#miloshq

hears  him  before  she  sees  him.    as  the  sound  of  milos'  voice  drifts  closer,     hana  finds  herself  bracing  for  another  bloody  display.     there's  a  breath  of  relief  as  he  rounds  the  corner,     perfectly  fine  as  far  as  her  eyes  can  tell.     for  someone  who  has  spent  so  many  summers  dodging  him,     fearful  of  being  called  on  her  bluff,     she  has  the  urge  to  approach.    (   &  hana's  never  been  known  to  deny  herself  of  any  whim.   )     steps  carry  her  closer  before  she  even  calculates  the  next  sentence,   leaving  her  standing  in  front  of  him  with  a  silent  pause.    “um      ”     she  begins,     never  one  to  let  silence  sit.    “can  we  talk?     …    about  the  party.”

the worst part of the night arrives.  it's something like an end credits scene.  attendees spill out of the club doors,  the constant background noise of people dulls to music playing from a distant speaker,  and staff appears to begin erasing evidence of all her hard work.  a final curtain call,  but she didn't even get to take a bow.  she rounds to the bar for final calls,  ready to usher the remaining through the doors with a dazzling smile.  on her way,  she stares down at the phone in her hands—  at  the  text—  free hand tracing the wall like a guiding friend until she rounds the corner. “oh,  milos,  you're still…”  words fall short as she finally looks up from the screen,  failing to restart as she notices crimson splashed across his shirt. brows draw together in confusion,  concern,  and—  oh.  rehearsed smile drops from her features at the sight in front of her.  rue,  cloaked in red.  something between a gasp & a shrill shriek leaves her. half a step,  a hand that begs to reach out—  and a pause.  she can't bring herself to move any further.  instead,  she stares ahead,  caught in her stupor.  the last time she stepped up,  the night ended with a shovel & an unimaginable amount of dirt beneath her nails.  “tell me that's not yours.”