Heeello everyone! :D So, I decided to publish not one, not two, not three, but FOUR chapters in a row this time! Wait, wait! I can explain x) Operations called me out from my standby week and assigned me duty in four different cities this week, so I will be away for some time. Of course, the hotels have free wi-fi, but it's quite bad and slow, and sometime I cannot even connect to them. So I will leave you with some chapters just to be sure :) Should I be able to get online, I will publish more and you can read them at your own pace :) Enjoy!
"Earth calling Prompto!"
He snapped out of his memories and focused on Iris's face floating dangerously in front of him. The unexpected proximity startled him so much, he gasped and leaned backwards.
"Did I scare you?" she chuckled "You barely noticed I brought you dinner".
Prompto could indeed smell food now, his stomach rumbling approvingly.
"Ignis told me to make you this one, said it's one of your favorites" she smiled.
Prompto's eyes lit at the sight of Mexican style chili beans and the boy could feel his mouth watering.
"Wow, you're just as good as Specs at this!" he complimented after tasting the dish.
She blushed and smiled at him, sitting beside him like she had done earlier that day.
"I also brought you this" she said, placing a couple of pills on his tray "Jared's orders. He said you will be feeling better in the morning if you take the pills now".
Prompto wasn't a big fan of medications, but had become slowly accustomed to them during the journey with the boys, where getting to bed without injuries was almost a utopia.
Iris watched him eat in silence, and Prompto started to feel nervous. He couldn't understand why she would simply stare at him without ever leaving his side.
"Has- has Noctis ever had a girlfriend?" she asked after a long pause.
"Here we go again" he thought discouraged "Back to playing the prince's sidekick, giving moral support to his admirers".
"Dunno. He doesn't really like talking about this kind of things" he replied more coldly than he had intended. She probably noticed, because she blushed and shook her head as to clear it off.
"Sorry, I shouldn't really be asking these questions… I know he is to get married soon, but…"
"It's fine" he said flatly, not feeling that hungry anymore.
He wasn't jealous or envious of his best friend, had never been and never would be, but it irritated him that girls only came to him to talk about another man. It made him feel invisible.
"W-what about you?" she stuttered, in an attempt to cheer him up "Have you ever had any girlfriends?"
"Uh? Me? Not really, I don't count". The words burst out of his mouth, as if he had been wanting to confess this but had kept it all in for far too long.
Iris blinked confused and gave him a questioning look.
"Well, all the girls I liked were after Noct" he explained, shrugging his shoulders as if to brush it off as a matter of no real importance.
"It's alright" he added, noticing her saddened expression "I'm used to it. Doesn't really matter to me".
"Frankly, it seems to me that it does matter" she retorted.
"I guarantee you, it doesn't" he said, looking outside the window "Noct is a good-looking guy, he's brave, kind-hearted and the future king. Who would look at me when he is around?"
There was a short pause before he continued. "I want to make crystal clear that I am truly and eternally grateful and happy to be Noct's friend. He deserves all the attention, and I understand it. Besides" he proceeded to give her his signature punk-grin "I bet I'll be the next most wanted guy after his wedding!"
His smile was so contagious that Iris couldn't help but return it cheerfully.
"I bet you will!" she agreed.
Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of a shy knock on the door, and Jared's grandson, Talcott, tucked his head in the room and focused on Iris.
"Iris, grandpa said it's time for Prompto to get some rest" he chirped.
"Right. I'll leave soon then" she nodded, and the child ran off to tell his grandfather.
"Oh well, guess it's bed time" she smiled "Goodnight, Prompto!"
"Goodnight, Iris" he replied, and the lights in his room went off.
"Oh, Prompto?" the girl asked in the dark while opening the door.
"Mmm?" he muttered.
"I-I don't think Noct is the only good-looking, brave and kind-hearted member of the party" she said almost in a whisper, before quickly closing the door behind her, leaving a very much shocked Prompto lying motionless in bed.
She was furiously pacing the floor in her bedroom, back and forth, thinking about what she had just said.
"What just happened?" she muttered to herself, still shocked at her own words. They had left her mouth suddenly, voluntarily, without her own permission.
She didn't know why she had said that. Noctis occupied her mind day and night but, between that awkward night conversation with the blond member of the party at the stone terrace, and the Daemon encounter the previous evening, another person had slowly begun haunting her thoughts.
It was extremely easy to grow fond of Prompto Argentum. In fact, she had always liked him, but in a brotherly and friendly way. So why did she tell him she found him good-looking?
Well, he was cute. And he had showed her how brave he was the night before. And anyone that had exchanged at least a couple of words with him knew how kind and sweet a boy he was.
So what she said was essentially true: he was good-looking, brave and kind-hearted. He was her friend, and she simply remarked some of the qualities he possessed. As simple as that.
She sighed heavily, feeling more relieved at the thought of having spoken those words to boost her friend's mood. Friend. Right.
She kicked off her slippers and changed into her pajamas. Though her body was completely exhausted since she hadn't slept since the Daemon attack, her mind began racing once again in the dim light of her room. She thought of all the events that had been happening the past two days, the feelings she had for Noctis, Prompto's punk-face grinning at her. She groaned in frustration, pressing her pillow over her face and forced shut her mind off.
A few feet away, behind the wall that separated their rooms, Prompto was not having much luck at falling asleep either. He hadn't yet shifted his position since Iris had closed the door to let him rest. But how could he rest when his mind kept replaying the last conversation they had had?
He could almost hear her speak the words in her sweet voice. "I don't think Noct is the only good-looking, brave and kind-hearted member of the party" she had said. Did that mean she found him cute and brave?
He shook his head in denial. It couldn't be. He now knew too well she had feelings for Noctis and, for all he knew, she might have been referring to Ignis, or her own brother.
But he doubted she was actually talking about Ignis, for they had never really been that close and he was much older than her, nor could she have meant her brother, for he had never met a girl speak of her brother like that.
So that only left him, Prompto, as subject of her digression.
People had told him before he was cute, like his mom or all the girls that came to him just to be introduced to the prince, and never like that, anyway. They had never had that edge in her tone, not even his mother's adoring one.
He wasn't quite sure what was so different about the way she had said it, and he might as well have imagined the whole thing, but that simple sentence had definitely left a mark in him.
He finally shifted his position, slowly and carefully, so he could face the window and tried to clear his mind of all thoughts by closing his eyes. He normally fell asleep instantly when using that technique but, as soon as his eyelids shut, he could see Iris's face smiling at him, as vivid as if it were real. He frowned at the strange occurrence, but decided he certainly didn't want to wake up with a headache the next morning and forced himself to brush it off and focus on falling asleep.
Next Chapter: Jared encourages Iris and Prompto to check out the local market. Noctis joins them. Prompto craves ice-cream.