⤷ @godunlap : you never listen.
jesus fucking christ. there's a rifled sigh that leaves their lips, a blown-out, dramatized huff that ends with hands falling limp to sides and a characteristic eye roll, those of which cate has stood at the receiving end of plenty of times over the course of these past three years. except, now, where they stood, none of this could be passed off as juvenile conflict — hardly the drama born of sticking a few thousand something-teens in one concentrated campus hell-bent on competition and strife. no, this was real life; real shit, with real lives at stake, none of the superficiality of days past to be seen. well, maybe a bit. jordan never considered themselves above pettiness. it was fun sometimes, most of the time, sue them !
" i never listen ? i ? me ? " their head sticks out, body bent, as if snaking around to meet cate's gaze for emphasis. " if you want me to listen so fuckin' badly, you know what to do, cate. make me another god damn puppet, make me listen. you seemed eager enough to do it last-fuckin'-year before marie blew your fuckin' arm off. " they were supposed to be a team, navigating the landscape of cipher's mini mansion to scope out any intel for the greater good, or whatever. and yet, a clear fork in the road, one that pivoted towards an inevitable surfacing of repressed rage, grief, both equally searing their throat until the upchuck of vitriol. there was no marie, nor emma to mediate, a third party that'd force jordan into keeping their mouth shut to maintain focus. " so, don't tell me shit about not listening, cate. "
