Rose knew that the first thing they were going to do once Locious came back was a meeting to discuss whatever he had learnt from his secret informant. What she wasn't expecting was being received by a cold and gloomy Locious—a Locious that avoided eye contact with her and pretended she didn't exist at all.
Had it really been such a catastrophe that she got drunk one night? Did she really deserve to be given the cold shoulder just for that? He was behaving as if she had stolen a sacred object, which made her furious, but at the same time, Mike's words lingered in her mind. Maybe she had really pushed her buttons this time. She forgot for a second that he was an Angel. He may seem chill on the outside, but he still was the boss of the Society, and rules were rules. I'm not an exception. I will never be. It doesn't matter if it feels fair or not, if we are friends or not. If he feels I broke the rules, I will have to pay the price.
"Also, I need you to talk with Berlion and ask him for a list of the club owners they have contracts with so we can check which could be the next target," Locious said when everyone except Rose and Sandy left the conference room.
"Berlion won't give me that information, Loci, you know how they are with their contracts," Sandy countered. He was about to answer, but when he noticed that Rose was looking at him, he immediately stood up and put not only an emotional distance but also a physical one between them, which made Rose clench her fist. "Okay, now I'm genuinely angry. Isn't this a little too childish for the 'perfect Angel' who never makes a mistake? It's been days! Jeez, let it go, dude," she thought.
"Yeah, I know. But at least can you ask him to verify which clubs could be in potential danger? I know his boss doesn't care about anyone more than himself and his money, but this is a real threat, for all of us," he stated, but when he noticed that Sandy was raising her eyebrow, he quickly disappeared into his office without a word.
"Let's go, girl. I need to know what the hell just happened, I could almost cut the tension with a knife," Sandy said, grabbing her arm and dragging her to the parking lot.
"I wish I knew…" Rose muttered, getting into the car and bracing herself for the inevitable interrogation.
***
"Where are you Locious?" Sandy shouted in the hallway, startling everybody. She wasn't angry, she was... mildly annoyed. Rose and her spent the whole day talking to bar owners; some were very helpful, some were a freaking pain in the ass.
Rose did her best to stay composed through all that , but she could see very clearly how much Locious's attitude affected her, and she couldn't even blame the Angel Aura anymore; it was 100% her true feelings. And as much as she wanted to write her up as a superior and scold her to compose herself, she just couldn't bring herself to do it.
"This stupid asshole... Locious!" she shouted one more time until the door of his office opened and Mike, with his usual guardian dog face, set her on fire with his eyes.
"The Director is busy, is there an urgent request for him?" he asked, and that high and mighty tone he used almost sent her into a rampage, but he wasn't the one she needed to put back in his place, so she bit her tongue and answered: "Tell him that I'll be waiting for him in the gymnasium. He has ten minutes. If he doesn't come, I'll be really, really pissed." She turned around without waiting for a reply and went directly to the Armory for the special swords Angels used to spar. These ones were more resistant to their strength and wouldn't break after a few full-on hits. Not only did she have to spend hours talking to those morons who believed were so important, but also she had to deal with a heartbroken partner.
"Goodness, her tears almost killed me," she said aloud, remembering that after they finished with the last club owner, a text from Locious gave Rose the final blow. "Once you finish with them, leave Rose at her house"— and that was it, no explanation, no goodbyes, nothing. And after that, Rose cried her heart out. Rose was angry and sad but at the same time she was feeling a crushing shame. She thought it was all because of the drinks, but Sandy knew better.
Locious would never be angry because someone got drunk. He had even taken some of the younger employees home when they had drinking competitions with her. There was something else going on, and Locious, instead of manning up, was behaving like a stupid teenager, which made her fuse blow.
"I'm here! What was that? Who do you think I am? I know we've known each other for a long time and share a deep bond, but you were out of line… What's this?" he said when Sandy threw him a black sword.
"We are letting off some steam, and we'll talk about whatever shitty thing is going through your head," she answered and charged, almost landing a hit at Locious's arm if he hadn't been so fast to block.
"What are you talking about? There is nothing going on," he said while dodging another hit from her.
"C'mon, you were all over her the first few days, and today you pretended she didn't even exist," she said and slammed the side of her own sword into Locious's leg. It wasn't even necessary to mention her name because they both knew who she was talking about , but he went stiff, making her sword land with a loud cling. He tumbled just for a second, and easily went back to counteract her attacks.
His lips were saying one thing, but his body was speaking the truth, which infuriated Sandy. He wasn't even able to admit that he was being a jerk. Was it because in his mind he didn't do anything wrong, or was he just pretending nothing was out of the ordinary? Even so, his attitude talked miles and if he wasn't even going to admit he made a mistake, her baby girl Rose would spend her time heartbroken...
"You are a son of—," she shouted and hammered against his sword, aiming for his head. She knew she couldn't kill him, but at least, if she landed one blow she may be able to put some sense in that empty blonde head of his. Despite her strength and speed, every time she was close to her objective, he would evade her attacks and shove her further away from him.
"You are hurting her for no reason! What? Is it because you've become such a purist that the thought of her having drinks disgusts you? Or is it because you are having fun playing with her feelings?" she spit between gritted teeth and charged again. Their swords shrieked because Locious snapped, now not skittering but going for her full strength. His defensive moves felt like attacks, and Sandy grunted when he cornered her against the wall and pressed her sword into her chest.
"She said she liked me," he hissed in front of her face as if challenging her to say something, but instead of the angry comeback he was expecting, she looked at him in confusion and then, shifted her gaze as if she was looking at a brainless person and asked: "And? I mean... Yeah, anyone with eyes and a brain cell would be able to see that." He mirrored her expression as if he couldn't understand what the problem was.
"What do you mean, and? Okay... Let's stop this," he said and let her go. They both, breathless, grabbed two bottles of water and sat down. "I know that you figured out about the Angel Aura. Doesn't that answer your own question? Isn't that proof enough that I need to stay away from her for now?" he said, and what she couldn't do while sparring she did it at that moment: she threw her bottle of water and hit him in the head. A stupefied Locious, touching the place she hit, looked at her as if she had lost her marbles.
"And you made her cry just for that? The Angel Aura wore off, you fucking stupid monkey!! I checked that same night!"