63 Girls talk

After a couple of minutes of walking around the academy and searching for a place to talk, Gaby and Saramin finally settled by just skipping the first class and reuniting in the cafeteria.

The two of them felt a little bad over missing the lesson but neither were too eager to run into Hugh by accident after going to the classroom.

Saramin even took the chance to buy a couple of snacks for them. The lunch lady raised an eyebrow from seeing two students ditching class, but since both of them were known for their top rankings she decided to let it go just this time.

"Thanks, Marcy!" Saramin said as she waved at the lady behind the balcony.

She then returned to Gaby's side who was waiting for her at one of the tables with an empty expression on her face.

"Hey, you good?" Sara asked as she approached her.

"No..." Gaby admitted before looking away in shame.

"You upset because of what happened at the roof? Come on! It wasn't that bad."

"Wasnt that bad!!??" the purple-haired lass shouted while slamming her palms against the table, "I lost a fight!! To a guy with a brain of the size of a seed!! How is that not bad?? This is terrible!!"

Sara simply sighed while placing the food above the table and starting to take a few bites, "It's just one fight, it's not the end of the world... Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose... I don't see what's the big deal about it..."

Gaby began to glare at her, "The big deal is that I can't just let myself get beaten like this! Not if I want to enter that place..."

"Mmm... I see..."

The girl continued while staring at rubbing her hands over her curly hair, "I can't fail in there! I need to be better! Much, much better!! If I fail on that place I might lose him forever!!!"

Saramin noted the lady from the cafeteria began to throw a couple of glances at them because of Gaby's constant screams and asked her friend to calm down a little by waving her hands down.

"I see... When exactly are you planning on going by the way?"

"I don't know... I just know that I need to go soon... I can't keep waiting forever..."

"Are you going to ask apple head to go with you?" Sara wondered.

Gaby began to bite her lips and went quiet for a second before replying, "I... I don't know... I was going to... But now, I don't know if I should... Doesn't feel right..."

Saramin stared at her for a moment and began to recall the events of last night. She took a deep breath and gave Gaby a serious look, "Please ask him."

"Eh...?"

The two girls began to stare at each other with a heavy atmosphere which confused Gaby a little. Saramin was looking at her as if they were in the middle of an interrogation.

"S- Sara...?"

"He needs this..." Saramin continued, "I know you think you are taking advantage of his kindness... But the truth is that you would be doing him a huge favor."

Gaby continued to look at her with no idea of what she was talking about, "What do you mean??"

Saramin was the one looking away this time, "Something happened last night... Something bad..."

"Something bad? W- With Kurt?"

The white-haired girl nodded at her, "He got into a big mess with our father, and I don't think he knows how to get out of it..."

Gaby leaned forward after having her curiosity grabbed and raised an eyebrow, "What kind of mess?"

"It's best if you don't know too much. All I can say is that he needs to get stronger... Much stronger! And if he hears about your situation, and offers to help you out, I think there is a good chance he will improve a lot more while doing it!"

"What kind of logic is that...? Sara, do you know what you're saying?"

"You want to enter the forest to find a way to save your brother, right? Take him with you! Hell, take all of us with you! We all can go together! I can call Wes and Ron and apple head can bring Trevor and his tomboy sister with him! Pretty sure we can pull it off if we all go!"

"Wha- What? Why are you so eager to do this all of sudden? Isn't it against your policy to not do things for free?"

"This won't be for free..." Saramin stated while glaring at Gaby, "We will help you out... And in return, when we need you, you will help us out as well!"

Gaby's eyes widened up, "Help out...? With what?"

"Does it matter? It's the life of your brother we are talking about! Is any price I give too much to ask for?"

The girl began to shiver. Gaby felt like she was seeing a side of Saramin she never knew she had.

"Sara... What exactly happened last night? Why are you acting like this?"

Saramin noticed that Gaby was starting to get uncomfortable with her behavior and tried to take a deep breath in order to calm down.

She began to think about everything that was on her mind. The emperor's one-year deal, Sabiri's confession, Kurt's memory loss, Anomalia, the black knight, her mother.

So many complications and problems that were slowly but surely starting to reach her front door.

She didn't know when or how, but she knew that soon, one of these things was about to blow up in her face, and she wanted to be ready for it once it did.

"I used to think I could just prepare for everything beforehand and any problem that appeared in front of me could be dealt with... But last night, I was caught completely off guard and acted like a helpless damsel in distress waiting to be either saved or killed...

You think losing to Hugh is humiliating? Try seeing your own father sending his butlers to chase you down and have them stab your arms and legs just to trigger your brother's inner dragon while your own mother just smiled and waved at you!"

Gaby felt like she just heard something that she should not have.

"I thought I had this world figured out... But in reality, I really didn't know anything... I'm way more lost than I imagined..."

She began to rub her shoulder in the place where she was stabbed last night.

"And yesterday... When I was looking right into what I assumed were going to be my final moments... Right when I assumed my life was about to end for a second time... That tiny little apple head appeared and made it all go away... All my doubts and fears... He just made it all vanish and made me feel safe...

Both him and his mother... They showed me more kindness and compassion in that couple of minutes together than my own adoptive parents in my entire time in this new world! More than any of these kids that follow me around just to take advantage of my status as a princess! Or even my previous family who didn't even try to search for me after I ran away from home!

For the first time, I felt like I knew what caring about someone was like...

And now I want to help him out as well... But I don't know how..."

She then looked at Gaby one more time.

"But you do!"

"M- Me??" Gaby was sucked into her speech that she almost forgot this was a conversation.

"Yes! You! Apple head needs you! And you need him! So do me a favor and talk to him! Make it so you two can help each other! Helping others is what he does best!"

"I- I think you're giving me way too much credit!"

Saramin grabbed Gaby's hands and caused her to shake even more, "Gaby, listen to me! That kid is surrounded by people that are trying to use him, that are just pretending to care about him! But you're not like them!

I see the way you look at him! The way you talk to him and the way you talk about him! The way you feel relaxed by his side! You're the only one who isn't pretending to like him!

You're the only real thing in his life!"

Gaby lowered her head, "I'm... I'm not... I told you... I'm just using him to help my brother... I'm just as fake as everyone else..."

"We both know that's not true."

"How do you know?"

"Because if it was, you would have asked him to go a long time ago! But you keep avoiding it because you think once he finds out the truth, he will stop hanging out with you!"

The purple-haired lass flinched.

"Let me ask you this... After your brother is safe... Would you be okay if you never had to see Kurt again? Never talk to him again? You really feel like you're just by his side because you want to use him? You really feel like you're just another fake?"

"I... I..."

"Well?"

"I don't know, damn it!! I just don't know!" Gaby shouted while shoving her fist into the table, "I'm confused, okay? I don't know if I like him, or if I'm pretending to like him, or if I'm trying to tell myself to like him out of guilt... I don't know what I feel!"

"Well, then you better figure it out soon!" Saramin stated while standing up and walking away from the cafeteria, "If you can't help my brother, I'll find someone who can."

Gaby shoved her face inside her arms as she started to melt above the table, "How am I supposed to know if I like a guy I just met a few days ago..."

She began to think about all the things Kurt had told her ever since school started.

<I like Gaby!>

<I'm on your side!>

<I'm here for you in case you need it!>

<Of course, you have value, why wouldn't you?>

"Ugh... Stupid apple head..." Gaby groaned while her face continued to flare up in the color red.