Chapter Text
It was a late night and the bar was buzzing. Everyone there was trying to get plastered one last time before the Apex game began the next day. Elliott was no different; he sat slouched in his bar-stool over the rum in front of him. He downed his drink and slammed the empty glass on the counter, raising his hand for another. The bartender saw him, nodded, and began making him another drink, giving him time to look around.
Elliott didn’t know the name of the bar he was in, but the purpose of going there definitely wasn’t to know the surroundings. The Apex Games were tomorrow, and not only would Elliott be randomly assigned his teammates, but he would also be the returning champion, making him the primary target for every other squad. He gulped, his thoughts wandering towards the next day’s possibilities, causing him to shudder.
As though his silent prayers were heard, the bartender reluctantly placed another rum next to the four other empty glasses, giving Elliott a slight look of concern. Before he could contemplate his actions, he took a long swig of the drink and closed his eyes, trying to convince himself that tomorrow wouldn’t be so bad.
“This seat taken?” called a voice to Elliott’s right. He barely glanced over before downing the rest of the drink and turning towards the stranger. To his surprise, a pale girl stood next to him, probably only a few inches shorter than him. He scanned her up and down, quickly noticing the bright blue of her eyes. He hair dark hair was tied in a messy top bun, and she wore a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans. Casual, yet formal, somehow.
“Nope.” Elliott motioned towards the seat, prompting her to sit down. She climbed onto it faced away from the bar, looking around the room and scanning the hundred or so people shouting over the loud music. Elliott looked at her through his peripheral vision, trying not to let her know he was staring.
“You gonna get a drink or just watch?” He asked, finally working up the confidence to talk to her. She turned her head to him, eyeing him. He felt her gaze pierce through him, but he didn’t back down. They stared at each other for a few seconds before she looked behind her at the wall of drinks, most likely contemplating what to get. Before she could decide, Elliott quickly shot has hand out and called toward the bartender.
“Two shots of Bombay!” The girl turned to him, raising an eyebrow. The bartender nodded, and after a few seconds the drinks clinked to the wood of the bar. Elliott slid the second glass towards her, holding the first.
“It’s on me.” He quipped, offering a smile towards her. The girl looked between the drink and Elliott a few times before turning towards the bar and downing it in one gulp.
“Thanks.” Her voice was cold as ice, but Elliott could tell that the thank you was genuine. She has this air to her that he couldn’t distinguish, but it sure as hell distracted him from the thoughts of tomorrow.
“So, you from around here?” He asked after drinking his own shot.
“No.” She didn’t look at him to answer, her gaze dead set on the array of drinks behind the bar.
“Well then, what’s a pretty face like yours doing in these parts?” This made her turn to him, her eyes meeting his, before quickly breaking towards the empty glass she held.
“Does it matter?” she asked, looking at Elliott again. They held eye contact for what felt like centuries, but if he was being honest with himself, he would admit that he didn’t want to look away. Something about this girl was enthralling, and Elliott desperately needed a distraction.
“I guess not.” He smirked, “but maybe you and I could get out of here.” He extended his hand towards her.
“Name’s Mirage.” The girl quickly glanced down to his hand but kept her gaze on him. She opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, a loud bang erupted from another part of the room.
“You’ll pay for that!” a large man had his hand on the throat of a tall blue robot. He shoved the robot to the wall with a loud thud before turning and walking away, wiping the fresh stain off his shirt. If Elliott had to guess, the robot probably spilled a drink on the man and he majorly overreacted.
“That was weird,” Elliott chuckled, turning back towards the bar. When he looked to where the girl should have been, however, he found nothing but an empty barstool. He sighed to himself, chastising himself for getting his hopes up about taking a pretty girl like that back to his room. He looked at all the empty glasses in front of him and ordered another, deciding to go back to his initial distraction.
His head roared with pain as he walked towards the Apex compound, each pulse of his blood pounding in his brain. He had to meet his assigned teammates before noon, he had decided, but the throbbing pain in his forehead bitterly protested. He was being paired with a duo, going by the names of Wraith and Pathfinder. He had never heard of them, but he had been assured that they were of his skill level. He wandered his way to the section of the compound he was told to meet them in, only to stop in his tracks when he saw the girl and the robot from the night before seated in a large booth.
“Are you Mirage?” The robot asked, a smiling face appearing across the screen on his chest. The girl stared at Elliott before turning to the robot and nodding.
“Great! My name is Pathfinder, and this is Wraith. We are going to be your squad!” Pathfinder clapped his robotic hands and scooted over for Elliott to sit down in the booth. He nervously chuckled and looked back at the girl, whose name was apparently Wraith. She looked at him with those blue eyes for a few seconds before looking back towards her breakfast.
This was going to be one hell of a match.