Compelled (a Hat Films Fanfic)

Questions

        The news droned on in the background as I played a game of hearthstone against Smith while I waited. He was beating me currently, but I had a few tricks up my sleeve once I could gain enough mana crystals to execute my plans correctly. 

        I was preoccupied though. Once Amanda left for the comic book store, the three of us had discussed the Witcher event in Scotland next month. It was mostly for journalists, but we had still been invited and the three of us were beyond excited to get exclusives on the game. The minute I had heard, I knew I wanted to take Amanda, though I wasn't sure how to guys would react. Honestly, I wasn't sure how she would react. I might have been stepping too far over my boundaries if I asked her to go to another country with me; it was one thing to sleep over at my flat, and another to stay in a hotel room and spend almost every moment with each other for three or four days. 

        'Smith,' I typed, waiting for him to finish his turn, 'Do you think it would be okay if I invited someone else to the Witcher event?'

        'You really want two cameramen?' he typed, and I could almost hear the laughter in his statement, 'calm down, you're not that attractive.'

        I couldn't help but smile, even though my stomach was churning with nerves, afraid of what he might think. 'That's not what I meant,' I replied.

        'You want to take Amanda?' he guessed.

        It must have seemed really obvious, and considering the way I've been acting for the past few months, I could see why he would assume that. 'Yeah...' I answered, my heart catching in my throat as I waited for his reaction.

        There was a pause where I nearly exploded or threw up, but surprisingly Smith only typed, 'You'd probably have to list her as a producer or cameraman, like we were planning to do with Tom.'

        'But would you mind?' I asked, 'Would Trott or Tom?'

        'Personally,' Smith answered, 'I don't mind. She's sweet and quiet, I don't think she would cause any trouble.'

        'Really?' I asked, not expecting that kind of reaction from my coworker. Normally he wasn't keen on inviting people to go with us anywhere that wern't as crazy and wild as he was, which is why Sjin and Strippen often accompanied us to pubs, and Amanda wasn't exactly a party animal.

        'Do you want me to say no?' he asked, adding a 'haha' to the end of his message to make sure I knew he was only joking.

        'I guess I just don't know if she will like it or be miserable the whole time,' I said, voicing my fears honestly. I knew that none of us wanted to play babysitter during an event such as this.

        'You know her better than I do,' he replied, 'but she doesn't come off as a miserable person.'

        He was right in that sense; she was quiet, but that doesn't mean she was a gloomy person. I finished my turn and Smith asked 'Have you talked to her about it?', as he started attacking my creatures.

        'I'll probably ask her tonight,' I typed, looking at the time in the corner of my tablet. Amanda should be here any time now, and I only hoped she was okay as the snow fell heavily outside my window. There was a storm warning for tonight and tomorrow, and it was getting worse by the minute.

        'Oooo,' Smith cooed, 'she staying the night?' He added a wink emoticon after it, and I knew what he was suggesting.

        'It's not like that,' I added quickly, though it had crossed my mind more than once since I got home. I wasn't at all prepared, and a trip to the shop wasn't an option at this time of night and in this weather.