"Wh- I didn't say it'd be definite it'd be me, maybe it'd have been Eric or somebody, I'm saying it wasn't fair. You didn't just get there first, you had like - a perimeter defense."

"No, I'd asked her what she wanted me to do, and she wanted people to leave her alone, so Savannah and I helped with that. Frankly I don't care if you think it's fair or not, it was based on what she wanted, which is important and you seem to be ignoring it entirely."

"She wanted people to leave her alone and you didn't leave her alone," Mike says stubbornly.

"Actually," says Savannah, "he did. He didn't pry in the slightest, avoided the entire subject of her mom, and did not expect her to be buddy-buddy, he did jack shit except give her some notes and show her to where her classes were, then invite her to sit with him at lunch. She became buddy-buddy 'cause my brother's not a fuckwad. Unlike some people I could mention."

"If you hadn't been running interference for him I would've invited her to sit at my table at lunch, too, since apparently that was allowed after all, if she even asked you to tell everybody about her mom after all."

"She totally did."

"You have absolutely no basis in what she wants or doesn't want," says Darren. "You continue to miss the point. It is not about 'fairness' on some kind of deranged romantic battlefield, it is about Bella's preferences. She did not want to answer lots of questions, so she spent time with people that did not ask them. That is that, none of this - manipulative high school drama that you seem to be crafting in your head."

"Yes," says Darren, rolling his eyes. "I am aware."

"Why should I take your word on Bella's preferences, anyhow?"

"Maybe I will," says Mike.

"To asking her about her preferences, rather than treating her like she is not a person, I hope."

"I know perfectly well she's a person, idiot."

"You have yet to act like it."

"I'm not the one who hoarded her. I gave her space like I thought she wanted and then it turned out it was kind of suspiciously helpful to you."

Darren rolls his eyes. "There you go. Again. Do you know what the word 'hoarding' has the connotation of? An item to be prized. Stop using it. She is a person, she has preferences, it is impossible to hoard her. If you've exchanged even the briefest of conversations with her you would understand that, because she has some very strong opinions and is not the meek, shy waif you're acting like she is. She would not allow herself to be 'hoarded.'"

"Why would I know that? You were telling everyone to leave her alone and then not leaving her alone! Are you even listening to me?"

"If I didn't respect her wouldn't I have gone straight to her in spite of the dead mom thing?" asks Mike sarcastically.

Darren rolls his eyes. "I'm sure telling yourself that and soothing the pathetic excuse you call a conscience is the only way you can sleep at night. No, you are perfectly capable of not respecting her and giving her space. The two are not mutually exclusive."

"And you're perfectly capable of hoarding her and preaching about what an awful thing that would be to do to a person."

"Actually, if you'd been paying attention, you'd notice that wasn't what I was doing at all. My argument was that you are not treating her with enough respect and that it is literally impossible to hoard her like she's a collectible item. Savannah and I asked her for her preferences, did what she wanted, and moved on from there. If you want to think otherwise, go ask her rather than trying to bludgeon me into submission with bad logic, then you can see exactly how she feels about the subject."