Toffee begins his conquest (Friday, morning)

[Kat]

She grinned when he mentioned checking his schedule, typical response but it amused her. "A song would be lovely! Make sure it's a good one, Princess is apparently whipping up something as well for the assembly, the last thing I want is her performing something surprisingly good and getting the spotlight." She was a little miffed about that actually. If there was one area Jasmine had next to no talent in, it was singing. Sure she could play a mean clarinet, but that was really only done to look good on her record. Sometimes she longed to learn a more exciting instrument and rock out the crowd. But that wouldn't happen.

"Soccer, huh? Yeah, good luck with that one. Ace is a little protective of his team, so don't bother trying out unless you're really, really good. Otherwise he probably won't accept you just out of spite. Even though most school leave all of those decisions up to the coach, Ace has that man wrapped around his little finger. He'll probably be the one doing the try-out for you, so just watch out. Once you get on, you can raise all the hell you want. But getting on could require a little finnesse on your part. The only thing that boy responds to is talent, kissing ass or compliments don't work on him. So if you want on, make sure you do perfect at your try-out." She had often wondered why he was so ridiculously protective of his soccer team, like he obsessed over it. He had his issues, that was for sure.

"Drama would be great, auditions still haven't happened yet for the play so that shouldn't be a problem for you." She had smirked when he'd mentioned Romeo. Personally, she wasn't a fan of Shakespeare. But he didn't need to know that.

[Cres]

"A song would be lovely! Make sure it's a good one, Princess is apparently whipping up something as well for the assembly, the last thing I want is her performing something surprisingly good and getting the spotlight."

"I shall do my very best to beat her," Toffee said, confident that he actually could. With his performance skills and Coffee's song-writing skills, how could he possibly be second?

Toffee didn't like so much the news that Ace was the soccer team captain. Oh, well, he'd go there anyway. He was only a little worried about Coffee, whom he also wanted in the team. Coffee wasn't quite as good at soccer as Toffee was.

"I don't kiss ass anyway," Toffee pointed out at that point. "There are better ways. I'll go for the soccer team anyway, even if just to spite him. I'll just have to coach little twinkle-eye here a little," he poked his brother on the shoulder from behind Jasmine's back, "so he can get on the team as well."

Coffee smiled sheepishly but said nothing.

"What play will they be doing?" he asked, curious. He wanted the lead, of course - but he was curious to know what role it was he'd be going after.

Coffee sighed in his mind. He didn't particularly like acting. He hoped there'd be enough minor parts to go round so he could just, like, stand guard for the most of the time or something.

[Kat]

"I think I may just go watch your try-out," Jasmine said with a hint of mischief in her tone, "it should be highly entertaining." She just wanted to see the look on Ace's face throughout it all, especially if Toffee did end up being worthy of a spot. Not to mention when he saw her, he would know that she had sent him. Payback was a bitch, and it's name was Jasmine.

"The play, you know I have no idea. Drama's not exactly my strong point, so I stay away from the production." It was a little surprising, given that she was acting every day of her life for the sake of getting ahead.

[Cres]

"I think I may just go watch your try-out,"

Toffee grinned.

"Then I'll be sure to show off some extra," he said.

"The play, you know I have no idea. Drama's not exactly my strong point, so I stay away from the production."

"Such tragedy for the stage," he said with a wink, certain she would know he was hinting that he saw well that she wasn't a bad actor in real life. He really liked her already. He began to entertain the thought of making her his alpha female, so to speak. He had never been especially devoted to any girl - well, save for one, but she wasn't here, was she?

[Kat]

"I'd appreciate that extra effort, thanks." She winked at him- he really had no idea just how much she would appreciate it. She really did hope he was good, maybe even good enough to threaten Ace a little. She needed something in her corner to swing things her way, after all. Besides, hurting Ace would hurt Princess. Ever since she had shown up last year and endeared herself to Ace, she had been at the top of Jasmine's hit list. She was in all honesty still slightly bitter over the blonde's refusal from a few years ago, instead choosing Starlight over her. Now she just enjoyed making his life a little bit harder at times.

She understood his next comment perfectly and smiled at him, impressed that he was so knowledgeable. So like her. Of course! That was the attraction. He reminded her of herself. Knows what he wants, does whatever possible to get it and likes to take time to scheme and think things through. He would definitely be handy to have around this year. It was as though fate had intervened and brought him to her. What a lovely thought. She'd always thought fate was crap, but this one was simply too good to just be a simple coincidence.

[Kat]

Princess was standing by her locker with Rowan at her side, her arm wound through his. She had woken in a grumpy mood this morning and wasn't quite in the mood to be cuddly, but she knew if she hinted at that then Rowan would only question her and be worried about her all day long, thinking he had done something wrong and apologizing constantly, probably even buying her a present to try and make her happy again. Then she'd only want to punch him, so the safest thing to do was to just be her usual self around him. Naia, another friend of hers who had a locker only two down from her, was also there and they were talking about their science homework when Princess noticed something interesting. There, down the hall, was her arch rival Jasmine, with two very hot and obviously new guys. A smirk made it's way across her face, delight pulling her lips into a smile. Trust Jasmine to brighten up the day.


Jasmine looked ahead of her, wondering what other information to give them when her eyes fell on Princess and her boyfriend. Glancing up at Toffee with an evil look on her face, Jasmine winked at him. Walking up to Princess with the two boys in tow, she stopped before her, a polite smile on her face.

"Princy, lovely day today, isn't it?"

Princess smiled back, nodding her head. "Every day is a lovely day when you're in love!" She kissed Rowan on the cheek and hugged him, her eyes flickering over the new boys. "So, what's this? Daddy buy you mail-order boyfriends?"

[Cres]

Toffee examined Princess, very interested, as Jasmine brought them to the girl and her obvious boyfriend. A wide grin spread across his face at the sight of Rowan. What was this, Halloween had started a few weeks early? But he didn't say anything just yet.

Rowan, for his part, didn't know anything at all was the matter. He was all as happy as could be. He hadn't imagined he could be this happy.

Toffee noticed it. He felt like being sick. Happiness was something he tolerated only to a certain limit - at least, when it came to other people's happiness.

"Every day is a lovely day when you're in love!"

That and the kiss made Rowan feel sufficiently fluffy so that he didn't much think of anything while Princess continued.

Toffee grinned at her latter remark, however.

"Yes, they have a special offer," he said. "Two in the price of one. Coffee's obviously the extra gift."

Coffee smiled sheepishly.

[Kat]

Jasmine looked a little disgusted as Princess replied and hugged Rowan. She knew there was something up with them, there was no way Princess would ever settle down with someone. Especially not someone like Rowan. When she made the comment about mail-order boyfriends, though, Jasmine's eyes narrowed. She knew exactly what Princess was hinting at. It was a joke that had been quite popular among her side for a while, hinting that Jasmine and her mother had been purchased from their family back in Malaysia and brought here to be a trophy family for her father-in-law. Princess had been the one to start it, actually. Even though most had given up on it now, it still aggravated Jasmine and Princess knew it. When Toffee replied though, it gave her a moment to compose herself.

"You know how my daddy loves to spoil me." She winked at Princess, intent on not letting the other girl get the upper hand.


Princess, however, was way ahead of Jasmine this morning. "Oh I bet he does. He probably spoiled you from the moment he met you, didn't he? On the outside and inside." Though the comment was vague and could be taken in a variety of ways, Princess knew Jasmine would take it the way she'd intended it. Looking up at Toffee now, she looked him over and smiled. "Why bother with a second if the first is good enough? Obviously you can't be that special if you need a second." Her eyes twinkling, Princess was definitely not grumpy anymore. Though she actually would have loved to flirt with Toffee instead of insult him, now was not the time to pursue such things. Not with Rowan here.

[Cres]

Toffee recalled what Jasmine had said about Princess all too well. The two of them were really bitter enemies, it was obvious. Toffee wondered briefly what kind of a choice Princess would have been, but he wasn't about to change anymore.

He wondered what her angle was with the Scot, though. And he wondered how she might reply to his flirt. Would the temptation be too much? And would Jasmine realise what he was trying to do if he flirted with Princess right in front of Jasmine?

He was offended now, however. And that settled his present course of action.

"Who said I needed a second?" he retorted with a smug smile. "I'd say it's he who needs the first - if you know what I mean. He's with me for mercy-bits - aren't you, bro?"

Coffee, being the nice boy he was, smiled to his brother, unoffended. He was actually pretty aghast at what Princess had said to Jasmine, and now quite honestly on Jasmine's side in this.

Rowan, for his part, was also aghast at Princess's retort. He didn't especially like Jasmine either, but what she had said had surely been unnecessarily harsh. He didn't say anything, however, though he did direct a slightly reproachful glance at Princess.

[Kat]

Princess didn't notice Rowan's plance, she was too intent on getting the upper hand with Jasmine. Especially in front of new people.


Jasmine said nothing at first, teetering between disbelief that she had actually said what she'd said and anger that she'd said it. Throw in a bit of angsty frustration that she would always have to face the possibility of these types of comments, and she earlier happy mood was gone.


Princess glanced back at Coffee, rolling her eyes. "Right. So typical of you. Here you have a twin brother who obviously cares a lot about you, given that he never said anything after your remark, and all you can do is beat him down? Wow, what a sweet guy you must be. Nice catch Jas, very nice. If he treats his own flesh and blood with such respect, I'm certain he'll treat you wonderfully."


Jasmine reminded herself that she needed to get control back, she needed to dig at something, anything that would shut Princess up. Glancing at Rowan for a moment, a thought entered her head. Looking back at Princess, she smiled. "Well I'm certain he'll treat me better than most of your male friends. I mean, honestly, did Ace ever do anything with you aside from fuck you? Now there's a caring guy. One you pour all your heart into and all you get is another notch on the belt. I can see why you turned to Rowan, a replacement for something you can't have, huh?" She knew Princess had feelings for Ace that extended beyond their implied strictly-physical relationship and she hoped those feelings were strong enough to throw her off. At the least they would certainly stir Rowan up.

[Cres]

All the boys were now quiet in the crossfire of the girls' hatred towards each other. Rowan was the main casualty. Princess regained his respect again with her new comment to Toffee - yes, Rowan agreed, Toffee was being a bastard, and the fact that Princess disapproved recommended her.

Jasmine's hints about Ace's and Princess's relationship hit him right under the belt, however. He had been under the impression that he had been Princess's first, like she had been his. Not that she had actually let him think anything of the sort, but he had assumed. Now he was baffled, and looking at Jasmine and Princess in turns, feeling his ears rather hot.

He didn't say anything, however. He felt himself too stupid now.

Toffee noticed Rowan's discomfiture and was much amused. He wasn't much shaken by what Princess had said about him and Coffee. Lots of people had told him the same before. He didn't care. He knew the truth, anyway.

For the moment, he was happy to stand back and watch. The girls were truly amusing. He couldn't help but hope that Bells were there. She would have made a nice addition to the chick-fight.

Coffee felt more uncomfortable than his brother. He didn't like the way people talked about his brother. It wasn't true, anyway. They had an agreement. Toffee didn't really mean anything with what he said - or so Coffee believed. It was all just a game.

[Kat]

Princess was floored to silence by Jasmine's comment, no idea presently how to come back from that one. She could always deny it, tell Jasmine to stop spreading rumours about her. At least that would save things with Rowan from getting too messy. But it would totally allow Jasmine to be the victor in this battle.


Jasmine watched as Princess floundered, knowing that she had found the perfect button to push, though she suspected it wouldn't work more than once. But this time had been well worth it.


Princess looked Jasmine in the eyes, knowing that she was losing precious time in which to bounce back. But then as she looked more at Jasmine she started to wonder at the comment. Jasmine always seemed to bring Ace up into conversation. It was a shot in the dark, but if it were true, it would be her saviour. "Well at least he pays attention to me at all. With the way you go on about him so often, I'm wondering if you're not just jealous? He would be a good catch for you after all, more high class than Lightning, really."

[Cres]

Toffee smiled ever so slightly as he watched Princess flounder. He also saw Rowan's bafflement and slight hurt, and knew she had something to explain to her apparent "love". He was beginning to understand what Princess was doing with the Scot. Well, all the better, she'd get bored eventually, and then he could see just what he wanted to do with him. Would it be worth it to try and pull him in after Princess dumped him?

Rowan felt himself quite at a loss there with the girls talking. Truth be told, he realised he didn't really understand half of what was going on. Why were they continuing talking to each other if they were enemies? He wasn't very sharp about games of this sort.

Toffee, however, was. And Princess's retort made him as curious of Jasmine's reply as Princess herself was. He wondered indeed what it was that had driven Jasmine to hate Ace so, and the thought of jealousy was indeed a good explanation. Toffee wasn't sure how he felt about it. He didn't like hanging out with girls who drooled after other boys.

Then he thought that perhaps he'd manage to sway Jasmine's affections to his direction. And perhaps, indeed, it was nothing more than hurt pride that still kept the venom in Jasmine's mind toward Ace.

Coffee kept silent. He was sharper than Rowan, and understood well the rivalry going on. However, he didn't participate.

[Kat]

Jasmine was livid. In a tone all too defensive she made her reply with a well-controlled voice. "I do not now nor have I ever had any interest in him. He is not worth my time or attention."


Princess grinned, knowing that was a lie. She'd spent a lot of time observing Jasmine and knew that when she got the way she was now, it meant she was hiding something. Looking down at her watch, she realized it that class would be starting soon and that she had better cut this war short now while she was on top. She smiled and looked Jasmine in the eyes. "Right. My bad. Time for class though, don't wanna be late." She started to walk away, but stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Oh, Jas?" She waited a moment until she knew Jasmine was about to respond with an irritated response, "I believe this would be Princess-- 1, Jasmine-- 0. Better luck next time Jas." She turned back around and didn't bother to wait for a reply, pulling Rowan along with her and saying goodbye to Naia as they passed her next class.


Jasmine felt like kicking the locker in front of her she was so angry. That damn bitch!! She'd had her, she'd almost won that battle and then out of nowhere, she'd pulled out something she wasn't even sure would work. Unless she was sure. Maybe Ace had mentioned something about her to him. In front of her new accomplice too, what a great way to start things. She looked up at Toffee, looking quite annoyed. "Now you've seen what I mean. Ace is just like her, so you see why we need to take them down. There has to be something about her that will totally bring her down, there has to be." She couldn't spend the whole year fighting with Princess, she needed to concentrate on life after high school this year and on polishing off her record to shine in front of university admissions offices. She needed to bring her down quickly.



Meanwhile, after saying goodbye to Naia, Princess turned to Rowan, knowing that he would probably have a lot to say about that. So far she'd been able to keep her bitchy side away from Rowan. "Rowie? We need to talk about that, I'm sorry." She put her arms around him and hung her head a little in front of him, hoping he'd buy the victim routine she often used. "She just never leaves me alone. You know, I tried so hard to just be nice to her all last year, but it never mattered. She would just keep being so rude and mean to me. I've never done anything to her either! And what she said about Ace, that's not true." Well it was true in a way, he did way more with her than just fuck her. He treated her very well and was quite affectionate with her. But she didn't need to be quite that direct with him. He would just think that she meant that she'd never had sex with Ace. Or at least she hoped he'd take it that way.

[Cres]

Toffee made some conclusions at Jasmine's answer. Yes, he agreed with Princess. She'd won it this time. He was slightly amused - though his hatred toward Ace was now settled for sure. He didn't like the way all the girls appeared to swoon over him. He was used to being the target of every girl's dreams. He did not handle disappointment in this way well.

When Princess left the scene, Toffee had to smile. Oh, yes, she had style.

Though he still preferred Jasmine. She was exotic. Toffee had a thing for exotic women.

He also appeared to have a thing for dark haired women.

She looked up at Toffee, looking quite annoyed. "Now you've seen what I mean. Ace is just like her, so you see why we need to take them down. There has to be something about her that will totally bring her down, there has to be."

Toffee nodded slowly while watching Princess saunter away with Rowan. A purely evil smile played across his lips.

"I'm sure there is," he said to her, with such a calculative voice that Coffee had to glance at his brother, a bit concerned. He knew well that tone. Toffee was out sniffing for trouble again. "And I shall be only too happy when I find out what it is."

He smiled to Jasmine self-confidently.

"I think she was checking me out. I'm sure we can use that somehow. Sometimes, my dear," he winked, "it's useful to consort with the enemy."



Elsewhere, Rowan's head was still reeling.

Meanwhile, after saying goodbye to Naia, Princess turned to Rowan, knowing that he would probably have a lot to say about that. So far she'd been able to keep her bitchy side away from Rowan. "Rowie? We need to talk about that, I'm sorry." She put her arms around him and hung her head a little in front of him, hoping he'd buy the victim routine she often used. "She just never leaves me alone. You know, I tried so hard to just be nice to her all last year, but it never mattered. She would just keep being so rude and mean to me. I've never done anything to her either! And what she said about Ace, that's not true."

Rowan's heart just melted right away. Of course. She was the victim. What else could she be? She was such a sweet little thing, after all. Perhaps that Jasmine had been really mean to her before, and it was hurting so much that she just had to be mean back. That was it. Rowan couldn't believe anything bad about his love.

"Aye, dun' worry, luv, I believe ye," he said at once, and wrapped his arms around her. His eyes were dark now. "Som'one shald 'ive 'er a lesson, tho', fer spreadin' off rumours 'bout ye that ain't true." His expression grew just a little more serious, and he looked hesitant. "Tho' ye shaldnae ha' been sae mean, either, Princess... she looked really hurt. Maybe if I talked tae 'er, an' persuade 'er tae apologise, an' ye cald do the same."