☀┆αbrαsıve

It felt like the end of the world asking Keith if he wanted to go outside with her for a bit, just to sit in the sun. She had braced for a quiet rejection of sorts, readied to retreat and hurdle herself into the furthest gym from this neighborhood. Ophelia had thought about every other possible outcome that did not involve him ever saying yes, and so when he agrees to walk with her, the world had come to a complete still. Suddenly, she is eight years old again wondering what to do on a day where her mother was not out drinking or kissing another man.

The children's playground was convenient. Ophelia had never been the calculating type, but it seemed that head injuries had truly changed her in ways more than one. It was empty at his hour, and it gave her the excuse to do physical conditioning with the play structure if Keith brought something to occupy himself with. And yet, even as the option presented itself in this silence, Ophelia merely stared at him while her heart pounded in her ears. It makes her wonder when her feelings transformed from something innocent to something much more complicated. A painful sort of longing that she did not want to name, could not afford to think on when her objective then was to heal him. "You are thinking again," Ophelia's voice rumbled through the sound of leaves rustling from the trees around them. "You got that look on your face when you're lost in thought." That face hasn't changed at all, but the comment was trapped behind her throat. Her fingers flexed as the muscles on her forearms tensed from habit, fist clenched behind her back where Keith would not see.

Keith was getting annoyed with himself. He couldn't just wait for time to heal this wound that refused to scar over. He had to start taking active steps to make the joyful things outweigh the hurtful ones—he couldn't repeat the same time-wasting 'coping' he had done back when his mother passed. Even though Ophelia had left, she had come back—and she was still coming back to see him. She was keeping her promises. She was here next to him, talking to him, choosing to be with him. She was here to make amends and move forward. He had to do the same; he had to move forward too.

He jolted at her comment.

Oh, his downcast gaze had given him away, or indicated he was far too lost in his own thoughts to have realized they had already made it to the park. It was the same park as always, the one where he would sit and paint, the one where Shane and Rachael would sometimes chat on the swings, the one where kids came to play, and dog owners would come by to walk their dogs. But at this niche hour, nobody was here except the two of them.

He lifted his chin to finally look up, to look at his girlfriend. Her ears were tinted red, and it was clear she hadn't meant to let her question slip out. Her embarrassed side was simply too adorable to not find a bit of joy in. It was always a surprise how he felt so at ease with her breaking the tension with a random question like she typically did. He was never good at breaking his own tension, but Ophelia always had the magic spell to chase it away, no matter how much she thought her various methods might be stupid.

Unable to suppress a smile seeing her expression, Keith reached out to brush his fingers against hers, a silent ask to consider intertwining their fingers together, ❝ I was thinking... of how to savor this moment, to make it feel more real. ❞

But he supposed he could also humor Ophelia's question too to help her feel not so flustered over asking. And maybe humoring that would make him feel less self-conscious about maybe wanting to hold her hands right now.

get behind me.

go inside and lock the door and don't come out until i say so.

are you all right? where are you hurt?

over my dead body.

i promised them i'd keep you safe.

i sleep better when you're next to me.

are you serious? i'm not letting you risk your life.

don't go. it's safer here.

i should have been here. this is my fault.

here. take this gun. don't pull the trigger unless it's absolutely necessary.

they told me to watch you.

i won't let anyone lay a hand on you.

stay close to me.

i'm not worth saving. please.

can you stay? just for a little while? it would help.

it's too dangerous out there.

i thought i'd lost you.

can you hear me? hello? where are you?

they're all afraid of me.

they told me you'd be trouble. clearly that was an understatement.

one of us has to make it out of here.

is that a bruise?

get back. get back right now.

did they touch you?

i already lost you once. i'm not going to lose you again.

a few more steps. we're nearly there. i've got you.

where does it hurt? let me see.

oh my god, you're covered in blood.

i love you, but you have to go.

climb on my back. i'll carry you.

i wish you'd stay.

i slept here all night. i couldn't leave you.

stay with me. i can keep you safe.

no. i've made my decision. you're staying here.

holy shit. are you okay? what the hell happened?

we have to get inside right now.

quick! hide! in here!

if they know you're with me, they'll leave you alone.

if they attack again, we'll be ready.

this never should have happened.

i want you to run, okay? run and don't look back.

you're all right. you're safe. it's over.

i'll feel better once you're out of this.

i don't have nightmares when you're here.

where have you been? i've been calling you all night.

your phone went straight to voicemail. what's going on?

i don't want anything to happen to you.

i can't stand the thought of losing you.

i won't let them touch you.

when we met, i promised myself i'd keep you safe.

where'd they go? i'll give them a piece of my mind.

here. squeeze my hand if it hurts.

i'll lay beside you.

no. it's non-negotiable. you're staying here.

i don't want you to die, okay?

listen to me! i know what i'm doing!

i can't lose you again!

do you hear me? i love you! i've always loved you.

i've got you. i'm right here.

can i stay? i'll take the couch.

tell them you're with me.

you can make it. i believe in you.

are you kidding me? who decided this?

here, i'll pick you up.

get back in the car. i'll handle this.

if anyone can do it, it's you.

let me carry you to safety.

for the "i don't need your help" one

you can get lost.

i thought i told you i had this under control.

you never listen to me.

i was taking care of it.

leave me alone.

are you happy now?

you just stepped in and ruined it for me.

that was completely unnecessary and you know it.

i had it under control.

you didn't need to show up.

can't you let me handle my own shit?

i would have appreciated it if you asked first.

i had it handled!

you didn't need to do all that!

what part of "i don't need help" do you not understand?

they were about to give it to me before you showed up!

i had something going and you ruined it!

what, you mean you don't trust me to handle it myself?

you trained me better than this.

you can't just show up every time and save me.

what's the point in putting me out here if you're not going to let me do it on my own?

i thought you trusted me to take care of this by myself.

you taught me this.

i'm never going to forgive you for this.

that was uncalled for.

what happens when you're not here one day and i have to take care of things on my own?

how am i ever going to learn if you keep stepping in?

i'm not you.

for the "i'm just trying to help you" one

i heard you struggling.

i was just trying to help you.

and this is the thanks i get for trying to help?

things were getting out of hand. i had to step in.

you never would have done that by yourself.

it's okay to ask for help.

it's not that i don't trust you. i don't trust [them].

a minute longer and you'd be dead in there.

i had to make sure you were okay.

of course i trust you. this was never about trust.

i'm not going to risk your life like that!

i should have been there sooner.

if i'd only reached you faster.

a simple "thank you" would suffice.

you could thank me for saving your ass back there.

sure didn't seem like you had it under control.

things were getting out of hand, and i stepped in.

i'm in charge here, not you.

i'm not going to put your life at risk like that again.

we're done here.

i'm not arguing with you.

i saved your life, and this is how you repay me?

i just wanted to make sure you were okay.

maybe i crossed a line back there, sure, but i did it for you.

it's because i care about you.

of course you're capable. that was never up for debate.

you're not ready.

next time, let me handle it.

clearly you need more time before i let you do that alone.

He's made an improvised bow. A paperclip bent just so, a rubber band wound tight. He tweaked the tension a bit more, and gave the band a little test twang.

In his hand, his projectile. A literal nail.

Actually, now that he processed the direction that nail was pointed...

Subtly stepping out of line of direct fire of that contraption, Keith glanced back towards Max, half turning his body towards him.

best  friends.

you  said  you'd  always  be  there.  i'm  holding  you  to  that.

i'm  not  leaving  you  alone  with  your  thoughts!

nobody  gets  to  call  you  that  but  me.

do  i  need  to  fight  someone  for  you?

we're  not  just  friends.  you're  my  family.

i'm  already  on  my  way.

if  i  die,  promise  you'll  erase  my  search  history.

we  should  not  be  allowed  unsupervised  in  public.

combined,  we're  one  whole  functioning  adult!

i've  helped  you  lie  to  your  parents,  friends,  &  your  boss...  what's  one  more?

ex-friends.

i  wanted  to  call  you.  every  time  something  happened.

how  did  you  just  stop  caring?

you  can't  pretend  we  weren't  close.

i  miss  you.  i'm  not  sorry.

i  don't  think  i  can  forgive  you.

i  miss  hating  the  same  people  together.

do  your  new  friends  know  the  version  of  you  i  knew?

you  ghosted  me.  but  sure!  let's  pretend  it  was  mutual!

i  still  know  your  favorite  song.

i  didn't  just  lose  my  friend,  i  lost  an  entire  chapter  of  my  life.

rivals.

this  isn't  personal.  you're  just  in  my  way.

why  are  you  so  obsessed  with  beating  me?

you  think  you're  better  than  me?  prove  it.

you  talk  a  lot  for  someone  who's  always  second  place.

did  you  rehearse  that  comeback  in  the  mirror?

do  you  ever  stop  talking?

one  day,  i'm  going  to  beat  you.

i  don't  like  you.  that  doesn't  mean  i  don't  respect  you.

i  didn't  come  to  play  fair,  i  came  to  win.

you  think  i'm  threatened  by  you?  no,  you  just  motivate  me  to  be  better.

roommates.

i  swear  i  didn't  eat  your  leftovers!  well,  not  ALL  of  them.

i  heard  everything.  these  walls  are  thin.

can  you  PLEASE  clean  up  after  yourself?

wanna  watch  a  movie?  i'm  making  popcorn!

you  know  we're  not  friends,  right?  we  just  live  together.

i  think  i  know  your  schedule  better  than  mine  at  this  point.

you  talk  in  your  sleep.

you  can't  just  adopt  a  pet  without  talking  to  me  first!

i'm  going  to  start  charging  your  dates  rent.

if  we  can  survive  living  together,  we  can  survive  anything.

if  your  [  family member  ]  drops  by  unannounced  one  more  time...

academic  partners.

you  forgot  the  project  deadline.  again.

this  was  supposed  to  be  a  group  effort!

i  think  we  would've  crashed  and  burned  without  you.

you  brought  snacks  to  study  group?  okay,  i  think  i  like  you.

we're  not  friends.  stop  telling  me  about  your  personal  life.

you're  actually  kind  of  smart,  you  know?

i'll  be  the  brains,  you  do  the  presentation.

we  agreed  no  emotional  breakdowns  during  mid-terms!

i  cannot  believe  i'm  depending  on  you  to  pass  this  class.

i  need  a  break  so  i  can  scream  into  my  textbook...

do  you  try  to  make  friends  with  EVERY  person  in  group  projects?

siblings.

you're  not  my  [ mom / dad / parent ]!  don't  tell  me  how  to  live.

i'm  allowed  to  make  fun  of  you.  nobody  else  is.

i  know  you  better  than  anyone  else  ever  will.

stop  trying  to  fix  me!

something  bad  happened.  can  i  come  home?

you're  still  the  favorite, even now.

still  trying  to  live  in  my  shadow,  huh?

i'm  not  jealous  of  you!

we  survived  that  house,  that's gotta count  for  something.

@abrasife / prompted.

She swore she'd made sure she was tucked far enough back on the alley that no one would see her, just wanting to have her breakdown in peace as she took a few minutes standing behind the bar to gather herself. Ugh, she was so sick of being hit on! And this guy's audacity, to literally reach out and touch her ass. The tears rolling down her cheeks pissed her off even more as she kicked the dumpster next to her.

"It's okay to cry. I won't tell anyone."

Turning around at Keith's voice, her eyes widened in shock. Of course. She'd hidden herself away far enough if she hadn't just kicked the dumpster. She was sure that was what caught his attention. She let out a frustrated noise, turning away from him as tears flowed down her face freely even faster now. Not only was she still frustrated, but here she was crying in front of Keith again. Could she have an interaction with him where she wasn't a complete basket case?

"Ugh, sorry." She quickly wiped her face, not being able to entirely calm down in the short amount of time she'd allowed herself, but forcing the tears to stop and pinching her nose. She turned back to Keith with the best smile she could muster and dropped her hand from her nose. "I'm having a really crappy day at work, but no biggie. Thanks for checking on me again. You're a good friend."