. where do all the lovers meet

[isaiah valensi]

-----How long it had been since he had last seen her, he wasn't even really sure. it could have been days, weeks, even months. none of that mattered to isaiah, though. just the mere sight of her waiting outside her building brought him to the now, any runaway thoughts of their past driven out by the inexplicable happiness he felt upon seeing her. it seemed impossible, but she appeared even more beautiful, her dark hair falling over her shoulders and down the curve of her tantalising back. or maybe he had just missed her so terribly that he was blinded. rose-coloured glasses, were they called? that must have been it. it was the only explanation for his inability to ever see the svelte brunette in a negative light. if he was being honest, though, he didn't care. he loved her wholly, plainly, simply. that's all it came down to.

-----Deep in thought, head propped against the window from which the city of new york could be rapidly disappearing, he was jolted from his reverie by the feeling of movement to his right. with a glance out of his peripherals, he took note of how the light hit ithika's cut cheekbones, filtered through her glossy strands, her eyelashes casting long shadows across her beautiful face. considering the late nature of their departure, it was no surprise she had fallen to sleep the moment they had gotten comfortable in their seats. he was grateful, though. it gave the male time to mule over the thoughts that ran rampant in his mind, the majority concerning the beauty whose head currently rested on his shoulder.

-----On one hand, he knew what he was doing was selfish. to gladly accept any notion of love and affection, to leave the city at her request - it was ultimately all due to his unbridled need for her. as much as he berated her, called her selfish, did all he could to tear her down and realise how much she needed him, isaiah was a selfish person, through and through. he could have easily moved on to any woman he saw fit, but he didn't. he kept himself closely attached to her, despite the fact that she was in a relationship, despite the fact that he was casually seeing her friends. he could not - would not, in fact - extract himself from her side. he needed her far more than she could ever fathom. but that didn't excuse his behavior.

-----What he was doing with her, this childish game of cat and mouse, would go awry in time, he knew, but that did little to discourage him. eventually, she would see the error of her ways - how comical it was that he had deemed himself her best choice when he was as toxic as they came - and when that day came, he'd be gladly waiting for her, just like he had for the duration of their incredibly odd friendship. if he was nothing else, isaiah was stubborn. sometimes, it aided him wonderfully in his endeavors, and other times, it brought about his destruction. he hoped, with all his heart, this would be one of those times in which he succeeded.

-----Smiling faintly, his wayfarers low over his eyes for no other reason than privacy, he shifted in his seat, a single arm rearranging itself around ithika's slender shoulders. with her head now resting peacefully against his chest, he allowed his own cheek to rest atop her hair. he knew when they landed, she would be on her best behavior - or at least attempt to be, so he savoured these moments of closeness. they were few and far between for the volatile two so he enjoyed them while he was permitted to.

tagged ithika f.
outfit see above.
credit melissa's graphic.
music cloudy with a chance of meatball.
notes so exciteddd.

[ithika forsyth]

- - - Waiting on the curb in front of the brownstone apartment building seemed to drag on. although only a few minutes had passed, ithika stressed over the trip more than anything. she had only packed a few things - as she only intended on being gone for a few days - and the entire time she stuffed her clothes into the small suitcase, she debated on whether it was too late to call isaiah to cancel their plans. no matter how desperately she wanted to be as far away from new york as possible at this point, there was the constantly overwhelming feeling of guilt that she couldn't shake. ithika knew her actions would have consequences and she knew that everything she was doing was selfish, but she made excuse after excuse for why it was okay. the quicker she left, the less time there was for her to back out - it was the main reason she had demanded that they leave that night if they were going to go at all. the drive from the apartment to the airport seemed to drag on even longer than the wait for the cab to pull him. she sat in silence, her cell phone clutched in one hand ad her purse in the other. for a split second, she debated swapping her ticket in and going somewhere far away that no one would have guessed she would be. simply disappearing into the airport would have been predictable of the flighty brunette, but she restrained herself. promising that if anything were to happen, she would confess it the second she landed in new york. though the concept of simply not allowing it to happen in the first place had completely slipped from the realm of tenability.

- - - Despite her persistent claims that her reasons for keeping isaiah dangling like a fish from a hook were simply because she was afraid of hurting either of the boys in her life, she couldn't even bring herself to deny the truth behind her actions. she was being selfish and cruel by holding onto him. the fact of the matter was that no matter where their complicated relations led them or what they wanted, ithika was truly frightened of what might happen if she caved to those feelings. being with zivi was safe, it was reliable. there was no stress on whether she would come home one night and find him in a drunken rage that was common with the galis boys; there was no risk of having her heart repeatedly broken by his infidelity. he was a good father and there was no doubt that he cared for her in a way that she desperately wanted from a relationship. there was no question that she cared for him in return, but the one question constantly lingering heavy in her mind was whether that enough. for some people, it could work; for some people, that was the equation for a long-lasting relationship and marriage. however, ithika wasn't one to settle down, she wasn't one to sit on a relationship too long. besides needing a safety net, she needed something more from a relationship. it was simply a middle ground between safe and poison - in a way that was sub-consciously self-destructive.

- - - Shifting a few times in her seat, ithika attempted to relax her mind back to sleep. She had spent the greater part of their departure thus far stressing and the only thing that managed to calm her nerves was sleep. breathing in deeply, a rush of his familiar scent filled her, oddly relaxing her a bit. keeping her eyes firmly shut, ithika attempted to lull herself back to sleep but the more her mind came to the realization that she was flying toward the tiny tropical island, the more she struggled to force herself to sleep. the desire to force her mind back into it's previously relaxed slumber was simply a means to avoid a conversation or situation which she was not particularly keen on starting. pulling herself from the warmth she had become comfortable with, she momentarily re-adjusted herself in the seat. eyes darting to the window, feigning admiration for the desolate landscape below, she attempted to situate herself in such a way as so they were only barely touching. regardless of how old she got, ithika was truly a child at heart and although she longed to allow herself relax back against the boy beside her, there was that immaturity that screamed it was inappropriate to even touch. "it's nice outside." there was a hint of strain behind the lightly accented voice, but the silence that hung over them needed to be broken.

- - - There was a time when silence was normal, comfortable, even intimate between the two. now, the silence only allowed for ithika's mind to wander. before he got the opportunity to come up with any sort of response, ithika had already spoken up, changing the subject. "you know, it's funny. i bet had i suggested going to new zealand, you would have come, huh? figures, my one chance all year to visit my dream destination and i blew it." suddenly ithika could feel herself over-analyzing her words and began back peddling the second they left her lips. "not to assume that you would follow me anywhere i suggested. i just meant i should have suggested it, you know? ahhh, never mind. you understand me." shutting her mouth before anymore useless babble continued to flow. it shouldn't have become this difficult to find her words, but lately it had become increasingly harder for the brunette to figure out what was pushing her limits with isaiah. every time they spoke, there was an argument of some sort - mostly which led directly to the root of the problem. she was with zivi and not him. something that was unfair in so many ways. "i'm glad you came, though, i mean. i'm glad i didn't bail on this trip. was quinn upset? she stopped talking to me, i think she's mad about this whole thing. i told her it was nothing, but i don't think she believed me. what are you two?" a question that lingered for hours at the back of ithika's mind. she knew they had slept together but the concept of him being with someone else had frankly disturbed her. "we're going to spend the majority of this trip on the beach, you desperately need a tan."

notes - - done , wow, this is such bs! my bad.