TBATE - Strings of Fate

8 - Young and in Love

--TESSIA--

"I love you."

Huh?

Suddenly, everyone went silent. Even Jamiel's mother stopped her angry yelling for a second to stare incredulously at the boy.

I immediately turned around and started walking away as everyone else started laughing hysterically at the boy. Even Sylvie, who sat comfortably on my shoulder the whole time, was greatly amused.

He ran to catch up to me again, yelling, "Wait! That's not what I meant to say. I don't know why that came out of me. I mean, I'm not saying you aren't pretty and cool. You are, but- Actually, I'm just going to stop talking about this."

I started walking faster, legitimately afraid of how casually he kept mentioning absurd things.

Suddenly, he used mana to run in front of me and stop me for a second. I realized I was going to have to convince him to leave me alone, and looked at him in annoyance. The first thing I noticed were his blue eyes, which shone like small suns in contrast to his red face and auburn hair.

"Please, wait. I'm sorry about that. Let's just forget that happened and start over. You seem like a cool person, and your spell back then was amazing! What's your name?"

"Tessia Eralith."

"My name's Arthur Leywin. Can I call you Tess?"

"No."

"Ok then, Tess. I've never met an elf before. Did you grow up in Elenoir?"

I just said he couldn't call me Tess. Did he just ignore my answer? I clicked my tongue in annoyance.

"Yes."

"That's cool! What is it like there?"

"Very different compared to here."

"I bet. By the way, is it true that your houses are in trees? How do you get around? Do you swing across vines?"

My cold façade couldn't withstand this particular blow. I facepalmed, chuckling at his absurd question.

"What? Swing on vines? No, we walk on the ground like everyone else. We build bridges between the treehouses."

He laughed as well. "Finally, I got more than a sentence out of you! I figured you would use bridges, I just wanted to see if I could get more of a reaction out of you."

"hm."

He mimicked my annoyed posture and clicked his tongue. "You're more fun when you're laughing. By the way, what was that vine spell? It was awesome! The fight was over in a second!"

"Yup."

"Have you ever used it to pin the man you liked down?"

I gaped. "What? No! I'd never do something so horrible to someone."

"I bet it'd be pretty hot."

"I bet the vines wouldn't be necessary for you, pervert!"

"I bet you've never had a man you liked, and that's why you've never tried."

"I bet you've never had a woman who liked you!"

He laughed. He postured confidently and said, "My mom loves me, and that's enough!"

I stared at him deadpan.

"F-For now, at least."

I continued to stare at him. After a second, he coughed.

"So... want to be friends?"

"Do I want to become friends with a pervert who tells a woman he just met that he loves her? Hmm, let me think. No."