Taylor
[@Nallore] [@FantasyChic]

Olivia's response nearly floored her. [I]She was genuinely inviting Finley over.[/I] Then again, if it meant bringing Riley back, she's probably work with the Devil himself. Taylor knew this was important to her. Modding simply, she began typing out a new message but could hardly finish it before she received another from Finley. It had Taylor turning ghost white. [I]How does she know about him?[/I]

It didn't cross Taylor's mind for a second that Declan may have ratted her out as well. She knew her cousin better than that, and knew he was good for keeping secrets. But the questions remained. [I]Did he tell her? Was she in the wrong place at the wrong time? Who else knew? What was Finley going to do with this information?![/I] Once the question flew through Taylor's mind and she had a moment to process the other thing Finley mentioned, she tapped out a text really quick before turning her phone over to Olivia to read for herself. "Guess our girl's alright."

[[ To Finley:
I know this is asking a lot, but come over to Oli's. Dec will turn up eventually. He doesn't roam very far or for very long..and if he's hiding, you won't find him unless he wants you to. Trust me. ]]

[hr][hr]

Declan
[@Damo021]

When Miranda came around with his pants, he gently took them. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end and he got goosebumps the second Miri placed her hand on his back. He blushed softly and quickly pulled his pants on. Something about her always seemed to calm him down. Whether it was his feelings for her or the fact that she was just a very calm person in general. Declan looked over his other shoulder to meet her gaze with a soft half-size, shaking his head.

"No worries, Mir. It's okay. You're part of the adult world, now. I'm still stuck in school. With Lacrosse and Baseball, plus all the school drama? It's enough to keep this beast at bay and out of touch. Don't blame yourself." He half laughed at calling himself a beast. Closing the distance between them, he firmly wrapped her up in a hug and rest his cheek on the top of her head as he did. "Thank you, Mir. I really appreciate you being here and being one of three people I can count on to back me up."

Her questions made him realize just how NOT ready he was to talk about everything. But he would, because Miranda usually knew a way to help him. He let her go and watched her walk to the kitchen, smirking a bit. He couldn't help but [I]really[/I] look at her as she walked. A part of Declan still felt guilty for doing it, as if he still had someone to be loyal to, but then it hit him again and he shook his head of the fresh memory. He realized then that he was alone in the room. Declan sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, looking out the window to see the sun slowly setting. It was beautiful.

Before Declan had a chance to really do anything but stare out the window, Miranda was back in the room with a beer and a drink for herself. He wished she had something a little stronger than beer, but knew she wouldn't stand for him getting drunk. Especially under her roof. Declan took the beer with a soft smile in return and mumbled a 'thank you' before taking a seat beside her on the couch.

Declan took a long swig of his beer before hunching over, his arms laying over his thighs, head hanging low. He chewed on the inside of his lip a moment before beginning. "Finley and Je-.." His heart clenched at the start of that name, causing him to try that sentence again. "Fin and Gwen [I]know[/I]. I had no choice but to tell them. It goes along with the story of how I got the burns." He took a hand off the bottle and overturned it, holding it out for Miranda to see for herself.

"We were trying to find Gwen. She was supposed to meet up with us, and somehow ended up in the mine where she got hurt. Finley and I finally found her. Finley couldn't have done it alone, so I had to go inside and get Gwen. But the silver.." Declan shook his head and retracted his hand, wrapping it around the bottle again. "I tried saving her, but the silver really got to me and I passed out. They ended up having to drag me out of there. Once I came to, Gwen started drilling me with questions, then Finley too. They weren't gonna let up, nor let me go without chaperoning me to the hospital. I had to tell them. And Gwen.."

Declan grit his teeth then and let out a low growl in the back of his throat, a kind of growl no mere human was capable of. "Gwen had the fucking nerve to ask me if I was the one who murdered the Mayor. Like, seriously? How could sh-.." His voice drifted off, then. Thoughts raced through his mind after that, unable to say anything else at that point. He wanted to cry, again. Not because he was sad, though he was, he would have cried out in anger. It was something Declan was good at.