September 30, Monday
5:20 PM

"All this time..." Theo says in a small voice.

"Yeah... But Theo, my bestfriend likes you too."

"And you don't want to hurt her feelings." He sighs.

"Exactly. But I don't like it... The pain I feel when I imagine you and Ari together."

"Arianna is nice but..." Theo stops in the middle of his sentence and bites his lip.

"But...?"

"The person I ended up liking is you, not her. And my feelings aren't shallow, I can't just let go of them in a snap of my fingers." He tells me with a tint of red in his cheeks.

"I-is that so."

"Ehem ehem." I hear my parents coughing in the background.

Can you two please leave us alone!

Theo looks over at my parents as if they had something planned, then he looks back at me with a stern expression.

"Lydia?"

"Yes?"

"Can I get to know you more? In the real world that is..." Theo smiles at me and grabs my hand, causing my face to heat up.

Oh great, I'm blushing-

His hands were quite soft and warm, wrapping around mine gently and it made me feel calm.

"Sure... I'd love to know more about you too." I answer awkwardly.

"Aww!" I hear my mom squeeling and my dad telling her to calm down.

"That's great." Theo responds and lets go of my hand, then lifting it up and patting my head. "I spent three months feeling utterly broken, and then I find out that the girl who I've been searching for was someone I just pass through the halls about every day."

"Well the feelings are mutual." I laugh.

"I really wish I knew sooner though..."

"Why so?"

"Because then I would've made the most out of the times we spent together in the past."

"Heh, we still have a long life ahead of us though." I grin. "Anyway, how's Sylvie and Cereal?" I ask.

"Sylvie crazy misses you, And cereal is as apathetic as ever."

"Not much of a shocker there."

"Mhm."

"Would you two like some pizza?" My mom breaks out from her silence and proceeds to take a seat across me on the couch. "It's getting a little late and I'm feeling too lazy to cook.

"Sure Mrs. Hill." Theo answers.

"Pizza timee~" I chirp.

The perfect pair of a good soda!

"Alright. What flavors?"

"A margarita pizza, with stuffed crust!" I suggest happily.

"That sounds pretty good." Theo tells me. "The only pizza I ever really order is Hawaiian and Pepperoni."

"Pft do you live in a shell? You gotta try new things!!!" I nudge him.

"And that's what I'll be doing today."

My mom rings her phone and calls the pizza place while the rest of us stay silent and listen as she orders.

Hngg I'm really craving for some damn good pizza todayyyy!

And I get to share it with Theo~

"Anything else?" My mom asks us and we shake our heads.

"We're good mom."

"Alright." She ends the call then looks at me as if she had something to say. "Can I talk to you for a moment Lydia?"

Oh snap she does have something to say.

"Sure mom."

The two of us get up and head over to the kitchen where Theo and my dad wouldn't be able to hear us.

"What's this about mom?"

"You know your priorities right?"

"Err yeah... Why?"

"If the time comes where Theo asks you to be his girlfriend, I and your father will allow you."

"W-wait mom!? That isn't happening yet. No no no!" I stutter as I speak, feeling my face flush in embarrassment.

"But it will."

I sigh and calm myself down. "I guess so..."

"And once that happens, never forget what your priorities are. And know your limits."

"Yeah, I know all of that stuff mom."

"I know you do. I'm just reminding you. You're a very good child."

"Mom..."

It isn't too often she praises me like this... It makes me feel sad and happy at the same time-

"Alright, you can go back to Theo." She smiles at me and I head back over to the living room, where I see my dad and Theo having a fun conversation.

"Lydia!" My dad motions me to sit down beside him, so I follow. "Ok ok so listen to this." He pauses to clear his throat.

Ooooh nope- it's the dad jokes.

"A slice of apple pie is $2.50 in Jamaica and $3.00 in the Bahamas. These are the pie rates of the Caribbean." He says and the two laugh while I facepalm.

"This one is good too. What does a zombie vegetarian eat? "GRRRAAAAAIIIINNNNS!" "

Well this is going to be a long evening.

---
6:30 PM

"The pizza is here guys!" My mom calls and everyone heads to the dining room while I take a detour to the fridge and grab a can of sprite.

The quarter hour that quickly past was just my dad making dad jokes and talking about me when I was a wee child. Fun.

I pop open my can of sprite, taking a sip then I finally make my way to destination pizza and take my seat beside my mom.

Would you look at that steaming hot margarita pizza with a stuffed crust of mozzarella!~

I put down my sprite and take a slice. Quickly consuming it within three minutes.

"Slow down Lydia!" My mom tells me.

"But It's good mooom!" I say with a whiny voice then take another slice.

"So this is why it seems you have been putting on some weight." Theo says.

"What did you say?!" I give him a scornful look and proceed to eat my second slice of pizza.

"Nothing~" Theo smiles cheekily.

"I only weigh around 46kg for your information!"

"Mhm..."

"MHM!" I glare at him.

"Ehem." My mother coughs, grabbing our attention. "May I ask you something Theo?"

"Yes Mrs. Hill?"

"What are you planning to do about Arianna? It's been troubling Lydia so much that she didn't want to go to school or to her part time even if I threatened to take away the money she earned."

Oh no mom- My mind was calm till you mentioned Ari...

"I'm just going to be honest with her and tell her that I like Lydia." Theo tells my mom without hesitation.

"That's great." My mom smiles at him. "You're a very nice boy. Take care of Lydia for us."

"I never said I was giving her away yet-" My dad raises his brow at my mom. "For now she's still my princess, got that kid?"

"Y-yes sir." Theo nods.

"No need for the formality. Just call me dad." He winks and once again I cringe.

Stop winking dad! Jees!

"Dad..." Theo smiles.

My dad reaches his hand out and pats Theo's head, then leaning closer and saying something in Theo's ear that I'm not able to hear.

"W-whaa?! I promise you I won't do anything bad to her! I'm not like that!" Theo says aloud, his face turning tomato red.

"Dad what did you tell him!??" I facepalm.

"It's just a thing between us men, ey kid." He puts his fist out and the two fist bump.

"Y-yeah..."

Looks like Theo and my family are getting a long just fine.

"Oh, and Lydia?" My dad says smiling at me.

"Yes dad?"

"I'll buy you a new laptop."

"For reals?!!!!"

OH HELL YES!

"For reals." My dad takes another slice of pizza and we both raise it in the air as if it were a toast.

"Thank you dad! I love you so much!!!" I squeel.

I can quit my job then!

And I can go back to playing Divine Spring like usual!

"You're welcome sweetie."

This day went from being horrible to being hella dope!

•••
Yeeeet
I feel so sad that the story is coming to an end xD

So do you think Ari is going to be ok with this? Or is she going to get upset about it and RIP friendship. (・-・;)

-Kei

Question of the day: Does Pineapple belong on pizza?