Closed Facing Facts

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Sawyer wouldn't say he'd been hiding from Ivy per se, he officially had no reason to. For all he knew she wasn't even mad at him. But now that classes had started again, it was decidedly more difficult to even think about avoiding her. Or Brooke. Or Flynn. Or Delilah. Sawyer sighed, digging in his bag to make sure he had enough ink before class as he left the hall. There was just something about Ivy that made Sawyer crazy apparently and he just couldn't keep his stupid mouth shut. The problem still persisted even as Sawyer glanced up as he crossed the entrance hall, posture stiffening as he came face to face with Ivy by the stairs.

"Ivy! Hey! Good holiday?" He asked her, wincing as his voice cracked noticeably. "Mine was pretty quiet, going home's a bit less dramatic now that most of my siblings are here, you know? But it's good to see my little sister and my dad and stuff, though I think the food's arguably better here than at home, right? Hah. But I should probably get going, lots of stairs to climb and stuff," Sawyer said in a rush, wondering if he could just jinx himself to save Ivy the trouble. Even if she wasn't mad at him about lying to her friends, at least it might make him stop talking for two seconds.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy's breaks had been incredibly confusing. Almost as soon as break started, she had received an owl from Brooke. An owl with an incredibly weird story about Saywer. Ivy hadn't known what to say in response, so she hadn't written Brooke back. But when she had arrived at school, Delilah approached her and told her the same thing. Ivy had felt humiliated, especially after hearing that Flynn had been in the compartment while Sawyer lied about kissing her. She didn't understand why he would do such a thing, especially not when he was the one who kept insisting they were just going as friends.

Ivy had been avoiding Sawyer, but couldn't do so for long. He came face to face with her in the Entrance hall, and Ivy froze for a moment. She stared at him as he rambled at her in that way she had found very cute not so long ago. But now it just infuriated her. She blinked but then refused to step aside, crossing her arms. "I think you can spare a moment." She told him, her voice cold. "My holiday was weird. I got an owl from Brooke." She told him, raising her eyebrows slightly. "You told a whole compartment of our classmates that we kissed." She hissed. "Why did you do that?"

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

The sharp tone in Ivy's voice had Sawyer freezing in his tracks, the usual manic panicky feeling he felt around her being replaced with cold dread as she confronted him about his stupid lie. Of course Brooke told her what he'd said. And of course she was mad about it. Sawyer supposed he should be relieved now, at least he didn't have to spend the rest of the week waiting for the other shoe to drop. "I- uh. It was-," Sawyer swallowed, licking his lips nervously and trying to come up with a decent response that wouldn't make Ivy and everyone else in their year who inevitably heard about this hate him for it. "I was just joking, you know. It's not a big deal, right?" He said, shrugging as nonchalantly as he could, which wasn't much right now but he was trying.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

For some reason, the stunned expression on Sawyer's face only made Ivy's blood boil more. She glared at him, her fists clenching. She listened as he tried to talk his way out of it, growing more infuriated when he tried to pass it off as a joke. She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "A joke? You didn't tell them it was a joke. You let them believe it really happened. You were bragging." She said, her voice rising. She was turning a few heads nearby, but she didn't care. "Why did you even go with me, Sawyer? At the dance, you didn't seem all that interested in me, and then you lie about kissing me?" Ivy scoffed, stepping closer. "The worst part is that I wanted you to, but you were too much of a coward to actually try. Instead, you just made up some story and humiliated me!"

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Sawyer had tried pasting on a smile to show how at ease and nonplussed he was about this whole conversation, but it was becoming more and more strained as Ivy continued talking. She was furious with him, obviously, and Sawyer just wanted to evaporate like mist and drift away, maybe go hover miserably over a bog or swamp or where mists go to not be yelled at. His mouth opened a few times, unable to come up with a response about how stupid he'd been, especially when Ivy said she'd actually wanted to him to kiss her, his brain only having caught up a few moments before then and was now woefully left in the dust again. "I uh. Well- Wait. Do you still.. want to?" He asked weakly.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy wasn't sure what she was expecting Sawyer to say. Maybe an apology would be a good start. Maybe she wanted him to admit he also wanted to kiss her, that he regretted not having done it. She didn't really want to kiss him anymore, but she had just admitted to wanting to before. But the answer she got only infuriated her more. "Are you COMPLETELY OUT OF YOUR MIND!?" Ivy yelled at him, not caring about any of the heads turning their way. "No, I don't want to do anything LESS right now than put my lips anywhere near you!" She shouted, tears stinging in her eyes. "Get away from me! You- you jerk!"

 

[Sawyer Carnahan]

Sawyer grimaced as Ivy yelled at him. Clearly, that had been the wrong thing to say. "Ivy- Ivy I'm sorry, it was a joke, I was joking, I'm sorry," he said, holding his hands up to try and mollify her or maybe protect him from her rage. Sawyer had never been particularly good at discussing his feelings, and his stomach dropped somewhere in the vicinity of his shins as he took in Ivy's face and what it clearly meant for whatever remnants there might have been for their friendship after this. One day he'd learn to keep his mouth shut he thought grimly. Or tell better jokes. "I'll just uh. Leave you to it then?" He offered, taking a hesitant step back now that Ivy looked like she was going to cry. "Give your lips plenty of space and all that." Sawyer couldn't believe he'd screwed this up this badly. Maybe if he left right now he could repress the memory enough to at least make it through the rest of the semester without wanting to hide every time he saw Ivy, but he didn't have a lot of hope for his chances. Merlin, he was an idiot.

 

[Ivy Ashworth]

Ivy scowled at Sawyer. "If I had said yes, would it still have been a joke?!" She challenged, balling her hands into fists. "Somehow, I doubt it." She looked at him angrily, feeling hurt and betrayed. Was this the only reason he had been her friend? Because he had wanted to kiss her? She thought of her mother and how people always seemed to stare at her when they were out, how they were nicer to her than they were to other people because she was half veela. Was that all this was? Could Ivy ever know who was her real friend and who just wanted to date her? She blinked away tears and took a deep breath. "Bye." Was all she choked out before she turned and practically ran away from him.