don't leave me

Buffy the Vampire Slayer | 4.07 - “The Initiative”

The Longest Ride (2015), dir. George Tillman Jr.

THE PROPOSAL (2009)

Spill Your Guts (2019)

corners of lips , once pouty in expression , tug skywards upon hearing the other's agreeance . no further explanation given , though , as a cuticle bitten digit presses against the illuminated push to start . tires soon roar against dampened pavement , evident of a recent summer rain , as palms grip leather - textured wheel . " please . . . don't be jealous . it's so monotonous . it's like , the same boring people , the same mindless conversations , and the same dull music . honestly ? i just go because there , i don't have to feel or think . you know ? not to get all fucking deep on you and everything right now . "

maiya risked a glance , the point of the conversation hadn't been to pry , but now opportunity had arose she couldn't stop herself . " i get it . i mean look at me , i just got out of rehab because i took it too far . just be careful , don't end up like me , it fucking sucks but i know just how stupidly good it feels at the time . " she tapped her fingers against her legs . " have you been having any therapy or anything ? it's actually a fucking life saver and i never thought it would be . "

           her friends had been ADAMANT that the man before her was someone she wouldn't want to be associated with , their protests if anything drove her closer . all her life she was coddled , first by a doting mother & then by her friends , it was if no one trusted her to make her own decisions . though looking at her medical history it wasn't a judgement that far off the mark . his honey coated words make it easy to push all of the things plaguing her aside for the moment , well , minus the self-deprecating talk she was unable to shake . ❛    i think i need to get that in writing . you would be a great motivational speaker you know .    ❜ she manages a sly joke , girlish charm rolling off her in waves . the champagne in sights was a welcome relief , it'd subdue her nerves & numb the OVERTHINKING running wild in her mind . never mind she'd given sobriety the boot , he didn't need to know that . ❛    to us .    ❜ she echoes , clinking flute against his own & taking a sip .

louie was well aware of the stories she'd be told about him , and how true they were . but he didn't need talia to know that . he wanted her to see the charming side of him , the one that could promise the world . and thankfully for him , she didn't want to seem to listen to any of her friends . " maybe i missed my true calling in life , it'd explain why it took me so long to get my damn oscar. " he chuckled . he lifted his glass to her and took a sip . he sat down on the edge of the boat and looked out at the view . " i've never taken a woman out here before . " not a lie , but a line used time and time again . special ' spots ' he'd created for each woman . " i just have a really good feeling about us . i haven't felt this hopeful and excited about someone in a long time . "

           ❛    i won't start on how many different levels of wrong that is .    ❜ isabella groans , mostly to herself , feeling sorry for the life maiya was thrusted into without a choice . similarly to how she'd found herself in the spotlight , being the youngest kameron sibling meant she was made to go along with it since THEIR MOM HAD CONTROL over them . ❛    alright hot shot , what kinda cool aunt would i be if i let you go to jail for trying to beat up a marvel actor ?    ❜ brows raise , a eerily responsible look shot in her niece's direction .   ❛    i'm proud of you mai , being sober isn't easy . you'll get there one day , flirting is never a walk in the park no matter what state you're in . at least you have your music to fall back on . let me know when you're in the studio next & i'll swing by . a good ode or a BAD ONE ? like how much damage control is glam-ma gonna have to do ?    ❜

" probably , but you just get used to it don't you ? " she laughed a little . " uh the best kinda cool aunt . it also wouldn't be my first rodeo in jail . i can take it ... and him . " she flexed her muscles , proving she was tough . " but seriously is , if you ever wanna talk about it , i'm here for you . " she promised her . she gave issy a smile and a small nudge . " don't you go getting soppy on me now is . " she laughed . " but thank you , i'm trying . it fucking sucks but i'm really trying . " she knew that was all that she could do , her best . " but i used to be great at it . liquid confidence i guess . oh definitely a bad ode . would it be me if i did something sweet ? probably a fucking shit tonne but at least it's truthful . "

Part  of  Maggie  wasn’t  surprised  by  Oliver  coming  up  to  speak  to  her,  knowing  that  it  had  never  been  in  his  nature  to  be  cruel.  At  least,  she  hadn’t  thought  so  before  things  ended  with  them.  It  was  part  of  the  reason  she  had  been  drawn  to  him  in  the  first  place.  So  when  she  allowed  herself  to  be  led  away  from  the  crowds,  Maggie’s  entire  body  relaxed,  only  briefly,  before  she  put  back  up  her  guard  around  him.  Magpie,  the  nickname  struck  a  chord  within  her  that  she  hadn’t  realized  was  still  there  and  her  lips  pursed  as  she  calculated  a  reply  to  him.  “Yeah,  within  the  next  couple  of  months  it  should  be  published.  I’m  getting  ready  to  send  in  the  final  edits.  I  took  a  night  off  for  this  event  –  my  agent  insisted  and  it  was  one  I  could  stomach.”  Hands  folded  in  front  of  her  as  a  barrier,  Maggie  reasoned  with  herself  that  they  were  being  civil  and  that  was  something  she  could  manage.  Yet,  without  warning,  the  words  slipped  from  her  lips  that  she  had  been  wondering  about  since  he  walked  up  to  her.  “I’m  not  going  to  lie,  Oliver,  I’m  a  little  confused  as  to  why  you  wanted  to  speak  with  me  at  all.”

ollie had never stopped loving maggie , had never even come close . but he had a past she couldn't know about . a whole world he couldn't have her attached to for her own protection . if something happened to her at the hands of his family , he would never ever forgive himself . and he knew he could so easily tap into that part of himself that would burn down the world to protect her and that terrified him . that part of himself he always tried to keep buried down so low , to be a bigger and better person than he was taught to be . " i hope you don't mind that i'll read it . i don't think i couldn't . not when i know just how amazing your writing is . " he wasn't actually sure what he was doing , why he was talking to her . perhaps it was just to reassure himself he wasn't hated . but then again maybe being hated would be better than learning she felt nothing for him , a truth he wouldn't be able to handle , but one that would be entirely valid . " i don't know why i did either . i just saw you here and my feet did the rest . " he said in part honesty , after all he couldn't tell her that he was desperate to see if she still cared . " i'm just wandering if enough time has passed that we can be cordial and don't have to avoid each other at these events anymore . or if i'm still the last person you want to talk to . " and some part of him was hoping for the latter . a sadistic sign that she cared .