with an eye roll, damian lifted his spoon, bitterly taking another bite of his ice cream - clearly not appreciating the interruption. “are you sure about that? because it’s getting kind of sad, frankly. like, i get it, whatever, you’re ‘living the bachelor life’, but the vibe i’m getting is crazy cat lady.” maybe a bit harsher than called for, but hey, roman had asked for it when he’d decided to hush him. 

while  it  seemed  hunter  had  fully  processed  the  whole  idea  of  the  two  of  them  practically  being  engaged  already,  blythe  was  still  in  the  process  of  letting  it  sink  in.  “  hunter!  ”  she  gasped  once  again,  placing  her  hand  in  front  of  her  and  taking  a  good  look  at  the  ring  on  her  finger.  suddenly  it  made  sense  how  much  she  just  loved  the  way  it  looked,  how  it  was  practically  her  dream  ring  that  she’d  described  to  him  so  many  times  before.  dark  hues  quickly  dart  back  up  at  the  male  in  front  of  her,  a  huge  grin  forming  on  her  lips.  “  you  can  try  and  pry  this  ring  from  my  cold,  dead  body,  fiancé.  ”  blythe  smirked  at  him,  noticing  the  slightly  worried  look  on  his  face.  the  word  flowed  seamlessly  from  her  lips,  feeling  so  right  and  so  natural  at  that  very  moment.  the  femme  was  aware  of  her  delayed  reaction  to  the  proposal–  it  was  just  such  a  huge  thing  for  her.  for  them.

“  are  you  gonna  come  over  here  and  kiss  me,  or  what?  ”  she  said  teasingly,  wanting  to  let  him  know  that  she  was  saying  yes  once  again.  this  time  with  the  knowledge  of  his  full  intentions  and  just  to  give  him  the  yes  that  was  just  for  him  and  not  the  crowd  of  people  around  them.  

once she gave him the comfort he needed in knowing her yes was sincere, he was grinning ear to ear, as he did so often. confidence & pride radiating, but for the first time in a light that didn’t outshine others. or at the very least, didn’t outshine HERS. the way she beamed at him was mesmerizing, & all the reassurance he needed that he made the right choice when asking her their favourite dinner date question ----- for real. “ why would i dare ? you’d definitely kill me first. ” laughter filled the air more seamlessly now, without the weight of the small part of him that had to remain concerned that a commitment this large was against his nature, & a girl like her could never be his to cherish. it was a deep thought to find himself in, so he usually ignored it. & maybe he was still, hoping for the best & diving into something he was afraid of. if anyone was worth facing fears for, blythe would be the only one.

standing from his chair, hunter walked around the table to be at her legs once more, lowering himself to kiss her again. though he couldn’t do so as passionately as he did in every performance they put on. this time it was real, & this time he was happy. not for free treats or the sound of applause, but for real. & that was hard to ignore. & smiling that wide while kissing your dream girl wasn’t as easy as it looked.

He didn’t say anything, opting for silence at the moment. Perhaps if he didn’t say anything, she’d let it go, or attribute it to a joke. However, as the next couple of questions piled upon him, Gabriel realized she wouldn’t think that. This was so dumb, he knew he shouldn’t have agreed to this. “Okay…yeah, I do know your family,” he admitted. “No, come on, Evelyn. It’s not like that. I’m not hired to do anything…I can explain, give me a minute.” 

evelyn’s surprise was often matched with anger. frustration wasn’t something she handled well, & what felt like betrayal would always cause her to react with flames. there was no easy way for her to rationalize when it came to family. she had passion in her heart, so when it felt broken or even dented, it was her who’d lose all sense of self in fighting back. “ you can explain ? really ? i wouldn’t have guessed, because you didn’t ! ” heated & ready to burn bridges, evelyn did what she did best & paced, readily looking for anything to grab & run out of here. whether it be a strong drink, a credit card, or someone’s left shoe just to piss them off - she’d do it. & if he knew her at all ( which at this point she was unsure if she wanted or not ) he’d probably catch on. not that it’d stop her from trying. “ you’re a con artist then ? paid actor maybe ? is this the worst episode of punked ever produced?! ”

they  broke  up  for  a  very  good  reason,  and  emerald  had  planned  for  the  both  of  them  to  stay  broken  up.  this,  however,  was  the  complete  opposite  of  said  plans.  “  no,  no,  no.  this  has  to  be  some  sort  of  mistake.  ”  she  shook  her  head,  barely  acknowledging  his  words  as  she  began  to  pace  around  the  room.  “  did  you  do  this?  they  couldn’t  have  possibly  matches  us  together.  that’s–  no.  tell  me  this  is  a  prank,  jasper.  ”  emerald  glanced  at  him  briefly,  cursing  herself  for  not  bringing  a  phone  today.  of  all  the  people  she  could  be  paired  up  with  to  marry,  it  just  had  to  be  her  ex  that  she  had  sworn  off  from.

unfortunately, though he probably should have expected it, emerald wasn’t nearly as happy to see him as he had hoped. her behavior was exactly what could have been expected, but he would never. to imagine her not falling for him again, wishing to take back their years apart, & rekindle the broken relationship they left behind ----- it just wasn’t something he felt capable of. even now, seeing her like this, rejecting him again. he still wished for the right thing to happen. for them to be okay again. & he’d do everything in his power to make it happen. “ em, please. ” as erratic as he could be, he stayed calm to come out of this not scaring her away again. it was him trying his best, just to get the results he wanted. “ how could i have ? i’m no con man. you know that. you know me. ” you love me. oh how he willed it to be so. “ please, calm down. we can talk. or not talk. we can just ----- try. ” to make this work ? to be what he always dreamed ? that was the goal. even if she couldn’t see it now, jasper remained determined to see that reality become tangible right in front of her.