and he sees that grief on her —— draped ponderously ‘cross slender shoulders, painted into the under - eye crescents so meticulously concealed, unyielding in its assault and inescapable in its entirety; he sees it, knows it as his own. its intricacies are familiar to him now. he is well - versed in the inconsistencies of its ebb and flow and the toll it takes on him / her. ( perhaps he will never be able to take that away completely, but o, how he tries! )
the hiss of a beer uncapped marks his emergence from the kitchen. steady gait carries him over to the couch. he hooks free arm under the crook of her knees and lifts her legs to plop! himself down, resting them atop his lap. soft gaze ghosts along the angles of her countenance, tongue idly darting out to wet lower lip.
❛ don’t sweat it too much, babe. i’m sure she understands. ❜ there’s a beat as he rests bottle atop her knee, curls digits ‘round the curve of her calf. ❛ —— wanna crash here tonight? you’ll catch hella z’s when we get back from harrison’s fiesta. ❜
❛ who is harrison again? ❜
such a small grace, to have warm bodies entwined. but it is the exact comfort she craves; the ease he sweeps into the room so effortlessly. a bleary eye peaks open, dull and grey. the barest smile, no more than a ghost ( the upturned corners say what her voice lacks: thank you for this, for you. ) how soft she’s allowed herself to become. allowed him to see the slips of her that aren’t blade edged and thorn coated.
decorated fingers lift the bottom from his hands, thumb swiping along condensation around the lip. she pulls from the bottle, nose crinkling. the bitter and snapping taste of beer has never been one she enjoyed but the flush of heat that’ll inevitably envelope her is welcomed. she’s eager for the party, all that joyous noise built to forget the hell of semester past. all those people packed into one place.
( you can hide, hide, hidehidehide. what if they’re still out there? what if they’re still looking? )
a shiver drips down deep into her belly. cold and taut -- a warning ringing into her bone. brooke pushes it away with a shake of her head. packs it down beneath a teeth shining smile. her knee taps the dip of his chest lightly.
❛ i’ll stay. so long as you don’t try anything. ❜
anything. oh hear the sing of it through the bite of her teeth. the underbelly of her words are meant to toy, the way she knows she can so easily do. lashes flutter just a beat, framing molten amber. she leans in close, oh so close —
and anchors the drink in his hand. brooke tug herself from underneath him, pulling away from the couch. the catch in her hip begs hither as she saunters away, away and up the stairs. perhaps she’ll tease a look across her shoulder, length of light catching hair hiding the coy tilt of her brow.
❛ that dress i wore that one time. it’s still here, right? ❜
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