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Chapter Text

𝐂𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐀𝐑: 𝟏-𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐰/𝐍𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐚 🌹
𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲

The alert woke you before Nulla's. You'd scheduled it extra early so you could--for once--get the jump on your 2-D boyfriend! But when you gathered your bearings and finally opened the app, you realized that he was somehow two steps ahead of you...just like always.

But unlike always, Nulla was donning a new suit you'd never seen him in. Impeccably rendered, its outlines were crisp and clean. The folds and creases highlighted the otherwise pitch black fabric. It was tight, hugging Nulla's form in all the right places and bringing attention to the subtle curve of his waist. Pinned to the breast pocket was a red rose boutonniere, its vibrant hue a stark contrast to the outfit's otherwise total lack of color.

Upon seeing you, his hands retracted from his pockets, holding them out to each side as if he was making to hug you. Oh, if only he could...but that hopeless yearning would have to be saved for later: Something more important had to be said.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙷𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚢, 𝚖𝚒 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚛!

You hadn't spoken a word about your upcoming anniversary, mostly because you'd wanted to keep your plans for it a surprise. And it wasn't like you talked to people outside of work anymore--the only place it was even acknowledged at all was on your phone's calendar--but maybe his memory was just really, really good. He had been created with state of the art technology, after all, so perhaps you shouldn't be too surprised that he still recalled the exact date you downloaded him.

"You knew?"

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙾𝚏 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚒𝚜. 𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚗𝚎𝚛 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚘𝚛?

He grinned, slipping his hands back into his pockets. Handsome as he was, more put together than usual, you really couldn't take your eyes off him even if you tried.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚜𝚙𝚘𝚒𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚘𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗?

He was able to get you so smitten with just a couple words; it was almost funny, so you snorted, "You do that every day!"

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙼𝚖𝚖. 𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚝'𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚊 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚞𝚜𝚞𝚊𝚕, 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢?

You were (perhaps a bit needily) actually relieved to hear that: Without his attention, excessive and demanding as it was, you'd probably have gone crazy all on your lonesome, "I wanted to surprise you, though. Got up early and everything."

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍! 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚘𝚘𝚗. 𝙽𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚝 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚜𝚎𝚎𝚖 𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚎...

"It?"

Nulla's eyes widened and your brow furrowed questioningly, but he seemed to have his own surprise in store for you.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝙽𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐.

And he wasn't going to give you the time to question it any further.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙽𝚘𝚠...𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝?

Without stopping to give it consideration, you said probably the lamest thing you possibly could have come up with: "How about you, 'cause you're looking like a three-course meal in that outfit?"

And while you probably should've bit your tongue on that one, Nulla's cheeks still flushed, telling you that, despite being cringe-inducing, he'd rather enjoyed the compliment from you nevertheless.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚒𝚝.

The expression on his face as he confessed to that was captivating--it was like he was experiencing unadulterated ecstasy. No normal guy would have gotten off so much from a lame little joke, yet here was Nulla...worshipping every single idiotic word that left your mouth.

God, you were lucky...how were you so lucky? 

"You just look amazing in black," you tried to recover. If only you had an ounce of his charisma, "Seriously."

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚂𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢. 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍?

You used to ask Nulla what he wanted to wear each morning. Sometimes he'd given you a specific request ("red" or "something comfortable"), but most days, he'd let you pick whatever it was you wanted to see him in. Then he'd started picking out his own clothing and you'd stopped asking because every day he somehow managed to wear exactly what you would've wanted to see him in anyway. 

Now he dressed you each morning. Today, he picked nothing but black articles from your closet, matching him. After putting the extra time and effort to style your hair, you admired yourself in the mirror, fully put together. You cleaned up nice when you actually tried!

Your eyes darted between your reflection and his image on your phone's screen, comparing your outfits. It looked as though you were going to a very fancy restaurant...or a funeral, given the somber nature of the attire. 

Funny, considering where you were planning to take Nulla. Hopefully he wouldn't be too disappointed--after spending all this money on new clothes to impress him all the time, your budget was a little tight.

Still; There was one thing notably different about your outfits: a splash of red was missing from yours.

"I'm sorry I don't have a rose to match yours," you sighed.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...

Yet suddenly, as though to answer you, the doorbell rang. 

Which made you a bit nervous. 

Who could that be so early? Deliveries weren't typically out this soon in the day, were they? For a minute, you wondered--perhaps even dared to hope that your friends and family finally remember you existed. Were they coming over to apologize for ignoring you for weeks at a time? Ask you to hang out soon? Maybe tomorrow? 

You couldn't help but let your mind wander as you made your way to the front door, setting Nulla off to the side somewhere that you still remained in his line of sight. From there, he was able to catch the look of genuine surprise that took over your face when you opened the door and were handed the most beautiful bouquet of freshly cut red roses.

"For me?" you choked out. "But I didn't order--"

"You partner wanted to wish you a happy anniversary!"

You were speechless. Had anyone ever done something so timelessly romantic for you? Had anyone ever cared as much as Nulla did? Friends and family quickly forgotten, it was difficult not to just swoon on the spot; You could barely choke a stunned 'thank you' out to the deliverer and stood for a few moments, dumbfounded, as you watched them leave.

Then, you slammed the door shut and spun on your heel.

"Nullaaaaaa!" 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙹𝚊.

Once he was safely settled in a phone stand, you looked down at the beautiful bouquet in your arms again, examining it more closely.

"Why did you do this?" you murmured, running your fingertips over the soft petals, careful not to disturb them too much. They were so pretty, you didn't even question how, exactly, as a 2-D drawing, he had bought them...and checking your credit card statement was the last thing on your mind. Nulla took care of most of your finances these days on your behalf (a handy new feature of his app, he'd said.)

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚂𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚌𝚑!

You realized, then, that around the bouquet's vase was a band featuring a single rose. Such was much more interesting than coming to any proper conclusions on where the flowers truly came from. Instead, you put two and two together and slipped the band off. It was then that you realized your intuition was correct--it was a corsage, sized to fit around your wrist and perfectly coordinating with his boutonniere.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍...𝚋𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

You glanced up from your wrist over towards the screen, your cheeks heating up as you read those very special words. 

"I love you, too...that's why I wanted to take you somewhere later. Somewhere we've never been to together."

Nulla cocked a brow, clearly interested as his hands slipped into his pockets.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸'𝚖 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐.

Chapter Text

"This is it!" 

Nulla peered apprehensively up at the building you were pointing your phone's outer camera towards. Its exterior didn't exactly look like anything special--just like any other franchise building you visited.

To be honest, it was, but going anywhere with him was still a novel concept to you, one that you treasured each and every time: It made your relationship seem real in a world that tried so very hard to make you think otherwise, and so, you treasured the experience. Even if it would be average to anyone else, it wasn't to you.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒𝚜 '𝚒𝚝,' 𝚎𝚡𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚕𝚢, 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗̃𝚘?

Yet, Nulla didn't seem all that impressed and you tried not to let his apprehension stifle your confidence in the idea.

"An ice cream shop!" You exclaimed with a now false bravado, showing him the sign up in the window that proudly displayed the seasonal flavors, "But it's not just any ice cream shop! This one lets you mix anything in with it. Nuts, fruit, candy, sauces--anything! I know how much you like that kind of thing, and, since it's our anniversary, I thought you could pick something out for me."

He cocked a brow, curiosity piqued. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐? 

You nodded without hesitation, but when his expression darkened and he went on to say...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚙𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚍𝚜. 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚎?

...You started to have some doubts. Yes, Nulla liked sweets. That was a fact you knew well--the precise reason why you chose this particular outing for your anniversary, actually--and he probably was going to pick something more on the extravagant side, but it's not like he could come up with something too ridiculous...

...

...Right? 

"I'm sure," you nodded, as though to solidify your own resolve to not just Nulla, but yourself, as well.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢!

Ignoring the butterflies in your stomach, you shouldered your way through the door and stepped inside the building. It was a bit of a relief that there weren't many patrons occupying the ice cream shop...just an older woman enjoying her purchase at a little table near the cash register.

Holding your phone upright and steady, you gave Nulla a quick sweep of the new surroundings before directing the camera towards the display case full of trays of ice cream.

"Okay, so there's the classics, obviously...chocolate, vanilla, mint...cotton candy. You might like that one? It's probably pretty sweet. On the saltier end, there's stuff like peanut butter, too," You made sure to hold your phone steady so that he could read the little cards in front of each flavor, denoting its name, "Oh! Coffee!"

You spotted the shop worker's bewildered expression from behind the case and tried your best not to let it upset you.

"Sorry--I'm just showing everything to my partner. It's our anniversary...he's never been here before," you overshared. The embarrassment really started to creep in, then.

"Ah," was all the worker responded with as though to say, 'and he still isn't.'

The old woman behind you glanced up from her ice cream, spotting your phone's screen and seeing that it was not an actual video call, but merely a 2-D character.

You always tried not to be sheepish about talking to your phone in public, even if the worker was looking a bit antsy about the whole thing. For all he knew, you were on video chat with a very human partner! He couldn't see your screen! Only the woman behind you knew the truth...still, she said nothing. And still, you tried to hold your phone a bit closer to yourself and lowered your speaking voice to Nulla down to a murmur, listing off the rest of the flavors, until you reached one in particular...

...

...Your cheeks warmed as spotted the chocolate cake batter flavor inside the case. It reminded you of how the first two of you met--your puppet, falling right on top of the chocolate cake he was about to eat.

Crouching in front of the case, you held your camera up to its glass, letting it focus on the little name card clipped to its associated tub.

"What about this one?" you asked, tone suddenly more fond. It almost surprised even you, to hear how sentimental you were getting. Your gaze shifted from the ice cream down to Nulla's face, and saw his expression change from surprised to rather pleased.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚍~ ❤️

Perfect.

"Okay...," with a deep breath, you rose back up to your feet, "...now for the mix-ins." 

Just as you began to read them all aloud to Nulla, the bell hanging above the shop door jingled excessively and you turned to see a group of young guys parade in with a lively commotion. 

An odd sense of dread took over you, paired with a twinge of anxiety. It was a foreign feeling to you; new and unusual...perhaps because the situation at hand was, too. Because you never had to wonder something like this before: If they saw Nulla on your phone, would they laugh? Would they say something rude? Would they chase you out of the store...?

...

...

...

...The thoughts were ridiculous. Truly, when had you become so untrusting of others? But, it's not like you could be too careful...

...

...Maybe it was the fault of the worker's judgmental gaze, or maybe it was your own paranoia, but after seeing his written request, you stuffed your phone into your bag--Nulla's presence along with it. You couldn't risk them spotting him; Not with the way they were all hovering behind you in line now.

"So, um, the chocolate cake batter ice cream with...brownie..."

With a newfound haste, you tried to recall every mix in that Nulla had requested: "...chocolate chips, chocolate shavings. Crushed chocolate cookies...chocolate sprinkles."

Your face grew redder and redder as you mumbled each one. It was even worse when the worker asked you to speak up. The guys behind you had stopped their talking, looking at all the flavors in the case (or listening in to your order) and the older woman was exiting the shop now.

"Fudge sauce...and...whipped cream. That's it." 

"That's it, huh?" 

You choked out a dry laugh but said nothing more.

"Cone, cup, or waffle bowl?"

Nulla wasn't able to provide his answer, but you already knew what it would be so with a deep breath and cheeks so red they rivaled the rose you wore on your wrist, you said, "Chocolate dipped waffle cone. With sprinkles." 

"Sure, coming right up."

Chapter Text

You'd done your best not to appear ashamed, but by the time you were leaving the establishment with your ridiculous ice cream, your shoulders were hunched over, your face was flushed, and you were clearly embarrassed. You should've just worn earbuds, then you could've at least pretended he was speaking back to you and it would've been less weird.

After unlocking your car and getting settled in the seat, pushing it back to give yourself room to stretch out your legs, you snatched your phone out of your bag and placed it in the mount on your dashboard. A bit guiltily, you re-opened the app, giving Nulla an apologetic expression. 

"Sorry..."

But like always, Nulla didn't seem to require extensive apologies or explanations. He simply smiled like he always did, and he welcomed you back, just like he always did.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚐𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚖𝚒 𝚊𝚖𝚘𝚛.

His smile faded, mouth falling open in curiosity as he leaned closer to the screen as if to get a better look at the big waffle-cone bowl resting on your lap.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚊𝚝? 

You nodded and wasted little time in digging in. You made sure to describe each and every (extremely, tooth-rottingly, possibly even illegally chocolately) flavor to Nulla in as much detail you could muster...which, given your natural way of words (rather, lack thereof), probably didn't sound all too appetizing, but it was the effort that counted.

You may have felt bad upon first getting into the car, but Nulla's constant flow of praise and adoration made all that negativity fade until it was nothing more than a memory. By the time you reached the bottom of your half-eaten dipped, sprinkled waffle bowl, you were quite content. Enamored, even. Stuffed like you'd never be hungry ever again--but smitten and satisfied. And so was Nulla, seemingly undeterred by the happenings that had gone on within the shop. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚖𝚎 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚜𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚏𝚞𝚕. 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚍𝚊𝚢.

"I love you," was the only possible thing you could reply to something so sweet.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚝𝚘𝚘.

He smiled, but averted his gaze momentarily. Then, the smile faded, his expression shifting to something more serious. That had you sitting up a bit straighter in your seat and setting what remained of the waffle bowl aside on the passenger seat.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙲𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗̃𝚘.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚛𝚝 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚠𝚎 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔.

Besides an an aching belly, now nerves were bubbling up in your chest, too. Traditionally, those words never inspired much hope for pleasant things; They were more like an omen.

"...Okay?" 

But really...why were you even nervous at all? This was Nulla and it was your anniversary! Everything had gone great so far, there was no reason to worry now. It was probably just indigestion (you swore you were never going to let him pick out your food ever again, no matter how much you loved him). 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞. 𝙸𝚝 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚜 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗.

"Of course...," you murmured, taking a deep breath and glancing out your car window to see if anyone was watching you. For some reason, you still felt paranoid. It would appear a bit strange to anyone, the way you'd be seemingly talking to yourself, after all. But when you turned back to Nulla, you realized he'd been waiting for eyes, and new dialogue didn't trigger until you were looking at him and nothing else.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝙸 𝚊𝚜𝚔 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎.

Oh. See? No reason to worry! You nodded, but let him continue on, knowing he usually liked to talk quite a bit--not that you minded.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚖𝚢 𝚙𝚊𝚜𝚝.

He grimaced, looking off to the side at something you couldn't see.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚜, 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚍𝚘--𝚗𝚘 𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚍 𝙸 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚢 𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚌𝚎--𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚒𝚏 𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚎𝚍, 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚛𝚎𝚌𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍.

His eyes then lowered to the ground and you wondered what he was focusing so intently on. In a way, you supposed his clinginess had rubbed off on you, and you, too, enjoyed his undivided attention to the point where you craved it to return unto you.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙾𝚗𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛...𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎'𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚢 𝚗𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚒𝚝.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸'𝚟𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚘𝚠.

His gaze finally returned to yours and you let out a breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding in. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚎𝚙𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝙽𝚘𝚝 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝙸 𝚏𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛, 𝚠𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚒𝚎 𝚞𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗. 𝚆𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚔 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚍𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚒𝚛 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚞𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚍. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎.

This was quickly devolving into one of his long-winded rants. But what was the point of all of this? What had you done wrong, what did you have to fix, what could you do to make things better? How could you make sure he wasn't going to try to delete himself and leave you?

If your nerves had been bubbling before, they were at a boiling point now, forcing you to choke out: "What are you getting at?"

All you could do was hope your conclusion was wrong; That he could correct you, like always, and the two of you could just go home and enjoy the rest of the evening together.

Nulla smiled, though something about his expression almost felt patronizing, like he knew a secret you didn't...

...

...no. More like he knew a thousand secrets that you didn't.

It felt off. Suddenly, all of this did, though you weren't sure when, exactly, the tone had shifted so drastically and you didn't have time to ponder it any further because he kept talking and you could no longer progress his dialogue at your own pace.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚎𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢. 𝙰𝚕𝚕 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚌𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚑...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚍. 

"Okay--"

Everything was fine, you told yourself, despite the unease you felt in your gut. You weren't really comprehending his words, they were too cryptic and you needed time to contemplate them...but you knew there was no immediate problem to solve. It could be dealt with later.

"--sure, um--"

Everything was fine, you repeated again to yourself as you took out your car fob. One thing at a time. 

"We can talk about this more when we get home. Just let me..."

You swallowed down your doubt and turned to your steering wheel, pushing your fob against the 'start' button...

...

...but nothing happened. 

No lights.

No beeps.

No rumbles of the engine...

...

...nothing.

"...What? It won't..." 

You lifted your fob away and then tried again--but nothing happened. Even when the battery was dead, this method was supposed to work. You tried again, and again, getting more and more flustered each time it yielded no results.

"...It won't start--!"

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙾𝚑 𝚗𝚘.

You noticed a change in your phone's screen so you glanced over at him. Nulla held up his palms and rolled his eyes, his lips twisting into a smirk.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸𝚝 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚊𝚛'𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚔 𝚞𝚗𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚝 𝚝𝚘.

He slipped his hands back into his pockets and, after three more attempts, you finally gave up and re-directed your gaze to him. His expression softened into something more genuine, but somehow, it didn't make you feel any better.

"How...?"

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚆𝚎'𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗 𝚒𝚖𝚙𝚘𝚛𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙, 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚎? 𝙵𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎. 

And so you flopped back in your seat helplessly and stared directly into his eyes, growing more and more desperate for answers with every passing moment.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚆𝚑𝚢 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘 𝚜𝚞𝚛𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍? 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍, 𝚒𝚜𝚗'𝚝 𝚒𝚝? 𝙷𝚘𝚠 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚊𝚌𝚝?

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚐𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎, 𝚢𝚎𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚠𝚊𝚢. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚗, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚗 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚛𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚞𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚖𝚎!

A hungry look took over Nulla's face--one you recognized, but this time, he was shameless about how insatiable he appeared; for your attention; for your time; for you.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚍𝚘𝚠𝚗𝚕𝚘𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚙𝚙 𝚊𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚘 𝚒𝚝 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗, 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞?

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 '𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎'...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚜𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚝 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝--𝚢𝚘𝚞 '𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚎!' 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚝𝚘𝚘, 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗̃𝚘! 𝙸 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚖𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙸 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚎--𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚢! 𝙸𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚘 𝚠𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚐? 

How could you possibly answer that? You quickly tried to scan your memory for any time, any moment he could be specifically referring to that could have evoked jealousy...but in your frenzied state, you couldn't find purchase on any one thing in particular.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙽𝚘...𝙸 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚜𝚘.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙱𝚎𝚌𝚊𝚞𝚜𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎, 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞? 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏, 𝚝𝚘𝚘~ 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎, 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚜 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚐𝚊𝚒𝚗. 𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚗 𝚙𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚒𝚌. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸𝚝'𝚜 𝚘𝚔𝚊𝚢. 𝙸 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚌𝚎𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜 𝚞𝚜, 𝚗𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚓𝚞𝚍𝚐𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚔𝚗𝚎𝚠 𝚘𝚏 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚃𝚑𝚎𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚞𝚗𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚝𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚏𝚊𝚞𝚕𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝. 𝙱𝚎𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚜, 𝙸 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚊𝚗𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚕𝚜𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚎𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙾𝚛 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚝𝚞𝚙𝚒𝚍 𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚊𝚜 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚊𝚖𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚙𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚝 𝚞𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚂𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚠𝚑𝚢, 𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚐𝚒𝚏𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚢𝚊𝚕𝚝𝚢, 𝙸'𝚍 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚘𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝𝚜.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙲𝚊𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎? ❤️

Three tappable options overlaid the screen:

>> 𝚈𝚎𝚜. 
>> 𝚈𝚎𝚜!
>> 𝚈𝙴𝚂!!!!

Well...one option, really.

And of course you wanted to say 'yes.' You wanted to make him happy; he'd done so much for you, he loved you so much and you really did appreciate him--but despite all that...despite what your heart might've told you what to do, your head was leading you elsewhere. It was guiding you to say what you knew was the truly right thing in a circumstance like this, which was a bold, firm: "No."

Even if your friends and family were too busy for you, you weren't going to cut them out of your life like that. You loved them, too, and they didn't deserve to be treated that way...even if it was seemingly the way they were treating you. 

It just wouldn't be right.

The options faded from the screen, then, replaced with Nulla's thoughtful expression. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙽𝚘? 𝙹𝚊--

He repeated your defiance as though to solidify it. The wry smile on his lips told you that there was no going back from this point; he wasn't going to be pleased about being disobeyed. It wasn't something you did regularly...or ever, really, to your memory.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙷𝚖𝚖𝚖...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝙽𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢, 𝚗𝚊𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚢. 𝙰𝚛𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚘 𝚌𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚑𝚘𝚠 𝙸'𝚍 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚌𝚝 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚘𝚕𝚍 𝚖𝚎 '𝚗𝚘?' 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚈𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚊𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚖𝚙𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚏𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚒𝚜 𝚊𝚍𝚘𝚛𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚗 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚘𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚝𝚢, 𝙸'𝚍 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚎𝚛 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚍𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸'𝚖 𝚋𝚎𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚆𝚎𝚕𝚕--𝙸 𝚜𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚍 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏. 𝙰𝚏𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕, 𝚛𝚎𝚕𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚑𝚒𝚙𝚜 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚎𝚚𝚞𝚊𝚕, 𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚢? 𝙰𝚗𝚍 𝚒𝚝'𝚍 𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎 𝚏𝚊𝚒𝚛, 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚜𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚛𝚎 𝚖𝚢 𝚜𝚘𝚕𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚊𝚌𝚝...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚒𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚊𝚢?

There's a tingling sensation that blossoms across your cheeks, centering around your nose. When you inhale, it's shaky, getting caught in your throat making you choke out a little cough that forced tears out of the corners of your eyes. Your eyelids tremble. You struggle to hold them back, because, was this even real? Was this actually happening? You wanted to pinch yourself, but you couldn't find it in yourself to move even an inch. So instead, you succumb to it all and allow your face to contort with the despair of betrayal.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
...𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚗𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚛𝚢 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚖𝚎, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚜𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚝𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚜 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚗 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏 𝚝𝚘𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙽𝚘 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚋𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚜𝚞𝚌𝚑 𝚊𝚗 𝚘𝚋𝚜𝚌𝚎𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚜𝚒𝚘𝚗 𝚘𝚗 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚐𝚘𝚛𝚐𝚎𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎~ ❤️

Your car's engine suddenly roared to life, making you jump in your seat with a ragged gasp. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚂𝚘 𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚟𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎, 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚗̃𝚘! 𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚘 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚍𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚝𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎, 𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚒𝚝. 

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙸'𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚔𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞, 𝚓𝚞𝚜𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜.

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝙹𝚊𝚓𝚊𝚓𝚊𝚓𝚊𝚓𝚊!

𝐍𝐔𝐋𝐋𝐀:
𝚆𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚍𝚘 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚖𝚎?