POV Lucian

I walk over to the weight lifting section of the gym and stop near the bench of the team captain. 

"Hey Hector, I need a favor."

"The answer is no," he grunts without throwing me a glance.

"Come on, dude, you didn't even hear me out first."

"Don't need to. I know the coach is out to get you. I need no part in that."

It's been like this for five days. All my teammates are avoiding me as if I've caught some contagious disease. I can't really hold it against them, though. Coach Morel was pretty scary when he threatened to feed them to starved hounds if they messed with his rules.

"There's gotta be some way that we could get to an understanding, no?"

"Have a good day, Lucian."

"I hate you so much, man."

"My ex felt that strongly about me too. Don't worry, you'll get over it."

My only other option is our goalkeeper, Alex. Because he's the youngest, it might be easier to bribe him into breaking a rule. I head over the bench where he's weight-lifting with a bright salesman smile.

"Hey Alex, my only friend in the entire universe."

"Before you speak, I need to know how desperate you are."

My smile drops instantly. "What do you mean?"

"On a scale of one to ten, how desperate are you right now?"

I swear, these youngsters have no respect for their elders these days.

"I'd say a 2.5, maybe."

He raises a skeptical eyebrow.

"Fine, I'm blowing up the scale."

"Great! In that case. Before you ask whatever favor you've obviously come begging for, how'd you feel about playing wingman for your only friend in the entire universe?"

"Coach has forbidden you to go out until the Goal Cup ends."

Last time Alex went clubbing with the team after we won the quarter-final match, the boys had lost him, and he woke up the next morning, on a bench in a park. He had no idea how he got there.

"And he's forbidden you to have a phone until we play the semi-finals," Alex points out. "We could help each other out. Unless, of course, you got another best friend in the entire universe?"

"Fine," I relent with a defeated sigh. "Who is she?"

After I help the little rascal devise a plan to approach the lovely receptionist of our gym, he finally agrees to lend me his phone. I go back to my bench and sit down. My brain races to think of my next course of action. Because technology has made us lazy, I don't have Akhyra's number memorized, nor do I remember those of the team.

Out of nowhere, an idea sparks in my mind, and I open Instagram to log into my account. Then I look up Akhyra's profile and send a DM. I know that Hannah is the one who manages her social media pages, so I address my message to her. I write Alex's phone number at the end of my text, telling her to contact me. I'm beginning to think that this might be a long shot, but barely a minute later, the phone rings. 

As soon as I pick up Hannah charges on, "Lucian, where have you been?!"

"Coach Morel has forbidden me to have access to my phone the moment I arrived here."

"Dang, that's rough."

"How's Akhyra doing? Is she super mad at me?"

"The other day, I mentioned having read an article about you, and she had me light up some sage in the room because talking about ghosts brings bad luck."

"Shit," I mutter as I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I'm fucked."

"Yeah you are. But don't worry, I'm gonna help you out because I need to win this bet."

"What bet?"

"There's a bet going on between Valentino, your sister, and I. About how long it would take you to finally make a move on Miss Morel."

"I... what? When did that even start?"

"On the night of Valentino's birthday."

"The way you were looking at her when she danced on that porch was anything but subtle dude."

"How much did you bet on me?"

"A lot. If I'd been drunk enough, I'd probably bet my whole paycheck on it. You have no idea the things I'd do for you, Lucian Moreno."

"Hum... thanks, I guess?"

"Anyway, back to the topic at hand. If you can get out of your prison tonight I can arrange for you to meet with Miss Morel."

"That's very nice of you Hannah, but I don't exactly have the time to catch a flight to France right now."

"What are you talking about? We're in the U.S."

"How come?"

Hannah explains to me that Enchanted Shadows is being produced in the United States and not in France like Akhyra thought it would.

"So grab a pen and something to write on. I'm gonna plan a fantastic date for you guys."

"Hold on, she probably hates my guts right now. Let's not call it a date yet."

"I'll call this whatever I want, thank you. Now shut up and take notes."

"Yes ma'am."

***

While Hannah will dedicate her afternoon to planning the perfect excuse to get Akhyara to the location we've chosen for tonight, I manage to escape the training base, unnoticed by Coach Morel. My first stop is to get a haircut at a beauty salon nearby where my hairdresser asks me if I want something in particular.

"I'm meeting someone important tonight," I blurt out, which isn't really the answer to his question.

"Someone important as in, for a corporate dinner where you need to impressionate your boss, or more like a romantic date?"

"The second one," I say. 

When he's done operating his magic and swivels my chair back in front of the mirror, I can't help letting out a whistle of satisfaction. He's exceeded my expectations, and I give him a generous tip.

The next stop is at a flower shop to pick up a bouquet. The moment I walk inside, I get the impression that I've crossed a portal into a fantasy world governed by fairies who pride themselves in decorating their lands with the most compelling assortment of flowers. 

The shop is divided into several exposition areas where different bouquet combinations in crystal vases are displayed on tables covered in fake grass mats. Each vase contains a white card labeled in elegant gold cursive with the name of the bouquet and the different flowers composing it. 

 As I walk among the exposition, I'm greeted by an employee of the shop who seems to be young enough to be a high school student. She has Asian features and a kindness to her eyes that undoubtedly put people at ease.

"Hello sir, welcome to Bejeweled Buds. Have you found what you're looking for?"

"All of these bouquets are gorgeous, but there's a meaning behind floral arrangements, right? I don't want to pick one haphazardly."

"Indeed, flowers in themselves have a significance, and different combinations vary in meaning. If you tell me for whom the bouquet is intended, I can assist you in making a great choice."

"I'm meeting a special friend tonight. We haven't spoken in a few days, so this is a surprise. She's a ballerina, and today was her first day of rehearsal for an important show. I want to tell her how proud I am of her and also that I've missed her.

"That's lovely," the employer answers. "For this occasion, I can create a custom arrangement of pink roses which convey both admiration and happiness, paired with pink lilies that also symbolize admiration and femininity, a perfect fit for a ballerina. Since both of these flowers express love, this combination will create an elegant bouquet that reflects your sentiment of longing."

"That sounds perfect," I reply gratefully. "Please go ahead and make that arrangement for me."

"I'm glad I could help. Please follow me."

She guides me toward one of the black marble countertops behind which her colleagues are serving other customers. I wait patiently while she crafts my order. Her hands move fast with the expertise of habit and a touch of tenderness, an obvious sign of affection for her job.

"Would you like to include a card with your bouquet?" She asks when she's finished. "A heartfelt message would add a personal touch."

"That's a good idea. Let me think."

 I've been going through Taylor Swift's discography these past few days during my time in the gym. Akhyra might have accidentally turned me into a Swiftie as I chauffeured her around Arcahaie. She would constantly connect her playlist to the Bluetooth of my car and make me turn up the volume to Reputation. Akhyra once told me that this album was her alter ego. 

However, for tonight, my goal isn't to channel her bad reputation vibe. I'm going for something more... dare I say romantic? I go over some of the lyrics from the Speak Now album that I've unconsciously memorized until I find one that conveys perfectly what I want to tell Akhyra tonight. 

As the florist writes the words that I dictate to her, a soft smile stretches her lips. "That's an excellent choice," she approves as she hands over my wrapped bouquet.

"Thanks again for your help."

"It was my pleasure. Good luck tonight!"

My last stop for today is at a jewelry store. I'm no expert in accessories for ballerinas, but during my conversation with Hannah earlier, she had told me that if I wanted to buy a gift for Akhyra, a headpiece would be the best option. 

However, I almost get lost in the variety of choices available behind the display cases that I'm currently looking at. Thankfully, with the help of a store assistant, I end up choosing a silver forehead tiara encrusted with pearls and matching teardrop pearl earrings. I'm well aware that this purchase is going to hurt my finances, but if I have to live off instant ramen noodles for the next three months, then so be it. 

When the cashier hands me the receipt, I don't even look at the bill and grab the red shopping bag marked with the white double-crown logo of the store. There's a peculiar warmth inside my chest when I step outside with my bouquet in one hand and the gift bag in the other. It takes me a moment to realize that I've not felt this happy in a very long time.

𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍𑁍

❣︎ꍏꀎ꓄ꀍꂦꋪ'ꌚ ꈤꂦ꓄ꏂꌚ❣︎

🆃︎🅷︎🅾︎🆄︎🅶︎🅷︎🆃︎ ❁

𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑦 𝐴𝑄𝑈𝐴𝑀𝐴𝑁 𝑤𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑢𝑦 𝑔𝑖𝑓𝑡𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑃𝑅𝐼𝑁𝐶𝐸𝑆𝑆 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑠 ℎ𝑒'𝑠 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑦...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

🆀︎🆄︎🅴︎🆂︎🆃︎🅸︎🅾︎🅽︎ ✿︎

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑨𝒌𝒉𝒚𝒓𝒂 & 𝑳𝒖𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒏'𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒆???

ꪶꪮꪜꫀ, ᥴꪖᦓᦓꪗꨄ︎