"Earth to Azzy-Snazzy!"

Azura snatched Steffen's wrist with his illuminated hand before he could touch her with it. He grinned at her as she snarled back. "Get that out of my face."

He should fucking know better. The bright energy ball dissipated and Azura's shoulders sagged in relief. Her muscles had tensed involuntarily at the sight of his creation. Even though she knew he meant it as a joke she could not shake her bodily reaction to it. It still struck too close to home.

"Sorry. I kinda forgot." She could tell he was sincere as he backed away immediately; guilt flashing in his eyes.

Azura shook her head and forced a small smile on her face. "Don't worry. I was kinda zoning out."

Her eyes scanned around the big decorated hall. Balloons in the shape of the number 29 hung everywhere and colorful, almost childlike, garlands swooped across the ceiling. Steffen had outdone himself on this massive party he had organized for Rose. People mingled everywhere and in the corner stood a DJ with a dancefloor in front of him. She turned 29, not the usual age someone would throw a party this big but Steffen had made it clear that these parties were meant to be done now as once a person hit the big Three-O would never be able to party again.

A statement which he himself proofed wrong from the get-go as he had passed the thirty already. Most people didn't bother correcting him but he got some good laughs here and there when he explained himself.

"You were damn sure zoning out! What's on your mind? Relax and let it all go for a night." He offered her a beer which she gladly accepted.

So many things occupied her mind but they were all a great mood-killer. Deciding to take his advice and try to let go, Azura took a big sip of her beer before answering.

"I never knew Ben had a son."

"He has two actually. Which one did you meet?"

As Steffen spoke up, her head snapped towards him, disbelief written all over her face. "Two?! How the fuck did I not know?!"

Steffen snorted and slapped her shoulder. "Cause unlike me, you don't socialize. I know all there is to know about this city and people living here."

"It's starting to smell like a stinking ego over here." To emphasize what she was saying, she closed her nose and pretended to smell something awful.

"I'm going to prove it to you." Steffen turned away from her, looked around the room for a bit, and finally pointed at two women who were chatting up a man their own age. "See those two? Chantal and Lydia. Nobody knows their actual hair color as they switch so often no one can keep up. They used to go to school with Rose together and are now notorious for trapping innocent men in their web of seduction."

Azura looked at the three people for a moment, not recognizing any of them. The women both had red hair in the same hairdo as if they were twins and the man they were chatting with seemed to be already caught in their spell.

"The guy is named Travis. Visits the climbing hall on a regular basis. Actually has a girlfriend out of state but that never stopped him. Nobody knows this by the way. He's going to have the night of his life by the looks of it." Steffen casually continued before turning his head to the other side of the room.

"Viola and David. Friends of Rose's parents." Steffen forcefully turned Azura around and pointed to an elderly couple. "A witch and a warlock. Love messing around with creating strange potions. Once almost burned down their house in the process of creating something that would give them eternal youth. Or.. that's what they want to believe as they failed and haven't even come close. Obsessed with staying young, that's a fact though."

Judging by what the couple was wearing, Azura had to agree with Steffen. Viola was exposing more skin than she would ever be comfortable with. David obviously had some work done on his face to ease out the wrinkles but despite that, they did seem like a nice quirky couple.

Steffen took Azura's hand and started pointing it at a couple of people. With each one he stopped he would say the same thing. "Snow leopard shifter." Though that was an easy one as all the folks that were shifters all had green eyes.

"What about him?" Azura's eyes had caught a single young man standing more to the back. He was observing like they were. A loner but that didn't seem to bother him one bit.

"That's... a strange one. Apparently, his father is a very important man. Has a younger brother who is a wild, recently shifted snow leopard. He himself is the complete opposite, more like his father. Calculating and hates everything blue-eyed-"

Azura stomped Steffen in the stomach just to make him stop talking. Steffen doubled over, laughing as he clutched his stomach. Once he caught his breath again he stood back up and, a playful glitter in his eyes as she just glared at him.

"Obviously you've met Mitchel, the fifteen-year-old son of Ben as that guy is Bernard, Ben's other son. Also a frequent visitor of the climbing hall. You should have seen him a couple of times during your work shifts."

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't remember him. Then again, she had helped a lot of people there but always managed not to remember any of their faces or names. She had worked there and enjoyed every moment of it but unless she was really introduced to someone through someone else, she never interacted with them more than needed. How could she call a place her home if she didn't really know anyone? Some faces were familiar but she couldn't remember the names no matter how hard she tried.

Scanning the crowd, Azura saw Rose on the dancefloor. The short woman was having the time of her life as she danced like it was the last time. People joined her and it was clear she was having a blast. The ease with how she navigated around, talking to people and moving on. Probably knowing everyone here. The same went for Lucas. Azura found him pretty fast. He seemed to enjoy himself, drink in hand surrounded by a group of people she again did now know. A few women were clearly pegging to get his attention but Lucas seemed unfazed by them as he just continued telling his story.

"So why are you not with him?" Steffen interrupted her thoughts again.

"Why are you not with Rose?" She immediately retorted. "If you seem to know everyone here at the party, why are you still standing with me and not saying hi to any of them?"

"Ouch!" Steffen grabbed his chest as if he had a heart attack. "Low blow! Alright. Just cause I know them and know all of their dirty secrets, doesn't mean I'm friends with all of them. In fact, with over half of these people, I dont even want to talk to them."

"Dirty secrets? Of everyone?" She raised an eyebrow at his statement. "That makes you sound like a gossiping gay guy who loves spreading and knowing the hot tea on everyone. Often a character not always like by anyone." She gave him a sweet smile awaiting his reaction.

His confused face had her laughing out loud. It was the first time in a long time someone had made her laugh and feel good.

"Gossiping gay guy? Hot tea? What are you on about, woman?! I just talk to people. But enough of that. You don't deserve to hear anything else! Instead, let's dance!"

Before she could protest, Steffen had grabbed her arm and dragged her towards the dancefloor. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Lucas smirk at her unfortunate predicament.

"You do know I need something stronger to drink than a beer before I'll dance, right? Last time I went dancing with just a beer I ended up wanting to kill the person I was dancing with!" She shouted at Steffen over the music which was getting louder.

He just shushed her and changed directions to the bar first. He managed to get things sorted so fast that before she knew it, there was a glass of clear liquid in her hand. She sniffed it, distinguishing the smell of vodka. The perfect drink to get her dancing. That was a fact. Not one she was particularly proud of though. Knowing Steffen would not let her slip away, she racked her brain trying to, at least, make him as uncomfortable as possible.

"You know," she spoke while slowly moving the glass to her lips. "That guy I wanted to kill back then, I actually did kill him eventually." She downed the vodka in one go before locking eyes with Steffen again.

He was just grinning at her while waving his hand at the bartender for a second round. "Savage," was the only reply she got.

"Just to add some hot tea on my behalf," Her voice fell to a whisper, "I made sure he suffered."

Grinning, she grabbed the second glass and downed it again in one go while she watched his face pale a bit. What came over her to tell him the truth was a mystery but it felt good for now, at least. She trusted Steffen and frankly, there was a big chance her time was limited anyway.

"Right..." He continued after he downed his second shot too. "I'm sure he was an ass and I'm not, so I'll take my chances."

His hand took hers again, this time a little less hard and the tug he gave her was more gentle too. Azura gloated internally at the small victory and allowed herself to be taken to the dancefloor. Vodka always had a quick effect on her system it seemed. Ever since she first tried it when she was a teenager till now, once ingested, the buzz seemed to creep into her brain almost instantaneously.

A remix from the song 'Purple Hat' by Sofi Tukker started to blast through the speakers when the blond energy caster guided her on the floor. People started to jump around them and the only way to stay upright was to join in. The beat crawled beneath her skin forcing her to move and albeit a tad slow, Azura slowly started to dance and jump with the rest. Steffen cheered her on and joined the dancing himself.

The music carried her, lightened the load on her shoulders, freed her mind. Faces and people blurred together as her bubble of bliss closed itself around her. The combination of alcohol and music made her let go of everything. Faces and people blurred together to one big mass of moving bodies. They did not matter. Steffen did, her friends did, the rest was not important and that was ok. She was not a social butterfly like some other people were but that wasn't a bad thing. Despite not knowing everyone, Pleyvale still was her home and that would not change.

Hands on her hips bring her back to reality. The music had slowed down and Steffen had stepped closer. Too close for any other person besides Lucas normally, but there were no alarms going off in her head with Steffen this close. When Azura glanced to the side, she noticed Rose who gave her two thumbs up. What normal sane person would give another woman two thumbs up while slow dancing with her boyfriend?

"That vodka does bring out a great dancer in you, doesn't it. You were really in your own world there." His lips lingered dangerously close to her ear.

When done by Lucas, it would send shivers down her spine, her body would arch into him and she would be jelly in his arms. With anyone else, she would do anything to get out of their grasp instinctively but with Steffen there was nothing. It just felt strange but neither right nor wrong.

"Shut up." A foreign giggle escaped her lips as she draped her arms around his shoulders. "Why are you doing this?"

"You're the one who just put her arms around my shoulders. I've got my motives. What are yours?" She noticed the subtle way he quickly looked past her to an area behind her before turning his attention back to her.

Azura shrugged, being caught in the same trick she tried to pull on him earlier. "Vodka."

"Good. Then relax and don't freak out." There was no time to think about what he said as he pulled her flush against himself and buried his face in the crook of her neck.

Azura stiffened at the speed at which he did it. She held her breath as her hands tightened into fists. His breath fanned past her skin but he just stayed there, doing nothing.

"Relax, I can hear your heart practically trying to beat its way out of your chest." He softly spoke while his hands moved up and down her back. "I'm just saving Lucas out of a tight spot with some touchy women, though he won't see it that way."

Despite him telling her to relax, she simply could not. Her body and mind were at complete war with themselves as one wanted to get away from the situation while the other simply didn't seem to mind. She kept her rigid stance, not finding the courage to remove her hands from his shoulders. This was Steffen. Not a creep wanting to hurt her. Steffen wouldn't cross the line even though he loved playing dangerously.

Right as she finally mustered the courage to break away and tell him off, he broke the hold. She felt the slight pan of his head to the side, the smirk that she imagined crossed his face right before he stepped away. The close embrace had felt like minutes, yet she knew it had only lasted seconds at most.

"He'd better not try that again." Two strong arms wrapped themselves around her from Behind as a pair of lips claimed the same spot on her neck Steffen had been so close to.

Lucas's touch worked like magic. Even without seeing him and before hearing his voice her body knew it was him. Azura leaned against his strong body, relaxing the moment he touched her. A smile on her lips as he guided her hips to move with the music.

"Got a little jealous?" she teased.

"Jealous? Hmmph. Anything but. I know Rose will kick his sorry ass before he could do anything remotely close to getting me jealous." he huffed in response.

Azura pressed her butt backward into his crotch before spinning around and pulling him into a deep kiss. His tongue ran along her lips, asking permission which she gladly gave him.

"Get a room already!"

Lucas broke the kiss with a deep sigh and rested his forehead against hers. "Rose, I swear to God, if you don't get his scrawny ass out of my face right now, I will hurt him!"

Azura glanced to the side, meeting Rose's gleeful eyes first before Steffen's. He shot her a big smile and managed to say two words before being dragged away by his girlfriend. "Mission accomplished!"

Not being able to stifle a laugh, Azura entwined her fingers with his and gave him a little pinch.

"Not jealous, eh? Notes. But just to ease your mind, Steffen was only doing it to get rid of those girls for you. He was saving your ass."

"That is one of the worst excuses he's used in his life. Those women were annoying, yes, but he just wanted to get under my skin." He moved closer again, pulling her against him. "Dammit. You still smell like him."

Azura just giggled in response. The vodka still doing its job. There were no more doubts about his sanity. She trusted him completely. So when Lucas pointed to a quieter area away from the dance floor, she followed him without a question. Every chance she got, she tried to grab and squeeze his ass, a chuckle escaping her lips every time she did so.

"By the way, if I still smell like Steffen, I should probably take a shower, no?" She casually asked as he eventually halted and turned around. "And to make sure the smell won't come back you will have to join me to scrub it aaaaaallllll away."

He gulped and she could swear she could see his pupils dilate. Before he could answer they were interrupted.

"I really hope you guys will save that later." Nathan's voice had her sobered up in an instant.

Being caught like two teenagers making out, Azura felt the embarrassment creep into her cheeks. Nathan leaned on his crutch with Oliver standing next to him. Ben was nowhere to be seen though.

"Sorry to intrude." Nathan continued after a short awkward silence. "It's just that we've been thinking about what you said to Ben and we want you to know that we believe you."

"You what? Believe me? And what about Ben?" She crossed her arms in front of her, taking on a defensive stance that reflected in her voice.

"Ben... is blinded by mistrust regarding you. He can't move past that. We tried to talk sense into him after you left, but you threatening him like that did not help."

Lucas turned his head towards her with a surprised look on his face. "You threatened Ben? The mayor? And these guys don't want to bite your head off?"

Nathan let out an annoyed sigh, ignoring the male standing next to her. "We want to help. We just need to know how. We want to protect Pleyvale at any cost, even if it means going against Ben. People will listen to us, the rest of the council will listen to us. Especially if

Jeff also joins in."

Azura exchanged looks with Lucas for a moment. He shrugged his shoulders, leaving her to deal with this. She wasn't the only one with a little too much alcohol in her system, that was for sure. She turned her attention back to the two men in front of her; examining them from top to bottom and taking her time to do it while trying to figure out the right thing to say. Their timing was horrible and she could not use another sentence coming from her making her seem even more intoxicated than she already was.

"Good. We'll talk later." Another silence filled the air between them as if they were expecting her to say more.

Nobody moved until Azura uncrossed her arms and started glaring at both Oliver and Nathan. "What? You expect a plan right here and now while we've obviously drank too much and plan to drink even more? Go home. Or join the party. It might as well be the last one ever. Just... stop staring at me like that. I heard you and you will hear from me. Goodnight!"

Turning to Lucas, she decided to make things clear that they wanted to be left alone. Or make things more awkward but right now, she could not give a flying fuck. As if he knew what she was about to do, she noticed him winking at the two right before she captured his lips with her own for a sloppy long make-out session. It had the desired effect as the two others left soon after. Another inappropriate drunk giggle bubbled up in her throat when they separated.

"I assume you want more vodka?" Lucas's eyes held a playful tingle in them as he asked her.

"Yep. Abso-fucking-lutely!"

"And that deal about the shower still stands?" He asked her. She just gave him a sly smile and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.