The crowd had dispersed, and there was the slightest feeling of dread hanging in the air for Victoire. Classes hadn’t begun and already people dove straight into their shenanigans. Exhaling quietly, the dark haired girl simply brushed her hair off her shoulder, sharp eyes frightening those who were dumb enough to linger. Of course, everyone in this school knew not to mess with her, with only a select few actually knowing how to interact with her--and even then, their interactions were hardly on the positive side. Not that she minded, the less she had to deal with any potential idiots, the better. She was focused on graduating and leaving, everything else was simply irrelevant.
A tap on her shoulder told her that someone wanted her attention. Victoire simply looked over her shoulder, not bothering to turn all the way. A brown haired girl stood behind her, a little too cheery for the morning in her opinion. Estelle Lambert, if her memory served her right, and that it did as she introduced herself as such. “
Can I help you?” She asked, her neutral tone somewhat dry, though there was little ill intent behind it.
Oh! Stella was not expecting such a quick reply. Her mind was spinning as if someone had taken the globe that was her head, and put it on an infinite loop of going around and around and around..
The girl caught herself, shaking her head so she could come back to Planet Earth and not totally embarrass herself in front of the first person she decided to talk to on her first day back at King’s for the final year. But as she stared at the fellow brunette that stood in front of her, unlike her usually talkative self, Estelle Lambert was drawing a blank. Well, not necessarily drawing a blank, but the feeling of being overwhelmed had gone into overdrive, effectively reducing any words that she tried to get out sound like stuttering mutters.
Victoire stared at the brunette with an equally blank look on her face, though she didn’t seem very amused. Turning to face the girl fully, she decided to give her another chance to speak. “
Did you need something from me?” She rephrased herself, slightly lifting her brow and expecting an answer.
She took a long moment to
try to collect her thoughts. And there were a lot up there in Stella’s unorganized noggin. They swirled and danced and chaotically-brawled to be the first one out, but none would make it because the only thing that she could muster - the one thing that seemed to make out from her mind to her mouth - was probably the least impressive sequence of words to ever exist in existence.
“Hi!” Stella said with an awkward smile, high-pitched, almost squeaky, voice, and a wave that was more alarming than charming.
“
Hello,” Victoire replied in kind.
And all that progress that Stella made with getting a single word out had been harshly erased from reality when Vicoire said hello back. Queue starstruck meltdown in three, two, one…
“
She said hi. Oh my god. Victoire Bailey said hi to me!!” Stella did not realize she had said that outwardly instead of to herself.
Oh that isn’t weird at all. “
Okay.” Came the only word Victoire was willing to respond with, and the young woman decided that as fun as the conversation was, she had better things to do. Nodding slightly, Victoire turned back around at the sound of some
very loud music, instantly recognizing it. Who else would it be? Knowing that Lucas and Santiago were likely to be the first to cause issues, she decided to head back towards the gate.
Stella stood there for a good ten seconds or so before she realized that Vic wasn’t in front of her. She realized this when the remnants of jasmine passed in front of her. Turning around to follow the scent, there Vic was just a yard and a half away from her. Alarms sounded off in her head. This wasn’t how she imagined it going.
“Wait no,” she muttered to herself, running after Vic. The zany brunette was thankful that Vic wasn’t that far ahead of her, so she could easily bring herself to walk alongside her.
“Please don’t go! I was just overwhelmed back there. Please don’t hate me!” Stella apologized for her lack of words just a few moments ago. Now that she had time, Vic would see that Stella wasn’t such a bumbling fool as the first impression gave off.
Was she following her? Forgetting about Santiago for a moment, Victoire looked at Stella again. Hate her? Victoire didn’t hate anyone, she...nothing’d them. No one was of any importance, even her own sibling was only held ever so slightly in regard because they were literally related. Otherwise he’d be nothing, too. But of course, being President meant that she did have to interact with her student body once in a while. Even if she disliked it immensely. “
You’re right to be overwhelmed. Though ‘hate’ is a very strong word. And inaccurate,” Victoire stated, placing a hand on her hip. “
If you don’t tell me what you need, I can’t help you.”
”I just--” Stella stopped herself. She didn’t want to make the same mistake she did before. She was the one who first approached Vic, not the other way around. If she was going to speak to this obviously-confident, powerful young woman, the unpredictable teen would have to block out everything was telling her to scream and have a starstruck moment …
again. What Estelle Lambert had to do was stand tall, face the Class President with as much confidence that the girl could muster, and not falter in anything she may or may not say - no, she
will say what she wanted to tell Vic when she first saw her in the parking lot.
“My name is Estelle Lambert, Stella for short. You obviously don’t know me, but, I know you. You’re one of the most amazing people who go here. Wait,” she paused,
“that’s not right. You’re more like one of the most feared people I’ve seen at this school. And I thought, since you’re the type to strike fear into those around you, that you saw me as some annoying girl. That’s why I thought you hated me,” Stella admitted, letting out the most nervous, squirrely, laugh of all laughter kind.
Introducing herself twice, there was a new one. Victoire listened to Stella as she stated the obvious--both about herself and that she thought Stella was annoying. Still, she stuck true to her word; she did not hate Stella. “
I don’t hate you. I nothing you,” Victoire decided to state the truth.
She does not hate you. She does not hate you. There’s hope, after all!
“So, does that mean we can be friends?” Stella asked her directly, eyes full of hope.
What the…?
Stella’s bright eyes actually unnerved Victoire slightly, the latter lightly furrowing her brow in a bout of confusion. Wait, what? Friends? Them? For what? Didn’t she say she knew who she was? Victoire has no friends, literally, and the only thing keeping her from getting jumped with the other friendless losers was her academic prowess, though she supposed that would just make her a nerd. Well, Stella certainly had a way with words, if in a very convoluted, strange way. She was so used to having to out-bitch her opponents that she genuinely had no idea how the hell to get rid of Stella.
As the thought crossed her mind, she surmised that Stella was probably not going to leave her alone anytime soon, especially after she admitted that she didn’t hate her. Hmph, what a mess. Inhaling slowly, Victoire raised her hands in defeat. “
Sure. Fine. Whatever,” She conceded, dropping her hands.
And when those words flew into Stella’s mind, she thought she was hearing things at first, but then Vic’s beautiful, if not commanding, voice played back in her mind It was almost as if the sloppy state that her mind had been in since the day that her former queen and best friend, Savanna Hart, left her to pursue her music career in Beverly Hills, had completely corrected itself. Organized and full of new life, Stella’s only reaction to what had just been said to her was the tightest embrace the petite girl could muster. Her arms wrapped around Vic’s upper-back, and she pressed her face into Vic’s cheeks, even rubbing with a happy glee-like squeal.
“This is the best day ever!”What the hell did Victoire just get herself into?