Worlds Apart (or not!) | ONC 2021

Matched

It never gets old.

Seeing an elf, I mean.

You've heard all about elves, haven't you? Short, sharp ears, fair and pale skin, silky hair that shimmers in the sunlight, beauty of almost no compare. Sound familiar?

Yeah, those elves.

Not even half a year since those portals opened up and elves are already allowed to roam free in our world. Not that it's a bad thing, though. Even though they may be short, us humans all seem to agree to not mess with them. No one messes with beauty.

World leaders had already determined that every race that is permitted to walk the Earth will only be the peaceful ones, but one can never be too careful, right? Who knows if someone will anger a faerie and then get cursed with a lifetime of bad luck?

Anyways, as I said, it never gets old.

It may have only been a few months since Earth was exposed to other worlds, but it already feels like forever.

And like I implied earlier, elves aren't the only species that have been welcomed to Earth.

All the worlds Earth connected through were filled with creatures we Earthlings could only dream about. Or write about, in the case of fantasy novel authors.

Bless their souls, without them, how could we have known about the beauty of fantasy worlds?

Ah, I'm getting sidetracked.

So, not only elves, but nymphs, dwarves, fae--

"Robbiiieeeee!!!"

I turn my head.

Oh, it's Kevin.

Kevin's somewhere between lanky and stocky, not exactly short and broad, not exactly tall and thin, but not exactly a v-shaped torso. He's somewhere in the middle.

I've never been the best at the finer details.

As for style, Kevin's basic. Always a crew cut, always rimless glasses, always solid color jeans or joggers, and always a white or black long-sleeve. In cold weather, Kevin could be found wearing a hoodie with some videogame character on it.

All in all, an average guy with a decent face and average fashion.

At least on the surface.

He's standoffish to anyone he doesn't know. But if you make the first move to get to know him. . .

May the powers-that-be have mercy on you (and me).

Trust me, if I haven't learned anything in four years of friendship, I'd be a fraud!

"Kev! How ya been?"

He held out his hand, so as usual, I grabbed it and pulled him in for a bro hug.

After that, he opened his mouth to talk, but he was interrupted when a female with wings landed right next to him.

"This is. . ?" I asked.

Kevin put his arm around her as if it was the most normal thing in the world. "Didn't you get my text? I said I was gonna introduce you to Mist, the valkyrie I matched with."

I pulled out my phone. Oh, he did send a text.

"Yeah, no. I didn't read it," I said. "How long ago did you send it?"

"Like two to five minutes?"

"Oh, then I must've been busy looking at the elf that just walked by."

"Understandable," he said.

I saw the valkyrie, Mist, furrow her brow, so I changed the topic. "So introduce me," I said.