Kawaii-Cherri: There is a storm coming, slowly, but it's coming. Mwhahaha. These two are just so adorable and it's only going to get better tbh.
Chapter Twenty-Eight: You belong to me.
It had been a week since Sebastian moved in and things were going well. His furniture had been delivered and put up, it turned out that Sebastian had picked up a few skills from his mother. He had purchased a double bed; something Elspeth wondered about but didn't say anything. It had come in handy as most nights they spent together, watching films or playing games. It was unintentional but generally they fell asleep in whoever's bed was closest. The one time that Elspeth had fallen asleep in her own bed, alone, she had gotten up around three in the morning and walked down to Sebastian's room. She had knocked on the door and he had actually answered, it turned out that he was working but didn't hesitate to let her in and tuck her into his own bed, joining her about half an hour later.
Friday night was the time where they all convened at the Saloon. Only Hayley knew the truth about their relationship status, although everyone else had found out about his new living arrangement. Sam and Alex were the most vocal about it but Hayley had managed to calm them down and move the conversation on early in the evening. Abigail hadn't taken the news well, it was clear that she was still attempting to gain his attention but Sebastian being who he was, all attempts were falling flat.
They were all sitting around the table, Alex, Penny, Sam, Abigail, Hayley and Elspeth with Sebastian. The music was loud and atmosphere was light. Hayley sat on Alex's lap to save space, Abigail had kind of separated herself by sitting on a chair; she was sulking, any attempt to talk to Sebastian had gone over his head. He had been practically glued to Elspeth the entire night, not that Elspeth minded, she enjoyed his attention. Elspeth was sitting next to Sebastian, his arm lightly over her shoulders, leaning into him. A couple of comments had been made about their relaxed proximity but they hadn't confirmed or denied anything.
Penny sipped her drink and looked around at her friends, 'so what are you excited for? I'm looking forward to the Night Festival that's coming up,' she said with a bright smile.
'Oooh! Yes!' Elspeth chimed in, sitting up a little more to face her. 'I missed it last year. I stupidly worked myself too hard and passed out it the mines. Marlon had to find me,' she muttered, annoyed at herself. Sebastian's grip tightened around her shoulder, the idea of her being in that situation making him uneasy.
Hayley nodded, 'I can't wait to see the mermaid show, I love her singing and I want to take some notes on her appearance for that shoot we've got coming up,' she said, joining in the conversation.
'You're pretty good at singing, aren't you, Elspeth?' Alex added.
Elspeth went pink but cleared her throat. 'I mean… I would say I can sing. I can hold a note at least,' she mumbled.
Sebastian chuckled, 'your singing is beautiful. You sing everywhere, gardening, in the shower,' he muses making Sam wink at Elspeth who was going pinker by the second. 'I can tell where you are and what mood you're in by the songs you're singing,' he added, making Hayley snort into her drink.
'Yeah, yeah,' Abigail muttered. 'Her singing is okay.'
'Abi!' Penny almost scolded her. 'Don't be mean.'
Elspeth shrugged her shoulders and finished her drink. 'It's okay,' she said as the group went quiet. 'Everyone has different tastes, it's not unreasonable to think that she doesn't like my singing,' Elspeth said simply. Bitter cow. I get it, you're pissed but shut up with the petty comments, Elspeth thought, annoyed.
Penny had moved closer to Abigail and Elspeth could hear them talking, 'Abigail, if you're in a bad mood, perhaps you should go home,' Penny whispered. 'It's not fair that you're being mean to Elspeth,' she added. 'She's done nothing wrong.'
'You wouldn't get it,' Abigail spat back at her. 'It's not like she's got her claws in Sam.' Penny sighed and shook her head; it didn't look like Abigail was going to let this go anytime soon.
Hayley attempted to control everyone's attention, 'a question about mermaids,' she said causing everyone to look at her. She wore a wicked grin and Elspeth felt her stomach drop. This is not going to be good, she thought as she recognised the look. 'Do you think mermen have dicks?' She asked bluntly.
Elspeth coughed on her drink and she felt Sebastian stiffen next to her, 'Hayley!' She said, forcing herself to laugh at her question. 'What the hell?'
'I can't be curious about it?' Hayley asked, wearing a completely innocent face. 'There's a mermaid at the Night Festival, I just thought of a tangent from there,' she said, shrugging an innocent shoulder. 'Well, what do you think?'
Alex chimed in, 'what's the alternative, babe?'
'Something gross,' Sam replied.
'Actually, fish reproduce by spawning,' Penny explained. 'The female lays the eggs and then the males release sperm over them, causing fertilisation,' she said, her teacher voice kicking in. 'Many fish die after reproducing but there are a lot that don't. There are even some that mate for life,' she added. 'There's a fish called a football fish and the female is so much bigger than the male. The male actually attaches itself to the female and becomes a part of her.'
'Yeah, that's gross,' Sam repeated, pulling a face. 'The mermaid at the Night Festival has fins everywhere, it's almost impossible to tell.'
'Looked a lot have you, Sam?' Abigail said, almost like a barb. 'Seb, what do you think?' She asked, causing Sebastian to clear his throat and sit up straight. Abigail batted her eyelashes at him and Elspeth had to avoid rolling her eyes.
Sebastian refrained from looking at Elspeth and nodded, 'uh… well. I would have thought that, uh, well, mermaids are more mammalian? What with uh, their-'
'Boobs?' Elspeth chimed in.
'Ah, yeah,' he said, awkwardly. 'So, I would have thought that they would have like, pregnancies.'
Hayley looked at Sebastian with intent, 'so what you're saying is, you think that mermen have dicks,' she said, pointedly. She knew that Sebastian knew and she wasn't going to let him off the hook.
Elspeth snorted into her drink and looked up at Sebastian. 'Yeah, Bazzie, answer her,' she said, barely refraining from laughing.
Sebastian gave Hayley a look, she was almost sliding off of Alex's lap with her laughter and he sighed, defeated. 'Yes, Hayley. I think that merman have dicks,' he said, bluntly. This is going to make for an interesting conversation topic later, he thought, wishing that the ground would swallow him whole. 'I hate your best friend,' he whispered to Elspeth, who giggled and leaned into him more.
Elspeth tipped back the rest of her drink and looked up at Sebastian. 'Want another?' She asked, ignoring the glare Abigail was giving her.
'Sure, same again?' Sebastian said as she got up. 'Want me to join you?'
She laughed and shook her head, 'Bazzie, it's fine. I can grab a couple of drinks,' she teased lightly. Elspeth got up and took the empty glasses and bottles to the bar. She hummed along to the music and began to sway gently on the spot, waiting for her turn to place an order. She looked at her nails, she had painted them for the evening, knowing that the polish would chip off the next morning. This is going well, Bazzie is definitely being a little… clingy? But, if I'm honest with myself. I like it. He's not normally like this, she thought to herself. If she needed space, he wouldn't bat an eyelid and would simply leave her be.
I'm overthinking this too much, she thought simply. It was understandable that Sebastian would be a little clingy as it was their first time around their friends since developing the relationship. Gus stopped in front of her. 'I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'll be able to take your order in a moment,' he said as he carried food.
'Take your time, Gus, no rush,' Elspeth said with a smile and a wave of her hand. The Saloon door swings open and Elliot walks in. Elspeth turned around and gave him a smile. 'Oh, hey, Elliot,' she said, brightly. She liked Elliot, he was sweet and easy to talk to.
He gave her just as a bright smile back to her and walked over to the bar. 'My, it's a pleasure to see you here, Elspeth,' he said, honestly.
'How have you been? It's been a while since I've seen you,' Elspeth said as she took a seat at the bar instead of standing. Elliot sat opposite her and brushed his hair back; privately Elspeth was glad that she hadn't gained any attraction towards this man, his hair colour was similar to hers, they could be mistaken for siblings which gave her the "ick".
Elliot rotated his neck with a heavy sigh, 'I've just finished writing. It's been almost eight hours straight. So, I'm hoping a drink will help me relax,' he said with another smile. 'Yourself?'
'Relaxing,' Elspeth agreed. Gus stopped in front of them and Elliot ordered an ale and didn't ask what Elspeth would want, and simply ordered a wine for her. Elspeth was surprised but didn't say anything, wine was fine, though she didn't particularly like mixing her drinks. One wine should be okay. 'Oh, thanks,' she said to Elliot. 'I'll get the next one.' Elspeth took out her phone and texted Sebastian, saying that she was going to be a moment, Elliot had bought her a drink.
'It is not often that we get to spend time together,' Elliot said as Gus brought over their drinks.
Elspeth smiled, and held up her glass; he had brought her the drink after all. 'Well, um, a toast,' she said, hoping that it didn't sound too awkward or clunky.
'A toast?' Elliot said as he held up his mug as well, automatically.
'To our friendship!' Elspeth suggested with fake confidence.
Elliot chuckled and nodded, clinking his glass against hers. 'That's a great idea, to us!' They both take a sip and Elspeth smiles warmly at him. She inquires as to how his book is going and he replies with enthusiasm, chatting about a significant storyline. They were halfway through their drinks when Elliot smiled, laughing at an anecdote Elspeth had finished. 'I must say, Elspeth, you look wonderful tonight.'
Her cheeks went pink, 'oh, thank you, Elliot, that's sweet of you,' she said. The compliment was unasked for but she didn't want to be rude. She hadn't made a particular effort for tonight, a simple pretty top that she had borrowed from Hayley with jeans and matching colour boots.
'It is nothing but the truth,' he said, a charming smile reaching his eyes. 'You should come over at some point, I could show you my draft and perhaps we could share lunch together?'
His tone was that of a curiously, cautious inquiry but Elspeth didn't register that. She was three drinks in and feeling tipsy. 'That sounds great!' Elspeth said with an enthusiastic nod. 'We don't spend enough time together; things have just been so busy recently-'
Another voice chimed in. 'I hope you're not disappointed by that fact,' Sebastian said as he walked over.
Elspeth lit up. 'Bazzie!' She said in drunken glee. 'Oh, I'm sorry. Was I taking too long? We were chatting-'
Sebastian laughed lightly and casually draped his arm over her shoulders. 'It's fine, Elsie. Elliot, how are you?' He asked as he held out his hand for the man to shake. There was something different about his demeanour compared to usual, Sebastian was coming across as confident and slightly intimidating. Elliot took Sebastian's hand and there was a brief shake.
'I am well. Thank you. I did not mean to monopolise her time,' Elliot said, feeling his fingers hurt from the tight grip that Sebastian had applied. The men released one another and Elliot narrowed his eyes. 'Are you wearing contacts, Sebastian?' He inquired as he leaned forward to look.
Both Elliot and Elspeth look into Sebastian's eyes, who looks confused. Elspeth realised that for some reason, Sebastian had changed his eyes to their complete black. Seemingly without meaning to. 'Oh! Yeah, you must have!' Elspeth said in fake remembrance. 'Remember? You're trying them out for one of Hayley's photoshoots! Uh, Actually, I'm so hot,' she waved her hand at her face. 'Bazzie, come keep me company outside? You can have a cigarette,' she said in a fluster as she knocked back the rest of her wine in a gulp. Elliot raised a brow but his expression was soon wiped off his face as Elspeth leaned over and hugged him. 'Elliot, great to see you,' Elspeth said in a rush. 'Thank you for the drink and I'll make sure to pop over soon, okay?'
Sebastian's hand hadn't left Elspeth's shoulder and his grip tightened as she hugged Elliot. Elliot hadn't noticed and merely chuckled at Elspeth's actions. 'Of course, my dear. I cannot wait to see you. Let us not leave it so long between visits next time, yes?'
'Sounds great,' Elspeth said as she moved away from him and grabbed Sebastian's hand. I need to get him out of here. He looks like he's literally about to bite Elliot's head off, she thought in a slight panic. What the fuck has wound him up? Elspeth hopped off her chair and walked towards the door, knowing that Sebastian would be on her heels. Together, they stepped outside. Elspeth took him around the side of the Saloon where there was a light and peered into his eyes.
'What?' Sebastian asked, bluntly. A little confused about what's going on.
'Your eyes are pitch black!' Elspeth hissed quietly, sobering up quickly. 'It's like you've done your whole, partial shift thing! Your teeth even look sharper!' She narrowed her eyes as she looked at him carefully.
He raised a brow and shrugged a shoulder, moving closer to Elspeth. She backed up a step, there was something about him that didn't sit right. 'And?' He said, simply. Elspeth was forced to hop up onto the fence in order to stand her ground, sitting on the top slat. This isn't like him, she thought. Bazz would normally freak out at the idea of anyone seeing his other form, in any part. I've got to figure this out and quickly, before something happens that either of us regret.