After the fight was over, Erin had slipped an arm around Delaney’s waist, guiding her out onto the veranda.
As they stepped out into the night air, Erin took a deep breath and helped her friend onto a bench before ordering Serena away to go find medical supplies. In the meantime, Erin had grabbed some spare napkins off the corner of the snack table on the way out the door. Now looking at Delaney with concern, she began to dab at the small cuts on the other woman's face.
”Can you please explain to me how you can’t go ten minutes without getting into a fight without me? Do you know how offended I am right now,” she joked, trying to play off her concern.
Wincing at the small dabs, she eyed the woman. They were harmless compared to what she was hit with, but it didn’t mean they didn’t sting like a bitch. Delaney huffed out a breath and allowed her favourite person to clean up after her mess. Again. She felt like absolute shit.
”This time it wasn’t me. Bitch collided into me and then dumped her bottle all over my new outfit.” She scoffed and rolled her eyes. ”Ruined a perfectly good jacket. Who does that sewer rat think she is?”
Listening to Delaney speak, Erin's eyes narrowed in frustration. ”Sounds like home girl just showed up looking to start shit to me,” she responded with a sigh. Standing up and moving so that she was standing behind Delaney, Erin began to pull her friend's hair back from her face and up into a bun.
”I’m glad I hit that bitch,” Erin stated sourly, her face scrunching up in disgust as she pictured the newcomer in her mind.
”Glad you hit who?”
Hearing a deep voice, Erin looked up to see Rowan walking over their way. Her expression quickly changed as she tried to hide the small smirk forming.
Rowan, on the other hand, was clearly concerned. As Erin watched the young man take in the scene before him, she could have sworn she saw a small anger brewing in his eyes.
”D,” he questioned, his voice firm. ”Who did this?”
Delaney hissed out a breath at her hair being pulled, the strands tugging at the spot where she was hit with the bottle. She could have sworn shards of glass were still mixed in. ”Tulip, I love the hell out of you, but you need to stop bringing strays home. Especially rabid ones.
She smelled him before she heard his voice. The combination of his cologne, charcoal from the grill, and a small hint of turpentine from his woodwork hit her senses and she bit back a groan. Her second favourite person had arrived.
Glancing up as much as she could at the voice, she let out a resigned breath. ”That new girl, whatever the hell her name is. Kolby’s new meat stick.”
As Erin continued to pull back Delaney’s hair and remove what glass she could. Meanwhile, Rowan took a seat on the bench beside Delaney to assess the damage himself.
With a small huff and a disappointed expression, Rowan rolled his eyes at the mention of Kolby. ”Well, I can’t hit her - but I can hit him,” he offered. Looking up at Erin he added: ”Tell me you guys got at least a few good hits in?”
Erin laughed. ”You bet we did. Broken arm, bottle over her head. Left her in her own mess - literally. Maybe we did too much, but -”
”Justice isn’t always fair,” Rowan interjected.
Practically on que, Serena walked up with a basic med kit and a few healing potions. Quickly handing them to Rowan, she turned on her heel before being stopped by her cousin.
”And where do you think you’re going,” Erin asked inquisitively.
”To get wasted,” Serena retorted as she turned her back on the group once more. ”I did my part, now I deserve my reward.” Holding up her right hand, Serena held up a peace sign, walking back through the entryway to the house. ”Later losers.”
Rolling her eyes and moving back in front of her friend, Erin picked up the med kit off of the bench and offered it to Delaney.
”Want me to keep playing doctor, or can you handle yourself?”
Her entire body tingled at being this close to Rowan. Delaney looked back up at her best friend and gave her a small grin. ”I can handle the rest from here. Thanks lovey.”
Taking one of the potions from Rowan, she looked it over before downing it in one gulp. Her nose scrunched in distaste before letting out a slow breath. She glanced at Rowan next to her and bumped his shoulder with her own. ”As much fun as it would be to see you knock the shit out of Kolby, I wouldn’t want you to start anything just because of me.”
Rowan chuckled. ”I have my own reasons for wanting to hit that one. Besides, I wouldn’t be starting anything.”
”Just finishing it,” Erin replied with a laugh of her own. ”I’m going to go get us all something to drink. Be back in just a sec.”
As Erin walked away, Rowan turned back to Delaney, leaning back on the bench and stretching one of his arms out behind her so that it rested on the back of the bench.
”So,” he began, trying his best to keep things casual. ”What’ve you been up to besides all this mess?”
Delaney’s eyes widened just slightly as she watched Erin walk away. That witch knew what she was doing. She cleared her throat and poked at her nose, wincing. It was still incredibly sore and she knew the bags under her eyes would be a lovely shade of purple.
She cleared her throat as he started to speak. Delaney swore at herself. You’re not a school girl anymore, talk to the man. But hello, have you seen him? Why am I talking to myself? Talk to him!
Taking a breath, she plastered a small grin on her face before turning to her head to respond to him. ”Oh, you know me. Work. Work. And then some more work. Now I have to find a spot for all this Coven crap now.”
She shrugged as she watched him. ”What about you? Didn’t see you at Huskers on your usual day. Everything okay?”
Careful to keep his eyes glued onto the party goers he could see through the door, Rowan did his best to keep his expression calm and collected. She knows what day I come in? Better yet - she was looking for me?
Clearing his throat, Rowan was unable to hide the small half smirk that had formed on his face despite his best efforts. ”Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just got a little busy with work. Helping dad at the Mill, busting out commissions. Usual things.” After a brief pause he quickly added: ”I’ll be sure to come and see you Saturday though. Schedule should be pretty clear then.”
Don’t grin like an idiot don’t grin like an idiot don’t grin like an idiot. Crap. Delaney felt the corners of her mouth raise in a smile. ”Saturday would be great. Pretty busy night though. But I should definitely see you.”
She scrunched her nose, immediately regretting it. She huffed out a breath and groaned. ”Okay. Be truthful with me here. How fucked up do I look?”
At her mention of it being a busy night, Rowan had to fight the urge to laugh once more. Delaney knew good and well that he’d be there until after close, helping her clean up if she needed just as usual.
Turning his sole attention back to Delaney, Rowan took a moment to look her over from head to toe. Glass in her hair, eyes bruised, hair sticking to her face - she was still the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.
”Well,” he sighed, grabbing one of the small pieces of glass he saw from her hair. ”You’re beat up - that for sure. But I’d bet money that if Erin would let us borrow that camera of hers, we could still get ya on the cover of Vogue.”
”Not a chance in hell of you touching my equipment,” Erin called out, now just a few steps away from the pair. Taking a seat on the ground in front of them, Erin handed both Rowan and Delaney a red solo cup before cracking open the bottle of rum. ”Respectfully, of course,” she added, looking up at Rowan for a moment before her eyes flicked over to meet Delaneys. ”Shots?” she asked, a mischievous smile now plastered across her face.
Delaney couldn’t help the slight flush in her cheeks at his compliment. If only that man knew what he did to her. Her attention then went back to Erin and she raised a brow at the empty plastic cup in her hand. Then, she saw the bottle.
She was about to respond yes, absolutely before she caught Erin’s grin. Her brows furrowed before catching on. Delaney bit back her own smirk before reaching out her cup. ”Yes, please. Fill er up.”
Upon request, Erin poured a decent sized shot in her friend's cup before doing the same for Rowan. Giving it another thought, the blonde quickly poured an extra splash into the young man's cup before filling her own. Raising the solo cup in her hand, Erin pondered for a moment on what to say.
”Here’s to be the new generation or something,” she said with all of the cheerfulness she could muster. Throwing her head back as she took her shot, Erin caught a glimpse of the night sky as her eyes froze on the stars. Hands falling back to her lap, Erin kept her eyes glued on the sky with a confused expression.
”Hey, uh, guys? Either this shit is super strong, or somethings happening with the barrier.”
Delaney threw back her own shot before looking up at the sky. She furrowed her brows and tried to see what Erin was seeing. Then again, she was already three sheets to the wind before the added shot. But, as she studied it, her head tilted to the side in thought.
”Ah, hell. You’re right, I don’t feel that weird vibrating thing anymore. Thought it was just having the shit beat out of me.”
Looking up at the sky, Rowan watched along with Erin and Delaney as the blue hue seemed to flicker and spasm, folding in on itself until it disappeared. With a huff, Rowan looked back down at his empty cup before reaching forwards and grabbing the bottle from Erin.
”I’m no Montgomery,” he stated, pouring more of the alcohol for himself. ”But something tells me that’s not supposed to happen.”
That was it. The vibration she had felt all her life was gone. She rose a brow at the empty feeling. What was the best cure for emptiness? More alcohol. Delaney shook her head and grabbed the bottle from him once he was done. She poured herself a triple shot before knocking it back.
”Unfortunately, this is our circus, and these are indeed our monkeys. But I’m definitely not drunk enough for any of this.”
”Me either,” Erin sang, now grabbing the bottle from Delaney as she poured herself another round.
”Is there even anything we can do.” Rowan questioned. ”Not trying to be pessimistic - just realistic.”
Knocking back her next shot, Erin began to pass the bottle around to her friends once more. ”Well, I know I can’t fix it. Neither can Laney, sadly. But -”
Stopping mid sentence, Erin had made eye contact with Lilith from across the veranda as the brunette seemed to wave them over her way. ”I think she might have some info for us though,” Erin sighed. Standing up with her cup still in hand, she reached her free hand out to Delaney as Rowan stood up himself. ”C’mon.” she said, nodding her head in Lilith’s direction. ”Let’s go see what all this shit’s about.”
She absolutely one hundred percent did not want to go. Huffing out a breath, she slung back her last shot before taking her friend’s hand. Delaney pulled herself to her feet before wobbling slightly. She squeezed Erin’s hand in reassurance before nodding. ”Hold up.”
Delaney turned back to Rowan and grinned up at him, thanking her liquid courage. She managed to stand on the toes of her heels before planting a kiss along his jaw. Her voice lowered for just a moment towards him. ”You look scrumptious tonight.”
Winking at him, she looked back at Erin and nodded. ”Alright, I’m ready for Lil to further ruin my evening. Let’s go.”
With a smile, Rowan dropped his head and redirected his attention to his feet - doing the best that he could to hide the giddy school boy expression on his face. As Delaney grabbed onto Erin, Rowan took his place beside the pair and wrapped an arm around Delaney’s shoulders as they walked. He couldn’t help but to laugh at her comment about Lilith; she was a sweet girl, but her overall attitude and her future predictions could be a little off putting at times.
As they all walked over, Rowan tried to make out the scene before him. Miles was clearly drunken, Daniel and Victor looked concerned, and Carlisle…
”Hold the fuck up,” he said, holding out his free hand, palm facing forward. ”Why does he look dead?”
”Lycan curse,” Lilith stated simply.
”Because that doesn’t raise anymore questions,” Erin grumbled, liquid courage now coursing at full speed through her veins.
Giving Erin a brief glare, Lilith took a deep breath before speaking again. ”A few weeks ago, Carlisle let me know that he was doing some personal research in the basement. Specifically - the forbidden library. I had a vision, told him not to fuck with this book I saw, and he ignored me - obviously. He told me earlier today that he had been placed under a Lycan curse, but there’s so many variations of them I didn’t have the time to research them all. And quite frankly, I’m tired of cleaning up his messes.” Sighing, the brunette rolled her eyes. ”But here we are again.”
Feeling the rum hitting full force, Delaney groaned and leaned into Rowan’s hold. She buried her face against the side of his chest and inhaled his scent. It was one of her favourites.
She looked over her shoulder at the frozen Carlisle and scrunched her nose, instantly regretting it. Delaney wrapped her arm around Rowan’s waist and grumbled. ”No. No, no, no. All I wanted was a nice little party and to see my man here.”
Glancing over at Carlisle, she huffed out a breath. ”Always gotta ruin everything. Stupid Grover.”
Still very drunk herself, Lilith chuckled at Delaney’s comment as Rowan tried to get to the bottom of the situation.
”Lilith - not trying to be rude - but what exactly do you need us for?”
”I was wondering if you’d be kind enough to help us move him to a safe place. Either that or vote on rather for me to banish him or not…” Trailing off, Lilith’s eyes now met Erins. ”I’d really appreciate it if you went and found your cousin - discreetly. Someone needs to tell Serena what’s going on. And Delaney…” Looking at the other girl, the realisation that Delaney may not be able to help right now hit her like a ten ton weight. ”I can’t bring the barrier back up by myself, but I was thinking that if you’re willing to help, maybe we could work something out?”
Erin nodded her head, slipping off to find Serena. If Lilith wanted to handle another awkward situation, Erin was going to let her. Lil might have been a strange one - but at least she had a decent mind.
Listening to Lilith speak, Rowan instinctively pulled Delaney closer. He understood where Lilith was coming from, and fully agreed that the barrier should go back up as soon as possible - but that didn’t mean he wanted Delaney exerting herself anymore. Shrugging his shoulders, Rowan looked down at the blonde before sighing.
”You know I’m always willing to help in whatever way I can,” he began, his gaze now meeting Liliths. ”But ultimately, it’s up to her.”
Delaney tried to break through the haze that was a half bottle or more of rum. She didn’t want to help. All she wanted was to stay wrapped up in Rowan’s arms. Besides, she was drunker than all hell plus recovering from getting her shit rocked. She had syphoned some energy to Erin earlier, but it had left her quickly drained.
She watched Lilith’s face before groaning. Of course she had to help the woman. This was their home, their safety net. Delaney had to do whatever she could.
With a small nod, she looked straight at Lilith. ”Fine. But only if I get to makeout with Rowan later, cause your girl deserves a little reward after this shit show of a night.”
Laughing, Rowan kissed the top of Delaneys head as he smirked. ”Sounds more than acceptable, don’t ya think,” he joked towards Lil.
With a laugh of her own, Lilith nodded her head. ”More than a fair trade, my dear. Now let’s get this show on the road.”
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