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destiniesfic · 3 years

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i hate everybody (but maybe i don’t) 1/3

This is my @jurdannet & @jurdannetrevels Secret Snusband gift for @sevenfreckles-for-sevenloves! You tapped into a story I’d been wanting to write for ages, so you get three parts and three POVs (Vivi, Cardan, and Jude). Happy Holidays, I hope you like it. ♥ Thanks to @xdarkofthemoon for betaing!

This fic is rated E. Content warnings this chapter for excessive alcohol consumption, references to alcoholism, and (prescribed) antidepressant use.

Read on AO3 or read below:

Bars in Barcelona are not especially different from bars in the US. It’s a discovery Vivi has made over the course of her study abroad tenure: everything is different on the outside, but on the inside, not so much. She does like the outsides, though. She likes the tidy streets, the way the buildings don’t rise to blot out the sun as they have a habit of doing in American downtowns. She likes the cozy sameness of the facades, broken by the whimsical surprise of the odd Gaudí contribution. Like a lot of the European cities she’s visited there seems to be some unifying design principle, some common understanding. At home it’s anyone’s guess what the next office building or apartment complex might look like, a mishmash of styles as the cities clamor to reinvent themselves, modernist or postmodernist or deconstructionist or whatever.

Heather could name them all, if Heather were here.

But Heather isn’t here. Tonight, Vivi is out on the town with her two younger half-sisters, Jude and Taryn. Her twin baby sisters, although they hate it when she calls them that. The twins’ spring breaks overlapped by happy accident, so their adoptive dad, Vivi’s biological father, had sent them off on an all-expenses-paid Barcelona trip for a mini family reunion.

Taryn had been thrilled to go out. “I’m so excited that we can drink here,” she’d exclaimed, as she touched up her makeup in the AirBnB’s living room mirror. It’s a two-bed, two-bath apartment with an updated kitchen and certainly beats the dorms. Vivi was forced to give a silent, resentful thanks, Dad, but not out loud.

“You drink at home,” Jude reminded her from the bathroom, where she was trying to wrangle her hair into some style Taryn had sent her from Pinterest. “We have fake IDs.”

“It’s not the same,” Taryn had huffed, applying another coat of mascara. Vivi got that. It had not been the same when they came to Europe before, either, because they had been with Madoc, Oriana, and little Oak. Somehow parents at the table makes the glass of wine with dinner much less daring.

Jude had eventually settled on a high ponytail, and off they went.

Now they’re out at a bar not far from the AirBnB, with each of the twins perched on stools and Vivi leaning against the bar between them. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t seen them for so long except over FaceTime, but Vivi is shocked to notice that her little sisters aren’t kids anymore. They haven’t been little for a while, not since they overtook Vivi in height when they were twelve, but it’s one thing to not be little and another to be an adult. Taryn, who’s been yearning for adulthood since her tweens, finally looks more at home in the role. And Vivi doesn’t know how Taryn got Jude into that dark purple halter dress, which dips low in the front and lower in the back, but the way she wears that and her lipstick is a stark reminder that Vivi’s sisters are in fact nineteen, and no longer chubby, soft-faced children. It’s weird, and Vivi doesn’t like it.

Vivi gets hit on sometimes—with her undercut and piercings, mostly by “alternative” men and curious women—but the novelty of good-looking twins means Jude and Taryn shouldn’t need to pay for their own drinks. And they wouldn’t, except anytime a guy gets too close to Jude or Taryn, Jude adopts a laser-eyed glare and says, “No,” which is thankfully the same in both languages. Otherwise she might start speaking with fists.

“I don’t know why you won’t let us get free drinks,” Taryn pouts.

“The drinks are on Madoc,” Jude points out, nodding to the credit card Vivi puts back in her pocket. “They’re basically free.”

Taryn mutters, “It’s the principle of the thing.”

“You guys are such sisters,” Vivi says, taking a swig of beer.

“What does that mean?” they demand in unison.

Vivi grins and closes her eyes, shaking her head. For a second she just stands there, between the twins, and lets everything wash over her: the sibling bickering, the pungent smell of beer and whatever syrup is in Jude’s cocktail, and the music. Music is a strange experience in bars here. First there’s a Spanish song Vivi’s never heard, and then there’s Halsey, crooning over a Chainsmokers beat, and then back to Spanish with perennial favorite “Despacito.” It’s total whiplash. Vivi loves it.

It’s only because she’s listening so hard that she hears Taryn give a tiny gasp.

Vivi opens her eyes. Jude has gone very, very still. Her shoulders, which had been hunched up around her ears as she leaned over the bar, roll down her back, and the muscles there tense. Vivi is not sure Jude is remembering to breathe. She and Taryn are both staring at some fixed point across the bar, so Vivi looks too.

“Oh, hell,” she says.

On the other side of the bar—of the small space they are all crammed into—are four familiar figures. Three boys, one girl. Vivi has to blink to place them, because it seems absurd that four kids they went to high school with would show up in Spain while they, the Duarte sisters, are also in Spain, and also because they weren’t in Vivi’s grade. She knows them, though. Everyone knows Cardan Greenbriar and his trio of hot, mean friends, but Vivi knows them particularly well because of how her sisters have tangled with them over the years.

Taryn whispers, “What are they doing here?”

“I can go ask,” Vivi sighs. That group of kids has no quarrel with her. She and Cardan were friendly back in the day, meaning “ten years ago when Vivi would go hang out with Cardan’s older sister.”

“No,” Jude says, voice firm. Without taking her eyes off the interlopers, she picks up her cocktail and downs the rest of it.

Vivi doesn’t know exactly what happened, but Jude shed her fight-or-flight response sometime in high school. Now, she only has a fight response. Maybe Vivi took her flight response, because it was Vivi who was the terror until she turned eighteen, when she got the hell out of dodge. Taryn has always been in the middle, trying to keep the peace.

“We can go somewhere else,” Taryn suggests.

“No,” Jude repeats, setting her glass down on the bar a little too hard. “I’m not going to let those jerks keep me from having a good time.”

“Which I respect, and more power to you, but also, like, there are plenty of bars in Barcelona,” Vivi points out.

Jude glares. “I’m fine.” And then she holds up one finger in the bartender’s direction.

“You know those are really alcoholic, right?” Taryn says. Worry begins to seep into her voice like melting snow through cracks in a sidewalk.

“I know my limits.”

Vivi and Taryn exchange a wary glance. Jude might know her limits, but she has no problem blowing past them. Jude may not think Vivi remembers the tae kwon do tournament she sat through when Jude was eleven and Vivi was thirteen, but oh, Vivi does. Vivi remembers how her sister volunteered to spar until she had tired herself out to the point where she could no longer stand. Vivi also remembers Jude driving to school on a single hour of sleep after staying up to finish an extra credit essay in a class where she already had an A. Jude somehow didn’t crash her car, but she had been unbearable the entire day. Jude is a danger to herself and very occasionally a menace to society.

But Jude is also an adult and it’s not Vivi’s business.

“Suit yourself,” Vivi says, with a shrug. “It’s dear old Dad’s money.”

A few minutes later, Jude is nursing her second cocktail, and Vivi and Taryn are trying to carry on a conversation as though everything is fine. Any normal person would be well loosened up by now, but Jude retains that unnatural stillness like a dog who’s noticed a squirrel on the other side of a yard. Or, more accurately, maybe like a deer who’s spotted a human hunter approaching over the ridge.

Jude is no defenseless herbivore, but Vivi knows half a lifetime of being bullied has made her feel like a target.

“Hey,” Vivi says, jostling Jude with her elbow.

“What?”

“Tell me about your freshman year misadventures. Taryn won’t open up.”

Jude snorts. “What misadventures?”

“You have to have a few,” Vivi says. “I didn’t raise my sisters to be boring.”

“You didn’t raise us at all,” Jude mutters at her cocktail.

Vivi has never seen her sister anywhere near drunk before and is not sure she likes her like this. “What about boys?” she asks, gently elbowing Jude again. Then she raises her eyebrows. “Girls?”

“No. Nobody.” Jude finishes her second drink and, glaring across the bar, apparently makes the decision to switch to shots. “Vivi, is vodka still ‘vodka’ in Spanish?”

“I’m not answering that.” Vivi sighs. “What about you, Taryn? Anybody?”

“Huh? Um, no.” Taryn had been looking at their erstwhile schoolmates too. One of the boys, the redhead, is looking back. Locke. Vivi exhales. Bad news. There’s history there, the kind of history that shouldn’t repeat.

“Reeeeally?” she asks. “Nobody? Not one boy?”

Taryn blinks back to herself. “Vivi, I go to school for fashion design. They’re all gay.”

“Well, that can be fun.” Vivi gestures at herself. God, she wishes her sisters had brought Heather along. The hot lady bartender with the gorgeous tattoo sleeve keeps trying to catch her eye, and Vivi and Heather had established a “what happens in Barcelona stays in Barcelona” policy before she left, but Vivi doesn’t want a hot lady bartender. She wants her girlfriend.

“Yeah, they’re cool.” Taryn glances back across the bar. Now the blue-haired girl—Nicasia, Vivi recalls—is looking back, along with Locke. Not good.

Since Jude is negotiating for a shot of vodka with hot lady bartender in competent enough Spanish, Vivi lowers her voice and asks Taryn, “Are you feeling especially homesick?”

“We’ve kept in touch.” Taryn doesn’t meet her eyes.

Vivi would hold more of a grudge if someone had tried to sleep with her and her sister, but that’s very much not her circus or her monkeys. She asks, “Did you know he’d be here?”

Taryn shakes her head. “He said they were doing a European tour for spring break, but, like, it’s a big continent.”

“Good news,” says Jude, holding up a shot glass. “It’s vodka in both languages. Cheers.”

“You are going to be sick,” Taryn says.

Jude gives her a sarcastic shrug and then downs the shot. She coughs a little, which somewhat ruins the impression she’s trying to make, but swallows it all down.

“Jude,” Vivi says, beginning to worry, “we really can just leave.”

But Jude is looking at her old high school nemeses again. Cardan had been a particular thorn in her side, or he in hers; Vivi never made sense of that conflict, of who had started what. What she does know is that they’ve definitely been spotted now. The blond boy—Vivi doesn’t quite remember his name—seems to make a move to walk over to them, but Cardan reaches out and grabs his arm, shaking his head. Valentine? Valentino? looks sour, but doesn’t approach. Jude stares them both down.

“I have to use the bathroom,” Taryn announces. “El baño.” Taryn had taken French in high school.

“But—” Vivi begins.

Taryn has already vanished into the crowd. Vivi puts her elbows on the bar and cradles her head in her hands. “This is all going great.”

“Not how you pictured our night out on the town?” asks Jude, who has obtained another shot of vodka from God knows where.

“Yeah, not really.”

“Well, I can fix it.” Jude drinks her second shot and does not cough this time. “I’m going to go talk to them.”

Vivi picks up her head. “That’s a terrible idea.”

“So what?”

“Dad’s going to hold me responsible if anything happens to you.”

Jude fixes a level stare on her. “Dad never holds you responsible for anything,” she says. She slips a little when she gets up off her stool. Vivi wonders if she’s really thinking about fighting someone in those heels.

“You’re mean drunk,” Vivi tells her, trying to grab her arm. “Don’t go.”

“I’m mean sober, but nobody notices,” says Jude, which doesn’t make any sense. She shakes Vivi off. “Besides, I have a few things I want to say.”

And for the second time that night, Vivi watches as one of her sisters pushes her way into the crowd of people, unsure if she should follow or not. Maybe it’ll be good for Jude, in the end, to get some of this out of her system.

The guys across the room are watching Jude approach. Cardan especially. The blond guy is sneering, but Cardan watches Jude with the same strange stillness with which she’d watched him. Like he’s holding his breath until she gets there. Unlike Jude, he doesn’t seem that drunk at all, which Vivi notices because, well, it’s a rare day that Cardan Greenbriar isn’t drunk.

But he is too busy watching her and not his blond friend, who decides that he’s going to intercept Jude before she can even reach Cardan. He pushes over to her first and bars her way, and although Vivi is too far away to hear what’s said between them, she notices the squaring of Jude’s shoulders and the widening of the blond guy’s sneer. Because she is watching closely, she sees that Valerian is the one who shoves Jude first.

Valerian. That’s his name.

It clicks right before Jude punches him in the face.

The bar erupts. Cardan springs to his feet and tries to pull his friend away from Jude. A couple of nearby patrons try to save Jude from herself—Vivi could have told them it was a fool’s errand—by holding her back, not knowing Jude has sharp elbows. Valerian struggles hard and manages to break away from Cardan, only to find himself being grabbed by more pairs of hands. There is shouting in Spanish. Even the hot lady bartender is drawn away, trying to signal her coworkers.

The most Vivi-like thing to do would be to leave Jude to it and keep her nose clean. But Vivi remembers asking Madoc on the day of that fateful tae kwon do tournament, while they revived Jude with sips of Gatorade, why Madoc hadn’t stopped Jude when it became clear she was flagging. “Your sister needs to learn for herself when to stop fighting,” he’d said. “If I make those calls for her, she never will.”

Vivi has a lot of qualms with Madoc’s parenting style, and Taryn is nowhere to be found.

“Oh, hell,” Vivi says again, and she dives into the knot of drunk brawlers to pull her sister from the fray.

---

“I can’t believe you got us kicked out,” Vivi says.

Jude, drunk, hapless Jude, is sitting on the curb with her head between her knees, presumably trying not to barf. There’s still enough anger left in her to flip Vivi off.

“Unbelievable.” Vivi folds her arms and looks left, then right. It seems like a good quarter of the bar spilled out onto the sidewalk with them, a crowd of people chattering about what just happened. Forget kicked out, Jude’s lucky she wasn’t arrested. “Do you see Taryn anywhere?”

“What do you think?”

Vivi pinches the bridge of her nose. Taryn will be fine. She has the AirBnB address and a phone she can use on WiFi. Besides, as far as Vivi knows, she ran off with Locke. Vivi hasn’t seen the two of them come out of the bar yet, and she would not be surprised. She knows a bad decision when she sees one.

“You keep sitting down,” Vivi tells Jude. “I’m going to figure out a ride home.”

“Your face should keep sitting down,” Jude mumbles spitefully.

“Hey, guys? Vivi?”

Vivi cringes as soon as she hears the voice, because she knows the voice, and because in this situation the owner of that voice will only make things worse. Vivi doesn’t have any personal grudge against Cardan Greenbriar—they’ve even sometimes been friends—except for how her sister feels about him. Taryn’s always said he was kind of a dick, but Taryn doesn’t hate him like Jude does. Nobody hates anybody the way Jude hates Cardan. Vivi wonders if Jude has something to prove.

Sure enough, Jude’s head swivels at the sound of his voice like the kid’s head turning around in The Exorcist. “You,” she snarls, and then stumbles to her feet.

“Jude,” Vivi says, trying to catch her sister’s dress to pull her back, but Jude is already out of reach. With another sigh, Vivi stands too.

“What are you doing here?” Jude demands of Cardan, openly hostile. It would be funny, because Jude is a full head shorter than him, if Jude was anybody else’s sister. “We were all having a great time until you showed up.”

“It’s anybody’s city,” Cardan says, but he doesn’t seem to be mocking her. He holds up his hands to show her they are empty.

“Go the fuck home!” Jude yells, and shoves him, sending him back a couple of steps.

Vivi shouts, “Woah!”

“It’s okay,” Cardan tells Vivi over Jude’s head. “She’s not hurting me. Let her get it out.”

With a little cry, Jude pushes him again, and this time he only stumbles back a half-step, but he keeps his hands up and his stance somewhat grounded. The next time Jude shoves him he doesn’t budge at all, and Jude lets out a grunt of frustration, fisting her hands in his jacket.

And then she bursts into tears.

“Oh,” says Vivi, but Cardan doesn’t seem that surprised. She wonders if he’s used to people behaving badly while drunk or just being drunk himself.

“You’re so a-awful,” Jude says between sobs. “Everything’s awful all the time.”

“I know, Jude,” Cardan replies. He gently pries the jacket out of her fists so he can remove it and drape it over her bare shoulders. Jude grabs onto his shirt instead.

“Why do you hate me so much?” she asks, with a small hiccup.

“I don’t,” Cardan replies. His hand rubs circles between his shoulder blades. “But I hope you’re too drunk to remember that.” He looks up at Vivi, and Vivi feels a brief flash of embarrassment, like she’s intruded on something intimate, before she remembers that they’re in public and, also, she has no shame. “Were you going to get a taxi? I can keep an eye on her while you do. I don’t think she should walk back.”

“Oh.” Vivi blinks. “Yeah. I’ve got it. Where’s your ‘friend?’”

“Sent him packing. He’s back at the hotel, or he should be.”

“Well… good.”

But Cardan isn’t listening. He’s already looking down at Jude again.

It turns out Vivi has, carelessly, let her phone die. She isn’t anal about things like that. Taryn’s the one who keeps a charger in her purse at all times, but Taryn has vanished, and Jude’s phone only works on WiFi outside of the States.

So they hail one of Barcelona's bumblebee-like taxis the old-fashioned way, and Vivi is the one who climbs into the passenger’s seat and tells the driver where to go in Spanish that’s fluent, if definitely not Spain-Spanish. It is deeply ironic that Vivi, the only sister without a drop of Duarte blood in her veins, is the one who speaks Spanish the best. But Jude and Taryn were only seven when their parents died. Vivi had been nine. Two years makes a big difference with these things, especially because memories are shaping and re-shaping themselves in the minds of children that young. As far as the twins’ brains are concerned, they only had their parents for a short time.

Vivi remembers more. She remembers sitting on the counter in the old kitchen, legs swinging, as her dad cooked on Fridays—the special day, the end of the week day—and pointing at things in the kitchen so Justin could tell her their names in Spanish and she could echo them back. Cebolla, onion. Queso, cheese, of course. Cuchara, spoon. The words had a favor of their own, different from the English words she learned in kindergarten. She remembers the smell of toasting coriander seeds, the bright songs her dad would hum, the vibrant melodies bursting from the CD player Vivi leaned her elbow on. When she got far enough along in school, she threw herself into Spanish, hoping the words would pave a road that would lead her back to the man who shaped her.

Sometimes Jude gets in a sulk about their awful twist of fate, or Taryn gets weepy, and Vivi just wants to yell Justin Duarte was my dad, too! She feels like her throat is raw from screaming it her entire adolescence. It was easier in the end to just move away for college.

She ended up in Spain because Madoc and Oriana weren’t keen on her going to Mexico. Oh, sure, they’d been before on vacation no problemo, but as soon as Vivi wanted to go alone it was game over. No matter how much Vivi told them it was very racist of them and a total double standard. Apparently Oriana didn’t want her getting kidnapped. Vivi, who has in fact seen the movie Taken, knows she can get kidnapped in Europe just as easily, thanks very much. That had not been a persuasive argument with Madoc.

So here she is, in Barcelona, where familiar words can have entirely different flavors, and that’s even before getting to Catalan, which she can now speak a little but not well. Most of the time, she’ll be honest, she does love it here. At this moment she’s not feeling charitable toward anything.

Cardan helps load Jude into the backseat of the taxi. The driver, looking in the rearview mirror, asks, “¿Su novio?”

“¿Qué?” Vivi asks reflexively. She cranes her head around to see Cardan sliding in next to Jude, his arm around her shoulder. She switches to English. “What the hell, dude?”

“She won’t let go,” Cardan says simply. It’s true; Jude is clinging to him like a very weepy barnacle, her shoulders still shaking.

“Alright, well.” Vivi turns back around. It’s good to have the extra pair of hands. She wishes again that Heather was here. “You’re the official Jude wrangler now.”

“Copy that. I just—” He sighs, and in the rearview, Vivi sees him rub his face with his free hand. “It’s my fault.”

“Sure is.” The taxi begins to pull away from the curb, and Vivi checks her anger. She amends, “Actually, no, it’s not your fault that my sister’s a lightweight and an angry drunk. But from what I hear, the years of prior psychological damage are totally your fault. So, credit where credit is due.”

Cardan nods. Jude sniffles forlornly. Vivi is intrigued by how gentle he’s being with her, how tolerant. His shirt looks like a regular cotton tee, but knowing him it probably costs about the same as a single night in their very nice AirBnB. He doesn’t seem to mind that Jude’s getting snot and tears all over it.

“Hate you,” Jude mutters, pressing her face into his shoulder. “Hate this.”

“I know.” He pushes a lock of hair that’s escaped from her ponytail. “What are you on?”

“Huh?” There’s a pause. Vivi is watching the road now, but she can imagine Jude’s confused blinking. “I don’t… drugs.”

“Meds.”

“Oh, um, fuck.” Another pause. “Zoloft. I switched this year.”

“You’re not supposed to drink on that stuff,” Cardan says, but it almost sounds like he’s teasing. “It messes you up. I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.”

Jude sniffs. “It’s not like I’m operating heavy machinery,” she says, slurring slightly.

Cardan chuckles. “I did the Zoloft thing, too. I’m not on it anymore, though.”

“‘Cause you couldn’t drink?”

“Like anything would stop me.” He pauses, and Vivi looks into the rearview mirror to find him biting his lower lip in an exaggerated way, so drunk Jude is sure to get the joke. “No, there were... personal reasons.”

Jude is utterly nonplussed. “What?”

“Ah, you know…” He leans over and whispers something to her. Her eyes widen, and then she lets out a small, nervous chuckle. “Oh.”

“Yeah, I was like ‘If I can’t have sex, won’t that just make me more depressed?’”

To Vivi’s great surprise, Jude giggles. A totally surreal sound. She hasn’t giggled like that in years, if ever.

“There we go,” says Cardan, weirdly indulgent. “No more crying. Or, well—oh, okay,” he adds, as Jude turns her head and begins quietly sobbing into the sleeve of his shirt. “I guess some more crying.”

“You seem very sober,” Vivi remarks.

“Yeah, I’m trying it on. Just club soda for me tonight.” He leans over to rest his head on top of Jude’s. “It, cómo se dice, sucks.”

“Like your accent.”

“So I’ve heard.”

Vivi is beginning to get vaguely suspicious. She says, “But you are handling this well. Just used to dealing with a lot of drunks?”

“Huh? Oh.” Cardan’s dark eyes flick up to meet Vivi’s in the mirror. “This isn’t the first time. Jude got wasted at prom, after the stuff with Locke and Taryn came to light. Completely trashed.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“You were finishing up sophomore year, right? In like, Massachusetts? And it’s not like she would have told you. If she’s lucky, she doesn’t remember it. I loaded her into the Uber that took her home.”

Vivi’s stomach twists, but she channels the newfound sister guilt into suspicion and narrows her eyes. “Decent of you.”

“Yeah, I was trying that out, too. Got puked on for the trouble.” Cardan leans his head back against the headrest now. Jude’s sobs have quieted down. “But I still remember the Four Phases of Drunk Jude Duarte.”

“I’m glad somebody does,” Vivi admits. “What are they?”

“Angry, weepy, horny, sick.”

She snorts. “Basically Snow White’s shittiest dwarves.”

“Basically,” Cardan agrees. “But you’re not in danger of her getting sick yet, because we haven’t hit—ah. Um. Well.” He clears his throat. “Never mind.”

Vivi looks up into the mirror again to see Cardan plucking Jude’s hand off of him and returning it to her. “Did we just hit horny?”

“We just hit horny,” he says, his voice strained. Jude has her face buried in his neck again, but this time for entirely different reasons. The hand he had returned to Jude is already sliding back down his shirt. “Okay, hands above the waist. No, above—”

“Oh my God.” Vivi covers her mouth to stifle her laughter.

“Great. Very helpful, Vivienne,” Cardan says, grabbing Jude’s wrist and holding it still. It speaks to their relationship as nearly family friends that he can use her full name without invoking her wrath. “Your sister is outright molesting me and you can’t even tell her to knock it off?”

He doesn’t sound totally panicked, though. “I think you might want my sister to molest you,” Vivi guesses, turning around in her seat to look at him. Somehow, Jude has managed to thoroughly drape herself across him, but Cardan is showing admirable and frankly uncharacteristic self-restraint by keeping her from doing anything that can’t be undone. “Just a little.”

“When she’s sober. Jude, don’t bite my ear. Jude—”

Vivi snickers. The rest of the short ride passes like that, with Cardan deflecting Jude’s advances and Vivi deflecting the taxi driver’s questions about what exactly is happening back there and whether Jude is going to be sick all over his floor mats. They are lucky enough to not hit “sick” until Jude is out of the car and walking up the five stairs to the door of the apartment building. With Cardan’s warning in mind, Vivi is able to jump back in time.

Cardan, who is nearer to Jude, is not so lucky. She leans against the railing and doubles over it, but his shoes and the bottoms of his jeans are still caught in the splash zone. “Okay, great,” he says, gathering her back up. He does not sound entirely tolerant now, but he also doesn’t sound as angry as Vivi might expect. “That’s over. Feel any better?”

“No,” Jude mutters.

“You might in the morning.” He moves them both so Vivi can pass and open the door. “Man, is this really only the second time this has ever happened to you? I have to say, I’m jealous. Not of you in this moment, of course. Just in general.”

“We can’t all be charming teenage alcoholics,” Vivi says, propping the door open so Cardan can help her through.

“You hear that, Jude?” Cardan asks. “Your sister thinks I’m charming.”

“Uh-huh,” says Jude.

“Don’t let it go to your head,” Vivi warns. “She’s almost out. Let’s get her upstairs.”

Jude doesn’t make it into the bedroom she and Taryn are sharing. They put her to bed on the couch, on her side, with Cardan’s jacket draped over her. There’s no laundry machine in the AirBnB, but Vivi finds some detergent in the cabinet and they fill the bathroom sink with lukewarm water so Cardan can wash his jeans. Vivi is not sure the right time for the conversation she should have is now, when Cardan is standing in his boxer briefs and Jude is passed out in the next room, but on the bright side, there probably isn’t a worse time.

“You know, I didn’t think we had this level of friendship,” Cardan remarks, dunking his jeans in the sudsy water. “Dealing with your sister must really be a bonding experience. You always liked Rhyia best.”

“Well, Rhyia’s cool.” Vivi folds her arms and leans in the doorway. She kicked off her boots when they got in the door, so Cardan now looks even taller, although certainly not very intimidating in his underwear. “Calvin Klein. Nice. You always struck me as more of a boxers guy, I have to say.”

“Sometimes. These jeans are pretty tight, though.” He looks over at her. “Do you need something?”

She shakes her head. “Oh, nothing. I just can’t believe you’re trying to fuck my sister.”

“I’m not trying to fuck your sister,” Cardan says, massaging his jeans in the sink in such a way that Vivi is forced to wonder whether he’s ever done his own laundry. “She’s wasted. And she hates me.”

Vivi frowns deeply.

Cardan asks, “What?”

“Nothing.”

“Vivienne Leigh—”

“Don’t you pull out my full name for this. You’re playing some game here and I will figure out what it—oh.”

“What now?”

Vivi squints at him. “Are you in love with my sister?”

Cardan lets out an exhausted sigh. “Taryn isn’t really my type.”

They both know they aren’t talking about Taryn. “What the fuck. How long?”

“Like a year. Or maybe my whole life. I’m not sure.”

“Does she know?”

“I really hope not.” Cardan grimaces at his reflection in the mirror, and then looks past himself to see where Jude sleeps on the couch. “She’d never let me live it down.”

“Okay, well…” Vivi pauses. This is more older sibling responsibility than she signed up for. “What are your… intentions?”

“I don’t have any.” Vivi purses her lips, and he adds, “I really don’t. I wasn’t expecting to see her tonight. I kind of thought I’d never see her again after we graduated.” He pauses and looks down at the sink. “I think, someday, I’d like to be a person she likes. That she’s capable of liking.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Huh.” He has it really, really bad. Vivi can’t imagine what Jude said or did to make him feel that way about her. Maybe it was her total lack of regard for him? “Is this why you bullied her for years?”

“I hope not!” Cardan exclaims, in a way that suggests this thought has occurred to him before, and moreover, that it actually bothers him. “I don’t know! I don’t want to be that fucking cliché, Vivi.”

“We’re all cliché in our own special ways,” Vivi says, glancing back at Jude. A vague plot is beginning to take shape in her brain. Jude is the plotter, Taryn the planner—there is a difference—and Vivi the pantser, normally. But there is something here that she thinks she can exploit. “Seeing as you have no pants, you should probably stay over. I don’t think any of our clothes will fit you.”

“Seriously?”

“Seriously. You can have one of the twin beds.” After a beat, she adds, “I’m not telling you which one is Jude’s.”

“Darn,” Cardan deadpans. “Now I don’t know which one to jerk off in.”

Vivi pulls a face. “That’s the idea.” And then, because Cardan is hopeless, she reaches forward and yanks the plug from the drain. “Rinse off your jeans in clean water. Otherwise they’ll dry all stiff and soapy.”

“Thank you for the advice, oh wise one.”

She rolls her eyes and leaves him to it. After checking on Jude, whose coloring and breathing are both normal, she heads back to her room and looks at her phone. Nothing from Taryn, even though it’s later than Vivi thought, but Vivi isn’t worried. Taryn’s kind of like a cat in that, somehow, she always manages to land on her feet. Vivi fires off a quick text to her, then stares at the glowing screen, thinking about the way Cardan had rested his head on top of Jude’s in the back of the taxi.

She texts Heather: sisters are a lot of work

And:

i wish you were here

It’s much earlier in New England. When the three dots pop up to indicate that Heather is typing a reply, Vivi smiles.

#jurdan #judecardan #jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #jurdannet #jurdan fanfic #the folk of the air #the wicked king #the queen of nothing #the cruel prince #mine: fic #fic: i hate everybody

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aelin-queen-of-terrasen · 4 years

Note

I’m not sure if you’re taking requests but... I love your writing and it would be amazing if you wrote a fic where cardan meets Jude when she first arrives in Elfhame and they’re like bffs

Aw, thank you so for requesting. I am sorry this took so long! I wasn't sure what Jude and Cardan being friends would look like and I'm still not sure if this is good enough so I'm sorry if it turned out bad eep!

Twilight Love

Paring: Jude × Cardan

Warnings/Genre: Fluff

Words:

Summary: Jude looks back on her first revel in faerieland and the day she befriended the youngest son of the High King of Elfhame.

Jude Duarte was a child of faerie, no matter what the shape of her ears or her mortal lifespan may suggest. She was seven when she had been brought to Elfhame by Madoc, the murderer of her parents and with each day she had spent here, the memories of the mortal world had become more and more distant inside her head until that world became as alien to her as it would to a faerie.

Sometimes, Jude hated herself for forgetting that world, for forgetting how her parents looked like. She did not love her parents any less but she had been raised under Madoc's supervision, had grown to seek his favour. For his part, her father (because what else could she call him?) had never held his wife's betrayal against her mortal daughters. If anything, he had loved them as he would love his trueborn and had treated them no less too.

"What are you thinking, darling Jude?" Cardan's voice was soft, smooth from where he lay beside her in the grass.

She twisted to face him, lying inches away from her, his crow black eyes trained on Jude's face. She fumbled with her words—they had never been her strong suit, unlike her best friend Cardan who could probably charm anyone with a few well phrased words. He waited patiently for Jude to speak, attentive as ever.

Jude finally said, "Do you think it makes me a bad daughter that I find it easy to love my parents' murderer?"

Cardan fell silent for long enough that Jude thought maybe he had fallen asleep, then: "Only you can decide that, Jude. Madoc loves in his own way. He has raised you beside the other kids of Gentry, never made you feel lesser than our kind. He has given you tools that would help you belong in this world. Madoc has been a better father to you than my true father ever was to me." There was a bitter smile on his face, gone as soon as it had come and she squeezed his hand, grateful for that first ball in faerie where she had found him hiding underneath the tables.

It had been the first revel they had attended and Oriana had given me and Taryn a long speech about being cautious. The twins had first spied on others from the hidden alcoves, giggling amongst themselves at the strange things the faeries did, the way they dressed.

That was until Taryn had disappeared into the crowd and Jude was left on her own. She had decided to check for Taryn under the table but had met a crying faerie child instead.

He was beautiful in ways only a faerie could be beautiful with sharp cheekbones and a pointed jawline. He sniffed, "My mother is gone and I can not find her."

She looked behind her to make sure he was not talking to anyone else. When she was sure he was talking to her, she lifted the tablecloth, slipping inside herself. "My mother is gone too," she had said.

"And? When will she be back?" The boy asked, pushing midnight black curls out of his face.

Jude had pressed her lips. Should she be talking to a stranger faerie? She knew Oriana would not be pleased but she had never cared much for the Faerie woman anyway. She answered in a small voice, "She will not be back but I can help you search for your mom."

The boy furrowed his brows, then wiped his cheeks, smearing the golden paint all over his face. He said, "You may call me Cardan. Should we look in the hedge maze outside?" She had nodded and they had run off, two kids wreaking havoc outside. There was only so much punishment a guard could give to a prince though and his mother was nowhere to be found.

That night, Madoc had found Jude passed out on the soft grass beside the youngest of Eldred's sons, smiles on both their faces. Now, ten years later, they lay in the same spot from that first night, the moonlight lighting up Cardan's features. He had become Jude's shield in her time here, had punished anyone who berated his friend, had protected her from mean pranks played by the other children at school. Even now, a few days before Prince Dain's coronation, he was the only thing that kept the rude insults at bay and never treated her less, never made her feel weak.

"Thank you," Jude told him, even though thank you was a mortal phrase, considered rude in faerie.

He lifted his chin to look at her, a groomed eyebrow raised. "What for?"

"For being my friend when no one else would," Jude answered with a smile, resting her head against Cardan's chest.

She could have sworn it was beating faster than usual. He smiled in answer, not his usual smile filled with insolence, the arrogant facade he put up in front of courtly advisors and other courtiers. It was a smile reserved only for her, for quiet moments like these when they were all alone, save for the moon that watched over them and the stars that twinkled brightly overhead.

"Do not thank me, Jude. You are everything to me," He promised.

She would have thought that unbelievable, would have accused him of lying because he was a prince of Elfhame and she was a plain, mortal girl. But Jude knew Cardan could not lie. If he had said it, it had to be the truth or it would never have left his lips.

Thus, with equal earnestness and honesty, Jude replied in a soft tone, "You are my everything too."

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Tags:

@judexcardanxgreenbriar

@thesirenwashere

@nite0wl29

@queenofgreenbriar

@jurdanhell

@mysweetvilllain

@clockworkgraystairs

@blog-lady-vi

@the-dark-swan

@faerielauren

@fangirltrash74

@pansexualharrypotternerd (this one's spoiler free if you'd like to read)

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writinglionqueen · 4 years

Text

Softer and Softer

@lilred91 said: So one of your drabble requests gave me a idea. But what about one where reader is new to WWE and Drew overhears some of the people picking on her and or talking bad about her. Either reader and Drew are already together and no one knows, like if they are together he confronts her why she kept it from him. And if they aren't together he maybe gets up and goes over to defend her and walks out with her??

~Thank you for being patient, lovely. I’ve had a hectic couple of days. I don’t do a bunch of requests other than the blurbs for My King but....this idea can play off of Soft~

You’ve heard all the whispers, heard all the jokes and jabs, heard everything about you being homegrown talent rather than making a name for yourself in this industry.

It was true. Hunter saw something in you, something he liked. Everybody else may call it star power. He called it “potential.”

And that potential pushed you to do everything you could to learn the craft of wrestling. Of doing your best at everything even if it meant putting in more effort that you originally thought it would. But you did it. You pushed through NXT with flying colors. You were cutting promo like no one’s business. You were doing moves you’ve only dreamed about doing.

Maybe wrestling hadn’t been your life long dream like a lot of your peers, but it has became your recent passion, one you were ready to see to fruition. Especially now that you were a few months into being called up onto the main roster. Hunter was full of pride on your final, tearful night of NXT. He hugged you and told you how much potential you had for the RAW roster and how he couldn’t wait to see what was going to become of you. How he was going to see you be the wrestler he saw in you from day one.

Your first match was incredible and the pop you received from the crowd was something you could only dream about. You had the upgrade of your life...but...even good things came with the bad.

Some of the other talent, especially those who moved up with you talked about you behind your back. You felt like the butt of a joke...one everyone else laughs at but you couldn’t understand it. The talent that moved up with you didn’t like you were homegrown. The other talent came from the indies before going to NXT. They made names for themselves....but you. You could hear them make fun of your style...of how insignificant your name meant in the industry.

It hurt. It really did. It was worse when they said it to your face though. Especially when you’ve been trying to make friends and hang out with the new and old RAW talent.

“Wish I was Hunter’s favorite and got his special treatment,” one said, with snark in her voice. You looked to her and her friend. You remembered them from NXT...they were like this then too. They didn’t like that Hunter had chosen you as his special project to become a new upstart from nothing. They didn’t like your success...but....were they right? Was it really success when you were just one of the boss’s favorites?

“You don’t belong here with the real talent,” her friend said, “with the biggest names of the industry.” You tensed at that, practically feeling the venom in her words.

“I worked hard to get here,” you argued quietly. “I have been since the day I signed up for this.” The two scoffed and you tried not to flinch.

“You worked hard?” the first one asked. “You were handed a spot on this roster just like you were handed a spot in NXT. You never worked for this a day in your life.” You knew it was untrue. The bumps and bruises you suffered for to get this spot has said other wise. But...were you just handed these opportunities? No. No way. Not after what you’ve gone through, the amount of change you did to be a wrestler.

“That’s not true,” you argued.

“Is it?” the other asked. “What makes you think you’re even good enough to be here?”

“What makes you think you’re so special?” the first countered. You wanted to say something -anything- to get them to stop. But you feel your walls crumbling, your heart sinking and everything felt like it was going wrong.

That was until a person caught your attention, but not just anyone. It was your Mixed Match partner and he didn’t look too happy.

“I know you two aren’t haggling another person about deserving their place here,” Drew said from behind them.

The two girls jumped and looked panicked as they turned to the scowling Scotsman. Both of them belted out quick and scared no’s as they rose their hands in defense. Drew’s intense, grey eyes looked to you before looking to the two girls in front of him.

“Because the way I see it, real wrestlers don’t make the cut if they’re going to be jealous about one of their peer’s success versus their own.” The two remained silent as Drew’s tone deepened. “The paths that got us here are different. But everyone got here with hard work. Now, if you two want to keep the jobs you have, you’d better leave her alone and be thankful you’re here as well. Unlike you two jobbers, she’s on the Mixed Match challenge with me.” You could see the tremors of the two girls who stood between you and Drew. They were afraid. Even more so that Drew’s tone was way more dangerous. Even you felt scared. “Now run along and don’t you ever mess with her again.”

The two girls scurried off and you watched them leave, fully aware that Drew’s full attention was on you now.

“How long has that been going on, princess?” Drew asked you. His voice was a lot softer than when he spoke to the girls. It made you want to melt.

“Since we were in NXT together,” you admitted, quietly. “Since...it was found out Hunter offered my spot there because he said he saw potential in me.” You turned to look at the soft expression of Drew. “I never went to the Indies....never made a name for myself other than the WWE. Hell...this wasn’t a dream of mine until I got to NXT.” You looked to your boots with a frown as their words played in your head. “Maybe I was handed everything and didn’t work for it.” Drew reached for you, his large hand pressed against your back as he pulled you into his chest, holding you.

“No, I’ve seen your progress, little one,” he said to you. You said nothing as your curled in on yourself, allowing your Mixed Match partner to hold you softly, to speak to you softly, to touch you softly. “I’ve seen the way you’ve changed. I saw who you were when you first started in NXT...the shy new girl who had no idea what she was getting herself into...and I’ve watched whom you’ve become now. You’ve worked so hard and look at where you are now.”

He pulled away to look down into your eyes and you looked up at him.

“You’re about to main event RAW, the two of us have been undefeated in Mixed Match, hell....little one...you’ve earned my respect after how much we used to hate each other.”

You giggled at that, trying to fight back tears because your partner, Drew McIntyre, was singing your praises.

“Don’t let the likes of those two....or any other wrestler here, for that matter, bring you down and say how much you’re not a real wrestler because the path you took was different. Some people are in the same boat as you; Roman, Charlotte, Alexa, Naomi....all of them are homegrown as well.”

“I’m not like them though,” you murmured, wiping away a stray tear that broke the well. Drew gave you a soft smile. Softer than the ones he’s ever given you before....even after the Nikki fiasco.

“But you will be...someday,” he said to you, voice dropping to a softer tone. You gave him a smile before you crashed into his torso again, hugging him for a change. He chuckled as he allowed it.

“You’re getting softer and softer every day,” you said into his chest. Drew let out a quick laugh.

“Yeah....but I got a reason to be, because my partner needs me to be,” he said, quietly. You smiled. All you wanted to do was be wallowed up in his warm embrace and stay that way for a long, long time.

You liked this side of Drew;

This softer side he reserved...only for you.

Tag: @adriennegabriella @alwaysbenhardysgirl @amariemoore @andie01 @annoyingasian @artemisapalla316 @aspiringhorrorfilmmaker @balorstrowmanblackmurphy @baronsbelleevangeline @biforbecky2belts @blackmoonrising @burning-coco @calicina @calwitch @claymoreme @darlingambrose @dcnmarvelgamergeek @demonqueen29 @desstehhnee @drewmcintyreinarefereeoutfit @fireyegale @fivefootxo @flawlessglamazon @haharollins @hardcoresweet45 @homeorbust @i-have-saracasm @itsicantbelievethis666 @kalliravenne @king-drew-mcintyre @lilred91 @littledeadrottinghood @littlesuperstar @lolorockstar101boom @madamaholmes @madebypointlesswerewolves @meishaabae @meremaidqueen @moxleysbaby @moxley-unhinged @mox-made-me-do-it @moxtiel @neversatisfiedgirl @new-zealand-chic @nicolewoo @nothinginlifebutgreif @number1120 @ofbeornandbjorn @psychic-angus @queenofthearchitect @reigns420 @rollinsreginssupreme @rollynch-roman-empire @sassymox @sassyspacedust @savemeroman @scuzmunkie @shieldgirl18 @slytherinyourrpants @snowtroopergirl @softmoxymuffin @superrezzy00 @svnflowrs @taryn-dibiase @thatpanpal @the-beastslayers-queen @thehoundsofjustice @thewrestlingwarehouse @theworldofotps @trashofambrolleigns @twistedbeautifully @undeadspazzattack @unprettypeony @voidstrugh @wrestlersownmyheart @writing-reigns @writtingrose @xbreezymeadowsx @xladyxfatex @xprincessofthefallenangels @yaint-me @youcantreignonmyparade

#drew mcintyre #drew mcintyre x reader #such mass #he has gone soft

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pintofteaforthesoul · 4 years

Text

Seven Minutes in Heaven- Jurdan fluff

Hey guys, just a short thing that was stuck in my head. Hope you like it. Since it’s not part of a series, just thought I would tag some people from my other Jurdan content. Hope you don’t mind.

@highqueenofelfhame @starseternalnighttriumphant @andromeddea, @landofpetrichor, @ladyof-starlight, @cute898, @cardans-tail, @nitrot150, @outofstyles13, @wickedqueenoffantasy, @afexiss, @gently-say-aha, @ashlightgrayson, @gamer670

~~~

Jude was surprised to receive the text message inviting her to the party- from Nicasia of all people.

The two didn’t get along on the best of days, with Jude being the captain of the fencing team and Nicasia the head cheerleader the two hardly ever spoke, but when they did it never ended well.

Jude walked into her sister’s room holding up her phone. “Did you get the invite?”

Taryn glanced up from some craft she was making a mess of on her bed. The twin face to Jude, her delicate eyebrow rose. “What invite?”

Jude slumped into Taryn’s desk chair, spinning in it to seem nonchalant. “Nicasia is having some party at her house and she invited me.”

Taryn’s mouth popped open. “But she hates you after what happened with Cardan.”

Jude sighed. “How many times do I have to say that nothing happened with Cardan! We’re friends now, that’s all.” It was a small fib, one that had led Cardan to break it off with Nicasia several months ago, but Jude was sticking to it. She and Cardan weren’t healthy together, an explosion waiting to happen.

Taryn merely rolled her eyes. “Whatever. So why do you think she invited you? Are you going to go?”

Jude shrugged one shoulder, non-committal. “I don’t know. Perhaps it’d be worth it to make things better with her.” She gnawed on her lip. The not knowing didn’t sit well with Jude at all. She liked being in control.

Taryn sat up on her knees. “Well I think you should go.” Jude shot her a look that Taryn waved away. “You’re always so on edge, maybe this will relax you.”

Jude sighed, standing back up. “You’re right, as usual. Fine, I’ll go. But only if you go with me.” At that, Taryn grinned. She was more than willing to party.

~~~

Nicasia lived on an estate outside town that was within spitting distance of the ocean. When Jude and Taryn arrived, they spent a solid three minutes just taking in the monstrosity. Three floors, bulky columns, balconies, windows, it was all endless- and white.

They strolled up the long brick drive to the door and knocked. Only a moment passed before it opened, revealing a handsomely dressed man with a stern face. Jude shot a glance at Taryn before saying, “We were invited by Nicasia…”

The man’s back straightened and he began to speak in posh voice, “Yes, of course, the party.” He said the word as if he were unfamiliar with the term. He stepped aside, allowing them in. When the door was shut behind them, he continued, “If you’d follow me, please.” Jude shook out of the reverie she’d found herself in at the downright grandiose foyer they’d walked into. Taryn, who’d been paying attention, pulled her along after the butler- whose nose curled at the sight of awe on Jude’s face.

They were led through rooms, each displaying a staggering show of wealth, until finally they heard music and laughter. Jude found herself wanting to stop, to turn back. A wrench in her gut told her that something… was going to happen tonight that we she wasn’t going to be prepared for.

The light was dim in the sitting room they came to, but that was the only thing dim about it. There was a stereo off to the side blasting a song with heavy bass and not much else going for it. Draped around the room were people- Nicasia’s friends to be more exact.

The laughter halted when they were spotted, the lithe girl with pale skin and blue hair jumping up to greet them. She had a bottle of raspberry vodka in one hand and Whipped Cream vodka in the other. “Jude! You made it!” Nicasia’s words were lightly slurred and her eyes widened a smidge as she took in Taryn, obviously at war with herself on if she were seeing double. But then a smile sprung over her face and she said, “This must be Taryn!”

Taryn gave a small awkward nod in response, eyeing both of the bottles of liquor that were nearly empty. Jude was studying one figure on the other side of the room, not paying attention to the conversation at all.

Cardan, Her heart dropped to her toes. What was he doing there? Jude had to fight from groaning. This would complicate things. Cardan’s eyes were sharp though his posture was anything but- except Jude knew him well enough to notice every muscle in his body tense. He hadn’t expected to see her hear either.

And that’s when it hit her, Jude glanced to Nicasia whose smile was glittered with gold and eyes sparkling with deceit. She’d been set up.

“Come on over!” Nicasia dragged their arms, giving no choice of defense. They had pillows laid out against the floor, and thankfully both spots next to Cardan were occupied. Jude tried to ease the tension in her body in order to sit down, and gladly took the vodka bottle Nicasia shoved into her hands. Smile still there, she continued. “We were just playing Cards Against Humanity.”

Jude remained mute, taking a long swig, but thankfully Taryn jumped in to say, “Sounds fun! We’ll join in.”

Jude watched the sparkle glimmer in Nicasia’s eye as the girl didn’t look away. “Actually, I was hoping to start another game. Now that we have more girls.”

Jude gnawed her inner lip. “Like what?”

That grin only grew. “Seven minutes in Heaven.”

The energy in the room chilled several degrees. Locke, who looked positively wasted in the corner, cocked one eye open. “Why that game?”

Nicasia shrugged in nonchalance, finally taking her eyes off Jude. “It’s a fun game.”

Valerian, a real asshole, piped up, “And how do we choose partners for this little game, Nicki?” Jude raised an eyebrow at the nickname, but no one else batted an eye.

Nicasia bit her lip as if she had to think about it. “Why don’t we draw lots? Or spin the bottle?”

Cardan snorted. “Spin the bottle is for children, Nicasia.”

Her grin turned feral. “Then you pick an idea if you’re so clever, Cardan.” But he merely shrugged and repositioned himself on the pillow. A half-empty whisky bottle was in his lap, the top off.

Taryn, ever the people-pleaser, suggested, “We could do rock paper scissors? Whoever does the same move is paired together.”

Nicasia grinned. “A brilliant idea! Come on, let’s do it.” They all groaned but scooched closer. “On three, okay?” They murmured ascent and Jude’s heart began to beat faster. She begged whatever higher power that existed not to put her with Cardan. Even being stuck in a closet with Valerian would be better than that.

Locke looked dubious as he asked, “What if two girls get matched together?”

Nicasia rolled her eyes. “Then we’ll do it again! Okay. One. Two. THREE!” They all smacked their palms and drew, Jude so frightened she was holding her breath.

When the room had quieted, she glanced around the circle with eager eyes.

Valerian. Rock.

Locke. Scissors.

Taryn. Scissors.

Nicasia. Paper.

Cardan. Paper.

Jude almost breathed a sigh of relief, until she heard the small gasp and looked down at her hands. She’d actually forgotten which one she’d picked.

Jude. Paper.

Valerian immediately burst out, “Well that’s not fair! I didn’t get anyone!”

Nicasia looked between Jude and Cardan with a frown, but Jude was too busy looking at her own traitorous hand. She tried to play it off, smoothing back her hair. “Well that’s fine, I’ll just-”

“No.” Cardan started, the first words he’d said in a while. “I pick Jude. Nicasia, you go with Valerian.” Jude’s head whipped up, her eyes wide as she regarded him.

Nicasia turned purple. “But that’s not the rules!”

Cardan barely flicked her a glance as he stood, opening his hand out to Jude. Feeling utterly numb, she took it. Cardan helped her stand and as they walked away- Jude not quite sure where they’re going- he called over his shoulder, “Turn on the timer, will you?” After a beat, he smiled and murmured, “Or don’t.”

Cardan leads her through another set of rooms until he reaches a door and holds it open. Jude’s feet freeze in place, seeing the small coat closet- that was still too large to be a regular closet but much smaller than any room Jude wanted to be stuck in with Cardan.

“After you.” He said, voice deadpan, as he looked at something under his nails. Jude shuffled into the closet, cheeks burning. She squeezed into a corner, making sure they didn’t touch as Cardan followed her. The door shut and they were thrust into darkness.

After a tense minute of silence, Cardan purred. “You know, this is more fun if we touch each other.”

Jude squirmed, staring at the floor despite not being able to see anything. “I don’t wanna start anything, Cardan, what happened with us was a one-time thing.” She heard Cardan move closer, every hair on her skin standing up straight as the heat from his skin surrounded her.

Jude felt him lean closer until his soft voice was in her ear, “Are you telling me you didn’t enjoy it?” There was an edge to the words that Jude would label as concern if it were anyone else. But this is Cardan. He didn’t do concern.

“No! I mean…” Jude fidgeted, not with much less space than before. “You and Nicasia-”

“-are over.” Cardan finished for her. His fingers brushed her chin and made her look up. “I chose you, Jude. Not Nicasia. You’ve known this for months yet you still don’t believe me. Why?”

Jude bit her cheek. “I don’t want to start drama. Nicasia has a lot of influence at school, she’s friends with practically everyone. She could make life difficult for me. It’s not worth it. We’re not worth it.”

There was a whisper of Cardan’s lips against Jude’s cheek that made her tremble. “You don’t believe that.” Jude didn’t know how to reply, her breath stolen as Cardan ran a pointed nail down her bare arm. He pressed a soft kiss to the corner of her mouth and Jude couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her mouth. She could feel Cardan’s grin against her skin. “I think you’re scared.”

He drew back a breath and Jude felt immediately cold. Her chest was rising and falling at the speed of light and she had to fight her voice from trembling to say, “I’m not scared.”

Cardan leaned in just enough for their noses to barely touch. “Then admit it.”

Jude caught her breath, evening her tone. “Admit what?”

Cardan chuckled, a low rumble of his chest. “That you love me.”

Jude cringed back. “I- I- I don’t!”

Cardan sighed, relaxing his forearms against the wall on either side of Jude’s head. With her eyes slowly adjusting to the dark, she could see the dark gleam of his eyes. His voice was rough when he spoke. “I’ve known you for years Jude.” He let the silence hang between them. “I know how much you love animals- that your biggest dream is to be vet. I know how much you were bullied as a child because you were new and different. I remember the fierce look on your face when you punched someone for the first time and learned just how strong you really are. I know the passion that drives you, Jude, because the same passion drives me.” Jude felt her heart bursting in her chest as part of Cardan’s weight leaned into her. He buried his face in her neck, hot breath against her skin. “And most of all. I know when you’re lying.”

“Cardan…” Jude breathed.

Cardan rested his forehead on hers, eyes on Jude’s. “Please.”

The moment stretched endlessly as Jude’s mind tumbled over itself, at war with what to do- what to admit. But Cardan was right- he did know her, better than anyone else. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth to say, “O-”

Suddenly the door opened and light flooded the space between them, making Cardan jump back in a recoil. Jude furiously blinked. “Your time’s up.” Nicasia’s irritated voice broke the silence. Jude opened her eyes to see an equally as irritated expression and flushed crimson. Thankfully, Nicasia’s murderous gaze was trained on Cardan. Nicasia sneered, “Hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

Cardan growled. “Yes, actually, you did.”

Nicasia half-attempted an innocent and shocked expression. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.” She lilted the words an octave above her usual tone.

“You’re such a bitch, Nicasia.” Cardan said, hands curled at his sides.

Nicasia crossed her arms, head tilted mockingly to the side. “Is that right? At least I’m not a cheater.”

Cardan grimaced but held his ground. “We were taking a break, something you requested.”

Nicasia gasped. “I would never have done that if I’d known you’d run off with this wannabe-jock slut!” She shouted the words and Jude felt them each as a blow.

Without another word, Jude pushed past Nicasia. She hurried to the other room, her eyes searching until they found Taryn- lounging up to Locke. Jude crossed the room in two steps. “Come on, we’re leaving.” Her voice was hard to keep the tears at bay.

Taryn looked up at her with eyes that were half-focused. She gave a pout. “But I haven’t gotten to take my round with Locke!”

Jude grabbed her arm and hauled her up. “I said we’re leaving. Let’s go.” Jude could vaguely hear Cardan and Nicasia still shouting in the other room and she knew she couldn’t stay for another moment.

Taryn’s pout turned to a frown. “Alright, I’m coming.” Jude barely waited for her to finish the sentence before pulling her back through the labyrinth of rooms to the front door. Ever attentive, the Butler awaited to open the door for them. Jude rushed through it, lugging Taryn behind her.

They’d nearly made it to the car when Jude heard Cardan shout, “Jude! Wait!”

But Jude didn’t wait. She shoved Taryn into the passenger seat before jumping into the driver’s side. Jude spotted Cardan hauling ass, but the driveway was long. She turned the car over, and as quickly as they had arrived- they were gone.

~~~

Sneaking back in with a drunk Taryn proved an issue, but ultimately Jude was able to return her sister to her rightful bed and crawl into her own.

When the nighttime silence descended on her once more, Jude couldn’t hold the tears back any longer. She curled around her pillow, trying to keep as silent as possible as the sobs wracked her body. She’d been a fool. A goddamn fool. Never again.

#jude duarte #cardan greenbriar #jude x cardan #jurdan #fluff #fanfic #tfota #twk #tcp #highschool au

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