Chapter 18

"You're kidding?" I couldn't help but laugh. "The mayor's wife? That's who's behind all this?"

How cliche…

King shook his head, clearly entertained at my response. "I wouldn't go so far as to say all this but, the phone calls, yes."

"How much longer until you finish going through the recordings?" Meliodas asked, clicking a pen as he leaned back in his chair. "Thought you were gunna finish that yesterday."

"Between these meetings and helping out with the bar, haven't had much time," King's amusement was gone, replaced with the same heavy air that seemed to be around Meliodas. "I've been down here for at least two hours every night after the bar closes. I have to sleep too somewhere in there and then I'm getting up after a couple hours and doing it all over again."

"I didn't ask why you weren't done with your job, King," Meliodas' tone was as dismissive as I've ever heard him use. The two of them had always been on the same page. Why was Meliodas being so cold today? He just heard how hard the man was working. "I asked how much longer."

I expected King to respond with something quick witted, sharp. Anything but the submissive bowing of his head. "Sorry, boss," he mumbled before clearing his throat. "I'll have it done before tomorrow morning's meeting." He looked back up, his eyes meeting Meliodas' in some silent agreement.

The blonde nodded, "good." His chair came back to rest on the ground and he headed for the door. "Clean up the mess and be out on the floor in ten minutes, bar will be busy soon." He didn't turn around, didn't wait for a response before he shut the door loudly behind him.

King let out a disgruntled sigh. "And he says I'm crabby," I heard him grumble. He's already working to gather the papers back together, making sure each piece was in the correct order within the correct folder.

"Can I help?" I offered. I felt kinda bad for him. He'd obviously been overworked this past week and part of that was my fault.

"No, that's fine." He paused long enough in his sorting to give me a tired smile. "You can head upstairs to change if you want. I'll finish up here."

"If you're sure… I'll at least take care of the dishes," I said as I started gathering the empty plates and coffee cups.

"Thanks."

"No problem," I responded kindly as I lifted everything up to leave.

King stopped what he was doing to open the door for me. "Actually, Princess, I wanna apologize for earlier," he stared at the floor as his free hand rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought you were incompetent, because I don't." He raised his gaze and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

The apology surprised me, though I suppose it shouldn't. King had always been kind to me.

I smiled at him. "It's alright. I got a little defensive about it. Sorry."

Because out of everyone here, King had been the only one so far to not make some snarky remark about me being a cop. When he had said those words ten minutes ago, I hated to admit it, but it had hurt.

"No, no," he waved his hands in front of him, clearly flustered that I was trying to apologize to him. "That was my fault too! I'm actually the one who is probably a bit too in the dark on the police here. My experiences may not apply."

My brows furrowed. What an odd thing to say…

"Uh, anyway, I need to get back to those papers," he shuffled his feet back to the messy table. "See ya in a few," he waved over his shoulder, not sparing me a second glance.

"Yeah… see ya…" I responded lamely as I left the room to take the dishes to the kitchen and then changed.

Nothing particularly exciting happened once I arrived on the floor for my shift. Meliodas had been right, as the bar picked up not long after King joined us all. We were extremely busy. It still blew my mind how such a well kept bar stayed hidden within the slums of our town. Given its foot traffic, I would have thought one of the members of the police force would have stumbled upon it.

Though, it was entirely possible they had and just didn't know it, I couldn't help but think.

Ban was the only Sin we had a rough idea on physical appearance and even that wouldn't make anyone think of the bar's cook. He was in the kitchen most of the night until bar closed, so no one would have noticed him unless they were specifically looking.

"Oh, sorry!" I apologized quickly to Diane as I bumped her on my way to the bar.

She smiled widely at me, "no worries, Princess! It's a bit cramped in here tonight."

"Why is that?" My eyes scanned the bar as I waited for Meliodas to refill my tray.

"Thirsty Thursday!" The blonde responded, shooing Diane away. The other waitress huffed at his interruption but took her tray without a word. "Can't tell me you're that far outta your college days, Princess."

I had noticed the clientele seemed to be a bit more… lively than those who normally occupied the bar. Even in college I wasn't much of a drinker. On the few occasions Howser had convinced me to attend an event such as a Thirsty Thursday, I would drink way too much. I was usually a fairly reserved person, but on those nights I would step out of my shell and dance on table tops with other women. If I remember right, Howser had to punch more than one guy who decided to get a little too friendly.

"Well, that expression on your face sure is telling," Meliodas joked with a smirk. "Just what kinda shenanigans did you manage to get into, I wonder?" His smirk only grew as he eyed me up and down.

I rolled my eyes, fighting the flush threatening to take me over. Refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer, I took my tray and left.

By the time the bar closed, we were all exhausted.

Diane, King and myself collapsed onto barstools. The three of us were tasked with running back and forth between the tables. Even with the smaller setting of the bar, there was still far too many patrons for only three people to be taking and filling orders. Add in that we only had one cook and one bartender and still carried out orders in a timely fashion while keeping customers in, was extremely impressive feat. I'm not sure I'd ever know how we managed it.

"Whoa," Diane sighed heavily as she rested her elbows on the bar in an attempt to keep her head up off it. King didn't even bother, face hidden in his arms and appearing to be sleeping. "I can't believe how many people were here! You can tell college is back in session, that's for damn sure. Thank god we had an extra body!" The brunette perked up as she gave me a side armed hug. "We woulda been lost without you tonight, Princess!"

"No, no," I shook my head. "I'm still not very good."

"Well, why do you think I called you 'an extra body', and not a 'server'?" She teased, squeezing me as Meliodas and Ban stepped out of the kitchen. Plates of food in their hands.

My mouth practically watered. I was starving. Meliodas dropped a plate in front of each of us before disappearing back into the kitchen. Diane chatted happily next to me, telling me a story of a group of girls she had waited on. I half listened as something more interesting tugged at my attention.

"Better eat up," Ban encouraged King as he shook his shoulder. "Heard ya got a long night ahead ya yet. You'll need some energy."

King smacked his hand away, shifting his body away as much as he could to keep sleeping. "You do it. I'm just gunna… rest my eyes for a…"

The tall white haired man scowled as King drifted off. "Ya, no. Pretty sure even Princess here knows you're the only one who can go through that shit." He nodded his head in my direction.

I flushed as I realized Ban knew I was listening. Diane wasn't even chattering next to me anymore. A frown played at the other woman's lips as she seemed to fight back the urge to comment. Meliodas reappearing from the kitchen halted anything she had been about to say.

He walked around the bar silently and kicked King's chair. The ginger jolted awake and scowled at the man. "What? I was only taking a five minute nap."

"It's been ten," Meliodas responded shortly. "Take your food and go work."

The two stared at each other, neither looking like they were going to back down, until King sighed heavily. "Yeah, yeah, alright, I'm going." He slid off his barstool and grabbed his plate. He yawned loudly as he shut the door to the basement behind him.

As soon as King was gone, Diane whirled on Meliodas, absolutely livid. "Damnit, Boss! Lay off him a bit, would you?" She hissed lowly, obviously making sure King wouldn't be able to hear her.

"I don't know what you mean," the blonde took a long drawn out drink as he settled onto a barstool by Ban.

"Bullshit!" She spat as she sprung up from her chair. "You're driving him into the ground! He's barely gotten any sleep this week."

"Guy sleeps too much anyways."

Ban sniggered, "Got that right." The two clinked their mugs together in agreement.

I could practically see fumes coming off Diane. "That's not funny," she told them through clenched teeth. "He only got to bed at six this morning trying to finish those stupid recordings and then you had him waking up at half past seven!? That's not healthy, he needs more than an hour of sleep a night!"

"If King has a problem with what I have him working on, he'll tell me," Meliodas responded coolly.

"No he won't!" Diane threw her hands in the air in irritation. "And you damn well know that Meliodas. He's never objected to anything you set him to work on."

"She obviously wasn't here in the beginning," I heard Ban mutter over the lip of his mug.

"I know, I know, the three of you had huge bonding experiences before I even showed up. The three amigos or whatever the fuck you called yourselves," her fingers tapped an impatient beat against her now crossed arms. She took a deep breathe. "Look, I'm glad that you guys are such good friends, really I am," Diane started to lose steam at the end of her rant. "But, you're really not being a good friend to him right now."

There's a silence after her statement.

"If he does his job, he'll get a break," Meliodas finally spoke into the deafening quiet. "No sooner."

"Ugh!" Daine barely held back a frustrated scream. "Then go help him instead of sitting on your ass drinking!"

His green eyes turned to look at her, thinly veiled tolerance was all I saw. "You know just as well as I do, Daine, that King works best alone." At the sight of her being so close to tears, his expression softened. "You know I'd help him if I could, Di. But I need the information tomorrow."

"Fine," she huffed and left for the kitchen. She's back a few seconds later with a cup and a pot of coffee. The brunette basically stomped past us, obviously heading to King.

"Diane," Meliodas called and she paused. "Don't distract him. Drop that off then right back up here."

She threw him a vicious look over her shoulder, shouting in a sickeningly sweet voice. "Yes, boss." Her head then whipped back around so fast, her pigtails were sure to leave marks against her cheeks.

"Shit," Ban cursed, taking a drink and then setting it back on the counter. "Been a long time since I've seen her so worked up over something."

"... yeah…" Meliodas said simply, walking around the bar to get another drink.

"Don't sweat it, boss," Ban told him. "She'll get over it. They both will."

I nibbled my lip, thrown by the entire exchange, but remaining still and quiet as I soaked up everything going on. Would the Sins ever stop surprising me?

"King didn't seem that upset when I talked to him earlier…" The comment left me before I could think better of it. I'm becoming much too involved.

"You wouldn't notice even if he was," Ban dismissed my observation. He turned his attention to me instead of the abnormally quiet Meliodas. "Guys pretty good at putting up a false front."

My brows furrowed. I couldn't see King being anything but honest. At the very least he seemed incapable of lying. He'd been so sincere when he apologized earlier. Was that an act? Did he really think I was stupid?

Ban chortled, bringing me out of my thoughts. "Don't worry too much, Princess. He's a lot better than he used to be."

Why did it seem all the Sins, even Ban - who was obviously not the sharpest tool in the shed - could speak in riddles?

"Diane's fault I'm pretty sure~." He shook his head, finishing up his mug and signaling Meliodas for another. "She's made him softer than he used to be~," he poked my shoulder. I slapped his hand away.

Meliodas finally joined the conversation at his comment. "Like Elaine hasn't changed you?" There's a small uptick to his lips. The ease with which he carried himself slowly falling back into place. "A good woman does that you know."

"Does what?" I almost dread the answer, thinking it may be something perverted. Given the two Sins I'm talking to, it was highly likely.

His green eyes met mine, seemingly deeper than they'd ever been before. I bit the inside of my lip to ground myself. "Make you wanna be a better man."

My eyes widened and I was unable to control the sudden fire burning over my cheeks as they flushed at his answer. That was definitely not something I had ever expected to hear from the Leader of the Sins. They were a bunch of criminals for crying out loud! How could he even say that with a straight face?!

"Elaine is one hellvua good woman," Ban sighed heavily. "I don't know how her and King are related. They're so different."

Meliodas broke his eye contact with me to look at his friend. "Not that different." He chuckled at Ban's scowl. "Given the circumstances, they both turned out pretty damn good. Though… you're right, Elaine is better off. But…" he stared at the white haired man seriously, "you know that's because of King, right?"

"Yeah, a lot of things that happened to her are his fault."

"Ban," Meliodas warned, an unusual sharpness to his voice. "That was out of his control."

The white haired man slumped against the counter and relented, "I know."

Their conversation had my mind once again spinning. Circumstances? What kind of circumstances would be severe enough for Meliodas to imply that the siblings turned out fine? Did they come from a broken home? And why would Elaine be better off because of what King did? And what exactly was out of the ginger's control regarding his sister?

"The fact she is the way she is, is nuthin short of a fuckin miracle," Ban grumbled against the counter.

"I'm gunna go ahead and be King here for a bit," Meliodas grinned before putting on a mock scowl and imitated the other man. "The real miracle here is that she even puts up with your drunk ass."

Both man broke out into gut-wrenching laughter.

I wondered if I should just go to bed. I'm obviously not on the same page as them.

"Elizabeth?" Diane surprised me, taking the open seat next to me. Her gaze was thoughtful and even a bit nervous. Something I hadn't really seen from her before. "Would you wanna have a sleepover with me?"

"H-huh?"

"I'm not ready to go to bed yet. Wanna do some drinking. But not with these guys," she poked her finger accusingly at the two men, glaring crossly at them. "So I thought we could just have a little sleepover in my room. A girls night." Diane turned to me to smile. "It's been years since I've had one."

Me too. The last time I had a sleepover would have been in college.

"Oh, um… sure?" I responded with uncertainty.

There really wasn't any reason not to. It actually could turn out to be a something I could use to my advantage. Diane liked to talk. Maybe getting a little alcohol in her system would get me some answers that my earlier conversation with King had me craving.

"Yay!" She tossed her arms around me in a tight hug. Her excitement caused guilt to churn in my stomach. "I was worried you'd think I was weird for asking."

"You are weird," Ban commented and the brunette pulled back from our hug to scowl at him. "Have to be to have any interest in that guy you're dating."

"Says the guy who spends more time with him than I do!" Diane snapped back in annoyance. She leaned over the bar, grabbing two bottles of wine hidden underneath and shoving them into my arms before going back for two glasses. "Let's go Elizabeth. Leave these bozos to boozing alone."

"Looks like it's just you and me buddy," Meliodas said as he too dug beneath the counter, pulling up a bottle of whiskey.

"Just like the good old days~," Ban grinned crookedly in Diane's direction.

She gave them both a big middle finger before grasping my hand and dragging me towards the stairs.

"Let us know if you guys decide to have a pillow fight in your nighties!" Meliodas called after us jovially. His normal spirit seemed to have returned fully now.

"If that happens I think we'd have to give King that break," Ban's sing song voice carried over to us.

"Good point," Meliodas hummed thoughtfully. "Nevermind. Hold off on those pillow fights!"

"Fuck you guys!" Diane yelled over the railing, flicking them off once again before we disappeared up the stairs to her room. I heard their laughter just before Diane slammed the door shut behind us.

She gestured towards the bed as she began to twist open a bottle of wine. Screw topped, a girl's best friend. "Okay, first," Daine took the glasses from me and poured. "A toast!" She handed one back.

"A toast?" I knitted my brows together.

"Yep. A night with no men. Just us girls."

She must be in a really bad mood, I couldn't help but think. Our glasses clinked together and we took a long drink. A crisp white wine. It reminded me of the party. I quickly shook my head to dispel that image.

The next thing I know, something's being thrown in my face. I pull it away and gasp, dragging it back to my chest. "D-Diane?! What is this?"

"A nightie of course!" She giggled as she turned her back to me and began to undress.

I spun around, giving her a sense of privacy. Though, it probably didn't really matter. Diane didn't seem to have much shame. "Why on earth do I need this?"

"You can't have a sleepover without cute pajamas, duh." She insisted like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I am not wearing this," I frowned deeply at the silk material in my hands.

It was light pink, and longer than I thought it would be, reaching to at least my mid thigh. Of course it was low cut, but thank god it at least had sleeves. I half wondered if Diane even owned anything that didn't showcase her chest.

"Ahh, come on!" She pleaded and I peeked over my shoulder to see her walking around in a pale orange nightie. Hers was a bit more risque than mine. Thinner straps, lace lining the sweetheart neckline and almost two inches shorter than the one she gave me. "If it's too modest, I could get you something else!" She teased with a wink.

"No!" I quickly shook my head. I glanced down at the article of clothing. It could be worse. "Fine. Turn around."

Diane rolled her eyes but complied with my desire. Swiftly I pull off the pink top of my uniform and slip the nightie over my head. I shimmy my skirt down my legs and put it aside in a pile.

"Man, you change fast!"

"Diane?!" I cried, heat flashing to my cheeks as I spun around to face her.

She shrugged, unbothered as she walked towards her glass near me on the nightstand. "What, not like you have anything I don't." She paused in front of me. "Except bigger boobs." She poked my chest.

I squealed and she laughed.

"Alright, so, Elizabeth," she started as she plopped herself down on the bed. I followed her cautiously, half worried about being attacked and the rest worried I'd trip amongst all the clothing she had scattered across her bedroom floor. "Let's talk."

"About?" I made a face at her as I sat on the bed, careful not to spill my glass. There was a dangerous gleam in those amethyst eyes. I was already regretting agreeing to this. As if wearing a nightie wasn't bad enough… I took a drink.

A slow smirk spread across her lips. "Boys of course!"

My hand flew to cover my mouth in an attempt to keep the wine inside. Once I composed myself enough, I wiped my hand on my pajamas and glared at Diane. "Are you kidding? Aren't we a bit old for that?"

To my dismay, her smirk only grew. "Speak for yourself, Princess. I'm plenty young."

"Given your usual topics of choice, I'm not sure I can believe that," I retorted with a roll of my eyes.

She laughed and I was thankful she didn't take it in a bad way. "I'm just comfortable with who I am, that's all."

"I'm not sure I could ever be as comfortable as you."

"It did take some getting use to," she took a long drink.

The gears in my head were turning. What would she be doing that got her used to displaying so much skin? As if reading my mind she shook her head, stopping me from saying anything.

Her eyes flickered away from mine as she said, "Ah… I used to be a dancer."

My eyes widened.

"Oh, not like that kind!" She laughed at my surprised expression. "I mean like, legitimately. I was a ballet dancer back in high school. A really good one." A wistful smile overtook her features. "I loved it, thought I'd make a career out of it someday."

"You don't dance anymore?"

She snorted. "Hell no! It's been years since the last time I really did."

I bit the inside of my lip. "When did you stop?"

Her expression shifted, the wistful smile morphing into something I'd never seen on Diane before now, nor did I ever think I would given her bubbly personality. Sadness. "The summer before I was suppose to go to college… That's when my mom… passed." She informed me quietly.

Regret hit me like a brick house, knocking the air from my lungs. "Oh my god, I'm… I'm so sorry, Diane."

"It's…. Fine," she took a long drink, finishing off her glass and pouring herself another. "I mean... It isn't but…" She gave me a soft smile. "I have a new family now and… I wouldn't change that for anything."

A new family? Did that mean…

"You don't have any living relatives?"

She shrugged, the dismal air that had surrounded her dissipating into one I was more familiar with. "Not that I know of and no one ever reached out to me after Mom passed so it's just me and the bozos living here. Those boys downstairs are all I have."

I bit my lip as her words remind me of a conversation I had with Meliodas and King when we first started our meetings. The four of us don't have anywhere else to go. Was that how they all worked so well? Because it's this or nothing for them?

"Meliodas and Ban are like annoying big brothers," she continued with a smile. "They look out for me - most of the time."

Despite myself a grin started to tug at my lips. "And King?" I prodded.

"Ah," a light flush formed on her features. "King's… he's…." Her cheeks darkened with each word. "I don't know!" She tossed her hands up in frustration.

I laughed, taking a drink before asking, "are you in love with him Diane?"

"I… might be," she admitted with a heavy sigh as she laid down on the bed to stare at the ceiling. "Can't really say for sure. I've never felt like this with anyone else."

"Do you think King loves you?"

She surprised me with a giggle. "Probably, but if I can't tell what this feeling is, he definitely can't!"

"What do you mean?" I tilted my head curiously.

"Let's just say," she sat up and gave me a sly smirk, "I have more experience than he does." She winked.

I almost snorted wine out my nose. "Well that seems fairly obvious, even to me," my lips moved before I could stop them.

Diane stared at me wide eyed

"O-oh I mean-" I couldn't even form a sentence. My hand covered my mouth, hoping to keep any other remarks to myself.

"Obvious huh?" She looked thoughtful before bursting out in a fit of giggles. "I guess it kinda is, isn't it?"

A relieved sigh left me. I thought for sure she was going to be offended and kick me out. "King's just a little timid around you compared to how you act around him, that's all."

"It's kinda like that with you and the boss."

I almost choked on my next sip, "What?!"

"I mean," a cheshire grin formed on her lips. "That anytime the boss tries putting the moves on you, you get all flustered, just like King does when I flirt with him."

"No Diane. Just no." This girl was delusional. There was no way there was anything going on between me and Meliodas.

She laughed again, as if expecting my reaction. "No worries Elizabeth, I won't tell." She teased me with a wink and a finger over her lips. I rolled my eyes.

"He's a good person." She continued, "King saved me, but the Boss… he let me stay here, gave me a job." Diane locked her eyes with me driving home the same point she'd almost a week ago. "We're not bad people."

I found her words much more believable this time as they hung in the air between us.

I wanted to believe her. Every bit of me did. Even I knew that good people did bad things for the right reasons sometimes… but just because they thought what they were doing was right, didn't mean I could just… look the other way.

Even though there was a part of me that wanted to do just that. Especially in Diane's case.

"I don't know…" I mumbled, without thinking. Maybe the wine was getting to me. "You, maybe. I still haven't made my mind up about the others." I admit, a little too openly and received a grin from Diane.

"Give it time." She encouraged with a wink. Confident that she could sway me.

We changed the subject not long after that. Resorting to getting to know each other through talk of favorites and hobbies - finishing off both bottles of wine along the way.

A knock came at the door a few hours later just as we were about to call it a night.

"You two still up?"

Diane scowled. "Go away, Meliodas! Girls only."

He sighed heavily on the other side. "Diane… I just wanted too…"

A soft smile crossed Diane's features. "I know… But I don't want to hear it tonight. Alright?"

I looked between her and the door, surprised by the sound of guilt in the blonde's voice. More than surprised. But, given Diane's description of the man earlier - I guess I shouldn't have been. He was like a big brother to her.

"Yeah…" there was a silence for awhile and I thought he had left when he spoke again, "tomorrow then."

Diane waited a heartbeat listening to the silence that followed. Satisfied, she turned off the light.

She cuddled up into the blanket, wishing me sweet dreams.

And I briefly wondered if I would be able to sleep.

Dom: *Peers up slowly through thick grass. The Dom in her natural habitat as she stalks her prey* Oh you are sooooo mine...

Luv: *casually walking around the park, searching for something* Ah! There's one! *starts running towards Dom's prey*

Dom: *Announcer Gasp! Another is encroaching on the Dom's territory. If the Dom wants the catch, she will have to act. The Dom leaps into action, sprinting out from her hiding spot and chasing after her target* IT'S MINE!

Luv: *eyes go wide as she sees Dom heading for the same objective and quickly picks up speed* No way! You won't beat me! I'm totally going to win this year!

Dom: *The enemy is closing in on the Dom's prey, but this majestic creature has speed on her side. But what's this? The Dom trips over her own feet and has fallen short of reaching her prize!* DAMN THESE SHOES! *She looks up longingly as the Luv claims the prize*

Luv: Ah ha! I got it! The last one! *holds up her prize in victory*

Dom: *Pouts from her place on the ground* That was my egg. Egg stealer.

Luv: *beams brightly* Ah don't be like that! I told you that you had to be quick in this hunt! Speeds before stealth in this case!

Dom: Why do bunnies hide eggs anyways? That seems counterproductive, given we're encouraged to find them… *Dom examines the eggs intently before opening one and smiling* OH LOOK! Our preview is in this one! *Reads the slip of paper* Next time on Don't Trust Me: What's a slumber party without a little mischief? Perhaps, Elizabeth will get more than she bargained for when agreeing to sleeping over with Diane. What kinds of misunderstandings could possibly be had the next morning?

Luv: *starts cracking open her own plastic eggs* Oh! A piece a candy! *opens another* Oh, a piece of candy! *continues eating everything she finds inside the eggs*

Dom: Who are you? James Woods? *Sighs, opening another of her own* Oh! A piece of candy!

Luv: Happy Easter everyone!