Tugging at the hem of my dress, I sighed. It was the dress that Eric and Alan had given me for Christmas. I hadn’t actually tried it on until today, and I was pleasantly surprised that it all fit well – except for the fact that it was far too large in the upper chest area. I pulled on the thin straps, adjusting them so that it wasn’t so obvious of how much I lacked in the upper chest department. I pursed my lips together as I looked up into the mirror. Blue and black flowers danced across the white fabric, the blue matching that of my flats. The dress fell around me knees, flaring out nicely.
“You look great,” I heard from behind me. I twisted my head over my shoulder, looking over at the speaker with wide eyes. Eric stood in the empty doorway, leaning his back against the wooden doorway. His eyes glanced over to me, a smile growing on his lips. Of course he thought it looked nice, he was the one who suggested I wore the dress in the first place.
I took a deep breath, stifling a nod as I bit my lip. “T-Thanks,” I stuttered, glancing back down at my feet. I was still a bit careful when I spoke to Eric, even if there had been plenty of time that had passed by since my outburst. Although I was the one that went flying off the handle, I wouldn’t want to be the cause behind Eric or Alan doing the same.
“Look, Bri,” he started, running a hand through the loose portion of his hair as he walked slowly into my room. He stopped in his tracks when he was next to me, taking a deep breath. He let out his breath in a long sigh, avoiding eye contact with me. “Alan and I have some business this evening, and we won’t be able to attend the little congratulatory party tonight. And… We just wanted you to know that,” he paused, biting the corner of his bottom lip, “that we’re proud of you no matter what, Okay?” he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest. “Okay?”
I stood, silent for a moment. Slowly, I wrapped my arms around Eric’s back, returning the hug he had given me. It caught me off guard, Eric had never seemed like the type of guy who would give out hugs. I had always got the ‘being-lovey-dovey-is-too-cheesy-for-me-because-I’m-a-manly-man’ vibe from him. Even if he was that type, I had never witnessed him like this, let alone experienced it. “Okay,” I whispered back. It wasn’t until he released from the embrace and exited my room that I noticed something more absurd than before.
Eric was crying.
-
The congratulatory party that had been set up fro me, Ronald, and the other graduating reapers was nearly identical to the Christmas Party. Music was blaring, people were laughing and dancing, and I was desperate to get out of there. Sadly, as much as I wanted to leave, there was a little unwritten rule that I wasn’t exactly allowed to leave. I was a guest of honor, after all.
I stationed myself right next to the refreshment table, back against the wall. I held a clear, plastic cup filled with punch in my hand, sipping out of it every so often. I mostly kept my eyes on the floor, peeking up only when I was being spoken to and needed to reply. As much as I hated it, the older reapers continued to congratulate me as they passed by. I tried to convince myself that this was simply the lifestyle that they were accustomed to, but I was still revolted by the fact that they were congratulating me for standing by while and innocent child died.
I let out a long, stressed breath and shook my head. I needed to stop thinking like that. Otherwise, I end up having another meltdown, and having one like the previous one in public wouldn’t turn out well. I walked over to the punch bowl, refilling my glass before I began my trip down the hall. I remembered there being an entrance to a courtyard somewhere in these halls. I needed fresh air to help clear my head, and going out to the courtyard wouldn’t be near as obvious as leaving through the main door.
After a bit of wandering and getting lost once, I found the courtyard. Slowly opening the door, I slipped into the empty garden. I sighed, a smile easing its way onto my face. I walked over the stone plated pathway and over to one of the wooden benches, sitting down on it. I leaned back and crossed my legs one over the other as I relaxed. I took a long drink of my punch, making sure I had finished off the last drop. I sat the empty cup down next to me, shifting in my seat. Finally, I had reached complete solitude.
Since I was all on my lonesome, I took a moment to admire the scenery. It wasn’t completely dark yet, but the slowly setting sun caused the sky to become a beautiful shade of orange. Throughout the whole courtyard, bushes of greenery and flowers lay scattered about. Vines twisted up the sides of the building, climbing high over my head. The fluorescent lights from inside shone out into the garden, helping illuminate the outdoor area as it grew darker. My eyes wandered over to the now-open doorway, where my stomach performed backflips when I saw who was standing there.
“Ronald, I said shakily, my body immediately straightening out and tensing up. The hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up with surprise. How did he even find me here? Had he been looking for me and just knew that I was here, or did he come here looking for some alone time, like I did? Judging by the bouquet of Ericas in his hand and the way he looked at me with his eyes, I got the suspicion that he wasn’t here on accident. I gulped, trying to conceal my fear, in hopes that I could make it less obvious. “W-What’re you doing here?”
“I came to see you. I’ve been trying to find you all night,” he explained as he took a few steps forward. I heard my heart beat in my ears, the noise was probably even louder than the music playing back at the party scene. He was dressed in something a little different than what I typically saw him in, something a bit more casual. Under his unbuttoned vest and loosely knotted tie, he wore a grey dress shirt, the top three buttons unfastened. “What’re you doing out here all on your own?” he asked as he handed me the Ericas.
I took the flowers, gently holding the in my hands. There were several little bundles of them, all tied together nicely with a shimmering blue ribbon. I held them up to my nose, inhaling the sweet scent. I sighed, looking back to Ronald as my cheeks heated up with blush. “They’re beautiful, thank you,” I said, intertwining my fingers to hold the Ericas. My mind wandered off and a new question arose. “Ronald, why did you come here?” I asked, furrowing mu brows together as I sat back down on the bench.
Ronald followed suit and sat down as well, just inches away from me. I reached over with one of his hands and grasped mine, pulling it down so out hands sat between the gap that separated up. His hand was warm, and I could feel little calluses on his fingertips. I looked over to him and he stared right back, a concerned smile on his lips. “I’ve been worried about you, I haven’t seen you once since you left the apartment.”
I sighed, shifting in my seat as Ronald let go of my hand, opting to wrap his arm around my shoulders instead. As much as I didn’t want to, I allowed myself to rest in his arms. It just felt natural. I sat my head right about where his heart was. Much to my surprise, he had a pulse. An actual beating heart. I had always figured that when a person became a reaper that their hearts would go stone cold, like they do when a person dies. However, that didn’t seem to be the case. After stalling with my response for long enough, I decided to pipe up. “Sorry, Lillian’s death really tore me up. I didn’t really want to socialize with anybody after that, I explained as I curled my knees up to my chest.
“I’m sorry to hear about that,” he said, wrapping both of his arms tighter around my body. He pulled me onto his lap, resting his head on my left shoulder so that he could whisper in my ear. “I would have helped out, you know. I wanted to help you reap her soul. I knew that after everything you did for her that you’d go through a lot of emotional trauma afterwards, and I wanted to help you overcome it. But,” he sighed as he shook his head, unintentionally digging his chin into my shoulder, “you shut me out. Brielle Marie, you shut everyone out.”
“Yeah, well, I’m making a bad habit out of that, aren’t I?” I said sarcastically. The last person I’d want help from was him, I knew exactly what went on in that head of his. He’d just take what he wanted from me and then leave. Even still, I longed for his help. My heart was telling me that he would make everything better, but my head kept telling me that he was trouble and nothing else.
“Oh, don’t be bitter,” he scoffed, holding gently onto my chin and twisting my head so he could kiss me. He pulled away slowly, leaving me wanting more. I sat frozen for a moment, nonsensical thoughts running through my mind. Maybe being with Ronald would make everything better; maybe my place was with him. ‘Just kiss him,’ I thought to myself. And I did.
I rushed back in, my lips slamming against his as my hands wrapped around his neck. I felt Ronald’s body tense up for a moment, but he quickly came back to his senses, his kiss fighting back against mine. I forced my body against his and he relaxed his, the two of us falling backwards onto the bench, me on top of him. His hands reached down around my waist, pulling my body even closer to his as his tongue slipped it way into my mouth. My hands found their way up to his head, my fingers tangling as they ran through his hair.
My head kicked in right about then, which I’m thankful for. Things were escalating rapidly and I’m not sure what could have happened after that. I broke away from the kiss, straightening out my arms so I towered above him. Ronald seemed confused for a moment, before lifting himself up to resume the kiss. I moved one of my hands to cover his lips, pushing him back down onto the bench and away from me. I took a deep breath, glancing away from him as my face went cherry red. “How many girls have you been seeing since the Christmas party?” I asked.
“Why does it matter? Why stop now?” he asked with a cocky smirk, pushing himself up again. Not to kiss me, but so we could be close again. His nose bumped into mine and his breaths were heavy. I noticed that the taste of his lips lingered on mine, and I desired more. But I knew where he was heading with this.
“Don’t play dumb,” I spat, bolting up. I marched in front of the bench, standing my ground as I stared down at Ronald, helplessly laying on the bench my himself. “I know you and I know your ways, Knox. You made me feel loved on Christmas Eve and you’re doing that again now. But you do that with every girl, don’t you? You make every girl feel loved and… and manipulate her to make her feel like she’s your entire world! When really, all you do is just whisper sweet nothings until you’ve had your fill and then move on to your next victim.”
I glared down at him, and he stared up at me in complete shock. His face showed several expressions – surprise, horror, confusion, he felt it all. The most prominent was the look in his eyes – heart break. I knew that I had caused this, but I didn’t feel any remorse. Someone needed to tell him. I spun on my heel, storming to the door, when I felt his grab my wrist from behind. “What?” I growled as I whipped my head over my shoulder to face him.
“None,” he started, panting. He dropped my hand, running his through his hair as he paced back and forth in front of me. His hand fell as he stopped in front of me, his face showing desperation. “I… I… Bri, I haven’t been seeing anyone. Nobody. Ever since the Christmas party, you’re the only girl that’s been on my mind. I can’t stop thinking about you. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes before, but I’m trying to change. You deserve a nice man and that’s not what I am. And… I’m sorry,” he choked out the last two words, tears welling up in his eyes.
Squinting my eyes shut, I shook my head softly. I sighed, swearing under my breath. I was dumbfounded, I had no idea how to respond to this. If he was trying to move past his old ways, that would mean that I’d never have to worry about him being with another girl. But I had seen him work this magic on others, Ronald Knox was very cunning and sly. I still wasn’t sure if I could trust him. “I… I have to go,” I said with a short nod, turning to enter the building again, only to run into someone else.
I looked up to see none other than Remi. She stared down at me with wide eyes, her face mainly blank. Still, I could tell that she was thinking about something. The white of her eyes were tinged red, showing that she had been crying over something. “Bri, Bri, oh my god, you’re here. You’re still okay,” she said, wrapping her arms around me and squeezing me against her body. She held me by my shoulders, holding me in front of her as new tears formed in her eyes. “It’s Eric and A-Alan… Something’s happened.”
~
A/N: Wow. Just, wow. I wrote this chapter back in August, and I still can't believe I wrote something that... Gah. You guys seem to be really fond of having Bri and Ron in a relationship, so I decided to make up for the lack of fanservice. Who knows? Maybe I was like Bri, desiring for them to be together. *wiggly eyebrows* Anyway, my cosplay contacts came in last night and they were sooooo not what I ordered. I had no idea the blue pair I ordered were so huge and the brown pair was barely brown. Ugh. No. Not gonna work for Hanji or Winry. At least I know what to ask for Christmas now, right? Haha! Anyway, thank you guys for 7.5k reads, along with 460+ votes! So amazing, you guys are so supportive. I love it. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Until next time, keep reading and keep writing! I love you all so much!
-Oli