After Noah left, Rey made sure his room looked as presentable as it possibly could for his guest.

The first time Alicia came with those books, Rey had been caught off guard.

His room hadn't been in any major mess, but it wasn't in the best shape either.

Rey remembered he had a pair of his underwear on his bed, and till this day he prayed Alicia didn't notice what it was.

'I managed to cover it with my bedsheets, but I think she already saw it…'

Rey knew he would die of embarrassment if he dwelled on it, so he convinced himself that Alicia didn't know what a guy's underwear was supposed to look like.

It wasn't very believable, but telling it to himself repeatedly seemed to do the trick.

"Alright… I think we're all set!" Rey beamed in satisfaction.

His bed was well-laid, and everything was in perfect order.

You would think he was about to get laid or something.

'No dirty thought, Rey! This is, as always, a reading session!'

Rey didn't particularly mind that Alicia and him never really spoke in the time that they spent together, but recently he was getting increasingly curious.

'I want to know more about her…'

But he also didn't want to ruin the vibe that they already had.

'I don't want her to think I'm trying to hit on her or anything…'

Rey already knew he couldn't compare himself to the caliber of guys that Alicia had dated in the past.

Sure, he had toned up a bit more, and he was in much better shape than before.

But still…

'Even though I can better understand why Billy is so into her… I already gave up on that a long time ago.'

Right now, Rey was content with just being Alicia's friend.

But friends knew a lot about each other, didn't they?

'Maybe I'll ask her some stuff about herself today…'

Just regular stuff, to break the ice.

Rey knew he wasn't the best at conversations, but he had recently gotten a lot of chances to practice his communication skills.

He often spoke to the Monsters, though not many cared to listen to him—not that they could even if they wanted to.

He also actively discussed with Noah, though that was mostly about business.

'In any case, I think I should be able to hold a worthwhile conversation…'

He just had to give it a try.

"J-just in case, I should prepare a list of—!"

Right as Rey decided this out loud, he heard a knock on his door.

"Gahh!"

There was no longer any time to think or prepare questions for Alicia.

'She's here!'

********

Over an hour had passed since Alicia arrived, yet neither had spoken since their first greeting.

The pile of books were scattered on Rey's bed as both of them had what they were reading in hand.

Like the nerds that they were, neither interrupted the other with meaningless things like words or unwarranted stares.

They only focused on the literature in front of them.

'Fuck! Why aren't you saying anything, Rey?!'

Rey was suffering in silence as he couldn't concentrate on what he was reading.

He was trying his best, but he just wasn't able to get into the zone.

It had been minutes since he turned a page of his book, showing precisely his current condition.

'This is about four in the evening. I already had lunch before this, and she probably has already… so what's the issue?'

Why couldn't he concentrate?

After training ended by 2:00 PM, Rey always went back to his room while Alicia probably went to get lunch.

Noah went straight for the Black Market and he made sure to be back within an hour.

They would talk for a little bit before Noah left, and not long after that… Alicia would arrive.

It only happened once, Alicia arriving when Noah was still around, and it was awkward for everyone.

After that day, Noah made sure to arrive earlier, and Alicia came a few minutes later than usual.

It was like an unspoken arrangement.

'I-In any case, I better say something!' Rey could no longer ignore the reason he wasn't feeling like reading.

What he wanted to do right now was talk to Alicia.

Nothing more… nothing less.

'But I can't! She's probably focusing on her book as well!'

Rey's mind automatically forgot the fact that he hadn't heard her flip a single page in minutes as well.

He probably thought she was doing it silently.

'She might hate me… it might ruin the moment… if I interrupt…'

These thoughts shackled Rey for thirty more minutes, but after that he couldn't take it anymore.

If he didn't say anything, Rey felt like he might die.

"H-hey…" For the first time in nearly two hours, Rey turned to look at his study partner.

To his surprise, she was staring at him too!

'H-holy…!'

It was so startling that Rey nearly jumped out of his skin and ascended into the realm above.

Her gaze was subtle, but it was undeniably there.

Before he realized it, they were both staring at each other, with his words wafting through the air.

"Hey…" She finally answered back.

Rey felt his heart racing tremendously.

He felt like it would burst at any moment, and it caused his brain to enter overdrive.

'What should I say next?! What should I do?!'

Killing monsters and fighting opponents seemed far easier than what he was confronted with.

After taking a few seconds, which felt like hours, to think about his response, Rey finally swallowed his saliva and spoke.

"I… noticed you weren't turning your pages anymore. You okay?"

'ARE YOU STUPID, REY?!' He asked himself as he felt the impact of his cringe.

'Why are you asking her that?! You were also not turning any pages, idiot!'

Besides, why would he begin a conversation like that? It felt like he was accusing her for being unserious or something.

'Please don't hate me! I don't know why I asked that!' Rey cried internally as he nearly clutched his chest to rip out his pounding heart.

"Yeah? Well, I also noticed you weren't turning your pages anymore."

Upon hearing those words. Rey swallowed another round of saliva.

"Why is that?"

As Rey stared at her, he noticed she was smiling calmly.

'She isn't nervous? She also doesn't look upset. Maybe… maybe she also wants to talk?'

That thought was enough to calm Rey down a little, enough for him to form coherent words as an answer.

"Well… I was just deep in thought…"

"What were you thinking about?" Alicia didn't even let him breathe before asking a follow-up question.

Rey felt like he was being assailed at this point.

'I asked the first question, you know? Why am I the one being interrogated?'

He couldn't say that, though.

Alicia's bright gem-like eyes were staring at him, and he had to give an answer quickly.

A lot of things filled his mind, but only one thing kept surfacing despite the torrents of images overlapping within him.

In the end, Rey could only blurt it out.

"You."

*

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Thanks for reading!

Rey got that virgin-boy Rizz! What do y'all think?