NOTE: All characters over the age of 18.
Brandon: Because I said so.
Aurora: No! You're not the boss of me, asshole.
Brandon: Oh really?
She could almost see his knowing smirk through the glowing screen of her phone. Frustrated, Aurora blew her long brunette bangs out of her face and threw her phone at the couch cushion next to her. That smug bastard. He thought he knew everything about her. Everything. And maybe at one point, he did, but now? No way. She was a complex person, and for him to think he could figure out her every angle was insulting. Even through texting, he made her feel insecure and out of control. It was demeaning, cruel, and asinine. And maybe a little frightening when, at times, he managed to hit so close to home.
Well, who the hell did he think he was? It's not like we're dating anymore.
Ah yes, there it was. Anymore. There had been a day, years ago, when Aurora craved that man's attentions. The sparse texts, the casual toss of an 'I love you' and the seemingly harmful banter they kept up with so well. He was her first. First boyfriend, first kiss, first holding hands. She had fallen hard, tumbling all the way down. But when the honeymoon stage had lost its luster Aurora ended it, calling out her then-beau on his crude treatment of his supposed significant other. Even now, he'd occasionally admit, that he had been a horrific excuse for a boyfriend, and they'd both laugh it off casually, continuing conversation. The break up itself was a chaotic soap opera of heated discussion. Accusations of adultery rained, miniscule moments of rudeness became pledges of hatred; long story short, no one felt lost for love after the tempest had cooled and they both traveled their separate ways.
Every recently broken off couple plays a game with their ex's, even though they would never outright admit to it. It's called the 'who can get a new significant other, without seeming desperate or slutty?' game. Aurora won that game, and it's not hard to tell why. At 5' 6" and 130 pounds, Aurora was slender, with some noticeable curves in key areas. Her family history contained a unique mix of Native American and Bohemian (Germany, currently), leading to an interesting combination of pale skin, dark liquid brown eyes, matching long hair, a pouty mouth, high cheekbones, and a strange affinity to blush whenever she felt any sort of emotion that was anything but completely calm. Seven months after her fiasco with Brandon, she began dating Ben, a stocky fellow, with a nice smile and a need to please. Initially he seemed perfect, but then again, don't they all? He wanted to do what Aurora wanted to do, he showered her with gifts and tokens, brought her flowers when she was sick, and...essentially, allowed her to walk all over him like her personal doormat. Four months later, Aurora ended it brutally (break ups were never her strong point) and to this day, hasn't seen him since. But Aurora really could care less. At that time, Brandon and Aurora began talking again. Oh, god, talking to Brandon. Sweet talking was his forte, which explained his national success in the debate circuit. Aurora began to get that starry eyed feeling again. After all, he was a national merit scholar, captain of the debate team, 6' 4", sported the loveliest pair of blue eyes she'd ever seen, had a second degree black belt in Tai Kwan Do, soft sandy brown hair that just brushed his eyebrows... the list goes on. As Brandon's intentions became clear, Aurora got a bit sidetracked in the highway of love by another man, Leo. Leo was of Chinese descent, although her originated from Britain, quite petite for a male, and intensely nice. Unaware of Brandon's advances Aurora began to spark with Leo, unknowingly leading on poor Brandon to an unhappy end. One fateful day Aurora and Leo finally made their affair publicly official, and since then, Brandon had acted...different, to say the least.
That was six months ago.
Currently, Leo and Aurora were happy, but a little bored. They were in it to deep to break anything off yet, but they weren't sure what obstacles they had left to overcome. Leo was extraordinarily kind, and while he was opinionated, the couple had never argued because he was such a goodhearted boy. Aurora and Brandon were on a shifty relationship. Aurora thought they were friends, at times, but others, he was sarcastic and cold, and Aurora couldn't tell from playful banter to plain insulting. So here they were. Aurora had texted Brandon as an effort to reach out and appeal to the man she'd once known so well. She missed him. As a friend, of course.
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