Gilbert's POV:
I have one and only friend whose name is Kristoffer. He is the only one who can deal with my moody personality. The first time he introduced himself to me, I just ignored him but he continued to talk to me and tried his best to make me his friend since he knew that I don't have any friends. As time goes by, I became comfortable when I'm with him that's why I accepted his offer to be my friend.
I have one friend when I was young. That childhood friend was Mitch. The last time I saw her was when before she went to France to study. I don't have any contact with her and I don't know how she is doing right now. When Mitch went abroad, I didn't have any friends and I was alone all the time. That is until I met Kristoffer. He's my classmate.
He is always talking about his childhood sweetheart Janna which happens to be one of the Goddesses in our school. I was quite amazed since who will expect that a weirdo like Kristoffer is childhood friends with the three top rankers of Glistening High. As a friend, I want to help him to progress his relationship with her but how am I supposed to do that if I, myself hasn't experienced it before? Who will expect that I will experience this soon enough?
After our morning class, Kristoffer invited me to eat with his childhood friends. At first, I want to decline his invitation because I feel like I will become awkward when I am together with the 3 Goddesses of our school but he looked at me with his 'Puppy eyes' and that forced me to come along with him.
"Hey Gilbert! Come on, hurry up! They're already waiting for us!"
"Ok fine, just give me a minute!"
When I finished what I'm doing, we went to Class 1 together.
"Wait a minute, Gilbert. I'll just call them."
"Yeah, yeah, take your time..."
Kristoffer entered the classroom and I waited outside for a while. After a while, Kristoffer came out of the classroom together with three girls.
"Let's go now, Gilbert!" Kristoffer said loudly.
After we arrived at the canteen, We sat together at the sofa. Well, what can you expect in a prestigious school if not luxury items that are provided for students' contentment? Sofa in a canteen is just to be expected.
While we're eating, we talked about some random stuffs. Then all of a sudden, Kristoffer suddenly said something about self introductions.
"Hey, come to think of it! We still didn't have proper introductions... Then let's start with Gilbert." Kristoffer proposed.
"Um... Hello, my name is Gilbert Silva. Kristoffer's friend in Class 2. It's nice to meet the three of you." I introduced myself with signs of nervousness.
"Nice to meet you too! I think you're already aware about our names but we'll still introduce ourselves properly. My name is Sophia Bailey and I love watching anime and cartoons. By any chance, are you also fond of them?" Sophia grabbed my hands while looking at me with sparkling eyes that looks like she's looking forward to hear a good answer.
"Hey, stop what you're doing right now, Sophia. You're pressuring him. Anyway, I'm Elaine Lancashire." When I heard Elaine's elegant introduction, I felt weird suddenly. It's like my heart beat faster. I don't understand what is this feeling.
"Fiiinnneeee~ I'm so sorry Gilbert. It's just that I'm too excited whenever anime is being mentioned in a conversation." Sophia apologized and let go of my hand.
"So, do you watch anime?" Sophia added.
"Ummm... I..."
"Sophia~!" Elaine reprimanded Sophia once again that made her keep quiet for real. Meanwhile, I am still struggling on the fast heart beat I am feeling.
"And I'm Janna Atkinson." Janna talked softly.
Oh no, I don't know what to do anymore. This beating heart of mine is making me uncomfortable.
I gripped my clothes in the heart part and tried to feel what's happening inside. I was shocked when Kristoffer suddenly patted my shoulder.
"Hey Gilbert, are you ok? What's the matter? Your face looks pale. Are you not feeling well? Do you want to go to the infirmary?" Kristoffer asked worriedly.
"No, I'm fine. It's nothing! I just felt weird suddenly."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
I was looking at Kristoffer when Elaine suddenly touched my forehead softly.
"You don't have any fever so maybe it's just because of the heat. These days, the weather keeps getting hotter after all." Elaine said.
I can feel that my heart is beating faster than it already was. What's happening to me. It's the first time I felt something like this.
"Please excuse Elaine if she was being too rude for suddenly touching you. You know, it's been her dream since childhood to become a caring nurse someday that's why sometimes she feels like she's a real nurse and just do some things without any sense of consideration." Kristoffer said jokingly.
"Hey, Kristoffer! Stop making fun of me!!" Elaine pouted.
"Hahaha." Kristoffer just laughed.
"N-no.. I-i-it's fine. I don't mind." I said to Kristoffer while stuttering.
Kristoffer smiled at me and whispered to my ears...
"I think we have something to talk about later".
He winked at me then he averted his eyes away from me and continued to talk to Sophia. What he just said made me wonder what he is talking about.
After we ate our lunch, Sophia, Elaine and Janna bid goodbye and went ahead to their classroom while Kristoffer pulled my hand aggressively to the mini park inside our school.
"Hey, what are you talking about earlier Kristoffer? I didn't quite got what you mean back there."
"I just wanted to ask you if you felt something weird when you are talking to Elaine?"
"Actually, there is. How did you know? And can you also tell me what was that I am feeling earlier?"
"Hehehehe... It's just that, those reactions that you had showed earlier when you're talking to Elaine is what I have sometimes whenever I'm alone with Janna."
"So what does that mean then?"
"Hmm... To cut it short, it's either called 'Crush 'or 'Love'. Well, those two are kinda different since 'Crush' is more like an affection towards someone while 'Love' is more deeper than the former. About how they are different, I'm really not sure. But I think what I feel towards Janna is 'Love'. And don't even think of asking me about your feelings because you're the one who feels it. So that's all I can say to you, my friend. It all now depends on you whether you interpret your current feelings for Elaine as a simple 'Crush' or romantic 'Love'."
Wait... Does this mean that I'm actually in 'Love' or is this just some simple adoration?