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[ she settles down beside him a frown on her lips,  his pain falls on jackie and her precipitate actions.  she shouldn’t have let him fight,  if anything—-  the entire thing should have been called off.  and now ares had to face the consequences of her careless actions. ]  at least fifty of those people asked because they cared..  you should really eat,  baby.  

@soverlars    worse,   because the adrenaline has worn off.  [he responds under layers of ice packs covering his face,   even one of his mom’s eye masks to reduce puffiness.   with the amount of ice on his face to his tea,  courtesy of raquella,  he felt as if he was heavy all over]    about a hundred people asked about my face today,  and if i hear one more of them tomorrow?   they’re getting tossed in that ring next

i got you soup and for an alternative—- mashed potatoes.  [ setting the takeout on the dresser,  she tugs off her sweater and tosses it onto the back of the small couch. ]   do you feel any better than last night?  

@euphrosynies     i promise,  i’m all good.   besides,   our archmesyr had already given me some tea to subside the pain

i can finish it myself,  really.   it’s only one or two more things to do.  (..)   you should really head home..  

@euphrosynies     i’m     ..fine,   don’t worry about me.   it doesn’t even hurt     —i just want to get this project done

@pacrovas     wouldn’t consider it my best asset,   but it’s certainly high up on the list.   but trust me,   i’ve got all the first aid remedies known to man

no problem.   on a serious note,  you should put some antiseptic cream on your lip.  it’s a shame,  your best asset ruined.  only if it’s temporary.  

@pacrovas      thank you,    number thirty six for mentioning what i have going on

@hewhoIies     honestly?   probably.    or maybe just go crazy with unethical purchases.   who knows,   let’s see if i’m feeling spontaneous 

20 million?   how many people you had to fight?  six..   not bad.  shit—- for that kind of money,  hell yeah.  what do you plan on doing with it.. gamble?  

@hewhoIies     trust me,   my face feels like i took ali and tyson on at the same time.   the price?    i guess it was worth it,   but it was a cash prize of 20 million dollars

good,  wear something..     a little less ares,  will you?   swap out the black for a grey or a light blue?   please..  for me?   

@soverlars     oh please,  i’ve only just begun  [he hums against her lips,  but out of mere content before she pulls away.  his hands however,  remain glued to her waist as they both turn to look at the clock]   seven?   hm,  i’m sure i can make it work     —-just for you

you done having a smartass mouth,  white boy?  [ pressing a quick peck to his lips,  she pulls away to a glimpse at the clock behind them. ]  i want to leave by seven.  

@euphrosynies     yeah.   wouldn’t look good for our class president,   now would it.   i’m sure i can  [he then trails off with a click of his tongue,   now setting the pink art utensils he had previously stuffed in his pocket before she could even realize right onto the countertop,  alienating them from the box of supplies]    ..scrounge up some non-pink utensils somewhere in my house.   

what?   i’m not trying to glamorize it..   [ her shoulders would slump and she’d glanced to the pile of pink art supplies.  ]   well..  i want you to get a grade.. and i don’t want people to think i’m okay with war..  but all i have (that isn’t pink) are sparkly gel pens..

@euphrosynies      it’s meant to be gloomy.   not glamorizing the fact tens and thousands of people were brutally murdered in basically a genocide.   but you can present with all those sparkles!   i just won’t be there  :)

god,  i wished.    or just having sex with deadbeats in general.    [ ushering the twins back towards the living room with instructions to clean up the crayons and markers. when they’re out of ear shot,  she turns to ares—- her brows pinched together.  she swears she hates her mother.  for constantly producing children she doesn’t want to raise and then handing them off to jackie. and now by extension, ares. ]  you really don’t have to help.  they’re not your kids..  or your family.   

@soverlars      has your mother ever considered     ..i don’t know,   getting her tubes tied or birth control?   it’s a serious question    [he was aware of jackie’s relationship with her mother,   and how she barely was one.   not even to the twins,   never mind jackie.    he’s heard a lot of helena and augustus but had never met them in the flesh,   not until now.   glancing down at the twins,  who seemed to surround his legs in mere curiosity as they looked him up and down,  he gives them a small wave before letting his arm fall]    a week,   right.    you know that’s her being generous.   but the more the merrier,   i suppose

[ when he says that, she lets him inside. hands move to her hips and she lets out a loud sigh. ]  until my mother remembers that she conceived them and not us.  so..   a week.  [ the twins immediately notice the presence of ares and they’re crowding at bis legs. ]   this is helena and augustus     ..and this ares.   

is that what you think?   it would’ve been unsuccessful?        [of course.   if she wasn’t so detached from herself, maybe she would’ve laughed.   one pulled away from all its humor and full of rue.   she felt that tightening in her throat,  the kind that made it hurt to swallow and the stinging in her eyes that she would only describe as ‘pathetic’ it was pathetic for her to get emotional,   so she wouldn’t]     i want you to stay away from me.   i will stay away from you,    your father and mine have came to an agreement to sweep this all under the rug.   i’ll be far away from here  come this weekend.          you can continue on as a son of the grand president and find a woman of your stature—- one you like back.  you have a knack for finding pretty girls so it shouldn’t be hard for you.   (..)      now if you’ll excuse me,  i really must go 

@crnaliyre  [throughout his entire rant, sigyn’s eyes kept their focus on the floor. the only evidence to show that she was listening—- if she was listening at all, was the way her eyebrows would furrow and how her eyes would seem to squint whenever he had made a point or didn’t make sense.   in her mind, sigyn drusilla had no one else to blame but herself.  it was her who acted first,  it was the first time where her father had allowed her to take such strong drinks,  and she may have gotten carried away simply because of the excitement out of it.   and that was her mistake,   to use that confidence boost to express herself in the wrong way.   now she was here,   and instead of running away from the consequences she has accepted them——but that didn’t mean she would be all happy about it.   she was an only child,   where she felt as if she had to make a point.  and she /did/.  she worked her ass off and that got her a spot on the stage,  reciting a speech that she couldn’t tell if she meant anymore.     she could only imagine the rumors that had began to spread amongst her peers when she announced her leave just by their shocked faces]      

and to top it all off,    i wasn't going to trap you even more by forcing what could be an unsuccessful marriage simply because we're having this baby.    so i'm sorry,   for not making this easy for you,   and i'm sorry for taking your life away,    all of it.   but we made our beds,   and now we have to lay in it.   but you’re not alone,  even if you think you are.   and even when you want to ignore me,  scream in my face,  punch me,   whatever     —-i’m not going anywhere.   not for a while.    because yeah,   i’m fucking terrified,   but it takes two to tango,   and two to take responsibility      ..and that’s what i’m trying to do here

..  —it’s complicated.   [  the tone of his voice still stung. even if that stone wall was breached there was a palisade that you’d have to break down as well in order to /truly/ get to ares.  and she had managed to do both. somehow. only for her to be the reason he doubled his defenses.  ]    what now?   we’ve said our sorries..    was that it?   you only wanted to apologize?  

@soverlars      well     ..here i am,   speaking to you,    so i guess we’re both shocked   [in truth,   he had no intention to speak to her again after their last encounter.   and typically,   he would’ve burned that bridge and moved on,  much like he normally would’ve.   he couldn’t pinpoint it,   but she was different      ..very different from what he’s ever encountered before.   and maybe that’s why it hurt him more,   but when it came to being hurt?   he shut down and immediately put up a wall to hopefully prevent it from happening again.    but he knew that it wouldn’t be the case with her,   not for one second]     i know you did.    but i get why you did it,    somewhat

why?   why are you apologizing to me?   [ jackie picks at the skin around her nails,  a habit she developed whenever she was nervous or felt overwhelmed. ]   in truth..  i was never upset at what you said to me.  it wasn’t as if you were lying..     um,   i think i mostly cried because i thought you’d never speak to me again.   [ tipping her upwards in an attempt to keep herself from weeping all over again,  she’s sure she has never seen ares appear even somewhat guilty and the sight was enough to make her chest tighten.  ]    i’m sorry too..  i really did  like you—  i still do.  there’s no real excuse for me besides that it’s what i’m used to..   

are you sure?   [ instead of continuing the cycle, jackie puts the blunt out by smearing the head against the metal railing. pocketing the remainder of it— her feet carry her towards ares’ closing the distance between the two. a hand comes to wrap around his bicep. ]  will you sleep if i stay?  [ she doesn’t lose her grip as she sits next to him. ]  look at me when i’m talking to you..     —-please?   

@soverlars       probably wouldn’t be the best idea,    some     ..family matters have arose and i’m expecting to be watched like a hawk,   so i can’t leave.     [he let the joint linger between his grasp for a moment before bringing it back up to his lips to take yet another hit before passing it back to her.   he stared ahead,  now slouching as his clasped hands too dangled between his legs.   he never realized how elevated he truly was,   the distance from where he was sitting to the ground was a stretch,   and could easily kill a man     —or leave them paralyzed at least if they were dumb enough to fall.    it was tempting,   surely,   but he wasn’t an idiot]    you however      ..you can stay,    if you want to that is

don’t lie to me.  [ it’s a whisper but it’s clearly heard. the sounds of cars and people becomes background noise as she observes the other. dark irises trail after every moment, the way his chest rises and falls, how his lips curve around the joint. more importantly how exhausted he looked overall. ]  do you want to spend the night with me..  ?  maybe you’d feel better if you spent a night away from home.  [ jackie isn’t sure if she’s crossing a boundary but she couldn’t stand to see him like this. if she could provide even the slightest bit of relief, she would. ]