Chapter 97: A Flair for Drama
Eirin couldn’t bring herself to meet Shade’s gaze, even after the accidental, disorienting press of their lips. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic, thunderous drumbeat so loud she feared the others could hear it as well, broadcasting her mortification to the entire room. The air crackled with a strange, undeniable tension.
"Can’t you please put on some clothes now, Shade?" Calixta finally exclaimed, her hands flying to her temples, a look of exasperated bewilderment on her face as she gestured wildly at Shade’s nakedness.
Link, ever the pragmatic one, moved quickly, effortlessly helping his friend. Meanwhile, Eirin remained rooted on the sofa, a statue of mortified silence, acutely aware of the wide-eyed stares of her friends, their expressions of a mixture of shock, amusement, and a burning, unasked question.
"Ei... don’t tell me... you actually like that brute... romantically?" Coleen whispered, her voice barely a breath, thick with disbelief. Her wide eyes, usually sparkling with mischief, welled with tears that threatened to spill, reflecting the innocent pain of a perceived betrayal.
The question hung in the air, heavy with unspoken implications, twisting the awkward silence into something almost unbearable.
"Do you hide it because you think I won’t be able to accept it?" Coleen continued, her voice trembling, a tear tracing a path down her flushed cheek, painting a clear picture of hurt. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the hem of her skirt.
"Such overreaction," Shade muttered.
Eirin blinked rapidly, thousands of times it felt, her mind reeling from the onslaught of accusation. The sheer absurdity of the idea, of her and Shade in any romantic light, snapped her out of her daze.
"No! I don’t like him! No way! I have no romantic feelings for him!" Her denial burst forth, loud and emphatic, perhaps a little too forceful, laced with a desperation to extinguish that preposterous notion immediately. Her hands flew up, palms out, as if to physically ward off the suggestion.
Trixtan burst out laughing, a booming, theatrical sound that filled the room, reverberating off the walls. He even knelt on the floor, clutching his stomach, his shoulders shaking with unbridled mirth, tears streaming down his face from sheer amusement. He seemed to take a perverse delight in the burgeoning drama, like a connoisseur savoring a fine, ridiculous wine.
"I don’t even understand what this is all about," Trix gasped between choke of laughter, wiping a tear from the corner of his eye," but it’s making me laugh so hard. You guys have a talent for comedy!"
Coleen, enraged by the unexpected turn of events and Trix’s unhelpful amusement, quickly launched into a detailed, breathless explanation of the nymph’s curse and the supposed "true love’s kiss" prophecy. Her voice rose and fell with resentment, punctuated by frustrated gestures.