i will not set fire to myself to keep you warm.

“Has anyone read this ‘You’ book? It’s a crazy-ass story, and Beck has her annoying aspects, but she doesn’t deserve to have this stalker obsessing over her. Also, shut your damn curtains!”

“I read it and haven’t been able to sleep with my windows open ever since. And the show only made it worse. Super creepy.”

“It is bullshit, alright? I know it’s fuckin’ bullshit, I just - I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me sometimes. I didn’t invite you here to be an emotional punching bag, and I didn’t invite you just to fuck and send home, either, Dee! I just wanted to fuckin’ see you, and I’m… clearly fucking it up. No surprise there, right?”

“Let me drive you home, at least.” 

“Well, you should probably figure that out. Because I don’t think I’m gonna come over here until you do. I wanted to see you too, but I thought the whole point of us doin’ this... whatever we’re doing... you goin’ to my place, me comin’ to yours.... was for us to feel better when we leave, not worse. So I’m not real sure what to do ‘bout it. I don’t mind making you feel better after having a bad day, but taking it out on me was not what I signed up for. 

“–Look, I’m just fuckin’ tired, alright? I’m tired, and I’m hungover, and I… I can’t remember the last day I had off from work. And I know that none of that is an excuse for being an asshole to you tonight, but the point is that I’m just… I’m just fucking sorry, alright? Don’t go home.” 

“I am going home. I’m not going to just sit here and take this. It’s bullshit. --I don’t even know why you invited me over. Am I just that person to you at this point? Someone you can take out your bad day on, then fuck and send home? Because you’re my friend, and I care about you, Mason, a lot, and I’m here for you, 100%, but I’m not going to be your goddamn emotional punching bag.”

“Well, I’m glad I could make the trip worth it for you…Though I’m not so sure I can condone you fantasizing about me for the damn world to hear, Nerd.” His tone was chastising, but he couldn’t seem to fight the smile on his lips. Using every ounce of self control he had not to reach out toward Diana and press an all-too-content kiss against her lips while she let her eyes drag across every inch of his body…but he had to shake the thought out of his head before he could dwell on it for too long. Settling for an amused - shocked, maybe - quirk of his eyebrow as she held up the bag of food in his direction. “You… Brought me dinner? Who are you, and what have you done with Hamilton?” Mace questioned her; tilting his head to the side in a charmed sort of disbelief. “I’m actually finishing up here; ready to fall the hell into my bed. But I could never decline a free dinner, right? You wanna see what the doctor’s lounge is like, or… did you have another place in mind?” 

“You love it. Besides, it’s fun seein’ you get all squirmy knowin’ people can hear me mention the things I wanna do to ya,” Diana replied, doe eyes looking up at him innocently. “Like maybe bringin’ Poison Ivy back for a night....” she teased, unable to hide the smirk pulling at her lips, sidling up a little closer to him, not particularly caring if anyone was looking at them or not. It was the hospital, after all. She was sure people had more important things to be worrying about. “Shut up. I was tryin’ to be nice. Besides, they had a deal goin’. It was a buy a dinner, get one free over at Atticus Fitzgerald’s diner. He made your burger extra greasy,” she joked. “Don’t make me regret this. ‘Sides, it wasn’t completely outta the kindness of my heart. I was hopin’ giving you a nice meal would build up your stamina.” She reached out, smoothing down his collar, still smirking up at him. She hadn’t planned on coming by the hospital-- she’d finished up at work for the night after working on a project for hours; when she’d finished, everyone else in the office had already gone home. And she hadn’t wanted to go back to an empty house. So she’d grabbed dinner and ended up at the hospital. “Mm, as nice as the lounge probably is... maybe somewhere a li’l more private?”

He was almost sure that he wasn’t actually seeing her – the man teetering on the edge of insanity as the clock struck the end to his twenty-second hour of his shift at the hospital. But Diana’s bouncing curls were hard to mistake - and her smile even harder - as she looked over her shoulder and met his eyes. Mason feeling nearly floored to his spot as his own grin began to stretch it’s way over his expression. “Are my eyes deceivin’ me, or is that Miss Diana Hamilton loitering around my ER?” Mace called out to her as he hung his stethoscope smoothly around his neck – cheeks going red as every joke they had ever made about his ‘uniform’ began to flit through his mind. “What the hell are you doin’ here? Don’t tell me you came just to see me in this stupid labcoat. It would go straight to my head, and I just don’t think my ego could take it, ya know?” 

“It’s me, in the flesh,” Diana replied as she turned to face Mason Duchanne head on, smirking slightly at the sight of him in his lab coat and the stethoscope hanging around his neck. She turned away to thank the receptionist she’d been trying to get to page him, then quickly turned and moved towards him, closing the distance between them-- at least, until there wasn’t more than a foot or so between them. “Mm, it’s not the only reason I’m here. Though it’s definitely made the trip worth it,” she murmured, lips pulling into a broad smile. “It suits you. Though I’m now imagining you wearing just the coat and stethoscope and nothin’ else.” Her gaze flitted over him, taking in the sight of him before her gaze came back up to his. “Actually, I grabbed dinner and thought you might wanna eat somethin’.” She shrugged nonchalantly as she held up a bag of food. It was probably strange to be getting dinner with someone who she definitely wasn’t dating and definitely didn’t have feelings for-- but she’d told herself it was just a friend being considerate of a friend. There was absolutely nothing about else to it. “Unless you’ve already eaten. Or gotta be somewhere.”

Lucy didn’t care about anything but alcohol at the moment. Just making her head stop for just a few minutes was worth the nasty hangover she would feel in the morning. Lucy glared over the brim of her cup and sighed. “I never really drank before. I would always talk myself out of the idea of it because it would mess me up the next day. Or it was simply wasn’t worth it. Always logical,” she groaned with a roll of her eyes. “So stupid.” Her eyes darted to the ice cream. “Fudge brownie, definitely. I am ready to get wasted by alcohol and chocolate.” She took the ice cream and spoon, stuffing a heaping spoonful in her mouth. “How are you, other than dealing with me?”

“Meanwhile, I’ve always been the opposite,” Diana replied with a laugh. “Of course I paid for it with all the hangovers-- I probably should’ve been more logical like you.” Diana sipped on her tequila, wincing again as she swallowed the warm liquid, feeling it warm her chest. “It’s not stupid. Drinking away your problems isn’t always the best solution. And neither is drinking just because you can and you want to impress hot guys isn’t either.” She opened the fudge brownie ice cream, stealing a quick spoonful of it before handing it over, moaning softly as she ate half of it, savoring the flavor before opening her own carton. “I’m not dealing with you. I’m your friend. It’s in the best friend’s manual that you sit around drinking and eating ice cream when your best friend’s having a hard time. --Anyway. I’m fine. Dealing with a crazy boss, but hopefully it pays off soon. I’ve also been doing the dating app thing again, but I’m probably gonna delete everything again. Too many creeps. Too many couples wanting to use me for threesomes. It’s exhausting. I just want to have sex and maybe get a cuddle at the end of the night, not end up being some weirdo’s weird fantasy guinea pig. --Anyway. Change of subject, because you probably don’t want to hear about any of that right now.”

diana: so i saw a spider and it ran away and i can't find it, so now i'm considering burning my entire apartment down

Lucy smiled sadly when she saw Diana come in. Of all the things that Lucy named off, the tequila sounded the most appetizing. “Thanks, Diana.” She sat up from laying on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and reached for the remote. She began shuffling through her Netflix and finally settled on The Office. When Diana came in the room, Lucy did the grabby hands at one of the cups and quickly took a sip of the tequila. She welcomed the burn down her throat. “Tequila is so nasty,” she muttered as she took another sip, just happy for any escape.

“--Oh, I was gonna mix it with.... Nevermind. It’s definitely a straight tequila kinda night,” Diana murmured, taking her own cup and downing the shot before pouring herself another, pushing away the bottle of orange juice she’d taken out of Lucy’s fridge. “So nasty, and yet.” She took a long sip of her second shot, making a face in distaste as she swallowed hard. “I almost feel twenty again.” She set the cup down and reached for the ice cream, and the spoons she’d brought in from the kitchen. “Do you want fudge brownie, or strawberry cheesecake?”

Shane couldn’t help but snort at her. “I’m sure you’d make his day and even year if you sucked his dick. He is a history teacher, after all.” He took a sip of his whiskey. It was weird to not be the one getting the drinks, but even bartenders needed a day off. “It sounds like you have a very busy life, Miss Hamilton.” He couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are you implying that because he’s a teacher he doesn’t get much action? Because I’m pretty sure I remember some of the other teachers fighting over him. They made it really obvious they were into him, too,” Diana mused with a shake of her head and a laugh. “But anyway, you’re probably right. I’ve perfected my technique, he’d never get over it. --I’m actually seriously considering it now, especially because I just realized he has a salt and pepper kind thing going on now,” she murmured, pausing to thank the bartender as he set her drink down. “Oh, I have a very busy life, Mr. Anderson. A girl’s gotta have plenty of distractions to keep things interesting.” She smirked back at him, nodding towards him. “And you? You’ve been up to your usual antics?” She took a sip of her drink as she eyed him. “You look good.” 

lucy: like you said, it wasn't yours to tell.

lucy: no, but i will be, i guess.

lucy: that's why i don't want to be alone.

diana: yeah.

lucy: i'm not upset at you.

lucy: i don't even know what i am, honestly.

diana: you're not?

diana: because i don't blame you if you are.

lucy: ...you knew?

lucy: does everyone know?

lucy: am i like the laughing stock of summerville?

diana: ..yes.

diana: i don't know who else knows, darcy was barely going to tell atticus a couple nights ago, as far as i know, and i don't think she wanted to tell anyone else until he knew?

diana: no, you are not, what are you talking about, lucy?

diana: listen, i'm really sorry.

diana: it's a shitty situation, and i understand why you're upset.

lucy: thank you.

lucy: more like everything is wrong.

lucy: atticus is darcy's baby daddy.

lucy: i thought something was there. i saw looks they gave each other.

lucy: i can't be with him when they still have feelings for each other.

lucy: or if he's confused.

diana: you're welcome!

diana: oh.

diana: you found out about that.

diana: don't hate me for not saying anything

diana: it wasn't my news to tell, you know?

lucy: can you spend the night with me?

lucy: i don't want to be alone.

diana: sure! i'm just getting home, let me put a bag together

Darcy: My mom died and it was my responsibility to stay and look after the diner and I shirked that. Just ask Dally.

Darcy: I'm going to bake 12 pies and attempt to eat them all. Want to help?

Darcy: You can drink while we do it.

Diana: So you left. It's understandable.

Diana: That sounds like a great time actually