Closed Picking Up The Pieces

[Chase Campbell]

The whole reason Chase was prone to keeping his distance from others was to keep himself from getting hurt. If he didn't get close to people it became so much harder for anyone to hurt him. Break his trust. And now that was exactly what he had done last year. Hurt someone who trusted him. Hurt the one person that had decided to stick with him, even if he had been a terrible friend in return. Truth be told, Chase had always expected he'd mess things up at some point. He just hadn't expected to mess it up this badly. Part of him had tried to ignore that fact that first, tried to make himself believe that perhaps it hadn't been that bad. That if he just waited it out Leah would eventually start talking to him again. That's what she usually did, after all, seek him out so they could hang even if he hadn't been planning on it. But it had been months and she still hadn't talked to him, which had made the thought that maybe she actually didn't want to be his friend anymore start creeping up on him. A thought that made him feel uneasy, even if he wouldn't blame her. A thought that had actually pushed him to take matters into his own hand. He couldn't lose the person that had showed him what it was like to have an actual friend. Leah had stuck with him through all of his moods and avoidance and he missed having her around, unwarranted advice included. So, Chase had camped out at the seventh floor corridor, watching students head in and out of the common room until he spotted who he was looking for. He was sure she had seen him too but called out her name nonetheless, heart sinking when it seemed like she picked up her pace to get away from him. "Leah." Chase repeated as he walked after her. "Will you just talk to me?" He lightly grabbed her wrist in an attempt to get her to stop walking away from him, unable to hide the hint of despair that had crept into his voice. "Please?"

slight godmodding approved

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah knew she was stubborn. Her mother always mentioned it when she tried to put her foot down. Somehow she still usually lost those confrontations. But the situation with Chase was different. He had started it. If he wanted to be distant and ignore her, well two could play that game. And if her mother was right about one thing about her, she was stubborn. Part of her expected they would go the rest of their lives without ever speaking again, despite having classes together. So she was surprised when she heard her name being called as she stepped out of the common room. Leah glanced over her shoulder and froze for a moment when she saw it was Chase. She felt a moment of excitement, then panic, then annoyance in quick succession and decided to lean into the last one. With a huff she kept walking. She heard his footsteps and she tried to move faster without fully running, but he caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She was tempted to still ignore him but the pleading in his voice made her resolve weaken slightly. So with a defiant tilt to her chin she turned to him. "What?" she asked exasperatedly.

 

[Chase Campbell]

Chase truly deeply hated this situation. He wasn't a good talker nor was he good in reaching out or dealing with his own emotions. If he was, he might not have messed up so badly last year in the first place. It did make him realize how much he had taken Leah for granted though, especially when he had been fully shutting her out and yet she had kept trying to spend time with him. Even Leah could only take so much though and he had finally beaten the odds and driven her off last year. Which meant she probably wasn't going to easily forgive him either and he wouldn't blame her. No, this was on him and he needed to fix it. Even if that meant going against everything inside of him by slamming down his walls, trying to be more vulnerable. He was going to stumble and he was going to fall but he had to try. That was the only thing he was certain of right now. Leah's reaction made him immediately let go off her arm and take a small step back. At least he had gotten her attention. "Look I know you don't want to talk to me.. I get it." Chase offered, head working overtime as he tried to figure what to say and how to say it. "But I want to.. I don't.." He stumbled over his own words, dragging a hand down his face in annoyance with himself. Why was this so difficult? "Sh*t, I'm sorry, okay?" He eventually blurted out, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep himself from fumbling with them. "I know I'm a terrible friend and I know you don't deserve that and I know that I can't just.. fix this.. but I- I'm sorry."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah scoffed. "Well why would I? You didn't want to talk to be for a whole year." she snapped back. Chase continued to stumbled over his words. She wanted him to just spit it out and explain himself. But she knew better to expect that from him no matter how bad she wanted it. She took a deep breath when he finished and tried to let his apology sink in. Her resolve didn't seem to be as rock solid as she once thought. It was starting to chip but it wasn't crumbling yet and she crossed her arms over her chest. "So? You're sorry and that's good but what's to stop you from doing it all over again?" The words came out quick and she couldn't help the wobble in her voice as she finished. She clenched her jaw again and tried to look just as defiant as before even if she had just let her real fear slip out.

 

[Chase Campbell]

Chase clenched his jaw at Leah's response but refrained from saying anything too quickly in case she wasn't done snapping at him. He'd let her snap at him for as long as she wanted to and he was just going to take it. There was no lying in saying he deserved it. If he was her, he probably hadn't stopped after that single statement either. Chase tried his hardest not to avert his gaze after he had finished talking, glad he had shoved his hands into his pockets so he couldn't fiddle with his fingers as he looked at Leah with what could only be described as an awkward mix of remorse and embarassment. "Everything." He let out a painful, shaky laugh. "Not talking to you sucked." He added for clarity, head spinning as he tried to figure out what to say. "So much so that I'd be happy to just stand here and let you yell at me for ages if that's what you feel like because at least it means you'll be giving me the time of day." Chase elaborated. "And honestly I don't even know what to say to that because promising I won't feels like the easy way out and if I were you I wouldn't just take my word for it either. Especially not after how much of a jackass I've been."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah had her arms crossed in front of her chest. Ready to hear his excuse and to brush it off. She wasn't in the mood to accept an apology but she hadn't expected him to say all that. She had never heard him speak so vulnerably in the entire time she had known him, and she softened. Even her posture. She smirked when he said he'd listen to her yell at him. "Well what about a punch too?" she asked before connecting her fist with his shoulder. The contact was solid but had no power behind it. Leah sighed. "I don't want to be mad at you." she admitted. "I...I missed my friend." Quickly she wiped at her eyes before they betrayed just how lonely she had been last year. "I just want to know why." she said simply before glancing down to stare at her shoes. "I know I can be a lot. I know not everyone wants to be around me all the time. Did....did I do something wrong?"

 

[Chase Campbell]

Chase felt a wave of relief wash over him when Leah connected her fist with his shoulder. That was good. It had to be good. Hearing her admit she had missed him stung though, especially when he was so hyper aware of how that had been his doing. His fault. "No." He responded resolutely, shaking his head to put even more emphasize on it. "You did nothing wrong. And you're not a lot. I need you to hear that first." He continued in the same tone, placing a hand on her shoulder in the hopes that it would make her look back up at him. "Because I'll happily beat up anyone who makes you believe otherwise." Chase added before faltering a little when he realised he still needed to explain himself. "I just, uh, had some things going and and y'know, I don't really do the whole 'talking about my feelings' thing so it was easier to just.. shut down, I guess." He shrugged. "But yeah, long story short: I found out who my dad is and that he definitely never wanted me. Also, it turns out I have a half brother and my mom knew which kind of felt like a huge betrayal.." Chase explained. "Now please don't make me talk about this for much longer because being this vulnerable and having to speak so many words makes me extremely uncomfortable."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah kept her eyes down as Chase talked. She had been vulnerable but she hadn't expected this kind of reassurance from him. She was suddenly emotional and didn't want him to see so she sniffed without looking up. But ended up laughing when he offered to beat someone up for her. "I'd like to see you try." she teased and finally looked up. Her mood didn't stay light for long as Chase started to tell her about what really was going on with him. She stood there in stunned silence until he was done. "Chase-" she started to say but trailed off. That was pretty heavy and enough for anyone to go a little crazy. Leah sighed. "That really sucks." she said simply. That's the only way to really describe the situation. It sucked. "And I won't make you talk about it, even though I do have a million questions." she said with a slight grin. "I just wish you told me from the start. Instead of, I don't know, disappearing on me." she added, getting serious again.

 

[Chase Campbell]

Chase was glad Leah was talking to him again, ready to slowly sink back into his regular self. The one that was content with using far less words than he been blurting out while trying to fix his own mistake. "Just point me in the right direction and I'm on it." He shrugged with a hint of confidence. There was no denying he'd actually be ready to throw hands if someone made her feel like that though. He had been beating himself up over it all year anyways. "Well I don't know if you've noticed, but I am not a great talker. Nor am I any good with emotions." Chase replied, the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. If he was, he wouldn't have shut down and gone an entire year without talking to one of the few people whose company he actually enjoyed. "Just ask me one or two of those questions whenever we hang out and I might eventually have answered them all." He added before forcing himself to keep looking at Leah instead of averting his gaze when she got a little more serious. "I'm sorry."

 

[Leah Thorne]

Leah could feel the last few crumbs of her earlier resolve slip away. She reached out and playfully punched his arm again, unsure what to do the her arms or the feelings still swirling inside her. There was an immense sense of relief like she had been holding her breath or walking for a really long time with a rock in her shoe, but there was still a sense of unease and hurt that would take a bit longer to fade completely. She let out a shaky laugh when he pointed out his lack of communication skills. She could understand that but it wasn't a very good excuse. Still she tried to let it go, besides she had no idea what she would do if something like that happened to her. Her parent's divorce had been coming for a long time, for what little it did to fix anything. "Well now I know not to let you off the hook when you try and pull this again." she said finally. "And, ok. I'll space them out. But can I start now?" she asked with a mischievous smile and an eyebrow raised. But when he said sorry again in a serious tone she didn't think before she reached out and hugged him, tight. She knew he'd hate it but she knew she didn't care.