Edited by: Kuro and Lille

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Everyone was shocked to hear the news about the new author stealing another author's book.

The other author (who remained anonymous) already said that he would not sue James and would even help him in his next step in life. All the proceeds made from the book were immediately sent to charities after the breaking news.

James promptly changed his name and left for the poorest counties of the country. Later, he would create a documentary of his life and how he taught many kids how to read and write. That was a story for another time though.

Seeing the news, Calvin smiled and then turned off his TV. It didn't put a dent in his pocket if he helped James.

He wondered just how far the man would go.

Getting off the couch, he stretched and yawned before going back to his room to change.

He dressed in form-fitting khaki pants and a plain black shirt. He also wore black shoes. He braided his hair and clipped his bangs back. Even though it was a casual look, he still looked handsome.

Calvin was going to go on a "date" with Ian. "Date" because they weren't lovers or partners yet but it was more than just "talking." Ian was still engaged to Valerie. Ian, who was pursuing Calvin, vaguely stated that there were circumstances that made him engaged. It was on this date that he would tell Calvin the reason.

They had been on a few "dates" since their first one. There were also plenty of text messages and calls. The two bonded and Ian was clinging to him more and more. It really reminded him of Damien from the last world. Calvin didn’t understand how anyone could stay with someone for so long even though the relationship was never established… At the same time, he was happy that God System was like that. It was a selfish feeling but he wanted more of God System. Of course, he would give his all to the man who loved him so much.

As for Valerie, she was in full pursuit with Lucy. She brought Lucy out to shop, eat, and go to the movies. They read books with one another and lounged around. Valerie texted and called Lucy every day, to the point where they talked to one another almost all day besides for when they were sleeping or at work. Lucy thought it was just like having a best friend and happily accepted all the invitations when she wasn't working. The two became closer, but for Lucy, it was more admiration than it was love.

Lucy was going on a "date" with Valerie while he was going with Ian. This was their plan. Have Calvin and Lucy separate so that they could confess their love and explain the situation. Calvin already knew but just played along with it. It was obvious from what had happened so far.

He was happy.

But still, every time he closed his eyes, he could see Ian and Damien turning their backs on him and walking out the door.

*****

Calvin and Ian were sitting at a sushi restaurant. Because of his habits from the first world, Calvin still loved sushi and happily ate it.

They were quietly eating their sushi, enjoying one another's company, until Ian decided to break the silence.

"Calvin, I owe you an explanation." Ian put down his chopsticks and sighed.

"Yes, and I am listening." Calvin also followed suit and grabbed his drink. He was waiting. It better be a good explanation for the momentary heartbreak.

"Valerie and I are best friends but we can never see each other as lovers. You see, I am gay and she's lesbian. Valerie can never love a man as I can never love a woman."

"Then why are you two together?"

He talked about how they knew each other since they were kids. They were always together, but it was always in a friendship kind of way. In a heteronomative world, everyone thought that they would also get married, but the two thought it was so disgusting that they almost vomited. When Valerie’s mom begged Ian's parents and Ian to take her as his fiancée, it was hard to say no.

"Our parents, especially Valerie’s mother, were furious that we refused to marry anyone. Though we just haven't found that person, our parents decided that we should just get engaged. With their explanation, it made sense. If we could never find anyone, what was the harm? We could just get a surrogate for our child, never having to ever touch one another. We are best friends as well, we could just treat it as roommates. But then we found the one we wanted to be with for the rest of our lives..."

Calvin didn't say anything to that. He just waited. He stared at Ian, afraid to show any fluctuations in emotions, treating it as a simple coming out to a friend.

Ian didn't wait for Calvin to say anything and grabbed one of his hands. "Calvin, I love you. I fell in love the moment we met at the Gala. When I first saw you, I felt this connection. From the moment we touched, I knew I wanted to spend my life with you. Your every move, your bright eyes, your aura, your entire being, fills me with warmth. Your existence was like a splash of color on my dull world. Your smile is like the light to my darkness, your laughter is like music to my ears. I love every part of you. I love you, Calvin."

Calvin's mask cracked. It wouldn't kill him to indulge in love with this man. Even if it wasn't real or if it was fake. Even if the man didn't actually love him but only the body he was occupying. Even if he knew that Ian was God System who said he would love him for who he was…

It didn't hurt him to cherish their moments together and keep them close. The warmth he felt would give him the strength to continue to fight his monsters.

He promised that he would be with God System in this world and every world after this. He felt that nothing could stop him from loving someone so much. He truly did fall too easily, but it helped him find the person he wanted to be with forever. They truly had a forever with one another.

"I like you too... But I do not know if it's love."

They only "knew each other" for a few months. The original Calvin, who had never been in a relationship, wouldn't know the feelings of love so quickly.

"That's fine. We can date and see how it goes. If you find yourself falling out of fondness, then I will support you no matter what."

God System was too kind to him. If it was him, he knew that Ian’s feelings were true. This warmed Calvin's heart a bit.

"Hmm, after you break off your engagement, let's give it a try."

Calvin already knew. No matter what happened, he would continue to fall for this man over and over again.

As for System 225, he closed his eyes and ears because… his almighty powerful God System was being tarnished in front of him.

.

.

.

.

.

Around the same time, Valerie had just finished explaining her situation to Lucy. It was roughly the same as Ian’s explanation but she did her best not to say many flowery words and got straight to the point in a few sentences.

She grabbed Lucy's hand. "Lucy, I fell in love with you the moment I saw you at the Gala. Your shy personality but trying to look confident, your vulnerabilities, your laughter, your smile, all of it. I love every single part of you."

Valerie and Ian were definitely best friends, and it shows in how they both confessed. Extremely cliché and cheesy to the point it made people want to vomit the amount of cheese they were being shoved.

Lucy was at a loss. She wasn't shocked by the coming out, but she didn't know what to say to the confession. Lucy never had any thoughts of dating a person of the same gender. She wasn't repulsed by the idea nor was she scared.

Plus, she had a lot of talks with Calvin and she felt that it was natural for people to love who they loved regardless of gender. It just never crossed her mind that she had the possibility of being with someone of the same gender.

Seeing her silence, Valerie tried to conceal her grim expression. "You don't have to answer my feelings nor do you have to accept them, I just wanted you to know." Valerie knew her love would probably not be reciprocated. Lucy had only dated men. She was a far cry from what Lucy was used to.

Valerie was feeling all kinds of emotions. She knew that Calvin also liked Ian so she was a little jealous that her best friend was able to find the love of his life. Though there were tiny feelings of envy, she felt more happiness seeing the friend she knew all her life living his best life. She just wanted to live like that too...

Lucy pulled herself together and gripped Valerie's hand to make sure she didn't run away. "I… I am not opposed to us being together and I am not disgusted by the thought. I just never thought about dating another woman, especially one that I really look up to so... Can we please start it off slow? I want to get to know you better and feelings and..." She felt like she was running out of words and could feel them slipping off her tongue. Lucy was afraid Valerie wouldn't take her seriously.

Lucy never really thought about who to date and who to love. She never really restricted herself and thought if she fell in love she would fall in love. It never occurred to her to be conscious of the gender or sex of the person, so being confronted with it, she needed time. She needed time to organize her thoughts and to accept them. She was willing to try with Valerie because she knew that Valerie was important to her.

Hearing this, Valerie's eyes brightened and she nodded. "Thank you. Once I break off the engagement, let me pursue you wholeheartedly." This was better than being straight-up rejected. Even if things didn’t go well romantically for the both of them, she hoped that she could at least stay good friends with Lucy.

"Mmm." It was a hum of agreement from Lucy.

Lucy was scared of new things, but shockingly, she was excited to start on the new journey with Valerie.

*****

After their dates, Valerie and Ian got together to come up with a plan to tell their parents.

It was a long night for these two gays.

“Should we just straight up tell them?” Ian said because he wasn’t as patient as he looked. “I just want to get this over with so I can show the world my love for Calvin.”

“I don’t need your cheese.” Valerie gritted her teeth seeing the happiness oozing from Ian. “We have to get them together and tell them together. If we are together, they won’t try to yell or beat us.”

That was true. When the two gave puppy dog faces to their parents, they immediately melted and could no longer be angry with them. Their faces together were like a lethal weapon that they knew how to use well.

“Very true, their will is weak to our faces so let’s do this as soon as possible. When are you free because I can do this whenever.”

“Friday, it has to be Friday because I have a date with Lucy on Saturday.” Friday was in 2 days.

“You are lucky because I also have a date on Saturday so I agree that Friday is a good day.”

As always, these two were just too similar. Having them together was pure chaos.

“We can’t delay this any longer. The longer I have to see your face with this ring, the more it makes me want to throw up,” Valerie said as her body shivered and cringed from the thought of continuing their fake relationship any longer.

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” The two were honest with each other even if it was brutal…

They practiced their lines one more time before calling it a night.

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Lille: These two best friends, I swear— (_ _)