Closed To Tell You The Truth

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily was nervous. She had been looking for Lars all day. She had just made it up to the seventh floor when she spotted him. "Lars!" She called, hurrying through the crowd, ducking and weaving until she tripped out of the other side next to her friend. She grabbed his arm to steady herself, breathing heavy and fanning her flushed face with her hand. "There you are!" She gasped out. "I've been looking everywhere for you!" She giggled breathlessly, smiling up at her friend.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars had been wandering around the castle and looking at different portraits for inspiration. He really liked the different paintings in the castle, both talking to them and seeing what sort of style they were. It was inspiring to look at other paintings and seeing the slight differences in style over the years. Talking to the inhabitants was pretty interesting too, at least when they weren't pretending to be asleep. Lars jumped when her heard someone call his name, and turned in time to see Lily running to him. He winced as she tripped, and wobbled a bit as she grabbed him to steady herself. "Uh. Sorry." He said softly.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily straightened as he apologized, giving him a shy smile. "Oh, no, dont be sorry," she told him, digging in her bag. "Um, this might sound out, but when is your birthday?" She inquired, trying to find the little package in the mess of her bag.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars nodded when Lily told him not to be sorry, biting his tongue before he could apologize again. He watched curiously as Lily was clearly looking for something, but wasn't sure what it was. "Uh. February twenty-sixth." He said hesitantly. "Why?" He asked a little nervously.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily giggled. "I wanted to know if I was saying happy late birthday or early birthday." She took a small blue box from her bag, with a small sparkly yellow ribbon tied around it and placed it in his hand. She put his other hand on top of it and kept her hands over his. "Lars, listen, I'm not good with people. Or words, really," she bit her lip and stared at her hands, nervous. "B-but I, um, I just wanted to make sure you know how grateful I am to have you as one of my best friends. I know we didnt talk much before Elliot, but..." she let out a small sigh and looked up, giving him a shy smile. "You really do mean a lot to me, even without Elliot around. I was out the other day and I saw this and thought of you."

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars blinked at her in surprise. "But... oh..." He said, finally understanding her. He felt mild panic, as he hadn't gotten anything for Lily's birthday, nor did he have any idea when it was. he looked at the box and the hand she held on it, looking then at Lily nervously. "Uh. Me neither." He mumbled when she said she wasn't good with people. He had always thought Lily did pretty well, especially on the train earlier with Elliot's cousin. Her words made Lars blush, and he averted his gaze nervously. "Thanks." He mumbled, ducking his head. He had no idea what else to say. He liked Lily too, but he hadn't put this much thought into it all. He felt a little embarrassed, both by the attention and by the fact that he hadn't done the same for her. He hesitantly opened the box and was surprised by what was inside it. Lars smiled a little, still not meeting her gaze. "Oh. I like it." He said quietly. "I like sunflowers." He figured she knew that if she had picked this for him. He struggled a little to put it on, his fingers seeming awkward, clumsy, and too long when trying to work the tiny clasp.

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily smiled softly and stepped closer, taking the clasp gently from him and fastening it herself. She turned his wrist, admiring it. It looked good on him. She sighed, and without really thinking about it, she stepped forward and hugged Lars. She sighed softly, burrowing against his chest. She had been feeling very lonely with spending all her time with Lars and Elliot, it made her wish she could have that for herself. She had been feeling really rather lonely, and was enjoying the brief moment of having one of the boys to herself. "I love you, brother," She murmured quietly. It was something she said often to Ren. She shut her eyes, unsure of why she was feeling so sad but relishing in Lar's warmth.

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars smiled gratefully when Lily helped him fasten the bracelet. "Thanks." He mumbled. He paused as she hugged him, feeling a little surprised by the gesture. She was hugging him closely, and stayed for a while. He gently touched her back, glancing around almost nervously. This felt very intimate, and it made Lars feel a little awkward. He blinked at her words, not sure what to say. He flushed a little and patted her back awkwardly, hoping she wouldn't require him to say anything, or maybe that he could pretend not to have heard that. He wasn't sure what she meant, or if she had meant what she said. He sighed softly, fearing that he was upsetting Lily with a lack of response. "Thank you." He mumbled again, feeling nervous.

 

[Ren Lockwood]

Ren had been looking for Lily. Where could she be? He was heading back to the common room to ask Rose if maybe she had seen their older sister when he spotted her hugging Lars in the hall. Oh, hey. He wandered over, giving Lars a smile and knocking his sister lightly in the side. "Hey, Lils," He greeted, "Lars, right? Lils talks about you and El all the time," He craned his neck to see the tall kid. "I'm Ren."

 

[Lillian Lockwood]

Lily had just squeezed Lars a bit tighter, starting to unwind her arms to step back, when she felt someone nudge her side. "Ren!" She twirled, tossing her arms around her little brother and snuggling closer. "I love you, brother," She murmured again, burying her face in his neck too for a moment before pulling back. "Lars," she started, turning back to him. "I was thinking about going to see Ava later, she has this new project she's stuck on, would you want to come with me? She loves it when she can talk to other artists about her paintings,"

 

[Lars van Houten]

Lars felt even more awkward when a boy approached them. He had the strange urge to push Lily away, like this was something someone might make fun of, but the boy instead nudged Lily and greeted him. Lars nodded slowly. "I am..." He mumbled. "Uh, nice to meet you." He said a little awkwardly. Lily hugged him next, and Lars guessed he was her brother. He blinked at Lily's next question, and blushed a little. "Uh, maybe." He said quietly. "Don't want to bother her..." He knew Lily's cousin painted too, but he had always assumed she had to probably be better than him, and probably wouldn't want to associate with him.