My Romance Life System-Chapter 72: New Plan

I just nodded, because what else was I supposed to say?

But she must have seen something on my face, because she took a step closer, her own expression a mess of frustration and something else.

"No, you don’t get it," she said, her voice quiet but intense. "It’s not you. I swear, it’s not about you at all."

I just waited.

"It’s all this," she gestured vaguely around us, at the school. "The rumors, the drama, Tyler, Selma... for the past year, my life hasn’t even felt like my own. It’s just been a series of things I was supposed to do, guys I was supposed to like, a person I was supposed to be."

She took a shaky breath, her eyes locked on mine. "Being friends with you, this is the first time in forever that something feels... real. It’s easy. I don’t have to pretend. And I’m just not ready to turn this, us, into something else for people to pick apart and whisper about."

’Oh.’

That made a lot more sense. It wasn’t a rejection. It was self-preservation.

"I just need a break," she finished. "I just need some time to figure out how to be just Nina again, without all the other crap attached."

"Okay," I said, and this time, I actually meant it. "I get it now. For real."

A small, relieved smile touched her lips. "When I’m ready," she said, her voice getting a little stronger. "When all this drama finally dies down and I feel like myself again... we’ll see." frёewebnoѵēl.com

She left it hanging in the air, an unspoken promise that wasn’t a promise at all, and that was okay. It was more than enough.

I grinned, a real, easy grin. "Okay. I can wait."

"Buuut," I said, a grin spreading across my face. "Since we’re just friends for now, that means you won’t get mad if I start asking other girls out, right? Just to, you know, practice my social skills."

she stopped dead, and the relieved, gentle expression on her face vanished, replaced by a look of pure, unadulterated shock. She just stared at me for a second, then her shock morphed into something else.

She let out a laugh.

"You are such a jerk," she playfully shoved my shoulder.

"What? It’s a legitimate question. I have a Romance Experience score of zero, I need to grind some EXP."

She rolled her eyes so hard I was worried they’d get stuck. "Go for it, Casanova. Let me know how that works out for you. I’ll be here to offer terrible advice and laugh when you crash and burn."

The tension from before was completely gone, we were back to normal.

"Speaking of crashing and burning," she bumped her shoulder against mine. "What are you going to do about Jake?"

"I think I will call him later and ask what happened." I looked up at the sky, feeling a terrible weight in my chest, "I think I am not good at this stuff."

"Well, Like i said before, you can’t just force this stuff, humans are unpredictable. You can’t reason your way through them. If Jake wants to get to know Ruby, then he should just act like himself, that way, she can know he is being honest."

"You really think that will work?"

"Worked with us didn’t it? I mean, we just talk about dumb stuff all day and we enjoy ourselves, isn’t that the point?"

I looked at her, thinking about her words. I thought about how they started talking and how he never pretended to be someone he wasn’t, it worked out and now they are friends.

’How did I over look that?’

"I see, that was a big mistake on my part, I will have to apologize to him for that."

It’s like I am getting more wise the more I talk to her, I am truly, truly thankful. If I was given a chance to go back in time, to that day, I will choose the same path.

"You are the best." I smiled widely, because I was truly happy.

"E-eh?"

No way, is she flustered? how cute.

She looked away, her face was bright red. She started playing with her hair, a classic move to hide embarrassment.

"Did I say something wrong?" I teased, knowing full well I hadn’t.

’I did it. I made the great Nina Shoka flustered. This is a legendary achievement.’

"No! You just surprised me, that’s all. Dumbass." She mumbled the last part, still not looking at me.

I just laughed. It was nice seeing this side of her more. We started walking again and Nina still couldn’t look at me. Well, in that case, let me help you out a bit.

A grin was still plastered on my face. "Alright, Co-Commander. Since you’re in charge of strategy now, what’s our first move? How do we de-weirdify Jake?"

She tapped her chin with a finger in mock seriousness. "It’s simple. We just tell him to be a normal human being. Groundbreaking, I know."

"You think he knows how to do that?"

She laughed. "Probably not. But it’s a starting point. We’ll just have him talk to her. About anything. The weather. A class assignment. It doesn’t matter, as long as it’s not a pre-rehearsed line about ancient aliens."

We turned onto her street, the sun starting to dip a little lower in the sky.

She bumped my shoulder with hers.

"Alright. Don’t stay up all night drawing up new battle plans for Jake. Your first one was a complete disaster."

"Hey, it wasn’t a complete disaster. It was a learning experience."

She poked my chest with her finger. "It was a disaster. The new plan is simple: let him be a normal person. If he’s a weirdo, he’s a weirdo. Let Ruby decide if she likes his specific brand of weird. That’s the whole point."

"You’re getting scary good at this. Are you sure you don’t want to be the commander?"

"I’m the brains of this operation. You’re just the guy who talks to grumpy girls and awkward boys. It’s a good partnership." She started walking backward down her street, a grin on her face. "See you tomorrow, Kofi."

"See you."

I watched her go for a second before turning to start my own walk home.

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