Three Days, Second Chance

by King-Mac-13

Saturday

Adagio waited by the school’s statue base, leaning against the mirror-shined marble facing the road. She was looking down at her phone, going over her plan again to have it in her mind when Flash arrived. As per their agreement, they were walking to the mall nearby. She’d still be on her own at home until tomorrow, so Adagio planned to take her time today. Adagio saw she still had a few minutes before Flash arrived, so she raised herself up onto the base and sat on the marble cube. She had deliberately worn her best travel clothes today: gold-colored tank top, purple shorts, gold thigh-highs, and black, punk-style boots. Given the increasing temperatures, she chose to leave her jacket at home. It was the kind of outfit that looked good and acted functionally.

Her impromptu seat started to glow on one side. It lasted long enough to cause her to turn around and see the interdimensional traveler that is Grimoire Maleficarum. He adjusted his bag and turned to the side, pausing a moment once he did. He turned his head to find Adagio staring at him in surprise. Grimoire just raised a hand and waved, “Hey.”

Adagio slowly waved back, “Um… Hi? What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you that. Last I checked, it was Saturday. School’s closed.”

“I’m waiting for someone.”

This caught Grimoire off guard enough to freeze in place.

After a while, Adagio smirked, “Oh my god, are you speechless? That’s a first.”

Grimoire returned to himself with her snark, “Had to happen eventually. But I need to make sure I heard you correctly. You’re waiting here for someone.”

Adagio raised an eyebrow, “Yeah.”

“As in, you have plans to go somewhere with another living person.”

“Yes?”

Grimoire thought for a moment, “Out of pity, for some goal, or legitimate attempt at reform.”

“The last one.”

Grimoire took a deep breath and mimed wiping away a tear, “Little Dagi is growing up~”

“I told you to stop calling me that!”

Grimoire smiled in earnest. “I actually am impressed, though. I figured you’d go your whole life keeping to yourself and being a generally unlikable person. Yet, if you’re telling the truth, you have a real chance at being a functioning member of society.” Grimoire paused a moment, “That, and Aria owes me 50 bucks~.”

Adagio was about to say something but stopped herself. She took a deep breath before speaking, “Right. You’re weird sense of humor…”

“What about it? She does owe me $50 for this. Just because I thought you’d be a horrible person your whole life doesn’t mean I can’t hope for the opposite in a bet. Expect the worst as it goes… That said, I am happy for you. Who finally got you to drop the old habits? No wait! Let me guess! It was Sunset!”

Adagio tried to get him to stop, but he just kept going.

“No wait! Twilight… NO! I bet it was…”

“Am I interrupting something?” Both people turned to see Flash waiting to the side with his hands in his jacket pockets.

Grimoire looked between Adagio and Flash a few times. “Huh… Neat.” Grimoire adjusted his bag as he spoke. “Flash, I have to ask, do you just have a thing for the interdimensional or…”

Flash paused a moment, “What?”

“Never mind. Don’t mind me. Have fun.”

As he walked off, Adagio turned toward Flash, “Do you really not see the connection for the girls you seem to… associate with?”

Flash smirked, “I see it. Just don’t bother to care. Now, are we going or what?”

Adagio smirked back, “You played dumb to get rid of him.”

“A good theory, but its only that.”

They both left the school grounds to head off toward the mall area. Adagio thought for a moment on the way, “Question for you…”

“Go ahead.”

“Word around the school is that you’re more of the clutzy type when it came to girls.”

Flash sighed. “One time. It was an infatuation with the Princess Twilight. There was something about her that just got me to trip up over myself.”

“So, you’re not a klutz, just a sap.”

“That’s a way to put it I guess…”

“So, you weren’t like that with Sunset?”

“Nope.”

Adagio thought for a moment, “So, you’ve dated a power-hungry madwoman and an other-dimensional princess that just never came back?”

Flash took a breath before he answered. “That’s about right…”

“Damn. 0 for 2… How did you get the ladies’ man reputation, anyway?”

“No idea.”

As they started to approach the mall, Adagio stopped. “Something’s been bugging me.”

Flash turned back to her, having taken a few steps further than her.

“After what happened with Sunset, how did you just get passed things to fall for that princess? What happened between the two events?”

Flash took a breath. “Well… I found out Sunset was using me to get popular, and that stung. I decided to make a display and dump her in public. But, the damage was already done, and she controlled the school. I spent some time to stew and just decided to not let it hold me back from my life.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, if you ask me. She used you and, from what I can tell, your only romances ended either in pain or without closure.”

“So?”

She was not expecting that.

“The way I see it, I’ll keep falling until I don’t have to fall anymore.”

“Well…” Adagio smiled and walked up, patting the back of his shoulder, “You surprise me, Flash Sentry.”

“Given you only just started to care about other people, that’s not hard.”

“Fair enough.”

The two made their way inside and Flash leaned toward Adagio, “So, what are you looking for here, anyway?”

“Hell if I know. I’ve never been here before.”

They walked on as they looked around. They would stop now and then for Adagio to look at certain shops and see if it was worth checking out. She stalled at one store in particular and looked up to the sign over the door, “Dusty’s?”

Flash walked up next to her, “An antique shop. It’s a play on dusty old items. At least that’s what Marty says.”

“Marty?”

“The owner, Marty Fly. He’s a friend of my mom’s. Mind if we stop in to say hi?”

Adagio shrugged and followed him inside.

The man behind the counter was a man in his mid-to-late thirties, possibly his forties. His bronze hair was starting to grey and he looked like he stepped out of the eighties. Not in the more outrageous way, just that Adagio hadn’t seen the patterns or styles since then. He looked up toward them and smiled, “Hey! Flash! Get in here and talk to your Uncle Marty!”

Flash waved, “Hey, Marty. How’s it going?”

“Boring as all get out.” He raised a brow when he noticed Adagio, “Who’s your new friend?”

Adagio glanced toward him a moment, “I’m Adagio. Nice to meet you…” She got distracted mid-sentence and moved into one of the few isles in the store.

Flash followed her to see what was so impressive to get her attention. He was surprised to find a very familiar looking red gemstone pendant. This worried him a little, truth be told. “Is that… what I think it is?”

Marty leaned over his counter, “What’s the number?”

Flash looked to the shelf holding it, “C-27.”

After a moment, Marty spoke up again. “C-27 is an old fishermen’s pendant. Folklore says it’s supposed to be good luck or something like that. Made of a nice ceramic, so don’t get too invested. Circa…” He whistled, impressed, “950 years old. Never mind then. Pricy little thing that.”

Adagio couldn’t look away for a while. It was striking. But it was clearly a human replica. “What’s its story?”

“Hmm?”

“The story. You know how old it is, what’s its story?”

After a second of silence, Marty flipped a few pages in a book. “Molded in red ceramic, the pendant is said to have been started as a concept about a thousand years ago. Someone who wore a gemstone like that had great fortune fall upon them and people followed suit by making their own. Never brought the store any luck, so I’d be skeptical.”

Flash looked over toward Marty, “Shouldn’t it be in a museum then?”

Marty just shrugged. “They want it, they can always buy it off me.”

Adagio narrowed her eyes toward the ceramic, “How much?”

“For that? 3k.”

“Three thousand?!” Flash almost lost his footing standing still.

“Yep. It’s over 900 years old, great condition too. So, yeah. High price.”

Adagio sighed. She’d never be able to afford that. She turned to leave and walked out without another word. Flash waved back to Marty and followed her.

As they walked, Flash brought up the underlying theme from before, “I’m guessing you and the other two are responsible for that good luck charm idea.”

Adagio thought for a moment. “Apparently…? First I’m hearing about it.”

After a while, Adagio found herself in a clothing store. A part of her wasn’t sure why, she just decided to roll with it. Flash tapped her shoulder, going off to take care of something his brother asked him for. After a while, she found a few new shirts for herself and one for Aria. She reunited with Flash and they walked through the mall again. Adagio didn’t find anything else, so they decided to leave.

Adagio sighed, “That was interesting. But I don’t get why that place is so hyped up.”

Flash just shrugged. “Hey, real quick…” He took something out of his bag. “I picked this up for you.”

Adagio was handed a small box. “What’s this?”

“I guess it’s a second chance gift.”

Adagio opened the box and nearly fell on the spot. Inside was a bright red gemstone pendant. “You… What?”

Flash laughed a little, “Don’t get too impressed. It’s not the one from Dusty’s. That’s way too expensive for a thing of ceramic.”

“Then… what is it?” She held the gem up to the sun.

“Not magic for one.” His tone made it clear he was making a joke, “But it’s a real gem.”

Adagio was stunned hearing that. “Why spend that much on me?”

Flash shrugged.

“That doesn’t make any sense. Are all humans so irrational?”

“Sometimes. Humans always get emotional, make decisions without thinking… often just winging it when they really shouldn’t.”

Adagio thought to herself for a moment as they walked. “Okay then…”

“Hmm?”

Adagio looked up toward Flash. “So… humans make dumb, off the hook decisions a lot?”

“Some more than others, but it happens. Why?”

She took in a breath, “Well… without magic, I’m just a normal human… And I need to get used to that if I want to take my second chance…”

Flash raised an eyebrow, “Right?”

“So… I…” Adagio never felt tongue tied before. She never got out and had a real emotional bond with others before today, either. So that might be why. But she isn’t exactly outgoing the same way as others. “Ah… fuck it.” She reached out and grabbed flash on either side of his face. A moment later, she pulled him down and locked their lips together.

Flash was caught more than a little off guard. His eyes went wide as dinner plates and his body shook in surprise. When he was freed again, he tripped over his words as he tried to speak, “What… you… I…”

Adagio rolled her eyes and smirked, but the reddening on her cheeks was very much visible.

Flash took a breath to right his mind again. “Where did that come from?”

“A dumb idea from an emotional core…” She walked a little faster. “Call it a thank you, if you want…”

Flash ran up to catch her, “Not that kind. You’ve been on Earth long enough to know that’s not a ‘thank you’ kiss.”

“Are you complaining?”

Flash took in a deep breath, “My first and, so far, only real relationship was an emotionally manipulative experience where she used the same thing you just did to get me to do what she wanted.”

Adagio blinked in surprise. “Oh… I…”

“All I ask is no bullshitting.”

Adagio wasn’t sure what to think hear that from him. After a while, she nodded, “Okay. That’s fair.” She took a breath before speaking again, “I figured, as a human, I’d make an emotional choice to give…” she gestured toward him, “this a chance. I don’t know why… But, that’s just human nature, right?”

Now it was Flash’s turn to blink in surprise. “Um… kind of. It just feels like it came out of nowhere… But, that was the point, wasn’t it?” He sighed. “Okay… Okay! You know what? I’m game. Let’s do this. Really get a feel for things.”

“You almost feel more inexperienced in this stuff than I am…”

“Do I have to cover the emotional manipulation and lack of closure again?”

Adagio giggled a bit, “Fair enough. So, what happens now? Do we walk holding hands or something?”

Flash shrugged, “Everyone’s different with that kind of stuff. Some people can’t seem to understand boundaries with each other and others are just happy to be together. It just depends.”

Adagio thought for a moment. Until an idea flashed into her mind, pun intended. “You know… I’m aware couples these days can be rather… intimate.”

Flash’s face turned beat red for a moment hearing that. She wasn’t saying what he thought she was, right?

“So, I’d like to get your opinion on a few new… items for my wardrobe. As my boyfriend, that’d be best, right?”

Okay… she was half saying it. “I guess… But that’s a little fast, don’t you think? What happened to walking before you ran?”

“I’m just asking for your opinion. Look don’t touch, as it were. This is the walking.”

Flash sighed. “Going to have to get used to that… Alright. Sure.”

“Cool. Let’s walk back to my place.”

A while later, they returned to the Siren home. Flash arrived a little later, having to move his car from the public lot near the school to the unused driveway. Adagio led him toward her room. Adagio’s room was, naturally, the master bed; the largest of the sleeping rooms with her own shower and walk in closet. It wasn’t much of a fight for it, granted. Sonata didn’t own too much more than her memorabilia and Aria didn’t bother to care enough, preferring the living room to her own bed room anyway. The room was fairly standard as rooms go: bed with purple and gold sheets, full body mirror, dresser, so on.

Adagio patted her bed for him to sit as she got things together. As he sat, he looked around the room, trying to get an idea of her. But there wasn’t much. She really didn’t have much in the way of decorations. He looked to the dresser and saw a series of CDs, the top of which was familiar, [Feathers]. He raised an eyebrow at that. “You know Feathers?”

Adagio jumped in place and spun around. “Um… yeah. It’s pretty recent. I actually got that yesterday.”

Flash knew the musical well enough. It was quite the watch the first time around. “Huh…”

Adagio took a breath and turned back to what she was doing. “Alright. Let’s start with something simple.” She held up a pair of dresses. The first was solid purple with gold accenting and a slit cut up the right side. The second was a simple black dress. “Which one do you prefer?”

Flash thought for a moment, “What for?”

“Pardon?”

“Well… the purple one is good for a day to day. Maybe for an event. But the black is good for a more formal theme. Basically, one’s for a party, the other’s for a dance.”

Adagio blinked and lowered the dresses slightly. “That’s… rather insightful.” It wasn’t the answer she was expecting. “Okay…” She placed them both away, thinking to herself. She stepped into the closet and closed the door from the inside. When she stepped back out, she was in a red crop top with purple shorts. “What do you think of this?” The look he gave her sent a shiver up her spine.

He was red in the face but refused to look away. It wasn’t out of lust. He was clearly embarrassed, but she asked for his opinion. That would be hard to give from behind his hands. It was a look that took her all in. Genuinely…

He closed his eyes and took a breath. “Red doesn’t work so well. Try purple. It’ll pop better and seems to be your favorite color any way.”

“Well… it is.” She felt her face heat up a little. She was blushing. But why? She used this exact outfit to get people to do what she wanted before. She’s showed off before! She loved the limelight. So why was this different? Did… he care? A shiver ran up her spine again. She changed back into something normal and sat next to him.

He raised an eyebrow, his blush fading a bit. “Was that all? You made it sound like there was more…”

“There is… I just… A break. Yeah… that.”

“Since when were you the tongue tied one?”

Adagio’s blush filled her cheeks again. “I don’t know… I’m used to the spotlight. I’ve shown off… But I just… something about the way you watched me… It was different. With everyone else, it’s my fifteen minutes of fame. But… You seemed… different.”

“Wasn’t that the point of all this?”

“I guess. I’m just so used to the emotionless limelight. I’m not used to someone actually caring.”

Flash placed his arm over her shoulder and held her closer. “Well, get used to it. Even if this blows up in our face, we’ll still be on good enough terms.”

“Already expecting us to fail?”

“This literally just happened earlier today and out of nowhere. We haven’t even had a date yet. I can give you a real answer after that.”

Adagio leaned her head into his shoulder. “We should fix that…”

“We should…”

“Any ideas?”

“Not a clue. You?”

“Not a conventional one.”

Flash smirked and raised an eyebrow, “Were you ever conventional?”

“I guess not.” She smiled and stood back up, turning toward him, “A simple evening in. Just put on a movie or something.”

“Sounds good to me.”

Their evening ended with the movie. Flash had to return home, after all. Adagio returned to her room and glanced at herself in the mirror. She found herself smiling. A genuine smile for the first time in so long.

Author's Note:

King: Day 2. One more.