Comatose || s. stan

5 || can't slow down, by hedley

« in which she sings for his sould. »

[I don't know how it works to write comics, so I just improvised. If anybody wants to add something, just tell me.]

Today, Harlyn was working. She'd recently been interview, and hired to fill in a job in a bookstore. It was only for a month, but she knew she was going to love it. The Marvel contract was paying a lot, but that didn't keep her from wanting to be in her natural environment: a bookstore.

Today was particularly beautiful outside, so there was no one in the shop.

Harlyn took out her material, and started to draw for Marvel. She was given the script of the comics and she just had to draw it. Sebastian was bored, which meant he was after her, and tried to speak and make jokes. Harlyn wasn't having it today.

''Why do you write these?'' Sebastian asked. ''I mean, if I don't make it...''

She stopped drawing and looked at him. Since the day of the karaoke, he was being disgustingly sweet, and she wished she knew where it came from. Somehow, she felt like it wasn't genuine and authentic, like he was forcing it. The change was so sudden, she knew he had something up his sleeves.

'' If you don't make it Sebastian, chances are people will still read the comics, and somebody else will be hired to play James Buchanan Barnes on screen. You will be just a faint memory, we'll read 'In honor of Sebastian Stan' at the end of the credits. The world moves on.''

''Wow. Okay. Rude. I was just trying to be nice – '' He scuffed but she cut him.

''Then stop, Sebastian. Do me a favor, and stop 'just being nice to me'!'' She said, now angry.

In an instant, she realised why it bugged her off so much, his attitude reminder her exactly of Louis at the end of their relationship, before she discovered the truth. Like he was acting like this for her best, but about to pull something up completely unexepected from the darkest of place. The similarities were making her weird.

''What do you want me to be then?'' He yelled back.

Books on the shelves were starting to shake, obviously a side effect from his anger. That didn't scare her one bit.

''Just be you! Be you and be real!'' She said standing up and pointing him. ''You don't need to hide who you are with me, Stan. ''

''Oh we're using last names now, John?'' He spat.

''See? That's exactly what I'm talking about! Everything about you is superficial. You want people to know you, but just from the outside, it's always on the surface, '' she moved her hands like it was a wave. ''I'm here, in front of you, and being me! You can act feelings so well, you've actually stopped knowing what it feels like to be alive.''

''Well maybe it's because I'm not ! ''

There was a moment of silent, in which they were locking eyes intensely. He was glad she didn't take the occasion to throw his last argument back in his face, it would have been legit. She had surprise him so much with her outburst, his mind was running short on excuses. Harlyn sighed deeply.

''You're fundamentally a good person, Sebastian. I don't know what happened to you, but you built this wall around you that makes you act like a complete dick.''

He stayed silent.

''I'm not pressuring you into anything, but you said it yourself, we don't know how much time we'll be stuck together. When you're ready, just tell me.''

For the rest of the day, he was deep in his thoughts, and so was she. She kept drawing, and he kept thinking. When a customer would get in, she would drop everything and offer her assistance. No matter who it was – man, woman, old, young – she put on her best smile, and genuinely helped them to find what they were looking for.