After his discussion with Carlisle, Miles returned to the party making a beeline for the drinks table. He needed a drink real bad after all that introspection, it may have been mainly Carlisle’s introspection but the energy itself was enough to leave Miles feeling uneasy. He picked up a bottle of bourbon from the table and filled half his solo cup with it, downing a good couple of mouthfuls it would be a start at least. From there he watched around, his eyes were soon drawn to the middle of the room where a fight was brewing. A smile formed on his face, finally the distraction he was wanting. He stood on the sidelines, contributing to the cheers in Delaney’s favour. As the fight closed and Erin pulled Delaney away Miles raised his bourbon-filled cup in their direction before taking another sip.
Erin gave Miles a small smirk of recognition from across the room as she found her friend somewhere to sit, dragging her towards the veranda. Lilith stumbled in, nearly knocking both of them over. Grabbing the brunette's arm with her free hand, Erin did her best to steady her fellow woman before continuing on her way.
Once inside the Coven House, Lilith did her best to stand up straight and take another deep breath to recenter herself. Looking around the room, Lilith beelined for the drink table as quickly as she could. Luckily, the crowd in the main room was tight, and practically helped shove her there. Still holding on to the contents of her broken tequila bottle, Lilith felt the glass bite into the palm of her hand. Looking down briefly, she saw a few small cuts appearing on her hand. Strangely enough, this worked to ground her better than anything else.
Completely and utterly stuck in her own little world, Lilith reached out to grab another bottle of tequila before stumbling and grabbing the edge of the table. While doing so, she managed to knock one of Carlile’s many bowls of chips to the floor.
Shaking her head, the young woman looked at the mess beneath her feet.
”Fuck,” she muttered, trying to bend down to clean the scene of the crime.
From his place on the other side of the room Miles spotted Lilith stumbling through the crowd. He contemplated going over to her but what would be the purpose? They had their reunion if that’s what he would call it. He almost talked himself out of it until he eyed the broken tequila bottle in her hands, parts painted red with blood. He sighed, there's no stopping the impulse to talk to her now. Besides, he needed a refill.
By the time he got to the table Lilith was already knelt over the floor picking up chips. Miles placed himself next to her ”What happened to you?” he asks, nodding at the broken glass bottle stubbornly in her hand.
Picking up the chips one by one with her free hand, Lilith was caught in almost a trance-like state before a familiar voice brought her out of her dissociation. Looking up, Lilith slightly jumped in shock as she was met face to face with Miles. Locking eyes with him briefly, she tore her gaze away from the dark haired boy to focus on the chips once more.
Debating on whether she wanted to actually engage in this conversation, it seemed as if the alcohol was now controlling her body as she blurted out: ”I hit Carlisle.”
Miles’ brow furrows at her statement. Honestly that was one of the last things he expected to hear from her, her and Carlisle were best buds… right? ”I’m sorry, what? Why?” While saying the words it sounded like a loaded question. Carlisle was much more raw than usual today and he had alluded to ‘officially’ asking Lil out.
”He um… I asked to be left alone, you know,” she began with a shrug of her shoulders. ”And so he took my liquor out onto the veranda and told me he had some things to talk to me about - nothing out of the ordinary, ya know.” The full effect of the alcohol now finally starting to kick in, Lilith resituated herself so that she was now sitting on the floor. Getting more and more upset by the minute, she didn’t realize that her grip on shards of glass was getting tighter. ”And then he just started like… attacking me! For no reason! Well, I guess he had a reason, but it’s a shit reason, and he can shove it where the sun don’t shine, along with the rest of this fucking tequila bottle.”
At her mention of Carlisle wanting to talk Miles couldn’t help but give a chuckle. ”Yeah, he seems to be in that kind of mood today,” Lilith then talked about Carlisle attacking her, a wave of confusion rushed through Miles, it was so unlike his timid friend. That was when he was reminded about the curse. ”Like, physically? Looks like you won. Is he still breathing at least?” he asks, making a mental note to check in on Carlisle later.
His eyes moved to Lilith’s hand again, as her hand wrapped tighter around the glass more blood seemed to spill as the glass cut deeper into the palm of her hand. ”The first thing we’re gonna do is let go of that,” he says matter of factly, attempting to take it from her. ”Wannna hand getting up?”
”But my trinkets,” she pleaded weakly, finally letting Miles take the broken glass from her as she leaned her head against one of the legs on the table. In response to his question about Carlisle, Lilith had waved a drunken hand dismissively in the air, brushing away the bad vibes. ”I guess he’s alive,” she pondered. ”At least he was when I told him to go fuck himself.”
With a sigh, Lilith looked out towards the crowd as a small groan escaped her lips. ”I don’t even know if I should move right now, man. Feel like I’m on a fuckin carousel or some shit. Another drink sounds magnificent though.”
At Lilith’s beg to keep her bottle Miles couldn’t help but chuckle. It was adorable, really. On taking the bottle he grabs a solo cup and attempts to push the bottle into one of the cups jagged end first. It only sat a quarter of the way into the cup and was unstable at best but it was better than nothing. ”Party favour to take home,” he says, placing it on the back of the table behind all the other liquor bottles.
Miles looked between Lilith and the table above her. Yes, another drink would be a great idea. Miles was only just starting to feel the buzz from his last drink, he had a lot of catching up to do to get to Lilith. ”How about this, I get you to a couch and grab us some drinks? Or would you rather everyone spill their drinks on you?”
Inhaling deeply through her nose, Lilith closed her eyes for a brief moment before looking at Miles once more. ”As if I could be any more of a mess,” she grumbled mostly to herself. ”That sounds fine, but uh…” Looking down at her lap, Lilith laughed as she poked her thighs. ”I can’t feel my legs right now, homie.”
Miles shakes his head, ”I got chu,” With that he slips an arm under her legs and hooks the other under her armpit. He pulls her out from the table in a somewhat ungraceful fashion to avoid knocking her head before properly scooping her up. He stumbles a couple of steps, recentring himself. Lil was light enough really but Miles wasn’t the most stable at the moment. Once Miles adjusted her in his arm and stabilized himself he carried her to the reception room adjacent to the dining hall before placing her on the couch. ”What will it be?”
Once in Miles’s arms, Lilith wrapped her own arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. The few lights that were still on in the house were a little too bright for Lilith. Burying her face into the bend of her arm and also somewhat Miles’s neck, Lilith closed her eyes again as she let Miles carry her to their final destination. Breathing in his scent, a wave of old memories and emotions came flooding back into her drunken mind, her arms wrapping around Miles ever so slightly more. She wouldn’t remember this in the morning, and hopefully he wouldn’t overthink any of it. Truth to be told, Lilith was too drunk to care anyway.
Once on the couch, Lilith propped herself up on one of the arm rests, her legs stretched out beside her.
”More tequila,” she nearly sang. ”Always… tequila.” With her last word, Lilith fell back into the couch, getting more and more comfy as the seconds passed. ”Well, what are you still standing there looking at me for,” she questioned, her accent slipping out once more. ”Hop to, Homer!”
As Lilith’s arms wrapped tighter around Miles’ neck he couldn’t help but let a small smile play on his lips as he was momentarily transported back to their high school days. As she settles on the couch his eyes fixated on her for a moment, partially out of caution that she may fall off, partially because she really did look adorable in this moment. At her question and command he shook his head, an attempt to suppress the thoughts and memories. He gives her a wink before meandering back to the drinks table. He swipes a quarter filled bottle of tequila and a half filled bottle of bourbon from the table and returns to Lilith. He held the tequila bottle out to her, ”Just promise not to smash me over the head with it, you already have your trophy for the night,”
Taking the bottle from his hands, Lilith laughed once again. ”Well, that’s up to you,” she joked. ”We match energies over here.” As she watched Miles sit down on the couch beside her, Lilith opened the bottle and took a drink. ”You sure this is tequila? Tastes like water.”
Miles takes a seat on the end of the couch. Sitting on the edge, he sits his elbows on his knees and takes a swig from his own bottle of bourbon. At Lilith’s question he gave a shrug. ”Should be, don’t put it beneath Carlisle to switch them though,”
Continuing to drink, Lilith shrugged her shoulders, crossing her legs as she turned to face Miles on the couch.
”He’s jealous, you know. Of you.” she blurted out. ”He apparently thinks he’s in…” Lilith stopped mid-sentence, searching her brain for the right word to feel the gap. ”He feels… strongly about me. And I don’t feel the same. I don’t and I never will, and it pisses him off, and now my friend is acting like a bitch, simply because he can’t what? Fuck me? I mean, COME ON!”
Miles gave a dry laugh at Lilith’s first comment ”I can’t imagine what for,” he states. Only a half-lie, Miles had always had an inkling there was some bitterness in Carlisle occasionally, although he could never exactly put his finger on why he knew Carlisle was weirdly disillusioned by his own life, often seeing anything else as better. Not that Miles really helped with his devil may care attitude to his own.
”He thinks he’s in love with you, I know,” Miles says plainly, taking another mouthful of bourbon. He stayed silent as Lilith ranted, truly like old times it seemed. He wasn’t really sure what to say, he was more of the listening type than a problem fixer. Miles just gave a sigh, had he made things worse? Maybe if he hadn’t said anything to Carlisle over the past months hyping him up, his attraction might have dwindled and Lilith would be more at ease. That wasn’t his thing to fix though. ”He asked me to talk to you, when we were out fixing the wards. I said no… I guess he just gets a bit obsessed,”
”That’s one way to put it,” Lilith sighed. ”He kept ranting on about y’alls time in college. How it was ‘his turn’ to finally get what he wanted.” Bottle of tequila pressed to her lips, Lilith took a moment to decide what to say next. She didn’t really know what to talk about with Miles anymore unless the conversation topic was about Carlisle. The thought pained her ever so slightly, but she shoved it down with everything else she had ignored in the last twelve hours.
”He seems thoroughly convinced that we’re like… together or something though. And I think that’s what pisses him off the most.”
”His turn, huh?” Miles muses, ”Gotta say, I’ve heard Carlisle say some dumb things but that one’s a first,” The pair quietly cradled their drinks in silence for a moment. It wasn’t the kind of content silence there used to be between them but instead it was awkward, uncomfortable even. As if they’d forgotten how they used to interact… or were avoiding it in fear. Lilith’s next statement brought another dry laugh to escape Miles although it stung a little. He never expected their reunion that morning would bring such a large whirlpool of emotions, even less so that some of those emotions caused him to miss her more than he realized. ”Bold claim considering we haven’t talked in 6 years,”
”Exactly my point, but he’s convinced,” she stated, shrugging her shoulders. ”Don’t know why, don’t particularly care…” Lilith trailed off as she placed the bottle of tequila upright in her lap between her legs. Anxiety now setting in, the young woman focused on her hands, starting to pick at the skin around her left thumb. ”All I know is I need my friend and now…” Taking a deep, shaking breath, Lilith felt the heat rise to her face as she fought back her emotions. ”Well, I guess he’s gone over something that’s stupid and literally doesn’t even exist.”
The thought made Lilith laugh again - except for this time it was short and cold. Taking the last swallow of her tequila, the young woman began to play with the bottle, tossing it from hand to hand as she sorted through her thoughts.
”Whole lotta bullshit,” she mumbled.
Miles remained silent as Lilith shifted through her thoughts, he wanted to offer to be that friend again, part of him wanted to challenge her on her closing statement about nothing existing but he said none. The pair remained in silence for a while before Miles finally spoke up again. ”Hey, I’m… uh.. Sorry about this morning,” in all honesty he didn’t really regret that morning but he thought it was probably the right thing to say right now. He hesitated on what he wanted to say next. Although there was a weird layer of awkwardness to it, there was something nice and nostalgic about it but the thought had been plaguing him for a long time now ”I know you’ve been avoiding me, I know mum’s been helping you with that. I guess I just wanted to see you again. It’s just… 6 years is a long time and.. I don’t know,” Miles looks to the ground, picking at the label on his bottle. ”Do you think we could put high school behind us?”
Listening while Miles spoke, Lilith continued to toss her bottle from hand to hand. The quiet clanks that it made as it softly banged against the rings on either of her hands worked to soothe her. She had a good rhythm going - right up until Miles’s question. Now completely drunk out of her mind, Lilith’s concentration broke as she watched the bottle slip from her hands and roll across the floor.
Hesitating for a moment, she bit down hard on her bottom lip to stop anything regrettable from popping out of her mouth.
”Yes and no,” she spoke slowly, pondering his question. ”If you’re scared we’re not on friendly terms or ‘sumthin, there’s nothing to worry about. This town is actually big enough for the both of us - believe it or not.” With another sigh she added: ”Now if you’re expecting things to be like they were before - no. There’s a lot of trust that I lost for you, and I’m not sure if you’ll ever be able to get it back.”
”Yeah, I guess that’s fair,” he replies softly, looking over at her. He seemed unable to draw his gaze away, no matter how much he wanted to. Was he pink from the liquor or the conversation? Even he didn’t know. He took another swig of his bottle, wishing the alcohol would do more for him at this moment. Maybe blurting out everything he was thinking would fix things? Yet there was a small part of him not inebriated enough to let things go. ”I’m not Car, I’m not gonna beg for your forgiveness or ask for my turn or anything. I’ll be surprised if I make it through grandpa John anyway,”
As the alcohol coursed its way through Lilith’s veins, she placed her head gently on Miles’s shoulder. They weren’t on any sort of terms that would have allowed her to be this close to him sober, but right now she didn’t care. ”I’m not asking you to beg for it - just prove it to me.”
At Miles’s mention of her Grandfather, Lilith felt her face grow hot for the umpteenth time tonight, her vision blurring as tears pooled in her eyes.
”Yeah, well… for what it’s worth I don’t think you’ll have to worry about him much longer.” Reaching up to wipe her face, the brunette rolled her eyes. ”He liked you until you started doing dumb shit, ya know. He really, really did.”
Miles fought the urge to kiss the top of Lil’s head as she rested it on his shoulder, instead opting to rest his on top. ”And how would you want me to do that?” he asks. Miles wasn’t really seeking an answer to jump at a chance to fall at her feet but rather was unsure what proving it looked like to Lil considering there wasn’t anything between them. What was the point of proving commitment for a friendship- or perhaps more- that didn’t exist?
”What do you mean not much longer?” He asks, unmoving from his spot. The thought that John ever liked him was boggling to Miles, he was sure the older man really hated him from the get go. Maybe it was a southern thing? ”Li- is grandpa John okay?”
Pulling her feet up onto the couch, Lilith made herself as small as she possibly could - an old coping habit she still clung onto like a child. Despite the copious amounts of alcohol in her system, she still felt her blood run cold. Crying silently, she listened to Miles question her.
”Um… no,” she responded quietly, her voice nearly a whisper. Staring at her lap, Lilith wrapped one of her arms around Miles’s so that she could toy with her hands once more. ”He has cancer,” she continued, her voice now sarcastic as she threw up another defense mechanism. ”Stage two pancreatic they said. And in his words ‘I’m too old and too stubborn to fight it.’ So… I guess he’s just dying.”
A meek ”Oh,” was all Miles could muster as the colour drained from his face. As much as John and him were often at the end he still had a large hand in raising Miles and a part of Miles had some admiration toward him. Miles pulled her in, leaving her hands free so she could continue to fiddle with them. ”I’m so sorry, Li,” He says softly, blinking back the tears that threatened to fall from his eyes also.
“It’s not your fault,” she mumbled. “It’s not his either. Just the universe putting me through another test and taking away my best friend to do it.”
As she spoke, Lilith felt Miles’s arms wrap around her. Still picking at the skin around her fingernails, there was a long moment of silence as Liliths mind raced. A dark cloud hung over the room, seeming to center itself around Lilith.
She had wanted to tell Carlisle all of this. He should have been the first to know. Instead, now it was Miles. Lilith wasn’t upset about confiding in her old friend - just that she hadn’t been able to tell Carlisle what was going on. More so that he hadn’t even cared enough to ask. Being able to lean on Miles though - now matter how briefly - was nice.
”He’s supposed to be there Miles. To teach me things and tell me how stupid my boyfriends are. He’s supposed to be there when I come home, glass of whiskey in hand and a glare on his face. He’s supposed to mend the fences because I just can’t seem to do it right. Who am I supposed to talk to now? Who’s going to be there for me? How am I supposed to run this huge ranch?” Nearly hyperventilating now, Lilith tried her hardest to catch her breath, now gripping onto Miles’s shirt sleeve.
”Hey, it’s gonna be alright,” Miles says gently, imbuing his words with the slightest bit of calming magic, not enough to get Lilith back to normal but hopefully enough to alleviate some of her anxiety. He gently massaged her head with one of his hands. Part of him wished he had answers for her, pretty par for the course but Miles was not a solutions man. ”Li… if I know your pa, I know he gave you everything you need to survive,” he says softly
Lilith knew that there was no point in arguing. While she agreed with Miles’s statement, she also couldn’t help but freak out. Sure, John had given her all the tools and shown her what to do - but would she remember it all?
It took a moment for the young woman to stop shaking, doing what she could to shake the oncoming panic attack. Lilith focused on the texture of the fabric beneath her hands, Miles’s fingers in her hair, and the sound of the music right outside the door. Breathing in and out almost steadily now, Lilith’s drunken mind was unsure of what to say next. Wiping the few final tears from her face, Lil closed her eyes as exhaustion began to creep in, somehow situating herself even closer to Miles.
”I really missed you,” she sighed. ”It’s stupid and I don’t know what to do about it, but it’s true.” Drunken words were sober thoughts, and Lilith knew that Miles understood that better than anyone else.
Lilith seemed to move ever closer to Miles, a closeness he knew she wouldn’t dare come sober but he also knew that even drunk Lilith’s actions and words were only impulses of her desires, whether willing desires or not. That was when she said the words, words that Miles was subconsciously waiting for, even if he didn’t know he wanted it until now. For some time he remained silent. With the liquor finally hitting hard, it took Miles a little longer than usual to process those words and even longer to formulate a response.
”When I was in Olympia I missed more things from Tanner than I thought I would but, honestly, there was nothin’ I missed more than you. I know it sounds cheesy and dumb and like the kind of thing people say in movies that makes you wanna barf but… I don’t know. What do we do about this?” Miles replies, finishing with a sigh. He stared at the wall on the other end of the room, unable to look at her with that confession. He supposed part of him was always quietly waiting for confessions of withheld feelings but drunken words they’d barely remember in the morning probably wasn’t the best way to go about it he figured. It was pretty on brand for them both though.
Thankful for the first time in her life that Miles wasn’t looking at her, Lilith couldn’t help but to give a small smile as she listened to his own confession. Opening her eyes, the brunette hyper fixated on a loose string connected to the hem of Miles’s jacket. Toying with it between her index finger and her thumb, she didn’t really know how to respond to Miles. She had only just now admitted that she still had feelings for him, and she definitely didn’t know what to do with them or about them. Still though, she didn’t want to leave him with a stupid answer, or worse - none at all.
”Truthfully, I dunno. I’m just trying to make it ‘til tomorrow my dude. But I know that I don’t… mind feeling this way. I thought I would, but I don’t think I do.”
Now completely hammered, Lilith was doing the best that she could to keep her eyes open. She wasn’t tired, but she had nearly put down two bottles of liquor in the course of the last few hours.
Miles smiled softly, his eyes fixating on the loose thread Lilith was playing with. He didn’t know how to respond, or more accurately he knew many ways he could but didn’t know which was the right response. He looked up at her face, her eyelids seemed to be growing heavy. Exactly how much had she had to drink. ”Hey, don’t pass out on me after that grand confession,” he coaxes, a playful smile forming on his lips. He pulls her up a little straighter. His eyes settled on her face, almost waiting for hers to meet his.
A laugh escaping her lips, Lilith apologized. ”Sorry. Gramps and I might have pregamed a little bit.” Looking back up at him to meet his gaze, a small smirk danced across her face. ”And that bottle I threw at Noodle?” Dropping her voice to a whisper, Lilith scrunched her face playfully as she spoke once more. ”I drunk that one too.”
Miles shakes his head incredulously with a chuckle. How she wasn’t straight up dead yet was beyond him. Although Miles was usually the heavier drinker of the two Lilith could always hold her liquor so much better. Her confession of feeling the same way he had had only made it harder to restrain himself, even more so with her looking up at him. With a hooked finger he gently lifts her chin toward him before leaning in and bringing his lips toward hers.
This setting was all too familiar and comfortable for Lilith. She was used to getting drunk off of her ass, and Miles having to be there. He’d fall for her adorable antics and then next thing you knew - there they were. It was almost comical how most people thought it was Miles who had had the drinking problem in their relationship.
Caught somewhere between wanting to smack Miles’s hand away in shock, and wanting to close the very short space between them, Lilith quickly decided on the latter option. Leaning into Miles, Lilith pressed her lips to his.
Immediately her body felt like a live wire, goosebumps racing up her arms. Raising an arm to position her hand behind his neck, Lilith began to play with the hair at the base of his neck before fear took over once more - causing her to pull away. Her face still inches from his own, Lilith kept her eyes locked on to Miles’s be for uttering a single ”Fuck”, the realization of what had just happened hitting her like a ton of bricks.
”I am so sorry,” she breathed, heart racing.
As Lil pressed her lips against his, a wave of nostalgia came over Miles, warm, comforting nostalgia. Oh how he missed this, the feeling of her face against his, her hand playing with his hair. His heart started to race but only moments later she pulled away. Was that apology for him or someone else? He wasn’t certain but he replied anyway. ”Don’t be,” he replies softly, ”I guess I should be the one saying sorry,”
Lilith shook her head in protest. ”You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Miles pulls back, a small smile on his face. He fought himself to hold in the words he knew Lilith probably didn’t want to hear. Hell, he didn’t even think he wanted to say them but the truth serum of the bourbon won. ”I still love you, Li. I’m sorry, part of me wishes I didn’t then we could both move on… but I do” he says gently. Part of those words felt sour after the conversations he’d had with Carlisle but he couldn’t stop himself. Part of him wanted to prove to his friend he wasn’t the guy who’d steal his crushes anymore, he knew he would have been successful if it was literally anyone else. Here history went, repeating itself once more.
Her eyes scanning every movement that Miles made, Lilith could tell that he was being genuine - even without her abilities. Wishing that she could tell him off or find dishonesty in his expression, a small part of Lilith was almost disappointed when she did neither.
She wanted to yell at him, beat her fists against his chest, and remind him of every wrong doing he had ever committed. Instead she sat there, her face ever so slightly red as she turned away from him. In no way was she actually angry at Miles - she was just confused, conflicted and mostly, well - drunk.
”What is it with you boys and that damned word,” she joked.
Miles gave a chuckle, part of him was disappointed she didn’t give some form of answer, even if that answer came in the form of a punch in the chest. All the same her reply also told him so much in itself. ”What, scared of that word or something?” he replies in jest
Still staring out the door in front of her, Lilith felt her jaw clench as her expression hardened.
”Yeah. And maybe just more than a little bit.” Trying to keep her tone lighthearted, Lilith continued to let the words fall from her lips. ”But that doesn’t change the way I still feel about you, no matter how hard I fought it.”
Miles decided to brush off Lilith’s first comment, he was not in a state to have that discussion right now. He purses his lips, holding in the goofy smile that would be spreading across his face. ”So what are we to do, hm?” he asks jovially while leaning back into the arm of the couch.
In all honesty, Lilith could have walked away from this conversation and acted like it never happened as soon as she woke up tomorrow morning. Instead, here she sat, Miles asking her what to do about whatever their relationship was once more. Her attention now shifting fully back to Miles, Lilith turned to face him again, propping herself up with her right hand as she leaned forward towards him in her drunken state.
”I’m not trying to disappoint either of us, but I don’t think I should be makin’ any calls about the future right now,” she responded. ”We could try that whole kissing thing again though?”
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