One And Only, Netflix Wednesday

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: WORRIED GLANCES

song of the chapter: bloodstream —astrid s

"Speak like my tongue burns but 

I don't want to weigh your mind"

𓆩♡𓆪

Ivory had a blast showing the academy to her parents, well, mostly her father. Marina Brooks decided then and there to have Xavier stay with them for the time being and the four had been walking around the academy for a few hours now. There was a lot to show and see.

The woman seemed very fond of him, asking him questions and inviting him to stay with them for the weekend, while Ivory had the pleasure of showing off her dorm and much more to her father who seemed easily impressed by the old building. 

Xavier was grateful that Ivory's parents seemed as kind-hearted as the fairy herself. He was worried that he would have to spend the day by himself like evey other year, especially with Bianca surprisingly being swooped away by her mother, who hadn't shown herself at the academy much like his father.

The four were now back at the courtyard where some families gathered to have some snacks for lunch. The school had put up some kind of buffet and it reminded Ivory of an old tradition back in her old school where they would get together to eat on the last day of school before the big break. But this time she felt way more comfortable.

They had seen and met a few families like Enid's and Ajax's and they had also briefly met Yoko's dad, but the girl warned her roommate beforehand that he wasn't pleasant to be around when it came to Normies, so Ivory wasn't dissapointed when she didn't come over with him. 

"To be honest, I was worried they'd be more hostile towards me", Alexandar Brooks spoke up as he looked around the courtyard, his cap back on his head to shield his face. Ivory understood why he would think that, and most probably were, but they weren't going to march up to him and tell him that. Enid's family had been more than welcoming for example.

Marina looked at her husband with a tight lipped smile, inching closer to him as he tightened his arm around her waist and looked down at her. She understood his worries but she knew better than anyone that times change and so do the people.

Ivory and Xavier shared a look at his statement, knowing that he was partially right, but he didn't need to know that. Throughout the day, Ivory managed to squeeze some things out of Xavier, for example why his father never attended any Nevermore events and she pitied her friend. She would never show her pity, but she was making sure that this year would be one Xavier would like to remember, knowing her parents were doing a good job at it.

They were sat around the old fountain, munching on some sandwiches as Alexandar was telling Xavier about his old baseball days, his wife listening with a knowing smile on her lips, but Ivory's mind was somewhere else.

It's been a week since she had last seen Jaesung and in all honesty, she was worried because she hadn't bumped into him even once, she hadn't seen him in any of the classes they shared, nor did he come to the conversatory like he did most of the nights prior to the dance. The only possible explanation was that he was purposefully trying to ignore Ivory and it sent her mind spiralling.

Was he annoyed with her? Did she do anything to upset him? Was the dance too much?

Those were the questions that kept repeating themselves in her mind, making her anxiety flare up. She started playing with the silver bracelet on her wrist absentmindedly, her vision starting to get blurry as she gazed at the crowd.