the demons we're made of

Roman shot a playful glare over at Mercia, “Excuse me,” He exclaimed pretending to be shocked by her comment, “I have a very good memory, thank you very much. Why wouldn’t I remember this place?” He scoffed playfully as he parked his car and killed the engine, before Mercia could reply to him, he climbed out of his seat and walked around the car so he could open the door for the beautiful blonde. “The three of us had so much fun out here growing up, it’s kind of sad that we stopped coming here.” He murmured mostly to himself, but he knew Mercia would have heard him, that is what happened when children grew older and became teenagers, things change whether Roman wanted the change or not. He waited until the love of his life climbed from his car before he shut the door and looked around the clearing.

“I’m surprised your parents allowed you and Piper to be out here with me,” He chuckled softly knowing that Mr & Mrs Grant still saw him as a bad influence on their twin daughters, which they were not wrong on in the slightest. He glanced over at Mercia and smiled fondly as he watched her, taking her in for as long as he could without her noticing. He enjoyed just admiring her whenever he got the chance to, to see the beauty inside of her which always shone to the outside. Mercia was truly the most beautiful person in all of Hemlock Grove, growing up Roman believed with all his heart that Mercia must have been an angel because she had the bigger heart, she helped others and was kind to everyone in town. That wasn’t what people in town were like, everyone else just cared about themselves and what other people thought of them.

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Piper watched as Peter took a seat beside her and his comment about her being more special was still echoing inside her mind, he clearly didn’t understand how much that little comment meant to her. It meant so much that it caused Piper to lean over without thinking, her lips pressed against his cheek for only a few seconds before she pulled back. “Thank you,” Her voice was just a whisper as a blush settled on her cheeks, kissing his cheek had felt so right and it felt so good. “We do have some good teachers here, but the majority of teachers couldn’t care less.” Piper knew that they were lucky to have the handful of good teachers because it they didn’t, she wasn’t sure how Shelley would get through attending school.

Piper smiled and laughed softly as she listened to Peter, “You can’t do any wrong huh?” She looked at him happily as it meant they could spend more time together now, knowing that he wouldn’t get into trouble from his mum was a relief as that was the last thing she would have wanted. “Being free… a free spirit would be so amazing,” A small sigh escaped from Piper’s lips as she knew she’d never be free, her grandfather would train her until she passed the final test and joined the Order of the Dragon. Looking at Peter she smiled, “I’m happy to spend as much time with you as we can,” She had never felt this way before but she wanted to embrace it, she wanted to feel like this more as she was quickly becoming used to it.

Mercia grinned playfully as she peered at him. “I don’t know, you could have been focused on places you take other girls,” she teased lightly, though she smiled when he came to open the door. With a small nod, she climbed out of the car, thanking him quietly as she peered around a bit. “It is kind of sad, yeah… But at least it still looks as amazing as ever.” For a moment, she stayed where she was, breathing in the fresh air, enjoying the feeling of freedom that the clearing had always given her in the past. It was almost as if nothing had changed, except they were older now, wiser, and she was more aware of how she felt for her best friend.

Shaking her head, she peered over at him and laughed. “Well, a lot of times, we had to lie and say we were going elsewhere,” she joked lightly, nudging him playfully. “A skill I’m pretty sure we learned from you. Guess they were right about you being a bad influence!” She laughed a bit more but eventually reached to take his hand, tugging him further into the clearing, intent on enjoying every moment of this that she could, wanting to just catch up with him and spend time with him, especially when she hadn’t gotten to see him all summer. “I missed you, you know.”

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Peter was mildly surprised - no, very surprised - to feel Piper press a kiss to his cheek, and he stared at her with wide eyes for a long moment before he eventually recovered, clearing his throat. “Oh, uh, it’s nothing to thank me for,” he assured her, though seeing the blush on her cheeks certainly made his nerves go away, and he couldn’t help but grin at the sight, finding her the most beautiful sight to behold. Still, he listened as she spoke more, and he nodded slightly. “I guess that makes sense… Doesn’t sound too great, though.” He couldn’t say he was surprised, though; some teachers just didn’t give a damn about the kids they were supposed to look after and protect.

He laughed, though, letting himself get distracted from his thoughts, and he nodded. “Of course! I’d never do anything wrong, anyway.” He offered a cheeky wink to her, unable to help it, mostly wanting to make her laugh, wanting to see her smile, amazed by her in ways he didn’t think he could ever possibly put into words. As she spoke further, though, he couldn’t help but notice how depressing her words seemed, and his expression softened as he watched her. “So you’re not free?” he asked gently, shifting closer to brush her hair out of her face, his eyes searching hers. He offered a small smile, though his mind was still on her words. “Then we’ll have to spend as much time together as humanly possible, huh?”

Roman scoffed softly as his eyes focused on Mercia, "What other girls?" He chuckled softly as he's never been interested in another but Mercia, sure, there had been times where he tried to hit on other girls. Those were times when he had convinced himself that the beautiful blonde he wanted, only saw him as a friend and nothing more. "Have you seen the girls in this town? No one compares to you," He moved his eyes away from Mercia as he thought he might have said too much, but he honestly didn't care anymore. His heart was completely filled with love for her, so much that he was waiting for his heart to burst.

He smiled as he listened to her sweet voice, he was still a bad influence on the twins and that was never going to change. He had noticed the shift in the twins the second their grandfather arrived into Hemlock Grove, the biggest change he saw was in Piper and it absolutely terrified him because he wasn't sure if Mercia was next or not. Feeling her hand take his, he easily followed her deeper into the forest as he would follow her to the end of the world. "Someone had to tarnish your good girl apperance," He chuckled as he knew Mercia was always going to be a good person, no matter how much time she spent with him because that was just who she was. She had the biggest heart and saw the good in everyone, even in him at times when he didn't deserve it. He squeezed her hand gently as they walked, "I missed you more than you could ever know," He lowered his voice as his thumb rubbed her delicate skin.

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Piper shrugged her shoulders lightly, she knew what the teachers were like and she wanted to warn him so he knew what to expect. "The kids here aren't much better either, they'll stare and whisper about you for at least a couple of weeks. And that's only if you keep your head down," She told him with a bit of sadness in her voice, she knew he was going to be judged for everything he did and said and how he dressed and where he lived. She didn't know if there was a way she could protect him from that. Feeling his finger tips brush hair away from face made her heart ache, having him move closer to her, made her desperately want his arms wrapped around her.

She wanted to know what that felt like, she wanted to feel the warmth from his embrace and to feel safe when the world around them wasn't. Piper looked into his dark eyes as her teeth bit the inside of cheek, her gut was telling her that she could trust Peter, that he wouldn't run away if she spilled everything to him. But she was nervous if she did, it would scare him away or he'd think she was crazy. "I'm not free, I don't know if I ever will be." She explained in a rocky voice, her grandfather had a suffocating grip on her and once that grip eased, the Order of the Dragon's grip would replace it. She'd never be free, she'll live her life under the orders of someone.