ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter one

━━ ELISA DIDN'T ENJOY the jittery feelings she'd get around a certain person. She never had. They often spelled bad things for her. Every crush she ever had often ended in disaster. ( More often than not for herself than the person at the receiving end of her feelings. ) So in true Elisa fashion, she decided never to get those feelings for anyone—it sounded a lot easier.

               People always said there was no way to control who you loved. Something Elisa very much agreed with.

               Though, it wasn't like she loved anybody in a romantic sense. She didn't! She loves Nico like a brother, she loves Bianca like a sister, she loves Castor and Pollux as any good younger sister should, and she loves Zoë like a friend. It didn't matter to her that some of the people died, the love for someone never goes away even if they have past on.

               However, the line between friendship and a disaster-crush-waiting-to-happen line was starting to blur between Elisa and Percy. She wasn't sure when it started. Or what changed everything. Perhaps it had been back on the freight train, the turning point in their relationship from complete nuisance to mild nuisance. Maybe it had been when the two bore the curse of Atlas together.

               Or possibly, it was just Percy's stupid—maybe perfect and addictive—smile that drew her in. The way his eyes glinted when he talked about rock music with her, talked about the latest comic book he read, or TV shows he had watched.

               She thoroughly enjoyed the dumb, horrible stick-figure drawings of his previous quests he would give her as explanations instead of writing a letter. The dopey way his letters would ramble on, completely losing track of what the synopsis was.

               Or when he listened to her ramblings on whatever new music artist she had found that week. Or why she thought his theories about whatever comic it was that month were completely ridiculous and made no sense whatsoever. ( He always told her it was a "headcanon" and that he didn't think it was possible, just a fun thing to consider. She had no idea what the fuck headcanon meant. ) Or when Percy agreed to let Elisa teach him some Spanish. She promised to help him in his Freshman year so he'd get an A in his Spanish class.

               Something had changed, but she wasn't sure what, or if it was even mutual, but something had shifted. A line had clouded between them and Elisa wasn't sure what was what anymore.

               And Elisa wasn't the only one who had noticed it. Far from it. It seemed everyone she talked to had picked up on the change. Castor and Pollux would lunge for any letter she got, even if it wasn't from Percy, but instead from Callum. Even Callum had noticed it, constantly writing letters, demanding Elisa to write to him sooner or to Iris Message him quicker. Drew and Silena were having a delightful time, whispering and giggling with each other. Both refused to tell Elisa what was said between them. Annabeth had picked up on it; the daughter of Athena seemed to have a knack for finding out everything.

               But nobody ever listened to Elisa when she furiously yelled at them to leave her alone and let her be.

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There wasn't much Elisa liked about New York City. To be honest, the only thing she liked was the food. She didn't like big cities; she hated the odor, hated the crowds, hated the trash, and she definitely hated how easy it was to get lost. Elisa was horrible with directions. She never understood street signs, she could never remember street names, buildings on the streets, or anything to help her get around. It was horrible.

               But there she was in the detested city. For Percy. To see a movie he kept repeatedly mentioning to her that he wanted to see badly.

               She was walking down East 81st street, looking out for a building named Goode High School. She found it—somehow, maybe by a pure miracle—and started to head for the parking lot. Percy told her to find his mom and wait for his freshman orientation to be over.

               That was the plan until the side of Goode High School exploded and Percy burst from the hole. He ran straight into Elisa, sending both nearly tumbling into the street. He wrapped an arm tightly around her shoulders, pulling them back onto the sidewalk.

               Any good mood Elisa might have had was long gone. "What happened?" she asked grimly.

               Percy never got to answer as a girl charged out of the alleyway Percy came from. She yelled, "Percy, wait up!"

               The girl was covered in golden monster dust. She had curly red hair, freckles sprinkled across her face, soft features, and emerald green eyes; Rachel Elizabeth Dare. A girl Elisa had heard about unwillingly from Percy. She was the girl that Percy had nearly sliced up if she hadn't been completely mortal last winter.

               Elisa's eyes hardened. She heard the fire alarms blaring and the smoke billowing into the air. "What happened?" she insisted.

               "Er—well, Elisa you know Rachel. But Rachel ... this is Elisa."

               Rachel barely offered Elisa a glance. "Hi," she amended quickly. She looked at Percy. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"

               Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive.

               "Right." Elisa's voice was cold. "We need to go. Before the police get here."

               "I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She grabbed Percy's arm, took out a permanent marker, and wrote a line of nine numbers on his hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now, get going."

               "But—" Percy tried to protest.

               "I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

               Elisa watched the redhead run back towards the school. Her dark purple eyes had long gone frosty with anger, her freshly caramel-brown hair was pulled back from her face, the curtain bangs hanging loosely by her face. She didn't waste another minute before turning on her heels and marching away from the school.

               Percy chased after her. "Hey!" he said. "There were these two empousai," he tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and—"

               Somehow, Elisa looked even more irate. "You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" she demanded.

               "She can see through the Mist," said Percy. "She saw the monsters before I did."

               "That's not the point," she said. "Do you know what happens to mortals when they get involved in this stuff, Percy?"

               "The monsters don't go after them—"

               "Yes, they do," Elisa disagreed coldly. "Remember what happened to my mother when the monster couldn't get to me? They do get caught in the crossfire, Percy."

               He fell silent, his mouth sealed closed. He had stopped dead in his tracks. "I wouldn't have told her if she didn't see them. She's that girl from Hoover Dam."

               "I know."

               "You do?" asked Percy.

               "You described her to me before," said Elisa. "Don't you remember?"

               "Er—not exactly," he admitted.

               "Well," Elisa looked over her shoulder at the burning building, "she's cute. I can see why you'd remember her so well."

               Percy nearly tripped on a crack in the sidewalk. "I—I never thought about that," he stammered, a red flush creeping up his neck. "And that's not why I remember her, anyways. It's because I thought she was a monster and tried to kill her. There's nothing going on between us, so—"

               "Exactly, so forget it," snapped Elisa. She continued to walk toward York Avenue. "We're not dating, do whatever you please."

               Percy changed the subject after that: "I'll deal with the school. Honest, it'll be fine."

               "You're acting like I was the one who set it on fire," said Elisa. She barely looked at him. "We just need to get going, before the police really start looking for you."

               She took one last look at Goode High School. Behind the two, smoke billowed up from the building in dark waves. In the dark column of ashes, Elisa thought she might have seen a face—a she-demon with red eyes, laughing with razor-sharp teeth.

               "You're right," Percy said, shaking Elisa out of her stupor. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."

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Elisa knew she wasn't the best person to be around when she was angry. She was rash and abrasive, letting anger take control of her mouth. She knew all that, and yet, she didn't feel much sympathy for Percy for being stuck in a taxi with her.

               He tried to talk to her, but she brushed him off. She knew it was better to stay silent than to speak with rage. All Percy managed to get out of her was that she still had no clue where Nico di Angelo was. ( Percy didn't fail to notice how bitter and upset she sounded while telling him the horrible news. )

               "Any word on Luke?" Percy asked in one final attempt to get Elisa to talk.

               Elisa shook her head. What Luke represented at Camp Half-Blood was a touchy subject, and tied so closely with her past that it was like a hot knife stabbing her through the gut at every mention. She had seen firsthand the worst of what Luke had joined, and from that moment on, she never liked him or who he associated with. Unlike Annabeth, who was still hung up on him because of her close past with him; a close enough past that lead to an eventual crush from the daughter of Athena's side.

               When they had fought Luke on Mount Tamalpais last winter, he had somehow survived a fifty-foot fall off a cliff. As far as Elisa was aware, the son of Hermes was sailing around on his demon-infested cruise ship while the chopped-up remains of Lord Kronos re-formed, bit by bit, in a golden sarcophagus, biding his time until he had enough power to challenge the Olympians. The word "problem" seemed like too simple of a word to describe just how fucked they were.

               "Annabeth says that Mount Tam is still overrun with monsters the last time she was in San Francisco. But she didn't go near it. She doesn't think Luke's up there anymore, either."

               "What about Grover?"

               "He's at Camp," said Elisa. "You'll see him when we get back."

               "Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?"

               Elisa chewed on her bottom lip. "You'll see," she avoided answering.

               As they headed through Brooklyn, Percy used a phone Elisa had managed to get from Drew. The daughter of Aphrodite had Charmspeaked it off a salesman, and the man willingly gave her four completely free of charge. Half-bloods shouldn't have phones ( something Elisa was very against, it just wasn't fair! ), so most don't have one. Using phones broadcasted half-blood's voices, it was like sending up a bright flare in the night sky.

               Elisa and Percy figured they'd take the chance; calling Percy's mom to try and explain before she saw the news was the best they could do. Sally Jackson never answered, so he left a voice mail, trying to explain what had happened back at Goode. He didn't do a good job, like at all. He told his mom he was fine, and that she shouldn't worry, but he was going to stay at Camp until things cooled down in the mortal world. He asked her to tell Paul Blofis he was sorry.

               "Who's Paul?" Elisa asked, taking back the phone.

               "My mom's boyfriend."

               They rode in silence after that. The city melted away until they were off the expressway and rolling through the countryside of northern Long Island, past orchards, wineries, and fresh produce stands.

               Elisa glanced at Percy. She swallowed harshly, noticing how he was eyeing the phone number on his hand. "You gonna call her?" she asked.

               Percy looked at Elisa quickly. "Maybe," he said. "Maybe not. I don't know—do you think I should?"

               Elisa's eyes narrowed as she turned her head to look out the window on her side. "Why does it matter what I think?"

               "Do you think she'd be able to explain anything?" Percy clarified.

               "I don't think so," said Elisa, leaning into her seat. "Remember what she said? She told you that you had to explain things to her."

               The taxi exited on Route 25A. They headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on their left. Elisa told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.

               The driver frowned at her. "There ain't nothing here, miss. You sure you want out?"

               "Yes, I'm sure," she said. Elisa pulled out a roll of mortal cash she had Connor and Travis steal from the camp store. The driver decided not to argue at the sight of all the cash.

               Percy and Elisa hiked to the crest of the hill. The young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as the two approached, and let Elisa scratch under his chin. Steam hissed out of his nostrils like a teakettle, and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.

               "Hey, Peleus," she said. "Keeping everything safe?"

               At the start of Elisa's permanent stay at Camp Half-Blood, the dragon had only been six feet long. Now, he was at least twice that, and as thick around as the pine tree itself. Above his head, on the lowest branch, was the Golden Fleece. ( Yes, that Golden Fleece that Jason had collected. ) The Fleece shimmered, its magic protecting the Camp's borders from invasion. Peleus seemed relaxed, like everything was okay.

               Below them, Camp Half-Blood looked peaceful—green fields and forests, shiny white Greek buildings. The four-story farmhouse they called the Big House sat proudly in the midst of the strawberry fields. To the north, past the beach, the Long Island Sound glittered in the sunlight.

               Still ... something felt wrong. Tension was heavy in the air, as if the hill itself was holding its breath, waiting for something bad to happen.

               They walked down and into the valley, finding the summer session was in full swing. It was the first summer Elisa had ever spent at Camp Half-Blood, and part of her almost felt like she was at home, a feeling she had never had back in Colorado and living with Liliana Bardales.

               Most campers had arrived last Friday, a lot of new faces for Elisa to learn. And a lot of people there to learn about Elisa. That had to be the only thing she hated, she hated being the new kid, she felt out of the loop. But so far, everyone she had met had been welcoming.

               The satyrs were playing reed pipes down in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow with woodland magic. Campers were having flying horseback lessons, swooping over the woods on their pegasi. Smoke rose from the forges, and hammers rang as kids made their own weapons for Arts & Crafts. The Athena and Demeter teams were having a chariot race around a dirt track, and over at the canoe lake, some kids in a Greek trireme were fighting a large orange sea serpent.

               Percy bumped his shoulder with Elisa's. "How has your first summer at Camp been?" he asked.

               "Summer's barely started," she pointed out. "Give me a week or two and I'll get back to you with an answer."

               "Then ... I'll be waiting," said Percy.

               The two started to walk toward the cabins. A smile grew on Elisa's face as she remembered something. "You told me how every year at the end of summer session, you get a bead," she said. "Well, I heard that you tried to tell Chiron that since I've been on the run for two years, that I should get a couple of extra beads this year."

               Percy had long since flushed red. "The beads mean another year survived!" he squawked. "And you've known about your dad since, like, 2005!"

               "Chiron also told you that wasn't how that worked," said Elisa. "But thanks for trying. It doesn't matter how many beads I get, though—it doesn't matter to me, anyway. There might be some superiority thing about how many Camp beads you have that I don't know about."

               "I don't think there's one," said Percy. "I mean, most times, the camper with the most years at Camp is the head counselor, but that's more of an experience thing."

               "Right ..." Elisa slowed down as they got closer to twelve cabins. "Hey, I gotta work on something."

               Percy started to frown. "Work on something? On what? With who?"

               "Clarisse and Annabeth," Elisa answered, taking a few steps away from the son of Poseidon. "But it's all confidential. Super secret, like secret enough Clarisse would punch me in the face if I let anything slip. I can't tell you what it is."

               Percy was looking at Elisa like she had just cursed his mother's name. "Clarisse?"

               Clarisse La Rue, a daughter of Ares, and one of Percy's least favorite people on the face of the earth. Elisa knew why they didn't like each other, having been told the story after having a conversation with Clarisse. Clarisse tried to pulp the boy on regular basis, just like her father.

               Clarisse wasn't exactly Elisa's favorite person either, but they got along well enough. Elisa had never made the girl gargle toilet water, and nor had she ever offended Clarisse's father so badly by beating him at his own game.

               "We've been working on something," said Elisa. "I'll see you later. Oh—and go see Chiron. You need to tell him you're here for Grover's hearing."

               "Working on what?" Percy pried. "Grover's hearing?"

               Elisa glanced at the line of trees closest to them. "Get Chiron to tell you—if he does," she said. "Just tell him you're here in time for Grover's hearing."

               "Elisa, you're not being very helpful right now," Percy started to tell her, but the girl was long gone, jogging down the path toward the archery field.

               "Yeah ..." he muttered. "Great talking with you, too, Elisa."

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As much as Elisa loved nature, she hated the people who were supposed to protect it. All she wanted to do was wring every of those dumbass Cloven Elders' necks. The Council of Cloven Elders, a bunch of overweight satyrs, were sitting in a circle in the grass. Grover stood in the middle of them, facing three of the fattest satyrs, all three of whom sat on topiary thrones shaped out of rose bushes. Grover was telling them the story of Pan and New Mexico, horribly, as he never was a good storyteller; twisting the bottom of his T-shirt until it was wrinkled, shifting nervously on his goat hooves, and gnawing so hard on his bottom lip that it looked ready to bleed.

               Standing off to one side of the circle were Elisa, Annabeth, Clarisse, and Juniper, Grover's girlfriend. The brunette turned at the sound of galloping hooves and saw Chiron dropping Percy off next to her.

               Clarisse was quick to glare at the son of Poseidon, muttering, "Punk." Her stringy brown hair was tied back with a camouflage bandanna. She looked buffer than what Elisa remembered before.

               Annabeth had her arms around Juniper, who looked like she'd been crying. Juniper was petite with wispy hair the color of amber and a pretty, elfish face. She wore a green chiton and laced sandals. Her ears with slightly pointed, and instead of her eyes being tinged red from crying, they were green, the color of chlorophyll. She was a tree nymph—a dryad.

               "It's going terribly," Juniper sniffled.

               The girl patted her shoulder. "He'll be fine, Juniper," the daughter of Athena promised.

               Percy elbowed Elisa painfully in the side. "Who?" he whispered to her, asking about Juniper.

               She gritted her teeth, rubbing her side. "Grover's girlfriend," she murmured back. "Did you have to do that so hard?" she grumbled.

               "Sorry," amended Percy without much convey to his words.

               "Master Underwood!" the council member on the right shouted, cutting off whatever Grover was trying to say. "Do you seriously expect us to believe this?"

               "But—but, Silenus," Grover stammered. "It's the truth!"

               Silenus turned to his colleagues and muttered something. Chiron cantered up to the front and stood next to them; the elders didn't look very impressed with the honorary member.

               Silenus tugged his yellow polo shirt over his belly and adjusted himself on his rosebush throne. "Master Underwood, for six months—six months—we have been hearing these scandalous claims that you heard the wild god Pan speak."

               "But I did!" Grover insisted.

               "Impudence!" said the elder on the left.

               "Now, Maron," said Chiron. "Patience."

               "Patience, indeed!" Maron said. "I've had it up to my horns with this nonsense. As if the wild god would speak to ... to him."

               Juniper looked like she wanted to charge the old satyr and beat him up, but Elisa and Clarisse held her back. "Wrong fight, girlie," muttered Clarisse. "Wait."

               "For six months," Silenus continued, "we have indulged you, Master Underwood. We let you travel. We allowed you to keep your searcher's license. We waited for you to bring proof of your preposterous claim. And what have you found in six months of travel?"

               "I just need more time," pleaded Grover.

               "Nothing!" the elder in the middle chimed in. "You have found nothing."

               "But, Leneus—"

               Silenus raised his hand. Chiron leaned in and said something to the satyrs. The satyrs didn't look happy. They muttered and argued among themselves, but Chiron said something else, and Silenus sighed. He nodded reluctantly.

               "Master Underwood," Silenus announced, "we will give you one more chance."

               The satyr brightened. "Thank you!"

               "One more week."

               Elisa watched as Grover's hope burst right before her eyes. "What? But sir! That's impossible!"

               "One more week, Master Underwood. And then, if you cannot prove your claims, it will be time for you to pursue another career. Something to suit your dramatic talents. Puppet theater, perhaps. Or tap dancing."

               "But, sir, I—I can't lose my searcher's license. My whole life—"

               "This meeting of the council is adjourned," said Silenus. "And now, let us enjoy our noonday meal!"

               The old satyr clapped his hands and nymphs melted out of the trees with platters of vegetables, fruits, tin cans, and other goat delicacies. The circle of satyrs broke and changed for the food. Elisa watched the satyrs push each other out of the way, like they couldn't wait to get their pudgy hands on the food.

               Grover walked over dejectedly. His faded blue T-shirt had a picture of a satyr on it. It read GOT HOOVES?

               "Hi, Percy," he mumbled. Looking crestfallen, Grover wouldn't even look up from the ground. "That went well, huh?"

               "Those old goats!" Juniper said. "Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!"

               "There is another option," Clarisse said darkly.

               "No. No." Juniper shook her head. "Grover, I won't let you."

               His face was ashen. "I—I'll have to think about it. But we don't even know where to look."

               "What are you talking about?" Percy asked.

               In the distance, a conch horn sounded.

               Annabeth pursed her lips. "We'll fill you in later, Percy. We'd better get back to our cabins. Inspection is starting."

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Every afternoon there was a cabin inspection. And Elisa hated cabin inspections. Even when it was Cabin Twelve's time to do cabin inspections. Every afternoon, one of the senior counselors would go around with a papyrus scroll checklist. The best cabin got the first shower hour, which meant hot water was guaranteed. The worst cabin got kitchen patrol after dinner.

               With only three inhabitants, Cabin Twelve was never at risk of being rated badly. Some of it had to do with two self-admitted clean freaks living there, too. Elisa and Castor seemed to be dust's worst enemies. The only cabins that ever really stood in Cabin Twelve's chances of being first were Athena and Aphrodite's cabins.

               Castor and Pollux were done cleaning by the time Elisa made it back to Cabin Twelve. The cabin felt more like home than it had in December, and she had made it more of a home for herself. Growing up, she hadn't had much, if you didn't count the shitload of trauma past on and given to her. She didn't have much to fill her space in Cabin Twelve, either. But as time went on, the more people Elisa started to consider family grew, which meant she was getting more possessions.

               Drew and Silena often talked about something called "love language". Silena was adamant that Drew's love language was gift-giving, while her's was spending time, however, Silena said she wasn't sure what Elisa's was just yet. With Drew's love language being gift-giving, Elisa often accumulated small trinkets from the daughter of Aphrodite. Silena loved taking pictures, meaning Elisa had also gained pictures to hang on the wall; some of her and Callum when he visited in January, the three Dionysus kids, and a lot of Drew and Elisa arguing over something dumb. Silena had even managed to sneak in a couple of Beckendorf and herself—not that Elisa entirely minded.

               Castor sat up on his bed, grinning from ear to ear. That was normally a smile on Pollux's face. "So, how was your—?"

               "Don't you dare call it a date!" Elisa hissed. "I told you, it wasn't a date."

               Pollux rolled his eyes, finishing folding up the last of his Camp Half-Blood T-shirts. He stuffed it inside a drawer. "You would make Argus drive you all the way to New York for a not-date?"

               "Yes!"

               Pollux snorted. "Lisa, I don't have to be a son of Aphrodite to know that you feel at least something for Percy."

               "It's a good thing that you're not one, then," said Elisa, shrugging. "'Cause I don't feel anything for him."

               "Well, I am a daughter of Aphrodite," said a voice. Silena Beauregard was leaning against Cabin Twelve's doorway with a smile and her inspection scroll. "And I can say with full certainty that you like him."

               "I do not!" Elisa insisted, flopping down on her bed.

               Silena rolled her eyes good-naturedly, starting to write things down on her inspection scroll. She stopped by Elisa's bed, nudging her lightly in the foot. When Elisa didn't move, she turned to the twins.

               "Good job, guys," she said. "As spotless as last time. I think you may be giving Cabin Six a run for its money."

               "Annabeth won't be pleased to hear that," said Castor. "She loves winning everything."

               Silena made one final check on her scroll. "We all know that," she agreed before walking out of the cabin.

               The three siblings watched her walk off the front porch before Pollux turned to Elisa, like a lion waiting to pounce. "See!" he said, nearly yelling. "Silena agrees with me!"

               "Silena thinks everyone has a crush on everyone," said Elisa. "She thinks she's a demigod matchmaker."

               "She kinda is, though," Castor admitted, shrugging.

               Then, Drew Tanaka burst into the cabin. She didn't look so different from last December, if anything had changed, only her hair had grown. She still wore pink eyeliner and enough bracelets to fill a jewelry store. She was probably Elisa's closest friend that hadn't been on the last winter's quest. They were close enough that Elisa stopped denying something was more than friends between her and Percy to Drew and only Drew.

               Drew sat down on the edge of Elisa's bed, shoving Elisa's legs over to make room for herself. "You're back earlier than you should have been," she said, almost suspiciously. "And you looked more sour-faced than you normally do."

               "Thanks for the compliment," Elisa muttered. "You're really boosting my confidencehere."

               Drew leaned forward. "What did Percy do? Did he cancel the date? I swear, if he did, I'll—"

               "He didn't cancel," said Elisa. Then, she remembered, "And it wasn't a date!"

               The daughter of Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Whatever," she muttered. "But, seriously, what happened?"

               "Some empousai attacked Percy," said Elisa. When Castor raised his eyebrows, she spilled everything. It didn't take much, she'll admit, but she needed to get it off her chest.

               Drew's perfectly sculpted eyebrows were knitted. She leaned backward on Elisa's bed, supporting herself with her hands. Slowly, she started to smile. "You're jealous ..."

               Elisa's eyes narrowed. Jealous? She had never been jealous before in such a way; not in a romantic, never in a don't-talk-to-him-because-I-like-him way.

               "What's there to be jealous of?" she asked.

               "It sounded like that Rachel girl was low-key flirting with Percy," said Pollux.

               "Yeah, because telling him to tell her about gods is really flirting." Elisa rolled her eyes.

               "You're missing the point where she gave him her number," said Pollux. "That's the flirting."

               Elisa looked at her brother. "What the hell am I supposed to do about it?"

               "Tell Percy you like him?" offered Castor, shrugging.

               Drew's eyes lit up. She clapped her hands together loudly. "I have the perfect way to do it! Elisa, you can't just tell him, we have to—!"

               "I'm not telling him," Elisa smacked Drew's hands off her shoulders, "because I don't like him! I meant, what do I do about my jealousy? I don't want to be jealous, I feel like a creepy stalker ..."

               "You could just ignore his existence ..." Drew grumbled, rubbing her hand.

               "Perfect!" said Elisa, grinning. "I'll do that. That's what I've done with every other crush."

               Drew's face was aggravated. "I was being sarcastic, dumbass."

👑  SEPT. 20TH, 2022  /  it's started ‼️

anyways, drew and elisa are the besties that make you wonder if they're actually gay for each other and not friends