How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)

Blue-Raspberry Warning Signs

A/N- WOW ME? UPDATING THIS FIC? UNHEARD OF/hj

So funny story: I had absolutely no desire to actually continue this fic until one day, my good friend Elijah bullied me until I promised to write another chapter. He's my biggest fan guys he made me write this/LH

In all honestly though I'm vv happy to finally be continuing this!!! I have a few more ideas for how I want the plot to go, so we'll see where it ends up (it'll prob just be up to 10-15 chapters!) For anyone who still happens to read this fic, tysm for reading and waiting two years for me to update SHDKJDJDLKJ

Hope you enjoy this chapter my loves !! your support is much appreciated <333

"You cannot leave and have me too. I cannot exist in two places at once."

— Rupi Kaur

___

One Year Ago

In hindsight, Kara should've known this was a bad idea.

Going somewhere with Dolores was one thing— one thing that usually led to worse things. Given how Kara and Dolores both caused disasters themselves, combining them only caused a bigger disaster, leaving metaphorical earthquakes in their wake. She could tell the future when it came to Dolores, or even when it came to the Countess. Going anywhere with them was predictable, catastrophic.

But going somewhere with Dolores and her friends? That, Kara had never done before, and for that reason, had never known whether that could lead to bad things, too. Yet here she was, sitting in the back of a van, squished in between Dolores and her friends as they drove through the streets. The sky had fizzled into a dazzling sunset, casting the last of its rays on the city buildings. Nighttime laid out before them like an unspoken promise, filled with adventures yet to come.

She'd never hung out around Dolores's gang before, nor had she ridden in their van before. Dolores didn't own a car. The Countess tried teaching her to drive when she was younger, but that'd only ended in screaming (and a short trip to the police station). Whenever Kara was old enough to drive, she'd rather throw herself in a boiling lake of lava over getting a driving lesson from the Countess.

Assuming her aunt let her drive at all.

Outside their apartment building, a man Kara didn't recognize had rolled up, introducing himself right away. "Hello, Dolores's little friend! My name is Gustav Bartholomew Glen." He had an accent that Kara couldn't quite place. "And you are?"

Dolores rolled her eyes with enough distain to rival her mother. "You know who I am, Gustav."

Gustav released a laugh, deep and low. His eyes turned to Kara. "Actually, I was talking to the kid."

"Oh." Dolores's narrowed eyes shifted to Kara. "She's no one. I found her in the street."

Kara frowned. Why was she lying? "But I'm your—"

"Shh," her cousin hissed. "I don't want to be associated with you."

Ah, this was about her being embarrassed. That made more sense. Kara would let Dolores have this one. For now. She just wasn't sure why Dolores was so embarrassed to be seen with her — usually it was the Countess who made that speech, not the other way around. Still, she understood. It was like how Kara tried not to bring her friends home . . . assuming she had been in a place long enough to make some. Her aunt and cousin would scare Kara's friends away more than she did herself, so maybe Dolores was thinking along the same lines.

"I'm Kara." Kara turned to grin back up at Gustav. "So, you're apart of Dolores's gang? After hearing about it I'm interested to see what you guys do! And how did you all meet? And—"