[S1] Chapter 13: Love

"Miiikoo! Come on, hurry up! Please!" Usually, I'm patient to no end with her, but not today. The school's festival started, and because of Grandma here, we already missed the opening ceremony.

I really want to enjoy a bit of all the food stalls and attractions before Miko finishes off the winner of the fighting tournament this afternoon. I can't rule out the possibility that we won't be so welcome here after that. And all of this after the first students dared to approach us… Miko in particular.

"Why don't you just go on your own?" Miko says from the bathroom, where she had disappeared twenty minutes ago.

"Not a chance. You have to come with me."

The door opens, and Miko walks out. There is no compulsory school uniform today, so for the first time in a while, we had to think about what to wear. At first glance, I notice something unusual about Miko, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

"What are you looking at?"

I ignore her question and continue to look at her. She has tied her hair in a ponytail so that you can see the piercings in her ears, which she rarely wears anyway. Her top is a short-sleeved blouse, and she's wearing a knee-length skirt. Wait... short-sleeved? Usually, she covers her arms, so I don't even question why she is doing that anymore.

"Are those tattoos?" Both her arms are decorated from upper arm to elbow with thick black rings on her skin.

"Not exactly. These are magical seals that limit how much mana I can use."

"A gift from the Ministry?"

"Correct. It wasn't enough for them to put a ban on me."

"Are you ashamed? Because you know, you never showed them."

"I guess I just didn't felt like talking about it. But somehow, I don't care anymore." She shrugs her shoulders and gives me a gentle smile.

I guess I might actually be in love with her. It no longer has anything to do with the fact that she is so beautiful; I just feel like I want to know more about her so that I can support her when she struggles with these kinds of thoughts.

Wait, have I ever considered that I really love her before? My breathing becomes a little unsteady, and my face tingles a little.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm not quite sure."

Whew, I don't even dare to look at her right now. Should I just tell her how I feel? No, that would be extremely awkward. We want to go to the festival and eat something yummy.

"Don't you want to go after all?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Okay... then let's go." Without hesitation, Miko holds out her hand to me, which I grab carefully to let her pull me along. I would love to know what goes on in her head at times like this. What does she think of me? Am I just this annoying burden she has to carry around, or might she feel the same way I do about her?

"Relax," she says as we leave the dormitory hand in hand. "You're squashing my hand."

I briefly consider letting go of her, but instead, I loosen my grip and let her guide me towards the school building. It's a bit awkward that I can't get a word out right now, but Miko probably knows me better than I'd like by now and understands how she must take this, how she must take me.

"Did you invite her?" Miko slows down, and, for once, I look up again and spot Hannah standing at the edge of the path, waving to us.

"Stop looking so panicky, Kayla. You haven't forgotten me. I just thought I could invite myself along, but looking at you, you two might want to go to the festival on your own instead."

Miko sighs, and I look over at her. "I don't care. As long as you don't leave me alone." Oh god she is so cute, like I would ever abandon her.

"Great, can I take your hand too or not?" screw you, Hannah. Right after her comment, Miko lets go of me. Anyway, I focus on what I had and what I could get instead of being upset about what I lost.

In front of the building, I discover the start of the food mile, and for the first time I believe that this school has more than a thousand students. It's so crowded that you can only move forward in small steps. And despite all the hustle and bustle, even I can't help but notice how people are looking at us.

I'm not surprised, though. After all, Hannah is something of the school idol. Miko is a well-known witch, and word of my bloody story has certainly gotten around.

"What are your plans? Have you read the program?" Hannah asks once we've reached the building and found a little space for ourselves next to the garbage containers.

"I definitely want to eat crepes. Otherwise, I would just walk around the festival and let my feelings guide me." Although I don't like crowds, a positive excitement spreads through me. You can hear conversations everywhere, and music plays in the background; the atmosphere is wonderful.

"Don't stare at me like that. I'll do what Kayla does," Miko grumbles quietly in Hannah's direction. What is she? My guard dog? Well, I'm not sad that Miko is staying by my side, but her tone seemed strange somehow.

"Then I'll just let myself be carried away by you." Hannah's smile is so big and cheerful each time that I can't help but crack one myself. However, Miko seems to be immune to this.

◆

What the students have achieved here is really impressive. A horror escape room, a theater play, a magic show that actually contains magic, a cat café without real cats but with students in costumes that are just as cute as their animal counterparts, and several other small activities.

It's a shame that after more than an hour, we haven't been able to experience any of this for ourselves. The queues are endlessly long wherever we go, and our cunning plan to pass by again on the way back in the hope of getting in quicker was completely crushed.

"There's something free," Miko says with frightening enthusiasm.

"Where?" I look around like a near-starved predator. And instead of a juicy steak, I find a few chewed-up bones.

"Ah, a photo booth," I comment. It's not quite what I was hoping for, but I need to be happy and grateful. After all, Miko made the effort to find something for us to do.

"So... do you want to take a photo?" I ask.

"Why not." Miko shrugs her shoulders and keeps looking at me.

"...together?"

"Excuse me? I didn't understand you."

"Should we take one together?"

When Hannah clears her throat, I'm reminded that there are three of us, and we're leaving her out a little. "I don't want to ruin your dreams, but the photo box is intended to be used by one person."

"Too bad."

"Come on, the way this thing looks, we'll easily fit in there." I'm not the only one a little surprised by Miko's reaction. But Hannah just giggles and gives us a thumbs up.

"It might be a bit tight, but you should give it a try."

I don't know what to say or where to look. What kind of suggestion is that? She really doesn't need to go through so much trouble.

"Okay, go on then." I stammer.

As Miko disappears into the small cubicle, I look at Hannah anxiously. She just gives me a thumbs-up and grins happily. I walk after Miko, slightly intimidated. She opens the curtain, steps inside, presses herself against the wall opposite the camera, and looks at me expectantly.

I don't know if I would describe that statement as appropriate. We're literally glued to each other. My butt is pressed against Miko's lower body, and her boobs against my back. What did they build the thing out of? An old phone booth?

"I think I'll go back outside."

Before I can put my words into action, Miko grabs my hips and holds me tight. "Wait. There's a reason why you wanted to come in here with you."

It's a good thing I'm the little spoon right now. Otherwise, she would feel my heart hammering against her back. Her breath on my neck tingles as her mouth slowly approaches my ear. I get goosebumps that are no longer enjoyable.

And then she whispers. "Someone is following us. I've already noticed him in the dormitory, his eyes glued to you.

Huh? What? Why would anyone want to pursue me?

"Really?" I want to cry.

"You didn't notice? I wasn't sure. At first, I thought your firm grip on my hand was a sign. That's why I didn't let go of you."

So she didn't really want to hold hands? That's all fucked up. Did I really imagine that Miko might have feelings for me?

"Can you show me who is following us?"

"Why?"

"I'll talk to him. He'll have a good reason to follow us."

"Are you sure? I can take care of him."

"It's all right, I don't need you." Somehow, these words come out differently than I meant them to, but Miko will understand.

MIKO

I have a terrible feeling that I've done something wrong. Without seeing her face, I could sense that Kayla was upset. It would seem logical that it's because of the stalker, but somehow, I think I am the one to blame.

With a rather obvious finger point, I reveal to her the person who has been following us. Without another word, Kayla marches over to him. A moment later, they start to walk away, I take a step in their direction but Hannah holds an arm out in front of me.

"Let her handle this on her own."

She's right, but I'm restless. Why do I actually want to get involved? The most logical thought is that I want to protect her. But the situation doesn't seem threatening. Yes, the guy followed us, but I can picture Kayla in his position. Not getting a word out, constantly waiting for the right moment to approach the other person.

"I think it's love."

Hannah's words make me flinch. I look at her and ask, "What do you mean?"

"I think the guy has a crush on Kayla. His posture and his face when he was talking looked a lot like that."

"You can recognize something like that?"

"Can't you? You should be an expert at it."

"Don't talk nonsense."

"Oh, come on. You know Kayla has feelings like that for you."

"Even if she did."

"Then what is it? You're going to ignore it and give her the wrong idea? All your actions seem to me like you want to get involved with her, but your words don't match."

Without answering, I turn around and head off in the opposite direction to where Kayla has disappeared.

"Where are you going?" Hannah asks.

"Getting in line for a crêpe."

What kind of wrong ideas? Is the thought I want to tell myself, but even I'm not dense enough to realize what I've done, what I do all the time when I'm with Kayla. Ever since we first met, I've realized that she sees something special in me. She wasn't the first person to look at me with eyes like that. Even when I was younger, I had to get used to having to expose myself to these glances. Whether it was my appearance or my abilities, there was always someone who couldn't seem to get me out of their mind. Those three years when I wasn't allowed to work were like a long-awaited vacation from things that I didn't perceive as an exhausting experience until now.

But now it's different. When Kayla looked at me like that, I knew that she would do anything I wanted her to do, and I felt like it was the least she could do for me. But what have I done for her? Why should she owe me anything? I'm an asshole and have no idea what to do. There's something about Kayla that excites me, but I'm sure those feelings are different than hers. I don't think I love her.

◆

"How long have we been standing here?"

"Around twenty minutes."

"I wonder when she'll be back."

"You talkin' about me?"

I don't know how Kayla managed to sneak up without me noticing. And it's even scarier that she knows where we are.

"Did you guys get in line for me? How sweet."

"Miko´s idea."

"Thank you."

I don't say anything. It feels like everything that I could tell her would sound wrong.

"So, what did he want?" Hannah asks what I want to know so badly.

"He apologized a thousand times for following us. Then he said that he had a crush on me. I guess he always trains in the same place as us. It was really sweet how he finally asked me for my number at the end."

I didn't recognize his face, nor did I notice that he was watching us or, rather, Kayla. Because I only had eyes for her... I shudder as the thought crosses my mind.

"And what did you answer? Don't let me pull everything out of your nose." Hannah complains, slightly annoyed.

Kayla giggles like a lousy villain. "He didn't get anything from me. Like I'm going to start something with some random dude. He was probably younger than me, and we're also leaving in two weeks. It would be unfair to get his hopes up." Why does that last sentence feel like a dig at me?

"Hello, what can I get you?" the friendly voice of the schoolgirl with an apron standing behind the counter asks me.

"What do you want on your crêpes?" are the first words I say to Kayla since she came back.

"I don't know, you can pick something for me." I think she hates me.

Five minutes later, we are sitting together on one of the many benches in the school's entrance area. Kayla and Hannah are munching on their food while I'm content to observe them.

I don't like to eat before a fight. It also tastes better afterward, anyway. A quick glance at the large clock above the entrance shows me that we will soon have to go to the arena. While Kayla and Hannah are responsible for healing, I'm going to watch my final opponent and then embarrass them in front of their friends.

I don't look forward to beating up any student from this school in front of a thousand classmates today. However, I won't let myself be defeated.

"Stop staring at the time and help me eat this thing instead," Kayla says, gets up and stands in front of me, robbing me of the ability to see the clock. I look at her face for the first time in what feels like an eternity and have to pull myself together not to make a judgmental comment about the chocolate stuck to the corner of her mouth.

That said, she doesn't really deserve a mean comment when she smiles at me like that.

As I lean slightly toward Kayla and wait for her to bring the crepe to my mouth, I briefly make eye contact with Hannah. Her cheeks are flushed, and she holds her phone shakily as if fighting the intrusive thought of taking a photo. I look at Kayla again and find her blushing as well.

What makes this so special? Ah... I let her feed me in public, but why? Can I no longer eat on my own? I thought love makes you blind, not stupid.