"You're insufferable."
"Maybe," he says softly, "but you still can't keep your eyes off me."
"Maybe I don't want to."
♥___________♥
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐨 𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐢
Playboy, arrogant, and egoistic-sounds like a typical jerk, right? But there's more to Marco th...
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The room was suffocating with tension. Marco shifted beside me. I could feel it—the confrontation we'd been avoiding for years, about to erupt.
"Did you leak it?" Marco's voice was low, too calm.
I froze, heart slamming against my chest. "What?" My voice cracked. "Leak what?"
"The video of me confessing," Marco snapped. "Did you leak it?"
The accusation hit like a slap. I blinked, trying to process his words. "What? No—of course not! Marco, you know I wouldn't do something like that."
His eyes blazed, and he leaned forward, clearly not believing a word. "You were the only one there, James. So tell me—how the hell did everyone else see it?"
"I DON'T KNOW, OKAY?!" My voice rose, hands trembling. "I DON'T KNOW HOW IT GOT OUT!" Frustration overwhelmed me. "YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD DO THAT TO YOU?"
"Maybe it wasn't you directly, but you were part of it." Marco's voice cracked with anger. "YOU stood by while they humiliated me. You let them turn me into an outcast. You SHUT ME OUT, JAMES!"
"That's not fair! You know it's complicated!" I shot back, standing, fists clenched at my sides.
Marco let out a bitter laugh. "Complicated? You stood there, with them, while they destroyed me. You didn't reach out, didn't say a damn word. Why wouldn't I think you leaked it?"
"WHY WOULDN'T YOU?" I shouted. "Our whole friendship was based on a dare, Marco! A fucking dare! How could you expect me to—"
"DAMMIT, JAMES!" Marco stepped closer. "Did you even talk to me after it happened? Did you give me a chance to explain? To tell you my side?"
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words stuck. My heart pounded in my ears, Marco's accusations hitting me like blows.
"I know I messed up," Marco continued, his voice rising. "But you didn't give me a second to fix it! You didn't care what happened to me after that, did you? You had your revenge, and everyone else be damned!"
"No—that's not..." I tried, but my voice was barely a whisper, my throat tightening.
"You stood by while they tore me apart!" Marco yelled. "YOU LEFT ME TO DEAL WITH IT ALONE!"
My breath hitched. My chest tightened, making it harder to pull in air.
"ALL I WANTED WAS A CHANCE TO EXPLAIN!" Marco's voice thundered. "BUT YOU JUST LEFT ME!"
My hands trembled, the room starting to spin. "I didn't know... I didn't..." My chest heaved as I struggled to speak.
"You didn't even let me explain. You just assumed the worst and walked away!"
"I had to!" I shouted, my voice raw, eyes burning. "You think I could just stand there after everything? You think I didn't feel like a fool?"
Marco's expression hardened. "Why didn't you give me a chance? Why didn't you let me explain?"
The walls felt like they were closing in, my breath coming in shallow gasps. The air was thick, my heart racing out of control. I couldn't keep up with the fight. Couldn't stay standing.
"TELL ME FOR FUCK'S SAKE!" Marco's voice rang in my ears, but it was distant now, muffled. My vision blurred, the edges darkening.
"I can't—" I gasped, clutching at my chest. I tried to breathe, but it felt like my lungs were being crushed. "Stop—please—"
But Marco wasn't stopping. "No! You don't get to run from this!" His words were loud, but I couldn't focus on them anymore. "You've been avoiding this for years, and I'm done—"
I couldn't breathe. My chest felt like it was caving in, my legs buckling beneath me. The floor rushed up to meet me as I collapsed, hands clawing at my throat, desperate for air, but nothing was working.
The world was spinning out of control, my chest tight, every breath feeling like a battle I was losing. I could barely hear Marco's voice through the haze.
"James... no, no, no," Marco's voice cracked, and I could feel his hands shaking as he tried to hold me still, trying to pull me back from the edge. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm so fucking sorry, for everything. I didn't mean for it to get this bad."
His words came faster now, more frantic. "I messed up, alright? I should've told you the truth, I should've done everything differently. But you—" His voice wavered. "You didn't even give me a chance. I needed you back then... and you just—"
I could feel his grip on my shoulders, his fingers trembling as he tried to get me to focus, but it was all too much. My chest felt like it was collapsing in on itself, my breaths coming out in short, painful gasps.
"I didn't know," I whispered, barely able to speak as I shook my head, trying to hold onto something, anything that would stop the world from falling apart.
"I didn't know it was gonna end up like this," Marco's voice was thick with emotion, and I could feel him shaking just as much as I was. "I never meant to hurt you, James. I swear to God, I didn't."
I couldn't respond. My throat was too tight, my body locked up as I stared at him, unable to find the words.
Marco's hands cupped my face, his thumbs brushing over my cheeks, his touch gentle, "James... I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for hurting you, for not being honest back then, for not fighting harder when it mattered. I'm sorry."
I could only look at him, my breath still shaky, unable to speak as I felt tears burn at the back of my eyes.
"And I'm sorry for this too," Marco whispered, his voice barely audible before he leaned in.
The kiss came out of nowhere, his lips were pressing against mine. It wasn't gentle—it was messy, filled with everything we hadn't said, everything we'd buried for years. The kiss felt like an apology, a confession, and something else all wrapped into one.
I gasped, not from the panic this time, but from the shock of it—the feel of him so close, his hands still holding my face, the way he kissed me like he was afraid it would be our last chance. His lips were rough, demanding, like he was trying to make up for lost time, for all the pain, in that one moment.
My hands instinctively reached for him, gripping onto his shirt as I kissed him back. I couldn't think, couldn't breathe—but for the first time, it didn't feel like I was suffocating.
It felt freeing.
When Marco finally pulled away, we were both breathing hard, our foreheads pressed together. He didn't let go of me, his hands still holding my face.
"I'm sorry," Marco whispered again, his voice breaking, his breath warm against my lips. "I'm so sorry."
We stayed there, neither of us moving. I didn't know what to say—couldn't find the words. So I didn't say anything.
Instead, I just held onto him, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like I could breathe.
