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"Even if it was a long time ago, it definitely matters. I'm not going to ask why she did that, but from what you said before, it wasn't a healthy relationship anyway?" Iris tried to get him to look at her so she could see his eyes, but he was avoiding them.
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"It was, for a few months then it slowly started going downhill until it eventually got to that point." Caden explained, fidgeting quite alot. His gaze darted around, eventually landing on Iris's with one emotion: fear.
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When Caden's gaze locked on Iris's her heart gave way. It didn't matter if he still liked Carmen or wanted to be with her-- even though he said he didn't and she trusted him-- Caden was terrified and she wanted to fix it. Iris took his hand, trying her best to be comforting. "I'm so sorry, Caden. If I knew, I would have said no to tutoring her. But it doesn't matter. I'll try my best to keep her away from you."
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"I mean i-it's not your fault, you d-didn't know and I should've told but I... I never did." He noted, squeezing her hand as his heart raced in panic.
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Iris noted his squeeze and felt his fear, knowing she had to do more. "No, you didn't have to tell me. I'm glad I know now. Is there anything you need?"
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"No I, I'm all good." He informed, her words and overall presence comforting enough. Caden calmed slightly over the course of the next few minutes, though he was still distracted.
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Iris stayed there, hoping her quiet prescence was enough for the moment. Finally, she said, "I'm alright not going through your homework today. We can just... Hang out? If you want to, I mean." She didn't want to push him, but also didn't want to force him into anything.
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Her presence was comforting to Caden, even as his pale blue eyes darted to every which way in the room----there was still an ever present sense of calm in his expression. While he was panicking, his heart racing, you wouldn'tve been able to tell since he looked calm. One hand was laced in Iris's, the other resting on the back of his neck. Caden nodded at the woman's words, looking back at her. "Yeah... I was looking forward to seeing you anyways."
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Iris smiled and nodded. "I was, too." But the lie was so plain to her that she couldn't not correct it. "Actually, I was kind of dreading it. I was..." She trailed off, biting her lip and avoiding his gaze. She didn't want to say it but knew he was going to pull it out of her anyway, just by having his eyes on her.
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He smiled softly at her words, though her next sentence his face displayed a somewhat betrayed expression. She had dreaded it? After the rooftop? After saying it was the best night she'd had in a long while? With him? After laying her head on his shoulder and practically curling up beside him? After all of that, she was dreading his company. "You were what?"
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