A/N – Haha, I understand you guys are getting frustrated for something to happen but personally I'm the type who loves a long-drawn out, rocky 'chase' in romance. I think it feels longer since you guys have read it over a period of months rather than in one go. We are getting close to the climax of the fic now though, so please hang in there and keep cheering for Reimi ^^ REVIEW!
Amy grumbled to herself on her walk to college the next morning.
Stupid Mr Bradley, giving her such a tight deadline. She had wanted to spend more time with Lloyd… Things were finally starting to happen, and she wanted to go on another date but her homework just kept piling up. It would have to wait for another day.
Rounding the corner she joined her friends heading in. They talked about the usual crap they always did and walked to their form room just as the bell chimed for morning register. As she took her seat and waited for the teacher, she replayed some scenes in her head from the past few days.
"When you're free you can visit."
"I'll give you a discount…"
Lloyd.
"Ohhhhhh!" she closed her eyes in frustration, resting her head forwards onto her desk. That was definitely an invitation for a date! Why did she have stupid college today?!
"You alright, Amy?" a friend leant across and asked, gently poking her with a pencil.
She pouted in dissatisfaction, then hurriedly concealed a smirk as a thought hit her.
"Actually, I'm feeling a bit ill…"
Lloyd looked up at the clock and grinned. His lunch today was going to coincide with Reimi's for the first time in weeks. Since he didn't know his roster far in advance, he hadn't been able to let her know, but he assumed she would stop by at the same time she had for the past few days; one o'clock. They would finally get some time together. He considered sending her a text to check availability but knew she could get into trouble if her phone went off at work.
In general, workdays were becoming increasingly slow and boring, but things were manageable now that she was eating here again. The dull boredom that lingered in his mind was eclipsed by thrill at the thought of seeing her. Now that she was around less, he treasured these moments all the more.
He wasn't too concerned when she didn't immediately appear at 1, sometimes she was late, but, as the clock finally struck 1.15 and he took off his barista apron, a voice ripped through his reverie and ruined his plans in an instant.
"Lloooyyyydddd!"
"Oh, no…" he paled.
Was this a dream? It couldn't be… He was definitely awake. And yep, there she was…
Amy.
She pushed her way past the other customers and met him with a hug, which he was too stunned to return.
"A-Amy? Don't you have college today?" He asked, cold waves pulsing through his body.
She winked. "Decided I'd rather visit you," and took his hand, leading him to a table nearby.
He pulled back. "W-wait. I have lunch plans,"
"With who?" Amy's eyes suspiciously scanned his co-workers.
"Reimi," Lloyd replied. Amy tensed then gripped his hand imploringly.
"So? You get to see her every day, Lloyd. And I came all this way to see you. Don't you want to spend time with me?"
He hesitated. "But, I'm normally working when she comes in,"
Amy looked around for Reimi and after failing to locate her, sat down at the table they had walked in front of. Body on auto-pilot, he did the same.
"Where are you meeting her?" She questioned bluntly, intensely focused on him.
"Here. She hasn't let off work yet,"
Amy tilted her head. "Well… We can all hang out, surely? And anyway, she's not here yet, give me some of your time," her hand closed over Lloyd's slowly.
He removed his hand after a moment, resting them under the table, but he couldn't find a way to politely decline her offer and, it was true, Reimi hadn't shown yet, so he eventually gave in.
Reimi rushed out of work, kept late by a fussy client, and headed directly for the Starbucks. Her walk broke into a little jog, then a run, as eagerness got hold of her, but she stopped after passing the window and catching sight of something which made her hurry from the prospect of the door.
Lloyd was sitting down, and there was a girl opposite him. It was Amy.
She swallowed uncomfortably and couldn't help but stare, taking in their close, huddled positions, the unawareness of those around them, Amy's hand closing over Lloyd's…
She broke away and jogged back the way she had come.
A date.
So… he does like Amy? Despite what she thought may have happened the other night…
She kept jogging and didn't stop until her exhaustion distracted her.
And when it was time to meet him after work, Reimi was able to smile and act normally, apologizing about lunch and saying that she had had to work through it today because of another important client, but her heart wasn't in it.
Lloyd didn't feel quite like talking either, he had unhappily returned back to work at two after a painfully dull time with Amy. He had even gone back to work a little early, seeing her to the door with a begrudging hug when she had asked for one.
Disappointment still flooded his chest but he knew the situation was not irregular. Reimi often had to miss lunch entirely if work dictated. It just sucked that it was on the one day he had free to see her.
As they reached home, normality returned. Reimi suggested 'the usual' and started up the GameCube. His excitement started to come back.
Shortly after starting Crystal Chronicles, the others had got bored of it and so he and Reimi had started their own game together. Amy and Elsa would still sometimes watch but it was not for long periods of time and he liked it that way.
Tonight though, even the game couldn't dispel all of the tension. After a few minutes had elapsed, Reimi couldn't help letting out "So, you and Amy are getting along well."
"What?" Lloyd stared at her.
She kept her eyes glued to the screen, "Haha… I'm glad. She really likes you too, Lloyd,"
"Wait, Reimi, what are you talking about?" he pushed the pause button to get her full attention. She hesitated before addressing him.
"I'm sorry, I saw you guys on your date in Starbucks this afternoon. I think it's really.. really s-sweet,"
"You were there?!"
"I… I was with a client and I passed by," she didn't want to let him know the real reason she had left them. She was no longer sure of her feelings, but-
"No,"
Her eyes drawn to his by bluntness in his tone.
"It's not like that. I like Amy, but only as a friend,"
"It's okay if you want to keep it a secret," she sheepishly looked away but-
"No," His voice grew harsher. Having him so focused on her made Reimi's skin tingle. "Please, don't get the wrong idea," He continued desperately. "I-"
"I'm hooome!"
Reimi unpaused the game as Amy walked in and returned to watching the screen. From the corner of her eye she saw Lloyd still staring at her.
Amy made a beeline for Lloyd and placed herself down between the two of them. "Reimi! Where were you today?" Reimi was surprised Amy addressed her first.
"Hi Amy, I was with a client," she said, her voice as even and casual as she could make it. Amy scrutinized her for a second before smiling at the answer.
"Aw, that sucks. Hope you got paid overtime,"
Reimi shrugged non-committedly. Amy changed position to talk to Lloyd.
"Hey Lloyd, I've just had a great idea! Let's go to the cinema!"
"The Sinema? …Is that a type of church?" Lloyd frowned in confusion, Reimi paused the game again and placed the controller on the floor, fighting the urge to run out again.
"Haha. No silly," Amy ruffled Lloyd's hair, which he immediately tried to fix up again with a sigh. "It's a building where you go and watch films. You sit in the dark and watch them with about a hundred other people while eating lots of popcorn and sweets,"
"Hmm, we haven't been in awhile. Could be fun," Elsa mused, surprising everyone by stepping out from the darkness of her room.
"E-Elsa…," Reimi stuttered. "I didn't know you were home…"
Elsa just smiled.
"Oh… Er… Well, I was actually thinking I'd like to take Lloyd on my own…" Amy frowned.
"I'm free tomorrow night, how about then?" Elsa continued, ignoring Amy.
"But it depends on what we watch, what kind of film are you thinking?" Lloyd joined in.
Amy grimaced. "Alright…" she conceded, "How about a horror?"
"I'm not very good with horror," Reimi put in meekly.
Amy started to perk up again. "Aw, come on, Reimi! There's supposedly a really good one that's just come out called 'Mr Slim'. You can sit right between Elsa and me and cover your eyes at the scary parts. That's half the fun!" she giggled.
"Well…,"
"And anyway, Lloyd hasn't seen a horror film yet or even been to the cinema," she said with puppy dog eyes, bringing Lloyd back into the conversation by throwing an arm around his shoulder, "And that's what cinema's were really made for! Group scare experiences!"
Lloyd didn't reply and instead turned back to Reimi. "Do you want to go?"
No, Reimi didn't want to go, but a stubborn part of herself pushed that she would rather go out and have a bad time then stay at home whilst Lloyd and Amy went. Besides, she could tell that Lloyd was interested in the idea, he would normally oppose something immediately if it bored him.
"It's just pictures on a screen, right? I'll be fine,"
Amy gave a 'yay!', and then immediately started pawing through a nearby newspaper for cinema times. Reimi gave a small sigh but put on a smile when she noticed Lloyd's attention still on her, a frown on his face.
"So when shall we go see this horror masterpiece?" Elsa asked, sitting down in one of the comfy armchairs.
"Right now, if we're quick!" Amy proposed.
After checking that there actually was a horror film on, the group quickly headed down to their local cinema to watch the 9pm showing of 'Mr Slim'.
Surprisingly for a weekday the cinema was pretty crowded, full of college students who had come straight from their place of study for a night out with friends. Reimi was still a little distracted from earlier on, especially since her and Lloyd hadn't been able to talk since, but she kept up the positive conversation on what they thought the film would be like.
"So why is he called Mr Slim?" she asked when there was a lull in the conversation.
"Hmm… Maybe he's some dude whose diet went wrong and now he wants to wreak his vengence on the youth of America! That's usually the way with these things," Amy shrugged.
"It's not a very scary name, is it? He sounds like he's the head of a giant fitness corporation," Lloyd said causing Reimi and Amy to chuckle.
"It's actually a film adaptation of a famous internet legend," Elsa cut in. "It was right in the review you skimmed yesterday, Amy."
"Oh. Well I didn't read into it too much cause I like going in without any spoilers," she swatted away the comment with her hand.
Twenty minutes later they had left the concession stand and were making their way into Screen 2 to find their seats.
"I have to go to the toilet real quick," Reimi said suddenly, not wanting to have to get up and go during the film.
"We'll save you a seat," Elsa reassured and took Reimi's popcorn from her hands before she hurried off. Lloyd watched her go, eyes trailing her movements.
"Let's sit right at the back," Amy excitedly moved down the aisle, pushing Lloyd in front of her.
"What? Why? Shouldn't we wait for Reimi?" He spluttered.
"She can find us, anyway the seats at the back are the best,"
"Because no teenagers can rain popcorn on us from behind?" Elsa said, watching a group of them throw the stuff around.
"There is that…" Amy winked at her.
Elsa groaned. Amy had no shame. Everyone knew that the back row was usually where people on dates would sit. Mainly so they could get away with more, hidden in the darkness.
"Here's four seats," Amy affirmed when they got to the back. "It's a lot more crowded in here then I thought…"
Reimi returned a couple of minutes later and was disappointed to see that she would be sitting on the very end of the aisle next to Elsa. She should have expected Amy to not remember their conversation about her sitting in the middle and it seemed like such a naggy thing to bring up so she just sat down. Also, since they were positioned around a few other groups of friends, she assumed they had just sat down in the order they walked up in, but she still felt a bit annoyed. She caught another glance from Lloyd and offered him a handful of popcorn in response, forgetting her annoyance as they exchanged a smile.
This was actually Reimi's first time seeing a horror film at the cinema and only her second time watching one overall since Elsa had shown her 'An American Werewolf in London'. It had made her scared to use the tube at night for a couple of weeks and put her off any further horror ventures. But Lloyd wanted to go and see it so she had gone along anyway and decided to give them another try. Something she was starting to regret now. Or maybe it was the fact that she knew Amy was sitting next to Lloyd that made her feel uncomfortable. She shook the thought from her mind as the lights went down and tried to concentrate on the beginning of the film instead.
'Mr Slim' was a ploddingly written story about a couple of guys who were being stalked by a very tall, well-dressed man with an egg for a face, Elsa described later. But it made Lloyd, Reimi and Amy jump a lot of times. When this happened Amy would bury herself in Lloyd's shoulder and after the third or fourth time this happened Lloyd gave up trying to push her away and just let her rest her head there, too engrossed in the film to really notice much.
Reimi noticed though. Despite what Lloyd had started to say earlier, she couldn't quite believe they didn't like each other and it was driving her crazy. Maybe he liked having multiple females' attention… She could have misjudged him to fit her own ideals.
Again, she shook her head to clear the thoughts and realized she had been now lost the plot of the film. She found out later this wasn't exactly a difficult thing to do since the actual story was so minute and most of it was the boys running around the woods escaping from Mr Slim but it made her feel more isolated and confused then ever.
As the climax of the film began Reimi pulled her legs up onto her seat, hugging the remaining popcorn to her chest and hiding behind her knees. She had already lost most of it earlier jumping at a scary part, which Amy had laughed at and Elsa gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze to. It was too dark to see Lloyd but she had blushed at the sudden attention of the people around her.
Then as the film finished on the ambiguous note of Mr Slim's whereabouts ('He could be anywhere at any time. In your local park, in your cinema or even in your hooooome!') the lights came back on and Reimi slowly relaxed as the credits began to roll, letting her feet rest on the floor again as the last sentence sunk into her mind.
The audience began to chatter noisily and file out but the group waited for a few moments to leave as the door area was very crowded.
"Are you okay, Reimi?" she heard Elsa's voice in her ear. "Your face is as white as a sheet,"
"I'm okay," Reimi replied and turned to face the others, the smile freezing on her face as she saw Amy still had her head on Lloyd's shoulder. She fixed her attention on Elsa instead.
"What did you think of the film?"
"Well, it was pretty much what I was expecting, a few noise scares but not the kind of suspense I really like. Although he does wears that black and white suit damn well," she smirked.
Reimi sweat-dropped. Elsa had a thing for guys in suits.
"Did you like the film, Reimi?" she heard Lloyd say and when she turned to look at him saw that Amy was no longer attached to his shoulder. In fact she looked a little sour and was rooting through her handbag instead. Had Lloyd pushed her away?
"O-oh well… Yeah, it was great," she stuttered, voice still quivering a little.
She thought Lloyd's expression turned sad for a moment but then Elsa stood up and she saw that they were the only ones left in the cinema, the cleaner at the bottom waiting for them to leave.
On the bus home, Amy was once again sitting next to Lloyd with Reimi and Elsa opposite. They discussed the film in a bit more detail but Reimi couldn't remember most of what had happened and so didn't contribute much to the conversation. Lloyd was also quiet and took to looking out the window instead, watching the cars zoom past in the opposite direction and studying Reimi's reflection on the glass.
When they got in it was almost midnight. Amy offered to make hot chocolate for everyone, since she noticed Lloyd seemed to like that recently, but they all declined so she pitched another idea instead.
"How about we finish our horror night with a game?" Amy giggled.
"It's getting a bit late, isn't it?" Elsa groaned, grabbing a bottle of sparkling water from the fridge.
"Oh, please, it's not even midnight yet…"
"I want to stay up too," Reimi agreed, hanging her scarf and coat up by the door.
Amy looked surprised but not unhappy. "Well, there you go! If Reimi wants to stay up then we HAVE to play a game!"
"Are you sure, Reimi?" Lloyd pressed, concern etched on his features.
She nodded and a few minutes later found herself sitting on the floor holding a controller. Elsa turned off the lights and joined the other two sitting on the sofa behind her. Reimi hesitantly started the game.
The first half hour was pretty tame; there were a lot of spooky ambience noises and a couple of easy tutorial fights but nothing too major. The four of them were able to poke fun at certain things, since it was an old game with glitchy graphics and effects, and kept up a steady stream of conversation. Then, as the minutes slipped by and Reimi was forced inside the derelict buildings of the game, it got a lot creepier and her grip on the controller became tighter, shoulders hunched in a protective pose and brow furrowed in absolute concentration.
"Ohhhh good a save point, can I stop now?" she sighed in relief as the apartment building was replaced by the save screen.
"No!" Amy poked her in the back, being the one sitting behind and closest to Reimi, "It's just getting interesting, keep going, keep going!"
"But I'm scared…" Reimi mumbled, turning around to look at her.
"It's only a game, Reimi," Elsa chuckled. "Nothing in it can really hurt you,"
"Then why aren't you the one playing it!?" she retorted back.
"Because you're the best at these type of games," Amy said flippantly and reclined back again. Reimi noted she had also positioned herself closer to Lloyd while doing this.
Feeling a lump forming in her throat Reimi turned away from the scene and back to the game.
"Ahh ahh ahh ahh ahh!" Reimi mashed the directional pad down as she struggled to get the main character away from an incoming boss.
"EEEE!" she heard Amy scream behind her.
"Woah!" Lloyd shouted.
Reimi kept furiously button mashing until her character was almost half way back out of the building, returning to the save point. She then turned around again and froze. Amy had buried her face in Lloyd's chest, hands clinging to him. Lloyd was staring at the screen, his face pale and one arm gripping the armchair, the other Amy's back. Reimi's stomach felt like it had dropped out of her.
She hurriedly faced the TV again to hide the sadness she was sure was showing on her face and bitterly regret offering to ever play the game. It seemed as though recently everything had turned into an excuse for Amy to get closer to Lloyd, at the expense of everything and everyone around her. Reimi felt hot tears form in her eyes but struggled to keep them under control.
Her vision became blurry but she used her pent-up frustration to pound back through the apartment complex, purposefully seeking out an enemy to take her anger out on and then rushing back through the level with fevered determination.
But, just as she finally returned to the corridor with the boss battle ready to go back and try again she heard the shuffle of material on leather as someone slid down next to her.
"Can I try, Reimi?" Lloyd asked. Reimi paused the game and glanced at him.
"Let me try?" he repeated softly.
"…ok," she replied and held the controller out to him, unsure what to say. His hands briefly encompassed hers as he took it and Reimi startled as he gave her a small squeeze of reassurance, her heart going a mile a minute.
"Come sit with me, Reimi," Amy said and Reimi tore her eyes away from Lloyd's hands, now firmly around the controller, to Amy sitting on the sofa.
Bitterness forgotten, Reimi sat down between her two housemates and watched Lloyd play. He was pretty bad at it but took everything in his stride, attempting the boss again and again until he eventually got the hang on the controls and managed to beat it.
"Phew!" he sighed, dropping the controller to the floor as he found the next save point. "I think I've had enough for one night,"
"Hahaha, that was great Lloyd," Amy clapped. Lloyd did a mock-bow and leant forwards to switch the console off. "Let's do that again soon,"
Lloyd's eyes flickered to Reimi then away again. "Haha yeah… But not too soon, I need time to work my courage up again,"
She wasn't sure why but for a moment Reimi thought he had meant… but then she realized of course he was referring to playing the game and not… She shook her head and continued their now-lighthearted conversation.
"So did you like the game, Lloyd?" Reimi asked later when Elsa and Amy had gone to bed and she was busy washing-up. She was both happy and uneasy that they were finally alone for the first time since their conversation about Amy earlier. Maybe they could finish it now…
Lloyd didn't respond straightaway then, instead of answering asked her a question, which had been on his mind for awhile. "Are you happy, Reimi?" her fingers slipped and a cup she had been holding fell back into the soapy basin with a muffled 'thud'.
She let her hands sink below the water as she simultaneously let the question sink into her brain in dull surprise.
"I'm… happy,"
"Liar,"
"…What?"
"When you were playing the game earlier, it was so obvious. I'm surprised no one else did anything,"
"What do you mean?"
"You were really upset, you clearly didn't want to play and were scared but you kept going anyway… because you can't say no,"
"That's not it, Lloyd,"
"Yes it is," he murmured. "Friends help each other when they're in trouble, Reimi. Even if it means standing up against their other friends. And I want to help you. I want you to be happy,"
"I'm not unhappy," she said, slightly defensive, he was hitting too close to the mark.
"Yes, you are,"
"You don't know that!" she hunched over the sink. "You can't go around saying that to people. You have no idea how I feel…" she couldn't finish.
Reimi expected an angry retort back or for him to shout at her but when she finally looked up, all she saw was Lloyd's face staring back at her blankly.
"Why don't you tell me then?"
She couldn't keep eye contact, she turned around to the sink again.
"You won't let your true feelings show, but the parts of you I've seen, I really like,"
She remained silent and started washing again, trying to remain calm.
"Reimi…" he sighed, unsure how to continue. "We're friends. You don't have to lie to me – I'll understand whatever it is. What's been bothering you all night?"
A lot of responses raced through her mind. Her feelings earlier in the day, the incident at the cinema and the jealousy she experienced whenever Amy was around Lloyd. But she didn't even want to think about breaching those kind of subjects with him of all people so instead she took the easy way out and whispered her most recent worry - "I'm scared to go to sleep in case there's something in my room,"
"Your room?" he repeated then turned to face the door Reimi had shut tight as soon as she walked in.
"Shh," he looked back and she placed a finger to her lips. "It might hear you,"
"What is it?" Lloyd found himself whispering back.
"I don't know…"
Lloyd felt an old familiar desire well up in him, the feeling of wanting to protect someone he cared about. It wasn't quite the same as fighting monsters or Cruxis or anything but Reimi needed him so he wouldn't back down.
He stood up and started walking towards her room. The door was open a slim crack and the light from the front room filtered through in a narrow beam so he couldn't see anything beyond his current position.
"Lloyd stop, what are you doing?" Reimi's voice sounded a little higher than normal. "Don't go in there!"
He stopped to face her. "It's okay, Rem. Believe me, I've fought things way scarier than anything we'll find in here,"
"B-but… Mr Slim-"
"After tonight, he'll be the one scared of me," he grinned then before she could protest he threw open the door and flicked the light switch on. Reimi stopped dead from where she had been racing over and scrunched her eyes shut in preparation for a blow.
After a moment she opened them again.
She walked to the doorway and peered in seeing him looking around for any traces of an intruder. She let out of a breath she didn't know she had been holding when she saw he was alright.
Lloyd, however, knew from the beginning that it was unlikely there really was anything in her room. He had seen enough of her behaviour at the cinema to guess Reimi wasn't used to horror films or situations like this and that it had affected her more then she let on. He didn't want to make light of her paranoia though so he studiously searched around her room regardless.
In fact, he thought to himself, he rarely even entered her room at all, this would only be the second time after he had first been shown around but he smiled at how well it reflected her.
There were a lot of plushies on the bed and cute posters up on the walls of TV series and games that she liked, musicians she admired, photographs she had taken… He paused briefly to see a few frames on her desk of photos mostly of Elsa and Amy. And himself he noticed, taken aback. It was one of the first and only ones they had taken together during that initial weekend when the housemates were showing him how things worked. Lloyd was holding the camera, trying to look inside it when it had gone off and also caught Reimi next to him laughing. It was a good shot he thought to himself although this was his first time seeing it. He didn't know Reimi had gone out and gotten in framed. It made him grin like crazy.
"Is he… in here?" he spun around when he heard her voice from the doorway and subtly walked away from the photos, not wanting her to know he'd been prying.
"I think you're okay, I scared him off," he answered quickly.
There was a few seconds of heavy silence before Reimi decided to change the subject entirely, "S-so, you never told me if you liked the film,"
"Hmm," his eyes swept the room in thought for a moment. "Well, it was pretty cool seeing it on a huge TV like that. But… I don't know. It's a bit hard to concentrate when you've got someone fidgeting and clinging on next to you," he said. "Besides, If Mr Slim really had come out of the screen to get us, there's probably nothing I could have done,"
"What?! But you just waltzed right into my room knowing he could have been in here! What would you have done then?"
"I don't know… I didn't really think about it, I just knew you needed me so I did it," he scratched his head sheepishly.
Reimi was stunned for a moment then reeled herself back in as she forced herself to think it through. Lloyd always said he felt he owed them for letting him stay, even despite bringing money in now and knowing the type of person he is would have done the same for any of them.
"…I can understand her though, you know," Reimi replied, taking the conversation back a step and surprising herself as the words came out. "Amy, I mean. You have this effect on people like… you make them feel safe. If there's ever a real incident like that, I know who I'd want to be next to me,"
Lloyd's whole face burned up as he was consumed by happiness.
"…Reimi…," he eventually replied, flustered, "You're giving me way too much credit. I should have done something from the beginning at the cinema. I should've made sure I sat next to you. I'm so sorry,"
"No, it's not your job to do that, Lloyd. It's like Elsa always tells me; if I'm scared of something I should face it head-on and fight it myself. I can't expect anyone to help me, you can't guarantee someone will be with you all the time so it was a good learning experience for me. And I should have been the one to check the room too, not you. I'm sorry,"
Lloyd sighed and walked over to where Reimi stood in the doorway and shocked her with a hug, his chin resting on her shoulder.
"If there really ever is a zombie apocalypse or… or an evil demon assassin from hell who for some reason wants to kill you… I'll be there with you. I promise. And not just that kind of stuff," he pulled away, "You can tell us when things bother you… You can tell me," he finished, hands on her shoulders.
"O-okay," her voice was barely audible. "…Same here," she finished awkwardly, not sure what to say back.
He dropped his arms a moment later and stepped to the side so she could enter the room. "You room, madam. Monsters free, guaranteed," he laughed and she easily joined in.
The Amy conversation could wait for another night she decided. She wanted more moments like this where she still had hope. Just for a bit longer... She could wait.