Lee stood there, mute, his mind still grappling with the dissonance between the cinematic allure that had surrounded his newly met Love Interest, and his abrupt return to the plain old library setting.
Thomas, ever the pragmatist amidst Lee's unhelpful mess of thoughts, forged a path through the awkward stillness. “Sorry to bother you,” he hurriedly stated. “We just had a few, ah, quick questions to ask. What’s your name?”
“Draven,” the boy replied, tilting his head inquisitively. Lee couldn’t help the way his gaze followed how Draven’s bangs flopped endearingly to one side, fully revealing one of his bright cerulean eyes.
“I’m Thomas, and this-'' The President used his hold on Lee’s arm to lightly jostle his dazed body for emphasis. “This is Lee. We were wondering…” Thomas hesitated for a second, but quickly improvised, “What sort of games you like to play?"
Instead of appearing put off by being randomly questioned by people he’d never met, there was a subtle shift in Draven’s body language from distant yet curious, to solidly intrigued.
"Well," Draven replied, placing his hands on his narrow hips as a corner of his mouth quirked upward, "I’ve got a thing for story driven games. Mostly Visual Novels."
"REALLY?!" The word tumbled out of Lee while his heart did a peculiar somersault in his chest. He’d completely snapped out of his previously overwhelmed state as he declared, “Me too!”
Draven's grin widened and he leaned forward to ask in a playfully conspiratorial whisper, "Have you played ‘Wandering Beats of the Heart’ or ‘Dream A Better Nightmare'? I just finished those recently."
‘Wandering Beats of the Heart’ echoed in Lee's ears, evoking an intense, long-awaited desire. The game had been languishing on his wishlist for months, a dream left unfulfilled by the realities of his limited funds.
"I've wanted to play 'Wandering Beats' for ages," Lee confessed, tone dripping with longing.
"Excellent story," Draven nodded sagely, acknowledging Lee’s passion. “What have you played?”
Lee leaned forward, eager to delve further into a discussion about branching narratives and character development. "Have you tried 'Your Royal Romance'?" He asked, almost bouncing in place with anticipation.
"Actually-" Draven began, but Thomas stepped between them, squeezing Lee's shoulder.
Lee immediately settled down, slightly embarrassed by how animated he’d gotten just from finding someone who shared his hobby.
"Sorry to cut in," Thomas said, causing both Draven and Lee to turn towards him. "But I’m glad to hear you’re knowledgeable enough of the subject. That will make this easier."
Thomas stared hard at Lee, who sensed a shift in the seriousness of the atmosphere.
If Thomas was trying to telepathically communicate something Lee was falling short in understanding this time.
Was he trying to let Lee know he had a plan to get Draven on their side, or was Thomas just going to continue winging it? Did he want Lee to say something??
"Draven," Thomas began, breaking eye contact with Lee to focus on the other boy. "We're dealing with something... unusual. It's like a curse."
Oh, nevermind. Thomas had just come right out and said it.
“What kind of a curse?” Draven asked mildly, leaning against the wall beside the library doorway and crossing his arms.
Lee was taken aback by Draven’s cavalier attitude. Did he already believe in the concept of curses? Well, Draven did seem to dress in a sort of alternative goth aesthetic. Maybe he was into the occult too?
Unlike Lee, Thomas didn’t seem to care about Draven’s lack of a reaction. His words were measured, carefully avoiding any semblance of jest as he explained, "It's like being trapped in a video game, of the romance genre specifically. It seems to be centered around Lee…”
As Thomas continued to describe the details of the curse, Lee observed Draven closely.
The raven haired boy slowly straightened, brushing his bangs out of his eyes while leaning forward slightly. The more Thomas spoke about how complicated Lee’s life had become following his purchase of a suspicious free game, the more Draven's eyes widened and his face lit up with pronounced excitement.
"Wait, wait, let me get this STRAIGHT!" Draven enthusiastically exclaimed. "You’re saying you two are basically stuck in a dating sim? With stats and dialogue choices— the whole bit?? And I’M a love interest in this curse!?!?”
"That… would be the gist of it," Thomas replied with a small frown. "I know this isn’t ideal, but since you’re clearly interested in similar games, I thought you might be open to believing and assisting us?"
"Oh, I'm definitely in!" Draven exclaimed, clapping his hands together as his eyes sparkled with exhilaration. “This is freaking WILD!”
He was far more exuberant than Lee would have first assumed him to be based on his appearance.
Lee shot a glance at Thomas; now even the President looked mildly disturbed by how easily his explanation had been accepted.
"You’re really okay with this, Draven?" Lee asked carefully. "You don't mind the idea of someone you just met trying to 'romance' you?”
“Solely just to break a curse?" Thomas added with a pinched frown.
"I mean, it's not every day you get to be a part of a real life game plot," Draven said brightly, placing his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. "Like, literally, I love stories like this, and I’m curious about how these ‘mechanics’ work exactly. I wanna see them, so go ahead and romance me!”
Lee exchanged an incredulous glance with Thomas, whose expression only became more perturbed.
Perhaps once upon a time Lee might’ve felt similarly to Draven about the situation, had he not experienced instances where his autonomy was cruelly yanked away from him.
“Before we get into, uh, however this is going to go… I want to clarify something. To avoid any potential misunderstandings.” Lee stated haltingly.
“Go ahead,” Draven replied, still grinning.
Lee placed his hand on Thomas’ shoulder, who turned toward him inquisitively.
"I like Thomas,” Lee announced before elaborating, “For real. Outside of game-mechanics stuff.” Admitting as much was starting to become easier and easier the more he said it.
As if struck by lightning, Thomas gave a full body flinch. Despite the fact Lee had confessed the exact same thing to his face, it still seemed to catch him off guard. His cheeks flushed a subtle pink as he pointedly glared at the floor, refusing to give any sort of verbal acknowledgement.
While Draven seemed a bit surprised, he accepted Lee’s words easily and snickered as he reassured, "Well, you don't need to worry about me. I get what this is, and I’m cool with whatever connection you guys have going on.”
Lee smiled, feeling a mix of relief and gratitude. They truly had a new ally they could count on, and so quickly! It was almost too good to be true!
"Thanks, Draven," Lee said, his voice filled with sincerity. "We really appreciate your help."
"Of course!" Draven grinned, excited energy radiating from him. He rubbed his palms together eagerly and asked, "Now, what do we need to do first? How does this work?"
“Uh…” Lee struggled, not sure himself, when-
[WEEK TWO]
[NEW EVENT: LUNCH DATE!!!]
(Get to know the cute gamer-goth boy you just met by eating lunch together in the cafeteria.)
[DO YOU ACCEPT?]
[Success: DRAVEN +5 Affection & DRAVEN Heart Gauge Unlocked]
[Failure: DRAVEN -10 Affection]
