Blue in Green

“Yeah, I know the one,” Félix smiled after she mentioned it. He had been there more than once, but getting off campus wasn't so easy if he didn't have Eric to drive him around. Which was rare enough. He wished he had been there recently as well, but Félix still had an insurmountable pile of records to listen through again. Not to mention he kept sampling from the library, which took even more time.

Speaking of the library, the girl mentioned her little story about losing her swing. It was a very curious story... she would listen to records she thought someone else would like to listen to.

“That's interesting, actually,” Félix mused, “There was this name that kept appearing before mine on some records. Nerina Ondo. I would take out records pretty frequently, but sometimes she seemed to get her hands on them before me. I'm betting she's quite the genius herself,” Félix thought about what someone like 'Nerina Ondo' would look like. 'Ondo' sounded like 'waves' in French... maybe she was a French starlet?

Hearing his name on her lips was a shock. He mentioned only his first name, and that was a while ago. She never told him her own, and Félix figured she had simply forgotten his. Yet here she could recite his last name. If he was right, and he was, she was Nerina Ondo. The girl he searched for, and the girl who searched for him.

“Nerina... Ondo?”

Félix's face flushed darker. He stopped eating the tasty mackerel. This was her. This was the girl who listened to all that music. This was the girl that would borrow records and sometimes rob Félix from listening to them. A girl he admired, competed against, and followed all in one. All without knowing her.

“I am Félix Tenebre,” Félix smiled awkwardly. Unsure of what to do, he reached out one hand for hers, and asked, “Would you... like to listen to music with me?”

Eric? A quinoa-huffing health nut? It was too much to imagine, but he had to ask.

“Eric? Is he... tall? Brown hair, slicked back? Obsessed with his health and physique?”

It didn't take much for Félix to realize she was talking about his brother. “Oh my God,” Félix rubbed his face. She already mentioned having a boyfriend though. Félix liked Nerina, though he was hesitant to start a relationship either. He was still with Konishi... for what that was worth.

“It's okay. I'm... actually in a relationship too.” Ironically, Félix was probably the only person in which Eric would be upset with Nerina dating. Eric could always compete for the attention from other men. With his own brother, it was different. So Félix surmised.

“Eric's my brother, actually.” Félix admitted. “If you ever come to our dorm, you can always use the sound system. It has a nice record player.” He looked down at his food again, carefully picking just the fish to taste. He really didn't like quinoa right now.

His brother being very pushy didn't sound too farfetched, but it made Félix wonder if everything was okay between Nerina and Eric. He did not want to assume the worst when she mentioned his pushiness. Eric didn't always like to take things slow, in fact he almost never did, and if it made Nerina uncomfortable then Félix couldn't help but feel uncomfortable all the same. What would he tell Eric, first and foremost?

“What is he pushy about?” Félix tentatively asked. He hoped she didn't say what he feared she'd say. Anything else still wasn't good, but it was still better. “Sometimes he gets in over his head. He's nice, though.” It felt like a necessity to at least mitigate whatever damage Eric did. Still, it would be unforgivable if he hurt her in some way. Eric should know better.

His thoughts eventually came to the day his bathroom was 'out of order'. Eric stayed in there for a very long time, long after Félix went to bed. He hoped this wasn't related to Nerina in the way he thought it did.

Félix didn't have the stomach to tell Nerina what he thought outright. He could piece together from her testimony a fairly clear picture of what Eric was trying to aim for. It was more than kissing, and Eric generally did not like to date a long time without some sort of... 'reward' as he might put it. Honestly, Eric simply cared little for emotional relationships as far as Félix was concerned. The opposite of Nerina, and an evident point of contention.

Maybe he'd learn, or maybe not. Félix wasn't sure it was his place to tell anything to Eric, but maybe there was a chance Eric would listen to some reason. It felt strange to want to encourage Eric to be better with Nerina, but maybe it was part of Félix's desire to treat her well. If they couldn't be together, then maybe Félix could at least encourage his own will through his brother. Not that he ever succeeded.

“You're right, it is.” Félix congratulated her on reading the clock face, though not in any condescending tone. It must be hard not knowing how to read clocks. He looked around in Nerina's room and found only the watch as a time keeper. And one on the stove that wasn't properly set.

“Have you talked to him about what a 'good time' is to you? Maybe he thinks it's different,” Félix's eyes sunk to the quinoa on his plate. The rest of his food was finished.