What Becomes of the Broken-Hearted (c)

[Script]

Script sat on the fire escape outside the girls' bunkroom, smoking a cigarette. She was never really a smoker, but in the nearly two weeks since The Break-Up, she'd picked up the habit. Probably from hanging out with Skittery. Or because she liked the way the smoke burned the back of her throat.

She hadn't set foot in the kitchen in nearly a week. Everything she tried to make came out burnt, so she'd given up. The last good thing in her life -- the one thing that she was known for, that made her happy -- was officially gone.

So instead she hung out inappropriately with Skittery, picked up smoking, and drank more in the last two weeks than she had in her life. Doing it, doing it all, helped the piercing ache left by Sebastian turn into more of a dull throb.

[Wraith]

Wraith appeared on the fire escape with virtually no warning. She hadn't been following Script, she really hadn't...more like, well...keeping a concerned eye on her.

All right, she'd followed her a little, and she was worried. She would have expressed that worry before now, but she'd been too busy trying to comfort her brother, who had barely moved between newspaper editions in the last two weeks. Having finally given up and left him and Cav to mope together, she'd come to see if she could do any good with Maggie instead. "Hi," she said shyly.

[Script]

Maggie jumped, but only a little, when Wraith appeared. "Hi..." She shifted on the landing to make room for her to sit, eyes regarding her half-finished cigarette so they wouldn't have to look at the little blonde with concerned eyes. "What's up?"

[Wraith]

"I...I thought you might want to talk," Wraith said, sitting down beside her. "Or...have some company, or something. How are you doing?"

[Script]

She chewed on her lip a minute, then took another drag from her cigarette. "I'm...as well as can be expected I guess." She smirked a little ruefully. "The kitchen still smells."

[Wraith]

"Well, uh...I burn everything too," Wraith offered weakly, knowing that wasn't going to help much. She'd just started experimenting; Script had doubtless been making perfect brownies for years. "I guess it might just be hard to keep your mind on baking for a while..."

[Script]

She sighed, flicking the cigarette over the railing. "How is he, Clara?" She turned her head, lifting her eyes to look at her.

[Wraith]

"He's...he'll be all right," Wraith said hesitantly, not bothering to ask who she meant. "I mean...I really think he understands..." She chewed her lip, wondering how much honesty Script wanted here. "I mean, he misses you and he's kind of a mess, but you shouldn't have to be worried about him, you know? I've got it covered," she said with a small smile.

[Script]

She took a slow breath. "Yeah. He'll be fine. It's not like he fought all that hard to keep me, anyway." She frowned down at her lap.

[Wraith]

Wraith raised an eyebrow. "Did you expect him to yell and get all dramatic? 'Cause Sebastian doesn't really do dramatic. He goes off by himself and falls apart quietly."

[Script]

She chewed her lip. "Is it selfish to want him to fall apart in front of me?" She looked over at her. "To know that he really does want me?"

[Wraith]

Wraith shook her head. Normally, she wouldn't have been this frank and talkative with someone she barely knew, but all boundaries had come down between her and Script the first day they met, thanks to Wraith's little breakdown. With all of Script's listening and advice that day, the least she could do was return the favor. "It's not selfish," she said, "but...he doesn't think he deserves you, Script. I don't think he felt like he had a right to fight for you."

[Script]

She shook her head. "That's stupid, Clara. So completely stupid." She raked a hand through her hair. "He just...left. I know I broke up with him, and don't get me wrong, I needed to. But he didn't even flinch. It made me feel like I didn't matter."

[Wraith]

"Did you think about how long he must've been expecting it?" Wraith knew about her brother's whole plan now, and the role poor Maggie had played. It upset her a bit, yeah, but she didn't feel like she was quite in a position to judge, considering everything she'd done. "Look, if it helps...he was ridiculously happy with you. Happier than I ever saw him. Ever. So you're pretty much the best thing that happened to him in sixteen years. It's not that he didn't care, it's that he never thought such a good thing could last anyway." She sighed. "I know how that feels."

[Script]

Maggie bit her lip, watching her a minute. "You guys are too hard on yourselves. Both of you." She paused a moment. "So, the Kennedy thing...that really over?" She knew Wraith had been avoiding Brooklyn, which could only mean one thing.