#lingeringscars: 04.

[manslaught]

@lingeringscars: she's kind of cute.

it takes mikayla a moment to even look up, entirely disinterested, because talking people up has never been her strong point— but when she does, following layla's gaze to her, her blood begins to boil, chest swelling with a burning jealousy. sure, mikayla might have a boyfriend — layla's ex boyfriend, though she's never seemed to particularly care about that, at least not as far as mikayla's noticed — but her actual feelings are for her, the girl layla's looking at. she's right, even if cute doesn't seem like a strong enough term for what taissa is, but mikayla can't possibly admit that.

“ what the fuck— ” she spits out, eyes immediately narrowing as she forces her gaze away, realizing she'd been staring for too long, finding it a little easier to breathe when she's no longer looking at her. immediately, she's filled with panic, because she's not sure how layla means it— if it's just some harmless, off hand comment, or if she actually wants to do something about it. if it's the latter, mikayla's not willing to let that happen, feeling sick just at the thought, still convinced that maybe, after graduation, maybe she'll finally be willing to do something about the way she feels, forgetting about asher's existence entirely. she just needs to make it that far.

mikayla had been toying with the clip on the side of her pen, but just at the very thought of layla trying anything with taissa, it snaps off, flinging somewhere on the opposite side of the table. she doesn't care. “ she's not— she's a fucking bitch. ” ironic, coming from mikayla desousa, of all people, but it's the first defense she could think of, scrambling for anything to possibly discourage her. “ have you not listened to, like, anything i've ever said about practice? ” because she's all mikayla complains about, all asher gets to hear about any time he picks her up afterward— but she convinces herself that's normal, complaining about one person so much, because it just means she hates her, nothing else.

“ don't waste your time. she thinks she's like, too good for everyone else. ” again, ironic, but mikayla's too blinded by panic and envy to realize that much.