Siegfried's confidence and determination flooded me with the force of a tsunami. His courage had transformed his face into the most attractive I had ever seen. I felt safe. No one besides my father had ever made me feel that way.

My facial expression must have changed a lot because he slightly blushed. He stopped looking me in the eye and stood up. He offered his hand to help me stand up.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, staring at my wounded hand.

My bloody hand began to tremble uncontrollably at the slightest attempt to move it, and my ribs hurt like hell as well.

My legs failed for a moment, but before I could fall his hands had already gotten hold of me by my waist. We blushed.

When he realised I could stand on my own, he let me go. He nervously chuckled and tried to wipe out the smear of my blood on his right cheek, but he only made it messier.

"Daphne, let me bandage your hand." He motioned to the locker room. "I'm sure I've got some bandages in my bag."

"Oh, don't worry. I-" I replied as I took my bloody hand in my other one with care.

"Wait here." He didn't wait for a second and soon disappeared behind the door of his team's locker room.

I felt something warm invading my whole body, like a wave. I let space for some passers-by on the aisle. Everybody was checking on their loved ones in a similar way Siegfried had been checking on me.

"Here," he said when he came back a few seconds later, "I'm sorry. I've got no bandages. I thought-" He showed me a white handkerchief. He got my bloody hand and started to bandage it with care. "I wish I could do this properly."

He caught me off guard. I let him do it and said nothing. He was standing really close to me. I sincerely hoped he didn't see me blushing.

"I will..." he started whispering as if it was hard for him to go on. "I will find them and kill them. I swear."

His eyes seemed to be aflame with ire, as if a demon had made his home behind his retinas. It left me speechless. Besides, how would he be able to find those two cops in a megalopolis like Thalis?

When he was done, he let go of my hand. I surprised myself missing the contact of his warm hands on mine.

"How are your ribs?" he asked whispering. He had regained his gentle composure.

I chuckled. "How are yours?"

"I've had worse injuries. You?"

That massive ego of his. That smug smile.

"I can stand. I can move. They still hurt, but I'll be fine."

"I can take you home on my bike if you like," he offered with a cute, deep blush.

None of us had time to say a word further when a familiar voice shattered that intimate moment.

"Dude, these idiots have just left and you're already flirting? You don't waste your time, Sigi!" the clownish guy from before, Gabi, said as he was coming to us. I recognised his voice. "Nice bloodstain you got on your cheek and hair, dude."

I turned my head to see him. He was one of Siegfried's hockey teammates, the one who had his hair in a low ponytail and had been mocking Siegfried on the court before the police intrusion. He came close to Siegfried and hit his right shoulder with naughtiness.

"Gabi, you dipstick!" Siegfried exclaimed in a bad mood, but careful that nobody could overhear him. "What was that stupid act from before?! They could've found out who you really are! And look at your arm!"

"Bah, it's nothing!" Gabi hadn't got an ounce of fear or shock. He seemed to be a carefree guy. He inspected his friend's head with a frown. "And you? Wait, you're not hurt. This blood on your hair and cheek isn't yours. Whose is it?"

"You're the fucking king of idiots!" Siegfried exclaimed, ignoring Gabi's last comment. "You should stop doing such stupid things all the time."

"It wouldn't be me, dude. Get used to it," Gabi replied, and then I saw him looking at my bandaged hand. He smirked like an idiot.

"Agape will give you a piece of her mind."

"And I'm gonna give her a piece of this!" Gabi replied in a foxy attitude and with dreamy eyes, pointing at his whole self from top to bottom. "She looks so sexy when she gets angry."

The people in the Palace were slowly exiting the building, paying no attention to us.

"Gabi, stop fooling around and focus, you Dummkopf." Siegfried tried to make Gabi take things seriously, but he couldn't.

"Whatever you say, Sigi, cariño." Gabi smiled with his apparently trademark mocking style.

They must have been good friends. It was noticeable in the trust with which they treated one other, despite Siegfried's scornful remarks.

"We've got a twelve-year age difference, but I don't care. I can't resist her," Gabi said with bright eyes while fantasising about Agape. "Her lips, her messy bun with a pencil, her spunk, her t-... Well, maybe we should talk about her tits when we're alone, right, Sigi?"

Siegfried let out a sigh of exhaustion as if Gabi was a hopeless imbecile.

"Daphne, this idiot is Gabi. Gabi," Siegfried said to his friend, "this is Daphne. She's one of ours."

"Daphne!" Gabi said enthusiastically, staring intensely at me. "The laurel nymph, the symbol for victory. Well done, Sigi! She will bring us luck. Your names go so well together, by the way, since 'Sieg' actually means 'victory'. I'm sure we'll win the cup this season! Cool! Another groupie for our team! She's cute. At least she looks nicer than Momo's friends," he added with satisfaction. "And than Momo herself, actually."

"No, you bloody idiot. I mean she's one of... us. You know," Siegfried whispered with emphasis.

"You mean, one of us... us? Really?!" Gabi answered childishly, eventually getting it. "Finally, more chicks!" I hated the c-word for women, but he seemed nice. "We've only got three, apart from Agape, and they are such bitches, you know. Momo, she's the worst. Tolerating her is hard enough as it is, and on top of that, she's just waiting for Sigi to notice her."

"I've already met her," I said.

"Do you know her already?! What a pity, poor girl," Gabi told me like a true showman, but showing that he felt truly sorry for me. "I offer my deepest condolences."

"Thanks," I replied kindly and raised an eyebrow. I found that situation rather surreal. But I was enjoying the conversation with him so far. "What evil spirit possessed Agape to believe that this guy would fit in the team?" I asked Siegfried, ignoring Gabi's presence for a few seconds. "Or did I miss something? I thought everyone would be, well, as serious as you."

"Honestly," Siegfried replied after sighing, "I wonder about that too, but I've decided I don't want to know."

"I'd say I caught her eyes," Gabi added in a seductive tone.

"Whatever you say, Gabi." Siegfried shook his head in an amused way. I could tell he liked his buddy exactly the way he was.

"Not all of us guys are as dreamy as our beloved Sigi." Gabi put an arm over Siegfried's shoulders with 'bro-like' confidence.

"And not all of us guys are as clownish as our beloved Gabi," Siegfried said mimicking his friend's funny tone of voice.

"He's not as funny as the original, poor thing," Gabi told me, still in the mood to laugh at his friend.

They seemed to be thick as thieves. Siegfried eyed him with defiance.

"Come on, man. I was just joking."

"How can he joke in a time like this?" I asked Siegfried in astonishment.

"He's an idiot," Siegfried replied.

"So, Daphne. You're the one he's sooo obsessed about?" Gabi asked, his eyes glimmering with sheer curiosity.

Siegfried was obsessed with me?! What?! I felt my cheeks burning.

"I would've loved to cut my hair on account of such a lovely young lady like you, Daphne," Gabi added with smugness.

Gabi could make fun of me for it, but it was Siegfried's choice whether to cut his hair or not, not mine.

"Do you see how stupid the guy I have to live with is?!" Siegfried complained, looking only at me in utter disbelief and blushing. Despite his complaint, they got on like a house on fire.

"Do you live with him?" I asked with curiosity.

"Yes, and we share the bedroom," Gabi replied for him. "It may not look like it, but we are a very happy couple."

I chuckled. Damn, my ribs hurt too much to do that even.

"Shut up, you arsehole," Siegfried cut him off.

"Bah, don't worry, Daphne. We're not gay," Gabi told me, "or bisexual either."

Siegfried seemed as if he wanted to die, but Gabi's joyful mood was a powerful elixir on me. He was heartwarming.

"Don't worry, Gabi. I've noticed it by the way you drool about Agape," I replied with a nice smile. "By the way, I've already talked about breasts with Agape. You really don't think that only guys talk about them, do you? Don't be sexist, please," I commented, adding fuel to the fire.

"Wait, what?!" the two of them exclaimed, astonished.

"I passed her test. She's burst out laughing when she's seen the confidential catalogue from Replica Ltd. that I've stolen this morning, containing the latest breast-surgery fashion trend for the next season."

"You've done what?!" Gabi exclaimed as if he couldn't believe it. His mouth was ajar.

"First, I thought it had been a lame idea, but she's loved it."

"A catalogue of breast-surgery styles has saved your ass?!" Siegfried exclaimed in a much more ashamed attitude than his friend.

"I also brought her other things," I defended myself, "password and clients' sensitive data files. I also offered to mend anything that needs repairing. I'm a mechanic, but I can do my magic on any household appliance. But the catalogue made her laugh the hardest. She's told me it was the best joke ever."

"Olé! You are my idol, Daphne! You're... y-you're my love guru!" Gabi exclaimed in awe, looking at me with bright, wide eyes. "You've just given me a great idea to flirt with her! You're a genius!" He said, looking like an invincible, rogue playboy in this game of love, and then he asked Siegfried: "Why didn't you tell me she's so amazing?!"

"Gabi, please..." Siegfried said, sighing with weariness.

"I see by the red colour of your top," Gabi went on in his trademark swagger, "that you're one of the damned from the Dam neighbourhood, but you're more like... Damn! You know."

I didn't know what facial expression to wear after that. I didn't consider myself to be that special.

"Damn it! You're a proud, possessive git, Sigi!" Gabi reacted with pride. "You hadn't told me anything about who or how she is, you bastard! It's incredible! You only told me you had had an argument with a girl yesterday, and that she was the reason you had cut your hair because you had behaved like an arsehole! You didn't even give me a name!

"You wanted to keep her to yourself, didn't you? If I hadn't caught you smiling and undressing her with your eyes during the game, I wouldn't even know she was here, right? I'm sure you wouldn't even have introduced her to me!"

Wait, what?! Had I heard it correctly?! Siegfried and Gabi had been talking about me the previous day?

And that bit about Siegfried undressing me with his eyes... I was blushing too hard.

"You're a bastard... son of a bitch... you... motherfucker!" Siegfried must have had an arsenal of insults stored in his mind just for Gabi, but it seemed to me that he would soon run out of them at that rate. He looked like he would love to stab his friend.

"Oh, I'm not done yet," Gabi added. "I'll keep nagging you until you tell me the story behind this mysterious smear of blood on your head."

Hello, my sugar cubes!

So, do you like Gabi? To tell you the truth, he's my fav character! 

*Notes on foreign words:
'cariño' means 'sweetheart' in Spanish.
'Dummkopf' means 'idiot' in German.
'Olé!' is a popular exclamation in Spanish that can be loosely translated as 'Woohoo!'.

Stay tuned to know more! 😊

XOXO

MS