#rsa verse.

[exceptone]

@dunbrochs​     /     get me outta here bro

“——— Sorry you had to hear that.”  That being : the sound of Piper’s dear mother screaming at them on the phone, voice loud enough to be heard even by the unlucky passerby / best friend that had happened by.  USELESS was the kindest of the many words the woman had used in reference to her daughter; Piper supposes she’s grateful that, at least, the focus on derisive terms had kept her from using her name.  The call’s over now, and Piper’s smile feels stiff and tight and their body feels small.  “— It’s...not a big deal.  I guess I fucked something up last time I was home for break.”  Unspoken, but obvious : I deserve it.

[exceptone]

@magicalshift​ : "barrie... the same barrie as the girl who lit the coatroom on fire at my family's home all those years ago??" graves asks, although it's with an expressionlessness denoting a lack of accusation; at most he's trying to connect the name and red hair of the present with the same name and red hair of the past. // hello rsa!piper

Piper’s eyes widen at the accusation — well, no, it’s very much not that, and they realize that as soon as their head lifts to actually look at him properly.  Oh, god, he’s sort of familiar, isn’t he?  The many faces from their youth tend to blur together, but the story brings back memories of grey eyes and the absolutely explosive (  literally  ) tantrum they’d thrown.  It had been worse than most of her others, at least prior to Jean, and so the memory clings just a bit.

And, yet, the surprised reaction need not mean guilt; what brother wouldn’t be surprised to have his HORRIBLE SISTER brought into the equation?  So Pearce constructs a shallow smile that’s half - apology for his sister, half - teasing for nothing at all.  “Oh, god, you met my sister, huh?”  She laughs and it’s all HIM, and a hand raises to push her bangs back from her forehead.  “Piper, yeah.  My twin sister.  Stupid, naive, childish, useless and annoying...”  They could go on / just like their parents could.  Ugly, pathetic, unnecessary child.  Worthless thing.  No one will want you so what good are you to us?  “Lighting an entire room on fire sounds about right.”

They remember it, if hazily (  childhood a blur of staring at their locked door and the forests with jean  ).  They’re fairly sure they’d thrown that tantrum because Mom wanted her to apologize for saying something rude.  But they’d felt trapped, angry they couldn’t leave, angry they were in a dress they could barely move in that they hadn’t picked, angry that Mom and Dad were trying to pawn them off to this family and this boy they didn’t know.  Pearce laughs.  Piper’s skin crawls.  “Let me guess...my parents were trying to get the brat married off, yeah?”

[exceptone]

@unblot​​ : "so a little birdie told me you've got a thing going on with graves." rielle brings this up casually & in a matter that would suggest that this isn't an issue for him. but the smile he wears doesn't quite meet his eyes as he looks over at the other. he doesn't know much about pearce barrie but he knows enough. knows enough not to trust him without a reason. so rielle doesn't.

"y'know honestly you could be really good for him. he's always been kinda a stick in the mud. hah, maybe finally he'll loosen up." rielle's not one to entirely disregard faith, even in this circumstance. & after today he'll go back to being the supportive best friend to graves he's always been. he just needs to get this conversation out of the way.

"just know if you do anything to hurt him. i will find out about it & i'll make sure you regret ever coming near him. got it?" he smiles wider now & this time it feels more sincere. the prince gives pearce a friendly little wave as he starts to head to his next class. "hope you two have fun! don't do anything i wouldn't do!"

Piper leans back, arms behind their head, and — for once in their life — just listens.  They figure they owe him that much.  Piper’s opinion on Rielle is neutral leaning positive — he’s annoying and too much like all the parts of herself she hates, but (  ironically  ) his apparent affection for Graves earns him more points than one might expect.  He threatens them and Piper’s only response is a sharp smile, but they’re HAPPY, too — that Graves has a friend that cares for him, that Rielle hasn’t lost him, that the story plays out differently between the two of them than is had for Piper and Jean.  Piper, who couldn’t care for him right, who could only hurt him, who was going to be left behind far before they broke him.

And that’s why the threat amuses them — what’s he gonna do? — but doesn’t make them angry.  It’s why they don’t argue.  They like Rielle.  They like that he loves Graves.  They love Graves too, after all, even if it hasn’t yet sunk in that they’re in love with him.

And it’s why they say, as he turns away, “Hey, Rielle —” and when he turns back over his shoulder, she shrugs and her head tilts back and her smile goes a little sharper, she says, “Don’t worry about me hurting him.”

Rielle looks confused and Piper feels herself laugh.  It should be obvious, right?  “It’s not gonna last long enough for that.  I give it six months, tops, before he gets sick of me and drops me like a bad habit.”  And leaves me, like Jean was always going to.  And leaves me, like I deserve.  And leaves me, because he makes me happy and nothing that makes me happy stays.  Rielle is annoying and too much like all the parts of herself she hates, but he’s better than her, and that’s why Graves won’t leave him and he will leave her.

It would be nice, to be worth sticking around for.  But at least being left behind is safe.

“So you don’t have to worry.”

[exceptone]

@poppicede​ : [txt] to [pearce 🍐⛵️☎️]: hey you wanna come over ???? ive got ddr up and stuff. its saturday and i just feel like having a friend around (from river !!)

Piper’s startled from their malaise by their phone buzzing; their head cranes towards the sound from where they lay on their bed.  They’ve barely moved today.  It’s not a bad day, it’s just that even Piper’s GOOD DAYS are low and isolated.  There’s no misery that goes beyond their usual and perpetual bored - lonely, but it can make it seem that there’s little reason to do —— well, ANYTHING.  It takes her a few minutes to drag herself up and over to her desk to dig through the mess atop it and find her cell within the mess.

She’s expected it to be from one of her brothers checking it, but she’s surprised to see that it’s from — River?

[ riv ] : hey you wanna come over ???? ive got ddr up and stuff. its saturday and i just feel like having a friend around

Piper’s eyes widen and they have a split - second to be grateful that he hadn’t invited them like this in person because they blink and tears roll down her cheeks.  It’s not just the invite, but —— a friend.  He thinks they’re friends?  He considers Pearce a friend?

They wipe at their eyes with trembling hands even as the tears turn to wracking sobs.  Piper hasn’t had a friend since Jean, is all.  They’re so happy, even if they don’t deserve to be.

(  someday, piper will sabotage this; will push river away, will fall to pieces and make him hate her before she hurts him.  she’ll save him from her.  but, for now, they’re just happy.  they’re just so fucking happy.  )

It takes too long for Piper to reply because it takes them too long to stop crying, to make their hands stop shaking.  But they do, eventually.

[ to : riv ] : yeah i can come n kick ur ass.  gimme like 10 minutes to put on actual clothes n i’ll be there

And then, about a minute later, another sends.

[ to : riv ] : and thanks 

[exceptone]

@poppicede​​ : River wordlessly gives Pearce a rock instead.

“Huh?”  It’s a single syllable — not even a word, but it’s lighter than it should be.  Not like any kind of freedom, like too - thin glass.  There’s a smooth stone in Piper’s palm and she’s only been to the ocean a handful of times (  so stupid, they live on an island and she’s never ——  ) but she can tell it’s from the water.  But as pretty and as smooth as it is it’s just a rock and it doesn’t mean anything and Piper hasn’t gotten a real gift from anyone other than their brothers since they were seven.  They haven’t gotten a real gift for no reason at all in years.

“Is this...for me?”  They ask, and he nods, and their hand curls around the little stone the same moment tears start dripping down their cheeks.  It’s so stupid and River will no doubt think Pearce is a freak now, the universally despised rude and irreverent jackass brought to tears over being given a rock.  Of all things.  One of their hands, the one not holding the gift, rises to press to her face and the heel digs into her eye socket like that will help.

She’s just so — fucking lonely, and not worth gifts, and hasn’t gotten one in years because that’s what she deserves.  She’s so used to cruelty.  She doesn’t know how to breathe when shown kindness, though.

“S — Sorry,” they say around a forced, whimpering laugh, choke by their tears and their gritting teeth.  “Been a while since I — hah, since I g - got a gift.  Sorry.”  They don’t deserve this, even if it doesn’t mean anything, even if was just a thoughtless nothing - gesture, she’s not even worth that.  

“Sorry,” she says again, again, and doesn’t just mean for crying.

[exceptone]

@magicalshift​     /     graves!     /     moral of the story by ashe

“That’s all right, that’s okay,” she mutters; it’s a way to assuage any worry he might feel.  He’d had the unfortunate luck of finding them on the end of an expletive laden and very one - sided phone call; Mother dearest furious over something, shouting her well - earned insults loud enough that poor Graves have been able to pick up on some of them before Piper had managed to get off the phone.  “In the end it’s better for me.”

[exceptone]

@magicalshift​     /     graves!     /     where does the good go by tegan and sara

“Look me in the eye and tell me you don’t find me attractive.”