The Oblivious Crush

When the door was shut, Xandre sighed in dismay and placed his hand on his face, as if he couldn't believe what just happened. He glanced at Beatrice, who appeared as if she wasn't affected by having their friends walk in and baring it all to them.

"Please forgive me, Beatrice," Xandre said, full of remorse, "I shouldn't have behaved so impulsively, and exposed you to the ladies like that. I understand if you would never be able to find it in your heart to accept my apology for my blatant foolishness."

Beatrice turned her head to face Xandre. "Do not worry yourself. I'm not upset at all," she replied. Then she sat up and said, "Doralee looks very attractive in her costume."

Xandre's face fell from his momentary confusion and bewilderment, and then he chuckled. He bent down next to Beatrice, until their foreheads touched. "Thank you, for a certainly unforgettable night," he whispered, as he held onto Beatrice's warm hand.

The noirette nodded, as she squeezed Xandre's hand.

Doralee continued to steer Elise, as they made their way down the stairs very slowly together. Elise continued to vacantly stare ahead, with the same facial expression as before.

When they made it down the steps, Elise finally spoke. "Doralee..." she said.

The redhead perked up and turned her head to look at her best friend. "Yes Elise?" she said.

"Please tell me that this is just a bad dream," Elise said.

Doralee frowned, but she didn't say anything.

Elise then turned her head to finally make eye contact with Doralee. Tears were in her jade green eyes as she whimpered, "Please... please tell me I was hallucinating. Tell me I just didn't see Xandre with Beatrice..."

"Oh hun... my lovely... lovely Elise," Doralee whispered as she wrapped her arms around the blonde's shoulders, "I'm... so sorry."

Then Elise's tears freely flowed out of her eyes. She sobbed uncontrollably as she buried her face in Doralee's left shoulder. All Doralee could do was embrace her friend and rub her lower back.

Silas's ears perked up and turned his head to see that Elise was crying at the base of the stairs. "Look alive Asher," he said as he raised an eyebrow. Asher turned to his head to also see the blonde, and it immediately shattered his soul to see her sobbing like she was. Both of them started to walk towards the ladies, where Doralee was trying her best to comfort the blonde angel.

"What the hell happened?" Asher asked. As usual, he tried his best to hide his emotive side, but even Silas could tell how even the famously stoic Asher was affected by Elise's seemingly never ceasing tears.

Then Elise pulled back from Doralee and said as her tears were endlessly pouring out of her eyes, "I... I'm so sorry... but I have to leave... I have to go home." Then she abruptly turned around to open the entrance door of the frat house. Even though it was pouring rain and completely dark, she bolted out.

Asher was about to chase Elise so that he could bring her home safely, but Doralee stopped him. "I'll go after her. I know you want to help, but I think it'll be best if I do it," she said as she was removing her red high-heeled shoes. She went by the main entrance, where the door remained open. She opened the shoe closet to see if she could find someone's old sneakers she could fit into. When Asher realized what she was doing, he also jumped in to help search through the dirty old closet for shoes that Doralee could wear.

"Babe?" Silas called out as he placed his hand on his girlfriend's shoulder to gently pull her back, "I'll look for the shoes you need, so can you please just talk to us?"

Doralee sighed, and then stepped back to make room for Silas so that he could help out instead. Then she said, "Well, we went upstairs and found Xandre and Beatrice."

"Really?" Silas said as he turned his head for a moment to give a smirk, "Wasn't Beatrice so damn sexy in her costume or what?"

"Oh yeah, she was incredibly sexy. But she wasn't in her costume," Doralee said the last sentence slowly.

"She took her costume off already? What was she wearing then?"

"Oh... you know... nothing."

Asher and Silas completely stopped what they were doing to absorb that answer, and then turned around to see Doralee's sad expression. She continued with, "Well, unless you count Xandre. She was wearing him like a blanket... while they were having sex. We accidentally walked in on them."

"Holy shit! No way!" Silas gasped.

Asher's eyes widened as saucers and dropped his lower jaw.

"Uh..." Clarence and Tyra arrived by the main entrance as they stared at the piles of shoes in front of the shoe closet. "What in Sam Hill are you guys doing in our closet?" Clarence asked.

"I am looking for some shoes," Doralee said, "I can't run in the rain with my heels."

"Okay?" Clarence had a skeptical tone in his voice, but he decided to ask questions later. He went through the closet to find his old sneakers and said, "Here, just keep these." He and Doralee were about the same height, and luckily the shoes weren't that big for her.

"Thanks," said Doralee. She immediately slipped them on and grabbed onto her red heels. She ran out of the door and into the rain to find Elise.

"Hey! Text me when you get home okay?" Silas called out to her.

Doralee waved her right hand in the air in response, and continued to run to find Elise.

When Doralee was out of sight, Clarence asked, "So, can someone please explain to me why in God's name Doralee was in such a hurry to steal our shoes and run out like that?"

Silas rubbed the back of his head, as he didn't want to reveal exactly what happened between the girls and Xandre. He tried to think of an explanation as he stammered, "Uh... well... you see, um..."

"Just spit it out, Silas!" Tyra demanded impatiently as she crossed her arms.

During the time, Asher was quietly fuming. Emotions were running high as he could not suppress the repeated images in his mind of Elise weeping the way she did, because Xandre broke her heart.

"Okay I'm trying!" Silas said nervously, "It's just that..."

"That... that fucker!" Asher hollered loud enough for half of the party attendees to hear and stop what they're doing to turn their heads to glance at the enraged MMA fighter.

Tyra, Clarence and Silas all stared right at Asher, who was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. The next thing they saw was him flying up the stairs, as if he was a man on a mission.

"Asher!" Silas called out, but of course Asher didn't stop. The redhead also ran up the stairs after him, while Tyra and Clarence also chased them.

On the second floor, Xandre and Beatrice were dressed in their respective costumes, and stepped out of Clarence's room and into the hallway together. They gave each other brief smiles, until they heard what they thought was a stampede coming their way.

It was just Asher, who was sprinting at lightning speed towards them. Xandre barely had any time to think before he was pinned to the wall by a man half a head shorter and at least forty pounds lighter.

"How dare you do that to her! The sheer audacity... you fucking asshole!" Asher bellowed as he pulled up Xandre's toga that was made out of Clarence's white sheet.

Xandre was stunned at the sight of Asher being so furious and he could almost see smoke coming out of his nostrils. Then he said as calmly as he could, even though his rapidly beating heart was pumping the adrenaline through his body, "I... will take responsibility for my actions, but if I am to be honest, it was Beatrice who initiated it."

"What?!" Asher yelled as he tightened his fists.

"Beatrice was the one who approached me," Xandre said more clearly, "And I agreed to... ahem... I'm sure you are well aware by now."

Beatrice, who was also stunned and confused about Asher's unexpected rage, also admitted in an attempt to diffuse the situation, "Yes, that is true. I asked Xandre to have sex with me."

Asher frowned for a moment, as if to let that answer sink in. Xandre exhaled in relief when he saw that Asher appeared to have settled down, but then the MMA fighter's eyebrows furrowed so hard that the protruding vein on his forehead was about to burst from the pressure. He pushed even harder with his hands against Xandre that it almost lifted him up in the air. "I'm not talking about Beatrice or your fling with her, you gibbering oaf! I am talking about Elise!" he shouted so loud that the sonicboom echoed down the hallway.

By then, Silas made it to Asher and managed to pull him off and tried his best to restrain him by placing his arms under Asher's armpits. The young man with the MMA costume flailed his arms, but he wasn't able to become loose from Silas's grip. There was a small audience of the party-goers who gathered by the D&D room and the staircase.

"What's going on here?" Albert asked as he peeped out of the doorway.

"Shh! That's what we're trying to find out," Tyra hissed as he placed a finger over her lips.

"Gah! Is Asher going to kill Xandre?" Valerie gasped as she was on the verge of a full-out panic mode, "Oh God! I knew he was capable of doing that, but I never knew he actually would!"

Clarence rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, let's settle down because no one is going to kill anyone."

Xandre gave a very perplexed expression. "Elise and Doralee are the ones who walked in on Beatrice and I. However, if she feels very awkward because of that, I'll try to talk to her to reassure her and clear the air," was Xandre's response to Asher.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Asher hissed while Silas continued to physically restrain his friend, "It's not the 'awkwardness' you damn dolt! You broke her heart by being with someone else!"

"Whoa!" Tyra said as quietly as she could, "This got really juicy."

"Yeah," Clarence admitted as he nodded in agreement, "Things got really interesting now."

Beatrice's eyes widened, while Xandre still remained clueless. "I... I did?" was all he could say, as he had no idea what Asher was speaking about.

Asher's temper came down a tad as he explained, "Elise... she's just... so good. She's smart and beautiful, but she has always maintained her integrity and moral high ground. Even when things got so hard for her. Even when she could have taken the easy way to get through life. But not her. She is the most honest and genuine person I've ever met."

Silas relaxed his grip on his friend, who was softening up as he spoke highly about his crush. "She has her flaws like the rest of us, but there is no other person you can depend on to be a good friend or partner to you like she can. And out of everyone in this world, she could have chosen to be with anyone, but she chose to like you. And here you are. You chose to have a fucking hookup over being with Elise," Asher gritted his teeth as he said the last sentence.

Xandre also softened up after hearing that. He glanced at Beatrice and then back at Asher. "I see. I agree with you that Elise is a wonderful person, but she is a good friend of mine and nothing more. Since you hold such a high esteem and affection for Elise, then I would highly recommend you telling her how you feel about her," said Xandre.

Asher's eyes widened, while half of the crowd silently gasped when Xandre confirmed what they were speculating for the last several minutes; Asher likes Elise.

"Gosh," Albert said slowly, "I never knew Asher was capable of liking... well... anyone."

"Gosh is right!" Tyra gleefully squealed, "This stuff is gold."

Clarence turned his head to see that Tyra was holding up her phone. "Oh for the love of God... Tyra! You've been recording this the whole time?" He scolded her.

Tyra winked at Clarence as she continued to hold her phone up.

"Whoa..." Silas said, "I had no idea Asher."

Asher couldn't deny it, because he knew it would be pointless and nobody would believe him. He muttered under his breath, "Goddamn it." Then he stood for a few moments on what he should do next. He sighed and took a few steps towards Beatrice and Xandre. "I'm sorry for my behaviour, Beatrice. You didn't deserve any of that," he said.

"I'm all right," said Beatrice, as she gave one of her rare little smiles.

Then Asher turned to Xandre and said, "I would understand if you don't ever want to talk to me again. For what it's worth though, I am sorry that I came after you like that. I got caught up in a whirlwind of emotions, but that doesn't excuse me for attacking you."

Xandre placed his large, callused hand on Asher's shoulder. "You're one of my best friends Asher, and I wholeheartedly accept your apology. I do not want this incident to end our friendship, because I know that deep down, you are a good person who truly cares for others. Especially Elise," said Xandre, as he gave a chuckle at the end.

Asher couldn't help but give a small smile in return. Then he turned around without another word, and the crowd parted like the Red Sea parted for Moses, to allow him to go down the stairs and out of the entrance door. Tyra slid her phone away in her pocket as soon as she saw Asher pass through.

"Hey! Wait for me! Let's share the ride together!" Silas called out to Asher as he whipped out his phone to place an order for an Uber for both of them.

"All right, show's over!" Clarence declared as he made the announcement to everyone else. Most of them headed downstairs, while the D&D party resumed their campaign with Beatrice as part of the audience. Clarence was about to descend down the stairs, when Xandre stopped him.

"Clarence," Xandre said, "I must inform you of something of a rather urgent matter."

Initially, Clarence gave a questioning look to Xandre. Then he said with a sly smile, "You have my full attention, Your Highness."

Xandre led the way to show Clarence his bedroom, and presented the damage he caused when he was intimate with Beatrice.

"My bed!" Clarence exclaimed as he raised his hands in the air, "How?!"

The next late in the morning, Asher was woken up by his phone ringing. He grumbled as he realized he slept in through the usual time he would wake up to engage in his usual intense workout routine, but then he decided he would do it later in the day. It was still the weekend after all.

When he saw the name on the caller ID, it was Elise.

Asher jolted up in bed and answered the phone. "Hello?" he said as he could feel his heart racing.

"Hi Asher," Elise said on the other line, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything." The background noise did not sound like she was in a quiet area, as Asher could hear some rhythmic clanging at a distance.

"No, you're not," said Asher, "Are you all right?"

"Y-yes I am, thank you," said Elise, "I was already home by the time Doralee found me. She slept over."

Asher was relieved to hear that Doralee kept Elise company during the turbulent time. "That's good. If you need anything, I'm here," he said.

"I know. You are always there for me, and I really appreciate it," said Elise, "Doralee told me you wanted to make sure I would get home safely when I left yesterday, so I want to thank you for your kind intentions."

Asher paused, and then said, "I'll always be there for you. If you let me."

"Yes... I know," said Elise, "And I want to be there for you too." She took a deep breath and said, "I'm actually on the monorail right now, coming your way. Are you free to meet up for brunch?"

Asher stood up from his bed and glanced at the clock. "How far away are you?"

"Just about ten minutes away from your condo. I can meet you in the lobby."

"Fine."

Asher had never moved so quickly in his life. As soon as he got out of bed, he brushed his teeth and had a brief shower. He wore a plain brown t-shirt with black jeans, along with his teal jacket. He wanted to make sure Elise would not be waiting for him in the lobby, because he would rather be waiting for her. Luckily for him, she had not arrived at that time when he made it downstairs.

About a minute later, Elise knocked on the glass door by the intercom when she saw Asher waiting by the lounge area. He stood up and opened the doors to let her in. They both sat on the couch as Asher watched Elise straighten out her seafoam green jacket, and smoothed down her dark blue jeans.

"I'm aware it was a last minute thing, so thanks for coming out to see me at such a short notice," said Elise.

"No problem," said Asher. He was relieved and glad to see Elise, as she appeared to be well.

"Do you have a place in mind on where you would like to eat? Because I was thinking of that café we spoke about yesterday," said Elise, "And it'll be my treat."

"The café sounds fine," said Asher, "You came all this way, so I'll treat you."

Elise smiled as they both stood up to head outside and onto the sidewalk. The skies were clearing and the rain stopped hours ago, but puddles were still deep, fresh and most of them were close to the curb between the road and the sidewalk.

"So. What made you come all the way down here today?" Asher asked.

"I wanted to take a walk in the seaside parks, since the weather was nice. I wanted to clear my head a little too, but I already felt better since Xandre and I had a chat this morning and I was riding in the monorail," Elise replied.

Asher was bit on alert when Elise said she spoke with Xandre. "What did you talk about?" he asked. At the same time, he took a silent deep breath to brace himself for a potentially difficult follow-up conversation he would have with her.

"He called to say that he was sorry if he hurt my feelings," said Elise, "But I told him he didn't do anything wrong, and whatever problems I had, it was my own. I pointed out that I should be the one apologizing for walking in on him and Beatrice during their private moment. He then told me he treasured our friendship, where I told him that I agree and I also want to keep our relationship that way."

Asher nodded as he was surprised to hear that Elise wanted to keep her and Xandre's relationship platonic and said, "I see." He turned his head away and said, "I did something I'm not proud of yesterday."

"What happened?"

Asher sighed and said, "I pinned Xandre against the wall, and berated him for what I perceived to be a form of betrayal against you. As you said, Xandre didn't do anything wrong, so I apologized and he said he accepted it. I also apologized to Beatrice, because I am sure I must have at least startled her. Even if no one can really ever tell how she is feeling."

"I see," said Elise. She exhaled audibly and said, "I hope we can just learn something from this and move forward. I certainly did." Then she gave a smile to Asher and said, "I am glad you are owning up to what happened, and you tried to make amends." Then she confessed, "Because Tyra sent me the video of what happened yesterday after I left, so I knew everything about the events that occurred."

Asher widened his eyes. Then he nodded his head and said, "Then you must have heard what I said about you."

Elise nodded. "That helped me feel better today too actually. I am glad you are able to validate me as who I am. So... perhaps I want to say at the very least, a 'thank you' to you," she said as she gave Asher an angelic smile.

He smiled back, where then he watched a car speeding down the road and the wheels were hitting too close to the curb. In one swooping motion, he grabbed Elise's waist without hesitation and pulled her to the side, so that she would avoid the incoming splash from the puddle that the car ran over as it passed by.

Asher gritted his teeth as he snarled at the car that was being carelessly driven, as he continued to hold onto Elise.

"Wow, that was close," said Elise, "You saved me again with your lightning fast reflexes."

Asher loosened the grip on Elise's slim waist, but she pulled his hand back up to secure the hold by placing her warm hand over it. "I'm starving! Since you've managed to prevent me from getting soaked twice in a row, you really have to let me treat you," she said as she wrapped her arm around his neck.