#krisswrites

”I- um, I- shit, I just want us to be okay. Don’t shut me out. Please,” she begged, though as the silence grew, Vivian blew out a frustrated breath. At herself, at him, and then she did what she normally would do. Vivian spun around, and left, putting as much distance between the two of them as possible. 

Vivian bit down on her tongue, arms crossed and eyes downcast, focused on the floor. Ryder, standing behind her, seemed to know just what to say in order to hurt her, to make her cringe at his words and take in deep breaths of anger and frustration. "If I make you so damn miserable," she finally spoke after a few moments of silence, "then why don't you just get the fuck out?" Her voice rose as she continued talking, her hands shaking. She didn't turn around when she heard footsteps receding and then the door slam.

He could, and he wanted to. So long Dylan had pined after Lea Browning, and so long he had denied himself over and over again and ruled it off as a foolish phase. Because Dylan and Lea were not the same people, and they never would be- and for that, he was certain that they would never work. But they were close enough that their chests nearly touched, and he could see the swirls of brown in her doe eyes, looking up at him and him down at her. Everything was so entirely out of place, and Dylan could hardly begin to think straight anymore. His hand slowly lifted to brush a strand of hair behind her ear before resting to cup the side of her face. His other rested on her waist, and just as he leaned forward, his hooded eyes focused on her soft lips, he heard the door behind them creak open. 

Aidan took a hesitant step forward, his eyes focused on anything but her hurt eyes. Lips parted, he looked for the right words and was at loss when he couldn't find any. "Keira..." He whispered, voice scratchy and breaking the silence aside from the heavy rain beating against the windows, the weather mimicking his mood. "I'm sorry," he told her, taking another step forward. The regret was present in his eyes, in his knitted eyebrows, in his shaking hands and his vulnerability that he showed only with her. "I'll do anything." Aidan whispered low in his throat, his shoes meeting hers. He slowly wrapped his arms around her frame and buried his face in her neck, eyes squeezing shut and desperation swirling within every fiber of his body. "Anything." 

Vivian couldn't begin to contemplate the relationship that had developed between her and Ryder. But never once did the brunette, with a hand running through her hair and a pang exploding in her chest at the words, thought that they would end up here. "Ryder-" she started, and stopped, blowing out a breath and keeping her back to him. "You don't mean it," she told him, shaking her head back and forth and biting back tears. "You don't." Her voice was stern and her eyes glistening as she turned to face him, lips pressed tightly together. Though she tried to believe what she was saying, she couldn't fully convince herself that he didn't. And honestly, she wouldn't have blamed him.

"I'm not- I just..." Biting the inside of her cheek, back turned and eyes closing after a deep breath, Natalia wasn't all that sure how to tell Emilia what was going on. She just wouldn't understand, not with Stephen and the drama that followed and how Natalia- independent and confident enough not to fall prey to a boy that didn't even want to be seen with her- was too weak to deny herself the pleasures of being with him. The more she thought about it, the more embarrassed she felt. "I have to go, I'll- um, I'll call you later." The brunette rushed out before slipping past Emilia, and out the way she came. 

"Oh, Keke," Blue whispered soothingly, scooting closer to the other girl on the couch and wrapping her arms around her middle. "You just seemed so happy, and I love seeing a smile on your cute face." A small chuckle slipped past her lips. "You know, I think Aidan loves you." A small pause, her lips pulling up in a smile. "And I think you love him too.”

"Probably," he replied curtly and with little pause. Though, as Aidan thought about it, he was really worse without the blonde at his side. Keira, though hard to admit, honestly made him a better person. Whether he chose to acknowledge it or not.