𝐄𝐍𝐌𝐈𝐓𝐘- original characters

𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍

"Yeah, what about her?" Nate asked nonchalantly. The girl had unexpectedly had a change of heart towards him, after all of the years that he'd spent wondering when he'd finally wear her down. Margot had hated him for reasons unbeknownst to him, but it seemed like maybe he was finally getting somewhere with her after all this time wondering if they could ever be more.

"Is she your girlfriend?" He asked bluntly. There was no beating around the bush with Sebastian Clairmont. He knew what he wanted to say and he'd said it. He knew that his cousin suspected something from the time in Celia's hospital room when Margot had been perched on his lap during Uno, with his arm around her waist. "So what if she is?" He replied casually. They hadn't technically put a label on it, but he wasn't stupid enough to say that to Seb. That would just earn him a lecture on how reckless it was to fool around with his cousin's assistant. "I thought you weren't a relationship guy."

"People change, Seb," he replied, hoping to convey the message that was: you changed, after all. Sebastian reminded Nathan of their grandfather, which was both a good thing and a bad thing. "What makes you think I'm incapable of having a girlfriend?" Margot wasn't his girlfriend, but he wanted to entertain the idea that she was. Seb had something he wanted to say, and he wanted to know what it was. "I've seen you with women, Nathaniel. You know the answer to that."

"I get it, okay?" He snapped, gripping the edge of the counter with a sigh. "You think I'm immature, and I don't take anything seriously. Alright, I know what you think of me, Seb. But it's not like that with her." Nathan knew he was a screw-up, he knew that he was the guy in the family that couldn't be taken seriously. He spent his entire life being the butt of the joke so he could fit the description that everyone had given him. Celia was the angel, and Sebastian was the shark, but Nate? Nate was merely the outcast, the black sheep of the family. For once, he wanted everyone in his life to stop thinking the worst of him. He wanted Sebastian to think that he was capable of taking something seriously, that he wasn't a total flake. Sebastian thought that he wasn't mature enough for a relationship, and he wanted to prove him wrong.

"I just hope you realise what you're getting into," he warned. "I'm just suggesting that you tread carefully, is all. That's Cece's best friend," he advised, and the warning was clear. "She's always going to be in her life, in our lives. Don't go there with her if you're planning on breaking her heart." Nathan couldn't even be hurt by the assumption that he was going to toss her aside and break her heart. He had every reason to think that, because Nathan had done those things in the past. But he wanted to scream at Sebastian "what makes you think I'm going to break her heart? What if she's the one to break mine? Why do you always think the worst of me?" But he didn't say any of those things, because he knew it would start a fight, and tensions were already at an all time high. It was Celia's birthday, so he'd put on a happy face and act like Sebastian's words didn't phase him. It was what he did best, after all. "I know what I'm doing," Nathan assured him. Not that it was any of his business anyways. What happened between him and Margot was exactly what he'd said: between him and Margot. He had no business interfering and offering his opinion.

Especially since the two of them were in agreement. Margot had said that the two of them were just having fun. They weren't dating, and he wasn't her boyfriend. They were casual hookups, friends with benefits- though it seemed like the term friends was cutting it close. The sex was good, and Margot was one of the only people in the world who knew what to expect from him. Maybe he could see himself in a serious relationship with her, despite the fact that she was the only person in the world to get on his nerves. Maybe he was finally ready to be an adult, and settle down. It was time for him to get his head on straight and finally just fucking do something useful with his life. Sure, he could get on the first flight out to Europe and stay there until the funds of his trust fund died out (which would be an incredibly long time), but he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to be the person that was unreliable, and was never there. With his parents in prison, he wanted to spend most of his time with the only family he had left. He wanted both Cece and Sebastian to know that they could count on him. He might not be Sebastian, but he was capable of not being a total fuck-up either.