Liar, Liar...

[Landon Rederick]

Landon never imagined that he would be so busy. He had joined a few clubs, including dueling and potions, that each met at least twice a week. His homework was piling up by the scroll and he had started studying for his N.E.W.Ts . He also was making an attempt to hang out with his guy friends more often, as over the past two years he had somewhat abandoned them. Every weekend he’d had plans to go to Hogsmeade or wherever else he could find a good time. He barely had time to breathe. Landon figured that if he kept busy, if he kept his mind on other things, he wouldn’t have time to think about her. He was so busy he was sure he wouldn’t even see her.

He was wrong.

Landon didn’t have to be anywhere near Tierney to see her. She was on his mind all the time, from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep. He’d left their meeting in the library feeling so angry, hurt and confused. For weeks he couldn’t sleep because the events of that evening just replayed over and over again in his head until it was time for him to get up and go to class. He’d laid it all out for her. He opened up for her to take all of him. Not only did she reject him, but she pushed him away. His feelings seemed not to matter to her. Her words cut so deep. How could she possibly think that he was playing her? In the end, he felt he had given her so much more than he’d given even Victoria, the one he thought he loved. She knew the real Landon. The sensitive, dorky, playful Landon. And she knew the suave and sensual Landon. She knew how to press his buttons and how to make him smile. And all of that meant she knew exactly how to hurt him. He was sure that she’d felt something between them, especially the night of his parents gala. There was no mistaking that, as much as he wanted to be typical Landon and play it off as another fling. But whatever he felt, it apparently wasn’t enough to keep her from getting married. It didn’t keep her from stomping and spitting on his heart.

And what was worse was that part of Landon felt like she was completely full of it. She didn’t look him in the eye the entire time they spoke. In fact, it looked like she was constantly looking over her shoulder. But why lie? What was she even lying about? Her feelings? The truth behind her new marriage? All of it? The whole situation made no sense and it hurt his head just as much as it hurt his heart to think about it.

And so he was over it. He was tired of Tierney’s games, of one minute feeling like he could be her everything, then the next feeling as if he wasn’t worth the ground she walked on. He couldn’t do it anymore. It caused him so much grief and she didn’t even care. She didn’t care that she’d hurt him when he was most vulnerable. She didn’t care that it took everything he had to admit his feelings for her. He couldn’t allow himself to care about her anymore. He was trying so hard to be the strong and confident guy that people believed he was. He buried himself in school and his social life to try and help him move on. To an outsider, Landon was better than ever, but he knew that he was struggling. He caught himself wondering where she was and who she was with. He constantly wondered if she was thinking about him too. And every time it just made him angry. How could he be so pathetic?

He wanted to hate her. He wanted to hate her for turning him into a sap with feelings, for making him want to be a better person. She made him feel like a fool. He honestly believed that she wanted to come back from Romania and be with him. He believed that they could be happy together. Was it so wrong to want her? She made it seem like it was such a terrible thing, like wanting to be with her was selfish of him. Tierney just didn’t think that Landon was good enough. It was so much easier to sleep around from one girl to the next. It was so much easier to be the heartbreaker. There were no feelings, no room to get hurt. But he knew he could never hate her. His heart wouldn’t allow it. So he’d have to settle for pretending. Lack of friendship was a wonderful start.

Landon growled as he stared aimlessly at the plants in front of him. He was supposed to be studying for advanced herbology. At the end of the week he was going to be tested and had to be able to distinguish between different leaves and roots. The book lay open in his lap but the exam was the farthest thing from his mind. He’d put off coming to the greenhouses because he knew that this was practically her territory. However he couldn’t avoid it anymore and just wished that he could turn the Tierney part of his brain off. He was sitting in the greenhouse farthest away from the castle. There were about six different plants sitting in front of him. They didn’t look even remotely the same but Landon’s head was so clouded that he couldn’t even begin to tell them apart. “Ugh. Fuck her,” he said as he slammed his book closed. Landon stood and turned to walk about of the greenhouse. There really was no point in being in there anymore.

[Tierney Harper]

It had been the longest few months Tierney had even experienced. She was drained completely. Since she had the talk with Landon in the library she had been a shell. She didn't laugh, she didn't smile, she didn't care. She simply went from class to class and slept a lot. She didn't even put effort into her studies. There was no point anyway since once she was done with school she'd just go back to being Lucian's prisoner.

Even her appearance was reflecting how drained she was. There was no spark in her eyes, her skin was pale and lifeless, her hair hung limp, and she had dark circles under her eyes from not sleeping. She couldn't be bothered to look good, there was no one to look good for anymore and looking good didn't help her mood any, so what was the point?

Why did she even bother to come back to Hogwarts?

Sighing, she grabbed a cloak from the bottom of her trunk and slung it about her shoulders. She needed to be alone again. It had been happening more and more that she just wanted to hide away. She wondered if that was how Landon felt when she ruined his social life.

She set off toward the greenhouses, one of the less frequented areas of the school and somewhere she felt more at home, surrounded by plants. It was the only place she could get any peace these days. In the school all she could think of was Landon. Where he was, what he was doing, who he was with, how much he hated her. Not to mention since they were in the same house she kept worrying she'd bump into him. She wanted to avoid him all she could because seeing him made her heart ache in a terrible way.

So, what was her luck coming to the greenhouses? Right, well, the moment she opened the door she was face to face with none other than Landon. Tierney felt the familiar pang of regret in her chest as her eyes roamed over him, her lips which were almost permanently in a frown pulling further down. After a few moments she cleared her throat softly and moved into the greenhouse, looking away from the boy toward the ground. "Hi," she mumbled, briefly and not really friendly, not really unfriendly.

Why was he in the once place she had hoped to find refuge? Damn him. It wasn't bad enough he invaded her thoughts constantly, but now he had to invade her hideout too? She wanted to move around him and allow him a clear path to the door, but for some reason try as she might, she was unable to make herself move. Her feet felt like lead weights and it bothered her to no end. She didn't want to stop him from leaving, she didn't want to keep him there where they might talk and she might end up crying again... but she didn't want him to leave at the same time. How did things become so complicated? She should have just kept her distance and never gotten to know him better.

Then she might actually be happily married to Lucian instead of forced into it... but would she be as happy as she was when she had Landon close to her? No, definitely not... not that she'd know though so what would it have mattered?

Life was too unfair.

[Landon Rederick]

Landon had no interest in confronting Tierney. There was nothing left to say to her. She had made how she felt, truth or not, very clear. She didn’t want him; she still thought he was a player, even after everything. There was to be nothing else between them. She made him feel like the biggest idiot for ever believing that they could try to be together. Why subject himself to any more torture? Because he was a sucker….

…And she was standing in front of the doorway.

He just stared at her with a lump in his throat as she stood in front of him. His blue eyes ran over her pale face and limp hair. She seemed a bit disheveled and genuinely depressed. He knew that being married to Lucian wouldn’t be as easy as she alluded, but he hadn’t imagined her looking so stressed. He felt bad for her for only a few seconds. He missed her smile and laugh, her warmth. He missed the joy she gave. He could kick himself for still missing her and wanting to be wither. And he felt pathetic for thinking that things would be different when she came back. Even though they were different. She was married now. He glanced down at her gaudy ring. The sight made his stomach churn. Landon could kick himself for coming to the greenhouses. He should have known better than to think that he’d be safe from her here, or anywhere else for that matter. She was always in his head and there was no escaping her.

“Can I help you?” he spat. Being nasty was a defense mechanism, something that should be all too familiar for her. “Did you come to make an even bigger fool out of me? Because I don’t think that’s possible.” He knew that she probably had no interest in finding him to humiliate him anymore, but he was bitter. He was getting so riled up that he couldn’t stop himself from ranting. “You’re something else, you know that? You have some nerve to call me finicky when you went back and forth on your relationship, if you can even call it that, with Lucian several times. You…why the hell do I even bother?”

He slung his bag over his shoulder and waited for her to move. He didn’t want to sit here and play these games with her anymore. What could possibly come of this? Just more pain and anger, and he had reached his limit. It was useless because to be honest, he was angrier at himself. Sure, the things she said were hurtful, but it was the fact that he still wasn’t over her that got him bent out of shape. Why couldn’t she just be another girl to him? Another fling? No matter how much time had passed or how busy he was, it still hurt to know that she didn’t want to be with him.

[Tierney Harper]

He was cruel in his words and tone of voice. His anger was evident and cut like a knife. Tierney took it at first, but when he started really digging into her she found herself becoming equally as agitated. Okay, so what she had done was awful, but she'd done her best to avoid him after that. She had left him alone and left the whole thing in the library. Why did he have to act like this? Couldn't he just shove her aside and walk off? No, that was never quite his style.

Her frown turned into a glare and she stood a little straighter, "Oh, shove off, Rederick! All I bloody fucking said was 'hi' - you don't have to lay into me like a prick!" He didn't understand. He just didn't get it. What she had done she did to save his sorry ass. What would that make it... the fourth time? Why did she even bother? "I didn't come here to make a fool of you and it was never my intention to do that anyway. I never wanted to make a fool of you and I sure as hell never wanted to make a fool of myself, but it happened regardless. Let it go!"

"As for my relationship with Lucian and the game he and I play, I don't think that's any of your business and I know for certain you don't understand a damn thing about it," she bit out. Her fists clenched at her sides, knuckles white, though she was so pale these days the difference was hardly noticeable. He truly had no idea of the deadly and tormenting game she was involved in. All the worse because if she slipped up he was the one who payed, not her.

Her feet finally found the ability to move and she walked up to him, shoving him roughly to the side and walking past him, further into the greenhouse. "I came here to be alone. I came here to find some bloody peace. That's why I'm here. Why are you here when you know this is a place I'm likely to come? I am the Earth elemental after all or did you forget everything you knew about me out of spite? Or did you forget it because it simply wasn't important once our own sick game was over? You only learned anything about me to win me over anyway, right? Just like every other toy you ever played with."

She knew nothing she was saying was true. She knew deep down he had cared for her. How much, she'd never know now, but there had really been something there. She was only saying these things because she couldn't very well change her tune now. The damage was done. Her back remained turned to him, but she could practically see his posture and pissed off face perfectly in her mind. "You're only angry because I ended things with you first, right? Get over yourself, Rederick. You're not the shit, you're not a god, you're not always going to be the heart breaker."

[Landon Rederick]

Tierney made Landon sound like he was a lovesick puppy with no backbone. But, rather, he was an angered young man that was used to getting what he wanted whenever he wanted it. In truth, it really was no better, but Landon didn’t want to be made out to be some weakling that couldn’t handle rejection. Sometimes he felt as if she did all of this just because she could, not because this is actually what she wanted. If he was the player, why did it seem like he was the one getting played in this situation.

Landon could never back down from an argument. He always had to have the last word, no matter how pointless it seemed. And she really had some nerve being rude to him. She was the one that put them in this position anyway by shutting him down and pushing him out of her life. She ignored him all summer, she got married without telling him, blew him off when she got back, and on top of all of that, she was just being downright mean.

“Let it go…Let it go?! You want me to let go the fact that I thought we cared enough about each other to think that you might share something as little as, oh I don’t know, getting married? It’s not even the fact that you didn’t choose me, Tierney. It’s the fact that you barely even considered it. You brushed me off as if telling you how I really felt was some sort of joke. If you knew me as well as I thought you did, you’d realize how big of a deal all of this is.”

After Tierney shoved him to the side to walk past him, Landon scoffed and dropped his bag on the floor, some of the contents falling out onto the greenhouse floor. The nerve of her. “First of all, I can go study anywhere I bloody well please. You don’t own the greenhouses. It isn’t always about you.” Liar. “In case you forgot everything YOU knew about ME out of spite,” he mocked, “herbology isn’t really my strong suit. I’m not trying to fail my N.E.W.Ts and I’m not going to not come here just because you’re the damn Earth Elemental.” Landon had to pace himself because he had so much to say to her. She had opened up a can of worms that he wasn’t ready to close. It really baffled him as to why she couldn’t understand how much what she had done had hurt him. Regardless of if she had feelings for him, he thought that he was at least important enough to him to be a part of her life and not be lied to. In his mind, not telling him that she was getting married was equivalent to lying.

"As for my relationship with Lucian and the game he and I play, I don't think that's any of your business and I know for certain you don't understand a damn thing about it."

“You’re damn right about me not understanding, Tierney. I don’t understand why you’re playing these fucking games with your life. So make me understand because none of this makes any fucking sense!” He walked around to face her so that he could glare at her. His face was getting red and warm in anger. The more he spoke the more his voice rose. If he continued, he would shortly be yelling at her, not that he cared. “I never played any games with you Tierney. Sure, I may have been unsure of my feelings for you, but I never treated what we had between us, whatever it may have been, as a joke or game. It took a lot for me to tell you how I was feeling and it wasn’t a game when I put everything I had on the table like that.

I never played you, Tierney. You were never a toy to me. No matter what I wanted in the beginning, you could never be just a fling to me. I never lied to you or led you on. I always told you to tell me if I was getting to close to you. I never wanted to put you in a position that you didn’t want to be in. I tried to be as upfront with you as possible while still trying to figure things out for myself. So explain to me how I am the one who is playing games when I am the one that is getting played. I could tell you until I’m bloody blue in the face that I’m not a player. I could change, right under your nose, to prove to you that I’m not that guy anymore. I could treat you differently than any other girl I’ve been with, but none of that matters. You’re always going to let my past dictate who you think I am. When are YOU going to let it go?!” Now he was yelling. He’d stepped a little closer to her while speaking, his movement becoming a bit animated every now and then. “Sometimes I feel like you just make shit up to convince yourself that I’m a bad guy because you’re afraid of being with me. You can’t come up with a good enough reason to say no, so you just lie to yourself. I’ve told you before that I would never hurt you intentionally.” Why couldn’t that be enough? And he swore, if she mentioned her clan and that godforsaken war one more time, his head just might explode. That story had already gotten really old, and to put it frankly, he was sure she was full of shit.

“I’m not angry because you rejected me, Tierney. No. That’s only part of it. I’m pissed the FUCK off because you’re a bloody fucking liar. I don’t know exactly what you’re lying about but I know you well enough to know you’re lying. I can feel it. You’re lying about how you feel about me. You’re lying about yourself and you’re lying about that poor-excuse-of-a-demon-who-likes-to-touch-little-boys. I’m tired of sitting around, wracking my brain about whether or not you have feelings for me or not. You can tell me that you don’t have feelings for me or whatever but I know that you’ve felt something between us, at one time or another. Deny it all you want, but that just proves that you’re a liar. And I’m not always going to be waiting around for you when you can finally come to terms with everything I’ve laid out for you and face reality.”

He turned his back to her to pick up the things that had fallen out of his bag. He wanted to be done with this conversation. She was either going to start being honest with him or she was going to keep lying through her teeth. He was sure that she would pick the latter so he decided it wasn’t worth him getting anymore riled up. “You know, I wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt and believe everything you’ve said. But none of it adds up and I’m not going to let you think that I’m that dumb anymore.”

He shook his head as he picked up his scattered belongings off the floor. How was it possible that he wanted to rip her head and her clothes off all at the same time? He wanted to love and hate her. Hold and scold her. She made him absolutely crazy.

[Tierney Harper]

She knew from the start that picking a fight with any Rederick, let alone Landon, was a bad move. So why was it when she was around him she just couldn't help herself? He frustrated her to no end, but she couldn't stop herself. Like a masochist she kept coming back for more pain and suffering. She grit her teeth and took his scolding, knowing full well she deserved some of it, but at points he really made her want to scream.

"Not a big deal? Not a bloody fucking big deal? You think I don't know it's a big deal, Landon? Of course I know how big it is, but tell me, when did you tell me how you felt? Oh right, in the library you said you cared for me and you wanted me. Well la-dee-fucking-da, Landon. Listen to yourself! You expect me to throw everything else aside, everyone else, and give you a chance to 'want' me and 'care' for me. Friends care for each other, family care for each other, and flings and fuck buddies want each other. If that's you putting yourself on the line then it's best we didn't try for more because you wouldn't have much more to offer, clearly. Also, explain to me how you having trouble breaking up with Victoria and holding on to your relationship and feelings for her is an indicator that you wanted to be with me or cared for me? You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want her you have her, if you want me it's only me. I may play a lot of games, but that's not one of them."

"As for you coming here, all I meant was that if you hate me so much and want to avoid me so badly it would be rather detrimental to your plan if you came to a place I frequent. Don't go yelling at me for being somewhere it's highly likely you'd run into me." Tierney rolled her eyes and shook her head, hands on her hips. "Lacking sense like that is precisely the reason you're so bad at Herbology."

Landon's words about his being a player, his trying to change, and her trying to convince herself... well, they hit a little too close to home. She couldn't even look at his face because in a way he was exactly right. She was trying to convince herself he was a bastard. She was trying to shove him out of her life. It was for his own good though because you could bet a pretty penny she knew how much thinking like that was hurting her. Pushing him away was killing her.

When he turned away to pick up his belongings which had spilled from his bag her heart seized painfully. Seeing him with his back to her hurt. His words hurt. Everything just... hurt. She couldn't tell him anything, but she couldn't let him leave still hating her so much.

Her muscles were so taught she felt as if she were shaking. Clearing her throat she opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again with a sigh. Tierney closed her eyes a minute and then tried again, "Landon... I won't lie about having feelings for you. I won't try to pretend I never felt a thing for you. I even admitted in the library that I thought I wanted to be with you too. I liked you so much. It just wasn't in your best interest or mine for us to be together." A bit of an understatement. He'd have been dead by now if she had chosen him.

"I have been lying to you. You're right. I still can't tell you the truth, but I can tell you I didn't do this for my people. I won't say I stopped caring for them, but they haven't been my top priority in a while. If they had been I wouldn't have married Lucian." Honestly, marrying him had only made her people prisoners and toys. No, if she had been looking out for them she would have refused to marry Lucian and reignited the war. "I did this for you." Oops. She hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"For the record... I don't think you're stupid... just a bit naive. You did fall for a lot of Victoria's shit after all." She moved over to a small flowering plant in a terracotta pot nearby and pretended to study it intensely. In a brush off manner, trying to cover her little blunder there, she hurriedly muttered, "Anyway... you were leaving, right? Alright, bye. Good luck on your N.E.W.Ts." Keeping secrets from Landon was too damn difficult. She really needed to try harder least she get the poor boy murdered.

[Landon Rederick]

Landon knew that Tierney could be just as stubborn as himself. As much as he wanted to be done with this conversation, he could keep going in this circular argument if she could. Despite what she said, he hasn’t going to let this go. He wasn’t ready. The wounds were too fresh. And it felt like she was just pouring salt in them.

He was a bit irritated. Of course the way he admitted his feelings for her wasn’t enough. He was being completely honest with her and it still wasn’t enough. He was never enough. “I do want you and I care about you. I will go even as far as to say that I fucking need you. What do you want me to say, Tierney? I’ve told you that you mean more to me than a fling and I would hope that you wouldn’t reduce our friendship to that of mere ‘fuck buddies’. We’re clearly not family…” So what were they? Where did they stand? Landon didn’t want to complicate things by using labels. Trying to figure it out for himself was too much, too confusing. He had hoped that they could figure it out together. “You couldn’t possibly know what I have to offer because you’ve never given me the chance. And the only reason I stayed with Victoria so long this time around was because YOU said it would be good for me! I was trying to change and trying to make the whole commitment thing work, to show you that I could be a better man, even if that meant I couldn’t be with you.” He had always wanted to be a part of her life, and back then she’d made it clear that there should be some distance between them. So he tried to be the best damn friend he could.

Landon rolled his eyes as he lectured him about herbology. That was something they’d argued about time and time again as well.

“I’ve been going back and forth with myself about how I feel about you for the longest time. And for a while, they were really unclear. How could I possibly understand my feelings for you when I barely understand myself? You even said that you didn’t really want anything to do with me until I could figure things out. And that’s what I did. I took some time to really evaluate myself and the things that were going on in my head. I got rid of my baggage and I stood in front of you, willing to offer you everything I had. I don’t have anything else to give. I’m sorry if that isn’t enough for you.” And that was truly sincere. His last relationship, his only relationship, had taken so much out of him over the years. Victoria chewed him up and spat him out, subsequently turning him into someone else. It’d been a struggle coming to terms with that and he knew that he still had a lot of changing and growing to do. He’d hoped that she would help him so that one day he could give her more.

His bookbag was secure, contents picked up and put away. This conversation was starting to get him down and he just wanted to go, but Tierney still had more to say. He looked away from her as she spoke. Was she for real? Landon didn’t know whether to be happy or livid. She was finally being honest, but it was too late. Did she enjoy torturing him? And why lie? He turned back to look at her, hoping to see truthfulness on her face. His heart beat faster and louder the more she spoke. If it made no sense before, he was beyond confused now.

“You must be out of your ever-loving mind if you think I’m leaving after all of that.” He dropped his bag once again, but this time its contents stayed put. “If you have feelings for me and you didn’t get married to save your people, then why in the HELL did you do it?” He moved away from the doorway to the plant she was looking at. Landon stood behind her, hoping that she would turn and face him. He didn’t know that to think. “I want answers, Tierney. You can’t do this to me. You can’t lie to me and tell me that you don’t want to be with me and then turn around and tell me all of this without an explanation. What’s going on? What do you mean you did this for me? You know better than anyone else that this is the last thing I would want.”

[Tierney Harper]

He wanted her. He cared for her. He needed her. All those things did make her happy to hear, but he'd never understand that they weren't enough. Of course they weren't. She didn't want to be hurtful, but a relationship just couldn't be built off of want and need and care. Or maybe she was just too greedy. She wanted to hear him say he liked her, say he loved her... but who was she kidding? Landon would never love her. He didn't seem the type. Want, care, and need were the best she was ever going to get most likely. It was a shame, but if things had turned out differently maybe it would have been enough.

Even as it stood it wasn't that everything he was offering her was useless or something. She wanted to be with him, even now. He may not love her, but damn it, she still loved him. It wasn't fair, unrequited love. It wasn't fair or nice at all. It was cruel and painful.

She heard his bag drop again and though she couldn't see it, she could sense him moving closer to her. Tierney took slow, deep breaths, trying to calm herself. She had said too much. She had let slip something that could very well get him killed. Her and her big mouth!

Her fingers toyed with the leaves of the plant for a moment, but then at his words she turned abruptly around to him a almost violently spat, "It's not about what you want, imbecile! It's about what's best for you. It's about what's going to keep you breathing!" Without even thinking about it she hit him on the chest once, hard, but not trying to cause him pain. The tears had flooded her eyes before she knew it and his image became a blurry smudge for her.

"I shouldn't even be talking to you right now. I can't explain anything to you and it's not fair... Just know you're better off hating me and having me pretend to hate you." She shook her head and ran her slender fingers through her tangled, sad excuse for hair as she half turned away again. "You have no idea how badly I want to tell you, but I can't and I won't. I won't do that... so please, Landon, just... just go."

[Landon Rederick]

Explaining his feelings for Tierney was very difficult for Landon. He didn’t love her…yet. Landon wasn’t even sure if he was capable of love. He didn’t really know what love was. He thought he knew but he eventually realized that the sick and twisted relationship he was in with Victoria surely wasn’t it. Landon was skeptical to get that close to someone again. He was afraid of falling as hard as quickly as he did last time. The last thing he wanted was to get hurt or to hurt someone else. Landon always knew this, even when he was ready to admit that he liked Tierney. He just knew that things would move much slower this time around.

Landon’s mind? BLOWN. Everything she was saying seemed to be coming out of nowhere, like she was bursting from holding it for a long time. Landon stumbled as Tierney hit him in the chest. As he steadied himself in front of her again he wracked his brain to try and figure out what the hell all of this meant. Best for him? Keep him breathing? “Is he threatening you?” he asked lowly. It was all starting to make sense now. The things she was saying, the reasons she didn’t respond to his letters, keeping the marriage a secret. The idea infuriated him.

He stepped toward her, grabbing both of her arms, shaking her just a little. “Did he fucking threaten you? I swear on all that is magical that he will not hurt you, Tierney. And I’m not going anywhere so you’d better tell me what the fuck is going on right now!” Landon knew that Lucian could kill him without barely lifting a finger, but that didn’t mean that he wouldn’t put up a fight. It was unfair, having to compete with Lucian.

Had he not been worried for Tierney’s safety, Landon would be somewhat relieved to hear that Tierney at least had some feelings for him. But now he was finding out that she was stuck in this marriage against her will and not even to the benefit of her people. She was stuck because a controlling bastard was making threats and this was her only choice. Life was unfair, indeed.

[Tierney Harper]

She had really said too much. Now Landon's life was most definitely in danger - as if it wasn't already. Tierney bit her bottom lip, chewing on the delicate flesh while she ran through her options.

She could laugh in his face and pretend she'd been joking... but... then Landon would well and truly hate her and while that might be best for him she couldn't stand that. She could run off while he was distracted, but they went to the same school and were in the same house. He'd easily find her again later. Or... she could cast obliviate on him and wipe out his memories of their conversation. If he wasn't a Rederick she'd think to just make him forget who he was and everything. Send him into deep hiding. Alas, his family would murder her if she dared try a thing like that.

"I don't care if he hurts me!" Tierney blurted, exasperated. "Are you that bloody fucking idiotic? Landon he said he'd kill you! I did this so he wouldn't hurt you..."

Her breath was shaky as she exhaled, slowly. "I had already decided I wanted to come home single because you wanted me to - regardless of the reason. I had decided my people could figure out how to save themselves without me as a factor. Admittedly I was hoping you wanted me single because you wanted to perhaps pick up where we left off, but even if you didn't, knowing you were happy would make me happy. When I tried to break things off with Lucian things started civil and the next thing I knew they were violent and he was telling me he'd kill you if I didn't agree to marry him."

Tierney tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear and looked down at the floor of the greenhouse. "I... I couldn't let him hurt you. He knew he had me. He knew I'd never let him hurt you and that as long as he used you as leverage I'd do whatever he said. He knew for a while that I..." She paused, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. Clearing her throat, she continued, "That I loved you."

Her cheeks immediately flushed and she looked up at the boy, flustered, "I mean... you know... not... not romantically or anything. I um... I like you, but I mean love like... you know. We've been... I've known you forever so I..." Smooth cover? Hardly. What was the point of pretending she didn't love him romantically anyway? She didn't need to be a 'tough' girl. Loving him didn't make her weak (though it gave her a weakness). Sighing, she clarified. "Ok. You know what? No. I do. I love you. I love you romantically. You infuriate me and worry me and disgust me - often - but I am irrevocably head-over-heels in love with you."

[Landon Rederick]

Not exactly what I hoped for, but whatever.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

"I don't care if he hurts me!" Tierney blurted, exasperated. "Are you that bloody fucking idiotic? Landon he said he'd kill you! I did this so he wouldn't hurt you..."

“Hurts me? What? Why would he….” Oh. Now it made sense. He didn’t know how he missed it before. He really wasn’t that dense. Tierney just turned his brains into mush. As Landon thought about it he realized that now that Tierney had told him what was going on his life was likely in danger. But he honestly wasn’t thinking much about that. As Tierney spoke he thought about this awful mess that she was in. Lucian was controlling her life and using Landon as pawn in his game. Landon knew that he could tell her that he wouldn’t have ever asked her to marry Lucian in order to save him, but he thought to save his breath. He could just imagine her response, something about how it wasn’t always about him.

“I can figure this out, Tierney. I will be safe. My family would not let anything happen to me. If they can’t take care of him, they know someone who can. I will just need to inform them immediately.” He didn’t want to complicate her situation even further, but this was the only solution he could think of. Landon was clearly no match for Lucian. Landon didn’t even understand why Lucian wanted to be with Tierney anyway. The marriage was not the diplomatic solution that they originally thought it would be. What was Lucian getting out of this other than some control and the satisfaction of disturbing two young lives? Perhaps that was all it was.

Landon continued to listen to Tierney speak and all he wanted to do was wrap her up in arms and tell her that everything would be okay. He couldn’t believe that she would go through all of this for him. It was true. He did care for her deeply, but as she said, he didn’t have much to offer. She was constantly saving him or doing what was best for him and all he could do was tell her that he wanted and needed her. The idea seemed cheap, though he meant much more than that.

He could have sworn that he heard Tierney say that she loved him, but as he originally thought, it was a mistake. He looked around the greenhouses awkwardly as she corrected herself. It was bittersweet. He was disappointed but a little relieved. What on Earth would he do if she actually…

"Ok. You know what? No. I do. I love you. I love you romantically. You infuriate me and worry me and disgust me - often - but I am irrevocably head-over-heels in love with you."

Landon’s breath caught in his throat and he immediately started coughing, essentially choking on air. This was it. She had finally succeeded in killing him. He leaned over and grabbed his throat, wheezing, trying to take in little breaths. When the pattern return to normal, though he was still panting a bit, he looked at her with the most confused expression on his face. “Wait… What did you just say? I mean, I heard you, but say whaaaa? How could….you, huh? But….? Me…? Why?!” Landon was absolutely stunned. When Tierney had said that she’d had feelings for him he never imagined that they’d be this deep.

And it wasn’t that he didn’t want her to love him or that he didn’t appreciate it. There was just a thick wall that had been put up around his heart and he wasn’t ready to take it down just yet. He wasn’t ready to be that vulnerable. And there wasn’t really anything Tierney could do to help him. He would have to slowly pull down the pieces all on his own. The last think he wanted to do was hurt her by not being able to reciprocate those feelings, feelings that he probably already had that we buried deep inside of him and that he just didn’t understand. He was aware that he hadn’t returned those words to her and hoped that she would understand.

Landon didn’t say anything for moment. If he wasn’t careful he’d end up with his foot in his mouth and probably another one in his ass. “Um…well that didn’t come out as smooth as it sounded in my head. Sorry. I just…didn’t expect that, I guess. So this is why wanting, caring, and needing isn’t enough for you, huh?” He sighed heavily. He was sure he could love her the way that she loved him. He just needed time, time he wasn’t even sure that they had. There was still the nasty cloud of marriage and Lucian looming over them.

There was a little part of Landon that just wanted to break down and cry. How could life be so unfair? Here was the girl whose heart he was trying to win, telling him that he essentially had it all along. And there was nothing he could do about it because she was married to another man that was threatening to kill him. For all he knew they were being watched and Lucian was on his way over here right now. How did they get here? They were just two teenagers that wanted to be together. But it wasn’t that simple. Life could never be that simple. All Landon could do was let out a harsh laugh and as a single tear escaped down his cheek. He glared up at the ceiling and he angrily wiped it away.

“Life is bloody fucking cruel, isn’t?” He cleared his throat and shook his head. No use crying over spilled milk. It was time to figure out how they were going to clean this shit up. Where's the damn mop?

“So what do we do now? As frustrating and maddening as this situation is, I can’t just walk away from you. I never really could, though I tried so hard before. We would be doing a great disservice so ourselves if we ignore this. How do we fix this?”

[Tierney Harper]

Did it hurt that he didn't return her sentiment? Certainly. Was she going to be devastated and cry like a little baby over it? Not a chance in hell. Tierney already had a feeling he couldn't return her feelings. She never expected him to say he loved her. Of course, that didn't mean she didn't want to hear it. Of course she wanted to hear it. Still, by the time he had finished talking she was smiling softly. He may not have said he loved her, but he clearly wasn't throwing away the possibility - that alone was good enough for now.

"I don't expect you to say it back. I know you don't love me and I don't want to pressure you into anything. I just thought you should know. After everything I've put you through you deserve me telling you the truth - the whole truth. So there it is. I love you, I've endangered your life, and things pretty much suck right now." She gave a bitter laugh and sighed.

"There isn't much we can do about this situation. Just make sure your family protects you the best they can and avoid seeing me too often. Until something is done about Lucian we're stuck." She shrugged ran a hand through her hair slowly. "What a mess... I knew I was too young to get married and it all seemed like a bad idea, but I certainly never thought it would turn out this badly."

Tierney moved closer to Landon and cupped his cheek lightly. As she ran her thumb over his skin she leaned up on her tiptoes just a bit and kissed him very softly on the lips. There lips had only been in contact a moment when a loud, sharp rapping on the door sent Tierney scrambling backwards and almost toppling over in her haste. She turned toward the door, heart pounding, expecting to see Lucian standing there looking murderous. Instead she saw a familiar looking tawny owl flapping away outside.

Still unnerved, she cautiously stepped to the door and opened it, allowing the owl to enter the greenhouse and perch on a nearby table. She approached it and too from its beak a small letter with her name scrawled on it in her elder brother's infamously messy handwriting. She opened it and pulled out the parchment inside, unfolding it to read.

After a moment or two of scanning the page she laughed nervously and turned to Landon. "Do you believe in luck or coincidences?" She certainly didn't, but... the letter had her second guessing herself now. She stretched out her hand, offering the letter to the boy to see for himself.

Tierney,

I have to keep this short because I'm needed on the battlefield, but I'm writing to inform you that your husband - if you even want to call that monster that - had been taken care of. I'm sorry it took me so long, you've been away for a few months now, but I remembered our talk just days before you suddenly married Lucian. I know you didn't want to marry him and I know he somehow coerced you into it. I couldn't stand by and see my baby sister suffer.

When I confronted him he told me his true intentions, thinking I couldn't stop him by then. Well, he was wrong. It was quite easy for me to stir a rebellion with our people and bring war to his doorstep.

I fought him myself - to the death. Since I'm writing I'm sure you can guess who came out alive from that fight. It wasn't without injury or difficulty, but I'm alive. Mother and father have requested you stay in Britain. They've already sent word to the Redericks to make sure you can stay with them. It's unsafe here, so remain there and stay safe.

All my love,
Teo