@deathheir : ❝ Oi! We have six eclairs up. You are supposed to be quick. What happen, speedy? Am I too distracting this morning~❞ / juni
Dewey's jaw drew tight . There it was . That smile . That infuriating , impossible smile that seemed to arrive already knowing the effect it would leave behind .
He looked up from the tray in his hands & immediately regretted the decision .
She stood across from him , sunlight caught somewhere in the edges of her , amusement glimmering in her eyes like a secret she had no intention of sharing . She leaned against the counter with effortless ease , wearing that look—the one that always felt dangerously close to trouble .
The one that made it difficult to remember what he was supposed to be doing .
❝ Distracting ? ❞ he repeated , tasting the word as if it were somehow responsible for this . ❝ Is that what we're calling it ? ❞
The corner of his mouth betrayed him . Because distracting wasn't entirely wrong . It simply wasn't enough . She had been distracting for WEEKS . MONTHS , maybe . Today was merely crueler about it .
Something about her seemed brighter this morning . Softer around the edges . As though she'd stepped out of some place touched by warmer weather while everyone else remained trapped beneath ordinary skies .
& the WORST part ? He'd noticed immediately .
❝ I was actually trying to figure out what happened , ❞ he said .
His gaze wandered over her before he clicked his tongue .
❝ Thought maybe you lost a fight with your mirror . ❞
A LIE . Beautifully delivered . Entirely false . The problem wasn't that she looked bad. The problem was that she looked far too good .
Good enough to make his attention stumble .
Good enough to leave an unfinished ticket sitting forgotten while he stared for one second too long .
GOOD ENOUGH that now he found himself compensating the only way he knew how. . . By becoming unbearable .
❝ Or maybe you got dressed in the dark ," he added . ❝ Hard to tell . ❞
His grin widened . A shield . A surrender . Maybe both .
For a fleeting moment he allowed himself to look . REALLY LOOK .
& REALITY returned with its Familiar weight . Bills siting on kitchen counters . Doctor appointments circled in red ink. Prescription bottles lined neatly beside his mother's bed . The relentless arithmetic of survival . The things that mattered . The things that left very little room for whatever this feeling was becoming .
Dewey looked away first . As he always did .
❝ Honestly ,❞ he said , gesturing vaguely toward her , ❝ it's a little concerning . ❞
His voice carried its usual sarcasm , but something softer lingered beneath it.
❝ Have you always looked like that , or is this some newly developed condition ? Should I be calling somebody ? ❞
& because retreat had never been his strongest skill , he pressed forward .
❝ Because if this is your attempt at being distracting , I gotta say it's working in a deeply unfortunate way . ❞
❝ Hurting workplace productivity. Destroying morale. Creating unsafe working conditions. ❞
His eyes found hers again. Just for a second .
❝ Real selfish behavior , Princess ~ ❞
