Haley would always remember the day she met the Horned Prince, she would always remember how she met her first love. On the Isle, the children were never taught love, it was just something that they ended up feeling and being confused about. Most decided the feeling in their gut was just indigestion, while others like HP made sure to express the fact that they knew what that feeling was even if they never wanted to admit it.
Haley had been down on the Jolly Roger, walking down there with a few of Hook's crewmen who had found her outside of a bar on the docks. It was an easy enough play, with the men stumbling before even stepping on the swaying ship it would be even easier than she had ever hoped. She allowed them to tell her stories of their conquests, keeping an arm around her as she suggested instead they play a game. She was after all a thief, so as the men became more inebriated she began to pull their change pouches from their sides and wallets from their pockets, she had made out like a king as she crossed the plank back to the dock.
She had seen the slender dark haired devil next to the main door of the Undertow, the hottest and most lethal social club in all of the Isle. He stood outside the door, one foot propped up against the wall as it looked as if he were waiting for someone, however she knew him to simply be waiting on the return of an equally intimidating bouncer who typically stood outside the door. HP might not have been as physically intimidating as the other men who stood outside of the King of the Underworld's door, but he was definitely more of a threat.
She felt the weight shift of the young boy pulling it from her side, she watched as he began to run. She also watched as he attempted to flee past the Undertow, only to come into contact with the back of the boy Haley's eyes had been stuck on since seeing the building. HP had pushed himself away from the wall as the man he had been waiting on exited the building. As the small frame of the boy crashed into him, HP turned to look down at him, the boy still young let the fear get the better of him and dropped the pouch and took off in the other direction back towards Haley who let him pass by her as she made a swift motion towards her pouch.
However HP reached down to pick up the pouch as Haley approached him. "I believe that belongs to me." She stated coldly, as HP's eyes drifted up to her, his dark hair falling half in his face as a devilish grin crossed over his lips.
"Haley Burton, oh how Henric would love to see you." HP's words coming out almost like a melody. Henric was the only son of Hades, and had been the undeclared ruler of the underground and black market on the Isle. Haley's family ran the largest market in his territory and Henric often liked to remind her that she only feigned freedom as she really worked for him. Henric was as arrogant as they came with a fiery temper that Haley admitted to testing one to many time recently.
"We both know it would be better for all involved for me to just be on my way, now give me my pouch." Haley crossed her arms over her chest.
She watched as he mimicked her, crossing his arms over his chest, holding the pouch up in one hand. The muscles rippling through his arms that were bare from the torn off black denim jacket he was wearing drawing her attention even if she pretended not to notice. "You mean this, I found it on the ground." He smirked. "Making it mine, perhaps it is my lucky day."
"A boy nicked it, and its not my fault the coward dropped it at your feet." Haley said as she reached out to take it from HP's hand before he held it up higher than she could reach. She made sure not to step to close to the devil, she knew better than to allow any of Henric's men to get too close.
"Uh uh, I don't think so." HP's grin was beginning to aggravate Haley more than his taunts.
"Maybe we can come to an agreement. Give me the pouch and I will give you something. A deal if you will." Haley said, using the word all of Henric's men like to hear best, a deal with a devil was no easy task.
"I'm listening." HP said lowering to the pouch back to a height she could easily reach it but keeping a tight hold on it.
"You know the circus holds a lot all sorts of wonders." She said stepping closer to him, just as she had the pirate at the bar earlier that evening. Providing little space between them before she put her hand underneath his, "perhaps you'd like to see what the underground has to trade."
HP's face turned from taunting to intrigued as he released the pouch into her hand, clutching the bag tightly she placed it in her coat's pocket before walking past the curious HP. "Are you coming?" She asked with a devious little grin. Mirroring HP's for the first time, he went to follow her but not before he silenced the taunt from the other man who had been watching the scene the had unfolded between the two teens outside of the club.
He stayed close to her yet purposely keeping his distance as they wove their way through the streets and alleys up to the old faded tent. She stood out making it easy to follow her in her bright red coat that looked like her father's signature style and tight black pants. He had been to the tent often, but never while the market was deserted. The deteriorating canvas left HP feeling dirty that he tried to shake as he followed the raven haired beauty into her territory. It was part of the Isle, no group ever tried to claim, because though Haley claimed and defended it everyone knew that Hades or Henric would torch anyone who touched their treasure trove.
"Haley..." HP whispered as she slipped past a fold of the canvas into the tent and he found himself following. It was lit with yellowing bulbs, making it appear in worse shape than it was. "What the hell are you..."
"Are you nervous?" Haley's playful voice made HP swallow hard, had he walked into a trap? Was she going to get back at him for the hell he had caused last time they crossed paths at Serpent Prep? It was when he felt her hand slide into his and pull at his arm gently. "Just come on,you deal in favors right, well I owe you one."
HP eyed her hand cautiously as he continued along with her, making sure to keep his breaths even in slow to not show that he was curious as to what she had in store for him. She walked up to a ladder before letting go of his hand. "I hope you don't mind heights." She said simply as she began to climb up the ladder that lead to a platform that the high wire extended out from. HP took a deep breath, biting the inside of his lip as he watched her climb up the ladder. He put his hands on the ladder as he exhaled, thinking how if he were about to fall into a trap he might as well fall all the way and see what the little clown had planned for him.
When he reached the top platform he saw a collection of ropes and a wire leading off the platform to towards the other one of the other side. Haley was pulling open a crate that the was on the platform with a small hammer that she had on the floor. He froze taking in the hodge podge of items on the platform. A few books stacked upon of different sized crates. A hammock hung from across a few beams to dangle a couple feet above the platform. He heard her crack the board on the crate and curse slightly before pulling out a bottle.
"Rum." HP smirked as she pulled out another bottle, pushing one into his chest. Being sure not to push to hard to disrupt his footing as he stood so close to the edge.
"What did you think, I was going to lure you up here and push you off?" Haley said laughing as she sat on the edge of the platform allowing her feet to dangle off.
"The thought did cross my mind." He said as he pulled the cork out of the bottle before sitting down by the edge of the platform however unlike the Haley he didn't find himself willingly hanging multiple limbs from a high platform.
He watched as the slender girl took a rather large swig of her own bottle before bringing his too his lips. It burned, but not as bad as most of the alcohol he encountered outside of Henric's private stash. He was surprised at Haley's almost genuine kindness, she did not treat him like an idiot like most others did. Instead she began to bring up times in their past at Serpent Prep that made him smile and laugh at the misfortune of themselves and others of their school years.
Everything HP had ever known about the notorious Haley Burton seemed to be melting away in front of his eyes as they both continued to chip away at their bottles. She wasn't the child of the most evil or the most powerful but she had earned a name for herself that made most cower.
"So how did you get to be so bad?" HP asked as he set the bottle back on the platform, harder than he intended. He had found himself dangling one leg from the platform while the other was pulled up towards his chest as he sat sideways looking at the girl in his company.
"A lot of bribery and a bit of blood." She said smirking as she put the bottle back to her lips. He had been amazed by the fact she could be so nonchalant about her reputation. She took another swig before she pushed herself up and stumbled a bit towards the crates and placing her half emptied bottle on top of the crate. HP eyed her with curiosity as she grinned at him, before walking past him out onto the thin wire and spinning around to look back at him. "Have you ever tried it?" She asked, he noticed she was almost gleaming under the yellow bulbs.
"Tight rope? No." HP amused as he pushed himself back fully onto the platform.
"It's all about coordination." She said as she balanced herself on one foot on the rope pulling the other up to her side. The girl was living up to her status of a circus performer. HP was amazed that even with half a bottle of alcohol in her system she stood more solidly on the thin wire than she had on the platform.
She placed her other foot back on the wire, before walking back to the platform and grabbing hold of HP's free hand. He stumbled up with her as she pulled him forward, towards the edge. "Forget it. Not happening."
"Afraid of falling?" She asked as she stepped out onto the wire backwards never taking her eyes off of him.
"Afraid that shitting excuse for a net will give out." He answered back as she still held securely onto his hand.
"So you are afraid of something then." She smirked letting go of his hand and walking out further onto the rope putting her arms straight out as if she were really using them for balance. "Come on HP, try living a little." She spun around on the balls of her feet to face him once more. "It is the fastest way down, but if you prefer to try your luck with the ladder..." She grinned at the boy whose face she watched turn sour.
HP knew everything his body was doing was against his better judgment as he stepped out onto the rope only to make it about three feet before he felt himself losing his balance and giving into the gravity pulling him down. However he had to admit the rush of falling and the impact his back made with the net were both moments of adrenaline he hadn't experienced in such a way before. Typically that kind of rush came from doing bad, not something as easy as falling.
A moment later he felt the net bounce as he looked over about ten feet and saw Haley landing softly. He put his hand over his face as she crawled over to him laughing. "That was the most ungraceful fall." She started as she maneuvered to him, accidentally falling into him as he laid on the net. She quickly tried to pull herself back up and away from his chest but he found his hand finding her side pulling her back to him.
He wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline or the alcohol or if either part was a factor but he put a hand on both side of her waist and pulling her to straddle his waist, he pulled himself up to press his chest against hers, his lips hovering just below hers waiting for her to close the gap. "This isn't a good idea." She whispered as she found her hands pressing against his chest.
"I know." He replied back, his lips brushing hers as the gap closed slightly. He could hear her breathing, as he ran one of his hands around her waist to come up from the small of her back straight up to the center of her back. "Live a little." He breathed against her lips, waiting for her to make the decision of what would happen next.
With his lips just below hers she finally gave into the heat of the moment. Pressing her lips roughly against his, as soon as she did he pulled her even closer with the hand on her back causing her to squeak in surprise that made him smirk into the kiss. This was neithers' first time, yet to Haley something felt different about the way in which HP kissed her. It was rough and a little clumsy even but it was passionate and seemed to have a longing that would make the moment never end. She attempted to pull back, to catch her breath though the second their lips parted his found a new home on the side of her neck. She didn't want to admit the fact that his nips at her neck had stolen her breath just as much as his kiss. "H..." His name came out almost as a purr, he pulled away from her skin to look up and meet her eyes filled with lust and desire. She took her hand from his chest and ran it up along his cheek into his messy dark hair, pulling at it gently. "This is still not a good idea." She said her breath shaking gently as she brought her lips back down to his, this time much more gently, less hungry and more longingly. Each kiss it's own moment, not rushed something more passionate.
As she pulled back once more he took a deep breath debating if he should flip them over and pin her to the net even though he was enjoying this delicate moment. She tugged at his hair once more causing a groan to come from deep in his throat and his wanting to stay in the delicate moment ended. He wrapped his arm tightly around her waist and pulled her over pinning her back against the net with his body. His lips crashed back into hers, licking her bottom lip trying to deepen their kiss more now that he had more control over the situation. Her lips parted enough for him to accept him, his tongue beginning to explore her mouth, a quiet moan coming from her as he pushed his body against hers.
The moment came to an abrupt end as the lights in the tent flicked off with a loud pop and HP pulled away. Haley smiled and found a small laugh as she spoke. "My parents turn them off after a certain time, its their way of telling me to go to bed." She explained as she put a hand in front of her face to hide the embarrassment that she knew would be hidden by the shadows of darkness but still felt that the heat of her skin would give her away.
"Do you think they saw..." HP began as he saw her shaking her head no even in the darkened tent. Even without the lights overhead the tent was still partly lit by the holes in the top that allowed the stars and moonlight in. "So does that mean we need to stop?" He asked, and her pushing against his chest told him the against his chest told him his answer. As he pushed himself away from her he ran his hand through his hair pushing in back out of his face and to the side.
She sat up in the net and looked down at him as she ran her fingers through her hair that was probably sticking up in every direction from the net. "Come on," she said as she bit her lip deciding she didn't want this night to end the way it was bound too, "the nets not as comfortable as my bed." She began to crawl away from him on the net towards the edge and climb off. It was clear it took him a moment to fully understand what she offered as he rolled over on the net to watch her climb away before rushing over to join her off the net. When his feet were both on the ground he pulled Haley's body back against his and pressed her lips to his delicately, before pulling away as she took his hand and used it to guide him towards one of the many carriages that dotted the outskirts of the inside of the tent. She lead him to one and walked up the steps to open the door letting go of his hand and opening the door. She walked in first and crossed the dark threshold to turn on a lamp that was by the bed. He walked in to see a surprisingly lavish decorated room. The walls were a deep red patterned with golden floral patterns that were darker than they probably were originally. There was a plush chair in the corner of the room beyond the bed that had clothing tossed on it, and a mirrored vanity with different items covering its counter on the wall just inside the door. There were two door towards the other end of the carriage, which he assumed would be the closet and the bathroom.
His eyes looked back over to Haley who stood facing the wall next to the table where the lamp was, she was shrugging off the bright red coat she typically wore and hung it on a hook on the wall, HP made his way to her as he looked over the white ripped up tank she wore underneath the jacket. He ran his hand along her side, causing her to turn back towards him. Bringing their lips together once more like when they had been outside under the big top. One thing he liked about kissing Haley was he didn't have to bend as much to reach her lips as other girls. They stood their kissing next to the bed, HP restraining himself from pushing her onto the bed and continuing this as her hands ran up his chest slowly. His hand making its way back down her side and pushing up on the flimsy fabric of his her as he ran his hand back up her side.
She pulled back and walked around to the other side of her bed before pulling her shirt over her head. HP found his eyes dancing over her body as she climbed onto her bed and crawled back to him at the other side. "Enough games H." She said grabbing at the hem of his shirt and pulling it over his head with his assistance before he climbed onto her bed with her, bringing his lips against hers hungrily as he climbed back on top of her like he had been on the net out in the big top.