Breathe

"Nice outburst," She smiled, a brush still poised in her hand as she came up to him on set. "I'm scared actually. Shaking, still."

He gave a grunt towards her, a grin settling in.

"You should be frightened."

"Because you're about to turn green and smash everything?"

He nodded, as if they were having a deep thought conversation.

"I'm think I'm on the verge of it."

"I might need to back away," She grinned.

"You might be right," He responded.

She sighed.

"You're going to ask if I'm available to go drink?"

"No, I was going to leave that to Jared today."

She grinned.

"Let me go reject him, then. Okay?"

He nodded, but grabbed her arm as she began to walk away.

"Just tell me why?"

A soft smile came on her face. She tried her best not to yell and scream that it wasn't his business, he didn't need to know.

"Just some family problems. I promise. Nothing big."

She watched as he chewed on his lip. Yup, she had pissed him off. Or at least sent him into a frenzy of thoughts. To tell the truth, it would probably be easier to let him know what was happening. But everytime she thought of telling, it made her seem like she was begging for something. Money, being the most obvious.
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"Follow me, everything is alright. I'll be the one to tuck you in at night. And if you want to leave, I can guarantee you won't find nobody else like me!"

She took a sip of her water, smiling. Her whole board of workers weren't staring. They never did anymore. The initial shock had worn off long ago. Now, they sung along with her. It was awkwardly strange. Like a musical, almost. Except they never moved in coordination with each other.

"You never cease to amaze me with your musical tastes."

She laughed, setting the bottle down on the counter behind. Grabbing a tube and a small sponge, she began working on small spots here and there. The song finished out, and another came on. Unlike the past weeks, it was more mellow and down to earth than Godsmack.

"I'm sorry about before," He said, almost whispered.

She straightened from the hunched position over him, the sponge still wet with concealer on her hand. She stared at him with an awkward smile, her head cocked to the side.

"It's fine. Curiousity is a bad habit of mine, too."

He was about to say something, when her phone began blaring "The Clincher" by Chevelle. Taking a quick look at the screen, wrinkles creased in her face.

"Can I take a second?" She asked, pleading more like it.

He nodded, and she walked those couple of steps away to a secluded corner.

"Lilly? Lilly, honey, what happened? Are you okay?" Her voice was frantic, scared even.

He sat there, trying his best not to listen. It was almost funny of how he searched out her voice, though. Of how he looked for those little irks in it. Any sort of tension. He was desperate to know.

"All right. I'm going to call Mom. Okay? She'll be home. Okay? I'll get home as soon as I can."

She walked back, slamming the phone against the table. She stood there for a second, running a hand through her hair. He saw her chest rise and fall countless times, as she tried to steady her breathing.

"Family problems?" He offered.

"More than you'd even want to know," She sighed, leaning on the counter.

"If you ever need anything-"

He was cut off as she wrapped her arms around him, tears rolling in lumps down her cheeks. Awkward tension at first turned into understanding as he shifted his own arms around her.

"I couldn't ask for anything. Just for you to keep being a smartass to improve my day."

He smiled, staring at her. Black streams ran down her face, and her eyes were red and poofy. To tell the truth, she looked like she was about to bust out in the waterworks again. However, he watched her straighten up, almost immediately. As if nothing ever happened.

"You can take me up on that drink anytime."

She laughed lightly, sniffling.

"I'm thinking I'll have to have the whole bar by the end of this week."