Slowly (A Brawl Stars Fanfic)

Odd

Shelly just stared at the package. Did nothing but that for at least eight minutes. What the- who did- why- She couldn't form complete thoughts. After a bit, she held it close to her chest and carried it inside for closer examination. She sat down at her table and turned it over and over. Maybe there was a mist- On the side opposite to the letter I was Shelly's name in cursive. This is crazy. I'm dreaming.

Shelly pinched herself hard on the arm and was dismayed that she felt it. "What is going on? This makes absolutely no sense whatsoever." She thought aloud, standing up and leaning on the table. "Nobody loves me, or has a crush on me. I mean, there's Colt, but we're just friends." Liar. The voice in her head chuckled. Shut up.

There was a long moment of silence. Liar. The word reverberated in her head. I'm not, though. I'm not..

Shelly shook her head to clear the outrageous thought and opened the little box, wary of what she'd find inside. Perhaps it's all a prank. Nope. Inside where three chocolates, not a snake or killer wasp.

Shelly pinched the bridge of her nose and went to the couch. She flopped down majestically and pulled out her phone. There is no way in hell I'm dealing with this shit right now. She played video games and looked at Pinterest for the rest of the morning until lunch, trying to put the box out of her mind.

~

As usual, Shelly went to the Bar at noon, coming for something to eat. She was a bit hesitant to, of course, since any one of the people there could have left the heart-shaped box.

Upon arrival, only a couple people looked up, just to see who it was, but nobody seemed happy to see her. This just gets weirder and weirder.

She took a seat in her usual spot, alone today since Colt was absent. Barley came over asking what she wanted. "BLT I guess? Not in the mood for much." Though she was hungry, nerves ruined her appetite. Barley left to fill the order.

Shelly ate slowly, drifting off in thought. Maybe I'll just pretend this never happened, throw the box down the garbage disposal and grind it to nothing. There's a start. She hesitated. No, I won't do that. I've got to see where this goes.

~

Back at home, Shelly was again very bored. Text Colt. Came a sudden idea. Yeah, he's always got something to do.

Shelly
dude u ok? no show at the bar today
2:45

She waited. Colt didn't answer. He's sick, maybe? Eh, whatever. I'll see him tomorrow.

"Eh, whatever." You liar hahaha. That voice whispered. Shelly didn't reply, though something appeared at the edge of her mind. Something weird and giddy, something that breathed Colt.

Oh hell nah. Shelly clamped her hands over her ears and curled into a ball on her bed. Whyyyyy? I don't want to do thisssss. Just want to forget all this and go back to normal. Life was so complicated, ugh.

~

The next morning, as the sun rose through the window, it didn't bother Shelly this time as she was still curled in a ball. Upon awakening, she blinked rapidly to clear the fog. "I'm up, I'm up! Please don't yell at me!" Oh wait, I'm 23. Hehe... Fuck you mom. Can't yell at me now.

She rolled out of bed, bonked her head on the hardwood floor, and laid there for a second. What day is it? Like, Tuesday? Monday's ugly sister. No wonder it's already terrible. But it got worse.

When Shelly left the house that morning, another small, blue, heart-shaped box sat on her doorstep. This time, the letter L was written on the side.

Shelly glared at it, threw it in her fridge, and went out to her practice boulder. She shot with no purpose but to let the gunfire noise fill her head and drown out that weird whispering on the edge of her mind.

Several hours went by, Shelly working herself into a frenzy. Eventually, there were no more bullets. She stopped, panting, and hooked her gun back on her belt. She went back to her house to restock, and then headed to the Bar.

Everybody was there, all the teens, young adults, and older adults. Even Colt. Ooh, look. The voice said when she saw Colt. Shut up, oh my gosh. I hate you. She hissed back at it and took a seat beside Colt.

He jumped. "Good morning."

"Um, hello? You didn't come yesterday." Shelly scanned around the Bar for nothing in particular, but her eyes caught on Brock. His expression was, unusual. It was like smiling, but deeply sad and lonely too. You could see the dejection in his eyes and joy in his smile. What the...? She followed his gaze to none other than Piper.

Seriously? Two people like Piper? This is ridiculous.

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling that, uh, great." Colt coughed.

"Oh really? That's sounded very convincing."

"I sense sarcasm."

"Indeed. Why were you actually gone yesterday?"

Colt hesitated with a strained look. "I was, um... Oh look! Rico's here!" He suspiciously changed the subject.

Shelly squinted at him, before shaking her head slowly and looking back to see Rico again arguing with Carl.

"Dude! Shut up! She might hear you." Rico was saying.

"Pfft, I don't care. Anyway, how are we going to do it?"

"When we're all asleep, very soon, you'll see."

The hell?

Just then, Barley came around with a full tray of small glasses. "One for everyone." The robot said, offering one to all.

Shelly was piecing something together. Everyone is here, everyone gets one, "When we're all asleep, very soon, you'll see..."

Oh dear, what is Rico planning?

Barley offered one to Shelly and Colt. They took a glass each and now everyone had one.

"A toast to the match we had recently. To Colt and Gene." Barley said.

All the brawlers looked a bit confused at this sudden toast, but nobody said anything about it and they all drank. All except Colt and Shelly. Colt was about to drink, but Shelly whispered to the side of her mouth, "Only pretend."

Colt didn't question it, though he was obviously puzzled. Perhaps he sensed her urgency.

The others drank, and Shelly held her breath.