chankcnncr:
so long as the drinks kept coming, and she continued to toss them back as though they were nothing more than mere water, she knew that trouble would find her quickly. although, if anyone could keep her in line, it was austin. “ perfect, ” she hummed, already downing another shot of whiskey. at the rate she was going, it wouldn’t be long till she was requesting the entire bottle. his question left her tensing, fingertips idly tapping against the shot glass. she could give him an honest answer – tell him that she’d been trying to bury her feelings for him with work, but all her efforts were useless, she was still hurting. or she could spare him the sob story, lie and tell him she was doing good. of course he’d want the truth, and she had little hope that he’d actually believe the false information spewing out of her mouth. he knew her better than a vast majority of people, if her features faltered in the slightest, he’d catch on. chandler remained silent for what seemed like an eternity, going back and forth in her head – trying desperately to figure out her plan of action. “ i’m –, ” she took a long pause, her gaze dropping from his as she tried to determine what to even say. “ okay, ” not a total lie at least. “ i’ve been working a lot, ” she continued, dropping her gaze to the glass within her fingertips.
"Nothing wrong with that," throwing one's self into their work, Austin always did LOVE a strong work ethic. Things with Chandler had become so awkward though, he MISSED how they used to be, able to just spar and talk to one another without reservation. He wanted that back, to be NORMAL once again, especially considering out of EVERYONE he'd ever met Chandler was the one that made him feel the best. He should have seen it sooner, shouldn't have put her through the shit that he had, but he couldn't take any of that back now. It was already over and done, he had to accept and live with what he'd done, but he could tell it'd still weighed heavy on even just their friendship. "You look good, getting enough sleep?" He asked, because honestly he had NO IDEA what he was supposed to say. He wanted to apologize, to plead for her to let things get back to how they were, but he knew that would only cause more trouble for the both of them. It needed to shift and change naturally, "I guess I would say the same," he shrugged as he thought about his own time without her. "I went home for a while, needed the distance," not from her, NEVER from her, but moreso all the drama that his life had become. "Can't run forever though, right?"













