Well Behaved Women... (Chapter 10)
Well Behaved Women Don't Make History
by tenshinrtaiga
Disclaimer: I don't own the Nine Lives of Chloe King or the Covenant.
Summary: Sequel to The Witch Uniter. Things are hectic for Chloe now that the Order has found out who she is and her secret is blown at her high school. It doesn't help that things are still rocky for her and Alek and that she and Reid keep getting closer. But those problems don't matter if she can't get the local supernaturals to agree to her peace treaty.
"Miss Simms?" a feminine voice called behind Chloe as she walked through the halls of her high school. "Miss King!" the voice tried again.
Chloe turned around in confusion. She didn't recognize the voice and no one she knew would be calling her 'Miss King' or 'Miss Simms'. Behind her there was a young blonde in her mid-twenties, smiling happily. "I'm Miss Carver, your guidance counselor. May I have a minute?" the woman asked, nodding her head toward her office.
Chloe gave an uncertain nod and followed Miss Carver inside. She looked around the cramped office as she tried to figure out what she was doing there. Miss Carver waved an arm in the direction of one of the chairs and Chloe hastily sat, eager to get whatever business this was, over with.
"Now, you may be wondering why I called you in here," the blonde started as she flipped through the manila file on her desk quickly.
"Uhm, yes," Chloe replied hesitantly, her leg nervously bouncing.
The guidance counselor looked up from the file, apparently finished with her skimming. "You're in all AP classes and with one exception, you are ready to graduate at the end of this year. I'm here to talk about your options."
"My… options…" the teen repeated as she processed what this meeting was going to be about. "Okay. What are my options?" she asked more solidly, getting curious.
"Well, the first option, and obviously most favorable, is that you choose to take an art elective next semester on top of your course load. You have the option of taking it during 9th period as an extracurricular or you could choose to give up one of your study halls to sit in on one of the other classes. That decision is up to you.
Of course, if for whatever reason you believe you will be unable to handle taking an extra class next semester or simply don't want to, then we can certainly work around that too. Next year, you will be here at the high school as a senior taking art and then you will take the rest of your classes at the local college." The look the woman gave made it clear that she considered this option was the lesser of the two and that Chloe would have to be an idiot to take it. "But given your stellar academic performance," here the woman gestured down at the file she had been reading, which was clearly Chloe's record, "I highly doubt you'll have any problems taking an extra art class."
Chloe agreed, but still she hesitated. Did she really want to graduate early? She had finally made friends in Paul and Amy and she didn't particularly want to give them up. On the other hand, if she did the supplemental art class, she could graduate together with Alek and Jasmine. And if she graduated, she could start working in a matter of months doing the things she wanted to do. She could finally dive head first into acting the way she'd been wanting to for years. In addition, the boys would no longer be tethered to San Francisco and would have the freedom to transfer into the universities they actually wanted to go to instead of being forced to attend Stanford purely for her sake. But what about the supernaturals? She came to San Francisco for a reason…
"Can I think about this?" Chloe asked instead of replying right away.
Miss Carver blinked in surprise but nodded agreeably, if confusedly. "Sure. Take as long as you need. The deadline to sign up for new classes is at the end of the week. Just let me know by then."
Chloe smiled in thanks before leaving the office, her mind still lost in possibility.
"Chloe," Alek called out softly as he dropped out of a nearby tree and approached his girlfriend.
The strawberry blonde gave a small sigh before finishing to unlock her front door. Only then did she turn around to face Alek. She had spent the afternoon after school wandering around the city. She did some light shopping as illustrated by the two shopping bags at her feet, but mostly she sat in coffee shops and cafes and thought. She was pretty sure about what she would decide to do, but at the same time, she wasn't a hundred percent certain.
"Hi," she said softly. She was tired. It had been a hard day and she didn't want to add more problems on top of it, but it didn't seem like she was going to be getting a choice in the matter. Maybe it was better this way. If she could resolve this problem, maybe her other one would fall into place as well.
"So, I guess we need to talk." Alek leaned against one of the columns on her front porch. He didn't seem angry which was good. She had used her magic on him in a moment of anger and once the rage had drained out of her, she had regretting going to such extreme measures. To be honest, she had thought that he would be furious and that they would end up having another one of their drag-out screaming matches.
"I guess we do," she replied simply. There was an awkward moment of silence before she gave a small sigh and finally came out with it. "I'm not sorry," she confessed seriously.
"Well, neither am I," he returned, a sliver of anger in his voice. "Just because something didn't happen yesterday, doesn't mean that something couldn't have happened at all."
"Brian is not-!" Chloe forcefully cut herself off. "I guess we just have to disagree on that," Chloe said instead through grit teeth. This was what she was talking about! This was her problem! Alek was always hovering over her, making her decisions for her like he knew better. She wasn't a little kid; she was an adult and she was free to do what she wanted!
Alek's lips twitched slightly into a sneer, but he held his tongue, clearly sensing the fire brewing underneath. This wasn't just a fight between them and they both knew it.
"I think we need a break." Chloe had to choke out the last word, but she said it. Quickly, she continued on, "We've done nothing but fight. We need space. We need to-" There were tears in her voice now, but she ploughed through, "We need to figure out if this is something we both still want."
Alek swallowed harshly. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to fight; to reject her words. But he couldn't. She was right and there was no way to fight that. "Are we over?" he asked instead, his voice wavering slightly as though afraid of the answer.
Chloe looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time all day. "No! No, we're not over…" She shook her head in denial. She watched with a small smile as Alek appeared visibly relieved. "We're just taking a break, okay?"
"A break." Alek sounded it out before nodding head resolutely. He could deal with that.
"We just need some time to figure it all out," Chloe murmured, reaching out to gently rub his arm. "I…" She hesitated, unsure if this was the right time. In fact, she was certain that it wasn't, but she needed to say it. "I love you."
Alek blinked in surprise, a half smile on his lips before he even realized it. "I love you too."
Chloe gave him a smile, but the edges were still brittle. It still didn't change things, but it was nice to say them out loud. She gave him a small wave before entering her house. She closed the door behind her and quickly leaned back against it, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.
One problem was solved, or at least it was on its way to being resolved. But she still had one more to go. And she was right earlier. In solving one problem, her other one fell into focus. She had been over thinking the situation way too much and now that she was utterly exhausted, she could see the solution that much clearer.
Chloe dug into her pocket and withdrew her cell phone. She quickly scanned her contacts and made a call.
"Veronica?" Chloe asked into the phone. Hearing her agent confirm her identity, Chloe nodded resolutely and firmly stated her request. "I'd like you to start finding me some movie auditions. I want to get into acting more now that I'm almost done with school."
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by tenshinrtaiga
Disclaimer: I don't own the Nine Lives of Chloe King or the Covenant.
Summary: Sequel to The Witch Uniter. Things are hectic for Chloe now that the Order has found out who she is and her secret is blown at her high school. It doesn't help that things are still rocky for her and Alek and that she and Reid keep getting closer. But those problems don't matter if she can't get the local supernaturals to agree to her peace treaty.
"Miss Simms?" a feminine voice called behind Chloe as she walked through the halls of her high school. "Miss King!" the voice tried again.
Chloe turned around in confusion. She didn't recognize the voice and no one she knew would be calling her 'Miss King' or 'Miss Simms'. Behind her there was a young blonde in her mid-twenties, smiling happily. "I'm Miss Carver, your guidance counselor. May I have a minute?" the woman asked, nodding her head toward her office.
Chloe gave an uncertain nod and followed Miss Carver inside. She looked around the cramped office as she tried to figure out what she was doing there. Miss Carver waved an arm in the direction of one of the chairs and Chloe hastily sat, eager to get whatever business this was, over with.
"Now, you may be wondering why I called you in here," the blonde started as she flipped through the manila file on her desk quickly.
"Uhm, yes," Chloe replied hesitantly, her leg nervously bouncing.
The guidance counselor looked up from the file, apparently finished with her skimming. "You're in all AP classes and with one exception, you are ready to graduate at the end of this year. I'm here to talk about your options."
"My… options…" the teen repeated as she processed what this meeting was going to be about. "Okay. What are my options?" she asked more solidly, getting curious.
"Well, the first option, and obviously most favorable, is that you choose to take an art elective next semester on top of your course load. You have the option of taking it during 9th period as an extracurricular or you could choose to give up one of your study halls to sit in on one of the other classes. That decision is up to you.
Of course, if for whatever reason you believe you will be unable to handle taking an extra class next semester or simply don't want to, then we can certainly work around that too. Next year, you will be here at the high school as a senior taking art and then you will take the rest of your classes at the local college." The look the woman gave made it clear that she considered this option was the lesser of the two and that Chloe would have to be an idiot to take it. "But given your stellar academic performance," here the woman gestured down at the file she had been reading, which was clearly Chloe's record, "I highly doubt you'll have any problems taking an extra art class."
Chloe agreed, but still she hesitated. Did she really want to graduate early? She had finally made friends in Paul and Amy and she didn't particularly want to give them up. On the other hand, if she did the supplemental art class, she could graduate together with Alek and Jasmine. And if she graduated, she could start working in a matter of months doing the things she wanted to do. She could finally dive head first into acting the way she'd been wanting to for years. In addition, the boys would no longer be tethered to San Francisco and would have the freedom to transfer into the universities they actually wanted to go to instead of being forced to attend Stanford purely for her sake. But what about the supernaturals? She came to San Francisco for a reason…
"Can I think about this?" Chloe asked instead of replying right away.
Miss Carver blinked in surprise but nodded agreeably, if confusedly. "Sure. Take as long as you need. The deadline to sign up for new classes is at the end of the week. Just let me know by then."
Chloe smiled in thanks before leaving the office, her mind still lost in possibility.
"Chloe," Alek called out softly as he dropped out of a nearby tree and approached his girlfriend.
The strawberry blonde gave a small sigh before finishing to unlock her front door. Only then did she turn around to face Alek. She had spent the afternoon after school wandering around the city. She did some light shopping as illustrated by the two shopping bags at her feet, but mostly she sat in coffee shops and cafes and thought. She was pretty sure about what she would decide to do, but at the same time, she wasn't a hundred percent certain.
"Hi," she said softly. She was tired. It had been a hard day and she didn't want to add more problems on top of it, but it didn't seem like she was going to be getting a choice in the matter. Maybe it was better this way. If she could resolve this problem, maybe her other one would fall into place as well.
"So, I guess we need to talk." Alek leaned against one of the columns on her front porch. He didn't seem angry which was good. She had used her magic on him in a moment of anger and once the rage had drained out of her, she had regretting going to such extreme measures. To be honest, she had thought that he would be furious and that they would end up having another one of their drag-out screaming matches.
"I guess we do," she replied simply. There was an awkward moment of silence before she gave a small sigh and finally came out with it. "I'm not sorry," she confessed seriously.
"Well, neither am I," he returned, a sliver of anger in his voice. "Just because something didn't happen yesterday, doesn't mean that something couldn't have happened at all."
"Brian is not-!" Chloe forcefully cut herself off. "I guess we just have to disagree on that," Chloe said instead through grit teeth. This was what she was talking about! This was her problem! Alek was always hovering over her, making her decisions for her like he knew better. She wasn't a little kid; she was an adult and she was free to do what she wanted!
Alek's lips twitched slightly into a sneer, but he held his tongue, clearly sensing the fire brewing underneath. This wasn't just a fight between them and they both knew it.
"I think we need a break." Chloe had to choke out the last word, but she said it. Quickly, she continued on, "We've done nothing but fight. We need space. We need to-" There were tears in her voice now, but she ploughed through, "We need to figure out if this is something we both still want."
Alek swallowed harshly. Every fiber of his being screamed at him to fight; to reject her words. But he couldn't. She was right and there was no way to fight that. "Are we over?" he asked instead, his voice wavering slightly as though afraid of the answer.
Chloe looked up at him, meeting his eyes for the first time all day. "No! No, we're not over…" She shook her head in denial. She watched with a small smile as Alek appeared visibly relieved. "We're just taking a break, okay?"
"A break." Alek sounded it out before nodding head resolutely. He could deal with that.
"We just need some time to figure it all out," Chloe murmured, reaching out to gently rub his arm. "I…" She hesitated, unsure if this was the right time. In fact, she was certain that it wasn't, but she needed to say it. "I love you."
Alek blinked in surprise, a half smile on his lips before he even realized it. "I love you too."
Chloe gave him a smile, but the edges were still brittle. It still didn't change things, but it was nice to say them out loud. She gave him a small wave before entering her house. She closed the door behind her and quickly leaned back against it, a heavy sigh escaping her lips.
One problem was solved, or at least it was on its way to being resolved. But she still had one more to go. And she was right earlier. In solving one problem, her other one fell into focus. She had been over thinking the situation way too much and now that she was utterly exhausted, she could see the solution that much clearer.
Chloe dug into her pocket and withdrew her cell phone. She quickly scanned her contacts and made a call.
"Veronica?" Chloe asked into the phone. Hearing her agent confirm her identity, Chloe nodded resolutely and firmly stated her request. "I'd like you to start finding me some movie auditions. I want to get into acting more now that I'm almost done with school."
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