aprés moi, le déluge

Gabe wondered why Xavier was so interested in talking to him. Xavier had been friends with Dante, after all, and by that point in the school, most of Dante’s old friends didn’t pay attention to Gabe, for better or for worse. Still, Xavier was nice, and talking to him couldn’t hurt. “I’m just struggling with getting quotes for this article I’m writing, and on top of that, Mrs. Al–Mom—” he need to keep up appearances “—is on my ass about getting a B on AP Stats. Just normal stuff.”

Xavier studied Gabe as he spoke; he seemed genuine. It was just regular school stress that had him worried, maybe with a dash of family problems. “Ah, right, you’re in the school paper. Out of curiosity, what’s the article on?” It was probably best to ask Gabe about his interests, as opposed to why he felt the need to call Mrs. Alvares ‘mom’. He never felt the need to call Archie ‘dad’, though he was more of a parent to him than his actual father, so Xavier couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. “Gabe, if you want my opinion, I think you need to cut loose a little bit.” 

“No, we… we knew each other very well, which is why we hated each other,” she explained, shaking her head and closing her eyes. “Sorry, can we talk about something else? Please?” She picked up her backpack, suddenly feeling uncomfortable being this close to the shrine. “Somewhere else?”

Xavier chastised himself; what a mean thing to do. He pushed away from the lockers. “Of course, Alice. Apologies, I’m just- on edge. I, uh, I could drive you home, if you want.” He slid his sunglasses back over his eyes, palming his keys in his pocket. “Let’s talk about... oo, the resignation of Theresa May. Have you been keeping up with your current events, Clarke?” he asked with a smirk. 

Alice shook her head, a slight embarrassed giggle escaping her lips. “I’m fine, I promise, just… thinking, I guess.” She then tilted her head a bit, assuming his question was a joke. “You’re kidding, right? No, we really weren’t.”

He narrowed his eyes at her for a moment. Perhaps it was cruel to play with her like this, but seeing Dante’s shrine was putting him on edge. “Oh,” he said, looking back down at his feet, knowing smirk gracing his lips. “Right, of course, how silly of me. You barely knew each other.” 

Early summer nights in Boston came warm and humid, the air settling thick through the open windows even from the Keatons’ penthouse. Xavier had his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, though he still kept his shiny Louboutin Oxfords on. He had company, after all. 

Xavier had spent too long mourning, taken by surprise with how hard Dante’s death hit him. Consequently, he'd missed the time for succession planning; Lysander Seo was the new king. There was only one person Xavier wanted to see in charge, though, and it wasn't the Ice Prince. It was the Prince currently parsing through his guardian’s whiskey cabinet. 

“The Macallan single malt is my personal favorite, Your Highness,” he said, using the nickname he’d thought of the moment he'd heard Princeton's name. “It’s your call, though.” 

Alice blinked up at him, shaking her head to try and snap out of whatever trance she was in. “Sorry, hi,” she greeted, sneaking one last glance at the shrine before turning her body to face him. “How’re you, Xavier?”

“How am I?” Xavier asked, pointing to himself. “How are you? You looked like you were halfway to Mars.” He played with his sunglasses for a moment, studying her, before turning to stare at the shrine. “You two were close, huh?” 

“  i  think  you  might  be  right,  ”   anna  agrees,  ponytail  bouncing  behind  her.   “  and  of  course.  i’ll  be  working  a  lot,  but  luckily  that  means  a  lot  of  travelling  .  .  .  and  in  my  downtime,  i’ll  probably  be  spending  most  of  my  time  in  paris.  how  about  you?  ”

“Busy bee,” Xavier commented with a smirk. “Not as if I expected anything less from the incorrigible Miss Kennedy.” He sighed to himself, throwing his head back a bit in mock-exasperation. “Archie snagged me an internship at Pershing Square, so, gonna be spending the summer getting coffee for hypertensive hedge fund managers.” In truth, it was Xavier who had gotten that position, with little help from Archie save for a name drop, but why would he tell Anna he actually worked hard for something? “Paris sounds like it’ll be a lot more fun. What’re you gonna do; visit the Louvre and critique the Venus de Milo’s bone structure?” 

@aramintapark: dropping the link to my birthday gift registry for all you last-minute shoppers coming to my party, don't disappoint or you're #uninvited!

Gabe’s stance shifted when he saw Xavier, regressing back into the person most people saw: shoulders slightly hunched over, arms held close to his body, making himself small. It was a reflex; he didn’t like making himself seen, even if it was somebody he genuinely liked, like Xavier.  “It’s nothing,” Gabe said. “Just a bad day that keeps on getting worse, y’know? How are you?”

His posture immediately shifted as soon as Xavier spoke. Hm, interesting; so Gabe felt the need to hide his anger. And, more interestingly, he knew how to lie. Huh. “It looked like nothing,” Xavier teased, leaning against the wall in front of Gabe. “Oh, you know, killing life, as always. Before it kills me.” He smirked. “Was about to head to dance class early, but I can stay and chat, if you need to vent.” 

yes i’m back with a third character like a week after making my second, but i was also developing him while developing diana. and when we could have a third character AND the ‘confidante’ slot opened up, he was just too perfect. so, may i present, xavier keaton, gentleman, philosopher, and compulsive liar. like this post or hmu for plots!!!