<Glory>
"He asked me out on a date," I continued. "A date. Can you believe it? Oh, and we almost kissed."
"Why didn't you?" Starflight asked. I had him cornered, blabbing on and on to him about Deathbringer because he was the only one who had the same free block as me.
"Well, because then a customer walked in, but that's beside the point. He almost kissed me. Like, actually. Does that mean he's into me, or teasing me?"
Starflight looked around the library. "Uh. Are you sure this is the best place to be–"
"Answer me!" I cried, grabbing his shoulders.
"He's into you," he quickly said, nodding hurriedly. "Yup. Totally. Can I finish reading my book now?"
"You are so no helping," I said, pulling away from him and crossing my arms. "Last time I come to you for relationship advice."
"Well, to be fair, I've never even been in a relationship myself," Starflight muttered, fixing his glasses. "Didn't Sunny date a guy named Meerkat back in the eighth grade? Why don't you ask her?"
Well, she watched Deathbringer literally climb in through my window, so she'd be a little too excited and proud. And all Tsunami's going to say is "I told you so!" and laugh in my face. Clay... I guess I could try Clay.
"Okay, see you later," I said, standing up.
"W-wait–huh?" Starflight asked, confused as he squinted up at me. "Are you going to ask Sunny? Where are you going?"
"To someone more helpful," I called back, exiting the library. Whatever I had initially thought of Deathbringer seemed to vanish. What I had found him annoying for shifted into attractiveness. I used to hate it when he tried to get a read on me, but now I kind of liked it.
You're letting your guard down, Glory. Just wait and see–he'll break your heart just like Hailstorm. It isn't worth it.
...But you can't know unless you try, right?
I knew Clay was still in class and it'd be rude to disrupt him, but this was an exception, right?
I turned the corridor and collided with Deathbringer.
"Gah–Deathbringer!" I stammered, staggering backward. "Sorry, I didn't see you."
"No problem," Deathbringer said, shrugging it off with a small grin.
I cleared my throat nervously, eyeing the hall around us. "W-what are you up to? Last time I checked, you didn't have a free block for this period."
"Just looking for you, that's all." He said that so casually that it almost made me blush. Almost.
"Well, heh, you found me," I said, laughing nervously. "But, um, I was about to go... do something... and, uh, yeah. So... uh–I'll catch you later?"
"Well, I just felt like we had some... unfinished business," Deathbringer slowly said, calmly stepping forward.
He's talking about the almost-kiss.
There was no point in trying to force the blush away now. My heart pounded painfully against my chest and I felt as though I was going to pass out.
"U-um," I said quietly as he towered over me, slightly dipping his head to be closer. Our faces were inches apart.
"See you later." With that, he brushed past me, leaving me standing there, stunned.
He did that on purpose, I realized, looking over my shoulder just in time to see him toss me a playful grin. Wow. He wants to play that game?
Fine.
Game on.
"*"
The second I got home, I kicked off my shoes and plopped down on the couch, burying my face into a pillow.
"Long day?" Grandeur guessed from the kitchen, quietly making tea. "Tea?"
"Yes, please," I sighed, sitting up and tucking away my hair. Of course, I couldn't come to Grandeur with my problems because she already believes that I'm head-over-heels for Deathbringer, which I was, but it's not like that was good news.
"So, what's going on?" Grandeur circled over to me, holding a cup of tea. I reached for it. "Careful, it's hot."
"Just schoolwork," I lied. "It's overwhelming. The length of the tests we take should seriously be illegal, and then homework on top of that? Seriously?"
Grandeur quietly laughed. "Oh, I can almost remember my high school years. It's all fuzzy now, though." She quietly sipped on her own tea. "Are you thinking about attending Prom?"
Right. Prom.
I had forgotten about that, but it was just around the corner. Two months away.
"Uh, yeah," I said, nodding slightly. "Deathbringer already asked me to it." I was lying, but he was sure to anyway. Totally.
"I've been looking at some beautiful dresses for you," Grandeur continued as she crossed her legs. "There's this gorgeous red one that I think would match your body type perfectly. Oh, and it would really bring out your eyes."
"Thank you, Mother, but–"
"Or green!" she continued. "Green would match your eyes! Or what about silver? Would that be more Prom-ish? Oh, I remember my prom days. Your father picked me up in a limousine. Oh, it was wonderful. Almond was so sweet back then."
We never talked about Almond much, but it never occurred to me that he used to be Grandeur's high school sweetheart. I nervously glanced at Grandeur, debating whether or not I should ask her a risky question.
"Why... did Dad leave, if you guys were so in love?" I asked. It was not like I missed Almond–I could hardly remember him–but why would he just abandon us? Abandon me?
I watched Grandeur's expression fall from dreamy to upset. She rested her tea on her knee, sighing. "Glory, you've already asked me this."
"Yeah, but I'm old enough to know now," I insisted. "You keep saying that I have to wait until I'm older, and I am." Grandeur searched my expression before sadly dropping her gaze onto her tea.
"Glory, I had you when I was very young," Grandeur said quietly. "I was fourteen, and when my parents realized that I was pregnant, they kicked me out, and I moved in with your dad, Almond. His parents were way more supportive of the baby. He, though, didn't want to be a dad, but he loved me nonetheless, so he helped me raise you for five years."
She stopped there, and I noticed the tears in her eyes as she stared down at her tea. I scooted closer, placing a hand on top of her arm.
She sighed but continued. "And then, he fell in love with another woman. She did not have Mommy and Daddy issues, she did not give birth at such a young age–or at all, in fact–and she did not have a considerable amount of flaws. She was sweet, she was beautiful, and she loved Almond. And worse; Almond loved her. So, he stayed with me and helped me get money for a small apartment, and then dumped me. We were almost evicted, like, every year. I thought he was my one and only. I thought it was true love. Glory, it wasn't."
"But... what about me?" I slowly asked. "Didn't he care about me at all?"
"The woman he fell in love with had no idea you and I even existed, so he had no choice but to leave you altogether. He never sent you cards or else she'd know he had a family elsewhere, he never visited, and he never helped pay for child support. It was you and me against the world. That's why I'm glad you found someone as amazing as Deathbringer because I don't know how long I'll be here to help you."
"*"
I calmly flipped the sign on the glass double doors, relieved that it was my break. Not only did it seem flooded with customers today, but they were all in a rather bad mood. Of course, I was in the worse mood, so whenever a customer would be rude, I'd snap back instantly and then they swore they wouldn't come back.
I was lucky none of them wanted to speak to my manager because then I would have been fired on the spot considering the things I had said.
I heard the bell ring from the doors and sighed, not needing to turn around to know who it was. "Deathbringer, we're closed."
"Then you should've locked the door," Deathbringer's voice responded casually. I turned around with an exasperated eye roll.
"I still have to clean," I said, turning back around for two reasons. Reason number one: I was tired and I wanted to go home. Two: I was still flustered by the almost-kiss and hadn't practiced not-blushing whenever Deathbringer was around. "Go home, Deathbringer."
"I'll help you." He walked past me, brushing his hand against mine.
"N-no," I stammered. "It's not your job. Just leave."
He looked over his shoulder. "Do you want me to?"
I stopped, blinking at him. "Yes," I quickly said when his grin slightly grew.
"You hesitated."
"I didn't! Leave!"
He slowly walked up to me, making me back away from him. "Seriously, Deathbringer," I said. "You need to leave. If my boss finds out I've been letting customers in while the shop is closed, I could lose my job."
My back pressed against the wall once I couldn't back away anymore, and that gave Deathbringer the opportunity to close in on me.
"Really?" he asked. "And how would he know?"
"W-well," I stammered. "There are cameras in here."
"And yet you haven't been caught yet, have you?" I could see what Deathbringer was trying to do, but I still fell for it because he was just so hot. He reached forward and rested a hand on the side of my face. "Have I ever told you how beautiful you are?"
I stared at him, wondering if he was serious. He pulled away from me, slightly laughing.
"If you're going to kiss me, just do it, already," I blurted as he turned around and started walking away from me. He stopped and I froze, my heartbeat quickening. "That is unless you're scared."
This made Deathbringer turn around, something new in his eyes. I realized what I had said and what I was daring him to do. He walked right back to me.
"You think I'm scared?" he mused.
"Prove me wrong," I challenged.
He mischievously grinned, pushing me against the wall, and I gasped in astonishment. He dipped his head and leaned forward to kiss me, but at the last second, I pressed a finger against his lips.
You think I'm letting you off the hook that easily?
As childish as it was, I still hadn't forgiven him for teasing me in the hallway.
"Well, I still have homework," I said, pushing him away and walking past him. "You want to help so bad? Have fun cleaning." Without turning around to look at him, I walked out of the shop.
My heartbeat slowed down and a small grin danced on my lips.
That's what you deserve.
I looked over my shoulder to see him staring at me in astonishment, something new in his expression. I tossed him a devious wave before walking off.
<3