The Selection (1x1 with AnnaCat17)

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

"You don't need to pay me back for this. It's a gift." Eleanor bit her lip nervously, trying not to get upset. "Do you want me to give you something else?" she asked anxiously, desperate to give him something he liked. Why did she have to mess this up?

[AnnaCat17]

Vice shook his head and took another step back from her. "No. Thank you, Lady Eleanor, but you dont need to give me anything. It would probably be best if you didn't." He scratched the back of his neck as he tried not to look at the cars or her. "I should get ready for when my family shows up. Ill talk to you later." He said before walking back to the castle.

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Eleanor's lip trembled as he left. She ran to find Matteo, flinging herself into his arms and burying her head in his chest. It was pathetic of her to have gotten to excited about it, and it was pathetic of her to be so upset now. But she couldn't keep herself from crying from the sudden rejection. She wasn't used to anyone turning her down, about anything.

[AnnaCat17]

Matteo was busy packing his bags for his trip in a week in his room and was knocked off balance when she ran into him. He hugged her tightly and kissed the top of her head as he tried to calm her down. "Hey, what's wrong?"

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

Eleanor calm down enough to answer. "Vice didn't like my present," she muttered. "I offered to give him something else, but now he doesn't want me to give him anything. I got so excited to show him it. I thought it was perfect." She sucked in a staggered breath, wiping the tears from her face. "Whatever. If he doesn't want anything, I won't push it. I'll be courteous to his family if they approach me and I'll give him space." She didn't need him if it came to it. She was Eleanor. She had plenty of other people begging to be with her.

[AnnaCat17]

Matteo rolled his eyes, knowing it was all an act. "Vice is really down to earth. Im not surprised something like giving him a car would scare him off. I would have thought his gift to you would have clued you in as to the level he was comfortable with." He kissed her cheek and held her tighter. "Dont run off and do something stupid. Vice is a good guy and if you go flirt with other people to get back at him you will lose him forever."

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

"I don't know what he was planning on giving me," Eleanor reported. "His date with you that he picked was with cars. He's going to have a job with vehicles. I thought he'd like to have a nice car himself," she snapped. "I had no indication otherwise." She pulled away from him, crossing her arms. "I never said I was going to," she snapped.

[AnnaCat17]

"You didn't have to say it. I know that look in your eye." He said with a chuckle and returned to packing. "Look, the only guy who tell me about his past is Karter but I know a bit about Vice from the information Sutton dug up during the...uh..." He allowed the sentence to die off, a shudder running through him as he thought about that night. He quickly went back to pretending it had never happened. "Vice's parents died when he was a 13 and his brother got arrested shortly after his mother's passing. He has been supporting himself and his grandparents since then and I seriously doubt he likes the idea of receiving what he probably saw as a hand out. Just pick something simple. You are his girlfriend, you don't need to get his attention anymore."

[EchoOfShatteredIce]

"He doesn't want anything." Eleanor turned away with a shake of her head. "It doesn't matter. It's not like we would have worked out anyways." She left him to get ready, though she wouldn't be involved in anything that was going on. She needed to remind herself that she wasn't part of the Selection or the royalty.

[AnnaCat17]

Matteo sighed. "She can be so dramatic sometimes. Really steals my spotlight as the drama queen around here, doesn't it?" He said to the stuffed dinosaur on his bed once she was gone. He smirked and returned his focus to packing, allowing the motions to distract him.

-three hours later-

Matteo had intended to stick around the entrance hall and slowly make his rounds to meet everyone but as soon as he saw Gabel dart down a hallway he knew that wasn't going to be possible. He sat in the library holding Gabel in his lap who was sobbing and gasping for air as he clung to Matteo. His family hadn't shown up. They hadn't even sent a letter to apologize or explain why. Matteo kissed away his tears and rubbed his back but he couldn't calm Gabel down. He just needed to work it out but in the meantime Matteo's heart broke for him.

Vice was smiling happily as he hugged his grandparents who were both small, feeble people who looked at Vice like he was the most precious thing in the world. He picked up their bags for them, waving away the servant that had stepped forward to help, and guided his grandparents up to the room they had been assigned, talking happily with them the entire time.

Dacey smiled to herself as she listened to everyone greet one another. She busied herself with helping to carry luggage up to the assigned rooms so everyone could focus on eachother and make their way into the lunch that was waiting for them.