Beware The Water

I need a hug

Shorter stared up at the ceiling thinking about his conversation with Lux from a few nights ago. This time he was the one constantly checking his phone for a missed call or text. By keeping Lux at a distance, it implemented everyone's safety. What he did the other night had to be done no matter if what he said was a lie or not.

"What has you so upset that you needed to talk to me in person?" Ash stood in the doorway with his hand dramatically draped over his forehead to mimic the motion of an oncoming headache.

Shorter turned and pouted, "I need a hug!"

Ash rolled his eyes and dragged himself over to his sad friend who had been laying in bed all day. He threw an arm around Shorter and brought him in tightly. "What happened?" He asked, waiting for his usually unserious friend to say something ridiculous.

"I had been thinking a lot about what you said the other day." Shorter sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. "About cutting off Lux."

"Ah." Ash answered, looking over to the side of the room. He caught a glimpse of a scroll laying carelessly on a sofa. The blonde jotted down a mental note to check out what that was before leaving.

"I made sure to do the right thing." Shorter sadly explained, "But now I think she won't wanna see me again."

"I'm sorry, Shorter." Ash held his friend closer to comfort him better. "You made the right choice. Lux doesn't deserve to be pulled into this. We're already in neck deep as it is. So having her at a distance works out for everyone."

Shorter understood the point that Ash was making. Sometimes the right thing to do feels wrong and that's okay. He always envied how Ash was able to rationalize logic over emotion. It was always smart to use your head to make decisions over listening to your heart that's more than often difficult to understand. Shorter continues to do things out of sheer emotion and it usually gets him into trouble in the end. That's why he has Ash though. His best friend has always been someone who could calm him down and help him make the right choices.

"Yeah yeah." Shorter waved off his friend. "It sucks. She was really cool."

"You say that about a lot of girls. Not like you were going to marry this one." Ash gave a playful smile. Shorter chuckled in response. "It's alright, Shorter. How bout you and me go out for some food, yeah?"

"Mmmmm I don't know." Shorter shifted his weight to the side to lean on Ash. "I just wanna stay in bed all day."

Ash rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "I'll pay."

"Okay!" Shorter perked up almost instantly. "I'll get my shoes."
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"You're not eating again?" Oz asked after taking notice of Lux not even touching her burger.

"I'm just not that hungry." Lux slouched back in the booth and started scrolling through her phone. She found herself constantly going back to the old messages she had with Shorter. And how they would usually abruptly end with him leaving her texts on read.

"I'll ask for a to go box." Oz offered, waving over an employee for help. Lux got the box and started to pack her cold leftovers. "I'm gonna head to the restroom real quick then we'll head out."

"Okay." Once again Lux went back to her phone to distract herself. It worked momentarily until she was pulled out of her daydreaming by a bickering couple. Lux tried not to pay attention until she swore she heard the girl shout her name. Lux looked up and saw Fang waving and dragging a guy towards her direction. "Fang?"

"See I told you it was her." Fang softly smacked her boyfriend on the chest. Lux recognized him from the Polaroids. He looked even more intimidating in person. Especially with the way he just stood there impatiently with his hands buried in his pockets. Fang smacked her lips, "You could say hi, asshole."
Her boyfriend huffed and did a subtle nod as acknowledgment. "Lux this is Arthur. Arthur, this is the girl I told you about."