Corpse and Vanessa never wanted to be in love. Whenever Nogla told a cute story about him and his girlfriend, or if they overheard Sean in the background telling his girlfriend that he loved her, the two misfits would gag. For the both of them, claiming they didn't need anyone else was just a way of validating why they'd remained single their entire lives. In reality, their anxieties told them they weren't good enough for anyone.
They bonded over how much they hated anything sappy, and the community began shipping them immediately. Not wanting anything cutesy, they knew the other wasn't looking for someone to try to woo them everyday, so it would have been easy to meet expectations, taking a load off of their anxieties. Like the community, they, too, realized that them dating just made sense, so they decided to try it out.
Corpse was always cool and calm, letting Vanessa be the one to call or text first, though the anticipation of waiting nearly killed him sometimes. When she'd come over to watch a movie, he'd groan whenever a romance scene came on, yet secretly he'd watch Vanessa with adoration through stolen glances when she tried hard to hide her teary eyes.
Vanessa fell hard for Corpse. It was addicting to try to get him to smile and let go of that tough guy persona, and it was so satisfying to see him try to hide a blush. But, when she realized she really was falling for him, she was terrified of the relationship ending up being one-sided, having no idea that he had fallen for her, too.
She stopped by as she always did after work, giving him a weak smile as let her in, afraid her confession may end things but needing to get it off her chest. She took a seat on the couch and looked up at him. There was something different in her eyes — they were no longer twinkling with the joy of seeing him. Even her posture was slightly slumped as if she was harboring a dreadful weight on her shoulders.
Corpse took a seat next to her, asking how work was, thinking she may have just had a bad day. But, she only replied in short answers as if wanting to get over the formalities.
"Can we talk?" she asked, her eyes narrowed.
Corpse gulped. Those three words nearly caused his brain to shut down with panic. This was it. She must have gotten bored, and he didn't blame her. It had to have been heartbreaking to be with someone who refused to show too much affection even though he so dearly wanted to. He nodded, attempting to steady his rigid breathing, refusing to show her he was terrified.
She didn't want to begin the discussion with blatantly saying she'd fallen in love with him and scare him right out of the gate. Instead, she planned to introduce the idea of a shift in emotions within their dating life in hopes it would ease him into seeing she was experiencing something she knew he'd never feel towards her.
"What's going on?" Corpse asked, clenching his teeth as his nostrils flared, struggling to hold it all together.
"I, uh," Vanessa took in a shaky breath, "I realized that my feelings for you have changed."
She looked up at him, wishing he'd give some sort of response and a sense of this not being so one-sided. But, she could see the pain it caused him, for she was ruining what they had.
Corpse nodded, feeling as though his chest and eyes were on fire, "Yea. I was thinking we should take a break."
He wanted to save Vanessa from feeling as though she was the bad person for ending things. He figured being the first to actually say it would take away from her guilt.
Tears began to trail down her cheeks as Corpse watched with strained eyes, wanting to console her with an embrace. But, this had to have been what she'd wanted, so he refrained from moving a muscle.
