• [ s ] prefect dorm 01

@－ ❛ s ❜：braeden laclaire。⁰⁵ Emerald never had any reservations with telling Braeden her problems before. She never cared if he knew about the drama that went on in her family, or her several (shameful) trysts that left her unsatisfied and maybe a little bit disgusted. She told him everything. Well, that is, everything she could allow herself to. Looking back at it, Emerald realized that she had only told Braeden a veil of what had been ailing her for all of these years, and keeping up everything else that truly wounded her in a safe that she never opened unless she was alone. Of course, she had opened it for Kaladin, but that was only because it was the first time she felt understood. Truly understood, from someone who wasn't part of her world. And perhaps Braeden would have understood, too, if she let him, but before last year, Emerald was nothing but a body pierced with thorns underneath her clothes, hoping that no one else would see. Hoping that no one would see her for how she was: weak and crippled—a sheep under wolf's clothing. And she could fault it all to her parents, who had taught her to pretend. To smile in front of the cameras because power through intimidation and likability meant everything. But Emerald was done pretending.

"Yes," she exhaled, looking down at her fingers as they nervously fiddled with the ends of her long, wavy brown hair. "They met Kaladin and made so many assumptions about him. Made a point that they don't think he's the right fit for me because he's muggle-born, never going to be as rich as my parents ever will be, and basically told me that he will never be able to protect me. They even commented on his skin tone because he's so tan and we're all so pale." She chuckled wryly, shaking her head in dismay. "I expected everything else but the last one was just... disgusting."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emerald de lisle。⁰⁵ For years, it seemed like his best friend was carrying an invisible weight on her shoulder. He'd always wished he'd known what had happened but knew she wouldn't say anything until she was ready.
"It went that terribly?" He frowned, shifting slightly to make space for Emerald on the bed. She'd had mentioned over text something had happened with her family. Knowing the way the De Lisle worked, it didn't take long to figure it had something to do with their introduction to Kaladin. The pair had known each other practically their whole lives, and although it seemed like Emerald had always known exactly what the LaClaire boy was thinking, it took him years to be able to read her in the same way. He could tell there was something on her mind, but her expression was unreadable, which only worried him more. "What happened?" he pressed, uncharacteristically.

@－ ❛ s ❜：braeden laclaire。⁰⁵ Emerald gave him a pointed look when he dared to utter that name he had been calling her boyfriend. She didn't mind it too much, knowing that he was joking and he meant no ill-will towards Kaladin, but she also wanted to make sure that he understood that it wasn't the best name to give the person she adored. "Don't get any chips on my bed, Braeden, or I will kill you myself." She sighed, taking a seat next to him. She watched as Éclair's little face immediately lit up when she realized exactly who was holding her. "But I've been okay. I guess. I don't really know how to describe how I feel after the thing that happened with my parents, since Kaladin was there. I'm pretty sure you can guess how that went down."

@－ ❛ s ❜：emerald de lisle。⁰⁵ Braeden grinned, dropping the bag of chips he'd already begun opening back into the basket to envelope her smaller stature into his arms, "Too bad, I'm already used to it, I'm keeping a stash of snacks here from now on" He mumbled into her shoulder, squeezing her tightly for a moment before letting go and b-lining for the adorable brown pomeranian "ah, ma petite eclair," he cooed excitedly to the sleepy puppy, scooping her into his lap and making himself comfortable on the bed. "How've you been? I'm sure you missed me." He turned his attention back to his best friend "How was your romantic summer with the mut-" he grimaced before correcting himself, "Kaladin," He asked as he absent mindedly pet eclairs soft fur

@－ ❛ s ❜：braeden laclaire。⁰⁵ Emerald wasn't surprised that Braeden had all but barged into her dorm instead of knocking. It had become the standard since last year, when she first became a prefect, and so she expected nothing less. She had been cuddling Éclair while she waited, curled up at the head of her bed with the brown pomeranian in her lap and her phone in one hand, thumbs tapping rapidly at her screen. When Braeden entered, she lifted her head, her gaze stoic as she waited for him to finish his little rant before she could speak. Braeden was always like this, Emerald reminded herself as she gave the man a little amused smile, her eyes glimmering with humor. "Yeah, don't get used to it."

Emerald rolled her eyes then before gingerly scooping up her brown puppy from her lap, carefully placing her at the side of her bed before pushing herself off of it to stand on her feet, meeting Braeden halfway. "Oh please, I doubt it was that bad. You know, you can easily go somewhere else if you don't want to stay with her. But," she paused, taking the box from him. She turned to place it on her bed where she was sure it wouldn't fall, then faced Braeden again, holding out her arms. "Do I really have to ask your ?"

@－ ❛ s ❜：emerald de lisle。⁰⁵ He didn't bother knocking, well, technically he did, but he stormed in without waiting for a reply. Much to Emerald's dismay, he'd gotten rather comfortable in her dorm since she'd been assigned her own after becoming a prefect. And had grown a habit of napping here whenever the ruckus in his own shared dorm became too much. "Emerald De Lisle, you traito-" He began to whine as he stepped through the threshold, but his steps were halted as soon as his eyes landed on the overflowing basket of his favorite goodies, "You're kidding, you? bought snacks? my guilt tripping must had really worked," A grin broke out across his features, of course, he couldn't stay mad at her. Not that he was ever /really/ mad in the first place. Of course, dealing with his grandmother's interrogation through the summer had been nothing less than annoying, and of course, he missed his best friend more than anything. But, not that he'd ever admit it, he saw how happy she was with her mutt, and that was all that mattered.

"I missed you, my dearest wife," his features contorted into an amused grimace before returning to the bright boyish grin not many aside from emerald saw. From behind his back, he pulled an ornate box. The same one he'd mentioned in his texts, filled to the brim with freshly baked french pastries made fruits he and his grandmother had harvested that summer. "Mame charmed it so only you could open it," he frowned, "I swear to go if you leave me alone with that woman again I will personally come find you and drag you back to the estate with me," He pouted.

@－ ❛ s ❜：braeden laclaire。⁰⁵ Emerald wasn't exactly the type of person that snacked on things. If she was going to eat, it was either a big meal or a decadent ice cream, or even a fluffy slice of chocolate cake. But chips and candies? That was something she often stayed away from. It seemed pointless to eat something so fatty but so /tiny/. She'd rather have a full course meal. To say that it was a ridiculous sight to see her arranging a basket of snacks in her dorm room was a bit of an understatement. She would never do this. Not for her. But for Braeden? Absolutely. Especially since she felt guilty for breaking their tradition of spending the summer together to be with Kaladin, who she had grown to love more and more with each day she woke up beside him. Not that Braeden cared. Well, he did, of course, being her supportive best friend, but his feigned disappointment over texts did make her feel a little guiltier than she already did. Would a gift basket of snacks and a movie make up for the time they had lost? Definitely not. Would she be able to bribe Braeden into forgiving her? Absolutely. If not, then she caved and bought one bottle of Firewhisky. Now, to wait for him to knock on the door.