Inked [1x1]

Otto smiled and nodded, totally oblivious to the impending heartbreak. "Sure," he said, walking under the canopy. He squeezed the extra water out of his hair, wiping his hands on the nearby used tablecloth. While he waited, he played games on his phone. After ten minutes, he was starting to get a little worried. He knew girls took a little longer in the bathroom, maybe a little longer than that if she was redoing her makeup, or something like that, but surely it wasn't meant to be this long. He abandoned the game and called her phone, not realising that the only number he had for her was her house phone. There wasn't an answer. He called twice more, and then really started to worry. He rushed into the restaurant, and asked a few staff members if they'd seen her.

"She's absolutely soaked, you couldn't miss her," he said to one of them.
The waitress thought for a few seconds, then realised. "Ah, yeah, I did see a girl like that!" She exclaimed. "She left through the front door. I saw her getting on a bus."
Otto's heart sank. "Are...are you sure?" He asked slowly. There was no way Leia would have done that. She wasn't like that - he hoped.
The waitress hesitated, then nodded. "I'm sure," she said slowly.
Otto took a few steps back. Had she just been messing with him? Using him for free meals?

He sighed. "Thank you," he said quietly, and rushed out the back. He was absolutely gutted, but maybe there was some sort of explanation. He jumped into his car and drove back to his house. By the time he got back, it was an hour after she'd left. He went in and sat on his couch, picking up his phone. He rolled it between his hands for a few seconds, and then called her. He couldn't sit still; he paced back and forth from one side of his living room to the next as he prayed for her to pick up.
 
She would not cry.

She would not cry.

She. Would. Not.

Cry.

She lasted five minutes on the bus before warm tears began trickling down her cheeks. She should have known better than to try and get involved. After what had happened the last time, this was... It was dumb and a mistake and she should have stopped it from the beginning. The air on the bus was on and she was shivering from the rain, but she did nothing to warm herself up. If she froze and caught a cold it would be her penance. A lesson learned, because apparently the first time had not been lesson enough.

By the time she made her way into her apartment, she was still shivering. The phone was ringing and she hurried to answer it. Surely he would not call... but she realized that he would, in fact, call so soon. She should have checked the caller id, first.

"Otto." Laila's heart squeezed, painfully. There was nothing she could do about the way her voice cracked over his name.
 
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Otto's eyes widened at the sound of Leia's voice. "Leia!?" He said down the phone, starting to panic himself. "What's wrong? What happened? I asked a waitress and she said that you got on a bus, so I drove home to call you," he explained quickly. "Where are you? Has someone hurt you? I can come and pick you up, wherever you are!" he blabbered. Something had to have happened, then. She might have gotten attacked in the restroom, and he hadn't been there.
 
He was *worried*. He hadn't realized what had happened, but had she stayed he might have seen her wrist and it was just too much. "I'm at home," because he seemed to have forgotten that was the only phone she had.

Taking in a shuddering breath, and shutting off her emotions, Laila continued. "I don't think we should see each other anymore. I'm sorry, Otto." She was, she should have never let it go on this long. She should just end the call there but she couldn't bring herself to hang up.
 
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If his heart had sank before, it fell down a hundred-story building now. He struggled to find the words to say, his mouth as dry as a desert. "O-okay," he said quietly. He wanted to ask - what he'd done wrong, why she'd left like that - but he'd learned from previous experiences that it made you look desperate. He wouldn't beg, or try to bargain, or whatever he would have done a few years ago. He took a deep breath. He'd just respect her decision. It's not like they were serious, or anything like that, and he totally wasn't wondering about whether or not they were going to go steady or not. "I'll-" he caught himself, about to tell Leia that he'd 'see her around', like he had every time, "I-I mean...bye, then," he said softly.
 
She wasn't sure what she expected. To fight for her? No, it had been only a month, maybe a little longer. They weren't.... it should just be easy to let go. "Right. Bye." She said, heart clenching at the finality of her words. It was for the best, she had to remind herself over and over again as she hung up the phone.

Still shivering, Laila stripped of her wet clothes into something else and climbed under her covers where she could be warm, alone, and where she could cry.

-----

Two Weeks Later
​
She was in front of the library, waiting impatiently for Erik to show up. This monthly exchange never failed to get on her nerves and today, still stinging over the loss of what could have been... nothing. It could have been nothing because the closer they were, the more likely he would have become to find out her secret. Erik showed up, grinning, and she shoved the envelope at him, turning to go. "Hey, Laila, not so fast." He grabbed at her wrist, turning it over to look at the carefully applied ink. "Don't you get tired of doing this every day?" She tried to yank her arm away, but he was too strong.

"Let go of me."
 
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Otto listened to the tone for a few seconds, before dropping his arm to his side. He sighed, pressing into his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He was dumb to get attached. He threw his phone onto the couch and shook his head as he vowed under his breath that he wasn't going to get emotional. He went into his bedroom, and forced himself into a trance, even if it was the last thing he wanted to do. He drew and designed for hours, worried that if he came out of the trance he would end up crying, and fell asleep at his desk.



Otto had changed his usual designing spot to the library, out of fear that if he went back to Ethelene's Café he would see Leia, or would have to make awkward small talk about her to someone who had noticed their date there. He was just coming out of the building, his bag over his shoulder, when he heard a woman's voice.

"Let go of me."

He didn't even recognise it was who it was. All he saw was a man grabbing a woman when she obviously did not want to be grabbed, and he reacted. He rushed forwards and shoved the man in the chest. "Hey, dude," he said accusingly, "you can't just do that."
 
Erik let go, laughing, "Chill, man. It's cool, we're cool." He looked over Otto's shoulder at Laila and leaned in close. "It had better all be here." he waggled the envelope and then turned to go.

Laila, meanwhile, was having trouble breathing. She recognized that back of his head, his voice. She knew who it was immediately and she wanted to cry all over again. She was frozen, in fear. She didn't have the money, even with a book deal, to pay off two blackmailers.
 
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Otto looked to the envelope, glaring at the man. What was the 'it' he was talking about? Some sort of tech? Money? He huffed, making sure the man was leaving before turning to the girl behind him. "What was his d-" he froze, finally realising that it was Leia. His face flushed and his throat tightened. He took a few steps backward. "Oh...hey, Leia," he mumbled.
 
"Otto..." her voice sounded strangled, choked off, and she couldn't make herself speak or breathe.

And then. Suddenly. She was hyperventilating; she couldn't seem to catch her breath and her hands were shaky and this wasn't supposed to happen. Is this what a panic attack feels like, because if felt, to her, like she was having a panic attack. She stumbled a little, trying to sit down on the library steps.

Why did he have to be here, to bear witness to that, to witness this?
 
Otto's eyes widened at Leia's reaction. For a moment, the thought crossed his head that maybe she hated him that much, but that wasn't it. He watched her stumble, and on instinct he reached out and grabbed her by the top of the arm. "Hey, hey, calm down," he said as quietly and as soothingly as he could, watching her chest rise and fall too fast, far too fast. He recognised the shaking hands, the hyperventilation, the stumbling; his best friend in high school had been prone to panic attacks himself. He gently lowered her down onto the steps and sat next to her, though still leaving a good foot of space between them. He dug into his bag and pulled a few things out, eventually pulling out a semi cold, half full bottle of water. "Here," he said, putting the bottle into her hand. "You're okay."
 
He was trying to help, but it was just making it worse because he shouldn't be nice to her and she tried to tell him as much but the words wouldn't come out. Instead, she clutched his arms. He was her life line tethering her to consciousness. She put her head between her legs and focused on breathing in and out.

She felt him move and the panic started again until she realized he was just going to sit beside her. She took the water and it wasn't until her breathing had settled that she tried taking a shaky sip. "Thanks."

God, her heart. She wanted him to take her hand, to tell her it was okay. But she didn't deserve any of that, because she was too damn stubborn.
 
Otto nodded slightly. "No worries. Keep on drinking," he advised. He looked off in the direction the man had gone and scowled. "Asshole," he muttered under his breath. He wanted to ask who he was, but she wasn't in the best state and he didn't want to risk distressing her more. "Do you want to go inside?" He asked. "I could take you home, if you'd prefer that." He knew it might sound creepy if he still knew where she lived, but that didn't matter right now.
 
She took another shaky sip. "I can... wait for the bus, I don't want you to go out of your way."

Of course she wanted to ride home with him in the safety of his car and company, but she didn't deserve anymore niceties from him. "Thanks, by the way."
 
Otto sighed and shook his head. Last time she got on a bus when he was around, things didn't exactly turn out peachy keen. "No. I'll drive you," he insisted. He very carefully reached out to take her by the elbow, making sure she saw him reach out, and then lifted her to her feet. "Are you okay to walk?"
 
She didn't bother arguing, and just stood as he helped her. "Yeah, I can walk." She mumbled. She was embarrassed, at this point, too, but her breathing had calmed even though the anxiety stayed deeply settled in her chest.
 
Otto gently lead Laila to the library car park, and then to his car, still holding onto her elbow just in case she fainted. Just like he would have done before, he opened the door for her and made sure she got in okay before getting in his own side.

On the drive there, Otto didn't speak unless Laila did. It was pretty awkward, though the radio played various recent hits and that did fill the silence somewhat.

When they arrived, Otto didn't get out straight away. He looked sheepishly to Laila, not quite meeting her eyes. "Do you need any help getting out?" He asked.
 
Laila was painfully aware of how similar and different the circumstances were now. Where before they could ride in companionable silence it was now awkward and uncomfortable. She didn't know what to say to him, how to talk to him.

She bit her lip and opened her mouth several times, ready to just tell him everything. No words came, though, and she'd just close her mouth and turn back to the window.

When they finally arrived to her apartment she stayed in her seat, debating the question. She avoided looking at him, though it seemed he was doing the same. "No, I can make it. Thank you." It was quiet, formal. Still, she didn't move. Watery eyes she turned to Otto, "I'm sorry."
 
Otto nodded, looking to the steering wheel in front of him. He was expecting her to get out straight away, but she didn't. He risked looking over, and they made eye contact. He would have snapped his head away, had he not seen that she was close to tears.

He shook his head and forced a small smile, assuming that she was apologising for taking up his time, or something like that. "It's no problem," he said quickly, throat a bit tight. "You should stay away from that guy, though," he warned. They seemed to act like they knew each other before. He wanted to ask for the details, but now felt like it wasn't his place to poke around.
 
Otto... He was so sweet, so kind. He deserved better than a blank masquerading as a normal, inked person. She smiled, despite the watery eyes. "Wish I could." She muttered and then taking a deeper breath, steadying herself, she climbed out of the car.

She doubted she would see much of Otto after this and she was reluctant to go, but it was necessary.
 
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