OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

025. Mmm Gulon Perfume

Her laugh is actually really pretty.

She finds my eyes, tilting her head in curiosity, and I turn my head away, feeling my cheeks flush.

"So then what?" she says, leaning forward. "Did your dad help you get revenge on them?"

"He... tried." I'm not sure where I got the mischief gene, but it definitely didn't come from Dad. "But he blew our cover, and they apparently had gulons?"

She laughs again. "So you came home smelling like..." Rosaleen vaguely waves her hand. "You know, all the gross stuff."

I smirk, catching her eyes. "You want me to describe it?"

She holds my gaze, then looks away, laughing, her cheeks slightly flushed. "Preferably not, actually."

I laugh, breaking my facade. "Yeah. That's probably for the best."

Someone knocks at the door, and the conversation subsides. We glance at each other, and then she gets up to open the door. "Glimmer?" she guesses.

The door opens.

"Just who I was looking for."

Oh. That's, um, that's definitely not Glimmer. Or Jaelynn.

"Rosaleen, we need you for a little mission," Lady Gisela says.

I stand. "What?" I find myself saying.

Rosaleen looks towards me, careful, her eyes warning me. And then she turns back to Lady Gisela. "A mission?" she repeats.

Her voice shakes, just slightly.

I join her at the door. Lady Gisela glances at me for a second.

I'm suddenly aware of how close we're standing, how I'm brushing ever so slightly against her.

And then, and then, I feel something that I haven't felt in months, something I haven't felt since Sophie Foster.

Butterflies.

"It's a simple one," Lady Gisela says. "I just need you to come with Seraph, Alvar, and Trix. They're investigating a new human project tomorrow; you can be their lie detector."

"Their... lie detector," Rosaleen repeats.

"Yes. You'll let them know if the humans are lying, or telling the truth." Lady Gisela exaggerates a pause. "Sound good? Easy enough for you, sweetie?" Her voice is unmistakably impatient now.

Rosaleen breaks eye contact. "Yes," she mumbles. "Sorry."

Lady Gisela hesitates, then says, almost apologetically, "We'll give you more details tomorrow. You'll do fine."

"Okay. Um—thank you," Rosaleen says.

Lady Gisela dips her head and leaves.

There's a silence between us, and then Rosaleen sucks in a breath, sitting down on her chair. "Do you think... we'll be doing anything bad?" she says finally, looking up at me.

I think it over. And then, honestly, I say, "I don't think so. You guys are probably just investigating, and... yeah. It'll be fine, I think."

"Hm." She fiddles with her pen, twirling it around her fingers. "I guess so."

"You guys will be okay," I say. I gently nudge her. "Don't overthink it, because then it'll just seem worse than it is, yeah?"

She lets out a breath. "Yeah." She nods. "Yeah, you're right."

Rosaleen spins in her chair to face me, and I plop onto the edge of her bed. "So," I say, trying to erase the melancholy mood, "you still want a description of gulon stink?"

That takes her off-guard, because she giggles, her eyes lightening. "Sir, I don't quite recall ever wanting it."

I mock-pout. "Oh, come on. Everyone loves the smell of gulons."

She smiles. "Really, now? Do they make gulon cologne, too?"

At this, I grin. "Oh, yes. Ever heard of... Mmm Gulon Perfume?"

She snorts, starting to laugh. "Mmm Gulon Perfume?"

"Yep!" I say, fighting back my own laughter. "'Mmm' because, like, it just smells so scrumptious that you just gotta, you know, 'Mmm.'"

That gets us; she bursts into laughter the same time as I do.

"You're so stupid," she says breathlessly in between laughs, and I manage to meet her eyes as we both die a slow death of laughter.

"Only for you," I promise her, before we both burst into laughter again.

I really hope I'm not falling for this Girl.

"How sweet of you," she manages, through a smile.

"Only for—"

She shoots a look at me and I can't finish my sentence, my words lost to laughter.

Because if I fall, I don't think I'll ever be able to get up again.