#thread:nate03

“Hi,” she expressed softly upon seeing his face again. “Sorry for, uh, dropping in like this.” Rhia couldn’t hold his eye, instead her face tilted downward while she stole the occasional glance. “Do you mind if I come in?”

She fell into his lap and draped her arms around his neck. Warmth radiated from his skin, his familiar scent washed over her as she gently nuzzled his jaw. An affectionate gesture, to say the least, one she could possibly get away with in her current state. Her fingers crawled along his upper back, tracing curves and ridges as if deciphering brail. “Hello,” she sighed into his skin, overwhelmed how soothing his touch was. She stayed there, embracing everything about his presence. Then she blinked, reluctantly pulling away from his chest momentarily to admire his face, see his lips curl up from looking at her. She blinked again, attempting to feign some semblance of normal though acutely aware she was failing. Her fingers found his collar, and she grazed the skin lining the fabric. “How are you?” she cooed, grinning cheekily again. “Did you miss your beautiful date like I did?” Rhia teased, unable to help her sprawling hand from squeezing his cheeks and rubbing his scruff.

It was too easy for Rhiannon to fall back into the habit of overindulging, especially when she had a surplus of time and funds to spend. For the most part, she had kept her fall from grace private. Besides her new plug and her friends from prom, Rhia’s drug use was mostly under the radar. There was one person in particular that she wished to be hidden from, mostly because she was unsure how he’d react. Perhaps it’d be similar to Kenzie’s reaction, where Nate would be quick to hop on the train with her. Rhia didn’t want to consider the possibility of him being disappointed, which unfortunately seemed more plausible than the former. Rhia kept her gaze on the floor as she walked past the rows of tables, heading toward the exit of the cafeteria. A figure stood in her pathway, her eyes trailing up with a grimace to look at the perpetrator. Rhia quickly registered familiarity, her breath catching before she averted her gaze. “Hey,” she greeted Nate stiffly. “Sorry, I have practice,” Rhia lied with a mutter, quickly stepping to the side as she tried to resume her pace.