#friendfic

"Jiro, I would like to spar with you!"

Luca was walking back to Frostheim with Kaito when he noticed Jiro talking to a general student and taking some notes. He waited patiently for their conversation to end before approaching Jiro.

Luca asked, straight and to the point. Jiro stared down at him with a blank expression

"Patient number 8631 - Lucas Errant. You said you wanted to spar with me? I told you before, I don't really recommend it."

"Please, just once is all I ask."

Jiro crossed his arms and looked Luca up and down

"Um- Luca!! dude?!? Sidebar?"

Kaito muttered, pulling Luca aside

"Kaito? What's going on?"

"Oh, right, you went on a mission with him recently, right? Perhaps you could give me some tips on his-"

"Are you crazy? You want to fight Frankenstein???"

"Luca!! I'm telling you, it's a bad idea. I know you're super strong and all, but that guy is an absolute murder machine!! And his artifact is a chainsaw- a fucking chainsaw!!!"

"Is that all you wanted? I need to get back to Mortkranken."

Luca pensively put his hand to his chin.

Jiro joined in, looking as apathetic as ever. Luca shook his head and asked oncemore.

"Jiro, please spar with me!"

Jiro sighed, crossing his arms again.

"If I say yes, will you stop asking me?"

Luca nodded, a small smile lighting his face. His smile quickly turned into a guarded frown as he heard the chime of an artifact chain being pulled.

"EEK! He's trying to fight you right here?!??"

Kaito screamed, hiding behind a nearby tree.

Nearby general students began to chatter among themselves as they huddled around the area.

"Is there a ghoul fight?" "I think so... the transfer student must have pissed off Frankenstein."

The whispers and rumors crescendoed as Luca took out his twin swords, forming an offensive stance.

Luca was the first to strike, dashing towards Jiro with elegance and poise. Jiro swiftly leaped out of the way with speed no onlooker was expecting.

Luca attempted to strike again only for one of his swords to be knocked out of his hand with the growl of a power tool. The audience surrounding him gasped and cheered at all the action as Luca jumped out of the way of a whirling chainsaw. He looked at Jiro's abdomen and realized... he was bleeding? But Luca never hit him...

"J-Jiro! You're bleeding! Are you alright?"

Luca's voice was laced with genuine concern for his sparring partner.

"Am I? Something must have reopened. I need to get back to Mortkranken."

Jiro returned his chainsaw to its keychain form and began to make a beeline for Mortkranken. All the students scrambled out of his way as he walked.

"Luca! He totally wiped the floor with you!! Maybe I do have a chance looking good next to you!"

Kaito chirped as he playfully wrapped an arm around Luca's shoulders. Luca stayed quiet as he replayed the match in his head. It was a short session, but he was still motivated to learn something from it.

Ending notes:

I wasn't lying when I said this fic was very short. I'm not very good at writing action :P I went to one of my cousin's ice hockey games to get into a pumped up mood... but I got distracted by the game and thoroughly enjoyed it. Still, I was pumped up afterwards!

I keep feeling like I need more words. More words more words!!! But that's just the hater in my head telling me I'm not a good writer. His name is Carson. I think I like writing shorter content for Tumblr though. It's a nice break from my work on my to-be-published stories. I'm still struggling with how I want to format my writing... but that's a problem for another day!

“When you said you wanted to hang out, this isn’t quite what I was expecting,” Dwight said nervously, but continued to follow his friend into the woods. Jake had asked Dwight if he wanted to spend some time with him. Jake liked solitary, but he needed human interaction sometimes.

He met Dwight during one of those times. It had been nearly a year since he’d spoken to - or seen - anyone. It was starting to get to him. He made sure his stuff was safe, even going as far as setting a few traps, and ventured into the city. He’d planned to have his life on the edges of the woods, never going back to civilization. But he’d run out of food, clean clothes, and medical equipment. He grew up in a wealthy family and made sure to bring enough cash to last him a while.

He ended up going to the grocery store. He earned a few weird glances in his direction. He smelled and looked… different. Not entirely awful, but different. He just shrugged it off and continued to look for supplies. While he was looking for some food, he felt someone bump into him.

“Oh! Sorry, excuse me,” Came a soft voice behind him. He turned around to meet the other man’s gaze. He was wearing a button up shirt and a tie, looking frantic. Poor kid, Jake thought to himself.

“It’s okay.” Jake turned back to the aisle, returning to his own thoughts.

“Actually, could you help me?” The man asked, Jake facing him once more. Dwight pointed to the top of the aisle. “I can’t reach that box. Can you grab it for me?”

Jake nodded, having to stand on his tippy-toes to reach the box. He looked at the box. He didn’t recognize the company. He had been away for a while, so he figured he just didn’t know this brand. There was only once there… How long had this guy been searching? Jake handed it to the shorter man.

He smiled, taking it. “Thank you!”

“Sure.” He paused for a moment. “Why that brand? I’ve never heard of it.”

The man chuckled. “Neither have I. My boss asked me to grab it.”

“Your boss?”

“Yeah. He always sends me out to get stuff. Lots of time, it’s stuff I’ve never even heard of!”

“Sounds like he’s trying to get rid of you.” Jake said truthfully. Jake didn’t really have a filter, so he hoped this man didn’t mind it too much.

His face fell. “You really think that…?”

“Well… yeah? I guess?”

“Huh. I guess you’re right.” He looked sad.

Fuck, should’ve kept my mouth shut.

“Hey, what’s your name?” Jake asked the man.

“Dwight. Dwight Fairfield.”

“I’m Jake Park. Listen, I’m sorry about your boss. You seem like a nice enough guy.” Jake said awkwardly. He wasn’t very good at this. “So, um… Wanna hang out? Next week, same time? I can meet you back here.”

“Really? Sure!” Dwight said, a little too excited. “Do you want my number?”

Jake chuckled. “No, I don’t have a phone. Just meet me here next week, okay?”

Maybe it was stupid, but Dwight trusted the man. He’d been honest enough to tell him the truth about his boss, right? “Okay!”

And so that’s how the two of them ended up here. In the woods. Dwight would’ve worn something else if he’d known this is what would be happening. He wore nearly the same thing when they first met. The tie was a different color, and the pants were bluer.

“You’re free to leave anytime, Dwight,” Jake responded. He would understand. Most people weren’t suited for this life. Growing up, he didn’t think he would ever live like this. But people change. They grow and they learn.

“No thanks! Not sure I’d be able to find my way out, anyways,” He laughed, Jake chuckling with him.

“That’s why I’m here. I’m gonna help you.” Jake continued to walk further and further until he figured it was a good enough spot. “Okay, here’s good.”

“Good for what?”

“Dwight, remember when I told you I didn’t have a phone?”

“Yeah?”

“I also don’t have a house. I live here,” Jake motioned to the woods. “Not here, but near the outskirts.”

“Wow! That must be hard, I imagine,” Dwight said, impressed.

“It was at first. But you learn things. Like... “ Jake looked around, trying to find an example. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Huh? Sure it’s-”

Jake grabbed Dwight’s wrist, covering the watch he had almost looked at. “Not like that, Dwight. Without technology.”

Dwight shook his head. “I have no clue.”

Jake stood next to Dwight, then put his two hands together. One directly on top of the other. He raised the highest finger to the bottom of the sun. “You can use your hands to tell the time. See my two hands? It takes two to reach the horizon. That means two hours until sunset.

“So… it’s 4?”

“Yeah. See, you’re getting it!” Jake smiled at him. Dwight nervously smiled back. Jake slung the backpack off of him, sitting on the floor.

“What are you doing?” Dwight asked. He still wasn’t completely sure Jake was gonna murder him.

Jake pulled out the pieces of a tent. “We’re gonna pitch a tent.”

“Oh man…”

“Don’t worry, man. I got an easy one.” Jake set down the materials. “First step! Lay the tent down flat.”

Dwight looked at him like he was crazy. “Me?”

“Yes, Dwight! You’ve got it.”

Dwight nodded, getting to work. He pulled the fabric until it was in a rectangle. “Like that?”

“Not quite. Flip it the other way so the tent isn’t upside down,” Jake chuckled.

Dwight’s face went red. “O-oh…”

“Don’t be embarrassed. This is your first time, huh?”

“Yeah.” Dwight fixed the fabric.

“Okay, step two; use the pole and prop up the front of the tent.”

Dwight grabbed a pole. “This one?” When Jake nodded, Dwight put it into the hole, then stabbed it into the ground.

“Great. Now, use that string and tie it to the pole. Then, tie the other end to a hook, then stomp it into the ground.”

Dwight did that. “There!”

Jake nodded. “Stomp down on that hook a little more. Don’t want that flying away, right?”

Dwight used all his strength and kicked it until he couldn’t see it in the ground. Jake continued helping him with instructions. Dwight had some trouble, the poles kept falling down, but Jake was patient. “It’s okay, you’ve got it.” He kept saying, reassuring Dwight.

Once the tent was pitched, Jake patted Dwight on the back. “Look at that! All by yourself, too, man.”

Dwight grinned. “That was frustrating.”

Jake laughed. “Trust me, I know.”

The sun had begun to set. “Jake, I have work tomorrow.”

Jake had reality hit him. “Oh, right. You have work. I forgot.” Jake smiled. “C’mon. I’ll lead you back.”

“Thanks. And thank you for teaching me that stuff.”

“Anytime. You ever wanna learn some more, you come find me. I live on the outskirts. Just come find me, okay?”

Dwight grinned. “Yeah! I’ll be sure to do that!”

He meant it, too. Jake was one of the first people to actually treat him like a human. He had just met the guy and he was already his best friend. It was kind of sad, but Dwight didn’t care. He was just happy to have a friend.

Hanna was conflicted. Confused about a lot of things. Worried about most everything. Overall frustrated with what she hadn’t done with the past 25 years of her life. 

 She cursed Maxwell. Why did he have to bring up the catch phrase ‘quarter life crises’? It was too damn accurate a description for her current emotional state.

She envisioned herself at 8 years old. She had imagined her life as being so different than what it was currently. Then again she had wanted to be an astronaut back then, which she knew was out of reach after she failed her very first physics exam.

She never envisioned the life of a noble. The life her parents expected of her. Yes expected not hoped for, but actively betrothed her too. How was it possible that with all of their demands and larger than life expectations she was still somehow, single, farther from any throne or title, and on the verge of a complete breakdown. She had never had a job or experienced a frat party. Sure she could play the piano like Beethoven himself, and was fluent in several languages, but at 25 what did that all really get her?

She wished she could have gone abroad for personal matters not court dealings. She longed to experience the nitty gritty that life had to offer. She wished she could be more like Eadlyn. There she thought it! The green eyed monster suddenly took hold. She was jealous of her best and closest friend at court. Shit, in the whole damn world!

How could she be jealous...it made no sense. Eadlyn was amazing. She was perfect. She was both the pageant show winner as well as miss congeniality. It was hard for Hanna to admit that every now and then she wanted her friend to fail, just at something, anything just to prove she was human.

How awful can one be that they wish for the failure of someone they love?

Then again this was certainly nothing new for her. Any and all friendships she ever partook in were arranged by her parents, the social season, or just the damn demands of nobility. This meant friendship and competition seemed to always be fused together. Her friends were always her competition in every way. Ulterior motives were like friendship bracelets seared on the wrist.

Her jealousy made sense. It wasn’t romantic in any way, just pure frustration. Eadlyn simply appeared one day in the world Hanna had always been a part of. The new kid on the block moved in and immediately made the biggest splash. It just wasn’t fair...right?

Eadlyn made friends literally everywhere she went. She was beautiful, kind, grounded, humble, helpful, only intimidating in the sense that she was so popular. The second one opened up to her though, it became clear she was as intimidating as a cotton ball.

Hanna let out a heavy sigh. What was she doing? How could she be so vindictive towards someone who had always been there for her? There was truly no reason for her to feel this way. She was angry at someone because they were too good of a friend?!

She thought on the subject a bit harder. Was it truly Eadlyn she was jealous of or maybe it was the other people in Eadlyn’s world. The more she pondered this the more she agreed that this was what she truly held issue with. Eadlyn had other people in her circle who she was closer with. There were friends back in America surely whom she had known for years. Even people here in Cordonia that must mean more to her then Hanna. She had only been in Eadlyn’s life for a year and a half at most, and a good part of that she was supposedly competition. At that she let out an aggravated snort. As if Hanna had ever truly been competition. As if she was even in Eadlyn’s inner most circle today...

What was she doing to herself? What was she doing to her relationship with Eadlyn? How could she think this way?

She hated herself for thinking like this. Eadlyn loved her and she loved Eadlyn. They were friends, best friends she reminded herself. And maybe that sentiment applied more towards her than Eadlyn but in her mind the feeling was hopefully mutual. Friendship meant lifting each other up not tearing each other down. She needed to support her friend unconditionally not root for failure.

She internally apologized to Eadlyn as she slayed her green eyed monster. She needed to move forward by confessing this internal struggle of hers to Eadlyn. She knew she needed to clear the air and she knew Eadlyn would understand. That’s just the kind of friend she was. And that was exactly the type of friend Hanna was always in desperate need of growing up.

Who could have ever suspected she would have found her in an optimistic, sassy, American? There was suddenly a knock on her door. Hanna reached for the handle opening the large oak door to reveal the one and only Eadlyn White.

“Ready for the greatest sleepover evvvverrrr?!!!” Eadlyn sang the last word letting her jovial voice float through the room.

Hanna could only smile as she took in Eadlyn clad in a ridiculous plaid onesie. Rom-coms in one hand and a bottle of tequila in the other.

Hanna just shook her head and stepped to the side to allow her friend access to her bedroom.

“You better believe I am!” She retorted in what she hoped was an equally sing-songy tone.

“Before we begin though there was a confession I wanted to make to you that has kind of been weighing on me lately.” Hanna became nervous, wringing her hands together. Eadlyn turned to her suddenly much more serious than a moment before.

“Is everything ok, hun?” She inquired stepping towards Hanna, concern etched across her face.

“Yeah I just had some unsavory feelings I have been meaning to express to you for a while now...” Hanna paused and took a cleansing breath before opening her eyes to continue. “Why don’t we crack open that bottle and have a roaring round of Hanna tells all?”

“Sounds like a plan Chica!” Eadlyn replied as she opened the bottle and offered it to Hanna to take the first swig. “First sip is always the best”, she smiled as Hanna accepted the bottle and took a long pull from it.

The night progressed with more confessions, stories, secrets and tequila then either girl could have ever anticipated. In the end Hanna had nothing to worry about. Eadlyn made sure of that. She and Hanna had one of the greatest sleepover/therapy sessions any girl could ever dream of.

It was that night that Hanna learned the most important relationship lesson of all...

The key to success in any situation is communication. And from that day forward Hanna never held in her true feelings towards those she cared about. Thanks to her quarter-life crisis, a good friend, and a bottle of tequila.