Chapter Text
Felix often enjoyed people-watching on the train ride home.
At one point, it’d been a silly game Glenn had played with him to keep Felix from bugging him the entire ride. What had the passenger who’d just left the train been wearing on their head? How many bags had come on and off at the last stop? Name all the red articles of clothing he could see. Those kinds of silly, meaningless tasks that Felix would nonetheless eagerly take on as if heavenly duties prescribed by a king to a knight.
Now, though, it was just an old habit. A quick observance of each passenger that entered the car, a collection of information across many days that slowly informed him of the kinds of people that rode the same line as him. Every morning at 6 am, Felix would go out for a run before riding the train back home, silently clocking the familiar faces that he simultaneously knew nothing and far more than they’d expect about.
“Glasses Green-Hair Guy gets on for one stop before getting off. He must be an artist, always toting some supplies.”
“Gloomy Black-Hair Guy and White-Hair Girl get on together and always whisper like they’re planning a conspiracy. Who would be listening in on them on a train?”
“Weird Green-Haired Woman sometimes just zones out and misses her usual stop. She never makes a mistake two days in a row, though.”
So it was only a matter of time before he noticed her.
Orange-Haired Girl sat diagonally across from Felix every day, fiddling with her thumbs in what seemed like a mix of excitement and nervousness, much more energy than he expected from most at 7 in the morning. He figured she couldn’t be going to some kind of corporate job; the orange and white dress she wore was, while flattering and cozy-looking, not the sort of decorum an office would expect. That, and the quiet humming she did under her breath every day didn’t strike him as a cubicle worker on their way to work.
Every morning, Orange-Haired Girl would be sitting across from Felix’s usual spot making some small talk with Quiet Blonde Girl who sat down the row from him, humming to herself when she thought no one was listening, before getting off a few stops before him with a level of excitement that seemed entirely illegal to have this early in the morning. He usually couldn’t help but watch as she left, wondering what kind of place she was headed to.
He’d never ask, though. After all, he was just another weirdly observant passenger on the train. He figured that watching her every morning would give him some enjoyment, and they’d never actually speak.
It was a gloomy Friday the day that Orange-Haired Girl wasn’t sitting in her usual seat.
Felix’s first reaction was disappointment, a strange pit opening in his stomach when he took his seat without the bright splash of color and energy across from him. His second was wondering why he was so disappointed that a random person he didn’t even know wasn’t on the train. For all he knew, maybe she’d moved lines and wouldn’t be on the train with him ever again.
He didn’t like how that thought opened a similar disappointment in him.
“You’re kidding, Mercedes, no way!”
“No, that’s the truth! As far as I’ve heard anyway.”
It was only when the all-too-familiar voice rang out from right beside him rather than across the aisle that Felix realized what was going on.
In retrospect, it wasn’t even difficult to observe; there was a quietly dozing big guy with blond hair in Orange-Haired Girl’s usual spot, meaning that she’d moved across the aisle right next to Quiet Blonde Girl…and right next to him. How had he missed that? Had he really gotten so focused on her usual spot that he hadn’t even looked around?
“That’s ridiculous!”
“I know! But it’s just how he is.”
Orange-Haired Girl laughed at the words of Quiet Blonde Girl (or Mercedes as he now knew), and Felix was immediately filled with the absurd desire to make her laugh again. It wasn’t like she didn’t laugh often, but when she was so much closer he couldn’t help but clock the way she threw her shoulders in like she was trying to hold it down, or the way her eyes crinkled around the edges that betrayed her attempts to keep a quiet tone on the early-morning train. His eyes, normally honed for catching weaknesses and openings, couldn’t help but instinctively take in all the small details.
Moments later, Felix realized he was staring quite openly. Luckily, Orange-Haired Girl was facing away from him, so she didn’t notice…but this Mercedes girl behind her definitely did. Her eyes locked onto Felix’s own, and a moment of silent acknowledgment flickered through her eyes. For a second, Felix was paralyzed with the fear that she would call him out, Orange-Haired Girl would freak out and call him a creep and he’d never see her again. Instead, she just smiled and returned to the conversation with Orange-Haired Girl.
Somehow that felt more unnerving.
Faced with this uncanny feeling, Felix resisted any urge to glance back at Orange-Haired Girl for the rest of the train ride, his usually perceptive eyes that took in all the details of the train locked solidly to the opposite side as he very pointedly looked off into nowhere. Eventually, the time came, the train stopped and Orange-Haired Girl said her (unusually long) goodbyes to Quiet Blonde Girl before eagerly bolting off the train seconds before the doors closed.
Felix let out a sigh, feeling the tension he had fade away. Now that she was gone, he felt able to relax, his eyes instinctively wandering to glance about the train compartment once more.
Instead, his eyes met a pair of blue eyes that were staring into him.
He quickly looked away, but Quiet Blonde Girl spoke anyway.
“Hello!”
Shit
“I couldn’t help but notice you watching me and my friend earlier.”
Shit
“Uh…yeah, I was just looking around and your talking caught my attention. Sorry.”
Caught, Felix turned back to Quiet Blonde… Mercedes, and did his best to explain himself without saying “Yeah, and I’ve been staring at your friend for weeks now, and actually, I think she’s really cute”. Mercedes simply laughed again, a small chuckle with her sleeve over her mouth as if Felix was a small child who had been caught doing something naughty.
“Oh no, not just today. You’ve been looking for weeks now, right?”
She…was awfully blase about a strange man on the train staring at her and her friend. Felix wasn’t certain if he should be thankful or unnerved. Perhaps some of both. Before he could think of another, no doubt very clever response, Mercedes simply continued.
“Well, that’s for the best then. You can keep her company while I’m gone.”
Eh?
His confusion must have shown on his face because Mercedes decided to explain more to him.
“I’m going away on a trip tomorrow, so I won’t be here for some time now. But I figure that you seem like a nice boy, so you can fill in for me while I’m not here! You can start tomorrow!”
“I…see.” Felix wasn’t sure where to begin, whether it was why he was so trustworthy for a stranger on the train who stared at random women or why he should care at all if some random woman was lonely, no matter how nice her voice was to listen to or how much he wanted to hear from her more. But Mercedes seemed to take his indecision on how to say no as a yes, giving a firm nod as if the conversation was sealed.
She departed at her usual stop a few minutes later, giving Felix a cheery wave as she stepped off the platform.
“Say hi to Annette for me!”
Saturdays were usually Felix’s rest day, yet, with Mercedes’ words echoing in his mind, his body mutely awoke that morning, got ready for his run, jogged down to the station, and boarded the train all before he could really process what exactly he was doing. But, sure enough, Orange-Haired… Annette was sitting on the train, right next to Felix’s usual seat on account of Big Dozing Guy apparently being a new regular rider.
Felix took his seat and then steeled himself for what to do. He’d been running over the conversation on the jog over, playing the scenario over and over until he was completely certain about what he’d say and do. He’d “drop” his phone, Annette would pick it up because that was the kind of person she was, he’d say thanks, she’d say something like “No problem!”, and then Felix would introduce himself. They’d be off to a nice and friendly introduction and make some casual small talk. He kept her company a bit, fulfilled Mercedes’ irritatingly persistent request, and made a casual acquaintance.
Foolproof.
Gripping his phone in his pocket, Felix prepared to flick his wrist to send the device to the ground…when he heard Annette’s voice. She was muttering something, saying something quietly that Felix almost thought was directed at him for a moment…until he realized that she was singing under her breath.
“Today's dinner is steak and then a cake that's yummy yum...tummy tummy tum...mountain of sweets, and treats... stacks of steaks and cakes and crumbs and yums…”
“A mountain of sweets… and steaks and cakes?”
Annette whirled about, her eyes wide and Felix realized, with a start, that he had instinctively said his thoughts aloud about her lyrics. Judging from the pale in her face and the frantic look in her eyes, she hadn’t been meaning to be overheard either. She glanced about in a flurry, making sure no other passengers were listening, which thankfully seemed unlikely given the general clatter of the cart and the sleepy mood.
“You! - I- Ah- you-you!”
Stuck in a stammer for a few moments, Annette brought her hands up to her face, covering her mouth as if she could prevent it from spilling any more cute little songs, her face glowing a shade of pink almost as bright as her hair.
“I’m Felix, by the way.” Maybe he could salvage this?
“Now arriving at Gaspard Station”
“You...you’re evil, Felix!”
Grabbing her bag, Annette leaped from her seat and bolted out of the train car onto a train station that Felix knew was not her stop. Big Dozing Guy started for a moment at her outburst, glanced around, and, realizing it wasn’t him, went back to sleep. The other sparse passengers glanced over at the sound, perhaps construing their own ideas of the kind of person Felix was. A new gaggle of people meandered on board, and as the train left the station, Felix was still left in a mix of confusion and thought over his first conversation with Annette.
Initially, he had followed along with Mercedes’ request…for no real reason. Boredom, perhaps, or just wanting to do a good deed.
But now?
No, this was fun.