Reputation: Book One

Qrow

Songs of the chapter:

Unfaithful- Rhianna

If I Were A Boy- Beyoncé

Girls/Girls/Boys- Panic! At The Disco

Six weeks later...

The news came from my sister, Allisendi back in Germany the following Monday after we got home from our little week-long campout mission that had completely backfired. I knew my father would be killed by Hollister's army fleet sooner or later. I figured that the New Guard fleet would eventually find him considering all the outsiding people from beyond the castle walls he just carelessly invited into the castle for every ball we, as the most 'welcoming royals around', hosted fairly often. Autumn and the crew, mainly just Jerzei and the new teenage addition, Talitha, tried their best to comfort me. Every time she brought it up, I told her to dismiss it. I avoided talking about my family, my friends, my loved ones dying. I'd lost my girlfriend, Liz and my own brother in a ten-minute time window. Beat that!

Autumn mustn't understand the pain of having to live with the fact that I killed my own brother not even a month and a half ago. She mustn't care that he shot my girlfriend, killing her on the spot. She probably doesn't know that her stupid stuck-up husband, Adrien, literally despises me. The only ones I had left were the women and well, Tripp. Tripp has been gone for quite a while also; I haven't seen him in nearly fifteen days. I think he felt guilty about it, knowing that it was his heritage at fault for the assassination.

I balled my sheets in my fists and inhaled sharply, dropping back onto my pillows and thinking about how much I truly missed him. I didn't love him. I can't love him. I'm next in line for the heir. I have to find a new girl, I told myself, reciting it in my head like a meditation mantra. I groaned and rolled over onto my side, closing my eyes to try to relax. The vision of Elizabeth's dead body flashed in front of me, making me flinch. I quietly gasp, my eyes flying back open. I couldn't shake that memory. Every time I closed my eyes, tried to sleep, that's all I could see, no matter what I tried. The scene of me violently abusing Finch as he hung upside-down above the floor from the rafters, swaying side to side with my punches and kicks, unable to do anything back. My knife plunging into his groin, slicing him further and further down his midsection until his insides spilled out onto the blood-splotched floor. It sickens me to think of myself that way, the way I thought if never be. But if that's what it takes to defend my new family, that's what I'll do.

Then, as I felt my body relax from it's ever-tense position, I caught a fragment of a memory I wanted to force myself to forget; the one of Tripp laying across from me under the stars of the wilderness, smiling with his arm tucked under his head like a pillow while his eyes eyes poured into mine, the thunder quietly rolling above us. The vividness of the colour in his dangerously green eyes flickered in the dangling lantern light as he flashed me a bright, white, flirtatious smile. I covered my face with my hands, feeling my cheeks warm.

That damn smile.

My pulse quickened as I remember him leaning over me, dragging his fingertips across my cheek, up into my hair, pulling my head off the ground and brushing his soft, pink lips against mine. It felt so right, being there underneath his broad, masculine body. I felt safe. Protected.

I fought the urge to smile to myself. The thought of being homosexual for someone never seemed to cross my mind... Until now. Every time I saw him, thought of him, heard his name or even simply his quiet, deep voice, my cheeks flushed, my palms began to sweat, a warm fuzzy sensation stirred in the pit of my stomach and I was suddenly flooded with butterflies.

A knock on my door pulled me back down to my feet. I quickly sat up, looking over and locking onto her. Autumn stood in my doorway propped up against the frame, her legs crossed at her ankles and one hand on her hip.

"Qrow, Tripp wants to talk to you." She says, pushing her long, auburn hair away from her big, blue eyes and behind her ear.

"Is he on the phone?" I ask, coughing. She shook her head. "No. Downstairs." She whispers. My heart skipped a beat as I slowly stood up, making my way down the hall after Autumn to the staircase. My icy blue eyes locked onto Tripp's and I reached up to gather my jet black hair together, snapping my hairband off my wrist and pulling it back into a short ponytail as I looked him over. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a pull-over sweater, his short, thick blonde hair tucked beneath a maroon beanie and black sneakers to pull the winter look together. He gave me a warm smile, his lip stud catching the light above us as I watched his lips form a small pucker to pronounce the 'Q' of my name.

"Qrow."

My breath caught in my nose. My name sounded so good when he said it. But it sounded beautiful while French kissing his tongue.

Damnit, don't start thinking like that!

I scold myself, biting the inside of my bottom lip, forcing a smile as I let out a nervous breath. "Yes?" I respond lightly. "I need to talk to you." He tells me.

"Okay," I eye him skeptically. I haven't heard a single thing from Tripp for over fourteen days, and now he just suddenly wants to take me out for brunch on his motorcycle just to 'talk'?

"Can we do it up here in my bedroomoom or are you forcing me to step out?" I ask with my eyebrow arched, leaning over the banister and giving him a smirk. He chuckles, motioning towards the door with his head. "I brought my bike. I thought we could go take a ride and maybe grab something afterwards?" He suggests. I nod, turning around to go back to my bedroom.

"And it's a bit chilly outside so I'd wear long sleeves," He calls after me.

"Got it!" I yell back.