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 Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:39 pm
Well, there went that game of Riley bruteball. The hound gave a shrug and placed the plush back on his head as if it was the dragon's loss. "Fine fine no super Riley then."
Wherever the mindflayer and the Guitarist went, they came back now and Roch went right back into what he did best, playing. And not just that, dedicating a song to Xiu. Damn that guitar and its charming ways.
As much as he hated to, he felt the urge to see how she would react and try as he might, had to give in and turn a careful gaze over to the right and see.
Curiosity killed the cat, it also killed a hellhound.
Normally, the sounds of buzzing and whispers ran rampant in Damien's mind, but it was quiet. So very quiet that his ears rung from the unusual silence. his mouth was agape in shock at the look on the Baku's face. She never looked at him like that. Never, there was always a glint of feelings of a treasured friendship in her eyes.
But this time, it felt different to him.
FIGHT BACK! FIGHT BACK! WIN HER BACK!
.... How?
there was never an answer.
Playing a drum? would a rat-a-tat-tat do anything to move her heart the same way that Roch was able to? Dedicating something to another took careful thought and consideration.
And he tried his best to think of a song that matched how he felt for her and came up empty.
He was outmatched. Bested by a boil and his guitar.
The hound clenched his hand and knuckled became white and defined.
but it didn't compare to the bitter tasting lump in his throat that felt like it was blocking all air to his lungs and the pain in his heart that thumped in tune to the beat of the song.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 9:51 pm
If Riley was an empathetic soul, Demi would be making her sick right about now. She flickered her eyes from Demi, to Roch, to Xiu, and then rubbed her temples. Privately, she leaned in and looked as though she was whispering something in Jericho's ear, though that was obviously not the case. Then she turned and took Demi's plush, bouncing it against his chest a few times.
You. Me. Let's go. She murmured, giving him a steady look. She wondered if she should change the name of her booth from 'Rely on Riley for SC President' to 'Rely on Riley to solve your relationship problems'.
.. She didn't wonder it long.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:01 pm
The hellhound just gave her a tiny nod and followed behind her like the mindflayer had an invisible leash tied to his head. Just one foot after the other. he didn't ask where they were going, or what was going to happen.
All he knew was that the song was getting fainter and it was good enough for him.
"Pup, fix yerself b'for i fix YOU!"
"I don't like it when your sad, be happy alpha! smile through the tears."
They just wouldn't shut up for once, and why was it words and not sounds this time. there was so much to think about already, why now?
"She was never mine to lose." he mumbled out quietly, faint but still there, like the broken record player that his grandfather enjoyed tinkering with in his spare time.
"Why regret what could not be?" he continued slowly.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:10 pm
Riley took Demi away to another quiet spot, where they remained unseen, and turned around. Was she going to give him a pep talk, the way she had with Roch? Was she going to remind him of the values of friendship, the way she did with Xiu?
Come here.
Riley wrapped her arms around Demi, and gave him a surprisingly warm, and gentle hug. She wasn't trying to talk him out of anything. She was, however, going to make him aware that she cared.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:15 pm
As the new song was playing, Shun shot a glance to Roch. If he wasn't mistaken, it sounded like he was playing for her specifically. When he turned back to the other two, he could practically see Damien seething in place. Perhaps his earlier conclusion was true after all.
After Riley took the hellhound away, he turned more towards the Baku.
"It is pretty nice," he said before shooting a glance away briefly, "You told me about Roch.. are you aware about how Damien feels?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:22 pm
Barely a sound. Normally the campus ground had some sort of bustling activity on every acre. someone meeting someone, a group studying and in reality just lounging about or even doing something a bit more lewd for those couples on a private walk.
But there was no one around at this time, but them.
All it took was two words and a friendly touch and it reminded him of what he had lost. It had been too long since he'd known that someone cared, and how many years its been since someone like a maternal figure had held him this way.
There might have been a hiccup in the darkness of the quiet night as he struggled on through the rest of the words that came to mind.
" These are words she'll never say
Not to me, not to me
Not for me
For it isn't a dream, her heart full of love
Not a dream she will never
After all! Feel this way."
There were no words after the end of his song.
But now they were even when it came to seeing each other cry.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:27 pm
Hmm? Xiu stared up at the reaper with clear confusion written on her face, glancing in the direction that Riley had led Demi away in. "...Aware of how Demi feels? A...about what?" That was probably a clear answer about how much she really knew about this situation. "I-is there something bothering Demi?" Frowning, she turned to face Shun completely, her expression immediately becoming one of concern.
"...What...what are you trying to tell me, aniki?"
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:29 pm
So she didn't know at all. And Shun thought he could be a little dense with these things...
Letting out a sigh, he kept his hands in his pockets, grimacing at Xiu.
"Damien likes you. He looked jealous or something about the way you looked at Roch just now."
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:43 pm
Riley's hug was gentle, as she waited for a reaction. When Demi didn't push her away, and she heard the hiccup, her arms tightened and she pulled him close into her embrace. Her hand lifted to rest on the top of his head, guiding him to her shoulder. She brushed his hair in long, comforting strokes, and let him have a moment of release. It was clear he needed it.
She didn't rush him - there was no reason to. She was willing to give him what he needed, and it was clear he needed to let his emotions out. So she waited, patiently, and he was rewarded with a hug that was surprisingly affectionate - she'd been getting a lot of experience with affection lately, after all. She thought she was getting good at it.
Her head tilted and rested against the side of Demi's gently, while she listened to the sounds of his suffering.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:50 pm
Jack. Jack.
She stared up blankly at Shun, as if searching for any indications that he was joking, but...no, this was Shun. He wasn't the type to joke, especially not something like this...and especially not after he had seen how conflicted and confused she had been when she had gone to him for advice. "...Are you sure?" Her voice was barely audible over all the noise.
Just when she had thought that she figured out what she had to do, a curve ball was thrown at her out of nowhere. It answered a few questions that had been nagging at her--that was why Demi had moved away from where she and Roch had been sitting in class--but now...what was she supposed to do? And...Jack, why her? She was nothing special! Not beautiful like Riley, or pretty like Lizzy, or...or...
Then she realized something. Not once had Demi or Roch spoken to one another today, and the two boils were supposed to be friends! Jack, they had been happily playing games with one another at prom when Xiu had met them! But now the hellhound and reaper wouldn't even greet one another?
Was that her fault too?
Xiu buried her face in her hands, unable to bring herself to say anything. When she finally did speak, her voice was barely a whisper. "S-sorry a-aniki. I-I t-think I...I need to g-go."
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 10:57 pm
Dogs howl at the moon, but not all howls is filled with joy.
It took some time but Demi calmed down enough to be able to form coherent sentences again, he cleared his raw, scratchy throat as carefully as he could and let out a shuddering sigh of air. "I.... I think I'm OK now." he said quietly, deeper than he normally could. He still didn't let go of Riley, if anything he held onto it tighter.
He knew he should have felt embarrassed or shamed by what happened, but it never came. All that was here was the overwhelming feeling of acceptance and understanding. "I still think diplomacy cant solve this problem." he said behind the barest of smiles that followed after another hiccup that refused to stay inside.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:02 pm
"Pretty certain."
Staring at her, Shun had kept more or less the same expression as everything was settling in for her. Hm.. she wasn't taking this as well as he thought she would. There was still a great deal he needed to learn when it came to dealing with people and emotions and this sort of showed that.
Well... time to see if he could fix this error.
Furrowing his brow, he took his hands out of his pockets and gripped onto her shoulder firmly, but relatively gently.
"Wait."
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:09 pm
She rolled her eyes when Demi claimed himself to be okay, but made sure he didn't see it. Still, it didn't sound like she believed it. I'm not sure what gave you the idea that I thought diplomacy was going to fix anything, when it comes to emotion. Honestly, Demi, having feelings for someone is hard. It hurts. And you know what? It's worth all the pain. Even if your heart gets broken, it's always worth it.
She continued to brush his hand down through his hair, and sighed. I'm sorry. I really am. This situation sucks. I don't want to see you hurt, and I don't want to see you lose anyone, either. But not everything's going to work out exactly like you hope, all the time. You've just got to roll with it. And, while I can't make everything better in your life, because I'm not some magical fairy - any comment about her wings at this point would be met with pain - you know I'm here. Just.. here. Anytime you need to talk.
Or, she wordlessly continued by squeezing him, a hug.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:21 pm
Xiu didn't remove her hands from her face. Actually, it was more like she couldn't. Not in public with so many people around, and especially not at Riley's booth. She was feeling extremely overemotional right now, but she had least had the clarity of mind to realize that crying in front of the mindflayer's booth wasn't going to bring in the good attention that Riley wanted.
That, and if she was going to break down, she would have much rather done so where no one could see her.
However, before she could hurry away, she felt hands clasping her shoulders. Instinctively, she tried to pull herself free, tugging herself every which way. "I-I h-have to go. I c-can't...!" Her voice was choked, and she half-heartedly attempted to jerk herself free from his grip. However, after a few futile attempts, she simply seemed to...give up. "...I-I never wanted to...to ruin t-their friendship..." And yet, as she saw it, she had unknowingly done exactly that.
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Posted: Sat Sep 03, 2011 11:26 pm
Frowning, he started to walk, ushering her further away from the booth in the meantime. Shun kept his grip pretty firm onto the girl, to try and keep her from breaking away just yet.
"Calm down. Deep breaths," he said firmly. Grimacing, he glanced over at where Roch and Demi were respectively, then speaking quietly to Xiu. There was definitely a tension between those two. Most likely it was because they happened to be interested in the same girl and knew it. That was his guess at least. He could easily be wrong.
"You didn't ruin anything. You can't control how other people feel. Hell, it's hard enough to control your own feelings," he frowned. If only it was easier to do the latter. Then he wouldn't have had to deal with the mindstorm of emotions he had been going through lately.
"You've done nothing. As far as I know, other than be yourself."
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