Chapter 11: Jealousy at its finest
Crash! And there goes the corn on the cob." Dammit! That was the last of my corn!" The eccentric redhead groaned. Calliope was preparing something that wasn't fish for the citizens attending Fishing Frenzy at her little shop. It sounds boring she knows, but this year it's a battle royal for the best fishing spots. She wasn't too interested in it, because well... It's fucking fishing for Native God's sake! The only ones that get a kick out of it was Forte, Dylas and Leon. Even Arthur is participating in something so foolhardy.
She gathered the dropped cob and threw it on the waste bin." My poor corn..." She sniffled a bit. Guess it's pickle mix on the menu this time... For being such a modern time, there are some really rural festivals. Probably just keeping up with traditions.
She gathered her pink turnips and started dicing them placing them on a plate. She grabbed another turnip and tried to cut it. It didn't even make it half way through. Oh come on knife! She glared at the blade... Dull as fuck. She stabbed her cutting board and huffed." Guess I'm closed today! Whatever!" She washed her hands, getting the turnip smell out.
Calliope looked at herself in the mirror, adjusting her gray tank top with a seductive yellow on it saying" Bright Me." It was cute, words were a little weird but eh. It's tank season, and mama is gonna live it up. She fixed her bangs and headed out the door.
The festival was in full swing, seeing crazy people with poles smacking other crazy people with poles. Dog eats dog world she guessed?" Hey! No violence in this festival! You there! Stop eating the fish raw like that. You will get a-WOW! Watch where you're swinging that thing!" There goes Meg on patrol again. Calliope couldn't help but laugh at her. Serves her right!
Autumn head walked over to the group of girls giggling about this stupid festival. Meg joined in and sighed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. Good thing she had her hair in a bun and was wearing shorts. All that running around probably made her fatigue... Of course she doesn't care though." Hey guys what's up!" Calliope stopped next to Forte, the knight moved on the other side of Xiao Pai. Okay then? What's her deal?
" Yaaawn! Good morning Callio." Clorica yawned wiping the sleep from her eyes.
" Ah! Hi Callio! We were just talking about the yucky fish!" Amber hugged her, her pigtails bouncing. So cute!
" Seems boys are having fun with it, yes?" Xiao shook her head, adjusting her hair pin." This festival is pretty stupid honestly. Everyone is getting the crap beat out of them." Calliope puffed her cheeks. Dylas isn't even here. Probably fighting with Doug over some fishing spot. Her eyes trailed over to Forte, who was giving the nastiest glare. Calliope gulped, feeling a concerned look forming.
" I agree. I don't want our city to have all this violence on this festival. It's suppose to be calm." Meg chimed in, swatting the air." Uh yeah... Hey Forte what do you think?" Forte still gave her that cold glare. What did she do?" This is actually a better way to deal with this festival. Much more action... However, I will continue my patrols along with Meg." Oh I see. Being a kiss up with little Miss Elfy huh?
" Hello. What brings you here in this dangerous little festival?" Was that...? Yup it's Leon alright... Flirting with some ugly chick. Woah wait did I just call her ugly?! That was rude of me... Though it felt right.
Forte's face flushed a bright pink, then red with anger." Hey! Leon!" Forte ran over to him, armor clanking against the pavement." Stop harassing the poor girl!"
Leon smirked." Harassing? I was just protecting her from all the terrible pole massacres happening. It IS your job isn't it knight?" Forte was flabbergasted." Of course it is! It's still my duty!"
He fanned himself. His eyes flickered towards Calliope then back at Forte." I might as well take your job for you. I'm doing a much better job at it." What was that? Why did he look at me?" Ah! No way! It is my duty to go patrol. I can't let a citizen do this." She walked away, hand on her sheath." Then I'll tag along." She paused at his words. Forte faced him with a hint of blush." Very well then. But do be warned. Don't get in my way." She gave him a fierce smirk.
Calliope blinked. S-since when were they a thing?! Her and Leon?! Are they even compatible? Her mind was in a wreck. What does he see in her? Wait! Why does she care?
" There they go again. Ever since New Years, they've been going at it nonstop." Dolce sighed and stared at Calliope.' Dammit Callio. You know it's irking you. Why aren't you doing anything? I know you subconsciously know this.'
" She has guts that's for sure. Just... I don't know how I feel about this." Meg placed a finger on here chin.' Especially for Calliope. She looks distraught...' She gasped.' Maybe deep down, Callio still loves him! Oh please be true. Oh good grief. I want Forte to be happy as well, but Leon needs to be happy with the girl he actually loves.' She glanced over at Dolce, the Lolita glanced back. They nodded, knowing what's up.
' Operation: Glue CalLeon together again.' They both exclaimed in their heads.
" That's... Cool I guess. They seem okay with each other." Hell nah I don't think that! Calliope fiddled with her thumbs." I'm just gonna go find Dylas. See ya later." Meg jumped at Dylas' name. It still sucks, but she has to suck it up... For her best friend.
Okay where is he?! Calliope scanned the shopping district, trying to find that stupid fox. She walked around every corner, every alley way. No sign of him. Did he like disappear or something? God damn. Wait... Why is she looking for him? What's her deal lately? She's been constantly thinking about Leon even when she's with Dylas. Even Dylas was noticing her spacing out on their little "dates"... Well that's not what's going on now. He looked at her, like trying to get her goat or something.
" Ugh stupid idiot fox. Where is he." Calliope ruffled her hair." Right here." Oh fuck!
She jumped and turned around, face to face with the man she searched for." Stalking me I presume?"
She blinked a couple trying to comprehend what he just said. Stalking?!" Uh no. I'm not Forte you idiot." Leon's eyes widened. What... What did I just say?" Ignore that, I was kidding." Her eyes shifted around... No Forte?
" She's taking a boy to the clinic. Got whacked in the head pretty bad with a pole." Leon rubbed his neck." Got her work cut out for her."
Pfft." Your fault for having a knight for a girlfriend." Girlfriend? Leon hid his face. She thinks they're dating." Eh. It's not so bad. At least she's not jealous like you."
J-jealous?!" I am NOT jealous. Why would you assume that?" Her face was burgundy. Growing darker in color as her anger boiled. First he's dating Forte, now he thinks she's jealous? Who does he think he is! Forte. Of all people!" Like how you assumed I was dating Forte?" Leon's ear flicked. Calliope's eyes widened, jaw dropping." You... You're not dating her?" For some reason she felt relieved.
" Of course not. I just see her as a friend. She means well I guess." He shrugged." So why are you here anyways?"
Oh right." Well you looked at me weird earlier and just wanted to know, what's your deal?" Leon just stared at her. He did look at her huh? He closed his fan." Ah, well you were staring at me first. You seemed quite peeved at me." She frowned a bit. She was hoping for a better answer." That's all?" She didn't know what other answer she wanted, but his was just not enough. She wanted more,
He cocked an eyebrow, confused. She seemed... Unsettled. He walked over to her and put an arm around her, bringing her closer to him." Did you not like my answer? Did you want me to confess my undying love to you?" It was tempting for him.
She shook her head, dismissing what he asked." Your answer's fine. I just I dunno... I have this feeling that I wanted more from it." Calliope shrugged off his arm." I just... Leon... Do you know me? Like before this new year?" Is she finally piecing things together? His face furrowed, wondering what to say.
Just try not to freak her out okay. Go slowly, don't give her too much info to grasp... Dammit. Meg keeps blocking him from her... But it's for the best." Not really. We talked for a bit, had little spats and that's it." He lied. Man this hurt him. She bit on her lip, feeling like he's hiding something from her." Oh that's all huh? Dang, I was hoping that we talked a lot more before... Since I apparently can't remember what happened all Winter season. Or remember you completely for that matter. Hell do you know me at all?" She knows he knows more. Otherwise, all that stuff in her diary is fake... And she knows it isn't.
Calliope walked away a bit." Oh well I guess. Um I'm gonna go now, I have to make sure Dylas didn't drain the whole place of its fish." She waved." See ya later."
Leon half smirked." See ya." He waved back. She turned around and walked away. Leon shook his head and sighed. I'm sorry Calli... I wish I could tell you. But I don't want the risk of you freaking out. He punched the wall of the general store, a tinge of red broke through on his hand. Will he ever have a chance to be alone with Calliope again? He needs a reason...
She turned a corner and another trying to find Dylas. All she could find was citizens and tourists... And all she could think about was Leon. Calliope's eyes were starting to drip tears. Wha? Why is she crying? She rubbed her eyes. Again and again and again. They're not going away. Every time she rubs them, it keeps getting worse. Her legs felt so weak, knees buckling. Her stomach felt weird. Like very empty all of the sudden. Calliope felt the boiling point starting to rise inside her stomach until she finally gave up. She just collapsed into a crying ball of mess. No matter how much she tries to calm herself down, it keeps hitting her ten fold. What Leon said really hit her. She's knows there's more to it. She knows he knows her. Her diary said so, even something nagging in the back of her head says so. She hates that her diary knows more than she does.
" I'm jealous... I'm jealous that everyone knows I know him. I'm jealous that even a book knows more about this," she rubbed her eyes again." I hate that the me in Winter knows more than the me I am now! I hate being jealous! I just wanna know who he is again! I want to know Leon!" She screamed.
Meg was hidden behind a building, looking down at the ground. She covered her mouth, holding back the little whimpers from crying as well. Calliope feels so hurt. It was her fault for telling Leon to slowly tell her everything. But if he tried to tell her everything, her mind will freak out...I want to help her! I want to console my best friend. But I can't if she won't let me... I'll try anyways.
She slowly approached Calliope, her hand reaching out. The Autumn head snapped her head up making Meg hide behind the wall again. Great! Why did she just hide again?
" D... Dylas?" Calliope called out to the approaching horse. He came galloping to her side, hands shaking. He kneeled down feeling a bit panicked by her expression. Her tears steadily fell, landing on her knees.
" Callio! What happened? Why are you crying?" Dylas searched his pocket for some cheap cloth to wipe her face. Finally, he's able to clean those tears away. Not HIM. He brushed the cloth against her face, taking care not to hurt her.
" I just... Felt a little sad that's all. No... I just feel confused." She swatted him away. It was a little annoying for him to do it... She rather the one that caused her grief to do it." But it's all good now. I'm okay. I got it out of my system." Dylas stood up, lending out a hand. Calliope grabbed it, Dylas pulling her up with a little too much force. She fell forward, embracing him from the impact.
Ow that hurt... She looked up at him. He was already staring at her, his eyes glued to her's. Such a pretty golden color she thought. She didn't even notice his face had inched closer, until the final moment their lips locked. Her eyes widened by the sudden kiss. He's actually kissing her! Her eyes frowned. She should be happy. The guy she crushed on for seasons finally kissed her... But she felt like it wasn't right. Like someone else is suppose to do this. She closed her eyes continuing to kiss him. She should at least humor him about it...
Dylas pulled away, feeling the heat of his cheeks. Her own cheeks started burning from his stare. She couldn't help it, that angsty stare made her feel like fire. A small smile found its way onto Dylas' mouth." Calliope... I've loved you for a very long time now." Oh man he's gonna monologue his feelings for me. Please stop." A-actually, I really started caring about you when you kept trying to open this sourpuss up. Your caring attitude, your beautiful smile... Everything about you made me feel happy." If he keeps doing this... She'll have no choice but to accept his confession. Calliope sadly doesn't know how to say no...
What's wrong with me?! I've wanted this for seasons and I don't want anything to do with him. I'm such a bitch. I can't even say it to his face... That I don't want him. I don't even know who I want. I still have feelings for him but, it's not the same like before." Calliope... Will you go out with me?" He brushed the stray hairs behind her ear, then cupped her face. He looked so serious, well he always does but it's different. He's determined to get her no matter what.
Finally soon she'll be his. Like how it's suppose to be. I've wanted this so much. I can finally kiss her when I want. I can finally hug her whenever. I can even wipe her tears... I can finally touch her without making her cry like that. All of her will be mine." Sure." She smiled though her voice was flat. Dylas didn't seem to notice though. He was too happy that he got her to say yes." I love you so much Calliope." He hugged her.
" Same." Is all she said. She looked away, feeling awful. This is not suppose to happen.
Meg stared at them. She mainly was focused on her best friend's perplexed expression. The elf should feel jealous. Her love was with someone else... But she didn't feel any bad intentions. She felt concerned about Calliope. Something about her expression didn't feel like she was excited... No. It was more like she forced herself in this. Even her answers felt forced and short. The musician turned around, fiddling with her thumbs.
My best friend doesn't love him... She still loves Leon. Even if she doesn't know it herself just yet. Meg walked away. I'm not jealous at all. Not with that relationship he's gonna have...
Author Note: Holy. It's been a minute since I've updated this story. Sorry to those that were reading this, I got caught up with college and adulting that I had no time for this. Anyways, I have like 4 or 5 chapters written up since the last time I've updated. I'm also NOT typing on my mother's iPad anymore and upgraded to my laptop heh. Anyways, happy reading~