Kawaii-Cherri: If someone is reviewing - therefore I can see that they're reading, I'll update as often as I can. Sebastian isn't a fish... he's... well, you'll find out soon enough. It's spelled out in chapter 13? I think, but until then there will be hints and implications.

Chapter three: Determination is a curse.

'That obviously wasn't my intention-!' Sebastian began.

'That's not an excuse!' Demetrius retorted.

Sebastian's shoulders tensed and he fell silent. He wasn't trying to give an excuse; he was simply trying to explain the reason as to why this happened. Demetrius wore a face of thunder and it was clear that he didn't forgive Sebastian's "slip up", the older man paced around his step son, not giving him a moment to breathe. Sebastian forced himself to speak, his hands buried in his pockets. 'I… had to come up the waterfall… Willy was in his boat. I couldn't risk being seen,' he mumbled. 'Linus had already been past and I thought that the only person that could possibly be around could be you-'

Demetrius slammed his hand on the counter as he slumped onto the stool. 'You have to be more careful, Sebastian! It was pure luck that I happened to be around. If she hadn't been found, we could have been finding her body on that water bank, with no hope. It would have been in her system too long!'

Sebastian tried to explain but he could see that it was falling on deaf ears. 'I was trying to come find you! I ran into the house but then a couple minutes later… you had already brought her in here. If you would give me some of the salve I could have-'

'Have what? Risked everything? I cannot give you the chance to take risks because you feel that you have the antidote in your pocket. What if it's instantaneous? What if next time, it's not just a slight burn on surface level? What if next time, you get sloppy, thinking that you can solve the problem with the salve and it's just too late. No. I can't trust that. I can't trust you,' Demetrius snapped at him. There was a moment of silence which Demetrius then broke. 'Look. I am going to take her blood later. I will let you know how the toxin affects her. Are you still doing your tests?'

Sebastian sighs and nods. 'Yes. I'll bring them up this evening.'

'And?'

The young man felt like he was the size of an ant. An inconsequential ant. Nothing but a hindrance and a burden. 'It's the same thing every day. Same levels. Nothing's changed,' he said, bitterly.

Demetrius nodded and stood up. 'You were lucky this time, Sebastian. She was too. This could have been a much worse situation. You need to take more care,' he said bluntly. 'If you keep acting this reckless, you could risk killing someone.'

'Everyone… is predictable,' Sebastian said, trying to get his innocence across. 'Everyone! Everyone has their… their timetable. Even you! But, this new farmer. I don't… I don't know anything about her! I don't know her patterns or her… her habits! How can I be more careful when I already have everyone else's life memorised? Their lives, which by the way, they actually get to live! All I do every day is just try to survive and not fucking hurt anyone!' Sebastian blurted out, feeling angry and upset at this entire conversation. It wasn't his fault. He hadn't planned for it to happen and he had taken every precaution he could think of. How was he supposed to know that she would be crazy enough to go diving into the water fully clothed just to free a hook?

His step father glowered at him. 'You don't have that luxury. This is the hand you have been dealt, Sebastian. You need to stop making excuses and feeling pity for yourself and pull yourself together. There cannot be a next time. If anything, simply avoid Elspeth. You would be doing her a favour,' Demetrius said, bluntly. 'Now leave. Before Maru or your mother becomes suspicious about your presence in here,' he said, nodding his head towards the door. 'I will see you this evening.'

'Yeah, yeah,' Sebastian muttered as he opened the lab door; his hand covered by his hoodie sleeve and strode out, not bothering to shut it behind him. He pulled up his hood and walked down the corridor, passing his mother who said hello to him in greeting. Sebastian couldn't bear to reply to her in case she heard the break in his voice. He knew it hurt his mother every time he ignored her but he couldn't risk her wanting to give him comfort and touching his skin. He lived his life in isolation, not because he wanted to but because he had to. Once he had gotten to his room, he shut the door behind him and leaned back. Sliding down the wood, he sat on the floor and tried not to cry. He was sick of it all, the loneliness and blame. Deep down he knew there was going to be nothing in his future that could change anything.

-x-

Elspeth bounded through the door of Robin's home. 'Robiiiin!' She called in joy. She had taken a long shower once home and felt clean and free of both lake and farm dirt. The feeling in her fingers had completely returned and there didn't seem to be any side effects from either the toxin or the salve. 'Marruuuu!' Elspeth sang as she let herself in and wandered down the corridor towards the kitchen. 'I've brought you that fish!' She said in a sing song way, holding the notes easily. She hummed to herself as she began to take the freshly cleaned and prepared trout out of her bag and into the fridge. Elspeth knew that Robin wouldn't mind.

Speaking of, Robin appeared in the doorway having finished some paperwork and smiled brightly at Elspeth. 'Thank you, so much!' She said brightly as she walked into the kitchen. 'I've been really looking forward to this dinner!' Robin gently moved Elspeth aside and turned on the kettle. 'Want a coffee or tea?' She asked.

'A coffee would be great, please!' Elspeth said in reply. 'I promised that I would see Demetrius, so I'll be back in a minute, is that okay?'

'Sure thing! We can talk about what panels you want in the back storeroom when you get back. I got some new catalogues!' Robin said with a shimmy of her shoulders. Elspeth ooed in curiosity and made Robin smile before she darted out the kitchen towards Demetrius' labs.

She knocked on the door and waited for him to let her in verbally before she opened the door. 'Hey! I'm a bit early but I'm here for that blood sample if you're free now?' She asked. Elspeth had a good relationship with almost everyone in town, though it could be a bit tiring making sure that everyone felt appreciated. She made sure to gift people things on their birthdays and fulfil requests for items, it had helped her integration into the town and she felt part of the community.

Demetrius steered her to a chair and began to prepare for the blood sample. Elspeth froze a little and she went pale. 'Are you alright?' Demetrius said as he noticed the change in her skin colour and personality. She gingerly began to pull up the sleeve of her thin knitted jumper and bared her arm.

'Not great with needles,' she admitted as she turned her head away from him. He was taking a syringe out of a sterilised packet and it made her stomach flip. 'I'll be alright. I've had blood tests before; I just get a little nauseated.'

'Fair enough,' he said with a chuckle. 'I do really appreciate this, Elspeth. It will provide great research and I'll be able to see your body's reaction to the toxin. Then we'll know how to keep you safe in regards to contact,' he said as he guided her arm onto the rest. 'Okay, sharp scratch,' he warned before he slid the needle into her arm. She inhaled sharply but didn't complain. Within a few seconds, he had filled a vial and removed the needle. He pressed a cotton wool ball against the inside of her arm and nodded. 'There we are. All done,' he said in praise.

'Sharp scratch, my backside,' she mutters with a wince. 'Scratch by a dinosaur, maybe,' she added. Demetrius chuckles and disposes of the needle into a specialised bin before labelling the vial and placing it into the fridge. Elspeth held the cotton ball while he found some masking tape to hold it in place and then rolled down her sleeve. 'When will you know the results?' She asks, curiously.

He smiles at the young woman. She was only just over five foot but had the personality that far outreached that. Demetrius was glad she had made friends with his daughter and didn't mind her company at all. 'Well, should Robin allow me to work tonight after dinner, I should have results by morning. Otherwise, it will be late afternoon tomorrow,' he said as she stood up and patted down her jumper. 'I'll let you know as soon as they're conclusive,' he assured. 'Even if I have to pop over to the farm. As soon as I know, you'll know.'

She beamed at him, 'awesome. I want to know if I can go hunting that fish. I need to know what it looks like and I'd rather not die in the process.'

Demetrius forced himself to smile. 'Ah, well. Most people only ever see a flash of it once in their life. Marlon and Willy have never seen it, neither have Robin or Maru,' he pointed out to her. 'In fact, I don't know anyone other than myself who has caught anything more than a moment of it,' he said.

Elspeth tilted her head, 'is that how you have the toxin?' She asked, wondering where he had gotten it.

He realised he had backed himself into a corner and made something up on the spot. It wasn't like she could fact check it. 'It's a predator. It's not uncommon to find deposits of the toxin on the fish it hunts,' he said hoping it sounded realistic. Elspeth seemed to take him at his word and didn't question any more.

'Alrighty, well, I'll leave you be till tomorrow!' She said with a perky smile. 'See you later, Demetrius!' She sang as she disappeared out his lab, leaving him to chuckle to himself. Her attitude was infectious, that was for sure. Elspeth made her way down the corridor back towards the kitchen, 'ooh, that coffee smells great,' she said as she entered. Robin smiled up at her from where she was sitting at the table. Behind her, Sebastian was making himself a coffee, pouring the recently boiled water into a mug. 'Oh. Hey, Sebastian! Haven't seen you in a while!' Elspeth said, ignoring the flip of her stomach. She didn't know why but there was something about him that pinged the primal desire button. Repeatedly.

He looked over at her, a half-smile on his lips as he nodded in reply. 'Hey,' he said quietly. 'Excuse me,' he added as he picked up his mug. Elspeth knew about his aversion to germs and touch and wasn't surprised to see that he was wearing gloves. Elspeth stepped aside to give him plenty of space to walk through the door and then it hit her.

'Oh. Wait!' She said as she grabbed her bag from the table and gave Robin the hand sign for the fact that she needed one more moment. The older woman smiled to herself and raised her eyebrows suggestively while Elspeth rolled her eyes and left the kitchen to catch up with the elusive son. He had politely waited a little further down the hall so she didn't have to go far. Elspeth made sure that she didn't get too close, she knew in her enthusiasm she could be a little overbearing and didn't want to freak him out. 'I made something that I thought you'd like,' she said as she dove into her bag.

'That I'd like?' Sebastian asked with confusion. Elspeth had given him a present on his birthday and he had managed to get her in the secret gift exchange and had settled on giving her a tea set. It was the only thing he could think of and she seemed to be happy about it but other than those moments, their interactions had been far and few between. They hadn't ever really just hung out and Sebastian was going to keep it that way, to keep her safe. 'You didn't need to get me anything-'

She huffed at him and rolled her eyes as she pulled out a Tupperware box. 'I was making myself some and then I remembered that you liked it as well and it turned out that I definitely had faaar too much and I didn't want it going bad in the fridge, so I thought you would like it. I made sure that everything was sterilized and I was fresh out the shower when I began preparing it, so like, germs are minimal. If you're not comfortable eating it though, I won't take offence,' she babbled.

He gingerly took the tub from her and lifted it up to see the contents. 'Did… you make sashimi?' He asked, surprised.

'Yeah!' Elspeth said, happily. 'I like it and I heard that you did so I thought you'd like to have some. Though again, don't feel pressured-'

She stopped in the middle of her sentence as she spotted the large smile on his features. Her heart skipped as he bit his lip, his piercing resting against his teeth, 'This is…' he said, his voice thick with an emotion she couldn't place. He cleared his throat and looked down at her. 'Thanks… Elspeth. This is really amazing. I love sashimi,' he said, softly.

Elspeth felt the blush hit her face and she realised that she couldn't let Sebastian see it. Quickly, she backed up and nodded, her hands in her back jean pockets. 'Right well, I hope it's okay. I'll see you later. My coffee is going cold so I gotta, y'know, nip off,' she babbled. 'Bye!'

Sebastian stood there holding his coffee and the tub of food with a confused expression on his face. 'Bye,' he said watching her almost run back to the kitchen. He smiled to himself and shook his head as he squashed the happy feeling in his chest. He shouldn't encourage this type of behaviour. It would only lead to pain.

Can he resist our sweet, little Elspeth? Review and let me know your thoughts about what's going on.

Also. Demetrius is an asshole, (in this at least).

Be well. Stay safe.