Dee might not be a central character in the story. But she was the central character of her life. And that was an extremely important distinction.
The first semester, Dee and Vy were just classmates. They hadn't spoken more than ten words with each other. The second semester, they were neighbours in the labs. It was the sowing of the seeds of friendship. Dee felt Vy was funny. Vy felt Dee wasn't miserly with her laughs. It was a good foundation to build a relationship upon. The third semester brought them closer. And here they were, a day before the start of the fourth semester.
Dee waited until Vy walked over, and spoke first.
"Where were you?" She asked.
"What do you mean?" He asked in reply.
"What were you busy with all through the holidays?"
"I had things to do. Why?"
"You're really asking why? Are you serious?"
She was seriously angry. And he was seriously confused. There wasn't much in the story about Dee, and his relationship with her. And so, he really didn't have an answer. As such, there was only one thing to do.
"Come," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her along. "Let's talk over noodles. I'm hungry."
She tried putting in a word, bringing him to stop, but he neither allowed her the space to speak nor did he allow her to slow them down. She stopped, seeing that he was different.
"Fine," she grumbled in the end.
And they immediately came to a stop, because they had arrived at the stall. She was incensed again. But seeing him smile so hungrily, she couldn't scream at him. Also, she was feeling a stirring in her stomach from the beautifully tasty aromas.
"Uncle, I'll have spicy noodles. With lots of peppers and chillies and onions," Vy announced genially.
"Alright you brat," Bay answered, with a smile.
Bay couldn't remember if Vy had come before, but since the last couple of weeks, Vy had been a regular. He had at least one meal a day at the stall. And Bay had come to like the exuberant boy who ordered like it was his home rather than a stall. Bay readily liked Vy.
"What will you have my dear," Bay asked, extending the same fondness to Vy's friend.
"Um, I don't know," Dee answered, a little flustered.
Vy gave Bay a look that was saying, help her. Bay blinked in understanding, earning a smile from Vy.
"Do you like shrimps?" Bay offered.
As Dee nodded, Bay continued.
"I just got a fresh batch delivered. Your friend here only ever wants vegetables. So don't share any. I'll make you a small bowl of spicy noodles with shrimps. You look like you like spicy. And you look like you don't eat very much."
Vy burst out laughing. Dee glared at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking. Bay looked confused. Before Dee could stop him, Vy explained himself.
"Look at how small she is. It's surprising enough that there is stomach in there."
Bay couldn't keep from smiling.
"Shut up," Dee scolded Vy. "Ignore him," she told Bay.
"Sure," Bay said, unclear about who he was speaking to.
Dee and Vy sat at a table. And Vy began explaining.
"Stay with me, alright? It might be difficult. Might seem impossible. But this is the truth. I'm not Vy. Well, I am Vy. Just not your Vy. The Vy you know, I mean."
"What are you saying?"
Dee was lost. Vy sighed, and shut his eyes as he framed the words in his head. When ready, he opened his eyes, met Dee's eyes, and spoke slowly.
"I was reading this story. After reading the last chapter, I fell asleep. When I woke, it was morning. And I was in the story. I was Vy."
Dee stared at him like he was an idiot.
"You're the hero, of this story?" She asked, holding back the laugh.
"Well, not exactly," he answered shyly. "I'm the male lead. But I'm a villainous male lead. It's a romance. The good female lead falls in love with me. I'm cold hearted, and I break her heart."
"In the end, she finds her true love."
"Of course. There's no point to a story filled with so much pain and suffering if there isn't a happy ending."
"At least for one character. You called yourself the villainous male lead, so you obviously don't have a happy ending."
"Yeah. True. In the story, I don't."
"It's different now?"
"Well, I'm Vy now. I'm changing the story a little."
"When did this awakening happen?"
"A couple of weeks ago."
"And that is why you forgot."
"Yeah."
Vy looked pleased that Dee understood. She smiled a while, and then scorned.
"Is that the best you can do, even when you've lost your head?"
He swore silently. Uncle Bay's one rule was that all speech inside the stall would be courteous.
"Let's eat," Vy said, as uncle Bay brought over the two bowls of noodles.
Dee snorted in agreement. It was a stupid story. She couldn't believe that Vy wanted her to believe in it. But for some reason, she couldn't discard it. But yeah, the noodles gave her time to sort out her thoughts.