Bringing one of his shoulders up in a halfhearted shrug, a small amused smile flashed on his face at the nudge. "I grew up with people forced into lives they didn't want, when you see what it can do to someone - you don't want others to follow the same path." The words more serious than anything else he'd said, but he fell back to his usual carefree tone for his next words. "Hey, if you're going to do something, do it right." He quipped, despite thinking it was good advice. He'd never been the best at thinking on his feet, so preparation was key. "Right... If we're acting closer, is there where I tell you my shameful secret that my name's actually Harrison, but that makes me sound like a grandfather so I never use it?"

Charlotte understood what he meant, and she knew she was lucky that wasn't a pressure she was encountering from her family. Giving him a half smile over the serious topic, she felt unsure whether to carry on talking about it. She didn't know if he was experiencing it himself as well, so she decided to keep to herself. A soft chuckle left her lips. "Okay, fair. You do have a point there. I don't want to fail and look like fools." She joked as she nudged him softly, keeping the cheery mood. Charlotte wanted to be able to pull this off in front of her family, especially since she might look like a fool if they realized she was lying about it. All she wanted was to have attention from her family, and she thought if she had a partner, they'd see her less as a dismissal. "Grandpa Harrison. Has a ring to it." She smiled softly as she leaned towards him. "But yes. I will learn everything about you, and you'll be doing the same with me. We are now open books. Although she sounded cheerful, a part of her was scared to allow him fully in and see behind her walls, which are full of insecurities and flaws.

roman  shook  his  head  before  taking  another  sip  of  his  drink.  ❝  we  both  know  you  love  seeing  my  face.  ❞  he  lowered  the  glass  in  his  hand,  eyes  trailing  over  her  smaller  frame.  truthfully,  a  part  of  him  didn't  want  her  to  go  elsewhere.  ❝  i  don't  think  you're  that  desperate  to  get  away  from  me.  plus,  i'll  just  end  up  seeing  you  again  tomorrow.  maybe  next  week.  that's  usually  how  this  goes.  ❞

Talia wouldn't dare to admit the truth to Roman, and only she could roll her eyes at his comment. "Oh sure. You keep telling yourself that." She snarkly commented as her arms crossed over her petite frame. Talia could feel his eyes on her, which caused her heart to race slightly. "Do you plan on stalking me if I don't stay tonight?" Slowly she gazed towards Roman. Holding back from smirking, "That wouldn't look so good for you now. Would it?"

slow breath, and she tore her eyes from the group to eye micah instead. "that obvious ?" as if subtlety had ever been a gift of hers. it was that exact overzealous discretion that had left her in the position of needing a fake boyfriend for the trip home. "i don't know. you see enough people after they get hurt doing stuff like this in the ER, and you start looking at the world different, you know ?" kit eyed the half-empty seltzer nested between her hands before taking another sip. "i've been told it makes me super fun at parties."

A warm smile painted across Micah's lips as their eyes met. "Unfortunately for you—yes." He wiggled his brows to tease her gently. Micah was nervous for this encounter, but he tried to hide it from Kit, wanting to appear strong and confident. "Oh?" Micah was usually responsible and didn't always end up in situations that brought him to the ER. "I'm sure it's difficult to look away, knowing the possibilities." Admiring her, he mirrored her actions, taking a sip from his drink. But it doesn't matter what they say. I can say that I admire that you are thinking about others even when they aren't always able to do so for themselves."

REDEEMING LOVE 2022, dir. D.J. Caruso

Bryn turned sharply at the sound of Crystal stepping away from him. The noise of the party faded into the background as guilt settled heavily in his chest, his eyes fixed on the blonde standing before him with hurt written across her face. “Everyone in here was playing truth or dare. I didn’t know she was going to pick me to complete the dare,” he said quickly, his voice quieter now, stripped of its usual confidence. He moved toward her carefully, as though one wrong step might make her disappear completely, his hand lifting to rest gently against her waist. “You know I wouldn’t let someone kiss me if I knew it was going to happen.” His eyes searched hers desperately, looking for some sign that she still believed him, still trusted him despite the scene she had witnessed.

Crystal didn't want to fully acknowledge what she witnessed – rather, she would keep it bottled up and try to forget. At the moment she didn't want to look directly into his eyes, as her gaze was avoidant. Her heart was aching as she felt sadness running through her body. Nodding her head as she listened to his voice. Taking the last sip of her drink, she hummed softly. All it sounded like was excuses to her; she wasn't sure what to believe. Of course Crystal wanted to believe every word – but she couldn't. At least not now. She would try to hide her emotions as much as she could to stay neutral, but the only emotion showing was sadness. "How would you have known, right?" Her voice was soft and slow, her arm crossing over her frame. "It was all random after all. Not like we've seen them try to pine after you before." She commented softly as she shook her head. Forcing a smile, she looked at him. "I guess it's just whatever now. Right?"

"Bet." Nyx smiles at Aisha--and grabs her phone, typing out her order to a print shot. "Baby tees or--an over sized situation?" She arches a brow, a hint of a dare in her smile. "Oh.... ew. He....is a criminal. That's basically revenge porn? Why would he show you that?" She wrinkles her nose in distaste. "Block him. Before he gets his creeper juju all over you--"

Aisha couldn't ask for anyone better than Nyx, she enjoyed the ability to sit down and just talk about life together. She was grateful she was able to just ramble about anything and not sound insane to her. "Baby tees. Gotta look cute while we support this, right?" Aisha gave her a playful wink before a chuckle managed to escape her lips. "Oh god. Exactly so." She shook her head in reaction. "Shit. You've got a point." Her eyes widened as she looked around for her phone. "Don't need that in our lives. Spooky stuff."

Forcing herself to raise her eyes to look at him, she almost wished she hadn't. It had somehow been easier to handle how things had gone between them, when she thought he hadn't cared. The fact that he did seem to care, and it simply hadn't been enough - somehow made it sting more. "You shouldn't say you don't deserve something." The words coming almost automatically, because that would have been her response to anyone - and she needed a moment to not think. Then a question slipped out before she could stop it. "If you haven't stopped thinking about me after you left, why couldn't you do it before you left?"

Terrance knew he should have acted sooner when they were together. Instead he waited too long. He wasn't certain about his thoughts and feelings until he realized he couldn't care about anyone else the way he felt for Lexi. "Oh, come on, Lexi. I know I don't deserve nice things. I especially never deserved you." He gestured to her with a soft sigh. The more he looked at her, the more he wanted to just be close to her—which only felt impossible to him. "I was thinking about you. But I could have done more. I agree." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Lexi, that I never told you how much you meant to me when it mattered. I didn't realize just how much I loved you."

whatever she's about to say dies before it makes it out, her gazed locked on his. "i did listen." she says finally, her jaw tightening. "i just didn't think you were right about it, and maybe that's on me, but what else was i supposed to do? i couldn't sit back and watch you ruin everything you worked for."

Leonardo shook his head as he heard her words. He had told her in full confidence about his accident which hadn't fully healed. Leo knew that if they found out, he would have been benched for the season, which not only pressured him further but also made him see himself as a failure. "That doesn't give you the right to tell them about it. I told you I was going to get the treatment later. Nothing was going to happen." He ran his hands through his hair as he let out a deep sigh. "If I don't do this, then I don't have anything to show for it anymore. My chance is gone."

"yeah, i know." he already knows he's crossing a line just by being here, but he shifts a step closer anyway. "i wasn't planning on staying long." his gaze moves briefly towards the door behind him, then back to her. "i thought i meant it at the time, but i needed to see you."

"Oh?" Slowly she put her book to the side, engaging her full attention with the man. "What made you change your mind? Even for a minute?" She raised a brow as her lips pursed together. "You sounded very certain last time we met that this would only lead to disaster."