brutal | grayson hawthorne

oh no

***
You're Losing Me by Taylor Swift
***

The group came up with a plan to get their hands on the ring Zara obtained from the old man's will, but it didn't really work in how Zara found out what Avery was trying to do and ignored Grayson when he tried to run interference.

They came up with another plan, doing better this time, so while Avery was carrying it out, Liz and Grayson sat on the ground of one of the many hallways in Hawthorne House, backs to the walls as Liz played footsies with his outstretched legs, pink Converse on his black dress shoes.

He's been quiet ever since they're trip. He's always quiet, really, but Liz knows he's getting too lost in his thoughts lately, and she isn't sure how to help him with it.

"You look like you're going to ask," Grayson notices Liz's stare as she tries to think of what to say.

"How are you feeling?" She does it even though it makes him throw his head back, resting it against the wall as he stares at the ceiling exasperatedly.

He doesn't offer a response so Liz kicks him gently, "I'm worried," she stays staring.

He stays silent.

"C'mon, we tell each other everything."

"You don't tell me about your parents," Grayson is still staring at the ceiling so Liz is grateful he can't see the physical reaction she has to the words.

"There's nothing to say about them," her voice feels defensive but she doesn't know how to talk about her family without it getting like that.

When she was a kid, she thought her parents stepped right out of a fairytale. Her dad was always surprising her mom with flowers for no special occasion and her mom's favorite part of the day was watching a movie on the couch with him at the end of the day.

And Liz supposes it was subtle changes as she grew up and her dad stopped buying flowers and her mom started going to bed early, but it felt unfairly sudden when her parents told her they were getting separated and her dad moved out the next day.

She doesn't think it messed her up in any significant way, but maybe it has something to do with why her and Grayson won't talk about whether or not they're anything official.

"How's your mom been?" Grayson knows she's been in and out of rehab four times since Liz was fifteen.

"The same as always," she misses when they were talking about Grayson's issues, not hers.

"And how are you feeling about it?" Liz can see how that may get annoying.

"It's different with your dad," Liz doesn't even know if that's what he was getting at.

"How? They're both assholes who don't care about their children. You don't see me coddling you at every step."

"I'm not coddling!" Liz can't believe he's actually upset about her trying to be a nice person. "I'm trying to make sure you don't go insane thinking about the things you can't control."

"Whatever, Lizzy," Grayson's eyes haven't moved from the ceiling. "Just know I can look after myself."

"Fine," she stands up suddenly. "Look after yourself, then," and she knows she's being silly and unreasonable, but who does he think is?

And to bring up her parents like that? As if he wasn't the one she cried to every night her mom wasn't home and she had to stay at Hawthorne House?

If he wants to act like he's too good for emotions, then she's not going to be there to catch him when he falls.

***

Strip Bowling is the same as it was last time Liz played in 10th grade with Jameson, the girl he had a crush on, and her brother, the guy Liz had a crush on.

The Devlin's thought the game was hilarious, and Liz is pretty sure that Annie started getting the ball in the gutter on purpose just so that Jameson would see her strawberry patterned bra.

But, she's not complaining, because the game ended in a make-out session between her and Adam in one of the secret passageways behind the ball rack.

She would suggest the idea to Grayson now, who's playing with her, Avery, Jameson, and Avery's friend, Max, but the two haven't spoken since the day before, not even to debrief what they learned about the significance of Costa Rica in the hunt.

Liz doesn't think she's really mad at him - she can never stay mad at Grayson for long - but she's not going to tell him that until he makes the first move. Maybe she has some stuff to apologize for, maybe she was being a little pushy in making sure he wasn't going crazy in his mind, but he should say sorry for being so cold first, obviously.

But, both of them are too stubborn for their own good, so of course they're ignoring each other like their lives depend on it.

And anyway, strip bowling is a good as anything to take her mind of things, and being the pro that she is, she was barefoot and down to the tank top she wore under her sweater and cotton shorts that she wore under her skirt.

Luckily, Xander burst into the room just before she had to show her day of the week underwear that was for the wrong day of the week.

He rambled a bit, in true Xander fashion, before finally getting to the point: Toby was a Laughlin and was adopted by Tobias Hawthorne.

a/n:
y does no one else find it icky that Jameson and avery were still in love even when they thought avery was Toby's daughter bc I get he was adopted and they weren't blood related but in a way weren't they lowk cousins at the time 😶 and like eve and Grayson like ig it's ok bc it's not like they were raised together or anything but like 😟 anyway call it what you want or state of grace bc both of those have lines where it feels like incest the tiniest bit and that's all i can think ab rn