Who: Serena van der Woodsen and Max Evans What: Two old friends catch up When: This afternoon Where: The Prison Warnings: Shouldn't be.
Serena had fallen into her old routine with an ease that was nearly scary. Fake it until you make it. Someone had told her that once and she had taken it to heart. Nobody faked it better than Serena. She was used to having to stop on a dime and smile for the paparazzi even on her worst days. She was no longer Manhattan's It Girl but she could still play her roles. It was easy to trust the pretty blonde with no superpowers and she had worked her manipulation on Alex and The Council effortlessly. Don't hurt Kol. He sick. He would never do something like this if he wasn't sick. Even if they didn't believe her, they believed in her. It carried a certain weight.
She was in the prison for her own self-preservation. She hung out there sometimes because her friends were here but she wasn't interested in rejoining the community. It had been damn tempting to take Alec up on his offer to pick her up. But in the name of self-preservation Serena had elected to stay at the prison where she was protected. Kol might want her to be his dark princess but she doubted the rest of the Mikaelsons felt that way about her. She already knew that Rebekah only tolerated her. She reminded her of Blair in a lot of ways and like Blair, Rebekah's jealousy was transparent. Serena gave it no mind even if she did secretly wish the original girl vampire would like her so they could trade clothes and makeup. She didn't trust Klaus or Elijah to protect her either and while she trusted Alec she didn't need to be one more thing for him to worry about while he was trying to hold down the fort over there. Serena was staying out of the way under the premise of checking in on the infirmary to see how a cure was going.
It wasn't a lie. She was checking up on the infirmary. Dr. Bloom had been especially chatty when Serena had brought her dinner the night before and complimented her shoes. But talking to the doctor didn't get Serena any answers because Dr. Bloom didn't have any to give yet. It wasn't a total loss though. The good doctor had lent Serena a nice pair of heels. And after she finished raiding Lissa's closet and catching up with the Moroi Queen she was feeling more like herself. The lunch rush had finished for the day. She was wearing a very pretty green dress on loan from Lissa that matched Dr. Bloom's heels perfectly.
During the lunch rush Serena found herself missing Liz Evans. The two girls had been very close and had worked in the kitchen together. Liz had even been a bridesmaid in Serena and Nate's wedding. She was still mourning the loss of a friend and realized that maybe it was time to reconnect with an old one. Max had been hiding himself away save for trying to heal the infected with his alien powers. She didn't understand the impulse to hide. After Nate had died, Serena had been all about getting attention by any means necessary, even and especially if it was dangerous attention. But everyone grieved differently and she decided to check up on her favorite alien. She found him sitting alone in his cell, staring comfortably at the wall across from him.
"Trying to stare a hole through it?" Serena asked as she sat down on the bunk opposite of Max's. She smiled at him softly. "Hey, stranger."