The Divergence

The police station didn't last nearly as long as Lavinia had feared.

There had been questions, statements, a few repeated questions when different officers needed clarification, and an uncomfortable amount of sitting around, but Violetta had been right. They hadn't been kept there for hours.

By the time they were back in the SUVs and heading toward their temporary residence, Lavinia had visibly relaxed.

She sat against the seat with one leg crossed over the other, watching the city pass beyond the window. 

Streetlights streaked across the glass as they drove, occasionally illuminating her face and catching against her empty red eyes.

Despite everything that had happened tonight, the city still looked remarkably normal.

Cars passed them.

People walked along sidewalks.

Businesses remained open.

Lavinia exhaled and rested her cheek against one hand.

Peace.

Finally.

Behind her, Gwendolyn smiled to herself.

She leaned toward Rosaline and whispered, "Do you think Lavinia and Valerie is a good ship?"

Rosaline's eyes immediately brightened, and she covered her mouth as a giggle escaped. "I think—"

Lavinia turned around with a completely speechless expression. "Gwendolyn, if you want to gossip about me, could you at least do it when I'm not sitting right here?"

Gwendolyn blinked innocently. "I whispered."

"We're vampires!"

"Oh." Gwendolyn paused, then smiled. "Right."

Rosaline's shoulders shook with laughter.

Across from them, Evangeline crossed one leg over the other and looked thoughtfully between Lavinia and Valerie. "I think they have good chemistry."

Lavinia's empty red eyes slowly rolled toward her. "What does that even mean? I have good chemistry with all of you."

There was a brief silence.

Lavinia frowned.

"That came out wrong."

"It came out perfectly." Rosaline grinned.

Valerie shook her head, sending her bright orange hair spilling around her shoulders and carrying the familiar scent of tangerine and honey through the vehicle. 

She adopted a pitiful expression before placing one hand against her chest. "Lavinia, have you still not given up on your dream of having a harem?"

Evangeline's head snapped toward Lavinia.

Lavinia saw the shock on Evangeline's face.

Then she saw Violetta looking at her with unmistakably appraising eyes.

"No!" Lavinia sputtered, sitting straighter. "I was joking when I said that!"

Violetta's lips curved slightly upward. "Were you?"

"Yes!"

Valerie tilted her head. "You sounded very convincing."

"I was joking!"

Cordelia had been quietly listening from nearby, but her blue eyebrows drew together in confusion. "What exactly is a harem?"

Lavinia slowly covered her face.

"Don't ask."

Rosaline leaned forward with a smirk. "It's Lavinia's wish to have nine beautiful women all to herself."

"It is not!"

Cordelia's eyes widened slightly before drifting toward Lavinia.

Lavinia kept one hand firmly over her face, her golden eyelashes brushing against her palm. "I think everyone except me enjoys the harem idea at this point."

"I already said I'm fine with it." Rosaline shrugged casually and settled back into her seat. "I like every single one of you anyway."

Gwendolyn immediately looked toward her. "You're not wife material."

Rosaline's mouth fell open.

"What?"

Gwendolyn nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "Definitely not."

Rosaline clicked her tongue and crossed her arms. "I'll have you know I was completely faithful as a human. Being a vampire just messed up my sense of intimacy."

That gave Lavinia pause.

She lowered her hand slightly.

Rosaline noticed the movement and pointed toward her. "Don't look at me like that. You know what I mean."

"I didn't say anything."

"Your face did."

Evangeline waved one hand dismissively. "Wives cheat all the time anyway, so Rosaline could still qualify as wife material."

Rosaline immediately pointed toward Evangeline. "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment," Lavinia muttered.

"I accepted it as one."

Lavinia groaned and leaned her head back against the seat. "Why are we even tossing around phrases like 'wife material'?"

Valerie snickered and shifted closer to her. "I think you're wife material."

Lavinia's head slowly turned.

"Valerie."

"What?" Valerie smiled brightly. "You are."

Adelaide, who had been watching the exchange quietly, tilted her head as she considered the statement. After a moment, she nodded. "I could see it. Lavinia is very gentle."

Lavinia stared at her.

Adelaide blinked. "Was that bad?"

"Et tu, Adelaide?"

"I don't know what I did."

"Neither do I anymore."

Gwendolyn laughed, while Rosaline leaned sideways against the door with her shoulders shaking.

Lavinia looked around at all of them and threw one hand into the air. "If I didn't know better, I'd think this was a concerted effort to attack my masculinity!"

Valerie's smile became dangerous.

Lavinia saw it.

She knew exactly what was coming.

She pointed at Valerie. "Don't."

Valerie's orange eyelashes fluttered innocently. "What masculinity?"

Lavinia's head fell backward.

A chorus of laughter filled the SUV.

"What did I do to deserve such a group?" Lavinia groaned, closing her eyes. "I can't even have a single moment of peace."

Celestine smiled softly from her seat. "I'm grateful I met everyone."

That quiet statement took some of the momentum out of the teasing.

Lavinia opened one eye.

Celestine's teal hair rested over her shoulders as she looked around at them with a genuine smile.

Lavinia sighed before turning toward the window. "I didn't say I hated any of you."

Gwendolyn leaned forward immediately. "Are you becoming a tsundere?"

Lavinia moved so quickly that Gwendolyn barely had time to blink before a finger smacked lightly against her forehead.

Gwendolyn recoiled and clutched the spot. "Ow!"

"I am not a tsundere." Lavinia emphasized every word, her empty red eyes narrowing.

Gwendolyn rubbed her forehead despite the fact there wasn't even a mark. "That was a very tsundere response."

"It was not!"

Evangeline looked genuinely curious. "What's wrong with being a tsundere?"

Lavinia turned toward her with a long stare. "In any story, by the time the tsundere plotline actually gets anywhere, the book is almost over."

Evangeline blinked.

Rosaline blinked.

Valerie's lips slowly curled upward.

Lavinia noticed.

"Don't."

Valerie giggled. "So you want to be fast?"

"No."

"You want to skip all the waiting."

"Valerie."

Valerie clasped her hands together. "Sweep all nine of us into your harem before the plot has time to drag."

"I think all of you want to be in a harem at this point!" Lavinia exclaimed.

That earned another burst of laughter.

Valerie leaned back with a triumphant expression, while Gwendolyn continued rubbing her completely unharmed forehead as if Lavinia had gravely wounded her.

Cordelia, however, appeared to be seriously considering Lavinia's statement.

Her long blue hair shifted as she looked around the vehicle. "If being in a harem means I have to spend every single day with everyone, I don't think I'd mind."

Rosaline cackled.

Lavinia slowly turned toward Cordelia.

"Cordelia."

Cordelia looked at her. "Yes?"

"That's not what a harem means."

"Oh."

"A harem isn't just everyone staying together." Lavinia shifted in her seat to face her more fully. "It's a relationship involving multiple people revolving around one person."

Cordelia considered the explanation. "I see."

"And I don't particularly like the idea either," Lavinia added quickly.

Valerie raised a finger. "Objection."

"Denied."

"You can't deny it before hearing it."

"I just did."

Violetta laughed quietly from the front.

Cordelia looked between Lavinia and the others. "So you wouldn't want that?"

"No." Lavinia shook her head. "Not really."

Rosaline raised an eyebrow. "You sound less certain than before."

"Because all of you have been talking about this for the last ten minutes!"

"That doesn't answer the question."

"It answered enough of it."

Lavinia folded her arms and looked around at them. The teasing expressions surrounding her didn't help in the slightest, although Cordelia still seemed genuinely curious rather than mischievous.

Lavinia exhaled. "Staying together is different."

The laughter quieted slightly.

Lavinia looked toward Cordelia. "I'm fine with that. More than fine, actually. I plan to stay with all of you for a very long time."

Rosaline's teasing smile softened.

Celestine smiled as well, while Adelaide's expression warmed.

Even Valerie didn't immediately make a joke.

Lavinia noticed the sudden silence and frowned. "Don't make this weird."

Gwendolyn recovered instantly.

She leaned forward, her white eyelashes fluttering. "Was that your proposal?"

Lavinia stared at her.

Gwendolyn smiled.

Lavinia moved.

One hand caught Gwendolyn by the face.

"Wait—"

Lavinia pulled her forward and pressed Gwendolyn's head firmly into her lap, muffling whatever she tried to say next.

"I will have five minutes of peace before we reach the safehouse." Lavinia looked around challengingly at everyone else. "Five. That's all I'm asking for."

Gwendolyn tried to say something against her lap.

Lavinia looked down. "I can't hear you."

Another muffled response followed.

"Wonderful."

Gwendolyn's body began shaking.

At first, Lavinia thought she was struggling.

Then she heard the giggling.

"You're supposed to be suffering."

Gwendolyn's muffled laughter grew louder.

Rosaline leaned against the side of the SUV, laughing openly. Valerie covered her mouth while her orange eyelashes squeezed together, and even Violetta's shoulders moved with quiet laughter.

Evangeline pointed toward Gwendolyn. "I don't think your punishment is working."

"She's quiet enough."

Gwendolyn tried to lift her head.

Lavinia gently pressed her back down.

"No."

Another muffled protest came from Gwendolyn.

"You brought this upon yourself."

Celestine smiled. "You did ask for five minutes."

"Exactly." Lavinia nodded firmly. "Someone understands me."

Adelaide glanced toward Gwendolyn. "I don't think you'll get five minutes."

"I can dream."

Valerie leaned toward Lavinia with a grin. "You know, holding Gwendolyn in your lap isn't helping your argument."

Lavinia's eyes narrowed. "What argument?"

"The harem argument."

Lavinia stared at her.

Valerie immediately leaned away.

"Four minutes," Lavinia warned.

"I'm being quiet."

"You'd better be."

Lavinia settled back into her seat, apparently satisfied that she'd finally restored some semblance of order.

Then she noticed something.

Dust.

There had been a thin layer of dust frosting the front of her dress from the damaged studio, most of which she'd never managed to properly brush away.

Now some of it was on Gwendolyn's face.

Lavinia blinked.

She lifted Gwendolyn's head.

Gwendolyn looked up at her.

Gray dust was smeared across both cheeks and the tip of her nose, standing out sharply against her flawless skin and snow-white eyelashes.

Gwendolyn's expression slowly became aggrieved.

Lavinia pressed her lips together.

Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes.

"Don't."

Lavinia's shoulders twitched.

"Lavi."

"I'm not laughing."

"You want to."

"I really do."

Gwendolyn sat upright and touched her cheek. When she pulled her fingers away and saw the dust coating them, her mouth fell open.

"Lavi!"

"It wasn't intentional!" Lavinia protested, already laughing as she leaned away.

"You rubbed dirt all over my face!"

"It was already on my dress!"

"That doesn't make it better!"

Gwendolyn lunged toward her, and Lavinia immediately caught both of her wrists before she could retaliate.

Valerie laughed from beside them. "So much for five minutes."

"I got almost thirty seconds!" Lavinia protested as she struggled to keep the indignant Gwendolyn away from her face.

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