Francy's p.o.v

We drove to a coffee shop not far from where we were and ordered drinks waiting for Halo to come there. Apparently, it was their go-to place after the game competitions. It was a very average-looking place with chill music in the background and a pretty static atmosphere. Was this a place Elric usually went to when he wasn't delivering on my aesthetic tastes?

Five minutes later a girl showed up. She was average height, brown almond eyes and she carried herself with confidence. I kind of liked that about her. Her careless attitude wasn't just for show. She seemed genuinely comfortable in her style as she walked towards us and her long dark hair was swooped to the side. Her hands were in her pockets in a relaxed manner.

My first thought was.. She seemed badass.

Her whole attitude was fearless. There was power in the way she walked, but her eyes were relaxed and she had a smile on.

She was very fitting to the atmosphere, to Ace's and Elric's lifestyle, to their vibe and maybe it was just because she was a gamer but there was something about their community that was coherent.

She approached us, greeted Elric with a small hi and then put out her hand.

"It's nice to meet you." I shook her hand.

"Same." She smiled and sat down opposite of us.

She ordered a large coffee and fries and calmly answered my questions as I tried to get to know her a little bit.

She had an older brother and lived with him due to some circumstances. She always loved gaming and wanted to try making money out of it..

She tried really hard to get good at it and it was her life's biggest motivator.

Elric after that started a random topic about the competition and I went to hear again about how they ranked first place, this time hearing Halo's side as well.

My phone suddenly rang. It was Ace. "Sup?"

"Elric is not picking up." He complained.

"Because he's with me today." I answered. "Is it an emergency?"

"Just give him the phone." He ordered.

"Give him the phone.." I imitated him. "This better not be something that will ruin today." I warned him.

"I'll try to keep it short sister. Love youuu"

I muttered something he couldn't hear and I gave Elric the phone. "It's Ace. He needs you for something."

"Sorry." He excused himself and left the table.

There was a small subtly awkward silence while she slurped coffee through her straw. Her relaxed stance seemed to tense up and she seemed a bit angry, maybe not angry but intense and arrogant.

I wonder why the mood change?

I didn't want to make any comments she might consider rude so I waited for her to start the topic.

"So, I'm guessing you and Lucy met through Ace." She asked.

A chance for an interesting story.. I got excited to tell her. "No, actually it's quite the opposite. We met as strangers at a cafe and we.."

"okay." She narrowed her eyes and gave me a cold smile that brought out an anxious feeling in me.

Um.. okay.. Did I do something wrong?

"How long have you been dating?" She took a fry off the table.

"Around nine months. "

She sighed passively. "A-ha."

There was a change in the vibe and for some reason, it didn't feel right. Maybe I should change the relationship topic, she seems a bit uncomfortable.

"Do you have any pets?" I asked.

"No."

"Do you have any other hobbies apart from gaming?" I asked politely. Come on.. Any topic?

"Nope."

There was a long silence. Okay this was weird. What should I do?

I glanced at Elric. He was still on the phone.

"I like your outfit." She smiled, getting my attention back.

"Thank you, it's from.."

She straight-up interrupted me. "But I would never wear something like that. I like a simpler style. Something less for a Channel show and more for a comfortable life."

Okay now it was getting clearer she had a problem with me. What's with the out-of-place attitude towards someone she barely knew.

"Well.." I leaned forward, bringing the straw of my coffee closer and used an innocent tone.. "Not everyone can pull off a sophisticated look. It's best if we all stick to the lanes we feel comfortable in."

The way she dropped that next fry she took,made me wonder if I overdid it, but hey she started it.

She suddenly gave me a full on smile. "Oh I hope you didn't think I was offending you. It was never my intention."

Sure it wasn't.

I gave her a smile back. "Don't worry. I understand."

"It's just that.." She licked her fingers after eating the fry and leaned forward. "You seem so preppy and cute for someone like Lucy."

Like what did that matter to this conversation? Somehow talking about my relationship seemed to annoy her so I moved away from it and now she's back with this topic? It's like she...

Oh..

Ooooooh.

HOLD IT.

Does she have a crush on Elric???

If that assumption was right it instantly all made sense... There was no way she'd act this way to someone she barely knows without a reason.

"Despite our differences, we still match together pretty well." I said, hoping I was very wrong about this.

She nodded." Of course..But Lucy has had a difficult past and it must have been really difficult to understand him..."

"Well not really. We don't talk about it that much."

"Oh..I see." She leaned back in her seat, bit smug about it.

She took her drink and stared at it while talking. "He shared a bit of his past with me. I can kind of understand him as a person. He's a good guy. I respect him a lot too."

I pressed my lips tight trying to contain my anger.. "You're close then?."

She shook her head. "Well not really we just met. But we did have a very open conversation about our past and.. It's just that I had a similar situation like his so I can kind of relate to it. That's why I'm telling you."

"I appreciate the concern." I smiled.

"Mmm." She smiled and leaned back in her chair.

Elric approached the table and handed me my phone back. "Ace needs me to run to the house for a minute." He turned towards Halo. "I'm sorry. You just got here."

She sulked. "Oh no.. And we just started getting to know each other. I was going to tell her about my favorite games."

Hah! I wanted to laugh. What games were those.. Manipulation? Passive-aggressive behavior? Gaslighting.?

Okay, Francy..calm down girl.. She's got no power..

Elric turned towards me. "Do you want to wait here with her or..?"

I shook my head in denial.

"Can I come along.. Please..."She put her hands in her pockets . "I've always wanted to see the devil's den.

Come with us... ugh. Well maybe I can make it clear to her that this little crush of hers is not going anywhere.

"Sure." I smiled.

I followed Elric to the car and got in the front seat while she sat in the back.

Where she belonged.

Elric grabbed the back of my seat to look back, as he put the car in reverse. He held my seat with one hand and the wheel with the other.

Those arms though..

After pulling the car out and finally turning around he noticed me staring at him.

He put his hand on my thigh.

...

Haha

....

Muahahhahha.

I cleared my throat and leaned comfortably in my seat. See Halo.. it should be very clear to you now.

"Elric, can we stop by my house later?" I said as a cherry on top.

To see my cats of course, but I left that part out. Let her think what she wants to think.

"Sure." He answered.

"Elric?" Halo finally answered from the back.

"It's my real name." Elric answered, and gave me a wink.

I smiled and went over his hand with my fingers.

"It's so weird to hear someone call you like that." She spoke again.

"No one calls me like that except her." He told her. "It's kind of a boyfriend-girlfriend thing I guess."

I couldn't hold in my proud smile. I tapped his hand happily. Good job boyfriend. You'll be rewarded later.

She leaned back and didn't say a single word until we got there.

The devil's den seemed exactly as I left it. Well of course now an even better atmosphere after I put my little touch in the place.

"I'll be quick." Elric told me.

We both sat on the couch while Elric went to see Ace in the gaming room.

There was a tense silence between us. I was very awkward. Did not do well with hostile people.

Ace rushed out and gave me a huge bear hug.

"Hey, Halo. You good?" He smiled at her and then rushed back into the gaming room.

I pulled out my lipstick and a small mirror from my bag and retouched the lipstick a bit.

Halo scoffed and fixed a pillow underneath her back.

I hoped she knew who put those pillows there.

Okay, Francy calm down. You already showed off enough. I think she got the picture.

She glanced at me again and then muttered silently. "shallow.."

"Can we be honest here?" I put the lipstick back inside and closed my bag. "I don't like what you're doing right now."

"Doing what?" She was obviously very familiar with what I was referring to.

"I mean your Machiavellian methods of trying to upset me."

"Why would I upset you?" She asked innocently.

"Because you have a crush on my boyfriend."

She straightened up calmly. "Are you being jealous right now? We just entered a competition together. I don't get why you're so upset about it..."

I pressed my lips together. I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

I stood up and took my bag, putting the strap over my shoulder..

She opened her mouth to say something but I just waved my hand in front of her to stop.

"I'm done." I told her.

She stood up as well not letting me have the last word. "Lucy is a great guy and I respect him. And I'm concerned that this hostile behavior of yours towards me is just..."

I scoffed. Am I the hostile one? And what was this about she knows about him and respects him...

I crossed my arms. "You glimpsed a small fraction of my boyfriend and got this bold?"

I don't know if it was my tone or what I said that upset her, but she seemed to be done playing innocent. There was a mean look on her face that brought chills over my body. She was not playing around.

"You're such a child, that I can't even understand what he'd talk about with you. Do you even know what kind of issues he had in the past?"

I flinched and took a step back.

She continued. "At least I as a friend can understand and share some of the pain and experiences. You don't even understand what he does. You don't know coding, gaming or any of those things that probably mean so much to him. You're just a kid who's there to fill in a spot."

"You don't even know me." I clenched my fists. My whole body was shaking. I don't want to be here. I don't want to yell. I don't want to talk to her. Just stop it.

She took a step forward. "It took me one look at you to know your type. You just live in a bubble. Lucy is not just his made-up hacker name. It carries something and he's done things you've probably never heard of. You don't even know what kind of person you're dating. "

My chest clenched in pain. Maybe I didn't understand what Elric did but I did know him.

Wasn't it not enough to know that he is immensely creative?

That he is incredibly romantic.

That he is terrible at signing. And loves cats.

That he cannot stand the taste of caramel and that he is stubborn about things he doesn't know anything about.

That he hates crowded places and he is on guard all the time, but he cherishes every new friendship. He only needs to hear about something I hate once and he never does it again, and that just goes to show the lengths of how caring he is.

To be told I don't know him at all and not understand him just because I don't understand his work, was simply an insult.

Worst part of it all was that I actually know Elric and how rarely he relied on other people and he had relied on Halo as a part of his team to win in this competition. Obviously, he acknowledged her talent and trusted her. To see her acting this way would make him so angry and hurt. And that pissed me off even more.

I clenched the strap of my bag in my fist. "I actually liked you when I met you. Why wouldn't I like you? " I was really hoping my voice wasn't shaking. "Both my brother and Elric accepted you in their team as a friend. For me..It did not take me one look at you to know if you are talented or driven or that you have any problems. Cause how will I know if I don't talk to you first.."

"But you..." She tried to interrupt me but I cut her off.

"I tried to get to know you. I didn't judge. And I wasn't trying to steal someone you love."

She stared at me. "I don't like him.."

Ah, so not only was she doing this subconsciously, but she was in denial.

"Just so you know. Elric and the Lucy you know, are two different people, but they're both mine."

"I said I don't like him!" She was red in the face, stiff head to toe and was obviously triggered. "You were twisting my words." Her hands started trembling.. "If you tell him.."

I shook my head. " Tell him what? That It's a shame that someone with such talent like yours has a rotten personality? Please don't ever talk to me again."

I brushed past her and headed to the gaming room.

Oh my god. Oh my god. My hands were shaking too. I can't believe I just did that. Breathe Francy. Breathee...Walk straight.

Elric glanced up and saw me at the door. His eyes shifted back at the screen, typed something and got up.

"Just follow this pattern and you'll be ready for the next competition." He told Ace.

"Okay. Fine leaavee me. Go on your date." Ace whined.

"I'll see you later." Elric told him.

"Bye brother. Don't call me." I told him and blew him a kiss.

"Yeah yeah go enjoy your lives.. I'll just sit here.. Studying for the competition.." He muttered.

I took Elric's hand as we walked past the living room.

I could see Halo's eyes following me to see if I had said anything to Elric. She was obviously ready to deny everything.

But she also looked on the verge of crying.

"It was nice meeting you." I said it very dry and cold and I hoped Elric didn't notice. I tugged him towards the door.

"See ya." He told her and followed me out.

We got in the car and he turned on the radio.

I leaned my elbow next to the window and stared outside.

Stupid Halo. Ruined my mood.

Yep. This chapter was.. dramaa. Honestly, why do some people want to jump on a wagon to hate you just because you're different from them? Anyways, handling it with class is always the best option if you ask me.

~Now that aside, I'm going to put a WARNING sign here, so you become curious and read this next important thing.

I thought long about some of the chapters you will read in the future, and they might be more mature and graphic than part 1. I hesitated at first, even did a pole on Instagram cause part 1 was mostly innocent and I wanted to keep part too innocent too.

But as I'm writing and the characters are growing, it simply feels wrong to cut some scenes out whether it's talking about personal issues or doing smth else.

Something else I can say without spoiling anything is that I ask you to trust me to keep things original and no sad cliches will ever happen in my story. It will stay truthful to the characters even if it feels a bit heavier than part 1. Never the less the comedy will still be there. ❤