'That's not something you get to come back from' That...doesn't even make sense, not with what they're talking about right now. So what's Neph thinking about, if not this? Was there a-- a false accusation in her past, about her or someone she knew or--
Not relevant. Not something Will needs to dig at right now, because god knows neither of them needs him with just enough information that he's chasing possibilities into waking nightmares on his way home later.
So he visibly steels himself, draws himself inward as if wringing out the bad thoughts. But he's going to just have to let Neph go ahead and push the conversation back into the present - or the near-past, as it happens - and sure enough, she does. The description comes out in staccato hesitancy, frustration rusting off her words.
This, too, makes Will's stomach churn. Neph doesn't say it - doesn't even really look it, except for when he sees the way her other shoulder tenses like she wants to take that hand back from Marijus, presumably to fiddle with something - but it's not just annoyance. It's not just rage.
It's guilt. Or maybe more accurately, shame. It's a sour and uncertain thing, and it chips away at Will's ribs, makes them feel brittle as he forces himself to keep breathing through this.
It's not even easy to miss, really. Even if you just look at the words, she's dragging at the concept that she should've someone known it was going to happen. Like guys hitting on girls who aren't interested and then getting violent when there's a misunderstanding is just a fact that she should've known better active self-defense about.
It's another squeeze to Will's stomach when he thinks that maybe, that's kinda the impression that rolls off a lot of people in the news when they talk about this, too. The kinda people who talk about 'sexual assault' and 'bad decisions' with air quotes and follow it with concerns about football scholarships.
Marijus is radiating, off to the side, practically steaming with the force of an anger that quite frankly almost distracts Will away from the topic for a split second. But then he digs his heels in, because this is about Neph - Marijus is fine and welcome to have his own reaction, but Will can talk about it with him later (and since when did Will start organizing his friends' problems so he could personally help them with them, anyway?).
It's about Neph, not him or Marijus, and so Will sucks in some welcome icy January air, adjusts his hand in Neph's to hold hers a bit more tightly, and tries. "Has it-- ever occurred to you that if you didn't see his interest, and some ugly misunderstanding grew out of that... That he also fucked up by not seeing your lack of interest? At-- at literally no point in that did it sound like he was entitled to a fucking thing, because no one ever is.
"People get wires crossed all the time when they don't just use their words. Jumping-- jumping all over someone because you think you might've seen some interest, or whatever the hell he did, that's not-- Normal people don't do that, Neph. That's not on you to have gotten ahead of him making a shitty decision. That's on him for being a fucking moron from square one."
There's a blur of motion beyond Neph, Marijus's head ducking down to speak closer to Neph's ear. "'Didn't say 'no' fast enough'." He quotes, voice flat and eyes deadly. Will forgets to breathe, but Marijus isn't even looking at him. "That alone says it all. I've never known you to hesitate to make your interest or lack of interest quite clear, Neph. That he came at you so quickly is enough to say with certainty that he was in the wrong."
Will can't say he disagrees - thinks maybe even that Marijus had a better handle on how to untwist the story back out into a clear line of 'and here is where it got fucked up' - but he also has to look away from Marijus's face. Will settles for watching Neph again, eyes keen on hers.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2017-01-26 11:10 pm (UTC)Not relevant. Not something Will needs to dig at right now, because god knows neither of them needs him with just enough information that he's chasing possibilities into waking nightmares on his way home later.
So he visibly steels himself, draws himself inward as if wringing out the bad thoughts. But he's going to just have to let Neph go ahead and push the conversation back into the present - or the near-past, as it happens - and sure enough, she does. The description comes out in staccato hesitancy, frustration rusting off her words.
This, too, makes Will's stomach churn. Neph doesn't say it - doesn't even really look it, except for when he sees the way her other shoulder tenses like she wants to take that hand back from Marijus, presumably to fiddle with something - but it's not just annoyance. It's not just rage.
It's guilt. Or maybe more accurately, shame. It's a sour and uncertain thing, and it chips away at Will's ribs, makes them feel brittle as he forces himself to keep breathing through this.
It's not even easy to miss, really. Even if you just look at the words, she's dragging at the concept that she should've someone known it was going to happen. Like guys hitting on girls who aren't interested and then getting violent when there's a misunderstanding is just a fact that she should've known better active self-defense about.
It's another squeeze to Will's stomach when he thinks that maybe, that's kinda the impression that rolls off a lot of people in the news when they talk about this, too. The kinda people who talk about 'sexual assault' and 'bad decisions' with air quotes and follow it with concerns about football scholarships.
Marijus is radiating, off to the side, practically steaming with the force of an anger that quite frankly almost distracts Will away from the topic for a split second. But then he digs his heels in, because this is about Neph - Marijus is fine and welcome to have his own reaction, but Will can talk about it with him later (and since when did Will start organizing his friends' problems so he could personally help them with them, anyway?).
It's about Neph, not him or Marijus, and so Will sucks in some welcome icy January air, adjusts his hand in Neph's to hold hers a bit more tightly, and tries. "Has it-- ever occurred to you that if you didn't see his interest, and some ugly misunderstanding grew out of that... That he also fucked up by not seeing your lack of interest? At-- at literally no point in that did it sound like he was entitled to a fucking thing, because no one ever is.
"People get wires crossed all the time when they don't just use their words. Jumping-- jumping all over someone because you think you might've seen some interest, or whatever the hell he did, that's not-- Normal people don't do that, Neph. That's not on you to have gotten ahead of him making a shitty decision. That's on him for being a fucking moron from square one."
There's a blur of motion beyond Neph, Marijus's head ducking down to speak closer to Neph's ear. "'Didn't say 'no' fast enough'." He quotes, voice flat and eyes deadly. Will forgets to breathe, but Marijus isn't even looking at him. "That alone says it all. I've never known you to hesitate to make your interest or lack of interest quite clear, Neph. That he came at you so quickly is enough to say with certainty that he was in the wrong."
Will can't say he disagrees - thinks maybe even that Marijus had a better handle on how to untwist the story back out into a clear line of 'and here is where it got fucked up' - but he also has to look away from Marijus's face. Will settles for watching Neph again, eyes keen on hers.