"Ugh."

I poked at my plate with my fork, resting against my hand. There were two chicken thighs, a big helping of mashed potatoes, a side of broccoli and carrots, and a protein smoothie on the side. We'd taken the food back up to his dorm room, and were now sitting around chatting while eating.

The food itself tasted great. It wasn't amazing, but the mashed potatoes were soft, warm, and creamy. They went well with the crispy, seasoned chicken and vegetables.

But...

"Do I really have to finish all this?"

I'd already had two wings and I'd barely made a dent in my potatoes.

"I'm getting too full..." I grumbled, chewing on a piece of broccoli and looking up at Al, who was sitting across from me with his own plate of food.

His plate had a serving of baked salmon and some vegetables, with a cup of blueberries on the side. The difference between our portions was almost comical. Like they were meant for the other person. But, I guess he was the one on a diet and not me.

He chuckled, taking a sip from his own drink. "You know the answer, Sienna."

I sighed, taking another bite of my chicken thigh.

"I know, I know..."

"You've gotta eat Sienna, and we're going in again tomorrow," Al said, flashing me a smile.

"Mmrrgh," I mumbled.

I took a sip of the protein smoothie, and grimaced as the taste of fruit filled my mouth.

"This isn't too bad, but I just... can't. I can't stomach all this. I feel so heavy," I complained. "And I'm still so sore..."

I looked down at my food again and frowned. I'd barely made a dent in the mashed potatoes, and I hadn't even touched my second piece of chicken yet.

"Hey, I'm right here with you. It hasn't been easy, but it's necessary for both of us to keep going."

"Okay, okay," I said. "Fine..."

I sighed, taking a deep breath and then starting to eat again.

I was glad that Albert had been able to keep me company, and he was right, of course. The chicken wasn't bad — the sauce they used on it tasted pretty good — and the potatoes and vegetables were fine too, but I was just so used to not eating enough that it felt like a lot of food all at once.

But, he was also right about us needing to go back into the gym. We couldn't just give up now.

I looked over at Albert and watched as he continued to eat, a serious expression crossing his face every so often. He'd been dialing his portions back over the course of the last couple of months, but he was still very much on a diet. He didn't like to talk about it much, but he was very self conscious about his size. Even if he usually hid how much it bothered him.

We ate in silence for a bit. I tried to push my plate away a couple times, only for Al to shoot me a knowing glance that told me to keep at it. Eventually I finished my plate, and sighed in relief.

"Thanks..." I murmured. "I couldn't have gotten through all of that without you."

"Huh? I didn't do much," Al said.

I chuckled. "Well, that's the thing, isn't it? You don't have to do much."

I looked over at him and gave him a small smile.

"I know we haven't been spending as much time in the last month as we usually do, and that's on me. So I'm sorry about that."

Albert shook his head. "Sienna... it's just two weeks. Or six. Geeze, don't get dramatic about it. You've had a ton of your own stuff going on and you needed to focus. We've gone without spending time before. And it's fine. We'll pick back up where we left off. Like always."

I frowned, before leaning in to whisper.

"Al... I know my family shit is absurd and I know you just care a lot. I just want to reassure you that I'm not going anywhere. I know you worry. Okay? I get it. It's okay. I don't want to let this new stuff come between that. You mean a lot to me."

He was quiet for a moment.

"I don't worry," he muttered. "But..."

He moved his left hand over his chest. "I've been thinking a lot more since you went through hell to save me, Sienna. And... well. The thing is. Life is short and crazy, isn't it? And you never really know what's going to happen."

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Al..."

"If you need that push, I'll be there if I can be, but if I'd been hit an inch or two to the right I'd be gone. Kitsune wouldn't have been able to stabilize me if it wasn't for a bit of good luck."

We stayed quiet for a second.

He was right.

He was a normal person, and I'd only made it out through the Cataclysm alive thanks to my magical girl abilities.

We only made it out because of them.

And if he'd died, I would have lost my best friend and my closest confidante. He'd come damned close at several points.

The person who'd been my only family for most of my childhood.

I took another bite out of my half-eaten thigh and chewed it, swallowing as I put my thoughts together.

I looked up to him. "I... I don't want you to get caught up in my mess, okay? I don't want you to get hurt because of my family. If I have to deal with it on my own, then so be it."

He sighed.

"That's the thing. I get it. I really do. Probably before you did. I don't know. But the thing is, I knew what I signed up for when I saw you buckling at the knees when blasting that monster on the roof of Refuge Zeta. I didn't care then and I don't now. And I don't think I will ever care."

I furrowed my brows, swallowing the bite I'd been chewing.

"What? Al. You could die. Who knows how bad things can get?"

"Yeah. I've thought a lot about that, Sienna. It's why I basically took a month away with my mom."

I blinked.

"You've barely learned to use your powers, and I know you'll have to deal with bigger and bigger threats, and you'll have to get used to it. That's not a thing you can change about yourself. It's in your blood. And there's really not much I can realistically do to help in the long run. I can give advice, and help with training and scouring the web. But I know I'm just a normal guy, and I can't keep up. I don't know how I would if I wanted to be there for you. And I know one day that's going to come back to roost, Sienna, but I don't know how I'll solve it. So I've been trying not to think about it."

I looked over at him.

"But I know I want to. Even if it's dangerous."

"Al... you can get killed," I reiterated.

"Yeah. And I could get hit by a car or fall off the roof of my building or get sick or get murdered. There's a million ways for someone like me to die, and I don't think any one of them is worse than the other. I mean, of course some ways are more painful. It is what it is."

He paused, a serious expression on his face as his eyes stared back at mine. I could practically feel pure resolve rolling off of him.

"I'd rather take that risk than not, and I'd rather be by my best friend's side while she does the thing that she has to. You're an honest to god superhero now, Sienna."

I opened my mouth and closed it, before I set my fork down on the plate and sighed. I was speechless.

I'd known he felt strongly, but... I didn't think it would have been like this. He'd barely spoken about his thoughts since the day of the Cataclysm.

"Wow. Okay, um... I'm glad you told me. I didn't know how strongly you felt about that, Al."

He shrugged, the serious expression on his face slipping into something a little less serious. The familiar, goofy grin came back in a flash.

"I'm sorry," he said. "When you snapped at me yesterday, it just kinda hit me that I've never been really open to you about what I'm thinking. I'm a good listener. But I've always sorta just been in your corner. And when we grew up it wasn't that bad, because you were mostly just working on homework and trying to get through your situation with your mom. I'm not saying that's a small thing, just, I dunno, you didn't have a huge weight on your shoulders that was gonna get bigger."

I nodded.

"And now that you do, it feels like you're growing apart from me. I know it hasn't been that much time, but there's this sixth sense in the back of my head that keeps saying 'if you don't say anything she'll just slip away and disappear' and it feels so real to me."

"Okay." I set the half eaten thigh on my plate, giving him a sad look. "You're right. You're absolutely right, Al. You mean the world to me. You're the closest thing to family I've got. I don't want you to go away."

He smiled, and reached his hand out, ruffling my hair.

"It'll work out, Sienna," Al said, a warm smile on his face. "I'll be here for you as long as you'll have me. But... can we finish up lunch first?"

"Sure. Yeah, of course. But, uh, can we do this again? Just the two of us?" I asked.

He smiled again. "Absolutely."

I grinned back at him. I didn't want him to go anywhere.

"Okay, then. Let's get back to lunch!"

I turned back to my food, picking up the fork. My appetite had returned, and I was able to finish the rest of the food.

We chatted some more and ate in comfortable silence.

Al talked a lot more about what was on his mind than he had before, and we caught up on each other's lives a bit.

I told him about the stuff with Madison, and how we'd exchanged numbers. He talked to me about all the friends he'd been making in his principles of engineering class. The names flew by me, but I did my best to try to pay attention to all the little things they were doing. It felt like the first normal conversation we'd had in a month. We didn't talk about the future or my parents or the end of the world.

Just us and our own lives. The little things we've been up to while our classes and schedules went in different directions. That was good enough.

"Alright, well. Thanks for having lunch with me, Sienna." Albert said.

I nodded. "I'll come back after class? Or before? Maybe I can come with you to dinner?"

"Sure, if that works," Albert said.

"It will."

"Okay, Sienna. I'll see you then!"

I nodded. "See ya later, then."

I gave him a small wave and smile, before stepping out the door and closing it behind me.

I took a deep breath. It felt nice to have a normal lunch with him, and to finally get his thoughts off his chest.

I was glad we were able to talk, and that I was able to get an idea of how he felt. I wasn't going to keep him out of the loop. He was my best friend.

But I couldn't forget that I'd started walking down this road to keep him safe in the first place.

I couldn't lose sight of that, and I'd need to make sure I didn't take him down a road that could get him killed or seriously hurt.

I couldn't be selfish. Not about that. Never that. We'd grown up together and he meant the world to me.

It felt nice to have a normal lunch with him, but I wouldn't let that cloud my judgement.

I wouldn't try to keep him at arms length or anything, but I'd make damned sure I did whatever I needed to do to keep him safe.