Chapter 59: Life With Nyra
Adrian finds Nyra exactly where he expects her to be, on her secluded table in the cafeteria, sitting among her three friends: Leah, Lena, and Naya.
The moment Lena spots him, she wiggles her eyebrows dramatically. "Ohhh, look who’s here."
With the way she’s acting, everyone would think she’s single. When, in truth, her date to the Moon Dance asked her out officially, and they’ve been dating ever since.
Nyra turns around, rolling her eyes, only for her amber irises to widen slightly when she sees the bouquet in his hands.
Adrian walks straight to her, ignoring the amused looks from her friends.
"Hey, babe. These are for you." He holds out the bouquet of flowers, the box of chocolates in his other hand.
Nyra hesitates for a beat before accepting them, burying her face in the flowers the moment they’re in her hands.
"These are so beautiful..."
A small smile finally touches Adrian’s lips, the irritation from earlier completely fizzling away. "I remembered they’re your favorite."
Leah quietly elbows Lena. "I didn’t know Adrian could be such a romantic."
Adrian clears his throat, suddenly looking almost nervous. "Would you... like to grab lunch with me?" He looks around the packed cafeteria. "We can just sit outside."
Nyra glances at her friends.
Lena immediately waves both hands."Go! We can survive one lunch without you."
Suppressing a laugh, Nyra nods. "Okay then."
As they walk away together, Adrian balances the small box of chocolates easily in his hands, and only when they’re properly seated does he push it toward her.
"And these are for you too."
Nyra blinks."How did you... how did you know I like these?"
Adrian chuckles at the memory. He remembers how he’d seen her bury her face in boxes of these sweets almost every day after she got her black card.
She always seemed so happy to eat them.
But he doesn’t say that. Doesn’t say I always watch you, and when I’m busy I have another junior follow you around. Nope, he doesn’t say any of that.
Instead, he just grins and presses a quick peck to her temple. "I know everything about you. We are mates, after all."
Nyra shoves him away playfully, but her ears and cheeks are red.
For a few peaceful moments, they simply sit side by side, Adrian ranting about how stressful practice has been lately.
Then Adrian’s expression suddenly turns serious. "There’s something I need to tell you."
"What is it?"
He takes a deep breath, then explains everything that has happened since staying with Anna. He tells her about last night, how Anna had touched him inappropriately.
Nyra’s expression isn’t good, though she tries to mask it.
Then he tells her about this morning. The confrontation with Jason. About John pulling him aside, Anna telling everyone they were back together, and what happened in the Health Club afterward.
"...She even still hangs out with that Claire girl," he finishes quietly. "I told you Anna isn’t worth any of this."
Nyra feels guilty. It’s sitting on her chest like a ton of bricks. Not just for Anna, but for Adrian.
She lowers her eyes. "I’m so sorry."
Adrian sighs. "You don’t have to apologize. In a way, I understand why you’re doing this."
"I still need to say sorry for her behavior." She hugs the flowers closer. "Anna... you guys recently broke up. So maybe-"
"It’s been about a month," Adrian interrupts. "A month is long enough for her to know her place."
Nyra just sighs. "I know, but... I’m sure she would get used to it eventually. She just needs time."
He doesn’t look convinced, but decides not to let it ruin the moment. Slowly, he reaches over and brushes a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"It’s crazy that despite everything, you always put everyone else before yourself--I like that about you."
Before she can answer, he leans down and presses another quick kiss against her lips. Nyra’s heartbeat stumbles, but this time she doesn’t shove him away.
"You’re making it really hard to stay mad at you," Adrian murmurs.
She hides her shy smile behind the lid of the paper box as she opens it. "I guess I should at least try one..."
She picks up a truffle, her stomach already grumbling from hunger. But the moment it reaches her nose, her face changes.
She freezes, her nose scrunching. She waits a few seconds, then tries to eat it again, but quickly lowers it."...No. No way."
Adrian frowns. "What?"
She wrinkles her nose, pointing at the box."It smells... weird."
"Weird?"
"I don’t know." She gently pushes the box away. "It suddenly makes me feel sick."
Concern immediately replaces the softness in Adrian’s expression. "Are you feeling okay?"
Nyra nods quickly. "I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong with me. Maybe... maybe the chocolates went bad."
Adrian takes the box and sniffs it himself, but looks up in confusion. "But it smells perfectly normal."
He studies it for another second before shrugging. "If it bothers you, it’s not worth keeping anyway."
Without another thought, he drops the box into the nearest trash bin.
Nyra watches the box disappear into the trash, still feeling a little bad.
Back at home, she couldn’t waste food no matter how bad it was--no one cared if she ate or not. So whether it was a plate of tasteless rice or stale bread, she always treasured it.
"Sorry," she mumbles. "Now I’ve made you waste your money."
Adrian shakes his head. "Don’t apologize. I’ll buy you something else."
He stands, disappearing into the cafeteria for a minute before returning with two cold bottles of lemonade.
Nyra twists the cap open and takes one sip. "Hmm, this tastes amazing."
Adrian laughs. "So the chocolates are disgusting, but sour lemonade is suddenly the greatest thing you’ve ever had?"
She reads the label. "I guess. It just... the sour taste is really nice."
He smiles despite himself, relieved that she finally seems comfortable enough to drink something.
Their shoulders brush as they sit in companionable silence. "So... the combat season is starting next week. Would you come cheer for me?"
Nyra nods. "Of course."
Adrian leans in, eyes mischievous."Only me?"
She rolls her eyes but nods. "Yeah, only you." Another sip of the sour lemonade. "But wait--who are you guys fighting against first?"
Adrian doesn’t answer at first, his expression turning sour. The name sounds like it was ripped from his lips:
"The Silver Fangs team."