Crazy In Love | Buggy

t h i r t y - t h r e e

The receptionist's face paled at the sight of Buggy. He didn't even seem to notice the impact he was having on people.

He just gave her a small smile and said, "Where can a clown get some water?"

"I-I... I can get you s-some."

"Fantastic, and some for my companion as well," He told her, gesturing to me. It made me happy he had thought of me.

The receptionist basically ran out of the room to go get the water. It was weird seeing how scared everyone was of him. Even when he wasn't going anything scary. Just his presence was enough.

"I'm going to have to ask that you leave all and any weapons out here," the lady who had led us here told us.

Buggy rolled his eyes. "You think I'm less dangerous without weapons?" She just glared at him, and he put his hands up in surrender. "Whatever."

He pulled out three knives that were stashed somewhere mysterious, placing them down on the table.

"Thank you. Now -"

"Wait, you said all weapons, right?"

She looked taken aback. "Yes... do you have more?" He didn't answer with words. He let the three more blades he pulled out answer that question. "Is that them all?"

He nodded, and she gestured for us to follow her into her office. It was nice inside. Immediately, I noticed the plaque on the desk, which read: Mayor Linnea Eklund.

That made sense. It also made me more nervous.

"So, you're the mayor," I stated, which seemed to perk Buggy's attention.

"I am, and as Mayor, it's my job to keep my town and its people safe."

She thinks we're here to cause chaos and mayhem, I realised. I couldn't really blame her. Buggy had quite the reputation for destruction. Seeing him walk into your town must have been a terrifying sight.

Buggy sunk down loudly and dramatically in one of the seats. "My arms still hurt from rowing."

He wasn't taking this seriously. I guess he didn't have to. There was nothing this Mayor or her town could do to him. He was indestructible compared to them.

I went to open my mouth but the receptionist came bursting in. "I'm so sorry I took so long. I wasn't sure if you wanted ice but I just put some in."

She handed me a glass to which I said thank you, then handed one to Buggy. I could see her hands physically shaking.

"Thank you," He told her, grinning.

He did look pretty hot today, I couldn't deny that. I shouldn't think things like that about him, but I couldn't help myself.

"D-do you need anything else?" She asked nervously.

He shrugged. "Don't think so."

She basically bolted out of the room as fast as she could. Mayor Eklund cleared her throat, trying to turn our attention back onto her.

I decided to speak since Buggy wasn't taking this seriously. "I'd just like to say that we're not here to cause any problems."

"I find that hard to believe. From what I heard, most towns Buggy and his crew visit end up in ashes."

"Ashes? That's a bit dramatic," Buggy said suddenly. "Sure, we have a bit of fun but -"

"Do you think it's fun for the people in the towns?"

He glared at her. "I don't particularly care if it's fun for them."

"Buggy," I hissed at him.

He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "I didn't bring my crew with me. It's just me and Betty. We're just here for some shopping and a nights rest. Then we'll be gone."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. I sipped some of my water nervously, scared of how this was all going to go down.

"When you say shopping, do you mean theft?"

Buggy dug around in his pocket, and I saw panic flash on Eklund's face. Perhaps she thought he had another secret knife hidden somewhere. Instead, he pulled out a bag of berries, rattling it so she could hear the coins.

"I've brought plenty of money. I don't plan to steal anything, hurt anyone, or cause any problems here."

She again seemed to consider. "I guess I don't have much of a choice, but to trust you."

"Great!" Buggy cheered, jumping up from his seat. He chugged down the water he had been given, slamming it down on her desk. "Now, could we please be shown to your hotel?"

"I'll get Liva, our receptionist to show you."

When she told Liva that she was to show us to the hotel, she looked just as pale as she had before. But she still agreed to, nonetheless.

Walking through the town, all eyes were still on us. I guess they had no way to know that we had promised not to hurt anyone. They were probably confused to why we were being treated so nicely.

The hotel was beautiful. Marbled floors, colourful brick exterior, beautiful artwork spread about the place. This town was clearly well off.

Once inside, Liva talked to the receptionist and hushed whispers. After she was done, she handed Buggy our room card.

"Ju-just one ro-om right?"

Buggy grinned at me. "I can't trust this one to sleep on her own, so yeah one room."

Liva met my eyes, confused. Part of me liked the idea that she knew I was a hostage. Then, she wouldn't hate me as much as she probably hated Buggy. It didn't make a difference, I guess.

"Do you need anyone to show you to your room or-"

"I think we can manage to find our way ourselves. Thank you for your help, Liva."

With that, he took my hand in his and led me off to the stairs. Luckily, our room was only on the second floor so it didn't take us long to get there.

The inside of the room was even more beautiful than the lobby had been. It was luxury in a way I'd never seen it.

"It's so gorgeous."

Buggy smiled warmly at me. "Being with me has its perks, right?" He then seemed to realise what he'd said. "Not romantically with me. That's not what I meant -"

"I know what you meant," I said as nicely as I could.

Being with him meant as his hostage, bot romantic partner. He was so nice to me that I often forgot that I was technically a prisoner. I had to be near him at all points, had to be kept an eye on.

I did my best to push those sort of thoughts away. They weren't helpful. The last thing I needed was to grow resentment towards him. Especially when he was being so nice to me.

"I was thinking that, while we're here, we could grab dinner at one of the restaurants. You could grab a nice dress while we shop for your clothes."

My face lit up with a smile. "Really?"

He matched my smile with an even brighter one. It seemed as if he liked making me happy. "If you'd like."

"I'd like that a lot. I've never been taken out for dinner before."

His eyebrows furrowed together. "You're kidding. None of your boyfriends took you out?"

I shook my head no, then had a thought. "I mean, have you ever taken a girl out for dinner?"

Part of me only asked because the idea of it made me jealous. I wanted to know.

"Nope," He said, popping the p sound. "It wasn't really romantic, with any of the other women. Just sex."

That answer was both a relief and horrible to hear. He was a grown man. I knew he'd had sex before but hearing him say it stirred up jealousy in me that I couldn't deny. I also noticed he said romantic - what we had wasn't supposed to be romantic. It was supposed to be friends.

That line was always going to be blurry between us, I'd decided.