Tied in a Knot Pt. 3

Like always, I went about my day as normal. However, it wasn't normal at all. My mind was working overtime, thinking about those... goddesses. Even now, I'm still having a hard time rationalizing it.

True to my nature, I tried my best to ignore it as best as I could, but that proved to be just as difficult. No matter what, I'm stuck with those girls because, for some freaking reason, they're in all four of my classes. Not a single disparity. Every so often, they'd twist their heads from whatever conversation they were having to glare at me, which didn't help at all.

Still, I said I would ignore them until they find an answer, right? So I continued to shut them out along with everyone else.

The rest of the day went by in a flash, and I found myself walking through the crowded hallways the next morning. Left and right, students were hanging out and chatting away.

Some of them were blocking the entire corridor, making it hard to squeeze through. Eventually, I began to wonder if 'fate' was starting to mess with me. One of the guys laughed way too hard at a joke, and he swung his elbow back.

Before, I had lowered my head to avoid attention, so what happened next came and went in a blur. I felt myself stumbling back as I threw an arm at the wall.

What... is happening...? My vision is blurry, and my ears are ringing. Every breath was painful, and I could literally feel each individual heartbeat pounding inside my chest.

The guy that hit me carefully grabbed a hold of my shoulder with a worried face, spewing incoherent words at me.

It's so loud. There are too many people here... too many voices. My mind feels like it's about to explode. I want to get away from here, but I can't even move.

'Please, go away,' I said in my head. However, no matter how hard I tried, the words wouldn't come out. Somebody... make it stop.

"Aikami," a soothing voice whispered in my ear.

Suddenly, someone grabbed my hand, and the headache immediately disappeared. It was as if the hallway itself faded along with everybody else. However, the person standing in front of me was still there, and her hand was still holding onto mine.

I looked up to see Alice glaring at me with a disheartened pair of eyes.

"A-Alice...?" I mumbled.

She gently pulled me closer to her and rested her other hand on my head, forcing a subtle flinch out of me.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked.

To my surprise, it doesn't. At least, not as much as it did before. However, that wasn't the only thing. I couldn't feel much at all. Am I happy that she's here? Am I embarrassed that so many people are watching us right now? I don't know, but what I do know is... the longer I kept my gaze on her, the more the pain was fading away.

"It's nothing," I said as I brushed her hand away. "I just need to be alone for a bit."

"What if you collapse, and no one's there to help you?" she grumbled.

"If it happens, then it happens. That's it."

She reached back for my hand with a tighter grip as if disapproving of what I just said. Those eyes that used to look at me with worry were now filled with agitation.

"Let's go," she said.

"W-what are you—?!"

She didn't even let me finish, as she began dragging me through the hallway. Already, the chatters were rising again, spouting all sorts of nonsense that insinuated the impossible. Alice and I... are nowhere near as close as they think.

"Alice, we missed the turn," I said.

"We're not going to class right now," she replied.

"W-wha...?! Then where are we going?"

We stopped in an empty lab room. Alice let go of my hand and shut the door. With a twirl of her fingers, it locked by itself. She then pulled out a chair and looked blankly at me.

"Sit," she demanded.

Reluctant as I was, I did as she asked. What am I even doing here? I should be in class, resting my head on the table. Instead, I'm sitting in a dark room alone with Alice... a literal goddess.

She pulled her hair back before tying it in a loose ponytail. While I sat completely still, she knelt in front of me and assessed my condition, moving her fingers around my head. It's weirding me out, but I'm too stunned to even say anything.

"Do you feel anything strange?" Alice began questioning me.

"Apart from the way you're looking at me? Not really," I said.

"Does it make you nervous?"

"Well, obviously."

She kept those judgmental eyes on me for a good bit until she stood back up. "How come?"

"Sorry?"

"Why is it that my gaze makes you nervous?"

Her brows crossed, her eyes lowered, and her tone... made it seem like she didn't like what I had just said. I may be overthinking it, but is she... sad right now?

"I... Dammit. To be completely honest with you, Alice... I'm afraid of you. Lana and Chloe are no exceptions. Goddesses, magic, fate... I don't understand any of it, and I'm scared that if I keep meeting you, something will happen to me for real."

Alice remained silent for a bit. I hope she doesn't take it personally. Then, for a moment, Alice turned away, but I noticed her expression turn sour before her hair covered her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Aikami," she muttered. "I had no idea how you felt, and honestly, I didn't bother trying to understand your point of view. That's on me."

"Eh? N-no, it's not—"

"The thing is... You'll have to bear with us for a while longer."

"...What? How come?"

"We haven't been able to find a solution to your issue. That migraine you just had? We believe it was a result of the thread we gave you. I don't why, but it seems your very existence is rejecting fate itself."

My mind went blank. She said a bunch of words just then, but they all went in one ear and out the other.

"So... What am I supposed to do about that?" I asked. 

Alice pinched her chin. "That's where the bad news comes in. You see, the best thing we could think of was studying you further. That means you'll have to stay near us for a while, and unfortunately, I can not give you an estimation. Although it's not much, the good news is that it won't happen immediately, so take some time to think about it."

"Hah. What is there to think about? It's not like I have any other choice, right?"

"...I suppose not."

Again, she's staring at me so intensely that it's making it hard for an introvert like me to breathe. She must've noticed it because she suddenly knelt in front of me.

"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Are you getting another headache?"

"No, it's just... Hah. Forget it. It has nothing to do with you, don't worry about it. I'm just not used to being looked at."

An awkward silence followed. As exaggerated as it sounds, it's the complete truth. Even if it's just for a second, I get unnerved whenever someone glances my way. Like I said, it's not a problem with her. It's my own issue.

"So that's it, huh?" Alice scoffed.

She then stood up with a soft smile, a strong contrast to her usual apathetic gaze.

"Well, I'm going to be working closely with you from now on, so... Is it alright if I keep looking at you just like this?"

What is this? How am I even supposed to react? No one has ever asked me that, so how am I supposed to answer? This is way too much for me to handle.

"You don't need my permission," I gulped. "Just do whatever you want."

"Whatever I want, hm...? Are you sure you want me to do that?"

Oh, right. Didn't she threaten to kill me the other day? Her smile suddenly grew even wider than it was before. I need to watch my words from now on. Anything could happen.

"N-nothing dangerous," I added.

"Of course," she giggled as she backed away. "Anyway, are you no longer in pain?"

"No. It went away when I saw you."

I didn't even realize what I said until I saw her brows rising and her mouth opening in astonishment.

What the heck did I just say? Even if that was the case, how did I manage to say something so... embarrassing? I keep messing up, and it's not helping my case at all.

"When you saw me... Is that right?" she hummed with yet another smile growing.

"Uh... What I meant was..." I couldn't even get it all out.

She lifted a hand to her chin, her eyes curling at the same time. "Worry not, Aikami. I know what you meant."

She turned around and began walking towards the door. Her hand sprung aglow, unlocking the doors to open them. Does she really know what I meant? I decided not to ask.

With her hands behind her back, she twisted around to look at me. "Shall we?"

"Y-yeah."