One Plus One
by Lethe Seraph
Chapter Seven: In which our protagonist discovers a little bit more, and the side characters are still rather distracted
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Many thanks, as always, for the awesome reviews and for your support. ^_^; I feel so slow. But, hey, I'm trying. My main love is Yu-Gi-Oh! fanfiction (…can you tell?), and I tend to get distracted by that. A lot. But, hey, as I said: I'm trying!
::sweatdrops:: I know, I know… Eclipse has a secret and it's been what, three chapters now? Jeez, Eclipse! Spill already! And, yeah.
I think it's a perfectly obvious secret and when it is divulged, you're going to groan. Seriously. ^_~
::smirk:: You may think you know what's going on when Eclipse says what he does, but … don't be too sure. Ohohoho.
Just in case the 'strikethrough' format doesn't show (I'm not sure): The misspellings are intentional, okay? ^_^;;
Well, thanks again! I'll just keep writing now, shall I? ::grin:: Review!
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"I can't believe this," moaned Erutis, banging for the thousandth time on the elevator doors, which still refused to acknowledge her existence. "I cannot believe this. I can't believe…"
"Yes, I get the idea," said Chris. He seemed to be taking it rather well. "So, are you going to reply to me or what?"
"Huh?" Erutis said, still glaring at the doors.
"I told you that I like you!"
"Oh, yeah, that," said Erutis. "I'm not really sure what to make of that."
"Why not?"
"It's just… I don't know… we're best friends, right?" Erutis seemed to be serious, for once. "It feels weird. I mean, like, you're just telling me because of convenience, you know? Like…" She struggled to explain it. "Because we know each other so well, it's easier for you to ask me out or whatever. …I don't know, I can't…"
"I really do like you," said Chris determinedly. "It's not because you're just some girl. You're like a guy to me."
A long, quiet moment passed.
A trickle of sweat ran down Chris's brow. He laughed nervously. "…Is it just me, or is it getting really warm in here?"
"That was so not the right thing to say, Chris," said Erutis in a very, very dangerous voice.
-
"So, how long have you known Eclipse, Great Teacher Krayon?" prompted Raenef politely.
"Ah, around four years now!" said Krayon with an air of nostalgia about him. "I knew him when he was your age; he was one of my students… he was always such a precocious boy…"
"Thank you," said Eclipse, just as politely as Raenef.
"Oh! You were his teacher?" said Raenef, amazed. "Wow!"
"The tales I could tell you…" said Krayon, eyes glinting. "Those were the good old days, hm?"
"Very," said Eclipse. "Krayon was a crossdresser even back then – the school board had such trouble with him, it's a wonder he wasn't fired."
Raenef giggled. "Why didn't they?"
"Eclipse came to my defense!" said Krayon. He smiled. "He was very well-respected by the board, being so talented at everything-"
"Krayon-" Eclipse was blushing faintly. Raenef watched the two in wonder.
Krayon took a sip of tea and continued. "So when their prize student argued for me, they were convinced! I believe he said, 'If girls can wear it, what's to stop males? Are you discriminating against my gender? You manage to overlook other, more disturbing violations, so why not overlook this harmless breach of conduct?'"
"Amazing…" said Raenef. His eyes had begun to shimmer.
"It wasn't that much…" said Eclipse. "Besides, Krayon was – believe it or not – a decent teacher. We couldn't afford to lose him."
Krayon beamed. "So you really did appreciate me!"
"Only a slight amount more than my other teachers."
"That doesn't change the fact, Eclipse! You have a heart!"
"I would have thought that you would know that by now," said Eclipse quietly. A current seemed to pass between the two, and Raenef looked between them in confusion.
"Um… would either of you like some more tea?" said Raenef, breaking the awkward silence.
"No thank you, Raenef. I'm fine," said Eclipse.
"And I really should be going," said Krayon, rising and nodding to the two. "Thank you for your hospitality, Raenef. Good luck with the tutoring."
"No problem! I'll see you on Monday!" said Raenef cheerfully. Krayon left.
Eclipse glanced at his watch, and winced. "I've stayed rather far past the arranged time, haven't I?"
"What? Oh! It's late already?"
"I suppose we got a bit distracted. You're probably busy…"
"Not at all! Um, you could stay for a while longer, I wouldn't mind…"
"I have an idea," said Eclipse suddenly. "You've never been to my apartment. As long as we're not working on anything, I could treat you to dinner."
Raenef brightened. If he were able to emit light, then Eclipse would have needed sunglasses. "Really? That would be awesome! Wow! Thank you so much!" He grabbed Eclipse in a tight hug.
Eclipse circled his arms gently around Raenef and smiled.
-
"Er, sorry? I meant, um, I …" faltered Chris as Erutis towered over him. He could sense her aura, and it was not a good one. "I, um…"
"Give me a good explanation. Now," growled Erutis.
"Um, uh, I wasn't talking about your body, just… um… we're such close friends! Yeah! I know you better than any of my guy friends except maybe Raenef! That was it. You're really pretty, honest!"
She fell to the floor with a thud. "You think I'm…"
"You're pretty! And I like you."
"Aw, Chris…"
"Seriously. I'm being open about this. I want a truthful answer, Erutis. I've told you how I feel."
Her hand touched his cheek. "Chris, you're really sweet, for a complete idiot who pisses me off every five minutes."
"Should I take that as a compli-"
She kissed him.
After a moment, she pulled away. Chris was speechless, blushing bright crimson.
"Yes, you should."
-
Half an hour, and some very interesting noises, later, the lights came back on. "YES!" cheered Erutis, springing to her feet. The elevator began moving again.
"What do you think Raenef will say when we tell him about Eclipse…?" said Chris.
"Well, we'll just have to find out, won't we?"
"So, you … like me?"
Erutis smiled. "I guess. Until further notice, anyway."
Chris grinned. "I'll take that as a yes."
Ding.
They stepped out.
"Which one's his apartment again?"
"Uh, this one. I think." Then Chris examined the door. "Oh, crap…"
"What is it?"
Hey! Chris, Erutis!
I'm leving leaving this just in case you guys cum come by. Probably not, but it's a good thing too to do, right?
(I tried to call you but nyther neither of you were home. I figured you where were together. ^_~ Good going, Chris!)
Anyway, I'm not here right now. ^_^ Eclipse invited me over to his apartment! We'll be eting eating dinner there.
Have fun with what ever whatever you're doing!
We can get together over the weekend if you're not bussy busy!
-Raenef
(Eclipse is looking over my shoulder. He keeps corecting correcting me. ^_^)
Chris and Erutis stared at each other.
"…We did all of that for nothing?!"
"At least he didn't misspell his name again…" said Chris cheerily.
"DAMN IT!!!"
Heads poked out of the other apartment doors. "Some people are trying to get some rest around here, you know!" "Young people are so rude nowadays!" "Shut the hell up!"
"Sorry!" piped Chris, dragging Erutis away. She fumed all the while.
"I am so going to kill him on Monday…"