"You know, I'm going on a date tonight."
Leaning on the railing of the bed, Lucas looked at his sister, seemingly sound asleep. Although he had already gotten used to it, seeing her in this state nevertheless filled his heart with indescribable pain.
If not for the fact that he had gained better control of these emotions through the years, he could've broken down in front of her at this moment.
It was hard for him to see her like this, it made him lose his main focus, 'I have to go now, but I promise to come back tomorrow.' Lucas closed his eyes, kissed her on the forehead, and left the ward.
He could hardly wait to see Mina walking around again in her healthy and strong body, but he had to work harder for that.
He walked down the white, eerie corridor and noticed his parents talking to a doctor. His mother was biting her nails and her cheeks were red, she was crying. Lucas' father had his arm wrapped around his wife's shoulders, keeping her from falling down on the floor.
Lucas hid behind the wall to eavesdrop on what the doctor was saying. They were far away, so it wasn't very easy for him to hear them, but he could still get some information.
"I'm sorry to say this, but her health isn't improving." The doctor said, slowly shaking his head. "What's more, you guys are late with the hospital bills. At this point, you should consider switching off the life support if you can no longer afford it."
Lucas heard his mother's sobbing voice become louder.
'Tsshh.' Lucas tightened his fists, gritted his teeth, and held his breath to stop the inner scream of wrath that attempted to set itself free through his mouth. 'This stupid health system in this country.' He ran out of the hospital.
*****
He had two part-time jobs, and it still wasn't enough to pay for his sister's treatment. His parents weren't rich, just decent and average families in this country.
They were financially stable until they found out that Lucas's sister had leukaemia, and that was the moment. When everything was turned upside down for him.
He came home and tried to call his workplace to ask for a shift, "Hello, this is Lucas, I was wondering if you needed me today too?" His tone was low.
"Lucas, we told you if we needed you, we'd call you the day before your shift." The woman's voice sounded arrogant.
Lucas's eyes narrowed.
He hung up the phone and lay down on the bed, "Well, I guess there's nothing I can do about it now. I'll just work in the evening, as usual.'
He released a long sigh, raising his hand to cover his eyes. For a few moments, he sank into the abyss of his thoughts, fighting off the desire to scream in anger. 'This little...'
His mind was filled with resentment. Yet, Lucas quickly managed to calm himself down. 'No, nothing good will come from raging. If I let those feelings guide me, I would end up calling that bit8h only to annoy her even more!'
*brr* *brr*
His phone vibrated and he immediately grabbed it to see if his work had texted him, but it wasn't them. It was a reminder of his date for today.
'Oh, Kali,' for some reason he felt more comfortable now, he needed to start preparing, 'first Kali and then my shift, I'm ready.' He nodded and got up.
Lucas sat down on the edge of the bed. He then raised his hands and slapped both of his cheeks at once.
He looked around his room.
Lucas's bedroom walls were plastered all over with posters of various anime and game shows. It was the last reminder of the hobby he was super into, considering all his other decorations had been pawned because of his sister's bills sake.
The fact that someone wanted to go on a date with him in real life made his confidence level as high as his ego online, 'I wonder if we'll kiss?' He slightly bit his cheek and then shook his head.
"No, that's not important for now!"
He had his best friend who knew about his duality, and since he had no other friends he clung to Lucas. Knowing that someone as famous as Kali invited him on a date, he felt an immediate urge to ruin it for him.
"Okay, but don't forget to act cool," Oliver ordered his best friend.
"What is 'cool' in real life?" Lucas was confused.
"You know the things you say online, act the same way in real life with her too. Chicks like that, believe me." Oliver's voice was full of confidence.
He hung up the phone and leaned back in his bed, 'as if, I'd rather just be myself than act the way you suggested it...' He doubted his best friend's advice.
'Being myself in real life should be more than enough...'
He sighed one more time and got up.
It was 2:30 pm, and Lucas was ready to leave his house.
'Okay, whussh.' He inhaled some air. 'Here we go.'
He left his house in simple-looking clothes. It did not show too much that he was stressed preparing for this date but was no less disappointing.
He didn't care much for fashion, his real-life clothes were only those he wore to school. You could choose outfits for your avatar online, which seemed much cooler to him. Real life was exhausting in his eyes, especially style and impressing people.
The warm spring weather was tailor-made for their plans today. Beautiful, pink blossoms fell from the sky, foreshadowing the most fascinating scenario in his mind.
Kali Wilson invited him on a date.
This was more than he had ever dreamed of. In his eyes, she was perfect, Kali was smart and kind, her taste in music was similar to his and she also liked reading mangas.
Every time she would pass by, Lucas couldn't help but watch how Kali's active shape complimented her vibrant eyes and glowing skin.
"Okay, first a café and then we will check out the new comic shop, okay, I can do this.' He gathered his strength.
"Lucas." A soft voice called him from behind.
He looked behind and saw Kali's shiny silver hair falling down her pale shoulder, every girl turned her head to look at her gorgeous blue eyes and impeccable makeup.
When passing by guys focused on the tight curves of her dress.
She was wearing a revealing blue dress that showed her well-endowed bosom. Her curvaceous body was irresistible to Lucas's eyes.
Kali was standing next to the café where they were going to meet. There was nothing special about the place, to be honest, he didn't even like drinking coffee, but they made Kali's favorite drinks.
"He-hey..." An awkward voice came out of his mouth.
It was a great challenge for him to meet people in real life and outside school. Lucas's knees threatened to give out, he forgot the tongue in his mouth when he saw her looking like this outside of school.
'You can do it.' He heaved a short sigh.
"Hey, what's up." He raised his head slowly, trying to greet her.
"Are you alright? You sound like a drug dealer." Kali chuckled as she was surprised at his sudden change in demeanour, he wanted to tease him.
"You know, things..." He sighed.
Kali was very well aware of his sister's situation, and thought that at least the date would help him ease his mind a little.
"I understand." She looked lost. Lucas sounded different to her.
"So, do you want to get that coffee?"
Lucas tried hard to stay himself as much as he could, forgetting his online personality for a while. This was real life and real date.
"Um, I'm not in the mood for coffee right now, but would you like to check out that new comic shop I told you about yesterday?" Kali's voice was still filled with joy.
She didn't want to drink coffee, but she came to meet him anyway. A warmth seeped into his heart. He blushed.
"Sure." His response was quick.
"Yes, let's go, I think." She nodded and avoided eye contact with him.
The comic shop was close by, so they didn't have to walk far. Lucas' eyes roamed, instead of talking to Kali, he focused on the blooming street flowers that had been planted there by the government workers.
Lucas didn't know if he was doing okay or not, since it was his first date ever.
Eventually, they'd reached a dark, gloomy corner. If it was a horror movie, they'd both be stabbed here.
Lucas snapped his eyes open, feeling intimidated. This type of place was making his hair stand out, and he was feeling goosebumps. He had played too many video games to understand that a place like this was a no-go for him.
This comic shop on the corner was nothing special. A dark sign with gold letters hung at the top of the door. The door was black, like any other comic shop, it did not stand out, but one thing he could not understand was why Kali wanted to come there.
"Let's go." She spoke rapidly.
"Yeah, sure." He swallowed and tried to look cool again. 'Why am I acting like this?' he snapped, lowering his head to the opposite side of Kali, the embarrassed feeling haunting him. 'Get a grip!' He ordered himself.
Deep down Lucas felt strange, the only thought running through his mind was to check out the shop and get out of there before someone got killed.
He was not the bravest person, but after playing so many games online, his survival instincts were at their best, 'something is not right here...' He thought.
When they walked inside, the stairs looked shabby and were making a weird squealing sound. This place did not look new at all.
The smell was filled with old, rotten books, it seemed to him as if this shop had been here forever, but Kali claimed it was brand new.
The only thing that looked new in this place were dark red shelves filled with brand-new comics.
Lucas did not like the way the man sitting behind the till looked at Kali. His gaze at her made Lucas feel uncomfortable and awkward. This man looked very suspicious, and he looked like he might hurt Kali or, worse, do some disgusting things to her.
He had heard too many stories about young girls like Kali being kidnapped and sold, and it worried him. There were far better places out there, much safer. He had to come up with a plan to get out of this shop as soon as possible.
He took the first book he saw, it looked like a game and had a strange title: *I will grant your wish* 'What the...,' he thought, deliberately speaking loudly so the guy could hear him.
Kali looked at the book he was holding and responded to Lucas' comment, "I just read a synopsis of this book, it looks fascinating and captivating." Kali forced herself to smile.
"Doesn't he sell anything better?" He put the book back where he took it from. Lucas read too many comics and novels to understand what was good and would suit his taste.
Kali straight away looked at him and panicked.
"Lucas, can you be any nicer?" She whispered as she looked at the man behind the cash register. "Look at the book i'm holding, the title looks intriguing." She tried to change the topic as fast as she could.
Lucas did not want to offend this place, he just wanted to get out of there, and if Kali was uncomfortable, she might want to leave too.
"I could never live in a crazy fantasy world like this," Kali added trying to make small talk.
"These books and games look too old and played too many times,' he closed his eyes and sighed, 'I bet I could easily survive in one of those games he's selling here." He replied to Kali's comment and glanced at the old man, then added, "This place is nothing special, Kali. Let's get out of here."
"Lucas!" She gritted her teeth.
What happened next, neither of them had expected, the man got up from his chair and pulled the black smock off his head. He was an old man, in his sixties. He had long grey hair and a beard.
"If you don't like it, you should leave now." His tone was cold and it sounded aggressive. Hearing the ignorant and arrogant boy's nonsense this old man felt like speaking up.
Lucas didn't want to look like a scared cat in front of his crush, he was antisocial in real life, but never afraid to talk back to disrespect and ignorance.
"Don't tell me you feel offended by my words?" This statement came out of nowhere, and even though he hadn't expected his mouth to act against his will, some part of him felt proud.
"Offended? Child, your arrogance is on another level." The man grinned. "The book you're holding is one of the best-selling - game stories in this store, do you think I would care what a mere child like you is thinking?"
"Of course, you care, look at you getting annoyed." His online persona shone like a diamond at that moment.
Kali was embarrassed, her cheeks were getting redder, and she wanted to leave.
"I'm sorry sir, we're leaving now." She looked at Lucas and furrowed her eyebrows. "Let's go!" She whispered.
"True, this place is nothing special, we should leave." He felt a little joy as some kind of accomplished mission. Kali agreed to leaving.
"Suck, you say? Do you think you could survive in that book even for a moment?" The old man smirked while interpreting words, almost as he did that on purpose. He looked Lucas straight into his eyes and grinned.
"I bet you I'd easily survive there," he replied immediately, without realising it. 'What am I doing?' Lucas' inner thoughts were fighting against him.
"Since you think you're above all, let's test how strong you really are."
The man pulled a huge, wooden staff from his back and began whispering some ancient words Lucas had never heard of.
Within seconds Lucas and Kali were floating in the air. Books and comics swirled around him as he lost control of his vision, his head felt dizzy and his brain felt like it had been squashed.
He closed his eyes and his breathing rate increased. His strength and aggression emerged, for there was nothing to hold on to. He began to get angry.
Lucas felt how fast his heart was pounding as his body twisted in the air and a sudden surge of energy rose when he finally opened his eyes.
"What the..."
***
this story is dropped, not completed. Don't waste your time, thanks.