LOVESHOTS・Granevere

Friend

Prompt: Due to a broken leg, little Guinevere can't play with her friends during recess. In the meantime, she keeps the emo kid Granger company and tries to persuade him to join the other kids, not wanting him to sulk anymore before it's too late.

Aged-down AU & Canon divergence (?)

Word count: 715

"Why aren't you playing with the others?" Guinevere hobbled over with her crutches to the kid who sat in the shade. She had noticed him for some time now, always alone against the tall birch tree near the edge of the playground, usually glaring at others or toying with his huge gun. The kid was from the Marksman class while Guinevere was from the Fighters; the kid's eyes was the only reason she remembered who the kid was.

"I don't want to." The raven haired boy huffed and grabbed what looked to be polish from his violin case, continuing to clean his gun. Guinevere remembered that he was one of the few kids in their grade that were allowed to bring their chosen weapon with them everywhere they went.

"Why not?" Guinevere slowly sat down beside him, placing her crutches on the grass nearby. "You're Gunner, right? I don't remember your name."

The kid glared at her. "It's Granger  you carrot! Besides, it seems dangerous." Granger looked at Guinevere's leg that was in a cast and then looked at the playground in the distance as if putting two and two together.

"Ha ha, I must've mistaken your weapon for your name! Sorry about that, Granger." Guinevere joked, his previous insult to her hair whooshing over her head. "What about the playground makes you think that it's dangerous? I think it's fun!" She sent him a toothy grin.

"I don't think breaking your leg is fun." Granger didn't return her smile.

"It's not my entire leg, it's just my ankle." She ripped a piece of grass and began twirling it around her fingertip, trying to make a makeshift grass ring.

"Is there any other reason why you won't play with your friends? If you want, I could be your friend!" Guinevere rolled over and laid down on her stomach and rested her elbows on the grass, her head resting on her palms, not caring if her purple jumpsuit would get stained.

"I already have a friend." Granger huffed.

"Oh? Who?"

"Alucard." He glared at her. "You ask too many questions."

"I'm just keeping you company!" The ginger giggled. "You always seem so dreary-- Odette taught me that word! It means depressing." Guinevere said, referring to their senior who was in the Mage class.

"I know what it means, carrot." Granger looked away in annoyance.

"Woah! You're really smart then! I'm smart too... At least, that's what my friends have told me." Guinevere pouted. "My parents want me to be smarter, that's why they're sending me to a magic academy next year."

Granger sent her a look that read 'did I ask?' but was only met with a girl who was close to tears. "I'm going to miss my friends when I move away." Guinevere sniffled. "Do you think they'll miss me too?"

With a sigh, he hesitantly replied to her. "...I think everyone will miss you regardless if they knew you or not. You seem like a good friend."

The grass beneath him suddenly seemed more interesting than ever, the unfamiliar feeling of bashfulness and something else entirely sent weird tingles to the pit of his core.

"Does that mean I'm your friend now?" Guinevere got up and rubbed the tears that were threatening to fall away from her face.

"What? No! I'm just saying that you seem nice, that's all!" Granger crossed his arms angrily, not wanting to admit that he just didn't want to make her cry. "Don't get the wrong idea, carrot."

"Hmph! Stop calling me carrot!" She mimicked him, also crossing her arms. "I'm not a vegetable, you-- you..." Guinevere sputtered in annoyance of not being able to think of an insult.

"Ha! The carrot can't even think of a comeback!" He said smugly. "How stupid of the little carrot~ So short and stubby that her little brain can't even-- Ow!"

Granger's teasing got cut short by one of the "little carrot's" magical orbs hitting the top of his head. Hard.

"Stop that, carrot!" But she didn't and continued to bonk his head with her powers. Seeing as he was going to lose this fight, Granger got up and collected his stuff. "I'm leaving."

Then, for the first time since who knows when, Granger willingly ran with magical orbs chasing him down.