Although it was obvious the man didn’t believe her lie, Chloe nodded in response nonetheless, and to her amazement, he stopped pressing her on it. For that, she was truly grateful. She was too vulnerable right then to keep up the act forever, and he’d already begun to make her crack. Her nod had become an unwritten contract between them, an agreement to let his suspicion slide until she was ready to face the truth — if that day ever came. Continually amazed by his behaviour, she blinked at him in surprise, clearing the fresh tears in the process. “But - why?” Chloe would do the same for her friends, of course, but they’d only just met. He didn’t owe her a thing. And since she didn’t see his behaviour as flirting, now worlds away from her usual interactions with men, she couldn’t understand his reasoning. He didn’t seem to be showing off or talking a big game — in fact, he seemed entirely relaxed. His presence was actually calming, though she wasn’t in the space to focus on that, as the more she tried, the quicker she realised she was struggling to read him, and it was starting to become frustrating.
At his offer, Chloe looked away again, unsure how to proceed. She shouldn’t, as it didn’t make any sense, but somehow, she did feel she could trust him. Everything in her told her so. But she was still unsure who he was and how he fit into the social pecking order, and had no idea if her gut feeling was something to even be trusted, so ultimately, Chloe stuck to self-preservation and held her tongue. No point dragging her and Luke’s relationship into the limelight where it could potentially be regurgitated by her peers. She’d deal with it on her own, like she always did. She’d never been good at reading signs or trusting her instincts, and considering the man next to her already had her questioning both, she ran in the opposite direction, unnerved. “S'alright,” she attempted another smile, trying to be convincing. “It’s really nothin’, not even worth talkin’ about. I appreciate that though, really. I’ll remember that.” She’d certainly be spiralling about their interaction for a while, anyway.
“A kid?” Chlo tilted her head, confused, but figured he must still mean a teen, just one that was younger than him. “He’s your little brother, then? Adorable. You do seem like the big brother type,” she grinned. The expression faded, however, as Fezco continued on, her mood plummeting instantly. “Oh.” So he wasn’t going to stay, then. Eventually, she nodded. “Alrigh’, yeah. Sure,” her reply was half-hearted, convinced he was only being polite now. She figured this was her fault, for not opening up earlier, but she hadn’t trusted herself to, especially not in an environment like the one they were in. She found it even more unbelievable that he hadn’t been drinking, and wondered if that was a lie, but her thought spiral was cut off by his gesture, and question.
Chloe blinked down at his extended hand, genuinely unsure what he wanted at first. Eventually, and with great embarrassment, she realised he really was just being polite. Awkwardly, she returned the handshake, a small smile lifting her cheeks. She supposed she appreciated his formality; most men would’ve left her in the lurch without another word. He, at least, was letting her down gently. Although, she had to admit, the question made her wonder otherwise. “Deffo, yeah, that’s - totally fine.” Flustered now, Chloe reached for her phone before handing it over to him. “Here. Maybe you can like, text yourself?”
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