[right][sub][color=gray][@smarty0114] & [@Hey Im Jordan]
TIMESTAMP: Directly after [url=https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/5528186]this[/url]
Location: Driving Away From AJ’s
Featuring: [color=ba314c]Katie Callaghan[/color] & [color=e2e520]Scott Lyon[/color][/color][/sub][/right]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HLb7LFp.png[/img][/center]



[indent][indent][color=#e2e250]“You can’t say things like that to my friend.[/color]

[color=#e2e250]I know he hurt your brother, and I know that hurts you, but you have to realize that AJ is hurting too. And no offense to you, Jamie, or your righteous fury, but AJ is the most vulnerable person we know. The guy is banging lines in the bathroom at school, for fuck’s sake!” [/color]Scott’s grip on the steering wheel tightened, and he did his best to keep his vision trained forward. He didn’t want to see the look in Katie’s eye, because he knew well enough it would be one that did not bring him joy. Scott was not often the ‘aggressor’ in what few arguments they had, and this was turning out to be harder for him than he’d expected. [color=#e2e250]“I don’t want you to say something mean to him, something we know you’ll regret and have that be a reason…” [/color]Scott trailed off, unsure how best to address or handle the explosive, volatile state that AJ was in. Scott had a feeling that on some level, Katie blamed herself for the mess. She’d introduced them after all, but it wasn’t her fault neither AJ nor Jamie were ready for anything serious.

[color=#e2e250]“I love you. I love you more than anything in the world, and you know that. My life has only gotten better since I won you over. You’re my person, seriously, and I’m lucky to have found you this early. That means you’re my priority… But, you can’t abuse that privilege; you had to know it wasn’t going to feel good for me to watch the two of you fight like that, right?” [/color]Scott finally turned to look at Katie, with ever so slightly watery eyes — he was doing his best, but this wasn’t an easy conversation to have. [color=#e2e250]“I’m sorry I raised my voice, but I’m really worried that my friend isn’t okay, like [i]really[/i] isn’t okay… and it feels really terrible to have my girlfriend make him hurt worse.[/color]

[color=#e2e250]And I know you’re just defending your brother, but you’re my girlfriend. Sometimes that means at least protecting [i]my[/i] brother from your feelings sometimes.” [/color]He let out a long sigh and used his palm to dry his eyes. He’d managed to keep himself from crying, something he had only done once before in front of Katie and spoke in a stable, if a bit tired, voice. [color=#e2e250]“Okay. I’m done, your turn now.”[/color]

Katie had desperately wanted to interrupt him, and show him how wrong he was. It reminded her of the old days, when their screaming matches used to derail Chess Club weekly. She refrained. Theirs was a relationship built on a particular kind of passion, and that meant they’d had to establish rules, early on, to keep themselves from devolving into some warped, angry version of themselves. Rule Number One: No matter how mad you were, no matter how right you were, you didn’t interrupt in the middle of a fight.

Instead, she stared at him from the passenger seat, eyes narrowed, arms crossed. The corners of her mouth turned down, ever so slightly, a whisper of a frown. She looked like she was plotting a murder-suicide. She was mad at AJ for what he’d done to Jamie, and she was mad at Scott for what he’d said to her, and for testing her resolve with his teary eyes. Most of all, she was mad at herself. [color=#ba314c]“You understand that comparing yourself and AJ to me and Jamie, is ridiculous, right?” [/color]It probably would’ve been better if she’d started yelling. Instead, she spoke calmly, a fire so hot it had begun to feel cold. [color=#ba314c]“Jamie is my [i]actual[/i] brother. He was, quite literally, the first person I ever met. Before my mom and dad, before Kim and Niles, before you, and [i]way[/i] before AJ, it was me, and him. I am always gonna choose him. And if AJ is going to let his fucking vulnerabilities hurt Jamie, then that means I’m not neutral. I can’t be.” [/color]She paused, debating her next words. Despite appearances, she truly wasn’t [i]trying [/i]to be cruel. She just wanted him to see it from her point of view.[color=#ba314c] “If AJ had pulled the same bullshit he pulled with Jamie, with Piper instead, would you feel so protective over him? Cause I don’t think you would. That’s the difference between a sibling and a best friend, Scott.” [/color]Again, she wasn’t [i]trying [/i]to be cruel. Sometimes, especially with the Callaghans, it just happened.

[color=#ba314c]”You’re right, he isn’t okay right now, and the last thing he needs is somebody treating him like he’s a kid. Quite frankly, I hope I did leave an impact. He should remember me yelling next time he tries to get handsy with somebody else’s brother.” [/color]Katie took a breath, an attempt to quell the flame in her belly. [color=#ba314c]“Okay, your turn.”[/color]

As Katie spoke, Scott’s thumb started to tap on the steering wheel of the vehicle. At first, its pace was rapid and intentionally loud. He was doing the same thing she had been doing earlier: trying not to interrupt her. But, as Katie spoke, the pace of Scott’s tapping slowed. It was a show of how strong their relationship was that both of them were able to maintain such a steady tone when arguing like this; just a few years ago something this loud might have ended up escalating into something being thrown, but now they were patient. Calm. Controlled. As Katie spoke, Scott could feel his ire dissipate; even when he was upset with her, Katie’s voice and presence comforted him and helped him relax.

She had a point. It wasn’t like Scott didn’t know that, and of course he knew that AJ had done the wrong thing with how he’d handled Jamie. Pulling the Piper card was low, but Scott didn’t really blame her. He hadn’t thought about it that way, and framed through that lens, he almost understood her reaction. Did it hurt that she’d always pick Jamie first? Yes, absolutely. But on some level Scott understood. He didn’t have the same level of connection to his half-sister that Katie had to her twin brother, but Scott got the message.

The tapping of his finger stopped as she said it was his turn, [color=#e2e250]“It’s fine. You were upset, I was upset. But I don’t want to be in a position where I can be caught in your crossfire with AJ again. Can we do that?”[/color]

Katie blinked, and tilted her head. She’d been expecting more of a fight, was almost hungry for one, and now her old friend, guilt, was creeping back in to say ‘hello’. Retribution for her vengeance. Her brows unfurrowed, and her eyes softened. Staying mad at Scott Lyon was a difficult task, and it had been for some time now.[color=#ba314c] “Fine.”[/color] She looked around for a moment, awkwardly searching for a way to say ‘I’m sorry.[color=#ffffff]’ [/color][color=#ba314c]“I will admit…that was shitty of me. I shouldn’t have dragged you into it. I’m not saying AJ’s off my shitlist, but,”[/color] Katie sighed, [color=#ba314c]“I will try to keep you out of it.”[/color] Another pause. [color=#ba314c]“I love you.”[/color]

[color=#e2e250]“I love you too.”[/color] The important part was out of the way, and Scott couldn’t help but feel relieved as Katie promised to keep him out of it. She hadn’t said she was sorry directly, but Scott knew Katie well enough to know her intentions. That was good enough. His hand slid behind the wheel and he grabbed the key, turning it and firing the car up before he relaxed back into the chair, [color=#e2e250]“who knew our hardest battles would be AJ and Jamie’s?”[/color] He couldn’t help but take the shot, there was something… unique about how these days most of his relationship problems with Katie stemmed from someone [i]else’s[/i] relationship.

[color=#e2e250]“Are we still going to Kimmy’s? Either that or my place. Your call.”[/color] As he shifted the car into gear, Scott found himself silently hoping the saga of AJ and Jamie was over for the foreseeable future. If they could just graduate first, then he and Katie would be far enough away from any drama that it at least wouldn’t impact their relationship. [color=#e2e250]“Wanna get Chick-Fil-A on the way?”[/color] Scott found that emotional spats made him hungry for frozen lemonade.

She smiled softly. All around her, life was shrouded in a mire of uncertainty, and yet, here was Scott, consistent and constant and cool. He was both anodyne and agitant, a reminder of how much she had, and how much she had to lose. Try as she might, she could not escape that dichotomy, because she loved Scott Lyon, but she also knew that, no matter what they believed, people leave. They always had, and they always would. It was just a matter of time. [color=#ba314c]“Chick-Fil-A and then Kim’s. I can’t flake again, I’m already like, the worst friend ever.”[/color]

Scott was glad to see that things had shaken out smoothly enough that he didn’t think he was going to be sleeping alone. Arguments with Katie used to be an explosive affair that always seemed like their relationship was about to fall apart, but now they were able to have spats that were reminiscent of debate team brawls. It was almost professional, and from the outside looking in it maybe gave off ‘transactional’ vibes, but Scott was happy with their relationship, and so was Katie. He rested a hand on his passenger princess’s thigh as they drove away, [color=#e2e250]“I don’t even want you to flake. I want you to bring her chicken nuggies and be the world’s greatest best friend.”[/color] He grinned and squeezed her thigh, teasing a bit as they headed toward the nearest Chick-Fil-A.[/indent][/indent]