Love Me, Harm Me

Burst (my) bubbles

"Just remember, Callum when you're floating up and up in your bubble, that bubbles have a habit of bursting. The higher you climb, the further you have to fall."
― Malorie Blackman, Noughts and Crosses

.☀.🌑.☀.🌑.

For once Elizabeth felt like things were finally on track. Days passed in the easy ebb and flow of routine, her hours filled with work, time spent with friends and attempting to keep herself busy. More frequently, she was contacting Margaret, video calling to see updates on little Chion and asking about Veronica and whether she should attempt to contact her other sister or not.

Countless tasks popped up for Elizabeth to use as soon as she severed all ties with Meliodas. Whether it was simple overtime at work or more complex things like helping Elaine in the cafe at weekends, Elizabeth was seizing every opportunity possible to keep her mind and hands busy. Along with her, Mael seemed to also try to fill his free time, tagging along whenever Elizabeth invited him out.

Even though she still had to discuss important matters with him - particularly pertaining their past - Elizabeth couldn't help but enjoy his company. Unlike everyone else, Mael didn't question her ever-shifting moods. Unlike everyone else, concerned with her sudden need to help everyone out, Mael just went with the flow of Elizabeth's whims.

With Mael, everything was feather-light. With Mael, Elizabeth felt like she was within a bubble, floating up and up and up, far away from reality and its petty, weighing problems. Mael was like a wonderful distraction; Mael was a soothing salve that Elizabeth could slap onto her wounds, forgetting about the excruciating pain they caused.

Over the past three weeks, she had been slowly getting used to blocking out the things that she didn't like. Things like thoughts about repeating her mistakes with Meliodas and projecting them onto Mael. Things like guilt and a stubborn squirming that came to her gut at night, telling her that she had to talk to Mael, had to reveal that she knew the truth about him. Things that were too numerous, too great in number, to combat by herself.

Keeping busy was Elizabeth's way of keeping all those unlikable things shoved deep down. Setting up lunch dates and girls' nights out and other such events were tactics she used to keep her mind at ease.

By filling out her schedule, Elizabeth was able to ignore all the nagging thoughts about Meliodas and her habit of avoiding cold, harsh confrontation. Calls with Gelda ended up being cut short - interrupted by a reminder that Elizabeth had to help out at the cafe or meet up with Jericho. Diane's attempts to get her to open up were always countered by a comment about King. Even Margaret, when she began to pick, would be shot down by Elizabeth rambling about how she should make more effort to visit Veronica.

Just like her mother, Elizabeth was skilled at keeping herself busy with helping out others. During her entire youth, whenever her mother didn't want to deal with her, she would be at the church, running a fundraiser or teaching the choir. From that memory, those evenings spent lonely, quiet and glum, Elizabeth had learned to block out all the bad thoughts. If she didn't want to see them, the red flags would never pop up.

Today, though, she had no way to keep herself busy. Stuck in bed, running up a fever that was definitely not healthy, Elizabeth was a walking embodiment of illness. All morning she had been puking her guts out - sent home by both Diane and Ludociel because her vomiting was not at all discreet nor desirable to work with.

Wanting to make sure Elizabeth was well-taken care of, Diane had also taken the day off. Together they'd gotten the bus, became embarrassed when Elizabeth threw up on someone on a public road, and bought some medication from a pharmacy.