Coffee and Cream

The Shift

EMRYS

Ever since Darcelle found out everything about me, something inside shifted. I felt free. Completely, undeniably naked in front of her. Not physically, though we'd crossed that line too many times to count, but something deeper. Something raw. She had seen the darkest parts of me, the parts that I rarely exposed. And she didn't run.

So, I figured, why not test the waters a little more? Why not bring her into my world, step by step?

I strolled into class, Nathan sitting beside Darcelle, chatting her ear off as usual. But she wasn't listening. Her eyes were distant, probably still lost in her thoughts about the lady from the store. I could see the weight of that night pulling on her, even in her heavy eyelids. She hadn't been sleeping well—no surprise there. I made a mental note to tell her she could crash at my place until she got past it. No one would look for her in my little fortress.

Without hesitation, I dropped into the seat next to her.

Nathan's eyes nearly popped out of his skull, his fork frozen mid-air as if someone had hit pause on his life. "Uh... what the hell?"

"Relax, Nathan," I said with a smirk. "You're funny, man. Always with the dramatics."

Nathan blinked like he'd just seen a ghost. He glanced over his shoulder, like maybe I was talking to someone behind him. When he realized I was dead serious, he looked back at Darcelle, then at me, confusion written all over his face.

Darcelle, meanwhile, was blushing, trying to hide her surprise under a small smile. "What do you want, Em?" she asked, the corner of her lips twitching as she fought off a grin.

Her eyes had those telltale dark circles under them, and I knew right away she'd been overthinking about the store incident. I needed to get her out of that space in her head before it dragged her down.

I leaned in, whispering just enough so Nathan couldn't hear. "You look like hell. You can sleep at my place until this thing blows over."

She shot me a look—half gratitude, half exasperation—but she didn't protest. Smart girl.

Nathan was still staring at us like he was trying to solve some complicated math problem. "Wait. Do you two know each other or something?" He was trying to piece together the puzzle, and I had to give him credit—he was sharp. Too sharp sometimes.

I decided to play it cool. "Oh, where are my manners?" I grinned, extending my hand toward Darcelle as if we'd never met. "Hi, I'm Emrys. Nice to meet you."

Darcelle blushed even harder but took my hand, playing along. "Darcelle," she said, her voice soft, her eyes glancing at Nathan as if to say, Please don't freak out.

Nathan still looked like he couldn't believe what he was witnessing. His friend, Darcelle—the girl who never gave any guy the time of day—was now suddenly all smiles and blushes for me. He narrowed his eyes at Darcelle, probably wondering what spell I had cast on her.

"Nice to meet you, Emrys," Nathan said sarcastically, shaking my hand as though testing if I was real.

Class passed uneventfully, but I could feel Nathan's eyes on us the entire time, like he was trying to crack some secret code. Afterward, during lunch, I figured, Why not push things further? I grabbed my tray and walked over to Darcelle and Nathan's table.

Darcelle was absorbed in a book, as usual, while Nathan was busy scrolling on his phone, probably looking for the latest meme to make her laugh. I dropped my tray on the table with a loud clank, making Nathan flinch and nearly drop his phone. Darcelle looked up, surprised, but she quickly hid it behind a sip of her drink.

Emrys Arkyn sitting with the "weirdos"? Yeah, it was going to turn some heads. My clique followed suit, taking their seats nearby, eyeing me as if waiting for some explanation. It was like they were all thinking, What the hell is he up to?

"Mind if I join you?" I asked casually, already sitting down and not really waiting for an answer.

Nathan was about to respond, but I cut him off. "Let Darcelle answer, Nate," I said, a smirk playing on my lips. He looked at me like I'd just insulted his mother, but I didn't care.

Darcelle chuckled, trying to hide her amusement. "You're fine," she said. "You don't need an invite."

I nodded and took a bite of my food, pretending to be invested in whatever shallow conversation was happening at the next table. Every once in a while, I'd throw a question at Darcelle, pulling her into the conversation while Nathan tried desperately to jump in and save her.

"How's the book?" I asked her, leaning in slightly.

"It's good. Heavy stuff." She smiled, but there was a subtle tension in her voice. I knew she was thinking about more than just the book.

Nathan tried to steer the conversation away. "Darcelle, you've been talking about that book all week. Let's talk about something else. Like, literally anything else."

I didn't miss a beat. "Let her talk, Nathan. I'm curious about what she has to say."

Darcelle shot me a look. She knew exactly what I was doing, and despite herself, she was enjoying it. There was a visible chemistry now, one that was impossible to ignore. The more I pushed, the more she responded. We were pulling each other into this strange, dark orbit, and Nathan was sitting right in the middle, oblivious to the gravity of it all.

As the day went on, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was it. I wanted to be around Darcelle more, wanted her in my world. Sure, we had to keep things under wraps for obvious reasons, but I wasn't going to keep hiding in the shadows. I didn't just want to be some secret affair tucked away in bedrooms. I wanted her out there with me.

And that wasn't without its risks. Isabelle would definitely start asking questions soon.

Later, as I predicted, Isabelle cornered me in the hallway after school. Her eyes narrowed, arms crossed. "So... what's going on with you and that girl, Darcelle?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Darcelle? She's just an interesting mind. Nothing more."

She didn't look convinced, but she sighed and let it drop. For now.

Later that night, when I was alone with Darcelle, I told her about Isabelle's little interrogation. We made dark jokes about it, laughing as we smoked and talked about death like it was a casual topic.

"Should we be worried about your girlfriend?" Darcelle asked, a teasing smile on her lips as she took a drag from her blunt.

I chuckled. "Nah. Worst case, we'll just feed her her own tongue. You know, for fun."

Darcelle laughed, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "And then off with her head?"

I grinned, pulling her closer. "Exactly. Your wish is my command, Ladybug." I kissed her temple, breathing in the sweet scent of berries and cream from her curls.

We joked until reality faded into the background, both of us content in our twisted little world. I didn't need to hide anymore. We were fire and gasoline, and for once, I didn't care about the explosion that was bound to come.