As soon as they reached home Elexis started ordering the vampires around to clean the area and make enough space for the whole pack to sit. They set up a stereo next to the pool and put out chairs around.
Elexis tossed the keys of her car and credit card to Davina and asked her to go crazy. Keelin accompanied her. Elexis texted Stiles and asked him if there is something specific that the pack would enjoy. When Stiles texted back with a list of food, she forwarded it to Davina, who sent her a thumbs up. The girls came back from their shopping trip and asked the vamps to keep their supplies in the kitchen and spread them across the house, before everyone decides to get ready.
Elexis brushed her hair and tied them into a neat ponytail. She put on light makeup, and wore a light blue skater dress with puffed sleeves. She completed her look with black pumps, an infinity bracelet and a necklace with a triskelion charm.
Soon after, members of the pack started arriving. Some of them even brought some gifts, mostly booze. The party picked up pace once the music started, and like always Freya and Keelin mixed up easily and were dancing their asses off with the pack. Davina was grooving with the girls while Kol had struck up conversation with Derek, Peter and Scott, with the other guys chiming in occasionally. Vincent and Marcel were speaking with Noah and Chris. Elexis brought out beer and started handing out snacks.
Once everyone was tired, they settled in the small patch of grass near the pool and began exchanging anecdotes. The pack decided to catch Elexis up with all of Stiles' antics, right from when he started going to school with the lot. As the evening progressed, it hit Elexis exactly how much she had missed.
Suddenly, she got up and excused herself. Everyone looked at her quickly retreating figure as she moved inside the house, climbed the stairs and disappeared.
As the people from New Orleans shared concerned glances, Aiden asked, "did we do something wrong?"
Kol sighed and said, "No, it's not you. It just hit her how much she has actually missed. She really loves you, you know? Both of you.", he looked at Stiles and then Noah.
As Marcel also excused himself and went to find her, Noah sighed, "Well, it wouldn't hurt her to call or visit more often then."
Vincent defended Elexis, "It's not that she doesn't want to. Trust me, she wants nothing more in the world."
"Well then what is stopping her?", grumbled Stiles.
"She can't", said Keelin, lowly.
"Can't? What is that supposed to mean?" asked Boyd
"I'm sorry, that is not our place to tell", said Keelin, gently. "And we won't. Neither will Lex. don't pressurize her to do anything before she wants to. The poor girl already has enough on her plate", stated Davina.
"Don't worry, none of us will.", said Derek, and looked at his pack, who nodded, before fixating on Stiles. After an intense stare-off, stiles relented. "Fine", he said.
"Glad we got that out of the way. Now, can we please dance again", said Kol.
The mood improved considerably as the music started again. Stiles and Derek, however, remained seated and talked in hushed tones.
Meanwhile, Marcel found Elexis on the roof. Drinking straight from a bottle of bourbon, while wiping her tears. Marcel simply sat near her feet and took the bottle from her hands, taking a swig for himself. They sat there in silence for a while, the music being the only sound, before Elexis started speaking. "I'm stupid right? I mean you can't have it both ways, can you?"
"No, lex, you're not stupid. What you are feeling is completely natural. It is okay. But yes, you can't have it both ways. That doesn't make it hurt any less, though. Doesn't make it okay. None of this is okay. But you're not doing anything about it. I can respect that, but then you gotta live with it."
"I am living with it. Have been, for so long. You know it better than anyone. But I can't do anything. It's just so hard, being near them and still being away from them."
"Hey, it's okay. You always got me, till hell freezes over.", said Marcel, before draping his arm around her.
Once they had finished the bottle, they went downstairs to see the guests out. Davina told them that they were now expecting Mikael and Esther any day. She confirmed that Elexis had the numbers of a few members of the pack, so that they'd be ready to fight when the time came. Vincent implored them to keep their phones close to them so that whenever they presented themselves, sooner or later, the pack would be ready to face them.
As fate would have it, with their luck, it was sooner. Three days later, to be precise.
