✦ * · ˚ 001. featuring rhystcylor .
THOUGH IT MAY be hard to believe, rhys is definitely more of a relationship kind of person. coming to uni meant he was leaving behind a three-year relationship, the longest he’s ever had. in all honesty, he didn’t quite know how to navigate the single life along with university culture, so he kind of went in pretty deep to the party scene and a few meaningless hookups here and there. it was year two when he finally got into another relationship, which was long overdue, but miss laleh was well worth the wait.
and it makes perfect sense for rhys to have fallen for her— beautiful and a literal walking ray of sunshine, the girl radiated love and affection in a way that rhys so desperately craved to receive and reciprocate. though their relationship had only lasted a few months, it was nice while it lasted and fizzled out in a way that only made sense… though, the way he handled the end wasn’t great. not only was the opal society induction taking over his life, so to speak, his eyes began to wander to a friend and so came the single life once more. and since laleh, he hadn’t seriously dated anyone. there’s still an AFTERTASTE of guilt on rhys’ tongue, what his grandmother would joke is just a case of catholic guilt, even if he doesn’t practice the faith.
so, it’d be foolish for either of them to completely ignore the other’s presence in the manor at this point. does it mean he wasn’t surprised to see her on that first night? of course not, his nerves were absolutely shot. but, the thought did cross his mind that perhaps it’d be worth explaining to her that this was a good portion of the demise of their relationship, at least on his end. but that could be a conversation saved for later, as doing so at this hour of the morning when prodigies are running rampant around the manor looking for clues to a task didn’t feel like the best place to discuss a past love.
he chuckles at her remark of finding the piano room, which goes without saying that rhys frequents it nearly as much as his own bedroom. “it’s easy to get LOST here,” he notes. this much is true: and not in the sense that you’re lost with no idea of how to get out, but the manor has this way of enticing you to explore, to look through all of the nooks and crannies of the gorgeous estate and memorize it like it’s your own. and in typical laleh fashion, she has a lot to say. it’s not irritating in the slightest— in fact, it’s endearing. laleh has this ability to be so unapologetically herself, and that’s something rhys will always adore about her. it’s as if her thoughts can’t get out fast enough and once she finishes, he lets out a laugh and shakes his head, then turns to the coffee maker and takes his mug out from underneath. “can i get you one?” he asks as he reaches into the refrigerator for milk. once he makes his drink, he turns to her again and nods towards the hallway near them. “let’s walk,” he suggests.
“first thing’s first, welcome.” he starts walking with her through the marble-clad hallway, spotless and reeking of old wealth. “i guess it was kind of hard to keep a secret at first. you know, with friends and peers outside of your circlet, especially as prodigies. i was fortunate enough to know a good few, including my own roommate at the time— hollis.” he muses. they walk towards the dining room area. “and once you get to know the society more… i think you get a better idea of who it is you’re looking for, if that makes sense.” he pauses and lets out a laugh. “sorry, what else was it that you asked?”
LALEH GREW UP in such a cold and sterile environment, it was no wonder she had been so obsessed with fire --- she wasn’t that dumb, she knew the flames were as dangerous as they were beautiful, they burn brightly and intensely, before either fizzling out or burning anyone who dared to get close enough to it. but like a moth, she had no chance against it --- she let it consume and define her and, for years, she was just like it: beautiful, unpredictable and cruel. ready to steal all the oxygen around her just to survive a little bit longer, not caring who she hurt in the process.
looking back on it now, she wonders if all she needed was to feel SOME kind of warmth, anything to remind herself she was human after all, that having feelings wasn’t so out of the ordinary.
it had been a while since she had last thought about that feeling, since she wished there was a sparkle of her old self still hiding inside her, waiting to come out again. as she stood in front of rhys smiling brightly, laleh realized she’d probably never want to feel that way again --- as much as she wished that she felt anything other than overwhelming awkwardness and need to RAMBLE, she’d never go back to that hopeless place.
sometimes, she wondered if love was her new fire, but every time her mind drifted in that direction, she realized it wouldn’t be such a bad thing if it was --- love made the world go round, transformed her previous shallow existence into something meaningful ( even if it was just for herself ). love made a difference in everyone’s life, and she couldn’t begrudge herself for feeling it everyday --- even if it meant that sometimes she had to go through awkward encounters with her EXES.
as much as their breakup had been mutual and not at all the battlefield teenage her would expect, it was still kind of awkward to meet unexpectedly. not only that, but they had been thrust into a secret society together, something almost too private to share with your ex. the only saving grace was that they were in different circlets and, thus, didn’t really need to share a house, as big as it was. ❝ yeah. i did play a very good rendition of twinkle twinkle little star, though. ❞ she added with a laughter. it was a song rhys heard her play more than he probably wished he did when they were together --- the only song she ever really learned how to play. ❝ sure, do you still remember how i take my coffee ? ❞ the teasing words left easily from her lips, an unexpected reminder that she still felt comfortable around him, that their breakup shouldn’t prevent any friendship from still existing between them.
laleh followed him without a second thought, a smile still lit in her face. she wasn’t sure why they had lost contact and, yes, it was still a little weird, but it didn’t need to be. they both had moved on, and she was also pretty sure none of them held any hard feelings toward the other. ❝ oh ! yeah, thank you ! i’m going to be honest with you right now, i’m kind of glad i won’t need to keep this from my best friends, you know ? i mean, eliot knows more about the society than i do and chloe is also a prodigy so i think i lucked out on this department. i’m not sure how i’d hide this from them if that wasn’t the case. i mean, not that i’d go around telling anyone about this secret society i had been invited to be a part of, of course. if i did, it wouldn’t be a secret anymore and whatnot, but i’m just glad i don’t have to hide a huge part of my life from the people i hope to keep in my life forever, you know ? other than that, i’m kind of excited about the whole ‘found family’ aspect of this whole experience. what is it like ? ❞ breathe, she reminded herself. once again, her incessant babbling took over and she was almost breathless by the time she realized she was the only one talking. more often than not, she had to remind herself to let the other person answer her questions, that a conversation was a two-way street.
❝ i’m not really sure. ❞ laleh confessed, sheepishly. more often than not, she couldn’t really remember half of the questions she threw at people --- she had to guide herself through their responses. this wasn’t the first time someone got lost in her questions and it definitely wouldn’t be the last. ❝ i guess i’m just... wondering about this whole thing but i don’t want to overwhelm you with questions, so sorry about that. i guess... i mean, it’s been a while. HI. how have you been ? are you good ? enjoying having this big ass house to yourself ( kind of ) ? ❞
