Nightmare || Jason Todd [Titans]

UNCOMFORTABLE

Persephone struggled not to swipe her sweat slick hands on her lap the entire drive. Evander sat beside her, one hand resting casually but possessively on her knee while the other scrolled through his phone. He may not have been watching her per se, but she was sure the movement would go unnoticed; especially with the occasional glance she could feel Luca throw her way through the rear view mirror. Trying to draw her thoughts and energy away from the act, she focused her stare outside the window beside her as she tried to think of what she was going to do next.

Evander coming with her was a huge wrench in her plans of asking Molly for help, not to mention a risk to her only friend's life. He still hadn't returned her phone so she couldn't text to cancel and feed him an excuse on why Molly couldn't make it. He knew exactly where they were meeting so she couldn't lie about that either, getting Luca to drop them off elsewhere and claim Molly stood them up. If social events were any indication, Evander was likely to take lead of the entire conversation and not leave the two of them alone even for a minute.

Of course, he'd only brought Luca along, so if she could get Molly to the bathroom...

As if reading her mind, Luca murmured under his breath before declaring, "Alexis is already situated at the spot, sir."

It took everything in Persephone to keep her response minimal in the form of biting down on the edge of her tongue.

"Perfect," Evander replied, finally looking up from his phone to smile simply at her. "Can never have too many eyes looking out for us."

"So true," Persephone agreed weakly, meeting his cold eyes. Bastard. "Will she be joining us too?"

Evander squeezed her knee in his grasp hard enough that she bit back a whimper. "You know better than that, Sephie. She'll be where she's needed, not where she's seen."

"Right, sorry. I think my head is just a little foggy still from when I bumped it," she lied, watching an even colder smile cross his face as he leaned towards her.

He didn't bother to pitch his tone low, though she doubted it would've made much difference. The way his words struck her felt designed to amplify the sound in the confined space. "Keep talking about that bump in your head and it'll be the least of your problems, babe."

Seph froze, watching him lick his lip as if it were the most delicious idea he'd had so far. She swallowed hard, barely able to nod her stiffened neck, eyes darting to the rear view mirror just to find Luca was paying them no mind at all. Instead his eyes were focused on the road before them, turning a corner into an underground parking structure just across the street from the cafe.

She'd officially run out of time.

Exiting the car first, Luca surveyed the otherwise empty lot before knocking twice on the hood to signal Evander that it was clear for him to come out. Then he walked backwards, still watching carefully, and opened Persephone's door. Finally free from Evander's grip and gaze, she slid out slowly, her hands quickly squeezing the seat edge and door interior in an attempt to steady herself. By the time she'd walked around the car, Luca only a few inches behind her, and stood beside Evander, her hands had curled around the bag strap across her chest; just barely looking casual.

Evander reached his arm out towards her, hand hovering close by her lower back but not touching her, and silently lead the way across the pavement. Persephone could just make out the varying people in front of the cafe, greeting or bidding farewell to friends; entering and exiting. She squinted as much as she could, but still saw no sign of Molly. A seed of hope began sprouting in her gut and her hand flexed around the bag strap as she clung to it.

"Your friend says she's running late," Evander spoke suddenly. Seph turned and for the first time noticed her phone in his other hand, thumb gliding across the screen. His words easily killing her mood again. "Couldn't get an Uber and had to get a ride another way." He looked up at Persephone with distaste. "It's very impolite of her to keep you waiting. I'm already not a fan."