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

4 ~ Stupid

"This is weirder than you doing drugs would've been..."

Yuu looked at Ace with a raised eyebrow. "Would you rather I do drugs?"

"No, 'cause listen! Why would he even give you that? 1,000 whole marks! And for what, for judo flipping him? Heck, I'll flip him if he pays me!" Ace crossed his arms. "This just doesn't make any sense..."

"Since when does Floyd ever make sense, though?" Deuce murmured, a hand on his chin in thought. "It doesn't make it any less weird, but he's not exactly the most normal guy..."

Yuu nodded. "He's weird, that's all I'm chalking it up to. If he wants to give me 1,000 marks, who am I to say no? Plus, he said all he wanted out of me was to be his gym buddy."

"Gym buddy?" Deuce echoed.

She nodded in response. "Maybe he's lonely 'cause everyone else is scared of him and he just needs a friend. ...I mean, I get the feeling that's not it, but it's not too much trouble on my end, so I'm good with the arrangement."

Ace stared at Yuu for a few seconds. "...You sure the money's not for drugs?"

"If you ask me if it's for drugs one more time, I'm gonna start doing drugs just to spite you." She let out a sigh, a big grin appearing on her face as she moved both of her hands to pat Ace and Deuce on the head. "Even if you guys are super annoying, it's good to see you care."

Deuce pursed his lips and a light blush dusted his cheeks at the display of affection. "Of—Of course we care! We're your friends!"

Ace, on the other hand, drew back immediately, his face contorting with disgust. "And you just had to go and make it all corny. You know what? You can do drugs for all I care!"

Yuu let out a laugh at that, her eyes flitting down to Grim, who was soundly napping in her lap. As much as she had missed her home when she first came here, this was almost beginning to feel like a second home. She had people (and a weird tanuki creature) that cared for her and even though this would never be the same as her home world, she found herself wondering if the opportunity ever arose, would she even want to return home?

Hours passed, her friends long gone from Ramshackle, and the time was nearing 7 o'clock. She changed into her gym clothes and knelt down in front of Grim, petting his head. "You sure you don't wanna come with?"

"When have I ever wanted to go to the gym with you?"

"Alright, alright, I'm just asking," Yuu hummed, standing up. "Don't ruin the dorm while I'm gone. You've definitely done that before."

A ghost phased through the wall, giving Yuu a thumbs-up and a grin. "Don't worry, we'll make sure he doesn't! You go have fun working out."

"Thanks," she replied, halfway through the front door before turning around to give one last farewell wave. "Bye!"

When she arrived at the gym, Floyd was already occupying himself on the treadmill. He wore the expression of a person deep in thought, and Yuu almost felt bad interrupting. She walked up to the treadmill and put a hand on the handrail to capture his attention.

Floyd's entire expression seemed to light up upon seeing her. "Shrimpy!" he exclaimed, continuing to run as he pulled out one of his earbuds and offered it to her.

"You're really fast for someone who only got legs, like, two years ago," she commented with a laugh, getting on the treadmill next to him and placing the earbud in her ear. "Have you been here long?"

"Nah, I just got here." He grinned at her. "Didn't know if you were actually gonna show up, though."

Yuu raised her eyebrows. "I mean, I come here every day at this time anyway. Why would I stop just 'cause you wanna come too?"