A Curse of the First

•«CHAPTER TEN»• •«BIRCH...❤️»•

She was. She really was!!! Should he act like he didn't notice or confront her about it? Should he tease her about it? Fir's head was swarming before he decided to pretend nothing happened.

"What? I can't hug my friend on her birthday?" He chuckled, poking her nose again.

"Do I really have a say?" She gigged, crossing her arms.

"I suppose you don't!" He teased. Fir patted her head again but still held her with one arm. Suddenly, somebody knocked on the door. He let go of Birch and opened the door.

Willow was standing there, arms crossed and eyes narrowed. She stomped past him and grabbed Birch's arm.

"Starling and I haven't given you your present yet. And you got a few letters." She added, making Birch frown.

"Bye, Fir!" She called before Willow pulled her out of the room.

"Why do you hang out with Fir? I know yo—" Willow muttered as they headed to the stairs. Unfortunately, Fir couldn't hear the rest of what she said but he could hear Birch chuckling and giggling.

He headed to his bed and realized she had left her sword. Fir grabbed it and rushed to the stairs.

"Birch! You forgot your sword!" He called out. She turned around and smiled before walking over. Taking the sword from him, she nodded and raced after Willow, who hadn't stopped for her.

Fir walked back into his room and stood by his window. It looked like there was already a foot of water on the ground and it was still raining. He was seriously worried.

And he couldn't forget that Birch blushed. Maybe it was just that I was teasing her? B-but... yesterday Willow did say she liked me. Fir sight and buried his head into his palms.

Ugghhhhhhhhh! I just wish I could tell her! I've known her for SIX YEARS! His brain screamed. I-I should write her a note—no. I would rather tell her in person. Or not at all. It would be better to not tell her than to tell her through a note.

Fir was in love with Birch, and it was obvious why. Birch was funny and was usually kind. She was a joy to hang out with and always cheered him up. He would be a fool to not at least have a crush on her.

He didn't really know if anyone else liked Birch, or if Birch liked anyone else. But he was pretty sure they both liked each other. Why was he even thinking about this right now? Maomd was flooding and he was wondering about a crush!

I really need to get my mind off this! Fir thought, gripping his hair harshly. He walked over to his bed and sat down, shaking his head to clear his mind. Pulling out his book, he realized he had a headache.

Page 477. Chapter twenty.

"What?!" Rose cried. "She's a what?!"

Oak sat next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder to try and comfort her. "A-a human." He sighed, pulling her close.

"S-she can't be... I-I would've k-known..." She sighed, tears forming in her eyes. Her head rested on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him.

"None of us knew. Humans have tricked us again!" He scowled.

Mushroom walked over, holding two hot and small bowls of Japapeeno Soup, each one had a makeshift wooden spoon. He handed them both one and looked at Rose sadly. "Are you Ok? Lilac tricked us all."

"Y-Yeah." She lied, wiping her eyes and sitting up straight. Rose took a sip of the soup and felt it go down her throat, warming her up on the cold night. Of course, it also helped that Oak still had an arm around her and was sitting right next to her.

Oak discarded the spoon and held his bowl to his lips, quickly drinking half of it. Mushroom sat on the other side of Rose, looking at how Oak held her close to himself.

A scowl appeared on Mushroom's face as he jealously watched. He ate his own soup, occasionally checking the fire and throwing a stick in.

Rose took another sip of her soup, which was now turning cold. She held it over the fire for a moment before continuing to eat. Oak finished eating and set his bowl down.

Fir stared at the book, his eyes blurring the words. He let out a heavy breath and fell against his bed.

Roak.