Of Love And Hate, You Were My Greatest Mistake

Of Love And Hate, You Were My Greatest Mistake ~36~

it's finally up! yay :)

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Laila reached the top of the stairs and stopped just out of sight, curious to hear the exchange between Dario and Jace. She heard the doorbell ring twice more before the door was roughly pulled open.

“What do you want?”

Laila’s hand shot to her mouth as she stifled a laugh. Jace’s rudeness was past the point of ridiculous now, and at the moment it was kind of hilarious. She could just imagine Dario’s face.

Don’t laugh, she warned herself. The last thing she wanted was for him to know she was hiding upstairs to get back at Jace.

“Uh,” Dario paused for a second, probably to adjust his glasses, “I came to pay you and Laila a visit. I’d like to ask a few more questions, if that’s alright.” He waited in vain before reluctantly trying again. “Is she home?”

“Yeah,” Jace replied. A painfully long silence followed, and then finally, “Do you wanna come in?” He asked monotonously. It was completely dull and uninviting, but apparently it was all Dario needed. 

“That would be great,” He said enthusiastically.

There was another long silence, followed by an annoyed sigh and the sound of footsteps. These were followed by a second bout of footsteps, which were slightly more hesitant and undoubtedly Dario’s. Laila smiled to herself and decided to get changed in case she was needed to ease the tension downstairs. Knowing Jace’s hostility and uncanny ability to stare Dario down for minutes on end, she would be needed very soon. She quietly walked to her room and gently shut the door against Dario’s nervous voice. She wasn’t sure what he was asking, but at the moment she wasn’t too worried about it. She didn’t plan on joining anytime soon. She leaned against her door and thoughtfully looked around the room. She could always leave Jace to fend for himself, but at the same time that would be more of a punishment for Dario than anything. 

“Now I feel kinda bad,” She dropped her bag and pulled out some clothes, wondering if she should stop being a brat and go downstairs. She decided against it and took her time changing back to her original outfit of the day; pink shorts, a cropped white shirt, and thigh high leg warmers. Once she was finished she laid back on her bed. “They’ll be fine by themselves,” She rolled on her stomach and pulled her monologue book from her bag. A few minutes of focused memorization passed before she finally heard someone coming upstairs.

“I’m coming in,” Jace didn’t wait for a response before aggressively pushing her door open.

“Babyy,” She looked up from her book as he walked in, “Did you miss me already?”

“Dario’s downstairs,” Jace spoke a little louder than necessary, no doubt for Dario’s benefit. The underlying anger was exactly what she’d hoped for.

“Oh my gosh! Really?” She dropped her book and sat up, speaking just as loud and even more dramatic. “Why didn’t you tell me!” She closed her book and stood before walking to the door. 

“You left me with him,” Jace hissed. “You’re so-”

“Aww, I love you too!” She cut him off, raising her voice so Dario could still hear. “You’re welcome,” She whispered the last part and grinned before prancing downstairs, her ponytail bobbing with each bouncy step. She could hear Jace angrily thumping down them behind her, but she ignored him and rounded the corner to the living room.

“Oh good, you’re here,” Dario looked relieved to say the least.

“I’m so sorry I took so long,” She apologized immediately, taking a seat opposite him. “I would’ve come down sooner, but Jace didn’t tell me you were here. He’s so sweet when I’m studying, he probably didn’t wanna distract me. Right, hon?” She watched as Jace took a seat beside her without saying a word.