*now you see me

@thcyer

“ so how long were you planning on mooching off of my family for? ” daniel squinted at sam, or luca, or whatever his name was. he was deeply hurt – a countless number of times, danny had picked up a baguette at the grocery store to present to sam as a joke. and now ? the guy wasn’t even fucking french. no wonder his jokes were never met with that much laughter. typically, daniel was the player. he wasn’t used to being played, especially by someone that had essentially grown to be a part of the rutherford family. “ oh my fucking god, was it you who stole my gucci belt? i knew i didn’t leave it in that one girl’s room. i’m gonna need that back. ” lying to his entire family was one thing, but robbing him of his precious gucci belt? despicable.

it’s yet another instance he hadn’t exactly foreseen. well, perhaps that’s not true. he knew if daniel came to know the truth he would want answers only then he pictured himself far far away, on a beach somewhere warm and relaxing. only he chose to stay, to see this through, to attempt to prevent any further damage. this was just one of the many cards in his little house that were still raining down on him. he might’ve kicked himself about it later if it wasn’t for his company making his main concern known. and he had the entire thing ready, a monologue of an apology sat on his silver tongue. gone to waste as thick brows knitted together in confusion.  — god. he really should’ve made daniel his mark. it would’ve been exactly like stealing candy from a baby. “n—” the semblance of a decline makes a note in his throat before his bewilderment catches the better of him. he’s only forced to shake it away to continue on. “no...I did not take your gucci belt.” he should’ve. “ It was very nice, but unfortunately I... think you actually lost that one. did...did you ask her?”

dee knew that her contradictory answer probably wouldn’t fly, but that didn’t stop her from acting shocked upon his refusal of her. “well, i don’t see why i can’t,” she said after an exaggerated gasp. then he re-asked the question and she was all but forced to rethink the whole thing. a few silent seconds passed before she scrunched up her nose a bit and began, “if i have to pick a side,” she paused again just to make sure she she wouldn’t recant, “i say yes, the sky is real. i still stand by the fact it could also be no, but for the sake of the conversation, yes is my final answer.” she said with a small nod to confirm. delilah eyebrows raised at his sudden movements, confused about where he could possibly be taking her in her own room. she happily placed her hand in sam’s regardless, though, curious about what goofy antic he had up his sleeve this time. in that moment, dee thought about how funny it is that just a couple of months prior they used to come up with elaborate schemes just to hold the other’s hand, as opposed to how it seemed to be a natural reaction these days. upon the release of her hand, she began to ask, “what are you do-” but was promptly cut off by the cold shock of air he’d let into her room by opening the window. dee drew her arms around herself as she heeded his request to join him at her window. “what is it you wanted me to see, exactly?” she asked as she rested her elbows on the windowsill and held her face in her hands, eyes trained towards the sky. “to see how real the sky is?” she asked jokingly, glancing back over at him.

it’s the glint of protest in her eyes and the feigned shock that lines her parted lips that earns yet another quiet laugh from thayer. his brows rise and eyes widen to playfully mimic her expression with a little shake of his head, but he allows her to continue anyways. 

he almost expected a little more at the window. however the night sky seemed to be clouded within minimal pockets of starry light. his lips smack together only slightly disappointed as that’s not entirely the point of bringing delilah over to the window. instead he retreats back past its frame to settle in beside her, left forearm propped against the windowsill in the same manner as she. “actually that is exactly what I wanted you to see.” sam confirms, left index lazily pointing at the cloudy night. “you can see it up there so obviously it has to be real...right?” a brief pause inserts itself as though his question contained anything of authentic substance. “some philosophers would say that the sky is made up. it is simply just a concept that we have created because we..as humans must constantly put a name or label on something. we are obsessed with it. but the sky does not exist, we cannot touch it. in essence though it could really be right here.”  for the sake of an example his right hand swirls the air around the small space between them before dropping again into his lap. “or anywhere really. the word sky itself isn’t even in some of the first languages.” and that’s a fun tidbit he finds some weird sense of pride in as he looks over at her.

“so I guess you’re not wrong.  you did say both. I will give you that, but for the sake of the topic..” a simple shrug ends his train of thought as emerald hues return themselves to the sky. “I was hoping there would be more stars out.. it hardly happens over here. there’s so much light, but it’s also a lot of clouds out tonight.”

“I don’t know….. do you like it?”

“no, I’ve never killed anyone.. I have stolen someone’s identity. at least..I’m pretty sure thomas wellington jr is a real person. we had a file on him that I had to study. It was…pretty boring.”

“my favorite persona…okay I don’t know if I’d call them that but sure. uh…it’s not like I fundamentally change who I am..you know it’s simple. new style. new name. small change of appearance usually with my hair or I don’t know..glasses or something. you sprinkle in a few quirks or facts about an alias just to ground them somewhere. to touch back to if you get stuck, but I’m not necessarily changing..I don’t know…it’s weird. I’m both exactly what you see and the exact opposite. take it or leave it.”

04: Are you insecure?

nope.

30: What’s irritating you right now?

daisey jr. mostly. 

70: Is there anyone you would die for?

not yet..I don’t know that’s pretty tough..there’s a lot of circumstances that I’d need to help me inform that decision…I do enjoy living.

the fool: do you have any nicknames?

I guess you could call them nicknames… yes. 

the tower: favorite colors to wear?

black.

the moon: have you ever written a love letter?

not…exactly no. 

truth

both correct.

in the past I would have said: this probably happens 6 times out of 10. he’s almost always going a mile a minute so it makes sense.

he hadn’t meant to get drunk and yet there he was. eyes hooded with a buzz, a lopsided smile ever present on his features and a warmth that spread from his core all the way out to his gangly limbs. “delilah jordan” he can’t quite recall how she was tossed into his thoughts that night, but she’s always welcome thought in his head. “she’s…a really great person honestly. she’s amazing. one of my favorite.. I love how she likes to have fun and be happy…and she usually goes along with whatever stupid shit I have planned..” with that he pauses on a moment to reminisce, the upward curl of his lips only grew dopey-er by the minute.  “she’s just— ugh she’s great. amazing. a joy. and she’s really not afraid of anything…well…that’s a lie. I know she’s afraid of things. we’ve talked about it, but she’s just so strong it doesn’t seem like she’s afraid. she’s so so strong and I love that about her. her resilience. not to mention she could definitely kick your ass….she could kick my ass. and I kinda like that.. I like a tough girl…she’s so tough..but soft..she can be really soft but she wouldn’t want you to know that..but that’s okay. y’know. I’ve told her.. that’s okay to scared..to—to worry or…even be upset over something small…or big yknow? your feelings are valid…I don’t like it when she’s upset yknow..because she’s a good person and she doesn’t deserve to be bothered by things…but I try to listen if she chooses to come to me and talk about something..and she can talk a lot. she does actually.. it’s really cute when she just…goes off on little tangents. I could sit there for hours listening to her talk…or laugh —god”  a breathy laugh cuts him off as he shakes his head. slender digits move to brush dark brown curls from his face and before he knows it inspiration has struck again. “and her hands are so soft! her skin is so soft. I don’t know how she does it. she also always smells amazing.” his vision settles off somewhere in the distance, distracted with whether or not he wanted to continue on with his next thought, but mischief colored his smile long before he could decide. “she’s so small too. she would hate it if she heard me say that. I think she thinks she’s taller than she is..it’s funny sometimes..she’s so confident too. I love that about her. I think she could conquer anything she put her mind too… I feel like…there’s room for a little trouble there too. like she could enjoy breaking rules sometimes…I don’t know…” his voice trails off at this point, with his gaze straying south with guilt. he shouldn’t even think about that and yet those thoughts continue to pollute his mind. they sag his lips into a frown the longer he sits on the unspoken topic. “I don’t know..” he repeats, lost in his own thoughts now. a nearby surface serves as his resting place as he slumps onto it, head resting on his bicep as his arm curls around it. “I think she deserves better.. I think…I think she deserves the world. they all do— I’m just gonna..” leave. in fact he should’ve..the moment daisey died. that was enough of a sign..but he didn’t. he couldn’t. he couldn’t bring himself to tear away just yet, but this is always what got him into the most trouble. just a little more…and a little longer..until he dug himself into a hole he wasn’t sure how to climb back out of. “she doesn’t deserve that…she’s greatness.”