A/N: And here we have the first date of the Selection! Sorry it took so long to write and I'm sorry if it's trash. I was so stuck on what to do next that I finally just made myself plow through, so what is here is what we get.

The Thing About Bowling

Breakfast used to be Delia's favorite meal of the day. She was always the first at the dining table, sometimes even beating the maids before they could lay out the polished silver, eager to dig into a colossal stack of pancakes or eat her weight in scrambled eggs. Delia loved the early morning hours, loved basking in the sunshine streaming through the high windows, loved talking to her sisters before the day stole them away.

That was before.

Now, Delia hardly woke up before noon, breakfast long past and lunch creeping up with a vengeance. Now, if she did wake up early enough for breakfast (or, more than likely, stayed up long enough the night before to see the sunrise), she ate alone in her room. Now, there was nothing worse than the thought of sitting through a meal with her family with their probing questions and prying eyes.

The Selection made avoiding group meals impossible.

That was how she found herself eating breakfast with her father and Elodie at the table tucked into the corner of Dad's office, the both of them staring at her, warning her of the interrogation to come. They were going to force her back into a morning person. How hateful.

Elodie stirred the world's tiniest dollop of cream into coffee strong enough to tear a hole through the fabric of time, spoon clinking against the rim of the mug in a way that had to be intentional. "The Report is coming up at the end of the week."

"Yeah, and?"

"And we have exactly zero hours of usable footage with you and the Selected."

Delia found that hard to believe, and even harder to believe that it had only been a week of this hell of being chased by cameramen everywhere she went.

"What happened to the interview tapes?"

"Are you kidding? We can't show that," Elodie insisted, scandalized that Delia would even suggest it.

"Why not?"

Elodie's eyes narrowed. "You know why."

Cruel words and cringey memories came back to Delia. Yeah, okay, she could see why that wouldn't be the best. If she had known spiting Elodie would screw her over later, Delia never would have done it. Maybe.

Dad, who had stayed out of the conversation, decided now was a good time to mediate. Good timing, too. Delia was one more thinly-veiled insult away from leaning across the table and throwing her pale-ass coffee on Elodie's crisp white blouse.

"Delia, sweetheart, all your sister is asking is that you go out on a date. Show the people you are having fun. The Selection segment this week only has a ten minute time slot, so all we really need is a few minutes of smiles and laughter."

He made it sound so easy, so effortless. As if happiness was something she didn't have to work for.

"Why don't you go bowling? You used to spend hours down at the lanes," Dad suggested, putting animosity aside in favor of problem solving. And wasn't Delia their favorite little problem?

"Yeah, when I was five," Delia replied, rolling her eyes. "Might as well let Essie go on my date for me."

Essie perked up at the sound of her name, abandoning her dolls in favor of joining the adult conversation. She ran up to the table, jumping into Delia's lap. Delia let the little girl climb all over her, let her steal the last bit of breakfast off her plate. Essie was probably the one person left in the palace who didn't totally hate her.

"Essie, how would you like to go bowling with the boys?" Delia asked.

Essie's eyes widened with excitement. She turned to Elodie and asked, "Can I go bowling Mama?"

"Not now cariña. Aunt DeeDee has to be the one who goes bowling - " Elodie said, her stare pinning Delia in place, her sharp smile driving her words home. " - even if she sees it as a punishment"

"Aunt DeeDee gets to play when she's in trouble?" Essie asked, confused. She pouted her bottom lip. "When I'm in trouble I have to clean my house!"

"Trust me, Ess, I would rather clean your house too."

A text alert went off before physical fighting coulee ensue. Everyone immediately checked their phones, eager for distraction. It was Dad's, his brow furrowing as he read the message.

"I am so sorry girls, I'll have to leave you to sort this out on your own." Dad got up from the table, smoothing down his charcoal grey suit. Yeah, he looked reallllllly upset to be leaving this fiasco. It wasn't like he was paying attention anyway. He was really distracted, even to Delia's mediocre observational abilities. A quick glance over to Elodie let Delia know she wasn't seeing things. Elodie's brow was furrowed in concern, but she kept her mouth shut as Dad kissed them both on the forehead and scooped Essie into his arms for a hug. "I will see the two of you at dinner. Delia, I know you will choose the right thing. Just remember to have fun."

Have fun. Yeah right!

Dad left with Essie, the two of them carrying on with a conversation that probably had something to do with with butterflies or My Little Pony. Essie was a girl of simple taste, and Dad was weak for his only grandchild. Delia didn't blame him for choosing that over Selection talk.

Once the door shut, Elodie turned on Delia.

"Look, I know I'm being hard on you, but that's only because I don't want your Selection to end up like mine."

"You mean with an abusive toolbag for a husband?" Low blow, but it had to be said. Elodie didn't say anything, but her lips pursed into a thin line that promised hell if Delia kept it up. Delia raised her hands in submission. "Hey, from what I remember, Felix was pretty charming at the beginning. How were you supposed to know?"

More silence. Wow, Elodie was touchy today.

"Don't worry. If anything, I'm the abusive toolbag in this situation," Delia said in lieu of an apology.

"You may be half right. You are a tool."

Was that...a joke? From the Queen of All Seriousness? Maybe Delia had finally lost her mind. Or the blend that she smoked that morning must have been extra strong.

"Is this us...getting along?"

Elodie cracked as smile and took a sip from her coffee. "See how easy this can be if you actually work with me instead of against me?"

"Disgusting," Delia scoffed, but there was no heat to it. "I still don't want to go bowling."

"Just go down for half an hour, throw a few balls, laugh at some dumb jokes, and I won't make Midas ask you any questions during The Report."

Now that was an idea Delia could get behind.

"Dad's gonna go for that?"

"He will if we spin it as a 'get to know you' session with the Selected." Elodie sounded so confident, Delia almost believed her. "We don't have any good footage of you together, but we also don't have a lot of good footage of them by themselves. Doing a Q and A session gives the people a sense of who you are dating. Meanwhile, you can just sit back and enjoy the show."

Elodie's logic was flawless, immaculate, amazing. Delia could have kissed her.

"You're an evil genius when you put your mind to it."

"This deal only stands if you give me genuine, usable material this afternoon." There it was, that dreadful little reminder. Elodie wasn't going to let her off the hook, either. "If you don't deliver, I will make you front and center of The Report."

And she meant it. Delia could see that in Elodie's eyes. She had fucked up one too many times, and Elodie wasn't beyond playing dirty now. She was gonna make one hell of a queen, that was for sure.

"Fine. I'll get you your precious footage."

"Perfect." Elodie stood up, and much like Dad, smoothed down her suit. "You have a pre-approved appointment at the Men's Room in half an hour. Think about who you'd like to spend time with, and I'll meet you in the basement at three."

.o.O.o.

The Men's Room doors stood firmly closed, daunting as ever as Delia approached. Two guards stood on either side, stoic and unmoving. They didn't even look at her as she raised her hand to knock. Then it struck her: she didn't need to knock. This was her house, after all.

Delia threw the doors open, heavy wood frames banging against the walls. That was one way to make an entrance. All eyes were on her now...the few that remained.

The Selected must have given up on waiting for her to show up. Less than a dozen guys filled the room, and more than half of her pre-selected list of tolerable dates were absent. Great. This was shaping up to be a promising outing. Since things were already going so swimmingly, Delia did what she did best: threw caution to the wind and winged it.

She grabbed the first victim - ahem, Selected - she saw and latched on.

"Teo Fernandez, right?"

He nodded, emphatically. Were his eyes always that big and doe-like, or was that just her affect on him? Was all this staring something she could handle for a whole date? There was only one way to find out.

"Want to go bowling with me?"

"B-bowling?" he stuttered. Maybe he was caught off guard. Or maybe they didn't have bowling in his province.

"Yeah, like throwing balls and knocking down pins? Funny shoes?"

"I've been bowling before," he said, gathering his wits. He actually had a nice voice when his words weren't tripping all over themselves. "I'm pretty good at it."

"Great, you can be on my team." Easiest decision Delia made all day. "Now, let's go get some competition."

Teo allowed Delia to drag him by the cuff, flannel overshirt nearly coming off his arm. A nicely toned arm. How had she missed that this dude was cut? He needed better clothes, tighter clothes. Not these baggy layers that hid his best assets.

There wasn't much to choose from. Delia could barely remember the faces of half the dudes in the room, and she forgot the names of another half. One of them had an unfortunate overbite. She would have to let him go soon. No way she could make out with someone who would impale her as soon as she tried to sneak some tongue in.

Sidney sat next to Mr. Unfortunate Teeth, another colorful outfit clashing with the furniture. He didn't even look up from his book, this one in a language Delia didn't read, to greet her.

"Yes?" he asked once Delia had stood in front of him long enough.

"Care to go bowling?"

Sidney lowered his book and narrowed his gaze on Delia. "Depends. Is this a genuine request, or another bit of fun?"

Ouch, that hurt. But she deserved it. Delia should have seen that one coming.

"Completely genuine, I'm afraid."

"I should be," Sidney said to himself but also loud enough for Delia to hear. That was on purpose. It had to be. He didn't even seem apologetic about it. But he got up from his seat and left his book behind, which was a good sign.

Now all that was needed was one more person...

...and the perfect candidate came strolling in.

"Jae!"

Jae held up a single finger, his other hand typing at the speed of light. Was he serious? How rude! Two texts and a selfie later, he pocketed his phone and crossed one arm over the other. He was going to wrinkle his disgustingly expensive suit, but he didn't care.

"How can I help you, Princess?" he asked, like he hadn't just inconvenienced her for the sake of his followers.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go bowling with us."

A lie. Delia didn't even want to be around him anymore, nonetheless take him bowling and pretend like she liked him. But, Elodie needed that footage, and Delia was nothing if not a slave to her sister's whims.

Jae's smile lost a bit of its luster. He looked at the unlikely group, then at Delia, then back to the group.

"A tempting offer, Princess, but one I will have to decline."

"You're...saying no?" Delia asked, confused and offended. Just who did he think he was? "Is that even allowed?"

"I suppose it is now." Jae flashed a smile that was not at all apologetic. "Let me know when one of these dates includes a little more drinking and dancing. Then you will have my emphatic 'yes'."

Delia swore she heard Sidney laughing behind her.

"Fine! I'd rather take..." Delia targeted the first Selected she laid her eyes on. "This guy - !"

" - Andre."

"Andre anyway!"

Jae's smile widened. "Wonderful. You kids have fun!"

He sauntered off to the back corner of the Men's Room, unbothered as he scanned the titles on the shelves. It was mildly offensive that he would rather read the words of dead pretentious white men than go on a date with her.

Teo was the only one with any kind of excitement. Sidney had his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his floral linen pants while he stared pointedly out the window. Andre had his arms crossed over his chest, giving off the impression of one pissed-off mountain.

So much for usable footage. Delia was going to have to work to salvage this one.

"Alright, who's ready to bowl?" She clapped her hands together, cringing as the overly-loud sound assaulted her ears.

"Right now?" Andre

"No time like the present."

.o.O.o.

The thing about bowling was, bowling shoes were the absolute worst.

A tragedy amongst footwear, Hayden poignantly said when she stopped playing (around the same time she discovered Jimmy Choo). Delia had to agree as the clown colors clashed with her denim overalls and pink sweater. At least Teo looked ridiculous so Delia wouldn't be alone. Andre's shoes were a size too small (it wasn't Delia's fault his feet were so big) so he double disliked his. Of course, Sidney managed to pull off stripes with paisley, gliding around the basement alley like it was his to command.

Delia would have felt more at ease had cameras not been following at an invasive closeness. Just how many profile shots did they need? She had a feeling that they were punishing her for making their jobs harder, but they were too professional to say anything. So, Delia did her best to ignore them, tied the laces to her clown shoes, and tried not to choke on the silence.

They were off to a great start.

Teams were divided so that Teo and Delia went up against Sidney and Andre, her team taking the right lane and the other taking the left. Delia had a specific ball: lavender, eight pounds, and a little smaller than average so that it fit perfectly to her palm. There were various other balls to choose from in all weights and sizes on the rack on the far wall. The guys filtered over and surveyed the options, none of them picking a ball suitable for their body type. Not that Delia would tell them. It wasn't like she wanted to have real fun on this date. Maybe if they all sucked, they would quit and call it a day at precisely thirty minutes and one second.

First up was Andre. He looked uncomfortable, lime green ball comically small in his oversized hand. Still, he did his best to look like he knew what he was doing. When all was said and done, two throws later, he had knocked down seven pins. Delia cheered, if only for the cameras. It would have been a good shot if Andre had acknowledged her. He really needed to get over the whole name thing. There were so many Selected; she couldn't be expected to know them all immediately!

Teo was next. The only word to describe his bowling was terrible. He didn't manage to hit a single pin...then again, the ball would have to avoid the gutter to hit a pin. Delia instantly regretted picking him to be her second.

Upon realizing it was his turn, Sidney pocketed his Greek tragedy of the day, took his bright pink bowling ball, and delivered a flawless strike. He didn't even crack a smile as all the pins were leveled, didn't even meet Delia's eye. He allowed Andre to clap him on the back before returning to his seat and resuming his book.

The cameraman met Delia's eye, pleading for her to throw him a bone. She remembered Elodie's promise to make her life hell on the Report should she fuck this up, the reward at pulling this thing off. Delia sighed.

It would be a lie to say she didn't feel the eyes on her. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. Still, she grabbed her trusty bowling ball, the one thing that never let her down, and walked to the edge of the lane.

Inhale. Exhale.

Perfect strike.

Unlike Sidney's strike, there was no fanfare. Only confusion.

"You...uh...come here often, Your Highness?" Andre asked, scratching the back of his head. Clearly he thought she wouldn't be a competitor. They all thought that. She was going to enjoy making them eat their words.

"You boys are on my turf now. You aren't afraid of a little competition, are you?" she challenged, eyebrow raised.

The mood changed after that. The ice melted. Everyone relaxed. There was even an edge of friendly competition to keep the game interesting. Andre wasn't too bad, and Sidney was an honest to God challenge to go up against. His book remained firmly closed as he had to work to keep his lead.

Delia would have been winning had it not been for Teo.

Oh, Teo.

She watched as he studied the lane, as if he could parse out its secrets with an intense enough stare. He was hunched over, eyes squinting to see the path to victory. With that posture, the only thing Teo would find was the path to the gutter. Again. Delia couldn't take it anymore.

"Not like that," Delia snapped. Teo immediately jerked to a stop, staring at Delia with trepidation. This poor poor boy...There was only one thing left to do. She rolled her eyes. "Here, let me show you."

Delia got up and stood behind Teo. She put one hand on his arm, the other on his waist as she forced his body to move into proper position. His skin was warm; she could feel his pulse hammering beneath her grip on his wrist. Did she really make him this nervous?

They had been standing still at the edge of the lane for longer than necessary. Everyone else was starting to notice. So, Delia let go, let Teo take the final step, only half-sure he wouldn't still find a way to screw it all up. For some reason, the poor boy couldn't think straight around her.

The ball fall from Teo's fingers and sailed across the lane. Pins crashed and tumbled into each other, falling into the void beneath, leaving behind empty space. Teo jumped and pumped his fist in the air, celebrating with the other guys who were cheering him on. His smile widened to an ear-splitting grin.

"And that makes?"

"And that makes...?"

"Three strikes. In a row," Misa admitted with a bitter defeat. They had long since discarded the score card; Delia had won the game four turns in. Misa still allowed Delia to cuddle up to her side, wrap her arms around her waist. Delia didn't question it. Misa was so strange about public displays of affection. She would just enjoy it while Misa let her. Misa buried her nose into Delia's hair, placed a kiss to her forehead. "Just how did you get so good at this?"

"Perks of living with lanes in your basement," Delia said with a giggle, enjoying finally being better at something than Misa. "We have family game night every Friday, and bowling's one of the options on the rotation."

"Oh? There's a rotation?"

"Yeah. Kase crushes Pictionary, and when he teams up with Gabbi for charades they are unstoppable. But get Dad into a game of Monopoly and we are all losers. No one is better at Scrabble than Auden, but I think that's because of all the books she's read, and..." Misa gave Delia that look, the one that says she's been rambling. "Sorry, you probably don't care about all this stupid stuff."

"On the contrary, I think it's positively delightful that you and your family have such adorable traditions," Misa said with a smile, tugging on one of Delia's loose curls. "Really knocks the royal family down a peg from gods to mere mortals, just like the rest of us."

Delia snorted and rolled her eyes. "We're definitely not gods."

"Obviously. Gods don't play Scrabble on Fridays."

"You should come over one night, join us," Delia suggested, trying to play it cool. She had been meaning to ask Misa to meet her family for a while, since the second month of this six month thing they had. Every time Delia tried to bring it up, Misa always had something else going on: teaching, excavating, sister drama mediating, the list went on. "Maybe with you on my team, I might stand a chance."

"Maybe," Misa hummed as she leaned in for a kiss, lips soft and sweet but distant, somehow. When she pulled away, her eyes looked the same. "Suppose I should take my turn."

"Your Highness?"

Delia snapped back to reality. Three pairs of eyes stared at her, concerned. The cameras kept rolling, the cameraman signaling something to the others. She had no idea how long she had zoned out, but it was long enough for the cheering to stop and silence take its place.

"What was that?" Delia asked. She had missed something, that much was obvious. Something important.

"It's your turn," Andre repeated, head cocked to the side and eyes wide like a confused puppy.

Her turn. Right.

She took the ball from Andre's large, warm hands. It was heavy, much heavier than her last turn. Every step toward the lane felt like walking a mile. She raised her hand to her eye, imagined where she wanted the ball to be, and let go...

...right into the gutter.

Delia didn't think it were possible, but the silence grew even more oppressive.

"Are you...alright?" Andre asked, nervous now.

Things had been going so well. Of course Delia's memories had to ruin them. If only she could just forget. If only it were that easy to erase every single impression of -

The clock on the wall was analogue, tick tick ticking away. Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. Elodie had her footage.

Delia turned and walked out of the bowling alley, clown shoes and all.