Alright, this is kind of Embarrassing. I wrote this chapter months ago, but forgot to upload it. While looking through my documents. I saw the file for this chapter and remembered that this chapter wasn't uploaded. To explain, back when I first started this story. I was still using the saving feature on this site.
But in subsequent months to follow. I updated myself with a new laptop and now have access to better applications. So I basically never looked in my files on this site. As I now do all of them on Word. You can imagine my surprise when I found this at the bottom of my list with only having until the next day until the site will automatically delete it.
Well...
Here you go
(If you couldn't tell. I'm sort of an idiot)
"I love you" Iris experts, shaking her hands and jumping on the spot. Looking back at her reflection in her bedroom mirror "I love you, Noctis...I know that we have been friends for ages and that you are soon to be married to Lady Lunafreya, but I am feeling something special. The special kind of something that you feel when you feel something for...someone special" she sighs, dropping her arms and head in shame. Sighing, she falls backs on her bed. She grabs the pillow from under her head and holds it over her face as she screams as loud as she can to vent her frustration.
"Why the hell is this so hard! I can have flowers be a friendly gift, but a necklace? He is such an unintentional bastard...a cute unintentional bastard..." she runs her hands through her hair, pulling at it "It's not bad enough that I have been romanticising myself with him. I have been having thoughts that would make my brother kill me! Out of all the boys in the world. I had to have a crush on the prince?" she rolls onto her front and rests her head against her pillows.
"I need to think of something and quick. I need to confess my feelings to him. He is going to blow me off, but I need to get it off my chest. Other wise I will be regretting it if I don't" she grunts, sliding her arms against the fabric of her covers "Wait! There is someone I can talk to who knows what I am going through. As much I don't want to; they are the only ones who can give me help in this situation...but I can't tell them straight out about who I'm crushing on...I need to...dance around the truth..." she lifts her head and smirks.
Jumping up from her bed she grabs her boots from the under her bed and slides them on her feet. Making her way to her door. She opens it and exits her room .
Now standing outside in the garden. She finds herself accompanied with another individual. One that was sat down on the ground.
"So you see. I heard about how you managed to conjure up enough courage to express your feelings to the one that you love. I just want you to give me some advice so I can do the same and tell the person that I have a crush on...well that I have a crush on them. I wouldn't come to you unless I was very, very, very, very, VERY desperate. So I would greatly appreciate it if you could just take this serious and not tell anyone about the conversation that we are having. So can you please not give me any of your usual annoying behaviour?" Iris asks. Fiddling with her hands, she looks to the person that she was speaking to.
Finishing polishing his camera's lends. Prompto puts down his camera, turning to her. His eyes meets her gaze and scratches his nose "I only promise to try. Gotta say. I'm flattered that you chose to come to me about this situation" he smirks. Folding her arms, Iris turns her head away "Don't feel to honoured; you are the only person that I know that I know understands what I am feeling. So can you just tell me how I can tell the person who I like...that I like them..." she does her best to hold her red flushes in her cheeks.
"Well...if you are feeling shy. You should totally get a wingman to help out" he suggests.
"What do Aircraft have to do with this?" Iris asks.
"Not...not that type of Wingman. Its a term used for dating. Basically. You get someone who knows you and they give you backup for when you are asking your crush out. They can be for emotional support...or they can help lead you to make you seem more cooler than you are. Either way...they help you out to stay brave enough to make the move and go in for the kill" the blonde explains "That's how I asked out Cindy. Though the success was well...its still a work in progress..."
That sound's like a good idea. I could certainly use the confidence boost, so who was your wingman? I may need their help" she ponders.
"Noctis"
"N-Noctis?" Iris gulps, biting back a scream.
Hearing the sudden tone-shift in her voice. Prompto raises an eyebrow "Yeah. Noct was a great help. Honestly I would recommend him as a Wingman over Ignis and Gladiolus. Ignis is not built for a romance...and your Brother is too built for it, but I doubt you want him to help you out. That is bound to get awkward fast. Also, I wouldn't recommend myself either...I only specialize in 5'8" blonde female mechanics named Cindy" he picks up his Camera and places it into his lap.
"So...you are saying that Noctis is my only option to help me confess my feelings to my crush? I wish there was a swear strong enough to express how I am feeling right now" she speaks under her breath before lifting her head "Wait. What about Cindy? Isn't she nearby? Maybe she can be my help" She uncrosses her arms and hold them behind her back.
"She definitely is here, but why don't you want to have Noct help you? It's not like he is the guy that you have... a crush on" the blonde's eyes jolt "Oh..." he comes to realization as he looks to her. Iris jumps back and shakes her head "Prompto..." she hisses, rattling like a snake.
"You...have...a crush... on Noct?" he jumps to his feet and points to her.
"Do you want to say that any louder or do you actual value your vocal chords?" she barks at him. Throwing his hands up. Prompto rolls his eyes "You're in love with the prince who is going to soon be Married to Lunafreya? Damn... talk about awkward. Listen, Iris. I as a guy cannot help you on this...you need gal pal to help you sort things out..." Prompto reaches into his pocket and pulls out a piece of folded paper and hands it to Iris.
"What's this?" she takes the paper and unfolds to reveal a sequence of numbers. Prompto sighs "That's Cindy's number...and the number that Aranea gave us in case of emergencies. Call them...and I don't know...maybe arrange a girl's night or something. Whatever you do...don't tell the guys and certainly do not tell them that I know about this. I am a good citizen, I recycle, look after the local wildlife, I even put the toilet seat down when I'm finished. I don't want to throw myself into a brewing storm of whatever this is, got me?" he tells the girl in front of him as he backs away from her.
"Wait, Prompto!" Iris reaches out to him.
"Uh-uh. I'm not helping on this! The prompmeister is out, adios" he salutes her as he keeps walking backwards, away from her,
"No, Prompto...you are heading towards a..." she stops herself as she sees the blonde boy fall of at the edge of the path. Hearing him screams as he rolls down the thorn-filled cliff.
"A cliff" she finished, cringing at the sounds of his yelps. She is relieved when she hears him call out to her "I'm okay!" he reassures her from the other side of the cliff "Although...I didn't think these kind of places would have cactuses" he adds.
"Cactuses?" her eyes widen "Prompto! Those aren't ordinary cacti!"
"Wait! I think...I think that they're moving...weird...OH GOD!" she hears the sounds of Prompto cries once again, as the sounds of the Cactuar kicking the blonde in the stomach. Iris turns her attention to the piece of paper "I heard of kicking a man while he's down, but not to this extreme. Have fun being a good citizen and look after the wildlife!" she calls out to him. She turns around, pulling out her phone. Walking back to the house. She sits herself down on the set of steps outside.
"Now...which one is Cindy's number? Would help if he listed who's number was who's. Well...fifty/fifty chance, I suppose" she mumbles to herself. Unlocking her phone with a swipe of her thumb. She dials in the first number. Resting the phone on her shoulder, and leaning her ear near it. She hears the sound of her phone calling. After a few seconds, she hers the other end answer "Hey, Cindy. It's Iris: Gladiolus' sister. I need your help with something...private. Are you still in the nearby town? I need you to come over her quickly as possible...I'm going through a bit of an existential crisis. See...I'm in love with Noctis...and I really need your help on this. I'm so confused...and I need another girl's view on this!" she pleas.
"Oh...this is kinda awkward" a female voice talks back to her.
"Wait, Aranea?...is that you?" Iris asks embarrassed.
"Yep. I gave the boys this number for emergencies, but I didn't think I would be called for this kind of emergency...damn girl..." Aranea teases from the other end of the call. Iris almost drops her phone, securing her grip on it she takes a deep breath "This...isn't funny. But do you have any experience with boys?" she asks Aranea.
"boys? Afraid not, little kitten. I 'm only interested in men...like your hunk of a brother" she purrs.
Iris leans her body backwards, resting against the deck "Don't talk about my brother like that. At least not to me"
"Awww...I haven't even got started yet. I mean...look at him...rock-hard muscles...that I can just run my hands all over. His bad-boy look that makes the girl's hearts melt and his enormous..."
"Stop! Stop! Stop! Please just stop!" Iris sighs.
"Chill. I was going to say personality..." Aranea chuckles.
Sitting up, Iris grows a devious grin "Aranea? You like my brother, don't you? Well how about...I make a proposition that will mutually benefit us both?" Iris asks.
"Go on, Kitten. I'm listening" Aranea replies playfully.
"If you...help me with my Noctis problem...I will put a good word in for you to my brother. If I was to tell him that you saved me from a giant herd of monsters...he is bound to be grateful to you. He can be wrapped right around your finger, what do you say?" Iris smiles.
"My My...how devious you are. I already like you. Okay, Iris. Though...I trust that our little arrangement works...even if your love quest doesn't come to fruition?" Iris hears the woman try to negotiate with her. Iris's lips curve even more "You have my word" she confirms.
"Alright, it looks like we have ourselves a deal. I'll be seeing you soon, bye" Aranea cuts the call off.
Taking a sigh of relief. Iris looks back to the paper in her hand, seeing the second number "Why did Prompto have Aranea's number listed first? Oh well...time for Cindy" the brunette then begun to dial in the other number, luckily she was greeted with the familiar country accent.
"How y'all doing. This is Cindy...how can I help?"
"Hey, Cindy. It's me. Are you still in the nearby town?"
"I certainly am. Though I'm almost done fixing up. Do the boys need the regalia to be tuned up? I swear those boys need a lesion in treating a car proper" Cindy laughs.
"No...nothing like that. Can you get over here as soon as you can. I need your help...because well..." Iris inhales deeply "I love Noctis" she confesses to the blonde.
"Oh...I get it. Y'all need a gal pal to help you clear you head. Don't worry. I got y'all covered. I'll be up soon...a few hours tops, then we can get into the finer details, Y'all just hang in tight, alright?" Cindy replies just as friendly as ever. Iris nods "Thank you, Cindy"
"No prob. We'll sort this out. So don't go worrying over nothin', understood?"
"You got it, Cindy" Iris ends the call and slides her phone back into the pocket of her skirt. She stands to her feet and stretches her arms "You know. Selling your brother out just so you can get Noctis to love you, doesn't feel like the right thing to do" Prompto tells her as he approaches her, covered in scratches. Iris shrugs "Hey, I said I would make Aranea look good in his eyes. I never said that he will willingly love her" she dismisses Pronpto's concerns.
"I dunno. When Gladiolus has a debt he always pays it, no matter what it is. If he is told he owes her for keeping you alive. He will more than likely honour what every request that she has, as long as it she doesn't make him hurt Noctis" Prompto pulls out a thorn from his shoulder.
"Prompto, do you have a problem?" Iris asks with a slight bit of venom behind her words. He sighs, placing his hands on his hips "Iris...just remember. Love can make you do some bad things...even to the point where it isn't even love anymore, but something...something darker. It becomes an obsession. Where you will no longer care who gets hurt in the crossfire" he looks her in the eye "Just promise me. If he doesn't love you...then it's not mean to be, and you will leave well enough alone"
"Relax. This isn't about getting with him. I know that won't happen. This is simply confessing my feelings to him. To get the weight off my chest, this is all...I promise" Iris smiles to him, holding her arms behind her back. Prompto gives a quick nod in her direction "Okay. I trust you, but don't let your emotions blind you. Now that is when things get real dangerous" he waves to her "Now. If you don't mind me. I'm going to take some pics of the view, see you later" he says his goodbyes as he wonders off with his camera in hand.
Iris' sweet smile slowly turns to a frown. She walks along the path with her arms still held behind her, but with her fingers crossing each other.