Four days passed by, and I had managed to keep my nose clean for the most of it. Everyone seemed to be busy with the preparations for the ceremony, so I either found myself manning the bar or just loitering around on my own.

Nothing really seemed to change between Ban and myself on the surface. We bickered, we laughed, sure, but I could tell he was being somewhat cautious, and I was the same. Each and every time Meliodas or Elizabeth appeared, I'd take my leave, often just walking out with no excuse. He knew why; everybody did, so I didn't need to bullshit.

What I hadn't expected, though, was to be invited to the annual festival, which had surprisingly not been cancelled. The icing on my cake of shock, though, was that it was Howzer who issued the invitation.

"You're sweating." I pointed out, trying to keep my chortling at bay as the blond stood before me, looking like he was floating somewhere between adorably nervous and terrified for his life.
"O..of course I am! I just finished training!" He barked, voice breaking a little at the end. "So, would you like to come? Everybody else is..."

He's so pathetically adorable. I wanna squish him.

A devious smirk curled across my face as I leant in, causing him to freeze in place.
"That depends...Is this your way of finally asking me on a date, Mr. Will You Marry Me At The Tender Age of Seven?" His face was priceless, as was the shade of rouge darkening his cheeks.
"N..no! I mean...I was seven! Can't you just let that go?!" He whined, and I rolled my eyes fondly, folding my arms.
"Never. Not a chance. It was way too cute." I replied smugly. Heaving a sigh, he silently admitted defeat, raking his hand down his face.
"I just thought I'd invite you seeing as all the other sins are coming..."

Ah.

It did sting a little, if I were to be honest. I had kind of hoped he just wanted to invite me as an old friend, but then again I couldn't blame him. I wasn't a very likeable person.
"Well, I may make an appearance, if I feel like it." I sighed, opting to not give him a pat on the head, seeing as he obviously really didn't like me anymore. "Thanks for letting me know, Howzer."

"Uh...no problem..." He seemed a little taken aback by my change in character, but he didn't question it. "I guess I'll maybe see you there, then." I just watched him walk away, puffing a strand of (H/C) out of my face. It was obvious I was just a pity invite, especially considering that the party was no more than two hours away. It didn't bother me, though. I couldn't let it bother me.

I spent that time just sitting around in the Boar Hat, listening to everyone coming and going, excitedly jabbering on about the festivities. Diane and King were the first to head off, urging me to join them, but I politely declined. It was obvious King hoped it would become a date, of sorts, and I didn't forget to shoot him a sly wink as he was dragged out the door by the miniature giantess.

Next was Hawk, Gowther and Merlin, along with King Arthur. Again, they all tried to convince me to merge into their little group; apart from Gowther, and I was nearly persuaded by the ginger royal, but again, I refused. I made up some lazy little lie about having something to take care of first.

Now, alone and kind of bummed out, I decided there was only one course of action to take. Hauling an entire barrel of liquor up to the guard wall of the barracks and having my own little shindig. From up there, I could see the glow of the lanterns against the pitch sky, but no people were in view. The faint melody of music reached me, but it was in no way headache inducing, which was a plus.

Yeah...It would have been a mistake to go...

Sipping on my fifth pint of ale, I closed my (E/C) eyes as the breeze combed through my hair, brushing against my cheeks like the touch of someone dear. I thought about using the festival as a distraction, sneaking away into the night, never to be heard from again, but I just didn't have the energy. Even though I hated being around Elizabeth and Meliodas, I couldn't exactly say the same for everyone else, and at least hanging around would keep me close to Merlin, who held the key for what I desired. It was just easier to stay put, in the long run.

"You really like climbing, don't ya?" My body jolted as a voice piped up, and I turned to find Ban standing behind me, rim of his bottle pressed to his lips.
"There's a staircase. Didn't climb." I retorted grumpily, growing more sour as he climbed over the ledge to sit beside me.
"Still gotta climb stairs, smartass~" He sang, and I mentally facepalmed.

Taking the final few swigs down my throat, I tapped into the barrel again, slinging my arm over it once my tankard was filled again.
"Thought you'd be passed out blind down there?" I eyed him skeptically, genuinely surprised that he wasn't mingling with the others.
"Not in the mood for crowds. I was sniffing around for valuables when I saw you up 'ere. Came to make sure you weren't gonna jump."

Ouch. I mean, valid concern, but ouch...

"I would like to believe I would choose a classier attempt at suicide." I sighed, not exactly joking. "I just thought I'd have a better time up here, with my one and only love, booze." I patted the rounded wood of the barrel, swirling the amber liquid in my tankard.
"Mild offence intended, but you don't really seem like the lone wolf type." Ban pointed out, tilting the neck of his near-empty bottle in my direction.

"Peak of offence intended, but you're stupid." I retorted, throwing him a weak glare. "What's better than being alone? I can do what I want, and I don't have to concern myself with what anybody else thinks. Can't be disappointed when there's nobody around to put faith in." I hadn't really caught onto the fact that I was being a downer, but thankfully Ban really didn't seem to mind.

"You mean disappointed like you are with the Capt'n?" He asked casually, and I dug my nails into the wooden barrel.
"I'm not disappointed in that asshole. I just hate him, plain and simple..." I defended, dipping my nose into my ale to avoid continuing. I was well on my way to the point of intoxication, and I didn't want to spill my guts.

"See, I don't think you really do. I mean, that's just what I think, but how would I know? It's a mystery." Ban shrugged, drumming his fingers against the empty glass he held. I knew that was his way of asking for details.
"I do. That's the one thing in my life I'm certain about..." I mumbled, pulling my arm down so my hand rested beside me on the stone. "You wouldn't understand, so let it go..."

I flinched as Ban snorted, the hot rush of his air blowing into my face and making my skin tingle.
"Oh yeah? Try me. I'm greedy. I don't let things go." He crossed one leg over the other, and I just stared back at him with tight lips, trying to come up with some kind of story that wouldn't give too much away.

Do I really want to lie to him, though?

"Before Meliodas assembled the Sins, it was pretty much just the two of us..." I began slowly, deciding to focus on the festival's glow. "Merlin was around sometimes, but not too often. He found me when I was basically a baby, and he kept me...I'm not sure why, but that was the choice he made...Thinking back on it, that was probably his first mistake..."

"He never explained that to you?" I was kind of surprised to hear Ban sounding so interested, and I shrugged my shoulders lazily, taking another swig.
"Nope, not really. He just said he found me, and that he felt a strong connection with me, or some bullshit like that. Either way, he ended up raising me, kind of like a father..." That word tasted so bitter as it rolled off my tongue. "I really looked up to him, but..."

Liz.

"Secret's safe with me." Ban said after a few moments of silence, mimicking a zip of his lips. "If you're comfortable telling me, that is." I wasn't sure if I really was, but now that I was partway through my mentally edited story, I couldn't really stop.
"...You heard about Danafor, right?" I had to be careful with my words. I wasn't one hundred percent sure how much they all knew about Meliodas, and even though I despised him, I didn't want to ruin his life as he had mine.

"Yeah, some old bastard mentioned it at the battle festival way back. Spewed a lot of shit about it being Capt'n's fault." Ban nodded, scooting a little closer, which had me feeling some strange types of uncomfortable.
"Well, we were there. Some crazy shit happened...and...he just..." I took a breath, smoothing out the quiver in my voice. "He left me there...He forgot all about me, and he just...left me on my own when it all turned to ruin..."

He never even gave me a second thought...

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***Next Time: Flashback?***