and suddenly everything changed

𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚕𝚘𝚐𝚞𝚎

"Hey Deuce," Cleo greeted sheepishly to the back of the snake-haired boy's head. The taller of the two let out a sigh, lowering the cup he held in his gloved hand.

"Hey." He grumbled in reply, not bothering to turn to face the ghoul behind him.

"Deuce, you were right about the normies all along, I should've listened to you," She tried, chewing her lip anxiously at the lack of response from her now ex-boyfriend. "I just—"

"Wanted to please your dad?"

Cleo paused, staring up at the gorgon who had yet to turn and face her. "Yes," she muttered in reply, blinking in surprise as the boy finally turned away from the table.

"Cleo, I love you,"

She seemed to perk up at these words, though the tone of his voice hinted that there was more to be said.

"but I can't keep doing this."

Cleo's shoulders slumped. She opened her mouth to speak but Deuce beat her to it.

"What you did.." he shook his head in distaste, "I understand how your dad can be, but..." his gaze shifted from Cleo to the plastic cup clenched in his left hand. "You need to take accountability for your actions. You can't just shift the blame on your family every time something like this happens."

"Deuce—"

"You should have seen the fear in his eyes, Cleo." His green eyes narrowed behind his red-framed shades as he pointed his free hand towards the DJ booth near the center of the room. "He could have died—and you had every chance to keep things from getting to that point!" The gorgon exclaimed, waving his hands around for emphasis.

Cleo averted her gaze, lowering her head in shame at Deuce's words. He was right, and there was no argument she could make to prove him otherwise.

     Deuce was beyond angry, but the sight of Cleo so uncharacteristically timid caused him to falter. Despite the party surrounding the pair, there was a long uncomfortable silence that encapsulated the two. It was not until Deuce finally spoke up again that the uncomfortable silence had finally been broken.

"Look, I'm not..." Deuce bit his lip, fumbling once again with the plastic cup held in his hand. "I think we need a break."

Cleo's eyes widened, but before she could get a single word in, Deuce interjected. "Some time to... work things out." He tried to reassure with a sheepish shrug, though Cleo did not look relieved in any sense.

     Another lapse of silence fell amongst the two, but after Deuce remained staring at his checkered sneakers for what felt like an eternity, he lifted his head once again and let out a gruff sigh.

     "I've gotta go," he muttered, setting the cup aside as he raised his other hand to rub the back of his neck. He gave Cleo a short glance before he brushed past her and went on his way, leaving her with no time to respond before he was lost in the crowd.