I never realized I would meet so many of the characters so soon. And, it seems like I have a connection with some of them, but the protagonist? I don’t have any memory of him whatsoever. Guess he’s a complete stranger. His name sounds familiar though…

 

I felt a buzz in my pocket from a notification on my phone. Reaching into my pocket and turning it on, I saw a message from Alicia.

 

“hey so the drinking party will be on saturday at 8 pm if that’s cool w/ u. we’ll meet up at Singing Lemon on 5th. k?”

 

 I had no other shit to do this weekend, and I kinda already said I would go back at the chicken restaurant. 

 

“Ya im fine with that. See u then.”

I checked the time to see it was already 3:30 PM. I was already exhausted from my shift… I have one more lecture before I had to leave. So, I made my way over to the campus and got that over with. By the time it was finished it was 4:54 PM. I was even more exhausted and hungry. Maybe I should go to the dining hall. The food there is pretty shitty, mostly because it’s plain, but it fills you up well enough. Yeah, might as well.

 

*Tap tap*

 

Someone tapped my shoulder from behind. I’ve been getting a lot of those lately. 

I turned around to see— surprise surprise— Alicia. She had her usual playful smile.

 

“Hey! I just got finished with my Chem lecture. Wanna hang out?”

 

How does she manage to always catch me at the right times? Whatever. Must be the plot or something. I don’t really expect anything to follow reality after what I’ve been experiencing.

 

“Uhh, I was planning to go to the dining hall if you wanna join me.”

 

“Sure!”

 

It was kind of odd. From Elliot's memories, we’ve never spent as much time together as we have been these last few days. She’s been popping out of nowhere and just inserting herself into everything… Maybe she’s been feeling lonely or something?

 

Alicia stepped closer to my right; wrapping her arms around mine. Seriously, what is happening?

 

Alicia was always pretty touchy with people she was close to, but only with her female friends. Maybe she was actually flirting with me…? But, that didn’t make any sense. She was the 2nd female lead. 

 

We walked together side by side to the dining hall. Honestly, it was pretty awkward to walk considering my right arm was restricted. Embarrassingly, I tried to make myself look as unaffected by it as possible by attempting to relax, though it just made my arm look limp. I semi-solved this problem by stuffing my hand in my pocket. Seeing my struggle, Alicia chuckles under her breath.

 

We walked up to the counter and I looked at the options. Chicken parm, spaghetti, toast… for some reason? To be honest, none of the food looked appetizing. The cheese on the chicken parm looked plastic, the spaghetti was undercooked. The only thing that looked decent was the toast and it was literally just bread. There wasn’t even butter on it!

 

“This is a sad sight,” Alicia commented.

 

“How was this even approved by the FDA…”

 

Compared to high school lunches, this was gourmet, but my tuition included my 1st newborn and my left testicle so the least they could do was make it appealing. Not to mention I prepaid for these motherfucking dinners. 

 

“Hey, new idea…”

 

Alicia clapped her hands together with her arms still locked around mine.

 

“What if we made dinner at your house, yeah? You gain cooking skills and won’t have to eat whatever that is,” She pointed to the chicken parm, then pointed at herself.

 

I’m pretty sure Alicia was a good cook because she always made her own food, and it looks pretty good despite the poor college budget.

 

“Alright… have any ideas on what we’re making?”

 

“I’ll have to check your fridge first.”

 

I paused a bit. Do I even have any fresh ingredients in the fridge?

 

“Depending on what’s there, we might have to look for ingredients…”

 

“Fingers crossed then!”

 

I guess I’m abandoning the dining hall food. That’s probably for the best. While the food was certainly edible, it wasn’t that satisfying psychologically. This was pretty much a win-win situation. Except I had two wins. I still don’t know what Alicia would gain from doing this. 

 

My mind keeps drifting toward an answer I was too embarrassed to accept. And plus, even if I did try to rationalize it, there wasn’t any reason for her to fall for me. I mean, Elliot wasn’t bad-looking, but he wasn’t handsome. Not that looks are everything I mean, look at the protagonist. What I actually mean is she’s never flirted nor has Elliot ever done anything to make her like him—or, me. Fuck, maybe I’m overthinking it. This is still a world with characters after all. Eventually, Alicia will love the protagonist. 

 

That’s her role, after all.

 

And maybe… that’s best for me too. If the story completes, will that interdimensional being send me elsewhere? Maybe I can cash in on all the shit that he’s done to me. He could reincarnate me without memories. Or, just erase them entirely, anything would work.

 

Well, I forged a plan. Get this damn story done ASAP.

 

There was one major problem though. I don’t know the story. The interdimensional dickface never told me. 

 

Alright. Next time I see him, I’ll ask him about it. 

 

Alicia and I walked out of the dining hall, did I mention she was still clinging to me? We hopped onto the bus and chatted a little. Eventually, our destination arrived and we got off, walking a couple of blocks back to my apartment. I still had no idea whether I had good enough ingredients in the fridge.

 

As we reached the front door I used my left hand to search in my pocket for the keys, finding them, I pulled them out of the pocket and unlocked the door. My third(?) greeting with that popcorn ceiling. 

 

“Wow! What is this, like my third time at your house? Don’t you think you should decorate a little? No offense.” Alicia said in a cheerful tone. 

 

She let go of my arm and started walking ahead of me to the kitchen. Her actions tended to be unintentionally rude sometimes, but, she counteracted that with her personality.

 

I followed suit, only to find her looking through the refrigerator.

 

“Looks like you do have some ingredients. Not enough to make a whole gourmet meal but that’s expected.”

 

“You’re not gonna look up a recipe?”

 

“When you cook enough, you learn to eyeball things and find ways to make things your own way.”

 

I kind of doubted her words, but I was too hungry to care at this point.

 

We began to set up the ingredients, despite Alicia saying she was going to teach me recipes, it seemed like he was just ordering me around. 

 

“Cut that into cubes.”

 

“Alright.”

 

“Mince this.”

 

“Gotcha.”

 

You get the idea.

 

Whenever she moved around the kitchen, her shoulder would brush mine or her hand. I wasn’t blind to hints, but I was confused. Alicia was charming and gorgeous with her dark hair and piercing brown eyes, she had a charismatic nature and was light-hearted and easy to get along with. However, I wanted the story to end, then maybe I could get my wish. 

 

I had to find a way to lightly brush her off. Maybe an awkward chuckle or an uncomfortable glance? 

 

“Alright, we just gotta let this simmer for a bit.”

 

Eventually, it got to the part cooking where we just had to wait. Alicia and I went to the living room couch, she set a timer on her phone in case we lost track of time. She was confident in her ability to keep track of time, however, I was hesitant so she compromised. 

 

I turned on the TV and we browsed through channels, we found a few shows to casually watch while we waited. Every now and then Alicia would scoot closer to me and I would get more nervous. 

 

I should probably be more upfront about this. Yeah. What should I do? Oh, I got it.

 

Awkwardly scoot away from her. 

 

I was a coward in my past life, so why not in this one.

 

Seemingly getting my hints, Alicia backed off a bit. Her face didn’t change though, it stayed the same.

 

Alicia got up to check on the food right before her alarm went off. Guess she did have a good sense of time. 

 

“It’s ready!”

 

“Cool, I’ll go ahead and set up the plates.”

 

I joined her in the kitchen and got two plates and utensils, then walked to the dining room not far from the kitchen. I set the plates down and she started plating the food. Then, we both sat down.

 

“Wow, this looks hella good. To be honest, I kinda doubted you at first.”

 

“I figured, you don’t really conceal the emotions on your face that much.”

 

Alicia smiled as she picked up her fork.

 

We ate while having a light conversation, which eventually delved into gossip that she heard from her other friends. I didn’t really know much of the names she brought up so I just nodded every now and then like I understood. I was pretty good at that but, I think she knew.

 

When we both finished dinner, we chatted some more before Alicia got up to leave. I was feeling pretty tired myself so the timing was great. Checking my phone for the time my eyes blink in surprise as I realize it was already past 9 PM. I seriously need to take notes on Alicia’s impeccable sense of time. 

 

I walked Alicia to the door while yawning, I was about ready to pass out.

 

“Thanks for semi-teaching me your recipe.”

 

“Pfft, yeah no problem. Maybe now you know how to cut onions a little bit better.”

 

“I definitely know which side is the dull part of the blade. Thanks.”

 

I know, I was a bit dry, but that happens when your eyelids are 30 pounds heavier than they should be.

 

Alicia waved goodbye, I waved back and closed the door. Dragging my feet to the bed, I collapsed on the spot and had what I would assume, was the deepest sleep of my life.

 

————————————————————

 

Alicia turned once more to look at Elliot’s house, before calling a cab back to her house. On the way back, a slight smile appeared on her face and stayed that way the whole ride.

 

Exiting the cab, she arrived in front of a middle-class apartment. Entering one of the doors, she raced to her room and turned on her computer. She immediately opened an application, and a screen displaying multiple mini CCTV screens appeared. On one of the screens, a familiar man with light brown hair rested on a bed.

 

Alicia chuckled to herself in satisfaction.