Skylar:This RP takes place on Tuesday 7th April 2015.
I decide to get this over with. I know Elliot was angry about me getting married, hurt and maybe even a little confused too, so I really can’t make him wait to find out what’s going on with me. Not know that I know. He really does deserve to be told in person. Just like Ali does. But that really is Ric’s job, not mine. Though I guess I’ll be the one doing it if Ric really doesn’t want to make a big deal out of it; which he probably doesn’t.
I step through the portal and emerge in an empty office. I’m not there long before I hear the dulcet tones of Elliot filling the main floor outside. I step out of the office, stay behind the bar and nod to the staff. I don’t look out of place in my jeans and Hard Rock couture t-shirt. My hair’s brushed but down and I look a hell of a damn sight better than I did the last time he saw me. Though that’s pretty easily done. I looked a right state when him and Ali came to, well, wake me I guess.
I lean against the bar, prop my head on my hand and just listen. I’m half tempted to run over and jump on stage with him but I don’t. Contrary to popular belief I don’t have to be the centre of attention.
Elliot:
Being on stage for Elliot had nothing to do with wanting to be the centre of attention. When he was feeling the need for release, when his emotions were pent up to even a small degree, he liked to let them out via music. Normally he’d have found a street corner somewhere, but why do that when he has a whole stage he can play on? A stage that he is the boss of, and can dictate the times and then when and now?
The song that he sang was a new one, kind of. It wasn’t its first outing on the stage, but at least it hadn’t been heard a dozen times yet. It was one that was written a while back, and which had only recently been perfected. The theme was… well, somewhat self-derogatory, but that was nothing new. Elliot’s eyes narrowed against the glare of the single spot light and spotted new movement behind the bar; Skylar. A lot had been going on with Skylar, lately, and though it wasn’t unusual for her to stop in at the bar, he was still curious about her current visitation.
So, as soon as the song was finished he summarily ignored the clapping (or only gave a slight modest nod) and packed up his guitar, flicking the sound system back to the juke box. He jumped from the stage and meandered through the crowd until he was standing in front of Skylar, long fingers pushing the hair out of his eyes after he nodded his greeting to her, too. “Skylar. Feeling better?” he asked. She certainly looked it.
Skylar:
It’s harder to do that thing where I lean across the bar and hug him with the foot rail for a little extra added height – something I learned a while back – so I don’t even bother I just smile and nod to the office; I could get him in there.
“You know me papa bear. Can’t keep a good girl down or whatever.”
I’m clearly not a good girl as I snatch up two glasses and start to fill them with whiskey. I should probably add some coke to mine but I figure what the hell. Plus I probably need a shot or two of Dutch courage. I’m clearly not here to drink though, as after pouring out two doubles, I leave the bottle on the shelf and head for his office.
“Kinda need to talk to you though. In private.”
Elliot:
The staff, by now, were accustomed to Elliot’s meanderings. Though, he had hired enough staff so that he could just wander back and forth. He wasn’t a required cog in the machine, so when he was taken out of it, the machine would still run as smoothly as before. They—he and Pi—had set it up that way, so that should any of their family members come to call, as Skylar was doing now, then it wouldn’t be hard to extract themselves from the business and deal with whatever problem had arisen.
By default, Elliot reached out with that sixth sense of his to determine Skylar’s emotions. There was anxiety, there, and he got the distinct impression that this thing she wanted to talk to him about was bad news. He could only sigh and nod, following Skylar through to the office and closing the door behind him.
“What’s happened?” he asked. The noise from outside was now muffled. He walked around behind his desk and dropped down into the office chair there.
Skylar:
I set the drinks down on the desk and then move around it to hug Elliot from behind. I’m half tempted to seat myself in his lap and give him a proper hug but if Pi comes in I figure I’d be dead before she stops to ask what I’m doing, so it’s safer for all concerned that I do things this way.
“Thank you.”
I kiss his cheek. I’m kinda used to stubble so the grating of my soft lips on his rough cheek doesn’t even cause me to blink.
“For the other night that is. I probably wouldn’t have come around if it weren’t for you and Ali. And I definitely didn’t feel like feeding or anything either.”
I could probably tell him about the lengths Dillon had gone to, to get a rise out of me and how’d he’d done everything he could to break me out of my funk, up to and including feeling me up in some pretty inappropriate ways. None of it worked though because I just didn’t care. Not until the others arrived and started yelling at one another, then I kinda had to come back to reality. Instead I fall silent, remove my arms from around him and go to take my seat on the opposite side of the desk.
Elliot:
Elliot lifted a hand to pat Skylar’s arm as she hugged him. He was used to this kind of behaviour, and it didn’t bother him none. It never had. Elliot had never been the kind of person to be too precious about his own personal space, or his own belongings, for that matter. He’d never really had anything to call his own, and anything he did have he was happy to share with those around him—strangers or not. The only thing that he had that he rarely wanted anyone else to touch was his precious Curlew. The guitar that he’d had since he was sixteen.
As Skylar shifted back around to the front of the desk, Elliot began to wonder whether he had imagined the anxiety and that really, all she’d wanted to do was thank him. He nodded and shrugged his shoulders. “It’s what I’m here for,” he said. And genuinely, really, it was the whole truth, and nothing but. The reason he was here in Harper Rock, still, was because he had responsibilities that he would not walk away from. “I’m glad you’re feeling better. Have you talked to Ric?” Elliot asked, wondering what Skylar’s amazing recovery could be attributed to. The other night, she looked as if she were going to begin a year long bender.
Skylar:
I kinda probably give the game away when I smile at the mention of Ric’s name and then quickly look down at my drink. Though actually it’s probably not that, that gives me away but rather that surge of love I feel from just hearing his name. I’m a lost cause. I know it. Love has made me it’s ***** but oddly, I’m kinda happy about that.
“That’s kinda why I’m here actually. Cos Ricky… well… he came showed up at Dillon’s yesterday saying he wanted to talk.”
I pang of guilt shoots through me as I recall what it was I was doing when Ric showed up. It’s no wonder my whiskey seems to be the most fascinating thing in the world right now. I’m looking into the glass as I hold it just off the surface of the desk, tilting it a little in my direction. The thing doesn’t hold any answers right now but I don’t mind because I don’t have any questions.
“His timing sucked, cos… well… I was kinda wasted and you know how I get when I’m drunk. And when Dillon’s drunk. And then kinda what happens between us at times.”
I know Elliot gets it, he’s not stupid. Though now it’s not just some stupid hook up, technically it was adultery. I kinda ******* hate that but I can’t really change what happened, I can just make sure it never happens again. Especially since Ric kinda said he’d kill us both if it did. Another pang of guilt rushes through me but it’s the self-loathing that I’m sure Elliot feels more than anything else right now.
Elliot:
Elliot arched a curious brow as he leaned back in his chair. Skylar had poured him a drink but he didn’t touch it just yet. He was wondering whether she’d poured it for a reason and whether it was something he would need, soon. Better not drink it before its time. Instead he said in that perpetually slumped position, with his elbows on the arms of his chair and his fingers clasped in front of him.
Yeah, he could feel all the different emotions rolling from Skylar like a technicolour light show, and they didn’t help to answer any of his silent questions. In fact, they confused him more than anything. He got what Skylar was saying—that Ric caught her and Dillon up to something that they shouldn’t have been. But there was that surge of love and happiness, too, glowing around the edges of her self-loathing.
“I’m gonna guess that it’s fine between you and Ric regardless?” he asked. It wasn’t such a hard conclusion to jump to, and Elliot was still wondering; is this what she had wanted to tell him? That she and Dillon had hooked up? Or was it a ‘talk’ in that she wanted advice, somehow, about what she should do next? He waited, anyway.
Skylar:
I nod and look up at Ellie, what I’m feeling is difficult to explain but I know there’s a bit of confusion and a lot of relief.
“Yeah. Actually it kinda is. I mean he was oddly calm about the whole me ******* Dillon thing. Not that it was my idea or anything. You know that feeling when you really just want to curl up and die and you’re kinda desperate to feel something. Anything. And so you kinda do things you wouldn’t normally do or think was a great idea. I mean I like Dillon and all but him and me... Well you know. We’ve never really been a thing.”
I’m babbling but I’m kinda happy and excited so that’s bound to happen. Though I still haven’t told Ellie the part that might make him flip out. So its fear’s turn to rear its head. Fear and worry. I glance back down at my drink then raise the glass to my lips before gulping down a single, but rather large mouthful.
“So anyways. Yeah… The reason I’m here is, cos well… We’re gonna give it a go. The marriage thing that is.”
I stop myself from prattling on by wiping my lips with the back of my free hand. I watch Ellie closely to see what he does with this information. I’m pretty sure he’s either about to explode or lecture me. Or maybe both. He’s probably gonna lecture me after he explodes.
Elliot:
The entire scenario with Skylar the other night seemed to have changed Elliot’s opinions, somewhat. Or, if they hadn’t been changed, he was more open to the idea that Skylar was so ******* attached to Ric that he was bound to become a permanent fixture. There was something that Aliyah had said, too, that struck a chord. This wasn’t about Elliot. This was about Skylar, and whether or not he liked Ric, he couldn’t dictate who she could or couldn’t date. He even smiled. He smiled, because he could feel Skylar’s fear as she admitted her reason for being here. Smiled, because he knew why she was afraid.
“Look. It’s obvious I think that Dillon is a far better match. And, in regards to him, I’d advise that you stop pretending like he doesn’t give a ****. If you’re not careful he’ll turn into what you were—on that couch with his heart stomped into the ground,” he said. Skylar could feel things from other people too, couldn’t she? How could she be so totally oblivious to how Dillon felt about her?
“But you seem to love Ric for whatever reason,” he said, and narrowed his eyes. What kind of man would forgive his wife for sleeping with another man so quickly? He was dubious, of course, and there was a roiling of disappointment that could not be hidden, but on the surface he was showing calm acceptance.
“So I’m happy for you. That you have found your groove. But I mean it, Skylar. I hold him accountable for your safety. Emotional and physical,” he said. He didn’t think he needed to explain the exactly what that meant.
Skylar:
I shake my head at the whole Dillon’s a better match for me thing. He really isn’t, at least I don’t think so. I’m pretty Ric would agree with too but we’re probably both a little biased in this. I can feel Ellie’s disappointment so I cling on to the fact that he hadn’t at least exploded like I’d expected him too. I was doing well on the no-lecture front too. Kinda.
“Dillon’s a big boy. He knows he only stands a chance with me if I’m drunk and desperate.”
I shrug. I don’t mind admitting that, even if it is shameful; I mean we all have our moments and god knows I have mine.
“Ric was in pretty bad shape when he came to get me. He may not have given up on life to the extent I did, but he didn’t feed either. So… I think maybe he does love me. I mean I don’t know for sure. He’s a ****** to try and read even with superpowers, but yeah. I mean. He didn’t say it. He still can’t say it but I think he might. He certainly wants to be with me and he’s willing to at least try being married. So… that’s all good right?”
I’m hoping Elliot agrees and I know he knows that. I know he worries and I know he’ll want to kill Ric if things go wrong between us but the simple fact that Ric’s willing to give it a go has to say something; Elliot has to respect that. Maybe.
Elliot:
Elliot took a breath and nodded. He almost felt like some kind of… hell, yeah, okay. It felt like he was being a father, and he supposed it was a role he was going to have to accept, if he was going to keep acting like it.
“I’m starting to wonder whether the guy ever actually feels anything at all. And I worry that his agreement to try is just… I don’t know what it would be for him. But he caught you ******* some other guy and he’s forgiven you? If I caught Pi ******* some other guy I’d… well, I wouldn’t be happy as larry by the next night, that’s for sure,” he said. He wasn’t sure he’d ever forgive her for that. Would he? And the other guy wouldn’t still be alive. In the very least he’d be in a pretty fatal condition—if that other guy was human, anyway, and not some vampire who was more powerful than Elliot.
“Are you sure about this, Skylar? This… random agreement that you entered into on a whim? Is that how you always want to remember it? That he thought it was a mistake?”
Skylar:
“Ric’s pretty cool. He knew I thought we were over. So, he kinda couldn’t be mad about it. He’s not really the jealous type. Though he did later on tell me ‘never again or else’ so he’s not completely okay with it I guess. He told me we don’t have that kinda of marriage. It’s kinda a miracle he even knows that type of marriage exists to be honest, you know, the open kind.”
I take another mouthful of whiskey. I guess I don’t really need any Dutch courage now, but still, I like to drink and there’s no point letting it go to waste.
“And I’m super sure of it. I don’t think it much matters how it happened to be honest. I mean we were never gonna do it sober. So…”
I shrug. I’ve made my peace with the way in which it all happened, so really that’s all that matters. So I don’t have the best marriage story in the world. Oh well. I did have a photo though.
“Oh hey. Look what I found this morning. We had a photo taken with my phone the night we got married. Ric looks… wel… like Ric. But I look happy don’t you think?”
I’ve been fiddling with my phone as I spoke, having retrieved it from my pocket. Having found the photo – which is now my phones background pic – I hand the device to Elliot.
Elliot:
Elliot took the phone and looked at the photo as if scrutinizing it. The more that Skylar said the more dubious he became, but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t tell her that he thought that jealousy was healthy in small doses, because who could ever feel secure if their other half couldn’t give a **** if they fucked other people? But Skylar was sure that Roderic wouldn’t like it if she did it again, so that soothed Elliot’s concerns. But only a little.
“You look happy and he looks insecure. Or something. I mean really, Skylar? You were never going to do it sober? What does that say to you? Sure, it’s kind of romantic in a way that something could only be done when inhibitions are stripped, but how do you know it’s something he’s serious about if he can’t admit to wanting it when he’s sober? I just don’t feel like he’s as invested in this as you are. But hey! It’s your decision and I don’t know him. Were there any rituals involved?” He asked, finally asking the question he should have already asked.
Skylar:
“I think he looks suspicious or something.”
I lean over and take the phone back. I can’t help but look at the picture again though before I lock the thing and shove it back in my pocket.
“No dad.”
I use a tone that’s half teasing, because I know he doesn’t want me calling him that for real.
“There were no rituals involved. Though I’ll be sure to look into that for next time.”
I wink at Elliot and start laughing. I didn’t actually know there were rituals. Well there was that thing Nix and Blake did but I don’t think it was a proper ritual, just ritualistic. Maybe.
“He’s willing to wear a ring.”
I throw that out there because it’s kind of a big deal.
“And I did ask him for the answer to two questions. I mean, yeah, he was pretty Ric-ish about them at first and didn’t really answer them so I asked again and added in a maybe option. I told him I wanted two one word answers. The only acceptable answers being yes, no or maybe. I asked him first if he loved me and second if he wanted to be married to me. He spazzed out for a bit but eventually he did boil it down to two words; maybe and yes. So he might love me and he does want to be married to me. But for the love of god don’t go repeating any of this to anyone else, even momma bear, cos Ric’s pretty private and I don’t think he’d want me telling people all this stuff. It’s just… you know… I kinda want you to be okay with all of this.”
I force myself to stop talking by taking another sip from my drink. I was real excited about everything I was telling Elliot, right up until I realised that I probably shouldn’t be telling him that, that was. Then I felt a bit anxious. But before that it was nothing but good, positive energy. I was happy. I am happy. I’d of accepted maybe as an answer to both questions. Hell I’d of accepted a no and a maybe even. So to get a maybe and a yes was kinda huge. At least I thought it was.
Elliot:
Elliot laughed. “You know people call Pi and my relationship unconventional but I think you guys have us beat,” he said. He and Pi did love each other but they weren’t married. They wore the rings as if they were, but there’d been no ceremony involved. Nothing beyond the very short vows in a shop with a jeweller as a witness.
“He’s gonna wear a ring, Skylar. Indicating that he’s married. Generally when people get married, they are supposed to love each other. Don’t mention it to anyone? I don’t have to. All that **** is gonna be assumed,” he said. “Except people will have it wrong if he only maybe loves you,” Elliot said. He couldn’t help it. He shouldn’t have been rubbing her face in that part but lord, if it didn’t bother him just a little bit. Who the hell gets married to someone they’re not sure they love?
“It just sounds like his heart isn’t in it and he’s just not sure about anything,” he said. “But okay, sure. I can give him the fact that he’s willing to do certain **** for you, which indicates some kind of feeling,” he admitted, begrudgingly.
Skylar:
“Urgh. Don’t be so weird.”
I try and take in what he’s saying but some if it doesn’t make any sense. I half wish at this point that he was more like Ric than me and that he could just sink his fangs into my wrist and see for himself what happened. I’m pretty sure he’d be happy then. Though he may see more than he wants at that point which would just be… wrong. Yep. Definitely wrong. I laugh a little nervously what with having disturbed myself with my own thoughts. Though I’m pretty sure the part making me nervous is the part where Ric might see all this in a future feeding.
“You can tell people we’re married papa bear. Ric and I that is, not you and me.”
I laugh again, only I actually kinda amused myself with that one.
“I mean that’s no secret. It’s just, you know. Not the private stuff about the questions I asked him and stuff. And he definitely has feelings for me. They’re stronger than I thought too. Man if you had only seen him…”
