[thd] i don't care, if i make you stop and stare • • l e o n i e

Outside, the day was wet and dreary. In here, however, the atmosphere was serene. The artificial lighting was gentle and the lack of windows was compensated for by the amount of mirrors and fancy plants in the place. "What do you think?" Sterling glanced at himself in the mirror, a skeptical expression on his face. He knew that Leonie made shoes or whatever, but she was a girl, wasn't she? She probably knew about hats too. Sasha would be no help, he thought. Sterling's butler hovered by the entrance to the exclusive shopper area of this particular store. This section was reserved for those who were extremely famous or, like him, those who were extremely rich.

The pair would be attending some silly family event later in the week. It was the some-impressive-number-anniversary of their families' business parnership and so they were expected to attend. Sterling had previously decided that he'd just ignore his family summons, but Aleksandr, his bodyguard, had urged him against it. He'd worked his magic over a few weeks and now Sterling had been convinced he should go. Leonie was going too, of course, and after having Lulu get in contact with the woman, the pair were "hanging out" today. Leonie was basically a spoiled little princess, but Sterling still liked her. Or perhaps it was the fact that she was a princess that made her more appealing? He didn't know. For some reason, they just sort of clicked and now she was helping him buy a hat for the event. "I think it's too tall," he said, standing up straighter to make his point as he flicked his eyes to her reflection in the mirror.

"Oh absolutely," she said, barely looking at her cousin. She'd already known it wouldn't suit him when he'd picked it but if there was one thing Leonie knew was that it would be pointless to tell him no before he'd tried it himself. It was one thing they had in common. Another one? They were both spoiled even though Sterling was infinitely worse than her. He probably wouldn't agree but she knew that she was right. "Here, try this one." Leonie handed an elegant looking black hat over that should be much better. It would look dashing on her brother Benjamin and it would surely look good on Sterling too.

Even though she didn't need a hat, the former Klyk Vampira tried one of the pointy ones as well, wrinkling her nose in distaste as she looked into the mirror. Yeah, no hat for her, thank you very much. She wasn't really looking forward to the family event but her father was expecting her to come and there was no way he'd accept any kind of excuse. "If you don't like it, you could also try this one. I think it'll fit your news robes really well." If there was one topic she was an expert in, it was fashion, and they both knew it.

Sterling tossed the one she hadn't liked to one side. He usually paid people to do this sort of thing for him. Sterling was rarely in charge of dressing himself, as ridiculous as that sounded. Sometimes he sent his tailor and stylist to stores for him and when they came back he just threw out whatever he didn't like. He had many robes made especially for him, with materials picked out by people he paid. Of course, he'd occasionally gone shopping too. Once he'd gone shopping with Lulu and been so impressed with her help that he'd bought her forty pairs of shoes without even looking at their prices. Apparently shoes were pretty expensive? That was what he'd found out later when attempting the bore that was the monetary paperwork he probably should have paid more attention to.

"Yes, it's great," Sterling said, nodding in approval at the hat she picked before he even put it on. He trusted her to pick a good hat for him... at least for now. He had been known to get things in situations like this only to turn around a day later and hate it, but he was sure that this time wouldn't be like that. Honestly? The hat looked basically the same to him. But she'd liked it, so he picked it. "Three of these," he said, handing the hat to an assistant and glancing sideways at his companion as she tried a had on herself. "Looking forward to the party?" he asked in a rather bored voice that indicated his feelings on the topic.

Good, he trusted her opinion. Clever man. Or maybe he was just lazy. Ah well, probably both. Leonie knew that Sterling was a difficult man but somehow they had always gotten along. He wasn't her favourite relative, that was her brother of course, but he was one of the few she liked better. Sam would probably hate him. It would be interesting to let them meet, that was for sure. Leonie wasn't dating Samuel Andersson, definitely not, but maybe she could bring him to the party. As a friend, of course.

"As much as you do," she replied, knowing perfectly well that he cared about these events even less than she did. In fact, she was surprised that he'd even go but then she spotted Aleksandr out of the corner of her eyes who was still standing near the door and all of a sudden she knew who'd convinced him to go. It was interesting how much influence the bodyguard had on her cousin and sometimes she wondered why it was the way it was.

Another assistant approached them with two glasses on a tray, the hats must've been more expensive than they looked, telling them that the drinks were on the house and that the order would be ready in a few minutes. With a pleasant smile on her face, Leonie took one of the glasses and raised it towards her cousin. "Cheers."

"So extremely excited for it then," Sterling said, clapping his hands together playfully, sarcasm written all over every inch of his being. After a moment, he laughed, shaking his head. "Those things can be a little..." He thought for a moment. "...Too much." He didn't like big social gatherings. He had no patience for small talk and he didn't really know how to interact with his family. The man glanced at Sasha as their drinks arrived.

"Cheers," Sterling said, raising his glass to tap lightly against hers before raising it to his lips. The man held it there for a moment as he watched her, not letting a drop of the liquid past his lips. After she'd had a couple of sips he lowered his glass slowly, a devilish smile on his face. She'd been smiling at him rather cutely, so a normal person might feel a little guilty right about now. Sterling didn't, though. She'd get over it and appreciate him for the king prankster he was. "How is it?" he asked. It was an innocent enough question, but she'd be able to tell from his expression that he was anything but innocent. And if she was somehow feeling especially unobservant today, then his surprise would give itself away soon enough...

It was typical of Sterling to pull pranks, but more often than not he pulled them on his staff. Today he'd enlisted the help of his manservant to prank the nemesis of his childhood. Most teenagers didn't have nemeses that were children, but then again, Sterling had always been rather special. As a teen he'd had problems with Leonie, even though he'd liked her a lot. Nowadays they didn't spend much time together, but he always enjoyed it when they did. He enjoyed it more when he was sneaking toad punch into her glasses. He looked pleased, like it was his birthday or something.

"More excited than I've ever been." At least it would be a business event and not a family one. The former Klyk definitely prefered those events over one of her aunt's birthdays. Mostly because her father's business partners never asked her if she'd get married soon. She was lucky that her parents didn't care about arranged marriages but not all of her relatives were that relaxed when it came to upholding their blood line.

The orange coloured liquid burned as it ran down her throat but it was a pleasant feeling. It also tasted... quite nicely. What was it? Peach schnapps? Mixed with some kind of juice? After a few sips she lowered the glass again and it was then that she noticed Sterling's devilish smile. Why was he smiling like that? Had she missed anything? Her blue eyes fell on the glass again before she looked back at the wizard and then it began.

All of a sudden Leonie started to belch and her eyes widened as she pressed her hand against her lips. "You..." Another one. "...asshole!" The fact that he seemed fine told her that he must've arranged all of this and the look in his eyes proved it. He couldn't be serious.