Chapter 39 - What's happening next Friday?

Note:

- At this rate, this story is just going to be endless. I apologise for dreaming up too much. Winging it is proving to be a terrible idea now

- Uni is also too much so these chapters are gonna take a LOOONG time. I only have one reader but that's ok. Thank you for reading it and waiting

- If you haven't figured it out already, I have no idea how punctuation works when it comes to speech. Forgive me once again.

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POV: 3rd person

Nero blinked once. He blinked twice. Then incredulously reaffirmed, "... Di...Caprio..." It seemed he wasn't the only one who heard it for the first time. Leah's friend on the chair beside her was staring at the side of her head in stupefaction.

"Yep."

It was at that moment that Nero felt a burst of hysteric laughter bubbling up his throat and he clenched every muscle, mental strength and even tapped into his Oddity to hold it back. It was so hard and he felt himself losing but he barely managed to cover up the first 'ha' with a dumbass cough fit. HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOW CAN SOMEONE BE SO BAD AT NAMING? Leah didn't seem to realise but she did look at the male with mild concern. Leah's company was surprisingly in the same position and was barely able to keep herself composed. That went unnoticed as well. Nero swore he heard some snickering from behind him but just assumed it was some nearby eavesdropper and paid no mind to it. The name was ridiculous and anyone who had the opportunity to make fun of it should take the chance.

Nero pretended nothing happened and continues his line of questioning, "So uh did you call out to him with that... pet name?" He was beginning to lose it again but he doesn't. Barely.

Pet name seemed to be the correct answer because she outwardly shined in happiness. "No, not yet. I only thought of it after our meeting this morning."

"I see... well record it when you say it for the same time. I want to see the... appreciative reaction." Nero was just taking a piss at this point but Leah doesn't seem to pick it up and agreed promptly. Her buddy on the other hand DOES pick it up and cracked up. Hard. It was so loud, everyone on the floor was staring at the disruption and normally, pierced up man would do everything within his power to make sure he wasn't associated with her but this time, he can't help but chuckle along with her. After all, a fellow team member actually understood the jab and appreciated it. It was a good excuse to release a bit of held back laughter.

Leah was looking at her like she grew two heads and now owns chicken feet, ready to pretend like she didn't know her. But before it reaches that stage, the hysterical girl managed to ground herself and pretend she didn't just nearly roll on the floor in front of the entire company. Nero found that pretty impressive. Leah was clearly about to ask what just happened and her brunette friend sensed that so she turned back to the only male near their vicinity and introduced herself.

"Hello. I'm Claire. I work with Leah in the advertisement department. I'm also part of the new batch of new employees."

"Oh, really? Were you there during orientation?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Guess I didn't notice you then. Sorry"

Claire smiled to let Nero know she wasn't offended. "Yeah. I decided to blend in that day."

"Ah. Fair enough. That was my plan too... I don't think it worked out too well."

She returned a knowing smirk.

"Anyway, I'm Nerovsky. People call me Nero though."

"I know."

"You do?"

"The entire company does."

"Oh... right. I forgot about that."

There was no response after that, which put the three of them in awkward silence. The silence got Nero to ask the important questions... in his head. Did they come to tell me that Leah has a new stupid nickname for him? Wait no, I started that. Ok, so then why is she here? Oh, now I remember. She wanted to know about me and Leo. I'm just going to play stupid and pretend she never asked. Maybe she forgot. I'd rather deal with this awkward vibe than that question.

"You never answered my question." God fucking dammit.

Nero knew it's going to be a wasted effort but he played stupid anyway. "What question?"

Leah refused to let it go. "Why and how are you and Leo such good friends?" She emphasised on the friends again and at this point, Nero just felt bad for her and her desperate attempts. The insecurity must've been through the roof. Nero could be the polite, awkward gentleman that he usually was and give her some stock answer but he was not in the mood and for some reason, he felt a bit evil today. Probably because of the headache. If he had to suffer, so does everyone else. Well mainly because it's Leah. And no, he's not doing it because he got cockblocked earlier. It's because of the headache and only the headache.

With all the confidence he could gather, he leaned back into the chair in a lax position and gave her an unreadable smile. With neutrality in his tone, he said, "And why is that any of your concern?"

Leah slightly flinched and her growing frown demonstrated that she didn't expect such a blunt response, let alone a subtle refusal. Even Claire looked shocked. The former quickly collected herself and retaliated back in a vindictive tone. "It's not my concern. Well actually, it kind of is because I'm his childhood friend."

Nero's one eyebrow shifted up into his not-gelled-up fringe. "... and your point is...?"

Not expecting that as well, Leah sputtered out, "I'm-I'm basically his best friend! And I have the right to look out for him!"

"And what is it you're looking out for? Especially from me?" and best friend my ass.

The tables had clearly turned on her and Claire swore she could see Leah break into sweats. "W-Well you know... l-like if you're... I don't know! Taking advantage of him?"

Nero was not impressed in the slightest and his face hadn't shifted. It was beginning to make the two girls uncomfortable and fidget in their spots. "Taking advantage of him you say... you don't sound too sure of yourself there. Well regardless, I can guarantee to you that I am not in any way taking advantage of him. I'm just a measly salaryman." Nero sipped his coffee as his closing statement. Except Leah didn't let it be his closing statement.

"You could easily be lying!"

"Yeah. I could be. But can you prove otherwise?"

Leah was deemed speechless for a couple of seconds, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, before she tried to save herself. "Well no I- But like- THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING DAMMIT," her outburst captured the attention of nearby loiterers and she quickly muttered an apology to them, once again going back to glaring at me.

Nero just sipped his now lukewarm coffee (gross) and said, "Ok."

"... oh for fucks sake answer the question!"

"No."

She screeched out, "WHAT? WHY?!"

"Because it's none of your business."

"But you could be—"

"I'm not taking advantage of him. If you were his best friend, you'd probably already know that. So this already puts suspicion on your earlier claim, no?"

Leah was full blown leaking from all her glands now and anxiety was written all over her face. However, it didn't stop Nero from adding on, "if anything, aren't you the suspicious person here? Claiming someone you're not? From what I know, Leo hasn't mentioned you once to me but he has mentioned Mr. Fonzo before. Kind of odd for a best friend don't you think?" Leo hasn't actually mentioned Erwin to me before but a little bluffing can get you a long way sometimes.

And a long way does it go. Anyone from a mile away can see that Leah was so close to losing her shit and sucker-punching Nero right then and there. Claire swore she can see steam coming out of her ears and that'd be troublesome so Claire quickly redirected the conversation elsewhere.

"SO NERO! (Nero jumped in his chair and scowled at the lady) Are you going to the Anniversary Ball?"

The other female didn't hide her relief. "Oh my god yeah! Are you going?" Nero was fucking astonished because it was like some switch flipped in her and her emotions did a one eighty. One second she's about to transform into Hulk and then the next, she's back to her normal self. Like nothing ever happened. It freaked out Nero and he's officially lowkey scared of the woman. Which might extend to all women if they're all like that.

While the two faced bitch (Nero's words) touched up her face, Nero answered with a question, "You mean the thing that's happening next Friday? I've heard people talk about something happening but I never looked into."

Both girls outwardly gasped in utter disbelief and then the freakiest thing happened. Both girls SIMULTANEOUSLY synced and exclaimed, "How could you not know about the MegCorp's 7th year Anniversary Ball?! It's is like the event of the year for like the entire business and even social world!" It was at this moment that Nero truly believed that females were a different species from planet Mars who are going to take over the world in the near future. There was no they could say all of that word by word without some mind reading shit. They were gonna bring their alien friends in like triangular UFOs and laser eye all the males on earth, creating a female utopia. Like Nero's not against that but he still hadn't gone to Japan yet or attended a Beyoncé concert. He still had things to do and places to see. He couldn't die yet. As much as he says he wants to die.

The smaller male shook off his newly formed fear and pretended he didn't just flip out in his head. His response displayed bewilderment. "Uh is it?" Wrong question. A chain of information was crammed into the Oddity user by the other two, starting with Leah. (A/N each new line is one of the girls. First line is Leah, second is Claire and so on)

"YES! It is like the biggest event of every year."

"So much money is dedicated to the event so they get the best venue, food, drinks, entertainment, security, etc."

"So everyone wants an invite because it's a once in lifetime opportunity for ordinary people like salarymen (Nero: funny how she chose to not include herself in that) therefore, people who do get invited make sure they can go at all costs, cancelling all other events. Funeral or not. You best believe it that everyone is going to whip out their best dresses and suits to impress other people, especially celebrities."

"Invitations are also exclusive. They're only for MegCorp employees and—"

"And even then, the invitations are limited. Meaning not all of the employees can't go."

"The tickets are a bit pricey but they could be even more considering the venue and other factors."

"More on the invitation, if you manage to get one, you're allowed one plus one. Unless you're one of the higher ups or the CEO. They can do whatever they want but that's fair enough."

Nero was currently very overwhelmed but neither of them noticed and Leah continued to advance on.

"But because of that fact, it's known for celebrities to hunt out everyday employees and ask them to take them. So there is another incentive for getting the tickets. Who wouldn't want a celebrity as a date?"

"Last year I think half of the employees who got tickets ditched their significant other and took the celebrity. Apparently, the ditched wasn't even mad!"

"Speaking of getting tickets, there are three methods of getting yourself in. One is purchasing the tickets online once they come out. They sell out in mere seconds though. Second is being a plus one for one who already got the invite. And fin—"

"And finally, (Leah gives Claire the stink eye for interrupting her) you get a personal invitation from the boss himself. Well, your sector boss may get a couple of tickets for their squad but they have to run it through with Mr. Covell and friends."

Leah flicked her hair back purposefully and put on a haughty aura. In her snobbish voice (Nero's words. He really doesn't like this girl), she claimed, "I know for a fact that I will be getting a personal invite from DiCaprio so I don't have anything to worry about. I can one plus you, Claire if you want."

Both Nero and Claire let out an accidental snort at the use of the name and quickly covered it up with a fake cough. The latter replies back with a little less enthusiasm to the question. Something told the male that she figured out that she was being looked down upon. "I was planning to buy a ticket for myself but I'll take a guaranteed chance over none. Thanks, Leah." See Nero, learn to give up your pride like her. You can get so many benefits.

"No worries. That's what friends do." She still put on a condescending smile. The black-haired male felt irked for her friend but said nothing. Mainly because he was trying to process all the clusterfuck that had been put on him. The blonde girl turned back to Nero and asked the initial question again. "So are you going to the ball next Friday?"

"Yeah, are you going?"

That wasn't from any of the three interlocutors. The voice came from behind Nero (again) and it seemed somewhat recognisable to him. All three look at each other in confusion and all turned their attention to the new voice (Nero turned as much as he can in his spot).

They came face to face with an unexpected person and their presence caused the two girls to outwardly gasp (and blush) and the shorter male to return a deadpanned look, unenthusiastically enouncing, "Oh, it's you."