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 Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:11 pm
Madison was pissed. It had been several hours since she'd clawed her way back out of that goddamn hole in the ground they'd been directed to for that stupid-a** lecture - and she'd done it, climbed those steps and gotten out all by herself, without anyone to help her. Sure, she'd broken another nail and arrived back at the dorms filthy, red-faced, and glaring at anyone who crossed her path... but she'd made it.
She had then proceeded to take a shower, which had done nothing to cool her anger and frustration, standing under the spray until her fingertips shriveled. Then she'd taken a nap, woken up still irritated, and only emerged from her room because she was hungry. It was late evening, though - very few people would be in the cafeteria. Which was good, because she didn't want to talk to anyone. Not even Kouki, who hadn't said a word to her since that afternoon, even since she'd snapped at him to shut the hell up.
She could still feel her weapon's uncertainty. It brought her a sort of sick pleasure. She still had it; she could still wreck people's s**t with a thought, with a sharp barrage of words. Oh yes.
There was next to nobody in the cafeteria at this hour, as she'd anticipated. Just one or two older Hunters she didn't recognize. The counters were closed but there was still sandwich fixings and other do-it-yourself meals available. Madison slammed her tray down on the counter and studied the available deli meats with a scowl. Ugh.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:16 pm
Robert was upset. And what did Robert do when he was upset? He ate.
This was no surprise to anyone.
Unfortunately, as he entered the cafeteria and headed for the food, he realized part of the reason for his current unhappy attitude was sitting right there, eating her pretty little food with her pretty little face. And suddenly, he lost his appetite.
.. For like five seconds.
He stormed over, grabbed a plate, and started piling it high with food he wasn't even looking at. Did it matter? He would eat it regardless.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:27 pm
Oh. Wonderful. Exactly who she didn't want to see - but all those retorts she'd swallowed earlier blazed into her mind again, rekindling her anger. The fact that Robert, too, was very obviously still mad only added fuel to the fire.
Madison, wait-
Shut up, she hissed, mentally shoving her weapon's concern away as that familiar old sense of predatory glee took hold. She was going to hurt somebody and nobody was going to tell her no. It was the law of the social jungle: someone hurts you? Hurt them back. And worse.
"Come to apologize?" she said, loudly, her eyes bright with anger, but there was a small, wicked smile on her face. Certain unlucky freshman at her old high school would have found her expression very familiar indeed. "That's so nice of you! I'm so glad you finally manned up."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 4:56 pm
Roberts serving spoon froze in mid-scoop, and he flickered his eyes up at her, glaring in the most violent of ways. The mashed potatoes he had been serving slowly dripped down off the spoon, falling into a cold lump on the side of the bar instead of in his plate.
"WHAT?"
The sound of his voice echoed across the empty room, back and forth, until finally it died out somewhere near the exit. He dropped the spoon, which clattered horribly and splattered mashed potatoes everywhere. Then, he dropped his plate as well. Further mess was made.
"Maddie, I don't know what kinda sick sense of humor you got, but this s**t ain't funny. You're like.. like a sister to me, and you left me to rot in pain. So you better stop your ******** shenanigans right now, because I WILL WAIL ON YOUR a**, GIRL OR NOT."
There went the echo again.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:02 pm
"I was defending you," Madison hissed. "From the consequences of your own stupidity." Oh, she was flying high now - politeness didn't matter, logic didn't matter, all that mattered was winning. "And I apologized for not trying! I brought myself low for you, and you wouldn't even give me the time of day!"
She looked up, but there was no fear in her face. Just eager malice. "No wonder your actual sister ended up here too, if this is how you treat 'em."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:09 pm
SHE.
DID.
NOT.
JUST.
BRING.
UP.
POE.
Robert had lied. No matter how angry he was, he wasn't actually going to hit Maddie. But he had no problem giving her the tongue lashing of a lifetime. So instead, he stormed over to her side and loomed in front of her, seething with the fire of a thousand hells burning in his eyes. Yeah. Dramatic.
"Listen, you prissy little b***h." He was hissing the words out from clenched teeth. "I don't need your ******** pity help defending me when some a*****e we don't even care about has something to say. That's not what we're supposed to be about. You're supposed to have my ******** back when I'm in trouble. Not when someone's throwing words around. WHEN I'M IN TROUBLE."
His fists clenched, and the sound of cracking knuckles was loud.
"Do you think the boss would have just let YOU sit there and curdle in pain for a single ******** second? Do you think I WOULD HAVE? Why are WORDS so ******** IMPORTANT TO YOU, MADDIE?"
He backed away a step, and legitimately flipped a chair in anger. "Grow the ******** UP, or so help me, I don't want s**t to do with you ever again. I ain't putting my life in your hands if this is how you're gonna be. I ain't putting PETRA'S life in your hands."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:45 pm
Madison opened her mouth the second the words prissy little b***h hit the air - but he didn't give her a chance to let him have it again. Despite everything, she finally flinched backwards. Not from the looming, not from the cracking knuckles, not even from the swearing... but from one simple phrase.
"Why are WORDS so ******** IMPORTANT TO YOU, MADDIE?"
She stared at him - and just like that, the anger snapped away, leaving her bereft, her mouth hanging open, eyes widening in a sort of shock. She shook her head ever so slightly, as if she wasn't quite sure what she was doing here - how she had come to be here, how everything had come to this. How far her stupid mouth had carried her.
"I... I don't..."
She hit the ground with a thump, eyes and throat stinging with sudden tears. "I tried, I tried, I'm sorry," she whispered, forcing the words out. It was so unfair, she'd caught herself ******** up, admitted it, and he hadn't understood, nobody had understood... so she'd turned back to her old ways.
And ******** up again.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 5:53 pm
Good.
That was all he could think when he saw her falling to her knees, mumbling and crying and just falling apart. Good. Something had finally gotten through to her, and she-
She..
...
Goddamnit, girls were so ******** unfair.
"Give me a break here, Christ.." Robert dropped down and wrapped the girl up in his arms, almost more angered that he suddenly had to comfort her simply because he'd made her cry. He wanted to scream, but all he could do was hold her close, and hope to God that her tears meant she actually learned something out of all of this.. instead of just a typical 'wah wah I'm a girl and someone made me cry' moment.
"I dunno what the ******** you think you tried. All I know is, I'd die for you if it ever came to it. So maybe next time one of us in trouble, you could, like, think harder about what you're supposed to be doing at that moment."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:10 pm
Madison was completely expecting him to just leave her there, so it was a genuine shock when Robert actually gathered her up into his arms. For several long minutes she could do nothing but sob, her hair tumbling down down to shroud her face. Finally, though, she took a long, shaky breath and reached up with one hand, brushing some of that hair away so she could look at Robert with one tear-reddened eye.
"I ********-" She hiccuped, then sighed and tried again. "I ******** up, I know it, I said... said I was sorry and I guess I... like, figured that saying sorry fixed... fixed everything. Like it was magic or something. I'm s-stupid." Part of her hissed that she was behaving like a child, that she should draw back what little remained of her pride and rail again against that perceived unfairness.
"I don't want to be like that any more. I thought..." Another hiccup. "I thought I, like... I wasn't. Thought I'd changed... guess I haven't..." She ducked her head again, hair falling back to hide her gaze once more.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 6:24 pm
Robert was.. just.. so not the right person to have a breakdown with. He hardly knew what to do with the girl as she tried to pour her little heart out, explaining what she'd been trying to do and why she'd turned into such a raging b***h. He just tried to nod and look comforting, while hugging her. This was pretty much the extent of Robert's abilities.
"Yeah, well, we're all gonna have to change to get through this, I think. I mean, look at me I guess. I don't wanna be the kind of guy that makes you cry. But yeah, that's who I always was. The kind of guy that makes girls cry." He chuckled weakly and brushed her tears away with both his thumbs, holding her face cradled in his hands, bent up to look at him.
"I'm sorry too. Sometimes, sorry isn't enough, but it's a start. Well just, you know." His thumb brushed down her cheek. "We'll get better at this s**t. Right?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:44 pm
Madison wiped her eyes on her sleeve, then tugged her hair back with a ragged sigh. She looked like a mess now, all red-faced and blotchy, and some of the fallen mashed potato had dripped onto one leg. Not that she really cared at the moment, though. "You didn't make... make me cry," she managed. "I made me, um... n-not you. God, I'm such a ********... high schooler. Ugh..." Still, there was a little bit of hope in her reddened eyes when she looked up again.
"T-this isn't high school, I know, I... words mattered, because they were all... like, all we had. I guess. But not any more? You stayed," she added, glancing up at him. "You could've left me but you didn't... I'm not gonna forget that, okay? I'm not gonna... be like that any more... or I'm gonna try."
She hiccuped again, much to her annoyance.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:40 pm
It wasn't that Robert believed her, it was just.. he was really bad with girls crying. So he patted her on the back and let her get it out, chuckling gently when she popped up in his arms due to the hiccup.
"Okay. I got it. Now you need to take some deep breaths and relax, kit-"
His breath left him as though he'd been punched directly in his lungs, and he tried not to show the sudden agony he'd felt at the mistake. No. No, this was not her. Even though she'd cried a million times in his arms, over some stupid little thing or another, and he'd had to comfort her as a friend every single time, he had no right to make that connection. None at all.
He brushed a rough hand across her hair and gave her a comforting squeeze.
"We're all right now. Right?"
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:45 pm
Madison didn't notice Robert's sudden pain; he'd hidden it well enough, or Madison was distracted enough with her own thoughts. Same result either way. "Y-yeah, I'd like that," she said, giving him a timid smile. "If you're o-okay with it, y'know? I dunno if anybody should be entrusting, um, their lives to me but... next time I promise I'll try."
"I dunno if I could've pulled you away, though," she added, ducking her head and glancing up at him with more genuine cheer than she'd had on her face this whole time. "You're kind of a big guy."
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:54 pm
"******** yeah I am." He bounced his fist against his chest and snickered, before reaching around and picking Madison up in both his arms. He held her in the same position she was in when she sat on the floor, just - scooped up in his arms. "And you are someone I can trust my life with. I know you are. So how about you get back to eating, and eat a lot - then you'll get big as me, so you can drag me out of the line of fire the next time I jump into it without thinking. Sound about right?"
He laughed like a fool, bouncing her in his arms like she weighed nothing at all.
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Posted: Wed Oct 05, 2011 8:59 pm
"Ack!" Madison hung on for dear life for a moment, then grinned properly, a genuine bright smile. "Y-yeah, okay, I gotta get stronger anyway, for Kouki... <********>." The smile slipped away just as quickly as it had appeared. "Uh. Hang on..."
Her eyes unfocused for a moment. Kouki, Kouki, I'm sorry... I was stupid, please talk to me...
There was a pause, and then a soft chuckle. We had thought to chastise you further, but we think you have been through enough...
You're a jerk... but not as big a jerk as me, Madison thought, then sighed out loud, the smile returning. "Uh, sorry. Had to apologize to Kouki. My weapon," she explained, for Robert's benefit. "I, uh. Kinda... don't... discriminate with who I hit when I'm like... like that. Heh. But I can change, damnit. I will!"
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