esmemyselfandi-blog

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: kept his distance on his side of the bed as he kept his eyesight on the ceiling and staring into nothing. He nodded softly as the girl explained she just wanted to sleep. He shifted himself a bit up to reach over to the lamp and turned it off for they could try and get some sleep. Miles laid his body back on to the bed and tried closing his eyes to fall to asleep. Minutes passed and the only thing he could do was focus on the rain that was pouring outside. It seemed like it was going to be impossible for him to sleep so he just opened his eyes and remained silent for the girl next to him. His mind was still on their previous conversation and the secret he had uncovered from Esme. He was still in shock that he had gone that far and found out that part of her life. He was still filled with guilt and it was worthless trying to forget what had happened earlier.

Esme: though mentally exhausted, was rendered wide awake by rehashing her trauma. She longed to drift into slumber, but it was proving too difficult to brush off the resounding thoughts bounding in her mind. It was as if she was paralyzed, stuck in her seated position for several minutes even once the room was enclosed in darkness. Eventually and with a heavy sigh, she pulled her legs onto the bed, slowly shuffling to the head of the bed beside Miles to make herself a place in the made bed. Assuming he was fast asleep, she didn't bother keeping up any appearances, letting the long overdue floodgates open, more tears falling by the moment. Wrapping her arms around herself, she tried to muffle her sobs, her body shivering as she tried to rid herself of every drip of emotion.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was quiet and steady as he laid on the right side of the bed. He was too distracted by his own thoughts to realize they didn't really speak about sleeping arrangements. He couldn't just act normally like before since things had changed between them. He didn't know where he stood exactly but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable or upset her.They weren't friends, at least not anymore, just classmates who got unlucky by getting stuck together on a project. "Is this okay?" He referred to the two of them sharing a bed. Miles still had no clue on how to be around the girl as the night had gone differently than what any of them have even planned.

Esme: could feel the familiar turning in her stomach, mentally debating whether its source was the empty stomached pill, the emotional toll she brought upon herself or the uncomfortable situation she found herself in the moment with Miles. It was too similar but so drastically different from the times they shared lounging in the past, formerly laced in relaxation and now etched in awkward fumbling from both parties. Barely turning to the voice at her back, again she exuded another minuscule nod before stiffly turning her body in the right direction atop the made bed. "I'm fine," she moused, the words even sounding like a lie in innocent context. "I just... want to sleep," she added weakly, a huge exhale driving along just how exhausted she really was from the day's events.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: looked over at the girl who seemed to be searching for something in the purse. Once his eye caught the view of the bottle he then dropped his head to the floor. Memories of the two of them in the past and the pills he was given had resurfaced. It was a dark time when that had happened and he remembered that's when it all came down. He took a deep breathe and brought his eyesight back up trying to let go of those old memories. Moving his body backwards until his feet were longer dangling from the bed, he laid his head on the pillow with his eyes looking up at the ceiling. "Yeah I didn't plan on going home either." He admitted, letting his hands rest on his stomach. This didn't seem too bad for Miles, the two had different reasons to not wanting to be home. He didn't even bother leaving a text because he would often do this finding solace in another place.

Esme: nodded in solemn understanding, not knowing the specifics of the war at home this time around, but knowing enough of the situation to surmise what and who was keeping him away from home for the night. Hands lifted to clench the oversized robe closer to her body, still chilled from the rain, a sordid attempt to comfort herself. She felt the shift behind her as Miles began to settle in, unsure what her next move was. Technically he'd paid, so the room was rightfully his. She had cash on hand to rent her own room, but that involved redressing in wet clothes and braving the storm again, neither notion thrilling her. So instead she sat rigidly, waiting for further instruction.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: wasn't sure to how to go about the project anymore since it seemed to have drifted from the conversation. It was best to just leave it alone and talk about it another day once they were in a different mindset. He was intrigued by there being an actual person she knew behind the name. Not expecting to even get anything after the last secret he found out he was surprised she even went on to talk about her past. It was strange as he never once was able to know anything personal about her, something as in depth as the story she was sharing with him. A soft smile appeared on his face once he heard the change of tone coming from Esme. He didn't interrupt her but just listened quietly on the edge of the motel bed. The smile went away once the story quickly ended and they were back to reality. "Yeah it's getting late. Un, are you going to go back home?" He asked a bit unsure as to what they were going to do. Truthfully, he didn't want to go home since he left a heated argument and he didn't want to be back in that environment. At least not that night.

Esme: had created quite a rollercoaster for herself over the last few minutes, stringing Miles along for the duration until she was back on solid ground. She didn't want to think about the project. She definitely didn't want to think about her parents. Truth in all, she simply didn't want to think. Glancing to the other side of the bed, Esme riffled through her discarded purse for a moment until she found the small orange vial in question, plucking out a small capsule to dry swallow before easing herself down on the bed beside Miles. Softly she shook her head, strands of damp hair finding their way to her face to make home there. "I don't particularly want to," she answered quietly, recalling the passive aggressive note she'd left on. Even fond memories of the past couldn't keep the bitter taste of the present at bay for long enough.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: reached over to one of the drawers nearby and found a towel he could use to dry himself off. As he was doing so he realized that he had been caught looking at the girl who looked different because of her hair. He stopped in his tracks and put the towel down for a moment. "I've just never seen your hair down," he then went back to putting the towel over his arms. Miles continued using the towel to dry himself until he figured it was the best he could work with and then left it aside. Sighing softly he was now faced with the girl in front of him. There was no more shielding behind anything or harsh words being exchanged. He slowly nodded as he listened to her go on once again about the project. "Well instead Hildegard maybe you can go with a more believable name." He suggested hoping to lighten the mood a bit even though he knew that might not have been possible. Miles remained silent as he decided to be a bit serious now and go back to the topic of the project. "We can always just make up a great story about our families." He finally gave in to her initial request from before.

Esme: was almost offput enough by the reveal of her hair, something so simple but so significant, to blush. She swallowed again, unsure of what else to say but a hushed "it's not my thing," before returning in front of him. "And there was a Hildegarde," she counted, her brows pulling together. "Well, she wasn't technically related. She was a maid and she snuck chocolate chips in my pancakes when dad wasn't around," she added, her expression drifting to a small hint of better days. "Anyway... I don't care what you do. It's an opinion piece, so Perino can't really dock us for not being detailed," she shrugged softly. Wordless in thought for a few moments, her mind eased back to her previous sentiment. "He was really pissed out when he found out about the pancakes. There was chocolate on my face one morning and he put two and two together. I don't know who he yelled at more, Hilde or my mom. After he went to work, I felt so guilty that I'd gotten everyone in trouble that I cried in my closet until mom found me. To prove she wasn't mad at me, she smeared chocolate on her face too and took a picture of us." Smiling wistfully for a moment, she remembered her surroundings -and company-, blinking back to focus. "Uh. Anyway. It's... late," she drawled, desperate to get off topic.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was always quick with words and knowing what to say with full confidence. This was not one of those moments, especially when it involved Esme. After all the shit he gave her for being this bad person to him in his life he realized that he was no different. He pushed the very intimate details about her dark past out of her and he knew he was wrong. He watched as the girl went to the restroom to try and dry herself off from the rain. He looked at himself and the drenched clothes he was now in. Taking off the jacket he had on, he put it on the chair he was previously sitting on. Miles then looked back to see the girl almost unrecognizable with her hair all down in messy waves from the wet braid she had on. He was so used to seeing her properly dressed with the side braid always neatly made. This was not one of those moments as he watched from afar as he took a seat on the corner of the bed. "I know I pushed too hard." He responded to the sarcastic response he had gotten to his previous apology. The boy didn't blame her for anything she might tell him next. It was his fault for being so cruel and crossing the line.

Esme: "Just forget it," she rasped, too exhausted now to pick a further fight. She so rarely allowed the memories of her mother, more so her demise, to cross her mind for the very reason of the heavy toll it took on her entire being. Now that everything was in the open, she was drained and too exposed. Feeling the eyes on her, Esme glanced over, realizing that she'd made herself susceptible to being a new sight; her safety net of hair fallen around her shoulders as it dried in soft waves. "What?" She muttered, self conscious. Swallowing the nervousness she felt, she cast her eyes away, spotting a thin terry robe hanging neatly on the back of the door. Inspecting it thoroughly, she pulled it from the hook, trading it for the wet clothing plastered to her cold skin before walking back to the main room. "I wasn't kidding before," she noted, her voice a steady sooth as she stood in front of his seated form. "About making up a family. I'm not writing about the truth, I don't care if I fail the class."

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

honey, you’re a shipwreck

with your heart of stone

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: stood there behind the petite girl a bit afraid of what he had unraveled. All the pushing and questioning he did to the girl hit a breaking point. His face turned pale as he listened to every hard hitting word that came out of her mouth. He was speechless. There was nothing he could say at that moment when more words spilled out of her mouth about her family. He had no idea that her story would even be like this and he immediately regretted even doing this to her. There was no way she was lying, she couldn't be lying. The emotions were all too real and Miles was hit with guilt for being responsible to having Esme breakdown right in front of him. The sound of the rain outside became louder as the two stood there in the middle of the room filling in the silence between them. Miles looked at the ground almost ashamed that he even did this to her and forced her to bring up something that must have been haunting her. He slowly took a step forward pausing himself before taking more steps and making things worse. The last thing he wanted to do was make her even more upset. "I--I didn't know. I'm sorry." Those words didn't seem enough, nothing seemed right but it was a start.

Esme: could have gone on forever; delving into grittier details and remembrances, really punishing Miles for digging so far into the business she clearly wasn't keen to share, but where was the use in hurting herself in the process? His reaction was a typical one to such jolting news, and while she wasn't sure what she'd expected, there was a sense of relief that he was just about speechless. The less she'd need to explain, the better. The rain hadn't really registered until now, Esme finally becoming aware of the growing storm beyond their walls once she noticed the water pooling at her feet, realizing it was dripping from her sopping braid. She took a tentative step backward as Miles neared her, still keeping her distance even once he stilled. "You couldn't leave well enough alone," she murmured in a small, pained voice as she turned away to step towards the tiny washroom. Flicking on the light, she located the nearest towel before tugging her soaking hair free from its elastic constraint, shaking the mussed locks free to pat dry. "But you're sorry, so that must make it okay."

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: had found himself in something very dark and unfamiliar territory. He had forgotten where the hell they were even at with the sudden arguing that had happened instead. He watched her having some sort of meltdown that he still didn't quite understand. Was this another game to her? To try and get Miles back to whatever messed up relationship they had before? None of this was making sense to him and he grew impatient. He decided to make a bold move as she turned away from him and placed his hand on her shoulder trying to get her to look back at him. "What's going on? I--I don't know what you're even going on about. I don't know if you're still stalling or not." He pleaded for some sort of explanation since he was only getting bits and pieces.

Esme: was undoubtedly spun out, her dark secrets threatening to spill over as rapidly as the tears at her waterline. Her previous tremble was now a full-blown shake, whether out of anger or overwhelm was anybody's guess to make. She ignored Miles' inquisitive confusion; she didn't need any of her ramble to be sensible to him, a tangent she hadn't wanted him to be privy to in the first place. Now however, it was much too late to take anything back, getting more specific by the moment. Figuring it was best o go for broke and cut her losses, she remained outturned, tensing at the first instance of physicality from Miles in months. A deep exhale left her worn lungs, preparing herself to hear the words out loud. "I'm not stalling," she retorted, angry emphasis on the last word. "You want to finish this project so bad? Where do you think we should start? My mom's overdose? Me being the one to find her? Oh-or the most thrilling part of my dad not only blaming me for it, but saying so to my face. More than once. I think that bit will really capture our audience's attention, don't you? We could double this up as a history project and make a timeline while we're at it," she suggested with a bright feigned enthusiasm. "Yeah, from when my mom stopped taking her medication, then just took all of it, the weeks she spent in the hospital, the first time my dad told me how much I remind him of her, specifying that it wasn't a good thing. And a great plot twist is when I was prescribed the same pills that they found forty of in my mom's stomach, I think everyone in class will appreciate that irony, right? So, in conclusion: dead mom, spiteful father, guilty Esme, that's what family means to me."

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: wasn't sure what kind of reaction he was expecting from her but he had noticed a change in her. It was hard to describe but it was definitely there as the two made eye contact with each other. He was a bit taken back when she tried shoving him and when that didn't work the first time he certainly did move a bit back when it was done a second time. Now there was shouting and he was unsure what was even going on? Mother? What is she even talking about? This was supposed to be a school project that could have been done but the topic that they were given only brought trouble. He scratched the back of his neck trying to make sense of everything that was going on. "What the hell are you even talking about Esme?" He didn't expect to spark this kind of reaction from a simple question about family and now he was left wondering what was going on.

Esme: would have found it shocking to be reacting how she was if she weren't so wrapped up in her temporary mania. Thrust into the memories she normally so expertly shielded from her thoughts, she was too far gone to explain away the things coming from her mouth without requiring some truth. She was wrought with the urge to keep up her physical tirade towards Miles despite knowing how close to home it hit... so to speak, but resisted as he didn't fight back. Feeling the slight twitch as she was questioned, she wasn't calm enough to censor her speech before letting out another bawdy, bitter laugh, no trace of humor to be found in it. "I mean obviously you're not my mother, I haven't killed you yet," she scoffed, turning to face away from him as her heart picked up in speed.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: wasn't sure what had gotten in him to even be pushing this far. Maybe it was all the pain he had felt when she had made him feel like crap but whatever the reason he was way too deep now with the questions. He was unsure what she was even referring to when Esme brought up a him. It could have been anyone at that point since he was still left wondering. "Why are you acting so innocent? Of course you play mind games. You manipulate people and trick them into whatever you need." He responded ignoring the obvious signs of distress right in front of him. None of it stood out to him as he only had one goal in that moment and it was to get some sort of truth from her. "What? Got nothing else to say now?" He said getting ready to just pack up his things and just leave.

Esme: could feel the tunnel vision setting in. Each moment seemed to stand still, Miles' voice dying out around her ears and the words barely registering in lieu of the rage searing her veins. "Just shut up, Miles," she commanded lowly, unable to even meet his eyes. She wasn't sure whether the warning was more beneficial to him or herself but it was genuine, each of his biting words pushing her closer to the brink of her composure. The accusation of manipulation was one of Esme's father's favorite to make towards her, the word alone never failing to shake her to her core, and now that it was being directed at her by someone else, someone she already felt don betrayed by, it was more than she could handle. The upset came over her like a flash, her hands raising of their own accord, pushing him the tiniest shrug back. He was much bigger than she, his body practically unaffected by her shove, which only served to anger her further, earning him a second swat. "Don't walk away from me! You don't get to up and leave when things get too real for you and abandon everyone else, you're not my mother!"

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was charging into unknown territory as he continued on looking for answers. "Oh my gosh, you keep dragging this on. I've had with all this bullshit answers I'm getting." He spat out with a more firmer tone this time around. There was something in Miles that had changed his demeanor as he was now frustrated and kept digging at the girl to speak. He knew that he should have let it go already and just go home but he was already determined to get through her. He felt as if he deserved at least something from her after all the turmoil they been through and he decided it would be this project. Hearing the monologue the girl provided only left him with more questions than answers. There was ad a shift in the air as he fully listened as to what was being said. He was confused and wondering what she was even talking about. This then led to him thinking he was already back to being part of whatever clever trick she was playing on him."I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing with me I mean you've done it to me before." He had lost all of his trust in her months ago and this was the only logical response he could come up with. He didn't know what was real or fake with her as he never truly seen the real side of her but only the small fraction Miles was able to get.

Esme: could already sense that the escalating situation wouldn't soon be remedied, her skin earning goosebumps across the surface and tears already pricking her eyes. It wasn't reasonable for her to expect Miles to magically know any of her past that she purposely never elaborated on, but that he wouldn't back down from trying to figure her out was too infuriating to bear. She took another step back, this time to create a distance of defense between them before she cracked completely, not that the physical space was doing much to aid her. "God, you sound just like him," she complained, her voice a mixture of anguish and exhaustion. "My mind games. Right. They're the cause of everything, I get it. It's all me, it always has been, big bad hurricane Esme is at it again! That's what I live for, just death and destruction," she rattled, her voice cracking at the vague mention of decease.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: didn't know what else he expected as he asked her for her take on family. He understood that the topic alone could be difficult as he had many problems with his own. At this point he wasn't asking just for the project but for himself as well. He believed that he at least deserved some genuine answer to the question he was asking. So far he wasn't getting any of that but negative responses mostly at his home life and the abusive relationship he had with his dad. "At least I'm actually providing you with answers while I'm getting nothing back." He raised his voice unexpectedly as he swallowed the lump that was in his throat. There was very little space between them now as the room fell silent with tension in the air. "What's your problem? Why can't you just tell me something? Anything?" He asked searching for any sign that he might get a real response instead of the sassy remarks. "What are you so scared of?" Miles asked without knowing any of the real intentions as to why she may have been acting this way towards him.

Esme: rolled her eyes again, unabashed by Miles' words. "I already told you that I didn't owe you anything, nothing has changed," she replied calmly, idly scribbling on her blank page. Only once the pregnant pause formed between them did Esme realize how threateningly close she was standing, taking half a step back and shaking out the fists at her side, realizing that her demeanor was unnecessary. He was practically begging now, his tone too soft and Esme too riled as usual, and she was beginning to see defeat in her near future. "Scared!" She cackled darkly, feeling each inch of her body trembling as she fought to keep the salt in her eyes at bay. "You think this is fear? Once you're faced, and I really do mean FACED with your biggest fear in this world, nothing can scare you ever again. I'm not afraid of this project, I loathe it, and out of every topic we could have been assigned you manage to land us with the one that neither of us belongs anywhere near. I can't even do a simple project for school at my house because I can feel my dad's eyes on me and hear everything in his head that he wants to say. Between him and you I'm completely boxed in, drowning in all of these people I know can't stand me, but I can't escape if I want to pass this stupid class. So how about we change our topic to what this project means to me. Hell."

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: sat down on the chair that was close by to the desk in order to start writing down the information he needed. As he clicked his pen to begin writing he was once again frustrated with the girl. "You already know what family means to me." He placed his pen down on the desk looking her straight in the eye now not breaking contact. "It means lies and deceit to me. There, you happy?" Miles had nothing to lose on saying how his family truly as she already knew. There was no facade he could hide behind as he was stuck with Esme as a partner who knew about his family. The same thing couldn't be said about the opposite as he didn't really know much about her. "So Esme let's try this again. What does family mean to you?" He was practically begging for some sort of genuine answer at this point.

Esme: had expected to be irritated by the end of the day, whether it be by the project or her partner, but she wasn't anticipating the bubbling anger inside of her, threatening to surface with each second longer that Miles prodded her for answers she wasn't willing to offer. She was still astonished that he was taking the matter so casually, seemingly so willing to discuss his woes to his peers. She however did not share that seem willing this only growing and see as he sniffed out his clues to her own home life. "That doesn't count," she sneered, angrily shaking her head and tapping a nervous pen atop her notebook. "That's generic shit, this is supposed to be an essay, so let's get specific, shall we? Tell the audience why you feel deceived. Were you not hugged enough? Are there the lies that the twins aren't the favorite children because there's no aggression left for them after it gets taken out on you?" Too invested in the beginning of her rant, Esme hadn't realized that she was back on her feet, reflexively backing Miles closer to the wall as she spat her accusations.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was relief that there was at least some common ground once they figured out where they would be going to next. He spent many days like this with Esme months ago where it would be just the two of them doing whatever the hell they wanted. There was a huge difference in this seeing as he only wanted to get through his assignment and he needed Esme for that. He rolled his eyes at the comments Esme had even implied. "No worries." He grabbed his stuff and the two of them went on foot to the nearest motel they could find. It took a while but they had finally arrived drenched to the front desk and he paid with the credit card his dad had given him. Miles managed to ignore the looks the employee gave them and just asked for the key to the room as quickly as he could. They were now in the small room that seemed to have a certain smell to it. He dropped his stuff on the floor and then took out the things he needed once again for the project. "So what does family mean to you?"

Esme: though irritated by the sudden storm, was almost thankful for its appearance as it offered a decent excuse not to talk about her place in the project. The short walk to their final destination was a quiet one, assumably due to both party's frustration towards the resounding day as a whole. Once they'd arrived, Esme kept her silence up, no more emotion but a glare to the skeptical looking lobby employee as they were granted entrance to their temporary housing. She followed closely behind and into the designated room, letting her own belongings find a place on the floor beside his before finally hearing him speak. "Oh no you don't," she scoffed, turning towards him with arms already crossed tightly over her chest. "I asked you first and you never answered, so since you're the one that has no problem with being so generous with his answers, you're on the chopping block first."

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was always good on letting his feelings being known. Sometimes he wouldn't always express the right way but he was close to doing so at the moment. The shift in the prior relationship he had with Esme that proved to be a roller coaster seemed to be on that same course again. He figured it was best to stay silent as he knew there was a part of Esme who was right. His family secrets didn't come out by force but purely accidental from Miles. He wasn't going to let her know that she was right though because it didn't seem fair. There was no way he was going to give her that advantage and then they might not even get anywhere with their project. It was better to leave it alone for the moment before he made things worse and pissed her off. Getting up from his seat he ran his fingers through his wet hair letting it fall back. He stopped immediately as Esme suggested they move the project to his house. He had just gotten in a big fight with his dad and he didn't want to be in that environment with someone else there. "Let's just go to motel, okay. Problem solved." He suggested in order to not get into another argument as to why they couldn't go to her place or his.

Esme: didn't think that Miles' alternative was outright suggestive, but she had to take pause to gather her thoughts. Months ago, the concept of being secluded somewhere with Miles would be exciting, if not to be expected in the height of their unconventional relationship, but now it was a strange limbo to be found in. Fully prepared to reject the idea, her mouth opened to speak, interrupted by another hearty crash of lightning and an even heavier downpour, culminating into a full fledged storm. "Well... maybe we can go..." she trailed, at a loss to any other location close enough that they'd both be willing to relocate. "Whatever," she grumbled, packing her things back up with a soft huff. "But this whole thing was your idea to begin with, aso you're paying and don't get any ideas," she snipped unnecessarily, tossing her braid behind her back as she started the pace ahead of them through the brush of trees and towards their unfortunate destination, ultimately ushering him forward once they'd arrived.

[esmemyselfandi-blog]

strangers if we see this through | hollingsong

Miles: was slowly getting closer to just walk away from her and to never look back. He needed to calm himself down and remind himself that these were the typical mind games Esme always did. Pausing for a moment to not say or do anything he might regret he finally recollected his thoughts. "I told you everything about my family whether I liked it or not. I don't get how you can just throw that back to my face." He felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. There was a lot of feelings he was holding back from her but that was just the tip of the iceberg. The two of them were now drenched in water from the sudden rain that was happening around them. He rolled his eyes looking down at Esme's now ruined notebook from the rain. "If we're going to be doing this then we might as well go to your place."

Esme: often wondered if she'd ever feel anything but blase about anything in life. Her demeanor surprised even herself sometimes, finding it strange that she could so easily non-react to the tensions around her. Miles had no idea of the territory he was nearing, but it didn't matter to the anger rising under her skin, each muscle tensing. "I didn't make you tell me anything," she reminded him, lifting a brow to herself. "And that doesn't mean I have to reciprocate. I don't owe you anything." Biting the inside of her lip, Esme pondered whether to specify that she wasn't throwing anything in his face, rather making a point that some things were best left unsaid and rehashed. Clearly it wasn't resounding with him, but if it was between incidentally offending him and letting her own tribulations be known, he'd simply have to be collateral. Blinking at his suggestion only then did she realize that the weather had turned, holding her arm away like she needed the physical smattering to confirm that the rain wasn't her imagination. "It- it's just sprinkling, just ignore-" The rain chose that moment to fall harder, the full intensity kicking in with a roll of thunder to prove its point. "Okay well no, my house is not an option," she noted sternly, shaking her head. "We can just go to yours."