Hallows: The Golden Viper

There You Are

Pierce The Veil- The Balcony Scene

B.B.

"You can't do that," Dad says when Espinosa leaves. "These are his people, Pinky. The people who raised him,"

"I have to agree," Delilah nods. "What do you even want with the hunters?"

"Nah, I think you can take him," Lucien and Carson walk through the front door and stop when they see us all gathered in the foyer.

"What's going on?" Carson asks. I look over at my sister who smiles and crosses her arms over her chest. It's like she thinks they're going to be on her side. Wrong. They want to f**k David up more than anyone else.

"Tell them," she challenges. I laugh.

"It was supposed to be a surprise," I tell Carson. "For our one-year anniversary,"

"What the f**k?" Del growls at me.

"What?" Lucien grins.

"I want to use Espinosa to take out the Church of Light's Elders so that we can have control of the remaining hunters who bare the mark of the hunter. We'd be the ones calling the shots. We'd be able to use this to get the fringe on our side for when we go global. We make San director and we have complete access to the Fringe database. Delilah and Dante think it's going too far,"

"It is," Dad growls. "These are people's lives you're f*****g with. You're-"

"You're giving us Espinosa for our first-year anniversary?" Carson grins.

"That is top-tier f*****g romance, B.B.," Lucien laughs.

"She can get herself killed," Delilah shoves me back when they step towards me.

"Del," Carson sighs. "You gotta let it go,"

"f**k you. You're supposed to be helping me keep her alive," she shouts. "What happened to her being the only thing that matters? What happened to burning the f*****g world for her?"

"That hasn't changed," the two of them say.

"Del, B.B. isn't a little girl anymore," Lucien shrugs. "We take care of her and she takes care of us. Dante and Ashley don't get a say in this. They're not really here. We are. This is how things are now. You're so caught up in the way things were. Yeah, keeping B.B. protected is important but she's not exactly defenseless. She's earned her place a hundred times over,"

"I can't believe this," she shakes her head and turns her attention to me. "Espinosa-" she pauses and looks up at my dad and then decides that his presence doesn't matter right now. "Espinosa was there for you when none of us could be, B. He's like our dad. Even when we were in his face after he married Mom. He was watching out for us. I can't count how many times he got us out of jail.

"Did he f**k us all over? Yeah, he did but it's not as simple as letting him f*****g rot. That's what you're doing. Why? Because he hurt your f*****g feelings? I'm pretty sure that you weren't up there shaking and smoking back-to-back blunts because his life was f*****g fairytale. How can you stand there and consider doing this to him?"

"That's oddly sweet of you, Del," I take a step back to stand with Lucien and Carson. My parents are watching me carefully.

"That's all you have to say to me?" she growls. Her eyes are filling with angry tears.

"You should understand. I don't know why you're making such a big deal about this. These are your rules," I shrug.

"Excuse me?" she bites out. "What the f**k is that supposed to mean?"

"I'm not trying to make you feel bad or anything,"

"What the f**k is that supposed to mean, B.B.?" she repeats.

"David f****d up. You said that when we f**k up we have to clean up our own messes. David can't do that on his own. Do you really think that we kill him and that's it? That he f*****g gets to get away with everything he did to us? Dad had to f*****g give up his soul to a demon to save me because of him. He took out hundreds of our kind alone. He ruined our f*****g lives. He can't just walk from that, Del,"

"B.B. this is different and you know that. He didn't have a choice,"

"I'm going to do it anyway," I shrug. "With or without his permission. I am not going to walk around looking over my shoulder for the rest of my life. I can't go visit my friend in New City without someone taking a shot at me. I have round-the-clock surveillance and it's not enough sometimes. He needs to pay to us for what he did and I need him to do this for all our sake. So, you can either get behind this or mind your f*****g business,"

"B.B.-" Dad starts.

"Dante," Mom cuts him off. He looks over at her.

"You can't let her do this, Ash," he shakes his head. "This is David we're talking about,"

"Danny," Mom begins.

"No," he cuts her off. "No, I can't accept that,"

"Honey, we've tried things your way," she shakes her head. "Look at everything it's cost us. If you had listened to me and Carter from the start, none of this would have happened. I know how much he means to us and I love him but B.B. is right. She's f*****g insane, but she's right. We need to break this cycle for them and for future little Blackstones,"

"Your guilt is really pissing me off right now," he says and stomps up the stairs. He disappears without looking back at us.

"Del-" I reach for her and she steps back.

"This isn't fair," she shakes her head. "It wasn't his fault,"

"No, it wasn't but he's going to be the one to make it right,"

"You're supposed to be Merciful Death, B.B. What is merciful about this? You're going to f*****g ruin him,"

"He ruined me," I growl. She flinches. "He ruined my dad. He ruined all of us. f**k him!"

"I can't even look at you right now," she starts going up the stairs.

"I thought this would make you happy," I shout. "I thought that out of everyone you would be the one to understand how important this is!"

"B.B. you're hurting him on purpose. He didn't know-"

"Stop," I shake my head. "It doesn't matter. I don't get you. You can't just choose to ignore the rules you made up whenever you want,"

"Yeah, I can. I'm the one in charge," she shouts.

"You're not in charge of me," I shrug. She stands a little straighter and turns her attention to Carson.

"That's what you f*****g get," she tells him. "You're the one making her like this,"

"I don't see the problem," he shakes his head. "You still haven't killed Mariah. You're a f*****g hypocrite, Del. I need this to happen. For B.B. and for Lucien. I can't lose them and I don't want to keep waiting around for them to hit us. I think that the reason why you're mad is because you didn't think of it yourself,"

"Is that right?" she laughs. "Fine, do whatever the f**k you want,"

"I still think that this is the sweetest thing anyone's done for me," Lucien takes my hand playfully. I want to smile and join his happiness but I don't understand what just happened.

"Want to do something f****d up and funny?" Mom asks. I look over at her. "Like walk through the garden?"

"Yeah," I nod. She laughs and comes over to us.

She takes my hand and pulls me with her toward the ballroom. The roses and spider lilies James fawns over at her grave are right in front of the front doorway of the Ballroom. The back door leads to North Hill. It's the botanical garden my grandmother built. A big portion of it is grape vines and orange groves but the rest are pretty flowers and bug sanctuaries to help production. Stacy got us ladybugs. The land has been overturned and planting will start soon. It looks amazing. James is doing an amazing job with it all. He asked to be in charge since now that he has more time on his hands, he wants to feel "useful". As if he has any other setting.

"Wow," she says. "These are gorgeous,"

"The roses James planted. The spider lilies grew on their own,"

"Makes sense," she says and lifts her shirt. There is a huge mark on her side in the shape of a spider lily. The black mamba she used to have is gone. "It's Chance's mark. The mark of the impure one,"

"The impure one?"

"He's half demon and half angel," she says. "It's taboo or whatever. Kind of like you and your father,"

"So, he just owns us?" I ask. She looks me over and nods.

"He owns a lot of things like us. Powerful and scary things. Your father and I are just two of them. He's a really scary guy. I used to be terrified of Dante. From the start and even after he killed himself. I still felt him. Or maybe I was so used to feeling his essence inside of me all the time. I don't know," she sighs. "But this kid is-" she pauses and looks back at me as we get to the fountain. "Do you like him?"

"I don't know him. I've seen him a couple of times and he just seems lonely,"

"He's not. He has a whole family. Two other siblings. His father. He's surrounded by-"

"I'm surrounded by people who love me," I stop her. "I love them. I love them all for being here for me but it doesn't change the fact that I am alone,"

"B.B., you're not-"

"Mom," I take her hand. "I'm not a little girl anymore. Dad and Delilah don't see that because they've spent so much time making sure that I got to where I am now. But I am here," I say looking around at all the pretty flowers surrounding us. "The night before girl's night, I felt what innocence felt like for the first time.

"A little girl died in the building the guys f****d up and I realized that I was never that. Whatever it was. I've never felt that before. I know everything you did was to try and make me as normal as I possibly could be but we both know I wasn't just a baby or just a toddler. Dad knows that too. A lot of what I know now is because of him. Because we would read together.

"You can only try to understand by asking what I see or what I hear, but you can never because it's never going to happen to you. So, maybe he's got a dark side. Maybe he's bratty and wants his dad out of the way. He's trying to make sense of what he is. He's trying to take control of everything we can't. Maybe I'm wrong but I don't think he and I are all that different. It's not your fault or Dad's.

"You did everything you could and I will always honor that. I can take it from here. I'm choosing my own path and it's not a very bad one. It's not a good one either. I just want a future. A real one. Not one where I'm on the move constantly like Dad. I want to be here. In my home. I want to have a family and for them not to be hunted like f*****g animals.

"I'm not the only one either. There are thousands of us out there who want a home. I know it looks bad. That what I am trying to do is morbid and twisted but it's the only way for us to have a little bit of normalcy by our standards. I don't know how to explain that to Delilah. All she understands is violence,"

"What about humanity?"

"No offense, Mom but humans aren't that hard to fool,"

"What about the ones you can't?"

"Carson has a saying for that. Everyone has a price. Everyone desires something. If I can't make them submit the right way. I'll do it by force. If you're going to be the one to deliver me to hell then, I want to make sure that it's worth your while," it was meant as a joke but her expression tells me that's not the way she's taking it.

"I feel like I'm talking to a complete stranger here, B.B.," she sighs.

"Me too," I nod. "I also never thought you'd ever back me up. It's so unlike you,"

"I didn't want this life for you or Del. I don't know what I expected but it sure as f**k wasn't this. I made a mistake when I listened to Dante. His love for me and David was beyond anything any of us could really comprehend. All he wanted was for us to be happy and for everything that made us miserable, he blamed himself.

"We should have killed David as soon as the truth came out, but Danny was so confident that he could change things. That he could get those marks off. Carter tried to talk to him more than once but he wouldn't listen and I didn't want to make things harder for him. And after everything that happened, he was just filled with pain and regret. We can't just say no to Black Death. At least, not until now,"

"Do you love him still?" I ask. "David,"

"I do," she smiles. "I mean as a human, I can't believe he did everything he did. He's a f*****g hero of humanity. He caused us a s**t ton of pain but like you said. There is no good or bad. He was a bad man to us but he did a lot of good for them. And he was always like that. He was always looking out for the little guy. It was like falling in love with the villain and the hero at the same time. It all happened so fast too,"

"Why did you divorce him then?"

"I was-" she sighs. "I gave everything I had to your father. He and I found something in one another that we will never find in anything else. Not the music or the people we surround ourselves with. I was so lost before him and when he was gone, I didn't know what to do with myself. We chose each other and David didn't choose us. He chose them. I know it sounds stupid,"

"It doesn't," I wipe her tears.

They're red and not like blood. They're almost oily and smell like the flowers on her grave. I wasn't paying attention before but being alone with her here. Seeing her up close. She's beautiful. This little human lady became one of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse despite the odds she was dealt. It's almost admirable. She's just as much a nightmare as the rest of us.

"I didn't think I would ever talk to you like this again," she turns away.

"Me either," I admit. "I honestly never wanted to see you again," she looks at me guilty and I laugh. "It's cool. You can say it,"

"I never wanted to see you again either. Not because I hate you," she rushes out. "But because I know how f****d up what I did was,"

"Do you want to see something really cool?"

"Yes," she nods. I take my phone out and pull up Fallen T.V.'s latest video. I hold it out for her.

"Hey, guys," Delilah comes up in the Fallen's suite at the school. "I know you guys wanted a Lucien Daniels instrumental but he's kind of busy right now so you get me. My name is Delilah Blackstone and I am going to show you how we pieced together our newest hit single, The Haunting,"

"That is so cool," she grins.

"The melody might sound a little familiar and that is because it was inspired by my baby sister B.B.'s favorite song. It was written and composed by Ashley Villanueva and Lily De Laughrey in two thousand one. For those of you that don't know who they are. Ashley is our mom and Lily was Lucien's mother. The name of the song is The Boy in The Darkness," she then goes into detail about the pieces of the song that were added to theirs. She uses a keyboard and her guitar. There's a smile on her face as she talks about what the song means to the Fallen.

"This is so cool," she says softly.

"And now for your favorite segment. Sh!t My Girlfriend Says," she points at the camera with her favorite red guitar pick.

A video of her legs with the pink evil bunny slippers comes up on the screen. Mom laughs.

"I have a lot to lose, and I am very paranoid. I also have a lot of time on my hands because I pay people to do what I want," Stacy's voice comes through. Her tone is serious and absolute. We both laugh.

"That's it? Just like that? Out of context?" Mom laughs.

"Yeah, someone took all the ones from old episodes and put them together. The first one is called Bruce Wayne-ing it and it's the most popular," I grin. "The hashtag is still one of the top five trending hashtags on the internet,"

"What does it mean?"

"To just throw money at the situation," I laugh.

"You said that?"

"I did, yeah,"

"I love that," she laughs. "Carter is going to love that even more. Batman was his favorite and he took care of most of his problems with money,"

"Did I tell you that they're trying to keep me on a budget?"

"No," she laughs. "Is it working?"

"No," I shake my head. "But I do make more money than they do. So, it doesn't really matter. James and I are careful. When I'm not really sure about an investment, I talk to Carson and Victor,"

"Your dad said that you're investing in the old properties. Are you trying to draw in tourists?"

"Not mortal ones," I nod. "This is the lock of hell. I mean there are a lot of supernatural people out there like us who need a home. I figured I restore Hellbourne make it better and open our doors to them. I also feel like it would be a lot more fun to have real challenges. I want it to be better for the next generation. To train them properly without the lies and confusion Dad and I had to endure,"

"There you are," she pinches my chin and smiles. "My baby. The one that wanted to change the world. The one that wanted to make it better,"

"Baby," Carson calls from inside the ballroom. I turn around to face him. "It's dinner time. You haven't eaten all day,"

"Right," I nod. I pull away from my mom and give her a tight smile. She gives me a nod and pushes me to him.

"You okay?" he asks pulling me so that he can wrap his arms around me.

"Yeah," I nod. "I am going to smoke before we eat because I don't think I can stomach food sober right now. Not after that argument,"

"Me too. I'll join you," he leans in and presses his lips to mine.

"We're going to be late for dinner aren't we?" I laugh.

"Yeah," he smirks. "Yes, we are,"