tall

eyes

she squeezed her eyes shut for what seemed like an eternity, waiting for him to respond.

she detested her name; hated it with her entire being. esme. it looked ugly on paper, it sounded ugly coming out of people's mouths. it was perfect for an ugly girl like her.

she cracked one eye open the tiniest bit, tiny enough to be obstructed by her tears that were still freely flowing.

it was like there was a new barrier between them, formed from all the broken promises and harmful words, as blurry as a tear.

each brick in that barrier tumbled down when tristan ran another hand through his exquisite hair and let a ghost of a smile open up his lips.

"esme. i like it."

she sucked in a breath and sat up a little straighter. the only people who had ever said they liked her name were her parents, and they didn't count.

he had only said things like this to her in her dreams, where she was perfect and beautiful and bubbly and talkative and average.

here she was tall and ugly and imperfect and different, and it was happening still.

all she could do was stare, slowly getting lost in the groves of trees hidden in his eyes.

-

tristan had just said he liked her name. just three simple words, and she had acted like she had never heard them before.

he kicked at the tile floor and occasionally looked up, each time meeting her unwavering gaze.

esme adjusted her shirt and wiped her eyes again, causing his heart to flutter.

it was like she was an angel, fallen down to earth to bless the human race with her presence.

how could such simple actions make him fall for her even more?

his eyes met hers and he stroked another hand through his hair, messing it up for the 1000th time.

he met her eyes; sweet brown ones that seemed to have constellations inside them. he shook his head and looked down at his restless toes, desperate to say something but unable to find the right words.

esme broke her eyes away from his, seemingly shattering the connection between them like a stain glass window being hit by a rock. tristan was desperate to get her attention again. he needed to. he had to.

he took a hesitant step forward, causing the air in the room to almost ripple and pulse with tension.

esme jumped, her waves of hair entangling themselves out of her braid. she shifted and wiped her eyes, being careful to not hit her glasses, which were spotless, like the a blue sky on a bright, spring day.

her mouth seemed to fold in upon itself and esme's eyes crinkled. she pursed her lips as tristan took another step forward, and another. he rumpled his hair again, his face creasing with unknown possibilities.

the tile floor creaked with both of their movements, esme slowly moving away and tristan slowly following her path of light.

how could someone so beautiful detest herself so much?

his heart skipped a beat as he reached her side and slid down next to her, their legs almost touching. esme sucked in a hitched breath as his fingers touched her shoulder.

tristan could almost feel the promise he made her reforming into his palm, becoming tangible, soft, warm, and real.

he looked down and almost stopped breathing. the freckles that dotted her shoulder formed a more beautiful constellation then her eyes ever could.

if this was beauty, how did amy ever compare?

-

he was touching her.

HE was touching HER.

it was only the tips of his fingers, but she swore she could feel the wind blowing the leaves in his eyes caress through her veins, leaving a trail of perfect wreckage behind.

why was he touching her?

why was he touching the tall girl, the one that didn't compare to the cheating blonde?

she sucked in a breath and almost moved until she remembered he apologized to her in his soft voice, the voice that had found the key to letting him in.

she turned to fully embrace his fiery gaze with her muddy one when the door to their haven burst open.

they both jolted apart, tristan standing up almost instantly without a word while she cowered into herself even more, wishing she could drown in the endless waves of her baggy shirt and the saltiness of her renewed tears.

the blonde stood at the threshold with a smug smile on her face and her eyes smoldering with the torture that was to come.

esme slowly pushed herself up with the help of the wall, feeling each of its grooves before she stood and looked at the girl.

she wondered if she would ever feel again as the blonde sauntered in, grabbing tristan and seemingly shooting daggers of resentment at her heart, piercing its walls and slowly draining out any inkling of hope that she had that tristan would ever love her.

tristan ran a hand through his hair as his eyes pleaded with hers, challenging her to a duel of trust. she looked away and forfeited as the blond pressed her thigh against his and pulled him in for a kiss.

she willed herself to turn into wind and whirl out the door, willing to except the most she would see him again would be at night in her impossible dreams.

as esme neared the door the blonde stopped her, grabbing her shirt and pulling her down to look in her eyes, one hand still on tristan's chest.

she felt so small, so below the girl and so hopeless that she would never find a way to climb out of the trench the girl had thrown her into that she didn't protest when the girl didn't even look at her, her eyes still on his, and said,

"god, this bitch can't take a hint. when i say he's mine, he's mine. if i see you with him again or even look at him again, you're done. why would you ever think he would fall for such a tall, ugly girl like you?"

she looked at tristan, searching for his agreement, which she found for the second time as he looked in the cheating blonde's eyes and nodded.

her heart's broken pieces shattered and the blonde let go of her shirt and let her crumple to the familiar floor. she never thought she could feel a pain as worse as in the hallway before this but she was wrong.

having her heart broken twice was a pain no one should ever experience, and even though she detested him for it, she would never ache for anyone else.

she looked at him for less than a second, the golden specks in his eyes reaching out towards hers, and then she ran.

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a/n: woahh hey guys!! sorry i left you on that note, and sorry i haven't written in so long. enjoy this double chapter as a way of me apologizing, and thanks for over 200 reads!! i'll make sure to write when i can. i forgot how much i loved and connected with this story.

song: i'll never love again by lady gaga