forum || Love Hurts | Trigger Warning | A Private RP w/ @PrettyLittlePyro ||

Started August 14, 2020 by @Rainy_day_artist_classic group

tune

@PrettyLittlePyro, here we are.

EDIT: Heads up for stalkers, there's a lot of possible triggering content in this RP.

The soft echo of Savanna's nails drumming against the wooden table was the only noise to fill the void of stiff silence. The tension in the room was so thick, and Savanna's icy glare could almost cut through it.
"You're telling me I have to go back?" She asked quietly, her tone not fitting to the look on her face. The rest of the room seemed to flinch, sliding down further into their seats. All except the man at the end of the table. He kept up a stoic look, nodding simply.
"If that's where he lives, then yes." The man replied in a gruff tone. "Your target is very important. He's got too much information that he's planned to give out in two weeks. The target is-"
"Stop calling him that. Just use his name. We all know Eris and I use to be friends. There's no sugar coating it, Quinton." Savanna responded cooly, pushing up out of her seat. She was a lot taller when standing, throwing even Quinton, at the end of the table, off.
"I got over it years ago. Me and him haven't talked in forever. I can kill him if that's my mission. Going back home is the hard part." She muttered, yanking her coat on over her shoulders, and pulling a pair of black leather gloves on her hands as well. She tied the coat around her waist, pulling a fedora on the top of her head before picking up her umbrella. The others watched her in silence, letting her get up to leave.
"Email me the rest of the information. I've got a long night ahead of me, and have to figure out how to explain my disappearance to my boyfriend." She muttered, pulling the messenger bag over her shoulders before starting to walk out. Her heels clicked as she did so.
"Right. Have a good night, Spencer." Quinton called out softly, keeping a calm composure as she left.

The next few days seemed to fly by, Savanna already making her way off the plane from London back to the United States. As soon as she stepped off the plane she felt the disgusting wave of humidity hit her, coat still hanging on her shoulders.
"Disgusting." She muttered, yanking the coat off and folding it in her arms. The sun was glaring in her eyes as she made her way down to get her luggage, clearly already annoyed about being back. Luckily someone seemed to understand that, as she got through the gates rather quickly to get her luggage. And even that didn't seem to take very long. Before she knew it, she was out waiting for her brother to come pick her up.
"Where is he?" Savanna muttered, continuously checking her phone for any messages. It was miserable outside, sweat starting to build up on her skin. Which didn't help her mood at all.

Finally her younger brother's car pulled up into the parking lot, stopping by the sidewalk to pick her up. She quickly loaded her suit-case in the trunk, dropping her folded coat on top of the luggage before shutting the trunk. With that done, she yanked the door to Phoenix's car open, scowling at him a bit.
"And where have you been?" Savanna snapped bitterly, dropping down into her seat. She buckled herself in, reaching over to crank up the air conditioning.
"Nice to see you, too, Savanna." Phoenix retorted in a sarcastic manner, starting to driver off. "What's got you all in a twist? Not happy to see mom and dad, or what?" He asked lightly, turning down the radio so they could talk. Savanna rolled her eyes at his comment, pulling the mirror down to look at herself. She muttered as she pulled out a makeup bag to touch up her flushed face.
"You know how much I hated it here, Phe. I went to London to get away from here. Though my boss decided it would be good if I came down here for a bit." Savanna mumbled, not going through all the details with him. Sure, she trusted him, but he would flip out if her knew why she was really here.
"Did you try to talk to them about it?" Phoenix asked softly, keeping his focus on the road. "Or was it mandatory that you had to come here?"
"What do you think?" Savanna rolled her eyes, starting to trace her eyes with a dark eyeliner.
Phoenix sighed weakly, nodding a little. "Alright, alright. I just wish you weren't so snappish about it. Mom and dad are already pissy about this. I don't think I can deal with a week of it." He muttered, noting she kept quiet after that.
Sighing weakly, he left the silence as is, continuing to drive in silence. Savanna clearly wasn't in the mood to talk, and quite honestly, the silence was nice.

"Have a good day, Mr. Revilian!" The cashier said, waving to Eris as he packed his groceries into the bag he had brought and got ready to leave the store.

He smiled and waved to her. "You too, Angelina."

She blushed at his words, smiling shyly at him as he turned his back and walked out the door into the sunshine. He sighed. She was pretty, sure, in a way that most men would find attractive. Eris, however, did not. He wasn't really interested in being in a relationship; why, he wasn't sure, but it didn't really matter. He was handsome, yes, and polite, which was what lots of girls wanted. Many of them had a crush on him. The only thing missing was his interest.

He held the bag over his shoulder, holding it up by two fingers, and putting his other hand in his pocket. He started to walk home, nodding in greeting at the people he passed.

The weather was nice. It was sunny and warm, a welcome change from all the rain they had had recently. The birds were even singing, which made him smile. Yes, it was a good day.

Then why did he feel so depressed?

Deep down, he knew the real reason why. It was the anniversary of two very… special occasions, neither of them nice. But it didn't matter, right? It was in the past. It didn't matter. Today was a nice day. He should stop being so gloomy and go somewhere nice. The park, perhaps.

He arrived at his apartment building, smiling at the woman at the front desk before going up the stairs to his rooms. He pulled his keys from his pocket, unlocked the door, and went inside.

He set his groceries down on the table in the kitchen and glanced around his apartment. It was neat, clean and simple, not decorated very much at all. There were a few pictures of him and his friends on the walls, but other than that, there was little personality to the room. Which suited him just fine. The place was mostly just a hoax, anyway. He was usually staying on other places, by order of his boss, when he went on his… jobs.

He spotted a picture, well hidden behind the rest, and a memory flashed through him.

"Hey Eris, look at this!" A little girl came running over to him, handing him a small flower. He grinned at her, kneeling down next to her.
"It's beautiful," he said.
She grinned toothily at him. "I picked it for you," she said shyly.
He laughed and mustled her hair. "Thank you, little one. But if you pick it, then it will die. Why don't you put it in a glass of water to help it live longer."
"Okay!" The little girl said obediently, before running off, pigtails bouncing behind her, three pairs of golden wings on her back, dragging on the ground behind her.

Eris shook his head, dismissing the memory. There was no use thinking about the past. This was now. And now, he had to do something that would distract him. He had told his boss that today wasn't a good day to call him, and so he shouldn't be disturbed.

Right?

After the two had pulled up to their parent's house, the only thing that happened was fighting. It was constant, and very, very loud. For days it was like this, Savanna slipping out of the house as much as possible in the morning or late evening. But she had to be careful.
She was here to kill someone after all. And the last thing she wanted to do was run into her target. Or, how she referred to him, Eris. Though slowly, as time came closer, she grew uneasy. So she went on calling him the target instead. She hated using his name, it was getting too personal. Hence why she was referring to him as the target.

Savanna was starting to get restless, though. Even with leaving the house rather often, and taking precautions, she couldn't help but feel antsy. So she was out for a walk, feeling rather confident she wouldn't get caught. After all week of nothing, what would the chances be? She was fine.
As a matter of fact, she was so incredibly confident, she had headed to a bar not far from the house. She had been dying for a good drink ever since the plane landed. But she doubted it would go well if she came home drunk, late one night. So off she went.

She spent a couple hours there, only having an occasional drink. No matter how much she wanted to, she wasn't going to over indulge. That was a disaster just waiting to happen.
Though as she was leaving, she was definitely on the verge of being drunk. She had to carry her shoes, unable to walk with such tall heels. Even still, she was a little uneasy. Though it didn't stop her from grinning brightly, waving to sober strangers on the sidewalk. Her mind wasn't clear enough to tell her to keep a low-profile. Clearly, at that.

Mumbling under her breath, Savanna continued to walk, nodding a little as the effects started to wear off. Her common sense was still a little hazy, the massive headache starting to build up.
"Where even am I?" She asked weakly, pinching the bridge of her nose. It was only a vaguely familiar part of town, even from her eighteen years of living here. "Must've gone further than I thought…" She mumble, sighing softly. When she saw a grocery store ahead, she checked her pocket for a wallet, and nodded. She was dehydrated, and needed something to drink. Anything, really.
So quietly she made her way across the street to the store.

"Three point two seconds," the examiner said. "That's one second faster than you were last time. Not bad, but there's still a lot you need to improve on."

Eris nodded, wiping sweat out of his eyes, and smearing the blood that had been on his hand all over his forehead. Not that he cared. Covered in blood as he was, from the spray that had covered him as he had beheaded the victim, there was little left of him that wasn't stained scarlet. "What did I do wrong this time?" He asked, dropping the sword in his hand, where it hit the ground with a clatter.

"You took too long to swing. For a proper beheading, you can't hesitate in the beginning. Hesitating may mean the difference between life and death, no matter how small."

Eris shook his head. "I'm still not used to all this," he said, motioning to the headless body on the floor.

"Don't let your instructor hear you say that," the examiner warned. "Or you know what will happen to you." He smiled. "Well, that's all for today. Good work, Mr. Revilian. I hope to see you again soon. You are one of the most talented people I've ever met. Good luck."

Eris nodded and left the room. He took a quick shower and changed his bloody clothes into some clean ones. He knew that if he went back into the room, it would be spotless again, as if nothing had ever happened there, as if the person hadn't existed.

That was the way it was with the Ravens, an elite group of killers, spies, and assassins. They didn't care the slightest about human life, just how much money they could make from a kill. Eris wasn't sure why he had joined them. Actually, yes, he did. Two faces, both girls, flashed in his mind's eye, and he shook his head, before leaving the building.

With a water bottle in hand, she began chugging down all that she could get down. Though when her stomach started to turn she stopped drinking. She didn't want to get sick on the side of the road. Only now were her senses starting to come back- not very well though. All she really could remember was that she wasn't suppose to be making a scene. Being drunk, and throwing up on the side of the road, that wasn't necessarily blending in.

Savanna sighed weakly, pinning her brows together as the migraine built up further. Why had she gone to get a drink? Anyone that knew Savanna well enough knew she had little to no self-control. One drink always led to a couple. And then she was down on tipsy lane.
Why would this time have been any different?

Her feet had an empty feeling, having lost most feeling. Same with her hands; she was honestly surprised she was still walking, and not dropping anything. Though it may have just been the awareness to pain she had lost touch with.

She was trying to focus, knowing if she didn't something bad would happen. And as soon as that thought conjured in her mind, she came to a stop. "Oh god no…" She cringed, feeling her heart rate pick up. Further down the street, Savanna caught sight of a familiar face. And she was less than happy to see him. She had to get out of sight, and fast.

Of course today would be the day she'd run into him. After-all, today was the day she had planned to kill him. Eris was coming her way, and she had nowhere to run. In a moments panic she turned away from the direction she had been walking in, briskly walking down the sidewalk. Maybe if she kept ahead of him, he wouldn't see her. She hoped at least- she couldn't let this be her slip-up.
If it was literally anyone else she had to kill, it would be fine. But with their past relationship, and him knowing who she was pretty well, she would be completely screwed if he saw her.

If it weren't for the awkward position it would be putting her in, she might even dare say hi. But not now. If this had been a pleasure visit, which she doubted would ever have happened in the first place, she wouldn't mind catching up with him. Though if he wasn't up for it, she would never push. The only direction she was trying to push now, was away from him.

Tired as he was, Eris decided, for some reason, to go for a walk. Maybe stop at a grocery store to buy some snacks before he went back home, to his empty apartment and dark memories.

A figure stepped out of a bar and looked in his direction, freezing when they saw him, or so it seemed. The figure looked familiar, although he couldn't remember why. They way they moved made Eris feel as if he had seen them before, although with their face in shadow, he wasn't sure who they were.

And then the figure started to walk quickly away from him. They glanced back once, and Eris stopped walking, staring for a moment, before shaking his head. No. It couldn't be her. She said she would never come back, and he believed her.

Savanna was long gone, no matter what he wanted.

Savanna kept walking briskly, her head starting to pound. The world was slipping from under her feet, leaving her dizzy as she tried to get away. Her shaky steps weren't helping. Neither was the sick feeling in her stomach. But she couldn't collapse. Not now; not with him right behind her.

With awkward steps and numb legs, she kept walking, her shoes in hand. She couldn't stop, she had to get back home. "Come on Savanna. You're not gonna let a little alcohol take you out. You've been so careful." She scolded herself, picking up her pace a little more. No matter how much she wanted to, she wasn't going to stop.

That's what she was telling herself anyway. But with the buildings spinning around her, and the ground below her feeling pulled out from under her feet, what she wanted might not have been possible. What she thought had been a good while of walking was in reality, about five minutes. Unable to do it anymore, she collapsed to the ground. Her stomach was protesting what she had over-dosed on, leaving her to sit on the grass on the side of the road.

She wasn't even thinking about the fact that Eris had still been following her.

Don't you dare follow her, said the logic side of Eris. Normally, he would have listened. He was a very logic-oriented person, and this wasn't him. He didn't normally follow random women around for no reason.

But… this wasn't no reason. As weak an excuse as it was, she reminded him of… well… someone he would have prefered to forget. Someone who had been his only light in this world, until she was his greatest darkness.

She's gone, Eris, he told himself fiercely, even as he quickened his footsteps to catch up to the woman. No matter what you want. So stop following this poor woman. She might think that you're going to rape her or something. Stop it.

But then he heard his father's voice. "If you have a hunch about something, follow it. Your hunches are usually correct. You're intuitive, Eris. You're a survivor, more than I could ever be. So if there's something that doesn't seem right to you, then it probably isn't." His father probably hadn't been talking about a situation like this, but he decided to take it like that.

Savanna laid there on the grass, eyes trained on the clouds. Her head was still spinning, causing her to believe she wasn't going to be getting up any time soon. Especially with the acid taste building up in her mouth.
With everything in her, she was forcing herself to keep from throwing up. But it was getting harder and harder. God she was so weak.

Groaning under her breath, she continued to lay on her back. It was hot, and miserable. How she missed London. She'd take a gloomy or rainy day there over this any day.
The sooner she got through with this, the sooner she could go back home. Her true home. This place just didn't hit the same way as the city in Europe did. It was a mistake ever agreeing to come back- if that's what you could even call it. There was no agreeing in these orders. It was directing, and following through with it. One of these days, she would get back at Quinton for this.

With sweat building up on her face, she pushed herself up into a sitting position, and instantly regretted it. Her stomach turned, the acid taste building in her mouth. 'Don't you dare. Don't vomit here, not now. You need to get up!' She scolded herself, keeled over on her hands and knees. "Come on. Eris is right around the corner. He's going to see you- recognize you.'

It took all the will power in her to stand up, head still spinning. But at least she wasn't vomiting on the grass. Managing to gather enough of her dignity, she quickly started off back down the side walk.

…

In the wrong direction.

Eris turned the corner. He had been walking slowly, trying not to alert the woman in front of him. He glanced over… and saw the woman coming this way.

And she looked almost exactly like Savanna. If a little older. Maybe this was how she would have looked now, all these years later. It was like he was seeing her again, finally… he wantedto go help her. He started to walk towards her… and then stopped.

He darted back around the corner. What are you doing, Eris? You hate drunk people. Just because she looks like her doesn't mean it is her. Get a grip on yourself. She's not back. Do you honestly think that she would be back, now? For what reason? You're dreaming. Just go before you cause something you can't go back on.

"I hate this stupid town." Savanna muttered under her breath, holding a hand to her head. Hadn't she already passed that store? And wasn't the bar up ahead? The confusion on her face was incredibly clear. There was something really wrong with this town. Was there really double everything? She didn't remember it being like this.

Stumbling along, she continued to mutter profanities under her breath. Only something else to contribute to her Savanna-ness. She held a hand to her stomach, letting out a low breath. The floor swirled under her feet as she walked, eventually tripping her up.

She leaned against the side of one of the buildings, breathing heavily. Maybe she should just call Phoenix. While she had little dignity left, at least. Pulling her phone out of her pocket, she managed to call her brother, holding the phone up to her ear.
"Dad is going to kill you." He sighed softly from the other end. Savanna groaned, head resting against the wall.
"You think I don't know that? Just come get me, twerp." She mumbled, hanging up. She kept mostly quiet, her heavy breathing filling the void of her silentness.

Eris leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths, trying to push back his "inner creep." He was doing his best to push back the urge to take another look, to see if it really was his former best friend, although he knew that it probably wasn't. She had been gone for years, and wouldn't be back for no reason. There was no one left that she liked, here… actually, there was her brother. Phoenix. But Eris hadn't spoke to the guy ever since the argument.

The woman didn't seem to be doing very well… should he help her? Probably. That was what Eris did, after all. Help people. But… no. He wouldn't. He was already wandering into dangerous territory with following her.

So, with an effort, he managed to walk away before he did something that he knew he would regret. It took him a long time afterwards to come to terms with the fact that that had been the best thing to do at the time. She seemed so much like Savanna…

Savanna had slid to the ground, leaning back against the wall with a heavy sigh. She continually muttered words under her breath, some louder than others. Something about London could be heard, and Phoenix. Most of it was incoherent though— even to her. Her head was pounding, ringing with every little noise that could be heard in the general area.

As she sat there, she fiddled with one of her rings. When her phone began buzzing, she let out a low groan before picking it up. It was Zander, her current significant other.
"Everything alright, darling?" Savanna asked softly, attempting to not sound so annoyed. She loved him, but now was not a good time.
"Everything's fine, I just wanted to check on you." He hummed, his voice chipper. "If you're not too busy, I just wanted to—" Savanna cut him off, knowing she'd feel bad about it later.
"M'sorry, love… I am kind of busy. I'm not feeling too great either. I'll call you later though, alright?" She asked softly, receiving a quiet okay before he hung up. Letting out a soft sigh, she set her phone back down. What was done was done.

Pinching the bridge of her nose she stood up. Her balance was thrown off momentarily, but she was fine after a couple seconds. At least, enough to stand there and wait. She was clearly frustrated, but with what was to be decided. Even she didn't know what had her so irked in the moment. But something felt off in the pit of her stomach— and she was positive it wasn't the alcohol. So what was it?

"Erith! Eritheritheritherith!" A little girl came skipping down the aisle in the grocery store, two dark pigtails bouncing behind her as she moved. She stopped next to Eris, who knelt down to her level and smiled gently. "Guess what?"

He smiled at her. "What's up, Selene?"

Selene giggled at him, revealing missing two front teeth and the brightest smile that was humanly possible. "I lotht my tooth today!" She pointed to a gap, the tooth on the right. "Daddy pulled it out, and I'm gonna put it under my pillow tho that the tooth fairy gives me money!"

Before Eris could speak, Selene's mother, a beautiful, tired-looking woman came running into the aisle, looking annoyed and worried. "Selene, you know better than to run away when we're shopping, honey!"

"But I wanted to thow Erith my looth tooth!" Selene whined.

"I am so sorry," her mother apologized.

"No problem," Eris said with a warm smile, straightening and giving the little girl a high five. "She's a pleasure. I'll watch her anytime you need." He pulled something from his pocket and took Selene's hand, placing it in her palm. It was a shiny, silver half-dollar coin, and the little girl's face glowed with joy. "In case the tooth fairy doesn't give you as much, there's a little something from me."

"Mr. Revilian-" her mother started to protest, but he shook his head, cutting her off.

"I told you to all me Eris, Mrs. Arling. And it's fine. It's my pleasure."

The woman looked down and sighed. "Fine, then. Thank you. What do you say, Selene?"

"Thank you!" Selene said with another bright smile, holding the coin reverantly in her hand.

"No problem, kiddo. Now you stay with your mom, okay?" He ruffled her hair and watched them walk away.

"Okay!"

With a smile and a fond shake of his head, Eris went to go get some more groceries… and saw someone who made him stop in his tracks.

Savanna was standing there, hood pulled over the top of her head. She felt awkward as she perused the aisles in search of groceries for at the house. A light sigh escaped her lips as she kept her gaze sharp. Her attention was wavering as she stood there, basket propped against her hip.
The past week had been rough at her parent's house. There wasn't much she could do about it, though. She was stuck there until she could get on Eris. But she hadn't been able to find much of him. Once or twice she caught sight of him, but it had been too quick for her to comprehend. And by that time she had, out of instinct, hidden behind the corner, he was gone. The frustration was more than she could bear.
The tired look on her face was quite prominent, as the dark circles under her eyes made her look in such a way. It was surely a little difficult to tell it was her, but the way she muttered under her breath would be familiar. It was no surprise when Eris caught sight of her that he was taken aback. Not only was this the girl who had left so long ago, but she also seemed different. Something was clearly bothering her, what it was, was to be decided.
Savanna grabbed a milk bottle from the fridge, eyes catching sight of someone staring at her. Slowly her brain picked up what was happening, and who it was, one word came to mind. Before she could stop herself, it left her lips as she dropped the glass bottle of milk.
"Shit."

Eris stared at the woman in front of him. No. There was no way. This wasn't real. He was dreaming. What was Savanna doing back here? And in a store of all places?

She looked exhausted. Back when they had still be friends, she had always had bags under her eyes, no matter how often he told her to sleep more. But these - these were larger, more prominent than anything he had seen on her before.

And she was even more beautiful than when they had parted.

It was in the way she held herself, though, and the ways her mouth turned down in the corners, and even the way that she held her shopping basket on her hip, though, that made him hesitant. There was something wrong.

He was torn between joy and fear and anger. When she glanced over and realized that he had seen her, her eyes widened, and a profanity spewed from her mouth.

She dropped her milk.

Without stopping to think, Eris hurried to catch the jug, landing it in his fingers just before it hit the ground. Straightening, he realized again how much smaller she was than him. He had forgotten.

Eris cleared his throat and handed her the milk. "Hey, Savanna," he said quietly. "It's been a while."

Her heart raced in her chest as he held the milk out to her. They weren't even that close, but it was way too close for comfort. Considering the fact he wasn't even supposed to know she was here. Honestly, she was surprised he even remembered her name, after the time apart. Mostly because she assumed he would be angry, and do everything in his power to forget her.
And she couldn't tell what he was thinking, his tone of voice only making her inner conflict even more unsettled. Panic rose in her chest as she managed to take the bottle with a shaky hand. Eventually, she got it in the basket, hands, and knees quivering as she avoided the awkward eye contact. She couldn't do it. There was too much riding on her getting this job done. She knew there were about to be major problems if she tried to say anything but goodbye.
But the word would not come out.
No matter how hard she tried.
Biting back the stinging tears at her stupidity and frustration, she lifted her head, her heart sinking as she looked at him. He looked so much… older? No, that wasn't it. Of course, there was an air of maturity she wasn't used to, but that just wasn't it.
After a minute or two of staring, she realized standing there like a fish, opening and closing her mouth, was getting her nowhere. So she said the only thing she could think of.
"Hey."
One word, with so much power she felt sick for even saying it. This was so, so bad. Everything was about to be so much harder. He'd either want to kill her or want to catch up. And she couldn't risk either. But she couldn't run. Everything in her was holding her there, staring into his eyes.
His really captivating eyes.
Shaking her head free of her mess of a mind, she picked her head back up to try and look at him. "Uh… yeah. Hey… um, how have you been?"

"Hey." Her voice was shaky, as if she didn't quite know what to do with herself. Savanna had tried not to make eye contact.

That hurt. A lot.

Eris didn't let it show, though. It was something he had gotten very, very good at. He didn't show her how hurt she was, how much emotion had come to the surface when he had seen her again, after all these years. He didn't let her know how much he thought she had changed, how beautiful she was, the way her eyes glinted with hidden strength that she probably still couldn't see.

He just let polite interest come to his face. He wouldn't bother her, he wouldn't be clingy. He would just… be like a stranger. He could see that she didn't want to talk, but something was keeping her there in front of him.

If he was honest with himself, he felt the same way. And yet-

"I've been okay," he said, in his quiet, self-assured voice. "You?"

She seemed to shrink at the sound of his voice, growing more and more intimidated the longer she stood there. He sounded so confident in himself, so sure. And she couldn't even think of how to answer his stupid counter-question. Why did things have to be so much harder than necessary?
"I've been…"
She couldn't think of how to fill that blank. It just hung there as she finally looked up at him and locked eyes. Her heart ached as the thoughts of what she had to do flooded her brain. It was sick and cruel. What was the point of it anyway?
The longer she stared at him, the more she craved to forget everything and go back to how it was. To a time where she may have had conflicting feelings, but where she didn't have to worry about how much red was on her ledger. She used to have one secret and one secret alone, why had things gotten so much more complicated? Why did it have to come to this?
And then she realized she was becoming a fish again.
"Ah, sorry… I've been… well it's complicated." She finally decided, before letting out a dry laugh and rubbing her temple before dropping her arm to rest on the basket. She kept a griefed smile on her face, looking slightly less exhausted. "But that's how it goes, doesn't it? Nothing has ever been easy for me."

Her words and her expressions didn't fit on her face. Not in the way Eris remembered it. She used to be so confident of herself. Yes, things had been complicated with her before, but now she seemed almost swallowed by… well, whatever had happened to her in the years that it had been since they had last seen each other.

He couldn't help but feel a small surge of satisfaction at her current state. Something was eating her alive. That's what she gets, a part of his brain whispered. He shoved the thought away.

"Naturally." He put his hands into his pockets and slouched back slightly, so that there was some more distance between them. "If things were easy for you, you wouldn't be you." His words were polite, and anyone who didn't know their complicated history would think that it was a compliment. There was a subtle edge to his words that was almost unheard, unless someone knew him well.