Game On!

A Confusing Prologue

Someone once told me that girls don't want the hero of the story. They don't want Peter Parker, who had to save the Big Apple and let Gwen die. They don't want Batman, who's already pledged his soul to Gotham. They want Damon Salvatore.

When I first heard that, I stood and pondered my entire moral development up until the age of 16. Why would someone knowingly and willingly choose a bad person to spend the rest of their eternity with? Why did Elena choose Damon? Sure, he was fun, but he did terrible things to everyone around him.

But then, I took a step back and asked myself 'why?' Why did he do all those crappy things? Why do I think he's the bad guy? And then, it hit me. He did everything that he could to protect the people he loved.

Because girls don't want a guy that's going to choose 'the right thing.' As much as she may agree with the logic of saving a city before her, she knows, deep down in her heart, that she wants him to choose her.

Consistency. We want a man that's going to choose us each and every time. 

That's what I thought about while Rasheed walked me back to my dorm after the party ended and a frat bro screamed at everyone in the house to 'get the fuck out if you don't live here!' Well, while he carried me back, I should say. 

"You alright, smallie?" he asked me while lugging me on his back. I hummed and rested my chin on his shoulder. 

The sounds of crickets chirping in the brush nearby and the soft whoosh of cars passing on the freeway created an atmosphere that lulled me further into my thoughts. Once we were almost to my dorm, I asked, "Do you ever wonder if you were the bad guy? Like, you made the wrong choice even if you thought you were doing the right thing?"

The question hung in the air for a moment. Rasheed chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest.

"Why? You think you's some kinda Doofenshmirtz?"

I snorted. "If I'm Doofenshmirtz, you's Baljeet." I could almost see Rasheed's eye roll. He stopped in front of my dorm, gently lowering me.

"I cyah answer if I think you's the bad guy in your situation because I doh know. What I can say is that that fella is a rel ass for letting someone like you go. Based on how quick he move on from you is how you could judge whether or not you make a mistake letting him go."

I glanced up at Rasheed. He gave me a soft smile. Unlike his usual devilish grins, this one was comforting. He ruffled my hair and pushed me to the door. 

"Doh get lost making it back to your room," he called back once he was a few feet away. I watched as he disappeared behind a line of bushes, and it was just me. I breathed out and looked up at the sky. 

The stars twinkled with the same passion they did on the night Shaz and I started dating.

"Where are we even going?" I asked with a giggle in my voice. Shaz's hands covered my eyes while he guided me to wherever we were going. He made me wear a blindfold on his bike while he drove us here, and to make sure I didn't see anything, he also laid his hands on top of the fabric while we walked. 

"You ask too many questions for someone so small. You're a yapper, Nalini Maharaj." 

"But at least my yapping keeps you entertained," I complained. I breathed in and paused. Were we in the middle of a farm? It smelled like grass and dirt. 

Shaz stopped walking, and he uncovered my eyes. "Okay, you can take the blindfold off," he told me. I reached behind my head to unknot the scarf, but he beat me to it. My hands brushed against his, and I felt heat fan my cheeks.