Exploring the Gateway

John didn’t expect that to get him another skill. He probably should have, however, because such a natural action in an RPG was usually represented as a skill. It made sense that some of his actions might be translated in the same way. The announcement of the skill wasn’t the only popup either, as he noticed another one appear. One John read distractedly as he was pushed gently out the door by his mother, bag and money placed in his hand.

’Charm? It seems dangerous, changing people’s opinion of me using whatever this is. And I’m sure that genuinely affected mom, but that can’t be possible, right?’ John found himself utterly confused. He looked around, trying to grab onto something familiar, but even the neighborhood surrounding him that he’d seen hundreds of times now seemed foreign to his wandering mind.

Springfield, the city John had lived for his entire life, was split into three major areas. An industrial downtown was on the other side of a large river, but on this side was a mostly residential area. The center of the town, however, was filled with commercial space that was wedged onto the river’s coasts. So when John exited his home, what welcomed him were not urban sights but rows of large houses, all with well cared for lawns, that seemed far more like a true suburb. There was one blemish on that image of suburban wonder. Above the horizon, you could still see the city’s high rises and commercial centres watching over the street from the east, casting strange shadows over the quiet neighborhood.

Unlike his middle-class home, John studied at a school named Ashcroft Academy, which housed most of the young adults in the city who were members of the upper-class. As such, it was mostly a prep school for the rich or the talented. John got in as the latter, though he was never sure that was true. Because of its status, it provided a bus to bring the young adults to it from their homes, which is why Brooke pushed John out the door hastily, hoping he would not miss it.

Luckily, he wasn’t forced to wait long before the bus arrived, as he soon saw the yellow bus stopping in front of him. He got on board and walked down the tightly packed rows of seats to find a place to spend the short trip.

Through the rows of seats, he noticed a few faces he had a history with. Strangely, their names and a weird title were floating above their heads. A couple, Brad and Tiffany, who had been bullying him for years, were sitting in the front row, with the titles <Bitch Queen Cheerleader> and <Asshole Jock>.

Behind them, in one of the many middle rows of the bus sat a face he was much happier to see, although perhaps not a nicer memory. The only girl he had romantic feelings for, Alice, was sitting alone, surrounded by several empty seats. She was looking out the window, as if contemplating some grand question just like John was. It came across to John as odd, but he knew that’s how she almost always looked. The title above her own head was fitting, <The Lonely Healer>. It was somehow just as contemplative and sad as both his own life had seemed. Looking over at her, John remembered the fond memories they shared together. They had been friends for a long time, and their interests and hobbies lined up even from childhood. It was easy for him to fall for her, after all, Alice was not an ugly girl, quite the opposite, John found her amazingly beautiful. Her green eyes and long brown hair lent to her cute face a charm that most would consider attractive, John was sure. That, along with her thin build gave her a shy but pretty look. It was strange that she was just as outcast as he was. But knowing this, his friendship with her didn’t help that, he shook his and held back that regret.

When John walked past the jocks, who sat right next to Tiffany and Brad, they began snickering at him, something that the couple soon joined in as well. After a few more steps, he and Alice briefly made eye contact before she returned to looking at the window. His steps slowing down, he still made his way to a few rows from the back of the bus. In hopes that he would not have to deal with other students. Despite his isolation, he could still see Alice a few rows in front of him.

While he had walked past, John briefly considered sitting down next to Alice instead and attempting to speak to her, but it seemed obvious to him she wouldn’t want that. Their friendship, and their relationship by extent was irreparable, he was sure of that. He did, however, use Observe on her. Perhaps from an innate curiosity or some deeper hope, there was no way to be sure. The popup appeared immediately and he read it as soon as he had sat down.

John and Alice had known each other for a very long time. Their families lived fairly close to each other, so they met in elementary school. Being just two normal nerdy kids, they became friends quickly, and stayed that way for a long time. Until high school, when the two fell for each other, both without the other knowing. They both had their own complexes and fears keeping them from telling each other. Neither of them even believed the other felt the same. What signs were there were missed by both. That was what led them to stop being friends. John couldn’t forgive himself for not telling her. For wasting every opportunity he had to tell her his feelings, and to try for something more between them. Over time, that insecurity bubbled until he could barely talk to her without feeling nothing but self hatred. So they both left their separate ways, neither side saying why they stopped being friends, and neither side trying to change.

That moment, John knew he had a way to change, and as his heart flooded with emotions he had kept at bay for a long time, his next move became clear. What he felt was both a warm sense of relief and something deeper, some base feeling that he could not describe. It was love, love for someone whom he had believed lost. It was the feeling of an opportunity he had wasted. Regret gripped his heart as well, but now he knew he could finally remedy that. For John, the next step was clear. He had to fix what he could at least. Apologize to Alice, and tell her the truth as well, about both of them.

John walked down the rows again, a fire raging in his heart, pushing him forwards as it threatened to burn him alive. Once he reached Alice, the next words he would say would be some of the most important of his life.

“Alice, could we talk? I want to tell you something. I’ve realized what I should have understood three years ago. And more importantly, I finally know I can say what I wanted to say back then,” John started, his voice shaking, unsure and strained by conflicting emotions. He wasn’t ready for this to go worse than he expected, but there was nothing left to lose now. Alice nodded her head meekly in response, but her green eyes glimmered with curiosity.

“I’m sorry, Alice, for never telling you how I felt. That I couldn’t tell you how deeply you mattered to me because I was scared. But now I can, and I think you feel the same way, or at least I hope so. I want to try again, I don’t want my only memory of our relationship to be the hardship we made each other feel. Because neither of us knew how to tell the other how we felt. It’s not going to be easy, and I know I’ve hurt you, even if I didn’t know it at the time. But I want to fix this, to give both of us another chance,” John couldn’t explain how he knew what to say, or how he found the courage to say it, but he did. A few days ago, it seemed impossible, but now it wasn’t. Something in his mind had flipped a switch, and his feelings were pouring out. They were his words, his thoughts, but he never thought he would be able to say them.

“Please, will you help me do that?” John said, his voice had stabilized in a way he couldn’t expect. It was as if nothing but the two of them mattered in this world. Luckily, she felt much the same. If it was any other day, she might have said no, but instead John saw words appear in front of his face.

Charm successful. RP increased by 50.

His heart sank when he saw that, it didn’t surprise him he needed help, but he hoped he was wrong. The next popup, while distracting him for a few moments, was not as negative.

Charm level task completed: Charm leveled up.

That popup hit him like a blow to the head. John had no idea how Charm could activate on its own , and just its influence was bad. He didn’t want to use magic to change other’s minds, he didn’t want to control them, ’maybe a hint of doubt was just enough to use it,’ he thought to himself grimly, but tried to focus on Alice to continue speaking. Before he could say anything, she responded.

“I never knew you felt the same way I did… We both hurt each other, and if you want to try again, I would like to as well,” Alice said, her eyes tearing up a little and her tone shaky. She lunged from her seat to pull John into a hug that told both of them more than their words did.

John felt everything they both wanted to say hit him once. They both regretted how it all happened, he knew that, and now he also knew that they could do differently. His heart was pounding against his chest, threatening to jump out as Alice’s head touched his shoulder. For a few seconds, he just stood there, unable to do anything.

This, John decided, was a promise. He wouldn’t allow himself to do something so stupid again, to have gone years without addressing how he really felt. It was a stroke of luck that he got another chance, but his past told him that might not happen again. As far as he was concerned, that never happened. Such a big jump was hard to handle, and it was all thanks to whatever or whoever gave him these powers. While those two question marks were concerning in themselves, he didn’t care. It didn’t matter to him now.

When he could finally move again, John used Observe on Alice once more, both curious and hopeful that it would change.

His worry soon gave way to the fire in his heart burning brighter, but both were supported by what he saw.

‘She’s going to give me a chance! Just that is more than enough. I’ve missed her so much this whole time, I would have given anything to just talk to her again without all this. And now suddenly I can be with her? It almost feels like a dream. Did I really make this happen? Or was it Charm?’ John thought to himself, it seemed impossible to him that he could do this on his own.

Their hug continued for a while, before they felt the eyes of others on them and they both sat down. Sitting together, they held each other’s hand tightly and talked. Just like they used to, about nothing in particular of importance. Even catching up was much too serious. But they laughed at each other’s jokes, and talked about the stuff they both were still interested in. Only near the end did they start catching up, and they both told each other how tough the last three years had been for them. Neither of them had much success in other social interactions. Somehow, to both of them, that was funny too. Even when they sat in silence they enjoyed each other’s company, and neither wanted this to end. John wanted nothing more than for this short time to last forever.

Then the bus stopped.