Another intervention

'Alright, guys, what did you want me for?'

'Hey, thanks for coming. We thought we'd stage an intervention.'

'An intervention...? Why?'

'The current situation's gone on long enough, so we're stepping in to help.'

'...Do you mind, y'know, stopping being cryptic?'

'We mean, your romantic situation. We see what's goin' on.'

'Oh, hell no. I'm out.'

'Stan!'

'Wait! Aw, c'mon! What's the problem?'

'I don't even know what you guys are talking about.'

'Okay, we've been a bit too dramatic about this. Relax, it's nothing bad. We just wanted a chat about you and Isai, that's all.'

'Look, I've known you a long, long time and I know how you are. In all these years I ain't ever seen you act the way you do with him. And it makes sense, don't it? You both got a lot in common. You'd be compatible.'

'I think it'd be really sweet if you got together. But still, we need to hear it from you first. Do you like him like that?'

'Will this make things awkward if I do?'

'No, not at all. I'm actually hoping the answer is yes, otherwise this whole thing will have turned out to be pretty embarrassing.'

'...Alright, fine. I do. Happy now?'

'Great! Now we can help you get together.'

'Oh God, no, please, you don't have to do anything like that.'

'The tables have turned. You've been the one tryin' to get people together before, now I get to be your matchmaker for once!'

'Don't even remind me... Stan, I know I was wrong before when I was teasing you over Nyla. I'm sorry, I handled it wrong. I didn't know what it felt like, back then, so I didn't get it. Now I do, and it's really not funny.'

'The hell you talkin' about?'

'Before you got together, and I was acting like it was easy and obvious just to tell her how you felt. I thought I was above it all. Obviously I'm not. I'm a fucking idiot.'

'You think I care about that now? I wasn't holdin' it against you. You might've been a little insensitive, but it ain't like you were wrong. Tellin' her was the right thing to do, just like it was for Logan and Saraya. You were just tryin' to encourage me, that's all.'

'I hate this whole thing. It makes me feel like shit.'

'Then we can resolve it, yeah?'

'I don't want to potentially wreck our friendship if he doesn't like me.'

'Well, I think he does. He won't confirm it, but he doesn't tell me anything anyway. But I see how he is with you. He's not got his eye on anyone else either, that much he did say.'

'So I'd still be taking a risk...'

'It seems unlikely he'd be the one to ask, sadly. It'll be alright, though. Even if it is a no, he wouldn't stop being friends with you.'

'It's definitely worth goin' for it. Don't you think you deserve to be happy too?'

'Well, he won't be the solution to all my problems regardless. Nor would I want him to be. I don't want to be needy, and I don't want my mental health issues to affect him.'

'You're doin' so much better these days, y'know. You're in control of it. I got faith in you, is what I'm sayin'.'

'...I'd be so lost without you, Stanley. I don't tell you often enough just how much you mean to me.'

'Aww, you. Don't mention it. Ain't like you haven't been there for me too.'

'You've been a good friend too, Topaz. Sorry for all this hassle over your brother.'

'It'll be worth it when I get to tease him over it.'

'Like you haven't already? I bet you have.'

'Well, sure, but I'll get to do it with confirmation this time.'

'There's one other problem... I have to tell him about Olivia.'

'Who?'

'She was my grandmother. Topaz, promise you won't freak out, please? This'll sound horrific but it's not as bad as that, I swear.'

'Okay...? Go on.'

'I killed her.'

'What-'

'By accident. We were arguing and I shoved her, she fell back and hit her head. It was that simple. God, I know, it makes me sound downright evil, I'm really sorry-'

'She abused Aria as a kid. Physically.'

'She had Tate assassinate her husband and sold him my mother as payment.'

'And she wasn't some frail old lady either. She was a vampire, so she was pretty physically strong.'

'It was a freak accident. I should've been sent down for manslaughter, technically speaking. But I somehow got away with it. Nobody had seen anything, I wasn't caught on camera, and it just looked like she'd slipped and fallen. It was next to a fountain, so... not implausible.'

'That's insane...'

'...So, if you want to change your mind about us being cute together, I'll understand.'

'...I can hardly judge you accidentally killing someone who by all accounts sounds pretty evil when I've deliberately killed people who didn't deserve it.'

'I'm sorry.'

'Yeah, me too. I think all of us in this room have done some unpleasant things at points in our lives. It's making the effort to change and be a better person that counts.'

'It's one of the reasons why I've worked so much on my anger. If the situation permits it... I'll never be violent to anyone again. If the situation doesn't permit it, which is the more likely scenario... well, I'll be violent to the likes of Tate only. I really regret what I did, even though she did deserve it.'

'You definitely need to tell Isai, I think.'

'Exactly. He needs to know all the facts before he can make a decision about me. I can't deceive him into thinking I'm much better than I am.'

'Tell him the whole situation, and he'll understand. He's never judged me, at least.'

'Okay. Thanks.'