It's A Love Story [Romeo]

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Romeo tipped his head towards her, considering her argument. She had a point -- Paris did act like he owned Juliet, even though, to Romeo, it seemed like he had cared about the girl. People had funny ways of showing their true feelings, Romeo had come to known, but he supposed each person had their own opinions about the romance novel. Stories were meant to be interpreted in different ways, after all. "I can understand that," he agreed, chewing the side of his mouth as he carefully picked through his next words. They were at a slight disagreement, but that didn't mean he wrote off her opinion; they were both right in their interpretations, after all. There was no right answer. "I'm not saying Paris was the perfect one for Juliet. But it was always my thought that, when he saw her dead, he was truly sorry for it. If he hadn't cared for her somewhat, why would he have wanted to be laid next to her?" Romeo said aloud, still going over all of his points of arguments. It didn't change the fact that Paris was arrogant; he was. But had Romeo been perfect for Juliet either? Everyone had a fate, and if they were meant to be together, wouldn't they have been, rather than the tragedy that had befallen upon them? Truthfully, Romeo had only named his horse after the much-disliked character just because of the humor to it. But they were not really talking about Shakespeare's famous novel, at least not anymore. Now they were talking about Gabriella's romantic problems, and Romeo truly felt sorry for her, mostly because he was stuck in the same rut. However, they had different mentalities. He nodded enthusiastically to her statements, though, as he took a long drag of cigarette. He had had the same thought processes, and had come to the conclusion that, if it came down to it, he would run away. It didn't matter how far he had to go, how hard he had to fight to get away; he would never meet Aubrey at the altar. "As cowardly as running away is," he began with a shake of his head. "It's my last resort, if I can't get my parents to agree with me." Romeo didn't like running away from his problems; honesty had always been his way to go, and he stood up against his battles. But if he didn't win this battle, he wasn't going to practically be handcuffed to Aubrey and forced to marry her. There was no way hell that would ever happen. He frowned slightly in her direction, noticing the rather crestfallen, desperate look on her face. It was like he could see the wheels churning, looking for any answer to her problem. Gabriella mentioned Canada and he shrugged; anywhere worked, if he was being truthful with himself. "At one point, I actually considered Antarctica," Romeo admitted with a laugh. It was silly idea, but at that time, he'd been rather drunk with the Kings as they had consoled him. "Marrying Aubrey seemed like a colder life than that." There was a bitter tone to his voice, and he took another drag; he was quickly finishing off his cigarette, the more they both pondered on their fates. "Canada doesn't seem so bad, though. It's funny, I always thought Jamaica seemed like a good option." Romeo laughed, not being able to help himself at her statement. "Not if they couldn't find you," he pointed out, his grin matching her own. It was sad, really, that their final option had to be running away. At least with Romeo and Juliet, they tried to run away together, not matter how much that failed. For either of them, they'd be running away alone, having to cut themselves off from their friends and family, just to get the life they wanted. It was worth it, at least, to Romeo, if he could never convince his parents for what was right for him. This was his life, and he had a right to it. As she placed carrots into his hand, the touch of her fingertips against his palm felt like fire had seared through him, and his piercing blue eyes met her gaze for a very brief moment. Well, he certainly hadn't been expecting that -- no amount of skin contact had ever felt like that before. Brushing it off, Romeo held the same palm out to Gabriella's mare, careful to let her take in his scent first. After a minute, the mare inclined, her muzzle tickling his skin as she grabbed the carrots. A smile passed his lips, and he turned to the pretty girl next to him. "She's sweet," he praised before returning to the last bits of his cigarette. There was a small moment of silence as he took his last drag, and then he threw the cigarette to the ground, rubbing it out with his shoe. "If you want to know my opinion, though," he said suddenly, eyes settling on her face. "You really should talk to Dante eventually. It won't help matters to be divided, believe me. Nothing sucks worse than your fiancé ignoring you and not trying to get out of this mess together," Romeo said, running a hand through his hair. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 633 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Gabriella wasn't one to normally back down from a fight; quite the contrary it wasn't unusual for her to be so completely stubborn that she didn't know when it was smart to stop. Giving up had never been something she'd really done, and admitting defeat wasn't even an option. So when Romeo thought for a minute before saying he understood her point, Bri tried to sit and listen patiently. Her right leg -which was currently crossed over the left- was bouncing in the air absent-mindedly while her thoughts went to a different time and place. While what Romeo said made sense Bri had never been able to shake the feeling that Paris had only been saying that to be overly dramatic; after all, he hadn’t shown much affection for the girl when she’d been alive, so would he really have cared once she was dead? She laughed and said, “Drama queen,” grinning as if that cleared everything up. She was glad he’d shared his opinions on that aspect of the play with her, and glad to have the opportunity to mentally spar with someone. Seeing the flash of pity cross Romeo’s face put Bri’s back up. It was one thing for a friend to feel sympathy for her, but quite another for Romeo –who was a near stranger—to look at her like she was a kicked puppy. Luckily the expression disappeared after a second and she was able to pretend she hadn’t seen it. “Well I don’t think that’s cowardly of you,” Bri said with a smile. ”I’m considering it more of a strategic retreat.” Defeat wasn’t an option, giving in wasn’t an option anymore either. This had to be done her way now that things had been all messed up. There would be no more playing nice for this princess; she wasn’t going to talk to Dante, the consequences be damned. Romeo sounded so depressed at the thought of running away that Gabriella wondered exactly how serious the handsome prince was about just leaving everything and everyone he’d ever known. In an attempt to lighten the mood she tried a joke. ”Well you wouldn’t fit in in Jamaica, but at least it would be warm I guess.”[ It honestly sounded like a wonderful plan, but if Gabriella was running away there would be no half measures for her. She listened to his opinion on her current situation, but only a few words into it Gabriella’s eyes narrowed angrily. It was only by some miracle that Bri managed not to interrupt him, though there was a good chance her eyes were blazing when she did speak. “If he really wanted to get out of this mess he wouldn’t still be sneaking around with Vivien.” Kalli’s head jerked up at Gabriella’s dangerously quiet voice, and the girl instantly felt bad. At the moment her rage was out of control though, so she stood, moving away from Romeo with her fists clenched around the reins. She wasn’t yelling; it was more of an angry growl now. “Dante wants it both ways, but I’m not that kind of girl anymore. I don’t need his help, and after all he’s done I definitely don’t want it!” Bri’s body was trembling, and she knew she’d be embarrassed by her outburst as soon as the white hot fury cooled, but right now she was too upset to care. Kalli’s head was up, muscles taut and her nostrils flared nervously as she felt Bri’s stress through the reins. She couldn’t tell if Romeo thought she was overreacting from the expression on his face because her sight was suddenly blurred by tears. Her back turned to him within a second as she fussed with her stirrups, pretending to adjust the straps in order to wait for her vision to clear. Mini hissy fit there, but she’s almost over it haha table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. He laughed without helping himself at the princess' joke, but it was only half-hearted, for once his mind was in a serious state it took him a few minutes to get out of it. Especially when he was smoking -- he could certainly have an enjoyable time with the boys at the Ice Box and be smoking away, but when he was out in nature, observing things, smoking caused him to be serious. The subject they were on, anyways, wasn't a complete joking matter, though Romeo knew that if he was going to work through all of this he was going to have to be as optimistic as possible. Still, the thought of running away made him cringe. It would certainly be exceedingly difficult; he'd leave his family, most especially his sister who he couldn't help but adore, and he didn't know if he could do that. Could he, just so that he would not have to put a ring on Aubrey's finger? He didn't even know when the marriage would take place, but he had a hunch it wouldn't be long after graduation. That meant he had all year to figure this out, but it wasn't going to be easy, not in the slightest. If it came down to it, he'd have to drop and run, it would just nearly kill him to do so. The last thing he had expected was her sudden outburst, but he remained calm, his features showing no signs of alarm or surprise. Well, was he really surprised that she became so angry at the drop of a hat? She was a girl forced into something she didn't want to do, and then spurned by the two people who were supposed to be there for her the most. It was only natural that she'd have a breaking point, a temper. In all honesty, Romeo thought the fury in her eyes made her all the more fascinating and curious. She'd always seemed a bit passive to him whereas Vivien was far more bold, but now he could see that there was fire behind the mysterious princess. He now also knew what seemed to trigger her, irritate her the most -- her pride and dignity. Independence was a beautiful thing, Romeo would be the first to admit it, but it was also dangerous to a point. Wanting to figure things out on your own was a wonderful option because only you could know that you could or could not mess something up, but when it was a situation like this, it was not the best choice. "I wasn't saying that you needed his help," Romeo corrected her, his hands digging into his pocket to pull out another cigarette. He lit up, took a calm drag, and remained staring off in front of him, sure that she would not want to be placed under his piercing gaze when she was so obviously turned away from him. As much fire and anger that there was in her voice, there was also betrayal and hurt, perhaps even a little tinge of desperation, and Romeo realized that he was feeling all of those things currently. He continued on. "You certainly don't need his help, not in the slightest. But he needs yours, even if he doesn't deserve it," he explained. Romeo was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts so that he could continue his argument. He shifted in her direction and let his gaze meet hers, his face still stoic. "Look, even if he hadn't snuck around with Vivien, it wouldn't have made a difference. The fact of the matter is that you two are engaged; being with Vivien only made everyone aware that the two of you didn't want to be forced into this marriage," he said, taking another drag. "Besides, do you really think Dante would have remained faithful to your engagement? He's been with plenty of other girls...is it that it was with Vivien that bothers you the most?" He let the question hang in the air, gauging her reaction, and then he turned back to face the river. "Honestly, as much as this whole thing sucks, think of Dante's affair as a good thing. Now your parents -- and the rest of the world, for that matter -- know how you two feel about this," he stated. "But Dante is now the unfaithful fiance and you've been painted as the victim. If he's tries to make his case on his own to get the two of you out of this, it will never work. Which is why, as the victim, if you side with him then things might be easier." He let his eyes slide back to her face, and he hoped something in his expression was encouraging. It had been a while since he'd been so thoughtful with someone else around to hear his voice, and he didn't think it would be with a girl he barely knew. Sure, perhaps it was a bit bold of him to think he might actually consider his argument, especially when his opinion wasn't exactly asked for, but that had never stopped Romeo before. He was an honest person, and for some reason, every part of him wanted to help Dante and Gabriella, because he hated being in the same position himself. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 1128 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Well this was embarrassing, wasn't it? All it had taken was a couple of Romeo's nosey pokes into her business for Bri's temper to rise to the surface. Her anger had melted almost instantly as tears of pure frustration welled up, though after taking a couple of breaths, those too dissipated. The mare who'd been one of Bri's closest companions for the past four years had relaxed as soon as her rider had. Just having a hand on the bay's soft coat was soothing, and a thought occurred to the girl; what would happen to her horse if she ran away? At first thought there hadn't been much holding her back, as she wasn't close to any of her siblings aside from Vivien, and as far as friends went Bri was social, but didn't have many close ones. She wasn't even sure if her pride would let her use running away as an option, but if things came down to it she was almost willing to give up everything. Almost. Was it sad that Bri knew more about her horse than she did about her own younger siblings? Perhaps it was, but then again she figured it was too late at this point to try to re-connect; after all, look what had happened when she'd tried to become closer to Vivien again? The betrayal had stung, and that sort of thing wasn't something Gabriella took lightly. She abhorred dishonesty and the type that Vivien and Dante had displayed was one of the worst kinds. Well, she hadn't been planning on letting anyone know just how much the whole ordeal had bothered her, but something about the way Romeo had looked at her a moment ago had gotten through her mental wall. Bri didn't want sympathy, she wanted a hug and reassurance that this wasn't the plan for her life, that she was going to do more than just being a political pawn. That she wasn't unlovable. There were sounds as Romeo presumably shifted positions behind her and the flicking sound of a lighter hinted that he'd started a second cigarette. He began explaining his point, and Gabriella's anger simmered as logic and calm began returning. She did spend a second feeling embarrassed, but felt much better having released even just that little bit of tension. It had felt good to vent, though since Romeo was one of Dante's best mates it might not have been such a good idea. Having him agree with her had both surprised and validated her feelings, something Bri had now discovered she'd been craving. Head tilted up proudly, she turned to face him again, listening intently with one hand entangled with her mare's mane, the other hanging loosely holding the reins. “Well I didn't go out with other guys, even though I could have.” There was a brief silence as she paused for breath and to collect her scattered thoughts. “I knew that he was seeing other girls. I just -it....” It was a rare thing for the English princess to be at a loss for words; normally she was very good at articulating her feelings. In this case there was no way to explain how it felt like someone had punched her in the chest, like she was out of breath -and had been since the picture had been posted by that awful blogger. It wasn't something that was easy to explain, even to this new person who Gabriella felt understood her better than most, despite the fact that she barely knew him. Another calming breath, focusing on the soft expression in Kalli's eyes. One. Two. Three. Her eyes flickered back to Romeo, and her clenched jaw relaxed again. “I just thought they would have cared enough to tell me. Okay, so maybe there was a touch of bitterness in Gabriella's voice, but she wasn't sure she would ever forget the dirty feeling she'd gotten from the looks her classmates had given her that day. “They were my best friends. How did I not know? I feel so stupid.” And Vivien had been in Spain for almost the whole summer, under the pretence of being the 'liason' for the wedding. That must have been nice for the two of them. While Bri had been stuck choosing flower arrangements and colour schemes for the wedding that she didn't even want her twin and fiancée had been having a getting cozy back in Spain. Alright, and maybe in some deep, dark, quickly-shoved-aside part of her heart, Gabriella was a tiny bit jealous. Not of the fact that her sister was with Dante, rather because Vivien had found someone who liked her back. She snorted when Romeo started talking about Dante "making a case" on his own, a tone of disbelief entering Bri's otherwise serious voice. “A good thing. Riiiiiight. Victim or not, I'm still the 'evil twin',” she said, making sarcastic air quotes with her fingers. "And, since my track record with boys is appalling to begin with my mother thought I'd had something to do with it somehow." Guilt marred her expression, though her face had softened considerably as the memories of taking the pregnancy test came flooding back. There was something comforting about the way he was speaking to her, and was that a note of concern she detected in his expression? Coming from the King who was best known for his uncaring attitude and womanizing ways, this was a compliment of the highest order. Maybe it was because it was tough to not care about someone in the same situation as you. Whatever his reasons, Gabriella was grateful for his outside opinion. All of the fight drained out of her body and she made her way back to dejectedly sit on the log beside him again. “You're right, I'm sorry. You're only trying to help.” Her brown eyes met his as an uncharacteristically sweet smile crossed her face. “I appreciate it, even if it didn't seem like it just now.” Taking shy glances at the boy next to her, Gabriella was feeling compelled to help him, even if it was just in some small way. “Enough about my problem though, what about you and Aubrey? That's got to be awkward. You know, since you guys used to date and all...” Voice slowly trailing into nothing, Bri mentally berated herself for not steering their conversation into safer waters. A part of her was curious to see what the prince's reaction was though, and when was she likely to get another chance like this? Mini hissy fit there, but she’s almost over it haha table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. All of the commotion of Gabriella's outburst had caused Paris to return to Romeo's area, the horse having drifted off down the stream a bit. Romeo reached out to pat the stallion, the light grey coat smooth beneath his palm. Horses were very calming creatures when one was upset, and he glanced over at the princess, watching as she focused on her mare, as if holding onto the horse would quell her anger. There was so much bitterness in her that Romeo saw in himself, and it felt good to have someone understand just how horrible all of this was. Sure, there were a lot of arranged marriages between the royals, but most were able to get out of it once they had a good talk with their parents -- the two of them, on the other hand, seemed to be out of luck. Romeo still had no idea when his wedding would be, but he would make damn sure to not show up. And he was one hundred percent certain Aubrey would be very relieved to be left at the altar. "Why didn't you? Go out with others, I mean," he asked, suddenly curious. It was not like Dante had hidden his infatuation with women; the string of girls he left behind was evidence enough of his defiance of the engagement. Gabriella could have go one dates with whomever she wanted, and Romeo knew Dante wouldn't have minded. So why didn't she? Surely she wasn't submissive enough to honor the engagement, if she didn't want to be engaged? Somehow Romeo didn't think the engagement was the issue when it came to the girl's love life. He would let her explain, though, because perhaps there was something else holding her back. Romeo nodded slowly, taking another long drag of his cigarette. He leaned back his head and blew the smoke up into the air, and with a little trick, it blew up in circles, the circle floating high above them until it disappeared with the wind. "Yeah, they definitely could have mentioned something to you," he agreed. He had told Dante this yesterday, when Dante had been complaining about Gabriella ignoring his texts. 'Well, what did you expect? She was completely embarrassed by you and Vivien in front of the entire world,' were his exact words. Romeo rarely defended a stranger, but he had definitely seen Gabriella's point of view from the start, simply because Aubrey and his servant had done the same exact thing to him. He was not taking sides, but he did seem to identify more with Bri's situation. "But, everyone makes mistakes. Maybe they thought they had a really good reason for not telling you?" He let the question hang in the air as he took another drag. But, his eyes flickered back to her face when she immediately wrote off his explanation, and a confused, suspicious look crossed his face. "Track record with boys? I thought you insinuated you didn't go out with anyone often," Romeo asked. Okay, so he was prying, but she had definitely confused him there. What kind of track record with boys could she possibly have if she was so angry that Dante had been rather promiscuous, and she had not? And what did she mean by evil twin? Romeo had never thought her a quiet girl, but he couldn't possibly see how she was worse than Vivien in terms of getting into trouble. "Who knows, maybe pretending you were in on it could help in the long run? 'Caring, selfless sister gives up fiancé for twin's happiness'," he quoted with a small grin. "Could work." Probably not, but hey, it was worth a try to encourage a bit, right? She seemed to realize that he was only being comforting, as she had finally returned to the seat next to him. Something inside of him kind of glowed at her smile, and he gulped slowly, unsure of what it was. He said nothing, only grinning in return, but his eyes said it all -- concerned, kind, warm; the blue and green color was now more of a sea green, especially in the soft light of the hideout. He stiffened, though, at her next question and looked away, using a moment to take a very long drag. Only after he'd released the smoke into the air did he look back at her. To cover up his moment of angst, he plastered his infamous smile on his lips. "Our parents are obviously under the impression we'll realize how madly in love we are with each other, and that breaking up was a mistake," he said with a shake of his head. "It would be a lot easier getting out of this mess if she could stop ignoring me, but I'll get through to her eventually. She can avoid me all she wants, but when it comes down it, she knows that we're going to have to work together." It really did suck, having Aubrey avoid him at all costs. She didn't even try to visit his servant in his dorm; his servant only hung out with Aubrey in her room. He supposed he didn't mind that all that much, but it was obvious the lengths she was going to not have to see his face. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 1167 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE The silence in the clearing stretched and lengthened, interrupted only by the babbling of the stream and the small noises of the horses. Romeo’s stallion had gradually wandered back over to them, though his interest appeared to be on the prince rather than the mare standing only a foot or two away. She was still convinced he was a warm blood, and made a mental note to ask his owner later. The girl shrugged. “I dunno,” she hedged. “Haven’t found the right one I s’pose.” Her voice trailed off as she bit her lip, conflicting feelings raging inside of her. As if she was going to tell him about the boy who’d used her for attention and her body and then abandoned her when she’d thought she might be pregnant. When her time of the month hadn’t shown up on time she’d thought it slightly odd, but it wasn’t until she skipped another month that Bri had gotten worried. After the whole thing had blown up she’d gone to the doctor, who’d patted her hand comfortingly and informed her that high stress levels could sometimes cause such things to happen, relieving any lingering doubts in Gabriella’s mind. The lesson she’d learned from that experience had been one she hadn’t forgotten; never trust a boy. ”Besides, I can take care of myself.” It wasn’t as though Bri was trying to come across as hostile, but the topic at hand automatically made her overly defensive. What on earth was he sniffing around for? There were so many more interesting things they could talk about, as opposed to discussing Gabriella’s love life –or lack thereof. It wasn’t as if she was so arrogant that if help was offered she would refuse it, but she wanted it to be clear to everyone that she didn’t need a white knight to rescue and take care of her. Romeo’s nonchalance was maddening. Could have mentioned?! You think? It took a concentrated effort to maintain an easy expression and remain seated next to him on the log, but somehow she managed it. The feel of Kalli’s breath as the mare lipped at her fingers saved her slightly wavering smile from disappearing. Gabriella found it was impossible to be sad for long around horses. Everything about them felt like comfort, not to mention the funny things they did. One of her first pony’s when she’d been younger had been able to open his stall door by himself, but instead of wandering off he usually stayed long enough to release a few of the other horses as well, the troublemaker. Gabriella had been delighted to be given him as a present, despite the fact that he was always getting her into trouble. Like that time he’d decided to take her for a swim in the pond, flopping down into the shallow water, saddle and all. No matter how hard she’d pushed, pulled and begged the naughty thing hadn’t moved an inch until he was good and ready, by which time the princess had been sopping wet from her efforts. ”Maybe you’re right.” Given her reaction, perhaps the pair of them wouldn’t regret keeping it a secret from her after all. While hiding wasn’t the most mature thing to do, Bri guessed that it was better than having a row in front of whichever of their classmates were unlucky enough to be around if they tried to talk. She just wasn’t in the mood to calmly discuss her feelings with Dante and Viv yet. Soon though, she would have to talk to one or the other –or both of them. Like Romeo had said, working it out was vitally important, and aside from the fantasy about running away –which wasn’t a very realistic plan—her best bet was probably getting the two traitors to gang up on all of their parents if she could. The first thing would be to see how committed they actually were, because sneaking around behind everyone’s backs was a serious matter, and it wasn’t going to be easy for them if this was the path they chose. This topic was one of the most uncomfortable they could have chosen, but Romeo seemed perfectly relaxed when it came to asking questions he shouldn’t. Bri looked over at Paris, her eyes shying away from eye contact with the prince. To think about how few boys she had dated was embarrassing, to see his reaction would be mortifying, and to answer was unthinkable. She didn’t want to lie –the fact that she was a terrible liar aside, just the thought was making her feel guilty—but at the same time why was it any of his business what she had or had not done before? “I didn’t –don’t, rather.” Looking him in the eye was one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but for some perplexing reason Bri felt better for having done so. God, the suspicious look he gave her was so attractive on him. She wondered if he was doing it on purpose, hoping to get under her guard. If so, it was working. The act of crossing her arms over her chest served to give the girl a moment to think of an answer he would hopefully find satisfying, but wouldn’t reveal too much. “Let’s just say that last time was quite the disaster.” More of a disaster than her life usually was, given that her mistake had meant the end of her freedom for an entire summer, and the rules had only begun to slightly relax this past year. Gabriella was now wearing the exact same look Romeo had been giving her only moments before. The edges around her eyes had softened, and the need to provide him some comfort -as he had comforted her- became overwhelming, leading her to reach out and touch the boy gently on the shoulder. “It must be difficult for you, especially after everything that happened.” Which reminded her that she still didn't really know what had taken place. Her tone was borderline hesitant, but if there was one thing Gabriella wasn't, it was shy. “Since we're both being so honest, are the rumour's actually true? About what happened between you and Aubrey?” She had learned long ago that it wasn't safe to put much stock in what other people said, but they did occasionally stumble upon the truth. Bri doubted very many people had asked Romeo whether the gossip Aubrey had spread was true or not, and since she had answered his very personal questions -sort of- she felt a little entitled to ask one of her own. table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Romeo grinned. Of course she could take care of herself, that much was obvious. She hardly seemed like the type that had to be attached to guy in order to breathe, and he found that something to be admired. In his experience, girls were pretty clingy, and he didn't do clingy. That was answer enough for him, though, so he dropped the subject for now. It really wasn't his place to be nosing into her personal life, but when had that ever stopped him? He was genuinely curious, and there was nothing wrong with that. Besides, if she hadn't wanted to tell him, she didn't have to answer, no matter how vague her answer had been anyways. He wouldn't have been offended at all. But perhaps her pride had forced her to answer -- pride in not wanting to seem weak and needy, but strong and independent. Only a few hours had passed since he had been in her presence, but he could already tell that she was driven by a strong passion to prove herself, to prove her worth to be far more than what she thought everyone considered it to be. Personally, he thought she was admirable as it were, but she seemed to think otherwise. Was it lack of self-esteem or self-respect? He could see how her life might have taken that turn, with being used as a key to political ties and then spurned by her own fiance and best friend. He didn't think she needed to prove herself at all, but he had a inkling she wouldn't believe him if he said it. He knew he was right, but judging by her expression and her tone, she was too stubborn to believe it or talk about it. Well, he'd just have to force her into a conversation about it another day -- and he planned on spending another day with her, because she was far too fascinating now to leave alone. How had he gone all four years with barely saying a word to her and not bothering to get to know his best friend's fiance? She was very intriguing, after all. A bundle of mystery -- not that he was one to talk. It was a wonder they could have conversation at all, for neither one seemed too keen on showing every emotion, instead hiding behind smirks and a poker face. Still, this was the most honest he'd been with another person in months, and he found it was a relief to rid of the strain on his mind. Perhaps having someone to talk to about his issues would have been a better route than taking up smoking, for smoking was definitely his stress relief. Bri was flustered by his insistent question, and he watched her intently, wondering why she was squirming so much beneath his gaze. There was definitely a backstory to her cryptic answers, and he was dying to know. Just how badly could she have been hurt to avoid the male species? Well, that was a disgruntling thought, he suddenly realized, but he pushed this away and instead focused on holding her steady warm brown gaze. "Must have been," he commented with a raise of an eyebrow before turning away. After his explanation, he trained his eyes on the smoke from his cigarette, letting the nicotine relax his jumbled nerves. Her hand on his shoulder definitely wasn't helping for some reason, though it was meant to be a comforting touch. She was using the same compassionate tone he'd used with her, but instead of growing sour, he let an unfazed look cross his features. "It certainly was a pain," he agreed. For some reason, he didn't want Gabriella to see him melancholy about his fate, so he kept the nonchalant expression on his face. However, she caught him off guard with her bold question, and the corner of his mouth twitched, his teeth biting the inside of his cheek. Even though most people knew what he had done, actually accounting to Gabriella the story of his mistake made him anxious that she might judge him and dislike him for it, especially since Dante's affair was so fresh. It had been two years since he and Aubrey had ended their relationship, and yet his wrongdoings still hung over his head like a scarlet letter. After a brief moment of silence, Romeo gave a slow nod. "Yes, they're true," he admitted, turning to look her in the eyes. "I cheated on her." There, it was said, loud and clear. There was obvious guilt in his blue green eyes, but the rest of his features were guarded, uncertain of her reaction. After another few seconds, he decided to delve into the story she was obviously wanting to hear. "By December of that year, we'd been dating a few months, but around that time was when we'd begun to fight and have arguments. Everything was fine in the beginning, but she kind of got...irritating," he explained, trying to find the best statements for what had happened. "Not in the sense of annoying, but that she was becoming obsessed with her status and her role and being 'HBIC', whatever that even means. All she could talk about was schemes, and when she wasn't talking about schemes, she was bitching and complaining." He sighed heavily, the memories of it all plaguing him once more. "One night, I just got fed up and told her to stop, but she got angry and we started yelling at each other and...it was just a bad night overall," he continued. "To blow off some steam, I went to the Ice Box alone for a drink and had one glass too many." At this part of the story, he paused, his eyes perusing her face for any reaction. "Next thing I know, I'm waking up to Aubrey screaming and cursing at me and a random girl lying next to me, naked." He'd been drunk, so drunk. He could hardly remember a thing, and this made him far more guilty than the actual act of cheating on Aubrey -- for had he not been so hammered, he knew he would have had far more control. Probably would have still flirted with other girls, but definitely not slept with one. Romeo stopped there, letting the silence fall once more. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 1079 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Gabriella was hoping that if she didn't respond to the prince's overly curious sounding statements he would drop the subject. Enough light had been shed on her personal life as of late, and she really didn't feel like spilling her guts on the details yet. Romantic relationships just weren't her thing. Then again, she wasn't so hot at non-romantic relationships either, given how small her pool of friends was. Most of the time she just tried to fly under the radar, perhaps in an effort to make up for past mistakes? In all honesty, she'd try anything to keep her parents off her back. Above all else, Bri now appreciated her freedom, and seeing as she was going to lose it fairly soon, she wanted to make the most of it while she could, not lose it faster. It was a far more mature attitude than she'd had on the subject last year. Gabriella had been surprised that he'd been so honest with her. It wasn't easy for most people to admit when they'd done something wrong, let alone, but here he was, looking her in the eye while owning up to what had happened. Cheating was a deal breaker in Bri's book, so she could see why Aubrey had done what she did. Romeo hadn't been the most responsible at the time, but then again, none of them had really been responsible at that age -especially under the influence of alcohol. Gabriella was starting to realize by the way he talked that the school's 'golden couple' -so named because both of them had such fair hair- hadn't been as perfect as everyone had thought. Unable to suppress a grin at his confusion over the 'HBIC' title that Aubrey had given herself, Bri took pity on him. “It means 'Head ...... In Charge,” she explained, purposely omitting the bad word. While some of her peers had laughed at her for never -as in, never, ever- swearing, Bri could have cared less. It was just rude and unnecessary, just like Aubrey's self-appointed title. She wasn't overly bothered by others swearing, she simply chose not to do it herself. Her brown eyes turned to the cigarette in his hand, understanding beginning to dawn on her. It explained why Romeo smoked and had pointedly said he didn't drink. A drop of pity sparked in her gaze, but was quickly stamped out. That was probably one of the last things he wanted from anyone, given how tense his shoulder was beneath her hand. Said hand quickly removed itself from him, as she sheepishly returned it to her lap. Note to self: Doesn't take comfort well. Kalli's reins slid through her fingers as she resumed playing with the leather straps to cover her minor embarrassment. Both horses were standing quietly, and Kalli was half asleep from the look of things. One of her hind legs was resting on the tip of her hoof, and her ears were pointing in their general direction in a relaxed manner as she listened to the sound of their voices. At least the mare wasn't still antsy; the fresh air must have been what she wanted all along. As Romeo concluded his story Bri could feel his eyes on her face, trying to read her. Well too bad, because she was still processing what he'd said. After thirty seconds or so her eyes lifted to look straight ahead, her gaze far away as she considered. While what he'd done was admittedly pretty horrible, Aubrey hadn't handled the situation very well. Her initial reaction was understandable, and had Gabriella been in the blondes shoes she might have done the same thing, but the massive grudge she'd been holding, not to mention the slandering she'd done against Romeo's character ever since... well, frankly it was just childish. Gabriella held grudges too, but seriously, years had passed, and they were adults now. It was time for the 'HBIC' to act like one and move on. Now that she'd decided what she thought, Bri had to decide whether or not to tell him what she thought, and if so, how honest to be. So far he'd been pretty blunt with her, but she had a feeling that this was probably one of the most sensitive topics they could have chosen to talk about -at least for Romeo anyway. Gabriella tentatively made eye contact, her brown eyes dark and deep pools of thought as she tried to delicately word what she needed to say. She considered that perhaps an indirect approach would seem less judgemental, because the last thing she wanted was to judge him. "Alright, this might come out sounding barmy at first but hear me out. I do dressage with Kalli, alright? And we've been trying to piaffe, and some days are good and others aren't. Both of us make mistakes, but every time we go out both of us have to forget about the last time -no matter how bad it went, and focus on right then. Otherwise we'd never get anywhere.” So maybe that had come across as more criptic than she would have liked. Bri took a deep breath to prepare for the explosion, but when none was forthcoming she continued, reminding herself that Romeo wasn't Dante and that her head wasn't going to get chewed off for speaking her mind... clearly. Well in that case, she decided to approach from a different, more personal angle. “One of my motto's is 'never a failure, always a lesson'. I feel like as long as you learned from it, you can move past it. What did you learn from the whole thing?” Her voice, which up to this point had been fairly confident, quieted as she became less sure of the ground she was treading. “I mean, have you made similar mistakes with the girls you dated after Aubrey?” Oh god, Bri wasn't sure she actually wanted to know the answer to that question. There was a tiny nervous knot in her stomach as she bit her lip and waited for his answer, trying not to appear anxious. table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. A puzzled look crossed his face and his lips quirked into an amused grin. "Head what?" He asked, hoping she would clarify. Okay, so it wasn't all that difficult to figure out what the "B" was in "HBIC", but Romeo was curious as to why Bri had omitted that certain word. It wasn't like they were five and prohibited from saying those words; in fact, plenty of the Kings cursed. Romeo didn't tend to often, simply because he didn't find need to; when he was angry, however, there were no guarantees. But why wouldn't Bri just say it, if it was just to explain? Maybe he was being smart and trying to push her buttons, but he couldn't help it -- here she was, practically a stranger, and all he wanted to do was get to know her in every way possible. She was interesting, already a puzzle he couldn't solve, and he wanted to figure her out. Romeo felt the pressure of her hand slip away from his shoulder and mixed feelings ran through him. Part of him wanted her to put her hand back against his skin, for him to feel the burn of the heat, but he also saw it as a sign that he needed some sort of comfort in this, and he wasn't so sure he did. Yes, it was a difficult time, and it was nice having someone around who understood, but Romeo didn't want her to think he couldn't handle the situation. If he could handle Aubrey's wrath, he could handle his impending future, couldn't he? Both were inevitable and terrible to endure. He felt a soft nudge on his forearm and turned to find Paris next to him, the stallion's eyes imploring him. He placed a hand on the horse's neck and curled his fingers into the mane. Romeo was surprised Paris was behaving so well around Gabriella's mare; the stallion wasn't ill-behaved, but he was a stallion nonetheless. Perhaps it was the solemn atmosphere keeping the horse in check? Whatever the case, he was glad to not have to reign the horse in. His gaze settled on her delicate face, judging her reaction, but Gabriella remained relatively passive, her thoughts obscure and her body language nonchalant. He knew it probably wasn't easy for her to extend courtesy or understanding when she was in Aubrey's boat -- somewhat, anyways -- and this thought irritated Romeo more than he'd have liked. What if he was a monster in her eyes? Romeo normally didn't care, but for some reason, he didn't want Bri to think he was a horrible guy. There were other people around who were unwillingly engaged to another that he could talk to as a confidante, but there was some kind of connection with the girl that he just couldn't place his finger on. Was it because she was dealing with an affair, the way he'd dealt with Aubrey and his servant? Maybe, but Romeo figured there was more to it than that. Finally she looked his way and Romeo held her eyes, and still he could not read her. It was obvious that she was considering everything, though, so at least he was grateful for that; most everyone else went straight to conclusions and thought him a bad boy, a player -- "you can get close enough to touch, but don't touch, because you'll get burned." He clearly remembered ROYALSCANDAL posting that after the cheating scandal had broken out, and he'd lost count of how many times that had been repeated to him in the hallways and in classrooms. To this day the Kings would quote it just to take a dig at him, and though or the most part he tended not to care, he'd be lying if he said it didn't completely bother him. Bri seemed to come to a decision, and when her voice broke through the silence, Romeo tightened his hold on Paris' mane, preparing for the judgment that would come. But it never did. Instead, she began talking about dressage or something of the sort, and Romeo supposed she was trying to make a metaphor of it all. He somewhat understood the gist of what she was trying to say, but because he'd only taken one dressage lesson when he was eight and had promptly quit thereafter, there were still a few things unclear. She seemed to pick up on this, and immediately changed her approach. This time around, he got it completely, and Romeo narrowed his eyes. Why wasn't she judging him or scolding him or even cursing at him? He'd never not gotten some kind of negative reaction from a girl about this scandal, and yet here she was -- the one girl he thought would chew his head off for this -- telling him that as long as he'd learned his lesson, it was okay. Well duh, he'd learned his lesson. He was silent for a moment. "I learned not to get drunk without friends," Romeo answered, and he supposed there was more meaning to it than how it sounded -- if there was someone there to keep you sane, you wouldn't go off the deep end. "And not to make promises." He clearly remembered telling Aubrey he'd "never do anything to hurt her" so that she'd go on a date with him; well, obviously he'd broken that promise. It was just fine to hope you would never hurt someone you love, but making promises only set you up to disappoint others, and Romeo had done enough disappointing for a lifetime. Making promises made it easier not to care. He chuckled slightly and gave a small grin at her next question, knowing it was probably an uncomfortable question for her. "Well, let's put it this way: I haven't really been in a relationship with another girl since Aubrey," he replied. Meaning he'd certainly had flings -- but he supposed he'd been scared, for a little while, to get back into a relationship for fear of screwing it up again. That fear had only lasted so long, though; now it wasn't the fact that he didn't want a relationship, but more that there was no one around to really and truly grab his attention. Girls threw themselves at him but they were either all the same or like Aubrey -- and nothing good came of that. "I've used the term 'dating' lightly since third year, so I suppose that's where my reputation comes in." created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 756 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE For a second she simply gave him 'the look', the one that told him she could see right through his too-innocent looking expression and tell how much he was enjoying watching her squirm. 'The look' only lasted a second or two though, before her demeanour turned a little more serious again. Anxiously clearing her throat and biting her lower lip, Bri tried again. “Head.. Barbie In Charge?” Oh god, he was totally going to laugh at her for that one. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, since Romeo had a wonderful laugh; she just wanted him laughing with her as opposed to at her was all. She ended up grinning right back at him like an idiot though, despite giving her best efforts towards keeping a serious expression. Okay, so it wasn't any of her business, but Gabriella was curious to know what it had been like for him, dating the most popular girl in school. Vivien was best friends with the Type A personality blonde, so surely there had been some redeeming qualities about Aubrey? Maybe she was nice to the rest of the Queens and the Kings, just not anyone else? More and more though Bri was starting to think that it was the Head Queen's looks that had gotten her so much male attention, not a sweet personality. And Aubrey certainly had never shown more than the barest courtesy to Gabriella; it was no secret that the two of them could barely tolerate each other's presence in the same room. While the pair of them had never actually gotten into an argument before, there had been barely veiled criticisms and sarcastic shots fired from both sides. So when Bri's insides warmed a little as her eyes locked with Aubrey's fiancée's, she only felt trace amounts of guilt before she squashed the feeling. Romeo seemed to be completely suspicious when she told him what her thoughts were on the matter, though everything Bri had said was the truth. Wearing an expression of pure innocence, she listened carefully as he listed off a few of the things he'd learned from the Aubrey debacle. The drinking she could understand, because Bri knew full well that sometimes one thing led to another and the next thing you knew... well, it was just better to have someone there to watch your back. Promises on the other hand, weren't something she'd expected him to say. Her head tilted ever so slightly to the side as she tried to puzzle that one out, with little success. Gabriella was surprisingly serious when it came to making promises, and those words only left her mouth if she was more than sure she could make good on her word. She wished Romeo would just come out and say what the promise he'd made to Aubrey was, but feeling like she'd pried enough caused her to let this one go. Everyone was entitled to their own privacy after all, and Gabriella knew that better than anyone. In many ways she was finding one of Vineheart's most notorious trouble-makers oddly relatable. Had she been in his shoes, Bri knew she wouldn't have wanted to date another person for a while either. The way he'd emphasized the 'really' though led her to believe he hadn't completely taken himself out of the game. She'd seen the way he and the other Kings were at parties, flirting and chasing after different pretty girls at every one. It wasn't as if they slept with all of them, but the level of experience the five -or was it six?- boys had was intimidating, and it made her even more wary of them. They were hot, they knew it, and they knew how to use their looks to get what they wanted. Her lips pressed together in a tight line as she tried to refrain from looking at him. His eyes were almost hypnotizing and she needed to be careful not to fall under their spell. “Um, shall we go?” she asked into the awkward silence, standing up and giving Kalli's face a gentle rub. Without waiting for his answer she turned and began leading the mare back the way they'd come, allowing the bay to snatch mouthfuls of browning grass here and there. Gabriella was in no hurry to get back; she just didn't enjoy feeling Romeo's eyes seeing right through her when she felt so vulnerable. table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. Romeo watched with an expectant expression, the teasing smirk still on his face. Would she say it? No, she wouldn't, and while he was slightly disappointed, he was more amused by her choice of substitution. He couldn't stop from laughing, but realizing it probably looked like he was making fun of her, he nodded his head in a agreement. "She's definitely a Barbie," he said, rolling his eyes. His sister, Arietta, had always played with Barbies when they were younger, sometimes forcing Romeo to play with her. He always made Ken a huge jerk to her Barbie, and Arietta would always get mad, subsequently allowing him relief from the game. It was an awesome strategy, but kind of ironic, given what would happen later in life. Ken, cheating on Barbie. Who would have known? It was odd, really, how much he'd come to terms with the fact as to what he'd done. Sure, it always haunt him, but he couldn't change the past. The past would always be there, but it wasn't going to define him anymore. He certainly let it define his public reputation, but if they really cared to get to know him, then their perception would change. Why should he go to painstaking efforts just to make it look like he was some perfect pretty boy of a prince? At least having a reputation of a bad boy gave him a chance to screw up more often without as many consequences because everyone just figured he was always up to no good. Consequently, he wasn't, but that was beside the point. Except for the fact that, for some strange reason, he had the urge to go to painstaking efforts to convince this girl that he wasn't who everyone thought he was. She'd already surprised him by not reprimanding him for his past actions, but that didn't mean she particularly believed he'd changed at all. He'd matured, as one would from that kind of experience, but Romeo would always be Romeo -- devil-may-care, mischievous, living on the lighter side of life. But the currently brooding boy was also Romeo. No one was ever just black and white, and Romeo had too many greys to be any color at all. He wanted Bri to know this, and he felt silly about that factor. She barely knew him -- so why did he suddenly feel like he needed to work into overdrive to make her see the real him? Their time together had wrapped up, though, when she suddenly turned away from him and made her way over to Kalli, suggesting they leave. He quickly checked his watch and was shocked to see how much time had passed -- almost two hours had passed since he'd first run into her at the stables. It hadn't seemed that long, but they'd been so engrossed in conversation that losing track of time didn't seem like a hard feat. "Yeah, we should probably get back," he agreed, grabbing hold of Paris' reigns and getting a tight enough grip. He led the stallion out of the clearing and back onto the pathway, looking back to make sure Gabriella was following. Once they were on the main trail, he stopped to climb back into the saddle, adjusting to a comfortable fit. The ride back to the main campus was quiet, with few words being exchanged. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it wasn't entirely comfortable, either. He wasn't sure where the tension was coming from -- was it words unsaid, being held back? Romeo wanted nothing more than to find out what was going through her mind right now, but he supposed he'd been tactless enough for the day. When they finally arrived back at the stables, he dismounted his horse and gave him a soft pat, leading him back into the shelter and where his stall was located. Before he began to pull off all of the equipment, though, he paused to turn around and look at the pretty brunette, a thoughtful look on his face. "Why didn't you judge me?" Romeo asked into the silent stable. "For what I did to Aubrey. Why did you judge Dante, but not me?" It was quite the bomb of a question, he knew, but his was rather curious -- what would cause a girl to be furious with her best friend but not with a complete stranger? He wondered whether she'd extend the same advice she'd given him to the Spanish prince. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 1025 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE Gabriella wasn’t one for foul language, though she’d been tempted on more than one occasion. It just went to show that something her mother had tried to teach her had rubbed off. There had been many lessons on how to behave like an elite member of society, with everything from the cliché walking with a book on her head to learning how to sign her name in the most decorative, ridiculous way possible. In fact, one of the few lessons Bri would admit she did like was horseback riding, and her mother had started disliking at that interest when her second oldest had decided to begin caring for her own pony instead of getting the grooms to do it. When her last pony had fallen temporarily sick, Gabriella had made up her mind to sleep in the barn with him to make sure he was okay. Of course, her mother –and therefore her father- had forbidden it and had doubled the watch on the grounds around the palace between her room and the barn. Through a combination of charm, begging and the familiarity she had with the guards, Bri had made it to the pony’s stall in record time. There had been the matter of being caught the next morning after having fallen asleep in the straw with the animal, and her mother had almost had a fit, but it had been worth it. The pony was still alive and kicking, and Bri couldn’t help but imagine that perhaps she’d helped in some small way. It probably wasn’t very nice of the two of them, having a laugh at Aubrey’s expense; especially when she wasn’t even there to defend herself. Considering how mean the school’s current Head Barbie was though, it was probably a pretty fair assessment. Aubrey was gorgeous, there was no discounting that, but her personality came across as very dominating and standoffish. Not to mention snobby and cunning, manipulative and self-absorbed… the list could have gone on and on, but Bri tried to think the best of people. There were two sides to every story, but after hearing both of this one, she had to admit that she was on Romeo’s side. He sounded like he’d genuinely tried to repair things between them but she’d been too busy playing the wounded girlfriend to want to bother. It didn’t make sense, but then, Gabriella had to admit that the things Vivien’s friends did rarely made sense to her. If Aubrey had really been as hurt as she’d claimed then she must have cared about the Italian prince an awful lot, and if she’d cared about him so much, why hadn’t the blonde even tried to talk about things with him? Lots of people had told Gabriella that she was stubborn, but she hoped that she wasn’t so stubborn that if she were in that situation Bri would repeat Aubrey’s mistakes. If Kalli had been a few hands shorter, Bri wouldn’t have hesitated to just jump on. As it was, the mare was the largest horse she’d ever owned and that made mounting up more difficult for her than say Romeo would have had with his stallion. So when she spotted a tree stump conveniently located at the side of the trail, the princess used it to add another foot to her height and bounced back into the saddle more easily than she could have from the ground. Instead of following Romeo’s lead and picking up her stirrups Gabriella allowed her legs to hang long along with her reins to let Kalli stretch her neck. Their journey back was a sharp contrast to the one they’d taken to get there. Instead of racing the two of them were content to ride along side by side, letting gentle sound of their horses hooves be the background for their quietly sporadic conversation. It took her most of the ride back to fully digest what Romeo had told her, and despite the serious tone of their conversation, Bri somehow felt better about everything. Knowing that she wasn’t the only one with impending marriage problems made a world of difference in her perspective. They both tied their horses up outside their respective stalls, and after a quick look around Bri breathed another sigh of relief. No Dante or Vivien in sight. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and set it on her tack box, noting the three missed calls and four text messages she had, but ignored them for now. Kalli’s girth only took a second to undo, and then the brunette had the saddle off and on the stables cobblestone floor. The mare hadn’t been worked hard, so there wasn’t much sweat under the saddle to be rubbed down. Still, Gabriella wasn’t one to take chances with her horse, so she pulled a light blanket out of her tack box and put it on the floor beside the bay. Romeo’s voice carried over the space between them easily; causing her to look at him over Kalli’s back, resting her arms on her horses’ large warm body. What a strange question for him to be asking. It was so unexpected that the silence stretched out for a full minute before she was able to come up with an answer. “Because Dante’s done this to dozens of girls and you only did it to one. And… unless you’re totally playing me, you sound like you’ve learned from your mistake,” she admitted, her hands toying with a lock of Kalli’s long, black mane. It was a bit of a contradiction, that she was furious at Dante but not with Romeo. “Besides, you and Aubrey weren’t engaged then, and you didn’t sleep with her twin sister.” A self depreciating grin crossed her face as she rubbed her horse’s shoulder, scratching just where she knew the animal liked. table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. sorry it's kind of short! He was quiet, digesting her reply in an almost painfully slow manner. It made sense, how she felt -- but it also didn't, and that bothered him. He and Dante were not extremely tight-knit, but they were close; he wanted nothing more than for his friend to fix things and pull everything together. But he knew the track Dante was on, and knew it was unstoppable. It was the same track he'd taken third year, riding the waves of the high life and careless demeanor and meaningless relationships until things finally boiled down and burned to the ground. Picking himself back up from his fall had taken some time, but his friends had not abandoned him, despite the fact that much of the school had lost their respect for the Italian prince. Romeo had, for the most part, ignored the brokenness of his social reputation, but his unusually apathetic stance on things was partly a mask, as he'd admitted to Gabriella. Not caring was just easier, and in the end, he'd made his slow climb back to the top anyways. It was hard not to like the Italian prince, wasn't it? That's what they all said, anyways. But as much as he wanted to help Dante, Romeo felt like he couldn't. This was a massive mess that had hurt some very important people -- simple apologies just didn't fly in this particular situation. Dante was undergoing more troubles than he was admitting, and it almost amused Romeo how much his Spanish friend that he could hide from him. He was no stranger to the world of secrecy and downward spirals, and Dante was flying headfirst into it. Romeo could try to help, but would it make a difference? The Spanish prince wasn't someone to bend at will so easily, even by his closest friends, which was why Romeo understood the reason Gabriella felt the way she did. Still, it hardly seemed fair to condemn Dante to exile but accept a total stranger for his wrongs. Perhaps it was just because Dante's mistake was so fresh -- he had not been given time to learn from it. "Do you think Vivien was another one of his mistakes?" Romeo suddenly asked, breaking out of his thoughts and meeting her eyes. What if Vivien wasn't just another one of those girls? What if this truly was it for Dante? It seemed so unlikely, but from the way Dante had put it...he'd been wrapped around her finger. Dante usually had that kind of strength in his flings, but this time, it seemed like the prince had met his weakness. Time would tell, as Romeo was sure the King and Queen of Spain would condemn the affair. The way she'd explained it, though, made him think even harder. She was obviously hurt because they didn't tell her what was going on, but did the ring on her finger matter to begin with? "Why does your engagement to him matter in this?" He asked, his stormy eyes scrutinizing her for a moment before he returned to caring for Paris. "I understand the twin sister part, the betrayal of that trust. The loss of trust is reason enough. But unless the engagement matters to you, it shouldn't be a factor." Romeo recalled the anger he'd felt when he found out about Aubrey and his servant -- the fact that his servant had lied to him had infuriated him. He had no care that it was with Aubrey -- though it had momentarily disgusted him -- but that his servant had pretended to be someone he was not to get the girl just hadn't sat well with Romeo. All was forgiven, but the trust was not, and still was not. Romeo could see, then, why Gabriella had no desire to repair anything with neither her sister nor Dante, but there was room for trying eventually. If Romeo could do it, he figured Gabriella could as well. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[gabriella nicole of england]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 400px; background-color: #343434; padding:20px; border-top: 10px #af9390 solid; border-bottom: 10px #af9390 solid;] he's everything you want ( WORDS ) 723 ( TAGGED ) ROMEO VALENTINO OF ITALY ( STATUS ) COMPLETE The stables were permeated with the sweet smell of hay, but now the scent was ruined by the bitter taste in Gabriella's mouth. The turn in conversation wasn't what she'd been hoping for, especially since Romeo had seemed to understand her up to this point. It made sense that this would be the point where he would be incapable of continuing to agree with her, but Bri was regretful about it for some reason. She wished there was a way to make him understand. It wasn't like she was singling Dante out, because Gabriella was furious with both of them in nearly equal measures. But she and Dante had been closer than she and Vivien for a while now, and he'd always been straight with her when he'd done something bad -until last year, that is. Would he have even told her about the whole Clara debacle if she hadn't overheard part of their argument? If someone had asked her two weeks ago, her answer would immediately have been 'Absolutely'. Now Gabriella wasn't so sure. She looked over at him and stiffly replied, “It doesn't matter what I think.” That much was true, and her face was an impartial mask that would prevent him from gleaning anything further. The feeling of irritation she'd shoved aside earlier was starting to simmer again, but it was one part confusion now as well. Why was he trying so damn hard to decide how she felt? And why was it Bri felt the need to justify why she felt the way she did to a near stranger? Romeo's opinion was important to her for some reason, though the reason itself was unclear. Maybe he needed to know that she wasn't just some spoiled princess who whined about her arranged marriage all the time. Okay, maybe she whined a little, but a person in her position was probably entitled to a little self pity. As for the answer to his second question though, it wasn't all black and white to Bri. “Maybe the engagement matters because that's how engagements are supposed to work. Normal people don't get engaged and continue sleeping with a parade of people of the opposite gender.” Her words may have been slightly harsh, since as far as Gabriella knew it hadn't been quite a parade, but there had definitely been at least two others besides Vivien; Clara and the Egyptian princess she could never remember the name of. “I always thought engagements were supposed to mean something. I'd always imagined that when I decided to marry someone it would be because I actually loved them. I've been fighting this from the beginning, but Dante didn't say a word about it.” Her eyes turned downcast as she mumbled, “Guess I know why now.” Her hand was currying Kalli in what was perhaps slightly rough circles but far from being in pain, the mare actually was enjoying it. In fact, Bri noticed how the bay was leaning into the brush when she hit the itchy spots on her coat. It made the corners of the princess' lips turn up, even if she was unwilling to crack a full smile. Screw Romeo and his perfect hair. She didn't owe him anything. Keeping a hand on her horse, who was currently relaxing, Bri ran a hand through her hair, shoving it away from her face in frustration. She circled Kalli's hind end so that she was on the side closer to Romeo. The trade off was that at least now she didn't have to look at him. “Just drop it okay? I already feel bad enough about what's happened.” Her hands worked to quickly brush off that side of the mare too, and when Kalli's bay coat was a gleaming mahogany she picked up the folded up blanket, slinging it up and onto the mare's back. Without realizing it, Gabriella's movements had become less fluid and more choppy the more her head ran circles trying to think about the problems she was currently faced with. She wasn't being childish about this, she wasn't. The purpose behind going for a ride in the first place had been to clear her head, but now it felt more full of worry than before. Mine is too, sorry! Yikes, that didn't go the way I planned. They need to part on good terms somehow... table by CALIFORNIA DREAMING of CAUTION 2.0

[romeo valentino of italy]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] OH MY JUST PLEASE TRY TO SHUT UP AND KISS ME BABY Tagged: gabriella nicole of england Outfit:here Status: complete. all good? feel free to reply! i wasn't sure whether you wanted me to end the thread or not so i can always alter my post Irritation immediately overcame her, and Romeo knew he'd hit sensitive territory. Well, you could hardly blame him for being curious -- and not understanding her confusing predicament. He understood to a point, but only barely; when the truth had come out about his servant's wrongdoings, he'd been furious, but not because they were dating. What did his opinion matter when it came to whom Aubrey or his servant decided to date? He rarely spoke to Aubrey anyways, if at all. However, that was probably where things were different: Dante was one of Bri's closest friends. To hide something like this from her had blindsided her, and left her stranded. But to think her opinion didn't matter...well, it did. It was her engagement, her marriage and life here -- competing against the object of her sister's affection. To not have a stance in this, or an opinion on the relationship, was just a lie. And Romeo didn't like lies. "Of course it matters what you think," he said in a quiet voice, hoping he was treading carefully but knowing he wasn't. "It's your sister. If you think he's screwing her over, you're welcome to have an opinion on that." Had Romeo thought his servant was screwing with Aubrey's head, or vice versa? No, he hadn't. His servant had just been frightened that a princess would actually pay attention to him, once the original practical joke was done with. He listened to her explain, and it dawned on him just why, possibly, this bothered her so much -- this was not the engagement she hoped for, she dreamed for. Who wanted to be engaged to someone who was in love with someone else? Who wanted to be engaged to someone they knew they couldn't spend the rest of their life with truly happy? Sure, she could be comfortably married to Dante -- he was her best friend, if Romeo assumed correctly -- but it would never be more than a marriage on paper, not a marriage from the heart. Not when Dante wanted anyone else but Gabriella. But could Gabriella really see herself in love with Dante? Romeo got the feeling that the English princess could never develop feelings for the Spanish prince, but then again, he didn't know her -- maybe she did have feelings for him. Or maybe she wished she did, just so that it would make the engagement easier. But what she said last made Romeo's eyebrows furrow and he stopped brushing Paris long enough for the silence to consume them. "Wait, you think Dante would have let the marriage commence, but sleep with your sister on the side? That he would spend the rest of his life married to you, all the while seeing your sister or some other woman?" Romeo asked, confusion in his voice. That didn't sound like Dante at all, not at all. Sure, Dante hadn't been doing his very best to get out of this whole thing, as Bri rightfully said, but it didn't mean he'd actually let the marriage happen. Dante seemed more like the type who, on the wedding day, would raise the biggest stink that the marriage just wouldn't happen. Who knew, though? Maybe Dante's plan this whole time was to have lovers on the side while married to his best friend. She was angry, and part of Romeo felt guilty...but another part of him didn't. He wanted her to be angry. Anger was motivating, though it was not the best source of motivation. If this talk motivated Bri to push harder against her impending marriage, then what was wrong with that? Then again, it could do the exact opposite -- make her delve deeper into her shell and call it a defeat. And, funnily enough, Romeo didn't want that for her. He barely knew the girl, but he was certain that every part of him wished her the best. "Hey, look," he began, walking around Paris so that he could look her straight in the eye. "You don't have to live like this. But being angry with Dante isn't going to help anything unless you do something about it. Don't go into hiding with your anger. Use it to your advantage," he suggested, his voice calm and his features genuine. Romeo paused briefly to sigh and lead Paris back into his stall, setting the equipment where it belonged and making sure his stallion was properly fed. Then, he turned back to the girl. "I don't know you, but I know for certain that I have faith that you'll get out of this. Do you, though?" He raised the very question he thought she needed to hear: did she have faith in herself to get herself out of this? Or was she just going to fight, and when the going got rough, give up and say she had "tried her best" and that there was nothing she could do? He held her gaze for a moment and then cracked a small smile, moving forward to walk past her towards the opening of the stables. Before he disappeared around the corner, though, he made sure to throw a "See you around, England" over his shoulder and then was gone. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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