Rowan looked up when Eve came in, still washing the dishes from dinner. "Oh, you're awake. You were drunk before it was even lunchtime." He laughed weakly, drying off his hands with a hand towel. "You wouldn't tell me why, or if something happened. Care to explain?"
Eve flushed with embarrassment. "Oh… that… Uh, it was– No, that was nothing, I… um…" She sighed. "Fine. This is going to sound so stupid… It was my ex again."
"Did he do something?" Rowan asked, leaning against the counter with one eyebrow raised. "You were acting kind of weird, but not upset. I guess that's what the alcohol is for, though."
“Mmm,” Eve hummed in agreement. “He tried to call me. I didn’t answer, obviously, so he left a weird-ass voicemail instead. I listened to it, deleted it, and started drinking.”
Rowan nodded a bit and hummed softly in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. It was just kinda weird to come back to make lunch and see you blackout drunk already." He laughed softly.
Eve blushed. “I guess that’s not the greatest look…” she admitted. “Healthy coping isn’t exactly my thing.”
Rowan shrugged. "I get it. And besides, you had to deal with me drunk too, so it's only fair."
Eve nodded, her mind straying back to their kiss. Her eyes quickly widened. “Um… I didn’t say or do anything stupid, did I?”
"Um…" Rowan flushed a bit and laughed nervously, looking away. "Nothing… too bad. Y-You kept calling me 'pretty face' instead of my name."
Eve’s eyes widened, and she choked on her spit. After a moment of coughing, she spoke in a tight, embarrassed voice, “Ummm, anything else?”
"Uhhh… that's the main thing. You wanted me to kiss you… 'again'…" Rowan replied awkwardly, still very flushed.
If there had ever been a time she wanted to sink into the floor… Eve chuckled nervously. "Oh? Are… Are you sure that's what I said?"
"More or less… y-you said that I kissed you when I was drunk." Rowan couldn't meet Eve's eyes, looking very embarrassed.
Eve finally spared a glance at her roommate and saw the embarrassment on his face. "Uh, well, it was kinda mutual, I guess," she replied, hesitantly trying to make him feel better.
"I-I'm sorry, I just… I didn't mean to… I didn't force myself on you or anything? God, I just feel so stupid…" Rowan hid his red face in his hands. "Y-You're my rival, and you hate me, and I shouldn't be pulling this sort of crap."
"No," Eve quickly cut in. "No, you didn't force yourself on me at all. If anything… I was worried about the opposite happening…" She looked away even though Rowan's face was hidden. This is terribly awkward.
Rowan sighed, leaning back against the counter. "I just… I feel bad about it. S-Sorry… I don't mean to make you uncomfortable or something. Like I said, I just… we're rivals. You don't even like me."
"No, I don't," Eve murmured, and whether it was to reinforce his statement or just to convince herself, she wasn't entirely sure. "But there's no need to feel bad. What's done is done. I'm sorry for…" She struggled to come up with one thing in particular, so after a moment, she just threw her hands up in the air and cried, "I'm sorry for everything!"
Rowan nodded, fidgeting nervously with his hands. He jumped a bit when Eve yelled, still looking pretty uncomfortable. "You don't need to be sorry… it's not your fault either. I-I dunno, we… we were just drunk, right?"
"Right. It… It was nothing. It meant nothing." For some reason, the words brought intense emotions that Eve wasn't prepared for in the slightest. "Excuse me, I… I…" She tried to come up with an excuse, but her mind failed to capture any ideas, so instead she just walked quickly to her room without looking back at Rowan.
Rowan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose after Eve left. He felt guilty for several reasons. First of all, he had clearly upset Eve. Secondly, he had no right to be catching feelings for her, which was mainly why he was trying to forget the incidents altogether. I'm sorry, Eve… I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already have.
Eve entered her room but didn't shut the door. She sat on her bed and propped her elbows on her knees while putting her head in her hands. "Inexplicably, undeniably stupid," she hissed to herself. "You're not falling for him. You can't."
After a bit, Rowan headed to his own room, sighing softly in frustration to himself. He glanced at Eve's door as he passed it, but didn't go inside. He could apologize to her later when they had both calmed down some.
Eve straightened herself up. This was flat-out embarrassing. If she couldn't control herself around Rowan in their apartment, how were competitions going to go? She shook her head at the thought.
I just have to forget about it… we won't be able to do competitions if we're both dancing around each other like this… figuratively and literally. Rowan flopped back on his bed, feeling exhausted. This can't end up well…
After a few moments of silent contemplating, Eve decided it would be best to ignore the building-up feelings inside her by listening to music. She slipped her earbuds in, pressed play, and closed her eyes.
Rowan wallowed in his room for a while, but he eventually left to go to the gym for a distraction. Although he normally let Eve know when he was going somewhere, he felt that it would be awkward right now, so he just left and was gone for a long time.
The music worked its magic. Soon, Eve was feeling better – not by much, but better was the ideal option – and she took her earbuds out. She didn't hear Rowan, but she quickly focused on what she was going to do, not thinking about him. Eventually, she worked out the rest of her day, starting with dance practice. She got dressed and took the short walk over to the studio.
Rowan was still at the studio when Eve arrived, and he looked a bit afraid and annoyed. Another guy was harassing him, and it was someone he was very familiar with. He was another of his and Eve's rivals, and not an especially friendly one. Rowan waved the guy off and tried to walk away, but he was grabbed by the collar of his shirt and dragged back to where he was. "I don't want any trouble, Preston… I just want to go home."
Eve entered the studio and almost didn't see the confrontation. Her earbuds were in, and she was so focused on practicing that she almost didn't see the blur in her peripheral vision. Almost. She glanced over and completely stopped where she stood. Her heart stopped – Preston wasn't just competition; he was friends with Eve's stalker ex. The shock that ran through her was quickly replaced by rage when Preston grabbed Rowan's collar and yanked. Her eyes narrowed sharply, and she stormed over to them. "What the hell?" she demanded, glaring at Preston.