7

June 7th, 2019

Hello again, journal. I think this is entry 36. I'm too lazy to count down all of the entries I've done, but that should be a pretty good estimate. It's currently a Friday, and my birthday. Happy birthday to me! On a different note...a lot has been going through my mind.

Lily's coming over today. I know. I'm going to hang out with my crush on my special day. It's super exciting. Also, in case anyone who's reading this is wondering...no I haven't made a move on Lily. I know I've been writing and talking about her a lot in my past entries though.

Ever since the bullying incident a couple months ago, everyone's been acting timid around me. The bullying stopped after Lily scolded the daylights out of them, and NPC 1 doesn't even talk to me anymore. Good riddance to him. It's funny how I figured out my feelings towards Lily on the same day Lily defended me from the entire class.

Since that day, I've just fallen harder and harder for her. Go ahead and call me a stupid romantic, but I won't be able to change these feelings.

My heart keeps pounding. It won't stop.

I accept my feelings. I adore her.

Oh! I just heard the doorbell ring! It's probably her. I should get going! I'll update you guys next time! Signing off for now. -M

~-~-~-~-

I drop my pencil in pain as my hand cramped. The doorbell rings again. Quickly, I closed the purple notebook and rushed downstairs to my front door.

I checked the peephole, but it was only my mom. Deep down, I was disappointed, but I opened the door nonetheless.

"I forgot to grab my books and binder, silly me."

She rushed upstairs to grab them and quickly came back down. I must have had a sulking face on because my mom questioned:

"You thought I was Lily, didn't you?"

"I- Hey! What made you think of that...?"

She slyly smirked at me.

"HA! You were thinking of her!"

"NO, I WASN'T!"

"YOU JUST ADMITTED IT!"

My mom kept nagging me until she finally left for work. Our conversation in the morning was her instigation.

"Don't get into trouble while I'm away. I might be home a little bit later than usual, but we're still gonna celebrate your special day, birthday boy."

"We won't, mom. I'm not a child anymore, you know. And take your time; no need to rush."

"You'll still be my child--no matter how old you get."

She pinched my cheek (my cheek hurts now) and started walking out the door, but something stopped her. She turned to face me.

"...Before I go, can I ask something?"

She had a serious expression on her face. I gulped. I had a feeling things would get serious very quickly.

"Of course Mom, what is it?"

She eyed me down with a sharp gaze.

"Will you be alright? Lily has 159 days left. Are you going to be able to handle it?"

"195 days, Mom. And I don't want to think about it. It sounds so far, but it'll get close in no time."

There was a pause. She looked worried.

"Are you going to try to rewrite her death?"

I paused for a long time. Without answering, I quickly changed the subject.

"Mom, don't worry. I'll be fine. What you should be worrying about is the time. Shouldn't you be at work by now?"

She looked at her watch and all the color drained from her face.

"AAHH I'M LATE. I GOTTA GO."

She bolted through the front door and leaped into the car. Driving out of the driveway, she rolled down her window and shouted,

"TELL LILY I SAID HI. BYE! LOVE YOU!"

Her car then turned the corner of our residential area and out of sight.

I closed and locked the front door. Before going back upstairs, I grabbed a snack.

I checked my phone. 8:15. Why is time moving so slow?

"Might as well hop on my computer to pass the time."

Booting up my computer, I opened that game that I still have to beat as I waited for Lily. Time passes by faster whenever I'm indulged in my games. Hopefully, I can beat at least one boss before she gets here.

Right when I was finishing up a raid, the doorbell rang once more. I immediately paused my game and sprinted downstairs.

Before opening the door, I checked the peephole to see if it was her, and to my luck, Lily was waiting happily.

The butterflies in my stomach were going crazy with excitement, but I can't show my nervousness to Lily. She might think I'm weird. Composing myself, I opened the door slowly.

"YOYO WHATSAPP, DOOFUS! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!"

She thrust a wrapped box at me.

"What's up Lily. What's this?"

"Your present, smart brain. Don't open it until I leave!"

She winked at me.

"Huh? Okay then."

I stared at the present. It was kinda smallish. Rectangular and thin like a-

"A GAME?!"

Lily, who had been taking her shoes off, jumped like a foot.

"OY! Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry. But-"

"Your mom isn't home today?"

"She's coming home later today, but I'll let her know that you said hi."

"Sounds good to me, good sir."

Lily and I had become accustomed to spending time together at my house. I'm not entirely sure how Lily and I became close to the point we were able to go to each other's houses, but it just gradually happened.

Usually, she would greet my mom, talk to her for a little bit, then proceed to go upstairs to my room. Today, since my mom wasn't here, she just went straight to my room. With me following close behind.

She swung open my bedroom door and belly-flopped on my bed, messing up my neatly folded bed sheets in the process.

"Your bed never fails to amaze me with how comfy it is."

"Aww come on... I just made my bed."

As I said that, Lily hurriedly stood up with a guilty smile on her face.

"Ehehe- Sorry good sir."

She got up from the bed and walked towards my desk. She spotted the purple notebook just laying flat on my desk where I had left it.

"Waiittt a minute… is that the notebook I gave you like a couple months ago?"

As she tried to grab the notebook off of my desk to flip through the pages, I quickly grabbed it off of my desk and hid it in one of my drawers.

"...?"

Lily gave me a confused look as I awkwardly stared back from where I was standing.

"...aaand this is why your name is Mr. Mysterio."

"Hey- It's not like I'm doing anything bad or something; just kinda personal."

"OOOH, A DIARY?"

"N-NO!"

"HAH! I WAS RIGHT! NOW HAND IT OVER MYSTERIO!"

We bickered back and forth and eventually, our conflict became physical. Lily soon became tired of the verbal argument and tried opening the drawer by force, but I stubbornly blocked it.

"LEMME SEE, YOU NERD!"

"NO! IT'S PERSONAL!"

She managed to push me away from the drawer I was protecting, but I immediately recovered, shoved her out of the way, and wrapped myself around the drawer like some sort of human starfish.

We fought as if our lives depended on it; however, our energy was slowly running out. Our movements slowed as our arms and legs were weighed down with tiredness.

Gasping, Lily desperately tried to distract me.

"Do you...give up?"

"N-no way Nosy Rosie!"

"R-Rosie?! Where did that come from??"

"It...rhymed. And it was the first thing that popped into my head."

We started laughing. Somehow this entire exchange was hilarious to both of us. Her presence honestly brought out a side of me I thought I had buried away years ago. I...kinda missed this feeling.

"Fine, fine keep your secrets with you, Mysterio. I'll find out eventually…"

I was relieved she dropped the conversation about the diary. Facing her would be mortifying if she ever read that diary.

Lily belly-flopped onto my bed (again) and started getting comfortable. She said something, but I couldn't hear a word she was saying since her face was smothered into my pillow.

She looked up from my pillow and her eyes landed on the paused game still on my computer screen.

"Gaming again, Mysterio?"

"Well yeah. It takes your mind off of things, ya know?"

She sat up to see what I was playing. I doubt she would know what game I was playing since she was more of an outdoor and sportsy type of person, though. Kinda like Monica from ODBC (Okie Dokie Book Club) if you know what I mean. Like she does badminton and has great fashion and is just totally out of my league in general. Not really the type of person to sit in a house and play video games all day like me.

"Do you wanna try?"

"Nahh, I wouldn't know how to play. You should play, and I'll watch."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup! It's fun to watch people do something they love. It brings out the curious cat in me!"

With that assurance, I sat down and unpaused the game. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Lily readjusting herself on the bed so she could see the screen better.

Even though she didn't understand the game I was playing, she still watched what I was doing and asked questions about some of the in-game choices I made. For example, choices wouldn't be very logical in the real world, but it would make complete sense in game, and Lily would be left criticizing the inaccuracy of the game compared to the real world.

"Why would you sell that?! It was a great weapon!"

"A great weapon for a low level, but I'm far above those levels."

"You could give it to a low level to help them, ya know?"

"Yes I could...Or I can earn some extra money and buy something I actually need."

"Cruel."

She stuck her tongue at me and pouted, but I merely laughed at her remark and went back to the game.

Lily observed closely as I continued playing. With each decision I made, a question would arise, but they were never annoying. It was fun to answer her curious thoughts. Surprisingly though, she never looked bored. In addition, she looked really interested in the game I was playing, so I offered once more.

"Are you sure you don't want to give it a go?"

Lily gave me a blank expression. She gave some sort of an excuse along the lines of "I don't even know how to play," and averted her eyes.

I continued to pester her and even got up from my chair. Patting my chair with my hand, I signaled for her to sit down and play. Hesitant at first, she smiled and sank down on my chair.

After a quick mini tutorial on how to play the game (courtesy of me), she settled into my chair, and started playing.

While she was playing, a thought creeped into the back of my mind. Who knew that spending time with my crush could slowly revert me back to my cheerful self from before. Ironically though, I never had a crush previously, so this is a first.

The way she battled enemies and attempted evasive movements was honestly awe inspiring to me. Maybe my mini tutorial was so good it could make her play as if she gamed her whole life.

Has she gamed before? I asked to clarify:

"Lily... Have you ever played games before? You're like a natural!"

Lily was so focused on this dungeon that she could only answer me in short responses.

"Nope. First time."

Her quick decision thinking is amazing as well. She was able to apply her logical thinking into the game, and that honestly made me geek out a tiny bit.

I might be overreacting a bit, but the way she played made me a fanboy. No double meanings or anything, just pure geeking.

After clearing the dungeon, she maneuvered my character to a nearby safe zone then stretched her arms and legs.

"Whew, that was kind of fun. You should invite me to do this more often. I kinda get why some people are addicted to this!"

She smiled gleefully at me as she said that and my heart skipped a beat.

Well, she's not the all perfect lily at my school for nothing, right?

She got off of the chair and patted the chair, imitating the gesture I used when I offered her my seat. I took the offer and sat back down on my chair and she returned to her former seat on my bed.

"Do you want to play anything else? I got every genre. Feel free to look through them all."

I vaguely gestured at the closet where I keep all my games. Maybe I should mention to Lily that I have a lot of games in there. ...And I'm also not the neatest stacker.

"Lily-"

CRASH

Oops. Too late. I hurried over to the very large pile of video games that completely buried Lily.

"Are you ok? I was trying to warn you but-"

Lily burst out of the pile in a fit of giggles.

"PFFHAHAHA I'M FINE, I'M FINE. Just a little surprised."

She squirmed her way out from under all the plastic cases and rolled up her sleeves.

"You know what? Instead of playing more games, I'm going to attempt to organize this chaotic mess. And if I see something that interests me, I'll tell you. Sounds good?"

"Okay. Can I help?"

"Sure! Let's organize them by genre, then alphabetically."

"Then I'll start sorting them by genre 'cause I probably know the games better."

Just as we were placing the last few games in the closet, my mom walked in holding a white box. Lily instantly perked up.

"Is that cake, Mrs. Saito?!"

My mom smiled.

"Yes it is. Would you like to stay to celebrate with us, Lily?"

"Of course! I would never say no to cake!"

"Haha, you really share my son's sweet tooth."

"Mom!"

"Come down to the dining room when you finish up and we'll sing happy birthday, okay?"

I looked at the few scattered games still lying out. Eh, I can do them later.

"We'll just come now, Mom. I can finish up by myself later after the celebration."

Lily and I followed my mom downstairs and washed our hands while my mom set up the table with plates and utensils. Then we watched as she carefully placed and lit 18 candles on the cake.

"Ready? 1...2...3-"

"Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday to you,

Happy Birthday dear Mysterio,

Happy Birthday to you."

As they finished singing, I closed my eyes to make a wish.

I wish that I can gain the confidence to tell Lily my true feelings.

Then I opened my eyes and blew out the candles. Hopefully, that superstition isn't false. I kinda could use some divine help right now.

We quickly finished about half the cake between the three of us (hey it's called a birthday party for a reason) then it was time for Lily to go.

My mom took one look at our downcast faces and shoved us out the door--leaving me with one final order.

"Go be a gentleman and walk her home."

Suddenly kicked out of my own house, Lily and I stared dumbfoundedly at each other. After an awkward moment, I decided to break the silence.

"So, I guess I'm walking you home then?"

"Haha I guess so. Does your mom suspect that there's something between us?"

"I'm not sure. She's never done something like this before."

Then again, thinking about it, she's never had the opportunity to do this to me. You know, since I don't exactly have a girlfriend.

We chatted lightly like this until we had almost reached Lily's house.

"Well, I guess this is bye until tomorrow."

"Yup! I'll see you in school tomorrow! No need to walk me to the door. It's not like something can kill me in the time it takes me to walk 10 meters, right?"

"Haha, yup. I'll start heading back home then."

I turned and started heading back in the direction we had come from. From behind me, I heard the distant roar of a truck. They really enjoy speeding in these parts and the police rarely have time to discipline speeding drivers. Too many other more important things to worry about.

I had almost made it to the corner when my surroundings started brightening. Wait. It shouldn't be sunrise yet. Her house isn't that far.

The truck sound was way too loud. Too close.

I whipped around. A truck skidded around the corner at top speed. Inside, I could see the driver unconscious at the wheel.

"LILY MOVE!!!"

She turned at the sound of my voice. Too slow. She's too slow. She won't get out of the way in time.

There was no time to think. I could only act. I sprinted over and shoved her towards her house.

I saw her fall on the ground. Hard. Then white filled my vision.

CRACK

All I could hear was distant screaming. I wonder why I can't feel anything below my waist. I'm pretty sure I was hit.

Then I realized that the screaming was my own. Mine and Lily's. I could feel something warm running down my face. Some of it ran into my mouth. Salty. Tears? No. Metallic. Blood.

Exhausted, I collapsed on the ground. I could feel my consciousness leaving me. My vision was starting to blur. Then I was lifted up by someone. Lily? I tried to blink away the fogginess, but it just made me more tired. Is she saying something to me? I can't hear it. Just let me sleep. I'm so tired.

But at least she's safe. Hopefully she'll forgive me for shoving her. Now I just want to take a nap. Just 30 minutes can't hurt. I'll just...wake up...later...

I closed my eyes and succumbed to the warm darkness with the distant lullaby of sirens wailing in my ears.