Developing relationships.

We were practically in uncharted territory here, so it was for the best that we discussed it as things developed.

“So? How did it go yesterday?” Sarah asked me.

“Let’s see… Let me start from the beginning. Maria’s plan was to take us bowling.”

“Oh, that sounds fun,” Noelle said.

I nodded. “It was, though I had never played before, so I lost pretty badly.”

“Wait, pause!” Mila said. “You had never gone bowling before?”

“Hm? Well… no.”

“Ugh! You should’ve told us! We used to go all the time!”

“Add that to the list of things to do,” Sarah told Alice, who nodded wordlessly and began to type on her phone.

…

Did… they really have a ‘to do’ list?

“Continue,” Alice told me.

“Well, I got there a bit early, but so did Diana. Add to it that Thomas and Maria were late, so we got to talking on our own for a bit.” Now, how do I say this? “She… might be a bit difficult to deal with at first.”

“Yeah, we kinda figured,” Grace said. “From that brief interaction we had with her, it didn’t seem like she was a fan of people.”

I fervently shook my head. “That’s not it, though. She has social anxiety, just like me. Those cold looks are just how her body reacts under mental stress.”

The girls looked at each other, sharing skeptical looks.

“Really? She didn’t seem like a socially awkward person to me,” Sarah said. “Just cold and angry.”

“And how is that different from how I was?” I asked her. The girls went quiet. “Your reasons are your own, but the fact remains that you gave me a chance… scratch that. You gave me plenty of chances despite how awkward I was, right? And with Diana… All I did was try to be for her what you all are for me, ignoring those unintentional mean looks and strong comments and looking past them to the person beneath.” My lips curled into a smile. “Turns out… she’s really cool. I think you’ll… like her.”

I told them everything. I told them the things we had in common, of how we played in the arcade, of how we ate dinner, of how I admitted to her that there was something supernatural about me and that she didn’t seem totally surprised by it. I told them that Diana’s biggest worry was getting between us, I told them we went to the observation tower, talked some more and then… fooled around in her car.

“Which, by the way, Alice, is a classic, black and white Eight-Six,” I told her. The blonde’s eyes went as wide as I had pictured. “I told her to check your brother’s shop if she needed repairs.”

She giggled. “Silly! Why would you bring up a girlfriend when out with another girl?”

I shrugged. “Because seeing the car reminded me of you, and if she can’t accept that I have you all, then there’s no point, right?” Alice blushed but seemed to like my answer, as did the rest of the girls.

“Look at you, being all manly,” Sarah teased.

“So… You didn’t go all the way and only got to second base, huh?” Grace asked. “I’m a little surprised.”

“Do people still use those baseball metaphors?” Noelle asked her.

“I do, at least,” Grace answered with a chuckle.

“But yeah, I agree with Grace,” Mila said. “I thought it would have either been no intimacy or going all the way.”

“Yeah, it’s hard to stop once he gets you going,” Alice said.

“Well…” I cleared my throat. “We… might have done more, but another couple almost had sex against her car while we were there. Diana still yelled at them to leave and they ran away apologizing.”

“Oh wow, really?” Sarah crossed her arms and smirked.

“Yeah, it was pretty funny, but the mood had changed, so… we decided to meet again tomorrow. At her place.”

Grace nodded. “Depending on how that goes, I think it would be for the best that we met up with her, too. In our situation, it’s better that it’s sooner rather than later.”

“I admit the prospect makes me a little nervous,” Noelle said, “but it’s not something we should put off.”

“Hmm. There’s one thing that worries me,” Alice said. “When it comes to us, even if we can’t hang out every day, we still see each other at school. Diana, however, has a life that’s hard to make coincide with ours.” She turned to me. “What will you do about that?”

I nodded. “I’ve been wondering about that, too, but… It won’t be long before that changes for us as well. We only have a little under half a year before we graduate, remember?”

Mila held her head. “Ugh, I wanted to avoid thinking about that…”

“I mean, there are a few obvious solutions, but it’s still not an easy decision for everyone,” Grace said, eyeing Alice and Sarah in particular.

I swallowed. There was something on my mind in regards to this, but it was still too abstract an idea to put it to words. I just knew that… it would be difficult to continue as we were, regardless if I started seeing Diana or not. Things would change, it was inevitable, and we would have to adapt to it.

“...We still have a few months to decide, don’t we?” Noelle said, smiling wryly. “And as for how to spend our time… I think that’s up to all of us, not just Oliver. We can’t just ask him to make time for us. We have to put in the effort ourselves, too.”

Mila giggled. “Right. Relationships are a team effort, after all.”

Hmm. I agreed with what Noelle said, and it was very close to the idea forming in my head, but still not quite.

“I’ll bring this up to Diana tomorrow,” I told them.

Maria came back just as I said that. She opened the front door and peeked inside. “Sorry. Are you guys…?”

“Yes, we’re done,” Grace said. “Thank you for the time, and we’re sorry for intruding like this. We didn’t mean to be a bother.”

“Please, it’s the least I could do. We need to open the shop now, but you’re welcome to stay for longer if you want.”

The girls shared a look and smiled. “We just might. We still need to kill some time before we need to go to our own jobs,” Alice said.

I stood up and excused myself to go back to work. All the things in my mind, not least of them the anticipation for the next day, made it a painfully slow Saturday.

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