I feel kinda bad, guys. This chapter makes like four now the content feels like shit. Ain't nothing I can do about it either, what you see as the chapter is the best I do across the week or so between chapters right now. Oh well. It'll pick up from here on out, trust me. I hope.
Enjoy!
"So, we're actually doing this?" Elise asked, hands in her pockets as the group waited patiently.
"Duh." Damien replied. "Do you not want to watch this?" Nashi crossed her arms and leaned up against the wall in the alley they were in. Damien had somehow convinced all of them to come with him and spy on Simon and Ultear, and now they were all waiting to find them. Some part of Nashi really did want to know how it would go, but now she wondered how they were even supposed to watch without getting caught.
Nashi guessed that was why Drake was here.
Damien obviously wanted Drake to do most of the work in regard to watching the date. Tailing them, making sure they weren't aware they were following them, something like that.
"If nothing happens, this is going to be the worst." Elise said, sighing. "Why isn't Steph here?"
"Said she didn't want to intrude." Damien replied. "Lame excuse, huh?"
"Whatever you say." Elise muttered, sighing.
"They're coming this way." Drake said, alerting everyone. Nashi shied back into the darker part of the alley away from the open street as, just as Drake predicted, the pair walked past without a clue that the others were there. They waited there for a moment before Drake nodded. "They're far enough away. We can tail them. Stick in the dark, though."
"Easy enough." Damien said. The four of them came out of the alley and slowly walked down the street after Simon and Ultear, who were now approaching a busier part of the city. As Drake made sure they kept on track, Nashi wondered where the two were headed. Given that she and the others had told Ultear to be act normally, it probably wasn't anything special. She could even guess Damien and Drake had done the same for Simon.
"Are they doing anything?" Elise asked Drake, who focused a bit.
"No, not really." He replied. "Just being awkwardly silent." This caused a chuckle to escape Nashi.
"Of course."
Simon's head was filled with curses he could hurl Damien's way next time he saw him, so he wasn't really concentrated on Ultear at the moment. They were just sort of walking, so he figured they'd need t find a destination sooner or later.
"So..." It was Ultear speaking up, so he turned to look at her to find her smiling weakly at him. "Any where in particular you want to go?" Simon shrugged and returned his eyes towards the street.
"You can decide where we go." He said. "I don't really care."
"You don't?"
"Nope. This is my treat to you, after all." Ultear cast him a quizzical look at this.
"Is it now? For getting Mami off of your case?" Simon growled at this. He didn't see Mami enough for it to be a huge deal, but god damn she made it one whenever they saw each other. And fighting Ultear during the Games made that obvious to him.
"Obviously." He replied. "I doubt you changed how she feels, but at least she'll leave me alone now." Ultear shrugged at this.
"Just felt like helping you out." She said innocently, and Simon snorted. Saying it so lightly. "Anyway, it's my choice?"
"One hundred percent."
"I suppose that means your footing the bill." Simon came to this realization soon as well and grimaced. Fuck, he'd been so caught up in everything else he forgot money was a factor as well. Not that he was short, though.
...I guess Damien could pay me back for it. This was his idea he force on me, after all.
"I guess I am." Simon said, this thought running through his mind. "But don't drain me of jewel, either."
Or Damien.
"Alright then." Ultear agreed, looking around. "There was this one place I wanted to try out, so let's go find it."
"After you." Simon replied. Ultear grinned at him as she walked a bit ahead of him, looking around for the place in question. He watched with slight curiosity as she looked around for it, wondering just where they were going. After she seemed to figure out where it was, she turned back to him and gestured for him to come with her. He nodded and walked up to her.
"So where are we going?" He asked.
"It's down this way if I remember right." She said. "Let's go." Simon watched as she walked ahead, sighing. After all, the night was only just now beginning.
"This is really stupid." Elise stated. "I'd rather go to bed."
"No one's holding you here." Damien retorted, giving her an irritated look as they watched the pair enter some restaurant. "I just want to watch Simon squirm."
"Jeez," Nashi said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just what did you go through at that party?" Damien shivered as he thought back to the old men and women making the driest jokes humanely possible and him actually forcing out something that resembled a laugh. He didn't want to think about that ever again.
"You have no idea." He replied under his breath.
"I kind of want one." Drake said, raising his hands slowly. Damien looked over at him.
"You're free to take a listen, at your own risk pal." Drake made a face before he nodded and took a listen. After only a few seconds, he shivered.
"Oh wow." He said. "I'm so sorry."
"Hm. Jokes like that? All. Night." Drake seemed to be trying to get his mind off of what he'd just listened too, so Damien returned his eyes towards the restaurant in the distance. He couldn't really see anything at the distance they were at, so they'd probably have to get up closer.
"Having fun, Damien?" Damien looked over slowly to find Xisplate next to him, watching the restaurant as well. "Spying on your friends date?" Damien neglected to answer, seeing as the others would think he was talking to himself or them and get confused. That was the last thing he needed. "No answer?"
"...No." Damien said lowly, not drawing any attention from the others.
"I figured. It's always so much fun showing up when answering me makes others hear you talk to yourself."
"..."
"Anyways, where's little Steph? Did I kill her again?"
"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Damien asked quietly. Xisplate smirked.
"Decide for yourself." He replied. "I'm just making small talk."
"You're bad at it."
"Like you're any better. Probably why that party was such a nightmare."
"You were there, you know it was shitty."
"I spent the whole night listening to Meridia drone about shit I care nothing about, so I think you got the better end of the bargain." Damien couldn't possibly imagine what Meridia had said that made his end of the deal better, and he really didn't want to think about it.
"Anything going on, Drake?" He asked.
"They ordered their food." He reported. "It's about as mundane as a 'date' could get."
"I think we should get closer." Nashi said. "I can't see anything."
"Nothing to see, as far as I'm concerned." Elise muttered.
"Alright, let's get a bit closer." Damien agreed, also a bit bored by heir lack of vision.
Ultear quietly took a bit of her sandwich, the silence coming over them again. She knew she was supposed to act normal and not draw any attention to herself in an odd way, but it was harder coming up with a topic that she had thought it would be. She turned and looked out the window of the restaurant, contemplating if there was anything they could talk about.
"...I'm, uh, sorry." Ultear turned back to find Simon looking out the window too. "If asking you out for this embarrassed you, or anything."
"Oh, uh, it's okay." Ultear said quietly. "I don't mind." Simon closed his eyes and made a frustrated sound.
"I wouldn't have even done it if Damien had forced me too." So that was it. "He said I owed him because he took my place at that stupid party, so I went along with it. For reasons I still don't understand."
"I-It's fine, really." Ultear said. So he did only do it because Damien made him. The reasoning, though, was not what she had expected. So why did she feel so disappointed? "I kind of expected that anyway."
"Did you?" He asked. "Was it the fact that he pressured me into it or that he thought it was hilarious?"
"Both." She answered honestly. "But more so because, well, asking me to do this didn't seem like your style. At all."
"No?" He asked, making Ultear shake her head. "I guess not. At least not in front of everyone like that. Jeez, I'm cringing just thinking about it..." Ultear laughed at this.
"You'll be okay."
"I suppose. Damien's still an asshole, though."
Damien sneezed, making everyone jump a bit.
"What?" Elise asked.
"Nothing. Just had to sneeze." Drake snorted at this.
"Can't imagine why." He said. Damien felt he knew exactly why.
"It was pretty funny." Ultear admitted. "I'd probably think so more if I wasn't the one you asked." Simon chuckled at this.
"I guess it was pretty funny." he admitted. "Oh well." This caused another silence, and Ultear looked down at her food quietly, contemplating what she wanted to say next.
"Um...Can I ask you something?" She asked.
"Sure." He replied. Ultear took a deep breath and looked up at him.
"Would you ever have taken me out like you said you would had Damien not forced you too?" Simon made a face and looked over at her. His cheeks were a little pink.
"Why?" He asked. Ultear shrugged and looked down again.
"I was curious when you said you wouldn't have if he hadn't forced you too." Silence. Ultear waited quietly, wondering what he was going to say. After a minute or so, Simon made a confused sound.
"Not like I wouldn't have or anything, but after the Games and Kronos and all it totally slipped my mind anyway."
"...Would you, though?" Ultear didn't know why she was pressing this so much, but the curiosity was killing her. "If you hadn't forgotten about it?"
"...Fuck, I don't know." He replied, sounding stressed. "Maybe? Don't see why not."
"Huh. Cool." This caused another silence between them, and Ultear admitted it was pretty much her fault this time. She just really wanted to know. Why though, that alluded her pretty well. At this, she forced out a laugh. "Sorry." She said. "I made it get all quiet." Simon smiled weakly.
"You sure did." He said. "I wonder how much more embarrassment I'll go through before the nights over?"
"It's just dinner, so hopefully none." She said weakly. "Anyway, let's just finish up and get this over with."
"Fair enough." Ultear took another bite of her sandwich and looked out the window.
She froze.
She may have just been hallucinating, but she she could have sworn that she just saw Damien's head quickly go back around the corner down the street from them. She chewed slowly, watching the area in question carefully. Seeing him wasn't the point, she was wandering why he'd quickly gotten out of her line of sight.
And then, he reappeared.
It was brief, but long enough that Ultear could tell he'd looked towards them, noticed her glance, and backed up again. What the hell was he doing over there? Was he...?
"Are you serious?" Ultear asked under her breath. "This is ridiculous..."
"What?" Simon asked. Ultear sighed.
"I'm pretty sure I saw Damien watching us from over there." She said, pointing towards the corner in question. Simon turned in it's direction, making a face.
"Now that you mention it, it feels like they're close." He said. "You feel that?" Ultear concentrated, and she too felt it. It was the magic pressure she felt from the others. Nashi, Elise, Damien and Drake respectively. They were close.
"So they are watching." She said. "Are they really that bored?"
"I guess they are." Simon agreed. After a moment or two, Ultear thought of something. At first she discarded the thought but once she considered it, she laughed. "What?" Simon asked.
"I have an idea, if you want." She said.
"What is it?"
"They saw us." Drake confirmed. "They know we're here."
"Way to go, Damien." Nashi said angrily, making Damien feel even stupider. "Now we're going to get chewed out for this one."
"And on top of that, nothing even happened." Elise said.
"I'm sorry, okay?" Damien said weakly. "We can go apologize if you guys want." Before either girl responded, Drake burst out in laughter. Everyone turned to look at him in surprise, but he calmed down relatively quick.
"What?" Nashi asked him. He looked back at her with a smile.
"Nothing." He answered. "I'll tell you later."
"Didn't look like nothing." Elise pointed out. Drake ignored them and turned towards the restaurant again. After another good ten minutes or so, Drake perked up.
"They're leaving." He said. Damien had the urge to peek the corner, so he did so slowly.
What he saw was pretty much exactly what he expected. The two of them seemed totally normal. As they passed by the alley the four of them were in, they didn't even give them so much as a single glance, let alone stop to give them heel over the situation.
"What?" Elise asked quietly as they walked past. "Didn't they see us Drake?"
"They did." Drake confirmed.
"Then what are they doing?" Nashi asked. "I figured they'd want to chew us out. Just ignoring us seems a bit out of character for them."
"Whatever, let's see where they're going." Damien replied. He slowly snuck out of the alley and, just like before, followed the pair down the street. He watched closely, but they still didn't act any differently. Why were they ignoring them?
"They following us?" Ultear asked without looking at Simon. He nodded curtly.
"Yep." He said. "We really going to do this?"
"They wanted a show, no? Don't worry, it's nothing crazy." She replied.
"I know, but the last thing we need is rumors getting spread. The second the joke is over, let's be sure to tell them it was simply that, okay?"
"Trust me, I agree." Ultear, now that that was out of the way, took a deep breath. She knew the look on everyone save Drake's face would be worth it, but hell this would be embarrassing. She just hoped Drake could appreciate the spirit in the joke and didn't say anything. Knowing him there wasn't any issues. "Show time." She murmured.
And with this, she closed the distance between herself and Simon and clung to his arm. She immediately felt bashful, but she didn't back off because of it. She rest her head on his shoulder as well, and this made Simon gulp.
"This is so dumb." he hissed.
"Play along." She whispered. "Don't back out now I'll look stupid!"
"Ugh..." And so, for a few seconds, they stayed like that before Ultear forced out the best giggle she could at the moment. She was so fucking embarrassed. Why did they do this again?
"I take it you enjoyed yourself?" Simon asked, voice a little shaky. Ultear hummed in agreement.
"Absolutely." She said. "Thanks so much for doing this again."
"No problem." He replied, before lowering his voice. "Never again."
"Nope." She agreed.
"You need to get your ears checked, Drake." Damien stated flatly. Drake looked up, suppressing his smirk.
"Why do you say that?" He asked innocently.
"Do you see the same thing we do?" Elise asked. "Do you need glasses as well?" Drake rolled his eyes at this.
"I just didn't think I needed to share that little tidbit." he replied, looking away.
There wasn't any in particular he needed to share.
Other than he'd heard Ultear and Simon planning to pretend they had gone on some real date in order to screw with them. He assumed they were smart enough to know he was present and had heard it all, but had trusted him to not say anything for the joke's sake. Good thing they knew he appreciated a good joke.
"I guess it's a good thing we made him ask her out, huh Damien?" He asked, speaking up. Damien made a face.
"Uh yeah...I guess so." Drake did his absolute best to suppress a laugh, but this caught Nashi's attention.
"You okay?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh...Y-Yeah." Drake said, still holding back a bit. Nashi didn't seem convinced, as she eyed him carefully. "What? It's nothing."
"Drake..." She started. Drake flinched at this.
"Okay," He hissed. "Just keep your voice down."
Simon had managed the walk back to the dorms without losing his cool, which was pretty impressive considering he knew he was sweating like an idiot. There was absolutely no reason he should be as nervous as he was, and yet he couldn't help but feel that he was losing it. What exactly was it?
He'd known Ultear his entire life. Not once had he wanted to put distance between like he did at that moment. Maybe it was the smell of shampoo coming from her head which was right next to his making him feel lightheaded. That must have been it. What was that smell anyway? Glacier? Ironic.
"You okay?" He heard her ask. "We made it."
"More or less." He replied. "Is it over?"
"Yes. Finally." Ultear broke away from his arm and gave him some space, which allowed him to calm down a bit. See, he knew it was the shampoo smell. "See, no harm done."
"Yeah yeah." He replied. "At least it's over." Ultear nodded, but looked a bit downcast. He didn't really know why, she should have been happy the torture was over. "Anyways, we'll tell them tomorrow that it was all a joke. I'm sure they'll be shocked."
"We didn't really do much in hindsight." Ultear said. "Doesn't seem convincing."
"Oh well, we tried." Simon said. "If anything, Damien owes me for this..." He muttered, trailing off as he wondered how that would work.
And because he did so, he didn't see Ultear moving towards him.
He snapped out of it once her lips connected with his right cheek.
He watched as she backed off and turned around.
"Goodnight." She rushed out, waling into the dorms and leaving him standing outside, dumbfounded.
"...Goodnight" He said, still standing there.
"So it was all a joke?" Elise asked for clarification. Simon nodded. It was the day after and they were all in the guild hall, where Ultear and Simon had just broke the news that their obviously fake date was in fact, fake. As if it wasn't obvious enough. Even if Drake himself knew all along.
"Yeah."
"I suppose we deserved that for following you." Damien said, sighing. "I guess I didn't consider that you two of all would pull something like that."
"Guess it was a good idea, then." Ultear said, smirking. "Right Drake?"
"Eh." Drake replied, shrugging. He didn't really think so. But maybe that was because he knew.
"You knew, didn't you?" Damien asked.
"Of course I did." He replied. "You wanted me along to listen in on them. So I heard their entire plan."
"And you didn't share it."
"I wouldn't say that." Drake replied, turning his eyes to Nashi, who was beside him. She smiled.
"Made a lot more sense once I heard." She said. Damien rolled his eyes.
"Of course you told her, that makes total sense."
"Shut up." Drake replied. "She caught me."
"Not that hard." Nashi replied, shrugging. "You can't cover your giggling for shit."
"Let's not launch into another session of making fun of me, okay?" Drake said, stopping it before it began.
"Sounds like you all hard fun." Steph said.
"I wouldn't go that far." Simon replied weakly, making Ultear laugh.
"Ah, you poor thing." She said. Just as the conversation was about to change direction, Drake felt an arm wrap around his neck. it appeared the person did it to Nashi as well.
"What's going on around here, huh?" The familiar voice asked. Drake smirked.
"Not much." He said. "What're you doing here?"
Michael laughed at this.
"I came for tea." He replied, releasing his grip on himself and Nashi. Speaking of, the girl seemed rather flustered.
"H-Hey." She said, playing with her hair weirdly. Drake made a face at her as she did this. "What's going on? Something you need, Michael?"
"Well, sort of." he replied, still smirking. "You guys are coming with Keita and I!" it was only at the mention of the Shadow Dragon Drake noticed him standing a bit behind Michael, looking completely over his partners shit. "Elise too."
"What?" Elise asked. "Why?"
"You'll know when we get there!" Michael replied, still seeming perky. It was weirdly so, as well. "And no listening in on me, Drake. I want you to come with me."
"Just tell us then, you bastard." Drake said, smirking.
"Nah" Michael said. "So pack your shit! For the next few days we're going on a little camping trip!"
I feel so bad the last four chapters have been horrendous. Seriously. But I promise it picks up from here, really. I hope you enjoyed, leave a review! Let's try to get five!