"You."

The moment Alicia heard this, her eyes widened in shock.

'W-what is he saying?!'

Alicia was expecting a lot of things, but not this!

Not yet!

'He was thinking about me? That's why he hasn't been focusing on reading?!'

Even though Alicia didn't say anything, she had been glancing at Rey at intervals to see if he was indeed focused on reading.

Or if, like her, he couldn't concentrate.

At first, he was turning the pages, so she assumed he was paying attention.

She didn't want to disturb him with a conversation, or something that would disrupt his focus.

The sole reason she was here, with him, was so they could enjoy the unspoken camaraderie they shared in books.

If she sullied that with pointless conversations just to selfishly while away time, it would be unfair.

Just because she wasn't into the books today, that didn't mean Rey wouldn't be.

However, her thought processes soon changed when Rey stopped flipping his book pages.

'Hm? What's going on?!' She had thought.

Within herself, she had a faint hope that he too wasn't very invested in what he was reading.

She knew it was a terrible thing to wish for, but she had had no choice in the matters of her emotions.

As time passed, she hoped he wouldn't flip the page and regain his momentum.

She hoped he would talk to her instead.

She hoped…

However, nothing happened.

'Should I just talk to him and start the conversation?' Alicia finally thought to herself.

It wouldn't be a big deal to do so.

But, she didn't want Rey to misunderstand her intentions.

'A guy and a girl in a room together… if I start a conversation now, he might think I'm interested in him or something.'

It wasn't like she wasn't interested in him, but Alicia didn't want him thinking she was.

It was a weird state to be in, but as a girl, she knew this was perfectly normal.

'I don't want him to get the wrong idea, though…'

Due to her experience with guys, Alicia had been in a lot of her conversations that took a drastic turn at moments like this.

Things usually went south when a guy thought she was interested in them and to make all the wrong moves.

'I don't want him leaning forward and puckering his lips or anything…'

That just felt… wrong.

Alicia was by no means a prude, and she had lots of experiences kissing and being kissed.

That wasn't the issue at all.

'The issue is when a guy considers a girl's feelings towards them as a license to just go for the kill and score!'

Perhaps some girls were into that sort of thing, but Alicia knew how much it turned her off.

A lot of guys had tried to do stuff like that, and itedes up ruining the chemistry they had going on.

It was also why she didn't like guys like Billy who seemed so fixated on her.

Frankly speaking, it was a little scary.

'I don't want to see you in another light, Rey…'

That was why she was trying her best not to show that she liked him.

But then he had to say he was thinking about her…

'What if he tries to kiss me or something?'

They were the only ones in the room, and the mood was a little awkward, but it wasn't particularly bad.

'I don't think I'm ready for that.'

Other than Alicia's fear that the kiss wouldn't be good, it could end up completely shattering the atmosphere they had built.

She wanted something more intimate in words.

Less action, perhaps?

"I-I mean, I was thinking about you… and how you seem to have changed a lot since we arrived here."

Alicia felt relief settle in her heart, but curiosity also arose.

"I've changed? How…?"

"I-I mean, you used to be so assertive and outspoken. That's why you became our Class Rep…"

Alicia remembered those normal days.

They seemed so far away now.

"Even with Seraph, and when we came here… you were actively involved in stuff…"

Rey went on to explain the 'change' he noticed.

"Now you don't really involve yourself in class politics and other issues. You're just alone and you hardly talk…"

She didn't have friends that she hung around with, and her presence in the group had faded away—almost to the point of obscurity.

The only thing Alicia had going for her right now was her power.

Even her beauty didn't seem to be everyone's main priority—not with Lucielle being the new center of attention for everyone.

"Ahh… I see…" Alicia couldn't help but smile.

This was the first time anyone was talking to her about this. Strangely enough, she didn't mind.

"I guess I just got tired of trying to fit in. Trying to help everyone and sticking my neck out for them…"

It sounded bitchy and selfish, but Alicia didn't feel like Rey was going to judge her for it.

She felt like she could just speak her mind to him.

"I just want to study for my benefit. I want to learn more about this world, and about my abilities. I want to focus on my capabilities, and one day… hopefully find a way to go back home."

Rey's eyes popped open almost as soon as she said this.

"You want to go back?!"

Alicia nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I mean… I have my family, and a bunch of stuff to do back on Earth. I miss my cat, and there are a lot of books I want to catch up on…"

As she said these things, she could see flickers of hesitation in Rey's eyes.

"I also… sort of miss having my smartphone. Don't you…?"

"Not really…"

Rey's response surprised her, and she didn't even try to hide it.

Alicia thought that, of all people, Rey would also want to return home.

Sure, he was an average person back on Earth, but that was much better than this place.

He was surrounded by classmates who had ridiculous abilities, and he was stuck with very weak ones.

It made her slightly curious about his Karma Points and how he ended up with such a terrible skill-set.

'Now that I think about it, a lot of people must hate him back on Earth since his Karma Point must have been extremely low. I can't blame him for not wanting to return…'

"Most of the best things that have happened to me happened here…" Rey finally spoke up.

For some reason, most of the nervousness on his face had vanished.

"Getting a special ability, exploring a different world… meeting you…"

Alicia felt her heart skip a little once she heard that, but she maintained her smile.

"… I don't think I want to go back."

As Rey said this, he closed his eyes and gave a genuinely wide smile.

"I want to remain here!"

'No way…' Alicia's thoughts trailed.

Even with the entire Trial and ostracization that Rey was experiencing, he still preferred this world?

'I can't believe it!'

*

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Thanks for reading!

The more I write these two, the more I root for their ship.

However, as the author, I must remain unbiased.