Misunderstanding

"Well...I was about to say that, the thugs were a big hassle here, they would beat up the people here, steal their money...even the guards were afraid of them..."Fiona said with sadness drawn on her face as if bad memories were flashing through her head.

"Why though? Why were the guards afraid of them?"Liam asked, cluelessly, he didn't understand why guards armed with weapons and armor should be afraid of a bunch of baddies.

"Because of their numbers..."Fiona went silent for a while before continuing."The group Leo fought was only a small part of the gang, they had much more out there..."

"Then...where are all of them now?"

"All around the world...this group he fought was just a small part of the gang, which the gang leader assigned to disturb our peace! I remember the gang was called 'Blood Scar'."

"'Blood Scar?'They sound sick!"Liam praised but his mind was thinking.

Not as strong as Leo though!

"I don't know about you though but I think this 'Blood Scar' should be eliminated! They are causing trouble to the whole world!"

"Ya...they should be...but their name is cool though!"

"I don't understand, boys..."Fiona sighed and suddenly switched her attention to the crowds, which were surrounding their hero, Leo."Where are they going?"

The villagers suddenly moved and led their hero away. Liam and Fiona silently stared at each other, then, turned to the crowd and followed. They followed the crowd and soon stopped in front of a bar.

Then, they saw a red-haired guy being pushed into the bar, followed by some of the people. The bar was too small for all of the villagers so most of them were standing outside.

"...They sure are insane of the 'hero'..."Liam said while trying to look into the bar but failed since all the windows and doors were blocked.

"Ya..."Fiona chuckled.

"You don't look like someone from this village...but you sure know a lot of things!"

"I didn't expect you to know! What gave it away?"

"While you didn't go crazy like all of them when you knew Leo defeated the enemies..."

"True, nice observation!"She praised and told him her story."Well... I arrived here a few months ago and decided to stay here to rest but then those criminals came. And I had to be confined here because they said if I leave here the people here will suffer and they talk about a lot of stuff but I don't seem to remember. They sure talk a lot..."

"How can they threaten you?! And were you close to the people here?"

"Yes, I stayed here for some days and got along with them quite nicely, they are really friendly. But then, the moment I was about to leave... this happened..."

"So, you're an adventurer?"

"Yes!"

"What a bummer!To be kept in one place and not being able to explore the world!"

"Ya! The world is fascinating!"Fiona said, her green eyes stared into the distance as if she was remembering something dear to her, her looks seemed relieved and happy as if she was finally free. Then, she snapped out of it."I'm sorry for zoning off, haha, I really miss it..."

"Who wouldn't?!"Liam exclaimed and both their eyes met.

They could see each other's determination and spirit to be free, to explore the world. After some time, Liam noticed how he was staring at her and quickly looked away while Fiona saw his reaction and laughed. Seeing Fiona's chill, friendly nature, made Liam feel comfortable and safe like a wild animal trusting a human. He laughed with her but soon their laughter was stopped.

"Where are my friends?"They heard a familiar voice coming from the bar. It sounded like Leo's.

"What friends?"They heard someone reply.

"The two that were with me when I stepped into the village. Not when I bring the bad guys(I came by myself)but after that...the old man that shouted must know!"

Hearing the person say those words, it was guaranteed to be Leo. There was a moment of silence before Leo continued.

"Umm...you know the two people, one with black hair and the other one with pink hair."

After he said those, Liam felt that it was dangerous to stay here, he grabbed Fiona's hand and was about to sneakily move away when all the people suddenly turned around. Their glaze were stuck on them while they were doing so, there was an opening among the crowds, which directly opened up a path leading to Leo.

"Hi, Fiona, Liam..."Leo greeted as he waved his hand.

The people around them confirmed that they were really the friends that Leo mentioned and immediately pushed them into the bar, joining Leo. Liam was pushed to Leo's left and Fiona was placed to Leo's right. Both of them were sitting on chairs and surrounded by folks. (Like they were some sort of legendary hero...)Not used to all the attention around them, Liam turned to Leo and glared at him as if he was about to burst. Leo noticed his deadly glare and looked at him with a scared smile.

"So...what's the problem?"Leo asked with concern, he could guess what he was mad about.

"What's the problem?!"Liam yelled in a whisper since there were a lot of people around them and he didn't want to attract more attention than they already had now."You drag me into this mess with you!"

"Sorry, geez..."Leo apologized as he thought.

I knew it...he's mad because I dragged him into something he's not used to...(That is places with a lot of people.)

"I just need someone that I know, okay?"Leo continued."I get really nervous without someone I know by my side."

"Hm? Really? I never thought you could get nervous..."

Liam felt a little cheered up by the fact he learned something new about Leo. He was in his thoughts when a bartender approached him and asked him about his drink preference.

He ordered his drink, which was grape juice since he doesn't drink wine due to the bitterness of the drink. The bartender then left him and went to make his drink. While he was waiting he overheard Leo and the people's conversation.

"I can't take all the credit! If it wasn't for Liam, snatching Fiona away from the gang. I think I wouldn't be able to protect her because in the middle of the fight when the leader was about to fall. He yelled to his underlings to grab Fiona, which I think they were trying to use her to threaten me but failed to because Liam already sneaked her away. And during that time when the gang was distracted by her sudden disappearance, I managed to easily win over them. So...ya, it wasn't me who did all the job, Liam helped!"

Liam felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside his heart when he heard Leo praise him for his action. But soon his feeling was gone due to a villager's question.

"But...why didn't he help you fight though?"One of the villagers asked, Leo couldn't even see who was the one asking due to all the people crowding around.

"Umm...well, he is still new to all of these, adventure things. So...when dealing with danger and trouble, it is best to leave it to more experienced adventurers."

Hearing Leo's reply, Liam felt a little ashamed of how weak he was.

"Ah...I see."The person that asked the question said but soon he switched his topic."So, what do you think of Fiona? She's a good girl, ain't she?"

"Umm...ya, she's nice..."

"Then, would you like to marry her?"An elderly lady with white hair and a face full of wrinkles asked.

"What?!"Leo and Fiona yelled in shock. Then, Fiona continued with red cheeks."No, no, no!"

"Do you not like our hero?"Another unknown villager asked after hearing her reply.

"It's not that, I don't like him..."Fiona shyly answered."It's just that..."

She didn't know what to say and stayed silent and Leo noticed her trouble and helped her.

"It's just that we just met and got to know each other. We're still not that close yet..."Leo spoke out with confidence but you could see he was embarrassed by the question as his cheeks were a little red.

"'Yet' you say?"One of the villagers said, happily as if he thought that it would happen one day.

"Can we just stop talking about it?! Please..."Fiona yelled, stopping all of them from bringing them further into their so-called 'marriage'.

Surprisingly, they really did stop and talk about other things but it still included their hero and Fiona. Asking their hero about how he was this strong. What inspired him to be an adventurer? While Fiona is how strong it was for her to stand before those delinquents!How brave she was to talk back to them!How lucky she was to meet the hero!Blah, blah, blah...But none of them talked about Liam as if he wasn't there. He was forgotten even though he helped.

Liam was now sitting alone with a glass of grape juice in his hand and a huge frown was spread on his face. The more he listened to their conversation the worse he felt but he still hadn't lost his cool, at least not yet...

Suddenly, two young ladies walked up to him but Liam ignored them since he thought they were going to Leo.

"Sir, I heard you are Leo's friend and you are quite close to him, right?"One of the ladies asked and Liam looked up at her in surprise and a little glimmer of happiness.

He nodded and both of the girls looked at each other, both of their eyes shone with cheerfulness. Then, the other friend continued to tell their purpose of talking to him.

"Umm," She hummed, nervously as she stood there with her friend. They kept giggling, shyly and their cheeks were red. Liam didn't push them away even though he was getting a little impatient with them. (He was happy that there was finally someone who noticed him)"Can I ask you what is Leo's type?"

Liam felt his blood boil when he heard her question, he stood up from his seat and aggressively slammed both his hands on the bar table. The loud bang echoed through the noisy bar, leaving everyone in silence. Even though everyone in the bar was shocked by the sudden commotion but you could tell Leo was the most shaken by Liam as his eyes were split wide open in shock.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?!"Liam yelled without knowing that he was now the center of everyone's attention."It was always Leo this! Leo that! But what about me, huh?! You all act as if I'm not here!"

He turned to look around the place as he shouted his final sentence and at that time he noticed everyone's stare. Their eyes were all stuck on him and something about those stares reminded him about his home.

They all have that look as if they saw him as someone insane.

Liam immediately felt an urge to run, to storm out of the place. He stepped back, his face was pale and filled with fear and he hastily dashed out.

He pushed open the wooden door. Fresh, cold freezing air blew through his face as he dashed into the street but he couldn't feel anything. His mind kept repeating those stares of his hometown folks and the folks here. He felt like he was suffocating as he felt himself falling into the deepest sea of fear.

Even after I escaped from my hometown, it's the same! It's always the same!

He didn't know where to go his mind was in total chaos and his eyes couldn't see as if they had gone blind. But one thing he was sure of was that he needed to get out of there! As long as he's away from those demons, he will feel fine again.

"I'm always going to be a weirdo in people's eyes, no matter where I go!"He was yelling yet, talking to himself as he said all those words."Nothing will ever change-"

But suddenly, something grabbed onto his shoulder, it felt warm even in the freezing night. It swung him around and his eyes immediately met with two red filled with determination eyes.

"Liam! What happened?!"Leo asked with concern, his always cheerful appearance and tone were filled with worries."Why did you suddenly run out of the bar?"

Liam saw his eyes and felt like all his fear suddenly vanished as if he could breathe again. He was relieved that he wasn't alone as his mind replayed some of the happiest memories of their journey together. He was about to cry but he held it back. He didn't want to worry him any further.

He was glad that someone was finally able to accept him for who he was.

"Is everything all right? Why are you smiling?"He heard Leo ask with a confused expression on his face that forced him out of his thoughts.

He didn't even realize the tip of his lip was lifted into a smile. He quickly covered his mouth and looked away from him, flustered. (He was embarrassed by the way he thought of Leo, he knew Leo always accepted him even the first time they met but still realizing that made him shy )As he was trying to calm his mind and wipe away his smile, he secretly peeked at Leo and saw his head tilted in confusion like a confused puppy. Seeing his cute confused puppy look, he couldn't help but chuckle a little and face him as if everything that just happened never existed.

"Anyway, why did you come out here?"Liam asked without any sign of anxiety like he was just now.

Leo gave him a what the hell look and continued.

"Shouldn't I be the one who asks you instead of the other way around? You were the one who suddenly shouted at the ladies and dashed out of the bar in panic."

"Ah...I forgot about that..."Liam mumbled to himself, blushing. Then, coughed slightly to cover his awkwardness and continue his conversation. "Well, those two were getting on my nerves..."

"Is that so..." Leo said, hesitantly as he turned to look back at the bar but soon he looked back at Liam and asked."What did they do? I heard them yelling that you were being rude to them when I ran out."

"Are you doubting me? Do you think I was the one at fault?"Liam glared at him, he couldn't believe Leo didn't trust him.

"No, no. It's not that. I believe you but I just want to know how."Leo hastily replied after realizing that Liam had the wrong idea.

"Well...they asked me about..."He blushed realizing how ridiculous his act was and how their conversation was turning into some kind of couple's argument."They asked me...your type!"

He yelled in the end due to embarrassment.

"My type? What do you mean?"Leo asked his head filled with invisible question marks."My type in...blood type?Sport type? hobby type?... I don't even know if there's even something like that..."

"No...none of those..."Liam said, his hand slap on his forehead as he thought.

Is he an idiot? How can he not get it, even after he said that a lot of girls are into him?

"Well, it's more like..."Liam continued while blushing worse than ever, he felt his cheeks burning as he felt like there was smoke coming out of his head. (He was getting more and more embarrassed when he knew he needed to explain it to Leo, especially after how he reacted in the bar, made it worse!) "It's...it's...the type of girls you like!"

He yelled out as quickly as possible as well as hoping Leo got it and didn't need him to repeat it.

"My type...in girls?"Leo stared at him with a stunned look as if he was saying that's it?

Liam nodded without looking at him, his mind was about to explode under the amount of humiliation he was going through.

"I...You...Are you jealous?"Leo hesitantly asked, which made Liam jump.

"Obviously, No!"Liam yelled back with all his might. He was expecting Leo to ask something like that but was still not ready for it.

"I'm just kidding, no need to get so worked up."Leo chuckled but soon continued with a relieved sigh."But for a second there, I thought you were in love with me..."

"No way!"

Leo laughed while Liam huffed with anger and humiliation but soon he calmed down a bit.

"Anyway, we finally managed to settle this situation so why not we go to a place for a rest?"Leo waited until Liam wasn't angry any more to ask.

"Where are we staying though?"Liam answered back with his usual tone whenever he talked to Leo.

"At Fiona's place"

"What?!"Liam yelled out in shock, he couldn't believe what he was hearing."No!No way!Arent there an inn or anything?"

"Well...surprisingly no..."Leo replied with an awkward smile, which pissed Liam off."That's why there weren't any adventurers staying here and help fight off the gang."

Liam angrily stomped on the ground like a kid throwing a tantrum.

"Even if you get mad, I can't do anything. This is other people's property after all."Leo replied like an experienced parent, who had dealt with naughty kids before."Come on, let's go find Fiona."

He added as he walked away from him.

Liam was still throwing a tantrum about it but seeing how Leo just walked away, leaving him in the dark, alone. He stormed forward to catch up to him.