Corden overheard you talking to Telio.

Just in case you're not following my tumblr and cause I liked this ask.

Need some angsty-ish ask if I may, during crushing stage. What are the Ros' reactions/thoughts to overhearing Mc and Telio talking.

Telio is teasing Mc about them and Ro and Mc blurts out "There's nothing between us!", then, after a brief pause, in the saddest tone they ever heard from Mc, "Besides, Ro deserves someone far better than I could ever be..."

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At first, Corden rolls his eyes, leaning against the wall. Telio's voice echoes, teasing, relentless, and Mc's agitated tone makes the corner of his mouth twitch.

So Typical of them.

He can almost imagine their hands gesturing, their faces reddening.

He tells himself he's not listening. That he's just passing by.

(He's not. He's listening.)

Then the words come out of Mc's mouth.

There's nothing between us !

A small, humorless laugh escapes him of course there isn’t. Why would there be? Who would even want that?!

But then comes that quiet, frail add-on:

Besides, Corden deserves someone far better than I could ever be…

For a moment, he forgets to breathe. His stomach knots up, his chest tightens. He wants to move, to make himself known, to say something sarcastic, anything, but all that comes up is a bitter taste on his tongue. Because he's heard people say things like that before—about other people, never about him. And now Mc is saying it too, but not in the way he had dreamed of. Not in the way he needs.

His throat burns. Far better than them? No. Far better than me, maybe. Surely.

He lets out a small, quiet, high-pitched, mocking laugh, hoping it sounds like indifference rather than a broken heart.

“Yeah, right,” he mutters to himself. They're better off without me anyway.

What was he hoping for?

As he walks away, he tells himself he doesn't care. That Mc just... said the truth out loud. One he was already aware of.

But the next time he sees them, he can't look them in the eye for very long. His words are stilted, colder than usual, armor back in place.

Cause he should not have let it fall from the beginning.

And when they smile at him, tenderly and without suspicion, it hurts.

And his heart cries.

And his heart rages.