Raz.

-- about to leap out of his skin.

Finally, he broke the silence. "I'm not letting people talk to you like that." He said it like a statement; clean, simple.

Raz turned in his stool as well, placing his arms lightly on the wooden bar. He was quiet as he watched him, giving Joel a minute to settle. The night had ended up being turbulent.

Most of the anger had drained out of Raz's body. He was still rigid with tension, but no longer looked like he was --

Raz turned his gaze fully towards Joel now. He looked at him for a long moment before he nodded once. "Okay."

-- survived."

Once again, Raz's eyes flicked to Joel, lingering this time on him and on his reaction. But again, he looked back at Danica.

"I think you did. I think you know 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 what you're doing. That's why you're ending each response with a redirect. Because you know you're defending a dynamic that he --

Raz's gaze swept over Joel briefly when he addressed him. He wasn't ignoring him, but he didn't respond to him.

He paused for a moment, considering his words. "If it's mutual... Then why, after all the times you made jabs at him... Did he never hit you back?"

-- lower angle, but as if he towered over her.

Raz had his jaw firmly set. His eyes, though still icy, were also burning with anger. "You don’t get to show up, take digs at him, and then act surprised when someone doesn’t roll out the welcome mat." His tone was low. Restrained. He was looking up at her as if he weren't the one seated, at a --

Raz turned in his seat when Danica marched over and he met her gaze. His jaw was still set, though the look in his eyes had turned back to its previous icy state.

"I don't like the way you talk about him," he stated simply.

Raz flexed his fingers, then curled them into his palm. He was still staring at Joel with a hard look.

"Stop performing for her," he said finally, his low and firm, but with something else beneath it. Like a piece of old wood you could mark if you pressed it too hard. "You don't need to do that."

Raz didn't say a word. Didn't crack a smile. He was watching Joel now, his eyes locked on him.

He looked angry, but not in the same way as before.

Raz lifted a shoulder in a light shrug. His fingers closed around the neck of his beer bottle. "Guess I know you pretty well."

He brought the bottle to his lips, tilting the bottle as he let the last of the beer slide into his mouth.

Raz's mouth stirred, his lips almost forming an amused smile.

His eyes were still on Joel though, watching him carefully. He could see exactly what he was doing.

Raz raised his head when he heard Joel coming up behind them. He was watching him, observing.

"Or maybe you're just opposed to peace," Raz said dryly, though there was no malice in his tone. In fact, there was a hint of reluctant fondness.

Raz was left alone at the bar. He rubbed his palms against the frays in his jeans, tension in his body still apparent.

He leaned his elbows against the bar, feeling the light pressure from the hard surface.

He was waiting. It seemed all he could do at this point.

Raz had opened his mouth, about to respond to Danica, but he stopped when Joel suddenly stood up. His eyes followed him until his disappeared, a different look briefly overtaking his features. He looked concerned.

When he laid eyes on Danica once again, his cold expression was back.

Raz's gaze was openly icy now. His grip on the tinted bottle in his hand was tight enough for his knuckles to start turning white. His expression resembled one of a dog just before it struck.

"Is that right?" He said, tone clipped.

Raz's eyes flicked to Joel again, then he locked his gaze back on Danica. It was fixed, almost cold.

"You're the one who brought it up," he muttered. "But you're right. Maybe it should be left in the past. It's clearly outdated, like you said."

Raz met Joel's eyes. "I don't think you're a jackass," he said, tone still measured, though his statement was firm.

He turned his gaze back towards Danica. "I don't think he has anything to 'make up' for either."

-- fabric of his black t-shirt.

His eyes were moving between the other two intently again, taking in each of their actions, Danica's words. Joel's lack of them.

"Being 'a pain' doesn't make him special. Everyone's a pain." His tone was stiff now, as stiff as his posture. His tensed muscles were visible beneath the thin --

Watching Joel, the way his eyes shifted between them, made Raz's body tense.

"It's fine," he muttered, looking back at the bottle sitting on the bar. He began rolling it between his palms slowly, seeming a little too focused on the task.

Raz looked briefly stunned by her outburst. He had intended to probe for a weakness, but he wasn't expecting something like that.

"You said you were cool. I didn't realize it was a sore subject."

His eyes flicked back and forth between the two, taking in each of their reactions.

-- exactly why he wanted to know this. It wasn't his business. Still, he had this nagging feeling. He couldn't place what it was.

Raz turned away, feeling a little embarrassed by the praise. Not that, that sort of thing bothered him—It didn't. It was just certain types hit him differently than others.

He changed the topic. He didn't feel the need to bask in the praise. "So why'd you two break up then?" Raz wasn't sure --

-- "Which you've seen now, I guess... I also write all our lyrics. I take music very seriously."

Raz listened, putting the bottle to his lips and taking a languid sip. He set the bottle back down onto the bar, taking his hand off of the bank neck and running his cooled fingers through his hair. It fell back into his eyes when his fingers left it.

"I play," he said, tone measured. --

-- up," he said, tone still neutral, but there was a slight tilt to his mouth that was almost a smile.

He shifted his attention back to Danica. "Fine. What's there to you?"

Raz didn't seem completely convinced that Danica's answer was completely honest. He was looking at her with mild suspicion, though he was pulled out of it with a slight start when Joel nudged him.

Despite the rude insinuation from Joel's joke, Raz felt slightly less tense at his teasing.

"Shut --

-- again.

"Why?" He asked her, tone still carefully neutral. "Why do you care who he hangs out with?"