I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

The news of Odette's pregnancy hit Fane like a sledgehammer and what made matters worse was Odette's impractical decision. He wouldn't have minded it too much if she had at least considered, but she was being frustrating so that Fane said some things he regretted. He knew kicking her out and not speaking with her was about the worst thing he could've done, but as of late, Fane was starting to question how good of a person he was in the first place. It kept him awake at night thinking about the lives he had ruined; Odette's, his unborn child. And what was worst was that he wasn't doing a damn thing about it.

His conscience was getting the better of him, yet Fane couldn't bring himself to pay Odette a visit. He wanted to forget it all and was going to do so the only way he knew how: alcohol. He never liked spending time around the Witch's Brew, so he went to a different pub in France. Immediately he ordered two drinks and quickly downed them before noticing he knew someone there at the pub. The effects of the alcohol slowly setting in, he moved towards the woman.

"Mabel, just who I needed to see!" He announced, excitedly. He took a seat next to her by the bar. "I need you to get drunk with me," He told her and then slapped some money onto the counter.

After drinking for the first time, Mabel hardly wanted to drink again. But she did go out with a few of her coworkers on the weekends, she would have a sip or two of alcohol and then she was done. She couldn't call the people she worked with her friends cause she could hardly stand them and she was no good at making and keeping friends. She was content with her small selection of friends and liked them way better than the snobby models that hardly ever ate anything.

Most of the time, she would go out on break amd stuff her face with foods that she loved. She knew if she were to pack a lunch that everyone else would judge her. But yet she wanted to be accepted by them, maybe that was why she was bored out of her mind. She twirled her straw in her drink before getting up. "I'm getting another," she announced before getting up and moving towards the bar.

She looked over when her name was called. She couldn't help but small, Fane was the perfect way to get away from the people at the back table. She took a seat beside him and rested her head on her head. "I got drunk once, I didn't like the after effect." She watched as he slapped money onto the counter. "Why do you need to see me? Whatever I did, I didn't do it."

Fane didn't blame her. He used to condone getting wasted, but that was before his life was turned upside-down by the events that could only be his own fault. Alcohol became his friend then and being a bartender, he sure knew how to mix himself a good drink. He shrugged though when Mabel said she wouldn't be getting drunk with him. "Suit yourself, but at least return the favor to me and make sure I get home safe without being mugged or ending up in a ditch somewhere, okay?" He asked of her as another drink was brought to him and he enthusiastically gulped it down.

"I didn't say you did anything wrong." Hell, he was the one that had fucked up majorly here. "I just need..." He broke off. His brain was starting to feel fuzzy, the effect he desired. "I just need..." Someone to be with him and not just to make sure he was safe. "You," He finished and turned the empty glass upside down before setting it back onto the bar counter. "Another!"

She just nodded to his request, she didn't feel the need to tell him that she would because he should have known she would. Only a few things worried Mabel, other than those things she didn't care, and one of those things was when Fane was in a bitter mood that wasn't his normal bitter mood. This wasn't his normal bitter mood. Something had to have been bothering him, why else would he be drinking let there was no tomorrow? He had been there for her and she planned to do the same for him.

She sat up and placed her hand softly on his thigh. "Well, I'm right here," she said softly. This was no time to act like her regular self, this was a time to act like a real friend and listen. "You can tell me anything," she said with a gentle squeeze of his thigh. His hands were too busy with the glasses of booze or else she would have grabbed them instead. She wasn't an advice giver, but she would try her best for him since he was her best friend.

Slightly intoxicated Fane thought he was acting perfectly normal, but slightly intoxicated Fane was turning to Drunk Fane dangerously fast and his usually cool attitude was slipping away into one of panic and disorder. "What are you tawking about Mabel?? May-bull," Fane replied, fancying himself smooth and an incredibly actor. But then Mabel squeezed her hand comfortingly on his thigh, the gentle touch now unable to be ignored and Fane knew it was all over. His smile dropped and suddenly he leaned forward and pressed his alcohol stained lips to her pretty ones and kissed her sloppily. He hadn't had sex since Odette told him the news. Not with Odette, not with anyone. He was so tortured by guilt it was hard for him to feel arousal until this moment. But before he could pursue anything further, he felt another wave of something come over him and suddenly he was doubled over and spilling the contents of his stomach onto the ground, taking care to puke away from Mabel.

He wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve and then let out an embarrassingly loud wail. Tears started to pour from his eyes as he picked his body back up and slouched across the bar. "I'm n-not okay, Mabel. I f-fucked up. Oh Merlin I have fucked up s-so bad," Fane sobbed. He rubbed a hand sloppily across his face in vain attempt to cleanse tears from it. "Odie is pregnant, Mabel, and it's all my fault," He finally spat out, resting his head onto the hardwood of the bar while his body continued to quiver.

Usually people took their time drinking, at least that was what Mabel thought. But Fane was out of it and there was no way that Mabel could help. She did want to, but she had no clue what to do. Mabel never knew what her friend was going to do, he puzzled her almost every time he did something. She was caught off guard when he pressed their lips together, she could taste the strong alcohol that came along with the kiss. It was clear that it was the alcohol that was kissing her and not Fane. She kissed back anyways, maybe it would make him feel better. But soon their kiss was broken and he was puking on the floor. Mabel turned away and covered her mouth with her hand so she didn't get sick herself. There was something about seeing vomit that made you sick to your stomach.

She turned back to her friend when he started crying. She wasn't one to try to cheer someone up, nor did she know how, but she found herself squeezing his thigh again. She listened to him speak, he was so fucked up. She couldn't tell if the alcohol making it worse or if Fane was really that upset. But then he sad why he was crying. Odette? Pregnant? She despised the girl but she wasn't going to say anything about that, her opinion of the girl didn't matter to anyone. "Fane," she said softly. What was she supposed to say? What was she supposed to do to make him feel better?

She let out a sigh and turned towards a bartender. "A water please, he needs one." She then grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze. "There's nothing I can do or say to make you feel better nor can I change anything. But if you need to cry on my shoulder, I will happily lend it to you." She didn't want to know about the baby's status and what Odette was doing. In her opinion, she was unfit to be a mother. But that's not what Fane needed to hear, he needed to hear that everything was going to be alright. But Mabel couldn't promise that things would. She couldn't promise anything that she had no control over. "Sometimes things just happen," she said softly. "But we learn from it and that's how we grow." She paused when the bartender set down the glass of water. "Take a drink," she ordered, her soft voice was replaced with a stern one. "I know my opinion doesn't really matter since I have nothing to do with the situation nor do I know anything about the situation but I think, if she's even keeping the baby, that you'd be a great father. You'd have to give up a few things, but I'm sure it will be worth it." She didn't like kids nor did she want to have any, but she would be there for Fane if he needed her.

Fane shook his head slowly. He knew Mabel was only trying to help. He didn't ask for her help though and he didn't think anyone could save him now. "This isn't like failing a test or-or giving someone the wrong order!" He gestured dramatically with his hands, his face still wet with tears. "I've ruined lives and more than just my own!" He found it hard to swallow when Mabel gave him the water to drink. The water passed through a tight knot in his throat and felt most unpleasant as it dripped into his stomach.

He bit his tongue as he was quiet as she spoke. He might've been touched by Mabel's words if he weren't so drunk and devastated by his own actions. Instead, he dropped his head in shame. "I left Odie," He admitted. That was the worst part. When the goings got rough, he told her to leave. He felt tears streaming again. "This wasn't supposed to happen, Mabel. I don't love Odette. But sex is so easy when you don't even care about the other person," He rubbed his hands against his wet face. "Merlin, I am such an awful person. So self-ish. I can't do this, Mabel! I can't go on like this!" He was frantic again, his eyes reddened and raw. He wished he could just start over again, but that wasn't a choice.

Mabel kept quiet while he spoke, usually she would say something rude in return. But that wouldn't help anything. And she couldn't say she understood how he was feeling because she had never been through something like this. She bit her lip after she was done speaking and when he spoke up again. "If you don't want to ruin any lives then help her. If you want to make things right then do it. Sitting at a bar and drinking to your woes." The alcohol could numb him but it wouldn't change a damn thing. The situation would still be happening and it wouldn't be pausing itself just because he wanted it to.

"You don't have to love her to be there for her,"she placed her hands on the counter. He was starting to get worked up once again so Mabel turned her body towards him and grabbed his face in her hands. "Listen to me," she whispered. "Listen." She used her thumb to wipe away some tears then she turned her attention back to him. "You need to calm down, freaking out isn't going to help. You need to keep you cool. You need to think and you need to look at the big picture. Odette is pregnant, Fane, you can't just drink at a bar. You don't want to be some dead beat dad." She moved her hands to his shoulders and gave them a tight squeeze. "I know this is eating at you but you have to own up to it."

Fane hated how right Mabel was. Even drunk Fane could see the truth in her words. They calmed him down like a crying child finally getting what he wanted, his breathing easing out and tears stopping. He nodded, his head between Mabel's palms. "Okay." He said. Then again, "Okay, you're right." He might not have liked it, but helping Odie out would be better for everyone's health in the end and he could finally have a clean conscience.

"I am still worried though," he had mopped his face off with his sleeve and stared at a bead of water on the counter from where a glass of alcohol was before. "I'm not ready to be a parent and neither is Odette. But she insists on keeping it even after it is born." He ran a hand through his long hair. "I can hardly take care of myself most days and then there
is the money situation. We're both bartenders and hell, living off of tips is going to become a whole lot harder once a baby is added to the picture." He rested his head on the counter. Suddenly he hated the fact that he was in a bar and the room felt dizzy from all of the booze he consumed.

The things that happened in life shaped people into ways that could be totally different from what they were. He might not be ready now but he could be once the child was actually born. "Worrying is only natural," she stated. He wouldn't be alone in this, she'd help the best to her ability if he truly needed her help. She knew how much of a child Odette acted and she knew for a fact that she wouldn't be a good mother unless she actually tried. But Mabel had never seen her put anyone above herself and she was pretty sure she wouldn't change her ways just because she was having a baby. "I'm here for you, okay?" She had no clue how to care for a child but she was there to back up Fane if he wanted her to be there. "I always will be as long as you'll have me."

She knew that Fane wasn't asking for money but she would be willing to help out. "I'm practically sitting on money, I'm not sure what to do with it. I'm willing to help you out even if you say no so you might as well say yes. I'm stubborn, remember?" She put her hand over his. "I want your child to call me Aunt Mabel."