[ OVERDRIVE!! ]

      she really didn’t want to hear his excuses. not because she held some extraordinary grudge against him or anything. hell, now that he was here she wasn’t even that upset. just the sight of his face, panicked and red as it was, made her heart act all stupid. it was annoying but welcome.

     she didn’t want to hear his frantic excuses because, well, they were making her fall in love.

     people scarcely gave her the time of day, barely looked at her twice, and any looks she was likely to get would be glares or simple disgust. and here was some kid. feeling like he owed her. it… made her want to cry even more. but she knew he would take it the wrong way… he clearly thought he fucked up- an maybe he had. but that was already so far from her mind. the past was the past, no matter how recent. that’s what she told herself. 

     standing slowly, she quietly moves to where roman knelt. he looked so sad… broken maybe. she reaches out and places a small hand on his head, running her fingers through his hair gently and smiling, eyes still reminiscent or recent tears. 

      it was probably stupid of him to reach for her face as her hand ran over his scalp-- but he did it anyways. he found his knees pushing upwards and his hand running across his eyes to hopefully save some face. he remembers his height when the difference becomes apparent again. god, he had made such an ass out of himself, didn't he? and he embarrassed himself to no end. oh well, it can only go up from rock bottom. 

      so he moves his hand around to the back of her neck and pulls her into his chest. it's not a comfortable position for him to lean over her, maybe attempting a cradle. but he thinks it's right to do. what does roman gallagher know about this kind of shit anyways? absolutely nothing. 

     she showered for this. a gross thought, that only a special occasion could motivate someone to seek out personal hygiene, but, well. when you live at a public park, carry all your belongings on your back, and refuse help in most forms- what can you really expect? whether she was excited or not, it didn’t much matter when 5pm came and went and still no roman. her heart had toggled from a fast beating to a sunken thumping as she realized he wasn’t coming. maybe it was a joke after all? maybe he and his “not-so-friends” were watching her, laughing at the stupid smile that had been on her face as she waited. well, the smile was gone now. 

      the smile was gone and in it’s wake, stubborn tears at begun to crawl down her reddened cheeks. she never cried. well.. not that she would admit it. but as she sat in the deserted park with dashed hope in the pit of her stomach, russell cried. sobbed even.

      she had all but ceased when a heavy panting and a muffled thud pulled her attention to the left. oh. he was here. she didn’t trust the rise in her chest, nor did she trust her voice. what if it quivered? what if she started crying again? maybe she should pull a knife on him… 

     his arms are just floating around, wondering where to go. he's unsure if she should hug her, leave her alone, slap himself, let her hit him. how did these things work? it wasn't enough that he was blaming himself, but now she was crying. 

     "god, i'm so fuckin' sorry russ! i-- i really tried to make it on time, i'm sorry!" he's unsure if his words even mean anything to her, but he wants to prove them. he's awkward and bright red and honestly his emotions and self confidence are all over the place right now. but, he's sure it can't be as bad for himself as it is for her. 

    "shit, shit. my mom was barkin' at me for 'letting' jessie ruin my brothers xbox, and i refused to pay for a new one, i got grounded and-- and--!" all the excuses in the world want to fly out of his mouth. but soon the rapid fire words die down, and instead of a panicked voice, it's hushed instead. his eyes dart to her and he falls straight onto his knees and tries to look straight at her, he's glossed over though. his words are never natural, they never seem right to him.