Green comes to settle the bet

The day has been more exhausting than you'd expected, physically and emotionally. You thought you would be out of town as soon as the ceremony was over, but you find yourself lingering even after most of your classmates have left. You feel strangely nostalgic, leaning against the back wall of the auditorium and looking up at the stage where you had your first real battle just a few hours ago.

"Feeling nostalgic already?" Green asks from your side, making you jump. You must have been more absorbed in your reminiscence than you thought, because somehow she'd moved less than a meter away from you without your noticing.

After catching your breath, you answer, "Actually, yeah. Kind of weird, huh."

Green chuckles. "For you? Not at all. You've always been a big softy."

You scoff. "Please, I know you well enough to see past that sarcastic tough girl act. You're gonna miss this place too. Why else would you still be here?"

"Maybe," Green admits with a half-grin. Getting a bit more serious, she adds "I do have another reason though. We need to settle our bet."

You've been wondering what Green will ask of you all afternoon, and still have no clue what her wish could be. Too anxious to face her directly, you cast your eyes down and nervously ask, "So, what do you want?"

"I want you to be my boyfriend," she answers matter-of-factly, though you can see her anxiously rubbing her arm.

You couldn't have heard her right. Green is your best friend; she'd never said anything about this before. Looking up, you stupidly ask, "What?"

Green heaves a heavy sigh, then groans in frustration. "Boyfriend. As in we're dating." When you continue to stare, dumbfounded, she takes a step toward you. Grabbing your shirt, she pulls you down and places her surprisingly soft lips on yours. Before you can really start to enjoy the sensation, she pulls away and looks down. With hurt in her voice, she quietly says, "I like you, you idiot."

As soon as you recover from the kiss, you feel like an ass, though you can't pinpoint why. How were you supposed to know, after all? Still, the next words that come out of your mouth are, "Um, sorry. I just never—"

"Never liked me. I get it," she says with another frustrated sigh. Looking up at you with eyes threatening to tear up, she chuckles and continues, "I should really have figured it out after all these years of flirting with you and not getting any response. Look, just let me have my fantasy until we get to Viridian, okay? I did win the bet."