Melodic Dream

"Wife?" Saya asked, surprised.

"Yume! I've already told you that I don't remember you, and I doubt I ever agreed to marry you," he said, somewhat irritated.

The girl was taken aback.

"You... You don't remember our promise?" the girl asked to make sure.

"I have no idea who you are," he replied as coldly as possible, channeling his anger toward her.

Yume fell silent, holding back tears. Neo took the opportunity to grab Saya's hand and leave as quickly as possible.

"Eventually, you will remember and come back to me," Yume said hopefully, watching the two of them leave.

Not far away, they found a diner that caught their attention, perhaps because of its size.

"What do you think about grabbing something to eat here?" Neo suggested.

"Sounds really good," Saya agreed.

"About Yume, sorry Saya, this girl has been hounding me since the cooking festival, claiming we're married. But I swear I know nothing about it."

"It's okay, I trust you."

Neo breathed a sigh of relief, opened the large restaurant door, revealing a beautiful place with two floors and numerous windows overlooking the city. There were so many places to choose from that they couldn't decide. Neo chose a spot upstairs near the window, where he could see the whole city—two things he loved. They sat facing each other.

"Can I take your order?" Neo was distracted and didn't notice a girl with dark red hair and a waitress uniform standing next to him, waiting. When he looked at her, his eyes widened in surprise.

"Neo?! What are you doing here?" the girl asked.

"Do I know you? You're not going to tell me you're my wife too, right?" Neo said, tired of the recent interactions he'd had.

"No, no. I'm Melody. Your friend."

"Melody..." Saya said, annoyed.

"And do I know you?" Melody asked curiously.

"You forgot about me, but you remember Neo, what a surprise. How do you know him?" Saya said, annoyed.

The girl was taken aback by her reaction.

"I'm his friend, we've known each other since childhood. I used to take classes with his mother."

"And you don't remember me?" Saya asked, annoyed.

Melody felt a bit guilty, thinking she was causing problems.

"I was just kidding, relax," Saya said with a light laugh.

Neo and Melody looked at her, making sure everything was really okay. A silence lingered for a while.

"Anyway, what would you like to order?" Melody asked, completely cutting the tension and getting back to work.

"X-BURGER," Neo ordered excitedly.

"Something to drink?"

"A soda, guarana."

"And for you?" Melody asked, turning to Saya.

"An X-salad and a cola, that's fine."

"Alright, I'll bring that to you." She smiled.

Melody left to bring their order, leaving them alone. Strangely, Neo didn't know what to say; Saya seemed different—quiet and distant, gazing out of the window. A silence hung in the air for quite some time, making him increasingly nervous.

"Neo?" Saya called, breaking the ice.

"Yes?" he responded.

"What are we?"

"What do you mean?" Neo asked, not understanding.

Saya blushed deeply and nervously attempted to respond to his question. She tried to explain:

"You know... You don't know Yume... Melody is your childhood friend... Well, and me?"

Neo finally understood what she was getting at and felt quite embarrassed because he didn't know how to respond. He liked her a lot, so saying they were just friends didn't seem right, especially because he wanted more than that.

"We? Uh... We are... You and me..." he stammered.

Melody returned with their orders, breaking the tension.

"Here's your X-salad, miss, along with your cola."

"Yay!" she cheered.

"And for you, Neo, your X-burger with guarana," she said as she placed it on the table.

However, the boy's eyes noticed a small folded paper next to the sandwich. He looked at Melody with a questioning glance, and she responded with a look that said, "Grab it quickly and hide it." He acted swiftly before Saya could see, took the paper, and concealed it in his pocket, while Melody sighed with relief for being understood.

The two ate and enjoyed their meal, discussing their week's classes and the movie they had watched, completely forgetting what had happened just moments before.

It was getting late when they decided to leave. They went to the counter to pay the bill together.

"Don't forget to check that for me, Neo," Melody kindly asked.

The boy was curious to see what he had received, but he was still with the girl of his dreams, and he didn't want to ruin the way things were going. So, he decided to read it later.

"I won't forget," he assured before leaving.

Night had fallen, and the sky was full of stars. The moon stood out among them, illuminating the dark, empty streets of Claws.

Neo decided to accompany Saya home to ensure nothing bad happened, as his friends had suggested. It didn't take long for the two to reach their destination and prepare to say goodbye.

"Well, we've finally arrived," Neo said.

"Yes."

The two faced each other, remembering how their day had been.

"Thank you for today, Neo! I had so much fun," Saya thanked, smiling.

Her smile was so beautiful, and she was so close that he started to drift off. The moonlight made Saya look like a fairy. Neo was paralyzed as his body began to show signs of nervousness—shivers, sweaty and cold hands.

Before Neo could think of anything, Saya moved closer, her soft, warm hands touching his face—it was comforting. She was very red and seemed nervous, and she was so close that he could feel her breath.

"I won't lose to Yume or Melody," Saya said determinedly.

And then her lips met his, warming his heart.