DYING MOURNINGS, original

thirteen : the cards

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𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 : 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐃𝐒

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When I was settled into my seat for first period biology, I wasn't surprised not to see Ace in his seat next to me. I had seen him in the hallway arguing with John, as if the two weren't the guys who had been on and off again with the lovely Blondie. They were more twisted together than the pair would probably like to admit.

So to see John sitting happily in class and not Ace, I got only slightly worried. I wondered where my second partner and crime was when the bell rang and Mr. Parker strolled in with a mug of tea and a stack of papers. He smiled at the class, setting everything down before addressing everyone with a cheerful, "Just because I'm in a rather good mood, I won't be collecting your homework from last night."

I let out a small sigh of relief, because I hadn't done any of it. I needed to see Brown before school ended, talk to him about what happened yesterday and how I might be missing a few days of class which meant I needed to talk to all my teachers too. But when I went searching for him, the woman at the front desk told me he was in a meeting so I was stuck with looking for him the rest of the day before I forgot.

"I'll have you turn in that homework at a later point, but for now get to work on your end of the year projects!" Mr. Parker smiled, lifting his mug to his face and taking a long sip before sitting.

I opened my laptop, determined to make a small progress on whatever the hell Ace and I had decided on for a project (plot twist, we hadn't picked anything). I barely even got the chance to type 'science' in the search bar before I noticed someone waltzing up to me.

"Blaire," John smiled, leaning against my work table. He was wearing his letterman jacket and the shirt underneath was tight across his chest. I wonder if the mysterious caller was on the football team in high school, did he have a similar look to John's? I bit my lip, I didn't need to be thinking about him, about who he could be.

"What do you need, John?"

He smiled, similar to the money winning grin Macabre shared. "Come to my party this Friday, after the big lacrosse game. It'll be fun and gives you a chance to see that I'm not all bad."

"Oh wow, the quarterback is inviting me to his party!" I exclaimed softly, hoping Blondie didn't notice from the front of the room. When I glanced past him, I was shocked to see she wasn't sitting where she had been when I first walked into class. I drew my attention back to John and I smiled at him, beaming,

"Come on," he laughed, rolling his eyes. "There'll be booze and food and me, what else could be better?"

"Being in bed?" I offered and he leaned forward and said, "In bed with you? Gosh and to think, I thought you didn't like me."

This time it was me who rolled their eyes.

"It'll be fun," he tried again, straightening up and keeping one palm flat against the table. "Take Pandora with you, get drunk, have fun."

"Maybe."

He moved his hand and crossed his arms with a pout, "I think you should go so badly that your response shouldn't be a simple maybe but a simple yes."

Rolling my eyes again and giving him a smirk, I answered with, "I'll think about it," I spun around him as I walked towards Mr. Parker's desk. "Is that a simple enough answer for you?"