Chapter 9: A Meeting, a Confession, and a Promise Sealed with a Kiss

The next day dawned and the clock read 2:40 p.m. It was time to get ready for my "date" with Tory. "It's a little cold today, so I can wear some better clothes..." I thought, as I chose a white shirt, jeans and a black jacket. I combed my hair back and looked at myself in the mirror. "I'm ready."

I decided to walk to the meeting place. "I haven't bought my bike yet, and riding my bike to a meeting isn't very cool... It's better to walk..."

I arrived at the agreed location at 3:35 pm. "Well, this is where we agreed to meet. I'll wait since I arrived a little early."

I sat down on the sidewalk and waited for her. "Man, I wonder how my mother and grandfather felt about my death..." I thought, my heart sinking. "But to be honest, that world was a mess for me. Just work and more work... No human being should live like that..."

As I was lost in thought, about 10 minutes passed.

"Clark, you're early," Tory said, coming closer. "Actually, I wanted to get here earlier, but I was busy with things at home."

"No problem, hottie. I just got here too. Let's go," I replied, standing up.

"Grrr, you idiot, don't call me hot-headed, you know I don't like it...", she complained.

"That's exactly why I call you that, hahaha," I teased.

Tory punched me in the arm.

"Hey, that hurt..." I complained, with a smile. "Let's hurry up, the movie should be starting soon..."

We started walking toward the movie theater. On the way, Tory handed me $500.

"Clark, I want to give you that money back..." she said. "I can't accept it."

"Why not?" I asked, confused. "I left you a tip, it wasn't a donation or anything."

"It's too much money, I can't accept it," she insisted.

"Just take it, Tory. It's nothing...", I said, with a smirk.

"Are you sure?" she asked, looking at me thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that was nothing, don't worry," I replied.

"I see..." she murmured.

"Sorry we had to walk so far," I said. "Next time I ask you out, I'll have my bike with me, so I can take you for a ride."

"Haha, okay. I'll wait for that return," she replied, with a smile. "Tell me, Clark, do you like me?"

"What was that? I was a little shocked by her question."

"You know what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb," she replied, with a mischievous smile.

"Thoughts: Shit, this girl won't stop teasing me... I, as a man, can't accept this like this...", I thought, before replying: "You're right, Tory. I like you and I want you to ride with me on my bike next time we meet."

Tory's eyes widened in surprise. Then she calmed down and looked at me with a smile. "I knew it. You can't fool me."

"And you came with me and accepted all of this. Does that mean you like me too?" I asked hopefully.

"What do you think?" she replied, with a teasing smile.

"Hahah, I see. "Let's go now," I said, taking her hand.

We watched the movie Spider-Man 3.

"Ahh, it was a good movie, but I definitely still prefer the second one," I commented at the end of the session.

"Yeah, I prefer the second one too," Tory agreed. "It feels like they left the story aside and just focused on the villain. And in the end, it was poorly developed."

"Exactly. If I had to give this movie a rating, it would be 6/10," I said.

"I give it 5/10," Tory said.

We walked for about 30 minutes until we reached her house.

"We've arrived at your house, Tory. I'm going now," I said goodbye.

"Clark, thank you," she said with a shy smile. "I've never been on a date before. Always taking care of my brother and my mother, I've never had the chance to go out with a boy. And no one has ever interested me enough to go on a date."

"Haha, don't worry, Tory. When I get my bike, I'll take you to a lot of different places. Of course, you're my 'hothead'. If you have any problems, you can come to me. I'll do my best to help you," I promised.

"Actually, there's something I wanted to tell you, next year I'm going to move away from here for a year...", I revealed.

"What? Why? Where are you going?" she asked, surprised and worried.

"I'm going a little far from here. I'm going to Virginia," I replied.

"But why exactly are you going to Virginia?" she asked, confused.

"I need to take care of my grandmother, she's sick," I explained.

"I... I get it. Just like me, you have someone to take care of too, right?", she asked, with a sad look.

"I still have about 2 months to stay with you here," I said with a smile. "We'll still be able to have lots of dates..."

Tory lowered her head. "I... how do you want me to feel about all of this?"

"Actually, I just wish I had you here," I said sincerely. "You've helped me find myself again with your jokes, and your presence has given me hope for other things. So thank you, Tory, for all of this..."

"I don't want you to go..." she said, her voice breaking. "I mean, you're the only real friend I have. All my old friends abandoned me, saying I didn't pay attention to them. But every time I explained my situation to them, they always abandoned me. Only you, after I told you my story, remained my friend. And I don't want you to go. Even if it's selfish of me, I don't want to..."

"Tory, everyone who abandoned you was never your true friend," I said firmly. "True friendship is accepting all of your friend's hardships as your own, helping them through the hard times, feeling your friend's pain and doing your best to help, to be there for them..."

"I know I might be gone for a while, but I'll be back. Besides, I still have 2 months here. It's only October, I've been here for 2 months," I reminded.

"Thoughts: At least when I was transmigrated to this world, I already came with a history of good grades and they also threw me at the end of the school year... I met you, I made other friends, I got to know this place, even if only a little. Because most things are very far away, but that's okay. I still haven't enjoyed this place enough. So, don't worry, Tory..."

"Accepting each difficulty is helping in difficult times...", Tory repeated, thoughtfully. "I understand, Clark..."

"Okay, I accept that. If you're really saying you're coming back, I'll believe you. So I hope you really do come back, you idiot," she said, with a weak smile.

"Haha, yeah, sure. That's a promise," I replied, smiling back.

"Okay, so it's a promise, so let's seal that promise" she said 

"!!!", I was surprised when she quickly came up to me and gave me a quick kiss on the lips.

"This is the mark of our promise..." she said, blushing. "You better really come back. If you're lying, I'll find out and I'll kill you for it... Bye."

She ran away from there, leaving me frozen in place.

"Thoughts: Man... What happened here? She actually kissed me...", I thought, still in shock.

"Okay, with that problem solved, I feel more at peace. Honestly, I'm not stupid enough to not see that she's in love with me. No girl would do that for a boy she doesn't like."

"To be honest, if I start a relationship with Tory now, it's very likely that in a few years it will end," I reflected. "I've found in my world that many relationships that start too soon, too quickly, always end too soon too. That's why the best choice is to cultivate a strong friendship with bonds that are hard to break, so that there will be room for a relationship in the future..."

Two days later, at school...

"So guys, let's go to the arcade and play some games. But where is it?" I asked Demitri and Eli.

"I know, I know. Let's go, it's about 20 minutes away," Demitri replied.

"You mean the one near the main road?" Eli asked.

"Yes, that's it. "Let's go," Demitri confirmed.

We had a lot of fun at the arcade after class. "Haha, these guys are nerds, but they're definitely funny..."

About a month later...

"Tory has been ignoring me lately... Maybe she's mad because I'm leaving here..."