How Am I So Dumb?

As I get head-shotted by the same guy for the fifth time in a row, the anger burning within me boils over and I flip my keyboard. A combination of keys get hit and I end up closing the game. I hold my hands over my mouth and let out a muffled grunt, hating everything about today so far. Why do I have to be such an asshole? Why couldn't I have just asked Alina to stay with me? Why does it matter anyway? After all, she's just my best friend, nothing more, and she's trying to go out with that Daniel guy. So why am I trying to stand in the way? It's not like he's bad for her or anything. If anything he might be better for her than I am. They certainly have more in common than her and I do.

There's a rumbling coming from the stairs and Cerberus promptly comes barging into my room, leaping onto the bed and laying down instantly. Him and I stare at each other, for once he's not panting heavily and his energy isn't bursting at the seams. It's nice when he's calm, it feels like I can chill with him without the worry of him smothering me.

Wait, if he's down here with me, then where's Afia and my mom? I never would've thought that he'd rather spend time with me more than them. Perhaps they went out at some point and I never heard them because of my headset. But wouldn't they have at least come to tell me where they were going? I never even got a text from either of them.

"You bored, boy?" I ask and Cerberus' ears stick up the most they can, which isn't a lot. I gaze outside to see that the snow has slowed down a bit, though I have no doubt in my mind that it's definitely colder than before. I really don't want to go out again just to take him for another walk, plus I doubt he'd enjoy it all that much either. He's a short-fur after all, and he has way too much energy to sit still for a moment and put a coat on. Plus I doubt coats even work all that well on animals anyway. Especially since most of them don't even cover the animals' legs, which are far more vulnerable than their chest. "What do you wanna do?"

Cerberus quietly barks, his tail starting to wag with the slowly growing excitement that is probably gonna end up leading to me being smothered once more. His mouth opens and he begins panting again, his tail picking up speed at a rapid pace now. I roll my eyes and he stands up on my bed, wiggling his body like he's preparing to jump into my arms.

"No, Cerberus," I point at him, and he barks at me. "I have a few thousand dollar PC behind me, don't you fucking dare jump at me." Cerberus continues to shake his body and rile himself up without me having to even do anything. Slowly, I get up out of my computer chair and walk away from my gaming setup. If he's gonna leap at me then it'd be best for it to be away from my computer. He growls at me as I raise my arms out in front of me, "Alright, go ahead."

Cerberus stops for a moment, showing his teeth and wagging his tail excitedly. Then he suddenly leaps off my bed, his claws stabbing into my chest as he tries to get into a comfortable position. I nearly fall backwards with the weight of it all, but manage to regain my balance and slowly make my way to my bed and sit down with him.

His legs are wrapped around my waist, with his paws on my shoulders and his head on my left shoulder. The warmth of his body is comforting, like being hugged by your mother as a child. It's nice when he's calm, it's a shame that he isn't like this more often. Perhaps when he's older and has less energy he'll be like this more frequently, but I guess that for now I'll have to deal with his usual hyperness.

"Now that is just adorable," Afia laughs loudly as she takes a picture of us. Cerberus surprisingly doesn't get all excited, he just remains in my arms, resting his head against mine.

"Get out," I mumble, trying to not wake him up.

Her expression and posture completely changes as she stares at me dead in the eyes, "You really are an idiot, you know that?"

I give her a look of confusion, "What the fuck are you talking about? Where were you and mom anyway?"

"We were just upstairs watching TV," Afia answers, gesturing to the staircase. "But that isn't important. It's both you and Alina's birthdays today and you have the nerve to throw a tantrum like you're a goddamn toddler."

I roll my eyes, holding Cerberus tighter so he doesn't slide off my lap, "What do you want?"

"I just want to know why you're so upset to the point where you even pushed Alina away," She shrugs and leans against my door frame like she won't leave till I give her an answer. "After all, it's obvious that you love her, so why push her away?"

"Okay!" I shout and set Cerberus down on the bed next to me. He curls up into a little ball and covers his ears with his paws. "First of all, Alina and I are just best friends, there are no romantic feelings towards each other whatsoever!"

"Then why were you so interested in looking into that Daniel guy?" She cuts me off before I can continue. She has a confident smirk on her face and an expression showing that she is ready for anything I throw at her.

I take a moment to think, stuttering once I respond, "Be-because of the whole Zack fiasco. So I wanted to look into him to see if he's good enough for her."

"Is he?" She asks, most likely already knowing the answer.

I drop my head to the ground, still unwilling to say it out loud, "Just get out."

She crosses her arms in front of her and takes a step into my room, "Because I looked into him a little bit myself, and personally I'd say that they're perfect for each other. Just the right amount of differences and a few flaws that I know for a fact that Alina can accept."

My head raises up again and I stare questioningly into Afia's eyes, "Like what flaws?"

"For instance, he's focused on his future so there's a chance that Alina won't get to spend all that much time with him," She exclaims, taking another step into my room.

"Alina does like spending a lot of time with her loved ones," I mumble, thinking about how she must've felt while we were apart.

"Yes, but she's also really patient, and if anything, him having dreams and goals will just inspire her to do better as well," She explains, her confidence growing more and more.

"Why are you still here?" I ask, folding my hands in front of me and gazing down to the ground. "Is there some sort of reason that you came in here to talk about Alina's crushes with me? Because I know, I know that her and I are complete opposites. I know that there's no way in hell that she'd ever have feelings for me. So why the hell are you still here? To make me feel worthless?"

"Do you think that Daniel is the perfect match for her?" She asks again, her tone unchanged.

I throw my arms up in the air, shouting, "How should I know? I never met the-" Realization hits me. "Oh-"

Afia nods, arms still crossed and smile still confident, "You had the chance to see what he's like in person and you threw it away." She spins on her heel and heads out of my room, leaving one last remark before she heads back upstairs. "But oh well, I guess that Keita really is smarter and more caring toward Alina than you."