“You’re being ridiculous, get back.” He huffed, rolling his eyes as he grabbed her. Ricky could carry dead weight so a woman such as Bea wasn’t much of a challenge, tugging her back and forcing her to sit obediently, even in his growing drunken state.

“You need to stop being so dramatic. I don’t think your fragile nor do I think you’re mad - well, perhaps I’m wrong with the way you’re acting. “If you jump you will break your neck and I don’t want to have your death on my conscious, Beatrice.”
 
"Oh, you're so caring, aren't you?" She sighed lightly, smiling up at the man from the bed. She wasn't going to deny that she was dizzy and needed to rest, but she was also not in the greatest state of mind and, as a result, climbing down the side of the large estate and fumbling her way through the fields in the winter night really didn't seem like a big deal.

Neither did pulling Ricky down into a kiss either. She knew it was probably wrong of her to kiss someone she wasn't courting, especially not married to, which she already realised would cause people to look down on her even more than they already did - but she had grown numb to that at this point. She wanted to do whatever she wanted, and Ricky was nice to her; he was handsome and sweet, and so being with him seemed like a logical conclusion, even for a night.

"...You aren't with anyone, I asked," she murmured easily, standing up from the bed. "And I'm officially divorced, so there's... nothing to stop you kissing me back..."
 
"Oh, Beatrice, I... I can't," he quickly whispered, the confusion clear on his lips as he looked up at her from the bed. "I'm with someone - who did you ask?" He quickly whispered, his cheeks red in sudden frustration. He knew that his and Joseph's relationship was meant to stay under wraps but he didn't really know how to react when others tried to get close to him. Was he supposed to tell the truth? Would Joseph get upset? If Joseph told others that he was free, that not only was obnoxious but also only caused stress to him.

"I think you've had a bit too much," he whispered, sitting up from the bed slowly as to cease his own dizziness, groaning. "Who told you I was available? I need to speak with them immediately."
 
"Joseph said you were available when I asked and he's a dear friend of mine, he certainly wouldn't lie to my face," the woman whispered in confusion, which eventually made way for upset. In her mind, Joseph was telling her the truth (she had no reason to think otherwise) so Ricky's rejection felt personal, as though he was making excuses not to kiss her in return. With her self-esteem as low as it was, the thought that he might be spiralling off some lies just to avoid being intimate only made it drop further.

"...You can tell me the truth, you know? You think like they all do, you think I... I killed my husband and you don't want to be involved with a potential murderer," she grimaced, folding her arms around herself to try and keep her composure. "I-I've been an idiot, I... I'm sorry, I just thought you... liked me."
 
"Oh, no, no! Beatrice, I don't believe you murdered anyone. I think it's just a bunch of mumbo-jumbo people are saying without knowing any context. It's merely a matter of me seeing you more as a mate than a love interest," he explained quickly, panicking once realizing that it didn't seem to be working. Nervously looking around, he moved to rest his hand on her shoulder for comfort.

"Joseph said I wasn't taken? Well, I need to talk to him because it's incredibly rude for him to speak for me. He ha no right," he grumbled bitterly, though smiled nonetheless. "You're a lovely woman, Beatrice, and the fact that the others are mistreating you so much is heartbreaking. I think you're a lovely person but I'm just not interested in having a romantic relationship with you."
 
"...Fine. Your loss, I suppose. It's fine," she murmured, the dejection written across her face as she weakly climbed back into bed, having lost the desire to head down to the party or find her fun elsewhere. She was almost desperate for a man at this point as though finding someone to date her would improve her self-esteem and stop people gossiping about her. It was in her opinion that a man at her side would dispel the rumours, purely because nobody would date her if they were true, so having someone beside her would surely help. Ricky only proved (in her mind) that the task was far harder than it used to be. She would easily flirt with men and have their interest show instantly; now she couldn't even go up to a man without them avoiding eye contact and ignoring her.

"Joseph isn't a liar, I refuse to believe that. He... He said you were available. He wouldn't say that if he didn't think it was true; I'm not saying you aren't telling the truth, Ricky. I believe you, I suppose - but Joseph wouldn't deliberately tell me a lie, maybe he just doesn't know you as well as you thin he does?"
 
"I think he would know about this," he replied, a grimace frown growing on his lips the more he thought about it. He forced it back once realize it could only make the other more upset. Getting to his feet, he had to keep himself from falling as he moved to the window, closing it tight to keep the possibility of her jumping out of the question. Running a hand through his hair, he moved to offer Beatrice a chaste kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be back," he murmured, adjusting himself a tad as he moved out of the bedroom, keeping a surprisingly flat face as he carefully moved down the staircase, not really wanting to snap his neck. Searching for Joseph in the crowd, he immediately locked eyes on the other. "Oi! Joseph, y'free? I need to have a word with you," he grunted, wiping his face with a hand as the other still clutched the bottle of whiskey.
 
The sight of Joseph all but stumbling into the party with the whiskey clutched in his hand was mortifying, especially as he had introduced him as a dear friend to everyone in attendance at the event. He didn't think he would end up being this embarrassed by him, but evidently, he was wrong, and he knew he'd have to deal with gossip about this for the next few days.

Smiling tightly at the couple he was talking to, he made his apologies and wandered to the window, gently guiding the other along with him.

"What is this about? What are you doing, wandering in here like this? It's... you look a mess, Ricky," he grimaced, awkwardly locking eyes with the other. "...Are you alright? I wanted you to enjoy yourself, but... not to get this drunk. It's problematic."
 
"Problematic? Problematic? What is problematic is the fact that you told Beatrice I was single. She tried to take advantage of me and now she's upset that I said no to her. Why did you do that?! Why did you have to go and lie to her? T-This... now I'm a horrible person because I refused to have sex with her, yeah? I want Beatrice to like me and now she hates me," he hissed under his breath, clutching the bottle of whiskey tight.

"Why did you do that? It was embarrassing." Joseph added with a scoff, his eyes now avoiding the other's as he stared out the window, his cheeks reddening under the candlelight.
 
"...You went to see Beatrice? After I told you firmly not to? You went against my word? I don't think you have a right to be angry at me when the one thing I told you not to do, you went ahead and did - without hesitation, I assume. That woman is vulnerable and she needs to rest; not to be swooning for you. Of course she's upset; she places her worth in the hands of a man, it's... awful. You rejecting her -as right as it was- is only going to hurt her, you shouldn't have been near her. I told you not to, I knew this would happen, I..." He grimaced, rattling off how frustrated he was which didn't give him time to address Ricky's anger, only doing so when taking notice of his reddened cheeks.

"...I could hardly tell her that you were dating me, could I? And I thought that telling her you were with someone would only lead her to interrogate you, which would make you uncomfortable and upset her even more. I dismissively said you were unavailable. I... didn't think you would go against me and rush up to see her, did I?"
 
"I didn't rush up to see her, stop being so hyperbolic," Ricky countered with a roll of his eyes, shifting his weight to try and keep himself stable. "She was lonely and I didn't want her to just sit up there and rot. Then she went on about jumping out of her window and escaping into the next town over and I stopped her. If I hadn't, I'm sure she would have even without me. That's what happens when you force someone alone. She's... she needs human interaction, Joseph, and I offered her it. Just... look, I'm going to bed. I'm not enjoying you twisting all of this to make me seem like a bad person when I was just trying to give her company," he huffed, sniffling as his eyes began to grow teary.

"I'm sorry for being a good person and trying to get to know your friends. I know that I'm such an embarrassment to you, huh?" He murmured, the alcohol at least easing his anger. "... I'm going upstairs, I'm going to lay down. I'll let you enjoy yourself with your friends while I get treated like a villain."
 
"Oh, now you're being dramatic. I'm not saying you're the villain, I just... I wish you wouldn't have gone to see her is all. She's not a well woman, Ricky. She's a dear friend and I'd have introduced you, but only when she was stable enough to entertain the idea. She's not ready yet," he sighed, reaching for the whiskey. If Ricky was determined to leave, he'd rather he do it without a bottle of whiskey in hand.

"Don't drink, just go to bed," he murmured sternly, eyeing how drunk he was already and deciding he didn't need any more alcohol coursing through his veins. "...I'll see you in the morning. We can talk then; not when you're drunk like this, however."
 
"When will she be ready, then?" He countered, his hand recoiling once the whiskey was yanked from him. Much like Beatrice, he wrapped his arms around himself with a growing frown once realizing eyes were on him, discomfort hitting him. Looking around, he quickly left the crowded room and the discomforting level of silence as he scurried up the stairs, somehow only slipping a little until bolting to one of the rooms and locking the door behind him, cheeks red as he held back the urge to cry.

It wasn't the crowd he normally got wasted around. He was usually around people who didn't really give a shit how he acted while drunk as long as he didn't hurt anyone or break anything. The fact that he wasn't able to do that suddenly left him stressed and thankful to be alone, though wished Joseph would at least follow and comfort him a tad. Hell, even Charles would be nice to speak for as he buried his face in the blanket neatly tugged into the bed.
 
And it was Charles who eventually made an appearance, smiling quietly as he made his way to sit on the bed beside him. Once he realised Joseph was too busy attempting damage-limitation to head after his boyfriend, the artist decided to pay a visit himself. He didn't want animosity festering after all, especially not when the weekend was a perfect opportunity to build some connections and develop stronger relationships, and he really wanted to connect to Ricky as a friend. If he showed his support, it was a good way of achieving that.

"...He doesn't mean to upset you. I'm sure he didn't mean it. He just cares about Bea-- but I also understand why you wanted to be friends with her. She's really rather charming and... I suppose there's a sort of sadness to her at the moment, isn't there? I can understand why you wanted to check up on her. So does Joseph, he's just too stubborn to admit it," the man laughed, setting his glass of wine down. "Oh do cheer up, I can't stand you being upset. Or anyone for that matter."
 
"He's acting like such a bastard, Charles," he grumbled in response, having moved under the blankets and faced away from the door, hiccuping occasionally. "I wanted to get to know Bea and make her happy and then I'm treated like I'm a terrible person because I didn't want to leave her alone? Then he goes and tells everyone I'm single? He could have at least told the truth and been vague about it, yeah?" He slurred, unable to hide the truth. It was all danced around but he couldn't keep lying anymore.

"L-Like, why did he say that? Does he not love me, is that why he told everyone I was single? And what was I supposed to do, have relations with Beatrice? I would feel awful a-and... Joseph would just be mad at me," he babbled out, now in tears as he wiped hi face on the blanket. "I'm a bad person either way.'
 
"I can't say why he wasn't vague about it. All I can say is that I'm sure he cares deeply for you," smiled Charles as supportively as he could, though he was uncomfortable by the tears. He hadn't dealt with emotional people that often, other than Bea, so he wasn't quite sure how to handle it. In the hand, he chose to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder and began to rub it, hoping the gentle motion might ease him up a tad.

"Now, please stop the tears? You're too good to cry over silly Joe," he reminded quickly, nodding for emphasis. "Don't you cry over this situation. He's been stupid; it's not malicious, of course. Just a silly error. He'll realise that you're a caring person and... maybe you could develop a friendship with Bea? God knows she needs a friend. Joe will realise that eventually."
 
"I just want to... to fit in with everything but I-I know I can't," he whispered, his body at least relaxing from under the blanket, though he made no motion to get out from under it. "Bea seems nice and actually understands my situation but I'm not allowed to talk to her? Mind my language but I call bullshit," he whispered with a sniffle and a hiccup.

"I'm sorry. I imagine I made him embarrassed," he sighed, rolling to face the other reluctantly. "I just wanted to have some fun but I guess that isn't allowed."
 
"Oh, shut up, Ricky. That's silly and you know it is. Nobody is stopping you from having fun," he pointed out playfully, his laughter rising at the other's words. He knew he was drunk and that probably had an effect on his sorrowfulness, but Charles couldn't help finding the dramatic whines amusing. If anything, he had mentally taken note of them to tease his him in the future.

"Listen, if you want to go back down and have fun, nobody's stopping you. We warned you that our friends and guests are... rather snobbish; we made that clear to you," he reminded slowly, gently reaching for his glass of wine. "Or we could have fun in here; share a few glasses of wine and talk. It's not as fun, sure, but I don't mind skipping out on the party."
 
The laughter certainly didn’t lift his spirits of the drunken Ricky, though his frown seemed more like a pout as he was made fun of by Charles. He was expecting some kind words and instead he was being made fun of?

“No, it’s best I stay here. I don’t think I could see all of those people again, they... most likely will start whispering and I don’t want Joseph to have to do damage control because of me again.”
 
"It certainly doesn't go down well to have you approaching him like that. He didn't want to throw this party and to have his... boyfriend storm over to him -drunk, might I add- isn't going to go down well. But I'm sure he'll realise he's primarily at fault for your outburst, Ricky. You and him are both in the wrong, how about that?" He suggested as he sipped at his wine, refusing to get caught up in the drama. Even if he did, he wouldn't think too much of it, rarely getting too upset or mad about these sorts of things.

"You shouldn't worry about it so much. Those people shouldn't stop you having fun. This is Joseph's home and you're his boyfriend, aren't you? Why let a bunch of hoity-toity old fools prevent you from enjoying yourself? That's the one thing I dislike about Joe; he cares too much about how people view him. I, on the other hand, don't remotely care how others see me. I'm sure they all think I'm too carefree, but I enjoy myself, so why does it matter? You'll kick yourself if you don't go back down there and see the party out, Ricky."