xxxxxxx She barely knew Nathan, but Liz was so entirely concerned for him, she forgot about Jackson. Her eyes searched his, looking for something--anything. She just wanted to know what he was thinking. After all, she was still trying to process what had happened. She didn't really understand. No matter how angry she got, she couldn't imagine herself hitting another person. Especially someone she loved. The idea of ever trying to inflict pain on anyone just didn't resonate in her head.
xxxxxxx She and Jackson had never fought like that. She would scream, they would fight, and he would call her crazy. But in the end, they would laugh and he would always kiss her. She remembered what her mom used to tell her, Never go to bed angry. Clearly, she had broken the cardinal rule. That was the only thing running through her head when she woke up that day. The shirt that he had she always borrowed was gone. All of the pictures, his guitar, the clothes... He didn't leave a trace. It was like he'd never been there. The only thing remaining was one of his shirts--the one she'd been sleeping in. She still had it, the only article of clothing remaining in his dresser. It was clean and washed and ready to go, but some nights, when she felt especially lonely, she would sleep in it. She was still having trouble understanding how he could leave so easily. Why was he doing so well? If what they had was real, how could he be fine?
xxxxxxx Her train of thought went off track when Nathan took her hand in his. Her cheeks flushed. His hand was rough and calloused and so much larger than hers. She didn't even think as she stepped down from her chair as well. The feeling of his hand entwined in hers was... foreign. There was something different about it. It just wasn't... Jackson. That was the problem lately, wasn't it? Everyone just wasn't him. But no one ever would be. When she looked up, she was quite alarmed by how tall Nathan was. He was much taller than she'd registered when he was sitting. It felt strange standing next to him rather than Jackson. She was so used to standing inches away, his hand on the small of her back... But now it was on the small of Sun Hee's back.
xxxxxxxNeedless to say, Liz was happy to be out of there. Now she could go home and put on a baggy t-shirt and shorts and eat ice cream to her heart's content. The cool night air enveloped her, and she let out a pleased sigh. "God, I hate clubs." She laughed along with him, so entirely relieved to be out. She had almost forgotten they were holding hands, well, until he released hers. Once again, she flushed crimson. But oh my god the night was so dark and the sky was so beautiful. She stared up at the stars, a smile making its way to her lips. Her attention flickered back to Nathan a second later. "My place? Uh..." It was about a half an hour walk, and she definitely didn't want to put him out of his way. Of course, before she could think of a reasonable reply, Jackson appeared.
xxxxxxx She supposed it was her fault. The entire reason she'd came out tonight was to see him. However, it didn't feel nearly as good as she'd hoped. Slowly, she turned to face him and plastered a smile onto her face. "Dinner? Tomorrow?" If she denied, it would have looked like she was hiding something. Jackson knew she worked from home. There was no way she was actually busy, as pathetic as it sounded. "We'd love to." Quickly, her gaze flickered to Nathan, practically begging him to go along with it. "Great," Jackson said. "Is seven okay?" She nodded, and he grinned. "Nice. I'll see you guys tomorrow." And then he turned, heading back into the club.
xxxxxxx Liz wanted to scream. Once he was gone, she groaned. "Why did I do that?" She covered her face in her hands, letting out a soft sigh. Nathan was probably busy, too. He did say he was a surgeon. She doubted it was a 9 to 5 job. Peeking through her fingers at him, she said, "And you're probably super busy. Oh my God. I'm so sorry. You totally don't have to go. I can tell Jackson right now that we can't make it and--" She was rambling. On a scale from one to ten, telling Jackson they couldn't go to the dinner was definitely a negative five. However, she knew she couldn't drag Nathan into yet another night of fake-dating.
「 :◤ GETTING HARDTO SLEEP ✱ ❜ – xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
Nathan observed as Liz spoke for the both of them when Jackson asked if they could come over for dinner the tomorrow night. "Is seven okay?" Jackson asked, and Nathan parted his lips prepared to suggest a later time, although Liz (much to his dismay) was just too quick to comply. Closing his lips, the male sighed inwardly and gave a farewell nod of his head towards Jackson before he disappeared into the club. "s**t," he deadpanned the moment the doors closed, lowering his head slightly and pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation as if he was trying to relieve a headache. As much as Nathan wanted to help Liz, making a double-date for seven o'clock was very a farfetched possibility in his books. The man had a long day ahead of him--had to be in the O.R. for 6AM, and also visit the patients who were being prepped and who were all nervous, answering all of their questions with positivity and reassurance.
After he scrubbed in, he would deal with cutting people open and rely on his team of doctors, nurses, and even sometimes medical students to help him through the process. A standard surgery would usually only last 2-5 hours. The workspace was very crammed and small, and because the work was so exacting and required so much concentration, everyone sweat a lot. Overall it was a very tense, focalized atmosphere but Nathan wouldn't have had it any other way.
A few moments passed when Nathan peered up at Liz as she began to ramble. She was put on the spot and she spoke instinctively, something that Nathan wasn't about to blame her for. "Liz," he said softly. He stepped forwards, though she just wouldn't stop rambling. The male shook his head and smiled. "Liz, Jesus, it's alright.." He raised his voice only a little in order to grasp her attention while lifting his hands to express that no harm was done. "I can work something out, okay?" Nathan started, moving even closer to softly rest his large hands on her shoulders. "Don't cancel," he told her. "I'm just frustrated because I have a tight schedule. Gotta be up in..." Nathan trailed off, pulling out his phone to check the time, "five hours. ********> He laughed, though not in amusement, as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. He knew he wouldn't be able to have coffee in the morning, either. The last thing he needed was shaky hands in the midst of performing a surgery.
Nathan would have to wake up at five, shower, get dressed, brush his teeth, and be out of the house for five-thirty in order to beat morning traffic and arrive at the hospital for six. Digging his hands back into his pockets, Nathan turned his head to look around briefly before returning his gaze to the young lady standing in front of him. He just couldn't seem to get over the height difference. She had to be at least five feet tall. "So, am I accompanying you home or would you rather take a cab?" he questioned. The red mark on his cheek had faded away, although one of Taylor's fake nails had left a small, white scratch on his cheekbone. He tried to push away what had happened between him and his ex, because the last thing he needed was pity from someone he barely knew, but he knew he would spend the rest of night thinking about it.
xxxxxxx Liz’s face lifted from her hands as he raised his voice, momentarily interrupting her thoughts. It definitely wasn’t alright, but she appreciated the (unsuccessful) attempt at calming her down. Because, oh my God, how could it be okay? How would anything be okay when Jackson was with someone else and she was alone? How could anything be okay when she had to wake up in an empty bed and he had Sun Hee to warm him up in the cold mornings? And oh God, she was mad. She was so <********> mad. At Jackson for leaving, at herself for putting herself in such a dumb situation, at the entire freaking universe for allowing this whole mess to unfold.
xxxxxxx At the feeling of his hands on her shoulders, she looked up at him. Which she regretted instantly because despite everything, Nathan was nice and the fact that his eyes were very pretty was the last thing that should be at her mind right now. “A tight schedule,” she echoed, allowing his words to sink in for a moment. A tight schedule. “Oh, s**t,” she mumbled, a new wave of panic overwhelming her as she remembered that Nathan’s a <********> neurosurgeon or something. “I’m so sorry for keeping you out, you have to be up early and I’m just keeping you out even later.” She sucked in a sharp breath and tried to gather herself.
xxxxxxx“I’ll take a cab, don’t worry about it.” Her eyes lingered on the little scratch on Nathan’s cheekbone before she turned away. “Um, here, I’ll text you my address for dinner tomorrow,” she mumbled, taking out her phone and opening a new message. After typing the details, she held out the phone to him to put in his number. As she waited, she scanned the busy street for a taxi. Then, once she’d reclaimed her phone, she apologized once again (for probably the twentieth time that night), bid him farewell, and hailed a cab.
xxxxxxxLiz’s apartment was modest. Upon entering, there’s an open living room, a long dining table (despite never having any guests), and the kitchen. Then, to the right, there’s a hallway leading to the bathroom, her bedroom, and the room that used to hold Jackson’s music stuff. Now it was empty, all white walls and light wood flooring. Truthfully, she usually just ordered pizza when she had people over, but something about this read awfully adult to her, so she decided to make real food. Unfortunately, her cooking skills were limited, so she decided on rice and (precooked) chicken.
xxxxxxx With the chicken in the oven and the rice simmering, Liz swept through her apartment in an attempt to get rid of anything that looked particularly messy or childish. She thought about Nathan and how he had a real job and was somehow so much more grownup than her, a little girl who read books for a living. She cleared behind the couch and found two lost stuffed animals looking sad and abandoned. With a little hesitation, she tossed them in the trash. I, Liz Tyler, am an adult, she thought, forcing herself to turn away from the plush toys.
xxxxxxx Jackson and Sun Hee showed up around five after seven, and Liz absolutely hated herself for how good they looked together. Why didn’t she even bother putting on a stupid dress and doing her hair when Sun Hee would ultimately show her up and look a million times better? Still, she forced herself to smile and let them in. Almost immediately, Jackson plopped down on her couch and makes himself at home, leaving Sun Hee to bow politely to Liz before following him. Great, she thought bitterly. She’s pretty and she’s nice. Is she a scientist too?
xxxxxxx Five after seven turns into seven thirty, and they’re still sitting in the living room. “So, Liz,” Sun Hee says, leaning against Jackson in a manner that rubs Liz the wrong way. “Where’s your friend? Nathan, right?” She’d been asking herself the same thing. Liz checked the time on her phone and smiled like she wasn’t about to have a level six meltdown. “He’s just running late. Work keeps him busy these days,” she explained, although she was not sure who she was trying to convince. Jackson snorts at this. “Some guy. He can’t even call to tell you he’s late?” And there’s something extra behind the comment that Liz didn’t like. Something malicious.
xxxxxxx“Unlike you, Nathan has a real job,” Liz replied casually, pulling herself to her feet to refill her wine glass. She glanced at Sun Hee as she went and offered to refill hers as well, but the latter declined. There wasn’t really any safety in the kitchen, as there wasn’t walls separating the open area, so she poured the glass with her back to them, checking for the tenth time to make sure she’d texted her address to the right number. But nope, there it was. The right number, the right address. And no text warning of his fashionably late arrival. “Come on, Liz,” Jackson said with a laugh, but she didn’t think it was funny. “Why don’t you focus on your own relationship rather than worry about mine, Jacks?” Liz suggested with surprising venom in her voice. “Nathan’s a good guy, and if he’s late, he has a good reason.”
captnlittleass
Out Of Chords; I didn't beta this, so I hope it's okay! // Liz is wearingthis...
Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 1:17 am
xxxxx「N A T H A N♔B E N T L E Y◝xxxxx
x x
「 :◤ GETTING HARDTO SLEEP ✱ ❜ – xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
"1301 Willowcreek Avenue," the blonde murmured to himself, simultaneously punching the address into his GPS while driving down the busy road. Despite the fact that he was running awfully late, by nearly thirty minutes now, he swung by the flower shop which he had phoned earlier that day to place an order for a bouquet of a dozen assorted flowers. A gesture that Nathan hoped would cheer Liz up, even if only a little. Before this he had managed to go home and change into a casual yet flattering blue hued button-up that brought out the blue in his eyes, along with a pair of black jeans that left nothing to the imagination. He figured it was only appropriate to look his best even if they weren't actually going out.
Before long, he was striding down the narrow hallway with the bouquet of flowers in his right hand while his eyes scanned each of the doors he passed. 108, 108, 108... Upon finally reaching Liz's apartment Nathan's eyebrows shot up in delight. He walked up and gave the door a couple raps of his knuckle. A moment later nothing happened and he furrowed his eyebrows, lifting his gaze to read the apartment number again. 108. The number she had texted him, right? He was about to knock again until he heard the door click and swing open.
"Hey man! Come on in," Jackson greeted excitedly, a big goofy grin spreading across his face. Nathan stepped inside and turned his head looking around Liz's home. "Apologies for my tardiness, I got caught up at work." He'd made up his mind to leave the nasty details out of it. Surely they did not want or need to know about a patient who had died in his care, after being plowed by an 18 wheeler truck. What made matters worse was that the man was fully conscious upon arriving at the hospital. He'd lost the ability to speak, but he was still very much aware of the things that were going on around him.
Time of death; 6:37pm.
"Don't worry about it, Liz is just in the kitchen getting dinner ready." Nathan slipped off his shoes and made his way across the apartment into the kitchen. A wave of guilt washed over him when he saw how irritable she looked whilst preparing the food. "Hey, something smells good," he began, smiling with his perfect teeth as he moved further into the kitchen to lay the flowers on the counter. "What's for dinner?" Nathan dug his hands deep into his pockets and looked her over, sort of admiring how pretty she looked in that floral dress of hers. It contrasted with her skin tone perfectly and the diamond stud earrings were really the cherry on top of a perfect look.
xxxxxxx Liz heard the knocking at the door, but before she could even react, Jackson was going for it. Which was probably better anyway. She didn't want to seem too needy (even though at this moment, she was totally desperate). But no! She was supposed to be mad. Because even though she's putting on a front for Jackson and Sun Hee, she was totally sure that Nathan was about to bail on her. Then again, maybe she deserved it. She did force him into attending, after all, and he was a busy guy.
xxxxxxx Plus, Nathan looked so nice when he stepped inside with his soft blue shirt the perfect shade to compliment his eyes. Liz thought it should be illegal to look that nice. Quickly, she turned away and made herself busy with the food like she'd been cooking when in reality she was trying to drown herself in a bottle of wine (courtesy of Jackson and Sun Hee) before he arrived. She worked hard to make it seem like she was cooking and not hearing a word they were saying. Of course, she was absolutely listening.
xxxxxxx At the sound of his voice so close, Liz jumped a little, looking up immediately. "Hey!" she tried to sound cheerful, but mostly her voice was small and tense. Reasonably so, when she'd spent the past 45 minutes around her exboyfriend and his new girlfriend, who was annoyingly nice and pretty and <********>-- Liz wanted to hate her so bad but she was so polite and sweet and perfect. If she'd met her first, they probably would've been good friends.
xxxxxxxThis time, Liz got to take a nice, long look at Nathan. Her gaze flickered from the smooth fabric of his shirt to his pretty smile. And it really wasn't fair because truthfully, Nathan wasn't the type of guy she'd have looked at twice. He was a type of handsome that almost annoyed her, like a sculpture or some other fine work of art. But here he was, standing in her kitchen with flowers and perfect teeth and looking like that and she'd be lying if she wasn't affected.
xxxxxxx"Um," she cleared her throat and her thoughts, turning her attention back to the rice she was mixing in with vegetables. "Chicken and rice. I hope that's okay." She wasn't a big white rice person, but broccoli went good with it, so she'd grabbed some while she was at the supermarket. It probably sounded stupid, but after dating Jackson for so long, rice had become a core part of her diet. Which now consisted mostly of Asian vegetables and seasonings. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She had to stop bringing everything back to Jackson. Clearly, he was happy with someone else.
xxxxxxxShe turned to look at the flowers he'd placed on the counter, and some of the agitation melts from her shoulders. God, they're pretty. She loved flowers. They also had looked nice when he was holding them, but with them on the counter, she was slightly less distracted. "Thanks for the, um, flowers," she mumbled. Why do I keep saying um? She wanted to slam her head against the fridge door, but instead she smiled up at him. Partially for show, and also partially because it was the first reaction she had upon looking for him.
captnlittleass
Out Of Chords; sorry if this sucks lmao i was trying to type it fast before bed // Liz is wearingthis...
Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 11:37 am
xxxxx「N A T H A N♔B E N T L E Y◝xxxxx
x x
「 :◤ GETTING HARDTO SLEEP ✱ ❜ – xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing mexxxxxxxxxxxxxxblood is in my dreams, love is killing me
Rice and chicken. His tongue involuntarily glossed over his lips as he stared at the food, obviously starving. "At the rate I've been going today I could eat absolutely anything," Nathan admitted candidly with a light chuckle. "So chicken and rice sounds perfect." Normally, he would fix himself a much larger meal at home than what Liz was currently offering, but he wasn't about to be rude about it. She had put forth so much effort to make tonight as flawless as possible and for that he applauded her. If he had been in a similar situation he wouldn't have been able to pull it off for the life of him.
A moment of comfortable silence passed between the two as they stood facing each other in the kitchen and a slight smirk formed on his lips when she mentioned the flowers, thinking she was pretty damn cute when she stumbled over her words. "Well I figured you were having a shitty day, so. You're welcome." He smiled warmly at Liz, the girl that he'd met the night before under the most unusual circumstances, but was kind of glad he did. She was easily one of the prettiest women he had ever laid eyes on. Her beauty was just so natural.
"So, uh,"he broke out of his little trance-like state and cleared his throat in a manly fashion, "do you have anything I can put them in?"
Once that had been done, Nathan lifted the vase and moved it into the dining room and placed it in the centre of the table. Jackson and Sun Hee were obviously keeping themselves occupied on the couch, making out with not a single regard for Liz's feelings. He knew that if he had been in her position, and his ex and her new boyfriend had been making out on his furniture, he wouldn't have been able to tolerate it. Not even for a fraction of a second. Then again, he and his ex hadn't quite broken up on the best of terms. It made him wonder what happened between Jackson and Liz.
"I apologize for not texting you earlier," Nathan said as he re-entered the kitchen, voice low and soft. The man dug his hands into his pockets sheepishly, blue eyes concentrated on Liz. "Things got pretty crazy near the end of the day. I was so busy running around that it completely slipped my mind," he said honestly, feeling a little guilt-ridden considering she had been stuck hanging around with her ex and his new girlfriend for so long.
ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ :liz's apartmentxxxxxxᴄoᴍᴘᴀɴʏ : liz, jackson, sun heexxxxxxᴀᴛᴛɪʀᴇ : here
xxxxxxx Liz smiled at his response. Generally, she didn't have a lot of company and she had only ever cooked properly once several months ago when Jackson's parents visited from Seoul. Cooking, well... It wasn't her thing. It wasn't then and it never would be. To be honest, it was a miracle that she was still alive with her shoddy skills in the kitchen, but there wasn't much room to mess up with something so simple. After all, she had a rice cooker, and the chicken just had to be heated in the oven. Nice and simple. The way she hoped for the future to be after this stupid dinner.
xxxxxxx"Oh, right. Duh," she mumbled, mostly to herself. She vaguely remembered being given a set of vases when she and Jackson moved into their own apartment (some housewarming gift. wine would've been better). It was so long ago, but she thought maybe they were in the cupboard under the sink--also known as where useless things go to die. And yet, maybe the set wasn't so useless. She retrieved it from its remarkably undusty home and placed it on the counter.
xxxxxxx When Nathan carried the case to the dining area, her gaze only followed him briefly, as the open floor plan allowed a great view of Jackson and Sun Hee getting rather ... comfy. How charming. She turned back to the counter and refilled her wine glass, thinking that perhaps the real solution was to kick everyone out and then drink herself to death. But no, she couldn't do that. Not when her friend Jaebum's cat, Nora, needed new toys weekly and he was too cheap to waste spare the money. And really, it was stupid to think that she couldn't exist on her own. She knew that. However, it had been a long time since she lived for herself. It was always for Jackson. For a great period of her life, he was... Well, everything.
xxxxxxx Her thoughts were broken by Nathan's return. "It's fine," she replied, because a.) she understood b.) it wasn't that long and c.) it had to be. After all, if she was upset, the night would taken an even more sour turn and she would be stuck with yet another person on her s**t list. So she nodded as he explained and sipped at her wine, trying to keep the image of Jackson and Sun Hee out of her brain. She wondered how much of this wine she'd have to gulp down before she forget everything. Ah, maybe she should stop thinking like that. It's a bit early in the night for starting down the road towards becoming an alcoholic. "It's okay, really. I know your job is pretty demanding," she said honestly. She couldn't really find it in herself to be mad at him. He showed up, at least.
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