Ace (HS)

Labyrinth

Stephan had two choices.

He could tell the truth.

Or he could lie.

He could fabricate some story to justify why Carmen only had one dress in a closet that supposedly was shared between her and himself. He could continue the lie that she had asked him to keep, for whatever unknown reason.

What would that do for him, though? To feed into her games and witchcraft for the umpteenth time- why should he? Carmen was probably never going to talk to him again at this point. His love for her was still burning through him, like his blood was constantly boiling, but she didn't care. She never did and she never would.

But-

But what if she came back to him? What if Carmen were to change her mind about her feelings, and once and for all they could be together. Stephan could lie for her out of his love, and she would come running back in his arms. He would be able to smell her almond sweet hair as he buried his face in it, the creamy skin of her neck would be an empty canvas for his mouth to paint purple marks over.

She would love him.

That was enough. The thought alone of her possibly feeling anything for him was causing his vision to blur all over again. He didn't really have two choices, there was only one. His mind and soul and entity belonged to her completely, even when she wasn't there to cast her spell. No matter how hopeless and wrong he knew it was, he could never betray her.

He loved her.

And when a man loves a woman, truly loves her- with every fiber in his goddamn body- he will do anything for her.

Stephan's hands reached up and calmly wrapped around the ones pressed against his neck. With a forceful push, he freed himself, taking a step back away from Styles. Bruises were left in place of where his calloused fingertips had been digging into his skin, and the soreness of Stephan's throat continued to ache even as he took in steady breaths.

"Carmen did live here," he spoke finally. His eyes closed and a sigh left his lips as soon as he said the words. "She doesn't anymore, though."

He thought back to when she had asked him to put her name on the lease. He hadn't thought much of it then, just another one of her requests that he complied to in exchange for a night with her. She must have been planning something from the start, already stalking her next prey even when Stephan had still been helplessly blind. As he looked into the emerald eyes before him, he couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of relief that this man was just another game to her. He was just as blind as he was.

"Why?" Harry pressed on, his voice not angry but now softened by his confusion. None of it made sense to him. He was already aware that his dark beauty was still a mystery to be explored, but he didn't expect so much of her to be as confusing and frustrating as a labrynth. Her heart, hopefully, would be at the end of it.

Stephan took a beat of silence to quickly make up the story in his head. "I expressed my love for her," he explained quietly, and he didn't have to fake the crack in his voice as he continued. "She didn't feel the same way, and so she decided it was best for us not to live together anymore. I suppose her feelings for you also took part in that descision."

"She told you she has feelings for me?" Harry couldn't help but perk up, a light smile dancing on his lips.

Stephan felt his chest tighten, his head slowly nodding. "She said her heart belonged to someone else," he lied. "Not me."

Harry brought his fingers to his lips, pinching the flesh as he thought to himself. What Stephan was telling him seemed to fit as he tried to put all the pieces together in his mind. Carmen had lived here with him, but now she didn't. That's why her belongings weren't here, except for the single dress from the night they first met.