#haven't watched Elemental but just thinking about it i feel second-hand embarrassment | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bumblesimagines · 8 months

Note

“can i kiss you?”

“is this your way of asking me out or—”

“think i wanna do a little more than just kiss.”

- Belly Conklin

“think i wanna do a little more than just kiss.”

“is this your way of asking me out or—”

“can i kiss you?”

Pronouns: he/him/his, male

imma be fully honest, i haven't finished season 1 but i know people have many opinions on season 2

Belly surveyed the other teenagers partying around her, feeling wildly out of her element amongst dancing and drinking strangers. Steven had promised their mother he'd keep an eye on her, but the second he found Shayla amidst the party, he went after her like a puppy and left Belly all alone to search for the Fisher brothers. Her two friends had similarly drifted away as well, one in search of his girlfriend and the other had gone off to chat with some old friends.

Thus, Belly Conklin had been left alone to do as she pleased without three guys hovering over her. Not that she felt like doing much. She watched drinking competitions with a nervous grimace, felt too out of place to dance, and had no one to talk to unless she wanted to bring the boys' attention back to her.

Waddling deeper into the party and whispering soft a 'excuse me' every three seconds, she began having regrets about pestering the boys' into letting her attend. The feeling only intensified upon spotting Conrad sat on one of the couches with an arm hung loosely around Nicole and the smallest of smiles on his face.

Her body went rigid and she took in a sharp inhale, spinning back around to block the sight from her vision. She tried ignoring the way her throat tightened and her veins flooded with jealousy and hurt. Conrad was her best friend. He never even showed any real interest in her. But seeing him cozying up to someone else...

"Isabel!" A voice called her name and she looked up, spotting the familiar teen sat on the opposite side of the room. He grinned at her and Belly surprised herself by immediately walking over to him. (Y/N) straightened up on the couch and set his red solo cup on the nightstand beside him. "Never thought I'd see you at a party."

Relief trickled into her and she smiled at him. The two weren't close by any means but Belly knew him well enough to feel comfortable around him. She only saw him on occasion every summer when his mother would drop by to see Susannah and catch up. Steven had desperately been trying to gain the attention of (Y/N), one of Cousin's notable 'cool kids', but his attempts always proved futile.

"It's not really my vibe, I guess." Belly chuckled breathlessly and brushed her hair back over her ear, glancing back in the direction of Conrad while doing so. Their eyes locked and she snapped her attention back to (Y/N).

"I could introduce you to some of my friends, if you want. It's always easier to know who to hang with." He offered with a shrug and she exhaled heavily, body nearly slumping into the cushion of the couch.

"That'd be... really nice. Thank you, (Y/N)." Belly smiled widely and tucked her legs underneath her, propping one arm up on the thick cushion of the couch. She took another glance back at Conrad and a jolt went up her spine when she noticed him watching them.

And then, an idea struck.

“Can I kiss you?” The words tumbled out of her mouth faster than she processed them and her skin immediately lit ablaze. Part of her couldn't believe she'd even asked. Her experience in the romance department was nonexistent and she'd only ever briefly kissed Cam, yet there she was, asking a far more experienced friend if she could kiss them.

“Is this your way of asking me out or—” His amusement made her skin warm further.

"No! I mean, it's not like I don't think you're hot- I mean, I-I wouldn't say no if you asked me out but I didn't ask to ask you out, if that makes sense? I-" Belly groaned quietly and covered her face, unable to shake off the embarrassment as he snickered quietly under his breath. Taking in a deep breath and moving her hands from her face, she scooted closer to him and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I... I like Conrad. I've liked him for a really long time and... I want to, I don't know, make him jealous, I guess."

"I see." (Y/N) hummed, eyes flickering past her to look at Conrad. He pursed his lips in thought and just when she was about to brush aside everything, he gently grabbed her chin and pulled her in. An electrifying feeling erupted within her when their lips connected, goosebumps rising across her arms and the hairs on the nape of her neck rose.

His fingers fluttered over her jawline until his palm pressed against her cheek, their lips briefly disconnecting and nose brushing against each other before he closed the gap again. While Belly had no clue on what to do with herself, she decided to let her instincts do the acting. Her hands found his shoulders and she leaned forward, pulling back for a moment to settle down on his lap. He chuckled against her lips and tilted his head, arms curling around her waist to keep from from falling backwards.

"What'd you think about that, Isabel?"

“Think I wanna do a little more than just kiss.” She whispered, heat erupting in her belly and a flustered giggle escaping her. His lips curled into a smirk and he gave a curt nod.

"That can be arranged." He murmured and she moved her hands up to cup his face, strands of her long hair brushing against his skin. Before she could lean in again, an angry voice barked out.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

Oh, shit. Conrad.

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eleni-cherie · 7 months

Text

a thief's end ✨ || bts • myg - epilogue

"so eager to be in a headlock again?"

"only if it's by you."

»»»

masterlist: here

— genre: thief au, gangster comedy, adventure, romcom, humour, angst, fluff, sexual tensiON, slowburn, mutual pining, strangers to lovers s2l

ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE. CHARACTERS NOT NECESSARILY LIKE THE REAL PERSONS. ALSO VERY UNREALISTIC PLOT LOL - JUST PRETEND READING A MANGA/COMIC OR WATCHING A FILM, REALLY.

SUGGESTIVE THEMES. MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE & BLOOD (BUT NOTHING TOO GRAPHIC, IT'S STILL A COMEDY!)

»»»

3 months later

somewhere in the mountains of Taiwan

Soyeon dragged out a breath, the pencil in her right hand coming flat onto the notebook on her knees. Her mind felt heavy and she slowly sank her head until it touched the pages. And she remained like this for seconds until stirring up and sitting straight again. Allowing her brown irises wandering over the scenary in front of her.

Everything green as far as the eye could reach. A mellow breeze brushing by, clouds moving slowly on the lightblue sky.

It was peaceful, it was calming.

Maybe too peaceful and too calming.

Picking up the earphones that had fallen from her ears previously, she put them back in. The same melody still playing on repeat.

She was motivated to write, however, she simply didn't feel inspired. That was the issue.

Her gaze fell back down on her half-written lyrics.

'sunny

exceptionally pleasant morning

sunny

even if I hum lightly

in the scorching sun

that dirty feeling flies away'

Why did she struggle so much coming up with a chorus and second verse?

Of course, deep down she knew the answer and simply didn't want to admit it to herself. Admit that the story wasn't completely finished yet. That one puzzle piece was still missing, one end being still open. She just didn't know if it'd ever be possible to complete the puzzle, to finish this story completely.

Frustrated, she shut the notebook with the pencil still inside and pulled the earphones out. There was no use to try. For today, she was done.

Stuffing everything back into her backpack, she decided to look for some company. It'd been an hour, that was enough me-time she decided and hopped the stony steps down from the porch to the garden. Finding her object of interest not too far away, secluded from any possible disruptive elements - even if there were hardly any in the middle of a temple in the mountains.

Folding her lips, she suddenly felt lighthearted and in the mood to tease him a little. So she took off her shoes, holding them in her hands as she barefootedly neared him with quiet steps. Trying her best not to make any sound on the grass.

Only a few steps seperated her from him when she paused, heaving her leg slowly. Her tongue sticking out mischieviously between her lips like always when being focused. Ready to poke him with her foot when his chuckle made her pause mid-air.

"You didn't actually think I haven't heard you from the moment you stood up from the porch, did you?"

Soyeon puffed her cheeks, huffing offendedly. "As if." Yoongi only laughed more when seeing her stepping in front of him with crossed arms and a sulky expression, making her even more adorable.

"Did you get bored and wanted to scare me?" he grinned smugly and stood up. And she earned a poke on her still puffy cheeks. "You finished the lyrics?" he asked then, tilting his head inquiringly. Only getting a disappointed sigh as response. And he nodded, understanding.

"It's okay, you tried your best," he said, giving her an encouraging smile then which made her only sulkier. Feeling somewhat embarrassed about him having to cheer her up over trivial things like this.

They turned around then, making their way back when Yoongi peeked at her. Sighing then. "It's that list of symbols, right? You can't get over it."

Perhaps she shouldn't be so astonished about his perfect deduction as it was probably more than obvious. Ever since she had told him about it, he'd offered his help but she refused, believing it'd be pointless. But deep down, he knew, she couldn't let go of the curiosity.

Soyeon looked away, feeling only more embarrassed about having been so easily to figure out, like an open book. "Maybe.." was the only thing she was willing to admit in that moment.

»»»

The third manga volume was spread between her fingers when she eventually got tired of reading. She hadn't noticed how much time had passed already.

The scenery outside was only a blur. The mood depending on how much sunlight the clouds left through. Currently, they were hanging dark and low, creating a gloomy atmosphere contrasting to the deep green of the fields and forests.

For a moment she paused, simply staring out of the train. The view of the afternoon giving her some kind of inspiration, a tingly feeling spreading in her fingers.

It was usually random things like this, even watching animation films could sparkle her inspiration. So she quickly got her earphones out along with her writing tools.

Tapping her pen against the notebook which was balanced on her folded thighs. Chin resting on the palm of her hand as she pensively observed the grey cloud-blanket. Trying to fill in the empty spaces in the melody that was on repeat by creating somewhat poetic sounding sentences out of nothing.

She peeked at Yoongi then who had somehow managed to fall asleep next to her almost as soon as the train had departed. She internally scoffed, but couldn't help observing his sleeping self with a soft expression. His chest raising and falling under his folded arms, while his head was leaning against the seat. Dark streaks slightly covering his forehead and eyes.

She still couldn't believe he had convinced her in giving it a try. Frankly, it might not have been that hard after all, but she liked to pretend it was.

When she took a closer look of him, she could notice him having similar dark circles under his eyes as her. And she wondered if it was her fault, having unintentionally compelled him into staying up late with her, contemplating which decision to make. Her lips curled into a smile when reminiscing their conversation the previous night. He hadn't really pushed her or tried arguing, his words had been rather simple. Yet effective. And his voice was still stuck in her mind.

"My honest opinion? Do it or don't - you might regret both anyway. But if you don't, you'll have to live with the 'what if' and I think that's worse."

A string of words suddenly crossed her mind and she averted her eyes from him, redirecting her gaze onto the landscape.

'how was your sky today

how was your day today

how was your weather?

oh, my season?

every summer the same

good weather, bad weather

come and go'

She scribbled the words down when a yawn excaped her lips. She envied him. Despite her also still being tired, she wasn't able to fall asleep as easily, especially not in a cramped train.

And yet, her eyes did close eventually and she almost dozed off. Her head sliding onto his shoulder and resting there for awhile until one of her earphones dropped, startling her a little. Her eyes opened and she plugged it back into her ear, straightening herself and focusing back on the melody. Her eyes returning outside. Letting her mind wander.

'cloudy

dark clouds

have lost their taste

manic-depressed sky

you're dyeing even me'

She propped her chin on her fist when noticing small droplets hitting the glass. The pen tapped along the rhythm when she glanced at Yoongi again, pausing.

'in the rushing clouds

that clear feeling flies away

don't come, don't come anymore

summer, don't cry now

it's time to pass

how was your sky today?

how's your weather?

rainy

it's a rainy night'

She noted everything down, being so absorbed in her writing that she hadn't noticed Yoongi stirring up at her movement. Stretching next to her.

"What time is it?" he yawned, not getting any answer as the music in her ears was blasting too loud.

Confused, he blinked an eye open, realising she didn't hear him. And he got curious, now fully awake he leaned over to see what she was doing. His eyes widening when seeing her hand gliding over the paper.

He observed her writing like she was possessed by that pen, finding the way how immersed she was quite endearing. And he didn't want to disturb her flow, being happy her inspiration had returned in the end, so he sat back again. Waiting until she eventually put the pen down, exhaling contently.

She took a proud look at the once blank pages in front of her then. It was quite a lot. She had verses, the bridge and chorus. Not bad, she smiled to herself and was about to go back when the music was cut off in one of her ears. Startled, she looked aside, seeing Yoongi holding the earphone to his own ear and taking a listen.

He hummed then. "Didn't know you also work on weekends," he smirked and gave it back to her, seeing her pausing the music on her phone.

"I don't, but the weather fits the song's mood so I got some inspiration.."

"Huh, is that so.." His eyes instantly went outside, seeing the low hanging clouds, then went back to her notepad. "You know, you've never shown me any of your songs." He held her gaze while an implying smile spread on his lips, "You said you would."

Her lips folded, remembering their conversation months ago. "I did say that.."

She hadn't done it on purpose, avoiding showing him any of her work all those months. The opportunity simply never occured. Usually she was all by herself when writing lyrics, to concentrate better. So naturally, he didn't really saw her doing it and she didn't happen talking about it besides complainging whenever she got stuck.

She handed him the earphone back with a nervous feeling. "I don't know if you're gonna like them though.." she mumbled, searching up songs she had worked on.

He cocked a brow at her, mockingly. "Since when are you so self-conscious?"

Ignoring his teasing, she pressed play. Watching his eyes widening while the song progressed. "You wrote that?"

"The chorus and second verse only. Not the whole thing."

The irrational nervousness that rose in her didn't get any better with his unreadably stoic expression while listening through them all. She knew the songs were good, otherwise they wouldn't have got picked. And yet, she was nervous about his opinion, knowing he wouldn't lie just to be polite or because she was his girlfriend. Maybe only sugarcoat it, not to be too harsh. However, much to her ego's delight, he didn't have to do either one.

"You've got a nice way with words," he nodded then, unable to hide the clear adoration lingering in his simple words.

And she smiled.

He might not be a man of many words, but the ones he chose to say were always the right ones.

»»»

Taipei, Taiwan

"I.. don't understand anything."

With a yet again sulky expression she lowered the piece of paper. Not being able making any sense of the symbols drawn by her grandfather ages ago. Her already lacking certainty about finding the mystery behind them only declining ever since they had stepped foot out of the train.

After finding it behind the photo frame, she had tried - -and failed to decipher whatever code this was supposed to be. Leading her to give up back then. So she didn't know why she'd thought this time by being at the location would be different.

She knew 'oro' meant 'gold' in italian, most likely hinting at all the loot her grandfather had gathered over the years of being a secret thief and which interpol had still been unable to locate till now. This, however, was her only clue. The rest of the symbols had remained unknown to her.

She knew that this unsolved mystery constantly invading her thoughts in the back of her mind would never let her go, unless she tried solving it, though.

And yet, right now, she regretted telling Yoongi about it and him convicing her of going there.

Who knew, maybe it was nothing after all. Just a silly little doodle made by an old man.

"Don't give up so quickly, we just arrived," Yoongi scolded her and looked around, "And you're sure this is the place that photo was taken at?"

She nodded, fiddling out a photo from her backpack and pointing at it. "Yeah, see. That's my grandpa and that - " She pointed at the Little South Gate behind them. "Is the exact same spot. He even wrote it on the back."

However, something else seemed to have caught his attention instead. Brown irises fixated on the photo she was holding in front of his eyes. He grabbed it then with a scowl. "Who's this guy next to your grandfather again?"

She shrugged. "No clue. Some friend, I assume, whose name was 'M'. See." She turned the photo and he read the handwriting himself. "Why?"

"'Cause he seems oddly familiar. And I never forget a face," he mumbled then, trying his hardest to remember where he'd seen this man before or if he had at all. The photo was quite old.

She slid the photo back into her bag then, redirecting their focus onto the mysterious symbols.

"Let me see again," Yoongi said, peeking over her shoulder to the piece of paper she was holding.

This wasn't the first cypher he had come across. Over the years, he and the guys had seen and solved lots of them in order to find hidden treasures. This one, however, was quite different from the previous ones.

These symbols could mean anything or nothing at all.

And his eyes narrowed while trying making sense of them. "What's this?"

Soyeon squinted her eyes at the spot he was pointing at next to the 'W' and the arrow. Indeed, she hadn't paid attention to it before as it had almost completely faded away compared to the rest, but there was also a moon symbol.

"A crescent? Now I'm even more confused.." she mumbled under her breath. Losing any hope she had to ever find her grandfather's haul.

"Let's not over-complicate things," Yoongi said then with a surprising enthusiasm in his voice. He seemed to have caught onto something, she could see it in his little grin. Glancing at his watch then, he saw it was almost 6pm. The sun would set soon. "'Moon' might indicate night. And the 'W' with the arrow perhaps the cardinal point, West. So whatever these symbols are, we can only see them at night when going west from the Little South Gate. What do you think?"

Her brows rose in awe, his interpretation making sense. At least they had another possible clue now. "But.." she slowly began then, the excitement leaving her eyes, "Grandpa wrote that 'map' - or whatever this is - years ago. Who knows if these symbols still exist nowadays. "

He only hummed. "Suck it and see," he shrugged and began walking down the western located street. The raven-haired girl observed him dumbfounded before quickly trotting behind him. Following him with a curious glare as the sky darkened above them.

"So something you can only see at night," she thought out loud then, her eyes going back and forth from one side of buildings to another. "What could that be?"

A square. A rectangle with a semicircle on top. A triangle. An umbrella. A star. A keyhole.

She abrubtly stopped then. Her eyes widening. "Isn't that.. a rectangle with a semicircle on top?"

Yoongi paused in his tracks to look over his shoulder. His eyes then following her gaze, catching indeed a big blue neon-light on the top of a department store shaped like the second symbol.

"And there, a square!" she exclaimed excitedly. Pointing at red neon-sign on the opposite side of the street. "You think he meant neon-signs?"

"Could be," he smiled at her beaming face. And they continued walking down the street when Yoongi caught something that could be the third symbol. "You see the lights over there?"

She nodded vigorously at the illuminated triangle-sign of a building. Taking a look at the cryptic map then. "So we might've found the first three."

"What was the next one?"

"An umbrella."

An umbrella-shaped sign might be harder to find, if something like that even existed.

They continued looking around in the crisp evening, unable to find any neon-lights in that form, though, which was expected. A bright cloud icon on a display catching Yoongi's interest then. It was for weather forecast, informing tomorrow's weather would be cloudy again. And he smirked, beginning to understand.

"I can't find any," Soyeon stated with disappointment when he nudged her side, motioning with his chin to the display among the numerous billboards at the crossroads in front of them.

"I think I found our umbrella."

Her brows furrowed puzzled. Not being able seeing what he meant until it finally clicked and her expression returned to an excited one. "I see.. when this was drawn the weather forecast was predicting rain."

He nodded. "Now the star is missing."

Soyeon immediatelly perked up at this. A star, right! She had seen a star somewhere near by.

She started running, taking him aback. Only stopping at the end of the block, where the tall buildings weren't hiding the ferris wheel in the distance anymore. "He surely meant the giant star-shaped lights on this!" She faced him with a huge smile and he reciprocated.

"You're right, no way it's not this."

"That means only the last symbol is left."

The keyhole.

"Maybe it's not a light, though," Soyeon mused, "Maybe it just stands for the lock where the loot is at."

Shaking his head, he disagreed. "I don't think so." He grabbed her hand then, taking a few steps back until the vertical neon-framed billboard on one of the buildings was perfectly alligning with a circle of lightbulbs on the taller building behind it. Creating a keywhole-shape.

"You think that's.." She looked up at him questioningly, seeing him giving her an innocent look.

"Who knows.." Taking a glance behind then, he noticed they were standing right in front of an entrance. "But if I'm correct, then.. it's probably inside this building."

Her eyes grew, looking at the dark building that was quietly soaring to the sky. She rummaged the key out of her pocket then and inspected it closely. There was a small letter engraved on one side. B.

"B. Basement?"

"Possible. The only way to find out is to get in."

"Get in? But it seems there's nobo- oh. Oh!" She looked at him with big eyes, making him chuckle.

"You guessed right. We'll just break in."

"Or wait till tomorrow?"

He arched a brow at her. "You actually wanna wait till tomorrow? And have people ask questions?"

Watching her contemplating it, mouth moving from one side to another she eventually gave in with a groan. "Ugh, fine. But only if you're sure we won't get caught."

He scoffed. "You offend my abilities as a thief."

"Isn't Jimin the thief and you and Taehyung rather the assistants?" she grinned teasingly to which he only shrugged casually. "If that's the case you don't need me here then." And he turned around on his heels, ready to leave when she grabbed his arm, pulling him back with an eyeroll.

They decided to go look for the back entrance, it being less risky to enter from there. He took his phone out to switch on the flashlight as picking a lock in complete darkness went beyond his abilities, when seeing his screen being filled with notifications of multiple missed calls and texts from Jimin. All in caps. He turned his screen to her then so she'd read them as well.

chim (6:45pm): GUYS

chim (6:45pm): IDK WHERE YOU ARE BUT COME ASAP

chim (6:45pm): PLS?

chim (6:46pm): THE BABY IS COMING

chim (6:47pm): IM GONNA BE A DAD!!!!

Their eyes grew, exchanging glances.

"Oh my - When's the next train leaving? We must hurry!" Soyeon asked panicked, causing Yoongi to give her an astonished look. "But what about your grandfa-"

"It was hidden for decades, a few days or weeks more won't matter," she quickly dismissed his worry, waving him off. "Come, let's go already!"

And he smiled, nodding.

And so they went back to the central station. Catching the last train back to Tainan.

THE END

»»»

thank you all for reading this story! it was fun writing it, so hope you also had fun reading it!

-lyrics taken from soyeon's solo song "weather"! idk i really like this song and it fit hah

❗the prequel "a thief's origin ✨ || bts • kth" along with one shots for jungkook and seokjin are in the works!

- check out my other bts stories, too: here

Don't forget to like, reblog & leave feedback! ♡

It motivates me to keep writing :)

54 notes · View notes

cutegirlmayra · 5 years

Note

I believe I have read most of your prompts but I haven't come across a prompt like this yet so here it is: years pass and Sonic and Amy grow closer with Amy becoming more mature and Sonic being more comfortable open with her. He slowly falls in love with Amy and is really confused with how he's feeling so he talks with Amy about it. I need me some awkward wholesome SonAmy >A

OHHHHHH The ideas in my head go round and round, round and round? Round and round! All into the ficlet~

I’d also like to remind my Cuties (Followers) out there to please remember that my Prompts are on SHUTDOWN. Do not send me prompt ideas, please! Some of you have and it only adds to my pile. Wait till they open again, okay?

Plus, you can read all my prompts on @idontworkforsega !

So… There’s more ‘drama’ than ‘cute awkwardness’ but I hope it heps that it’s in Sonic’s POV XD

THIS IS AN AU, lol

Prompt:

“It’s sort of weird you would ask me here, Sonic. Usually, we hang outside of movies and try to zip in free or dart if we get caught trying!” Amy, much older and much more matured now, giggled with a slight snort that caught her off guard as she held her hand up over her mouth.

It had been a while… a long while… since we’d taken a break from each other.

Amy swapped her iconic red and white dress for something more form-fitting. For some reason, she dressed like a punky rebel now, making me think I influenced her a little too much with those ‘daring movie dates’ of the past.

Those were meant to just be fun. Over time, it started confusing me. Amy, of course, saw them as officials dates until one day… she chilled out.

It’s like she had given up on thinking romantically about me, and after she did, I started hanging out with her more.

Who knew girls could be so… so…

Awesome?

We started doing a lot of derring-dos like jumping off skyscrapers, me grabbing her and scaling down the side. The city became more alive with random karaoke with the gang to sudden—competitive—miniature golf tourneys… just us two.

Amy never reached out to me anymore. She didn’t follow. She only ran towards the hottest sales and latest fashion. I would have hated it if she became some sort of a diva, but instead, she turned into a ‘do or die’ kind of girl… and honestly?

I’ve been feeling up for a ride.

“You used to like it here.” I lifted a leg up to the raised, concrete wall that cut off the city from the park. I wanted to take her away from the city’s air… I wanted to bring her back to her roots.

Nature…-Ish, I guess.

“Every time I brought you here,… you’d try and kiss me.” I thought that was a bit blunt, but she seemed to roll her eyes to me and lower them as if sensing a joke.

Which, it half was…

She laughed again, but this time, sticking her mouth straight up to the sky to really exaggerate the bounce her chin made at the ridiculous gesture. “Hahaha! Anytime I got with you seemed like a treat! I couldn’t help but think it a fantastic opportunity… A date…” she looked off into the park, and just as I planned, she looked to a couple who were sitting close to each other.

The girl’s legs were flopped over the dudes. His hand was resting on them while he flipped through his book, and she, her own.

“…Couples are so…” Amy started, which perked me up because I haven’t heard her speak about ‘couple’ topics in a few years now… “…Annoyingly sweet.” She looked away and suddenly started digging like a meerkat into the purse.

I frowned. My sudden enthusiasm at seeing the little 12-year-old girl again was diminished at her immediate side-swiping of the thought all together.

My eyes lowered, showing more of my dislike in these results. “What? You don’t want annoyingly cute anymore? I thought you were the master of that!” I laughed, again, trying to be slick about my approach with this.

Eggman had attacked just a few weeks ago. He was getting up there in age… then again, he always was. But for some reason, this old man dipped his toe into Ponce de León’s Fountain of Youth and has been his giddy, world-conquering self ever since…

Though, his latest scheme harkened back to my glory days. I thought it a nice touch, almost as if Eggman was giving me a birthday present or something. In a… murdering love… kind of way.

But Amy didn’t get me anything for my birthday.

That’s when I noticed she hadn’t hugged or doted on me in a long time.

I guess I never noticed after all the times we’ve casually hung out together, but Amy was starting to attract a lot of attention from other men.

I would occasionally see her flirting, which itched me the wrong way, to be honest, but turn any offers down when it came to making something serious.

I didn’t watch her or anything…

It’s called guarding your friends wisely.

Good friends do that.

Well, anyway… I started thinking maybe it was time to actually THINK about Amy Rose.

Ah… The rose that blew away from the wind… I definitely wasn’t expecting that.

It’s almost like she willingly did anything I dared and then suggested reckless—admittedly fun—activities just cause she knew I would do it instead of asking for my hand in marriage or dating schedules.

I honestly… missed those dating schedules.

Usually, on my birthday, she’d insist on treating me to something and then a movie.

That ‘something’ is what I dreaded most. It was THE most boringest activity any young girl could put upon an adventurous boy’s heart!

But I digress… This time, when she just said ‘Happy Birthday!’ and walked on like I meant nothing to her… I really was concerned.

The boys didn’t bother me. I knew nothing would really happen anyway.

Her not chasing after me during adventures wasn’t a big deal. I knew I could always swing by the apartment sometime and grab a bite to eat with her.

No homemade meals especially for Sonic The Hedgehog was a change, but I got used to snacks.

No marriage proposals were especially nice.

But the day she didn’t seem to even care I existed… that struck me the most and caused some sort of… lasting, depressing impression on me.

That’s why I asked her to the park today.

And… that’s admittedly why I planted our bums right in front of the adorable and openly visible couple.

“Oh, that?” She tilted her hair back to me, some earrings clanging along with the smooth movement. “Ha..ha..ha.” she wiggled her head to me, again the clanging jingled as if mocking me as well. “We both know I’ve grown out of that. Besides, I’m far too clever to waste my time on men.” She pulled out the desired object she was looking for in her purse.

A mirror.

As she pulled out some lipstick and started applying it, I couldn’t help but ball up my hand for a second, death-glaring that cherry-flavored lip gloss and look away with a scowl spreading across my face.

How could she torture me like that!?

“You don’t… feel anything towards men anymore?” I decided, heck! If she thinks I’m just teasing her, then I will.

It’s getting me somewhere. And I honestly can’t explain everything I’m feeling. Maybe if she talks more, I can better identify why her ‘self-absorbed’ attitude was getting to me lately…

I bit my thumb to hold in my anger. That stupid mirror. She used to look into my eyes to see herself. She never said it, but I knew that’s what she was doing.

I knew if I ever asked, she’d say something crazy like- I want to see myself as you see me, Sonic! And tee-hee like the innocent but lovestruck girl she was back then.

I looked back into her eyes.

The deep mascara-soaked eyelashes made it impossible to see through to her eyes. I couldn’t even see a reflection in them from this angle. The lashes draped over like shredded black curtains that bounced as she blinked gently.

I would have stared longer to describe them a bit better to you, but sadly, she looked up at me and winked, smiling.

I turned away with a flinch. I hated when she did that!

“Woah! For a second there, I could have sworn you blushed!”

Now I grinded my teeth together, “I was just embarrassed… is all.” I ruffled some of my quills up with my hand and then shook my head to drop them back down in place.

“You’re so funny, Sonic. You always were, but now… especially so!” she clicked her feet together and let them sway a moment as her shoulders bounced, letting her head duck down between them before she held it high and pompously again.

It’s like she knew she was pretty and didn’t care.

Like I wanted to stare and she wouldn’t let me.

Not like I cared what she would have wanted me to do…

“Nah… Men are just… men now.” She looked away again, but I could tell by her tone that something was off with that.

“…You giving up?” I asked and suddenly realized how awful that sounded.

I was about to try and make a quick save by forming a ‘joke’ out of it but she tilted her head and I grew silent.

“…I mean… haven’t you?” she turned her head to me. “About girls. You’ve never really been interested in anyone. I guess after some time, I just accepted that.” She nodded and I felt like every jump of her head was another stab in my back.

I twitched painfully at her nodding and turned away, darting my eyes a bit before looking back to the couple.

“…I didn’t give up.” I stated, a bit shallowly. “I just… never started.” I looked down to my hand, seeing it flex out as it tried to remain ‘cool’.

Why was this so awkward? Why did I feel sweaty and out of my element..? All of a sudden, she had made me tense and wary of her. What was this!?

“…Oh.” Amy looked forward again, and for once, I actually saw her a bit shaken up about me again.

“I just… always assumed you… you never liked… certain girls.” She suddenly started tugging on her hair, moving her fingers through it and quickly brushing it out. I slowly turned back, fascinated by the nervous movement and seeing some real flustered pink trace against her cheeks for the first time in a millennia of hanging out with her.

I was… kinda awestruck at it.

“I mean… you just were a … you know… womanizer or something.” She cleared her throat as if that was hard to say, and honestly, I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Why would I be a womanizer if I never flirted with anyone!?” I laughed, but she seemed spooked about that reaction too.

“But you-! You were always..!” she cut herself off, leaning forward to me before pulling herself back.

I hid my face behind my hand as I laughed, peeking through to hope she didn’t notice I was trying to lure out more of a confession in her.

If I knew how she felt… maybe… then I could understand what I was feeling…

She seemed really shaken up now, her head shifting about and her eyes looking at different specks on the ground.

She blushed, and I suddenly felt my heart soar as though racing up a loop-de-loop of the past.

“Amy…”

“I-it’s nothing! You just… always smiled at them and-!” she grew incredibly…

Adorable.

Her hands raced to the sides of her cheeks, “I thought you liked those wild women…” she seemed to be panicking, and quickly tugged her purse closer to her and started rampaging around in it.

“Woah, woah..! Hey! Calm down…” I couldn’t help it, I was smiling!

This girl didn’t really… transform herself to be what she thought I would like… did she?

Amy quickly took out a makeup remover wipe from her purse and held it for a moment… she shoved it back into her purse and shoved the entire thing away.

“It’s fine. Honestly, I like myself and I like our new dynamic.”

“Dynamic?” Our relationship was anything BUT dynamic…

She was a cheerful and always encouraging girl from the sidelines. Recently, she had become the fun girl cheerfully encouraging mischief from the sidelines.

Both were fine. But only one of them was Amy to me. The other was a girl I knew a long time ago… she was cute, made me a little apprehensive, but was kind and loyal in her faith that I could save the world.

Then there was Amy. The same girl, but much more interesting!

I could relax now, but she was still feisty! Just in… eh… another kind of way.

She was loud and didn’t care. Wild, always wanting a good time. Never a dull moment…

The two just… mixed. After the old Amy faded from memory, I hadn’t noticed how much I-

That’s it.

My eyes widened when I realized what I was feeling.

“Amy… I missed you!”

Her face froze and she studied something intensely in her mind, before turning back to me again. “What?”

“Do you still like me?” I jumped both my feet up to the wall now, making sure to balance myself and stay crouched by her side. “I mean… like me enough to want to… sit all cute and affectionally like those two, over there?” I moved my head in the direction of the couple but only moved my gaze from her for a second.

She was considerably flustered now.

I knew without a doubt she still had feelings for me, and it gave me courage and a thrill I hadn’t felt in an awfully long time.

“Why not?” I shrugged, “Your cute, I’m handsome. We’re especially good at thrill rides and don’t care what mischief we get into! The only requirement is that you stay the girl you want to be. How ‘bout it?” I gave her my best ‘fantasy dream boy’ look and waited—expecting everything to go my way and have her squeal in delight at my offer.

But… she remained silent and spooked… and my confidence was all but destroyed in a matter of two, long eyelash blinks.

“…No.” Amy breathed out.

It was like the sound of death, lingering on her recently moistened-up lips and trailing into my soul to gently pull my spirit away and send me packing.

“…No?” I felt my entire body grow heavy, moving back down to the wall. “No..?” I felt my voice soften, a crack was placed in the spaces of my pride and I couldn’t see clearly for a moment.

Her eyes watered up, “No.” she stated again.

This time, it was like she hesitated on the gunshot.

“Because I do care.” She looked away, down at the ground. “I do care what kind of mischief we get ourselves into.” She grabbed her purse and jumped down from the wall.

I didn’t even notice how fast my body was moving on its own. I was following her for a change… unable to rip myself away from her.

“And I do care what girl I want to be. What girl I thought I could never be. And what girl I thought you’d drop to a knee and marry! But I’m done thinking about you all the time!” she turned swiftly around, like a tornado cut short in it’s spin. But I was still knocked over, I stopped so quickly at the whiplash of her spiraling fury of wind that I got my breath shoved right back down my throat.

When had she become so…

Powerful?

“If you want me, Sonic The Hedgehog. I expect you to fight for me like every other man in this world!” she hit me with her purse, and I stumbled back, as she advanced forward. “I expect you to think about me every day!” she swung another go at me, and this time I instinctively put up my arm to try and block it. “I want you to change yourself into a better man that I would admire and appreciate! That I could have fun with and emotionally invest my time and energy into! I want you to invest in me!” She kept swinging, and I was thankful it was the purse and not the toned, ripped as a muscular body-builder hammer that’s ridiculous name only disguised how formidable it was.

“Ames…” I stopped moving backwards. I had gained the insight I wanted. But it was a little hard to swallow.

“I want you to be committed to me like you are right now!” she swung one last shot, letting it slide and dangle off after its strike landed. She breathed heavily now, her back hunched and her anger subsiding.

“I want… I want you to say it first.”

I didn’t move.

“…I want you to move first!” she looked up with a look I had only wished I never saw before.

I had hurt her.

She had felt played and cheated.

Her passion was overlooked as a game and she wanted nothing more than to keep going with it. Because she saw I enjoyed it. And she’d rather have that over heartbreak.

But now I was asking for heartbreak. I was asking her to go right back into that endless chase with me and she wouldn’t put up with it anymore.

She had grown so strong and independent. She must still care about me… but she wouldn’t allow herself to fall into that trap again.

I hadn’t realized… how much suffering I must have put her through after all these years.

It pained my heart to think about it, but I was a total butt to her when she was young and in love.

I should have been more thoughtful. Less careless about how I reacted to her praises and affections.

How could I have asked her to do all that again? Go through all that without first proving I would commit to do the same?

“…Alright, Amy. I get it. You win.”

She let out an emote that I couldn’t quite answer back with. It was as though she had cut off an intense cry and only let the first syllable of the terrible whine out.

“You idiot!” she cried out, her body sinking down as she swayed in her emotional outburst. “You never let me win!”

It was like she flicked a switch.

Behind my eyes, there was something triggered.

I bolted towards her, grabbing her and pulling her as tightly close to me at supersonic speeds.

I hadn’t moved that fast in a long time. It was a quick action. I just responded immediately to it. As though it was a cry for help.

I held her then… just held her.

She felt hot and panicked at my sudden touch.

How long has it been..? Since we’ve last been this close..? Since we’ve really, truly embraced without a shred of holding back before?

She didn’t cry, she didn’t fight me, she just…

Went limp a moment.

When she finally spoke, I could tell she was exhausted from having felt so many things and not being ready for it. It had probably been so long since she had felt these feelings for me again… and honestly…

I was just starting to understand how powerful this thing was…

If this was what Amy had felt… back when she was just 12…

“I never meant hurt you, Ames.” I pulled her closer, not daring to let her go now. Not when I knew what was going on inside my heart now. It wasn’t awkward for no reason… it was because I missed her. I missed her so much. I had recognized the resistance and lack of love and I wanted it back. I wanted to stop the game. I wanted to quit the endless chase, turn around, and actually make her smile for good this time.

I wanted to reward her.

I never knew this was what she had felt.

For so long, I had denied her any chance of an actual victory over me. Over my stupid pride. My teases. My constant ‘mirror’ that didn’t want me to see her for what she truly was.

Love.

She was Amy.

“I think I finally get it, Amy.” I felt my mouth grow dry, my throat get slightly sore as she lightly gasped and turned to look up and to the side at me.

Her hand suddenly gripped, ever so more into my chest, below my shoulder…

“Understand… what?” she inquired as if holding everything in.

I sighed, dipping into her more. “How truly hard it must feel… to be in love with me.”

She remained silent.

“Because I can honestly say now-“ I pulled her just inches away from me, looking into those eyes that finally reflected an image of me. The me I now wanted to be. “That loving you is no easy feat either.”

Her eyes glossed over, widening.

Which reminded me of those lips…

I angled my head down, staring at those moistened tempters…

“I never realized how powerful love could draw you in…”

Did she notice?

I looked back up at her, my mouth agape as her’s hung a bit too.

It would be so simple…

To just lean in and-

“But I have something to prove to you now.” I stepped away, using every amount of self-control I had to do so.

I stood tall and proud, “I have to win your heart this time around, right?” I cocked my head and smirked. This time, I was actually attempting to flirt with a girl.

She still looked awestruck, and so I continued.

“8 o’clock. Park. Bring a book.” I bolted away, “A good one!” I called out, cupping a hand over near my mouth to let the sound travel as I raced by.

I was determined to succeed!

This Amy needed confirmation that I was serious! This Amy had my heart leaping over bounds and wanting to tear itself from my chest and bound right after her.

But I had to play the charming hero now.

I had to play the game this time.

She was the object of my affections! I had to win her over!

It was… absolutely thrilling!

Once again, Amy was pulling me into her mischief and ‘ride or die’ activities again.

But this time-

I was tugging right back!

I heard something in the distance just then and skidded to a halt to turn my ear towards the sound.

“SOOOONNNIIICCC!!!” it sounded just like it did all those years ago. “YOU BETTER MEAN IT, OR DIE TRYING!”

I chuckled.

“I WON’T FORGIVE YOU THIS TIME!”

She probably would kill me if I didn’t mean every word.

I put my hands to my hips, lowering my head to hear any further messages scaling across the breeze.

“AND ONE MORE THING-!”

I smirked, knew it.

“I LOVE YOU TOO!!!”

#sonamy #sonamy au #sonamy prompt #sonicxamy

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lightsorigins · 3 years

Text

An inefficient world

03 Marckabeth 2010

3:42 pm, Mysticiën,

Lausya, Estery High School

Squeezed into an uncomfortable wooden chair, Sarasvatî had her arms folded. She had been staring at Madame Bigot, her biology teacher, for a few minutes. After having finished her tirade on a part of the course, this last one also observed Sara during a few seconds. The setting sun was illuminating her short jet hair and her strong gaze. She was imperturbable, yet everything about her indicated a latent irritation.

- Sarasvatî, do you have something to add?

She sighed at length before answering.

- You send me sorry, but you can't understand anything in a class where you get lost in so many details.

- These details are in Sara's program. If you work harder, you'll understand more.

At the agreement of his words, his gaze caught fire.

- That I work more? Me? In this room, I'm sure that no one understood a word of what you've just explained. You start to talk to us about how Anima and Menha work, and then you digress about your theories about the most powerful elements to bring down the Anima of our opponents, even though we are not even atmologists. It had nothing to do with the beginning of the session, and we haven't even been given a lecture on the primary elements yet!

- Sara...

- Don't expect me to believe that your assumptions about how things work are part of the program. Everyone here knows that you were not a high school teacher last year.

Madame Bigot was a red-headed meïlith with very light blue skin. Her big green eyes opened more and more to Sara's insolence. Discreet and kind, she had indeed shown for some sessions difficulties in giving her course in a sufficiently clear manner. Suddenly, she gave a big blow on her desk with the flat of her hand.

- Enough! You will bring me your notebook at the bell. I cannot accept such behavior in this room. Class representative or good student, I don't care!

- Instead, say that you are unable to accept reality and the criticisms that go against your ineffective methods," Sara replied before taking out her notebook and putting it at the end of the table.

- Pardon? exclaimed the professor.

- Nothing. Nothing that you wouldn't be able to hear.

She was dying to make him swallow her tongue with an atmos. Something that would have made her feel like making a fool of herself in front of all those students, but Laura Bigot would be in big trouble with the Grand Council of Atmology if she did so. However, she could already see herself joining hands, forming a skillful circle and whispering "Totopo lu hodo". A wooden cocoon would then have formed around Sarasvatî, who would have had no choice but to keep quiet. The pupils would then have said to each other "It is not necessary to joke with Mrs. Bigot! ». She would have earned the respect she had hoped for, continued her course and shared her intelligent theories on the functioning of the elements. Yet, instead...

- What's up? Are you going to take this notebook, yes or no? Instead of standing stupidly in front of me staring at me.

- Leave this room immediately Sara. You will have a report that you will remember for a long time. I would have liked to talk with you calmly, but it is obviously not possible.

- Anyway, it's going to ring. I would have liked to avoid this with you, but it seems to me that we have already talked about this problem. I won't be able to get a higher education with your damn theories. You simply have no right to do that. I'll talk to the director about it tomorrow. I'll see you soon.

Madame Bigot kept talking, but Sara had already moved on. Then the bell rang. It was an unpleasant, strident, repetitive sound that she had never enjoyed hearing. She grabbed her black leather jacket and put it over her long sky-blue dress. Grabbing her bag, she walked towards the exit, expressionless. Her step was heavy, fast and sure. She didn't greet anyone and stopped at the door. Once in the hallway, Sara stretched out her arm and let her diamond shûmberr skin handbag dangle nimbly from her fingertips. Staring down at the large alley, a long sigh of impatience escaped from between her lips. Suddenly, a young sygreliad with long blond hair rushed towards her and grabbed her bag.

- Sorry Sara, I hadn't finished writing everything down. Damn, your bag is heavy today, what did you put in it?

- It's the weight of Madame Bigot's bullshit, did you see how it weighs?

Annabelle smiled an embarrassed smile at him. Sara mimicked her expression by mimicking a despicable nonsense before continuing.

- Where's Marvin? Is he going to suck up to miss bullshit, or is he going to show up?

A large wazardin with a tousled coat ran out of the room, jostling Sara and Annabelle as they passed by. He stumbled a few seconds later, knocking over all of his comrade's things in the hallway. His ruby eyes were lost in Sara's, who stared at him without blinking.

- Ah shit, I thought you two had left," he said, laughing and nervously scratching his head.

- Marvin, I think I'm going to destroy you and your whole family," Sara said dryly.

- But you still intend to continue to help me with the merçembuth history presentation?

- Maybe, if you pick up everything you just spilled in less than thirty seconds. After that time, I might purposely insert errors in your homework and insult the teachers to get you kicked out of school.

Marvin swallowed his saliva and picked it all up, helped by Annabelle, who then picked up Sara's purse. They continued on their way out of the school. Snow was falling in large flakes on Lausya. It was a venckelbuth of the month of jalestar. This year's system was particularly cold. Every day, Sarasvatî, Annabelle and Marvin came home from school together because their homes were on the same road. Since middle school, the three teenagers had spent a lot of time together working on subjects in which they were struggling. Despite her bullying attitude, Sara knew she needed Annabelle's help in math. In return, she would help them out when they had arguments with other students, but also in other subjects where Annabelle and Marvin were not performing as well as she did.

- It took exactly twenty-four seconds to pick up everything," says Annabelle. That's it, you're saved for your homework Marvin!

- No, because you helped him so it doesn't count. So I'm not going to help you, too," Sara replied.

Annabelle's face decomposed. The young sygreliad gradually slowed down her walk, when Sara suddenly ripped her purse from her hands.

- Oh, but we can't even laugh anymore? It's not possible that! I'll help you anyway, I'm not a monster ! We've known each other for a long time, seriously. You're the only two people I accept to talk to, stop being afraid like that for a little bit, otherwise I won't hang out with you anymore.

- You'll have to excuse me Sara, but considering how mad you were at Madame Bigot earlier, it doesn't make you want to be more upset than that.

- You have nothing to do with it, I wouldn't be stupid enough to make you pay for miss bigou's incompetence. And what do you think of what I said to her? Did you understand what she was talking about?

- I don't know," Annabelle hesitated. I was interested in her ideas, but she did talk fast. Anyway, it wasn't going to last long. Do you really think that letting her talk a little bit about it from time to time is so bad?

- The problem is there, and you both need to think about it too. Like me, you would like to become good atmologists later on, wouldn't you? Imagine letting all of our teachers knock us out with their unproven hypotheses for five to ten minutes per hour-long class. Imagine, in total, how much time we will have wasted! That would mean that...

Marvin grabs her by the arm and pulls her onto the road. Sara was so carried away by his explanation that she hadn't seen that it was time to cross.

- That would mean a lot of time would be lost," he added calmly. I know, it's okay. But only Madame Bigot does that. She is new, you said it yourself, and despite that she is still a good teacher!

Sara stared at him before raising her eyes to the sky.

- How much did you get at his last checkup, Marvin? Honestly?

- I got 8 out of 20, and you know very well that I usually get half in organic classes!

- Marvin, you got 8 and I got 10, whereas in bio I normally go out with at least 16. She's not a good teacher. And I need a record that is relevant to my entry into the top universities in Mysticiën. I have tried to be patient, I have already talked to her about the situation but the very next day she does the same thing to me. I wish she had at least been honest and told me clearly that she would continue to do as she pleased.

- And if she had said that, are you sure you wouldn't have done something, like spilling all her stuff on the floor or yelling at her that she's just incompetent?

Sara slowed down her walk slightly and began to contemplate the sky for a few seconds as a sign of reflection. Suddenly, her gaze returned to Annabelle.

- Yeah, you have a point. Are we still on for math tomorrow at 4:00?

- Yes, I have notified my parents. I leave you here, see you tomorrow!

She walked away discreetly. Sara and Marvin watched the silhouette in the small white coat disappear in the distance towards the east of the city, rubbing her arms against herself to warm up before she could go home. Marvin patted Sara on the back before bursting into laughter.

- Hey, Marvin. Really, I'm going to end up killing you if you touch me a third time.

- You're not cool to make Annabelle carry your bag like that! Look how tiny and cute she is in her coat, she still looks like a little girl.

They went the other way before Sara continued.

- I took advantage of this before she became a school principal. She will eat us all if we don't dominate her first. Look at her, with her little feet and her nice attitudes. She's hiding an evil genius, that's for sure.

- Aren't you projecting your own attitudes onto her?

- No. And you want to carry my bag instead maybe?

- I can't promise I'll never drop it if you let me do it, but we can always try, I guess.

At the agreement of her words, she jumped up and down to try to slap him on the back of the head. Marvin ducked, and the two teenagers began to chase each other around town. The discussion turned into a brief snowball fight, won by Sarasvatî. In their bickering, they had reached Marvin's family home, which was still lying on the ground. Before he got up, Sara approached him with a huge amount of snow in her arms.

- What do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Notorious Criminal? she asked comically.

Marvin concentrated with all his strength and a pink glow covered him. Sara frowned, wondering what idiocy he was up to. A few seconds later, he had taken on the appearance of Sara herself.

- Nothing. Nothing that you wouldn't be able to hear. "He replied seriously and solemnly, to imitate Sara's phrase when she had argued with their teacher.

When she understood, she covered her face with snow and started kicking him. Marvin laughed and laughed for a good five minutes before getting up and returning to his original shape.

- Wazardins, you are really dangerous people. I hope you don't take my appearance to do anything in front of others.

- Given the sanctions that await me if I do that, it's better that I avoid. Well, I'm out of here. Get home safe, and don't kill your brother if he's done something stupid, okay?

- Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow.

Sara's home was a few dozen meters from here. All she had to do was cross a few roads, turn a couple of blocks, and she would find the park and then the building where she lived with her brother and mother. As she continued on her way silently, Sara got lost in her thoughts. She was still organizing her future, already imagining herself in a prestigious university, studying atmology as a Creator. The Creators combine the energies of Fire and Plants to fight and explore the world. What seduced Sara in this atmological discipline was the possibility of giving life to living creatures to fight at her side. Federating a team that she would have made entirely with her own hands... nothing could make her dream stronger.

Suddenly, as she was walking at a brisk pace, her foot stumbled on a thick piece of carjaline, in the middle of a park that she travels home through every day. Intrigued, she stopped to observe it more closely. The thick black debris reflected an intense glow. She recognized the fragments of black tourmaline, through which the last rays of the sun were seeping, then she sighed at length. It was a mechanical arm, and Sara knew exactly where it came from.

- I guess it's not ironic to have one intervention a year since high school by the Guild of Renovators, while the mayor himself leaves his pieces of inventions lying around anywhere...

She gave a huge kick to the robot arm. The noise resonated through the entire alloy. Sara looked a little further and recognized a hand also made of carjaline. Ecology was a cause that was close to her heart, also because she had become aware early on of the harmful effects that occur when no one pays attention to it. As she walked along the road again, she plunged into her memories. Many alloys and castings like these were not so easily recycled, and ended up impacting not only the fauna and flora, but also the people of Lausanne. As

far back as she can remember, Oscar Fanghël, the mayor of Lausya, has always considered the town as an experimental field of choice to test his prototypes. No one ever really knew what he was creating so many of them for. No one ever knew why he did not stop despite the numerous requests of the people of Lausya, and even worse: no one ever knew why the GCA (Great Council of Atmosphology), or even the GCM (Great Council of Martial Arts), had never acted in the face of this problem. Still, some members of the Guilde des Rénovateurs came to the aid of the lausois, but with great discretion.

Sara suspected well-disguised political shenanigans. She and other lausois knew that the ancestry of the Fanghël family was highly respected, had a long arm and could quickly come to grips with any opponent. This disturbing prospect probably kept many people silent. She swore to herself, however, that when she became powerful enough, Sara would make Oscar eat all his prototypes one after the other. She hoped that Annabelle, Marvin and her other friends would join her cause and that one day this city, and others suffering similar injustices, would become more effectively managed.

She finally reached the square in her neighbourhood: a poorly maintained place, decorated with a few benches and children's games, half of which had been seriously damaged. Buildings rose up around her, as if they were contemplating her with all the coldness of the system. A cold draught suddenly woke her up, awakening a wave of shivers that ran down her spine. She clenched her teeth, cursed and started looking for her keys in her bag before reaching the entrance hall. Then a strange smell tickled her nostrils. She knew that smell well.

- Nanthilia? Seriously, some guys start smoking this early in the day?

The fragrance was far too close for Sara to resist knowing who, in this neighborhood she knew on the tip of her fingers, was having fun rolling nanthilia joints. The local youth - and the youth from elsewhere - loved it for the fun and soothing psychic effects it provides. Sara then discreetly walked around the large building to the right, surreptitiously walked along the wall and bent down to see if there were people further away. She heard laughter, including one she could recognize from among a thousand. A group of four young boys sat on a bench at the back of the building and laughed loudly. She approached them discreetly. From then on, only a few centimeters separated her from the boys.

One of them turned around and fell face to face with Sara. With a hiccup of surprise, he jumped up and tripped his butt first on the field of grass. She still had her arms folded and that imperturbable expression that described her so well.

- Oh damn it! cried the young man who had just fallen. Why didn't you say you were there, Sara?

She didn't answer, then looked at another boy in the group. He was shorter than the others, had a black hair in a battle, big black eyes, and wore a red flannel shirt with white checks. He was the one with the nanthilia joint in his hands. His eyes were red with fatigue. When Sara saw the joint between her fingers, she raised her eyebrows without taking her eyes off it. The young man did not blink.

- Name of a kannidus, Sara. Do you want to become a cop for the GCs now or what's it like? You can shove your witchy eyes up your ass.

- Are you kidding me, Kieran? she replied.

Sara moved towards him to rip the joint out of his hands, but in response, he backed away. She grabbed him by the arm and eventually ripped it off, threw it to the ground, and crushed it vigorously with the tip of her foot.

- We had an agreement between the two of us. You had to behave better and make an effort because I warned you about the consequences of this thing, and I find you three days later smoking with three idiots from the neighbourhood?

- Oh eh, that's good," replied one of them, ready to defend his cause.

Feeling the anger rising, Sara turned to them as if to forbid them to dare to speak again. The boys preferred to stay there and walk away, stunned by the effects of the nanthilia. Sara began to feel tired and disappointed. She didn't take her eyes off Kieran, who, on the other hand, was very angry.

- You're really annoying when you get into it. I've already told you that this situation is my business! Why don't you want to get off my back, don't you have classes to study or whatever else you need to do in your corner with your nerdy friends?

For the umpteenth time today, she sighed.

- We're talking about your future Kieran, I'm not doing this just to annoy you. I'm your sister, it's my job to warn you about the effects of these things! Do you realize that mercenaries and explorers use this to cause psychic disturbances on their opponents? Do you think it's normal to blow your head off with it?

- Yes! because it's my skull and I do what I want with it! I don't want to do mega-studies like you, me.

She remained silent as Kieran assailed her with all her favorite phrases to express her desire for independence and freedom. Her tirades continued for minutes on end. In the hall, in the elevator, and until they entered the apartment. He slammed the front door with all his might.

- If you're going to sneak up on me like that all the time, I'm just going to end up breaking into someone else's house without telling anyone! I'm tired of having you on my ass, you understand that? You're pissing me off!

- You're not doing what you want here Kieran," she shouted back. You're fourteen years old, you're a minor, you don't have to make these kinds of decisions, let alone talk to me like that! And if you want to run away, I'm going to find you whether you like it or not!

This time it was the door to Kieran's room that slammed. A few seconds later, he launched a hard rock song at maximum volume. Sara was about to tell him to turn it down, but when she put her hand on the latch, she heard him turn the key in the lock. She put her hands to her hair and growled in irritation before going into the kitchen. The room was dirty, dimly lit with a light that Sara often described as "too white. Tired from work, her mother Naska didn't always have time to clean the apartment. Kieran would never get down to it, and Sara was far too busy working on her lessons.Putting her purse on the floor, she abruptly pulled out one of the chairs and dropped herself on it, taking her head in her hands and closing her eyes. A warm smell of boiled yone permeated the room. Naska, was cooking. Sara hated boiled food. It was the worst day she could have hoped for.

- Then my dear, why did your brother go to his room? Why are you still arguing? she asked softly.

- I've already come out of a class given by a poor incompetent and when I get downstairs, I find him smoking nanthilia with a bunch of jerks from the neighborhood. I had spoken with him not even a week ago, he told me that he understood and that he was going to make an effort, and look what he's doing!

- Don't be hard on your brother, honey.

- But how can I not be hard on him when he literally doesn't care about the world?

- You know that the situation is not easy for Kié. He needs time to act, and he's a young boy. Give him some time.

- If I'm the only one trying to be a little firmer with him, frankly, it's not going to help him. At some point you're going to have to do something serious. Let me remind you that I'm the one who pays for the private lessons that Amaëlle gives him! I work two days a week to help with homework for those in difficulty, but also to pay for her lessons! It's not by getting high on nanthilia every night that he's likely to learn things and use his memory well. I don't want to do that for nothing, it also impacts me, you understand?

Naska marked a time of silence. Busy with her dish, she grabbed a bowl of spices and poured a tiny part of it into the broth she was preparing. She then drained the fragrant rice before continuing.

- You should relax a little bit Sara. I know you do a lot, but you could ask Amaelle for an advance for the classes.

- No. I'm not going to do that. I just want Kieran to get to work.

- Be patient, there is no reason to get into all these states. You must not push him to leave the house. I will be sad if something happens to him.

- I am already patient. All the time. And so am I...

Sara felt that no matter what she might say, her mother would remain relaxed, or at least pretend to. Between the loud music played in her brother's room, the smell of boiled yone that was going to make her nauseous, and that incarnation with Madame Bigot earlier, she began to think that spending the evening here would be a bad idea. So she went to her room and made a call to Marvin.

- Hello Mrs. Solenelle?" he answered.

- Marvin, can I come to your house tonight?

- It depends on what for. Like, if it's for the presentation, I'm okay with it.

- Do you have fresh choums? Do you still have your two controllers to play with? Do you have an interesting topic of discussion in mind?

- Wow, we have a real program here, don't we?

- Yes or no?

- Yeah, yeah, it's quiet. Are you sure you're okay, Sara?

- I'll be there in five minutes. I'm sleeping at your place.

- Well, okay. I'll see you in a minute.

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