[plymouth] when it all falls down

Maidstone. Marin said nothing for a moment, not sure what was so important about that little town in... Kent, was it? That its name had to be spoken like that. He resisted the urge to glance at Winifred, thinking that she’d probably remember this one. Hadn't Phillip lived in Scotland before now? Didn't Billie live in Craven? Marin couldn't think of a reason that his friend would come back so wired from Maidstone. Luckily, Lip went on without more prodding.

“Oh,” Marin said. He actually did glance at Wini this time, not really sure what to ask next. Billie was drunk. That seemed… Out of character? Now that he was thinking about it, Marin did remember something about a party… Though Billie Fay was so not the type to hold a party, from all accounts. Oh well, not like he knew anything about the younger girl anyway.

“So…" he started cautiously. He didn't want  to set his friend off on another pacing rampage. Marin glanced at the wooden floor under Lip’s feet skeptically, wondering how much pacing would leave a mark. "Was she okay?”

The fact that he replied so easily, so willing to Marin's one single question when she had been asking him, begging him to tell her something, anything for the past few months was quickly overrode by what he had shared. "You went to her party?" Wini's eyes widened as she looked him, shocked. Despite them being two years older, of course Wini knew about the party. She had been thinking of going (and asking/dragging Marin along as well), but they had gone to the concert instead (Lip had not been invited, thank you very much) and still she had never expected him to actually go.

It just reminded her of the fact that she really didn't know anything about the situation or how he was feeling about it or what had happened and it was all his fault.

She knew Lip talking and sharing at all was monumental and yet, she couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he apparently felt much more willing to talk to Marin instead of her. A good friend would let that go in a time of need like this, but Wini just couldn't. It made her want to snap at him not to touch Holly's paintings and it made her brush Marin's hand off her knee as he glanced at her. She looked out the window instead, instinctively knowing this was usually when she would chime in with a hundred questions to drill down and get the details.

And the questions were dying to spill out of her, but Wini stubbornly refused to give voice to them, her foot in her fuzzy pink socks tapping an irritated rhythm against the floor, taking some sort of sick pride in the fact that she was leaving them both to flounder with this conversation when she might have ordinarily butt in. The twinge of shame she felt over it was small in comparison to what she knew she would feel later, but in the moment, it felt good.

It was such a strange feeling to tell them anything after he'd spent so much time dodging their questions. Avoiding Winifred's questions mostly, but Marin was always there when she was investigating. Even though he hadn't gotten his hopes up, Phillip felt like it might be a relief to share something finally. That maybe it'd be worth it, and he'd want to share more, but the brief explanation left a bad taste in his mouth, and he gave a silent shrug to Marin's follow-up.

"No, not really," He said to both of them, answering both questions with a single answer. Was Billie okay? No, not really. Had he gone to her party? No, not really.

Watching the way that Winifred turned away and looked out the window, her foot bouncing, he could tell she was agitated, and he understood that feeling better than most. There was a reason why he never bothered to share things with people — not even his friends. People didn't care about his troubles, and they didn't want to help; they just wanted to pass judgment and pretend like they would do better in the situation. Phillip shoved his hands into his pockets and began to pace again.

Lip was pacing again.

Well, he tried, didn’t he?

Marin glanced at Wini again, but she wasn’t looking at him. She was still buzzing in that way that usually made him want to avoid her, but it wasn’t really aimed at him, and he could feel the difference. Marin was compliant, though; even if he complained about things (sometimes only telepathically, even), he still usually did whatever Wini wanted. And he didn’t have the audacity to have much of a life outside of her. Marin watched Lip turn around and go back along his path. That was was the real betrayal here, he thought.

So Billie wasn’t okay? Marin liked the girl in that she was quiet and gentle, polite and… Well, mostly quiet. She was a prefect, so he’d spoken to her a few times. On the other hand, Winifred had definitely given him distinct “we don’t like her” vibes since she and Lip had broken up. Phillip was clearly upset, but seemed to still care or something, so Marin wasn’t really sure whether to be pleased or not at this news.

“Oh.” was what came out. Marin was quiet for a bit longer, feeling very strange being possibly the most talkative person here. A part of him wished Wini wasn’t here because he thought he might have a more soothing presence on the Ravenclaw, even if they just sat in silence. Another part of him wished Lip away because Marin liked Wini more.

So they were quiet a little longer, only the even thud of Lip’s socked feet and a soft rain tapping on the windows outside permeating the silence. “But, you talked?” Marin prompted after a while, his voice as gentle as the rain. He didn’t look at Winifred this time.

Billie wasn't okay. Wasn't okay in what way? Because she was drunk? Wini narrowed her gaze at him even as he paced. Typical grumpy Lip, giving next to no information even when he was 'sharing'.

And still he was pacing. She had to wonder if he was doing it just because she had asked him not to.

She wrapped her arms around her knees, one leg still jiggling in agitation as she leaned her chin against her arms and tracked him across the room as he paced. The quiet was even more irritating than the pacing, Marin using his calm gentle voice like he did when she was upset made her frown even more. "Well?"  she heard herself asking before she could stop herself, wanting more information as usual.

Wini could be mad at him and still want to know what happened, she reasoned. Her curiosity was burning through her and when she thought about it through her haze of anger pointed directly at the Ravenclaw in front of her for being such an insensitive, oblivious git, she was worried about what happened and why he seemed so worked up and maybe even a little about Billie since she had owled and Lip had thought she was hurt. Was she? It was hard trying to hold on to all of those conflicting feelings. She wasn't sure how to keep them all inside together.

Unfortunately for Winifred, this made their friendship a little bit one-sided, and Phillip would know how unfair that was if he took the time to think about it. Right now, it was hard to think about anything other than his moment with Billie in the woods, and that was unfair to Winifred too. And Marin, too, who was just caught up in the churn.

Phillip shifted again as Marin asked a soft question, and Winifred cut through it with words like blades. “Yes, merlin, we talked,” Phillip exhaled through his mouth as his hands rose on either side of him. Exasperation apparent on his voice, he didn’t understand that they’d barely asked, and he’d scarcely answered. He just felt tired. “But it didn’t fix anything,” He blurted out and began pacing again. “How could it?” Phillip wasn’t asking them now, but he sucked in another breath and continued. As if the gates had opened, Phillip strung more words together than he likely had in months.

“Billie said she was sorry again, and I guess I believe her, but it doesn’t matter. None of it matters. She lied. And it wasn’t a little lie, it was a big fucking lie,” Phillip turned to face them, a demanding look in his green eyes as if he dared them to try and take her side. As if he was looking for another fight. “Billie was drunk, her friends threw a party at her house, and I don’t know why she sent for me,” Phillip was smart enough to figure it out, though.