Knight of Healing
| Knight of Healing | |
|---|---|
| Date of Scene: | 26 February 2016 |
| Location: | Zoisite's Palace |
| Synopsis: | Usagi looks in on recently-purified Zoisite. Zoisite takes this as an opportunity to mend fences before his prince figures out just how MUCH Zoisite's been irritating Moon. In other words, someone decided it was a good idea to put two emotionally-driven, contact-addicted people with low impulse control in the same room unsupervised. There is a lot of hugging. And shipping. Zoisite's not so sure about this shipping HIM thing, mind. |
| Cast of Characters: | Usagi Tsukino, Zoisite |
Zoisite has posed:
The place where Jadeite's palace touches Zoisite's is presently a gateway flanked by flowers in oranges and reds, muted flame-colors amidst the green and serenity. Once through, on Zoisite's side, it's a doorway surrounded by an abstract mosaic in subtle blues and greens, the wood inset with stained glass that matches the tiles. The tapestries that flank it show harbor scenes; niches beyond them hold ceramic sculptures.
The girls saw the hallway in passing on their first exploration. Maybe it makes a little more sense, now.
Usagi is a total of five steps down the hall before Zoisite flickers into existence at the end of it. He's still wearing the T-shirt and jeans from the end of the Escalation. They're still small on him, but not as badly as Jadeite's were. It could conceivably have been a fashion statement. (It's not.)
His manner is - different. Openly uncertain. Worried eyes, for all that he's still blinking sleep out of them. His hair's come half out of the ponytail, and its band sags pathetically around his shoulders. "Your arm," he says. "Is it -- I'm sorry. I was trying not to hit you."
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Oddly enough, Zoisite's palace was the last one she checked for him.
Well, okay, she didn't check Kunzite's, though she suspects that would have made sense.
Fortunately, inside Nephrite's, all Usagi had to do was ask the pretty Thunderbird if Zoisite was hiding somewhere in the trees. When she left, she gave the giant bird a hug and a nuzzle against the soft down on his large neck before skipping back.
Inside Zoisite's home, she's too busy taking in the pretty scenery on the tapestry to really be aware, so when the owner appears rather suddenly at the end of the hallway, she almost has to peeled off the ceiling before she starts walking again! "Goodness, you scared me!"
It's obvious, or at least should be so, that her fright wasn't caused specifically by him, or who he was. It's the normal 'unexpected appearance of someone who wasn't there a second ago.'
She blinks at him, words of concern dying on her tongue as she looks down at her arm. "No, it's okay." She shifts the reusable bags into one arm, the one that wasn't hit, and waves the one that was about in an almost noodly fashion. "See? I can do this! And the escalation took care of the dark energy and fire!"
Speaking of.
She's about two feet from him when she sets the bags down. Then, she does what Usagis are wont to do when emotional. She's hugging him and maybe even sniffling. "Thank you for getting Naru-chan back to me. And I'm so sorry it hurt, and that it wasn't when you wanted, but I didn't want her taking you back and I just reacted!"
Zoisite has posed:
Not a bad plan. Zoisite's been spending a remarkable amount of time around Nephrite's - not always around Nephrite per se, since the trees and the undergrowth have their own fascinations for him. Jadeite's...
That one he waits to be invited to.
For some reason.
Scaring her? By showing up? That prompts blank incomprehension. He was all the way away from her! Not even in a blind spot! With no allies and no fire and no blades! How could that possibly be frightening?
There's a little bit of social adjustment going to be needed, yes.
Armwaving prompts a note of relief. "Good. Endy should've been able to take care of it - or he will the second you both have time, if he hasn't alrea-" WHY IS HE BEING HUGGED.
Not that he's complaining, mind, this is simply a completely alien experience. Particularly from Deathray Girl of the Kangaroo-Related Rantings. After a moment and several blinks, he puts an arm around her carefully in return. Not on the potentially injured side. When this does not result in his instant obliteration, he relaxes a little, and laughs. "I don't think you're allowed to apologize for doing what I was trying to ask you to do," he says. "How is she? I didn't see any blood over there - is she all right? Did she ever stop thinking she was just in an unusually decorated apartment complex?" His voice at that last drops a little, half teasing, a shared joke... just not entirely a joke. Naru practically did.
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
If Usagi was able, she'd invite Zoi there!She'd also clarify about being startled!
Don't worry, Zoisite. She'll help you learn how to people!
"He already has, don't worry." A sigh. "Maybe, but...I just don't like that it hurts people. Maybe I should start carrying tranquilizer darts to shoot at people before I escalate them."
Assured he's okay and not angry at her, she pulls back and offers him a bright smile, and rolls up her sleeve to show him.
"Naru-chan's doing fine! Nothing wrong with her physically. Apparently Melanite was a gracious host and you were..." She taps her chin in thought, and gives him a sly grin. "Just a darling. So, you know, thank you for that, too." Her eyebrows arch but that sly smile stays in place. "I'm pretty sure finding out who her best friend moonlights as jerked her brain back to almost reality. She'll be good in no time."
If possible, her grin turns even more sly. "She was glad to hear you're okay. 'I liked him' she said."
Whether or not it's crush territory, Usagi won't say! At least not right away!
Then she bends down and picks the bags up again. "Speaking of! I didn't know what size you wear, but these may be a bit long on you, at least until we can get you something else. I brought you some of Papa's clothes. Some of the nicer stuff he wears for work, too! The shoes may be a bit big." She hands over the bag of clothes! "And some food! I figured you can't go wrong with miso soup and rice, right? If you want anything else just let me know!" Another bag handed over! He likely feels the warmth radiating lightly. The containers are all well insulated.
And then she's shy again! "I wasn't sure if you prefered a brush or a comb, so I brought both, and other bath stuff. The shampoo and conditioner are good! It's what I use. I only brought a little of each in case you don't like it."
And then she's looking at him again, the same way she did when she was mothering him the other day. Both wrists against foreheads, checking for visible booboos, and once again, making sure his eyes aren't going 'ow I have a billion owies I'm keeping hidden.'
"It may take awhile, but you'll be okay. And for what its worth, I only hate one person and its very much not you. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know?"
And then there's a mischievous glint in her eyes! "Even if it involves me cursing like a sailor again. Though if my phone doesn't end up smashed against a wall, I'd appreciate it."
Zoisite has posed:
"Tranquilizer darts are risky," Zoisite offers, as if he thought she meant that seriously. "It's hard to get the dosage right." It is probably best not to wonder why he's thought about this.
He inspects Usagi's arm as carefully as she inventoried him last time; delicate fingers put gentle pressure above and below where the mark would have been if Mamoru had let one exist. Testing for anything that might have sheltered in her system from her own purification. Result: zero, and he looks back to her face with a smile bright enough to match her own.
"Melanite was a sneaky host." There's nothing judgmental in that; it's a skill appraisal, nothing more. "I just took the opening she gave me. As long as your friend was going along with suggestions, I could be polite without losing face in front of the girls. So," and his eyes sparkle, and he gives an intentionally vain little shake of his curls and poses, "she has exactly the right opinion of me, of course."
Then he has to stop to pick up the band that just gave up all pretense of being attached to his hair. It gives him time to smother laughter. It also means that as he's straightening up, pulling his hair back and securing at least most of it again, he is presented with bags. That is one fast ponytail; he frees his hands fast to take the bags. Clothes in one hand, food in the other, startled expression matching both again. Usagi's talking enough that it takes him three starts to slip words in between her sentences, even if the words are only a faintly unbelieving "Thank you."
At least her inspection of him is both more justified than last time (hey, he just did it to her) and a chance for him to actually speak. Wrist against forehead -- this time he's not running anything that feels like much of a fever. Maybe a little warm, but not internal-furnace levels. No visible injuries, which isn't a shock given Mamoru dealt with him directly. No signs of buried physical pain. Emotional trauma is pretty much a given, but it's not like that one's a surprise. Usagi's met Beryl.
"Thank you," he says again, more firmly and more earnestly than the time just before: he's had the couple of seconds to get it through his head that this is actually happening. "And thank you for last time, too; I was too distracted by Mercury to say it then." Also by trying to keep his darker self's frank terror of Usagi buried. Ahem. He's lost some of that, anyway, courtesy his experiments in testing his capabilities post-Escalation.
(That is to say, his being gratuitously annoying at Nephrite. Always test on someone who can give at least as good as they get.)
He hesitates a moment before answering anything else -- and that gives him a moment to catch that mischievous glint. There is just a flicker of an amazing burst of relief; then he's ducking his head so that he can bat eyelashes at Usagi from a slightly better angle, mischief caught and answered and returned. "Well. I can't entirely help it, you know. Endy's right; you're too cute when you're getting riled up." ... once she's already riled up is the terrifying moment. Did he mention it being hard to get the dosage right? Here, too.
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
She taps her chin and hums as he inspects her arm. "What about a mild pain reliever?" She sighs and throws up the hand not being inspected. "That won't do! What if the person is allergic!"
She feels fine, but allows the inspection to go on, because she gets it. This doesn't, of course, stop her from her usual amount of fidgeting. The full moon wasn't that long ago, and for some reason she always has energy to spare during that time. (Normally at night, which would be why she naps in class.) "You have a pretty smile."
Usagi isn't, of course, trying to feed his ego. (She probably is, though. Oops!) It's just a statement of fact!
She sighs and nods at his appraisal of Melanite's hosting skills. "I'm very glad. I would have had to punch her if she hadn't been." And she really doesn't mind that she was worried sick about Naru for very little reason in the end. Then she is amused again, and raises both eyebrows and a prideful tip of her nose. "Of course she does. Naru-chan is an excellent judge of character, you know!"
Then she has a Serious Request face on. "If she likes you like that and you're not interested, it's okay if you're not, just let her down gently, okay? I don't know if she does! But if she does!"
Overall, Usagi is pleased with her inspection of him. He's faring better than she thought, which is always a bonus. And yes, she totally understands and gets the mental trauma will take some working through. And she will totally be a willing participant in any and all future Beryl Bashing sessions, so long as the others involved don't mind her extreme righteous indignation on their behalf in the mix. (And, of course, foul language.)
But no thinking of that now! She smiles at him again. "You're welcome! And it's okay, you were all being nerdy. I was happy to watch. I've missed it! Mercury's almost as smart as my Mamo-chan is, you know." A prideful preen for both of them! "It's very fun to watch their faces when they get in discussions about quantum potatoes and...um...differential
And then! An indignant squawk! "Gah! Between the two of you!" Arms flapping! "I'm not cute, I'm...scary! Yeah! Um...roar!" She puts on her Normal Grumpy Face, which is far less scary than the ones he's seen before. Looks like a bunny with a nose itch. "I can't remember if you did it to me back then, but I bet you did."
Zoisite has posed:
Telling Zoisite that he has a pretty smile is an excellent way to win another one. But of course it's just a statement of fact! Zoisite especially would agree with that.
Having been worried sick about Naru ... might not be for very little reason. Zoisite hasn't mentioned what Melanite's actual plans for her were. Zoisite isn't about to worry her with them unless she asks. He has a Prince to worry with them, after all; Endymion can be the filter, even now --
-- but he's not about to withhold information she does ask for. If she asks.
The prospect of her liking him like that, excellent judge of character or no, wins another startled look from Zoisite. And another laugh. "We've talked for ten minutes," he protests. "She doesn't know anything about me except that I can pretend to have manners for a little while. I don't know anything about her except that she's your friend and she likes drawing. Aren't you worrying a little early?" ... but Usagi has the Serious Request face on. Oh, no. "I'll do my best to be careful with her, though. I'm ... not sure exactly how to be, but I'll try."
There is one aspect of the entire change of sides that Zoisite has not had reason to think through till now, after all. Over on this side? There are girls who are not youma. His experience with non-evil teenagers of any sort is low to start out with. Non-evil teenagers who are female are ... well. He knows some things about them, certainly. He could probably make himself pass for one, even in a crowd of them, possibly without needing to tap magic to do it. But how to deal with them? That's another story.
There are some advantages to dealing with them, though. Hearing Mercury described as almost as smart as Endymion is one of them. Even if it comes with ... quantum potatoes. Straight face. Must keep straight face.
Must also not reach up and scritch Usagi's nose for her. Fortunately, having a bag in each hand helps. Zoisite feigns cowering instead, gasping and fluttering eyelashes exaggeratedly. He pauses mid-cower to ask aloud, "Back then?" A hesitant moment. "You were there -- were then -- too?"
It feels like it makes sense. But he can't quite --
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Of course Zoisite would! Because it's factual, and not opinion based! (Though it is, in her opinion, a factually nice smile!)
One day, when she's not worried about everyone and everything, she will ask. But she suspects that the answer will make her cry. Or mad. Or, you know, both. After all, there's very little about the Dark Kingdom that doesn't rouse some form of either of those from her.
Usagi giggles. "So? Ten minutes can be long enough. And I'm not sure if she does or not, but just in case. And don't worry, if it turns out she does, I can help you! Though as a general rule of thumb, 'I hate your face' isn't a good way." She shakes her head, all matter of fact. "Unless the person is persistent, annoying, and has no concept of personal space, but even then you're too concerned about their feelings. Ug!"
Here, she turns to the side and shakes her fist, grinding her teeth. "Umino..."
Then she's all better!
Usagi can help with that, too! And until he has an idea of how to Girl, he can always take a page from her introverted and shy boyfriend's book!
Hey, potatoes make as much sense as entanglement to Usagi when it comes to quantums!
She gives a victorious evil cackle to his cower! The dreaded 'mweeheehee!' And then she blinks a few times. "Huh?" Blink, blink. "Yeah. I used to sneak down at night, and then my girls would come down and I'd be very bad at hiding because I'd end up giggling too much you don't remember?"
Zoisite has posed:
Usagi has no idea how relieved Zoisite is, for just an instant, at her turning to the side and shaking her fist over that name. He has no idea who it belongs to, but it is not any variation on 'Mamoru,' so he does not have to go prying about what in the world happened.
... he himself has no idea of the early stages of Mamoru and Usagi's meetings, either. Fortunately those are also far enough in the past that he does not have to go prying!
And that entire topic is left aside when Usagi goes from cackle to blink to explanation.
* * * * *
She's met or at least seen three of Endymion's guardians, by now. Kunzite, tall and pale and a little frightening. Nephrite, solidly present or utterly absent with nothing in between. Jadeite, smaller than the other two, but earnestly helpful in a persistent way that the others aren't. There are supposed to be four. But she's never seen the other one.
This is the very first time that she and Endymion have been allowed to be really alone in the gardens. There's always some uniformed figure shadowing them, one of the three, even before one or more of her girls arrive. Always. They're almost as tireless as her senshi are about it.
At least they've seemed like they're alone. Until finally some turn in the conversation causes Endymion to lift his head and call, "Zoi?"
In the corner of her eye, there's movement, high up. This particular garden is walled, high enough to keep the small trees within from putting branches over it, and something moved atop the wall --
-- drops down, in a flare of mingled paleness and color --
He lands deftly and lightly on his feet, like a cat, and his eyes are the bright gold-backed green to match that. He's wearing the same uniform as the other three do, cape and all, trimmed in a sober blue. He's perhaps Endymion's age, younger than the others; his build is so light as to make even Jadeite look more solid in comparison. Jadeite's hair is a purer gold; this one's has notes of copper and brown in it, enough to make it more sober in some lights, or to blaze with fire in others.
His expression is a mask of seriousness. Behind it is, plainly enough, suppressed bright laughter at surprising her, and at Endymion's exaggeratedly heavy sigh of reprimand for doing it. Behind that is something else, cheerfully feral, leashed, but not leashed securely -- more mischievous than lethal by nature. But cats catch birds and mice for fun, as well as for food.
The wink is definitely for Serenity, not for Endymion, even as he's apologizing solemnly to his Prince and waiting to learn what he was called for.
He would keep getting better at those masks over time. Better able to pretend he was happier in a crowd than on a rooftop or in a tree; better able to confine that mischief to more appropriate moments. She wouldn't see him directly all that much. Like Mercury, he would always work better in the background. But now and then, when he would twist some diplomatic or social pattern to their momentary advantage, whispering to Serenity the secrets of how to take advantage of it -- maybe she'd see through that too-serious mask he'd wear, to the quick little trickster mind beneath. Or maybe he'd leave the mask behind, once in a while, the way he could do with his brothers. Just for her.
When did he stop seeing her as an ally, or even as their Prince's infatuation? When did he start seeing her as prey?
* * * * *
In the now, in his palace, his breath catches. "Oh," he says, very soft. "Oh. No wonder he loves you so much."
There is nothing else, in the face of all of that, that he could possibly find to say.
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
The name is, of course, one uttered like a curse all too often and for far too long. Though technically harmless, the creepy boy is almost exhausting in too long a dose.
There is no doubt that with enough exposure to the sickeningly sweet couple, Zoisite will get at least a glimpse of their more rocky start. And he will see, too, even more of that 'too cute' riled up that normally only Mamoru can get out of her. Sometimes, to a degree, Zoisite now.
* * * * *
Usagi doesn't experience a flashback. One day she will remember more about him from back then aside from a faint but solid impression in her mind.
One day she'll remember how she almost had to be peeled off the nonexistent ceiling as Jadeite appeared, a startled 'Goodness, you scared me!' rushing out before she could stop it. Or how that becomes her usual greeting for him whenever he just appears like that in the future.
She'll also remember how his hair fascinated her, the shifting colors, and when allowed or when she believes she won't notice, how she'd sneakily creep behind him to pick up a lock to turn it about in the light.
And how, when she's on the Moon and at some boring function or another, she'll come to miss his antics during the even more boring moments. How she's a willing accomplice, or apprentice, in shenanigans that are technically within the bounds of decorum.
Finally, one day she'll remember the sharp pain in her heart when she realizes he's no longer theirs. A pain for Endymion, to be sure, but also one for herself.
* * * * *
She has no flashbacks, very few memories outside the jigsaw puzzle pieces collected through quartered keys of a whole and the occasional dream. (Or the common childhood nightmare of a scary woman with long red hair.) The emotions are there, of course, but she's never sure how to quite explain that without sounding crazy.
After all, 'I don't know you, but I feel you' is not exactly a good way to get the idea across.
So instead, she blushes a deep red as she shrugs, twisting a bit of hair between her hands. "It was very confusing before." She doesn't say 'before he was taken.' "We knew who he was, but not who I was. But...I couldn't stay away."
Zoisite has posed:
She might be in the best possible company to explain that, right now. Zoisite sets down the bags he's holding, apparently finally convinced that he's held on to them long enough that it won't be misinterpreted as a rejection, and puts his hands out to her.
"Of course you couldn't," he says firmly. "And I'm glad you didn't. And I'm even glad you didn't -- no, I'm glad he didn't know. That he got to meet who you are now without having to worry about who you were then. He gets all tangled up about us when he thinks about it too much, not being sure which part of us he's trying to talk to, or which part of us is going to answer. But he'll never have to to worry about that with you. And you don't have to worry about that at all, do you? You just understand."
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
One thing Zoisite will hopefully learn is that Usagi wouldn't take offense to someone setting down bags. After all, they can become heavy or just plain annoying to hold when standing still!
Whether his hands are an invitation for a hug or not, Usagi takes it as one. Because hugs are awesome.
Maybe one day Zoisite will learn that about her, too.vHis explanation fills her with warm fuzzies as she snuggles against his shoulder. His words mirror the thoughts she's never quite been able to articulate, and she's so glad someone else has them, too. "Mamo-chan is Mamo-chan. Just like Zoi-kun is Zoi-kun." Then she sighs, and it's an almost sad thing. "I think he's a little afraid that who he is now isn't...good enough?" She shakes her head. Such a silly thought! "I don't know anything about that, though. He's hiding a lot from me. But that's okay, I'm hiding things, too!" She looks up at him and smiles. "I do know he loves you all very much. So I love you, too!" Her grin turns a bit devious. "Even when I was throwing phones and cursing in such fashions!"
Her eyes widen a bit! "It's okay if you don't love me! You don't have to!"
Zoisite has posed:
Hugs were, in fact, not the plan. But Zoisite's not just quick on his feet, or in the air; he adjusts neatly to a double armful of Small and Only Sometimes Terrifying Blonde. Being called Zoi-kun does give him cause to blink, but she's not looking up at him at the time, and it's not a bad blink, either. Startled. But he'll take that as a good sign.
"Not everybody needs to tell everybody everything all at once," he says, and there's that laughing reassurance in his voice. "I bet there are things you tell Jupiter even before you tell Mercury." She looks up at him, and he bends his head down, careful that when his forehead touches hers it's gentle rather than teeth-rattling. Something he could absolutely never have done with Serenity; something that, despite the fading remnants of his terror of her, feels almost natural as breathing to do with Usagi. "It's all right. He'll be with you all the way. So will we. You're --"
For once, he has to fumble for the word, and it's not the concern that his stray curls might get tangled in her hair by accident that prompts it. It's simply not remembering what it is. And when he does find it, it takes a deep breath before he can make himself say it; it's necessary, and it's true, but it's also so soon, and a straight no would be devastating.
Some of Usagi's girls would probably give that straight no. Some of them would put it off, say these things take time.
But -- Zoi-kun. And her father's clothes.
"-- you're family, aren't you?"
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
Usagi decides that Zoi-kun Hugs are almost as good as Mako-chan Hugs, whose Hugs are almost as good as Mamo-chan hugs.
She opens her mouth to answer, but his forehead is on hers and he's not done talking. She leans into it, a happy hum at the back of her throat. She remembers emotions from when she was Serenity, but this one's new. And she's glad, somehow, that she's able to have new ones with old friends in this lifetime.
During his pause, part of her freezes and her eyes study his chin. Part of her, for some reason, expects something similar to 'obligation.' Or at least the negative connotations thereof.
But that's not the word she gets.
She doesn't answer right away, but this is only to pull back, just slightly, to check his eyes with wide ones of her own. There's no teasing.
Happy with what she sees, Zoisite is rewarded with a brilliant smile and a forehead smooch. "Oh, yes! That's a very good word for it!"
She hugs hig again, tightly, and her body's practically vibrating with joy.
Zoisite has posed:
'Obligation' is not, by itself, such a terrible word. The bond that first connected Zoisite and the other Shitennou with their prince was a bond of voluntary obligation, chosen and committed to by both sides. So is that now between Usagi and the other Senshi. So are the bonds of friendship, of family.
But 'obligation' stripped of anything else, obligation that bears no warmth, no fellow-feeling, only irritation or pity or barren, heartless duty - obligation that comes at the cost of one's heart, rather than strengthening it - that kind of obligation is terrible indeed.
Changes over time, one self rising, another falling away. When the Senshi first unlocked Zoisite's palace, there was no connection between the two of them at all; Zoisite hated Moon with an impersonal hatred, the same rage he bore against everything for existing, and with a personal edge for making him remember things that hurt still more. By the time 'Blossom' reached out to her, there was that toxic kind of obligation - a contact made because it was necessary, begrudged, valuable only for that necessity and for a few things he could test with it and for a moment's amusement.
By the time he met with her and Mercury -- he'd seen the echo of her in his prince's eyes. He knew the connection between the two of them. He began to try to mend the damage; but the darkness he'd embraced blocked every other turn, twisted his words to something sour even when he tried to mean well.
This time. This time that darkness is cleared away. This time both links in the chain are complete: the bond between Usagi and Mamoru, and the painfully recently reforged bond of promise and faith between Mamoru and Zoisite.
His prince's lady. Someday his princess. And as his prince is his brother - family.
Zoisite's title, once, was the Knight of Purification and Healing. It's a ridiculous statement on the face of it. Endymion heals. Asclepius heals. Moon herself purifies. Zoisite hides, and calls flowers, and sets things on fire. Healing simply isn't in his arsenal.
That just means that it isn't physical wounds that he focuses on.
A serious rift between them would have been a wound for Endymion. That, Zoisite can behave long enough to prevent. For this one particular moment, he's not teasing at all.
Not till after she's hugging him again, and when he squeezes back he lets his tone stay warm, but go just a little sly. "Understand, though, the only reason I'm letting up on trying to get you to throw your phone is that your boyfriend would make me replace it."
After all. It wouldn't work out in the long run if she got the idea now that the Escalation had actually turned him into someone else altogether.
Usagi Tsukino has posed:
That's the sort of obligation she can get behind. It's the sort of obligation she does, what she wants to be behind.
But with Venus, it feels as though the other blonde's feeling toward her is more the negative obligation. And that is what part of her feared about the shitennou, that they'd see her as necessary baggage attached to their prince.
It may have been that way in another life, more so in the beginning. But now, here, she's not a stranger to their ways and planets, and its no longer a necessity to babysit her until one of her own comes to collect their wayward ward. There's no longer an ingrained suspicion of her long lived people, or the inevitable trainwreck everyone but the two lovers saw racing toward them even before the end.
And it would suit her fine, really, if none of the boys saw her as more than a casual friend. They don't owe her more than that, despite her own feelings. That they could see her as more than that?
She tilts her head to give him a wry eyebrow. "Please. I've thrown things when my little brother's made me mad, and have learned where to throw phone to. Why do you think my phone still works now?"
