Heart Of Gold ( A Midas x Reader Fortnite Fanfiction)

Part 17 - The Interview (Part 1)

Boldly, you turn around to face the darkness, willing your heart not to thump straight out of your chest. It seems as though everything in your life is just one big circle of events, one big circle that just cruelly repeats itself, over and over. You remember your brief time at The Grotto, and how you felt like you were going to be sick, when you were caged up, and shoved into Mister Brutus's room like a lamb to the slaughter. Then you remember what an amazing turn your life took, how everything just shot up and became great for the first time in, well....forever. So couldn't life repeat itself now? Couldn't this interview be a game-changer?

Summoning positive thoughts, you take a step forward from the door, jutting up your chin and staring Midas, who is sitting on the corner of a table, slouched, arms casually crossed, back in the eye. And, even in your current panicked state, you could still appreciate his beauty. His flawlessness. He was like....like a perfect masterpiece, a piece of art, that should be displayed in a gallery, a gallery where everyone could come and gape at him, and stare at him too. You shake your head, dismissing the thought. Don't be so stupid, you tell yourself firmly, and, for the millionth time today, you have to remind yourself that he is the enemy, and nothing you think or say will ever change that.

He is staring at your face, a small smile resting on his lips, an all knowing glint in his eye. It's all you can do not to reach out and touch him, hold him. God, you can imagine how bad that would go down. But it's there, that urge you are feeling...that is undeniable. You suddenly conjure Mister Brutus up in your head, imagining what he would say if he knew that you were experiencing a strange attraction towards this man, a man you barely knew, a men you'd met less than an hour ago. You shiver, perturbed. He would probably boot you out of Shadow so quick, that your legs wouldn't touch the ground. Then it'd be back to nothing. Back to being on the run. No protection. No food. No...nothing. And this man, sitting in front of you could cause all of that. Yup. This dude was definitely your undoing.

"I've got a meeting in 40 minutes," announces Mister Midas, breaking the uncomfortable silence as he hops off the desk neatly and glances at his fashionable but dazzling gold watch. "In that time I have to interview both you and Candidate Brooke out there." He presses a palm to his forehead, groaning. "In the meantime, Miss Aubrey, please sit down. I'm in a hurry."

Jolted out of your thoughts, you shake all stewing thoughts from your mind, hastily nodding and starting towards the desk. For the first time, you get a good look around the room. It is so different from The Grotto; the main difference being that this place was so full of light - sunny, airy, and peaceful. It reminded you of a relaxing stroll in the garden, strangely. Yet a walk in the garden would be calm, and peaceful - you could tell that Mister Midas was neither calm nor peaceful. You internally agreed with yourself as he paused, and glared at you. "Now," he snapped, seating himself at his mahogany, curved desk that was so polished and gleaming that you reckoned you could probably use it as a mirror and still be able to see yourself pretty well. You reckoned that the room was pretty nice and pretty- but, just like The Grotto, it was business-like, and, clearly was made to get the job done, with an obvious touch of consideration and thought. And, man, the finishing effect was nice. 

Hurrying to the desk, you covered the length of the floor in about two seconds, so flustered that, you tripped over your own two feet, staggering, losing your balance, and, finally, falling backwards.  Wow. This was going to hurt a lot. It was kind of funny, really. All those reflex sessions spent at Shadow, hour after hour, and yet, you were finally defeated by your own two feet. Squeezing your eyes shut, you took a breath as you braced yourself for some serious pain as you neared the floor, hip first.

Except it never came.

Opening your eyes slowly, your heart suddenly did some weird sort of leap in your chest, as you took in your surroundings. 

You'd seen him running towards you as you fell, fast as lightning, as you'd stupidly tripped. And wow, could he run fast. You'd never seen anything like it. One minute, he was on the other end of the room, in his chair, leaning on the desk and frowning, and the next, he had run the length of the room and was....holding you, stopping yourself from falling. 

Blushing furiously, you felt yourself reddening stupidly as you felt his warm, toned, muscly arms around your body, strong and uncertain..Your head rested against his chest, and, through his clothes, you could feel his steady and regular heartbeat, strangely comforting against your ear. Your heart was doing strange jumps in your chest, up and down. Not being able to contain your rapidly spiking emotions any longer, you let out a small gasp that you instantly, internally kicked yourself for. Strangely, he didn't seem to hear it. 

But the thing that was even stranger was...he wasn't stepping away. Feeling your cheeks burn, you stared up at him awkwardly, wondering what the hell he was doing. He didn't seem to be embarrassed or apologetic. He didn't seem like the type of person to ever regret an action of his. Instead, he was peering down at you with an almost...curious expression on his face. Not checking you out, exactly, but studying you, in a sense, like you were something fascinating, and he was examining you inquisitively. It wasn't romantic or anything. There was a touch of fascination in his eyes that could've been attraction, but, even more strangely, there was a touch of sadness in his eyes, a spiked emotion that glanced out through his eyes that caught you by surprise. It was like he was...gazing back into the past. Remembering something, almost. Like taking a trip down Memory Lane.

In the middle of an interview. Whilst holding you in his arms. 

You coughed awkwardly, breaking the silence, and, the magic moment along with it. Jumping back awkwardly as if you were a white-hot poker, Mister Midas looked surprised at himself, almost questioning his actions and why he did that. Stunned, he stared at you, distancing himself from you, and, for the first time since you met him, he seemed almost...embarrassed.  Wow. Seems you were wrong about the whole emotion thing. The guy was ashamed. It was almost...cute. The big reveal of emotions, you thought to yourself, forcing yourself to stifle your smile. 

And then it was gone. And, in its place, returned that cold, lifeless monsters that you barely knew and yet hated, feared. He stood upright, clearing his throat, his cold, expressionless persona slamming back into place and he placed his hands behind his back, looking at you as you righted yourself. You put your hands to your cheeks, startled at their heat. He sneered in disgust as you did so,looking at you like you were...dirt. Or a nasty piece of shit on the pavement. It made you feel worthless, and you found yourself feeling stunned at how easily he could make you feel like nothing. You didn't like it, and you broke his gaze, staring at the floor in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I'm clumsy," you whispered, shameful, but he didn't seem to be listening. No one ever did anymore. 

  "Can we get down to business now?" he smirked, lip curling. "Or will you be taking any more trips, Candidate Aubrey?" He spat the words trip, eyes narrowed with his signature look of nasty amusement. 

Shocked at his sudden change in personality, you brushed yourself down, flustered, determined not to show him that you cared. But that much was undeniable. That much you couldn't deny. It haunted in your soul like a shameful secret that you just couldn't deny. You hurried to the desk, hating yourself, and your stupid, stupid, emotions that always managed to make a complete fool of you. Why couldn't you choose how you felt?

Because no matter how many times you told yourself that you didn't care that he let go of you, you were fooling no one. You cared.

You cared, alright.