Chapter 22: Chapter 22: That’s right, he was an idiot.
There was no pain, no light, no darkness, only memories.
It was a classroom and Noah was sitting in the back seat, as always.
He didn’t talk much to anyone, not because he hated his classmates, but because he had never been good at making friends.
The bell rang and the students began to leave.
Noah packed his things calmly.
"Hey..."
He lifted his head and in front of him stood a pretty popular girl from his class, someone he only knew by sight.
"Yes?"
The girl seemed nervous, constantly glancing toward the door and fidgeting with her hands.
"Can we talk for a moment?"
Noah was surprised.
"Sure."
The two walked to a quiet hallway where there were a few seconds of silence before the girl took a deep breath.
"I like you."
Noah blinked.
"What?"
"I like you."
She repeated.
"For a while now."
Noah stayed still and his first reaction was to look behind her, because he thought it was a prank, that someone was recording or that her friends would pop out laughing, but there was no one, just the two of them.
The girl smiled nervously.
"Will you go out with me?"
Noah took several seconds to respond.
"Are you serious?"
"Yes."
"It’s not a joke?"
"Of course not."
Noah still couldn’t believe it. He had never considered himself attractive, so he had never thought a girl could like him, much less her.
"I..."
He didn’t know what to say.
The girl smiled.
"You don’t have to answer right now."
"No."
Noah took a deep breath.
"I want to try."
The girl’s smile grew much wider.
"Then..."
"Yes."
She gave a little jump of joy.
"Thank you."
The following months were peaceful.
They went out after school, grabbed food, watched movies, talked about anything, and Noah smiled more than before. Even some classmates started talking to him.
Everything seemed normal.
For the first time in a long while, he felt like he was worth something.
One day Noah returned to the classroom because he had forgotten a notebook.
He heard voices and the door was ajar, so he thought some classmates were still there.
He approached, and then he heard a laugh and his girlfriend’s voice.
"I can’t believe he accepted so fast."
Another girl laughed.
"I told you it would work."
"At first I thought he was going to get suspicious."
"He doesn’t seem very smart."
The laughter continued.
Noah remained motionless as a bad feeling settled over him.
"How much longer until the challenge is over?"
Asked one of the girls.
"Not much..."
His girlfriend answered.
"I can’t wait."
Another laugh.
"Is he that bad?"
"No."
She replied.
"But I never thought someone so ridiculous existed."
Silence filled Noah’s mind.
"When the challenge ends I can stop pretending I like him."
"And to think I almost had to do the same challenge."
Said another girl.
"I can’t imagine having to go out with him for months."
"What are you going to do when the challenge is over?"
"I’ll end the relationship."
"Don’t you feel bad?"
"Why?"
She asked.
"He’s just a guy."
The others laughed again.
"I never thought he’d accept."
"At least it’ll be a really funny story."
"I can’t wait for all this to be over."
Noah slowly let go of the doorknob.
He didn’t make a sound or say anything. He simply walked away, step by step, without looking back.
The next day, the girl looked for him during recess and noticed something was off.
"Are you okay, babe?"
But he kept walking as if she wasn’t there.
"Wait!"
He didn’t answer.
She called him again, but Noah kept walking away.
He didn’t have the strength to talk, nor did he want to hear explanations, and he didn’t want to ask if it was true because he already knew the answer.
The following days were exactly the same.
She tried to approach him several times, but Noah always walked away. He never confronted her and simply disappeared from her life.
Some time later he heard a rumor that the girl had moved away and they never spoke again.
After that, Noah changed.
It wasn’t immediate, but little by little.
He stopped trying to get close to other people and only answered when spoken to.
He decided he would never fall in love or try to have a girlfriend again.
’It’s simpler this way.’
He thought.
’If I’m alone... no one can make fun of me again.’
He got used to a routine.
School, home, part-time job, anime, sleep, and repeat.
It wasn’t a bad life, but it wasn’t particularly good either.
It was just peaceful, without surprises or disappointments.
Anime ended up taking an important place in his life, especially one: "Magical Girls Eternal."
He watched it over and over, not because he wanted to escape reality, but because there was something he truly liked: the relationship between Luna and Yume.
The way they supported each other, protected each other, and stayed together even in the worst moments made Noah smile every time they appeared.
’It would be so nice if something like that existed.’
Not for him, but it simply made him happy to know that, at least in that story, love was real and two people could truly care about each other, even if it was just fiction.
’That’s fine.’
He thought many times.
’It doesn’t have to happen to me. Just knowing it exists somewhere... is enough.’
The memories began to fade and everything fell silent again.
Noah slowly opened his eyes, realizing he was not in a hospital, nor in the city, nor in high school, but in a completely white space.
"Noah."
He recognized that voice immediately.
He turned his head and the goddess stood before him, watching him calmly.
"So you woke up."
Noah remained silent for a few seconds.
"Am I dead?"
The goddess smiled slightly.
"That question can wait."
Noah sighed.
"Then..."
"First I want to show you something."
She raised a hand and an image appeared in front of Noah. It was Yume.
The scene was the moment she was alone after the rejection, in a place where no one was watching her and she had no reason to pretend, yet she was simply crying.
"No..."
She murmured.
"It can’t be."
The tears wouldn’t stop falling.
"What did I do wrong?"
Her voice was barely audible.
The image changed to another memory: Yume training alone until she had no strength left, repeating the same movements over and over, just so she wouldn’t disappoint Noah.
The scene changed again.
Yume choosing gifts for Noah’s mothers, thinking for hours about which would be the best.
Again.
Yume smiling when Noah agreed to let her come to his house.
One more.
Yume worrying when Noah seemed tired.
Another.
Yume gathering courage to confess.
All the scenes continued one after another.
There were no exaggerations, no illusions, no alterations, only sincere feelings, and when they ended, silence returned.
Noah slowly lowered his gaze.
The goddess spoke.
"That is what she truly felt."
Noah didn’t respond.
The goddess took a step toward him.
"Noah."
He slowly lifted his head. The goddess looked him straight in the eyes and asked the first question.
"Are you really trying to save the relationship between Yume and Luna?"
Noah remained silent.
Then came the second, much more direct.
"Or are you trying to prevent someone from loving you...?"
The goddess paused briefly.
"...because you’re afraid of getting hurt again?"
Noah felt his breathing stop and he didn’t answer because, for the first time since he arrived in this world, he wasn’t sure he knew the answer.
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