"I hung out with her and her friends, not just her!" Matt stated exasperatedly, unable to take it anymore.
The mere fact that his friends were pairing him up with Violet—while enticing—was so cheesy, it made him want to crawl under a rock.
"E-even then…" Erica started to argue, however, Matt would have no more of it.
After all, he had his trump card with him.
"You guys will take Nate's word for it? Really?"
The moment he said that, his friends fell silent. The determination and conviction that brimmed in their eyes, died out almost instantly too.
Doubt crept in instantly.
"H-hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Nate tried to spark the fire again, but it was too late.
The deed had already been done.
'Nate usually says and does silly things. He may be serious at times, but his silliness makes it easy to discredit anything he says.' Matt grinned evily at his friend.
With enough luck, he could turn this whole narrative around and save himself.
*
*
*
It didn't take him long to clear the misunderstanding, and he also give a vague description of how he spent his time with Violet and her friends.
"We fought a little and watched people play games." He said, stating what was actually the truth, but without the relevant context.
So far, he was succeeding.
Still, he had to be honest with himself. At some point, these bullshit reasons and excuses wouldn't quite cut it anymore.
He would have to come clean to his friends—at the very least, about his relationship with Violet.
'I'll have to define what she means to me exactly, and what I mean to her.'
Matt could only sigh inwardly as he joked around with his friends. There was no way they could ever find out about his Chuunibyou identity. It would just be very complicated explaining what exactly he was doing with an obviously Chuuni girl.
"How was class today, though?" Matt asked, happy he was finally able to steer the topic away from Violet, though it seemed Erica still held a keen interest on the topic.
Nadia too.
Still, for the time being, he was safe.
"You missed quite a lot. We're going to be split into groups of three next class, though. You better be there." Nadia, ever the diligent student, gave succinct information.
No one paid as much attention in class as she did, so that was to be expected.
"So, since you and Violet aren't dating, but you're like close friends, sort of. Does that mean I have a shot? Can you put in a few good words for me?" Nate interjected with a somewhat lovestruck expression.
"Would you shut up, Nate? We're talking about something serious here!" Nadia's tone was surprisingly harsh, and that made the boy instantly keep his mouth shut.
It seemed Nadia was teetering on the brink of anger and frustration. Fortunately, Nate didn't manage to push her over.
She continued her explanation, and along with a few more jokes, Matt found himself nearing the end of the call.
"So, we'll see you in the afternoon classes, right?" Erica's bright voice echoed in his ears.
Matt wouldn't call the question surprising, but he had also hoped it wouldn't be asked.
"Actually, no. I won't be coming to classes today, I have some things to take care of." He wasn't comfortable with hiding stuff from his friends, but until he could figure out everything, it would be best if he kept his distance.
At least, for today.
"Oh. Okay, then. I hope you get it sorted. Haha…"
Erica's laugh was a little hollow, and he knew he had somewhat blown her, and the rest of his friends, off. Still, at this point, he didn't think there was anything else he could do.
He just really needed to be alone.
'You guys wouldn't get it.'
After a few more words were exchanged—most of which were somewhat devoid of their usual dynamics—the group call ended.
"Haaa…" Matt surprisingly felt glad the conversation was over.
It gave him enough time to breathe, as well as cringe at the awkward exchange. He cringed at the poorly concocted tale he had told, and he muttered unintelligibly at how badly he had handled the whole exchange.
After mulling the entire incident over for a while, Matt decided to simply free his mind of the many things that occupied it, and have a much needed rest. Yes, that would definitely make everything better.
'Damn it.'
*
*
*
"Alright, Matt, you can do this."
After sleeping, and doing a few other things, Matt felt rejuvenated by evening. He strolled out of his dorms—walking toward a familiar location.
The sight of the fountain brought back memories, and the gentle evening breeze made the atmosphere cool and serene. The place looked exactly as it did the previous day. Except, no Link this time.
Matt's eyes also spotted another difference from the previous day. He saw a girl seated on a bench, tapping on her phone as she tilted her glasses.
She had light brown hair, and she was very pretty—especially under the glow of the sunset. The winds swept her long hair, and her face was breathtaking.
'She's not wearing her wig?' Matt thought to himself with a smile.
Her hair looked natural, and it accentuated her face and eyes. Unfortunately, he couldn't say the same about the rest of her 'unique' look.
Violet had on an oddly eccentric high school girl's uniform—pink and white in color. He could not even imagine why an adult would ever choose to wear something as bizarre as that on campus grounds.
Especially when they weren't even in high school!
"Haa…" Matt still managed to smile as he drew closer to her.
He got to her in no time.
"Violet, sorry to keep you waiting."
"Haha. It's no problem. I just got here myself." She laughed charmingly.
'She's been here for some time, I'm sure. She probably just heard that line from some anime and wanted to try it out.'
Matt couldn't have known this, but he was actually right. Violet simply wanted to try out that line since she had never had the opportunity to use it before.
That was why she ensured she was at least thirty minutes earlier than their appointed meeting time.
"Well, you're here now. So Matt, what's the matter?" Violet made herself comfortable on the park bench, and she patted the space beside her.
"C'mon, sit."
Matt was relieved that she wasn't talking weirdly anymore. As he suspected, it was all an act—the same as the pink wig fiasco. It does seem like she actually had a poor sense of fashion, though.
'Since Rose is her Big Sis, I can't be too surprised.' He sighed.
"Well, Violet, I was thinking about everything that has happened so far, and I realized that we need to talk."
Matt chose not to sit. Instead, he stood right in front of Violet as he spoke.
He felt tense all over, and his body was practically frozen in place. Staring at Voilet's innocent face made him all the more hesitant to do what he was about to do, but he pushed himself to say it anyway.
"First of all, I want to apologize for everything—how I treated you, and all that happened before now." He could see the surprise in her eyes, and he felt all the more embarrassed.
She probably hadn't taken all the things he said or did back then to heart. Violet was just that pure. However, if he didn't do this, Matt knew he wouldn't be able to move on.
"I'm sorry, Violet."