If I Know You

Chapter 12

I just wanted to crawl into the swamp and hide forever.

She loved me. The world's most perfect human loved me, and now she thought that I didn't love her back, all because I was broken and didn't want to do adultish gross things with a beautiful lady like her.

And worse than that, she just accepted it. She didn't even get angry at me. She just thought it was natural that somebody wouldn't want her.

She deserved so much more. She didn't deserve me going home to her.

But still, I wanted her back. I wanted to catch frogs with her forever. I wanted us to have our own angry witch cabin back in Ki, with animals and flowers and fat babies that we could take care of.

And since I was stuck in a dream world, I couldn't go hide under Tory's bed for the rest of my life. I needed to talk to someone, and there was only one place I could go to for that.

Only one annoying fairy that might possibly listen to me.

Thankfully, Jo had made enough of an impression that I only had to talk to one person to figure out where they were staying. People were running around the town, setting up for the celebration to welcome the newest arrival. They didn't care about me, and that was exactly how I liked it. I wasn't as charismatic and fun as Jo. I wasn't magical. I was just a lump. An invisible, worthless lump.

Sulking and trudging, I slowly moved through the stupid town and ascended what felt like hundreds of stupid stairs and eventually ended up at a stupid dumb door of a stupid building.

I thunked my head against the door instead of knocking.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?" they groaned loudly.

"It's me," I groaned back.

The door flew open immediately afterward, revealing a grinning Jo in a black fluffy robe. Their hair was in shiny perfect waves. "Hey! Oh my god, everyone here is awesome. And ridiculously hot. It's not fair. Come in already."

I stalked in. Their room in this building was bigger than Pippa's entire house. The massive, fluffy bed was pushed against one wall, and on the opposite wall were two doors, one to a kitchen space and the other to a washroom. Next to the head of their bed was a giant desk with a giant mirror and dozens of coloring tools.

"They're pretty advanced here, I gotta say," Jo said. "Didn't even need to summon that much stuff from my room on Earth. But first things first, you snuck off with the pretty lady!" They nudged me with their elbow. "Give me all the deets!"

"I don't have any of those," I said miserably.

I didn't have anything anymore.

"She's so cute. Ugh. You two are going to be just a little puddle of cuteness. I'm planning your wedding as soon as possible. I already have a Pinterest board started."

I walked to their bed, flopped over, and brought my knees up to my chest. They went and sat at the desk, examining themselves in the mirror and rifling through the color things.

How was I supposed to tell them that it didn't work out? That they weren't here for the reason I'd said? That both of us might be trapped here now because I'd blown any chance of anybody ever loving me and made the girl of my dreams?

Even if they fell in love with her, I'd still be stuck here until someone could wake up my body in the real world. And I wasn't going to let them fall in love with her anyway. That plan had been stupid. Pippa was my true love.

Or at least, she had been my true love.

There was no wedding in my future. Only sad, lonely lumpiness for the rest of my life.