irReplaceable | John x Cecile| unOrdinary

Chapter 7 | John

Her laughter echoed in my mind, making me realise I had never heard it before, it was a sweet sound. Same goes for her bright smile, sheer joy beaming from it. As we walked into Woba Boba, gasping for air, I clasped her palm and lifted it towards me. I kissed it, making Cecile blush uncontrollably.

Next, we sat on the plush seating next to a window, facing each other. I already knew what I was going to order; mango boba. So I patiently waited for my companion to choose a beverage. Though I really didn't mind. While she was distracted by the menu, I could leer at her relaxed face, a little smile arching the corners of her plump lips. How could I have been so blind? I was so absorbed by trying to protect Sera, alongside the whole Joker thing, I thought,Time wasted. I failed to appreciate the person who stood by my side, even though she knew about my ability and plans. Now my obliviousness frustrated me. Huh... I really don't know anything about her, I realized, well aside from the fact she hates Arlo. I smiled to myself.

Approaching us, a waitress with navy shoulder-length hair pulled back into a ponytail, smiled and asked for our order.

"What do you want?", I asked Cecile

"The chai tea sounds good.", she replied, twinkling her gorgeous eyes. I felt a blush on my cheeks, trying to hide it, I faced the waitress "And I-I'll have the mango Boba, please.", my voice quivering. Crap. The phrase ' emotional rollercoaster' finally makes sense.

"Your drinks will be right out.", the waitress said, grinning at us as she walked away.

I sighed, returning my attention to Cecile. She propped her head up in her hand while calmly observing the commotion of the busy street. Her appearance was almost intoxicating. It wasn't often I was infatuated by someone to this degree. Welp. Third times a charm. I thought, remembering Claire and Sera. My expression darkened, dimmed by contempt. I clenched my fist, digging my nails into my palm.  The satisfaction on her face...Sera was never worth my time.

Cecile stroked my knuckles softly, I look up at her, caught off- guard. She gave me an understanding look, but I could see she was downhearted. I need to stop thinking about Sera...Seraphina.

"Hey, Cecile?", I asked, holding her hand and smiling. She looked at me with anticipation.

"We've been allies for a while now,", I began, "but I realized I don't really know much about you."

She gave it a second of thought and replied, "Yeah, that's true.", she nodded," But I don't know very much about you either. We spend most of our time planning so we never really talked.", she looked down focusing on our interlocked hands.

That's true, she doesn't know my story.  I peered at our hands,  All she knows me as is... Joker. But, I squeezed her hand tighter, I'm not sure that's much better. She doesn't know me as a good guy. She sees me as a monster. I sighed.

I grin at Cecile," How about a few icebreakers then?", I said, concealing my emotions, as our drinks arrived.

I won't screw this up. Not this time.