Libba knew who she didn’t want to go to the Banquet with.
She didn’t want to go with some Vixen, or one of the basketball girls or rugby bros. She didn’t want to go with someone that she would have to be Olivia Albright with. She didn’t want to play pretend all night and keep up appearances. That night was about Exy, about their team. And Libba wanted to be with her team for it. Grant had offered to set her up with someone but Libba wasn’t so sure. Not that she doubted their fearless leader’s judgment -- she was sure whoever he chose would be a flawless match. But it would still be a date.
And when she came down to it, Libba didn’t want a date. She wanted to spend time with her Foxes, not looking over her shoulder to be sure to include some outsider in the fun. Which meant she had to take an insider. One of the team. Libba had ticked down the line, weighing who was available, would be low-key but not boring.
She was left with a few names, but one jumped up -- so she was knocking on Justin’s door after evening practices. Justin, whom she had hit it off with at the beginning of the summer before vanishing. But then, he was someone who knew something about vanishing.
“Justin? Are you in there? It’s Libba...”
As she waited, Libba felt no real anxiety over asking him. Quite pointedly, she wasn’t asking him on a date. Just to be her companion partner thing, get Grant off both their asses and ensure an easy-going night for the both of them. If he was looking for an actual date, though, Libba wouldn’t mind -- nothing personal, after all.
[@justacevedo]