over my head

she could've choked him at the smile spread over his face. the contradiction she felt of hating something she loved so much only irritated her more. what was funny?? he was about to saunter off someplace with whoever the fuck to go do who knows what, wouldn't even do her the decency of saying who, and he was cracking smiles?? her nostrils flared and she huffed through them, like a bull getting riled before a matador. " you think you're funny?? " he came closer and she stepped away from him, eyes narrowing. " i'm about to smack the shit out of you, stop playing with me, "

to anyone without context, this perhaps would have been a terrible choice - in fact, even with their history lorenzo knew well enough to know that if she said she was going to hit him, then it was only a matter of time before he'd be mistaking the lightbulb above their heads for stars. but lorenzo still thought he could salvage this and bring her into a good mood; he approached he slowly and cautiously...like she was the angriest, cutest kitten. even when she stepped backwards, he continued to move forward to close the gap between them. "sammie, baby, i'm the funniest and you know it - but no, i'm not trying to be funny right now." he stopped just a few inches away from her, boldly putting himself on the line for whatever she was riled up enough to do to him. "you gonna smack me? what? like...right here?" he took her wrist, lifting her hand to playfully tap her open palm against his cheek.

the relief that his presence brings him comes with a whole lot of shame, on that note. even as he's struggling to roll onto his side, peering up at his ex with narrowed eyes and he's telling him all the things he doesn't want to hear, he's happy that it's him and not john. "lucky?" he laughs, and there's tears in his eyes, his head rustling against the pillow in a would-be headshake if he had the neck mobility. "i can't afford a new fucking truck — i can't afford any of this?" he laughs, humorless, despaired, and covers his face with the hand that isn't wrapped in cast layer. "...it can't be that serious, right?" this is where the mask of invulnerability finally falters, regan's eyes peeling out of the recess of his palm, locking up on the familiar warmth of aleksandr's face, pleading and wet. it is fairly serious, yeah. broken ribs, removed spleen, broken hand — other fractures on his lower half. he'll be laid out for a while past his hospital stay, and that hasn't yet processed. neither is almost dying, too focused on cost and the stress of being here, in the hospital, his least favorite place. "when am i going home? did they tell you?"

their relationship is still something aleksandr can't quite wrap his head around, specifically the ending. he recalls walking away from the last time, glancing over his shoulder far too many times to see if regan was doing the same - and if so, if on the moment their eyes would meet, they'd try to start it all again. puppy thoughts, he'd then tell himself dismissively as if hoping to reconcile with the one ex who had never tried to kill him was a childish wish. aleksandr's greatest flaw in relationships was his restraint, but also his potential to overwhelm his partner with his suppressed capacity to give a shit. "have i ever made you feel like a nuisance?" he arches a brow at him, the question was initially supposed to be rhetorical, but now part of him actually wants to know. did you ever think i didn't care? over the course of their relationship, aleksandr had seen regan happy, irritated, angry even, but never like this, so vulnerable. he's starting to understand it better now, why regan chose him as the emergency contact - despite his lack of medical knowledge and supar beside manner - even if that may not be the case now, regan trusted him enough to choose him. there's also a small voice in his head reminding him that there should be someone else standing in his place, and that person could show up at any minute. too fucking bad, his selfish thoughts start to take over, i'm here now. "you look like one of those people who are buried in the pyramids..." he starts, trying and failing to remember the actual term - a mummy, the corner of his lips twitching with the effort to not break out into a small chuckle at the little blunder, "...and the first thing on your mind is your truck?" aleksandr has another lighthearted taunt locked and loaded but look on regan's face causes his own to soften into a more earnest expression. "it is that serious, regan. they were trying to explain it all to me, but then they started saying names for bones and organs, i swore they were making it all up 'til i saw you for myself. look, i don't know when they'll let you go home, but i'm staying right here until they do, yeah?"

"I'm going to stop you right there. I don't date date my brother's friends," Drew offers with a smile. It wasn't that Nico would particularly care, she just didn't want to run the risk of making things weird when the inevitable break up would occur. "Not even the especially cute ones."

"Well, I'm going to stop you right there. First of all, Nico and I aren't even friends...more like, familiar acquaintances...cool guy, though." It wasn't a total lie, since Levi and her brother only knew each other through a long chain of mutual friends and exchanged mostly greeting nods, aside from swapping a few words. "Now that we've cleared that up, let's zone in on the fact you think I'm especially cute."

"dump him," kelsey says suddenly, his teeth grit, throat strained from how hard he's trying not to growl; which he doesn't, but it's close. he's facing them suddenly, a hand on their shoulder, his eyes as intense as they are wild. he's had enough of listening, of bearing witness of this trainwreck of a relationship, of picking up the pieces — and he's really had enough of the phrases he's not that bad, you don't understand him, and kelsey, that's not legal. "you have to dump him or if i have to kill him. do you understand? he did what? run that by me one more time. one more time."

dump him. taylor frowns at that, despite kelsey's harsh - and non-negotiable - delivery. "you say it like it's the easiest thing in the world," he even scoffs and rolls his eyes slightly, failing to realise that it absolutely is the easiest thing to dump the person who makes him so miserable that he rots in bed for days until they come sweep him off his feet - starting off the cycle, again. still, taylor stirs uncomfortably in his seat, unable to meet kelsey in the eye but still not completely willing to take the advice that came across more like an order he couldn't refuse. when taylor spoke again, he started off at the same time as kelsey, his words almost getting swallowed up by the wording of kelsey's warning. "uh...i said i can't anyway because he has my phone and his gone out of town for the weekend for work, his phone broke - which totally isn't his fault, by the way...he was sleeping over at his cousin's house and she...like, threw his phone at a wall when she saw me text him, psycho."

"god. yeah. okay. alright! you are right. i am very influential. like, i am the voice of this generation." antonella was joking, but he was dead serious. and he could've made an actual argument about it being true if someone questioned his statement, but nate didn't possess the vernacular to drive his point across. "uh. what? no, what the fuck. why does that sound like some gooner shit? like, they sniff out fish pussy and know what's going on? man, animal planet doesn't know what else the fuck to do nowadays, huh."

"damn right, you are." antonella's smile broadened, almost as if she was on the brink of laughing. nate, and his voice, had amassed quite the following of like-minded individuals so she knew there was technically some truth to what he was saying. "i swear, i was on the train the other day and i saw someone typing out a very wordy response to a troll who had commented on one of your videos - your influence is undeniable." this time, nella actually laughed and it was a loud snort sound that decended into a quiet giggle. "i'm sorry, fish pussy?" again, he wasn't entirely wrong. "here's another random fact..." she said once she finished laughing. "ever heard of an immortal jellyfish?"

for a moment, ravi simply looked at her...not because she'd stolen his drink or because she had challenged him. it was the way she had done both with this sort of composure that was becoming increasingly dangerous to him. there were very few people left in the world willing to meet his gaze instead of shrinking beneath it, fewer still who seemed determined to misunderstand him on principle. he found himself smiling despite it, slow and unhurried, his fingers closing around the empty glass she'd returned as though it still contained something worth savoring. "there it is," he murmured. "the part where you decide who i am before i get the chance to disappoint you properly." his head tilted slightly, studying her in a way that somehow felt gentler than before. not because his interest had lessened, but because she kept insisting it was something else entirely. a game. a curiosity. a rich man's boredom dressed up as affection. he could almost see the walls she'd built around herself, sturdy things reinforced by experience and necessity. "see, that's where your theory falls apart," he said, lifting the glass slightly. "you keep assuming i'm the one doing the studying." his eyes found hers again, dark with amusement. "insisting you're a canvas." his gaze drifted over her, more thoughtful rather than appraising. "a canvas is finished before anyone really ever sees it. it hangs where it's placed. it accepts whatever meaning people project onto it." the corner of his mouth tugged upward. "you've spent the last ten minutes doing the exact opposite." the laugh that followed was quiet, genuine. for a moment, he simply watched her, not bothering to disguise it. "and no," he continued, head tilting slightly. "i never thought you were some tightly wound thing waiting for me to unravel you. that would be far less interesting." his gaze lingered, unhurried. "what i've discovered is that every time i think i've gotten a clear look at you, you change the lighting." his thumb traced the rim of the empty glass. "one day you're impossible. the next you're standing far too close, stealing my drink, telling me i'm not looking hard enough." he paused. "which is a particularly cruel thing to say to a man who's spent the better part of the evening looking at little else." something warmer settled beneath the teasing then. "but if we're being honest, olesya, i think you've mistaken my intentions." his smile returned, slower this time. "i'm not digging because i think there's something hidden underneath you." his eyes flickered over her face. "i'm digging because every time you open the door a, even a fraction, i find another room."

The longer she lingered in the kitchen, entertaining his interest, the more considerably dangerous this became for her. For the first time since Ravi had followed her into the kitchen, she found herself at a loss for a response. Olesya could feel herself being reeled in despite her weakest efforts to swat his attempts. She had expected more charm, more clever deflection and more eloquently put lines from a man who'd spent his entire life knowing precisely what to say to get what he wanted. What she hadn't expected was for him to answer her with something that, to her, felt...earnest. The silence stretched out for a beat too long. Her hands, which had remained so relaxed against the marble countertop behind her, curled slightly against its edge. There was an unsettling sincerity in the way he was looking at her that she couldn't immediately dismantle. Olesya straightened, pushing away from the counter and folded her arms across her chest. Another room. The words settled somewhere inconvenient. Her gaze still held his, though the ease she'd worn so effortlessly before wasn't quite as polished now. It wasn't discomfort. If anything, it was something far more unfamiliar. She looked at him as if she were trying to solve a puzzle that had suddenly rearranged itself. She wanted to push him more, to poke and pierce as many holes as she could into his demeanour just to see what else he had left. "You say things like that very easily, Ravi. And that's the problem with people like you, you make beautiful things sound believable - covering yourself enough to get away with showing your hand." She tilted her head slightly, studying him right back. The corner of her mouth curved again, a thoughtful smile touching her features. "I will admit. When I first met you, I thought you were exactly what everyone else thinks you are - charming, spoiled and beautiful in a way that's almost too good to be true. A man who has never once had a door slammed in his face and genuinely believes the universe exists for his own entertainment." Even the least intelligent person in the room could identify the clear power imbalance between the two of them. If Olesya valued her job and the comforts it afforded her, she should've stopped right there and left him alone to sit with her words - it would've been so much easier to just walk away and leave it all right there. Instead, Olesya stepped closer - not enough to touch him, just to quietly erase some of the distance she'd worked so hard to maintain. "And maybe all that is still true. But now I think...no, I know there's something else. You pay attention - far too much, actually, and I don't know what to do with that." A small confession, an intentional slip-up to dangle in front of him just to see if he'd latch onto it. Olesya had conditioned herself to be unnoticeable, even more than she needed to be; she knew exactly how to occupy a room without taking up too much space, and Ravi looked at her as though she were impossible to overlook. His heated stare was enough to undo everything she had taught herself to stay away from. "If I give you the key to the final room. What will you do with it?"

her face was flat, irritation outlining the planes of her face, her gaze dark and stormy. " well, you won't tell me anything so... everything, " he wasn't the only one who could conjure up the worst case scenarios. part of her was convinced that one of these days he'd snap out of it, that deep down it was just a matter of time. " have fun, lorenzo, "

against his better judgment, his smile broadened as samantha sank further into her irritation. it felt awful to admit, lorenzo actually liked seeing her like this - getting irritable at the idea of him leaving and not bringing her with him, of having to go merely a few hours without him and not knowing exactly where he would be or who he would be with. because, when the shoe was on the other foot, lorenzo was far worse. "when you put it that way...the possibilities for dishonesty are endless." he dared to tease her, slowly stepping toward her - his arms wide and inviting, in surrender. "i don't intend to have fun where i'm going, but thank you."

a soft, breathy sound escaped her immediately. his lips were softer than they had any right to be, soft in a way that never quite matched how solid the rest of him felt. so gentle for someone so sturdy. sage let herself sink into it, letting him guide her through every breath and every movement. both hands gathered the fabric of his shirt, holding him close as though she'd spent entirely too much time waiting for this moment to let him drift away now.

The sound she made against his mouth nearly undid him. It wasn't even the kiss itself; it was the way her fingers gathered his shirt and held on, following his lead with every movement like she'd been waiting on this and had no intention of letting him retreat anywhere this time. Sebastian's hand, which had been gently tracing her jaw, slid back to tangle firmly in her dark hair, the kiss deepened - shifting from a tentative plea for forgiveness into a consuming relief. He'd spent so long holding himself at a distance from this, from her and telling himself that it was safer, easier, kinder somehow. It almost didn't feel real, and he had to pull back just a fraction, their lips still brushing, and his eyes clouded with raw vulnerability. He lingered there for a moment, forehead resting on hers again, his eyes closing as if leaving them open for too long might somehow break the spell. He could feel her breathing, the grip of her hands through the fabric of his clothes like she was afraid he'd disappear if she let go. When he opened his eyes, she was right there standing in his arms with her cheeks flushed and her mouth soft against his, and his chest felt painfully full. Sebastian was smiling, actually smiling, the type that started small but kept threatening to spread wider every time he looked at her. "I almost lost you," he said as if the realisation hit him all over again. "Not because of anything out of my control...but because I kept choosing to be an idiot. I'm so sorry, Sage. For every time my silence made you feel like I'd lost interest, or that this was too much, that you were too much." His expression softened further as his gaze moved over her face, taking her in as though he needed to reacquaint himself with every feature. "You're speaking to a guy who works in the danger realm, as well as the impossible to deal with category - have you met airline passengers? You'd have a lot to compete with." He laughed, brushing his knuckles lightly against her cheek. His free hand slid down her back, his palm pressing firmly against the small of her spine, urging her to melt into him. His touch became more insistent, intentional, urgent. "I spent a lot of time making this harder than it needed to be, and you...never gave up on me." Sage never hid herself from him, never softened or diluted herself to allow his self-sabotage to take root. She never stopped reaching for him, even when he gave her every reason to stop. He began to pepper her face with kisses again, light touches of his lips against her temple, the sensitive dip of her collarbone and her cheek. The walls of his composure were slowly crumbling, and everything he had suppressed and stopped himself from saying tumbled out of him. He was tired of pretending he wasn't affected by her. "You make me a little crazy, too." He leaned in, his breathing heavy and uneven, then returned to her lips, this time with a hunger that bordered on desperation. "I don't think I realised just how much I missed this...you."

fee couldn't help but to start laughing, jovially, filled with genuine amusement at his accusations of un-neighborly conduct. he lived on pluto, that much she was certain of. " aw, is he putting on his big boy panties now?? that's adorable, " she was set in her path now. there was no way in hell she was about to let this asshole think she was going to be any kind of level of reasonable going forward. he thought she was acting crazy now?? she'd show him crazy and meet his delusional on pluto. " this was me being neighborly. now, you've lost neighborly privileges. in fact, i think i fucking hate your guts, and if you call me princesa again, i'll cave in both your kneecaps, " she smiled, her eyes flashing with contempt. fee began to step away from his front porch, her mind made up. " glad we had this talk. think i'm gonna have a nice barbecue and throw something on the grill for dinner. have a day, pretty boy!! "

"¿qué es lo que te pasa?" rafael mumbled quietly as she continued to smile and threaten him. he didn't know whether to be flattered, amused or terrified. no one had ever spoken to him this way before, maybe it had something to do with the fact that he'd cut down anyone who dared to raise their voice at him this way - or he'd get his bodyguard to handle it. but when the insults, very violent threats, and curse words were dressed in such a beautiful woman, rafael couldn't help but be...enamoured. "no no no...my bad, i think you're misunderstanding me..." rafael's whole demeanour changed, his hand on his chest and a slow smile creeping across his face. "what i meant was, this shouldn't be something you're dealing with...my parcels ending up on your doorstep by mistake, getting yourself all...worked up like this, it doesn't suit you princ-i mean, neighbour." rafael wasn't exactly sure what the hell he was saying but the didn't want to end up with his knee caps on a barbecue menu, or whatever it was she said.

cleo didn't notice him at first. to be fair, she'd spent the last five years trying to forget he existed. the nightclub was bright and loud, music rattling through her chest while alcohol settled warm in the pit of her stomach, loosening her up in all the predictable ways. everyone knew it only took a couple of drinks before cleo's sense of personal space completely disappeared. suddenly she was linking arms, leaning against shoulders, clinging to whoever she was with. you're so pretty. i love your eyes. i'm so happy right now. and there she was, already a tipsy, giggling mess as she dragged the guy she'd come with onto the dance floor. it should have made it impossible to notice lorenzo. but she did. cleo stopped so abruptly she nearly tripped over her own heels. her breath caught somewhere in the back of her throat. one look at lorenzo unleashed a wave of emotional carnage, every old wound splitting open all at once. she immediately tried to distract herself. grabbing her date gently by the belt, she pulled him closer as her hips found the rhythm of a song she was far too distracted to actually hear. her face burned hot, her heart hammering against her ribs. she pressed herself closer to him, determined to stay present. but no matter how hard she tried, her eyes kept drifting back to lorenzo. and the second their gazes locked, panic shot through her. before her date could even question the sudden change in her demeanor, cleo was cupping his face and pressing her glossy lips against his mouth. desperate. impulsive. the kind of decision made in a split second and regretted immediately after. because the moment she did it, the spark vanished. like striking a lighter with no fuel left inside. still, she twisted the knife anyway, just in case lorenzo was still watching. her date's arm wrapped around the small of her back, pulling her closer, but instead of comfort it only made every nerve in her body tense. suddenly all she could think about was after five years, one look at lorenzo had ruined the illusion completely.

no matter how much time had passed, there would never be a time when cleo would be nearby, and lorenzo wouldn't notice - he was certain of it. whether it was five months or five years, she was far too ingrained in his system to just shake off the familiar sensation that would creep up his spine, as if alerting him to her presence. his friends would joke about it and call it his cleo radar, and he couldn't even dispute it, because that's exactly what it was. it's like the atmosphere of whatever room or space they were in would just shift, eliminating the presence of anyone and anything else and zoning in on her - making him acutely aware of every move and sound she made, even over the blaring club music, it was as if she was sitting right next to him, giggling in his ear. the way things ended between them weren't pretty, lorenzo didn't know how to let go of things without sinking his claws in and making an ugly scene out of it. five years should have been more than enough time for him to turn a new leaf, and lorenzo thought it had, but seeing cleo again made him realise it was easier to change when she wasn't there. every glance over his shoulder unravelled the delusion lorenzo had been swimming in for the past five years. he separated from his group, turning his back on his friends to sit in the seat facing the dancefloor, watching cleo and her heavy-handed dance partner. the lorenzo from five years ago would have turned the entire venue into something akin to a crime scene just from seeing her cling to him; the present lorenzo was a silent statue. his dark eyes followed the other man's hands, quietly keeping track of every touch, every smile, every kiss. when lorenzo lifted his drink, he knocked back the remaining liquid, barely flinching at the burn as he swallowed it. he raised the empty glass in her direction in a mock salute, a broad smirk on his face, a sardonic signal to what's to come.

"you calling me remarkable?" zane says, then he gives her the goofiest smile, effortlessly playing into the ridiculous part. he hopes her teasing is an indication that this conversation would leave a far better impression than the last - zane was well aware of his innate desire to be liked, with nebula, it was way more than just her not seeing him as some cocky asshole. "yeah? you'd give me a list of recs? cool, uh..." his voice trails off in thought as he actually tries to conjure up book titles, authors, or even genres that have intrigued him and shamefully draws blanks. "what about what you're reading? a little romance with complicated stuff sounds like something i could easily sink my teeth into...but - no spoilers, obviously - it does have a happy ending in the end, right?" his tone remains light, casual, though the way his eyes set on her indicate there's a subliminal meaning to his question.

" harvey jr is jus' trouble by definition, so... " she shrugged and let out lackluster puff of air that one might mistake as a laugh if they squinted. her employer's eldest son always liked singling her out, since they were both kids really, she'd stopped bothering with thinking about it too much for fear of how much angrier she'd be on a regular basis. " but, uh... s' my first night fully off tonight, thankfully, "

"yeah?...that's nice," malachi smiled a little too fondly, giving away exactly how much he liked the idea of them having any kind of common ground - even if it was based off a small lie. he studied her, as he always did, remaining vigilant to any slip ups or attempts to brush anything under the rug. he realised that ariel had a way of making things that bothered her seem much smaller than they should be, as if it was something to be tolerated rather than confronted. that's what i'm here for. "well, if you ever feel like defining exactly what that kind of trouble entails, i'm all ears. you got any plans for your night off?"