[COMPLETED] Poppies and Roses: A Flower Husbands Fanfiction

Chapter 9 - Secrets

I hadn't wanted to be alone at home, so Joel let me stay in his house at the Fairy Fort.

When I have nightmares that night, my first thought is to go to Scott's house, but then I remember that Scott's gone. So instead, I go to the gate of the Fairy Fort and look at the stars.

"Can't sleep?" I jump and hear someone laugh behind me. I turn around and glare at Scar, but there's no real heat behind it. "Sorry," he says, grinning, before coming to stand beside me.

"I had some nightmares, so I thought I'd get some air," I say. Scar nods. "I'm really sorry about Scott."

I don't respond, not trusting myself to speak. The two of just stand there for a few minutes before Scar breaks the silence. "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Of course," I say, wondering what he could possibly want to talk to me about. "You have to promise not to tell anyone though." I raise an eyebrow as I glance over at him. "I promise it's nothing dangerous," Scar adds quickly. "It's just, well, I kind of have a crush on Grian."

It doesn't surprise me all that much. Scar's constantly asking Grian to spend time with him.

"I'm worried he doesn't like me back though."

"Why not?" I ask. Scar shrugs. "I don't know, he just always seems annoyed whenever I ask him to hang out with me or when I compliment him."

I look up at the stars as I respond. "Y'know, people sometimes have funny ways of showing they care about someone. Maybe that's Grian's way of showing he cares. He seems to enjoy hanging out with you, even if he acts annoyed at first."

"You really think so?" I look at Scar and seeing how hopeful he looks makes me feel better and more upset at the same time. On the one hand, it's really cute seeing how much he cares for Grian. On the other hand, it makes me miss Scott even more. I wish I could tell Scott how much I care about him.

"Why don't you mention it to him?" I say. "Not the whole having a crush on him bit, but just ask if he likes hanging out with you. Sometimes the best thing to do is just ask."

"Ok, I'll do that," Scar replies, smiling. "Thanks Jimmy." I smile back. "Anytime." Then I'm yawning. I hadn't even noticed how tired I was. "We should head to bed," I say. Scar nods, and heads back to his house. I take one last look at the stars and make a silent wish that everything will be ok. Then I go back to Joel's house and fall fast asleep.

The next morning, we start planning again. Even though Grian, Scar, and Bdubs aren't technically part of the meetings, they like to stay close by so they can listen in.

We're making a lot of progress on the plan when Joel interjects. "Sorry to interrupt," he says, "but I've been thinking about how weird all of this is."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asks. Joel waits a moment before answering. "What are the chances that those men just happened upon Scott and Jimmy? From what Jimmy said, they were already prepared to catch them. But they couldn't have known just from looking at them that they were unnaturals."

"So what you're saying is that someone told them?" Ren says. Joel nods. "Exactly. I think someone here told them."

Everyone is staring at Joel now. "Who would've told them?" Cleo asks. "I don't know, but I have my suspicions," Joel says, before glaring at Pearl.

Pearl takes a step back. "Why do you think it's me?" she asks, defensively. "You're always disappearing into the forest," Joel shoots back. Grian steps in front of Pearl. "Don't you accuse my sister of being a traitor!" he yells. Pearl sets a hand on his shoulder. "It's fine Gri, I can handle myself," she says, but Grian ignores her.

Cleo gives Joel a death glare. "Maybe it's you, since you seem so ready to accuse Pearl," she growls. Lizzie grabs Joel's hand. "Joel would never betray us," she snaps. "How do we know it's not you?" Both of them glare at each other. Scar and Bdubs both rush to their mother's defense. "Mom isn't a traitor!" Scar yells at the exact same time Bdubs shouts "Leave her alone!"

I cover my ears as everyone starts shouting accusations at each other, and suddenly I yell, "WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP?" Even I'm a little shocked at my raised voice. Everyone just looks at me, frozen in their positions.

"We have no evidence of there being a traitor!" I say. "And I can't believe you're all acting like this when Scott is-" My breathing hitches, and I look away, taking calming breaths to hold the tears at bay. Somebody grabs my hand. I turn and see Scar giving me a smile that's both apologetic and comforting.

When I look up, everyone's avoiding my gaze. Everyone except Lizzie. She's looking at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry Jimmy," she whispers. "That was stupid of us." She takes a breath before continuing, now speaking to everyone. "We'll continue coming up with a plan. And from now on, no talking about traitors at the meetings. We can't afford to waste any time."

But as we continue planning, I can't help but wonder of Joel's right, if there really is a traitor among our group. Maybe someone here is responsible for what happened to Scott. I hate thinking about it, because I've grown so close to everyone here. I really don't want any of them to be a traitor. And I don't know what I'll do if one of them is.