A/N - all audience rating enjoy.
Reluctantly you hand over another forty dollars to the girl in front of you.
"You have a tell." She smiles pocketing it just as she's done to your entire day's worth of hard earned money.
"I do not!" You're insulted, because you are really good at what you do. You make a pretty decent living hustling people on the street. There's no way you have a tell, you're better than that. The only reason she's been winning is because she's just getting lucky… eight straight games in a row.
She laughs, handing you more money, your money that she's cheated you out of. "Let's go again then."
You show her the queen of hearts among the two black jacks folded lengthwise, mimicking tiny tents pitched on the small table you have balanced on a trash can. She nods her head but doesn't even look to see where you've placed the winning one she'll have to find. You focus on shuffling the three cards, using your practiced hands to swap the queen from one position to the next, tricking the eyes of your victims into choosing the wrong one. You've never had to use the illusion more than twice in any shuffle to trip anyone up but the desperate way you want her to fail has you flicking your wrist half a dozen times with practiced ease. Satisfied you let the cards rest in a line, stepping back you offer the cards to the girl.
She's watching you with those laughing lilac eyes when you glance up and you realize she hasn't been looking at the cards at all. All your effort has been in vein.
"Choose." You state, less cordial than your usual tone would be had she been any other — should you call them customers? Patrons? Victims?
Her hand hovers over each card but she's very obviously not looking at the cards. She wants you to know she has no clue where the queen is. She's trying to prove you have a tell. You don't care how confident or cocky she's being, she's not going to succeed because you do not have a—
"This one?" She lifts one card, not even looking at it she turns it towards you.
The queen of hearts stares mockingly back at you. She doesn't need a verbal answer, the scowl forming on your face is enough confirmation for her.
Her smirk is all smarm and taunting humour. She delights in your misery. You reach into your back pocket and hand her another twenty. You feel how thin your cash roll has become in the past half hour and you decide to pack up, there's no sense in sticking around to lose what little you have left. Sighing, you fold up your makeshift table.
"Hey, I wanted another go." You scoff but glance at the girl who's taken almost a month's worth of your grocery money. You feel yourself resign to the thought of soup and noodles for the foreseeable future. Your disappointment and anger at the girl unfortunately doesn't diminish her radiance. Well aware of how attracted you were to her the moment she approached, you'd originally planned to to ask for her number, but that's out of the question now. It's a shame, she's beautiful and happens to be taller than you, and that's something you've always been a sucker for. "I think you were going to win the next one."
Scowling you make a move to walk around her, hearing her laughter ring out as you do. If there's one thing you hate more than losing it's being mocked.
"Double or nothing?" She asks, following you when it's clear she'll get no answer. The shuffling of multiple feet in your direction brings you to the horrifying realization you two now have an audience. You hadn't noticed and blame her for distracting you with her eyes and smile. "All or nothing? Everything I have against whatever's left in your pocket? I'm sure that's a good deal for you."
You know it is. You're not sure how much she had on her originally, but the money she's won from you is more than what's left in your pocket. But losing what little you do have will cut into your rent and take away that delicious soup you're looking forward to. You hesitate though, a break in your step and she notices, pouncing at the opening.
"Double what I have against what you do?"
Spinning to face her and the dozen others that have congregated, you ask. "How can you offer double what you have?"
She smiles triumphantly turning to the crowd. "Who here wants to make some easy money?" A young man breaks from the crowd, reaching for his wallet. She smiles and ushers him forward with soft fingers on his wrist. He follows, obvious in his blatant leering of the blonde's — attributes, as he brings up the rear. They combine their money and the girl waves the wad of cash in your face. You can't not take the bait. It would help you tremendously. You wouldn't have to worry so much about making it to the end of the month with that in your pocket. Deciding the chance at such a great amount is worth you possibly losing the hundred bucks you have left in your pocket, you find yourself nodding to the terms.
You set the game back up and show the queen of hearts to both her and the young man. His concentration on the cards as you shuffle is what you've become accustomed to. She, however, turns to comment on a bag one of the ladies has in the crowd.
Only when you're finished does she return, eyes sparkling with mischief. She lets him ponder which one could possibly be correct before leaning over his shoulder.
"Which one do you think?" She asks.
He smiles, unbelievably cocky and points to one of the cards. "It's definitely this one."
"You sure?" She scrutinizes his choice than looks to you. Her smile widens. "Actually, I think it's this one." She points to the card next to the one he's chosen. Her eyes test you once more before she nods. "Yup, definitely this one."
"You're positive?" He asks.
She shrugs. "It's all a gamble really, but she has a tell and I haven't been wrong yet."
Not wanting to go against her, who has bested you nine times already, he taps his finger finally to the far right card. You lift it up, face towards them, knowing it's the jack of clubs. His shoulders sink as he turns to his accomplice.
"You said you were sure."
She looks absolutely dumbfounded. She can't believe whatever tell she thought you had has failed. You want to laugh because it means she didn't really know what card was right. She was just getting lucky.
"I think she played me." Lilac eyes darken to violet as her exuberant mood shifts to suspicion and anger. She scoffs, throwing the wad of cash onto your table. Turning she pushes her way through the crowd and disappears. The man whose money you're stuffing into your jeans also vanishes into the scattering crowd.
Folding up the table once more you decide to head home. You feel good, good enough to maybe order a cheap pizza because you definitely deserve it. You step lighter now, as you walk down the street, a pocket full of cash.
"I think you owe me." A voice speaks up behind you. You spin, recognizing it. She saunters out from a covered doorway making a beeline straight for you.
"Excuse me?"
"Oh come on!" She exclaims. "You didn't really think you won on a fluke?"
You eye her, not sure if this is a trick or not. She seemed angry for losing earlier, but now she's back to smiling as if the money she lost was already long forgotten.
"Are you saying you knew the card you chose was wrong?"
"Yup."
Rolling your eyes you ask, "So I would have lost if you let him pick the card he wanted, huh?"
"No, that card was wrong too. He would have lost either way."
She's right.
"If you knew that then why make him change his choice?"
"Because although he was going to lose either way, me choosing the wrong one allowed for my dramatic departure."
"You did it so you could throw a temper tantrum?" If true, this girl was all drama that you don't need.
"Well, did you see how he was looking at me? Lost money or not he was aiming for a date and I didn't plan that whole charade just to end up going to dinner with him."
"Okay." You stare at her because you really truly do not know what she expects you to do with the information.
"You have nearly two hundred more in your pocket than you did before I showed up." She waits for you to agree, and it's useless to argue, she knows exactly how much money you have. "That's not bad for half an hours work."
Finally able to process the words she's said to you when she first approached, you catch onto what she's doing here. Eyes narrowing you square your shoulders defensively.
"And you want your cut?"
"Yup."
"How much?"
"I already told you." She smiles, taking another step closer, invading your personal space. Your body twitches as it takes way too much energy to hold your ground. You're ready to bolt. "I didn't do this to go to dinner with him."
"Wait... what?"
"Come on," she says spinning to look at the storefronts surrounding you. "I'm new here. What's a good place to grab a bite to eat?"
"You're serious?" You ask confused, but slightly amused. It's hard to believe the girl not only played the crowd, but played you as well.
"Uh huh." she returns her attention to you once again.
"Well, depends on what you're in the mood for really." You rack your brain trying to remember if anyone has recommended a decent restaurant in the area, because besides cheap pizza and the occasional burger you don't really have the funds to eat out all that often. "I think there's an italian restaurant up the street and there's a sushi place around the corner."
"Sushi?" She asks. "I haven't had that in forever. Let's go there."
"Let's, as in you and me?"
She laughs, shaking her head and her wild golden main shifts and sways with her movements.
"Well I didn't put on that charade to have dinner alone either." Her hand is on the cardboard table you're carrying and before you can react she is gallantly taking it from your hand. "You do like sushi right?"
A scoff is pulled from your throat. "I'm a cat faunus, what do you think?"
"I don't know." She responds softly, taking in your appearance, including the ears stretching skyward. "I don't like to form assumptions on someone based on appearances."
It takes you aback. Most people do the exact opposite. They judge and condemn or follow and praise all based on first impressions, usually skin deep. For the first time you really take in the taller girl, not just the physical beauty but the way she's standing. She appears confident with her shoulders held back and head held high, but she's swaying slightly from one foot to the other and the muscles of her lower jaw are clenching ever so slightly. Thinking of the young man who was willing to lose so much of his money to impress her has you wondering how many of those types of interactions she has in any given day. How many see her tall, toned body and alluring facial features and end up making snap decisions about her? Being blonde in itself has the stereotypical negative connotations involving intelligence.
Maybe she knows more about how it feels to be judged by her body and not her mind than you think. Maybe you're making unfair snap decisions about her and you hadn't even noticed.
"I do," your voice is soft but it carries easily to her ears a few feet away. "I love sushi, but I really shouldn't be-"
"Because I'm a girl and not attractive to you?"
"Now who's making the assumptions." Shooting her words back in her face feels like a huge accomplishment, especially with all the different reactions you get to see flash across her face. She finally settles on a goofy grin.
"So…"
"So?"
"You are attracted to me?" She bites her bottom lip nervously.
"Let's just say-" You motion for her to follow as you cross the street, she immediately falls in step beside you. "-that before you took all my money, making an enemy of me, I had planned on getting your number."
"Really?" Laughing at her shocked expression you nod. "How were you planning on getting it?"
You smile, holding the door to the sushi restaurant open for her.
"If this date goes well, you'll find out."
"If this is an official date I guess I'll be paying."
"What? No." You're confused. "I thought you said I owed you?"
"To come on a date with me, not to buy me dinner."
"That doesn't seem fair." Although you are loathe to spend much money on anything and sushi is expensive it still doesn't seem right that she pay when she's just earned you so much extra money.
"You can get next time."
She walks through the door, but not before shooting you a wink over her shoulder. How can such a simple act give you butterflies?
Had she said next time? There's going to be a next time and her knowing that already kind of excites you.
You follow her into the restaurant as something dawns on you.
"Hey, what even is your name?"
She just laughs and says you'll have to guess. Something tells you nothing is going to come easy with her.
You're kind of looking forward to figuring her out.