#━━ ⟢ ᴀɴ ᴀᴅᴠᴀɴᴄᴇᴅ ᴡᴏʀʟᴅ sᴇᴛ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴏғ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇsᴇɴᴛ ⦂ ⋰ * ✧ MODERN VERSE.

[abrasife]

❝ Seriously, no matter how many times you ask me, I’m not going to that stupid formal dance. ❞

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

The look on her face said everything, or rather her eyes said enough. It was plain as day to see that she was on the verge of tears when she let those final words out. She had just gotten done throwing apologies with a very badly concealed look of preparation for this being their last conversation without even letting him say what he was here for. Actually, why did she feel the need to apologize so much ? This wasn’t a contest to see who was the most sorry after all ! Ugh, to think that he was this worried for no good reason. It didn’t matter how he said it, Ophelia was going to take it this way ! It was a bit irritating to him to have to constantly spell out everything he meant to her face (but in a way it was probably a good thing she made him do that for the sake of his own character development).

A frown crosses his face as he crosses his arms over each other, wondering if he should grab onto her arm to prevent her from running (as it really looked like she would at any moment, but he really couldn’t hold her down even if he wanted to). Of course, it was not hostility or anger that stirred inside him at the moment; it was mild annoyance. But he should’ve known better than to think she’d know what he meant. She used to be pretty decent at seeing through him but it’s moments like these where she seemingly couldn’t. How inconsistent. He didn’t really get it.

There was a pause of silence as they stood there, the boy unsure of what to say to make sure she wouldn’t get the wrong idea. At this shift in thought, he becomes more relaxed and less annoyed, more concerned over how the girl he did care so much for was doing emotionally. The teen hesitantly stepped closer as his posture relaxed with is arms at his side and his frown a bit less extreme, eyeing her to watch for any step back. Noticing that she was frozen to her spot, he took a note to keep an arm’s length of distance between them. 

❝ … You ask me why I’m apologizing, yet your reaction confirms exactly why I am, ❞ he mutters loud enough for her to hear. It’s meant as a gentle tease, but of course his expression wouldn’t match with that intention given the atmosphere surrounding them at the moment. He noticed the tears starting to fall from her eyes. Oh, it seemed their few days of avoidance hit her really hard. Well, it was his fault for springing up something that heavy and then letting it sit there without a proper closure.

He reached into his pocket in search of a handkerchief. As per his personal rule, he always had one on him, and he usually carried one he had embroidered himself just so he could pick it out should it get lost somewhere. But right now, it had a better use than usual. If this were a shoujo manga, this would be the part where he’d reach over and wipe her tears with the cloth, but that would be overstepping a boundary. Why did it seem there were so many lines he couldn’t cross ? Instead, he hands her the decorated cloth to use as she wished.

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰 || cont. from here『 ✕ 』

[abrasife]

From this day forward, he would most likely curse winter more than he did on a regular basis. Stupid snow, stupid ice, and curse his incompatible shoes. It was already bad enough that Raynaud’s had struck him at nearly every opportunity possible this day but to also slip on ice and cut the side of his hand too ?! How much worse could it get from here ?! Having to tell Rachael about his blunder ? Her disapproving look at his clumsiness ? Burdening Ophelia by making her worry and go out of her way to get a bandage ? He basically strolled into his neighbor’s home when she clearly didn’t want him to know what was in there.

Keith had taken note of the scent of cigarettes and the numerous bottles of wine lying around in random corners of the main room. From that alone, he could tell why the girl wouldn’t want him to come over ever. And other than the clear chaos of this mess, it was enough to make him feel the need to clean it up. How could she stand living in a pigsty like this ? And why not have something to freshen the air up, open a window maybe ? He’d have to help out when his hands were actually capable of doing something. But before he could even offer that, he was ushered up the stairs, probably to keep him from seeing more of the catastrophe her house was.

Her room was definitely much nicer than he would expect from the  way the downstairs was. It wasn’t as clean as he would’ve thought, considering her bed was unmade and her trinkets seemed to be cluttered in various parts of the room, but it certainly felt personalized and lived in. There were photos strewn about, though he didn’t really look at them. It wasn’t something he should try to pay attention unless she was okay with it. Photos did tell of memories, and not many liked others asking about the past. And with the way this house was, the memories in those photos might be something not worth bringing up, especially if they were happy ones.

Once Ophelia returned with the medical supplies, he held out his hand, the one with the gash of course, but upon doing so, he realized that Raynaud’s was being a bitch active again. If it were white, he could’ve passed it off as a trick of lighting, but at the moment, the flesh on his palm and fingers was tinted blue. No wonder he felt like his hands were missing and the pain wasn’t actually there; they were completely numb. There wasn’t much other he could say about it other than admit to his various conditions. 

Yet, she didn’t even ask. She just applied the bandage without even—was this her way of being considerate ? It was obvious she had noticed; the color was too clear for her not to have seen it. All her could feel was that she pitied him, felt sorry that he was dealing with this when he really didn’t have a choice. Her behavior to not acknowledge it at this point was an insult. Shouldn’t she call him out for it, for trying to hide it for so long ? Why was she always... so patient ?! She didn’t even press for details when he didn’t want to share ! Honestly, it was guilt he felt whenever he hid it from her of all people. Normally, he wouldn’t care, but with Ophelia, the girl he had gotten close with and wanted to be truthful and honest with, it was something he wanted to tell her. He trusted her enough to the point he believed she wouldn’t ditch him afterwards.

Sure, after his previous blunder of sharing this fact, he had vowed to never share this condition of his again, considering the guy he had told had fell off the face of the planet and was stupid enough to ask if it was chronic (do some thinking, you dumbass), it was better than keeping this to himself. He wouldn’t be staying with his sister forever, as ideal as that might sound right now, so having a friend to lean on and help him should Rachael not be around was necessary. He wouldn’t dare confide in anyone other than her. If he asked any of his classmates or other supposed friends, he doubted he’d get a warm response. In other words, his neighbor was his best and only bet.

❝ Look, I might as well just say it. ❞ he began, stating this almost as if he had not bothered to listen to her kind offer from before, or the question she threw at him. But, he couldn’t get the words out so easily. They were caught in his throat again. Even if he thought about it—he could easily scream it inside his head—for some reason, these were the moments in which his voice would cease to work; it was always the most important times, how infuriating. His confidence wavered as his head lowered to avoid the girl’s gaze. Could he really tell her ?

Vulnerability. That was what made him freeze. He hated this feeling. He felt his insides squirm and shake, his palms beginning to become clammy. It was like he was about to confess to her or something. Well, in a sense he kind of was, admitting something this important, ❝ you probably noticed already... ❞ he started again, showing her his uninjured hand that was slowly changing from blue to a red hue. A long breath leaves him, almost as though he was holding his breath the whole time he was thinking, ❝ how do I say this... ? ❞

❝ These are permanent. And they’ll never get better. ❞

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰 || cont. from here『 ✕ 』

[abrasife]

One look at the sky overhead and it would be clear to anyone that bringing an umbrella would be very much helpful for the afternoon. That’s why his sister had insisted on Keith taking her umbrella with him to school, also adding on that she wouldn’t need it since she didn’t have classes or anywhere to go for the day; in other words, she’d be lounging around the house all day. And that was how the teen came to possess a pastel pink umbrella with white polka dots and a matching pink handle. He currently held the closed umbrella in his hand, staring at the circular button on the handle. Thankfully his sister was smart enough (okay, she was smart; she just acted dumber than she actually was for some reason) to purchase an umbrella he could actually use properly. Pressing a button was doable compared to the struggle of having to extend the umbrella for it to open.

Around him was people leaving the building class had been held in, opening up umbrellas to casually walk through the downpour or making mad dashes through it to keep as dry as possible. Keith really didn’t like cool weather. It wasn’t even winter and the day was somewhat chilly with the cold breeze, the cloudy sky, and the heavy rain currently splattering against the concrete or individual persons. He had been standing in place for a few minutes, staring at his hands to make sure they didn’t come across a stupid attack from whatever condition of the hour wanted to torment him.

The boy curled his glove covered fingers as a check to see if should wait for more time or if he was ready to leave. Upon seeing he could move his right hand’s fingers normally, the redhead pressed the button on the umbrella’s handle, causing the girly designed umbrella to open up. After having placed the umbrella upright to shield him from the rain, Keith began his walk home. On a day with good weather, the teen definitely would’ve taken his time getting home, taking the usual long route home on top of going grocery shopping if needed or making a detour to visit the park near his house. But since there was this awful downpour of rain, he opted to take the shorter route home, also known as going by the main roads instead of back ones.

While walking on the sidewalk back towards his residence, he noticed a few individuals without umbrellas. Among one of the ones walking in front of him was a girl with long, dark colored hair with her arms wrapped around herself and possibly her head hung low. Nobody else around looked as cold as she did. This raised a bit of concern from him. Was she shivering ? Unable to handle cold ? Potentially sick and trying not to feel the worsening symptoms ? Should he offer her his umbrella ? Offer to walk her home ? Wait, he’d be labeled a creep if he even approached her, wouldn’t he ? But watching this... was somewhat hard. The girl was getting more drenched by the second.

Oh screw it ! The redhead picked up his pace for a few moments to fall into step beside the girl, coming in from her left. His eyes fell onto her form, taking in how matted her hair was from the wetness and her slight shivering from her clothes being drenched from the rain. Keith couldn’t exactly offer his jacket or anything as he’d probably suffer from doing such a thing. He held the umbrella in such a way that would cover the girl he was now walking beside from the rain, although that also made his left shoulder exposed to the rain drops. Then again, that wasn’t too important. He could handle getting a little bit wet.

❝ … You’re getting drenched, ❞ he awkwardly stated in somewhat of a greeting.

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

❝ Then I could turn your words back on you. Remember, you’re the one that tried to draw a portrait first, ❞ he retorted, an eyebrow raised at the other and his arms crossed. If he brought up the fact that he was able to recollect his face so well was because of how many times they’ve ran into each other, Fossarius might decide to twist things even further. He didn’t need any more implications than he was already getting. Better pretend to not notice them as usual.

「✩』─ @snw-cnvs ✧・ﾟ: * || cont. from here [x]

[abrasife]

OPEN STARTER

It had been awhile since he had last went to the convenience store to pick up some quick half gallon of milk. It was quite unusual for the teen to have forgotten to pick up something this important while going grocery shopping just a few days prior. But, it worked out since he did have to pick up some cold medicine right away for his sister, who was currently unable to handle her coughing fits as they had run out of cough drops. It must be terrible to suffer from a cold in the middle of summer. 

He was grateful for this small place having baskets. Most places like these didn’t have them. Yet, this place was decently big for a convenience store, so it was more likely for baskets to be provided. Keith was definitely grateful for it. It was one thing if he were only to buy a single item, but if he were to grab more than one item, as much as he hated to admit to it, he would need the assistance of a bag of sorts to keep hold of everything. Carrying a half gallon of milk on its own was fine, but he couldn’t hold cold medicine and cough drops on top of that.

After picking out the best options of each generic item on his list (choosing to pick up 1% milk, honey flavored cough drops, and the dual pack of day and night cold medicine), Keith headed to the cash register to pay for the items. As with every cash register, there was usually magazines displayed to tempt customers into purchasing them with baiting headlines. As he placed the basket he had on the conveyor belt behind at least two people’s worth of items in front of his, his blue-grey irises set upon a magazine featuring a very familiar female.

That’s right. Rachael had said she had gotten featured on the front cover of this magazine. At least her work seemed to be going well disregarding the more current days in which she had to deal with her current cold. If he recalled right, she had said the magazine also featured an interview with her. Even now, he found it difficult to believe he was related to someone who was featured on magazines. It felt unreal despite having this status for a few years now. Upon closer inspection of the cover after plucking the magazine off the display rack, he realized a lot of his sister’s features had been photoshopped. The redhead could feel a bit of rage boiling on the inside. They had the audacity to photoshop her as skinnier than she already was (he was already worried enough about how much she was eating to begin with; this type of thing could trigger some unwanted problems) ! And her eyes weren’t that blue, and they even got rid of her beauty mark (that was like the feature everyone thought was cute, at least from what her guy friends said) ! Why hire her if they were going to alter her this much ?! 

Stuff like this was why he hated this industry and why he felt so bad for these models. His eyebrows furrowed as he flipped through the magazine, looking for the page that contained the interview some random interviewer had done with his sister. As he made his way through the pages, he couldn’t help but mutter aloud to himself, ❝ To think that modeling industry was this stupidly sick. Why even do this to her... ? They better get what they deserve or go to hell. ❞

Just as those words left his lips, he heard a small chuckle of laughter from behind him. Keith quickly shut the magazine and unthinkingly tossed it into his basket. He turned away from the magazine’s landing into the basket to look at the individual who was clearly laughing at him. What was their problem ? It wasn’t wrong to look through a magazine.

❝ What are you laughing at ? ❞ he quickly retorted in defense. For some reason, he felt humiliated, on the inside at least, for even expressing this opinion of his. Why did he have to feel guilty for something like this ? He wasn’t wrong to feel something like this. Surely, everyone knew it was screwed up to photoshop people like that.

[abrasife]

She really did try to fight the urge to stay awake, but the sound of the TV faded into white noise and all Ophelia could do was bury herself deeper into her hoodie. Just for a bit, her eyes drooped down and her body relaxed from previous tension. Unbeknownst to her, the pillow she believed to be leaning upon was no other than Keith but she didn't seem to care. It's warm, comfortable and right with the world. "Keith," She slurred, supposedly wandering in her dream. "Don't go."

This wouldn’t be the first time she fell asleep during one of their movie nights. Sure, they usually started these events late in the evening due to Ophelia’s sleepless nights to aid her in falling asleep, but she really never knew what it was like when he was the one who had to carry her to bed (and that was extremely difficult, not because of her weight but rather getting a proper hold of her and not strain his wrists at the same time) if not pull out the blankets to make sure she wouldn’t become cold while resting on the couch. And there was also this scenario, the one in which she used him as her pillow. It had happened before, yet he was never bothered by it particularly.

Everything would’ve been the same, just handy-dandy fine, were it not for the question that Rachael had asked him about not too long ago. What exactly was Ophelia to him ? The teen had spent… a considerable amount of time thinking about their relationship. They first met while she had a run-in with her debt collectors, dragging her into their home for safety. Afterwards, they’d run into each other on campus, and there was this one time he had accidentally tripped her. From there, she’d end up visiting his room by climbing in through the window. That was almost a daily occurrence. She’d visit whenever she wanted to hang out, distract herself from her issues at home, or simply just to see how he was doing. There had been many instances of them talking across from their windows as well. And there was also the recent conversation concerning prom. Why would she ask him of all people when she had other guys who would give her a better time to go with ?

For him, this was something normal and expected, a closeness that was not in anyway weird or contained any romantic subtext, but when explaining their time together to anyone else in his social circle at school upon their insistent questioning, he was met with teasing remarks on his interest in her or that the dark haired girl had interest in him. This caused the boy to be sent into a flustered mess at the implications which unfortunately only made others think there was something going on. Keith never understood why his peers made such jokes, as he really didn’t harbor such intimate feelings for her. 

Rather… back then he could say that with full confidence. Right now, he was in a place of confusion. This confusion was intensified when even his sister had asked him a similarly phrased question as his classmates. In his heart, he knew it wasn’t romantic; he didn’t want to kiss her or anything like that (much to his annoyance when people insisted he’d want to do such a thing with anyone). Yet, it still decided to make a racket whenever he was close to her such as moments like these. He’d be tempted to want to ask her to stay or divulge a deep rooted insecurity sometimes, a rare desire indeed, but it’d quickly be pushed down. That was crossing a boundary; they weren’t that close, were they ? 

He found himself worrying when she wasn’t in class or anywhere she normally would be on campus, but it was normal to worry about a friend. He’d make her lunches nearly every day to make sure she got enough vegetables in her diet (her and her stupid love for instant ramen; she couldn’t live off that). He’d worry about her money problems at random moments of his day like when he went grocery shopping. Should he buy enough to feed her during dinner as well ? At the same time as these sort of thoughts would occur, Keith wouldn’t be jealous or mad if she decided to spend her time with others or even coming to his house later than when she said she would. Now, he wasn’t exactly aware of what she even did when he wasn’t around other than take care of the neighborhood’s children, so maybe he might be placing too much trust in her but then again she wasn’t that girl.

Now that he thought about it, he hardly knew her at all. Could he really call himself a friend of hers if he didn’t know anything about her ? He had only recently became aware of when her birthday was too. He didn’t know her favorite color or things she liked to do or really what her passions and future goals were.

He gazed softly at her sleeping figure as she snuggled closer to him. God, she was so defenseless like this. Couldn’t she at least be a little bit more aware of the way his heart would pound against his ribcage or the slight rise in temperature on his face whenever she did this sort of thing ? This girl was a handful, wasn’t she ? Always making him worry, always being the source of embarrassment for him should people bring her up in conversation. He hesitated for a long moment, his arm reached out halfway towards her. Was it okay to do what he was about to do ? To wrap an arm around and pull her in to keep her secure enough so she wouldn’t fall into a position of discomfort ? Would she be okay with it or would she yell at him upon her waking for overstepping ? —Her head was already slipping from its resting spot on his shoulder. Without taking an extra moment to think further, he wrapped an arm around to her other shoulder and steadied her, making sure she had proper support to keep resting where she had chosen.

❝ Of course I’m not going anywhere, you dork, ❞ he muttered in response to her sleep talking, ❝ you’re… a bit too important for me to let go so easily… ❞

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

Thank god nobody else was in the house right now. His sister was out for her classes and she’d have work afterwards too, so for today, the house was his for the remainder of the day. Or at least it would be if this guy didn’t find his address and invite himself inside. Oh how he regretted opening the door because the doorbell rang and assuming it was a package to sign for.

❝ This is my house, you bastard ! You can’t just invite yourself inside ! ❞ was his immediate argument as he was gently pushed aside. Wait a minute, if he went up to his room... his desk was still cluttered with his current art project materials. Oh no. He couldn’t let Fossarius see any of that. He didn’t need to be ridiculed or mocked again. He had enough of that to last a lifetime. The teen was tempted to run up there and lock the door behind him while he cleaned things up, but he couldn’t do that with a guest (even if he was unwanted here) in the house.

「✩』─ @snw-cnvs ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙵𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙰𝚁𝙸𝚄𝚂 || cont. from here [x]

[abrasife]

Damn it. He really wanted to help frost those cupcakes, decorate them with different colored frostings or even create some roses or tulips on top. There wasn’t much space to work with on a cupcake, but there was plenty of design ideas that would work with them. Flowers were by far the easiest to do (well, relative to other complex designs that’d need more space). Or he could try out different patterns using different colors like putting pink polka dots on a plain white frosted surface. But Keith knew better than to say anything along those lines. He wouldn’t be able to do anything the way he wanted to. He would have to settle on watching from afar just like he did for almost everything else. 

Momentarily, his gaze fell upon his hands. They looked perfectly fine at a glance, but one look underneath the fitted wrist brace he wore on the left would be enough to know the brace was there for a reason. The scar underneath was clearly a result of some surgical operation and therefore, a few assumptions could be made from that, such as recovery protocols or whatnot. However, it only vexed him that the whole procedure was pointless in getting any function back. It was wasted money. On top of being an annoyance to recall the thought, the sight of the scar was bound to bring his old nightmares back. And... the teen really didn’t want to deal with those again.

His eyes went back to focusing on the circular movement of the icing bag tip, almost jealous of the display. Ah, this was one of those times he wish his hand was a high-level prosthetic rather than a useless, unmoving part of his arm. What could he possibly do to have a nice set of functional hands again ? Oh right, nothing. It was nerve damage. That type of thing was permanent. No point in wishing, but of course the boy couldn’t help but wish and scorn himself.

❝ You look almost as into it as I am, I’m kinda flattered. I don’t blame you, though. It’s pretty interesting to watch, isn’t it ? I  think… I’m going to give this one a flower. ❞

Wait, he was staring ?! He hardly noticed ! Crap ! He was supposed to be more subtle about it. Losing himself in his thoughts often did this to time. Often times, people would assume jealousy on his end. Where that came from, he had no idea, but then again, most people found him easy to read. And if his current thoughts were to go by, in a sense, he was jealous─jealous of being able to do things. Unfortunately, others got a different impression on what exactly his jealousy was about. Then again, it was his fault for appearing to be jealous in the first place.

❝ If you’re gonna put a flower, you might as well make it a sunflower, ❞ he commented. At least he was actually listening (albeit, half listening) enough to be able to come up with something decent to reply with. Sunflowers were nice. And since they were bright and yellow, he hoped that it'd make him feel better. Yes, certain colors did help his mood when he was stuck on this stupid train of thought. Orange was the best, but yellow was close enough. Sunflowers would have to do.

「✩』─ @culinaryart​ ✧・ﾟ: * || cont. from here [x]

[abrasife]

[Extends a hand when they see the other was searching for it] Ophelia @ Keith (feel free to alter this however you like!)

Of course with winter being the terrible season it was for him, he was all too glad to be inside, and since he did make plans for an impromptu hot chocolate ‘party’ to beat the cold, Ophelia had come to his house rather than take the few more paces she’d need to return to her own home. Hot chocolate parties were usually a pretense to hang out simply because Keith didn’t really drink hot chocolate all that much. If anything, he had a hot glass of milk or hot water to warm his insides if not soup (too much sugar was the excuse he always threw out with most sweets). And either way, the party would last much longer than it took to actually finish their hot drinks.

As his sister prepped their drinks for them, the two had decided to huddle near the fireplace, which was in full operation thanks to the various tree branches and logs they had managed to get hold of to really get the flames going. It was tempting to get a blanket, but the boy really didn’t want to leave this warm spot, not when his hands were numb from the freezing weather outside. It was probably another Raynaud’s attack but, he’d feel better in the next twenty minutes or so. He held his hands up, closer to the gated fire place to give them more exposure to the heat.

Yet, the heat was not consistent enough from his seating choice so he placed his hand on the carpet next to him. Maybe… Ophelia wouldn’t mind if he, you know, touched her hand for warmth ? Nah, that would be considered creepy behavior, wouldn’t it ? Let’s not. And besides, that’s only something a couple would do, or at least to societal standards. Gods, why was he always worried about that when it came to this girl ?? 

However, his eyes drifted to her, watching as she attempted to warm her hands by blowing on them. It seemed even the warmth of the fireplace wasn’t enough for her too. And it didn’t take long for her to catch him in the act either. Ophelia glanced back at him and gave him one of those warm smiles he had seen so many times already. He’d never admit that he almost dies inside from how natural it seems for her to give him a look like that. Without him even saying anything, she takes hold of his right hand, encasing it in hers, almost as if to transfer whatever warmth she had picked up to his hand.

Yes, she was aware of his condition, but did he ever tell her the specifics of it ? Probably not. He hadn’t brought it up again after the whole incident. Maybe she’d find it odd to know that she was lucky enough to choose the hand he could actually perceive with. Well, she didn’t need to know details if she didn’t ask. For now, he just wanted to enjoy this little moment with her, as weird as it made him feel on the inside.

❝ You… really didn’t have to do that, ❞ he muttered almost too quiet for her to catch as he avoided looking at her entirely, ❝ but thanks, I guess. ❞ He adjusted his hand so he could interlock their fingers together, just to make sure he could still feel them. But, that sensation was not something he’d notice over the beating of his heart or the burning feeling on his face. 

She really made him a complete mess, and that was the part he hated about this entire dynamic. She probably already had him wrapped around her little finger, and it only took that deep revelation to make it that much more obvious. He was such an idiot.

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

“You’re the best thing to have ever happened to me.” - Ophelia

He had taken his neighbor out to a ramen place not too far from his house that afternoon. It was one of the rare times he even wanted to have something that wasn’t homemade, and it was often strange for him to even suggest going out to a restaurant to eat. It earned him a questioning look, but Keith had only suggested this after Ophelia had stated she lived off of ramen packets she could easily put on the stove to make. She had to taste some decently made noodles at some point. Also, once she did, she’d understand why he always made the noodles he had with homemade sauces and/or experiment with different broth flavors. Instant ramen was boring; she'd learn that soon enough.

And so, he had decided to treat her at this place. It was definitely expensive for him (any place was expensive to him, let’s be honest), but it was fine. He didn’t go try new restaurants every single week or something. He could easily earn back his money should he decide to start making money off his artwork. The people who were aware of this consistently expressed interest in commissioning him for some pieces. Anyhow, they had gotten seated quickly and their orders delivered. The two hadn’t even begun a conversation, yet after the girl had taken a few mouthfuls of professionally made ramen, she had thrown this line at him.

The best thing ? No way. She was just exaggerating. There were plenty of other things that affected her positively to a higher degree. Letting her eat at a restaurant was no big deal. He got that she was grateful, but she didn’t have to go this far with expressing it. Chopsticks that had reached out to take another portion of the noodles in his bowl paused. His blue-grey irises looked at the girl sitting across from him, happily eating her steaming hot order of ramen. Maybe she said it without thinking too much of it ? No, even if her expression conveyed it that way, the way she said it did not.

He should reply to her, to tell her she was wrong about this line of thinking, but the teen couldn’t actually find his voice at all. This had come out of nowhere, but it was clear that this was said with a heavy weight. No wait, how could he explain this properly ? It felt like something that was on her mind for quite awhile. This phrase wasn’t something he could dismiss, right ? Umm, how should he deal with this ?

❝ I’m… pretty sure there are plenty of better things in the world than me treating you to ramen, ❞ the boy awkwardly spoke as he spun the chopsticks in the bowl, shifting his eyes to watch the steam escape. God damn─that was bad ! He felt himself cringe as soon as the line was delivered. How great. He literally just diminished the whole meaning of her statement. He was a huge jerk for doing that ! Could he just hit himself for being so stupid ?!

Ophelia’s words had most definitely referred to everything he had supposedly done to aid her such as that one time or two with the debt collectors or giving her a space to hang out, allowing her to invade his room almost whenever she wanted to. But really, Keith didn’t want to acknowledge any of that. Acknowledging the closeness they certainly had built was scary. He’d get attached again; he already was latching on too hard onto whatever relationship he had with her, and taking it further was only going to bring him misery. Relationships only brought pain. The only one he could count on was his sibling bond, and that was final. Nobody else was worth risking tearing himself apart. Not again. He made this mistake too many times. It wasn’t worth the risk, even if Ophelia was a decent girl herself.

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

Yes, it was quite late for him to be up. Keith normally would’ve gone to bed by now, but after hanging out with his sister for the evening, time had flown by and it was much later than he would’ve liked. He currently was lying down in bed on top of his covers, feeling a bit too hot to climb under the covers at the moment. It was a good thing he didn’t have school the following day. He knew his neighbor was the type who stayed up late; he could sometimes see a faint light from a lamp in her room as he prepared himself for bed on most nights.

His phone vibrated with an incoming message shortly after sending his own text to Ophelia. He didn’t recall how it happened, but they had somehow ended up exchanging numbers. Since then, they had been texting quite frequently in a way. Rachael would keep making a comment on how often the two seemed to be communicating with each other.

[sms] : how do I put this

[sms] : um Keith

[sms] : keiths_art.jpg

[sms]: nice drawing :)

The image was all too familiar. How did she even get her hands on that ? This was the sketch he had started a week ago. The redhead had thought he lost it, but it apparently had flown over to Ophelia’s window ?? Agh ! How embarrassing to be caught doodling ! It was even worse that the subject of said doodle saw it herself. 

【✉ → Ophelia】: Throw that out ! 【✉ → Ophelia】: Forget you saw it ! 【✉ → Ophelia】: I didn’t draw that !

Upon closer inspection of the image, he noticed he hadn’t signed the bottom corner like he usually did. Thank goodness it was still a work in progress sketch. At least there wasn’t physical proof that he had drawn it; it wasn't a page from a sketchbook since he had drawn that on loose leaf printer paper. Ophelia wouldn’t know much about his art style either, so he could always say his sister drew it. And if she insisted, he could say that─no wait, he couldn’t. He didn’t take any art classes on campus. In other words, he had no other excuses. 

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰 || cont. from here [x]

[abrasife]

"You look really handsome today!" —your pick ;)

After having been pestered to the point of irritation by the blonde haired girl he had come to know to go with her to some upscale diner (or that’s what she said it was), Keith had been almost stressing about the dress code ever since he looked up the place she was planning on taking him. It was no diner in his eyes. This was basically a full on five star restaurant that those with more money could actually afford. Oh wait─let him check the restaurant again. Oh, god ! It really was a full on five star place ! What was even the dress code ??! Show up in a suit ??

For proper guidance, the teen consulted his sister on what to wear, something he rarely did because he didn’t have to worry about dress code at all. But this occasion was clearly on a different level than things he’d do normally. She had told him the same conclusion he had reached earlier: he’d have to wear a suit because nothing else he had was nearly formal enough. Thankfully, he still had the suit he had worn to his eldest sister’s wedding to use, yet he was unsure if it was really okay. However, the redhead didn’t have time to worry any more about it. He had to get ready and go meet up with Genevieve in about half an hour outside the place.

Quickly freshening himself up and changing into his suit, he was stuck putting on the dreaded formal footwear. Curse shoelaces ! Noticing his distress, Rachael helped him tie the laces the proper way without a word (as she always did when he had to deal with tying anything) and wished him good luck as he rushed out the door, somewhat worried as to how they were actually going to handle the bill at such a taxing place. It was rude to make the lady pay, but they didn’t have the funds to pay for even one dish there based on the prices they saw on the site.

In what seemed to be no time at all, he was in front of the meet up place with two minutes to spare. It was quite lucky of him for this place to be within an easy walking distance from his house. Maybe that was Genevieve’s way of being considerate, but if she were really trying to be, she’d pick a cheaper place where they could properly split the bill. He straightened the jacket of his suit as he waited in front of the decorative doors, only locating the girl when she spoke up.

❝ You look really handsome today ! ❞

A part of him wanted to grab her and shake the living daylights out of her out of stress, but her words made him freeze instead. Handsome ? What even was that ? Were his casual clothes that bad compared to a random suit ? The boy could feel the heat rising on his cheeks. No, no, no. It was just a random compliment. Why was he getting so flustered over simple kindness like this ? It was so stupid !! It was like he had never gotten praise or verbal kindness in his life before ! And it was mostly true; most used rude and backhanded ways to say something nice if not outright put him down. 

❝ D-Don’t say dumb stuff like that ! I-I only wore this ‘cuz I didn’t have a choice ! ❞ his voice brokenly conveyed his internal flustered state. If he wasn’t stressed out enough before, this only served to make him even more of a mess.

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙶𝙴𝙽𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚅��

[abrasife]

The woman had flinched a bit when she saw him. Did he scare her ? He really didn’t mean to, but she really looked ill. Even though he couldn’t exactly provide her with anything, he could at least accompany her to a safer location. It was no good to be hiding out in alleyways, especially ones linked to busy streets where thugs were likely to roam around. Her eyes didn’t move from his, her gaze practically locking him in place. Upon a closer inspection, he had to ask himself: were those irises of hers... red ? No, surely not. They must be brown. Yeah, definitely a lighting thing, nothing more. It was dark so it was possible for the colors to be misinterpreted.

She then began to tremble slightly. Oh no, was she about to collapse ?! He wouldn’t be able to ca─ ❝ Keith ? ❞ Did he... introduce himself earlier ? No, his head shook in thought; he had simply asked if she was okay. The redhead had not given her his name. The redhead was quite certain he had never seen her before, yet she acted as though he was familiar to her. Maybe they had run into each other by chance before and maybe it was such a random, mundane encounter that he forgot about her. But for some reason, he doubted there was such a coincidence.

Her hand clutched her head as if she were in pain, their previous staring broken from the gesture. This wasn’t good. She probably wasn’t well. The best thing to do now was get her home where she could rest up. A part of him was tempted to support her, as she looked as though she’d fall over any second, but he refrained from doing so. This woman was clearly not right in the head. Acting as if she knew him ? Was friends with him ? No way. That was the act of some scammer or something.

❝  Keith, where am I ? Where did everyone go ? How long have I been asleep for ? Someone was supposed to wake me up but I was forced to do that on my own ! ❞

Woah, woah, what was she on about ?? Last he checked, he knew nothing of this girl or who she was acquainted with. How would he of all people know how to answer that question ?? And sleep ?? She was talking as if she had been asleep a lot longer than one night. Did she happen to run away from home or something ? Did she lose track of time while conking out on a park bench or whatever ? 

His mind turned itself over with all these questions running through it, but he really had to focus on the matter in front of him right now. Other details could be figured out later. This girl seriously needed some medicine and a good night’s rest. But, did she even live around here was a good question, and the teen knew it wasn’t a good idea to escort her to a place he wasn’t familiar with, not that he was planning on it or anything.

❝ I don’t know how you know my name, but you really need to get home. You look like you’re about to topple over and I don’t want to be responsible for whatever trouble you get yourself into, ❞ Keith replied as distant as he possibly could. His arms crossed over each other, a gesture he did to prevent himself from holding an arm out to allow her to support herself on. He couldn’t place it, but despite his suspicions, something told him he didn’t have much to worry about this girl being dangerous... at least in the personality sense of the meaning.  

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙶𝙴𝙽𝙴𝚅𝙸𝙴𝚅𝙴 || cont. from here [x]

[abrasife]

“And they all lived happily ever after or I hope they did. I didn’t even read the book.” - Ophelia

The boy had the assigned book open in front of him on his desk, the current page not having been written on or marked in any fashion as of yet. He still had to comprehend the events on the page before he could start marking the important things. Assigned readings weren’t that hard for him to do because he didn’t mind reading this particular title; it was more interesting than he thought it’d be. Yet, actually doing the assigned annotations was difficult for him. The book wouldn’t stay open at all, always trying to close itself shut, and that was the sole reason reading itself was bothersome at times. He couldn’t exactly hold down the page in a comfortable enough manner to write directly on the pages anymore.

He used to be able to, but now it was more annoying than he was willing to deal with. And that was the reason he had a notebook dedicated for these annotations. Keith would mark the the important pages in the book with sticky notes and put the annotations for each page in the notebook. Considering the assignment was done, his teacher didn’t care much for his odd choice of organization (he was grateful he didn’t have to explain his stupid carpal tunnel as well; that was hard enough to explain as it was). 

But anyway, doing his homework was not easy with the girl sitting on the bed behind him. She had dropped in like usual, not caring if he was busy or not at this point. Ophelia had been attempting to converse with him as he wrote down his annotations. Thank goodness he was using a pencil for he had been writing down parts of her dialogue instead of the thoughts he had on the novel. Sure, the due date for this final section of the book wasn’t for another week or two, but like he always did, the redhead preferred to get things done early just in case his hands decided to give him hell closer to the due date, especially when days were cold or dreary enough to have a chance of showcasing bad weather.

❝ And they all lived happily ever after or I hope they did. I didn’t even read the book. ❞

Removing his palm from the book and setting down his pencil, Keith let the book close, the back cover facing up. Turning in his chair to face his neighbor who was occupying space on his bed, Keith finally decided to acknowledge her after she had commented on the ending she had not read. A frown formed on his face as he shook his head in disapproval. His blue eyes simply fixed on her, unmoving for an uncomfortably long interval as if to make her feel shame for not doing the assigned readings from the beginning. If she had followed the reading schedule, she wouldn’t be this deep in a time crunch to finish and mark up the book.

He knew that everyone in their grade was assigned the book to read, so he could technically give her the ending and the plot, but that really wouldn’t help her when it came to the upcoming essay they would have to write using this novel. The teen knew she’d resort to bugging him to help her. It was how she got him to do what she wanted. It wasn’t that hard to figure out that approach did work.

After she began to shrink under his gaze, his lips curled to a smirk of sorts, almost as if he was inaudibly laughing at her laziness (and he was definitely doing just that). But the smirk didn’t stay for long because he did let out a short chuckle of amusement at her current predicament, ❝ Have fun trying to play the catch up game. I’m not helping you no matter how much you pester me. ❞

「✩』─ @shadyinfo ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙾𝙿𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙸𝙰

[abrasife]

" look, i drew you. " fossarius hums, flashing the crude doodle that hardly resembled a human, looking more of a cross between some sort of horse and grotesque dog. though, there were elements of the other, just enough to make it clear who it was mean't to be insulting - a wicked, mocking grin on the cherry headed boys features. " i think it's very accurate, don't you ~ ?? " after all, fossarius couldn't draw so he might as well embrace that to offend.

Upon the sheet of paper being shoved in his face, he froze for a moment before gently taking the paper out of the other’s hand, peering at it for a closer inspection. His stare did not break for a good long minute, unable to process exactly what he was supposed to be looking at. His gaze lifted to look at Fossarius, mouth about to open to inquiry as to what this was and what it was for, yet the other had beaten him to it in elaborating; this drawing was supposed to be him.

Him ? Blue eyes glanced back at the page featuring a hybrid animal of sorts that had little humane features and almost no human like proportions. There was no other way to say it was a shitty drawing. Keith had no words for this; whatever scribbles this guy had put on the paper left him speechless. Words were not sufficient enough to convey the mix of emotions he was currently feeling. A mix of indifference and blandness was all he could feel. The intent was clearly to get him riled up, but this was just so terrible the redhead couldn’t help but feel bad for the drawing itself. Poor, poor, paper.

❝ You know, your drawing is so bad, I can’t feel anything but sorry for you. ❞ A snicker forces its way out after his statement. In a quick moment, he moved his hand to cover his lips, page crumpling underneath the grip of his fingers. He wasn’t supposed to laugh at a beginner’s drawing. It was beyond rude and hurtful to them, but for some reason, he couldn’t help but laugh at the outrageous so-called sketch of himself. It was so farfetched. It definitely was a creative thing, a cross between a horse and a dog. Maybe this guy could create his own fantasy creature lore some day.

Swallowing down the urge to burst out into laughter, his grip tightens on the corner of the paper once more. Okay, deep breaths. Do not laugh. Do not laugh, whatever you do. His hand pulled away, Keith held the slightly crumpled (well, only the empty corner was crumpled; he was mindful enough to keep it to the part of the canvas that didn’t have graphite on it) drawing back towards Fossarius, ❝ Work on your skills then maybe I’ll be insulted by it like you want me to be. ❞

「✩』─ @snw-cnvs ✧・ﾟ: * → 𝙵𝙾𝚂𝚂𝙰𝚁𝙸𝚄𝚂