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Chapter Twenty Three

Lukas James

"WHAT?!"

Quickly, I covered Lyra's mouth with my hand, a finger to my lips as I hissed at her to quiet down. "Shush, Lyra! We aren't even supposed to be awake right now!"

It was around 2:00 in the morning, and I was in Lyra's room, sitting on her beanbag as she was on her bed. The both of us (or technically, more of Lyra) weren't supposed to be awake because of it being a school day tomorrow. I struggled to sleep, and before I knew what was happening, I found myself realizing that the thought of Meredith kept me awake.

But why her?

Of all people, it was her. Maybe it was because she was my first friend. Was it because I was becoming too attached to her? Maybe I was being too delusional.

But when I woke up, staring at the ceiling of my room, Meredith's eyes flashed before me, and I knew I was weirdly attracted to her. But, attracted in what way? Confused and flustered, I went to my twin sister for help, because I was helpless with this topic, and she knew more about it than I did. She woke up, and when I told her, her reaction displayed shock.

"Y-You like Meredith..?" Lyra whispered excitedly, smiling brightly at me as she jumped on her bed.

Blushing, I retorted, "N-No!" Quickly retracting my statement, I peered down at the ground, puzzled. "Er, yes? Maybe? I-I don't know, okay!" I gave her an annoyed look, my hands gripping the beanbag. "That's the whole reason I woke you up in the middle of the night!"

Lyra sat down correctly on her bed, her legs crossed and her hands resting on her lap. "Well, let's start easy to find out, alright?" I nodded. "So, the question is if you like Meredith. Tell me what you think of her. Appearance, personality, weird quirks."

"The first time I saw Meredith.." I mumbled, "..I remember falling out of my chair because of how pretty she was. She wasn't what I expected. A petite, tiny figure of a girl sitting behind a desk, and yet her voice is strong and her words are stronger." Lyra nodded at me, listening intently as I responded to her. "She had a lot of painful issues, but she pulled through them really well. Sometimes, she would break down, but that gave me a sense of her being human."

Lyra smiled lightly at me. "I never knew you had such a soft side, Lukas."

I gave her a little huff, rolling my eyes with a small smile of my own. "Meredith, her personality; I love it. It's pure in a sense where she knows a lot. She knows a lot of things, and some things I didn't expect her to know. Still, there are things she doesn't know, and.. it's really cute." I leaned back in the beanbag, staring up at the ceiling. "Her voice is everything to me. It's so.. elegant. Loving. Innocent. I can't really describe it, but I feel that those words are somewhat there. I just like hearing her talk, because her voice is lovely, and her stories are interesting."

Lyra didn't say anything, waiting for me to continue. She looked a little soft, probably from the fact that I was actually talking to her about something I didn't understand.

"She has her weird quirks," I told her, closing my eyes. "I'm gonna be honest here; I find them all cute." I couldn't help but snicker a little. "It's easy to make her blush. She blushes every time I tease her or call her 'Miss'. Usually, the blushing is accompanied by a series of stutters. I also noticed that she hides her face behind her hair a lot. Especially when she's embarrassed." Opening my eyes, I looked at Lyra with a grin. "Meredith really is one of a kind."

Lyra smiled back. "Now that we know how you see her, I think I already know if or if not. But, just to make sure, I want to know what you think could be stopping you from liking her."

"I-I don't know.." I replied quietly, a little aggravated. "I mean, I know that she's my first friend. For fuck's sake, I'm her first friend! She probably wants to keep it that way, right? At the same time, we live far from each other. I totally wouldn't fall for someone I can't reach."

"It just sounds like you're in denial," Lyra started bluntly. I looked up at her sharply, and she shrugged, her hands up in defense. "I mean, just think about it, Lukas."

I sat in silence.

"The way you describe her is so obviously saying you like her, and yet, what you feel is stopping you is just you being in denial about your feelings," Lyra explained, giving me an irked expression. "You're scared of falling in any sort of romance. It's like a game, Lukas!" My eyes widened at her analogy. She noticed my attention completely on her, and she sighed heavily. "Love is a game, Lukas. You're barely making it past Level One! This isn't a labyrinth, stupid. It's a straight hall with different doors, and you keep opening those doors and refuse to walk forward."

"I refuse to walk forward..." I repeated in a murmur, hanging my head low. She's right. I keep telling myself I can't go there; it's off limits. But I can see the end of the hall. Standing up, Lyra looked up at me, confused. I gave her a smirk, and said, "Well, as a gamer on YouTube with a million subscribers, it's about time I get to Level Two, isn't it?"

Lyra smiled brightly.