BITTERSWEET

CHAPTER 53 / REPUTATION

Laurance has always been known to be cute. His light brown hair, blue eyes, snarky grin and well-looked-after figure, practically made him irresistible. 

Young women all over the resort had been fawning over him for weeks since his arrival back in June. Young ladies and desperate teenage girls had found him adorable, or better yet, kawaii, and obsessed over anything they could find about him. 

Oddly familiar isn't it? 

Between his Instagram, YouTube portrayals and other sources such as the maid cafe website, there was enough content to go around and stir up a buzz. 

Some girls on the island started a fan group for Laurance, taking pictures of him or better yet, asking him to sign something of theirs without becoming somewhat suspicious. Behind their actions, Laurance soaked up the attention like a sponge to water. 

He stated that his underappreciation had finally been noticed and recognised, but far too delayed. Garroth simply rolled his eyes. The brunette continued his snarky, yet charming ways around the young women around the resort. Even though it felt like an act, he watched himself play the game as more and more girls joined up to see him. 

All of them were beautiful, all of them in (usually revealing and tight) exquisite summer clothing that highlighted their bodies. Some had dramatic makeup, accompanied by dramatic personalities, while some looked natural and calm. 

On a particular Saturday afternoon, Laurance headed for a walk foolishly by himself so he could get some time out from the rest of the group. 

For the while, everything felt quiet and relaxing, that was until a single girl came up for him to sign her notebook. She told him she was collecting signatures for a petition on the resort, so he immediately accepted, writing his name down and taking a selfie with her. 

He continued his walk, shaking his head at the surprising group of fans this far out from home. He turned the corner by the bowling alley to find a posse of young ladies, cheering or screaming his name. Some had cardboard signs above their heads reading: 'We love you, Laurance!' 'You're a heartthrob, baby!' 

Honestly, when Laurance read that sign he didn't know what to think of it. He didn't necessarily have time to check if it made sense or not. 

The only human thing the brunette could think of was followed by a sheer look of terror plastered on his face and he ran. Laurance ran down the town streets of Kawaminami with a mob of at least two hundred ladies behind him. 

It took all the wit and sense out of him so he wouldn't scream. Screaming, yelling, or any kind of sound would only encourage the girls' sympathetic ways. 

The girls must've known what they were doing; Laurance did not. 

All he had to hold against them was his brief practises of this situation in high school. Even though he was running, he felt trapped inside himself. Luckily his distance and long-rewarding human stamina helped lure off some of the girls. 

Lucinda herself was collecting maple leaves she needed for one of her potions, noticed the stampede and used her wand to teleport herself to Laurance's side. Without hesitation, she enforced a strong, sound-proofing forcefield around herself and the bent-out-of-shape casanova with ease. 

"Sorry, didn't feel like running," She said giving her skirt and off-the-shoulder sleeves a pat-down to remove the ruffles. "What's with that crazy lady squad behind you?" Lucinda asked, waving her hair from her face, allowing it to perfectly fall behind her. 

Laurance's ribs and chest felt as if they were on fire. He leant forward with his hands on the cap of his knees, heavily breathing to catch his breath. "I dunno. One second it was quiet, next thing I know I turn the corner and there were hundreds of girls cheering my name. Out of instinct I ran like any perfectly normal human being would do under the circumstances," He explained.

The young witch cast a quick spell on the lad and he immediately felt back to normal, no longer exhausted. 

"You ran?" She questioned, checking her wand. Laurance readjusted his posture and winced as he watched the screaming girls bang on the forcefield. Slowly he turned back to Lucinda and gulped. 

"Uh, yeah, basically."

"It's loud here, let's go somewhere else, don't you think?" She winked and gave a small jerk to her wand. Instantly, they were teleported down the road from the villa. Far, far away from the square.

"Don't worry I believe your story. You okay otherwise?" Lucinda queried.

Laurance ran a hand through his hair and gratefully laughed. "Yeah, thanks to you. I appreciate it, Lucinda. Thank you."

"You were lucky I saw you down there or you would've been on your own, bubs," She said with an obvious tinge of sass in her voice. She turned on her heel and began to flounce down the footpath toward the villa. 

"Well, thanks for helping me."

"Don't mention it, Laurance. You've helped me many a time when I was in some kind of situation."

"Be my guest, milady. But, I do have a nagging feeling this has something to do with our unspoken thing," Laurance hinted running after her. 

Lucinda grumbled and swore under her breath. "Laurance! There is no unspoken thing! We broke that off years ago!" She snapped. Lucinda turned back to the path and continued walking, "I regret helping you with those girls. You're capable and pathetic enough to do it yourself." 

Laurance almost stamped his foot against the ground. "But, I couldn't handle it, Lucinda. You helped me, because of our unspoken thing between us."

"What? Am I desirable because I'm full of myself, dressy, smart and a prodigy when it comes to witchcraft? What about me? Apart from my reputation and my looks? Where's the girl whose father abandoned her, and who has a mother who likes Aphmau more than her daughter? That girl who's hidden under all this. She's been trying to break free, but what's the point? She'll be dragged down and taken back to her mental stronghold. Laurance, we have no unspoken thing. You're my friend but think back. What do you know about me? Think about it. Under the covers and restraints, who's the girl there? No one knows. No one cares to look for her. Let it go, Laurance. Come back to me when you've come to your senses," Lucinda argued, allowing her anger to break through. 

Raged and ready to throw something, she broke down the front door to their villa and ran to her room, dropping her magic-encrypted stick by her and Cadenza's bedroom door, and slamming it shut. 

"Well, how's Laurance?" Cadenza asked, sitting on her bed in the middle of crocheting a blanket. Instead of answering, Lucinda let out an outburst of rage, threw the leaves into her bubbling pot and screamed into her pillow. 

When all that subsided, she glared at her best friend and growled. "Shut up, Cadenza."

Cadenza only smirked in return.