vacate the premises | {mallory/medea}

[dars]

m a l l o r y

"He'll be here eventually, Mal."

She hadn't realized how obvious she was being, her gaze fixed on the horizon in wait, hoping to see Abel round a corner. The sun set hours ago and the party itself wasn't interested in waiting around. Several drunken teenagers stumbled around the beach. People intermingled, migrating from one campfire to another just a bit further down the beach, stopping at each group of friends to say hi. A few of the boys were working to bury themselves in the sand. Rudy chased Elloise with what looked like a dead fish on the end of a stick. Mallory's friends were taking turns gossiping about people from school. And usually, about right now, Mallory would be the life of the party and admittedly, she knew she wasn't right now.

"Sorry," she offered with a shrug, pulling her hands into the air. The bracelet he got her slid down her wrist, the metal cool to the touch, the gemstone glittering in the crackling fire.

"Who wants to play Never Have I Ev-"

About five hundred yards away, the flash of red lights caught Mallory's attention. She squinted into the dark to see the crowd of drunken teenagers dispersing, and then she could hear someone speaking through some sort of microphone.

"This is Capitol-owned property! Only sanctioned or working officials are allowed after dark!"

As her eyes adjusted more, she could count at least six white uniforms emerging, some already with captured partiers in their hands. "Run!" One of her friends said, and Mallory did exactly that. The sand and the alcohol didn't exactly make it easy, but she charged away from the chaos as quickly as she could manage, ducking into a changing shack and locking herself into one of the stalls. Soon after, she heard the doors open again, and she held her breath in fear that one of the peacekeepers had followed her inside.

[Hafen d4 ⚓︎ minie]

The party, if you could even call it one, sucked. A beach full of teens that must have tasted alcohol for the first time, and I swore I saw someone boasting a bag full of oregano. The last month had been a long stretch of hoping if I looked hard enough, Pietro would eventually show up with his assortment of magical homegrown substances sure enough to put a smile on my face.

And damn did I have a pretty smile when I was high beyond compare living in a world these goody-two-shoes would not begin to understand.

C’mon Dea, no way he is here. Let’s go have a good time elsewhere, ya know more our speed”

My eyes rolled back so far into my head (the only time Kai had managed to achieve that) in absolute dismay how he would dare think I would leave this place without showing some of them what a good time really means. Seriously, these guys seemed in desperate need for some good ‘ol Medea charity work. Teach them how to live a little, or at least show them what real green looks like. You would not believe how many assholes were out there taking advantage of those who did not know better (I was one of them).

“If you are bored then just fuck off, Kai. I want to have at least one drink by the sea”

He muttered something I did not care to listen to. My body falling comfortably into the sound as I closed my eyes listening to the waves crash. For a second I thought I’d get in a little nap right before the siren’s started ringing loud (rude). Muscle memory kicked and before I know it, I was making an awful attempt to flee from the peacekeepers.

Scared partygoers scrambling to a safe space left and right crossing their fingers their parents will never find out about their antics. I could not help but laugh at the absolute pathetic site before remembering if I get caught, it was a one-way ticket back to rehab. Out of reflex, my hands latched onto a wooden door yanking it open to be confronted by a girl with a look on her face only to be described as “please not the peacekeepers”.

“Well scootch over” I hissed squeezing myself beside her. “Oh trust me we’ll be fine, plenty of room for the both of us. Hey? You got any booze left, we might as well make the most of this…besides you look like you need a little fun.”

[dars]

m a l l o r y

"Well scootch over!"

A pair of strained blue eyes, older than the youthful features surrounding them. A girl around Mallory's age stood in the doorway, inviting herself into the stall before Mallory could respond. "Oh trust me we’ll be fine, plenty of room for the both of us."

"I- oh!" Mallory smiled politely and stepped back so that the other girl had more room.

At least she closed the door behind her.

Only a few short seconds later, Mallory could hear footsteps approaching the shack, before trailing off in another direction. She sighed in relief.

"Hey? You got any booze left? We might as well make the most of this… besides, you look like you need a little fun."

Mallory giggled, not sure how much of what the girl was saying was a joke.

"I'm Mallory!" She said, holding up a peace sign before continuing in a hushed tone so that no one could hear them, "And you know, it's so weird that you say that... my friends were just giving me grief about it earlier." The bracelet on her wrist felt heavy, and her other hand absently reached to spin it around.

"It's just, you know... boy drama."

[Hafen d4 ⚓︎ minie]

"Medea…do yourself a favor and never do that again” My face involuntarily displaying obvious disgust, slowly wishing I had chosen just about any other hiding space. My hand met hers slowly lowering the peace sign hoping she would take my advice. My gut almost certain she greeted everyone in a similar fashion and would continue doing so.

Damn Kai was right, this really did not seem worth the trouble after all.

To make matters worse, she did not appear to have any booze but of fucking course did she come with a sob story about some boy. Why did every pretty girl always have some asshole making their life hell. It was such a shame because with that face, Adriana could definitely teach her a thing or two about hustling.

Footsteps out on the sand signaling I would have to wait a little longer, some shouting and there was definitely crying coming from an unfortunate individual too stupid to hide.

Fine. I’ll entertain her.

“Don’t just stop, tell me about your troubles, maybe I can help” my eyes wandering towards the bracelet around her wrist, too pretty and flashy to miss. Her empty hand fidgeting with it, a clear tell, the boy must have something to do with it. My eyes already seeing the amount of cash I could pawn it for. Just needed to convince her to give it to me, or I could swipe it but where is the fun in that?

“He give you that? Can’t be that bad if he gives you pretty things, just need to know how to handle him.”

One way or the other, I would find a way to make this worth my time.

[dars]

m a l l o r y

"Do yourself a favor and never do that again," the other girl said, reaching to slowly lower Mallory's hand. She blinked at her, confused. Clearly, she'd lost the thread. Was peace bad now? She made a note to bring it up with the girls at brunch- that was literally the only way any of them greeted people.

"Don’t just stop. Tell me about your troubles, maybe I can help," the girl offered, and Mallory sighed. She wouldn't even know what to say- how to start, what to call any of it. She liked him. He was sweet to her. But he just wouldn't fully give himself; there was something missing. A hesitation, a... secret.

"He give you that?"

Mallory glanced down, suddenly aware that she had been fidgeting with the bracelet.

"Oh, uh- yeah, actually."

"Can’t be that bad if he gives you pretty things, just need to know how to handle him."

She paused. She didn't care about the expensiveness of the bracelet; she liked it because it was from Abel. And because when she noticed it, she thought of him. But on the other hand, this girl did seem to have advice. And she seemed to be a girl's girl- 'my experience is yours to learn from' kind of girl, you know? The kind of girl Mallory herself tried to be when she could. Mallory decided to hear her out.

"'Handle him'? What do you mean by that? Abel's a sweet guy, he's just busy a lot, I think." Doing what, she was never too sure, now that she thought about it. "But it's complicated, because we're still mostly just friends right now... Sort of..? He- Okay, I don't even know... I can't- Yeah. I don't even know."

[Hafen d4 ⚓︎ minie]

Mallory thinks, and she doesn’t know, and she can’t. Blah blah blah blah blah. All I hear are half assed excuses she seems to be making for this boy. Abel, that’s what she calls him. Too damn bad he didn’t seem able to do anything but make the poor girl question everything she knows.

Here stuck in the dark cabin, the smell of sea salt and sand, the girl with all her insecurities tugged at my heartstrings…just for a second. The light in the cabin was minimal at best and getting darker quicker and quicker. The red lights from the peacekeeper cars occasionally shining through, giving me a better a look and a perfect warning for when I should hold my tongue for just a second.

“What do you mean busy?” I pried hoping she would be able to serve up more information than stuttering excuses. Busy usually meant a guy was not all that interested, or they were secretly gay and wanted to let you do easy. Busy was never good and what was even worse was how in the dark she was being kept.

Gosh I really had to try hard not to laugh. How fucking naive could this girl be??

My fingers found a spare cigarette stuffed away in my pocket, my trusty light never far. This was going to cost a lot of nerves. “Have a smoke” I held out one for her to take, most definitely not asking if she wanted one. Then lit one up myself, inhaling deep while I thought of what I could say that would cause minimal crying.

“Men are pigs, Mallory. There is no such thing as a sweet guy…came here with this one guy I’ve been seeing, Kai. The worst kind of asshole, y’know…but if you get they are full of shit then you can use them. That’s all they are really good for anyway, and that Abel of yours…please he has you wrapped around his finger. I think it’s time you grow a pair…if he is giving you presents that means he is keeping you on a leash. A damn golden leash by the looks of that, where did you say he got it from again?”

[dars]

m a l l o r y

When Medea produced a cigarette for Mallory, and even went through the trouble of striking it up for her before she could protest, Mallory knew it would be better to accept her peace offering than even attempt to reject it. She smiled, held the thing unnaturally between her fingers like it might bite her if she wasn't careful at first, before clearing her throat and committing to the bit. Every few seconds, she'd bring it up to her lips, pull a little of it in to her mouth, mime like she was taking a deep inhale, and then let the smoke out. She was a teenage girl in a district with more than enough party drugs running their way through the streets; she was basically a professional at successfully diverting peer pressure without seeming uncool or dramatic.

Besides, the other girl had plenty of other stuff on her mind, stuff that seemed much more pressing in the moment. "I don't know, like, busy. With work?" Mallory tapped her cigarette to ash it onto the floor, then quietly anxiously stepped on the ashes to make sure they weren't still burning. (They might've been right next to the coast, but they were standing in a wooden shack.) She realized she didn't know where Abel worked. But she was certain he must have.

Listening to her speak, Mallory first had the thought to tell Medea that from the sounds of it, she might've been better off without this Kai boy she was mentioning, but then she ended her dissertation on men with another question about her bracelet.

She held it out for the other girl to inspect.

"He bought it, I guess. I didn't recognize the name on the box... 'Reefhold' or something." She watched the way the gems glittered in the flickering florescent lights above. She'd been absolutely shocked when he offered it to her, a quiet moment at her birthday party between cutting the cake and going to the Whittaker mansion for the alcohol after.

"Probably got it from somewhere near his house," she said, tapping her cigarette again.

[Hafen d4 ⚓︎ minie]

I was beginning to feel really sorry for this girl. Helplessly defending an idiot that probably could not give two fucks about her. Not that I cared particularly about her, it was just a waste to see a pretty young thing defend a useless piece of meat. Oh well, not everyone could be me or even come close. That was her own problem she would have to deal with, I had to make sure I was good on my own two feet.

Thus, leading to me delicately taking her hand to examine the bracelet. Cigarette still hanging out of my mouth as the smoke went up my nostrils and found its way into my eyes. The glowing red tip, slightly illuminating the dark dressing cabin. What a rather romantic moment it could have been if Mallory was not such a sucker, and I wasn’t such a bitch. The sunshine golden chains of the bracelet were precise, small gems in a slightly darker shade gleaming in the light. The kind of object only someone with money to spend would buy, non the less even if Mallory did not want to accept it…that bracelet was nothing more than a fancy handcuff.

There was not enough diamonds or gold that could convince me to become someone else’s property. My hand holds onto her wrist, my eyes steady on the bracelet. “Reefhelm”, I corrected her. The brand was one I knew well, despite all my problems and existential crisis…the old money upbringing of my family was not one I could shake all too easily. Reefhelm being a small family brand, my dad would purchase from whenever mom was upset with him. Got a discount because the Reefhelm’s were close family friends. Hell, there even was a time when I used to get drunk with Marisol Reefhelm in her backyard. Then she got clean or whatever, she said something about accepting responsibility. Lame.

“Now where did you say this Abel was from again?” My curiosity growing as I carefully let go other hand and took the cigarette out of my mouth. I never heard of anyone my age named Abel in the neighborhood and it was the kind of place that had an unfortunate incest-like vibe to it. Very tight knit, marrying their kids in exchange for business deal. If hell was real, it would be the Lagoon Gated Community. “Now why would any kid who can afford a Reefhelm bracelet need a job? And what kid our age who has a job can afford a Reefhelm bracelete? Oh you poor thing, the numbers aren’t adding up” I oh-so helpfully pointed out.