[She doesn't bother replying, since Donny will be there soon enough, just sets up the projector (thank you, supplies at Contrast Mechanics) and starts a batch of hot chocolate.
It barely takes her a few seconds to open the door after he knocks, and she automatically opens her arms to offer him a hug. That's just what friends do.]
You c-can't-- can't b-bug someone into loving you.
( Just slightly huffed, because he gets that she is being playful but also just-- it's different, if a girl says she isn't interested. Then you have to respect that, or you're an ass. It means different things.
He pulls back a little, and shakes his head. )
She w-wasn't um, I d-didn't-- I never thought she w-would.
[Seriously, she's pretty sure that's the only reason she has friends, because she manages to bug people into liking her.
Though she gets it, that it's different, because she knows she'd be annoyed by a guy who wouldn't take no for an answer.]
Hey. [Gently again, more serious now, as she puts a hand on his arm. She considers saying that this girl of his clearly has no taste, but she thinks Donny might not take well to that, so she'll be a bit kinder.] It's her loss.
but wait, this is Steph they're talking about. ) You bugged him, huh.
( oh stephanie.
His expression spasms, almost, that might be the only word for the kind of flinched, painful twist that he tries to get it under control as quickly as possible. A shrug, and it's obvious how much he doesn't agree, how much it hurts and he feels like an idiot because of it. That Steph is being nice is appreciated, but he can't help but feel it's a lip service sentiment, in this case, scratching his stubble. )
[She opens her mouth to correct him, before he does it himself, so she just shrugs instead, smiling a little.]
I'm very stubborn.
[And persistent, and kind of a pain in the ass, but the main concern right now is that look on Donny's face.]
I mean it. [Even if he doesn't believe her, she means it.] Oviously there was something going on there. [with a gesture at the hickeys (don't think she didn't notice), which seems to suggest that his lady was attracted to him, if nothing else.] And you're a really great guy, Donny, and I'm sorry she can't see that.
She just-- it's j-just um, it's-- it m-makes her feel better. D-distracting. ( Pointing to the hickeys, like that's a good enough reason. ) Liking k-kissing me isn't, um. I m-mean that's-- that's good.
( is it? He loves kissing her, too, always wants to be kissing her, but it's getting more and more difficult to remember that it's just that, in the moment. )
It's n-not like she says I'm n-not, it's--
( This is so difficult. ) She's c-complicated. ( And he's only Donny. Max deserves so much better, could love someone better, even if she doesn't realise it. She's capable of so much love, he's sure of it. )
[Both... because she's pretty sure everything he said didn't entirely make sense, with how cut off half the sentences were, but also the fact that apparently he's just, what, a distraction?]
Donny.
[She's frowning a fair bit by now.]
It sounds like she's just using you, and you deserve a hell of a lot better than that. Don't let someone do that to you.
[Not when it's clear how much he cares about this woman.]
[It doesn't matter how much shit someone's bene through, or what Donny might be responsible for (and she's learning to take the things he says about that with a grain of salt), using people like that isn't okay.
This isn't a conversation she wants to have lingering near the doorway, even if it is closed, so if Donny will let her, she's going to gently curl her fingers around his wrist.]
C'mon.
[She's just going to lead him to the couch and sit him down, and wrap him up in another hug, because he looks so sad. There's more she wants to say, but it can wait for a bit.]
( Painful, dry, words being forced out when his throat can make no space for them. This is the best thig he has in his life, even if it makes him feel like the worst. )
better having this with her than n-not.
( Because there's nothing else. She's the most important thing in his life. ) It's okay.
Donny. [She pulls back from the hug, putting her hands on his shoulders as if that might make him actually hear what she's saying.] It matters. You matter. Don't let people treat you like you don't.
[Because if she's never said it, then likely it's something Donny thinks about himself, and he seems to think a lot of things about himself that aren't true.]
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