CONTENT WARNING:

Hi Everyone! Been A While! Hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

Before we hop into this next chapter we wanted to start by saying that we are not and do not claim to be experts in the field of medicine, nor do we wish to "categorize" a certain group of people. This chapter contains reference to disabilities that have been used to explain a character's behavior. Our intention is not to be offensive to anyone. Please keep that in mind as you read, and we hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as we've enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 30

"You mind running an errand for me?"

I looked up from my organizing behind the bar to find Meliodas leaning against it watching me, "Like… Leave the bar?" I asked a little dumbstruck.

It was Tuesday, right before the lunch rush. While we weren't exactly going to be slammed, I had never been his first choice for errands. That's to say, I wasn't usually a choice at all.

Meliodas eyed me with a grin and chuckled, "I have some work around here that needs done so I can't get away, but I usually take Gowther for his monthly check-up with Escanor today. I wanted to know if you could handle it?"

"Yeah! O-of course!" I perked up at the opportunity to leave on my own. I straightened up from where I'd been crouched down by the assortment of vodkas, doing my best not to appear too eager for the task.

He passed me the keys before also passing me a small piece of paper. "Follow the instructions and everything should go smoothly. I've already warned Gowther you'd be the one coming."

"How'd you know I'd agree?" I eyed him dubiously.

He laughed at my expression. "You? Miss out on a chance to get to know more about two of the Sins? Something told me you wouldn't refuse." He winked at me and gave me a smug smile.

I was half tempted to pull a Diane and stick my tongue out at him.

Of course, he was right. This opportunity was too good to pass up. Escanor had only been to the bar once, simply because of an experiment gone wrong by Merlin and Gowther in the basement. If it hadn't been for that, I'm not sure that I would have ever met him in the first place. It would be good to know where to find him if I ever needed him.

"Anything else?" I asked as I slid out and around the bar.

"Nah," Meliodas shook his head. "Just try to be back before the busy hour."

I quirked a brow teasingly. "Did you just give me a curfew?"

"Maybe." He wiggled his eyebrows at me.

I rolled my eyes and headed towards the door.

"Ah, wait," he glanced around. "King! Show Elizabeth where the van is."

"No can do." King denied and disappeared into the basement without another word.

Meliodas stared at the door disapprovingly but quickly snapped back. "Diane?"

"Sure thing!" She paused in wiping down tables and grabbed my hand.

Diane tugged me towards the kitchen before leading me through the back door and down the street, into a random garage. "Here ya go!" She smiled as she waved at a boring old van.

"Thanks." I nodded and she hugged me.

"Take care of Gowther and say hi to Es for me!" She opened the large overhanging door by tugging on a chain like pulley system on the wall.

I climbed into the vehicle. Wanting to get out of the garage so Diane could get back, I put the van into drive and drove a few blocks before pulling over. My fingers fiddled for the piece of paper in my pocket and I carefully read over the instructions that Meliodas wrote down for me.

They were actually pretty detailed, now that I had a chance to read over them.

The first section was directions to a highway and the estimated time it would take me to get there. But confusion washed over me as I got to the part that told me to pull off at the service road just before the interchange overpass.

The next part of the note was a small drawing. A map by the looks of it. With an 'x' at the end. I guessed that's where I was going to find Gowther.

Now that I thought about it, though, Meliodas had mentioned that it was difficult for Gowther to live in a typical home setting. And every time I'd seen the kid, he'd been in the same worn out clothes.

Did… did that mean Gowther was literally homeless?

That must have been it. Otherwise why have me meet him under an overpass in the middle of the day?

The rest of the instructions were very specific actions. Things I could do, things I couldn't. The last thing on the list was more directions. This time to a free clinic on the other side of town.

"Must be where Escanor works." I mumbled to myself, placing the van back into drive and pulling out into the traffic of the road.

Finding the place on the map was simple enough. Gowther stood off to the side of the road as I pulled up, taking his time studying the Van before sliding into the backseat. He didn't look at me once.

Just a simple, "you're late," as he stared out the window.

I pursed my lips and glanced at the time. Only two minutes behind Meliodas' specified pickup time. "Sorry." I apologized quietly into the still air.

Gowther made no indication of hearing me.

We arrived at the clinic ten minutes later and I gaped at the building. It outshone every establishment around it with its sleek lines and light gray brick. It looked like it should have been closer to uptown than it was here in the slums.

My brow furrowed curiously. How can a place like this stay this nice in this kind of area?

I didn't have any more time to ponder it as Gowther opened the door, almost eager to leave the van. I followed him swiftly, reaching the door of the clinic before him.

"Ah, Miss Elizabeth! A pleasure to see you again." Escanor greeted me warmly as I entered the clinic first then stepped aside for Gowther to walk in. He bypassed the sign-in desk, walked right past the doctor and into the furthest examination room down the hall.

Escanor didn't even bat an eye.

I guess I was the weird one for thinking it was completely strange.

Stranger yet was how empty the clinic seemed despite it being the middle of the day. Not even a receptionist manning check-in.

"I always close the clinic for a day once a month." The doctor voiced, predicting my thoughts as he followed my gaze to the front desk.

"Really? And no one thinks it's strange?"

He shrugged, "I'm sure some of them do. But, most people don't argue with an extra paid day off."

Made sense.

"Now then, let's go see the patient, shall we?"

I nodded, following Escanor to the examination room I'd seen Gowther enter before. Now, instead of his bulky hoodie and dirty jeans, he sat on the examination table in a hospital gown, eyes trained on the floor despite how they'd flit about every once in a while.

"Alright, Gowther, you know the drill." Escanor commanded with an almost brotherly kindness to his features, and without hesitation, Gowther extended his arm for the doctor to place a blood pressure cuff around his thin arm.

This was the first time I'd seen the guy without his heavy clothing, so I was surprised to find him even thinner than I'd originally anticipated. Not emaciated or anything, to my sudden irrational relief (not that I honestly thought the Sins would let the kid starve), but he definitely had a naturally lithe frame and form.

The teen in question glanced up, catching my watchful gaze before glancing away again, this time staring hard at the wall. Something like discomfort over his features as he did.

Which was quite honestly the first time I'd seen genuine emotion on his face since meeting him. He was usually so stoic.

"You know, Elizabeth, it's quite rare that someone gets invited into the inner circle."

Escanor's voice surprised me, and I looked up at him as he watched the ticking hands on his watch, before releasing the cuff on Gowther's arm, "Gowther, your blood pressure is a little high today. Are you getting enough sleep?" he asked the teen, ignoring my questioning gaze.

Gowther didn't say anything, just rocked slightly in his spot on the table. It was another moment before he gave a quick nod.

Seemingly satisfied with this answer, Escanor rounded the table, taking a piece of equipment from the wall and using it to examine Gowther's ears, nose, and throat.

"What did you mean by that?" I asked, filling in the silence.

He hummed quizzically, glancing over from his patient for a brief moment.

"The thing you said about an inner circle?"

"Oh, right. It's the reason you're here today, isn't it?" His lips pulled up softly, knowingly, to what was probably curiosity on my face, "The boss sent out a message to everyone. Told us that he'd come clean and that he recommended we all do the same."

A groan escaped me without my consent as I dropped my chin, defeated by Meliodas' helpfulness once more, "He said he wasn't going to force you." I grumbled in my defense.

Because that didn't exactly sound like a friendly recommendation. And I was trying to get these people to warm up to me and share their stories.

That earned me a hearty laugh from the doctor, a strange sound coming from someone who'd been so timid the first time we'd met. It was like he was a totally different person in the daylight. A man in his element, I supposed. But it was enough to make me glance up with a raised brow.

"I may not be one of the longest standing members of the Sins, but I know enough about Meliodas to know that this was by no means an order." The man then went to the cabinets and began pulling out supplies hidden within; syringes, vials, gloves, cleaning pads. "Besides, it says quite a bit about you that he was willing to share his story at all. No one but the other Sins know about each other's pasts. It was... kind of part of an initiation, if you will."

There was definitely more than a small part of me that was curious as to what he meant by 'initiation' and why he put such a weird uncomfortable emphasis on it when he spoke, but the rest of me was too busy cringing at the memory of confronting Meliodas about Liz and his past.

What did practically verbally assaulting a guy for his deepest darkest secrets say about me?

"So, in light of this, it was my recommendation that you come talk to us together." He motioned between himself and Gowther as he snapped a pair of gloves in place on his hands, either not seeing, or ignoring the twinge of guilt that had no doubt entered my expression.

"Why's that?"

He shrugged, taking his basket of disposables to the table and beginning to prep Gowther's arm, "Personally, I think we're the least complex of the stories to tell. Unfortunately, you may find that our backgrounds won't help your investigation as thoroughly, though."

That made my brows crease, but I didn't stop him. I would be the judge of that.

"Gowther and I both joined around the same time, actually. Gowther," he tilted his head so that he could look into the teen's eyes, "Do you want to tell Elizabeth your story?"

There was a quick shake, causing pink hair to dance frantically before he stopped.

"Do you want me to tell her?" Escanor asked again.

This time there was an even longer stretch of silence before Gowther shook his head again, eyes hard on the wall he'd taken up examining while avoiding my gaze before.

I'm not sure what I expected - but it hadn't been that.

I knew there was going to be some hesitation. Honestly, I'd expected more fight than I was already receiving to this point. From all of the Sins.

But I hadn't anticipated a flat out 'no'.

What was I even supposed to say to that? What was I even supposed to say to him?

Escanor raised a brow, but not unkindly as a small knowing grin pulled at his lips before he shrugged, "Oh well. I guess you'll have to settle for my story then. Don't take it personally - Gowther is like this with everyone before he gets to know them."

I could feel the frown before I could temper my reaction.

In other words, I hadn't done anything to earn Gowther's trust.

Which… I hadn't. I'd barely met the kid.

How presumptuous of me to think he'd just share his life story with me just because everyone else was. I guess a part of me just assumed he'd -

He'd what?

Just fall in line?

He was supposed to be a smart kid. Smarter than any of them. But that didn't mean he'd just roll over.

And there was a deeper voice that told me I'd made assumptions - expected things from him because of his disability.

I'd let what little I'd been told about him cloud my judgement of his character. And that sent red-hot shame through me.

"No, it's - it's fine," I tried to clear my throat of the mortification of having made up my mind on someone who I'd met a total of two times. "He has every right to keep it to himself. No one is being forced to talk, so if he doesn't want to tell me, no one is going to make him." I forced what I hoped was a sincere, understanding smile, but even I could tell it came off a bit wobbly.

The doctor eyed me thoughtfully, and if Gowther's gaze happened to linger on me too, I wasn't going to make a big deal about it.

I cleared my throat again, this time feeling a bit more confident in the smile I shot the both of them, "So, how does a doctor become a Sin?"

Escanor had watched me a few more seconds before he registered that I'd spoken and hummed while blinking, "Oh, right. Let's see."

Glancing around, the doctor returned to his work as he thought while uncapping a syringe. He tapped against Gowther's skin with practiced ease until he found a vein he was happy with, then carefully stuck him, drawing blood effortlessly.

"It was in this very clinic that I had my first run-in with the Sins."

I frowned at the sudden serious tone to his words.

"One night, I'm closing up and a woman comes barging in with a gentleman nearly dead and hanging from her shoulder."

I couldn't say anything as I processed what he was telling me. There were too many questions.

"Anyways, that's how I met Merlin. At gunpoint."

That last part he added almost as an afterthought. And with an almost dopey grin that seemed way out of place for the turn his story took.

"Gunpoint?!"

He chuckled, allowing for some of that darkness to leave his features, "Oh, yes. Merlin was quite determined that night. You see, there was this individual completely unresponsive in her care and no way to help them." He continued smoothly, vaguely, "Somehow, she'd heard of my services and sought me out."

Now I was really confused. Services? What the hell did that mean? "Wait, wait. Rewind for me. What do you mean by services?"

Escanor's face never stopped shifting. This time it took on a more sheepish expression, "Ah, right… well I guess it wouldn't be fair not to tell you that part…" He sighed heavily, looking around the examination room like all of his memories were hung on the walls for him to see there.

"This place, this is my calling. I love helping people. But, there's no money in it. This clinic was barely surviving off of donations, government stipends and what little kick-back we were getting from insurance companies."

That made sense. Most free clinics relied almost entirely off of donations from the community to run. That's how they were able to determine how many patients they could see. But that made me wonder. Most free clinics also relied on a staff that was mostly made up of volunteers… So how was it Escanor could offer paid days off?

"I see you're starting to pick up on what I'm implying." Escanor watched me closely as I processed everything, "I was never the type to turn away those in need of help. And one night I just so happened to help the right person." He paused, shifting his attention to Gowther for a few seconds. "Or wrong depending on how you look at it."

"You don't mean…" I trailed off, unsure of how to put my thoughts to words that wouldn't come out offending or accusing.

He hummed. "The young man I helped was very thankful. Along with his mob boss of a father. I had never reported them you see. That wasn't why I opened up a clinic in this location - to out the people that lived here. No. I wanted to help them.

"So when they never caught wind from the law, the man paid me another visit." Escanor laughed lightly. "With a briefcase full of money."

My eyes widened.

"I refused… at first. But he was insistent. As was his father who decided to drop by after my numerous refusals. Wouldn't take no for an answer and…" he gave me a guilty smile. "I didn't exactly try as hard as I should have to turn them down after that. The clinic needed so many upgrades. Supplies, the rooms, the building itself were all barely holding on. So I took the money and put it right back in." He gestured around the room.

Well that explained why a free clinic appeared so put together. He had help.

"And they weren't the only ones who did so. You see, eventually word got around that I had helped them. And well… things quickly spiraled. All the biggest names in the underworld were soon coming here for my services with no fear of being reported. They were very generous showing their gratitude."

Silence settled in the room as Escanor continued his examination. When I said nothing for a few minutes, he took it as a sign to continue.

"That was how Merlin discovered me. She heard the rumors around town about how I helped… questionable people. And when her companion needed help, she brought him here, to me. That's how I met them."

"At gunpoint."

He chuckled with a smile. "At gunpoint."

So I was officially caught up to that point at least. Merlin needed someone and she heard of Escanor. The gun seemed a bit much though. Even for her. "Then what?"

"We stayed up the whole night, making sure her companion's vitals stayed where they should." His eyes softened as he stared at the pink haired youth. "It was touch and go far more than I would like to admit. It was a drug I'd seen making its way around but I'd had little experience in treating it's overdose symptoms."

I didn't interrupt this time. By now, I knew all too well he was referring to XGEN.

"I'll admit that the whole ordeal had been… terrifying. Exhilarating, yes, but also teryffing."

I chuckled at that, "I think Merlin just has that effect on people."

"I'd never met a woman like her." He admitted wistfully. "Still haven't. Though Diane is quite the spitfire, it isn't quite the same."

I would suppose not. I was actually surprised that he was comparing the two at all. The women didn't have much in common besides being the only two female members of the Sins.

I furrowed my brow as I thought of it a little more.

Sure their personalities were far apart, but they did share a few of the same qualities. Both were strong, independent women. Women that you wouldn't want to mess with. Diane may appear ditzy most of the time, but she had to have some smarts to her to get as far as she did. They were both beautiful. And knew just how to use that to their advantage when the situation called for it. But were also able to survive off of more than just their looks.

Escanor's comparison didn't seem so far off when I thought of it like that.

"She thanked me the next morning before leaving. Her companion's condition was better but I needed to keep them for observation for a while." He smiled and it took me a moment to realize it wasn't at the memory, but at his patient. "Merlin probably had work, I realize now, she didn't come back until almost eight and then she spent the whole night with him again. Once more leaving in the morning."

Merlin being so caring seemed like a foreign concept to me - it made me wonder who exactly was so important to her that she would go to such lengths for them.

"Her companion was out in a few days and they both disappeared." He frowned slightly. "Figured that I would never see them again. Then Merlin showed up about two weeks later with Meliodas. I didn't know who he was at first. We chatted for a bit and then I finally started connecting the dots with the rumors I had heard from other patients. Needless to say, that fear from the first night returned."

"What did you do?" I asked curiously. Escanor's story was different from Diane's. She had been found and brought in by King. Escanor had been found by Merlin but sought out by Meliodas himself, per Merlin's request most likely.

"Tried not to faint." He chuckled sheepishly. "Meliodas made me an offer. Different than most that I had received and probably the most important. Apparently the two had done a little digging on me before approaching me. Knew my whole life story." He cringed as he said, "including the money I was accepting from gang members under the table."

I couldn't keep my brows from arching towards my hairline incredulously, "He blackmailed you?"

"Not exactly. He did mention all that sure, but he wouldn't have needed too. They wanted my help and I was more than happy to oblige."

"Help with what?"

"Developing a counter-drug."

"A… counter drug?"

He beamed, "That's right. They were looking for a way to counter the effects of XGEN. Initially the goal was a counter measure in case of emergencies. Then, as we progressed in our research, it became something more."

I blinked, trying to figure out why Escanor would put his time into something that had nothing to do with him. He probably saw more cases than 'Merlin's companion', but still…

He shifted anxiously under my gaze and I felt a grin slowly pull at my lips.

And here I thought King had been easy to read.

"You signed up because of Merlin, didn't you?" I teased.

Escanor's eyes widened comically large and he began to sputter. "W-what?"

"Your face is very red." Gowther pointed out. "Do you need assistance?"

"No, no, no." Escanor shook his head quickly, looking between me and Gowther, embarrassedly indignant. "Just uh, Elizabeth caught me off guard is all."

"Why? Is your infatuation with Merlin not common knowledge?"

A slow smile spread across my lips, proud with the connection I'd made. Considering that I had only met him one other time — I based most of my assumption off Diane's insistence he'd been there because Merlin was hurt. That and the way Escanor had burst into the bar that night asking for her.

Hell of a reach, but a right guess nonetheless.

Good to know my detective skills weren't getting rusty while waiting tables these past weeks.

"I was under the assumption that everyone knew." Gowther titled his head, brows knitting together. "Was I… mistaken?"

"Ah, no it - it isn't quite like that…" Escanor trailed off, hand rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck.

"Most people just aren't as observant as you, Gowther." I pointed out with a smile. I myself had almost missed it and noticing the details was kind of my job.

"Understood." The pink haired teen acknowledged my statement. "We are done."

"Huh?" Escanor blinked in confusion for a second. Gowther pointed to the clock and comprehension took over his features. "Ah, yes, yes. All done for today, Gowther. Thank you. You've been most patient with me."

He didn't respond.

Next thing I knew Escanor guided me out of the room and back to the main office area.

"He likes a very structured schedule." The blond doctor explained. "He comes here at the same time on the same day of the week and leaves at the same time. Schedules help him."

I nod in understanding. I didn't know much about Gowther or his disabilities, and I wasn't going to make the mistake of pretending to know, but schedules were something most people liked to keep to. So it was an easy thing to relate to.

"So your reason for joining the Sins?" I prodded as we waited for Gowther.

Escanor pulled his features together in thought. "I suppose you are partially right with Merlin but…" he smiled gently at me. "I really did become a doctor to help people, Elizabeth. That's my reason for keeping a clinic here in arguably the sketchiest part of town and why I keep in contact with many questionable people."

"You mean the Sins?" I teased.

"Especially the Sins." He laughed loudly.

Gowther emerged a moment later in his usual baggy clothes. "Time to go." His gaze flickered to me for a second and then away.

My lips pursed, wanting to continue my conversation with Escanor but unsure of how to do so without throwing off Gowther.

"Yes, you best be going." Escanor patted my shoulder gently. "I'm done anyways." He assured me with a smile.

A sigh left me but I nodded my head in understanding. I wanted to know more about the cure that he was developing. But I supposed that it would have to wait for now. Gowther disappeared out the door, likely letting himself into the van already.

The door practically closed by the time Escanor called a quiet. "We aren't bad people, Elizabeth. Please listen to each story with an open mind."

A click a moment later told me he'd locked the door. Cutting me off from asking anymore questions.

Right. Open mind.

I nodded at no one in particular as I made my way around the van and climbed back into the driver's seat, checking and adjusting my rear view mirror, and using it as an excuse to take in the quiet teen already buckled up and staring out the window.

Guilt had crept back into my system with nothing else to focus on. Just me, Gowther, the rumble of the van's engine as it sputtered loudly to life as I turned the ignition.

Guilt and unease that continued to make its home in my chest, heavy and frustrating despite my mind's insistence on wandering to the teen sitting behind me.

Because I just couldn't wrap my head around it — how someone like him could be connected to all of this. Living under an overpass. A full-fledged member of a group of vigilantes.

But maybe that was my problem. I kept trying to put them all in this neat little box that explained away the things they did. That allowed me to remain an impartial judge on the outside.

Nothing about any of this was neat.

And it was unfair of me to keep looking up and expecting for Gowther's piece to just click. It was unfair of me to assume he didn't fit this puzzle in some unseen way. And if he didn't want to tell me - it was none of my business how he fit. Just that he did.

We pulled to a stop at the next light and I glanced up at him again, feeling my resolve for what I needed to do strengthening.

"Gowther?" I cleared the crack from my voice, but didn't wait for him to acknowledge me either, "I - I wanted to apologize. For making assumptions. For making it seem like I had a right to your story. It wasn't right, and I'm sorry."

There was the faintest of flickers over his features, his eyes darting away from the window making it known that he was listening.

I swallowed, watching him in the mirror, "I haven't done anything that warrants your trust. You have no reason to believe me when I say that I just want to help. But I hope that... one day, I'll get the opportunity to prove it to you."

Gowther met my gaze in the mirror, thoughtful as he watched me.

Until he muttered, "Thank you." glancing at something else quickly before uttering, "Green."

Green?

My focus switched back to the traffic light, finding that traffic was moving again and I was blocking the lane.

If I happened to peek back up and find the softest of pulls to the corner of Gowther's lip as he looked back out the window, well, neither of us brought attention to it.

The rest of the drive back to the designated drop-off was quiet and quick.

I pulled to the side of the highway in the same place as before and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the teen to disembark in the same no-nonse manner he had before.

Instead, when I dared check for him in my reflection, I found him hesitating, scowling at the door.

I was just about to ask him what was wrong when he beat me to the punch.

"Merlin's companion. It was me."

Shock ran through me as I turned to look at him in my chair.

He'd been the one Escanor meant? The companion who Merlin had held a doctor at gunpoint in order to get them treated?

His eyes flicked wildly as his frown deepened, creasing his brow. He looked… downright guilty. And I guess I understood why.

But I kept my tongue firmly between my teeth, fighting the urge to ask questions. It was up to him to tell me what he was comfortable with. But it was clear he was uneasy to be admitting this much.

"Embarrassed. Don't… don't like talking about it." the teen answered my thoughts, and all I could do was nod along at his unsettled confession.

It was quiet in the van as I studied the ticks of his face and the tenseness of his body as he refused to look back up at me once more.

God… he was just a kid. And while Escanor had been light on the details, I knew that the Sins had been a more formalized team for a handful of years now.

"I make people uncomfortable. It's easier to pretend I'm a robot. That I can't feel anything." Something in his entire demeanor changed as he suddenly met my gaze. I'd seen bits and pieces shining through up to this point, but now, it was like he'd taken off a mask. I could see the raw vulnerability staring back at me. The emotion he'd hidden away to protect himself.

Gowther is like this with everyone before he gets to know them.

It made me wonder how many people had let him down before.

He was a homeless teen living under a major highway… probably too many people to count.

Everyone but the Sins, given his relation to them.

I didn't need to know his whole story to realize his motive.

The Sins were his home. His constant. The one place he didn't feel like he made people uncomfortable.

A place he felt like he belonged.

A soft smile spread over my lips as I continued to meet his eyes, "You don't make me uncomfortable."

He seemed less than convinced. "I did."

A chuckle escaped me before I could keep it back, "You just surprised me is all. Not many people have ever seen my files in full. Not even me. So, I guess that means you know more about me than anyone else."

Tension eased from his body as he regarded me and that statement.

"I hope that I get the chance to know more about you too." I smiled again, "But thank you. For sharing with me what you could."

Gowther blinked a couple of times before giving me a nod, saying nothing more as he opened the door and left without even a glance back.

Dom: RING RING….. RING RING….. *Imitates a phone from her place on the other side of the room* RING RING….. RING RING…

Luv: *stares questionly at Dom before lifting her hand and mimicking a phone* Uh, hello?

Dom: *Gives her a pointed look* I made the cup phones for a reason, Luv. The least you could do is use them when I call *Puts cup back to her ear and starts 'ringing' again*

Luv: OH! *drops hand and looks around for a red cup with a string attached to the bottom.* Ah! Here it is! *pulls cup out of a pile of story notes* Hello?

Dom: HELLO LUV! Gosh it feels like forever since we've had a chance to talk, how are you?

Luv: Well, quarantine is a… thing. A weird thing. And I'm not sure how I feel about the thing. Ya know how you get this desire to do something when you're told you can't do it? I have that feeling a lot now. I miss aimlessly roaming around my local target… BUT I'm getting more time to write the things. *maniacal laughter* So it's not all bad, right? right?!

Dom: *Hums repeatedly like a gossiping hairstylist* Oh girl, oh no he didn't. I mean - uh… yes. WAIT. NO? I DON'T KNOW WHO I AM ANYMORE!

Luv: *nods knowingly* Ah yes. One of the many problems facing our generation. *pulls glasses on and pushes them up her nose* Tell me. How does that make you feel?

Dom: *Eye twitches in her existential crisis* I don't know man! Puppies? 42? WHAT'S EVEN THE RIGHT ANSWER ANYMORE?

Luv: *nods along* Yes, yes, puppies are cute, aren't they? And speaking of numbers, we better get to that preview. Next Time on Don't Trust Me: A new day brings a new story as Elizabeth interviews the longest standing member, and second in command of the Sins. But with each story, Elizabeth has finally realized just how involved she's had to become in order to get as close to the Sins as she has.

Dom: *Rocks back and forth, before marking another tally on the wall next to her counting - days? Maybe? Who even knows anymore*

Luv: Yes, yes. It is good to keep track of… things. *gestures vaguely at the wall* Shall we pick this up again next week? *still speaking into the cup phone*

Dom: Yes, yeah. Sounds good! *Hangs up cup phone*

Luv: *stares at Dom across the room* Wanna color?

Dom: Oh hell yeah. *Grabs colors and scoots closer to the middle of the room still 6 feet apart. BECAUSE SOCIAL DISTANCING IS IMPORTANT*

Luv: Bub bye readers! See you next time!