"That's…that's actually really impressive." Juliette praises noticing the growing number of empty plates stacked in front of the boy yet to drop his friendly smile every time she'd stop by the check-in with him and the quiet one sitting across from him. Or at least the one that used to be sitting across from him if the girl would ever come back from a fleeing kind of retreat towards the back bathrooms. "Normally no one takes on the grave robber's breakfast so… quickly." She goes on mostly to have a reason to linger at the back table in her section.
"What can I say." The boy smiles as she tops off the juice glass with a fresher splash of the stuff. "I'm a growing boy." He snickers making her giggle in agreement before her eyes stray towards the empty seat at the table.
"She didn't leave." The boy cuts in meaning her poker face wasn't as on point as she'd thought to cover her disappointment at his companion's sudden departure. "She just… erm she needed a minute."
"Is she feeling alright?" Juliette probes now resting her hip against the edge of the table as they talked. "She seems so sad." It wasn't a lie either once she remembered the utter heartbroken look she'd caught darkening the girl's mysterious exterior.
Out of habit since she'd started working there in the last few months she'd done as she always did whenever the kinder older couple running the place allowed it, she'd slipped back into the front half of the diner towards that cozy back corner table. Drinking in the fresh washing of morning sunshine filling the virtually empty diner as she snuggled up safe and secure in her girlfriend's arms absently skimming a few more pages of her book whilst munching happily on an offered package of fruit snacks so thoughtfully smuggled in for her.
The offering not including her all-time favorite flavoring of peach as she'd hoped for, but she'd tried not to seem to be put off by it as she'd popped the first of the mixed berried snack bite into her mouth.
But at some point, in those too short minutes of her stolen mini break, her eyes had been drawn up over the top of her book to meet those of the strong yet so quiet fellow teenager sitting a crossed from the boy who seemed to be making a personal mission of polishing off an army worthy level breakfast all on his own.
"I wish there was something I could do to help her." Juliette sighed still holding the gathered-up empty plate aloft as she talked. "She seemed so sad." She repeated.
Ben leans closer noticing the clouded look in his best friend's eyes as they scan the alcove closer towards the bathrooms as if actively yet unconsciously seeking out the absentee hunter. "She's going through some stuff right now." He goes on in a hushed mumble. It wasn't a complete lie. But not the whole truth either. "The not-so-yummy center of the truth cookie." Ben sighed lifting the last few sips of milk to his lips.
"Huh?"
"Nothing." He waved off now absently batting the emptied glass between his hands.
"Yeah. Nothing beats having your heart broken." Juliette agrees before blinking a few times as if surprised by her own comments. "I mean, erm. Do… uah should I…." she stopped again rubbing a hand against the back of her neck in indecision before trying again as she jabbed her thumb towards the bathroom alcove. "your friend do you want me to send someone to go check on her maybe?"
"I'm sure she's fine Jul…erm Ashley." Ben soothes after a hasty refreshing glance towards the name tag pinned to the stained apron his best friend was wearing.
"Hey, baby I'm gonna head back now, okay?"
Ashley starts a little in surprise at the asking or maybe it was the so sudden brushing of lips against her cheek that followed having been so wrapped in her mini talk with the boy she was now remembering was named Ben that she'd nearly completely forgotten that her kind of girlfriend had been lounging distract in her section of the last half hour and she was actually meant to be working during her morning shift.
"Erm. Yeah, yeah okay." She smiles bashfully now as she catches her retreating girl's wrist to tug her back for a parting peck on the cheek of her own. "Wait, before you do mind popping into the bathroom to check on a customer for me?"
"No need." Ben snickers nudging his chin towards the once again jingling bell of the door.
"How, how'd you slip out so fast?" Ashley questions eyeing the newly returned girl with a new kind of interest.
"Skills." Cal answers and then holds out a battered-looking shopping bag from the station up the block. "I got this for you."
But before Ashley could even muster a surprised "T—thanks" at the suddenly offered gift another hard cough rips through her making her double over with the shock of it as soon as her fingers had brushed those of the alluring stranger as she'd moved to accept it.
"Letty!"
"Juliette."
Feeble hands claw at the delicate sliver chain at her throat impossibly feeling like the tightening threat of a silvery noose around her very heart instead of at her throat making Ashley gasp for breath in meeting those pleading yet familiar dark eyes until a not-so-unwelcomed voice breaks in with a deciding. "Come on Ash, let's get you outside for some fresh air."
She nodes gratefully in agreement leaning heavily against that strong grounding figure at her side.
"I'm sorry." She coughed in regret her eyes watering before the door swung closed.
"You've found her too quickly." came a tisked scolding then a much more playful sounding "There may be hope for you yet, young one." but it's the overall angered parental undertone of the words that has Cal's hand closing tightly around an unused knife laying on the table as she rounds tearfully on the new speaker. Glowing emerald-colored eyes glare her down as the snatched-up weapon falls limply back to the hunter's side as the dark-haired one now standing poised behind her cracks a genuine smile "Humm. Calliope, I presume." The words came in a purred hissing. "Juliette wasn't kidding about your strength." She notes. "or your beauty." She adds drinking her in.
"What have you done to her."
"I've given her a taste of what she wants. A human life."
"You took away her memories." Cal says her voice breaking in hurt anger.
"She asked me to. The pain of her heartbreak was too great for me to do anything but comply."
"Why?" Cal probes
A slow exhaled breath lingers before the answer was given much to Cal's deep annoyance. "When her wish of having a human life with you ended with your rejection, I simply offered her another chance at what she wanted."
"You've made her a zombie." Ben joins in
The green-eyed one flipped a few strands of silky dark hair over one shoulder with a scoffed "Hardly."
"Who the hell do you think you are thinking you can just waltz in here and…"
The hissing grew louder as the emerald eyes glowed with an even deeper fire as the stranger advances one single step closer. "I'd choose your next words with care, hunter."
But Cal isn't in the mood to back down now. "Or what? You've already taken Juliette from me."
"You did that yourself."
"So, I made a mistake," Cal argues
"You ripped out her heart."
"And you're slowly killing her." Cal barks her eyes flickering to the hazy outlines of Juliette and the unnamed one kneeling beside her hunched over legacy rubbing soothing circles against Juliette's back as she catches her breath.
"That isn't my doing. Every time Ashley gives in to the feeling Juliette holds for you, hunter even for an instant that charm I gave her will trigger a reminder of the pain the true Juliette felt when she came to my new Eden begging me to end her suffering in any way that I could." Lilith explains. "it only follows that the greater Ashley's attractions for you the stronger Juliette's pain will affect her."
Cal could only glare in shock at the explanation.
"This test if you want to call it so is really very simple. If you two truly want to be together, then so be it. All you will need to do Calliope is to get Juliette to accept the pain of your first rejection in order for her to able to accept your offering for a continued relationship."
"And if I can't?" Cal asks dreading the answer.
"Then Ashley will keep living out whatever version of her human life Juliette sees fit."
Cal's eyes flicker back to her legacy's blurred outline.
"The question you have to ask yourself now is. How far will you go for your first love?"