It's Abuse.

Status
Not open for further replies.
"Speaking of money," Willow smiled "Tell me about you. Do you have a job?"

She rested her chin on her hand as her eyes flicked over his face. He was gorgeous. Just gorgeous. She couldn't get over his cheekbones, his lips or his curling hair.
 
"I used to work at the grocery store, but-" Nathan paused. His dad originally told him to quit, because it was doing him too much good. There was money left for him, quite a bit untouched by his father's constant errands, but it was him who did tell him to quit.

"-my dad needed some help around the house, so I had to quit."

It wasn't a lie, but he didn't like the falsity of his statement. He folded his arms and rested them on the table, his eyes shifted from her and back to his arms. Nathan was nervous. Going out was fun, but he hadn't intended to talk about his dysfunctional life at home, wouldn't if he could avoid it.​
 
She watched him, biting his lip.
"Well if you ever need any money... I have too much money to be honest. Too much for one girl living on her own." She smiled weakly and reached across to take his hand "I can easily... I can help you out, if you need it."
 
"Oh no, that's fine." Nathan smiled and tapped his pocket where his wallet was kept. "I've more than enough to pay for our date.

Date. Had we even said that? I think we had...oh crap.

His thoughts reeled, wondering what they'd even said to each other, but it was hardly a big deal anyways. So he kept up that awkward smile, letting his thoughts take over his mind instead.​
 
"Is this a date, is it?" She teased, but her lips tilted into a wide grin.
A date. A proper date. She'd never had a date before... Not with someone as sweet as Nathan...
 
"It is now, I can't take it back." Nathan laughed.

Their food came, and he finally had a chance to sink his teeth into the so called delicious meatball pizza. He took a bite, chewed, and then shrugged. It was basically an oversized sausage, and that was a tolerable topping. He took another bite. Then another, and actually found himself enjoying the odd choice.

"Not bad." He commented.​
 
She laughed and then her heart sank.
How could she have forgotten?!
This couldn't be a date. She was in a committed relationship! Her heart clenched with guilt. Nate was such a nice guy. She couldn't just lead him on.
Her eyes dropped to the table and she fidgeted uncomfortably.
Hands twisting in her lap, she raised her eyes to his.

"Um, Nate, I'm sorry." She said quietly "I think I gave you the wrong impression. I have a boyfriend."
 
Last edited by a moderator:
His heart, so much like hers, sank into his chest. That was probably something she should've admitted to in the beginning, crushed his hopes while they were still young and budding. But no, it had taken him so long to realize that someone as stunning as her was already taken.

"Oh, sorry, I should've asked."​
 
She smiled weakly and looked down.
God, she was so stupid! She wouldn't be a cheater. She wouldn't cheat on Ryan.
But Nate was so cute. And lately Ryan had lost interest.
Then Willow sighed heavily and looked up at Nate.
"I'm so sorry. Is it bad to say that I forgot?"
 
A little bit.

Nathan shook his head. "No, that's alright, we're friends right? There's nothing wrong with grabbing pizza with a friend."

He friendzoned himself, and it hurt. Nathan had been so surprised to see her back in town it hadn't registered that his attractive female friend maybe had someone else in her life already.​
 
Her eyebrows drew together into a small frown.
"I guess." She said slowly, reaching across to take a pizza slice.
She tore a piece off the end and placed it in her mouth, still frowning at the table.
"I mean... It's not like my relationship is going well anyway. He's pretty possessive and lately he's been getting really irritable. I don't know why I'm still with him."
 
Nathan shrank back in his seat awkwardly. He didn't know how to deal with relationship advice, wasn't even sure if he was supposed to offer any. If he was, there wasn't much he would say. It was a shame that she was with someone she found irritating, instead of sweet or something cheesy like that. At the same time, he wasn't going to say much about it. He'd assumed they were on a date, and pushing her to be closer to him was the last thing on his mind.

"Well, it's best to talk thing out I suppose." The advice came out of his lips and he groaned internally. "You've got me around, so, we can have pizza whenever he's being especially irritating."

Even more words came out of his mouth, but he couldn't stop. It was a chance at least, something he could do to keep her here, to see what mind happen.​
 
She smiled.
"We're gonna get fat, in that case." She said and bit into her slice.
Her eyes slipped shut and she leaned back, savouring the flavour.

At this moment in time, she was really hating the fact she was in a relationship. Especially in a relationship with Ryan.
Lately, she'd started to suspect Ryan just wanted sex. But she didn't want sex, so obviously that was a problem. She'd shot him down when he'd advanced on her, and he had accepted it graciously. But he was clearly bitter.
 
"Rather fat an happy than sad and miserable." Nathan joked.

His own life wasn't so easy. He couldn't eat away his problems, there wasn't enough food for that in the first place. Usually his father got to the fridge before he could. Right then, he remembered the burns on his arms and the sting from the burn came to him. As carefully as he could, he slipped his hand up his sleeve so he could press a hand to the wound.

"But, really, it is nice seeing you again. This doesn't have to be awkward." It wasn't awkward, hadn't been until he realized his own wants were coming into effect. "Okay?"​
 
"I don't think it's awkward." She smiled, stirring her water with the straw.
"Okay, enough about my terrible relationship. How's your love life been? You were definitely a ladies' favourite back when we were 10." Willow grinned at him.

She was pretending to tease, but really she was desperate to know. Why she wanted to know, she had no idea. She just wanted the reassurance that someone her age was a inexperienced as she was. Being a virgin at 19 wasn't something she advertised; people either laughed or guys tried to 'deflower' her.
 
"A favorite?" Nathan sputtered some of his drink, the wrong time to sip at it apparently. "I think you're mistaking me for someone with a little more muscle, and a few less freckles."

He set down his drink and folded his arms across the table. Was he like that then? Being in soccer made him a little more popular, but he wasn't exactly an all star. Nathan chuckled, rubbing at his hair again. Goddamn his arm hurt. He really needed to wash it before the pain got out of hand. Between his jacket and skin he could feel the ash building up, particles of dust and his own burnt flesh rubbing against the fabric. It was awful, gross, he was glad it didn't smell at all or he'd be worried about Willow picking up on how tense it made him.

"I don't seem to have time for that. College takes it all up, then my dad..." Nathan cut himself off again, not willing to go there. "I'm single, unless you count the relationship between myself and my PS3 to be valid."​
 
Willow smiled, her eyes flicking over his face. He looked a little... Tense. Like he was in pain.
"Are you okay?" Willow asked, reaching across to take his hand "Are you hurt?"
His skin was hot and feverish, causing her to frown. What happened??
 
"Oh, no I'm fine. It's probably just the pizza." Nathan shrugged her off easily.

No need to ruin a perfectly good dinner with a friend, not like this. She didn't need to know what was going on. He checked his watch, maybe another hour, forty minutes at best before he'd need to go though. Without raising her suspicion he'd simply have to wind down the conversation soon enough.

"The meatballs were really a good idea." He steered the conversation away from himself.​
 
Willow nodded, eyeing him suspiciously.
"Yeah, my dad introduced me to it." She said and took another bite.

After she finished that slice, she started digging around in her bag with a frown on her face.

"You clearly don't want to tell me what's wrong, but at least take some painkillers." She said as she pulled out a small box of painkillers.
 
Nathan grumbled, but accepted the painkillers without an ounce of grace. He really didn't want to admit it, it wasn't her burden to bear.

"Thanks." He sighed.

It wasn't long before the pizza had been cleared, but Nathan felt like he could eat two more by himself. The meatballs were good, pepperoni was always a favorite, and he found himself dragging his hands over his stomach. Full, not full, it couldn't quite make up his mind as Nathan stretched out his legs beneath the table.

"That was good." He commented. "I haven't been here in a while, I forgot how good it was."​
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back