Present Day

The bell sounded to alert everyone that the end of lunch was over and they had about 15 minutes to make it to their next class. Alan calmly stood up and stretched, giving a deep sigh not too long after.

I was such an innocent dumbass... and somehow I still find myself in the worst situations. Maybe I really should kill Thomas. I'm a minor... maybe my sentence will be light.

As he pondered over the possibility of how he could actually get away with murder, he opened the study room and exited, closing the door behind him to head back into the main area of the library, stopping short as he saw that Daniel was walking around quietly.

"Daniel?" Alan stated, rather confused by his presence.

Hearing his name, Daniel looked over quickly, a very happy smile coming to his face when he caught sight of Alan, walking over towards him.

OMG, don't give me that dorky, giddy smile as you stroll your fine ass over here, you fucking gorgeous man.

"I don't know why, but I had a feeling you would be hiding in here, Moogle." Daniel spoke with a laugh.

"Cause I'm a certified nerd?" Alan joked with a laugh of his own. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was looking for you." Daniel replied, lightly poking Alan on the forehead playfully. "You didn't reply to my text message, so I figured I'd check on you. You doing alright?"

Just... marry me. Be my gay husband already.

A small smile came to Alan's face, nodding to mask the fact that he was mentally and emotionally exhausted. But, Daniel still had the ability to make him feel elated during these periods of stress and sadness. "I'm ok... but, I have a question."

"Sure, Moogle. Shoot." Daniel said, curious.

"You said that... I could have anything for helping you with the curse, right?" Alan asked, a bit nervous.

"That's right! It's part of the deal of the curse, or more so something my family created to thank individuals for sacrificing themselves to help." Daniel confirmed. "Why? You have an idea of what you want?"

Alan listened to Daniel speak carefully, taking the information in as he contemplated what he could do with this opportunity. The thought of getting rid of Thomas actually crossed his mind, but he felt that would just be messy and probably make Daniel view him in a completely different light. What he really wanted was a way of telling Daniel the truth, as that was eating at him the more time passed. But how could he accomplish that? And did he really need to make a deal to do that, when he could just tell Daniel himself?

"I think... I do." Alan stated, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily.

"Ok, what is it?" Daniel asked with a smile, his attention focused on Alan entirely.

He's gonna hate me... he's going to be angry with me... but I have to tell him. I don't... want to keep secrets from him anymore.

"Daniel... I-"

"Excuse me...?"

They both looked over towards the library entrance to see another student standing there, looking rather lost.

"Is... the librarian back yet?" a girl, who was Asian, asked.

"Ah, no, but she should be soon." Alan stated. "Did you... need something?"

"I wanted to rent out a book for class..." the girl stated with a smile, before frowning at him, then pointing at him with surprise. "OH, you're the boy from earlier today!"

Alan blinked in surprise, completely lost on what she was talking about.

"Do... you know her?" Daniel asked Alan, puzzled.

"I..." Alan stated, before he came to the realization himself. "Oh yeah, you're the girl from the hallway!"

She smiled brightly, walking over towards them both. "Did you get to your friend? I know you had to take them some clothes..." she asked, bashfully.

"Oh y-yeah! They're fine now! They have their clothes and such." Alan answered nervously, glancing over to Daniel, only to see him avert his gaze elsewhere, a faint blush on his face.

DON'T BLUSH LIKE THAT! SO DAMN CUTE.

"Oh, that's good to hear! Hopefully they're feeling better." she stated politely, before extending her hand. "I'm Mika Chen, by the way... We didn't really introduce ourselves before you ran off."

"Oh, sorry about that. I'm Alan Wilson." He stated with a polite smile, taking her hand gently. "And this is my friend, Daniel Lang." he spoke, pointing to Daniel.

"Ah, hello! I remember you from earlier, actually." Daniel spoke with a polite smile.

"Oh...." Mika stared back at him carefully, before smiling. "Oh, you're in my homeroom class! Nice to see you again." She stated politely.

"You guys have the same homeroom?" Alan asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she's new. She started today." Daniel proclaimed.

Alan looked back to Mika in shock, just to see her smile. "OH, welcome! Now I feel like an asshole for running into you earlier."

Mika laughed, shaking her head. "It's fine! You were rushing to help your friend, so I understand."

"I mean, yeah... but again, I'm sorry about that. I'll make up for it." Alan offered politely.

"Ah, you really don't have to..." Mika shook her head to decline.

"Let him make up for it. Alan is very polite and friendly." Daniel interjected with a smile of his own.

Alan looked over to Daniel, not sure why he was so eager to help him convince Mika of his gesture.

"Ok... I'll think it over and let you know when I'll take you up on your offer." Mika stated with a smile. The doors to the library opened once again, with the librarian having returned. "Oh, there she is. Let me go and get that book... it was nice to meet you both again." Mika spoke politely, before walking away.

"She's nice." Alan stated with a smile, watching her walk away.

"Yeah... she also likes you." Daniel stated with a smirk.

Alan jumped at the thought of a girl liking him, his entire face red from utter embarrassment. "NO, she doesn't." Alan quickly stated, looking at Daniel in shock.

"OH YEAH... she does." Daniel's smirk grew wider as he spoke. "She couldn't stop smiling the whole time she spoke with you. I could see it all over her face."

The urge to laugh loudly in disbelief was building up within Alan at the audacity of Mika liking him.

She can't fucking like me because BITCH, I'M GAY! Just as GAY as you are, you fucking beautiful dork.

"I'm sure... she was just being friendly..." Alan stated with a bashful chuckle, immediately walking towards the entrance of the library. He glanced over towards Mika as they walked past, only to see her look over towards him, before smiling and giving a polite wave, a light blush on her face as she did so.

"Sure... friendly... Whatever you say, Alan." Daniel teased as they walked out the library.

Alan smiled back nervously and returned the wave, internally screaming as he did so.

Oh fuck me... this shit just got even more complicated.

-

The girl pictured above is Zhao Jiamin, a Chinese singer from a popular female idol group, SNH48. She will be representing Mika Chen, who is the girl that Alan has met several times throughout the story already.

Goodness... I haven't done an author's note in a while. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the story!

Also: THANK YOU FOR THE 6,000 VIEWS and OVER 600 VOTES! I was very shocked to see that milestone, so I sincerely appreciate everyone for reading and voting on this story, as well as the comments and follows! I'm glad that this story is being liked by so many people.