"Claude! Oh, and Byleth! It's so nice to see the two of you!"
Hilda waved as Claude and Byleth entered Coffee House for a little morning study. The place wasn't busy, so Hilda had just been slacking off on her phone. None of the customers seemed to care, anyway, so it seemed that Hilda was safe on that. The other barista was dreamily looking at a painting on the wall.
"Good to see you too, Hilda," Claude smiled charmingly before winking at the barista. Byleth felt a little twinge of some feeling go through her once more. Oh. Is that...jealousy? Byleth had never been jealous before, but now that she knew she was in love with him...well, it was just strange, that's all. Byleth had pretty much experienced two emotions; sadness and joy. Well, with a bit of anger, determination, and frustration mixed in...but jealousy was something Byleth had never identified before. She'd always been happy with her life...
But Byleth couldn't help the way she felt. Knowing that Hilda was the lucky one to be with Claude filled her with immense jealousy.
Byleth wished he'd see her in that way.
"So, Claude! What would you like? Let me guess, chamomile?" Hilda surmised, and Byleth frowned. She knew him well enough to try and guess, and that sorta irritated her.
"Actually, no," Claude chuckled, scratching the back of his neck. Is he flustered? He must be. After all, he's around Hilda. Cute. I never expected him to not be so sly...Ugh, focus, Byleth! He's not interested in you. "I'm just looking for some coffee today. I'll take mine iced."
"Coming right up!" Hilda chirped as she typed into the cashier. "And for you?"
"I'll just take a black coffee."
"Alright! Five dollars and eighty cents," Hilda replied cheerfully, and Claude gave her a ten dollar bill. "Okay, I'll get your change...Ignatz! Get started on an iced coffee!"
The two sat down at a nearby coffee table, and Byleth sighed before checking her phone. Claude chuckled, making Byleth raise a brow.
"What?"
"You look so grumpy," Claude replied, his green eyes shining in the light. Byleth shrugged. Why was he so good at reading her? Claude shook his head. "What's wrong?"
"What? Nothing's wrong," Byleth said flatly. Claude just looked at her suspiciously. Byleth was a good liar despite her lack of interaction with people, probably due to her subdued emotions. Even so, Claude could read her so easily. It was frustrating at times like this.
"C'mon, Teach," Claude coaxed, his voice as soothing as ever. "I can tell something's wrong. So?"
"Well, unfortunately for you, you're wrong this time," Byleth playfully stuck her tongue out at him. What a bold faced lie. Claude knew it, too. "Can't a girl have her secrets sometimes?"
"Sure. But your frustration doesn't have to be a secret," Claude told her. He was always so caring... Byleth really appreciated that. "If you're mad at me, I would want to know so that-"
"What? No, no. I'm not mad at you," Byleth quickly clarified. She then just shrugged. It's not like I can exactly tell him I'm jealous! That would be so, so awkward. "That's not it."
"Okay, well..."
"Here are your drinks!" Hilda appeared with their drinks, setting them down in front of the two. She smiled cheerfully. "Hope you two enjoy."
"Will do," Claude grinned at her. Byleth's frown grew deeper. "Thanks, Hilda. It's always a treat to come here."
Yeah, I bet it is...
"No problem! You flatter me too much, to be honest," Hilda giggled. Claude just smirked.
"I was flattering the shop itself, but you could take it for yourself," Claude chuckled. "See you around, Hilda."
The pink haired girl left, and Claude shook his head. He sipped at his iced coffee, pulling out his research papers. Byleth did the same. It was weird to do this in public. Not that it wasn't allowed, but Byleth hadn't studied in a public place since college. It was weird, especially now that she was handling sensitive documents, but it was okay.
She got adjusted to it pretty quickly. They were studying there for about two hours when Claude had to run to the bathroom. As Byleth waited alone, Hilda came back.
Oh, great... what does she want?
"Great guy, yeah?" Hilda giggled. Byleth could only nod. Yes, yes he is. Hilda smiled before adjusting her apron. "It must be nice to have his full attention."
"What?"
"Whenever we hung out before, he talked about the company nonstop," Hilda sighed. "Now, he talks about you nonstop! Or his music. One of the two. I really never knew he sang. He's super good, but wow..."
"I'm sure you have his attention," Byleth said, mostly as a courtesy.
"Not really! It's a shame, too. Even when we were together, he never seemed super interested in me," Hilda sighed again. "Then again, we were dating basically because both of our parents told us to. Neither of us really had any interest, but he could've faked it better! I certainly did."
"Wait. You mean...you two aren't dating?" Byleth's eyes widened. What-
"Oh, no way!" Hilda giggled. This..Wow. Well, even though he's not with Hilda, he could still be with someone else...but...Ugh. I'm confused. "Claude and I go way back, but neither of us were invested like that. He sees right through me, and I need someone to fall for my charm so that I can live a nice, cushy life. You know?"
"Not really," Byleth laughed. "I like Claude for seeing me as I am."
"Yeah, and I'm sure he likes that too," Hilda agreed. "You guys would be so, so perfect together."
"I'm sure he's dating someone already."
"Aha! You didn't deny it!" Hilda pointed out, and Byleth cursed under her breath. Hilda just chuckled. "Don't worry, I won't tell him. And he's not dating anyone, by the way. I say go for it!"
How can a guy like Claude be single?
Well, I'm not complaining. He really isn't dating anyone...I'm in shock. I could tell him..
Everything came crashing down, though. She was ill. She couldn't just do that to him if there was a chance she wouldn't make it out alive.
"It's not so simple, though," Byleth sighed. Hilda smiled sympathetically.
"Sure it is, dear. Stop thinking with your head, and starting going with what your heart wants."
"Good to see that you two are getting all buddy-buddy," Claude grinned as he came back. Byleth blushed. Did he hear any of that? Hilda just laughed.
"Of course! I had to see if what you said was right," Hilda winked at Byleth. "Clearly, you weren't exaggerating, Claude."
"Course not," Claude took his seat as Hilda left to go back behind the counter. "So...What were you guys talking about?"
Byleth just smiled.
"I think I'm going to have to keep it a secret."
Claude playfully groaned.
"Not another one!"
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...
