Unexpected Desire

Enemies and Apologies

(1st Person POV. Character: Gracie)

The weekend flew by in the blink of an eye, but it was the weekdays that became slower than ever. I really only worked on Thursdays and Fridays, the rest of the time I was either training or chilling out at home.

It was Thursday by now, and I'd done nothing all day. More like I didn't have anything to do all day, and I was bored out of my mind. Just praying the work day would end already so that I could go home and watch TV with my dog.

Ricochet, Sheamus, and Drew were all working out and practicing for tomorrow night, so I was purely out of luck at this point. I resorted to sketching on the back of an old receipt I had in my mini backpack with a pen I found on the coffee table.

I was basically just drawing whatever came to mind. A few of the wrestling belts, my pet dog; Bingo, and a whole bunch of random stuff. I stopped drawing for a moment, leaning back to take a look at my artwork. And it was only then that I noticed: I had drawn the German flag without realizing it!

I had a few flashbacks to the previous Friday, remembering the small conversation I'd had with Ludwig. Letting out a deep sigh, I leaned back in my chair.

💭It almost been a whole week since I've seen Ludwig.💭 I began to think. 💭Usually I see him at least once every day or two. I hope he hasn't been avoiding me... I wouldn't want him to hate me...💭

Lost in my thoughts, I didn't even realize that there was someone standing behind me. That was until they tapped on my shoulder, snapping me back to reality.

"Ack!!" I yelped in surprise, jolting forward. Standing to my feet, and spinning around to face the person who had pulled me from my thoughts. And, as if I'd summoned them just by thinking about them, Ludwig was standing in his signature stance looking right at me.

"Ludwig!" I exclaimed, perking up a little bit. "Hi! How are you? I haven't seen you in a few da-" I didn't get to finish, because the next thing I knew? I was being dragged to the courtyard by the hand.

Once we'd made it outside, Ludwig finally let go of me. I was beyond confused but decided to try and keep talking to him. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see you, but what did you need to drag me out here for??" I questioned.

Ludwig turned to look at me, making short eye contact with me before walking over to one of the benches. Not knowing what to do, I followed him. Having to jog a few times because of how fast he walked.

💭And here I thought I was the speed walker...!💭 I thought to myself as I caught up with him. "Can you please tell me what we're doing outsi-" I was cut off once more by Ludwig firmly placing his hands on my shoulders on pushing me down to sit down on the bench behind me.

"Sit." Were his only words as he took his hands off of me. "Didn't really have much of a choice there, but okay," I said to myself. Ludwig looked at me. "You said something?"  He asked. I widened my eyes, dumbfounded.

"Never mind." He said. Instead of taking a seat next to me, he paced back and forth in front of me. Finally, he begins to explain himself.

"I brought you here because of what happened last Friday." I got serious, straightening up, and listening sincerely. "I assume you know that I was quite... Angered... At what had happened before we talked." I nodded showing him that I understood.

"That still gave me no reason to act out the way I did." He admitted. "You were only trying to help me, and instead I took my anger out on you and pushed you away. And, for that, I believe I owe you an... apology..." He finished, as he stopped walking. He looked at his feet, not wanting to look at my face.

I was honestly taken aback by this new side of him. He'd never felt like he had to apologize to anyone before. 💭I've also never seen him in casual clothes... Hold up! You're supposed to be listening to him!💭

I quickly snapped out of my thoughts to hear him say the two magical words. "I'm... Sorry." He said, letting out a faint huff. I stared at him in disbelief. When he finally looked up at me, he found me with a hand over my mouth, snickering.

I couldn't help it and burst out laughing. He stared at me confused. When I finally calmed down enough to talk, I said: "I'm sorry, but-" As I flipped my hair out of my face.

I looked at him in his crystal blue eyes. "I've never heard you sound so apologetic before. It caught me by surprise..." I smiled gently as I finished my sentence. "Oh," Ludwig said as he realized.

I stood up from the bench and walked up to him. "It's okay, Ludwig. I knew how you were feeling. You don't owe me any apologies. You were in pain. I know how people get when they're hurt. Believe me, I've been there."

It was Ludwig's turn to be taken aback. "Really?" He asked. "I thought you might have seen me as rude." I smiled. "Oh, believe me, you definitely were!" I said as I let out a small laugh. "But it's okay. You didn't mean to, AND you apologized. We're on good terms."

Ludwig looked as if he had just had a weight lifted off of his shoulders. Letting out a short sigh of relief, he said: "Good, good..." He looked me in the eyes. "I didn't get you in trouble with your cousin, did I?" I shook my head in response.

"No, you didn't. Turns out it's only Gunther he's worried about." Ludwig nodded in understanding. "Let me guess, he thinks you might get involved in a situation with Gunther if he caught us talking?" I nodded once more.

"I can see why he'd think like that." He went on. "You've got a clever cousin." I smiled again. "Thank you. We really try to think things through in our family. Especially the Lockbells!" I exclaimed happily.

Ludwig looked at me a bit confused. It took me a moment to realize why, but I eventually did. "Oh!" I said, finally realizing. "I forgot, you've never heard my last name before!" Ludwig nodded.

(Time skip. The two got to talking, heading back inside around an hour later...)

Me and Ludwig were having a good old time talking to each other. And it wasn't until we came back to his locker room that I remembered something. Before Ludwig walked into the room, I grabbed his wrist.

"Your chest," I said. He looked confused for a moment. "Your chest. How is it? The bruise??" I explained, just in case he didn't know what I was talking about. He realized right after I finished my sentence.

"The bruise is still there, but not so much anymore. The ice really helped. I almost forgot to thank you for suggesting it." He admitted. I smiled once more. "I'm always glad to help!"

Suddenly, heavy footsteps were heard coming towards where we were. 💭Gunther... Shit.💭 I thought. Ludwig seemed to take note of this as well. Quickly pulling me into his locker room and hiding me behind the door. Then stepping out to greet Gunther.

"Thanks to that blonde-haired brat..." Gunther began. I instantly knew he was talking about me. "If I hit you again, I could get fired. So you better do what you're told tomorrow, or I won't hesitate to give you a repeat of last Friday." My face broke into a small scowl.

I saw Ludwig nod in understanding through the small crack between the door and the wall. "Good," Gunther said. "Then I should expect you won't lose in your rematch with Shinsuke." Ludwig looked up at him, eyes slightly widened. "You better not embarrass me again." Were Gunther's final words before walking off.

Looking back at Ludwig after Gunther had gone out of sight, I could see a change in his attitude. Determined not to lose this time. For his sake, I was praying he wouldn't...

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(Word count: 1442)

Feel free to replace my hair color with your own! Thanks for reading gems! 💎💝