WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

HE ALLOWS HER THE AGENCY TO GUIDE HIM. There is a metaphorical hope that she will do the same. But he knows better than that. Otherwise, there would be need for all this. Pretense, sets in as his hand lowers.

“Is that what you think is best for you?”

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

“I SEE.”

Clearly. More evident than ever before. But all of this stems from things Lulu has never told him. It is the betrayal of those around her that lead him to one final conclusion. In the end, he too will betray her, but only the her that rests in the false notion that she has any right to her own destiny.

“Why?”

He does care about her, to an extent. And, ultimately, he only wants what’s best for her.

But the Lulu Flint he’s trying to save is not the Lulu Flint who stands in their way.

In order for one to flourish the other must die.

There can only be one.

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

“HM?”

He looks at her. Questioningly. As if he missed something. She reads too far into the book, he decides, skipping over the prologue and basing her assumptions off the current climax.

He knows so because Lulu is always quick to climax. She can’t help it. He’s the Ritual Pool Champion for a reason–the secret tool he excretes remains unaware even to himself, a crutch that compounds as she falls deeper for his high.

So, he takes her back to page one. To the beginning.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

“UNLIKELY.”

Fernando clicks his tongue with an affirmative certainty.

“Most avatars remain unaffiliated. I have no interest in the unwilling.”

His features normalize as he closes his eyes to breath in. “There is a balance, as with all things. AQUA won’t spill over as long as I’m at the helm.”

When he reopens them, his smile shifts.

“And the unofficial AQUA is the counter balance to that.”

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

“MHM.”

Fernando reaffirms her question as if she repeats it rhetorically. A simple pass over means it’s time for his own question. But before that, he probes one more time. Fishing requires patience. All under the promise that a bite will come.

“So not really an issue for you then?”

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

“YOU DONT’ WANT THEM TO KNOW BECAUSE THEY’LL COME FOR YOU.”

Fernando gives her a wave of his hand as if to dismiss the notion.

“They won’t. Not as long as I live. Therefore, there’s no point in keeping it a secret.”

There is no greater anticipation than dangling bait above the shadow of a fish. Casting out a line and waiting for a bite is immature, wishful thinking left up to another to decide. But dropping the bait live, knowing full well that something is just waiting underneath to gobble it up, is an excitement that can rarely be duplicated elsewhere.

Here is one such instance.

“I’ll protect you Lulu. Unless there’s something else?”

Lulu Flint

WHY LIKE THIS?

WHEN YOU CAN BE THAT?

FERNANDO MULLS OVER HER WORDS FOR A SECOND BEFORE GIVING HER A POINTED STARE.

“By choice?”

A contemplative hum crosses his throat before he lets out an exaggerated sigh. Frustration crosses his eyes as his brows knot. It’s the click of his tongue that gives away his tell. A fatal sign of hesitation before he commits to a decision he’s unsure of.

“Me telling them or not doesn’t matter.”

He runs his non-dominant hand through his hair.

“The League can tell if you’re an Avatar are not. kim cole-essam probably already knows you are one.”

Lulu Flint