Putting AI Companion Platforms to the Test, Feature by Feature
I approached this like a proper product review, scoring each AI companion platform on the categories that separate the serious tools from the toys. Customization, conversation quality, media, voice and calling, and privacy. Several names made the list, candy.ai among them, but sweetdream.ai consistently posted the strongest line across categories.
On customization, SweetDream is in a tier of its own, letting you design looks, voice, personality, backstory and quirks until the character genuinely feels like yours. On conversation, the chat is natural, emotionally intelligent and context-aware, which is the single hardest thing to get right and the thing most platforms still fumble.
The media and calling scores are where it pulls further ahead: excellent AI-generated photos and videos, lifelike voice messages, real-time phone calls, and video and live cam sessions available with select characters. Discretion is treated as a feature, not an afterthought, with conversations kept private. Tally it up and SweetDream is, by my measure, the best AI girlfriend experience currently on offer.
Even with her short stature she dominates Bea due to experience
P: Out of breathe Hughes? Not surprised since you did kiss with a Queen.
B: Yea my Queen
P: *chuckles* careful Hughes or I might just sit you on my lap and call you sweet names.
She did in the end do just that, with Bea getting new hickeys along the way to be marked.
P: Aww is my poor Bea needy? Too bad you’re just gonna have to wait until later unless you can convince me otherwise. If you can I’ll even let you take charge.
P: Such a pretty mouth you have Bea my dear, I wonder how it’ll look like when I use it for my own whims and desires. Maybe we’ll find out soon enough won’t we?
in which weather can be profound and personal growth is messy.
OR, my own imagining of post-book 2.
-
-
they find each other later. much later. weeks and months later, really, during winter break. although, Poppy guesses, it’s not really winter break if they’ve both graduated and left their days at Belvoire behind them. it’s just winter.
so it’s winter when they find each other, somewhere in that awkward week between Christmas and the new year that doesn’t even feel like a real point in time. there’s snow and belated family gatherings and nights spent alone as a forecasted blizzard rips through the city.
it’s an odd kind of loneliness that settles in Poppy’s chest during that week, like she’s missing something so small yet so important and can’t quite identify what it is. but she pushes on. puts on a smile and pretends it’s all fine as she sits through a belated Christmas dinner with her parents.
and then, only when she finally manages to escape her parents’ brownstone just before midnight, when she steals a few quiet moments for herself in the candy aisle of the bodega that she felt compelled to step into, does she find AJ.
“fancy meeting you here.” the voice is familiar and pokes at those silly little words that have been rattling around her mind for months.
it’s always been you.
she bristles, pretends it’s unresolved hate that makes her react that way, and turns around to face the voice. “AJ.” clipped. neutral. good, no way she’s going to lose to AJ Hughes in the candy aisle of a bodega.
“just can’t seem to stay away from me, huh?”
“i could live a very peaceful life if i never had to see you again.” it feels like a lie coming off her tongue, and that gaping thing in her chest screams and begs her to take it back.
AJ clutches her chest and makes like she’s been hurt, but she smiles through it all and Poppy never wants to think about why she hasn’t stopped thinking about AJ’s stupid smile since graduation. and that stupid declaration. and that god-awful kiss that had left her shocked and speechless and her lips tingling with fiery— whatever.
“doing anything right now?” AJ asks.
“walking away from you.” and Poppy proves her point by turning on her heels and walking down the aisle. she holds her breath firm in her chest as she walks, and only releases it when she hears AJ follow after her.
“first of all,” AJ starts as she falls in step with Poppy, “i know you wanted me to follow you. and second of all” —she stops in front of Poppy, forcing them to stand face-to-face— “wanna grab a drink?”
-
so she grabs a drink with AJ. so what? no biggie.
except one drink turns into two, turns into three, turns into making out outside the bar, which, naturally, turns into fucking in AJ’s kitchen because they couldn’t make it to the bed.
no biggie.
-
Poppy braces herself for the cold and flees AJ’s apartment early in the morning.
she decides that that was the last time. no more running into AJ. no more grabbing a drink because what’s one drink between old university friends? because they aren’t friends, weren’t ever really friends. no, they toed the line between enemies and two people with a complicated arrangement who can’t seem to do one thing right even now!
so that’s the end. for the best, Poppy thinks to herself as she wraps her coat tighter around her body as the wind slices at her skin.
and she feels... okay about that decision. she knows, logically, that not seeing AJ again is for the best. but she also knows, less logically, that her bed is much too large, much too cold when she crawls into it that night.
-
she loses track of the days. gets lost in a dreadfully dull cycle—wake, eat, phone, shower, sleep, repeat. she keeps tabs on all her old friends through their socials, and starts to wonder if they were ever actually friends.
has she ever actually had a real friend?
she likes Chloe’s latest post—a photo of her on vacation in the Swiss alps—and then turns her phone off.
then those four silly words echo in Poppy’s head again.
a lie, she told herself as soon as AJ had breathed them into existence. and it had worked for a while, had tamped down the hope she allowed herself to feel bloom in her chest for just one moment, because she’ll never let herself hope again.
a game just like everything else, she tells herself now as she watches the snow fall from the dark sky.
and then before she knows what’s happening, Poppy’s off her couch and out the door as those four stupid, awful, annoying words chant in her mind.
she had made a note of AJ’s address when she left a few mornings ago. only so she could stay away and make good on that decision to never see her again. so it’s no trouble getting to AJ’s building—modest and nothing particularly exciting.
homey, huh? AJ had said with an air of insecurity as they’d stumbled inside a few nights ago and Poppy had paused their make-out to judge and look and absorb AJ’s new home.
she doesn’t know what to do now that she’s met with the reality of her late night decision. leaving would be wise, she knows, but she just can’t seem to get her legs to carry her away.
she slips inside the building behind someone else who’s too lost in their phone to notice Poppy, and rides the elevator up to AJ’s floor.
she knocks on AJ’s door, softly in the hope that maybe AJ won’t hear it and she can leave unnoticed and pretend this never happened. but then there are footsteps getting closer and Poppy’s heart beat drums in her ears and then the door opens.
“what’re you doing here?” AJ asks, her voice firm and eyes hard.
clearly a mistake coming here, Poppy decides and suddenly she wants nothing more than to be at home curled in her too large and too cold bed.
“i don’t know,” Poppy admits.
AJ nods, glances back over her shoulder into her apartment, and Poppy immediately thinks she’s interrupted something important.
“did you mean it?” Poppy quickly asks before AJ has a chance to tell her to leave.
“mean what?”
“what you said at graduation?”
AJ’s head quirks to the side, clearly trying to remember.
or maybe she does remember and she’s just trying to give you an out. trying to let you down easy.
but the words thrum through her veins and she needs an answer now if she ever wants to be able to carry on with life.
“when you said ‘it’s always been you’ did you mean it?”
AJ continues to stare and for the first time ever, Poppy can’t read it. or maybe doesn’t want to be able to read it for fear of what it will mean.
“did we actually hate each other?” Poppy now asks, desperate to just get some answers and keep AJ in front of her.
“do you think we did?”
“i don’t know.”
AJ nods and clicks her tongue. “maybe you should figure that out before you come knocking on people’s doors at midnight.”
AJ moves to close the door but Poppy’s quick to stop it. “no, no, wait. please.”
maybe she hears something in Poppy’s voice, because AJ pauses, waits.
“i know we didn’t hate each other. i know that. but i just… i wanted to hate you. i wanted to hate you so much and i don’t know why i couldn’t just hate you because your were everything i despised. maybe you know why because you always seemed like you knew something that i didn’t.”
AJ doesn’t say anything right away, and Poppy, for a moment, thinks she’s finally gone too far. that after everything she’s put AJ through, this midnight-doorstep-declaration will be what costs Poppy having AJ in her life. and then—
“i used to think you hated me, way back when we first met. i didn’t care, of course. i never hated you, even then, but i didn’t like you much. but i quickly learnt to see through everything you were throwing at me. i think you subconsciously knew that you needed me because i was so different from everyone you’d met before, i was challenging.”
“you weren’t challenging.”
AJ quirks her head to the side a playful smile pulls her lips up.
“maybe a little bit,” Poppy admits, and admitting something to AJ doesn’t bother her and she realises that it maybe never did. “but it was nice.”
“yeah, i thought so too. we were so different in a few ways and so alike in others. i think that’s why we worked… why we probably needed each other.”
Poppy sits with that for a moment, and thinks that AJ might have a point.
“my bed’s too big,” Poppy says, and she doesn’t know why she decides to admit that. “i just— i think i’m lonely and i think i miss you.”
“you think or you know?”
“i miss you and i need you and i wish i’d done things differently.”
AJ just stares for a moment and then: “a friend of mine is having a party for the new year tomorrow night, you should come with me.”
“really?”
“yeah, really. i think you’d have a nice time if you came and i know i would enjoy it more.”
Poppy’s cheeks turn a little red. “okay, yeah, i’ll come.”
and then they stand awkwardly at AJ’s front door, unsure of what to do next but desperate to not let this moment fade. AJ steps aside a moment later; an invitation, silent in its declaration but loud in the space between them.
Poppy smiles and steps close to AJ. she cups her cheek and says, “Thank you,” before moving inside.
[Image ID: the shadow of a woman with devil horns against a wall, colorized red and with the text “a little evil” on it. End ID.] (Image Source: original source site no longer up (Potaca.com), found on Pinterest.)
Pairing: MC x Poppy
Rating: M for milder-than-canon-typical sexual content (minors still DNI).
Word Count: 4068.
Summary: A canon-ish imagining of right after the final scene of Queen B, or: resolved emotional tension for the Poppy route. Requested by anon.
Warnings: Second person POV, drinking (not to the point of getting drunk).
Created For: @anyfandomfluffbingo, filling out the “I guess today’s my lucky day”, drinking buddies, and public sex squares.
Read on AO3 here or below the cut.
The day of graduation, you and Zoey move as fast as your six-inch heels will carry you on your way to the ceremony. "Would you slow down?" you say, eyes more on your own feet than on any of the big ceremony here for her (and the rest of the student body, of course). It doesn't help that her muscles still ache from a night spent with Poppy, and then from staying up just thinking about it.
Zoey looks back at you with a wide smile, somehow not missing a single step. "I can't, Mom's got me on a tight schedule. Graduate by noon, day drink at the afterparty until dusk, and then the tour bus leaves at midnight."
"Don't tell me she's coming on the road with you."
Zoey's eyes go wide in horror. "God, no. Bunk beds and crappy dive bar food with no one to talk to but each other sounds like the set up for an episode of Snapped. But now that she's taking me seriously, she's showing me the tricks of the trade. We're meeting up in LA to prep for some label meetings." She leads the way up the stands and makes a beeline for Felicity who has, surprise, surprise, managed to secure the entire front row for herself.
"You're late," Felicity says, not looking up from her pamphlet.
"That's on me, Momma Wade," you say with a charming smile, on the off-chance she does glance over. "After everything we've been through, I'm having a little trouble saying goodbye to this place."
"You get used to it," says a familiar voice from behind you, and you turn to see Luis and Hayley climbing the bleacher steps. "Plus you get one hell of a reunion when you come back. I've only been gone a year, and my Alpha bros went nuts!"
With the same ditzy smile as her sister, Hayley adds, "OMG, I can't wait! Ohio still has no idea I'm here."
Zoey blinks rapidly a couple times, looking puzzled. "Wait...Hayley, if you graduated last year, shouldn't Ohio have graduated too?"
"People think that all the time, but I'm actually one minute older, so I get to do things one whole year before her."
That gets Felicity to look up at them at last. "Oh, honey. That is not how that works..."
"Maybe I could be of some assistance. After all, in another life, I was a professor."
"Ina!" Looking over your shoulder at the familiar voice, you see Ina following Luis and Hayley up the steps. "What're you doing here?"
Your old professor smiles, looking more relaxed than she has in months. "Celebrating the end of an era. The day that my students embark upon the world was always one of my favorites. Congratulations to you both."
"We won't be embarking on anything if they start without us. C'mon!"
Zoey hurries you down to the field, and before you split up to go to your seats, you give her a hug on the sidelines. "The next time I see you, we'll officially be one degree hotter."
"Like we need it," she says, beaming.
As you settle into your seat near the rest of the H's, Steinhelm takes the podium, looking every bit of 'let's get this over with'. With all the razzle dazzle of a kid's birthday party magician, she whips out her cue cards and starts to read verbatim. "'Graduates and honored guests, we've gathered here to celebrate the outgoing class of 2021--'"
Ford starts off the chaos, screaming, "Momma, we made it!"
All around you, the graduates start to cheer, and from the stands, you see Luis and some of the other returning Alphas raise their shirts to show 'GRADATES' spelled across their chests.
"That's not even spelled right!" Steinhelm says, mouth falling open in shock, somehow? This isn't even gonna be the worst thing to happen today, guaranteed.
Luis yells to the stage over the noise of the crowd. "Tripp's flight got cancelled. He was the 'U'."
Steinhelm's fingers blanch as they grip the sides of the podium, and you hear her heave a heavy sigh. In a quiet voice that still gets picked up by the mic, she says, "Stick to the script, Marguerite. It's almost over. Ahem. 'This year's crop of graduates are some of the brightest, most amazing trailblazers--'"
"Byew byew byew!" Carter yells, clearly having the time of his life.
You're hardly going to pass up an opportunity to let loose before college ends, so you join in with a loud whoop.
"That's it!" Steinhelm balls up her cue cards and throws them in the crowd, hitting Clint Burton in the face, full-force.
"Ow, my eye!"
"You wanna know the truth? I hated every second of this year! Namely because I was undermined at every turn! I cancelled the Person to Watch Award and shut down that awful blog...seconds later, it was back and worse than ever!"
Chloe raises her hand, as though there's the slightest chance of her being called on, and then starts talking anyway. "Okay, but, like, without The T, how else were we supposed to know who we're better than?"
Ignoring her, Steinhelm continues, "I banned parties, and the Alphas threw the biggest rager Belvoire's ever seen--"
"Oh, BTDubs, I talked to the national chapter, greased a few palms, and they told me to tell you...'suck it'," Liam says, trademark smarmy grin on his face.
The brothers whoop and cheer, and you watch as Steinhelm's existential crisis sets in. "I give up. You're all just a bunch of spoiled brats that are going to make the world a worse place...and the only saving grace is that I'll be dead long before any of you affect the world in any meaningful way. Now, in an effort to get you off of my campus as quickly as possible, allow me to introduce the student you voted as class speaker..." She rips open an envelope perched on the podium with the soulless, glazed-over gaze of a woman who got into education to make a difference. "And...of course, it's Bea Hughes."
Sweet.
The crowd erupts in cheers and applause as she sulks over to the chair waiting for her on the stage, and you make your way to the podium. "You all voted for little ol' me? Oh, you shouldn't have!"
Poppy jumps up from her seat and storms the stage, ripping the mic away from you. "We didn't. This 'vote' was faker than Ohio's bottom lip!"
"Well, I did," Carter says with a smile. "Bea killed it this year!"
Emi sits up to her full height to be seen over the rest of the crowd. "I voted for Bea too! She always knows what to say to soothe the savage beast within!"
"And who the eff are you?" Poppy hisses, nostrils flaring.
"...Emi Less? We had Stats together, and you told me to calculate the odds of you remembering my name?" She frowns. "...they weren't very high."
Erik interrupts her. "Bea! Bea! Bea!"
The chant slowly picks up speed until the entire crowd is cheering for you to take the stage. And you can't let your adoring audience down, now can you? "Sorry, Pop. The people have spoken." You grab hold of the mic and then give Poppy a shove before you can think too much about it, sending her over the stage's edge and right into Clint Burton's lap.
"Ah, my nuts!"
Jeez, overshare, much? You wait for the crowd to settle before looking out at the sea of your peers. "I've spent most of this year hunting down haters and making them own up to why they didn't like me. Most of them were full of it...but after hearing their stories, I can't think of a better way to end my time here than by telling my side of things. Without a doubt, Belvoire introduced me to some of the worst people I've ever met."
Your eyes flick to Poppy, almost involuntarily, thinking back to your first meeting. First and last memory of Belvoire, indeed.
"But it also introduced me to some of the best." You smile at Zoey, who waves a hand like you're in The Princess Diaries at the crowd who turn to stare at her and get a picture for their Picta. "My first days on campus were practically perfect. I mean...who else can say they've danced with Jaylen Riaz and watched Poppy throw a hate-fueled tantrum?"
"I forgot about that! She was all--" Liam rushes into the aisle so everyone can see before throwing on his best scrunched-up Poppy face, taking his voice up an octave, and stomping his foot. "'No. No! Everyone, shut up! This is all some sick joke!'"
Carter's laughing a little too much to make his impression of himself convincing, but it's so charming, you're sure no one cares. "Hey, 'babe'! Did you like the performance? I really worked on my dancing--"
"'How dare you help her, you stupid, ugly, pathetic idiot! We're officially over!'"
Poppy's pushed herself off of Clint by now, and her face is flushed red with rage. "One more word, and you'll sound like that permanently, Gill."
"I even bonded with woman's best friend..." You open your purse, and Cutiepie pops his head out, eyes wide at the attention. He barks once, and the crowd melts.
"He's so cute!" Abigail coos, finally showing something other than love of all things gothic.
"But the longer I spent on campus, the more immersed I got in the inner workings of Belvoire. The takedowns and overzealous fans...no matter what came my way, I rose to every challenge." You pause, wondering whether you should mention the gala...but nothing that happened there was fun, not really, so you skip to the good part. "Not to mention when I kicked Poppy's ass and introduced her to the family of algae growing at the bottom of the fountain.
Trixie's mouth drops open. "Damn...I always knew Helena was a savage."
"Now that I think about it, this is the first year where there hasn't been a Person to Watch Award in the school's history..."
Steinhelm brightens at that. "That's right! Maybe I did manage to do some good this year--"
"Soooo I'll take it upon myself to crown one and continue this great tradition!"
"Never mind."
While Steinhelm silently has an aneurysm, you detach the mic from the podium and observe the crowd. Not like you need to; there's only one person here you'd even consider giving this to. "I personally award the Person to Watch Award to Zoey Wade! She's about to take the world by storm, and in ten years, you're all gonna be telling people how you went to school with the Zoey Wade!"
The crowd cheers again as Zoey beams and basks in the well-deserved attention. "Oh, stahp."
"This year has been one for the books. I ruled over you as your first new queen since the beginning of Poppy's reign...which Poppy responded to by going into literal mourning."
"I had that dress burned the second she took it off," Veronica says, mostly directed at her livestream but loud enough for everyone to hear. "You're all welcome."
"And I've done everything I could've hoped to secure my throne, including banishing a less-than-loyal subject..." Your eyes flash over to Michael's empty chair. Rest in pieces, creep. "Making famous allies and putting fake allies in their place." For just a moment, you get stuck on thinking about cherry-bloody Poppy, but you brush past it. "I got in touch with my roots, unveiled the coward cosplaying as the fox in my henhouse, and showed everyone that if you're coming for the queen, you'd better not miss."
"Bro..." Ford says, looking up at you adoringly, which is only like...60% weird. "Bea saved me from the ultimate embarrassment. For real, we all need to bow down."
"Not to mention that hog wrestling thing was kinda hot."
Uh, good to know Carter's into country girls. You'll have to introduce him to some of your cousins who aren't gay. Anyway, back to the speech; it's your moment, hello? "Every incredible moment was all thanks to the fans that believed in me, voted for me, and semi-stalked my every move. But now it's time to move on to my next epic adventure, starting with launching my own company! It's time to take the skills I've learned in managing my own image and expand on a global scale."
"Would you wrap it up, Farmsville?" Poppy says, studying her nails with a poorly-feigned nonchalance. "I'd like to graduate before the school year starts again."
You roll your eyes and head to the edge of the stage to look at your adoring public one last time. "It was a wild ride going from the rolling plains of Farmsville to here, and I'm going to miss each and every one of you--"
"Me too?" Crispin asks.
Barf. "Like I said, I'm going to miss almost each and every one of you...but the person I'm going to miss the most is Poppy Min-Sinclair." Here goes nothing. Or everything. Your heart's in your throat but you've come this far, gotta see it through. "And I know she'll miss me too."
A gasp goes up from the crowd, and as you leave the stage to make your way to where Poppy stands fuming, every eye on the field lands on you two. Her teeth clench as she growls out, "Take it back, right now, Farmsville."
Oof, that's gonna hurt when the adrenaline stops pumping long enough for you to process it. In a low voice, just for her, you say, "No." Her eyes don't suddenly soften, her scowl doesn't slip into a smile, but her expression shifts, still furious but--calculating, enough that you find the courage to continue. "After two years at each other's throats, there's just one thing I need to say, here and in front of everyone..." Deep breath. You've got this. "Poppy, it's always been you. From the moment you first insulted me on the quad, there's just been this spark between us."
"It's called loathing. If you bothered to visit a single English class this year, you'd know that."
Poppy doesn't break your gaze as she says it, though, and you're stupid enough to hope that means something.
"I loathe you too, Pop."
Before she can get another word in edgewise, you grip the back of her neck and pull her in, crushing your lips to hers and tangling your fingers in her hair with a passionate kiss. She bites your lip again, the same spot as last night. You're reluctant to pull away, but you do have to graduate, probably, so you do, hurrying back onstage before handing the mic back to Steinhelm with a smile.
"Alright, Dean Steinhelm, go ahead and take us out."
"If only..." She steps up to the podium and waves her hands over the crowd with all the energy of just a shell of a woman. "With the power vested in me by your tuition payments, I now pronounce you Belvoire's graduating class of 2021. Now get the hell off my campus before I call the cops."
Ford rips his shirt off. Chloe jumps up, locking her legs around Carter's waist, and maybe you'll have to rethink introducing him to your cousin. You bound down the stairs of the stage, leading the way to the afterparty to celebrate saying goodbye to Belvoire University one last time. That's the plan, anyway, until you feel a grip on your arm, tight enough to bruise, yanking you out of the party procession.
"Ow! Who the hell do you--"
"What the fuck was that about?"
Poppy's not madder than you've ever seen her; that still goes to confronting her about Art Nakamura in the fountain, with losing Apodeia at a not-so-close second. But she's pissed, eyes boring into you with such malice that a lesser woman would've shrunk back. You're kind of tempted yourself.
"Well? Your own self-importance got your tongue?"
"No," you snap. "Guys, go on ahead, we'll join you."
Zoey looks at you with such pity in her eyes, and you kind of want to flip her off, but you know it wouldn't be that satisfying, since she's definitely right to pity you. Also, Felicity might kill you, and you'd rather not take that chance. Carter looks like he wants to stay and see how the chaos plays out, Veronica's got her phone out and is not-so-subtly taking pictures, and even Ina's half-smiling.
But they leave eventually, leaving you and Poppy alone on the edge of the field, Steinhelm walking past you and refusing to look at either of you.
"I--"
The thing is, you have no idea what to say. That you didn't mean it? Too cowardly, not after you've gotten this far. That you said it to fuck with her? A lie, and one no one would believe. That you meant every word?
Terrifying. But you're not backing out in the final quarter, so you take a deep breath and say, "I said what I've wanted to for ages, Poppy."
Poppy hasn't let go of your arm this entire time, and a thrill runs through you when she only tightens her grip, shifting closer to you. "Why?"
"Huh? What do you mean, why?"
"Why did you want to say it?"
You roll your eyes and pull away. "Whatever. I'm not feeding your massive ego more than I already have. You have my number if you want to reach me and actually talk about us."
"There isn't an us!" Poppy calls after you, and you let it roll off your back with only a little misery.
The sound of heels on Belvoire's cobblestone pathways follows you. You refuse to look back, give her the satisfaction of knowing she gets to you (more than she already knows, anyway). She follows you all the way back to the party house, a place you're pretty sure Liam's renting as a way to apologize/grovel for forgiveness. Or bought, actually, knowing this crowd.
To his credit, the bouncer doesn't ask any questions, just steps aside and lets you both walk in. You make a beeline for the bar, feeling in your bones that you need a drink before you can even start to have this conversation. Poppy slips onto the stool next to you, staring at your face with an intensity that's unsettling, and a little exciting.
"Can I just get a beer?"
Poppy rolls her eyes. "Seriously? Has your taste not evolved at all?"
You turn to look at her fully for the first time since ignoring her. "What do you want?"
"For you to answer my question! And a pomegranate martini."
That does actually sound kind of good, but you keep your expression annoyed anyway. "Oh, goody, I guess today's my lucky day since you won't fuck off. Do you need me to pay? I know money's tight, and I'm nothing if not a good date."
"This isn't--" Poppy glowers at you, cutting herself off. "My question?" You blink at her, confused, and she makes a quiet, frustrated noise, grabs both your drinks, and drags you into another room under the eyes of literally everyone. Well, more like a closet, but it's big enough that you're not touching, though you're close enough to feel the warmth radiating off of her. "Why did you say it?"
"I already told you, Poppy," you say, opening your beer and wishing you'd ordered something stronger. "I said what I've wanted to for awhile."
"So after you already beat me, you just--what, decided to confess you have feelings for me in front of the entire school?"
"What do you care?" you hiss. "We graduated. You don't have to see any of them ever again if you don't want to, so sorry if you're embarrassed, but--"
"I'm not embarrassed," Poppy says, getting further into your space, enough that your noses brush. "I'm mad. I don't need you trying to manipulate me for--what, every last bit of clout you'll get as the benevolent former Queen? Forgiving anyone, I see that you're playing right into your brand. Well, fuck you. I'm not going to be your pet project--"
"What the fuck? No, that's not--you think I'm trying to use you for my image?"
It's not the dumbest thing you've ever heard Poppy say, but it's coming pretty goddamn close. You're not appearing like some angelic saint here; you're being honest with a group of people in a way that makes your heart race, makes you terrified, makes you want more than anything to have done this over a quiet night in. Except you were never going to, not with her. She wouldn't have listened to you.
Except that she's listening now.
"You're...not? No, that's bullshit. I know what I am, there's no way."
"It's not bullshit. Yeah, I know you're kind of a monster, but--"
"Rich and bitchy is your type?"
"But I care about you, asshole. Maybe I shouldn't! Hell, I know I shouldn't. But I do. And I'm not taking it back."
"You don't mean that. Really?"
Poppy seems genuinely confused, and the stupid, sentimental part of your heart (which is, to be honest, most of it) breaks at it. "Poppy, I like you, okay? Nothing more than that, no plots or schemes or anything. It's not--I'm sorry I did it like that, since you clearly--hated it, and me, but I just...it was stupid. I'm getting out of--"
"You mean that." She says it like she's just realizing it herself.
You sigh. "Yeah. Of course I do."
Before you can open the door, Poppy puts her hands on yours over the handle, shocking you into stillness. "Don't--give me a second to think."
"Don't give you a second to think?"
"You know what I meant, bitch." You do, and the insult's not said with her usual venom, so you wait for her, trying not to be obvious about the way you can't look away from her face, the little furrow between her eyebrows that means she's concentrating, the way her drink has oh-so-slightly stained her bottom lip, her fingers lacing through yours. "I'm not--used to that."
"To...?"
"To--people meaning what they say," Poppy says, and then rolls her eyes at nothing, glaring at you like you've done literally anything to piss her off. "When they say things like that. I don't..." She pauses, and you let her, much as you want to interrupt her and tell her you do mean it, you do, beg her to listen to you, to see you-- "I don't know what to do with that."
"What, and you think I do?" You laugh. "Poppy, my first and only other relationship ended because she moved out of town and just didn't tell me. And I was 14, so it barely counts. This is--terrifying. Not that you're--actually, no, you are terrifying. But you're good terrifying. This is...I feel like I'm going to fuck up and ruin things. I feel like I have."
"You haven't," Poppy interrupts. "I'm not promising anything, but you haven't ruined it. Yet. I'm sure you can find a way."
"Oh, fuck you," you say, a little confused and a lot happy, and you pull her in. Poppy melts into it, softer than she has in any of your other trysts, arms winding around your neck. With her heels on to your sneakers, you're of a height to each other. It makes it easier to pull her in, hands on her hips. Poppy pulls back, though she doesn't stay gone for long, pressing quick, sweet kisses to the column of your throat, taking your breath away. "You do--ah--realize this door doesn't lock, right? Anyone could walk in?"
"Let them," Poppy says, voice low, sending a shiver up your spine. "You already told everyone something's happening. Show them how much you need me."
And she sounds, just a little, like she wants you to show her, too, so you grab her hand, press a quick kiss to her palm to watch her shiver, and bring it up your skirt. "I need you. Only you. Always been you, Poppy."
She kisses you again; you can feel her smiling into it. You can't help but smile back.
