Re: we can never go back

Wed Apr 03, 2019 12:08 pm

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Lachlan smiled and laughed when she said that it felt way longer than 19 days. He felt that. The number of times that his phone was open and there was a message typed to Skye was higher than he'd like to admit. He had to wonder, if she felt the same way as him about time dragging on, if she ever saw the little dots that signified him typing. He really hoped not, that would be embarassing.

"Technically, it's been shorter. Only 18 days and like 20ish hours. Roughly." Lachlan said with a cheeky grin. She was so easy to mess with, and he got a kick out of being a pedantic ass to her. It'd be so easy to splash her right now, or to throw her back into the water under the guise of kissing her again. Lachlan could think of dozens of ways to mess with her or razz her, but part of him knew that this wasn't the time. He felt a warm breeze above the water, reminding him of how cold the water was. He felt like they had brought on something new, like things were all about to change.

"I think we should talk about this." Lachlan said, seriously, his hands moving to Skye's side. "Maybe we're not good at that, and maybe I'm making a mistake even suggesting it, but I don't want to keep falling with you. I want us to land on our feet for once." Lachlan said, slowly, pushing a strand of Skye's wet hair behind her ear. Of all of the things they had done together, suggesting talking felt like the riskiest.

Thu Apr 04, 2019 12:36 am

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"Really?" Skye says in response to Lachlan's correction, though she's smiling, "You want to go down to the minutes?" Is it terrible that its almost easier to talk to him now, when they're so physically close to each other? Though most of that is just surface level. It's teasing and quips when they're coming up for air. They can only talk about their feelings when they're screaming at each other from across a room. She knows its kind of toxic that way.

Except, instead of heading down that same path of bad choices and unsaid words, Lachlan proposes something different. She hopes he can't feel her pulse because she swears her heart has accelerated to sixty miles per hour. She hopes she isn't that transparent.

"Here?" She asks, "In the pool?" Though she's only really saying that to bide time. Lachlan's right when he says that they're bad at talking. Except she also knows he's right when he says they need to. She knows they can't keep doing what they used to do. Every time it ended poorly. Someone, she's not sure who, once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If they continued this casual thing with its unsaid rules and late night knocks and hiding it from the people they cared about, well, they'd be certifiable. Except its also scary. Its scary to open up to Lachlan. Their relationship for so long had been about not feeling things, so what would happen if they changed course?

She wonders if he can see her hesitate. She wonders if he can read her mind right now. There's a moment when she's so aware of everything. The smell of chlorine, the feeling of his hand tucking her hair behind her ear, her arm still around his neck since the pool is too deep for her to stand on the bottom, the chill that's still making her shiver and the heat coming from Lachlan. Part of her is restless, she wants to leave, and she wonders if that's the fear. The other part wants to stay this close to him. She knows if they don't change, they'll end up apart again. If they do change however, there might be a chance. There's also a chance that they might end up even worse off than they started. So, is it worth the risk?

She can feel her smile fading, and the words coming out of her mouth, "Yeah, okay," and she means it. Maybe they're worth the risk. If he's willing to take the first step, then so is she.

Thu Apr 04, 2019 11:08 am

Lachlan is instantly hit with a wave of regret as he watched Skye's face fall and the tone of her voice change. Lachlan had always known himself to have self-destructive tendencies and maybe this was just him doing that. Somewhere inside his twisted mind, maybe he was too afraid of the idea of something going just good, and he had to fight back. Was this worth it or was this going to just end with screaming so loud the whole neighborhood could hear? Lachlan wished for a brief moment he could turn back the clock and last longer than 19 days. Then he remembered that he was a fighter.

Lachlan was always an impressively good fighter, ever since joining the legion. It was one of the few talents he possessed, seeing as mostly he was only good for his charm and persuasion. When he was initially training, he was told that what made him such a good fighter was his relentless nature. Some may call it ruthless, some may call it perseverance, but it got down to something about the core of who Lachlan was. He would always fight for what he believed in. This was worth fighting for, and gods dammit he was going to fight for Skye. He was going to put up the best fight he had in him. So he smiled at Skye and said,

"No, not in the pool." Lachlan swam to the edge and pushed himself up so that he was sitting on it again. The tension he had felt sitting up here before was gone, replaced with a kind of nervous energy. "How about we change out of these literally sopping wet clothes and I'll cook us dinner and we can have a nice conversation." The words felt strange coming out of his mouth. Conversation was their weakness, but he truly believed that this would be worth it.

Thu Apr 04, 2019 2:48 pm

Skye climbs out of the pool, and she sighs. "Couldn't you have asked me all of this without pushing me into the pool?" but she's smiling, "I'll be there."

So, Skye collects her shoes and her phone and retreats back to her home. They can do this. They can act like normal teenagers for an evening. Right now she's more concerned with keeping Lachlan in her life, than worrying about what will come of it. She doesn't want to go back to those 19 days.

Skye opens the back door to the kitchen, planning on just going straight up to her room with minimal dripping. Except then her Gran almost materializes before her. She's got almost a sly smile on her face, one that means trouble. Its the smile that she has when she's think she's pranked Skye's Granddad. Except this time she's using it on Skye.

"So," Her Gran says, "You and Lachlan."

Oh god. They shouldn't have walked in front of her house. They should've gone the long way around and cut through Theighlur's backyard. Gran lived for gossip and they just fed her addiction.

Skye knows she's been caught, and she's not sure why this scares her the most. Its one thing to be together and have nobody know about it, its another thing for them to be together. What if her grandparents wanted to invite Lachlan over for dinner? Him coming over on his own to watch sports with her grandpa was already weird enough. They hadn't even talked about what they were yet. They hadn't even decided if they are going to be a thing. This is suddenly becoming scarier, and Skye's afraid to go back over to his house now.

"Can we talk about this later, when I'm not soaking wet?"

"Oh, sure. How does dinner sound."

"I'm going to Lachlan's for dinner."

"Oh, I see." Her Gran seems to get joy out of torturing her, but she just says, "Oh go on then."

Skye showers and changes and spends just a little too long deciding what to wear. That is, until she just puts on what she normally wears because she refuses to be one of those girls. The girls who freaks out about what a boy will think. She will not let Lachlan get into her head more than he already is. Besides, she's seen his guest house, she knows he doesn't care that much about appearances. Maybe when he picks up all of those beer cans.

Its later when Skye stands outside of Lachlan's guest house. The last time she was here there was a motorcycle in her driveway and she needed a distraction. This time is different. She almost hesitates to knock. Not because she doesn't want to go in, but because knocks mean something. Except she knocks anyways. She needs to stop over thinking everything.

Fri Apr 05, 2019 12:58 am

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As soon as Skye was back inside her place, Lachlan jumped out of the pool and ran inside the house. It was an absolute disaster inside. The last couple weeks hadn't really been great for him so he wasn't really focused on keeping the place clean. He hurried into the closet and grabbed a pair of clean dark blue and white button up with little blue dots. He hurried to the bathroom and changed out of his wet clothes and put the new ones on. He restyled his hair in the mirror and then ran back into the kitchen, before running back to put the wet clothes in the hamper.

Lachlan was whirlwind around the clubhouse. He was picking up clothes and collecting empty cans and bottles in the trash can. He went out and put some Hawaiian glazed chicken and some asparagus on the grill. He started boiling some cheesy garlic pasta on the stove in the kitchen. While things were cooking, he was wiping down surfaces and taking out trash and fluffing pillows. He even went upstairs and made his bed and organized his shelves. It had been so long since he had given this place more than a passing clean.

Lachlan collected the food from the grill and was putting it out on serving trays and in bowls when he heard a knock on the door. He felt so many emotions in that moment. Nerves, excitement, fear, anger, and other things that he was choosing to ignore in that moment. Lachlan wiped his hands off on a towel and threw it back over his shoulder. He walked to the door and opened it.

"Skye Maddox." He smiled and opened the door wide for her and closed it when she was inside. The newly hung curtains rattled a little bit. On the island was a plate with the chicken and the asparagus and the pasta was in a bowl. A plate sat at two chairs as well as two empty wine glasses.

"Is this too much?"

Fri Apr 05, 2019 1:48 am

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When Lachlan opens the door, Skye isn't expecting him to be actually dressed up. She expected simple and casual, like their many rendezvous but with less making out and more talking. Suddenly she feels like she should've gone more formal. Though the real shock doesn't happen until she walks into the guest house. Not only are there curtains that should've been there long ago, but it actually looks really clean. She can't see any empty beer cans. She's not why, but it makes her nervous. Now there are expectations.

Skye smiles at him, "A little," She admits, "but in a good way."

Still, her stomach is knotting and she realizes that she's starting to feel things that remind her of a night in late may. Those fucking butterflies are back. Its not that she doesn't want them, but its all progressing so quickly. They go from not talking to kissing to having a nice dinner and her grandmother asking about him. Before that they were on a whole different path that involved her getting very acquainted with his loft and very good at traversing the spiral staircase in the dead of night while she was still a little tipsy. Why does dinner scare her more? Oh yeah, cause it involves real feelings.

"I should tell you," She starts, "My gran saw us together so now she things we're a... anyways I'm officially apologizing for anything she and my grandfather do from here on out." The last thing she needs is her grandfather trying to intimidate Lachlan during their weekly giants game by bringing out a gun or something. She's pretty sure he doesn't have one though.

Fri Apr 05, 2019 2:46 am

Skye telling Lachlan that it was over the top, even in a good way, made him even more nervous. He was also hyper aware of the fact that he was overdressed. He should have just stuck to the t-shirt, he was just embarrassing himself. He took the towel of his shoulder and tossed it on the counter, trying to make it look a little less pristine. He felt like this was all going to be a minefield with Skye. One thing a little off, one wrong step, and their hold would explode. He'd always thought Skye was the grenade, but now he hand was on the pin. Lachlan chose to forge on, a boat against the current. He laughed as Skye mentioned her grandparents now knowing. It was pretty clear, though, that his nerves were shaking the laugh.

"Nah, Charles doesn't scare me. I'll just bring him a pack of Bud Heavys and he'll do that too aggressive shoulder grab thing he does and laugh." Lachlan laughed, leading Skye to the island, a hand on her lower back. He stopped at her chair. "I am a little scared of Nancy, though." Lachlan pulled the chair out for her and then moved to the other chair. He held up two bottles of wine.

"I didn't know if you liked red or white so I grabbed both from inside the main house." Lachlan opened the bottle of red and poured it into his glass. He set it down and after pouring a glass for Skye and serving up food, he said,

"So, your grandparents have some opinions about what we are. Do we even know what we're doing here?" He forked some pasta into his mouth.

Fri Apr 05, 2019 3:19 am

Skye smiles, trying to hide the fact that she's realized this is the first date she's been on since she dated Jaden Terry. Though, going to see Jurassic World and holding hands was nothing compared to this. She felt more of a spark when she saw Carol later that year. That movie opened quite the door for her. Anyways.

Skye rolls her eyes at Lachlan's bud heavy comment. Ever since he introduced that concept to her grandfather he wouldn't shut up about it. He thought it was the best thing ever. Sometimes she wonders if her grandfather is truly trying to relive his days as a teenager. Though, he smokes weed so the answer is probably clear.

"Well I was going to say white but I'm not letting you open another bottle of wine so I'll just have some red." She says.

She isn't expecting Lachlan to get to the point so quickly. She's expecting some small talk, some dancing around the subject, and at least a glass of wine before they could even think about talking about it. She wants to at least be able to talk to him about things other than them. Except she can't act like he didn't just say that. So its clear there's not going to be anymore dancing around the subject. They've always been zero to sixty in less than a minute. So why would they change this now? Even when she wants to be able to take her time and get used to the water, Lachlan has to throw her into it. Its so different than her and Delilah. The two of them had taken a year to even admit that they kissed each other.

"I don't know. I mean, two hours ago we weren't even speaking and a month ago we were doing something completely different."

Fri Apr 05, 2019 4:05 am

Lachlan opened the second bottle of wine, anyway, and poured some for Skye. He took a large sip of his wine, trying to calm his nerves down a little bit. Was that healthy? Probably not. Was it how he would keep handling things? Probably. Lachlan put the glass down and looked at Skye.

"That's why I think we should talk about all this. I feel like we're in this dangerous loop. I want to try and get out this time." Lachlan looked down and drummed on the counter before picking up his fork and knife and cutting into the chicken and taking a bite. If Skye looked closely, she might be able to see his hands shaking. He didn't really know why they were doing that. He usually didn't shake like that, especially not from nerves. If he did, it was from anger. Lachlan wasn't angry, though. He didn't know what he was.

Lachlan thought of all the things he could do to make this easier. He could just focus on eating, or move to the living room. He could pour them beer or booze instead of wine and change into basketball sports. He could send her home, or go upstairs. For a second, he almost did one of those, but he knew if he messed today up, it was over.

"I don't want to suggest that we dive into something. I just don't think we should go back to just messing around. It was just, messy." Lachlan looked over at Skye with his bright blue eyes. "And I think we should be more honest with... people." Lachlan knew that she'd know he meant Delilah, but he also meant Oliver. Oliver would never say it, but he could tell how bothered he was when he found out about him and Skye through deductive reasoning and not from Lachlan. He'd never even told Oliver about their original fling back in 2017.

Fri Apr 05, 2019 4:25 am

Skye takes a long sip of her wine, and suddenly she wishes she had something like vodka instead. She wants something with more of a kick to it. Something that burns. She wants to feel it. When she's around Lachlan she feels things. It used to be fire, now its just nerves. The kind that leave her restless and borderline frustrated. She would welcome a distraction right now, any at all, but she knows its a bad idea. Though, she wouldn't say no if one arose.

Skye knows Lachlan is right. She knows its best to just tell them. She knows that her and Delilah are no longer a thing. She knows that lying to people or just omitting the truth is what landed them in their last situation. She knows. Except the thought of telling her friends seems to make her chest tighten.

"I know, Lachlan," She says, "It's just... what if we end up right back where we were? Not talking and avoiding each other and being miserable? I want to start something different. I want to be something other than kind of friends or whatever we used to be. I'm just..." Scared? Afraid? Another synonym that means she isn't quite ready to make the leap? Yeah. Though it takes her a second to realize exactly what she's said. That she's admitting to liking him. Well, in a way. She's not good at this admitting feelings things. She can feel her heart pound even harder, except at the same time, she's kind of glad she just said it.

Fri Apr 05, 2019 4:46 pm

Lachlan sighed. "It's going to be hard. If we do the same stuff that we did before, we'll end up in the same spot. I don't want that either." Lachlan said quietly. "I want something different, too, and-" Lachlan cut himself off, thinking through what Skye had said. A wide smile crossed his face and he laughed a bit.

"Skye Maddox, do you liiiiike me?" Lachlan teased Skye, jabbing her in the side while using that voice kids used. He felt like his heart was settling down a bit. He felt like him and Skye were actually on the same page for once. Did he actually like Skye Maddox? Dear gods, this was bad.

Lachlan took another large drink from his glass and poured a bit more wine into it. He tapped on his plate with his fork, thinking about what he should say.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 2:19 am

Skye has been caught. Is her face turning red? Is it that obvious? How did she get here? Seriously, though, how did she get here? How long has this feeling been here? This desire to be more than friends? The thought of him outside of a stress relief? Is it new? A product of her being rejected by Delilah? (she hopes not) Or has this existed long before, before Caroline and before her quest? Does it even matter?

Still, these thoughts don't reach the surface. Cause Lachlan is teasing her and she can't help but smile, "You're the one wearing a collar right now." and she reaches out and lightly tugs on the corner of it. Her hand stays there for a second, before returning to her lap.

"What if," Skye proposes, "We just took it one step at a time?" She's saying this mainly because the thought of hashing everything out at once seems like a gargantuan task. Plus she feels like she's going to get whiplash if they're suddenly in the middle of a relationship. Taking it slow seems to make her nerves calm a little. Just being able to ease into what they mean to each other. Plus, maybe it's time they moved slowly.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 6:25 pm

Lachlan rolled his eyes, jokingly, and laughed when Skye tugged on the collar of the shirt that he was wearing. "I'm sorry that I thought that you were worth dressing up for. You should feel honored." Lachlan joked with her. He leaned back in the chair a bit and gestured to his outfit. "Anyway, I look good."

Lachlan was still nervous everytime that Skye opened her mouth to say something serious. What if she realized who she was talking to and that he was absolute trash? What if she just reminded him that he didn't deserve her? Instead, though, she said that they should take it one step at a time.

"That sounds... logical. Do we even know how to do logical?" Lachlan said with a little laugh, which felt misplaced. He didn't really know how to be serious, but he was trying his best to be. "I'm sorry. I think that sounds like a good idea. What's the first step, though?" Lachlan asked. It'd been a while since he had ever even considered something serious with someone. The possibility had always been there with Caroline, but neither of them could take it there.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:24 pm

Skye smiles, "I have no idea." She says, "I mean, what do people usually do at the start of... whatever this is? Hold hands?" Holding hands almost seems a little too novice even for them. They had already kissed. So what even is the next logical step. Most new couples haven't gone as far as they had. But starting at where they should be in a relationship seems too quick.

"I feel like we've done everything out of order." Skye takes another long sip of her wine. Maybe an unclear mind could help. Except she's not really looking to get wine drunk.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:41 pm

Lachlan laughed at the suggestion of starting with holding hands. It was funny. Holding hands wasn't something he was ever sure they had actually done. Maybe like amidst something else, but they've never been walking and just slid their hands into each other's. Weirdly enough, it sounded really nice in a sweet and innocent kind of way.

"I guess it's just going to have to be what feels natural. It's our... relationship." That word felt so weird coming out of Lachlan's mouth, especially to Skye, that it was almost foreign. "I do have an idea of what our next step would be." Oliver was being very strict on some parts of his party. One of them was that he wanted grand entrances with dates and escorts and all. Lachlan wiped his hands off on his napkin and set it down. He took Skye's hand in his.

"Will you, Skye Maddox, be my date to Oliver's party?" That was honestly pretty scary to ask. That meant going public, even if it was in 2 and a half weeks. If Skye agreed, people would know about them by September 13th.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 7:58 pm

Skye is thankful Lachlan called it a relationship. She didn't want to say it and then be wrong. Its silly, really, the way she's acting. She's so nervous about all of this, when she should focus on just enjoying her time with him. That's what a relationship is, isn't it? Just enjoying spending time with each other. They can do this. It doesn't have to be nerve wracking. It doesn't have to send her down a rabbit hole of questions and insecurities. They can be themselves.

Skye can't help but smile wider when Lachlan invites her to Oliver's party, "Yes, Lachlan Reid, I will be your date." She's thankful she doesn't have to worry about any of those promposal things. She knows Oliver is planning for someone that is probably Delilah. She also knows she much prefers something quiet and private. She's glad Lachlan does too. She couldn't imagine Lachlan as one of those over the top gesture people. Maybe that's one of the things she liked about him. He showed his affection in a more private setting.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 8:23 pm

Lachlan couldn't help but smile when Skye said that she would go to the party with him. In addition to being happy to go with Skye, he was glad he didn't have to ask some random girl like Oliver would have made him. He couldn't force most people to go along with his dramatic whims, but he could force Lachlan to. Lachlan kissed Skye lightly. It still felt weird, being soft and emotional with Skye. Lachlan had never been one to show many emotions. He just pushed them down. It felt nice, though, feeling safe to be soft and emotional with someone. It did leave him with one question.

"Are we going to do this like officially? Like with the words?" Lachlan's nose scrunched up a little bit. Lachlan wondered if he had ever actually been someone's official boyfriend. He "dated" Lucy Kingsley when they were 8 but he didn't think that deserved to be counted. He's been with several girls, even kind of committed to some of them, but the thought of being someone's boyfriend terrified him to his core, but then he looked at Skye and all he could do was smile. What was she doing to him? He was gross.

Sat Apr 06, 2019 9:38 pm

Skye falters when Lachlan brings up the names. She hadn't thought about that part. Calling him her boyfriend seems so serious. She hadn't even called Jaden Terry her boyfriend. To be fair, they broke up within two weeks. She really dodged a bullet there. Lachlan isn't like that though. She actually likes Lachlan. She recovers her smile quickly. If he can do this, so can she. "I mean, we could always call each other something else. Like datemates." She gives him a laugh to know that she's kidding.

"Or," Skye says, standing up and starting to walk towards the living room portion of the guest house. "We could just leave it undefined for now, if you want." They can move at their own pace, so that both of them are comfortable. After all, all of this was a social construct anyways. Skye gets to the coffee table, and suddenly she has to make a choice. Love seat or sofa. Its another social construct that they've created. They've given meaning to fabric and stuffing and wood. She chooses the sofa this time. Maybe for a change of pace, maybe because she knows that her grandmother is going to wait up for her, maybe because she's afraid going back to old habits will act like a tornado to a newly built home. She has no urge to rebuild what she's already started. So, sofa it is.

Sun Apr 07, 2019 12:56 am

Lachlan's nose crunched up when she suggested that they call themselves datemates. He knew that she was joking, but it was just such an uncomfortable word. He watched as she moved to the other side of the room. Lachlan didn't know if he wanted to let things be undefined. On one hand, it made sense. It was logical not to label themselves and lock themselves into a societal system that was created for men to be able to extend ownership, but at the same time he wanted to feel stable. Isn't not defining themselves just what they were doing before?

Lachlan followed her into the living room. He sat down in one of the La-Z-Boys without thinking and then realized Skye was sitting on the couch. He couldn't think of a time that they had been alone in this clubhouse and they weren't sitting on the love seat. Honestly this felt like them turning over a new leaf, and the love seat was the old them.

"We can leave it undefined, if that's what you want." Lachlan said, with a smile. "I do think we need to tell at least Delilah and Oliver, though." He said, a little more seriously. He felt bad not saying he wanted to define it, but it was easier.

Sun Apr 07, 2019 1:37 am

Skye rests her elbow on the arm rest and props her head in her hand, "What do you want to do, Lachlan?" She asks once the question has been redirected to her. She wants to know what he thinks, she wants to know what page he's on. For so long it felt like she could never figure out what exactly he was thinking. She wasn't even sure if he liked her as more than just a casual thing before today. She wasn't even totally sure she liked him as more than a casual thing before today. She thinks she knows now though. Looking back on it, she thinks she liked him back then too. Maybe not back when him and Caroline were still orbiting one another, but in the recent month, yes. Maybe she just didn't notice it because her crush on Delilah was stronger.

Speaking of which. "I know." She says, although she's sure she doesn't look convincing. Oliver isn't the person she's nervous about. Most of her feelings for Delilah have dissipated since Delilah rejected her. Still, she cares about what Lilah thinks. She doesn't want to ruin their friendship. In all honesty, at this point in time she'd choose having to be friends with Delilah and Lachlan over only having Lachlan as a boyfriend.

Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:05 am

What did Lachlan want? It was a lot easier when he wasn't asking himself that. It was easier to not live in what he wanted, but in what as happening. It wasn't the love seat, but he knew that if he moved to the couch right now, he could make something happen. That might not be what he wanted, but it would be happening. Instead, he was being asked what he wanted.

"I want to get out of the loop we were in before. I want to mean something to you." Lachlan said, looking at Skye. It was a weird position he was in with her. Usually, they were physically close, but emotionally far. Right now he felt like they were emotionally close, but were physically far. He wanted them to be able to physically close, and emotionally close. Maybe they could let the old ways die.

Lachlan pushed himself up from the La-Z-Boy and joined Skye on the couch. He was sitting on the other end of the couch, though. In this moment, he felt like they had never been that close before. This was the first time they had a chance of being close. He wondered if emotional closeness had some influence over the physical. He swallowed hard.

"It's not just that we should let people know about us, but I want to."

Sun Apr 07, 2019 2:59 am

Skye nods. "I want to be something with you, Lachlan. I want you." Its hard for her to say. Its hard for her to bear her heart. She knows there's so much she hasn't told him. Whether it be her fears or the fact that she's starting to remember pieces of time that she had missed. There'd be time for that later though. When she's ready. It's hard for her to share. It's hard for her to say how she's feeling or what she's thinking. Even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts. She knows if she just gets started, she could do it.

"We need to tell them, I'm just" And this time she knows she needs to finish this thought. She can't let it trail off. She can't act like she's totally fine with everything. She can't act like she's thrilled with whatever came. Because the thought of telling the world, of suddenly being in this relationship is making her heart beat faster and her chest tighten. It comes with expectations she's not sure she can fulfill. She doesn't want to disappoint Lachlan. She's not sure if she's good at this. Well, she knows she's not good at this. At being emotionally open and being able to tell hard truths. She doesn't want this to fall flat. She doesn't want to let this fail. She's thinking of all of this in a split second pause, and she knows, she knows, she needs to finish her sentence. "Scared."

Sun Apr 07, 2019 3:47 am

"Well, we already knew you wanted me." Lachlan winked at Skye, teasing her. He felt like he had to keep relieving the tension between them. He was honestly afraid of what would happen if he let things get too real between them. He decided that it was easier to ease into all of it, even the deep stuff.

Lachlan was also afraid of telling Delilah and Oliver about them. Delilah had always been like a sister to Lachlan and telling your sister that you were dating a girl who she had also kissed was truly a wild ride. Lachlan was less afraid of telling Oliver, but he knew that it was necessary. Oliver valued his friendships so much and it had hurt him pretty bad when Skye and Lachlan hadn't come out to tell him about them and he had to figure it out for himself.

"This isn't going to work if we aren't honest with people, and that includes each other." Lachlan put a hand on Skye's knee. He was dense, but he wasn't too dense to know that Skye and him had serious communication issues. It had always been about avoiding communication with each other and living through actions. Now, he knew that needed to change.

"And in the honor of communication, I wouldn't mind, y'know, defining this somehow." Lachlan's sentence trailed off slowly, till the last 3 or 4 words were only barely understandable. He was looking down at the ground, clearly not wanting to actually say it out loud, but needing to to live up to his own words about communication.

Sun Apr 07, 2019 4:26 am

Skye smiles at Lachlan's teasing. Its easier when they tease each other like this. Even if easier isn't what was best all the time. She had learned that from Lachlan. Well, indirectly.

She nods in agreement, resting her hand on top of his. She knows she has to be honest. She knows. She tries too, though sometimes its harder than she could ever imagine. There are things that she wants to tell him. Except at the same time she knows it would drift them off course. One day. One day she'll tell him. Maybe it requires just a bit more time, a bit more wine, and a bit more faith.

"We can call this dating." She offers. Its an easy word. It can mean a lot of things. Though her smile grows and she knows she has to tease him more. Meanwhile she moves closer to him on the couch, while she continues to list off, "Or courting. I don't think going steady is us yet, but maybe one day. There's also stepping out, or wooing, or going out, and I think I saw going around together used in an old movie with my gran once. We could be each other's valentines, Lachlan. Or, we could give datemate another try."

Sun Apr 07, 2019 5:21 pm

Lachlan smiled as Skye moved in closer to him. He set his hand on the side of her neck, his thumb lightly rubbing the angle of her jaw. He kissed her lightly and smiled.

"As big of a fan as I am of the phrase 'stepping out,' I'll be happy to call this dating." He kissed her lightly again. Calling them dating made him feel grounded, which wasn't common for Lachlan. He was used to feeling like he was floating: floating between friends, floating between his family, floating away from people. He felt like this was something to make him feel solid.

"So, what should I expect with that grandparents?" Lachlan asked, raising a dark eyebrow. With Sam and Augustine rarely around anymore, he didn't have that familial stress on him like she did now. Sure, he'd probably text Augustine about it later, but he didn't have to worry about him sitting on the door step with a shot gun. If anything, he'd come around with a bottle scotch for a relationship-warming party.