CHAPTER 162: BLURRY FRIENDSHIP LINE (I)

"Do you feel like I’m no longer worthy of being your friend anymore?"

Those were the words, and they paused him in his tracks.

Rosa’s voice was normally bubbly and loud, but this time it was low, and he knew what that signified.

"What made you think that?" he replied.

"Remember back when we were Newcomers...when we used to go on a bike ride every Sunday evening?"

"I understand that you were promoted to the 2nd year. I’m happy for you, for that, and I do understand your packed schedule, but...I still want those times when we ride, even if it’s just twice in a month."

"But you’ve only ever come once when I asked, and during this month and the last, you just... never showed up at all, even though you always said you’ll try."

"And now, I’m just starting to feel like, maybe you don’t like... want me around anymore."

"Rosa, I am just very..."

"Was it us being so close on the bike that you hated? Or did you really mean it when you labelled me as annoying?"

"Is that really what I am to you? Just one annoying girl?"

"No!" Everlearn said.

"It’s none of those things. And hey, why... why are you acting out now? It’s like, "

"Mom told me you’re leaving soon," she said, pausing the steps which he was just about to resume.

"I don’t know why, but what’s important is that she said this might very well be the last time I see you again..."

"That’s..." he said, then paused.

Could he say her mom was lying?

Besides, he wasn’t just leaving soon; he was already on his way, and he hadn’t even told her.

"She’s right, isn’t she?" Rosa’s quiet voice came, mid-thought.

"Rosa, I..."

"It’s fine. I understand. See you around, Everlearn Snowfall..."

She spoke, and the call ended immediately after. Everlearn slipped the phone into his pocket and walked out of the dorm building.

He followed the card’s resonance direction, soon coming before an intersection that made him pause.

Forward was the Newcomer Area, and the side was his exit.

He turned from the card to the Newcomer Area, exhaling lightly for a while before he asked:

"Hey, system, can you help store my bag?"

In the next moment, his bag disappeared, and he continued forward.

It was about 4:00 in the morning, still quite early.

He continued through the Newcomer Area, passing by the class buildings.

It had been more than two months since he had last come here.

Even though the Cafeteria was also in the Newcomer Area, it was more on the periphery between both areas, never this deep in.

Continuing his walk, he soon arrived at the familiar gate of the Newcomer dorm building.

Though the barrier glowed red as he stepped in, signaling he wasn’t a Newcomer, it surprisingly let him pass, and Everlearn felt his X-Guardian Card reverberate in his pocket.

Most likely, it was the one responsible for allowing him entrance.

He stepped into the dorm hall, took the elevator, and arrived at that corridor.

It was quiet, very quiet.

His eyes remained on the pink-coloured door, and he raised his hands, folding them slightly.

He moved to knock but paused, exhaling lightly to calm his beating heart, and he was just about to knock when,

BEEEP!

The familiar beeping of the card sliding against the scanner echoed out, and his hand paused.

The door opened, and right before him was a pink-haired lady with wet eyelashes.

Whether they came from water or tears, he wasn’t sure.

Her pink eyes were dull, but they soon brightened up in disbelief at the sight of him, then dimmed just as fast.

"Go away," she said, and Everlearn rolled his eyes, turning to her hands.

She held a helmet in her hand, suggesting she was most likely planning to go for a ride.

"Where you put my helmet at?" he asked.

"I said go away," she said, reaching to close her door, when a sudden blast of wind whipped her pink hair back and forced her eyes shut.

When she opened them, Everlearn was nowhere to be found, and she searched down the corridor only to hear some rumbling from her room.

She turned and froze when she saw him inside, and through the glass panel, she could see him in her bedroom, his hand reaching for the helmet held in a glass on the wall.

"You! You donkey! You can’t just enter a girl’s room like that?" she squealed as Everlearn raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? You come into my room every time."

He asked, and she was about to respond, but fell lost for words.

"This... this is different."

"Don’t worry, I already got what I want," he said, stepping out with the other helmet, a blue one, in his hands.

It was the one for him.

"I already told you, I’m not interested in riding."

"I found you holding a helmet, though," he said.

"I... I changed my mind?" she said as she stepped out, eyeing her with a "you sure?" eyebrow.

"I’m sure. I don’t wanna go ride anymore," she whispered.

She couldn’t bear to stare at those eyes, and she turned on her feet instead.

"So you want me to carry you, huh?" he said, and she immediately raised her head.

"What are you..."

"Fine," he said, and a sudden gust of air hit her, forcing her to shut her eyes.

When she opened them, her feet were off the ground, and she was in his hands, in a princess carry.

Her face turned into a full pink blush, but before she could say more, he dangled the helmet.

"Here, save yourself," he said with a grin, watching her take the helmet and quickly put it on, zooming the eye side tight to prevent her features from being seen.

The sight of her blush made him smile amusingly.

It was the first time seeing that on her and:

He liked it.