Happy to be of Service//RedCrackle

Chapter Thirteen- Problems and Mario Kart (Edited)

(Before Gray calls Carmen in Germany)

Gray POV

I bounced on the balls of my feet excitedly. The flowers were done growing, and, like I had guessed, they were beautiful. The green stem led to a dark pink cup with yellow seeds, and one, droopy red petal hung lazily from under it.

I scooped up one of the plants and poked the petal lightly.

It fell off.

I yelped and scrambled to put it down, my chest heaving from the startle. Ok, so they were fragile still, apparently.

Extremely fragile.

I blew out a long breath and rubbed my face. "Good thing I ordered five..." I clenched my fists, determined. "This WON'T happen again."

It happened again.

I frowned at the second decapitated flower. These things weren't like Carmen at all! They fell apart in a second flat, whereas Carmen was tougher than-than...

I scrunched my face, trying to come up with something worthy of being compared to her.

Nope.

Drawing a blank here.

I sighed and put all of the pots back on the windowsill. The flowers would get stronger.

Eventually.

A knock at my door startled me, and my eyes widened slightly when I opened it.

"Jared? What are you doing here, mate?"

My friend just waggled his eyebrows and pushed past me into my apartment.

"I want the details, Graham."

At my confused expression, he sighed.

"Your chick! She kissed you for the first time that night, didn't she?"

I coughed. "How did you-"

"Your face." He walked to the living room plopped on the couch. "The way you reacted. How your eyes-" He waved his arms around, as if I would understand.

"How my eyes... what?"

Jared groaned and face-palmed. "Never mind, mate. You got any Coke in this rust bucket?" He skipped to my fridge and slapped it.

"Wait, hold on." I shook my head and made a 'what is this crap' face. "You can't just ask about my relationship with Carmen and then replace the thing in question with a Coke."

The blonde glanced between me and the fridge, his hand slowly moving to the handle as if I wouldn't notice it. "Uh, why not?"

I stared at him.

"Alright, alright! Sorry for making you uncomfortable. Sheesh." He opened the door and pulled out a red can, then gestured to my T.V. "Mario Kart tournament?"

I relented with a sigh, nodding.

"I call Shy Guy!" He exclaimed joyously, hurrying to grab a remote and sit.

"You always call Shy Guy, mate. I know not to by now," I grumbled, only half annoyed now.

"Yeah yeah." Jared dismissed me with a wave and turned the console on, settling deeper into the cushions. He gave me a side glance. "Where is Carmen, anyway?"

I frowned. "Traveling on business."

"Have you called her? Doesn't she work for a... what did you call it- a secret service?"

"Yeah, so she told me not to make contact until she got back unless I really had to."

"Well, how do you know if she's OK or not?"

"I..." I trailed off. "I don't."

Jared frowned back. "Huh." He then handed me a remote, forgetting the current topic. "You gonna be Bowser Jr. again?"

I blew out a long breath, his words about Carmen's safety gnawing at my brain. "Yeah." I accepted the controller he offered to me. "Who else?"

I didn't have as much fun playing today.