Everest
Ever’s shoulders jolted at the hug, his whole frame going tight—like a wire stretched too far—but he didn’t pull away. He didn’t lean into it either, but instead just stood there, unsteady in his own skin, letting Mateo anchor him by proximity alone.
The words, though. Gods, the words helped.
He didn’t answer, couldn’t—not with his throat thick and his jaw tight and his mind still stuck on the tile pattern of the skyport floor—but the edges of his posture loosened just enough for his hands to unclench. The bag strap slid from his grip and into Mateo’s waiting hand with no resistance.
"Yours," Ever mumbled, barely audible. "La Verbena." Because the idea of going to his own apartment or facing his parents just yet felt like walking barefoot into a thunderstorm, and at least for all the chaos of the little skyboat, the fact that it would be chaos would be something which hadn't changed.
He didn’t look up as Mateo steered them through the port, but he followed closely, footsteps precise and quiet, eyes locked on the hem of his friend’s shirt like it might be the only thing keeping him from vanishing.
The words, though. Gods, the words helped.
He didn’t answer, couldn’t—not with his throat thick and his jaw tight and his mind still stuck on the tile pattern of the skyport floor—but the edges of his posture loosened just enough for his hands to unclench. The bag strap slid from his grip and into Mateo’s waiting hand with no resistance.
"Yours," Ever mumbled, barely audible. "La Verbena." Because the idea of going to his own apartment or facing his parents just yet felt like walking barefoot into a thunderstorm, and at least for all the chaos of the little skyboat, the fact that it would be chaos would be something which hadn't changed.
He didn’t look up as Mateo steered them through the port, but he followed closely, footsteps precise and quiet, eyes locked on the hem of his friend’s shirt like it might be the only thing keeping him from vanishing.
I was a dead man walking,
with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
with bloodshot eyes—right place, wrong time.
