It looked like picking the spot for their next meeting fell upon his shoulders again. Well, at least the way she made it sound was nice. A mutual relationship where both partners give and take. Still though, maybe the fact that Jeremy picked where they ate completely passed her by, but oh well. At least it didn't have to be pizza this time. His roommate should certainly know the best places to get some food.

Afterwards, Rena slipped a small piece of paper into his hand before leaving. Blinking and somewhat confused, the boy opened it up to reveal Rena's phone number scribbled down onto it. I mean, sure, he had a phone, but it was quite old. Like, numberpad flip-phone old. How he was ever going to text someone on that was a mystery, but he'd figure it out anyway.

"I will. Goodnight," he assured before turning to leave himself.

---

[Hey, let's meet up in the library like usual, I'll be here.]

Jeremy's phone buzzed on his desk; a feature on his new phone that he was all too familiar with by now. He didn't have any other friends who would call or text him regularly, so it meant only one thing: Rena. It had been a month since their chance encounter, and Rena's done everything in her power to try and be a key person in his life. Jeremy still remembers then time Rena freaked out about his old flip-phone; "How do you even LIVE with that?" She persuaded him to get a new one on the spot; not like he needed much persuasion. Now that he had an actual use for texting, it was easier to make the switch despite how slowly he typed on the touch screen.

Jeremy picked it up and quickly responded.

[Okay, I'll be there soon.]

Rena still made a point that talking face-to-face was much better, despite the phone's ease of use. She'd been trying to get him to relax when it came to social situations, and it seemed to be paying off quite well. Despite Rena being his only real friend- he'd gained some acquaintances by hanging out with her- Jeremy felt that he knew her much better and was much easier to deal with.



The boy put on his glasses. While the blushing-when-looked-at Jeremy was gone, there was still obviously room for improvement. He stuttered a fair bit and had trouble talking to people who weren't Rena, and being around people for extended periods of time was tiring, but he had one thing he didn't have before, though: Confidence. Despite all of his shortcomings still present, he at least now had the power to make them not drag his mood down. He wasn't cumbersome to be around anymore, unlike before when he would just look away uncomfortably out of embarrassment and keep to himself.

Jeremy looked at the clock on his phone's lock screen. Saturday, 12:47PM. He had the whole afternoon ahead of him, and it was Rena's turn to pick where they went to hang out. They'd always use the library as a meeting place; somewhere to discuss what they'd be doing for the rest of the day.

"Guess I'd better go," he mumbled to himself, pocketing his phone before leaving his dorm.

---

The library. A familiar place to Jeremy for many reasons. When he first started attending school here, it was his sanctuary. Always coming here with his laptop to get away from his roommate and his dorm, but he's no longer had the need to shy away from him as much. Of course, there'd be times where Jeremy and Rena would pick games from his steam library and play them on his laptop, but it was more often that he was just hanging out with her outright. Again, the Library was more their meeting place now, and Rena was sitting in the spot the two had claimed.

Jeremy walked up to her with a smile and a wave before plopping down next to her. "So, what are you dragging us into today?" he teasingly asked. He learned quickly that making jabs back at her was a good way of staying on her level, but she was still much better at it than he was.

When Jeremy found her Rena didn't reply right away, actually she didn't even acknowledge him at first, instead she was busy on her phone doing... something. Once she found what she was looking for she showed Jeremy the screen, it was a picture or more specifically a screenshot



From behind the smart phone she laughed. "Bethesda... Bethesda never changes..." She was sure no explanation was needed, it was a pretty obvious and even Jeremy would understand. Still chuckling Rena tucked the phone into her front pocket. Speaking about clothes on that day she was wearing a gray hoodie, and a pair of worn jeans; none of that artificial wear and tear mind you, these jeans really had seen some days. Underneath her hoodie was a black t-shirt, and for shoes she was simply wearing blue sneakers.

Rena sighed and stared at the ceiling. "As much as it pains me to say this, I got no idea what to do today." She smirked and dismissively waved a hand. "Yeah, yeah, I know a shocker, but it's getting pretty cold out there, plus I doubt we really have the cash to do any else."

She was lying, sort of, there was somewhere she wanted to go, but in a rare turn of events... she was honestly somewhat embarrassed to make the suggestion. Rena sighed again, she shouldn't let herself be embarrassed, it wasn't like she was a teenager anymore, right? It just seemed childish, hell she was an adult now... it wouldn't be a big deal to ask, yeah... it won't. Rena rolled over in her chair to face Jeremy. "Wanna go to my place?

Jeremy raised an eyebrow when she didn't instantly greet him as per usual, but instantly understood when he looked at her phone. It was hilarious- the many bugs that came from a Bethesda game on release were always hilarious. A lot of their discussions about Skyrim or Fallout turned into glitch-swapping parties, like an elderly nord who glitched through the floor or absurd model stretching. Needless to say, it earned a laugh from him without any further explanation.

"Really? I'm not sure whether to be surprised or impressed," he commented, staring up at the ceiling with her. She did have a point, though. Between Rena's expertise and Douglas's suggestions, the two had been pretty much everywhere on campus and the surrounding shops. It wasn't that they didn't have money, though, he could guarantee that. She was sighing like something was troubling her, which made him worried. Maybe she's finally had enough of him?

Regardless of his suspicions, he truly wasn't expecting the question that followed all of this. Wanna go to my place? Come to think of it, she did live off campus, but... what? Jeremy wasn't completely dense anymore. Was she implying that they...?

No. He wasn't going to allow himself to get flustered in front of her when he wasn't even certain that was it. She outright said she didn't like him like that, but that was a month ago. Still, maybe she just wanted to show him her gaming setup or something stupid like that... Yeah, that seemed a lot more likely, especially since every mention of dating from her was a joke. She couldn't possibly see him in that way if she still joked like that... right?

Jeremy turned to look at her and nodded after looking like he was deep in thought for a few seconds. "Sure, that sounds good to me," he said, giving her a smile.

"Cool... cool. Was all Rena responded with, it really wasn't a big deal as she thought, although she did notice his very slight hesitation, or maybe it was all her imagination? An exaggerated grunt accompanied her as she rose from the chair, she then retrieved a red backpack, this time she actually had her belongings on her. "Come along then, it's not far but we still got a walk ahead of us." She waited until Jeremy was ready to move out before leading the way out of the library.

---

Some thirty minutes later the pair arrived at their destination, as Rena said it wasn't too far distance wise, but navigating the city streets make the trip a good deal longer. Rena's home was unsurprisingly an apartment complex it didn't look much, actually in fact it practically was a glorified motel by appearances alone. There were a total of five floors so certainly it wasn't a small building, unfortunately there wasn't a working elevator, the only one was closed for maintenance at the moment. "We have to use the stairs, but hey you're not too out of shape right?" Rena threw the remark over her shoulder, of course with a smile like always.

Rena climbed up to the third floor, a few times glancing back to make sure Jeremy was keeping up and didn't do something stupid like get lost. It wouldn't be wrong to say she was somewhat feeling anxious, much more than usual, but the reason was pretty obvious really. When they arrived on the right floor the girl continued down the hall, a line of doors were on the left and to the right was nothing more than a safety railing that looked out to the city beyond, the only thing that separated them from the ground far below. Rena stopped when she reached the fourth door, room 304.

"Well... here it is, now a fair warning it isn't much, but yeah it's home." Rena fished the keys out of her hoodie pocket, then obviously unlocked the door and opened it. She wasn't wrong, it really wasn't much; a one bathroom and bedroom is tiny after all. Right away the first thing to note is the "lived in" feel of the apartment, the first room was simply a living room with a couch and TV set with a connected kitchen. While the room wasn't a mess, it really wasn't tidy, books were left scattered all over the couch, days old dirty dishes were left on the kitchen counter, and these were just a few examples. Located in the short entry hall there are doors on both sides, the left goes to the bathroom and the right to the bedroom.

Right away Rena ran to the couch and quickly gathered the books to make room. "Sorry for the mess... heh... this was sort of a spur of the moment thing really, and I haven't cleaned up... like at all." Rena laughed only slightly uncomfortably, being a little embarrassed. She threw her bag down next to the newly made stack of books, then was about to make her way to the kitchen. "Make yourself at home, and all that cliche jazz. I'm gonna get us water."

The trip was to be expected; she did live off-campus after all, and Jeremy still wasn't completely in shape. He certainly was trying, though, but even a long walk such as this still tired him out. Things like this really made him want a car or a bicycle or something, and the stairs leading up to her apartment didn't help either. "Not like I was," he replied back to her with a slight chuckle and smile, pulling his legs up each step.

Rena opened the door after warning it wasn't much. Still, it was probably better than the tiny living space Jeremy had to deal with in the dorms.

Honestly, though, Rena was right. The state of her apartment seemed to be about as carefree as the girl who lived in it at least. Jeremy chuckled, really not sure what else he expected from her as he plopped onto her couch. "Don't worry about it, I'll try not to judge too harshly since this is you we're talking about," he teased. If this would have been a month ago, he would have tried to keep his mouth shut and stay polite around her, but he was sure that Rena would appreciate the joke. She wasn't sensitive like that.

Jeremy did wonder why she brought him here, though. If they wanted to game or something, why not just stay at the library? If they wanted to eat, there were several restaurants around town that were probably better than either of their cooking. Was this a way of her showing him her trust or something? Of course, there was still the possibility that she was up to something else. He didn't entertain that possibility very much because it was still unlikely.

"I hope you didn't bring me over to clean or something," he said with a chuckle, hoping to keep up a lighthearted tone. There was the possibility that she'd actually make him clean due to saying something like that, it was fine with him. The place, while it might have been untidy, wasn't a complete mess. Besides, helping her was something he'd actually want to do anyway.

"Ha ha..." Rena mocked a laugh in response to his comment. "I'd like to see your dorm sometime then, I can't see you being a paragon of cleanliness yourself." She teased back without missing a beat, strange to think a month ago Jeremy would've instantly clammed up rather than try his hand at beating her wit, oh how things change.

Rena threw open the center most cabinet, due to the unfortunate circumstance of how high the cabinet was installed she had to stand on her very tippy-toes to reach the top shelf; that's where the glasses were stored. For probably the hundredth time Rena questioned why she kept them way up there... especially now where she had to embarrass herself in front of Jeremy of all people. Once she had the glasses in hand, Rena went along as if nothing happened, least of all wanting Jeremy to comment on her height or something... she really wasn't even short.

"Hey, ice or no ice?" She asked him, now she wanted ice but she wasn't quite sure on his ice-drink preferences. Despite whatever response was given she still went over to the freezer to scoop the ice for herself, and Jeremy provided he wanted some. The water she filled their glasses with came straight from the sink, he'll have to deal with the tap water.

Now with their drinks ready, Rena rushed back to the couch to hand Jeremy his before taking her place next to him. At this point she was sort of lost what to say next, she invited him over, but it's not like she had a motive, did she even need one? If anything Rena was beginning to feel nervous again, seriously why did she invite him here again? "So... uh... what do you think of the place... I guess?

Was that all she can manage? Some small talk? With Jeremy?

Rena's comment to him instantly made him laugh. "I might not be, but Douglas is, and he'd kill me if the dorm wasn't spotless," he admitted with embarrassment. There have been more than a few confrontations with his roommate about leaving dishes out and the like, but it's overall helped him keep a relatively tidy dorm.

Jeremy watched in amusement as Rena struggled to secure a glass from the cabinets that were clearly too high for her. She was the type who would get worked up if her height was commented on, so he kept those thoughts to himself, but maybe it'd just be wiser for her to get a tiny stool she could stand on? She wasn't even that short, so it didn't have to be huge like a stepladder or something. "Either is fine, it's just water," he answered, looking forward to a good drink. He didn't even care if she got water from the tap; those stairs made him thirsty.

Rena hurried back with their drinks and sat next to him. Jeremy instantly took his glass and sipped from it. It wasn't the best water in the world, but hey, water was water, and it was from the sink. It wasn't too surprising for him. What did surprise him, though, was the silence that fell between them afterwards. He could hardly believe that Rena of all people was having trouble thinking of what to say.

She asked him a question; a rather simple one compared to how easily they talked before. "It's pretty good, especially since you don't have to room with someone," the youth admitted before taking another swig of ice water. She was acting incredibly strange... maybe it'd be better to just ask her outright what was wrong instead of waiting for something unexpected to happen. He placed his cup onto the coffee table, deciding to ease into it a little first. "Hey, are you okay? You're acting a little... off..." he pointed out, hoping to get a clear answer. This was Rena he was talking about, though, so that probably wasn't going to happen.

When Jeremy placed his glass on the table, Rena actually jumped a little at the clatter. It looked like he noticed her off balance demeanor, which made perfect sense the guy for sure knew her well enough. While his comment did bring some unneeded attention to her nervousness, the new found self-consciousness manifested itself as some fidgeting, it did do some good. Rena shook her head, and put on her best possible grin, you know given the circumstances. "Na, don't you worry about me, I'm fine... just uh not used to bringing guests over. Just something a bit unfamiliar, that's all. Yeah, exactly that's what was happening. It's not often she gets to play hostess.

"I know! I got a decent collection of books and whatnot, knowing you're a nerd you can maybe find something in it." Rena actually didn't have an inkling if Jeremy was into books or not, reading simply has never came up in their conversations. "They're right over he-" She swung her arm over to point at the messy pile of books, well that's what she wanted to do. While talking Rena must've misjudged the distance between her and the coffee table, because she ended up knocking Jeremy's glass over... and right onto him.

It took a moment for Rena to register what happened, but when the realization hit home, it hit hard. "Oh God, so sorry... uh, yeah, ha-ang on... uh a towel! She mentally cursed herself for being so damn clumsy, how the hell what she failing so bad today? Maybe she stood up too quickly, maybe she was still nervous, maybe it was just an unfortunate combination of many things, but when Rena tried to stand up her footing failed her, she slid backwards and because it happened so quickly she couldn't stop herself from falling.

Next thing she knew Rena was face down in something wet... still clearly dazed she pushed herself up, and then came to be looking up at Jeremy. It clicked instantly, she fell right onto his lap... onto Jeremy's lap... onto goddamn Jeremy's lap! Rena's face was blushed something fierce, it being a very obvious shade of bright red. It exactly reflected the neigh lethal levels of embarrassment she was experiencing at the moment. What the hell was she supposed to do now!?

In one hilariously exaggerated movement, Jeremy's drink went flying onto his lap. It felt as though it became a frozen wasteland due to all the ice and stuff, leading him to deeply inhale through his teeth from the shock and sudden change in temperature. He wanted to get up to at least walk the bitter cold away, but Rena moved too quickly. Way too quickly, it seemed, as she, uh... fell down onto him.

She looked up at him with a face now red as a tomato, and Jeremy's confidence suddenly rotted away like one. He was blushing just as hard, if not harder, looking at Rena from such an angle. The thoughts he initially came up with when she offered to take him to her house came shooting back up, and the embarrassment reached record highs. 'Don't just stay there!!' he thought to himself, legitimately worried that he'd begin to embarrass himself even more.

To put it bluntly, Jeremy had never even dated a girl, or even had his first kiss. The dude was twenty. Even against his will, it didn't take much to get his body aroused. What the hell would she even think if she saw such an embarrassing display? She'd call him a disgusting pervert, it'd spread around the school, his freshly-built reputation would be gone before it had time to properly begin! 'Shit... could this get any worse?!' he thought to himself.

It could.

Something shot from Jeremy's hand and impaled itself into the wall across the room.

All of Jeremy's embarrassment instantly transformed into fear and terror. He held up his hand to his face, the chilled air still misting from it. "No..." he muttered to himself, slowly looking at what was sticking out of her wall. It was a sizable spike of ice. Absolutely careless; he got too comfortable around Rena, too close to where he actually cared about what she thought of him, and the sheer embarrassment caused him to lose his waning grip on his magic. The shock made it fire without his concentration. He knew he had to be growing weak, but... To let off such a caliber of magic so carelessly...?!

"Gods... What have I... done..."

For Rena it didn't quite register right away, a combination of sheer embarrassment and just... she didn't know what to think. A recount of the situation was simple, she spilled water onto Jeremy and in her panic she fell right on top of the poor guy, yet... next? Rena could see it clear as day, a massive icicle stuck right into the wall, in retrospect it really looked similar to the ice bolt from Skyrim, considering that was the first game she and Jeremy bonded over... well it was an odd coincidence.

However returning the to present, or past... or something, Rena stared at the bolt. It seriously was real ice, actual frozen water in the shape of a quite lethal looking spike. She felt the hints of cool air hovering just above her, she caught the faint miss emanating from Jeremy's hand, at that point it didn't take long to reach a conclusion.

The girl slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, she had an expression that could only be summed up as a powerful mixture of confusion, awe... and yes a little bit of fear. Rena was at a complete lost for words, it was like her grasp of the English language disappeared in it's entirety from her mind. Jeremy has been hiding something, that was her first conclusion, Jeremy was probably terrified right now, that was her second conclusion. In the actual five minutes she sat there, Rena was furiously searching for someway she could respond here, anyway at all. Eventually she had something... maybe... probably?

"Um... so, uh magic? I guess... that's um... cool? I think..." Rena cleared her throat. "Might explain why you like mages so much..." She faintly smiled, clearly she was still quite shell shocked, and that was plainly evidenced in how she was shaking, just by a little.

Five minutes. Jeremy remained completely petrified for five whole minutes with nothing to say, nothing to feel... nothing to think. The unending fear of getting caught absolutely crippled him; even though the possibility of her being a purist was astronomically low, she was still undoubtedly just a regular person. Magic was but fiction to them, and she just saw a spell in person. She had every right to be shaking or fearful.

Since that wasn't enough to calm him down, though, the next bit was. If she were a purist, he'd already be dead right now. She would have taken advantage of him while he was stunned, but the fear that still slipped out of her voice meant he was still safe. A purist wouldn't be afraid of something like an ice spike, but a regular person like her? Her reaction was normal... for Rena, at least. Jeremy let out a sigh, still shaken up. There was no way he could avoid telling her the truth now.

"You can't tell anyone about this," he firmly declared as he stood up. "Look, I know you're confused, shocked, maybe even afraid, but... please just listen. I'll explain it all."

At that, Jeremy removed his glasses and pocketed them before swiping his hair back.

"What if I told you magic was real?" he asked, walking to the other side of the table. "Would you believe me? Well, heh, you just saw me use it, so that's a moot point. Still, before then, I wouldn't blame you if you didn't." Jeremy got on his knees and put his hands together over the table; the same chilled air began misting off of his hands. "It's not that people can't use magic," he began, slowly pulling his hands apart to reveal the head of a rose formed out of ice. but rather... those who can are hunted and persecuted."

As he uttered the the last few words, the ice began to scatter into the air in several, infinitesimally small particles. "Why?" he asked in a knowing tone as he looked up to meet her eyes. "There are people who are fearful of the changes magic would bring to humanity- another faction of people who can use magic who resent it at the same time. They call themselves "Necessarius", or purists, and hunt down magic users like animals if they don't affiliate with them," he explained before growing a more remorseful look on his face.

"My parents were murdered when I was still young. I was adopted by a friend of my father's who sympathizes with our cause, and I've had to live out my life in fear as an outcast under a new name." Jeremy stood from his crouching position, averting his eyes. He never imagined he'd be telling any of this to Rena or anybody, and it wasn't even his intent to go on for so long. He hoped she didn't end up even more confused, but writing the ice spike off as just some freak accident? Impossible. He had to explain. The two were alone, though. The thought of killing her might have crossed his mind if the two weren't so close, but that just wasn't the case.

"Look, Rena... I care about you a lot. I'm not telling you this to get you involved; you don't want to live my life. I'm only stressing how important it is that you don't tell anyone, and I wouldn't do that if I didn't completely trust you."

Rena let out a deep breath she didn't even know she held, and looked down at her feet as if deeply contemplating what Jeremy just revealed about himself. "That's some deep shit..." she murmured, more like thinking out loud really. After a few mere seconds she slapped her cheeks then practically jumped off the couch, whatever conclusion she came to seemed to change something about her. Rena flashed a grin, the same grin as always. "Sorry about the water, you're gonna need a towel before you freeze, hang on." She walked behind the couch and into the kitchen to retrieve said towel, or dishrag as it really was.

Before long she returned with rag in hand, yet instead of simply handing it off to Jeremy she did something perhaps unexpected. Rena pulled Jeremy back over to the couch and guided him to sit down, all the while ignoring any of his potential complaints. Then she knelt in front of him, continuing to flat out ignore him, she brought herself close to his lap once again. She then started to dab at the soaked fabric, it was clear she was attempting to dry his pants herself, even then she was still ignoring any resistance from the young man. "You know Jeremy..." She started. "I like to think of us as... uh great friends. So if you ever have some unwanted baggage, I'm the perfect girl to unload it on, I wouldn't mind." Rena spoke as she continued working, intent on cleaning up to the best of her ability. From Jeremy's perspective he couldn't see much else other than the top of her head, but occasionally he may be able to see her smiling... faintly, but she was definitely smiling... even blushing a little.

---

Rena was back in the kitchen in order to hang the rag for drying. For the most part she was able to dry Jeremy's pants, he'll probably need to change later, but for the moment she reasoned he should be fine. She then returned to the couch, walking right past the partially melted bolt of ice, not even once stopping to recognize it. She plopped right down next to Jeremy and sighed. "Well, hate to say it, but bringing you over seems like a waste, we didn't really do much, right?" Rena turned to face Jeremy, and smirked. "So that's why I'm forcing you to stay for dinner, sort of like old times eh? Can't promise you anything fancy, Chinese Takeout is the best you can expect though, what do you say?"

"I-I-!!!" Jeremy promptly began to freak out when Rena hovered over his lap again, dabbing his wet jeans with the dish rag. He wanted to jump away with all of his pure heart still intact, but she began talking. That helped him keep his mind off of the dabbing, at least... Jeremy truly was dense when it came to the feelings of the opposite sex- or anybody else for that matter, but he still knew Rena enough to know this was a very Rena way of accepting him. Always such a tease, but he somehow still enjoyed every bit of it despite the constant grief she put him through. If nothing else, it at least proved how sweet Rena could be. He hoped he would never drag her into the perils of the magical community and reveal his true name to her.

Jeremy caught her slight blush and looked to the side, blushing a bright red himself. Despite the very odd, undescribable sensation he felt in his gut, he'd stay put and let her finish cleaning him off.

---

Jeremy put his glasses back on and swept his hair back down over his forehead while Rena was in the kitchen, ready to put that embarrassing scene behind them. It didn't take long for Rena to come back and join him on the couch, though.

It appeared she was stealing him away from Douglas for the night. Jeremy answered her with a chuckle, seeming to be back to his usual self. "Hey, forcing implies I don't wanna stay. I guess we'll be old-timey college students for tonight," he jabbed, giving her a nudge with his elbow. Jeremy learned to not be so picky around Rena anyway, and besides, it not like he usually expected much from Rena when it came to food. That's why they went to other restaurants for their food and not in the kitchen.

Jeremy placed one leg over his knee, not finished with being playful. "You're paying, though, since you're the host here."

Thirty minutes later the two were crouched around Rena's coffee table, it was this or sit on the floor, well Rena didn't want to eat right off the carpet so tiny coffee table it was. Her choice of Chinese cuisine was General Tao's Chicken and fried rice, with the everyday complimentary egg roll packed along with it, all inside the same styrofoam take-out box. Rena took their orders and ran to the restaurant, which was only a block down the street to pick up their food, it was a bit cheaper this way since she didn't need to pay for delivery fees.

In her hand was a pair of plastic chopsticks, she kept her own rather than relying on the typical disposable ones, she also offered another pair to Jeremy, in case he liked using chopsticks as well, wouldn't be surprising at all. For the most part it was a very normal meal, at least to Rena, the same jokes were being said, the same jabs at each other, it was amazing really that their friendship hasn't noticeably changed... you know on account of the groundbreaking revelation that happen just that day. While Rena absolutely did not want to bring the subject up, out of respect for Jeremy more than anything else, she was also dying to learn more.

Images of the ice bolt kept repeating itself in her mind, the idea of magic being real was seriously ludicrous, even if she saw it with her own eyes. In all honestly in a different situation she would probably be hysterical right now, Rena knew herself well enough, but with Jeremy it was different, hell maybe the very reason it was Jeremy made all the difference. That got her thinking, she was always loyal to friends, there was no question about that, but even for a friend it was stretching it, to trust them with magic and all that.

It was during this line of thinking Rena realized something, she actually really likes the guy... but in the greatest best friend kind of way, right? Ever since they met a month ago they have been spending a lot of together, they mesh well, at least she thought so, and they shared some core interests. Yeah, she did start hanging out with him out of sympathy, to help a nervous guy like him to find some confidence, but somewhere down the line he had become a critical part of her life really, the mere fact she took his secret so well had to be proof of that.

"I wonder what kind of girls he likes..." The words slipped from Rena's lips without any real conscious thinking on her part, call it a Freudian slip. Imminently she wanted to take them back and pass it off as a joke, anything like that really, then she stopped herself. Why was she even thinking this in the first place? Rena cleared her throat. "Ah, uh... yeah... what sort of girls do you like?

What in hell was she trying to do?

Jeremy'd never really had chinese food before, so he just insisted that he'd get the same thing Rena was getting. When she left on her very short quest for the foodstuffs, Jeremy laid down on the couch and replayed the earlier scenes over and over in his head. Maybe it was just dumb luck that he met Rena; funnily enough, it was his carelessness that led him to meet her, yet it was her carelessness that seemed to bring them closer together. There were a lot of "If's" in Jeremy's life. Neither his safety nor his friendships were guaranteed; any acquaintance could easily be a purist, but he always felt this strange sort of safety around Rena, especially now that she'd seen him for what he truly was.

It was odd. The estranged Jeremy, who used to be accused of doing shady things due to his reluctance to talk to people, had someone who was like a rock to him. Aggravating and intrusive at first? Maybe, but now that she taught him to "fend for himself," so to speak, he couldn't help but respect and envy Rena's carefree attitude. She was a true friend through and through, and Jeremy vowed to himself to keep her safe.

Rena returned with their food shortly after, and the two of them sat at the coffee table telling the same usual jokes they'd grown so fond of. Glitches in Bethesda games, dumb gaming memes, the like. She offered him some chopsticks to eat his food with, but he surprisingly declined. How people grabbed so many grains of tiny rice with two sticks was beyond his understanding, so he just opted for a fork instead. The food was cheap, but hey, you get what you pay for, and it wasn't necessarily bad either. He didn't complain.

After a period of silence though, something slipped from Rena's mouth. The confused introvert raised an eyebrow at her... Was she thinking about some other guy or something, worrying if she was the right type of girl for them? A ridiculous thought for sure, but the thought still hurt somehow. Why? He already accepted she was way out of his league for him to even consider, so... why? The thoughts lasted for a few seconds until Rena looked at him nervously.

Ah, uh... yeah... What kind of girls do you like?

Oh. So it was directed at him.

"Wh-" he spat out confusedly, scratching his head. He was so sure it wasn't even about him that the question caught him off guard, and he got quite flustered. "I, uh... never really thought about it that much," he answered. It was the truth, really, since there wasn't much for him to think about. Jeremy's interaction with the opposite sex was limited to simply Rena. He didn't really have enough information to form an elegant answer. That didn't stop him from giving one at all, though. "I've never really been around girls as much as I have with you, so I dunno what my preference is..."

Meh. At least he was honest.

At Jeremy's answer, Rena didn't seem to respond it any way other than a simple "Huh..." Again why did she ask that, and even more importantly, why did she decide to keep going with it? She ate silently, looking pretty thoughtful, then finally nodded. "I was thinking about, uh... without making it sound creepy, just us." Rena smiled and laughed. "Na, that makes us sound like some middle-aged couple..." She feel on her back, now laying on the carpet. From under the coffee table she was staring at Jeremy's legs.

"You shouldn't sell yourself short, Jeremy... I say you're just a shy guy who needs a little push." Rena continued, still on the floor. "Why do you think I hang out with you?" From the tone of her voice it was blatantly a rhetorical question, this was even more obvious when she didn't give him a chance to speak. "I'll tell you why, you're pretty smart, you have a damn good sense of humor; you can take everything I throw at you with good will, right? Then... well it's always guaranteed to just be a blast when I'm with you." Rena then sat back up, grinning. "Seriously, Jeremy. Have some confidence in yourself, you are a much better person than you give yourself credit for, I just know it." Admittedly this was all wasn't needed, and honestly it came from nowhere. She felt that she had to get that off her chest, no idea why... because Jeremy seemed vulnerable... that could've been it.

Rena cleared her throat then leaned forward on the table, bringing herself close to Jeremy's face, sort of like old times. Pretty much like always she was grinning, still with that same old smile."So... you don't know what sort of girls you like, and you said I'm the only girl you know, doesn't that mean by default I'm your type? With a sense of deja vu she stayed right in Jeremy's personal space like that for a few more moments before returning back to her side of the table. She laughed. "I'm just messing with you, if you don't know then that's fine. Hell, I'm in not even sure what I like, so yeah you're defiantly not weird."

Thinking about himself in a low light wasn't something he thought about too much. It just sort of... happened, naturally. He'd always been nothing- partially due to him intentionally pushing people away, but Rena's words just then made him realize something. As he grew older, it was less about keeping people away and more about just... not knowing how to interact with people. It snowballed into an ugly mess of self-doubt and vulnerability that he kept buried under the fear of being found, and it never did surface until Rena helped melt away that fear.

He was used to Rena- that's why he was so confident around her. Around anyone else, even Douglas, he was still similar to how he acted when Rena met him. Still, she did have a point. If he could do it with Rena, he could do it with anyone else just fine. It wasn't something that could happen overnight, sure, but if Rena got him this far, who knows how much further he'd be able to go.

Rena got up in his face again, much like she did when they first met. Unfortunately for her, though, it had substantially less effect. If he could force himself to be calm when she was around his lap, then this was child's play for him. Jeremy pursed his lips and made a kind of funny face, blinking quickly and repeatedly at her comment before she laughed and returned to her spot.

"You don't even know? That's a little surprising, but I guess it makes sense," he commented, forking another bit of food into his mouth before swallowing it and continuing. "Come to think of it, you have been single for a long time, haven't you? That's the surprising part to me... You could have just about any guy in the school if you tried, right?" Jeremy continued to eat his food. She didn't seem like the type who ran off of romantic feelings, but hey, she wasn't the type who enjoyed being all alone either.

As a matter of fact, a lot of their friendship seemed to be mostly about him and toughening him up. Weren't friendships supposed to be 50/50 or something like that? Either way, maybe he didn't have the capacity to fully receive her personal thoughts and feelings back then, but he definitely did now. He had to let her know she could talk to him, too.

He finished off the last of his food and set it on the table. "Well, you told me not to sell myself short, so... I don't want you to, either. The more we hang out together, the more I realize how wrong I was about you. You've filled my life with a lot of excitement and helped push me to become a better person. That being said... I don't want you to just think of me as a chore." He instantly smiled at her and continued to talk before she had the chance to speak up. "Granted, you probably don't, but... My point is, if there's something troubling you or you want to talk about yourself for a while, then I'm here for you. I care about you a lot, so don't feel like you have to be strong around me all the time. I'm sure even you need to vent once in a while."

Rend smiled and nodded thoughtfully, looks like little old Jeremy wanted to be more reliable, she knew him well enough to tell that was exactly the case. "That's just what I told you, right?" She couldn't help but laugh a little. "I mean that was really not long ago when I was decided to dry your pants.... still remember back during our first time at the cafe? I said I wanted us to have a mutual relationship, where we give and take? Well it goes without saying that I'll confide in you, but you'll have to do the same, suppose we must've forgotten that since we had to remind each other. Rena then sighed, her mood unmistakably shifting towards a more dark tone. She looked down being a little lost in thought, maybe even a little unsure before looking back to Jeremy.

Once again she nodded as if she made her mind up about something. "We agreed to be honest, that there won't be secrets between us." She said, somewhat wanting to confirm this fact. "Then I want to know more about your magic, maybe about how you came to have magic in the first place. I also want to know about those who want to want you dead, you called them 'purists' right?" Rena paused for a moment, those questions were easy to get out... but should she go even further? "...I also want to know how your parents were killed... I know it's for sure a sensitive topic for you, but just know that I want to know, I should be honest there, right?" Again she paused, she sucked through her teeth in her hesitation, because she had a hunch about Jeremy's feelings... and how he might not agree to this next part. "I also want to be by your side in this, like hell do I think you're safe as is, and you don't have to tell me if those purists are still after you... I just know that's the case. So, I've decided I'll be fighting with you, maybe I can't protect you properly if even at all, but I'm going to damn well try." Rena was dead serious about with her declaration, there wasn't a trace of humor in her expression. It should absolutely be clear to Jeremy that she wasn't kidding about this.

Jeremy blinked. To be completely honest, he should have expected a response like that. All of these questions... to be honest, she had every right to be curious or worried. Still, Jeremy frowned and let out a hearty sigh. "I only promised I wouldn't lie to you. I never said anything about secrets," he pointed out as he took off his glasses. "Still, that's already one promise I've broken... regardless, If you want to know the whole truth about me, you need to be prepared. This isn't a decision that can be taken lightly," he said, looking her straight in the eye.

"Still... I know better than to try and change your mind once it's made up, and that look in your eye says it is. Maybe knowing all of the answers to those questions might chhange your mind." Jeremy flipped his hair back once more, revealing that same look he had when he talked to her before.

"First thing's first. The ability to use magic is something you're born with. Or, rather, the potential to use it. Only through rigorous mental training is one able to focus on the magical energies this world possesses, and that's just if you have the potential to do so. I come from a long line of Ice mages, people who are able to chill the magical energies into ice and frost," he explained, waving one hand around in a circular motion until a small ice spike formed.

"The "purists" have a problem with mages tampering with the magical energy of the world. They use magic themselves, but only as a means to kill mages who don't align with them. Guns are a bit classless, and they want to keep these issues in-house. They found out my family could use magic, and sure enough, they tried to kill us. My parents were able to hide me well enough, so I was spared. It's quite difficult to fend off a horde of other mages when t here are just two of you, though, so... they were killed. It's just that simple." Once he got to that point, however, he found it difficult to talk. Strenuous, even, so... he didn't. He just let it be silent for a while, unable to find the words for what to say next.