"Oh, my Lilith I can't believe I'm doing this over again." Ben huffed looking between Cal's longing, lingered glance, and then over to the source of said wanting. "Seriously I don't know if it's cute or kind of sad how alike you two are right now." He hummed to himself as he once again catches the equally longing glance his humanized vampire of a best friend gives them when Cal's gaze flicks for a single hastened moment back to him.
"Do what over again?" Cal asked absently twisting the already mangled drinks straw into an even more unrecognizable shape as she spoke.
Ashley was sitting alone today. A small plate with something half-demolished yet sweet looking pushed away in front of her and absently toyed with her hair now as she read a few more pages from her book. A glaring smear of sticky redness glosses her lips earning a guess from Cal that the sweet treat of the day was something cherry flavored a growing favorite Ashly seemed to gravitate to as the days ticked by.
"Go talk to her." Ben prods a little more insistent than he had been before as he once again looked between the two.
"I have." Cal argues earning a puzzling laugh from Juliette's not so remembered best friend.
It wasn't exactly a lie either.
She learns a lot of little things about Ashley over the next few days as Cal bides her time over just how the heck, she was meant to bring Juliette back. It wasn't like she could just bang her legacy over the head with a frying pan or something. And even when Juliette's memories came back, if they ever did Cal was more than aware of the hefty damage control she needed to do if she had even the glimmering of a chance of having even a friendship let alone anything deeper with the vampire girl.
Most of these little things she'd already given Ben points out Juliette had already been doing if Cal had bothered to pick up on them like singing to herself when she was truly board, twisting her hair around her fingers as she read something that truly has her attention, being an absolute klutz when something or rather when a certain someone was clouding her thoughts.
Cal hates the times she catches her ex tripping over her own feet the most. Mostly because it's just another glaring reminder as she'd follow Juliette's unfocused eyes to a point close to but not directly towards wherever Cal had chosen to sit for the evening just how much she'd lost in being the cause of those same reactions in the earlier days of her and Juliette's ill-fated romance.
Of course, she'd noticed them.
All the time Juliette had doubled back to try to catch her eye as she'd walked thought the halls. That time she hadn't thought Cal had noticed when Jules had been giving her hard-core puppy eyes when Cal had been trying to find new reading material, The complete failure that had been her vampire's attempt at talking that time they'd had yoga out in the courtyard during gym.
Indecently it's also in the morning the lose of this not-so-little detail that Cal notices the growing absence of Ashley's new girlfriend as the weeks skip by.
Cal was struggling to punch down the hope that her arrival had triggered a sudden break up only for that hope to be very really dashed the few times 'new her' had dropped by for a stomach-twisting kiss from Juliette before just as quickly leaving again.
Then there were the things Cal noticed that seemed to be simply Ashley. Most glaring was the humanized legacy's metal allergy when she'd mustered enough courage to compliment the ever-present slivered bee charm hanging from Juliette's throat.
"What this? Oh no this isn't really real silver just an imitation. I'm allergic to the real thing turns out. Weird huh?" her waitress of an ex had played off "so what can I get you today?" she'd followed by putting an end to any more questions on the topic.
Or how this new Juliette seems to outright loth anything even remotely connected with a certain Shakespearian romantic tragedy.
"Honestly, they shouldn't have even attempted even a friendship if you ask me. I mean think about it they know basically nothing about each other, yet they think they have what it takes to build a lasting relationship? And don't even get me started on the family drama. I mean seriously. That much bad blood was bound to catch up with them eventually." Ashley had ranted one afternoon whilst Cal had offered her help in scrubbing down a few loads of dishes in a small attempt to prolong her proximity to her found ex-girlfriend.
"I mean you get that right? Why risk your heart that way when everyone is telling you outright it won't work?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I get that." Cal had hastily agreed once she'd punched down the heart-stomped feeling under her ribs to notice the paused wait for an actual answer as Ashley had passed over yet another plate in need of drying as they worked.
"Lilith bless I'm going to need you to remind me to tell Letty about this when that girl gets back here." Ben snickers draining another mouth full of soda from his glass letting Cal return to her not-so-subtle Ashley watching.
"Well, I do my best." The dark-haired one with the glowing green eyes smiles making her almost daily stop by what was fast becoming Cal's claimed table at the back corner of the out-of-the-way diner. "Nice to see someone appreciates me."
Cal struggles against the want to roll her eyes at this. "Any fresh nothings about how I could convince Ashley to turn her memories of Juliette back on?" the hunter asks her eyes never once wavering from the object of the asking as she catches the new look of enjoyment Juliette finds in her book as she quietly lip reads along to one of the passages as she reads it.
"Have you even considered getting to know Ashley before calling Juliette back?" the vampire mother questions her dark-painted nails drumming her annoyance at the asking into the aged wood of the tabletop.
"Considering Ashley already has a girlfriend I think you can guess my answer to that." Cal answers
"Who says you need to be her girlfriend to get to know her?" Lilith argues her arms lifting to cross loosely over her front at the question.
"Says the ripped open part of me that feels like I've got sault pouring into open wounds every time I'm around her and she just looks right thought me." The hunter offers angry tears wetting her eyes as she admits this.
This brings a pleased seeming mew from the hovering first vampire, but she doesn't elaborate beyond a reminded "maybe that's because you haven't been paying enough attention for the times, she is looking at you."
Even Ben has to agree to this considering if Cal would just look over, she'd see the way Ashley wasn't paying the least bit of attention to the open book she'd chosen for the day but that her attention was trained only on the hunter now dabbing at her leaking eyes as more angry tears slid down her cheeks.
Sympathy is clear in her expression only to look away just as quickly once the other girl notices Ben watching her.
"Erm you've told her you and I aren't a thing, right?" Ben asks when the dark-haired one completely rocking the dark-colored Henley tee and darker-washed black jeans tucked into thigh-high boots moved off to keep up her cover of a visiting restaurant owner collecting tips for updates to the menu.
"Kind of obvious you and I are in no way a thing." Cal points out balling up the tear-soaked napkin into her fist as Ashley pushes back her chair after carefully collecting her book and the dessert plate a few tables over signaling the ending of her break time.
Yet another missed opportunity.
Soft eyes lift to catch Cal's still tear-wet ones.
"Are you okay?"
Cal gasps at the mouthed question and automatically gives a small shake of her head in denial. It wasn't like she could lie about it.
Juliette gives a small node to show she'd understood when hurried off back towards the kitchens to drop off her book and toss her dirtied dishes into the sink for later washing.
The sudden buzzing of Ben's phone calls Cal's attention from any more attempts at following Juliette's fleeing outline as he fishes the thing from his jacket pocket.
"Rock, Paper, Scissors who talks to her this time?" Ben offers once they'd gotten a look at who it was calling so late in the afternoon.
"Can you blame her?" Cal reminds as Margot's number flashes again across the cell screen.
"Can't say I could." Ben sighed also noticing the way 'Glow eyes, Dark hair' was also eyeing them from the diner counter the linger the phone kept ringing. "I've got this one." Ben relented thumbing over the accept button before the call could drop to voicemail. "but next time…"
"Next time have her call me not you." Cal offers as Ben lifts the phone to his ear and slips away from the table to take the call.
Not that Cal can sit back and sulk for long considering that a few seconds after Ben slips out of the shop with the phone to his ear and an equally upset-looking Lilith shadowing him a new shadow falls across the table top.
Not that Cal lifts her head just yet.
Ashley gives the table a soft tap as she gently clears her throat by way of announcing herself, but Cal does catch the small twitch Juliette's hand gives in an abandoned attempt to brush along the hand Cal was still holding the tear-stained napkin. "Guess I should have asked first but you don't have any food allergies, do you?"
"Not that I know of." Cal shrugs curiously eyeing the fresh plate Juliette had carried over with her with a shy but genuine smile. Her first in months.
"It's just you seemed really upset and that's not fair and I just thought…." Ashley starts to ramble earning a light teasing chuckle from Cal. "I mean if this is overstepping, I can take it ba…"
"No. please." Cal cuts off catching Ashley's wrist when she nervously stated backing away from the edge of the table. "please." She pushed again feeling that same sparking energy the first time Juliette had stolen that first kiss not so long ago in the pantry at Noah's party. "stay. Just for a little while longer."
For a split-second Cal actually hope Juliette feels that drawing pull too as she watches the slow darkening of her legacy's eyes until Ashley drops her gaze giving herself a small shake that covers a few rough-sounding coughs before she looks with steadier eyes towards the window her gaze appraising for a few seconds before she nodes with an agreeing "okay" as she set down the pastry offering. "guess I also should have asked if you are alright with peaches, it's just the kitchen was out of anything cherry. Even the mini cherry strudel things. I mean why not total yum but anyways."
Again, Cal feels an actual smile pull at her lips as, as she'd hoped Juliette sinks into the open chair as she rambled. "Peach is cool." She soothes toying with her fork. "but first…." She trails off leaning over in her seat. "just don't move for a second." It takes all her concentration to keep from running her thumb along the full length of Juliette's lips instead of the small swipe she'd needed to clear away the lingering traces of red from the corner of Ashley's mouth.
This time the coughing fits are much harder to cover up as Ashley's tongue peaks out to follow the pathway Cal's thumb itches to take across her lips as the hunter wordlessly withdraws her hand.
"Th—tha-thanks." Ashley groans out between attempted muffled coughs. "I-I should….." Cal doesn't miss the way Juliette's eyes drop to her lips with another wheeze of a cough struggling up Ashley's throat.
"Yeah." The hunter agrees jabbing harder than needed at the generous slice of peach cobbler Ashley had thought to bring her. Not at all what she'd chosen herself but then again Juliette had brought it for her just because Cal had seemed upset who was she to turn such an offering down?
Cooked as it was the scent of the ripened fruit has Cal's mind drifting back to another not so long-ago night when she and Juliette had stumbled onto that loan peach tree out by the park.
"We have a problem," Ben announces before Cal can sink too deeply into memories of a slightly happier time.
"What could possibly…."
"Elinor escaped."