Sensibilities | Deetranada AU

omission

  (A/N: Trigger Warning - There will be a permanent trigger warning for the rest of the book. The rest of the book may include brief mentions of negative speech about self-harm, self-harm, depressive language, and violence. Sections included any of the following will be noted with centered bold stars should you choose to skip it. Enjoy!)  

The Next Afternoon

(Dee POV)

Dee tunes out the world, her headphones blaring. Beside her, Nova talks to Ekko, final preparations for his big interview under way. She looks away, her thumb caressing his hand. Her phone vibrates with an incoming message. She hesitates when she sees the sender. Just get it over with.

**

Dee and Don stand on her porch, leaning against the railing. She listens carefully as he explains himself. 'He wasn't trying to be possessive that time but it just felt like he had this thing,' he says, pausing to consider his next sentence. 'It's almost like he knows something's wrong but he can't tell what.' Dee nods, not offering her own assessment. 'I wouldn't have done anything, I respect you too much to let somethin' like that happen.' 

'Hmph,' she says. 'Thought Don was the man, he ain't no punk.' She laughs as he sucks his teeth. 'Okay. Honestly, it doesn't even matter. I know how much you care about him so whatever's going on, you'll be able to figure it out.' 'How you figure somethin' wrong?' she questions. 'I don't, you just told me.' She smirks, seeing his game. 'Whatever, man.' She stares out into the yard, her fingers twirling around each other.

'How do you feel?' he asks. 'About?' 'Everything,' he states. She looks down, shifting her feet. 'I don't know, it's hard to explain.' Don nods, 'I get it.' Dee chuckles, shaking her head. 'No you don't. You and Anna perfect, I ain't never seen y'all fight.' 'Doesn't mean we don't.'

'You can't compare us to y'all, it's different,' he attempts. 'Yeah, 'cause y'all like the epitome of Black love,' she says with a smile. 'No, we just talk about everything, good and bad.' She nods, turning and lifting herself onto the railing, taking a moment to balance herself. 'Everything, huh?' Don's hands reach out to help her but she brushes them away, having found the perfect spot.

'So she know you here now?' Don nods, stuffing his hands in his pocket, looking at her. 'She told me to come talk to you.' Dee nods, 'And she know you was here before, sayin' what you did? Well not really sayin' but you know..yeah.' He scrunches his face, looking away. 'Maybe not everything.'

She chuckles, taking out her phone to check her messages. She sees one from Nova, asking her to come with him to his interview. She smiles, responding before putting her phone away. When she looks back up, Don's eyes are set on her, his face unreadable. She looks down, rubbing the back of her watch, her eyes closed.

'I'm not lookin' for trouble,' she says, her voice quiet. 'I'm not either,' he replies. She opens her eyes, thankful for his stare to be over. 'I'mma need you to decide if you really tryna be friends. You cool, we have good conversation and all that but this,' she motions between them. 'It's not happening.' He nods, biting his lip. 'I'll let you know.' 'You do that.'

**

She opens the notification, a sense of relief and sadness arriving at once.

Don 🙅🙅: I think it's best if I step back for a while. I want you and Nova to handle things and I don't want to be the cause of something unintentionally. You don't have to respond, just know that if you need me, let me know. Anytime.