Worship

He didn't know Agnes well enough to determine how she really was, but he knew his sister, and he could tell there was something fundamentally wrong with her at the moment. He didn't understand what was concerning her, being too drunk to recollect anything, even what he said just minutes previous, but the feeling that she was uneasy stuck with him all the way through to the morning. After a night as wild as that, and after inevitably making it up to Apollo in any way the demon wanted, Elijah was instantly hit by pain, groaning as he attempted to sit up from the bed. He never usually got nauseous, but he realised he had probably pushed his body's limit with alcohol when he rushed to the bathroom to promptly throw up; an experience he wasn't used to and, thus, hated passionately.

"I don't fucking feel good," he moaned, collapsing back onto the bed with a shaky effort to pull his boxers up, bailing halfway through the attempt and instead moving to get back under the covers. "God, you let me drink way too much, Apollo-- I'm a human; I'm stupid. You're the smart, intellectual demon; you should have been looking out for me," he continued jokingly, managing to open his eyes long enough to smile over at him. "...Did I embarrass myself last night? God, did I get in a fight? 'Cos I feel like I did. Either that or we really went for it in bed, I dunno, my mind's spinning."
 
“I don’t know what happened but I know it was a wild night,” he replied, his face still buried in his pillow. Rolling to face the other, he groaned as he did before entangling himself with Elijah, purring in content from their closeness. Offering a kiss to the other’s forehead, he then moved to feel it just to make sure he didn’t have a fever.

“So... I don’t know if you remember but I know for certain that you proposed to me~!” Cooed Apollo, his sleepy smile turning to a grin as he held Elijah’s head in his hands. “It wasn’t as romantic as I was expecting, to be honest, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to say no. We should get some rings later, once you feel a little better. I can make you some toast to get something in your stomach.”
 
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Hearing that he had apparently proposed only made him grow pale. As soon as it was mentioned, he vaguely remembered the events that had played out, and it left him groaning to himself in annoyance. The fact he had proposed didn't really worry him; it was the manner of the proposal that did.

"I didn't want to do it like that, obviously. I was gonna plan it all out for you, make it romantic. Can't fucking do that right, can I? But, uh... you're definitely up for it, then? 'Cos I'm serious about it, it wasn't some drunken ramble," he promised with an eager grin, his mind already full of ideas on the wedding. He wanted it to be small and private, but that didn't mean it had to be boring and plain.

Once his memories started to flutter back to him, he was mostly full of regret for how drunk he had gotten, though he could play it off with a smile. Until, of course, he remembered the conversation with his sister and realised how disastrous the effects of it could be.

"...I told her we were in a cult," he mumbled awkwardly, pressing his face into his hands in annoyance, holding back the urge to scream into them. "I fucking told my sister you were a cult leader, I-- I was mad, Apollo, I didn't mean it."
 
Apollo’s smile dropped instantly, the demon sitting up quickly. Looking away from Elijah, he adjusted his jaw slowly in contemplation all the while forcing back his anger. While Apollo had never gotten to the point of changing his form from anger, that didn’t mean this couldn’t be the first. Clutching his fist, he decided to offer a smile.

“Well, you know what we have to do, right?” He asked slowly, his eyes landing on Elijah’s. “We’ll have to kill her and her friend, Eli. You can’t go unpunished for what you did, you understand that, right? Do you know the consequences that are going to come out of this? You could go to jail, as would all of my other followers. We can’t have that happening.”
 
"I was drunk and you were making me mad-- you should be thankful I didn't tell her everything , Apollo. We aren't fucking killing my sister, I'm just going to pretend you didn't say that," he replied slowly, his own anger rising at the suggestion. He didn't expect Apollo to understand the bond he had with Mary, nor did he think he would ever truly understand how deeply he loved his sister, but he at least expected him to respect it. Suggesting they kill her -and Agnes- inevitably angered him, though he did his best to hide it, choosing to ease out of bed to get dressed just so he didn't have to look at him for the moment.

"How about we not go down the murder route with my own sister? How about I tell her it was a fucking joke or somethin'? Why does your mind always go to murder, Apollo? There's something wrong with you if you really think I'd willingly do that for you; she's my sister. I'd do a lot for you, but not that; no fuckin' way would I do that," he spat, his control of his anger clearly loosening the more he thought about what the demon had said. "I'll tell her it was a joke, it's not a... a big deal; certainly ain't big enough of a deal to contemplate even laying a finger on her. I can't believe you'd suggest that-- you've actually disgusted me, I ain't gonna lie."
 
“And you’re utterly infuriating sometimes, you know that?” He replied, Apollo’s knuckles turning white as he got to his feet, wrapping his pricey silk robe around himself as he moved to the kitchen to make himself coffee, his lips set in a permanent grimace at this point.

“Well, how much did you tell her? How many details did you give her?” He asked slowly, starting up the espresso machine to keep his hands busy. “If you just said, ‘haha my boyfriend and I are in a cult and Apollo is the leader’, there might be a chance that she could play it off as a really fucking stupid joke.” He murmured, the swearing being not so subtle evidence of his own anger. “You can get mad at me all you want for the suggestion but you were the shithead who decided that you were so mad at me that you were willing to admit that you participate in sacrificial murders.” Turning to face Elijah, he let his sharp teeth make an appearance, his eyes black. “You figure this shit out.”
 
"I can't remember how much I said. It can't have been that bad if she got in the car with us at the end of the night. I'm pretty sure I just said you were a cult leader and that you had some brainless followers or somethin', I can't remember the details, but it can't have been that bad," he mumbled, pulling his phone out to text his sister, inviting her to meet up after her shift at work. If she refused, he knew that he probably had said too much and, if that was the case, he wasn't entirely sure how his relationship was going to continue.

Apollo had made it clear that his answer to the mess was simply killing them off to stop trouble ensuing. Obviously, he didn't want that to happen, so he wasn't sure that his relationship would survive if he had said too much to his sister.

"No need to get fucking angry at me, I didn't mean to tell her. I was drunk. People say dumb shit when they're drunk. I could have told her worse, you know I could have. Just... chill. I'll sort it out. She's my sister, she'll believe me. I'll play it off casually, make her think she's an idiot for believing it, yeah? Just... god, chill. This isn't the start to our engagement I hoped for," he muttered, pocketing his phone and attempting to make up for the tension he had caused by wrapping his arms around the demon, resting his head on his shoulder from behind. "You know I love it when you get mad, just not when it's aimed at me 'cos you're kinda terrifying~"
 
Apollo was still fuming but the fact that his black eyed changed back to their powder blues and his teeth back to their pearly whites was at least evident that he hadn’t planned to physically hurt Elijah, who should have known that he easily could without breaking a sweat. Focusing his eyes on the machine, he poured himself a cup and took a well needed sip, sighing deeply.

“I don’t like getting angry at you, you know that,” he whispered, his free hand setting on the human’s. “I will if you pull dumb shit like this again, Elijah. I don’t want all of this to fall apart when things are going so well. This is why I didn’t want to go to the club, I knew that would end horribly. I’m... trusting you to figure this out, hm?” He decided, turning around with a softened frown.
 
"I'll figure it out, I promise. I'm smarter than I look - and she'll believe me. Just relax, I'm not going to fuck this up for us. I already have a plan to figure this all out," he nodded, stealing a kiss quickly before turning away to finish dressing. The last thing he wanted to do was willingly spend time with the men involved in Apollo's cult, but if it helped convince his sister that everything he had said whilst drunk was rubbish, then he'd force himself into that situation.

She had made it clear that she liked Cameron and intended to meet up with him to thank him, so using him in some way to convince her that the talk of a cult was meaningless seemed like a wise move. He had every intention to involve him, deciding that having someone who could back up his word of there being no cult would be smart, especially if Mary was already inclined to like Cameron. Ideally, he wouldn't have to share his time with someone he hated as much as Cameron, but he had no choice.

He didn't realise, of course, that by involving Cameron, he was only causing more trouble for himself. He assumed Cameron was like the others; brainless, indoctrinated followers who would die for Apollo if he asked them to. He didn't know that the human was removed from the cult and had every intention to expose the dark things that went on, when he found out about them, at least.

Cameron had no reason not to turn up when Elijah asked -or rather, demanded- he do so. It wasn't just the fact that Elijah terrified him and he wanted to avoid a beating, but he also wanted to keep up the facade of being some obedient follower to Apollo. It also intrigued him when Elijah informed him why he was present; to dispel rumours of a cult. He knew it was one and he had no desire to argue against it, deciding he would reveal the truth to Mary when he had a chance to be alone with her. Having her on side could prove useful, of course. She was Elijah's sister and could get closer to Apollo than Cameron ever could. Having her on his side, to help expose what went on, could be extremely beneficial.

It also gave him an excuse to get up close to someone he knew he found attractive.

"...It was a joke, Mary. You know, a meaningless joke I thought was funny? I was drunk, I was hardly gonna be talking sense, was I?" Elijah mumbled to Mary, having successfully met up with her in the early evening, stirring his straw around in his milkshake to try and seem natural, and not as desperate as he really felt. "Apollo's not a fucking cult leader, that's insane. You've met him, he's nice and normal and-- the fact you believed me says a lot. It's upsetting. You think I'd be involved in all that shit? You think Cameron would?"

"...He's telling the truth, it's... silly," smiled Cameron as he pushed his glasses up, tapping his fingers on the table. "I... have had differences with your brother, so I'd be the first to say if he was involved in anything shady."
 
“It wasn’t very funny,” Mary replied as she adjusted herself in her seat, sipping her tea. The shift had been long and while she hadn’t had much to drink, she was still dealing with a horrible migraine. Taking another sip, she watched the two men before her cautiously.

“Elijah, we came from a... very shitty cult, why would you want to joke about that?” She continued, though at least did relax her stiff shoulders. Having Cameron, who she saw as a pretty good person, say everything was fine then she was at least more likely to believe it. “I dunno. Like... my friend Richard had mentioned that there’s been some weird disappearances around here so that’s bad to joke about too! People are going missing and... to joke that you were a part of that is horrible, Eli.”
 
"Because I'm a shitty person who found it funny? Look, it was daft, I'm sorry. Apollo's furious at me too, if that helps? He called me an idiot for lying about something like this, so you're both mad at me. I deserve it, really. Just... hey, I'll go and buy us some of those slices of cake over there, make up for being a dumbass," he smiled, physically relaxing at her seeming belief in him, which he knew Cameron's presence had helped with. Shooting the man a grateful glance, he eased from the booth to head over to the counter, leaving Cameron awkwardly sat debating whether he should approach the subject now or not, knowing he might not get a chance to do so with her again.

"...This is sudden and all, but... I need to talk to you in private, Mary. Away from your brother," he murmured beneath his breath, forcing himself to relax just to avoid suspicion from Eli. "Away from anyone at this university, actually, just in case word travels, so... so maybe we can head out somewhere after this? It's important, actually."
 
“Oh, really?” She replied, perking up a tad at the offer. She never had a man interested in her before, or at least not that she knew of. In reality, it was possible that there were boys who liked her but more often than not would be scared off by her father. That being said, she didn’t know any better so for all she knew, she was unloveable. To see Cameron interested in her immediately made her smile, her pale cheeks rosy.

“Oh, well. I mean, you’re very straightforward,” she continued, her hands fiddling nervously. “I would love to go on a date with you! Granted, we’ll have to go Dutch - I don’t have much money on me yet, aha... if that’s okay.”
 
If his intentions were to ask her on a date (which he did want to do), he would have spent far more time nervously panicking about it. In this instance, he was only asking her out in order to blurt out the details and how he wanted her to help him, which she seemingly misconstrued as him offering her out on a date. Obviously, he wasn't going to correct her, not when he also wanted to head out and get to know her better. Why upset her with the trust when this suited him down to the ground anyway?

"I can't really ask you out around your brother, so... don't tell him about this? He really doesn't like me. He basically threatened me into turning up here-- though he said you liked me, so that was enough to get me here, I guess. Girls don't usually go mad for me when your brother's around, he gets all the attention. It's nice to know you, uh.... like me?" He grinned, strategically adjusting his glasses just to hide the blush forming on his own cheeks. "It's nice, I-- obviously I think you're pretty, so... we can just go bowling or... or catch a movie or something. I'm not really used to dates, obviously."
 
When her assumption turned out to be true, it only caused Mary to grow even redder under her makeup. She was going on a limb, assuming it was a date, so to hear that it was true only made her take a deep sigh of relief. Avoiding Cameron’s eyes, she let out an anxious giggle.

“A-Ah, well... I mean, I’m not either. All I know is that people usually go to get food and... yeah,” she explained, the fact that her knowledge of romance was really only based on the dramas her mother watched, she was pretty clueless and she knew that. “I’m just glad you said yes- I won’t tell my brother. I know how protective of me he is, I don’t want him to beat you up.”
 
"Hey, I could defend myself! Probably for five seconds, but still, I'd give your brother a good fight for those few seconds until he inevitably overpowered me," he laughed with a cautious glance back over at the other young man, forcing himself to smile in response to Elijah's unenthusiastic frown.

"I mean, a little bowling and some food sounds good. I'd like that, Mary. Beats spending the night with Apollo and your brother, anyway. They're nice, don't get me wrong, and they love each other, but it's... a little disheartening being around them. Makes me realise how awful my love life is," he continued calmly, growing quiet the instant Eli returned with suspicious glances at the two.

"...You two seem to be getting along nicely," he remarked, his eyes firmly set on his sister. "What are your plans tonight, Mary? You can come hang out with me and Apollo again, if 'ya want? We were going to watch some movies on Netflix, chill out after the wild time at the club last night. You're free to come and do that with us?"
 
"Well, I... can, if you'd like, but I don't want to get in between you and Apollo," she admitted as she set the empty cup of tea down. "I know how you two are particularly... touchy, I wouldn't want to be a third-wheel. Not to mention I'm pretty sure Apollo isn't the hugest fan of me. Especially that he's mad at you, I hardly want to get involved with that," she admitted before sitting up a tad.

"I mean, if you really want me to chill out with you I will,” She reminded, though her eyes drifted back to Cameron with another blush. “I just don’t want to slip in, you know? You guys seem... like you need to figure shit out.”
 
Rather than be suspicious, Elijah sighed and nodded in agreement. As much as he wanted to hang out with her, it probably wasn't the best time; not when he was still trying to make it up to Apollo, and one way he knew wouldn't fail was to get cosy and intimate. Bringing Mary along would stop that and only piss him off further.

"I suppose you have a point," he conceded with a faint laugh, resting his head on his hand. "We're going shopping for engagement rings anyway, I guess that's a bit personal, so... tomorrow. We can hang out tomorrow, I promise. Today's just a bit tense, but tomorrow should be fine. When he has some huge diamond on his finger, he'll be alright again."
 
“I’m glad you two are getting married,” Mary admitted, a larger smile growing. “I want to see you happy and for the most part, it seems he does. I assume I’ll be invited to the wedding...? Oh, mom and dad would shit their pants if they knew that this would happen. A part of me wants you to invite them, yeah? Watch them horrified to see you so happy with a boyfriend. We could laugh at their faces, especially when they see how well you’re doing,” she praised, her energy perking up the more caffeine in her system.

“I mean, I’m playing at a venue tonight too. I would love for you guys to come, that invitation extends to you, Cameron,” she suggested before pulling out her bag, opening a compact mirror to fix her makeup.
 
"I, uh... Well, I'd love that, obviously. I heard you were in a band; a mate of mine said he recognised you-- he had nothing but good things to say, so course I'd love to see you at work," he grinned, ignoring the glare he knew was being sent his way. Elijah was far from happy with the budding friendship, especially when he took notice of the flirtatious undertones, but what could he do about it? He couldn't touch Cameron, not without upsetting his sister. All he could do was reluctantly let the friendship develop. Besides, as much as he hated to admit it, Cameron wasn't a bad person. He didn't like him, but as far as men went, he was far from the worst choice his sister could make.

"I'll see if Apollo's up for it - I'll come along even if he isn't. I can't miss your performance, can I?" Eli smiled, pulling his jacket on after realising how much time was ticking by, and every second he was late returning to Apollo's dorm, the more mad the other would be at him. "Text me the details, yeah? I'll see you later, promise."
 
"Okay, yeah! We'll be playing at Brixton Jamm tonight, I know that. I think around 8?" She eagerly admitted. She and her band still weren't superstars, sure, but it was a step in the right direction rather than just playing in a few people's apartments. Not only that, but they were the headliner! Granted, it was really only them and another band, and they weren't really any better-known than the other, not to mention they had equal time... but they were the ones who were playing last and, in her mind, it was the same as being the headliner.

"Yeah, I'll text you more when the time gets closer - I'll need your number too, Cameron," she reminded, pulling out her phone to eagerly accept the number, her eyes sparkling. "This means a lot, I'll... be super grateful if you show up. Not to mention just having a few extra faces means that we'll be getting more fans, right?"