Bittersweet

Ringabel

@donuts3132 wanted more... Now you're getting more! Muahahaha!

Layla, the name hung in the Casanova's mind like a foul stench. Her name was not Layla, it was Edea.

Perfect Edea, beautiful, tomboy, fierce Edea. His angel of fate.

But, the man pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind, the mayor, Edea's father, had tasked, no entrusted, him with finding his beloved daughter. He knew full well of the quarrels the two had been holding for the past few months, but he also knew Edea loved her father.

"So, Ringabel." Edea called the philanderer's name and he picked up his head. 

"Yes, my flower?" Ringabel charmed.

Edea scowled at the nickname which was... To be expected.

"What kind of coffee you got there?" She questioned, popping a piece of coffee cake in her mouth. 

Ringabel wrapped his fingers around the cup rested upon D's Journal, tilting it slightly to stir its contents. "It's black." He answered taking a sip of the bitter drink. Edea scrunched up her face at the sound of something so bitter, Alternis knew she liked her sweets.

There it was.

The conflict of the young man's personalities.

Until just then he'd told Edea that he was the flashy charmer side of him, Ringabel, but the identity Edea knew him as was Alternis. Alternis Dim, a fellow student in fencing class, abandoned by his parents and cared for by her father. Alternis and Ringabel, black and white, yet, their personalities much different from their given color.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Edea informed, standing up and pushing her seat in. "Don't you go giving my seat to some other passerby, ya hear?" Ringabel nodded and grinned, "Not for the world-- Layla." At first, the words rolled off his tongue easily, but, just for a split second, he wanted to say the name Edea. Luckily, he'd caught himself and uttered out a quick Layla, but it left a strange feeling in his stomach. One of anger, mixed in with sadness, and confusion. Such a strange concoction of emotions, he forced a smile at Edea while she disappeared into the crowd to the bathroom.

Once out of sight, the conflicted man flipped open the first page to his beloved journal. Carefully turning each paper as he skimmed the words he'd wrote in there since the beginning of his fencing classes with Edea. Many passages included him staring, worrying, or even drawing the young blonde. He admired the sketches of her, smiling at her serious face without the fencing mask on, and her laughing when someone in the class told her a joke. He skipped a few pages made up of entirely writing to lay eyes upon his best piece of work. Not just a mere sketch but something inked and even in full watercolor. He reminisced on when he'd first made the drawing...

The one day her father, Braev Lee, was late to pick his daughter up. Alternis exited the changing room, his usual black button up on along with dark jeans. His hair was down, which was normal due to the fencing mask, and he entered the lounge room, expecting to see the mayor sitting there, waiting for his daughter. The whole room seemed empty, the young man expected this to be some kind of prank, but even after calling out no one answered. A shiver ran down his spine and he cautiously stepped outside, looking around to the empty parking lot. At this point, Alternis suspected this could be some sort of strange dream, but the feel of cold winds on his skin told otherwise.

Some rustling could be heard from back in the gym, and Alternis turned his head to see who it could've been. The fencing gym had a grand window with no panes and a large sill, good enough to sit on and stare out into space, and on that sill, he caught sight of Edea.

Feeling out of place without his gear on, Alternis quickly ran to a spot where the blonde would not see him. Carefully, he peered over the hood of a car to view what she could possibly be doing. He'd never thought her the type to like day dreaming, but maybe it was in her nature.