(OOC: sorry it took me! Been busy these past few days D: )

Devin nodded and returned the smile, trying not to show her disappointment. "That's fine. I'll see you then," she said. There was a pause where neither of them wanted to leave, and Devin wasn't sure how to bid him goodbye. Finally, in the eyes of all of the disapproving people, she moved forward to give him a friendly hug. That was innocent enough.
"Bye Liam," she waved, before walking off to find her sister.

Once Devin and Liam were out of each others' sight, it wouldn't take her long to realize that Keelin and Aiden were not wandering the streets. Irritation welled up in her as she began looking through common buildings to pass through.

:::♦:::

Aiden followed her into the corner of the pub, not hesitating to order a pint of beer. It would hopefully loosen up his words, let what he was really feeling come out. He just hoped that it wouldn't cause him to say something mean. He nearly downed half of the beer once it had arrived at his table. It didn't appear that Keelin wanted any yet, and even if she did Aiden would discourage it. It would be wrong, yes, to drink in front of her and not allow her to, but he wouldn't let her harm the child.

There was a long moment of silence and Aiden simply willed the alcohol to get to work. He knew it would take more time though, so he had to say something. He would be bold, say it directly. He had to. He couldn't beat around the bush. "I want to raise the child with you. No matter if times get rough, and they will. We can do it."

(It's no biggy, I was having issues with my internet the past couple of days anyways.)

Keelin watched him down half of his beer and she would be lying if she said she didn't want any. She was secretly addicted to alcohol, but she managed to restrain herself for the time being. The silence was making her anxious though. Finally she ordered a pint for herself and bit her lip as she looked at Aiden. "I-I'm scared Aiden, but I know I want you to be a part of this baby's life. I also know that I deffinitely don't want to marry Gavin. So what's our plan?" She said as her drink was sat in front of her. She picked it up with shaky hands, but didn't take a drink yet. She knew if she took a drink she'd spill it all over herself because she was shaking.

Aiden shook his head. "Don't be scared. Either path you take, you won't end up alone in this." Even if I do.
Without asking, he took the glass of beer out of her hands gently and placed it on the other end of the table where she couldn't reach it. "Don't risk it," was all he said.

He exhaled deeply and leaned back into the seat, taking in her words. Yes, she said she didn't want to marry Gavin, but he was the first person she brought up. Had she been seeing him from time to time while Aiden was away with his family? It didn't seem normal to him that Keelin's thoughts kept returning to him. Marrying Gavin, ...his name felt like a thorn in his mind..., was the first idea Keelin had, and kept returning to. Didn't that mean anything? His feelings of pent-up anger and frustration only got worse as he was slowly beginning to realize that her plan would end in a better family life for the child.

An overwhelming feeling of anxiety crossed him. He couldn't get around it! That one fact, that he was the second-best choice for his own baby. He couldn't take all of the negative feelings that were choking him anymore.

"Marry Gavin." He finally said. Aiden couldn't even look her in the eye as he said it. He couldn't keep his composure any longer. "Marry him. I hope you two are happy together. Raise my young as if it were his. Never even tell the child of his birth father, it would do him no good. I'll go back to being alone... with no one but my family," his voice was shaking. He knew he would regret the following words but he couldn't stop himself now. "Maybe I'll find another whore on the street to start a family with and then perhaps I can be the father of my own child."

Standing from the table, Aiden began to leave the pub without even a glance back to Keelin. Aiden's eyes were watering up before he'd even reached the pub door. He fought against the tears with all his might. Regaining the chivalrous side he'd had before a moment ago, he stepped aside to let Devin pass into the pub before he left the premises for his caravan.

:::♦:::

Devin gave Aiden a look of confusion, and wondered where her sister was. If Aiden looked upset, she knew Keelin would be a wreck. Devin's maternal side kicked in high gear as she scanned the pub for her sister. It wasn't long before she found her in a booth. Things didn't look good.
She rushed past the people that stood in her way between her sister, and even knocked past a waiter. Devin joined Keelin, wrapping a loving arm around her. "What happened?" She asked in a quiet voice.

(Oi, this ended up being long. He was being quite loving before, I didn't want the sudden snap to be totally unrealistic, so I tried to lead up to it quite a bit. Either way, my apologies if this isn't my smoothest post haha. Poor Keelin D: )

"But I..." Was all Keelin said as he took the beer from her. She sighed in slight disappointment, but got over it. It was only a drink anyways, nothing to fret about. Instead she began to think about the baby, would it be a boy or would it be a girl? Which was Aiden hoping for? What would they name it? All these questions were going through her mind as she sat in silence.

When Aiden spoke again she was taken aback. "B-but Aiden I told you I don't want to marry him. I was not lying when I said that." She said as she trailed off into a mumble. Tears began to well in her eyes as he spoke, letting everything come out. She opened her mouth to stop him and tell him she wasn't going to marry Gavin, but his next words stopped her. She felt an immense pain in her heart as he pretty much called her a whore. It felt like a burning hot blade was stabbed right through her heart and then someone began to twist the blade ever so slowly. "Aiden..." Was all she could manage to gasp as he got up and left her there. Finally the tears came pouring down her face as she began to sob harder than she'd ever sobbed in her life.

She barely recognized it was Devin due to the tears that flooded.her eyes, but she knew instantly when she spoke. Keelin burried her face into her sisters chest as she cried and tried explaining things. "Aiden...got mad...told me to marry Gavin...called me a whore...left...my heart...pain." She managed to say in between sobs, she knew it didn't make much sense, but she hoped that Devin would understand what she was trying to say.

(That was epic haha, Keelin doesn't know what to do with herself now hehehe.)

Devin's jaw dropped. "He called you a whore?" How dare he! Devin thought in anger. He knew very well she wasn't a whore, and that if she was then as was he. Devin was instantly fuming. "Keelin, you are not a whore. You both made a mistake, but at least Aiden proved himself unworthy to play the part of a father sooner than later."

Devin held her tighter, rocking gently as Keelin cried. She wanted to place a hex on the bastard! There had to be some sort of store that would sell items for witches in town. Devin was seriously considering turning to the black arts to give Aiden what he deserved.

"Keelin," Devin lifted her face up with two fingers under Keelin's chin. "This isn't exactly a bad thing. Yes, what he said was outrageous and I'd do anything to put him six feet under the ground. But at least now you may find a suitable father." Devin couldn't tell if she was getting through to her; Keelin's face was already washed out by her tears. "This is the first step towards a better future now."

(Haha, thanks! :D)

Keelin finally calmed her sobbing, but it wasn't until a few minutes after Devin stopped crying. "Devin I have to marry Gavin, I have to make him think the child is his then we don't have to tell Mama and Papa about Aiden and I. We can just forget it all happened and live our lives." She managed to say while holding back tears. She was still so heartbroken over everything that happened. "Aiden and I never happened." She said in a gasp as she began to cry again, thinking of everything. "Oh Devin, I loved him so much." She cried as she looked down.

(We should have Devin invite Keelin to the party and then have Aiden somehow come to that party too cause I has an idea hehe.)

(Okie dokie! Sounds good! I'm thinking when this scene starts to run dry, we can time-skip to sunset? How's that sound?)

Devin nodded against her back as she held her. It occured to Devin that her sister must have truly cared for Aiden, even though he turned out the way he did. It made her feel sick to her stomach, and these sorts of drama usually couldn't do that. "I think that's a good idea," she said quietly. The other customers at the pub were eyeing Keelin and Devin, but she shot them glares to veer their stares. "It's early enough that Gavin would believe it. He will help you heal. I promise you."

It was quiet for a long moment before Liam returned to Devin's mind. That was nothing new of course, he came to her mind all of the time. But it was his idea that she thought of specifically. "Keelin, come with me to the celebration being thrown tonight. Liam invited me as his date, but I know under the circumstances given that he won't mind. The food and positive energy in the air will help you feel a little more up-to-par."

Keelin knew it was the right thing to marry Gavin, but she just couldn't get over the sick stomach the thoughts brought her. That man did not love her and never would truly love her. He did not believe in a thing such as love. He only believed in finding someone to marry and produce offspring that would carry on his family's name. That's what sickened her the most, the fact that she would be passing off Aiden's child as Gavin's child. It just wasn't right, Aiden should be a part of the child's life. She couldn't think about that now though, it was causing her head to hurt.

When Devin asked her to go to the party, she looked at her sister. She sniffled a little and then nodded. "A-alright, that sounds like a good idea." She agreed as she tried to give her sister a smile. She then looked around to see some people still looking at them and she sighed. "Come on, let's go figure out what we're wearing shall we?" She asked while looking back at her sister.

(Yeah sounds fine to me, we can even do a time skip now if you'd like to :)?)

(That works. I'll write Aiden's arrival in either the next post, or the post after that. :))

Devin gave a soft smile. "Excellent plan."

***

Night was growing on the horizon. Stars were peeking through the sky, and the last orange colors of the sunsets would be fading soon enough. When they'd returned to the caravan, their parents were already awake. They weren't packing the caravan yet, so Devin figured they must be staying for at least a few more nights. They were always very prepared when they were ready to travel to the next town.

Devin had changed into a long, flowing green dress that wrapped around her body nicely. There were white pearls and threads of white fabric that decorated the sleeves and bust of the gown, but it was generally fairly plain. She relied on silver jewelry to spice it up; layering silver chain necklaces and a few bracelets.

When Keelin was ready and the sun had gone down even further, Devin's anxiety rose a little. She wanted to say she was holding a poker face, but she was excited to see Liam and could barely hold herself together at the daydreams she'd thought up of how this night could go. She hoped he would arrive to pick them up shortly.

Keelin looked at herself in the mirror that was leaned up against the caravan, the one she often used to make sure she looked alright for her performances. She actually wore one of her many dance costumes, this one being a little more provaciative than a lot. The shirt was a pretty off the shoulder jade green belly skirt. The sleeves fit snug to her arms down to her elbow and then flared out. It had gold trimming around the edges and coins that dangled around the torso area. For a skirt she wore a long black skirt that had a gold design around the bottom. There was a slit up the left side that ended just above her knee. She wore a red wrap around her waist that had coins and beads that made noise as she moved. She decided on wearing no shoes and she adorned her hair with fresh flowers.

When she was satisfied with how she looked, she went and found her sister. She gave her a soft smile when she saw her. "You definitely look pretty." She said to her and then looked towards the road to town where she saw someone coming. "There he is, let's head that way so he doesn't have to deal with Mama and Papa." She said as she grabbed her sisters hand and pulled her towards him. She gave one last glance towards Aiden's caravan and huffed a little as she turned back around. Over the last couple of hours her sadness and depression had turned to anger towards him and she now wished to hurt him as much as he hurt her, if not a little worse.

___________________

Liam was overly excited to go and get Devin, that's what he'd been looking forward to the whole day and now he was heading her way. He had actually combed his hair nicely and was wearing nice black trousers and a nice white shirt, the clothes he normlly saved for church. They were his best clothes, but he figured this was s good occasion to wear them.

He was almost there when he saw Devin's sister leading her towards him. He wasn't sure if the fact that Keelin was coming that way meant that Devin had invited her too or not. He then wondered if that meant she invited the guy to. He slightly hoped so cause then he figured that her sister would be distracted by him as they walked to the party. He guessed he would just have to wait and see then.

"I think that's a good idea too," Devin agreed, beginning to meet Liam halfway with her sister beside her. Nightfall usually brought Devin the beginnings of sleep; she preferred not to stay up late at night. But tonight, it left her with a bustling energy and she hoped she could release some of it through dancing or something of the sorts.

Devin couldn't help but admire Liam's appearance; classy, formal, and he still managed to make himself look attractive. "You look divine," she said. She looped her arm with his and turned him back to the direction of the town, excited to get the night started with her new love interest. She reached her hand over to hold Keelin's, hoping she wouldn't feel too much like a third wheel.

:::♦:::

Aiden had spent the entire day keeping himself busy. He fished for a while, and even tried hunting, though after an hour of not sighting one animal he lost his patience and gave up. Essentially, he bounced from one activity to another without any luck with anything he tried.

He hadn't yet begun to regret what he said to Keelin. His anger had faded only slightly, but now it was progressively being replaced with sadness. He'd lost her. He'd lost his baby. He'd let them slip away... no. He pushed them away. Aiden shook his head for the hundredth time today, shaking off his thoughts. He stood from where he sat on the ground next to his caravan. His parents had refused to let them pack up and leave for another two days. Aiden had to try to find something else to do now, so he decided to head into town. Maybe he would bring a few coins and browse any shops still open for something he might could use in his travels. Or perhaps some sort of puzzle to get his mind off of things. With a stride that clearly showed he was upset with some sort of emotion, he set off down the empty cobblestone path that lead into the lit up streets of town.

Keelin looked at her sister as she took her hand and gave her a soft smile as if to say it was okay. She then looked up at the sky was they walked, watching the stars slowly appear. She found this to be calming most of the time, but this time she caught herself thinking. Not just thinking about silly little things, thinking about things she realized was starting to upset her again. She was thinking about Aiden and how it would have been if she was marrying him and not Gavin. She sighed and rolled her eyes at her mind as she scolded it for thinking such things. She now knew she'd never know how it would be since it appeared that Aiden now didn't want to have anything to do with her.

The sound of music is what finally pulled her out of her thoughts. She smiled ar the sound of the up beat dancing music and was now becoming excited since she was going to be able to do what she loved. She was going to be able to dance and just have fun with it.

________________

Liam smiled as Devin said he looked divine. "Well thank you, you look absolutely stunning." He said and he truly meant it. The fading daylight seemed to make the color of her dress pop and it made her glow. He thought that it was actually rather breath taking. He didn't thunk his smile could get any bigger, but then she took his arm and sure enough it did get bigger. He knew he must have looked goofy with how much he was smiling, but he didn't care.

"So the party isn't that far away, it's actually right when you get into town. Every young person in the area is going to be there, it's going to be a ton of fun. And the musicians are amazing, they know the perfect music to play so we can dance to it. Do you like to dance Devin?" He spoke a mile a minute, too overly excited to slow down and think of everything he was saying. He then hoped that he wouldn't say anything to offend Devin.

(OOC: Haha, I'm not even gonna lie, when Liam started smiling like a fool I started smiling too! Good writing :). I didn't write Aiden for this post; I'll get him involved with the party in the next post and then Keelin can start her thing.)

Devin was never one to blush, but somehow she felt her cheeks grow hotter when he'd said she looked stunning. To hide it, she just let her natural smile grow and she looked away from his towards the lively town. It seemed the party had already started, but it looked like it hadn't gone into full swing just yet. It appeared that they'd arrived just on time.

"I'd love to dance with you," she said. She'd somewhat avoided his original question. It wasn't that she didn't like to dance, and she was rather good at it...but Keelin was an excellent dancer and performer, and Devin preferred the psychic arts to showing off. Regardless, somehow Liam took her fears of being upstaged away, and she was genuinely excited to dance for the first time in a very long time.

"I haven't been to a party in so long!" She smiled through her words. "Thank you for taking me tonight. I haven't been this excited in a very long time."

(Haha well thank you very much :). I've totally done something like that before too haha.)

Liam almost jumped up and down when she said she'd dance with him, but he supressed the urge to do that fearing that she'd think he was crazy if he did so. Instead he sped up the pace so they could get there faster and sure enough they were there in minutes. There were a few people already dancing and more and more were showing up. Sure enough, as he had suspected, the drinking.had already begun. That was fine by him, though, because that meant less people would be bothering him about bringing two gypsies to the party. "So dear beautiful Devin, would you care to dance right now or do you want to go get a drink?" He asked her, totally forgetting that her sister was there too.

__________________

As for Keelin, she too was rather happy to arive and get her mind off of things. Her first stop was to see if they had something she could eat since recently she was starving all the time. She blamed it on having to eat for two. So when she over heard Liam asking Devin if she wanted to dance, Keelin spoke up. "Go Devin, dance, have some fun. I'm going to go see if I can find something to eat." She said as she gave her sister a smile and then gave Liam a look of 'take care of my sister or else I will bring you down faster than yoh can say help'. She then turned and left her sister and the man she wasn't too sure if she could trust yet and went on the hunt for some food.

Soon enough she found what she was looking for, glorious food. It was all just sitting out on a table and from what she could tell people were serving themselves. So without further invatation she grabbed some bread and potatoes that were cooked in some form she wasn't familliar with. She didn't care though, it smelt amazing and so she piled the plate she found lying around. She wasn't really sure if it was someones, but it looked clean so she took it. She went and sat down and began eating, looking around at the scene before her. Guys kept coming around her, most drunk and some half drunk, and they kept saying random flirtatious things to her. She ignored them for the most part or told them off as she ate her food.

After Keelin gave Devin her permission to go on with Liam, she smiled. "Let's dance, shall we? We can sit down and have a drink afterwards. That way, neither of us will be tripping over ourselves while we dance," she laughed. Devin could already feel the music inching into her bones. When Keelin went off in search of food, she took Liam's hand and led her to the center of the party; right smack in the middle of town.

It only took a moment before Devin was completely into the music, dancing with Liam. She was glad she'd picked this dress tonight, she liked the way it flowed to their movements. She loved the way their dance often brought their bodies close together, just enough to feel his warmth against her before she was spinning away again. They were one of a few couples dancing in this half-drunken crowd, and all the party-goers who were choosing not to dance sloppily clapped along to the music for them. The street lights and colors of the crowd and the pace of the music had Devin in a joyful mood. As one of the songs came to an end, Devin caught and held Liam's eyes and hands, a wild smile on her face. She exhaled heavily to slow her breathing from the fast pace of the song before.

As the next song began, she said: "I haven't danced like this in years. And for a fisherman, you're quite the dancer," she winked subtly.

:::♦:::

Aiden wished that he'd known there was a party going on before he set out into town. He wouldn't have left his caravan. Regardless, here he was, on the edges of the crowd. He'd found that most of the shops had shut down for the night, and all the townsfolk were here in the town center. For a while, he watched the dancers lost in the thrill of the music and clapped along, until he managed to steal someone's drink. It was strong, and made him cringe as he swallowed whatever alcoholic liquid it was. He swallowed spit to get the taste out of his mouth, and thought to himself he might just have to find another shot of that drink.

It wasn't long before he was feeling a little more loose and eyeing the girls in town. Some were quite beautiful, and even though he found his thoughts turning lustful for some of them, somehow his mind always twisted those thoughts into the nights he shared with Keelin. He'd then have to look away to another girl, and the very same thing happened again. After another two shots of liquor, he could finally get her out of his mind. That is, until he saw her across the town center eating from a plate of food. Aiden froze. Should he leave? Should he talk to her? He never thought he'd be in a situation this complicated, and his buzzed mind couldn't even think straight enough to make a decision through the shock.

Keelin finished up her food and sat there looking around now at all the people that were there and there were a lot of people now. She was enjoying watching all the dancing and the people having fun and wanted to join in. That’s when her eyes fell on the one person that she was hoping not to see there. She instantly felt sick which soon turned into anger. She had had a drink handed to her earlier and wasn’t sure what it was, but she took her first drink then realized it was alcohol. She recognized the burning and then the warm feeling she got inside, it was whisky. She stopped in fear that she might harm the baby, but then pushed it aside a little saying one drink wouldn’t hurt…right? She quickly downed it all and felt the buzz in the back of her mind kick in. She felt invincible, like she could do anything. She wanted to do something she was sure she was going to regret.

With her plan in mind she got up and headed over to Aiden. She smirked slightly as she stopped in front of him. “Well look who we have here. Aiden, the man who managed to rip my heart out in seconds.” She said, a smirk still on her face and plenty of venom coming out in the last words she said. She definitely wasn’t thinking about the consequences of her actions and wasn’t about to begin thinking about them as she continued to talk. “I hear you like whores. Well then how’s this for being a whore?” She said as she got close to his face before turning around and walking over to a guy a few feet away. He was one of the drunks that was flirting with her so she knew he wouldn’t stop what she was about to do. As he turned around she pulled him down to her and she kissed him. He was shocked a little at first, but soon began to kiss her back as he placed his hands on her exposed waist. After a few seconds she pulled away and looked over to Aiden with a smirk, waiting for his reaction.

----------------------

Liam moved to the beat of the music, excitement and happiness plastered all over his face as he danced with who he thought was the most gorgeous girl in the entire world. The beat of the music was exhilarating and he found that he was dancing much better then he’d ever danced before. When they locked eyes he had a similar wild smile plastered on his face. He tried to calm his breathing some too. “Well thank you.” He said with a laugh at what she had said and couldn’t help but think about how amazing she was. She was smart, beautiful, witty…she was perfect in his eyes. “You’re so beautiful.” He said without thinking as he stared into her eyes. He was feeling like the king of the world at this moment and time and didn’t want that to end.

If Devin hadn't been slightly flushed already from the thrill of dancing, she would have blushed a little bit. Sending him a smile, she began moving to the high-paced string instruments again. She kept Liam's hand for most of the dance again, only letting go when the music told her necessary.

At the end of the song, he brought her into a spin and before she knew it she was pressed against Liam, her back to his chest with her eyes seeking his like magnets. It was a feeling she'd never experienced before, and suddenly she needed him. She had to complete this moment. She slowly turned to face them but kept their bodies close together, and she moved her arms to rest on his shoulders. Hoping that he wouldn't reject her, Devin leaned in to place a kiss on his lips.

:::♦:::

Aiden kept his mouth shut as a tipsy Keelin got in his face. Aiden, the man who managed to rip my heart out in seconds... As if the truth of her wanting to marry Gavin didn't hurt him too. "I hear you like whores. Well then how's this for being a whore?" For the first time, when she got close to his face Aiden had no desire to kiss her. No desire to bring her closer to him. Perhaps the emotions of the day had already left him with scars, but he knew that was unusual.

"Don't do something you'll regret, Keelin..." Hypocrite! Even though he said the words with good intentions, it was probably the most hypocritical thing he could say right now. Afterall, he'd just pushed away the girl he'd planned to marry with a couple words he'd regret forever.

And then she was hanging all over a drunk man. She used him as if she aggressively needed him, but Aiden knew when she looked over with a smirk that this was all a game to her. Aiden wanted to tear his eyes away, but what was there to look at but his heart breaking just a little more? This wasn't right, Keelin on some guy she found in a street fair. Finally, when he'd had enough of her little game, he approached her and the man. "Keelin-" She didn't so much as bother to push him away for a minute. He exhaled, angry. "I get the point, Keelin. But using this guy is a mistake." Aiden knew as he said the words that they meant nothing to her, that everything he said was useless.

Keelin tried to not let what he was saying bother her, but finally she couldn't supress the anger anymore. "Why?!" She said angrily as she whipped around to face Aiden completely. The man she just turned from kept trying to pull her back to him, but she smacked his hands off of her as she continued on with what she was saying to Aiden. "Apparently it's alright to use someome.since you set a perfect example of that! I loved you Aiden! I loved you more than I've read of people being in love in books and more then I've seen anyone else love someone, but apparently you did not and you found it so easy to just crush me in a matter of seconds!" She began to yell now as she tried to supress the tears from coming. "Now I'm stuck with a man I do not love, a man I absolutely despise. A man I do not want to marry! But I have to marry him now, I have no other choice just so I can hide this mistake that is now growing inside of me!" The last statement is what put her over the edge and hot tears began pouring down her face.

Most people around them had stopped and turned to look at them. Keelin didn't say another word to Aiden, but instead spun around and began to storm off. The man she had used began to follow her and grabbed her. "Get away from me!" She screamed at him as she pushed him away violently befor turning and running. He followed again, but Keelin failed to notice. She soon got to a secluded place far from all the comotion and she dropped to the ground, crying as she did so. After a few minutes she heard footsteps coming toward her and she looked towards the noise. She saw the man and sighed in an irritated fashion. "I told you to leave me alone!" She said to him, but he continued to come closer. She quickly got up and backed away from him. Before she knew it she was pressed up against a wall and the guy had his hands all over her. "Stop!" She screamed and tried to push him away to no avail. She screamed and began to cry as she realized she couldn't do anything to stop him.

__________________

Liam smiled back at her as he too moved to the pace on the song. As the end of the song came he spun her into him and smiled from the fun pace of the song. Then his eyes met hers and she turned to face him as she leaned up to kiss him, he too leaned in, closing the gap. As their lips met he felt like the whole world began to move in slow motion. Nothing else in the world mattered to him except for making this moment last. His hands rested on her waist as he kissed her. After a few moments he pulled away, but rested his forehead on hers. He couldn't find his voice so he instead smiled at her with his big goofy smile. He kept her held close, not wanting this to end ever.

Aiden couldn't help but wince when Keelin had screamed at him that their child was a mistake. He knew he deserved it, but it didn't make the statement hurt any less. For once he didn't wipe away her tears, and he let her run away. His irritation only grew when he saw the drunken man she'd been hanging all over try to follow after her. He exhaled angrily and looked away, only to find a dozen people who chose to stop and stare at the two's argument.
"Mind your own business, would you!" He yelled at the people. Their curious looks changed into something else as they now scowled at his rudeness. Aiden didn't care. He was about to turn and exit town, when he shot one last glance at the woman he thought he'd loved. She left his view as she took a turn down a street, but it was clear that she was unaware of her follower.
Damn it, Keelin! Could she make this day any worse for him?

Aiden took off in a run towards where she'd left to. He learned that he'd taken a wrong turn when suddenly he heard her scream "Stop!" from another direction. Running back to the street where he thought the scream came from, he found the two in an alley. Clearly unwilling, Keelin struggled to get away but the man held her against a wall with his body pressed against her. Aiden was instantly blinded with anger. There was nothing but him, and Keelin's attacker now. Not even Keelin existed anymore.

In a couple strides, Aiden was close enough to the man to throw a solid punch into the cheek of the man.
"Back off, mannn," he slurred. Aiden could smell the booze on his breath. "She obbvisly din't want you around!"
Another punch sent the man clutching his freshly broken nose. The bone snapping was one of the most satisfying sounds he'd ever heard in his life. "Go home," Aiden demanded, "before I choke the life out of you."

:::♦:::

Devin found herself wondering how one moment, one kiss, could send her mind spinning. She felt like she was standing on air, this close to Liam. Seeing him smile so excitedly brought a smile to her face as well. She barely noticed that a new song had began before another dancing couple narrowly missed crashing into the two of them.

"Ay, get off the floor if yer not gonna dance," the male partner said before spinning himself and his partner away from them. Devin couldn't help but giggle a little, before she hooked her arm around Liam's and pulled him to the edge of the crowd. She didn't hesitate to snag two tall cups of alcohol, offering one to Liam. "Drink with me," she requested. She wasn't worried about things getting carried away with Liam. He seemed to have a responsible air to him, and she trusted him to get her home in one piece if for some reason she couldn't keep in control of her drinking.