𝑨 𝑫𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑴 𝑰𝑺 𝑨 𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻 𝑴𝑨𝑲𝑬𝑺

𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑷𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝟏𝟓

Delphina felt numb during breakfast. The mark wasn't burning, but Delphina had become hyper-aware of it. Every time her shirt moved against her shoulder, she felt like she wanted to vomit. She could feel Audrey and Chad's concern as she poked her food around, but she didn't have the energy to soothe them.

"Fina?" A gentle hand came down on her unmarked shoulder, but it made Delphina jump, all the same, her figure tensing significantly. "Hey, it's just me," Chad soothed, removing his hand at her reaction. "It's just me. What's going on?" He asked quietly.

Delphina felt too out of it to lie, but she figured she could at least give it a shot. "Yeah," She gave them both a small smile, running a hand down her face. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just..." She trailed off for a moment, trying to think of a plausible excuse. She never struggled this much with lying. Why did Audrey and Chad have to care so much? "Nervous." She finally blurted out.

Chad and Audrey both paused, giving her a doubting look. "Nervous?" Audrey echoed. Delphina only nodded, beginning to stuff pineberries into her mouth. They seemed to be the only thing she had an appetite for.

"Yeah, because I have to talk to Professor Varian, remember?" Delphina shrugged, swallowing the fruit at an alarming rate. "Not all of my teachers like me, so I'm just trying to prepare myself for the worst." The lie slowly came easier and Delphina's posture relaxed gradually, still trying to ignore the feeling of her clothing against her burn mark.

"Fina, what reason would he have for not liking you?" Chad chuckled and Delphina gave him a dubious look. He made her sound much more flawless than she actually was.

"The fact that I exist." She fired back dryly. Audrey and Chad rolled their eyes at her as Delphina stood to scrape the remains of her breakfast into the trash. She was discarding her plate when she heard heeled footsteps quickly approaching her from behind. Delphina shut her eyes in exhaustion, lacking the motivation to confront Sloane once more as the footsteps came to a stop behind her.

"Um, Delphina?" Her eyes flew open at the sound of Evie's soft voice and she turned rapidly, nearly dropping her plate in the process. The self-proclaimed princess stood before Delphina, figure nervous as her fingers drummed on a small container she was holding.

Delphina wanted to snap at her, but then remembered how Evie had tried to help her through both of Mal's torture sessions and bit her tongue, taking a deep breath. Finally, Delphina met her eyes, still exhausted and ready to just go to class. "What is it?" She asked softly. "Does Mal already have her first assignment for me?"

Evie shook her head quickly. "N-no, no. She's still brainstorming, but, um..." Delphina frowned at the 'brainstorming' comment as Evie held out the small container, trying to muster up a smile. "I wanted you to have this." Delphina glanced at the container warily, then back at Evie. "It's a burn cream." The designer hastily clarified. "I-I used it back when I was still learning how to use a curling iron." Delphina's features softened slightly while Evie continued stumbling over her words. "I still keep a little on hand in case of an emergency. I-It's not a lot and I'm not sure how well it'll treat..." Evie trailed off, dark eyes floating to Delphina's shoulder. It seemed like she was searching for a word to make what her best friend did sound tolerable. "That, but..." Evie finally settled on a word and Delphina couldn't keep in her bitter scoff, demeanor hardening once more.

"You mean the soul-snatching brand your bestie gave me because she was too much of a little bitch to accept the fact that I wasn't going to willingly fall in line with her bullshit 'Impress My Mommy' mission like the rest of you?" She spat coldly and Evie flinched.

"Delphina, I...I don't..." Evie began stumbling over her words again, clearly unsure of how to reply in this situation.

"Just...save it." Delphina sighed tiredly, cutting Evie off. "I don't wanna hear whatever pathetic excuse you come up with to try and gain any sympathy from me. Mal had my sympathy last night and she burned it to the ground. In every sense." Evie's gaze fell to her shoes as Delphina turned and placed her plate onto the pile of dishes.