That was something that was highly agreeable to him. He did want to see Jill happy. She went through hell at school, she had gone through hell for the last year or so of her life. It wasn't easy being the sister of the Queen. The least Adrian could do was make her birthday special, which was what he intended. At her words, he only nodded.
Adrian didn't know what happy was anymore. Sure, he had his moments, his impulses, those highs that could be felt but Adrian was rightly troubled. Nobody really took him seriously and even if Adrian did want to change, it wouldn't have been easy. In a lot of ways he had. He wasn't as bad as he used to be. He had people he genuinely cared about and he knew what it felt like to have his heart broken.
"I guess you can say I'm trying," he told her, more than happy to leave it at that. It wasn't as if he was in love with Rose. No that had come and gone. Now he was only trying to live his life and do what he wanted to do. He had more responsibility now more than ever and he was determined to see this through.
"Well, I'm glad you're here. I'm sure Jill appreciates it too." As much as he wanted to impress, he wanted Jill to be impressed the most. Sure, Sage's comments were those he hung on and he realized he was starting to do the same thing he did when he had feelings for Rose. He wanted to stop himself - not the feelings, but the way he acted toward them. He gave Rose nearly everything and she took and took until she absolutely couldn't anymore.
Sage was different. She didn't want anything from him. It was a different situation altogether but he was afraid the results would be the same.
"How are you holding up my dear without your Firestarter?" He asked, wondering and genuinely caring to know about how she was coping. She and Christian were pretty inseparable.