are we growing up or just going down | chatzy
WHO: Owen and Gaby WHEN: Saturday WHERE: Layton Beach WHAT: Gaby runs into Owen on the beach and confronts him about his behavior during the past few weeks
Gabriella had gone down to the beach in the evening, sighing to herself as she attempted to drive her now beaten up car down the road. Once there, she parked the car and got out, the sunset giving her a nice view as she stretched her arms up and took it all in. She had barely noticed the figure not too far off from her, giving him a curious look. "..Owen?"
Owen sighed as he pulled his knees up closer to his chest. He had taken off his shoes a while ago, so his toes were buried in the warm sand and, every now and then, he would wiggle them just to feel the grains shift against his skin. A familiar voice broke his temporary sense of peace and a wave of annoyance washed over him. Owen didn't want to deal with Gaby, but he was too tired to get up and walk away -- she would just follow him. It irked him how much she seemed to care about him. Without looking at her, he softly asked, "What do you want?"
Gabriella "I didn't uh..know you'd be here, actually." She said pursing her lips before she took a seat next to him in the sand. Her eyes watched the waves, getting a sense that he was in another one of his moods again. "What are you doing out here anyway?" Gabriella still didn't look at him as she spoke, her eyes a bit distant.
Owen remained silent for a few moments. He really didn't want to talk. He really didn't want to do anything, but Gaby would keep pushing until he would snap. Rubbing his temple with his fingers, he sighed. "Do I need a reason?" Owen internally winced, knowing that his response wasn't helping his case.
Gabriella shrugged, raising her eyebrow at him. "Well if it's going to explain why you've been so cold to me lately then..yeah, you do." She said turning to him now.
Owen He felt a spark of anger shoot through him and he grit his teeth. "Why does everyone always fucking think it's about them?" The words were pouring out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Everyone's always like 'what did I do to make you upset?'" Owen had unwrapped his arms from around his legs and was now burying his fists into the sand, occasionally bringing up a handful of grains and letting them fall back onto the beach. "Like, fucking get over yourselves."
Gabriella sighed softly, shaking her head as she ran her fingers through her hair. "I meant why you've been so cold in general, Owen. And you know what? I love you enough to deal with it but it's not okay that something's wrong. And don't you dare say you're fine or nothing's wrong--because I won't believe that for a minute." She turned herself to face him then, a look of concern on her face. "I could care less about myself, alright?"
Owen visibly flinched at her words. "Stop saying that," He looked away from her, towards the other end of the beach. "Stop fucking saying that when you don't mean it."
Gabriella kept looking at him, her brows furrowing at his words. She took his face and turned it towards her, looking at him seriously and not moving her eyes from his. "I love you, and I don't say things I don't mean."
Owen ripped his face out of her grip as he stood up abruptly. His jaw was clenched so tight, his teeth were starting to ache. "Shut up!" Tears swelled up in Owen's eyes and he ran his hands through his hair. "Just shut up."
Gabriella flinched slightly, but maintained her composure as she stood up with him, still looking at him. Without saying a word she wrapped her arms around him and brought him in for a hug, holding him tightly. "Just..stop, please." She said quietly, sighing softly against his shoulder, knowing he wasn't himself and that fact alone killing her.
Owen tensed in her hold. He was fully prepared to push her away, but instead, everything he had been holding back -- every bit of frustration and anger and resentment -- came flooding out of him as he accepted her hug and sank back onto the sand with her. "I hate this," Owen choked out into the crook of her neck.
Gabriella held him tighter when he spoke, her brows furrowed as she let her hand stroke his hair soothingly. "I know..I know." She spoke quietly into his neck.
Owen "It's not fair," The tears were rolling freely down his cheeks now and he held onto Gaby tighter. "Did I do something wrong? Did I -- ... ? I don't -- ..." Owen's breathing was sharp and fast, and he tried to regain control of it as he continued to stutter out words. "Why am I never good enough? M-My mom... and my dad... Now her, and I just...."
Gabriella listened as he spoke, finally understand just what he was going through and suddenly, it was as if she were getting déjà vu from the previous month with Patrick and her own parents. Gabriella simply held him, continuing to stroke his hair. "You know what Owen? Screw them, you don't..you don't need them to show you what you're worth because they could never do that--you're worth so much and if they can't see that, you have me too and Gwen and Finn and.." She sighed shakily, frustrated with the people making him upset. "Fucking screw them."
Owen "What good is that if I can't see what I'm worth?" Owen whispered into her shoulder, suddenly feeling extremely drained.
Gabriella pointed at his chest, poking it. "It's good in here, and that's all that matters." She sighed softly, laying back in the sand with him as she looked from him up to the sky. "Why don't we just get out of here after school ends hm?"
Owen looked at her sadly. "I can't. I don't have anywhere to go." He sighed as he looked back up. "I thought I knew what I wanted out of life, but now it's all just... I dunno, it's just hazy now. Like it's not even there." He grimaced.
Gabriella shook her head as she looked over at him. "You don't have to know what you're doing when you get out of here, I know I don't but..we're all just winging it." She smiled sadly, biting down on her lip. "I still haven't even decided where I'm going and my deadline's coming up but..I meant for a week or two, just to get away from this all y'know?" Her eyes drifted back up to the sky as it began to darken.
Owen looked back at her with a frown. "Where would we even go? I feel like anywhere I would go, I would just feel the same."
Gabriella shrugged her shoulders, still looking at him. "Anywhere you want to go, I'll take you." She pressed her lips together, completely serious.
Owen stared at her with disbelief. "Why?" His voice was soft but it still held the unmistakable trace of doubt and suspicion. "Why would you do that for me?"
Gabriella stared right back, a small smile on her face that signified that usual Gabriella Lawson hope, that even if things weren't okay, there was still a reason to smile. "Because I love you, and when you love someone you want to do whatever you can to make that person happy, I want to make you happy." She tilted her head slightly to one side, almost as a curious child would.
Owen He shook his head furiously, scattering sand in the process. "You don't," Owen croaked out. "If that were true, I wouldn't be in this situation. My life wouldn't be this way." He turned his head back to the sky and tried to swallow past the lump in his throat.
Gabriella rubbed a bit of sand from her eyes as she spoke, her nose scrunching up a bit as she did so. "And why do you think that..? Because I do love you, that's not something that's going to change Owen."
Owen "Yes, it is!" He sat up suddenly and twisted around to face her, anger prominent in his voice. "Why shouldn't you be any different from the others? Why should anyone be different? How can I trust anyone when they say 'I love you'?" Owen could feel tears returning so he twisted back around to face the ocean. "My mother left when I was six years old. And she never came back. My dad has been nothing but cruel to me my entire life. Lauren... she..." There was a second of silence before he dropped his head into his hands. "I thought she loved me. She told me all this shit about how we could've had something. But it meant fuck all to her. She used me and I let her."
Gabriella furrowed her eyebrows at him, both with concern and frustration. "And what reason would I have to say it if I didn't mean it? I won't stop saying it because I do mean it, and I'm not giving up on you Owen--not ever."" She took his hand in hers and held it tightly, just watching him as he watched the ocean. "I've been treated like crap enough to know it doesn't feel good okay? And I would never do that to you, ever." She rested her head on his shoulder, shutting her eyes.
Owen let his hand rest loosely in Gaby's as he frowned down at her. "That's what Lauren told me, too."
Gabriella looked back at the ocean, her eyes soft as she watched the darkness settle in. "I'm not Lauren, and I don't plan to be if that's how she's treated you."
Owen He followed her train of sight, back to the ocean, and sighed. Owen gave in and wrapped his fingers around hers, before speaking softly, "All I wanted was to make her happy. She... She was my first everything." Frowning down at their hands, he thought about how large and awkward his hand compared to Gaby's. "But I wasn't making her happy. Remi was -- is. And I kept... trying to get in the way of that because of how much I hated him." He looked back up to the horizon, watching as the sun gradually disappeared below it. "I don't know why I thought that if Remi didn't deserve her, I did. She made it clear that I was just getting in the way. I don't know why I -- .... I don't know."
Gabriella kept her eyes on the ocean, biting down on he lip as the wind picked up around them. "Pat was my first kiss, but...everyone disappoints us or breaks a part of us--doesn't mean they break all of us. You sort of just..learn from the bad so you can move on with the good--and leave out the negativity no matter how bad it gets because it never helps, trust me. But you're right, you don't deserve her--you deserve so much better and I know you'll find someone better, someone that cares enough to respect your feelings and be there for you and hold you and make all the bad go away--she's out there and I can't wait for you to meet her." The small brunette turned to him then, that same small hopefully smile on her lips.
Owen smiled weakly. "I guess. I just don't really see it happening."
Gabriella reached over and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek before bringing him in for a hug, staying comfortable like that. "Trust me..I do okay? You're too amazing, even with all your comic book geekiness." The brunette giggled softly, just holding onto him.
Owen remained still, even with Gaby holding onto him. "Sure."