Chapter 6: The Lonely Knight and the Princess.

Because I have a heart? An answer that I found strange. I stood there frozen for a moment, looking at her doubtfully.

''What is this head? '' she asked, laughing.

''Nothing... It's nothing. I'm just surprised by your answer. For me the heart is nothing more than a simple organ. ''

I said looking away.

'' Ah good ! Yet you shouldn't be surprised and also don't underestimate the power of the heart. No matter how much you have theories about human relationships, no matter how much you want to cut yourself off from the world, your heart will always push you to do the opposite. ''

She then placed her hand on my chest. This gesture surprised me, but I was not uncomfortable, which I found rather strange.

"The heart has nothing to do with logic, the feelings you received for me earlier were anger? Pity? Whatever the reasons that pushed you to act, thanks to you I am feeling better again. ''

''...''

''If humans were only mechanical, your conception of relationships would be correct, however the very fact that you help me breaks your logic. Earlier, I told you that your reasoning was missing a very essential thing that characterized human beings. This thing I was referring to is feelings. Feelings impact men's behavior. ''

''...''

"Whether it is fear, love, hatred or jealousy, men will always act according to what they feel at the moment. The fact that you have withdrawn yourself is probably the result of the feelings you are currently experiencing. These same feelings, don't you think that other people are currently feeling the exact opposite? ''

I couldn't answer anything. At least not for the moment. All I could do was stay silent and listen to him speak.

"So it would be useless to categorize men as opportunistic beings. You said it yourself, you're not the manipulative type, so I don't think you did this to to impress me or for some other reason. You did it because you listened to your heart, this means that you still have a part of hope in you, a part of you refuses to think the way you want but the last word is yours. It's up to you to choose what you really want. ''

She said these last thoughts to me while looking me straight in the eyes. The tone of her voice was kindly, gentle and calm while the expression on her angelic face reassured me.

''I must admit that that's also a way of seeing things...'' I said in a low voice.

'' Yes. And it is because of this feeling that animated you earlier that you decided to carry me on your back to the bus stop. ''

She said suddenly with a radiant smile.

'' Eh ? ''

"You are so concerned about my physical state that you kindly offer to carry me on your back. ''

'' What ? I never said that. '' She immediately clung to me.

'' What are you doing ? '' I asked looking surprised.

''I'm your girlfriend for the moment, you're not going to leave me like this? Right? ''

"But I thought you were going to order a taxi. ''

She immediately puffed out her red cheeks.

A few minutes later, I was carrying her on my back. I couldn't resist when I saw him puff out his cheeks. You wouldn't have thought you'd see a child. Once again I gave in. Honestly, I'm letting my guard down. It awakens things in me that I thought I didn't have, but again, it wasn't anything erotic.

She clung to me and showed a beautiful smile, the situation seemed amused.

For my part, I hadn't changed my mind. I continued to believe that she was using me for her own benefit. These words from earlier were only to soften me and make me lower my guard.

At least, that's what I tried to believe. No matter how much I talked, my eyes didn't detect any shenanigans, she wasn't trying to manipulate. I also had to recognize him, his speech earlier also intrigued me. I couldn't explain why I had come to his defense earlier and it left me perplexed.

''We've been walking for five minutes and you still haven't said a single word. '' She said to me suddenly.

''I'm already embarrassed by the situation so I don't really want to talk. ''

The alley we took was not crowded with people, but the few passers-by we passed kept staring at us. It was way too embarrassing.

'' Ah good ? You carry a pretty girl on your back. What are you filling yourself with? ''

"You mean a nice weight…"

She suddenly sat up and looked more serious.

"What do you mean by that? '' She asked me, frowning.

''I didn't have any particular thoughts. '' She clung to me again.

"Still, it's still good that you can make jokes even if it's a little tactless. It shows me a new side of you. ''

I too was surprised to see this side of me resurface. I felt like with her I could speak a little more freely.

After this little interlude, she didn't say a single word. I found it strange that this noisy girl was so calm. She had probably fallen asleep. That was the conclusion I had made.

I turned my head back to see if my intuition was correct. When I turned around, she was awake. Our two faces immediately came together. I could even see myself through his azure pupils. We were very close, much too close.

Taken with shame and panic, I turned around very quickly. As if I was trying to escape Medusa's gaze because otherwise, I would surely have ended up petrified.

Seeing me so agitated made her laugh, I probably looked pitiful.

This little embarrassing interlude having passed, she took the opportunity to ask me a question.

"Say, would you like to know why this man earlier attacked me? '' she asked me suddenly.

"No, not really…"

I responded remaining indifferent. Given the influence she had on me, the more I knew about her, the better off I would be. Also, it would have been weird if I answered "yes" directly. She might think I was interested in her life or something.

''You could at least be interested in others, don't you think? '' She said, pulling my right ear.

''Do you know at least that you are hurting me? ''

''If you want to know, Michael was my boyfriend in first year. He was a lovely person at first and I was happy in his company. I imagined myself ending my life with him. At one level in our relationship he became way too aggressive and my love for him gradually transformed into fear. I was afraid of him, afraid of his reactions. ''

I continued to listen to him without saying anything.

''Because of this fear, I did not have the courage to end our relationship. It was a time in my life when I was severely lacking in self-confidence. ''

''...''

"Luckily, I had friends who cared a lot about me. They helped me a lot to free myself from Michael's domination. I was able to break up with him and regain confidence in myself, even if I still have some trauma...''

She smiled, then continued her speech.

"The three boys from before are part of this group of friends. They and my best friend form a very close-knit team. Our friendship dates back to high school, it would be cool if you could meet them one day. ''

She must have been referring to the three boys I met by chance after she bumped into me. So they were friends.

"Recently, the cohesion of our group has deteriorated a little and a rivalry has arisen between the boys. They, if I can say so, fell in love with me and they did everything to impress me. I became the disruptive element in the understanding that existed between us. If we could no longer spend our time talking about everyone and nothing like before, it was my fault. ''

''...''

''Not knowing what to do anymore, I decided to avoid them, but as you could see last time, my back was really against the wall and I didn't know what to respond. I was afraid of what might happen next. If I rejected all three of them, we would have continued to be friends but it wouldn't be the same as before. So I turned to you without considering your own feelings. ''

''...''

"All I wanted was for everything to go back to the way it was. However, I am aware that I acted selfishly. But despite that, you still decided to help me and you also protected me today. ''

As I listened to him speak, we arrived in front of a bus stop. By her movements on my back, I understood that she wanted to get off so I let her.

She stopped in front of me for a moment and looked shy. She had her head down and her cheeks were red, she didn't look me in the eyes, it was a first.

''So... So, I would like to tell you. THANKS ! ''

These words came from the depths of her heart, she was not acting. To hear what she said, she honestly felt guilty for getting me into this messed up situation. This surprised me.

To be honest, I didn't think she really cared about other people. For me, who observed her very rarely, I thought she was that kind of arrogant girl who thought she was entitled to anything because she was popular.

I realized then and there that I had been wrong about him.

''You're welcome...'' I replied.

A bus arrived at the same time.

''I'm going to take this bus home, thanks again for today. ''

She said then got on the bus.

I was about to leave when I heard him call me through the window.

''Hey David! ''

I half turned around.

''Everything I told you today remains between the two of us. It's our secret. '' She said smiling.

I didn't answer anything. I just watched the bus drive away from me.

Wanting to preserve a friendship eh... 7:20 p.m.

This long day was now over. I was finally able to return home.

Strangely, the rabbit in my head didn't appear all afternoon. Either way, I had nothing to complain about.

The other two days included in my agreement with Carole passed quickly. During this short time, she had organized other outings like the one we had just done and I spent most of my time by her side.

But as they often say, everything has an end.

Today was our breakup day. To make it memorable, she arranged to meet me at Amphitheater B-2. When I arrived, the room was empty. She hadn't arrived yet.

I took a place on one of the chairs in the room to wait for him. I was a little stressed. This relationship was fake but I was still going to break up. It was my first time doing it and I didn't know what to expect.

A few minutes later, Carole entered the room. She didn't look like usual, I could feel it in her eyes, she lacked confidence.

"Here she is finally. Soon, you will be free from this artificial affair and you will be able to return to your daily life. You will be much safer staying alone. ''

This voice was that of the rabbit in my head.

He was right, everything was now over, I was going to break up with her and everyone was going to go back to the way they were before.

End of chapter.