Status Updates From Wrong Ways Down (Downside G...

He wanted her to choose him, and iffen she ever said she loved him, were he ever to hear those words in her voice, he wanted it to be Chess saying em. The real Chess. His Chess.

No matter how much he wanted to pretend it weren’t so, no matter how he half-wished it ain’t happened, he oughta quit fucking lying to himself and admit he was in love with Chess. That’s what it was.

She smiled back, but a real smile, the kind made him want to grab her again. What the fuck was wrong with every other man in the room, that they weren’t all killing each other just to stand next to her?

Her expression cleared, and he felt better.Some.Trouble was, every fucking time he saw that look in her eyes, every fucking time he saw her frown like that,it got harder and harder not to tell her to write down a list of names for him.Every single name she had a recall on, causen he wanted to hunt em all down one by one and make sure they knew why as they died. He honestly couldn’t think of much he’d like more

Funny, she had all that ink on her skin to protect her from ghosts and magic, and he were damn sure doing what he could to protect her outside that, but weren’t anything he could do to keep her safe from the memories. 

It was like … like something inside him got cheered up, just seeing her smile at him. Like he relaxed.

"he oughta quit fucking lying to himself and admit he was in love with Chess. That’s what it was. He’d never felt it real before but he sure as fuck did now. "

"because he was in love with her so hard he couldn’t even breathe."

About time you admit it to yourself and stop trying to cover it up as interest or simple attraction. Now if only you could take the risk and tell Chess as well

"Her eyelids fluttered. She sorta looked at him, through dazed, sleepy eyes. Then she leaned over and flopped onto the couch, curled up with her head on his thigh."

"But for that moment she were just sleeping there, next to him. Like she was his."

omfg they make me actually insane with all these little moments!

"But when he was with Chess he wasn’t the bad guy no more. He was the one keeping her safe, making her smile. He still wasn’t good enough for her, but he were better than he’d ever been. That mattered."

SHUT UP! My heart can't take it😭💔

But Chess laughed and looked at him like she weren’t so unhappy anymore. Made him feel like a hero, and he’d never been a hero. He was the villain. 🥺

"Felt like everybody in the room was watching him stare at her, too, but he couldn’t look away. Even though he wanted to. Even though it hurt, a dull ache in his chest because she was in the same room but far away."

"the way her face lit up, the way she smiled, woulda made him convinced she’d come there looking for him."
Not Terrible thinking he's got this unrequited love thing, when they're both mutually pinning

“Chess got a coat like this, got big buttons—”

Fuck.

He ain’t even could cover it up or try ignoring it; she’d heard him, aye, and she pulled away from him so fast she woulda fallen if he ain’t had good reflexes to catch her.

Well, that was a dumb thing to blurt out, but he can't help it that everything reminds him of Chess. Even when he's trying to not think about her he can't help it😂🤦‍♀️

"Besides, you should be worrying about what Amy’s going to say, not about me.”
Her tone were teasing and light, but he saw shadows in her eyes and her smile ain’t looked strong like it had before"

Chess buries her feelings deeper than Terrible but have her see or hear he's going out with another girl and you can always see a reaction. How these two manage to dance around each other for 3 books I will never know

"Besides, you should be worrying about what Amy’s going to say, not about me.”
Her tone were teasing and light, but he saw shadows in her eyes and her smile ain’t looked strong like it had before"

Chess buries her feelings deeper than Terrible but have her see or hear he's going out with another girl and you can always see a reaction. How these two manage to dance around each other for 3 books I will never know

"he saw her smile, felt himself smiling back. For a second it were like they were the only people in the world. "

They're so cute sometimes, just get together already!

"it weren’t right bringing her to Downside, but the thought of getting to spend a whole night with her, putting her to bed and all … like being her dad for real instead of just by blood, and he’d never gotten to do that. "

Reminding myself yet again I fall for the broken and tragic characters. He deserves to be Katie's dad and not just uncle Terry. All the women he loves like Chess or his kid, he does it from afar

“They ain’t know you,” he said.

"That flash of surprise on her face, just like every time he said shit like that, before her cheeks went pinkish. Looked so pretty it made his chest tight. He didn’t think he’d ever get tired of seeing it."

Every damn page they got me, it really doesn't take much🥺💕

She rolled her eyes, but she smiled, too, and shifted position to face him better with her legs tucked up underneath her. It amazed him, like it always did, how she changed when she talked about her work. All that … all that fragility, all that loneliness, faded, and she were confident.

He's so captivated by the simplest things with her, and she loves having someone who lets her share her passion. It beautiful