this is what love got me

They parted ways outside, and Isaac began the walk home, enjoying the cool night air against his skin. He'd barely made it to the end of the street when he heard it. A voice, begging for help. Maia's voice. Isaac's eyes flashed golden in response, a stark contrast to the darkness around him, and he whipped on his heels, bolting it back towards The Alibi. He'd always been the fastest runner in his pack, but even Pietro would've been impressed by how quickly he made it there. He tracked Maia's voice to the storage room out back, and immediately noticed the problem. The door was sealed shut, and he could practically feel her fists banging the other side.

They'd once confided in one another about their shared claustrophobia, so Isaac instantly understood her fear, her panic. He felt it himself, imagining the roles reversed. Visions of his bloodied nails scraping against the freezer door in his basement back home flickered in his mind, threatening to stunt him in place. But then Maia called out again. Help. This wasn't about him. Isaac wasn't the one in trouble. He brushed his trauma aside in an impressive display of bravery, pulling on the fridge door open with an unnecessary level of strength.

Crying out, she felt what she believed was her wrist snap with a loud crack, her elbow soon following suit. But she couldn't give in, not until she was dead and buried. With her unaffected arm, she continued to pull and scratch at the door until the panic began to lull into acceptance, into helplessness. Her cries quietened, muttering her pleas instead, only yelping when her shoulder felt close to dislocation. Maybe it was okay to turn in here, maybe with more force, she could get out that way. Maybe she just had to lean into it. But all thoughts were cut off with a squeak of metal, Maia stumbling forward as the door she clutched onto suddenly opened in front of her.

Relief overtook her, Maia falling into sobs again immediately, unable to even register her rescuer at first. She needed the open air, warm air, to get away from the frozen grave she currently stood in. "Oh my god, oh my god —" She stammered on a loop, clawing herself back from the acceptance of death and suffering and loneliness. Breathe with me. Adrift, Maia nodded, tears a constant stream as she tried to follow instruction, follow the voice that had saved her. In, and out. She let it ground her, let her take her away from the room she was in, let it free her from the pain that burned up her arm. Shivering, Maia stumbled forward out of the room and turned fast, sliding down the very door that had sealed her in, unintentionally holding it open.

Despite his ignorance in regards to everything else, Chris did notice that Maia wasn't receiving his compliments in her usual manner, and he then began to wonder if something had upset her. Hopefully it wasn't something he'd done, but their exchanged texts had been nothing if not playful, flirtatious. She also seemed like the type of woman who'd be direct if he'd pissed her off. Which he liked. So he persisted, kept the smile on his face, leaning further forwards on the bar so that he felt closer to her. "Oh yeah? Good deal, that is." He actually had money to spare tonight, too, having saved in advance. She deserved to be spoiled. "Well, Maia, that depends. Is it going to help get the love flowing between us?" Chris tilted his head, trying to catch her eye. "Or am I going to have to wait until after your shift finishes so I can take you out and treat you properly, like a real lady deserves?"

It was hard to avoid his eye, but still, she tried, the proximity of him making her strangely nervous. She had every chance, every right, to move away, to get on with her job and leave him behind, but for some reason, she couldn't. It was like she was paralysed, lost in the warmth she could feel radiating from his skin, focused on his strangely pleasing scent of cigarettes, detergent and something akin to the damp earth, as if he'd just been lying in the grass. It was uniquely him, she knew she could pick it out of a crowd. For a moment, her anger was lost, and she could notice how his voice had gotten lower, hear how his heartrate had increased, smell the slight dampening of his palms. They were all telltale signs of attraction, and she would've found herself lost in it had she not suddenly remembered herself, remembered how she'd felt only moments ago. His words were honeyed, his allure a trap. She'd been down this road before.

Shaking herself mentally, Maia took a step back, released herself from his spell, and sighed. The sarcasm was gone from her voice, as was her anger, the werewolf now a picture of guarded vulnerability. One more hit and she'd break. "Listen, Chris — you're... cute. But I'm not gonna play games with you. It's not what I want. So, you can go ahead and order something if you'd like, but otherwise just - leave me alone. Please."

The affectionate term caused a twitch in her stomach, and had she had the capacity to, she could've worked out he wasn't just talking shit. But unfortunately, she couldn't focus on anything bar her emotions. Maia had always struggled with control since being turned, not just because of the way she'd been turned but also because she was without a pack and anchor to keep her grounded. The smallest of things could set her off, so something this important to her was near overwhelming. And clearly he was more important to her than she'd even realised — he'd given her excitement and hope, and now he'd gone and taken it away. "Okay then," she cleared her throat. "You sure? We've got a two-for-one deal going tonight. Helps get the love flowing, apparently."

He watched her as she worked, entirely captivated. How someone as gorgeous and charismatic as her was still single baffled Chris, but he was far from complaining. It would be a privilege to even be rejected by her. With that in mind, he promised himself to pursue this, regardless of the outcome. Her kindness was inspiring. “That it does, babe. That it does. I think some blokes take themselves too serious. ‘Ain’t always gotta’ be a squabble and a kick-off. Some twats just need to learn how to live in the moment, and enjoy things.” Chris smiled back at her, already keen to speak to her over the phone despite not having left yet. He did wonder whether or not she’d actually call, but she didn’t seem like the kind to break a promise. 

“Yeah,” she huffed in total agreeance, instinctively reaching up for a moment to touch the deep scars on her neck. “Tell me about it. You can practically smell the entitlement rolling off them.” Perhaps it wasn’t a fair statement, but Maia certainly thought so, considering her experiences. “So, is that what you do? ‘Live in the moment’?” It was a foreign concept for her, so considering how refreshing his energy was, it made sense. He seemed very carefree, and that was something she’d lost long ago. Or perhaps, it had been stolen from her. Waving him off, she incidentally shut down his kindness without realising she was just sabotaging herself. “Well, neither of my bosses are here tonight, so it could just be our little secret.”

“I mean, I can’t take mine off you. But that doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with ‘em, in fact, it means they’re working fine. Why wouldn’t I wanna’ look at you? Pretty shit line, that one. And that’s comin’ from me.” Chris laughed at the threat she mentioned, making a mental note not to get on her bad side. Then again, he imagined he’d quite like seeing her feisty; having her tell him off. Winking, he took her phone, putting in his own number, and adding the sunglasses emoji to his contact name. “Promise me you won’t leave me hangin’.”

She shook her head at him, laughing again. Their conversation hadn’t gone where she’d expected, and even though that didn’t bother her, she had to wonder why it didn’t. Taking the time to watch him, she pretended to look busy for a moment, holding up a finger in apology before washing out some glasses. She realised suddenly that he wasn’t a typical pretty boy, out for attention and a good time. She could never trust those. In fact, Chris seemed anything but, which only made her nervous. “Your charming comments aside,” she finally replied with a shrug, “I guess he just wasn’t thinking like you. Logic seems to go out the window when it comes to dudes and drinks. Though I’d consider that their truest selves.” Noticing the emoji, she smiled before pocketing her phone again, making sure to meet his eye. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt herself willing to give it a shot. “Hey. Cross my heart.”

“Who’s counting?” She winked, gathering some more discarded glasses. “Oh, you’ve got that right. I’m super fun. What do ya wanna know, Mr Sunglasses Emoji?”

“You ain’t heard that one before?” Chris raised his eyebrows, glad he’d hit her with some original material. He couldn’t remember where he himself had heard it, but if it wasn’t common, maybe it might just work. Or put her off, but he’d always been one for taking a chance. “Not surprised you’ve heard a lot of ‘em, though, you probably get all the lads hittin’ on you here. C’mon then, tell us what others ones you’ve heard. I wanna’ hear ‘em all. Might just add them to my own collection.” But after a moment, he realised how she’d responded to his line — positively. “Yeah?” He couldn’t avoid smirking, wondering how on earth someone as pretty as this was giving him the time of day. Usually the women he fancied weren’t so… out of his league. “Alright, then. Lets hear your number, since you’re up for callin’ me.”

“Shockingly, no. And it was still pretty awful.” It had worked, though. It had made her laugh, and that only made her like him more. “Not all, thankfully, but it’s not unusual, no. They usually either want free drinks, or to get me drunk.” Realising she was now doing both with Chris, she explained further. “It's different with you. I can hear your heart. You don't want to trick me. Plus, you don't make me want to punch you in the mouth,” Maia shrugged, deciding to be honest, trusting in her instinct. Then she sighed at his challenge. “Alright then. Hm. I think… one of my favourites was ‘there must be something wrong with my eyes, because I can’t take them off you.’” Maia rolled her own eyes at the memory. “He looked away pretty fast when I offered to take them out of his skull.” Uncrossing her arms, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, pulling up the dial screen. “You realise that makes no sense, right?” She grinned, passing him her phone. “Just put your number in, dork.”

She expelled another small laugh, shaking her head a little at his enthusiasm for alcohol. Although, they were in a bar, so she couldn’t argue. “Sure, that’s one way to do it.” Maia opened her mouth to greet him properly when he continued on with a pretty awful pick-up line, one that made her laugh all over again. “Wow. That was – I mean, wow. Just when I thought I’d heard them all.” Still, she’d never heard them from a guy like this. In just a few minutes, Chris had made her laugh a countless number of times, and not once had she felt pressured or uncomfortable. “But alright,” she decided with a shy smile, deciding to be bold, follow her gut. “If you’re being serious, then I guess I’d be up for doing both.”

She considered his request as she watched him take the shot, absentmindedly wiping out a glass. She was sure she wouldn’t get fired, especially since Kev wasn’t around. Not that he seemed like the firing type anyway. As long as Maia stayed behind the bar, she decided it would be fine. It wasn’t like she’d feel the effects from one drink either. “Alright, Chris. You’re on.” Without hesitation, she lifted the fourth shot, pressed it against his in cheers and downed it.

I bet I can still beat you off the jump.