Chapter 333

Chapter 333

CHAPTER 333

Cecilia got Temperance's number the moment she'd been allowed to leave the party. Her pursuer had needed to run and nearly beg for it, hissing in hushed whispers to not humiliate herself in public that she'd dye her hair blonde and not silver so she could get Cecilia to bite. The Unovan had just smiled and nodded, appreciating the feeling it gave her for the first time that night. She didn't care much for Temperance, but as Emilia had warned, it felt good being desired to the point that she nearly had to break her calm and collected public persona to get her.

So had Cecilia heeded Emilia's warnings and decided to cut whatever this was going to be with Temperance?

No, not exactly.

What did it mean, to be at the top of society? It meant constant, endless parties and meet-and-greets, where your presence was a commodity and your absence a scandal. The weight of every conversation bore the pressure of silent judgments, each smile a calculated maneuver, each laugh a transaction. To climb higher meant more eyes watching, more expectations to fulfill, and less room for missteps. It was a life where leisure became work, and every relationship was a performance staged for an audience.

Perhaps she was letting her trauma shine through a little bit. This was, after all, a simple gathering in Temperance's Hearthome penthouse filled with other coordinators and whatever other jobs they held who were part of her retinue that followed her around constantly. From one look at them, learning each name and face that she would most likely forget come morning, Cecilia could tell these people were actually close friends who could mostly be themselves around each other. It was just that she was new, and since they all competed for Temperance's favor, Cecilia was a threat. Someone their idol had met just a day ago and who was already getting invited to these exclusive gatherings they'd worked for months or even years to get into.

Cecilia crossed her legs on the velvet couch and sipped on her Mimosa. There were around twenty people here, give or take—Temperance's closest confidants, some of whom had their Pokemon out and about. There was a Vivillon chatting with a Lilligant under the sun's rays on the balcony, a Squawkabilly perched on a chandelier overhead, a Flareon lounging on a beanbag with Temperance's Dragonair snuggled against it for warmth. On, and on, but, that wasn't what she was looking at most of the time.

Cecilia observed the blonde laugh and smile as one of her male friends nervously wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close for a picture that he'd no doubt post on his socials. He liked her, Cecilia guessed, yet it was her that Temperance kept glancing at. Once again, their eyes met. Temperance kept the stare going for one, two, three seconds, until she glanced away and focused on the picture they'd just taken.

She hadn't been looking at the camera, her friend complained.

"How long are we going to stay here?" Emilia asked by her side. She was clearly cross, eyebrows struggling not to knit together. Her body was tense; it had been a while since Cecilia had seen her off balance.

"Have you assigned me a time limit?" Cecilia discreetly whispered back, her mouth hidden behind her glass as she stared at her. The sweetness or the orange juice and acidity of the champagne mixed together perfectly.

"No, it's just that—Legendaries, this is making want to tear my hair out." She'd just been about to do it before remembering that it would have humiliated her and wasted an hour of work. Emilia took a deep breath and eyed Cecilia's drink; she had vowed not to imbibe any alcohol should 'things go south.' "You know, when I was first starting out, being here... it was my dream," she whispered and glanced around the penthouse. The windows were so large they might as well have been the entire wall. "And now it's just—it's just this."

Temperance had needed little convincing to let Emilia swing by. It had just been a matter of calling her, telling her to let her in or she wouldn't show up, and then ignoring her until she'd relented.

"Enjoy yourself," Cecilia said. "Isn't this an opportune moment to further your career?" When Emilia's face soured, Cecilia's smile flattened. "I suppose you've come here for me, not for them. Sorry."

The apology helped her find her usual calm again. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again, Cece." She leaned forward, grabbing a handful of delicate hors d'oeuvres from a nearby platter, the tiny pastries crumbling slightly between her fingers as she spoke. "But at the same time—I don't want to hold you on a leash, because you've been on one your entire life. So it's tough."

"No matter what happens with her," Cecilia glanced at Temperance again, "I wouldn't get hurt. I don't actually care about her."

"But you see how that's bad too, right? Using her?" Emilia munched on her snacks, then swallowed before continuing. "Don't you want to... I don't know, not get tangled up in this crap?"

"She's using me as well; she went after me because I look unique and she enjoys looking at me. It's mutual."

"Meh. It always starts with no strings or feelings attached, and then what? I'm pretty sure she's into you anyway; she's been staring daggers at you. A mix of daggers and wanting. You aren't making any friends here."

"Who cares?" She stopped herself. "No, not who cares. I just don't want these people to be my friends. There's nothing wrong with them; I simply didn't come here to meet new people. Here, look at this."

Between the idle chatter of the party, Cecilia waited for Temperance to look at her again before she sipped on her glass and wordlessly beckoned her with a single finger, the simple motion somehow cutting through the countless conversations she was a part of. The coordinator's eyes darted around her friends for a moment, as if she was stuck between a rock and a hard place, and she then excused herself. Cecilia pursed her lips.

"Are you really doing this?" Emilia sighed.

"I don't know much about her," Cecilia said. "This is a party, isn't it? I ought to ask her about herself."

Temperance's hair was a little darker today, looking nearly identical to Grace's shade to Cecilia's eyes. She'd come without the glitter on her cheeks that looked like freckles, as if to challenge Cece and show her that she wouldn't fold just because she'd asked a little forcefully, but the Unovan wasn't bothered. There was time.

She'd asked that same boy to follow her—Ronaldo, Emilia whispered in Cece's ear. A Paldean from a minor house who had graduated from the Mesagoza Academy recently. Who was desperate to put a ring on Temperance and to bring her back to his country. The Squawkabilly was his—he fancied himself a bit of a flying type expert. It was a common tactic, to bring an ally with you whenever you were about to enter a conversation outnumbered in one of these settings. Cecilia was glad she had Emi to remember everything about these people.

Cecilia tried giving him a perfectly innocent smile when she stood up and looked down at him. She could sense his Squawkabilly's sharp glare from above like needles against her forehead. Her fake smiles most likely still needed practice.

"Emilia Lussier," Ronaldo respectfully said, nodding at her. "And... pardon me, I didn't quite catch your name?"

"Cecilia."

His eye twitched. "Cecilia...?"

"Cecilia," she said again. "No need for anything else. Temperance, I was wondering if we could have a chat? You invited me here after all; it would be considerate for you to check on every guest." Cecilia paused. "Unless you were expecting me to come after you?"

"I was just getting to you. You aren't the center of the world, Cecilia," Temperance retorted—a clear effort to hurt her that failed as much as a pebble thrown by a child would succeed in destroying a building. "I can make time for you now. Should we sit?"

"Of course." Cecilia smiled and paused, a hand slowly sliding over her own thigh. "send him back; you don't need a babysitter."

Both Emilia and Ronaldo exchanged wide-eyed glances, their brows lifting in unison as their mouths parted slightly. Temperance linked her arm with the Paldean's and stuck closer to him.

"And why would I do that?" she asked.

Cecilia sipped on her glass and placed it back on the coffee table. "Then don't. I'm leaving. Let's go, Emi."

Temperance thought it was a bluff at first, but when Cecilia walked out the door, she called out behind her. Loudly. The sound cut through the idle discussion of the penthouse, and over twenty pairs of eyes were stuck to Temperance like moths drawn to a flame. More if you counted the Pokemon. The desperation was like a drug to Cecilia, but she didn't even glance back. She'd just been about to walk out with Emilia—who at this point looked extremely displeased—when Temperance grabbed her wrist from behind.

Like always, she blinked first. Cecilia looked down at her flushed face, her skin tingling with glee.

"Fine," Temperance said. "Let's talk, but—you have to send her away too." Temperance looked at Emi.

"Excuse me?" Emilia balked.

"It's one for one. It'd be an equal exchange—"

Equal exchange.

Equal exchange.

Cecilia's heart throbbed as the words percolated in the confines of her skull, being hers and hers alone to enjoy. Temperance and Emilia kept arguing in hushed tones, but she was certain the former had no idea the torrent of endorphins and warmth she'd just unleashed in Cecilia's system. The fact that it was unintentional just made it so much better. But—

"No. Emilia stays."

It'd be best not to get carried away and let Temperance get leverage, especially when she already had a favor to ask.

Emilia exhaled a huge sigh of relief, putting a hand above her heart while Temperance stewed in her own incompetence, fists clenched besides her legs. She knew she should have said no; she knew there was no good reason to entertain this farce beyond her own desire, but Cecilia looked down at her and grazed one of her clenched hands with a lingering finger, and the last thread of self-restraint within Temperance collapsed like a fading star, the very last embers smothered by a single touch. Cecilia gave her a triumphant smile, declaring her victory, and that was the end of that.

Few came to 'rescue' Temperance as they made their way back inside; all were rebuked by the woman herself. So back they were, on the couches that now seemed so much more comfortable, with Temperance's Dragonair shooting her worried looks from its beanbag, tightening around the Flareon who grumbled uncomfortably.

"So," Cece began, "thank you again for inviting me here, Temperance. It's been quite the party."

She rolled her eyes. "This? A party? It's just where me and my friends hang out." Speaking of her friends, Temperance couldn't help but make herself small at their piercing gazes. They'd have many questions for her after this, Cecilia was sure. "It's not a big deal."

Emilia's eye twitched. "I mean—it is. It's the first time you invite someone you've barely met."

"Sometimes, there's just a spark, don't you think, Emilia?" Temperance stated more than asked.

"That's what I do wonder about," her fellow coordinator said, crossing her arms. "Why Cece and not... I don't know, anyone else at that play?"

Emi shot Cecilia and apologetic look, but the Unovan knew she hadn't meant it in an insulting way. She was simply invested in the answer, just as Cecilia was, despite knowing parts of it.

Temperance scoffed. "Have you seen her?"

"I have eyes," Emilia said. "You know plenty of attractive people."

"Now you're just being obtuse; you see how unique she is. How she strikes importance into your heart the moment you set your eyes on her." Temperance made a mild gesture Cecilia's way. "Either way, looks are only part of it. It's how she interacts with me that's interesting."

"Ah. I get it." Then, she shook her head. "I mean, I don't get it—but I understand what you mean."

Temperance nodded, then leaned forward a little further that was needed. Cecilia didn't give her the glance she no doubt wanted. "When do you think the last time someone... disagreed with me was among my friend group?" she whispered, eyes yearning. "Talked back to me? It's been like two years!"

"That's because if—you put so much pressure on them to be perfect; I've heard of it! You've excommunicated someone from your group for not being up to your standards. You cultivate that culture!" Emilia countered.

"Hm, yes, that interview you had with Yuki and uploaded was very cute," Temperance said, though Cecilia knew she meant it in a demeaning way, "I hear you're still friends."

Cecilia was a little out of her depth here—there was more history between these two that met the eye. Temperance seemed to... not be threatened by Emilia, but perhaps to think of her as a Carvanha nipping at her heels in hopes to see her fall. What Cecilia knew, however, was that Emi was and had always been a massive fan of Temperance. Sure, she'd stopped idolizing her at this flawless, cold, and calculating goddess of performances, but she still watched all of her content religiously and routinely gushed about her skills as a coordinator.

"We are. But anyway—you could have more of what you want if you weren't such a social tyrant," Emi said.

"If there's no risk in pining for me, then how will I know you're worth a damn?" She shrugged with a smirk before glancing toward her friend. "Take Ronaldo, for example. He's a handsome man. Good family even if he lies about their importance in the grand scheme of Paldea's politics. He's a little dry, but there's a funny quality to that. There's a cute, shy side to him because he has next to zero experience with women and he has to push himself to even bring himself touch me, and seeing him brave that fear is endearing. I could see myself dating him for... I don't know, a month max, maybe."

Emilia nodded along, though Cecilia couldn't see the appeal of a man at all. Or any other girl who wasn't Grace, for that matter. "He's too... vanilla for you, I guess."

Temperance snapped her fingers. "And it's not really his fault. I've just had too many Ronaldos in my life. I got bored of them when I was fifteen."

"I thought you never dated," Cecilia interjected.

"I'm good at secrets, and the group's tightly-knit, so it never got out beyond rumors. Dear Yuki was a bit of an exception—not that I actually dated her. I knew she had a crush on me, and she got a little pissed off when I didn't reciprocate," Temperance said, staring daggers at Emi. She tood her ground regardless. "So that brings me to you, Cecilia." The Unovan didn't react, instead continuing to stare into Temperance's eyes. "Again, beyond how unique you are, you look at me like I'm... worthless." Her face flushed. "You don't even look at me, you look past me, and that makes me want to matter to you."

"I barely know you," Cecilia said, slightly confused.

"See?!" Temperance shivered in her seat, but her face blanked once she realized how loud she'd been. The coordinator turned toward one of her friends and snapped her fingers. "Um. Sandra, a drink for the three of us, if you would?"

Emilia pinched the bridge of her nose. "Cecilia, she's basically asked you to date her."

"I know."

"So?"

"I have something to ask you, Temperance," Cecilia did not sidestep the topic as much as she leaped across it. "I've been trying to develop a new battling style recently. One mixed with plays and such..." she went on to explain the blueprint and framework of what she thought the endgame of her new style would be like, all of which was new to Emilia as well. "Here is the thing, though. The Conference is in less than a month. On my own, I won't be able to develop it enough to perform."

The sheer glee in Temperance's eyes told her she'd made a mistake—she had given her leverage, real leverage, for the first time since they'd met.

"And what does that have to do with me?" the blonde smugly asked as her friend brought three more mimosas for them to sip on. "Do you, maybe, have something to ask?"

Cecilia considered saying no. Telling her that perhaps she'd just wanted her input on the idea and nothing else, but if she said no and Temperance didn't blink this time, then she'd have to come crawling back to her. Who else with as much experience in contests and who was a coordinator of her level could Cecilia ever get access to?

Unacceptable.

"I need you to help my Pokemon and I train. There's overlap in plays and contests, so I believe you'd finally be of use to me for something other than looking like my ex-girlfriend."

The truth was, Temperance didn't really look like Grace at all beyond the hair and maybe the shape of her face, but the words were effective enough to make Temperance's fingers tremble around her slender glass.

"Cece..." Emilia muttered. "That's a crazy thing to say—"

"No, no, it's fine," Temperance said through a trembling breath. "I'd be willing to accept—I can clear my schedule tomorrow, even. It's not like I have a Grand Festival to prepare for." Unlike the Conference, that tournament was canceled and would only be back the following year. "But you forget yourself, Cecilia. You need me. Who else are you going to ask?"

"Uh, me?" Emilia said.

Temperance laughed—a hearty chortle that had her nearly doubling over. "With all due respect, Emilia, you do not hold a candle to what I can impart on Cecilia. In fact, yes, I believe you would only hold her—hold us back. I think this needs to be a one-on-one lesson. The distractions you would bring are unnecessary."

"Excuse me?"

"And think about it—you're a rising star. I'm not about to give you all of my tricks." Temperance shrugged. "I'm sorry, but it would be better if it was just us." The triumphant grin she sported contradicted her apology. "You can come pick her up when I'm done with her, though—"

Emilia rose from her seat, face red with anger. "Cecilia. We should go." A moment stretched into a second, then a few, then five until Emi's eyes met Cecilia's, and realization dawned on her. "Oh."

The Unovan felt her friend's pain, and it made her stomach knot. "I'm sorry, Emi; I need this."

A stare could convey as much as a thousand words. There was mistrust—an idea that she needed to be there, or Cecilia would slip and fall into Temperance's arms and latch herself onto her. Pain at the mild betrayal was secondary, but it was there. For a moment, Cecilia thought she'd storm out and leave, and she was pretty sure Emi herself thought she'd do it, with the way she peeked at the door like it alone would bring her liberation, but she sat back down and closed her eyes, as if to soothe herself back to a stable calm while Temperance's triumphant smile and the high of victory faded.

"—left you, maybe? And you loved her still, but she didn't want to be with you. I mean, there are rumors of Grace Pastel and Maylene Suzuki dating. I say rumors, but it's all but confirmed at this point. She moved on so quickly, huh? She's not even bothering to look back—"

"Enough!"

Cecilia gripped Temperance by the collar and pulled. She whimpered, and the glass she'd been holding went tumbling down the couch, and then shattered against the ground. She held the coordinator close, face contorting with barely controlled rage. Imagining the two of them together—she couldn't—she couldn't yet she had dreamed of it ever since Grace had revealed cheating on her.

"Shut your mouth and be quiet," she ordered. "You've burned a lot of accumulated goodwill tonight; don't think I still won't leave you whenever you bother me too much."

Temperance's skin glittered with a nervous sweat; her skin was flush with blood, even up to her ears and down to her neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Cecilia let go and grabbed her own hand as what she'd done dawned on her. "No. I'm—I'm the one who's sorry." What was she even doing? Getting violent with someone? "I don't usually do this. I—I should leave—"

"It's fine. I'm the one who intentionally pushed your buttons," Temperance quickly cut in, smoothed out her top. "I wanted to provoke a reaction—and it was fine. I liked it. Being scared."

It wasn't fine. She should never do this to anyone. Cecilia cradled her face, feeling tears well up in her eyes that never fell.

"She really did a number on you, huh?" Temperance murmured.

"I hurt her too. So many times. But it's too late for take backs, now. I'll never hold her in my arms ever again. Never even see her again, beyond maybe the occasional passing glance whenever we cross paths."

"...I can try to make you forget about her," she tried, taking her chance to scoot herself closer. "I can try to show you what it's like to date someone else. To make you think of me instead of her."

"You can't."

"I said I can try. I didn't say I would succeed."

Temperance's hand went to touch Cecilia's face, and it traced the long scars from Jupiter's Skuntank. She'd had her stitches taken out recently. The contact felt cold and devoid of meaning.

"Tell me about her," Temperance said.

So Cecilia did. In a rare moment of weakness, she told Temperance everything, from the moment she'd met Grace properly in Floaroma to all of their adventures and times together for hours on end as they slowly got tipsy on her wine. She amended a few parts, of course. The classified information she couldn't go over, along with the way Grace cheated on her. In the end, she came out of the story looking like the main cause of their relationship collapsing, but it was... whatever. She wasn't about to compromise Grace just so she could feel better about herself.

"First relationships often end up in disaster," Temperance said with a saddened smile. They were leaning against each other now, though the blonde was doing ninety percent of the work. "Mine ended because I got jealous about my boyfriend's skills as a coordinator and blew up at him. I couldn't handle the fact that he was better than me when we were first starting out." She laughed. "Ah, man, I remember. It was before I settled on Temperance for my name."

Cecilia blinked, then stared at her. "Is it... a stage name?"

"No, it's my actual name that I'm in the process of changing legally. Only a few people know this because most actually just don't bother to check, or bother bringing it up, but my actual name right now is Pamela. Pam, for short."

Cecilia couldn't help but laugh, and both women chuckled for a few seconds. "One of the most successful coordinators of our age," the trainer snorted. "Pamela."

"There's a reason I changed it. It never felt—it never made me feel right in my own skin. It took me like eight months after I started my career to settle on Temperance, and oh boy, was that name big shoes to fill. You know, people hear it and it's just..." she outstretched her hand, as if she was reaching for the stars, and she snatched them. "They think you're going to rock their world. So it's tough when all you have is a Cottonee who only knows how to do fancy powder moves."

"Ha. I'd bet." Cecilia's fingers intertwined in Temperance's hand. Hers was sweaty, and the Unovan's was not. "Is that a common thing? In the few contests I've been to, you see a lot of those."

"It's like the first trick any rookie with a grass type learns. Make your powder moves glow certain ways by infusing them with different TE—most judges swat down that type of stuff. They would rather see something botched and unique than the same cookie cutter stuff over and over, but most rookies don't want to humiliating themselves on stage by fucking up."

"You know, it's a shame there are no more contests this year. I'd sign up for one."

"You'd do terrible."

"I know. It'd be fun, though," Cecilia said. "I need to go see Fantina battle as well, since her Gym is going again."

"Hey. You know what else would be fun?"

Temperance turned toward Cecilia and made yearning eyes at her. Cecilia could smell the wine on her warm breath—Grace never drank. She could see how eager and expecting Temperance was—Grace's eyes would be closed or barely open. Temperance herself slowly leaned forward—Grace would have gone in quicker.

Cecilia placed her index finger on Temperance's lip before she could get too close. "Temperance."

"You're ruining the mood," the girl said behind her finger.

"I can't like you. Not romantically, at least. I can see us being friends, but I won't fall in love with you."

"Ow. That genuinely hurt more than I thought it would—mood ruined," Temperance sighed and leaned back. "You know, you wouldn't be my first friends with benefits, but it's like—meh. I want to try to make you fall for me."

"Will you?" Cecilia asked.

"I want to."

She made Temperance shiver with a piercing stare that practically seized her by the throat. "This is not a rhetorical question; it is a request. Make me fall for you." Cecilia wasn't certain she would ever be able to stop loving Grace, but if she could find a girl she liked just a little bit, then maybe, just maybe, she will have cleared the first bump in the road. "Until then, we won't be dating."

"Come on. If you want me to make you fall in love, then we have to date. Doesn't have to be exclusive and all. I tend to get possessive, but I can share with Emilia Lussier."

"What? Emi? I'd never date her."

"Damn. No hesitation, huh? You're pretty ruthless—not that I didn't know that."

"She's my friend. I don't hurt my friends—at least not consciously," Cecilia corrected herself. "It doesn't matter what she might think."

"Pretty sure she wants you."

"I don't want her."

"Music to my ears," Temperance smirked, once again sneaking closer. "Now, can I kiss you?"

"You can try," Cecilia sighed.

Temperance leaned in, and their lips met. It was underwhelming. She was a good kisser who fought for control until Cecilia bit her lip and made her whimper with a mixture of pain and pleasure.

Yet, Cecilia felt nothing, so she pushed Temperance down, closed her eyes and imagined Grace under her.

Finally, her heart was alive in her chest; her veins flared with warmth and blood; she found herself smiling against Grace—Temperance's lips as the girl's voice leaked out and she wrapped her arms around Cecilia's neck.

There's my fire.

The next time, she'd ask her to turn off the lights.

—

"You were up there late."

Back when Cece had first met Emilia, she'd never have thought that her friend would have so much suspicion and ire in her voice. Little meek Emilia, turned into a strong and independent voice that rarely let others trample upon hers.

"You didn't have to actually come pick me up," Cecilia said. Emilia walked next to her as they made their way toward the nearest Center. "I could have stayed."

Emilia exhaled. Her eyes were half-closed under a streetlight. "What happened up there?"

Well, for one, Cecilia was certain Temperance would have to wear a scarf tomorrow, but Emi didn't have to know that. "We trained for a good while—Temperance is an excellent teacher who I'll be seeing basically every day, now." She waited to gauge Emilia's reaction, of which there was none but a nod and a warning to not get too dependent on her. "Then we went back to her penthouse and discussed life over wine." A pause. "Long story short, we're dating now. She'll announce it to her fans tomorrow."

That got a reaction, however subtle. Her time with Grace had long taught her to watch her friends' body language, and while she was nowhere as good, she caught the sharpness of her next breath and and flattening of her lips. She waited until a lonely car passed them by to continue.

"I figured there were good odds of that happening," Emilia said. "I just didn't expect it to be this fast. You two don't even know each other—you've literally met three days ago."

"Sometimes things happen fast," Cecilia said.

"Do you even like her?" Emilia asked. Never did her tone rise, but the judginess was impossible to miss.

"Not at all, and she knows that. I'm trying to communicate with her, at least. Learning."

Her friend let out a long sigh and threw her head back. "This is a horrible idea."

"I don't think so. I can end it at any moment, and she'd understand. So can she. There would be no hard feelings."

"I'm just saying that Temperance... isn't... like, I have a bunch of girl friends I can introduce you to if you need someone."

"There's nothing wrong with her. I've actually learned a good amount about her; she's more than meets the eye."

"I—obviously I know that. No one can be their online persona twenty-four seven. I'm just saying that if you're so desperate to date someone else, she's not the girl you should be looking at. Here, Yuki, for example—"

Her tirade was interrupted by a text on Cecilia's phone. She'd forgotten to put it on silent.

Temperance - I miss you already babe.

You - I don't. Stop messaging me, Pamela.

Temperance - Cece, we're dating. Girlfriends message each other. Also, don't call me that.

You - I don't care. Message me again and I'm blocking you until tomorrow.

The message got a heart react under it, which made Cecilia squint at her screen and smirk.

"I'm going to try things out with her. It is what it is. Now, if you have something else to say that perhaps pertain with your likely attraction to me—"

Emilia raised and shook her hands in a mild panic. "Legendaries, no! You're pretty and all, but no. I have—a lot of other people that are flirting with me that I could probably get with at any time." She let out a nervous laugh. "I mean, not a lot. A decent amount. Uh, like three. Vincent, Lena—"

"I believe you."

"—Raine. I just don't think I can handle one right now. Anyway, you're my friend. I would never look at you from that angle."

"What about Temperance, then?"

"I mean, she's pretty too. I did have a crush on her when I didn't actually know what she was like, but that's gone."

"Then there's no problem," Cecilia declared with a smile and a clap of her hands. "Don't worry, I know I'll be with her every day, but if I ever feel like I'm growing dependent, I'll let you know."

"You probably won't be able to tell, Cece," she said. "And you should tell me about what you feel before things start going haywire."

"That's fine by me as well."

"Then we're in agreement."

"This won't be an issue?" Cecilia asked. "Because if it is and it's going to disrupt the already-fragile group, I can always br—"

"It's fine. I get it; I'm not gonna get in your way. Just keep me updated on everything, and it'll be fine. I will."

"And you're sure about it this—"

"Yes! Fuck, Cecilia, I'm not made of glass." Her tone rose slightly. "I told you I only cared because I don't want you to crash and burn."

"Okay. Thank you."

Well.

Cecilia thought that could have gone a lot worse, all things considered.

A/N: There was also supposed to be a Grace POV in this, but it would have been too long because I was busy this week (probably like 15-18k words), so it'll be split.