Double Dare II waterparks

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Grace tends to be an empathetic person. She usually can pick up decently well on the feelings of those around her but Otto leaves her perplexed. Really, it's not hard to figure out but, when a person doesn't want to see the truth, they'll miss it even if it's right in front of them. So, when Otto tells grace she has options, it doesn't occur to her that he's referring to himself. And she breaks his heart once again without even realizing it. "It's weird," she starts off her response, "I've spent so long being in love with him, I can't imagine ever getting rid of those feelings...even though I want to." "Right," Otto mumbles, hiding the heartbreak like he's done every time he sees grace look at Awsten like he's the greatest thing to ever grace the planet with his existence. It's the way Otto looks at her. He swears he can see stars in her eyes, they shine so bright. "I know how that feels." "To unreciprocated feelings," Grace jokes, raising an imaginary glass even though she knows Otto can't see her. "World's worst poison." A bittersweet poison that both have fallen victim to and would willingly die by. Love, with all its happiness and all its pain, is certainly the most powerful thing on Earth. "You're tellin' me," Otto lets out a breath of laughter, finding the whole situation absurd. Talking to the woman who doesn't love him back about how horrible it is to love someone and not have them love you back. An almost amusing sort of pain in the irony of it all. "So, you know mine," Grace points out, "who's yours?" "She's...this really amazing girl who I'm pretty sure doesn't even realize how fantastic she is," Otto begins, closing his eyes and picturing her face, "she's got the most perfect smile and, y'know I don't drink but her laugh is fucking intoxicating, and I could spend days just sitting listening to her talk...and she's smart too, real' smart and sweet and kind and pretty much the ideal human. I wish she could see it 'cause she doesn't give herself nearly enough credit but...she's as close to perfect as a person can be. Even if she's a little bit oblivious sometimes." "Sounds perfect for you," Grace comments, not even seeing the irony in her statement. "I hope things work out for the two of you." "I hope so too." ●☆●☆●☆●☆● Come two am, the party is finally winding down and grace and Elliot make their way out, Elliot making sure to say goodbye to the few remaining guests. As much as he likes to pretend he does, he doesn't hate all of his co-workers, just the ones who seem to believe that age is more important than dedication, skill, and plain old hard work. Elliot hates the older generation at the lab who put themselves above the younger scientists simply because they've been around for longer. In Elliot's eyes, experience is not measured in years but rather in effort put forth and work done. He isn't one to brag but he knows for a fact that he's done more work in a week than some of his co-workers have done in a decade. He's not the kind of person to sit back and be seen as less than he is just because of some old respect your elders sentiment. He'll call an asshole out on their bullshit, whether they're twenty or eighty. Grace , unlike Elliot, often lacks the confidence to call anyone out on their bullshit. She's more likely to just sit back and let it happen. It's one of the few things Elliot doesn't appreciate in his younger sister. Her compassion? He adores it. Her work ethic? It's admirable in his eyes. Her rolling over and letting herself be used as a doormat? He despises it with his entire being. He knows better than to bring it up, though. She fights her own battles when it really matters, choosing to let most things slide and only take on the big things. For the things that she just lets happen, Elliot tries to handle when he deems necessary, even though grace doesn't always care for his intervention. Tonight, she seemed to appreciate it. "Where'd you disappear to tonight? Couldn't find you again after that thing with Clayton," he brings up as soon as the thought pops into his head. "I hung out outside," she informs him, "talked on the phone with Otto for a while." "Otto? Isn't Awsten usually your go-to? Didn't see a change coming on that front," Elliot's attention is now completely held by grace , at least most of it. Some focus has to be on driving, of course. "Otto's nice to talk to," Grace explains sheepishly, "he's easy to tell things to." "Y'know, Geoff mentioned to me a while back that he thinks Otto has a crush on you," Elliot points out, "you'd be kinda cute together. Once you get over Awsten, I mean." "Elliot," Grace trails off awkwardly, not wanting to tell him that she doesn't want to talk about it but really not wanting to talk about it. "What? You gotta get over him eventually! You two are never gonna happen so you're just sitting around wasting your time on someone who's never gonna love you the way you want him to," Elliot comes off a little harsher than he intended but still means every word of it. "I'm tired of seeing you hurt all the time because of him. It's not fair to either of you. You know he'd feel guilty if he knew how much hurt you've been hiding for him. I'm not saying you have to date Otto or whatever; I'm just saying that there's a good guy here who you actually stand a chance with." Elliot quickly realizes that he didn't choose the best wording for that last bit, having unintentionally suggested that grace isn't good enough for Awsten. As expected, she doesn't say a word in reply, just giving a shrug and taking the minor hit to her self-esteem as if it were nothing. Elliot wants to apologize but he knows that if he shows that he feels guilty, Grace will just feel bad for making him feel guilty. She cares too much about other people's feelings for her own good sometimes. Elliot wishes she'd get mad at him, just once. He doesn't remember hearing her ever yell. He wonders what it would sound like. "Night, El," Grace mumbles as he stops outside her apartment building and she gets out of his car. "Night, Grace ," Elliot replies before she closes the door. He waits until she makes it safely inside the building before driving away. He spends the whole drive home wondering what he could do to make his little sister get angry at him.