December 26, 2023, 08:27 PM
<3
Valiant quickly regretted being so forward. She gave him a clear enough no — or was it a not yet? He couldn't read her smile for what it was and was instead stuck racing through ideas of what it could be. Was she laughing at him? Embarrassed? Flirtatious?
"Of course," he said, his heart thumping unevenly. He had nothing else to say, after that, and the two parted ways without further discussion.
Still, Valiant rejoined their conversation in his mind's eye, replaying it from the start.