smoke and mirror - anonymous

Chapter 9

Dahlias manicured finger pressed on the 'tweet' button, which sent out a tweet telling people to stop sending nudes to the account.
She spun around on the office chair, holding her phone up as she scrolled through the speedy replies to the tweet.

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she saw some of the replies, she loved being apart of Gen-Z. She was in the makeshift room that was given to her, which was, unfortunately, also the meeting room. Privacy was partially thrown out the window.

It had been two days, and she still hadn't spoken to Falon - the two just avoided each other. The tension in the air was unimaginable.

Overall, she didn't mind her company. Dante was hilarious, but sometimes she couldn't tell if his flirting was serious or a joke. Dior was a little guarded, she wasn't 100% sure how trustworthy Dahlia was, which Dahlia considered to be understandable. She'd probably react the same way to a stranger living with her.

Foster was distant, he would talk to her and maybe crack a joke every so often - but he seemed hesitant, like he was hiding something from her. He reminded her of batman. As strange as the comparison was, Dahlia had to bring some kind of humour to her situation.

"Hey hot stuff."

Dante strutted into the room, flopping down onto her bed. "Hi, Dante." Dahlia continued scrolling through twitter, cracking a smile as she read one of the 'kinky-but-kind-of-wholesome' memes that was tweeted at the account.

"Whatcha doin'?" He sat up, cupping his chin as he watched her spin on the chair.

"Reading thirst traps, can I help you?" She raised a brow, lowering her arms and putting the phone down on the desk. She continued to spin slowly, her feet just barely touching the ground.

"Sounds fun." He started, looking around the room a little. "I have a proposition." He smirked a little, his eyes falling back onto the girl. Dahlia stopped spinning, causing her vision to go a little funny for a moment.

She straightened her glasses, "And what would that be?" She tilted her head a little, a short strand of black hair falling in front of her face.

"Well," he paused, tapping his lips as he pondered for a moment, "I'll get straight to the point," His lack of getting straight to the point made Dahlia narrow her eyes, what was he up to?

"The sexual tension in the air is LIVID." He stated, causing Dahlia to cough a little, what was he talking about? She wasn't sure if he was talking about her and Foster, but strangely, that was her first assumption.

"So, I think, we should just eliminate it and bang it out." He cracked his knuckles, a grin spreading across his face. Sometimes, Dahlia wondered how he was a genius, how did this man manage to hack into highly confidential government information, but wasn't able to read the room?

"Uh, well," Dahlia scratched her jaw, unsure of how exactly to let him down easy. "I don't-"

"And it's ok that you're a virgin, that makes it so much more special, y'know?" He cut her off, rubbing his hands together excitedly. Dahlia widened her eyes a little, was it really that obvious? 19 was a perfectly fine age to still be a virgin! She huffed a little and looked off to the side.

Before she could reject him, Foster had walked into the room, and for once she was happy about his lack of knocking or warning.

"Dior needs your help, Dante." His eyes flickered between the two, a small frown painting onto his expression. "Am I interrupting something?" He narrowed his eyes a little, something about his tone sounded different - an emotion that Dahlia couldn't exactly pin-point.

"Well, actually ye-" Dante was cut off when Dahlia coughed, "No, you're not." She shook her head, swivelling a little on the chair. Dante huffed and stood up, "Think about my offer, mamacita." He sent her a confident wink before walking out of the room.

Sighing, she rubbed her temple and closed her eyes - shaking her head gently. Foster raised a brow at Dante's flirting, his eyes following him as he left. They fell on Dahlia, softening a little as they did so.

"What was that about?" he questioned, unsure if she would tell him or not.

Dahlia opened her eyes and leaned back in the chair a little, "Nothing, just some stupid chore he wanted me to do." She told a half lie, because having sex with Dante did seem like a chore.

Foster nodded in response, his eyes glancing around the room, "Sorry that you don't have any privacy." He looked back to her, his eyes flickering across her face as he stood at the door.

"It's ok, I don't mind." She lied, of course she wasn't going to complain - this room was better than staying in that creepy interrogation room.

"You're a horrible liar." He raised a brow, his lips curling into a gentle smirk. Dahlia sighed, looking down at her feet as she slowly spun the chair a little - not a full 360°, just moving side to side.

"I'll work something out." He nodded, speaking to himself more so than speaking to Dahlia. She looked to him, biting the inside of her cheek as she tried to think of a way to break the silence.

"Those edits really are something else." He said with a soft laugh, the sound causing a small smile to spread across Dahlias face. It was a rare sound from the man, a genuine, not sarcastic, laugh.

Nodding her head and also laughing, Dahlia thought about all the edits she had watched. "Oh, yeah. It's impressive though, that instead of fearing you guys, 16 year old girls would rather make fan cams." She giggled, the sound making Foster smile a little.

"Mhm." He rubbed his lips together, unable to hold back the small smile that was exposed on his face. Dahlia studied his face, she had never seen his dimples before - they were adorable.

She fiddled with the drawstrings that hung from her hoodie that she was given. The clothes were limited, considering that there were 3 guys and one girl, who was 5'9 and had the body of a super model. Nothing really fit her aside from the hoodies and sweatpants of the guys. At least she was comfortable.

"Your piercing is lopsided." He squinted a little, his words making Dahlia blush a little. How did that thing always do that?

She gently straightened the horse shoe ring, feeling awkward as he watched her. "How does that saying go again... paint a portrait...?" She smirked, a hint of playfulness sparking in her eyes as she teased Foster.

He reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone, causing Dahlia to frown. He smiled a little as he took a photo of her, "I don't have a canvas." He tucked his phone back into his back pocket, his actions making Dahlia widen her eyes a little.

She felt a far too familiar heat rise on her face, causing her look down at her feet, hoping he hadn't noticed her new crimson complexion.

"If I were you," He started, "I wouldn't take up his offer." Foster raised a brow, watching as Dahlia frowned.

"How did you-?" She tilted her head, had he been listening the whole time.

"Don't lose something special to someone that doesn't mean anything to you, you'll regret it." He spoke before glancing around the room. He looked back to her before stepping out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Dahlia was a little flustered, speechless. So, did everyone around here just know she was a virgin? She covered her face with her hands, embarrassed. Why did Foster care what she did with Dante? It wasn't his business, why was he sticking his nose where it doesn't belong?