(Outdated) The King of Elements

Calm Before the Storm

Don't make this awkward. Don't make this awkward, Dre pleaded with himself as Megumi opened the door. He followed her inside and, for a split second, looked as if he had eaten something sour. The walls were all painted a loud pink, along with the mesh curtain glowing with the sunlight. Posters of anime and video game characters hung around the walls, along with a poster of a rock band perched just above her queen-sized bed. There was a black blanket with pink hearts sprawled over it draped across the bed. "So, what do you think?"

Dre looked around the room for a moment before finally saying, "It's larger than my room but it's very... pink."

"Pink happens to be my favorite color," she said. "Is there a problem with it?"

"Oh, no, no, no." Dre furiously shook his head. "I do want to ask you about the '8-Bit' thing- if that's alright with you," he added.

She sighed deeply as she said, "8-Bit is a name that Joel gave me, since I'm such a short person who also happens to be an avid gamer. Unfortunately, the name stuck, and now it's become a family name."

"Well, look on the bright side. You're not that much shorter than me," he said with a sheepish chuckle.

"I'm one hundred and fifty-three centimeters, and that's only when I have my combat boots on. I'm almost sure that counts as 'short.'" Perplexed, Dre began counting off his fingers, trying to translate her measurements into inches as she slid off her black fingerless gloves, laid them on her dresser, and threw herself on the bed. "I can't believe we have to wait until three o'clock for this big, mysterious secret. Why couldn't daddy just tell us what the secret was?" she groaned, looking up to ceiling as she laid the back of her hands on her forehead.

"Because it wouldn't be a secret?" Dre said, wishing that he didn't the instant the words spewed from his mouth. Luckily for him, Megumi hadn't noticed him say anything. That, or she wasn't paying attention. "Well, it's 10:15 now," he said louder as he looked at his phone. "What are we supposed to do until three?"

"There are some games and junk in the wardrobe over there," she said, pointing to the large wardrobe sitting beside the window.

He walked over to the black wardrobe, swung open the doors, and stared slack-jawed what he saw. A Nintendo Entertainment System, a Sega Genesis, and a Super Nintendo rested on the counters, each in mint condition. "I think I'm in love."

Frick!

"And this isn't even all of my games," she said, raising her head. "Though, I guess that it's easy to fall in love with the classics."

"Ye-yeah. Totally," he stammered before whispering to himself, "Get your head together, Dre."

Megumi appeared beside Dre and pulled open a drawer at the bottom of the wardrobe filled with rows of manga. The intoxicating smell of freshly-picked strawberries clouded his mind for a second. She slid out one that didn't have a cover page and jumped back onto the bed. "Make yourself at home. The games are in the middle drawer," she said as she crossed her legs under her and opened the book.

"W-wait. You mean that we're going to spend the day in here? In your room?" Alone, Dre added in his mind. He dared not to open up that can of worms.

Megumi looked up at him, confused. "Yeah. Did you think that we were gonna spend it listening to our  daddies play their game?"

"To save you from my crippling awkwardness, possibly," he mumbled.

"What?"

"To save you from my crippling quietness, possibly."

"Oh. Don't worry about it. You can tell me all about yourself while you play, if you want."

Dre narrowed his eyes. A beautiful girl invited him to her room and she actually want to know about him? Not even in his sweetest dreams. "Is my dad trying to set us up?"

Megumi furrowed her brows. "Come again?"

"I-I didn't mean hook us up. I mean, like, a platonic set up."

Inclining an eyebrow, Megumi asked, "Why would he do that?"

"Well, do you remember the girl that you saw in the school? The tall one with the cat ears."

"Yeah."

"Well, she was a friend of mine back through elementary school, all the way through high school. Both my mom and my dad loved her like a daughter. Our friendship seemed endless up until a few days before summer break last year. She just suddenly came up to me, crying, and said that we couldn't be friends anymore. She ran away before I could ask what happened."

Placing the comic book down, Megumi asked, "So, you think that your dad is trying to replace her?"

Dre sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair anxiously. "I don't know. I mean, it sucked and all, but I don't think that my dad would try to. It's just that this doesn't really feel real."

Megumi studied him for a moment in silence, her eyes glued to him. Maybe saying all of that wasn't a good idea, considering that he barely even knew her, especially considering how well they were getting along. Maybe he was just destined to drive women away because of his awkwardness. It was probably why Kim didn't want to be friends with him anymore.

After the brutal silence, Megumi finally said, "If you want the truth, daddy just wanted our families to be as close as they were when they were still in school. That, and you remind me of someone from Japan. She was one of the few friends that I had."

She?

Abruptly, Megumi picked up the comic book and started reading again, as if she wasn't talking to Dre. "Wait, is that it? You're not going to explain who she was?"

"In due time, Dre," she said from behind the book.