Not your ideal bl novel

A difficult choice

"W-Will...our original world. We – we can go back there."

Willow gulped nervously. They...they really forgot about their original world. All the time they were here, they never once missed their parents or friends or anyone from their original world.

It's not that they had no one there. They had loving parents, nice friends. A nice life, nothing lacking. Unlike most characters, they didn't have a tragic home life. They had a stable life and people who really loved them there. This was the very fact which made their decision even more difficult, reminding them of just how many people they would be leaving grieving in their selfishness.

The system looked at their strange actions but didn't think much of it. Having said its mind, it bid farewell before happily fading away.

"Mom...mom must be sad, right?" Adelia was crying as she said, "You were always her favorite."

"And your dad's," tears dripped out of Willow's eyes as he tried to wipe them. "Their son burned in the woods and daughter shot to death on the same day...I can't imagine how that must've been."

"Cindy and Felina must be sad too...and your childhood friend, Elvis. He was so protective of you," Adelia continued, looking into Willow's eyes, "Will...it'll be really selfish to want to stay here, right?"

"...I don't know," Willow didn't have an answer to her questions. "I really don't know, Adel. Why has it suddenly become so hard?"

"It – it was alright a few minutes ago! We were still laughing on the couch; why has it suddenly become like this?!"

"...I – I'm just...it's confusing, Will. What should we do? What is the right choice?"

Willow saw that Adelia was crying more. He knew her state might worsen if they both continued aimlessly like this, and he wiped his eyes, trying to be sensible and give her a sense of security."Don't cry. Everything will be alright," he tried hard to keep his tears in and calm Adelia down. "We'll find a way. Like we always do," he lied to assure Adelia and hopefully his own self that everything would work out.

"...Adel, tell me. What do you really want to do? Stay here...or go back?"

"I don't know. I – I can't leave Louise, dads, and everyone, but...I can't just abandon Mum and Dad like this, right? And just like me, you can't leave Charlie either, right? Right?"

"I –" Willow didn't know what to say. Even without words, his answer was clear as Adelia continued, "Will...can we be selfish, just this once? Stay here?"

"I'm sure Mum would understand, right? It was so happy before. Let's – let's just stay like this. When we just got here, we were so occupied with this and that and forgot all about it. It was good then, right? After all, Dads never made us feel the lack of parents. I miss Mum and Dad, I really do. Even if I miss them...I'll manage. I love Louise, Will. I just – I can't leave her and that's the same way for you with Charlie, right? Can't we just...forget about that? Forget about before, act like we always lived here?" Even she realized how bad she sounded, and honestly, she can't argue. It was very selfish, and she knew it. "I'm such a horrible person, but what can I do? It's...it's just what I feel."

Willow couldn't refute her statement, his own mental state not very different from hers. "I don't know, Adelia...let's just, postpone it. I know ignoring it won't make it go away, but let's just be blind to it for as long as we can, right? Never mention this again, for now. We – we still have 10 points, right?" He tried hard to sound dependable as he said, "Who knows...maybe it'll take a long time to earn that? Maybe – maybe we'll get tired of here by then? Maybe...things will change?"

"Will..." she leaned on his shoulder, tears streaming down her face, "what we're doing...this isn't right."

"...I know, Adel. I know."

"Whatever decision we make...this won't change. And neither will the fact that we both have people we love and cherish, no matter where we are. We – we'll stay single if we had to go, alright?"

"Of course," a tear rolled out of Willow's eyes as he tried to imagine his life without Charlie in it. But no matter how hard he tried, the sunny-faced boy somehow made his way into his thoughts, making it impossible for him to even think of living in a world that doesn't have him.

"We'll never forget them. Love them all our life, okay?"

Willow nodded again. Forget Charlie? Forgetting Charlie was something he won't be able to do even if he tried.

He'll remember him all his life, the memories only death can relieve him from imprinted deep in his mind. Maybe it's for the best, maybe it's not. Honestly, he couldn't care less.

"Will, this is the last time we're talking about this. From tomorrow – let's act like nothing happened. Let's not talk about it until we absolutely have to, right?"

Willow didn't nod, but his silence was enough to serve as an affirmation for Adelia. She continued to lean on his shoulders as she wept, remembering all the people she so easily forgot. She was weeping for their loss, and also for the ones she has with her today, because she knows, she can only have one. Sooner or later, the people of one world will be impossible for them to reach or to ever see again, and something told her, this time was going to come soon, very soon.