𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑡𝘩𝑠, 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎.
did she feel bad ? about forty percent , most of her was proud that she was able to hold the lancaster male like putty in her hands , & get the right reaction from him. of course , she wasn’t going to deny that her depressive episode had managed to come soon after their fall out , although she blamed that mostly on the emotional rollarcoaster that she put herself through. it was only the rules of the game , not only was he on bad terms with her leader , but she was also the brother to the one & only aiden lancaster. of course , she barely knew the male , but the small window of time she had known him , she was not impressed by his lack of interest in her ways. ronnie never thought of herself as the most attractive person to walk the earth , but she had manipulative & sociopathic tendencies , which needed to be fulfilled with the hurt she inflicted on others , aiden ? he refused to be one of those people.
‘‘ fine , don’t say i didn’t offer. i’m happy to have another drink for myself. ’’ she stated before wrapping slim fingers around the glass & lifting it to her lips.
the attitude that she was given was only fueling her to stay in her spot , her stomach twisting in such a satisfying way , manicured nails taping on the table. ‘‘ really ? female or male ? they cute ? i’m sure they wouldn’t mind more to the party , i know i don’t mind. ’’ she said in a flirtatious tone , leg stretching out to lightly run up his leg before dropping back down , head tilting to the side. ‘‘ oh — stop being so grumpy gills. we both know that we have fun together. ’’
when her leg touches his, he recoils. it was an instinctual reaction, something left in his gut from their previous dalliance, and as she continued to speak ronan knew he had little interest in remaining in this position. he had worked hard to overcome his demons, the voice in his head that loved to remind him often that he simply wasn’t good enough; he hadn’t relapsed in years, hadn’t felt the desire, and that was his own achievement. achievements weren’t something he had many of when he was younger, when he was stood stoic in his brother’s shadow, but he had one now. one he was proud of. and that was their visceral difference in growth.
❛ okay. ❜ is all he bothers with, pushing his beer to one side and promptly standing from his seat without another word. his jacket is draped lazily across the back of his side of the booth and with one swift movement he’s grabbed it and pulled it over his broad shoulders, stepping out to give himself the space to shuffle it on before turning back to her once more. ❛ you should grow up. ❜
and then he’s moving, legs already carrying him well on his way toward the exit, palm flat against the gnarled wood of the door as he pushes it open to be greeted with the gentle bite of rosewick’s winter air. he cares little for anyone’s games, let alone veronica’s, and she seems to manage to disappoint him further each time she rears her head. perhaps the softer part of him had hoped she would change. that underneath it, she was a normal girl changed by circumstance. at one point in his life, he’d wondered if maybe his brother had even possibly deserved her obsessive hatred. though, of course, he didn’t. aiden was many things, but somehow he was good underneath it all.
she, on the other hand? the less said the better.
