irisnetwork | HOT ot NOT

Entry tags:

HOT ot NOT

hey all of you losers out there! you all scored dates for the dance yet!? you're running out of time!! but don't worry, good ol' Maple is here to help if you haven't.

"How are you going to help us, Maple?" you might ask. well lo and Behold, I bring you a proud tradition of the school, which allows one to show off to other desperate, lonely students, as well as GET IN THE SPIRIT OF ST. VALENTINE'S.

a couple centuries ago, St. Valentines was crucified for the CRIME of being SMOKING HOT, and to commemorate this we all post pictures of ourselves for the rest of the students to tell us whether or not we are smoking Hot or a desperate Not.

HOT OR NOT

post pics, get judged, score a date.

that simple

this is a PROUD TRADITION here at Daybreak, so do it! get in the spirit of the school and valentine's! and DON'T be a loser by telling the staff about this post

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Maybe you should have! [She throws her hand up at him, her voice raising louder.] Maybe you should have thought about it at all! All these smarts, and you can't think for one second about how you're hurting anyone else?

Or about how when the damage is done, it won't be you that has to deal with everything that shows up on this accursed thing. [She grips the phone tighter in her hand, turning away from Peter to throw it at the ground. The screen scatters on impact and the whole thing clatters ungracefully away from her, showering flecks of glass on the ground. She stands there for a second with her back to him before raising a hand to cover her eyes. The only other sound Peter will hear from her is a shaky inhale of breath.]

[ That's a deeply unfortunate mirror. Héctor had said the same, which - doesn't make it any less true? But when both Héctor and Imelda are both saying it ...

He opens his mouth to apologize more, truly - and then she smashes his phone, holy shit. ]

-- Imelda! Hey! What the hell!

[ He's staggering out of bed now, scrambling to salvage what he can. Also looking up at her in horror and a little anger and. Then abrupt pity, as he realizes what she's doing. ]

[She doesn't look at him. She can't look at him. If she drops her hand, he'll see the tears stinging in her eyes. It's all she can do just to keep that breath from turning into a sob.

The regret comes not long after Peter's shout. What is breaking his phone going to do? It doesn't stop what's already out there, what's already been said. She doesn't even know how much further it's gone, and she's not sure that she wants to know.]

I'll... I'll replace that. I-- [Her voice is tight in her throat.] What will it take? To get you to stop this? Please, just tell me. I can't keep doing this with you.

[ It’s pretty well smashed here, but as long as he can salvage the SIM card it’s not so bad of a loss. He backs it up constantly so. It’s not what he’s concerned with right now.

Much more pressing is that expression on her face, the way she’s pleading with him. God. She shouldn’t have to beg him not to hurt her. What kind of terrible person is he, anyway? He’d known not to talk about this courtesy of Héctor. So he bows his head, swallowing thickly. ]

Nothing. You don’t have to do anything. I - I shouldn’t have done any of that. But I forget, and Héctor is - he really, really misses you, and I know there’s reasons why you’re not together, but I still hate seeing you two separate.

[ it all sort of tumbles out. ]

Peter... [The name comes out like a groan, a noise of pain. How is she supposed to explain ten years worth of doubts that spiraled into a reality even worse than she imagined for all those years? She rubs at her eyes, trying to clear them enough to at least drop her hand. She takes another deep breath.]

I spent years raising the child that we were supposed to care for together. When she was sick or hurt, I had to shoulder that alone. When I was sick, I still had to care for her. She would crawl into my bed at night and ask when her papá was coming home... And those were the easy questions. When she would ask why... That was harder.

Even if I could ever forgive him for ten years of heartache... It wouldn't matter. He's-- [The words catch in her throat.] He's dead, Peter. He doesn't belong here, and I didn't spend all these years putting myself back together just to-- to fall apart again when he leaves.

[ He's listening, okay. Also telling when he can, which. He knows not to go crazy with that part, given he's already hurt her; he doesn't want to cause her any more pain than he has to. But given the circumstances, he has to try a little bit, right? He's thoughtless, but he's not just an asshole. He did this out of some level of care, even if that care is wildly misplaced.

Another small bow of his head as she continues. Picturing his own parents gone, what his aunt and uncle had to go through. At least they'd had each other ... Imelda had been alone. ]

I know. I know he hurt you, and I think you're right to be mad. He still left even if he meant to come back.

[ His voice drops to a murmur. He should probably be surprised that Imelda knows about Héctor's state, but mostly he's just relieved. ]

But - but like you said, he's dead. Who knows how long he's even here. He told met that kind of magic fades eventually no matter what. That he's not going to age, and - do all this stuff living people get to do. But I think that's even more reason to spend as much time as you can with him while you even have time left to spend. Or else you'll finally get around to forgiving him only to find out he's gone.

It's not that easy, Peter. [The way he talks about it... It sounds like a fairytale. A bittersweet story about love and forgiveness... One of those tales that ends once the person is gone, so you never have to see the pain that they leave in their wake.]

What he did was selfish, and if it took dying to realize that he was wrong, then he realized it too late. I don't want to forgive him. I don't want to spend time with him. I'm not interested in torturing myself--or my daughter--for the sake of his happy ending. This was his mistake. Why should we have to keep suffering for it?

All I wanted was for him to just... go away. Him and his memory, to just leave us alone. So... please. Stop trying to force him back into my life. I don't want him there anymore.

[ Peter stays silent for a moment, even after she's done talking. He - doesn't want to argue with her. Not when he's trying to apologize to her. But he also doesn't think she's thinking of it the right way, so what the hell does he even say? That she's wrong but he's trying to be nice about it? That will go great. ]

Okay. I won't, then. If that's really what you want, I won't mention you and him in public at all.

But - I mean, I am thinking of him being happy? But I'm thinking of your happiness too. I think if you don't get a chance to put this to rest while he's still moving, you're gonna regret it someday.

Peter, I have nothing but regrets with him already. What would you have me do? Forget that he broke my heart, and extend an olive branch just so he can break it again? [A small spark of anger tinges her voice, but mostly she just sounds exhausted. Run-down in a way where whatever hopeful optimism he's trying to bestow on her, it just isn't making its way in.]

I know you're trying to help... But you're not. I've made my peace with the fact that this is my life now. This is the best it's going to get, and I just want to live it. I don't... need a ghost pulling me back every time I try to move on.

[ Well. The answer to that is no, probably. He doesn't know what he wants her to do; he only knows that he wants both of them to be happy, with no idea of how to get there.

Maybe he's doing this wrong. Maybe he just is wrong. ]

All right.[ He lets his head droop a bit. ] I - I'll stop. For real this time.

[She gives him a look like she's not quite sure she believes him. How many times has he promised that already? But she sighs after a moment, rubbing at her eyes to clear any traces of tears there.They're still mildly damp, but it's going to have to do.]

Let's hope so. [For her sake more than his. She looks back down at the pieces of the phone on the ground, wincing faintly.] I'm... sorry about breaking your phone. I'll get you a new one.

[ Look. It's been a lot and he frankly doesn't blame her. But he's being serious and genuine - just like he was the last time he promised.

He also winces, stooping to pick up some pieces. ]

That. Uh. I'd really appreciate that. You broke it pretty badly. I'm kind of impressed?

[She has the good conscience to look abashed at that.]

Don't be impressed over something like that.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

HOT ot NOT

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject