My Place- Randall Carpio Love Story

A bit heavy handed on the magic

Remi pushed her large sunglasses up to rest on the top of her head as she entered the den. The sunglasses pushed back on her curls that sat sloppily in a bun she had decided to wear three seconds before leaving her dorm room. Her skin and hear stunk of beer and over priced cologne but she had overslept, even with her cancelled first class, and she didn't have time for a shower before. 

Now, with classes over and Jess in their room waiting to bombard her with more questions over her and Randall's late night adventure, she decided it was best to go to the den. 

She dropped her backpack by the living room before she made her way into the kitchen. She opened the pantry door to the left of the sink and grabbed a plastic, clear cup. She used the tap to fill it with water and immediately started to gulp it down. The water helped smooth over the sandpaper texture of her tongue and appeased the pounding headache that hammered away behind her browbones. 

"Hungover?" Randall asked loudly as he entered the kitchen.

Remi grimaced and lowered the cup to fill it with more water. She licked the extra moisture from her lips and squinted against the sun that shined through the blinds over the sink. 

"Why did I think that I wouldn't have hangovers since becoming a Champion?" She complained as she turned the faucet off and turned to lean back against the sink. She held her glass in both hands as she looked Randall over. He appeared perfectly normal, from his black joggers, long sleeved shirt, right up to his wet curls that laid thickly over his head. 

"I thought that too when I first joined." He leaned over onto the island and looked her over. "You look exhausted." He admited as he took in the bags under her eyes and the rawness of her lips. He became stuck on the last one, even as she set the glass down and leaned onto the island towards him. 

"I barely slept last night," She dropped her voice so only he could hear her. "Jess basically confirmed that she's in The Order last night."

Randall tore his eyes from her mouth to look into her eyes. "What? What did she say exactly?"

"She asked if I believe in magic." Remi narrowed her eyes as she suddenly realized how small that came off. "I told her no, obviously, but then she said that she didn't either until last night. She saw something at her party that convinced her magic was real." She remembered the name Jess had given her. "Do you know an Edward Coventry?" He shook his head at the name. She gave a sigh that sagged her shoulders. "That's okay." She stood back up and grabbed her water to take another drink. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do this..." She stared off at a fixed point in space, taking in nothing but simultaneously soaking everything in. "Be a Knight that fights The Order when my roommate and friend is part of it." She gave another sigh before she took a long drink. 

Randall stood and moved around the island to stand beside her. She lowered the cup and watched it carefully as she set it down. 

"None of this is supposed to be easy, remember?" He whispered as he picked a stray curl off her shoulder and moved it behind her back. 

She turned around and looked up at him. Her eyes went slightly cross at how close he stood. "Except for boys. Boys were always easy... until you."

He gave a proud, mournful smile. "I'm sorry." 

Her lips quirked up to the side at the sweet apology. "Me too." She looked down at his chest. "I...  want to apologize for last night." Her eyebrows quirked as she looked up at him through her lashes. "There are stages to my drunkenness and a new stage, I found out last night, is that I like to flirt... with you." She blinked as she tried to keep her cheeks from heating up in embarrassment. "I... made you walk me back to my room and I asked you inside... even though I was the one who said we couldn't date because of- this-" She motioned around the kitchen. "That wasn't fair of me."