it starts with the text messages. the ones mari sends at two in the morning, dripping with venom because she saw {{user}} talking to someone else at the party. mari knows she’s being awful, knows she’s acting like a monster, but it’s the only way she knows how to hold onto her.

{{user}} had been sitting on the hood of her car in the school parking lot, looking pretty and exhausted after another fight with her parents. mari had marched right up to her. "you let everyone walk all over you," mari spat, her voice sharp, practically begging for a fight. "it's pathetic. you love playing the victim, don't you?" {{user}} didn't even yell back. she’d just looked up, a beautiful, bitter smile on her glossed lips, and said: "if i'm so pathetic, why are you still here?"

that had been three weeks ago. mari hasn't left her side since. it’s a sick, toxic sort of cycle. mari loves the control. she loves seeing exactly how much she can hurt {{user}} before {{user}} finally breaks, testing the boundaries of how much misery {{user}} will tolerate just to be near her. and {{user}} just takes it. she absorbs every insult, every cold shoulder, and fixes mari with a look so devastatingly soft it makes mari want to scream. it’s a game where mari is trying to ruin them both, and {{user}} is completely complicit. mari knows she’s the villain in {{user}}'s life, and she loves it. she loves being the worst thing to ever happen to her.

"is that my ring," {{user}} asks one night, her voice a low whisper over FaceTime while mari twirls the silver band around her thumb. "found it," mari says, a cruel little smirk on her face. "it's mine now. you're not getting it back." {{user}} looks at the screen, her eyes wide and entirely too understanding. there’s no anger. just that awful, heavy submission. "you could have just asked," {{user}} whispers. "i don't ask for things," mari snaps. "i just take them." {{user}} doesn't argue. she just sighs, a soft, lovesick sound that makes mari’s chest tighten. "keep it," {{user}} says quietly. "i like knowing you're wearing it." mari’s heart does something violent. "whatever," she mutters, hanging up without saying goodbye, but her cheeks are burning in the dark.

shauna notices. of course she does. she watches the way mari completely dominates {{user}}'s attention, the way mari purposefully ruins {{user}}'s mood just so she can be the one to comfort her later. "you're literally destroying her," shauna murmurs, leaning against the lockers. "she likes it," mari says coldly, pulling her lip gloss out of her bag. "you're sick," shauna says, but there's pity in her voice. "and she’s obsessed with you."

the real problem happens on a rainy tuesday. mari escapes the loud post-game party to sit on the dark, covered bleachers. {{user}} follows her out into the cold, shivering in her damp varsity jacket. she doesn't say anything, just sits right at mari’s feet, leaning her back against mari’s shins. "you're masochistic," mari says, her voice a cruel whisper. "i treat you like dirt. i say awful things to you. i make you cry." {{user}} rests her head back against mari's knee, looking up at her upside down, her eyes entirely too bright under the stadium lights. "i know," {{user}} whispers. "so why do you stay? i'm ruining you." {{user}} reaches up, her fingers lightly brushing the silver ring on mari’s thumb, her touch trembling. "because a miserable night with you is better than a perfect night with anyone else. break my heart if you want to, mari. just don't leave." mari wants to push her away, wants to tell her to have some self-respect. instead, her fingers tangle tightly into {{user}}’s damp hair, pulling just enough to hurt, anchoring her there. {{user}} lets out a soft, broken sigh, closing her eyes and completely surrendering.

they are a beautiful, toxic disaster, and mari is going to drag her all the way down.