"So, when were you going to tell me that the person that wasn't meant to be is Neteyam?" Spider asked as you two walked to his home. It had been a while since you two had some alone time again. Spider had tried to keep quiet about the secret you kept hidden. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He needed to be sure he was right about this. You looked at him surprised. How did he find out? And if he did, who else did? He nudged you as he laughed at your facialy expression. "Did you really think I wouldn't find out? You should see your face!" He laughed louder. You could feel your cheeks heating up. "W-who else knows?" You struggled to get out. "Relax, I didn't tell anyone. And as far as I know, nobody else knows." He said, trying to calm you.
This made you exhale. You didn't know you were holding your breath. "You know, I didn't tell Neteyam I liked him. But I think he might have a feeling, though." You explained as you looked at Spider. "Now that you say that. Does this have something to do with you being almost punished and Neteyam being exhausted the other day?" You answer Spider's questions with a nod. "We met accidentally in the forest the night before. We stayed there talking most of the time, until..." You started trail off as you thought back to that night. Neteyam had told you he saw you. It was perfect, and you wanted to say it back. You never did because of the arrangements. "Come on, don't leave out the juicy stuff!" Spider said, which made you snap back to reality.
"Some things were said that should've been kept quiet. It will only make things harder." You tried leaving the 'I see you' part out of it. Spider knew you weren't telling all the details, but he was okay with it for now. "The difficulty situation has now become a mess." He silenty said. "I can't disappoint my family or my clan. But these feelings are hard to ignore all of the time." You said as the two of you stopped at the edge of the forest. Spider hugged you, and you hugged him back. "If I could help, I would in a heartbeat." He said before letting go. "I know. Thank you for being my friend. I couldn't picture my life without you." You thanked him as he walked out of the forest backward so he could still face you. "The feeling is mutual, Y/n." He turned around as he headed home.
By the time you arrived at the clan, it was time for you to meet with Lo'ak. He had asked to visit the high tree together. Lo'ak knew you loved the view and wouldn't be able to say no. You took your shortcut to get to the high tree. You stopped halway in your shortcut, remembering you would've got to go through your secret place. You walked a bit closer before deciding to go around it. Not long after, you were stopped as a familiar voice called your name. You turned around to see Neteyam. "Yn, can we talk?" He questioned as he walked closer. You looked behind you before you sighed. "I won't make it long." He stated as he noticed you were going somewhere.
You crossed your arms, trying to make yourself look more confident. "Go on." You said as Neteyam stopped in front of you. "I know what I said the last time we spoke. Maybe it's for the best we forgot about it." You could hear the hesitation in his voice. Your crossed arms lowered slightly, not fully uncrossing. "I'm not sure how you feel about us, but..." Neteyam stopped as he looked into your eyes. He still wanted to figure out if you liked him or not. "You were right. We shouldn't get to close since our arrangements are made." He started as he couldn't figure out how you were feeling about the two of you.
"You mean you don't want us falling in love?" You questioned, not wanting to believe what Neteyam had meant. He wanted to make you feel better, but there was no way to do so. "You agree?" He questioned. You looked at him perplexed. Was he suggesting we shut our feelings and emotions off? Your arms dropped to your side. "I take that as a yes? So it is decided." Neteyam stated still studying you. You were silent for a moment. "Yeah, I guess it is." You said as your eyes flickered between Neteyam and the ground. There it was! Neteyam eyes a gotten brighter at the litlle hint your body gave him. It had given him a last sprickle of hope. But before he could say anything, you spoke up. "I should go." You said before turning around and walking away. Neteyam watched you walk away. Ever though he had gotten the hint, there was nothing left to be said. After all, his was for the better.
