𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞¦𝐄𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐭 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐭.

𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐧𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

"So tell me"I started as the handsome man munched on his food next to me,
his eyes focused on me-eyebrows raised.

"How long have you been doing this?"A question to fill up the silence between us.He nodded slightly before answering,

"If you mean Apex I've been doing it for almost a year now..."

"A year and you're still bad"I teased him with an evil smirk,taking a sip from the red wine in my glass.Elliott looked at me all offended at first but then showed me one of his famous cocky and charming smiles.

"You're probably forgetting that you're talking to the champion"

"As a champion myself I feel entitled to tell you that you actually...suck"

"Okay now you're just hurting my feelings"He mumbled while playing with the remaining of his food.I chuckled at how adorably he complained and continued with my food-enjoying his company.

"I literally dodged a bullet with this match,I keep thinking that I might have died if it wasn't for you and Octane"

"Yes it's true you owe me one for keeping you alive"

A smile formed on my face as Mirage was back to his overly confident self.

We talked some more about apex before diving in more deep conversations,we discussed about our families,ourselves and our lives in whole.Solving our traumas on a Tuesday afternoon was not something I was used to but it didn't make me uneasy-I was actually very excited to get to know him like that;concealing the usual Mirage that was always so much better than everyone else and for a night seeing his true colors.I didn't realize how much I opened up to him and how comfortable it felt to tell him things I never told anyone.

"I noticed that you knew how to use a gun"He laid back on the wooden chair he's been sitting on for hours-shifting positions every now and then.My eyebrows pulled to each other when he said that,

"Im an actual Sapper,Elliott"

"Want to fill me in on that story too?"
I released a loud sigh and started telling him about my adventurous teenage years.

"I was a difficult teenager truth be told,missing from home most of the time without my mother knowing where I was,she was sleeping all day though not that she cared...bad friends with even worse habits,I needed money to keep up with my activities but didn't want to ask from mom;stealing wasn't even an option.
I had to work and my friends introduced me to an organization that was preparing arm illegally-it wasn't anything hard so I agreed.Engineering is running through my family and it kind of sucked me into the rabbit hole too.Long story-short,someone gave away the business and we had trouble with authorities-i almost got caught too but somehow they didn't find my name on the suspect list."

"I would've never guessed that you were an edgy teen"Elliott shook his head,not a drop of surprise in his voice whatsoever.
I raised my shoulders in a shrug,

"Noone is perfect"I quoted with lack of energy,after my mother's death I was left alone which matured me immediately.
Elliott started gazing at me and a smile grew on his face,a look like this would make anyone fall in love with him in no time.
Before I could ask the reason he was looking at me this way he spoke softly,

"I'm perfect"

I rolled my eyes,I was honestly waiting for him to say something cheesy and romantic but no-don't forget it's Elliott Witt.

"You're a disgrace Elliott"

"You like me"

"I do not"

"Don't lie to yourself"

Truth is I was lying to myself from the moment I laid my eyes on him.Heart beating fast when he says something risky,sweating palms when he's around,mind lost in daydreaming and the worst was the butterflies swarming in my stomach every time I heard his name;all the symptoms were there.
I never was the emotional type of person and feelings like these were quite overwhelming for me,usually ignoring it did the deed of releasing me from any kind of unwanted and one-sided relationships but...this time it did not work.All I could do was give in to his charm but I couldn't even if I wanted:I was scared of heartbreak.

I looked away from the man,avoiding eye contact as an embarrassed smile formed on my features.Elliott knew what he was doing and it was clearly entertaining for him.

"I refuse to feed your ego"I was able to blurt out defensively.
He grinned,still staring at me with his dark eyes that hid so much emotion.

"That's why I like you"He added casually, making my heart skip a beat at his confession.Even though I knew there was an interest,hearing those words escape his mouth made me feel like was on fire.

"You're different"

I scoffed automatically,mentally blocking myself from falling in his bear trap."Do you say that to every girl you meet?"

He seemed to expect that question as he answered almost immediately,
"No,only when I mean it"

I raised my eyes and glanced at him with a nefarious look that matched his energy.
There's something about him that I can't quite put my fingers on...he won't let me figure him out.

"Want a drink?"
His question brought a frown to form on my face,"But we just drank a whole bottle of wine..."
He laughed faintly at my objection,
"I mean a real drink"

Even though I wasn't even planning on drinking more tonight I agreed.The motive behind this decision was obvious:I didn't want to leave him alone and also...didn't feel like saying goodbye just yet.

Elliott stood in front of his huge collection of alcohol stacked up one bottle next to the other neatly,mentally mixing different types of things to make one unique flavor that would match his mood;that's what he told me. It was quite amusing seeing him argue with himself on what would be the best mix,blurting things like "no that's disgusting" or "why do I even have that shit here".The reason his bar was empty was because "he doesn't work on Tuesdays",I was too scared to ask why.Us two in the warmy place that I already grew so fond of was something I secretly loved and enjoyed fully. The soft mumbling of the holo-television behind us-filling up the comfortable silence and sounding like a faint lullaby to my slightly tired self.

"Classic!"Elliott yelled out,making me jump from the sudden bother of calmness.
He didn't seem to notice my troubled face and just continued with his potions.

"Figgy Sparkler,figs and cranberries with vodka and Prosecco..."
He pulled out a tall champagne glass and a cocktail shaker and proceeded with the recipe;muddling the fruits and mixing it with liquids before blending everything with crushed ice.
Seeing him so invested in this made my heart flutter with happiness-
I just lost myself in his movements and just absent-mindedly watched him work his magic.
When he was done he jolly put two fresh cranberries on top of the drink and then added an orange twist.

"Ready"He kind of whispered proudly while I smiled at his creation.

"Im impressed,I thought you could only add a slice of lemon in a vodka shot and call yourself a bartender"

"What can I say?There are a lot of hidden talents"His hand slowly pushed the glass towards me,

"I don't drink"

"You were an edgy teenager but you don't drink?"

"That's the reasons I don't"I whispered and pushed it back to him.

"You can at least try it"

I rolled my eyes defeated,truth is that I did want to try but I was hesitant to put strong alcohols in my mouth-fearing addiction...yet again.

"I'll admire it from a distance-"

"As most know there will be a Apex Legends game on Wednesday and we are on edge to see the new legend perform once again.
Sapper was the champion of the last game-accompanied with the famous Mirage and the new member Octane..."

I turned my head back to Elliott who was sipping on the exotic drink-surpise lacking his expression.

"You knew there would be a game tomorrow?"I asked with slight panic,Mirage rested the half empty glass down and shrugged.

"All legends are being informed about Apex. You should be too"

I looked down at my lap with a furrow;trying to remember if I did get informed but I failed to recall anything.

"Weird"

________________________________
I'm sorryyyy for updating so late.I had an authors block and deleted the chapter which I had to rewrite.Happy New Year by the way!