Miragehound (Apex Legends)

Chapter 5

I was scurrying through my home cleaning and dusting everything off, trying to make everything look as perfect. Today was the day that Elliott was coming over, and I was nervous as anyone could be. I had no clue what he wanted me to wear, I had no clue what he expected us to do, I don't know if I should have something ready to eat- the list goes on. I just had a few bowls of snacks out right now and my house was clean; I hope that would suffice, not that I would even eat in front of him anyway. I would have to take off my mask and I didn't want him to run in fear.

I sit on my couch and began the hardest part of having someone over- the wait until they arrive. I bounced my leg and bit my lip softly. I usually wasn't ever anxious, so I don't understand what I had to be now. The last time I remember being this anxious was many years ago on my first lone hunt. That hunt was how I got my first scar. I trace my hands over my left arm, where it currently lies. Remembering back to when everything was so much simpler gives me an unquenchable yearning for that yet again.

Yes, it was just my uncle and I for the majority of my childhood, but he had meant just as much to me as my mother and father did. I smile as I thought of the times where I would come back home with bruised arms and skinned knees, my uncle always scolding me for not being more careful. I always did go back to playing roughly, just as I had always done. Maybe someday I would have that again. Not as the child, of course, but as the parent. Perhaps it would help me fill the ever-preasent hole in my heart.

It was odd trying to picture myself as a parent, but it didn't feel wrong. The fact that they would be mine to mold was tons of pressure though. What if I failed, and what if I did something wrong? I let out a sigh, knowing I would likely never know. I couldn't biologically have my own, and I didn't want to be a lone parent. Too much to bear on my shoulders, I think.

As I hear a knock on the door, I stand up quickly, the reality of what was hoping on seeping back into my mind, the anxiety quickly following. I walked to the door, my heart pounding and opened it, seeing Elliott's smile before me. My hear stops momentarily. His smile was stunning.

"Hello Elliott. I expect you found your way here alright?" I ask with a warm tone. I know he couldn't see my face, so I wanted to sound as welcoming as possible. He nods.

"Yeah, it was a quick and easy trip too. We don't live all that far apart, ya know." He says as he walks in beside me. He seemed slightly nervous as he looked around. Although I was confused about why, I decided against asking about it. None of my buissiness, I guess.

"That's nice. I'm glad you could come over, Artur and I were fairly bored." I say with a slight chuckle, pointing to Arture, who was again in the counter. Elliott smiles.

"Why of course! I would have been bored out of my mind if I didn't come over. No parties or anything- n- not that I wouldn't have chosen coming over here r- rather than go to a party-" He rubs the back of his neck and blushes slightly, giving me an awkward smile, to which I chuckle.

After a small while of small talk and pointless chatter that was going nowhere, we decided to go sit at the kitchen table. He ate some snacks as we talked about really anything that came to mind.

"So, how are you doing on the relationship side of life?" I ask sheepishly. I was secretly hoping for him to say he was with someone, that way I would have a reason to kill this stupid crush I had on him.

"Eh, nothing noteworthy. Do find a few people cute though. Might hit on one in particular." He says with a chuckle and he looks me over. He looks away as if to snap himself out of a trance and continues, "What about your little crush, hmm? How's that going for ya?" My heart again begins to pound, and I bite my lip.

"Nothing too eventful, although he does-" I stop myself mud sentence, realizing I had said he.

"Haha! So he's a guy! Please tell me, is he devilishly handsome?" He says with a huge smile, with a hint of something else behind his eyes. Was it hope? I couldn't tell.

"Well, in the eyes of almost everyone, yes, he is." I say plainly.

"But in your eyes?" He asks in a more hushed tone.

"In my eyes? Well, he is perfect." I say quietly. His smile falters slightly and the sparkle leaves his eye.

"That's wonderful." He says softly. We both look away from each other as I feel the atmosphere turn slightly awkward. In an attempt to save it, I ask if he would like to watch a bit of TV. He nods, so we head to my livingroom, sitting next to each other on my couch. I sat cross-legged as we flipped through the channels.

"There is never anything good on during the day. They always have children's shows on." He says with slight annoyance. That's when I started to feel it; a horrible and dreadful feeling- an itch on my nose. I handed Elliott the remote as I tried to focus on anything but the itch, with it only getting worse, unbearable, even.

"Could you please turn around for a moment, I need to do something." I say. God, I hope that didn't sound too weird. It sounded really weird, didn't it?

"Yeah, I guess." He says confusedly as he turns away. I let out a sigh of relief as I take off my mask, finally being able to ease the unbearable torment I had been going through. As I am about to put the mask on, Artur plops himself on my head, knocking the mask from my hands and to the floor. I wince as I hear the glass eye lenses shatter.

"Fuck-" I mutter as I quickly turn to Elliott. In a shock, he had turned around, my gaze meeting his. My heart stops and my face instantly goes completely red. We didn't let go of eachother's eye contact for what seemed like forever, but in reality was likely only a few seconds before he blushes and looks away.

"I- I so sorry-" He says quickly as he looks away from me again. I was trembling now.

"You're alright. It- Its not your fault. And I broke it, so there is no use putting it back on. I- I guess I'll just have to g-go without." I say softly. Elliott turns his attention to the broken mask on the floor.

"That really sucks. Are you going to be able to fix it by Monday?" He asks, still being cautious as to whether or not he should look at me.

"I- I don't think so." I say quietly as I pick it up, examining the damage. It wasn't very bad, but I would have to order new glass lenses for the eyes, and that would take until at least Wednesday. I turn to Elliott and he turn st up to me.

"I'm going to have to ask you a favor."