all eyes on us .

[charlotte lemeir]

In part, it felt like betrayal. Caesar wasn't afraid to namedrop Oscar into casual conversations, he probably saw Charlotte's ears perk up at the mention of him. And although she thought it was strange that Oscar was employed by her family, she never spoke against it in fear that she would lose him completely. Oscar's third party existence meant that he was still partially there. ”A little bit,” she admits, it would be strange if it wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable. ”But I don't know, I don't mind it either. Kind of feels good to know you're still in my world, even if it's not my world."

[oscar rutherford]

"I can't say that wasn't a factor for me too," he admits, only realising this to be true as he says it. He and Caesar had enjoyed an affinity for each other from the minute they met, both careening from one mess to another and somehow emerging scot free. No wonder he'd swooped in when Oscar finally got his fingers burnt; it had more to do with how the older man saw himself than how he saw him. "Seriously though, if you want me to move on I can. I"m sure I'd get a decent reference out of them."

[charlotte lemeir]

”No, I'm not worried,” she says honestly. Charlotte stretches her legs onto the ground and pushes herself off the couch. "I think my dad would cry, you're like his best friend.” It used to annoy her how much Oscar and Caesar talked. It was surely an effort for her father to get closer to her, but over time Oscar had just become a part of their family. He was like a son to him. Charlotte fishes another couple of beers from the fridge and returns to the couch. "I went through a really existential crisis thinking I was more my father than I thought I was. Does that make sense? Caesar must be better at groveling though. I don't know how my mom took him back so many times. I'd never take me back."

[oscar rutherford]

Unfortunately it brings a sort of glee to Oscar to hear this second hand praise for himself from a man he held in high esteem. No matter how much banter the two shared, he had never gotten over the sense that the man was indulging him as a route to Lottie - so it had been flattering when he'd kept up the friendship after recent events. "Do you think there's a cheating gene? Crazy that you're the one who got it, huh?"

[charlotte lemeir]

"Crazy," she says shortly, setting the drink on a coaster and turning her gaze to the game. Charlotte's made herself feel uncomfortable now, a dose of reality setting in and a sickness returns to her stomach. She pulls her legs back in and brushes a small length of hair behind her ear. ”Shouldn't have opened that beer, that was presumptuous. My mom is probably missing me.”

[oscar rutherford]

It's very clear that he's taken the conversation in a different direction, souring the mood. "Awww come on Lottie," he says, unable to help himself from reaching out and putting a hand where her neck met her shoulder. He gives it a squeeze. "I'm only kidding. Don't go beating yourself up, this kind of thing happens all the time. Especially in long distance relationships."

[charlotte lemeir]

She touches his hand, intending to lift it off her shoulder but instead just resting on him. ”It shouldn’t have happened. So ridiculously stupid.”

[oscar rutherford]

It's nice having her hand on his. "You've got to let it go." He finally withdraws his hand, opening up his second beer and downing about half of it. "Don't go tanking your life because of one stupid mistake. Not that that's what you're doing, but you should think about what you really want."

[charlotte lemeir]

Charlotte frowns at him, her back slumping on the couch. ”Have you let it go though?” - I have resorted to one sentence replies to preserve brain power and make progress. srry.

[oscar rutherford]

He has to think before he replies, trying to say yes but finding the word turns to sand on his tongue. "I've made peace with it."

[charlotte lemeir]

She takes a long sip of beer, playing catch up with him and downing half the bottle. She’s a lightweight and can feel woozy from it. She’s both surprised and unsurprised by his answer. Of course he’s forgiven, he was a better person. ”I think it’s going to take longer for me.”

[oscar rutherford]

He nods at what she says. They watch the next ten minutes in mostly silence, unless you count Oscar's swearing or groaning, and eventually he turns back to her. "OK. Let's talk about it then. Did you really like the guy? You can be honest, there's no sense lying now."

[charlotte lemeir]

She spends the new ten minutes disassociating on her phone and looking up at the screen to see what Oscar is reacting at. Vegas has texted her that she’s home and Charlotte has replied “traitor”, to which her mother has left her on read. She looks up when Oscar breaks the silence, ”no. I was drinking and he paid me attention.”