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Juliette Cai and Marshall Seo were walking together beside the Huangpu River, something she never thought they’d do. Not because Marshall and her didn’t get along or that Roma and Benedikt rarely left them alone together in fear of them committing arson again, but rather that the feud was over and Scarlets and White Flowers could walk together peacefully. Juliette had given up on this dream, but thankfully it was reality now. Only took thousands of people dying and tons of heartbreak to get here.
Juliette had made sure that Roma and Benedikt weren’t following them this time. After all, she needed to get Mars to get his head out of his ass and finally realize how hopelessly in love Benedikt was with him, something she couldn’t do with him around. She had no idea if Roma knew, though he probably did, but it was easier this way.
Juliette cleared her throat and attempted to put on a nice smile and not her scheming one. “Benedikt is a rather good artist, isn’t he?”
Mars looked at her in confusion for a moment, given the fact that she wasn’t close with Benedikt, but shrugged it off since he was excited to be able to talk about his crush. “Yeah, he’s incredible,” he said with a slightly wistful smile. “His portraits are stunning, I have no idea how he does it. He finally got my nose right and now his drawings look better than a picture would.”
“That’s marvellous. You must already know that you’re his favourite thing to draw.”
“Nope.” Mars shook his head. “It’s those damn spheres. I have no idea why he’s so obsessed with drawing a perfect one. Everything he draws is breathtaking and there’s beauty in imperfection. I heard somewhere that-“
Juliette cut him off before he could really get started on his ramble. “Other than the spheres, Mars. You’re the person he draws the most. Benedikt must have at least a thousand drawings of you by now. You do realize that, right?”
“He doesn’t…” Mars for once was at a loss for words. He stopped walking as he thought things over, looking into the river as if it would give him the answers he needed. Then his eyes cleared, as if coming to a realization, and his usual smirk and cocky attitude reappeared. “That’s simply because I’m the most handsome person here. Of course he’d want to capture my beauty. Besides, he can’t put up with you and Roma’s gross-in-love-ness for long enough to draw you two.”
“Roma and I don’t have gross-in-love-ness!” Juliette exclaimed, resisting the urge to stomp on his foot. Mars just looked at her knowingly and he was lucky that the feud was over or else she would have ended him. That’s what she got for trying to help him, but if she saw those two idiots dancing around each other for one more second Juliette was going to explode.
Juliette was done trying to beat around the bush in the non direct White Flower style. It was tiring and she was a Scarlet. She turned to face him and let her scheming smile surface. “He is so obviously in love with you that it makes me sick. I literally have to stop myself from vomiting whenever you two are in the same room. The looks you give each other when you think the other isn’t looking. The way you’d do anything for each other. You would think that you dying and coming back to life would get Benedikt to confess his feelings, but no. You both are a pair of gay disasters.”
Mars looked at her shell shocked, like he couldn’t believe his ears. “Benedikt is not in love with me! Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m in love with my best friend and roommate, and it doesn’t mean that he’s in love with me.”
Juliette wanted to hit her head against the wall beside her, or preferably his. “I live with Kathleen, does that make me trans?”
He tilted her head to the side, studying her for a moment.
“You wet blanket!” She finally hit his shoulder. “I’m not trans, which proves my point.”
“You’re wrong.”
“I most certainly am not.”
“He’s not in love with me.”
“But you aren’t denying that you aren’t in love with him,” she said as she raised her eyebrow.
Mars stilled. His breath caught in his throat for a moment. “So what if I am?” He straightened and raised his jaw. “Are you going to tell him and make him hate me for it?”
“No,” Juliette had to stop herself from yelling. “I wouldn’t do that and he wouldn’t hate you for it. He’d kiss you and you both would ride off into the sunset or whatever shit is in the romance books.”
“You’re ridiculous!” He laughed and Juliette could only look at him with disgust. She started walking quickly farther into formerly White Flower territory and Mars had to run to catch up to her. “Oh come on, you don’t really believe that.”
“I do.”
“Bullshit.”
“You know what,” Juliet said menacingly, walking quickly up a familiar staircase. “I bet you just don’t have the balls to tell him.”
Mars glared at her. “I would if he loved me.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
“Hey-“ he started.
“Coward.”
“Stop interrupting me!” He put a hand on her shoulder, forcing her to stop running. She turned to look at him. “There’s no chance of him loving me. I don’t know why you keep insisting on it.”
Juliette looked at him knowingly. “At least admit it to yourself.” She opened the door and stepped inside.
He followed her, but didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. “Fine. I’m in love with Benedikt Montagov! Are you happy?”
“…what?” Benedikt asked from where he was drawing in their apartment. His eyes were as wide as saucers as he dropped his pencil. Roma was halfheartedly glaring at Juliette from across the room who looked as pleased as a cat that caught a canary.
“Fuck.”