Byleth finally made it out of her own house.
Why had she been held up? Well, after Jeralt questioned her about her whereabouts yesterday, Byleth had no choice but to respond. Besides, it wasn't like she was hiding anything from him anyway.
She told him she had gone out with Claude (to which he started a coughing fit as he choked from surprise) to a lounge with live music. She told Jeralt that she had liked that music, and she told him that she had danced...and enjoyed it! Needless to say that Jeralt was just as shocked as she was...but he was also just as ecstatic, if not more so. He had a smile on his face as Byleth raved about her experience, just glad to know that his daughter finally found something that made her happy.
Still, though he was happy, he still had his concerns. Why was she out with Claude? Was he coming onto her? Did he need to be fired? Byleth reassured him that she was fine, and that Claude needed to stay. She explained to him about how he was trying to help her be happy (and, on a grimmer note, be happy in her final year...Wait, no, Byleth was going to live longer than that, dammit!) He nodded, just saying one simple little sentence;
"Your mother was always the same."
Her mother...Byleth had wondered how different life would have been if she was around. Would she have been able to emote better? Would her father have been happier?!Would her heart have beat from birth? But if that was the case...Byleth would have been dead by now. At the very least, Sitri would have been alive, and Jeralt could be happy...
Well, there was no use on dwelling about false pathways. Sitri was dead, and that was that. She had just told Jeralt to stop dwelling on the past and negative pathways, and here she was, doing the same. Byleth couldn't be hypocritical.
Time had passed quickly while talking to her father, and five thirty had come ever so quickly. They had headed out at the same time, Jeralt to the bar, and Byleth to Coffee House. He had told her not to be late...but if they were, he wouldn't be mad. Byleth snickered about the thought of him trying to be mad at her; he had never been very good at holding grudges against her.
Finally, after what seemed like a long drive, she made it the described place, Coffee House. Byleth parked her car before heading inside and checking the time. Five thirty, on the dot.
...And no sign of Claude.
Geez, late again? Byleth settled into a table for two and began to wait. The place was filled with light chatter, and there were only two cashiers, one of them on their phone. She pulled out her phone and went on it, but she had nothing to do. She absentmindedly scrolled through her phone, not even absorbing anything she saw into her mind.
She just needed to pretend she wasn't sitting here waiting desolately for Claude to show up.
After about fifteen minutes, the little bell by the door rang, and a ruckus came with it. In burst a Claude with messy hair and a disheveled appearance. Byleth folded her arms as he ran a hand through his locks.
"Teach, I am so sorry!" Claude apologized quickly, a pleading look in his emerald eyes. "I just-I was-actually, I don't even have a good excuse. I ran here as quick as I could. I'm just always making you wait, aren't I.."
"Ugh, Claude! Is that why she was sitting here all alone?"
The cashier was shaking her head at Claude in disapproval. As Byleth glanced over, she could see that the cashier was dressed in a black apron, and she had her pink hair pinned up in two pigtails. The two must have been friends or something...or maybe Claude just came to this shop way too much.
"Hilda, not right now," Claude groaned out as he turned to face the cashier. "I-"
"You left her here all alone!" Hilda scolded melodramatically, and the other people in the coffee shop began to stare in slight amusement. "Poor...Sorry, what's your name?"
"Byleth."
"Poor Byleth, here all alone...Well, at least I can serve you some coffee to cheer you right up!" Hilda smiled, and then leaned forward to whisper in Byleth's ear. "This one's free of charge, to make up for Claude's irresponsibility. I mean seriously, being late?"
"I heard that. And who are you to call me irresponsible?" Claude rolled his eyes as Hilda innocently batted her eyelashes at him. Byleth felt...something run through her body. Anger, maybe? No, Byleth wasn't mad...but...then what? "You're the one slacking off right now."
"What!? No way," Hilda smiled amicably. "Say, Byleth...What would you like?"
"Uh...I don't know," Byleth scanner over the menu, but she'd never had any sort of coffee before. She had no way of knowing just what was good! While she was slightly still mad at Claude for being late, she kinda needed his opinion. She turned to him, a warning look in her eyes saying that while he was forgiven, he needed to tread carefully. "...What do you like, Claude?"
"I like the Almyran pine needle tea," Claude said quickly, an apologetic, soft, and mild smile on his face. "Er...Chamomile is pretty good too."
"I'll take chamomile."
"I'll take the same."
"Coming right up!" Hilda retreated back to behind the counter, beginning to brew a pot of tea for the both of them. Never mind the fact that this was a coffee shop; coffee house had a lot of variety, not just coffee! Claude sighed nervously, and he sat down across from Byleth. He grimaced, knowing that he was walking on thin ice.
"...I'm really sorry about it, Teach," Claude said sincerely as he fiddled with the silvery earring on his left ear. "I just...lost track of time. I really did run here as fast as I could."
"It's okay, Claude," Byleth shrugged. "It happens. But from now on, I'm coming fifteen minutes later than you tell me to. Also...why did you have to run here?"
"Huh? Oh...I was just down the street," Claude replied vaguely, and Byleth dropped the topic since he clearly didn't want to talk about it.
"I see," Byleth nodded, and she fiddled with the sleeves on her jacket. "...Claude, I wanted to reiterate how much of a good time I had last night."
"Ah, I'm glad!"
"I have never woken up so late before," Byleth admitted. "I've stayed up far later than usual, and yet..."
"Wow, I can even make you sleep
better," Claude teased with a wink. "I'm glad I could change even the slightest of things."
"Of course you did," Byleth nodded, a smile growing on her face at Claude's antics. Why was it so easy for him to make him smile...and why hadn't she met him sooner? "You're changing my whole life...for the better."
"I'm...Glad, Teach. Really. I mean it."
The two shared a warm smile together, and Byleth found herself gazing into his emerald eyes with admiration and joy. This boy...He was really doing something to her, wasn't he?
"Here we are! Two chamomile teas!" A chipper voice interrupted them, and Byketh broke their held gaze to accept the cup of tea. Claude took his cup, a grin on his face.
"Thanks, Hilda. You're the best," Claude praised, and for some reason, Byleth felt a surge of annoyance pass through her. But why? He was being the same as always, so why was she feeling like this..? Claude turned back to her, raising his cup of tea. "Well, Teach? Drink up!"
"Y-Yeah, I will," Byleth nodded, but she still couldn't figure out just what was wrong with her.
Why in the world was she feeling so...weird?
YOU ARE READING
Race Against Time
Fanfiction"BYLETH, YOU'RE DYING." Those were the words Byleth Eisner had heard her entire life...but it had never rang true. She had always known that the doctors were wrong, that she was going to keep living, but the fear of death was constant. Born with a h...
