This Conspiracy

Chapter 23

Author stuff: Want to make a friend with a girl? Offer her a hair tie. No seriously. It works every single time.

Trigger warning for the chapter. A brief mention of killing animals right at the start.

Chapter 23

In Which The Girlies Form A Bond

Flossy didn't see the Greenie until lunch that afternoon. She looked a bit peaky after having spent her morning in the Blood House.

"How's your morning so far?" she said tentatively, taking a bite of a mixed green salad that Frypan and Graham had put together specifically for her.

"Do they normally start y'all off with killing animals?" the Greenie said. She hadn't even touched the sandwich in front of her. Gally looked close to swiping it off her plate.

"Winston had you doing that already?" Archie said, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. "At least he waited until after lunch for us."

"You did say a few mean things to him yesterday," Flossy said. "It's probably just him messing with you."

"I don't know," Gally said. Flossy knew he wasn't happy to be sitting near the Greenie, but he stuck still around. She wasn't sure if she should be annoyed or endeared by it. Probably both. "It takes quite a bit to get him upset enough to get revenge that way. What'd you say to him?"

"I have no idea," the Greenie said, rubbing her temples. "I said a lot of things to a lot of people. I don't even remember half the night. What even happened?"

"You beat Chris in a wrestling match," Archie said.

"He's not too happy with that," Flossy said under her breath. Chris had been moping about the Gardens all morning. No one wanted to work around him, and he seemed to be making the plants wilt just by his proximity. She was sure that, before the day was over, Zart would dismiss him to be miserable elsewhere. Like the Deadheads.

"Chris isn't exactly the strongest shank in the Glade," Gally said. "Even Flossy could beat him."

"Gee, thanks."

"He'd actually let Flossy win," Archie said, pointing out the obvious. "Doesn't want to hurt her."

"And I think she could win all on her own," Gally said. "She has enough know how."

"What, you've been teaching her or something?"

"A couple of lessons on self-defense, yeah."

Flossy tried not to blush at the memories of those lessons. They'd only had a couple of spare moments where he could teach her some self defense. She could still recall the press of Gally's chest to her back as he molded her poses to better defend herself, and the way his hands would gently maneuver her arms and legs. He'd also taught her ways to quickly escape – weak points every boy had and how to break noses, if necessary.

She really, really wished that she hadn't had a crush on him. It would have made it all easier. He wouldn't have to correct her as often. But she couldn't help it. The warmth and gentleness that he only showed her would make anyone in their right state of mind slowly start to feel a fluttering in their stomach.

She'd, thankfully, hadn't needed the lessons outside of the one incident with Ash, and she hadn't needed them since. She wondered if he'd extend the same graces to the Greenie, but she didn't think he would. They didn't exactly start off on the best foot, and she didn't even dare to hope that they would progress much beyond pleasantries in her presence.

"Don't think you'll need them though," Gally said, eyeing the Greenie. "You can keep them away all by yourself."

Flossy kicked his leg for those harsh words– true as they were – though he didn't even flinch and simply went back to eating as if nothing had happened. The Greenie didn't seem to notice either.