Re: Holly's place: Holly/ Noah
Holly was fighting to find some stupid center that would keep him from sounding or feeling angry. And it wasn't Noah he was pissed at. I mean, yeah, putting himself in the position wasn't smart, but Noah wasn't responsible for whatever his mom had done when it was all said and done. The guy was messed up, fucked up, out of it. It sounded like Noah didn't even have any memory of anything, and Holly just ignored the stuff about the sling, about not taking it off, about all of that. He cupped Noah's cheeks, and he waited for the guy to look at him. And he knew, even without some ability that let him know what was up, that Noah was going to do this, like, apology thing, and Holly spoke over him, because, no way. That was getting nipped in the bud right fucking now.
"Hey- No- You listen to me. You didn't do anything. You weren't intending to end up at your mom's, and you weren't intending to... whatever happened, it isn't on you. You didn't do anything, okay? That's the first fucking thing," and even with all the anger brimming in Holly? The completely fucking wrong jealousy? The understanding and insistence that this shit wasn't on Noah, that was firm and unyielding: Not your fault. His fingers tightened them, and he didn't even notice his own wince, you know, the arm. This? Too important. "But, and you aren't going to change my mind about this, so don't even try: I'm not going to put you in this position again. This fucking town might do it, and I can't control that, but I'm not making you vulnerable like this again. No way. It's not happening, Noah." He lifted his hand and pushed the guy's hair back, off his face, behind his ears. "Okay?" For Holly? This was downright fucking rational.