#feat. ↳ ᴍᴜꜱᴇ; ᴅᴇᴍᴇᴛʀɪᴜꜱ ☆꙰

[cursedvessels]

A firm grip on Shimi’s shoulder to pull him back from the girl. “Watch yourself, boy,” he growls in a hushed tone in his ear. As the doors press open, the two of them spin round to find Tim Barlow waltzing through the doors to get his son.

Head held high, Demetrius gives a friendly smile to Tim. “That’s quite all right,” he hums with a joyful chuckle at mention of the other two having too much to drink. “I believe my pet here has just had his first drop of alcohol as well.” A hand plants on top of Shimi’s head, running down through his curls. Shimi doesn’t move, seemingly silenced by Demetrius’ mere presence. His touch only causes them to wince slightly.

“Perhaps we ought to take our leave…I’m afraid the party atmosphere is a bit much for you, hm?” Shimi’s lavender hues glance up at Demetrius, an unsteady gaze that blinks away in an instant. Suddenly, their shoulders tense and they push away from Demetrius, doubling over into the bushes and expelling the contents of their stomach. A tight-lipped smile from Demetrius as he watches the jinn right emselves.

A nod to Tim, blinking. “My sincerest apologies for any inconvenience Shimi has caused. He's, ah...Still learning his way in the world, see?” A hearty laugh.

Once they’ve left, Demetrius grabs Shimi by the wrist, yanking em to his side. Clenched teeth as he leans forward to glare at the drunken jinn. “You’ve humiliated me…again,” he hisses. A slap across the face that stings Shimi’s cheek, causing him to stumble slightly.

“Master Shaw, I—“

“Don’t. You've done enough damage for one evening.”

And with that, the two left the party without another word. Demetrius kept a firm, gloved hand on the scruff of Shimi's neck the whole way out.

☾ ⋆･ﾟ:⋆･ﾟ*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ☆。*。☆。*ੈ✩‧₊˚ *✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:*. * ✧˖*°࿐

As Leo stumbles across the fairgrounds, she might feel an instant rise of the hairs on the back of her neck. Through the darkness, a small girl is watching, bright eyes staring through the mist of the cold night air. She isn't seen immediately--nobody ever noticed her unless she really wanted them too. And even then, it depended on the state of their heart what they would see.

She watches for a long time. Time ticking by as the girl is sat on a bench on the fairgrounds, fireflies twinging in the air as they float past like little pieces of extra magic left behind from a long day of prep work to make the circus perfect.

"They aren't coming," she finally says, standing just behind the girl on the bench. "I'm sorry."

“Nora.” Eric’s voice warns again when Shimi’s hand reaches to touch her cheek.

There’s a sudden calm washing over her; a warmth that has her pressing into his touch. A small look of confusion when she can hear their voice in her head although their lips do not move. She nods – her head spinning with glee.

“Leonora.” Eric snarls again but he does not move. Afraid, perhaps, of what Shaw will do if he steps too close to his star.

Amid the commotion Tim Barlow pushes through the doors with an irritated look about him. He clears his throat to silence whatever is being said amongst the group.

“Demetrius.” A simple nod of his head, gaze shifting to Leo who is still standing in front of Shimi. “I believe my son and daughter-in-law have had a bit too much to drink.” He clears his throat, ushering for Leo to rejoin their side. He slips his suit coat off and puts it around her shoulders once she’s close enough. “Eric, why don’t you take Ms. Rogers back inside and get her some water? Perhaps something to eat.”

Leo crinkles her nose with a petulant groan. But she trails after Eric regardless, casting one last look back to Shimi. Within the hour. She thinks back – although, she’s unsure if they can hear her.

Tim’s gaze does not falter on Demetrius. He’s a hardened man that shows no weakness; no sense of intimidation. All exchanges to him are simply business. “He’s still learning how to keep her on a leash.” A small chuckle, his face turning smug. “Enjoy your evening.”

Eric traps Leo within the confines of a small room, yelling at and berating her for the better part of forty-five minutes. She’s humiliated him in front of his father, in front of Shaw, and in front of the ballroom attendees. He doesn’t hit her, but he comes close. His words do enough damage – by the time she’s left the bathroom, she’s cried off most of her makeup.

Eventually, Eric takes back off to the rest of the party. He has more connections to make – perhaps to find a girl much prettier than Leo to spite her. It doesn’t matter, not when she is slipping out the back door and stumbling her way towards the fairgrounds. The terrain proving too difficult to walk in heels, she peels them off and carries them instead. The cold grass sticking to her feet, pushing a shiver through her bones.

[cursedvessels]

As the man turned on his girlfriend, Demetrius’ lip curled. A roll of his eyes, but he’s turning away from them now, yanking his slave star off the ground. “C’mon. We’re going home.” Quite frankly, he was disgusted with this Barlow man. Had never been a fan of their family as a whole, but this one? He truly took the cake. Not even owning up to his own mistake, pushing the blame on the girl. He didn’t care for the girl’s well-being, of course…But Demetrius did care about honour, respect…And neither of those came when you wouldn’t own up to your own downfalls.

A pause when he hears the girl telling off the man and for a moment he thinks that Eric ought to smack her, to set her in line. Clearly she’s way too drunk for her own good. If he wasn’t so afraid of getting his hands dirty he’d do it himself…

Demetrius’ hand remains on the small of Shimi’s back, clinging to him as if this girl were going to try and steal him away.

Shimi winces slightly as Leo approaches, the cheeriness of his drunken demeanour slightly soured by the pain blossoming in his face. “You’re not a whore,” he whispers as she pulls his hands back from his face. He sniffles slightly, grimacing when he still tastes blood in his throat. A faint smile reappears when he hears her laugh.

“Yes. I’m—“ They stop instantly when their eyes lock on Demetrius. They swallow hard, expression faltering slightly again. “Just…fine. Had a bit too much to, um…to drink, I’d say, but holding together.” If they were being honest, they felt incredibly dizzy, their stomach twisting in knots. They’re leaning most of their body weight against Demetrius just to stay standing. There’s sadness to their smile when it returns to their face.

“I…should go…” they hum. However, they reach up to touch Leo’s cheek one last time, their eyes sparkling a little brighter for a brief moment before dissipating. "It was lovely meeting you, Ms. Rogers." The light tingling feeling of sparks is felt on her cheek where they touched, then melts into her skin, warming her emotions, lifting her heart—connecting their thoughts. Wordlessly, his voice echoes into her mind—a message.

Meet me out by the fairgrounds within the hour. We’ll finish dancing, yes?

Demetrius Shaw’s presence is immediately oppressive. Eric shrinks beneath the weight of his verbal lashing, hands lifting in the air in surrender. He steps back, wiping the blood from his split knuckles on his dress pants and clears his throat.

“Didn’t know he was with you, Mr. Shaw. My apologies.” Eric’s gaze drifts to Shimi, his tongue wetting his lips.- but to them, he says nothing.

He turns on Leo, his face lowering to hers. A bristling fire in his eyes that makes her pout. His jaw sets, a twitch at the hinge. She’s embarrassed him.

“Quit acting like a fucking whore.” His voice is low, pointed; if he couldn’t get his licks in with Shimi, he would get them with Leo. “Get in my car.” Eric turns back to Demetrius with a look of disbelief. “Sorry again.”

“I don’t want to go with you.” Her speech is slurred, eyes narrowed in defiance. She looks to a bleeding Shimi with a frown on her face. “He didn’t do anything wrong. I wanted him to kiss me.” She giggles – hand lifting to her mouth to bite on her knuckles. “I guess I’m just a whore.” Her voice sing-songs on the last word as she sidesteps Eric, a sweet smile given to Mr. Shaw as she walks past him, too. Not a care in the world.

Her hand brushes Shimi's from their face, inspecting the hit. “Still pretty.” She muses – a bit of a snort in her laugh. "Are you okay?"

Eric takes a small step forward then thinks better of it, rocking back on his heels and looking to the ground, fuming.

[cursedvessels]

She leans forward and for a second Shimi panics. He was trying to be nice, to show her a good time, but hadn't quite thought through this far ahead. Yet he's leaning in, too...Whether it was the spirits guiding him or his own heart was yet to be determined.

And probably wouldn't be anytime soon.

Before anything even happens, a hand is ripping Leo from their touch, causing them to stumble slightly at the sudden change of weight. Then they're being shoved and with how drunk they are, it's hard enough for them to trip backwards, back slamming roughly into the door behind, handle digging into their spine. A groan of pain, eyes slowly squinting open to look up at the man assaulting them.

They don't get much of a look though...Before being met with a fist to the face, knocking them to the ground. A trickle of blood drips from their nose, their lip as they slump to the pavement.

That's when he shows up.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing to my guy," Demetrius hisses like a snake suddenly appearing from where it had been hidden in the grass. He clicks his tongue, standing between Eric and Shimi, who is cowering against the doorframe and pinching his nose to slow the bleeding.

"Keep your filthy paws off of my star," he growled, a feral look in his eye that most would never see. Usually, especially at public spaces like this, he was all smooth-talk and calm, collected charm. Yet the moment Eric's fist collided with Shimi's face, it was like he went into alpha mode. It's not like he's doing it for Shimi, though. More like he's protecting his own property.

"I don't care what you thought was going on here," he spat. THe other male had crossed the line. He fucked up big time. And Demetrius was not the kind of man to be messed with. "It's over now! So get your drunk fucking girlfriend out of here before you do something you'll regret for the rest of your miserable life!"

Their eyes are so pretty. And Leo is intoxicated; her brain not quite making the connections it should. As if Eric doesn’t exist. Her nose brushes his with the lightest touch and her eyes fall to their lips. A small breath catches in her throat as her eyes drift up his face again. The smallest movement is made towards him, beckoning…

Leo is practically tossed backwards from them and would have hit the ground had she not been caught by someone else standing there. Eric is furious. He takes one step towards the other, knocking them backwards witha shove, and then slams his right fist into their face.

“ERIC!” Leo puts herself between them, one hand on his chest to hold him back from getting any closer to Shimi. “What the fuck?!”

“He just tried to kiss you and you’re asking ME what the fuck?” Eric takes her by the arm in a grip that has her yelping. “Are you drunk?” His gaze lifts to Shimi, a finger extended as he moves Leo out of the way again. “You trying to take advantage of my girlfriend you fucking freak?”