He nodded his head as she explained why she was in England, silently cursing himself for not guessing it had something to do with business. That was something she had always wanted to do, after all. "And they let you walk back by yourself? This late?" he questioned, glancing back over at her and continuing to rub the heel of his shoe into the ground, knowing that the cigarette was very well already put out but feeling like he needed one now more than before; he was nervous on top of anxious on top of depressed, and it was way too fucking complicated for even him to comprehend. "Oh, yeah... Haven't had much time to even think about getting a hair cut, actually. Her funeral was about a week ago and I've been cleaning up her things. Making sure they all go where she wanted them to," he explained, eyes staying focused on her for a moment before he finally forced himself to turn his attention back to the ground, not wanting to make her uncomfortable. "I've missed you, too. A lot, actually. I'm... I dunno. I'm sorry that I stopped calling and texting as much. Guess we've both just been busy, yeah?"

   His brows knitted together for a moment as the girl beside him finally spoke up, before he simply nodded his head and slid the cigarette back into the almost empty carton. "Probably a better decision. But I hope other people smoking doesn't bother you," he mumbled in response, truthfully not caring about whether or not the girl had a problem with him smoking; if she did, then she shouldn't have sat next to him. He took a long drag from his cigarette before glancing over at her, slowly blowing the smoke out into the night air and shrugging his shoulders. "Could ask you the same question. I just wanted some peace and quiet, that's all. Needed to think and take a break. And what about you? You seem a little too young to be wandering around so late. People are fucking crazy, yeah?"

        In reality, he didn't give a damn whether the person beside him answered or not. He was simply being polite, and he wouldn't be moved either way. But as soon as a familiar voice sounded from beside him, whispering his name the same way she had so many times before, his eyes were immediately fixated on her. "Marleny?" was all he managed to get out at first, his own voice barely above a whisper. He quickly shoved the cancerous stick back into the box he had gotten it from, proceeding to slide that back into his pocket and dropping the cigarette he had been smoking onto the ground, stomping it out with his foot. "What the hell are you doing here? I didn't even... recognize you. Wasn't paying attention," he explained, clearing his throat and reaching up to run his fingers through his hair, pushing loose stands back into their proper spot. Of course, he certainly didn't look like he was planning on seeing anyone tonight, especially not the one person he had longed for the most throughout the previous weeks.

    He had been sitting there for god knows how long. He thought that it had only been a few minutes, but in reality, he had been sitting on that bench, somewhere in the streets of London, for closer to an hour. He was on his third cigarette, slowly blowing out the smoke into the cool night air and studying over the trees that surrounded him. His depression was getting bad again -- he felt like he was on a downward spiral, rapidly tumbling through the black depths around him, and truthfully, there was no one to turn to for help. His mother had been dead for two years and his father was dead to him. Suddenly, he was pulled out of his mindless daze when he heard rustling beside him, realizing that someone was sitting down. He pulled another cigarette from his almost-empty carton, holding it out for the stranger behind him without even glancing their way. "---.. Care for a smoke?"

alright, you should all message me or like this so that i can start plotting with everyone because elliot needs some relationships/friendships asap