The Waiting Game

   "The truth?" Owen snorted. "That you're either cosplaying or escaped from a mental hospital? Yeah, I'll stick with that explanation." His life was weird enough without adding 'stalked by interdimensional royalty' to his resume.

Lilith stood motionless under the streetlamp, her red eyes narrowing slightly at his words. "Cosplay? Mental hospitals? How quaint," she murmured, though her voice carried a sharp edge.

Owen rolled his eyes, waving a hand dismissively as he turned to walk away. "Whatever, princess. Enjoy your delusions elsewhere." He trudged toward home, ignoring the faint crackle of electricity in the air—a sound that seemed almost supernatural but was probably just another dying streetlight in this godforsaken neighborhood.

As he reached the entrance to his apartment building, he glanced back one last time. Lilith still hadn't moved, standing like some kind of ethereal statue carved out of moonlight. Shaking his head, he muttered, "Crazy people don't quit easily, huh?" Then he disappeared inside, leaving her behind in the twilight.

The next morning arrived with all the subtlety of a drunk elephant, announced by his alarm clock's signature 'dying robot having a nervous breakdown' screech. After fumbling twice to hit snooze—and missing both times with the grace of a caffeinated squirrel—he finally silenced the thing, dragging himself out of bed with all the enthusiasm of a sloth attending a marathon... as a participant.

His small rented apartment greeted him with its usual charm: walls painted a shade of beige that screamed "landlord's clearance sale special," and a window overlooking an alley where cats held their nightly fight clubs, complete with membership fees and a strict 'no dogs allowed' policy posted in scratches on the dumpster.

Pulling on his jacket, Owen checked the window reflexively—and froze, nearly choking on his own spit. There she was again, standing right outside his building beneath the flickering streetlight. Her white hair glowed faintly in the dim light, contrasting sharply with the gray morning haze. She wore the same outfit as yesterday, looking eerily out of place among the mundane surroundings, like a cosplayer who got lost on their way to the convention center and decided to become a permanent street installation.

"Unbelievable," Owen muttered, running a hand through his messy black hair. "Does this girl ever sleep? Or is she solar-powered? Maybe she runs on the tears of frustrated high school students."

He opened the door cautiously, stepping onto the landing as if approaching a particularly moody cat with access to nuclear launch codes. "What do you want now?" he asked, crossing his arms. His voice carried both annoyance and curiosity—he hated how curious he felt.

"I need you," Lilith repeated calmly, her gaze steady as a surgeon's hand. "To save my world."

Owen raised an eyebrow so high it threatened to escape his forehead entirely and start its own solo career. "And here I thought saving the planet wasn't part of my job description. I don't remember checking the 'interdimensional hero' box on my career aptitude test. Go away, ghost girl. I've got places to be, none of which involve dying dramatically for someone else's magical kingdom."

"Places?" Lilith tilted her head, studying him closely like a bird examining a particularly puzzling worm.

"Work, school, the corner store... You know, the usual spots for someone who doesn't plan on getting murdered anytime soon. I hear dying really messes with your attendance record. Not to mention the paperwork – have you seen the forms they make you fill out for supernatural deaths these days?"

She frowned slightly; her expression unreadable as a doctor's handwriting written in invisible ink underwater. "Your refusal delays the inevitable."

"Yeah, well, so does procrastination, but look where we are today!" Owen shot back, smirking. "Besides, I'm already pretty good at delaying the inevitable – just ask my homework assignments." Then, without another word, he walked past her, muttering under his breath, "At least the neighborhood watch has something new to gossip about besides Mrs. Yamamoto's questionable garden gnome collection."

By the third day, Owen had convinced himself that ignoring Lilith would make her disappear – a strategy that had worked great with his responsibilities so far, so why not mysterious otherworldly princesses? But sure enough, when he peeked out his window during breakfast, there she was—still standing under the lamppost, looking worse for wear like a Renaissance painting left out in the rain.

Her clothes were slightly wrinkled, her usually pristine posture rigid as a board at a spelling bee, and dark circles shadowed her pale face like someone had gone a bit too enthusiastic with the gothic makeup tutorials. For a moment, Owen hesitated. Was she okay? Should he care? Was this the universe's most elaborate guilt trip?

"Nah," he muttered, shaking his head. "Not my problem. I already have enough on my plate trying to figure out why my microwave makes everything taste like broken dreams."

On his way to school, however, something tugged at him as he passed by her usual spot. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Are you even alright? You look like you've been camping outdoors since kindergarten."

Lilith blinked, clearly surprised by his question. "I am fine," she replied stiffly. "Your refusal only delays the inevitable."

"The inevitable?" Owen laughed bitterly, resisting the urge to rub his temples. "Yeah, because nothing screams 'normal life' like dying for someone else's kingdom. Listen, lady, if you're serious about this, maybe try proving it instead of scaring me into submission."

Without another word, he resumed walking, leaving her behind. As he rounded the corner, he couldn't help but feel guilty—for reasons he refused to acknowledge.

When Owen woke up on the fourth day, his first instinct was to check the window. Habit—or maybe something deeper—had him glancing out before even sitting up fully in bed. But there was nothing. No glowing white hair, no red eyes piercing through the morning haze, no ethereal figure standing like a statue beneath the flickering streetlight. Just the same old view of cats plotting world domination in the alley below.

Relief washed over him instantly, followed by confusion that he refused to acknowledge. Where was she? Did she finally give up? Or did something happen to her? He shook his head sharply, trying to dispel the unease creeping into his chest. Why should he care? She was probably just some weirdo who'd gotten bored or moved on to harass someone else with their life's destiny, or whatever.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur of routine. He ate breakfast alone at the kitchen counter, staring absently at the same cracks in the ceiling he'd counted so many times before. At school, his mind wandered during lectures, and during lunch breaks, he found himself unconsciously scanning the streets outside the cafeteria windows. Each time, his heart sank a little more when she wasn't there—a reaction that annoyed him more than her actual absence.

By the time he reached home, the unease had grown unbearable. He tossed his bag onto the couch and flopped down beside it, groaning loudly enough to wake the dead—or at least annoy his neighbors.

Hikaru Ufotake materialized almost immediately as if summoned by Owen's distress—or more likely, he'd been waiting outside like the stalker friend he was. "Dude, why do you look like someone stole your last slice of pizza?"

"Shut up, UFO-boy," Owen muttered, running a hand through his messy black hair. "Just... leave me alone."

Hikaru tilted his head curiously, his usual grin fading slightly. "Whoa, whoa, hold up. Someone's definitely got their panties in a twist. Spill."

"It's nothing," Owen snapped, grabbing a snack from the kitchen. "Just drop it."

But Hikaru wasn't one to let things slide—not when they involved anything remotely strange. His nose for weird situations was about as subtle as a neon sign in a library. "Is it aliens?" he asked, eyes lighting up with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store. "Because I swear I saw a UFO last night. Looked like a giant floating pancake."

Owen groaned, rolling his eyes so hard they might get stuck. "If by 'UFO' you mean 'clouds,' then yes, totally aliens."

"Aw, come on!" Hikaru protested, throwing his arms wide. "You're ruining my reputation as the neighborhood conspiracy theorist! If this keeps up, people might start thinking I'm normal."

"Imagine the horror," Owen deadpanned.

Hikaru leaned closer, his grin widening to Cheshire cat proportions. "Or maybe it's not aliens at all. Maybe it's just some ghost haunting you—or worse, a magical princess demanding sacrifices!"

"Magical princess?" Owen repeated, arching an eyebrow. "Since when did you start reading shoujo manga?"

"I don't read them—I analyze them for scientific purposes," Hikaru shot back, puffing out his chest proudly. "Clearly, ghosts and magic are connected to extraterrestrial phenomena. It's basic logic."

Reluctantly, Owen recounted the past few days, leaving out the part where he might've felt... something. "So yeah," he finished, shrugging. "She's gone now. Probably realized how boring my life is compared to her magical kingdom or whatever."

Hikaru smirked knowingly. "Right. Because you're such a loser." His tone softened slightly. "Look, man, maybe she's telling the truth. Stranger stuff happens all the time. Remember that time I tried to explain crop circles were alien landing pads?"

"That was you trying to sell lemonade to tourists," Owen reminded him dryly. "And failing miserably."

"Exactly!" Hikaru said triumphantly. "Back then, I was the crazy one. Now look—you're dealing with glowing-eyed girls claiming interdimensional murder is their life goal. If that's not proof I'm Einstein material, I don't know what is."

Before Owen could retort with something appropriately sarcastic, Hikaru's phone buzzed loudly. A news alert flashed across the screen: "Mysterious Lights Appear Over Tokyo!"

Owen froze mid-sentence, his half-formed insult dying in his throat. Mysterious lights? Could Lilith have something to do with them? Or was this just another coincidence in his increasingly bizarre life?

Hikaru glanced at him, grinning ear to ear. "Bet those lights are UFOs. You coming with me to investigate?"

"No," Owen replied flatly. "I'm done chasing wild goose chases."

"Wild goose chases? Dude, geese aren't even real. They're just ducks pretending to be better than everyone else."

"Thanks for the ornithology lesson, Professor Pancake. I am fine. Besides, I've got better things to focus on, like my part-time job and university applications."

"University applications, huh? Saving rent money and daily expenses to escape this boring life, are we? Sounds legit. But hey, even geniuses need excitement sometimes."

The next morning, Owen entered the classroom expecting another dull lecture. But instead, Mrs. Chibara announced, "We have a new transfer student joining us today."

Here we go, Owen thought sarcastically. Another cliché unfolds right before my eyes.

The door slid open, and Lilith stepped inside, wearing a white sailor uniform. The stark contrast between her alabaster hair and the crisp white fabric created an ethereal effect that even Hikaru, self-proclaimed UFO enthusiast extraordinaire, found strangely beautiful. Her red eyes seemed to glow against the pale palette, making her look like a character who had stepped straight out of a premium anime series.

"Well, well," Hikaru whispered beside him, nudging his arm. "Looks like your stalker decided to upgrade her game."

"She's not my stalker," Owen hissed, though something warm flickered in his chest—a feeling he immediately tried to squash.

Lilith approached the teacher's desk, introducing herself with quiet confidence. "My name is Lilith Alaric. Nice to meet you."

Nice to meet you. Seriously? Owen wanted to bang his head against the desk. If this was real life, it was definitely mocking him.

She settled into the desk directly behind Owen, her presence like a static charge in the air. Throughout the lecture, he could feel her gaze burning into the back of his head.

When lunch finally rolled around, Hikaru dragged Owen over to where Lilith sat quietly arranging her desk with precise movements.

"Hey, Lilith!" Hikaru greeted cheerfully, plopping down next to her. "Guess what? We spotted alien lights last night. Totally related to you, right?"

Lilith arched an elegant eyebrow. "Aliens? No, Mr. Ufotake. My world does not involve extraterrestrial beings."

"Mr. Ufotake?" Hikaru repeated, laughing nervously. "Oh, right. Got it."

Turning to Owen, Lilith added, "Though I must admit, your friend's theories are amusing."

"Don't encourage him," Owen muttered, sitting down reluctantly. "He thinks everything weird is a UFO."

"UFO? Even magic?" Lilith countered, her lips curling into a faint smile.

Owen opened his mouth to respond but stopped short. Magic? That sounded ridiculous—but then again, so did everything else lately.

Before he could formulate a response, a wave of curious classmates descended upon them. They surrounded Lilith's desk, peppering her with questions:

"Where are you from?"

"Is that your natural hair color?"

"Are those contacts or your real eyes?"

"Are you cosplaying?"

Lilith sat there, maintaining her composure as the tide of questions washed over her. Owen watched the scene unfold, caught between amusement and something else—something he wasn't quite ready to name. One thing was certain: his mundane life had just become anything but boring.