I Know It's Already Over (Adrianna.)

[Odion Martins]

Odion had never expected to be in this position now. Everything was a gigantic mess. Rhett had returned. He sat contemplating what to do in the auditorium, wishing he wasn’t going to be here next year. Maybe Rhett wouldn’t be here next year. Maybe the blonde would finally leave him alone for good. As promised, the pocket watch had been thrown back into a body of water. This time, the lake, where Odion made sure it wouldn’t resurface. It was broken beyond repair, that’s what Rhett had said. And the more he thought about it, the more Oidon was beginning to think that he and the watch were one in the same.

After some careful reviews of his memories, he decided it might be a good time to actually talk to Adrianna. Of course, he wasn’t going to seek her out on purpose, but if he ran into her, he would want to talk to her. Rhett had mentioned something about her almost immediately upon arriving back to Hammel. Point was, he wanted to make sure Rhett wasn’t making a mess of things. He was already ruining one relationship, his own, and that was enough. Odion wasn’t sure why he even cared about Adrianna so much, but there were a lot of things in his life at the moment he couldn’t account for.

Someone came onto the stage. Speak of the devil. Odion leaned forward in his seat. Did Adrianna like dancing or something? Why else would she be warming up? He stood swiftly, shuffling out of the seats. “Sorry, I didn’t know anyone was in here,” he said in his British accent. He didn’t want to invade her privacy. He smiled softly at her. She really was beautiful, agile, and clever looking. A pang of jealousy swept through him, and he didn’t want to acknowledge who had caused it, even though he wasn’t here. He knew he wanted to talk to her, and here she was, so why was he trying so hard to avoid her? Thinking about something and doing it was totally different.

“Before I go,” he said, approaching the stage, “you haven’t run into Rhett by any chance, have you?” Odion needed to know what kind of damage had been done.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

After shutting herself off to study, Adrianna had spent quite a lot of time trying to spend time with Lani. That being said, she’d neglected her dancing far too much. Of course, she didn’t mind neglecting it for that reason, but at the same time she was dying to get back into her dancing. Especially now. She’d just gotten back to her dorm after running into the boy who’d ruined her last relationship and it was surprising she hadn’t hit him. Walking up to her to tell her something she really didn’t want to hear from him. Then again, she had hoped he wouldn’t come back. The very thought of his return made her uncomfortable because of their past issues. The last thing Rhett had said to her before he left was that she should be careful about Lani in case he turned out to be like her ex.

Anger was one thing Adrian felt, but what was worse was she was actually afraid now. Things had been going great with her and Lani, even after her mother walked in on them making out. She didn’t want things to go wrong because of his return. Lani wasn’t Talen, she’d been trying hard to convince herself of that since she first met Lani and for a while she truly believed that there was no comparison, but now that Rhett was back…she started to worry again.

Adri made her way up the stairs of the stage, ipod in hand. Emotions were what she danced with, the main one she was focusing on now was anger. Setting up her ipod to the stereo, she put on her warm up song, one that she liked to listen to when she was mad. She’d done her stretches and just as the song ended she felt the nudge of a power as it got closer. It was a somewhat familiar nudge, but one that she’d only felt once before. Glancing up from the stereo, Adrian spotted the familiar redhead. She paused the next song and smiled. He apologized and she waved it off, “It’s no problem, really.” She could tell something was up with him, maybe a side affect from having just been around Rhett. Her eyebrows pulled together as he made his way towards the stage.

His question made her frown and she remembered what Rhett had said; Odion and Lani were getting too close. Her blood boiled and she had to force back the look of irritation on her face. “Uhm, actually yeah. I did. Just a few hours ago as a matter of fact,” The disgust on her face wasn’t aimed at Odion, but she couldn’t get what Rhett had said out of her mind and it continued to make her angry. “Why do you ask?” She said curiously.

[Odion Martins]

It seemed like these two had more in common than either of them gave credit for. They both wished Rhett hadn’t returned. Rhett was trouble in every sense of the word. Why did he always think that things had to go his way? It only caused pain to those around him, even those he supposedly cared about. They also both knew that Lani wasn’t Talen, and he wasn’t going to leave or hurt her. Not even Odion knew the extent of Lani’s stealing, but Odi did think Adrianna would forgive Lani of nearly anything. She also didn’t have to worry about Lani cheating on her, he just wasn’t that low. He wasn’t someone like Rhett.

Point blank, Rhett was a manipulative bastard. He almost had Odion as soon as the ginger found him in his room. But Odi knew better than that now, he needed time to think things through, to decide what he wanted, and what he didn’t want. He just hated that everything was so interconnected.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt, I thought everyone would be busy studying right about now,” he chuckled softly. Her dancing had been intense, at least the song had been, but at least she was smiling now. Something told him Rhett had already gotten to her. He really liked exploring the school while everyone else was cooped up studying, so now was the best time for it. He’d never been in the auditorium before, though he wouldn’t mind returning again.

It was funny. They had never spoken before, even when he and Rhett had dated. Yes, dated past tense, because despite what Rhett wanted, they weren’t currently dating. Fuck was all Odion could think of as the girl’s face turned to horror and disgust. “Because I know him and I know what he’s trying to do,” he said with a sigh, leaning against the stage as he looked up at her. Whatever Rhett had said was just false impressions, not necessarily lies, but words meant to second guess yourself. “He paid me a little visit as well,” he said, his frown deepening. Really, who broke into someone’s dorm room just to attack them? Petty, pathetic people. People like Rhett.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna didn’t even know the half of what her and Odion had in common. She’d never really spoken to him, of course she had greeted him the one time they met, but that wasn’t the same. Lani didn’t talk much about Odion either. The time she’d seen them together Lani was attempting to act like he wasn’t friends with Odion, but Adrian saw right through it when he showed concern for the other boy. It only fed into what Adrian believed; Lani wasn’t capable of hating very many people. He was like her in that aspect. As little as she knew about Odion, Adrianna was quite interested in getting to know him. He seemed nice enough and he was friends with Lani. He was the only one that she knew of.

She wondered if Odion knew much about her. Adri couldn’t imagine Lani telling his friends about her. Maybe Rhett had told him about the situation with Talen? She sure hoped not, that seemed to haunt her wherever she went. It wasn’t exactly something she liked being reminded of either. But Rhett hadn’t really helped with that. At all.

“It’s really not much interruption, I just needed to get out. I’ve been locked away in my room for quite some time and it was killing me,” Adrianna laughed and took a seat on the edge of the stage. It was nice being able to talk to Odion for once. Especially after the whole ordeal with Rhett, unlike his ex, Odion seemed to be a lot nicer to talk to. It was quite the change up from sarcasm and arrogance to someone rather quiet and reserved. She couldn’t help but wonder how someone like Rhett got lucky enough to find someone like Odion. Really, she didn’t think the ESP deserved what he used to have. And damn him for trying to make Odion hate her, too.

Emotions crossed Adrian’s face without her realizing it usually. If ever someone was wondering how she was feeling, they could figure it out just by looking at her. She’d once been told that her emotions were shown in three ways, if not plainly written on her face, it was shown in her eyes, if not there, her body language said it all. All three happened to be showing it at the moment. Her fists were clenched against the stage and her eyes were set in a glare aimed at someone who wasn’t even present, and her jaw was set. It would take a blind person to not see how she felt about Rhett. “You do?” Adrian asked in surprise. Had Rhett told Odion his plan? Why the hell would he do that? “I’m sorry you had to see him, that guy really knows how to get under my skin and that’s usually a hard thing to do!” She huffed and shook her head angrily.

[Odion Martins]

Honestly, Odion would have no interest in getting to know Adrianna had it not been for Lani. He was interested to see just what had attracted Lani, wanted to know how much she was going to hurt when she was betrayed by him, just not in the way Rhett had mock warned her about. She seemed like a doormat to say the least, but no one deserved to be hurt repeatedly. He didn’t want to be friends with her, he just wanted to make peace with those who had been hurt by Rhett because that stupid blonde couldn’t clean up his own messes. Odion had already pegged Adrianna as a nice, naive girl.

Rhett had told Odion about Talen. At one point, it had really hurt Odion as well, because he didn’t want to be another checkmark on Rhett’s obscure list. Odion didn’t know much about her from Lani, other than the secrets he was keeping from her. Sure he and Lani flirted once in a while, but it was nothing to worry about, that’s what Odion had convinced himself of anyways. Odi had defended her quite a lot, kept telling Lani to come clean. But that boy was as stubborn as they came.

“I understand,” Odion said with a nod. He knew what it felt like to be cooped up, stuck in your own mind and problems. It was good to get out and away. It was why he was here after all. Odion seemed to have a different impression on everyone. To Lani, the first impression of Odion would be someone who stuck his nose in all the wrong places and was annoying and obnoxious. But if you asked someone like Craven, that first impression was all attitude. It really all depends on how you rubbed Odion. But Odion was always a charmer.

Odion was one to keep a close eye on people and their reactions and faces. It was the best way to determine how they were feeling. It was why Odion stared people down. If they had nothing to hide, they wouldn’t look away. Often his dark blue eyes could be quite intense, but he was just trying to get a feel for the person.

Odion chuckled softly. Adrianna was pretty cute when she was mad. And no, Odion does not have a thing for her. “Of course.” The downside to knowing Odion, was that you had to read between the lines. Hardly anything was spelled out in full for people unless they asked more direct, pinpointed questions. He frowned deeply. He was sorry he had to see him as well. “Don’t believe anything he says. I did that once.” Odion wasn’t trying to win friends or gain enemies here, he was just trying to carry on as though Rhett didn’t exist.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Had Adrian never seen Odion, she most likely never would have even thought to talk to him. She’d heard Craven talk about him once before, but then again, Craven got along with Rhett so he wasn’t the best judge of character it seemed. Also, her former best friend had crushed on Romeo, another sign of bad judgment. The way Craven talked about Odion made him out as a bad person, but Adrian didn’t base her judgment off of someone else’s. If Odion was as he’d been described as, she wanted to witness it for herself. She may trust her friends, but they judged differently than she did. Based off of the moment, Odion seemed quiet, polite, but not outright friendly. It didn’t make him a bad person.

It wouldn’t have surprised Adrian to hear from Odion that he knew what happened between Rhett and Talen. It seemed quite the scandal for a while. Rumor was all over it. It seemed like everyone was talking about it, though that probably wasn’t true. How many people would actually care? The only people that would care were those involved. She unfortunately had been one of those people. Thankfully, in large part to Lani and Craven both, Adrianna had finally gotten over what happened. Her independence was coming back and she didn’t feel the need to lean so much on Lani anymore. He knew her secrets and that was all that mattered. Of course to someone else that wouldn’t be all that mattered, others would pressure Lani into telling them his secrets as well especially if they knew like Adrian did that he was in fact keeping something from her.

Adri smiled again and looked back down at her hands. She couldn’t get what Rhett had said out of her mind. ‘You trusted him fully too,’ but did she? She hadn’t known Talen as long as she did Lani. But that wasn’t even what had caught her off guard. Once he cut off from finishing his sentence, the doubt had crept into her mind and was starting to nag at her. She’d never been one to question Lani’s sexuality because it wasn’t her business. They were dating and had kissed pretty heatedly so clearly he liked girls, but did he likes guys too? Did he even know? Adrianna sighed, this was exactly what Rhett had wanted to do…and it was working.

She had to talk to Lani, at least bring up what Rhett had said to her. She needed the reassurance that Lani was going to be there, even if it was just as friends.

Adrianna’s flared anger had often been described as adorable, it was like an angry bird plushy. She was cute and cuddly, but angry at the same time. It wasn’t often that people took her serious when she was angry, when really…they should. Odion’s answer made her frown deepen, clearly seeing Rhett had taken its toll on Odi as well. “It’s hard not to believe him when he makes quite a few good points… I think he was trying to make me question Lani’s loyalty to me and the thing is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what he said…”

[Odion Martins]

Maybe Odion had been outright rude to Craven, but that boy was a moron in every sense of the word. Who had a raven for a friend anyways? Besides, Craven was always trying to get Odi to stop stealing things, and Odion wasn’t going to entertain someone with the notion of changing him. Craven was quickly added onto the list of people Odion didn’t like and would like to punch at a later date.

People were selfish and thought only of themselves, that much Odion was sure of. It was why he could spy on people without their noticing. They were too wrapped up in their cell phones, their apparently busy lives, to notice that someone was actually noticing them and truly paid attention. It was why Lani had been caught in so many of his lies. Odion was vigilant. But he too, trusted Lani, and if that was ever broken, Odi wasn’t sure what he’d do with himself.

It wasn’t that Odion wasn’t taking Adrianna seriously, rather, he was just catching on to what Lani had found. It was nice to see it in action for himself. She seemed like a good person, someone easy to latch onto and fall in love with. Odion gulped. He had never asked Lani if he was in love with her. Odion sighed, his fingers clicking on the stage. Seemed like he was going to be here a while. He took another glance at Adrianna before hoisting himself up on stage, sitting next to her at a comfortable distance.

“He’s just putting out the bread crumbs, you don’t have to follow them,” he suggested. People should make their own paths and not be fooled into visiting granny’s house. He looked at her, studying her. “So you doubt Lani,” he stated, not questioned. If she didn’t she would’ve brushed Rhett off like the fly he was. Odion wished he knew what Rhett had said, but it wasn’t his place to ask. But what had Lani done to make Adrianna question his loyalty? Maybe it wasn’t him but rather, Adrianna’s past with guys. Odion had once thought before that she had terrible taste in men. But then again, so did he. “Not everyone’s like Rhett,” he said, trying to be reassuring, because it was true. Not everyone was a backstabbing cheater.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Having been friends with Craven for nearly half of her life made her see through his thick skull. Yes, sometimes he came off a little strange to put it nicely. He was so close to that awful bird that had always hated her. He let people walk all over him and really didn’t know how to deal with people it seemed. He was socially awkward which was one of the reasons it was a good thing he hung out with Adrian, the social butterfly. That being said, they shared some friends, but some people they didn’t completely agree on. Rhett being one of them. She honestly didn’t know what Craven had been thinking.

Being the center of attention had never been a problem with Adrian. She didn’t mind the spotlight when it came to crowds and parties, but that didn’t mean she liked people knowing her personal business. Gossip never interested her much, she’d rather witness something for herself than believe an outsider who wasn’t part of said gossip. Why anyone would care about gossip, she didn’t know. Adrianna much rather deal with her own business first, people watch later. That was one thing that did interest her. Watching people interact with each other was fascinating. There were the loner types who often steered clear of any crowds and then there were people who had to be the center of attention at all times. Categorizing people was something Adrianna had done out of habit before, but some people such as Lani and Odion couldn’t be strictly categorized.

Adrian’s anger slowly faded until it was only burning embers. The more she thought the less angry and the more exhausted she became. Emotionally, she didn’t need this. Things were on the up and up with her relationship, yes, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have problems anymore. There was still the impending doom of her mother. If she started questioning Lani, that would only add to her emotional turmoil and that was unnecessary. She cared so much about him and her mother loved him, too, so there was no point in comparing him now to Talen. And yet, she couldn’t stop her mind. As Odion sat beside her, she kept her eyes cast down. She really wished Rhett had never come back.

Odion’s suggestion made her nod slightly, “I know I don’t have to follow, but that’s what sheep do. And I have always been a sheep.” Adrian had once been told that she couldn’t stand up for herself and that she always took the bait. Again, Odion spoke and her eyes slid shut at his words. She didn’t want to admit to it, but she couldn’t help it. Her past always caused problems for her and here it was coming back again to haunt her. Would she ever be able to look beyond her past? She doubted it. The what-ifs had come back and she wished they hadn’t. “I-I know not everyone is like Rhett. I know that I shouldn’t be doubting Lani because he’s done nothing to make me not trust his loyalty, but I’ve just had so many bad things happen that it’s hard to believe that he won’t turn out the same way.” Adrianna gulped and took a shaky breath, “As hard as it is for me to admit this, you probably know Lani better than I do…do you think I should be worried about this? Honestly, would Lani ever do anything to hurt me?” She looked up at Odion with pleading eyes and an innocence that had scared many people, Lani included.

[Odion Martins]

Spotlight and Odion had never gotten along. As much as he was able to, Odi would rather stay in the shadows. All this drama was not sitting well with him. Either he was getting drunk, or he was practicing parkour. There didn’t seem to be a middle ground for him, it was one extreme or another. No such thing as a balanced healthy lifestyle.

No two people had more faces than Lani and Odion.

Odion watched Adrianna carefully, but for once, he wasn’t sensing anything fishy. There was something unusually true in this girl. He really wished Rhett hadn’t come back as well. Had he come back a month after disappearing everything would’ve been different but like Odion always said. Timing is everything.

As Adrianna admitted to being a sheep, Odion couldn’t believe his ears. Most people didn’t lay their hearts on their sleeves like she was doing. Either she was very brave, or very stupid. How could she trust Odion with something like that right away? Lani liked a doormat, not a girl. “One only chooses to be a sheep,” he said softly. Again, he wasn’t here to influence her, he was just pointing out the obvious. People that didn’t come with a backbone could always grow one. And just from that one statement, Odion could see why Lani was so hell bent on helping Adrianna. Because she couldn’t help herself, and was sort of pathetic. Just the right candidate for Lani Hunter.

Poor Adrianna, she had no idea just how right she was. Not even Odion knew the biggest secret Lani was keeping. He had no idea there was more to his criminal ways than he was letting on. Her innocence didn’t scare Odion, it only intrigued him. And here he thought Adrianna wouldn’t be interesting. He smiled softly for the first time, flattered that she thought Lani had told him more. “No, I don’t think I know him better,” he said. Odion just knew him in a different light, but that light blocked out the things Adrianna was allowed to see. It was just Lani putting on different masks. Did Adrianna know about those?

“Lani would never do anything to hurt you,” Odion said truthfully. Lani was so afraid, so worried about hurting Adrianna, and yet, she was hurt already. Stupid Rhett. Of course, Lani would never hurt her intentionally, though the way Odion perceived it, it was intentional enough. “Just talk to him, I think he likes you.” It was Odi’s personal brand of teasing. Of course they both knew Lani liked her, he was dating her. Odion just didn’t want to see another person hurt by Rhett. He could carry that burden by himself.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrian was far too used to drama. It seemed as if it followed her everywhere. Either that, or she caused it, how? She had no clue, but it was possible. As hard as she tried to get along with everyone, some people just wouldn’t let that happen. Rhett and Zac were the two that came to mind. When drama came, Adrianna danced and let her emotions out that way. Either that or she talked to one of her friends about it because that helped sometimes too. Then there were times that she went running to Lani.

It had been pointed out that Adrianna was one of the most honest people one would meet. Never did people have to worry about her secretly plotting destruction on someone. She was true to herself in every way and made sure that she never came off as anything different. The only time she ever was not herself was when she tried to hide from her problems. She often had a wall built up around her, but in times as emotionally trying as this, she wore her heart on her sleeve.

There was no sense in lying. She had always been a sheep, a follower. It was something she was slowly working on. First step was showing Rhett that he couldn’t put thoughts into her head, but that hadn’t worked out so well. Of course it would get better once she actually was with Lani. As soon as she could have him there to hug her and tell her everything would be okay, she’d stick to what she said to Rhett. There was no point in letting Rhett win because he screwed up. It was his decisions that had led to Odion hating him, and he deserved every bit of it. Maybe once Lani heard about Rhett’s conversation with Adrian, he’d want to hit the boy even more. Messing with a best friend was bad enough, but to go ahead and screw with the girlfriend on top of that…well that was just asking for it. “You’re right. I did choose it and I’ve been trying to fix it for a while,” Adrian admitted quietly.

Adrianna wished she could stop worrying about the past events coming back and forming another problem for her. Every time something bad happened she feared that it would only repeat with time. History repeats itself as the saying went. Unfortunately, this history was a little harder to swallow. As much as Adrianna had thought she ‘loved’ Talen, it was nothing compared to how she felt about Lani now. The more time he spent with her, the more she started to like him. After he’d met her mother, Adrianna was pretty sure that she was falling in love with Lani and that was what had her so scared. She caught Odion smiling and was oddly surprised. His words relieved her and she returned his smile faintly. Though she tried to deny it, Adrian knew Lani acted differently around other people. In a sense, she liked it because she felt as if she got to see the best side of him, if there was one. It didn’t bother her as much as it should have.

Odion’s answer to her question was a huge wave of relief. Those eight words had meant more to her than most of the conversation. Coming from a friend of Lani’s only made her feel better. At least she wasn’t the only one who thought Lani cared about her. Adri looked up at Odion and snorted at his joke, she laughed and nodded. “I’m going to have to. I just hate Rhett for doing this. He comes up to me acting as if we’re actually friends, but really, all he’s ever done is cause me to rethink everything. Sometimes I guess reanalyzing things is good, but not when he’s the one telling you to look into your past.” She shook her head in frustration and sighed, “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to speak so poorly of him, I’m sure he has a nice side every once in a while. Honestly though Odion, I think you deserve better than to be treated this way, if I may be so bold to say so.”

[Odion Martins]

Together, Adrianna and Odion could hate Zac and Rhett together. Lani could even join them. Zac was the biggest idiot Odi had ever met, bigger than Rhett even. When drama knocked on the time turner’s doorstep, he ran away, literally and figuratively. It usually wasn’t worth his time or energy. Parkour and such were good things to distract him and when that didn’t work, books or playing card games did. And now that he had the kittens to take care of, he was pretty well set for avoiding all sorts of things.

Odion hoped Lani would punch Rhett in the face.

“There’s always time,” Odion said, glad Adrianna was starting to analyze the things people said to her instead of just taking it as it was. It was strange, but Odi sort of wanted to protect this girl. She wasn’t like Avi, who could more than take care of herself. He had known Adrianna for about three minutes before he felt like telling her the truth about Lani. But that wasn’t going to happen, he just felt shocked at how truly alike he and Lani were. If Lani heard about all this, Odion wasn’t sure what he would do. The blonde would want to know why Rhett wanted to split him and Adrianna up. Hopefully Lani wouldn’t connect the dots back to Odion.

Odion held himself back from apologizing for Rhett. And he also had to stop himself from telling Adrianna what Lani was up to. Why was this such a tangled mess? Rhett could be whoever he wanted to be by just deciding. Odion knew because he was the same way. He reanalyzed things almost on a daily basis. Especially lately. Adrianna seemed keen on figuring things out in her own way, Odi could see that. He spent a lot of time listening to others. Odion had quite the rude encounter with Rhett as well, assuming they were still together and trying to kiss him. “I haven’t seen that side in a while.”

It was ludicrous to hear Adrianna take his side. “Tha’ is bold. You don’t even know me.” He watched her. There was absolutely nothing for her to gain from him, so why was she saying things like this? It was making him second guess himself. All this time, he thought he didn’t deserve much of anything, he wasn’t exactly a good guy. And if not Rhett, then who? Only one other person came to mind.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

It was true. Zac was definitely the biggest arrogant jerk she’d ever met, and she’d met quite a few. He always had a way of making someone feel worse about themselves. Robbie had tried to defend Zac once to her and she was sure that to Robbie, Zac probably did act differently, but it didn’t make up for the way he’d acted towards her. Loyalty was something she admired, but it wouldn’t change her opinion of someone. Just like if Craven had tried over and over again to defend Rhett, she would have tried to see the good in him, but after the last encounter, it never would have worked. Rhett deserved a good hit, she’d have done it herself if she hadn’t been so shocked by what he’d said in the first place.

Adrianna nodded, there was time. She had forever to try and change for the better, she’d already began doing so a few months ago. After Craven left, Adrian had been determined to grow a backbone and stop being so dependent on the men in her life. It was difficult at first, but Lani had been helping her along. She felt stronger now than she had in a while, at least she had before Rhett came in and tore her back down. To her it didn’t seem like Rhett was trying to split her and Lani up, but rather get her to split Odion and Lani up. It was plainly written on Rhett’s face that he was jealous of Lani’s relationship with Odi. She didn’t know the extent of the friendship, but either way it didn’t bother her. As long as Lani told her firsthand if something ever did happen between the two boys, she’d never compare him to Talen.

Adrian was always the one who felt sympathy for others. She always took others’ feelings into account and did her best to keep those around her from disliking her. Of course, that didn’t always work to her advantage, but most of the time it did. She didn’t like being hated by people and she didn’t like hating people. In Adrianna’s perfect world, everyone would get along. Her naivety was her downfall. As much as she wished the world was perfect, she did know that it wasn’t the case. “I don’t think I’ve ever or will ever see that side. He tried to be ‘nice’ while we talked, but his words screwed that up.”

The real reason Adrianna had said that was because she didn’t know Odion. She knew Rhett and she knew how much of a jerk he could be. Based on the way Rhett had acted, she had a feeling he wasn’t exactly the ‘best’ boyfriend type. “That’s true, but I’ve seen how he treats people. Maybe it was different with you, but no one deserves to be in a relationship with someone who’s always tearing them down to nothing.”

[Odion Martins]

Rhett should be jealous of what Odion had with Lani. There hadn’t been any kissing, but Odion had shared a lot more things with Lani, mostly because Lani actually wanted to know, and Odi really did trust the blonde. Odion just thought Rhett was worried that Odion would end up being a cheater, just like he was. Wasn’t it the cheaters who always overreacted to things like this anyways? Because they knew exactly what they would do in the same situation? Maybe Odi wasn’t as selfish as he thought. Nothing romantic had happened between them, thought Odion sort of hoped something might.

“Anyone can pretend to be nice,” he said. Odion was wise beyond his years sometimes. He never had a childhood and was forced to grow up. It was another reason why he didn’t like Rhett at the moment. He knew more about Odion’s past than Odion did. And while he was off gallivanting and trying to find his mother just so he could give her a piece of his mind, he had ditched Odion. Rhett was probably the biggest pretender Odion had ever met. It would take a lot for Rhett to ever have Odion back the way he wanted him.

What Adrianna said couldn’t have rung more true. Rhett had always torn Odion down, and Odi made sure that when he was trying to help others grow, that he didn’t just hack away at them, but pruned them carefully. He never wanted to do to anyone else what Rhett did to him. Rhett always had to be on top, and his relationships were never equal. It was like he was doing Odion a favour, just by dating him. “I agree,” he said, feeling stupid for falling for Rhett at all. Maybe he just hadn’t know any better. But part of Odi still really liked Rhett, for a number of reasons he hadn’t shared with anyone, not even Rhett.

Pushing himself off the stage, Odion gave Adrianna a little wave. He had nothing more to say and didn’t want to waste her time. The damage had been done, and now Odion had to decide what he wanted to do next. Inevitably, Adrianna would seek Lani for comfort, and then the telekinetic would have to look deeper into himself for answers, or simply lie to Adrianna. Either way, Odion was going to confront Lani about the same thing after she did.