Who told you?! (Open)

[Odion Martins]

Odion swallowed, glancing at their hands, entwined and very real. “I just don’t want to classify someone who means so much to me...” And now he was ranting, and there wasn’t time to explain another thing. There came an angry knock at the door and someone else called for Lani’s attention. They were both willing to talk about them, their relationship, and now this...

It wasn’t Odion’s fault that he assumed the worst. Something was happening that he didn’t know the meaning of and like Lani, his mind went to the worst case scenario. The situation which would cause the most harm. Lani had been in her room, rifling through her things? Odion didn’t move a muscle, trying not to appear frustrated although he knew if Lani were looking at him at all right now, there would be no mistake as to what Odion was thinking. This was betrayal, and even if Lani hadn’t been cheating, he was still keeping things from Odion. He felt the life of his heart evaporate and die in his chest before a sound of mourning could reach his throat. Lani’s bandaged hand went to cover the poke, and Odion didn’t miss the tears in Lani’s eyes. But tears of what exactly?

So Lani was trying to protect her again? She didn’t seem to have any problems taking care of herself, unless this was a very strong mask. Odion had no idea what was going on in this girl’s life, but Lani still cared enough to pry into it. It was just how he operated. Whatever Adrianna had done, it had been worth risking a verbal beating, and Lani was receiving just that, and on his birthday no less. Odion didn’t bother saying anything when attention was finally drawn to him, his eyes dark and menacing. The less Adrianna said, the better.

And then Lani was looking at him, and Odion felt his heart start up again. His look softened for a split second, quickly replaced with indifference. Taking a deep breath, Odion let his arms fall to his sides, willing himself not to overreact for the umpteenth time in his life. The ‘happy birthday’ could wait, the present could wait, the trip could wait, hell even their relationship could wait, as long as it was there. Perhaps whatever was happening now was for the better, it didn’t excuse Lani from keeping secrets, but the blond didn’t need two people yelling at him.

“I don’t know what’s going on right now,” he said softly, casting Lani a glance, first a glare, then something almost tender, “but I’m not leaving his side.” He wasn't going to run away, not this time. Everyone else was being a stubborn ass, he may as well join in.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

His little half laugh only made her clench her jaw more so than it had already been clenched. He was trying to make her rip his head off wasn’t he? His hands went up in a sort of defensive gesture and she narrowed her eyes. When she poked him, she hadn’t been intending to hurt him. Maybe if he mentioned that he was hurt or told her anything she’d know not to do stuff like that. But he didn’t so he deserved it (at least that’s what she’d think if she knew anything about his burns). She missed all of the little signs of him hurting physically though, she was in her own little world of frustration and piss-offedness. This girl was already in a bad state of mind before, now that she was angry and had no reason for tears, all of the things that fueled her were directed into that anger. She wasn’t cutting anymore, but her emotions were all over the place.

You’d think Lani would realize that. Why anger the beast when she’s in a state of withdrawal from a form of addiction?

“For my own good? How the hell do you know what’s for my own good?” He couldn’t even figure out what was for his own good let alone hers! She’d start taking advice about her well-being when he stopped doing stupid shit and screwing up his own life. Exhibit A, whatever happened to get him burnt so badly, it probably was due to something stupid on his part. He folded his arms and she took it as a defiant gesture, which sparked more anger from her. Oh yes, defy against her as if she’s the one going through his things! Sometimes she wished she could be a skilled thief for one day just so she could pull the same stuff on him that he did to her. Going through her things, sneaking into places that he shouldn’t be, he’d hate if she did it to him. She too folded her arms across her chest, tightening them to keep herself together. She wasn’t going to break in front of him again, but the more she dealt with the withdrawal, the crazier she got and the more unstable she became.

“I thought we had an understanding! God! I never should have talked to you that day, I should have just turned around and gone the opposite direction like I thought,” Adrian said in a low voice. “I figured since we broke up I didn’t have to worry about you invading anymore! Helping means being there like a normal friend not a fucking patrolman.” Oh she was getting more and more pissed, and anyone who knew her would be able to tell. Adrianna rarely cursed, in fact it only came out when she felt she had good reason. This was one of those times. He was dealing with someone that was close to going off the deep end and this wasn’t even her life at its worse. That would come in just over a month and she had no idea.

His expression turned to one of caution as if she should tread lightly and his motioning towards Odion made her realize why. That explained the power that had been tickling the back of her mind. “It is bullshit! I thought we were past the lack of trust thing, too. Boy was I wrong. I thought you actually had faith in me, faith that I’d be able to take care of myself without needing someone there constantly watching me! But no, you just had to butt in and make sure I didn’t do anything.” And it was probably a good thing he had, as unstable as she was, who knew when she’d pull the razor out to use it that way again? She didn’t intend to mention that though.

Adrian threw her hands in the air and shook her head in irritation, “What did you think I was going to do? Shave my legs like a normal person?! Because I seriously feel like a damn Yeti or better yet one of those French chicks that NEVER shave and have hair everywhere! I would love to visit France maybe, but I’m not about to stop shaving just to fit in with them!” She looked at Odion again and his comment clicked the pieces together that she’d been gathering for a while now. It didn’t surprise her and it didn’t do anything to her right now. She was here for Lani, and if Lani wanted to keep secrets from her still, he could without any consequences. This wasn’t the friendship she’d wanted. Adrianna had been so sure that the break-up was a good thing and that they’d be friends, but right now even after their heart to heart, she wasn’t sure they’d ever be friends again.

And yet, it hurt her knowing that Rhett had been right and that just fed into her instability. But neither of them would know.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani wished he had a chance to answer that. Defining things, it was a level that was within his reach but it was like a trick wall. One that looked like it would give if touched but was actually quite sturdy. Thinking about it now they hadn’t actually talked about their relationship in a long time. He was more than a little annoyed at the interruption but when he knew who the knocker was he knew he deserved this. He’d slipped into the dragon’s den and gotten away with the gold, but not without the dragon taking wing after him. But he did not go to meet this dragon with sword in hand. He was in fact rather unarmed and already burned. If she wanted to beat him, she could. But he was not going to apologize for what he had done. He had done right in his eyes.

He knew he was poking the bear and he stood taking it like a man. He had done the crime and he was getting what he deserved. Problem was he wasn’t even the slightest bit sorry. “Oh I don’t know,” Lani drawled and stopped him from saying something scathing, she knew what he was talking about. “If I’m not gonna stop you from doing something stupid who will?” Lani questioned mercilessly. He bit his tongue to stop himself from calling out Venn. It wasn’t really Venn’s fault that he had left. He had heard snippets of what happened to him but couldn’t really find the energy to care for someone who hated him so much. At the moment it looked contradictory considering how much Adrianna hated him right now. It was amazing to think about how they had changed in such a short time from love and affection to being at each other’s throats.

Glancing at Odion Lani gave a little bit of an apologetic look and was met with a cold stare. He was in trouble on more than one side today. It was going to be a long day. A very long day. He had a lying problem, everyone in the room knew it. He was working on it, at least one person in the room knew that. The other two had had too much past burns to take his word as blatantly true. One might be closer to coming around than the other. “No, no, you had an understanding. I made no promises not to invade. Your mistake was thinking: One, I wouldn’t find out, and two, that I would sit on my hands and let it happen!” Lani threw his hands up in the air, she could really bring the fight out of him. The more she tried to convince him not to care the more he was determined to show that he did. Lani’s eyes flickered around the room as he rolled them. “Adrianna. Adrianna, calm down. Listen to yourself, you haven’t been yourself,” he said it more gently. He stepped up to her and crossed his arms daring her to challenge him. “And if I have to be your goddamn patrolman I will be. Or was that not clear enough the last time we spoke?”

Lani avoided Odion’s gaze, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do. He wasn’t sure he could. How could they expect him to be honest and keep their secrets at the same time? It was honestly exhausting trying to figure out this honesty thing. He wasn’t so foolish enough to know that he would get out of this without hearing it from Odion. He just hoped that Odion wouldn’t demand to know what was going on. If Lani was forced to chose whether or not to keep Adrianna’s secret he was going to be in a lot more trouble now with one or the two, even more than now. Lani sighed again. “I have faith in you, Adrianna, how many times do I have to tell you? But you’re a fool if you think I’ll sit back and watch! You’ve lost your mind! I don’t give a damn if you hate me for it but I’ll make sure you never do that again.” Even in his anger he carefully sidestepped the topic and stepped on the stones of vague language.

Stunned into silence Lani just stared at her. “Um… what?” He glanced at Odion and winced a little at the glare. Please don’t tell him he lost two people he cared about in one day… But Lani’s heart warmed and he managed a little smile for the redhead. He wasn’t planning on apologizing for lying either. But the statement made him want to go give Odion a kiss. If Odion found out now, Adrianna had no one to blame but herself. It wasn’t hard to tell now. “Too bad,” Lani said with a shrug and said honestly, “It’s not here.” He cocked his head at her and shook his head no he was not going to let something like a necessity for shaving convince him otherwise. “They have alternatives, don’t they?” He asked glancing at Odion wondering if Odion had any clue if that was true. “Either way, I’d rather you be a yeti.” He commented pretty sure she was going to fume for that. Therefore he moved back a few steps toward Odion preferring to be closer to the angry person in the room least likely to hit him at the moment. He gave Odion a ‘say something!’ look. He watched her process it, he had been meaning to tell her when they ran into each other, but, well for obvious reasons that didn’t happen. “Adrianna, we’re friends, let me help you. Please.”

[Odion Martins]

While the two of them exchanged less than pleasant words, Odion continued to wonder what was going on. But he also desperately wanted to know what was going on with Adrianna. Maybe he could help. He wasn’t good for much of anything, but his curiosity was getting the better of him. He lost himself in the heat of the argument, flinging himself forward in time. A lot would change in the future, but that wasn’t surprising. What was surprising, was the state Adrianna was in. It had only gotten worse, something devastating had happened. She was crying, and looked like she had been crying for days. She looked terrible when she walked into Lani’s dorm in the present. Here, in this future, she looked unsalvageable.

Returning to the present time, Odion was gripping the back of the couch, the material balled up in his fists. He let go of them quickly and silently, urging the colour to return to his face. Whatever was happening, it would only get worse – he didn’t have the heart to tell her. Adrianna was talking about Lani’s lack of faith in her and Odion willed himself to concentrate.

Odion blinked as he put two and two together. Lani was trying to protect her from self-harm. Why was it that he felt the need to deal with people when they were on the brink of suicide?

Odion felt like trash after speaking and ducked his head. Odion glanced at Lani, wondering if he too, could see the betrayal in her eyes, wondering if they were all thinking the same thing. But Lani looked only thankful. They could get through this. Odion could only imagine what Adrianna was going to do next.

Nodding in agreement with Lani, everyone knew that there were other means of hair removal. But he didn’t that now was the right time to talk about such things. Odion reached out hold Lani’s bandaged hand. It wasn’t okay that everyone was hurting, and good intentions weren’t good enough. “You’re going to need friends,” he said cryptically, glancing at Lani worriedly. Odion couldn’t tell Adrianna... Should he tell Lani?

[Adrianna Carstyn]

Adrianna clenched her fists at her sides and shook her head, waiting for him to say what he was thinking. When he stopped, she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. “Go ahead, Lani. Say it. You were going to say Venn, weren’t you? Well guess what, at least if he was here, he’d be actually taking care of me instead of showing up too late! If he was here none of this would be happening because I’d have had someone!” He really had no right to bring the other boy into this, which maybe that was why he’d stopped. She wasn’t about to let him off that easy, if he was going to ask a question like that and try to stop himself from saying something jerkish, she would be more than willing to bring it up. If they were going to be screaming at each other, might as well feed into it.

“I wasn’t going to do it anymore! You act as though I’m the one with the lying problem! When I say something, I actually mean it!” Low blow. Very, very low. And as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted it. But, it was his fault! He was the one that was pushing her and yelling at her. Okay, so that was a weak justification, but she was angry and she didn’t think when she was angry. Adrian just said what went through her mind in that moment. And it had been really harsh. Biting down on her tongue, she could taste the blood. It was the only punishment she could use at the moment. And she refused to apologize. He was saying hurtful things, too. This wasn’t one-sided. “I will not calm down! And who do you think you are telling me I haven’t been myself? You don’t know me anymore than I know you,” There was no gentleness left in her, she was done being quiet spoken and reserved. He brought this on himself. He stepped closer and she stepped back, almost cringing away from him. What did she think he was going to do? Hit her? Scream in her face? It didn’t matter, she couldn’t stand being so close to him.

All of the vagueness spewing between them was getting annoying. Adrianna didn’t care anymore. Let everyone find out about her problem. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d been judged by people that didn’t know a thing about her. Who were they to judge anyway? Everyone at this school had their problems. “If you had the slightest bit of faith in me, you’d stop treating me like a child! I’m not your problem or your charity case! I’m not going to cut anymore and you don’t have to stand by and watch over me!” There it was, her ‘secret’ out in the open. Odion could gawk at her all he wanted, it wouldn’t be the first time she’d been looked at like a pathetic little freak. “And I’m glad you don’t care if I hate you because honestly Lani, this whole being friends thing isn’t working out for me.”

Adrianna gritted her teeth, “You’re right, they do have alternatives, but you know what the lovely thing is about having a car and money, I can buy whatever the hell I want. What are you going to do to keep me from buying a shaving razor? Nothing. You have your own life to take care of, you can’t be constantly looking out for me, whether you want to or not.” She really shouldn’t have brought that up, the fact that she could and probably would go out and buy a shaving kit. But what if she was telling the truth? What if she really wasn’t going to do it again? He tried speaking softer to her again, but she was like a caged animal and when Odion spoke as well, she felt like she was being cornered and lashed out. “I don’t need anyone. Why is it that you’re allowed to take on the world alone, but when I try to do anything on my own you won’t let me?” She shook her head, “And if we were friends…we wouldn’t be fighting like this. But don’t worry, I have other people that will actually treat me like an adult and be there for me whenever I need them.”

Adrian didn’t know what to do then. She stood there, arms tight around her and eyes darting between the two of them. She could leave. But if she did, she didn’t think her and Lani would make up and really be friends. Not this time. So she stood there, waiting to see what would happen. If anything, she could freeze time and bolt, but Odion would probably know what to do if she tried.


((OOC: This is super long and ridiculous I know, also I wasn't really ready for her to leave, but wasn't sure what else to do. So sorry!))

[Lani Hunter]

From the way Adrianna and Lani were going at it, it was easy to neglect the fact that Odion was in audience. His power reached out for the time controller in a way of comfort and as if to keep it from flinging Adrianna somewhere. What must Odion think of him now screaming at her as she screamed at him. What if this was all that would ever become of Lani’s relationships? What if they were doomed from the start. “I never left!” Lani cried back at her desperately. He had been here, sure he had been distracted with Odion. But he loved Odion, he knew he did and he wanted to spend every minute with the redhead. It had gotten him caught up and he had either forgotten or neglected to see that anything was wrong. “You’re right. I don’t give a bloody damn about Venn. But don’t blame this all on me. If you had taken a moment to come talk to me none of this would be happening either!” Lani was hard pressed to stop himself from describing just how much he didn’t like Venn. How had it gotten here? All of the drama, all of the pain. What’s the point?

Lani opened his mouth to retort but the blow hit him a little harder than he expected and his mouth went dry. Lani’s eyes flickered to Odion. Odion thought he had a lying problem too. Damn. “So right now you’re telling me you’re never going to do it again. You’re promising me?” Lani said his voice low and cold. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting to come from that but he wished so much that she meant it and that she wouldn’t do anything like that again. Lani took a step back an expression of pain crossing his features before he was able to school them. It wasn’t just the denial of knowing him or knowing her but the step back from her. How could she say that? She was one of two people outside of his family who had ever seen him shed a tear. Had he made a mistake? He forced out a laugh trying to pass off the hurt in his voice as something else. “Don’t say that. You know me.” It came out almost pleading. Not everything he said was a lie. Could she really not stand him that much?

“It’s not like that! It’s never been like that!” Lani cried, how could he get through to her. Lani turned toward Odion for a second wiping a hand over his face to keep himself from actually hitting her. He looked at Odion and his eyes flashed with anger and he whirled on Adrianna again. “That’s not my fault! Adrianna! What do you want from me? I’ve tried being honest with you. But you don’t want to hear anything you don’t agree with.” He was yelling now to hide how much it hurt that Adrianna wanted to throw away their friendship. Their broken and battered friendship but friendship nonetheless. Lani didn’t know how to deal with this. He wasn’t going to sit here and be battered without returning a little bit of pain. Odion, Odion, poor Odion having to bear witness to this side of Lani. Lani had gotten angry around Odion but never like this. He’d never been so stung or felt so attacked.

“Why are you so against getting help for this?” Lani pleaded pushing away the anger that was growing through the hurt. “Adrianna, I’m not doing this to make you feel like a child…” Apparently she didn’t care. Lani could have hit her for saying she could deal with it on her own. “It’s different! I’ve always…” He stopped himself. He had been very close to saying he had never had someone help him. But that was now a lie. He had Odion. He wasn’t taking on the world alone anymore. He caught sight of Odion’s hand out of the corner of his eye and shifted so he could hold it. He might have squeezed it a little too hard but he found comfort from the time turner’s hand and pulled from it. Adrianna kept striking at the same nerve and finally Lani couldn’t take it. He broke away from Odion. “Because you’re not dealing with it, Adrianna!” He stepped swiftly forward and before she could dodge grabbed her wristed and pulled it up for her to see. “This is not dealing with it!” He let her go like he had been burned as he realized what he was doing and how he had probably hurt her. “I don’t care what you want to call this,” he gestured between them, “But it’s not going to stop me. And maybe if you started acting like an adult I’d be able to treat you like one!”

“I said I was sorry Adrianna,” Lani had stopped holding his volume. “For the first time in my life I am happy! Excuse me for getting caught up in it!” Lani’s face blanked a little bit as he realized how that sounded. He hadn’t meant to say he hadn’t been happy with her, it had just slipped out. But Lani was happy. He was happier with Odion than he had ever been. Why did that make him feel so guilty? Lani gulped. “I didn’t mean that,” he added quickly his eyes darting from her to Odion. This was a mess. He felt like he had been stuck in the head by a shovel. She stared at them seemingly at a loss but not any better for her anger. Lani drifted back toward Odion giving him an expression mixed with pain and apology. He knew he was in the wrong, but he wouldn’t admit it, nor would he apologize. Not if it meant justifying her actions. Lani wanted to make one last try. He took a deep breath and calmed himself. His anger hadn’t faded but he needed to keep a better check on his temper.

He held his bandaged hand out to her. “Please, Adrianna,” he said softly his masks falling away and his eyes showing the pain and the anger. “Please, talk to me. Odion’s right. You’re going to need friends. Let me… us help you. Please, this is killing me.” He said honestly one hand reaching out for her and the other clinging to Odion to keep himself centered and aware.

[Odion Martins]

Some people drank, some people cut, everyone had to let the poison out somehow. Odion didn’t want to encourage Adrianna’s ill behavior, but he couldn’t help but also be a little proud of her. Yes it was sick in twisted, but in his mind’s eye he had always believed her to be this week, frail creature always in need of tending. This time she had taken control into her own hands. She had turned into an animalistic version of herself, but Odion could see by the rage in her eyes that she could damn well take care of herself and she didn’t need any man to help her with that. Maybe she wanted someone she could trust by her side, but that person wasn’t Lani, so why was he still trying to fill that spot?

“Both of you are acting ridiculous.” Odion didn’t know Adrianna and Lani were still trying to be friends. Lani didn’t say a lot about her, which raised Odi’s suspicions until light had be shed on the subject. He looked at Adrianna with hard eyes. “Because doing things alone is stupid, especially when your loneliness makes you do stupid things.” Harsh, but true. If Adrianna was going to yell and be spiteful, the least Odion could do was hold up a mirror and let her in on what she was doing to herself. Lani was a ball of emotions, and Odion could feel the telekinetic’s power warble. This could get dangerous very quickly if something different wasn’t done, and soon. Odion wasn’t afraid of Lani’s anger, or any emotion really. Lani was capable of many things, and Odion always approached everything with a certain grace.

And then he laughed at her ‘friends don’t fight’ comment. “That’s a ridiculous notion of friendship you hold,” he said, trying to quell the situation. “I’m not a psychologist, but you’re both wrong, so why don’t the both of you just shut up and listen to one another.” He glanced at Lani, because he was easier to talk to, and maybe if he would’ve let Odion in a little bit sooner, Odion could’ve help to begin with. “Lani, when I was piss drunk over Rhett and contemplating suicide, you didn’t try to take my bottle away, you just spoke with me. I know you have trust issues, but for fucks sake, its skin, it’ll heal. What does she have to do? Sign in her own blood that she’ll never do it again? And if you’re going to talk about dealing with things, how about starting with yourself? And Miss Carstyn,” he said, glancing over at her not with pity, but understanding. “Friends fight, Lani and I fight almost every single day. You’re not going to see eye to eye with the people you care about all the time. So stop over reacting when he was only trying to help you this entire time. It’s not about how he did it, but that he cared enough to try. You may not appreciate it now, but you will some day. If you think I’m wrong and that the whole world’s against you, I wish you the best of luck.”

Lani spoke of being happy, for the first time in his life... Shakily, a smile rose to his face. Did Lani really mean that? ... No, apparently not. Odion blinked his eyes rapidly and bit his lower lip. Odion felt like he was falling through the floorboards, glancing down to make sure he actually wasn’t. So then, he wasn’t happy? Odion closed his eyes, feeling himself drifting instead, drifting into a place he had once been before. When Lani reached out to him, he stepped sideways, out of reach. Odion held his ground, pushing past his own hurt to perhaps help someone else, however, there was nothing left to say. All he wanted to do, was leave.

[Adrianna Carstyn]

“Why should I promise you anything? It doesn’t matter either way because it isn’t like you’ll believe me,” She snapped right back at him. Adrian saw the pain cross his features and she frowned. It was true, they didn’t know each other. He didn’t know her like he thought and she knew she didn’t know him. Not like she wanted. Funny how they’d dated for months and still hardly knew a thing. Sure, she’d seen him cry and seen the real side of him without all of the masks up, but it was only a glimpse compared to what she knew Odion had seen. And hadn’t they started out hating each other? How was it that he knew Lani better than she did? “Do I? Honestly, Lani, I really don’t think I do. Whatever I knew about you…how do I know it wasn’t all just bull shit?”

“Because I don’t need help! I keep telling you and you’re not listening!” He grabbed hold of her wrist and she yanked away from him, cringing as she felt some of the scabs reopen. “I am! You just won’t let me take care of myself. Stop trying to do everything for me! I’m sick of it!” She said in frustration. All of this was getting out of control and even if she was being irrational, so was he. Whatever Odion was saying kept getting pushed back the more Lani spoke and continued stoking that irritation in her. Odion might as well have not been there with as much as she was paying attention. “I’m not Caroline, Lani! I don’t need you to look out for me!” And another low blow. She was being a bitch. A really nasty bitch at that and after this was all over…if they ever talked after this, she’d never be able to apologize enough.

And yet, he was full of responses that hurt just as much, if not more. Her jaw dropped and tears filled her eyes. Feeling her lower lip tremble, she bit down hard on it to get a hold of herself. For a brief moment she let the harsh pain that she felt show in her eyes, but it was gone in a flash. When he tried recovering, she shook her head, “Bull. You did mean it, and it isn’t fair to any of us if you lie about it. This is what I’m talking about. Without me, you’re happy. Don’t you get it? We’re better off without each other.” Just as he reached out, she stepped closer to the door, “You’re right, both of you. I will need friends, and maybe at one point I would have gone to you. But I think it’s better for both of us to just let this one go.”

Tears collected in the corners of her eyes and she gulped back the tightness closing off her throat. Turning to Odion, she gave him a half-hearted smile and wave, “It was nice seeing you, and I’m sorry about all of this….” With that she turned and headed out the door, closing it softly behind her while the tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani was at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to make this better. The more he said the more it came out angry and the harsher it became. It was like word vomit. The minute he thought something it was coming out his lips and he couldn’t do anything to pull it back. How could he tell Adrianna that what they had had was real without pissing off his now boyfriend standing in the room. Lani also didn’t know why he was still trying to be that person for Adrianna. Lani opened his mouth and was about to snap when Odion’s voice startled him. He snapped his jaw shut to avoid gaping at the redhead. Lani watched Odion instead of turning his gaze to Adrianna. He clenched his jaw fighting the urge to add his own two cents into the lecture that Odion was giving. But Odion wasn’t saying it to prove Lani’s point, he was telling it how he saw it. Odion always did.

Lani’s power flared and the door of his room flung open from the force. Adrianna did not bring up Caroline. She didn’t know Caroline, what his sister had gone through. He didn’t know how strong his sister was. “Do not bring Caroline into this!” He might want to protect Adrianna but his sister trumped everything. Everyone. Even Odion. “She’s got nothing to do with this and you have no idea what she’s been through!” Something else toppled over and Lani felt himself coiling for an attack. It was then that Lani pulled his anger. He was going to hurt someone if he wasn’t careful. He swallowed and his ears latched onto Odion and his eyes turned to Odion when he name was called. For a second his eyes had that glow and just a touch of feral anger as they turned, but he blinked and it was gone. Caroline wasn’t actually here, no one was trying to hurt her. He needed to calm down.

He gritted his teeth and bit his tongue to avoid saying that signing it in her own blood would be counterintuitive to the deal. Lani felt as if he were stuck. He should have expected it, Odion wasn’t one to take things quietly but he hadn’t been prepared to fight Odion as well. “This isn’t about me.” Lani managed to hiss but he doubted Odion was paying attention as he turned his attention to Adrianna. Then Lani made the worst decision of his whole life. Telling the truth and taking it back. “Adrianna,” Lani tried the anger too strong in his voice for the sadness to come across. He reached out for Odion and Odion sidestepped. Lani felt as if the world had shifted under him. Then Adrianna moved away from him. It was like his power had created a shell and slowly just pushed outward. Lani’s hands dropped to his sides and for the first time when he felt completely alone it had a horrible bitterness to it.

Adrianna may have slammed the door for all that it struck his heart. Well, he’d successfully pissed off everyone he cared about today. Happy birthday. He thought to himself and he found a lump forming in his throat. He stood there numb and unsure if he wanted to scream or cry or both. Abruptly he slammed his already injured hand into the wall. The pain seemed to clear his head a bit and he found himself unable to decipher anything in his own head. The universe gave and the universe too away. His hand rested on the wall and he felt it shake with pain, he was going to regret this later. Lani’s eyes training on the ground. He couldn’t look up at Odion. “Nothing I say is going to make this okay, is it?” He asked softly referring now to what he had said and how it had hurt Odion. Maybe Adrianna had a point. Who could tell if he was lying or telling the truth?

[Odion Martins]

The Caroline card was probably the worst one anyone could pull. He himself didn’t dare use it, and he thought it especially unwise to use it while in the midst of a heated argument. Lani may have been concerned with how he argued with everyone constantly, but he didn’t seem to be willing to cease and desist at any time. Even as Odion spoke his epiphany, nobody seemed to care. It just confirmed for him that what he had to say didn’t matter anyways, which was why he didn’t speak to begin with – he would have to remember that for next time.

But Odion could feel Lani’s power pop before the door flew open, before the words were spoken. He did his best to encircle the moment with his own power, to protect the outside world and turn the possible explosion into an implosion. “This is about you,” he said so quietly, the other two probably didn’t hear him. Lani couldn’t be in a relationship with himself, especially when other people were involved. He was no longer interested in the words being spoken, until the final blow.

Adrianna said goodbye and Odion didn’t even realize he had muttered a fair well, he was too lost in his own agony to really put much thought into it. The door slammed closed, and Odi’s power turned back into the steady wave it always had been. His eyes flicked to Lani as a blown was directed to the wall. Odion crossed his arms in front of his chest, little to no sympathy written across his face. “It doesn’t much matter what you say when you take it back before your heart completes a beat.” He wasn't sure what Lani cared more about, him or Adrianna. If Lani wanted to be alone he was doing a good job of setting himself up a lifetime of loneliness. How was it that Odion could stand by Lani but Lani couldn't do the same. Odion wasn’t looking at Lani either. He had once felt safe to cry in front of Lani, with Lani. Had once felt safe to allow himself to feel trusted, loved, and yes, even happy. “Perhaps you two need a break from one another,” he said in a detached voice. Maybe, so did they.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani’s power felt Odion’s power working against him and Lani glanced at the redhead a mixture of anger and relief. He fought against it for a moment when he realized that Odion was doing this so that Lani didn’t really hurt someone. He pulled it back and forced himself to bottle his power. Odion guessed right he was too busy yelling at Adrianna to hear reason and he didn’t hear it. He also didn’t understand how this could be about him. He wasn’t the one cutting himself, he wasn’t the one pushing away people who wanted to help. At least that wasn’t how he saw it. If he had been of more sound mind he might reflect that he had been pushing Odion this whole time under the guise of fear of hurting the redhead. Well as if that had helped in the end. But now Adrianna was gone and with all of the anger Lani couldn’t bring himself to swallow his pride and go after her. Besides he had enough to deal with here. Like trying to explain to Odion his thought process when he had taken back what he had said.

He hadn’t expected Odion to take it so hard and he hadn’t meant it to be hurtful to Adrianna. The first was true and the second false, but how could he say that when they took every word he said with a grain of salt. Lani flinched, that blow hurt more than anything Adrianna had delivered. His fingers folded into fists. He closed his eyes, would Odion ever forgive him for that? Lani had a sinking feeling that everything was slipping like sand through his fingertips and the more he tried to grasp it the more it slipped away. And he had a feeling that if he lost Odion he’d never come back. Perhaps it was irrational, perhaps not. But the last time he and Odion had gotten into terrible fight, Odion had vanished and Lani was perhaps in the darkest place he had ever been in his life. There was nothing irrefutable about the fact that that singular sentence taking back the truth was right up there on the stupidity scale with signing up to work for a gang lord.

Now Lani risked a look at Odion. He knew he needed to apologize but he felt like it wasn’t enough. Despite that his lips quivered as they spelled the words. “I’m sorry.” He sighed and turned his face away squeezing his eyes shut. “I’m just supposed to sit back and watch her destroy herself?” Lani demanded not wanting to fight with Odion too, but that ship had sailed. He didn’t like the sound in his voice. If Odion followed Adrianna out the door Lani didn’t know what he would do. He knew how much he hurt Odion as soon as he looked at him and Odion stepping away from him had driven the final nail through his heart. The sound of his voice was more than Lani thought he could take. He’d made a brilliant mess of everything. “I didn’t mean it, Odion. I didn’t mean to take it back.” He tried desperately to give himself a reason to be able to look Odion in the eye.

[Odion Martins]

For Odion, everything was a grain of salt.

“No, that’s not at all what I said Lani.” Odion said, shaking his head. He was hurt, and he knew Lani was hurt as well. It was another lose-lose situation that Odion wasn’t sure how to handle. Not every day did one find themselves between their lover and their lover’s ex-lover, still trying to be friends. Which reminded him... “Maybe if you would’ve talked to me about things... I could’ve helped her. I could’ve helped you.” Because obviously, she didn’t give a damn who knew about her cutting, and it almost seemed as if she expected Odion to already know. So, wasn’t Lani therefore supposed to talk to him about things in his life? Especially people he was still trying to be friends with?

“Then what did you mean? Because I want to know if I make you happy.” Odion couldn’t understand why the thought had been spoken and then refuted by the same person. It didn’t make any sense, and if Lani wanted to protest that he didn’t want to hurt Adrianna’s feelings, then that was a lie. Maybe they were happy together at some point, but so what if Odion made Lani happier now? Wasn’t that the whole fucking point?

Odion stepped up to Lani and stood as closely as possible to him without actually touching him. “Do you really want to be with me or not? Because she’s not your girlfriend, you ought to be defending me as I did for you.”

[Lani Hunter]

This was the day that Lani would look back on many a time between this time and probably anytime he found himself in the mood to fight. It wasn’t just two people, often times people got caught in the crossfire. If Adrianna hadn’t needed to shave her legs today perhaps this wouldn’t have happened. Or perhaps if Odion had come a little bit later or Adrianna a little sooner this wouldn’t have happened either. But that was just wishful thinking. The point was that it had happened and now he had to deal with it. Odion made a good point and Lani’s excuse from beforehand now felt brittle and useless. “I know,” he muttered under his breath almost hoping that Odion wouldn’t have caught it. He felt very much like a reprimanded child.

“I meant what I said first. Odion, I thought it would sound as if I was never happy with her.” There was the excuse Odion was probably expecting. “But Odion, I am. I am. I love you. I’m happier than I’ve even been in my life.” Ignoring the present fact that he was about to rattle himself to pieces. The floodgates broke and Lani found the words vomiting from his lips. He just hoped Odion didn’t brush them aside as lies. “Odion you mean everything to me. And you were right. You were right all along. I’m so happy and I feel it every time you’re around and then when you’re not I just think of being with you.” With the problems in Boston and Jared’s problems and the slew of problems that he himself had created for Odion and Adrianna, what right did he have being happy? Lani blinked away tears that were threatening to fall. He had told Odion he loved him then Lani had panicked and even now he was panicking because he was so afraid of Odion vanishing and that fear seemed to be pushing them apart anyways. And now would Odion think he was just reciting something? A new lie? The thought killed him.

The problem with being taller than Odion was that Lani couldn’t even get away from looking at him when he looked down. He settled for focusing on the harsh frown on Odion’s lips. But Lani’s eyes snapped up at the question. That was a mistake, he was almost knocked back by the hurt in the blue eyes. “Of course I want to be with you!” He cried without thinking and resisted the urge to latch onto Odion with hand or power. He’d made that promise when he let Odion go the first time. He’d never make the redhead stay but he’d pray to anyone right now that he would. He closed his eyes and turned his face downcast again. Odion was right, he shouldn’t have taken it back.

[Odion Martins]

Odion wanted to ask if after all this time, Lani couldn’t trust him, but there were plenty of things Odion simply did not bring up with Lani. Like his past. Like how he had totalled Cameron Osiris’ truck. Like how he purposefully went about getting women to fall in love with him just for the name of the game. And he didn’t feel bad about it, not when people were stupid enough to fall for it. But he supposed that if he was eager to get into Lani’s life, the good, bad, and ugly, then Lani probably wanted the same thing. This was turning into a serious problem. And here he thought he was just coming over to say Happy Birthday to his boyfriend, which, he still hadn’t done.

“I don’t think so, I think what you meant is that you’re happier with me. Doesn’t she, don’t I, deserve to know that?” Even in front of other people. Besides, she was over him, what did it matter that he was over her? Unless, Lani wasn’t over her... Odion could see Lani’s eyes welling up and he had to glance away. It wasn’t fair, he couldn’t stay mad at Lani for as long as he once was able to. Was he turning into a sap? A pained smile crossed his face. “Don’t you think I feel the same way? Because I do, I love you more than I know what to do with. Wouldn’t it kill you to hear me saying something like what you just did?” But he wasn’t mad anymore, he just wanted to get back to being happy. He could accept that they would make mistakes, but he still wanted to be with Lani.

Odion put his hands on the wall behind Lani, encircling the taller boy protectively. By his own submission, he raised his head slightly and kissed Lani while his eyes were still closed. “Good,” he said, stepping away again until he was nearly seated on the high back of the couch. “Because if you don’t want me, you can just say so.” He wasn’t going to repeat his past relationship.

[Lani Hunter]

Lani still hadn’t figured out the difference between honesty and blurting out every thought that came into his head. And until he did he would keep making these mistakes because he couldn’t blurt out every thought, that would make him feel too exposed and too vulnerable. He still wasn’t even sure that was the right way to feel about it all. He sighed to himself and did his best to not dwell on that. He could deal with the internal problems later. He didn’t know where the boundaries lay in honesty and he was so used to lying that it was still his go to solution. It shouldn’t be but he had yet to find a way to stop it. Most of the things he said to Odion were truthful, and those that weren’t Lani had a feeling Odion knew it and the ones he didn’t call out he had decided to let slide.

Lani nodded, unsure whether to be relieved that Odion understood or worried that Odion was upset because he had failed to say the right thing. Lani lowered his head. Relationships were hard. Anyone who said otherwise was lying. Taking into account all of the banks and houses and stores he had broken into, taking into account all of the running, the lying, and the final schism from his boss. Nothing compared to the challenges of the heart and the challenges of letting someone in and allowing them to see him as he was. To let them see his heart. Lani opened his mouth to protest and found he couldn’t. His eyes dropped again and the softness in Odion’s voice was perhaps harder to take than the yelling accusations Adrianna had given him. The softness sounded more like disappointment. Lani nodded his heart catching in his throat. “I’m so sorry, Odion.”

He felt Odion move and he tensed. He wasn’t sure what he was expecting but it wasn’t what happened. If Adrianna had doubted the honesty in Odion’s words she need only look back now. Lani and Odion did fight nearly every day. But it hardly ever reached this magnitude. Lani’s heart hammered and his eyes opened as Odion withdrew. Lani stayed against the wall and watched Odion go. Lani just shook his head. He could see the pain still in Odion’s eyes and Lani felt guiltier than ever. His heart still hammered though Odion didn’t seem ready to walk out the door. Lani shook his head at the statement. At this point in time with the strength of the terror of Odion leaving fresh on his mind and heart he couldn’t even imagine such words leaving his lips. After a few moments Lani followed after pausing at the edge of the couch. It almost felt too easy. As if Lani was waiting for the other shoe to fall. As if in test Lani reached out hesitantly for Odion. He wanted to tell Odion that he wanted to tell his parents but it didn’t feel like the right time. Maybe later. More importantly Lani wanted to see Odion smile again. So Lani brought up the old conversation. “Does this mean I can call you my boyfriend?” Lani asked his expression neutral, eyes dry of tears but no smile or frown either.