As two options were laid before me where I could either reveal some secrets and tell a few lies to increase my favor with one of the main characters or destroy any bridges that might connect us I was stumped.
It was still too early to have someone as strong and with great potential be an enemy of mine so I didn't necessarily want to hurt Willow but I sure as hell wasn't going to get all buddy-buddy with her.
Therefore I chose a third option.
I let out a sigh before responding to Willow who was impatiently awaiting my answer.
"First of all, I'm not the one who ruined your 'friendship' with Charlotte. You're the one who fell for the rumors and chased after her boyfriend. Second, you say that I messed up your relationship with Elijah when I literally haven't done a thing to get in between your relationship. Third, what does it matter if you keep your winning streak or not? Plus it was Miss Smith and your own fault for not winning."
Laying everything out I meticulously and logically answered all her questions. I didn't try to take the blame and fix any of her problems nor did I put everything on her.
But after hearing my answers it seemed she wasn't satisfied in the least.
"So what if I like Elijah, I never did anything while Charlotte and he were together only afterward. Plus she was the one who broke his heart and that's all your fault for doing something so indecent!"
Hearing her poor excuse of self-preservation I once again truthfully explained what happened to leave no room for misinterpretation.
"There's nothing wrong with liking Elijah but the problem was timing. Only an hour after their breakup you tried to get together with him. Therefore he isn't going to look at you with affection but rather in a form to use you as a way to get back at Charlotte."
"No way! He wouldn't do that!"
"Didn't he already? You said your relationship with him was messed up."
"…"
"Look I don't know what happened between you two and I don't care but if you care for him you should go back to being friends. Comfort him through his breakup, get to know him better, and be his support but don't forget to be affectionate. At some point, he will realize how important you are to him and then you two should start dating for real."
"Are you a matchmaker?"
'This is literally what I wrote for you to do in the original novel.'
"As for what happened between Charlotte and I was nothing. But when someone gets abandoned they tend to latch on to anything they can get a grip of even if it makes everything worse."
By this point, Willow seemed to calm down and just wanted to know the truth.
"Did nothing happen between you two?"
"Nothing."
"Then that means…"
"That means you swiped her boyfriend away when she was innocent."
"Oh, my god…"
"Then before she could even explain herself you manipulate Elijah into dumping her."
"No, that's not…"
"Finally you end it off by bullying her."
"…"
Looking at Willow's defeated expression I knew I accomplished my mission. Now I just had to change her direction away from me.
"But even though you did all those terrible things there's still a way to fix some of your mistakes while still getting what you want."
Looking skeptical yet full of hope Willow asked:
"How?"
"Send this to everyone."
Using my smartwatch I attached a video recording and sent it to Willow.
When she felt a buzz on her wrist she looked down at my message.
"What's this?"
"Proof."
"Proof of what?"
"You'll know when you watch it, just remember to make sure everyone can see it, and as for Elijah, he will just need time."
Walking past Willow I raised my hand to give a farewell before continuing on my way.
Once I finally reached the infirmary my condition had decreased dramatically.
I was shaking uncontrollably, pale as a ghost, and could barely keep my eyes open.
Pushing open the door I trudged into the room and flopped down on the nearest bed I could find.
Someone must have heard my commotion as a few seconds later a nurse came rushing to my aid.
"What happened?"
As she looked over my body her eyes widened in surprise. My clothes were torn all over, scrapes covered my face, and blood stained my chest down to my legs.
It looked like I had gone through hell.
"Love, childish love."
Then I closed my eyes to get some much-needed rest.
A few hours later I awoke to a bright white room with a bunch of wires being attached to me.
I let out a sigh.
'How much time did I lose?'
"You're awake."
Looking toward the voice I saw none other than the golden-haired Charlotte.
She was sitting in a chair a few feet away from the bed but once she saw that I was conscious she made her way over to me.
"I am."
I gave her an acknowledging nod before beginning to tear off all the wires and pulling out all the needles.
"Are you okay?"
Her voice quaked a bit when she asked.
"I'm fine."
I replied simply as I finished pulling off the last wire and sat up.
Just as I was about to get out of bed I heard a snuffle and paused.
'Don't tell me.'
Looking up at the girl she was staring at me with a tear streaming down her face.
'More tears.'
"Wha-"
Before I could even ask what was wrong she threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my back.
Hot tears fell on my shoulder as she buried her head in my neck.
It took me a second to recover but I raised my hand and started rubbing the top of her head in an attempt to calm her down.
"Why are you crying?"
But she didn't answer me as she only kept weeping harder.
A solid five minutes passed before she managed to catch her breath.
After her last year fell I asked again:
"Why are you crying?"
This time it seemed that my words got through to her and she froze.
I wanted to ask another question but before I could she quickly pulled back and glared at me with red puffy eyes.
The feelings she was expressing were quite clear, anger.
'Why are you mad?'
I couldn't even begin to think of a reason but my thoughts were soon stopped and thrown out the window as Charlotte did something completely unexpected.
While still showing anger she pushed herself back towards me but this time she connected our lips.
An explosion of emotion filled my body as her soft lips touched mine yet before I could control myself Charlotte took charge.
Still connecting our lips she pushed me back down on the bed and climbed up on top of me.
Cradling the girl all her weight pressed down on me which caused me to wince in pain and break away from the kiss.
Feeling my body stiffen up Charlotte quickly backed away to sit straight up still on my lap.
"I'm sorry!"
She voiced out quickly, seemingly full of regret.
"No it's fine, it's just my side."
Hearing that I didn't stop because I felt uncomfortable but rather from pain Charlotte's smile returned.
However, after processing what I just said her smile faded away and she began apologizing once again.
"I'm sorry, I forgot!"
"It's okay, you don't have to apologize."
"But-"
She cut herself off.
"Okay."
I smiled back at her and she quickly became red in the face.
Now that some time passed it became awkward.
Charlotte was the first to break the silence.
"I like you."