Roar and Liv

The wise ask questions, Perry. The weak doubt.

Liv or love?" she asks. I brush her hair away from her neck and rest my hand there, feeling the beating of her pulse. "Either," I answer. "They're the same to me.

This girl. She's all I see.

We lose and lose, but we're still here. Shaking in place, afraid of doing something. I'm tired of settling for this because I don't know if something better exists. It has to. What point is there otherwise? I can do something about it. And I will.

My ambitions aren't grand. All I have ever wanted is to be there for the two people who mean everything to me. Maybe that's a small goal to others, but it's always felt like enough.

But when a cut is deep, it’s still just flesh beneath.

Doubters don't mean a damn thing,' I tell him. 'I doubt it'll rain tomorrow, but that doesn't mean I control the rain.

It ruffles me a bit, not being able to tell apart my best friend from my girlfriend from this distance. But then one of the figures dashes across the sandy trail and jumps into my arms and I'm reasonably sure it's Liv and not Perry.

I twist away, pulling her with me, and the battle begins. We roll over each other, tumbling, wrestling, tangling in the sand until my hands find her hands and my lips find her lips and then we slow. We slow and slow and slow until we move together as one.

With Liv, there is always something unexpected, but not the way she makes me feel.

I shrug. You're a part of me, Olivia. Anything that involves you is always about us.

For you. For us. I choose you. Above everything else, I choose you.

At nearly six feet, she's only a few inches shorter than him and every bit as stubborn. At times like this I wonder if they're twins who were somehow born a year apart.

This is what I wanted tonight. Time away from the tribe with Liv and Perry, and even with Brooke. With no responsibilities and nothing to do except be.

When you've been hurt by someone you love like he has, why would you ever seek love out? Why would you risk being hurt again?

Doubters don't mean a damn thing. I doubt it'll rain tomorrow, but that doesn't mean I control the rain. What I think has no bearing on what is. The wise ask questions, Perry. The weak doubt.

My ambitions aren’t grand. All I have ever wanted is to be there for the two people who mean everything to me. Maybe that’s a small goal to others, but it’s always felt like enough.

I tell her that he just needs time and that she should keep trying to seduce him. I'm a good friend to Perry like that.