You deserved better than you got

“I bought thirty beers.”

“I have the underwear!”

“Why won’t you two just kiss?”

“I accidentally watered the cat.”

“I don’t want an award, I want money.”

“I feel like traitor, and I’m okay with that.”

“Should you really be mailing me these?”

“Don’t talk to me. I’m trying to be productive.”

“How is this growing here, I don’t understand?”

“I have seven diamonds. Why am I still broke?”

“How do I transfer this money to my real wallet?”

“I gave you an entire fish. Why won’t you love me?”

“Why won’t he love me? How can I get him to love me?”

“I took twenty salads with me, and it still wasn’t enough.”

“Why do I have to do all the socializing? It’s exhausting.”

“Maybe if I believe real hard, I can make time move faster.”

“I want to sneak into his house and leave pizza on his bed.”

“I have given you flowers. You are now required to date me.”

“I am a little chaos goblin, and I’m gonna put trash in the soup.”

“I’m gonna run through town with his underwear over my head.”

“I refuse to bow to Big Season. I’ll plant what I want, when I want.”

“Why doesn’t everybody work on MY schedule? This is bullhonkey.”

“I stood outside with my face pressed to his door until he opened it.”

“I’ve given away so much money in gifts, and for what? Mild tolerance.”

“If I don’t do good enough, I feel like his ghost is gonna come break my knees.”

“I, too, want to denounce civilization and live out in the middle of nowhere in a tent.”

“I’m never gonna dance, again… mostly because I asked her to and she said, ‘ew’.”

“Do you think they get worried when they see me standing in the corner for three, straight hours?”

“I don’t care about your cookies! …I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get mad, I’m under a lot of pressure right now.”

“I accidentally threw away my hoe… that’s not a bad joke, I’ve made a terrible error my crops will never recover from.”

Russell briefly thought about saying something about the string and not to hurt himself, but then decided not to. He didn't need to push his luck.

"Oh, uh, yeah, that," Russell said. So Damien did come because of that. He hadn't wanted want to make him worry or feel like he had to make amends just because he had narrowly avoided a gruesome fate, "I, I didn't either... I, I just didn't know how, how to try and, and reconnect. I'm sorry. No, you, you don't need to apologise. You never need to, to apologise for, for that, and I'm okay. A bit shaken that, that it could have happened but... heh, not the first time a cat has, has helped to save my life."

He nodded.

"I'm doing good. I've uh... I've been sober for a while now. It's still hard somedays. Really hard. But, I'm doing it." He smiled a little and looked back down at his hands.

No. It really couldn't have been.

"It's, it's real good to, to see you, Damien," Russell said, with a small smile.

He had no idea if Damien knew about the elevator crash and he wasn't about to bring it up. If anything, the thought that Damien had come to see him because of it made him feel a little guilty himself. He had made Damien worry.

"I heard... about the elevator," he explained, "and I guess it shook something in me. I don't want there to be a rift be-between us forever. You know? I uh... I uh-I'm sorry it took that happening for a wake up call."

Damien looked down at this hands, watching as the thread pulled tight around his index finger, the tip turning a shade of purple before he unwrapped it.

@someflareoutwithlove

Despite being a bit shaken up from this morning's incident, getting to work and starting his shift had gone on with otherwise little fanfare. That had been blasted all over social media and a news crew had gone to report it, but he was otherwise okay.

Russell was manning the shop part of Hidden Gems today, and he had just updated the list of new releases for the coming couple of months and shelved some physical copies that had just arrived. But then there was a familiar jingle as the door opened. Russell looked up and was about to give his usual polite 'morning' and modest wave when the word died instantly.

Damien had heard people talking about the elevator crash that happened at his friends apartment. And how some blonde man narrowly missed being in it. OF course, he was able to put two and two together pretty quickly.

The realization dawned in him in seconds. His friend could have died. And died without Damien having reached out to him since everything happened. He wasn't as mad as Gracie was about it all, and he knew how bad Russell felt about it from the start. Witch only made the guilt Damien felt more intense. He wanted to reach out to Russell, so badly. But the longer it took him, the worse he felt pushing him away even more.

Eyes

"Can you focus on me?"

"Hey... I'm over here?"

"What are you looking at?"

"Whoa, hey - sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

"I'm - I'm right in front of you."

"Can you... can you not see?"

"When did you lose your vision?"

"Hey, it's okay - it's okay. Let me take your hand and lead you."

"Don't be scared - it'll be okay. We'll fix it."

"Don't flinch - I'm going to touch you."

Ears

"Hello? Hellloooo?"

"Are you ignoring me?"

"God, you never pay attention -"

"I'm talking to you!"

"Why aren't you listening?"

"Pay attention!"

"Listen!"

"Can you not hear me or something?"

"Why are you looking at me like that..?"

"What - wait... you can't hear? Why am I saying this you can't hear it."

Mouth

"Why are you making that face? I spent ages cooking that."

"Why are you adding salt to that?"

"Whoa, you're drooling like crazy."

"Are you choking?"

"Bland? How can it be bland?"

"I can't taste anything."

"My mouth just tastes like blood."

"Everything tastes of nothing."

"My tongue's gone numb."

"Bleh."

Nose

"Eugh, can't you smell that?"

"Oh, that smells hideous."

"It reeks in here!"

"You stink."

"I think I broke my nose."

"I can't smell anything?"

"I think I've gone nose-blind."

"Should I... be able to smell anything?"

"I think I burnt my nostril hairs out."

"Everything just smells like smoke."

Feeling

"I think I just burnt my fingerprints off."

"My hands have gone numb."

"I can't - I can't feel anything. At all."

"Are you touching me? I can't tell -"

"Your hands are shaking."

"Okay - if you're going to keep dropping things you need to put them down."

"Can you feel this?"

"I'm going to run my fingers through your hair."

"I'm taking your hand."

He put one hand on his hip and shrugged the other outward as he looked around him. The life they had was one most people only dreamed of. Or, that's how it seemed. A big house, with luxuries a lot of people could only look at. The hadn't had this all of Jimmy's life but enough that he barley remembered what it was like before.

“I get drunk on jealousy.”

“So hey, let’s be friends.”

“Be that girl for a month.”

“Find out what you want.”

“Ain’t it funny, rumors fly?”

“Oh my God, who is she?“

“New money, suit and tie.”

“Cherry lips, crystal skies.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

“They’ll tell you I’m insane.”

“We’ll take this way too far.”

“Stolen kisses, pretty lies…”

“Got a long list of ex lovers.”

“Love’s a game, wanna play?“

“I can make all the tables turn.”

“You look like my next mistake.”

“Wait, the worst is yet to come.”

“I can read you like a magazine.”

“Magic, madness, heaven, sin…”

“Boys only want love if it’s torture.”

“And I know you heard about me.”

“Grab your passport and my hand.”

“I could show you incredible things.”

“I’m dying to see how this one ends.”

“Nice to meet you, where you been?”

“Screaming, crying, perfect storms…”

“You’re the king, baby, I’m your queen.”

“'Cause we’re young and we’re reckless.”

“But, you’ll come back each time you leave.”

“It’ll leave you breathless, or with a nasty scar.”

“I can make the bad guys good for a weekend.”

“But I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll write your name.”

“So, it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames.”

“'Cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”

“'Cause you know I love the players and you love the game.”

“Saw you there and I thought, ‘Oh my God, look at that face’.”