LOVE!!! Has something deep inside me awoken?! [Part 6]

1950s Americana knick-knacks and memorabilia decorated the walls of the restaurant. Near the entrance was a jukebox with an “Out of Order” sign taped to it, despite it appearing to be working as it played classic 1970s rock. Guess it was there just for aesthetics.

A middle-aged waitress sat us at a booth and handed us two menus and asked what we’d like to drink. I instinctively asked for a cola, only to regret it immediately afterward as I remembered Jack having offered to pay for the meal. I should’ve gone for water since that’s free.

“I’ll have a water,” Jack said.

The waitress then left with our drink orders, telling us to take our time when picking what to eat.

I had a difficult time reading the menu, as all I could think about was how the two of us must’ve looked like we were out on a date. Not that I’m against that idea, of course. Heck, I wish it were! But this isn’t a date, right? We didn’t go into this as a date, so I don’t think it counts.

“Alright then,” the waitress said to Jack’s order, having returned at some point without me realizing. “And what would you like, sweetheart?”

Crap! I need to pick something quick, or else I’ll be wasting her time! What kind of stuff do girls typically get when they go out to eat? Salads, right? Okay! Salad it is!

“This,” I said, pointing at the first instance of the word “salad” on the menu.

“And one tuna salad sandwich!”

Wait, tuna salad sandwich?! But I don’t like tuna!

“Your food will be out in a bit,” she said before walking away, leaving Jack and me alone before I could cancel my order.

“You feeling okay?” Jack asked.

“Huh? What? Oh! Uh, nothing! Nothing’s wrong! Just, uh, hungry is all. Sure can’t wait for that tuna salad sandwich!”

Jack took a sip of his water as I gulped down my cola, unsure of what to say. I looked from wall to wall, trying to find a conversation starter. With so much junk on the walls, surely something would be interesting to talk about.

On the opposite facing wall, I saw a display of “Survivors of the 100 Nugget Challenge!”

“Oh!” I said, jumping out of my seat and walking over.

I know Jack’s photo should be up here somewhere. Aha! There it is! In the middle of the group of photos of various winners was a photo of Jack, standing proudly as he completed the challenge. And in the background, holding a trash can, was me. Well, Daniel, to be more specific.

“Oh wow! You survived the hundred nugget challenge? That’s so cool!” I said, trying to sound enthusiastic. I then jammed a finger at myself in the background of the photo. “Who’s that? A friend of yours?”

Boom! And just like that, I have made it appear that I am in no way shape, or form connected to “Daniel!” Whew! So glad to have a lucky break for once.

Jack stared in confusion.

“Um…” I mumbled.

Was I too quick to point to the photo? What am I saying? Of course, I was! I shouldn’t have known Jack was up on the wall! And I was sitting way too far away to have easily spotted him from our booth! And why would I be so quick to point at me in the background?! I’m way too obvious!

I sat back down at the table, embarrassed.

“Yeah, they are,” Jack answered.

“Huh?”

Jack pointed to the photo. “You were asking if the person with me in the photo was a friend of mine, right?”

“I-I see,” I replied.

“They’re very special to me.”

I beamed up. “Oh? Really? Special, huh? You two must be close, then?”

“Yeah.”

I let out a loud squeal. Internally, of course. So he views me as someone special!

“Are you feeling okay? You’re turning red,” Jack said.

“I’m fine! I’m fine!” I said, smiling. “By the way, I want to thank you for yesterday. With you catching me like you did.”

Jack waved it off. “Nah, it was nothing.”

“It wasn’t nothing!” I said. “You put your life on the line to help me! You could’ve seriously injured yourself! Besides, I’m a magical girl, so there was a good chance I would’ve shrugged it off anyway. There was no reason you had to do that.”

“...So what I did was pointless?” Jack asked.

I frantically shook my head. “No! I don’t mean it like that! I mean, you did help me! It’s just you didn’t have to, maybe! Or, no, wait, that doesn’t sound right. Like, you could have gotten yourself seriously injured, whereas I would’ve been fine! No, I mean–”

Jack started laughing. “I’m just teasing.”

My cheeks puffed out in frustration. “It’s not nice to tease someone you only just met.”

“Sure,” Jack said, taking another sip of his water. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me. So tell me, how long have you been a magical girl?”

“Um,” I said, trying to determine whether it was okay to be truthful or not. “A little over a year,” I replied.

“I see. So you didn’t always secretly have these powers?”

“Nah. It was after I met B–uh… this guardian angel of sorts. She gave me these powers. I was going through a really tough time in my life, and becoming a magical girl helped me find purpose again.”

Jack nodded. “I feel ya. It’s good to find something to work towards when life beats down on you.”

I nodded.

“Ya know,” he continued. “You kinda remind me of someone.”

I gulped, fearing that he had figured out it was me. Was I too obvious with the timeframe? Maybe I should’ve lied and said it was a few years ago. But if he took the time to research me he’d find news articles regarding Magical Knight Lune only dating back to a little over a year.

He took a long, drawn-out sip of his water like he knew I was eagerly awaiting to hear what he had to say.

Letting out a refreshing sigh, Jack finally answered: “Cinderella.”

I was relieved, but also confused. “Cinderella?” I asked.

“Yeah. Like the fairytale. Cinderella was going through a tough time, then meets a fairy godmother who uses magic to transform her into a beautiful princess.”

I giggled. “Maybe? But you don’t see me going after a ‘Prince Charming’.”

“Pity. And here I thought maybe I somehow fell into the ‘Prince Charming’ role.”

I choked on my spit, forcing me to chug the rest of my cola and subsequently burn my throat.

“You okay?” he asked.

I nodded as I tried to temper my coughing fit. “Yeah. I’m fine. Just –cough– gimme a sec.”

Shortly thereafter, the waitress brought us our food, along with a refill of my cola and a separate glass of water to help ease my cough.

***

We didn’t talk all much more during the rest of our time during dinner, instead focusing on eating. I wondered if it was due to the weird faces I was making while forcing myself to finish that tuna salad sandwich. At one point Jack offered to share some of his food, but I objected.

After we finished eating, the two of us left the restaurant.

“I’ll walk you home,” Jack said.

I shook my head. “It’s okay. It’d be faster if I fly there.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Makes sense. Well, you be careful heading home, alright? See ya later.”

I nodded. “See ya…”

Jack walked across the parking lot as I stood there, watching him.

…Aaaaaaand he’s gone.

What a trainwreck of a confession! There wasn’t a single opportunity to do so! Gawd, I’m such a loser! A lame, pathetic magical girl who has the power to fight otherworldly monsters, but is incapable of saying just three little words: I love you. One syllable each, even!

“Man,” I sighed to myself, disappointed by my performance tonight.

I gathered up the energy to slowly walk home in defeat, where I planned to collapse into bed and pass out. As I did, I pulled out my phone to check the time, where I saw a text message from Belliney while I was eating dinner.

[You got this, Lune!!! Fight for love!!!]

“Fight for love…”

Like most things in life, you can't expect what you want to fall onto your lap so easily. If you wanted something, you had to put in the effort and work for it. While eating in the restaurant, I was waiting for the opportunity for me to confess my feelings for Jack. Of course, none had presented itself.

Well duh! That’s because you had to make the opportunity, you numbskull!

I put my phone away and turned around and bolted. I ran as fast as I could to meet up with Jack.

“I’m gonna confess!” I told myself. “And nothing’s gonna stop me!”

There didn’t need to be some sort of elaborate setup or some perfect moment to express my feelings. All I needed to do was just say it!

“Jack!” I yelled as I turned the corner of the street, spotting him in the distance.

Jack turned around, surprised to see me.

I smiled, and put my foot down to stop.

Except, in my hurry to confess, I was running as fast as possible. Being a magical girl, I was running almost as fast as a car. I must’ve been running at like 30mph!

Maybe things would’ve turned out differently if I were wearing the boots from my magical girl outfit, which were made to withstand my powers.

The shoes I was wearing to go with my outfit? Not so much!

My shoe shot off my foot, sending me tumbling across the sidewalk, skidded by a horrified Jack, and crashed into a large oak tree. The oak tree then came crashing down atop of me.

“Oh my God!” I heard Jack yell in the distance.

As not to let him worry, I immediately bounced back up and chucked the tree to the side, then patted down my tattered dress.

“Are you okay?!” he yelled, worried.

“I like you!!!” I cried.

“Christ! You’ve got blood running down your forehead!”

“I REALLY LIKE YOU!!!”

“And you went through a freakin’ tree! Holy cow! Look at it! Snapped it right in two!”

“I REALLY REALLY LIKE YOU!!!”

“I like you too!!! But now’s not the time for that!!!”

“Wait, what do you mean–”

Before I realized it, Jack put me on his back and began running.

“Where’re you taking me?!” I yelled in shock.

“To the hospital,” he replied.

“The hospital?! Why?!”

“Why? Why?! You just crashed through a tree!!! You’re bleeding all over the place!!! What if you suffered a concussion?!”

“I’m fine!” I objected.

“Glad to hear it. But I won’t be satisfied until I hear that from a professional.”

“But I’m a magical girl!”

“You’re still human. And humans tend to put on a brave face. Believe you me.”

I decided to stop objecting and leaned my head on the back of his neck. “You’re nice to a fault at times. You know that?”

“So I’ve heard,” he replied.

“And gentle, and caring, and strong.”

He kept quiet.

“...Can we stay together like this?”

“Well, it’s not like I’m gonna drop ya in the middle of the sidewalk before we get to the hospital.”

I snorted. “Not like that. I meant… I’ve cared about you for a long time now.”

“Didn’t we just meet?”

“...I’ve been watching you from a distance for a very long time. And now that we’re like this, I never want to let go.”

Jack was silent, except for the grunts as he continued running with me on his back. After a minute of silence, in between breaths, he spoke up.

“I’ll be honest. I’ve known about you for a good while now.”

“From like, news reports?”

“I always found you cute and adorable, and admired what all you do for others.”

He stopped to catch his breath. I guess carrying me all the way to the hospital is even too much for Jack.

“I think I can walk,” I said.

“It’s… fine,” he said, still catching his breath. “Hey, how… about a little wager?”

“A wager?” I asked.

He turned his head to me. “If I carry you all the way to the hospital, how about the two of us start dating?”

“I–” I said, surprised by his straightforwardness in asking me out. But then I smiled, laid my head down, and closed my eyes. “Okay.”

Jack chuckled, then let out a yell as he resumed running, giving it his all to carry me to the hospital.

As he ran, my wings extended out from my back, lifting him ever so gently.