Author's Note: I'd like to thank you all for your support of this story and your feedback. I truly appreciate it! Here's a nice, long chapter for you to sink your teeth into!
0o0o0o0
Claire sipped at her bottle of soda and glanced around the room. Everyone seemed to be actively engaged in something, and she was content observing the noise and interactions. Kai and Gray were laughing heartily about something between sips of alcohol and Karen and Popuri were chattering on about what possible games to play. Ann was busily sifting through a basket of candy, meaningfully removing larger pieces and chocolate bars from the mix. Surprisingly enough, she wasn't eating any of the sweets. From what Claire could gather, Ann already had an itinerary with games to play, and they were all to be a surprise.
"This is going to remind me of being a kid," Claire smiled as she played with the beads of condensation on the outside of her glass bottle. She hadn't been to many birthday parties as a child, but group games made her think of her elementary school days. The farmer had to admit that she was eager to be part of the group; she had spent the last few years in the city in her lonely apartment, only going out when begged to. Her friends had a different idea of fun than she did, and the only reason she agreed to go out was her fear of losing contact with everyone and being completely alone. She wondered what kinds of antics they would get into tonight; Claire had learned from their play date recently that Ann was creative with her games.
"Yeah… Ann definitely reminds me of my childhood," Cliff's voice had a nostalgic tone to it as he looked over at the redhead. Claire noticed there was that distinct sadness in his eyes that was reminiscent of their time at the beach together when he talked about Ivy. She could tell that he was intent on not brooding tonight, as his gaze turned toward Claire's beverage. "So… what does green soda taste like?" The corners of his lips turned upward ever so slightly.
His friend was eager to keep that smile on his face. Tonight they would be each others' support, just as they often did. Her heart swelled at this thought – she never had to worry about feeling out of place as long as he was around. Karen was also a good pillar of strength for her, but she had to admit that there was a certain intimacy she shared with Cliff and no one else. She pointed at the picture of fruit on the label. "It's melon. One of my favorites – I'd pick up a bottle or two on the weekends back in the city. Here, give it a try." She passed the bottle to him, the glass marble in the neck of the bottle rolling noisily as she did so. She became aware of Gray's presence on the opposite side of the room once again and began to realize just how grateful she was that Cliff was here tonight. They always kept each other grounded and she appreciated that about him. She fought the urge to hug his arm; she had become so very emotional over her situation with Gray, but surely it didn't warrant her embarrassing the both of them in front of their friends.
Cliff gave the beverage a taste and his face lit up. He didn't drink soda very often, but there was a merchant that used to travel to his home village with goods for trade. A young Cliff would occasionally buy some soda with his allowance, but Ivy often stole it from him when he wasn't looking. Lychee soda was his personal favorite, and unfortunately, it was his sister's as well. She would wait until he opened it and if he set the beverage down, he would return to the bottle and find it half gone. If getting her to return to him now would be as simple as opening his bottle of soda, he would buy as many cases as he could afford. Cliff pushed the depressing thoughts from his head; it did no good to dwell on these things in a crowded room tonight. The last thing he wanted was people asking him what was wrong on a night when he was supposed to be celebrating his friend's birthday. His thoughts drifted back to beverage in his hands. He enjoyed the melon flavor as much as he did lychee. It never took long for him and his sibling to finish the bottle together, and the two would inevitably have a belching contest when the drink was gone. Ivy won more often than he did, and the loser often got stuck with folding laundry. She was a girl of many talents, and one of her greatest skills was getting out of chores.
He allowed a smile to come back to his face as he looked over at Claire. She was watching him curiously, those sapphire eyes twinkling at him with a hint of playfulness. Her hands were resting in her lap and her head was slightly tilted, her gaze focused on him. She didn't seem to mind that he had been daydreaming with her drink in his hand – quite the contrary, she looked fascinated at what he was doing. "How is it?" she asked, flashing him a grin.
It was so encouraging to see her look so happy after the last time they spent time together. He could only imagine what her heart had been going through for the past week or so. He tried his best not to stare at her, but Claire's relaxed facial expressions coupled with her cute pink nightgown made it difficult not to. He was reminded once again how beautiful she was. He focused back on the bottle in his left hand. "It's really good. I can see why you bought it a lot."
"Well, have some more then. We can trade for a while," Claire gave him a friendly smile as she unwrapped his fingers from the orange soda in his other hand and took a drink.
"Okay, but don't drink it all," he teased. Cliff felt the heat rise in his cheeks at the notion of sharing a bottle with her, but he quickly brushed away his embarrassment. This was hardly the time for him to behave like an awkward adolescent.
"Alright, ya chumps! The first event of the Ann games is about to begin!" Ann slammed the basket of individually wrapped candies and loose jellybeans onto the middle of the table. A couple of sweets bounced out of the container and threatened to fall onto the floor.
Popuri fidgeted on her chair. "Is it a coed game?" she asked innocently, playing with a lock of her hair as her face lit up.
Ann cocked an eyebrow. Why would she invite the guys over if they weren't going to play the games with them? She gave Popuri such an incredulous stare that she wasn't sure whether she should laugh or duck down in her chair. This elicited a giggle from Karen, who ruffled Popuri's hair. "Of course it is! All of them are! Ann games are about inclusion!" The redhead let out a snort in reply as she leaned on the edge of the table. "First things first. We're having an arm wrestling competition, tournament style!" She hastily drew a bracket on a scrap of paper as a smug look spread across her mouth. "We'll start by gender and then there will be an ultimate showdown for first place!"
Popuri's face fell. She had obviously had a different tone to the party in mind. "Alright…"
Ann was surprised that no one had asked about the candy. It seemed a few of them had already had a bit of alcohol, but she was about to push them into a more alert state. "But that's not all!" Ann shouted so loudly that everyone jumped a little. She tilted the basket onto the table's surface and gestured toward the sweets in a flourish. "Tadaaaaaa!"
She was met with confused stares.
Ann rolled her eyes; her friends were staring at her like she was crazy. "We're gonna bet with candy! When I say 'go', grab as much as you can. We'll use it to place bets on the arm wrestling matches. The only rules are that you can't bet on yourself, and whoever wins the whole shebang gets poaching rights and can steal one piece of candy from everyone else. And no eating the candy until the end of the finals!" She wagged her finger.
Gray's sudden deep voice made Claire jump. "What about a standard exchange rate?"
Ann stroked her chin thoughtfully, considering this practical question. "Well… I guess people will have to trade and barter what they think is a fair deal." She was met with a sigh in response; apparently Gray had expected an entire system planned out, but she didn't care. If he wanted a complex betting system, he could figure it out for his own birthday party. "Just make sure you get lots of candy," Ann snorted; she was tired of waiting. "Aaaand… GO!"
Claire stood up and walked over to the table, quickly realizing that she had missed out on most of the candy already. She was surprised to see that everyone else was already there rifling through the sweets so eagerly. The young woman wasn't expecting the games to be so aggressive. Claire debated over whether to pick out her favorites or to just try to grab something to bet with. She glanced across the table. Popuri held out the skirt of her nightgown, using her arm to sweep the candy off of the table into her clothing, going purely for volume. She was so absorbed in her candy collecting that she was oblivious to Kai and Karen sneaking pieces from the hoard in her nightgown, sniggering as they did so. Gray looked over at Popuri's technique and swore under his breath, lamenting how he should have brought his hat to use as a scoop.
Despite the fact that she grew up in a bustling city, the havoc made the farmer a little nervous. Claire tried to approach the table between Karen and Kai and her friend laughed at her. "Come on, Claire. You're not going to get any at this rate!" Karen grabbed her arm and gave her a small handful of sweets from Popuri's stash.
She felt a little guilty profiting off of the young woman's work, but it wasn't long until the table was cleared of treats. Claire had only managed to grab a couple of licorices and a toffee on her own. She looked around the room. Popuri had definitely gotten a majority of the candy, and Gray was a close second.
Ann chugged the rest of her soda and grabbed the neck of the bottle, shaking it roughly so that the marble rattled loudly. Kai flinched at getting splashed with a few drops of soda, but Ann only smirked at him and shook harder. "Alright, you crazy kids! Candy collection is over! Let the tournament begin!"
0o0o0o0
The first match on the women's competition lasted all of five seconds. Popuri complained loudly that no one had ever told her that she should breathe while arm wrestling. Claire felt uncomfortable betting on the first men's match – she was certain that Gray would beat Kai, but to put candy down on it showed her support of the apprentice, and she wasn't sure if she was ready for that just yet. The young woman was content with simply watching the first couple of matches with Cliff. Her friend didn't seem to be much of a betting man himself, and when she mentioned it aloud, he simply flashed a smile at her and said he was waiting for the right matches.
Before Claire knew it, she was sitting at the table across from Karen, interlocking her hand with her friend's, waiting for the signal. She found that her entire body was humming with excitement. With all of the eyes on her, she found that she was afraid of losing too quickly and embarrassing herself.
Before she had too much time to dwell on it, she was startled by a glass marble jangling in a glass bottle – Ann shook her empty soda container to signal the beginning of the match. "Aaaand… GO!"
The two spent a few seconds getting a feel for the other's level of strength. Claire was certain that Karen had developed her arm muscles from lifting and stocking crates of goods in her father's shop, but she wasn't going to give up that easily. Claire surprised herself when she held her ground, and the brunette looked over at her with a mildly startled look. The farmer realized at once that a few months ago her own hand would have been slammed to the table's surface within a matter of seconds. When did she acquire such power? She was rattled from her thoughts when she heard Kai's voice.
"Huh… Hey, Poppy, I'll bet five jellybeans on Claire. You interested?"
The blonde looked up in shock to see that Karen was struggling to hang into the game. "Shaddap, Kai! You're messing me up!" A few beads of perspiration showed on her forehead and her arm was trembling. While Claire could feel the beginnings of strain in her own arm, she wasn't uncomfortable.
"All bets are off now that the match has started!" Ann reminded them. "Besides, that's technically my candy you're betting with. You should be grateful for what you've got!"
Apparently this wasn't the answer he wanted to hear. The young man folded his arms across his chest and pouted. "Some have more to be grateful for than others…" Kai muttered under his breath. "I wanted to win some more candy to catch up." He had been pressured by Popuri to bet all of his candy on her winning the first match against Ann. He couldn't say no to those big round eyes and he had complied with her request although he knew it would cost him all of his sweets. Gray had been eager to take the bet and the apprentice was now smugly sitting behind his pile of winnings. A few friends had chipped in some pieces of candy to allow Kai to continue to bet. "Besides, Cliff put down an entire chocolate bar on Claire."
Karen fought back a laugh and her arm weakened further. "Et tu, Cliff? C'mon, I thought we were besties!" She pouted as her opponent threatened to overtake her. At this point, she knew that it was only a matter of time before she lost. Claire seemed to gain strength in hearing that her friends had her support. Karen was hardly surprised at Cliff's choice; as a matter of fact, she'd be surprised if he selected her over Claire. However, she started to wonder if anyone had predicted her as the winner.
He wrung his hands, his cheeks flushing with color. "W-well… when she's not tilling the soil on her farm, she's chopping wood out on Mother's Hill. She's really strong."
Ann had no doubt that the farmer would be a formidable opponent, but seemed distracted by the information she had heard from Kai. Her eyes were drawn to the candy bar that her friend had added to the betting pile. "Where did you get the bar of chocolate from?" she asked suspiciously.
He briefly looked up at her with wide blue eyes, and Ann almost laughed aloud; she had never seen such a guilty look on someone's face. "It was in the basket," Cliff insisted quietly, but his friend knew he was silently cursing Kai for blowing his cover.
Ann had forgotten that she had her own pile of chocolate she removed from the sweets stash before the event and she was determined to keep that bar of candy for herself. She glanced at the wrapper – dark chocolate with almonds – and didn't care that it wasn't her favorite flavor; it was the principle of the thing. "I thought I took out all the big stuff before I let you all go at it," she whined, lamenting the loss of her precious chocolate bar.
He knew she was trying to pout in order to get her candy back without any struggle. Sometimes she acted so much like his sister he was astounded. After all, one of Ivy's favorite pastimes was walking all over him. He wasn't going to back down. A playful smirk spread cross Cliff's lips. "Well, I guess you'll have to win it back, then."
Ann flew across the room and tackled him in response. Luckily enough, they landed on Popuri's soft sleeping bag, but it did very little to muffle the loud thump that resounded when they hit the floor.
"Come on, you two! There's a match going on!" Gray rolled his eyes, but a huge grin was spreading across his face. He turned back toward his candy stash, eyeing the bet pile with great interest.
Karen focused on her aching arm and she could feel her strength fading. She felt a strange combination of frustration and pride that Claire was holding up so well. She had just assumed because her best friend had a smaller build and less aggressive personality, she wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight. Karen threw her weight into her arm and was surprised when Claire didn't budge.
Karen's hand suddenly smacked the table and the brunette blinked in surprise. She had truly given her all in the match, and her friend still managed to best her. Claire flashed her a playful smirk and Karen couldn't help but pull her into an embrace, ruffling her friend's blonde locks; it was impossible to get mad at her. The young woman had come so far from the day they introduced themselves to each other. Claire was much stronger, and not just in a physical sense. Karen's green eyes met her friend's blue ones and the brunette knew that while Claire might not see it right now, she was going to come out of this rough patch stronger and happier. Karen couldn't help but feel her throat tighten as she patted her friend's back. "You are too much, you know!" she laughed.
The friends were startled by a commotion on the other side of the room.
"Come on, I know you can flip me!" Ann had pinned her friend to the floor, her long red braid dangling in and tickling her friend's face as a form of torture. "You can get out of this hold!"
Cliff let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, but I don't want a fist to the stomach today, thank you." He turned his head to the side, trying to avoid getting her hair in his mouth. Claire had a distinct feeling he was speaking from experience. The farmer knew how to save her friend.
"Hey Ann, are you ready for the next match? You're up against me!" Claire gave the redhead a grin as she watched her friends sort through their bets.
Ann bounced back to her feet, pushing off of Cliff's torso as she did so. The young man scowled at her as he sat up and gingerly held his side. Claire offered him a hand and shot him an apologetic look for making Ann get up so roughly. He shrugged in response as if to say that her behavior tonight was nothing out of the ordinary.
"So, who are you going to bet on? Me or Claire?" Ann asked him, eyeing up his chocolate bar as Cliff gathered his winnings from a pouting Popuri. A couple of months ago, she would have been implying much more with this question. She was relieved in a sense that she had stopped analyzing everything he did anymore.
He looked at her curiously and quickly became aware that she was staring at his candy. He smirked at her. "I… I think I'll refrain from betting this round."
Ann bit her lip and resisted the urge to tackle him again. "Alright! Let's do this!"
Claire sat back down at the table, wishing there was more of a break between matches; now that she wasn't straining it, her arm felt a little weak from her bout with Karen.
"So, who's gonna count us down?" Ann impatiently hammered the table with her fists.
A couple of pieces of wrapped candy rolled across the floor as they tumbled out of her friend's hands. "Hold your horses! We're still betting!" Kai laughed, counting out his sweets.
"Oh, please! Like you have anything left to bet with anyway! Count us down, Popuri!"
Popuri bounced over to the table after finishing off the mixed cocktail Karen had made for her. Claire looked over her shoulder to notice Gray putting in a bet for Ann to win and she couldn't fight back the sick feeling in her stomach. He didn't believe in her? The young woman bit her lip and focused on the task at hand. It wasn't about winning Gray's approval, she reminded herself – it never should have been. Still, that nagging lamentation popped back up in her mind and she struggled to choke it back.
"Alright, quiet down everyone, we're getting ready to start!" Popuri was eager to be the emcee for a change. She yelled over the chattering group of people, forgetting that she had donned fresh lipgloss for the event and that she had been eager to play Spin the Bottle, not really minding too much which boy she'd have to kiss. "I said, SHADDAP!"
The room fell silent.
Perhaps the most startled one in the room was Popuri. She hadn't expected them to actually listen. After all, she spent day after day back at home with a brother who constantly pushed her into the background. The young woman wasn't sure where this sudden well of confidence came from, but she rather liked this powerful feeling.
"Much better!" She nodded more to herself than the other occupants of the room. Spying Kai's nearly empty lemon lime soda on the edge of the table, she snapped it up and finished it off. She grabbed the neck of the bottle and giving it a rough shake to rattle the marble, ignoring the mildly offended expression on Kai's face. "On your marks, get set… GO!"
Claire immediately felt a strong push from Ann and knew this match was going to be different than her one against Karen. The blonde noticed that her opponent had more muscle power and forced the match into small bursts of aggression and defense. Claire preferred a more gradual increasing of pressure and found Ann's technique jarring.
The two sat in silence as they grappled for a minute or so. "Hey, you're pretty strong," Ann flashed a grin at her. "We might be a while at this." She paused, letting out a small chuckle. "Hey, did you know that before we had The Tabster, we had a dog?"
Making small talk in the middle of an arm wrestling match was a little odd, but she wasn't opposed to it. "Oh, really?" Claire was surprised that a canine lived at the inn, and she loosened her force, oblivious that Ann was slowly doing the same.
"Oh, yeah… A really sweet, big old dog. He used to sleep down by the bar and everyone loved him. He was super mellow and wouldn't hurt a fly. He was really good at finding the owners of things people left behind at the bar; he could pick up their scent." She let out a nostalgic sigh as she stared up at the ceiling, apparently reminiscing about the old pet. "There was one strange thing about him, though."
Claire's eyebrows shot up beneath her bangs. "Oh? What's that?"
"Well, this might sound kind of disturbing, but… he had no nose," she stated in a hushed voice as she nodded at Claire, as if to tell her this was the honest truth.
Her body stiffened in shock at this piece of news. "But wait… how did he smell?" Claire was so busy trying to figure out how odd this dog looked that she didn't notice the silent giggles behind her.
Her eyes widened in horror as Ann threw her full weight into her arm and slammed Claire's hand onto the wooden surface of the table. "Terrible!" she bellowed loudly, an impish grin spreading across her face.
The farmer was still blinking in surprise as Popuri rattled her bottle to signal the end of the match. "Wait… what?" At first she was wondering if Ann was referring to her performance. The punchline of the joke hit her and she found a grin slowly cracking across her face. She looked over Ann's shoulder to see a very red-faced Cliff laughing so hard he was silent, fruitlessly attempting to blink away tears of mirth. Karen slapped him on the back of the head.
"Come on, now. Don't encourage her. Ann cheated!" the young woman sulked.
Gray moved in to scoop up his winnings from Karen's pile of candy. "Strategy."
Popuri's face lit up after she took a sip of wine. "Oh, I get it! He has a hard time smelling because he doesn't have a nose!" The young woman laughed so hard she snorted. "And… he's a stinky dog!"
Hearing the pun explained by an obviously tipsy Popuri made Claire laugh even harder. A couple of tears rolled down her cheeks. She couldn't even be mad that Ann had won by using a slightly underhanded tactic. The joke had been worth it. The young woman didn't realize how much she needed a good laugh.
0o0o0o0
"You can do it! Go Cliff!" Claire cheered on her friend.
His face immediately flushed with color and he lost the headway he had been making against Gray.
The apprentice shot his roommate a keen look, silently asking if he wanted him to throw the match and let him win. Cliff would owe him, of course – he had his pride, after all. Gray was met with an indignant glare in response. A small smirk played at his lips.
"Fine, have it your way." His murmur was only loud enough for the two of them to hear. He braced his arm as his opponent pushed harder. If this was simply an endurance match, Gray knew that he was going to lose. He had gone out to watch Cliff bow hunt before and had even tried firing an arrow at a target a couple of times with him back in the spring. It had made his arms quite sore – it was a different kind of strength than Gray used at the smithy. Sometimes Cliff sat in silence with his bow drawn for a long time. It was more stamina than Gray cared to spend. He knew that if it came down to brute strength, he was sure to beat Cliff. All he needed to do was give him one hard push; Gray could feel his stamina fading. He masked his fatigue with a smug look as he quickly threw his all into his arm, catching his opponent by surprise and slamming his hand down on the table.
"Ding, ding, ding!" Ann's loud voice and rattling of her empty bottle startled everyone, including the cat, who was busy brushing herself against Claire's ankles.
The farmer let out a sigh. She had wanted her best friend to win the match, and she wasn't sure if the reason for support was partly because she didn't want Gray to win. It seemed she wasn't alone in this sentiment, however. The entire group of spectators made sounds of disappointment at the turnout of the match. The winner folded his arms across his chest and let out a sigh of frustration. "Oh, come on! Was no one cheering for me?"
"Nope," Kai flashed him an impish grin. "No bets were made because everyone wanted Cliff to win."
The loser of the match shyly rubbed the back of his head and blushed deeply. His heart was warmed that he had so much support. He knew it was probably a joke of some sort, but after living on his own for so long, it felt nice to have someone cheering for him, even if it was over something as silly as an arm wrestling match. He felt the beginnings of a lump in his throat, but quickly shook it off. "Oh, really? Y'all are serious?" He let out a delighted chuckle.
Gray stood up and stared around the room incredulously, his eyebrows furrowing amidst the sniggering. "What he said! Are you guys serious?! Why are you all such jerks?"
Ann bounced over to him and ruffled his hair, causing it to stick up wildly. "Because you're easy and fun to tease. You get all angry and huffy," she giggled, imitating his expression.
He straightened his hair and scowled at her, causing a wave of giggles from Karen and Popuri. Kai laughed aloud – his friend rarely ran a comb through his own hair, but when Ann messed it up, the apprentice acted as if she had done something unforgivable. Gray said nothing, but he snorted, folding his arms across his chest.
"Oh, come on. Don't pout. You get to go against me now!" Ann grinned at him.
Gray sat back down at the table with a grunt. He didn't even want to look at the betting going on. He knew it would only frustrate him further.
0o0o0o0
Gray could feel the strain in his arm. He wasn't expecting his opponent to put up such a strong fight; it was no wonder she had won on the girls' side. She had a similar arm-wrestling style to his – brute force as opposed to endurance. His muscles were still aching a bit from his struggle with Cliff. Still, there was no way he could lose to her and live it down… He was training to be a blacksmith and wielded a heavy hammer regularly, after all, and it would look bad if he came in any place other than first. The words came out of his mouth and he went with them – anything for a win. "Well, your father is a cheapskate! He could at least afford to give us a bigger discount on meals! He's just raking in the money with us boarders!" He had hoped to hit a sore spot and cause her to falter.
Murmurs echoed through the audience as the color rushed to Ann's face. "Oh, yeah? You want to talk trash?" she braced her arm as she blew her few stray bangs out of her eyes. "Well, how about this? Your grandfather… is a very wise and reasonable man." Her eyes locked onto her opponent, eager to see his reaction.
There were nods of agreement from the spectators. Gray felt his blood boil as he clenched his jaw. She knew exactly how to get under his skin. He slammed his free fist on the table angrily. "H-How dare you! How dare you say that about him!" he roared, oblivious to the snickering around him.
His roommate didn't understand the reason why Gray was losing his temper. "Uh, Gray…" Cliff nervously interjected as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ann said good things about Saibara…"
"Exactly!" his roommate glared at the young man, as if asking if he wanted to be his next victim. Cliff didn't speak much, but sometimes when he actually did, it was at the wrong time… Gray gritted his teeth. It was Cliff's fault he was having so much trouble with this match – Ann had managed to trick Claire so that their round didn't turn into an endurance competition and she had much more energy than he did.
"What? Can't handle the truth?" Ann taunted, smirking at her opponent.
Her eyes widened when he said nothing in reply, but his strength seemed to triple. Her arm ached and trembled as she attempted to ward him off. It was simply a matter of time before she lost the match. She hadn't meant to make him stronger…
The Tabster leapt onto the table in the heat of the battle and nuzzled the pair's interlocked hands. Gray jumped in surprise as Ann embraced the opening, quickly pinning down her opponent's arm, letting out a triumphant laugh.
"I win!"
He couldn't tell if he was angry or relived that the whole thing was over. "That's a load of bullshit! That damn cat-!" As if on cue, the tabby nuzzled Gray's hand and flopped on her side right on the table, letting out a sharp meow in request of a belly rub. "Am I the only one who sees something wrong with this?!"
Karen walked up to the table and scooped up the cat. "You're right."
He was surprised that she of all people was defending him, but he wasn't about to argue with it. The whole vibe of the room felt antagonistic to him tonight, and he had a feeling why – many people attending the party were pretty close with Claire. Were things going to always be this awkward with everyone from now on? In a way, he felt like the farmer had stolen some of his friends.
"Absolutely right," Karen continued, cooing at the cat. "Poor Tabster has been ignored all of this time! We'll have to fix that, won't we?" The women all surrounded her and giggled, petting and showering the feline with affection.
Gray folded his arms across his chest. "This is stupid." He put up a gruff front, but part of him felt relieved that the attention had been shifted to the cat instead of what felt like everyone hating him. Maybe things would eventually go back to normal after all.
Kai rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. The cat's getting all the attention from the cute girls." He let out a melodramatic sigh before laughing. "Jealous?"
He wondered if Kai was referring to his perceived lack of popularity tonight or if he was just teasing. He preferred to think it was the latter and decided to go with that interpretation. "Don't make me punch you," he warned, but a grin was threatening to spread across his face. "When the entire world has gone mad, we men need to stick together," he quoted one of his favorite wartime books from the library. Gray looked over at the cluster of girls and saw a brown head peeking out over the rest. "Yo, Cliff!"
"Huh?" The young man stepped out of the crowd, the yellow tabby burying her face in the crook of his neck. Popuri and Claire were trailing after him, stroking the cat's soft fur and gushing over how cute the feline was.
Upon the sight of him, the young man shooed him away with the wave of a hand. "Ugh, never mind." Gray turned back toward Kai and shook his head. "He's dead to us."
His friend bit back a grin. "Definitely a traitor. I guess we'll have to find a new roommate."
Cliff had only caught half of their conversation. He shrugged and returned to the group, the cat purring loudly in his ear.
"Hey, everybody!" Ann rattled her soda bottle. "It's time for poaching rights! I'm gonna take my candy now!"
There were groans and stashing of candy in hidden places, but it didn't deter Ann one bit. The redhead skipped around the room, collecting her prizes. When she came around to Claire, she looked at the farmer's less-than-impressive winnings and asked the blonde which was her favorite. When Claire responded it was the toffee, her face fell when it was snatched up. Ann winked at her in response and grabbed another piece instead, tossing the toffee into her friend's lap. "I was only kidding! Yeesh, Claire, lighten up!" she thrust a wine cooler into her hands and ruffled her hair.
Ann turned toward Claire's companion.
"Yeah, yeah…" Cliff reached into his pile and pulled out the chocolate bar. Instead of handing it to her, however, he unwrapped it and ran his tongue along it. He gave her a wicked grin. "Ah, was this the one you wanted?" He looked up at her with big eyes and offered her the opened candy.
Ann snatched it from his hands, and to his surprise, she ate half the bar in one bite. His jaw dropped, and Claire had to keep wine from coming out of her nose as she giggled among the chorus of groans and gagging. The redhead looked around the room. "What? Chocolate's chocolate," she reasoned, her mouth still full. She turned toward Cliff. "I guess I could offer you a bite," she smirked as she held out the bar to him tauntingly.
He raised his eyebrows and turned up his nose at her. "No, no… I wouldn't want to take away from your prize." He folded his arms across his chest as he pretended to pout, but a smile played at his lips.
Gray turned toward his winnings and was startled when Popuri appeared behind him, her hands clasped behind her back. "Wow, you cleaned up pretty good, Gray," she giggled. "You know, despite not winning the final match and all."
He rolled his eyes. "Very funny. I'll have you know that I have a knack for picking winners. It's just like when I go out to the horse races…" His voice cracked as his blood ran cold. Oblivious to the chatter around him, his gaze was drawn to Claire and their eyes locked. She was staring at him, wide-eyed, a distraught expression written clearly upon her face. She had heard his words and he couldn't help but wonder if she was thinking the same thing. What was to become of his training Tucker? Would she even let him on her farm again? In breaking her heart, had Gray also thrown away his dreams of training a yearling? He felt his stomach drop a little. He wished there could've been a way to train with the colt without the awkwardness surrounding Tucker's owner. Claire still had a lot to learn about handling and raising horses. Would she turn to Barley for guidance instead? He didn't want to think about it, but it was a genuine concern for him.
Their eye contact broke as Cliff placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, speaking to her in a soft, comforting voice. Gray noticed his protective body language and wondered if it would be another tense evening back in their room after the party ended. Cliff hadn't spoken much to him about the events that transpired lately, but his silence and avoidance of eye contact for the past few days told Gray that he had still managed to make him angry. He sighed as he watched Claire gratefully turn toward Cliff. He offered her a drink of his soda and the two chattered about what the next game could possibly be. Gray caught a snippet of Claire saying she'd prefer pillow forts over tug-of-war, but he was distracted by the look Karen was giving him. She was glaring at him with such ferocity that Gray found himself shrinking back. It was almost as if Claire had a bodyguard on either side of her.
He was so sick of being treated like a villain for something that wasn't even entirely his own fault. He couldn't go the rest of his life like this; something needed to be done.
0o0o0o0
Author's Notes: Melon and lychee Ramune are the best. I had to express my love for them in this story. And yes, Ann is referencing a Monty Python joke, haha.