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It was after the school exams. The leaves were floating, painted orange just like the sky. Looks like the day was meeting its end. Kris wondered if they did well on the exam... they were not particularly proud of their answer... what do you mean they wrote "I don't know" in the easiest question Human History? Have they avoided studying? Were they paying attention in class? But again, their mind was hazy. If you asked them how are they doing, they would answer "With extra cheese, please". Being to school so late doesn't do anyone's mind a favor. As they were leaving, they saw Susie leaving with Noelle. They seemed to be amused by each others presence. They smiled, laughed, touched each other hands... even if Susie freezed after that. Kris was happy about their friend getting along with their childhood friend... but what about Kris? Their romantic life was not something to be put on movies, that's for certain. There was nothing going on, really. A crush on Susie, Ralsei, Noelle... and...
"Hey, I'm talking to you! Won't you listen?!" - screamed Berdly.
"...What?"
"Oh my.. so you were not listening! But, ahem, what could I expect from you, right?"
"..." - they stared at him with their red piercing eyes, until his frowned eyebrows turned into worried ones.
"Y-you do know I'm kidding! Right?! Ha! Kris?" - he tried to do something with this, but did not succeed.
"...then?"
"Oh, right, right. Well, I was going to the diner with Noelle... but she on the last second said that she couldn't go anymore..."
".. and th-?"
"You can imagine my surprise when I see her going with... Susie. Yeah."
"Your point being?"
"...I already asked my mom for money, and I do not want to go home so early... so..."
"I am your replacement?"
"Don't say like that! It's like... you are..."
"Your second option? Did someone else reject you?"
"Would it hurt you to try phrase things a better way?!"
"You know it's the truth. I am not going." - the human was going to their way, when suddently..
"Please, Kris! I'm begging you!" - Berdly said this with his hand shaking, then taking their and his hands next to his chest. "I-I mean... what about we do... you know, eye for an eye... kind of stuff... you know? Isn't there something you would like to have *my* help with?"
"Yeah, you can get out of my way."
"Not like that!! I mean like... Aha! I know! Well, know the Dragon Blazers 3? I brought it. Yes. The line was very long, but I did brought it, and it was limited edition, too!"
"You want me to play with you?"
"No. I would give to you. I've already played. What about then?"
"...the diner, right?"
"Yeah."
The walk between the two until their destination was not a pleasent one to say the least. It had lots of uncomfortable silence. Berdly tried to break the ice at least twice, but Kris always stared, then looked away. Berdly gulped a few times, and almost laughed at the situation he put himself in. It was as if Kris was enjoying themselves doing this to him.
"So.. the diner, right? You like chocolate, don't you? Want hot chocolate?" - Berdly looked at them with his most award winning warm smile.
"No. I do not"
"Right. So, what do you want?"
"Shouldn't you know your date's preference?"
"D-date? This is not a date! This is merely..."
"Oh please. Do not even."
Berdly thought to himself if all the time he spent with Kris at the last year was unpleasent, or if he was unpleasant... was his smart pants act got too far? Should he even proceed with that? Should he give up?
"... are you okay? You seem troubled." - Kris looked at his eyes with a certain worry at them.
"I'm okay. And uh, the thing you said doesn't make any sense. Isn't a date supposed to know the other person better? How should I know your preferences?"
"So you do admit it's a date. And if you had been more observant..."
"...you want a pie, don't you?"
"Yup."
The blue bird ordered a pie for the human, and french fries with a soda for himself. At the meantime they sat and tried talking. But it seemed the distance between the two really made a difference.
"...have you... um... read any cool comics as of late?"
"Does that interess you?" - Kris looked at him coldly
"..."
"Well, no. I mean, I started reading homestuck but I dropped since I didn't understand anything."
"Right. I mean, a primarily human society, right? That can't work." - Berdly tried to play cool, but soon realized he had messed up.
"..."
"Actually... I'm sorry. That wasn't a good comment... I-I just..."
"Not cool, Berdly. Not cool."
Could this date get any worse? Why is he doing all wrong? All he wants is to be gone. Dissapear and never to be seen again. Just like—
"So... Noelle ditched you, right? Why did you tried to dinner with her?"
"Can't we talk about something else?"
"Do you want to make more offensive remarks about my species? Maybe about myself?"
"It was not as if I wanted, okay? Her mom asked me to! You know, the mayor?"
"You cannot be talking serious. Oh my God. Can't you put a more convicing lie? What about you liking her?"
"I never even liked her! I mean, I tried, but she's not my type of gamer girl, you see? When Susie told that she was going to the festival with Noelle, her mom seeked the best replacement ever. I just wanted to understand her more. That's all."
Kris was baffled by this. They didn't know wheather they should be confused, or to laugh. That was really unexpected.
"Okay. Wow." - they looked everywhere, then looked at him.
"It's not my fault!"
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Wow."
The food finally arrived. The waitress, for some reason, looked like she saw something funny between the two of them. She was trying not to laugh.
"At last! Food! The fuel for life! You know, glicose! Along with water! Did you know you can survive for longer periods without food than without water?" -
"I wonder how they tested that."
Between munch and chews...
"So ... (munch) Kris ... who will be your pair to the festival (munch) ...?" Berdly asked.
"Don't talk while eating."
"Otherwise I can (chew) gag, right? And die? You do! (munch) (munch) Care about me!"
"You're gonna gag and die." Kris said with such intense look you could think you would die in that right moment.
"Fahah!"
Berdly stopped eating and started admiring Kris' beautiful eyes. They are red, passionate just like fire and love. He was smiling, giggling, swaying his legs... you could almost think he was a puppy monster instead of a bird one. It was like an teenager girl using her laptop on her bed, talking to her crush. But, his crush was right in front of him.
"Do I look like bird food to you?"
"N-no? Why would you say this?"
"Don't even joke lad."
"OH!" - Berdly soon realized what he was doing. He wanted to run away. What if Kris thinks he's a creep? Or some sort of weirdo? That's not appropriate at all! "W-well um, well, um... it's just that... that... um, I, um, I r-r-remembered something! That's it! A wonderful memory!"
"What was in that memory, my DEAR blue bird? Could you tell me? Pretty please?" - their voice at that moment was so sweet you could die from diabetes.
Were they being kind? Or just mocking him? What was up in their mind? Well, the attack was effective since... well... he straighted up blushed. Blushed HARD. Blue bird? More like red bird. The floor looked beautiful. Yes, it was. In his mind, he could tell what equation maked the pattern of the floor. Or so he wished. It looked like the floor and him were having a staring contest.
He paused.
Took a deep breath.
Thought hard.
...? Was he resolving a math exam on his head?
He becamed a blue bird again.
"Uh... my first A+ ever, Kris! I bet you don't have such a wonderful memory just like me."
"You looked so introspective that I almost did not recognized you. Then, you spout these words. At least you can become an actor in the future."
Crap.
"I..."
"You?"
"...I..."
"J."
"K...?"
"Lmnop"
"Qrst!"
"Uvwxy and z!" Both of them said.
He cringed a bit.
"Okay. Enough fooling around. What is going on here?"
"Kris. I have something I must tell you."
"You do?"
His feathers were puffy, his hands trembled... his heart was beating fast.
But he can't back out now.
"Look. I... well... I-I enjoy our moments together. Deeply. When I'm with you it looks like the time passes so much faster. The nights we spent together... gosh, I-I... hold these memories dear to my heart. They are the highlights of my days. Sometimes I don't have motivation to go to school, but when I remember you... that I will see you... that we'll talk... that we'll laugh... or... I don't know? Touch our hands? I have the courage to... go to school, have good grades... to... live. What I'm saying is that... Kris... I... love you"
" I love you, too. "
Hey? What?
"I feel the same. You said better than I could myself say, and I thought I was the weird one. Honestly, I thought that was just a normal crush, that soon I would forget about you and move on. Then years passed. The feelings remained the same, even getting bigger. But I... can't trust myself to feel these things. To act upon these feelings. Berdly? Really? Then I started... sabotage myself. If I be mean to you, you wouldn't continue to talk with me. You would forget about me. And I... I... Why? I don't know. I tried to become distant. Unreliable. I tried to ruin our date... well, I barely did anything since you are... um... anyways... I wanted you to not proceed. But you proceeded. But never in one million years I thought you would feel the same. Like? My crush likes me? Loves me? Wow..."
The boy looked at his crush like they were the thing he most loved in the whole world. Not "like they were". They were in fact. Was he dreaming? Oh, boy, please, he must not wake up. But it was real. It was all real. More real than reality itself.
"I am lucky that Noelle dumped you."
"O-oh? No, no," he laughed, ran his hand through his hair...head... feathers... "her mom never asked me."
"What?"
"I just wanted an excuse to go out with you, didn't want to be desesperate, pathetic. So... I... lied. And made you think you were my second option... Ugh..."
"That was not very smart of you."
"I know. I know. I just... don't want to be seem like that, you know? I wanted you to think I was cool."
"Still not very smart. I do see you as pathetic... and cool!"
The bird giggled a bit. He didn't know weather he should be offended or feel praised... maybe both. Yeah, both.
He put his hands on the table, and got up. While he was paying, Kris put their hands on their chain, and had a shy smile. His eyes got wide for some reason, then he pointed at their table, said something to the cashier and looked baffled. As he returned, Kris also returned to their nonchalant self.
"THAT WAS 50$ ??????????? WHAT DO YOU MEAN 3 THINGS WERE 50$ ??????HOW DOES THE ECONOMY FAIL US SO MUCH. HOW. HOW. HOW????????????"
Berdly finally returned to the table, and his action were finally justified.
"I feel kinda bad for you, I must admit... but... think... next dinner, I'll pay, how about that?"
"! There'll be a next?"
"Of course? I mean we both confessed to each other. We are basically dating now."
"D-dating?"
"I mean, if you--"
"N-n-n-no! I accept your offer! Gosh! I do accept it! Yes! Yes! Yes! You'll see how much a BEAUTIFUL, GAMER boyfriend is good for you. We're gonna be player 1 and 2!"
"Who's the player 1?"
"Well--"
"WHO'S THE PLAYER 1?"
"Is this seriously going to be our first fight?"
"ANSWER ME!!!!!1!!!!!1"
As they returned to their homes, they were just like Susie and Noelle. Giggling, talking, laughing. They even saw each other.
"So... now you two...." asked Susie.
"...are a couple?" asked Noelle.
"Yup!" Kris and berdly exclaimed.
"Didn't you have anyone better?" Susie looked baffled.
"Nop!" the couple answered "Because we..."
"Are the perfect couple !!!"