The Catalyst: Stirring Skylar

[Lancaster]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

This RP takes place on Saturday 4th April 2015.

Dillon:
I jump through the portal – because jumping is way more dramatic – and appear in the office. It always does my head in that no-one blinks when people walk out of there that didn’t walk in but I really don’t have the time or patience to go taking the train and ****.
I poke my head round the door and look to see if I can spot Elliot. If anyone knows what to do with the blonde on my couch I’m hoping it’s him cos there’s no way in hell I’m calling her boyfriend. Truth be told I feel like a failure. I’m her best friend and if anyone can get through to her it should be me. Apparently I suck.
I wave at the nearest person. Some blonde chick. She looks familiar but I don’t recall her name.
“Oi blondie. Elliot about?”

Elliot:
‘Blondie’ so happens to be called Jessica – the longest standing employee of Lancaster’s thus far. The one who hasn’t yet moved on. She helps take care of things if Elliot or Pi are absent. Jessica arches a brow and points to Elliot, who’s laughing as he’s chatting to a couple of customers, clearing the table they’re about to down at, and wiping it down with a cloth.
He is at home, here. At ease in his dark jeans, his scuffed brown leather boots, and the red, white, and crimson plaid button-up tee, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. His hair, as always, is in his face. He flicks it out of the way with a familiar movement of his head; his hands are full with dead beer glasses as he makes his way back toward the bar.

Aliyah:
The glass of blood sat in front of Aliyah as she absently spun on the barstool. She had come to Lancaster's hoping to find Elliot, but he had been back and forth since. Rather than bug him, she decided to wait patiently for him to finish, and so there she sat. The sudden voice coming from the office caught Aliyah off guard as she whipped around on her stool. Her blue eyes fell onto the male in the doorway, her head tilting in wonder. She couldn't recall meeting him before, but the fact he came from the office meant he had access to the Den. "You need something?" she asked, casting a glance over her shoulder to the male in question. "He's busy."

Dillon:
Just my luck. Two blondes. Both kinda my type but no time to dwell on that now. I look in the direction they both indicate and roll my eyes. The guy has staff to do the donkey work. He shouldn’t be clearing tables like a busboy. Though he’s probably a bit old for that title. Again, I find myself digressing.
“Need something?”
I fix my eyes on the more curious of the two women that replied.
“I could say so. I kinda have one of those problems I shouldn’t be screaming about in public. So… Erm… Whatever your name is. I don’t suppose you could tell Elliot to get his arse in here pronto. I really don’t fancy sorting this one out alone.”

Elliot:
Elliot meandered in to the middle of the conversation; he recognised Dillon straight away and would have assumed that Aliyah knew him as well as Elliot himself did due to how chatty the guy was. Elliot wanted to ask how the band was going, even wanted to ask either Dillon or Skylar if they wanted to come play on the Boat the following Saturday night. It had been hired out for a 21st, and the guy was looking for music. The tone of Dillon's voice, however, caused the smile on Elliot's lips to falter. He nodded to Aliyah in greeting and handed the empty beer glasses to Jessica. The sticky residue ended up on the front of his shirt as he wiped it away.
"What's going on, Dillon?" he asked, cocking his head to indicate that he--and Aliyah--should follow him through to the office.

Aliyah:
The blonde rolled her eyes, pondering her urge to spew at the mouth. He may have access to the Den, but he had an attitude about him that made her want to scream. "For the record, my name is Aliyah, and you could use a lesson in manners," she replied with a scowl, but stood up to follow the two men into the office, anyway. She had spent enough time around Elliot to tell when he was concerned for some reason or another, and this was one of those times. Once all three were safely inside, she shut the door behind them, only to lean back against it with her arms crossed.

Dillon:
“You know you aren’t the first chick to tell me that.”
I laugh and give her a wink, though really I should stay focused on the 6ft plus Australian that might kick my arse if he thinks I broke his kid.
I wait till the doors closed and then look between the two of them. Where to start? I don’t really have a beginning. I just have a then and now kinda thing going on.
“I need help with a certain blonde that isn’t feeding and hasn’t moved off my couch in like 3 days. I’m worried about her. It’s not like her at all. I’ve known the girl half my life and I ain’t ever seen her like this. It’s kinda ******* scary truth be told. She hasn’t moved at all and I can’t get her to drink, talk, nothing. She just showed up the other night, dropped her **** on the floor, threw herself on the sofa and well… that’s it. Oh and I’m left looking after the damn dog. Which wouldn’t you know it, seems to be depressed as **** too. So yeah. Is this a vampire thing? Do I need to worry? How long can she go without blood before I have to worry about her ripping my throat out and draining me dry?”

Elliot:
It was a lot to take in. Elliot shook his head. “It’s not so much a ‘vampire’ thing as it is an Allurist thing, maybe,” he said, slowly. He couldn’t recall ever seeing anyone else in such a funk, but he remembered being in one himself. Except he’d gone longer than three days. It had been at least a week—more—before Pi found him. He’d holed himself up in his sewer apartment, which was unfurnished and was just a hole in the wall at the time, and had done nothing bit lay curled up in the corner.
Elliot’s concern remained steady. Something must have happened to Skylar to bring her so low. But at least Dillon hadn’t come to them telling them she’d… stepped into the traps again, or something. That she was on death’s door and bleeding all over the place. Though he supposed, sometimes emotional violence could be just as traumatic. Which was what they were dealing with here, or so he assumed. “We’ll come,” Elliot said, though he turned to Aliyah after the fact. He was already leaning toward the door so that he could tell Jessica he was leaving, though he was still looking at Aliyah. “Do you know what’s going on? He’s talking about Skylar…” he added, realising that Aliyah might be a bit lost.

Aliyah:
The blonde listened to the male talk, her eyebrows slowly raising up in question and wonder. First, she had never come across the male before, and now he was going on about a blonde on his couch. How Elliot would be able to help, Ali couldn’t be sure. There had to be a reason, though, and she trusted Elliot knew what he was doing.
When Elliot spoke up of going, both of them, she blinked and looked to the male in surprise. As she stepped aside to let him pass, she waited for some explanation, and when she got it, her head whipped back around to the unknown male. If they were talking about Skylar, then he had to be Darren or Dillon. Something like that. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go,” she finally agreed, turning her attention back to her mentor with worry in her eyes.

Dillon:
I search my pockets for my tome.
“Guess I’ll be inviting another undead into my place then.”
I look Aliyah over. As far as unwelcomed guests go, she probably wouldn’t be a that bad. I could possibly wish she was the brunette though. Again. No time for that. I have a paralysed blonde to take care of.
I tome back to the den and wait for the others. We’d need to portal jump to the station and get the train to Coastside. Then hoof it from there.
“So… It’s cos she’s an emotional whirlwind? This paralysed state of hers. Honestly, the girl don’t look good. She’s actually starting to look pretty pale, I mean for her. And well… She’s still in her nightdress. I think she actually walked through the city in it. Oh and no shoes. I had to clean her feet cos man were they black.”

Elliot:
Elliot went out into the bar and explained to Jessica that an issue had come up and he needed to leave, urgently. The girl asked no questions, and simply told Elliot that she would take care of things and that he should go. At least in the couple of years that he had run this place, he had turned it into a well-oiled ship. He could leave at a moment’s notice and he could trust his staff to stretch a little to cover the absence. They all got good benefits for it, anyway. Elliot returned to the office and pulled out his own tome, following Dillon’s lead, assuming Aliyah will do the same.
“I don’t know, Dillon. You haven’t got her to speak at all? Nothing? No hints whatsoever what happened to her?” Elliot asked. He could say yes, that it was just an emotional whirlwind. But he didn’t know for sure, did he? For all he knew, Skylar could have got hit on the head. There could be some kind of physical blockage in her brain, something that won’t heal. He won’t know for sure exactly what was wrong with her until he saw her. His brow furrowed. “And you didn’t think to come to me before now? Really?” he asked. The more Dillon spoke, the more concerned and irritated Elliot grew; it would probably be better for the male if he quit talking about how bad Skylar was and just took them to her.

Aliyah:
She followed suit by taking out her Tome and concentrating on the Den. When she blinked, she was surrounded by the familiar sights and scents of home base. When she finally caught onto the conversation again, she frowned and waited for Elliot’s response. She was no Allurist, and so had no idea what kind of emotion **** storm came with it. Her momentary rages came from her overwhelming senses and emotions, but that wasn’t a common thing, from what she had gathered. And Elliot was clearly not feeling all that calm about the situation. He was one of those Allurists, too.
“Elliot, he probably thought she would snap out of it…I mean, it’s Sky…” she sighed, placing a hand on the male’s arm. Both of them were worried about her, but growing irritated with Dillon – that was his name—wouldn’t help matters. “Stop talking and just take us to her. We need to see her for ourselves,” she said to Dillon, shooting a look into his direction.

Dillon:
“I can talk and walk sweetheart. It ain’t rocket science.”
I’m clearly addressing Ali at this point and I dash through the portal before addressing Elliot.
“Why would I come to you sooner? I’ve never needed help with her in the past. I cleaned her up, put her **** away and waited for her to talk to me. She’s not the silent type as you well know. Then yesterday I told her that she best start talking or I’ll start worrying. And nothing. I thought maybe she just needed some time.”
I shrug. Like I know what to do with a depressed vampire. Skylar was usually way easier to handle. Put a whiskey coke in her hands, keep it topped up and in an hour or two you know more than you ever wanted to know. But not this time.
I fall quiet and just let the conversation drop as we make our way to my flat. The last thing I need to do is piss off two vampires. Especially if Sky’s out of it. Not that I think she’d be much help in a fight; it would just be nice if she had my back like usual.
We get to my door, I unlock it and go in. I don’t need to invite Elliot in, he’s been here before, but the blonde, she needs an invite. I know the rules now. That’s probably why I don’t brig women back here these days.
“Come on in blondie.”

Elliot:
The touch on his arm did a small amount to calm Elliot down. He was being unreasonable, but he didn’t understand how Dillon could stand there and just make things worse by going on and on about how this wasn’t like Skylar, about how dishevelled she was and how pale. Elliot didn’t know how long she might go before ripping out Dillon’s throat. Whether that was even a possibility, or whether she was so far gone that even the animal instinct for blood had taken a back seat. In the end, it had only been three days. Elliot himself had gone three days before without feeling anything but a bit peeky. Three days wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things; he would have to apologise to Dillon later.
For now, as soon as he was through that front door he was at the couch. He was down on his knees in front of his childe, seeking a hand of hers to grasp. Physical contact could often help, couldn’t it? When people were so out of it that they didn’t even know what was going on around them. Rather than speak out loud to her, Elliot instead spoke directly to Skylar’s mind; if she wasn’t listening, he could at least get past that barrier.
Her skin was cold to the touch—colder than usual—and there were large black bags beneath her eyes. Much longer without blood and she would start to look like the corpse everyone accused vampires of being. ”Skylar. Wake up and talk to me,” he said, his thumb massaging the top of Skylar’s hand.

Aliyah:
There it was again; the urge to smack the **** out of Dillon rose in her like bile burning the back of her throat. But, the sake of keeping her head about her and the fact Sky needed them, kept her from doing anything drastic. She could deal with him later…that much was for sure. Maybe Skylar would even give permission to rough him up of a little, as long as it wasn’t life threatening. The idea alone made her smirk at his back as they walked, but she quickly wiped it away in case Elliot should glance back and think she was in some oddly good mood. There was nothing to be happy about in this situation. Skylar was depressed, and that meant serious business.
When they reached Dillon’s flat, she didn’t even waited for his invitation before making her way through, shooting a wink at him over her shoulder, the barrier providing little resistance as her body was cloaked in shadows. There were some perks to the powers she had been gifted with as a vampire and this was one of them. She came up short as she saw Skylar on the couch with Elliot at her side, her mouth falling open in surprise. “And somehow, you failed to find him sooner?” she snapped at Dillon with a glare before moving to sit on the arm of the couch nearest Skylar’s head.
It was then that it hit her. The similar situation, the unmoving corpse on the couch. Ric’s form flashed before her eyes, taking Skylar’s place for only a moment before everything returned to normal. She sighed, running her hands through the blonde’s tangled hair, “Oh, baby girl…what did he do this time?” she whispered, her features softening. There was no way it wasn’t Ric related, now.

Dillon:
I’m too concerned with Sky to get annoyed by the blonde letting herself in. She’s not moved while I’ve been gone. She’s laying on her chest, her legs hanging over one end of the sofa, one arm hanging over the front as she stares blankly into the room. The dog, lays in front of the sofa and seems to keep placing himself under her hand like that might help her or something. I’m not sure it’s done a damn thing though.
I watch as Elliot bends down and practically kneels on Blackie. The boxer – who’s still a puppy – looks up at the male and then over to Ali. He doesn’t look happy and slinks off down the hallway. I know where he’s headed, he’s heading for my bedroom. The damn thing is far too at home here already. Must have been from that weekend I had to look after him.
“Dude I’ve tried that. I’ve felt her up and everything. She didn’t even attempt to slap me.”

Skylar:
I can hear Elliot in my mind but I can’t reply. I don’t have that superpower. Though honestly I’m not sure if I’d reply even if I did. I barely feel his hand on mine. I just want to fade away and die. Surely you don’t feel anything as a ghost. I mean I call it vampire hell but if you have no body, you have no heart, so surely you can’t fee heart break once you’re there. Well. That’s what I’m hoping anyway.
I kinda hear Ali and I know someone’s playing with my hair but again. Nothing. I can’t seem to bring myself to move.

Elliot:
Nothing happened. There was no response from Skylar, and Elliot all but ignored the dog. He couldn’t give two flying fucks about the dog at the moment, and it could go jump out the window and he wouldn’t even notice. Trying to search for more answers, Elliot focused on Skylar and tapped into that power he had—the one that he didn’t use too often because he thought it could be an invasion of privacy. Not so bad as reading memories, but he appraised his childe for any injuries. She could be suffering from something that they couldn’t see—some kind of curse or ritual. There was nothing, however. She was as healthy as a newborn, except…

[Skylar]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
Elliot:
“Three ******* days, Dillon?!” Elliot finally hollered, his voice raised in the smallness of the room. When there was someone he cared about in danger, he didn’t fall all over himself in grief. He got angry—and he wanted to know who had done this. Why. It was when Aliyah spoke that Elliot turned his blazing gaze upon her, Dillon forgotten for the moment.
“Him?” he asked, seething. “This time?!” he had to shift on his feet, the rage boiling just below the skin. Of course he knew who Aliyah was talking about. Ric. Elliot had just been waiting for this day to come. He felt restless in his own body, as if he wanted to go hunt that scrawny **** down, grab him by the throat and shake the answers out of him. “This has happened before, then?” he asked, gaze flicking between Aliyah and Dillon. “It’s been more than three ******* days since she’s fed, Dillon. Unless she was wounded when she got home. Was there any blood when you were cleaning up? Tell me!” Elliot demanded, impatient now.

Aliyah:
The overwhelming silence that followed made her frown, but she had to believe that together they could pull Skylar out of it. Except when Elliot suddenly exploded, making her jump. Her blue eyes shot to his face, about to open her mouth to say something when her words seemed to register in his mind. Elliot’s feelings for her brother were not hidden, and it was well known to both herself and Skylar that he did not approve of the male they both cared for. But, he had taken her words in a way she hadn’t meant them, and that only made her angry. The only thing reigning in the rage was her need to bring Skylar out of this depression. She needed to know what was going on.
“Are you kidding me, Elliot?! Skylar is laying here like this and you want to ***** about Ric?!” she seethed between clenched teeth, a hand on his jaw to make him look her in the eye. “You can hate him all you want, but right now, he isn’t the problem. We get through to Sky, we figure out what the hell he did after, that fair?” She knew it was wrong to talk to him that way, but if they were going to work together, they needed to be on the same page, and they clearly were not. “I don’t care how much you dislike him! He. Is. Not. The. Point.”
She pushed away from Elliot with a frustrated sigh, looking back to Dillon for the answer that Elliot demanded. “Dillon, was there blood? Yes, or no?” she asked, much more calmly than Elliot had, as she went back to playing with Skylar’s hair, her fingers untangling it into the nice blonde locks. Without listening for Dillon’s answer, she leaned down to the woman’s ear, “Come on, Sky…talk to me...”

Dillon:
“Woah dude calm down.”
I back up a bit. If this goes wrong, I’m the easy target and I know it. I hadn’t really thought this out properly. Obviously.
“She’s only been here three days I swear. She showed up Wednesday night. I have no idea what she did or didn’t do before she got here. And I’ve never seen her like this before. I wouldn’t ******* lie about that. If I knew what to do, I wouldn’t have had to come and get you now would I?”

Skylar:
I can hear the raised voices. I don’t feel much of anything but the aching of my own heart. It’s stupid for me to feel this way. This is pretty much my fault. ‘What did he do?’ she’d asked me. He didn’t do anything. That’s kind of the problem. This is on me. Kinda. Maybe. I still don’t reply though. To any of it. How do I tell them?

Elliot:
Aliyah’s anger only fuelled Elliot’s. His teeth ground together, the muscles in his jaw tense and jumping. “He is the WHOLE ******* point!” Elliot said, incredulous that Aliyah should just brush it aside like it was nothing. Yeah, Elliot didn’t like Ric at all, but he was already thinking ahead. They weren’t just going to sit around here and hope that Skylar came around. They weren’t just going to sit on their asses and wait for her to get better. If she didn’t come around, they would be going to Roderic because he was the one with the ******* answers.
There was still no response from Skylar and Elliot shook his head. “Do you get it, Aliyah? Maybe you should go talk to your ******* brother and ask him what he did so we can figure out how to get through to her, huh? If I go, I'll probably kill him. Do you think maybe he’ll be of some ******* use in this situation? I’ve got every bloody reason to bring him into it,” Elliot raged. All he got from Dillon was some more useless trivialities—he did not like being told to calm down, not after the way Aliyah had spoken to him like he was some kind of imbecile. Of course Skylar was his primary concern. How could she think otherwise?
“You didn’t answer the question, Dillon. Was there any ******* blood or not?”

Aliyah:
“Dammit, Elliot! It’s none of your ******* business that my brother is the same ******* state, okay?!” she screamed, standing to her feet, glaring at the man she looked to for guidance. Right now, he was from the man she looked up and went to for advice. He was only causing more drama where there didn’t need to be. He might only have Skylar on his hands, but she had her brother, as well. And with neither one of them opening up, she was running out of options. “Ric is laying on my ******* couch, not talking, not moving. SOUND FAMILIAR?!” she shouted toward Elliot, “I care about them both, and I want to know what THE **** happened!!” With that, she dropped down to the floor nearly Sky, placing a hand to the woman’s cheek.
“Sky…please…” she begged, trying to fight the sudden flicking in her hand as it brushed over Sky’s cool skin. If she didn’t calm down, there would be no more helping bring her around. With a deep and unnecessary breath, she pulled away from Skylar and looked up to Elliot and Dillon, to hear any information that might help them determine what was going on.

Dillon:
“No all right. There wasn’t any ******* blood. None I noticed anyways.”
This is all I say before I go and seat myself on the kitchen counter. I love Sky but there ain’t no way I’m approaching that lot. Not right now.

Skylar:
“I fucked up.”
The words are little more than a whisper, but they are words. I can’t take the negativity from them two. I thought I was safe but I was wrong. Apparently two angry vampires can make you feel **** even if you don’t want to. Though honestly, maybe it was hearing Ric was feeling shitty too that made me wake up.
“I left. Cos… He… He…”
I really don’t want to say the words and despite the fact I’m speaking now, I still don’t move. I’m still staring at the same spot on the carpet.
“He wants to get an annulment.”
Okay. Now I move. I bury my face in the sofa. I don’t want to think about it, let alone talk about it.

Elliot:
Elliot took a deep breath. He didn’t need it, but he took it anyway. There was plenty he wanted to say to Aliyah, but now was not the time. The fact that Ric was in a similar state spoke volumes, and it helped more than it hindered. Something had happened between the two of them, then, and perhaps it was up to them to fix it. Rage still boiled beneath the surface. Wouldn’t the obvious thing for Aliyah to have done was to find Skylar? To see if SHE knew anything about why Ric was in the state he was in? And then Aliyah would have known, sooner, that Skylar was the same way.
But none of it mattered, as soon as Skylar started to talk. Elliot turned all his attention back to Skylar, hooked on her every word. His hand rested upon her shoulder, and he started to do what he should have done earlier; he started to infuse her with blood. The blood she needed to at least look a little healthier than she did.
“An annulment, Skylar?” he asked, his tone steady and calm for her. None of his anger was directed at Skylar, and it was obvious in the way he immediately softened as he kneeled there beside her. An annulment. Elliot was confused. Maybe even a little hurt, if she and Ric had got married and she’d never told him. But it was guilt that trumped everything. Of course she wouldn’t tell him, what with how he reacted whenever she brought Ric up in conversation.

Aliyah:
As soon as Skylar spoke, Ali’s eyes shifted to her. Everything else faded away as she caught onto the words spoken. The gears in her head turned for what felt like hours before things slowly started to click together. Ric was never married, as far as she knew, and that meant the only need for an annulment would have come from marrying Skylar. Her eyes grew wide with understanding, and she sat back. If they really had gotten married, why was everyone only finding out about it now? Ric wouldn’t have done something like this and not told Nate, at least, right?
Slowly, she slid back from Sky, letting Elliot take over from there. No clear words formed, her eyes locked on Skylar’s face. There had to be more to the story that they didn’t know, and the only one there could answer the questions was the one currently depressed and barely speaking. “You and Ric..?” she finally questioned, letting her gaze drop to the ground.

Dillon:
I jump off the counter.
“What the **** Sky. Don’t you dare ******* tell me you married that arsehole.”
I’m well aware of who the blonde is by now but I can’t help myself. Sky’s never once spoken about marriage in a positive light. Not once in the entire time I’ve known her has she even said she wanted to get married. In fact I remember quite a few conversations where she told me categorically that it wouldn’t ever happen. And now she’s upset because that arse doesn’t want to be married to her.

Skylar:
They want answers and I don’t much feel like talking to Dillon. I know what he thinks all too well, I didn’t even need him to open his mouth for that one. Though I am surprised at how calm Elliot seems to be taking the news.
“Mmhmm.”
I start to push myself up from the sofa. I need a hug and while I hate choosing between my sire and my friend – since I’m clearly not ******* choosing Dillon – I pretty much fall onto Elliot’s lap and wrap my arms around his neck.
“He doesn’t want me.”
There’s more of course but I don’t know how to say it yet. It hurts too much. It’s all too raw.

Elliot:
No one knew. There had to be something wrong, here. Something they weren’t being told. Something they were missing. Although the guilt still remained—and from that moment on he vowed to himself to be more open to Skylar and her rantings about Ric, if Ric lasted—the confusion now took precedence. Aliyah looked about as deflated as Elliot felt, at not being told. All Elliot could feel from her was confusion. Dillon didn’t help matters much, and Elliot threw up a hand as if to tell the human to stay back, and to shut the **** up. His attention was thoroughly brought back to Skylar as the blonde ended up in his lap; of course the only thing he could do was wrap his arms around her in a consoling hug.
“Well of course he doesn’t… I mean, what I’m trying to say is, you’ve known each other… a few months?” he asked. If they had got married, that is, Elliot would have a whole lot more to say on the matter at a later date. Jumping into that kind of commitment with only a few months under the belt was never a responsible thing to do, and of course there was a higher probability of it ending badly. But now was not the time to scold Skylar.
“Did you two get married, Skylar?” he asked, wanting to know the full story before he continued. The question wasn’t accusing. It wasn’t angry. It was gentle and curious.

Aliyah:
Aliyah found that hard to believe, that Ric didn’t want Skylar. They never made sense as a couple, but they stuck it out together and they managed to be happy with it. That meant there had to be more to the story that they hadn’t been told. She rubbed at her head in confusion, trying her best to understand without all the details to fill in the blanks. None of it made sense, but right now, Elliot was in control of the situation with getting Skylar to talk. So, she stood from the floor and leaned back against the wall, watching her friend and mentor interact together. They made the picture perfect sire and childe. She could almost be jealous, had it not been for Skylar’s need for help.
Rather than ask any questions, she remained silent and watchful, taking all that she could from the situation. She shot a glare at Dillon as a means of agreeing with Elliot’s silent demand to shut his mouth. When he was in the room with three vampires, he was better off being quiet before anything else went wrong.

Dillon:
Elliot waves me away and while I’m livid and don’t want to stay out of it, I shut my mouth and go grab myself a beer.

Skylar:
I nod at Elliot’s question.
“We weren’t even… married… for twenty-four hours… and he decides it was a… mistake. I…”
I sigh. Talking about it is too difficult. I want them to know. I want them to understand, but I just don’t know how to explain it so they don’t both just right this off as another one of my drunken stunts, cos like I told Ric, people are truthful when they’re drunk. I meant everything I said to him.

Elliot:
Elliot mulled over the confession in silence. If that was what it was—a confession. Skylar had kept everyone out of the loop. All of those closest to her. Of course had to assume it was some stunt. Something stupid done on a whim. His lips pressed into a thin line as his eyes found Aliyah over the top of Skylar’s head. He wanted to agree. It was a mistake. Of course it was a ******* mistake to get married to someone you’d only known for…but then, he wasn’t really one to talk. He himself had commitment issues, in a way. He was always irritated due to his restlessness because he was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that he had committed himself to this city. Never had he ever thought about marriage, either. For all intents and purposes, he and Pi were engaged in a kind of faux marriage. They had the rings. They wore the rings. But there’d been no official ceremony, and they’d been together… two years? Two and a half? It was hard to keep it all under wraps, his agreement on how stupid it was. Instead, he smoothed his fingers through Skylar’s hair in an attempt to soothe her, his eyes still on Aliyah as he asked his question:
“Start from the start, Sky. What happened? What made you two suddenly decide to go and get hitched?”

Aliyah:
She was only able to hold Elliot's gaze for a minute before she had to look away, and instead focus on the ground. At this point, it would be stupid to confess that she had, in fact, known something was off between the couple. Her attempts to get a hold of Sky had failed, but somehow, that hadn't verified Ric's assumption. She had simply brushed it off, and now here they were. A depressed Skylar, a clueless Ric, and a pissed off mentor. Her blue eyes fell closed in frustration and shame, mentally chiding herself for not figuring it all out sooner. This was a disaster. With little to add to the question posed, she remained silent and let Skylar offer up her side of the story. At the very least, Ric could have mentioned the wedding.

Dillon:
I pop the cap off my beer and lean on the counter. This was gonna be good. I know she did it drunk. The girl could barely stand when she left me. I dunno how she gets herself into these situations but seriously. What's she spazzing out about? She left him.

Skylar:
I sigh and sink into Ellie. I know no-ones gonna like this story and what’s worse is the fact that I know they’ll all think I’m stupid, if they don’t already.
“I’ll tell you but no judging okay?”
I look up at Ellie and wonder if that’s even possible.
“We were celebrating cos… Ric…”
I find it hard to say his name. It’s hard to hear too but I can’t stop others from saying it, if I have to say it myself; though of course I wish I could.
“We’ll it was five months since we kinda, sorta started dating. Five months since the auction. And that’s the longest I’ve ever been with a guy. The details… They’re kinda fuzzy. But we joked about marriage. Next thing we’re getting married. We said our own… vows. I remember them. I meant them Elliot. I meant them. Me. Then we wake up. Realise what happened. He wanted to… well… that’s not important, he settled on annulment. He said his vows Elliot and even then he didn’t say he loved me. He’s never said it. I didn’t mind… until then. How do you marry someone you don’t love? How do you stay with someone that doesn’t love you? You don’t. You can’t. You have to leave. So… I left.”
I don’t know how I find the strength of voice to say all this. But I do. Then I look from Ellie to Ali and back again. **** Dillon. He was the least of my problems.

[Aliyah]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
Elliot:
Of course the first emotion was anger. The roiling, seething, knotted mess of it, and he wanted to go tear Ric’s head from his shoulders. What kind of man does that? It’s like… taking someone’s virginity without ever giving them their first kiss. It was all wrong. Who the **** would agree to getting married if they didn’t actually want to marry the person? Who gives a flying rat’s *** if Skylar were drunk – was Ric drunk, too? Was it something they were both capable of? This kind of decision was made between two people, and surely between the two of them…
Elliot didn’t even ask the question. He didn’t ask whether Skylar was drunk because it didn’t matter. He believed her, that she meant it. That this was something that she wanted. He could feel it, a steady thrum of honest grief that spoke volumes. The fault, he thought to begin with, was entirely in Ric’s corner.
But, seeking to be the reasonable man he ought to be, Elliot wrangled his anger into a box and locked the lid. His hand traced a soothing circle between Skylar’s shoulder blades, and he glanced up at Aliyah. “You said Ric is in the same state?” he asked. “He’s your brother, Aliyah – does he love her?” he asked. He was leaving room for some kind of miscommunication.

Aliyah:
Aliyah opened her eyes as Skylar began to tell the story, her eyes narrowing in both confusion and annoyance. How was it that being drunk somehow enabled everyone and their mother to think marriage was a good idea? Clearly, there had been no thinking it through. Then again, if they had been drunk, there was little doubt about their impulsivity control. This just proved they needed a damn babysitter anytime alcohol was involved. ‘Not it,’ she thought, bitterly, lifting her gaze to Elliot as he directed the question to her.
Oddly, the question stung. It shouldn’t have, not really. But, in the deepest part of her chest, it felt like he had thrust in a knife and twisted. Her teeth, fangs included, dug into her lower lip to the point of drawing blood. It was only after a long look at Skylar’s tormented expression that she sighed, “I wish I could you the answer to that question, Sky. I really do. But, Ric doesn’t open up to me like that…I doubt he ever will. I don’t know how he feels. I just know that he is laying on my couch and staring blankly at my television. Maybe I could try and pry it out, I don’t know…”

Skylar:
I shake my head and selfishly allow Ellie to comfort me. I may be blonde, and a fool, but I’m not completely stupid.
“Don’t worry Alley Cat. It’s not personal. I don’t think he knows himself.”
I could kick myself. I mean I explained what happened but I didn’t. I didn’t tell them I wanted to change my mind before I left. I couldn’t tell them that walking out of that door was the biggest mistake of my life. How do you do that? Confess that? I own my mistakes. I do. But this one? Could I own this? Not right now. No.
“He wanted me to stay.”
I admit this cos it’s something they should know. Ric didn’t kick me out or anything. Me leaving was my choice I probably don’t have the right to their sympathy but I kinda need it.
“He wanted things to go back – you know – to the way they were. I just…”
The words catch in my throat and I bury my face into Elliot’s shoulder.
“I fucked up.”

Elliot:
Elliot shook his head. He was trying to understand, and was trying not to let his loathing of Ric get in the way. The fact was, he didn’t know Ric enough to loathe him. Couldn’t. He was judging Ric purely by the faction and family that he belonged to, and that wasn’t how Elliot normally rolled. Not really. Not in his life thus far. He liked to judge people on their own merits, though he supposed their decisions played a large role in what shaped their personality. There were a few decisions that Elliot could judge Ric harshly on right now, but how could he when he hadn’t heard anything from Ric’s side?
“How is it that you fucked up, Skylar?” he asked. “Did you force him to exchange vows? If it was something that he didn’t want to do he should have said so beforehand, not afterwards,” Elliot asked. But he didn’t want to ask the question. He didn’t want to ask if Ric’s judgement was impaired because he feared Skylar would curl back up into that non-responsive ball of flesh. Instead, his brows furrowed.
“I’m going to be honest. Five months is not long enough to know a person before deciding to marry them. Not in my opinion, and it’s a stupid thing to have done,” he said. He couldn’t help but be honest. It was what he did. “But you say you meant it, and you say he didn’t want you to leave. We have eternity now, right? Eternity. Go and talk to him,” he said. “He’s male. He probably doesn’t know what love is until you slap him over the face with it. It took me… I dunno, a year plus ... beating up Lex to realise how I felt about Pi. You gotta be patient..."

Aliyah:
Elliot seemed to voice her own thoughts as he tried his best to console Skylar from her depression and peel her out of the shell she had created in self-defence. Five months was too short a time to be with someone before considering marriage, that much she could agree with. If they were insistent on marriage, they could have at least engaged first, and taken their time. When they had an eternity to live and spend together, what was the rush on anything? There was always potential for things to go wrong, too. Still, Skylar was upset by the outcome, and needed their support. Even if she didn’t agree.
With a frown, she ran a hand through her hair and looked between her two. “Skylar, if you do regret this…why haven’t you tried to find him, talk to him? Elliot is right,” she sighed, considering her options. If she were to call Ric right now, there was potential that things could go very wrong. That meant using third parties as means of communication, and there was no way Ric would go for that.

Skylar:
Talk to Ric. This was his advice. Talk and be patient. Like I hadn’t felt the flashes of anger from him. I kinda know he’s right but I’ll be loathed if I admit that. If I admit to myself that he probably does love me in his own way, then I’m an idiot for leaving. I mean I told him he didn’t have to say it back. That was only a month or so ago. How does someone change their mind like that? Why was I suddenly not content to wait for him to figure it out? Why did I need to hear the words?
I still feel numb. I still want to crawl back onto the sofa and just, well… die. Ali’s words only add to my discomfort. It’s now that I choose to look over at Dillon. He’s oddly ******* quiet. I want the beer he’s holding and the ****** silently toasts me with it. What an arse.
“I didn’t force him into ****. If you think I can get that guy to do anything he doesn’t want to do, you don’t know him very well. And five months is plenty of time. For some people. Maybe not for… Ricky… but yeah. I mean I never wanted to get married. I’ve never thought I would. But then we did. And well. I wanted it. I want it. I want him. And I… I left. I can’t go back on that. I mean he wanted me to stay. But when I actually packed to leave… He didn’t even try to stop me. And he probably could have you know? Cos well… I love him. I love him Ellie and it scares the ******* **** out of me.”
I look up at Elliot and I know he can feel what I’m feeling. The pain I felt had numbed almost everything else but I did love Ric. Do love him. I ache with the emotion. And yet I fear him, or rather it, too. I want to be married. I want him. But I’m so ******* scared. I’m a hotchpot of emotion; each one bubbling to the surface before it’s consumed into the collective void in my heart.
“I don’t do this.”
I glance at Ali but I’m unable to really look at her at this point as I don’t want her in the middle of all this; of Ric and me.
“I don’t do commitment. I don’t live with guys and work with them and ******* marry them. I don’t. But I did.”

Elliot:
This was where Elliot got frustrated; but he pushed that away, too. Locked it in the same box as his anger, and locked it away. This was not the time to let his temper get the better of him. Skylar needed his patience, so he pulled it out and stretched it like a string of toffee, and tried to wrap it around all three of them.
“Curling up on the couch and talking to no one isn’t going to help anything,” Elliot said. “For either of you,” he said, lifting his gaze to Aliyah. Maybe this was on her, now. She should go home and slap that ******* asshole and try to get something out of him. At the same time, however, he could see that Skylar was being stubborn. Refusing to go back? Like going back would weaken the reason why she left to begin with. But, she admitted it. Maybe five months wasn’t too short a time for some people, but it was for Ric.
“It is too short a time, Skylar, and you seem to know him better than any of us. What did you hope to achieve by walking out on him? Did you hope that you’d force him to tell him he loves you by leaving? Make him come crawling after you? We males are stupid. You know that, right? You left him. He probably thinks it’s his fault because he can’t understand… I don’t ******* know. But you can’t fix this by ignoring it, unless you want it to fester and never be fixed.”

Aliyah:
She wanted to slap the living **** out of Skylar just then. The way she talked about leaving and walking out because Ric couldn’t say those three simple words. What would Skylar have really expected from the man, when she did know him better than all of them? Ric was not an overly affectionate kind of man, and he couldn’t even show it to his own sister. And here she was, crying over it. Her irritation was supreme, and as hard as she tried, she couldn’t push it back down. All she wanted to do was scream that Skylar was a ******* idiot.
“I’ll talk to him…” she muttered, her eyes hard and cold. She made sure to show no signs that it was directed at Skylar and not her brother. Despite the stupidity of the situation, one of them needed to make a move. Either they were getting back together, or they weren’t. And the only way there was going to be closure was if one of them took the time to clear the air.

Dillon:
I know what that look means but if she thinks she’s getting a beer from me she’s sorely mistaken. The stupid ***** went and married that arsehole. I swear, I’ll never understand women.

Skylar:
Fix it? What was there to fix? I couldn’t go back and Ric wasn’t coming for me, so that was it. We were done. Over. I told Ric I didn’t want to speak to him. Couldn’t speak to him. That’s why I quit. You can’t work, day in, day out, with the person you love if they don’t love you back. If you aren’t together, you can’t stay friends. Well I couldn’t. Maybe he could. I shake my head.
“It’s over. I don’t want him to change. And if I wanted him to find me, I wouldn’t have come here. I’d of gone to the chamber. He doesn’t know where here is.”
Truth was I wasn’t safe anywhere; Ric’s a hell of a tracker and he has that nifty little superpower that would allow him to come in uninvited. I don’t think he’ll come looking for me though. He let me go. Watched me go. Told me not to the door hit me on the way out. There was no way he was coming for me. Ever.
I could feel Ali’s annoyance. Her irritation. I know Ellie’s holding back to but I try to ignore that. Actually it’s pretty easy to ignore them both. I’m having a harder time blocking out Dillon. But then none of their emotions compare to my own.
I try to pull away from Elliot. I want to crawl back up onto the sofa. I don’t want to be here. I want to be still. I want to be numb. I want a god damn ******* drink. That’s pretty much as far as my plan goes. Drink. I was going to drink to excess so that I’d never feel a ******* thing again. Or at least until I was over Ric. However long that might take.

Elliot:
Now was not the time for coddling. Elliot could feel Skylar pulling away and though he let her, to some extent, he didn’t let her get all the way to the couch. Instead, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye.
“You contradicted yourself, Skylar. You said it. You said ’I want it. I want him.’ And then you turn around and say you don’t want to fix it? I call ********,” he said, disallowing any kind of leeway. His grip tightened upon Skylar’s shoulders and he shook her. Just a little bit. A mild, vague shake that might not have been a shake at all.
“I will NOT let you crawl back onto that couch and try to block out the world. Get me? You’re stronger than that,” he said. He had done it, once. And he would not see Skylar go through the same thing. Could not watch that happen to someone he cared about. And he now realised why Pi had been so angry with him when he’d tried to fight her. He understood, now.
“You either want him, or you don’t want him. If the latter, you move on and you don’t let it destroy you. If the former? Get the **** up off your backside and do something about it. You don’t have to do it straight away. You both obviously need time. But I will come and check on you. Hear me? I’m going to call Dillon,” he said, glancing over his shoulder at the thrall, “Every night. And if you’re still on this couch I am going to come over here and drag you out. Got it?”

Aliyah:
Her hands played with her hair in a nervous sort of habit, anything to try and peel away the irritation she was feeling. At this point, she felt like there was nothing she could do to make up for the pain Ric had aided in putting Skylar through. She was being stubborn, and he was taking up space in her apartment. One of them were going to do something, whether it meant getting back together, or just moving on with their lives. At this point, she didn’t care. She just wanted it all to end.
With a sigh, she moved on to Skylar and hugged the woman, tightly. “I love you, Sky. And everything is going to be okay. You are strong, and you can get through this. But, right now…I think I need to go and talk to that bum of a brother….” She sighed, kissing the woman’s cheek. She loved Sky, and even if things did not get better with Ric, she would always be here for her friend and family member.
As she passed Elliot, she placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned at him, then passed Dillon on her way out. She gave him a nod as she passed, glanced over her shoulder at Skylar one more time, and then Tomed to the Den. Ric was so dead.

Dillon:
I watch them interacting and can’t help but smirk as Elliot shakes Sky. Personally I’d of slapped her. Still might; once the other two leave.

Skylar:
“What are you Elliot? The ******* word police? Want. Wanted. Same difference. It really doesn’t matter what I want now does it? I’m clearly not explaining myself very well. I need a drink.”
My sentences run together like they’re one single thought but they aren’t. I look at Dillon and he shakes his head.
“Beer me.”
My tone of voice tells him that that’s an order and not a request and he goes to the fridge. He doesn’t stop to ask anyone else if they want one, though he should.
I hug Ali back. I want her to tell Ric something for me but I bite my tongue to stop the words from coming out. Sending him my love wasn’t a great idea, just like asking after him wasn’t. It’d only serve to confuse him. And me.
“Don’t worry about me Alley Cat.”
I offer her a smile but it’s pathetic; I’m obviously not happy. Not happy at all.

Elliot:
Elliot watched Dillon go to the fridge to retrieve the beer. Elliot knew that tone of voice well enough; he’d used it on Roxette before, and he knew that anything he might ask Dillon to do—or not do—would have no effect. For all intents and purposes, he was slave to Skylar’s every whim. Instead, he let go of Skylar and sat back on his haunches, his hands on his knees.
“You really think that’s a good idea?” he asked Skylar. One beer, sure. But how many was she going to drink? And for how long? At least, for the time being, it was better than a ball of unresponsiveness. Better than doing nothing. To an extent.
“What do you plan to do? Are you going to get up and shower? Get dressed? Get out for some fresh air? Or do I have to kidnap you?” he asked, paying no attention to Dillon in the background, and having only nodded his goodbye to Aliyah. If Skylar didn't do, if she didn't get up, Elliot could only hope that Aliyah had better luck with Ric.

[Skylar]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
Dillon:
Urgh. I was wondering how long it would be before she forced me to do this. I thought it would be a little longer truth be told, since she always tells me she hates bossing me around. I think she’s lying. She loves being able to control me. Not that I really hate it or anything.
I snatch out a beer. I’d ask Elliot if he wants one now the blonde’s gone but I wait for Sky to get her bottle first. I don’t think delaying the order is all that possible.
“Hey man. You want one too?”
I pop the cap and hand Sky her beer. I half hope she chokes on it. Though I’m kinda glad she’s talking and all that.
“You guys mind if I get out of here for a bit?”
Blondie kinda made me nervous. She has that same look her brother has right before he stabs me. The man’s a ******* psycho. No wonder Sky likes him and not me, the chick’s got a screw loose.

Skylar:
“Yeah go. Whatever.”
He says he’s going but he won’t go far. And he won’t go for long. I know him like he knows me. He hangs around just long enough to see if Elliot wants and beer and then he runs off.
“I wanted him to consider it Elliot. He wouldn’t. He was Ric. That’s fine. Whatever. He’s probably gotten the annulment already. Forged my name. I’m a free woman. He’s celebrating at Ali’s right now.”
There was actually a good chance he’d broken into city hall and removed the paperwork before it could be filed even. I wouldn’t put that past him. He’s resourceful. A survivor. He’d be fine. He’s an emotional void. Me? I’m fucked. This was gonna hurt for a while and I’m not all that well versed in heartache. I’m the don’t love them and leave them sort. The kind that bolts before things get serious. Not after. I should have listened to Dillon and left months ago. Only I didn’t. I couldn’t. I don’t even know how I found the strength to leave the other night. It must have been one of those PMS moments. Still, for whatever reason I was out. And much like most convicts released from jail, I didn’t plan on going back. Not that being with Ric was anything like that. It’s a metaphor. A thing.
“So all things considered, this…”
I raise the beer bottle.
“This is my plan.”

Elliot:
Elliot shook his head at Dillon. He didn’t want anything to drink. As much as he thought it could be a good idea to take one and lounge around with Skylar—talk it out—he didn’t want to encourage that kind of behaviour. If this was something that Skylar had inherited from Elliot, he was now sorry for it. She might enjoy the fact that she can drink, and that the alcohol can numb her senses, but right now? It wasn’t healthy. It would be better if she weren’t capable of it. So, as soon as she held up the bottle to tell Elliot her ‘plan’, he shook his head and snatched the bottle out of her hand.
He took a swig of it as he stood and backed away from Skylar, keeping it out of her reach. He walked around the kitchen bench, to the sink. And, as he swallowed that one mouthful of beer, he poured the rest of it down the plug hole.
“Why is this such a big deal, Sky?” he asked. He was considering, at the same time, whether he should take all the alcohol out of the kitchen. But she would always be able to go and get more. He couldn’t take the alcohol away from the girl, he’d have to take the girl away from the alcohol. Maybe he’d take her to the Den, to the complex, and force her to stay there. She might be able to order Dillon around, but he could order Roxette around—and there was Aliyah, too. Between all of them, they could keep Skylar from touching a drop of liquor.
“So the guy isn’t ready to get married yet. Pi and I have been together for … nearly two and a half years. We’re not married, you know. We have the rings,” he said, lifting his fingers to waggle that shining ring, “but we aren’t married. We haven’t been bound. We’re still together. You’re acting as if marriage is the be all and end all and if you can’t have that then you can’t have him. Do you know how unreasonable that is?”

Skylar:
I make a swipe for the bottle as he takes it away, I growl as I fold my arms across my chest like some petulant child.
“Urgh. You sound just like him. It’s not about that. Well it is. But it isn’t. He never wants to get married. No, ifs, ands, buts or maybes. And I was with him on that.”
I’m fully awake and now he’s taken my beer I’m fighting fit. I slump against the sofa, though I’m still seated on the floor.
“It’s not a case of be patient and it will happen. He doesn’t do love. He doesn’t do relationships. He doesn’t do marriage. Which means he doesn’t get to do me. It’s that simple. Besides. I kinda spazzed out on him. I had one of those alluristy moments and fucked things up. I don’t go back Ellie. I go forward. I’m like a shark or something. I blew up the only relationship I’ve ever actually been invested in and that’s that. Thanks to a night of stupidity. I now know I want to be married. Something I didn’t know before. And he’s never gonna want that. So there’s a line. I crossed it. He didn’t.”
I’m glaring at Elliot, but I’m not mad for what I’m saying, I’m mad because he took away my beer like I was some dumb teenager. And yeah, yeah. I know. That’s how I sound but **** it. I’m entitled to act like this. I’m entitled to my feelings.

Elliot:
Elliot rolled his eyes. “You know what? I never thought about getting married either and obviously I still have some problems with it, and Pi doesn’t give a ****,” he said. Seeing as Skylar had talked about an annulment, then they must have eloped at some temple somewhere, rather than finding a ritualist to behind them completely, magically. If that were the case, there would be no turning back and Elliot would be a little bit more furious about their combined stupidity. But Skylar obviously cannot hear her own words, and nor can she really have thought about it.
“I don’t know ******* boo about Ric, but if he was so damned deadest against marriage, ever at all, then why the hell did he do it to begin with?” he asked. “Was he drunk? Were you both drunk? Even then, I don’t think it matters. Even when drunk we’re still acting on some subconscious level. We don’t turn into someone else entirely—some other person with different desires or wants or needs. He DID marry you which indicates, somewhere deep down, he must have wanted to. Whether he understands it or not,” he said. Though he had no idea, now, why he was defending Ric. He sighed and dumped the empty bottle in the recycling bin.
“But, if you really believe he doesn’t love you then you’re perfectly within your rights to kick him to the curb. Do what you want, Skylar, but don’t drink yourself into oblivion. Where do you think that will get you?” he asked, leaning against the counter, palms pressed into the sharp edges of it.

Skylar:
“Yeah well you and Pi are weird.”
I can’t stop those words from coming out. They’re true but then everyone’s weird in their own ways. No two alike or so they say.
“See!”
I’m quick to jump on his argument.
“I pretty much said that. Thank you! That’s like my entire ******* point. I told him that. That alcohol may make you do stupid things but they’re not things you don’t want to do. And yeah. Of course we were drunk. You don’t just decide to get married and do it sober do you? Do you? Hmmm… Maybe you do but we don’t. I mean I’m scared to commit to anyone or anything for more than a few months. Friends. No problem. Music. Not an issue. But some guy? A nine to five job. Routine? No thank you. You can keep that and shove it where the sun doesn’t shine. But Ricky.”
I sigh and my shoulders heave with sadness.
“I kinda really wanted him Elliot. I just wanted him to admit he wanted me too but I’m not sure if he does. He loves routine and he’s easily spooked. I mean I did this thing with my thumb where I rubbed his neck and stabbed me through the palm of the hand. Pinned it to the wall. It was pretty ******* impressive actually. But yeah. He didn’t do none of that. He just said he wanted to keep things the same. But you can’t go back. Right? Shark. Remember?”
I look at him and my eyes are practically begging him to understand me. If anyone in the world can get me, it should be Elliot. We didn’t know jack about each other besides each other’s names the night he both killed and saved me but it was like fate or something, we were meant to be in each other’s lives; we’re just so similar.

[Lancaster]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--
Elliot:
Elliot was silent for a while. He was trying to see this from Skylar’s perspective, and finally he slumped, pushing his weight away from the counter so that he could saunter back into the lounge to fall into the couch beside where Skylar sat. She was still sitting on the floor, and Elliot fingers ruffled her hair. He rolled his shoulders in an accepting kind of shrug.
He understood. It wasn’t just stubbornness. Now that Skylar was talking properly and making sense of herself, Elliot understood. Or, maybe it was anger that had him now swinging like a pendulum. Where before he’d defended Ric, for whatever reason, now the hate had returned. The guy had stabbed Skylar because she had touched him affectionately? What the **** could she possibly see in him?!
“That’s it then. You move on. If you think he doesn’t love then he doesn’t deserve you. There’s no point wasting your time on a man who can never give you what you want. If you want progress and he wants to just… stagnate, then it won’t work, will it?” he said. “In the end, I don’t give a **** what you do but I want you to be safe. I want you to be secure. And whatever you choose to do, I won’t let you spiral into some pit from which you can’t dig yourself out of. I’ve done that. It’s not fun,” he admitted.

Skylar:
I don’t mind that he ruffles my hair but once he stops I get myself to my feet, sort my nightdress out and plonk myself on the sofa next to him as I tuck my legs half under me so I can sit and face him.
“I hate that ******* word. Progress. Elliot I shouldn’t have left him the way I did. I knew I messed up before I left. He uses that word too. Told me he’d progressed and that he hadn’t progressed to my liking. If I thought he loved me, I’d say I ripped his ******* heart out there and then. I mean he tries. Tried. Whatever. He doesn’t understand dating and all that and I know that. But still…”
I prop my elbow on the back of the sofa and rest my head against my balled hand.
“What’s the point progressing if I know he’ll stop before he gets to where I need him to be. I mean yeah he married me but the next morning he won’t even consider the idea? He doesn’t stop me. I packed up pretty much everything I own. Well everything of importance anyways. And I took the dog. He’s not even mine but I Ric’s not all that keen on him and the feeling’s mutual.”
I whistle and Blackie comes running. He stops just short of the sofa and places his head on my ankle before he climbs and lays over me. He’s still a puppy but I think he’ll be a big lump when he grows up. He’s cute though. Kinda. Maybe. I’m not much of a dog person myself but he’s grown on me.
“This is Blackie.”
I tell Elliot as I scratch behind the black and white boxer's ear.
“And I still plan on getting drunk. Just so you know. Dillon can watch over me. I mean I can’t die from alcohol poisoning now can. Actually can I?”
I sound almost hopeful as I ask that and have to reel that emotion back in.

Elliot:
This close, Elliot could feel every emotion that rolled from Skylar. Although he reached out to pat the dog, he did so distractedly; he could feel that hope where dread should only have been, and he recognised it. Oh, yeah, he recognised it. That black hole that one couldn’t run away from because it wasn’t on the outside. It was on the inside. And you wanted it to swallow you up, anyway. There wasn’t any question of even wanting to run away from it. Pi had pulled Elliot out, and she had been too late to keep it from happening. But Elliot could stop this from happening to Skylar.
He stared at Skylar for a while before he smiled, his hands resting together in his lap. “You can get drunk,” he said. “But you’re not going to do it alone. We’ll go. Together,” he said. It came to him, in a rush. It wasn’t the best idea to lock Skylar up without company and keep her from the thing she wanted. That was stupid. It would be allowing her to just dwell. This would be better. He could keep her company while she drowned her sorrows and hopefully help her enjoy herself, too.
“Not Lancaster’s, because it probably wouldn’t do for the boss to get drunk. Somewhere else. Lady’s choice. But you have to go shower and get dressed, first,” he said and cracked a grin.

Skylar:
“Fine. Tonight I’m your responsibility. Tomorrow I’m getting drunk with the guys. You can alternate if you like but the guys are pretty good at going all out for a couple of nights.”
I nudge Blackie and flops onto the floor. He looks at me as if to say ‘what the hell, I was just comfortable’ but I’m sure he’ll find somewhere comfy once I’m gone. Dillon’s bed maybe. I could leave the door open for him. Dillon would love that.
“You can’t watch me every second Elliot. I’m a grown *** woman.”
I say that and disappear off to rinse myself in the shower and change. Of course I change into the tightest pair of jeans I own and a pair of the highest heels I have. Worse comes to worse I could trip and break my neck; see if that does anything. I pull on a nice tight black and gold t-shirt to go with it and walk out into the front room.
“Let’s go to the Uni bar and tease college guys. I’m good at that. Have you ever tried your powers of persuasion to get people to like kiss and stuff? That might be fun.”

Elliot:
“Even grown *** women need their asses watched,” Elliot said as soon as Skylar came back. Sure, he knew how those words could be misconstrued, though his eyes remain steadfastly on Skylar’s face and drift nowhere near her ***. He continued to smile at Skylar as if he were oblivious, but he could feel her self-destructive bent. Time, he figured, was the way to get through this. And he hoped that it would work.
Sure, he would pretend like he wasn’t watching her every move, but he would talk to Dillon. He would check in. He would make sure that they were keeping an eye on Skylar and not allowing her to do things that she might regret. Like… find some other sod to agree to marry her. Or screw so many random men to try to make herself forget the one man she wanted to screw. That wouldn’t work.
Elliot stood and gestured for the door, indicating that Skylar should lead the way. He shook his head. “No, I have never used my powers of persuasion to get people to kiss me and stuff,” he said, affecting a younger tone for the last couple of words, pretending to be Skylar. That answered her question, though he did not comment otherwise—that she could go and try to tease college men and get them to kiss her and stuff but he would effectively **** block her. Because that’s what father figures did, wasn’t it?

Skylar:
“Ew. I wasn’t talking about making them kiss me. Get your mind out of the gutter and off my lips and arse will ya? I was talking about getting people to kiss each other. For **** sake if I want a guy I don’t have to use my powers on him. I’m a bubbly blonde with no shame.”
I’m not really sure where this mood has come from. I’m probably over compensating. I want Elliot to think I’m all right so he’ll leave me alone. Though I’m sure there’s no law against trying to have some fun while you drink yourself into oblivion.
“You gonna be my date papa bear?”
I grab a hold of Elliot’s arm and actually lean on a little. The heels were a bad idea. Just putting one foot in front of the other hurt; my heart that is, not my feet, though my feet seem to be doing their best not to move like they should. Can a broken heart affect co-ordination? I dunno. Maybe. In my case. Probably. I’m a walking disaster at the best of times.
“Too bad momma bear cleared out all those traps. I could have had some fun in the den after a few drinks.”
There’s a note of seriousness in my voice but it’s probably that pang of disappointment that gives me away. That followed by an odd feeling of hope as I realise there maybe traps elsewhere that I just haven’t found yet. I could go exploring later if I could get away from my guard dog.

Elliot:
“I’ll have her remove all of the traps if you’re gonna talk like that,” Elliot said. “You’re being ridiculous and if you think you want to die and if you do? If you go off and off yourself because of this fuckery, I’ll go and kill Ric. That’s a promise,” he said. He said it cheerily, too, as if he were talking about going out to buy cotton candy, or something. Maybe it would cause Skylar to pause and think, if she still loved Roderic.
Elliot could have gone on. He could have ranted and raved about how selfish she was being, how this need to die wouldn’t just take her out of this world and take away whatever she might be feeling, but it would hurt Elliot. It would hurt Aliyah, and Dillon, and Skylar’s bandmates. Elliot would take her out and he would get drunk, too, but not quite as drunk as Skylar. He would keep his wits about him so that he could carry her home when she was done. Tuck her away in bed in warmth and comfort, somewhere.
At least she would have to know, by the end of the night, that she was cared for.