Vile Attraction (Floyd Leech/Yuu, Jade Leech/Yuu)

3 ~ Drug Deal

Deuce studied Yuu with a confused expression. She had been glancing around all lunch, as though looking for someone. His curiosity finally got the better of him as he asked, "How come you keep looking around like that, Yuu?"

Yuu snapped her head back to Deuce, a smile appearing on her face. "I was just keeping an eye out for something. It's not important."

He tilted his head to the side. "You sound disappointed. Are you sure it's not important?"

"Yeah, don't worry! It's about as I expected," she answered. And it was true; she didn't expect him to actually give her 1,000 marks, though there was the slightest bit of hope.

As if on cue, Yuu felt a familiar pair of strong arms drape around her shoulders. "It's Little Shrimpy and the gang! What's up?"

Floyd let out a giggle at the way Ace, Deuce, and Grim all screamed in terror at his appearance; that reaction never got old. But he had other priorities today.

Leaning down next to Yuu's ear, he whispered in a not-so-quiet voice, "I got the goods." He then stood up straight and tugged her out of her seat into an empty hallway before the boys could react.

"Tada!" He exclaimed, keeping his voice quieter than usual as he produced a bundle of cash in his hands.

Yuu let out a soft laugh as she took the money. "You're making this look like a drug deal." She fingered through the bundle, counting all the marks. Sure enough, there were 1,000 in total. "Floyd," she whispered in awe, "I thought you were joking..."

"You won, fair and square," he spoke back in an equally quiet tone, a bright grin on his face.

She stared at the money. "No, I can't accept this... I'd feel bad..."

"Shrimpy." Her breath hitched as she felt his finger on her chin tilting her head up to match his gaze. "I'm rich. I have marks to spare." He pulled back, now stuffing both of his hands in his pockets. "Ya better put that in your wallet quickly before someone else sees it and tries to steal it~"

Yuu nodded slowly, fumbling around with her book bag and pulling out her frayed wallet, straightening the bills, and placing them inside. "T-Thank you..."

"Lil' Shrimpy, you shouldn't get into the habit of thanking people for giving you what they owe you, or else you'll get walked all over," he chuckled.

She carefully put her wallet back into the most secure part of her bag. "Still... 1,000 marks is a lot... Is there anything I can do for you? Within reason, of course..."

"Well, if you insist..." Floyd puffed out his cheeks as he thought about the question for a moment. "Why don't we be gym buddies?"

Yuu blinked. "Is that all you want?"

"You don't have to, but if you really wanna pay me back or whatever, then let's work out together. Every evening at 7 sound good? That's what you do anyway, right?"

An unbelieving laugh escaped her. "Man, you really are weird. I'm good with that, I guess..!"

He stuck out a hand. "Shake on it?"

Yuu stuck out her hand but then got a better idea. She took his pointer finger and brought it to her lips, looking up at him and giving him an impish smile before biting the tip gently, just as he had done the night before. "Promise bite~"

Floyd froze for a few moments, trying to fight the blush that was creeping up to his cheeks. He let out a nervous cackle and put a hand on the back of his neck, averting his eyes. "A-Anyway, Shrimpy, I'm gonna go join Azul and Jade again, haha! See ya later!"

Before Yuu could respond, Floyd bolted off in the direction of the cafeteria, nervously chewing on his lip so hard he began to taste a bit of blood. He sat down next to Jade and buried his face in his arms, letting out a high-pitched whine.

"He's acting stranger than usual..." Azul commented, raising an eyebrow. "Jade, do you know why he's behaving like this?"

Jade let out a quiet laugh through his nose. "I don't know if he would want me to say..." He tapped Floyd's shoulder twice. "Do you want to tell Azul what's been bothering you lately, Floyd?"

Floyd let out another long groan, lifting his head up slightly. "What would telling Azul do? Not like he has any experience with this sort of thing..."

He flipped his head back down on the table as Jade stifled a laugh. Azul could just tell they were insulting them. "Excuse me? Experience with what sort of thing?"

Azul continued to pester the twins to try and let him in on what was going on; Jade was certainly having fun toying with him while Floyd was sulking, trying to sort through his newfound feelings.

Meanwhile, on the other end of the cafeteria, Yuu returned to her usual spot and sat down wordlessly.

'What possessed me to do that?'

She gazed blankly at the table in front of her. Her three friends were all in a panicked state, wondering what exactly transpired in the few minutes she was away.

"Yuu..." Deuce spoke with concern, and Yuu lifted her head to look at him. "Yuu, I know things have been hard lately, but I promise, drugs aren't the answer!"

"...Sorry?"

"And I know you're always telling us about how he's not that bad, but if he's trying to make you do drugs, that's not okay!" Deuce continued to ramble on as Yuu stared at him with a half-shocked, half-humored look. "We heard him say he had the goods!"

Ace grabbed her shoulders, eyes wide. "Dude, I think she's already high! Look, her eyes are kinda red!" He began violently shaking her. "Deuce, he's already gotten to her! Look how spacey she is!"

'I feel bad for how panicked they're getting, but honestly, this is too funny to not let play out.'

Grim leaped up to Yuu's side. "Myah!? I thought you were smarter than this, hench-human! You're taking drugs from that weirdo!?"

"Yuu, answer me honestly," Deuce spoke, alarm evident in his tone. "What drugs did he give you?"

"I'm so high right now," Yuu drawled lazily, staring at the three of them with a fake tired grin. Grim let out a loud screech while Deuce and Ace exchanged equally distressed looks, unsure of how to proceed.

Deuce took a deep breath, a look of new determination on his face. "Yuu, we're gonna have to tell the Headmage about this..."

"Bro, are you insane!? We can't do that! He's gonna expel her! She'll be out on the streets!" Ace's grip on her shoulders only tightened.

Yuu couldn't help but let out a tiny giggle, tearing the duo's attention away from each other and back to her. "This isn't a laughing matter!" Ace exclaimed, shaking her even more aggressively than before. "You're literally high right now!"

This was the point where Yuu lost it, doubling over in a laughing fit. Through her laughter, she managed to wheeze, "Don't worry, guys, I'm not high!"

"T-Then what did he give you?" Deuce asked slowly.

Ace nodded in agreement, loosening his grip on her shoulders slowly. "Yeah, and why'd he have to take you to a secluded place to give it to you?"

"And why were you acting so weird last night, too!?" Grim added, still looking scared.

"Last night!? So you're lying and you really are high right now!" Ace exclaimed, squeezing her shoulders once again.

Yuu grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands off of her, laughter continuing to spill out of her. "I'll tell you all about what happened after classes, okay?"

"You promise?" Deuce asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"I promise."

Ace let out a sigh of relief. "Seriously, dude, you had us all terrified! Don't do that..."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry..."

"...Are you sure you're not high?"

"I'm sure I'm not high, Deuce."