[color=lightgray] [center][url=https://fontmeme.com/cute-fonts/][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/230531/1db23fdbe9ecf7e194f5128bf958d4b7.png[/img][/url] [img]https://media4.giphy.com/media/7qV3yswT0K8hi/giphy.gif[/img] [sub]A [@SouffleGirl123] & [@HaleyTheRandom] collab; Featuring Mary & Lilith.[/sub][/center] As the morning sun peeked through the blinds, Lilith yawned, reaching her arms above her to wrap them around the pillow that her head rested on. Taking a deep breath in, the young woman quickly noticed a few things in her pre-awakened daze. First and foremost was the pounding sensation in her head. Next was the scents surrounding her - familiar, but [i]not[/i] the ones of her own bedroom. She couldn’t hear the morning news on the TV, nor smell of pancakes being made on the stove. The realisation was enough to startle Lilith’s eyes open as she was met with the scene of painted walls and carpeted floors. [color=00FFFC]”Fuck,”[/color] she breathed, starting to put the puzzle pieces together in her head. Sitting up, Lilith fumbled around the bed trying to find her phone. That was when she spotted the pile of clothes beside the bed. [color=00FFFC][i]”Fuck”[/i],”[/color] she hissed again, giving herself a quick once over. It only took a moment's notice to realise that she was wearing Miles’s t-shirt. If she wasn’t in her own room, wasn’t wearing her own clothes - Glancing around the room once more, Lilith shouted one last [color=00FFFC]”Fuck!”[/color] before immediately regretting it as her head began to throb. Doing the best that she could to collect her jeans off the floor, Lilith fished her phone out of her pocket before putting on her pants. She had multiple missed calls from her grandfather - no doubt that he was pissed. Notifications for multiple social media platforms danced across her screen, confirming what she already knew - last night had been one for the books. Sitting back down on the bed, Lilith unlocked the device and began to scroll through her most recent photos, doing the best that she could to remember the events from last night. She barely had a moment's notice before her stomach flipped, making her jump up from the bed. Muscle memory took over as she raced to the bathroom, quickly slamming the door shut behind herself. Mary had just returned home from her night shift and swung open the front door to immediately be greeted with the slamming of another. She didn't have to investigate, she already knew it'd be the bathroom. Although Miles seemed to rarely need to spill his guts the morning after a party anymore it would still happen on occasion. [color=fff79a]"Mi-"[/color] her callout was quickly cut off as a simple [i]No[/i] floated into her head from her divination magic. [color=fff79a][I]Whatever poor girl he dragged back with him?[/i][/color] she thought back at the voice. Her divination just felt like a game of 20 questions most days. [I]Yes[/i] The word seemed to miss something, as if there was something more to that yes. Mary sucked in a breath as it seemed to immediately hit her. [color=fff79a][i]Lilith?[/i][/color] [I]Yes[/i] Mary gave a sigh, dropping her bag by the door and making her way to the bathroom. She wished she could say she was surprised but with all the workarounds to keep Lilith and her son separated she expected to either find Lilith in his bed or Miles half-dead eventually. She just didn't expect it to be so fast, or honestly for it to be the first option. She gave the bathroom door a couple of hard knocks. [color=fff79a]"Lilith, sweetie? Can I come in?"[/color] she calls in through the door. Behind the closed door, Lilith was sitting with her legs pulled up to herself, her arms resting on her knees as she buried her face in the dark corner she had created. Thoughts ran through her head at a mile a minute, only making the splitting headache that she had worse. She had half a thought to just sit there for as long as she could until she heard the knocks, quickly followed by the sound of Mary’s voice. If Lilith wasn’t currently in the situation that she was, Mary’s presence would have been more than welcomed - just like always. For now, however, Lilith reached up to open the bathroom door before re-burying her face. [color=00FFFC]”I think I fucked up,”[/color] she groaned. Mary took a step back as the door slowly swung open revealing the rather pitiful sight of Lil on the bathroom floor, face lowered at the ground. It caused a knot to form in her stomach, she hated seeing Lilith like this. She gave Lilith a half-smile. [color=fff79a]"Darl, I love you but I ain’t sitting on the bathroom floor with you. I’d never get up,”[/color] she half jokes, keeping her spot in the doorway. That was when Lilith finally spoke up. [color=fff79a]"Well, is someone dead, dying or pregnant?”[/color] she asks. As Mary spoke, Lilith put all of what little energy she had into getting herself up off of the floor. She would have fallen over if it hadn’t been for catching herself on the sink. When Mary had finished speaking, Lilith began laughing. Tears threatened to spill from the corners of her eyes as she tried to catch her breath. [color=00FFFC]”Actually, yeah,”[/color] she managed to get out between manic laughs. [color=00FFFC]”Carlisle and I’s friendship is six feet under, and gramps is goin’ right down with it.”[/color] With so little words Lilith had seemed to overload Mary with information. She took a moment to just process all of it, blinking a couple of times as she wrapped an arm around the young woman’s shoulder to stabilise her. [color=fff79a]"Let’s- uh- let’s get you some coffee and an aspirin first,”[/color] she says softly, trying to not let the effect Lilith’s announcements had on her. She remains silent as she directs Lilith across the hall to the dining room, the question of her statement about John nagging at her. As she pulls out the chair she failed to hold it in any further and quietly asks [color=fff79a]"What’s happened to John?”[/color] her voice small, moreso to hide back emotion more than anything else. She knew it was a fruitless endeavour with Lilith’s empath abilities yet she tried all the same to quell her fear in anticipation. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, Lilith had finally stopped laughing. The feeling of shock still lingered in her bones, but at least she could act composed again. Sitting down, the young woman took a strong interest in the pattern on the table cloth. Watching Mary move around was a difficult task. [color=00FFFC]”He um…”[/color] Lilith hadn’t expected to break the news to Mary - especially like this. [color=00FFFC]”He has stage two pancreatic cancer. Said he’s been driving back and forth to Seattle so you wouldn’t know.”[/color] The thought made Lilith half-smile before slipping away. [color=00FFFC]”They offered him chemo, and he told them no. He said that he doesn’t want to fight it… and that I shouldn’t fight him about that.”[/color] Mary exhaled a sharp breath. She suspected [i]something[/i] had been amiss with her godfather but she never put a finger on it, nor did she expect it to be this bad. [color=fff79a]"Asshole,"[/color] she mutters under her breath. Starting a pot of coffee, she used her back being turned to her advantage to let stray tears run down her face. That man had been a second father to her her whole life. After her parents returned to North Carolina he'd been the one watching Miles and making the meals until Claire moved to Tanner. That fact that she was going to lose him stung. The Montgomery clan seemed to be slowly dwindling in size and Mary wasn’t sure how much more of their losses she could take. After taking a moment she composed herself, wiping the tears from her eyes as she pulls 2 mugs and a packet of aspirin from the shelf. Juggling them all to fit in one hand she grabs the pot in the other and carries it all to the table. After the coffee is poured she takes a seat before Lilith with a sigh. [color=fff79a]"And what did you do so wrong to wind you up on my bathroom floor in a fit?"[/color] While Lilith was grateful that Mary hadn’t pushed the subject of her grandfather, her stupid empathy powers couldn’t help but pick up on the other woman's emotions. Feeling Mary’s sadness was enough to make Lilith start crying too. Quickly wiping her face while the older woman opened the cabinet, she began picking at the skin around her thumbs as anxiety settled in. Coffee and aspirin were more than a welcomed sight right now, and Lilith gratefully helped herself to both. Taking a sip of her coffee, Lilith crossed her legs in the chair with a sigh of her own before turning her attention to Mary. [color=00FFFC]”So last night, Carlisle threw this welcome back party or whatever for the Coven members because morale was low when we met yesterday morning. It started earlier that day, because Carlisle tried to confess that he had feelings for me or whatever, and then here comes Miles out on the veranda and there’s this whole conversation where he’s all like ‘I miss you Lili’”[/color] Lilith began on her ramble, doing the best Miles impression that she could. With a deep breath, she continued on, still talking rapidly. [color=00FFFC]”So then because of those awkward ass moments, I went home and told gramps that Miles was coming to Sunday dinner, and we argued about that and I ended up drinking so he drove me to the party. Then shit happened and I wound up kissing Carlisle and telling him I didn’t feel the same way. He freaks out. I throw the bottle of the tequila I just drank at his head. At this point it's getting hazy, but I [i]do[/i] remember me and Miles drinking on the couch and me telling him about John… then something about the barrier falling and Carlisle dying but not really dying. Also something about werewolves. Next thing I know, I wake up pantsless in your son's bed.”[/color] With another sigh, Lilith raised her mug in a sarcastic cheers like fashion before taking another drink of her coffee, waiting on her second mothers reaction. As Lilith talks Mary nods her head between sips of coffee just trying to pick up the barrage of information coming her way from Lilith’s mouth. [color=fff79a]"Well…”[/color] she says simply, trying to figure out what response to give as she was left almost wordless in the information overload. She wasn’t even sure if she picked up on it all. [color=fff79a]"Sounds like you had the hell of a night,”[/color] she takes a sip of coffee as she mentally shifts through all the information again. She had questions, so many questions, but she knew barraging a hungover Lil with them probably wasn’t the best thing to do right now. [color=fff79a]"Ok, so how are you holding up? Any wounds?”[/color] [color=00FFFC]”None that I’ve noticed, really,”[/color] Lilith replied quietly, still trying to piece together the parts of the night that she remembered. [color=00FFFC]”Mary. How do you know if you have alcohol poisoning? Because I’m pretty sure I drank [i]way[/i] more than I was supposed to last night.”[/color] [color=fff79a]"Darl, if you had it bad enough you’d be in a gurney in the ED corridor by now. Why, how much did you drink?”[/color] she asks, taking another mouthful of coffee. Taking a moment to think, Lilith sorted through her memories and did the best math with what information she had. [color=00FFFC]”A few shots with John… the bottle I had while talking to Carlisle, and I [i]think[/i] I drunk at least another half bottle while talking to Miles?”[/color] As Lilith recounts the amount of alcohol she drank the night before Mary couldn’t stop herself from spitting all the coffee in her mouth out in shock, a couple of coughs escaping her after. [color=fff79a]"I’m sorry, you- what?!”[/color] she splutters looking the girl over. She seemed fine. Hungover and emotionally wrecked, sure, but fine. [color=fff79a]"Child, how the [i]hell[/i] are you still standin’- well, sittin’- right now?”[/color] Unable to stop herself from laughing, Lilith took another sip of her coffee while shrugging her shoulders. [color=00FFFC]”No idea, honestly,”[/color] she replied, a small smile still lingering on her face as she reached for her phone. Scrolling through the notifications once more, she couldn’t help but sigh. She had messages from anyone and everyone - all except for Miles. [color=00FFFC]”Do you mind me askin’ if you’ve heard anything from Miles this morning?”[/color] Mary just looks over Lilith once again, shaking her head with a scoff. [color=fff79a]"You Montgomerys never cease to amaze me,”[/color] As Lilith asks about Miles, Mary pulls out her own phone and looks at her notifications. Nothing. Not that she expected anything. [color=fff79a]"Nah. Take it he hasn’t sent a word to you? Knowing how these mornings go he’ll be on autopilot mode most of today anyway, you probably can’t count on a message,”[/color]. She purses her lip before taking another sip of coffee. The question that played on her lips became too hard to contain anymore. [color=fff79a]"What exactly is goin’ on between you 2? I ain’t your pawpaw, if you get back together you ain’t getting a talking to from me I just want to know. Are we still avoidin’ or what?”[/color] Watching Mary reach for her phone, Lilith couldn’t fight the giant knot growing in her stomach. Did she even want to hear from Miles? Why did she care if he had messaged his mom or not? This was just a one time thing, right? Some weird glitch in the matrix? As Mary confirmed what Lilith already knew, the girl nodded her head in silence. [color=00FFFC][i]Notch in the bedpost routine. Got it.[/i][[/color] she thought. With another sigh and the shake of her head, Lilith answered Mary’s question. [color=00FFFC]”I don’t know what this is,”[/color] she grumbled. [color=00FFFC]”I don’t think I’d have any problems seeing him around, and he is coming Sunday, after all. We have to work for the Coven…”[/color] Catching herself as she noticed that she was thinking out loud, Lilith rolled her eyes at herself. [color=00FFFC]”I don’t want to avoid him - I never did. I was just scared of what would happen if we saw each other, and well… now we know. So no,”[/color] she added with a laugh. [color=00FFFC]”I’m relieving you from your guard duties.”[/color] Mary gave a soft chuckle at Lilith's words, topping both of their mugs up. [color=fff79a]"For what it's worth, he does miss you."[/color] For as much as they had hurt each other in the past, a selfish part of Mary had always hoped Lilith and Miles would find each other again. It'd sure make her life a hell of a lot easier but she also knew Lilith brought out the best in Miles. [color=00FFFC]”Thanks,”[/color] Lil said as Mary filled their cups. [color=00FFFC]”I think it’s reasonable to say that we could be friends again, if we tried. Don’t know about much else, but…”[/color] Shrugging her shoulders, the young woman sipped another drink of coffee from the mug in her hands. Replaying Marys words over in her head, Lilith’s mind ran wild. What would have happened if things hadn’t happened the way that they did; what if Lilith had followed Miles off to college? [color=00FFFC]”I’ve missed him too. I know that might be hard to believe with me avoidin’ him and all, but it’s true. No matter how many other guys I liked, I always found myself comparing them to Miles n’ such. My mind always seems to drift back to him, in one form or another.”[/color] [color=fff79a]"I know. You've been pining after him just as much as he has you for as much as neither of you would admit it,"[/color] she says, sipping her coffee. [color=fff79a]"Does your paw paw know where you are or should I be expectin' a call soon?"[/color] As Mary’s words settled in, Lilith’s face burned red. [color=00FFFC]”He was expecting me home last night… hasn’t heard anything from me. I have a couple missed calls myself, but my head hurts [i]way[/i] to bad to hear him yell at me right now.”[/color] [color=fff79a]"Want me to tell 'im you were feeling sick as a dog so I picked you up on my way home? I can fix you some breakfast, pop on a movie, whatever will get you over the hangover,"[/color] Pondering the thought for a brief moment, a small smile crept across the young woman's face. [color=00FFFC]”That would honestly be perfect. Thank you Mary, really.”[/color] [/color]