"What?"
She'd just asked him if he'd pretend to be her boyfriend to get rid of a stalker. It was a stupid, unrealistic scenario straight out of a corny, yet guilty pleasure of a romance story.
Romance was something Arthur gave little consideration for, rather opting to avoid it at any chance it might spring up. In fact, he was a bit too thoroughly cautious of romance in his heart.
But this scenario was utterly delusional, and in fact—
"Okay…"
Very, very easy to digest. While women who were strangers were spooky, this woman's appearance reminded him of Sally, a friend of his very loosely, though Sally was much more attractive. So, he didn't care too much.
There was no actual romance. It was like if she asked him to pick up a book, or do something really simple. As long as no feelings sprung up, he would be okay. So he made it a clear intention in his heart.
The goal wasn't just to get her stalker away, but also reaffirm his belief that no woman could ever love him romantically.
It fit his self-image.
She smiled and nodded her head. "I saw him watching me as I entered. So hurry up and check out The Forgotten Knight."
Arthur did as instructed, getting the book and leaving.
He walked with her, occasionally glancing around..
'I don't see anyone. Actually, is this a trap from dragons? No, it's too public.'
"Oh, there he is," she said, pointing. Arthur looked at where she was pointing, and saw a man looking at the two of them.
"I dunno why, but he's been following me for a while. And he DM'ed me saying he wanted to, do all sorts of… things."
"What the heck?"
"I know, right? So you're tough, go beat his ass."
Arthur looked at her and shook his head. "No, what if you're lying?" He said it in quite a defensive tone.
"Huh? I mean, I guess I can show you what he said," she told him, taking her phone out. She showed him the messages on social media, and went onto his profile. Arthur saw the man, then looked over at the person watching them.
"I see. Um, okay?"
Arthur left her and went over to the man, looking at him awkwardly and scratching the back of his head.
"Um… did you really say that stuff? That's kinda… really, really mean, dude. Can you stop?" He asked. Having zero experience with anything like this, he, being someone with a weak heart, didn't have it in him to immediately start a fight. Plus, that would just be dumb.
He heard a small yelp from behind him, turning around and seeing the woman getting whisked off, dragged by multiple men into a van. His eyes widened at the sight, and he felt something hit his back.
Quickly turning around, Arthur saw his clothes had been punctured by the man's knife, which had slid across his body from being unable to puncture him.
Arthur looked at the man in shock and shoved him hard, fast enough for him to scrape his hands when the man tried to stop his body from tumbling down the street.
With an utmost concerned expression, the dragon turned towards the van, as the doors slammed and it began to drive off.
He stood there, unsure of what to do. People were present, if he caught up to a car then he would be outed as something beyond human. And if he refused to give chase, he would hate himself.
'I can just leave her, can't I? Is she really more important than… grah, damn it, why couldn't she have carried a gun or something and just shot their ass?'
Arthur turned towards the man he'd shoved and went over to him, standing over. He reached down and grabbed the man by the collar, lifting him up.
"Are you working with them?" Arthur asked, making his voice as deep as possible and gravelly to sound intimidating.
"Ah, fuck you, I don't give a shit! Someone, help! This dude's a fucking psychopath!" The man yelled. Arthur frowned, before taking him to an alleyway and throwing him at a dumpster.
The man collided with the metal, creating a loud thud before falling ungracefully onto the hard ground. Letting out a pained scream, the man looked at the fairly unattractive man, his eyes widening with fear as Arthur walked over to him slowly, crouching down.
'This is clearly self defense.'
Arthur grabbed a broken cement block in the alley, holding it to the man's throat like a knife.
"You know where they're going, don't you? Lead me to them, put that stuff into Google Maps and we're leaving."
"Fuck, man, alright okay, I'll, I'll… ow, my back…"
Arthur ran the man's pockets, taking out his phone. He went onto Google Maps and made him type in where they were going.
Turns out it was a house, and Arthur called the police, notifying them of the situation. Eventually, Arthur, while keeping the man pinned to the ground by his chest, hung off due to a mislick.
This ticked him off, and he was about to call before he thought of an idea.
"So, what're you guys doing this for?" Arthur curiously questioned. A couple minutes had passed since they'd spoken, except for the occasional groan from the man about how much his back hurted.
Due to that intermission, Arthur couldn't be mad for too long. No, it was more like he couldn't keep up the facade of a scary person for too long.
He was still mad that he had to get involved.
Arthur hummed a small tune, dialing 911 again before getting his answer.
"She… she's just my type, so I really like her. But she didn't like me back, so I asked some friends to get her and hold her for ransom, then after I had my way, I could just, y'know, leave the country or something…" the man said in a very somber tone.
"That's… ew. You're dumb. That's obvious, though, so… what else? How's she your type? I myself am not too interested in women, but I don't know how she's really, y'know…"
'Though, I'm definitely not one to be judging. She just kind of smells like onions, but she definitely looks very cute. In an unconventional way.'
"Well, she just seems really authentic, y'know? You know each other, right?" The man asked. Arthur scratched his chin a bit, letting out an "ah, yeah…"
He called the police again, and he stayed on the line this time as he was supposed to. He received word that they had gone to the house, and that the girl was okay.
…
What followed was some paperwork, and keeping the man unable to move as they arrested him. Arthur was taken to the station to do boring stuff, and when he left, he saw the woman being discharged.
She was safe, without injury and the like. She went over to Arthur, looking up at him with a smile.
"Uh, what's the grin for?" He asked.
"Well, you saved me. You're kind of cute, so I feel like, y'know, this is the part where the girl falls in love with the guy who saved her," she said in a very weird and creepy seductive voice.
It was like an alien was trying to do what they believed to be a human mating call, and it was actually a little repulsive.
That aside, there were many things wrong with what she just said.
First, Arthur was not cute. Second, the police saved her, not Arthur. Third, there was no "part," this was not the beginning of a romcom.
'If she can like someone like me, I can't imagine she's very picky with men. She'll just go for another, better guy when she gets the chance. That's how it always ends.'
"How old are you?"
"20. Why, how old are you?"
"19."
"Ooh, so we can do it, right? Say, why don't we go on a little date tomorrow?"
"You don't even know my name."
"That can change. I'm Melissa, how about you?"
"I…"
Arthur looked away, sighing. "I'm Arthur. Why do you even like me? No, you can't be serious. Please stop, it's not a funny joke," he said, almost in a begging tone.
There were times when girls asked him out as a joke. And after the first time he got his hopes up, never again would he genuinely believe a woman who liked him for no reason.
"Why does it have to be a joke? What if I just think you're cute?"
"No, that's not… no. How? Seriously, how? Can you not see my face? How can you look at it and not feel repulsed?" He asked her, pointing to his cheek.
"Ugh, you really… Do you just not like me?" She asked in a whining tone.
When she said it in that tone, by all means, he did not like her. That whiny voice was like hearing a fork on a plate, it sent a shiver down his spine with both fear and anger.
Take the amount of gumballs in a gumball machine. And in those gumballs, there exist atoms that make up the molecules which make up the matter of the gumballs.
Those molecules, those atoms, and those gumballs, all added together—no, put 10 to the power of however many atoms, molecules, and gumballs are present, and that still would not be as much as Arthur loathed that tone of voice.
"Don't talk like that. Um, that aside…" Arthur stammered.
"Hm?" She hummed in response.
'Or perhaps it's just a reward for "saving her?" That makes more sense. She can't love me, so obviously she's just trying to reward me. Makes sense.'
"Fine, I'll take you up on the offer. Give me your number so I can contact you later, I'm too tired to deal with this."
It was late at night, after all. She nodded her head and took his phone, putting her number in. Arthur got his phone back and left, driving back to campus.
Arthur went to bed quickly, having been completely exhausted from the day's misfortunes.