Love Is A Constant Battle ch.16 - Time Out, Please? (2)

After a quick lunch, Naomi and I headed for the shopping district. Ken was helping at his mom’s salon so we were going there to meet him.

Naomi still wanted to follow me saying, “Are you kidding? It feels like we’re detectives trying to solve a mystery. This is way more fun than going through all the stalls again.”

She was enjoying herself at least, so I didn’t want to spoil it. There was no danger anyway.

When I arrived at my destination, we were met by a long-haired handsome young man with some noticeably strong cologne, which got mixed among the smells of the chemicals used inside the salon.

“Welcome, do you have a reservation?” he asked us while I couldn’t help but notice how glossy his lips were.

“No, we don’t”, I replied.

“Then, if you’re willing to wait, I can put you in our list and I’ll call for you when it’s your turn. While waiting, you can stay on the sofa over there”, he said, taking a clipboard from the counter then glancing at the spot he was directing us to.

“Oh, sorry, we’re not customers. We're looking for Ken.”

“Yes, my name’s Ken”, he stated. “How can I help you?”

“No, we're looking for the owner’s son. His name is also Ken”, I said, thinking the employee having the same name was a coincidence.

“Yes, I’m him”, he replied.

That has taken me aback that I couldn’t help but squint my eyes and stare at him.

“Sorry, but can you pull your hair back a bit?” I told him, which he reluctantly did. “Also, lose that creepy customer-facing smile a bit.”

Once he set his face to neutral, I couldn’t help but exclaim, “Oh wow, it really is you!”

I actually didn’t recognize him! He looked so different, plus his voice sounded higher than I was familiar with.

Letting his hair down and losing his customer-friendly voice, he said, “I’m sorry, miss, but have we met?”

It was only then I recognized his voice as well.

I quickly introduced myself as the person who messaged him earlier to talk about Marie.

“What about her?” he asked me, no longer with his customer-friendly demeanor.

“What happened between the two of you?” I asked.

I already knew they weren’t lovers in this timeline based on my conversation with Marie so I went straight to the thing I wanted to know the most.

“What do you mean?”, he asked. “We haven’t met since we graduated high school, which is almost two years now.”

“I mean before graduation, when you two were in high school.”

“There was nothing. We spent our school lives the same way everyone did. We went to class, hung around, went home then repeated the grind.”

“Were you dating?”

He hesitated for a moment, but he answered, “No, we were just normal friends.”

“Did you ever ask her out? What happened to it?”

He breathed a sigh before replying.

“Look, miss, you can’t just come in here and ask me personal questions. Who are you, anyway?”

Once again, I was debating whether to reveal my identity or to tell a lie so I could get somewhere.

But, my decision would be delayed when someone entered the shop and announced, “Special delivery!”

It was the girl who was the host of the beef bowl eating contest, who was curtain number two in that matchmaking game, one of the guitarists in Ken’s band, and his childhood friend. I finally learned her name during that Kick the Can game, and it was Aya.

“One moment”, Ken said to me upon seeing this newcomer. He went around the counter then spoke to Aya saying, “You’re late.”

“Sorry, you know how busy we get during lunchtime”, she said.

“It’s already one-thirty! I called you just before eleven!” Ken complained.

“Geez, we normally don’t do deliveries; I’m only doing this for you”, she said as she approached the counter to place the food she was delivering. “That’s what the ‘special’ means in ‘special delivery’ so you better be grateful.”

Hearing their conversation, I couldn’t help but jump to conclusions. They seemed intimate, plus Ken had mentioned he had moved on from Marie.

“Sorry to interrupt”, I butted in. “Are you two dating?”

Ken didn’t react as he was busy counting money from the cash register to pay for the delivery. But, Aya took a double-take.

“Who? Us?” she asked me. Then, she laughed and said, “You’ve got to be joking. Who wants this guy as a boyfriend?”

She laughed a bit more as if I made a really funny joke.

“Sorry for laughing”, she said while gasping for air. “But, this guy isn’t over the girl that got away yet.”

“That’s not true”, Ken protested.

“Really?” Aya asked, sounding skeptical. “Then, when are you going to start dating someone else? I’m still waiting for the day when other girls stop asking me to introduce them to you. At least take someone on a date to make them shut up for a while.”

“Alright then, if you’re so impatient, how about you and I go out on a date tonight?”

“Don’t wanna. It’s a waste of time. We both know I’m not the one you want”, she replied without hesitation. “Seriously, you know where Marie lives. Just go up there and ask her out, for crying out loud.”

“You know I can’t do that anymore.”

“Why? Just ask her out to play like you used to when you were kids.”

“We’re not kids anymore, it’s different now.”

“Chicken”, Aya said before turning to Naomi and me. “Can you believe this wuss? The girl he liked thought his confession was a joke and now he’s still all mopey years later.”

“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell things about me to strangers”, Ken scolded. He then placed some money on the counter and said, “Also, here’s the payment.”

“Huh, I thought they were friends of yours”, she said as she took the money. While counting, she continued, “I didn’t see you wearing that creepy fake smile while you were talking to them when I entered.”

So, I wasn’t the only one who thought his smile was creepy.

“Which reminds me”, Ken says as he turns to Naomi and me. “Who were you two again?”

Before I could answer him, Naomi stepped up and said, “We are Ken’s cupid in love!”

All while posing cutely and forming a heart shape with her hands.

Ken and I stared at her with disbelief. Aya simply burst out laughing.

Before Ken could say anything, I asked for him to wait as I dragged Naomi to a corner.

“What are you doing?” I asked her in a hushed voice.

“Well, He didn’t seem like he would cooperate so I made something up”, she replied in an equally hushed voice.

“But, why a cupid?”

“Well, based on his conversation with his friend, I had the impression he was still in love with Marie.”

“Okay?”

“You’ve seen how Marie reacted earlier, right? She’s also still hung up on Ken.”

“Right, but I would have to be really dense if I didn’t gather all of that myself. What are you getting at?”

“I figured that he might open up to us if we promised to get him together with Marie”, she said. “It would be easy to do anyway.”

“I mean, I kind of get that, but I only need to know why they didn’t become lovers.”

“Well, do you have other ideas?”

I paused for a moment to think.

I had none. Or, at least, I couldn’t think of a quicker solution.

So, I decided to roll with Naomi’s idea and perhaps build on it.

Turning back to a bemused Ken and a snickering Aya, I said, “That’s right, we’re here to help Ken with his love troubles.”

Aya burst out laughing again.

I felt embarrassed just saying that, but I did my best holding it back.

Meanwhile it just made Ken angrier.

“Cupid or whatever, that doesn’t give you the right to meddle or pry”, he said.

“Ah, but didn’t you tell me before that you liked Marie ‘lots’”, I responded.

“I never told you that. This is the first time I’ve met you”

“I’m sad that you have forgotten, but I still remember you looking like a lost pup when you said that you didn’t like being teased by the other kids that you and Marie were husband and wife.”

“What? I’ve only told that to one person.”

“That’s right, and didn’t I tell you to own it?”

Ken’s jaw dropped.

“It… It can’t be”, he said.

“Huh? What? What’s going on?” Aya kept asking once she noticed the mood had gotten more serious, but none of us answered her.

“Hey, mini-Ken, do you still like Marie enough to marry her and make a soccer team’s worth of children?”

That was enough for him to drop his guard.

I wasn’t actually planning on revealing my identity to him for similar reasons that I didn’t tell Marie. But, thanks to Naomi’s quick thinking and my adaptability - if I say so myself, I was able to build on a lie and add an unbelievable truth to connect with Ken.

“I still can’t believe you’re the auntie from that time”, Ken said as he, Naomi and I made our way to the university.

“I told you, it’s big sis”, I replied to Ken, even though I knew it was already inaccurate but I had to keep in character.

To follow through with the lie of us being cupids, Naomi and I managed to convince him via more lies that today was his “now or never” chance to get together with Marie so we were escorting - or, more like dragging him to meet her.

I felt bad lying so much in a short span of time, but I just convinced myself it’s all for good intentions.

It was easy to get him out of work, too, since I just told his mom, who had just finished working on a customer and went up front to check what the commotion was, that it was for her son’s romance. She was even about to kick him out herself until he stopped being stubborn.

Aya had her work to return to, but, before we left, she told us, “Good luck. I lost count on how many times I tried dragging him to meet with Marie so I’m glad you two are able to do it.”

I wasn’t sure if she believed us, but I’m just glad she hadn’t attempted to call on our bluffs and seemed supportive.

“You say you’re my cupid, right?” Ken asked me as we made our way.

“Yes?” I responded.

“Why now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t you appear when I was in high school?”

“Sorry, I got too tied up with other work that I wasn’t able to check up on you sooner”, I lied.

“Cupids have it tough, too, huh?” He seems to have bought it.

When we arrived at the campus, we hurried to the Digital Arts Club exhibition, where we saw Marie last, hoping she hadn’t moved elsewhere. She had mentioned her shift ran until the afternoon, but it was already two-thirty and we didn’t know which exact time she was off.

Luckily, she was still there. We spotted her from the other end of the hall still manning the exhibition’s front desk.

I tried giving Ken a push so he would make the approach on his own. Literally, I placed a hand on his back to try and get him to move forward since he was rooted to the ground. But, that only made him make one step.

He turned to me to say, “Maybe it’s not a good idea to bother her while she’s working.”

He was getting cold feet.

“Just go”, I said as I slapped on his back.

He took another step, but turned back to me again. “But, what do I say to her?”

“Just say hi and ask her to go for coffee together or something”, Naomi suggested.

“Will something that plain really work?” he asked.

“It’s foolproof”, Naomi claimed, giving it her seal of approval.

“No, wait”, I said as I took out my phone. “I’ve got a better idea.”

After finding what I was looking for on my phone, I showed it to the other two.

“Is this really a good idea?” Naomi asked skeptically.

“Trust me, this will work on Marie”, I confidently said.

However, when he seemed to have finally gotten some courage to make his approach, Marie spotted us.

“Ah, I knew it!” she shouted while pointing at the three of us. “You’re here to flaunt your relationship with him in front of me!”

Then, she ran away, towards the opposite direction.

“Oh, for the love of…” I couldn’t help but curse under my breath as I started to chase her.

Some of her club’s patrons tried to block me, but I managed to slip around each of them.

I was dreading having to chase her on foot since she was fairly athletic. Or, at least, the Marie in my original timeline was. So, I was surprised to find her at the end of the hallway stuttering her steps and all out of breath so I didn’t need to chase her very far. Evidently, she was not as fit or as athletic as I thought she would be.

“Stay away!” she shouted when she noticed me approaching.

“Listen, this is all a misunderstanding”, I pleaded as I matched her pace. “I’m not Ken’s girlfriend.”

“Then, why are you together with Ken?”

Ken has caught up to us, so I told Marie, “Why don’t you ask him yourself?”

I turned to Ken and motioned for him to go to Marie.

He then jogged towards Marie.

When she saw him approach, she stopped walking. But, she didn’t make eye contact as her gaze was stuck to the floor.

“Is it true?” she asked Ken. “Are you really not dating that floozy?”

By that, she meant me, of course, but it was not the time to protest the name-calling.

“I’m not”, Ken replied.

“Then, what are you doing with her?”

He looked at me for some reason. I just nodded to tell it’s okay for him to answer her question.

“She’s just here to help me settle things with you”, he said, turning back to Marie.

“I knew it, you’re here to take revenge on me”, she cried.

“No, why would you think that?”

“You hate me, don’t you? You're here to 'settle' your vengeance, aren't you?”

“No, I don’t mean it that way. In the first place, why would I hate you?”

“Because you started treating me coldly after I thought you were joking when you tried to ask me out.”

“That’s not true.”

“It’s true!” Marie exclaimed. “You stopped hanging out with me unless someone else was with us! You've also cut contact with me after graduation!”

Ken did not respond. I looked to see if he was all right, but he was making an expression full of regret, probably realizing what he had done.

Soon after, someone with an air of authority came between us and Marie.

A lanky young woman who didn’t seem like a lecturer firmly asked us, “What do you think you are doing to our club member?”

At the same time, two more girls approached Marie. If I had to guess, they were also part of the Digital Arts Club. They checked to see if she was okay and slowly escorted her back to their exhibit.

Ken remained quiet while all of these were happening, so I jabbed his rib and told him, “Say the line.”

Obediently, he called out to Marie.

“No more talking”, the lanky girl tried blocking Ken’s view, but I stopped her.

Marie looked back, waiting for what Ken was about to say.

He hesitated for a moment, then said, “I know you’re busy today, but can you add me to your to-do list?”

“No, you can’t”, the lanky girl objected while I wrestled with her.

“Shut up for a second, will you?” I protested as I struggled pushing her away.

I was confident I could take on most untrained girls since I was used to fighting with my brothers, but my foe was stronger than she looked.

Only our little skirmish could be heard in the hallway until someone let out a laugh.

It was Marie.

That caused me and the lanky girl to stop grappling.

Everyone, including the gawkers, seemed lost on what was funny, especially Ken.

I looked at him and gave him the thumbs up to say he did good, but his confused expression didn’t leave his face.

“What’s with that lame pickup line?” Marie said as she continued laughing heartily. “That’s so funny.”

It took a while for Marie to stop laughing, but she agreed to meet Ken after her shift to talk.

“Preferably without the floozy”, she said with pure venom.

I was still within earshot.

Regardless of what she felt about me, they eventually managed to sort out their misunderstandings.

Ken had apologized to Marie for his behavior after his failed confession, citing that it became awkward for him to be alone with her.

Marie apologized to Ken for treating his confession as a joke, but she had only realized her mistake after he started treating her differently so it also became awkward for her to confirm his true feelings and fix the misunderstanding.

Basically, Ken chickened out and their relationship became awkward, but all they needed to do was to talk to each other? A note read.

Naomi and I were back at the former clubroom of the Horror Society reporting to the ghost girl what had happened for the day.

“In hindsight, yeah”, I replied.

Why didn’t they just talk to each other in the first place?

“Well, human relationships are a little more complex than that”, I said, but I didn’t really have a more concrete answer.

Did Ken really give up after one misunderstanding, or was there something else he was afraid of? Why didn’t Marie herself try to fix it when she realized her mistake? I didn’t really have time to dig deeper nor did I care enough because I only needed to know the root cause, which is pretty much just Ken not forcing the issue.

So, did they start dating? The ghost girl asked.

“That’s the annoying thing”, Naomi answered this time. She had gotten used to sheets of paper spontaneously appearing from the book.

What do you mean?

“They didn’t”, I answered.

After their talk, Ken and Marie told us they agreed to start meeting more often, to hang around like they used to. But, they weren’t going to start dating yet.

Isn’t that kinda dating already? The note asked.

“Not in name, I guess”, I said. “Marie said she didn’t want to look easy, especially since they hadn’t met in more than a year.”

What are you going to do now? The ghost girl asked me. Are you going to stay in this timeline now that you’ve shaped it in the way you want where Ken and Marie are lovers?

“For the record, I just went with the flow and that is how it turned out”, I stated. “Also, those two are an even bigger pain in the ass than the ones I’m familiar with. I don’t think I can even be friends with this version of Marie.”

“Does that mean you’re leaving?” Naomi asked me. Then, she begged, “Take me with you!”

I looked her straight in the eyes and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t. I don’t want to make any more of a mess than I already did.”

I half expected her to try and convince me, but, thankfully, she backed down easily, but requested, “When you go back to your time, tell the version of myself there of all the things that has happened to you. I know she’ll love it.”

“Alright, I promise”, I told her, and she left the room.

A new note then arrived.

Are you ready?

“I still don’t understand why I can’t go straight to their high school days.”

It’s more risky. Are you confident Ken will easily believe you again? What if you also need to guide him, too? Are you sure Marie wouldn’t react the same way she did today? There's a great chance you could affect others, too. It’s much better to do it during the time when Ken is alone and is the most receptive to you, and that was when you gave him that advice.

“Alright”, I conceded.

Do you know what you need to do?

“Well, apart from the time travel part”, I answered.

Promptly, I received a couple sheets of paper containing the instructions on what I had to do to travel through time.

After saying goodbye to Naomi, I immediately went back to the haunted house and followed the directions contained on the first sheet. I quickly found my way through the maze and back to ten years ago.

I had my phone this time, but it wasn’t updating to the current time, so I had to ask someone for the date and time. I confirmed I was sent ten years back into the past. The time was just past two o’clock, plenty of time until grade school kids were let out.

However, I wasn’t sure if I was on the correct day. I just had to trust the ghost girl on that one.

I immediately went to the playground, the mythical dungeon, and waited for myself to arrive. By that, I mean, an earlier version of myself.

According to the note, I shouldn’t try to repeat what I had done in the past because my earlier time traveling self also exists in the current time and will be doing those things. It also said that I shouldn’t show myself to the other me, unless I want to create even more paradoxes. So, once I saw the other me, I hid somewhere else, away from the playground, to wait for mini-Ken, who I needed to talk to.

Once I saw mini-Marie leaving the playground with her mom, I waited for mini-Ken in the direction he ran home to and waited at one corner. It was pure coincidence that he turned to the corner I was waiting at, so he was surprised when he saw me there.

“Whoa, auntie”, he said. “How did you get there fast?”

“It’s big sis”, I corrected him. “Also, I’m a fast runner, aren’t I? I was retracing my steps like you suggested, and I wanted to do it quickly.”

“I see”, he said.

I wasn’t sure if he believed it or he just didn’t care.

“Anyway, about our talk earlier, I forgot to say one thing.”

“What is it?”

“If she thinks you’re joking or she doesn’t believe you, don’t give up. Press the issue and show her how serious you are.”

I gave it to him straight because I didn’t want him to interpret it differently.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because girls can be dense, too.”

“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks again”, he said as he ran home once more.

Now, all I can do is hope and pray it all goes well in the future. Although, I guess I will be finding out the result soon enough.

I returned to the campus. According to the note, I shouldn’t show myself to the Horror Society clubroom for the same reasons I hid from my earlier self, so I waited somewhere else. I didn’t want to interfere any more in the past, so I decided to hide in one of the stalls in the fourth floor bathroom of the Eastern Building where I could meet no one.

I was waiting for night, specifically for the time when my earlier self would jump from the window. The note said I should go through a window, too, but not before my first jump as nothing of the sort happened and it would create inconsistencies.

That wouldn’t be in a while so I took a nap. I know I’m in a bathroom stall, but all the waiting has reminded me I’ve been too active for an extended period of time. I think I fell asleep as well.

Luckily, I was woken up by loud screaming coming from the outside. Reflexively, I rushed out of the bathroom to see what was happening. Then, I realized what the commotion was about.

My earlier self had just jumped through the window.

The other classes had heard the screams and had come out into the halls to gawk at that particular room.

According to the note, my exit was in the same room, but not at the same window. I will find out which one, it said.

I thought the people inside would recognize me and start questioning me since I was still wearing the same clothes that my earlier self did, but they were all too busy trying to find the other me on the ground. The challenge was looking at each window since everyone has opened everything.

Except for the furthest one in front, which, by some luck, was the one I was looking for. On that particular window, it had the image of someone lying on the ground, headless. I figured that was the green-faced ghoul that I encountered before all of this, so I opened it and jumped.

I think I heard someone trying to stop me, but I wasn’t going to listen.

Next thing I knew, I was back in that dark maze, in that same pathway with the green-faced ghoul. Unlike before, this one was lying on the ground, headless, like when I left it prior to my first escape.

The notes ended after my last jump so I wasn’t sure what to do next. I tried searching for the door that the guy under the green mask showed me to in that other timeline. Luckily, it exists here, too.

I opened it and light permeated through, but I hit something mid-swing.

"Ow" I heard someone say, so I think it was a person. Then, Some guy peeked through the door and told me, “Hey, girl, wrong way.”

He had the same voice as the guy under the mask from that other timeline.

I told him I wanted to leave the maze and he invited me through the door then told me to follow the path for the exit.

Once outside, I didn’t feel like relaxing yet until I confirmed if I was in my original timeline.

There, I met Naomi with a scowl on her face.

“How long were you planning on making me wait?” she said, shaken.

“Sorry, I got really lost”, I replied. “Where are the others?”

I half expected her to ask me who the others were, but she said, “They’re still inside.”

Then, her gaze shifted towards the other exit.

“Oh, there they are.”

It was Ken and Marie holding hands as they came out of the haunted house maze.

“Ah, that was fun”, Marie announced. “What do you think, Ken?”

“It was okay, but not as good as last year’s”, he replied.

“What, you didn’t like it?” she asked, then realized what she just said as she stared at me.

I saw Ken grinning.

I didn’t need to ask why they were acting that way or what game they were playing.

I was back.

“No, I also said ‘didn’t’ so I meant that negatively”, Marie said to me, trying to defend her actions.

“Naomi, Ken, Marie”, I called the three. “Have I recently told you guys how much I like you guys?”

“What’s this so suddenly?” Naomi asked, looking a bit embarrassed.

Ken just smiled.

“Thanks, Kat. We feel the same way, too”, Marie replied.

I patted her shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, but you still lost to Ken.”

She groaned in defeat.