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s-rosie · 19 days ago

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Brothers and Cliffs

authors note: alright i have a TON of requests (not just here, but also on my main) and yes i am going to get around to doing those, but i had this idea for a fic for a long time and really wanted to write it, so yeah! this fic takes place in either glorious rivals or the grandest game, but just pretend that they don’t know gigis kidnapped yet 😭

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Lyra knew she was on the brink of getting eliminated. She knew it, and her heart froze in her chest from the acknowledgment of that fact. Gasping for air as she finally stopped running all around the island, she doubled over, placing her hands on her knees.

“Giving up so soon?” A British taunt interjected. Lyra turned her head, and saw Rohan leaning against a dead tree, smirking at her. She knew that he already knew the answer to the riddle, knew that she was the only one left who didn’t yet, and anger bubbled inside of her.

“No.” She spat, standing up as straight as she could before sprinting off, away from him. Her heart ricocheted in her chest, and Lyra tried to slow her breathing so she could think and not cry. She continued to run, before a sudden image made her halt to a stop. She stalked slowly to the tree, not sure if her eyes were fooling her. There, on the tree, she could just barely see a circle where the ridges didn’t co-align with the others. Lyra knew that was possible, but there was something about the perfection of the circle that made her freeze in the first place. Placing her fingernails into the tiny cracks, she grabbed the small circle of the tree the best she could and tugged. The part of the tree came out, leaving an empty hole inside. Lyra immediately crammed her fingers inside the hole, grabbing at it, before feeling paper and pulling it out. With her heart jolting in her chest, Lyra unwrapped the paper, before readings its contents:

“Without me and within me is death assured, with me and within you is life most pure.”

Lyra paused for only a moment. Water. There was no way it was that easy. That was, until a sudden memory of Jameson Hawthorne speaking to all of the contestants washed over her.

“Don’t be so sure,” Jameson said to Rohan in front of all of us, a reply to when Rohan teased Savannah about wanting to scale her walls. “Scaling walls is harder than one might think.”

Scaling walls. Lyra remembered a “wall” that would be harder to scale than one might think, a wall that stood just over a body of water. The cliff.

Without a moments hesitation, Lyra looked up at the sky, realized it couldn’t be more than 5 minutes till sunset, and took off towards the cliff.

Lyra knew she was getting closer to the cliffs by not only the feel of the wind on this side of the island, but also by the amount of contestants and Hawthornes she saw waiting. She saw Brady Daniels. Savannah Grayson. Jameson Hawthorne. Nash Hawthorne. Xander Hawthorne. Avery Grambs. Grayson, however, was no where to be seen.

Lyra’s mind lingered on that fact longer than she had any right to.

Running closer towards the cliff, a voice slowed her down.

“I know you know the answer by now, and I’m just telling you that if you try to scale that cliff in the time you have left, you are going to get hurt in the process.” Nash Hawthornes Texas drawl told her, as he sat up against the ruins, strumming a guitar. He looked up at her. “There has to be a length you aren’t willing to take, and if there is one, it should be this.” Pettiness rose in her chest. She still had time. 2 minutes, at the most, but time. An idea flashed through her, and, huffing out a breath, she tied her hair up with the small black elastic on her wrist.

“You seem pretty sure about that.” She retorted, determination clear on her face. Lyra figured out a way to find the answer she needed. She wasn’t going to scale the cliff. She didn’t need to.

She started to run, going farther away from Nash Hawthorne and closer towards the cliff. She ran. And ran. And when she was sure there was only a minute left on her time, she ran even more, coming closer towards the edge, slowing to a halt once she finally did.

And then she jumped.

GRAYSON:

Grayson walked out of the ruins, making his way towards Jameson, before a figure caught his eye. Lyra. Grayson held a breath as he watched her talk to Nash. He had looked all over the island, trying desperately to find her and try to help her through the riddle and its answer. She had, what, a minute left? There was a good chance that she wouldn’t make it, and Grayson knew what he would do if that were true. Start a trust fund for her brothers. Try and help with Mile’s End. He knew that Lyra would refuse any financial help, but he would try his best. And then what would happen if she left? What would happen to them?

An annoying voice broke him out of his thoughts.

“I think I’m the first to tell you this, Gray, but wistfully looking at the love of your life is supposed to only be a thing that happens in movies.” Grayson turned towards Jameson, raising a brow and snapping out of his daze.

“You’re an idiot.” He stated, despite Avery’s giggle beside Jamie.

“You two need to stop fighting so mu-“ Avery didn’t even get to finish before Jameson’s voice interrupted hers.

“What the hell?” He said, his voice intense. It was so sudden that Grayson froze, turning his gaze to where Jameson’s was. Grayson watched with horror as Lyra ran closer to the edge, before suddenly, with a jump, leaping off. Grayson hesitated. He paused, frozen alongside his brother who was no doubt thinking the same thing that Grayson was, and he knew he would regret it for the rest of his life. Staying frozen while Lyra could be de-

Grayson didn’t let himself finish that thought before breaking into a sprint towards the cliff.

LYRA:

Lyra turned the best she could in air, reading the message carved into the cliff wall only a second before falling into the water. She ran it over in her head, thinking about it as she scrambled to come above the freezing cold water.

“I am a mother and a father, but have never given birth. I am rarely still, but I never wander. What am I?”

Lyra thought it over. Then she thought over what her mother had said once to her when she was 13 and they were walking through a trail. What she said about the “most nurturing parents of the forest.” And then she thought about where she got her original riddle from.

A tree.

She barely had time to feel relieved before a wave hit her aggressively, dragging her under.

GRAYSON:

Grayson finally made it to the shore of the water below the cliff where Lyra should be, searching the water for her. He barely saw her come above the water, before getting sucked back under. Fear threatened to hold him under, but he pushed it, and the memory of Emily doing this exact same thing with him, down. With a shuddering breath, he took off his suit jacket as fast as he could and dove into the water. With his eyes open, he could just barely see her figure under the crashing waves, and then he was swimming towards her, and bringing her body to his. Her eyes opened once he brought her body to his chest and hooked one hand under her knees with his other arm wrapped around her upper back. She looked even more beautiful underwater. Grayson tried his best not to mull on that, but he still nonetheless drank the feel of her body pressed against his chest in like wine. Ignoring the aggressive waves, he swam back up to shore, holding her body in his arms as he saw his brothers, Avery, and the other contestants run over to them.

“What the hell was that?” Jameson demanded, his gaze turned to Lyra. Grayson could tell by his large pupils that he was also seeing a glimpse of what happened to Emily in Lyra. Avery had her hand on Jameson’s arm, but from his past demand, she took his hand in hers, turning his attention away from Lyra and Grayson almost immediately. Grayson placed Lyra down gently, ignoring his shaking hands as he took his suit jacket off the floor, shook off some sand, and draped it over her shoulders. Lyra immediately pulled it closer towards her, shivering. She was about to speak, when Grayson interjected.

“You could have gotten hurt, Lyra. Then what would happen?” He asked, his voice more hoarse than he wanted to admit. Lyra paused, her mouth stuck open, as her brows furrowed. She shut her mouth then, shrugging as she instead turned to Nash.

“I told you that you seemed too sure about the fact that there were lengths I wouldn’t take.” She told Nash simply. Grayson mulled on that, grappling with a calm that he didn’t in any way feel. Jameson paused, before nodding.

“You did what you had to do, reckless or not. Although I do feel that as Game Master I should warn you away from cliffs and danger in general, as we don’t need one of the contestants to kill themself half way through the Grandest Game.” He said, his pupils finally shrinking. Grayson whipped his head towards Jameson, as his mind still grappled with what was going on.

“This isn’t a joke, Jameson. She could have-” Died. Grayson paused, his voice guttural. Lyra turned to him with a raised brow, but Grayson kept his gaze firmly on Jameson. “She could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“I did just say that, didn’t I?” Jameson retorted, with a raised brow. In Grayson’s mind, he could see the image of Emily jumping off the cliff. Then, he saw Jameson’s smirk a mere few days after the incident. He was already making a joke of things.

“Are you serious?” Grayson was going to continue, before Nash cut him off.

“Enough, Grayson.” He warned. Grayson turned to him. “This isn’t about her.” Nash didn’t have to say who the “her” was for Grayson to know what he was getting at. Emily.

“Her?” Rohan and Lyra asked simultaneously. Grayson’s gaze turned to Lyra. He watched how her brows furrowed ever so slightly, before she turned her attention to Avery. Grayson could see her brain working through the events of tonight, trying to connect them to the Hawthorne heiress in some way. She opened her mouth to speak, before Grayson cut in.

“Not Avery.” He interjected. Lyra snapped her mouth shut, and Grayson held her gaze for only a few seconds before turning to his brothers. He planned on lecturing Jameson more on what jokes were and weren’t appropriate to make, before Savannah interrupted.

“Then who?” She asked, her expression calm as she raised a brow. Lyra, Rohan, and Brady all turned to him expectantly, but he wasn’t planning on giving them an actual answer.

“It doesn’t matter.” He stated, his voice meant to shut the topic down. Jameson raised a brow at him.

“Are you sure, Grayson,” He asked slowly. “That it doesn’t matter to you?” A flicker of anger sparked in Grayson’s chest.

“I could say the same for you, Jamie.” He replied, his tone cool and collected despite the anger building inside of him. Jameson rolled his eyes.

“You have to get over it at some point, Grayson. When’s that stick finally gonna come out of your ass?” He said, his voice louder than before.

“I am getting over it. When are you going to get over that nonchalant nothing-matters attitude? When are you going to finally take things seriously?” He retorted, his eyes narrowing at Jameson. Nash and Avery both interjected, telling the two of them to cool down as Xander watched nervously, but Grayson couldn’t believe it. Would he be cracking jokes at Lyra’s funeral? Making light of things while she’s in the hospital, bleeding out from impact? Grayson didn’t know.

“This is who I am. It’s who I’ve always been, Grayson. Don’t act like part of your personality isn’t being a bitch.” Jameson spat right back, stepping closer to Grayson. Grayson’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t argued with his brothers like this in years. But seeing Lyra on the brink of getting hurt made him…. act different. Maybe it was about Emily. Or maybe the idea of losing Lyra was one that he just couldn’t bear. Grayson took a step forward, before Lyra’s hand shot out to hold his arm.

“What the hell are you doing, Grayson? Calm down.” She told him. Grayson turned to meet her eyes, feeling more calm than he had moments ago from the feel of her warm hand over his arm, before a voice brought that anger back.

“Yeah, Grayson,” Jameson taunted, his eyes hard as stone. “Calm down.”

“Don’t taunt him.” Nash warned Jameson quickly, putting a hand on his shoulder. Behind Nash, Grayson could see Savannah and Rohan send each other interested glances. He didn’t like fighting with his brothers, especially in front of other people, but right now, he couldn’t help it.

“Or what?” Grayson retorted, his eyes dragging back to Jameson’s. A flash of anger entered his eyes, and that’s when the retorts just kept coming.

“The fuck do you mean, or what? It’s not like you’re going to do anything. You’ve always been too scared to ruin that perfect reputation you’ve got going on.” Jameson said, his voice intense as he took a step closer.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Grayson replied slowly.

“I do know what I’m talking about. When are you finally going to get over this bullshit?”

“Oh, you always bring it back to that.”

“Like it’s my fucking fault!” Jameson paused, running a hand through his hair. “Grayson. Do you seriously think that I don’t understand what you’re going through?” Jameson’s voice was more quiet now. And Grayson wanted to hear him out. He really did. But suddenly, a rush of emotions overtook him, and Grayson squeezed his eyes shut. It was only for a second, but still, when he opened his eyes, he was met with Jameson’s pitying ones. He didn’t want pity. And he knew, in his heart, that his grandfather would be disappointed in him for even craving the smallest bit of it.

“I think,” Grayson said calmly, stepping back as his face turned neutral in seconds. “That you haven’t figured out how to take anything seriously yet.” Grayson gave Jameson an unbothered stare, and that must have been the straw that broke the camels back, because in seconds, Jameson flipped him onto the ground.

“When will you grow up, Gray?” Jameson spat, staring Grayson dead in the eyes. Grayson returned the look, flipping him onto his back as he grappled for the upper hand.

“That’s rich coming from you.” Grayson retorted furiously. The two were in a fighting match, on the ground as different verbal assaults came flying from the both of them. Nash tried to break them up, but they seemed to be ignoring him, too caught up in their own wrestling match.

“What are you doing, Grayson? Get up.” Grayson recognized that honey rich voice immediately. Lyra. He tried to turn around and look at her, but his brother used the distraction as an opportunity to get the upper hand.

“You’re fucking unbelievable Grayson.” He spat.

“Please, spare me from your disappointment.” Grayson retorted sarcastically.

“Grayson, that’s enough.” A guttural voice that Grayson identified as Avery’s spoke up. Jameson immediately froze, his lips parting.

“It’ll be enough as soon as it’s enough for Jameson.” Grayson replied in a cool manner. Jameson’s gaze ripped back to Grayson’s, a sneer on his face.

“Oh, fuck off.”

“You. First.”

“What the actual fuck are you two doing?” Grayson froze as his head whipped towards where the angry voice came from. Lyra stood with her arms crossed, her face in disbelief as she ripped off Graysons jacket and threw it on him. Grayson peeled the suit jacket off his face, his brother having stopped fighting too, as he stared up at Lyra.

“Well?” She asked him. Grayson paused, uncertain of what to do. She seemed even more furious at that fact, stepping closer to him as a flicker of anger entered her eyes. She pointed her finger in his face.

“Get. Up. You. Asshole.” She enunciated with each point, staring at Grayson furiously as he slowly got up from the ground. As soon as he got up, Lyra stared down her nose at him, despite Grayson being taller than her by a good amount, before shaking her head.

“Maybe the millions of dollars aren’t actually worth it.” She said, sighing. Nash snorted, the first I’d heard from him since he tried breaking me and Jameson up.

“That was… something.” Brady said quietly, his brows furrowed as he glanced between Jameson and Grayson.

“That was stupid.” Lyra corrected, glancing back at Grayson. “I didn’t get hurt.” Grayson knew that. But she could have. And, selfish as it is, Grayson couldn’t help but think that there would be nothing left for him in the case that she did die.

“But you easily could have.” He finally said, expelling a breath. Lyra mulled on that, pressing her lips into a thin line.

“This is all very heartfelt, and I’m so glad that this melancholy Romeo found his somewhat less melancholy Juliet, but I do feel the need to ask,” Rohan interjected, placing a finger on his lips as if in thought as he studied Lyra. “Is she still in the game?”

“Yes.” Grayson said immediately, his tone defensive. Rohan made a face at him.

“You, Grayson Hawthorne, are no longer a Gamemaster. You, are a contestant,” He said, his tone amused as he smirked at Grayson. “Therefore you have no say in this matter.” Grayson was about to rebuke whatever he said, mainly because Rohan was only trying to deny Lyra of her spot in the game, but also because he was eyeing Savannah in a way that Grayson didn’t appreciate, before Nash interrupted.

“Well, because of these two numbskulls,” Nash interjected, glaring at Jameson and Grayson, “She didn’t actually get to say her answer.” Nash turned his attention to Lyra, and gradually, so did everybody else. He gestured at her, and Lyra didn’t hesitate as she spoke.

“A tree.” She said, her eyes lit up with a courageous look so fierce it burned Grayson. Grayson had typically stayed away from risks, from the spark of danger his entire life. But for some reason, while all these traits do apply to Lyra, he just physically can’t find a way to stay away from her. From the spark in her eyes. From the determined set of her chin. From all of it. Avery’s gaze slid to Grayson’s, and, as if she could read his thoughts, she smiled.

“Congratulations, Lyra Catalina Kane,” Avery said, stepping forward to be face-to-face with her, “you will remain a contestant in the game.” A look of relief barely touched Lyra’s features, before they turned neutral. She nodded, before turning and straying back to the cliff. Graysons eyes lingered on her, before slowly sliding to back to Avery, who was currently speaking.

“This night will be a grace period, but by 8:00 in the morning, everyone should be meeting just outside the house.” Avery stated, her expression kind. All the contestants began to walk back to the house, with Grayson’s brothers trailing after them and casting those looks at the way Grayson was watching Lyra, and soon enough, it was just the two of them left near the cliff side.

“You definitely had a normal reaction today.” Lyra finally said, breaking the silence that threatened to swallow Grayson whole.

“I couldn’t have handled it better.” He said, matching her sarcasm as he strode up beside her. Lyra turned to him suddenly, the movements graceful, yet intense, in a way.

“What was going through your head?” She asked him suddenly. Grayson swallowed.

“I..” He trailed off, before clearing his throat and making his features as simple as possible. “I was worried about you.” And he was. He was terribly worried, that the one good thing in his life would suddenly vanish.

“And if something were to happen to me..” She trailed off. Grayson knew she expected him to finish her sentence for her, but when he didn’t, she just looked up at him exasperatedly.

“Tell me you wouldn’t freak out as much as you did today if I were to die. Tell me that it wouldn’t weigh down on you as much as I saw it did in your face.” She said, trying to make her voice as simple as possible. Grayson wanted to lie. To tell her, ‘yes, I would be fine in the case that any of that were to happen’. But he couldn’t. His heart squeezed at the thought of lying to her. A strand of her dark hair blew free from her wet ponytail, and Grayson had to physically fight down the desire to brush it behind her ear.

“I can’t.” He finally said, his voice more hoarse than he intended it to be. She pressed her lips together, her thick brows knitting together as she gazed up at him.

“Why not?” She said softy, giving him a half shrug.

“Why not?” Grayson repeated, his voice tinged with amusement and disbelief. He wanted to explain to her exactly why not, but he held himself back from the urge to.

“Because….” He trailed off again, searching for a response. Once he found one, he immediately spoke up again. “Because you deserve to find out exactly what happened to your father. Your dying wouldn’t exactly make the search easier.” Lyra closed her eyes momentarily, and Grayson knew exactly where her brain was going; to calla lily’s, to gunshots and blood, and to omega. To everything they had found out while in that room for 12 hours.

“So it’s just about my father? Nothing else?” She finally said, opening her eyes. Grayson couldn’t say no. He couldn’t will himself to lie to her. So, all he could manage was the slightest nod. Lyra nodded back, before speaking.

“Well, at least you’ll go to sleep tonight knowing you mastered the art of being a jackass.” Lyra stated, making Grayson snort.

“I learned a lot of things tonight.” He said, more softly now.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Lyra rebutted. Grayson paused for a moment. He thought about the bitter and angry person he had become when his mind lingered on the idea of Lyra getting hurt. And then he thought about how those terrible thoughts began to vanish the second she looked his way.

“Quod amor et melle et felle est fecundissimus.” Grayson said softly. Lyra rolled her eyes.

“I really hope that that’s not another one of you Hawthorne’s Latin lingo.” She said, her lips quirked. Graysons lips lifted by a hair himself, as his heart felt lighter than it had a mere 10 minutes ago.

“Sorry to disappoint you, then.” Grayson stated, raising a brow. Lyra’s smile grew, before she turned her head to the cliff side. Grayson wanted to fill the silence before Lyra noticed that he was watching her.

“When was the last time you’ve slept?” The question was so sudden that it made Lyra’s head turn in confusion. She studied him, as if seeing if he was joking, but after a moments hesitation, she only snorted.

“Uh, I don’t know, what day is it today?” She asked jokingly.

“Monday.” Lyra made a face.

“Oh… that’s bad.” She blew out a breath, causing that same strand of hair from before to fly upwards. Grayson turned his attention more to her, coming closer.

“When was the last time you’ve eaten?” He asked her, raising a brow. Lyra waved a hand, smacking Grayson’s chest in the process. He liked the closeness of her, and barely held himself back from stepping closer and never moving away again.

“I swallowed a good third of the ocean while almost drowning, so I think I’ll be good for the week.” Lyra joked.

“Lyra.” Graysons tone was serious. She met his gaze again, the humour from her face disappearing.

“We all had dinner last night, remember?” Lyra said, sounding sincere. Grayson’s brow raised deepened.

“Yes, I very much remember. You pushed around your food the entire time.” Grayson stated. He was worried. He didn’t exactly know why she wasn’t eating, but still, he knew whatever compelled her to avoid food, it wasn’t good. Lyra gave him a look.

“Look, I’m not eating because of… that.” She finished lamely. “Not like you should be watching me eat anyway. But, since you asked, sometimes I don’t eat because I get…. stressed. Whenever I’m stressed, I completely lose my appetite.”

“And you’ve been stressed because…?” Grayson trailed off, knowing the answer, but still wanting her to say it herself.

“My father.” She finished, her chest heaving. Grayson nodded, before turning to where he and Jameson had been brawling on the floor, picked up his suit jacket, and dug his hand in the pocket. His hand came out holding a protein bar. Grayson noticed that Lyra had been shivering the slightest bit, almost as if she was covering it up, and he draped his suit jacket across her shoulders just like how he did before. Lyra gave him a look, but didn’t object as she pulled it closer towards her. Now that she was looking at him, Grayson held out the protein bar to her.

“Eat this.” He told her, stepping closer to her again and holding it out for her. Lyra raised a brow at him.

“‘Eat this’? Wow, you’re really good at giving orders, asshole.” She deadpanned.

“Please.” Grayson managed. She held his eyes for a few seconds, before huffing out a breath and grabbing the bar.

“We should go back to the house now.” She said, squinting at the protein bar in her hand.

“Agreed.” Grayson said. They walked in silence, with Grayson watching Lyra, before she finally sighed and spoke.

“You’re going to keep watching me until I cave and eat this bar, aren’t you?” She asks him, giving him a dirty look.

“Yup.” Grayson replied simply, holding her gaze despite the look she was giving him. Lyra sighed again, before ripping open the bar and taking a bite.

“Mm. I just love the taste of sand and granola.” Lyra deadpanned once she swallowed her first bite. Grayson couldn’t help but let a smile loose.

“It adds texture.” He teased. Grayson’s eyes caught on something. Nash’s guitar. He must have forgotten it after the entire… situation Grayson was going through with his brother. He walked over to go pick it up, before walking back to Lyra. Her ponytail was becoming more and more loose, until the elastic completely fell out. Lyra huffed, grabbing her hair in realization that it fell out and gave him a look that said “of course”. Graysons lips lifted by a hair as he walked over to her, saw a little black elastic, slipped it onto his wrist, and kept walking. He’d give it back to her once it wasn’t covered in sand. Or… that’s what he told himself, anyway.

“Ugh, how is there sand in this? It had a wrapper.” Lyra complained, almost done eating the protein bar. Grayson turned to meet her eyes, taking her hand that held the bar and pointing with my other to a label on the bar that said “now has more dark chocolate!”

“I thought you’d like it,” He said, dropping Lyra’s hand and noticing how she immediately dropped her arms to her sides. “it has dark chocolate, after all.” Lyra gave him a look.

“I didn’t tell you I liked dark chocolate.” She said.

“No, but I heard you telling Xander about how you like chocolate, and then I figured you’d like dark the best.” Lyra turned her head, eyeing the doors of the mansion as Grayson held one open for her.

“Well, you figured right.” She finally said, walking in. She was about to walk the other way, towards the contestants rooms, before Grayson spoke up.

“Try and sleep tonight.” He said. Lyra turned and gave him a glare, to which Grayson dipped his head. “Please.”

She looked like she was going to say something sarcastic, but just slumped her shoulders and gazed at him with eyes a gorgeous amber shade instead.

“I can’t.” She finally said, her head bowed. Grayson stepped towards her, gently placing two fingers beneath her chin and tilting it upwards.

“Try.” He said softly. She just looked away, as she chewed on her lip. She looked like she was about to rebuke his one word statement, before Grayson spoke again.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping too,” he admitted, opening up for her so that she could do the same for him. Lyra looked up at him, and her mouth suddenly quirked into a smile that Grayson was beginning to recognize: a crooked smirk that said “I’m going to say something either really funny or really teasing”. Unfortunately for Grayson. she went for the latter.

“Whoever has darker eye bags tomorrow morning has to third wheel with Rohan and Savannah for a whole hour while being forced to listen to their…. colourful conversations.” She said, a cheeky grin on her face. Graysons cheeks immediately heat up as he shook his head at Lyra.

“I have 0 idea what Savannah could possibly see in him.” Grayson stated darkly, his face sour as he thought of the annoying British man who she associates herself with. Lyra just giggled into the palm of his hand, and Grayson, with cheeks that were beginning to tinge red and a very vibrant image of strangling Rohan in his head, did not think that the moment that they just shared was so awful, because the sound of her laugh could never be associated with anything even remotely negative. Grayson couldn’t help but smile himself, and gestured to her room down the hall.

“You might want to get a head start, because I don’t plan on being forced to stay even 10 feet near them.” Grayson deadpanned. Lyra snorted, and winked at him as she walked away.

“Believe me, I don’t need it.” She retorted. Grayson liked her quick tongue. He liked it a lot.

“Oh yeah?” He asked her with a raised brow as she walked away.

“Yeah.” She replied, tossing her hair over her shoulder and continuing to walk to her room, her steps graceful and filled with poise.

Grayson watched her go, momentarily forgetting about the guitar in his hands. Once he remembered, he strode to Nash’s room, knocking twice on the door. Once he heard Nash’s call for Grayson to come in, Grayson opened the door, walking in and placing his guitar propped up on his side table.

“You definitely were acting out today, Gray.” Nash drawled, crossing his arms as he got up from his spot on the bed, and giving him a look.

“That’s one way to put it.” Grayson eventually said, running a hand through his wet-yet-drying-now hair. Nash made a noise at the back of his throat, before sitting back down on the bed, strumming his guitar again.

“So what were you and Lyra up to?” Nash asked. His tone was innocent, but Grayson knew what he was implying. Grayson shrugged.

“Nothing. She lectured me about what happened, and then I walked her back to the house. That’s all.” Grayson said. Nash nodded, turning his gaze to his guitar again. Grayson took this as his cue to leave, and, just as he was about to walk through the door, Nash’s voice made him halt to a stop.

“Right. And where’s your suit jacket, huh, Gray?” Nash drawled. Grayson paused, turning to meet his gaze with a raised brow. Nash’s eyes were twinkling, and he stopped strumming his guitar as he got up, putting it down and strolling over to Grayson. “Lemme guess: she has it?” Grayson paused, as if thinking.

“No,” He lied, “I just must have forgotten it near the cliff side.” Nash gave him a look.

“I’m sure you did. So, if I get up early tomorrow morning and scour the cliff side, including the beach, you’re telling me I’m going to find it just sitting there on the ground?” Nash asked, stepping closer as he crossed his arms.

“Unless it’s blown into the water, then yes.” Grayson again lied. He hated lying to his brothers, but he knew that if he admitted to giving Lyra his jacket, he wouldn’t hear the end of it. “It’s just a coincidence.” Grayson held Nash’s gaze, until Nash raised a shoulder and walked back towards his bed.

“Oh, and Grayson?” He drawled, pausing to turn around once more and give him a look. Then, Nash stepped forward, took Graysons arm, and pushed his sleeve down, revealing a small black elastic. “That a coincidence too?” Grayson jerked his hand away, giving Nash’s teasing grin an ice cold and unbothered stare.

“She dropped it. I’m giving it back to her once it’s not covered in sand.” Grayson said with a raised brow, as he tried to be as calm as possible. Nash gave him another shrug, before walking to his bed and lying down on it, his ankles crossed and his hands behind his head.

“I’m sure you are, Gray. But don’t go lying to yourself that this little…” Nash paused, before continuing. “Preoccupation you have with Lyra is nothing.” Grayson paused. He could give a sharp answer and shut it down. But he couldn’t deny the way that the steady beat of his heart began to thump faster the second Nash spoke her name. He turned and walked out without a word, shutting the door and hearing a “you’re welcome” from Nash as he did. His… preoccupation with Lyra was none of his brother’s business.

It wasn’t anybody’s. Nobody’s except for his and Lyra’s, if she saw in him what Grayson sees in her. He didn’t know how any of this was supposed to work out. After all, he was a Hawthorne, and Hawthornes are known to be unforgivably cruel to those who aren’t family. Lyra’s father was a prime example of that. Yet still, he could see a silhouette of a future in which the past didn’t control them.

Where they could make their own choices.

Grayson told himself, when he finally winded down to go to sleep that night, that all he’d see is pitch black darkness before waking up.

But as soon as amber eyes and a voice meant to soothe even the worst of man kind itself began to flash through his mind unconscious mind, he knew that he was only lying to himself.

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if you sent me an ask MONTHS ago and you’re seeing this fic that i made without anybody requesting me to…. no you didn’t 😊😊

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s-rosie · 21 days ago