I’ve always thought that love is a mental illness. People glorify and obsess over it, exaggerating their feelings for something that could easily take everything away. It’s like a drug, an addiction that the government has legalized. I was certain, so sure, that I wouldn't end up an addict like everyone else. After all, someone like me, who could see through the nature of human beings, would never grow feelings for something so feeble and so easy to break.
But in the end, even I fell victim to its cruel game. The moment I met you, I knew I would get into trouble… and trouble did come, because it was so difficult to detach myself from you when you just wouldn’t leave me alone.
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“Fuck, it’s so hot,” Clementine complained as he and Hero walked side by side. It was the middle of summer, and the sun was relentless, beating down on them with a scorching 40-fucking-degrees Celsius. The school had ended classes early in the afternoon because they were too cheap to buy something to cool off each student. Clementine was pretty sure they would have let the students roast alive in the classroom if they could get away with it. But he guessed a lawsuit would be more expensive than just buying a damned cooler. “Can you, like—fucking not, Hero? Get off me, you sweaty moron.”
Hero laughed at his best friend’s complaints, grinning ear to ear as he hooked his arm around Clementine’s neck and shoulders. The heat was unbearable, and both of them were drenched in sweat. But Hero refused to let go, enjoying the moment too much. “Aww, c’mon Clem!”
“I am not risking a heat stroke because you are clingy. Get off me, I’m dying from the heat!” Clementine’s words eventually convinced Hero to let go, making the shorter boy sigh in relief as he started fanning himself with a folder that held both of their monthly quiz results. At this point, he didn’t care if it got crumpled. “Shit, ice cream would really hit the spot right now.”
“But aren’t you, like, lactose intolerant?” Hero teased, grinning, knowing exactly what kind of response he would get. And, true to his expectations, Clementine glared at him, which made him laugh.
“You think we give a shit?” Clementine scoffed, then yelped when Hero started clinging to him again. “Get off! I said it’s too hot!”
“Well, knowing about lactose intolerance, I know damn well you will definitely give a shit. Literally.” Hero barked with laughter, hugging his best friend close despite Clementine’s protests about the heat.
“Ha-ha! Very fucking funny. Now let go of me, clown!” Clementine backed away, insulting Hero but then looking away with a sigh.
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‘Sometimes, I wish days like this would continue a bit longer.’
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The two boys walked along the road leading to the mall. They had planned to get some ice cream and cool off with the free air-conditioning in the building. Still, it was so damned hot that they were actually suffering from the heat. Even their skin felt like it was burning. Clementine finally noticed this and slipped out of Hero’s hold, grabbing his wrist and heading toward the shade of a tree.
“Hmm, taking a break?” Hero laughed, though he seemed relieved as Clementine pulled out his tumbler bottle and shoved it his way. “Thanks.”
Clementine only scoffed at Hero’s thanks, sitting down on the grassy patch of ground. He knew Hero wouldn’t be too worried about the heat because he was careless like that, but Clementine was more concerned about these things, especially since there had been a lot of heatstroke cases in their country recently.
“Fucking hell, it’s like we’re on a sizzling plate at this point. Our country has never been this hot before—even the roads are melting.” Clementine muttered under his breath, glancing at his friend who was about to empty his bottle. “Oi! Leave some for me, you ass!”
“Sorry, sorry!” Hero laughed, giving the tumbler back to Clementine, who wiped where Hero had drunk. “Hey, you act like I have germs or something.”
“Are you stupid? I ain’t licking your saliva.” Clementine took a swig of the water, which was still a bit cold thanks to his tumbler’s temperature insulation. He sighed in relief, but then grumbled when Hero sat close to him again. “You really are clingy, aren’t you?”
“Well, can you blame me?” Hero grinned widely at him, laughing loudly and brightly—like the sun. “… you’re like a second mother to me.”
“Fucking really? Mother? Not even a brother?” Clementine sighed in exasperation, which Hero laughed at even more. “Great, I’m now parent-zoned. I better get an award for that.”
“Weeeeell~ Aren’t I a good trophy to have? Like, a trophy friend, or something?” But Hero was just pushed away, making him the one to complain, albeit playfully.
“I don’t need any trophy friends. You make it sound like I use you to look good.” Clementine rolled his eyes before looking away, trying to cool down as much as he could. While he seemed mean, Clementine actually enjoyed Hero’s company. And Hero understood that, seeing through Clementine’s harsh exterior to the part where he was genuinely happy.
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‘I don’t need to look good; I just need to know that you’re happy, well, and loved. After all, in this world, the only genuine thing that exists is your smile.’
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image [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GTubsK5a8AAo_n1?format=jpg&name=large]
“God, you are so annoying.” Clementine could only sigh in irritation, which Hero only grinned brightly at.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Love you too, buddy.”
“Fuck you.”
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‘You say those words so easily, without even knowing how much it means to me. Sincerely, you are the most annoying and lovable thing in the world.’
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“We should get going.” Hero finally stood up, stretching and feeling a bit better now despite still feeling too warm. The thought of the air-conditioning at the mall was so enticing that he couldn’t wait. And ice cream too… “Aren’t you craving some vanilla ice cream?”
“Vanilla is your flavor, dumbass. You seriously don’t know my favorite flavor?” Clementine stood up as well, wiping some sweat from his forehead before placing his tumbler back into the pocket of his bag. “I’m getting rocky road today.”
“Ehhhh~ How am I supposed to know when you eat a lot of flavors?” Hero huffed, pouting but grinning afterward. “What flavor do you like, anyway?” Now he was curious. Really, the most he had seen Clementine eat was vanilla. What he didn’t know, however, was that Clementine simply ate vanilla because he wanted to enjoy what the other was eating too.
“I dunno, figure it out yourself.” Clementine snorted, starting the walk toward the mall again, leaving Hero to look at him for a moment before chasing after him.
“Hey! That’s unfair! You know I like vanilla but I don’t know what you like!” Hero complained, sounding childish to Clementine, who smirked at having one leg up on his best friend. “You’re smiling, you are definitely smiling! You are so unfair, man!”
“The fuck you mean unfair? I knew you liked vanilla because I noticed you eating it a lot—”
“You eat a lot of vanilla too!”
“Yeah, but doesn’t mean it’s my favorite, idiot.”
The two chattered, seemingly not moving on from discussing Clementine’s favorite ice cream. Hero was adamant about extracting that information from Clementine, who was very tight-lipped about it. He wanted to keep Hero curious; maybe this time Hero would pay more attention to what ice cream he ate.
But then again, it didn’t really matter what Clementine’s favorite was. He just wanted to be able to enjoy something sweet with someone he cared about the most—and Hero made everything much sweeter.
Three years of friendship, and he never knew ice cream, pudding, and candies could get sweeter when you eat them with someone you like a lot.
He had really missed out on a lot of things by being unfriendly, huh?
“Hey—Hey…!” Hero rushed toward the road when he saw a small kitten wobbling in the busy street. It alarmed Clementine, who shouted after him.
“Oi! Are you insane?! Get the fuck back here!” Clementine’s heart raced with worry, a pit in his stomach as he looked left and right with vehicles whizzing by. He couldn’t just cross; he wasn’t stupid!
“Don’t worry! I got the little guy!” Hero cheered, still crouched down as he looked at Clementine. But then he froze when he heard a large horn honking as a big truck closed in. He actually wanted to move, but for some reason, he was just stuck in place.
“You—IDIOT!”
Before either of them knew it, Clementine was by his side, having run through the traffic, pushing Hero out of the way… but it was already too late. The loud ringing of a truck’s horn, the alarmed and shocked look on their faces... and a bright flashing light followed.
Clementine felt like he was in a void for the longest time, his soul being torn to little pieces—as if he were being torn apart and put back together again. It was like his very being was swimming in the deepest depths of darkness before feeling like he was being pulled out of it by an invisible noose around his neck.
Wake up…
Is that what he was hearing?
Wake up… heroes…!
Violent coughing wracked Clementine’s body as he woke up, his chest feeling tight and heavy. It was like trying to breathe through a straw, every gasp of air painful and harsh. His eyes were unfocused, blurring the strange surroundings as he struggled to catch his breath. Panic clawed at him, a sense of suffocation taking hold until suddenly, a warm, pleasant light enveloped him. The pain and panic subsided, and after one final deep breath, he looked around to find Hero beside him, looking worried.
They were surrounded by people dressed in elaborate, strange costumes, like they were at some high-end cosplay event. It was surreal and confusing.
“The… fuck are we?” he rasped, his voice rough. He glanced at Hero, who was thanking a priest before turning to Clementine. “Hero… where are we?”
“We are summoned, apparently.” Hero rubbed Clementine’s back, trying to comfort him. Clementine was still shaken from the memory of the accident, but Hero’s concern pulled him back to the present. “They called us Heroes… like those ‘other-world’ manga and anime we see online these days.”
“Don’t be a moron.” Clementine snapped, sighing as he started to calm down. He stood up, positioning himself protectively in front of Hero, his smaller body shielding his friend from the whispering crowd. “Well? It’s not funny pranking teens who just got into a fucking accident!”
The crowd fell silent, staring at him with strange looks. On a flight of stairs, a man sat on a golden throne, looking every bit like a glorified Santa Claus. He was boring holes into Clementine with his gaze.
“Heroes.” The King’s voice boomed, silencing everyone and freezing the two friends in place. “Our deepest apologies for summoning you here, in a land far different from yours. But our kingdom is in dire need. Our lands have been polluted by evil miasma from the Demon Lord’s influence… monsters have been ravaging villages, killing the young and elderly alike. Our Prophet has spoken to the Gods above, pleading for aid… and we are told that we are to create a ceremony to summon Heroes with pure hearts to become the vessels of Gods’ powers.”
As the King explained, Clementine’s face twisted in irritation. Something about the King’s words felt off, like they didn’t really need help at all. The King wasn’t asking for help—he was demanding it. He noticed the King’s eyes flicking between him and Hero, searching for weaknesses.
“I am King Salazar the Great. I rule the Kingdom of Axis. We summoned you here today for aid. Would you lend your hand to save our Kingdom and all the Four Great Continents against the Demon’s Army?”
“No.” Clementine’s response was immediate, making the gaudily dressed nobles gasp in horror and disdain. “We are just teenagers, we are not even eligible to join the army yet. Return us back, me and Hero are not going to join in your dangerous quest and shit.” He turned to Hero, grabbing his arm to pull him up. He looked at his friend firmly, making Hero glance nervously at him. “And you… you are not going to listen to this shit, are you?”
Hero looked conflicted, which pissed off Clementine even more. His grip on Hero’s arm tightened, but not enough to hurt.
“Clem… they… they brought you back to life.” Hero looked away, guilt evident on his face. “You were dead on arrival… I-I begged them to help you. If I say no now… I…”
“You fucking idiot!” Clementine was about to start arguing, but the crowd watched them intently, like they were some sort of drama on TV. From the whispers, he realized they were casting him as the antagonist. “What makes you think they summoned us for good? For all we know, the accident was orchestrated! Or this is some sick prank adults are playing on us!”
But Hero just looked down and shook his head. Clementine stared at him in disbelief, letting go and taking a step back.
“I… I already accepted to become their hero… w-why not accept it too? They helped us, you know?” Hero gave an awkward smile, which felt wrong to Clementine.
“This is fucking stupid.” Clementine ran a hand through his raven hair. “Playing the hero.”
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‘I hate it. I hate that you are so good. I hate that you have a good heart—because I know you wouldn’t be able to say no when someone asks for help. Even if their intentions aren’t any good.’
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“Just get me the fuck out of here.” Clementine glared at the King, but his disrespect was cut short when a knight clad in armor grabbed him harshly and forced him to kneel.
“H-Hey…! Don’t hurt my friend!” Hero yanked Clementine free from the knight’s grip, surprising the knight with his strength. “Hurt him, and I will refuse to work with any of you…!”
And thus, the strained tone of this shitty new life was set. Thankfully, Clementine was let off and told he didn’t need to do any heroic things. They were given rooms to rest in, separate but across from each other.
He never knew a hellish life would come just because he wanted to keep himself and his best friend safe.