Daphne Bacchus's Story

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Ram lefted his head and closed his green eyes, soaking up the early morning sun as it bet down on the lake. Cool water sprayed in his face and a constant breeze ruffled his hair. It was perfect sailing weather and Ram had been up since dawn to make the most of it. His one man boat, named 'The Falcon', raced across the lake, skimming across the waves.

Ram opened his eyes as he drew closer to the shore. Standing up in the boat he shielded his eyes from the sunlight glistening off the water and took in the view. There, pretty as a picture, sat Northbay. It fit snuggly between the lakeshore and the hills beyond. He could make out the main street with its small array of shows on either side. There was a large amount of activity in the street, surprising for such a small town and so early on a Saturday.

Then again it was the day of the Lantern Festival. No doubt every spare hand the Elder's could rope into helping was busy putting up decorations. Ram's father Ramsey was a member of the Elders' Council so Ramses was able to get all his information first hand and fresh. The festival was officially an overdue welcome to the Greeks. Unofficially it was to try and calm down the rising animosities between the different groups in the town. As Ram's father had said, if the town could come together and enjoy this one, simple event then they would be one step closer to regaining peace and order.

Ram thought it was a vain hope. He highly doubted that bringing together the whole town into one street would solve anything. Quite the opposite really. Ram knew little of the Greeks but he had grown up with the Norse and his own Egyptian pantheon. He knew enough to understand that there would always be certain individuals who do anything but try to ease tensions.

Shaking such thoughts from his head Ram aimed the boat to shore. A moment later he pulled into the docks, jumping onto the wooden jetty with the ease of practice. He anchored his boat to the jetty, tying it securely. The day may have been calm now but Ram knew enough about Irish weather to know to predict anything. Besides, when you lived in a town of power beings you could never be sure when someone's powers would cause a little mayhem.

Standing up Ram raised his arms above his head and stretched, before straightening out his clothes. With a pleased smile he set off down the wooden walkway, heading towards the Sailing Club rooms and a much needed shower.

---

Early morning carpentry was probably not the best way to deal with a hangover, but oddly enough Mack found the rhythmic thud of his hammer strangely calming. Or perhaps he was still drunk from last night.

He had visited Northbay's singular drinking hole, the pub, the previous night. It had started as a causal beer, but three bottles of beer, four shots of vodka and who knows what else later his night had ended up much larger than anticipated. He had woken up this morning still in his clothes, his light still on and his alarm cloak blaring from under a pile of clothes.

Mack had agreed to help set up for the Lantern Festival that night. He wasn't even getting paid, but doing it as a favour to the town. Not that he minded doing it for free. Mack didn't have too many expensive habits and the rent on his tiny apartment over the supermarket was relatively cheap.

"Mack! Can you move the lanterns slightly to the left?" Ebony Aset, aunt of the three Aset girls and member of the Elders, shouted from the street. Mack, standing up on a ladder, nodded down at the woman and moved the lanterns as desired. Satisfied Ebony nodded and wondered off to oversee another part of the preparations. Left to his own devices Mack returned to hammering.

Almost finished he gave one final hammer on the nail, only his attention must have slipped because the next thing he knew a sharp pain erupted in his thumb. With a yelp he jerked his hand back, making him lose his balance in the process. His legs went out from under him, his arms pinwheeling in circles as he tried to grab at anything to keep him from falling.
Unfortunately the ladder seemed to elude him and Mack quickly found himself falling. A gust of wind blew up the street, particles of sand held in the breeze. The wind increased in strength and pressure, directing itself around the falling man. Faster than the eye could follow it had formed into a miniature wind funnel, Mack being safely buoyed in the centre. Slowly he was lowered to the ground. Only when his feet had touched concrete did a movement of his hand send the winds away, leaving a thin layer of sand behind.

'Mack, as much as I'm glad you're not hurt...' The stern voice came from Ebony Aset, her foot tapping quickly as she surveyed the tiny beach of sand that his powers had called forth. She had a broom in her hand, 'I want all this sand gone before tonight.' Thrusting it into his grasp Ebony turned and left. Dusting the light sprinkling of sand off his clothes before beginning to sweep up the street, Mack wished - and not for the first time - that his winds didn't magically summon sand when he called them.

---

The view from the hills above the town was spectacular. Asta, pausing on her descent, couldn't help but grin at the landscape. The lake was sparkling in the early morning sun, light glistened off the town roofs and there was hardly a cloud in sight. She could have stayed on the thin track that ran up the hills beyond Northbay all day, but one glance at her watch told Asta that she'd need to open the shop soon. With a last glance across the lake Asta turned and made her way, half skipping, down the track.

Most likely it was the excitement of the coming festival that had seen Asta rise so early and head up into the hills. She often went for walks, but rarely so early in the morning. Coming back down she hit the main street at it's beginning. The entrance to Northbay was decorated with a simple sign which read 'Welcome to Northbay'. Asta passed the sign, entering the main street of the town. She passed people setting up stalls, others hanging decorations and more than one person shouting out loud instructions.

Asta waved happily at Mack as she passed him. Curiously he was sweeping up sand, although where the sand came from Asta couldn't be sure. Down the street she went, dodging in and out of the workers, until she reached the Bookstore.
"Key, key key... Oh, there you are!" She muttered to herself as she dug into her cardigan pockets. The Bookstore owner had given Asta the responsibility of opening the store today and she would have hated it if she'd lost the keys already.

She pushed the door open and stepped into the dark room. The light switch was unfortunately at the other end of the store and Asta didn't fancy wondering through the dark to find it. So, holding her hand out, she summoned a small sphere of light and used it to guide her through.

Ten minutes later, the store lit, open and ready for customers, Asta sat back at the counter with a sigh of relief. From here she had a good view of the festival preparations, but instead of watching the workers outside she picked up her book 'Catch-22' and began to read. The doorbell would jingle as soon as anyone entered, meaning until then she could happily lose herself in Joseph Heller.

Daphne Bacchus

Daphne groaned as she awoke to the morning light creeping into her bedroom. She was suffering from a raging headache and her mind was foggy from the hangover she was suffering from. Her head was hanging off the side of the bed with her feet dangling off the foot. She groaned. She was tangled in sheets, her clothes laying on the floor. "Somebody got lucky last night." Daphne laughed, standing up. She heard a hum come from the kitchen, probably the person she hooked up with last night cooking breakfast.

Daphne found a housecoat laid on the bed and she pulled it on. It seemed to fit pretty well and it was a woman's fit. "What a player." Daphne sighed. She dropped the blankets on the bed and exited the bedroom, entering a spacious living room with brick walls. It was kind of a grunge style apartment, Daphne liked the design.

"Good morning Sleepy!" A woman's voice called from the kitchen. Daphne turned the corner and saw the girl she hooked up with last night... Oh yeah stupid you forgot you were a bisexual. You smiled and walked up next to the girl. She had short black hair and tan skin and she was beaming this morning. "What time is it?" you asked, letting out a yawn. "8:45" the girl smiled. "Shit I need to be at the restaurant for 9:00!" Daphne exclaimed. "Okay go get dressed and I'll send you out with some food." "Sounds good." She said, placing a kiss on her cheek.

Daphne dashed back into the bedroom and quickly slipped on her outfit from the previous day. She headed back out after 5 minutes and quickly combed through her hair with her fingers. "Want an omelette to go?" the girl asked. "Yeah sure." Daphne smiled. She waited as the girl fixed her a paper plate and some ketchup to accompany her omelette. "Here you go." she said. "Thanks." Daphne smiled and headed to the car. She grabbed her phone and checked the time. it was nearly 9:00... Hell she was already late so why not send out some texts?

To: Fin Bacchus, Bobby Ceres, Amanda Cyprus, Stephanie Ceres

"Hey what's up? You going to the festival tonight? I'm looking to have some fun tonight, anybody willing to join?"

From: Daphne Bacchus

She shut her phone off and put the car into drive and headed to the restaurant.

Ugh. The sun. And she'd left her good pair of sunglasses at the lad's dorm. All for a good cause, she thought, smiling. She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and marveled at how easily he'd fallen for her tricks. It was only a few beers, some seemingly innocent brushes of the hand, and in spite of his objections about having a girlfriend, he was powerless against those eyes.

Just goes to show you can't trust anyone.

The Oreo's had not been enough to sate her hunger. Glimpsing the time on her phone (9:30AM) she wondered if The Cafe or the Northbay Restaurant would be open yet. She altered her course; the Lantern Festival could wait. The Greeks were probably all over that, considering this whole thing was for them anyway.

She stood outside of the Northbay Restaurant and tried to look in through the windows, cupping her hands around her eyes. The sign outside said they opened at 9AM. Not seeing anyone, she rapped on the glass with her knuckle. Ava knew that Daphne worked here, but not having much relation with the Greeks, she wasn't sure what to expect.

Bobby was up early as usual, tucking in his shirt and tie early in the morning. The sun wasn't up yet, but he'd gone to bed at 8:30 the night before and was well rested as usual. Making sure his hair was greased back into place he, grabbed his messenger bag, slung it over his shoulder and ran out of his room.

Most days Bobby wouldn't have gone to work until after school, but today was different. Today was the lantern festival and school was closed. From across the second story hallway he could see bits of light poking out from a closed door. He smiled to himself, of course Brad was up and awake, probably reading that law book he liked so much.

Making some quick toast in the kitchen he went to go start up the car his parents had bought him for his birthday in February. But he soon found it was little use, because Stephanie, his little sister was already drunkenly passed out in the car, she’d probably had another row in the pub the night before from the looks of the nasty bruise on the side of her face. It hurt Bobby to see his little sis in such a sorry state, she was always using that fake id , in fact most nights she was Betsy Caldwell instead of Stephanie Ceres it seemed and Bobby liked Stephanie Ceres much better.

Try as he would he couldn’t get his hungover sister to budge, just mumbled a few scouse like swears at him. So he had to take his vintage bike instead. Not that he really minded, he liked biking much better in fact, and as he sped along into the town of Northbay he felt in good spirits. Today seemed like it might just be a great day. As he came to a stop at the bookstore he worked at, his phone went off:


"Hey what's up? You going to the festival tonight? I'm looking to have some fun tonight, anybody willing to join?"


From: Daphne Bacchus

He slowly, with his figures instead of thumbs, as he never did get the hang of typing, wrote out.

To: Daphne Bacchus

“Going to work, you ought to have seen Steph this morning. Any idea what happened? Anyways I’ll be attending I guess, Steph will murder me if I don’t.”

From: Bobby Ceres


Bobby continued to walk into the bookstore, where he found his co worker Asta already buried in a book. “Well someones up and early.”He said quietly, smiling as he walked past the counter to go to the back to restock the shelves. After a moment he replied, “I could go up and get us some coffee if you’d like, it’d only be a minute and I’d get a discount because of my sister.”


It sure did sound much stupider aloud than in his head and he regretted talking.






Stephanie awoke to the sound of her brother soft voice. “Piss off Bobby” She mumbled with a moan as she turned away from the open car door. She was surprised she made it home in the car last night. Her head and face were throbbing, and a half an hour later when she had enough energy, strength and will to get up, she found a ugly little bruise covering the bottom left side of her face along her her messy dark brown hair messily falling in her face.


“Well hello beautiful.” She smirked to her own reflection, trying to remember how the bruise had gotten there. Puzzled she shrugged, stepped out of the car and shuffled into the house. After finding her way up the stairs to her room, she remembered she had to go to work. Shit work, I’ll bet I have a million miss calls.


Stephanie picked up her cell phone before undressing and was surprised she had only one text message.


"Hey what's up? You going to the festival tonight? I'm looking to have some fun tonight, anybody willing to join?"


From: Daphne Bacchus

She texted back before jumping in the shower.


“Dammit! I’m late for work and still hungover, I’ll be at the festival or whatever though, I’ll meet you there with Bobby and Brad even if I have to drag them both. Later.”


From: Stephanie Ceres


After Stephanie had showered, thrown on some old striped tee shirt and a brown sweater jacket, with some rolled up jeans and some brown saddle oxfords, she decided to text some other random people she had in her contacts from getting out in the new town.


To Laya:


Hey watcha up to? Are you going to the festival tonight, seems like everyone is.

From: Stephanie Ceres

To Julian:


Hey Julie, what up? Working today, cause maybe we could hang some more at the fest later on. If not that’s cool too.

From: Stephanie Ceres


To April:


How’s it going? Are you going to the festival today?


From: Stephanie Ceres


To Terrance:


Hey you going to the festival, maybe we could hang out of something.


From: Stephanie Ceres

Stephanie froze we she got to the next contact on her list, Antares Pallas, the one guy in town she actually fancied. Hands fumbling she wrote out a very shaky text to him, careful to mind her spelling before starting her car and driving to work.


To Antares:


Hello, um ah, would you mind going to the festival with me later today. We could meet up before or something, it doesn't have to be alone you know, I mean Brad and Bobby will be there too and um yeah, it’d be super cool if you could come. But I mean you don’t have to.


From: Stephanie Ceres


As Stephanie walked into the coffee shop she worked in her manager gave her an angry look which she ignored as she made her own espresso and tucked her phone away. As that weird Beatles obsessed old lady who live down the street from her back in Liverpool would say, it was going to be a hard days night.


(I know no Izzy yet but I will edit soon, I only have so much time, this is looking great so far guys!:))

Daphne drove fast... Well the speed limit but she got to work as fast as she could. She spotted Ava at the doors, wondering why the restaurant wasn't open. "Sorry had a late start to the morning." Daphne sighed, opening the front door. She made her way around back and quickly got into uniform. Her phone buzzed to life with 2 text messages. The first one was from Bobby.

“Going to work, you ought to have seen Steph this morning. Any idea what happened? Anyways I’ll be attending I guess, Steph will murder me if I don’t.”

From: Bobby Ceres


Daphne quickly replied with a message.

To: Bobby Ceres

"Oh I'm sure Stephanie is just being her normal self... Or maybe its puberty? And I'm happy to hear that.. Its been a while since we hung out and I figured why not tonight?"

Daphne laughed and clicked send. She then checked her next message.

Dammit! I’m late for work and still hungover, I’ll be at the festival or whatever though, I’ll meet you there with Bobby and Brad even if I have to drag them both. Later.”

From: Stephanie Ceres

To: Stephanie Ceres

"Sounds good. I'm ready for a night of fun. I'm working till 5 so maybe we can meet up at 7?"

She hit send and put her clothes and phone into her work locker. She quickly left the locker room and went out to the front and waited for customers.

"Yeah, um-" But she was cut off by Daphne's rush to the back. She groaned with frustration, snagging a menu from the hostess stand and flopping down in a booth. She glanced arbitrarily over the food items, not seeing quite what she wanted.

Ava waited somewhat impatiently for Daphne to come take her order. She drummed her fingers on the table, and - Oh! Was that a buzz? She pulled her phone out of her pocket.

No messages.

Phantom vibrations or something. When Daphne reemerged in uniform, she sat up. "Hey, um, can I get some coffee? And some eggs? Oh, and have you got any bacon?"

Where was everyone? Seriously, was everyone working on that stupid Lantern Festival? Good. At least when she got there, she wouldn't have to do any actual work. And with her brother gone, she would most likely be attending alone. If Ava had her way, she certainly wouldn't be leaving alone.

---

---

Amanda was one of the only people in town who didn't have to get up for work early, and she loved it. Working part time as a bartender in the evenings for now, until she got a better job, Mandy usually didn't wake up until after ten. Sleeping in wasn't going to be a part of her schedule today though as her phone made a loud buzz, awakening her. She didn't move for a moment, eyes closed, before she forced herself to prop herself up onto her elbows and check her phone. It was five to nine. She groaned, before checking her text message.

From: Daphne Bacchus
Hey what's up? You going to the festival tonight? I'm looking to have some fun tonight, anybody willing to join?

She narrowed her eyes for a moment, racking her brain for what Daphne was talking about. Oh, that was right, the Lantern festival was on tonight. Of course she was going to- Oh, she was working. She'd be able to get the day off for the festival, right? Oh well, even if she couldn't, maybe she could just sneak out and no one would notice... probably. She could pop back in later, anyway. She pulled her phone closer to her, a Sony Xperia, and typed in a reply.

To: Daphne Bacchus
I was sleeping, you know, not everyone gets up this early. c: I'm totally going, wouldn't miss it for anything.

She was about to turn her phone off when another text came through.

From: Dehlilah Cyprus
Hey want to take on the town with your big sister?

Mandy got up and slowly started to make her bed as she replied.

To: Dehlilah Cyprus
Sure, just give me some time to properly wake up and get ready. Where are you?

She sent the reply and set down her phone on the bedside table, where she always left it. After making her bed, she got dressed into some black skinny jeans and a purple frill sleeveless top. She stuffed a leather jacket into her bag. Knowing Irish weather, it could be raining by the end of the day, even if it did look lovely at the moment. She had already turned on her straightener, so she brushed and straightened her hair before going into the bathroom of her apartment, where she washed her face, brushed her teeth, and applied her make up.

She wasn't one to eat early in the mornings, so she simply grabbed a yogurt from the fridge, quickly eating it down before throwing it in the bin. She picked up her bag and went to go - just remembering her phone from her bedside table in time, and left the house.

I watched as Ava seated herself at a booth. "Hey, um, can I get some coffee? And some eggs? Oh, and have you got any bacon?" she asked. "Yeah sure, I'll be back in a few." Daphne said, scribbling the order down on her notepad and the racing back to the kitchen. She hung the order on a line which the cooks would read and then make the food. Daphne then went to find the coffee maker and poured a cup of coffee. She grabbed a couple cremes and sugars and walked back into the front. "Here you go." Daphne smiled... The restaurant was dead... She wished she didn't have to wait... She wanted to see her friends.

After a while Daphne headed back to the kitchen to complete the rest of her order. She brought back the eggs and bacon and set them before Ava. "You going to the lantern festival?" Daphne asks casually... It would be a surprise to hear no seeing as basically everyone goes and you'd be crazy no to..

Ava's shoulders seemed to relax as soon as the coffee was put in front of her. She cupped her hands around it, intertwining her fingers, and for a moment just inhaled it. Then, abruptly, she picked up her fork and began stabbing at the eggs to break the yolk. She'd taken a bite of bacon as Daphne spoke.

"Yeah, I guess," she said, chewing her bacon sloppily. She glanced up at Daphne again; did she want something else? After a forkful of eggs, Ava was beginning to wonder. "Why?" Surely no one actually cared if she was going or not.

Ava cleared her plate and drained the coffee mug, leaning back in the chair and stretching her arms. The Pink Floyd shirt was pretty comfortable; she wondered if the boy would miss it. When Daphne had gone into the back room, she took this as her cue to slide on out of the chair and slink out of the Restaurant, and subsequently skip out on the check. Shouldn't be on your damn phone all the time. Whatever happened to customer service anyhow? Ava smirked at her own thought, even giggled a little to herself as she broke into a light jog to get as far from the Restaurant as possible.

With a little food in her belly, she was ready to help out with the festival, however undesirable a project it would be. She walked briskly, humming indistinctly, while her flip flops smacked against her heels. Strictly for fun - and certainly not from superstition - she hopped over every crack in the sidewalk. She found herself wondering (maybe even caring?) if certain people would be there. The Serrure twins? Were they coming? Those kids knew how to party. What about that Fin guy? Or Antares? A huge grin spread across her face when she thought about Antares. That boy made her tingly all over. If only she could get him to look into her eyes, just for a moment, then he'd be all hers.

Her reverie was broken when she came to the Lantern Festival setup. A heavy sigh escaped her and she placed one hand on her hip, another on her brow to shield her eyes from the sun (ugh, the sun). Ava took a few heavy steps, glanced over at the others who were in place, trying to recognize them with the sun in her eyes.

She saw Mack, to whom she'd never actually spoken, and several of the elders. She was surprised at how the hanging lanterns made her feel. Was it excitement? Was Ava actually excited for this festival tonight? She tried to shake it off by imagining all the others sending and receiving texts or phone calls about the festival, like it was the damn Prom or something. Pathetic, really, she thought to herself.

"Ok," she announced. "I'm here. What do you want?"

Fin woke up sprawled across his bed with his forearm laying across his eyes to block out the sun that was peeking through his window. Though it wasn’t the sun that had woken him up, it was the beep that had just signalled out from underneath a pile of clothes that seemed to span his whole floor.

He laid there for a moment staring at his ceiling, not quite ready to get up, he only laid there a moment before a grin stretched across his face and he rolled off his bed onto the pile of clothes on his floor. Just lying there was way too boring, and he was way too curious about what the text was about. It took him a solid five minutes to find his phone that was impressively buried, though for the achievement of finding his phone the state of his room suffered. hHs room was messy before but it was now a wreckage site.

He got up to leave his room with his phone in hand and took a glance back at the state of his room, though only for a moment before shrugging it off thinking to himself that he could clean it later. Though that was a blatant lie, seeming as Fin’s idea of cleaning was putting three things away and then getting distracted by something he found. Walking through his place Fin read through his new text from his sister Daphne, smiling to himself as he remembered today was the belated festival to welcome the Greeks. He couldn’t help getting excited, all he wanted was for the day to hurry up.



After typing quick reply, Fin threw his phone onto the nearest ledge he could find without really thinking about what he was doing. He did this all the time and never learnt. Sometimes he would lose his phone for months at a time, or he just wouldn’t get around to charging it. Anyone who knew him at all knew it was incredibly unlikely for him to have his phone on him and let alone have it charged and on him.

He took a quick shower and dressed for the day before heading out the main street, excited to see all the decorations people had been working on. He walked through the main street with an uncontrollable grin on his face. The whole place just looked so festive and everyone seemed to be around working together to make the place look great. Plus they couldn’t have picked a better day, the sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Tonight was sure to be a good night, hopefully with plenty of alcohol, though he could fix that if it became an issue.

As Fin walked on he became aware that he was no longer just walking on concrete and the whole ground seemed to be scattered with sand. He looked up and seeing Mack had been given the duty of sweeping up the sand he made his way toawrds the guy. “I swear sleep in and you miss all the fun,” exclaimed Fin when he gained Mack’s attention. “What happened here?” he gestured to the sand scattered all across the street, an expression of curiosity and confusion spread across his features.

“Did you need any help cleaning it up?” Fin asked, when remembered that Mack had been sweeping up the sand. He hadn’t much to do that day, he had to work a few hours at the restaurant over lunch but that was about it. So he had plently of time to fill in and he really did want to help out and not just rely on other people to do everything.

He looked over Mack’s shoulder to see Delilah walking through the town seemingly taking a look at the decorations being put up. He immediately started walking over towards her, hoping since she was Greek and this was her first festival that she would be as excited as he was. “Talk to you later Mack,” Fin said over his shoulder at the last moment, completely forgetting his offer to help out.

“Dehlilah!” Fin called out grinning, “I take it your shops not open today then?” He caught up to her and began walking with her through the town. He wasn’t particularly close to Dehlilah but they were both Greek so they knew each other and from his point of view got on well.

“They town looks so festive and amazing doesn’t it?” He asked a wide smile lighting up his face as he faced forward still taking in all the decorations that had already been put up as well as the ones that were yet to be set up.

---

---

Calypso had been up for a while lying on the couch brainlessly watching whatever was on the television, occasionally changing channels when she felt a surge of energy. While everyone else looked to be out and about on that Saturday morning she had nothing to do. Ever heard the expression ‘no post on Sundays’? Yeah, well Northbay was such a tiny town there was no post all weekends, plus a post office wasn’t something so important that it needed to stay open when there was a festival on so she had no work. Her roommate and her best friend (excluding her twin Julian) Alyssa hadn’t come home last night, she was either at her parents’ place or off somewhere with a one night stand, either way though this meant Calypso was alone. She also was definitely not going to go help set up the festival, helping out and getting involved with the community was not something she would ever voluntarily do.

Speaking of the festival, Calypso found it hilarious that it was put on in order to try and soothe inter pantheon tensions since she could not remember a festival in Northbay that hadn’t ended badly or at least stirred up more drama than it was worth. This time would of course be no different though, her and Julian would be around to make sure of that. Not that she’d discussed it with her twin, but she knew he’d be up for it causing some drama.

Calypso decided it was probably time to get up and do something when her she heard he phone beep from what seemed to be the kitchen. Switching off the television she pulled herself to her feet to go investigate who had texted her. She smiled though when she read Alyssa’s text and quickly sent off a reply.



Calypso was already dressed for the day in a simple patterned dress and so throwing her phone into her pocket she headed to her room to finish her hair and put on some makeup. Soon enough she was walking along the main street, not interacting with anyone she passed but rather walking very slowly, watching everyone go about putting up their direction. She loved watching people, she found it fascinating to watch how every single person was different in how they walked, talked and just generally held themselves. Calypso was so absorbed in her thoughts she hadn’t even noticed that she had walked right pass Ava until she heard her call out. "I'm here. What do you want?" Calypso looked over her shoulder and eyed the other girl a playful smile already forming on her face.

“Wow, Ava Apophis helping out?” she said sarcastically truning around so she was standing in front of Ava, a small smile tugging at the corners at her mouth. “Considering what everyone’s saying, what a brave move.” She said offhandedly, shrugging it off. Calypso turned her back to her, seemingly looking at the decorations. She was bullshitting about people talking about Ava, but while the burnette was always good for starting up drama sometimes she needed a slight push.

---

---

She closed and locked the door behind her, before placing the apartment key into her pocket. She was on floor two, so as she made her way to the elevator she took out her phone, which had buzzed yet again.

From: Daphne
Oh yeah stupid me... Anyways I'm looking forward to tonight! See you later.

She smiled, forming dimples on her naturally rosy cheeks. The doors to the elevator opened and she gave a friendly smile to the man behind the desk as she left the building. Her phone buzzed again, and she checked the name.

From: Dehlilah
I'm on my way to meet Tony at the restaurant. You wanna meet up with us? Breakfast threesome?

A chuckle escaped her lips as she read the last line, and she rolled her eyes at her own immaturity. She went to type a reply when her sister sent another message to clear up her mistake.

From: Dehlilah
Not like that,but seriously there is going to be alot of love in the air tonight and our powers are going to be on high especially our attraction powers we need a game plan,make sure you go with somebody, don't go anywhere alone because guys are going to be extra lustful towards you tonight

She spat hair out of her mouth and quickly brushed her hair to the side as a breeze passed, blowing her blonde hair into her face. As soon as the breeze passed, the heat resurfaced. It was bearable, of course, she had been in much warmer temperatures, but it did make her wonder - if it was this warm at nine in the morning, how hot was it going to be later?

She brushed the thought from her mind, unconcerned, as she replied to her sister's message. Another message popped up, but it was from Daphne, and she decided to wait until after she replied to her sister to read the message.

To: Dehlilah
Oh, & I was so looking forward to a threesome. :( I'm kidding, ofc, heading over to the restaurant now. & Don't worry about me, I can handle myself, & I think I'm going with Daphne anyway. Thanks for the heads up, though.

She rolled her eyes at her sister's concern. It was sweet, but she didn't feel it necessary. Of course she appreciated that her sister had her back, though, and it was true that the thought of that hadn't even crossed Amanda's mind. Not that she'd admit that. She then checked the message she had received earlier from Daphne.

From: Daphne
Turns out my boss doesn't want me to work today so I have the day off... Anybody wanna hang out?

She decided not to reply. She was already hanging out with her sister and Tony, for the moment at least, and she was sure that Daphne would get the message that she was busy, she wasn't just ignoring her. She turned off her phone, finally slipping it into her bag before she started to walk towards the restaurant.

She spotted her sister outside the restaurant, talking to Fin. Tony must not have arrived yet. She waved to her sister to get her attention as she walked over. Her eyes turned to Fin, who was smiling as usual, forming cute dimples on his cheeks. She wouldn't consider herself 'close' with Fin, but considering that she was friends with his sister, the two talked a lot. He was really carefree and playful, something which Mandy liked about him.

"Hey, Fin," she said, smiling at him, before looking over at her sister, who she didn't feel she needed to greet. "Tony's not here yet?" she said, more so asking a question than saying a statement.

Izzy awoke late in the day, typical of her when she didn't have classes. She instantly went to her phone and was almost disappointed when she saw there were no new messages, at least not from anyone important. Frowning, she made up her mind to do her very best to change that, by sending a few messages out to the people she felt she knew best, most of which who she felt either could easily be controlled, or were attractive, or she considered a friend, and that left a wide range of people.


To: Odessa, Fin, Amanda, Lucas, Bryce, Viona, Ronan, Julian, Calypso:


Hey all, your queen has awoken! So where’s everyone up to? I’m looking forward to seeing all you peeps at the festival tonight, and festivals aren’t even like my thing like at all! So you guys better be there because if I’m there alone with the village elders, heads shall roll! Lol! Will be in town fyi so feel free to meet up with me.


From: Izzy Dias

Izzy put her phone down, sat up, walked out of bed down to the small bathroom in her tiny flat and took a long bath, before dressing and heading out for town. It was nice not having to work to pay for school because you had a rich stepfather to pay for it all, Izzy had to admit, problem was, that meant a lot of people were tried down for work. Driving into town she quickly parked her car and watched as several people put together decorations, smirking almost, she couldn’t understand why anyone but criminals would work for free for something having to do with the community, but she supposed that was why she was a leader, after all, not everyone’s grandfathers Zeus, and the ruling blood certainly ran deep in Izzy.



Izzy, getting out of her car decided to look for a place to loiter around, a hobby she quite enjoyed. She wasn’t really watching where she was going however and bumped into Mack, who was sweeping sand?


“Um excuse me, but do you mind!” She snorted angrily, when he completely ignored her. Then an idea came to her. “ Hey Mack, check this out!” When she had gotten his attention she looked to the sky and caused a small stray bolt of lighting light up the sky. It was the kind that was gone in an instant and made you wonder if there was a storm or not, the ones that Liverpool had been getting frequently for the last 21 or so years. Besides, it was always fun to scare the crap out of people, and Izzy remembered somebody told her once that Mack was afraid of lighting.


Laughing to herself, Izzy walked down to the record shop and gave Julian a wink before turning to the music, trying to find some old records that would make for a great sound mix. She would flirt a little, talk a little, possibly buy something, and be on her way.




Bobby grinned to himself as he heard Asta call out, “Morning Bobby!” Followed by “I don’t drink coffee, but I’d be keen for a hot chocolate.” He watched, coming back to the front of the store, pleased that this didn’t go as badly as he thought it might. Asta helped you out almost, and he had to admit, she was a very easy person to talk to. She pulled out a bunch of euro’s and some coins (that’s the Irish currency if I’m correct) and offered them to him. “Maybe get some lemon cakes too? My shout.”


Bobby refused the money and replied. “Sure thing, I’ll buy, one hot chocolate, a tea for myself and a bunch of lemon cakes coming right up, I’ll be back.” He walked out the door before Asta could protest and ran not really thinking about anything but getting Asta’s ordered right. He ran between Daphne, Amanda and Fin, tripping himself, and said a quick “I’m terribly sorry!” and continued on his way rushing by a girl who he thought was named Layla with the same hasteful sorry before reaching the coffee shop.


When he had at last reached his destination, he found himself waiting for his sister to stop texting before she noticed him. She raised a brow.


“Um Bobby, what up? Why are you so sweaty? Where you running from those normal thugs again!? Cause I’ll cripple them I will! And you know I don’t like it when you just come to visit me.”


“Right, just, everythings fine Steph, just ah, um I was wondering if I could have a medium hot chocolate, a ice tea and two lemon cakes.” Bobby said as Stephanie’s eyes lit up before she got to work.


“Oh Bobby, who is it, who are you buying breakfast for, that’s real unlike you, well then again I guess it isn’t, your just usually too shy to-”


“It’s just Asta, nothing romantic, just, you know, just something employees do for each other once in awhile.” Bobby interrupted.


“Well ‘ere ya go Bobby, enjoy your little lunch with you employee.” Stephanie laughed a little and handed her older brother his order and watched as he ran back out shaking her head. On his way back, breathless, he stopped to catch his breath and felt his phone go off, so he one handly picked it up and read the new message.


To: Amanda Cyprus, Stephanie Ceres, Bobby Ceres, Fin Bacchus

Turns out my boss doesn't want me to work today so I have the day off... Anybody wanna hang out?


He quickly typed back a response.


To Daphne:

I would, but I’m stuck at work. Maybe later, see you at the festival. Oh and I think I’ll ask Asta if she wants to come too if that’s alright.


From: Bobby

He quickly walked inside and put down the bag he’d been carrying. “ And there you go Asta, a hot chocolate, two lemon cakes, and a ice tea.” He sat down on a box of books he probably shouldn't have sat on, and took a big gulp before finding himself stuttering.


“ So um eh w-would you um m-mind going to the f-festival later tonight w-with some of my friends and siblings. I mean you don’t have to, I just thought m-maybe it’d settle some things and we could all get to know each other.”


He winced waiting for her answer.




Stephanie sighed as her phone buzzed and flipped it out to see what was up.


To: Stephanie

Yeah, sure, sounds like fun, when would you like to meet and where?

Stephanie felt her heart thump at the message. There it was, plain as day, a messages from Antares, asking her when and where she wanted to meet up. Why the hell was she so nervous and more importantly, not already texting him back.


To: Antares

Cool, glad you can come, I was thinking we could maybe meet at the docks at around oneish, I should be done with work by then. I still have to wait for Brad and Bobby so it’ll probably be just the two of us, but it’s not like it’s a date or anything so yah. See you at the docks:)



From: Stephanie

Stephanie pressed send and looked up to see Bobby, looking rather crazy. She smiled served him and returned to her phone, an unusual thing for her to do while at work, but today to her it seemed at least, it was like a holiday.


To: Amanda Cyprus, Stephanie Ceres, Bobby Ceres, Fin Bacchus

Turns out my boss doesn't want me to work today so I have the day off... Anybody wanna hang out?

Lucky, she muttered to herself before repiling.


To Daphne:


Sorry, but I’m stuck here till one, we can hang later though.


From: Stephanie.

Stephanie put down her phone only to pick it up again and read yet another message.


At work right now, slow as hell. I’ll catch up with you later at the festival. Promises.

She quickly typed back:


K see you later at the fest, don’t be too sad, you're surrounded by music, I’m surrounded by coffee and baked goods, not quite as entertaining ;)

Then she really did go back to work, shoving her phone in her pocket as a customer came in.

Daphne let out a loud sigh. Nobody was answering her texts or they were busy. Daphne stood up. She was bored out of her mind. Daphne headed to the kitchen and grabbed a glass from a cupboard. Wine materialized within seconds and Daphne took a sip. Oh how she loved her powers. Even with her being drunk, she was still responsible. She figured if she had a drink she wouldn't drive. Most figured being a child of Dionysus and all, she'd be clumsy and irresponsible, but that was the exact opposite. Often people can't see past her party side, giving her a bed reputation. Daphne used to care and would explain its not that way but lately she's been getting so tired, she's told people to think what they want.

Daphne sighed and headed to the door. Most people were probably down in the town centre to help set up or down at the pub. She didn't really have any interest in helping out right now but if it came down to it, she would help. She figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to check out what everyone is up to.

Daphne set out walking down the street. She wouldn't drink and drive and she could probably catch a cab... Or better yet if her plans went as planned, she could get a ride. Daphne thought of tonight. She was planning on hanging out with Bobby and well... She'd been meaning to talk to him for awhile so tonight was the night.

After 20 minutes Daphne finally headed onto the main street. The pub looked pretty full and she saw some familiar faces... But she figured why not check up on Bobby. And no she was not being obsessive. Daphne literally had nothing better to do. She walked down to the bookstore where she knew she worked and looked around for a bit. She saw Asta and Bobby chatting and eating lemon cake. "Oh hey Bobby..." Daphne said, approaching the two. "Asta hey! Your coming with us tonight right?" Daphne said as she got closer. Daphne felt kind of awkward and she hoped she wasn't bothering them.

---

---

Jade stood quietly behind Alaura as she took control of the situation- like she did every situation."How can we ever repay you?" Alaura asked, and Jade looked to her with a bit of annoyance. It was over just a quick as it had flared, and she was back to staring at the ground. "No, nothing. I don't need to be repaid," Mack replied, adding "I'm glad you're alright Jade." Jade looked up at him and offered a shy, embarrassed smile. Not soon after, she felt a warmth on her hand and turned to notice Quincy, who she offered the same smile to. He leaned in towards Alaura, informing her that he was there to help if she needed. As always. Jade stared at Quincy for a moment as Liam walked up. Quincy was so in love with her sister, so willing and desperate to help or leap at her command. Jade wondered if Alaura even knew about the effect she had on Quincy.


"Okay... Hoping everything is alright. Maybe we should bring Jade back to her home... I know that she probably doesn't want to stay here at least," Liam offered, speaking to her sister as if she weren't there. Jade looked up at him then, but not to glare. She was too numb to be mad at anyone right now, even though she was feeling more and more claustrophobic by the second. Mack began to nod, which drew her attention back to him as he said, "Do you need anything? I can swing by the supermarket and pick up any supplies..." "I don't think there's--" "The doctor said I need prenatal vitamins," Jade cut in, speaking up as she took her hand away from her older sister. "And, I'm pregnant, not crippled. Alaura, don't you have festival decorations to be putting up?" She sighed, aware of the annoyed tone coming out in her voice. She didn't want all these people around-- she just wanted Gwyn. Right now, that's all she wanted- to curl up beside her and die if that'd make a smile lift Gwyn's cheeks.

Jade shook away the thoughts of her ex as she placed a hand on her steadily growing stomach. Just as the doctor had said; her womb was inflating steadily, even as she stood in front of her friends now. She could feel milimeter by milimeter expanding, and her shorts already starting to feel tighter. "Just go back to decorating for the festival, I'm sure they need the help. My house isn't far- I'll walk. I want to walk, Alaura. I need some time to think. Mack, if you could maybe bring the vitamins over later, or give them to me when you see me at the festival- yes, I'm still going, that'd be great." She glanced around once more to everyone standing, staring at her. "Thank you all for being so worried, but I'm healed now, and I'm okay. I was just a little shook up, but Mack totally took care of me so I'm good now, okay? I'll see you all at the festival." With that, and before anyone else could chime in to stop her, she walked out of the clinic and started up the sidewalk to go back to her townhouse, which was as she said fairly close by.

As her door closed behind her, she leaned up against the frame and slowly slid to the floor, sobbing as she held her growing stomach. This was not how she had wanted anyone to find out- at all. It was all just too much: the loss of her girlfriend, not knowing who the father was, everyone finding out that she was pregnant, the idea of facing everyone that night with a beach-ball for a stomach, but above everything else-- almost losing her children. All five of them. Five of them. The idea made her nauseous, and she curled into herself, holding her stomach gently as she wept for everything she had lost.

When she was finally done feeling sorry for herself, she clawed her way back up her door to walk into her bathroom. She slowly stripped down, still sniffling and crying a little as she stared at her naked reflection. Her stomach welled in front of her as her red, puffy, eyes trailed over her form. She had been so beautiful once- now she looked like a cartoon character that had swallowed a beach ball. With a sigh, she showed and dug through her clothes for a larger pair of shorts, and a loose enough top to flow over her new stomach. Luckily the butterfly print managed to cover all of her skin, but it was painfully evident that she was pregnant. There would be no hiding it now. Figuring that she should at least tell her father, Jade scooped up her car keys and headed out of the door. She was about to get in, when she changed her mind. She could walk there, too. She lived on the other side of main street as it was, so it would just be a short walk to the bakery. Before she left, she placed a postit note on her door, in case Mack tried to drop the vitamins off at her house.

With a heavy heart, she put her keys, wallet, and cell into her brown shoulder purse. Walking felt significantly different now that she had so much weight toward her front. She found herself having to lean back just slightly, and felt very comfortable with one hand on her stomach. As she walked down the street, she noticed that most of the decorations had been set up, and the road had officially been blocked off. Good thing she hadn't taken her car. As she entered the bakery, her father came around the counter with a very serious look on his face. "It's been a long time, Bella," he said, his accent still as heavy as the day she was born. She couldn't help but smile warmly, tears swelling in her eyes. "I know, Papa." "I see you bring good news," his tone lifted with his smile as he walked over to her and put his arms around her. "I bet Guinevere is very excited," he chuckled. Bella started to cry all over again at the mention of her ex, throwing her arms around her father in a tight embrace.

She spent the next thirty minutes filling him in on everything he had missed over the past year, and apologized for being so secretive and distant. Mr. Aset sat stone silent on the other end of the patio table, ignoring the coffee one of his helpers had brought them. "You mean you don't know who the father is?" His tone was gentle, but firm, and from years of listening to that combination she could also hear the underlining disappointment. "I've tried to remember, Papa... I really have, but I just... I can't remember at all. I'm scared, Papa. I don't know what to do." Mr. Aset nodded slowly, holding the ultrasound picture in his hand fondly. "That's exactly how I felt when I first found out your mother was pregnant with Alaura. I was terrified. But, I found a way, little bird. Just as you will. You said Alaura already knows of this? Yes, well, then you will certainly have a lot of support. I'm sure April will be happy to hear the news as well." Jade smiled in awe of her father's calm demeanor. He was always so cool- so collect. No wonder Alaura always had her head on her shoulders.

"I have to get back to the bakery, little bird. Lots of baking to be done, the festival is starting soon. You just try to have fun, and relax a little. All there is to be done now is prepare." Jade nodded and stood as her father did, accepting a kiss to each of her cheeks. She felt significantly better. With renewed hope for herself, she made her way through main street which was lined with rides, vendors and food stands now- all frantically trying to set up for the festival. She had been signed up to work the kissing booth by Alaura weeks ago, and she felt a small twist in her stomach. No one was going to want to kiss a pregnant girl. She helped herself to a large pretzel, as she stood on the side walk and pulled out her phone to text for emergency back-up. She couldn't tell Alaura that she wouldn't be able to make it- she'd have to find a replacement.

To: Ariel, Asta, Julian, Leslie, Ronan, Bryce, Chione, Ramses, Fin, Daphne, Izzy, Stephanie.
Message: [GROUP MESSAGE] Hey everyone! I know this is super last minute, but I was supposed to work the kissing booth and get it organized, but... something came up. I have the following time slots that need to be filled, and I would love you forever if you could take a shift? 6:00-6:30, 7:00-7:30, 8:00-8:30, 9:00-9:30, and 10:00-10:30. The thirty minutes between each time the booth will hold raffles- the money goes to the school playground! Martha ((NPC)) will be taking care of the raffles, so after your thirty minutes is up you're free (: Let me know, guys! Again, thanks so much!

Jeeze, what a long text. She sighed a little, and continued to text since she had nothing better to do- and because she was a little lonely.

To:Layla
Message: Thanks for checking on me earlier. I'm okay, by the way. (: I hope we can get to hang out tonight.

To:Gwyn
Message: We need to talk. Please. It's important. - Jbird.

To:Mack
Message: Hey, I don't know if you got my note on the door or not but I'm already downtown for the festival! I went to see my dad at the bakery. He took the news well. Thanks for being so cool earlier, and for taking me to the hospital. I'm glad I have a friend like you.

To: Quincy
Message: Hey... can you do me one more favor? Keep Alaura busy tonight at the festival. I really don't need her breathing down my neck, worried the whole night. I want to have some fun, and she needs to have some fun. I know you're the man for the job. Ps- Thanks again for today, Quincy... meant a lot.

The door jangled as it opened. Asta hoped off the counter and turned to see Daphne enter the shop. The Greek girl may have only been here a month but, like Bobby, Asta considered her a friend. Asta's mouth was full of lemon cake so while she chewed on the sweet food she gave Daphne a wave in greeting.
"Oh hey Bobby... Asta hey! Your coming with us tonight right?" Daphne said as she joined the two. Asta nodded and then, after swallowing her food replied,
"I sure am." And then with a grin she added, "I hope you guys are looking forward to the festival. The last time Northbay threw the lantern festival I was seven. It was so much fun."

Asta hoped the festival was as good as she remembered. She had been pretty young the last time and remembered it was pleasure. There had been sweets, rides, stalls and the release of the lanterns at the end of night, which was always Asta's favourite part.

A vibration in her pocket and the beginnings of an electronic tune brought Asta's attention back to the present. She pulled her phone out to find a text from Jade, asking a number of people if they could help out at the festival.
"The kissing booth...? Asta mumbled to herself, biting her lip. Did she really want strangers to be kissing her? On the other hand she wanted to help Jade out and she wasn't doing anything else to help out.

Asta typed back a quick reply,



With the press of a button she had sent the text. Taking the first shift would mean that she would have hours of uninterrupted time to enjoy the festival afterwards. She put her phone away, feeling suddenly guilty for texting in front of Bobby and Daphne. To Asta it seemed somewhat antisocial.

"Sorry." She apologised, "That was Jade asking for people to help at the kissing booth. I've offered to take a shift to help her out." Asta pulled a face, poking her tongue out in a playful manner, "Let's hope it's too early for anyone to actually be at the festival during my shift."

---

There was a strain between Alaura and Jade, that much was clear to all three men gathered around the two.
"The doctor said I need prenatal vitamins," Jade said in response to his question
Mack nodded, "I'll bring them around before I head back to the festival set up" he told her, before she rushed out of the practice. Mack glanced from Alaura to the quickly receding back of Jade. It wasn't his place to step into a problem of this kind so with a nod he took his leave.

He took a deep breath in his car, calming himself and setting his mind to ease. The morning had been full of more drama than he couldn't possibly have anticipated. He hoped that the festival would prove to be less dramatic. He ignited the cars engine a moment later and pulled out of the doctor's practice. He turned left, heading towards the supermarket and pharmacy.

"Prenatal vitamins, right..." He muttered to himself as he entered the shop. He wondered down the isles until he reached the necessary section only to find an array of vitamins designed for a seemingly endless number of health problems. "Iron deficiency, Vitamin C boost..." Mack muttered as he picked up random bottles from the shelves. He found something that might have been for pregnancies, but a little further down he found another bottle that promised much of the same thing. "Perhaps I should have asked what the vitamins were called." Mack muttered, clasping his hands on top of his head and looking hopelessly at the shelves. In the end he had to ask one of the shop assistants for advice and even then he ended up buying three different bottles of vitamins.

Five minutes later he pulled up outside of Jade's townhouse. There was a note on her door addressed to Mack. She was out. Mack stood on the doorstep for a moment, debating what to do. He glanced quickly at his wristwatch, it was time to begin putting up the street cordons now and he had been specifically tasked with the job. He couldn't really afford to wait for Jade or chance meeting her at the festival. So, finally making a decision, Mack wrapped the vitamin bottles carefully in a bag and placed them in her letterbox. He attached a short note,

'Jade -
I didn't know what vitamins to get so I bought a few.
Hope they're the right ones.
- Mack'

He hoped back into his car to the sound of his cellphone beeping. He unlocked it and read the message from Jade. Suddenly his note seemed irrelevant given that he could just text her the location of the vitamins.

'Glad you're alright. No problem.
Vitamins in the letterbox.
See you at festival
- Mack'

It was evident to anyone who received a text from Mack that he wasn't a technology whizz. He'd never really caught on to texting, he preferred talking face to face and his texts were usually brief and to the point. He threw his phone onto the passenger seat and drove towards the main street.


Mack was back at the Festival site, organising the construction of the cordons. They weren't large, more as a means of indicating where the festival began. But, they would keep cars out and - for the moment - any pedestrians who wanted to get a look at the set up. The festival would start in a few hours and, given no more accidents or surprises, the decorations and stalls should be completed in no time.

---

---

---

---

Mack was shaking his head as a pair of helpers moved a beam of wood into place,
"Watch where you're..." He started to warn the pair before, crash! the beam hit another pile of poles and sent them rolling across the road. Luckily most of the street was blocked off from pedestrians so there was little need for Mack to run screaming after them. Instead he simply pointed after them to the pair that had caused the crash.

A moment later a voice made him turn and he found Dehlilah Cyprus standing behind him.
"Um, hey I didn't want to interrupt but um can you ask the girl, my friend ran into if she's ok?" She sounded nervous, or perhaps she was just breathless from running across the street.
"Jade. Her name is Jade." Mack said. He felt uncharacteristically defensive of Jade. He was a friendly guy, he didn't take too many things to heart and was easily able to brush off most insults. But the crash this morning had almost cost Jade her babies and in his eyes Dehlilah had been more concerned with getting Antonio into the restaurant than caring for the hurt girl. Still, the fact that she was here asking after Jade meant that Mack's voice wasn't cold, it was simply lacking its usual warmth.

"I would have helped, but I didn't know if you'd want us... To put our noses in your business," Mack wondering who 'our' was meant to be, Dehlilah and Antonio? Mack shook his head slightly. He was about to argue that it had only been 'his' business because he had been concerned, but decided to hold his tongue. He liked Dehlilah well enough, from the little he had seen of her around town. Besides a moment later she looked over her shoulder. She said goodbye, placed a hand on his arm and added "Thanks, seriously," before leaving.

After she left Mack turned back to the set-up, shaking his head as he saw that in the few minutes his attention had been elsewhere all chaos had erupted...



Mack sat back, enjoying the cool beer in his hand as he watched the cordons open and the first residents enter the festival. Mack was at one of the stalls set up outside the bar, fairy lights twinkled above his head and the setting sun was caught and held by the string of mirror-like, plastic crystals that were twined around a nearby lamp post. Soon enough the whole street would be lit by the fairy lights and street lamp, creating a magical setting for the night's festivities.

Mack's hangover of the morning was well and truly gone. In fact, if he found the right people he wouldn't be against making an event out of tonight. He finished his beer and signaled for the bar keep who passed him another. He popped it open, appreciating the tsk of goodness being released.
"To a good night." He said to the bar keep, tilting his bottle in a salute. He returned his gaze to the street, took a sip and leaned back, waiting for the night to begin.

The day had passed quickly, thankfully, as Asta had been waiting for the festival to begin since the sun rose. Now, the time finally 5pm, she was wolfing down her dinner.
"You're going to make yourself sick eating like that" her mother scolded, clicking her tongue in annoyance. Asta gave a playful pout,
"But mum, the fair is starting now. I don't want to miss any of it" Asta replied between a mouthful of her father's signature dish of roast chicken. Mother Falr gave an exasperated huff but didn't say anything further, after all she could well remember the days when such a festival had excited her. Asta grinned, revealing - much to the disgust of her mother - the half eaten mess in her mouth.
"Asta..." Her mother began in warning. Asta let out a short giggle, clearly she wasn't about to take any sort of warning seriously.

A moment later, her meal finished, Asta leaped up from the table and headed for the door.
"Don't forget your cardigan!" her mother called after her.
"Thanks Mum!" Asta called, running back up to her room and grabbing the item. She had changed after her day at work, wanting to be fresh for the festivities tonight. Her new outfit was colourful and completely Asta.
Cardigan in hand Asta finally made it out the door, shouting a hurried good bye to her parents. No doubt she would see them at the Lantern Festival too.

The walk from her house to the main street wasn't long. She could hear the sounds of the festival already. It made her excited and the girl increased her walking pace. As she walked she pulled her phone out, realised that she had missed a text from Daphne.



Asta stopped in the street and quickly sent back a reply,



While her phone was out Asta sent another text. This one went to Bryce. Apart from this morning when he'd cycled past the bookstore Asta hadn't seen him at all.



Bryce was her best friend and, for sometime, secret crush. There was little Asta could do in the romantic department though, Bryce was firstly her friend. She wouldn't ever want to do anything that threatened to ruin their friendship and also Bryce was going out with Layla. Come to think of it Bryce and Layla would probably be at the festival together. Asta shrugged and set off again.

Five minutes later she was briskly walking down by the docks, aiming for the figure that she assumed was Daphne. The sun was setting, its light hitting the lake's water and making the waves sparkle.
"It's such a lovely evening." Asta called over to Daphne when the other girl was in ear shot. "It should be a clear night too."
Asta was so focused on greeting her friend that she missed the fishing equipment that someone had left out on the docks. With a great show of uncoordinated Asta managed to get her feet tangled amongst the fishing gear and before she knew it she was falling. Her hands went out to soften the landing and found themselves landing on what appeared to be a fish hook. With a thump she landed on the ground.
"Bugger" Asta said, as she inspected her hands and the fish hook she had landed on. Unsurprisingly, given her invulnerability, her hand had come out better than the fish hook. The hook was twisted beyond use and slightly dented when her hand had squashed it against the planks. With a guilty glance around Asta replaced the fish hook in the gear, quickly untangled herself and then rushed over to Daphne.

"Ah, so who are we waiting on?" She asked as she surreptitiously dusted herself off.

---

It had been the thoughts of Ram's wonderful morning with Leslie that had got him through the tedious hours of stall set up with his father. The work had been dull, made even worse by the fact that Ram knew he would be the one to test the stall out when it opened at 7:00pm. Still, all he had to do with think of Leslie's soft lips on his and the tedium seemed to disappear.

It was several hours later that Ram found himself sitting by the stall, waiting for Leslie to show up. He was still wearing what he had on this morning since he hadn't had time to go home and change.
He had received Leslie's text, which had sent butterflies whirling around his stomach.

'I'm on my way to the festival, be looking for me. Love you.'

'Love you' The words had reverberated around Ram's head as he waited. Love was a strong emotion and a large step to take, after all the two had only just had their first kiss... and yet Ramses felt that it was right. He himself had had feelings for Leslie for some time. Although the might have only just expressed their feelings for each other, the love had been there for much longer. So, with a shaking hand, Ram had sent back his own declaration,



It felt good to text it and Ram knew that it would feel even better to say it to Leslie face to face. He didn't have to wait long. Soon enough Ramses spotted Leslie making his way through the crowd. Ram stood up and moved from behind the stall to meet Leslie,
"Hey!... Having fun?" Leslie asked. Ram smiled and gave a shrug.
"I've just been waiting for you" He replied before indicating the stall, "It doesn't open until seven so I haven't had much to do yet."
Ram slung an arm over Leslie's shoulder and drew him quickly forward, planting a kiss on his lips,
"What do you say we try out those rides you said you'd take me on?"
He said as he pulled his face away, if not his arm.

Asta was happy to simply wait for the others to join her and Daphne. Sure, she was eager to experience the festival but she also knew that it would be that much more fun with a group of friends. Besides, she was looking forward to the idea of introducing the small group of Greeks to the wonder of a Northbay festival. She remembered the last Lantern Festival was fondness. By the time it came to the actual release of the lanterns Asta had been close to falling asleep, only holding on to conciosness through sheer determination.

"Who are we waiting for? Bobby and..." Asta asked, trying to remember who exactly was joining their little group. In a burst of inspiration Asta pulled out her phone, determined to text everyone to see how long they would be. As she unlocked her cellphone the large digital clock flashed on her screen, revealing that it was almost time for her shift at the kissing booth.
"Bugger." Asta said, casting an apologetic look at Daphne, "I have to go work at the Kissing Booth for an hour. I don't want to let Jade down so I'd better start heading over now. I'll meet up with you guys after alright." Asta hesitated, feeling bad for leaving Daphne waiting by the lake alone, "You should wait for the others at the festival, it's so much more bright and interesting there." Asta suggested.

Asta made her way up past the docks and along to the main street. She passed various other members of the community making their way to the festival too. Those with younger children were struggling to keep up with their excited offspring. Asta had to smile, it seemed that so far the festival was working well to make everyone happy.

As she entered the actual festival Asta was surrounded by sounds, smells and sights. She waved at friends she spotted, stopped to get a look at a delicious looking ice cream sundae. She bypassed the ice cream though, determined to save her money until she had time to properly explore the festival. Then she saw the stand selling candy floss and decided that one small item wouldn't break the bank. She bought a stick of candy floss, thanked the seller and continued to make her way through the festival as she happily pulled off and devoured small bits of candy floss.

Asta's eyes roamed around as she walked and were caught by a gathering of pretty lights floating around one of the carriages on the Ferris wheel. Her happy expression however changed to one of shock as she saw the two figures behind the pretty lights. Leslie and Ramses, making out. Leslie she had nothing against, but her and Ramses had never gotten along. Asta stuck her tongue out, making a face at the show of public affection which was rather hypocritical given that she was about to volunteer at the kissing booth.

Speaking of which, Asta soon spotted the large, red love heart and pursed lips that had been used to decorate the kissing booth stall.
"Asta Falr, reporting for duty." Asta said to the woman collecting money outside the booth. What had Jade said her name was, Mary? Marion? Asta couldn't remember so she was determined not to have to use it. The woman smiled and welcomed Asta, moving aside so Asta could make her way behind the booth.
"Anything important I should know before I start?" Asta asked, "Dos and do nots? Kissing etiquette?
The woman laughed and shook her head, "If they have money or a token give them a kiss. That's it really." She replied. She gave Asta a friendly pat on the bat, "You'll get it." She added.
A moment later Asta watched as the woman left, taking a quick break to grab some food and see some sights. Asta sat back on the stool behind the booth bench and picked the last parts of her candy floss off the stick before turning the 'closed' sign around to read 'open'

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(ooc: Ramses and Mack coming soon! - Or tomorrow - Urgh I lied. I'm sick, tomorrow it will have to be. Sorry!)