idle teen

         it’s okay, he almost wanted to tell her again. instead, hal watched her turn away from him. “it wasn’t all you.” he’s acknowledged his part in their downfall almost from the beginning, but in the brief time that it took him to realize his mistakes, artemis had packed up her things and vanished in the middle of the night. “i was an insensitive fucking idiot about the thanksgiving thing.”

“But you didn’t know,” Artemis shook her head. She was shit at communication, she knew that, but things were good between them. When it came to her family, however, she shut down, and didn’t talk to him when she should’ve. “I shouldn’t have walked away,” she turned back to him, tears falling.

          hal saw artemis when he opened his front door and he was…nonplussed. he watched her walk into his living room and left the door ajar as he turned around, facing her with a small frown. he blinked at the use of his first name, unused to hearing it even from her. “…for barging into my apartment?” it’s okay, he considered telling her, but he didn’t.

Artemis shook her head. She didn’t know what to say, or how to fix this--she just knew she had to. “For destroying us,” she admitted softly, turning away from him as tears formed in her eyes. This was a lot harder than she thought, but she knew she had to say it.

   “  course.”  noel  nods,  a  small smile  on  his  face.  it  felt  like  a  little  bit  of  a  step  in  the  right  direction.  there’s  no  good  advice  on  how  to  mend  a  relationship  with  your  sister.  really, he’s  just  winging  it.  “so ,  do  you  know  when  mom  will  be  back?” 

“I think tomorrow,” Artemis explained, turning back to him and tilting her head. “We’re... getting dinner on Thursday night. If you want to come,” she didn’t know why she did that, but deep down Artemis knew she missed her brother.

          there was a basketball game on, and he cranked up the volume as he stretched out across the couch, feet dangling over one of the armrests because he’s too tall to fit. it didn’t help. he was still thinking about her, even as he got up to answer a knock at his door. used to be ours, he mused to himself. hal’s dark gaze widened as he pulled on the knob and saw her standing on his doorstep. “uh…” he folded his arms and nodded in greeting. “…hey.”

Artemis almost felt like she wasn’t even in her own body anymore, like she had no control and was forced to watch at this point. “Hi,” she said, walking into the apartment like she owned the place--which, for a period of time, she did. Turning to Hal, she huffed, tilting her head. “I--” she didn’t know what to say. “I’m sorry, Nathen.”

          “  hopefully  .  ”  his  shoulders  lift  in  a  noncommittal  shrug  .  “  i  can  tell  you  that  whenever  it  drops  ,  it’s  gonna  be  a  fuckin’  hit  .  shit’s  fire  .  i  can’t  lie  .  ”  he  nods  his  head   ,  lifting  his  glass  to  his  lips  to  take  a  sip  of  his  drink  .  “  is  salt  lake  any  fun  ?  haven’t  been  there  for  more  than  a  day  at  a  time  .  ”

“Your shit’s always good,” Artemis said simply, taking another sip of her drink and shaking her head. It was true, she had always been a fan of his music. Shaking her head, she sighed. “Not really, that’s why I fly back when I’m not shooting. It’s boring as hell.”

    noel  nods,  quietly  at  first. would  he  normally  choose to  watch  HSMTMTS?  no.  but,  he’d  probably  always  enjoy  seeing  his  sister  onscreen.  he’s  proud  of  her.  “  yeah ,  of  course. i’ll  watch  anything  you  do,  arty. ” 

Artemis didn’t really know what to say--their relationship was so strained that she didn’t even think he’d watch it. She sighed. “Well... thank you,” she said simply, nodding her head and turning to put some more groceries away.

Artemis had royally fucked up, she knew that, but there was no going back--she had admitted her mistake in the break up, and now she had to confront it. After drinking a glass or two of wine for confidence, she Ubered over to Hal’s apartment. Well, their apartment, but she no longer lived there. Sighing nervously, she headed up and knocked on the door, running her fingers through her hair. She had no idea what she’d say when (and if) he opened the door.

hal: okay

hal: sounds sorta gross when you put it like that

hal: but okay i get it

hal: sorry for getting frustrated

hal: i guess it's just weird for me to not get what's going on with you

artemis: i know i’m sorry

artemis: no don’t apologize

artemis: i’m sorry

hal: you're telling me that you......regret breaking up with me?

hal: seriously?

artemis: i’m sorry

artemis: i don’t know what to say

*10 minutes later*

hal: what

hal: which part?

hal: am i supposed to know how to figure this shit out for myself? are you making it clear as fuck but i'm just not getting it?

hal: i have no fucking clue what you're thinking right now

hal: and i don't know what to think for myself because i'm fucking confused

artemis: all of it!

artemis: breaking up with you!

artemis: ignoring you for three months!

artemis: pretending i don’t still have feelings for you

hal: like what?????????????????

hal: dude, /you're/ the one who broke up with me

hal: and then i see you like 3 months later while you were on a date

hal: and then you text me 3 days later asking me to forget it ever happened

hal: like shit i could ask you the same thing ari

hal: when?

artemis: ...

hal: are /you/ gonna forget it happened?

hal: yeah i remember that too

hal: /i/ didn't /kiss/ you

artemis: i know