When You Pushed I Never Pulled; I Answered Yes.

[Claire Aurelious]

Set December 2037, after Claire and Deme attended a Christmas party at her work.

Claire Adkins made a point to slam the door to her apartment behind her after she and her boyfriend entered. She had clearly had enough of his behavior, arms crossed over the lacy material of her dress. She watched the dark hair man walk around the apartment, doing whatever it is he pleased. He hadn't spoken to her since they'd began the short trip back, and frankly Claire couldn't figure out what she'd done wrong. It seemed like any time she was having fun this dark and brooding boy had to go and ruin it. After Sammy's wedding he was the same way, and Claire had to pry it out of him that he didn't like her hugging Sam. It was okay, she was willing to admit she made a mistake in hugging another boy. After all, it had taken a month for Claire to be willing to hug without getting flustered. But what did Deme expect? She had never been in a relationship before, or really had a crush. She'd been put off by the idea since her mother and father divorced, a huge part of her afraid of the same fate befalling her. She was sure that it wouldn't, after all, she and Deme had been together for a year, however his attitude made her wonder why sometimes. He didn't ever seem to trust her after all. She heard the bathroom door shut and plopped down onto the couch. Her hands rushed to her face and she rested her elbows on her knees. She would just have to apologize for whatever she did wrong. She always managed to do something horribly wrong after all - even though all she wanted was to be happy with him. Her attention was drawn from her thoughts at a familiar buzzing noise. It was Deme's phone, his job must have sent him a message again. Would it hurt for her to peek? No, it wouldn't.

Claire picked up the device, she didn't hear Deme coming. He was probably in the bathroom. She was shocked when she saw an unfamiliar woman's name at the top of the message. 'When Can I See you again' The message read like something she had said when they first got together, a winking face after the text. Claire felt her heart drop. Her stomach flipped more than once. She clicked a few buttons and looked through the inbox. Some of the names were work, and her, but others were girls. Not just one, but a few that he seemed to have been seeing. The oldest ones in the phone from a month or so ago. Claire dropped the phone onto the couch and covered her mouth quickly, her eyes filling to the brim with tears. She stood with shaking legs, the tears coming out silently. He was just like her mom. What had she done wrong. She turned, facing the dark haired boy whom was standing a few feet away. She nearly sobbed, at first unable to talk to him. Her chest hurt, and her shoulders trembled. The blue eyes that had never shed tears in front of anyone but Sam and her parents were now red and irritated. Finally after taking a few breaths, Claire was able to uncover her mouth to speak. "You're cheating on me?" She asked him, the end of the sentence just a sob. How could he? Claire stood her ground, though the way her knees trembled told her she wouldn't be able to do so for long. She felt so small in this world at that moment, the only thought on her mind harming her more than the realization that he was with more than one person at a time. The only thing she could think, was why wasn't she good enough? What had she done wrong? Claire attempted to cross the small space, but instead leaned against the column in her living room, sliding down it and looking at him, still waiting for an answer.
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[Deme Aurelious]

Deme was not a nice guy. He had a wonderful girlfriend that worshiped him. A wonderful family that supported him in whatever he wanted to do. He was doing well at school, had loads of friends, good graces, and got along well with his professors. Yet he still wanted more. Greed was something the young man had developed over the years. he wanted everything and more. He wanted it now, not later. He knew he was worth everything he wanted, and so he took what he desired - what was useful to him, and discarded what was not. People existed to either be used by him to get somewhere, or ignored entirely. Why did people bother going about as if they deserved to exist when in actuality, they were probably just an accident of nature. Not purposeful creatures, just spares clogging up the planet he was living on. Stealing space and importance from those that deserved it, such as himself. He was self-important, self-entitled, and arrogant, because that was what got him places. He was also charming and gentle, and knew exactly how to comfort others, because they were weak, and would cry and become 'sad'.

Claire was one of the weak ones, and yet he was drawn to her for some primal reason. Perhaps it was because she was like a delicate flower, all by itself in the wild. Too much water, and she would drown, too much sunlight and she would burn. She was so... weak, like silk when against leather. A rock against diamond. A rusty shield against a steel sword. He had to protect her, to care for her just enough to keep her wanting more, but not enough to have him care too much in return. And so, he found others to occupy his time. Svetlana was fun, until she got knocked up. He was not going to be a father, and now he didn't have to be. She was all the way in Russia now, so what did he care? Maddy was still in contact with him though, but he had not had the time to go to her for a while. She was starting to get on his nerves, always nagging and complaining. Svetlana was much better, and understood the situation he was in, but she had let him down. And now, Claire was letting him down constantly. He had no idea why he bothered anymore. he was a great boyfriend. He brought her everything she wanted. He gave her the time she wanted. He listened to her petty problems, and her stupid stories about her family, and classes, and her friends - oh Merlin - her stupid friends. If he heard about one more heartbreak story involving Tiffany, he would go out and break the girl himself. It was driving him crazy.

Deme rolled his eyes as the door slammed shut. The least she could do was close it like a normal human being. This was all her fault anyway. Going around canoodling with other guys at a wedding - getting cosy with the groom, the best men, the cousins of the bride, everyone but him. She was wearing stunning blue heels that made her look older, and beautiful. Too beautiful. He had not bothered to dress up for this occasion. He did not care about someone's nuptials. He spent the time texting, because Claire saw fit to go gushing to everyone else but him, paying him no mind. As if he didn't exist, like he wasn't important. He was the single most important thing in her world, or so he should be. Without looking at her, he stormed off. he was sick of looking at her, of being near her. He was down, and so he tossed his phone in his frustration as he left, not thinking about it, or her. He wanted to wash his face, to wash his hands, just to clean up and get out of here for a time. He was over this indoors stuff. He needed to go for a walk somewhere quiet, distant. He closed the door quietly behind him, and looked in the mirror. He was tired, rings circling under his brown eyes. He was a little paler than normal, but his forehead and cheeks were flushed from agitation. He gripped the porcelain sink and hunched over, releasing a sigh as he turned on the tap to release some cool water. Once he had cooled down, he could go for a walk and just leave Claire here to think about what she had done. If she kept upsetting him like this, his generosity and understanding nature would go, and he would simply dump her like a hot potato.

His ears prickled slightly when he heard his phone buzz, and turned off the tap. Merlin knew who it was. He had a few guesses, but did not really care who was messaging him. He dried his hands neatly, and left the bathroom to fetch his mobile device to determine whether the message held importance or not. He paused, however, when he spotted Claire hold his phone, until she dropped it on the couch in what he assumed to be shock. Well, that answered everything. She had discovered him. He looked at her stoically, blinking slowly as he read her reaction. Some would try to deny everything. Some would just drop to their knees, begging forgiveness. Unfortunately, Deme was not about to do any of that, for he did not regret his actions and was not about to. Instead, he got angry, and clenched his fists at his sides as she accused him of cheating. She looked about ready to drop to the ground with her knees waving around like that. Eventually, she met the ground, and he stood in front of her. He was not intentionally being intimidating, but held a sharp stare at her, one that told her he was not about to beg for anything. She did not deserve to have him grovel before her. She should have trusted him, believed that he would never cheat. Why was she even looking at his private messages? It was none of her business, his personal life outside of her was his own thing. She was not included in them. They were dating, sure, but they were barely intimate - and it had been a year. He was patient with her. He was kind to her. He got annoyed sometimes because she was not ideal, but nor was he and she had to accept that just as he accepted her. His ears grew red as he continued to stare at her in silence, knowing that she was sulking about this small incident for reasons he could not explain. If she wanted them to be together, she should have worked harder. He felt neglected, tossed aside, only for when a rainy day came about. Only when one of her numerous girl friends wasn't around to talk to. She nagged to him. She cried into his shoulder. Sometimes she would hold his hand, kiss his cheek, occasionally hug. It was not good enough for him.

"You broke my trust, Claire," he said, quietly. His folded his arms across his chest, cutting her out, getting himself away from her emotionally. "Why would you do that to me? Break my trust like that? I leave my stuff around because I don't fear you touching them. I don't fear you around me because I care about you. And here you are, making this all my fault? Acting like I'm a monster?" He brought a hand to his eyes, as if he were about to cry. "I can't believe this," he whispered weakly, turning his back on her. "I thought you were different."
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[Claire Aurelious]

Claire remembered the heartache she'd felt when her father told her about the divorce. It was this dull pain that was nearly indescribable, but when she tried to talk about it, she always said it was like a clock. If you put the hands of a clock inside of your heart, and they spun, constant ticking, scrapping inside of the aching heart that was too weak to handle everything. The ticking of that clock was a reminder that from wen it started ticking on, things were going to be different. In that moment, while Claire was on the floor, looking up at the man she loved, she felt as if every hand on that clock had grown. The hands were poking through her heart from the inside, yet the second hand, the minute hand, and the hour hand were all still moving. The pain rattled her chest, and her whole body shook. Why wasn't he talking? Why wasn't he explaining himself? Claire just wanted anything, but there he stood with arms crossed, looking at her. She couldn't take it. She needed to stand, to do something. However, her body was numb - the kind of tingling she recalled from the time she'd fallen off a horse and had the wind knocked out of her. It was the kind of breathless, tingling pain that made her think she was dying - or made her want to die. It was minutes of silence before she could even breathe without thinking, before her chest rose automatically, as if she were gasping for breath. The petite brunette felt as if she was drowning in her own living room. She couldn't bear to face the truth, to see the texts again. She stood though, her hands gripping at what she could on the column to help raise herself up from the floor.

Blue orbs met Deme's cold, stoic eyes. Her brown hair fell in messy tresses to the side of her face, falling from the hairdo they had been in. It seemed that sliding down the column had messed up her hairstyle. He was finally speaking, but the words were not what Claire had expected. Somewhere deep in the back of her mind she wanted to scream. She wanted to tell him just what kind of person she thought he was. But there was a bigger part of her, that just wanted that damn ticking clock in her heart to stop, and for him to say he loved her. The sound of her swallowing seemed to echo the apartment after his words had stopped. She had broken his trust, she knew it was true. She shouldn't have looked. Gathering all of the strength that she had, Claire spoke. "I'm s-so sorry." her voice seemed to plead to him, for him to trust her again, for him to love her. She didn't want to lose him, not over this. It was stupid, after all, she could have been misinterpreted the texts. And even if she did, it was her fault. What was she doing, she hadn't given herself over emotionally - afraid to love after watching her parents fall apart. How was it that she could expect the same from him? Deme had been through his fair share, she thought, transferring schools just as she did. Becoming alone before making friends, Claire should have known better. She had only given him what she was comfortable with - but wasn't love taking a leap and not looking back? "Deme, please." She spoke between ragged breaths, her vice hoarse as she approached him, moving to grip his arms gently. Her fingers were so pale in comparison to the cloth - had she taken her vitamins that day? "Deme, I love you, please tell me what I can do. What can I do to prove that i deserve your trust. I'll do anything. Please, just don't leave me here." She cried still, her voice breaking between words before dissolving to near sobs as she hugged him. She pushed her arms under his, and held tight. She didn't want him to ever let her go. "Please, Deme, I need you." She whispered against his chest, soaking his shirt in the process of burying her face.