[IC] Spring Break- from Hell. {Closed- Not accepting any more Players}

[Savi]

Adelisa looked over as Jareth dived into the water without hesitation. Her eyes widened as he stormed off into the condos. Was this really happening? She shook her head and walked away, telling the men that she had to go check on something. She followed after him curiously until she realized that the exes were… living right across from them. She stopped and her expression became paler when she saw Hunter leave.

She looked across the way and grew angry. Why did they have to come? Why did Grant have to be there? Her throat closed and she knew tears were falling. She walked into the condo, slamming the door shut as her entrance. She was broken. It only took one meeting with Grant to know that she was. She plopped herself onto the couch and started to sob. Sob! She never sobbed! She always tried to remain cheerful and fun! Now look at her! She was sobbing about a guy!

He didn't want someone like her. She knew it! Why would he? He was embarrassed of her and she knew it. If Grant was embarrassed of her, then who would ever find her outgoing personality endearing? Who would ever show her off? She was nothing but white trash, as Grant so obviously pointed out without saying. He wouldn't hold her hand in public, let alone warn girls off when she was around, and always introduced her as a friend. Was she ever going to be girlfriend worthy? Or was she just a good lay while a guy went in search for a beautiful, quiet girl?

[Venus]

Lila continued to eat her meal while Milli put her hands on Lila's thighs as she sat down. She laid her head on Lila's shoulder lovingly, and began telling her words so real, honest and beautiful, Lila's heart swelled with love. She was instantly feeling better, and feeling grateful for having been blessed with such good friends. Who needed a guy when she had her girls watching her back? Amelia finished her speech by softly smiling and wiping away Lila's happy tears with her thumb. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed Lila's cheek gently, brushing her hair from her face. "Now let's go get cleaned up. We came here for beach therapy and that's what we are going to do."

Lila gave Milli a loving smile, stood up from her chair and gave her a tight hug. "I love you so much, Melli. Thank you for your words. It means so much to me that you're here with me. You are such an angel."

Then Hunter set the bottle of champagne on the counter spoke to both girls. "I brought this over for you two, took a while to find it but I figured you guys could use it more then me." He faced Delilah directly. "I know it may not seem like it, but I don't care about getting people in a emotional state on video, I only had the camera so I could have a record of last few weeks of being free too do what I wanted." He sighed then continued talking. "I stopped recording after the events at the Restaurant. If you want I can go back into the camera later and delete the footage."

Delilah let go of Milli and turned to Hunter. "It's okay, Hunter," she told him softly, giving him a half-smile. "I'm sorry for jumping on your throat like that. You can keep the video if you wish. Maybe it'll give me a good laugh one day," she said with a chuckle.

When Hunter turned to Amelia, Lila excused herself and walked back to her room to clean herself up to go to the beach. She had a feeling she'd interrupted something between them, and thought it was best to give them the privacy they deserved. She was wiping her clean face with a soft, fluffy white towel when her phone chimed. When she read the message and the name of the person who had sent it, her heart ached all over again. JarBear read the contact name, with the heart and kissing couple emojis.

She knew she'd overreacted back at the restaurant, and that Jareth hadn't done anything to deserve that treatment or her harsh words. But she'd been too consumed by anger and bitterness to think clearly. To make matters worse, she had no reason to feel like that: the decision to end things was mutual. It had been sane thing to do for them both. Their relationship had been a toxic one of extreme emotions, full of euphoric highs and sinking lows; every fight always ending with them gravitating back to each other even when things got ugly. They were each other's drug of choice: so bad for each other, but in too deep to let go.

Taking a deep breath, she typed and sent him a series of text messages.

I don't know if that would be the right thing to do.
But we can never seem to do what's best for us, can we?
Where do you want to meet? I need to see you.

The last two messages contained the words she'd never said to him after the break-up:

I'm sorry for hurting you.
I love you.

[HeartsCollide]

Amelia smiled, happy she could help her friend. The smile on her face was real until Hunter faced her once again. It was heart breaking to stand here before him and her heart and mind pulling her two different ways. Her heart wanted to kiss him, to tell him she still loved him and she forgave him. Her mind reminded her of the pain she went through and that she was best off putting up her wall that she was so good at utilizing to protect herself from hurt. Amelia watched Lila walking toward her room and called out, "Lila, I'll meet you at the lounge chairs. Okay?" And walked out the door after Hunter. Once in the hallway he took a deep breath and let out a soft sigh. "Hunter? Wait, please," She said in a soft, sweet voice.

She waited until he stopped then walked up to him. She stood close to him, closer to him then she had been since before their split. The small of his cologne filled her senses. He was still wearing the same cologne as when they were dating. She would never forget it. She use to steal one of his shirts that smelt like him to sleep in at night. She stood there for a moment with her eyes cast downward, collecting her thoughts. She had so much she wanted to say, but she needed to be careful and not hurt him or her in the process. She let out a sigh and looked up to connect her hazel eyes with his and lost her train of thought again. Suddenly they were so close she could smell the champagne on his breath. Her thoughts melted away and suddenly they were back at the college's winter banquet- dancing slowly hand-in-hand to classic songs, looking into each other's eyes like they were the only ones in the room.

Amelia snapped back to reality, standing in the hallway of a condo, the smell of his cologne and champagne, and tears staining both of their faces. How did everything go so wrong?

[Grimoire Gaming]

Jareth paced back and forth in his room, shirtless and dripping seawater everywhere, but he didn't care. Out of anxiety, he chewed the already chipped black polish off of his fingernails on one hand while he held his phone in the other. Depression, anxiety, those and a host of many other things came along for a lifelong ride after a childhood spent in the foster system.

High,
high,
he would feel so much better if he was high.

No, he couldn't, not now. Instead, he spun around and began digging through his duffle bag until he found his benzos, one of the only drugs in the bag that was actually prescribed to him. He had already popped back two Xanax when the buzzing of his phone caused another wave of panic and anxiety to crash over him. Not only did she read the message, but she responded to it. It was right there, all he had to do was open it, but his fingers shook over the button. This was stupid, he was stupid. It had been two months, they agreed everything would get better if they just moved on.

So just pick your head up boy, and
Walk away
Walk the coolest walk that you know
Cause in a month or two she'll call you
You gotta hang up the phone

But he couldn't ignore the phone, not when he was the weak one that reached out in the first place. She was like a drug to him, and he never could resist a drug that made him feel that good, regardless of the side effects. So, he opened the message and read it. Her words rang truth that spoke directly to his soul, they never could do what was best for them... but it was the last sentence that really had him hung up.

I need to see you.

With trembling fingers, he typed in the address of his condo suite, not knowing that she was only a few walls away. It was a bold move - a foolish, stupid move - but bold none-the-less. But the message was sent. Nothing good come of her coming over here. Not while he was alone. Not if she came alone.

Stupid.

Stupid...

[Venus]

Lila jumped in surprise when her phone chimed again, and let out a gasp when she read the address to where he was staying. And here again, were the odds playing against her. Out of all the places to stay in this town, out of all the rooms in this condo, and the boys had been assigned 724, the one across from their own. She stood up and was ready to go before hesitated for a moment, knowing that she was probably about to make a big mistake. But it was now or never: here was a chance to shed her pride and bare her soul to the man she so loved.

Lila dropped her phone on top of the bed, slammed the door open and rushed out of the room, but stopped short at the sight of the kitchen counter. Milli and Hunter were gone. Not only had Hunter left behind the champagne bottle, but he'd also left his room key. With a swift movement, Lila snatched the room key and sprinted to the room across the hall from hers, failing to notice anything going on around her. Her nervous fingers trembled as she tried to open the suite's door, making the task somewhat difficult. It was only on the third try when she gained access to the suite 724.

She found Jareth in the only room who'd had the door closed, his back to her. She noticed that he was shaking and holding his prescription bottle in the hand that wasn't holding his cellphone. The sign was obvious: he was having a relapse of his mental illnesses, all because of Lila's impulsive actions. I'm such a monster, Lila thought with tearful eyes. What kind of woman caused more pain to an already broken soul?

Lila ran the short steps separating them and hugged him tightly from behind, pressing the side of his face to his bare back. "JarBear, I'm so sorry!" she told him, her voice cracking. "I'm so sorry for everything. You deserve so much better than me. I'm a heartless, cold-blooded monster. But, I swear to you, no one will love you more than I do. I'm here for you, sweetheart. I'm not going to hurt you. Put the pills down, baby. I need you, Jareth, and I'm so terribly lost without you. I love you so much, more than you can ever imagine."

[Savi]

Adelisa heard the door slam shut and she jumped from the couch, falling onto the ground. Her eyes were wide and reddened, looking around for the source of the slam. She was now alone. She was always… alone. Adelisa stood up and shook her head, almost like it was easier to just shake off the self-hate than to wallow in it as she had done just minutes ago. She stood up silently and walked into her room, not caring to shut the door.

She had to leave. If she stayed, she would probably try to drown herself in alcohol. Her eyes went to the window and she sighed. The only place she could see herself was travelling the world and creating smiles all around the world, even if she does not smile as much as everyone around her. She softly hummed a song as she started collecting her clothes and packing. All she had to pack were her clothes she changed out of, but she was in a slow mood so it took long enough for her to stop and start singing.

pulled away to face the pain.
I close my eyes and drift away.
Over the fear that I will never find
A way to heal my soul.
And I will wander 'til the end of time
Torn away from you.

The song was meant for sorrow. It was her way of release, if she couldn't drink she'd sing. Adelisa closed her eyes and swayed.

My heart is broken
Sweet sleep, my dark angel
Deliver us from sorrow's hold
(Over my heart)

Tears fell as the song continued, but it was almost a relief. Her heart fell into the lyrics like a lover losing her other half. In which, it was sort of true. Adelisa lost her lover to his own thought process. She lost him to other people's thoughts. If Adelisa were to sail the same boat he was on, she'd surely jump.

I can't go on living this way
But I can't go back the way I came
Chained to this fear that I will never find
A way to heal my soul
And I will wander 'til the end of time
Half alive without you

She stopped and fell onto her bed. It was the lyrics that made her feel better, but the tone fell into her heart and sank it with it's heavy anchor. She looked out of the window and took in a deep breath.

[Meridian]

Luckily for Grant, the gym was nearly empty when he arrived. He wasn't crying, but he had the crazy urge to hit something. So that was what he did. Picking up a pair of boxing gloves, he moved to the punching bag in the corner, although he didn't see the bag, he saw the guy Adelisa was flirting with. He hit him once. Looks like we both weren't right for each other after all. He him it again. Dammit. He hit 'the guy' twice more in quick succession, each punch more powerful than the last. How did he feel about Addie? He loved her. Grant wasn't always the most fun guy out there, preferring his quiet activities or hiking to partying, preferring to make connections and go for tons of internships to hanging out at a bar, but Addie was his fun side. She made him laugh, feel more alive than the thought of becoming a lawyer. It was his dream, but she'd been his life. Except for the part where you were too ashamed to be seen with her, a snide voice from the back of his mind reminded him. He hit the bag with all his might. Suddenly it didn't look like the guy,it looked like him. Sweat streamed down his face. No, not ashamed. He'd never been ashamed of his beautiful, beautiful Addie.

Then what? She'd complained about how he'd never even hold her hand in public, how he'd never mentioned her as his girlfriend to his mother or pretty much anyone but Hunter and Jareth. He hadn't been ashamed, he knew that much. He'd been afraid. Of what people would say, yeah. His father, before he'd been shot in a courtroom, had always told him that he'd have it harder than other people, white people, yes. People would subconsciously or consciously judge him, and it was important that he never give them a reason to think him a thug, a delinquent, anything less than the best lawyer. He needed to conform. So he had, until Adelisa came around. She was beautiful, and he'd wanted her, but he still didn't want to risk everything he'd worked for over how unorthodox she was. Her tattoos, her piercings.. It hadn't fit with the image he wanted, so he pretended to everyone that she wasn't in the image at all.

But hell, now that she wasn't in the image at all... Grant's fists were a blur, giving blow after blow until he could hardly think. I need her, he thought, panting, but it looks like she doesn't need me. Giving a last, tired punch, he tore the gloves off and wiped his face with the towel round his neck. He wouldn't ask for her back, he didn't deserve the chance, and maybe she'd find someone better suited for her. Grant was giving up. He walked out of the gym, heading back to his condo for a shower.

[Grimoire Gaming]

Jareth heard keys jingling in the hallway and then the telltale beep of someone being granted access to the suite. Good, one of the guys was home, that would keep him at least somewhat accountable of his actions. This vacation was about forgetting, maybe even finding another lady - at least for the week - but, Delilah? They never could exercise self-restraint around each other, right from they very moment their eyes had met... But he couldn't, Jareth could NOT sleep with Delilah, it would inevitably complicate things.

With these hands that I write with
And the ode that I live by...
I will never be with you.

But he didn't have to worry, his bros would keep him from walking into her flames once again. Like an insect, he wouldn't be able to resist the light, and unless a strong enough wind through him off course, he would willingly snuff out his own life for a glimpse at paradise. Jar had hoped that it was Grant coming in, he was the one with the most level head. Jareth was just about to put the Xanax away and throw on a shirt in order to lessen the temptation, if only slightly, when someone opened his bedroom door. That wasn't right, Hunter and Grant would know better than to barge in on him...

No, it couldn't be her. He had just sent the text, how could she have gotten there so quickly? Jareth stood still, paralyzed in shock when the timber of her voice confirmed his suspicions. "JarBear, I'm so sorry!" she began, quickly understanding the private scene she had just interrupted. She had rushed up behind him and wrapped her arms around his bare torso. The embrace forced him close his eyes and drop the prescription bottle with a noisey clatter. His tears had long since dried, and the benzos quickly helped tame the panic and shakes, but the empty grayness within him wouldn't leave so soon. Like cyanide, the words that poured from mouth were the sweetest poison, and he wanted to drink them in so badly.

Jareth felt the full force of her emotional whiplash. She had always been like this, it was one of their biggest problems. She was hot and then cold, cold and then hot again. She would slice him with her words and then attempt to apply balm to his wounds by saying "I need you" in the very same sentence. With a sigh, he turned to face her. Mascara had bled down her face and her hair was disheveled, it was obvious that they had both been crying. The situation was all too familiar to them, this painful silence was when they usually tried to heal their brokenness with kisses. Her lips were full and inviting, so he stared at them while he spoke.

"Two months, Bombs." his voice cracked through the silence following her words. "It's been two months since --" he stopped, realizing he really hadn't prepared his words well at all. "I thought you were doing okay, you have been so calm... I, I thought maybe soon I would start to feel okay too." he brought his eyes to meet hers now. "I'm sure you planned this break to be as much of an escape as I did. We should be able to enjoy ourselves, this doesn't have to be ruined because we are both here, right?" He didn't know who he was trying to convince more. Jar wanted so badly for them to continue leading separate lives, but he also really wanted to wrap his hands around her wrists and pin her to the king-sized bed just inches away. There was no one there to stop them.

Regardless of warnings, the insect found himself leaning forward, flying towards her light...

[Shoe Thief]

Hunter tried to make his way to his room, He made it into the hallway and attempted to open the door. He had a lot of trouble trying to find the key, He though he had it, he just used it. He could find the modified one but that one wouldn't work on his room now. He wasn't that drunk? he should be able to find the damn key, unless he set it down with out knowing. Though before long he heard the door behind him open, and a voice, one all to familiar. "Hunter? Wait, please," She said in a soft, sweet voice.

He didn't know what to do He just stood still for a moment, Frozen in his own mind. He snapped back to reality and turned around, but not before wiping the tears from his face. They locked eyes, It's hard to say how long they stood there, it seemed like forever, it felt... amazing. He remembered all the good times they had, everything from attempting to watch the stars on a cloudy night in the back of the El Comino too the Winter banquet, where they shared the most amazing dance ever.

Amelia had that look in her eyes, He saw fear, happiness, anger, maybe even love. He knew he screwed up, he knew there was no going back. He had his life now, and that was the way it was going to be. It didn't mean he was going to like it. Though, did it mean they had too be apart?

He reached over to her face an wiped away a tear on her cheek, Then he smiled. "Thank you, Thank you for giving me the best time of my life. You are the reason I fought so hard to stay in the school, despite everything." He stayed quite for a moment, Then he hugged her for all his worth. Well hugging her he spoke. "If I could change things, If I could go back in time, I would have come back, I wouldn't have gone out... I wouldn't have left you." Tears rode down his face. "I would do anything for things to be the way they were, to be with you. I would give up everything... Just so I could be with you... Too see our lives progress." He would let go, with pain in his eyes as he did. "If things were better, I'd go off with you now, drive into the sunset well our savings waste away into gas money and cheap motels." He trailed off. "We both know I can't do that... I have things that I need to take care of..." He started to try and open his room again, then stopped. "Even though things wont work out the way we intended... I hope that someday... maybe we will have a chance." The door finally gave way to the fake card.

[Venus]

Lila raised her eyes towards Jareth's, incredulous. "Okay?" If he knew what had really happened, he'd never suggest she was doing 'okay'. But that was the point, right? He didn't know. "I haven't been doing okay. I've never been the same since that day. I've been numb, empty You know why I never called back? Why you barely saw me anywhere anymore? I just couldn't bear to face you or the world knowing that..."

Lila took a deep breath. She had to tell him, try to make him understand the reasons of her actions. It was something she hadn't told anyone, not even her friends. "I was pregnant, Jar. We were going to have a baby, and I was ecstatic to tell you. I had never felt so happy and excited for our future in some time: we were on our way to building the family we always dreamed of having. I had this big surprise planned to tell you on Valentine's Day, but then that day before we had that talk, and I couldn't bear to tell you. I was scared you thought I was faking it or looking for a way to keep you with me or something. And so I went back home . When I woke up the next morning, I had these horrible cramps in my back an lower abdomen, and I was bleeding. I didn't even had the chance to get up when I felt some blood clots passing..."

Lila's voice broke and she began to sob, reliving the memories of that terrible day: how she lay in a pool of blood, scared and shocked out of her wits, trembling, looking at the perfect creation she and Jareth had made; their little piece of heaven that would never live. "I lost our baby, Jar. At seven weeks. It fell onto my hand, and it was so tiny and beautiful and perfect. I was so broken-hearted. I'd lost you, then I lost our child." She sank onto the bed and put her face in her hands, loud sobs rippling from her body. The pain of her loss still stung her, running deep in her veins.

It was a few minutes later when Lila had somewhat regained her composure and looked up at him again with swollen red eyes. "I spent the first month of the break-up in a mental hospital. I checked myself in before I did anything to hurt myself. To everyone, I was just on a study trip, and only my professors knew where I was, but not why. I began to feel better, and when they were sure I wasn't in any risk, I was discharged. The meds, along with the sweets, made me gain weight, so I set my focus on getting my body back along with getting back on track with school. This didn't ease the pain, simply distracted me from it. Every time you saw me, I was only calm and collected because of the meds. I never contacted you after I got out because I didn't want to bother you with all this and I figured you were doing so much better without me... " Lila's eyes filled with tears again. "I don't know why it happened, but even though the doctors told me it isn't, I know it was my fault. It was all my fault. I wasn't good enough for both of you. I'm so worthless!"

[Grimoire Gaming]

There were no warnings for that, no proper responses for when someone dumps a pile of bricks on you. He thought he might drown right there. Pregnant? How was that even possible? They were usually so careful. She was on the pill and everything. But, a miracle happened, and then the Gods saw it fit to take away their precious gift. Maybe... maybe that was for the better? Jareth had no parental love growing up, he would have made a shit father.

Shit father, shit boyfriend, shit person.

But if he really felt that way, then why did her words of hurt him so, was it the empathetic pain of seeing her hurting? Or was it pain of losing a future that he didn't even realise he wanted? He wasn't sure if his knees gave out, or if the news had physically punched him back, but he was suddenly seated on the bed. He had no words, he simply sat and stared at the wall, as if trapped in some awful silent movie.

Surely the director would step from behind the camera and clack his clapperboard now. "Great scene, very moving, time for a lunch break!" he would say. But no, Jareth was a musician, not an actor, and for once... the poet was at a loss for words.

Delilah collapsed into a sobbing mess beside him. She told him her story, pouring her heart out to him. But he didn't deserve her honesty, not when he was the biggest cause of all her pain. Jareth reached his arm around her, trying to comfort her in any way. It was probably the wrong thing to do, but he had to stop the sobbing. He had to fix the mess he made, he never thought he could fuck something up so royally. And then her final word pierced his heart like a splintered stake.

Worthless.

That troublesome, devil of a feeling. Jareth had danced with that particular devil for many years. That internal nagging that pushed many to drugs, self harm... suicide... He hoped she didn't mean it, oh gods, please don't let her mean it.

"No." it was the first word that he had managed to croak out the entire time. Jareth used his right hand to guide her face to look at him. With both hands, he softly held her face, making eye contact unavoidable. He wanted it that way, so the conviction would ring loud and clear when he said "You are not worthless."

The rest of the sentiment finished in his head alone: "I am. I was. I always will be."

[Savi]

Adelisa sat up and decided to go looking for Grant. They needed to talk, whether it was a good idea or not; because Adelisa could not feel this way anymore. It was a horrible feeling and she didn't want to it to continue. She got up and left her room, walking to the hallway with a sigh. She was nervous, but who wouldn't be in her situation? She opened the door and popped her head out, looking around.

She wondered where he would be, so she took her phone out and texted him hey, it's Adelisa… can we talk? She quickly made her way back to her room and threw her make up out onto the bed. Even if Grant said no, she wanted to look good in case she bumped into him. Of course she needed to look good for the possibility of bumping into an ex. That's just a girl thing.

[Meridian]

As Grant headed back to his room, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Taking it out to look at the message, his heart started racing. The first thing he saw was Addie's name at the top of the message, and he didn't even read the rest. Just stared at her name for a while, before finally reading the text. It was short. She wanted to talk. Grant froze, excited and paralyzed with fear all at once. He wanted to say so many things to her- she was beautiful, she was perfect, he didn't deserve her- but most of all, he wanted to say he was sorry for not treating her like the goddess she was.

He considered his next course of action. He was sweaty from his intense exercise, but he couldn't wait to talk to her and she'd seen him like that countless times. He was nearly at his door, so he just walked across to the girls' condo and knocked loudly. His heart was pounding, and his throat felt so constricted he doubted he could get the words he wanted out. Grant just hoped it was Adelisa that answered and not any of her friends.

[HeartsCollide]

The gentle touch of his hand wiping the tears from her face made Amelia lean into his touch- longing for more. Longing for him to hold her close, to kiss her neck, and whisper how much he loved her with his soft lips against her skin- just once more she longed for that feeling. Amelia looked away, because she knew what was coming next. She knew this could never go back to normal with Hunter possibly becoming a father soon. The thought made anger flash through her eyes. That night hurt her worse than any physical pain she had ever felt. To have that girl show up at her work and confess that she was pregnant with Hunter's child? It took her breath away- she thought she was going to have to catch the pieces of her broken heart as it fell into her stomach. And when she told Hunter that she knew about his one night stand- that look in his eyes. It made her want to forgive him, to just kiss him passionately and pretend they were in their own little world. But it wasn't just a one night stand, she was pregnant. The girl was going to have Hunter's baby. It killed Amelia, she would have rather been slapped in the face. How could he have let that happen! Amelia furrowed her eyebrows and startled to ball her hands into tight fists. But the anger washed away when his arms wrapped around her. She closed her eyes and slowly her head laid on his shoulder as her arms wrapped around his torso in a tight embrace.

The words stung like ice to her already frozen heart. Hunter was ready and prepared to move on, while Amelia clung to the wish that he still loved her and they could make this work. As much as Amelia knew that was a ridiculous wish, she held onto the false hope because that was all she had left. But as he pulled away and opened that door, Anelia felt the coldness overwhelm her once again. She had fought so hard not to turn into a cold-hearted bitch. After all, it was so much easier to be angry then to cry yourself to sleep every night.

Amelia watched him disappear into the hotel room, standing alone in the hallway of a multi million dollar condo. She grasped the locket around her neck, and with no more tears left to cry she walked away. She left the condo and walked onto the now sunset lit beach. It was already time for the sun to go down? Amelia sighed and pulled off her cover up, pushing her shorts off, and throwing her sunglasses off he head into the pile of clothes she just shed. Amelia walked toward the water in her tight deep purple bikini, watching the seagulls fly overhead. The water was getting colder as the sun went down over the horizon, but not as cold as her heart felt. With a leap into a wave she was off, swimming through the cold salty water with all the strength she had left.

[Savi]

Adelisa walked up to the door and opened it to see Grant sweating intensely. He looked like he worked out and was honestly drool-worthy. She opened the door wider to invite him in. She said softly "I think we should talk about… this." She walked over to the couch and sat down, hoping Grant would follow suit. She looked at him, hoping her eyeliner covered her reddened gaze. She had been crying, but showing that to someone else? Especially Grant? That would make the entire situation worse.

[Meridian]

Grant followed Adelisa to the couch and sat down beside her, looking at her closely. She looked beautiful like she always did, but two years of dating meant that he knew when she'd been crying. He decided to pretend she hadn't been, just to prevent her feeling worse. "Addie..." He started softly, looking at her. He wanted to hold her so badly before he apologized, but kept his hands down at his side. "I'm sorry. That's mostly it. I know you hate it when I sound like a lawyer," his lips quirked up a little in a weak smile at the memories, "so I'm not going to use any pretty words. I just want to say I'm sorry. I... I treated you like less than you are. You're a beautiful, amazing girl that anyone would want to have as their girlfriend, and I've been so caught up in projecting my idea of perfection that I forgot to make you feel perfect, too." He looked down at his lap, then back up at her.

"I'm not going to lie, I miss you like crazy. I'm pretty boring without you, huh?" He offered her a weak smile before continuing. "But I know you've probably moved on," he said, thinking of the tattooed guy on the beach. "I just wanted to apologize. And if you can stand having my gorgeous self around, I'd still like us to be friends." Grant joked, trying to lighten the mood. He hated serious and emotional conversations. He knew they were necessary, but it was force of habit that made him try to lighten them however he could.

[Savi]

Adelisa smiled at him, but frowned in confusion at the moved on part of his apology. She shook her head and said "I'm not sure what you mean. I haven't even had a date since we broke up." She looked down at her hands and said "I miss you too, but it really hurt. Feeling like I'm not good enough for someone? It tore me up." She clutched her hands into fists and she said "I almost committed suicide, but Delilah and Amelia caught me and stopped me before I could. I was in the hospital for a week and… all I thought about was you."

She looked up at him, her eyes glazed over, but a soft smile on her face. "I thought about all the fun we had. That was what has been keeping me afloat." She reached out to softly place her hand on his cheek. "In a way, you were kinda a blessing and a curse, huh?" She smiled crookedly.

[Venus]

Jareth reached his arm around her, trying to comfort her. Lila rested her head into his shoulder, now crying silently, salty tears like dew rolling down her pink cheeks.

"No." Lila heard Jareth croak out a while after she'd declared herself worthless, putting and end on the painful silence. Jareth used his right hand to guide her face to look at him, then he softly held her face with both hands. making eye contact unavoidable. He wanted it that way, so the conviction would ring loud and clear when he said "You are not worthless."

Lila's eyes filled with tears again. "But I couldn't make you happy. I couldn't even keep our baby safe.

Lila lied her head on Jareth's lap until there were no more tears left in her. After what seemed like hours, she wiped her tears with the back of her hand and sniffed, finally gaining control over herself. She was quiet for a few minutes, thinking about what she could do to ease the pain. Her wandering eyes fell onto the prescription bottle, then turned to Jar. "Let's just get high and wasted and make lots of love, baby. I want us forget to all the pain we've been through." It was a fucked-up idea, but she'd do anything to stop their torture.

Her sudden desire to try drugs was proof of how emotionally distressed she was. Delilah had been raised as a goody two shoes by her well-to-do family; her parents were on a somewhat prominent position in their town, and so they were constantly worried about appearances, portraying their family as the example of perfection, and expecting and demanding that their only daughter be on par with that image. So, imagine their surprise when their daughter brought home a 'satanist, druggie, overly-tattooed, washed-up loser that seems like a real bum' (her parent's words) for Christmas. Her mother had nearly fainted, her father had treated them coolly all throughout their stay, and they'd warned Delilah that she'd lose their financial support if she remained with Jareth. In her first act of defiance, Lila had stayed with Jar, making her relationship with her parents strained and risking losing everything except him. And for what? To have been dumped on Valentine's Day Eve. Her parents had nearly cried with joy at the news.

Lila had remained a faithful believer that drugs were 'bad and harmful and something she'd never try in her life'; even when she'd gotten to know her beloved Jar's dirty little secret, and even when she'd had the substances at arm's reached, she'd remained firm on her word. Hell, she'd even tried to get Jar into rehab. His use had also been a cause of their many arguments near the end, given the fact that Lila had found out by accident instead of her then boyfriend having told her.

Another reason to stay away, but she simply couldn't bear to part with her bittersweet love.

Lila got up from Jareth's lap, grabbed the Xanax bottle, opened it and shook two pills onto her open palm. She offered them to Jareth, locking her eyes onto his, full of determination. "Here you go, JarBear. You give me mine and I give you yours. I promise it won't hurt us. We're both too screwed up anyway."

[Grimoire Gaming]

Jareth watched as sadness pooled tears in her eyes once more “But I couldn’t make you happy. I couldn’t even keep our baby safe.” she choked out in a cry. He wanted to tell her that their child was safer with the gods than it ever would have been with him as a father, but he feared the effect his words would have. He instead tackled the first part, “Delilah, you made me feel more emotions than I ever have before, and happy was one of them,” so was anger “don’t ever think you didn’t make me happy.”

His words did little to soothe her distress. ”Let’s just get high and wasted and make lots of love, baby..” She began, a tempting notion, at least the last part was. When Lila had found out about his drug use, he honestly didn’t think he would survive her rage. But after she knew, and things had calmed down, he had tried to convince her to try getting high with him. Now that the opportunity was presenting itself , it disturbed him. This wasn’t the proper time or place; As if there was a proper time? No, it’s just that getting high when you’re so low is never a good idea, he was one to know, from experience. A LOT of experience. He looked down at her perfect doll-like features as she laid her head in his lap. He flirted with the idea of flirting.

Flirting with danger.

The danger of flirting…

His head swam with conflicting emotions. He had the power to end their heartbreak. He only had to say a few words, and it would fix everything.

No it wouldn’t.

What an idiot.

You can fit two mismatched puzzle pieces together, no matter how hard you punch them into the table; And they had certainly thrown a lot of punches in their relationship. Not literally, but, you know…

It was like an angel and a devil were sitting on either of his shoulders, tempting him with opposing views. One told him to lean down and kiss her, to take her in his arms and claim her as his own once more. The other told him to run, run far, look at the bullet you dodged! Quit staring into the barrel of the gun, you fool! And all they did was talktalktalk… he couldn’t even tell which was supposed to be good and which was bad.

Some angels fall, and some demons used to be angels.

Which was he? He didn’t know, but one voice soared above the other, taking hold of his subconscious. He found himself leaning down towards her, not away, but her eyes weren’t on his anymore. She looked to the bottle of pills and jumped up from his lap. ”Probably for the better!” said the angel. Devil?

Despite the sadness and intensity of the scenario, he couldn’t help but smile. “Do you even know what that is? I need that, so it doesn’t get me high, and if you took it you’d probably just fall asleep. The good stuff is in my…” it didn’t matter, he stopped there and rubbed his face with a flustered sound. “Oh Delilah, you’re right there. We are screwed up, which means we need to stop acting the way we always do.” We, the word tasted bittersweet on his tongue. “What I mean is, we need some time to think before we make a huge mistake here. Can we do that, for each other? More importantly, for ourselves?” He paused and gave it some thought “Listen, I heard that there is a party tomorrow night, it sounds like a lot of people are going to be there. I’m thinking they’re going to need a DJ, or a musician, so I’ll be there. But, I just need a day to process everything, and we can talk then. Okay?” Maybe his friends could convince him not to be a fool in 24 hours, he hoped they could. He hope they couldn’t. He didn’t really feel hope anymore. Jareth stood up and took the pills from her, letting his fingers linger on hers a bit longer than he should have. “Come on, I’ll walk you back.” Much to his surprise, back happened to be right across the hall from him.

Well, that’s awkward.

[Meridian]

She hadn't moved on? Grant decided not to mention the guy he'd seen her flirting with, but that thought flew out of his head as soon as she continued speaking.
Grant wasn't sure he was still breathing. Addie had tried to commit suicide because of him? Shit, shit, shit. Thank god she was still alive, he couldn't imagine what he would have done if she'd succeeded. Inhibitions gone, he leaned in closer and took her hands, looking in her eyes. "Addie..." He couldn't find the words he wanted to say. You're beautiful. You're perfect. You're too good for me. Please don't ever try that again, I'd be lost without you.

He returned her smile, and instead said, "Was the curse part my cooking? Because I swear I've gotten better. I don't burn pasta anymore." He chuckled a bit, remembering the time he'd suggested they learn to cook. Adelisa had been okay, but he'd nearly burned the kitchen down. "Anyway, I just hope we'll get through this. There's a beach party tomorrow night. You'll be there, right?