The school was done and the students passed through its gates, hoping to quickly arrive home as fast as possible. While some of them stayed because of clubs activities, none of the classrooms had students inside.
Although in one of those classrooms, two bags were left inside, each at the side of separated tables since their owners placed them there in the last period. However, now they returned to fetch them.
-Seriously… why things go back to normal so quickly?
The boy complained as he put the bag on his back.
-Just a bit more and we could find something about it.
-Relax, Chris. These things need time to figure it out.
Answering him was the girl whose eyes were of different colors. Her smile was innocent and her words were naïve since she couldn’t understand the situation.
-I would relax if we could discover a clue about what is going on.
The boy clearly told her. They were doing this for a long time now and still got no results about the weird changes going in his school. His hopes weren’t low since they got more information as the days passed but it still wasn’t enough.
-But…
The girl said in a low voice, barely reaching his ears as if it was a whisper. It caught his attention because of how weak it sounded.
-What if… things stay like this forever?
Looking straight into his eyes, she said to him. Her gaze contained bits of worry and fear, shocking the boy who opened his eyes.
-Isn’t it good like this? No one is hurt, this world is so much fun, all the people here are nice and warm…
With trembling steps, she walked towards him, putting her head on his chest.
-I don’t see why we need to change it… we are finally here, together, having fun and laughing… and… playing and… and…
Her voice was broken due to her not controlling her own weeps anymore. Her hands gripped tightly on his clothes, but he felt like they were touching his bare skin.
While the boy was watching the girl, she suddenly looked up to him with tears coming off of her eyes, opening her mouth to say in one breath:
-I don’t want to go back…
-…
Her words made sense to the boy. If they were to resolve whatever was causing this to occur, there was no guarantee that she would stay there anymore. He knew the fact that they were from two different worlds but listening to her made him feel what really would happen if such thing happened.
Emptiness began to appear inside the boy’s body. His heart was heavy and he could feel it beating slowly in his chest. The feeling of losing someone so close to him made him flinch for a moment.
-Midna…
Was it worth it fixing the world if it meant the girl right in front of his eyes to disappear to somewhere that he couldn’t catch it? Unknowing to him, his head was approaching the girl.
-Chris…
She knew what he was about to do and closed her teary eyes. As if accepting his advances, she also moved her head closer to the boy. Basking in the orange light from the sun, their shadows were about to touch each other and-
-Haaa!
With the alarm sound playing at his side, Chris quickly sat down on his bed as he screamed. His voice was so loud that even Stella, his cat, cried with surprise as she jumped up from his legs and felt down from the bed.
He looked at the alarm and saw [06:00//AM] displayed on the screen. After a huge sigh, he laid down once again, this time bringing his pillow to his face trying to hide the bright-red flushed look he had.
-Not again…
[][][][][]
Isn’t it funny when there are bigger problems in your hands you tend to focus on the small ones first? You know there is that big ball of worries coming straight at you but you still take the time to move out the little rocks in your way.
Maybe it was because you were tired of them and decided it was more productive to resolve the small problems first or can’t get them out of your head because you just have to solve them right now.
An internal dilemma that only you could understand but the reasons could be so futile in the presence of the bigger ones that you wonder one time “Why did I even lose my time doing this?”
It was the same for the boy right now. He knew there was a huge problem at his hands, something he shouldn’t overlook because of how weird it was. Yet, he couldn’t stop thinking about that girl and the feelings she caused in him.
In his mind, images of the girl constantly appeared like he was haunted by them. The time when she didn’t know how to handle a plate and dropped food all over her body, the time she curiously looked around the world, the time when she tried to hide her pain from him for him not to worry, and the time when she smiled at him.
All of them came to the boy’s head in short periods of time, reminding him of the time the two of them spent together in those last few days. But that was not all nor the worst part of this, because with those pictures also came feelings attached to them.
The funny moments to laugh at the situation, the joy of seeing someone understanding something new, the grief of the thought of losing someone, the unspeakable sensation of warm in a happy smile.
Those feelings and more were messing with the boy. He had not known them, so he couldn’t think of anything to stop them; however, a part of him didn’t want to stop.
From all of the biggest problems in his life, this was by far the biggest of them all. His heart couldn’t calm down in the mere sight or thought of her, his face became hot and his mind turns off of any rationality. What could he do?
Nothing, so he went to the two people that could help him in this situation because they knew more about it than he. In this Sunday, he called upon them and marked a place for them to talk, because there was no doubt in his mind anymore. This could only be one thing:
-… And that’s it. I… like Midna.
Finishing up his explanation, Chris drank a cola looking down at the café’s table. He couldn’t bear to look into the eyes of the people in front of him.
Of course, Max and David were shocked to find out that the reason for their meeting today was true.
-Ok, ok, ok! Timeout! Did you… just found someone?
-… I heard it too Max.
-So it’s my head playing tricks?
-… I think both our heads are playing with us.
They looked at each other, confirming they did listen to Chris right, but still, there were doubts in their heads. So they turned to him with a serious look and asked together:
-Are you serious?!
They both wanted to hear his answer. Their eyes were focused purely on the boy who couldn’t stop drinking from the straw in his drink. He separated his mouth from his drink and quietly said:
-… Yes…
It took a moment for them to realize that it was really happening. Soon, their serious faces turned into grins as they looked at Chris in a warm way.
-So, the day finally arrived huh. The Mister “Nobody is interesting right now” finally found someone huh.
-Chris… you really grow up, didn’t you? I’m so happy for you!
-Hey, hey, tell us again: what do you like about her?
-Don’t tell me it’s only because she is pretty.
-When did you realize you loved her?
-How much you love her?
-Don’t tell me… you did it already?!
-Tell me you at least used protection during the act.
-Please, guys, stop that!
Not handling his friends' attitude or the curious gazes of the others costumers around the cafe, Chris pleads for them.
[][][][][]
-So… what is your plan?
After they calmed down and returned to a normal conversation, Max asked Chris in a relaxed tone.
-To be honest, I don’t know now.
-Don’t tell me your just gonna chicken out after realizing your feelings and just leave like that.
-No, that’s not it… it’s just that…
(It’s really complicated to explain to them.)
If it was an ordinary girl, it wouldn’t be a problem to spell it out, but today’s dream made him even more conscious about their differences. He couldn’t just tell them the truth and hope they get it. Even he wouldn’t believe if he were told that.
-I don’t know how this is going to change the things between the two of us.
It was the best thing he could say. Even now when he is with his friends, his eyes were moving as if looking for answers in the plain table, however, they don’t find anything.
-I see now.
Nodding his head, Max thought deeply. Seeing that he wouldn’t likely talk for a while, David turned his sight to Chris.
-Chris, I want to ask you something: are you sure this is the correct way of putting it?
If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.
-What do you mean?
Chris looked confused at David.
-What I’m saying is… rather than thinking of what could happen, wouldn’t it better to ask if you ready to take what will happen?
-Take what happen…
-Yeah. We can’t just know or be prepared for everything, especially when it comes to romance. I’m not trying to say that you are a coward or anything, but to get the responsibility, do you wanna have it?
-…
His words made Chris speechless. There were so many bad ends he could see the two of them going that he never once thought they had a chance to avoid it. It was a new possibility that he now can think about.
-Sorry, but I don’t think that is it either.
Finishing his thoughts, Max raised his hand and gathered the attention of the table.
-I get what David is saying, and while I agree with most of it, it wouldn’t change the roots of the problem.
-What is that?
Chris paid close attention to Max.
-The most important thing here is not just about responsibility, but the feelings involving it. If you were just going on about “I can handle this and that”, I don’t think it would be what you are trying to search.
Finishing his phrase, Max waited for his friends' reactions but they only looked confused to him.
-What?
-Yeah, I don’t get it either.
-Sorry, let me explain it better.
He raised one finger from his hand.
-You are first dealing with the confusion about your first crush. You want to do something really quick to try and get solve it, right?
-Yeah.
Hearing Chris response, Max raised another finger.
-But then you are scared of what would happen between the two of you since you are this close to each other, resulting in your basic dilemma of “Should I confess or not”.
-Yeah… you are right about it.
His third finger was raised.
-David just told you about the responsibility of facing the problem that will arise from the relationship, so now you are thinking about “Could go along this path and deal with whatever is in front of it?”.
-… Right yet again.
It was a shame to been told this up front, but his friend was correct about everything.
-Now, here is my point…
Showing his fourth finger, Max continued.
-You are forgetting about the feelings in this case. What you are feeling right now is “I wanna do what my heart is telling me to do! But my brain is not sure about it, so I can’t act!”, but I think you should think of “Am I feeling up to it?”.
-Feeling up?
-Yeah. From what I can see, you are scared of what would happen in your relationship. “What should I do if we go out?” or “What should I do if she rejects me?” and the like are disturbing your mind and you lose too much time thinking about the answers.
-…Yeah, it makes sense to me now.
David agreed with what Max said while Chris still didn’t understand his friend logic.
-Think so like this: you can’t decide between wanting to advance with your relationship or wanting to be just friends. Right now, maybe a part of you is saying that it’s fine the way it’s and with that, your fears only grow day after day.
-I… see.
From that angle, Max is right about one thing from Chris: he was afraid of taking another step with Midna. He is overthinking so much about his situation that it grew so much more than it should.
-But, I’m not saying you are wrong either.
Max told him, catching Chris off guard and making him pay attention to him once more.
-You are in a totally different scenario than we ever have. I mean, you live with the girl you are interested in.
-True, I wasn’t thinking about that.
-Yeah, I didn’t think much about it either but it’s a huge thing in this situation. The two of them would return to the same place every day, regardless of the choices he chooses.
-Yeah… there is… that too.
Though he couldn’t say all the circumstances, what Max said could be seen as the biggest problem that he was dealing with. She was the only one that he could talk about the weird phenomenon happening as well his support in all of this. Maybe something inside of him was warning Chris about this and he didn’t know about it, although he felt it.
But now that he knows about it, he couldn’t help but crack a small smile.
(Amazing… I never thought this would help me out this much. Thanks, guys, you two are the best friends I could ever ask-)
-But, if I dare to say, you would be fine even if you confess.
As Chris was silent with his thoughts, Max said in a casual tone.
-… Eh?
-Well, I wouldn’t take it for granted, but I’m with Max on this one.
While Chris was confused, David agreed and assured his friend’s idea.
-I do think she has a thing for you tho. Don’t know how deep it’s, but I’m pretty sure she is at least interested.
-Yep, I think so David. There are just too many hints to discard it.
-What should we do to guarantee it?
-Maybe a proof or two before going for the kill?
-Yeah, that may work. Any ideas about what tho?
-Let’s see…
-Guys, just hold on a minute.
It was going too fast for Chris to understand it. One minute his friends said something shocking and in the other, they were whispering to each other like they were discussing a secret plan.
-What? Wouldn’t it better to know if she is into you or not before confessing?
Max bluntly told Chris whose eyes couldn’t stop being worried about what they were talking.
-Well… yeah, it would be a great help and... wait, that is not it! What are you guys talking about?!
-Duh, about how to find out if she likes you or not.
-Yeah, just give us a minute to think of something and we gonna be right back at you. Max, what were you saying again?
-First, I think we should have him try to smooth something between them and then…
-Hold on! Hold on! Hold on! I’m not asking for that type of advice!
It was going so good for him until now, but then everything went downhill so fast right in front of his eyes and he couldn’t do anything to prevent it.
-Look, man, we know how it feels during the first love.
-Yeah, it’s scary when we don’t know what the other side thinks of you.
-Maybe you gonna regret asking her out…
-Maybe you will be blessed if she accepts it.
-Maybe you will recover and regret the next time as well…
-But one thing is for certain in those cases.
It was the first time he saw his friends like this. Chris could feel the fire in their eyes showing their determination. It was at that time he knew there was nothing he could do now to stop it.
-Things would be so easier if we knew if she was into us!
Both of them told him in synch. The strength in their voices was so great that Chris was taken aback by their feelings.
-We should go home and work on a list!
-Great idea! We can also search online to help us out!
-Nice! Shall we go right now?!
-You bet!
With that being said, the two of them get up from the table and quickly gathered their stuff.
-Wait a minute guys!
-Sorry, Chris, we can talk at night!
-Yeah! Look forward to the list!
-When we are done, all your questions will be cleared!
-That’s all! See ya!
With his arm stretch towards them, Chris watched as Max and David ran off from the café to their homes. Being left alone at the table, he cried for many reasons, and one of them was:
-But who is going to pay for the bill?
[][][][][]
The night came and the boy was alone in his room. Laid down on his bed, Chris looked up to his cell phone. There, inside private group chat, was a huge list David and Max recreated.
It had everything one could ask for in case of romance, such as links to articles and sites about how to get a girl interested in you, what to wear to look more attractive, things to know about her body language and personal experiences (David perspective only).
The more he scrolled down, the more Chris felt a chill in his stomach about how much information his friends collected for him.
-Seriously… this is too much, way too much.
When he received the message, he thought it was just a link or two of sites specialized in the subject with some commentaries, but this was so unreal he was questioning like it was a prank.
Sighing, he rested his cellphone on his chest and looked up to the ceiling.
(Am I… really going to do it?)
The question made him nervous. He wasn’t thinking about outcomes or possible answers, just the question alone, yet it was enough for his heart to jump a little.
(I really want to try it and see what wait for us, but…)
This afternoon left him with a clear mind than ever before after he realized he liked her, but one particular question was left still unanswered.
(Is it really fine like this?)
What his friends said to him before they left stuck inside him. He wasn’t blind to not see the girl had some interest in him, but it left him wandering about if it was the right thing to do.
(I like her… maybe ever since we meet in the game, but its fine to take advantage out of it?)
Their first meeting was inside the game when the bug happened. There, he started to learn more and more about her, but never about her real self.
(In the order hand, she may have a thing for me now because of those meetings, but this is not a game anymore…)
Would it be fine to take what happened inside the game as something for his advantages or that is something completely different than the real world?
(But if that was the case then...)
-Ahhhh!
Bringing his face to the pillow, Chris shouted frustrated.
-Why is this so difficult to decide!
He didn’t want to use pre-sets codes and routes to his advantage here. If she were to like him, it would be because of how him in this side, not his avatar inside the screen.
He felt it was the right thing to do, but somewhere inside of him wanted to choose the easy road ahead and be happy.
-Seriously… why love is so complicated…
Taking a peek in his friends’ list, he really thought it was his only way of getting her more interested into him here. Not having many other choices, Chris sat down on his bed.
-Ok, let’s do it.
Scrolling up, right in the beginning of the list, he started reading it.
-Number one: Look at where she sits. If she sits diagonally at your, it may be because she is-
-Chris, when are you going to take out the garbage?
Listening to his mother’s call, Chris froze up. He had forgotten she asked him to take it out when he came back home earlier, but with so many things inside his mind, he ignored it.
-Are you coming down or should I go up?
-I’m going now, mom! Just give me a second!
Quickly, he dashed out his room before his mother gives him more problems.
[][][][][]
The trash-bag was bigger than ever lately. Since three people are living in his house right now, it would make sense this would happen. Walking in the streets illuminated by the street’s lights, Chris carried the bag to the nearby alley.
-God dammit… I knew it would be difficult, but just how much heavy is this thing anyway?
The alley was just a house away from his, so it usually doesn’t take long, but due to the new weight of the bag, Chris was taking his time for it not to rip open.
-Please, don’t rip… please, don’t rip… please, don’t rip…
Like a prayer, he repeated to not have to gather the trash from the ground. The short trip appeared to be longer than normal, however, he soon reached his destination.
At his front, a pile of trash-bags inside a marked area waiting for the garbage truck to arrive before the morning’s sun rises. Unfortunately, there was no space left in the ground levels, so his only option was to either throw it or placed it on the top of the pile.
-Ok, now… here we go…
Not wanting to take risks, he lifts it high enough to enter the pile but the smell combined with the strength he was putting made him go very slowly.
He approached the top of the pile as he held his breath, wishing for this to end so that he could go back to his room and read the list.
(C’mon! Just a little more!)
The bag was almost in the designated area and Chris’s eyes were filled expectations of the soon-to-be-over-task, when suddenly-
-Meow!
A cat ran off the alley while screaming, passing between his legs. He was out of balance but managed to equilibrate his body before it was too late. Chris looked angrily at the cat that was running but was surprised to see it.
(Stella?)
It was their own black cat running to a dark street without the foremost streetlight turned on across where Chris was standing. As he tried to figure out what was going on-
-Bark!
A dog also appeared, running off the alley. Altho the dog passed behind Chris without touching his legs, the boy was surprised by the sudden appearance and couldn’t stop his body from falling down to the ground.
His bottom was hurt but Chris coped with it for now. Luckily, he managed to grab the bag on his lap, but, while it didn’t hit the ground, it opened a bit on top of it and a bit of trash had fallen off.
Looking at the dog, he had another surprise.
(Dannis?!)
Not only their cat but also their dog was running to the dark street, following Stella. He couldn’t understand what was happening, but it wasn’t uncommon in their house for their pets to run off like that.
(Maybe she played with his food again.)
The cause for that chase wasn’t important. After all, they always come back in the morning anyway. Right now, he had another task on his hands.
-Great… now look at this.
It wasn’t must garbage on the ground, but it was their garbage on the ground. For the rest of foods, there was nothing he could do because most of it was mush, but the bigger and more solids trash he would need to pick up.
-Thanks, guys… hope you enjoy not having dinner tomorrow.
Not wanting to lose time, Chris opened the trash-bag and started to throw the garbage he could pick up inside of it. He barely even looked about what it was and was more preoccupied about how to finish quickly.
Soon, the rest of solid fruits, food boxes, papers and the like returned to the bag. The mess on the ground was starting to get lower and lower he gathered the remaining garbage. Feeling happy, he quickly put some papers inside the bag and ran to gather more… when he returned to look inside the bag with curiosity in his eyes.
-Hmm?
It was a ball of paper, mostly white with a bit of garbage here and there, but one thing caught his attention in it.
(Why is there something from school here?)
It was the logo of his school. He couldn’t see all of it due to how the paper was molded, but it was without a doubt the logo of his school.
(Did I thrown something by mistake?)
Since he couldn’t think straight lately, he may have thrown something he shouldn’t have in the trash. Quickly unfolding just a bit, Chris found out it wasn’t his school paper in the trash.
(Oh Midna, you can’t just throw this out…)
It was nothing less than one of the exams they got on Friday. Her name was written right there in the top corner with messy handwriting, with big letters like an elementary student would do.
(Just imagine what she would feel if she knew I saw this.)
Due to her getting a low score, Midna didn’t show to Chris her tests because of embarrassment, but if he saw this handwriting, no doubt he would pick on her a bit.
(But… since I found this now…)
A thought came to his mind. She didn’t show to him her test but now it’s on his hand he could learn about her real score and help her out next time they have an exam like this.
-Yeah, Chris, just like that! It could be the first step to let her be more interested in you!
For a moment, Chris thought there was a mini Max on his shoulder approving his choice of knowing her true score. It would work great on his favor with him surprising her when they studied together and she wouldn’t even know he saw her true score.
-Well, a little peek wouldn’t hurt.
Following his plans for future success, Chris started to fully unfold the test, revealing the upper part of the paper and there he saw it.
[Name: Midna]
[Subject: Science]
[Score: A+]