Chapter 10: No.10: Flustered Childhood Sweetheart
Mildly frustrated that it hadn’t broken past 50 yet, he sighed in resignation before proceeding to drink from his milkshake as well.
Though not as exaggerated as Summer’s, Bruce also brightened upon experiencing the refreshing sensation of the milkshake.
Savouring the taste for a while, Bruce decided to savour the sight of the beauty opposite him as well, as though fearing everything might suddenly vanish and he’d wake up back in the hospital, back to his bleak and painful life.
’Best not sour the taste with bad memories.’
Deciding not to dwell on any negative thoughts at the moment, he resumed devouring his milkshake while enjoying the cookies and snacks as well.
Glancing back at him, Summer finally decided to ask.
"So, what exactly brought you to this part of the city?"
Pausing slightly, a teasing smirk appearing on her lips, she added.
"Don’t tell me you suddenly heard I was working here and decided to pay me a surprise visit?"
Hearing this, Bruce simply smiled in return as he replied.
"You’d like for that to be the case now, wouldn’t you?"
Casually looking away, she shrugged in reply.
"Maybe. I guess we’ll never know."
Chuckling, she simply munched on a snack before resuming her drink, smiling inwardly as she did.
Having been apart for a while, she hadn’t realized how much she missed just talking and being free to be herself around Bruce.
Without having to worry about etiquette or anything.
Just being her pure and raw self.
Because she knew Bruce had never judged her for it before, nor had he blamed her for not acting like a proper girl.
Noticing the smile that had appeared on Summer’s face, Bruce couldn’t help but smile as well.
Though close from a young age, their relationship hadn’t always been like this.
Based on the memories, Bruce recalled that when Summer had first met the former Bruce when they were younger, she’d been extremely terrified at the sight of him. His body was easily a whole head taller than hers, causing him to appear much bigger and scaring little Summer away at the time.
However, peeking from a distance, she soon realized that young Bruce had simply been trying to return a toy she’d accidentally dropped.
Making her realize that he wasn’t as scary as his appearance portrayed.
Seeing little Summer run from him like everyone else, young Bruce was disheartened.
Dropping the toy on the floor, he turned to leave, realizing he’d unintentionally scared her away as well.
However, before he could, a timid voice suddenly caused him to freeze in place.
"U-umm! Th-thank you. Do you maybe want to play with me?"
Little Summer asked, her voice hesitant at first before managing to finish.
Hearing this, young Bruce turned around to see if there was someone else she was talking to.
But upon realizing there wasn’t, he hesitantly pointed at himself before asking.
"Me?"
Upon seeing her nod in reply, tears welled up in Bruce’s eyes as he furiously nodded in agreement, causing his chubby cheeks to jiggle as he did.
Struggling to hold back the tears now streaming down his face, as no one had ever taken the initiative to ask him to join them before, young Bruce covered his eyes with his elbow, attempting to hide his teary face instead.
Surprised by suddenly seeing a big guy burst into tears, young Summer briefly panicked, worried that she might have said something wrong.
Getting closer, she gently patted his back in an attempt to cheer him up as she said.
"I guess you’re just a bit scary on the outside. But it turns out you’re actually just a big Panda on the inside."
Chuckling after saying this, little Summer continued to pat his back as she quietly consoled him.
Unsure as to what a panda was, young Bruce didn’t reply. Simply sniffling as he tried to stop himself from crying, but failed spectacularly.
This went on for a while, as the two eventually became friends and started growing closer to one another.
Recalling this, Bruce couldn’t help but place a hand over his face as he thought.
’Damn it, bro. You’re bringing a tear to my eye. You might just give me diabetes with all this sugar.’
Shielding himself with his hand, Bruce mused as he massaged his head in an attempt to hold back his second-hand tears.
Noticing Bruce’s sudden behaviour, Summer’s lips curled slightly at the sight.
Thinking he was also suffering from brain freeze upon seeing him massage his head as though trying to endure something, she couldn’t help but smirk to herself.
"That’s what you get for making fun of me."
Pleased by the sight, she adorably looked away in delight.
Having calmed down a bit, Bruce finally regained his composure and settled on a thought.
’I guess it’s best I tell her about Sydney. That way she won’t be surprised when she eventually learns about it from someone else.’
Making up his mind, he decided to tell her, as he concluded that with how close she was to the former Bruce, she’d probably be a bit hurt if she heard about Sydney from someone else first.
Sighing softly, he said,
"Honestly speaking, I recently got dumped by Sydney. Turns out you were right about her. She didn’t waste any time getting rid of me after finding someone bet-"
Before he could complete his sentence, Bruce suddenly saw something that made his heart drop.
49...
48...
47...
46...
44...
At an alarming rate, he noticed Summer’s Affinity Level visibly drop at the mention of Sydney and their breakup.
Lacking sufficient experience interacting with the opposite sex, he’d failed to consider that mentioning Sydney would involuntarily make Summer realize that he most likely wouldn’t have come here at all had he still been with Sydney.
The realization caused Bruce to inwardly curse as he struggled to come up with a way to save himself from his poor people skills.
’Shit!’
Slightly panicking as he saw the value drop closer towards 40, he quickly relied on all his novel knowledge and experience to come up with a solution.
"I guess what I’m trying to say is... I truly am sorry for not believing you in the first place. I know I was a jerk and a complete idiot for doubting you and blaming you when you were simply trying to look out for me. To the point that I ended up pushing away the one person I cared about most for someone else."
Subconsciously glancing at the Affinity Level, he noticed it had frozen at 41.
So he decided to continue, realizing he was doing something right.
"I’m not asking for your forgiveness. I know I don’t deserve it. But I’m hoping we can at least go back to being friends. Because I can’t seem to imagine a world without you in it."
Hearing this, Summer didn’t reply. Simply sipping what remained of her milkshake instead.
Her expression didn’t change much, but Bruce noticed the tips of her ears turn bright red as she avoided eye contact, appearing completely unaffected by his words.
That was all he needed to know that his plan had succeeded.
The notification that followed simply served as confirmation.
[Affinity Level: ...45]
[Affinity Level: ...47]
[Affinity Level: ...49]
[Affinity Level: ...54]
[Congratulations! Host has successfully broken past the halfway point of the Affinity Level with a Bonded Target]
[Every amount spent on the target, Summer Monroe, will automatically generate a x10 Rebate, unless the daily limit is exceeded.]
Seeing this, a triumphant smirk appeared on Bruce’s face as he thought.
’Bingo!’
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