Lucky Man (Fruk)

10

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of something delicious. I trudged out of my room, Orange following beside me. "Arthur! Good morning! I made food! And what a lovely winter morning it is!" Francis cheered. He pointed out the window, and it was sunny again. "With my luck, a rainbow could appear!" He cheered. As he said that, he handed me coffee, and I watched out the window as a rainbow suddenly appeared.

Shouldn't rain come first?

I guess the laws of nature don't apply to him.

I sipped my coffee, watching him happily dance around the kitchen. How was he so happy in the morning? I was a little jealous. I always woke up...well...looking like this...

I was not appealing to look at.

"Arthur! Don't look so gloomy in the morning! The sun is shining, and today will be a wonderful day!" He cheered. Francis approached me, taking the coffee back and placing it on the table. "Hey! I need that!" I demanded.

"What you need is to live!" He cheered. Francis grabbed my hands, forcing me to dance around with him. Only, I was terrible at it and tried to get away from him. "Let go!"

"Oh, come on! Have fun!"

He continued to pull me around as I struggled to keep up with him.

"Wow, someone is lively today, and it isn't Francis?"
Alfred laughed. He came out of his room, watching us, and I looked at him, desperately asking him to help me with my eyes. However, he chose to ignore it.

"Good morning! Has Arthur finally lost it?" Matthew asked, suddenly coming out of nowhere. "Hardly! I'm being forced!" I called. Francis was still forcing me to dance around. He held my hands tight so I wouldn't escape.

"And now for the finale!" He cheered. He pulled me into a dip position, and our eyes widened when he caused my back to pop. It was...embarrassing.

"Oooo, I heard that!"

"Getting old already?!"

"SHUT UP!"

Francis continued to smile at me as I felt my face getting hot. I don't like him staring at me this way! It made me feel weird!

He pulled me up, and I snatched my hands away, walking toward the table aggressively. "Well, I have some great news! I was able to find out where those men were headed! I followed their tracks all the way to some building five miles down from the park. It was an odd building for them to go in, but they were there for almost nine hours before leaving," Matthew explained. He yawned as he pulled out photos from the file he had carried with him.

"What was the building?" Francis asked.

"A bakery...however, they were in there for a long time, so I have a feeling that bakery was a cover, and that building was where they do planning or something," he tried to explain.

"What was the name of the bakery?" Alfred asked.

"FlowerPlex..."

The weird word choice felt...too on the nose?

"I see..." Francis spoke. I looked at him, and he seemed to react like I had. It was definitely a cover for their meeting spots. I was sure Francis would not go near it to avoid trouble, but I wanted to find out what they were hiding in that building. "Is there any way you can see inside the building?" Francis asked.

Matthew shook his head sadly, and Alfred began to think. "Well, this isn't all too bad. I mean, maybe I can look into that building and see what I can find," Alfred spoke. I feel like I should tell them all the stuff I know, but I felt that if I told them those men talked to me, they'd be a little pissed.

Or...I could... see for myself.

Just a quick look? 

I could try going tomorrow. That's the only thing I could think of. However, I still wanted to figure out who tried to kill Francis. No...this was the moment for me to ask something.

"Say, Francis..do you remember the people at your old job? Like the ones you worked with?" I asked. The boys looked at me, shocked. Shocked that I had shown a sudden interest in everything. Francis had a mixture of shock and curiosity. This meant nothing! I was only curious about the whole thing! I didn't need a fancy degree to figure out this much.

"Ahh...yes..." he spoke.

"You should have them pull up the list of the people you worked close with," I explained. He lifted his brow, and it was like a few things clicked in his head. "Is this why you asked if I had enemies last night?"

"Arthur? You are showing interest? What a turn of events!"

"I'm not! I figured I'd help a little to get him out of our home!"

"Mhmmm! I can definitely get a list of people he worked with!" Alfred smiled. He was good at doing stuff like that. "Great!" I spoke, relieved that they didn't push it further. "What was the name of the place you worked for?" Matthew asked.

"PowerPlex..."

"Oh..."

"Well, I can definitely get a list of people!"

Francis nodded, and I finished eating my food. It was time for another 'walk' only this time, I would look around that FlowerPlex building. If I went quickly, it would be sneakier, and no one would suspect a thing. Then, if I were to be caught, I could say I know Antonio and Gilbert and lie from there. It was almost perfect.

"I'm going to the store. Do any of you need anything?" I asked. The boys shook their heads at me, but Francis looked like he was fighting the urge to tag along. "Arthur, what are you doing tonight?" He asked. It was still early, so I had not thought that far ahead.

It caused the boys and I to look at him, confused. "Ah, I'm not sure, probably just staying in my room," I laughed. He smiled at me so sweetly. The sweet that would make you want to vomit. It was the sweet that people would love to take advantage of. It was the kind that made me feel bad about being an asshole toward him. "Oh, would you like to watch a movie with me? There are a few at the cinema!" He cheered.

This idiot....all of this stuff is happening, and this is what he is thinking about?

I couldn't help but smile back at him. I haven't known him long, and I hate to say this, but I think he was starting to grow on me. However, he was only moving from complete stranger to acquaintance. Alfred and Matthew looked at me as if giving some a playful suspicious look.

"Sure, we can go...but you won't talk during the whole thing, right?" I asked. He laughed a bit, shaking his head. "I'd rather not get punched in the face again; you sure do have a strong hand," he laughed. I rolled my eyes at him and began to put my shoes on.

"Yeah, and there is more where that came from if you annoy the hell out of me again!"

"No promises! Say, do you like musicals? There is one playing! I saw a poster for it long ago," he explained.

I couldn't help but give him a side-eye. This conversation seemed awfully domestic. "Sure, just let me leave already," I laughed. He sipped his coffee, smirking. And the boys...well, they looked at us as if we had been acting strange. I admit that our last conversations with each other helped us. I didn't appreciate his implications, but he didn't mean it harmfully.

Although Francis seemed beyond human comprehension, he seemed scared and lonely and wanted to connect with me even if he already had Alfred and Matthew. And me? Well...I give him the cold shoulder and still manage to solve this mystery for him. Or maybe I was bored and had nothing else better to do now.