Duet [Kiara]

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel did not mean much by his comment regarding Kiara's number. He simply commented because the low number managed to make him feel worse about his own - it would have made him feel at least a little better if the girl's number was a bit higher. Instead, he was her second... she was his eighteenth. There was a huge difference there, and it had made Gabe even more uncomfortable in the situation than he had been to begin with. He wished his number was lower...

Kiara finally reacted to Gabe's confession by moving his potential weapon into a horizontal position - making it harder for Gabe to hurt himself with it if he really wanted to. It made him chuckle a little. When Kiara promised she wasn't judging, it did take a tiny bit of weight of Gabe's shoulders, and he felt like he could breathe again. But her proposed explanation made his chest tighten up again. Was it normal in a big city? Gabe wasn't sure. "I suppose..." he said softly with a shrug, smiling smally at Kiara as she withdrew her hand. "I don't like excuses though," he noted, seeing that explanation as nothing but an excuse. How could it be the city's fault, and not Gabe's. That didn't make much sense.

Before Gabe could dwell on it long, Kiara had asked another question. And even though it was not her turn, Gabriel felt like it was an inquiry that needed to be delt with straight away. The question made him laugh, actually. "Oh my god, no!" Gabe said after a bit of laughter. He wasn't sure why but he found it funny that Kiara had thought that might be a possibility - just because Gabriel had slept with so many people perhaps. "No never," he promised, crossing his heart with his pointer finger - something he often did with McKenna that was more frequently being used in the rest of his life. "Never paid. Always consent. I swear I remember all of their names and... usually how we got to that point," Gabe said, furrowing his eyebrows a bit before making the last statement. There were probably 2 or 3 drunken occasions where he couldn't perfectly remember how he and the girl ended up in the same bed... or closet... or bathroom.

"Why don't we take a break from these questions... for the sake of my pride," Gabe said with a small laugh, "And work on these letters of yours," he offered, picking the pen back up and tapping the notebook, happy to get away from the topic for a while, at least.

[Deleted]

The awkwardness on Gabriel’s part seemed to be contagious, and ironically enough it were her own questions that had led to this. Kiara just felt bad because of his obvious discomfort and her inability to dissolve it again. Instead she only seemed to be making it worse – skills were definitely developed when it came to that. “I didn’t use that as an excuse…” The girl replied with a little shrug. “It’s just that you’re not like that? Not the kind of guy whose goal is to sleep with as many girls as possible nor the kind of guys who goes after everything with legs and cleavage? In my opinion at least.” She could tell Gabe had an opinion of himself in mind and that it might prove to be difficult to tweak it some.

Either way, Gabe’s laughter caused her face to light up and for shoulders to visibly slump into a less tense position again. “I don’t fall under that ‘usually’ though.” The mood had clearly softened again as she blurted out that statement, once more in a lighthearted manner. His memory was incomplete when it came to their sexual encounter, so it was no lie either. With a soft chuckle, Ki smoothed a blond curl from her face and then picked up the pen that had just threatened to roll off of the notebook. A nod was given to accept his suggestion. “You, um, can still ask me things if you want. My pride is still intact.” The smile that contributed to that statement hinted at the teasing nature behind it.

Soon after, blue optics cast themselves down and the first couple of words were nothing down: Hello older me. At least that was a start, right? Kiara had not thought it through yet, so it might prove difficult for her to form fluent sentences. “What will you write?” She mused while subconsciously leaning forward some to take a peek at his paper. “Maybe we should make like this deal: if we’re both still single in ten years we track each other down and just get married, since we pretty much skipped the first couple of bases anyway.” The college student was joking, to a certain extent. She was certain Gabe would find someone though, so there were no concerns of actually having to go through with such foolish plan.

“Oh! We should add a picture to it and then mirror that pose when older!” Random ideas, but not any to note down at that moment. Ki was clearly having fun though, so surely that was oaky for now.

[Gabriel James]

"No, no, you don't fall under that 'usually'," Gabe said, shaking his head. "I know how we got to that point... just not so much of the after," Gabe said honestly - knowing that a mixture of alcohol and ecstasy had clouded his memory from shortly after clothes came off... He opened the notebook to a clean page, since he had managed to litter the current one with pointless nervous doodles. "And sleeping with as many girls as possible was never the goal," Gabe said with a shrug, knowing the statement was true - even if he didn't have any better explanation. Or at least not one he was willing to admit for the sake of his mandhood. He was pretty sure it just had to do with his uncontrollable need to feel loved - to be close to someone. Anyone.

"I can't think of a question just yet," Gabe said, "But once I have one I'll throw it your way," the man promised. He didn't write anything just yet, carefully thinking over his words in his head. "I'm not sure what I'll write," he said, eyebrows furrowing - considering what kind of things he'd want to remind his older self about. He laughed at Kiara's offer to marry him in 10 years when they re-read the letters, assuming they had not found other people by then - not because he found the idea ridiculous, but it was a bit funny. "Uh... lets see... 10 years, I'll be 33... yeah I think I can make that deal," Gabe said with a smile in the blonde's direction, "As long as Ev doesn't kill me because of it!" he added, finally writing the first few words of his letter. He knew it was mostly a joke, but figured he could actually live up to that deal in 10 years if it ever came up again.

"Oh man pictures?" Gabe asked, patting at his head, suddenly overly aware of his post-performance appearance - how he probably still smelled a bit because of the sweat and was sure his hair was sticking up in 10,000 directions. "I was not prepared for this," he said with a laugh. He agreed with a nod though, honestly just happy to see Kiara being able to check off a part of her bucketlist in whatever fashion she found fit. If her latter needed to include a picture, he'd be a part of it if she wanted him to.

[Deleted]

Kiara quite probably could have come up with many more questions about his adventures and escapades in Los Angeles, but she could tell a bridge had been crossed already and she didn’t want this day to lead to Gabriel avoiding her. Therefore the blonde let it be and instead focused on the notebook that rested on her lap. “I kind of think Ev might appreciate a marriage more than me turning into a cat lady.” With a gentle laugh, a couple more words got noted down. “But I’ll make sure to add in this letter to check his place for any sort of weapon before we tell him.” With an exaggerated and playful overconfident nod, Kiara started with writing down their deal and added the detail concerning her brother.

“Voila,” she decided, putting more force on the pen as a dot was made. In the meanwhile she had also made the statement about the pictures, and was just in time to turn her head to spot Gabriel’s awareness when it came to his hair. “Hobo Gabe actually is concerned about his appearance?” She remembered what he had looked like months ago, facial hair shadowing most of his face. He hadn’t cared about any of that back then. Ki was just joking now in an attempt to eliminate the concern. The bright grin softened into a smile as the girl shifted to once more nudge toes underneath a leg of his, using bend legs as support for the notebook. “You can grab a shower if you want though. If you want to get refreshed.” Perhaps it had been rude for her to not have considered that earlier. She had wanted to do so because she felt sticky, but surely Gabriel might have gone through the same feeling.

At that point something else hit her as well. So while the man seemed to consider the offer (given it surely was tempting), Kiara rose off the couch. “I’m going to find something to eat.” Assumptions were made afterwards. Guys often ate something random this late, so she automatically figured that he would be okay with her statement, hence the reason she did not ask if he wanted something. She would just get some extra – whatever it was she would find or make.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe would gladly answer any questions Kaira had, but he definitely needed a break. She somehow managed to hit every point where he felt worst about himself within a 10 minute period. It helped that Kiara didn't seem to judge him. It helped that she didn't seem phased by any of it at all, really. But it didn't keep Gabe from judging himself. Things got quiet as the wrote their letters. Gabes was short sweet and simple, but he figured it was more than enough - he was a pretty simple guy after all.

"Hobo Gabe just realized that he probably smells like sweat and looks like a wet dog," Gabe admitted with a laugh when Kiara commented on his sudden worry about his appearance. He usually did after performances. Sitting in your own sweat was kind of gross after a while. When Kiara offered the shower, Gabe was ready to jump at it, but hesitated. Was that weird? To shower in a girl's apartment... in your best friends sister's apartment? While she was in the next room? When you had slept together a few months earlier? Gabriel took a moment to answer, before realizing he was started to smell worse and worse (though it was likely in his head). "Um... yeah yeah I'll shower," Gabe said nodding, realizing it probably took him way to long to accept.

He stood, setting down his letter and wiping his palms on his jeans, as they were slightly sweaty from the sudden nerves. "And I could probably eat too... I mean I had two muffins already but... if you're gonna get something I'd join you," he said with a smile and a shrug.

He pointed down the hall as he went to find the bathroom and Kiara went to the kitchen. He poked his head into a bedroom at first, but then quickly found the bathroom, locking the door behind him as he stripped down and stepped into the shower. It didn't take him long to wash up. Gabe was glad to see there was male shampoo products in the shower (Kiara's roommate must have been a dude) and therefore he didn't have to walk out of the bathroom smelling like vanilla and jasmine. He spent much more time in the shower thinking - wondering if it really was strange that it was... what... 2 am now? And he was still at Kiara's. And he really didn't want to leave. He wasn't tired, either.

After realizing he was probably taking way too long, Gabe stepped out of the shower and found a dry towel. He dryed off, replaced his boxer briefs and jeans, and dried off his hair - hanging the towel up on a free hook to dry. And that's when Gabe came to the awful realization that while he was now clean and much better smelling... his white t shirt was still somewhat soaked with sweat and smelled awful. He grimaced, trying to decide the best course of action, before crumpling the shirt in a ball, and holding his arms in front of him to mostly cover his chest. He slowly emerged from the bathroom, and awkwardly made his way back to the kitchen, doing all he could to cover himself.

It wasn't like it was anything Kiara hadn't seen. It wasn't like Gabe was usually self conscious or minded people seeing his bare chest. He wasn't the most in shape. He wasn't embarrassed about that though. There was just something about Kiara seeing him in nothing but his jeans, a bit of his underwear peeking since his performance pants were a bit big and hung low on his hips, that was weirdly intimate - something Gabe didn't think was the most appropriate given their history and situation. "Uhm... Kiara?" Gabe started, his body still partially behind the door frame that led to the kitchen. "My uh... my shirt smells like... really awful. Do you have something I could wear instead... by chance?" he asked, really hoping that Kiara had something - a reall oversized tshirt or sweatshirt, one of her roommate's shirts, something of Everett's - anything really.

[Deleted]

A pizza from the freezer would have been an easy past-midnight snack. Of course having that in there would have been too convenient and Kiara’s ability did not reach as far as making the unhealthy food appear in there all of the sudden. It had led to the blonde rummaging through the kitchen cabinets and then through the fridge. Her memory then went through the possible ingredients and eventually assembled the ones necessary for making mac ‘n’ cheese. Pasta was put into boiling water and cheese was cut into pieces (along with some ham) to melt into a pot with some milk once she heard the water of the shower stop running.

Ki had just put everything in together when footsteps could be heard and Gabriel’s voice joining in. The questioning tone made her peek over a shoulder “mmm?” , which in turn led to a light arch of an eyebrow and her fully spinning around after having made sure to switch off the fire of the pot for a second. The one with pasta just got turned down some. While the question might not have been expected, the girl didn’t label it as weird and knew she would have asked the same thing had she been in his stead. What did get her to wonder was why the man appeared to be trying to hide himself from sight. It kind of felt normal to see men walk around with a bare chest. For a second it actually made Ki inwardly question if pants were being worn. If not, his behavior made more sense.

Either way, the former seemed to be the case after the college student had been bolt enough to take the risk of stepping out of the kitchen to find out. She tried not to stare given his rather obvious discomfort and instead settled eyes on his for a second. “I… can check,” Ki decided while giving herself (and him) a confirming nod in order to make feet move again. While not inappropriate in her mind, it still made the blonde somewhat nervous and made a wave of warmth spread through her body. The situation at hand didn’t mean a thing, but it still had that weird influence on her.

Soon Kiara stepped into her bedroom, immediately moving to the closet with drawers that stood opposite of the bed. Unlike what Gabe found weirdly intimate, this was her moment of weakness – to have him in her room, waiting for a shirt while she dug through her clothes. She knew where to find one. Two lay at the bottom of the pajama pile, and while not worn for quite some months, it still stirred reluctance to pluck one from underneath and to hold it out to Gabriel. He probably could easily connect the dots and figure out those had once belonged to Jackson. It would have been weird to steal a shirt from Everett to sleep in and she could not justify just taking one from Henry without permission. Kiara knew her roomie would not appreciate that.

When Gabe took it from her, she held on a second longer than necessary and then slowly retrieved the hand that still seemed to struggle to not reach out and take it back. “I’m… I’ll give you some privacy.” Ki smoothly moved past him… immediately wondering how on earth those words made sense. All Gabriel had to freaking do was tug on that shirt - subconsciously her gaze had ran over every inch of his torso already.

After both hands had rubbed at her face, the blonde refocused on the mac ‘n’ cheese – something she would not admit was hard. What Kiara had just done was quite a sacrifice and a big step. Gabriel might not realize it, but it kind of hurt to have handed the shirt over. She knew letting go had to happen at one point, yet she had judged it to be easier whenever she ran it through her mind. The girl wasn’t even sure if she wanted to let go in the first place, so this troubled and confused her.

“I hope you like mac ‘n’ cheese.” Kia said upon hearing Gabe approach again. She didn’t turn around and face him. She had to get herself together first, to get things in queue again.

[Gabriel James]

Gabriel followed Kiara to her room, keeping a couple feet back from her at all times - like somehow Everett may able to sense that Gabe was shirtless in Kiara's apartment, and slowly approaching her bedroom. He only took a couple steps into the room - smiling a bit as he looked around. The room was so... Kiara. It was neat and clean, disregarding a couple of tshirts and a pair of jeans laying on the floor. A puffy white, warm and inviting looking comforter lay on a bed, positioned under a canopy of stringed lights. They weren't on, but Gabe could imagine what it would look like if they were - they probably lit up the room with a dull yellow light. They were probably almost like falling asleep under the stars. There was a nightstand next to the bed and on the other side of the room Kiara was standing at closet opposite her bed.

Too busy looking around, Gabe didn't really watch Kiara digging through her pajamas, but he did look over in time to take note of the significant pause Kiara took before handing him the shirt. She held onto it a bit longer that most would as well. Gabe's face fell a bit, realizing why Kiara must have this shirt, and wondering if she was really ok with him wearing it. Before he could ask, however, Kiara was leaving - supposedly to give him some privacy. Gabe knew better. He was already shirtless, how much privacy could he need to throw on a tshirt? "Thanks," he called after her, as she passed by him quickly.

Gabe sighed before throwing the shirt on - taking a little longer than necessary, if only to give Kiara a moment to herself. He looked around the room once more before flicking the light off and walking back toward the kitchen. He watched Kiara from the doorway for a moment, even though it was clear she knew he was there - asking his opinion on mac and cheese. He loved the stuff, but that wasn't his concern at the moment. Kiara hadn't turned around even a little. She hadn't looked him in the eyes when she handed him the shirt. He was wearing a piece of her ex-boyfriend. Gabe couldn't really blame her.

The curly haired brunette finally walked into the kitchen, right up to the counter next to where Kiara stood over a pot of noodles and cheese. He turned around, and propped himself up onto the counter, sitting on the surface opposite of the side where Kiara had the burners on. It was probably not polite, and he wasn't sure if Kiara would mind, but he wanted to be able to see her face - his hazel eyes searching for her blue. He wanted to see if she was actually ok with this. "So... should I wash this shirt when I'm done with it? Or burn it?" he asked, only slightly joking. He was a bit curious of how things were between Kiara and Jackson - if anything had changed since they last talked. He wasn't sure why it mattered, but it seemed like something about it was on Kiara's mind - at least enough to make it difficult to part with his shirt that was now on Gabriel's torso.

[Deleted]

Gabriel didn’t answer the question, but it wasn’t exactly that obvious to the girl since she was mostly focused on seeing him approach in the corner of her eye. When he hopped onto the counter, Kiara grew aware of his effort to make eye contact. While at first she still tried to avoid it, blue optics eventually settled on hazel and the softest of chuckles came in response to his question. Soon a grateful smile graced her lips, thankful for his attempt at cheering her up. Or, well, she kind of assumed that was his intention – in case he had taken notice of the change in demeanor. Either way, the blonde was glad to have him seated there next to her.

“The second option sounds tempting… but rather not.” Stirring the sauce some, Ki shut down the stove and then looked over at Gabe again. She did feel like a justification was in place – no clue why. “It just… I don’t know. It means something to me, I guess.” With an almost pathetic curl of the lips, she took both pots from the stove, one by one, and then got two deeper plates from the cabinet above her for both of them to fill it with a portion that they liked. “I haven’t worn it for a couple of months, but…” With a tiny shrug, the blond girl handed Gabriel a fork, knife and spoon. “It probably doesn’t make sense to you and it might make me look really pathetic.” So maybe the explanation was abundant to begin with.

With that, Kiara filled her own plate and then remained standing next to the Hammel teacher as a fork absentmindedly poked at the pasta in her hands. “Do you still have something of Mikayla? Maybe something that you got from her or something that you got during an activity together?” Blue eyes only slightly looked up at the man while inwardly hoping that he did.

[Gabriel James]

"Just thought I'd check," Gabe said when the blonde declined his offer to incinerate the piece of clothing. He probably wouldn't do that anyway. He'd throw it in the trash or donate it or something if she honestly wanted him to get rid of it, but that didn't seem to be the case. He accepted the bowl of macaroni, and the fork that Kiara offered him, deciding it was the best utensil for the job. He didn't dig in right away like he normally would.

"Kiara, if I thought you were pathetic... well I wouldn't be here," Gabriel said, leaving it at that - knowing that bringing up the night they spent together month's ago may not be the best course of action. Gabriel didn't like pathetic. He liked strong and opinionated and independent. He pondered on Kiara's question for a moment, before digging his for into the macaroni, taking a bite. He set his bowl to the side before answering, suddenly wishing he hadn't tasted the pasta because doing so was just a tease. He wanted to devour his entire serving now. But first, he had a blonde to comfort.

"Honestly, no. Not anymore," Gabe said, trying to decide if he had any relics of his past love. He couldn't think of any. He did know that he lost a sweatshirt and a couple CDs in the battle... but he couldn't think of anything he still had to this day. "For a while though..." Gabe admitted, "There were these sunglass she bought me... you know those kind I always ware? The really bright colorful thick plastic frames?" Gabe asked, knowing Ki had seen him in a couple pairs before. He had quite the colection going, though his pink ones were his favorite.

"She bought me a pair for my birthday. They were like... literally the ugliest pattern of orange and blue and white... it was like plaid but not quite..." Gabe tried to desribe the gift he was given. "And you have to remember she was blind, so of course it was the funniest thing to me, how ugly these things were. I wore them everywhere, naturally. And I kept them and wore them while I was in LA until I got super drunk one night like a year later at a club and lost them... and that was the end of that." He tried to remember if he had been torn up about losing them. If he recalled it stung at first. But it was almost liberating shortly after. He had a feeling that wasn't what Kiara wanted to hear right now.

[Deleted]

Kiara felt pathetic nevertheless, and she did not owe any trait that Gabriel liked. Those had been lost during the last couple of months. At least the man didn’t sum them up though. She would have just gone deeper with breaking herself down. Right now, a simple smile settled on her lips – one that clearly had the goal to try and make Gabe believe that she was acceptant of his words. No sound came out and instead she listened to him recalling the memory. It could account for what she had been asking about, but in the end it didn’t help her handle the emotions any better. She couldn’t tell if the man had been sad about that or not, but the blond did feel that it was different in a way.

Moving, Kiara eventually lifted herself to sit next to the music teacher on the counter. Her hip was barely touching his, not feeling the need to shuffle aside some. It was also the perfect way to avoid eye contact – something she could tell he had been aiming for. “I don’t even know how I feel anymore,” the girl chuckled bitterly before plopping a single piece of pasta into her mouth. After that, the fork continued poking in the plate. “Was it easy?” She then asked Gabriel. “To move on with your life? To spend time with other girls? Girls that you genuinely cared about, I mean.” She wasn’t sure how many of his number would fall under that category, but technically Ki was only referring at those he might have had a relationship with after Mikayla.

“Perhaps my plan should be to wait for a guy to come around that Everett approves of. The ones he didn’t agree on all hurt me, so maybe the outcome will be different then.” It made the blonde smirk. It was doubtful her brother would ever agree on anyone, so technically plan B would be to end up being an old cat lady. Talking about the male… It made Kiara hop onto a completely different matter. For a second she seemed to hesitate, but eventually it just got blurted out. “Why did you tell him? About the pregnancy scare?”

[Gabriel James]

"One of the hardest things I've ever had to do," Gabe said honestly, with a sigh that turned into a dry chuckle. Getting over Mikayla was more difficult that getting over any other girl he'd been with or dreamed of being with. Nobody was like her. But yes, he got over her in time. It was painful and it took a while, but it happened. "I just... I kind of threw myself back into the world of dating headfirst and that's where things got kind of... messed up," Gabe explained.

"With girls I really... truely cared about though? Yeah that took a lot of time," Gabe admitted freely with a nod. There had only been one other, really, and she took advantage of Gabe. He didn't look back on her nearly as fondly as Mikayla.

Gabe internally groaned when Kiara asked about Everett, and why Gabe had told him about the scare. He should have known his roommate would have talked to his sister about it. And now he realized it probably wasn't his place to tell Ev. "I... I dunno... we were kind of fighting in a diner during a thunderstorm and it just... I just blurt it out," Gabe told Kiara honestly, shoulders slumping slightly, right hand raising to rub his neck nervously. He wondered if Kiara was mad at him.

"I just... the scare had me thinking about a lot of stuff, you know. One of the things being... how difficult it would be having a baby with you if Everett was mad at me. And how if the test was positive he may hate me more... how difficult that would be. I just wanted him to realize that I need him in my life, I guess. And that I want him to be a part of it again. I want him to be my best man at my wedding someday... and probably the godfather of my kid... and none of that would happen if he stayed mad at me forever," Gabe explained, hoping Kiara would understand. "He's like a brother to me."

[Deleted]

Getting over love was hard in general, especially when you had invested with whole your heart in a person. Jackson had been that to Kiara, and Mikayla had been that to Gabriel. While his words did not make her look forward to the future, she was at least given the possible prospect of eventually getting over it. At the moment, however, the girl had to figure out whether or not that was what she wanted. Gabe hadn’t had a choice, but Jackson her represented himself, so the blonde did get to cut the knot.

Clearly, however, not everything was in her hands. While Kiara did understand Gabriel’s need to blurt it out, none of it made sense to her. His explanation did, but not in that context. “But by telling him, he could have ended up hating us even more…” The outcome had obviously been a positive one, yet that was not a valid excuse for the man could not have predicted it. Poking at the pasta, the blonde turned her head to once more take in the profile of his face. Perhaps it was her fault for having lacked to request that to remain a secret, and she slowly relativized it as the softest of sighs slipped past her lips. “Was it worth it though? Did he forgive you?”

While Everett had mentioned the conversation to his sister, she had not fished for any details. It was doubtful the guy would have given them either way. “Did… he speak bad of me?” Kiara knew her brother’s opinion on Jackson. He had had a son around her age, so it wouldn’t shock her if Ev was disappointed but simply didn’t dare to tell it in her face. Kind of doubtful that he wouldn’t blurt it out in an outburst, but still. With that, Kia ate some more of the pasta as blue eyes darted away from him and over to the microwave clock. 2:46AM. She wasn’t even tired yet.

[Gabriel James]

Gabe had known the risk of telling Everett... he hadn't overthought it much at the time though. Gabe was a bit impulsive in tense situations, and he just needed to get everything off his chest, even if it meant Everett would hate him forever. "Honestly Ki... I was at a point where if Ev hated me more it would almost be easier. Then I could just cut ties, move out, forget about it." He wondered if Kiara understood what he meant. That living with Everett but barely speaking had taken such a physical and mental toll on the man.

"But yea, it worked out. We talked for a long while and he more or less forgave me," Gabe explained, taking a bit of the mac and cheese. Things were still a little tense, but they were on speaking terms again which was a start, for sure. Gabe hadn't gone to the diner thinking it would become such a tense, revealing experience. But in a weird way Ev and Gabe's friendship was stronger than before. "We... talked about a lot of things and for a long while. And I think we both dropped some old grudges," the man said.

When Kiara asked her next question, Gabe set his bowl of pasta aside and sighed. "Ki, do you really think your brother would ever speak bad of you?" Gabe asked in all seriousness. "Sure... he gets a little... opinionated. But you know how much he loves and cares about you," Gabe said looking over to Kiara, trying to meet her eyes again. No such luck. He too looked over at the clock, surprised at how late it had gotten, and how he wasn't even really tired.

A couple moments of silence passed, and Gabe suddenly wished he could take back his confession to Everett. He hadn't realized how uncomfortable it may have been for Kiara. He wanted to change the subject. He could handle her being a little upset with him, but he couldn't handle silence. Silence was one of Gabe's biggest fears. It made him super uncomfortable. "I... think I finally have a question to ask you," Gabe offered, taking it back to the game they had played before.

[Deleted]

Kiara understood what Gabriel meant, but she could also tell that he had not through it through. His and her situation, while brought on by the same cause, were different. Perhaps the teacher could move on if Everett hated him even more and forever, but that didn’t work for the blonde. By telling Ev about the pregnancy scare, she could have lost her brother. The girl didn’t intend to be rude or accusatory, yet she could not help but mumble out the next in a whisper: “But it wasn’t only about you...” Gabe kind of risk jeopardizing whatever affection was left between the two siblings.

So yeah, Kiara genuinely did think that her brother would speak bad of her. That question was quite a waste of words. And while eyes did not meet his, surely he could detect the miniscule bitter smirk that tugged at her lips. “Less than he used to,” she added as her thumb absentmindedly ran over the edge of the now empty bowl. Eyes then lingered on it, only to get cast upwards when Gabe spoke again. The silence had made her a tad bit uncomfortable as well, and she needed a couple of seconds to shake that off.

“Oh?” Upon looking at him again, close enough to tell that the previous topic had not only influenced her, she sort of felt bad for a moment. More words were used to try and set him at ease again than to wonder about what question he had for her. It pretty much immediately followed after the brief ‘oh’ though – her arm gently nudging against his. “I’m not mad at you, just so you know…” With that, the blonde slipped off the counter to place the bowl in the sink, along with the pots that had been used for the sauce and the pasta.

Turning around, Ki stood opposite of him, leaning back against the sink. “So, what is this question you came up with?”

[Gabriel James]

Gabe wished he could somehow make what he did ok. He wished he could make Kiara see that even though her brother was a pain in the ass who didn't know how to articulate his own thoughts, he did honestly and truly care for her. No amount of poor life choices or boy troubles would stop Everett from loving Kiara. Gabe was incredible jealous of that fact - and wished he could somehow get Ki to appreciate the relationship she had with her brother without coming across as pushy or jealous or any of the ugly things Gabe admittingly was.

He didn't go there, however, especially since Ki nudged him on the arm and said she wasn't mad. A sheepish, relieved smile passed across his face as Kiara slipped off the counter. "I'm glad," Gabe said honestly - not sure how he'd cope with both Lilien siblings being upset with him. "Especially because if you were mad it may make my question a little awkward," Gabe added with a chuckle, nervously rubbing the back of his neck. He hoped it wouldn't cross any lines... the question he was about to ask.

He dropped his hand back to the edge of the counter as he started to explain. "Well see, I was planning to visit McKenna on Labor Day Weekend... in a couple weeks," Gabe explained. "And it's a long drive," he added, a small roll of his eyes, "And Ken really things you're just great so... my question is... would you like to come with me to Deleware for a weekend? Don't feel like you have to if it's weird," Gabe added quickly after the qestion. "I just... I dunno... It'd be cool to have some company for once. And I know Kenna would love meeting Princess Kiara in real life." He smiled warmly at Kiara as he awaited her response.