forced | d.m.

29.unsure

April '01 | H E R

Althea doesn't know that much about Rhode.

She's come to that realisation as they sit in a café in London, two cappuccinos between the two. Rhode always manages to swerve the direction of conversation, making it all about Althea.

What she does know is Rhode went to Ilvermorny, obviously, but she doesn't know what state she grew up in. Her accent doesn't reveal anything, as far as Althea's knowledge allows.

She knows Rhode enjoys material things, which is where both of them find a common ground, especially in regards of fashion.

Green eyes lift to meet Althea's. "I know I'm a work of art, babes, but another minute of your intense stare and I'll start to take money."

Seventy percent sure that she's joking, Althea lets her smile roll free. "What house were you in?"

"In Ilvermorny?" Rhode stirs the spoon in her coffee. "Thunderbird."

"Your birthday?"

"May seventh," she replies, lips pursing with suspicion as her arms fold on the table. "What is this, Lia? Twenty one questions about my life?"

"Something like that." Althea mirrors the posture. "We always talk about me but I don't know that much about you."

"You know more than most," Rhode smiles. "But if you have questions, shoot, babes. I'm an open book."

Althea taps her finger against her cup thinking of a question. "Any more siblings?"

"Nope. Just those two idiots Flower and Herb." Slowly, she cocks a brow. "You thinking about Basil a lot?"

Thea would spit her coffee out if she had any in her mouth. "No."

"He's your type, no?"

"I'm married." And husband is my type.

"So they say."

Althea ignores it, knowing that Rhode's opinion is affected by the bad parts she gets told since she is the only one who can know. "What about a boyfriend?"

"God, no." Her brows bunch together over the rim of her cup she lifted to her lips. "I'm not mental."

"Ever had one?"

"Lia," setting the cup down, she tilts her head. "Do I look like I can handle more diva than myself?"

Thea snorts. That is not a bad analogy, but... "It's not all that bad."

"How so?" Rhode scrutinizes her with those sharp cat eyes. "Something happened."

"I found something." Ignoring the rise of her heartbeat, Althea leans back in her chair and runs her finger over the moonstone ring on her left hand. "He made this, like, collage book of little drawings I did. I never thought anything of them being gone. At best, I thought he threw them away which didn't really matter but on Wednesday, I found out that he collected them all—and I left them all over the house—and put them together in a thoughtful and nice way. I think I was never supposed to see. A part of me hoped I would have never seen it because at least half of them were drawings of him." She flushing at the mere thought of it. "But that was so... sweet."

Althea doesn't know yet how she wants their relationship to work out. Legally, the ring on her finger confirms one status, but it can go so many ways.

Just because she really wanted it to work out one way, doesn't mean it's the right one for them. Maybe she liked him for what he represented, which is a dream husband in her case.