La Maison 3: Pretty (Complete: mxm)

Chapter 1: Bello

A/N: Welcome to River and Mateo's story.

It won't be as long as some of the other stories, so settle in for a sweet, fluffy ride, with minimal angst (though there's some).

For context, it takes place somewhere in the middle of La Maison: Colors - and you'll recognize some parts from there if you've read that (though you don't need to have).

Enjoy 😘

"Say something."

"Say what?" River hissed back at Ellis.

"Why not, 'please don't go home with that slightly skanky girl who has spilt sambuca down her too-tight Forever 21 shirt and get gonorrhea, come home with me instead'?"

"Of course, why didn't I think of that?" River huffed.

"Listen, Babe, if you're gonna be insanely in love with someone completely inappropriate, who'll probably treat you like shit, then you may as well own that and go get your man."

"Why do I miss when your creepily possessive boyfriend wouldn't let you out of the house?"

"Hey! Suzu is not possessive. Oh, okay, maybe he is. We just had some stuff to work through. It's all good now. Probably."

"I'm sorry Ellis, that was really inappropriate of me. You are okay, aren't you?"

"Why is it, even when you're full of hateful snark you can't help but be nice?"

"I'm not kidding though. I know you gave your room up in dorms, but you know you can always come stay with me and James if you need to?"

"I know, Babe, and thank you. But I genuinely am good now. I'm not giving my man up for anything. And neither should you if that's what your heart wants."

"Bit late for that," River gestured to where Mateo had his tongue down the girl's throat, who didn't look like a skank at all, Ellis was being way harsh, even if she was accepting the mauling she was getting at Mateo's hands a bit too easily, her friends standing by giggling and whispering.

One of them glanced over to their table, and before they could blink, the gaggle had descended, a pack of flamingos landing in a flurry of brightly colored drinks and even brighter dresses.

"Sorry, ladies, you're barking up the wrong tree here," Ellis camped it up in a way that was not him at all, but it chased off two of the four, trying their chances elsewhere.

"Hey!" James pouted. "You don't have to ruin my chances just because you aren't interested."

"Run free," Ellis waved his arms.

"Try the blonde," one of the girls suggested, whispering, "she seems to like boys who don't look old enough to shave," as James shuffled out of the booth with unseemly haste, making the others laugh.

"I'm Claudia," the other girl said, "you don't have to worry about me, I have a boyfriend, and Ally here is enough of a bitch to chase every man with a spine made of anything less than adamantium away." But she said it with a smile, and Ally just nodded very seriously, owning it.

Claudia and Lex fell into conversation then, probably about how wonderful having a long term partner was.

"So, your buddy gonna screw over my buddy, or what?" Ally asked bluntly.

Ellis shrugged. "If you're wondering if he'll call her? Yeah, he'll screw her over. But he'll give her the ride of her life first if she's into that kind of thing."

"She needs to cut loose. She just got dumped by an utter douchenozzle who wouldn't know how to give someone a decent ride if you turned him into a carousel horse. I'll allow it."