Argh, she is such a tease! Or she just loves messing with me.

He wasn't sure if Ronel even seriously considered him as a man or if this was just a case of her simply being lonely and fooling around with him for her own amusement. Regardless, even if he hoped for the former, there was something more important – Alt wanted to be there for her in the difficult moment she was going through, and in the last few days he was failing miserably at that.

With the short time allotted for this incursion, Alt didn't bother calling first or even texting her back, instead deciding to hurry outside in the direction of the girls’ dormitory, wanting to speak and reassure her face-to-face. After reaching almost mid-way, he realized in a frenzy that he was still sporting the same martial artist gi that he had worn during the candle exercise. Although he no longer looked like a beggar after the witch cleaned up his outfit while he was passed out, these clothes would still look tremendously out-of-place in the current setting. He was lucky to not have bumped into any familiar faces during his jog, or his bullies would not allowed him to see the end of it.

I am such an idiot... I can't show up looking like this to see her. This was clearly a result of the disturbing messages, which were still flashing across his mind, particularly the suggestive silhouette.

He sprinted back home, despite all the aches stifling his movements which made him feel like he was carrying at least twenty or thirty additional pounds. By his calculations, with all this back and forth, he had wasted nearly half of his allotted time so far. After quickly changing into his best and only real presentable outfit that his mischievous friend had purchased for him during their recent shopping outing (which he right away regretted doing after realizing that he was drenched in sweat from all the running) he rushed outside again, hoping the cheap perfume would do its job.

I just hope she is at home; it would suck if all this is for nothing. With it already being late in the day, chances were that she was, especially since from what he gathered, most of her friends and acquaintances had left for the recess.

He reached the outskirts of the girls’ dorms in record time, ignoring the looks of some rare passers-by that he startled with his frantic running. At the central building where his crush resided, Alt hit the ringer like a boxer until the entrance buzzed, and leaped inside, almost flying up the stairs. He needn't have rushed, since the door he was charging towards didn't budge immediately.

"Give me five minutes!" A startled voice called from the other side.

Alt used the pause to get his breathing under control, and check the time, which left him even more anxious. It wouldn't do to just disappear in the middle of their conversation if the witch summoned him back before he was ready. He pulled up his phone camera, checking his appearance while using it as a mirror. Finally, as the door to her apartment began to budge, he couldn't hide a huge grin. Ronel emerged, with her long hair partially covering the exposed shoulders visible in the summer dress she was wearing. It was quite a contrast from their last meeting when she had graced him with pajamas. As their eyes met, he noticed a hint of make-up emphasizing her features, her lips unnaturally red and her eyelashes curved.

Did she do all that in five minutes or was she going somewhere?

Before he knew it or could ask stupid questions, his body was already enveloping the petite girl in a hug, which after a couple of seconds she reciprocated with a couple of pats on his back.

"So bold... you missed me that much, huh?" she asked.

Dammit, what's gotten into me? I am lucky she didn't slap me...

Alt was mortified at his display of handsiness and wondering where that had come from.

Instead of getting back at her with some witty retort, he spoke the first thing on his mind.

"Yeah. Yes, I did," he blurted out with a deadpan expression on.

Shit, shit! The teen boy chastised himself again. What am I doing? It seemed that his mouth had a mind of its own.

"Oh...?" she gazed at him, unable to hide the surprise in her eyes. She leaned in, taking a closer look at him, and then stepping back.

"Hmm, you look different somehow today...," Ronel said pensively.

"Different? How?"

Alt opened his ears in anticipation, hoping a compliment would follow.

"Yeah... you're all sweaty and nasty. Gross!" she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

Ouch, I shouldn't have skipped the shower before coming. If not for that stupid message... He blushed suddenly, after his eyes inadvertently found their way to her neckline.

The fleeting gesture didn't go unnoticed by Ronel, who mercifully didn't call him on it.

"Where were you, anyways? I called and wrote... after a while, I really thought you decided to ghost me... That's why I had to resort to, you know... desperate measures," she stuttered artificially, feigning a blush and averting his gaze theatrically. Underneath the comedic façade, the teen boy could sense her trying hard to keep sadness at bay.

Alt coughed, clearing his throat, pretending he was oblivious to what she was hinting at.

"Uh... I went on a little road trip... and I forgot my cell at home... I am such a klutz," he said with a nervous laugh.

Goddammit, I had like three days to come up with a good excuse, and this is the best that I got?

Seeing her skeptic look, he tried to divert the topic.

"You seem to be holding together rather well for somebody who just had their life turned upside down."

Way to go Alt, rubbing the salt in her wounds...

"Yeah... I guess I realized not everything is lost, and at least I am not all alone...," she said, playing with her hair. Then, like a lightbulb her eyes lit up.

"Wait, road trip? Where to? And why am I just now hearing about this?" she bombarded him with a barrage of questions.

Alt's mind raced desperately for some sort of convincing explanation that would get her off his back without being a total lie, as he didn't want to be another person in her life deceiving her. Seconds ticked, and he realized that his silence was getting more suspicious by the moment, with the awkwardness following right behind.

Here goes nothing...

"A road trip to a faraway fantasy world, to learn magic from a forest witch so I can protect the Universe from a demon invasion," he blurted out, struggling to keep a straight face while waiting to gauge the girl's reaction.

I didn't just say that out loud, did I? Alt didn't know yet that this was but one from many cringe-worthy memories from this evening that would often come back to haunt him in the future in moments of weakness.

Ronel looked at him like he had grown a second head for several moments, and finally erupted into uncontrollable hysterics.

"So, you're a big-shot hero now, huh? If you are cheating on me, you'd better come up with a more realistic excuse next time," she said, wiping out a tear of laughter.

Altair was relieved to see that she didn't entertain his outburst to possibly have a grain of truth even for an instant. Then his heart skipped a beat, as her words hit him.

Cheating on her?

She pulled him inside his apartment by his shirt and plopped on the couch.

Alt wanted to say something to keep the last thread going, but the words wouldn't come out. He sat down by her side, his mind going in circles. Was it another one of her pranks, or did she actually mean something by it?

"But that doesn't mean I forgive you just yet, mister... you're out there, saving the Universe, yet you completely forgot about me?" she said, continuing to tease him.

"Sorry...," he sheepishly replied. "I actually may need to disappear again soon for a few days."

Now's as good time as ever to cross that bridge.

Ronel raised her eyebrow, clearly impressed by the lengths that he was apparently going to keep up his act. After all, she had always been a step ahead of him in their banter.

"What can I do to make it up to you?" he tentatively asked.

"In this case... show me some cool magic trick. Or you can be my slave for a day," she answered. Seeing a faint smirk come up his face at the mention of the second option, she frowned.

"Actually, scratch that last one. I would just be playing into your hands, anyways."

Wow, I am hitting a new low.

"Magic trick it is then," she said, clapping her hands and beaming like a little girl. "Come on, come on!"

Alt found himself backed into a corner of his own doing. Not only had he just foolishly almost blown his cover, but he also now needed to almost literally pull a rabbit out of a hat to avoid seeing her disappointed expression again. The teen boy remembered his earlier failed attempts at controlling mana in this world, and strongly doubted that his increased prowess was sufficient to overcome the mystical force draining the magical energy. Unlike last time, he now had a secret weapon at his disposal – a very unreliable secret weapon. If he gambled on it, he would likely either do something amazing or make a complete fool of himself.

"Anything for you, milady," he retorted in a purposefully exaggerated tone. "Just give this one a moment to prepare."

Ronel nodded but kept looking at him intently. With their proximity, and their arms almost touching, even beginning to concentrate on his tattoo proved to be a mammoth task.

"Um... can you close your eyes for a bit?" he asked.

"Okay," she agreed, shutting her eyelids.

That lifted the pressure from the teen boy slightly, but rather than jumping into the task right away, he spent a moment too long observing her. When he finally started focusing on the spiral pattern, her soft voice interrupted him.

"You are not going to do something weird to me, right?"

"Hey!" he protested, his concentration ruined. "I’ll try to restrain myself," he said, wondering again when he had gotten so bold with her.

"Don't try too hard...," she whispered, sending shivers down his spine and leading him to shake his head.

Biting his lip, Alt directed the tiny chunks of mana being generated by his two empty mana channels with all his might to the Twin's tattoo. It was exceedingly difficult to keep them inside his core, and the only reason he succeeded was because of the miniscule number of particles at his disposal. He finally managed to get the design to glow momentarily.

Hopefully this will be enough.

With his newly gained control over fire mana, he now sent the petty amount of energy being generated from his core to his index finger. Previously, all the mana would just disperse in a second or too, not giving him the opportunity to even begin to shape it. Alt realized that this whole setup was a lot of risk for very little reward, but the temptation of impressing her kept him moving forward.

There was a decorative scented candle standing on her sofa table. It would be great for dramatic effect to light it from afar, but he highly doubted even the added boost would allow him to resist the mana vacuum for so long. No, his only choice was direct contact. He grabbed the candle and held it in his right hand.

"Alright, you can open your eyes."

After making sure she was watching, Alt proclaimed "Abracadabra!", his index finger connecting to the wick, and after visibly straining for a moment, he managed to ignite it.

I can’t believe it actually worked! Looks like with the tattoo boost I may use very weak magic.

She looked at him first with amazement, then with suspicion.

"What the hell?" she asked, clearly startled to his enormous amusement. "Where is the lighter?"

"That milady, is a secret of the trade."

"That's no fun. Come on, show me. Where did you hide it?" she poked him in his belly. It was painful, but he still enjoyed the physical contact.

I really must be a masochist.

Elated by the success, Alt felt inspired to take things one step further.

"Do you want to see another trick?"

Ronel nodded, reluctance mixed with intrigue.

"Close your eyes again," he instructed.

He placed his left hand on her bare shoulder, with his index finger touching her bra strap, leading her to frown momentarily before turning into a grin. Alt in the meanwhile felt like he was walking on eggshells. So many things could go wrong here – he could either overdo the trick and burn her skin, or awkwardly keep rubbing her without any mystical effect. Complicating the matter further was her intoxicating fragrance, which eventually made him abandon all attempts at logical thought, with him proceeded to gather the puny mana his two channels were producing and trusting his instincts.

Instants later, the bra string was dangling freely. Feeling something was off since the chest support she was wearing had clearly gotten weaker, Ronel opened her eyes. After realizing what just transpired, a genuinely scandalous expression the likes of which he had never seen the petite girl with before dominated her face.

Got you, Altair smugly grinned. Who's laughing now, huh.

"You!" she exclaimed, leaning away from him and covering her exposed shoulder. "What in the world did you just do?"

Riding the high of success, the teen boy kept pushing his luck, not noticing the sudden shift in the mood.

"Well, the picture you sent got me intrigued, and I wanted to take the matter into my own hands to see more," he said, proud at the innuendo, his critical thinking completely shut down by now.

Slowly, after seeing how quiet Ronel had gotten, alarm bells started going off in his head.

He tried to tentatively grab her arm in a reconciling matter, only to have her pull away.

"Do you think I am easy now? Just because I...," she gasped, struggling with the words. "Just because I needed you... "

Argh, things were going so well, why did I have to go and act like a douche...

"No, not at all. I am really sorry, I got carried away. I don't know what's gotten into me," he said, looking down, as they sat in silence, with her sobbing and him not knowing how to make it better. Apparently, the prospect of the arranged marriage was taking an even bigger toll on her than he anticipated.

Slowly, he tested the waters by reaching out to pat her on the shoulder again. Seeing that she was not reacting, he shifted to sit closer to her on the couch. To his surprise, she buried her head in his chest. He pet her soft hair gently, allowing her to cry her heart out, with no need for words.

"Please don't cry. I will be here for you, I promise," the teen boy said while continuing to hold her. As they were in this position, his eyes fell on the vintage cabinet clock, and he immediately regretted his last words. He had completely forgotten that he was on a schedule, and the clock hands indicated that a minute or two were all he had left.

He started panicking, both at the prospect of breaking his promise so soon and at inexplicably disappearing right in front of her. His mind raced for a solution; with each new option he could think of being worse than the previous one. Finally, seeing the clock ticking, he decided that continuing the magical charade act was his only resort.

"To prove how sorry I am, I will show you my grandest performance yet – I will vanish into thin air," he announced.

"What?" she weakly asked, her mind clearly completely elsewhere.

"That's right, I just need a minute or so to gather my mystical powers and then I will let you be."

Ronel looked at him like he was a total fool, but he had no choice other than to keep the ruse going.

"I will need some time afterwards to regain my physical body, but I will come back to see you as soon as possible. Please wait for me."

I am getting better at lying...

Five seconds were remaining, and he pulled her in tighter.

"You really are important to me...," he whispered, unsure if she could still hear him as the room plunged into darkness and he found himself hugging empty air as he was transported at unimaginable speeds across the dimensional tunnel. He could swear he heard her calling "Wait!" after him, but perhaps it was just his imagination.