c h a p t e r | 29
BREAKING STANDARDS
'Funny coming from you seeing you run faster than Parker spotting an IHOP.'
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"OU—" Parker quickly dodged away shielding his more vulnerable parts which Tessa had been seconds away from dismantling with the zipper. "I got this," he instructed with his hands outstretched towards her to keep her away while he zipped it properly.
"Seriously," he commented as she just shook her head being unusually shut off and took a step towards her, putting a hand on her arm as she started to pick up the already laid out shirts before putting them back down. "What's going on? You're acting strange."
"I'm no—" she stopped herself after throwing a sidewards glance at Parker who raised his brows in protest, and sighed, "I'm just. It's nothing. I think I need a vacation," she said with a small smile and bumped down on the couch on top of some of the laid out shirts.
"Didn't you just go to Madrid?"
"I—" she furiously started shaking her head wanting that weekend to just be something buried deep within a lost and found box.
Parker handed her an escape by running a hand through his hair with a look of uneasiness too, "I get it," he spoke up while planting his hands on the backrest of the couch and Tessa leaned her head back to stare up at him.
"What?" She asked with furrowed brows.
"Yeah, I..." He shot a fleeting look down the hallway, before backtracking with a blinding smile, "No, it's nothing. I shouldn't have said anything. You said the blue one, right?" He reached for one of the shirts, however its sleeve was caught by Tessa sitting on it.
"What, Park?" She pressed and he cringed before kneeling down with his head on his hands on the backrest.
"Philip is home," He spoke under his breath, "He's staying over."
"Oh, I see," she grimaced, "There's a spare toothbrush under the sink, but I'm not cleaning your sheets. I'm telling you some stains simply cannot be erased by Vanish, and the last time was one of them," she informed with a shiver.
"Really not even bleach could do it?" He returned with an affectionate grin and pulled at one of Tessa's stray blonde locks. Tessa smacked his arm with an exaggerated eye roll.
"Sorry," he offered offhandedly, before his gaze turned mildly painful again.
"What?" She asked not able to interpret his expression, except for knowing something was up since he hadn't further complained about his brother's impeccable bad timing as usual.
"I know you've been distracted lately and have had a lot on your plate but... Look, I don't want to pile on anymore. It's just... I can't just—"
He's words faltered by Indy coming through the door already jumping from one foot to the other in order to get her shoes off and throw them in the hall, "Tessa, have you seen the news?!"
"Hey Indy! No, we haven't had the chance to," Tessa waved her in, "Parker's just fitting the latest collection from Oliver Gutierrez.
Parker quickly got to his feet with a wince, and gripped the shirt. An action that made Tessa fall slightly to the side by the pull. Before she had even sat up straight again and called him out he was already dressed and collecting his things.
"I think... Yeah... the blue is definitely the best fit. Yeah, I'll go with that. I gotta go, but I'll call you later okay? Cool, see you," Parker rushed out making a dash for the door leaving an openmouthed and confused Tessa on the couch and a slightly flushed Indy alone in the apartment.
"What's that about?" Tessa shook her head, reaching for the remote, while throwing the rest of the shirts aside.
Indy looked at the closed door for a bit while biting her lip before turning to Tessa with a small tug of her lip, "You're asking me?" she answered with a nervous giggle.
Tessa not picking up on it, just shrugged and turned up for the volume as the news rolled over the screen, curious to see the latest topics, "What did you want me to see?"
Indy took a second or two before answering in a beaming tone, "Oh, yeah maybe you already know. I mean how can you not?"
Tessa chuckled by Indy's enthusiasm, patting the place beside her for her to join her, "How about you take a breath and sit down?"
"One minute, okay? I just need to change, I need to talk to you anyway," she said rather distraught before shaking her head and smiling carelessly again, and quickly made her way towards her room.
Tessa looking after her for a minute, pursed her lips wondering what's up with both her friends lately.
She chuckled to herself by her jumbled thoughts, glancing at Indy's closed door wondering if they had finally hooked up or something and was now scared to tell her. That surely would explain a few things or two.
A knock on the door intercepted her entertaining thoughts about all the ways she could torment them, and she got up, slowly making her way towards the door. Maybe it was Parker coming back, because she noticed how he seemed to have forgotten his jacket, and tugged it under her arm on the way.
"Yeah, yeah. I got your jacket," she called out as the doorbell rang again and while opening the door she tossed the jacket. "Oh," her voice faltered as she noticed the face that peeped from under the jacket as he slid it off his face.
Her flustered brain circuited and in a snap decision she tried closing the door again, however Hale intercepted her action by stopping the door with his hand.
"Really, new avoiding tactic? Blindfolding people and shut the door in their face?" He commented with a raised brow seeing her quickly looking away as she flushed bright red.
"What do you want?" She asked sourly.
"Other than to ask why you ran away again?" He continued to rub salt in the wound.
"I didn't—" she began to protest however she couldn't make herself continue due to the awaiting expression that met her, when she glanced at him. Instead, a grunt escaped her seeing she couldn't hide from this.
She had indeed run away, again, and her wallet would suffer from it for months ahead. She cringed by the thought of checking her bank account.
"Look, Tessa, before I chicken out..."
She shook her head, as a mix between a snort and nervous laugh escaped her by the absurdity of a chicken carrying Hale's head waltzed around in her thoughts, before she realized it wasn't even Hale talking.
"Oh," Indy's voice cracked when she noticed Hale at the door, and sent him a small wave before her gaze flickered to Tessa who tried messaging her with her eyes to help her out from under this situation she was suddenly finding herself in once again. However this time where was no crowd to disappear into and seeing their apartment was literally the size of a stamp she didn't see how she could get herself out of it unless Indy came to her aid.
"I'll just," she pointed over her shoulder, wrongfully interpreting Tessa's spasms, "I forgot I had to call my mom," Indy backtracked into her room, while Tessa titled her head just as her shoulders slumped in annoyed defeat.
"Thanks a lot, Indy," she grunted under her breath before grudgingly stepping aside as Hale sought his moment to slip all the way inside.
"Look, I'm not mad," he started when Tessa reluctantly closed the door after him after deciding an escape through it wasn't possible seeing she was still in her pjs.
"What a relief," she mocked and crossed her arms defensively.
He cocked an eyebrow at her, "Really, Tessa?"
She shrugged. "What do you want me to say, Hale? First you insulted me, and then— ," she slammed her hand into the wall by accident, and a squeak escaped her before she bit down on her hand to swallow the pain, "Then... then you try to kiss me again," she accused with a muffled hiss before biting down on her hand again.
"I didn't..." he mocked her by patting the wall, "try to kiss you," He tried to suppress his usual smirk, "I merely said I wanted to k—"
"No," she immediately put her hand over his mouth, not wanting him to say it out loud if Indy could hear them. She definitely didn't need anyone to know what ridiculousness had gone down between them. "Don't you say another word. I don't need this, you don't want this. So just drop it okay? Okay! Good talk, now—" She reached for the door again however Hale pulled her back.
Tessa yelped as she came flushed up against his front with her back.
"You're doing it again, Tessa," he whispered into her ear, and she shook her head refusing to look up at him. "I don't care you ditched me-"
"I didn't..." Her plead vanished with a strangled intake of air as she felt his lips caress her temple not letting himself be bothered with her attempts at dodging this predicament.
"I don't care that you got a later flight or that you ditched me on the streets of Barcelona," he carried on, "But I don't like you dismissing this thing that's happening between us."
"Nothing is happening between us," she whispered-hissed towards the carpet, however her body objected by forming goosebumps that erupted all over her skin by Hale's warm contact.
"So that's why you can't look me in the eye and say it?" He commented silently.
She badly wanted to raise her head and look at him, but something held her back and to her surprise she felt the hand she had tried to pry his away from her waist with surrender instead."
"Look, you can deny it all you want, Tessa. Hell, I don't want to admit it either, but this. Us... Something is going on here."
"No, just. Shut up."
"No, I won't shut up, not until you admit you feel something too," he breathed at the shell of her ear and she shivered, angry with how her body responded with him being this close, and annoyed with him suddenly being so expressive.
"Oh, so now you're suddenly into expressing feelings? Funny coming from you, seeing you run faster than Parker spotting an IHOP, the only difference being you run away and not towards it," she attempted lamely however Hale barely cringed.
"Hale, come on," she breathed with a slight whine of discomfort, finally removing his hand from her waist and spun around, "This... this. Look, I don't say anything is happening, but sure whatever this is it's only a byproduct of spending way too much time together to get this Deluca deal," she slowly patted his arm, while for the first time looking up at him. "I'm not the person to back out of my word, and I won't start being that person. I will help you get the Deluca deal, but after this I'm going back to being a simple stylist, and you'll see that what's been going on was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. That's all there is to it. Whatever you might think you're, we, are feeling will fade."
"So you admit there's—"
"No, that's what I'm trying to say, Hale. Don't make this up to something it isn't," she countered while taking a step back.
"Only if you stop downplaying it," he argued and took a step forward.
"Hale, please," she sighed, not sure what to say or do for him to understand since she wasn't even sure she understood anything anymore either.
"There's no act to be done anymore, Tessa," he informed with expressive dark eyes that caused another round of silence to stir between them, as she fidgeted with the confusion of his words, "I already got the Deluca deal."
"That's... That's great," she found herself croaking while her stomach plummeted.
"I guess it is, but you see, Tessa. When I got the news, I knew I didn't want you there—"
She furrowed her brows, pursing her lips, while feeling mildly agitated by his slow-tormenting act as she couldn't interpret whether he was just holding her as a fool the whole time or if he had truly gotten in contact with his humanity.
"You misunderstand me. I don't want you there as my date even if I hadn't gotten it yet, because it wouldn't be real. I want it to be real."
"You're not making any sense," a nervous laugh escaped her as she desperately wanted Hale to just call April Fools or something even though it was September, however Hale was remaining particular serious without even a hint of his usual smirk lingering at the corners.
"I want it to be real, Tessa. I want you there as my real date. No cover ups or agendas. I just want you there, because I can't see myself go to this gala without you being there. Without you being my date, my proper date."
At this point she wasn't sure who had lost their marbles, him or her, all she was sure of was that she could hear them fall in the silence.
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A/N: I FINALLY UPDATED ! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT ?! *jumps around screaming* damn, I've been beating myself in the head repetitiously wanting to just get the next chapter out to you, but I've been staring at a blank screen for what feels like months on end without getting anywhere.
I truly want this to be perfect, because this story deserves it. I love this lighthearted bickering they got going on, and I think that's been one of the issues with me having a writer's block, seeing as I'm scared I won't be able to continue it as they get this close with each other.
That said I do actually sort of like how this chapter turned out after the last edit. Let me tell you the first 3 - or was it 4 drafts? - was absolutely horrible.
So how did you find the chap?
Can't wait to hear from you, and once again I truly apologize for leaving you hanging. Anyways I'm off to finish Lunar Noctis. Yes, you heard me I'm going for another update today. Yup, I must be sick considering you've been in a drought for weeks and now suddenly this. heh.
See ya around, guys. I hope to be back sooner rather than later. Just have patience with me as I try to get back into it.
Love, MJ.