Chapter 6 - Rose Catches On

"I can tell something's been bothering you." said Rose.

"Is that obvious?" I replied.

"Does it have to do with the new guy?" asked Rose.

"Will you quit it with that already!?" I exclaimed.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Oswin when he approached our desks.

"N-nothing!" I responded.

"So, do you think Nova is cute?" asked Rose.

"Rose!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah." answered Oswin without hesitiation.

"Oswin!" I responded.

"You two should consider going out." suggested Rose.

"I'm... sorry." he said, "I came here to find someone."

"Oh, is it a girl you like?" asked Rose.

"You don't have to be so nosey." I commented.

"Weren't you the one questioning me yesterday?" asked Oswin.

"That's different." I said.

"No, I'm not looking for a girl." said Oswin, "I'm looking for my best friend."

Who became one of the girls in front of you.

"I... see." she said, "That's kinda boring. Unless..."

"Hey, don't get any weird ideas." I said.

"You two seem to get along very well." commented Oswin.

"Yeah," said Rose, putting her arm around my shoulder, "we've been best friends since we were kids."

"Must be nice." he said, before leaving.

"Hmm... something seems off about him." commented Rose.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"It's nothing." she said.

For the next few days, Oswin continued his search for the boy named Gabe. The boy who no longer existed. However, he wasn't able to find the person that he was looking for. That was because the person he was looking for couldn't get himself to tell the truth about what happened to him.

"You keep looking towards him during class." said Rose.

"W-what?" I exclaimed.

"So you do like him!" she responded.

"No!" I reacted.

"Then what is it?" she asked, "It's starting to look like he means something to you."

"That's not it." I said, "Don't worry about it."

"You telling me not to worry about it is only going to make me worry." she said.

"Sorry." I replied.

Days later, he just sat in his seat, looking sad. When school was over, Oswin just left without saying a word.

"Why?" I muttered to myself.

"Hmm?" responded Rose.

"What?" I asked.

"You said you used to be a boy, right?" asked Rose.

"Uh, yeah." I said, "What about it?"

"Could it be that Oswin was one of the friends you were talking about?" she asked.

"Why would you ask something like that?" I responded.

"Because I can sense his soul." answered Rose, "It feels like... it doesn't belong here."