bravado

“this is kind of crazy, right?” the last time james had seen tommy had been…well over a year ago. possibly longer. los angeles seemed like such a far away place in this moment. “oh really, just for some fun?” she teased, returning the sarcastic comment. “yeah,” she lifted up her books, currently weighing down her grip. “pre-med. i had no idea you were here. what are you studying?”

“ guess pre-med and engineering don’t really hang around the same places. ” was his only answer, and he was sort of shattered at the thought of it. they were both here all this time and they hadn’t even known. maybe fate was actually playing some sort of trick. “ coffee? ” he asked with questions raised, before comprehending that coffee could be taken in multiple different forms and he chose to elaborate. “ i mean, we should get some –– ”

her eyes shifted between his and she knew he was being honest. he did think of them as friends and, maybe if eva really considered people her friends, he’d be one of them. maybe. regardless, he was getting serious points for apologizing and recognizing that what she did wasn’t his business. “then don’t ruin it. don’t ask me about other guys. don’t try and pry into what i’m doing. if i want you to know, i’ll tell you.” her tone wasn’t harsh but she had to get her point across. reaching out, she hooked her index finger through his belt loop and pulled him in closer to her. “i don’t want what we have to be ruined, okay?” her voice was soft as she leaned up onto her toes, closing the distance between them as their lips connected.

her point was valid, but little forms of comfort came from it. really, it made his stomach sink. it made his mind, that didn’t think much at all, begin to overthink everything. and he despised it, in a way. he preferred the life of the laidback, the uncaring, something he’d grown into at college. something he identified with. her words were met with a nod, no time to truly reply before her lips were on his, and in the hopes that it would help him escape from his world of overthinking he allowed himself to get lost in it, kissing her back in their little library nook with all the world to walk past and see. hand moving into her hair, pulling her face closer to his, allowing the bookshelf behind him to rattle from the sudden weight that fell against it. mind just on kissing her.

eva looked up, raising a brow in curiosity as thomas appeared in front of her and requested that they talk. about the other night. the night he had changed things by bringing up another guy she was sleeping with. that wasn’t their deal. that wasn’t the way things were supposed to work between them. maybe she shouldn’t have left immediately afterwards, maybe she should have listened to his explanation…if he had one. but it looked like that was what they were going to do today. standing up, she moved around her table, beckoning for him to follow her between the stacks of books. finding a mostly secluded area, eva faced him with arms crossed. “what about it?”

he followed without a word. he supposed he was getting his request, which was what he’d wanted, but not what he’d had time to plan. he spent that entire walk watching his footsteps and contemplating how to start. this wasn’t a strength in his personality, it seriously wasn’t. then they were there and he found himself leaning on the bookshelves to feel more comfortable about the situation. “ i crossed a line. i shouldn’tve done that. ” some part of him still felt he should have, because he was beginning to feel uncomfortable with their whole scenario, beginning to feel protective and defensive and everything in between. “ you’re my friend, eva –– ” ( words stilting on that word, friend. she was one of his closer friends, really ) “ i don’t want to ruin that. ”

walking back to her house from class, james was lost in her thoughts. she had so much to do. maybe too much to do but that’s what she liked. she’d rather be busy than bored. there was a part of her, as she traveled through the crowd, that could have sworn someone said her name but she kept going. probably just imagined it. when she felt a hand on her shoulder, james froze, turning around. it couldn’t be…”tommy?” it was. here in the flesh.·“i am.” she said, a smile and nod accompanying her words.·“what are you doing here?”

“ uh –– ” hand running through his hair in that way it did when he thought, however infrequently that was. “ just thought i’d walk around luama, for some fun. ” a smile tilting on the corner of his lips at the sarcasm. “ i’m studying –– are you ––? ” another easily answered question by the situation they’d found themselves in, but he was trapped in a world of incomprehension. james ashcroft, here at luama, what kind of fate.·