The Trick to Falling in Style

Key

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Beau demanded in a harsh tone. They were standing in her dormitory at the college. He looked around at the room. Her desk was there with an open laptop, and her bed frame was hanging off the wall. Everything was fuzzy, though, and some details kept shifting. He couldn't tell what color her bedsheets were. Her computer was open to a document, but the words kept coming in and out of focusing with no discernable quality to set them apart. There was nothing but blank darkness outside the window. He didn't remember what the view looked like that day. Beau herself didn't seem consistent. How long were her pants? Did they reach her ankles, or were they slightly longer? Were her shoes tied or were the knots a little loose?

He could remember her face, though, with such clarity even after time had passed. She had looked incredibly angry, but there were undertones of other vibrant emotions. There was disappointment and a brokenness that couldn't be fixed. There was a slight twitch to her mouth like she wanted to break into a humorous smile, to pretend this was all a cruel joke. She had her fists brought up to his shirt, just below his collar, clinging to the fabric tight enough that he could feel her body heat brush against his skin, his scars.

He could remember what words came out of his mouth next. He knew how the whole conversation went. "The Pit isn't the only fucking threat in Logstedshire, and at the moment, it isn't even the most dangerous. This new fucking gang war is taking out more people than the Pit is kidnapping. I don't want to do this, either, but I'm one fucking man, Beau. A big man, obviously, but just one. I can't do all this on my own. I don't like admitting this, but I need help."

"So, get help from the fucking heroes who you seem extremely buddy-buddy with. Do not go to the Pit for help. You have said a lot of dumb shit over the years, but the fact that you are even considering this is by far the most idiotic thing you're brain has ever come up with," Beau said, pushing off him to take a few steps back. Her fingers released his shirt, and he took a few steps away from her to regain his balance. Beau stared at him for a moment, her chest heaving with her fists tightening beside her hips. She looked like she wanted to pummel him into the ground, but she settled for pacing back and forth, muttering words to herself.

"Damnit, Beau, I can't fucking go back to the fucking heroes, not after what I did. And I can't let the gangs continue to run rampant. I have to protect the people of Logstedshire," He told her, hoping she would understand even though he knew she wouldn't. He had no idea why he came to tell her his plans in the first place. Did he want to be talked out of it? Did he want someone to yell some reasoning into his brain? He had no one now, no one but her, and he was ruining this relationship. Is that what he truly wanted? He wanted to give her a reason to walk away from him because some part of him knew what was going to happen. Arch would find him soon, and he couldn't have any loose ends.

"Easy for you to fucking say. You aren't one of us," Beau told him, her face tilting to face him. Her entire face was covered in shadows. Her eyes seemed to glow in the low lighting, highlighting the extreme emotions swimming in her pupils. He tensed as her words and that look washed over him. She must have seen this because she turned to face him, stalking towards him with a cruel look rising on her face. "You fucking prance around as the Red Angel, a hero of Logstedshire, but you don't fucking know what it's like to be a hybrid. You don't experience prejudice every fucking day. You were never part of the Pit. You can act like you care about us, but at the end of the day, you can leave this place whenever you want for a human district. The people would accept you. You are not a fucking hybrid! And you never will be one, no matter how you act!"

She says this as if he didn't already know. He was too human to be a true part of Logstedshire, and he cared about hybrids too much to belong anywhere else. She was wrong about calling him 'human', though. He was even further away from that word than hybrids were.