They say love is a battlefield, a war between two parties that start with a simple pronunciation of three words from one of them. They start off on the same ground then proceed to fight off on battles to see if they can or not reach an agreement between one another and finally form the most desired end for both: a relationship.

Many soldiers, boys and girls alike, went to their own battles, ones that could take days, weeks, months, even years just to have this chance and announce to the world the fruits of the hardships they had to express their own feelings.

This soldier, too, was one of them. A young boy that declared to go on a war for the ultimate goal. He, who didn’t even hesitated to express his feelings, was now in the first hardships of the many battles to come: the response of the other party.

After their brief conversation, Midna didn’t respond and stopped moving with her head turned down. Silence ruled over the kitchen. In his mind, Max could swear the only sound he was listening was the heartbeat from his own chest.

He couldn’t stop his sweat from running down his forehead. All of his strength was focused on not making his body tremble from the anticipation. After all, you need to be aware of your posture during a confession or so a book Max read told.

It took about three minutes, whose he thought it was hours before Midna opened her mouth again.

- … Your name is Max, right? – Without turning her head up, she said in a weak voice.

- Y, Y, Yes! – Unintentionally, he responded with a shout. In his mind, he prayed this didn’t make him sound desperate.

The girl started to move again, facing him with a serious face that made him speechless. It was coming, he knew it. Looking at her eyes, Max waited for Midna’s response with a bit of hope in his chest.

And then…

-I appreciate your feelings, but I’m sorry. I can’t accept them.

… Was her answer. A natural one if you considered the fact they only meet an hour ago. She was too friendly and he mistook her real intentions. They say love blinds someone, so much he couldn’t even think straight after seen Midna for the first time.

-I… see.

A bit disappointed wouldn’t be enough to say what he was feeling at this moment. There he was thinking “if she accepted, then…” but the reality is different from imagination. Those romantic scenarios he thought wouldn’t come. Still, Max didn’t have any regrets.

At least he was true to his real feelings and didn’t back off, following his wishes until the very end. That was the way he would always start his own battles. If there was a lingering feeling of attraction to someone, he would say it right at their faces. No matter how many times he failed, he would always go back to his feet and start moving to the next battle.

This too would be another one of those times, where this soldier would return home empty handed but with his face always looking ahead to the next day. Max turned his back to the girl and accepted his defeat.

But his mistake was already made.

-But… what do you like about me?

When he was about to reach the doorknob, the voice of Midna made him stop by surprise. After experienced rejection many times, there would be some dialogue coming from the girls to not make the rejection so blunt, but never did one asked outright what were his opinions about them.

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(Is… Is this… No way!)

Maybe another chance? If she wasn’t interested, the conversation would end there, but she wanted to hear his own feelings. Maybe she was the same as him, wanting to experience romance at the peak of their high-school life. A new hope began to rise for the boy.

-Of course, the thing I love the most about you is your persona-

Max turned around to face the angel who had brought him another chance and he would answer her without any lies in his words. But the warm smiling face he remembered and conquered his heart was not there. Instead, it was replaced by a cold blank face staring at him.

What happened? He thought. Did he mess up? It was just a normal confession until now. There wasn’t anything he could think that would explain the look on her face.

-So? Is there nothing good to say about me? - Ignoring the boy and his shock, the girl persisted with her questions, speaking with an emotionless voice.

-W, w, well… it must be your… personality…

Flushed, Max tried to be as calm as possible in his words but there was a feeling of unease haunting him. Something was weird in all of this, his mind was telling to him, but the girl was far agiler than his understanding.

-Seriously? We barely knew each other and you are saying stuff about my personality? What is up with that?

A response full of scorn. There was something called sympathy in those times, so he had never heard those things from the other girls he had confessed to, but for the one in front of him, this feeling didn’t exist. The friendly eyes he met before aren’t there anymore. She wasn’t looking at him like an equal anymore. Still, Max didn’t notice the situation he brought himself in.

-No, so you see… I know there are sides I don’t know about you and-

-So you tell you love something you don’t even know?

-N, No! I’m just thought that-

-We would know more about each other after going on dates? Then what? If we didn’t like each other afterward, what would happen then?

-But, this is-

-Or is it that you only want to have fun with some girl you just found?

Those questions were too complicated for a teenager to answer! He only wanted to try to be in a relationship with someone and enjoy their time together! His brain couldn’t catch up with the girl’s intentions!

And amidst his confusion, the soldier tried his last resort: honesty.

-That’s not it! I just wanted someone cute like you to be my girlfriend! – He shouted turning his face away from the girl’s gaze.

That was it. There were no more cards in his hands for him to play anymore. The soldier took off his armor and threw away his weapons. Either they will give a step forward for a relationship or they end right here.

Then, silence came back between them. The girl didn’t say anything else afterward. Neither of them said anything. Did it work? Max thought. It could be like a romance he watched when the guy exposed his true feelings to the girl that didn’t trust anyone but herself. It could be like that. Maybe that was why she told him all those things. She must act like a friendly person on the outside to hide the past that made her like this. It could be like that. Thus, the soldier faced the other party again, understanding all in his mind.

And yet, after all of that, there wasn’t a change in the girl’s eyes.

-So it was because of how I looked, huh…

The fire shot was fired. A part of him was penetrated by a bullet he couldn’t dodge. And it was the first of many.

-If there was someone prettier than me, you would go for them? Is this your so-called “I like you”? You really thought this would be enough for us to start dating?

There was nothing else he could do but to take them. Each bullet that went through his body made him understands the ground he had stepped on.

-Seriously, who do you think you are, huh? A hot shot that would make any girl fall for you with simple words out of your mouth? “I love how you are”; “You are the prettiest person I had ever found”. Is this how you do it every time you confess to someone? I can only feel sorry for them.

All the battles he had faced, the girl just took them all and tossed them aside. This wasn’t the battle the soldier was eager to fight.

-Not only you didn’t have strong feelings but you also took advantage I was a newcomer to this city. Bet you thought you could score a big game with me, huh? Guess what?

He could barely stand on two feet. The damage he took was too much and he questioned if what he was seeing was real or not. But one thing was certain as he watched the girl prepare to fire the last bullet: This wasn’t a war…

-Don’t you dare to talk to me again.

… It was a one side annihilation.