brutal | grayson hawthorne

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Magic by One Direction
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Liz totally won Hawthorne Chutes and Ladders, but no one really cared because Eve and Grayson were right behind her, too busy talking to each other.

Standing very close to each other.

But, Liz didn't care - and even if she did the slightest bit, she would've thrown herself off that roof before admitting it.

Besides, as soon as everyone was up - Max and Xander last, because they spent too much time pillow fighting - the group dispersed to leave Eve and Avery to talk to each other.

"What's this I hear about brownies?" Liz is walking to the kitchen anyway as she feels Xander throw an arm around her shoulders, him and Max walking up on either side of her.

"The rumors are true," Liz wraps her arm around Max's waist so the three are walking in a comfortable line.

Liz knows there's something going on between the two - back at the end of summer when Grayson left without saying goodbye and Liz's flight to Venice wasn't for another week, her and Xander spent even more time than usual together, Max along with them.

Maybe it was Liz's recently murdered heart at the time and need to prove to herself that love was real that she then spent her last week at Hawthorne House playing Cupid for her two new favorite members of the Hawthorne and honorary Hawthorne family.

Her attempts were futile in her time there, but something about the way that she can see in her peripheral Xander's long arms reaching to drawing circles on Max's shoulder on the other side of Liz. . .

"There'd better be enough for all of us," Jameson's weight shifts the whole line as he comes up on Xander's other side.

And Liz doesn't even need to turn around to know who's footsteps are trailing right behind them.

"The recipe made enough for the four of us," Liz says, pretending it was easier to ignore Grayson's presence than it actually is.

"Perfect," Liz can hear the grin in Jameson's voice, always one to be down to piss off any of his brothers.

***

The next morning, Liz is grateful she slept over at Hawthorne House - not that anyone would've had anything to say about it anyway - because of course she got a text at an ungodly hour in the morning - 9am - from Avery telling her to meet in the circular library.

By the time she got there, Avery, Jameson, Xander, Grayson, and Eve were already waiting, Avery handing Eve a gold disc.

Liz doesn't know much about the significance of the disc, but it must be something important to see the way everyone tenses when finding whoever took Toby was willingly giving it back, not even asking for a ransom.

"Revenge themed. Cheery," Xander acknowledges the note left with it, and while the group fills Eve in, Liz reels back at what she knows. The fire. Three victims. Three families.

Avery leaves to make a call, so all Liz is left with is seeing Eve take a step closer to Grayson. . . not that she cares.

Avery comes back soon enough, Nash now also involved. Grayson says how he can clear Colin Anders Wright's family - who, through adultery, is related to his own - and Liz hates how Eve seems to hang onto his every word.

They talk about how this kidnapper must have some connection to Tobias Hawthorne with the games and riddles he's making them play, how Nash has granddaddy issues, and how Skye has to be their next move.

Liz stays behind with Xander who doesn't need Rebecca to get caught up in all this in her visit to Hawthorne House.

The plan they come up with - much to Liz's dismay - is that while Xander distracts Rebecca with Liz's brownies, Liz keeps Eve on the other side of the House, preoccupied with 'Life of Trouble' - her own Honorary-Hawthorne Original board game.

"-and if we land on the same spot, then you have to get rid of one of your children," Liz finishes explaining the basics of the game as she motions for Eve to pop the Trouble dice thing first, still deciding what color car she wants to take.

"How do you come up with this kind of stuff?" Liz has found that when not within ten feet of Grayson, Eve can be somewhat tolerable.

"I guess we just got bored of playing the same games over and over again," Liz shrugs off the question as if the moment it was invented isn't ingrained in her mind.

"It's a rite of passage, really," Grayson says as he starts to pile various board games in the center of the room. "You can't be an honorary Hawthorne until you come up with your own Frankenstein of a game."

They were just kids at that point, they didn't know what their lives had in store for them, and Liz's favorite game was Life back then - when her parents were starting to split up and she wished she were anyone but herself.

That's why she started to find herself going over to Hawthorne House even when her dad wasn't there for work. Because stepping into that mansion was like stepping into a new universe where all she had to care about was solving a word game before Jameson did, so she could get bragging rights before the next challenge they had.

So, she selected her two games and played with Grayson until Xander, then Jameson, then Nash all came into the room eventually and the five played until the old man came in to tell them it was time for dinner.

"So. . . what's the deal with you and Grayson?" Eve says after the two girls had playing in silence for the better half of an hour.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Liz tries saying jokingly, but her voice comes out harsher than she intended. Grayson tends to have that affect on her. "And nothing," she answers Eve's question softer. "Definitely nothing."

"Okay, cool," she nods, watching as Liz takes her turn. "Just because, he was talking about you last night-"

"What was he saying?" Liz's voice is nonchalant now, but her mannerisms are anything but. She glares at the card in front of her like she can set it on fire with her mind. And why were you with him last night?

"Just that you two have history, but that's totally long forgotten now."

Long forgotten? It's been less than two months. "Yeah, totally forgotten," Liz confirms even though Eve didn't really ask. "I mean, I don't even remember his middle name anymore, that's how little we even associate with each other."

"Good," Eve nods. "I just wasn't sure if there was some bad blood or anything - and I didn't want him kissing me to make it worse, so. . . but it's good I have nothing to worry about with that."

Liz was doing well pretending that those words had no affect on her, but after a moment of silently watching Eve take her turn, she couldn't stop herself. "He kissed you?"

"Yeah," Eve waves a hand like it's nothing. "But, obviously, I have some other stuff going on right now, so it wasn't anything serious. And he's kinda a bad kisser, so."

"Totally," Liz just lets her mouth move without consulting her brain. It's not like she can really think straight right now anyway. Man-whore.

a/n:
everything has changed - taylor swift