* lover / friend

❛ no,  don't  ‘kai’  me.  i  came  here  with  her  and  yet  i'm  standing  here  with  you,  telling  you  that  you  come  before  her.  ❜  he  paused,  eyes  darting  towards  her.  ❛ if  that  doesn't  mean  something,  then  i  don't  know  what  does.  ❜  he  was  sick  of  pretending.  of  acting  like  the  girls  he  would  mess  around  with  could  even  compare  to  kenya.  none  of  them  could.  once  he  realized  that  kenya's  eyes  were  on  his…  situation  at  the  moment,  he  sighed.  ❛ you  don't  have  to  stare  bullets  into  her,  y'know.  ❜

"   you   make   it   sound   like   it's   supposed   to   be   romantic.   "   she   bit   back   quickly.   it   kind   of   was.   femme   turned   to   look   him   in   the   eye,   "   it's   easier   to   look   at   her   than   to   look   at   you.   "   because   then   it   wasn't   as   easy   to   act   unbothered.   dark   hues   studied   his   face   for   a   moment.   the   sharp   line   of   his   jaw,   the   bridge   of   his   nose   and   those   eyes.   "   you'd   do   it?   "   let's   the   question   linger   in   the   air   between   them   for   a   second.   "   you'd   tell   her   it   was   over,   right   now,   if   ...   if   i   wanted   you   to?   "

❛ what,  is  she  prettier  than  me  now?  ❜  he  fake  gasped,  rolling  his  eyes  playfully.  he  got  serious  again  when  she  asked  her  question  though,  mainly  because  he  didn't  know  how  to  answer  it  without  sounding  like  an  emotionless  asshole,  but  also  because  it  was  hard  to  hear  himself  say  it.  ❛ i  would.  no  questions  asked.  i'd  go  tell  her  that  i  hope  she  meets  the  man  of  her  dreams  and  take  you  home  so  we  can  leave  this  shitty  party  with  it's  shitty  music.  ❜

there  was  a..  not  so  subtle  look  that  chloe  gave  oren,  her  eyes  raking  up  and  down  his  body  before  she  looked  forward  again,  shrugging  her  shoulders.  ❛ i  guess  you  could  say  that..  ❜  it  wasn't  necessarily  untrue,  but  it  was  nothing  official…  nothing  too  serious.  nowhere  near  as  serious  as  she  was  with  oren.  she  couldn't  give  that  same  access  to  a  different  person.  she  paused  at  his  words,  releasing.a  laugh  straight  from  her  stomach.  ❛ that's  it?  it's  cute?  jesus  christ,  oren.  you  really  have  nothing  nice  to  say,  do  you?  you're  grasping  at  straws  here.  if  you  have  something  you  wanna  say,  you  might  as  well  say  it.  ❜

"don't go saying things on my behalf." there's not much of a ring of sharpness in oren's tone. it was hard to form it. when in the presence of the new partner, he could feel that rush of feelings that he had resigned to the back of his mind and heart. chloe had him rolling his eyes down and away before looking back up. "it is cute. they're cute; there's nothing wrong with me saying it. i get it; it's lighting up the room," oren added. again, not any sort of lie in there. just a seething jealous boiling beneath. why not him? "what's that 'i guess you could say that' thing? what's on your mind?"

❛ i'm  not  saying  a  thing  on  your  behalf,  oren.  trust  me.  ❜  chloe  found  this  little  game  they  played  childish,  yet  entertaining.  time  and  time  again  they'd  break  up,  find  someone  else,  and  try  to  make  the  other  jealous  just  for  the  same  thing  to  happen  all  over  again.  it  was  a  bad  habit  that  neither  of  them  seemed  to  be  trying  to  break.  ❛ they're  okay.  but  they  aren't  you.  yours  is  a  lot  cuter.  ❜  it  was  the  first  genuine  thing  she'd  said  to  oren  the  entire  night.  because  she  did  mean  it.  she  had  a  lot  on  her  mind.  a  lot  that  probably  shouldn't  have  been  when  she  came  to  this  party  with  someone  else  on  her  arm.  ❛ you.  you've  been  the  only  thing  on  my  mind  for  a  while.  ❜

when  kenzo's  little  sister  told  him  to  audition  for  love  island  as  a  joke,  he  didn't  think  that  a  few  months  later  he'd  actually  be  in  fiji  with  a  bunch  of  men  and  women  looking  for  love.  honestly,  he  didn't  even  see  himself  as  an  og.  he  thought  he'd  get  pushed  aside  as  a  bombshell,  but  he  was  dedicated.  he  already  had  fame,  so  this  wasn't  a  money  grab  for  him.  he  was  ready  to  genuinely  find  love.  now,  would  he  still  take  full  advantage  of  the  situation  at  hand?  of  course!  he  was  in  fucking  fiji  on  love  island,  what  man  wouldn't?  he  watched  enola  as  she  spoke  and  her  energy  captivated  him  long  before  words  were  uttered.  by  his  surprise,  she  spok  to  him  first,  it  honestly  caught  him  by  pure  surprise.  ❛  shit,  you  really  beat  me  to  it,  ❜  low  rumbles  came  from  his  chest,  signifying  amusement.  ❛  i'm  not  gon'  move  too  fast,  we  can  go  to  the  dock.  ❜  he  gestured  his  head  over  to  the  general  area,  placing  a  hand  on  her  back  as  he  guided  her  there,  trying  not  to  be  too  eager.

enola smiled brightly at him with a giggle. “ well i obviously had to shoot my shot. that's the point of this place, right ?? feeling everything out and seeing what connections you have with everybody. ” she nodded, happy to hear that he didn't want to move too fast. “ sounds good, lead the way !! ” a chill ran up her spine at the slight touch on her back, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a while. “ it's all still so surreal, isn't it ?? ” she asked as they both got situated. “ alright, you first !! tell me all the things !! what was life like growing up for you ?? do you have a big family ?? ” normally when she got anxious she asked a bunch of questions. the more she got used to talking to a person, the calmer she got. she felt like she had electricity running through her veins as she sat on the dock, evening sea breeze blowing gently through her hair. “ sorry, i get chatty when i'm nervous. ”

❛ well,  i  gotta  appreciate  a  beautiful  woman  with  game.  ❜  he  chuckled,  guiding  her  with  ease.  he  hadn't  expected  to  meet  his  type  within  his  first  hour  on  the  island,  but  he  was  not  going  to  complain  at  all.  especially  not  when  he  was  being  blessed  with  a  beauty.  ❛ me  first?  wow,  okay.  i  guess  you  could  say  i  got  a  pretty  big  family.  i'm  the  oldest  of  three,  i  have  two  little  sisters.  grew  up  with  sports  my  whole  life.  i  played  football  for  a  bit  in  high  school  till  i  realized  i  wasn't  tryna  get  CTE…  so  i  quick  immediately  after  i  found  out.  so  now  i  play  ball  professionally,  and  i  have  been  since  college.  ❜  he  gestured  towards  her  with  a  goofy  smile  on  his  face,  signaling  that  he  was  done  with  his  spiel.  ❛ don't  apologize,  gorgeous.  you  have  personality  and  i'm  tryna  find  out  about  it.  so  cmon,  tell  me  all  about  you.  everything.  you  got  nothin'  to  be  nervous  about.  ❜

knees  pressed  towards  her  chest,  jasmine's  breathing  felt  shallow  looking  at  the  pregnancy  test  in  her  hands.  she  distantly  heard  the  door  open  downstairs,  but  she  made  no  efforts  to  run  towards ‎ it,  which  was  uncharacteristic  of  her.  seeing  the  smile  on  his  face  made  her  feel  bad  for  not  being  so  excited,  but  it  was  hard  to  be  when  she  had  a  zygote  forming  inside  her.  ❛  hi...  ❜  she  sounded  almost  breathless,  hardly  giving  him  a  glance  as  he  sat  down  next  to  her.  ❛  uhm…  yeah.  my  period  was  late  so  i  took  a  test…  i  guess  i'm  pregnant.  ❜  it  wasn't  that  she  wasn't  excited,  it  was  that  she  was  in  shock.  she  was  dating  a  professional  basketball  player  and  was  pregnant  with  his  baby.  it  wasn't  that  she  immediately  assumed  he'd  be  negative  about  it,  not  in  the  slightest.  it  was  that  she  was  worried  about  how  this  would  look  for  his  image.

york frowned slightly at her lack of excitement. “ what's wrong babe ?? i thought you wanted us to have kids .. ” he said, reaching over and taking the test from her hand. he looked it over, not being able to help the excitement grow in his chest. it's not like they'd struggle taking care of a baby, they loved each other. hell, york had been thinking about ways to propose. her being pregnant just added to him wanting her to forever be a part of his life and his future. “ you know that i'm good with this ... right ?? always wanted to be a dad, even more so when i met you. ” he said putting his arm around her to pull her close, wondering if it was reassurance that she needed. “ if you're not ready yet, i understand but if you're worried i'm not ready... i am ready for this. i've been ready for this. i love you and if we have this baby, they will have the most beautiful, coolest, most kind and caring mom in the world. ”

❛ i  do  wanna  have  kids..  and  i  am  excited.  i  guess  i'm  just..  worried?  i  don't  know.  ❜  it  sounded  silly  when  jasmine  tried  explaining  it.  because  how  could  a  grown  ass  woman  with  a  boyfriend  she  was  happily  in  love  with  possibly  be  afraid  of  children?  she  looked  down  at  their  hands  together,  and  it  effortlessly  put  a  smile  on  her  face.  york  didn't  usually  have  to  try  too  hard  to  put  a  smile  on  her  face.  ❛ i  knew  you  were  good  with  it…  but  it  feels  better  to  hear  you  say  it.  ❜  a  sigh  of  relief  took  over  her  body  as  he  pulled  her  closer,  prompting  her  to  lay  her  head  on  his  shoulder.  ❛ i'm  glad  you're  here.  i  don't  think  anyone  else  would've  been  able  to  reassure  me  like  you  can.  i  don't  want  you  to  think  i'm  not  excited..  i'm  beyond  excited  to  have  your  baby.  i'm  just  nervous.  ❜

esma's been enthralled by them since they started modeling for her class a few weeks ago. she can't stop thinking about them, blushing as soon as they walk through the room ( and it's becoming a problem ). heart beats rapidly as class ends and they walk near her, causing her to drop all of her supplies and they fall at their feet. "oh my god," she's flustered as she leans down to pick up her things. "i'm…i'm not usually this klutzy, i swear," laughs softly, but doesn't dare lift her gaze to meet theirs.

jasper  practically  flew  to  the  ground  to  help  esma  pick  up  her  supplies,  offering  her  a  soft  smile.  ❛ you're  fine,  sweetheart.  really.  ❜  the  subtle  country  accent  tingling  the  back  of  his  tone  as  he  spoke.  he  safely  holds  her  supplies,  offering  his  arms  out  for  her  to  give  them  to  him.  ❛ i  insist.  we  don't  need  you  getting  red  for  the  rest  of  the  evening.  ❜  a  deep  chuckle  left  his  throat,  trying  to  show  her  that  there  was  no  need  to  be  shy  or  embarrassed,  that  he  was  someone  she  could  get  comfortable  with. 

cass' eyes had found them earlier - - his heart had skipped several beats and he felt as if all the air in his lungs was stolen. once his date was wrapped up in conversation with others, he slips away and secretly swoops by them ( the one he was forbidden to love ), taking their hand in his and guiding them outside. "i can't…" there's a tremble in his voice, and he's pacing frantically, "i can't watch you with someone else."

the  abruptness  in  cass'  pace  threw  mercedes  for  a  loop,  though  she  should've  expected  this.  they  found  themselves  in  a  sticky  situation,  one  that  words  wouldn't  do  much  to  fix.  once  the  cool  breeze  was  brushing  against  her  flushed  skin  with  the  moonlight  shining  down  upon  the  two,  she  let  out  a  breath  she  didn't  know  she  was  holding.  ❛ what?  and  you  think  this  is  easy  for  me?  it's  not,  cass.  there's  not  much  i  can  do.  there's  not  much  you  can  do  either.  ❜

something  in  alex's  gut  was  telling  him  to  pay  attention,  to  keep  giving  nicco  a  hard  time.  it  was  telling  him  to  continue  to  argue  instead  of  letting  go  of  it.  but  his  heart,  as  corny  as  it  was,  was  telling  him  the  complete  opposite.  he  wanted  to  just  let  it  go.  to  be  the  idiot  believing  that  when  he  said  he'd  change,  that  he  would.  ❛ i  just  want  you  to  start  telling  me  the  truth,  nicco.  i  promise  you,  this  is  the  last  time.  ❜  there  was  no  sign  of  humor  found  on  alex's  features.  he  was  deadass  serious  about  this.  ❛ you  have  one  more  time  to  lie  to  me.  it  could  be  about  anything,  and  you'll  never  see  me  again.  i  can  promise  you  that.  ❜  some  sick  part  of  alex  wished  he  was  joking,  but  he  wasn't.  for  the  most  part,  it  was  because  he  wasn't  asking  for  a  lot.  he  was  asking  for  honesty,  and  that  wasn't  hard.  so  if  it  was  impossible  for  nicco  to  change  his  actions?  it  would  show  nicco  exactly  who  he  was  fucking  around  with.

the truth was , nicco would keep up this little game forever until he got what he wanted. whatever happened after that , well , nicco liked to consider that not his business despite it being his entire brain that was currently in the middle of an obsessive episode. " i'll start telling you the truth. " it's parroted , and nicco believes for a spit second maybe he can be this person that alex needs. how hard was telling the truth ? pretty hard , if you asked him , but maybe he could . . . try. " so what you're saying is i can have another chance ? " it was almost like he wasn't listening at all. " i promise you won't regret this. i promise. " nicco doesn't deserve this and he'd most likely fuck up again , but he was creeping towards a win , and that's all he was seeking right now.

all  it  took  was  one  second.  one  split  second  for  alex  to  completely  reliquinsh  the  animosity  that  bloomed  in  his  chest  for  nicco.  he  believed  him.  and  that  split  second  of  belief  was  all  it  took  for  him  to  decide  to  just  let  it  go.  he  was  sick  of  being  so  irritated  all  the  damn  time.  ❛ okay…  good.  that's  all  i  wanted.  ❜  he  sighed,  because  for  some  strange  reason,  something  in  the  back  of  his  mind  was  telling  him  to  keep  his  guards  up.  ❛ yeah..  yes.  i'm  giving  you  another  chance.  one  more  chance,  that's  it.  after  this?  i  won't  speak  to  you  ever  again.  it'll  deadass  be  like  i  never  existed.  ❜

〝   when   are   you   gonna   stop   telling   me   you   like   me,   that   you   love   kissing   me   and   how   much   you   wanna   be   with   me,   'cause   as   soon   as   the   morning   hits,   you're   running   back   to   them.   〞

❛ that's  such  fucking  bullshit,  ❜  though  he  knew  it  was  true,  azriel  would  rather  argue  than  admit  his  faults,  and  admit  that  he  wasn't  the  best  to  kennedi.  he  showed  his  love  in  all  the  worst,  and  it  was  the  most  cowardly  thing  he'd  ever  done  in  his  life.  ❛ you  know  i  love  you.  ❜

〝   you   say   you   got   a   girl,   and   how   do   you   want   me   –––   how   d’you   want   me   when   you’ve   got   a   girl?   〞

❛ how  could  anyone  not  want  you?  how  could  i  not  want  you?  ❜  for  the  first  time  in  his  life,  kenzo  was  left  dumbfounded  by  her  question.  charley  meant  so  much  to  him,  but  he  was  an  incompetent  asshole  who  had  issues  expressing  his  feelings,  so  it  was  hard  for  that  to  be  recieved.  but  he  did  love  her.  more  than  anyone,  especially  more  than  this  girl  he  was  entertaining.  ❛ she's  not  you,  charley.  you  really  think  i  could  replace  you  that  easy?  ❜

〝   you   remind   me   of   a   girl   that   i   once   knew,   see   her   face   whenever   i   look   at   you.   〞

❛ wow,  i  can't  say  there's  been  too  many  times  i  heard  that.  ❜  her  eyes  narrowed,  looking  asher  up  and  down.  she  was  honestly  trying  to  figure  out  if  she  was  supposed  to  receive  that  as  a  compliment  or  not.  ❛ for  some  strange  reason  i  don't  think  that's  a  good  thing.  ❜