Oliver, wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt, khaki pants, and light brown boots walked through Pier 7 looking for Nicole. She had told him to meet at Pier 7 at seven, but never specified where the exact location was.
Knowing Nicole, this is also part of the date she planned. Oliver thought as he walked. I have to think like Nicole if I want to find her. She might be there.
Oliver began to walk at a fast pace towards the fishing area. As he arrived, he saw Nicole wearing blue jeans, a white sweater with a black puffer vest over it, and white sneakers. She was using a fishing rod and next to her was another one. There was also a cooler and a duffel bag next to her. She quickly turned around and smiled at Oliver.
“I knew you would arrive here without me even telling you!” Nicole said, leaving her fishing by the railing and approaching Oliver. “A bet you never had a fishing date.”
“It looks like it will be fun.” Oliver said. “Last time I fished was during bootcamp and that was years ago.”
“When did you join the military, Oliver? I joined as soon as I finished high school to follow my Dad’s footsteps.” Nicole asked.
“My parents died when I was 16, so when I finished high school, I saw the military as an opportunity that would help me get ahead, while also allowing me to support my little brother.” Oliver answered as they walked towards the fishing rods. “It was the best decision I could take. I may have started as a technician working on the maintenance and repairs of the Moon Units, but now I am a researcher and Ayano Hashimoto’s apprentice. I doubt I would have achieved something like this if I had taken any other path.”
Oliver and Nicole grabbed their fish rods, hooked some bait, and cast them into the ocean. The twilight illuminated the gentle waves of the oceans. The gentle breeze was hitting Oliver and Nicole. As they listened to the sound of the waves hitting the pier, time appeared to slow down.
“You know Oliver. I enrolled in the military part because I wanted to follow my Dad. After all he is the one in charge of the Sol City Military base and part because I always wanted to pilot a Moon Unit.” Nicole said as she waited for a fish to bite her bait. “My first time in a Moon Unit was exciting, I was extremely happy. And now I have a Moon Unit of my own and you’re going to be upgrading it.”
“Leave the upgrade in my hands. I started as a Moon Unit maintenance tech, so I know my way around Moon Units.” Oliver said with a smile. “I never expected that our mission to Muna would lead us to the discovery of such a great resource. And also, thanks to you knowing about Pure Magical Energy attacks, I was able to detect that the Pure Magical Energy Crystals can recharge their energy.”
“I might not be super smart, but my drive to improve my combat abilities helped with Magic research.” Nicole spoke with certainty. “I must say your research has proved to be great. Those Elemental Guns, you gave us to Platoon 12 have been so helpful and now you’ll be upgrading the Moon Units to not need fuel anymore. Those crystals are amazing. Thanks to them absorbing the Magical Energy in the environment, we don’t have to worry about energy!”
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“I was also lucky that my Magic Amplifier that I had developed to use the Magical Energy in the environment could convert the energy in them into something we can use.” Oliver said. He felt a slight movement on his fish rod. Oliver began to reel in the catch as fast as he could. He quickly pulled his fish rod and revealed a 1-meter-long king salmon. Oliver grabbed the king salmon, used Electric Magic to kill it, and put it into the cooler. “Our dinner will be quite tasty!”
“That would be more than enough for us to eat! I think something got caught on my end.” Nicole quickly reeled in and after pulling up, she saw a crab. She smiled, grabbed the crab, and put it in the cooler after killing it with Electric Magic. “Alright, we are having salmon and crab.”
“We have the food, so where to next?” Oliver asked.
“Let’s go to the beach and find a spot to start a fire.” Nicole said with a smile. “I’ll take the fishing rods and my bag while you take the cooler.”
Nicole folded the fishing rods, then she grabbed her duffel bag and started walking towards the beach. Oliver promptly followed her while carrying the cooler. By this time the sky had shifted into a dark hue illuminated by moonlight and on this night only three of the five moons were visible. As Oliver and Nicole walked along the beach, their path was illuminated by the light of the stars. After a few minutes of walking, Nicole found the perfect spot for them away from other people. She put down her fishing rods and her bag. Oliver put down the cooler and began to dig a hole. Nicole joined him and soon enough they had a pit for the fire.
“Let me get the wood!” Nicole took out a bag of wood from her duffel bag and placed the wood in the hole.
“Let me start the fire!” Oliver pointed his right palm toward the good and fired a Fireball. Upon impact with the wood, the Fireball started a fire inside the hole. Oliver and Nicole could feel the gentle heat coming from the fire as the cold they felt slowly faded away. “Let’s do all the prep work!”
Oliver and Nicole cleaned the king salmon and the crab. They applied some herbs and seasoning into the food. They made sure the coals were red hot and glowing before throwing the king salmon and the crab over it. After some time, their food was fully cooked, and they began to eat. They sat down in the towel that Nicole had placed down earlier.
“This is pretty good!” Oliver said.
“Yeah, I didn’t expect our dinner to be this delicious!” Nicole said, looking at Oliver.
“This is a beautiful night, although not all five moons are visible tonight!” Oliver said, looking at the night sky.
“Yeah, but just like everything this night will end!” Nicole said with a sad expression. She approached Oliver and hugged him tightly. “Just like what we briefly had will be over after tonight!”
“You’re more perceptive than I thought, Nicole!” Oliver said, looking at Nicole. “I am sorry Nicole, but I have realized that the one I want to be with is Aria.”
“When I started to win you over, I knew this was a possibility. Yet, I held hope that you would choose me!” Nicole said with watery eyes. “But it still hurts. I don’t want this to be over. I want to be by your side, Oliver.”
“Nicole, I am sorry! I …” Oliver was searching for the right words.
“I can’t control your feelings, I know that. But this pain is just suffocating me! Why am I so unlucky in romance? I just want to love someone and be loved back. Is that too much?” Nicole’s tears began rolling down her cheeks as she separated from Oliver and stood up. “Oliver, I love you. Please reconsider your decision!”
“My feelings are now clear to me. I am sorry for playing with your heart. I know that I hurt you!” Oliver apologized. “The time I spent with you was wonderful. You’re an incredible person, Nicole. But I fell for Aria. I can’t make any excuses for my behavior! I have deeply hurt you!”
“I wish to find someone who loves me as much as my parents love each other! But trying to find that has only brought me sadness! Why is it that my hopes keep getting crushed like this?” Nicole was crying. “Why do I always lose to Aria!? WHY!? WHY!? We’re childhood friends, yet I always come in second place!!”
“Nicole …” Oliver was unsure of what to say.
“If that’s your decision, then go and make Aria happy. She deserves it! If you hurt her, I swear that I won’t let you get away with it!” Nicole continued crying. “If you chose her over me, you better not make her sad!”
Nicole grabbed her belongings and began walking away. Oliver stood there on the beach knowing he had lost the right to go after Nicole. Oliver could feel the gentle breeze hitting him; he faced the ocean. He attentively looked at all the celestial bodies in the night sky and after a long time he walked away from the beach.