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it ended up happening entirely different from how biana had imagined it.

it was a hot, humid day. biana & fitz were doing their back to foxfire shopping. biana could hardly hear herself think amid the chaotic street. she glimpsed students she knew throughout the busy streets; evidently, alden & della weren't the only ones with the shopping idea. she could hear street vendors calling. ripplepuffs, mallowmelt! the heady scents of sweets & spices wafted through the air.

she saw them before fitz did. keefe & tam, linh lagging behind, around the corner. a burst of excitement came when she saw the three: she'd barely seen the couple since fitz found out, & then of course she was always excited to see linh. but then dread. because, shit. fitz was right next to her, & they had turned the corner & it was too late to pretend she didn't see them.

a rosy smile filled linh's face. biana! hi!

she could sense fitz tensing next to her as he saw them, & then she wanted to die. because what fitz did next, holy shit. he skimmed his eyes over keefe & tam as if they weren't there, & instead looked at linh. linh, hey, he said, stepping forward. what are you doing here without good people to help you? mysterium isn't safe for a girl as young as you.

misogynistic. condescending. obnoxious & way over the top.

biana couldn't believe she was related to this jerk.

keefe & tam turned to linh & rolled their eyes, as if urging her to ignore him. but linh stopped walking. excuse me? fitz, i'm a year older than you.

fitz kept going, as if she had never spoken. why don't you come with me? i'm much better company than those gays.

what the fuck? tam snapped. shut up. & leave my sister alone, you dick.

linh shot him a look. thanks, but i can fight my own battles, tam. she walked up to fitz, & biana couldn't help but feel a pang of hurt when linh didn't look at her. fitz, i do not need your help.

what's your favorite candy? fitz went on. i can buy you some for the new foxfire year. he brushed his hair back, & a teal bracelet on his wrist sparkled. in the back of her mind, biana recalled that sophie had given that to him. they had broken up, but he still had it on.

linh stared at him.

you like animals, right? he grinned. you know sugar & spice, the huge candy store in downtown mysterium? they have these amazing dog-shaped jommerbells, all flavors. i think they even sort them by chewiness. i could buy you a pack.

for a moment, biana thought she understood why a girl would want fitz. he was sweet, she supposed. gifts & candy & making you feel special.

but it wasn't worth it, was it? not when he wouldn't even listen to what you were saying.

i don't like you, fitz, linh said slowly. i don't want your gifts. & i don't even like jommerbells.

fitz glanced back at keefe & tam, who were watching the whole conversation. tam looked furious, but keefe was whispering something in his ear. sweet nothings? or something along the lines of, she can stand up for herself?

look, linh, if this is about them

biana had never seen linh look so angry. only it's not about them, fitz. nobody said anything about them. this is about us. & this is about you respecting me, okay?

fitz sighed. exasperated. fuck him. i don't know what your brother has said about me, but you shouldn't trust him as much as you trust me. because, let's be real, you like me, okay? unless someone else asked you out, which i would know, then you have no reason to say no. & you're beautiful, linh. i've liked you since the moment i saw you.

linh opened her mouth. biana didn't know what she was going to say. maybe something along the lines of, but what about sophie? but biana couldn't wait to hear it. she needed fitz to shut up, more than she had ever needed anything before.

so she turned to linh, heat making her sweat in the crevices of her casual, lavender summer gown. & she shouted, linh, will you go out with me?

she was angry, & tired, & she wanted to kill someone. but when linh said, yes, it felt like the rawest, purest kind of victory.

it was almost as amazing as seeing fitz's face.


a/n: i decided that biana & linh should get together earlier on in the story because it was pretty clear there was some mutual liking going on. unlike in some of the other stories, neither of them are oblivious & their feelings are already there. also, i wanted to give myself ample space to focus on what the real topic of 'will you be my legacy now?' is going to be. & as for what that is? why don't you guess?

i'm sorry about fitz, i've written him pretty evilly. as someone who says she's all for character development, i'm acting as quite the hypocrite. (although i'm hoping i'll have space for a chapter explaining his actions. if not, they'll be explained in the fedex story.)

please remember to vote & comment, & if everyone tagged just one friend (most people probably wouldn't read it, or would already look at it, meaning i might get one or two new readers) it would really make my day. have an awesome weekend xx

will you be my legacy? - linhiana (the legacies series 2)Where stories live. Discover now