the appearances of king and elaine here are the ones they get after they get their wings in the canon anime/manga. (i have a crush on mullet-haired king.)
THE PLOT CONTINUES TO THICKEN!
happy reading lovelies :)
ooo
"Diane?" Elizabeth calls for her best friend as she closes their dorm's door behind her. She takes her thick jacket off and folds in her arms before she looks up to see Diane appearing around the corner - likely coming from the kitchen.
"Ellie!" Diane exclaims, rushing over to her and wrapping her arms around the silverette in a bear hug. "I missed you these past two days! I thought you would have been busy for a little longer with… you know who," she says. "How'd it go by the way?"
Elizabeth exhales a short laugh. "I told him I can't—won't—tutor him anymore," she admits. "He clearly didn't want to pay attention to anything I was saying so why should I keep trying to teach someone that obviously doesn't want to learn a single thing? He's insufferable. If you hear a knock on the door any time soon, don't open it. I feel like he might have the bright idea of begging me to tutor him again."
"Any means necessary?" Diane jokes, pulling away from their embrace. "Was he really that bad just now at the cafe?"
Pushing past Diane, and the girl following closely behind, Elizabeth groans. "Yes! He had the audacity to say he would do better like it wasn't something he should have been doing in the first place!" By God, she should have never agreed to help him when he showed up to her workplace. He practically stalked her and she barely paid it any mind?
Where is your head at, Elizabeth? She scolds herself.
Diane giggles, "From the way you're sayin' it, it sounds like you two broke up or something."
Elizabeth pauses in her movements, a fierce blush decorating her skin. She doesn't dare look at Diane as she makes way for her bedroom to change clothes. "In his dreams, Di. Besides you know I wouldn't ever look at our school's biggest fuckboy in that way."
"If you say so," Diane responds simply. Elizabeth closes her bedroom door behind her, dropping her coat on her dresser. "King's here by the way! In the kitchen. Won't you say hi when you come out?" Her voice is slightly muffled by the door, though the silverette can hear her just fine. King's here? He's usually so quick to greet her - maybe he can't leave whatever it is he's cooking for too long, lest he wants his food to burn.
"Of course I will. Just a minute," she sighs almost tiredly. It's not Diane that has her tired—that rarely happens. No, it's a certain blonde moron that has her drained - and thankfully she won't ever have to see him again.
Elizabeth changes from her thick clothes to something more comfortable for lounging around. She slips on a pair of leggings and a thin long-sleeved shirt. She leaves her hair loose, not feeling the need to pick it up. It wasn't hot outside (not in the damn slightest) and with the lack of heating in the dorms, she'd only feel chilly with her hair up.
She leaves her room, shutting the door behind her softly. As she does, she looks up to where Diane is sitting in the living room and noting how King emerges from the kitchen. He balances two plates in his hands - eggs and bacon. A classic breakfast she thinks.
He catches her gaze and he smiles warmly at her. "Hey Elizabeth!" King cheers. He quickly deposits the plates onto the coffee table, passing Diane but not before kissing her soundly. She understands what he wants with how adamant he is moving; a hug. So she decides to meet him halfway. They hug at the end of the couch, his arms wrapping around her shoulders. She sighs into King—his hugs were always the best. It was like hugging the embodiment of a soft flower.
"Hey King," Elizabeth replies. When they pull apart, King continues to smile.
"How've you been lately? I can't even remember when I last saw you!" He jokes.
Elizabeth smacks him in the arm - a mock tick of annoyance. He just laughs at her antics. "I've been okay. I just stopped my tutoring lessons with this guy. Anyway, it hasn't even been that long since we last hung out!"
King brings a hand up to his hair, pushing it out of his face. He turns and goes to sit next to Diane on the couch. "Yeah-huh," he says, "I heard. Meliodas, right? He's kinda why I left the team in the first place." Then, he begins to eat what he cooked - or at least she assumes he cooked it in her and Diane's kitchen. Or else he would have said hello the second after Diane had. Elizabeth raises a brow, shifting to the lone chair by the couch. Her eyes stay on King and Diane as she gets herself comfortable.
"Oh? What about him made you leave?" Elizabeth could only begin to guess the multitude of reasons.
He swallows, glancing to the side. "I'm sure you could guess. He was almost always late to practice, always got distracted easily, and he always had some girls fangirling over him during practices and actual games…"
"The fangirling doesn't sound bad," Diane hums.
King however chuckles, though it holds no humor. "You'd think so. But it wasn't normal. They would scream and shout, telling him to play well and they'd let him have sex with them if the team won the game."
"Oh!" Elizabeth gasps.
"Ew." Diane shudders.
"Yeah," the ginger chides. "I mean he plays great, but I didn't wanna put up with everything that came with him, y'know?"
The silverette groans in disgust. "I don't care if he's the next big star for the Miami Heat—that's just downright disgusting." She has never seen Meliodas Vayne play a game, nor will she ever. She'd just have to take King's word on it. "I'll never understand what all those girls see in him. He's not… not interesting or-or even attentive either. He's just annoying and inconsiderate."
Diane finishes her food in record time, pushing the plate away and leaning back into the couch, seemingly absolutely full. "Well, maybe it's his looks."
Her boyfriend snorts. "Is that what attracted you before you met me? His looks?"
Elizabeth observes the two, crossing her legs with a joyed grin, noticing how Diane rolls her eyes. "I told you before," she argues. "I don't know what the hell I ever saw in him before I met you. Anyways, Ellie, I don't really know either. Maybe he just has a big dick or something and word gets around."
A pink flush dots the silverette's cheeks. That is not something she wants to think about - she does not want to think about Meliodas' privates after telling him she couldn't put up with his shit anymore. He stalked her for crying out loud! He tried to blackmail her knowing she has feelings for Mael - she wants to forget she ever met him. Wouldn't her life be so much better without him?
For a moment though, she wonders - she wonders if what Diane's thinking is true. Is… is Meliodas'—?
"Diane!" Elizabeth cries, interrupting her own lewd and God awful thoughts. "That is so—!"
"Gross?" King cuts in. "Inhumane to think about?"
Furrowing her brow and frowning, Elizabeth huffs. "I was going to say inappropriate and disgusting, but that– that works, too."
Diane giggles. She puts a hand on her stomach as if in pain, her laughter filling the room. It doesn't turn Elizabeth's frown upside down though - the topic at hand is truly mortifying, at least for Elizabeth. "You two act like brother and sister, you guys know that?"
For a moment, as her face relaxes, Elizabeth ponders her next words. A sly smile replaces her previous frown and she gives the couple a soft yet knowing look. "If you two get married, then King and I practically would be brother and sister, Di. I wanna be the maid of honor at your wedding, okay?"
Both King and Diane's faces ignite in hot blushes. King looks away from Elizabeth and Diane in a terrible attempt to hide his red face - though, there is no point since Elizabeth already caught wind of the way his skin turned red. Diane only stares at her best friend in disbelief as if the silverette would never make a joke like that. Which, she's done just this before - it shouldn't come to them as a surprise anymore.
It always gets the same reaction, too.
The brunette crosses her arms and huffs. "Yeah, as long as I get to be the maid of honor at your wedding."
To that she raises a brow. "But," she says, "Diane, I'm not with anybody."
"Sure you're not. Does the name Meliodas Vayne ring a bell?"
Elizabeth slaps a hand onto her face, her flush returning. No, Diane was not teasing her about Meliodas of all people. Right? She's just hearing things. The name Meliodas Vayne did not just leave her best friend's mouth. Right?!
"Diane!" She exaggerates her name. "You are not insinuating that there is anything going on between me and that—that perverted slob, are you?"
The woman in question huffs once again. She turns her head away from Elizabeth, though the smile that tugs at the corners of her lips gives her away. She isn't serious. "No," her voice was sarcastic. "Not at all. I wouldn't dream of poking fun at you with the guy you hate with every bone in your body. Mm-mm."
King finally finishes his own plate, getting up without another word and reaches down to grab Diane's empty plate as well. His head suddenly shoots up, his gaze finding Elizabeth's.
"You don't want any food do you?" He asks, causing her to crack a grin, nearly forgetting about what Diane had said about a certain player. Nearly, she thinks bitterly. "Diane said you were at a cafe earlier so I assumed you got food. But if you're hungry, I could serve you a plate."
She shakes her head, uncrossing her legs and fixing her posture. "No, that's okay," she dismisses with a wave of her hand. "I did eat at the cafe. I won't have anything until lunch. Thank you though, King."
He simply nods in affirmation, taking his and his girlfriend's plates and silverware back to the kitchen. Diane sits up with a grunt stretching lightly with a sigh. She shoots Elizabeth a sly look and the silver haired woman groans.
She leans back into the chair, hands coming up to cover her embarrassment. "We are not going to talk about it, Di."
"It's what you get for always pulling that marriage joke on me and King," Diane sticks her tongue out at the silverette. "Don't you ever get tired sayin' it all the time? 'Sides," she sighs, closing her eyes and relaxing her body. "I know you have a thing for that Mael guy. Tell me how he doesn't know who you are?"
Elizabeth bites her lip and looks away. Well… maybe he doesn't know about her. But how couldn't he? Elizabeth is popular too—just not by the norm. Being popular because of outstanding grades and even better test scores was a good thing, right? She'd rather be popular for her academic achievements and not popular with the sense of sex. Like a certain basketball captain.
"I'm sure he knows my name at least," Elizabeth says. Her gaze darts to the kitchen, King filling her vision as he grabs a cup of water to drink. He turns on the kitchen sink, his intention to wash the dishes clear to her. He doesn't have to but she supposes it's less work for her in the long run. "You know my name is practically plastered all over the school because of how well I score on district exams."
"And I'm still sooo jealous! I wish I was as smart as you, Ellie." Elizabeth darts her gaze back to her best friend, a grin still tugging at the corners of Diane's lips. "Anyway, would you be up to hanging out today? I think Elaine and Ban are free. We could go to a restaurant or that bar we went to the other day!"
Ah… a restaurant sounds too formal for a hangout. Nor is she really up to going out to wait for food for an extended period of time. Working almost every weekday at a restaurant has her tired of looking at the same scene; people crowding in and demanding they be sat, those same people complaining about their food taking too long five minutes after ordering. Just– anywhere else would be fine.
And after this morning, a drink doesn't sound half bad. Meliodas Vayne is draining - a pure idiot when it comes to any sort of academics. Maybe she feels a little bad for blowing him off the way she did, but how else would he learn? If he didn't want to do better in his classes, he would certainly do better in listening to her and her demands to leave her alone.
She's suffered enough. She won't attempt to teach someone that doesn't want to be taught.
"I don't feel up to going to a restaurant tonight," Elizabeth says with a slight frown. "A drink doesn't sound too bad though."
Diane nods then turns her head toward the kitchen, tilting her body forward off the couch. "King," she calls for her boyfriend still washing the dishes, "is your sister free today? I wanna see if we can hang out today!"
"Uh," he says loud enough over the sounds of running water. "I think she is. Try calling her though, I'm not too sure."
"Okay!" The brunette chirps.
Elizabeth surveys her best friend, watching as she reaches an arm out to grab her phone off the coffee table. She looks away however, sighing dejectedly as she sinks into the recliner. Her previous thoughts come circling back - what exactly was it the Meliodas wanted from her? Did he want to waste her time, was that his only motive?
Surely it was. He didn't necessarily slack off the first time he came over– he seemed to listen intently to everything she had explained to him but… he was distracted easily, asking her to repeat herself more times than she cared to count. And on top of it all, his perviness and all those stares she's sure he didn't think she saw - oh. God awful. If he actually does try anything like showing up unannounced at her door to try to beg for her lessons again, she doesn't know what she'll do.
A drink is definitely needed.
Another thought suddenly crosses her mind; she hopes nobody has seen her out with him. She doesn't need rumors being spread about her - she doesn't need or want people to think Elizabeth Liones had sex with Meliodas Vayne or anything in that sort of sense.
"Elaine!" Diane says the woman's name excitedly. Elizabeth is snapped out of her daze, her eyes immediately finding Diane holding her phone up a few inches from her mouth. "You're on speaker!"
"Hi Diane!" The blonde responds. "What's going on? Are Elizabeth and Harlequin there?"
The brunette nods regardless of the fact that Elaine can't see it. "Yup! Ellie's right next to me and King's washing the dishes. Hey, I wanted to ask; are you and Ban free tonight? I was thinking about going back to that bar - y'know, the one from the other day?"
Elaine gasps, "Oh, yes! The karaoke machines there are awesome. Ban's here at my apartment—I could ask if he wants to go and we could go to your place for a bit before heading down to the bar? Only if you want to, Diane."
Diane hums, cocking her head to the side. Elizabeth smiles at the sight - her best friend always had weird yet cute little mannerisms. "Yeah, sure. We have board games and stuff here, so we can kill time before we decide to head out! Just make sure Ban doesn't come already drunk, Elaine," she teases.
The blonde woman giggles on the other side of the receiver. "Will do, Di. We'll be over soon—Ban doesn't have a choice."
"Hah! Roger dodger!"
And just like that, the call disconnects. Diane sighs with a smile before she side glances at the silverette. "You won't bail this time, will you? No somewhat secret tutoring session to get in the way of a fun night out with friends?"
Elizabeth laughs and she waves a hand dismissively. "No, Di. I promise I don't have any contradictory plans to get out of going out tonight. Besides, you know I love hanging out with you and all of our friends." It's very true; just simple moments with Diane or anyone else they might spend time with are always moments she will cherish with all her life.
Life wouldn't be as good as it is without any of them.
"I know, I'm just teasing," she giggles. "Would you help me pull out the board games?"
She's already getting up at Diane's request, stretching lightly when she stands tall against the recliner. "Of course, Di. Anything the princess wants," she comments.
Diane laughs loudly in response before she lifts herself off the sofa and leaves her phone on the couch cushion.
ooo
When a knock rasps somewhat loudly on the door of her shared dormitory room with Diane, Elizabeth jumps to attention. King and Diane sit up straighter on the couch, both of them seeming alarmed. But Elizabeth beats them to the punch; she's already standing and striding past the coffee table, happily saying, "I'll get it!"
They had a couple board games stacked on the coffee table, Diane suggesting to leave it up to Elaine or Ban to choose the game they play. Elizabeth had no protests or any opposing thoughts and neither did King.
The silverette smiles widely as she gets to the door. She opens the door revealing Ban and Elaine, and Elaine squeals when she sees Elizabeth. She practically shoves Ban out of the way, him groaning with a furrow of his brows, but Elizabeth knows he isn't bothered judging by the knowing and kind grin on his face.
"Ellie, hi!" Elaine greets, hugging the life out of the girl in question. Elizabeth returns her embrace, hugging her back just as tightly. "It's been too long! We have to catch up! Diane hasn't been giving you a hard time, has she?"
Elizabeth exhales a laugh, breaking their embrace. Elaine's golden hued eyes glance up at her - being a few inches shorter than her - with a giddy smile. "No," Elizabeth responds, "Diane's been a sweetheart as always. What about you? Ban hasn't been giving you constant headaches as of late, right?"
Elaine laughs. She pokes Elizabeth in the ribs lightly causing her to giggle along with her. Ban simply watches from the threshold of the door. "Nonono! The only one getting any headaches is him with how many hangovers he has. Maybe he should start attending less of those frat parties his buddies like to have so often at his place."
"Bah," Ban turns his head to the side, as if giving them the cold shoulder. Elizabeth laughs a little more before moving further into her dorm room, allowing the other two to actually come in, Ban closing the door behind them. "All 'ose parties are just for fun. No harm no foul, babe."
"More like all harm and yes foul," Elaine scrunches her nose. "You know how many packs of painkillers I've gotten for you? I could use some of those myself! Gosh, anyways, can we walk in please?"
Ban snorts and walks behind his girlfriend, placing his hands on her shoulders. He guides her past the little entryway of the dorm, finally greeting King and Diane. Elizabeth stays behind the two observing her friends with a soft gaze and happy smile. It was moments like these that made her so blissfully happy - where nothing seems wrong in the world, where she feels like she doesn't have to worry about a single thing.
Elaine shakes from Ban's grip playfully, shooting him a kiss before she runs over to her brother and friend. Elizabeth's eyes shift from the blonde to her boyfriend, his gaze instantaneously meeting hers. She tilts her head to the side at this curious gaze.
He comes closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Hey," he starts, "can I ask you somethin' real quick, princess?"
She blinks slowly at him. "Sure," she matches his volume.
"Did you tell Mel somethin' earlier today?" He asks. Her heart drops to her stomach at the name - is he talking about Meliodas? Of course he is, she scolds herself in her mind, who else would he be talking about? "I know you've been tutorin' him. He seemed out of it when he came back, and… he drank himself ta' sleep. Or at least I think he did– he was passed out when I checked up on 'im. Had a couple empty bottles of beer on his nightstand."
"Oh." Did he actually…? "I just—Ban, you know he isn't easy to deal with." Ban snorts again, nodding understandingly. "He just keeps slacking off when I try to teach him and it doesn't feel worth it; losing my head over trying to teach him when he doesn't want to try. I don't know if it's something I'm doing wrong or if he just wanted to waste my time."
But to think he was so genuinely upset that he resorted to drinking? That's… oh, that doesn't sit right with Elizabeth. She feels the guilt build up her chest and stomach.
Giving her a shrug in response, Ban exhales through his mouth. His voice is still quiet, Elaine and Diane's chatter filling her ears. "I jus' wanted ta' ask. I thought he mighta had someone over but he didn't. It's probably a first," he jokes.
Oh. It's just surprise after surprise.
"I'm sorry," she says.
Instead of continuing the conversation or making her feel bad like she thought he would, Ban simply grins like a sly fox. "Nah, it's all good, princess, I promise. Let's go get our board game on, huh?"
She forces herself to smile. The guilt of knowing she put Meliodas in that state - making him drink himself to sleep and not sleeping with someone felt… out of character. Did breaking off their contact really affect him so much? Or could he just not find some girl to have sex with to get his mind off Elizabeth and the now-lack of tutoring sessions?
She doubts it's the latter, sincerely.
For the next few hours, Elizabeth plays all sorts of games with her friends. She's been moderately distracted the whole time - the iniquity of telling Meliodas off eating her alive. An apology is probably in order, but despite how terrible she feels, Meliodas is in the wrong as well. He understands the situation he's in yet he didn't put in the effort to pull himself back up. It's her understanding that he doesn't understand the material he was meant to keep up with for a few months now. And he still blew it off to - what? - get his dick wet for the hell of it?
Was sex the only thing on that pervert's mind? Now that she thinks about it, regardless of what he might do, he won't be able to leave with a clean slate. He could try to leave and go to a different university but she doesn't think he could get very far. Whatever marks he'll get on his record will be permanent.
But what does she care anyway? It isn't her business nor does she actually give a fuck about what Meliodas does with his life.
Most of the day was a blur - all Elizabeth really knows is that she was playing board and card games with her friends, got dressed to go out and now she's climbing out of King's car, from the back seat along with Ban and Elaine.
Diane skips from the passenger's door to Elizabeth's side, grabbing her hand and hugging her arm. She hums something incoherent as she guides Elizabeth to King. Diane grabs King's hand with her free one, swinging both her best friend's and boyfriend's arms at the same time. It causes Elizabeth to laugh and when she catches King's gaze, he laughs too.
"Tonight's gonna be so fun!" Diane exclaims. "Who's paying this time?"
"Not it!" Ban yells. The silverette rolls her eyes.
"Not so loud," Elaine scolds her boyfriend. "Wait 'til we're inside at least."
She hears King sigh. The group walks in tandem. The air is cold and the ground white from snow. "I'll pay, I guess. Just don't run up the bill with a ridiculous amount of drinks, please. I'm not made of money here."
Ban whistles, snapping his fingers. "No promises, Harley!"
The man in question groans, glancing over his shoulder to look at Ban. "You know I hate it when you call me that!"
"Stop fighting!" Elaine huffs. Elizabeth keeps her gaze locked on the ground, at least until they reach the bar's entrance. King releases his hold on Diane's hand to hold the door open for the group. Once everyone is inside, he returns to his girlfriend's side. "Just for tonight, can you two not bicker like an old married couple?"
"That's gross. But knowing him, I can't make any promises Elaine," King says.
The blonde woman rolls her eyes when Elizabeth looks back at her, her hand reaching for Ban's waist to push him towards an empty table. The rest of the group follows suit.
Elizabeth sits comfortably in the booth, sitting in the middle of the circular-styled seating. She feels like a complete fifth wheel, but it wasn't like she could have called someone up to accompany her and be her date. Regardless, she was fine with how the night was going. She didn't need someone else to make the night somehow better.
King decides to get everyone's drinks after asking everyone what they want specifically, offering to vouch for Elaine since she always gets mistaken for an underaged girl. With a tired groan, Elaine excuses herself from the table to show the bartender her identification.
Ban and Diane converse amongst themselves. Elizabeth nods meekly when they address her with a question but they otherwise don't question her mood. Why was this bothering her so much, what Ban had told her about Meliodas? It wasn't really any of her business what he does throughout the day - it shouldn't matter to her how he feels because he didn't care about how she felt when she had to deal with him.
He is more than old enough to know that he was acting childish.
A thought sits uncomfortably in her mind; what if she's taking it too far? What if she's just being dramatic and blowing it out of proportion?
No, Meliodas Vayne made it clear he wouldn't take her or her tutoring seriously. When he'd make jokes, asked if she wanted a turn on his dick, and decided to go on his phone in the middle of her trying to teach him… no, Elizabeth wasn't going to tolerate it.
Meliodas knew what he was doing. She may feel bad, but Meliodas isn't innocent. If he really cared so much about getting back on the team, he would actually try and put in the effort to improve his grades.
Her fingers twitch. She won't have to deal with him anymore. He can drink all he wants. She won't have him crawling back. He can tell the whole world she has feelings for a man that doesn't even know her - it doesn't matter. Plenty of rumors get spread around; her liking Mael will get lost in the sea of false accusations.
Not that it is false.
"We're back!" Elaine says, bringing Elizabeth back to reality. She looks over to the two siblings, a waiter standing behind them with a tray full of the drinks they asked for.
Elizabeth is handed the gin she asked for and she immediately gets to drinking. The liquid is dry and bitter as she swallows it– exactly what she needs at the moment. A sigh dares to escape her. The alcohol will no doubt take effect in no time with the silverette being a lightweight. Both a blessing and curse.
The group laughs and makes jokes, Elaine occasionally teasing Ban about giving the karaoke a try. To which he denies every single time with a poor attempt at singing part of the song that comes up from the karaoke machine. It was funny to see Ban try to sing - it was especially funny because of the alcohol coursing through her veins. Being tipsy, on the verge of being drunk, made everything all the more funny to her.
She's about to start her fourth drink when her eyes start to flutter shut. Elizabeth tries to keep herself up - to no avail. Her face smacks into the table, a gasp or two eliciting from Diane or Elaine.
"Ellie?" Diane asks. "Are you okay?"
Elizabeth nods, but she does not feel okay. She feels like throwing up, feels like crying, feels like going back home to go to sleep for all eternity. Just like Sleeping Beauty, she thinks with a drunken giggle.
"I think we should take her home," King comments. Elizabeth clutches her glass and lifts her head, staring King dead in the eye with a half-heated glare.
"No," she slurs, "I don't need to go home."
Ban grimaces before he comes to a stand, urging Elaine to move to get Elizabeth to leave the booth. "King, gimme your keys. I'm gonna take her back to y'all's dorm. I'm not gonna argue 'bout it."
King frowns, although he gives Ban his car keys regardless. Elizabeth's health and safety is more important than bickering over whether or not Ban could have the keys. He's a decent enough driver. "Don't wreck my car," he says instead of fighting. Ban guffaws in response.
Ban helps her to her feet, draping an arm around her waist and bringing her arm to rest on his shoulders. Her head lulls to the side, her hair sticking to her cheek and forehead. Had she been sweating this entire time? She could have sworn she was cold just a minute ago… The power of alcohol seems to be at play.
"Drive safe!" Elaine says, worried.
"I'll be right back," Ban replies loud enough for them to hear, considering he's already taken Elizabeth far enough away from the booth.
She groans when they reach the outside world. Ban still holds her close, being careful not to let her slip. Diane would surely have his head if she finds out otherwise. Elizabeth lets out a drunken laugh at the thought of Diane belittling Ban because of her own clumsiness.
"Jeez," Ban mutters. They reach the car and he unlocks the doors, opening the passenger's door and guiding her to sit in the passenger's seat with a certain amount of effort. "We shouldn't have let ya drink so much," he says. "If you're gonna vomit, don't do it in the car, okay princess?"
"Mm hmm." God, has it ever been this hard to conjure words drunk?
Ban takes his time driving her back to her dorm room. She thinks he might have gone below the speed limit in an attempt to not worsen her condition - more specifically, to not trigger her into projectile vomiting all over the inside of King's car. Elizabeth is sure he couldn't really care any less or any more about King's car—it's the thought of getting bitched at by King he wants to avoid, she thinks.
He also takes his time in guiding her through the halls and elevator in the building of her dorm. Ban is being patient with her - something he typically isn't. I'll have to thank him in the morning, some sober part of her advises.
When he opens the door of her shared room, he removes his hold on her to see if she can hold her own weight or if she'll need help getting into bed. She seems to maintain her balance well enough, so he steps away.
"You gonna be okay?" He asks.
She raises her gaze to him with alcohol-flushed cheeks. "Yeah." Her words are still slurred though. "You can go back… I'll be fine," she smiles.
Ban chuckles, the sound warm to her ears. "I'm trustin' you, alright? Don't be afraid to give any of us a call. We'll come as quickly as possible. Take care of yourself, princess. I'm gonna head back now."
"Be safe," she says.
She watches him for a moment, his back to her eyes, before she decides to head inside. The door shuts with a click behind her. Elizabeth finds herself walking into the kitchen with a hiccup, her brain demanding some water to sober up, even if it barely helps her current drunken state.
As she fills a glass, her phone rings in her pocket. She groans at the loud sound of her ringtone. Elizabeth sets the half-full glass down on the kitchen counter before she pulls out her phone. An even louder groan escapes her lips as she reads the caller ID.
It's Meliodas Vayne of all people. What could he possibly want? He'd better not ask for tutoring again. She doesn't know what she'll say now that she barely has control over what words she can say due to being drunk off her ass. She grins slightly when the screen dims - enough time passed that the call either declined itself or Meliodas hung up after waiting for longer than he likely expected to.
But then it's ringing again, Meliodas trying one more time it seems. She rolls her eyes and presses her lips to a thin line. She accepts it, only to get him off her back so she can drink her water and go to sleep in peace.
"Hello?" She says, the irritation and displeasure clear in her voice.
"Ellie," Meliodas breathes her name. "Look. About earlier today… can we talk? Please?"
"I have nothin' to say to you and your…" she squints hard, slurring, trying to find something insulting to say. "Your stupidly cute face, Meliodas."
"Cute?" Meliodas parrots and she pays it no mind. She takes a sip of her water, sighing at the cool temperature. "Are you drunk right now, Elizabeth? Should I come over—?"
Elizabeth makes a sound of disgust in her throat. "Nooo, don't do that! I'm fine. I don't need a fucking babysitter - I'm a big girl! Haha… I drank with Ban and Elaine and King and Diane. I drank almost four glasses of gin!"
Meliodas curses on the other end. "Gin? Are you fuckin' kidding, Elizabeth?"
"No, I'm not kidding," she replies sourly. "I told you I didn't wanna see you again, Meliodas. You can take my tutoring lessons and shove them up your ass, not like you haven't done that already…"
"I said I was sorry. Look, I'm coming over Elizabeth. We can talk about the tutoring thing later—"
The silverette cries out, "No! I–I said I don't wanna… all you ever do is go around and offer to be community dick. I don't wanna give people the wrong impression when I'd have to go teach you! I don't care how big your dick is…"
The blonde suddenly laughs, the sound like honey to her ears. She giggles, stumbling out of the kitchen yet she somehow doesn't trip over anything. It's a miracle she hasn't found herself face-first with the floor of her living room area. "Do you hear yourself? Have you been having naughty thoughts about me, dear sweet Ellie? 'Sides, who's gonna give a shit if someone sees you with me? Shouldn't this morning have been risky enough for you if that's the case?"
Her blush worsens at his words. "I was not… having weird thoughts about you."
"That's what you got from all that?" He laughs once more. "I'm coming over Elizabeth, you aren't yourself. Did you drink water? Grab something small to eat?"
"Noo… don't." She says weakly, dropping onto the couch.
"I'm coming over." And with the way he said it, some part of her knew that he was dead set on coming over to come to her aid.