A/N
IT'S CHRRRRIISSSSTTTMMAAAASSSSS!
A big Merry Christmas to all of you, hope it's wonderful for all of you.
So this one is pretty lengthy, but then I guess after nearly two months with no update It's okay!
Apologies as always for my lack of updates these past few months, University work etc etc. Will try and pick it back up ASAP.
As you can probably tell, I'm a little rusty so please bear that in mind, although don't let me get complacent!
As always review etc etc, and once again have a great Christmas and New Year!
Chapter Soundtrack:
The Cure – Just Like Heaven
Stretch Princess – Sugar
Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps
A shrill buzz pierced through Aurora's slumber. She shot awake, flailing under the bird emblazoned blanket that had tangled tightly around her during the night. Wait, birds? This wasn't her home.
Aurora ran her fingers delicately over the blanket, frowning at her unfamiliar surroundings. She'd expected some form of recollection to come back to her, but she was met with radio silence from her brain. Only a few static images of a creepy toy doll and then strong and warm arms encasing her came up to greet her.
She glanced quickly down at her attire, relieved, yet puzzled, to see an oversized Iron Maiden t shirt hanging loosely over her petite form, with a pair of grey holey boxers covering her nether regions. These aren't my clothes...
Considering she was as of yet to determine where she was and whose clothes she was in, a strange sense of calm had washed over her. Maybe it was the comforting woodsy smell of the room, or maybe it was from the soft edges of her brain, her heavy head somehow making everything seem dream like.
Stretching her arms over her head, relishing in the slight crack of her limbs, she set her plan in order. First, get out of here.
She scrambled around for her phone, allowing her arms to sweep across the bed in search of where she'd thrown it in an attempt to stop the incessant buzzing. Finding the errant object, she pressed the home button, revealing the time and dazzling her eyes slightly in the process. 11:27am. A missed call from Philip and a notification from Twitter.
The light from the phone shot a dull pain through her head, and she screwed her eyes shut, hoping the pain would subside quickly.
Through a half closed eye, she spied a glass of water next to the unfamiliar bed. She swiped it off the table, guzzling the majority of it down in a swift move, before she spotted a note.
Looking around the still unknown room as if the author of the note would suddenly appear, she cautiously picked it up, scanning the scribbled words through squinted eyes.
Hey Sleeping Beauty,
Drink this and take some aspirin, it'll take the edge off of what I'm sure will be a raging hangover. Unless you're still drunk when you wake up, which isn't entirely unlikely...
Anyway, I had to go run some errands and Mal is... I don't know, it's Mal so who knows!
Stay as long as you want and see you later,
Diaval.
Shit!
Memories of the night before came flooding back to her as she clutched one hand over her eyes, trying to recall more solid details. There was a film. And there was beer, lots and lots of beer!
Aurora sat back down on the edge of the bed, trying to ignore her swaying vision.
Deciding to take the aspirin before attempting to move any further, she grimaced at the bitter taste of the pill on her tongue.
Guzzling down more water, she surveyed her surroundings.
Birds. Birds everywhere, as was to be expected. Curtains, paintings and bed sheets being the main culprits. How on earth does it still manage to look good?! She thought as she inspected what appeared to be a hand carved wooden raven on the bedside table.
Aurora's stomach gurgled loudly, pulling her back into reality.
Right.
She cautiously stood back up, steadying herself slightly on the bed. Taking a few slow steps, she grew familiar with the swaying sensation and was able to adjust her posture accordingly.
Continuing with her lumbering steps, Aurora found herself on the landing. The large oak bannister aided in keeping her upright as she peered over it and down to the hallway. Empty.
She stopped to listen for any movement in the house, but heard none. Diaval wasn't back then. Or Maleficent.
Internally she sighed with relief at the absence particularly of the latter. God knows what I must look like now shethought, before chastising herself. What did it matter what Maleficent saw her looking like?
Resolutely she headed down the stairs, her eyebrows drawing together in concentration as she attempted to still the ever-wavering steps.
"Stupid hangover." She muttered as she almost toppled down the last stair, saving herself on the bannister.
Upon reaching the hallway, Aurora mused over what to do. Before reaching any conclusion, her phone buzzed once again, and she glanced at it briefly.
Hey babe, you around today? Wanna come over before practice?
Philip's name was emblazoned across her phone as she read the text.
As she locked her phone, she felt gladdened that she'd turned her read receipts off. I'll deal with you later, shethought.
Aurora's stomach gurgled once again. She bit her lip as she glanced nervously at the kitchen. Was it rude to make herself some food? Would Diaval mind?
Wobbling towards the kitchen, she decided to at least have some coffee. He did say she could stay as long as she wanted after all.
She felt the side of the half full coffee pot, before jerking her now marginally burnt hand back. Still warm to the touch. Diaval can't have long been gone then.
After rifling around a few cupboards without much success, Aurora finally found purchase on a mug pushed far behind sugar and coffee bags. "Mistress of All Evil" she read off the side, snorting when she found a crudely drawn doodle of what she supposed to be Maleficent. The sharp cheek bones and intimidating height giving the caricature away even in cartoon form.
She idly turned the dial on the radio, switching it on resolutely as she grabbed a spoon from a drawer.
"Youuuu, soft and only, Youuuu lost and lonely" she sang quietly as she bustled around the kitchen, spooning sugar into her mug before pouring the coffee and adding milk.
As the first sip hit her tongue she couldn't help but moan in appreciation.
"That's some damn good coffee." she muttered to no one in particular, feeling the liquid warm her insides and satisfy her gurgling stomach for now.
With the coffee trickling down her throat, memories of the night before began trickling into her consciousness too. Fuck.
An icy chill ran up her spine as she began to recall snippets of conversation between her and Maleficent, as well as lingering touches.
But the woman hadn't pushed her away, right? Sure she'd been drunk and she supposed that any warmth Maleficent displayed towards her was merely based upon the fact that the chances of her remembering any such encounter the next morning were slim, she couldn't help but remember the way those emerald eyes pierced her own. Full of intensity, but softness in the way the honey tones swirled playfully and curiously when directed at the inebriated girl.
And warmth. Aurora remembered a warmth. She could feel the salty sting of last night's tears on her face, a layer of crusted release of months of emotion. And then she could feel Maleficent's arms, embracing her firmly. There had been something protective about the way the woman had held her, she was sure of it. Her actions had gone above and beyond the line of courtesy, slipping into the realms of... friendship?
Aurora slurped her coffee and dispelled any further thoughts. She barely knew the woman and she'd just been doing her duty as Aurora's elder; looking after a drunk young girl was the right thing to do, and Maleficent seemed to feel a sense of responsibility, despite her devil may care appearances.
I'm too hungover for this shit, she thought bitterly, dumping her now empty cup in the sink, rinsing the mug swiftly.
Turning to lean against the counter, she pondered her next move as she absentmindedly piled her wavy blonde tresses into a sloppy ponytail.
Maleficent and Diaval were both absent, meaning she had no reason to stay. She wanted to wait for at least one of them to return, to apologise to both of them (Maleficent in particular) for her drunken behaviour. But maybe that'll look weird? Shebit her lip in thought trying to envision the pair's reaction to returning home to see Aurora still waiting.
Even in her vision Maleficent looked cold and distant. She knew this to be true. Aurora could see the woman's glazed over eyes to a T, the return of the dull emeralds, shielding prying eyes from peeking at her feelings.
It was enough to make Aurora spring into action. She had to leave.
"You're just like a dream! You're just like a dream." Robert Smith crooned through the radio as Aurora ran back up the stairs two at a time, trying to make her escape before she changed her mind again.
Finding her clothes proved to be easier than expected, as someone (most likely Diaval) had folded them up neatly and placed them on a wicker chair in the corner of the room Aurora had been sleeping in.
Another note lay atop the pile. The loopy and unfamiliar handwriting made her pause, before she shakily brought the note up to read.
Aurora,
I thought you'd be better sleeping in something more comfortable than these.
Don't worry, you put them on yourself, I merely handed you the clothes and assisted in pulling your arms through the armholes.
I didn't look, I promise.
But nice boxers...
M.
Aurora couldn't help but smile at the ornate "M" marked at the bottom of the paper. She also couldn't help the flutter of excitement that rolled through her stomach at the thought of Maleficent seeing her undress.
But she didn't look idiot, and you don't want her to look.
This stupid hangover was making her think fuzzy.
What was that last comment about? But nice boxers. So she had looked?
A sustained buzz broke her reverie. Tutting her annoyance, Aurora drew her phone out and angrily jabbed at the lock button to silence Philip's call.
Get dressed, get home, then deal with Philip.
She saw her discarded underwear folded neatly on the top of the pile, but somehow couldn't bring herself to change into them. Not that any comment on how she looked in the boxers had swayed this decision...
Opting for pulling her jeans over the boxers, leaving her upper half as it was, she merely picked up the pile and held the remaining clothes under her arm.
Aurora paused at the doorway, giving the room a once over before dashing back to grab both notes, from Diaval and Maleficent. Call it sentiment.
"You're just like heaven." The final chord of the song rang out as she reached the bottom of the stairs, reminding Aurora to turn the radio off. She did this hastily, pausing only to pour a mug of water into the soil of a slightly wilting plant on Diaval's windowsill. The least she could do for the man who had cooked dinner for her, allowed her to crash his movie night and let her stay the night when she got too drunk.
Spying a small notepad on the kitchen island, Aurora quickly scrawled a note in reply to both of her hosts.
Diaval and Mal,
Thanks for letting me stay (although I doubt you had much choice) and I'm so sorry for getting so drunk! It turns out I'm more of a lightweight than I thought.
I'll see you both tonight? Practice is at 6, just let yourselves into the garage, it should be open anyways.
Oh, and I've kept the boxers.
Aurora.
She wasn't sure if the last line was too much, but shrugged it off anyway. Heck, I'm still a little drunk, I can blame it on that! She internalised before smirking and heading out the front door, leaving the note behind, along with her red lacy pants from the night before.
Maleficent swung the door open, tossing Diaval's spare key onto a small table in the hallway, littered already with junk mail.
"Diaval?" She called out, hearing only a faint hum in return.
Following the noise down the hall, she found her raven-haired friend dancing around the kitchen, packing away groceries, headphones firmly clasped to his head.
Yanking the wire sharply out of his ears, Maleficent scowled until her friend's shocked expression made her smile.
"My god woman! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!"
Maleficent shrugged, pulling a carton of juice out of the grocery bag and opening it to take a swig.
"That wasn't my intention, no. I did call you."
Diaval had paused his music, continuing to unpack the groceries.
"Didn't hear, I was being serenaded."
"You know I think, I think... Karen O wasn't speaking to you directly."
Diaval merely rolled his eyes, choosing to ignore the brunette's taunting tone.
"They don't love me like she loves me." He murmured, earning a small chuckle from Maleficent.
"So we still on for tonight? Aurora's and then The Moors?"
"It looks that way yes." Maleficent pursed her lips.
Diaval turned to see his friend's less than eager expression.
"Don't give me that look Mal, Aurora needs us. And you said you'd help!"
Sighing Maleficent swigged the juice from the carton once more, moving the hand holding it away from Diaval's, which had tried to swipe the carton from her.
"And not from the carton Mal!" he whined, failing to grab it away from the taller woman.
"We'll go. I'll play the song how it should be, possibly teach that whiny brat how to hold a guitar and then we'll leave. What time are we on tonight?"
Diaval held up the juice carton triumphantly, having managed to steal it from Maleficent's grasp as she spoke.
"Haha! Yes! Oh, ermm 9:30, but Balthazar wants us there by at least 8 to set up."
Maleficent nodded slowly. She could already feel the vodka sliding down her throat.
"Perfect. I have a feeling I'll be needing a stiff drink after this."
"You know I don't understand how you can just bounce back like this. You were out all night God knows where-"
"Enough Diaval." Maleficent rubbed her forehead, eyes closed in annoyance. "It's hardly bouncing back, I feel terrible."
Diaval snorted unceremoniously, keeping his back turned from his friend, not wanting to face her glare.
"You think you're bad, you should've seen Aurora this morning." He chortled now, thinking back to the sight he'd been graced with upon entering his spare room. The blonde had been sprawled out across the entire bed, the blanket wound tightly around her torso. Her hair was splashed across the cushions and her mouth had been slightly open, small noises being emitted as she slept.
"I did see her this morning." As soon as the words escaped Maleficent's lips she instantly wished she could take them back.
Like clockwork Diaval raised his eyebrows, a large grin growing on his face.
"Oh you did, did you? So you came home and went to check on her? How sweet."
"I forgot she was in that room, I thought I was sleeping in there." Maleficent snapped, grateful that the lie had sprung to mind as quickly as it had.
In truth she wasn't sure what had compelled her to go and check on the girl. Maybe it was the image of Aurora with tears streaming down her face that refused to leave her mind all night, no matter how much vodka she'd had. Or more likely the particular way that those tear soaked drunken hazy blue eyes had glinted black as Maleficent's fingers had ran through the blonde's waves or caressed her back.
Either way, at about 6am, she'd found herself returning from The Moors after attempting to drown all thoughts of the girl out, standing at the door to the spare room.
Through her swirling vodka brain she'd managed to open the door quietly to see a sleeping Aurora, still dressed in one of her old Iron Maiden T shirts and Diaval's old boxers. She'd smiled at the thought of getting the girl dressed, remembering drunk Aurora giggling as she tried to put her head in an armhole.
"Help me, I'm trapped!" She'd squealed like a child as Maleficent had attempted to swivel the t-shirt around, meanwhile trying to steady a squirming Aurora.
When the girl had finally been dressed, she'd smiled at Maleficent goofily, and thanked her "fairy godmother" before passing out.
"Pffff whatever Mal, you've got it bad for blondie."
Diaval tactfully stayed as far away from Maleficent as he could.
Maleficent snapped her head towards the man, glaring at the back of his head for interrupting her train of thought.
"And you can stop thinking about her now, you'll see her in about an hour."
"Shit, is that the time already?!" Maleficent exclaimed, surprised at how much of the day she had wasted being hungover with Balthazar.
"It is. Now go get ready, make yourself look gorgeous for your girlfriend."
Maleficent had already thrown an apple at Diaval before the word escaped his mouth.
"She's not my girlfriend. She's just a girl. She's no one."
Her words echoed around the now empty kitchen, Diaval having made his escape up the stairs. They even sounded untruthful to her.
"It's almost 6..." Eric trailed off, averting his eyes from Aurora's pacing.
"She'll be here. She said she'd be here." Aurora glanced out across the street again, trying to spot the tall brunette and her smaller friend leaving Diaval's house.
"And Philip is okay with this? And your Dad?"
"What Philip knows won't hurt him. She's just gonna play the song, have a quick jam and then leave. If Philip turns up early... Well... We'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She toyed nervously with her hair, trying not to think too much into what would happen if Philip did show up. She'd ignored his calls earlier, only texting back to say that she'd spent that day with her aunts and couldn't come over. In truth, she'd been napping all day and trying not to vomit up bile and beer.
"Someone ordered a tall, brooding guitar player and her charming and hilariously witty sidekick?"
Aurora whipped around in time to see Maleficent roll her eyes at her smaller friend, before turning her intense gaze upon Aurora.
"Hello Aurora." Her eyes raked over the girl's appearance. Blonde hair piled atop her head again, with a few loose strands flopping down and framing her face. She was still wearing the old Iron Maiden t-shirt, something that didn't go unnoticed by the woman.
"Nice t shirt." Maleficent winked at the girl, trying not to laugh at the flush of red that had travelled to her cheeks as she ran the hem of the shirt through her fingers.
"So let's play? I have places to be."
Maleficent sounded almost bored and she tossed her small leather clutch bag containing a few rolled up bills, some loose cigarettes as well as a few lighters and some plectrums onto a plush looking sofa. She plugged one of the guitars lining the wall into the amp.
Hearing the all too familiar hum of electric travel through the wires calmed her, as did the smooth cool metallic feeling of the tuning pegs as she adjusted them slightly.
"Uh.. Sure. Eric can you count us in?" Aurora gave the boy a comforting smile, trying to ease the odd tension in the air that seemed to have arrived with Maleficent and Diaval.
"Alright... 5, 6, 7, 8!"
On the count of the 8 Maleficent allowed her fingers to slide capably down the fretboard, strumming sharply with her other hand.
After the 8th beat the bass kicked in as did Eric's hammering on the drums.
As soon as the music had started up, Aurora allowed herself to be transported into that small space of herself she reserved for performing, getting her thoughts contained and locked in a corner for later. Now was about the music.
She swayed with Eric's beat, letting the bass wash over her and enter her veins, feeling the thrum of the electric in the air.
"This is a no way out, 'cause I have a need to shine, I have a need to shine with you."
The words escaped breathily, her eyes closed slightly as the music softened with her words, before pulsating louder again as she finished.
Maleficent waited for Aurora's vocal cues, letting the guitar be reigned back in as soon as the girl sang, before strumming precisely but slightly harder as she finished a line.
"Your hands releasing me, come on and nothing me," with her eyes closed still, Aurora rolled her hips forwards sensually, allowing one hand to trail up her body, moving the hem of the t shirt up as her hand brushed up over her waist before reaching over her head and into the air.
Maleficent was glad that the girl's eyes had been closed, for she assumed her gawping hadn't been very subtle, especially as when she glanced over to Diaval he was trying to contain his laughter. Maleficent glared at the man. She'd get him back later.
As the chorus kicked in Aurora circulated the room, jumping slightly as she did, the beat carrying her along in her circuit.
Upon reaching Maleficent, she confidently grasped the woman's neck, essentially using her as a makeshift pole, shooting the brunette a playful wink before shimmying down her body.
Maleficent held back a gasp, trying to remain impassive and focus on the guitar despite feeling Aurora's fingers bite deeply into her flesh the further down her body she travelled.
The girl shot her a wink on the return up.
"Slipping into my veins, slipping into m-"
The microphone cut off, as did both the guitar and the bass, the room filling for a few beats with only the swell of Aurora's voice, Eric crashing the cymbals and the dull clicking of strings being plucked with by plectrums yet producing minimal sound.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?!"
All members of the party turned their heads to open garage door to see Philip with the power cable in his hand, his face almost purple with fury.
"Oh shit." Diaval mumbled, cursing the fact that he was too caught up trying to make stupid faces at Maleficent that he didn't spot douche jeans stroll up beside him.
"What the fuck is going on Aurora?"
Philip tossed the power switch aside, making his way purposefully towards Aurora.
Aurora stood tall, trying to look far more confident than she felt in that moment.
"We were just... It was-"
"I thought I told you to stay away from here."
Philip averted his gaze from a mumbling Aurora, taking instead to jabbing his finger aggressively towards Maleficent.
The tall woman didn't even bother fighting back the urge to roll her eyes, easily towering over the boy despite his best efforts to puff out his chest and stand on the balls of his feet.
"And I thought I told you to buy some jeans that didn't cut off all circulation to your legs... And yet here we both stand." Diaval snorted in the doorway, his shoulders shaking with laughter, as Philip's face grew even more purple.
"You think this is funny? That this is some joke? We're running out of time to practice and you swan in here, distract us all and then insult me?"
Maleficent held the boys gaze, drawing herself up to her full height. Watching Philip shrink away from her slightly as she did so only encouraged her.
"The only thing humorous about this situation is your superior attitude contrasted with your awful guitar playing. The irony is so delightful."
Eric covered up a laugh with a cough and suddenly found his drumstick fascinating when Philip shot him a warning glare.
"All insults aside, you have to see reason boy," Maleficent couldn't help the condescending tone of her voice. Clearly the offensive wasn't the best way to play this.
"This is beneficial to us all. I come here, I teach you a thing or two, you win the war of the bands-"
"It's battle, actually." Eric raised his hand, looking rather sheepish.
Both Maleficent and Philip glanced at the drummer, before returning to glare at each other.
"Fine, battle of the bands, get signed to a label and I'm out of your lives forever."
"Pfff, and you seriously think you're gonna help us win? You've already wasted enough of our time, we sounded fine until you came along."
More of the finger jabbing. If he comes near me with that finger once more...Although the threat wasn't voiced aloud, something about Maleficent's stone cold emerald eyes made Philip lower his hand slowly.
"Philip please, if you'll just give her a chance, she can-"
"And this is of your doing I suppose?" The feeling of betrayal was evident in Philip's eyes, causing Aurora's stomach to twist with guilt.
"My father agreed too. All you have to do is let her teach you the chords, that's it."
Blue eyes pleaded to be understood, trying to convey to her boyfriend how much this was needed.
Whatever Philip saw in her eyes was not enough to make him see otherwise. His chocolate brown eyes hardened as he flicked floppy hair from his face.
"No. And I think it's best you leave, it's a private practice."
At his calm words, something inside Aurora snapped.
"How dare you! This is my home, you don't get to say who leaves and who stays!"
"So you're choosing her, a stranger, over me?"
The two roared at each other, Aurora's hair coming loose from the sudden step she'd taken towards her boyfriend. Despite the height difference, the blonde stood firm, not backing down.
The screaming continued, with little of what was being said coherent. Maleficent rubbed her forehead and screwed her eyes shut, hoping that she could somehow make them stop telepathically.
Nope, still screaming Mal.
"Shut the fuck up!" She had barely raised her voice, but it somehow silenced the bickering pair, a brown and blue set of eyes whipping around at the commanding tone.
Maleficent sighed, thankful now that her ears had stopped ringing with the shrill sounds of not so teenage angst.
"Look Aurora," she turned towards the girl after giving Philip a cautionary look, silently ordering him to be quiet whilst she spoke.
"I know I said I would help you, but frankly I don't have time for this. You two need to sort this out between you and that's a conversation I don't need to be a part of."
The blonde stood mute, surprised at the calm tone the woman's voice had taken on.
"If you still want me to help after you talk... You know where to find me."
"And you." She turned to Philip, boring her eyes into his own, watching him cower visibly under its weight. "If you square up to her once more in front of me... You won't have to worry about the blood not circulating to your legs anymore. If you're smart you'll let me help... So I expect I won't be helping you anytime soon." She wondered whether she'd gone too far, the boy looked beyond terrified.
Maleficent allowed herself a small smirk, before walking away victoriously.
"Come Diaval."
Diaval waved cheerfully at Aurora, seemingly unaware of the tension flowing thickly around the room.
"Bye 'Rora, see you soon!"
They'd barely made it out of the garage before they heard Philip's voice call out.
"Stay the fuck away from me and my girlfriend, you dirty fucking dyke!"
Maleficent froze, her entire body tensing.
"Mal..." Diaval sounded resigned already. It was way past warning her.
"What did you say?"
She hadn't moved, instead stood stock still, allowing her anger to wash over her, building momentum with each crash.
No one said a word, Maleficent's own floating awkwardly into the space between them.
"I said; What. Did. You. Say." She began turning ever so slowly, spitting out each word through gritted teeth, eyes revealing nothing.
"He's not worth the phone call Mal, he's not worth going down for." Diaval half-heartedly put a hand on his friends arm, grasping lazily at the leather sleeve of her jacket.
Maleficent easily stepped out of the smaller man's grasp, making a beeline for Philip.
Her eyes blazed green, fists unconsciously clenching the nearer she got. The terrified boy moved behind Aurora, afraid to avert his eyes from Maleficent's almost hypnotic ones locked inside her fury somewhere.
"Stop! Both of you!" They were almost touching, Maleficent having squared up to the boy, smirking devilishly as he flinched before she'd done anything.
Aurora had thrown herself in between the pair, resting a hand on each of their chests.
"Philip apologise. Now."
Incredulous, Philip finally broke away from Maleficent's death stare, looking down to the blonde girl.
"Apologise?! For what? It's not like it's not true, right?"
His grin lasted until Maleficent raised her fist slightly. Only as a warning.
"STOP." Aurora grabbed her raised fist with difficulty. Trying to reach up that high was hard.
The girl's expression was adorable, Maleficent thought, screwed up in anger, blue eyes burning into her own. Her blonde hair had fallen down from its ponytail, a few wisps begging to be pushed out of her face.
Blue eyes battled with green. Green graciously threw in the towel, letting the fight slip out of them.
"Fuck this, I'm too old to be arguing with children."
With one parting glance at Philip, Maleficent paced back out the garage, re-joining Diaval who had been holding his phone up.
"Just in case anything good happened." He gestured, showing Maleficent a few photos he'd managed to take of the near fight.
"The fear was so real..." he continued swiping idly through the photos, unaware of Maleficent's lack of concentration.
She wished she hadn't left Aurora there with douche jeans. Although the boy seemed all bark and no bite, there was something about the anger that seemed to constantly simmer below him that unsettled her. Especially after last night's revelations, she doubted douche jeans needed many more catalysts before he eventually snapped.
Back in the garage, as soon as Maleficent had departed, so had Philip, slamming the side door as he exited into Aurora's house.
Aurora stood in the middle of the space, trying to decide who to go after.
"You want me to go check on Philip 'Rora?" Eric placed a hand comfortingly on her shoulder, looking to the bassist for support.
Aurora ran through the options in her head. If she were to go after Philip now, she could talk him down, at least get him to finish practice today and maybe if she could convince him of her father's backing in this plan, he would agree to have Maleficent teach him.
But were she to leave Maleficent by staying with Philip, then that was truly it. She knew it had taken a lot for the woman to ever agree to come over, and that after today's debacle it was unlikely she'd ever consider again. But if she went after Maleficent and left Philip, it was betrayal to the boy.
The blonde bit her lip, letting her eyes wander around the garage until they focussed on a small black bag on the sofa.
"Hold on Eric, I'll go to him in a minute."
She stepped out of the boys comfort, grabbing the bag and taking off out of the garage at a run.
"And this was when he thought you were gonna punch him..." Diaval tilted his phone towards Maleficent, cackling wildly and wiping stray tears from the corner of his eyes.
"Where the hell are my cigarettes?" Maleficent muttered, feeling her pockets in both her jacket and jeans, coming up empty.
"Maleficent! Maleficent wait!"
Turning she saw the blonde running wildly towards her, frantically brandishing the small bag above her head.
Diaval looked between the two.
"I'll head on, want a tea?"
"Earl Grey." She replied, head still turned to the approaching blonde.
Aurora smiled at Diaval who had waved again, locking his phone in case Aurora saw the photos. He wasn't entirely sure whether she'd see the humour or not.
"Hey. Sorry about… that. I'll talk to him."
"You should be inside with him." Maleficent tried to keep her voice level, ignoring the way Aurora's smile faltered and eyes fell.
"I- I will be, I just wanted to give you this back and say sorry."
Maleficent took the bag, opening it immediately before she could change her mind.
"Listen, I know this didn't go how you planned, not at all," she continued to rifle around, sticking a cigarette behind her ear as an afterthought. "But here, take this. We're playing at The Moors tonight, we start at 9:30. Try and get off babysitting duty to listen to some real music." She smiled lopsidedly, ruby lips spreading wide.
Aurora took the flyer, returning the smile.
Maleficent brushed her fingers over Aurora's knuckles, before releasing her hand.
"Oh and Aurora?"
"Yes?" Aurora's smile was warm and calming, her blonde hair swaying in the light breeze of the evening.
"Don't be too hard on the poor little twat, he was right after all." And with that Maleficent winked slyly before leaving the girl rather baffled in the middle of the street.
"Right about what? He was right about what?" The blonde yelled, watching the retreating brunette run a hand through her hair, trying to keep her eyes from slipping down to her swaying hips.
"I'll tell you at 9:30!" Maleficent called back as she pulled the cigarette from behind her ear and lit up.
Aurora shook her head delicately and sniggered to herself as the woman disappeared from sight.
Sighing, she pocketed the flyer. Now to deal with her boyfriend.
