A Stinging Reminder PV: Aurelia N.

The 'Fit

Interacting with @Aurelia Notrésvace
Mentioning @Anastasia Beckett as always l m a o

August 5th, 2020

Eyre sat at a table overlooking the garden party alone. His only company at the moment was a plate full of bacon-wrapped oysters that he'd snuck from the kitchen, which was kind of pathetic, but he wouldn't want it any other way. If things were normal, he'd be sharing the plate with Ana. Overgorging themselves with appetizers and then making fun of uptight purebloods making fools of themselves on the dance floor was a heavily respected tradition of theirs. But, Ana wasn't there. In fact, her parents weren't there either.

It didn't surprise him, but it still made him nervous. The Becketts were never one to miss a party, even when things were going horribly for them at home. They'd especially not miss a ball as fancy as this one, held on the day of Eyre's parents' anniversary no less. His mother had planned the whole party down to a T, and made no effort to stick to a reasonable budget. The menu was perfectly curated for the season, the color palette for the event was crisp and cheerful and the live band that she hired even had Eyre tapping his foot to the beat. The event was crafted to perfection, but without Ana, it all felt wrong.

At the end of a jazzy number, his mother stepped onto the stage to deliver one of her famous speeches. Camilla loved to talk, and when she hosted a party no one was immune to her long rambling monologues and thick French accent.

"Bonjour! Thank you all for coming out tonight!" She greeted the crowd with her dazzling red-lipped smile. "I'm so overjoyed that all of you have come here on this sizzling hot summer day! As some of you know, it is also a very special day for Ivan and I." She paused, waiting to draw anticipation from the crowd. "Today is our 25th wedding anniversary and we couldn't be happier!" She squealed and bounced a bit on her heels, the party guests clapping and hollering at her in response. Camilla composed herself enough to speak, gesturing towards the audience with enthusiasm.

"Now, if I could please have my husband Ivan and darling children join me on the stage..."

Eyre let out a silent groan, nearly choking on the toothpick that was hanging half-hazardly between his parted lips. He pulled it out with annoyance, setting the piece of wood on the plate beside him before hopping down from his stool and coming towards the stage. All he wanted was to be alone with his hors d'oeuvres, instead of being paraded around like a show dog. He begrudgingly made his way onto the stage followed by his five sisters, each of them beaming as if they'd won an award. He, himself, plastered on a smile so to not feel ostracized. (It was best to not stand out in moments like this.)

His dad Ivan was the last to come up, giving the crowd a warm wave before he looped an arm around his mom. It only added to his silent aggravation when the man placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. His parents had been much more affectionate and attentive since they had to collect him from St. Mungo's two weeks earlier. As nice of a change as it was, he almost wished that they'd go back to normal. It would be much more easier to loathe them for their previous neglect, then.

"This is my beautiful family." Camilla spoke, her big brown eyes starting to glitter with tears. "Without being able to go to these fabulous dances, I wouldn't have been blessed with such wonderful children." She spoke, her fingers coming up to squeeze at Eyre's cheek in adoration. "So, with that, thank you! Enjoy your night!"

Maybe he should've been grateful that Ana wasn't there. She would never let him live this moment down if she was. As his mother enveloped him in a spine-crushing hug, he skimmed over the audience to see if any of his friends from school were there and could hold it against him. He didn't seem to recognize any of them particularly well... until he did.

As if the universe decided that he needed to be humiliated further in front of her, Aurelia, the girl that he almost killed when he disturbed the Doxy nest was there. It was strange seeing her all cleaned up and polished as if nothing had happened two weeks prior. It was a bit of a relief, since he didn't know what became of her after that, but it did make him uneasy.

He could've pretended like he hadn't seen her and feigned ignorance, but he knew that he wanted to apologize. He climbed down from the platform once his mom relinquished her hold on him and he made his way through the crowd.

"...Hey, Aurelia." He greeted, putting a smile on his face to mask his nervousness. "...Fancy seeing you here. I don't think that I've ever introduced myself. I'm Eyre." He stretched out a hand for her to shake. His words almost felt clunky in his mouth, but, to be fair, it wasn't every day that he ran into someone who almost died with him. Even though they were practically strangers, he was worried for her when he woke up at the hospital. Knowing how much he messed up gnawed at the pit of his stomach, which is why it wasn't long until he spoke up again.

"Listen, I wanted to apologize for being an idiot." He offered, his voice lowering. "It was stupid for me to have been poking around in places where I didn't belong. I'm not usually daft, I swear." His face became a little rosy and his eye-contact was faltering, but admitting that he felt guilty putting them in danger was easier than he thought.

He soon realized that she wasn't alone, turning his head to see a taller teenager beside her.

"...Sorry... I didn't see you there." Eyre apologized again, being taken aback for a moment. "What's your name?"