A/N: Yaaaay it's done four days earlier than I told you it would, SwegChan~ or Ayalesei? You changed your name, so haha~~ So confused x.x but anyways, I hope you enjoy! It's so long QAQ I meant for it to be shorter but I really couldn't get the message across in 3,00 words, sooo... Whatever~! Elsword, Aisha, Eve, Ara, Rena, and Raven (Briefly mentioned Raven, and I guess no Chung? q.q) are in their senior year of high school. If you see any typos please tell me!
Aisha (18) - Elemental Master
Elsword (18) - Rune Slayer
Add (17) - Lunatic Psyker (Sorry, I didn't know what you meant by PK ^^; I probably should've asked, but I wanted to post this right away. If you want it changed I can do so, SwegChan)
Eve (18) - Code: Empress
Ara (18) - Sakra Devanam
Rena (18) - Grand Archer
Raven (18) - Reckless Fist (Dunno if this helps since he plays such a minor role, but whatever)
Fairy tales are every kid's dream. I mean, honestly, who didn't want a prince charming to come and take them away to a land of sparkles and rainbows? Well, even if some didn't, I did. I really thought there was going to be some blue-eyed blond-haired man waiting to sweep me away.
Of course, life isn't like that, so I was naturally disappointed when my friend Eve pointed out that the stories were fake and fabricated simply for enjoyment. Mind you, I was only six. On the bright side, my other friend Ara believed in prince charmings and kissing frogs until the age of thirteen.
In spite of this, is it weird if I say that I still believe he will come for me? Useless hopes will do nothing for the human brain.
…
I still want one.
"But, but, buuuuuut." I whined, placing my hands on the hat. "I waaaaant it. I waaaaaa-"
Eve stopped reading for a split second to smack me on the head and said simply, "This is a store, Aisha. Keep the noise level down. It's not our fault that you're flat-out broke." She went back to her history book, and Aisha pouted. She was right, but this hat…
Ara fiddled with her thumbs nervously. "Well, um, can't you get something cheaper? I mean, fifty dollars is kinda expensive for a hat, and uh, I think you can get something better with fifty dollars. Right?" She directed her uncertain question to Eve, who merely shrugged in response.
I glanced back at the hat. Although it was beautiful, it seemed as if it was way out of my league. This money that I saved from working at that ice cream shop didn't seem to help much, and my mother refused to give me allowance. "This sucks," I complained, and then detached myself from the hat.
Ara patted my shoulder. "It's okay. We can go eat now or something."
Usually at her words, I'd be incredibly peppy, but it just soured my mood right now. "No, its fine," I grumbled, "I'm not hungry."
At these words, Eve looked up from her book. "Not hungry? Does this hat matter to you that much?" She sounded exasperated, and her golden eyes went to Ara, who shrugged sheepishly. "It was just a hat."
I looked back at the hat. I know, I was being silly, but this hat wasn't just any hat. I told my friends this, and Eve raised an eyebrow, a bored expression on her face. "Why is that?"
"It has a feather on it, look, look!" I grabbed it and it slid off, before I shoved it into Ara's face and then Eve's. "And it looks just like the once princes always wear in fairy tales. Well, musketeers."
Eve sighed. "That fairy tale stuff again? You really have to let it go, Aisha. I am being serious right now. You are already sixteen, and it is foolish to be obsessed with such things still."
I know it's weird, but the idea of having a prince come for me (Regardless of whether he comes or not) was enough to make me giddy. "Hmph," I told them, and Eve rolled her eyes. Ara giggled uncertainly.
But they know that whatever they say, I won't stop waiting for him.
My prince.
I met him during class. What, who? I mean the transfer student. He's from a small city, like, um, Rueben or something. I don't know. But, he was interesting. Shaped like a carrot. The girls seemed to like him. Oh, no, excuse me – they absolutely fawned over him. You'd think these shallow, rich popular people preferred money over looks, but apparently his looks were money.
Idiots.
I don't see the appeal in having a handsome guy, I mean; he's not that good looking. N-not to me at least. But, but! Looks don't matter… I think. Princes are supposed to be handsome, right?
But, the thing is, he's not exactly like, my type. I don't think. I mean, he's cool and all, but I don't know him. At all. He's just too surrounded by girls. I don't want my Prince to be like that. Sure, he has to be handsome, but he would only have eyes for me. Does that sound stupid?
My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the teacher, who had just entered the room. "Order! Everybody get in your seats!" Camilla, the teacher, barked at us. The girls grumpily shuffled to their seats, and the transfer student, Elsword, sat in his own in front of me. Oh my gosh, he is so tall. I can barely see over the mop of red hair.
I couldn't really do anything but try to stare through his thick hair. And then, as if he could feel my gaze boring into his head, he turned around, his red eyes flashing at me. He grinned cockily, but didn't say anything and turned his eyes back to the front. I stared at him, abashed. What was that? Jeez! He's the perfect playboy, especially with a cocky smile like that. No wonder the girls were all over him.
Ugh, but his hair though! I really needed to ask the teacher if either Elsword or I could switch seats or something.
I met him during a simple trip to Walmart. It was a particularly sucky trip, because I was going to buy things for my mother. Five pans, a shirt for my younger brother, and a hundred pipe cleaners. My mother was the weirdest person ever. Not to mention the fact that she broke frying pans like there was no tomorrow.
He was, well, strange, to put it nicely.
…
Well, hell to being nice! He was completely insane.
He approached me at a rapid pace in the medical section of Walmart and the first thing he said to me was, "You know Eve, right?"
I only stared at him strangely, and then said, "Um, what?" Confused, I put back the Tylenol I had been previously looking at. "Eve…" Did he mean the Eve I knew?
"That's what I said!" He growled impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.
"Uhhhh, golden eyes, white hair, weird preference for machines?" I picked up another case of pills and tossed them into my cart before turning back to the guy.
His bored and irritated expression immediately brightened. "Yeah, her. You're her friend, right?"
I took the pills out to examine them as he spoke, putting it back on the shelf when I realized that they were the wrong ones. "That's really creepy, you know. How do you know her?" I turned back to him for a moment to gaze at his hair, which was the same color as Eve's, maybe with a slight purple tinge. "Are you related to her or something?"
"Fool!" He snapped back, surprising me. I fully turned around to stare at him this time, and my eyes stayed on him. "Of course not! I'm her creator, Add."
I lifted an eyebrow. Her creator? Are you kidding me? "What are you on?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips. "Her creator? What are you, God or something?"
"A mechanic," Was the brusque reply.
"… So now she's a robot?" I couldn't believe this guy. He looked about my age, and he called himself a mechanic? Didn't you like, need a license for that or something? "Look, what do you want from me?"
"Give this to Eve," He said, jerking his hand out. I took whatever he was holding, and it turned out to be a super-small memory chip. "Tell her it's for Moby."
I lifted my eyebrows. "Okay, okay, hold on. How do I know if you're even telling the truth? In fact, how do you even know that I'm even her friend? You still haven't explained your relations to her, either."
He looked really annoyed, tapping his finger while scouring the medicine with his eyes. "I told you, I'm – "
"Uh-huh," I cut him off, "Tell me the real answer, not some half-brained stupid fantasy."
Add looked at me, and then smirked. "A half-brained stupid fantasy, eh?" His eyes floated over to my cart, which held… Oh, crap. I forgot that I picked up three fairy tales in the book section. Oh, the irony. My face burned as I snapped, "Oh, shut up! Just answer my question, idiot."
He knew he had gotten me, and I did too. But let's pretend that never happened, o-okay? He sighed, and then muttered under his breath, "Such a brat."
"What did you say?!"
"Nothing, nothing," He waved his hand and said, "If you want a nonsensical answer, I'll say that I'm a friend. A friend who has been searching for her for a long time."
Before I could even open my mouth, he was gone.
He was insane, weird, stupid, and… Arg!
Back then, I didn't know the impact the two would have on my life.
As the weeks passed, I found out a lot about the famous transfer-student Elsword. He was (I had to admit this, b-but don't think I like him or something! Because, because, I don't, okay?) alright. It turns out that he was just arrogant, and as much as I hate him, I have to admit that he was okay.
Sometimes.
I don't really know him, okay? Don't ask me, ask his best friend. Er – it's hard to tell who his best friend is because he's got so many friends. B-but, I think its Chung. You know that really short shota guy with the blond hair that everybody thought was a girl at first? Yeah, yeah. Him.
I was intently watching the whiteboard (I had complained to the teacher about Elsword's flaming hair in my face, so she made us switch seats so that I was in front of him and he was behind. It's not my fault that I'm this short.
Moving my arm to the side a little to get in a more comfortable position, I end up knocking my eraser down and it literally flies behind me and lands with a soft thud near Elsword's desk. I turn around to stare at it, but it's too far away for me to reach and I'm sure Ms. Camilla would have a hissy fit if I got out of my desk.
I was about to give up when I saw Elsword bend over and toss the eraser at my head, and I reflexively held up my hand to catch it. It bounced off my hand and landed on Elsword's desk.
He was trying so hard not to laugh at this, and he made a motion like, Oh, thanks, and I scowled at him, face burning. That, that was…, Gah! Why is life so difficult?!
"Yo, Aisha and Els!" Camilla barked from the front, her beady eyes boring into my soul before boring into Elsword's. "Stop making gaga eyes at each other and pay attention to the lesson!"
Boys snickered, and some girls glared at me. I saw Eve staring blankly back at us, and Ara getting flustered because I was. Oh wow. I sunk deeper into my seat, and my eraser sailed over my head to land perfectly on my desk. I turned around and glared at him, and he grinned cockily back.
I take back what I said about him being okay. He completely sucks.
Definitely not prince-like material, that's for sure.
After class, I picked up my stuff quickly (Ms. Camilla was my last period teacher, and boy it was hell in that class) with the intention of avoiding the Elboy fangirls, but the object of their affections, the Elsword himself stopped me.
He still looked pretty amused by my bounce-back eraser moment, and said, "So, what were you planning to do when you lifted your hand?"
I scowled at him. "It was just reflexes, okay? Don't take it personally."
He smirked. Looks like I wasn't going to get off without a fair amount of teasing. Geez, I hate these types of people. "Oh, yeah? So you weren't just trying to get an excuse to get me in trouble the first week of school? Or," He leaned in dangerously close, so close that I smell – oh what that sounds super creepy.
But he did smell nice.
UGH I'm such a creep!
But anyway, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Were you just trying to make an excuse so you could talk to me?"
My face rose in flames as I grabbed a pencil off my desk and chucked it at him. He easily dodged it and chuckled. "Just go away!" I told him, trying not to look at him as I grabbed my stuff. He makes me so mad!
"Ha-ha," He said humorlessly. "But seriously, I was so close to you. How could you miss me?" Elsword was smirking again, a dangerous expression on his face. "Were you maybe –"
"Stop with the speculation, okay? It meant nothing. Geez, I wonder what a simple bump on the shoulder means to you," I snapped, gathering my stuff in my hands.
"It obviously means that they want to make out with me –" He stopped himself short and burst out laughing. "Your face is so funny!"
I realized I was making a face and quickly tried to erase it from me without much success. Eve dubbed it the 'idiocy face'… Oh wait, I was making THAT face?! No, no, no! I put my stuff down on my desk and buried my face in my hands and rubbed at my face, like I was trying to get it off. It only made Elsword laugh harder, and then he suddenly put his hand on my head. What was I now, a dog?!
"Sorry. You just looked really easy to tease, and you were. Learn to take a joke sometime, alright?" and then he was gone.
What the crap.
I was a little happy about the apology, but then he has to go say things like that. I know how to take jokes! Sometimes… Well, if it's jokes you're worried about then teach Eve! That girl barely even knows how to smile.
But, at least he apologized. I took one last look at his desk, and then left to where Eve and Ara were waiting for me (It turned out Eve witnessed the whole thing. Ugh. As usual, Ara was clueless but thank god she didn't see that) and Eve gave me a knowing look as we left.
You know, sometimes I hate her.
But I love her. Ugh. Friendship is so hard.
As we left, I remembered the memory chip that that weirdo Add asked me to give her, and I quickly produced it from my bag. "Hey, Eve, this is for you."
She took them blankly and looked it over, a serious expression fliting over her face. "A memory chip…"
"Uh, for Moby?" I repeated what Add had said, and Ara mumbled, "They're so tiny. What's Moby?"
"A robot I was building," Eve said simply, and then turned to me. "Where did you get this?"
I raked my brain for an answer that wasn't insulting Add's mental state, and so I decided to say, "Uh, some random guy who approached me in the medical section of Walmart who asked me to give you this. Said his name was Add. You know him?"
Ara gulped, and Eve's expression darkened. What? "No more talk about this," She announced, stowing the chip away in her bag. Let's go." She walked on ahead, an angry light in her eyes.
"What the heck?" I asked Ara as we started to walk after her. "What was that about?"
Ara looked at me like I was crazy. Was I missing something here? "You didn't hear about Add and Eve?"
Add and Eve? Did they have history? "Uh, no. Did something weird happen?"
"Uh, not really in particular. I heard that they were childhood friends, but Add betrayed Eve or something like that, and they're on really bad terms now. I don't think she really, um, wants to talk about him. Or herself." Ara scratched her head sheepishly, looking down at her feet. "B-but, let's get going. I need to, um, use the bathroom." I stopped walking as Ara ran forward to catch up with Eve, and stared.
Ah, so, that was how this weirdo Add knew Eve. I wonder what happened between them, but I guess it's none of my business. I shouldn't pry.
Just my luck, I met Add again a week after that. My parents were out for the weekend, and I couldn't really call them to say I've broken the car's engine (Hey, I may be a high-school senior but I can drive! Mostly.) again, so I had to take it to the repair shop my parents always went to.
Whoop-dee-doo, he worked there. Add looked up nonchalantly as I strode into the shop, and his eyes flickered with recognition. "Oh, it's you."
"Rude!" I snapped back at him, before gesturing outside. "I need my car fixed. The engine's busted."
He sighed, before crossing his arms and leaning against the front desk. "You do realize that this stuff is supposed to be reserved, right? You should've called ahead."
Oh. My face felt flushed as I burned with embarrassment, and I smacked his arm. "S-shut up! Just fix the damn car, okay?!"
Add looked surprised, before smirking. "Yeah, yeah. Thankfully for you, we're not booked today. What did you say the problem was? Engine?" He went outside, and I stalked after him. Add inspected the car, and then lifted the hood. "Ohhhh."
The damage was obvious. The engine was smoking, and sparks were shooting out of it. He looked over at me accusingly and said, "What did you do to it?"
"W-what! You're saying that I did something to it?!"
"Uh-huh." He stepped back and pointed to it. "There's no way that an engine can break that fast. Your parents came to get the entire car checked out last month, and we replaced the engine and everything. Seriously."
I thought it over, and then turned pink. "Stupid! I didn't do anything to it! The worst thing I did was accidently run over a squirrel…"
Add stared at me. "That's even worse."
"Shut up! Just fix it!"
"Alright," He muttered. "But only this once. You gave the chip to Eve, right?"
"Uh-huh."
"… You better pay after this. I'll give you a 5% discount because you know Eve."
"… A five percent discount?"
"Be lucky that you're even getting a discount at all, Little Tsundere."
"! SHUT UP!"
The weeks that followed after that, I became increasingly involved with Elsword and Add. I was constantly going over to Add's because of car troubles (My parents were still out of the country; but I'm glad. They'd flip if they found out that their daughter was killing their car) and Elsword because… Well, Elsword. It turns out that we had a school project to do (Typical) and he was my partner.
Aw.
I couldn't help think that this was really cliché in dating games or stories or whatever, but I'm sure I'll never fall in love with this guy. Just look at his ego! But whatever. It wasn't like a normal project, anyway. It was for science, and something about chemistry. Atoms, stuff like that.
I did listen to Luchiel when she taught us, but she doesn't really teach us anything. All she does is let the students push her around. That's why we ended up with Elsword. I thought that maybe his fangirls would take over, and they tried.
But, Luchiel ended up breaking her legs, tripping over somebody's (Unfortunately placed) foot. And she was replaced by the scariest teacher ever, Miss Stella. Luchiel was far different from Miss Stella, and everybody was pretty much stunned when Miss Stella introduced herself as the new teacher with the 'do-something-wrong-and-I'll-stab-you-with-my-axe' eyes. Of course, I had no beef with her and she had none with me, but apparently she had some with Elsword.
She gave him the 'I'm-watching-you-so-hard-right-now' eyes and gave me the 'Watch-him-or-I'll-stab-you-with-my-squirrel' and that pretty much ensured that he was my partner. I turned to him and bluntly asked, "Are you bad at this subject?"
He shrugged. "Not my strong point, but I'm not bad at it either."
I bit my lip and sighed dramatically. "Oh well. You still have to do your fair share."
Lifting an eyebrow, Elsword snorted. "Did I ever tell you that I wouldn't?"
"No."
"… Uh-huh."
I snorted, and we turned back to our assignment. It was pretty easy, maybe because I was there. Hey, I said maybe! Several times, he noticed errors in my work and pointed them out. Okay, maybe he's a little better than I thought he would be. He wasn't like the shy violets who pondered about everything they said, or outright controlling the assignment.
This wasn't so bad, I guess.
As I was figuring out what atoms went where on our worksheet, Miss Stella stepped out of the classroom to use the bathroom, and the room exploded with angry complaints. In almost a second our table was filled with moaning fangirls as I watched, exasperated.
B-but, it wasn't like I was jealous or anything! It was just too noisy to do my work, okay? Scowling, I watched the girls gr0an and complain about their partners (Save for the only sane people in the class besides me, Rena and Raven. They were paired together and were working quietly) until Miss Stella came back in the room with furious-looking eyes and yelled at them all.
Elsword turned back to me and noticed my sullen expression with a smirk. "Oh, is the little Tsun-Tsun getting all mad that I –"
"N-no! I don't like you, okay? So just shut up and do your work!" I snapped back at him.
Maybe if I had been paying more attention, I'd have noticed the shocked look on his face, and him mutter quietly under his breath, "That's not was I was going to say."
As the weeks flew on by, I slowly began to warm up to both insane Add and playboy Elsword. Elsword wasn't so bad. He had a soft spot for cats (… Nnng. He was beginning to sound like a prince now – which he's not yet, so don't get me wrong!) And he really knew how to do his anatomy. Apparently he lied to me when he had said that he was decent in science.
Add was, well, as weird as ever. But slightly less weird when Eve wasn't mentioned, which I don't. She seems to have this odd effect on him, and I don't really understand it, but oh well.
So anyways, I was with Add, watching him work on the car with disinterest. I was sitting in a chair nearby, watching as Add worked on the engine (I had the option of replacing it but it was too expensive to do without my parents noticing, so I got Eve to help me to convince Add to fix it. I still haven't gotten over the experience of Add making 'haakh' noises every time he saw Eve.), totally not noticing the gas spilling through the side of the car.
"Hey, dude, do you not see that?" I asked after five minutes, and the gas was all over the place now. Add looked up from the engine at me, frowning.
"What?"
"The gas." I lazily pointed to it, and he followed my stare and then swore.
Sighing, I stood up at went to stand next to him, and then slipped.
It was so sudden, I didn't have any time to react. So, I naturally did what any person would – I panicked and grabbed onto the closest thing next to me, which happened to be Add. Struggling to get myself upright, I unconsciously looped my arms around his neck and he caught me with his arm.
It was then I noticed the position we were in and immediately went red, flustered. "! You, you stupid!" I yelled. I was about to push myself off of him, and then I heard a whistle. Hastily Add let go of me, and I fell on my butt in the gas.
Looking up, I saw a mass of untamed red hair and softly swore. Elsword was looming over us, a sharp expression on his face. His face broke into a grin, but it looked sort of forced. "Yo. What were you two doing?" He straightened up, this time looking at Add.
"Y-you're mistaken! It was this stupid guy's fault!" I said frantically. I didn't know why, but the thought of Elsword mistaken us in this stupidly intimate positon panicked me. "I-I just-"
Suddenly, it became very clear to me that neither of the guys were listening to what I had to say, so I was cut off by their silence. Instead of looking at me, their eyes were on each other, hostile and barren. I looked between the two, confused at the tension between them.
It was quiet for a moment, and then Elsword spoke. "What is your relationship with her?"
Huh?
"Her mechanic," He replied, but it was tense and bitter.
Just… Just what was going on?!
"U-um… You two…"
I tried to interrupt them, but their silent staring contest went on.
When I relayed this story to Eve and Ara (Rena was there, too. It looks like she and Ara got to know each other pretty well, and I like Rena so it's okay) during lunch, Eve almost sighed but didn't leave her poker face, and Ara dropped her eyes down to her feet. Rena put her cheek into her palm, watching me with interested eyes.
"It's obvious they like you," Eve said bluntly, picking up her book again. Ara squeaked, embarrassed, and Rena chuckled.
"I think she's right," Rena offered, spearing a piece of lettuce from her lunch with a fork. "It sounds like a love triangle."
I burst into flames at their suggestion, much like Ara, and then forcefully put my spoon down. "I-It is not!"
That can't be true! Didn't Add like Eve?
I turned to Ara for help, but she only shook her head. It was obvious that she believed it too. Was it really like that? I can't find any words to explain it. Eve looked up from her book and said, "Just confront one of them. It's easier."
But I didn't want to do that, so I turned to Rena. She was the only one who was dating out of us all, and I said, "Do you really think so?"
She pointed her fork at me. "If you said there was tension after he saw you do something like that, it wouldn't be as far as a stretch to say they both harbor feelings for you, right, Aisha?"
I thought about it really hard. I did.
Something like that… It's what a prince would do, right?
I guess I had to man up. I realized it now, if I just wait for my prince to come, it won't really happen. I had to take my duty as the 'princess' and go after my prince, if he wasn't going to come.
But I also had a little problem.
In a situation where the princess had two princes, what was she to do?
I stared at my friends, at Eve, at Ara, at Rena, and then at Elsword across the lunchroom. Something uncomfortable fluttered in the depths of my stomach, and I suddenly understood.
Then I knew what I really wanted.
I went to the machine shop shortly after school ended. Add was working on the car, as usual, and he looked up triumphantly when I approached. "Finished!" He told me, grinning his ear off.
I needed to be blunt. There wasn't any room for chitchat. "D-do you… Hey, d-d-do you…" I fumbled with my words, and Add cocked his head at me. "I… Arg! I have a question, answer it for me, okay?"
"… Okay?"
"Do, do, d-do… Do you like me?"
The question must've been so blunt that it rendered Add speechless. Then he put his tools down before turning to face her seriously, and then said, "What if I did?"
… Wow. I had not expected that. The shock must've shown on my face because Add smirked dryly. "Wow, real shocker, huh? You probably thought I liked Eve, didn't you?"
"…How did you know?"
"A lot of people think I like Eve. But the truth is, I don't. At least, not that way." His mouth twisted in a wry smile, and he looked up at the sky, away from my eyes. "I'm just interested in her mechanic work. I think she's a great upperclassman, but I'm not interested in her as a person. I'm interested in her work as a mechanic." He looked back to her, eyes grazing her bag that was still on her shoulder. "She's a lot smarter and more complex than others, despite her blank slate. You know this, right?"
I nodded, starting to shake a little from the discomfort.
Add laughed twistedly, almost insane-like. "Maybe you could call it an obsession for her codes," He said, "But I'm not interested romantically in her. You should know who I'm really interested in." His bright purple eyes turned to me and I looked away, unable to bear his gaze anymore.
I could hear as he detached himself from the hood of my parent's car and closed it. I still averted my gaze. "But," He continued, and I forced myself to turn back and stare at him. "I know you don't feel the same."
"…" I didn't say anything. I couldn't say anything. How was I supposed to do this when he was technically one of my 'princes'? I finally understood why there wasn't like a harem in the storybooks. Because rejecting someone is hard. Especially someone as insane (It's a good insane now… I think) as Add.
"What about betraying Eve," I suddenly remembered Ara's words. "One of my friends said that you betrayed Eve."
Add sighed, like he was tired of telling the same story over and over again. "When I was younger, when we were both starting out on the route as a mechanic, I found this blueprint for a robot and used it for an important presentation that would really impact our future lives as a mechanic. Although, apparently it was Eve's design, and since she went after me, the judges thought it was plagiarism and kicked her out of the contest. I thought she took my idea, too, but then I matured and I finally realized that I was being a stupid blockhead and I really had stolen her idea. She never got over that, though, and even when I try to apologize she never wants to listen to it."
… Oh. I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off. "But, anyways, about my feelings…"
I froze.
"It's that guy, Elsword, right? He comes in to fix his parent's car sometimes, too. He's a lot like you, actually. He really can bust up the gas tank without actually doing anything else to the car. Really special, that guy is."
Then then he turned back to the building, came out with a check, handed it to me, and went back inside.
I reached for my phone and dialed a number, hoping I was doing the right thing by doing this. The phone picked up after a second, and then I heard, "Aisha?"
"Yeah, hi. I need you to come somewhere for me."
"… Where?"
I told her the address, and a few minutes later Eve pulled up to the shop. Her eyes were dark when she exited the car and she stared at me, waiting for me to speak.
Taking in a deep breath, I said, "Eve, please, just listen to Add. He has some things he needs to tell you, and I'm being serious right now. Just please, listen to him." I repeated my words again, and Eve hesitated. "Just do it for me, please?"
She looked uncertainly at me, and then at the repair shop, before going in. I watched their shadows through the blinds of the windows for a moment, and then left the premises. Whatever problems they had, they had to work it out.
Who knows, maybe they'll become friends again.
But for now, I have my own problems to deal with.
It was really embarrassing, I have to tell you. Writing that stupid letter with the stupid heart sticker to seal it. But this way, he won't know it's me. He'll probably think I'd never be the type to use heart-shaped stickers, and that's how I'll catch him off guard. I just have to be one step ahead of him.
I dropped it into his locker at the start of school. I don't really remember much of what I wrote, except asking him to meet me behind the cafeteria after school is out. All I could do now is hope that my Prince showed up for me.
Sure enough, he did. Elsword looked around (I'm hiding in the bushes right now) and frowned. I creeped towards the front and then emerge from the bushes, carefully making sure he doesn't see me. And then I stepped near him and called out. "What are you doing behind these bushes, stupid?"
He turned around at the sound of my voice and said, "What are you doing here?"
Pouting, I planted my hands on my hips and told him, "Hey, I have a very good reason for being here, carrot head!"
Elsword thought for a moment, his brows furrowing. "…?" I can tell that he's not very good at comprehending things, because he still looks really confused.
Sighing, I said to him, "Do I really need to explain it to you, stupid? I – I…" Suddenly the words I had practiced for so long in front of the mirror wouldn't show. His bright red gaze was upon me as I tried to spit out the words. "I-I… Really like… Um…"
Elsword finally seemed to get it, and then broke out in a smirk. "Are you trying to say that you like me? Did you write this?" He brought out the letter, holding it with two fingers, and I blushed when I saw it.
He knew it was me. But he wanted to hear me say it.
No way.
"N-no! Stupid! It's not like I like you or anything, so just shut up!"
"Huh. What happened to Add, the mechanic you were so buddy-buddy with?"
"... I don't like him. Not like this." Before I can say anything else, he suddenly flew at me, crushing me in a hug. "W-wha-?!"
"Do you know," Elsword muttered, chin resting on my head, "How long I've wanted to hold you like this?"
Flustered, I tried to push him off, but he only held on tighter. "G-get off me, stupid!"
"No chance," He said, "But it's been since I met you, you know."
At those words, I completely melted. "Stupid," I muttered. "I think I've liked you that long, too."
You know what I said about princes and fairy tales?
Well, I think I found him, and he really did come for me. My Prince.
Sure, he isn't blue-eyed and blond-haired, and he's certainly not perfect.
I don't ever want to let him go.
A/N: Oh, my gosh. This story had so many breaks, and it took me soooo long to write it despite me trying so hard ;_; it's okay, I just fail. I hope you enjoyed, SwegChan!
