Face Down

Delilah Rose McEwin Beckett (August 13th, 1989) Born and raised in Alabama. Once shy and soft-spoken. Now battered and bruised.

[julius-schafer]

Declan thinks he might have been about to say “All you guys here,” but it proved to be wishful thinking. As Cody didn’t seem to want to include Declan in the statement. It hurt to think about. But he hoped that pain didn’t register on his face. 

Declan stares sharply at Cody, as his answer sends a jolt of reason through him. He tightens his vice grip on that sense of hope instilled inside him. “Guys?”

"Hold on…" Declan backtracks, brows drawn together in a dark line, "Does that mean that one time… wasn’t just… you experimenting?” 

[delilah-beckett]

Cody stared back incredulously at Declan, his forest green eyes wild with dismay. He'd assumed that Declan would have remembered, but clearly that had not been the case. "Uh yeah, dude... I came out when we were fourteen. You don't remember?" 

Cody's cheeks flushed faintly, and a rosy tint also coloured his lips at the reminder of the experimentation the two had undertaken during their adolescence. His thumb glided over the rim of his mug as he mulled over his words, "Sorry if that makes you uncomfortable... We were fourteen, so that doesn't really matter. Anyway." 

[julius-schafer]

"Did you have any friends?" Declan all but spat, the last word carrying a fright of sourness, one that left a bitter taste quilted on his tongue. As he asks a barrister approaches, setting down a mug in front of him. He is flayed by this action. Sure enough, it’s his standard cup of coffee, and yet he could not recall purchasing the beverage even in his hungover state. He blinked promptly, gesturing the mug for emphasis. "Ma’am.. I didn’t pay for this," 

The barrister points accusingly at Cody, and goes on to explain “Well, no, actually, he did…” 

"Thanks…." Declan mumbles and he isn’t certain on whether or not he’s thanking the barrister or Cody, as the barrister quickly retreats to the counter and Cody sips his tea silently. Could this be any-more painful?

"Dating?" Declan asks in an ethereal voice, simply because it feels like an obligatory question and he’s running out of conversation material fast. 

[delilah-beckett]

"Yeah... I had some friends. But I mostly just missed        all the guys here..." Cody shrugged his shoulders minutely and hastened to take another sip of his tea, to occupy yet another lengthy pause between the two. As he set down his mug, he rotated slowly in his seat at the and stared the man opposite him ruefully. 

"Sort of..." Cody sighed, a small, forlorn sound. But there was no small amount of scepticism in his voice. "But all the guys I've met turned out to be dicks, so, I've just given up for the time being..." he finished explaining, with casual nonchalance. 

[julius-schafer]

Declan eyes the thick volume, it was without a shadow of a doubt a smart person’s type of book, destined for someone born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Which was Cody by sole definition. Declan doesn’t mind reading. At least he doesn’t think that he does. He read the Harry Potter books like the rest of the world, but that might have been the last time that he did pick up a book. When Cody sets down his mug, Declan can’t help but peer over the rim of the cup. It isn’t coffee, like he’d thought. 

"Tea?" Declan questions, he’s not sure he’d expected that. Internally he was grumbling. The two had been best friends, now here they sat in the local coffee brew awkwardly, as though their mothers had forced them to meet. They were having a discussion about tea, for god sake’s. Who the hell cared?

Declan wants to be the one to say something but he won’t, he’d decided. He’s too scared, and he knew that. So instead he asks, “How was Dartmouth?”

[delilah-beckett]

"It was okay," Cody replied shortly, "A lot of work."

It was unorthodox, he was willing to admit, the two estranged friends, were sitting in the local coffee house, discussing tea. Tea. All in spite of unspoken parameters that had separated them all those years ago.

A barrister appeared, and her outward appearance would give off the impression that she had, had a hard day of work. Her blonde bangs were sticking to her forehead and her apron was splashed with coffee and several flavoured syrups. With a vacant expression, the barrister set a mug in front of Declan. It’s his usual, just a straight cup of coffee. 

”I just asked what you usually get and told her to bring it over whenever you showed up.” Cody explained, aware that the simple gesture could ensue a accusatory response from his male counterpart.

[julius-schafer]

Cody didn’t mean to make himself anxious at the prospect of meeting Declan at the local coffee shop. He didn’t actually mean to ask Declan to coffee. It was like the suggestion came out of his mouth of its own accord.

And now, of all things, he was going to be fucking late. He woke up at half past noon, hungover. He was supposed to fucking meet Cody at the local coffee shop at one. Cody fucking I’m-a-success Beckett. Why did he let himself get into this? Declan steels himself for a horrible day, a sinking feeling that he would be sure to humiliate himself wafting around in his gut. Or maybe that’s the hangover.

He stumbled out of bed, still in last night’s clothes, which reek of cigarette smoke and the beer he’d spilled down his front. But he prioritizes to opt out a quick shower, with out bothering to shave, since this would only waste further time. He decided he’d appear a slob in comparison to Cody, so why bother. He gave himself a quick shampoo to get the bar scent out of his hair and ran a comb through the tangled mess while searching for a clean set of clothing – an actual task in his hellishly messy townhouse.

All in all, Declan arrives at the local coffee shop nearly fifteen minutes late. It’s not as bad as it could have been, he decides.

Declan’s resolve to approach this situation like an adult sort of reinforces itself when he sees Cody in one of the back booths in the coffee shop, sipping out of a mug and reading his book like he expected that Stan wouldn’t show up.

And as his decision to be an adult firms, he also wishes he could shout at Cody. There are so many things that Declan has wanted to say over the years, and now that he finally has the chance again, he doesn’t want to embarrass either of them.

He slides into the booth, across the table from Cody, and folds his hands in his lap awkwardly. He coughs to get Cody’s attention and says, “Sorry I’m late. I, uh, forgot to set my alarm.” That wasn’t too far from the truth, after all. He had forgotten to set his alarm, he had just forgotten because he was drunk as fuck.

Cody eyed his former companions mug, “Ah.. what’s that?”  

[delilah-beckett]

Cody doesn't answer for a moment as the other male sidled into his seat. He merely finished reading his sentence and marked his book before he set it down on the table. He offered a tight smile in greeting, before he diligently tucked the thick volume away in a canvas bag that sat beside him on the booth seat. "Don't worry about it," Cody picked up his mug and a took a long drink, he paused mid-sip at the inquisitive question.

"Earl Gray," Cody responded sharply, no doubt noticing the piqued interest of Declan on the subject. "I’ve been trying to cut down on the coffee since last year. Switching to tea instead,” he elaborated, as he took another sip of his tea. It was strange, he was willing to admit, the two former friends, were sitting in a coffee house, discussing tea. It was almost pleasant, even if a simple topic to discuss was strained to the topic of beverages. 

[rick227]

[thewalkingdeadcentral]

Buy The Walking Dead Items ==> http://bit.ly/173ReYr

[kaminak]

[c-sand]

We gotta go, Beth. We gotta go.

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

Julius felt a tremor course through his body at the victory. Not only had he convinced her to stay but he’d also, finally made his feelings clear to her. Julius tucked a stray tendril of wispy blonde hair behind her ear as he caught his breath. “I ain’t never had a partner before.. ya know,” Julius admitted, his eyes barely lifting from the floor to stare intently at her chin. He shuffled from boot to boot, he really wasn’t one for discussing his emotions or experiences, but Delilah had been nothing but open to him about hers. So he figured he owed it to her to at least try.

"Don’t know how to do all that romantic shit." Julius blue eyes trapped trapped her within his gaze — he was wary, which was a given. For if he didn’t articulate this right, if he didn’t come up to some perceived expectation of hers of being a real man, a romantic one that knew how to woo her properly, that she’d leave as sporadically as she had come into his leave. Leaving his heart dangling, crushed and broken from his shattered ribcage.

[delilah-beckett]

Delilah could laugh at how perverted and far off his own vision of himself was. At how little faith he had in what she saw in him—in what she needed from him. What she’d known for a good long while now. Julius seemed to have elected himself as a form of protection and nothing more. But as the two had spent more time together and bonded, it had proven to be increasingly hard to stay within those defined, yet unspoken parameters.In the several months the two had known each other the air around them had seemed to have changed. It had consisted of millions of tiny whispers; heated secrets and forbidden desires that always remained just beyond earshot. Aspects far beyond the relationship of a protector and his protectee. 

"Julius," Delilah whispered, unable to get her voice to press clearly against the hoarseness in her throat, emotion effectively choking her up. "You are the most romantic man I think I’ve ever known." Delilah's lips painted the sweet statement across the tender flesh of his neck at their proximity. She cocked her head boldly, gauging his sceptical expression, which spurred her to continue, to justify her belief. "The day I arrived in town.. You roared up in your service car like a knight in shining armour, and whisked me away from the scene, when the stress became too much. You saved my life          twice and despite your obligations to the town you have channelled all your time into me. You watch over me and protect me with everything you do. How can you say you aren’t romantic, Julius? It's the furthest thing from true."

Delilah drew closer to him, and outstretched a hand without so much as a flinch. "You’ve thrown so many romantic gestures at me during the couple of months I’ve been here.. Most of the time, I-I can’t even see straight.. from how much you’ve been the textbook, kind-of-man any woman would go giddy over." Delilah let her fingers flutter down the side of his face and patter over his plumped bottom lip. "How much you’ve made me fall in love with you.” 

"Is this what you want?"

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

"Oh yeah?" Julius croaked out, beginning to feel worried as though he’d crossed the line sometime between becoming a mere hairs-breath away from her and proclaiming his hold over her. He swallowed hard, preparing for a reprimand. But at her comment lay a new found permission and with it, his lips did more than brush against hers. He seized them in a rush, as if he feared they’d disappear if he hadn’t claimed them on the spot. His hand curled against the back of her skull, twisting into the braid of wispy blonde hair. His tongue prodded her lips insistently and when she parted them he swept within. He could hear his own loud pants echoing in the cavern of her mouth as he drew back, before diving back in to seek her mouth feverishly. 

[delilah-beckett]

As Julius claimed her mouth, his hand curled against the back of her head and twisted into her braid. Delilah’s arms slowly coiled around his neck, as she kissed back. Physical proximity had never been Delilah’s forte and she had avoided it as much as possible with Alistair. But with Julius it had been different, spontaneous and spurred her on in a way she’d never known, even during the early years of her marriage.

It was his tongue that did it, shocked her into a surge of passion that struck her baser impulses dead and breath ran from her, leaving her lungs dry and heaving. Like a strike of lightening in a wet sky, her lips parted and he swept within and kissed the very life out of her. It broke something within in her, his own loud pants, gasping, groaning. But it seemed to snap inside him also, as the second his hand drifted and cupped her breast he hauled himself back, staring at her in shock. She could focus on little else but his shaking hands and her own trembling breath, so that when his voice broke through her fuzzy mind, she startled.

Unbeknownst to the couple, the elderly doctors daughter walked into the living room and froze, mesmerized by the way the two were writhing against each other. She cleared her throat loudly to announce her presence. Delilah’s lips left his, her hands uncoiled from his neck, and she tried to excuse her dishevelled state.  

"So should I tell daddy you’ll take the job?"

Delilah mustered a small glance at a just as flustered Julius, “Yeah.. I’ll take it.” 

The young woman nodded and retreated from the room once more. 

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

Her face was hovering a mere few inches from his, her breath tingling on his lips. It’d be such a simple act to lean forward and taste her kisses. But he decided to test the waters first. Julius leaned forward and involuntarily he nuzzled her cheek with his stubble as he placed a scorching kiss on her neck. He then stepped forward again, his hips pushing her into the wall, their pelvises pressed together by his weight. Julius leaned forward, his hand holding her in place, resting on her lower-back. The tip of her nose tingled against his as he placed a gentle brush of his lips against hers before he retracted his lips. 

"I’m such a coward," Julius’ voice rasped out, though he hadn’t moved a single inch. "Been wantin’ to do it since the day we met…The way you looked at me, I knew you were already mine." Julius’ hand slid further up her lower-back, stopping at her waist though his restless fingers rubbed against the fabric. His gaze was hooked on hers menacingly, as his hand, he skimmed up her ribs until his fingers clasped around her ribcage, his thumb just brushing the underside of her breast.

[delilah-beckett]

Delilah's senses were overwhelmed with his closeness, with this intimacy they were allowing one another. Delilah felt her diaphragm start to pinch with her quick, shallow breaths as a gentle kiss grazed her neck. His face then blurred before her a little as he placed a gentle brush of his lips pressed against hers. It was so brief she feared she imagined it, but her lips still tingled as he drew back to reflect her reaction.

Delilah's vision blurred and she felt such a contradictorily overwhelming rush of shame and desire almost scalding her insides. She could feel one of his rough, well-worked hands on her lower back and his palm burned through the fabric of her shirt and set off a scorching burn throughout her body. 

Delilah couldn't seem to still her body against the onslaught of sensation, She gasped in shock as his hand tested the waters on her breast and her blue eyes shimmered with heat of desire as they clashed with his unusually intense stare. Delilah succumbed to tiny tremors of anticipation. She could not recall even in the early years of her marriage, yearning for a man's touch to this extent. But to her dismay, Julius had remained still and this caused her to wonder if he was expecting some sort of indication of if he should proceed. Or more if this was something she actually wanted him to do.

Delilah cleared her throat, trying hard to dislodge the lump of fear that was stuck stubbornly in her windpipe. “You know,” she started, panting sharply at the husky sound of her voice. “I always had this one rule with men. Especially the ones that looked like they might be getting fresh.”

"I never let a man touch my breast until he’s kissed me breathless at least once." Delilah whispered fervently, and she was overcome with how being so bold made her feel high. She inwardly cheered her bravado at saying something so forward to a man who, until now had expected her to be so closed off. 

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

Julius pushed her tighter into the corner, this time by stepping closer to her. He could feel every inch of her body pressed flush against his and every nerve in his body screamed in protest for him to stop before he crossed the line. His breath caught as his hand glided to the small of her back, and the unexpected heat of her skin met his palm. “Say it again.”

[delilah-beckett]

Delilah's heartbeat galloped wildly, and goosebumps crested along the length of her body as he finally closed the distance. She could feel every line of his body against hers, and her lips part as she prepares to speak. But then her eyes drop to his lips, revealing her innermost thoughts. She internally admonished herself, but his body was so close and his lips so inviting. She almost moaned wispily in response. “Julius,”

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

Attracted like a moth to a flame, he could feel her melt in surprise at the invasion of her personal space but he’d called it a victory as she’d yet to retreat. Julius placed his hands on either side of her head and flattened his hands against the wall, bracing himself. “What did I tell you to call me?” Julius reproached, half-formed thoughts forming in the far corner of his conciousness, as his heart pounded out in a hasty, disjointed tempo. 

[delilah-beckett]

Delilah could feel the rapid thrum of her heart harmonizing with the quick sounds of her breathing. Her fingers twitch with the ache to touch him but remain stilled with no means of permission to proceed. Delilah blinks, pressing her lips together to deny her desire to press her lips to his. "Julius," Delilah finally announced in a soft, tender voice. Her pulse quickened, as her eyes met his. 

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

"Ya knew?" Julius retorts, his voice flaring with mistrust, on how she could have left out such a crucial detail. Though the anger in his voice instead flares to agony as he is confronted with the possibility of Delilah taking off on her own and fending for herself. He didn’t condone it one bit and winced guiltily at his selfish reaction.

"Now, Delilah rose.. You aren’t running away from here." the elderly doctor insists, openly gauging her reaction, as he stands and takes half a dozen steps towards her. “You can stay here, work here, earn your keep by cooking for the guests here.” his tone resolute, he offered a hand to woman who he imagined must have the fright of her life right now. 

Julius cleared his throat loudly and rounded Delilah with a pivot of his heel, his incredulous eyes flicker to the elderly doctor and his daughter, “Give us a second, please?” Julius pleaded, and the doctor and daughter glance at one another, an unspoken exchange that Julius and Delilah are oblivious to, before retreating from the room. Delilah however attempts to join the two and retreats for the door herself, but Julius sped up his stride and blocked her way, cornering her in the living room. He inexplicably noticed the quickening of her breath and feared she may have another panic attack, at his calculated block. But damn she was intoxicating. 

“Delilah, You aren’t going anywhere… Please.”

[delilah-beckett]

A tiny smile plays along the corners of her mouth, one of great gratitude at the offer from the humble doctor but the afterthought of endangering his family tips the smile to one side. Stubborn as ever, Delilah shakes her head, before clarifying. "As much as I would love to do that and how kind the offer is, I can't put your family in danger. He will come here for me. I can’t see either of your daughters get hurt... b-because of me.” Delilah declines his offer earnestly, a soft-lipped smile still in place though it appears a lot less convincing. 

Delilah retreats with wide-frightened cerulean eyes as Julius proffers that he wants to speak alone with her. She couldn't discuss the matter with him, she couldn't allow him to convince her into staying which was what she assumed he was intending to do. She couldn't allow anyone else to be hurt at the hands of Alistair, not after experiencing it first hand. She couldn't lead him to an innocent family and let him leave them in shambles.

"Sheriff, I need to go. There's nothing keeping me here. I cant let the girls get hurt." Delilah answers, a little defensively, lowering her eyes to estimate the distance between them. It did abandon the fabricated distance, she'd usually keep from people. But despite consciously having to remind herself to breath, it hadn't spun her into a panic like she'd imagined it would. "Please         Don't make this any harder than it has to be. I'm going to need to stand on my own two feet at some point."

[delilah-beckett]

+Julius-Schafer

[julius-schafer]

Julius sucked in a sharp breath, and gritted his teeth to concentrate, dispelling the horrific thoughts of his failure to keep her safe. A silent snarl contorted his lips at her insistent pry and he quit his pacing, stalking closer to her. “I told you, call me Julius. Sides’ just waiting for doc to get here. He needs to hear this too.” Julius answered, abstracted, though he willed it to be true. Perhaps he just needed the doctor to be near for aid, in case she didn’t take too kindly to the news. Not that he imagined under any circumstances that she would.

A young woman walked in, followed by the doctor her father, who was an elderly man, with an aged face but a kind heart. The doctor seated himself on the couch, wiping his brow thoughtfully with a handkerchief. “Alright, now, Sheriff, what’s up? Gotta get cleaned up before I examine Alison Jentry. Poor woman can hardly walk with those twins she’s carryin’ around.”

Julius doesn’t hesitate to take a seat, as the young woman seats herself next to her father. “Well… Here’s the news.. and it ain’t pleasant..  Alistair.. was released this morning and his sentence was already decided. Community service, fine, no jail time.”

The elderly doctor offered a heavy sigh. “Damn. That was way too fast, wasnt it?”

[delilah-beckett]

Delilah drops her chin, a serve frown of displeasure marring her face, though no one appears to notice. Her subconscious had been fearful of this for the longest time but she was aware it wasn't outside the realm of probability. If she were to be frank, she'd have foretold her expectancy for this event to happen sooner. The justice system had broken and Alistair's connection with the county judge had enabled him to avoid adequate punishment for his crime many times before. 

Delilah's mind had erupted with frenetic questions, tendrils of thoughts brushing against her perception. Would he come for her? What would he do when he finally got his hands on her? And most of all would her presence in this house put the doctor, his two daughters and Julius in harms way? It was of utmost importance to Delilah not to put those in danger who had done so much for her. Which is why she knew exactly what this meant.  

Delilah jerked her blanket-swathed in the chair with discomfort, “His uncle is a county judge. I'm sure he bribed someone to do something.” she injects in a low gentle voice, closing her book and setting it on the table. "I was hoping it would take a little bit longer.. Give me a little time to gather my bearings, you know?" Delilah prepared to stand on her feet, "If someone could give me a ride, to the bus station, I would appreciate it.”

[beth-dixon-greene]

[bethdaryl]