Kawaii-Cherri: As of this moment, there isn't a redemption arc for Demetrius. I just haven't decided how hard I'm going to go in regards of completely destroying his character. He unfortunately will be popping up here and there. I quite like this chapter; it makes me smile.

Chapter six: Stepping stones.

Sebastian walked into the house through the garage, his hair was damp but it didn't matter; his mum knew that he had been down the beach for a swim. His heartrate was through the roof and he was trying not to have an anxiety attack. He was seen. Properly seen. He was sure it was Elspeth. There wasn't anyone else in town that would go swimming in the ocean with the weather like it was. He leaned against the wall and tried to calm his breathing. It's going to be okay, he thought to himself. It was dark and I have better vision in my other form. So, if I could barely make her out in through the seaweed and current, it should have been almost impossible for her to pick out details of what I looked like. Sebastian hadn't ever really seen what he looked like, apart from looking down at his body. Deep down it was because he was scared to find out that he looked like a monster, it was unfortunately how he always felt when in that form. It's fine. Other than the fact that I don't let people touch me and that the 'fish' she touched was toxic, there's nothing else that connects the two, he thought as he tried to lower his pulse and hold off the incoming panic attack.

He ran his hand through his hair and adjusted the bag on his shoulder. 'It's going to be fine-'

'Sebby!' Robin said as she appeared by his side causing him to jump almost a foot into the air. She ignored his flinch and obvious step back which created distance. 'Did you have a nice swim?' She asked, curiously. Her smile was suspicious and he raised a brow as he looked back at her.

'It was fine,' he said carefully, wondering where she was going. Normally his mother was happy to just see him home and safe; it wasn't often that she struck up conversation. He pulled up his bag once more and tilted his head. 'Mum, you alright?' He asked. Her smile hadn't dwindled and he was getting worried.

Robin gave him an enthusiastic blink and held up her hands, they were covered in some sort of substance. 'I've been tanning wood,' she explained. 'I thought Elspeth was going swimming today, I wondered if perhaps you ran into her. Swimming is a passion of hers, I thought it would be nice if you two bonded over it,' she said, coyly.

Sebastian realised what his mother was trying to do and his face paled. 'Oh… no. I didn't see her. She must have been at another part of the beach,' he said as he backed up.

His mother grinned more and motioned to her hands, 'could you do me a favour, Sebby? I want to call on Elspeth and make sure she got home okay. The ocean can be dangerous and I would feel a lot better if you gave her a ring on my behalf. I would, but I can't really touch my phone right now,' she said as she shrugged her shoulders, theatrically. Sebastian's eye twitched as he realised he had stepped right into his mother's trap.

'I don't know if she would be comfortable with me calling her. She hasn't given me her number,' he said in a desperate attempt to side step this entire conversation..

'Oh, don't worry about that. Her number is in the book,' Robin said as she stepped forward towards him, herding him towards the counter. 'You'll help me, won't you, Sebby?' She adds. 'I just want to make sure that she's safe and sound.'

He backed up and found himself next to the front door, near the counter. 'Mum, you're acting a little strange,' he said, bluntly. Coming from me, that means a lot, he thought as she wore a rather… intense expression. She raised her brows and tilted her head. He sighed and gave her a look, 'Yoba. Look if I do this, will you take a chill pill or something? I'm afraid you're going to give yourself an aneurysm or something,' he said, concerned that his mother had truly lost it. With a roll of his eyes, he put his bag on the floor and walked around the counter, picking up the order book. Thankfully, he was already wearing gloves and it didn't take him long to find Elspeth's contact details. Robin watched him with a careful eye and smiled brightly as he typed her number into his phone; his gloves were touchscreen compatible.

The phone rang a couple of times before he heard Elspeth's voice. 'Hello?' She said tentatively. It would have come up with an unknown number and he was glad that she had picked up at least. Only Yoba knew what his mother would have done if she hadn't.

Sebastian cleared his throat and began to speak. 'Elspeth. Hi. It's Sebastian,' he said trying not to sound like an idiot. Robin was putting him off though and making him feel nervous. He really didn't need this whole situation after what had happened down at the beach. Although his common sense told him that there was no way that Elspeth would know that it was him that she had seen under the water, his irrational side was having a mental breakdown. He could only hope that his tone sounded normal and not show his internal panic and anxiety.

Elspeth's voice perked up as she replied. 'Oh! Hey! Everything okay?' She asked. Sebastian could hear her moving around her farm, Buddy was barking in the background.

'Uh, yeah. Sorry, about the call. Um, my mum was worried as you had apparently gone down the beach swimming and she wanted to make sure that you got home safe-'

'Ask her to join you swimming,' Robin hissed as she leaned on the counter with her elbows. 'Sebby! Go on! Ask her! You could swim together, tomorrow!'

He pulled a face of disbelief at his mother and tried to concentrate on what he had been saying. There was no doubt that Elspeth had heard, he picked up on her giggle down the line. 'Sorry, as I was saying; my mum was just worried and wanted to know you got home. She would have called herself but she's covered in some sort of wood oil and can't use her phone,' he explained.

There was the sound the kettle boiling and Elspeth had been subconsciously humming. 'Oh, yeah. That's totally fine, can you tell your mum, thank you? I appreciate her concern. Next time I'll make sure to text her so that she doesn't stress out about it.'

Robin bounced on her heels as she made rapid fire suggestions to her son who was trying to back up and create distance. Sebastian ran his hand through his hair and literally turned his back on his mother in an attempt to control the situation. 'Sorry, for calling you off of my phone,' he added softly. 'I couldn't use my mum's,' he admitted, feeling like an idiot. 'I can wipe your number if you're not comfortable with me having it.'

Elspeth snorted. 'Don't you dare. I've got your number now too, don't forget. Call me sometime. Perhaps when your mother isn't hovering dementedly over your shoulder.'

Sebastian couldn't help but laugh out loud, 'I don't know how you knew but you're spot on,' he said honestly, with a half smirk. He glanced over at his mother whose own smile threatened to take the top of her head off.

'She did the same thing to me at yoga,' Elspeth revealed. 'She even said that you seemed to, "light up" when you're around me,' she teases lightly.

He swore and heard her snort again. 'Elspeth, please, ignore her. Oh Yoba, I'm so sorry,' he replied, making her giggle. 'You know what she's like when she gets an idea in her head.' Robin was rocking back and forth on the spot, revelling in every interaction and expression, Sebastian firmly ignored her and listened to the phone call.

Elspeth was ready with her retort and it put him on the spot. 'Are you telling me that you don't "light up" when I'm around? I'm hurt, Sebastian,' she said, feigning rejection.

Oh, fuck me… Sebastian thought as he bit his lip. The tease in her voice made his stomach flip. Woman, you are going to get me in so much trouble. Why is it so hard to keep you at arm's length? You've been here over a year and I had no problem. Suddenly you've decided to get to know me and it's like a switch has flipped. Somehow, you're everywhere I look and always on my mind, he thought as he scrambled for a reply. Sebastian cleared his throat, 'well… I didn't say that,' he said, a little shy.

There was a pause and he could tell that he had caught her off guard. 'I guess I'll have to see for myself next time I see you,' she said, her voice quiet and soft. Sebastian felt a shiver run over his skin with how gentle she was with her words. Fucking hell, I'm obsessed. I need a slap across the face. With a brick, he thought, scolding himself.

'I really am sorry, about my mum,' he said while looking at his mother, who was unashamedly giving him encouraging hand signs such as; thumbs up, silent clapping and whooping.

'It's fine,' Elspeth said and Sebastian could hear her smile through the phone. 'I'll let you go, before she ends up grabbing you or something. Thanks for checking up on me,' she said softly. 'Promise to randomly call for a chat?'

He knew that he shouldn't. He knew that he should slam down some serious boundaries to keep her at a distance and keep her safe but selfishly, he didn't want to. For once he wanted to talk to the pretty girl who made his heart skip and wore a beautiful smile. Sebastian bit his lip, perhaps even over the phone I might feel like a normal guy for once, he thought. Ignoring his mother, he replied. 'Yeah, of course. I'll text you beforehand though, yeah? To make sure you're not in the mines or something,' he joked. Elspeth laughs and agrees and they both say their goodbyes. Without ceremony, he locks his phone and slides it into his pocket.

Robin lasted all of three seconds before she squealed at her son. 'So?'

'So, what?' Sebastian asked, confused. 'She's fine. She was at home and by the sounds of it, making coffee or something. She said that she would text you next time so that you didn't have to worry,' he said. 'Oh, she also said; thank you for your concern,' he added as he relayed the message.

'Oh, Sebby,' Robin said in a happy sigh. 'She's so lovely. You two would make a lovely couple-'

'Mum, please. We're not even really friends,' he said as he shook his head. 'Don't go building this elaborate fantasy in your head,' Sebastian said simply. 'Nothing is going to happen between myself and Elspeth,' he said, bluntly. Nothing can happen so I had better get used to that idea. The spark of hope was nice while it lasted but it's just not possible. If I touch her… I kill her. I can't risk that. Ever.

She wasn't fazed by his tone and simply shrugged a shoulder. 'A mother always knows, Sebby. Just you wait and see,' she said with a grin. 'Thank you for calling her for me, sweetie, I'm going to get back to my wood.' Robin gave him a nauseatingly, loving look before wandering off.

Sebastian felt exhausted with the whole interaction and made his way back to his room. 'Thank fuck Demetrius wasn't around,' he muttered to himself as he opened his door. 'That would be the last thing I need right now,' he sighed. He understood why he had to isolate himself like he did but sometimes he felt that Demetrius saw him as a criminal. As if he did it all on purpose. Somehow the entire morning felt like it had taken a week to get through. He dumped his bag on the end of his sofa and then threw himself onto his bed. 'Ugh,' he moaned as he buried his head in the pillow. Ambivalence weighed heavily on his chest and he just wanted to turn off his inner monologue for ten minutes.

Treacherously, his hand pulled out his phone. With a yank, he lobbed his gloves onto the sofa and opened his call log. He clicked on Elspeth's number and began to save it to his contacts; he paused on the name entry. Part of him wanted to write something sappy, a silly little nickname but he knew that if someone saw it, it would just entice questions. Awkward ones at that. In the end he just settled for her name; perhaps in time, if they became friends, he could change it to something a little bit more personal between them.

Biting his lip, he brushed his fringe from his eyes and began to type a text. He deleted it a few times before finally settling on a generic greeting.

-Hey. Sorry about my mum. Sebastian.

He wasn't expecting a quick reply but was pleasantly surprised when only a couple minutes later, one popped up on his screen.

From: Elspeth

-It's fine. I know she means well. Also, I know it's you. I saved your number. Silly.

Sebastian smiled and allowed a chuckle to escape as he tried to formulate a reply that didn't sound cringey in his head.

-Is that what I'm saved under? 'Silly'? Not very flattering. Or are you telling me that you want to be saved under the name, 'Silly', instead?

The tone was teasing and he forced himself to place his phone face down on his chest. Fuck. Shouldn't be flirting. Idiot, he thought and rubbed his face with his hand, pressing on the bridge of his nose with his fingertips. He couldn't help it, there was something about Elspeth that made him lose all sense. She had been in this town for over a year but only now they had taken the time to talk and he was already enamoured. Even though it was literally the most dangerous thing that could happen. She had already caught him twice, somehow. He had to be careful on how he proceeded. His text tone distracted him and he snatched up his phone to read the message.

From: Elspeth

You'll have to wait and see what you're saved under -winky face- and you better save me under something cute. I don't want anything boring.

He wondered what on earth he could change it to and settled for just asking her for some suggestions. She replied with something sassy, telling him to use his imagination and he sat up as he pondered, 'Something that's cute… that's not too cringe or creepy. Hmm, I think I have it,' he said to himself as he re-entered the contacts menu to change it. It definitely wasn't going to be seen by anyone else, he was going to make sure of that. Satisfied, he replied to her.

-I've figured it out. Perhaps I'll show you next time we meet.

It was only a moment later when his screen lit up with a ding.

From: Elsie

I'll hold you to that.

If you are enjoying the fiction, please review.

I'm a night shift worker, so the next few updates might be late in the day/evening, once I've slept.

Be well. Stay safe.