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

5 ~ Today's the Day

The next few weeks or so were a cycle. Floyd would go to some of his classes, skip others, stalk his Little Shrimpy when he could, and meet up with her at 7 o'clock at the gym. There, he would have the love potion in his pocket and be presented with two choices: put the potion in or hold off on it. He knew that it was only a matter of time before he caved and tampered with her drink.

That didn't make him feel any better about it.

He knew what he was feeling towards her wasn't right, that it was more than just a silly little crush. He felt a desperate need for her to like her back. If she didn't like him back... he would make her. That was what he felt. And he was trying his best to push back those feelings, but with every passing day, it became harder and harder.

The vial sat in his pocket every day, waiting to see if today would be the day it would finally be emptied out and used to alter the life of the consumer. It would be taken out of his pocket, the cork removed, tilted over the water bottle... and yet Floyd would never pour it in.

Yuu stared at Floyd, trying to interpret the peculiar expression he wore. The two of them sat side by side on yoga mats, stretching after their workout. These past few days, he seemed a lot more spacey than usual. Like something was bothering him. And when Yuu noticed something bothering someone, she felt the need to help them.

She carefully moved her hand to his shoulder and he jolted at the sudden feeling. "Floyd, are you okay?" she asked, and when he turned to make eye contact with her, his glare sent shivers down her spine. She had no idea what he was thinking, but the way he was looking at her made her feel small and vulnerable. Almost even scared.

But Floyd could never scare Yuu. He would never do anything to endanger her.

"Floyd." She spoke his name again, and his expression seemed to soften ever so slightly. "I know something's been bothering you. Is there anything I can do to help you?" She squeezed his shoulder before removing her hand. "You can talk to me. I'll do my best to help you."

He stared at her for a few moments, his eyes betraying his emotional state as his face contorted, trying to choose the proper mask to equip in this situation. He couldn't simply brush it off; she wouldn't take that. He definitely couldn't tell her about the war that has been going on in his mind for the last few weeks; she probably would never speak to him again. In that case...

...Today would be the day.

The boy allowed his expression to fall into a neutral frown. "I can't lie to you, can I, Shrimpy?" He curled his knees to his chest. "I've just been... a little sad lately, I guess. I dunno why."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

He felt a pang in his chest. She was so kind, so oblivious. Was he really going to do it to her?

"Hm... maybe. We should prolly finish up here first though, huh?" He crawled off of his mat and began rolling it, flashing Yuu a smile. "I can walk you back to your dorm while we talk if ya want."

She nodded and returned the smile, copying him in rolling up her mat and putting it away. "Sure. Mind if I go to the bathroom real quick?"

"Yeah. I can watch your water bottle for ya."

"Oh, thanks!" She gave him a kind smile. "I won't be too long."

Floyd's heart thumped loudly in his chest as he watched her walk away. He pulled out the vial, a thought suddenly occurring to him. Love potions were the kind of potion that worked less the longer they sat unused, according to Jade. He made this potion weeks ago; the efficacy probably went down from when he first made it, if it even worked at all anymore.

'Only one way to find out.'

He unscrewed the top of her water bottle, uncorked the potion, and tilted it. The potion didn't look any different. Maybe Jade was lying and was just saying that to throw him off.

Taking a deep breath, Floyd emptied the vial into the water bottle, quickly screwing the lid back on and shaking it to mix the contents. He opened it and peered inside before placing it where she had left it on the floor. It was odorless and the inside of the water bottle was dark enough so you would not be able to see the color of the liquid unless you had keen eyes, and Shrimpy was just a human.

With a shaky breath, he collapsed to the ground, his limbs giving out under him from the combined tiredness and anticipation.

He didn't know if he wanted this potion to work or fail.

Yuu returned just like every time before that he had attempted to tamper with her bottle. He gave her a grin and held up her water bottle to her, which she gratefully took. He watched as she took a long swig from it, his eyes shifting to her throat as she swallowed and down her body as he imagined the water traveling through her esophagus, where it would eventually be passed through her stomach, then absorbed by her small intestine.

He stared at her as she lowered the water bottle from her lips silently. Her lips parted and her eyes betrayed her attempted calm demeanor; she was certainly confused.

Finally, she turned to him, her cheeks turning redder than they were moments ago, no longer able to be attributed to exercise. "S-Sorry, I zoned out for a minute there," she laughed before her expression shifted once again. "You said you wanted to talk about how you've been sad lately?"

"Yeah..." he muttered quietly. It looked like it was working. All he had to do now was shove away all of the guilt that was overwhelming him. "...but you don't look too good all of a sudden, Shrimpy. How 'bout I just walk you back to Ramshackle and we can talk serious another time?"

Her eyes widened slightly as she let out another laugh. "Ah... b-back to Ramshackle... right..."

"Should we getcha to the nurse instead?" Floyd asked, lacing his voice with fake concern. He leaned down and put a hand on her forehead. This would be the real test to see if it worked. "You seem kinda out of it..."

She tensed up at his touch, her cheeks only reddening further, yet she made no effort to pull away. She took in a deep breath. "Don't worry, I'm okay. I just... realized something. But it's not important, haha! Let's just go back to Ramshackle."

'Shrimpy's a nervous laugher... That's so cute~'

As he conversed with her, Floyd found his shame and guilt being washed away from being able to see his Little Shrimpy staring at him so wantingly. It was obvious she wanted him. He didn't care if a potion was what it took to make this happen anymore.

His other hand tentatively drifted down to her waist. "Lil' Shrimpy... if something's bothering you, it's important to me, too."

Yuu's eyes widened at the motion. This all felt so odd to her. So odd... yet so thrilling. Staring into his heterochromatic eyes, she realized that all of the time they spent together changed how she felt about him. She... she loved him.

"I... I can't say what it is," she said softly, turning her head to the side in embarrassment. He would probably laugh at her. He was way out of her league, after all.

The hand on her forehead shifted to caress the side of her face gently. "You're acting a little weird yourself right now," she added, though his touch was welcoming and she couldn't help but allow her face to lean into it. "Since when are you such a flirt?"

"You seem to like it," he responded with a grin, brushing a thumb over her cheek before moving his hand to her chin, tilting her head up, and forcing her to look at him. "Or am I wrong, Shrimpy?"

She bit the inside of her cheek, wanting to melt from his gaze. He wasn't staring at her judgmentally; in fact, his expression seemed to be one of pure affection.

"What happens if I say you're right..?"

No statement had ever broken Floyd's composure as much as that one had. He leaned down to her level, not averting eye contact.

"Can I... kiss you?" he ventured.

The realization hit her like a truck. Floyd had liked her this entire time. How had she not realized it earlier? She nodded her head and brought a hand up to tuck the black strand of hair behind his ear.

"Please do."