Unlikely Allies
Darling had been avoiding Apple all morning.
After overhearing Apple’s conversation with Raven in the library the day before, she had spent the entire night lying awake, running through every possible worst-case scenario. If Apple suspected something, it was only a matter of time before someone else picked up on it too. And the last thing Darling needed was her feelings becoming a topic of gossip.
So, her solution? Stay busy.
Unfortunately, her version of staying busy had led her straight to the worst place imaginable—study hall with Rosabella, Daring, Dexter, and Raven.
“You look stressed,” Rosabella commented, not even looking up from her book.
“I am not stressed,” Darling said immediately.
“You’re literally gripping that pencil like it just insulted our entire bloodline,” Dexter pointed out.
Darling glanced down at the snapped pencil in her hand and quickly shoved it away. “It’s nothing.”
“Oh, it’s definitely something,” Raven said, smirking. “Wouldn’t have anything to do with Apple, would it?”
Darling stiffened. “W-What? No! Why would it?”
Raven exchanged a knowing look with Rosabella. “No reason.”
Daring, who had been half-dozing at the table, suddenly perked up. “Wait, wait. Are we talking about Darling and Apple? Because finally someone else sees it.”
Darling groaned. “There is nothing to see!”
Rosabella arched an eyebrow. “So you didn’t run out of the library yesterday like a lovesick fool?”
“I—That was—I had places to be!”
Raven laughed. “Sure you did.”
Darling dropped her head onto the table with a loud thud.
Dexter leaned forward. “Okay, so you have a crush on Apple. Why is that a bad thing?”
Darling hesitated. Because it’s complicated. Because I don’t know how she’d react. Because I don’t even know if I’m allowed to feel this way.
But saying all of that out loud? Not an option.
“It just… is,” she muttered.
Rosabella gave her a thoughtful look. “You know, you’re not the only one struggling with feelings.”
Darling narrowed her eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Rosabella said casually, flipping a page in her book. “Maybe you should ask a certain Charming sitting across from me.”
Daring blinked. “Huh?”
Dexter looked between Rosabella and Daring, then snorted. “Oh my gods, she’s talking about you.”
Daring frowned. “Me? What did I do?”
Rosabella smirked. “Oh, nothing. Except stare at me when you think I’m not looking. Get weirdly flustered whenever I compliment you. Find excuses to be around me.” She tilted her head. “Anything you want to confess, Charming?”
Daring opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
Then, flustered beyond belief, he grabbed the nearest book and held it in front of his face. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
Dexter and Raven burst out laughing.
Darling sat up, a slow grin spreading across her face. “Oh. Oh. This is good.”
Rosabella crossed her arms. “Exactly. And since I have to deal with this mess, it’s only fair that you deal with yours.”
Darling groaned. “That’s not how this works.”
Raven shrugged. “It is now. Consider us your official support group.”
Dexter nodded. “And by support, we mean we’re going to make your life miserable until you confess to Apple.”
Darling let out a dramatic sigh, but deep down, she felt a warmth in her chest. As much as they teased, she knew her friends had her back.
Now if only her feelings for Apple were as easy to deal with as teasing Daring about Rosabella.
Study hall ended, but Darling’s anxiety didn’t.
She thought she’d make it through the rest of the day undisturbed, but her so-called “support group” had other plans.
At lunch, Raven nudged her and not-so-subtly pointed toward Apple, who was sitting at a nearby table, chatting animatedly with Briar and Ashlynn.
“You should go sit with her,” Raven said.
Darling frowned. “I already have a seat. Right here.”
Dexter sighed. “Darling, the whole point is for you to actually talk to her, not just admire her from a distance.”
“I do not admire her from a distance.”
Rosabella smirked. “Oh? Then what do you call that dreamy look you’re giving her right now?”
Darling immediately schooled her expression and stabbed at her salad with unnecessary force.
Daring, having recovered from his earlier embarrassment, leaned in. “You know, you’ll never get anywhere if you just sit here and brood about it.”
“I am not brooding.”
Raven raised an eyebrow. “You kind of are.”
Darling groaned. “Can we drop this?”
“Oh, absolutely not,” Rosabella said. “We are invested now.”
Darling ignored them for the rest of lunch, though it was hard to focus when every other second, someone elbowed her or gave her a pointed look whenever Apple so much as laughed.
The real problem came later in the afternoon, when Darling finally—finally—let her guard down.
She was walking to her next class when she turned a corner and—bam.
She collided right into someone, nearly knocking them both over.
“Oh! Sorry, I wasn’t looking where I—Darling?”
Darling froze. Of course. Because fate clearly hated her.
Apple stood in front of her, bright-eyed and smiling, her hands gently steadying Darling’s arms from their near collision.
Darling’s heart did an entire gymnastics routine in her chest.
“Uh. Hey,” she managed.
Apple tilted her head. “You okay? You’ve been kind of… distant today.”
Darling internally cursed. Of course Apple would notice.
“Just… busy,” Darling lied.
Apple studied her for a moment. “You sure? Because yesterday in the library, I—”
Darling panicked. “Gotta go!” she blurted and practically ran in the opposite direction.
She didn’t stop until she was safely out of Apple’s sight, her face burning.
By the time she made it to her dorm that night, Darling was exhausted.
She collapsed onto her bed, ready to sleep off her embarrassment, but the universe had other plans.
Her phone buzzed. A text. From Rosabella.
Rosabella: Heard you sprinted away from Apple today. Smooth.
Darling: Leave me alone.
Raven: Absolutely not.
Dexter: We need an intervention.
Daring: Just talk to her! If I can survive Rosabella calling me out, you can survive a conversation.
Darling: …I hate you all.
Rosabella: You love us. Now, go confess your feelings.
Darling groaned into her pillow.
She was never going to hear the end of this.