Life Between Worlds and Dimensions World OneChapter Three: The Friends' Gathering

When the friends saw the name **Stephanie Azazel**, they fell into a state of shock  for she was the most despised girl among them, known for her diabolical behavior and nature. She had attempted to get close to all three of them in order to exploit them, and by good fortune, each one had saved the others. She had tried to approach both **Adam** and **Jerome** for financial exploitation, while with **Joseph**, it was different  he was a loving boy, and she had wanted to use him as a slave rather than a lover.
Jerome squinted, examining the name more closely, and said:
> *"It's as if fate is mocking us  of all people, why does Stephanie have to be our classmate? I'll withdraw if necessary. I have no desire to get expelled for violently assaulting a female  if that cursed creature can even be considered female, or human for that matter."*
Joseph took a deep breath and said, trying to ease the tension:
> *"Listen, let's just ignore her. We'll study and sit together, and besides, the rest of our classmates seem decent enough."*
Adam followed up on Joseph's words:
> *"If you want, we'll simply avoid her and if she ever crosses a line with you, you have a blank check. And as they say"*
And all three said in unison:
> *"Whoever brings trouble to his own doorstep deserves what comes to him."*
The three laughed together, and Adam glanced at his watch:
> *"What do you say, guys shall we head out now?"*
Jerome replied:
> *"Let's go. I need to forget this disappointment."*
As Adam stepped past the school gates, he spotted his beloved from a distance, speaking with another girl. The feelings of love began to stir within his heart  a heart that was falling for the very first time. He wanted to speak to her, yet he didn't know how, given his complete lack of experience with girls. A wave of fears began to wash over him. *What if he failed? What if he couldn't win her heart the way she had stolen his?* The boy found himself drowning in a whirlpool of thoughts until Jerome jolted him back to reality with a smack to the back of his neck and said:
> *"Hey, what's gotten into you? You're more spacey than usual today. Confess  confess. Where'd you get lost?"*
Adam shot him a bewildered look and replied with a hint of sarcasm:
> *"From your place  or did you forget what's hidden in the drawer of your bed?"*
This provoked Jerome somewhat, but he accepted it as a joke and fired back:
> *"I swear, if I find even a single milligram missing, I will finish you."*
The boys laughed and began walking together. Along the way, Jerome started rummaging through his pockets and suddenly yelled, swearing under his breath:
> *"Damn this rotten luck  I left my keys at home, and there's no one there!"*
Joseph laughed and flicked Jerome on the forehead, saying:
> *"As usual. Next time, just forget yourself entirely oh wait, you've already done that."*
Jerome looked at him with an expression that made it clear he would not accept this insult:
> *"That's none of your business  and who gave you the right to touch me with that hand of yours?"*
A smile spread across Joseph's face, for he loved nothing more than getting a rise out of Jerome, and he added:
> *"Just look at the height difference, you little dwarf."*
Jerome tried to swat Joseph and shot back:> *"What does height have to do with anything? With this height of mine, I can attract and date any girl I want  unlike Adam, who has never been in a relationship."*
Adam smacked both Joseph and Jerome and replied:> *"And what does that have to do with me, for heaven's sake? Listen let's sort this out at my place. Alexander bought a new gaming console, and he won't be home all day. Also, there's something important I need to confess."*
The two boys' attention was immediately captured. Jerome replied with a mocking expression:
> *"Confess, confess have you turned gay?"*
Adam raised his voice:
> *"No  what are you saying?! My romantic life is hopeless, yes but not to that extent."*
*"Then what is it?"*
*"It's something far worse than that."* Adam winked at Jerome.

After the friends arrived at Adam's house, Jerome remarked:
> *"I still can't believe you live here. I always assumed you lived under some bridge."*
Adam sighed and replied with a trace of brokenness in his voice:
> *"That could very well have been my fate. Come on, let's go inside."*
The boys stayed and played, hurling every insult and crude word at one another  yet despite it all, their friendship was strong and genuine.
After a while, the three settled in the living room. Adam prepared cups of coffee, and then Joseph and Jerome simultaneously shifted their sitting positions, crossing one leg over the other, and said at the exact same moment:
> *"Now  confess. What disaster have you gotten yourself into?"*
Jerome began sipping his coffee while Joseph waited eagerly, and Adam gathered his courage, saying to himself: *My greatest fear isn't Amber's reaction — it's theirs. Come on, Adam. Say it. Say it. Say it.*
Adam took a deep breath and announced:
> *"I officially declare that I have fallen in love."*
At the shock of what they heard, Jerome spat his coffee directly onto Joseph's face, and the poor soul screamed:
> *"You wretch watch it! Do you want to make me forfeit every last one of my human rights?!"*
And then:> *"And you, Adam  can you repeat what you just said? It sounded as though you said something strange."*
Adam repeated himself, and both of them fell into a state of shock so profound that their mouths hung open for a full five minutes.
Jerome said in disbelief:> *"Wait  wait. You fell in love with a girl?!"*Adam replied:> *"Obviously a girl what do you take me for? Have I lost my mind to love something strange?"*
Both Joseph and Jerome placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. The atmosphere had suddenly shifted to one of gravity and seriousness. They said:> *"Listen  are you sure you want to go down this road? You need to understand that love is something profound, and it carries its risks  especially if this is your first experience with it. It is like a double-edged sword: on one side, it may elevate you; on the other, it may be your undoing."*Adam nodded in understanding.Jerome pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and said:
> *"Alright, alright — it seems the cub has grown up. Very well, tell us more. How exactly do you feel about her?"*
Adam thought for a moment, then said with honesty:
> *"When I see her, I can tell she is a girl who cannot be replicated or replaced."*
Joseph said:
> *"We want more details."*
Adam smiled, and decided to pour out everything within his chest — all the feelings of love  so that his two friends might help him. And he said:*Your eyes, behind the glass, are a lantern**That lights the darkness with radiant letters,**And your hair, chestnut brown, overflows with warmth**Like the shadow of dusk upon the lamp.*
*Whenever I look at you, I see within them**Eyes that speak without wounds,**As though the glass were mirrors of morning**Concealing between their light my own striving.*Jerome collapsed to the floor from the sheer force of his shock, while Joseph clapped and exclaimed:
> *"Magnificent! Our friend  love has awakened the romantic poet within him! Whoever she is, she is one lucky girl."*