meeting the family.— [saffron/alex/quinn]

Well that was mortifying.

Dead-last and a penalty for a false start, Quinn knows she'll never hear the end of this. Not if Alex has anything to do with it, who in typical best-friend nature had taken to taking the mickey out of her all afternoon. If it weren't for the trademark mop of bright red hair on her face, Quinn had half the idea to wear a mask - or a very large Stetson cowboy hat from one of the stalls - on her head for the rest of the fair.

Could she feign a stomach ache tonight, complain it hadn't eased the next morning? The quiet of her bedroom, away from the eyes of every person in District's Nine through Eleven that knew her name, sounded wonderful.

"Alex, I will wrangle you silly!" she pouted, crossing her arms in a huff as they stormed through the fairgrounds. "That was rigged, I didn't even cheat! There ain't no rules written on the information board about start times. They just didn't want me winning. I'm telling ya this surname is a curse!"

If he were anyone else Quinn would have fought back or shunned Alex to silence, but she knew damn well if the tables were turned she'd be having a field day. Maybe she felt sorry for him, maybe she wanted him to keep her company, but she let him tease her - even if she tried to change the subject at every which way.

"I want some ice cream, c'mon," she motioned, pointing at one of the stalls that had housed a healthy queue all day. The coins in her pocket Grandma had given her were weighing her down, enough for 'Quinn and a few friends' as she'd been instructed. To Quinn that meant her and Alex only to share in their sugar-filled spoils.

"Maybe they'll have fudge-"

But Quinn didn't get the chance to finish her sentence, because the next thing she knew her Mom was stomping toward her with a look that could kill on her face.

"QUINN EMBERSTATT GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE!"

"Oh shit," Quinn muttered for more reason than one.

She'd been actively keeping Alex and her parents at a mile's length, save for the terrible elephant in the room. For two years Alex was nothing but a name in passing at dinnertime, a location she'd scuttle off to visit when she was mad. Quinn had been sure neither of her parents would be able to recognise Alex Pepperwood by face - only her Grandma knew Alex's surname and the significance of keeping it a secret.

Saffron stormed into view, grabbing her daughter by the arm gently yet firmly. "What's this I hear about you cheating in the corn maze?"

"Ma!" Quinn flushed, mortified at being told off in front of Alex and a crowd of passers-by. "Don't yell!"

"Don't yell?" Saffron repeated with a scoff, placing her hands on her hips. "We talked about leaving a good impression this week, did we not? Your Dad's gonna be furious!"

Wringing her balmy hands, Quinn stared at the toes of her boots and turned as scarlet as her hair. Guilty as charged, but this day was going from bad to worse. "Mom, I didn't cheat! They didn't want me to win, it was rigged! I even told Alex--"

Oh fuck, Quinn gulped. Her heart dropped into the brown earth below, glancing at Alex with panicked eyes. "I mean- I-", stammering was always a dead-giveaway that Quinn was lying and good lord it was hot today; she couldn't stop sweating.

"Oh!" Saffron blinked, realising they weren't alone. Her demeanor morphed from furious to polite, a talent District Ten locals mastered at record speeds. "You must be Alex, of course. Quinn's friend. I've heard a lot about ya!"

"Ma, we really need to go--"

"Don't be rude miss ma'am, you're already on wafer-thin ice."

Blissfully unaware, with Quinn unsuccessfully attempting to drag her friend away from her mother, Saffron held out her hand to Alex and smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Mister...?"