they can have my legacy - fedex (the legacies series 3)

1

it was the wrong time to be sad, but then again, dex had never been great at timing.

all around him, elves were beaming, laughing. rainbow streamers were everywhere, & although many had been crumpled & trampled, layering the floor like a carpet, many more were still flying, vibrant & visible. the elvin world, or at least the part of it that wouldn't have thought twice about coming to a party hosted by the famed, shamed della vacker, was celebrating.

dex was trying to celebrate, too. he just wasn't doing a very good job of it.

he'd been in a great mood when he had leapt to everglen for the pre-party biana was hosting. although he wasn't particularly close to her, sophie would be there, & she was his best friend when she remembered to be. & he was pretty good friends with keefe, although he would probably be busy being tam's boyfriend.

yes, dex was a little resentful of the fact that no one ever seemed to remember he was there. but it was fine. he was fine. better than fine, actually. biana & linh had won their case. the matchmaking system would be altered. proud elves all around the lost cities had come out of hiding. it had become more common to see a queer couple kissing in public than it was to see a straight one. elves flocked the streets, loving who they wanted to love. & so far, aside from mutinous mutterings, there hadn't been much homophobic retribution at all.

but as he walked into everglen, dex's eyes couldn't help darting towards fitz's closed door. it was plain & unadorned, or as plain & unadorned that a door in everglen could be. light, pale wood, smooth & a little bit glittery. although, honestly, the whole house was kind of glittery.

still, fitz's room would never have stuck out if dex didn't know who occupied it. it was biana's room, next to his, that did: a rainbow pasted to the door, bits of confetti all around it. it was sparkly & fun, flamboyant & fabulous. he opened the door, & the room looked as though it had been built smack-dab in the middle of a rainbow.

biana smiled when she saw him. hi dex! come on in!

he had never been in her room before. the bed was huge & looked soft, & everything on it was pink, including the bowls of snacks. the whole room was incredibly sparkly. it smelled lemony & sugary & a little bit like vanilla.

hesitantly, he took a pink custard burst from its pink bowl on biana's pink bed & bit into it. it was really good. like, really good. did you make this? he asked biana, mouth full.

she grinned. yeah, linh & i did it together. mom helped. do you like it?

it's amazing! dex responded enthusiastically, shoving another one into his mouth. he could feel powdered sugar all over his hands, & without thinking, he ate it.

biana laughed, & he blushed, embarrassed. he looked so dumb. & gross. & he probably had some custard on the side of his mouth.

then sophie entered, & they all started talking. dex exhaled in relief. without his cousin, he felt out of place with these elves, but she made him feel included.

the real party was starting in around an hour, & the teenagers were just sort of hanging out & eating a lot of food. dex was used to being alone, & he felt awkward & out of place. but he got absorbed into a fun, somewhat heated argument with keefe & linh about whether mallowmelt was better than custard bursts, & if lushberry custard bursts were better than mint-chocolate ones. then della came & asked if anyone wanted to help her finish decorating, & they all agreed. everglen smelled like butterblasts & fluffcreams, & there appeared to be an infinite number of rainbow streamers that needed to be hung.

guests started arriving, & soon everglen was flooded with elves. dex realized that he hadn't seen sophie in a while. had she even come with them to hang the streamers? no, & he didn't think she'd been there when they argued about sweets, either.

without even meaning to, dex found himself gravitating towards fitz's room. with a start, he realized that he was standing in front of the smooth, pale wooden door.

it was open a crack, & try hard as he could, dex couldn't help but peek through it.

there she was.

sophie & fitz were sitting on fitz's bed, kissing. sophie's eyes were closed, & dex suddenly felt as though he was intruding on something very private.

as he backed away from the door, fitz caught sight of him. his eyes narrowed, & then dex was running away, viewing the party in a whole new light.

the rainbow streamers he had helped to hang were stupid. how had he dared to hope this would be any different for him now?

the happy faces around him just made dex more upset. he knew he had no right to feel that way, & that was the worst part.

he hated this. he hated that he liked fitz even when he was horrible to his own sister, even when he basically ditched his best friend, even when he would look at dex in disgust if he knew he was pan. he hated that he couldn't help but blush whenever he saw fitz, that he clearly only liked him because he was beautiful. he hated it.

& he hated that he was the odd one out. keefe & tam were dating, biana & linh were dating, & now sophie & fitz were dating, or at least making out.

& he hated that he was angry at sophie. she had no way to know that he wanted to be the one kissing fitz. it wasn't fair. he wasn't being fair.

it was the wrong time to be sad, & it was the wrong time to be mad, & it was the wrong time to be conflicted. but dex didn't know what else to do.

a/n: how was it? i was having a lot of fun writing until the end, when my sister got mad at me & started blasting jojo siwa &...well...i couldn't exactly focus. lmao. does my dex sound like dex? it's hard to write him when i'm so used to writing biana. remember to vote & comment, & recommend 'the legacies series' to a friend or two. stay safe & healthy, & have a great day xx