Sparks Fly | ✓

0:19

"Maru!" she smiled in complete glee at the sight of him. He'd just walked in, low eyes, with a white bandana wrapped around his head. The smile he gave her was a complete sell-out, he definitely was high.

"Hey you," he greeted in response, pulling her in for a hug, "you're looking clean madam,"

She couldn't help but blush at the compliment he gave, because it was dressed in such respect and she totally loved that.

"Thank you," she bit her lip, trying to suppress her smile as she pulled away from the hug.

"Hey Annalise," Amaru greeted her with a polite smile and slight hand lift that he sent her way.

"Hey, how are you?" Annalise asked, a polite smile on her face. She honestly didn't know what else to say, since she'd never actually had a single conversation with him.

"I'm all good. Good to see you, outside of a work situation," he gave off a nod, looking at Shane again.

"You good to talk?" Shane lifted an eyebrow, analyzing his body language. For some reason she cared so much for Amaru; something that had developed over a very short space of time.

"Sure, what's up?" he asked, concern all over his face as well. They both stood at the same height, but he held an inch of height over her.

Before she addressed him, she gave Annalise a polite smile of dismissal which she thankfully caught –thus leaving the two in the foyer.

"Everything okay at home?" Shane questioned, trying to meet his eyes, but he wouldn't allow for it.

“Uhh, everything is good Shane, thanks for asking,” a nervous chuckle escaped his lips as he scratched the back of his neck. Her eyes squeezed at the sight before her, thus she softly touched his bicep, and he lifted his sight to meet hers - finally.

“What’s going on Maru? You really seem on the edge, as much as you are trying to put up this front that you’re okay. Is it your mom?” Her voice was soft, small, and soothing as she asked him, paying attention to the movement of his eyes, and body. She really hoped that it wasn’t his mom.

“Ma’Dukes is actually fine,” he chuckled yet again, shifting from one foot to the other, “I-I,” he stammered, biting his tongue before his eyes became glossy, and he licked his bottom lip, looking into thin air.

“I tend to get paranoid. Ever since my pops left this planet, anytime any of my people get sick, I’m just constantly worrying that they are leaving next,” his voice cracked as he played with the silver chain hanging around his neck. He paced around the same spot, as he took as many breaths as he could.

“I was with her this weekend, and we had the best time. She’s good. I just, I can’t shake this numbing feeling across my heart - so hitting a blunt was my next best choice okay? I can’t fall back into being an alcoholic, so here I am,” he sighed, sucking his bottom lip in as he met Shane’s eyes again, “I’m scared,”

“It’s okay to feel,” Shane nodded, as she tried to put her words together and console him. She wasn’t good at this, she never knew what to say, but she was going to try, “it’s a blessing to feel, and I understand needing to find an escape, I do,”

“I don’t want to feel. I don’t like pain,” he shook his head, tears finally dropping from his eyes, “I’m trying to avoid seeing ma’dukes in pain, that’s why I stay up here. She puts on such a brave face, even if she’s getting better. I can tell just how much she’s struggling,”

“None of us want to see our loved ones in pain. Oh Maru, pain is something that’s inevitable in this lifetime. You don’t avoid it, but rather, you learn to deal with it. I’m saying all this, and I still haven’t mastered how to deal with pain,” she chewed on her lip, her voice low as she watched him.