forum Hold me closer, tiny dancer (o/o) (Closed)

Started December 20, 2021 by @emilyevewrites group

tune

"No," Eve quickly cut in. "No, you didn't force yourself on me at all. If anything… I was worried about the opposite happening…" She looked away even though Rowan's face was hidden. This is terribly awkward.

Rowan sighed, leaning back against the counter. "I just… I feel bad about it. S-Sorry… I don't mean to make you uncomfortable or something. Like I said, I just… we're rivals. You don't even like me."

"No, I don't," Eve murmured, and whether it was to reinforce his statement or just to convince herself, she wasn't entirely sure. "But there's no need to feel bad. What's done is done. I'm sorry for…" She struggled to come up with one thing in particular, so after a moment, she just threw her hands up in the air and cried, "I'm sorry for everything!"

Rowan nodded, fidgeting nervously with his hands. He jumped a bit when Eve yelled, still looking pretty uncomfortable. "You don't need to be sorry… it's not your fault either. I-I dunno, we… we were just drunk, right?"

"Right. It… It was nothing. It meant nothing." For some reason, the words brought intense emotions that Eve wasn't prepared for in the slightest. "Excuse me, I… I…" She tried to come up with an excuse, but her mind failed to capture any ideas, so instead she just walked quickly to her room without looking back at Rowan.

Rowan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose after Eve left. He felt guilty for several reasons. First of all, he had clearly upset Eve. Secondly, he had no right to be catching feelings for her, which was mainly why he was trying to forget the incidents altogether. I'm sorry, Eve… I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already have.

Eve entered her room but didn't shut the door. She sat on her bed and propped her elbows on her knees while putting her head in her hands. "Inexplicably, undeniably stupid," she hissed to herself. "You're not falling for him. You can't."

After a bit, Rowan headed to his own room, sighing softly in frustration to himself. He glanced at Eve's door as he passed it, but didn't go inside. He could apologize to her later when they had both calmed down some.

Eve straightened herself up. This was flat-out embarrassing. If she couldn't control herself around Rowan in their apartment, how were competitions going to go? She shook her head at the thought.

I just have to forget about it… we won't be able to do competitions if we're both dancing around each other like this… figuratively and literally. Rowan flopped back on his bed, feeling exhausted. This can't end up well…

After a few moments of silent contemplating, Eve decided it would be best to ignore the building-up feelings inside her by listening to music. She slipped her earbuds in, pressed play, and closed her eyes.

Rowan wallowed in his room for a while, but he eventually left to go to the gym for a distraction. Although he normally let Eve know when he was going somewhere, he felt that it would be awkward right now, so he just left and was gone for a long time.

The music worked its magic. Soon, Eve was feeling better – not by much, but better was the ideal option – and she took her earbuds out. She didn't hear Rowan, but she quickly focused on what she was going to do, not thinking about him. Eventually, she worked out the rest of her day, starting with dance practice. She got dressed and took the short walk over to the studio.

Rowan was still at the studio when Eve arrived, and he looked a bit afraid and annoyed. Another guy was harassing him, and it was someone he was very familiar with. He was another of his and Eve's rivals, and not an especially friendly one. Rowan waved the guy off and tried to walk away, but he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged back to where he was. "I don't want any trouble, Preston… I just want to go home."

Eve entered the studio and almost didn't see the confrontation. Her earbuds were in, and she was so focused on practicing that she almost didn't see the blur in her peripheral vision. Almost. She glanced over and completely stopped where she stood. Her heart stopped – Preston wasn't just competition; he was friends with Eve's stalker ex. The shock that ran through her was quickly replaced by rage when Preston grabbed Rowan's collar and yanked. Her eyes narrowed sharply, and she stormed over to them. "What the hell?" she demanded, glaring at Preston.

When Preston heard Eve's voice, he turned his head and smirked a bit, only tightening his grip on Rowan. Rowan didn't struggle against his hold; that could only end badly for him, and it was less humiliating to stand his ground than to struggle to free himself and lose.
"Eve~" Preston crooned. Rowan shuddered at the tone of his voice, looking disgusted. "My friend's been asking about you. Is this around where you're staying now?" He asked. Rowan looked a bit angry now.
"Hey, leave her out of this. Leave her alone. You shouldn't be friends with that guy anyway." He huffed. Preston ignored him.

Eve ignored the fear that shot through her at Preston's tone. Instead, she rose up to her full height and dropped her bag. With both her hands now free, her fingers curled into (hopefully) intimidating fists at her sides. "That is none of your business, jackass," she growled. "Let. Him. Go."

Preston snickered, clearly not intimidated by Eve at all. He was much bigger than her, after all, and could overpower her pretty easily if he wanted to. "Aw, you're going to try and protect him? Don't you hate this guy?" He tugged harder at Rowan's collar, pulling him up onto his toes. Rowan choked a bit and tried to move away enough to get his feet back on the ground. When Rowan tried to push him away with one hand, Preston grabbed it with his free one and twisted Rowan's hand back. Rowan grimaced and hissed in pain, trying a bit harder to free himself now.

"That doesn't matter!" Eve snapped. But the second Preston grabbed and twisted Rowan's hand, she couldn't think. The pain on Rowan's face fueled her as she rushed at Preston and grabbed his arm that was holding Rowan. "Let him go, Preston!"

When Eve grabbed him, Preston finally let go of Rowan and allowed him to stagger backwards. Rowan cradled his wrist with his other hand, taking a moment to gather himself before he noticed Preston reaching out to grab Eve in his stead. He paused for just a moment before he shot forward, kneed Preston relatively hard in the crotch, and took Eve by the wrist with his good hand to rush her out of the studio.

Eve's eyes widened, and as Rowan pulled her away, she reached down briefly to grab her bag. She hugged it to her chest as they ran back to their apartment. Her fingers shook as she tried to fit the key in the lock once they reached the door. "Damn," she whispered. Her voice was trembling as much as her fingers were. "Damn!"

Rowan rested his forehead against the wall as Eve fumbled with the door. He was breathing heavily, and he seemed stressed and exhausted as he held his injured wrist against his chest. "S-Sorry…" He whispered weakly once he had somewhat caught his breath. "Are you okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

Finally, Eve managed to get the key in the lock and forced the door open. "No, I'm– I'm fine. What about you? Your wrist?" She put her keys on the counter and gently took his hand.

"I'm okay… it's not broken." Rowan replied weakly, reluctantly allowing Eve to take his hand. His wrist was already blossoming some deep bruises, and he didn't seem like he wanted to put much weight onto it. "A sprain at worst… it'll heal. I'll just put a brace on it or something."

Eve frowned worriedly as the bruises began to appear. "I'm sorry…" she whispered. "You shouldn't… Preston, he…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. "You wouldn't be hurt right now if we weren't fighting."