[color=lightgray][right][sub]TIMESTAMP: After [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5527190]Shut Up[/url][/sub][/right][center][sub][@LovelyComplex] [@smarty0114] [@Hey Im Jordan][/sub]
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[img]https://i.imgur.com/JAO5k5V.jpeg[/img]
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[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/240603/d589453679f28efacf4618b72764d172.png[/img][/center]
[indent][indent]Outside the Callaghan house the rumble of Scott’s engine called Katie down the stairs. An hour ago, she was excited to see Kim, and spend time with the boyfriend she was beginning to think she didn’t deserve. The excitement hadn’t been replaced, but it had been overshadowed by an overwhelming need to scream at AJ Tyler. Jamie had swayed her away from murder, but he would not stop her from giving AJ a piece of her mind. If not for him, then for the next person unlucky enough to stumble into the Gearhead.

Katie had developed a number of coping mechanisms over the years. Meditation, overworking herself, and sex were all commonly used and abused, but her absolute favorite way to avoid her own issues, was to focus on someone else’s. It had simply been good luck that Jamie’s breakup came right in the middle of her own self-induced angst. She was more than happy to take it on, whether he wanted her to or not.

She sauntered out to Scott’s car, front door locking behind her with a mechanical [i]whirr[/i] and [i]click[/i]. She hadn’t given much thought to his conflict of interest, partly because she hadn’t made her way back to the land of clear thoughts. As she opened the car door and slipped inside, her mind was consumed by her own version of what had happened at the shed this morning, filled in by Jamie’s description and her own imagination. The vision made her angry. She leaned over to give Scott a kiss before pulling away. [color=ba314c]“We’ve gotta stop at AJ’s on the way.”[/color] She paused, before deciding there was no point in trying to hide her goal. [color=ba314c]“I have to scream at him.”[/color]

As Katie slid into the passenger seat, and loudly announced her goal, Scott couldn’t help but audibly sigh. [color=e2e250]“Gee honey, I’m so happy to see you too.”[/color] At least he got a kiss out of the deal before she announced she had every intention of ruining his best friend’s evening further. Scott had not yet heard from AJ, which was never a good sign. [color=e2e250]“Please don’t be harsh.”[/color] Scott made his plea, but he knew well enough that it was going to fall on deaf ears. Katie was pissed, and the righteous fury Scott had seen AJ inspire in Katie in the past was almost impressive.

He shifted the car into drive and rested a hand on his passenger princess’s thigh as he pulled away from her home. Keeping the volume on the radio low, Scott pursued the conversation. [color=e2e250]“Is there any particular reason [i]why[/i] you want to scream at AJ? Also, ‘scream’ is pretty harsh. Can we go for a ‘yell’?”[/color] He asked, glancing at her with a pleading look in his eyes as he rolled up to a stop sign.

[color=ba314c]“No promises, but for you I’ll try,”[/color] she shot back, wry smile decorating her face. [color=ba314c]“He broke up with Jamie, which is not the issue. The issue is how he did it.”[/color] Once upon a time, Katie had tried very hard to stay out of the hurricane force winds that Jamie and AJ tended to kick up. It was only right that she and Scott remain Switzerland, especially if they wanted to avoid an argument. Those days were long gone, stamped out by one breakup too many, and she was dragging Scott with her. [color=ba314c]“Did you know he’s been getting high at school?”[/color] Her tone dropped, any traces of good humor suddenly replaced by an uncharacteristic sternness as she studied Scott’s profile. It wasn’t that she suspected he was caught up in whatever AJ was huffing, but still, years of warnings and educational videos about the dangers of drug use had suddenly made her worry, for Scott [i]and[/i] AJ. Despite her bravado, there was a nagging voice in her head that was certain she was only at the beginning of a very long and tragic Lifetime movie.

[color=e2e250]“What, like smoking weed in the bathroom?”[/color] Scott asked, quickly attempting to bring back the light hearted mood in the car. When it didn’t work, he kept talking. [color=e2e250]“ I don’t know what AJ’s been up to. He’s been kinda distant with me ever since he got a new fuck buddy… and I don’t like to push him. He can lash out.”[/color] Scott’s voice was kind of hesitant, like he wasn’t sure if he should have been sharing that information with his girlfriend. Would Katie be more upset? Did she know about the new friend with benefits? Did Jamie? Scott was playing a dangerous game, but he had no choice. He turned the car, headed down AJ’s street. [color=e2e250]“Just don’t bite his head off. I know he broke up with Jamie, but you know as well as I do that they both hurt each other equal amounts.”[/color] It wasn’t fair that he and Katie were heading to AJ’s house to attempt to kick him while he was down, but Scott knew that if he tried to stop Katie, she’d go on her own. And then he wouldn’t be there to hold her back.

[color=ba314c]“No, Scott, like getting high enough that he freaked out and bit Jamie’s neck like some cracked out vampire,”[/color] she huffed, a storm of pent up emotions rushing out of her. [color=ba314c]“Somethings off with him. I thought it was just Jamie…but, I don’t know.”[/color] She paused and stared out the window as they turned into AJ’s neighborhood, then whipped her head back to face Scott. [color=ba314c]“Wait, what the fuck do you mean by ‘new fuck buddy’?”[/color]

He brought the car to a stop in front of AJ’s house and killed the engine. [color=e2e250]“Take it easy on him.”[/color] Scott said, but he didn’t stop Katie from approaching the door. He just followed along.

Inside, in his predictable yet impressive custom [url=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/f6/e2/f7/f6e2f7edf2fe61e3db8b40ecdb0667d9.jpg]car-themed[/url] bedroom, AJ Tyler laid back in his bed, his head hanging over the edge. He stared at his [url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e5/49/e6/e549e6f0515d7ca638285eabf3641e4a.jpg]tire shelves[/url], with his toy cars displayed. Upside down, he counted them one by one and named each car out loud. He tried to focus on the one thing that made him happy, his cars, but when he stared at his toys, they all looked dull in comparison to anything else in his room. What was the point of having things to love if you didn’t have someone to share it with? Dramatic, as always, that was a trait he obtained from his broadway star mother, AJ found himself bored with his collection. Bored with his cars. Bored with life. That was not a good sign at all. What was AJ without his cars? What was AJ outside of his friends? What was AJ… in general? Dull. Boring. Unlovable. AJ Tyler was a nobody and now he was a nobody with a broken heart. 

On the floor there was an open cardboard box and written on the side of it in black permanent marker was: [i]Jamie’s shit.[/i]. He finally grabbed the courage to move the box out of his closet and out in the open. One step closer to finishing this chapter in his life. One step closer to forgetting. One step closer to moving on. Not wanting to cry, he did enough of that already, he laid there, still in his day clothes, listening to [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TO48Cnl66w]Thank You[/url] by Dido, out of his bluetooth speakers. He replayed his regretful morning and closed his eyes, remembering the final expression on his ex’s face. He replayed it over and over and over until that was all he could think about. His mistake and why Jamie clearly deserved better. He hated himself and he couldn’t believe he got in a position where he could have harmed the boy he loved. Why did he do that? All he wanted to do was ease the pain and get Jamie to see that he didn’t want to be just friends with benefits but in return, he pushed him away. For the best, he supposed. 

Turning in his bed, he grabbed his pillow and buried his face in it. Instead of smelling Jamie, he could smell Gavriel’s hair products. The scent of hyacinths and sandalwood. In response, he sighed. It wasn’t an unpleasant smell but it also wasn’t what he wanted. Releasing the pillow, he turned on his back to stare at the ceiling. Chris said it would get better but right now he felt like an empty shell, with no purpose, no direction, and no love. His wallowing in sadness was disturbed by the banshee that was his younger sister and a loud knock, [color=27ff61]“AJ! KATIE IS HERE FOR SOME FUCKING REASON. SHE’S ON CAMERA.” [/color]

AJ sighed again. 

[color=27ff61]“I SWEAR TO GOD IF SHE—”[/color]

[color=ff6127]“Molly. I can handle it. Go to your room, please.” [/color]

From the other side of the door came an incessant knocking, as Katie threw her closed fist against the Tyler’s door, unburdened by fear of consequences. [color=ba314c]“AJ! I swear on Meryl Fucking Streep, if you don’t open this–”[/color] her knocking and shouts were abruptly halted by the door swinging open, and the sight of AJ’s beleaguered expression. She stopped her fist just before it would’ve slammed into his chest, but resumed her shouting almost immediately. [color=ba314c]“Who the fuck do you think you are? Quickly,”[/color] she shouted, pushing a finger into his chest as she stepped across the threshold, five feet and six inches of righteous indignation.

Rather than give into the heat that was Katie Callaghan, AJ looked over her and gave his boy a salute with two fingers, acknowledging his presence. Then and only then, he allowed Katie to forcibly push him backwards and into the foyer. [color=ff6127]“The guy you [i]really[/i] wanted to work out with your brother.”[/color] AJ scoffed, not appreciating the audacity of Katie coming into his home and sticking her nose in something she knew very little about. He sarcastically probed, already going on the defensive side,  [color=ff6127]“Jokes on you, Katie. Experiment failed. Guess you need to find a new distraction for Jamie. Or are you here just to tell me how much of an asshole I am and that you hate me? News flash: I already fucking know. Tell me something I don’t know.”[/color] 

Katie ground her teeth together. She was wholly unamused by AJ’s quips. [color=ba314c]“That’s exactly why I’m here you fuck, because I don’t know if you’ve heard it enough quite frankly.”[/color] Katie huffed, and took a moment to shake her head at AJ, a mixture of anger and disappointment coming off of her in waves. [color=ba314c]“Don’t stand there and set up your pity party for me, it’s beneath you. What the fuck did you do to my brother this morning? I want to hear it from you,”[/color] she said. She knew what she was doing, even if she wasn’t totally conscious of it. She was pushing, hoping to light AJ’s terribly short fuse, so she might distract herself with the explosion. 

If looks could kill, AJ’s glazed eyes, mocking smile and lowered head would do just that. The more his ex’s twin spoke, the more he realized he made the right decision. Callaghans held no accountability for their actions, talked right out of their asses, and believed they could do no wrong. To think, he fell so stupidly hard for one. Katie felt entitled to his pain, just how Jamie felt entitled to his love. Neither of them deserved his time or energy. The only reason why he was giving Katie a chance to speak her mind was because she was, unfortunately, his best friend’s girlfriend. He would respect what Scott had with her but he didn’t have to be her friend. [color=ff6127]“Exactly what he wanted,”[/color] AJ retorted, crossing his arms and glaring at the unwelcome guest. [color=ff6127]“Next question.”[/color]

[color=ba314c]“God, you know, I thought you’d at least have the decency to show some fucking remorse,”[/color] Katie said, refusing to balk as AJ glared back at her. An ugly, juvenlie piece of her wanted to slap him, and she was trying very hard to keep that piece locked away. She focused her anger into her own withering stare, so similar to her brother’s, and restrained herself. Physically, at least. [color=ba314c]“No, instead you want to play the victim, to [i]me[/i] of all people. You are fucking beyond,”[/color] Katie said, gearing up to lob another barrage of cutting words and spiteful glares. Later, she would not be particularly proud of the words that followed, but in the moment, she was past thinking. [color=ba314c]“Here’s another question for ya. Is it really Jamie you’re upset with? Or are you just mad that you were too fucking proud to have all these big feelings months ago? King of The Gearheads everybody, cockiest man alive until, God forbid, someone hurts his little feelings.”[/color] Her tone, harsh and sharp, suddenly jumped up in pitch, becoming something cruel and mocking. [color=ba314c]“Poor little AJ, can’t commit to Emilia, can’t have a single productive conversation with Jamie, tell me, what can you do, other than feel bad for yourself?”[/color]

[i]Fuck this[/i]. 

Why was he doing this to himself? Katie didn’t deserve an explanation, it was none of her business. Emilia was [i]none[/i] of her business. He couldn’t commit to Emilia because he was falling stupid hard for her fucking brother and Emilia did not deserve that. Katie was all happy when he decided to chase Jamie and now, suddenly, she was a martyr, acting like she didn’t partake in their fall. She was the one in her brother’s ear! She could’ve told him to stop being a bitch and just love him. Just… love him. Giving himself a quiet moment to breathe, AJ cracked his knuckles before shaking his head, in disappointment. At Katie, at himself, and at the situation. [color=ff6127]“I’ll be right back.”[/color] Fuck him for being in love with a boy that was too scared to love and be vulnerable. Too scared to commit. Too scared to explore the unknown with someone that genuinely adored everything about him. The good, the bad, and the downright ugly. Fuck him, right? He should’ve known better. Leaving Katie with Scott, AJ walked away from the couple to retrieve the box and be done with this. Done with Katie, done with Jamie, and done with love. He was so over this Callaghan drama. He needed to move on.

Scott had had enough. He looked over at his girlfriend and took his hat off to run his fingers through his short hair. It was hard to see it any other way, Scott was [i]glaring[/i] at her as he  finally spoke and joined the conversation. [color=e2e250]“[i]Katherine.[/i] That's enough.”[/color] He in a stern voice, before raising a hand and pointing toward the car. [color=e2e250]“Go wait in the car.”[/color]

As quickly as she had stormed into AJ’s house, Katie spun around, turning her glare onto Scott. He was supposed to be on her side. [color=ba314c]“Are you fucking kidding me? Katherine?”[/color] she hissed, unfazed by Scott’s sudden sternness. Orders in the bedroom were one thing. Orders while she was verbally eviscerating somebody were something else entirely. [color=ba314c]“I’m not a fucking dog Scott, you don’t get to muzzle me and send me outside because you don’t like what I’m saying.”[/color] She glared up at him, before shooting a look behind her at the space where AJ had been. Coward. [color=ba314c]“If you don’t like watching your boy get yelled at, why don’t you go tell him to act right?  Remind him  to keep his fucking hands off my brother.”[/color] She pushed past Scott, jaw clenched and eyes aflame. He’d have his own battle to fight when he got back to the car. [color=ba314c]“Go save AJ, he’s clearly in [i]so[/i] much distress,”[/color] she said, and stormed back towards the car, petulantly kicking at AJ’s driveway as she went.

There was no time for Scott to respond back to Katie because AJ was making his way downstairs with a box he taped closed. When he only saw Scott, he gave a sigh of relief and offered the box, [color=ff6127]“Sorry… this will hopefully be the last time you ever have to deal with something like this. You don’t deserve that. My bad.”[/color] It was unfair that Scott got caught in the crossfire of his girlfriend and best friend. If AJ kept his emotions and temper checked, he wouldn’t have reacted. He shouldn’t have reacted. [color=ff6127]“Mind taking this and having her give this to her brother? When she’s in a better mood.”[/color] 

When AJ returned and held out the box, Scott took it. There was a pregnant pause as his mind tried to decide what he wanted to say. There were so many things he wanted to say, he felt like he hadn’t talked to AJ in a long time. That made him a bad friend, and he knew that. Everyone had things going on in their lives, and Scott’s drama with his father, and then learning to live on his own had distracted him from his best friend. He took the box. Scott was struggling with emotions, and deciding what to say. That much was clear from the expression on his face. He sat the box down — carefully, of course.

Then, he stepped forward and wrapped AJ up into a hug that was almost too tight, and lasted longer than it should have. He released the embrace and put both of his hands on AJ’s shoulders. [color=e2e250]“People care about you. Seriously. Make good choices. I got Katie. Just… call me, okay?”[/color]

Taken aback, AJ stood there, lost and confused. He didn’t expect that. Not from Scott. They were brothers, and they hugged, but this hug was different. There was a lot of meaning behind it. He hadn’t hit him up in awhile because AJ knew what Scott was going through and he also knew that when Scott did have free time, he wanted to spend it with Katie. While Chris was the one that dropped the hard truths he needed to hear, Scott was the one that gave him the softer approach, showing he cared. That he wasn’t alone. He knew he wasn’t alone but sometimes he needed to feel he wasn’t alone and that hug caused AJ to tightly close his eyes, knowing he was about to cry like a bitch in front of his boy. He gave him a thumbs up, unable to respond with words right away.Turning away, he allowed the tears to run down his face. [color=ff6127]“Tomorrow, we’re going to have fun. That’s all I want right now. Okay? And yeah, I’ll call you. Tonight, if you’re free.”[/color]

Scott grimaced. He wasn’t free that evening, and up until that very moment he had completely forgotten. They were meant to go to movie night, weren’t they? With Katie’s best friend and… someone. Scott didn’t remember. [color=e2e250]“I can’t tonight. I have to go to a movie night with Katie, and before you suggest it, I don’t think we can cancel this one.”[/color] He kneeled down and picked up the box, adjusting it slightly against his chest. [color=e2e250]“I can call you though, when it’s over. Shouldn’t be more than a couple hours, maybe less if she’s [i]really[/i] mad.”[/color] Scott still had the boss fight of his girlfriend to go through, something he never looked forward to. When was the last time they’d even had an actual fight? It had to have been a while ago now, maybe over something stupid, like chess. This was the real deal though.

[color=e2e250]“Does that sound good?”[/color]

[color=ff6127]“Yeah, that’s fine,”[/color] AJ agreed, masking the sudden heart drop he felt. Once he gained control over his emotions, he turned back and waved at his friends, his eyes red from a long day of pain,  [color=ff6127]“Enjoy your time. I’m not going anywhere today and don’t be surprised if I don’t pick up. I think I’m going to take a nap. But yeah, don’t worry about me. I’ll see you tomorrow regardless. Now go, before Katie screams your head off.”[/color]

Scott heard the hitch in AJ’s breath and knew that it was only going to get worse before it got better. That, Scott figured, couldn’t be much further from here. How much lower could it go? He knew he’d hurt AJ. Katie was waiting for him in the car, surely ready to blurt out a mouthful of angry words he didn’t deserve. He made eye contact with AJ and gave him a nod, trying to say as much with as few words as possible, and hoped the message was received loud and clear before he turned to walk away. Approaching the car, he took a big breath. What will my sentence be? He wondered.

He opened the backdoor to place the box of Jamie’s belongings safely beside his own and then closed the door carefully. He looked down at the driver’s seat, and pondered how much easier it would have been to go into the Tyler home, and watch America’s Funniest Home Videos with AJ until they fell asleep. Unfortunately, Scott had chosen the difficult road of falling in love with soon-to-be homecoming Queen Katie Callaghan.

He put his hand on the handle and the door unlocked, signaling his arrival to his girlfriend. He pulled the door open, slid into his chair and pulled the door closed behind himself. He gripped the steering wheel, and faced forward as he made his choice. [color=e2e250]“Can I talk first?”[/color] Head on into the abyss it was.
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