A Mess - part 2
"YES! FINALLY!" I smashed my back into the floor, exhaling deeply.
"After an hour and a half, huh?" (Shaina)
"Oh shut up. I don't even know how you're this good."
"You're saying that as if I shouldn't be able to be this good.
"Alright, come on, one more." I said as I lifted my body up.
...
Not a single game passed, but an hour's worth of matches.
...
I probably got addicted to this.
...
"Finally, you're getting the hang of it."
Shaina smiles. A smile of reminisce.
...
"I've been casually welcomed into this room, do guests usually enter here?" I asked while intensely mashing the buttons.
...
I know the combos in this game. How can she always block it?
Does she memorize all the moves of all characters here?!
...
"Is that your way of pushing it to my face that I don't have many close friends? I don't even have one close friend in that matter." She says as she lands a strong hit.
"I didn't mean it like that. I genuinely wanted to know." I reply, helplessly looking at my character being pummeled by a 10-hit combo.
"Well I just want someone to beat up in fighting games. I don't usually have the chance to play with actual people in this."
"Hm, so you already expected to be miles better than me." I exhale, preparing to execute a combo.
"Yes, I did." She smirks while landing a final critical hit, winning the match.
...
I drop back into the floor.
...
The door suddenly opens.
"Heeey, we're gonna have lunch!" Mrs. Anne enters the room.
I immediately lifted my body up.
"Oh, alright." Shaina stands up and turns off the console.
"Did you guys really just play for the entire two hours that you were here?" (Anna)
"Yeah, what do you expect us to do? (Shaina)
"You could've fooled around a little bit, y'know? Ehehe.."
"Mom, we are underage teenagers. "Fooling around" means to simply play in our terms."
"Sweetie, you're the only teenager I know who's that "innocent"."
"Mom, do you actually want me to indulge in such things?"
"Oh, you have the freedom to do so, honey. I'll just eliminate the ones that I don't like."
"Mom! I am not legal! I'm not supposed to be doing such things! And what do you mean by "eliminate"?!"
"Ahaha, I was just joking, baby. Come on, let's eat." Aunt Anna said as she left giggling mischievously.
...
"Well she's an open minded mom." I stood up.
"More like she doesn't care about her daughter."
"Ah, the rebellious phase. She's ready to get rid of bad people for you. How is that not caring?"
"Fair point. Well, I do love my mom, so saying that I hate her is pretty much a meaningless statement if I say it." Shaina said as we left the room.
...
We had lunch, which was something I was planning to avoid.
Why? Because I might cause an awkward atmosphere by asking if whether should I leave or stay to eat with them.
I mean, wouldn't it be rude if I just sit with them and eat without asking? It's like saying you're a part of the family of people you met in less than an hour.
If I just leave as soon as they're about to eat, isn't it also rude?
That's why I planned to just leave before lunch time.
To avoid dilemmas like these.
...
Well, I guess it still went well. Shaina's dad already pulled the seats back for Shaina and me, so I normally joined in.
...
"Eat up, Josh. There's still a lot more left!" Shaina's mom placed two more cups of rice on my place just as I cleared it up.
...
I can't eat this much.
I mean I can, but that is if I really push myself to do so.
I also don't want to eat a lot when I'm someone else's guest.
I just generally don't want to eat this much.
And I also think I can't eat it all up.
...
I looked over at Shaina with a face of horror.
Shaina looked at her mom with extreme confusion.
...
"What? It's rare for Shaina to bring over someone here. Of course I'll be happy about it! Don't be shy, Josh. It's fine to be eating a lot here." Aunt Anna joyfully skips towards the kitchen, about to get another bowl of dish.
...
Shaina's mom has this childish aura around her.
You see her as a mother, but you also see a kid running around giggling every time.
Pretty different from Shaina.
...
Wait, I just saw how she is at the toy store.
Never mind.
...
We finished eating, and I somehow managed to eat all the food given to me.
...
I decided to leave, and Shaina escorted me out.
...
"So, how does it feel to visit a girl's house?" Shaina asks, stopping by the doorway.
"My wishes of being a romcom protagonist are only halfway fulfilled."
"No, Josh, you're just a sick pervert."
"I am willing to defend my case."
"I don't want to waste the entire night for that, so begone."
I chuckle and leave the house.
...
Well, that was fun.
Shaina's parents are easy to get comfortable with, and they don't seem to despise the fact that Shaina brought home a boy.
Parents that I commonly see would act cold at the person brought over when it's in the opposite sex of their child.
...
But there's a chance that her parents were just faking it, and Shaina's gonna be scolded a lot after I leave.
Although, her parents kept teasing Shaina and joking about us being together.
I will assume that is not a normal response of hidden hatred or disgust towards me or Shaina.
...
I leave the subdivision, and get on a bus back home.
...
I don't know why, but I stopped by at the mall.
I went back in, and entered a cafe.
...
I don't even want to drink tea, coffee, or any typical thing you drink on cafes.
I just ordered for a glass of soft-drink.
I requested it to be really cold.
After receiving it, I took a sip.
I flinched a bit from how cold it is.
...
Ah, yes. That's the stuff.
I like drinking soft-drinks this cold.
...
I sat back, refreshed.
This causes me to think about things around me.
Hmm..
I rarely go to cafes, but this one is familiar.
I think I just went in here not long ago.
...
I'm happy with how things are for now.
...
Yeah, this place really is familiar.
I took another sip.
...
As I glanced at the entrance, two people entered.
It was Paul and Aira.
...
I flinched, nearly choked on my drink, and coughed a little bit.
They were chatting happily as they entered.
They sat on a table which I remember all too well.
...
That's right, I just remembered why this cafe is familiar.
THIS IS WHERE AIRA AND I HAD A "DATE" AFTER HER SWIMMING TOURNAMENT!
THAT EXACT TABLE IS WHERE WE SAT IN FRONT OF EACH OTHER!
...
I let go of my drink and prepared to leave.
...
Wait no.
Let's not do that.
I'm the main character here.
Leaving a place just because you feel somewhat jealous is what side characters do for drama in a romance show.
I'm not the one who should leave when feeling hurt, and cry immediately after leaving the area.
No, I am not the character who's going to be sad and angry for plot.
We are not leaving, Josh.
...
I sat on my table, looking at them with either judging, angry, jealous, or disgusted eyes.
At this point, I don't even know anymore.
...
And just like that, my day is ruined.