Alivia Stark

She sighs. “It’s been a lot even for you.” She says. She opens his door and leads him to his bed. Pulling off the unnecessary layers he’s wearing so he’ll be more comfortable when he inevitably passes out.

“Yeah…probably better I didn’t go with you anyway.” She mumbles. She cups his cheek, looking at him really for the first time in a long time. “You’re better off without me.” She says and carefully gets him in his bed. “Go to sleep.” She says and turns to leave.

“Agree to disagree.” He said, trying to brush the whole subject off. It was hard for him to acknowledge that everything he was doing to try to feel better about his situation was actually doing the opposite. “I’m all good. I mean, I don’t have proof that I’m invincible, but like I also don’t have proof that I’m not. So I just might be invincible.” He gave her finger guns again, not entirely sure what he just said made any sense.

But his carefree attitude doesn’t last for long. “C’mon that’s not true. We’re still friends and I wanna hang out still.” He almost fell out of his bed while trying to get back up. “But I didn’t think drinking together was a great idea because alcohol played a part in why things are a little weird between us now.”

@ofbloodandiron Alivia to Tony

Maybe she keeps sneaking alcohol because she secretly wants to get caught by Tony. She’s been…crying a lot. And back home when she’d cry all she’d want was her dad. She’s been a daddy’s girl from the moment she knew he existed.

She’d topped the vodka bottle off with water before putting it back because she’s a little shit. She eventually just slumps against the wall, hoping he’d come by and find her. But maybe this Tony was trying to be sober. Her dad had done that a few times.

She just feels so lonely and scared and…she feels like her whole world is falling apart. She knows that this Tony probably wants nothing to do with her. Probably doesn’t want kids, at least not yet. But…she just needs to see his face. Because she sort of feels like she’s dying inside.

tony had been alerted to the thievery of his alcohol from FRIDAY and sighed as he watched over the monitors that it was one of his kids. alcohol was always a sort of demon in a bottle for him, a dangerous addictive, and something that he’d only drink in moderation or for social gatherings. the last time that he drank a heavy amount… well, he’d been dying.

“you know, i used to do that to my dad’s alcohol - he always knew but you’re lucky that i have the sense not to be mad about it,“ he stated as he walked in and moved to pick the vodka up, opening it and sniffing before pouring it out and down the drain. “next time, just don’t fill it back up with water - i’ll have it replaced.“

he glanced over to her and knelt down in front of her, “okay, you have my attention,” he spoke softly as he reached out towards her, pulling her hand into his and running his thumb over the back of it. “i’m here, i got you.”

She swallows thickly, staring at the ground for a moment and staying perfectly silent. “I just...” she starts and closes her eyes taking a very deep breath. “I miss my dad. And...I-I know you’re not him. I know...that it isn’t fair of me to put that pressure on you. I just needed to see some version of my dad again.” She says. “I’m sorry about the vodka. I wasn’t planning on drinking it all. I just figured making it look like it was still there would buy me enough time to replace it. Which...I’m still planning on doing.” She says.

She huffs a little. “I’m not the fun police.” She grumbles. “But one of us had to grow up.” She says so quietly it’s possible he didn’t hear. “You’re acting recklessly. I’m not one to tell you how to handle your pain but drinking away your sorrows isn’t the answer, Gabriel.” She says, still guiding him to his own room. “You should find someone to talk to. Because clearly you need to talk.” She says softly. “I know you’re mad…and hurt…but we…this is what it is now okay? We’re here. We aren’t going home. This is home now.” It’s unlikely he’ll retain any of this based on his current state. “You need to start accepting that and not just ignoring it.” She says, cupping his cheeks to make him look at her. “Also you’re an asshole for not inviting me.”

Gabriel rolled his eyes and starting shaking his head the moment the conversation started veering into more serious territory. “Sure sound like the fun police.” He muttered childishly. “Chill, I always act recklessly – it’s nothing new.” If he’s being honest though, his recklessness somehow managed to get worse ever since they found out their universe was dying. “I talk to people all the time – we’re talking right now so it’s all good.”

He groaned – now he really wanted to just go to bed. “I’m not any of those things – I’m fine. It’s fine. This place’s fine. Everything’s fine. Everyone’s fine. Fine, fine, fine.“ The more he said the word ‘fine’ the less it sounded like a real word to him. The mutant shook her off, almost falling over in the process. “Wasn’t sure you’d want to come along.” He still wasn’t sure where they stood anymore.

She opens the door and raises her brows. “Wrong room.” She says. “You’re gonna wake the whole floor with your shouting.” She wrinkles her nose. “You smell like a bar.” She says. “And Nikolai is going to kick your ass.” She takes his arm and starts to lead him to his own room.

“Why are you drunk?” She asks. “What happened?” She asks. She’s been avoiding pretty much everyone from home. Including Gabriel. But she isn’t going to just let him wander drunk through the halls. May be better to take him to Adelaide. Let her be the one to deal with him from now on.

Gabriel’s eyes went wide when he saw who opened the door and it took him a moment to register what she said. “The fuck?” He shouted again. It blew his mind that he wasn’t even on the right floor. Other than that though, nothing else she said really seemed to fazed him. “‘Cause that’s where I was.” A rather large grin sat on his face as he made an attempt to whisper this time.

The mutant waved off all concerns. “Pffft he adores me. ‘Sides, he’ll only be upset if I wake him up or do something incredibly stupid. So I’m good.” He gave her finger guns and stumbled a bit into the wall. “When did you join the fun police?” He poked her arm. “Can’t a guy just go out to have some fun?”

Not only was Gabriel convinced he was on the third floor, he was also convinced he was right outside the door of his room – not Alivia’s. “My dude, the door is literally fighting me.” He slurred against the door, positive his roommate was going to open it less than thrilled about the situation. “Can you just open the door? I need my beauty sleep. We can have a lovely conversation about me going out and coming back at an unreasonable time absolutely trashed sometime tomorrow.” He started obnoxiously banging on the door. “Dude, I know you like never go out so you’ve gotta be in there. Open up!”

“Why are you drunk?” She asks. “What happened?” She asks. She’s been avoiding pretty much everyone from home. Including Gabriel. But she isn’t going to just let him wander drunk through the halls. May be better to take him to Adelaide. Let her be the one to deal with him from now on.

She’d known she was there simply from her energy. It was a familiar one. Natasha was one of the few people who had known her for most of her life. She wordlessly holds out the bottle to her.

It takes a moment to be able to emerge from her pillow hiding spot so as not to get overwhelmed by everyone. She’s better at filtering when she isn’t so exhausted and distraught. Right now she doesn’t have the energy to push everyone away. At least this way she’ll know if someone really needs anything.

“No one has called me little Stark in a long time.” She mumbles. She sounds as tired as she looks. “And if your Tony is anything like mine he’s never been able to resist my big sad eyes.” She whispers.

She takes a deep breath. “My home is gone. I can feel the impact that’s having on everyone here…people are in a lot of pain. I have a hard time not being able to…fix things.” she doesn’t mention the boy troubles. And she’s quiet for a moment. “I miss my dad.” She says, voice cracking a bit. She tries covering it up by clearing her throat. But… Natasha is trained to notice the unnoticeable. Which means she’s likely feeling the emotions radiate off of Alivia.

natasha watched the girl momentarily, assessing her for deceit or some sort of change in movement. taking the bottle, the russian takes a swig and closes her eyes as the alcohol burns its way down.

“that is what you are, a little stark,“ natasha confirms giving a small smirk before taking another swig of the drink and handing the bottle back to the girl. “i’ve seen the looks he’s been given and the looks he gives out, he is far more easier to con than he believes he is.“ she was careful with her words - but true.

“you’re an empath?“ natasha asked, her own surprise in her voice catching up with her as she blinks back for a moment and then frowns. “you shouldn’t worry about having to fix things for others - not least of all their emotions. you are not.. they are not your responsibility.“ she spoke quietly, allowing her gaze to fall at the admission of missing her father. “speak with tony, he’s a lot softer than he appears. you may not be this world’s kid to him, but he still counts all of you as such.“

She nods. “I guess that’s one word for it.” She says quietly. “It’s a bit of a curse.” She says quietly. “It’s not like I was born with it...it was forced on me.” She says quietly. “And I wish I didn’t have to worry about everyone else but...it kind of just happens. It’s exhausting trying to block everyone out all the time.” She mumbles.

She picks at the label on the bottle absentmindedly. “I don’t...want to bother him.” She says quietly. “I mean...I’m the product of some not great decision making on his part...he shouldn’t have to deal with that here...not when he hasn’t made those mistakes.” She says quietly.

“You don’t have to take the fall.” She says quietly. “I mean…I’m the one who initiated it. I’m the one who wanted it.” She says quietly and looks down. “I’ll get over it okay? I promise. If you want space that’s fine but…I don’t want it. I don’t want to lose anyone else. Least of all you.” She says softly.

She chews her lip a bit, she’s hesitant in asking this but… “was it good? At least?” She asks quietly. “Was I…good?” Her voice is quiet, she’s never been timid or nervous with Gabriel. She’s told him everything basically from the moment they met. From her insecurities about Pepper, to her interest in Nikolai, to her childhood crush on Spider-Man. He knew it all. So for her to be hesitant and nervous was unsettling for them both.

“It’s not a big deal. Trust me, he has a few other things to lecture me for, added one more thing isn’t going to be the end of the world.” That and he was pretty sure Devin was going to end up giving him the lecture anyway. “You sure?” He quickly shook his head, “About not needing space, not the part of about getting over it. I know my ego is too big for my own good, but my head isn’t so far up my ass that I think it’s impossible for someone to get over me.” He briefly sounded like himself again.

“Well yeah.” As far as he could remember at least. “I did say I wasn’t opposed to it happening again before I knew you had feelings for me.” The offer was of course off the table now for the sake of keeping things uncomplicated. “So it’s kind of implied.” He sighed again and looked a little more serious. “Look, there wasn’t anything you did or didn’t do that made me not have those feelings for you. Not to sound cliche, but I’m pretty sure it’s a classic it’s me, not you thing.” He was after all, incredibly messy in his romantic life. It was nothing but casual hook ups and flings that barely lasted a few months.

She feels like she’s losing her best friend. And there’s nothing she can do to stop it.

She blinks back tears, not knowing why they sprung up in the first place. “I’ll see you around.” She says quietly, trying to brush past him.

Why is this happening? It’s not like she wants him. It’s Gabriel. She knows who he is and how he is. She knows they wouldn’t work. She’s just craving the idea of belonging to someone. She thought...Nik but...god he’s probably hung up on his ex. Gabriel’s sister.

This is all just too much for her.

She looks at him. “I know you like Gabriel more than me. Even if you pretend not to.” She says softly, she cuddles up to him anyway. She doesn’t usually like being touched but…it’s different with Devin and Gabriel. “It was a mistake we were drunk and…now things are…done. I don’t think we’ll ever get back to where we were and…as far as Nikolai goes…he kind of always deserves to be told to fuck off.” She says quietly. “I guess I just…fall for the wrong guys.” She says quietly. “Your mind is going a million miles an hour…” she whispers and touches his temple. “You don’t have to worry so much…I think we’re all as safe as we can be here.” She says with a small smile.

“I stole the alcohol because I wanted to get caught.” She admits. “I miss my dad.” She says and shrugs.

He snorted, “I would say that greatly depends on the hour. Out of everyone, Gabriel gives me the most stress related headaches. Well, James might be tied with him but you get the point.” He held back a sigh. A conflict among two of his friends was an unfortunate problem to add to his list of things to worry about. “Maybe you two should give each other some space until things aren’t as weird. This might be one of those things that ends up sorting itself out with time.” He made a mental note to remind Gabriel, yet again, that he shouldn’t be so careless with his actions. 

“There’s just so much to do.” The pure exhaustion weighing on him was clear in his voice. “I know we’re safe here and the world isn’t ending here, but are any of us actually doing okay now? That’s what I’m most concerned about now. I know that I can’t fix it or do much to make it better, but I still can’t stop myself from worrying about it. The Avengers are like family to me, always have been and always will be, it’s hard to see all of us struggling so much and feeling powerless to do anything about it.” He stopped himself from saying more. He didn’t mean to start venting himself. “I miss my dad too. …Have you spoken with the Tony here?”

She covers her face and groans. “It’s not even like I...want to be with him.” She says. “We would be a disaster. We’d end in flames because we’re both just...too much.” She says. “I just...feel so fucking lonely.” She admits. “My heart hurts.”

She doesn’t speak freely like this often. She tries not to let herself feel things too deeply. Because it’s exhausting. She feels everyone else so it’s easier just to stay numb. But with everything that’s happened she can’t keep everything bottled up. “Sorry.” She says quietly. “I won’t bother you with my stupid problems.” She mumbles and stands to leave.

Alivia had been made aware by various of the others that her siblings were okay. And she’d left it at that. She hadn’t sought them out. She didn’t need to see for herself that they were fine. She could feel that none of them were injured and she honestly felt they were better off without her anyway.

So she’s made an effort to avoid them. At least for now. They had each other. They don’t need her.

So imagine her surprise when she walks into the kitchen to find Xander looking at her pointedly. “Xan…hey.” She says sheepishly, her cheeks heating up a bit. “Um…” she clears her throat and just goes to fill up her water bottle.

“oh, hey, ‘vivia,” xander replies, turning to look at her when he realized someone had walked into the kitchen as well. he was standing next to the coffee pot, one hand on his hip and the other resting on the counter as he waited for the ramen he was attempting to make in it to be done. unbeknownst to him, he’d filled it a bit too full and it was probably doomed to make a huge mess, but that was a problem for future xander, not current xander.  or, even better, a problem for xander to leave for someone else to deal with. “what’s up?” he asks, raising a brow as he looks over at his sister. “this place is pretty sick, huh? like, i think it’s pretty dope. i mean, it’s huge…” he trails off, looking around the large kitchen. “how’re you settling in?”

She whimpers and shakes her head. “Gabriel.” She chokes out. “You’re my best friend and I don’t want to lose you but I..I don’t know how to do this…” she whispers. “I don’t know how to be your friend anymore. Because I look at you and I…I want to kiss you and be held by you and…take all your clothes off.” She shakes her head. “I got attached. And…I liked it. A lot. What we did…” she says and looks down. Did he not like it? Is that…oh god…maybe he didn’t like it and that’s why all of this is happening?

“Can you just…can you tell me what to do?” She asks. “Can you tell me how I don’t lose you?” She asks quietly. “Because I really don’t want to lose you.” She says and takes his hand. “I just…I know I’m going to fuck this up. The way I fuck everything in my life up.” She whimpers. “Devin is gonna kill us if he finds out…”

He let out a heavy sigh. She was right before, this did make things all kind of complicated when it came to their mutual friends. “I’ll take the fall for it. Devin’s usually lecturing me on one thing or another anyway, adding one more thing for him to yell at me about isn’t going to kill me.”

“I’m sorry. I never meant for things to get so complicated.” He repeated in a soft whisper. He didn’t know how to fix this so all he could offer up were apologies. “I don’t have any answers either. I want us to still be friends and have things go back to how they were before…” But how did they do that with everything in such a messy state? Gabriel hung his head in defeat. “I don’t want to hurt you anymore than I have.” But it felt unavoidable, no matter what he did in this situation. “I think I should give you space for now.” Maybe it didn’t have to be a permanent thing. Just long enough for her to move on so things could go back to how they were.

She chews her lip a bit, she’s hesitant in asking this but... “was it good? At least?” She asks quietly. “Was I...good?” Her voice is quiet, she’s never been timid or nervous with Gabriel. She’s told him everything basically from the moment they met. From her insecurities about Pepper, to her interest in Nikolai, to her childhood crush on Spider-Man. He knew it all. So for her to be hesitant and nervous was unsettling for them both.

She whimpers a little. “Gabe just…” she huffs a little. “This is on me okay?” She says and looks at him. “You didn’t do anything wrong.” Her voice cracks and she looks away, she’s just…sad and embarrassed and…honestly a little hurt. “I’m the one who fucked up and caught feelings.” She whispers. She looks down. “And I get why you don’t feel the same I…I think I’m just really tired of falling for people who will never love me back.” She clears her throat and blinks back tears.

She wrongs her hands together. “I don’t want to…ruin what you have with Nik. And I don’t want things to be weird between us and therefore weird for all of our friends. And they’ll lose a lot more losing you than losing me.” She says and whimpers weakly. “For what it’s worth. I was falling for you long before you got drunk enough to find me attractive.” She says quietly.

He knew he needed to say goodbye and walk away for the both of them because the longer he dragged this out, the more they’d hurt. He needed to rip the band-aid off and go, but knowing this might their last conversation made it too hard to find the strength to do so. He told himself just a moment longer, just a few more words and then he’d let her be– let go of their friendship.

“It isn’t entirely on you. Please let me take some responsibility for something for once.” Almost instinctively he reached out to comfort her only to stop himself. His hand hung awkwardly in the air before slowly fell back to his side. “I sent mixed signals and I’m so sorry for that.” He did love her, just not in the way she wanted him to and he could only imagine how hard that was and how any flirty remarks he made must’ve made it worse. “I really hope you do find someone who loves you the same way you love them. You deserve it.”

Gabriel shook his head, “I can’t be the reason you stop hanging out with our mutual friends.” He couldn’t bare the thought of being the reason why she lost friends and the reason why his friends lost her. “You gotta stop selling yourself so short, Stark. I doubt they’d see it that way. I don’t know, maybe things won’t be weird with them.” Maybe it was foolishly hopeful to think so, but he just didn’t need another thing to worry about on top of everything else. 

He took a shaky breath because he knew what was coming and that he couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer. “I guess this is goodbye then.” He turned as his vision started to get blurry. “Take care of yourself, okay?”

“Can you just...can you tell me what to do?” She asks. “Can you tell me how I don’t lose you?” She asks quietly. “Because I really don’t want to lose you.” She says and takes his hand. “I just...I know I’m going to fuck this up. The way I fuck everything in my life up.” She whimpers. “Devin is gonna kill us if he finds out...”

“Coffee is probably the last thing I need currently.” She admits. Her eyes are sunken in and she looks like she hasn’t slept in weeks. She pours herself a cup anyway. “You haven’t slept.” She says. It’s hypocritical but she’s a Stark and therefore sleep is a foreign pleasure. “Can feel how tired you are.” She says.

She sighs softly at the question. She knows he means well, he’s always trying to take care of all of them. She gets that. He feels responsible, blah blah blah. Whatever. “Um…I tried to jump my best friends bones. Told the guy I’m interested in to fuck off. Stole a bottle of very expensive alcohol and spent most of the night outside trying to not…feel anything.” She says. “So clearly I’m handling it like a champ.” She adds a thumbs up. “You though, should sleep.” She says. “You’ll be no help to anyone if you’re dead on your feet.”

“And I can see how tired you are.” He countered with sternness in his voice. “Did you sleep at all last night?” He has no right to lecture her on the benefits of getting sleep when she’s right, he hasn’t slept either, but he’s still going to do it. The Avengers and their kids are like family to him, so he planned on looking out for them.

Devin remained silent, allowing her to speak fully before responding. “I don’t know the exact amount of time the human body can go without sleep, but I don’t think I’m at that point yet, so I’ll be fine. Tell you what though, I will make an honest effort at getting some sleep after we sort through what you said.” He gently nudged her with his elbow. He didn’t have all the answers, but maybe he could still help. “If whoever it was is your best friend,” He didn’t want to make wrong assumptions but he had a guess as to who it was. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about there. If it was awkward, maybe give them some space for a few days. They’re sure to come around and understand.” He took a long drink of his coffee, “Now this guy you’re interested in, did he deserve to be told to fuck off? Because if so, then perhaps it’s for the better. No one should settle for someone who doesn’t treat them right. For the the alcohol, you could always frame someone else. I can think of several believable suspects.” It was a light joke to lighten the mood. “But seriously, I doubt anyone will notice or make a big deal about it.”

“I stole the alcohol because I wanted to get caught.” She admits. “I miss my dad.” She says and shrugs.

She just stares blankly at him for a moment. “You can cut the bullshit.” She deadpans. “Can’t lie to me, mate. Believe me, I wish you could.” She grumbles a little and flops down on the couch. “I don’t know what you’re planning on doing but you’re honestly the least of my worries right now. Just don’t hurt anyone.” She mumbles.

She looks exhausted. Feels it too. She’s met him maybe once in her life? She isn’t sure. But he can likely feel the exhaustion bleeding from her body. “You feel stressful.” She mumbles, laying back and throwing an arm over her eyes. “Can you take your theatrics somewhere else?”

It was somewhat of a disappointment that his lies were called out so easily, and yet he looked amused by it. “Must be nice knowing when someone’s lying to you– well, not always. I assume it’s a double-edged sword.” While he’s not lying now, there is a hint of mocking in his voice as if he’s toying with her. “I assure you, I’m not currently planning anything. Good things take time, as they say.” That was not to say that he wouldn’t try to piece together a plan in the near future. “It doesn’t benefit me to hurt any of you. Only a fool would do so among so many enemies, so you do have my word that no one will get hurt.” For the moment at least.

“That’s rather unfortunate. However, my answer is no. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this space is not currently crawling with an insufferable amount of do-gooders, making it the ideal spot to relax.” He made himself comfort to further solidify that he had no intention of leaving. 

“This space was not crawling with an insufferable amount of anyone a few moments ago.” She mumbles. “It was quiet in here.” She says quietly. “Now it’s loud. Your head is loud.” She hums softly as she starts exploring this guys head. She needs a distraction...he might do. “Fisk huh? Interesting.” She hums. “My name is Alivia. Stark.” She says.

She listens to him and sighs weakly. She closes her eyes and lets her head drop. “I don’t know, Gabriel.” She says honestly. “I’m just…I’m feeling really confused and conflicted.” She says. “And I am avoiding you.” She says.

She looks back up at him. “I still feel like that.” She says quietly. “I still feel like I don’t have a place here.” She looks away and chews on her lip. “We shouldn’t have slept together.” She says quietly, it hurts her because…it had been nice. Really nice. But he…he doesn’t have feelings for her and…she doesn’t really blame him if she’s being honest. Things are hard with her. “I don’t…I don’t know if I can be your friend.” She says quietly. “I know I can’t be friends with Nik and…it’s starting to feel like that with you too.” She admits.

This couldn’t have been what his parents wanted for him here, a seemingly endless string of heartache, but so far that’s all this new universe had to offer. In fairness, not all of it was on them. This particular pain was his own doing and might’ve even played out the same way in their original universe. It was funny in the sad kind of way that they got into an argument because he was trying to make sure he didn’t ruin their friendship, only for it to feel like he had still somehow managed to fuck it up.

He remained uncharacteristically quiet for what felt like an eternity, taking in what she said. “I get it. It’s okay.” It didn’t feel okay at all, but he couldn’t bring himself to say so– it wasn’t going to make things any easier for either of them. “I should probably go.” He found it hard to actually walk away though. Gabriel told himself it was the right thing to do, to give her space for as long as she needed, even if it ended up being a permanent thing. And yet, it still felt wrong to go.

“I think you should know,” He paused to swallow the painful lump in his throat. “I…I know this probably doesn’t change how you feel about not belonging, but for what it’s worth, I always thought you belonged with us.” With the Avengers, their friend group, he couldn’t recall a single moment where he thought she shouldn’t be there.

She wrongs her hands together. “I don’t want to...ruin what you have with Nik. And I don’t want things to be weird between us and therefore weird for all of our friends. And they’ll lose a lot more losing you than losing me.” She says and whimpers weakly. “For what it’s worth. I was falling for you long before you got drunk enough to find me attractive.” She says quietly.

@phvntcmx Alivia to Gabriel

She should stop hiding in her room. She’s aware of this. Her roommate has been nice enough to bring her food though so really she has no reason to leave. And…leaving means dealing with the potential of running into Nikolai or Gabriel. And…that’s a hard nope for her.

Over the last little bit she’s been able to centre herself a bit better. She isn’t feeling every single person all at once which is…nice.

“C’mon Stark. Gotta get out of your bed.” She mumbles to herself. Perhaps she could snag more alcohol and live the rest of her life blissfully buzzed.

She opens her door and her eyes widen when she finds Gabriel there, his hand raised as if ready to knock. She frowns and furrows her brows. “What are you doing here?” She mumbles.

Gabriel quickly lowered his hand and gave her a sheepish look. “Uh…” As dumb as it sounded, he wasn’t expecting her to open the door and still hadn’t put together a coherent apology for their argument the other day. “What are you doing here?” He countered before realizing how stupid his question was. “I mean, you know…” He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the ground. It really shouldn’t have been this hard to apologize.

“This sucks.” He finally blurted out with a frown. “I hate feeling like we’re still in some sort of fight and avoiding each other.” He didn’t like feeling like he couldn’t go hang out with one of his closest friends whenever all because of some dumb argument. 

His face and voice both softened, “I don’t know if I ever told you this, but before my parents adopted me I didn’t really feel like there was a place where I belonged.” For plenty of reasons, but that wasn’t the point he was trying to make. “Don’t get me wrong, my family was welcoming and I didn’t feel that way around them. I just… What I’m trying to say is that Nik, Devin, and you all really helped, probably more than I’ve ever mentioned. So I uh… You guys are really important to me and I don’t want to lose any of you.” Especially not now. “I’m really sorry for the stupid shit I said the other day and hope we can be cool again.”

She looks back up at him. “I still feel like that.” She says quietly. “I still feel like I don’t have a place here.” She looks away and chews on her lip. “We shouldn’t have slept together.” She says quietly, it hurts her because...it had been nice. Really nice. But he...he doesn’t have feelings for her and...she doesn’t really blame him if she’s being honest. Things are hard with her. “I don’t...I don’t know if I can be your friend.” She says quietly. “I know I can’t be friends with Nik and...it’s starting to feel like that with you too.” She admits.