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 Posted: Fri May 13, 2016 11:23 am
Thorne was not drunk, but he was trying. It wasn't a very valiant attempt. He was nursing something strong, but the alcohol just didn't want to take, or because he wasn't all that committed to smashing his mind into pieces at the bar. Darlene's wasn't full, but it wasn't empty either, and Thorne was mulling his thoughts tonight without much focus, scratching his nails over his tattoos restlessly every few minutes. Despite being - on his way to being fine in the aftermath of the mansion, Thorne still felt haunted by everything that had gone on. Gone wrong. He still closed his eyes sometimes and saw blood. He hadn't even tried to connect with the people that had been in the basement with him, and if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't sure he wanted to. After all, what could he say other than sorry? He'd tried? Trying didn't amount to much when the consequence was death. Thorne groaned and pressed the heel of his palm to his face. The night would be so much easier if he could just get drunk.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 6:14 pm
Leila wasn't drunk either, but she conversely looked like she wasn't putting a whole lot of effort into changing that. Hunched wearily over her table, she was nursing a cup of gin in her hands and blankly staring into space, occasionally taking a glance at her phone or the dartboard -- anything to stay distracted. The reason she'd stopped here was because she knew it would be a little bit crowded and noisy. If there was enough sensory input surrounding her she wouldn't have to think about anything. Thorne was... technically a welcome sight. In spite of how closely tied he was to events she'd rather forget, he'd been nothing but friendly during them, so it was worth waving him over once he'd noticed her, too. She'd say "Hey," kick out a chair for him to sit in, and then lapse back into silence.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 6:31 pm
Thorne should have thought twice about going over to where Leila was. Technically, they didn't even know each other yet. But she kicked out a chair and said hey and if that wasn't an invitation to get - well, sort of drunk - Thorne didn't know what was. He slumped into his chair and crossed his arms over the table, laying his head on his elbow and glancing up at her through slit eyes. "Hey," he said in return. And then, "I'm sorry for how badly I ******** up your life in that s**t-hole of a mansion. Can I buy you a drink as a start to a very long path of redemption?"
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:10 pm
As the words tumbled out of Thorne's mouth, Leila gaped sort of blankly, at a loss for how to respond to another attempt to insist that he owed her some kind of apology. She blinked heavily, rubbed her flat cheekbones and dangled her cup from the fingertips of her other hand, taking a long sip before replying. "No, um. I appreciate what you're trying to do, but that house was set up to ******** us over no matter what we did. It's nobody's fault."
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:17 pm
Thorne just nodded, too melancholy and not-drunk-sort-of-trying to respond more effectively. "Still," he said, and fell short of something to say afterwards. His jaw worked, and he added, "Alright. Alright. You alright though? Following that s**t-show?"
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:22 pm
There was a stunted bark of a laugh. "Like hell I'm alright." She polished off her gin, pushed the empty glass over to the side of the table, and returned her arms to their resting position on the table. Her features crinkled into an expression of listless despair, and she confessed, "I... don't know how to talk to Eve about what happened."
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:30 pm
Thorne smiled at the bark of laughter. "Figured as much. s**t question, yeah?" He ordered a shot of something cheap and strong when the bartender looked his way and turned back to Leila. "I'm - sorry. Does she know... about this, all of it? This crazy Otherworld s**t?" He paused. Added, "I told my boyfriends about what happened. Finally. But now it's like - it's different. One of them is apparently on enemy lines and he won't tell me and the other... I don't even know." His laughter bubbled sick in his throat. "We promised we'd try. How do you call it trying when we're all lying to each other?"
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:46 pm
Enemy lines? That was some worrisome and complicated s**t, packed neatly into a small handful of words. Leila nodded along to Thorne's story, gritting her teeth with sympathy at the layers of difficulty their experience had gotten him into. "As far as Eve goes, of course she knows. I've always told her everything. That's why this is so--" s**t. Her eyes stung, she tasted salt, and a handful of fat teardrops made their way to splatter on the table. s**t. "I'm sorry. It was so pointless. There wasn't -- I know it's a bunch of bullshit tropes I'm comparing it to, but dying was just so pointless. There isn't even any peace in it. It's just a nightmare, until being dead is all you want, and instead of waking up from it you're suddenly... just gone." Leila wept, and shook, and struggled to stay mentally at the table.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 7:51 pm
Thorne sighed out and pushed his chair across so that he could lean on Leila. It was a companionable press of shoulders. She could push him away if she wanted, but lately, this was all Thorne knew how to do to help. "Better she knows than not knowing at all and suffering for it. I can tell you that it sucks." Thorne shrugged and closed his eyes. "I know," he said, his voice choked, "I didn't - I mean. I didn't die... but I watched you go. I watched you come back. After all that pain that you went through, just getting thrown back? And for what?" He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. I should have done more." He wrapped one arm around the woman's shoulders, knowing that he couldn't do anything more. Knowing he didn't have any words to stave off this - this hurt. This pain. It was impossible. Autumn had said they deserved happiness but that it was going to hurt first. And right now, Thorne hated the thought of it more than he could bear.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 8:11 pm
The touch and kindness was like an emotional shelf falling to bits in Leila's mind, and soon she was collapsed into Thorne's offered embrace and sobbing into his shoulder. It was damp, and awkward, and went on for a good five or ten minutes, but she sure as hell needed it. When it was over, she was still miserable, but also a little more clearheaded and a good deal less weighed down. A string of snot clung to her face and followed along as she awkwardly pulled away. "s**t. Thanks for that. Your shirt, though, ********..." She grabbed a couple of the scattered napkins on the table and wiped her face, and at the same time offered a couple to Thorne. "I'm gonna need about 40 more drinks. And a bigass plate of something spicy. What about you?"
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 8:19 pm
Thorne weathered Leila easily, rubbing his hand against her arm and letting her rest against him until she was done. He didn't bother to ask if she was alright this time. He knew she wasn't, neither of them were, and Ashdown probably didn't want them to be for awhile. "Any time," Thorne responded, a slight smile on his lips, "I've heard I've got a great shoulder for crying on anyways. Seriously though. Any time you need me." He paused and added, "I need at least two more shots and three plates of nachos. And maybe french fries. I am going to go insane if I think any more about my boyfriend tonight. Literally insane. So - " And he smiled at her, the thinnest edge of humor. "Want to get smashed and eat way too much?"
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2016 8:24 pm
"God, yes," said Leila, emphatically. She reached after some menus and passed one to Thorne. "When I wake up tomorrow I want to feel worse than I did at that bullshit ******** house."
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