a melody lift, a minor cord fall .

he somewhat tries to disguise the disbelief on his face. he can nudge her in the right direction, sure, but he can't make her see what she isn't ready to. his brother will have to make that clear by himself, but he hates the thought of her being hurt. “ i guess ... are you happy ? ” selfishly hopes the answer is no.

was she ? couldn't tell what the answer was, especially while dwelling on the couch over the umpteenth argument they've had. " sometimes. " it was the most honest answer she could give, though her tone was dulled. a not - as - often - as - i - used - to - be lingering in there that she was too afraid to say out loud. give her a microphone and a show and she will talk your ear off, yet she hadn't dared to dive into all the ways her boyfriend had disrespected her recently. " do you think he's cheating, that it's me ? " and fuck, most of all ? she hated the insecurity he'd instilled in her.

"you want my help ? looks like you need to earn it ." / @driftse

had figured that he'd ask for something in return, but the way how almost intrigued her. almost, had the situation not been as dire as it was. " earn it how ? "

“it’s  gonna  be  a  while  until  i’m  back  in  town  again” / @dreamse

" same routine then ? " allowed the words to linger as she combed her fingers through her hair, trying to distract herself from what was happening. " just leave. no need to make a thing out of it. "

composed features disguise his sorrow, tormented ( and slightly offended ) by how easily peyton believes he would cheat on her. in plain sight, at that. " exactly ― not once. so why would i fuck it all up now ? not to mention, let myself be caught doing it, " perhaps not the strongest argument to his case, though it's one of the few max can wield. there's no chance at resolution unless she trusts him ... and trust has always been precarious between them. " deuxmoi posts some bullshit and you don't even care to listen to my side of the story. "

" i've been trying to keep this–– " she motioned between the two of them, " keep us together, to let you have the space you need to deal with whatever may happen next because you seem to be hellbent on dealing with it on your own, but this ? " hated the way the pain was spreading through her, going beyond what a regular fight would cause. for the first time since the accident, she felt utterly defeated. " it might be some bullshit, max, but you couldn't even muster up the respect to tell me yourself. i had to hear it from my brother, see it on every news - page, and you're telling me i don't care ? "

he scoffs at mika's ability to be difficult even in the dire state he's in. there's a strong temptation to loosen his grip, to leave him exactly where he found him, but something about the way mika leans into him has him tightening his grip instead. he sighs. this is not how he planned on spending his night. he knows it must take a lot for mika to ask for his help though, and as much as he'd enjoy making him work for it, he finds himself scanning their surroundings before hauling him toward the exit. “ what's your next great plan, hm ? crawl home ? or into the gutter ? ” stellan asks as they finally make it outside, the cool air fanning his skin. “ who the hell did you piss off ? ”

couldn't help the sharp inhale when the fresh air hit his face, both relieved by the cold sensation and regretting the change of temperature as it brought attention to his split lip that had simply felt numb up until then, amongst other things. " i don't know, stellan. what's yours ? " wished the drawl sounded more confident, but the longer he'd gone without ice, the more it felt like his face was getting a heartbeat of its own. bruises blossoming, though at the very least the bleeding of his nose had stopped. figured it was something. " you're in charge, after all. " and maybe he shouldn't be egging on the person that was helping him, but it was quite literally the only thing he was capable of doing on his own. " something about someone's girlfriend––– never seen her before, but here we are. " tried to smile the last few words, though all it resulted in was a pained wince and a sudden realization that he hadn't even thought of what his ribs must look like. " sticking around for the encore ? "

he nearly regrets bringing it up when he sees the way she seems to withdraw, but he's not one to shy away from the truth — unless it involves masking his feelings for her. “ are there any good days ? ” it's kinda harsher than he means to be. he huffs a breath, tone notably softer, “ i just know what he's like, what you're like, and i don't get it. ”

" there are good days, " it was grumbled, and as he asked the question, she almost began to wonder the same thing. it started out with only good days. dates, surprise visits, flowers. it had been everything she'd hoped the start of a relationship would be. it's all that happened after that made her doubt it. " what's there not to get, wyles ? we work, most days. every couple has days on which they don't, right ? "

“ i don't know what the hell you see in him. ” it's supposed to sound playful, like a throwaway comment, but even he isn't oblivious to the underlying bite in his tone. he can't help it. wylie's never been one to hold his tongue, and his brother is an absolute dick. he's convinced the guy's only interested because he can sense how badly wylie wants them. why they want him ? he can't fathom.

" you said we wouldn't be mentioning your brother, " she noted, raising an eyebrow before deflating back into the soft cushions of the couch, gaze slipping to the ceiling. wasn't sure if wylie had heard the fight they'd gotten into last night, but it was the only way she was able to explain why there was that much bite to his words. head fell onto its side as to face the other again, bottom lip jutting out ever so slightly. " can't you ask me that question on a good day ? why ask me now ? "

[　angel　→　rory　]: you left your jacket here

[　rory　→　angel　]: aside from it looking better on you, it’ll be less of a surprise i show up next time

[　angel　→　rory　]: careful, the girls might get jealous

[　rory　→　angel　]: which girls?

[　brodie　→　baylen　]: i didn't say anything because i didn't want to argue

[　baylen　→　brodie　]: we used to talk about everything, didn’t we?

[　brodie　→　baylen　]: i tell you one thing and you twist it to fit a narrative i want no part in

[　baylen　→　brodie　]: then stop telling me half truths and then refuse to continue the conversation

[　angel　→　rory　]: you left your jacket here

[　rory　→　angel　]: aside from it looking better on you, it’ll be less of a surprise i show up next time

[　brodie　→　baylen　]: i didn't say anything because i didn't want to argue

[　baylen　→　brodie　]: we used to talk about everything, didn’t we?

" you were ... right, " voice shakes, unsteady heart anticipating his resentment. he'd warned her about the consequences, but she'd been too stubborn to realize the impact of innocent words twisted into vile narratives. " what can i do ? how can i fix this ? "

huffed out a laugh of disbelief, hand running through his hair in the same manner he'd done a thousand times by now, since a day after her book had hit the shelves. another two days, and conspiracies were starting to float around the internet. another three, and people were creating timelines of all the events that sounded a little too familiar. " you were naive, " words were bitten in return, railing himself back by twisting away. " right, of course you wanna be part of fixing something that can't be taken back, " muttered it beneath his breath. " don't mind me not being interested in feeding your sequel, betty. "

" at least give me the benefit of the doubt here, peyt, " not one to plea, still searches her eyes for some kind of understanding, a sense of acknowledgement that he wouldn't do this. not to her. " do you really think she means anything to me ? "

" i have given you the benefit of every doubt, again and again, " she was trying to remain calm, but there was a tremble to her tone that hadn't been there before. " but not once have i seen you ––– " couldn't say it out loud, refused to. the image had been burned into her mind, despite her brother trying to shield her from it by telling her in hopes she wouldn't look it up. " so if you're willing to get photographed with her ? like that ? yeah, that's exactly what i think. "

stellan does a double take as eyes fall to their crumpled physique on the ground, back to the wall. he’d seen them earlier in the night, had shot them the usual unwelcoming look, but this ? this caught him off guard. he should turn and leave. their safety is none of his concern, in fact, he couldn’t care less. he takes a step to go, but there’s something that glues him to the spot. for fucks sake. stellan sighs and stalks toward them, hauling them (with some care) to their feet, “ i don’t have time for this. ” he states bluntly, but there’s a slightly uneasy waver to his voice as he wraps an arm around them, aiding them in walking alongside him.

a groan of distaste slipped past his busted lips, a swelling eye opening for as far as it was able to when someone hauled him to his feet. had half the mind to put his full weight into falling back onto the floor when it registered who was behind it, but beggars couldn't be choosers. " yeah, because this was something i had panned out an hour or two for, " sarcasm laced his tone, but held on to the other nonetheless, leaning into the support stellan offered even when common sense would've screamed at him to do just about anything else. " fuck, " muttered the curse beneath his breath, grip tightening. " this place have a back exit ? could you–– " discomfort lingered around his words, the days of being able to ask him for any favors long behind them. " please ? "