sleeping bags splayed on the floor.

Biana and Linh must've gone downstairs for breakfast. Edaline usually makes the food really early.

I enter the bathroom, slipping on a loose blue blouse and some leggings.

My mouth stretches out into a yawn and I frown, turning around to look at the mirror. I nearly fell on the sink. I either slept too well, or the boogie monster visited me in my sleep and messed up my- everything.

I walk over to Vertina instinctively, though I'm not really sure why my gut drove me to her, considering she was the best and worst person to ask anything. Vertina surfaced to the mirror, a smirk on her face. "Need to impress someone?" she wiggles her eyebrows.

I frown. What did she mean by that? "No- what the heck do you mean?"

Vertina rolled her eyes, clacking her tongue. "Oblivious as always I see, Sophie. Some things never change." She raked her eyes over me and gasped, wrinkling her eyebrows in disgust. "Oh my god you look like complete shit! I can see why you came for my help."

I sigh. "Yeah, I kind of do I guess. But you don't have to be so rude about it."

Vertina laughed. "But that's my forte." She raised her hand to her mouth, looking over me as if thinking about something carefully. "Along with fixing up messes like you," she added. "Grab some hair pins, Sophie. I'm going to save your ass. Again," she muttered the last word underneath her breath.

Fifteen minutes later, Vertina deemed me 'on the road to looking acceptable enough to be seen by society,' which I guess was supposed to be a compliment? You can never really tell with Vertina. She could be genuine or sarcastic or just telling half the truth.

"Now go put on that purple tunic that Jolie used to wear and you'd look actually okay-"

I stepped back, switching her off. This was extremely rare, going to Vertina for fashion advice. I wasn't going to make it a thing. And I especially wasn't going to listen to her annoying voice more than I had to.

"Sophie I love your hair!" Linh quietly complimented me once I reached downstairs.

I subconsciously ran my fingers down the back of my braid. "Uh, thanks," I say with a sheepish smile. It was so uncomfortable to feel my hair so tightly strung together but at least I didn't have a pineapple head. "Biana, what do you-" I frown as I look over the table, not seeing Biana. "Where is she, by the way?"

"She left early," softly explained Linh, biting into a blitzenberry muffin. "Said something about needing to get ahead on her homework."

"Oh." I frown. "That's too bad."

"It is," agreed Linh. "But our sleepover's finished anyways, so she didn't miss anything except for breakfast."

From the corner of my eye, I see Edaline coughing into her fist. "Are you okay?" Grady paused eating to look at Edaline.

"Yes, I just wanted to suggest that Sophie can bring Biana some breakfast, you know. She might want a muffin," Edaline stopped coughing and shrugged, standing up from her chair.

"I'm sure she already ate," I shrug.

"Maybe but nonetheless, she'll appreciate a good muffin," Edaline raised a finger, pointing to the muffins on the counter. "Why don't you bring her some?"

"I-"

"That's an order!"

I roll my eyes and sigh, reluctantly grabbing a muffin and pocketing it. "Fine. I guess I'll go give it to her then on my way to Foxfire."

Edaline folded her arms on her chest, giving me a warm smile. "Thank you, Sophie. I'm sure Biana'll appreciate it very much."

"Bye guys." I give Edaline and Grady each a quick hug and run up the stairs to the Leapmaster. Stepping into the light, I shout, "Everglen!"

A/N: plsss revieww! thanks so much for reading!