Closed You Should Know

[Kira Wolf]

Kira was still studying, and still not feeling well. And to top everything off, Celeste had been crying. Actually crying. Kira had never seen that happen before. And Arc... lord, he was furious. Trying to do a bit of damage control, Kira had called Caelen and asked him to meet at the Inn for lunch. She had asked Cooper to prepare his favorite meal, and was sitting at a table in the cafe waiting for the man to arrive. It had been a long while since she'd seen Caelen, though occasionally she would text the other man. She was nervous now, watching out the window and drumming her fingers nervously on the table.

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan had just arrived at the inn after receiving a text from Kira. He was actually glad to hear from the woman, who he had once loved and thankfully, now a good friend. He also brought a new book for her as she was fond of reading books. He already saw her from the window, gave a small wave before quickly making his way inside. "Hey, I came as soon as I got the text.", he greeted her with a friendly hug before taking his seat. "Oh, this is for you.", he slid the book over the table.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira turned as Caelan came in, returning his hug and watching as he sat down. She barely glanced at the book before turning her eyes back to him. "Caelen, um... listen, I wanted to see you because... well, something's happened, um..." Kira was struggling with her words, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm going to have to be a bit blunt."

She gave him a nervous smile. "You know... you know that I've been serious with Arcturus for quite a while now... He was a good friend, he- he helped me through our break up, when I was really a mess, I was, well, I spent some time at his house, and- er, I like to think I'm fairly close to his elder siblings," Kira hesitated, biting her lip and looking to Atkin, motioning to him. "Something to drink, an iced tea maybe," She faltered, wishing she could handle a bit of whiskey.

"I, um... Caelan," Kira stuttered on, trying to get it out. "Caelen... Celeste is Arc's elder sister," She finally managed, looking away bashfully. "She... well, she knows everything. About us. I was in a bad spot, I- If I had known you two would- she's really upset, Caelan, she didn't realize before- someone in your family- it's not pretty," She managed to peek up at him, waiting for his reaction.

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan barely noticed the simple glance Kira gave the book as he already caught the nervous look on her face. "What's -?", he began to ask when she spoke up. Confusion showed on his face as she began to talk about Arcturus. He knew that he messed up big time and how she had found happiness in the other boy. He accepted that and that resulted in him and Kira being friends again.

He ignored the order of a drink, he was too confused to pay attention to anything else. "Kira, what are you talking about?", he asked her, the confusion and worry in his voice. Clearly, this upset her too. "You know that I -", his voice trailed off at what he heard next. Celeste? No, it couldn't be. What were the odds? He chuckled drily. "Celeste? There must be a mistake. There are many Celestes in the world.", he said, shaking his head. This had to be a joke. "Celeste's funny, spontaneous, headstrong. Celeste's... Sh-she...", he rambled, disbelief at what he found out. "Kira, the world's too big for a Rabson and a Maxwell to cross paths.", he explained with a chuckle.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira shook her head. "Caelen- Celeste took you dancing in the rain." She spoke softly. "She's probably broken your nose a few times. She's scottish, loud, vibrant..." Kira reached into her jacket, pulling out a photo and sliding it across the table. She and Celeste were asleep on the couch, curled up together. "She loves horror movies, especially ghost stories," Kira bit her lip. "I... I've never seen her cry, K. I didn't think she could." Kira shifted nervously. "But she is now. For days. She thinks it was just another play to get at me." She let out a heavy sigh. "She... she likes you. But she's scared you're just using her because she's a Rabson. Celeste... she's never been with anyone before. She's wrong, but she thinks... well, she just thinks she's not attractive on her own."

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan leaned back on his chair, running his hand through his hair, could not believe what he just heard. He looked at the photo Kira slid across, picking up, his eyes on the brunette beside his ex. It was her, indeed. He looked at Kira as she went on about Celeste. "I love her, Kiki.", he said softly. "I loved you, you know that. But with Celeste?", he chuckled. "It's different. She... She's like a burst of light.", he chuckled. "I-I thought I finally found myself when I'm with her.", he whispered. He reached over for Kira's hands. "Believe me, Kiki. I swear. I swear I didn't know. I didn't know who she was, or-or that she is Arcturus' sister.", he told her, his voice breaking.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira let Caelan take her hands, studying the man. "K, you know I want to believe you," she answered softly. "But I'm not the one you need to convince." Kira sighed. "One of your family got to her. Nora. Remember her? She was the one that slit my hand open," Kira grimaced. "I thought you'd cut ties to most of your family, K."

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan felt drained. What was supposed to be a friend's day out with Kira turned to be a day of revelation. He looked at her once more, speechless at what she said next. Nora. As if it could get any worse than what it was. "Kira, what did Nora do?", his eyes darkened at the mention of his cousin. "Where's Celeste now, Ki?", he became worried for the woman. "I have cut ties with them, Ki. Except for Noelle and Philip. They are staying with me while they went to Cardiff for Uni. Well, Noelle came back here to teach at Hogwarts. Philip's training at Cardiff Fire Academy.", he explained. although he was getting fidgety wanting to go apparate to Celeste at that moment.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira sighed, rubbing her temple. "Very little, thankfully. Celeste isn't one to put up with nonsense, she left before Nora could do much more than just say a few things." Kira bit her lip, debating on if she should tell Caelan what was going on. "I knew you were speaking to Noelle, he's been talking a lot to Ava. I'm not sure how that's going on your end, Phillip was always the jealous type, I'm not sure how well he must be handling Noelle and Ava." Kira turned her hands, taking his in hers and rubbing her thumbs gently over his knuckles. "If I tell you where Celeste is... be careful if you go see her. She might try to beat you into oblivion." She warned him. Celeste wasn't happy, especially with Caelan.

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan slowly relaxed as Kira told him nothing serious happened. Nora would still hear from him. He looked at Kira as she went on. He was not surprised to hear about Noelle spending time with Ava, Philip's ex-girlfriend. "I haven't spoken to Philip ever since he entered the fire academy. I'll send word to Noelle and find out what Philip knew. I can't risk another conflict between our families.", he commented, more to himself than to the woman. He squeezed her hands in his, did not realize how much he missed her hands in his, although there was another pair of hands that he wanted to hold. "Please, Ki. I'd rather be punched by her than not see her soon enough.", he replied.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira studied Caelan. There had honestly been a time when she had truly felt she had loved him, when she had thought they'd been close. Things may not have worked for them, but she still cherished the friendship they'd managed to build. She wanted the man to find the same happiness that she had found with Arcturus. She had never allowed Caelan the chance to fight for her. But perhaps... this time he deserved the chance to fight for Celeste. Sighing, Kira pulled out a pen and wrote the address of Celeste's flat on Caelans hand. "You didn't get this from me," She told him sternly, giving him a look as she withdrew her hands. Arcturus did not approve of Caelan and her sister. And it wasn't her place to try and change his mind.

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan thought he could not feel like this ever again after Kira. Sure, he dated but that was all there was, dating. It was even a one-time thing, effortless dates. But with Celeste, it was different. She treated him like everybody else making him be himself when they were together. Of course, Nora would just have to ruin it all. He felt bad for having to drag Kira into this. He sighed, defeated, thinking he would not see Celeste again. "I guess, that's it, right? She would never -", he started to say when Kira grabbed his hand and wrote something. He stared at the address on his hand. He was filled with hope once again. "Oh, Kira, thank you, thank you. So much!", he said, reaching over to kiss her cheek. He chuckled, "Should I go now? No, no. It's rude to just leave you here.", he rambled on.

 

[Kira Wolf]

Kira almost laughed at his sudden excitement, letting him kiss her cheek. She raised a brow at his attempt to be polite and shook her head with a slightly smug smile. She picked up the book he had brought and pointedly flipped it open. "Excuse me, Caelan, but I'm a bit busy. You should probably go. Scottish tempers can be frightful things," She almost teased him, taking a sip of her drink.

 

[Caelan Maxwell]

Caelan was just too happy he got Celeste's whereabouts that he just laughed at Kira's joke. "Right, right. Kira, I owe you one. Big time. Anything you want and need, tell me.", he promised her, reaching for her hand to give it a squeeze. "Thank you, Ki.", he said once more before waving goodbye and leaving the inn. He got serious amends to make.