charmingly helpless

"still full of yourself, i see. i've moved on yare, maybe you should try it too. insulting my girlfriend doesn't work in your favour for anything anyway."

schools  her  features  back  in  place  just  in  time,  not  letting  him  realize  how  quickly  his  words  would  get  through  her.  “  does  moving  on  include  staring  at  me  from  the  other  side  of  the  room?  “  chin  rises  in  defiance,  holding  the  corners  of  her  mouth  upwards  in  an  ridiculous  attempt.  “  she’s  still  ugly,  adrian.  a  huge  downgrade,  even  for  you  ”

"i know, but he's my brother's best friend and follows him around like a lap dog. i don't have any control about when he shows up."

he  visibly  frowns,  had  never  been  one  to  hide  his  emotion  and  he  certainly  wasn’t  going  to  start  now.  “  exactly,  your  brother’s  best  friend,  not  yours  “  eyes  roll  upwards  as  he  sighs,  shifting  on  his  feet  as  he  moves  closer.  “  just  tell  him  to  fuck  off,  you’re  my  friend,  not  his” 

the   way   she   anxiously   looks   around   ,   too   afraid   somebody   would   catch   them   merely   talking   to   each   other   makes   his   chest   hurt   .   archer   wishes   things   weren’t   like   this   .   and   in   fact   ,   he   wasn’t   going   to   comply   with   her   ,   wouldn’t   let   her   push   him   away   .   “   it   was   good   .   ”   he   agrees   ,   stepping   closer   .   “   it   was   fucking   amazing   ,   nailah   .   and   you’re   going   to   tell   me   now   you’re   gonna   go   back   to   him   ?   after   you   came   to   me   crying   ?   after   i   made   you   cum   three   times   that   night   ?   ”

eyes   widen   quickly   as   he   moves   closer   ,   though   she   doesn’t   manage   to   take   a   step   back   ,   glued   to   her   place   even   if   she   didn’t   intend   to   .   “   you   can’t   be   serious   “   laugh   that   falls   from   her   lips   is   humorless   ,   head   shaking   in   denial   as   gaze   drops   down   from   his   own   ,   cheeks   turning   pink   as   his   words   stick   to   her   brain   .   “   we   can’t   discuss   this   here   ,   especially   that   “   god   ,   she   would   be   thinking   about   it   for   the   rest   of   the   evening   .   the   way   his   touch   brought   shivers   down   her   spine   while   her   fiancé’s   only   made   her   wish   the   clock   would   turn   faster   .   “   he’s   my   soon   to   be   husband   ,   you   know   that   “   everyone   did   ,   that   was   the   main   part   of   being   a   lauder   —   the   arranged   marriage   was   just   another   one   .   “   i’m   marrying   him   next   summer   ,   this   can’t   happen   anymore   “   repeat   ,   repeat   ,   until   it   sticks   .   it   seemed   like   that   was   her   motto   now   .  

god   ,   he   was   really   testing   her   .   hates   how   her   breath   catches   in   her   throat   when   he   stands   so   close   to   her   .   she   should   just   shove   him   ,   shouldn’t   allow   him   to   get   this   close   but   she   can't   bring   herself   to   do   it   ,   can   only   cross   her   arms   tightly   and   look   uninterested   .   “   and   what   makes   you   think   i’m   pretending   ?   ”   she   was   ,   and   clearly   not   very   well   .   “   you’re   wasting   your   time   ,   mitchell   .   we   kissed   once   ,   big   deal   .   it   won’t   happen   again   .   ”

grin   widens   slightly   when   she   doesn’t   move   away   ,   allowing   him   to   stand   in   her   personal   stage   for   another   minute   .   that   was   always   a   good   sign   ,   in   his   books   ,   and   it   only   serves   to   feed   into   his   delusion   .   “   you   think   you   hide   it   well   ,   but   i   can   see   you   looking   at   me   from   across   the   room   ,   when   you   think   no   one’s   noticing   “   shrugs   his   shoulders   ,   had   caught   her   gaze   more   times   than   one   to   make   an   educated   guess   ,   a   hopeful   one   ,   if   anything   .   “   it   will   ,   give   it   time   “   a   pause   ,   digits   reach   to   push   a   strand   of   hair   behind   her   ear   ,   gaze   locked   with   her   own   .   “   and   by   the   time   it   does   ,   we   can   figure   out   how   to   deal   with   your   brother   “   a   quick   roll   of   eyes   ,   and   he’s   leaning   back   ,   feet   glued   to   the   floor   .   “   i’m   a   patient   man   ,   jocelyn   “

the brunette rests his arm on the bar as he listens to the woman sitting next to him. "i'm sorry, okay?" he inhales, he wasn't sure what else to say. "i know that i hurt you. i know that i keep hurting you." the two went through this same cycle, he wanted to break it. he wanted to be better for her. "it kills me that i'm the reason you're upset." he leaned closer to the brunette. "i promise i'll be better. i won't be so reckless, i won't take you for granted anymore." he inhales, before taking a long sip of his drink. "we have too much history to throw it all away. give me another chance."

she  blinks  rapidly  before  sinking  further  into  her  seat,  arms  crossed  against  her  chest  as  crease  deepens  between  brows.  they  had  been  having  this  conversation  for  what  felt  like  days,  the  spiral  always  ending  up  when  one  of  them  decided  to  walk  away  —  usually  her,  deciding  she  was  tired  of  hearing  him  when  his  words  began  to  appear  logical  in  her  head.  “i  wish  it  would  truly  kill  you,  that  would  make  things  better  for  me”  bullshit,  and  he  knows  it,  knew  her  well  enough  to  understand  it  was  the  frustration  spitting  out  of  her  mouth.  “what  happens  if  you  do?  what  happens  if  you’re  reckless  again?”  head  snaps  his  way,  brows  rising  as  she  faces  him.  “you  can’t  always  throw  the  history  card,  it’s  bound  to  run  up  sometime”  not  today  though,  it  seemed. 

“you know… i think you only fucked him so that you could imagine what it’s like being me.” the smirk on her lips is cruel despite bella's casual tone, her eyes lit up with mirth. "is that true?"

head  tilts  to  the  side,  holding  onto  the  answer  on  the  tip  of  her  tongue  but  choosing  to  swallow  it  instead.  “just  drop  it”  dismisses,  pushing  her  hair  to  the  front  of  her  shoulders,  wishing  she  could  bury  herself  away  from  the  conversation.  “it  was  a  one  time  thing,”  a  stupid  moment,  blinded  by  jealousy  she  shouldn’t  feel.  “it  was  a  mistake  and  you  know  it”

"i think it's a little late for that , don't you ? " everything has already changed and despite her desire to retain some semblance of normalcy between them , to cling onto whatever remained of their friendship ... she was beginning to realize that maybe there was nothing left to hold onto . " it's serious then -- you and her ? " wonders aloud , knowing it was none of her business . " i mean , it must be if we can't even be friends anymore . "

chews  on  lesser  for  a  moment  ,  almost  hiding  his  gaze  from  her  own  as  her  words  hit  him  .  “  i’m  not  saying  we  have  to  stop  being  friends  “  not  really  ,  and  yet  ,  there  was  so  much  about  the  other  that  his  girlfriend  wanted  to  argue  about  .  from  the  way  they  looked  at  each  other  to  the  years  of  friendship  they  shared  —  if  only  she  knew  there  was  more  to  that  than  what  he  was  letting  on  .  “  just  lay  low  for  a  moment  ,  she’s  just  paranoid  “  and  a  bit  right  ,  considering  the  hole  in  his  chest  as  words  exited  his  mouth  .  “  we  can  still  hangout  ,  just  not  as  much  “  he  mutters  instead  ,  avoiding  the  question  she  poses  as  he  ,  too  ,  didn’t  know  the  answer  to  it  . 

" so that's it ? " calling after them , a shy smile tugging at her lips despite the nervous energy buzzing throughout her . " we're just going to act like we don't know each other now ? "

considers  his  response  ,  swallowing  down  his  breath  before  he  says  anything  else  .  a  shrug  and  a  sudden  shift  between  heels  and  he's  nodding  ,  gaze  finally  meeting  her  own  .  "  it's  easier  if  we  don't  ,  isn't  it  ?  "  the  coward  path  ,  as  his  father  once  called  it  .  he  was  perhaps  too  familiar  with  it  .  "  she  can  be  a  little—  "  a  pause  ,  brows  furrow  a  little  before  he  sighs  ,  offering  her  a  small  grin  .  "  it's  just  better  if  she  doesn't  know  ,  nothing  has  to  change  "

“i’m sorry , but do i know you ? you don’t seem like a regular .”

“that  doesn’t  sound  like  someone  who’s  forgiven  me  for  last  night”  tries  his  luck  ,  knowing  well  enough  it  would  take  him  a  bit  more  than  that  to  earn  anything  other  than  attitude  from  the  femme  .  “i  had  a  work  thing  ,  couldn’t  wait  until  you  finished closing”  head  tilts  slightly  ,  voice  dropping  as  curious  eyes  meet  his  peripheral  .

❝ you loved me once , ❞ argument drenches tongue in a bitterness she's not ready to acknowledge , ❝ all you have to do is pretend you still do . ❞ unfair syllables without malice . . ❝ they'll believe it , they have no reason not to . ❞

mouth      opens      to      tell      her      that      wasn’t      the      problem      ,      at      all      .      he      could      easily      play      pretend      when      his      feelings      remained      untouched      ,      that      wasn’t      the      source      of      his      preoccupation      in      the      slightest      .      “      are      you      sure      ?      “      sighs      ,      hand      brushing      through      curls      as      eyes      search      for      her      own      .      “      i      know      i      can      act      the      part      ,      but      do      you      really      want      to      lie      to      them      ?      “     

"ah ," chuckle falls past brims , nodding his head in realization as he sips from his beer to wash down the feeling loitering around in his stomach . gazes over to the male in question before looking down at her again , "well , mission accomplished . think he's mad and his cousin isn't too happy with his attention being elsewhere ." -- "have to say , that was one hell of a performance . almost had me thinking we were in love ."

gaze  falls  to  the  floor  as  he’s  talking  ,  heat  burning  the  back  of  her  neck  as  she  attempts  to  calm  herself  down  .  tonight  was  meant  to  be  fun  ,  something  to  take  her  mind  off  of  it  and  instead—  comment  pulls  her  away  from  thoughts  ,  rolling  eyes  playfully  though  its  enough  to  spark  them  .  “can  you  say  that  again  and  let  me  tape  it  ?  there’s  a  critic  or  two  that  needs  to  hear  it”  sighs  ,  shoulders  falling  into  place  as  she  stands  straight  ,  moving  closer  to  him  over  the  table  .  “i  doubt  he’s  actually  bothered  but  ,  i  hope  it  ruins  their  night  anyway”

he shakes his head , "you are my business ." always had been , always will be . regardless of what she thought . would always hold her to a high regard , make sure she was okay despite their obvious ups and downs . "yeah , i know you are ," saw them walk in from his office , cameras immediately honing in on her and homme , telling his men to keep an eye on both . "i'm not doing anything , ayla . no one's stopping you , either , except for trying to snoop through my things ."

he  says  it  ,  so  naturally  ,  and  she’s  thrown  off  her  game  for  a  moment  .  blinking  rapidly  before  she’s  forced  to  look  away  ,  mouth  dropping  into  a  line  as  she  takes  a  deep  breath  .  “i’m  not  snooping  through  your  things  ,  i’m  watching  him”  from  afar  ,  even  .  so  what  if  she  tried  to  walk  into  a  room  or  two  that  she  wasn’t  supposed  to  ?  she  hadn’t  actually  managed  to  do  it  .  “i’ll  go  back  to  my  date  and  behave”  hands  rise  in  defeat  ,  finally  finding  his  gaze  again  .  “as  soon  as  my  dad’s  out  the  door”  continues  under  he  breath  ,  a  hint  of  an  apologetic  smile  rising  corners  . 

guilt pours through her , features softening as gaze bounces between his eyes , hoping she could rectify the situation before it got worse . never wanted him to feel unimportant to her , like he was dismissible despite knowing she had to draw the line somewhere . things couldn't get complicated when she had rules in place to avoid situations like this -- emotion entangled with them aside from limbs . "don't be mad at me ," whispers quietly , finally reaching to touch the side of his face as thumb circles skin .

mouth  opens  and  then  closes  up  again  ,  jaw  tensing  under  the  touch  ,  unlike  every  other  time  digits  came  in  contact  with  his  skin  .  “i’m  not  mad  at  you  ,  why  would  i  be  mad  at  you  for  doing  your  job  ?”  humourless  laugh  echoes  through  the  room  .  “like  i  said  ,  i  need  to  leave  anyway”  brows  rise  and  fall  with  words  ,  trying  his  best  to  school  his  features  despite  the  sour  taste  that  dances  on  his  tongue  .  “i’ll  make  the  deposit  as  soon  as  i  get  in  the  car  ,  not  your  fault  they  decided  to  cancel  the  event”  offers  a  smile  posed  as  every  single  one  he’d  given  in  said  attendances  —  one  she’d  know  too  well  .