A Lexi by any other name... on Library

Devian Dupree

December 07, 2007 8:48 PM

A Lexi by any other name... by Devian Dupree

Midterm had been utter joy for Devian. Parties, presents, and plotting. What more could any fourteen year old boy ask for? Every year there were two annual parties. One was Christmas eve at his grandparents and the other was a New Years's eve party at his uncle and aunt's. Both were enjoyable, especially given that he got to practice on the girls from the other families.

Then, there were the presents. He had gotten almost everything he asked for. The only thing left off his list was a rare book on potion theory. Of course, the best part was the plotting. In his bag were two items. One was a letter from Marie and the other was a gift from him. Both were for a certain redhead by the name of Lexi Stafford, who he was hoping to find in the library.

When Devian spotted her, he knew his wish had been granted. There she was at one of the tables. Taking the seat across from her, he flashed a smile. “Hey, Lexi. How was your holiday?” He asked out of polite conversation. Then, continuing as though, she had asked him about his, “Mine was interesting. Danae's hair was cut off by Marie. She was really mad about it, but otherwise it was good.” It took all of his control to keep a straight face on the matter. He had thought it was pretty funny.

“Oh, I have something for you.” He dug around a little in his bag, producing the gift and letter. Handing them to her, he said, “Open my present first.” The gift was a square box, a few inches high, wrapped in a simple blue paper and topped with a silver bow. Inside was an everlasting pale blue rose, which danced with silver sparkles.

0 Devian Dupree A Lexi by any other name... 70 Devian Dupree 1 5

Lexi Stafford

December 07, 2007 9:18 PM

Should be running as fast as possible? by Lexi Stafford

CATS were terrifying things, Lexi Stafford decided as she glanced at the review book her father had gotten her for Christmas (incredibly subtle, that one, though she’d also gotten a new broomstick, so that made up for it a little). Maybe it was just her, but the idea of her entire future, or at least part of it, being decided at the end of this year was not a comforting one. She was going to fail them all, and then end up as a homeless person on the streets of New York, she just knew it.

Being single did manage to be a plus with regards to getting her work done, though. While it was nowhere near as entertaining, Lexi actually got work done when she was at the library now, a far cry from certain…situations in the past. Of course, thinking about being single meant she had to think about Chris, and that still hadn’t gotten to a point where she could consider that pleasant.

Lexi sighed, staring intently at the page in front of her, though she absorbed nothing. Chris was…a confusion she didn’t want to deal with. His letter was at the bottom of her trunk (carefully put in the envelope so nothing would happen to it, but still far enough away from her everyday life that she wouldn’t have to deal with it), and the necklace was on her cabinet. She supposed one day, once Chris had already moved on, so she wouldn’t be worried about when he would anymore, she might be able to wear it again. It was very pretty.

And on the subject of Duprees…

“Hello, Devian,” Lexi replied pleasantly. “It was…fairly dull, actually.” Alright, so a total lie, but she assumed he would have heard all about the actual events, or one of them, from Chris, so didn’t need to hear it again. Besides, it wasn’t really something she felt comfortable talking about with him yet. She just didn’t know him well enough. “Poor Danae. Is she alright about it?”

Lexi didn’t know Danae all that well, but it didn’t sound like something one would want to happen to them. She was also a bit interested in why Marie would have popped up in the conversation like that, though it was probably just the biggest thing that happened. It wasn’t anything personal.

She was also a more than a little shocked when Devian handed her the letter and the package, though she did as she was told and opened the latter first, to reveal a rose. That confused her even more, just because it seemed a touch…romantic, considering the circumstances. Still, Lexi knew that flowers had meanings, though she’d never known any of them, and maybe a blue rose meant ‘I hope we can still be friends though you broke my cousin’s heart.’ And it was very nice of Devian in any case.

“Thank you, Devian, it’s beautiful. Though I feel bad now that I didn’t get anything for you.” She smiled, a touch embarrassed. “So, am I allowed to open the letter now? Who’s it from?”

0 Lexi Stafford Should be running as fast as possible? 0 Lexi Stafford 0 5

Devian

December 07, 2007 10:56 PM

Quite possibly by Devian

“Oh, she's fine. Her hair is just a bit shorter. It'll grow back,” he answered. Danae really hadn't been all right about it. In fact, their mother hadn't believed her when she said Marie did it. Of course, this could have also been due to Devian vouching for Marie.

A bit impatiently, Devian waited for Lexi to open the package. While he cared what she thought about the gift, he was more anxious for her to get to the letter. After it was opened and he was thanked, he waved his hand, “Think nothing of it. I just wanted to buy something beautiful for someone beautiful.” Of course, given that she liked the rose, this boded well for helping lead into Phase II of his plan.

Once the letter was mentioned, he arranged his face into a 'poor you' expression. “I have to confess I really didn't want to give it to you. It's from Marie. I doubt it's very pleasant.” The letter read in English, as Marie had used a translating quill:

Miss Alexandria Stafford,

You may not know of me, however, as evidenced by this letter I know of you. In case, you are not already aware, we have something very important in common, or rather someone. Christobel Dupree. Let me introduce myself. My name is Marie Maureux and I am Christobel's soon to be fiancée. It has come to my attention that you have become something of his whore. I just want to make sure you are aware of your place.

Christobel is to one day become Head of his family. With this comes great power, power that you cannot comprehend, but I do not expect you to. As such, you would never be able to support him in such a position. You do not have the appropriate breeding or background for such things.

While what I state is true, this does not mean that he should not seek personal gratifications from you. I understand that this may happen while he is at school. Just remember, though, you will never mean anything to him, other than being a mistress, it is perfectly reasonable to accept gifts. After all, you should be in a kept position, as long as you continue to fulfill his physical needs.

To make myself perfectly clear, you are nothing and will always be nothing. As long as you are accepting of this, then we will not have any problems with each other.

Sincerely the better woman,
Marie Maureux

While Lexi read the letter, Devian watched her intently for her reaction. He knew Marie's tactic was to get Lexi to break up with Chris and of course, Devian would be there to console her.

0 Devian Quite possibly 0 Devian 0 5

Lexi

December 07, 2007 11:18 PM

Too late now by Lexi

“Your sister’s a bigger person about it than I would be, then,” Lexi admitted with a chuckle. “I’d be furious if someone did something like that to me. My older brother actually did one, when I was five and he was seven. The aftermath,” her grin could be considered a little wicked, “well, let’s just say it wasn’t pretty.”

She looked down, even more embarrassed, when Devian implied that he thought her beautiful. It was strange—it almost seemed like the fourth year was flirting with her. Yet that couldn’t be right. He was just being nice, and Lexi was just too desperate to think straight. Yes, that was it.

It took Lexi a moment to actually understand what Devian was telling her, and then another to think back and make sure that her ears weren’t playing tricks on her. After all, this was hardly in the realm of expected things to happen. However, once she opened it, and had seen the signature at the bottom, she knew it was true. Merlin, it was a strange, bizarre, messed-up world she apparently lived in.

Going back to the top of the letter, she read it more slowly, becoming angrier with each line, though she tried as hard as she could not to show it. Yes, it didn’t really apply to her anymore, probably the only thing holding her temper in check, but—the nerve of that girl. Calling Lexi a whore, implying that all she was good for was physical—it made her sick. However, there was the tiny part of her that agreed a little with Marie’s allegations. After all, feeling like that was why she had dumped Chris in the first place, wasn’t it?

Shaking her head to get rid of the troublesome thoughts, the redhead pulled out a piece of parchment, not to write back to Marie, because that wasn’t her place, and she didn’t really want to get involved in a personal thing like that, but instead to tell another person who could deal with this for her. She dipped her quill in ink, and then scratched out a message, unconsciously shielding the parchment from onlookers’ eyes.

Chris,

If you would be so kind as to keep your fiancée from contacting me in the future, it would be much appreciated (see attached letter). There were, after all, reasons that I broke up with you, and not being called a whore was one of them.

Sincerely,
Lexi

Folding it up immediately, with the other letter wrapped inside, she placed it into her bag. She pondered giving it to Devian to give to Chris for a moment, but something about that situation made her uneasy, though she couldn’t say why. In any case, it was a delicate matter, one that it was best to get as few people involved in as possible.

Smiling brightly once more (she was very good at faking smiles), she looked back up at the Aladren. “Anything else you need?”

0 Lexi Too late now 0 Lexi 0 5

Devian

December 07, 2007 11:54 PM

Nah, there's still time by Devian

A smile of amusement grazed his lips at Lexi's story. “It's hard to believe anyone would want to cut your hair off,” he mused in a slightly flirtatious tone. He hoped that the flattery would help to butter her up to the question he was working towards asking. Though, if he were truthful, the color really didn't suit his fancy. Perhaps, if it were a darker form of red, but she didn't need to know that.

When she finished the letter, Devian's eyes narrowed at the lack of reaction. They narrowed further when she wrote something down and placed the paper in her bag. Rather than commenting on it, he decided to wait and see how things played out. He had every confidence that in the end, everything would work out in his favor.

The expression left just as quickly when she turned back to him, the smile back on his face. Then, she asked the question that he had been hoping to hear. Slowly, he said, “Well, there was one thing. You probably heard that there's a dance. I know that you're probably going with Chris, but I thought that maybe, if for some reason, he can't take you, if you would want to go with me instead?” The words were a bit of a fumble and suggested the letter would end the relationship between her and Chris. Of course, if his cousin told him anything, he would have already known it was over.

0 Devian Nah, there's still time 0 Devian 0 5

Lexi

December 08, 2007 12:06 AM

I have a habit of not extricating myself by Lexi

This was…awkward, to say the least. She was being asked to go to the dance by her ex-boyfriend’s cousin, a boy whom she’d barely talked to before, and who was a year younger than her. And, frankly, while he’d never given her much reason to suspect him of anything malicious (apart from telling her how well Marie and Chris got along at the beginning of the year), something about him didn’t sit right with her.

However, she was too nice of a person to say no like that. After all, it was only the polite thing to do, wasn’t it? However, when she opened her mouth, the more irrational side of her (for, yes, there was a difference) took over.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m going to be going with Chris, so I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can. However, thank you for asking me. Anything else?”

While her apologetic look couldn’t have been more genuine-looking, inside Lexi’s mind was racing. What the hell had she just done? Not only was she lying again, but now she had to actually tell Chris what she had done, and that they probably needed to go to the ball together.

However, then it struck her how odd it was that Devian had already suggested that she and Chris would be going together. He was Chris’s cousin, and had claimed to be his friend, so…why didn’t he know about the break-up already?

0 Lexi I have a habit of not extricating myself 0 Lexi 0 5

Devian

December 08, 2007 12:32 AM

You should probably work on that by Devian

While on the outside, Devian maintained the perfect expression of disappointment over her words, he couldn't help growling on the inside. How could she have been so calm over that letter? Especially after what Marie had written. There should have been some sort of reaction. What if she had written something about him on that piece of parchment? What if she was going to tell Chris about what he was trying to do? He couldn't afford that.

Then, he grinned. He would just have to make Lexi look bad to Chris. That was the obvious solution. Now, how to go about doing it? Perhaps, at the dance? Maybe something compromising? He would have to think on it. For now, realizing that he was smiling like an idiot, he said, "Yeah, I figured as much. Thought I would try anyhow. See you later." Grabbing his bag, he slid out of his chair and left the library.

0 Devian You should probably work on that 0 Devian 0 5