Kofi was lying on his bed, thinking about what to do next, that’s when his phone rang.
It was from Jake.
"Hello?"
"Hey, sorry if I am disturbing you, just didn’t know who else to call."
’Hm? Did he ss up again?’
"What’s up, did sothing happen?"
"Apart from the already big disaster? Nothing much, I just... you haven’t been helping much lately, thought maybe you gave up on ."
He sat up, scratching his head, "sorry about that, a lot of things have been happening lately."
"Is it about that Thea girl?"
"How did you-"
"Did you forget? I am the gossip king, I hear everything, pretty cool right?"
’Not what I was thinking but sure, why not.’
He sighed into the phone.
"Yeah, sothing like that. So what else did you hear?"
"Well, I heard you went full-on delinquent mode on Jessica in front of half the school. They’re saying you threatened to find out where she lives. It’s the biggest news of the week. You’re more famous than Tyler now."
’So I’m the new school psycho. That’s just perfect.’
"She had it coming."
"Oh, totally," he agreed, his voice losing its usual frantic edge for a mont. "She’s a real piece of work. What she did to Thea was ssed up. I saw the videos and it was really bad."
’Huh. Maybe he’s not a complete idiot after all.’
"Anyway!" His voice imdiately ramped back up to its normal level of panic. "That’s not why I called! The trip! It’s next week! It’s the perfect chance to get close to her, don’t you think?"
"Hmm, you are actually right, this will be the perfect chance to get you two to bond-"
He cut Kofi off, "Right, so we just have to find a way for us to be alone and then..."
Kofi tuned out, Jake was saying crap again. ’Does he think this is a romance novel or sothing? Did he not learn anything?’
"And then, when the ti is right, I will-"
"Dude," he cut him off cause he was getting lose in his head. "That is a terrible idea, do you really think being alone with her is the best route?"
There was silence for a little, "well, i thought... i don’t know man."
"Sigh, you are helpless, how is soone so good at gossiping, so clueless on how things work."
"Damn, don’t hold back man, go ahead and crush my ego so more."
"Haha, don’t get soft on , you know that’s not what i ant. I am just saying, it will work in your favor if we were all having fun together, it will be easier to talk to her as well."
"All of us?" He asked, his voice full of a cautious confusion. "Like, a group thing?"
"Yeah, a group thing. , you, Nina, Ruby and Thea. We all just... hang out. Go on a hike. Sit by the campfire. Normal trip stuff. It takes all the pressure off. No one is on a date. No one is on a mission. We’re just a bunch of people having fun."
Another long pause. Kofi could practically hear Jake’s brain trying to reboot itself.
"So... the new plan is to have more people around? That seems counterintuitive for a romance mission, Commander."
’Here we go with the commander stuff. Guess I should play along.’
"It’s not a romance mission anymore, Jake. It’s Operation: Don’t Be a Creepy Weirdo. And yes, the plan is to have a group. It’s a buffer. It makes things less awkward. It gives you a chance to talk to her in a low-stakes environnt. Do you understand?"
"...I think so. A low-stakes, non-bread-related environnt. Okay. I can do that. A group thing. It’s like a party, but with more trees."
"Exactly. Now stop overthinking it. Just pack your bags and try not to forget your toothbrush."
"Roger that!"
Kofi hung up and let his phone fall onto the mattress. His head was throbbing. He felt like he had just spent ten minutes as a hostage negotiator, and the hostage was Jake’s own social incompetence.
’I need a break. From everyone.’
He got up from his bed and walked out of his room. The apartnt was quiet. He glanced at Thea’s door. He didn’t know if she was in there, or if she had gone out. He hadn’t asked. He figured she would tell him if she wanted to.
He went to the living room and flopped onto the couch. He picked up his reincarnated as a sword manga and just began reading, it was nice to just relax sotis.
---
"Wait what!? Shut up, you think Jake likes you?"
’Well, I already know that thanks to Kofi.’
Ruby spoke on the other line, "Yeah, I am not fully sure but the way he speaks to compared to other people, its just... i don’t know how to put it in words."
Nina was giggling, she has never had this type of talk with a girl before, it was usually...the past is the past. "And if he did like you, what would you do?"
"...I don’t know, I have never dated anyone and have always told myself I won’t date until I am done with high school but sotis I see couples happy and helping each other, I just think, ’am I missing out?’"
Nina leaned back against her headboard, a small, knowing smile on her face. This was new territory for her. This was what normal girls talked about.
"Well," she said, her voice dropping into a conspiratorial tone. "Missing out isn’t the worst thing. Dating is a lot of work. And boys are a lot of work. Most of them are idiots."
"You think so?"
"I know so. I’ve seen the data. The idiot-to-non-idiot ratio is not great." she paused, a specific, grumpy-owl-faced idiot coming to mind. "But... sotis you find one that’s not a complete disaster. One that’s actually nice to talk to."
There was a quiet mont on the other end of the line.
"Jake is nice to talk to," she admitted, "When he’s not asking about bread, anyway."
Nina burst out laughing.
"He asked you about bread?"
"He did. He has so very strong opinions about carbohydrate tier lists."
"Oh my god, he’s such a nerd. That’s amazing."
"It was... weird," she said, but there was a hint of a laugh in her voice now. "But he’s also really smart. The way he talks about history, and all those docuntaries... he gets really excited about it. It’s kind of... cute."
’Cute? This is going better than I thought.’
"So you think he’s cute," she teased. "This is big news. Front-page stuff."
"I didn’t say that! I just... I don’t know. He’s different from the other guys. He’s not trying to act all cool and tough, he is just being himself."
"And you like that?"
"...Maybe."
Nina grinned. "So what’s the problem? He’s cute, he’s nice, he’s not a jerk. It sounds like a pretty good deal."
"The problem is ," she said with a sigh. "I am still not sure about this stuff, I might need more ti to get to know him better."
"We should all hang out during the school trip, I will ask Kofi about it."
"About Kofi, have you two started, you know, going out yet?"
Nina started stuttering, "w-what are you talking about?"
’Where did that co from? We’re just... friends... He is cute and so sweet...dammit!’
"Co on, Nina, you’re so obvious. The way you look at him in class. And you guys are always together. It’s cute."
Nina’s face felt like it was on fire. She was so flustered she couldn’t even form a coherent denial.
"We’re not— He’s just— It’s not like that!"
It was a pathetic defense, and they both knew it.
"Uh-huh, If you say so. But for the record, I think you guys would be a good couple. He seems nice."
"He’s an idiot," Nina mumbled into her phone, mostly to herself.
"A cute idiot?"
"Shut up!"
She hung up without realizing, her heart pounding like crazy.
’ and Kofi? A couple?’
The thought was... a lot. It was terrifying and exciting and confusing all at once. She buried her face in a pillow, trying to smother the blush that was still burning on her cheeks.
’This is all his fault. The stupid, clueless, nice-guy dumbass.’
A soft knock on her door made her jump.
"Nina? Dinner’s ready."
It was Olica.
’Crap. I can’t let her see like this.’
She burrowed her face deeper into her pillow, a muffled sound of pure panic escaping her lips.
The door opened anyway. Olica poked her head in, her expression one of mild annoyance that quickly morphed into amusent.
"Are you dying? Mom made pasta. You’re going to miss it if you keep trying to suffocate yourself with that pillow."
Nina didn’t move.
"Go away. I’m not hungry."
Olica walked into the room, a smirk already forming on her face. She saw the flushed cheeks, the frantic energy. She was a predator who had just spotted a wounded, emotionally compromised gazelle.
"Let guess," Olica said, leaning against the doorfra. "Boy trouble?"
"It’s not boy trouble!"
"Suuuure. So your face is just naturally the color of a tomato for no reason at all? Did you finally have a conversation with your nerd friend and your brain short-circuited?"
Nina shot up from the pillow, her hair a ss, her face a beacon of flustered indignation.
"He is not a nerd! And my brain is fine!"
"Right," Olica said, her smirk widening. "Well, your fine-brained, tomato-faced self needs to co downstairs for dinner before Mom starts worrying you’ve contracted so rare, blush-inducing fever."
She winked and then disappeared, leaving Nina alone with her racing heart and the lingering, mortifying truth.
She was so, so down bad.
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