Every New Beginning is Some Other Beginnings End

Adelene was like a doll while Lochlann was keeping her close. But as he pulled her even closer, she began nudging him on the side so he'd at least loosen his hold.

Why did he seem like he didn't want her to be so close to Lillianna and Lawrence anyway? He was the one who brought her here to meet them. It should be fine, right?

Her heart skipped a beat. She heard him, she heard that he just said he craved her. And damn her for being reminded of their shared kisses, damn her for remembering their dinner night, damn her for suddenly feeling like she was going to melt. Damn her because she wanted him, too.

"R-Reuben sounds good," she said with an approving nod. She was trying to step away from Lochlann now, because there was no way she'd let him hold her like this the entire time. Not while they were with other people and not if he was going to keep whispering suggestive things to her. It was getting embarrassing. It was a real hard task to act and look normal now; hopefully her face didn't just turn red... "Uh... Loch, do you know a place?" she asked, but she can't look him in the eye this time.

"I'm alright! No worries, Loch doesn't get away with stuff like that." Adelene laughed, albeit awkwardly. What she just said wasn't entirely true, because she can count many times Lochlann's managed to touch her and she could get herself to do anything about it. She never really minded. And realizing that fact alone was enough to keep her embarrassed.

"Bar?" she shot Lochlann a thoughtful look. She hasn't been in that place for quite a while now, but he was right, they definitely had a good menu and delicious sandwiches. Surely they had reubens. "Oh, yeah, they probably do. Their sandwiches are huge, too. And they have good non-alcoholic drinks. Mm." She nodded, seeing that they've most likely made up their mind on where to go.

The thought of her boss probably being there made her smirk. Since it was daytime, he probably wouldn't be there, but it was still place he often visited. "Loch, what if Kranz sees you?" she teased, before laughing.

She turned to Lillianna and Lawrence after that, stepping away from Lochlann even more. She clapped her hands together. "It's not that far, and I swear it's a good place," she assured them. "We can get there in a few minutes... If you're up for a short walk?" She remembered Lochlann was allergic to iron, which meant it was better not to take a taxi. She wouldn't know about his siblings, but all the same walking was a better idea.

Adelene of course filled Lochlann's siblings in with details on who Kranz was, the he was her boss from work and that he hated Lochlann and intentionally adds a 'd' at the end of their brother's name all the time. But she didn't tell them why.

When they got to the bar, she told the two that the second floor was much more spacious than the first, and so asked them to reserve a table there, once she realized Lochlann had something to say. She wasn't sure she was ready for any serious talk though. She had been doing her best to keep the air light and casual.

"Of course," she answered, smiling at him. It was a lie. She was tired and near sleepless, and she was still confused and bothered over her thoughts about Lochlann and Leon, separate and together. There were dark circles under her eyes if Lochlann would just look closely, and she was trying to hide them with some light concealer and face powder. It's also her first time to attempt wearing any form of make-up that wasn't lip balm.

She didn't want to ruin this day by looking sick.

If he meant everything between them though, then her answer was probably not a lie.

"Is something bugging you?" she asked. Of course it would trouble her to know that Lochlann was bothered by something, as always. She hoped he was okay now. She hoped he wasn't hurting himself again, or getting himself in a mess. Most of all, she hoped he didn't worry about her.

This. This was exactly what Adelene didn't want. Serious talk. Hearing Lochlann being concerned about her, feeling that something must be wrong. She caught herself just before she could frown. So she was able to keep it inside, hidden by a smiling mask. She was still trying to keep the heavy air low.

"I'm not pretending. I don't know about you though," she said, closing her eyes briefly as she pushed her hair behind her right ear. But even though her mask was well-made, she can't look at Lochlann in the eyes while speaking, even if she tries. "You sound like you're pretending, Loch. I should be the one getting worried. And I am. You always look like you're hurting." At this, she can't help but drop the smile. She eyed his hand, confused, unsure of what that meant. She didn't know, so she didn't do anything either. She just... stared. Before eventually shrugging it off and looking back to his face again. "Don't you think you've got this the wrong way? I should be the one telling you all those things."

Adelene laughed. But she was quick to stifle it by covering her lips with a hand. She didn't like how it sounded. It was like she was about to laugh hysterically because of... pain. She was actually so confused, not knowing why she was down and depressed. As if everything contributed to it even though there was no reason why.

"Funny, because..." Only one thing was clear. "...I've been restless mostly because of you. How can you take care of me?"

She shot him a look, but quickly looked away again anyway. She didn't want to be talking about this. She didn't even know if she had the right to be feeling terrible. "You're the one drifting away. A lot is happening with you and I can see it, but you won't tell me anything." She crossed her arms. And a frown on her face slowly became more and more obvious. "Are those words really for me, or for yourself?"

She was hurt. One reason was that she felt like she wasn't important enough to Lochlann for her to have a right to know what's wrong. Thinking about it, she realized all this just keeps bouncing back to Lochlann anyway. This conversation had nowhere to go. Sighing, she turned around and began to walk inside. "Let's not keep your siblings waiting too long."