He kicked the ball up and hit it with his knee, a cocky grin on his face. "Cool. You're not bad, Francis. Not bad." He started back towards the table, passing the ball between his two feet as he walked.
He laughed, crossing his arms. "Is that supposed to be a compliment? If so then thanks, I think. You're pretty good, I'd say."
"Oh, not with the soccer," George said cheerfully, grinning back at him. "You're so-so in that respect." He laughed deeply, an easy, good-natured laugh. "But no, I mean just in general. God, you should have met Poppy's last boyfriend." He rolled his eyes and balanced the ball on his head. "A real piece of work, that one."
"Oh God. Do you mean Evan? I've met him. He's... He's not a great person." He shook his head at the thought, suddenly recalling the night at the observatory.
"He's a total ass," George said bluntly. "Self-entitled, pretentious.." He sighed and shook his head. "Well, sounds like you know. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that I think you're going to fit in just fine around here. You've already made a good first impression."
"I just hope it stays that way," he said uncertainly, his tone darkening ever so slightly. "I probably seem better than I really am."
George glanced over at him, a little unsure as they rejoined the group. "I'm sure that's not the case," he said eventually to Francis. "Bee doesn't like people who don't deserve it, you know." He shrugged and went to go sit down.
He sat back down as well, seemingly in careful consideration. He glanced over at Poppy, forgetting his worries momentarily. "Hey," he said kindly. "That was pretty fun."
She glanced over at him with a small smile on her face. She scootched her chair over towards his and leaned on him slightly, her head resting on his shoulder. "I'm glad you're back," she said quietly. "Who won?"
(Oh noo he's gonna be so sad when they break up) He kissed her forehead, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "It was tie. He's surprisingly decent," he said. "I thought I was going to win for sure."
(Ach, they're both going to be devastated. Poppy's just going to not know what to do. I'm actually really interested in how it's all going to work. I think Evan will try to be their friend again because he knows that it would be suspicious otherwise. I also might add some more drama, if that's okay. Like, Poppy tries to leave after they break up or something to that effect.) "I told you," she said, grinning up at him. "My brother is scary good."
(Yesss I love drama so it's all good. It will be so sad until the end which has to be a happy or I'll cry. I don't think Vivienne will try to get back with him or anything. She just wants to ruin it for him.) He nodded. "You didn't think I could do it. I'm disappointed," he said jokingly, putting his arm around her. "But that's alright. I understand where you're coming from
She leaned into his arms comfortably with a playful grin on her face. "Well, I was half right," she teased. "Seeing as you weren't able to beat my brother who is something like 10 years younger than you."
"Oh, hush," he teased. "You also half wrong, because your brother wasn't able to beat me, and I'm something like 10 years older than him.*
"Always the pessimist," she responded quietly in his ear. "Forgive me for trying to see the glass half full."
"Oh yeah? The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb," he replied smoothly. "That's the full saying."
"So I suppose I'm stuck siding with you, then," she said with a small sigh. "You're breaking my heart here."
