Mermaids and Men [mlm]

23. A Curse I'm Grateful For

It was now Monday, a day after the incident with Austin, and things were going pretty well for Nicki. It was a shock, seeing his horrible ex-boyfriend for the first time in a while, but he was fine as soon as he got away from him and continued hanging out with his friends. That day, right after they got done eating, they went over to Aveline's house, so that Elijah could see her room. It really was like walking into some fluffy dreamland, he thought, but he couldn't deny that he thought all the stuffed animals were cute, especially the really large ones. Seeing Aveline's room was helping him figure out that he didn't really mind the cutesy aesthetic of things. His like for it wasn't as strong as Aveline's like for it, but he did have a bit of an interest in the style. He also did what Rose had suggested, and tried on Nicki's jeans whenever he got to his house, pairing that up with the pastel stuff he had gotten, just to see how it looked. Nicki thought he looked really cute, and Elijah couldn't deny that he kind of liked the look of the outfit. The black ripped jeans paired with the pastel pink looked pretty nice together, and he was starting to think that this may be the kind of style of clothing that he was interested in. He never knew what his preferred style was, as he just wore mostly what his "friends" were wearing, and didn't care too much about it. Now that he's gotten the chance to actually discover what all he really likes, he's pretty happy with what he's finding out. It was going to take him a bit to work up the courage to start wearing this kind of style, as it was something that others would deem as girly for men, but he'd get more comfortable about it eventually. He probably wasn't going to wear pastel stuff all the time, since he did like some of the outfits he had already, but it was definitely going to be a style that he wouldn't mind wearing often.

Sometime a little after all of that, Nicki finally informed the group about what went down at the party. He told them about the little girl, Alyce, who was quite perceptive, which just made him anxious as to what was going to go down later on. He appreciated her trying to warn him, though, even if she had no idea as to what she was really warning him about. He also told them about what happened with Anthony's little speech, and how everyone's reactions quickly flipped like a switch, which made him feel sick to his stomach. They all assumed it was Anthony using his gift on them since that was the only thing it could be. He told them that the way Anthony spoke to him gave him such a sinking feeling in his gut, that it literally made him sick to the point of throwing up. It was like Anthony was threatening him subtly, and it was definitely working in getting Nicki freaked out. The group tried to reassure Nicki that he didn't know yet, so that was a good thing, but it was still nerve-racking knowing that Anthony was watching him like a hawk.

After saying all of that, it was time to move on to the bigger issue of the night... When Ben and Anthony were having a conversation with each other. Nicki told the group that Ben was aware of Anthony's gift, and of Sirens, which made them nervous as well. Anthony had people who could assist him, and that wasn't a good sign at all. Nicki told them what Anthony said-- how everything he did was for Elijah, which the group also didn't really understand. Nicki said that kind of thing didn't feel familiar-- that he didn't know if any of the previous Laachlan fathers ever said that about their sons. Something felt off, that much was certain, but the group just didn't know what right now. They said it was something they should keep in mind, though.

Nicki also told them about the little breakdown he had... About how all he could think about in those moments was that he didn't want to die. The group frowned at this; it sounded like the party was rather stressful.

Aside from all of the crazy shit that happened, the day after what happened with Austin was going pretty well, though things were a bit awkward with Annaleigh. Nicki couldn't even look her in the eyes, and anytime Elijah did, he couldn't help but glare; the atmosphere was tense when they all crossed paths. Annaleigh never said anything... Never apologized, never harassed them again-- she just looked... Bothered. Something was on her mind, but she wasn't going to say what. Did she give up? Did Elijah actually get through to her?