We had returned to the Boar Hat rather quickly, King and I being the first to enter, followed by Ban, then Meli and Gowther, who had lingered behind, discussing something I didn't care enough about to eavesdrop. I greeted both Ellie and Diane with a hug, joining them outside and explaining to them what had happened. Of course, the slightly somber mood brought on by Dale's sudden reintroduction and loss was uplifted by the introduction of Gowther to the team.

"Hello everyone. My name is Gowther, the Goat Sin of Lust of the Eight Deadly Sins. I..." his monotonous voice trailed off as his eyes made contact with Hawk. He cocked his head curiously at him, but his stoic expression didn't waver. "Why is there livestock in the bar?"

"Don't change the subject while you're in the middle of introducing yourself!" Hawk huffed, then stomped his foot when he realized exactly what Gowther had said. "Wait... and who are you calling livestock, you pig?!"

"The irony within your statement is perplexing," Gowther commented, still staring down at him. Ellie giggled, approaching the magenta-haired man and bowing respectfully.

"My name is Elizabeth," she smiled sweetly, looking at the Sin, since they were about the same height. She may have been a little bit shorter than him.

"Your body structure, hair color, posture, and gait all suggest that you are the third princess of Liones, Princess Elizabeth. Am I correct?" Gowther asked, and Ellie nodded.

"Please, just refer to me as Elizabeth," she politely requested, "It isn't quite as much of a mouthful. It's nice to meet you, Sir Gowther!"

"No," the Goat Sin responded.

"No?" I snorted, "That's not to nice, Gowthy."

"(Y/N), you seem to have mistaken my na-"

"Gowther," I corrected myself, annoyed that he wouldn't let the whole 'my name is Gowther' thing go and let me call him the stupid nickname.

"It is not nice to meet her, because it would be a lie if I agreed. You've already met the entirety of our group when you were young," Gowther spoke, explaining his sudden use outburst.

"Hm, now that you mention it, there was this tiny brat who was always by the King that kinda looked like you," I sweatdropped at Ban's remark, reaching my open palm upward and swatting him on the back of the head.

"She wasn't a brat!" I retorted.

"Safe for you to say," he smirked, "You only knew her for a year."

I scowled, glaring at him. I crossed my arms, listening to the group tell whether or not they remembered her for a few moments. I sighed, then turned and walked toward the group.

"Huh?" Diane's voice came from behind me, "(Y/N), where are you going?"

"Just to get my spare cloak," I responded casually, stepping onto the patio of the tavern and opening the door. I flashed her a bright smile, "I'll be back out in a sec, okay?"

She nodded brightly, then returned to the conversation at hand. Sighing again, I walked inside, staring angrily at the floor as I stalked up the stairs to mine and Ban's shared bedroom. Despite my foul mood, it felt like a eight lifted off my shoulders not to have to pretend to be completely content with our current situation.

I slammed the door behind me when I entered, ripping my pillows off my bed and throwing them across the room. I face planted onto the mattress, my body bouncing along with the metal springs inside of it.

I just don't get it, why is this bothering me so much?

I frowned into the bed, then flipped onto my back due to the lack of air access I had on my stomach. I stared up at the ceiling.

Why does everything suck so bad? Dale didn't deserve to die... not when he had kids and a wife. Not to mention Ban hates me now, for no apparent reason.

"Ugh, this is so stupid!" I shouted, attempting to release my annoyingly large amount of frustration. I sat up quickly, standing up and beginning to pace the room. "God, what is his problem? I've been so obvious from day one! He has to know, right? Or is he really just that dense?! Guys are so fucking frustrating!"

"Man, (y/n) isn't back yet..." muttered Diane, frowning at the bar.

"She has been gone for a peculiar amount of time, considering she told us that she was retrieving her usual cloak," Gowther agreed.

Meliodas turned to the Fox Sin. He knew all to well the situation that you and him were in, and he had noticed pretty quickly, too. Ban had feelings for you, but Elaine got in the way of those feelings. On the other hand, you were crushing hard on him, and you were being painfully obvious in hopes that he could flat-out reject or accept you without you having to necessarily say what you were feeling.

"Hey, Ban," Meliodas spoke, "Why don't you go check on (y/n)?"

"Hah?" He asked, internally groaning at the captain's interference. "Why can't princess do it?"

"She's busy with me," the Dragon Sin smiled, clinging onto her back and groping her. She squealed, covering her now bright red face with her hands.

"Ugh, fine," Ban groaned, walking, annoyed, toward the Boar Hat. He lazily made his was up to your shared room, but stopping involuntarily when hearing your voice. He leaned against the door, listening.

"....He has to know right? Or is he really just that dense? Guys are so fucking frustrating!" Your voice was very clearly frustrated, and he could hear the footsteps of each of your paces. "I can't believe him, leading me on like that... whenever I had a stupid nightmare before, he didn't care! But now all of the sudden it's annoying! Its probably because we're in the same room! He can't handle having a roommate who starts crying in their sleep... But then he let me... he let me sleep with him! With him! In his bed!" Both of your faces simultaneously heat up at the memory, Ban scoffing quietly, looking down, and you covering your burning cheeks with your palms. "Like huh???? You can't just give our readers tooth-rotting shit like that, then get all angsty on me! Screw you, author! And screw you too, Ban! Ugh.... fucking feelings!"

Ban's heart squeezed, entirely without his consent, at your words. He would never ever admit it, but he felt bad about how he was acting. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt you, but Elaine was his first, and only, love. She had to be. He was going to find a way- like the horn at the kingdom- to bring her back. Everything would be solved once Elaine came back- he would snap out of this state and get over this stupid crush.

A voice continuously prodded the back of his mind, scraping at the sensible part of his brain endlessly, making him doubt himself and his words.

Will it work out that way? Will it really, Ban? You know she's not coming back, and you've fallen harder for (y/n) than you know~

"God, why does this shit always happen to me?" Your voice snapped him out of his trance, vaguely surprising him. You were on the brink of tears, and he could hear it. You were no longer pacing, but you sat on your bed, hugging one of the pillows you had thrown from your bed in between your knees and chest. "First the Holy War, then Danafor and the whole 'Eight Deadly Sins' criminal thing..." you chuckled dryly to yourself, staring at the floor. "I wasn't even remembered in that either... an afterthought... just like I am to Ban... and just like Dale was to the Holy Knights..."

Your face was scrunched up, everything hitting you like a ton of bricks. Your entire life seemed like a major fucking screw up in your eyes, and it seemed as though everything you did was in vain. Trying to pursue a relationship with the one person who would never fall for you, trying to help a friend but ending up killing him. Hell, you betrayed your entire race because you thought it was "the right thing to do."

"What's wrong with me?" You asked, a tear falling from either of your flooded eyes when you blinked. "Why am I never good enough?"

Ban could hardly stand to hear your despondent mutters, and it killed him inside to think he spurred on the thoughts of them. His entire body ached with remorse- he so badly wanted to run in there and tell you everything wasn't as bad as it seemed, and it surprised him, as it was so uncharacteristic on his part. However, it didn't stop him from wanting to, and it took all of his willpower to stop himself from doing so.

But he couldn't. Elaine plagued his thoughts- nearly as much as you did. He couldn't betray her, even though it seemed he was betraying himself in the process.

He turned, his face scrunched up in frustration, and knocked three times on the door. He inhaled shakily, attempting to calm himself. Your mutters and small whimpers immediately ceased, and your gaze's full attention was on the door.

Fuck, someone heard me. You thought, profusely wiping your face to rid it of any evidence that you had allowed a tear to fall. You grabbed your extra cloak from your bag and put it on, swiftly approaching the door. You opened it, finding a tall, crimson-eyed figure looking down at you.

He could see particularly obviously that something was troubling you, although, that may have been because he was looking for the evidence. Anyone who glanced in your direction would think nothing of it, assuming nothing out of the ordinary about you.

"Yes?" You asked harshly, glaring up at the man. His chest tinged in sync with yours as the words left your lips.

"Cap'n wants you back down," he replied nonchalantly, shoving his hands into the pockets of his maroon leather pants. "Everyone's wondering why you've been gone so long."

"I couldn't find my extra," you lied smoothly, brushing past the man as you hurried down the stairs. He stayed in front of the agape door, watching your retreating figure until it disappeared form view, and his eyes lingered where he last saw you.

"God, (y/n)..." he muttered, face scrunching up at he stared at the floor at the bottom of the stairs. "What in the hell are you doing to me..?"