alwaysroomforhope | (no subject)

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Steph is, in fact, sleeping. She spends a lot of time sleeping, because it's significantly easier than spending time thinking seriously about her life as it stands.

Today, the couch is the lucky host to Steph's sleeping. The TV is still on and the edge of the cushion has made a square red pattern in her cheek. She doesn't even hear the door open.

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The Waterbender takes her cue by kneeling on the pillow, arms crossed over her chest with the perfect mixture of concern, anger, and hurt on her face.

"You're with Zuko again, and after he hurt you so bad last time, and I had to hear it from him, you didn't even tell me about it, and we're supposed to be best friends but I haven't seen you in weeks and how long have you been with him again anyway?"

Steph opens her mouth, and then closes it again, guiltily.

She hangs her head and admits, unhappily, "...weeks. I meant to tell you, I did, I just ... knew you'd yell."

"If you know it's gonna get you in trouble, there's a reason," Mel tells the ceiling.

She's a complete and utter hypocrite, but she doesn't care.

"I'm yelling 'cause he's a jerk who makes you unhappy!" Katara yells, hands thrown up in exasperation. "Steph, he's no good for you, he's no good for anybody right now! He just doesn't get it! Do you know how many times I've tried to be nice to him, just to help him out? He fight me every step of the way for it, too! He's too selfish! Sleeping with him can't be that good!"

Steph does not, in fact, have an answer for that, except to fidget and look guiltily at her knees.

"...he needs me," she mumbles. "I'm good for him."

She's sticking to that belief.

"Yeah, like a paint job is good for crumbling warrens," Mel says dryly. "Or antispectic patches are good for a broken back."

Ready to snap back, Katara calms when Mel speaks, glancing over at the other woman before looking sadly back at Steph. "...he'll throw you away again," she says quietly, her voice breaking softly in the middle. "He will, Steph, because you make him feel good and so long as you do that, he doesn't care how you feel."

In any other case, she'd reach out and take her friend's hand or her shoulder or-- anything else, but it's a very sticky situation at the moment.

Because of the 'stickiness' of a few weeks ago, to be exact.

"He should be making you happy, Steph, and he just doesn't, he doesn't deserve you."

Steph draws her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them, not looking at Katara or Mel.

... they weren't supposed to notice. It's easy to keep telling yourself you're happy with the situation when your friends believe you are too.

"I know," she tells her knees. "...don't think he really wants me. He doesn't say — or anything."

The problem is that she still wants him.

"He just wants someone," Mel tells the ceiling.

"You really wanna be with someone who doesn't want you?"

Katara nods slowly, listening to Mel though her eyes stay on Steph.

"You deserve somebody who can make you happy, too."

"'m happy sometimes," Steph protests, still not quite able to look up at Katara. "Besides ... I don't wanna hurt him."

He needs someone to love him and Steph does, even if it makes her unhappy. He needs someone. She can't break up with him.

"You think pretending what you've got is real isn't gonna hurt him?"

"Love shouldn't hurt," Katara adds.

Steph looks from one to the other of them, unhappily.

"...but I don't know how to make it not hurt. ... either of us."

Bluntly, Mel simply says,

"Then stop."

Glancing back at Mel again, Katara takes a chance, putting her hand tentatively over Steph's as she nods, unsure how the contact will be taken.

"If you stop now, it hurts a lot. But it'll stop hurting faster than if you keep this going on and on and on. We just..." her voice drops, quiet as her fingers start to slip away, "don't like seeing you hurt."

Steph lets the hand slip away only for a moment, and then she turns hers upwards to hold Katara's, looking up at her.

... she really wishes she remembered if they'd gone any further than serious making out that night.

"I'm sorry," she says, twisting her ankle fretfully. "I'm all. I dunno. I'd be okay with it if it was only gonna hurt me, but what do I tell him? ... he must, he must want me a bit, he'd tell me if he didn't, right?"

"Guys do that in your time?" Mel asks, sort of kind of loaded with sarcasm.

Now Katara's glance back is reprimanding, frowning at Mel. It's Steph's hand in hers that gets her gaze back, smiling hopefully - if sadly - at the other girl.

It'd be nice if she could remember to. Jet's going to have some questions asked of him.

...if she ever sees him again.

"Why would you wait for him to hurt you again before leaving? He shouldn't want you a bit, he should want you completely."

Mel is talking entirely too much sense for Steph's liking. She curls her hand around Katara's smooth one, looking down at their hands for a moment, sighing.

"...I know," she admits, sinking a little further down in her seat. And sighs again, because now she's admitted it out loud and that means she has to do something about it.

She doesn't want to.

"...hafta talk to him, don't I?" she asks, sadly.

Mel reaches out for Steph's shoulder, but stops on the way there, looking at Katara's hand instead.

She pulls back and pulls out the alchol instead.

When Mel reaches out, Katara leans back a little, holding Steph's hand but giving the older woman room. She blinks when Mel stops-

And smiles. It would be a smirk if it didn't have that touch of sadness to it, looking back at Steph and squeezing her hand.

"And we have chocolate."

That fixes everything.

Steph groans, and lets herself slip right off the couch, ending up flopped on the carpet, free hand over her face, other one still in Katara's.

"Stupid Zuko ... stupid me."

She sighs, leaving her arm over her eyes, and mumbles "I don't want to. Break up with him, I mean. I mean, just 'cos ... just 'cos he doesn't care, doesn't mean I don't."

Mel rolls forward to lie on her chest in the spot Steph vacated, pulling the cap off the bottle and handing it forward, a hand on Steph's shoulder. And this time, she does let flame slide out, just reassurance for her sister.

"That's kinda why we're here talking to you," she says.

Quiet for a moment, Katara moves over to sit beside Steph, careful of Mel's hand, and squeezes Steph's. "You're kind of the-- well, not the problem, but... Zuko wouldn't listen to us."

And hasn't.

"But you know we wouldn't lie to you and you know we love you and we just hate seeing you get hurt."