One Plus One
by Lethe Seraph
Chapter Six: In Which Our Protagonist TRIES To Learn the Deadly Secret of Eclipse, and Our Side Characters Get… Distracted
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Many thanks for the great reviews. ^_^ You're awesome! I hope I can live up to your expectations.
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"Finally! We're here!" cried Erutis, smashing her way through the entrance of the apartment building. "What floor does he live on again, Chris?" she called over her shoulder.
A moment later, a considerably more harassed-looking Chris followed her through the doorway. "Fifth," he moaned.
Erutis ignored Chris's distressed state and pressed the 'up' button, tapping her foot impatiently. "Dammit! I don't have all day! Hurry up, you…"
Ding.
They shuffled into the elevator.
There was a humming noise as it moved upwards… and then…
It stopped.
The lights went out.
Erutis cursed.
"WHY ME?!"
-
Eclipse and Raenef jerked away from each other, turning to stare at the intruder.
Eclipse twitched.
"Good afternoon, you two!" said Krayon cheerfully.
"You could have considered knocking, you know," said Eclipse, raising an eyebrow at the teacher's questionable attire. "You still dress like that? It didn't look right even when you were in your twenties."
Raenef looked between the two. "You know each other?" he said curiously.
"All too well," muttered Eclipse, at the same time Krayon piped, "Oh, yes! We know each other very well!"
Raenef beamed. "That's so cool!"
Strange, though, that he had to suppress another, more agitated feeling…
-
"Why… why…" groaned Erutis. Chris sighed.
"Hey… Erutis?"
"What?" she snapped.
"You know that you could press the 'Call' button, right?"
She stared blankly at him for a moment.
"…Idiot! Why didn't you say anything sooner?!"
"Well, you looked like you were having so much fun moping…" Chris trailed off, wincing under Erutis's Glare of Doomy Doom ™. He could even see it in the dark…
A loud banging told him that she was hitting the Call button. "Damn it!" shouted Erutis. "Work, darn you! Work!"
"I don't think it's working," said Chris helpfully.
She glared.
"…Shutting up," said Chris.
-
"Why are you here?" said Eclipse with another sigh. Raenef wondered why Eclipse didn't seem to like Great Teacher Krayon very much. He was a nice guy, if a bit peculiar. Raenef remembered the first day of that class. He had been so surprised when Great Teacher Krayon spoke; his voice was drastically different from his appearance. If Krayon had never talked, then Raenef would have assumed him a… well, a very 'lacking' girl.
He blushed at the memory.
It was, frankly, rather embarrassing, and Chris never failed to remind him of it whenever he wanted something. If they weren't such good friends, it might have been considered blackmail.
…Even so…
"I need to speak to you, Eclipse," said Krayon, his tone shifting abruptly. He was serious? Raenef was immediately curious. What could make Great Teacher Krayon serious? Oh, but he had said Eclipse. That meant that he didn't want to talk to Raenef. He wasn't hurt, though! Not at all.
"I'll go to the kitchen and fix you some tea!" volunteered Raenef cheerfully, rising and leaving before Eclipse could protest.
After all, it wasn't like there was any reason for Raenef to be jealous.
-
"Erutis?"
"Yeah?" said Erutis dully. She had finally given up, sinking to the floor in admitted defeat. Somehow, she had ended up quite close to Chris's corner.
"We're alone. Together. In the dark, in a small, confined space. Where nobody can see us," added Chris.
She raised an eyebrow, even though she knew the boy couldn't see it. "And?"
"…Dunno."
"Then why'd you bother bringing it up?"
"Do you like anyone, Erutis?"
"Well, aren't we being forward today?"
"Hey. It's a way to pass time, and we could be stuck in here for a while."
"Oh, hell! You mean I'm going to be stuck here with you?!"
"You didn't figure that out already?"
-
Raenef heard their hushed voices, and tried not to pay attention. He was curious by nature, though, and that nature soon got the best of him.
"Eclipse, I ran into two of Raenef's friends today."
"I see. …Is this about Raenef, then?"
"In a sense. It's about you and Raenef."
It was hard to hear them. Raenef finished pouring the tea and tried to concentrate. What could Krayon have to say…?
"Do we have to talk about this now?" Eclipse hissed. "Raenef could come back at any time."
"But I told them-"
Eclipse cursed. "What did you tell them, Krayon?"
Raenef realized what he was doing, and stopped. Eavesdropping was wrong! It was Eclipse and Krayon's own business, not his. He put the cups on a tray and was about to carry them in-
"Damn it, Krayon! It's not like that!"
"I just thought they should know-"
"You've always liked meddling in my affairs, haven't you? Even now…" Eclipse's voice was low and dangerous. Raenef couldn't move.
"I was doing what I thought was right, Eclipse. Don't compare this to the past. I've already apologized for that a thousand times over."
"They'll tell him now, Krayon! I can't have the boy thinking that."
"I'm sorry, then," said Krayon. "But I thought they had a right to know. Speaking of Raenef, what's keeping him?"
Oh, shoot. Raenef grabbed the tray quickly.
"Raenef, do you need any help?" called Eclipse. He sounded normal now. Maybe Raenef had been imagining things…
"No!" Raenef tried to sound cheerful. What could Krayon have said? No. No. It was none of his business. If it were something important, Eclipse would tell Raenef eventually. "I'm done!" He returned to the couch and placed the tray on the coffee table. Heh. Tea on a coffee table.
"Thank you," chorused Krayon and Eclipse.
"No problem!" He beamed.
Eclipse glanced at Krayon darkly before sipping at his tea, and Krayon nodded.
-
"So? Do you like anyone?" prodded Chris.
"You tell me," replied Erutis.
"Hey, I asked first."
"And?"
"Uh…"
"Exactly. So, tell!"
"Uh…" repeated Chris awkwardly. "Well… promise you won't laugh?"
"What, do you like Raenef?" joked Erutis.
Chris was silent.
"Oh, crap…" murmured Erutis.
"Hell, no!" said Chris. "What gave you that idea?!"
Erutis sighed. "Darn."
"Anyway, promise?"
"Yeah," said Erutis reluctantly.
"No giggling."
"Right."
"Or snickering."
"Uh-huh."
"Or chuckling-"
"Get on with it already."
"Okay." If Erutis could have seen Chris, she would have known that he was blushing. "Erutis, I…"
She blinked. Was he going to say…
"I… like you. A lot."
And they were trapped alone, in a dark, confined space, together…?
"You're joking, right?" said Erutis.
"N-no." Damn it! His voice was even trembling! She gulped. Where had his ego gone?
Although, she admitted to herself, it wasn't such a bad thing if he liked her…
Suddenly, the lights flicked back on. A loud hum, and the elevator began rising.
They stared at each other.
"…All RIGHT!"
It would have to wait until later.
For, right now, their best friend needed to be saved.
They had a mission.
Erutis clenched a fist and glared at the elevator door determinedly. They would succeed.
…And then the lights went back out.