A/N: It's been so long since I last updated Sinful Grace, I'm sooo sorry! But I'm currently working on the next chapter, which I hope to have out as soon as possible UwU
In the meantime, have this small interlude, with two drabbles I wrote a while back! I have more, but I'll leave those for a second interlude~
Enjoy ^_^
INTERLUDE I
The Confession
The unsteady rhythm of his foot tapping against the pavement is all he can hear in the busy street, broad back leaning against the wall and hands shifting between pushing deep inside his jeans' pockets to slipping out to rearrange the watch on his wrist and check the time.
6:57PM. Just three minutes… three more minutes and she'd be out that door, all dazzling goldens and brightest blues, rosy smile and porcelain complexion, only the most striking, resplendent colors of the spectrum blended together to make the work of art that was her. The work of art that he could never – and would never – get tired of admiring.
Eugeo tried to hold in his nervousness, to quell the edginess that stirred in his stomach, punching and kicking and raging within him in a vexatious show to make its presence known. And aware of its presence he was, despite his efforts to pretend he wasn't. In the closest corner of his heart, he saved the confession he had worked on for well over a month, along with the hope that today would be the day he'd finally be able to go through with it and not chicken out like every other time he'd tried to do so before. He had watched so many perfect opportunities slip from his grasp, each of them slithering away due to a particularly gleeful glint in her eye that rendered him speechless in a mere second, or that distinct smile she reserved for those moments when he did something she entitled as "too pure for this world". Blame it on her and her ability to mold his consciousness like a child playing with playdough, to make his heart race so fast he felt like he'd just ran a marathon. Indeed, blaming it on her would be much easier – but at the end of each and every one of his failed attempts, he knew the root of the problem always lay in his fear of rejection, and even worse: of ruining their friendship.
"Oh, Eugeo!"
He didn't have to turn to know it was her, but he did so anyways, because looking at her whenever he had the opportunity to do so had become as natural to him as breathing. She climbs down the steps hastily, duffel bag slung over her shoulder and water bottle clutched in her right hand, a small smile plastered on her beautiful features.
His own lips curve upwards slightly just as she reaches him, and he tries his damndest to ignore the skin-tight, newspaper-printed leggings that cling to her legs, perfectly depicting every shape and curvature of her lower half.
Shifting his head to the side, he raises his fist to his mouth and lets out a small, bashful cough, "H-Hey, Alice…" he greets back, tries to focus on her face, on the blonde hair that's tied up in a high ponytail, on the untamable strands that stubbornly got loose with her movements, on the bangs that still stick to her forehead in the aftermath of her workout. Her flushed cheeks and the thin layer of sweat that lingers on her skin tell him she trained right until the last minute, and he wonders if she'd cut her session short because she knew he'd be waiting for her.
"Ah," he breathes, shrugging off his brown coat. Alice lets out a surprised gasp when he takes the duffel bag away from her and slips the strap across his chest, before reaching around her and draping the coat over her shoulders. "You'll catch a cold if you come outside still sweaty and wearing so little." He mutters, eyebrows furrowing as he brings the collar closer to her neck, so that it sits snuggly on her frame.
"Thank you…" her voice is barely above a whisper and it takes him five whole seconds to realize what in the world he's doing. When it sinks in, he draws away from her so quickly he almost stumbles over his own two feet, rubbing the nape of his neck and letting out a bark of awkward laughter.
"It's nothing!" he waves it off, does his best to turn his face away so she can't see the roses blooming on his cheeks. "S-Shall we get going?"
She doesn't answer, but he can see her nodding through the corner of his eye, so he starts walking down the familiar street.
"How was your study session?" she asks after a few moments of silence, looking up at him while slipping her arms through the sleeves of his coat. He finds it adorable, how the article of clothing sits so loosely around her much smaller figure – in her, its length nearly brushes the pavement, and the sleeves go way past her hands, to the point she has to cutely shake them off until the tips of her fingers peek out from the interior of the fabric so she can push her bangs to the side.
Eugeo tenses at the question, "It was… fine."
A single breath. A short answer. A lie.
Not that it always had been. For the past few months, picking her up from the gym every Tuesday and Thursday, her chosen days of the week to work out, became routine to him. And at first, he really did have study sessions with fellow classmates at a nearby cafe, which was how he and Alice ended up crossing paths. Fall had then begun, and he offered to walk her home when the days started growing shorter, the night sky blanketing the world when she made her way down the stairs of the building. His sessions got shorter alongside it, wrapping up around 6PM with the sound of zipped up bags and short farewells. But Eugeo always stayed, lingered in the table at the corner, reviewing some papers or doing some research until it was time to leave and 'accidently' bump into her.
Around two months ago, his study group ceased their meetings altogether. However, he couldn't muster up the courage to tell her, and much less let her walk to her dorm alone. So, even though he was usually home on the days she went to the gym, he always found himself slipping on his coat and grabbing his apartment keys at 6:30PM sharp so he could walk over to pick her up.
Much to his relief, she accepts his answer with a smile and a nod, before making small talk about college and an assignment due today that she still had to submit. They talked and talked, but also listened to each other attentively, giggling softly at a joke here and blushing madly at a compliment there. Soon enough, they are standing just outside of her dorm, and Eugeo feels somewhat sad because the 15 minutes it takes them to get there always seem to go by way too fast.
"Well," she begins, reaching out for her bag. He takes note and quickly takes it off, handing it to her, "Thank you for walking me home… again." She smiles playfully and he chuckles. "I'll see you tomorrow…?"
Eugeo wants to speak, parts his lips to do so… but his tongue feels so heavy inside of his mouth that he can't seem to get it to move. His fumbled thoughts cannot cooperate, cannot organize themselves to stutter out a single, coherent response. Confession or no confession, he at least wants to say goodbye, but-
Alice waits for a couple of seconds, something akin to anticipation shining in the clear pools of her eyes.
'Say it.'
Her smile falters and she takes a small step back.
'Say it.'
With an awkward wave, she turns on her heel.
"Eugeo, you idiot, just say it!"
The suddenness of Kazuto's voice shouting inside his head makes him flinch, but it's like a bucket of cold water that brings him back to his senses.
"Alice, wait…" he rushes up to her and grabs her hand, turns her around and pulls her closer. She looks up at him with wide eyes full of surprise, blinking once, twice, and oh God, from this close he can see how long her lashes are, curling upwards so prettily it makes him question if there is anything about her that isn't lovely. They crisscross over each other, some entangling with her soft bangs that now shift along with the nightly breeze, the golden strands practically sparkling under the pale moonlight. And it's this Alice – the one free of any and all makeup, the one who lets her natural beauty shine through so, so easily, with just her flushed cheeks (and not from the workout anymore, he's positive of that) and her azure eyes, the bluest he'd ever seen – and is that a birthmark right there, just above the right side of her cupid's bow? He wants to brush his thumb over it, followed by his lips as he finally lets her know how incredible she is in his eyes, how she can make his heart summersault inside his chest with just a wave and a smile and a touch.
Taking one step closer, he can feel every puff of air she exhales, small white clouds visible against the cold temperature, dissolving against his skin.
He opens his mouth for a few seconds but ends up closing it again, repeating the motion a few times as he tries to figure out where to start, paling when he comes to the embarrassing realization that he can't remember a single sentence from the confession he'd so thoroughly planned out. "Ah, I knew what I wanted to say half an hour ago, but I forgot everything…" a frustrated groan rumbles from his throat as he tries and tries to dig through his mind, searching for all that he'd been meaning to say. When he was alone, the words came to him so easy, without the need to think. But faced with her and in such close proximity, his brain freezes up and his tongue gets stuck, struggling to get the words out. "It's just… You're so beautiful, Alice," he resorts to saying lamely, resisting the urge to slap himself at how cheesy it sounded and choosing to continue instead, "I've been at a crossroads for a really long time, debating on whether or not I should tell you how I feel because I didn't want to scare you away, but I… you…" he stops, inhales, exhales… finishes, "You have no idea how much I like you."
There it is. Not even remotely close to how he'd envisioned it, but there was no time to dwell on it when all he could think about was how she'd react… how she'd answer. The silence that follows couldn't have gone for longer than five seconds, but to him, it stretches on for an eternity. Her eyes are still wide and her lashes still crisscross over one another and she is still the most beautiful girl he ever laid eyes on. When she moves, he watches closely, like a baby discovering what the world looks like for the first time. From her standing on her tiptoes to raising a hand to caress his cheek gently, he watches with bated breath, right until she leans forward and presses her lips to his.
He is shocked to say the least, but the happiness he feels quickly chases that feeling away, prompting him to intertwine their fingers together and wrap an arm around her shoulders to pull her against him. It's short and sweet, and he barely has time to properly kiss back, but it's still enough to make his stomach flip and his muscles weaken and his heart sing.
"Eugeo…" she calls when they pull away, foreheads resting against each other and soft smiles stretching their lips. He opens his eyes to blink down at her slowly, "Did you see the playlist I sent to you the other day?"
The sudden change in topic leaves him flabbergasted, "Huh? Y-Yeah, I listened to it," he answers, albeit hesitantly, "I even texted you saying I liked it…"
"Yeah, I know. But did you see it?" she queries again, and he honestly can't understand for the life of him what she means by that. She seems to realize his internal struggle and lets out a short, melodic giggle. After untangling herself from him (and almost making him pout), she starts walking backwards, holding tightly onto the strap of her duffel bag with a wide smile. "My answer to your confession… is in that playlist!"
That's all she says before turning on her heel and rushing inside of the building, closing the door tightly behind her.
Eugeo stands there for a long while, trying to process her words.
"What was she going on about?" he wonders out loud, grabbing his phone from his jeans' pocket and unlocking it. His fingers move over the screen deftly in search of the playlist she sent. He finds it easily – he had it saved in his favorites, but that's not the point – and opens it, staring at it intently in hopes the answer miraculously comes to him, "I just don't get it-"
Maybe, he thinks, this is what people call an epiphany. He's not sure how he even remembered to do it, but the next thing he knows, he's looking at the first letter of the title of each song on the playlist. 8 songs. 8 letters.
I love you.
A chilly gust of wind blows through his hair. He shivers, tries to convince himself it's just the cold. And he realizes she took his coat with her.
Being unable to draw his eyes away from the hidden message, he feels his face growing hotter and hotter by the second and a shy smile spreading over his lips.
He really can't wait to get his coat back.
His Favorite Thing(s)
"Kazuto… how long are you going to keep scrolling through her pictures on Instagram? You're starting to look like a stalker…" Eugeo mumbles, adjusting his reading glasses over his nose and leaning back against the couch's cushions.
Kazuto flinches and instinctively locks his phone, pressing it protectively against his chest, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The flaxen-haired boy lifts his eyes up from the book he was reading to stare at him with a raised eyebrow. When Kazuto shows no signs of confessing, Eugeo simply points his chin towards the TV behind him. The reflection from the black screen is clear as day and he watches in amusement as the former fuckboy's cheeks fill with color, embarrassed at being caught red-handed.
"Look, it's just- Ugh, you don't understand, Eugeo!" Kazuto gets up from where he sat on the carpet, rushing to his best friend's side and unlocking his phone so he could shove it in the boy's face, "Just look at her! Look! Her smile and her eyes and her hair? The way she always looks so effortlessly beautiful, no matter where she is or who she's next to or what she's wearing?! How is this possible?!"
"Oooh boy, you're more whipped than I thought-"
"Eugeo, please! This is serious, I think there's something wrong with me…" he whines, snatching the bowl of popcorn from Eugeo's lap and plopping down on the other end of the couch.
"Hey, hey, hey, that's mine-" Eugeo's complaints fall on deaf ears, even as he tries to reach over and steal the bowl back. Kazuto just leans away from his grabby hands and grabs a handful of popcorn, shoving it into his mouth and munching loudly as he throws his right leg over the back of the couch and goes back to scrolling through Asuna's Instagram. "Can't believe you have the audacity to call yourself my best friend…"
"Fhat hwas dat?" Kazuto asks through his mouthful, eyes never leaving the screen of his phone as he stares fondly at the pictures. Eugeo simply bites back his laughter and rolls his eyes.
"Forget it…" he says, "If someone told me two years ago that I'd be sitting here today, dealing with your head-over-heels-in-love ass, I'd have laughed in their face until my voice gave out."
"You're supposed to be my best friend…"
"So are you, but you chose to steal my popcorn."
"And I would do it again since you keep on mocking me." Kazuto huffs, purposely popping one by one into his mouth, chewing slowly and staring at him with a challenging gaze.
"I'm not mocking you. I just find it amazing that the guy who swore to all gods that he'd never be in love is now the same one staring at pictures of the girl he's fallen for with the stupidest grin." Eugeo shrugs, closing his book and placing it on the coffee table.
"And can you blame me? She's… everything a guy could ever ask for. She's cute and kind and sweet. She's smart, responsible and passionate about the things she loves. She never backs down from a fight-"
"Okay, okay, I get it! No need to go on and on about the things you love about her, otherwise we'll be here all day. Also, I've heard this exact rant so many times that I'm sure I know every single word by heart now." The green-eyed boy rubs his temples in mock exasperation as Kazuto grins widely.
"You know you love me, Eugeo-kuuun!" he sing-songs, moving the bowl of popcorn in front of his face as he starts bouncing on his seat in a supposed-to-be-adorable kind of dance. Eugeo would normally beg at him to stop being an idiot, but a mischievous smile starts spreading on his lips when he recognizes it as the perfect opportunity to have his popcorn back. Silently leaning forward, he quickly reaches over and steals the bowl from the distracted male, dashing away to his bedroom with a delighted cackle.
"OI! EUGEO, YOU LITTLE-" Kazuto shouts, chasing after him down the hallway and almost slamming face first into the wooden door of his best friend's room. He jiggles the knob and grunts when he realizes it's locked. "Oh, is this how you want to play? Alright then, guess it's time for Alice to find out about that one time on 6th grade where you-"
The door opens so quickly that a gust of wind ruffles his dark locks, green staring into onyx with disbelief as Kazuto smirks in victory.
"You wouldn't dare…" Eugeo eyes him up and down and his smirk only widens.
"Not if you share the popcorn," he smiles sweetly, sickeningly so, "Truce?"
Eugeo huffs and begrudgingly shoves the bowl to his chest, "Ugh… truce."