Fall in love with me

At first, Mai didn't know how to feel about Simon suddenly barging over and asking to join their table. However, there was one thing she was extremely thankful for, Simon had broken the awkward vibe that was very apparent just moments ago.

It quickly became obvious that these were two groups of people that didn't usually mingle, Shirley really only talked to Vicky and not her two friends. Between them there was an uncomfortable silence, which allowed for everyone to hear the conversation that Vicky and Chris were having.

"Chris, your body is in really good shape." Vicky said, stroking the side of his arm. "Have you been working out?"

Hearing this made the other girls around the table want to curl up into a ball and just disappear.

'Could she really not think of anything better to say than that cheeseball line from one of those movies?' Mai thought. If this continued she worried that she might die from second hand embarrassment.

"No, I don't have the time to work out." Chris replied quite bluntly, like he had been doing to all her other questions before this one.

"I see!" She said, doing her best to put on a sweet smile and making sure he could see a certain area just beneath her neck. "I guess that means you're all natural, like me."

Just when Mai thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Thankfully Simon had come in to save the day. If there was one thing Simon was good at, it was talking and he continued to yap away about the funny stories that had happened in his classroom.

While he continued to speak, Mai was observing the girls. Shirley was looking at him like she did everyone else but was hanging on to his every word as he was such a captivating storyteller. Vicky had her mind elsewhere, while Vicky's friends were looking at Simon in a different way.

'I told you. You're popular with the girls.' Mai thought.

"I'm surprised to see you here Chris." Simon said. "I guess you thought getting to know Mai a little better was a good idea after all."

'Arrgh shut up! Shut up! Shut up!' Mai wanted to scream, but Chris was there and she didn't want to come across as rude. She couldn't do anything but kick Simon's leg underneath the table.

"Ow, what was that for!" Simon replied, rubbing his leg.

It looked like Chris was about to answer the question, but before that, Vicky had spoken first.

"You two are really close, how long have you been dating for?" Vicky asked. "Did you ask Simon out after being rejected by Chris?"

"No!" Mai instantly replied. "No way, me and Simon have just been friends for a really long time. He's like a little brother to me and our parents are friends, we grew up in the same house." Speaking so quickly to avoid awareness and trying to clear things up, Mai was starting to fumble over her words. It was obvious that she was starting to get flustered, she felt like steam was coming out of her ears while looking in the eyes of everyone at the table.

It was starting to remind her of that day, the day she had asked out Chris.

"Stop teasing her Vicky." Shirley said, as she touched Mai's hand and guided her to her seat. "You can tell these two are friends and besides, love doesn't fade away that quickly. Isn't that right Mai?" Shirley asked, looking at her.

Right now she felt like she had just been pulled up to the edge of a jagged cliff, and then pushed back down it. Shirley had just saved her by claiming that they were just friends, and now she wanted Mai to admit she still liked Chris.

"I mean…" Mai said, twirling her fingers, and glancing at him. She couldn't help that these two were meant to be together, even in the 'other world' the two were together. Clenching her fist she took a deep breath and reassured herself. "I do still like him, but I realised that I need to get to know more about him, and he needs to know more about me before we can tell if this is real or not."

There was a moment of silence, and after a few seconds Vicky started to laugh, and her two friends followed her lead.

"You really think you're some fairytale prince-" But before Vicky could finish her sentence. Chris stood up from his seat as he had finished his lunch.

"About the invitation to go out this weekend. I think I will come." Chris said loudly, and soon left to go back to his seat.

These words weren't something that was just heard by Vicky and her gang but was heard by those in the classroom as well.

'Smooth move my friend, smooth move.' Simon thought as he was basking in the look on Vicky's face.

'The two of them are going out this weekend, but he had just rejected her a few days ago. Why would he go out with her? Is she blackmailing him, or is it out of pity? Whatever is the case, I can't let that date go well. Chris is meant to be with me!' Vicky thought.

The bell for the lunch break went off, and everyone was slowly returning to their seats for the next lesson.

It was safe to say that for the rest of the day, Mai was in the best of moods. It looked like she really was turning things around and maybe her dream in the 'other world' was about to come true.

'Wait, if that's really the case and I don't change anything, doesn't that mean Chris will die? And he was murdered, but who would murder him?' Thinking about this, she started to wonder if she ever did return to the 'other world' again and found out if it was true. Then she would have to start doing some digging.

There was no point getting the man of her dreams, only to lose it all later.

——

At the end of class, it was Mai's turn to do classroom duties. This usually meant a couple of students would have to stay behind after school to help her. Duties included sorting out books, tidying up, and sweeping the floor. When class ended nearly everyone had left the classroom before her.

The door was seen sliding open and she soon saw that Simon was the one who had entered.

"What are you doing here, I thought we agreed we would go home from the convenience store together?" Mai asked as she continued to sweep the floor.

"One day won't hurt. Besides, I always wait for you on a Friday and I would just be waiting by the shops anyway. Everyone in school including Shirley would have left by then and if you keep on talking like that, I'm going to start thinking you hate me." Simon said.

"I don't hate you." Mai was quick to answer, thinking about him in the future.

"Oh really? You were pretty quick to claim that the two of us weren't an item back at lunch. If you really don't hate me, then why have the two of us never gone out?"

Simon was always the type to make jokes like this, and maybe she would have taken this as a joke if it was any other day, but her mind and emotions were on high alert. She panicked at the question and dropped the broom so that it made a loud noise as it hit the floor.

"What are you trying to say, you know-"

"I know." Simon interrupted her, heading back out of the classroom. "I just wanted to say, if this whole Chris thing doesn't end up working out, why don't you try falling in love with me."

Mai had literally just picked up the broom from the floor, only to drop it again after Simon's suggestion. Her eyes widened and she was lost for words.

"I'm kidding. You're always so easy to tease."

******

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