Always next to you

Chapter Twenty-Seven

NICOLE

"Are you back home now?" Halo asked.

"Where else would I be playing BFT?" I laughed.

"At a cafe? At work?"

"Nah, I'm home,"

I was working from home today and I made sure to finish everything before 12 noon, so I had time to chill and play games. That was the decent story.

The raw version is that I couldn't fall asleep because of my nightmares, so I worked until the crack of dawn and Halo called and asked if I wanted to go on a quest together.

I was really happy Halo was still nice to me. He didn't behave like we hadn't spoken to each other in years. However, his gameplay was way better. I could tell how he kept both our levels by himself.

We've been to several quests in the past hour, and we were chatting while playing. At first, I wasn't used to talking and playing, but I got used to it.

"Hey Noir, I need herbs," he called.

I turned my character in the game and transferred some herbs to help his healing. Halo healed up, and we went after the boss of the level. The battle was brutal, but we won.

"Yes!" I exclaimed.

"Should we go for another round?" Halo asked.

"Sure, but we should probably feed our magical beast first. By the way, what's up with your recent battles,"

"After I came back, I started getting a lot of requests. I guess they all think I'm a fake,"

"Ouch! That's my fault,"

"It's ok. Now they can all get a taste of Noir flame,"

"That's why you chose the name, isn't it?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied.

Halo's character followed mine to where we kept our magical beast. They were only cubs when we got them, but they were so grown now. It surprised me that Halo didn't get the mated so we could breed them.

As we played, I suddenly remembered my encounter with Aiden at my door. I don't know what he expected me to say, but his face looked sad when I told him I had a boyfriend.

Why did he look so disappointed? Wasn't he the one that said we should stay friends? My mother's offer to marry him was born out of selfish interest, but it was very tempting. However, I knew Aiden would hate me if I broke up his marriage.

"Why are you so quiet? You're not thinking about your mom, are you?" Halo asked.

"How did you know?"

"You haven't changed that much. You're just a hotter version of the Noir I know,"

"You think I'm hot?"

"You don't?"

"Well, I have a confession to make,"

"Did you fall for me?"

"I lied to someone that you're my boyfriend,"

Halo was silent. I mentally counted the seconds as I waited for him to reply. I know I did something wrong. We only just reunited, and I was using him for something this stupid.

After a few seconds of Halo not replying, I got worried. I was mentally prepared myself to be scolded cause I deserved it.

My phone rang out beside me and I looked to see it was Halo. He was Face Timing me. I answered and his face piped up on the screen.