A few hours had gone by since they got out of the cave. Once the alpha was dead it looked like if there even were any remaining wolves they had run away, as the small group didn’t encounter any. Even though something about that unsettled John, he was determined to put the labors of the day behind him. Since it was only the start of afternoon as well, they were given the rest of the day off.

John knew exactly how to spend it, saying quick goodbyes to the others and running to portal rooms of the HQ. It would be good to take his mind off the missions, and all that happened in the wolf’s Mindscape.

Guild Task completed! Succeeded in eliminating the Alpha and her pack

400 XP awarded.

That popup served as another painful reminder to him of what had happened, ’god… I wish I could have done more for her… I’m going to find out who that did, anybody capable of that is...’ John thought to himself, unable to shake off the feelings of guilt and anger as he walked through the industrial corridors. He tried distracting himself, but the silence of the empty halls was bringing him back to that sinking feeling.

A single thought eventually managed to dispel it, ’I’m going to see Alice again,’ that brought a smile to his face. Even though he still had so many questions, and so many things he wanted to do, they could all wait so he could finally enjoy some free time with her, ’that’s what people usually do, isn’t it?’ he chuckled to himself in his mind, still not understanding how his life had become so different in such a short amount of time. It was surreal in and of itself, and it was time for him to land back in the real world, even for a short while.

A familiar chime appeared with a name on Alice’s phone. It took her a few seconds before she noticed, as she sat at her desk, and another thought told her to ignore it, until the beats of the rock tune which served as her ringtone reached her ears. She knew it was probably important, nobody usually called her, so she up to grab the phone off her bed, where she had thrown it earlier.

’I hope it’s John…’ she thought. It had been two days since she had seen him and she was starting to get worried. After pressing a button, she heard a voice come through.

“Hey, I’m sorry I’ve been gone for a bit, was busy with… That. You know what I mean,” John said, it was good to hear him, but Alice felt conflicted as always about what he hadn’t said, “I got some free time, wondered if you wanted to hang out? After what happened with your mom last time it might not be a good idea to go over there but I want to see you,” his tone showed clear hints of concern.

’Something’s bothering him…’

“I don’t know… I’m so busy with homework,” Alice said, her tone light.

“Huh, you’d rather do homework than spend time with your boyfriend? Alright then,” John returned with a chuckle.

“Come over here already!” Alice commanded, chuckling herself, “I’m not really busy and I have the perfect idea for what we could do. If my mom says anything I’ll talk to her myself,” she reassured John.

“Ok, I’ll be there soon then!” he closed the phone.

’Already? Well, guess I should set up that anime before he gets here,’ Alice had a smile creep onto her face as she planned.

It wasn’t long until John had found himself at the door to Alice’s house. After knocking softly, he was greeted by Hanna, who was wearing a smug but bright expression.

“I wasn’t expecting you back so soon,” she laughed sarcastically.

“It’s been too long, I know…” John said seriously, “Can I come in? I talked to Alice already,” he looked straight at her, still unsure how to approach Hanna after their last encounter.

“She did say you were coming, and I suppose you guys deserve some time together,” she winked to him, “so come on in!” she turned back and started walking towards the living room of the house, “I’ll be in here, to leave you guys alone,” she pointed to the kitchen with a smile, “Alice is in her room upstairs,” she said briefly before disappearing behind the walls hiding the kitchen.

John then headed up the stairs. Each step brought him closer to Alice and brightened his mood, with the memories of all the times he had spent there rushed back to him. Still, the thought of what had happened last time bothered him.

’I should have stayed, I don’t want this to cause us to grow apart…’ he thought to himself, his mind once again drifting into worry. The sounds of creaking stairs and steps from above broke him out of it, and he noticed Alice was heading towards him in dangerous leaps over the stair’s steps. When she saw him looking at her, she increased her speed and before he could blink her arms were around him. She crashed into him with some force, but he managed to stand his ground, and he put his own arms around her as well.

“Two days is not an acceptable amount of time to disappear for, John, especially after what happened last time! At least call me next time, or I promise when you get back here you won’t have a girlfriend anymore,” she said, her tone light and her face bearing a smile, but she was still clearly serious. The moment John opened his mouth to respond, she kissed him instead. Not wanting to break it off too quickly and enjoying the feeling of kissing her again, he let himself fall into it for just a while longer. Alice was the first to break it, what felt like an eternity later.

“So? What do you have to say for yourself?” she said, her tone more serious now.

John wasn’t sure what to say at first, “the important thing is that I’m here now, ok?” he half asked half stated, “I know that wasn’t ok, this is still all new to me, it won’t happen again, I promise,” he said seriously, but laughed to try and lighten the mood.

“Fine, I’ll take you at your word. But from now I’m choosing what we’re doing when we spend time together,” Alice took him by the hand gently and led him up the stairs.

“So what did you want to do?” John asked, avoiding a response.

“Thought it would be nice if we spent some time watching a show I think you’d like… You know, a bit like old times?” she said, smiling knowingly.

“That does sound fun. I need a break from thinking about important stuff, that’s for sure. What show is it?” he knew exactly what she meant, they had spent many nights watching anime and cartoons when they were younger.

“Oh, it’s an anime called Steins;Gate. It’s about time travel. You’ll like it, I’m sure,” she said, but John was barely listening. Too many memories were floating in his mind.

He remembered them sitting down in utter darkness on Alice’s floor, watching Avatar: The Last Airbender on the small screen of her computer. It was as uncomfortable as it sounded, but it somehow made that that much more special. They both loved that show, and he liked it even more exactly because of those memories. It was a long time since they had done something like that, even before they had separated they had stopped sharing the intimacy that perhaps required. But that’s exactly why Alice was suggesting they watch a show now, to prove to both of them that they were past that, John was sure.

“Are you listening to me?” she asked, her tone more serious, as they stood in her room’s door frame.

“Yeah, sorry, I was just distracted.”

“Thinking about old memories?” Alice said, and when his face showed his surprise she continued, “I know that face John,” her tone almost sounded full of regret, “isn’t the important part that we’re here now? You told me that yourself.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but they were not bad memories. Memories of you never are,” he leaned in, intending to kiss her, and she reciprocated once more. This one lasted only for a second, however.

“I’m not saying I don’t enjoy kissing you, but I don’t think that’s all we should do today.”

“Let’s go then,” this time John was the one to lead her in. As he walked in he saw the anime already paused on the tv that was now mounted to the wall across from her bed, just above where her computer sat, “ I suppose we don’t need to sit on the floor anymore,” John smiled.

“Still can if you want,” Alice chuckled in response. John laughed as well, but didn’t respond. Noticing his silence, she sat on the bed and waited for him for a moment before getting more comfortable. She slid back across it slowly, looking at the tv the whole time. John did the same, grabbing Alice's hand along with her attention while moving onto it.

After he had gotten comfortable, he kissed her on the cheek and said, "think you can start it now," he said,now placing his hand across her shoulder and looking at the tv. She had grabbed a remote and a button press later the show had started.

After the first episode finished Alice asked for John’s opinion, and she did so again for the second and third episode.

“They were good, I like the concept of this show, a time travel thriller is always enjoyable and I like the characters so far,” he said, after the third episode. At that point they were just laying there, facing each other.

“What did you think of Kurisu?” she asked casually, her face blushing slightly.

“She reminded me of you, a little,” John paused for a moment, then leaned over to Alice and continued “I liked her,” he kissed her briefly again.

’It’s crazy how different this all is… Even two weeks ago I couldn’t have imagined doing that so easily.’

“Well, I’m glad,” she blushed more and turned away slightly.

“Is that why you showed me this show?” John asked

’That’s cute,’ he thought to himself in a more smug tone than he thought he could manage.

“No!” she protested immediately, “but that is a nice compliment…” she trailed off, not sure how to continue.

John wasn’t sure either, so they just both sat there in silence for a while longer, enjoying each other’s presence. They were still holding hands and soon after they started cuddling almost instinctively. Once both had wrapped their arms around each other and Alice’s head was on John’s chest, the conversation started up again.

“You remember how I told you about Brad sticking his head in a locker?” Alice asked, her voice quiet but more serious in tone.

“Sure, why do you ask?”

“Well, he’s been acting strangely since… Like, he actually stopped someone from getting beat up the other day. I still have no idea how that happened,” John looked down at her completely shocked for a moment.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah,” she raised her head and nodded slowly, “I know how strange it is, but it feels like something’s changed at the school. I’m not sure why.”

’I know why… And that makes it so much worse,’ John’s face showed his feelings clearly.

“Well, at least it’s a good change!” he tried to smile at Alice.

“Yeah, I guess, I just wish you were still there.”

“At times, so do I”