Chapter Text
Viney slams her locker closed and almost, almost screams in frustration but her locker growls and snaps at her before immediately whimpering in pain.
“ Oh , I’m so sorry!” she whispers, trying to sooth it without touching it in case it tries biting her again.
“You really are a heartbreaker, aren’t you?” a familiar voice drawls.
She looks up to Emira with a sweet smile, “I’m more of a slamming-people-against-the-lockers kind of gal,” she gently feeds her locker a piece of meat meant for Puddles and scratches it around the hinges as it purrs, satisfied. “Can’t you tell?” she finishes with a wink and doesn’t stop to admire the quickly growing blush on the Blight’s face. Good. She can always count on Emira to “catch her drift”, as Luz likes to say.
–
“Hello, Beautiful.” Usually Emira is the one catching Viney off guard or the one to start up their weird tease-flirting thing they have going on, but every once in a while Viney gets her chance. Like now, as Emira and Edric stand by their next class chatting idly.
“Shouldn’t I be saying that to you?” Emira responds with a smile she doesn’t even try to restrain.
“I’m beautiful too,” Edric comments. They both ignore him.
“There’s only so many times you can use that line, Blight.” Emira’s nose scrunches for a split second before smoothing out her distaste for the family name. “Oh come on,” Viney reaches out to tug a little on her sleeve, “you know you're my favorite.” A sly smile breaks on Emira’s face and Viney almost feels bad, but not enough to stop herself as she adds, “right after Edric and Amity of course.”
Emira somehow gasps and scoffs at the same time but Viney squeezes her hand with a smile as she walks away, but not before high fiving Edric as she holds eye contact with Emira.
“Hey! Don’t high five him!” she calls after Viney before turning to Edric, who had started to laugh openly at his sister “and you ! Traitors! The both of you!”
–
“Do you have mirrors in your pants?”
Emira freezes at her locker. This was just too good.
“Don’t tell me,” she gently closes her sleeping locker and leans against it, “Luz taught you all her pickup lines.”
Viney crosses her arms and huffs. “Just answer the question.”
That’s a yes.
“Do you?” Emira retorts. “Have mirrors in your pants, I mean.” She stands and takes a step into Viney’s personal space, chest blossoming with an unknown feeling she has started to associate with Viney when the other girl doesn't step back. Emira leans over to whisper in her ear, “because I can see myself in them.”
She pulls back to see Viney’s cheeks tinted a dark red and that feeling in her chest grows. “See you around, Cutie.” And with that she leaves Viney rooted at the spot.
–
“Hey, Barcus, Jerbo, how are you guys doing?” It's lunch time when Emira plops down on the empty seat across the two boys.
“Fine, I guess,” Jerbo shrugs while Barcus yaps quietly and growls in response.
“Well that wasn’t very nice,” Emira addresses Barcus who drops the food from his mouth, a little shocked.
“Wait, you- you can understand Canine?”
“Obviously,” she waves her hand in the air as if to dismiss the topic, “but anyways I know she’s not here right now, I wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out with me and Edric later.”
Barcus barks and yaps again.
“Yeah I know she can’t be there, we just wanted to hang out with you two, plus we were thinking about going into the Titan’s skull. There are rare plant species in there that I think you guys would enjoy.” The boys look at each other, torn between wanting to go and their distrust of the Blights.
“How will we even get in there?” Jerbo asks before his eyes narrow in suspicion, “and why should we trust you?”
Emira scoffs. “Hey! I actually like you guys, and we would never do anything to deliberately hurt anyone, we just act like that so people stay away from us.”
Barcus yaps.
“Well actually he was bullying our little sister’s friend so Mattholomule deserved it. And I want to get to know you guys, it’s just whenever Viney is around I kinda… forget about everyone else,” she chuckles awkwardly, a faint blush covering her cheeks.
“We’ll think about it.”
“Really?” Emira’s face lights up with hope and Jerbo doesn’t have the heart to tell her they most likely won’t be going.
“You're in my seat,” an impassive voice behind Emira says.
Emira immediately twists around and stares for a few seconds while Viney waits before sliding a leg to the other side of the bench to straddle it.
“Do you have some sort of power over butterflies or something?” Emira asks with an earnest look on her face.
Viney raises a brow and her eyes flick to her two companions who shrug in response, used to being ignored whenever Emira and Viney were together.
“Because whenever you’re around they kinda go crazy in my belly.”
Viney’s cheeks immediately darken and Emira stares for just a little while longer before standing up, unnecessarily close to Viney.
“See you around, Cutie.” Emira smiles and walks away with a little wave to the boys.
Viney rolls her eyes and sits in the seat previously occupied by Emira.
“What?” she snaps at Jerbo and Barcus when she notices them both staring at her after some time.
< Your cheeks are still red .> Barcus replies.
“Oh shut up,” Viney replies, dropping her sandwich and hiding her face behind her hands.
–