Weeks had passed leading into a mouth, and Lucas could feel the pain throughout his body as his muscles still ache from his training. His body was starting to get used to it, but Martha's training was still rough. She was tough but fair when it came to keeping him on a schedule. So far, the physical training was the toughest part while his medicating and trying to focus on his own magical energy was becoming difficult. He kept having these blackout moments, where he would be perfectly at peace, but his mind would trail off into negative thoughts and anger. He did ask his mom about this problem, but she said it's mainly due to him being more emotional. Yet, she did assure him that with more practice, he would better control it.
"Maybe," Lucas thought. Before his mind could trail off, the phone began to ring. He let out a sigh as he picked up the phone to answer it as he focused back on his work.
"Thank you for calling customer service. How may I help you today?" Lucas said in a tired voice, trying to sound cheerful. So far, he's been able to combine his work with training. However, there have been times when he had a tough time walking to work or even moving his body, but he pushed himself to get there every time on time.
As soon as Lucas said those words, the older male voice came through yelling and rambling over how bad the company was and how they all should be fired. He began to curse out Lucas as well for things he didn't even do or know.
"I'm sorry, sir. I-" Lucas began to say in his high voice as he tried to get at least one word in through the man's ramble. He then tried to speak again, but the customer continued to speak over him.
"Sir, if you-" Lucas said as he continued to try again. He could feel the hair on the back of his head stand up as he was starting to become annoyed. It felt as if the man's voice was becoming a high pitch ringing in his ear. He became more agitated as the man talked himself into a circle and never got to his point on what was wrong.
As if a record had come to a screeching halt, Lucas placed his hand on the desk in a soft thumb. His voice became deeper and much clearer as he focused on one single word. This word would be the rock that broke the glass that held Lucas back.
"Sir!"
This would cause the man to go silent as he was stunned and didn't Lucas to talk back. He could feel that it was frustration, but it didn't feel angry nor patronizing. There was no fear behind it. It was like coming to a stop sign. He then heard Lucas continue to speak in this tone.
"I do apologize for raising my voice. However, I can not help you if you can't explain the problem you are having. So, please take a deep breath, then tell me in a calm voice what is wrong."
"W-well, you see, I got this new computer a while back, and I can not access the photos of my family. And I'm afraid I have accidentally gotten rid of them." The old man began to explain to Lucas as he took down notes of the customer complaints.
What would have taken hours even to get an idea of the situation, Lucas was able to help the man within at least 20 minutes. As the man began to thank and at the same time apologize to Lucas for his anger, Lucas just smiled as he felt a mixture of joy and the rush of energy surge come into his body. This was the first time, in a long one, where he could calm down someone and help them properly.
"Anytime, Sir. If you have any more problems, do not hesitate to get back in contact with me or someone from this office. I hope you have a wonderful day." Lucas said as he hung up the phone and let out a deep breath. He was blown away by his sudden burst of courage. "Whoa, that felt good?"
Just as he was about to lean back and reflect on what just happened, he felt something tell him to lean forward. He went with his gut and missed the point of a pen stabbing him in the back of the neck. He quickly turned around to find his misfit trio standing there in surprise.
"How did you know?" Chris asked, taken a little back by his sudden reflex.
"Well. I kinda just had a feeling." Lucas chuckled nervously. The real reason started when he would pick up on Amay trying to scare him. It got to the point where he just got tired of it and would ask if she wanted to sleep in his room or not. "I guess my feeling was correct." He chuckled while pointing out the pen in Chris's hand.
"I guess so. Huh?" Chris agreed before changing the topic. "Hey, Lucas. Are you good?"
"Yeah? What do you mean?" Lucas asked, scratching the back of his head.
"You seem different," Ann spoke up, being the very first person to notice it a while back. "You seem more relaxed and comfortable."
"Plus, you look like you have been working out a little. I guess you are using both hands now." Chris joked.
"Well, I have to give my right hand some rest sometimes." Lucas joked back and made all three of them snicker.
"Lucas." Ann said as she almost went in to punch him, but even she thought that was a good one. "You got three strikes, or you have to wear a dress at my wedding." She told him while eyeing Chris.
"I'm not sorry," Chris said, not looking at Ann as his smile deepened. "It was worth it. I'm gonna be the sexiest one there."
"I do want to know, but I don't want Ann to kill me." Lucas openly said, looking puzzled at all three of his friends. "But back on topic. I'm fine. I just been working out with my sister and meditating a lot. Trying to work on myself," He confessed.
"Well, it appears to be working. You seem a lot better. " Joe spoke up as he could feel and see it. Ann and Chris nodded as they could see his improvement as well.
"So, how are you and your lady friend?" Chris asked, rubbing his hands together. "Spill the juicy nectar," He said before doing evil laughter. Ann then punched him in his side.
"No, we are just friends...I think. Well, we are cool with one another at most." Lucas answered him. This did get him thinking about her a little. For the most part, Amay comes to him when she needs help figuring out technology or, as she called it, "New age stuff." She and Martha come together in sparing and sharing candy, but they still have their fallouts. She's still wearing his shirts at times, but not as much. She does go out of her way to wash and hang them back up when she's done. "Yea. I guess we are kinda friends. We even play games together at times."
"Alright. Alright. I see you." Chris said, nodding his head in approval. "So when are you gonna make your move?"
"Huh?" Lucas left out in confusion.
"Your move. You know her enough, and I'm guessing she knows you enough. So just shoot your shot, man." Chris said, offering Lucas some sound advice.
"Chris. I don't know, man. I think she's older than me, and I don't want to fall on my face again. I'm kinda happy just having her as a friend." Lucas confessed to him.
"Hey. That's fine. If you want to keep it strictly friends? That's more than okay. Also, what's wrong with older women. I love me some Cougars." Chris jokingly said.
Ann punched him hard in his side that he fell over a little. Both Lucas and Joe looked at him with worry. However, Chris stood back up with his hand on his side.
"Why are you so heavy-handed. Jesus." Chris said with a visible tear in his eye.
Just before Ann could say anything, the intercom came on.
"Lucas, to my office now!" Richard's voice came, then left.
Lucas just let out a sigh before rising and grabbing his phone with him. His friends looked worried at him for a moment. They knew how this would go and would be there for him when he returned. Lucas could feel everyone's eyes on him. While he was scared, Lucas just wanted to get it over with. As he reached the door of the lion's den, Lucas took a deep breath. He pressed a button on his phone and placed it back in his pocket.
"You wanted to see, sir?" Lucas said as he entered the room to look up at his boss's desk.
"Ah. Lulu. How's your mother?" Richard said with a smile on his face.
"Fine," Lucas said in a low voice as the hair on the back of his hair neck stood up.
"Do you think she thinks about me?" Richard said with a thick chuckle as he could feel his words reach under his skin.
Lucas didn't say anything as he remained calm and collected. His mind went back to his training with his mom and sister. He still needed to pick up Martha's candy. His mind then wandered off to what Chris said about asking Amay out or "making a move." This sort of made Lucas flusters a little as he thought about actually asking her out. Part of him was still scared of her, but she wasn't that bad. She's more of an annoying cat than anything at times. He then thought about it and remembered the fairgrounds are in the city's outskirts today.
"Maybe she would like to go to that." Lucas thought to himself as he realized that Richard was now standing in front of him fully red face.
"Do you hear me, momma's boy?!" Richard growled at Lucas.
"Sorry about that. I sorta zoned out for a little." Lucas said out loud without realizing it.
A look of stunned shock appeared on Richard's face as he realized Lucas wasn't paying attention to him. He was taken back by this and quickly collected himself.
"I said that David has another date tonight and I need you to do his work for him. Since you were not paying attention, I want to work overtime and skip your lunch. " Richard said as a twisted smile came across his face. He knew he could make him do it. He began to chuckle as he saw that look in his eyes again.
"Did I make myself clear, now?"
Lucas could feel his chest tighten as his heart began to beat. He could feel the shackles that held him back for so long about to tighten around him as he found it tough to swallow. The voice that roared different ideas in his head remained silent. He could feel the words rest on his tongue as they fought to be set free. Lucas took a deep breath as he said it. However, to his surprise, along with Richard, it was not the words they were expecting. This even made his lips tingle a little from it.
"No."
A look of utter shock and disbelief came over Richard's face as he couldn't believe what he just heard. He chuckled to himself as he thought his ears must have misheard. This was the same boy that allowed him to get away with everything he said to him. The boy he broke each and every day—the boy he had wrapped around his fingers.
"I'm sorry I missed that. What did you say, momma's boy?" His face twisted as he focused on hearing him.
Lucas could feel it. The feeling of standing face to face with a bear ready to attack him. His hands trembled a little as he could feel his heart pumping faster as fast as the tingle had filled his lips once again. He felt as if his throat was dry as his vision started to shake a little.
"I said...." He said before coming to a complete stop. It felt as if time had paused as he took a deep breath. He felt his body straighten up as his hands had stopped shaking. He opened his eyes and looked at the bear in front of him. He took a step forward as he looked down at his boss.
"I said No. David can do his own work for the day. I am also not doing the overtime."
His words made Richard take a step back in disbelief. The boy he could usually terrify and make him do whatever he wanted just stood up for himself. Richard could feel something different coming from the boy. His eyes were not the same as the other times.
"You....I.....What..." Richard said as he fumbled on his words. He just went silent as he stood there in disbelief.
Lucas then looked at the time and took a step back. "It's time for me to clock out. I will see you tomorrow, sir."
Lucas then turned around, leaving the short man no time to reply as he quickly closed the door. As he closed the door, he had a wave of different emotions flood his body. He wasn't upset at all, but he felt a rush of adrenaline fill his body as if he just scared a bear. He felt on top of the world for a moment. He quickly made his way to his desk to see Ann, Joe, and Chris waiting for him.
"Guys, on my God," Lucas said, trying to hold back his emotions and utter surprise.
All three of them looked in shock as Lucas was actually taking and moving really fast.
"What the hell happened? " Ann said first.
"I stood up to Richard," Lucas answered in disbelief.
"WHAT!?" All three said in unison.
"Okay. Here's what happened?" Lucas said as he began to explain to his friends what had happened.
1hour later
Lucas found himself outside of Amay's room door. He hesitated for a moment as he thought about this. Before he had gotten to the door, he had paid Martha her dues, and she told him Amay was in her room. So now he stood right in front of it. For some reason, he felt nervous about knocking on her door. It wasn't like any other times where he would knock and ask her his question. But this time, it was different.
He took a deep breath and knocked on it.
"Just a second." Her voice wrung out from behind her door.
He could hear her moving towards the door before opening it. As she opened the door, the smell of flowers left her room. Lucas looked at his short Demi-partner, wearing one of his shirts with a pair of shorts on. Her red hair flowed down her back as two strains came over her ear. Her red eyes looked up at him as her usual smug appeared.
"Oh. You're home from work early." She said, a little surprised.
"Yeah." Lucas nervously chuckled. "I got some good news."
"Oh?" Amay said, raising an eyebrow as her eyes dilated much wider while her pupils pulsated a little. Her red lips curled up a little as she couldn't wait to hear it.
"I stood up to my boss." He said nervously.
"Really?" She said, actually surprised. She let off a soft giggle as he could see her teeth show. "How did it feel? Did you use the plan?" She said, wanting to know more.
"It felt amazing! I haven't done that yet. But you should have seen his face when I told him no." Lucas said, explained to her while trying to hold back his excitement. He could see that she was interested in his moment, and a proud smile came across her face. He also watched her rest against her door.
"The first victory is always important, but don't let it go to your head. But I am proud of you." She waved one finger at him with a soft giggle.
"You're right, and thank you," Lucas said as he smiled a little. He then watched as she was heading back into her room. "Hey, Amay."
"Yeah?" She paused for a moment and looked up at him. She could see his face slightly blushing a little.
"The city fairgrounds are in town for the week, and I was wondering if you would like to go?" Lucas said, slightly rubbing the back of his head. He could see her tilting her head a little as she moved a little closer to him. He could feel his heart pump a little faster as his hands began to sweat.
"Are you asking me out?" Amay asked, teasing him a little. Her finger poked at his shirt a little. "I thought you were still afraid of me. I see you're finally making your move. Are you nervous?"
"Huh?" Lucas said as his face turned an even brighter red as he began to fumble on his words. "No. I mean, yes. I mean No."
Amay laughed at how flustered he became from a phase she copied from one of the shows he showed on TV. "I'm playing, Lucas. You make it too easy at times."
"Oh. Jeez, you sound so serious at times. It's hard to tell." Lucas said, trying to calm down and catch himself.
"That's the fun part." She smugly said as she pushed some of her hair behind her ear. "But I will go." She said with a barely visible blush.
"Wait, really?" Lucas said, actually surprised.
"I don't see why not. I get to see something new and still keep you safe at the same time." Amay said, taking a stepping back. "Let me get, ready then we can go." She told him before closing her door.
Lucas just stood there for a moment, almost dumbfounded at what just happened.
"Holy Shit." He thought to himself.