"You what?" Caitlyn asked indignant.
Ezreal huffed exasperated after repeating the same sentence at least three times already.
"It's really not as big of a deal as you make it out to be Cait", he tapped his foot on the floor as they were waiting to be allowed in the big amphitheater.
"You're just cool with playing her fake boyfriend? Taking nothing in return? That's pretty suspicious even for you", she squinted her eyes trying to decipher his facial expression.
Where the hell is this goddamn professor anyway? Get me out.
"Yes I'm cool with it. Is that so bad? I'm just doing my friend a favour. Don't act like that's totally unheard of", he rubbed his brow with a deep sigh. "What's weird is you acting like this about it".
Caitlyn looked at him as if he had just uttered the dumbest thing in existence.
"Seriously?", she asked visibly biting her tongue.
Ezreal nodded.
"In all the years that you've known me I'm pretty sure that by now you must have realized that I am not.. uhm.. what's the word? Oh yeah. Fuckin' stupid".
The echo of her words lingered in the silence that had spreaded between them despite the constant noises created by the rest of the student body.
"But okay. Since you won't say anything I won't say it either".
"Can you hook us up with some costumes for your fuck buddy's party or not?" Ezreal asked again in a desperate attempt to change the awkward subject.
The blue haired girl stayed silent for a few more seconds as she clearly read his mind.
"Sure". Was all she said in the end.
The commotion around them grew louder as the students were now entering class.
"Great. Catch you later!", he thanked every God he knew on the inside as he followed the others waving back at his friend.
"It's superhero themed you know! What should I get you guys?", he heard her shout back making him turn around.
"Whatever! I trust you!" he yelled without thinking it through.
Class was stressful enough to deal with for him to actually take the time to think about a fiasco of a halloween party.
"Would you mind NOT leaving your DAMN socks under the table for the gazillionth time?"
Lux's irritated voice broke through the peaceful silence that he had finally managed to find.
Rolling his eyes, Ezreal lazily turned to unbury his face from his comfy pillow to look up at her.
"Actually I would mind. Now let me get some sleep" he shooed her away with a wave of his hand and switched sides on the couch.
So far he had had a terrible week. A terrible month if he was honest with himself. He had already turned in quite the large chunk of essays and assignments yet here he was with still a ton of shit to do while his body and mind were slowly giving out.
"Is it THAT hard for you to do something so simple as to take your clothes and put them in the laundry basket for a change? I've told you a million times Ezreal!" The girl huffed irritated.
Ezreal took a deep breath. His eyes still closed shut. He could just imagine her looming over him ominously like a reaper ready to snatch his soul as he slept.
"Honeymoon period is over I guess" He mused.
He sat up with a groan and rubbed his eyelids for a little while. The girl was glaring at him. Fists planted on her hips. Her foot impatiently tapping on the floor. He checked the clock at the other side of the room. Sadly he'd realized he had only napped for a little less than an hour. And that was far from enough for him. Especially when he'd spent the entire last night rewriting the entirety of Dr Lawson's incredibly boring assignment.
Ezreal just stood up feeling a bit dizzy and dragged his feet towards the kitchen with a loud yawn.
"Will you stop ignoring me? And do what I say for once?!"
Ezreal looked at her. If she didn't know any better she was sure that that's what corpses looked like: Dark circles under his red eyes, pale face. The clues were all there. If she hadn't heard the loud growl of his stomach she'd be convinced that her roommate was already dead. She was tempted to throw a snarky comment his way but in the end she decided that it was not such a good idea after all.
"What's up with you?", she asked folding her arms together. "You look-"
"Like a rat crawled up my ass and died?", he finished her sentence for her. Sarcasm dripping on his voice as he picked up a mug. "I know", he sighed.
"Why? What's going on?", she hesitantly moved to the kitchen and leaned over the counter next to him. She didn't want it to be obvious but frankly she was kind of worried about Ezreal.
"Nothing's going on", he simply said as he waited for his warm brew of coffee to be ready.
"If it's about the party we don't have to go you know".
"Oh trust me. Your bodyguard's halloween party is the last thing on my mind right now", he spat out sarcastically.
Luxanna rolled her eyes and took this as her queue to leave him alone.
"I'll be there when you finally decide to be a grown up".
Luxanna felt relieved as she took off the elephant head in the gloomy back room. Thank God it was finally time for a much needed break. Her feet and the back of her neck felt sore while she tried to massage it. She hadn't even noticed Laura, the cashier, sneaking up on her any sooner than the moment she felt someone tapping on her shoulder.
"Sooo..?"
"So what?", Lux echoed confused.
"Who's that blonde guy who's been picking you up after work every day?" The brunette winked with a naughty look on her face.
At this point, Lux knew the girl well enough to know that she was in a gossipy mood. She smiled tiredly while the girl was fixing the name tag on her shirt. Laura seemed like a cheerful and positive person enough to make her take a liking to her already.
"Come on girl just spill the beans", she chuckled. "God.. I'm still hangover from last night and my shift starts in.. five minutes." The girl checked her wrist watch then sighed as she took a sip from her plastic cup. "I went to that bar I was telling you about.. you should totally check it out by the way. Ugh.. I shouldn't have drank that much but the bar tender was a total hunk so.. " she joked and Lux laughed alongside her. "Now come on enough about me! Spill the tea sis!"
"What tea is there to spill?" She asked as she opened a bottle of water.
"About the blonde guy! Who is he?" Laura shoved her lightly on the ribs with her elbow.
"He's my roo-" Luxanna stopped talking as a thought popped on her head then quickly corrected herself: "Boyfriend." She said. "He's my boyfriend."
The word felt extremely strange on her lips. But as far as Sett knew Ezreal was her boyfriend. And she had already dug herself in too deep to tell the truth when she knew that Laura would definitely be at Sett's party.
"Pfft." Laura huffed. "Ofcourse he is." She mumbled as she was going through her purse. "Why are the cute ones always taken?"
Luxanna simply shrugged unsure of what else to add.
"So how long have you guys been dating?"
Oh. We should have come up with a story! I'm so unprepared for this!
"Uhm. Not too long. Just a couple months." She flashed an awkward smile at her.
"I'm so jealous! No one is picking me up after work!" She said dramatically. "You're so lucky Lux."
"I'm.. sure you'll find someone", the blonde patted her on the shoulder with her grey paw.
"Yeah.. but when? My mother has already started bugging me about when she's going to have grandkids.. For fuck's sake. How about the boss? He's cute. Do you think I have a chance? Maybe I should dress up as a sexy cop or a sexy nurse or a sexy cowgirl for the party."
Uh. Oh. Boy-crazy would certainly be an understatement.
"I'm glad you've made up your mind on the sexy part at least" she teased her.
Laura frowned unamused.
"Spare me the sarcasm girl. You got your man. As for me.. desperate times call for desperate measures and I'm almost 30." She had turned on her heels to leave before she stopped to face her again. "Oh I wanted to ask you what's your costume going to be? Maybe we could be something together!"
"As far as the boss said the party's going to be superhero themed but I haven't gotten a costume yet. And neither has Ezreal even though I told him so many times-"
"Ezreal?" She interjected with a ridiculously flashy smile on her face.
"It's.. it's the blonde guy."
Laura squealed so she quickly covered her mouth.
"You're bringing him to the party? Then you gotta have a couple's costume for sure! It is going to be so awesome!"
"Hey calm down." Luxanna laughed. "It's really not that exciting."
"But it is! You don't often get to see the guy you like in such a setting!"
"Oh trust me. I see him more than enough.. "Lux scoffed then explained further when she noticed the girl's confused expression. "We live together."
"You whaaaat? That soon?!"
Lux nodded.
"Ok. Ok. I need another Advil" she said as she rummaged through her handbag one more time. "I hope I'm invited to the wedding."
Lux let out a thunderous laugh. "Oh trust me. That is for sure never going to happen".
Laura looked at her with an irritated arched eyebrow as she tied up her hair.
"Yeah? Say that again when you reach my age girl.. Later!", she chirped as she exited the room.
Lux laughed once again. The prospect of marriage felt too far away. Frankly she wasn't sure if she even imagined married life for herself one day. Especially a marriage to Ezreal of all people. She cringed at the mere mental image of him waiting for her at the altar with that stupid smirk on his face. Nope. Never.
"I'm going to have you executed mafia style", Ezreal barked at his phone as soon as Caitlyn picked up.
"I'm guessing your costume got delivered?", the girl let out a muffled laughter that she simply could not hold in.
Ezreal stood in the bedroom in front of his mirror. Taking in his image in the halloween costume hoping to hang on to a thought that could somehow salvage this walking disaster.
"There are a billion superheroes and that's what you decided to get me?", he asked. "Consider our friendship to be over".
He was wearing a black, leather spandex body suit with a black tail, a black mask covering the upper half of his face and a pair of black cat ears crowning the top of his head.
Caitlyn's laughter was so loud through the speaker that he had to move the phone away from his eardrum.
"Stop laughing you goddamn traitor!", he growled. "You could get me a Spider-Man suit! Or.. or a Batman"!
When she finally stopped laughing she said: "Oh come on! You have to admit you look just like Cat Noir! You don't even need a wig!"
Ezreal stayed silent, patiently waiting for another round of laughter to cease.
"I look like I walked out of a BDSM session in this leather thing"!
"You're a kids' show hero you perv! Anyway you're stuck with this whether you like it or not. I'll pick you guys up in two hours. K. Bye".
"No you won't! Listen to m-"
He stopped talking as soon as he realized Cait had already hang up on him.
"I'm so going to kill her", he whispered as he took another look of himself in the skin tight suit in the mirror.
"I look ridiculous.." Lux heard Ezreal mumble under his breath for the billionth time as she rang the bell of Sett's house.
Apparently her boss lived in a suburban area filled with huge houses. She had even spotted a few villas on their way here. Her and her roommate were now standing at the entrance as Cait was parking her car.
"Will you get over it?" She chuckled. "You look fine."
"You're only saying that so I don't leave before you even have the chance to show me off to your boss" he commented bitterly. "Plus I don't even look like a superhero. More like I've just escaped a furry sex dungeon or something." He sighed.
"Well.. for what it is worth I think you look cute."
Lux on the other hand was wearing a blue and red suit with an S shape drawn on her chest area along with a red cape draping over her shoulders. Cait said that she was ideal to be Supergirl. And who was she to try and dispute that?
The door opened wide and the duo was immediately greeted by Sett's perfectly white teeth when he smiled at them. They could hear loud trap music coming from inside.
"Luxanna! I'm so glad you could make it!" He reached out to her to give her a small hug. He was wearing a bad blonde wig along with a red cape on his back and what looked like a fake armor suit. "And.. uhm.." he snapped his fingers as if that would help him remember Ezreal's name.
"Ezreal." He said monotonously.
"Right!"
"Hope you didn't miss me too much", Cait smirked when she got to the door behind them in her red dress and cape.
"Ah! Scarlet Witch! Our battle will be legendary", shouted Sett as soon as he laid eyes on her and gave her a quick hug. "Come on in guys!"
The boss guided them into a long corridor. His house was huge. Lux saw so many faces she didn't recognize among a few that she'd previously seen in the store. There were a few regular customers as well.
As they followed Sett up a long staircase she linked up her arm in Ezreal's for support. When they reached what looked like the living room area she noticed the decorations on the walls. There were spider-webs and small pumpkins along with masks and colourful serpantine streamers.
A big buffet with food and various bottles of alcohol and other beverages were the point of interest as several people were crouched above the table wearing all kinds of costumes. Ezreal noticed there were at least three Jokers and four Spider-Men talking to two Harley Quinns.
"See? At least you stand out", Cait leaned into his ear and chuckled.
He simply stared blankly back at her as she helped herself to a drink.
The designated DJ was dressed as the Wolverine. It was pathetic seeing the guy with a fake cigar hanging from his lip while he messed with some buttons on his console trying to switch tracks using his plastic claws.
He rolled his eyes as the three of them poured drinks into red paper cups.
As the party went on, the mood got wilder and now one of the Spider-Men was making out with a Cat-Woman on the couch so he awkwardly looked away.
Lux was halfway through her second drink and she was standing next to him bopping her head to the rhythm while Cait had disappeared to God knows where.
By now, Lux had introduced him to at least three of her co-workers as her boyfriend and every time she did he felt a weird tingling sensation in his stomach for a reason he could not understand.
It felt satisfying just to be standing next to her with his arm behind her lower back smiling at strangers.
"Hey wanna dance?" Ezreal saw Sett tap lightly on Lux's shoulder. She immediately looked to him as if she was almost asking for his approval. Like she'd ever need it. "Hope you don't mind if I borrow your girlfriend Mr Cat?" Sett joked.
Ezreal simply dismissed him with a wave of his hand.
"Sure go ahead" he forced a pretend smile.
As the song went on Ezreal caught himself feeling more and more irritated.
Is it that terrible that I want the gorilla man to keep his goddamn hands away from her? Am I really that fuckin' hopeless? Dude. It's just a stupid crush anyway. Chill. He told himself. It's not a big deal. It happens to the best of us!
As he watched them from afar with a glass in his hand the bottle of gin on the buffet started to seem all the more alluring.
He caved in pouring another drink. But as much as seeing Sett and Lux twirling around the room irked him he couldn't make himself look away.
Ezreal watched him sliding his hands lower on her hips as hers were resting comfortably on his broad shoulders. Their bodies swayed together to the beat of the music.
"So you're just going to allow this?"
Caitlyn said in a low voice when she approached him. At first he hadn't even noticed her presence.
"What are you talking about"? He scoffed.
"Pfft. You have every right as her rental boyfriend you know. You could actually do that and trust me when I say that no one would even bat an eye. Besides.. Even a blind man can see that jealousy of yours." She rolled her eyes. "But if that's not the case then you really should consider drama school."
Ezreal took another sip of alcohol with his eyes never leaving the dancing duo but said nothing. His nerves ticking more and more.
"I can tell you like her. That you ACTUALLY like her. The sooner you realize it the better it is."
"Is it though? Was it better for you and Ekko?" He spat out in an aggressive tone.
Cait took a step back and stared at him with her mouth agape.
Instinctively he tried to reach her with his hand but the girl moved further away from him.
"Cait. No. That's not what I- It's really not-"
But Caitlyn had already disappeared from his line of vision.
I'm a fuck up. He facepalmed. Ezreal sighed then moved towards to balcony. He had to satisfy his curiosity so he took another look towards the couple and what he saw felt like a needle to the heart.
Because she was smiling. That same smile she rarely ever gave him. But the one that was real.
I need some air.
"Hey", Lux said softly as she approached him in the balcony. "Are you okay? You seem a little out of it lately."
The look he gave her puzzled her making her immediately apologize for asking that.
"It's fine." He said leaning over the railing.
"We don't have to stay if you don't want to. I don't mind".
"Nah. You seemed to enjoy yourself back in there. I don't wanna spoil it for you", he smiled.
The girl inhaled deeply but remained next to him. Does he really want to hear it? Alright then.
"Ezreal I'm worried about you. You're not even eating well these days. All you do is drink coffee and study", she admitted. "Will you please tell me what's going on with you? I want to help any way that I can".
"Why"?
His question sounded like a trap. A simple why yet she was sure that she couldn't give him the affirmation that he wanted.
"Because we're.." She took a pause fumbling for the correct response in her mind but the only thing she came up with was: "because we're friends".
He gave her lopsided smile.
"I've been having some problems with uni. That's all. You don't have to worry about me".
Lux frowned but didn't say anything as they both turned their blue eyes out towards the horizon and the city lights. A chilly gust of wind made the tiny hair on her arms stand up.
"I just didn't expect it to be this way."
His voice was almost silent. Only now had she noticed how close they were to eachother. Their arms touching like it was something completely natural.
"What do you mean?" She asked genuinely curious.
The blonde boy let out a sigh that he seemed to be holding onto for way too long. When he turned to look at her she could see the tears in his eyes. The ones that he would never let fall.
"You know.. ever since I was little I wanted to become an archaeologist. But more than that I.." he paused in contemplation as if he was afraid to keep on talking.
But Lux kept her silence. She was going to wait for as long as she had to if it meant that she would be a good friend.
"My parents they.. they loved to travel when they were younger. You could say it's part of my DNA", he huffed a laugh. But she kept listening intently.
"I wanted to travel Lux. Just like them. I wanted to explore the world. I never wanted to spend my life in my hometown. Or even here." He pointed out towards the view that lied ahead of them. "I always wanted to get to know new cultures, new civilizations, learn new customs, new languages, new.. friends." He smiled at her so sweetly that her heart skipped a beat.
"What's holding you back?" She asked as she reached for his hand that was pressed against the railing surprised by her own gesture.
Ezreal simply chuckled and said "everything?" in a joking manner.
"Hey it's not funny" she scolded him. "I mean it." As much as he annoyed her when he wouldn't stop blabbering seeing him silent brought her an even greater unease. "Ezreal you're a smart guy. I'm sure that whatever's going on at the university you can handle it."
"Is that a genuine compliment miss Crownguard?" He teased in a clear effort to diverge from the subject at hand.
"Don't even try."
Ezreal immediately raised his hands in surrender saying "okay okay you got me."
After a few moments of comfortable silence with the calm breeze brushing against their flustered cheeks Ezreal spoke again.
"I'm not as smart as you think I am Lux. Hell I'm not even as smart as I think I am".
"Oh shut up" she scoffed. "You know so many things about your world. Things that not all of us even seek to know about. Things that you've taught me."
"Do not give me that much credit. It's all surface level intelligence and nothing more. You know that saying 'jack of all trades master of none?' I think that it was made to describe me to be honest."
"Well. Aren't you the one who's giving yourself too little credit?" She raised an eyebrow.
She saw him swallow hard and stare straight towards the sky.
"Tell me about your world."
Lux was taken aback by the sudden request.
"I don't think there's much to tell.." she gazed down at her shoes. "I don't know much about it. I've only ever been in Demacia anyway."
"Your whole life?" Ezreal questioned. "Really?"
The girl gave him a hum and a nod.
"Tell me about Demacia then. What's it like?"
"It's.. beautiful. Really. The architecture in the Great City. The port. The sea."
"I'm not asking about your buildings." He joked. "Why do you like it?"
"Because my family is there." She said in an way too serious tone.
"I get that. Having an emotional attachment to a place because of the people that you love. But why is it that you want to go back there?"
Only now did she realize that she was still holding onto his hand. Her thoughts travelling into a downward spiral.
"I don't." She said it. She finally said it. "I'm the one who brought myself here", she admitted. "It is true that I don't know how to get back but.. when I cast that spell.. I simply wished that I didn't have magic in me.. I thought that things would be easier that way. I didn't quite expect to get.. well.. here", she lifted her arms out towards the city view.
Ezreal was now staring at her obviously trying to figure out what she was actually saying.
"Demacia is a nice place.. when you're not afflicted."
"What..?"
"When you're not a mage." She cut him off before he could finish his question. "If you are.. you either try to hide it as best as you can or.."
"Or..?" He echoed.
"Or you end up in prison. Or in some cases even worse. The mageseekers are doing a really bang up job." She said sarcastically. "There is war.. there is a segregation. There's hunger. You are so lucky Ezreal. In this world. You have no idea what it's like.."
"You think it's better in this world? We may not have mages but there is always racism and wars. Famine and poverty. It's all the same." He shrugged but his look betrayed the fact that he was still deep in thought.
"Do you think that this will stop at some point? That some day I'll be able to walk freely as a mage in my country? That maybe these beliefs will be.. gone?"
Ezreal was now leaning forward. Resting his chin on the palm of his hand.
"The problem is there are people who are holding these views. You can't really do something about that. After all.. society moves forward by gravestones."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Lux took a step back startled.
"As in people holding outdated views need to die before society can get rid of those views."
Luxanna blinked multiple times anxiously. That logic sounded way too familiar.
"Well that sounds pretty ..macabre." She said after giving it some thought.
"I didn't say we have to commit genocide!" He laughed. "All I'm saying is only the passage of time can change these things. At least that's what I believe."
"Time.." she repeated to herself. That was the peaceful option. The one that Sylas never considered.
We don't have the luxury of time little light. We are not doing this for our grandchildren. We are doing this for us.
She could nearly hear his voice if she would ever dare to make him a proposition like this.
"Ezreal. I want to help you. Please let me. You know you can talk to me about anything". A sudden urge filled up her chest. "I know I've been nothing but a burden for you but I really want to be there for you no matter how big or small you consider your problems to be".
"That's not true at all and I'm pretty sure you know it."
Lux blinked and Ezreal took a deep breath.
"You're not a burden. Not even a little bit. I mean it. I like having you around. It's nice not being alone for a change", he said in an uncharacteristically serious manner.
"No you just like watching Disney films with company", she teased him touching his arm lightly.
"Oh come on you like them too!"
"Okay I do.." She admitted shyly.
For the past few weeks, whenever they had time they would binge Disney films together snuggled up with a blanket in Ezreal's living room. So far her favourite one had been Tangled. All that did was enrage her blonde roommate who vigorously insisted that the Emperor's new groove was the greatest film ever created. Seeing him riled up was just too entertaining for her to resist irritating him that way.
"But like seriously.." his demeanor suddenly shifted back to his worried tone. "I like living with you but.. when you think about life for example. Don't you ever have doubts? Like.. aren't you ever scared of ending up dying alone?"
"Well. I don't think that thinking about these things makes any difference to be honest. Everything that's going to happen is bound by fate. That's what I believe."
"Isn't it depressing to think that you're walkin down a predestined path? I always thought that a beaten path is a boring path".
Ezreal visibly frowned at the sound of her words. The desire to put a smile back on his face started to become irresistible.
"Well. I could make a suggestion." She gulped hard as Ezreal perked up and looked at her with wide expectant eyes.
"What do you say we tie the knot if we're both single by 40?" She giggled lightly waiting for him to do the same while she toyed with her red cape.
"Only if you propose to me now." Ezreal's answer took her aback. For a few seconds she caught herself staring at his lips before her look shifted back to his blue eyes.
"Also can we maybe do single at 37? Sounds more attractive to be married at 37 compared to 40." He laughed leaning once again against the railing. This time with his back against it.
"Hey hey it was just a suggestion not a proposal." Lux chuckled. "After all it is a man's duty to propose. I'm a bit old fashioned like that." She squinted her eyes in a mischievous manner as she said that.
"Alright then." Ezreal took her small hand into his then carefully leaned down on one knee.
Lux couldn't control the arrhythmic beat that her heart was on as she saw him tenderly stroke her knuckles with his thumb. The next time he spoke his voice sounded deeper than usual making her weak in the knees. There was a nearly hypnotic look in his eyes that she was so mesmerized by that she had almost forgotten where she was. For a brief moment everything around them felt static.
"Luxanna Crownguard. Will you marry me at 37?" He flashed her a charming smile. For a good moment Lux had no idea how to react. She knew that none of what was happening was true. After all everything had been a joke between them from the very beginning yet this time she couldn't ignore the stubborn irregular beating of her heart that was hammering inside of her chest and the heat that was starting to become more and more apparent on her cheeks.
She looked around wondering if anyone was seeing this. There could be a huge misunderstanding she didn't want to have to clear up later on. But gleefully she realised they were alone on that dark balcony listening to the muffled rap music from the room playing in the backround. But did it really matter? To these people Ezreal was her boyfriend.
And perhaps she didn't find that idea all that repulsive in that particular moment seeing the way he was looking at her. His eyes looked bluer against the black mask. His cocky smile on his stupid face looked endearing. The one that she'd hated so vehemently.
"Yes." She nodded before thinking this through any longer.
It was like a switch was suddenly turned on inside the boy. His whole face instantly lit up at her reply. It was the kind of light that she could never hope to mimic with her powers.
"Great. I finally have a bride. My mom would be proud. And surprised to be honest." He laughed awkwardly as he stood up straight. "You don't need a ring I hope..?" He asked as he twirled his tail around his fingers.
"Nope." She said popping her lips as she let go of his hand. "Just be nice to me so you won't lose your bride." She stuck her tongue out to him.
"Likewise." He replied wrapping his arms against his stomach. "Just be nice to me."
He smiled but Lux could tell that there were far more many things behind his simple words.
"Don't worry I got this." She reassured. "I'm loyal and honest-"
Ezreal's sudden outburst of laughter caught her off guard.
"Wh- what's so funny?" She asked annoyed.
Ezreal leisurely wiped a tear from his right eye. "You don't have to advertise yourself to me." He half giggled. "I'm already committed."
Luxanna's mind went blank as she searched for a witty response.
He can't possibly mean that. She reckoned while his expression remained unchanged making it harder for her to figure out where exactly he was going with this.
In the end she simply hummed and nodded still uncertain. Lux. Snap out of it, she cursed herself internally then smiled at him.
"How can you say things like that? You're so.." she fumbled looking for the right word. "You're so blunt." She cackled.
He shook his head. "Not when it comes to you."
The blonde girl blinked multiple times completely dumbfounded by what her roommate was saying to her.
This time he averted his gaze from her choosing to settle for his own shoelaces. "With you.. I can't ever be as blunt as I'd like to be," he chuckled.
A moment of calm silence passed until Lux asked: "what's that supposed to mean?"
She could see the hint of a smile forming on the corner of his lips yet he kept staring downwards to the floor.
"It's nothing. Forget it." He replied. "Why don't we go back inside? It's getting chilly out here." His eyes crinkled underneath the black mask when he offered her that smile.
How come had she never noticed? His eyes always lit up when he talked to her. They lit up precisely because he was talking to her. But not now. Not this time.
"Uh. Yeah sure" she managed to say. But the boy had already left her side without waiting for her to come along.