Once Oden noticed that Ophelia was long gone, he let go of Weiss. He shot him a dirty look before walking away, sulking over his missed opportunity. Ophelia had run off a few minutes ago to be re-evaluated.
Yawning, I stretched my arms. After this, we were going to receive our school uniforms and room keys. From where I stood, I could see the many apartments that belonged to the Academy. I couldn’t help but wonder who my future roommates were. Falling deep into thought, I felt someone tap me on my shoulder. Claus pointed at our classmates who’d begun walking. Smiling awkwardly, I caught up with Claus right next to me.
The professor who’d been leading the way stopped.
“This is the reception. Any questions, lost items, or inquiries are made here. They’re all great at helping even though it can get busy at times.” The receptionist smiled at that, waving at the curious first-years.
“Before you’ll receive your keys and uniforms, I will give you a bit of information. First of all, in Lore Academy, every year is called a certain title. Instead of being addressed as first-years like certain schools—“ His eyebrows wrinkled as he spoke, “—you will be addressed as apprentices. The reason for it will be explained later in class.
“At 9 am, meet here at the receptionist where you will all be divided into different classes. But these classes are merely temporary.” He took a step before pausing, glancing at us.
“I’ll also give you a few warnings. In Lore Academy, the highest rank is the one who’s the smartest, strongest, and who adapts the best. Whether you’re a count, duke, prince, or princess, as long as someone has a higher status than you, they have more worth than you. So even the lowest of nobility can speak down to royalty.” His eyes curved when he saw the surprised expression on most of the nobles. Not all of them were informed of this.
“That’s why, if you want to be heard, you’ll work hard and achieve a good rank. And if you can’t achieve it? Then be prepared to bow down for those who can.” He waved us goodbye before walking away.
Most of the students didn’t know how to react, or what to do next. A few of the receptionists waved their hands, signaling for them to get in line. I was quick to run into a line, not wanting to wait in line for too long. After five minutes, I reached the receptionist who smiled at me.
“Hello, please state your name and age.”
“My name is Rael Vandergarden and I’m 14 years old.”
The receptionist flipped through a thick book, nudging her glasses up. She narrowed her eyes before nodding.
“Right, here’s your room key, and uniform.” She handed me two pairs of keys (a copy for if the other one is lost) and a clean uniform that was delicately folded. I hugged it close to my chest and walked out of line. Claus, Weiss, and Al were still in line, so it would take a while for them to finish. I decided to go and sightsee while waiting. I walked out of the entrance, breathing in the air. Smiling, I began walking through the small city of Lore. I spotted restaurants, food stands, weapon shops, artifact shops, etc.
I spotted a few students chugging a green vial, grimacing. Two students walked around with giant furry arms and seeing their reddened faces, it was clear that it wasn’t on purpose. Another student was standing on what looked like… a water skateboard. He jumped and did a 180 Rollie, landing gracefully as he continued on his way.
I was in awe at the magical aspect of this city. Whilst I’d seen most of this in the game, the game never had my heart beating loudly as I walked through the boisterous street.
In minutes, I experienced: being scammed by at least five sellers, all of who tried selling me junk by saying it’s a ‘magical artifact that gives you an increase in luck and charm’. Declining them wouldn’t work so I had to run away. Then I found myself getting dragged by an upperclassman who wanted me to try his strange potion. It was apparently for his assignment. He wouldn’t let me leave so I ran away when he looked away from me.
Now that I think about it, I’ve been running away a lot today…
After that, I bought a stick of something that looked like bread. I took a bite and found it filled with cheese and bits of meat. My growling stomach found itself wanting more, so I bought one more, leaving room for other food. I walked around, buying any tasty treats I could see. Not all of them were exotic ‘otherworldly’ food. Most were foods from my world, but I enjoyed those too.
Feeling full, I stopped to sit down and relax. I probably wouldn’t meet with Al and the rest, so I could take my time in finding which apartment building I lived in. It was growing dark, and the streets lit up with different sources of light. The food stands used bright lanterns, whilst the restaurants lit up their oil lamps. One of the women who worked in the artifact shop stepped out, holding something. She lightly squeezed the item in her hand, and it began to float, all while glowing brightly. It lit up several meters ahead of it, even illuminating the next-door shops.
I watched it curiously, as it floated in the air… like a jellyfish. The jellyfish kept floating. Several more floating creatures were brought out. A fluttering butterfly, a white bat, and even a miniature drake.
They made the streets lit up with a supernatural glow as the night went on. Finally, feeling strength come back to me, I stood up, heading to the apartment buildings. I looked at my key which had numbers inscribed on it.
“G-12-2” I muttered. Apartment building G, twelfth floor, and it had to be the second apartment then? I was guessing that the apartments were numbered instead of having last names. I looked around for building G, walking past an H building. Soon I found it in the middle and passed by other first years—er, apprentices who looked to be lost.
I opened the door and stared at the stairs. Wait… there’s no elevator? Groaning out loud, I began the tortuous road up the stairs, feeling my legs turn to jelly by the fourth floor. I was practically crawling when I reached the tenth floor. I raised my head when I fell to the ground, already on the twelfth floor. I lay on the ground for a while, panting like a mad dog.
“What are you doing?” I stopped panting and turned. I saw Oden glaring at me while standing by the stairs. I quickly stood up, coughing.
“I’m locked out?”
He pointed at the keys in my hands.
“What’s that then?” My face was red as I refused to answer his question.
There was an awkward pause. He sighed before pushing me to the side.
“It doesn’t matter. Move out of the way.” He opened the door, shooting me a look before closing the door. Grumbling, I looked at my keys, trying to figure out which apartment was mine. Staring at the same door that Oden had just walked into, I now knew who’d be my future roommate.
And I was not happy.
Sighing loudly, I opened the door and saw Oden. He had a look of shock whilst he stared at the upperclassmen. When he saw me, the color drained from his face. The upperclassmen noticed me and smiled.
“Hello, little apprentice. I was just telling your friend here—“
“He’s not my friend.” Oden cut him off.
“Okay—I was telling your classmate that you and he will be sharing a room. There… has been a few incidents and one of the two vacant rooms is now occupied. So you two will need to be roommates.” He clapped his hand. “I’m sure that’ll make you become great friends after a while!”
His joyful attitude diminished as he looked at our expressions. His smile dropped.
“Or you can just ignore each other. That works too.” He shrugged. “Come inside then, we’ve made some food because we figured you two might get hungry.”
My stomach growled. I bit my lip as the upperclassmen chuckled.
“Perfect timing then!”
“Walking up the stairs made me hungry,” I said lamely whilst removing my shoes. I walked into the kitchen and saw two older students. I was shocked to see that one of them was a girl. The buildings were always separated by gender, so seeing a girl was bizarre. They were talking before spotting me.
“Ah, the apprentices are here!” The girl said with a large smile.
“Thank gods, I was growing hungry.” The boy said as he rubbed his stomach. The girl slapped his stomach and he exclaimed in pain. Laughing, she stood up, revealing what they’d been cooking.
Seeing the familiar dish, I laughed.
“Ramen?”
“Hey, what can I say, it’s a classic.” She pointed at one of the cabinets. “The bowls are there, and the cutlery is there. Oh, and give me a few glasses too, will you? I’d ask Jake but he’s useless.”
“Hey!” He exclaimed whilst frowning. I smiled and quickly set up the table. The girl called for the rest and we sat down. We divided the noodles into our bowls and began eating.
Jake, who was the only one I knew the name of, sighed with happiness.
“This… this is life.”
The upperclassmen who I’d previously talked to rolled his eyes.
“You’ve always been a fan of junk food.” Jake shrugged as he inhaled more noodles. I was nearly mesmerized staring at him. He ate so quickly that it looked like he forgot to chew.
The friendly seniors started chatting with each other, clearly on friendly terms. I and Oden on the other hand were quiet as we watched their interactions. Finally, the girl, whose name was Hina, turned to me.
“So how do you like Lore so far?”
“I like it. It’s… magical?” She snorted.
“That’s one way to describe it. Though this is nothing. There’s a lot more ‘magic’ inside of the Academy than outside of it.”
“Right, and as someone who nearly didn’t pass, make sure to study your butts off,” Jake said as he paused to chug water.
“Don’t forget to exercise. Combat classes can be brutal for lazy ones.” The third upperclassman, who told me his name was Kieran, muttered while he stirred the soup left in his bowl.
I nodded eagerly, taking mental notes. Oden nodded too, but it didn’t look like he took their warning seriously. He finished his food quite quickly too. Wiping his mouth, he turned his gaze to me and I quickly looked away.
“What about you Oden?” Oden paused while drinking his soup, and he began coughing violently. Hitting his chest, he coughed up a reply.
“What?” He said.
“Do you like Lore Academy? Are you okay?” Oden ignored Kieran's concern.
“It’s decent. I haven’t had an opportunity to think about it.” His reply was short as he stared at the table. It made his short figure look even smaller. Kieran wryly smiled as the conversation died.
After finishing my meal, I stood up to excuse myself. I was growing tired. Yawning, I walked into my new room. The room was quite empty besides two wardrobes, one desk and a chair, and two beds. I spotted a jellyfish lamp and examined it. I poked at it and the light went out. Poking at it again, the room was illuminated once more.
Smiling, I plopped down on the bed next to the window, stretching my arms. I was exhausted. I stood up and opened the wardrobe. It was filled with all sorts of clothes, all of them looked to be my size.
I found a pair of pajamas and changed. By the time I was in bed, nearly dozing off, I heard Oden enter. I blinked and the room had grown dark. I must have fallen asleep. I turned my head and saw Oden sleeping on his bed. Yawning, I fell asleep once more.
It felt like only minutes had passed when I felt an uncomfortable feeling on my chest. It felt like something heavy was lying on it. My arm also felt strange as though it’d fallen asleep. I opened one of my eyes to peek and saw a dark blue color. I stared at the blue color for a long while, trying to process what I was looking at. When my eyesight adjusted to the dark, I stared at him.
Oden slept comfortably, his arm on my chest, head near my face all while hugging my arm like a pillow. I stared at him for a few seconds, thinking of the next course of action. My leg rose from the sheets and I delivered a swift kick to him, causing him to fall with a loud thud.
“W-what!? What just happened?!” He woke up from the pain as he grimaced. Glaring at me, he pointed at my bed.
“What are you doing on my bed?”
“What do you mean your bed? This is my bed.”
“Huh, but I—“ he saw the window and paused. I watched the gears turn in his head. He took a few steps back, before snapping at me.
“I must’ve gravitated towards the better bed! I always sleep by the window! You should’ve taken the other bed.”
I rubbed my eyes and yawned. I did not have the energy to deal with this. I sat up.
“Fine. Since you won’t apologize, I’ll just give you this bed.” I stood up and walked past him. He looked like he wanted to say more but he closed his mouth with a frown.
Not caring about what he had to say, I went to sleep again, and this time I wasn’t rudely awoken by Oden again.
When I woke up, I changed into the school uniform and headed to the kitchen.
I saw Hina and Jake talking as they made themselves sandwiches. Jake leaned in, giving Hina a peck on the cheek which she giggled at. I stood awkwardly in the doorway as they continued to flirt.
“Um…” They jumped apart from each other. Both their faces were bright red as they looked at me.
“Did you see all of that?” Hina asked nervously. I hesitantly nodded. Jake was still furiously blushing as he took a bite of his sandwich.
“So you two are together?”
“No—“ Hina began.
“Yes—“ Jake replied.
They looked at each other. The air grew tense. I carefully passed by them and made my sandwich, before running out of the kitchen. I was not getting involved in their drama.
In ten minutes, I was out of the apartment. The first lesson wouldn’t start until half an hour but I had a mission to accomplish.
Making sure no one was around me, my pace quickened. I wanted to go to the Fountain of Fortune as soon as possible. I sprinted as I was only a few meters away from the fountain, and I could see it through a handful of trees.
“So that’s your plan? Do you think it’ll work?” I heard a voice say and stopped. I quickly hid behind a tree that barely hid me and peeked out.
“It’s the best shot we’ve got. Do you think anyone else could do this mission?” A boy said as he rested near the fountain.
“No, but you’re already so busy as it is. Or are you that eager to please them?” A girl asked with a smirk. The boy didn’t reply, staring down at the fountain water.
I stopped peeking. And I let out a shaky breath. That was… Ru Hasselt. My heart was beating loudly as I hid behind the tree. I hadn’t expected to see him so soon. Gulping, I quickly ran away from the fountain. I didn’t want to meet him. Not yet. I was still scared to face the consequences of my actions.
Like a coward, I ran off, having already forgotten about the interaction I’d heard.
——
The professor gave us a sheet of paper as he spoke.
“Mana is like the air that we breathe. It flows through our body and it never runs out. Then why is it that every aristocrat—“ He paused to glance at Ophelia, “—or anyone who can use magic has different amounts of it? Before I answer that, does anyone have any guesses?”
A few students raised their hands and he pointed at them, permitting them to talk. I didn’t listen to the answer as I was counting how many of the characters from the game were in this class.
Thankfully, I was in the same class as the heroine. Along with her, Weiss sat right behind her and Claus was next to her. Erica was at the very front of the class, twirling a long of her long hair, whilst Reni was staring into space. Clance had a window seat which he was looking out of, while Oden was shooting me strange glances every once in a while.
Ignoring him, I looked for a girl in white clothes and sighed in relief when I didn’t see her. The Saint was thankfully in a different class. It was a bit of a pity that Al was also in a different class.
I was relieved that nothing had changed. Half listening to the professor explain how mana worked, I opened my notebook to write down a few essential things to remember.
“Before class ends, I wanted to explain a few things about Lore.” I paused to look up. It was important to see if anything had changed.
“All of you in your first year are called apprentices. While you might not like the title, it’s quite fitting considering how you’ll only learn basic spells the first year. Once you start in your second year, your title will be changed into mage, then acolyte, high mage, and lastly, grand mage. These titles are also the requirements that the Academy requires for you to pass. By the fifth year, only the best of the best may graduate from Lore Academy.
“It’ll be exhausting, frustrating, and unfair. To fit in Lore, you need power, and to get the power you need knowledge and a high understanding of magic. There will be those who’ll try to drag you down, those who’ll trick you, and those who’re downright hostile. But even with all of this, will you still stay? After all, you can decide to drop out whenever you want.”
The professor stared at us as he spoke. Nobody spoke and that was enough to answer enough. The professor sighed.
“Then I’m obligated to share information. By the end of this month, there will be exams on every course you take. If you fail any of the tests, you’ll be expelled.” The students tensed up but their gazes didn’t waver.
“However—“ The professor smiled. That smile sent a shiver down my spine. “You are all in luck. Because this year, one of Lore’s ancient trials will open up. That means even if you were to fail the tests, you have another chance to prove your worth in the trial.”
A student raised their hand. “What’s the name of the trial?”
“The Mystic Legacy Trial.” He spoke with a smile. I was dumbfounded by this information. That name was familiar… where had I heard it?
It finally clicked. This trial had been an event for veteran players who might get bored of hard mode. Not only did it make your main character more powerful but even the villains grew stronger, raising the stakes.
And that event had become a reality. The professor began answering everyone’s questions as I slumped down on my desk, wanting to sob.
I’ll never catch a break, will I?
——
I was dozing off on the last lesson which was history. The lesson before this one was combat. That professor had forced everyone to run several laps and then try channeling their mana. She explained that it was a crucial skill to learn as your enemies wouldn’t take it easy on you while you were tired.
By channeling the mana around you, you created a transparent shield that could ward off any attacks weaker than you. I saw her go to the closest student and punch at their shield. It broke like glass and the student fell to the ground from sheer exhaustion.
She shook her head. “In a month, I want those shields to be able to deflect at least a 1-tier spell. While this is a higher requirement than usual, it’s necessary for the trial. Now make the shield once more and hold it for five minutes. Those who fail to do it will run two laps and try again.”
I took big gulps of air and channeled my mana from my body and focused on creating a barrier around my body. Once I was done, I felt out of breath. I took more gulps of air as I strained myself to contain the shield. After three minutes, my face was dripping with sweat as I continued to breathe heavily while holding my concentration.
When four minutes and a half passed, I nearly stumbled, breaking the shield. But I held on. Closing my eyes, I heard the teacher say something. But my body had already begun falling before her sentence finished.
I passed out without realizing it.
When I woke up, I was lying on the ground, the sun shining menacingly at me. I saw the professor staring at me with a disappointed look.
“Are you that desperate to not run more laps? Once you feel better, run two laps.” My mouth was agape as she walked off. She wasn’t going to be considerate and ask me how I felt?! Instead, she punished me even though I made it?
I finally saw Weiss and Claus who stood by me.
“You passed out seconds before she told us to stop…” Claus said while looking at me pitifully. My mouth was agape. I refused to believe it! She’d been talking right before I passed out!
“Then why was she talking before?!”
“Because she was counting down. You landed on the ground right as she reached 1,” Weiss said while suppressing laughter. Finally, he burst into laughter. “You should’ve seen your face! I saw your eyes roll up and then you landed comically, with your feet flopping back up!” Still laughing, he described how I passed out.
I glared at him as he still chuckled to himself. He took out his hand.
“C’mon, get up so you can finish the laps quickly. She was merciful by not forcing you to do that again.” He pointed at the many students who had failed. They were sweating from all the running and most of them were swaying on their feet. But if they failed again, they would have to run three laps and try again.
Sighing, I took his hand as he helped me up. He paused to pat my head.
“Is my brain spilling out of there?” I asked, a bit worried. Weiss snorted.
“Brain? Since when did you have one?” Teasing me, he kept up the patting. “There. I fixed your hair. It looked like several birds next rather than one like you usually have.” I slapped him on his shoulder for his two teasing remarks which caused him to laugh once more.
After that, I ran my two laps and took a long-needed break. But Claus and Weiss forced me to stand up and go to the changing rooms. My body felt heavy and I was growing tired. Thankfully, it was lunch. So we met up with Al who looked just as exhausted as me and had lunch in the cafeteria.
Sadly, the pleasant lunch went by quickly and I was dragged off to my next class by my two bodyguards, Claus and Weiss. Silently cursing at them, I sat down on a seat that was the least visible to the professor and dozed off.
“—?” I heard a mumble. I ignored it, trying to sleep.
“—Rael!” I raised my head, facing the professor who did not look happy. I gave him an innocent smile.
“Yes?”
“Sleeping in my class? Aren’t you brave? Do you find this all boring? Or perhaps too easy?” He had a fake smile on.
“Y-yes?” I couldn’t come up with a better answer. He pointed at the board and gave me a pen.
“Since you’re so confident, why don’t you answer my question?” Seeing as I had no choice, I slowly walked up to the front of the classroom. I tensed up a bit, feeling many gazes on me.
‘During the Dark Age, who were the three Archmages who saved Creati from the invasion of the Deep Sea Krakens?’ My hand moved on its own and I wrote three names. ‘Jenken Henry, Otestia Halberd, and Fier Xalx.’
The teacher snorted.
“It seems that you didn’t pay any attention. It was—“ He froze as he read the answers. He frowned.
“That was… correct. But what about this?” He erased the questions and wrote a new one. ‘The Age of Restoration nearly caused the end of the world. What was the cause?’
The professor wore a smug smile as this was a difficult question. Not many knew of it, especially not apprentices like me. Biting my lip, I wrote the answer with ease.
‘The elves lost their king by assassination and began to exact revenge by targeting humans and nearly succeeded in wiping Creati off the map. Had it not been for humans allying with demi-humans, humanity would’ve been eradicated.’
It took a while for me to write it and the teacher stood behind me with his arms crossed, looking smug. I put down the pen and turned to him. He read it quickly before smiling.
“Incorrect.” He was a bit too delighted to tell me how wrong I was. “Humans never allied with anyone. Instead, that was around the time they received the help of one of history's strongest archmages. Why would they need help from demi-humans?” Snorting, he picked up a book. “It says so right here—“ His expression changed. The smile faltered as he quietly read.
He lifted his head, the light in his eyes gone. “It seems that… I was wrong. You were right. Thank you for correcting me. You may sit back down.” I kept my expression blank as I sat back down. I could feel the gazes on me and it made me uncomfortable. Trying to ignore them, I dozed off in class again.
This time, no one interrupted my pleasant nap.
——
Classes were finished and I returned to the apartment to see Hina and Jake give each other the cold shoulder in the living room. Ignoring both of them, I rummaged for food and made a pleasant meal for myself. I ate it while blinking slowly.
This was only day one and I was already this exhausted…? Yawning, I washed my dishes and headed to bed. I was shocked to see that Oden was already there. He was still awake though, his gaze pointed at the ceiling. He spotted me but didn’t say anything. I pretended to not see him and jumped into my bed.
I fell asleep, forgetting to remove my uniform.
In my dream, I dreamt of flying in the sky like a bird. I floated around, laughing as I soared in the sky. But the pleasant dream turned into a nightmare as I discovered that I could no longer breathe. This caused me to dive down, straight into the ground.
I gasped, waking up. I felt something warm near me. Gritting my teeth, I swiftly kicked Oden off my bed. He awoke with a yelp.
“W-what!? What happened—!”
“Oden. I don’t think you have a good excuse this time?” He blinked at me. And then it clicked for him. He shook his head furiously.
“No, wait, don’t misunderstand! I don’t know how I ended up there! It just happened! I swear!” My cold smile twitched.
“Really? Then I hope this won’t happen again.”
“It won’t happen.” He looked annoyed as he went back to his bed. Sighing, I tried to fall asleep again. I glanced at Oden who’d already begun snoring. I glared at his peaceful face before I turned to the side and fell asleep once more.
Hopefully, this won't happen again.
——
Waking up in the middle of the night, I saw Oden’s familiar face. I sighed heavily and kicked him off the bed for the 5th time this week. Oden didn’t even yelp, merely grimacing as he stood up.
“Stop kicking me! Why can’t you wake me up nicely?”
“Why can’t you stay on your damn bed?” I retorted.
He clicked his tongue, not replying. He began heading back to his bed when I spoke.
“Oden. Why do you keep ending up in my bed?” Oden paused. He turned to look at me.
“Don’t word it like that, it sounds weird—“
“Answer my question.”
He frowned but complied.
“I… sleepwalk. It’s nothing serious and it only happened when I was a young child.” He looked away, staring at the ground. “I had a few health problems so sleepwalking was extremely dangerous for me. I was practically as fragile as glass.” He let out a laugh but it sounded forced.
“But on my 8th birthday, I got a red teddy bear. After that day, I haven’t sleepwalked since.” I frowned.
“Then why don’t you just sleep with that bear of yours?”
There was silence for a few seconds.
“—it.” He said through gritted teeth.
“What?”
“BecauseIforgottobringit!” He practically shouted, red-faced. “I was stressed that day and I was running late. I completely forgot to bring it with me. I won’t be able to retrieve it until months from now.”
I frowned. “Why can’t you hug a pillow as a replacement?”
Oden sighed. “I tried but it’s not the same.”
I scowled. “But I’m the same as your teddy bear?” Oden shook his head once more, glaring at me.
“No. You’re too tall, take up way too much space and you’re not as cool as it.”
“So why—“
“But you share the same color. You have red hair which reminds me of it. That must be why I gravitate to you while sleepwalking. I’ve tried to chain myself to the bed with the sheets but I always find myself on the ground every night, with one more bruise.” I coughed, knowing he was trying to guilt-trip me.
“I can ask one of the seniors to switch rooms with me. I’m sure they’ll agree if I explain the situation.” Oden said, trying to be a bit considerate.
“But won’t you continue to sleepwalk?”
Oden hesitantly nodded.
“Yes but it’s better than to constantly be awoken by a kick. And I feel a little guilty for constantly bothering you.” I looked at Oden. I thought for a few seconds.
“Hey,” I spoke. Oden stared at me. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll allow you to sleep in the same bed as me until you retrieve your bear. In exchange, you’ll do me a favor.”
His eyebrows furrowed, but he didn’t look put off by the offer.
“What favor?”
I smiled.
“Get closer to Ophelia Phorest.”
The only way to not get a bad ending is by making Ophelia fall in love with somebody else who wasn’t Helm. I had to have Oden approach her and make her fall for him. Though he wouldn’t know that, I’d help him from the sidelines. Since he was one of the love interests, this was sure to work!
Oden stared at me, bemused, but nodded.
“I’ll do it as long as you don’t kick me off anymore.” Sighing, I reluctantly agreed.
“Fine.”
Oden shyly inched closer. I scowled at him as he hovered over me.
“Are you going to bless me with a lovely dream now?”
He ignored my provocation. “How am I supposed to sleep on such a small bed?” Watch and learn, child.
I pushed the two beds together, and then with spare pillows, created two separate sides of the (now) double bed. Oden looked a bit impressed.
“There. Now you won’t sleepwalk.” And I took out my arm. “And you can hug my hand and pretend that it's your teddy bear” Oden stared at my hand as though it was dirt.
“Are you going to take it or not?” I finally snapped.
“I guess it’s better than nothing.” He muttered as he grabbed my hand. We slept on different sides of the bed, but our hands remained clasped through the night.
I’d expected it to be a lot worse but strangely, it might’ve been the best I’d slept for a while.
Though I’d never admit that to anyone.
adorable