rorysladeâ:
Rory was a relatively happy girl. On the outside, at least. Even on her worst days, she made it her goal to not put her problems on everyone else and save it for her therapist. And it was easier to pretend to be happy. She thought that if she just smiled and pretended to be happy that it would make her happy, but she couldnât do that now. If she did, people would probably be even more concerned than usual and she didnât want to deal with anyone. Not Julien, not Ivy, not Joey. Literally the thought of anyone talking to her about everything made her queasy. She had talked to Joey a few days back, but she was able to keep the conversation to a minimum. She didnât need people asking how she was or what happened. It was self-explanatory. Her boyfriend cheated on her and now she was sad. Now she just had to navigate that and figure out if her and her boyfriend needed to breakup. What she did need to hear though was everything Leo was telling her. Julien was a prick. Julien didnât deserve her. But if Julien, the golden boy of McKinley didnât deserve her, then who did? It was a crappy thing to put herself through, but at the end of the day she was just a sixteen year old girl who wanted someone to love her. Isnât that what everyone wanted? And even if Julien didnât love her, they could pretend. âI donât know what Iâm going to do,â she revealed, twiddling her juul in her hand nervously. âI havenât talked to him either,â she looked down at the juul and let out a sigh as Leo went on about how this had happened days after his and Ivyâs breakup. She was trying to make sense of the timeline from when she caught Julien and Ivy but the kiss Joey knew about and the kiss Leo knew about and using Leoâs knowledge, then it meant this had been going on for weeks. âFuck,â she said, her lip quivering slightly. She told herself she wouldnât cry again. She had cried so fucking much in the last two days that she was shocked that her tear ducts could even produce any tears. She didnât feel worse, she just felt hurt. That someone would do this to her. More importantly, that someone would do this to her with Ivy. That was the salt in the wound. âWhat really sucks,â she choked out, looking forward. If she did cry, she wanted it to be less noticeable. âis that deep down I already knew,â and thatâs when the tears began falling down her face. âI asked him a few weeks ago when the rumors started circulating as to why you and Ivy broke up and he said it wasnât true,â she let out a chuckle but it was more at her own stupidity. âIâm sorry,â she wiped a few tears off her face before looking at Leo. âI shouldnât be putting my baggage on you when like youâve got your own shit,â typical Rory. Always deflecting her own feelings for someone elseâs.
Leo mirrored Roryâs position by sitting on the steps of McKinley and staring blankly ahead. Talking about this kind of shit was hard and the last thing he wanted was for her to feel self-conscious or scrutinized under the weight of his stare. If she needed to emote or whatever, he wanted her to feel free to do that without feeling judged, so the least he could do was give her the illusion of privacy by not looking directly at her when he broke all of the bad news. If Rory hadnât talked to Julien yet then Leo was fairly certain she had no idea about the extent of his bad behavior. After he laid everything out on the table, there was a moment of silence. Again, Leo averted his eyes in an attempt to not seem intrusive, but when Rory spoke, he dared to look at her. âFuck,â he repeated back, instinctively scooting closer to her and shaking his head, âIâm really sorry, Rory.â And he really was. It wasnât often that one found Leo McCarthy freely apologizing or expressing similar sentiments, but this situation called for it. Rory was a lot of things, sure, but she wasnât deserving of this kind of treatment. When she started choking out some words, he gave her the floor. He hoped she wouldnât cry, mostly just because he was shit at comforting people, but of course the tears came. Seeing her so broken up honestly made him kind of mad. What the fuck was wrong with Julien? What was wrong with Ivy? At the mention of his own break-up and the rumors that circulated around it, the only thing Leoâs mind could focus on was the truth. How had his life changed so quickly and so drastically? He had no fucking clue. He didnât understand what any of it meant or why people put themselves through this shit. Roryâs physical display of her sadness was a reminder of how bad Leo felt deep down and it was honestly hard to swallow. He let out a weak chuckle in response to hers, giving her a tight lipped smile as she started to apologize. âDonât even worry about it,â he assured her, clicking his tongue as he turned his attention to the ground under his feet. He had to laugh at her comment about him having his own baggage. âTrue, but honestly? Itâs kinda nice to focus on someone elseâs baggage for a second,â he joked halfheartedly, turning to look at her again with a sympathetic look in his eyes. Leo wasnât sure how to act in situations like these. What had he done to Ivy to make her feel better when she was sad? What had he done to Baby? Leo hesitantly brought his hand up and closed it around Roryâs, giving it a gentle squeeze before he let his eyes find hers. âYouâre gonna fine,â he told her confidently, nodding once before he gave her hand another squeeze and then broken their physical contact by pulling away, âbut I can help you smash up his car if you want.â A joke...maybe a bad one, but oh well.Â
















